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W O M E 


A I J H OAH 


7 JANUARY 1996 $ 


The Telegraph 

POSTMORTEM 



Mira Nair: From Salaam Bombay to hello Hollywood 


True Blue? 

B Jagmohan Mundhra 
knows that sex sells, whe- 
ther in Hollywood or 
India, and so he has taken 
the shortest route to suc- 
cess by making semi porno- 
graphic films rNamaste 
Hollywood', November 
12 ). , 

I He has to his credit a 
! long list of sex-filled pro- 
j ductions and note the 
j titles: Night Eyes, Tropica! 

! Heat , Wild Cactus, LA God 
| dess. The Other Woman, llli- 
■ cit Behaviour ... elc, etc. 

| When in the US, friends 
j will advise you to see at 
| least one Jag' movie as the 
j Indian versions are heavi- 
> ly censored. 

! But get Mundhra to 
admit he makes pom 
films, he will vehemently 
defend his art saying they 
are celebrations of love. 
Tarak Banerjee, 

1 Calcutta 

It is nice to learn that Asi- 
ans, Indians in particular, 
are making a niche for 
themselves in a fiercely 
competitive sphere like 
f il m-prod uction in 
Hollywood 

In India films are made 
on small budgets. Some 
blockbusters may have a 
staggering budget of Rs 10 
crore. But compare this 
with an average Holly- 


wood production which 
requires $30-35 million. 
With such a small budget 
we should not expect Hoi 
lywood extravaganza in 
Indian films. 

Even with this limited 
resource the Indian film 
industry has been able to 
make films which have 
been technically brilliant, 
Dipankar Koley, 

Jhikra (Howrah) 


■ It needs more than tal- 
ent to be successful in Hol- 
lywood. That in the face of 
stiff competition from esta- 
blished directors. Indians 
like Mira Nair have found 
a foothold there speaks 
volumes of her calibre. 

But as Indians, filmma- 
kers like her should first 
find recognition at home 
before seeking fame 
abroad. 


Satyajit Ray, with his 
wealth of talent, could 
have easily shifted to Hol- 
lywood but he stayed in 
India and worked in Indi- 
an conditions (dilapidated 
studios, powercuts. poor 
facilities) and yet went on 
to win laurels at every 
intemabonai festival. 
Dehashish Sen, 

Calcutta 

SR The Magazine gives 
extensive coverage to 
anything Hollywood, 
neglecting the domestic 
scene. 

Mira Nair, Kadha Bha- 
radwaj and others are inde- 
ed talented directors who 
could make a name for 
themselves in an alien terri- 
tory. But we have talented 
women back home, too 
Apama Sen and 
Debash ree Roy. for instan- 
ce. They did a marvellous 
job *n Rituparno Ghosh's 
Urushe April. 

Shouldn't the Magazine 
have done a story on them? 
Sunil Banerjee, 

Calcutta 

K The Magazine keeps for- 
getting that it caters to adul- 
ts as well as children and 
that it should not publish 
anything which sho< ks 
young and impressionable 
minds 

Shahcen fahan, 

Calcutta 




PAGE 4 


THERE IS a definite on elation between hnwis, 
moods, numbers and seasons Unit* veiling the 
numeral significance ot Indian cuisine 

PAGE 26 

HERE ARE some tips on how to make yout 
honeymoon most cn lovable and memorable 


BmggMM 

16 TIMl- 1AHLE 
18 KliSklN HONi) 

20 (;n s ian \vRk;nr 

21 JI NIOK WHIR! 

22 COMK'S 
26i:XTKA(! 

M) FIRS I fl .RMJN 




Food For 

THOUGHT 

JiggsKalra and Pushp?sh Pant educate ns alxmf the numerology (>f 

gastronomy 


1 MI INMAN ( !\ 1! NATION 
has always had .• rascinn 
lion lor numbers. YVhirb is 
nor surprising considering 
that wo wen- die people 
who umvivlied il mv 10- 
rvol mathem.ibcs. be ' 1 , phi 
JuMiphv, polite or eultuie. 
there is no dearth ol nume- 
ral reteromes. 

The Pantheon ol Hindu 
C iods totals hit" it is Lift or 


330 million 

A human being is destin 
ed lo go through chnumsi 
lukli i /out or an 8.4 million 
cycle of births - from l he 
lowest insect to the highest 
man, when- he can exert loi 


w'4l fflK&Kft, 



£ rf' 


In the context of (bod, there are three gunas, 
saatvik, rajasik, tamasik, which Sri Krishna refers 
to in the Oita. The word guna means inherent 
properties of different foods which can enhance 
or reduce the natural inclinations, talents, 
temperaments and potentials of individuals 


-v.; 


*$0*”*' 


nioksfhi oi final deliveram o 
The l Ifwni-ihad says. No i hit vntrn luif'.mn/ ■ < Alnnudii/tt, which means that all the i iches ol 
this world cannot guarantee this deliverance, lo cm lire the salvation of the soul, there has 
lobe a fund diuni. I' it id is a lump-shaped share. I hum is to give away. Together the two words 
imply an offering of food. 


Chaurasi or 84 is the number of asana 
or coital postures referred to in Vatsya- 
na's Kama Sutra , the dassic aphoristic 
writing on sex in andent India. Some 
of these postures of passion have been 
frozen in perpetuity on the sculpted 
friezes at the Khajuraho temples. 

Chausath or 64 are the kala or useful 
arts, in which a bride-to-be must be 
well versed. Among these, the art of 
cooking is pre-eminent. 

Chhappart or 56 are the bhog or offer- 
ingsof food to be made to the Gods. 
The number, perhaps, has been arriv- 
ed at by multiplying the number of 
days— SEVEN— with that of EIGHT 
prahar. 

Then comes .s hod as} t or '-iveet \h, 
the magical year the maiden is said to 
bloom ( shodasht ) and the age when a 
boy attains maturity and expects to t*e 
treated like a friend by his father. To 
quote the original verse in Sanskrit: 
Prapte shodashe uarshe, putra mitra 
samacharrt. Sixteen is the number of 
samskara , the Hindu rites of passage " 
through life. Among the samskara , 
there are many rites which emphasise 
the culinary For example, anna 
prashan is the occasion which celebra- 
tes the child's weaning from milk and 
his introduction to food grains. 
Namkaran (the christening ceremony) 
upanayan (the thread ceremony), 
vivaha (the mamage ceremony), 
shradh (the funeral ceremony) and 
many more have customary feasts pre- 
scribed in great detail. Sixteen also, are 
the prescribed shringar or beauty treat- 
ments from top to toe. It is not just 
mind-boggling figures that have 
received attention, the count from one 
to ten has been enriched with a great 
wealth of mythological and cultural 



The key word in the context of food, and all other 
aesthetics, is rasa , which can crudely be 
translated as ‘juicy essence' or ‘sap’. However, it 
would be more apt to adopt the implied meaning 
of savouring or deeply enjoying a sensuous 
experience. It is the same word w hich is used in 
the course of appreciation of musi'\, dance, 
literature, sex or food 


information. 

ONE: The Veda says, Eko sud kavaytih 
bahudha vadantt. Which means ONE is 
the Supreme Being whom the poets 
describe in different manifestations. 
The foundations of the Vedanta philo- 


sophy propunded by Adi Shankara 
rest on advait or monoism. Anna 
stands in solitary splendour with Brah- 
man. In fact, Anna is synonymous 
with Brahman (amuz vat Brahma) 
because it sustains Silt* 



The Grand Mughal 
Akbar had bestowed 
upon his most 
favourite nine nobles 
the title of A 'avratna. 
Quite a few of these 
worthies were 
connoisseurs of food. 
Todar Mai and Birbal 
are remembered today 
as patrons of Delhi 
Kayastha cuisine and 
the delicacy f>o Piaza 
immortalises another, 
Abdurrahint 
Khankhaana 




TWO. Dr’aita i* dualism and makes a 
distinction befwet'n the brahman 
(Universal Soul) and the/ihnnn (lndivi 
dual Sell) The didU'ctical relationship 
between punish- prakrit / which, t>n a 
cosmic plane, is interpreted as an inter- 
play of matter and energy and man 
and nature. On a mundane level, this 
dualism recognises the essential differ 
ence between man and woman 

1 n l he d omain of food , there a re seve- 
ral inseparable pairs — dal -rot i (lentil 
and unleavened bread), dal -bhaat (len 
til and rice), poori-bha/i (fried bread 
and tempered vegetables), daht-bluilla 
(yoghurt andtofemtil dumplings), 
duodh jalcbt (milk and syrup-soaked 
sweet 'pretzels' made with khoya or 
flour) mrwa-mishri (dried fruits /nuts 
with candied sugar), thauda-yaram 
(cold and hot), nurtha namkecn (sweet 
and salty), kucha khana-pukka khcma 
(food eaten informally ami food eaten 
m a ritually pescribed manner). 
THREE. Trvnurh is the trinity of Brah- 
ma, Vishnu and Mahesh — the I ord in 
his three manifestations of Creator, 
Preserver and Destroyer. The rock -cm 
sculptures at Elephanta present a 
majestic image of Tnmnrti The real 
ms, too, are three: aakash, pi ithvi. 
pa tan l The confluence of three rivers 
— Ganga. Yamuna, Saraswati -is the 
most sacred. 

In the context of food, *here are 
three yunas - wintvik. hitaak 
tamasik — which Sri Krishna refers to 
in the G i ta . The word yun mea ns 
inherent properties of different t(*ods 
which can enhance ch reduce the natu- 
ral inclinations, talents, temperaments 
and potentials of individuals Satvik 
food iscondm i\v to noble pursuits 
and ra/asik to heroic, while tamasik 
food keeps the mdiv id uni shackled to 
the baser instincts 

FOUR. Chaturvarnya is the cornersto 
ne on which the Hindu social system 
rests Four are the rw rna or castes and 
toui are the ashram or stages m life. 
Four, again, are IhopurusharthaoT pnn 
ciple objectives m life - 1 iluttma (reli 
gion Kfltiha (material success), kania 
(sensual satisfaction), nhik^ha (liber, i- 
tion from the bondage of karma or 
cycle of rebirth). 

/ he number roui is also roireh* ted 
to the concept of •imr 
rtnh or four eternal dents; aci'rinh ( h > 
the Gods), £nruim/i (to the teachers), 
pitrirtnh to the ancestors, putrarmh (to 
the progeny). To discharge these 
debts, an elaborate ritual of teasting 
and feeding the brahmans is prescribed 
in the Dharma Shaslru. In folk KSiom, 
too, four js considered auspicious and 
the host normally tries to form a 

6 


Different elements have to blend for truly 
savouring the taste. These basic taste sensations 
have to be harmoniously blended like 
instruments and notes in a musical composition 
to create symphonic melody 



| quartet ot guests The t lassie accompa a! ottering to the Gods are recounted 
| niments ot Khichn are the foursome of in the sansknt shluka ; 

| dahi pap'id yhtr at hoar -yoghurt, Akanl mrityu harmm. 

popfHidam, t la. • hiv! butter, pickle. S unmvyadht vinashnmnti, 

I ^ ^ kishih (ea ? (h), hi la ( water ), ptnmk Vtshtto padoilnkatti pitoa, 

| (fire), ^ayatt (ether), sawet'r (air), are the Shirsa dhnryamyham. 

I five elements And, five ingredients— - or 
duodh (milk >, aah; (yoghurt), yhre (clan- Takes away the fear of untimely death, 

lied butter), madhu (honey), sharkaw and vanquishes diseases all, 

(crystalline sugar) go in to i he mak- Sip this Nectar that washes the Lord's 
mg of pawiunnnt The therapeutic and feet, 

restorative properties of this ambrosi- Place it on the head and Jet not a 




drop fall. the seven horses yoked to the solar cha- EIGHT. The day and night are divid- 

On many celebratory occasions, like riot, while the night sky sparkles with ed into eight prahara or three-hour 1 v 

marriage, there is a ritual exchange of the saptarshimandal or the constellation unit of time which prescribe the 

panch-meum (five dried fruits/ nuts) named after the seven sages. Seven arc hours of watch. Eight is dlso consider 

and panch-phal (five fresh fruits) the sacred cities which promise ed to have magical properties when 

SIX. The seasons are six: grishtna (sum- deliverance: metals are used in combiua tion. Idols 

mer), varsha (monsoon), sltarad (autum- Ayodhya, Mathura , Maya, Kashi , Kan chi, and rings made with ushtadhatu 01 an 

n/ fall), shishir (winter), hernant (the Avattfika, Puridufara7vati chawa saptaita alloy of eight metals -- sana (gold), 

season of thaw), vasant (spring). And moksha dayika chandt (silver), ;wtu/ (brass), tambn 

there are six sensations that the palate And seven are the sacred rivers which (copper), teen (tin), iasta (zinc), pnrn 

recognises: lavana (salt), madhur are invoked at the time of ritual ablu- (mercury). Some of these gems and 

(sweet), katu (bitter), amla (acid ), tions performed by a pious 1 find u metals are crucial ingredients in lndi- 

tikshna (pungent), kashaila (astringent) everyday an therapeutics. According to the 

SEVEN. The spectrum is resplendent Ga?iga, Yamunaschaiva, Godavari , Ayurveda , no arbitrary line is drawn 

with seven vibgyorous hues. Seven Sarasjvati, Narmade , Sindhu, kaveri / ale separating medicine and food. Sow* 

are the days in the week, symbolising Asrnin Simmdhi kuru chandt ke vary are common enough 


Great delicacies, like all great works of art, are effective mood 
manipulators. This is more so in the case of ritual, celebratory and funeral 
feasts. Take for instance the menus prescribed for Muhurram, which 
declare a tarq-e-lazzat or a voluntary forsaking of taste. At the same time, 
what is being spread on the dastarkhwan should not lack in respect 

nor appear too frugal 





The element of fun and frolic is incorporated in 
the adbhut and hasya rasa . The 1 ucknow na wabs 
have become legendary for their exploitation of 
these two rasas. For example, there was this 
nobleman who once instructed his chef to devise 
a complete menu comprising exclusively of 
sweets. The confections were so cleverly 
concocted that in appearance they mimicked the 
classic savoury delicacies like 
kebab, mussalam, quorma and biryani 



What many do not know Is that 
innumerable recipes make use of the 
other metals as well. 

In the context of food, the numbers 
seven and eight are significant as they 
emphasise the element of variety for ' 
each day of the week and the appropri- 
ateness of the diet according to the 
three-hourly division of the day. As 
mentioned above, this is how we get 
chhavvan bhog . 

NINhT Nainjgraha or the nine planets 

— Surya (Sun), Chandra (moon), 

Mangal (Mars), Buddha (Mercury), 

Guru (Jupiter), Shukra (Venus), Shani 
(Saturn), Rahu (Ascendant Node), 

Ketu (Descendant Node) are believed 
to exercise a decisive influence on the 
affairs of man on earth. To ward off 
any evil planetary influences, the 
mnwratna or the nine gems — hirak (dia • 
mond), moktik (pearl), mannik (ruby), 
patina (emerald), neelam (sapphire), 
pokhtaj (topaz), praml (coral), firoza 
(turquoise') — are resorted to. 1 .ike 
metals, many Indian recipes are enri- 
ched by precious gems and jewels. 

There are nine rasa : samyog and 
viyog shnngar (erotic /roman tic moods 
of union and separation, respective- 
ly), veer (heroic), roudra (wrathful), 
hasya (comic), z'ihhatsa (repugnant), 
adbhut (amazing), knruna (compassio- 
nate) and shant (tranquil). 

Hie key word in the context of hxxi 

— and all othei aesthetics — is rasa - - 
which can crudely be translated as 
'juicy essence' or 'sap' However, it 
would be more apt to adopt the impli- 
ed meaning of savouring or deeply 
enjoying a sensuous experience. It is 
the same word which is used in the 




') 


The concept of guna 
and tahseer of various 
ingredients tells us that 
there are inherent 
properties which can 
accentuate or mitigate 
the effects of seasons 
and mediate moods 







course of appreciation of music, 
dance, literature, sex or food 

In essence, rasa means evocation or 
enhancement of a mood appropriate 
to the time and place, providing 
cathartic release, euphoria or tranqui- 
lity. In Indian culinary philosophy, 
food is the ultimate mood manipula- 
te! Which is why there is a specific 
diet prescribed for the celibate and the 
newlywed, the working man and the 
rcnunciate. 

The Grand Mughal Akharhad 
bestowed upon his most favourite 
nine nobles the till* 1 of Narratin' ymte 
a tew ol these worthies were c onnois- 
seurs ot iood. 1 odar Mai and Birbal 
are remembered todnv as patrons of 
Delhi Kavastha cuismcvind the deh- 
cacv Da Piaiu i immortalises another - - 
Abilunalwu khunkliaana. 

TUN. In the Hindu system, there are 
ten duecLions tom cardinal north, 
east, west, south, lour l hat divide the 
cardinals diagonally north-east, 
north west, south east south-west, 
two about you - - abo\e.nul b-'knv 
These ten directions wore to pi ov wle 
gind.in< e \\ (iile tonsil acting a i ntgna 
. Vih or a sa*. nhc lal alhT It is not to l>e 
forgotten that a mtgna ot a sacrifice 
was essentially an otfei mg ol lood to 
the l lOvis The aumiras \\ i-re i hunted to 
the iii^ ompaihineut < it pom irig ol ghee 
in the lire 

«. >ne ouild argue iiisbbahh . ihai 
there are basu al!\ rennet: s ( , what is 
the ’1 1 : M I 1 urw' 

lo answer Ihai.wem :st gle th ano 
liter interesting, insight In uni hr 
\tih/ti s uti^liA I low does neij essenti- 
al sensual enjo\ ment spring forth ? 

Bharat Mum* Vibharannbluii ■ \i'i 
< run vnn/iioi/i f tn^bytittih I lanslated, it 
ionm 'It ne u emerges v\ hen e\ ei pres- 
ent and the transient emotions, pas 
sions and moods conic tch 1 his imp 
lies the interv ention ol vmu> external 
agoiu \ or sensory stimuli! 

So also is tin case with the basic M-n 
nations of taste I htlerent elements 
have to blend U>r truly savouring the 
taste Those basu taste sensations have 
lobe harmonunislv blended like 
instruments and notes m a musical 
composition to create sv.nphcmu 
melodv This we snbmi. is the 1 I N 1 1 i 
— and the quintessential fiavoui 

Fortified with this knowledge, we 
can approach the enigma ot the 
TFNT'1 1 culinary rasa I htlerent ?//x a 
reflect different moods I lbrarv works 
and artistic performances stnv e to 
evoke- and enhance -a particular 
mood Great delicacies, like all great 
works ot art. are effective mood mam 
pula tors This is more so m the case ot 



ritual, celebratory and funeral leasts 
l akr toi instance the menus prose nb 
rd tor Muliurram, which declare a 
k»?ii c (a: -a! or a voluntary forsaking 
i>t taste At the same tunc, \\ hat is 
being spread on IhcifiMiir/Jirr.nj 
should not lack m respect nor appear 
ton frugal Mu kauri uiw is m\ oked b\ 
using a white Ja^uakha'an and serving 
white sweet rue On happier occa 
sums, thea'ifNfiif VuCiii' would have 
been or anv bright ami c heerrul hue. 
ami the rue coloured 

The element ot Mm and frolic is 
incorporated m th aulhhut and nnsiu 
mw The l uc know nawabs have be- 
c ome legendary for their exploitation 
ol these two ueas l or example thoie 
was this nobleman who once mstruci- 
ed luschet *o devise a complete menu 
comprising exclusively sweets The 
v onhvlions w etc sc. clc verlv loixoi t- 
ed that m appearance the\ mimicked 
J the classic sa\ outv delicacies like 
Ki'hil* mu**, ilmn. tjiuvmu and bm/ani In 
lac t. even the serving plates were labri 
ailed with sug.ii. T hus were l lie 
guests delightfully divoiv ed' 

In A\ ur\ edic as well as Liainn texts, 
then* is >.,17 ict coi roalhon betw eer. 
c ertam foods. moods and seasons Tor 
example. x’M d/M/a «md « / ntu arc 
asociated with **? i , tog ^hunga* v>n the' 
oilier hand, hcnuwt and celebra 

te sanuog > hnngut 


The concept of guna and tahxvroi 
various ingredients tells us that there 
are inherent properties * /hu h can 
accentuate or mitigate the effects of 
seasons and mediate moods 

From this we can cone hide that to 
enhance culinary pleasure, the basic 
flavours and the different tasas have to 
be blended appropriately — or fused , 
if you please. I his is the TUN 11 1 raw. 
The key to sublime culinary pleasure 
— cmatul or bliss - - is fusion 

The first tentative steps toward this 
raw were taken m when we start- 
ed to work on what we called one 
spice cooking Before von get the 
wrong impression, let us hasten to 
add that this did not mean that we 
used only 'one spice’. In tact, there was 
no change in the cooking technique 
We used all the spices that went into 
providing body to a gravy, but m v.arc- 
iullv measured quantities tor hannuni- 
ous balance The delicacy was 'fim 
shed' with one-spice'. In rhis case, an 
aromatic spice sensitively selected to 
enhance the flavour ot the dish m ques- 
tion. that took the place ot the until- 
then ubiquitous ya mm masuin 

The repeated use ot gamut tntisala at 
the beginning, the end and on ev er\ 
occasion in between, was jettisoned 
More important, we started plating 
the food with an assortment ot vegeta- 
bles and Iruits to provide roughage 
Needless to sa\ . the vegetables weie 
usually tossed and seasoned with a 
complimentar\ , airomath spice-- 
not a melting c of spues T his, we felt, 
would provide balance 'I lu* reason 
toi plating tood was to bring about the 
hither ti » hidden beaut\ ot the cuisine 
i*t the subcontinent and to make Indi- 
an cuisine imiversalh appealing This 
fusion - that is what we called it and 
many a senior c he! subsequently clim- 
bed on u> the band w agon - propelled 
an Indian chet loth* semi-finals ot the 
C ulmarv Oh in pics 

i<aw } u:ii>» round its nutiein 1^1 
w hen we did our first dinner in Singa- 
pore lor the l lome Nursing Founda- 
non, the l ronCTtv s leading charity 
The Singaporeans were astonished to 
encounter tastiei — road that as subtly 
spued - and attracts Indian food 
l vci miuc th«-\ ha\ e become adduti'd 
to the vximdeisot India's culinary art 
i he Tcumdation has inv ited m* ever \ 
war since to sluuvcase Mrs:a«; c Uimuc- 
I to i ojupieme:.* the v has it v ■■ .emuai 
1 I'xhibuon v uir. -.'ic ot th* icwellen 
eoltec turns 

l Ins u'*.pon‘*e and success h is 

encouraged us to think that in the* near 
tutuu the I i/Miv, is set to umque r 
the global pa la te ■ 




- - st 

rocus 

WHERE DO WE GO 

TOPLAY? 

77m c?yis repeated in Calcutta . Bombay and Delhi, as children find 
Jewer and fewer playgrounds available to them 


W hen the bell rings to 

announce lunch-time in 
Calcutta's South Point 
school, seven-year old 
Aditya Chatterjee doesn't rush out on 
the lawns to play catch with his 
friends No, it's not that Aditva isn't 
fond of games, or that he doesn't have 
any friends. The sad truth is that his 
school — among the best in Calcutta 
—doesn't have a garden that Aditva 
can play in. 

Aditya's parents are planning to 
shift him to a 'greener' school, but not 


many children in Calcutta have that 
option available to them. I Viva, tor 
instance, a 14-vear-old student from 
Patha Bhavan, which has small clav 
courts rather than a proper play- 
ground for its students. "I w'ould have 
left and joined another school it 1 
could/' admits IViva ruefully. "But 
it's too late now " 

Children in such other metros and 
Delhi and Bombay a rein much the 
same predicament. In Bombay, ioi 
example, the rules ot the municipal 
corporation stipulate that for every 


Some parts of Delhi have good recreational facilities 


school that comes up in Bombay, there 
should bo a playground in the vici- 
nity. But according to Alex Vaz, secre- 
tary of the Bombay School Sports asso- 
ciation , of the 250 schools affiliated to 
lus association, only five per cent have 
their own playgrounds. And with the 
pressure on real estate being what it is 
in Bombay, almost every playground 
in the city appears to be embroiled in a 
controversy as residents struggle to 
protect it from builders. 

In Delhi, the situation is slightly bet- 
ter- but only slightly According to 





Playgrounds a must in Delhi's civic rules 

Professor S.C. Gupta of the depart | 

ment of urban planning at the School » 
of Planning and Architecture in Delhi, 
after 1962 a layout plan for a colony 
was only approved if it provided for 
9.55 square meter space per person for 
facilities for health, education and 
recreation. Of this, five square meters 
was to be left for open spaces. Similar- 
ly for schools, building plans were 
approved only if they set aside 50 per 
cent of the total area for playgrounds. 

Thus, such colonies in Delhi as Vas- 
ant Vihar, Sunder Nagar, Rajinder 
Nagar and Patel Nagar have adequate 
facilities for children to play. But such 
areas as Hauz Khas, South Extension 
and Green Park, which were either 
developed before 1962 or by private 
parties, the situation is much worse 

It's not as if Bombay doesn't have 
such rules also. According to the city 's 
development control rules, formulat- 
ed in 1991, 15 per cent of the land 
should be reserved as open space in 
plots between 1 ,000 and 2.5(H) square 
meters. And 20 per cent of the land is 
to be set aside for open space in plots 
between 2,500 and 10,000 square 
meters. In areas above 10,000 square 
meters the proportion of open space to 
be reserved is 25 per cent. 

But over the years, land set aside for 


playgrounds has been dereserv rd to 
accommodate more bu i Id mgs Rest uir- 
ceful residents have, therefore, tried to 
develop little playgrounds within the 
society, by putting in a sladder, a see- 
saw or even a swing in the compound 
so that children don't remain i ooped 
up at home all day long Some build- 
ings in Bomba v, whu h air situated on 
busy streets, have even developed ter- 
race playgrounds toi the children ot 
residents 

I n Calcutta, only o per vent of the 
city's land area comprises open 
spaces, even though av voiding to the 
rules of town planning every v it\ 
needs at least 35 per vent open space 
Of thisb percent, the Maidan accounts 
tor 750 acres and Dhakuna Lake and 
Subhas Sarovar make up another -130 
acres. And since most schools don't 
have a patch ot green either, children 
often have nowheie logo when thev 
want to plav 

Most parents, therefore, try and 
organise some sort of recreational faci- 
lities within the house. Rajrupa t hak- 
rabortv. for instance, who is the 
mother a three-year-old girl. 'I have 
set up a swing and some games on my 
terrace to keep my daughter busv." 
shesavs. "At least that will keep her 


awav from the television tor a tew 
hours " 

But Peepa Mukherjee. a housewife 
who liv es m Bandsrom, doesn't even 
have that option Lhe playground clos- 
es! to her house -- Ashok Lark - - has 
been handed over to a promoter, with 
just a little area reserv ed tor the annual 
Durga I’uja 

I ler outrage is shared by Nandim 
Mukherjee, a resident of a multi- 
stoned complex on Camac Street "1 
feel annoyed, agitated and \en , very 
angry," she savs. "1 have two children 
and our s is an office area So, going to 
the park means crossing innumerable 
streets, encountering heavy traffic on 
thoroughfares, and dodging endless 
pedestrians Onlv then can l reach All- 
en ( .ardens on Park Street - - which is 
touav less ot a park and more of a den 
ot the three Ps pimps, piostitutes and 
peddlers ot drugs — or Woodburn 
Park 

Bombav boasts or such amusement 
parks as Essclworld and rantasyland 
But these are not ically a viable alterna- 
tive to playgrounds as most middle- 
class parents can ill af lord the cost of 
visiting them regularly The entrance 
ticket to Esselw'orld. for instance, is 
Ks 125 for an adult and Rs 100 for a 
child 


11 





Bombay’s Esselworid: Costly amusement 

"Besides/' says Alka Mara the, a 
working mother, "the cosl of simply 
getting there is very high as it is on the 
other end of the city and one has to use 
every method of transport — train, 
bus and boat — to get there. Just the 
journey itself takes half the day. Then, 
you're not allowed to take food inside 
and everything in the shops there is 
priced two or three times above the 
market rate A single trip to Essel- 
worid ends up costing me Rs 2,000 for 
four, and 1 can't think of going there 
more than twice a year " 


And anyway, amusement parks are 
not really an alternative to large open 
spaces where children can play 
cricket, rootball, volleyball or just run 
around. "Ideally/' says urban planner 
Narendra Panjwani, "about 20 to 25 
per cent of the area of a settlement 
should be open space." In other 
words, for an area housing 10,000 to 
20,(X)0 people there should be at least 
one open space ol around 5,000 to 
10,000 square feet 

While it mav not be possible to pt^ 
aside 20 per cent for open space in a 


city like Bombay, at least ] 0 per cent of 
the area should be reserved. Former 
municipal commissioner of the city, 
J.B. D'Souza agrees: "The number of 
playgrounds in our cities is not even 
one-fourth of what they ought to be." 

Even in Delhi, where most colonies 
have a playground, these spaces are 
otten encroached upon by slum dwel- 
lers. And residents of the colony have 
taken to using them to hold wedding 
receptions, fagravs, fairs, exhibitions 
and the like, leaving the kids with no 
place to go. 

Some bodies like the Municipal Cor- 
poration of Delhi (MCD) have now 
come up with schemes to get the resi- 
dents involved in the maintenance of 
neighbourhood parks. According to 
director, horticulture. MCD, D P. 
Singh, the corporation has come up 
with the 'Adopt a park and road 
verge' scheme. Under this, private 
bodies, corporate concerns and resi- 
dents' welfare associations adopt par- 
ticular parks in their area and main- 
tain and beautify them. 

This scheme has been particularly 
successful in such areas as Lajpat 
Nagar, Kalkaji and South Extension in 
south Delhi, where residents have poo- 
led in as much as Rs 2,00,000 for main- 
tenance ot the grounds and for keep- 
ing them out i*t the bounds of marna- 


A playground in Chinchpokli, Bombay 



12 



ge parties and jn grans. 



I n Bombay, too, there are some areas 
where the 20 per cent open space 
requirement is fulfilled. Five Gardens 
m Matunga, for instance, where the 
residents have do-grassed the gardens 
and use them as playgrounds instead. 
Suburbs like Bandra, too, have some 
amount of green spaces In Malad, 
however, the problem of finding open 
space is acute as it is in Mankhurd, 
where the only playground was sold 
off to real estate developers late last 
year. 

The Bombay Municipal Corpora- 
tion (BMC) maintains 199 play- 
grounds and 424 gardens in the city. 
But most of the time, says Alex Vaz, 
they are let out to circuses, fairs, wedd- 
ing parties or used for commercial acti- 
vities. "In fact," says Vaz, "not even 10 
per cent of these playgrounds are even 
open to the public as they are being 
leased out all the time.*' 

According to Panjwani, large 
grounds and sports complexes are not 
that good an idea. In Andheri, for 
instance- the mammoth Sports Munici- 
pal Complex that was set up on prime 
land at the cost of crores ot rupees, 
new seems to be only used for holding 
beauty contests, dance competitions 
and weddings Only the swimming 
pool ot the complex is available to 
members while Lho vast stadium I it's 
empty when there is no commercial 
activity in progress. 

On the other hand, Maharashtra 
chief minister Manohar Joshi has 
announced that from now on no com- 
meicial activity of any kind will be 
allowed on Shiva|i Park m Dadar. The 
ground wiP only be used for sports 
events and public meetings. 

Chatrabhui Narsee, who began a 
'Save Our Parks' campaign m the city 
five years ago after a playground in 
the vicinity of lamnabai Narsee 
School, run by his family, came under 
threat, agrees that sports complexes 
are not a viable alternative "Play- 
grounds are the best form of recreatio- 
nal space for children," he says, 
adding, 'The only maintenance they 
need is a few truckloads of mud after 
the monsoons. But the municipal cor- 
poration is not willing to do even that." 

"Open spaces should be maintain- 
ed as open spaces," says former Test 
cricketer Dilip Vengsarkar. "No con- 
struction should be allowed on them." 
Vengsarkar himself was involved in a 
controversy the year before last when 
he tned to set up a cricket academy on 
a portion of the Oval Maidan. The aca- 
demy has been functioning since Octo- 


ber this year, and Vengsarkar points 
out, "We have not taken over the enti- 
re Oval Maidan. Everybody is free to 
play there " 

But maintenance of these grounds is 
often a major problem. Vengsarkar 
has tned to combat the problem of 
encroachment in his portion of the 
Oval Maidan by employing guards, 
but the BMC hasn't followed suit. In 
fact, a number of illegal structures 
have come up in Azad Maidan, oppo- 
site the BMC headquarters, but even 
then the corporation is unmoved 

This indifference has meant that par- 
ks often prove to be a nuisance rather 
than a boon to residents and passers- 
by. They are often frequented by drug- 
peddlers and prostitutes and double 
as public toilets. "It is impossible for a 
woman to walk safely across one of 
these maidans," says Vaz. He draws 
particular attention to the Vallabh 
Bhai Patel Stadium, "where no decent 
person can go as he is bound to be rob- 
bed or even killed" 

Stray dogs that wander m also pose 
a hazard to schoolchildren. "I remem- 
ber how a schoolboy was bitten by a 
dog on one of my grounds and the 


BMC official just threw his hands up 
and said that there was nothing that 
he could do, ' remembers an indign- 
ant Vaz 

In Delhi, too, such big open area*' as 
Subhash Park and Qudsia Park in 
North Delhi and Queen's Park in Cen- 
tral Delhi, have been lost to the public 
And with the demise of neighbour- 
hood parks as well, says Dr Aruna 
Broota, noted clinical psychologist, 
children no longer have a place where 
they can develop social skills, learn to 
win and lose, or even just run wild 

According to Dr Broota, this is a 
dangerous development as children 
who are deprived of social interaction 
often begin to show signs of delinqu- 
ent behaviour. And in extreme cases, 
the games of the playground are 
replaced by alcoholism, theft, drug 
use and vandalism. 

Surely, it is much easier to replace 
the playgrounds than to deal with the 
consequences of their demise 

Reported by Vaishali Honawar 
in Bombay, Geeta Sharma in 
Delhi andTrina Mukherjee 
in Calcutta 


u 



RIBUTE 

MUSIC WAS HIS MISSION 

The Pandit Ravi Kichlu Foundation , in memory of the great vocalist, held the 
second Golden Talent Contest recently to scout for new talent 


H e was a man of 
coiwictions; 
h unrole and 
unassuming; 
uncompromising on his 
ideals and music was his 
life. And love; music in its 
most pure and classical 
form. That was Pandit Ravi 
Kichlu, the doyen ot the 
fabled Agra gharam 
An exceptional blend of 
a versatile vocalist — he 
was at ease singing anyth- 



ing from iihrupad , tlhamar , 
khayal. thumri.^hiizal to 
Bengali ru$pi oillum and 
Rtibitiiitn^nji^rrt; an outstan- 
ding sportsman — he excel- 
led as a state-level cricketer 
- - and a wonderful person. 

Pandit Kichlu, who had 
madenuisK his life's mis- 
sion, was just not happv in 
exploring the diverse facets 
of 1 hndustani classical and 
semi -classical music 1 ie 
wanted to discover and cie- 
ate new masters who 
would carry on the tradi- 
tion of classical music 

But as destiny would 
have it. Pandit Kichlu pass- 
ed away, his dreams 
unrealised. It was left to 
wife Veena Kichlu to give 
shape to Pandit// s grand 
\ jsum of spearheading a 
movement as it weie for 
classical music. The Pandit 


Ravi Kichlu Foundation 
was formed m I C W4 to sc out 
tor new talent and also to 
promote them, specially 
those hom less privileged 
backgrounds 

"When you are an u^huiil 
the world is at vour teet 
But to reat h that level of 
professional excellence vou 
noed*a torum, which is 
what Pandit Kichlu wanted 
to provide to aspiring 
singers." elucidates Veena 
Kichlu 

Spurred by the overwhel- 
ming response to their first 
talent hunt contest, the 
RKF organised their 
sec ond Go Id en Silent Cont- 
est on Deu'mbei 25, 1^5 
I December 25 being Pandit 
kirhlu's birth anniversary) 
at theCi D. Birla Sabhaghar 
where participants perfor- 
med before an nu lied audi- 


SPONSORED BY 


Mi 


A participant at the Golden Talent Contest; (insetfPandit Ravi Kichlu 


enee and a panel of eminent 
classical gurus like Girija 
Devi, V.G. Jog, Hari Prasad 
Chaurasia, Rais Khan and 
|oya Biswas 

"I was really touched by 
the patienc e of the judges/' 
recalls Veena Kichlu, "here 
they were sitting in the 
auditorium for six hours 
every day during the four- 
day contest screening each 
participant " 

This year the focus of the 
contest was instrumental 
classical music. Divided 
into two categories A and B 
tor seniors and juniors, it 
was a tough proposition 
selec ting the winner as 
Vver \ one was so very 
good'' Fou rleer. ■ vear-old 
Samanav Sarkar (sitar) wal- 
ked away with the laurels 
in the |unior section while 
Purba v an C hatterjee (silar, 
again) bagged the best 
pn/e in thf senior category 

RKF has much to thank 
The Gi amaphone Compa- 
ny of India Limited for, it 
provided tree cassettes to 
thi* candidates The Foun- 
dation al -.cl awards a two- 
vear scholarship worth Rs 
5,000 annually to the win- 
ner. "1 know that's a drop 
in the ocean," says son Nee 
raj Kichlu, "but at least it 
will give him some support 
and incentive " 

Pandit Kichlu firmly 
believed, despite the gene- 
ral loss of interest in classi- 
cal music, that enough tal- 
ent lay untapped in the 
younger generation which 
needed to be nurtured and 
projected. And the RKF in 
its own humble way is try- 
ing to fulfil this dream of 
his. 

Susmita Banerjee 



















XUU1 


t >w 


■NNEREYE 


Acc No.M&M....D*tc bhjan daruwalla 



i 


Aries 

March 21 - April 20 

Gaiu'sha says the 
full moon focalises 
the domestic scene. 
At the same time, 
you will be working your 
near! out for rewards and 
success These should be 
forthcoming before January's 
close, so work with a will/ 
January 8-9 will be important 
for personal work, as well as 
professional headway 

Taurus 

April 21 —May 20 

The right time to 
reach out to people 
and places by all 
possible media of 
transport and communication 
You will be inspired to give 
your best. That will load to 
glory and jov, thus fulfilling 
vou January 10-12 is the tune 
to start important ventures, 
enterprises, trips and deals 
Make the most of it 

Gemini 

May 21 — June 20 

The spotlight will be 
on finance and 
family ( .el set to 
tiavel Poexpeit 
plenty ot commuting and 
movement this week, and 
even more so, the next 27 
days Jt would be the right 
thing lu apply vour shouldci 
to the wheel. Visitors, 
foreigners and friends do 
descend on vou 


ividy c. i — 



HBj 


Cancer 

June 21 — July 20 

True, there could be 
some opposition 
True also, you will 
J overcome it, or 
circumvent it, get round it, 
and thus win tne game Yes, 
you will be very much belore 
the public eye and image 
Romance is your birthright 
and you shall grab it in 
happy abundance* Home 
affairs keep you spinning 

Leo 

July 21 — August 21 

” 1 So much to do and 
so little to do it in. 

| that you will have to 
j hurry your strokes 
unite a bit liven in the home, 
the pace will be quite hectic, 
tempers and nerves ruffled In 
all fairness, you will bi very 
creative in vour work and pro- 
ductivity will be awesome 
Also you will manage with 
aplomb 

Virgo 

August 22 — September 22 

! Important decisions 
! will be taken and 
moves will be made 
These will have a 
iiappv spin -oft. therefore, vou 
won't regiet it This is the 
light time for romance, 
begetting children, being 
creative and different, because 
vou will blond bcautitulK 
intuition and imagination 
1 lobbies get a fillip 





Libra 

September 23 — October 22 
It is verv clearly 
action time, justice 
time; time to set the 
record straight; time 
to get what you want \ou 
will be pulling out all the 
stops 

Renova turn / decoration/ altera 
tion/installation of gadgets 
and accessories is a distinct 
possibility January 7-9, 12-13 
should have prime value 

io 

I — November 22 
Contacts, contracts, 
deeds, documents, 
tenders, letters, rails, 
lax, ads, these get 
fully activated because ot your 
compelling needs and 
requirements Heavy demands 
will be made on your time and 
energy, and wallet too Vou will 
respond superbly You will 
lATbnnlv love and at the same 
tune be cherished 

Sagittarius 

November 23 — ■ December 20 
'i Mars Uranus 

conjuni tion gives a 
rocket thrust to vour 
finances, business, 
sales techniques, 
computerisation and 
automation techniques 
because Uranus symbolises all 
ot these The energy ot Mars 
makes it veiy productive 
Finances and deals complete 
the scene tor vou 



BIRTHDAYS 


Capricorn 

December 21 — January 19 
Ganesha says sun- 
Jupiter-Uranus trio 
gives a cutting edge 
over others in terms 
of romance, confidence, 
promotion and most 
importantly, sheer capacity for 
happiness Sou should be able 
j to pulverise the opposition, 
i gain your end, get money, be 
j family oriented and achieve 
i success. 



i Aquarius 

| January 20 — February 10 
1 Uranus enters vour 

j I dWHE ’i S1 8 n from January 
i 1 Wgt 1 3, therefore, you 
j L3 KLj will sense the strong 
! originality and humour associ- 
i ated with it, from the next 
I month lourney, confidence, 

! beiidth of vision, desire to take 
i risks and move house will be 
i m sharp evidence Personal 
i progress is also envisaged this 
! week 



Pisces 

February 19 — March 20 

Children, romance, 
k housing and moving, 
keep vou on vour 

toes 19% is very 

dearly tor new otters, perks, 
promotion and more 
responsibilities lanuary shows 
the wav and therefore it is 
doubly important Finances 
and health show' ail upward 
graph and that is cause enough 
for elation 


JUMU&ty While you will have to struggle and face flak 
you will have the spirit to overcome, because of the excellent 
moon-Piuto fomiktion. „ 

January $ Mars-Uranus conjunction will be noteworthy for 
the forward thrust it gives to your entire life, fleasing results 
1 tti&bti felt In property matters. 

JfcttttUtiyto Moon^upiter trine makes you enthuatatic and 
. 4ulte optimistic characteristics which will $t$nd you in good 
stead. 

Moon square Uranus signifies a certain tension 
and uneasiness which cpuld flare up, unless you consciously do 


away with it 

Ja$maty li: Mare sextile Huto helps you in all 
organisational as well as creative matters, thus guaranteeing an 
almost unlimited arsenal of good fortune, Even confirmed 
bachelors mav marry. 

Jamuuyli: Moon trine Mercury means excellent going for 
salesmen, editors, sailors, pilots, executives, musicians and 
singers. Yes, it does mean success in general 
Jammryti: Moon-Saturti trine leads to journey, ceremony, 
partnerships at all levels, tremendous intuitive and psychic 
abilities, says Ganesha. ^ ' t 



tit 



f in m f f d j j I : 


MuHi>Pni in I Hi d hj 


, >Uj[ SlJH^nd ?? .V (v’JUt Jl)ld JlA 


rll.midll/ jdJ'iJldV! I Vdld 1)1 j M LL’ Ji >M ^ cIllD clones. 




A jewel o\ jewels 





15 







T mMmmwms*-- 

IME TABLE 


All arrival and departure times are for Calcutta 

toys or Bl ing Triay cods: ® MONDAY ® TUESDAY ® WEDNESDAY ® THURSDAY ® FRIDAY ® SATURDAY @ SUNDAY 




■‘V « 

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Departures 

Arrivals 


Fit No. Time Days 

Fit No. 

Time 

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16 



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Fit No. 

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Tarom Air Transport • $2 Sahara India Airlines • SQ Singapore Airlines • SU Aeroflot • 4S East West Airlines • TG Thai Airways International • 9W Jet Airways 


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Poona' (Now Delhi) Boms •. v.i..h.im 
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Poorvs (New DelhQ Express .<1 »\<:iv 

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‘VI W. n ■' r :j* -r * : !C 

Rajdhanl Express . .1 .1 w.i 

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Am V ji: 1 m* ’ r.* : • • r ! A ’.nr. 

Rajctanl Express . '*'.1 

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Jodhpur Express 

Slwtobd (Bokaro Stnl City) Express 

>!» A A i' l •. i-pi l i!i, r ,'H,' 

Hbnolil (Jammu-Tawl) Egress i> y 

1 Vi l'ir' r :• 3 . :».(• Am fci ' VV« 

GwahsU Express 

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Gorakhpur Express 
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rumncnw (boreunpurj express 
m r A Am iUi Mur Va-: J A \ . 

Doon Emress t..i Gvi f 
Udyan Abba Tootan Boreas «i> r/.i c . n. 
Amritsar Express 
Ktihgodren Express 
Mflrea (Rraun Bipreas 
Kamn^^GuMrall) Express 


Danapur Exp 
Jamalpur Bq 

oamnauan opisi 

Chamhai (GweHor) B 

f ifijj Men Ilf <5 fliui . An \!-:u ’ni,[ 5 A h 

Shlpre (Indore) B^rasa 

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Shakttounl (Chooan) Exoraas 

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Ljep hnday Ar Tut'Sday 

Sealdah 


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Kiirta Bqxeas ; .. 

Coromandel (Madras) Express .*.« i.«3^ » 
Fiitaknums (Secundsrabaa) Express 

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Bang^ore Express 

"i* -I 1 1* 1 Jy 

Tali Steel Express 
taat (Jharauguda) Express 

Tliln nirfi r- 

express 

nsncfu ra express 
Puri Express . /.i*. r 

.laganralh (Puri) B^ress 
Dheull (Bhubsnasear) Express 
East Coast (Hydarabed) Express 
Puralla Express 

■■1 1 » ■ 3i >'M« 

Bhubmww-Nsw DalN Ra)dhsnl Express 

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ENQURIES: For round the dock Intormrton of I 

Ea stern Ralhrty trains, please dW 2209646-54 tor In-oomlno I 
44 tor all otter Information. For Intomndon about raaarmtions 
Rrt way and Soutt-Eaatam Mtwey tralrm. dial 22Q940MS00 (from 8 am to 
B pm on w m akrt ya and r 
In addtton, dial 1331 
dlna train operations) are 
at Saaldah: 350^536-37. 


id 8 am to 2 pm on Sundays and gnattad holldqm)- 
(tor recorded to tomaflon on train njndno). 191 (repar 
and 135 (regretllng resareationa). Train aarvlca enquiry 


17 



The Last Bout 


H Fame has but a 
fleeting hold on 
the reins m our 
fast-paced 
society; so many 
of yesterday's 
heroes crumble 
Shortly after 

my return from England, I was wal- 
king down the mam road of my old 
home town of Dehra, gazing at the 
shops and passersby to see what 
changes, if any, had taken place 
during my absence. 1 had been 
away three years. Still a boy when I j 
went abroad, I was 21 when I retur- j 
ned with some mediocre quahfica- | 
tions to flaunt in the faces of my 
envious friends. (1 did not tell them 
of the loneliness of those years in 
exile; it would not have impressed 
them). I was nearing the clock 
tower when I met a beggar coming 
from the opposite direction In one* 
respect, Dehi 3 had not changed 
The beggars were as numerous as 
ever, though I must admit they 
looked healthier. 

This beggar had a stiagglmg 
beard, a hunch, a cavernous chest, 
and unsteady legs on which a num- 
ber of purple sores were festering 
His shoulders looked as though 
they had once been powerful, and 
his hands thrustmg a begging- 
bowl at me, were still strong. 

He did not seem sufficiently 
decrepit to deserve of my charity, 
and 1 was turning away when l 
thought I discerned a gleam ot reco- 
gnition in his eyes. There was some- 
thing slightly familiar about the 
man; perhaps he was a beggar who 
remembered me from earlier years. 

He was even attempting a smile: 
showing me a few b. en yellow 

fangs; and to get away irom him, J 
produced a coin, dropped it in his 
bowl, and hurried away 

1 had gone about a 1 00 yards 
when, with a rush ot memory, l 
knew the identity ot the beggar He 
was the hero of my childhood, Has- 
san, the most magniticienl wrestler 
in the entire district. 

I turned and retraced my steps. 


half hoping I wouldn't be able to 
catch up with the man; and he had 
indeed been lost in the bazaar 
crowd Well, 1 would doubtless be 
confronted by him again in a day or 
two... Leaving the road, 1 went into 
the municipal gardens and stretch- 
ing myself out in the fresh green 
February grass, allowed my memo- 
ry to journey back to the days when 
1 was a bov of 10, full of health and 
optimism, when my wonder at the 
great game ol living had yet to give 
w, 4 y to disillusionments at its 
shabbiness 

On those precious days when I 
played truant from school — and 1 
would have learnt mote had I play- 
ed truant more often — I would 
sometimes make mv way to the 
aUuna at the corner of the gardens 
to watch the wrestling-pit My chin 
cupped m mv hands, 1 would lean 
against a railing and gaze in awe at 
their rippling muscles, applauding 
with other watchers whenever one 
of the wrestlers made a particularly 
cle\ or move or pinned an oppon- 
ent down on his hack 

Amongst these wrestlers the 
most impressive and engaging 
young man was Hassan, the son of 
a kite-maker. 1 le had a magmhci- 
ent build, with great wide 
shoulders and powerful legs, and 
w hat he lacked m skill he made up 
for in sheer animal strength and 
vigour The idol of all small boys. 


he was followed about by large 
numbers of us, and I was a particu- 
lar favourite of his. He would offer 
to lift me on to his shoulders and 
carry me across the akhara to intro- 
duce me to his friends and fellow 
wrestlers 

From bring Dehra's champion, 

1 iassan soon became the outstand- 
ing representative of his art in the 
entire district His technique 
improved, he began using his bram 
in addition to Mis brawm, and it was 
said by everyone that he had the 
making of a national champion. 

It was during a large fair towar- 
ds the end of the rams that destiny 
took a hand in the shaping of his 
life. The Rani was visiting 

the fair, and she stopped to watch 
the wrestling bouts When she saw' 
Hassan stripped, and m the ring, 
she began to take more than a 
casual interest m him It had been 
said that she was a woman of a pas 
sionateand amoral nature, who 
could not be satisfied by her weak 
and ailing husband She was struck 
bv Nassau's perfect manhood, and 
through an official offered him the 
post of her personal bodyguard 

The Ram was rich and, in spile of 
having passed her fortieth sum- 
mer, was a warm and attractive 
woman 1 Iassan did not find it diffi- 
cult to make love according to bid- 
ding, and on the whole he w r as 
huppy in her service True, he did 




not wrestle as often as in the past; 
but when he did enter a competi- 
tion, his reputation and his 
physique combined to overawe his 
opponents, and they did not put up 
much resistance. One or two well 
known wrestlers were invited to 
the district. The Rani paid them 
liberally, and they permitted Has- 
san to throw them out ot the ring. 
Life in the Rani's house was com- 
fortable and easy, and Hassan, a 
simple man, felt himself secure. 
And it is to the credit of the Rani 
(and also of Hassan) that she did 
not tire of him as quickly as she had 
ot others. 

But Ranis, like washerwomen, 
are mortal; and when a longstand- 
ing and neglected disease at last 
took its toll, robbing her at once of 
all her beauty, she no longer strug- 
gled against it, but allowed it to poi- 
son and consume her once magnifi- 
cent body - 

It would be wrong to say that 
Hassan was heart-broken when 
she died. He was not a deeply emo- 
tional or sensitive person Though 
he could attract the sympathy ol 
others, he had difficulty in produc- 
ing any of his own 1 lis was a kind- 
ly but not compassionate nature 

1 1<? had served the Ram well, and 
what he was most aware ot now 
was that he was without a job and 
without any money. The Raja had 
his own personal amusements and 
did not want a wrestler who was 
beginning to sag a little about the 
waist. 

Times had changed. Hassan' s 
father was dead, and there was no 



•• * 

Amongst these wrestlers the most impressive and 
engaging young man was Hassan, the son of a 
kite-maker. He had a magnificient build, with 
great wide shoulders and powerful legs, and 
what he lacked in skill he made up for in sheer 
animal strength and vigour 
•• 


longer a living to be had from mak- 
ing kites; so Hassan returned to 
doing what he had always done, 
wrestling. But there was no money 
to be made at the akhara . It was only 
in the professional arena that a dec- 
ent living could be made. And so, 
when a travelling circus of profes- 
sionals — a Negro, a Russian, a 
Cockney-Chinese and a gian t Sikh 
— came to town and offered a 
^hundred rupees and a contract to 
the challenger who could stay five 
minutes in the ring with any one of ' 
them, Hassan took up the 
challenge 

He was pitted against the Russi- 
an, a bear ot a man, who wore a 
black mask across his eyes, and in 
two minutes Hassan's Debra sup- 
porters saw their hero slung about 
the ring, licked in the head and 
groin, and finally flung unceremo- 
niously through the ropes. 

After this humiliation, Hassan 
did not venture into competitive 
bouts again. 1 saw him sometimes 
at the akhara , where he made a tew 
rupees giving lessons to children 
He had a paunch, and folds were 
beginning to accumulate beneath 
his chin I was no longer a small 
boy, but he always had a smile and 
a hearty back-slap reserved loi me. 

I remember seeing him a few 
days before I went abroad. He was 
moving heavily about the akhara. 
he had lost the lightning swiftness 
that had once made him invincible. 
Yes, 1 told myself 
The garlands wither an your brew. 
Then boast no more your mighty 
deeds.. 

That had been over thsee years 
ago And foi Hassan to have been 
reduced to begging was indeed a 
sad reflection of both the passing of 
time and the changing times. Fifty 
years ago a popular local wrestler 
would never have beer allowed to 


fall into a state of poverty and 
neglect. He would have been fed 
by his old friends and stones 
would hav^been told of his legen- 
dary prowess He would not have 
been forgotten But those were 
more leisurely tunes, when the indi- 
vidual had his place in the society, 
when a man was praised tor his 
past achievements and his failures 
were tolerated and forgiven. But 
life had since become fast and cruel 
and unreflecti ve, and people were 
too busy counting their gains to 
bother about the idols of their 
youth. 

It was a few days after mv last 
encounter with Hassan that I found 
a small crowd gathered at the side 
of the road, not far from the the 
clock tenver They were staring 
impassively at something in the 
drain, at the same time keeping r. 
discreet distance Joining the 
group, I saw that the object of their 
disinterested curiosity was a corp- 
se, its head hidden under the 
culvert, legs protruding into the 
open drain. It looked as though the 
man had crawled into the drain to 
die, and had done so with his head 
m the culvert so the world would 
not witness Iih last unavailing 
struggle 

When the municipal workers 
came in their van, and lifted the 
bod v out ot the gutter, a cloud of 
flies and bluebottles rose trom the 
corpse with an angry bu// ot pro- 
test The lace was muddv, but 1 reco- 
gnised the beggai who was Hassan. 

In a way, it was a consolation to 
know that he had been forgotten, 
that no one present could recognise 
the remains ot the man who had 
once looked like a young Clod I did 
not come forward to identify the 
body Perhaps 1 saved Hassan from 
one final humiliation 
(Sanctuary Features) 


19 



4&ILLIAM WRIGHT'S COLUMN ~ ” 

Other Side of Paradise 


How 
many 
victims 
have 
you 
read 
about 
in the 

papers f iday' > Generali v. 
we just read about them 
We don't come face to face 
with them. We ccrtainlv 
don't expect them to make 
us laugh or to learn about 
ourselves, although that 
might come in useful 
Because sooner or later, in 
some way or the other, we 
otten become victims 
ourselves 

Last week. 1 was given a 
book about a woman who 
was stabbed 33 times and 
lived 1 must say 1 didn't 
much fancy funding it But 
when I did, I put it down 
only to eat. The book was A 
Stranger in Parailw by Julie 
Chimes. 

Julie was d young British 
woman whose partner in 
life, a doctor, attended a 
'Self-awareness' course m 
which vou understand 
yourself better by bringing 
to the suriace all kinds of 
suppressed emotions. All 
very welT. But the organi- 
sers tailed to check on the 
participants' medical histo- 
ry One participant. Helen, 
was a schizophrenic She 
decided to stop taking her 
medicine-- to take control 
of her own life as advocat- 
ed by the course. 

One dav, obviously 
unhappy and m need of 
company, she came to see 
julie, who sat her m the 
kitchen, gave her a warm 
jumper to wear and a hot 
water bottle When Julie 
went upstairs, Helen took a 
large, though rather blunt. 


carving knite from the 
kitchen drawer. Then, with 
great force, she proceeded 
to stab Julie in her chest, sto- 
mach, hands, neck and 
mouth, shouting all the 
while that she was doing so 
for God. 

Julie describes the strug- 
gle between them and it is 
not as you'd expect. Close 
to death, the overwhelm- 
ing feeling sh e had tor her 
attacker was not hate or 
tear but love and compas- 
sion. As she wavered bet- 
ween consciousness and 
unconsciousness, she felt 
herself leaving her body 
and being swept towards 
the stars and a vision of 
reality which filled her 


with joy. In the last stages 
of the flight, she 1 heard an 
inner voice giving her 
instructions on how to pro- 
tect herself and how to esca- 
pe She made it through the 
front door and down the 
drive to the road, throwing 
hersell in front of an oncom- 
ing car so that the driver 
would have to run he' over 
or stop She was wrong He 
drove round her Helen 
began to cut her throat 
Then, her jugular exposed, 
a young man passing by 
managed to disarm Helen 
and phone the police One 
police officer broke all the 


rules to get her to hospital 
in time, the hospital just 
managed to save her life. 

Until her operation, Julie 
was conscious. She remem- 
bers very well the constable 
and crowd that gathered 
around her as she lay in the 
road and addressed them 
in her book: "Dear Police- 
man, 1 know that 1 probab- 
ly looked and felt dead to 
you, but the fact of the mat- 
ter is, I was still alive Tell- 
ing the gathered congrega- 
tion, 'she 's a gonna' did 
nothing to motivate them, 
or me, into the urgent 
action required to save my 
life .. " 

"Dear Crowd of 
Onlookers, 


Whichever one of vou it 
was who told me l he ambu- 
lan res were on strike — 
thanks a bundle . As *or 
the man vx ho did not want 
to help keep me warm with 
his jacket as 'the blood 
might ruin it', I promise I 
would have bought you a 
new one .. " 

This victim's guidelines 
for potential A O S ( Acci- 
dent On lookers) are as fol- 
lows: "Dvmg people are 
not usually deaf. Dying 
people are not always 
going to die — and even if 
they do, they are not as 


dead as you may think they 
are. Don't tell them anyth- 
ing negative. Be gentle and 
loving. And lastly.. . if you 
cannot help... then f . !" 

Throughout, Julie kept 
her sense of humour. She 
can really make vou laugh 
in her darkest hour, and 
make you reconsider how 
you deal with the sick 

The inner voice she 
heard did not desert her, 
either then or in hospital or 
during the period of shock 
when she was trying to 
reorder her life and dis - 
cover what really matte- 
red. It kept urging her to 
reflect, and she found that 
being a victim was also a 
state of mind At the end ot 
the book she compares the 
journey through life to a 
train journey m which she 
had been travelling in the 
"lite's not fair carriage" 

She began to explore the 
whole tram and to apprecia- 
te ihe greatness of the jour- 
ney. She was filled with gra- 
titude that, as she says, "the 
heart of me is the same as 
everyone else" 

She suffered immense 
pain and lost a lot ot blood, 
time, energy, her business, 
her money. Her solicitor 
was an alcoholic and botch- 
ed up her compensation 
case She wasn't insured. 

\ ler attacker never stood 
trial due to insanity. But 
hers j.s an inspiring story 
because of the extent to 
which she was able to use 
even this experience to 
grow' In the balance, her 
own opinion is that she gai- 
ned more than she lost. 

(A Stranger m Pnrrfi.se, by 
Julie Bloomsbury Publi- 
shers, London; 1 995, £ 
16.99.) 

(Sanctuary Feature*) 



— 

‘Dying people are not usually deaf. 
Dying people are not always going to 
die, and even if they do, they are not as 
dead as you may think they are’ 

•• 


JUNIOR WHIRL HAL KAUFMAN 



BOUND TO WINI Just one of four skiers above makes it to the finish 
Une (in a fairly straight run) Which skier? 


NAME GAME! Replace one letter in each word to form the 
name of another animal 1 Cat 2 Dog 3 Mule 4 Moose 5 
Monkey No fair peeking below. 

)i op him Aeiiuoa $ Bsnom y won c &°H £ jbh i 


HOCUS-FOCUS 




CAN YOU TRUST YOUR EYES? There are at least six differ- 
ences in drawing details between top and bottom panels How 
quickly can you find them? Check answers with those below 

Sunsiui si ieia g luejojjip si oinpu $ tuejogip sjb sioog > poAoui 
8| euepuve C Ou|ss|Ui si ipodipeg z Ouissiui s» eoeidiea \ S30N3U3ddlG 



1. RAN 
1 RAN _ 

3. RAN 

4. RAN 

5. RAN 

6. RAN 


FOUR-A WORDS TO PONDER 

LET'S spy if vnu can njn out these 
KAN wordb Beginning with the 
word RAN, add a letter in I'.ich step 
Lo form a new word in <uiord with 
the following definitions 

1 Completed m a race (ran in a 
place) 

2. Military status 

3. "Meanwhile, back at the " 

4. National Park employee. 

5- Pillage a place When fini- 
shed, see if you can make up .mu 
therlistot KAN words 

‘I une limit 2 minutes 


\|uui|>uv)| ^ 

V(*u»*h i JrfSlUCM | M’lif'h k t|upm 7 ur>i r 


SQAURE DEAL! Rules for 
scoring m this target- 
shooting contest call tor each 
set of four small circles that 
form a square (note two 
examples indicated by bull's 
eyes) 

Squares may be varying 
sizes, spread among the 2P 
small circles shown. 

Just lor fun, see if von can 
determint 1 how many diiter 
enf ways there are of forming 
such squares 

Hint- Look tor more than 


FUNSPOT 



SPELLBINDER 


SCORE 10 points for using all the 
letters m the word below io form 
two complete words 

UNDERDOG 


THEN score 2 points each for all 
words of four letters or more 
found among the letters 

Try to score at least 90 points. 
Baip opun sujosomi ftiQiSSOd 












wmtmum 

V OMICS 











I 













OTRACT 

The 


HONEYMOON 



BY 

neetaRaheja 

AND 

ADBHWARPURI 



Extracted from 
How to Arrange a 
Wedding 'the 
Complete Marriage 
Manual by 
Neeta Raheja and 
Adishwar Puri; 
UBSPRRs 150 


he word 'honeymoon' is derived from 
the German word, fUtterutochen, which 
literally means 'tinsel weeks', a time 
for glitter! 

The honeymoon is a post-nuptial 
event that has survived from the days 
when many a bride was kidnapped by 
the groom who was disguised and car- 
ried off to a secret hiding place to 
avoid the wrath of her father. With the 
passage of time, the couple sought a 
reconciliation with the bride's father 
by wooing him with dazzling gifts! 

The traditional reason for embark- 
ing upon a honeymoon was that 
because of the waning nature of the 
passion of newly weds, like the 'wan- 
ing moon', a time should have to be set 
aside for the couple to have complete 
privacy. This is a time, not only for 
uninhibited romance but also tor soli- 
tude, relaxation and an escape to a 
place of their choice, out of reach of 
intruding, if well-meaning, family 
members and friends. 

In India where a majority of wedd- 
ings are still 'arranged', a honeymoon 
provides an opportunity for the 
couple to get to know each other, 
understand each other, and explore 
each other's needs and desires. 

Every newly married couple knows 
that the essence of a honeymoon is pri- 
vacy. When away from family and 
friends, the partners have time to 
know more about each other and 
enjoy each other's company. 

Plan your honeymoon so that you 
can visit your 'dream vacation spot' at 
the best time of the year. Dedde where 
you want to go and make sure that the 
climate will be what you want it to be, 
or your 'ideal honeymoon' may end 
up being a miserable mistake! 

Some newly weds do not consider 
anything but an immediate 
honeymoon. They may be more 
romantic but less practical. If you 
want to take off right after the wedd- 
ing tor the honeymoon of your 
dreams, you would have to plan your 
wedding and honeymoon dates care- 
fully, so that everything goes off 
smoothly. It takes meticulous plann- 


ing to have an evening wedding and 
then catch a flight for your 
honeymoon the following morning! 
You don't always need to rush from 
the wedding mandap directly to the 
railway station or airport! An ideal 
wedding deserves an ideal 
honeymoon. 

Planning Your Ideal Honeymoon 

A \T^ e pfc mnin 8 y° ur 

V V honeymoon,it is worthwhile to 
get in touch with a travel agent who 
specialises in 'honeymoon travel', and 
who can handle the entire arrange- 
ments for you. Such an agent can help 
you select the best time of the year to 
travel and offer suggestions for your 
itinerary. Your costs don't increase 






greatly by using a travel agent; their 
commissions are paid also by the airli- 
nes, hotels and so on. Their expertise 
on hotels, restaurants and available 
destinations is invaluable, and can be 
used in making a decision regarding 
the honeymoon destination. 

Would you like a tight 'schedule' 
honeymoon? Once you have selected 
your honeymoon destination, ask 
your travel agent or others about sped - 
al events that may take place when 
you plan to be there so that you can 
include them in your itinerary. It may 
be worthwhile to make tentative plans 
and reservations ahead of time so that 
you have the option to enjoy a f ull and 
busy honeymoon. 

You may, on the other hand, like a 
cosy honeymoon, preferring to relax 
and not be tied to a rigid schedule. 
After the hectic wedding preparations 
and the whirlwind activities of your 
big day, you may need a few days to 
unwind and get to know each other 
better. Make your honeymoon a time 
for solitude and total relaxation. 
Sporting/adventure honeymoon: 

The adventure lovers can 'take a 
break' away from the traditional 
honeymoon destinations and dis- 
cover romance* in an exotic place in an 
exciting way; for instance, camping in 


the wilderness, which can be a roman- 
tic, back-to-nature experience. 

In the winter, ski enthusiasts can 
enjoy their honeymoon skiing in deep 
snow. Or else, they can iceskate on a 
frozen pond or spend, the day fishing 
or trekking and then go back to their 
cabin and curl up together in front of a 
huge, crackling fire! 

For the art and gourmet enthusiasts: 
Those who prefer fine wine, 'gastrono- 
mic delights' and artistic creations to 
active sports can draw up for them- 
selves an itinerary of museums, histo- 
rical sites and gourmet restaurants. 
Got recommendations from friends, 
travel agents and travel brochures 
Plan a week of entertainment to inclu ■ 
de the theatres, museums, forts and 
palaces, wines and fine food. Schedule 
body massage for both of you to ensu- 
re complete relaxation. Indulge in the 
ultimate hedonist's honeymoon! 
Nearby getaways: Your honeymoon 
does not have to be the 'typical vac a 
tion' to a far-away destination within 
the country or overseas. There could 
be a variety of opportunities available 
in your surrounding areas, where you 
can just enjoy the pleasure of each 
other's company in a romantic setting 
and avoid the complications (and 
uncertainties) of making travel plans 



and bookings much ahead of time. 

An experience in luxury: If your 
budget permits, indulge yourself m a 
hoi id y like you see in the movies or TV 
or read about in the bonks — a fairy- 
tale honeymoon set amidst a tairy-tale 
setting. Book yourself into a contempt >- 
rary palace hotel. There are varied 
options available in India. Hotels that 
arc built in the patterns of an old hin*c\i 
(mansion) or the real 'palace hotels' 
which provide a complete medieval 
backdrop along with all the modern 
amenities to make your honeymoon 
almost too perfect to bo true! 

What to Pack For a Honeymoon? 

T his would depend on the itinerary 
that you choose and also on the 
weather. Most newly weds tend to 
overpack, as this is their first 'long 
trip' together. 

if you are going to a beach resort, 
and you plan to enjoy water sports as 
well, your luggage should consist of 
bathing suits and light summer clo- 
thing. Remember lo take along your 
mri saris and suits in case you have to 
attend evening entertainment pro- 
grammes or formal dinners. 

For a honeymoon to the hills (say 
Kullu-Manali) where the climate is 
markedly colder, you'll have to he pre- 
pared for rain and snow. Con- 
sequently, heavy woolens are manda- 
tory as also socks, gloves and 
balaclavas. 

Keep your documents, medica- 
tions, jewellery, cash, traveller's 
cheques, camera and other such items 
in a carry-bag which you should keep 
with you at all times. This would be a 
safe and wise precaution; after all, you 
don’t want any frustrating mishaps to 
min your dream holiday. 

Make sure you take your camera 
along to capture* the most enchanting 
and romantic moments of your 
honeymoon. In case you possess a 
video camera, you could be all the 
more fortunate in recording (in 
motion) the captivating and delecta- 
ble events! 

Packing for Honeymoon 
(Checklist) 

Y our honeymoon should be the 
most romantic trip of your life. It 
will take plenty of planning- - ensme 
everything goes off without a hitch. 

Clothing/Footwear 

Underwear 
Socks /stockings 
T-shirts 



Pyjamas/bathrobes 

Lingerie 

Bathing suit /shorts 
Comfortable pants 
Dress/clothings 
Casual and c oning wear 
Hand bae 

Sweater/sweatshirts 
Jacket/coat and tie 
Dress shi)cs 
Tennis shcx > s 
Clothing /footwear 
Sandals /chnppals 
Jewellery 
Jogginp suits 
Sports clothing 
(optional) 

Toiletries/other items 

Toothbrush /paste 

Lotion/Moisturiser 

Brush /comb 

Make-up 

Hairclips/pins 

Razor/aftershave/shaving 

cream /brush 

Perfume/cologne 

Tampons /pads 

Birth control pills 

Soap 

Nail polish/ remover 
Nail file 

Cotton balls/Q. tips 
Nail cutH^^ ' 

28 “ 41/4 ' " 



Toiletries/other items 
Hair spray/ mousse 
Hairdryer 
Towels 

Shampoo / cond itioner 
Mouthwash Aspirin 
First Aid kil (travel) 

Dental floss 

Equipment 

Camera/ Film 
C Sanies books 
Address book 
Journal /diary 
Tickets / itinerary 
Passport/crcdit cards 
Suitcases 

Traveller's cheques 
Cash 

Ski gear (optional) 

I liking gear (optional) 

Contact lenses 
Sun glasses 

Handy Documents and Useful 
Items 

Itinerary and tickets: Once you have 
finalised the travel plans for your 
honeynuxm, gather all the tickets toge- 
ther and review your itinerary. Make 
sure all the dates and times are correct 


Check out all cancellation policies for 
hotels, car rental, airlines and so forth. 
List credit card and other numbers: In 
a separate diary or journal, list all your 
credit card numbers, driver's licence 
number, bank account numbers, tra- 
veller's cheques numbers and any 
important information. In case you 
lose your wallet or it is stolen, you 
could easily cancel all your credit car- 
ds and order new traveller's cheques 
without panicking. Ensure a smooth 
honeymoon for yourself. 

Medication: Bring along copies of 
your doctor's prescriptions, if any, for 
medication and eyeglasses or contct 
lenses. While travelling, keep other 
important medicines within easy 
reach (say, in your purse) and not in 
your luggage. 

Obtain travellers cheques: Carry tra- 
veller's cheques to avoid the unneces- 
sary tension of possible pilferage of 
cash. If your wallet is lost or stolen, 
you can still get your money back; if 
you carry cash, you are out of luck. 
Cany small change: Of course, you 
will need to carry some cash to start 
with. Make sure you carry enough 
small change to tip bellboys and 
waiters (in hotels), porters, taxi- 
drivers and others, as well as for small 
purchases. 

Take along credit cards: Take along 
major credit cards which are accepted 
almost everywhere. If you run out of 
money, you can charge meals, hotels 
and entertainment expenses to your 
card. Yem could also get cash from 
certain banks by showing your credit 
card. 

Exchange foreign currency in a fore- 
ign country: If you are honeymooning 
outside India, wait until you get to the 
foreign country before you change cur- 
rency . Change the currency as and 
when you need il on your hont’ymoort. 
Apply for visas, passports in advan- 
ce: If you are planning an overseas 
honeymoon, ensure that you have 
your passport ready and up to date. 
Make sure you get the visas from the 
embassies /consulates of the countries 
that you plan to visit well in advance, 
to avoid last-minute hassles when you 
are ready to travel. 

Last but not the least: Don't forget to 
fiend a picture postcard to both your 
parents, wherever you go. They have 
worked hard and striven to their 
utmost to make your wedding a per- 
fect one, and they certainly deserve 
your remembrance and gratitude. 

It would be a thoughtful idea to 
bring back a souvenir for your parents 
or for your brother or sister or a close 
friend, as a small thank-you gesture. • 



T it H PICK O I THE VV HER 



While V ou Were Sleeping: A 
very , very Nineties come- 
dy starring Sandra Bullock 
of Speed fame. 

Sandra plays a lonely 
lady dispensing tokens 
from a Chicago toll booth 
as she fantasises about a 
mysterious blue-eyed com- 
muter (IVter Gallagher) 
who regularly glides past 
her 

She meets him only 
when she rescues him off 
the track where he had 
been pushed by muggers. 
Mr Right lay in a coma and 
may never recover. Bul- 
lock meets Peter's kith and 
kin at the hospital who mis- 
take her for his fiancee. 

What follows next is a 
pot-pourri of hectic mish- 
mash and maudlin intri- 
gues. The cast includes Bill 
Pullman who plays a sexy 
second lead as Peter's kid 
brother with great finesse. 
The film is directed by Jon 
Turteltaub. 



HEALTH 


MM* m Sente Wdhns over 





their chance of a cardiac 



HOOKS 


Don't Cry Now. A neat thril- 
ler involving Bonnie Whee- 
ler, an English teacher and 
her handsome, onct> 
divorced husband and 



their little daughter. It 
begins with hubby's ex- 
wife calling up to say that 
Bonnie and her child are in 
danger only to end up 
being killed herself. 

Bonnie is saddled with 
two hostile stepchildr- 
en and a husband who 
stays out nights with some 


stranger while the killer 
lurks in the dark. Written 
by Joy Fielding (William 
Morrow, $23). 


t/ 




removes tough wrinkles In 
seconds. It also Includes a 
steam control knob, in-built 
water pump and a special 
back cover to rewind the cord 
when not in use. The iron is 
priced at Rs 1,200. 

Rub and scrub: llie latest in 
the Everyuth brand. Cadi- 
la Healthcare Private 
Limited, is 'Everyuth Wal- 
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Following the popular 
craze for various face- 
scrubs, the product cons- 
ists of finely-ground wal- 
nut particles that help 
remove dead-skin cells 
and debris accumulated 
on the skin's top-most 
layer. The scrub is priced 
at Rs 42.50. 



S II I () N 


Look it 2001: The latamaUon- 



The floens was on Internatio- 
nal nttricntsBie Europe, US, 
Aaitrale, Sooth Africa and 
Asian counbicii. For the vari- 




c onv e nte nce . The colour 


V wild to the classical. The 










rfa tea of perfect 

Ureetod peace and equal rights. 
Wteliya wnw tMt fag? 

\ Not being «fe to ctmvince the 
woHd that vre Asian people can make 
funky music. 

Who or wtilurt has been toe greatest 
tttfiacnce in ytmr life? 

, ■ Being brought up with an Indian 
background and going into the West 
with oar musk. 

Whet do you dislike most in others? 

, Ignorance, racism and jealousy 
What do you dislike most in yourself? 

Biting my naBs* 

What n yo«T most precious 
possession? 

, My love in world music will keep 
me going and going. Also, I Jove Bass. 
What objects do you always cany? 

. Personal stereo, dlwvs, and my 
hair gel. 

What makes you most depressed? 

Radio stations that won't play 
Asian music. 

Whatdoyoo dislike most on your 


What makes you 
most depressed? 


Radio stations that 
won't play Asian 
v, music 





appearance? 

My nails. 

What is your favourite word? 

Kidd a. 

What is your favourite journey? 

To my studio every day. 

What is your favourite dream? 

Being Number One with a record in. 
the gora chart. 

What is your nightmare? 

Losing interest in music. 

What or who is the greatest love of < 
yourltfe? 

God. 

What is your source of sustenance? 

Pass. 

On what occasions do you lie? - 
When l say it was a wrong number. 

What has been your happiest 
moment? 

Seeing my baby bom on December 
91* ■/ 

What brings team to your eyes? 
Poverty 



What objects do you 
always cany? 


Personal stereo, 
always, and my hair 
gel 







Presenting Autan. An international lotion 
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shirting 


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14 JANUARY 19964 


The Telegraph 


fribeUm- 

fc down' Novipenbw 19). 
f- Wteocayes fbrjuatefttertaiin- 
i'mentand no aesthetic ;. •• 

Ntot everyoneg-et* titilla- 
> ted by the dteplaycrf a 
■ woman's undergarment or’ 
the tong And beautiful legs 
of Poofs Sadi on stage. 

They care for quality 
entertainment And in a 
place like Calcutta, which 
has a very discerning audi- 
ence, such flippant produc- 
tions can nevfcrbe a hit. 

This does not mean CaJ- 
cuttans look down upon 
English plays from Bom- 
bay, it is that they would 
rather spend an evening 
Watching a Shakespeare 
. production than' spend a > 
an hour or so knuming at' 
idiotic Joked. 

.MUTM, v 

Calcutta 


inthem, no Interesting 
lo^ues, but only cxassness 
aftdvuIgArity injdKifbmi 
of jdkea4uid Jn wt dotbSs 
lhs actodi.a«d;acirwa«s' •/ 



tooi'bul' 


WiH wse«i crowding before 
halls in hotth Calcutta 
Where Apama Sen, Sou- 
xhitra Chatteriee or Robi 
Ghoah could be performing. 

Some of these plays are 
else flippant, lacking in 
seriousness, but they can 
grip one's imagination. 
Shyamal Basok, 

Calcutta 

■ We appreciate the Maga- 
zine's concern in giving 
publicity to the theatre 
which has almost become 
a dying art today. 

Arts Mtsfctu, 

Cuttack 

Beauty Tips 

a Why don't you introdu- 
ce a beauty column? Some 
tips on makeup, skin and 
Mttecaie would be of great 
help. 

If. 

Calcutta 

Stop! Cop at - 


O 1 congratulate the Maga- 
zine for featuring an hoh- 
est policeman like Batta- 
mauBanetJee CSBH 
Green', November 12) 
who dared to book the PC. 

traffic for violating rules. 

. l)e should be an exam- 
ple for other poheemen to 

emulate. .. 

Gautum Stuha, . 


PAGE 4 

Ved Marwah, who has held top police and admi- 
nistrative posts in all the strife-tom states in the 
country: from Kashmir through Mizoram to Pun- 
jab, probes the genesis of terrorism in his new 
book. Uncivil Wars. A profile of the author and 
an extract. 

PAGE 26 

Jewels to decorate your hair and nails. 

The Golden Temple 


SI ( HONS 


16 TIME TABLE 

21 JUNIOR WHIRL 

22 COMICS 
26 FASHION 
28 LIMELIGHT 
30 FIRST PERSON 

Cover Jagdish Yadav 






Ccverstorv 

An Officer and 

aWriter 

Sana Thakur meets super-cop VedManrah who has now reinvented himself as 
an author with a book on the history of terrorism in India 


H e looks too donnish to 

have written what is being 
touted as the definitive 
book on terrorism. Tall 
and loose-limbed, sporting floppy 
tweeds and a faraway expression, Ved 
Marwah seems more an amiable aca- 
demic than the top cop 

He sits by a window in his cosy offi- 
ce, basking in the winter sun and the 
afterglow of a well-received book. # 1 
might not have got money out of it. 
but I have got something more — satis- 
faction/' he says "It was worth all 
those months of painstakingly writing 
page after page in long-h .nd," he 
add9 with a laugh. 

The work iNelf is a comprehensive 
countdown of how dissent in India 
came to be vocalised in violence. Mar- 
wah who has held top police or admi- 
nistrative posts in all the trouble- 
ridden states of India, from Kashmir 
through Mizoram to Punjab, probes 
the genesis of militancy in these areas 
as well as exploring its progress and 
thepsyche of the militant. 

Tne book, in fact, seems to distill 
Marwah's sense of being. Touch on 
any aspect of the life and times of Ved 
Marwah and he gives it only cursory 
interest, until matters of state are tou- 
ched on. That is when Marwah comes 
alive. For the rest, childhood was "too 
long ago" to dwell upon and the Parti- 
tion was "traumatic''. 

His innate reserve makes him retic- 
ent and it is only in flashes that the 
story of his life rises above the plain 
recital of a CV. So, back to the Parti - 
don. After the cleavage of the country, 
the Marwah family exchanged a life of 
landed luxury in PeshawarJ or a 
refugee camp in Delhi. 


"We finally managed to pick up the 
threads of our lives when my father 
set up his bookshop/' recalls Marwah. 
The bookshop, Faqir Chand m Khan 
Market, went on to become an institu- 
tion ol book-starved Delhi and Marwa- 
h's college years were divided bet- 
ween boning up on economics in St Ste- 



phen's and helping out at the book- 
shop during the afternoon. 

His first full-time job was with CaJ- 
tex. "For the first time in a long while I 
had money in my pocket and even an 
Ambassador to whirl me around 
Delhi," he says with a boyish grin. But 
he soon found that oil sold itself and 
that he was, after all, only on the 
MNC's rolls as the "token Indian". 
"Caltex wasn't too different from St 
Stephen's and I decided to look for 
something ebe." 


Which is when he took the civil ser- 
vices exam and found himself as the 
SDPO (sub-divisional police officer) 
of Diamond Harbour with a house per- 
ched on the ed ge of a 
river-tuming-into-a-sea. 

Life in his parent cadre of West 
Bengal was a series of quick rises until 
theCapital decided to have its own ser- 
vice cadre and raided the states for 
their most able men. So, Marwah 
found himself coordinating the securi- 
ty of Indira Gandhi. From there it was 
but a hop, skip and jump to the top via 
posts as plum as the Commissioner of 
Delhi Police, director-general of the 
National Security Guards and Special 
Secretary in the ministry of home 
affairs. 

And today? "I spent it autograph- 
ing my book at my wife's new book- 
shop". Marwah looks distinctly reliev- 
ed as he reaches the end of his 
recital — advisor to the Governor of 
Jammu and Kashmir — and slips into 
the flow of what interests him most — 
the policy and practice of policing in 
India. The fiasco over the airdropping 
from AN-26 is the cause of his current 
outrage. "We have again exposed our- 
selves as a soft state, as a country 
where people wander in and do things 
that even fiction writers would hesita- 
te to write about because they sound 
so unrealistic," he says bitingly . 

As he seethes about the lack of coor- 
dination between security agencies, 
his own famed falling-out with the 
doughty K.P.S. Gill over Operation 
Black Thunder comes to mind. The 
antipathy between the two officers is 
said to be legendary and seeps 
through in the chapter on Punjab. 

In person, too, Marwah is as conspi- 



cuously magnanimous: "Differences 
are bound to crop up between two 
people with different views of how 
things should be done. But the import- 
ant thing is that the differences were 
sorted out, if not at our level, at the 
level of the Prime Minister. Those 
were difficult days. It was difficult to 
see who was right and who was 
wrong/' All very high-minded, of 
course, but the effect is rather spoiled 
by a flash of the old oneupmanship: 
"After all, it could very well have been 
me who was wrong/' 

He then settles down to dissect the 


differences between terrorism in Pun- 
jab and in Kashmir — 'The external 
dimension is presently more promi- 
nently in Kashmir and so is the religi- 
ous fundamentalism" — and finally 
arrives at the most essential distinc- 
tion, that in the policing of the two 
states. 

"In Kashmir the police was allowed 
to decline by sub-standard political 
derisions. In Punjab, there was a con- 
scious effort to build up the Punjab 
Police, because it would, ultimately, 
be the one to face the onslaught. So, it 
was played up and projected very deli 


bexatriy, sometimes at the cost of the 
others, like the NSG in Black Thun- 
der," he says. 

The recollection of the old grievance 
takes him back to Gill. T wish there 
had been more building up of the poli- 
ce force than of just one personality. It 
goes Without saying that leadership is 
important and Mr Gill's leadership 
played a key role, but I wish it hadn't 
been entirely personality-oriented," 
he says regretfully. 

Dropping the subject, he moves on 
to list what it takes to be a Governor in 
a terrorism-ridden state like Jammu 
and Kashmir, where good men 


Marwah, who has held 
top police or 
administrative posts in 
all the trouble-ridden 
states of India, from 
Kashmir through 
Mizoram to Punjab, 
probes the genesis of 
militancy in these areas 
as well as exploring its 
progress and the psyche 
of the militant 


have tried and failed on the job. 

The basic quality, he says, is that the 
Governor must be many men in one 
"He must be a good coordinator of the 
security forces but also must have a 
fine-honed political intuition which 
can allow him to create support for the 
revival of the political process. He 
must be a good administrator and also 
an efficient communicatoi ," he says. 
"But," he adds, "more important, he 
must get the full support of the 
Centre." 

Having tasted blood with his first 
book — "It's above Bill Gates' book on 
the Calcutta best-sellers' list," he says 
gleefully — Marwah is planning his 
next. This is also likely to. bean off shoot 
of a research project, this time one 
which focuses on the several threats to 
internal security, ranging from com- 
munal riots, through caste violence to 
organised crime. "I've been bitten bv 
the writing bug," he says. "But this 
time 1TI make sure 1 get over my fear of 
technology and use the word 
processor." 

b 




RACT 


Operation Black 

THUNDER 



In his new hook. 
Uncivil Wars: 
Pathology of 
Terrorism in India, 
VedMarwah 
tells the inside 
story of this 
operation and 
reveals how 
Punjab police 
chief K. P S. GUI 
tried to 
upstage him 


By 

vedmmwah 

Extracted 
fro m Uncivil Wars 
Pathology oj 
Terrorism in India by 

VedMarwah. An 
tmprtm of 
Ha r pe r CoUtns 
Publishers India 
PvL Ltd. Published 
1995by Indus. 
Price: Rs 395 


ully exploiting the weak response of 
the Punjab government the militants 
once again started operating from the 
Golden Temple. Fortifications started 
coming up in full view of the Punjab 
police and the CRPF, but the govern- 
ment could net make up its mind on 
how to respond. History was once 
again repeating itself The situation 
was allowed to build up till May 1988. 
The dismissal of the Bamala govern- 
ment had achieved very little. Gover- 
nors were being changed frequently 
and made little impact on the situation. 

The government finally made up its 
mind when S.S. Virk, DIGP, CRPF, 
was fired at and injured by the milit- 
ants from inside the Golden Temple. 
The CRPF deployed at the complex 

VedMarwah 


got agitated and the DG, CRPF, had to 
rush personally to Amritsar to pacify 
them. It had become obvious that the 
militants would not stop at anything, 
unless Hushed out once again in a mili- 
tary operation. The strategists among 
the militants' organisations, both in 
the country and outside, understood 
very well the advantages of provok- 
ing the government to launch a milita- 
ry operation against the Golden Tem- 
ple complex. Nothing had done more 
for their movement and its cause than 
Operation Blue Star and the events 
that followed it. 

The government was under tremen- 
dous pressure and was being criticis- 
ed for taking no action against the mili- 
tants. The Governor of Punjab, Sid- 

K.P.S. GM 





dhartha Shankar Ray, wanted immedi- 
ate action to flush o>ut the militants 
hum the Golden Temple complex. 
These were the drcuinstances which 
forced the rovenunent to hunch Ope- 
ration Blade Thunder. 

To discuss the situation and dedde 
the strategy of flushing out the terro- 
rists, a meeting was held at the Union 
home minister Buta Singh's room in 
the Parliament House. The meeting 
was attended, among others, by the 
Governor of Punjab and the minister 
of state for home affairs, P. Chidamba- 
ram. After discussing various options 
open to the government, it was decid- 
ed to hand over the operations to the 
National Security Guards. Operation 
Black Thunder wasa turning point, 
and therefore, it would be useful to 
know how this operation was planned 
and conducted. There are lessons to be 
learnt, specially when compared with 
Operation Blue Star. 

B uta Singh was in favour of first con- 
centrating on the two Ramgharia 
Bungas to knockdown the guns moun- 
ted thereby the militants, instead of 
mounting a direct assault on the Gold- 
en Temple. It was a very sound advice. 
A contingent of the crack NSG com- 
mandos was airlifted to Amritsar, 
under the overall command of Bri- 
gadier Sushil Nanda. A direct radio 
link was established between the force 
commander, the TAC (Tactical) head- 
quarter at Amritsar, and NSG Control 
Room in New Delhi, which had links 
with all senior officers of the NSG. 
Major General Naresh Kumar, Inspec- 
tor General Operations and 1 kept in 
constant touch with the situation at 
the Golden Temple complex. The TAC 
headquarter at the complex was esta- 
blished at the hotel directly overlook- 
ing the Golden Temple. The CRPF was 
deployed around the outer parameter 
of the complex and the NSG concentra- 
ted its fire in neutralising the mili- 
tants' guns mounted on top of the 



Militants at the Gotten Temple 


The NSG officers were operating 
under the direct command of their 
own officers. KP.S. Gill protested, 
as according to him, he was the 
overaU commander of the forces 
deployed there and should ha ve 
thp final authority to decide how 
: anoperatton should beconducted 




Bungas, from where they were domi- 
nating a major portion of the 
complex.... 

The Punjab Governor expressed his 
dissatisfaction with the phased strate- 
gy of the NSG operational plan. At a 
meeting at the PM's house which was 
attended, among others, by the Gover- 
nor of Punjab, Siddhartha Shankar 
Ray, minister of state P. Chidamba- 
ram, Julio Ribeiro, DIB, M.K. 

Narayan, and DGP K.P.S. Gill, the 
majority of those present were in 
favour of a short quick action as they 
feared a more serious problem build- 




i 

i 



The police keeping peace in Punjab 


ing up outside the Temple complex if only around the Temple complex, but though the help of the CRPF was taken 

the operation was unduly delayed. this time unlike in 1984, we had not in the initial phase to guard thcrpara- 

Any delay c *uld allow time to the asked for a curfew in the whole state, meter outside the complex. The outsi- 

secessionists to mobilise the Sikh mas- not even in the entire city of Amritsar. de force was also replaced later by the 

ses, and this could take the shape of 1 moved around in the city in plain do- NSG Special Ranger Groups, 

massive agitations and dcmonstra- thes and what struck me most was the The Punjab Police was asked to take 

tions against any action against the lack of tension in the dty . A crowd in charge of briefing the media in Amrit- 

militants inside the Golden Temple. front of a halwai was busy eating hot sar, but were not involved in either the 

Some of us argued in favour of a phas- jalebts.... planning or the implementation of the 

ed operation, so that the mistakes of The strategy was to pin down the Operation. Their help was also sought 

the Operation Blue Star, even if the militants in their hiding places inside to make the announcements on the 

two situations were not exactly the the complex by accurate long-distance loudspeakers for the devotees to come 

same, could be a voided. There were sniper fire, and then step-by-step ad v- out of the Temple complex during the 

still a number of devotees trapped insi- j ance towards the Temple by first occu- announced hours, and to give them 

de the complex, and we were in favour pying the 'Sarai' and then the other the assurance that they would not be 

of giving sufficient time to them to strategic places. The Light Machine fired at. Round-the-clock announce- 

come out, so that they do not get Gun (LMG) firing on the Bungas to merits on the loudspeakers were also 

caught in the cross-fire. Moreover, a neutralise the militants' guns was made to the holed-up militants that 

direct swift assault could result in simultaneously continued round the their position was hopeless and that 

actual damage to the Temple, which dock. As LMGs were not ha ving the they must surrender in their own 

we wanted to avoid at all costs. The desired effect, we had to approach the interest, 

meeting went on till the early hours of Army HQ to fly their discarded heavy 

the next morning even though the machine guns from their ordinance HPhc militants were under tremend- 

Prime Minister was to leave a few depot at Jabalpore. The Army HQ was 1 ous pressure. They realised that 

hours later.... 1 was directed to perso- most cooperative and gave the NSG they were in a hopeless situation, 

nally go to Amritsar for an on-the-spot whatever help it asked for. The Air For- They did not know from which side 

assessment of the situation ce was also most helpful. .The whole the NSG commandos would advance. 

I left for Amritsar the next morning. Operation Black Thunder was conceiv- The occupation of one building after 

Indefinite curfew had been imposed ed and planned entirely in the NSG, another in lightning movements, com- 

8 




The Golden Temple during Operation Black Thunder 


pletelv demoralised them, and broke 
their will to fight and to continue hold- 
ing the devotees The devotees started 
coming out in batches during the 
announced hours. The siege continu- 
ed till their will to resist completely 
broke down. 

Even though the the NSG's operatio- 
nal plan was working with clockwork 
efficiency the Punjab Police was gett- 
ing impatient. DGP was pressuring all 
the time for the the NSG to speed up 
its Operation to flush out all the mili- 
tants. This pressure was ha\ ing its 
effect on the the NSG officers. They 
were getting restive. I had to personal- 
ly visit the the TAC headquarter, over- 
looking Harminder Sahib, at mid- 
night to calm them down. The ofticers 
bubbling with confidence wanted a 
green signal trom me to immediately 
finish the job. 1 did not want to take 
any undue risk of a messy assault 
which could result in avoidable casual- 
ties on either side. The officers were 
told to ignore the pressure from the 
Punjab Police. The NSG officers were 
operating under the direct command 
of their own officers. K.P.S. Gill pro- 


tested, as according to him, he was the 
overall commander of the forces 
deployed there and should have the 
final authority to decide how an opera- 
tion should be conducted. He was 
again told thdt since the task had been 
entrusted to the NSG, he should leave 
the job to them. He was not satisfied 
and the matter had to go the Prime 
Minister for a decision. The PM drew a 
command chart in his own handwri- 
ting. The Force Commander ot the 
NSG was to continue functioning 
directly under the Director General, 
NSG, who, in turn, was to function 
under the home minister's control and 
direction. 

Our patience paid off and most of 
the militants surrendered during the 
announced ceasefire hours. Among 
those who surrendered was the much 
wanted Panta who was involved in 
the terrorist shootouts in Greater Kai- 
lash and Gulmohar Park in New Delhi 
in 1987 and in many other terrorist 
acts. He could not be immediately 
recognised. In a desperate act he swal- 
lowed a cyanide capsule and died 
within seconds in front of the NSG 


video camera. The NSG video film 
which had covered the entire surren- 
der by the militants with their arms rai- 
sed above their head was released to 
Doordarshan after it was shown to 
Gopi Arora, the then secretary, intor- 
mation and broadcasting (1 and B), 
and the media adviser in the ministry 
of I and B, Suman Dubey. 

Some of the hardcore militants 
while coming out to surrender made a 
sudden dash to harminder Sahib and 
refused to come out. This created a 
very ugly situation. Taking a calculat- 
ed risk, it was decided not to attack 
Harminder Sahib but to continue with 
the siege. The decision not to underta- 
ke any operation to forcibly evict the 
holed -up militants from Harminder 
Sahib did not find favour with some 
The Punjab Police Chief was also criti- 
cal as he feared that they could dama- 
ge it and put the blame on the security 
forces. We again held an internal meet- 
ing of the senior NSG officers and it 
was unanimously decided to stick to 
our earlier decision to continue with 
the siege, and not to fire at the milit- 
ants even if they came out to take 


9 






1 rushed totfre PM’shouse add as I 
entered the Conference Room, 
even before f could greet the PM* 
he asketfmetp go to George’s room 
and issue orders to the NSG 
officers in Amritsar that they 
should continue their physical 
control of the Temple complex and 
not allow K.P.S. Gill or any of his 
officers inside the complex till 
further orders 


water from the Sarovar. We did not 
want to take any risk of being accused 
of causing any damage to the sanctum 
sanctorum. We decided to stick to our 
strategy in spite of the reports which 
had also reached Delhi that the holed- 
up militants had explosives and plann- 
ed to blow up Harminder Sahib and 
put the blame on the NSG . We took the 
risk and asked for sevn more da vs 
The cabinet secretary, B.G Desh- 
mukh, agreed to support us in the 
Core Committee's meeting, but only 
for a weak. After three days when the 
Core Committee's meeting in the Cabi- 
net Secretariat war. going on, 1 learnt 
about the surrender of all the mili- 
tants. I informed Mrs SarJa Grewal, 
secretary to the Prime Minister, and 
B.G. Deshmukh, cabinet secretary, on 
telephone that our patience had paid 
off and all the militants had surrender- 
ed and come out of Harminder Sahib 
without our having to fire a single 
shot. Operation Black Thunder is to 
date the most successful anti- 
terrorism operation anywhere in the 
world. The Economist , London, said so 
in so many words in its issue of May 
1988. The mood in the NSG head- 
quarters was positively upbeat. The 
tensions of the last few days had taken 
its toll and I was looking forward to 
catching up on my sleep. But that was 
not to be, as our troubles were not yet 
over. V. George, PS to the PM, rang me 
up at night to summon me to the PM's 
house. He also let me know that the 
PM was in an angry mood 
I was a little surprised because the 
Prime Minister should have been very 
pleased with the outcome of theOpera- 
tion Black Thunder. I rushed to the 
PM's house and as I entered the Confe- 
rence Room, even before I could greet 
the PM, he asked me to go to George's 
room and issue orders to the NSG offi- 
cers in Amritsar that they should conti- 

10 



Rajiv Gandhi 


nue their physical control of the Tem- 
ple complex and not allow K P S. Gill 
or any of his officers inside the com- 
plex till further orders 1 ti icd to say 
something, but he cut me shurt and 
told me to first do what I was told and 
then do the talking. I went to Gcroge's 
room and through the NSG Control 
Room issued instructions to the NSG 
officers at Amritsar not to hand over 
the control of the Temple complex to 
the Punjab Police till they got further- 
clearance from me. 

Alter issuing these orders 1 return- 
ed to the Conference Room. P. Chi- 
dambaram was already there After l 
sat down, the PM asked me under 
whose orders K.P.S. Gil! had been 
allowed to enter Harminder Sahib. 1 
explained that as the Operation, was 
over, the NSC'i had to hand over the 
control to the Punjab Police for further 
action as required under the law. The 
Prime Minister, however, was not 
satisfied with my explanation. Why 
couldn't I keep Chidambaram inform- 
ed before taking any decision, he 
asked. 1 apologised for not doing so, 
and went on to explain that there were 


a number of legal formalities that had 
to be completed, and it could only be 
dome by the Punjab Police, once the 
Operation was over. I should mention 
here that after the first one or two mee- 
tings, Buta Singh had stopped attend- 
ing them and it was Chidambaram, 
who was coordinating various mat- 
ters relating to Operation Black Thun- 
der. With his razor sharp mind he 
could take quick decisions; he was a 
great help throughout the Operation. 

Apparently, what had annoyed the 
Prime Minister was the escorting of 
some SC PC representatives inside 
Harminder Sahib. These gentlemen 
had created some confusion by their 
statements about the desecration of 
the sanctum sanctorum bv the mili- 
tants The Prime Minister was right; 
the aftermath of Operation Black 
Thunder was as important as the ope- 
ration itself and had to be handled 
very carefully. He directed that the 
home minister, Buta Singh, the mini- 
ter of state, P. Chidambaram, Gopi 
Arora, secretary 1 B., D.l.B , M K 
Narayanan and mvselt should imme- 
diately fly to Amritsar and coordinate 
the follow-up action . .. 

T he media had already built up Gill 
as the hero of Operation Black 
Thunder He never contradicted the 
media reports I was aware that my 
appearing at this stage on Doordar- 
shan would create an avoidable con 
troversv The need for building up the 
morale ot the Punjab Police was more 
important than seeking credit that 
was due to the NSG. I discussed the 
matter with Chidambaram ami he 
agieed with me. Gill was lett to conti- 
nue to bask in the glory of the Opera- 
tion Black Thunder. Suman Dubey 
was disappointed and said so The 
NSG officers were also disappointed 
and told me that I was making a big 
mistake as public memory was short 
and that of the politicians even 
shorter. They feared that the NSC. offi- 
cers who had conducted a perfect anti- 
terrorist operation m the most difficult 
of circumstances would be forgotten 
when the time came tor rewards. I 
assured them that I would never allow 
that to happen and forbade any of the 
officers to go to the Press. They were 
unhappy with my order, but they 
strictly complied with it 

However to my utter shock, and dis- 
may, I was to discover later that they 
were right and l was wrong But they 
were right only partially; it was not the 
political leaders or civil servants who 
forgot them, it was their own army 
officers ■ 





SPOOFING THE 
WRITERS 

How would the big names of Indian tenting treat apolitical announcement? 


E ver got the feeling that you 
know what a columnist is 
going to say before you even 
turn to his column? Sick of 
editorials that are so predictable that 
they add nothing to what we already 
know and think? 

Well, so are we. The Telegraph set out 
to analyse how Indian newspapers, 
magazines, columnists and writers 
would react it Sonia Gandhi were to 
finally announce that she was joining 
politu s. 

Here, entirely in jest and without 
any malice, are 1 1 take-offs of the 
columns, reports, editorials and 
stones that would result as a 
consequence of such an 
announcement. 

Pritish Nandy 

/ / A rnethi! Exile me if you must. 

ilBut Jesus was a sailor, when 
he walked upon the water, and he 
spent a long time watching from his 
lonely wooden tower." 

So, the most powerful woman in the 
land has taken the plunge. What does 
it say about our maggot-ridden, 
corrupt, carnon-infested political 
system that such a frightful thing can 
happen 7 The time has come to tell the 
Chandra Swamis, the J B Patnaiks, 
and the Samir Jains, that there are men 
of integrity, who vvill stand up for the 
hungry, down-trodden, lice-infested 
poor man m the streets, in the fields. 
The hungry man. 

Soma Gandhi thinks that she can 
take the people of India for granted 
because we are poor. But she does not 
know- that there is one class of people 
who will always fight her. 

Animal lovers. 

Yesterday, when the shocking news 
came through on the Internet, my soul 
shot through the roof. Shocking!" 
Immediately, I thought of Neruda, of 
Lorca, of Dylan and of my other 
contemporaries. As I said, in those 


Sonia Gandhi 




Prltish Nandy 


Naxalite days, 'The answer, mv * 
friend, is blowing-in the wind." I 
wrote a poem about it. Passionately! 

Here lor the benefit of readers is the 
entire poem: 

Her face 
In the window 
Raindrops keep falling 
Disgust! 

Khushwant Singh 

A njaii Kumar is a buxom, 

45-year-old lass from Kanpur 
with a cheerful smile and a 
well-rounded bottom. Some mutual 
friends had given her my address, and 
she dropped in yesterday for some 
tea, carrying a book of her poetry. 

"You have forgotten me." she said. I 
had to confess that this was true, but 
she did not mind. "We met 15 years 
ago when you had come on that free 
trip to Luxemburg I worked for the 
Indian Embassy and when you rang 
and asked for two bottles of whiskey, 1 
was the girl the ambassador sent to 
deliver it " 

I had to admit that she was right and 
to make up for forgetting this 
round-bottomed wench, offered her 
some extra sugar in the tea. She asked 
me what I thought of Soma Gandhi's 
decision to join politics. Reader, K.S. 
Khurana of Jalandhar has also asked 
me this. I told the buxom Anjaii that 
the Gandhis were small, mean, petty 
people who had never bought a man a 
drink in their lives. Indira Gandhi had 
12 



Khushwant Singh 

never i;ead a book Neither had San jay, 
but he was my triend As for Sonia 
Gandhi, I have never met her But I 
have some experience of Gandhi 
women. And that will be reserved for 
the next volume of my memoirs 
Meanwhile, reader J.S. Juncja from 
Bhatinda has se^t me this joke about 
Banta and Santa... 

India Today 

T he irony was inescapable. Last 
fortnight, Sonia Gandhi, 46, the 
sari- clad. Italian-born widow of the 
former Prime Minister of India, 
announced that she was entering 


politics. 

"I am entering politics," she told 
India Today in an exclusive press 
conference held at the Lutyens' 
designed house she occupies in the 
colonial city of New Delhi. 

Congress circles regard the Gandhi 
widow's announcement as the litmus 
test for Prime Minister Narasimha 
Rao,76. The elderly, dhoti-dad, 
balding Rao was, however, not 
willing to comment. "I am not willing 
to comment," said he. 

According to V. George, 42, private 
secretary to the new political entrant, 
security considerations could well be 
involved. "If you do not leave at 
once," he told India Today's senior 
assistant associate editor, "I will have 
security throw' you out." 

Kuldip Nayar 

he fat is truly in the fire The 
recent announcement of joining 
politics by Sonia Gandhi shows 
that she thinks that the whole country 
is her father's property. 



Kuldip Nayar 


When I was press secretary to late 
Lai Bahadur Shastri, former PM of this 
country, he told me that even during 
Jawaharlal Nehru's time, there was a 
conspiracy by this family to turn the 
country into a tagir. Of course, unlike 
his grandson, kite Rajiv Gandhi, 
Pandit ji was a mature person, so he 
never shouted from rooftops but one 
could read between the lines. 

I was shocked to learn during my 
tenure in London as the high 
commissioner to the St James' Court, 
that even Queen Elizabeth, the 
esteemed Queen of England, whom I 
had the pleasure of meeting on many 





Swapan Dasgupta Dom Moraes 


occasions, does not think that she 
owns the whole country 

Who the Nehrus think they are? 

Swapan Dasgupta 

E ach year, those of us who long for 
an England where men wore 
tweed jackets and women wore 
sensible shoes, are disgusted by the 
sight ot the nouveau nclic Indians who 
descend on London each summer. 

They flock to New Zealand House, 
cat vegetarian food with the high 
commissioner, and spend their time 
shopping. This breed ignores the 
British brand names that those of us 
fortunate enough to have been 
brought up in Calcutta, have learnt to 
respect St Michael, Little woods and 
British Home Stores Instead, they 
recite a litany of designer names: 
Gucci, Pucci, Armani, Versace and 
Missoni To that list, add another 
name: Maino. 

I must confess that even though I 
am a neighbour of Ramola Bachchan's 
in a most agreeable part of 
Hampstead, 1 have never actually run 
into the former Miss Mamo, or Mrs 
Gandhi as she now styles herself m a 
rather blatant attempt to appropriate 
the Hindu tradition. 

It is entirely possible, judging by her 
Italian origins, that she lives in 
Peckham when she is in l ondon. 
Perhaps I shall ask my friend Ramola 
what the truth is. 


Dom Moraes 

he news that Sonia Gandhi is to 
join politics puts me in mind of the 
only occasion on which I ever met her 
grandfather, Jawaharlal Nehru (Dear 
sub- I'm not sure this is right Could 
you possibly check ? Regards, Dorr I 
was with my father and he said to me, 
"Look who it is, you silly old fool " 

Of course, in this day and age, silly 
old fool might well be taken as an 
insult, but that was how my father and 
1 habitually addressed each other. In 
tact, I fear that fathers and sons have 
rather lost the closeness that Frank 
and I used to have m those days. 
Anyhow, as 1 was saying, 1 had no 


Anees Jung 



recollection of ever having met Nehru 
till many years later when 1 was 
having a drink at the French pub in 
Soho and 1 got a tap on mv shoulder. 

"Look who's here!" said a voice that 
1 would recognise anywhere. It was, of 
course, W.H Auden, who had 
dropped in with Stephen Spender 
before going off to meet another friend 
of our's, called Christopher 
Isherwtxid 

1 don't know why, but U struck me 
as an appropriate time to ask Stephen, 
"Have you ever met Nehru?" "No," 
said Stephen. And so we went off to 
Isherwood s. Looking back, I doubt if 
Auden and Spender had met Sonia 
Gandhi either. 

Anees Jung 

am walking through a deserted 
street in Morocco. The wind blow s 
sand in my face as I stumble through 
the hot sunlight trying to find the UN 
office to collect my per diem. I see a 
woman, proud and eroH with the 
dignity of her sex, as she holds a child 
bv the hand and walks towards me 

J want to go up to her and embrace 
her! I w ant to tell her how proud she 
makes me to be a woman 1 know now 
that Moroccan women are no different 
from us. 

Before l can catch her eye. she 
speaks. Her name is Mrs 
Ramchandani. She is not a Moroccan 
at all. Ah. the umtv that out sex has 
that cuts across all nations’ She works 

13 





s ! • Jflmi 



4 ^* 


nrxprtfje 



Perfume 
Your Personal Signature 



g§ Perfu me 






Mani Shankar Aiyar 

tor the embassy and gives me the 
news that Sonia Gandhi is joining 
politics 

T am reminded of another royal 
tamilv. Of the palaces and the gentler 
era that once held sway m the 
Hyderabad o‘ my forefathers. Now, 
alas, that era has passed. The palaces 
are deserted. The rooms are empty 
And the crows ar»- disconsolate 

Mani Shankar Aiyar 

T he single- most important 

announcement of the Nineties has 
been greeted by the Indian media with 
the kind of.cretinous braying that you 
would expect h\.m tel'ows who 
couldn't pass the I AS exam and had 
no alternative but to try and seek a few 
crumbs from the Marwari press 
barons who play the tune to which our 
so-called editors so willingly dance 
(note to Prabhu: yes, you too, so gel 
somebody to translate this column for 


you at the next shakha) while posing all 
the time as the guardians of a free 
press and pouring abuse on people 
like Rajiv Gandhi who at least had the 
sense to try and introduce Panchayati 
Raj so that the people of India had a 
say in governance and Ayotallah 
Shoune's hysterical rantings were 
restricted to the pages ot Sunday 
where 1 gather assorted hysterical 
i ulumnists are afforded a measure of 
shelter (but then, what do you expect 
ol Mayo boys 7 1 mean, |ust take a look 
at Inswant Singh) but where, I am glad 
to note, that Sonia//\s announcement 
that she would join politics to liberate 
us from the rule of septuagenarian 
pornographers who can't tell a 
backbencher from a minister, has at 
least got the cover page mention that 
an epoch-making event of this nature 
truly deserves even it the hyenas of the 
Indian Express are too busy learning 
Hngiish to notice. 





Arun Shourie 


Nish a da Cunha 

A nd it was after the funeral that she 
knew that he had noticed her It 
was not .something that he said, just 
the wav that he looked And as the 
priest went ahead with the 
ceremonies, a voice inside of her said, 
'This is what you have always 
wanted. Don't make any mistakes 
now'." 

And so, even though her hands 
shook, and she felt a deep sadness 
within her because she knew th.it 
however much she loved him, he 
would never be truly her s, she look a 
tentative step forward. 

And now she could feel him getting 
ready to speak. What was it that he 
would say? How would he phrase it? 

\ lad he sensed that she had always 
been in love with him from that first 
day when he had gate-crashed their 
college picnic and insisted on sharing 
their jam sandwiches? 


He cleared his throat and she knew 
that life would never be the same 
again. "Have you seen the papers?" 
he called out "Sonia C.andln's joining 
politics." 

And it was then that she knew' why 
she had felt so sad all dav. Because he 
had never noticed her really He had 
only been obsessed with this Sonia 
person. 

Times of India editorial 

I n so far as Mrs Gandhi's 
announcement that she is 
considering a political career may be 
regarded as an accurate statement of 
her intentions, it is entirely consistent 
w'ith the behaviour patterns that she 
has displayed since the tragic 
assassination of her late husband. 

Moreover, that Mrs Gandhi should 
have chosen to make this 
announcement .it a press conference 
leads one to believe that it was her 
intention that this news should appear 


in the newspapers the following day. 

However, her unwillingness to 
state that she wishes to have Prime 
Minister Narasimha Rao thrown into 
the Yamuna demonstrates 
herpolitical maturity for which she 
deserves the congra tulations of the 
entire nation. 

As far as the Indian state is 
concerned, the entry of fresh faces into 
politics is an entirely welcome 
development that few can complain 
about. Mrs Gandhi will be one such 
fresh face. 

Nevertheless, it is too early to come 
to any conclusions about the impact 
her announcement will have on the 
future shape of the Indian polity. Only 
time will tell. 

Arun Shourie 

I t w»as Gandhiji who told us that we 
must have sympathy for those who 
are less fortunate than us. It was a 
message that Swami Vivekanand 
repeated time and again (paragraph 
four, page 533 , Vtvekmtaml 
Reinterpreted by Govmd Acharya, All 
Hindu Publishers, Nagpur) when he 
wrote m those inspiring words: "Rise! 
Yc silent Hindu! Know that ye shall 
reject the Italian peril " 

So, lest critics accuse me without 
understanding the context and logic 
of my argument, of harbouring a 
pro-RSS bent of mind let me quote one 
of the patron saints of the British Raj, 
Rudyard Kipling: "East is East and 
West is West, and the tw 7 o shall never 
tw'ain." 

That Sonia Gandhi should choose to 
enter politics is not a matter for auger 
or for abuse. It is a matter for profound 
sorrow. After all this time, the 
puffed-up bullies and puny Hitlers of 
the Gandhi dynasty still believe that 
they can play havoc with the future of 
this country. Sonia Gandhi is not even 
an Indian. Her record is extremely 
dubious 

In 1991), the janata Dal government 
had said that in three weeks' time, my 
friend, Bhure Lai. would return from 
Switzerland bearing a slip of paper 
tftat was a receipt for Rs 64 crore from 
the Bofors company that had been 
signed by either Soma or members of 
her family. Congressmen love to sneer 
and laugh. What happened to your 
names, they say? Do they not know 
that live years is not a long time in the 
context of the Hindu tradition? Di>es it 
not say m the Ri$ Veda. 'Om, otn sfoviti, 
mlhinti, Time is endless and the end is 
timeless " 

Perhaps it does not. ■ 


15 




All arrival and departure times are for Calcutta 

te <D MONDAY ® TUESDAY <3> WEDNESDAY ® THURSDAY (!) FRIDAY ® SATURDAY ® SUNDAY 


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1020 

daily 

9W 612 

1310 

daily 

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1230 

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M9 32? 

1510 

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0830 

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SU-538 1755 4 SU-537 1555 4 

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Al-306 .10 10 5 Al 300 1820 b 

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Tarom Air Transport • 82 Sahara India Airiines • SQ Singapore Airlines • SU Aeroflot • 4S East West Airlines • TG Thai Airways International • 9W Jet Airways 


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17 



'ILLIAN WRIGHT'S COLUMN 


The Fatal Journey 



.. The 
- French 
revolu- 
tion 
taught 
some 
unexpect- 
ed 

lessons. A nobleman hid- 
ing from the mob in his 
chateau in Lorraine 
passed his time by putting 
copper rings around the 
legs of nesting swallows. 
He discovered that the 
same birds returned to the 
same nesting sites three 
years running and proved 
that birds navigate. 
Polynesian islanders had 
for centuries already been 
training frigate birds to 
carry messages from 
island to island. Ancient 
Romans had used swal- 
lows to carry home the 
colours of victorious char- 
iot teams. And the hom- 
ing sense of pigeons is 
proverhul. 

About this time of 
year, millions of birds 
prove their navigational 
skills afresh by flying 
across the globe from 
summer breeding sites to 
wintering grounds. The 
apparently fragile Arctic 
tern is one of tne champi- 
on migrants, covering 
10,000 kilometres from the 
Arctic to the Antarctic. 
Hudsonian goodwits, 
waders with long, probing 
bills, travel non-stop from 
Canada to South America 
flying 4,500 kilometres in 
just three days. Other 
birds cross continents in 
stages, many travelling 
East- West from Siberia to 
Western Europe or 
Northeast to Southwest 
from Siberia to South 
Africa, or south over 
India. 

As Hugh Whistler, 


author of a handbook less 
tamous than Salim Ali’s 
put it. "The avifauna ot 
India or of anv square 
mile of it is never station- 
ary. but changes season by 
season in response to the 
great tide of bird life 
which sweeps across it .. 
The movement starts in 
fuly and reaches its height 
m September; it crosses 
the l lima lay as from both 
ends and gradually con- 
verges down the two 
sides ot he Peninsula, 
spending its strength until 
it ends tinally in Ceylon." 

Migration is such a 
risky business that some 
times you wonder why 
the birds don't just stay 


changes like the Ice Age, 
forced them to migrate or 
perish. 

Equally, species might 
not just have migrated to 
et away from the cold, 
ut also advanced into 
new territories when 
things warmed up. 

Ironically, migration 
for survival has now 
turned into migration for 
destruction. To have the 
strength to migrate, birds 
have to store energy as 
fat, sometimes adding halt 
their body weight again. 
When they store fat, thev 
also store the pesticides 
which coat their tood. 
During migration, the 
chemicals are released en 


'The avifauna of India or of any 
square mile of it is never stationary, 
but changes season by season in 
response to the great tide of birdlife 
which sweeps across it' 


pui. They don’t because of ; 
changing food supplies j 
and extreme cold. Jn J 

places as far north as 
Alaska, practically all ! 
species find it necessary to • 
move out in winter. I 

The few birds which 
can survive* the sub-zero 
conditions, with a couple 
of hours daylight, and 
very limited fo.-d are 
hardy creatures with 
splendid names like bore- 
al chickadees and hoary j 
redpolls. The theory is 
that thousands of years 
ago other species stayed 
to keep the chickadees 
company, but that climate | 


masse into the bird’s body 
and can kill it. 

There are other haz- 
ards caused by technology 
too. The Western race of 
the Siberian crane, the 
most beautiful of India's 
wintering birds with its 
radiant, soft, white 
plumage, jet-black wing 
tips and scarlet head, is 
extinct in the wild. It has 
been lured to the ground 
with decoys, and crippled 
by rope and stone con- 
traptions thrown round its 
neck, it has been shot and 
trapped and eaten until it 
is no more. 

Water and wetland 


birds like cranes, ducks, 
geese and waders are the 
most conspicuous winter 
visitors. Tnose which sur- 
vive the journey now find 
India less attractive than it 
once was despite the 
Wildlife Protection Act 
which prohibits the killing 
of all wild birds except 
vermin. Rivers and lakes 
have shrunk with more 
efficient agriculture. 
Pollution is greater than 
ever before 

Then hunting is still a 
problem, although 
ornithologists like Rajat 
Hhargav from Aligarh 
Muslim L'niversitv say 
that the Wildlife Act has 
drastically reduced the 
numbers ot birds killed. 
But not all hunters have 
stopped poaching and 
there is practically no 
published research on the 
effect of the Act on tribes 
and communities like 
chirimars, baheliyas and 
mir shikaris who for cen- 
turies have relied on 
migrant waterfowl for 
food and income. 

These communities 
know more about birds 
than most ornithologists, 
and their talents could 
well be used for conseva- 
tion on the old 'poacher- 
turned gamekeeper' prin- 
ciple. Tne government 
has, after all, in theory 
robbed them of their tra- 
ditional livelihood and so 
it’s natural tor them to 
turn to the government 
for an alternative. 

As long as there is 
none, it's only likely that 
many birds who heroical- 
ly survive the journey to 
India, bringing with them 
so much colour and beau- 
ty, will not be making the 
return journey in spnng. 
(Sanctuary Features) 


18 


BEJAN DARUWALLA 


Aries 

March 21 - April 20 

■ From remote 
controlled 
aeromodels to 
massive organising 
to flights of fancy is the range 
Ariens will covert as the full 
moon helps them to pack a 
punch and ram it home 
Matters of the heart also find a 
sweet echo this fortnight as 
well as the next. So, there's 
hope for lovers and poets. 

Taurus 

April 21 — May 20 

R 1 Mercury-Taurus 
^ union means a 
lourney, ceremony 

J and publicity The 

legacies of the last fortnight, 
are with you now Also, home, 
property and decoration, will 
not be denied Your Efforts 
will certainly bear fruit Make 
the most of it. This is the time 
to make changes and socialise 
i on a massive scale. 

! Gemini 

| May 21 — June 20 

You will do 
exceedingly well in 
the workfmnt as the 
moon sextiles and 
j trines your ruling planet, 

; Mercury. Journeys and 
1 collaborations arc fated 
| Matters related to gifts, taxes, 

1 legacies, endowments, joinl- 
‘j finances moke you happy. 

! Expect money and honey 
j Accept a proposal. 


Cancer 

June 21 — July 20 

All Cancerian 
HU women come into 
jHE' their own. After 
LSK? J that, there is no 
stopping them from lighting 
the world. The key is in the 
group activity, the 
camaraderie, the socialising, 
the ability to get along and be 
a team person Deals, 
transactions, negotiations and 
publicity are foretold. 

Leo 

July 21 — August 21 

This is the right time 
I to work extra hard 
at what you want 
j Work pressures will 
be tremendous. The lure ot 
distant places will pjraduxi 
cally exist with 
renovation/decoration/ 
buying/selling and the cosy 
comforts of the home In other 
words, a tug-ot'War in your 
! hearts 


Libra 

September 23 — October 22 
“jjjSZTj Not mired in dark 
AJFMu turmoil but rather 
well-adjusted an* 

■ A 1 today's teenagers, 
and Libra ns, too seem to be 
just that They will find zest 
and ptirpose in life Expect the 
heart to quiver, the mind to 
bend, the imagination to hit 
the sky In short, expect 
alchemy and magic to enrich 
your life. 


Virgo 

August 22 — September 22 

K j Virgoans will crush 
! their opponents and 
i have a crush, too 
.! I ove, laughter, 
expenses, deals, 
collaborations, meets, 
interviews, ou tings and meets 
await you A journey may do 
you a lo* ot good It may also 
be necessary The spoken and 
the written woid will have an 
additional impact 


b i r T, 

; , h - -n annum yunr 

W) you on to fulfil your 


October 23 — November 22 
r+S£Tl ^our delight will be 
j qnH&l sports, 
i /K j sweethearts, good 
! J CsL 3 money, happy 
fraternising, luck of the draw, 
and a promotion which i.s 
winging its way towards you 
Pow'er and responsibility will 
be thrust upon you So be 
ready to take it A journey at 
short notice' is also stated for 
Scorpions. 

Sagittarius 

November 23 — December 20 

rmi Mope, bustle and 
j flMf j religion will be the 
trio in your life as 
■Kl the sun changes 
signs A last- forw ard in 
business, trips, art, learning, 
leaching, religious rites, 
trading, courtship are the 
pointers Expect a promotion 
if in service, a loan it in 
business, or a new' office if in a 
profession. 




Capricorn 

December 21 — January 19 

TOH Research, finances. 

[ A W' teaching and 
[ . BLa untying the Cord ian 
IrShHbI knot, these are the 
salient features lor 
Capncornians Journeys, too, 
are a marked feature of the 
fortnight for you. Time's 
winged chariot has your 
sweetheart brought right up to 
your doorstep. Tnerc will also 
be hectic activity soon. 

Aquarius 

January 20 — February 16 

« \uu w'ill ensure mar- 
nage. an engage- 
merit, a collaboration 
or a job-s witch. Pets 
should make yon happy. 

Many Aquarians will be 
hiring/ firing employees if 
; they are the boss, or an execu- 
[ tive Legal issues and posers 
are probable, but given under- 
; standing and reasoning these 
I could definitely be sorted out 

Pisces 

I February 19 — March 20 
: Expect a new high in 

tremendous joy 
through children and 
creative pursuits Hobbies will 
; have an extra dimension, say 
music, w riting, teaching and 
acting. For J ’isceans interested 
in romance and marriage, a 
fine chance to make it Sou will 
be w'orking on various levels 
simultaneously. 










Sketches 

POTTED HISTORY 

A guide to what the chattering classes are talking about 

This week: DD3 



secr< 


egan life as: An 
idea in 

| information and 
broadcasting 
kry Dhaskar G hose's 
head. He was 
director-general ot 
Doordarshan for part of the 
Rajiv Gandhi era and 
wanted to leave his mark 
on the network before he 
retired m early 19%. 

The early days: Ghose 
talked a lot about it; 
promised people that this 
will be the channel for 
everybody who never 
wanted to watch TV . It 
would be intellectual; it 
would be newsy; it would 
be daring; it would be 
compulsive. 

So, what happened?: 
Nothing. 

And why is that 7 : Mainly 
because people v\ ho don't 
want to watch television 
still don't want to watch it 
Besides, Ghose' s 
conception of up-market 1 
may not have been 
everybody else's. 

Moreover, Dileep 
Pad gaonkar endangered ; 

the w’hole project. t 

Did this have to do with 
Samir Jain?: No, no, this i 

was the post-T ime* of India j 
Padgaonkar. He was to 
host a live breakfast show' 
every weekday, and 
invited many journalists 
close to the PMO for the 
dummy runs. They 
w'ere appalled that 

Doordarshan 


was giving people money 
to criticise the Prime 
Minister and complained 
to Narasimhn Rao. 

And Rao said, so what?: 
No, he didn't. He closed 
the damn thing down one 
day before it was due to go 
on the air. 

Oh dear!: You bet Red 
faces all around at Mandi 
House; Ghose in fit of 
depression; Padgaonkar's 
career progression in ruins, 
etc. And that was the last 
that anybody heard ot DD3 
for a full year 
Who revived it?: Bhaskar 
Ghose. who else 7 He 
persuaded his minister to 
take it to Cabinet and Rao 
agreed on the condition 
that there was no live 


programming and no 
controversy. 

This suited Ghose, who 
had decided that the real 
place for theatre was not 
the stage but the television 
screen. So, DD3 was recast 
as an intellectual rather 
than up-market channel. 
And no, Dileep 
Padgaonkar did not get his 
show' back. 

Is it on the air now?: Tht- 
channei, you mean? Well 
yes, it is our duty to inform 
you that it is telecast every 
day even though you've 
probably never heard ot it 
and certainly never 
watched it. 

Why is that?: IN big 
advantage was going to be 
that it was terrestrially 


telecast. But, thanks to the 
delay, it only wont on the 
air after the cable 
revolution. So now it 
doesn't matter whether it's 
terrestrial or satellite. All 
that matters is whether the 
cable operator supplies it. 
And most don't 
Can't you ask for it?: You 
probably can, but few 
people bother. 

Oh really!: Afraid so The 
unanimous view of all TV 
critics is that it consists of 
unw.iti liable amateurish 
programming that isn’t 
worth the bother 
That doesn't sound like 
Ghose: No, it doesn't But 
then, he can't do 
everything 1 fe has to 
depend on othei people to 
handle the programming. 
What will happen now?: 
Ghose will retire Then* 
will be a new IX . f here is k 
new minister An election 
is coming up Doordarshan 
will have no room tor 
anything other than 
propaganda 
Isn't that terrible?: 
Propaganda isonlv teiriblel 
if you have to watch it. Anc( 
nobody watches DD3 ■ 














JUNIOR WHIRL ' HAL KAUFMAN 


Ls?j 






m3 






SCHOOL DAZEI Mrs Octopus thinks she has as many as 21 fish In 
her class, but Isn't sure. How many do you say? 


PAIR GAME! Absentminded Uncle Al has one pair of glasses 
for outdoors, one pair for indoors, and one pair for doing what? 
Answer quickly, if you can. 

OMl JtfUIO 0l|| 0U|PUI| JO j 


WORD TRACER DIAGRAM 

BEGINNING with any essential 
letter, see if you can connect letters 
along lines in the diagram above to 
form random words 

Definitions. 

1. One example. 

2. In such a way. 

3. Period of time. 

4. Garden flower. 

5. Big fibbers. 

6. Popeye's occupation. 

Then try to find al least 10 more 
f ive-lctter words, similarly. 

bHIL'l 

'UU.^b UVJl'l IV|IS J •>»«*( *JOI* 

’iWiI) WSOJV |J1T| 'IK'Ut, •*“1 

in*. >i bMn — ^ *m»* - f l ,i * r •* — 1 


19 ROUNDUP! Object of this 
exercise is to place the num- 
bers 1-9 in blank circles of the 
diagram below so that each 
row of three numbers in a 
straight line through centre 
will total 15 

Three numbers — 1,4 and S 
— are already in place 

here are some starter hints 
Hint 1 ■ Number at centre can- 
not be too high or too low 
Hint 2: Outer circle numbers 
appear in a rather orderly suc- 
cession take it from there 


11 iip ij:m 1 

do | uuu 1 U*l|l VM1MOI IV s '*V[,| 


HOCUS-FOCUS 




FUNSPOT 


HANG ONI It's fun on the run for these toboggan sledders. Add 
colon by number: 1 — Red. 2— Lt. blue. 3 — Yellow. 4— Lt. brown. 5— 
Fleeh tones. B— Lt. green. 7— Ok. brown, B — Purple. 


SB 


CAN YOU TRUST YOUR EYES? There are at least six differ- 
ences in drawing details between top end bottom panels How 
quickly can you find them? Check answers with those below 

Butssiui st ienno 9 <kM««lUi t| xoqipft s uiejsgfp si um 
> luejsgtp si ajnpy C Jeuoqs s 1 stpusK 2 PSaoui si uuy i :fi33N3W3ddlQ 


SPELLBINDER 


SCORE 10 points for using all the 
letters m the word below to form 
Iwo complete words 

HESITANT 

THEN score 7 points each for all 
words of four letters or more 
found among the letters 

Try to score at least SO points, 
‘lees 'uim euiosoMj oiqissod 

















"IT DIDN’T COST 06 ANYTHING. LEROY "I’M GOING TO CALL YOOR MOTHER WITH OOR 

I TOOK THE MONEY OUT OF OOR SAVINGS." NEW VOICE DIALING . . . DIAL BIG MOOTH.” 


GARFIELD ■ 





















ROMANCING THE STONE 

Delhi’s ladies can now wear diamonds in their hair and crystals on 
their nails, says SttmUaBhatia 

Photographs by Rajesh Kumar 


B as retro glamour — the kind 
bomised bv such Hollywood 
is Marilyn Monroe and 
rlene Dietrich — has made a 
meback in the West, our ladies 
are also succumbing to the 
lure of diamonds, crystals and the 
ever-popular rhinestones. 

Wtth one important difference. 

They are not looking to wear them on 
either their fingers or choli blouses. 
Instead, they will be sporting these sto- 
nes on their hair and nails, with some 
help from such beauticians as Blossom 
Kochar and that high priestess of high- 
maintainance beauty, Shahnaz 
Hussain. 

Yes, the nail decorations and hair 
extensions that the West went so wild 
about a decade or so ago, are now mak- 
ing inroads into the Indian beauty 
scene. And Shaimaz Hussain, now 
celebrating the 25th anniversary of her 
company, is launching them in a big 
way in India. 

Here to help Hussain popularise 
these items was Murray Malski, a lead- 
ing hair stylist from Hong Kong, 
who — among other things — is adept 
at punching diamonds and ruby-red 
crystals on to the hair of a favoured 
client 

If diamonds and pearls in your hair 
do not hold much appeal, then you 
can always go in for the less garish 
options. How about some non- 
chemical hair streaking, for instance, 
which would give you an entirely dif- 
ferent look? 

If you have short hair and don't par- 
ticularly want to wait for months — or 
even forever — for it to grow to a res- 
pectable length, then all you have to 
do is book into Hussain's salon. There 
a hair stylist will solder (yes, solder!) 
hair strands to your own, and three 
hours later, your six centimeters will 
have increased to around 26 centimete- 
res — or more. 

If we're talking about hair, then 
nails can't be very far behind. And 
sure enough, you can get sparkling rhi- 
nestones at your fingertips: but fora 
26 


minor fortune, of course. Artificial 
nails (which you may require if your 
own are bitten to the quick) come for 
Rs 200 each, while the embellishments 
themselves will cost you Rs 250 per 
nail. 

The total cost of this exercise could 
be as high as Rs 4,500. And then, you 
will be told that you have to remove 
this star-spangled nail varnish after a 
fortnight if you want to ensure the 
health of your nails. 

Other hair treatments include strea- 
king and highlighting and these are 
equally expensive. As far as hair exten- 
sions are concerned, each strand that 
adds to your hair length in brown and 
black comes for Rs 250. The burgundy 
and blonde strands, however, go for a 
premium, being priced at Rs 450 each. 

While four or five strands are often 
enough to give the right 'effect', Hus- 
sain refuses to recommend the opti- 
mum number. According to her, that 
depends entirely on the client in 
question. 

Says Nilofar Currimbhoy, Hussain's 
daughter and the newly-appointed 
president of the Shahnaz Herbal 


Group of Companies, "Hair exten- 
sions are also useful tor cancer pati- 
ents who have lost hair after undergo- 
ing chemotherapy. Since their hair 
seems to grow back very slowly, this 
helps them tide over aaifficult 
period." 

What can be a real killer though is 
lengthening an entire head of hair. 
Depending on the thickness of a 
client's hair, the number of strands 
required can range anywhere from 25 
to 50. So, you could well end up pay- 
ing anywhere from Rs 6,250 to Rs 
12,500 for a new set of hair. 

Not that these prices are deterring 
any of Delhi's society ladies. Designer 
Bina Ramani, tor instance, was in atten- 
dance at Hussain's salon, as was the 
former model /actress Nafisa Ali, who 
was having her nails 'done*. "It looks 
territying," she admitted, after the 
event, "but I think the children will 
love it." 

Some ambassadors' wives have 
also, apparently, succumbed to the 
lure of the magic aids in Shahnaz's 
salon, and had their nails and hair 
decorated. No doubt, that look goes 






down exquisitely on the diplomatic 
tiituit! 

But neither Shahnaz nor Nilofar is 
ready to admit that this is essentially 
the stuff of high (or low, depending on 
your point of view) fashion. Says Cur- 
rimbhoy, 'These are basically geared 
for nail and hair care. Of course, the 
jewels, both for . hair and nails, are 
attractive so people simply love them. 
But that's not the main point." 

Other beauticians say that getting 
such nail embellishments done is the 
best way to get fungal infection on 
your nails. Not so, says Nilofar. 

"The first application at our par- 
lours/' she says, explaining the pro- 
cess, "is that of the nail hardener. The 
liquid used under the embellishments 
has a powerful neem base alone with 
nine other hardeners that actually 
help strengthen and build nails, this 
improves nail health, the neem base 
helps fight off nail fungus, and the nail 
grows healthier and faster. The embel- 
lishment also acts as a cover for brok- 
en or damaged nails till the new ones 
grow." 

Contrary to its claims, Shahnaz Her- 
bal cannot be credited with bringing 
embellishment techniques to this 
country. Blossom Kochar's Pivot 
Point has been offering these services 
to its clients for the last four years. But, 
says Kochar, the concept never really 
caught on except with college kids and 
brides. 

Instead, she says, things worked the 
other way round, with the bindi — 
which she exported to the States — 
taking the Americans by storm. 

But crystals and rhinestones are not 



all that Pivot Point has to offer. "One 
popular method of looking after nails 
among our clients," says Kochar, "is 
the French manicure which leaves the 
nail covered with a colourless varnish 



and the tips an opaque white. It makes 
for an understated, elegant look with- 
out being fussy." 

Another method used is the silver 
foil technique which leaves a silver 
print on the nail. Nail jewels, however, 
nave not become very popular, 
though you can get stars, stones, 
pearls and other gems glued on to 
your nail here. The latest addition to 
the gizmos at work in Pivot Point Ls 
the airbrush: a gun that sprays air and 
paints of different colours on to the 
nail. 

Kochar makes a point of emphasis- 
ing that her services are not overpri- 
ced. "We have kept our prices reasona- 
ble/' she says, "so that many more 
people can actually have access to 
these beauty aids. If they are loo steep- 
ly priced, then only a select few can 
avail of them." 

Hence, at Pivot Point, nail decora- 
tions can be acquired for around Rs 
150-500 and the latest method of hair 
lengthening — hair combs — costs 
around Rs 150-200 each. 

"This is the latest method doing the 
rounds in the US," explains Kochar, 
"and the obvious advantage of this 
method of hair lengthening is that the 
client does not need to keep this comb 
on forever. It can be taken on and off as 
she likes." 

Kochar also has other methods of 
hair lengthening on offer: stitching, 
the glue gun technique and meshing. 
But the latter method has been known 
to damage hair as the extension 
strands are actually soldered on to the 
person's existing hair. 

But while Kochar's Pivot Point met 
with relatively little success in market- 
ing these innovative beauty aids, the 
entry of Shahnaz Hussain in this sec- 
tor may well change things complete- 
ly. For one thing, Hussain Ls the queen 
of hard sell, and manages to push her 
products in nearly every market. For 
another, she is widely regarded as the 
last word in beauty care in India, and 
that may help popularise the aids that 
she is promoting. 

But Shahnaz Herbal is not relying 
on these products alone; the company 
also has another scheme in the works. 
Says Currimbhoy , "We have tied up 
with several travel agencies to get 
huge groups of Japanese and huro- 
pean tourists who come to India for 
the Kerala massage." 

This, according to Currimbhoy, is 
the latest craze in the West, and Shah- 
naz Herbal's foreign franchisees are 
keen to open branches offering this ser 
vice to its clients. 

But that, as they say, is another stnrv ■ 

?7 




llMEUGHT 

HIS RIGHT HAND 

Pankaj Kharbanda is not your typical star secretary, and you could have 
SunjayDutt ’s tvordforit. ShameemAkthar profiles the great backroom boy 


■ flashbulbs streaked 
L| like lights on 

I 1 Sunjay Dutt's face 
JL as he made his first 

public appearance after his 
release from pail. And there 
was one person beside the 
star who ducked the blind- 
ing cameras. Pankaj Khar 
banda is used to dodging 
media attention. 

He is surprised when ask- 
ed for an interview. "Why 
me? Everybody wants Sun- 
jay." Except stars, who 
have wanted to hire Khar- 
banda as their agent so he 
could package those magic 
deals that continue to make 
Sunjay Dutt one of the hott- 
est propositions. 

Dutt Junior's Man Fri- 
day, who has been working 
with him since 1^88, has 
stuck by him during the 
harsh days of the star's 
incarceration. 

This has won him the 
admiration of an industry 
more used to characters 
that resemble the proverbi- 
al rats that jump off a sink 
ing ship. For Kharbhanda, 
who tries to play things 
down, the question goes 
beyond loyalty. For him, it 
is a question of professio- 
nal ethics. 

It is also a question of 
friendship. A seven-year 
friendship that has seen 
ups and downs professio- 
nally and personally. 

"In Bombay, people who 
do my type of work are call- 
ed secretaries. But we are 
more than that. We are a 
star's agent, his advisor, his 
confidante. We know their 
personal lives intimately. 
The two of us cannot get 
along professionally if 
there is no personal 


rapport." among the stars who have I ing two stars, one who has 

The latest craze in film- been desperately trying to I been a superstar and ano- 

dom, Urmila Matondkar, is rope in Kharbanda. Handl- I ther zooming towards 

Pankaj Kharbanda: Sunjay Dutt’s Man Friday 



20 






Kharbanda grins, ‘We were lucky 
that there were so many women 
journalists covering his trial. I think 
Sunju inspires the mother in all of 
them with that vulnerable 
expression. Except for a few negative 
reports most were supportive. That 
kept his morale up’ 



superstardom, would be 
like tackling two wives, 
smiles Kharbhanda. But he 
has been dealing with 
Matondkar / s film offers — 
only as a friend without 
monetary consideration — 
and everybody knows 
where the superhit 
Ranged# has taken her. 

E thics is a favourite 
word in Kharbanda's 
vocabulary. So are words 
like friendship, loyalty. 

This dreamy-eyed 
39-year-old man, who 
strayed from a journalistic 
career into the big, bad 
world of films, had stayed 
on only because of his rap- 
port with the star who was 
moving into big league 
before fate and foolhardi- 
ness pushed him into a 
legal cesspool. 

Kharbanda started as an 
agent with star Anupam 
Kher and left when he felt 
he was not wanted. Even 
that break-up was linked 
with his friendship with 
Sunjay. 

He recalls, "It all started 
with Sunjay asking me to 
become his agent. 1 le asked 
me one day, 'Yaar, why are 
you not working with me?' 
And I replied, Because you 
are not asking me to/ He 
said, 'So 1 am asking you 
now.' And my answer was. 
Then lam working for 
you/ 

"It was as simple as that. 

1 was also working simulta- 
neously for Anupam and 1 
realised that Anupam did 
not relish the thought of 
sharing an agent. I saw his 
point of view. Like 1 said, 
being an agent for two stars 
is like having two wives. 1 
could not handle it. Anu- 
pam was making it clear 
that he did not like it either. 
So 1 just wrote a letter to 
Anupam one day, explain- 
ing that 1 no longer wanted 
to work with him." 

Industry Cassandras 
would have predicted a car- 
eer slump for Kharbhanda. 
For, at that point Sunjay 
was just a fledgling star 
and could not afford to pay 
him what Anupam could. 


But fate has proved the Cas- 
sandras wrong If 
anything, imprisonment 
seems to have added to the 
Dutt Jr's appeal. His expres- 
sion of wounded vulnerabi- 
lity, that has fans drooling 
for more, is enhanced and 
the public hysteria evoked 
by his release continues to 
make him a much-wanted 
name in a film's title credits. 

And he would be the first 
to credit Kharbanda for 
having the foresight for 
striking lucrative deals. For 
Ram Gopal Varma's Nayak 
(opposite Urmila Matond- 
kar) Kharbanda had decid- 
ed that the star's salary 
would be the territory sales 
of Bombay. He equates this 
to walking a financial tight- 
rope. "Three years ago, 
when Sunjay signed the 
film, Bombay wa$ not the 
hottest territory. In fact, no 
territory was hot. Today, 


Bombay is the safest bet for 
any distributor. A film 
which is a hit here can earn 
Rs 2 CTore in just four 
weeks," explains Kharban- 
da smugly. 

He is equally smug 
about Sunjay's deal on Jyo- 
tin Goel's film. Safari. For 
that, he had asked for a per- 
centage of the film's sales 
as the star's payment. Even 
this is tricky, he explains. If 
the film catches audience 
fancy the star rakes in the 
lucre. He gets nothing if it 
bombs. 

T he star sheen has not 
rubbed off on Kharban- 
da. Though unassuming 
himself, he is defensive 
about other tantrum- 
throwing secretaries in the 
trade. The tantrums, he rea- 
sons, are a secretary's way 
of saying no on a star's 
behalf. He does not agree 
with the general complaint 


that a star's success goes to 
a secretary's head. In fact, it 
is the secretary's task to 
deflect on himself the bad 
vibes that a star's tantrums 
would invite. 

The secretary also crea- 
tes the public face of the 
star. In Kharbanda's case it 
had meant reading the 
100-odd letters that Sunjay 
would receive when his 
film clicked at the box- 
office. Crank letters, 
emotion-drenched letters 
and sometimes touching 
letters like the one by a girl 
who losl a Sunju-lookalike 
boyfriend in a motor acci- 
dent or that little American 
girl who shyly wondered if 
he would be her date on her 
first porm dance. 

Then there are the critical 
letters and the supportive 
letters while in prison that 
reminded the star that he 
had not faded out of public 
memory. 

To ensure this for the last 
15 months also meant that 
Kharbanda kept a press, 
that was greedy for any 
news on Sunjay Dutt, 
satisfied 

He grins, "We were 
lucky that there were so 
many women journalists 
covering his trial. I think 
Sunju inspires the mother 
in all of them with that vul- 
nerable expression. Except 
for a few negative reports 
most were supportive 
That kept his morale up. 
We ensured that he kept 
abreast of everything that 
was happening in the outsi 
de world." 

During the last 15 
months Kharbanda has 
also had no paymaster. But 
that did not stop him from 
working overtime for Sun- 
jay, shunting between 
Delhi and Bombay. 

Later, when he has the 
time he might dust his 
dreams, now relegated to 
the backburner Maybe he 
will direct that film that he 
had always wanted to 
Maybe Sunjay will be its 
hero. Right now, he is not 
asking; he is engrossed m 
ensuring that his boss' 
dreams art 1 realised ■ 


29 



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haven't yet met 
formally 


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where ! can spend the days 
Un true love and a drawbridge 
fe&B M infa nd whichis full ofitioe- 

r*e l haven't yet met 




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willi iwo genlle words for mosquitoes. 


Bye - Bye 


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28 JANUARY 1996 % 


The Telegraph 




Cold Comfort 

K Is the Magazine trying 
to promote itself as adesi 
version of the Vogue and 
Vanity Fair (Tall For This', 
December 3)? 

In India, how many 
people can afford to splur- 
ge Rs 3,000 on a.shirt or 
Rs 7,000 on a jacket? It is a 
pity that some people, in 
their bid to be ultra- 
fashionable, do not realise 
that they are being taken 
for a ride by designers 
who may charge a stagger- 
ing Rs 50,000 for a saree or 
an evening gown. 

With the liberalisation of 
the economy, two industr- 
ies which have received 
the maximum boost are 
fashion and beauty. A 
Western-looking India 
obviously feels, to be on 
the international beauty 
and fashion map they have 
to look and feel different 
and emulate Western 
values of aesthetics. 
Manoranjatt Das, 

Jamshedpur 

• The designer outfits 
look gorgeous on the 
models who have the 
requisite height, figure 
and grace to carry them 
off. I wonder how they 
will fare on an average 
Indian woman. 

Kiron Shankar Sengupta , 
Jamshedpur 




J.J. Valaya's Fall-Winter '95 creations 

M With rising costs where cover tl 
the average middle class collectii 

family has to really strive joke, 

hard to make both ends Prahlac 

meet what magic do the Nadia (\ 
names of Ritu Ben or Ravi M True, 
Bajaj have? On a hungry me moi 

stomach, they cannot r~ 

dream of Armani and 1 0 S 

Versace. 

B.N.Bose, Will 

Calcutta m 


cover them, such opulent 
collections are a terrible 
joke. 

Prahlad Agarwal, 

Nadia (W.B.) 

* True, women have beco- 
me more conscious of fash- 


• High fashion is the preser- 
ve of the super rich. Why 
waste a cover story of this 
nature in the Magazine 
which, 1 am sure, is read 
more by middle-class 
readers? 

Sunil Banerjte, 

Calcutta 

■ In India where 
hundreds of women and 
children go through the 
winter without a thread to 


I To Santa, 
With Love 

® Dear Santa, 

1 would like to have a 
pair of navy blue jeans 
and a shirt in rainbow 
colours (First Person, 
December 24). I would 
also like a present for 
my brother. 

1 am sorry you have 
to give me two gifts. 

But that's all I want and 
I love you Santa. 

Mohini Das, 

Calcutta 


ion and beauty now, but it 
does not mean that they 
? can churn out Rs 20,000 at 
j will for an exotic outfit. 
Debashis Sen, 

Calcutta 

S If the patrons of fashion 
were really to wear those 
winter creations, wouldn't 
they catch .pneumonia ? 
Sourav Ghosh Choivdhury, 
Calcutta 


Without Malice 

V It is difficult to erase the 
animosity that exists bet- 
ween Pakistan and India 
('Sarson Da Saga', Novem- 
ber 26). Khushwant Singh, 
because of his stature as a 
journalist and writer, may 
get away with jokes like 
Pakistanis being 30 years 
behind us (India) in deve- 
lopment and so on. 

! wonder how many 
Pakistanis would take a sta- 
tement like that in good 
humour from any other 
Indian. 

Sotnnath Mukherfce, 

Calcutta 


• No one could be a better 
choice than Khushwant 
Singh for the post of the 
Indian High 

Commissioner in Pakistan. 
Dipankar Kolay, 

Jhtkn (Howrah) 









People to v'atch out for in the coming year; 
Seenta Gaswami takes a look 



A round the year-end, the media 
is awash with lists: of those 
who made it in the year that 
was; those who didn 7; those 
who attained notoriety; those who 
achieved fame; those who hit the big time; 
those who lagged behind. But while 
looking back with nostalgia may have a lot 
to recommend it, it is far greater fun to look 
forward and predict how the coming year 
will pan out. Far more risky, too , if the 
number of astrologers with egg all over 
their faces are anything to go by 

Nonetheless, The Telegraph decided 
to stick its neck out and list those — in 
such diverse fields as politics and movies 
— to watch out for in 1996. They may 
succeed in what they set out to do, or tiny 
may fail But that isn't teally the point 
These are the people who wilt — one way 
or the other — make 1996 an interesting 
year to live through 


POLITICS 

Alai Behari Vajpayee 


There was a time when most people 
regarded A B Vajpayee as a washed- 
up politician of the Janata government 
era, a toothless lion who was condemn- 
ed to spend the rest ot his life in a twi 
light zone L.K Ad vani had taken 
over the reins of the Bharatiya janata 
Party (BJP) with the blessings of Nag- 
pur, and was espousing the cause of 
Hindutva from his Toyot a-rath, as he 
traipsed the length and breadth of the 
country leaving communal riots and 
carnage in his wake. 

Murh Manohar Joshi succeeded 
Ad vani as the BJP president, and went 
on his own version of a rath yatra, 
though this time the i atch- word w as 
Tkta rather than Hindutva. 

All the while Vajpayee watched 
from the sidelines, bemused at the 
aggressive posturings of the Hindut- 
va brigade, and bewildered by their 
fulminations against 'pseudo- 
secularism' But the discipline that 
had been instilled in him at the vari- 
ous shakhas that he has attended as a 
Kashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) 
cadet, ensured that Atal/i kept his 
reservations to himself In public, he 
was always the party man, standing 
by the angry statements of such hot- 
heads as Uma Bharti (though even he 
drew the line at the venomous Sadhvi 
Rithambara). 

But the days when Vajpayee was 
considered an irrelevant (if senior) 
figure in the BJP are long over. Now, 
as the party gears up for the general 




elections this year, Atal Behari is being 
projected as the BJPs candidate for 
prime ministership. 

So, what brought about this 
change? Strangely enough, Vajpayee 
has Narasimha Rao to thank for this. 

In the Rajiv Gandhi era, the Con- 
gress had followed a policy of what* 
soon came to be called aggressive secu- 
larism, perhaps best symbolised by its 
treatment of the Shah Bano case. This 
'appeasement of the minorities' result- 
ed in a Hindu backlash, which the BJP, 
under the stewardship of Ad vani, 
took full advantage of. 

But Narasimha Rao was different. 
Realising that the BJP was gaining- 
from the widespread feeling that Hin- 
dus were being discriminated against, 
Rao derided to change track. In the 
place of aggressive secularism he 
adopted the policy of benign neglect 
of all communal issues. In its most 
extremeform, it resulted in the 
destruction of the Babri Masjid. But he 
did succeed in reducing the BJPs 
appeal to the middle-of-the-road 
Hindu. 

Hence, the new-found importance 
of A.B. Vajpayee. He is the man 
entrusted with wooing the less- 
than-rabid Hindu back to the BJP fold. 


>1 /A vi r\ 


The kind of person who is infuriated 
by Muslims bursting crackers when 
Pakistan wins a cricket match, but was 
ashamed and disturbed when the 
Babri Masjid came down is more like- 
ly to incline towards the mild- 
mannered Vajpayee than the wild- 
eyed demagoguery of Ad vani. 

The BJP may or may not form the 
government at the centre after 
the 19% general elections. But that 
isn't really the point. The fact that it 
will fight the polls under Vajpayee 
rather than Ad vani is a far better indi- 
cation of the subtle ways in which Indi- 
an politics has changed since the last 
such election. 

Sonia Gandhi 

Speculation about the Gandhi 
widow's political plans — or lack of 
them — has been raging ever since her 
husband's tragic assassination in May 
1991. But in 19%, things are likely to 
come to a head. 

There aren't too many options left 
for Sonia. One: she can stand for elec- 
tion from the late Rajiv's constituency, 
Amethi, asking faithful family retai- 
ner Captain Satish Sharma to step 
aside Two: she can steer clear of party 


politics herself, and let Rahul Gandhi 
(fresh from Harvard) contest from 
Aznethi. Three: both she and Rahul 
can stay away from the hustings, wait- 
ing for Friyanka to attain majority so 
that she can fight for the Amethi seat a 
couple of years from now in a 
by-election. 

But once the date for the general elec- 
tions is decided upon, Sonia will have 
to come clean with what she intends to 
do. If she does deride to fight from 
Aznethi, it is extemely unlikely that 
the BJP and other Opposition parties 
will persist with the kid-glove treat- 
ment. All those snide cracks about 
Rome Raj and Italian loafers will be 
trotted out all over again, and Bofors 
may well be unearthed to embarrass 
Sonia. And more importantly, it is far 
from dear that the issue of finding and 
punishing Rajiv Gandhi's killers will 
strike a chord with the Amethi voters, 
foui years after the assassination 

If Rahul is the candidate from Ame 
thi, and Sonia merely a shadowy pres- 
ence behind him, then stories about 
the revival of the Gandhi dynasty will 
abound. Either way, Sonia will be Men 
as fair game, rather than the sacro- 
sanct figure that she has been until 
now. 


I ft Is extremely unl^^ 

| Congress or the B]P will mate Mmany 
such offer^Seshan wiO pnbatly have 
to rest content with mounting po&tkal 
crusades of the kind dial he has shown 
such relish for in the past. 

Mubyam Singh Yadav 



Say this for Mulayam Singh Yadav: 
you can never write him off. This for- 
mer wrestler has often been down, but 
he has never stayed down for the 
count. 

Last year, Mulayam had the mortifi- 
cation of seeing his government fall 
when Kanshi Ram's BSP joined hands 
with the BJP. Political pundits who 
wrote him off miscalculated. Mayawa- 
ti lasted only a few months before Kan- 
shi Ram grew disenchanted and the 
B)P withdrew support. 

But Mulayam has used his time in 
theOpposition valuably. He is now at 
the head of a new model of the Nation- 



If the entire Gandhi family decides 
to stay away from the hustings, it 
won't help matters either. The politi- 
cal pundits will merely say that Sonia 
is biding her time. That she doesn't 
want to nsk having her children make 
their political debuts at a time when 
the Congress' prospects are at an all-ti- 
me low. And that when Rao is a taint 
memory from the past, Sonia will re- 
emerge from the shadows, flanked by 
Rahul and Pnyanka, to reclaim her 
position on the Indian p Miticnl scene 

T.N. Seshan 

Seshan's fortunes appear to be at an 
all-time low right now, what with the 
Supreme Court upbraiding him for 
considering himself "the one and only 
man to uphold democracy", but know- 
ing Seshan it won't be long before he 
bounces back — right into the 
limelight. 

Certainly, as chief election commis- 
sioner, Seshan will come into his own 
in the year ot the general elections 
There will be the usual tirades about 
corrupt politicians, venal police forces 
and the pliable media Seshan will try 
and imppse his 'election guidelines' 
on political parties, television chan- 
nels and newspapers. 

And since this is the first general 
election in which his pet project — the 
voters' ID cards - - will be tested, 
Seshan will be even more aggressive 
than usual. (Where this leaves those 
who have received cards with pho- 
tographs of strangers affixed on them 
is not clear; but then, that is another 
6 


story ) 

But what happens after the elec- 
tions? Having had his moment of 
glory as tl\? single-most important 
man in India, where will Seshan go 
from there? 

Some say that politics is the next logi- 
cal step And Seshan has gone on the 
record to say that if a political party 
gave him a position of responsibility 
i.e Prime Minister or President, then 
he would entertain the idea. But since 


al Front, a grouping that takes In Kar- 
nataka's H.D. Deve Gowda, Orissa's 
Bi ju Patnaik and has the tacit support 
of Sharad Yadav and Ram Vilas 
Paswan from the cow belt. Laloo 
Yadav will not link up with Mulayam 
and V.P. Singh hates him, but 
Chandra Shekhar is coming around to 
joining up. 

All this makes Mulayam the wild 
card at the next election. He has the 
Muslim vote all sown up and could 


MupitlhehHdflfaooDectkiRof 
€D-7Q MF in the next Lok Sabha. 
Should that happen, he will hold the 
balance of power. 

BUSINESS/ 

INDUSTRY 

Dhirubhai Ambani 

*? — ■ ■■ ■ ■■■■■ — ■ 

It's a little like that famous poster for 
fatosll: "Just when you thought that it 
was safe to go back into the water..." 

Just when we all thought that Relian- 
ce had finally become too big for any 
of its rivals to topple Dhirubhai Amba- 
ni from his throne,, the company was 
beset by one of the biggest scandals in 
even Reliance's tumultuous history. 

In essence, what Reliance's enemies 
alleged was that at some stage — per- 
haps to generate the cash required to 
prop up the share price when the mar- 
ket was down — Dhirubhai and Son 
sprinted enormous quantitiesof dupli- 







RAVI J’K \ K \SH kill MKA 



make or break situation for Dhirubhai 

This year we will get the results of 
that enquiry. If, as most people expect, 
it exonerates the Ambanis of everyth- 
ing but negligence, then they are 
certain to wreck a terrible revenge on . 
their enemies. If, on the other hand, it 
upholds the charges, then expect more 
fireworks. 

Ravi Prakash Khemka 

They went from being the group that 
nobody had heard of to becoming the 
business house that nobody loves. The 
Khemkas of the Madras-based NEPC 
group remained in the headlines for 
much of 1995 and began 1996 with a 
predatory attack on K .K Modi's Modi- 
luft airline. 

Though other airline operators ralli- 
ed behind Modi and senior industrial- 
ists frowned on the Khemka strategy, 
the canny Marwarisirom Madras (via 
Punjab) were unfa/.ed by the hostility. 
They had spent 45 croreon publicity 
for the NEPC group in 1995, but with 
the Modiluft takeover they had got the 
kind of media exposure that a 100 
crore would not have bought. 

Little is known about the Khemkas 
except that they made their fortune 
manufacturing windmills, expanded 
into agro-products and chemicals, 
and are now set to become aviation 
operators following the acquisition of 
Damania Airways, re-christened 
NEPC Skyline from January I . 

A tightly-controlled, largely family- 
owned group, NEK' is run by Ravi 
Prakash Khemka, who claims to have 
arrived in Madras in the early Sixties 
with just Rs 600 in his pocket Ravi Pra- 
kash serves as the public face of the 
group but behind the scenes, it is his 
son, Raj Kumar, who calls the shots 
The Khemkas attribute the numerous 
rumours about the origin of their 
money to jealous rivals — is it [avalali 
tha's or Sashikala's? Does Chandra 
Swami have a stake? — and insist that 
their wealth is their own. 


DHiiujnn \i win \\i 


Amitabh Bachchan 


cate share certificates, sold them to gul- 
lible investors and used the cash to 
keep the share flying high. 

Inis allegation was never directly 
levelled by the financial press largely 
because the Ambanis were on a suing 
spree and defamation cases were fly- 
ing about like — well, all right — dupli- 
cate share certificates. But that was 
certainly the agenda. Reliance's tradi- 
tional enemies became active once 
again and on the Bombay stock mar- 


ket, a Marwari cartel of brokers oppos- 
ed Reliance's largely Gujarati 
supporters. 

Tne Ambanis ended the year pro- 
testing their innocence. And certainly, 
their enemies dealt largely in innuen- 
do without producing the kind of evid- 
ence required to substantiate such seri- 
ous charges. But when the finance 
ministry ordered a joint enquiry by 
5EBI and the department of company 
affairs, it became clear that this was a 


In 1989, it looked as though things 
could not get worse foi Amitabh Bach- 
chan. But in tact they did. V P Singh 
targettcd the star in 1990 and it was 
against all the odds that Bachchan was- 
able to fight the might of the govern - 
ment of India and prove his innocence 
to the country at large. 

For five years now, things have 
gone swimmingly well for Bachchan 
In 1990, he earned a new generation or 
fans with Jurnma . httmtna and despite 



an enforced absence from our screens 
after Khuda Gawah, his popularity is 
such that corporate entities queued up 
to invest in his Amitabh Bachchan Cor- 
poration Limited (ABCL) last year. 

ABCL had a host of imitators in the 
course of the year and the trend towar- 
ds the corporatisation of the entertain- 
ment industry is now fiivnly establi- 
shed. But 1996 will be the year when 
ABCL will have to deliver. Already 
many jealous competitors are praying 
that it will fail — witness the orchestra- 
ted campaign against the corporation- 
's star search. 

Moreo^, in 19%, Bachchan will 
back on our screens in Indra Kumar's 
forthcoming film. His album, produc- 
ed by Bally Sagoo, will also be in the 
stores. If they do well, then ABC ! 's for- 
tunes are assured, and the entertain- 
ment industry will never be the same 
again. If they do badly, however, then 
it may he back to the old ways in 
Bollywood. 




Kumaramangalam Birla 


At 27, Kumaramangalam seems absur- 
dly young to be in charge of the 
Rs 6,500 crore-worth Aditya Birla 
Group, a position he was forced to 
assume because of the untimely death 
of his father, Aditya. 

But there can be no denying that few 
people have been better trained for the 


job. While still a teenager, studying 
commerce :n a Bombay college, Kuma- 
ramangalam spent many hours at his 
father's office, observing how he ran 
his business. 

Then, when he began his chartered 
accountancy course, the 21 -year-old 
Birla was sent to his grandfather's Cen- 
tury Textiles to learn about the fami- 
ly's daily monitoring system, partha 


After that came a stint at the Business 
School of London, where he earned a 
post-graduate degree in business 
administration. 

With his education taken care of, 
Kumaramangalam was now free to 
take his place in his father, Aditya's, 
empire. But before he was given his 
own companies to manage, the heir 
apparent was asked to take a short 
course that all graduate engineer trai - 
nees are put through. 

It wasn't long before Kumara- 
mangalam had assumed independent 
charge of such companies as Vikram 
Cement, Vikram Ispar and Indian 
Rayon. But despite being one of the 
youngest business tycoons in India — 
and perhaps, in the world — Aditya 
Birla's son exuded the same modesty 
that had made his father so popular. 

Kumaramangalam has always shi- 
ed away from publicity and the press, 
so the media spotlight that fell on him 
after the death of his father must have 
made him very uncomfortable 
indeed. But now that he is the chair- 
man of the Aditya Birla Group he will 
have to take the occasional media 
intrusion in his stride. 

For now, though, Kumara- 
mangalam is content to keep a low pro- 
file, even as he takes the group into 
such relatively unchartered territories 
as power and telecom. The coming 
year or two will show whether he is 
successful in shaping his empire in his 
image, just as his father did so many 
years ago. 

Continued on Page 26 


Sketches 


POTTED HISTORY 

What the chattering classes are talking about 

This week: Narasimha Rao's novel 


B egan life as:Rao's 
way of coping 
with time on his 
hands. He had 
resigned as Andhra 
Pradesh chief minister 
(1973) and been appointed 
Congress general secretary 
(1975). But there wasn't 
much to do, and his friends 
suggested that he try his 
hand at fiction. 

And did he?: Yes, he began 
work on his novel. The 
Other Half, banging away 
on his lap-top in earnest. 
The background: Since 
Rao had been a politician 
for all of his adult life, he set 
the novel in a mileau he 
knew and understood. The 
book begins with the Civil 
Disobed ience movement, 
takes India to its 
independence and through 
five Prime Ministers 
Is it autobiographical?: 
Yes, say those who have 
read it and want to ascribe 
the remarks about Indira 
Gandhi to Rao No, savs 
Rao himself and his literary 
agent, Lynn Franklin. This 
is a work of the author's 
imagination, any 
resemblance to persons 
dead or alive is purely 
coincidental. 

Is the book complete?: No 

way. Rao finished 
one-third of the 
manuscript in 199T and 
gave it to Franklin for her 
opinion. She was to get 
back to him about the ways 
in which he could improve 
it. But then, political events 
overtook Rao and he put 
the book on the 
back-burner. But he still 
wants to make substantial 
changes in the first draft. 
So, how did it come to be 
extracted?: Kao would love 


to know. He had given 
copies of the manuscript to 
several friends and was 
shocked to set 1 that one of 
them had leaked it to . 
Outlook . 

The prime suspect: Nikhil 
Chakravartty. The 
journalist is an old friend of 
Narasimha Rao's and had 
retained the manuscript 
when it was loaned to him 
Rumour has it that he 
passed his copy on to 
Outlook 

And did lie?: Nobody 
knows except tor editor 
Vmnd Mehta. And he's not 
telling. 

But what's all the fuss 
about?: As tar as we ran 
see, it's about the 'dirty' 
bits that were duly picked 
out and highlighted bv the 
maga/me 

Sample quote: 'Sex was 
like itch to (eevan, the m ge 
U) fornicate wasn't very 
different horn the urge to 
urinate His need was quite 
simple, his detractors said 
- - to wit, any female 
vaginal orifice ‘ 

Gosh, isn't that shocking!: 
Not really But Rao's critics 
in the Congress went to 
town anyway, calling him a 
pornographer— and 
worse. 

And how did Rao 


respond?: He didn't 
What, no threats to sue?: 
Not from Rao. But Lynn 
Franklin, his literary agent, 
is not inclined to take so 
philosophic an attitude In 
an interview' with Sunday. 
she said, "1 consider the 
printing of unauthorised 
extracts to be an act of 
thett. In America 1 would 
have sued the publications 
concerned m a minute." 


And in India?: Narasimha 
Rao is keeping very quiet, 
hoping that the story will 
fade away After all, he 
managed to rideout the 
suitcase controversy; this is 
small stuff compared to 
that 

Silver lining: At least now 
the people of India know' 
that there's more to their 
Prime Minister than his 
pout. ■ 


: * ‘ ■‘■y , , ■ 



Foqjs 

RADIO GA-GA 

In the era of television, the radio has made a quiet comeback via the 
FM c ftannel, writes Rajlakshmi Bhattacharyya 



Youngsters listening to the Ffe channel 


When 1 ukis young. I'd listen to the radio 
Waiting for my favourite song. 

When they played I'd sing along , it made 
me cry . .. 

Every sha la la la : every slung - 
a-ling-a-hng so fine .. " 

W hen Karen Carpenter 
sang this nostalgic ode 
to the radio, she seemed 
to be echoing what so 
many other people felt. That the radio 
was a goner, doomed to collecting 
dust and cobwebs on a neglected 
shelf, eulogised only in songs that 
took people down memory lane. 

But the requiems 

notwithstanding, flu* radttfrdfutes<to 


die, resurfacing in its new avatar — 
the FM channel. Gone was the some- 
what stodgy framework that had cha- 
racterised it earlier And in its place 
was style and pi/za/, and a happy mix 
of music, chat shows and lively 
infotainment. 

So, it wasn't long before the radio, 
which had until then been the ftmtn- 
wala’z favourite form of entertain- 
ment, elbowed its way into yuppie liv- 
ing rooms as well. The reception was 
crystal clear, with a 10 harmonics ste- 
reophonic sound quality, there was 
none ot the snep-crackle-ti/z-and-pop 
of the short and medium band waves. 
And hey, it wasn't such a bad substi 
fettte to television, after all 

'*What sets the radio apart is its rec- 


ent novelty value," says Gautam Bhi- 
mani, one of the deejays on Radio Net- 
work's Good Monwig Calcutta And 
it is this novelty value that is bringing 
it more and more converts 

Of course, the abysmal quality of 
programmes telecast these' days helps 
Srvanto Paul, a student, for instance, 
has given up on television because he 
can't stand the soppy stuff being 
show n. So has Angona, who relies on 
FM radio to while away her leisure. 
Says Ncera) Banerjee (12), the young- 
est deejay on FM, "TV is too selective, 
focussing only on those viewers who 
win prizes while there are millions of 
people who are waiting in the wings, 
dying to be heard. Television just 
spoils your eyes and fries your brains." 

Then, there is the small point of 
price as well. A radio set costs a frac- 
tion of what a television does. "And 
then, radio owners don't have the has- 
sle of paying cable operators," says 
Barry O'Brien, who presents Radio 
Network's Wills Made for Each Other 
programmeevery Wednesday. "They 
don't have to keep two or three news- 
papers every day to keep track of 
what's on. And the radio is well 1 


With the mobile phone becoming more and more 
popular, FM is getting mobile, too. These days, you 
can see people clutching portable radio sets as well 
as cellular phones, and some trendies even listen to 
the radio while they are on the road 


10 





within the common man's reach." 

And now, says Dipankar Ghosh, 
CEO of Radio Network, "It is com- 
pulsary for radio manufacturers to 
have f^l as a channel on the set. So, at 
least 48 per cent of the population 
have access to FM." 

Small wonder then that the top 
players have entered the fray, whether 
it is HMV, Philips, The Times or corpo- 
rate giants like Hindustan Lever and 
Coca Cola, all of whom see it as a via- 
ble business proposition and market- 
ing option. 

A K usically speaking, FM's range 
lVJLextends from jazz to pop, classi- 
cal and contemporary stuff All of 
which is interspersed with snippets of 
information of talk shows. 

Derek and Rila O'Brien, who pres- 
ent Good Evening Calcutta on Saturday, 
for instance, have done some good sto- 
ries They had Khushwant Singh apo- 
logising to Calcuttans on their show 
for his remarks about Tagore And, 
then, they had the principal of La 
Martinere School telling listeners that 
they were planning to open a new 
school on the Eastern Metropolitan 
Bypass 

FM freaks who have been hsienmg 
m ever since the channel went on the 
air, recall with special affection Tulin 
Time , Mark TuJlv's show What they 
remember specially is the time the 
veteran broadcaster did a story on 
lyoti Basu. dubbing him a barristocrat. 

Among the all-time favourites on 
the FM channel, however, are the dial- 
m request programmes. But while you 
can ask for anything from C liff Richar- 
ds Bachelor hoi/, to heavy metal, it is oft- 
en difficult to get through to FM, with 
the lines being perpetually busy with 
people sending in their requests. 


Barry O’Brien 




Dipankar Ghosh 


There is also a quiz programme, in 
which listeners can dial in their 
answers. 

Then, of course, there is the usual 
staple of weather reports, traffic infor- 
mation, and career guides that are of 
some use to young listeners. 

Given the wide variety of program- 
mes, it is not surprising that FM has 
tans from every walk of lift? Execu- 
tives, lawyers, doctors, housewives, 
children and teenagers all have their 
favourite show on the channel "Wom- 
en in particular." says Sudeshna Roy, 
who used to present programmes on 
Radio Network, "form a core target 
group" - 

Srilekha C hatterjee is one such 
woman According to hoi , FM is the 
perfect backdrop to her early morning 
chores. It Kellogs has made an appear- 
ance on her breakfast table as a staple, 
well then, so has FM. 

In the evenings, the target audience 
is the college-going crowd, which 
turns to the channel as a source of 


Gautam Bhimani 




Derek O' Brian 


relaxation. Not that the older lot can- 
not enjoy this as well. Soumi Roy, a 
business executive in a financial daily, 
for instance, confesses that she tunes 
in to participate m "the tun" And 
even the mun-munchmg crowd that 
throng the Victoria Memorial carry a 
radio set along with them 

But Derek O'Brien sees no point m 
segregating the audience in this man- 
ner After all, he says, all of them — 
whether it is an eight-year-old school- 
boy or people m old age homes - - 
want to listen to music. "So," he says, 
"if there is one request for Wickfield, 
the other is tor Nat King Cole " 

W ith the mobile phone becoming 
rnoic and more popular, FM is 
getting mobile, too These days, you 
can see people clutching portable 
radio sets as well as cellular phones, 
and some trendies even listen to the 
radio while they're on the road. 

And such has been the triumph of 
radio over television, that the Star TV 
network is the latest to make an entry 
into the FM scene This infusion ot the 
big buck.-* into this sector will make the 
competition even tougher, but Dipan- 
kar Ghosh doesn't seem to be worried. 

"I am all for the freedom ot radio," 
he says. "In tact, I believe that the Pra- 
sar Bharah Bill should be enacted ns 
quickly as possible to ensure a more 
liberal kind ot radio " 

Clearly, when 1 1 C. Wells wrote 
about the future ot broadcasting m The 
Shape of 7 hnig> to Come "The unfortun- 
ate people who must now subdue 
themselves to 'listening in' will soon 
rind a better pastime tor then leisure." 
he couldn't have been more wrong 
People these da vs are, in the words 
of the famous Queen song going 
"radio ga ga" It's nice to know that 
someone still loves vou ■ 

1 1 





Profile 

GOA-ING FOR GOLD 

Remo Fernandes talks about his life , music and his new album, 
Namaste India, loShameem Akthar 


E ven the silence at Siolim villa- 
ge in%oa has its own music 
And when the sounds here 
decide to move with the ele- 
ments there is a song. Spend some 
time here and you can appreciate why 
this star in isolation, Remo Fernandes, 
decides to live in Goa even when the 
temptress Bombay tantalises with 
seductive promises of easy lucre and 
instant fame 

But the goddess of pelf creates her 
own provisos and so India's pop idol 
has decided to make his own offering. 
No, he does not intend to jump into 
the rat race of conipetiti ve music from 
which he has shied away for so long. 
But he may appease the deity by doing 
more song scores for the voracious 
film music industry Herald a bit oi 
fresh originality in that glittering 
world where plagiarism subsumes all 
sounds. 


After the reverberating success of 
llumma, humma in the film Bombay 
where he had lent his voice, he now 
intends to do scores for the forthcom- 
ing film Khamoshi A similar deal for 
another film is also brewing 

Also, in abeyance to this unlikely 
(for him) goddess he will, in future, be 
straying slightly from his self- 
appointed path of a messiah- 
for-the-voiith with lines likefticA that 
snuick to that catchy Fear of Auk, which 
have blasted messages into a pop- 
drunk generation. He will also have 
less of the citizen-reproving-nation 
tone in his socio-political theme 
album Politic tans Don't Know to Rock 
n Roll where he had given vent to his 
anger with this cover message "Wc, 
the people of India, have brains 
Muscle Soul And our land is as rich 
as they come Keeping a country like 
ours, starving and illiterate for half a 


century, must be a very difficult task 
indeed. This album is about those who 
carry out this task " 

There will be less of such dressing- 
downs m his Namaste India video 
album which, he hopes, will be a 
dance-oriented, good -time album. 
"But," laughs India's first original 
pop star . "me being me. I cannot keep 
off social themes. And will mcludea 
song on the celebration of the Indian 
Woman who has moved from the 
kitchen to the computer." lentative 
titles Include Clothing the Soul Indian 
Trance Dance, Hu it a Ho a nd filing, i 
/ mga 

A power breakdown has silenced 
Remo's elaborate synthesiser for the 
day So, he has decided to sleep off the 
rigours of last night s live performan- 
ce. This intrusive interview is granted 
rather reluctantly bv the singer who, 
unlike his contemporaries m the glos- 


Remo Fernandes: The original pop star from India 



sy pop world, does nol believe that he 
has to market himself to sell his songs. 

T he Portugueso-slylo Fernando 
Mansion squats with old-world 
elegance at the end of the only road 
that slithers through Siolim village. 
Behind, a few thatched huts away, a 
muddy river sings a leaf-fringed song 
that preludes the compulsive Goan 
siesta. The only interruption is the 
rude bass of a generator eloseby 
Remo's little sons Noah and Jonah, 
their nascent pigtails (a la Daddy) 
streaming behind, flit at the gauze 
curtains like elusive butterflies 
The wroughl-iron gate remains 
unlatched while the large wooden 
doors of the house remain open to 
passers-by. Obviously, the bell does 
not ring, with power having decided 
to take the afternoon oft, too For para 
noid visitors from Bombay, where 
matchbox flats are shuttered with 
wanness against filching thieves, this 
wide, unsuspicious openness of the 
Fernanda Mansion is utopian. A large 
polka-dolled hound bounds m with 
matching innocence, begging to be 
fondled No watch dog. this. 

Wooden and glass antique pieces 
decorale everv available space in a 
house which exhibits a generosity of 
spa*, e untound today Remo's fond- 
ness tor Ibis mansion that his grandfa- 
ther built had made him leave his Pan- 
jim residence a decade ago 1 lis parti- 
ality for this is understandable 

High, wooden- 1 afled root may well 
allow another floor, while the tall win- 
dow's that stand nearly tour-men high 
let the dappled sunlight, trapped by 
trees and vines, stream shvly in The 
natural coolness m the thu k-waUed 
rooms, which seem to flow into one 
another, adds to the langour t\ pical of 
a Goan afternoon Who would want to 
Jeaveall this natural splendour for the 
cut-throat, polluted tumult of Bom- 
bay? Nol Remo, certainly 

Then Remo 'kicks his own butt' (his 
words) and bestirs himself to work on 
his music. He scrambles through the 
trap-door into his studio that cuts him 
off from this splendour Cocooned in 
this world Vie composes, writes his 
lines and music, plays his own instru- 
ments and mixes and matches, impro- 
ving even on that unique raga rock' 
that he created by strumming his gui- 
tar to sound like a traditional Indian 
instrument. The primitive equipment 
of his yester-years have been replaced 
with hi-tech gadgets. He has recent* v 
acquired a Hl-K camera which he will 
lie using to do his own video shoots 
In the Fast-copying- the- West world 


TOP OF THE POPS 

How they stack up in the Indian music $cene 


T fe< 
dot 


i entry of MTV, followed 
doseiyby Channel V, has 
changed the face of Indian pop- 
dom. No longer do we have long- 
laced artists with hard-luck stories 
about how hard it is to make it 
These days, stars are bring made 
overnight and superstars every 
other night'. 

India's pop doll Alisha Chinai 
stopped being Madonna, or Sexy, 
Sexy and became a hit merely by 
being Made in India , Sales figures 
indicate a record of sorts with 1 .5 
million copies sold. Shekhar 
Kapur's wife, Suchifra Krishna- 
murthy, is not doing top badly . 
either with her Dole, Pole being lisp- 



Apache Indian: Going great guns 
ed by babies and grandmothers 
alike. 

The satelliteera is finally taking 
pop stars from the rowdy stages Of 
yesteryears to the decorous living 
room Of respectable homes where 
family members score points over 
knowledge of names like Jasmine 
Bharucha, Gary Lawyer, Rock ' 
Machine, Sharon Prabhakar, Baba 
Sehgal, Piyush Soni and Anaida. 

While Rock Machine went inter- 
national by changing its name to 
Indus Creed, it also stood an 
impressive 35 on MTV's Top 100 
videos of 1992 with Tap of the Rode, 
Its Pretty Child won it applause all 
around even as its slick visual 
remained vividly etched in the ■ 
public mind. 

Rapper Baba Sehgal stormed 


\ 


* H 


v 



Alisha Chinai: Lover girl 

into the Indian screen with his 
seductive Pooja Bed i -supported 
Thandfi Thcmda Patti and the Main 
Bhi Madonna video. This success 
has only been overtaken by his lat- 
est Indian Romyo. 

Singer Gary Lawyer 
Is being promoted as a promi- 
sing artiste who has set his sights 
abroad. Sharon Prabhakar, who 
has been as much a fixture on the 
Indian pop scene as Usha Uthup, is 
also eyeing that very horizon 

Others belonging to this platoon 
of pop stars the groups 13 AD, 
Agni, Halley's Disciples, child pro- 
digy Penny Vaz who has already 
paid tribute to her mentor with My 
Daddy is Best, Mubina and Nandu 
Phende. Beautiful Anaida. is 
already doing a whirlwind of live 
performances for entertainment 
Companies after her Nazuk , Nazuk 




Sharon Prabhakar. In the spotlight 


Baba Sehgal: Prince of rap 


was noticed. 

Newcomer Piyush Soni. who 
lacks her lethal looks, may not have 
won as much applause. But his 
Chokra has won him his own brand 
of fans who arc braying for more. 

* In this quicksand of success there 
is more to Indian pop than just 
talent. Marketability is the buz- 
zword. While some stars may be 
Swallowed up without a trace, 
most are willing to give it their all. 
And as the Indian music industry 
▼oes pop, there is certainly an oxdF 
j mg fizz to it 



’ of Indian Pop music, Remo is the only 
one who does not need the props of 
song- writers, composers and 
instrumentalists. He is the proverbial 
Jack-of-a 11-musical -trades and every 
piece of music that he releases is entire- 
ly his — from conception to realisa- 
tion. Never mind if a few puerile cri- 
tics dismiss his lyrics as too simplistic 
or childlike. 

Childlike he would like to continue, 
untrammeled by the self-eroding 
demands of the entertainment 
industry. Though he is over 40, the 
young world of pop art has rendered 
his tau frame ^dth a timeless youth 
and he looks like that kid who only 
yesterday was strumming his guitar 
on the streets of Paris to earn a living. 

The time-warp that he has chosen 
for himself is tailor-made for him His 
gold ear-rings, his dude's clothes glit- 
tering with sequins, the pony tail. A 
jazzed-up outward projection of a 
man who is simple, serious in his musi 
cal ruminations, is protective about 
his private life, shielding his French 
wife Michelle from the camera and is 
the intense family man who recorded 
the cry of his first-born into the song 
Noah's Lullaby. 

He is child-likc in his admiration for 
Mother Teresa, which inspired an 
album, his belief that Kajiv Gandhi's 
visit might have helped spruce up Goa 
(that led to his song. Hello. Rtijir 
Gandhi which earned him tight-lipped 
displeasure from Goans), and that 
Narasimha Rao could do with some 
helping hand in Don’t Kick up that Rno. 

If the message in his songs were 
simple, they were meant to be so, savs 
Remo in a flash of rare self-defence 
'The message (as I said in mv Star TV 
interview) of these songs were not 
meant for that intellectual who does 
not need such messages anyway. It is 
meant for those kids who listen to pop 
music. In fact, in that Star TV inter- 
view the question was in regard to my 
Graham Bell song which some criticis- 
ed as being too simple But I had delibe- 
rately made it like a limerick, like a nur- 
sery rhyme." 

He believes that at that point in his 
musical career his decision to have a 
message was relevant. He was the guy 
who had been through it all and made 
the right choice (He is also the guy 
behind Lehar Pepsi's Yeh hi hat right 
choice baby). He was the guy who did 
not believe in multiple partners, but 
settled down for marriage with his 
live-in girl friend. He was the 
archetype hippie who lived on music, 
drugs and atheism but chose the res- 
ponsibility of fatherhood 

14 


The man who had tasted the success of 
his album Bombay City as Indian pop's 
first success story but decided to quell 
the greed for more flash success. He is 
the guy who hit the bulls-eye of filtni 
pop with Jalwa (Gul Anand's film) and 
rrikal (by Shyam Benegal) but decided 
that the glamorous shackles of Bolly- 
wood were not for him. The guy who 
had the laurels from Bombay but deci- 
ded to settle down in a non-descript 
village in Goa that does not even figu- 
re as a dol in that state's tourist map. 

His is not the cliched rag-to-riches 
story He was bom m the lap of Gaon 
luxury to a businessman who spoilt 
him thoroughly till a sister was bom 
eight years later. Remo's slight stam- 
mer notwithstanding, at age five he 
had already strutted on stage at the 
local club. His dose friendship with 
his parents had given the freedom to 



A thinker In dude’6 clothes 


choose early in life', even if he did make 
the mistake of having chosen 
architecture. 

A two-year-European tour decided 
him, however "I lived ott my music 
during that period. 1 only wrote to my 
Dad when my guitar was stolen. 1 nee- 
ded some money to get another one. 
And why not, my father was only 
always too happy to spoil me. Even so, 

I do not know exactly what it was, but 
I had decided to live independently 
And live off mv music. Since that per- 
iod, I have always lived off my music " 

Even it it meant singing at cafes in 
Goa and winrrng sniggers from the 
snob Joneses. 1 ie mimics their snear- 
mg tone with endearing childishness, 
'Those suited types used to 'Tch,Tch' 
and say, 'Lix>k at that Fernandes boy 
with his pony tail and singing in 
hotels.'" But that did not dilute his 
enthusiasm. Nor did the rejections 
from recording companies who then 


did not believe in original Indian pop. 
The poor little rich boy Remo then 
recorded his Goan Crazy when the 
mad monsoons lashed the state, went 
on a personal distribution spree on his 
mobike to win over buyers and 
listeners. 

Since then he has repeated his suc- 
cess with Old Goan Gold, a collection of 
traditional Goan Portuguese songs. 
Back to Roots which is a fusion of Indi- 
an folk and Western pop, 505 India 
triggered off by the language riots in 
Goa and She is Woman on the exploita- 
tion of the female species. 

Taking digs at journalists who flirt 
between frivolous beats to occasional- 
ly take time off to criticise music with- 
out serious specialisation, and pot- 
shots at purists who denigrate pop 
music to this century' s'trash bin, he 
notes wryly, "The problem in the Indi- 
an music scene is that there are no seri- 
ous music critics. And the problem 
with music lovers is that they believe 
that classical music is all. Classical 
music has its own ethereal beauty. 

Pop music has its own charm. It is 
wrong on the part of purists to say that 
pop music is spoiling the taste of 
youth today. It does not. Let them not 
forget that even before Indian pop 
came of age, the youth of those times 
were not listening to classical music. 
They were listening to Lena, Mecna, 
Decka type of sound." 

This does not mean that he swears 
by Indian pop today. "When I listen to 
some of my contemporaries who are 
not doing anything but copy the suc- 
cessful western scores, I get all heated 
up and then I decide to do an album, 
just to show them what original music 
is all about. But I only wish," he grins, 
"that 1 get this urge more often. Then, 
maybe I will write music more often." 

Among regrets such as these, is also 
the vague regret that the five years 
that he spent doing his architecture at 
Bombay JJ. School could have been 
spent more productively with his 
.life's love. "Maybe I could have spent 
thos,e five years learning sound engi- 
neering." But this soupenn of regret 
belongs to the past. 

Among the Indo- western music per- 
formers, he would place his money on 
Apache Indian "His scores in the first 
album released here made me sit up. I 
said, 'Man, that is original sound.'" 

But the rest of Indian pop stars, 
whom he would not name, don't mea- 
sure up. There is enough mediocrity 
around to inspire him to do better. 
And his album, to be released this sum- 
mer, will show if he will strike gold 
again. ■ 


Aries 

March 21 -April 20 

■ Ganesha says, a 

letter needing urgent 
attention, a call or 
invitation nuty 
please be expected Changes 
in your working schedule are 
certain, thanks to Mars your 
planetary ruler being in full 
strength. Relationships turn 
out fulfilling. You will fuse 
pleasure and profit in the right 
measure. 

Taurus 

April 21— May 20 

■ Your stars of glory 
and creativity shine, 
thanks to Venus, 
your main planet 
being well placed with good 
luck planet, Jupiter. You will 
work your guts out, have 
excellent results and find time 
for children, hobbies and 
sports Just see to it that you 
oo not overdo a good thing 
Time for trips and ties 

Gemini 


Cancer 

June 21 — July 20 

Shoot. Hit. And 
smack-centre. You 
will fling the 
gauntlet of 
opposition right in the teeth 
of your rivals and enemies, 
and emerge a winner Passion 
will seize you and everything 
that could happen might just 
actually take place. Only your 
health might stand in the way 
of Canrenans. So take care 

Leo 

July 21 — August 21 

With sun, the source 
mm of power, in a good 
Kq position with Pluto, 
Ej symbol of ferocity, 
you will be ready lo do battle 
with the cosmos, nr kiss it into 
submission You will wield 
words to scathing eflect A job 
switch j.n quite probable 
(unless it has taken place the 
last three months nr so). This 
is also the time to socialise 


Libra 

September 23 — October 22 

You will teel radiant 
and actually light up 
the lives of those 
you come m contact 
with, because Mars-Pluto are 
on your side. Alliances and 
partnerships, either personal 
or professional, are foretold. 
For romance, hobbies, 
research, childbirth, education, 
and journeys, the right time 
has come. 


irgo 

gust 22 — S 


October 23 — - November 22 

Zj85£T \ love without trust 
will be your credo, as 
VgBr Neptune zooms its 
jCNPI way into your heart. 
Home, office, renovation, 
decoration, buying selling, are 
ordained for you Friendships 
and new ventures, a swinging 
time in the social whirligig, 
happiness through kids and 
artistic pursuits are predicted 
for Scorpios 

Sagittarius 


F’THBB Celebrations, victory 

Meicury. vour 

PjgCT Hard wot k and 

Ifv 

dance and partying 

j |||§|r ■ Planetary ruler. 

j ggPg| excellent results are 

are very much in 

j oBP | regains direct 

y^pln foretold, says 

It 

1H9M order Those in arts, 

rraltL fncn.ireh r/tiviniitnrL 

UHL. 1 motion trnrn January 

'in t rj\. * , 

hHhI Ganesha In the 

U ...v... . 1 .1 t J lL - 

nTjai 


and space programmes set 
the world on tire by their 
brilliance and power 
Redesigning of turmUiie and 
house is a possibility Get set 
to travel and or receive 
important visitors 


in terms of Iriendship, social 
service, |ob, loans, funds and 
investments Try not to lose oi 
misplace things oi value But 
lost things may now be lound 
Keep lolationsVnps on an even 
keel with colleagues 


breaking and mending of 
hearts, a game you play so 
well A major move of 
workplace or home, or a home 
away trom home is quite 
probaule.You have now 
entered a money making year 


BEJAN DARUWALLAf 


Capricorn ] 

December 21 — January 19 1 

You will be a great j 

hunter, be it a great < 

love you are 1 

pursuing, a job, 
money, a publicity campaign, 
a collaboration, research and 
study, or even an excavation, 
as Saturn, your chief 
significator is in fine 
formation with Jupiter, the 
money planet It should be i 

happy hunting for you. 

Aquarius 

January 20 — February 18 

■ 8 Bestirred by your 
^ charm, the world is 
r all yours, including 
J mundane affairs 
such as money, loans, funds, . 
investments, property and 
financial transactions This 
week, the accent is very clear- 
ly on communications and 
contacts, human relationships, 
long-term plans, journey and 
collaborations 

Pisces 


Wedding bells, 
alliances, 

collaborations, heavy 
expenses and a round 


quartet for Pisceans It would 
be best to budget your time 
and resource- as the going will 
be hectic all the way The home, 
too, will be a focal point for 
I'isceans In .-hurt, so much to 
do this week 


B I R T H D A Y S 


■pkiHSbb .JM' tS^'fuBmpon pnmta maturity » stronger 
icoityit* awiiX awfe to «ribpndtnlMfc lift*' - 

Mao Neptune meet* comwoniartimv 


leasts. 


*y Jflr Maori trine Mam mearts an excellent time far . 

Account*, oompotere andfth»s. You can 

Wfttt Mttyft in&Nfe Neptune means you wffl really 
feagf «ti Aiftort happy aextet. Yby certainly deserve 


. avoM vmmm to ymt 

Pelbm&y JtVrttUAconJuncriott Sstttm slightly 

difficult canfon^ap lor you. }dbqnii domestic front 
wttneM ptemtit change*. Tw* cWtrfffieheelffitrfeldai 


thiwcm theowda.: 

February jf Moon trine Pluto is the power house, tt 
nati*rirftyttt«»»^ and a pc«ibte promotion for 

you. G*a*sh& *sys, romance arid finance will make you happy. 


, - Exquisite craftsmanship in International Standard 22/22 karat gold and 

diamond jewellery. Dealer in precious and astrological stones. 


mmmr 


P. C. CHANDRA 


E 


A jewel of jewels 

Hi 47? (Ww S 77 7221 » 24S S0h2. 











Tl 


IME TABLE 

All arrival and departure times are for Calcutta 

Day* or wmtiM Ming 7-day cod*: -Vi MONDAY ® TUESDAY © WEDNESDAY <«■ THURSDAY © FRIDAY &> SATURDAY (!) SUNDAY 




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KB Druk-Air • KLM Royal Dutch Airiines • LZ Balkan Airlines • M9 Modiluft • PF Vayudoot • RA Royal Nepal Airlines • RJ Royal Jordanian Airiines • RO 
Tarom Air Transport • S2 Sahara India Airlines • SQ Singapore Airiines • SU Aeroflot • 4S East West Airlines • TG Thai Airways International • 9W Jet Airways 


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Arrival 

Tima On 


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■>p fours & Am iWW s Uii 
Jodhpur Boreas 

Slwtabdl (Babro SM City) Boms 

Du. & An [w* Jijri0.iv 

Hlmglrt (Jammu- Tmd] Express »i«-Wkiy 

Drp lif 1 ' Tn X 5 dt Air Inc* Wed & 5 -i! 

GuwahaU Express 

•Jrp Wyilni-.iij, Ar I nd«t/ 

Gorakhpur Express 

L)i;|i .Si An Hi'JI'imy 

Purtanchal (Gorakhpur) Boreas 

Deo & An Sun Mori VrferJ & 1-n 

Doon Boren ui Gmini Jiumi 

Udywi Am Tootan Bqxaas if,.i Ui, 1 1 : ■!•(* 


KNhgodun Boren 
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C trembd (GwiiHor) Express 
Dcp Mi'ii i lur X Tlii-r*. Air M-.j/i Thurs. & h. 
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Bhuhana w e r Nbw Delhi RNdhml Express ivu 

Hrre'in juivinv ori, 

New DeW-Bhutanasro Rajdhanl Express 

J-'t.A.ali) .'..itur.'r, Af'v 

Guvtatf - Howrah - Trivandrum Central Bqxan 

MvM'J.i) ui>iv 

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Ld'll'J \ IIHl 

Cochin Harbour Tenninus - GuwahaU 

Bqire tt 'vi i -?Kt.4ialiuni A Hp*'ah 
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GuataeU - fcochtn Hvbour Terminus 

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ViVKr'^'-li'Hfl \ s '.iAMl*. 
li-r i-ii*. \ 1 1 1 
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Guwehta - Banp^re City weakly Bowen v 

HllWM' ^ ' ilj r.J 

Bangalore Cky - GiweMI WnMy Express ;i 

Mi.w r dl i A CJIdfk: 

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I, v. 

6.2 

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5 \ r 

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ENQUIRES; For round the clock IrtomnUon of Eastern RaUvrey and South- 
Eastern Ralhmy trains, pfieasa dial 2203545-54 for In-comlng bains. 2203535- 
44 for all other Infbrratlon. For tafomMon about resarwatlons on Eastern 
Railway md South-Eastern Railway trains, dial 22034994500 (from 8 am to 
B pm on weekdays and 8 am to 2 pm on Sundays and gazetted holidays) 
In addttion. dial 1331 (for recorded Information on train running), 131 (regar 
ding train opantaons} and 135 (regrading reservations). Train service enquiry 


17 



Lfestyle 

READING HIGH 

How good are the in-flight magazines on our domestic 
cartiers , asks Shameem Akthar 


I f you're a frequent fliei, vuu must 
be familiar with the soul- 
^mbing boredom that descends 
on you after an hour or so in the 
air You've had your re-heated plastic- 
meal, you've read the film magazine 
you bought at the airport, you've 
rebuffed your neighbour's attempts to 
find out how much you're really 
worth. And now, you have absolutely 
nothing to do 

It is generally at this point that 
people tend to seize upon that glossy 
nestling in the little pouch on the back 
of the seat in front of you Yes, it's time 
to look at the m-flight magazine 

But is there anything to look at 7 Sea- 
soned travellers will testify that there 
isn't Sure, there are the mandatory 
articles about the current trendy desti- 
nations in India (Goa, Benaras cm even J 
Kuiii Manalfr, reports on various little- 
known tribes of this country, and even 
a story or two about the jewellery 
industry. 

But the fact remains that it you've 
read one in-flight magazine, you've 
read them all There are the same tired 
descriptions of resorts, the same over- 
written paean> ot praise to the design 
tradition of India, and the obligatory, 
if a little tired, humour pieces 

Challenge the airlines and they res- 


Fusion , says lima 
Deshpande, should be the 
kind of family magazine 
that people would want 
to take with them when 
they de-plane. Thus, 
Fusion does not restrict 
itself to the kind typical 
‘tourism’ pieces that 
most of its rivals devote 
their pages to 


pond with the usual excuses about magazine goes a long way in determine 

high production costs, the dearth of ing how the public perceives their 
ideas and gixid writers and the mdiffe- airlines. 

rcnce of advertisers In the circumstan- These days, therefore, the editorial - 
ces, they ask, can they really be expect- boards of the various in-flight magazi- 
ed to do better? nes are adopting an entirely different 

Of late, however, this apologetic a tti- line. Uma Deshpande, editor of 
tude seems to have been dropped as Fusion (East West Airlines), for instan- 
ce various domestic carriers in this ce, insists that she is trying very hard 
c ountry belatedly wake up to the reali- to break a way from the time-worn 
sation that the quality of their in-flight mould of the travel magazine. 



18 







"If you look at the other in-flight 
magazines/' she explains, "you will 
notice that most of them will have the 
same writers writing about the same 
subjects. Most of these authors seem to 
be re-hashing their stuff and distribut- 
ing them all around. Even the pictures 
used with the pieces are similar. At 
Fusion, however, we are trying to crea- 
te our own pool of writers who will be 
writing exclusively for us." 

D eshpande is not just targeting the 
corporate traveller; she also 
wants to have articles that will appeal 
to his wife and children. Fusion , she 
says, should be the kind of family 
magazine that people want to take 
with them when they de-plane. 

Thus, Fusion docs not restrict itself 
to the kind typical 'tourism' pieces 
that most of its rivals devote their 


According to 
V. Narayanan, IA’s 
communications 
manager, the 70,000 
copies of Swagat will now 
be published from India 
(until now they were 
printed in East Asia), and 
the reduction in 
production costs will help 
them improve the 
product 


pages to. Instead, says Deshpande, 
she runs articles on such film heroes as 
Aamir Khan, model and beauty o jeen 
Aishwarya Rai, and the vocalist Bhim- 
sen Joshi. There is even an astrology 
column, written by Jagjit Uppal, m 
case you feel like consulting the stars 
while you are airborne 

But dc?spite this attempt to be diffe- 
rent, Fusion still hasn't attracted any 
advertising. The only two issues that 
have been printed haven't had a single 
ad in them. Instead, the ad slots have 
been used by the airline to repair its 
image after the murder of its chief, Tha- 
kiyuddin Wahid 

Sample ad: They couldn't fault our 
efficiency. They couldn't fault our 
quality. So they tried to smear our 
reputation. 

Then, there are various letters from 
the various Wahid brothers, explain- 
ing how they built up their airline 
(and by implication, denying that they 
are funded by Da wood Ibrahim). 

But, now' that the third issue is m the 
works, advertisers have been enquir- 
ing about the possibility of placing ads 
in the product And Deshpande may 
just be able to realise her dream of cir- 
culating the 30,(XX) copies of Fusion by 
being as different as possible from the 
others in the air. 

Swagat, the Indian Airlines in-flight 
magazine, is also scheduled for a 
make-over According to V Naraya- 
nan, the airline's communications 
manager, the 70,000 copies of Swagat 
will now r be published from India 
(until now they were printed in East 
Asia), and the reduction in production 
costs will help them improve the 
product. 

On the cards is a move to change the 
editorial content of the maga/mo The 
editorial board, headed by Nalini 
Menon, will slot articles on such sub- 
jects as health, eco-consciousness and 
ethnic chic For the corporate traveller 
there w ill be profiles of business hea- 
vyweights and how-to pieces w'hich 
will help them recruit etfu lent staff as 
well as maximise their potential 

O n the same flight path is the hi 
monthly lot wings (Jot Airways' 
According to its editor Swaina Kaji, it 
has a 'timeless appeal . thanks to an 
editorial mix that includes everything 
from pearls to pagers 

Certainly, they have a lot of ads 
And even if some of the articles read 
like thinly-veiled advertisements for 
various products, at least they do tel! 
the tra\ el lei here he can cm! well 01 
pick up a gold chain lot Ins w ife 

Ami l Hhatia. who has «■. hand in both 

19 




Take ( tyf (Modiluft) and Tom bin' 
Height^ (Damania-NEPO, has manag- 
ed to attract more advertising than 
most other in-flight magazines, 
thanks to the wide range ot articles 
that he carries I le. at least, treats the 
passenger as an intelligent entity 
rather than an ennui -saddled soul 
who has to be bombarded with visuals 
ot colourful tnbals from Rajasthan 
and Gujarat 

hut even here the corporate travel- 
ler intrudes, v\ itli Amu ‘xirkar telling 
him hou to make dreams out of 
Duiacell and managment act*. Claus 
Molle^instructing him on the best 
ways to ensure quality. I : oi the less 
entrepreneurial, there is a guide to 
counting calories and even tarot card 
readings bv Ma Prem I'shn 

Not that it was easv j Hitting Modi- 
lutt's magazine togetlier Since the 
airline does not operate on feeder 


TakeOff 



•• 

Amit Bhatia, who has a 
hand in both Take Off 
(Modiluft) and Touchin 9 

Heights 

(Damania-NEPC), has 
managed to attract more 
advertising than most 
other in-flight 
magazines, thanks to the 
wide range of articles 
that he carries. He, at 
least, treats the passenger 
as an intelligent entity 

•• 



routes, says Bhatia, advertisers were 
unwilling to risk their money on it. 
The few ads that were forthcoming 
did not often come on time. "And 
since we cannot afford to lose them by 
not waiting," says Bhatia, "we often 
had to delay the magazine." 

But the magazine also suffers from 
indifferent writing, and by featuring 
such fillers as pictures of Shobha De 
presenting a trophy or Shall Rukh 
Khan's rear al a film party. 

Perhaps it's time the domestic aiih- 
nes took a leaf out of the in-flight maga- 
zines of such international carriers as 
American Airlines (American Way) 
and British Airways (High Life), which 
rival most up-market feature magazi- 
nes in their editorial quality British 
Airway's second in-flight magazine. 
Busmens Life, is compared favourably 
with such serious periodicals as the 
Economist. 

High Life (with I SO- pi us page? ) has a 
circulation of 2,90,000 while the Ameri- 
can Way boasts ol a circulation of 
around 3,00,000, Then there is Hot Air 
by Virgin, which doesn't treat its 
readers as if they were morons but 
assumes that thev mav be interested in 
reading a bom the rise of fascism in 
Europe. 

Increased rivalry in the air may for- 
ce Indian in-flight magazines to 
improve their products in a like man- 
ner But before that, their boards will 
have to decide on the right editorial 
mix Until then, you'll just have to put 
up with the usual rubbish about 
adventure tourism. Ayurvedic cures 
and the latest beach resort in Thiruva- 
nanthapurum. ■ 


JUNIOR WHIRL ■; HAL KAUFMAN 



HELD OVER! Zero in on the big play above by 
shading areas marked with an X Use an ordinary 
pencil or dark crayon. 


OPS and OOPS! 

There's a hot dog but no cold dog. There's a 
down payment but no up payment. Tightwad, 
loosewad? sweet pea, sour pea? Hard copy, soft 
copy? Any to add? 



GRAB BAG! 

Let's see how quick 
you are with head and 
nand Extend one arm 
forward, with fist 
closed. Place a coint 
atop the back of your 
hand. Now, dropping 
your arm sudaenly, 
attempt to bring your 
hand down and under 
to catch the falling com 
in your palm. 

Once you ve mastered this, try reversing the twist of 
your wrist. That is to say, turn it m the opposite 
direction. 

Remember, the object is to grab coin before it lalls 


HOCUS-FOCUS 



99999 
-9999 
8 6997 


SORRY WRONG NUMBERS! 

ALAS, wc have the right 
answer to the subtraction pro- 
blem provided below, but we 
dot have the right subtraclable 
amounts. Indeed, what's wong is 
that four of the numbers are upsi- 
de down. 

Simply invert three nines in 
the top row and one nine in the 
middle row (that is to sav, make 
them sixes;, and alaka/am, the 
answer is correct. 

How long will it take vou to up- 
end the nines? 

Time limit is three minutes. 

miiii .nmi 

.nn\ wu *ippiv\ .nmi 'x in xis ’.uiiiy, miii dii | | 


MINI TEST! Five consecutive 
numbers add to 100. Quickly, 
what numbers? 

TZ r" 1 "' i: n: f.l HI 








t 


OMIC.S 





































Continued from Page 8 
TELEVISION 
Prannoy Roy 


It was the 1989 general election that set 
Prannoy Roy on the road to television 
stardom. In the election special pro- 
gramme on the national network — 
the first ever of its kind in India — 
Roy, along with Vinod Dua, who did 
the Hindi bits, gave the Indian people 
a low-down on the election results: the 
winners; thjHosers; voting patterns 
and how they had changed; the 
'swing' from one party to another. 

All this interspersed with inter- 
views with both victorious and losing 
politicians over the satellite link while 
a panel of heavy-duty experts analys- 
ed the voting trends in the studio with 
Roy. 

This kind of opportunity usually 
comes every five years or so to TV 
anchors, but Roy proved luckier than 
most. The two incarnations of the Jana- 
ta government failed to stagger to 
even the half-way mark, and yet ano- 




ther general election was held in 1991, 
And once again, Prannoy Roy was on 
the tube, playing the nation's most tele- 
genic psephologist ever, once again. 

But even Roy's luck had to runout 
some time. And sure enough, the Nara- 
shnha Rao government showed no 
inclination to commit political haraki- 
ri the way the two Janata regimes had. 
Not that it mattered, for by then Roy 
hadreinvented himself as the anchor 
of The World This Week, a current 
affairs programme on Doordarshan 
which revolved around Indian and 
foreign news clips with Roy doing the 
links. 

This format, however, worked only 
as long as Indian viewers didn't have 
access to the BBC's World Service and 
CNN. But once the satellite revolution 
hit the country, week-old foreign 
news clips made little sense. But by 
then Roy was already on to his next gig 

These days his New Delhi Televi- 
sion (NDTV) does news bulletins on 
Doordarshan's national network, and 
has a current affairs programme on 
DD3. And though it has been said of 
Prannoy's television persona that if he 
was any more laid-back he would keel 
right over, Roy still remains one of the 
most skilled anchors on Indian televi- 
sion. And with 1996 being an election 
year, it will be interesting to watch 
now he re-packages himself. 


26 





She n&ay be one of the most powerful 
women in Delhi today, but Shobhana 
Bhartia began life in Calcutta . Those 
days, of course, she was Shobhana 
Birte, daughter of industrialist K. K. 
Birla. 

She was educated by the Loreto 
nuns— her father refused to send her 
to Modem High School for fear that 
she would be treated as a Birla rather 
than fust another student — and marri- 
ed Shyam Bhartia, the son of another 
Marwari industrial house and moved 
to Delhi. 

But the Birla daughter only came 
into her own once she took over the 
reins at The Hindustan Times in 1987 as 
executive director (her designation 
changed to editorial director two 
years ago). Those who were initially 
inclined to dismiss her as yet another 
socialite in chiffon and pearls had to 
reluctantly concede that there was a 
shrewd business head under that 
impeccably-coifed hair, as a consequ- 
ence of which profits at the HT have 
grown ten-fold over the last ten years. 

Running a newspaper, however, is 
not all that Bhartia does these days. 
Hindustan Times has entered into a par- 
tnership with the Pearson Croup and 
with TVB of Hong Kong (which is the 
biggest channel in the Far East) to 
launch a television channel, which 
will offer entertainment programm- 
ing loosely based on the Zee and 
Metro Channel pattern. 

The HTV company has already 
been floated with Pradip Chanda (for- 
merly of the Gramaphone Company 
of India) as chief executive and Karan 
Thapar as head of programming, and 
1996 Will see Shobhana Bhartia launch 
herself as a full-fledged media 
baroness. 

Certainly, Bhartia has done more 
ground work before the launch than 
anybody else in the television busi- 
ness. For one thing, HTV already has a 
cable network in place to ensure that 
its programmes reach die viewers, 
and sinee.Bhartia has cordial relations 
with the Hindujas, it is unlikely that 
there will be any attempt to sabotage 
her project. 

How the channel will fare in the 
maelstorm of programming that is 
inundating the Indian viewer remains 
to be seen, but with the resources of 
the Hindustan Times behind her, it is 
hard to see how Bhartia can go wrong. 


Rqby Bhatia 

She arrived in India a taw, untrained, 
minor beauty queen (having, appa- 
rently, bem crowned Miss CaniMia 
India), determined to make it in si tow 
business. But Bhada had one advanta- 
ge over other such foragn-retumed 
aspirants; she spoke Hindi without 
the trace of an accent. 

This was understandable. From the 
time Ruby was a little girl, her parents 
had been grooming her for stardom: 
not in Hollywood but in Bombay. Bha- 
tia had even played a small role as a 
child star in a Hindi movie, and was 
evidently hoping to make it big in the 
movies. 

But the Bombay film industry can 
be very cruel to outsiders, and in the 
end, Bnatia decided to stick with televi- 
sion, a medium that she knew and lov- 
ed — and which loved her right back. 

In the beginning, she came across as 


a gauche if high-spirited teenager, jum- 
ping into swimming pools with the 
likes of Gulshan Grover. Buta few 
months into her run on Channel V, 
Bhatia was transformed into a chic, 
impeccably turned out woman in 
designer clothes (with a little help 
from make-up artist Gory Walia and 
fashion designer Rina Dhaka). 

This transformation in Bhatia'a 
appearance coincided with the trans- 
formation of Channel V itself. Beginn- 
ing life as an MTV clone, the channel 
slowly became an up-market version 
of Chitrahaar , showing Hindi film 
songs all day long in such program- 
mes as Videocon Maangta Hai r BPL Oye 
and the Mescos Great Indian Manovai - 
gyanik Shpw. And Bhatia, in turn, beca- 
me the Indian face erf the channel. 

It was easy to understand why. 
With her cropped hair, gamine good 
looks, accented English and perfect 
Hindi, Ruby was the best person to 
bridge the cross-cultural divide with 



27 


her long, long, legs. 

But Bhatia is too ambitious to be con- 
tent with churning our veejay patter 
week after week. She is well aware of 
how much the camera loves her (and 

willbe looking for a new role in front 
of it in 19%. 

S.P. Singh 

In his case, Ananda Bazar Pa trika's 
loss was television's gain. Singh, who 
first achieved fame as the youthful edi- 
tor of Raurzcr, and was more recently 
the Delhi bureau chief of The Telegraph , 
seems to have abandoned print for the 
more immediate appeal of TV. 

And going by his success on the 
tube, this was a wise move. Singh had 
nothing left to prove in print jour- 
nalism, and television is, after all, the 
medium of the moment. 




Not many print journalists, 
however, make this transition with 
the kind of grace that SF (as he is popu- 
larly kiwwn as) has displayed. Now 
anchoring India Today's Hindi news 
programme Mj Tak on Doordarshan's 
National Network, Singh shows a rare 
grasp of the electronic medium. 

Not for him the sing-song introduc- 
tions, the staccato commentary or 
even the rigid posture that most Indi- 
an anchors adopt to mask their discom- 
fort in front of the camera. SP is 
relaxed, speaks in a conversational 
tone, moves easily in his chair, and is 
very well-dressed indeed, in natty 
suits and quietly tasteful ties. 

He, however, denies the foul 
rumour that he has taken to gelling his 
graying hair while on television. No, 
he says, that wet look is achieved by 
ordinary, contaminated Delhi water. 

Celled or not, Singh is rapidly emer- 
ging as the star of Hindi language tele- 
vision, and in 19% could well occupy 
the slot once exclusively reserved for 
Vinod Dua. 

Mallika Sarabhai 


She is known variously as Vikram and 
MrinaJini Sarabhai's daughter, as one 
of the most accomplished dancers of 
India; an actress; a columnist and a 
publisher. 

But most recently, we have been wit- 
ness to a new avatar of Mallika Sarab- 
hai's: talk show hostess, tier introduc- 
tion to the format was, apparently, by 
accident. Karan Thapar was unable to 
do the Chat Show one particular week, 
and Mallika was asked to step into the 
breach. 

Sarabhai obliged, and in style. Her 
maiden appearance on the talk show 
was admired by both critics and vie- 
wers alike and after that Mallika's 
appearances on the programme beca- 
me more and more frequent. 

But Sarabhai being Sarabhai could- 
n't be am tent with just standing in for 
Thapar. So now she will be hosting her 
own show on DD3, titled Speakeasy 
with Mallika. 

The problem with that, of course, is 
that the viewership of DD3 — at the 
moment, at least — seems to consist of 
only a few hundred people. And Mal- 
lika's show may not get the kind of 
audience it deserves. 

But then, Sarabhai has always 
believed in playing against the odds. 
And who knows, she may well come 
out trumps yet again. 

Next week: Fashion, films 
and music 


m. 


28 


Sketches 

POTTED HISTORY 

What the chattering classes are talking about 

This week: The FemJna Miss India contest 


B egan life as: 

Femina's idea of 
choosing the 
flower of Indian 
womanhood to represent 
the country at beauty 
pageants abroad. 

Did it work?: Not really. 
Nobody paid much 
attention, largely because 
the Indian contestants were 
eliminated in the first 
round itself. 

But things began to 
change: When Rita Faria 
was crowned Miss World 
in 1966 at the pageant held 
in London's Lyceum 
Theatre, wearing a 
one-piece swimsuit. 
Swimsuit?: No, at the Miss 
India contest, participants 
were not asked to parade in 
swimming costumes. But 
when the ladies went 
abroad, they had to go 
through with the swimsuit 
round. Not surprisingly, 
most of them fared 
disastrously. 

Have things changed?: 

Yes. These days the contest 
begins with a parade of all 
the contestants in identical 
one-piece swimsuits. No, 
there isn't a bikini in sight, 
we're afraid. 

How are the winners 
chosen?: Well, nobody 
knows exactly. The official 
line is that the judges have 
to take both the physical 
and the (ahem!) intellectual 
attributes of the candidate 
into account while 
deciding the score. 

And do they?: It's difficult. 
After all, would you be able 
to judge how clever 
someone was by asking 
them who their 
favourite person was? Or 
even by getting them to tell 
you what they would do to 


make the world a better 
place to live in? 

So what do the judges do?: 
Apparently, very little. 
Critics of the show insist 
that the semi-finalists and 
the winners are decided 
before-hand, anyway. So, 
the scores awarded by the 
judges are merely an 
eyewash. 

True or false?: Depends on 


whom you're listening to. 
The organisers say that 
there is no question of any 
foul play. But Dimple 
Kapadia, who was a judge 
a few years ago, 
complained when she 
found that one of the 
contestants whom she — 
along with the other 
judges — had rated very 
highly had been eliminated. 
Did it make any 
difference?: Yes. The 


contestant in question was 
recalled. 

Low point: When Miss 
India Madhu Sapre blew 
her chances of winning the 
Miss Universe crown in 
Bangkok by giving what 
must be the stupidest 
answer ever (and some of 
the answers are very, very 
stupid, indeed). Asked 


what her priority would be 
if she became Prime 
Minister of India, Sapre 
said she would build a 
sports stadium. 

High point: When the two 
top-scorers in the Miss 
India pageant, 1993, 
Sushmita Sen and 
Aishwarya Rai, went on to 
become Miss Universe and 
Miss World respectively. 
Career options: The most 
popular is, of course, films. 


Beauty queens tumM 
actresses include, Zeenat 
Aman, Sangeeta Bijlani 
and Juhi Chawla. 

The one who fell through 
the loop: Pamella Singh, 
since restyled as Pamella 
Bordes, who was a House 
of Commons researcher 
before she was rumbled by 
a News of The World 
reporter. Bordes offered 


him sex for £ 500. The 
gentleman made his 
excuses and left, but the 
story appeared in the next 
day's paper. 

Have things changed: No 
way. After touring the 
world and getting lots and 
lots of presents, both 
Sushmita and Aishwarya 
are back in India. And what 
do they intend to do? Why 
join the movies, of course! ■ 
29 



Aishwarya and Sushmita: Beauty plus brains 



PERSON 


ASHISH VIDYARTHI, the 

National Award winner for last 
year's best supporting actor in 
Govind Nihalani's Drohkaal, is 
the country's latest screen terror . 
This reel life villain , whose first 
film was Baazi, continues to win 
plaudits for his portrayal of 
Lankesh in Zee TV's 
Kurukshetaj. His passion is 
death, since dying, he feels, has so 
many shades and possibilities of 
acting - The Kerala-born actor isatt 
set to conquer new heights 
through Bhai, where he will kilt 
with a catapult and apply coats of 
black lipstick for sinister effects! 


^yiialis ymiridea of perfect 

To be never really perfectly happy 
and always to look forward to 
something. 

What is your greatest feat? 


Death of near ones. 

Who or what has been the greatest 
influence in your life? 

My father, Govind Vr lyarthi He is 
my closest friend despite oitir age 
difference of 55 years. 

What do you dislike most in others? 

Pleople who don't have the courage 
to stand up for what they feel. 

What do you dislike most in yourself? 

My propensity to gain weight 
What is your most precious 
possession? 

My feet on the ground. 

What objects do you always cany? 
Five hundred rupees and my car 


keys. 

What makes you most depressed? 

Inequity. Meritorious people who 
do not receive their dues. 


What do you dislike most on your 
appearance? 


What Is your most 
precious possession? 

' | My feet on the ground 



What is your source 
of sustenance? 



Food^iendSr 
family— in that 
orderOaughs) 


My budding paunch. 

What is your favourite word? 
Money. 

What is your favourite Journey? 

To Kerala, my hometown, with my 
wife. 

What is your favourite dream? 

1 don't dream. 

What is your nightmare? 

The day my rants, Ramgopal Bajaj 
and Satyadev Dubey, stop criticising 
me as an actor. 

What or who is the greatest love of 
your life? 


Acting. 

What is your source of sustenance? 

Food, friends, family — in that 
order (laughs). 

On what occasions do you lie? 

^ When avoiding the truth can save a 

What is your greatest regret? 

Not having concentrated on 
mathematics. 

What has been your happiest 
moment? 

When I shared the news of having 
received the National Award with my 

What brings tears to your eyes? 

Anger and more anger. 

How do you felax? 

By sleeping. 

What do you envy moyt in others? 

Simplicity. 

How would you like to be 
remembered? 

As a father of my progeny/ 

How would you like to die? 
Breathless. 


30 





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4 FEBRUARY 1996 # 


The Telegraph 

Postmortem"""" 1 *" 



Shammi Kapoor. Fascinated by Internet 


Cyber Fever 

■ To the layman phrases 
like cyber entertainment, 
cyber education, cyber 
shopping, cyber cafe and 
cyber lifestyle may sound 
a bit bizarre, but once he 
gets hooked to it, a wide, 
new exciting world opens 
before him ('Getting 
Hooked', December 10). 

It is incredible that we 
can get any information 
that we may seek at the 
press of a button: From 
what is on at the New York 
Stock Exchange, to literatu- 
re, art, history, cinema and 
science. 

\nd the information 
reaches us even before tele- 


t* Cyber will remain a 
curious concept for 
most people till it 
reaches them. 
Dipankar Koley, 

Jhikra ( Howrah) 


vision or newspapers 
report it It is amazing 
what modern technology 
can achieve. 

Sumantra Ghatak , 

Calcutta 

88 1 was really taken aback 
seeing the monk-like Sham- 
mi Kapoor on the cover fid- 
dling with computers. 
What a difference! The 
hero who gyrated to the 
tune of Yahoo now the chief 


of the Internet Users Club 
of India. 

Prahlad Agarwal, 

Nadia 

MB The cover story was 
most informative and pre- 
dicts correctly what lies 
ahead for India in the inhu- 
mation highway. 

But the Magazine did 
not mention the high cost 
of maintaining the system 
which needs an excellent 
telecom infrastructure. 
Vijay Toolsidas, 

Calcutta 

n Internel is actually going 
to take care of all our needs. 


My brother got married last 
December through Internet 

The matrimonial adverti- 
sement appeared in Inter- 
net's Soc.CuIture Bengali, a 
bulletin board meant exclu- 
sively for Bengalis around 
the globe. 

The SC’ B was started some 
time back by a group of 
young Bengali graduates 
and professionals settled in 
the US where Bengalis can 
discuss anything from 
Suman Chattopadhyay's lat- 
est album to Bengal's econo- 
mic problems 

Shubu Mukherjee, 

Calcutta 


i Christmas 
Treat 

■ The First Person on 
Santa Claus (December 24) 
was brilliant. The Magazi- 
ne really charmed its 
young readers for whom it 
was a big Christmas treat 
Deb ash is Sett, 

Calcutta 

IR This is the second time 
the Magazine came out 
with a wonderful First Per- 
son. The earlier one on the 
common man was witty 
and intelligent. 

This time, the one on 
Santa, became an instant 
hit with adults and 
children. It read almost 
like a real interview with 
Santa. 

Kaberi Das , 

Calcutta 

Crossing 

Border 

SB Khushwant Singh's prai 
sc for Pakistan is bound to 
infuriate many in the saf- 
fron camp CSarson Da 
Saga', November 2b) 

1 Ae may love talking 
about women and sex but 
he has always been can- 
did, liberal, outspoken and 
impartial, never hesitating 
to call a spade a spade 
Sycd lajdaar Bakht, 

Calcutta 




f PAGE 4 


* THIS IS the concluding part of The Telegraph 
guide to the faces to watch out tor this year in 
cinema, fashion and music 


16 TIME TABLE 

21 JUNIOR WHIRL 

22 COMICS 

30 FIRST PERSON 



Madhuri Dixit 







7 his week, Secma Gosivami lists those worth 
watching in movies , music and fashion 



Last week. The Telegraph set out to list alt 
those who would count in 1996. But space 
constraints being what they are, we could 
only list those in politics, business/industry 
and television. This week, therefore, we 
writeabout the putative movers and shakers 
in the worlds of movies, music and fashion. 
And those for whom 1996 could prove to be 
the make or break year 

MOVIES 

Shah Rukh Khan 


The conventional wisdom in the 
entertainment business was: once a TV 
star always a TV star. The argument 
was simple — once people had 
watched you for free on their television 
screens in the privacy of their living 
rooms, they were not going to pay good 
money to see you act on the large screen 
in a theatre. 

It is to Shah Rukh Khan's credit that 
he managed to break that rule. 
Beginning his career with roles in such 
tele-serials as Fauji and Circus, Khan 
looked fated to become the AJok Nath 
of his generation. But those who were 
inclined to dismiss him as just another 
pretty face on the idiot box had 
reckoned without Shah Rukh's burning 
ambition. 

Unkind souls have been known to 
suggest that the only reason Khan 
made the transition to the large screen 
was because the tube was tcx> small to 
accommodate his swollen head. But 
whatever the truth of that, Shah Rukh 
arrived in Bombay, all set to storm 
Bolly wckkI with his mega-talent. 

His fir.it release, Decwana, was 
disappointing, as Khan floundered m 
his attempt to grasp the workings of 
Bollywood. But Shah Rukh — smart St 
Columbas kid that he is - - had soon 
worked out his USP. 

In an industry overflowing with 
chocolate-box male stars, Khan would 
play the anti-hero. Not the villain, you 
understand, but a hero who had a dark 
side to his personality (but not dark 
enough to alienate the front-benchers) 

The strategy worked. Both Baazigar 
and Darr proved to be runaway 
box-office hits, and Shah Rukh was 
soon being talked about as the next 
number one. But even as Khan was 
celebrating his new-found status in the 
industry came the embarrassing failure 
of Anjaam, yet another movie where 
Shah Rukh played the 'bad' guy. 

Karan Arjun restored the balance 
somewhat, but it was the mega-success 
of Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge that 
really established Khan in the big 
leagues. After a hit that eclipsed even 





the first signs of middle-age spread can 
be seen cm that famous waist. In the 
Mmphfagfm eye number, for instance, 
her stomach seems to ha ve a life of its 
owi^Jigghnging9yahanckmeven 
when Madhuri herself has comp to a 
stop. 

Then, there is the problem of casting. 
As Dixit begins to look more mature, it 
will be difficult to find heroes who can 
play opposite her, and not look like her 
kid brothers. She can get away with 
acting as San jay Kapoor's love interest, 
but Akshay Kumar or Saif Khan? 
Forget it. 

Sridevi encountered the same 
problem a couple of years ago, and had 
to reluctantly accept voluntary 
re tirem ent when the roles began drying 
up. Now, of course, she is back, looking 
much slimmer and younger (some* say 
with a lot of help from the plastic 
surgeon) and is working on a film 
called Army with several young heroes 
(including Shah Rukh Khan). 

But tellingly enough, Sridevi plays 
the avenging angel, so there's no 
question of running around trees with 
young men who appear to be ten years 
younger than her. 

Madhuri may not be in quite the 
same kind of trouble, and she has a 
couple of big releases lined up 
(including Rajiv Kapoor's Prcrti 
Gnmth). But if they fail at the box-office 


the performance of Hum Aap Kt Ham 
Kuun* there was no doubting Shah 
Rukh's appeal at the box-office 

Strangely enough, Khan's biggest hit 
(Muwir) came when he was playing the 
kind of chocolate-box hero that he had 
always claimed to loathe — an 
indication, perhaps, that the day of the 
anti~)kanr> was long over. 

Not that any of this really matters. 
Khan will continue to be offered big 
banners even if his next few releases 
bomb miserably, on the strength of the 
Dihoale collections alone. But 1996 will 
show whether Shah Rukh can sustain 
the impetus that his career received in 
the previous year. 

Madhuri Dixit 

This could prove to be a very tricky 
year, indeed, for the number one 
heroine in Bombay (yes she is still top 

of the heap despite Yaanma), She may 
still be able to execute the 
bumb-and -grind routine with rare 
relish, but there's no denying that Ms 
Dixit is getting on. 

Her smile is as sweet as ever, and 
M.R Husain is very sweet on her, but 



— or even do just moderately well — 
the Bombay film industry may well 
decide that she is not the draw that she 
used to be. And with such fresh talent 
as Urmila Matondkar and Manisha 
Koirala around, who amid blame them 
if they decided to give Ms Dixit a miss 7 

The actress realises this as well, and 
1ms already begun making noises to the 
efft vt that she would love to settle 
down abroad with a husband of her 
family's choice. CM course, another 
mega- hit would change all that, ami 
Madhuri may continue to delight 
I iusain and the hoi-pulioi alike. 

Either wav, this year will prov e to lx- 
crucial in the life of the Fk do tmi girl 

Subhash Ghai 


The year started on .1 very had (very 
bad) note for this self-styled shov mar. 
of the film industry. Irnmtiti turned out 
to be the turkey of all times, and < .ha i s 
reputation as a producer director la\ m 
tatters. 

But those who know Cihai believe 
that the portly chit*! of Mukia Arts will 
soon bourne back 1 ic is aln'.id v 
claiming that Trmmrtt has done 
remarkably well in the overseas 


territory (dearly, people in this countiy 
don't know a good thing when they see 
it). And in private conversation, he has 
been known to suggest that the flop 
was all Mukul Anand's fault. 

Ghai has now staked his reputation 
on his forthcoming movie, Shtkhar He 
has cast Shah Rukh and ]ackie in it. The 
music will be scored by A.K. Rahman, 
and that itself increases the chances of 
the film being a hit. And Ghai has 
•announced that this time he will be 
wielding the megaphone himself rather 
tlian relying on hired help. 

Will this work? Well find out later 
this year. ^ 

Umtila Matondkar 

It is hard to recognise the innocent 
young girl of Masnoru in her skillfully 
painted face. But then Urmila doesn't 
want anyone to remember her as a 
oncv-chikl actress. She'd much rather 
be known as the rising young star. 

And why not? That's exactly what 
she is, after the amazing performance of 
Rangeela at the box-office — not to 
mention Matondkar's equally amazing 



6 



transformation. 

Gone is the gauchy, hadly-diessed 
heroine of Aa Gale Lag Ja (in which she 
starred opposite Jugal Hansraj, who 
played her half-brother in Masoom). 
And in her place stands a svelte, 
sophisticated young girl, showing her 
figure to best advantage in bustiers, 
swim-suits and the most revealing of 
minis. 

There are those who insist that 
Rangcela is just a flash in the pan. And 
that director Ram Gopal Verma was so 
besotted by Urmila that he spent all his 
timeensuring that she stood out in the 
movie. Let's see how well she does 
when her director's not in love with her, 
say these people. 

This year will give us the answer to 
that question. Is Urmila really the new 
sex symbol of the Hindi film industry? 
Or is she just a one-film wonder? 

Manisha Koirala 


For all of 1995, Koirala was dogged by 
bad publicity. First, there were the 
stories about her drinking and aiming 
late on the sets. Then, the rumour mill 
went intooverdnve with talk that 
Manisha had arrived drunk for 
shooting and had been sent back home 
by the director. 

Even going abroad to escape the 
attention of the gossips didn't help 
Hvcn before Koirala had returned to 
Bombay, the film magazines were 
carrying stories about how she had got 
drunk backstage during a star mte and 
had fallen down on the stage when it 
was time to perform her item. 

When the glossies weren't writing 
about her drinking, they were laying 
her love life bare. There was her affair 
with Rahul Roy that died a premature 
death when Roy went to the press with 
it. This was followed by a brief flirtation 
with Samir, a cousin of Salman Khan. 

Then came Kanjeev Mulchandani, a 
model best known for his long affair 
with Mehrjesia. I he relationship 
ended messily, with the two trading 
insults in pnnt. Manisha said that he'd 
been two-timing her with Aishwarya 
Rai and Ranjeev said... well, most of it 
was unprintable anyway. 

Unfortunately, amidst all this, 
people seemed to lose sight of the fact 
that Manisha was turning in some very 
impressive performances. She was 
probably the best thing about 1942, A 
hwe Story, even though the film proved 
to be a disappointing failure. And 
llombay reinforced her credentials as 
one of the finest actresses in the 
industry. 



There is some hope that Manisha will 
settle down in 19%, and treat her career 
more seriously than she has in the past. 
She is currently involved with Nana 
Patekar, who is years older than her, 
and appears to tie a stabilising influence. 

Certainly, Koirala appears to have 
mellowed down and doesn't drink as 
much (one story has it that Nana hit 
her in full view of everyone when she 
arrived on the sets drunk; it was appa- 
rently, love at first sight). 

Will that make her a better actress? 
We don't really know. But, perhaps, 
proximity to Nana will help. 

MUSIC 

Alisha Chinai 

She began life in the entertainment 
business as a Madonna wannabe. And 
in that limited endeavour, Chinai suc- 
ceeded beyond her wildest dream. In 
an interview' to a foreign publication. 
Madonna confessed that of all the 
people who tried to sound like her, an 
Indian singer called Alisha came the 
closest. 

But Chinai has come a long way 
since then. Today, if Madonna is a 
regular on MTV, Chinai is a fixture on 
Channel V. Her Made In India video is 
shown several times a day by the chan- 
nel, and Alisha now has fans in Bang- 
kok and Dubai as well as in Bombay. 

At least part of the credit for Chi- 
nai 's success must go to her husband 
Rajesh Jhaveri, who produced her 
albums and marketed her as a 'Baby 
Doll'. But the marriage did not survive 
Alisha's success: the couple are now 
separated and may well divorce (appa- 
rently, Rajesh wanted a baby and his 
wife didn't). 

On the professional front, though, 
things appear to be going swimming- 
ly for Chinai. Her latest album has 
done good business, she has attained 
enough celebrity to feature on the 
Mesco's Great Indian Manouaigyanik 
show, and she is in better voice than 
ever before. 

Hence, the general bewilderment 
when Alisha picked this moment in 
time to accuse music director Anu 
Malik of sexual harassment. The inci- 
dent, apparently, occured several 
years ago, with Malik 'molesting' Chi- 
nai when she refused his advances. 
Malik, of course, strenuously denied 
the allegations. 

Did the sexual abuse really occur? 
Or was it merely a figment of Alisha's 
artistic imagination? We may never 
know — it is, after all, just her word 



against his. 

But one thing is without doubt. The 
publicity came in handy for Alisha 
just when the hype around her album 
was fading. 

Nobody can, however, make a habit 
of such stunts without risking ones 
own credibility. And in 19%, Chinai 
will have to try and make it to the 
headlines on the basis of her music 
rather than her contribution to the 
cause of gender justice. 

If she succeeds in doing that, she 
may well become the Janet Jackson of 
India rather than just another Madon- 
na wannabe. 


Biddu 


He first hit the headlines in India 
when he scored the Qurbani hit, Aap 
jaisa koi meri ztndagi me aye. Sung in 
Nazia Hassan's fresh, if a little untrain- 
ed voice, the song proved to be a runa- 
way hit, and Biddu' s reputation as a 
music director was established 
beyond doubt. 

The Qurbatu triumph was followed 
by Disco Deewane , a non-film album 
with Nazia and brother Zoheb as the 
singers and Biddu as composer. There 
were some who complained that there 
was a certain sameness to all of Bid- 
du's tunes, but who cared when the 
sales kept mounting? 

So, what happened? Why did 
Biddu fade away from the Indian 
music scene after such a rave 
reception? 

Industry observers say that it was 
the failure of Star that finished him 
The Kumar Gaurav film had music bv 
Biddu and playback by Nazia, but 
flopped at the box-office, anyway 

The music didn't do too well either, 
and Biddu went back to where he'd 
come from. 

Biddu's musical career had begun 
when as a young teenager he had paid 
his way through Europe by taking on 
musical engagements. But he hit the 
big time when he wrote the number 
one hit, Kung-Fu fighting for C arl 
Douglas. His other hits included 

Dance little lady by Tina C harles and 
the disco version of I could hair doth ed 
all night. 

But dearly, the West can't hold the 
music director's attention for too l mg 




And Biddu is now hark in India, scor- 
ing such albums as the popular johnny 
Joker by Shweta Shetty. He has now re- 
mixed the Star soundtrack and re 
released it. And the song Boom boom, 
sung by Nazia Hassan, is already clim- 
bing the charts. 

Will Biddu manage to sustain this 
successful run in his second attempt to 
storm the Indian entertainment busi- 
ness? Or will he give up at the first hint 
of failure and head for foreign climes? 
We should know the answer by the 
end of 1996. 

A.R. Rahman 

There isn't much you can say about 
Rahman that hasn't been said already. 
By now, everybody who can read 
knows that the music director was 
bom Dilip Kumar Shekhar, the son of 
a South Indian music director. His 
father died young and the family con- 
verted to Islam. 

Rahman's musical career began 
when he was yet a boy. He used to 
play in Ilayaraja's troupe to supple- 
ment the family income But once his 
education was complete. Rahman 
went on to composing ad jingles 
before Mani Ratnam gave him his first 
break. . 



Reams have already been written 
about Rahman's musical triumph in 
Rap* followed by the even more suc- 
cessful Bombay. And his cross-over 
into Hindi cinema with Rangeda, prov- 
ed that Rahman was equally good 
whatever language he was dealing 
with. 

By then, of course, he'd bridged the 
language divide anyway. Raja was the 
first bilingual film (it was dubbed into 
Hindi) to become a nation-wide hit, 
with chief election commissioner T.N. 
Seshan announcing that every Indian 
should see it 

Raja's success was ascribed to the 
patriotic theme: a South Indian gets 
kidnapped by Kashmiri militants; his 
interaction with them; his wife's attem- 
pts to get him freed; and his eventual 
escape. 

But such jingoistic films are a dime a 
dozen in India. So, why did Roja prove 
to be such a commercial success? 

The answer lies in Rahman's musi- 
cal genius as much as it does in Mam 
Ratnam' s skill as a director. The songs 
of the film — particularly Choli si asha 
and Rukmini Rukmini — climbed inexo- 
rably up the charts. And the box-office 
takings increased at the same rate 

But while Bombay , Kaitalan, 
Gentleman and Rangeela made Rahman 
an even hotter property than he 
already was, faint murmurs of disen- 
chantment could be heard in the dis- 
tance. Rahman was repeating himself; 
there was a certain sameness to all his 
songs; he had run out ol inspiration; 
he took too long to score the music; 
movies were being delayed on his 
account, etc., etc. 

There is some truth to all of this. 
Some of Rahman's songs suffer from 
being over-orchestrated, while others 
sound uncannily similar to his earlier 
tunes. And even Rahman concedes 
that he is repeating himself. His defen- 
ce is: if other people make money by 
copying him, why shouldn't he do the 
same? 

The problem with that is self- 
evident. If Rahman fails to come up 
with something new, he amid all too 
easily find himself the flavour of last 
year. And 19% could belong to someo- 
ne else entirely. 

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan 


His father never intended him to beco- 
me a qawwal, even though the family 
had been steeped in that music form 
for six centuries. Fateh Ali Khan want- 

Continued on page 26 


Aries 

March 21 - April 20 

a The sun in youi 

angle signifies gains, 
a fatter pay packet, 
funding, investment, 
gaiety and socialising 
Happiness of children and 
grandchildren, hosting 
dinners, parties, 
speech making, acting and a 
tremendous fondness tor 
music and electronics are 
foretold 

Taurus 

April 21 — May 20 

K ~] This is the 

1 appropriate time to 
, fuse pleasure with 
j work. contiu ts and 
contracts, money and honey, 
and very specially buying and 
selling Many of you will be 
ready for partnership, be it 
personal or stricfh business 
emotional bonding and 
business umtdi ts may not 
necessarily go together 

Gemini 

May 21 - June 20 

a Visits, interviews, 
conferences, meets, 
inauguration ot 
tactoi v oi industry 
a hou sew aiming oi moving, 
renovation and decoration 
could well be mi the agenda 
The now moon does activate 
job opport unites, family ties, 
trips, meeting of minds and 

hearts Close associations will 
I be lormed 


Cancer 

June 21 — July 20 

t r - * This w iH be a pretty 
expensive time for 
Cancerians, so learn 

to like it A journey 

is in the off mg and so is a job 
offer. Love, birth /conception 
of children, research and 
education, new projects and 
plans, hobbies and sports will 
be the mainspring ot your 
existence, l.oans and funds 
will be ot great significance 

Leo 

July 21 — August 21 

H You w'ill work and 
play m equal 
measure, render 
and demand justice 
m lull proportion Excellent 
chances to make a buck, go in 
for permanent benefits, bag 
new r and fine assignments as 
well as deals. Do launch out 
and lunch out in style News 
of a welcome naLurc w ill reach 
von shortly 

Virgo 

August 22 — September 22 
The main tone will 
; | he ul loans, joint 

j JJ9F \ finances, buying and 
JHT selling, trading, 
commission, insurance and 
benefits, health schemes and 
security, funding and 
investing Parents, in law's and 
boss play a largei-than-life 

r art now Learn to tolerate it. 

uckilv, friends will pilch in 
tor you 


Libra 

September 23 — October 22 
Long-distance 
connections, 

Wy publicity and 
imi publishing, acting 
and directing, a lot uf behind - 
the-scene activity are on the 
cards Take February t*-7 for 
useful work if possible, as a 
more congenial climate foi 
operation and relationships 
will prevail You could be 
called upon to aid the ailing 

Scorpio 

October 23 — November 22 
r. iW T A good time for a job 
! ! switch, loans, funds, 

moving, getting you i 
j L dTW-i house* in order, 
j planning a campaign, taking a 
| major decision, signing an 
! important lease, document and 
j deal You may also apply for a 
; divorce or alimony, plan 
| another marnage, or try 
marrying for the first time. A 
j week ot many possibilities 


Sagittarius 

November 23 — December 20 
l ure distant 
SMj places and pastures 
w'ill be irresistible as 
■kl the sun hits the right 
chord for you Additions to 
the family are likely. You will 
be on the fast track and the 
chances are kicks, kisses, legal 
battles and new beginnings in 
the offing Amidst all of these, 
the home too will be 
thoroughly highlighted 


BEJAN DARUWALLA 


Capricorn 

December 21 — January 19 
Focus on job anti 
! |i woik once again 
[ WLm j You will continue lo 
I be imaginative and 

j nughtv ambitious T he work 
; vou put in will have happy 
1 returns for long long time A 
! job-switch is also foretold, or a 
I pay hike Difhvnt projects 
i will interest and excite you. 

; Hard work, rewards and a 
j change for the better foretold 

i Aquarius 

! January 20 — February 1 8 

. Best to get on to ads. 

| pamphlets, posters. 

I f i travel, shows, 

j M 1 1 publcifv and new 
j ventures Acting, publishing, 

| music and elei tromes also 
| take up mu ot your time 
I Children, sports and hobbies 
j give ample delight The luck 
* of the draw will be with you 
1 You can make it work foi vou 

■ Be generous 

! Pisces 

J February 19 — March 20 
i There will be outlets 

■ h )r h»vi\ |ok business 
| g PTj and profession. It 

| wTTAl you led like taking a 
! chance, please do so Home 
| and office, too, u ill have their 
; full share of vour energy, 
j money and attention Parents 
; and in-laws will have their 
I important say, whether vou like 
| it or not The second half ot the 
i week will bo profitable 


■B I R T H D Jfc&jg,:: 


February 4: Ganeshasaysthis full moon 
A stronger you wiB emergex'ith a sense of vahi8S. h!feam*ge, - 
birth and happy incidents areon the eard* 


b* taking muk & 

: sdv«s:9TOU tiie cutfio^ edg^ 

of wisdom. Those in 

do writ 

w*tim fat 

leads to originality and 
. i»M«dtvene»fc fbe ; «9Ri& vriB be tstoriknt whatever be your 








Extract 

An American in 



Extracts from 


Anurag Mathur’s new novel. Making the Minister Smile 



BY 

ANURAG 

MATHUR 


Extracted from 
Making the Mi 1 1 is ter 
Smile by 

Anurag Mathur; 
Published by ANB 
Publishers. Price 
RslOO 


s the first workers of the morning shift 
trudged towards the open factory 
gates, a taxi drew up beside them. 
Four men jumped out. 

"You can't go in " said one of them, 
barring the way of the workers. 

The workers recognised the tour as 
office bearers of the factory union 

' 'Why 7 " one asked the person block- 
ing his way, though he suspected he 
knew r already In answer, the union 
official simply jerked his thumb back- 
wards at the other three men w ho had 
come with him. 

Two had scaled one of the pillars on 
either side ot the huge wrought iron 
gates and was sitting on tup of it. One 
held a short stick with a small rec- 
tangular red flag on if and the other 
passed a rope around it and all around 
the pillar so that it w'as held upright 
tightly. Then he tied it into a knot with 
two quick hitches that displayed 
much practice. Taking a knife from his 
pocket, he flicked it open, cut the rope 
and both men jumped down to go 
across to the other pillar to put up a 
sinulai flag. 

The fourth man was standing in 
trout of the pillar to the left of the gate. 
He had several rolls of paper in one 
hand and a can with glue and a brush 
in the other. 1 le unrolled one sheet, 
smeared the glue on the back of the 
paper and slapped it on the pillar. Car- 
efully he smoothened it with his hand 
so that it was stuck flat. 

The small group of workers nei-r the 
union official could read it from 15 feet 
away 

"Strike." 

The red letters stood out boldly. 
Below’ it was written in smaller size 
"KapCo Industries workers on strike. 
Meet our just demands." By then, the 
second roll of paper had also been past- 
ed next to the strike poster. This said, 
"Our Demands." It listed 32, ranging 


from higher salaries to increased over- 
time allowance and ended w ith "rick- 
shaw fare for all workers from nearest 
bus stop to factory gate." This last 
point had aroused considerable deba 
te among the union officials since the 
bus stop at which most workers alight- 
ed w as about 50 feet from the factory 
gate. However, it was hnaliy included 
as one of the bargaining chips to be giv- 
en away to the management during 
the hectic negotiations that would 
doubtlessly follow 

The number of workers had rapidly 
swelled as morr people arrived to 
report for work. They saw the flags 
fluttering, the notices pasted, and null- 
ed about restlessly They grinned at 
each other in excitement mixed with 
uncertainty and some anxiety. Certain- 
ly it had been building up to this for a 
month, ever since Frabal Kumar had 
arrived at the same gate and delivered 
a speech that suddenly showed them 
how much more they could get for 
their Labours But still, it was one thing 
to talk, even to demonstrate and raise 
slogans, another to actually strike. 

And hadn't the mtwlik been good to 
them? Hadn't he after all been like one 
of them, starting his career as a man 
who rode his bicycle through Delhi, 
selling the utensils piled behind him? 

True, if this fellow Frabal could get 
them even half of what he had promis- 
ed they would be getting three times 
their current wages, but supposing it 
didn't work? And then, what were 
they supposed to live on while the 
sti ike was on? So w r hen the union offi - 
cial barring their way sensed their 
uneasiness and raised the cry of 
"Long live Frabal Kumar", their res- 
ponse was feeble 

Quickly he changed the slogan. 

"We demand our rights," he 
shouted. "What do we demand?" he 
asked. 


10 



This time their shout was more full 
throated. "Our rights, " they said 

"What do we demand?" no shouted 
again 

"Our nghts " This time it was a roar. 

"Our rights " He chanted and they 
picked up the refrain, "Our rights, our 
rights, our rights " The roar continued 
and grew m volume as more workers 
arrived 

The guards at the factory gates who 
had been waiting to sc*e if any ol the 
workers would break ranks and enter 
the factory, began to push the heavy 
gates shut. The workers saw the gate's 
begin to dose inexorably and began to 
chant even louder The loudness of 
their voices, the sens** of solidantv, 
oven the hypnotic rhythm of their 
chant gave them a feeling ol 
confidence 

Yet when the gates shut with a 
clang, every one of them flinched, and 
m their hearts there was fear bec ause* 
all of them knew of strikes that had tar 
led, where workers had lost terribly, 
vet they also knew of many i ases 
when they had won greatly So they 
chanted even louder, because now 
with the 1 closing o( the gates the battle 
had begun I low long it would go on, 
what sacrifices would have to be 
made, they didn't know, but they did 
know that they were prepare d to tight 
tor as long, as if took to get as manv of 
then demands as they could 

The 1 head of KapC o's security, C dp- 
tain A S Singh, who had joined the 
company after retiring from the army, 
looked at the* chanting mob through. 

Ariu rag Machur 


the grilled window' of lus office adjac- 
ent to the gates. I fc hold a telephone’ 
receiver in his hands and spoke to the 
manager of the facory, Lai Verma, 
who was in his offic e ha ving readied 
that morning half an hour before the 
first workers 

"Sir," said Singh, "it's begun. No 
one broke ranks and I have shut the 
gales before they decided to come in 
and cause violence’." 

"Has their been any violence yet 7 " 
asked Verma. 

"Not yef, sn They are simply rais- 
ing slogans " 

"Is I’nrhal Kumar there 7 " asked 
Verma. 

"No sir, only his assistants 1 lr m,n 
come later in the day when the men of 
the second shift have also arrived " 

"He may indeed," thought Verma 
sardonically "He ceitamlv en|ovs the 
larger audience than a single shift 
crowd " 

He picked up a dial-less telephone 
on his desk, an instrument plugged 
into the hotline that connected the tac 
lory at Fandabad to 1 )elhi "Got me 
Kapoor s uhtb," he told the factory 
operator 

For once the hotline was working 
and Verma was soon talking to Mr 
Sunder 

"Seth;/ is doing his prayers" said 
Mr Sunder "Is if important enough to 
disturb him?" Mr Sunder controlled 
access to Mr Kapoor at his house and 
he wasn't about to let any of the execu- 
tive's forget it. even if they outranked 
him 



"It is." said Verma curtly 
"Perhaps 1 can pass on the messa- 
ge," suggested Mr Sundei, who u-ally 
didn't like Verma very much " You 
know 1 am the fust person he sees 
every morning " 

"Good" said Verma 'Kindly tell 
him the workers have gone on strike 
and we have shut the t.u h>ry gates " 
"I'll get him on the phone right 
away," said Mr Sunder who had long, 
ago learned it wiser not to be the* car- 
rier of bad news 

T he phone trilled on the table just 
outside the little prayer room Ram 
Avtar Kapoor had built in an ale ove 
inside his bedroom The little i. ubicle 
was dark anil nearly bare in contrast 
to the opulence* ot the* rest of the 
bedroom 

On a small table covered by a white 
cloth were three pictures, one of 1 aksh- 
mi, the goddess of prosperity, one* of 
Shiva, the destroyer and curiously, a 
little to one side, a black and white 
coloured pu tun’ of Kapoor's wife 
who had died IS vears ago 

The photograph had been taken 
when she had only had a few weeks to 
live alter a battle with cancer that had 
lasted tor a long \ ear The suffering 
and pain had marked her face and 
there were lines that looked like they 
had been drawn with a pen, particular- 
ly since her skm looked so pale and fra 
gile as to bo translucent It was a fac e of 
great gentleness, ot someone who had 
seen much agony but borne it with cou- 
rage The eyes had a warmth and kind- 
ness to them that came through even 
in the photograph 

Kapoor had nearly worshipped her 
when she was alive and he actually 
did so now that she was dead As 
usual, every morning, he w.is thinking 
of her, just as he had every day on walk- 
ing tor the iast 18 years since she had 
died He sometimes wondered ii the 
pictures of the other deities weren't 
just an excuse to let him pray in front 
of her photograph 

He couldn’t remember a time when 
he hadn't known her Then tamihse 
wore neighbours in one of the liLtle 
alleys of Lahore and when she was 
bom and he was a mere live years old, 
their parents had decided that the 
children should be married Liter 
When he was 17 and she 1 ? the\ had 
been wedded Immediately thereafter 
he had gone away lo stud\ .it a college, 
but before that there 1 had been \ ears ot 
watching, growing, of pla\ mg w ith 
her,"l can icmember von wetting me 
when I hist picked vnu up.' he used to 
tease hei mlatei years, 'how main 


luisKiiuh. itiiulami that. 1 " 

The bin rm^; phone ini erruped his 
thought* ! If let u ring f» >1 a vn Ink*, hall 
.sensing whal the mil was about. I le lot 
hiinsrU indulge Hu* wear nos** o! miss- 
i ni”; Ins *.vi t< I(»t nnothei feu ‘-econds, a 
we. 1 k thui -hangelv enough 
strengthen. \i Mnn mi the* hallengesol 
l lu* Ja\ rh.-n Ik picked up the phono 
and listened to I al Vennn at the ol her 
end 

'! ii o ' r. a :l Kapoor Mid Suits 
begun l\o t:»iMi;ihl to lumsolt Tho Inst 
ever strike u» llii- Vs vtMis mi ki* ho had 
set up the rtye.i ; H wa-a problem lv* 
wnnii I ii.o o i. - resolve In hmisoll Ajai 
Vnu.h :i . . \ . mi no, too jJoalisiu to 
hand.*.* *ee loegh Imiis a hi Mi I, but ho 
could ji p 1 ; .iPthlitoo I lo H I shod 
In* » n : ■ ■ 1 \ ! .snoi. w ho had boon 

cdikjio! 1 la V'*‘ bo.irdmgsi hooK 
and ■ oiiis;* ■ oui had gioun upauav 
tri'iii b.» *. ■ u- * *i ides vv hull, m ono 
unvw't' ini-i'. nt when he had boon 
parti. ui.i: *■. i-movod w dh A|ai \ ii 
o\oi .ome <i lual disagieement lu* 
had t * Id h • -v Pie :irsl piiontv in 
'i’v !a. i* 1 * s . .'•■rpans \an an im 
Ohi\ ’ ■ ; • v ! i '' Mill * rme -oi ond 

S'., ‘ i/'*. Vn haO do 1 , otod 


nearly all his time to the company, but 
there had been an unbridgeable 
chasm between tliem "It doesn't mat- 
ter," thought Kapoor, "so long as he 
learns enough to keep the company 
moving when I'm gone That will be 
my wav ot being remembered " But 
lirsl he had to make sure that KapCo 
survived this crisis 

Kapom caretullv combed the last 
remaining strands ot hair on his head 
and went out. a medium sized hgure 
lending to plumpness, bespectacled, 
m a biown satan suit. He walked 
down the corridor to A|ai Vir's room, 
j knocked and walked m His son was 
i ready tc * leave and looked surprised as 
Kapoor sa! down 

'It-.- tar ted,” said Kapoor . 

"i In’s' \e gone on strike Toll me, 

I which ot the three* It's should we use?" 
''It's probable wise to bribe Prabal 
Kumar a*' well »is the workers," sug- 
gested |d i Vir "It's too late to butter 
1 them and we don't have the kind ot 
! .mud levjuired to Iry and bash 
! anvone 

| Kapoor nodded The bov's logic is 
j sensible lie thought, but good sense 
| novel broke a strike 
! I at her and son walked out to the car 


salute. They sat back as he started the 
car and drove away. 

C hris woke up an hour later as the 
smell of hot tea filled his room. 
The servant who had brought the ten 
tray slipped away. Chris sat down by 
the window, sipping his tea, a habit he 
had picked up in India. He beheld Mr 
Sundei coming towards him and brac- 
ed himselt 

"They have gone on strike/’ inform- 
ed Mr Sunder. "1 do not know what is 
to become ot tins country when it is 
full ot such wretched people. 1 think 
there are no strikes in America." he 
a n non need ' 'Tha t i s how* the cou n try 
has become so great But India will go 
to dogs with such scoundrels 1 am tell- 
ing to you." 

An old woman dressed m a >an 
silently entered and began to dust (he 
room. Sht* was, C hris had learned, a 
lady called Tai by everybody, which 
means Father's elder sister She bad no 
discernible role as tar as ( hris could 
see, but was kept on sim e she had 
j been with the family U >r years aru I had 
I practically brought up Ajai Vir during 
, ins mother's long illness and the- 
j rentier whenever l ie came home on 




vants pervasive and irritating but he 
luid learned how much easier life beca- 
me with them around. 

Mr Sunder was still hovering near- 
by, clearly ill at ease 

" l am reading lots about America/' 
he said finally fidgeting "Hut 1 am not 
finding any reliable magazine. Are 
you having any?" 

"Well, nothing immediately," said 
Chris, "but 1 can get some. Which one 
do you want?" 

"Anything good/' said Mr Sunder, 
"Something about social affairs to 
give me really true picture." 

"Well, maybe 1 could get you 
Cosmopolitan. They do a lot on social 
affairs " 

"1 No, not that way. I am meaning 
some really social magazine that will 
give me true picture " He shuffled his 
feet and looked penetralmgly out of 
the window 

"Such as?" enquired Chris. 

"Oh," said Mr Sunder very casual- 
ly, "i am hearing lot many things 


about social magazines like Playboy 
and Pentium sc. Of course, I am never 
seeing before," he began to mumble, 
his spectacles shining. "But if you are 
having 1 will take to my friends who 
are wanting to know’. Ot course, I am 
not interested, but for sake ol my 
friends l am asking." 

"Naturally,*)! course" soothed 
Chris. "1 am sure youi friends will be 
interested. 1 don't have any right nov\ , 
but I'll see what I can do." 

"Of course you are not mentioning 
this to Aiai Vir, 1 hope He may be not 
understanding." 

"Naturally not," agreed Chris 
"I hope," said Mi Sunder 
anxiously, "you are not thinking ah 
Indians arc wanting to see all such 
magazines, i am only asking toi sake 
of some friends You are not thinking f 
hope that all Indians are like this ' 

"No, of course," reassured ( hris 
"In fact I don't even think of Indians, is 
being different from me I just think of 
Indians as being Americans whoM 


freckles have jomed 

Much lelieved. but p ' * .lint 
Irecklrs might he. \b ■■■••e * ’• : Med 
Chi i*. gunned to him i ■ i ■ 
magazines, he though! • *■ .Ik: 

At least! hegm isr.'»o ■ ' ■■ a 

showorand diessi'.! •. 1 al- 

pana Lo arrive 

KaljMnn Singh w i- ! - 

ti lend and the*: v\ en ;• ■ vt 

married a 4 ' soon as ’h' ' 
blems yot iesol\ ni s- , 
daughter i >! a 'iiiii ■’ ■ ■■ ',u 

had t. dli.ii i hau! i 

an: ii id ii-\ . ■ i * i ! • e 

and opened • 1- u ii l' 
approved oi 1 1 1 < * n- n ■ 
bei ause, l h- ,i t> »i e. ,J- 

paua' . I.unilv had i \i * i 
among mli.i .«'\ .;! d aiv 

i>! \\ l ■» >ni i. ! ; 4 • . . , il 

m polnw . 

Kal| snia l.\ ■ d , 
apii’ tnieni i o •• • : !n 
piete: red U- live a. 

, pai.u e s v )!iiew Sere le . 

I »he ! hnialax a*- she » 







ever seen 11.1 In- life 1 le was also in t j 
dilemma, because lie sensed that Hie 
reciprocated his interest However, 
there was the small matter of Ajai Vu 
and the possible repuitussion on their 
business arrangement it matters got 
out of hand Also, he didn't know 
what the other ramifications would he 
if news of an at fair leaked out Would 
he have to marry her? Would Ajai Vir 
shoot them both 7 He was planning to 
raise the subiect m an indirect way tms 
time when she came to take him on yet 
another sight-seeing trip around 
Delhi These owui sums had the full 
blessings of Ajai Vu who saw it a«N a 
good way to keep C hris entertained, 
which dutv he would have had to per- 
form otherwise 

C’hritsaw the gates open and Kalpa- 
na's red Maniti appeared I le went 
out and thev d.rovc auav 

"Where to this tune'’" he enquired. 

"We're going to see the Qutub 
Minar. Ill a tower dial was built for 
some reason or the other and it's really 
very interesting." 

Chris braced himself for the wild 
chariot race that w a° the normal Delhi 
14 


traffic and throughout the fide kept 
pressing imaginary brakes Kalpana 
noticed it again and laughed at him 
"You're an ovei -protected > ank." 
she giggled "You'll havetole.un hi 
think in terms of missing the other cai 
by millimeters rather than yards like 
you do It's quite safe I've never had 
an accident " 

C hris ungritted his teeth and tried 
to calm down He became more aware 
of her proximitv and the perfume she 
was vveanng Kalpana's hand brush 
ed Ins leg eve r ytime she changed 
geais "This, Chris thought, "is 
u nival able I tow e\a< tlv should I 
broach the subject 7 " 

W ’hen *he tjutiih Minar , a minaret 
sevi-iai hundred feel in height 
came to \ lew , he was struck Ln 
inspiration 

"Doesn't it look," he asked, "like 
some guy with the world's most seve- 
re case of hard on?" 

Kalpana laughed, "f've seen bet- 
ter" She looked him m the eye 
Thev were walking towards the 
base of the tower. "I low's that 7 ' ask 


ed Chris "1 always thought Indian 
girls were virgins till they got 
ma tried " 

"That was m another venture 
Today almost no one is And one or 
tw r o experiences don’t really count " 
ou mean they have the ir lim, get 
married and become good, faithful 
wives 

"Good yes, faithful no." 

"What does that mean. " 

"It means the fun really starts alter 
they get married " 

"You're joking*" 

"Not really 1 " 

"Y on mean 1 have a chance with 
Indian girls " 

"( )t course Moi* 1 than Indian men." 

"Why?" 

"because you are safe. You won't 
tell you i friends about it and a girl 
won't lose her reputation. Besides 
you'll return home and there won't be 
any complications later." 

"I'm shocked " 

"Don't he. It's all quite civilised " 

"What if the husband finds out?" 

"Usually they never do. And even il 
they do, so what 7 '1 hey' re usually hav 




'lii.i'n!* ii Ltotrolm Unr 


mg atfairs on then suit.- too." 

" Ama/mg Hut it must Lv among 
tin elite onlv " 

"Well vos, hut also among the poor- 
est people. And even the middle ( Kiss 
is caching up The only rule is 1 )<m't 
pet taught and don t cause a seaiulal 

"1 think you KM ter ship You're gi\ 
mg me ideas " 

"1 certainh don't intend to " She 
gave him a halt smile 

1 hey reached the hast' ot the lower 
hut Chris wasn't iealh paving atten- 
tion They dutifully ciicumnavigated 
it and then went to see a nearby iron 
pillar that w r as a metallurgical marvel 
since it hadn't rusted loi centimes des- 
pite hemp exposed to the elements 
Chris couldn't concentrate on that 
either Kalpana brushed against him 
and giggled again 

"You're starting to look like the iron 
pillar yourself," she said innocently. 
"Whatever could he the matter?" 

"Nothing, nothing, I was just think- 
ing that you really live in an ancient 
castle." 

"I see. Old castles excite vou, do 
they?" 


j "Absolutely.' said Chris, regaining 
| control ot himsell "do you have pH tu 
resot the plate?" 

"Probably, but they're loi ked up 
somewhere. You sine you want to sec 
them 7 " she teased 

"Howevei distasteful the |ob, dut\ 
lsdutyasllitlei usedtosas 

They walked back to the ear and 
wont to her apartment. 

"Would you like some watei’ 1 ’ She 
asked as she opened the door 

Chris reached out lot her as tho\ 
stopped inside and she came into his 
arms "I would like you/’ In said as 
thc\ embraced 

I atiT when the\ bothl.u back nak- 
ed ami exhausted, he noticed w ith sui 
pnse that thev hadn't even made it till 
the bedroom. 1 \v was also surprised 
by her skill 

"You ami Ajai Vir must be piactis 
mg this quite a bit " 1 ie checked to see 
it she was displeased 

"Sort of," she stretched langou 
rously "Though l have a strict rule U »i 
him V 

"Which is 7 " 

"Onlv above the waist and below 


Ihc knees ' 

Chi n laughed 'Win ’ he blew on 
.i strand ol wet hair at toss her cheek 
"l >h. good Indian girl and all that 
\ mi know Sav mg myself for mv wed- 
ding eight And not a word about this 
hem \ on she grabbed a thunk o f lus 
hair 

"Ow , mv, i »ka\ Si out's honour ' 

Sire let go and got up fetching 
"She's gorgeous, ' thought khi is 
desire stni mg again 

"Not now 1 -die said slapping 
away his outstretched hand " lime to 
j get back ' 

,,y i t> Memsahib," thought Chris 
’ I've done mv duty’ ' he thought with 
surprise It s as though I vebeer. 

UM’tl Shewasn t involved t motional 
lv. I was just a useful. well, toor" 1 le 
gnnnetl saultMiu alh to himsell 'Bui 
who am I Uuomplauv ,,, he thought 
compkuentb , remembering the last 
hali hour 

She dime him back to the house 
‘ I hope 1 11 see vou soon 1 " asked 

C In is 

Ma\ tv ' she said i asualK She 
dnneott ■ 


16 




Ti 


1 1 

IME TABLE 

All arrival and departure times are for Calcutta 

Day* of operation wing 7-day coda: 0 MONDAY ® TUESDAY WEDNESDAY *}■ THURSDAY ; y FRIDAY ® SATURDAY SUNDAY 






Departures 

Rt No. Tkna Days 

m AOARTALA 


m AHMEDABAD 

1 ■ I- » ^ ! ; 

• AIZAWL 

• BAGDQGRA 

■i _ ,■ ■ .* 

* 1 1 ' f i 

• BANGALORE 

tl 

BHUBANESWAR 



■{***.. 

CM f : 1 ‘ . * 

■ 



DOMESTIC 

Arrivals 

Departures 

Arrivals 

Fit No 

Time Days 

Fit No Time Days 

Fit No. 

Time 

Days 



M-i i f 1 J S« i 

M‘i y.‘ 

1'ilU 

J i 

i 1 ’4? 

’ ‘ t ^ ’ 

r> «■* r>. is 1 

rf -v,: 1 

r.-io 

1 : 

ir #4/ 

Ic'i-i; t ■ 

‘ :l. Ilf ■. i 1 r 

!f. . 

1MJ 


i 1 . Ml 

1 ],5- v 

\ PI!, .Mi, 

-SVH11 

ih- k 

.' -1 


lfc‘;j • . . 

! f.lfif.:’ Vl.i - 4 i 

U.M* *! 

• " V 

: 1 *i 

m*. r . 

l. Lr n 2 r. 

*/ i j * • ■ j j 

r «i 

!,1 ! ' L r 

ii-1!. 

i. i>; 



. .w s :■ i • 

A' HVOBRABAO 




■ * is 

v;' ■ :: 

!» '* " ' ’ 

■" 

,n , 

i , 

1 

PiA, J ' 

■, h'. 1 i, 

ii ’ii 

!' 

! ' 

W Ji. 

1 tV 1 : j 

J ! ,, i .'i, 

‘-1.- 



* - v • 

: 

'll* i: M. M.>. 

.. _ i 


■ i , ^ 

if r* - ' 

‘ ’ ■ J ■ 

« tMPMAL 




i’i. 1M 

ii r ". t i 

! » •- mi , ; 

i' '.r 

Hi- 


0. •!» 5 

jt J i. ' 


i " 

i ]'■ 

r 


m DELHI 


‘ ' 


* DIBRUOARM 


DIMAPUR 


m GOA 
m GUWAHATI 


K'* . ( .i 
A! . 


1 1 ,»* ■ 
(«, t . 


.’I- 
, Is 


1., f ‘ 

r» : f 


■ / L’.r t\>. 


«K JAIPUR 

■ ’ n, . 

« JOttMAT 


11 ,* i 

i 

1 *i! 

. 

.[ : ./' !>r j 

■+’t 

■! 1 ' 1 

I:i. 

' 1 

• 

• LUOKNOW 

:• i?. 

F 1 1 1 

•BOMBAY 

,r i ■ 

i . v ' 

fin’ 


■ ' 

• MADRAS 

■»A .’»■ 


*0 

• 1 * 1 1 

' '• ii .. 1 

■ , ■■■ 

ij I'i’ 

■kv 1 : 

,v- . 

. 1 , 

.. t .\ , 

A iv 

: i 

, : tr, 

! f 1 ’ 

'i , 

! '■ ' i J . 

j- 

/ - . ■ 

■ 1 " 

:.p* 

• 

'.J' 

i m .'1 


* NAGPUR 

* PATNA 

: - .i : 1 • 1 

. . i i • 

m PORT ©LAIR 
il RANCHI 
m GHHXONG 
rn SILCHAR 

■ ■- '501 , , ' 

» , ■ i ; i. • j 

I'lf. I.'J. i 

m TEZPUR 

: : :-i 

B VARANASI 

■ i'i *'< i*i. 

m VtSHAKHAPATNAM 


-*> |f > : 




FLIGHTS 


« AMMAN 

’!! 

* AMSTERDAM 


* BANGKOK 

hr- I-Y 


'-’I, 


1r * r"p L . -I 


INTERNATIONAL 


-F; : ; 


.*■ 

< 

■“F-. 

i 4h 

i 

i: ■»,. iij>. 

• ’ 1, .1. 

1 '«■ 


i’i * * i ■ ! ■ * 

t, I,|. « Mi; 

/»' J .r*« 

■1 1 

ii. ■■ 

i 

Ik aUCHAReST 

V, ('»■ . f-:i 

Mij :■ 

i/fif] 


16 



Departures 


Arrivals 


Fit No. Time Days 

Fit No. 

Time Days 

wsvcwmaowG, . • 



1C :v r !j4-!l 

K 

i.vr i 

>7< ' : 

hi, i.- 

i ^ 

* ohaka 

' ; ' 1 V 

; ji» i .. **• ** **/ 1 % 

riG-OK 1 uw- A ^ 

B:5 'HI 

I. HU' ■! 

BG-iHJ 1 i in s J i « 

> K. 001 

HiO 5 / 1 L / 

in u : : > . . . < i 

l /. 7.-1 

iV/i' : : i i) 

WruM i m'. i ; • 1 

f fi r , f! 1 *- 

'82 r 1 / o k ’ 

BG fjqi i»;.i j 

i-.f. 1,*" 

l-M" < 

RG iVi'. MiV ' 

Pi, l'«. 

y.fi * r . 

M.-omm 



b* lij’ J!i;r» 

Bl UP 

! ’ 

M KATHMANDU 

r; 

!( \‘ ■.« ' ! ■■ 

i... 1 

■V . 

* *■ • L ' ; i» 

Mi 1 i 


Departures 

Fit No. Tims Days 

W'XjONOQM 

RA IK. JM- '■ ’ 

OW ■ 

m ftwo 

KP-Hk. in:'} 

Up. 11.1. ! v* : 

m StN&AFORE 

4 -0 SI'- .Ml 

B! m. t 

'* &om • - 

r'.M *. Tl u 

,* TOKYO : 

A' ,f h. 1*11'* 

■ yanoon 


Arrivals 

Fit No. Tim Days 


■ I V." K' 1- .' 

R- : rj* OK": 


Al Air India • BA British Airways • BG Biman Bangladesh Airlines • Bl Royal Biunei Aji lines • D2 Skyline NEPC • D5 NEPC Airlines • 1C Indian Airlines • 
KB Druk-Air • KLM Royal Dutch Airlines • L Z Balkan Airlines • M9 Modilutt • PF Vayudoot • RA Royal Nepal Airlines • RJ Roya> Jordanian Airlines • RO 
Tarom Air Transpoil • S2 Sahara India Airlines • SO Singapore Airlines • SU Aeroflot • 4S East West Airlines • TG Thai Airwa/s International • 9W Jet Airways 


TRAINS 


Departure 

r 

EASTERN RAILWAY 

Arrival 

— t 

Departure 

SOUTH-EASTERN RAILWAY 

Arrival 

Up Time 

Howrah 

Time Dn 

: ^ 

Time 

Howrah 

Time Dn 

if.' 

Delhl-Kaika Mall 

i«-4*j /lilt' 

, t’l!' < 

,M -S' 

Madras Mall 

1 * ‘t '■» .i jA 

: i>‘ -‘i 

Amrttsar Mall 

'1 y jn.jf, 

■ ynr ' 

: . ■ 

Bombay Mall m r*.rj, n. 

Gtetpl (Bombay) Express 

Shatabdl (Rourtola) Express 

Ahmedabad Express 

f , i *: . : 

■Ml, 

Bombay Mall v. . .vm!.-i\.i 

■ ■»-{>» J T',,‘4 


i i 1 ' 

,! I'R'j'i 

i ! ‘ 

Poorva (New Delhi) Express . .> ■' uiv. j r.n . • 
. w i /. 

^ 1 »• ■ ' .! 

•i» i*. 

: 'I' 1 1 

1 it. .M 

"* . J 

■' j - :-* 

■ * j /i < 

' ' 

Poorva (New Delhi) Express - 

1 1 1 , /, J • 

1 ■ . it 

i; 

Karla Express • N. ( ;*• 

Coromandal (Madras) Express . .m 

_■ i»r, ‘t. 

■ *,■ *K4' 


Raldtani Express .a . 

. .V- • ! 1 \ , 

Raldhanf Expiess , ' i 

I ' 1 * 1 " 9 t • %\ 

Jodtipui Express 

Shatabdl (Bckaro Steel City) Express 

Himglrl (Jammu-Tawl) Express • 

, ■ ■« ' 1 «'■ .1 > r 

Guwahatl Express 
• . . i. .. ■, .v . 

Gorakhpur Express 

Puibanchal (Gorakhpur) Express 


Doon Express . r i.*-. 
Udyan Abba Tootan Express 
Amrttsar Express 


Mntiila (Raxaun Express 
Kamrup (Guwafati) Express 
Black Diamond Express 
CoalfWd Express 
Asansol Express 
Danapui Express 
Jamalpur Express 
SanUnllotan Express 
Chambal (Gwalior) Express 

i /..i *. 

Shipra (Indore) Express 

'*•" A.'. / .i 

Shaktipun) (Choparj Express 
Chambal (Agra Carl) Expree 


Sealdah 

Taasta^Torea Express 

Darjeeling Mall 

Delhi Express v.* Mu . : I'll 

kanchanjunga (landing) Express 

Gour Express 

Knife Express 

Jammu-Tawl Egress 

Mughal Saral Express u. n. ...■ 

Gangs Sagar(Soreldipur) Express 

n. (. & A' 1 !« !i IlrjiN .. 1 .i! 


Fulaknuma (Secunderabad) Express 

i v. 

Bangalore Express 

f-n ,■ „ 

.< ■ ' v 

Tata Steel Express 
Ispat (Jharsuguda) Express 
THlagarh Express 
Ranchi Hat la Express 
Purl Express v ■* . 

Jagarmath (Pud) Express 
Dhaull (Bhubaneswar) Egress 
East Coast (Hyderabad) Express 
Purutla Express 
■■*: Hi : 

Bhubaneswar-New Delhi Rajdhant Express 

* ' «'.* .. .v, 1 

New DelhMtaubaneswar Rajdhanl Express . 

r 1 ' 1 M 

Guwahatl Howrah - Trivandium Central Express 

Trivandrum Centra> - Howrah Guwahatl Express 

Cochin Harbour Terminus - Guwahatl Weakly 
Express j- i.. -?v ' h .i .-I • 

'!■ ",i‘. ■ A 

Guwahatl - Cochin Harbour Terminus Weekly 
Express . 'i','" 1 \ .. ■ 

' ■! ■ i . ■ . 

Cochin Harixjur Terminus Express ■. 


Guwahatt - Bangalore City Weekly Express * ■ 

■' 4* -\ ..I 1 -* 

* J >■ Bangalore Citv - Guwahati Weekly Expos :■ 0'- ! '* 

ENQUIRIES* For round the clock Information of Eastern Railway and South- 
Eastern Railway trains, please dial 2203545-54 for In-comlng trains: 2203536- 
44 for all other Information. For Information about reservations on Eastern 
Railway and South-Eastern Railway trains, dial 22034960500 (from 8 am to 
8 pm on weekdays and 8 arn to 2 pm on Sundays and gazetted holidays). 
In addition, dial 1331 (for recorded Information on train running). 131 (regar 
ding train operations) and 135 (regarding reservations). Train service enquiry 
at Sealdah: 3503535-37 


17 




Event 

BUREAUCRATS 

RULED 

At the recently concluded International Film Festival 
in Delhi, says Amita Malik 



The inauguration of the film festival 


I t began with Zhang Yimou's 
Shanghai Triad and ended with 
Antonioni's Beyond the Cloud*. A 
perfect beginning and end to Indi- 
a's 27th International Film Festival 
held this time in Delhi. 

But alas, it is what goes on in bet- 
ween that really matters. And since 
this is a government-run festival with 
the film industry contributing neither 
money nor management expertise, the 
total number of gaffes and evidence of 
mismanagement only mount with the 
years. Specially when it is held in 

16 


Delhi with politicians and bureaucrats 
grabbing the maior share of the spoils 
and the film buff is left practically in 
the buff. 

Most of the major film festivals are 
inaugurated with a brief speech of wel ■ 
come by the city mayor and an equally 
brief introduction by the festival direc- 
tor. The jury is also presented with 
dignity and impresses everyone with 
their stature. But not here. 

The minister of state, the chief mini- 
ster, the secretary of information and 
broadcasting, the director of festivals 


all dominate the stage and the chief 
guest who is usually someone from 
the industry hardly known in interna- 
tional circles, adds to the lengthy — 
usually ghost-written — speeches 
which repeat all the highlights of the 
festivals, its statistics and uniformly 
mispronounce the natnes of foreign 
guests. On paper, each speech never 
lasting more than one to five minutes, 
is timed to the second . 

But this year, as before, they took a 
full hour and Tejeshwar Singh, the 
very competent compere who had 



already given all the highlights, the sta- 
tistics and the names correctly pro- 
nounced, seemed to have wasted his 
time. 

T he same procedure is followed for 
each and every opening. Biplab 
Roy Chowdhury's Nirbachana, the ope- 
ning film for the Panorama, was held 
up for 45 minutes by long-winded 
speeches while the impatient audien- 
ce squirmed in their scats. Biplab 
spoke for hardly a minute. 

The press and media, supposed to 
cover the opening function for the mor- 
ning editions, gets seats in the extreme 
left corner and never gets near the film 
celebrities for spot interviews and gets 
hopelessly outnumbered by all the 
female ushers dressed like brides, 
who form a dose circuit round the cele- 
brities and jostle each other to get on to 
the TV cameras 

In fact, they are only outnumbered 
by the announcers for each film who 
strut across in high-heeled shoes, back- 
less blouses and rustling silks, with 
bosoms thrust forward like pouter 
pigeons and eke out their lines as long 
-as they possibly can. They cannot 
memorise even two or three lines and 
when the cameras are on they also 
read out long synopses of each and 
every film and the bio-data of the direc- 
tor although this is already in the bro- 
chures and the festival bulletin. 

Some announcers, like Sheila Cha- 
man, address even the most eminent 
foreign personalities by their first 
names on stage. Her crowning 
moment was when she was introduc- 
ing the director of Erotic Talc*. After 
introducing her, she asked cheerily, 
"Arc you erotic?" 

Among the biggest disasters of the 
festival were the conducting of the 
several daily press conferences under 
the auspices of Press Information 
Bureau. This year they selected a timid 
little bahenji probably because of her 
seniority since there seemed little else 
to recommend her. She was, not surpri- 
singly, from the ministry of agricultu- 
re and it is an index of her lack of alert- 
ness that she was ignorant of the fact 
that Balram Jakhar had been 
dethroned. 

S he seemed largely voiceless and 
kept on pointing a pencil to those 
whp wanted to ask questions. They 
went right ahead and asked questions* 
as and when they wanted and hang 
the queue. Although tutored by des- 
pairing experienced film critics to ask 
the most persistent and largely 
unknown questioners to identify 


themselves, she failed at that too. And 
as the loudspeakers from the Open 
Forum across the road infiltrated into 
the press conference, she at first did 
not notice and then failed to get them 
toned down. 

However, her real moment of glory 
and that of the festival came when, 
after every minor Ram, Shyam and 
Jadu had been given a solo press confe- 
rence immediately following their 
film, three major northeastern direc- 
tors, Jahnu Barua, Aribam Syam Shar- 
ma, Bhabendra Nath Saikia, both inter- 
national and national award winners 
and Jwngdao Bodoso, the brave 
maker of the first Bodo film, were lum- 
ped together in a hastily-summoned 
press conference at the very end, long 
after their films were over. 

As they made their individual 
strong protests before walking out, 
the lady from agriculture first murmu- 
red that it was because there was no 
time. Then that they had been difficult 
to locate (all were festival guests at the 
festival hotel) and, finally, that the pur 
pose was to put the focus on the 
northeast 

As if all this were not bad enough, 
the official festival bulletin, this tune 
produced and edited by another wing 
of the ministry of information and 
broadcasting, Advertising and Visual 
Publicity, carried a review of a 
Malay ala m film officially selected tor 
the Indian Panorama and described it 
as "dull and boring" although the offi- 
cial bulletin is supposed to be purely 
factual. The outraged director. T V. 
Cliandran, also pointed out angrily 
that the foregin press and delegates. 


for whom the Panorama is a vista of 
exposure, were taken on a sight- 
seeing tour of the Qutab Minar and 
other monuments when this film was 
being screened. 

One of the reasons why film festi- 
vals are held is to encourage trade and 
commerce. Bandit Queen , after all, was 
made internally and commercially 
because it got rave notices at Cannes. 
But here at our festivals, it is mainly 
NRls who lap up Indian films for over- 
seas and local distributors who made 
a bid for the more steamy foreign films. 

A market is a market, nevertheless, 
and the National Film Development 
Corporation, which does very poor 
business at foreign festivals, had 
however, provided an annual outlet 
for Indian films over the years. This 
year, the Film Festival Directorate 
entered into a sordid and self- 
defeating dispute with the NFDC and 
denied its' usual small but very strate- 
gically placed slot on the Sin Fort 
lawns adjoining the auditoriums. So 
there was no market at all at the festi- 
val and several foreign buyers went 
on television to express their disap- 
pointment and anger at being depriv- 
ed of an amenity for which they had 
eome a long way p.t great expense to 
Delhi. 

hen to the much hyped but disastr- 
ous competition section Fvery 
opportunity was availed of at every 
possible function by the minister 
downwards to proudly point out that 
after years, when competition had 
been stopped because of the poor 
quality of films, it had been restored 


Festival director Malti Sahay; chairperson of the jury, Jeanne Moreau; filmmaker 
B.R. Chopra; I and B minister, P.A. Sangma and filmmaker Ramanand Sagar at 
one of the screenings 



19 





Director Sayed Mlrza chats with newcomer Mayuri Kango at the festival 


and with d fashionable Asian slant 
Now even the most ardent feminist 
cannot in all conscience claim that 
Asia is truly over-populated with 
women directors. The directorate 
almost literally crawled to get the entr- 
ies into low two figures. 

A distinguished colleague from the 
most distinguished south Indian 
English daily, with whom I have cover- 
ed many of the best foreign festivals 
came to me in-between and at the end, 
almost literally tearing his hair. 
Because against my advice, he had con- 
scientiously allotted himself daily 
coverage of the competition films 
while his delighted younger collea- 
gues watched the foreign porn and a 
few outstanding films. "After all," he 
had said to me, great trouper that he is, 
"the most important part of a festival 
is the competition/' with memories of 
Cannes, Venice and Berlin, not to 
speak of Montreal. "Never, never," he 
wailed, "have 1 seen such rotten films." 

I believe that Jeanne Moreau , the dis- 
tinguished chairperson of the jury, 
conveyed more or less the. same senti- 
ments to the festival authorities, and 
recommended that next time there 
should be preliminary weeding out of 
sub-standard films. Alas, many of 
them came from India. Never was 
such a distinguished jury asked to 
choose such undistinguished films. 

No wonder that the ever tactful and 


former Cannes festival grand jury 
chairperson Jeanne Moreau said at the 
presentation that the jury had bypass- 
ed technical excellence and laid more 
stress on good themes. Obviously, 
Indian women directors could not pro- 
ve even that. Nevertheless, so anxious 
were the festival authorities to yield to 
pressure from higher authorities, that 
they even admitted an Indian film 
which was described variously by 
film experts as laughable" and "a 
poor student cxicrcisc". 

Furthermore, it was listed in the 
Panorama as a non-feature film and in 
the competition as a feature film, 
although it did not fulfil the strict con- 
d ition laid down by FI APF, the interna- 
tional accredition body in Paris, that a 
feature film in competition must be of 
a minimun of 60 minutes. But, never 
say die. The same film is going to the 
Bombay festival as a documentary. 

Yes, the festival had some outstand* 
ing films together with expected tri- 
via, although the retrospectives were 
so many and so overladen, that genui- 
ne film buffs bit their nails in anguish 
missing many of them, although some 
of the best retrospectives ran to empty 
houses at commercial cinemas. Typi- 
cal of Delhi. In Calcutta they queued 
overnight for Godard. 

That the directorate cannot manage 
the simplest of functions was proved 
by the disastrous lunch at the no 


| doubt picturesque Dilli Haat which 
| had none of the orderliness of its real 
$ rustic counterparts. This lunch is 
g always open house tor the junior staff 
of the ministry, and a very kind 
thought but they had brought along 
entire joint families, grandmas, babies 
and all. 

Queues were broken and a fat lot of 
use they were when the kebabs were 
at one end and the rumali rotis at ano- 
ther. Food rapidly ran short and seve- 
ral foreign guests as weli as your 
columnist left hungry. Also, for some 
odd reason, one could not get tea on 
the Sni Fort lawns, only coffee, very 
weak and diluted. 

I end. as every festival in Delhi 
begins and ends with their august and 
overwhelming presence, with the 
bureaucrats I tavmg seen the uncenso- 
red version of Hniulit Queen. 1 wanted 
to see if the cut version in the festival 
had harmed the film. I did not even 
attempt to get into the delegate and . 
press show because it was overrun by 
bureaucrats and their families and 
sundry minions from the ministry, 
and the police had to be called in. They 
almost broke down the solid doors of 
the auditorium, having occupied all 
the seats tor the dull film which had 
preceded this highlight of the Indian 
section 

It was a comparatively sedate 
bureaucratic audience which invaded 
the auditorium in force for the closing 
function. Speeches, awards, culminat- 
ing in Antonioni's first film after his 
stroke The best scats were occupied in 
advance by section officers etc. (just 
like the Dilli Haat) who hadn't heard 
of Antonioni but wanted their porn. 

In front of me sat a meek looking 
man, his obese wife and a pncni chew- 
ing teenage son As, rather overdone 
for Antonioni, but not surprisingly 
from co-director Wim Wenders, the 
nudies and copulation increased, the 
obese matron stared in horror and 
then pulled at her enthralled hus- 
band's shirt. "C/wj/o ;/," she said loud- 
ly and harshly as he mildty lingered 
and finally shuffled to his feet, eyes 
still glued on the screen. The son conti- 
nued to chew paun. That is when mom 
in classic dest style, pulled him firmly 
up by the ear and “dial, joldi , //i/f," and 
dragged him out of the auditorium, 
still by the ear. 

Which should be bur epitaph on the- 
festival audiences. Except that exactly 
the same thing will continue to happ- 
en at every film festival held in this 
city of bureaucrats. It is really time 
they stopped holding festivals in this 
vast bureaucratic Dilli Haat. ■ 


20 


JUNIOR WHIRL HAL KAUFMAN 



SPORTS CAST! 

Name a sport with which each of the follow- 
ing B-words is associated: 1. Bunt 2. Bogey 3. 
Butterfly 4. Bootleg 5. Blueline 6. Blinders. 
Time Limit: 1 minute, ^ 


UP ATREEI Our artist claims there are 16 faces 
among branches of this family tree. How many do 
you see? 


QUICK PICK! 

Place 14 toothpicks on 
the table. In turn, you 
and an opponent are to 
pick up one, two or 
three. Object is to force 
opponent to pick up last 
toothpick. 

Here's how:If you jeo 
first, you can't lose. On 
first turn, take one. On 
next turn, pick up fifth 
toothpick in 

removal order. On next turn, see that just five tooth- 
picks remain. 

If opponent goes first, try to proceed similarly, but 
this method may not always succeed. 


MB 


HOCUS-FOCUS 



1 I N 

2 _ I N 

3 I N 

4 I N 

5 I N _ 

6 I N 


IN IT TO WIN IT CHALLENGE 

YES, you have to be IN to win 
it — or, in this case, to solve it. Six 
seven-letter words shown con- 
tain the word IN in progressive 
stages. You are asked to fill in 
these words in accord with the 
following definitions: 

1. Due to arrive, as a plane or 
train. 

2. "A horse! A horse! My 
for a horse." 

3. Hanger-onner of sorts. 

4. Gone but not forgotten, as 
the dinosaur, moa, etc. 

5. Astonishingly hard to 
believe. 

6. Bad guy hissed by old-time 
audiences. 

How quickly can you puzzle 
them out? 

Time: 2 minutes. 

uu'iha 

tfuisnuv v j-ninxn » unipWuta 7 punoqu] [ 




































Continued from page 8 

ed his son Nusrat to be a doctor 

Nusrat would perhaps have gone 
along with this plan, if it hadn't been 
for a dream he had as a teenager, in 
which he saw himself singing at the 
shrine of Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin 
Chisti at Ajmer. The young Nusrat 
took this to be a sign and began train* 
ing to be a qaumnd. 

And his dream became reality when 
on a visit to Ajmer in 1979 (Nusrat was 
in India to perform at the wedding of 
Kishi K^oor and Neetu Singh at the 
invitation o&Jtaj Kapoor) he was asked 
to sing at the shrine 

Khan is a superstar in his native 
Pakistan, where he is called 
Shahenshah-e-Qawwal, but his brand 
of devotional music travels well 
across borders. Khan has sung to both 
British and French audiences and he is 
very big in japan, where there are six 
books and single-issue magazines 
devoted to his life and music 

International stardom came to 
Khan in 1987 when he was asked to 
sing for Martin Scorcese's The Last Tem- 
ptation of Christ by Peter Gabriel. 
Gabriel was looking for a singer 
whose voice could express the 
anguish of Christ and he felt he had 
found it in Nusrat Ali. 

The experiment worked, and 
Gabriel's record company. Real 
World, brought out Khan's album, 
Musth Musth, which was an instant 
hit. Several other albums followed, all 
under the Real World label, each one 
of them a success. 

Khan's Musth Musth was re-mixed as 
a dance album by the record compa- 
ny, Massive Attack, and made it to the 
dance charts, the first time a qaurwali 
had featured on them. 

Musth Muth had its fans in India as 
well, at least one of whom was a plagia- 
rist. Hence, the Mohra number, Tw 
dtecz badi tun must mast, which was a 
straight lift from Khan's track. 

But that wasn't the only Nusrat 
Fateh Ali number that was cannibali- 
sed. Akshay Kumar and Ayesha Julka 
danced to Jhule fhule Lai, a copy of 
Khan's Must Kalandar. And more 
recently, Madhuri Dixit danced to 
Nusrat's Mere piya gharaya in Yamuna. 

Indian copyright laws being what 
they are — not to mention the Indian 
legal system itself — Khan has little 
chance of getting justice in the courts. 
So the rotund singer has decided to fol- 
low that tried-and-lested dictum: if 
you can't beat them, join them. 

Nusrat Ali has decided to begin 
composing for Hindi films as well. 

26 




After a H, if other people are making 
millions out of his talent, why should 
he tx 1 left out? 

The entry of Khan into the Hindi 
movie arena could well change all the 
rules of background music in India. 
And the A.R. Rahmans and Anu 
Maliks of the world would have their 
work ait out coping with the 
competition. 


Gulshan Kumar 

Call him crude, call him vulgar, call 
him v/hat you will. But there is no 
denying that Gulshan Kumar has 
changed the face of the music industry 
in India. 

When Kumar was a small-time 
shopkeeper, with a side-business in 
cassette piracy, the big time music 
companies like the Gramophone C om 
pany of India channeled all their 
resources into the production of recor- 
ds. Cassettes were seen as a new- 
fangled invention that nobody would 
take to, and were very highly priced as 
well. 

That was before Gulshan Kumar 
decided to take matters into his own 
pudgy hands. He began manufactur- 
ing cassettes in his Noida factory and 
selling them at prices that were less 
than half of those charged by the 
giants in the business. Kumar intend- 
ed to make up in volumes what he lost 
in price. And as the sales of his compa- 
ny soared, he succeeded in that objec- 
tive admirably. 

Soon, every neighbourhood /wan- 
wallah had a cassette recorder, and the 
profile of the music industry had 
changed completely. a 

Kumar then turned his attention to 
the software sector. Hiring various 
small-time singers — who often soun- 
ded uncannily like Kishore Kumar or 
Lata Mangeshkar— - he began record- 


infold bits oil Ms T-Series label. This 
experiment with cover versions led 
Kufoar to his next destination: film 
music. 

When Gulshan entered this sector, 
he was best-known as the Pirate King, 
whom no Self-respecting business- 
man would associate with. But this 
didn't prove to be a drawback in the 
film industy. 

But Kumar didn't just buy the rights 
to the music of various films. He did 
more: he made music a 'territory' in 
itself. Earlier, the music rights would 
go for as little as a couple of lakhs. By 
the time Kumar moved out of the busi- 
ness, they often amounted to as much 
as Rs 60 Lakh. 

But if he was doing so well, why did 
Gulshan move out of the business? 

Simple. With music becoming more 
and more expensive, his profits were 
declining. So, Kumar decided to give 
filmi music a miss, and record bhajans, 
folk music and semi-classical music 
instead. 

According to Kumar, film music 
was not that great a seller any more. 
People, he said, had got too used to see- 
ing Hindi film songs (on television) 
rather than hearing them. So cassette 
sales had fallen. Folk music and bha- 
jans, on the other hand, didn't suffer 
from this drawback. 

By then, however, Gulshan was 
already a movie magnate in his own 
right. His first film, Aashiqui, made in 
collaboration with Mahesh Bhatt, had 
been a hit. Emboldened by this, 

Kumar decided to introduce his bro- 
ther, Kishan Kumar, as a hero. 

The attempt failed. Kishan' s first 
two releases sank without a trace at 
the box-office, though the music did 
quite well. But just when people were 
saying that Kumar had finally come a 
cropper, he proved all of them wrong 
with Samrn Bctvafa. 

Starring Kishan Kumar (yes, again!) 
and Shilpa Shirodkar , the film was bas- 
ed on the real-life story of Ataullah 
Khan, a Pakistani singer. And against 
all odds, it did remarkably well at the 
box-office. Gulshan had emerged 
triumphant again. 

But where does Kumar go from 
here? 

Gulshan will have to reinvent him- 
self yet again in 1996 if he is to remain 
on the top of things. He has already 
announced plans to bring out a CD 
player which will cost as little as Rs 
1,500. And it is dear that he intends to 
diversify into the hardware business 
in a big way. 

Going by past record, he should 
pull this one off as well. If he does fail. 


however. It will be a first for the erst- 
while Pirate King. 

FASHION 
Gianfranco Ferre 

His is the first big name in internation- 
al fashion to mate an entry into India. 
(No, Pierre Cardin doesn't count; eve- 
ryone in the fashion industry regards 
him as a bit of a joke.) 

Ferre, in collaboration with KB+T, 
has opened stores in the major Indian 
metros to sell Italian suits to Indian 
men. The clothes on offer are, on the 
whole, conservative and well-cut, 
though the range is a little restricted as 
of now. 


Those who bought a Ferre suit, 
jacket or blazer in the first month or so 
of the opening have got the bargain of 
all times. Since the Gurgaon factory 
hadn't been commissioned on time, 
the clothes had been flown in trom 
Italy. So, the lucky ones got a made- 
in-ltaly suit at Indian prices. 

Those kind of bargains are not to be 
had now. And at Rs 10,000 for a blazer, 
Ferre is not cheap by any standards 
(unless, of course, you're used to shop- 
ping on Sloane Street). 

Most Indians balk at paying those 
kind of prices for a suit But if you do 
get your credit card out, rest assured 
that the money will be well-spent. A 
Ferre suit is a good investment, will 
last you a lifetime, and if it is cut in a 
classic style, you can even pass it on to 



27 



your son when you die. 

As far as competition with Indian 
designers is concerned,, the only one 
Ferre needs to (ear is Shahab Durazi. 
And even Durazi's volumes are so 
low, that he is only a limited threat 

As for the others: KohitBars suits 
look as if they've been made by a blind 
man; Ravi Baja) caters to the lower end 
of the market; and the rest don't really 
make clothes for men (it's salwar 
kameezes all the way to the bank). 

So, Ferre will have a relatively easy 
run in India. That is, of course, if he 
refrains£x>fn pricing himself right out 
of the mandat 

Abu Jani-Sandip Khosla 


They're the Toy Boys or the Bad Boys 
of Indian fashion, depending on 
whom you're listening to. But hate 
them or love them, you have to admit 
that Abu and Sandip have been a semi- 
nal influence on the design scene in 
India. 

Their beginnings in fashion were 
rather humble. They used to sell clo- 
thes on Bombay's Linking Road, 
before they were offered their own 
label, Jashan. by Tarun Tahiliam, who 
was then in the process of setting up 
his designer store. Ensemble. 

After that, there was no looking 
back for The Boys, as they were 
known m the fashioi world. Their 
Indian womenswear leapt off the 
shelves, and even though they parted 
company with Tahiliani in 
acrimonious 

circumstances — and tought with 
Sunita l*it amber, their former mentor 
somewhere along the line - - they retai- 
ned thuir hold on the designerwear 
marked in Bombay. 

Their rivals maintained that their 
popularity had more to do with their 
talent for keeping the ladies who 
lunch happy than their talent for 
designing clothes But while it is true 
that The Boys hung around their cli- 
ents as they chose their shoes and bags 
— hence the name Toy Boys — there is 
no denying the ability of the duo. 

They are credited with inventing 
the churi sleeve (long sleeves that 
gathered into churls at the wrist) and 
the double sari (an outfit made by dra- 
ping two sans at the same time). And 
like old-style couturiers they sell out 
of their studio-cum-housc injuhu, 
Bombay. 

Like fashion designers abroad. Abu 
and Sandip have branched off into 
related fields. Their furniture exhibi- 
tion held in Bombay a couple of years 

20 


ago was a complete sell-out. And one 
of the biggest buyers was interior 
designer Sunita Pitamber, who has 
now made up with the duo. 

More recently, Jani and Khosla orga 
nised a ball in Delhi, in collaboration 
with such society ladies as Bim BisseJ, 
Sunita Kohli and Shireen Paul. And 
most of their clients in Bombay flew 


down for the event. 

Some fear that this branching off 
into related fields has already begun 
affecting the quality of the designing 
duo's clothes. And that they should 
look to their kalidar kurtas if they 
don't want their label to go the Pierre 
Cardin way. 



Gitanjali Kashyap 


She hasn't been hyped as much as 
either Rina Dhaka or Ritu Beri, but 
Kashyap is nevertheless one of the 
more exciting designers on the scene 
right now. In the past, she has been 
slotted as a sari designer and dismiss- 
ed thereafter, but Gitanjali can do 
much more than just paint an exqui- 
site pallav (though she's very good at 
that too). 

Kashyap's strength is that she is not 
atraid of colour While others may 
stick to safe shades, or even monochro- 
me, Gitanjali experiments with vibr- 
ant yellows, oranges and maroons. 

Her latest collec tion — though prais- 
ed in the media — was a little disap- 
pointing. The pleated salwar 
kaiwez.es were too close to Issey Miya- 
ke's 'Pleats Please' label for comfort. 
But one lapse in an otherwise memora- 
ble career can be forgiven. 

Kashyap, for her part, maintains 
that she never looks at any fashion 
magazine's while working for fear that 
she may be subliminallv influenced by 
the pictures she sees II she keeps to 
that policy, she will be the designer to 
watch in IW. 

Jatin Kochar 

Unfortunately, he is bet ter- known tor 
a botched nose job (which had to be 
corrected bv a second operation) than 
his work as a fashion designer But 
Jatin Kochar is a talented designer for 
all that. 

And what he lacks in talent he 
makes up for m enthusiasm. Consider 
the range ot his work: he has designed 
shoes, swimwear, and is now working 
on clothes for women of a certain 
weight. This, while churning out the 
usual summer, winter, fall collections 
every year. 

But most important of all, Kochar is 
a fashion designer in the Rohit Khosla 
mould I le dresses and acts the part 
and understands the value of publici- 
ty — both good and bad 

Thus, you will see him on Star TV, 
hiding his (apparent) nakedness 
behind a briefcase; you can read about 
his cosmetic surgery in the gossip 
columns; and if you're in the business, 
you will be inundated with calls lor an 
interview 

Pushy he undoubtedly is, but don't 
damn him tor that — in his field of 
work that's what marks the wi/-kids 
from the has-beens. And if Jatin mana- 
ges to work quite as well as he net 




works, 1996 could see him emerge as a 
designer ot consequence. 

Shahab Durazi 


He lives the way he designs. The hall- 
mark of Durazi' s clothes is quiet 
understatement, and that same laid- 
back elegance characterises the 
designer himself 

Not for Dura/k the media inter 
views, the TV appearances, the press 
releases that other designers set so 
much store by. Shahab is much hap- 



pier working away on his sketch-pad, 
designing clothes that owe much 
more to Giorgio Armani than they do 
to Gianni Versace. 

He makes both mens wear and 
womenswear, but the cuts are similar: 
classic and conservative. And the look 
is very tailored In fact, Durazi is so 
much of a perfectionist that he insists 
on cutting every garment himself to 
ensure high standards. Hence, the 
sobriquet, the A/ zed me Alaia of India. 

But then, Shahab can afford to be so 
finicky. His volumes are low, and he 
makes clothes only m three sizes, 
small, medium and large If you don't 
find \our size among the clothes on 
display, then torget about owning a 
Shahab Durazi. The designer refuses 
to do any alterations, tor tear ot sp* fil- 
ing the line ot the garment. 

Despite this take-it-or -leave-it atlitu 
dt\ Durazi has his list ot faithfuls, 
which includes Maureen Wadia and 
» armeshwarGodrej, the arbiters of 
taste in Bombay. And there an several 
society ladies who have been known 
to pick up swatches ot fabric abroad 
and bring it back home to bomba \ so 
that Shahab can make a suit out or it 

Last year saw Dura/i reluctantly 
emerge into the limelight at the solo 
show that he held in Bombay It he 
manages to overcome his distaste U 
publicity this year. Shahab s w ill he 
the name on everyone's lips m lU9o ■ 




First pfrson 


NAJFISA ALI SODHI, who burst on the national scene when she was crowned Miss India in 1976, took 
everyone by surprise when she bade farewell to her career in modelling and films and opted for marriage and 
a quiet life away from the limelight. Ttvo decades later, at 38, this former national swimming champion, 
decides tp devote herself to the causeof society, raising funds through fashion shows for Umang, a charitable 
organisation in Delhi, which looks after destitute street children . 



Nafisa All Sodhi: In her younger days 


W hat is your idea of perfect 
happiness? 

A world where there is no religion; 
in which nature and man live in 
balance; the environment is protected 
and man uses his intelligence, power 
and material gain for the future and 
growth of the world. 

What is your greatest fear? 

The loss of my family. I always pray 
for their health and happiness. 

Who or what has been the greatest 
influence in your life? 

My inner drive and, of course, my 
family. The total Jove f receive. 

What do you dislike most in others? 

1 never judge people. I always try 
looking at things from their point of 
view. Who am I to dislike anyone? 
What do you dislike most in yourself? 

My emotional state. 

What is your most precious 
possession? 

The health and well-being of my 
hildren and family. 

What objects do you always carry? 
The black horses — a horse shoe nail 


What do you dislike 
most in youiself ? 


My emotional state 


rmg on my finger, the bracelet my 
mom gave me and my family 
photograph in my wallet. 

What makes you most depressed? 

The pain and suffering of pcoplt 
and animals and I wish 1 had the 
power to help them. 

What is your favourite word? 

Think'. 

What is your favourite journey? 

My journey of self-discovery . There 
is so much to learn in life and from life. 
1 want to eventually reach a place full 
of peace, harmony and a perfect 
environment. 


What is your favourite dream? 

To be in a valley of flowers and 
greenery, waterfalls cascading down 
the mountains, the sea dose by and 
tame wild animals and birds 
surrounding me with affection and 
my little house on a hill. 

What is your nightmare? 

The death of anyone close to me. 
What or who is the greatest love of 
your life? 

My children and the love of my 
family. 

What is your source of sustenance? 

My inner God as I call it. f le is 
always with mo. I talk to him all the 
time and he is a great helping hand. 
On what occasions do you lie? 

I hate to lie because 1 want to be m a 
position where my experiences in life, 
whether good or bad, will enrich 
others. 

What is your greatest regret? 

That no one thought of putting my 
name up tor the Arjun Award m 1974 
for my winning the Nationals in 
swimming. 

What has been your happiest 
moment? 

Happiness overwhelms me all the 
time. I live from moment to moment 
and day to day and little things make 
me happy I cannot pick on any one 
moment. 

What brings tears to your eyes? 

Tenderness and love shared. 

How do you relax? 

By reading books on spiritualism 
and philosophy at night before 1 
sleep 

What do you envy most in others? 

I am grateful for everything 1 have. 
So I envy nothing in others. 

How would you like to be 
remembered? 

1 am just a simple, ordinary human 
being. So who will remember me, 
other than my children with whom 1 
have shared a life of love, hope, caring 
and sharing. 

How would you like to die? 

I am such a coward I pray to God 
always to make my death fast and 
painless. Maybe, to fade away in my 
sleep would be most peaceful. 


30 



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U*UkJ Amfad Aft Khan: Stringing new rmgas 


The World of 
Antfad All 

■ Axnjad AU Khan's abso- 
lute devotion to the sarod 
made him the legend that 
he Is (Tlay On-.., Decem- 
ber 17). like an able 
ahun, he carries on the musi- 
cal tradition of bis father, 
Ustad Hafiz All Khan. 

Indian classical musk 
has much to thank patrons 
for its promotion. In the 
ancient days it was the 
nawdbs and mjas who patro- 
nised musicians. 

Now, there are no 
runvhbs to appreciate good 
music So classical singers 
and musicians have to 
depend a great deal on 
sponsorship to keep their 
art alive. In some instan- 
ces, corporate houses have 
come forward to promote 
and popularise Indian clas- 
sical music. 

But although we have a 
large following of classical 
music, 1 wonder who will 
replace the great masters: 
Ustad Bismillah Khan, Bal- 
murali Krishna, Bhimsen 
Joshi, Ravi Shankar and 
Amjad Ali Khan. 
Nirmalendu Chakraborty, 
CoochBehar 

B Amjad Ali Khan has 
become a cult figure of 
sorts for his innovative 
ragas which evoke a varie- 


ty of emotions. Besides 
being the most recorded 
musician of our times, he 
has not surrendered his 
creativity to the synthesi- 
ser culture of today. 

The freshness and 
charm of his music appeals 
to all. 

Debabrata Mohanty, 

Balasore (Orissa) 

fll Amjad AH Khan's res- 
pect for his contemporar- 
ies and his soft and gentle- 
manly manner have con- 
quered the hearts of music 
lovers. 

What is admirable about 
hinvis his humility and 
desire to learn still more. 
Sunil Banerjee, 

Calcutta 

■ Music is like an ocean, the 


more you learn the more 
you want to delve into it 
Amjad Alt Khan's life has 
been a long quest: exploring 
new vistas and creating new 
wgas. 

Partka Pratim Modak, 

Howrah 

■ For a musician with a 
demanding career, Amjad 
Ali Khan looks a happy 
family man: in love with 
his wife and devoted to his 
two sons. 

Susanta Sen, 

Calcutta 

M With his winning smile 
and handsome good looks, 
Amjad Ali Khan would 
have been a sought-after 
cine star had he not been a 
sarod player. 

Abhifit Mukherjtt , 

Calcutta 


m Amjad Ali Khan is one 
of those musicians who 
has been abundantly suc- 
cessful at home and 
abroad. His is a combina- 
tion of a classical guru and 
a modem gentleman. 

Sonrn nth Mukherfet, 

Calcutta 

1 Subhalakshmi, wife of 
Amjad Ali Khan, has been 
his constant companion 
inspiring him to conquer 
new heights of excellence. 
Without her support and 
love, Amjad AU would not 
have been that successful. 
Meenakshi Roy, 

Calcutta 

Last Person 

P It is high time the Maga- 
zine did away with First 
Person far the auestions 
are getting x'ery boring. 
Either you change the ques- 
tions or change the layout. 
Sujata Sarkar, 

Calcutta 

Nowhere To 
Play 

m 'Where Do We Go To 
Play? (January 7) was a 
thought-provoking article. 
It is really a pity children 
have no playgrounds in 
the city where they can 
play. 

BJP. Ckatteryee, 

Burdwan 



m r 



%. 




$ 


PAGE 4 

IS KAJOL., the vivacious daughter of Tanuja, to 
dislodge Madhuri Dixit from the number one 
slot in tinsel town? 

PAGE 26 

THEY ARE trendy and they are smart. Many 
Indian women now go for chic costume jewelle- 
ry rather than the real ones. 


Si t I IONS 


16 TIME TABLE 

21 JUNIOR WHIRL 

22 COMICS 
26 FASHION 

30 FIRST PERSON 

Cover. Gautam 
Rajadhyaksha 



Cover story 

Move over, 
Madhuri! 

After the success of Dilwale Dulhaniya Ix\)ayengc, Kajol is all set to take oxer the 
number one slot, reports Lata Khubchandani 

SHE ISSHORT. DARK AND PLUMP SHF DOFSNTBLEACH THE BLACK WWN ON HER UPPER UP. 
Nor does she remove the hair that joins her eyebrows until they look like one fine line. 
She doesn't wear make-up, and vou can often catch her with spectacles perched on her 
snub nose. 

No, she isn't the girl next door, who has her face perpetually buried in a book. Her name 
is Kajol, the daughter of yesteryear actress Tanuja and Shomu Mukherjee. And she is one of 
the most successful heroines of the Bombay film industry today Her latest film, Dilwalr Duh 
haniya le jayetigc, has broken all box-ofhee records, its takings leaving even that other block- 
buster, Hum Anpkx- Ham Kauri..!, in the shade. 

And the diminutive Kajoi looks all set to unseat Madhuri Dixit from the number one posi- 
tion that sne has occupied tor so many years. 

On one level, this isn't cause for any surprise. After all, Dixit has had a fair run, is on the 
wrong side of 30. and it is only a matter of time before a younger star replaces her at the top. 
What Is amazing, though, is that that heroine should be Kajol. 

First, of course, there are he r unconventional good looks. She doesn't have the peaches 
and cream complexion of the average Hindi film heroine; Kajol's colouring is more olive 

and wheat. She refuses the several layers of foundation and 
lashings of rouge favoured by her colleagues/ preferring to 
let the youthfi il translucence of her skin shine through on 
screen. And in an age when heroines are getting leaner and 
leaner — consider Manisha Koirala or even Urmila Matond- 
kar — Kajol seems more than comfortable with a hint of bel- 
ly and fleshy upper arms, which she displays with an utter 
lack of self-consciousness in halter-neck blouses. 

Even as recently as five years ago, Kajol would have been 
laughed out of producers' offices if she had arrived, 
announcing that she wanted to make it in the movies. The 







Aditya Chopra directs Shah Rukh Khan in Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge 


conventional wisdom on how ) hndi 
film heroines should Uh#K had been 
decided, and 1 diuijj's t -M-bor~ did 
pot h t f ha t bill She ma v have been 
okay as the he r o'** sistei , with her non 
threatening M-vuahty but the 
lady 7 No wa\ 

i learly, tilings have t handed a lot 
since then 


S o. what accounts tor KajoJ’s succ es^ 
in an induMrv where everyone pit ■ 
fers to play it sate? Some say that it is 
her unusual appeal itself that has help 
ed her race* ahead m the stardom sta 
kes. The audiences are tired of heroi- 
ne's who look exactly like one another, 
right down to the pouting lips oullin 
ed in hot pink And one thing that you 
can't say about Kafol is that she is anyo- 
ne's done. With her heart -shaped face 
and large brown eyes she is as differ- 
ent from the run- of tho-mill heroine as 
chalk is from cheese 

And what eyes 1 Large, limpid, and 
very, very expressive indeed, they ate 
her best feature. They laugh along 
with her generous mouth, they cry 
when she is sad, and they flash worn 
at all those who dare suggest that she 
is anything less than the best 


MILESTONES 

Following Kajol 's career graph 


BEKHUDl 

Kajol' s debut film, and a bit of a 
disaster. But strangely enough, 
even though Kamal (he played the 
male lead) Sadanah's career never 
recovered from this bad start, the 
flop of Bekhudi never- affected Kajol 
in the least. She still got the big 
banners, A- grade heroes still vied 
to act with her, and directors 
conceded that she was among the 
■more talented newcomers on the 
stone. 

YEHMIJLAG1 

This i e make of Sabrina had 
Kajol pla ving the Audrey Hepburn 
role. And as the daughter of the 
family retainer who falls in love 
with one of the sons of the house, 
Kajol displayed a fresh-faced, 
playful charm that had not been 


seen on the screen since the days of 
the young Gita Bali. 

The movie was only an average 
hit, though the number Ole Ole 
climbed inexorably up the music 
charts. But most people felt that 
Kajol was the best thing about the 
movie, 

BAAZIGAR 

This was Shah Rukh Khan's 
movie from the start to the finish 
and the heroines — Shilpa Shettv in 
the first half and Kajol in the second 
— didn't have much to do except 
sing songs and run around the 
mandatory trees. But despite the 
limitations of her role, Kajol made 
quite an impression, specially in 
the Kali kali aankhen number, litis 
also signalled the beginning of the 
Shah Rukh-Kajol pairing that has 
worked so well at the box-office. 


6 




What producers and directors set 
store by most is her natural, unaffect- 
ed manner. Says Indra Kumar, 
who will be directing her in Ishq oppo- 
site Ajay Devgan, "She's fantastic. She 
has a beautiful face and what 1 like 
most about her is her naturalness. 
None of her expressions are filmi. 

She's doing a brilliant job in my 
movie. She looks like an Indian girl, 
she is very talented, and she is very dif- 
ferent from all the other heroines." 

It is this "difference" that has becc*- 
me Kajol's USI\ Adilya Chopra, for 
instance, says that he signed her on for 
Simran's role in Dtlivale Dulhaniya Is 
jayengc, because "there was more to 
tier" Says Chopra, "When 1 wrote the 
roie, 1 realised that besides a good- 
looking face I also needed a good 
actress and personally 1 place hei right 
at the top 1 think her appeal is her natu 
ml body language She hasn't got a 
conventionally good body, but there is 
a natural flavour about her that is very 
attractive." 

fliis fresh charm was apparent in 
Kajol even when she made an entry 
into the movies. She was first signed 
on by Kabul Kaw.ui toi Mhmit, oppo- 
site Kamal Sadanah The director saw 
Kajol at CifiuUni Rajadhvaksha's place 
<he had written Krkhwii ' and was 
immediate! \ struck by her 

Kaw.ul remembers now, "When l 



Kajol 


first saw her, 1 particularly noticed her 
vihiancy, this tremendous energy she 
exudes which translates very well on 
( he sc reen So, I asked ( iautam to d< » 
some picture of her There is nothing 
put-on about her, and that's what 
made me decide to cast her. She was 
very spontaneous as an actress I ior 
energy along with a certain child-like 
quality made her click on scorn " 

It was this spirited quality ot her per 


formance in Bekhudi that drew the 
attention of Narcsh Malhotra, who 
was looking for someone to play 
Audrey Hepburn's role in the Hindi 
remake ot Sabnna. "1 needed an 
actress," recounts Malhotra, "who 
looked spirited enough to go against 
her parents, against set norms and she 
had that look l ler eyes are very 
expressive." 

Yes, those eyes, again. They are a 
recurring lietmotif in Kajol's career. 
And perhaps without them, she 
wouldn't have had much of a career at 
all 

A s a child/ Kajol showed little inter 
est in the movies Her lather 
Shomu Mukherjee remembers how hr* 
would take her with him on his out 
door shoots. And instead of being intri- 
gued by the business ol acting, Kajol 
would continually pester him with 
requests to be sent abroad to study 
computers "She was telling me that 
she wanted to do this course or the 
other," recalls her father, with a laugh 
"There was never anv question of join 
ing films " 

And anyway, in those’ days, Kajol 
was too busy having a good time She 
was a very, very naughty ( hild, accord- 
ing to grandmother Shnhhan<j 
Samarih "Kajol was born at lei launja 
had suffered *. miscarriage/' savs 


HULCHUL 

Ajay I tevgan may be Kajol's 
main man in real life, but as far as 
reel life is concerned, the couple 
just don't cut it. Both Hulchul and 
Coondaraj , in which Kajol played 
opposite Ajay, were box-office 


turkeys. And this apparently, 
caused some problems in their 
personal life, with Devgan finding 
it difficult to cope with a girlfriend 
who was more successful than he 
was. But as for Kajol's professional 
life; it went on without a hitch. 


KARAN ARJl/N 

Yet again, Kajol starred opposite 
Shah Rukh; and yet again, her role 
basically consisted of one good 
song: faah haon maw . Even Kajol 
conceded that she had made* a 
mistake by signing on tor a movie 
in which she had nothing to do. But 
fortunately for her, this 
miscalculation didn't prove too 
costly to her career. After all, by 
how Hindi film audiences are used 
to heroines that are just wheeled on 
for the song sequences. 

OH. WALE DULHANIYA LK 
JAYENGK 

Kajol's coming of age. Little did 
she realise when she signed on lor 
Aditya Chopra's first him a*, 
director that it would catapult hei 
into tlie Madhuri Dixit league flu* 
that's exactly what hapjH'ncd with 
Dilwale becoming an even bigger 
hit than that other mega-grosser. 
Hum Aapkc Haw Koiw r And 
putting Kajol ahead of everyone m 
the race tor Number One 


Hufchuk Kajol with Ajay Devgan 





Samarth, "and so she was very pampe- 
red, very spoilt and almost impossible 
fo control. T just couldn't tolerate her 
mischief If the car had to fake the two 
of us somewhere, she'd jump up and 
down so much that /'J tell the driver 
'cither get her oft the ear or I will get 
off'" 

In (art, Samarth would often get so 
annoyed wit h h er irrep res sible g ra net - j 
daughter that she would pick up j 
anything within reach — a book, a pil j 


low, — and throw it at her in tin attem 
pt to quell her high spirits. TikJay, she 
is .somewhat ashamed of her bad tern 
per So much so. that she even ape >logi- 
s cd to K ajol recently for having struck 
her. 

And Kajol's response? "I've forgott- 
en about it/' she told her grandmo- 
ther, "1 don't know why you want to 
remembei if. There is nothing to 
forgive 

Shovnu Mukhrrjec's recollections 


about his daughter's childhood are 
similar 'As a kid she was very mis- 
chievous/' he admits, adding hastily, 
"but then, all kids are mischievous. 
She was a go-getfei and something of 
a bully And she always knew her 
mind " 

T hat, at least, has not changed. Even 
today, Kajol is very sure what kind of 
movies she wants to do, and which 
ones she doesn't. "She makes sure of 
her role before signing on the dotted 


r % 


IE STAR STAKES 

Who are Kajol ’s rivals? 


URMILA MATONDKAR 

With Rangcfla, she is among the 
front-ranking heroines in 
Bollywood. Her's is an appeal far 
removed from Kajol' s 
make-up-less innocent. Urmila is 
sexy, sophisticated and attractive 
m an obvious sort of way (you t an't 
miss her charms in those 
halter -necked mini- dresses, can 
you?) So, it is unlikely that the two 
girls will ever compete lor the same 
slot. But then, as Kajol showed in 
some scenes of Ych Dillttgi, she too 
can be a fmw fa fair when she 
wants to be one. 



Urmila Matondkar 


RAVEENA TANDON 
She hasn't had a real hit ever 
since Mohra (where she gyrated 
brilliantly in Tit cheez badi hat mas I 
mast), and that was a v cry long time 
ago. But then, Raveena seems to 
have lost interest in her career ever 
since she fell in love with Akshay 
Kumar - - and it can't help very 
much that he refuses to 
acknowledge their relationship. 
Rumours of her secret marriage 
have scared producers away, but if 
the gossips have it right and 
Tandon has ended her affair with 
Akshay, then she may well come 
right bark in the reckoning. 



Raveena Tandon 


MAN1SHA KOIRALA 

She has fallen behind in the race 
after the less than impressive 
showing of Akele Hum Akele Turn 
But Manisha, with her ravishing 
good looks and searing talent (as 
seen in Bombay) can't be written off 
no matter how many flops she stars 



KARISHMA KAPOOR 

Her rivalry with Kajol extends to 
their private lives as well. 
Karisnma's ex -boyfriend, Ajay 
Devgan, is now going steady with 
Kajol an^ there's even some talk of 
them getting married in the near 
future. Kansma has taken the 
defection very badly, more so 
because Kajol persists in looking 
through her in public (Kajol's 
explanation: she didn't have her 
contact lenses on). So, it must hurl 


Ka poor a lot that Kajol has left her 
far behind after Dilwale . But if 
Karishma's recent record is 
anything to go by, Kajol need have 
no worries on her account. 



Kaiishma Kapoor 

TABU 


She may have a champion in 
Boney Kapoor, who believes that 
Tabu will make it to the top one 
day. But Tabu's run in the film 
industry has been jinxed from the 
word go. Both Prerrt and Vtiuypath 
did badly, and Tabu had to cope 
with the tag of a flop heroine. And 
to make matters worse. Tabu put 
on so much weight that she could 
easily play Aamir Khan's mother 
rather than his lover. But she has 
gone on a strict diet since then, and 
is trying her best to salvage what 
remains of her career. 



Tabu 






p 



line/' says her father "It's not that if 
she's offered a role with Shah Rukh, 
she'll sign on the dotted line She pets 
the best of offers, bul she's got to hear 
the role and like it before she accepts 
Nobody can discuss the role with her 
and thrust it down her throat Even 
Tami (her mother and Shomu's 
estranged wife) has no say in the 
matter " 

According to Mukherjee, this is one 
•reason whv Kajol has been so success- 
ful in a short span of time, and has 
Invn nominated thrice for the l-ilmtare 
aw ard Last year, sht* had lost to 
Madhuri, hut her father hopes that she 
will pip Pixif.it the post this year 

This proud lathei routine is particu- 
larly tombing bee auseTanuja and 
Shomu separated when Kajol and her 
younger sister, Tuh, were vt rv young 
Since then, I anti ja and hex kids have 
shared their home with Shobhana 
Samarth, while Mukherjee lives ipart 
from his tannh But I anuja and 
Shomu nex er divorced, and Kajol and 
1 ich spent most weekends with their 
lather 

lodav kajol shares a close relation 
ship with h»‘i lather, despite not ha' - 
mu lived \v»th him Say^ Mukherjee, 
kajol i" iiu ne like rm mot hoi than 
nr> daughter S|ie looks altei me mure 
than 1 1- »ok ath r liei H's always, 'Pad, 
luue v on done this have yeu done 
(hat 'Mow isyoin health 1 ' She's more 
bothered abou* that " 

D espite hot undoubted poteiili.il. 

ka|oi' ^ i areer began with in 
unqualified disaster . ailed Mfimh 
Kabul K, m ail's film Hopped miser*.b 
iv at the box -ofl ice and all the pundits 
predh led that this would be the end ol 
b* h Kajol and Kamal I hev weie 
right about Kamal, but completely 
Vv rung about Kajol She went on to 
.-pign > >'h [ hJinyi < ipposite Akshav 
Kumar . mo Snii All And since that 
movie did good business, Knjol's fortu 
nes were re\ i\ ed. 

But it w isn't until th.it Kajol hit 
tin* big lime Tin 1 war began with 
kiihir A/ uni, m which kajol played the 
romantic lead opposite Shah Kukli 
1 he him was a big hit, and Kajol bene 
titled finm that despite the hict that 
she had a minuscule role m the* movie 
Even Kajol was a little embarrassed by 
her blink and- -vou-nuss me perfor- 
mance, and explained she had only 
signed the role bei a use of her personal 
relationship with Rakesh Koshan But 
whatever the tmth ot that, Karan 
Arjitu did increase kail's popularity 
with the produi ers, not to mention her 
pay packet 


And then, of course, there wa 1 P//' 
%crtlt' Dulhann/u l r /ayrn^r Based louse- 
l\ on the / law Atipkc Haw Ki mn ' ioi 
mu la, the movie was a runaway hit. 
and Kaiol was ^ atapultcd to the top oi 
the heap of i hruii film heroine'* 

But will kajol be able to maintain 
the momentum that hoi career has 
rei eu ecP Nobody k now ^ tor sun* boi 
one tiling, audiences ha\ e bei nine 
wrv tic kit* ol Lite, and switi h loyalties 
from one star toanothoi with remarka 
ble ease And it is quite possible thal 
they will forget Kajol all toe soon, and 
decide to make Ravoena or even 
Karishma the flavour ot the month 

And then, there is the 1 fact that Kajol 
heist'll does no* appear to be very ser i 
ous about hei career Says India 
Kumar, v\ ho »s directing her in "I 
wish she would concentrate moieo/i 
her work 1 don't think even she is 
aware of the amount of potential that 
she ha^ She is among the most promis 
mg ol the newcomers A little more 
seriousness and she'd he right on the 
top ^he's great even now. but with a 
little hard work, she d be 
mind-blowing " 

Aditya Chopra agrees with the- ana 
lysis "I ler potential has not been lapp 
ed until now.” lie says 'She's capable 
ot doing tar more* than sht* lias done 
right now ' Adds Naresh Malhoti.., 


1 ar her v\ lien she si.irled \\ or kmg 
she* hail this attitude, \ hal^kat Irtx 
haw , but she lias grown more 
sonou*. I'ven now she is not so consci- 
ous as the othei aitisies bur the Hung 
u itli her is th.it r\ cn it she does not 
ivor k haul, ‘•hr is \ erv good ' 

li is this iiiiiui.il .ibihl v th.it is Ka|i >l's 
giv.ites'i strength Says'! a ran Adarsh 
ol 1 rad« l ancle "Madhuri l >i\ii better 
w atch out What work" with audien- 
ces j . vom . hemistrv with them, and 
Kajol has that When 1 wahh her, 1 can 
idenht v with v\ lias she is doing M\ 
sister oi mvgiillru-nd would beha\e 
m the same wav She s a natural pet foi 
mer Not main' people can do vv ha' 

' he '.ar 

•\giees Vikas Vioh.rn, editor of » am 
Cnit'wu , ' Her appeal lies in hei 
freshness and youth rshc s a potential 
number < me ' 

It's alv\ a\ s danger ous to snake jne- 
dictlous like these Altei ail avoiinle 
ot flops could . h.uige the pic 'me com 
pleh !\ w j'h Ka|ol being seen as an 
•iko-ian And it her atl.iu v\ Hi 1 \ j. i v 
l >e\ gan eiuls m m. image, sin max 
well dc\ uie lo bul the nun ie** good 
bve Hut until that happens it if dot's 
at all K.ijo] wsiUonuput to ba^k m 
the limelight tianwd on a Pont 
ranking neroiMi \nj n.s.ir l Hunt 
nf .inv one v\ ho • lO'-ei \ e*- that nr e p 



People 

WORDS, WORDS, 
WORDS 

They are a passion with Narendra Kumar, the publisher of Hur-Anand books, 
who has a special affinity u 'ith first-time an tin >rs, u > rites Tanuka Chakraverty 


T hese days vou have only to 
mention Narendra Kumar's 
name in polite company, lor 
people to respond "Kusuni 
Sawhney, right?" Yes, such was the 
hype surrounding the release and mar 
keting of Kimired Spirits Savvhnev's 
first novel, that the name ol Narendra 
Kumar, the man behind the I iar- 
Anand Publishers, has t ome t o Lx- ine\- 
tricablv Jinked with Kusum's 
But there is more to Narendm 
Kumar than that: he is described as the 
father of Indian publishing, and with 
some justification Kumar is the man 
behind Vikas, the man who published 
that bestseller of all times, 1 rerdonj at 
Midnight, bv Dominique Lappiere and 

Kusum Sawhney 


harry f ollins, and who is now runn- 
ing the Har-Anand imprint, which has 
published more women authors than 
even that bastion of feminist writing, 
Kah 

Kumar is very cleai about his aims. 
Unlike most other publishing houses, 
he is all too keen to give first-time 
authors a chance, and it they are 
women, then that's even belter Says 
Narendra Kumar. ' A good publisher 
doesn't have to read a manuscript to 
know that it is a good book. He should 
be able to smell a good manuscript, 
and then read it merely to confrm his 
first impression. And that's exactly 
what Kuniar does, settling down with 
all the manuscripts he is given alter 


dinner and reading late into the night. 
And the authors that he has selected 
through this process include the 
poetess Renee Ranchan, short story 
writers and Gajra Kottarv and Kitn 
Bhatia, fiction wntor Anju Mohan and 
Sara la Gopalan, secretary m the 
department of women and child deve- 
lopment in the ministry of human 
resource development 

According to Kumar. Har-Anand is 
committed to publishing works by 
Third World writers which will then 
be distributed worldwide While this 
is yet to come about Har-Anand has 
shown a rare commitment to nurtur- 
ing new talent in the field ot writing. 
Kumar, w ho is himself a prolific 
writer and a political biographc*i , sa vs 
that he does nol find publishing rank 
newcomers a risky proposition 
Says Kumar, "On the contrary, l 
find newcomers a challenge, partial 
larlv m the am text of a developing 
country. 1 enjoy working vvith new 
writers tor the sheer intensity that is 
an invariable characteristic of theii 
maiden venture And then, of course, 
there is the fact that they always have 
something new and novel to say 

K umar first hit the headlines m rec- 
ent times because of the hoopla 
that surrounded the launch of Kusum 
Sawhney. Photographs of the beauti- 
ful Ms Sawhney were splashed all 
over the newspapers and magazines 
and Kindred Spirits was launched at 
the Delhi Book Fair. Giant-sized post- 
ers of the author were in evidence, as 
was the lady herself, signing copies of 
her first novel for all those who 
bought a copy. 

, The media panned the book, of cour- 



10 




Gopi Qajwanl’s cartoon of Narendra Kumar 


se Reviewers said that Sawhney did- 
n't have a clue as to how to plot a 
novel, and that the success of the book 
was only because of the hype surroun- 
ding it. But as book sales mounted, 
Kumar had the last laugh. After all, 
what were all the bad reviews worth, 
if the readers were lapping up the 
work of this latter-day Shobha De. 

Not that Sawhney was comfortable 
with such descriptions of, her writing 
style. According to her, she was deal- 
ing with issues connected with Indian 


women, and was a feminist writer of 
consequence. Any comparison with 
De was just a lot of hogwash from the 
media, which were only too keen to 
hang a label on her While Kusum's 
pretty face bagged all the publicity, 
Har-Anand was also publishing such 
serious books as Women and Employ- 
ment in India by Sarala Gopalan, who 
was a secretary in the government of 
India. This book dealt with the pro- 
blems women faced in finding work, 
how their employment was restricted 


to certain areas; the difficulties inher- 
ent in climbing up the organisational 
ladder with Ihe glass ceiling being 
what it was; and the vulnerability of 
women to the changing scenarios in 
the trade and industry sector 

But while Kumar encourages all 
kinds of talent, he appears to be partial 
towards women journalists who are 
keen to make a breakthrough in the 
field of serious writing. Renee Ran- 
chan, for instance, who has published 
a collection of poems, titled Pam 
Propels. Ranchan's poetry dwells on 
memories that refuse to go away It 
concentrates on the challenges inher- 
ent m growing up as a woman in a 
man's world Pain Propel s conveys a 
sense of maturity and degree of sensiti- 
vity not often found in the work of 
new authors. 

Another author whose achieve- 
ments Kumar is very proud of is Gajra 
Kottary. The wife of journalist Sailesh 
Kottary, and a proud mother of two. 
Gajra has just come out with a collec- 
tion of short stones titled F ragilc 
Victories. She had given up on her jour- 
nalistic career once the kids arrived, 
just doing the occasional freelance 
piece. But once the children were 
slightly older, Kottary found herself 
with some time on her hands, and deci- 
ded to try her hand at short storv 
writing. 

The result was I t agile Victories. 
which is a collection of stories that 
revolve around the interests, needs 
and fears of women But Gajra is at 
pains to potnt out that she is not a femi- 
nist. except m the sense that she is pro- 
ud to be a woman. 

Kottary confesses to being fascinat- 
ed by women and the dynamics oi 
their complex and multi-faceted rela- 
tionships, and hopes that she has help- 
ed provide a comprehensive portrayal 
of their world in her stories 

Like all other first -time authors, 
Anju Mohan, too, admits that sht is 
indebted to Har-Anand Publishers ior 
giving her a chance to exploi e her crea- 
tivity While Mohan was working for 
Delhi Mid -Day some time back as a fea- 
ture writer, one of her stories was pick- 
ed up by Narcndra Kumar, and now 
forms the nucleus ot SJumgn la. a 
novel that is due to be published s*>on. 

The novel is set against the pit tu 
resque backdrop of Sikkim and is 
essentially a spy thriller that revokes 
around the disappearance of kv» > Arne 
ru an tourists. But theie is more to the 
novel than just mvsterv and suspense, 
it also deals with tin* identity crisis 
that most Nepalese and Sikkimc- .* 
people suffer from these days 


11 





bays Mohan. "1 write- for entertain- 
ment only and not tor any didactic pur- 
pose '* She is inordinately proud of 
being India’s first female spy writer 
and is prof u.solv grateful to Narendra 
Kumar for investing so much confid- 
ence m hei abilities 

Another high-profile journalist 
who has been published by I lar- 
Anand is Sathya Saran. the editor of 
F i emnui Her collection of short stories 
titled Ni$ht T rant ami Other Mui/i-s deal 
with tlie para -normal. At a recent read- 
ing organised in Bombay. Saran read 
out a story about ent onntermga ghost 
Iv figure (from 1 ransyl vania) on the 
night tram to Fdinburgh, sending 
shivers up the collective spine of her 
audience Kumar's imprint publishes 
neaily 1,000 titles by women authors 
every year. He explains his fondness 
to i female writers thus "Women con- 
stitute roughly SO pel cento! thvpopu 
lation ot the iounti v And thev are the 
best people to write about the v.irn ms 





are something t In.- publishci 
hound to provide* l 1 c has an obliga- 
tion rn ensure that hi* author's work is 
widely read amt appi mated " Hia- 
mod Kapoor of Roll Hooks has much 
the same attitude' "F.very publishing 
house takes on newcomers/’ he says, 
"sc we all takensks ' And anyway, 
savs kapooi , "What matters is the 
quality ol the manuscript, not whethei 
the author is a lust timei or not 
I leikc, Kapoor does not consider 
I lai-Anand to he any t ompetitor tor 
him I fe professes great respect tor 
IVnguni India, whu h he says is a more 
professional outfit 

Hot despite this tendem v among 
people in the book trade to dismiss 
Kmnai as a has- been, ttieie is no deny- 
ing that he is doing his bit to keep Indi- 
an publishing alive But then.bv now* 
publishing is m Kumar's blood He 
entered the profession soon alter com- 
pleting his post-graduation, and was 
close!) m\ olvod with the National 
Hi »ok Trust 

He w as in tact, in the running lor 
tlu‘ cox eled post ol dim lor in the 
National Hook I rust, but was pipped 
at the post b\ Arvmd Kumar 
Maiendra is not particularly happv 
about tha* But it is chfhi ult to draw 
him on the subject 

Hut publishing is not all there is to 
Kumar } ew people know that he is 
alsc» the oldest paper setter in Delhi 
Unix ersit) and that he js quite a proh 
he author himself, having written on 
such varied subjects as agriculture 
and Zimbabwe 

These days, though. Kumai i oiues 
sc'S that ho leave's the day -to-day runn- 
ing of his publishing empire to his son, 
while he hunselt concentrates on find- 

Gajra Kottary 

issues that conhont us todav, because 
they give us a fresh perspective on the 
problems of modern life *' 

In his pre jeieiu c* for women 
writers. Kumar is rivalled only by 
Kali But at Kali, they prefer to deal 
with more serious writing that 
revolves around such issue's as conv 
munalism, feminism etc. And here, 
thov are all praise tov Kumai, tor gj\ 

11 ig women a podium from where they 
can hold forth on issues close to their 
heart 

Other publishing houses aie not 
quite so generous with their praise 
Ravi Dayal, w ho tuns an 
eponvrnously-named imprint, for 
instance, finds nothing great about 
Kumar's promotion of first-time 
authors Says Dax al, "All publishing 
houses invariably promote new 
authors Marketing and publicity, too, 

13 


I mg new authors whom his i ompany 



Ritu Bhatia 




Share 

T he Mr 

3ensatio 




: W-; ,‘ r T' ^ 

" v '" ; "■' ' • "' 






Perfume 

Vour Personal Signature 


Narendra Kumar 

can promote. Not that he ha<* a great 
deal of difficulty doing that. Having 
acquired a reputation (or encouraging 
new writers, Kumar is constantly 
deluged with manuscripts by people 
who want to make a breakthrough 
into fiction- writing. 

And to Kumar's credit, he religious- 
ly goes through each and every 
manuscript, noting down how ihey 
could be improved Once he selects a 
manuscript foj pubbeatum, Kumar 
spends a lot.oi time with the author, tel 
ling him or her what changes could or 
should be made m the book Once the 
book has been launclu J, Kumar's 
publicity machine goes into over- 
drive He sits with his author 
at the India International Centre as 
members ot the media troop in one bv 
one to interview him or her at Kumar's 


invitation. If your book is published 
by Har- Anand and fails to make an 
impact, it won't Vie because of any lack 
ot el fort on the part of the publisher 
himselt 

Kumar is convinced that despite the 
popularity ot movies and TV', and the 
oiiM?t of the satellite revolution, books 
wall continue to be bought and read 
and that the publishing industry will 
continue to flourish in India And with 
it, the fortunes of I lar- Anand Publi- 
shers will continue to improve. 

The next few' years will tell us whe- 
ther Kumar's powers of prophecy are 
as good as his eye for a good 
manuscript Hither way, he will conti- 
nue to entertain us with books, whe- 
ther they are ghost stories, spy thril- 
lers, or those tried and tested sex and 
shopping novels. ■ 




NNEREYE 


BHAN l'ARl.'WAU-A 



Aries 

March 21 - April 20 

■ You will be going 
great guns, says 
Canesna Do * 
anticipate 

collaborations, ties, meets, 
conferences and rendezvous 
You could well be a 
tremendous crowd pullei it 
you aie a public figure Yes, 
the right time to be known, to 
communicate, to extend to 
people- around the world 

Taurus 

April 21 — May 20 

Many Taureans will 
be busy with 
j t manna 1 matters, 

;) k -fins funds, joint - 
account, insurance, premiums 
investment, 

i'Li v mg/ seUing/shopping An 
office or house move is 
possible that is il one has not 
happened lecentlv i’ven if it 
has, Mm may nn've again He 
optimist!; but not mu* h 

Gemini 

May 21 - -- June 20 

This is the down ot 
partnerships. 

\ minnts 
assiiLi.itions 
mflueiu«‘s md lies m gi ntral 
At the s.iiTii* Inn: 1 \onr work 
and ' (iur independence will 
ai.-> i be more important to 
vnii a journev w on the 
Minis Alrerrativ.dv do expert 
visilois l-alctu! decisions will 
In taken 


tviciy c ■ 

si 



■ 


Cancer 

June 21 — July 20 

Nows from distant 
places will keep you 
busy and on your 
toes New and 
exciting career avenues do 
open out to you. It is 
absolutely certain that great 
responsibilities will bt placed 
upon you You could be 
involved with the education 
ot a child Remember to share 
vour needs frankly. 

Leo 

July 21 — August 21 

r*” I Once again, 

children, education, 
creative pursuits, 

taking chances w ill 

fascinate you There is every 
i possibility ot 

; nverindulgmg/ o vex spending 
i either vourseli or others or 
ver\ prohabh both You must 
I learn to maiket your consider 
- able skills The light time to 
i advertise cm sell an idea 

! Virgo 

\ August 22 - - September 22 

There e- the distinct 
{ { possibility o 4 

<®BP l planning in 
. MM dn Missing a new 
j office or home w it h \our 
partner or parents, The hc.iuti 
is that ordinary ai liv ihos take 
. * sri <i deep meaning and a; ute 
. importance V>ur iu\i renes*. 

w ill be boned to a tine pm b 
. You must do some tightrope 
I walking to maintain balam*’ 



Libra 

] September 23 — October 22 

New contacts and 
acquaintances, and 
consequently, plenty 
"13 of buz/ and 
excitement in your hie. both 
. personal and professional 
i Socially, a busv time Health 
| safeguards are the key ro 
, happiness Canesha says try 
| not to overdo and do get lest 
; You w ill splurge .» great di al 
| and that will give happiness 

i Scorpio 

; October^S — Novembfir 22 

■ rjti? 1 Thanks to hirlmg tli#* 

' * target you will be m 

i the money 1 o\v will 

■ LfSL bo \ ery exciting but 

1 immensely lomplicnted Venus 
: in voiu sulh sign according m 
i Western astiologv. gives vnu 
; kharisma or almost total 
; attraction A-erious pnip*isil is 
1 on ihe wav Money will help 
' \ou u* grow in confidence and 
; use it tor puHiv welfare 

| Sagittarius 

\ November 23 - December 20 
Important work 
must be tuushcJ on 
tune and cli.n mas 
nol bo as eas\ ,e# > < *i. 
thin) or hop< \ou will be ' 
bubbling vole ann .*! onen;;. 
and entorpnsr Irv not to bo 
n\ crlv.mng oi dkl.itomil or 
vou will undo m.mv good 
dungs and sureh that is no*, 
what you want Ihe past v ill 
affect you 



BIRTHDAYS 



dutie? 



Capricorn 

December 21 — January 19 
(droop, community 
and social activities 
I as w ell as 

responsibilities and 
keep you fully 
engaged, specially as duty 
means much to vuii 
Membership in organisations 
will be mutually beneficial A 
little extra etfort and wire in 
personal relationships is 
strongly advised 

Aquarius 

January 20 - February 18 
People will no 
longer mat comply 
, promises but do 
L MLJ exactly what vou 
want therh to And th d will be 
*\ must welcome (.hange \ou 
are •• erv di'fiiutelv in the aTn 
al process ol binkbng some 
thing solid and substantial 
ion v\ill be connected via 
organisations and meets and 
that is great 

Pisces 

F ebruary 1 9 -- March 20 

.e! vour tia* lot 
re.»d\ Alternate elv 
expect tT lends, 
loieigneis, total 
iii angers, to visit vou even 
si.n i\>th\oii i laid vvoi k and 
man lung lew.mK are very 
hkilv tor I ’im C ans Phase 
evptxt *i goodlv stun* or 
i ■ ininhinents and applause 
Hips and ties ,ne foretold So 
I’.ct set to titwel 



February it: Mercury Neptune makes you 

very intro^edive, spiritual, yet explosive and dextrous. The 
of dfc^tjpiaces wifi seize you. 

J February 12: Muon'a last quarter is finely placed with 
Saturn, progress and position. Naturally there will be financial 

February 13: MponT’hrto conjunction leads to fame and 
fortune, hobbies, romance and speculation* Do socialise to gain 
and to bo happy 

J WNWR y M‘ Moon sex&le mn Mars xneaas you could go 
aH out to grab th$ got tllea, be it lbye, finance, tnisxnesa 


openings, an official engagement, collaborations and profits. 
Travel is on the cants 

February 15 : If interested in *eieiuA\ resetirch, organisation, 
moving and immigration, thib is n good year. But expend will 
soar. 

February 16 ir Mercury con function Uranus is an 
exceptionally powerful one For tho^v in salt 1 ** journalism, law 
and religion, sjTivad your wing> 

February 17 : MtKin .sextile Venus Pluto assures success , 
comforts, and a generous dash of romance and bt'auty. A year 
to show' the worki liow good you really arc. 






Ti 


IME TABLE 

All arrival and departure times are for Calcutta 

Days of operation using 7-day cod* CD MONDAY ® TUESDAY ® WEDNESDAY @ THURSDAY ® FRIDAY ® SATURDAY ® SUNDAY 





Departures 

ft No. Time Days 

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Departures 

Fit No. Tkne Days 

* j w*m mmcm ■ 

K’ K". :»wii 1 

BG'> ..’V t 

iTOHAKA 

B.,irV 1 H”i 1 ■ 

HI. I" 1 ; 


in w 

Hu n i<i ! -} * ■ 

■v. (-■* '*ii «, 

■* DUBAI 

Mi :|l' 

m KATHMANDU 


Arrivals 

Fit No Time 


H( 


P-'. rV 

Bl. 


h 1 , 
*1 


S Iii* 


Oft I ' 1 

! ' .i 


Days 


■1 :> 
i ; 


Departures 

Fit No. Time Days 

■. m LONDON 

«a M. k 

iMrMOQQQW 

[' l "v 

. i FARO 

m 'iX. ;{.«■ 

•'ll !jn * 

* SINGAPORE 

SiJ Mf 

r‘- 1.A ‘VaH 1 

:* AOPIA 

I. "W 

A TOKYO 

• .■ i ” > 

A YANGON 


Arrivals 

Fit No Time Day* 


kh 


; I 1 ' v 


Al Air India e DA British Airways e BG Biman Bangladesh Airlines • Bl Royal Brunei Airlines • D2 Skyl»n« NEPC • D5 NEPC Airlines • 1C Indian Airlines • 
KB Dnjk-Air • KLM Royal Dutch Airlines • LZ Balkar. Airlines • M9 Modilult • PF Vavudoot • RA Royai Nepal Airlines • RJ Royal Jordanian Airlines • RO 
Tarom Air Transport • S2 Sahara India Airlines • SQ Singapore Airlines • SU Aeroflot • 4S East West Airlines • TG Thai Aiiways International • 9W Jp! Airways 




Dapartura 
Up Time 


mi 11 1 

.Mi 

Hi 

-I ' 


V. / ■ 


TRAINS 


EASTERN RAILWAY 
Howrah 

DaiM-Kelld Mali 
Amritsai Mali 
Bombay Mall . 

PotjTva (Nrnw Delhi) Express . . 

■ . * 1 

Poorva (New Delhi) Express . . 

• ( M i ' ■ ..i* 

Rajdhani Depress . 

Rajdhani Expmss . 1 ■■ 

Jodhpur Fjffjre-ss 

Shafatxlr (Bo«ro Steel City) Express 

fttmolr; <Jarvnu-TawN Express 

GuwahaN Exorew 

, . . 

Gorakhpui Express 
, , ■ /■■■ ■■■ n-, 

Purtanchal (Gorakhpur) Express 

Doom Express .■ 1 1 
IJdyan Abba loofen Express ’ *.■ 
Amritsar Express 
Hrihoodum Express 
Mtthlla (Raxaul) Express 
Kamrnp (GuwaMI) Express 
Black Diamond Egress 
CoaHted Express 
Asanaoi Express 


Danapur Express 
Jaiwpur Express 
Sarttalkotar, Express 
Chambei (Gwalior) Express 

Shipre (Indore) Express 

l'i; '•/,■ ‘ .-i' * i<i 

*■ ' Wl \ I- 

Shekflpunj (Chopan) E 
Chambal (Agra CantL) 

[l'i 1.V t ’ I" ■ 


Antal 

Time Dn 


1 'i . i •« 

. v i : ‘i 

• r i ■ , 

|. l! ViM- 

■« :ii 

* i si: s\' \ 

M- Jwv. 

• .v: ,i) 

• 1* . 

•S ‘ill l‘l ■*' 

iii- 


Up 

Time 

Seaidah 

Time Dn 

ll ' 

!'l 

Taeste-Torsa Express 

Darjeeling Mall 

14 Quite Express .u ■ »- 

r. » -.I.- 

i’ <■, 

. •*. 

V-fi. 

1. 

Kanchan|unga (Lumdlng) Express 

Ju \ l . ifri.. 

M>, i 

r jhl. ^ 

wli 
.’II tin 

Gour Bmress 

Kdftar Express 

S V. 1 * v, 

: i*. si,». 

i 

1 ! *1. 

Jammu-Tiwi Express 

1; *.;■ 

..i ^ : 

S 

Muphd Sam Express . . M-'-C. ,.«i 

i. v 

^IU> 

I'u 

Bhaglrtfil (Utopia) Express 

«!■ ‘ Hill 

M IH V ‘ 

i: 1 is: 

Ganga Sager (Gorakhpur) Express 

! , '. 'm'IW’i 


Departure 
Up Time 


■i'j ■ 


SOUTH-EASTERN RAILWAY Antal 

Howrah Time Dn 

Madras Mai! ■■•■■■■ 

Bombay Mai! ** - '■■■ 

Gltanjali (Bombay) Express 
Shatabdi (Rourirela) Express 

Ahmedabad Express 
Kuria Express 

Coromandai (Madras) Express ■ 

Fulakmxna (Gecunderewd) Express 

Bangalore Express 


Tate Steel Express 
bp* (Jharsuguda) Express 
Tfflaparti Express 
Rancnl HaUa Express 
Puri Express 

Jaganrwlh (Puri) Express 
Dhaull (Bhubaneswar) E 
East Coast (Hyderabad) 
Puiulla I xpress 


And Hind (Pune) Weedy Express 
Bbubanesw^-New Delhi Rajdhani Express 

A i i, ■ ■ . 

New Delhi-Bhubanaswai Ra|dhani Express 

i ' j '• i, 

Gjaatah Howreh Trtandiun Centre: Express 

?/<■■■ t . 

Trtandnxn Central • Howrah * Guwanati Express 

Cochin Hartrur Terminus - Guwahatl Weekly 
Express \ 

Guwahati Cochin Harhom larmlms Weekly 
Express ■■■■■.. 

.‘i.i.i- 

Cochin Harbou Terminus Express 


Guwahati - Bangalore City Weekly Excess 

vV '.•■ 1 ■ 

Bangalore City - Guwatafti Weekly (xpres 


■•..'■A" 


I, 


For round the clock information ol Eastom Railway and Soutn- 

] trains. 2203536- 


iitv A A;; li.. % Him H. ,.r 


ENQUIRES: 

Eastern Hallway trains, please dial 2203545-54 tor In-comlng 1 
44 for all other Information For Information about reservations on Eastern 
Railway and South-Eastern Railway trains, dial 2203496-3500 (from 8 am to 
6 pm on weekdays and 8 am to 2 pm on Sundays and garattod holidays) 
In addition, dial 1331 (for recorded Information on train running). 131 (mgar 
ding train operations) and 135 (regarding reservations) Train service enquiry 
al Seaidah 3503535-37 






wnM 

ocus 


NOT THE HOLE 
STORY 


Samita Bhatia on Ik nr nra/ brands slug if out 
through compel it ire campaigns 


I t Lahta// (remember her?) did a 
Surf hard-sell some time back 
comparing the blue Jeteigont 
with other washing powders 
(without naming brands), more recent 
ly M>nt-o launched a no holes' barred 
battle against Polo Such competitive 
advertising, trving to outdo the rival 
brand by taking pot shots at it, has 
become verv common nowadays 
Some have called such campaigns 
taking the battle into the enemy's 
camp While brands slug it out Ljuite 
openly in the West, the concept of tak 
mg on rivals head-on is yet to tmd it's 
feet in India Competitive campaign 
ing may still be in its infancy here but 
attempts are being mad . , nevei theless 
While most admen agree oji the 
need for an aggressive ad campaign, 
explaining that a marketing strategy 
allows for competitiveness, they also 
concede that it works most eminently 
in prod in ts with specific attributes 
Says Rahul Kansu 1 of Mudra C omnui 
mirations, "This kind ot advertising 
will pick up tor a product category 
where the decision- making is 'ration- 
al'. hoi certain product categories one 
can't but compare the features that are 
common to both brands In such cases, 
the cons urnei needs to know through 
a comparison, the teatuies of one 
against the other. Ad campaigns must 
then reduce the arguments to hard 
facts This is only fair " 

Such comparisons really help the 
consumer to arrive at a just decision 
But undue aggressiveness can put 
people oft Adds Kansal, "It's unfortu- 
nately such advertising that jars rathe: 
than works. One shouldn't go over- 
board taking pot shots at rivals, delibe- 
rately running them down rind by tak- 
ing up cudgels on behalf of your own 
product " In such instances, the brand 
personality emerges as brash, aggros - 

18 


sive, belligerent and the consumer 
may not fall tor it 

However, the ad world should not 
shv away from competiti\ e adverti- 
sing, feels Kansal "I'm not suggesting 
that one should use it sparingly, but 
use it only when it is truly it-qiured 
The attack on the rival should hold, 
should be v.did without looking too 
aggiessive " Advertisements become 
pure fun when there is no moralising 
about the product 

Says H I Vs Shankar Ra|.in the mar. 
behind the Fepsj ^ reativi .ids. "t ’em 
pefitiw advertising is a long slat id uu 1 . 
and well at know lodged dc\ ice. n« »t 
sivn much in f he com iti v as there has 
been \ erv little genuine m airy bet 
ween brands '' 

Ai turd mg to Kejan, Lonipetstive 
advertising rekindles oi heightens 
consumei interest m the product And 
if il i v done well then it builds on sunn 
benefit or advantage, duet t oi mdi 
reel, to the Lonsumer 







T he fust biand battles on the hori- 
zon wore detergent wars (Suri and 
Nirma) that boldly focused on flu* con-* 
sumei A pitched battle was fought 
between Tala Salt and C'.iptain Cook 
powdered salt as against granular 
salt Captain Cook had taken on an 
established brand by the horns and 
even while no names were mentioned 
the customer knov\ whal tlu \ were 
referring to 

Savs Kansal, "The k epMin v_ ook 
advertisement is actual 1\ n spool on 
ad vei tiding that picks on stereotype* 
hkt l ahta/; It n mpuraliw ad* ei tis 
mg is 'tastefully* done 
and the i aptain t uol* salt is .in .ipi 
example-- then it will not smack of a 
me loo , spot tally since the tone ot the 
ad is n* n that of a losei 1 here's a 
certain vix ki ness and bra/muess m 
the ad " Rather than simply running 
down the rival product tlu* product 
tries in prove itself better hv 
comparison 

1 iowever, if :t is just a gjmmuk to 
hog the limelight, then even tlu- con 
swmer will reject the pioduel, teel 
most admen 'Never forget that the 
consume! is very discerning today 
And can very easily sift the essence 
from the chaff," feels Kansal 

C ompetitive advertising sp irked 
off coin wars of another kind more 
recently Pepsi Foods Limited and 
C oca Cola India through a series ol 
high decibel promotions fought for 
their brand visibility Instead of being 
put ofl by its rejection at the VViiis 
World C up bid for official drink sta- 
tus, Pepsi capitalised on its 'unofficial' 
status and touted it in a style that was 
almost like a celebration 

First apenred the red, very graphic 
commercial of C oca Cola The Real 
Thing, as il flashed its very official stan- 





ding. Moving away from the conven- youth identify with: they stand out as Living up to their punchline - - 'Ho 

tional style of using cricketers, thesix examples of determination, having a young have tun, drink lYpsi' the 

Coke commercials positioned them* winning attitude. Pepsi is delighted Pepsi ads are more catchy and easil) 

selves very differently while at the with its long-standing relationship remembered. Pepsi has always 

same time visibly associating them- with the heroes of the game who share emphasised on 'choice' — The t houv 

selves with cricket and Wills. two passions with the Ind lan youth — ol a new generation' and quite clear!) 

Pepsi hit back saying there was noth' C ticket and Pepsi/' adds a Pepsi It's the right choice, baby.' Con- 
ing official about it. "The Pepsi ads are otticial. sumcrs have even \ ouched that if one 

spunky — and clearly are the ads ot Hach oi the seven Pepsi ads take pot was to personify Pepsi and Coke, the 

the new r generation iThis fits in with shots at C oke's otficial status. Pepsi — former would emerge as much 

the personality that Pepsi has created nothing official about it, runs the hue younger somebody more adventu- 

for itself," says an ad world observer. While the Coke ads have been describ- rous, somebody possibly, even more 

A Pepsi official explains, tongue- ed as logo-centric and "nothing to Indian 

in-cheek, that before they taunt hod them than a running caricature' 1 the Pepsi may have lost to t oke in the 

the campaign they conducted a mar- Pepsi campaign has scored high on World L up tray, but they feel they 

ket survey that posed a series ot ques- ratings, say ad pundits have not lost much "Attei ail what 

does the official status give a brand' 5. In 
stadia ads, the right to serve stilt 
drinks to the players and the public y 
We really haven't lost out " 

Pepsi's ad budget is just about 20 
per i ent of Coke loi the World Cup 
But a Pepsi spokesman asserts, that 
large figures do not necessanK imply 
a successful marketing stance And its 
nothing official' campaign ptoves his 
point 

R ecently, a candy made a comeback 
piggyback riding on the success- 
ful ad strategy ot a mal Mint-o emerg- 
ed in Us new incarnation minus the 
hole, plus an ad stnucgv that exploit- 
ed the hole in the competitor's 
campaign 

ft was quite appaient that Polo had 
caught the fanev ot the consumer. 
Their sin cess was two pwnged - 
Polo single handedlv created the mint 
market anti, importantly, they had 
achieved this quite effectively without 
any obvious reference to the primary 


tions to the core group ot Pepsi drin- 
kers in the age gi oup> ot 1 to 25 years 
The survey threw up some interesting 
tacts, including the six most disliked 
words by this target group? 

"Besides discipline, corruption and 
others — 'official' was the most hated 
word." he laughs. 

A nd there are to be man)' 'officials' 
during the World Cup Visa, the 
official crgdit card. Centre Fresh, the 
official chewing gum, Fuji, the official 
film roll. Wimpy's the official fast 
food, and of course Coke, the official 
soft drink. 

Nevei one to give up, Pepsi took on 
its rival by unleashing a series oi ads 
featuring role models for the young 
Sachin Tendulkar, Mohammed Azha- 
ruddin, Vinod Kamble, lan Bishop 
and Courtney Walsh and also umpire 
Dickey Bird. "These are the people the 






oi fur. d am * 'i it ill benefit ol Mbnl j vandy won nut tuvemle Hu' product 

ba\ > 1’rjiJ *-‘|> K aw, i a u president is such that even adults will nut he si la 

Ambierne Ad* crh-iug, It is.i mouHi tcro reach out tor a Polo Tolomanag 

treshnei but the Polo ads > not t\l to break that harrier that a t and\ 

single rnindedly a*:nmimn aU tins was i,nt ju-,1 for children while at the 

Had dies iiukfi un\ s i mus i* leroncex s.ane turn* it was not purely adult 
io tlu- mouth iresliening attributes or " j ho ad v*rtmg lout itsell to a \ei\ 

Poio tlu-si *he btand wouUi haw run large aiuiieme," sas s an observer 

the risk of being associated with pro Since a mint In i!s\ei\ nature van 

ducts like toolhp istus or mouth m»t he viewed in a serious light the 

washes whuh an vonsidered vervseri Polo campaign hung it*- ii.u on the 

ous products ' hole Says Kant "The hole was exploit- 

Polo achieved another major sin - eu in a manner, stylo and tone winch 

co^s The ads, though hard-selling a | was simply stupeivduus " 



So the Polo USP became the hole 
and the punchline went The mint 
with the hole' 

Kant emphasises that besides arch 
rival Polo, Bakeman's had no bench- 
marks —an ad vantage that Polo enjoy- 
ed in lei ins of the opportunity of pick- 
ing and choosing from a host of inter- 
national Polo campaigns 

Mint o had already existed m the 
highties, its earlier form with a hole, 
and Bakeman's, concentrating on the 
biscuit market, decided not to expand 
the mint market It s alter mint became 
a popular product that Bakeman's got 
serious about Minl-O. And thus the 
first |ob wax iast tor it- the vomposi ■ 
lion and the flavour "We had a bench- 
mark, Polo, and it was the Polo-user 
who we were targeting Customers 
wanted something stronger and 
sweeter — and that's the aspect we 
wanted to exploit " 

With Bakeman's deciding on its mis- 
sion to make itselt entirely different 
from Polo, 'The most obv ious tiling to 
do was tv> plug the hole, keeping the 
fan m mind that the entire Polo story 
hangs on the hole." says Kant Basi- 
calh . as vme hoarding goes, all holes 
barred We couldn't have done anyth- 
ing else " 

Bakeman s w as vjtiile clear that in ’ 
w han ver torn-. t> u \ launi lied the pro 
tint l it was go*ng to expand the mar 
ket 1 he option was either to take an 
independent route or a Polo-centru 
one Polo opted tor the path ot least 
resistance 

So Mint n asked, 'You don't have a 
iiole m vi>m head, so why have one in 
vour mint *’ Attacking the hole around 
which Polo's siKiess lay Mini -e told, 

' l he whole story Not the 1 1 oh Si- »ry ’ 

' II ie whole mint Not the hole mint' 
and deimitelv 'Wholesome not 
iiolesoine 

T he ail pundits believe that the Mint - 
i > campaign was amongst the fin- 
est examples of how vou can v rente 
knocking advertising "It is not knock- 
ing for the sake of it, and that's where 
the diliei eiue lies The fundamental 
platform is product -centric and this 
single-mindedness is gitled to us by 
Nestle Polo/' explains Kant 

We have had cola wars, mint wars, 
salt and detergent wars whereone pro- 
duct has tried to oust the other from 
the market through 'fun' campaigns 
that have played around words or sim- 
ply compared one product with the 
other The strategies may have work- 
ed or may not have worked, but they 
have definitely caught attention and 
popularised the brand. ■ 


20 


JUNIOR WHIRL 



UP FOR GRABSI Which route — 1 . 2. 3 or 4 — 
does the football take to reach receiver at point X? 
It's tor you to decide. 


POST HASTE! 
Quickly, ruuno the 
M state designated 
bv each ot the fol- 


bv each ot 
lowing 


it- fol- 
postal 


abbreviations. MA. 
mi;, MD, Ml, MN. 
MO, MS, MT. 

\|i\i| ,«* 1 s.n ■»!. 

-ii linissil\ I'UI' .4IIIII|\ II' <nl*i f e 

1 »«*}\ i»-m, w ,*.v\ , 


SIX PACK! 

You will note* that with the exception of num- 
bers in a single diagonal row, all three-number 
rows in the diagram shown total six. However, it 
is possible to shift just one row of numbers and 
have all horizontal and vertical row'., and both dia- 
gonals, total si\. Pet's see [ 

how (|uickl\ vou can /T\ /^Z\ 

make this adjustment. Vy \3) 

Time limit. Two ^ 

minutes f~r\ fT\ S^\ I 


|1 ipi«. .V.(J n> H.»[ jr 1 |«.UI 1 (I 1 1 
,»V»*\ V’M H'{|'<(l\ (I . .ll|| Jl’ -.l.h, 
it HU IO .Vil> UH'JJrV, • ’I'm M’Vl litf f 


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HOCUS-FOCUS 




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gi 

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MUSING OVER HIGH 
POINTS 

HOW did earth's satellite, the 
moon, go into orbit ? Perhaps it 
just snowballed down a moun- 
tain as suggested below See it 
vou ran put these panels in a logi- 
cal order. 

And, speaking ot mountains, 
each continent nas its highest 
peak. See if you can match these 1 
continents with peaks hsied 
below. 

1 Africa 

2. Asia 

3. Europe 

4. N. America 

5. S. America 

Peaks Aconcagua, Elbrus, 
Eveiest. Kilimanjaro, MiKinles - 
P.S.: Which peak is highest ' 


a., is.nrhn- .. imHum.i,- . t 1JU . N ^ t 

j lwfc-ij , irvturunjiy , (| 4 j ^ r, ^ , 









CALVIN AND HOBBES WATTERSON 



































Fashion 

AIX THAT SHINES*. 

Is not gold, says Samita Bhatia, reporting on the 
costume jewellery business in India 


I t has been said that accessories 
are fashion's best kept secret. 

Bold f Splits of colour on dull 
gold polishfed earrings may just 
accentuate your style. Artfully crafted 
artificial jewellery in colours that are 
rich, earthy or neutral may just add 
the right touch of warmth to a plain 
ensemble. Coordinates have a momen- 
tum that take you from the hip to chic, 
and from the afternoon to the evening. 

Women have even carried them off 
with aplomb at beauty pageants. 
Remember Francesca Hart, Miss India 
second runner up 1994, who wore 
huge wooden beads around her neck 
and on her ears during the contest? 
And even such media icons as the Frin 
cess of Wales, whose jewellery collec- 
tion is next toneme, has been photogra- 
phed wearing the occasional piece. 

While a multi-crore fashion busi- 
ness is flourishing today in India, 
accessories have bagged their share of 
this huge pie. But while rne West libe- 
rally supplements its ensembles with 
expensive designer jewellery (a la the 
pearl and diamond chokers worn by 
the actresses in such soap operas as 
Santa Barbara and The Bold and the 
Beautiful) Indian women have yet to 
relinquish their love for the real thing. 

Multiplicity of elements contribute 
to making costume jewellery quite dif- 
ferent from its artificial counterpart 
Most takes are created out of a mixed 
metal alloy, are dye-cast and manufac- 
tured in bulk with a piece finding no 
less than a thousand replicas. The sto- 
nes (mostly semi-precious and cubic 
zerconia or look alike diamonds) are 
always pasted on and are not 
encrusted, though they may have 
been cut and processed like precious 
stones. * 

'The sole objective of costume jewel- 
lery in the West is to accentuate the 
look of the outfit. And it is very differ- 
ent from how we understand it in 
India/' says Delhi-based accessary 
designer Sandeep Gupta. Wltat is junk 
jewellery to Indiansand can be bought 
off pavement shops from anywhere 
28 







Je|y is very limited In the country. The | 
bulk of his cmm creations are export^ 
taOtto Vansend, 3 Suteses, Spiegel, 
Sears, Aria's (Hong Kong), Mayer Bro- 
thers (Australia) and John Lewis. 
Move's the pity for the variety of Indi- 
an costume Jewellery with it's multifa- 
rious influences just boggles the mind. 
Besides one can get international 
styles made with Indian materials. 

Then, of course, there is the eco- 
friendly costume Jewellery segment. 
‘This is in great demand overseas, even 
if it does get ignored here. Embellish- 
ments are crafted in clay and buffalo 
horn whilealotof the jewellery is 
fashioned out of natural raw materials 
which can be replaced, repaired and 
even recycled . The options are pheno- 
menal and indude rosewood, shell, 
mother-of-pearl, silver, white metal, 
buffalo bone and glass. 

C alcutta, Jaipur, Bombay, Hydera- 
bad, Gujarat, Kutch are among 
the regions which influence the 
designs that hundreds of craftsmen 
work out tirelessly. The raw materials 
are sourced from all over the country. 
Hence, you get a genuinely national 
product: silver from Kolhapur, agate 
from Cambay, glass from Firozabad, 
brass and copper from Muradabad, 
zinc and lead (for cast jewellery) from 
Bombay and glass from Madras. Addi- 
tionally a lot of the material is culled 
from tiW small villages of Uttar 
Pradesh. 

Though the players in the business 
claim that costume jewellery has more 
buyers today than the last five years, 
they emphasise that these accessories 
find fa vour only with the younger age- 
group — school and college girls and 
models A swinging third-year stu- 
dent of the North Delhi campus, 
Sangeeta Chopra, loves to shop for 
jewellery at Delhi's Janpath, "It's inex- 
pensive, trendy and completely safe to 
wear around town." 

Ruchi Malhotra, the model- 
turned-actress who was crowned 
Miss Asia Pacific runner up, says, 
"Women need jewellery and 1 perso- 
nally go for the popular styles in 
rough textures and the Jungle took. 
Combinations in black and white are 
quite popular," she says. 

While the ramp may lend itself to 
the heavily accessoried look, the con- 
cept has foiled to hold the imagination 
or the interest of the average Indian 
woman. The woman who introduced 
India to the concept of semi-precious 
jewellery, Ashakamal Modi of Art 
Karat says: "It's an attitudinal pro- 
blem that Indians have towards artifi- 



While the West liberally supplements its ensembles 
with expensive designer jewellery (a la the pearl and 
diamond chokers worn by the actresses in such soap 
operas as Santa Barbara and The Bold and the 
Beautiful ) Indian women have yet to relinquish their 
love for the real thing 




rial Jewellery which many feel is not 
compatible with the Indian attire and 
will never really be considered a 
replacement for real Jewellery. Even 
when precious and semi-precious sto- 
nes are set in silver they don't find 
buyers easily though the Jewellery 
may be really exotic." 

Her main grouse is that most wom- 
en do not have the confidence to carry 
off jewellery which is crafted in any 
metal other than gold. "Most women 
would be horrified at the thought of 
wearing silver plated jewellery with 
semi-precious stones for a wedding or 
a party* Besides they'd rather invest in 
10 gm of gold than buy a piece from 
me priced at Rs 6,000." Therefore, the 
response from the ladies has been luke- 
warm and selling the Art Karat con- 
cept has been an uphill task for Modi. 
"My team and i have had to educate 
women about the jewellery 1 create. 
I've had to treat every new customer 
as a student." 

At the same time there arc others 
like Shanaz Husain, Shabana Azmi, 
Dipti Naval and Sharmila Tagore who 




swear by the Art Karat name. Modi 
explains, "These ladies who form the 
large part of my client base have no 
hang ups and feel that they don't have 
anything to prove to anyone Besides, 
Art Karat jewellery gives them a 
change from real jewellery." 

Some designers in the fray firmly 
believe that if you give international 
quality merchandise, you will find the 
customers. According to Modi, 
costume jewellery available abroad is 
much better than anything in the Indi- 
an market ifi terms of quality. Which Is 
perhaps why even Indian women 
don't flinch ^buying it abroad --des- 
pite the much*h4gher price. 

Ceefanjali Kashyap, a costume 
jewellery fan herself, maintains that 
the quality of the jewellery available in 
India is not comparable with the inter- 
national products and what Indian 
designers put on the ramp to go with 
their ensembles is siring jewellery 
which is of very poor quality "While 
accessories can be great fun to wear 
and experiment with, in India there 
are practically no dedicated costume 
jewellery designers Abroad, prices 
can be as steep as £1,(XX) where you'll 
just be paying for the craftsmanship 
and the brand name. I wear a lot of the 
Chanel jewellery which can cost an 
equivalent of Rs 10,000-15,000 - and 
that's not junk jewellery," she says. 

T hough our own creations may fail 
to attract the mass ma Vet, ex pen 
sive items too can find buyers it the 
quality is of international standards 
Designer Louis bemud entered the 
mai ket with.swanky Parisian designs 
and Swati Singhama, managing direc - 
tor, Louis Feraud, India, says, "Hie 
jewellery sale's from the I .outs Feraud 
collections are not volume sales but 
then the jewellery has not been mass 





Though the players in the 
business claim that 
costume jewellery has 
more buyers today than 
the last five years, they 
emphasise that these 
accessories find favour 
only with the younger 
age-group — school and 
college girls and models 





produced." 

On a Louis Feraud mannequin there 
are multi-coloured rhinestone encrust- 
ed m metal, wooden accessories, shiny 
gold and silver look-alikes. The 
designs are Western to coordinate 
with the seven collections of designer 
outfits that are available. While the 
designer sells a complete look with a 
great emphasis on accessories — brace- 
lets, earrings, hat pins, broaches, scarf 
clips and necklaces can be bought for 
anywhere bewteen Rs 300-2,000. And 
it's not just college kids who are mak- 
ing a beeline for the jewellery . Says 
Singhania, "It has appealed to 
17-year-olds as well as to working 
women in their 30s." 

Kashyap is not too sure. She feels 
that even if .highly priced artificial 
jewellery were to come into the mar- 
ket in the near iuture, the pnees would 
keep the Indian buyer away. "The 
competition thal future jewellery 
designers have from the international 
top-of-thedine brands is tough but 
they can perhaps hold their own if 
they can introduce a line that's inter- 
esting, breaks away from the tradition- 



al mould and is a blend of modern 
designs." 

C urrently, with most of the accesso- 
ries being made primarily to meet 
massive export orders for foreign 
catalogues, the market demands very 
good designers. In response, the* Natio- 
nal Institute of Fashion Technology 
(NfFD launched a three- year Accesso- 
ry Design course to train jewellery 
designers. Says Jatin Bhatt. chairper 
son. Accessory Design, "We commenc- 
ed this three-pronged course in res 
ponse ti > the demands of the fashion 
industry. The idea wa** to introduce 
traditional crafts and skills into Indian 
costume jewellery. Besides it would 
give benefits of alternative application 
to our craftsmen " 

The course which had just } 2 stu- 
dents on its rolls at the outset now has 
a lull strength of 30. That accessory 
designers are in great demand is pro v 
en by the fact thal the industry 
demands more graduate* than the 
Institute can meet and per cent of 
the students find placements even 
before they graduate. ■ 


29 






First person 


SHASHI TH AROOR is a diyloxmt, a xvritsrand a ihorou$hgmtUmm. Itetifrwwnfr iix Tte G«al 
Indian Novel, Tharoor now lives tpNewYotkzvithhis wife,TiU>ttama, and sow. Recent fain India ma 
short visit, he took time off to attswfrthese questions for The Telegraph. v ; 



TAThat is your idea of perfect 
V V happinett? 

That it doesn't exist. V. a Imperfect 
humans can only be imperfectly 

greatest fear? 

Of tear itself . 

Who or what has been the greatest 
influence tn your Ufe7 
My father — my mentor, guide, 
critic, supporter and friend. He passed 
away more than two years ago, arid 1 
still miss him. 

What do you dislike most in others? 

I try not to dislike others — they are 
, what they are, and my dislikes won't 
change that 

What do you dislike most in yourself? 

My chronic inability to say ' 
(Including to this Interview.) 

What is your most precious 


no 


My family. 

What objects do you always cany? 

Too many pens, too little paper; a 
visiting card holder (often without the 
visiting cards); assorted mints; and a 
Ganesh key-chain bearing keys to 
long-lost locks. 

What makes you most depressed? 

Injustice; avoidable suffering; 
misunderstandings; waste. 


What do you dislike most on your 
appearance? 

The parts I can't conceal. 

What iVymir favourite word? 

Dictionary — because it contains 
my other favourite wonts, thousands 
of them. 

What is your favourite journey? 

Homeward, from anywhere. 

What Is your favourite dream? 

Of my children — usually of us 
doing things together that we rarely 
find time to do when I am awake. 
What is your nightmare? 

Of my children not being there to do 
the things we never find the time todo! 
Who or What iathe greatest love of 
your life? 


What is your 
favourite word? 


Dictionary — because 
it contains my other 
favourite words, 
thousands of them 


What brings tears to 
your eyes? 


Smoke, dust, seasonal 
allergies and 
sentimental movies 


My wife, Minu, who is my (and our 
sons') most loyal friend and severest 
critic; whose beauty and intellect 1 am 
still in awe of 21 years after we first 
met— and whose laugh can shatter 
glass at 20 paces. 

What isymir source of sustenance? 

Faith— in the world, in myself and 
in a Higher Being whose design for 
this planet has seen fit to include me. 
On what occasions do you lie? 

When answering impertinent 
questionnaires. (Every sentence here 
is untrue, specially this one.) 

What is your greatest regret? 

Not having more time with my 
father, not being able to enjoy him 
growing old. 

What has been your happiest 
moment? 


The birti* of my twin sons — tinged 
with anxiety, because they were seven 
weeks premature. The anxiety passed 
but tire happiness remains, and grows 
happier each passing year. 

What brings tears to your eyes? 

Smoke, dust seasonal allergies and 
sentimental movies. 

Ilow do you rebut? 

By reading about cricket and 
watching it when I can. 

What do you envy mast in others? 

Their certitudes. 

How would you tike to he 


As one who engaged with the world 
he found, in work as welt as in writing; 
and who, by having lived, made a 
difference. (Preferably, ndt for the 
worse.) - 

How would you like to die? 

With my family around me, at the 
end of a foil life, and without too much 
remaining in the "pending" tray. 


30 








k’ ; - -• 



m 

m 


M 


The Tyre of the Year 



y.'W ,{ 


MRF Nylogrip victories in the Castrol National Rally 
Championship for Motorcycles 1995 (CNRCM 1995) 


* » 


SI N( » Rally 

1 NASA ( .istnjl (.lulliMigc Rally Jjfjat N,m|jpp.i 

2 Snv.nrs Aelion Rally lagar Nan;appa 

^ < jsIimI MASA Rally Shy, lm Kutli.m 

i S» nit 1 1 Imh. i Rally U 11 Vikulin 

S HRi Kamat'iki 1CM H i Rally l.i^.it N.m|app.i 

() t \isiiul Mill Popular Rally Iaj*Jl Nanjappa 

7 C asirol Mountain ChalK/rigt* Rally An Hinder Sandlin 

H Spurt se raft National Moloic ydi* Rally AinimdiT Sandlin 




MRF NYLOGRIP swept Through 
another outstanding year, once again 
hla/ing a trai! of success 
In tt Hallies spread across ili< 
l< ughest terrains in the ( ouiKry 
MRF NYLOGRIP was tlu 
i • mimon t;u r< .r among the 
winners lining 
a If mg vy.iv to prow 
that MRF NYLOGRIP 
is undoubtedly 
The Tyre of the Year. 


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The 


18 FEBRUARY 1996 1 



PCSfWfiWW 





Green activist Vandana Shiva: Unsuccessful in marriage. 


The Home and 
the World 

1ft The activist or the social 
worker, in his mission to 
usher in change and 
improve the environment 
often ends up making a 
mess of his own family life 
(The Cause and Effect' 
December 24). 

The family, the focal 
point of one's existence, is 
neglected, the children 
uncared for. The result: a 
broken home and marria- 
ge. The family needs as 
much care and attention as 
The Cause he crusades for. 
Sunil Banerjee, 

Calcutta 

C Charity begins at home 
One should first set one's 
house in order before sett- 
ing things right in the 
world. It is so important 
that one maintains the 
right balance in one's per- 
sonal and professional life. 

In this case, the activists 
pay for their selfish devo- 
tion to the cause of the 
world. 

Susartta Stn r 
Calcutta 

fn the case of Maneka 
Gandhi her strictures lt>ok 
too ngid for the young 
Varun to emulate. She 
should not have imposed 
vegetarian discipline on 
him at such a tender age. It 


but devoted to her son 
is only natural the teena- 
ger will look for non- 
vegetarian delights outsi- 
de his home. 

Suchitra Base. 

Calcutta 

A Sportsman 
and a Vocalist 

Sfi It is nice to learn that 
Veena Kichlu, wife of Pan- 
dit Ravi Kichlu, m memo- 
ry of her husband is organi- 
sing talent search am tests 
for young aspirants 
('Music Was His Mission' 
January 7). 

Pandit Kichlu may have 
been a mighty sportsman 
but he was a very ordinary 


singer without any proper 
grooming or a suitable 
voice 

Pandit Kichlu claimed to 
be a disciple of Ustad Fyaz 
Khan, loiter, 1 learnt he 
was actually trained by 
one of the Dagai brothers, 
the famous iihrupad 
singers. Pandit Kichlu 
could never master the 
style ot Fvaz Khan as his 
voice lacked the right 
timbre. 

In fact, none from 
among Fvaz Khan's fol- 
lowers have been able to 
master his singing. I^atatat 
Khan tried with all his 
might, but tailed and final- 
ly he died 


& The world of classical 
y music really needs some 
i good vocalists and Veena 
f Kichlu 's endeavour in this 
field is really laudable, 
f lanuttian Misra, 

Calcutta 

No Playgrounds 

9K It is very important that 
an educational institution 
has a playground 
('Where Do We Go To 
Play?' January 7). Physical 
exercise is most essential 
for the mental health of a 
child. Staying in matchbox 
like' houses, children need 
some greenery on which 
they can play 

At least in other metros 
the corpoiation has stipula- 
ted rules that all apartment 
blocks should have some 
playgrounds for children. 
Why don't we have a simi- 
lar rule in C alcutta? 
Suretuira Rathi , 

C akutta 

Divine Music 

"Play On / (IXxvmber 
17) gave a fascinating 
insight into the world ot 
Ustad Amjad Ali K ban 
Like all creative masters, 
j he chose the s«i mh .1 to 
express his secular mind 
His sensitivity and devo- 
tion to music made his 
mgas so very divine. 

Kiron Shankar Srugupta, 
famshedtmr 




PAGE 4 

g JAVED AKHTAK, st npt writer and lyricist, 

^ now turns to verses in middle age 1 le was 
I recently in Calcutta for the launch ol his first 
audio-book ot poems, Turhish A profile id the 
poet. 


BMBH? 

16 hmf rABi \ 

21 IUNIOR WIHRI 

22 COMICS 
26 km; us 

29 SKETCHES 
.M) FIRS ! PER St «N 


Cover Jitunuer 


Javed Akhtar 



CSvER?TORY 

MAN OF 
LETTERS 

Rajlakthmi Bhattacharyya profiles Jaied Akhtar, 
story-teller. scnpt-ivriter, lyricist and note, a poet 

I IF'S AT .WAVS I (AO A WAY Will I WC >RDS. FIRST, IT WAS AS A 
story-teller, then a script-writer, a lyricist, and now, a 
poet. Calcutta was recently treated to this last incarnation 
of laved Akhtar, as the greying man of letters regaled its 
citizens with readings from Tarkadt, his first book ot verse. 

The venue was Gvan Manch, and Akhtar was in full 
flow as he kept the audience enthralled with his uuzms, 
ghazals and couplets. The next dav, saw Javed at the 
Oxford Bookshop on Park Street, where the audio version 
ot Tar kadi was released (by Plus Music). He gave auto- 
graphs, signed his book for his fans, and even recited the 
odd shuir for a gathering that comprised the young, the 
middle-aged and the old. 

But then, Akhtar's appeal as a poet transcends all such 
artificial barriers as age. One reason for that, of course, is 
the simplicity of his poetry. As his wife Shaba na Azmi 

Signing autographs 1 or his fans at the Oxford Bookshop 



Javed Akhtar recites his poems at Gyan Mancl 



testifies, Javed never feels 
the need to show off his vast 
vocabulary. He is quite cont- 
ent to have his say in com- 
monly understood langua- 
ge, without falling back on 
the high-falutin' Urdu of 
some of his contemporaries. 

That's not the only unu- 
| sual thing about Akhtar's 
I poetry. By his own admis- 
£ sion, he began writing in 



verse wheiimcist people stop. 

Until then, laved had turned his back 
on the poetic tradition (if his family 
his father, Jan Nissar Akhtar, was a 
p<H*t of some reputt* (as was his mater - 
nal uncle, Majaz). 

T his early aversion of verse had 
something to do with j a ved's ambi- 
guous filings towards his father. He 
was very close to his mother, Safia 
Akhtar, and was absolutely crushed 
when his father married another 
woman. The anger that Akhtar felt 
towards his father was only sublimat- 
ed when Jan Nissar died in 1976. Then, 
confesses laved, he regretted having 
rejected his father during the living 
years. 


' When Jan Nissar went ofl to Bom 
bay to seek fame and fortune, Javcd 
and Safia tell back on each other for 
comfort Safia, from the very begin- 
ning, saw the seeds of genius m her 
son For one thing, there was his prodi 
gious memory, liven today, says Dr 
Rahi Masoom Raza, |aved (like Ali Sar 
dar lafri) can recite two l«»kh < ouplels, 
if need be. 

In a letter to her husband (reproduc- 
ed in /jtttvlab, a collection of her let- 
ters) Safia wrote, "He will be ahead of 
romantic progressives like you, and 
will never believe in flight as a formu- 
la for success. Instead, he will fight 
ba< k and be more successful than 
you." 

But Javed did not have his mother's 


support for very long She died when 
he was still a young bov, and Javed 
w is left all alone to cope with his gnet 
His loneliness only increased w hen 
J lus lather remarried, and Akhtar let? 
Bis home and family in Aligarh and 
we: it off to Bhopal to f-tudy 

These were hard Jays Ja ved didn't 
have any money nor any plac e to stay 
I le would sleep on a bench in his rl*is.v 
room Once he loll ill, and remained 
without focni for Iwoday^ Finally, 
some classmates of his — who weren’t 
even particularly close to him - gave 
him some food and looked after him 
Akhtar was touched beyond rneasme, 
and even hxlay admits that they proha 
bly s<ived his life. 

The hard times continued even 


when Akhtar came to Bombay, follow- 
ing in his father's footsteps. According 
to those who knew him at that time, he 
often had no place to spend the night 
and would end up sleeping on a bench 
in some studio or the other 

In his attempt to break into the film 
industry, Javed tried his hand at any til- 
ing and everything. He translated and 
reworked scripts; he assisted dim - 
tors, and at timtrs, he even played the 
gopher, running around with the 
heroine's slippers 

Akhtar's big break came when he joi- 
ned Sippy^ilms as a writer, and met 
up with Salim Khan, who was also try- 
ing to set himself up as a story-teller 
The two got together to form the Sulim- 
laved trim and the rest, as they say, is 
cinematic historv 

J aved had had a so!< * < aiecr of sorts 
e.irher I le had written the stones of 
/V id an?, / hwlhf Mn r tnithi, and herta 
Aur Carla Hut it w as only with '/.anjeer, 
which he scripted m i olluboration 
with Still m, t hat A kli ta r hi 1 1 lit* big 1 1 me. 

/(Snjirr was memorable for another 
km si in as well In this movie Sal&m- 
laviHi forged the angry -young-man 
persona fox Amitabh Bachchan. which 
made the lanky hero into one of the 
greatest superstars of the Bombay film 
industry 



I The poet with his wife Shabana Azmi: 
Made for each other? 


Until then, nobody had been willing 
to sign on Amitabh as a hero. I le had 
played the lead in Bombay to t am, but 
the general consensus was that he was 
too dark, tall, thin and even ugly to 
play the Hindi film hero Bachi ban got 
/jCMfcet onlv on the recommendation 
of his then giilfriend, Jaya Bhadun. 
who was one of the front-ranking 
heroines of that period But aMer 
/.an jeer, there was no looking back for 
Amitabh. 


Salim-Javed's tight scripting and 
great dialogues played a very import- 
ant role in Bachchan' $ success, special- 
ly in the movie that followed Zanjeer: 
Deewar. It was in this film, modelled 
loosely on the Haji Mastaan story, that 
the angry-young- man persona really 
came of age, and Bachchan was cata- 
pulted to the big league. 

And then, of course, there was 
Sholay. This blockbuster of all times 
was a Salim- Javed movie, and made 
the reputations of everyone connected 
with it. from Amjad Khan to Ramesh 
Sippy. 

Javed Akhtar and Salim Khan were 
the uncrowned kings of the film indus- 
try then. And producers queued up 
outside their doors, bulging briefcases 
in hand, to sign them up to write their 
next movies. 

T he good times didn't Iasi though 
The first casualty of success was 
theSalim-Javed partnership xtseli. 
Nobody can really pm-poml what 
exactly went wrong between the two, 
though some say that their respective 
egos could no longer be i untamed 
within the same script The duo split 
up. and decided to go their separate 
wavs 

T hat wasn't the only partnership 
that Javed was dissolving around thaf 


1 






P hrases like the 'room' of your 
childhood neon in your poems 

in Tarkash . 


Javed Akhtar on the art and craft of his poetry 



It is because, a room, a house, and a 
home was what I was deprived of 
at an impressionable age. This gave 
me the need to develop a romantic . 
notion about it. A room guards 
your set rets, and it also shares your 
memories. That is why my room 
'talks'. 

Pain is a recurrent theme in your 
poetry. 

My anger has a lot to do with the 
early years of iny life. In our 
society, where conditions are less 
than ideal for a child, my story was 
no different. I have put on record 
what ( can remember from those 
days. As the first born in the family, 
I always demanded the lion's share 
and even got what 1 wanted till my 
brother was bom a few years later. 
The need for the best of everything 
became a conviction in me that 
refused to go away. It only increas- 
ed my anger for the deprivation I 




time. His marriage to Honey Irani, 
sister of child star, Daisy, had been 
floundering for some time. But the 
couple had been trying to paper over 
the cracks for the sake of their two 
children, when Shabana Azmi entered 
the picture. 

Azmi had a string of broken relation- 
ships behind her: she had been engag- 
ed to Benjamin Gilani; she very nearly 
married to Shekhar Kapur; her affair 
with Shashi Kapoor drove his wife Jen- 
nifer to attempt suicide; and there 
were rumours of entanglements with 
the likes of Marc Zuber. 

When Shabana met Javed, it was 
almost a meeting of minds. Both came 
from similar backgrounds. Their 
fathers, Jan Nissar Akhtar and Kaif i 
Azmi, were both poets and were pro- 
gressive thinkers. They were both res- 
pected members of the him commu- 
nity, and had a love of reading and wri- 
ting in t omnum. 

J.ived has since described their rela- 
tionship as very "talkative", as the 
couple shared ideas and beliefs in an 
attempt to get to know each other bet- 
ter The friendship soon blossomed 
into love and ran into that most predic- 
table ot obstacles, the first wife. 

Asa Muslim, faved was entitled to 
take as many as four wives, but Shaba- 
na wasn't going to stand for that, feven 

faced later in life. 

As for the pain, it came back to 
me long after the sensation subsid- 
ed and the memories remained 

Is your poem on Mother Teresa a 
result of the current controversy 
m which she is involved? 

1 have asked in my poem why she 

condones those very people who 

have perpetuated poverty by 
snatching frdm the poor. But this 
was something I wrote 10 years 
earlier and has no relevance to 
what Tariq Ali said. Recently, I 
read a good quotation of a priest 
from Columbia where he states 
that if he claimed the poor should 
be helped, he was considered 
good. But were he to question why 
they were poor, he was said to be 

dangerous. 

If I question the means of charity, 
it does not make me free from 

blame. I am no moralist and have 
all the failings that my neighbours 
have. In fact, in Zulm aur Saza, 

(Crime and Punishment), I admit 
that I have made compromises in 


as the film glossies went to town about 
their affair, she issued an ultimatum to 
Akhtar. He had to divorce Honey and 
marry her, or else... 

As the press vilified Shabana for 
breaking up the Akhtar home, her 
mother, Shaukat Azmi rushed to her 
daughter's defence. In an interview to 


life. 

There is a strong sense of urban 
alienation in many of your poems 

in T arka<h . 

Modern poets rejected man as a 
part of society. They started look- 
ing at an individual as an island. 

But the reality is somewhere in bet- 
ween. Yes, ! am an island, but 
within an ocean. 

Is Javed the poet always steeped 
in cynicism? 

If 1 have been cynical, it is more to 
pierce the conscience. But if one has 
to provide some kind of catharsis 
for every play, it is not fair to the 
audience. For then, jK^ople will 
always go back purged, and will 
live happily ever after. 

How do you maintain the delicate 
balance between the make- 
believe world of commercial cine- 
ma and your poetry? 

1 write for films because I thorough- 
ly enjoy it without any contempt 


a film magazine, Shaukat said memo- 
rably. "Shabana is already 36. She 
could only have found a mamed or a 
divorced man.' 1 * * * * * 7 

Javed himself must have been in 
something of a quandary. He was 
about to take a step that his father had 
taken so many years ago. Jan NissaKs 


for commercialism. If a man makes 
posters and calendars and is good 
at the job, I see no reason to berate 
him as as an artist. One can be a lite- 
rary poet and a bad one at that. U is 
a particular piece of art that will 
decide the art. After all, aesthetics 
harclwez ki a lag hoti ha i. 

How would you define your style 
of poetry? 

I am not interested in morality t>uf in 
aesthetics. 1 am neither a preacher nor a 
prophet. My writing comes on as 
though 1 were a friend to my readers. 
What is aesthetically true is decent to 
me. hence has to be mot «d Any process 
of creativity is an exercise in schi- 
zophrenia. What mattters is the involve 
men! and the commitment w ithoui 
which good art is impossible. 

At the same lime, one has to he very 
calculating in the usage of uoidv. I’ give 
my all, yet I calculate-. So it is always ,i 
split personality which is at work. 

Ghalib has written that forgetfulness 
;md cunning nesv simplicity and intri- 
cacy can combine to produce the best 
in literary writing. I have always belie v 
cd in his dictum. 



1942: A Love Story: Its lyrics had the best of Javed’s romanticism 





Shoiay. Saltm-Javod’.s magnum opus 


remarriage hail sot mil fetations t*»t 
w<vn lather anil ‘-on r» e \ • mi or, end 
So. how would hr **v*ond mairuijy 
atie# l his children J 

Surh rcserv alums noiwithshnuiiu.,. 
laved niki Miahana wed, and 1 loiu \ 
i jam was led to pi< k up tin* pie* ot 
hoi ls!e 1 hi*. she did with remarkable 
nlai ri!y emeicing a** a storv write; oi 
rare toll# il\ she won an award tor 
I i!inlu and m her tengue-m-t hook 
.u coolant e speech thanked |«n ed lor 
giving hri Jh»- oppoi tnmty to disc over 
hr* talents 

J aved managed remarkably well 
without Sabir too \lter the duo 
rw.ih-iip ht wrote thiwripts tor su» hi 
movie., a 1 /V'./aK b/.\ , u and V)c?/ liny 
r )v- iclahonsbip with Amitabh Bach 
than endun-d, though, and Akhtai 
wrote ilw si. npi ioi his Mum A'tiiiti 
Maun, are inakeoi that Hollywood 
classic r MiyI jt'-rti ! 

B\ then. howi'vrr. script- writing 
had lvgun to bore Akhtai, and hr lira 
diil to try his hand at a different gen n* 


■ »l writing hlmlvrus 1 hs Ins! sm h 
attempt was with ’> //-.#/</ and hr. songs 
Ihrkihn'k kl ww/» f Nthi liti'tiiinu •o ytfi/,/ 
and i * 7* kaium tuiyw ltu<h he* ame very 
popular 

Akhtar was then emboldened to 
u i ile si mis I* »i • m h monies as Mi 
and. >.n/vy: (tor whu h he wiote 
\h*' soiph.as well), and Runp hi Kan., 

(. h a Kitfti and Vu'w 

I he pi ; h ‘HMiini <*■> :>! those films 
varied whin ,\1r huha wa* a hit at 
die h»A oilue, knur hi Kan* was »mcot 
Ihegieatcsl Imkctsoi ail time Inn 
laved's Js ru*. weie wide lv n\ koned 
as being mufoimI\ good 

iVvrwh's Ik ilo Urn, m particular, 

K\ arm* a hartbuster, it onlv h\ ac* i 
dent. As the story goes, the turn* ’had 
been composed in advaiu e, hut 
Akhtar couldn't. Tor the htcol him. 
hnd winds that would fit it I le kept 
humming "/ k ilo !ct j n < htir fmim'li < hhc 
•uMt in an attempt k» gel the creative 
juu es flowing, when the solution suet 
donlv c ame to him in a Hash. 

Whv not keep these words in the 


soni; ilsels " 1 And thus was i»nn, / /. 
trai r Iht* nu ml >ej ih.it m.ide Vkidiim • 

I >mt the star (hat she i< liniav 

t rom I\ ru ist to poe* required uni 1 ,i 
small leap i)t the nna^malion laved 
had «ii ready N-en writing verse*, oi 
praisi* tor Ins vMleSliabana’s iifioo*i 
nnnkhni (brown ( ^est.and wilh hoi 
enu>uraj;i orient decided to pulilisli 
his poetk work 

Themtkal praise (hat luikirai ha> 
re« eived seems to mduate that 
Akhtai s birth .is a poel though a 
tin u . 1 incoming - hasbrvna weltome 
event, I hs poems, though ^cuu litsl in 
the most simple of language, convey a 
v;ieat dej'th of meaning And AkhUr 
lias [»rovid that he is a modern poet, in 
the tradition of I S Fiiot rather than 
William Wordsworth. 

But when 1 will Akhtar lioin 
here 7 ! Je has ahead v done it all writ 
m^» stories, senpts, lyrics and poems 
There are very h. w vi or Ids left tor him 
to conguoi . But kmiwing hwi^l, he 
will <'reah a lew, so that he ran re- 
invent himseh yet again, flj 



Innereye 


wwmmmmmmmi&K 

BHIAN PARUWAUA 


Aries 

March 2 1 - April 20 

j r ! i uinrshd siVn Iwm 

j J/B & dixtini t directions to 
the wwi riu* first 
mtk ' » elate* U> m.irrn.ige, 
alliance, business partnerships 
and i olldhuiations, the List 
homy, nl p.utu nki: 
impel lame A stru my 
l. iv' tU'Js pci tei Mon. » might v 
attempt to strLfimhne 
managei !.»l skills ,nul woi k 
methods au on the ca»d* 

Taurus 

April 2 1 May 20 

V\ hile it might not 
he smooth sailing all 
KK Uiiv, 'll* 1 week 

*vh»m mioii do* or.ilinn, 
olfi i.ilii'U buv.ng. selling and 
prop in mi lm i major 
• hilt l.iuv o ,’f l u <me or oftn e 
or ■; v mnpleMun <M it vh v 
i event!' hi'i will he adjusting 
\nw ^'yhls toi tutiire action 
oid entei prise 

Gemini 

May 21 - Junf 20 

T !e new m »or leads 
r« I letter t.uvilv ties 
■ limie-s And parties, 
mu Ml pioyiess ?nd 
i. a ' lu tiimil\ i ojld see 
nw re »: voi: Prepare to 
have 1 ,mii enlertcim This is 
■iso di. tirni vvhon fneiidx 
wili need vm.ii help Health ot 
eklei . m.A duse i vine eni Hut 
not to '/'I'lr',, things will be 
■.,'tled uul 




Cancer 

June 21 - July 20 

|! The personal 
element and 
I j prott-ssional 

M expertise now merge 
as well xij> clash, making this 
an exciting but uneven week 
Change in the home and 
other frontiers are envisaged 
Those do turn out well ipt; 
spei lally in tlie long run 
Mone\, loans, taxes and 
legai y Will be important 

Lett 

July 21 — August 21 

\lonev an.] nmiaiue 
make a lovelv duo. 
despite the re.iht\ of 
legal rases and a bit 
o( opposition to plans and 
personal inclinations Money, 
loans, publicitv legacy, joint- 
tinance, taxes and msui.ince 
are foretold 7 he middle of the 
week will be i rucial Health 
needs safeguarding right up to 
the end of March 

Virgo 

August 22 — September 22 
r , You will he in a 
; , period of ma|iv 

RHW transition, because 
flU _ ; expenses, work 
affairs, i hanges all clamour for 
vour time and attention 
Relationships too will be in a 
flux a change which could 
change the tenor ot your hie 
Secret and open deals as vx. oil 
as negotiation* art defimtel\ 
toretold 


i Libra 

. September 23 — October 22 

i As Venus \our main 

; j AlA planet has regained 
j wf^' direct mention 
! l Jkm children, loans 
: funds, creative pursuits, will 
fire v our imagination and help 

■ vou to give voui best shot But 
j healthwise. a t* w posers will 

■ remain right up to tin end of 
1 March Have friends, stay 

a wav Irom war numgi-Ts and 
; call tt lends o\ ei 

; Scorpio 

October 23 — November 22 
7’o use a cliche, a 
grand reaching out to 
people and plait’s. 
Sriys ( uineshn Ynui 
i heart will hi a hunter and pine 
tor romance and 

; understanding Attend to calls, 
letters, ads and invitations 
Your work load will he 
' staggering and f he home too 
will demand it* lull pound oi 
flesh, sc' to sa\ 

Sagittarius 

November 23 *— December 20 
\’evs hnks and ties 
will be the 
proscription ut fate 
for vou Old friends 
. and favourites will also pitch 
, in Home/ house -'properh 
affairs could take top priority 
1 Renovation /decoration/ reshu 
fflmg in office / shop are also 
quite on the cards business 
I ran s c - chons and travel lead to 
a hectic week 


; Capricorn 

' December 21 - January 1 9 

You " ill hi pushing 
ahi .wl lull steam 
w imi’.iig plaudits 
Irlklllg III mom v 
shedding .ivvav old altitudes 
and ideas aiv 1 n ad\ mg 
\ our-xi Ir !ot \ u imv II is 
.llv -1 illllHV i ei t >m that 
oppoilunitn s Mill .mail von 
in «w It : k u k oft lime as the 
AnierK.ins love M M i\ 11 a lew 
snags i anil* up l i,oi Ji, it 

Aquarius 

January 20 - f-ehrunry 18 

t A shore ‘is us on 
|oh pi 'te ion 
tui.ui. and t inuK | 

a»c foretold In to | 

tU‘ frit mlK but keep vom si*ll . \ 
lexpei I ll it . unies (u th*- l 

i much ! licit •- Lh key to I 

til M I f e ■» 1 1 w Cess |)iM,|tf'l upon j 

s k ill*', iiilonuali' m* anil update | 
\ourseh as the hnv is npe for j 

it Ira\ el n i strong possibility 1 
and vou n«a\ r i \peif visitors 

Pisces 

'“ebruary 19 - Marcli 20 

An ahundaiu e of 
enerev and 

erlhiisia-,m will ; 

i mrai WMse your j 

actions beta uxt the sun 
changes signs and enters into 
yours ,Yei\ ai tn itv. ample 
sales, teaching pre,v lung, 
writing, trading nnencmg are ! 
predated foi vou Hu hna 1 
piciun h a iH eevnu' around the 
end >t Maicli 






BIRTHDAYS 


j PebrtMtry t& The new moon gives you the added benefit 
! of planning management and an added slice of luck. Career 
■ prospects will be truly excellent f 

! February 19: Moon sextile Jupiter means you will take 
| inspired decisions, rely on intuitions, and thus win the game of 
! life, says Cancsha. 

! Fet>ruary 20 r Moon-Satum conjunction will dampen your 
j enthusiasm. True also, this conjunction will be over on April 7 
because ot Western astrology 

February 21: Moon trine Pluto means all round progress 
j and achievement and it will show in property, clothes, 

I 


relationships, finances, family and so on. This is a btrthyear to 
reach the top. 

February 22: Sun square Pluto does mean that you should 
be careful of the company you keep. Do nol take chances at 
random and spread yourself. 

February 23: Moon sun sextilG will lead to professional 
success, marriage, monetary deals and law of av< 'ragi.-s 
working in your favour 

February24: Moc>n Tupiter trine could well lead to money, 
companionship, a touch of cbws in all voui actions and that's 
important. Be practical. 





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, diamond jewellery. Dealer in precious and astrological stones, 


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475 (>734 f 27 7221 I 24S 80h2 




A 





BY 

Rnru bhatia 


Exi t'U ctvitfi rt*m 
< run/ 1 - 1 
S by 

RUu Bhaiia : 
Published by 
liar- A wind 
Publications. l*ricc 
Rs 150 


Extract 

Sunaina’s 



er lather and his brothers owned a pat 
inenl export company Sunaina was 
tlu* 18 vear old daughter of Prakash 
C 'hriwla, the senu irmost brother; a seri- 
ous girl, win i frowned slightly, and 
had »le\ eloped a stoop because slu* 
was selt'Lc inseious about her height 
They lived, an extended joint family, 
in a rambling five bedroom house in 
New f riends Colony, mothers and 
lathers. u»u les and aim Is, grandpar- 
ents and great grandparents There 
were lots tit children who awoke eai lv 
in the morning and began chasing 
ra«*h other around the house, shouting 
and streaming with jov The atmos- 
phere was congenial, the women chop- 
ped and cooked together, polished 
biassw are and starched sarees All 
act iv tty ceased m the afternoon when 
thev would disappear into their bed - 
looms tor ii nap ['furmg the winter 
months they took turns on the swing 
bed in the verandah, that lav bathed in 
sunshine I'venmgs were spent prepar- 
ing tv>r the return of the men and .t 
would be long past midnight when all 
tlu- noise and activity had diminished 
bunaina spend a lot of time dream 
mg of being married, having decided 
it was the ideal state to be m This, 
she'd surmised from watching her 
aunts, who were always whispering 
and giggling together, and spent 
hours nibbing henna and coconut oil 
into each other's hair She was ecstatic 
when she came home from college one 
day and found her parents deliberat- 
ing over a proposal of marriage for 
her A colleague of her father's, 

Madan khuiana. had suggested an 
alliance between her and L.s son 
Sumit, who was being groomed for his 
lather's business. In her excitement, 
the news she had brought home- — 
that she stood first m the university in 
her 13A exams — faded into insignifi- 
cance. She listened to her father telling 
her that this it alic was the ideal 
match, their backgrounds were simi- 
lar, tfie bov was bright, and a marriage 


between them would strengthen die 
bonds that already enisled in* tween 
the two tan u lies 

SoSunaina married Si unit khur i 
iu, a rather silent, thick-set sod ol man 
who spent most evenings at home l.« , e 
ping his mother company He w an 
oril\ son, and had two unnuirried 
sisters, who lived .it horn.- smuim.i 
dav now started at r» am when -h»* 
woke to give her husband and in law- 
led, w 1 nch si u* sei . i *t i Ii * tin »m in bed 
After this she Marled breakfast prepa- 
rations tried eggs for the si ,ler s 
in law porridge for Lire men, and 
trench coast for her mother in I \w 
Sonoma ate what w as letlov ^ i All , " r 
breakfast she would not dressed up 
"A new wih\" >aid hei mother 
in-la w "must dress up' S-.bu.nama 
would don a heavy tinselled sap. with 
lots of pendulous gold jeweilerv i.i*. 
her wrist-., dangling around her neck, 
and oil her cais She often pushed 
these back as she made be Is and 
dusted/ as they got m the wav and wri 
ghed her dov* n The lest oi Sunama's 
day would be spenl by her mothei 
in laws side, pi essing Itei legs,«nd 
listening to hei conversation with hci 
daughters, Sun- it's sisters l hey wouid 
gossip about the neighbour's activi 
ties, the terrible dress sense of a It lend 
a cousin who was running around 
w ith a m uried man, another cousin 
who had tailed to get pregnant after a 
year of marriage In the course of the 
conversation a remark would inevitab 
iy be made about Sunama's family, 
about how tightfisted they were They 
had given only one hundred and fifty 
rupees toSuiml's cousms during the 
engagement ceremony "Why/' her 
mother-in-1 aw recounted one da> r 
"your mother did not even give niv 
daughters a silk sari, did she want to 
displease us or w hal? ' 

Sunama listened quietly, for she 
had been taught never to speak back 
to her elders. Nor c« >uld she retrea! 
into her bedroom, for on the single 




occasion she had done this, her 
mother in -law had reported it to 
Sumit in the evening "Our daughter- 
in-la w does not enjoy our company it 
seems She preters to read a book 
instead of participating in family life " 
And, right their in their presence, 
Sumit had reprimanded Sunaina. 
"Why can't you sit with my mother 
and sisters, .is it too much to ask is 
your time that precious or what?" 

In the evenings, they sat down to 
dinner, which Sunaina had cooked. 
She served them all. Hitting back and 
forth between the kitchen and dining 
table, hearing plates and dishes. Ihis 
would he interrupted by demands 
"i iet us ;,ome water," her mother- 
in-law would say. When she returned 
with a |ug her sister-in-law demanded 
some salt, and Sunaina rushed to fetch 
that lust as she was about to sit down, 
her husband said, "Sunni, get some 
hnttei " 

She served them willingly because 
shcbehe\ ed that she would soon been 
me like her aunts who simpered in 
thi n luishaiid's lompanv their faces 
aglow with i ontentmenl But Sunai- 
na's husband didn't ask hei what she 
did .ill da v how she felt and novel told 


her that she looked pretty The only 
time he noticed her was at night when 
she got into bed with him 1 le was 
rough and callous with her and tore 
into her softness with a ton e that 
made her curl up afterwards, like a 
wounded animal, and whimper 
silently She had to smother these 
sounds with her pillow' as her m-laws 
slept next door, and the dividing wall 
was thin. 

During the day she wandered from 
room to room m that dark house, nurs 
mg that swollen bleeding part of her 
that burned and throbbed, searching 
lor some solace, a possible solution 
There was no one to share her disillu- 
sionment with, for when she tried to 
speak to her sisters on the phone, her 
mother-in-law stood beside her and 
said, "Don't spend too much tune tal- 
king, there's work to be done." Sunai- 
na prayed feverishly, begging the 
Gods to show her a way out, to enable 
her to bear what she now behoved 
every married woman had to but she 
could only think of the act that took 
place every night on then bed as an 
assault. She tried to avoid it by delay- 
ing her entry into the bedroom, linger- 
ing over the washing up, boiling the 


drinking water at night instead of the 
morning But he always waited lor her. 

She went home tor the hi si time two 
months after her marriage. I lor 
mother began weeping when she saw 
Sunaina' s drawn expression ' 'What is 
it rny child, are the v ill treating you 1 
Does he beat you?" Sunaina thought 
of those nights v\ ilh her husband and 
began crying, great shudders running 
through her body "No lie doesn't 
beat rne Via but w ha* be does do feels 
much worse " I ler mother's expres- 
sion changed, resignation replaced 
the concern "It is your clutv to satisfy 
him my child, he is your husband 
Pray mv rum, you will accept it Ivtter." 

Four months later. Sunaina was elat- 
ed to discover she was pregnant, for 
she believed this would precipitate a 
change. But she was still woken at 6 
am to serve the family tea. and thev 
still expected her to do all the house- 
work and the cooking I ic r mother- 
in-law stood ovei head and siiperv* 
sed "More >uihh girl, you are not putt- 
ing enough " Although Sunama's insi- 
des balked at the 01 K tunics that arose 
from the hot wok, she tossed m an 
extra pinch of the vellovc powder At 
mealtimes she still ran back and forth. 






sfi vmg the tanulv And her hush uid | 
still climbed on her jf night 

One morning she sei oft us usual tor 
the market to buy some vegetables 
She had just put some cabbage and spi- 
nach into her basket when she spotted 
a bus on the other side o) the road 
Number In the one that stopped right 
outside her parents house Abandon 
mg her basket, she 1 1 an ucn »ss the ro«id 

A first cousin ot Sunaina s who 
exported cotton garments to 
Hurope i ame to tier rescue She gave 
her a small on&: oi table linen and 
enough advance monev to move 1 into a 
room ot hoi own with hei daughter 
The plaster on the walls peeled, like 
giant strips ot fingernails The room 
served as a workplace too, so as a tai 
lor sat there during the day, strewing 
about tinv bits of cloth arid coloured 
thread. The babv sat on a mat m one 
corner of the room plavmg with these 
and listening to the whirring sound ot 
the sewing machine As mother and 
daughter ate in this room, eventualh 
the cockriirH hes and rats hidden in the 
roof began entering the room through 
tinv crevices in the walls At night 
Sunama hugged her babv daughter 


close U> her, to protect her trum 
luingrv teet scampering barely a few 
inches away from their matticss She 
prmkled raj poison around their bed 
to keep tlie rodents awa\ and often 
opened her eves to the sight ol black 
shiny bodies slumped at the lorncis ol 
the room Lor the rest ot the d,i\ she 
would have to blink awav the image oi 
those reddened, slit hkeeves tlint i ('ap- 
peared constant lv 

When Sunum’s daughtei began 
going to school, she found herself tar 
ahead ol the others. I ler mother had 
taught 1 h*t to read and write very 
voung sunaina would attend 1'1 \ 
meetings in her d«i lighter's school, her 
tension relieved only when the 
teacher lmormed hei ' Yes, vom 
daughter is the best m the class, tar 
ahead oi all others, indeed she is a spe 
eial child " The only tune her 
daughter brought home a report card 
with a TV grade Uh spelling instead ol 
an A . Sunaina glared at her ' Do you 
think you d-d your best 7 " And the girl 
said, "No mama. I'll try harder next 
time " Sunama en toyed recounting 
tins instance, the one and only time 
her daughter had slipped out 
When her daughter was 10 wars 


old, Sunaina told her about the past: 
how- she had made this life tor the two 
of them by battling adverse circum- 
stances "You must always go tor 
what you want \ ourself," she often 
said to her daughtei , "Don't ever wail 
for things to tall out of the skv they 
never do " 

When her 13-vear old daughter 
began de\ eloping babv lat, Sunaina 
immediate! v hired a voga teacher for 
her. no daughter ot hers was going to 
bo fat and ungainly Later, when the 
girl's teeth began getting uneven, her 
mother had a dentist Ik brau*^ Rv lb, 
hei daughter was as voluptuous as 
Sunaina had been lean, an affectionate 
bright- eyed girl with numerous 
ft lends who came and went The 
phone was ulwavs ringing tor her, and 
hei molhei sometimes worried that 
her daughter's social «uti vines would 
fitted her academic per rormance But 
the girl did not let her down, she conti- 
nued to bean outstanding student 
Best ot all, she was a loving child, 
livery time Sunaina sat down with a 
cup of tea prepared bv her daughter 
she thanked C iod e\ ervlhmg she had 
undergone- seemed worth while 

In college, Sunama s daughter met a 


boy she mentioned to hex mother a 
couple of times: "He is such fun to be 
with, mama, I really enjoy his compa- 
ny." Sunaina listened to the girl's 
floundering attempts to justify her 
interest m this male friend of hers. 
"Where Joes he live’" she wanted to 
know, "What do his paients do’" 
When her daughter told her that the 
bov's mother was an actress. Sunaina 
seized this niloimation to stop her 
daughter from developing a relation 
ship with him. "1 w ill not loleiate it, ' 
she told hex daughter. "You can do 
much better than that In any case, it's 
best to avoid men. Don't let them 
assume any sort ot importance m vour 
life. Concentrate on developing youi 
self that's wlut matters." 

Simaina'sdaughler looked at her 
defiantly "1 hat's what von think. ’ 

' No/ snapped her mother, "that's 
ail rhere is to it l don't want to hear 
any more about this boy ' 

But she suppoi ted her daughter at 
othei times, staying up all night w hile 
the 18 vear- old studied for exams 
Sunamci sat watching the sliver of 
light that i'hieige. 1 tn un beneath hei 
daughter's bedoom door At hourly 
intervals she would take her ('of fee. At 


times, when her daughter started wee- 
ping before a paper, sobbing, "Don'L 
make me do it, mummy — lam too 
Lired. 1 can't do it/' Sunaina calmed 
her down "Of course, you car. do it 
darling, you're brilliant, you're my lit- 
tle girl " 

Soon the Wtillsot her daughter's bed 
room were covered with the certifica- 
tes and prizes she had recei\ ed over 
the years. She won the gold medal for 
standing first m the university in bio- 
chemistry and shortly afterwards, 
was awarded a fellowship to do a 
Ph.ID at Harvard When Sunaina saw 
her daughter's award letter she near- 
ly said' "I knew' you would do it 
darling, you always have " PromplK, 
she rang everyone she knew "You 
know my daughter is oft to Harvard, a 
full fellowship of course." 

T wo years later, her daughter made 
her first visit home The iirsl thing 
Sunaina noticed when she* saw' the girl 
walking towards her at the airport 
was the bluish skin beneath her eves, 
her extreme paleness The softness, 
the vulnerability of her daughter's 
expression was something new — 
Sunaina had always seen hei as 



strong, eonlrolled and capable When 
she c rushed her against her chest she 
leit somehow that the contours of the 
girl's body had changed, despite the 
extreme thinness oi hei lace, her sto- 
mach seeme» 1 looser'’ Sunaina 
thought it was probably because her 
daughter had not been exercising regu- 
larly. She arranged a massage tor hei 
and several turn's the nK.wuse«.anu , f 
onl\ to be turned awav b\ the girl 
"It s too cold to he around without clo- 
thes " Sanama cons-deied it odd 
he«Mus»Mri the pa.-t hei daughtcj had 
loved being massaged all through the 
wintei Bii* she rein lulled lierselt that 
two wars had elapsed since then 

She had taken a week oft from work 
to spend time with her daughter Kar 
ly in th morning she woke up and wait- 
ed outside the girl's bedroom, on the 
alert tor sounds ol waking Sunaina 
hoped the two ot them could have a 
cup ot tea together But all she heard 
was silence, that extended outside, to 
the dew silvered grass. This early l he 
skv was dim. robbed ol its light bv tin 
winter she was reminded ot the 
dusky Miiiused afternoon of her 
daughter's birth she smiled as she 
recalled how her life had changed 
since then All tire plan*, she had made 
tor the two ot them were finally work- 
ing out. 

Herdaughtei woke around noon, 
and went straight out to the «. hair that 
lav m the middle ol the law n She chat- 
ted with the gardener, a withered old 
man who roamed about with a cloth 
swathed around his head livery now 
and then he would stop \\ hat he was 
doing to give the girl a toothless smile, 
and suck at his cigarette Her daughter 
laughed with him, and slouched 
further back into her chair, gazing lazi- 
ly a I the purple- mo »d pansies that bor 
dered the grass 

sunaina watched the girl's lassitude 
from the window it was something 
she did not recognise Never befoTe 
had she been as listless, and lounged 
around with a book spread on her lap 
— oneoi those pop psychology things 
Sunaina hated She told herdaughtei 
as much, but instead ot responding 
agreeably as she usually did, the gii l's 
fax e was gripped with resentment "1 
like it/' she snapped at her mother, 
'That'*- why I am reading it/ 

Sunaina w as confused bv her 
daughter's attitude of < otilrontahon, 
her sullen ness F\ ery time she talked 
it was on sulijet (s Sunaina w ished to 
hear nothing abi ml i fer Jaughtei 
went on and on about the freedom 
people enjoyed in Amem a to be indivi- 
duals, the great opportunities the 


id 



count* y prox ided - - people weren't 
stunted by society or their families 
They did whafi ver the\ M* like, deve- 
loped themselves mllv It was a truly 
freecoimbv Sonarne could not prex 
eiit a . >/ r.f/;. * b- •;/? bursting forth, 
at w h.ad.o, mi <d< icd to be an unfair 
attack 1 think di re lemblx seltish 

the Ann t • . aus th .1 % tlu.\ beat old 

people and » ven [ Mm k population 
1 Un\ 5 .ii. <. . »i. ■ ,il! the c c-unh \ h ,, v l Ihe 
nu nieM' e 1 me 1- so high hven 
miuMTilJ i'inm xictuns Itsti 
c onipletclx ’podsmietx 

1 lei dagiiivi ^cfim hm* iy i 011 tlunk 
it's any honor here 1 Women arc stiil 
second class e Hi/ens Ibex arc treated 
likedfitbx soiiei\ Indian men aiedis- 
gusling with then double standards 
And it's nut as ii Indians art loss racist 
than the* \men-\ms t.irmorcsom 
tact, with then Jasst ohm k»umi"s»: 
Hari|ans are treated worse than the 
Blanks are in Amei u a, that s tor sure 

Sunenia kept absolutely mum dur- 
ing tins outburst, too taken aback In 
her daughter s hostility tosa\ 
anything she did not t now w hat she 
had done lo incite sm h anger She 
went m er the r\ ents ot the past tew 
days, trvmg to put a tmgei don n units 
cause was it Im\ aust she made her eat 
an egg even . tax i^i mevbe Sunama 
though! 1! i.iis bevai.se . In tidied the 
girl's mom tw u e a d.i\ She vovvisi to 
stop 

Slu’ thought about all the ,-repaia 
turns she had made tot her daughter's 
visit home - Ihedrv ( leaning and reu 
pholstei mg soias the planting 01 her 
daughter's tavounti flower.--- carna- 
tion v and poppies <un 1 gladioli She 
had ex en bought a new carpet h»r the 
girl's room But her daughter had cast 
a cursory look over everything and 
remained silem This was the same 
giri who had always taken a great deal 
ul interest m the house, Sunamn's 
work, enc ouraging In r mother in 
every cent me When a shipment of 
garments wasdue. tliognl would orga- 
nise all the meals ami run the house 
When sunama' s talher was recox er 
ing m hospital fi « *m a gall hladdei opt 1 
rat urn, her daughter adjusted her ow n 
routine so ih.it slu* 1 * »uld be at her 
grandfather’s bedside, leaving Simai- 
na rree to puisne . hahwei she want- 
t‘d to Nos. liei daughlei had always 
been a .omtorl to hax t around m Ihe 

past 

Sunama pu kt d up lire girl's last let- 
ter and reread the lint's she had spent 
daxs ti ci rig to de« iphei 

" I lungs hax e turned out very dilte 
rent!\ from xvhal I e\pe« ted But it's 
wonderful here nox erthrless, there 



are so many opportunities to do the 
things I have alxvavs wanted to It is 
possible now to do what vou' ve 
always told me to get what I want tor 
mvoli " 

When shell. id first lead these linos 
sunama ha -1 been contused, but pavih 
ed herself with the knowledge that lu*r 
daughter would l»e w 1 ti\ her soon l- 1 
prox ide the answer.* Now , she' down 
ed and c rumpled up the letter ihe 
news she hail antic ipated had not 
come Sunama did not know anv more 
about hoi daughter's life in flu- New 
World Not a single word had lire girl 
uttered about her new h lends, her clas- 
ses, I iei piotessors, her apartment 
Whenox er Sunama asked her 
anything, all slu* rec ei\fd weremono- 
syllabu replies, her daughter's eyes 
shut against I he onslaught of lier 
mother s words Sunama wanted to 
shake' her daughter, demand answers 
she doserve'd them alter having work- 
ed so hard tor fins, her daughter's sue* 
cess How dare the girl deprive her ol 
the satisfaction that was partly hers’ 

They had shared so much 111 the 
past, Sunama believed she had confid- 
ed m her daughter often enough a be »ut 
the agony and humiliation ol her mar - 
ned life, the problems she' tac ed at 
work And her daughter told her 


about the problems she had handling 
mathematics, the tunes .hescoied the' 
highest marks in ail e\am, «>t won 
game of U'nivs Now , hn daughter >■ 
uiu h.ir.ictt'i istic Piivuljne'ts contused 
‘sunama it v\as strange and unseM 
ling, an oxplosn e s- >r t ot suliin u s 
Sunama planned a par iv for i'.ei 
daughter She worked vnit all the 
details, even called thecaleieis, but 
when the girl heard about il '•he 
mstantlv scjiiashed hc'i mofhi’i s 
plans ‘ I don't hax e anvilring to say Ln 
these people you re inviting In a 
wav Sunama was relieved her 
daughter was m no state lo be slum n 
oil i he smudges under hei e\ es had 
intensified, she was disinterested m 
people 1 , refusing to lake phono call' or 
indulge in idle c'onvei s.itjon ecu with 
liei mother No her daughter would 
not be dressed, would not control the 
lan l- v hair dial swam on hei c hooks 
She let used even to allow the' tailor to 
take’ her measurements tor the silk out 
tits Sunama had planned loi her 
Instead she- slum hod aiounJ in old 
track suits most of the tune While 
Sunama would ha\e nagged the girl 
about something about her daughter's 
O'* pression shipped her it xvas her inai- 
tentive, straying ga/.e Although she 
tried to follow the direction of her 


14 




t'N I* 4 , Snn l i , n.i ■ 'i !iunl\ hu used on ,i 
nl.mk spoi i »! i (hi vv.ili 

* 1 * m ' I.l-.l • i » i \ of her d at i ;*!• lei s 

' 1 'i* '■*> f .\.i in. * * timj : ••Wjiii; >!<!ihil;!i 
Im».’ * .«uli .w .•! iiu .’u I >. - lumped post 
bhe u .• "Mi’il u mi .t Miiliii*!, i * *t 
! • »t !m' \ onii 1 ’ niii.iM -iivpir*; { ip | lu i 
■ h ut Mn|. It* e .p si >nu*( me -.he did not 
know i , r jvi ngmsi a -.1 langei VVIi.it 
luui I, i^jn nod, w !n had hoi daughter 
i h. i m usf 1 2 • l c 1 1 im slim! withdiawn 
pi‘fs. »n ’ I lu kn mii‘ '-iMisImx* fell on 
herdaughti u Imp,! siu-li hid a» u »ss 
llu* louvi ii.iJl * 'i 'll-' KuU ‘unumiii 
al tin >' » i ! 4 ml! mnird, whn h 
vs as s! <g! itl \ paitod tin* pun hod look 
’I had .ism iiin\i o- e» tin- past lew days 
vv.is fi-mpi ir ink absent bpjdorx rvela 

■.hes streaked In ; jmIi skin Simuiiu's 

o\vs im i' ’i -i I tii iu n to hr: i l.iughtei 's 
■•■otllv rising i host stopping suddenly 
.it lilt- new fullness th.it extended 
imdei li.-i armpits I'ht diadow of a 
Imv's limb It'll diagonal!\ .kiosk t ho 
gnl s.shoiildns From somewhere 
bnnaina i ou hi Sii'.n tin* drone ot a bee, 
iU her nostrils Iiu 1 1 innanion scent of 
Mu* i iirn.itions w at led | host* faded ns 
slu- saw l hr way h* i daughter's hands 
ui’ir folded over her abdomen. palms 
dow nvvauls, in.i protective manner 
Smiiiina's eyes jerked upon in mogm- 
kon slu- saw hoi soil m the sann* posi- 


1 turn two dot ados ago |iist before hoi 
d.iughtet was horn - the sann shirk 
nrssnf Jut.. flu- samedotiisod energy 
Mie lemomhorod, witli clarify, 

( orr.un o\ outs ot tho past w ook I lor 
daughter s sudden aversion to mango 
ini k!o "It s tooo,l\ and snioilv 1 don't 
liko it " she remembered hoi own tori 
mg of bewilder monl "but it's a l wav*. 
boi*n 1 1 ho this darling ^ ou've a!wa\ s 
lihod it this way " I h r daughter had 
shirked -ill coniai t with hoi, pushing 
Iu*r aw ax whonovor slu- had tried t< » 
put lior a; mva round the girl, a strange 
gestuu coming Iromsurhan allot hon* 
.ito poison 

bhe stated at tho purple shadows 
under hoi daughter s o\ os j tho hand 
, that m. «i od inslmctiveh to Hu k ally 
j oliiioi in iso bun, ima notned the girl's 
blunt fmgei nails, the great big tool 
oiuasod m pahlied snoakors I lor 
daughter, so dihoront from her Mu- 
saw the girl's stomac h it distended in 
Sunama's mind, rose and gathort\1 tor- 
» o until it was hill blown, its unpin a- 
tions so overwhelming and hurtful 
And then it returned, thohumiha- 
lion of the past, the weight of i bodv 
on topot hers, tho rasping breath 
Minama could feel tho great waves ot 
I pain rippling through her bodv. mak 


mg her gasp I ms ini-iuoi v donated 
hor lempor,iri|\ horn 'ho new kaiow- 
lo.lgo that niado in i tiaust ln-r tinger- 
naiisin.'ohor palms *sho wa-.aw.ire 
suddonlx «>t tho IniJilo lr.u'.il* bom-sot 
hor fo ,, t hoot tli.it sin ldi u!\ i o! lapsed 
si i siio \> .is tailing l( Sailing dow n si»vo- 
r.il l light ol '■tops \ umblmv; dow n. 

• town, down imullui in. ad Mil a hard 

Sill I.ll O 

bbosaw ‘.ho Inn! ingot ndol it, Dus 
boti ii\ al bin* 1 1 u i lil m >1 lot it happen 

Sti n ken, she lookod o\ ei tin tlanng 

but d ors the he.h 1 that - kipped .nul 
dam ed .n ios petals ai.d disappeareu 
into tiie shadow • bownnl bl u saw the 
gaidoinu’s ['room on the l.u suh-ot the 
o.aiden its shai p '>piki * igid m the ' 
ou I w o -.tildes a ini the w eap< »p v\ as 
m hoi hauo She stood ! n mg hoi 
liaughU'i bi oalhnig i ard 1 lie sudden 
shail e i aused b\’ the sh id. n\ « >t hoi 
hnd\ tori od the gel s o\ i 1 open bln 
sat u|' hi hoi » hail, luiiuh tightoning 
over hoi bol!\ ^o'i«iut bei motiioi 
hissod . 1 1 1 c f i*\ 1 1 I luii'- I . o done lor 
\ou I lor ilaughloi simlod a. -.ilont 
sis ret smile ^ oi. i 'o (ho om who 
told mo to go foi w h.»t 1 w ar.Usl." she 
intirnmioii 

It v as tho gar done! n In' ho.mi tho 
si ream-, ami tot* in d tho pi >!n« ■ 


Time table 

All arrival and departure times are for Calcutta 

cote ® MONDAY © TUESDAY @ WEDNESDAY ® THURSDAY ® FRIDAY ® SATURDAY © SUNDAY 

-t;- v'Vv ' • IJdMESffC 

Departures Arrivals Departures Arrivals 


Departures 

flfcNo. Vsm Day* 


Arrivals 

Fit No. Tins Days 


Arrivals 


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Fit No. Time Days 

« CHrmttONCA 

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f,> U'i; ■ i ■, 


Arrivals 




Arrivals 


m DUBAI 

Hi I r i 

m KATHMANDU 


Fit No 

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j nt No. Tima Days 

Fit No. 

Time 

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Aj An mdia • BA Bntioh Airway 1 * • BG Birnan Bangladesh Airlines • Bl Royal Bmnoi Airlines • D2 Skyline NEPC • 05 NEPC Airlines • 1C Indian Airlines • 
KB Dnik-Air • KLM Royal Dutch Airlines • U Balkan Airlines • M9 Modi'uft • PF Vayudoot • RA Royal Nepal Airlines • RJ Royal Jordanian Airlines • RO 
laroiTi Air Transport • S2 Sahara India Airlines # SO Singapore Airlines • SU Aeroflot • 4S East West Airlines • TG Thai Airways international • 9W Jet Airways 


Departure 

Up Unit 


TRAINS 


EASTERN RAILWAY 
Howrah 

Ltotnl-Kalka Mali 
Amtltsar Mai! 

-Bombay Malt . . ■ ■■ 

Poorva (NfW Delhi) Express . « . . 

pixj'va (Hm Delhi) bvresa i 

• ‘ ' i \ 

Haklhanl Express . - .1* 

Hakfhan: express '.m • 

.■ ’ -I v'.-s’ ■ •' 

Judhpu* Express 

Shaabdi (Botan- Stan Oily) Express 
Hlmgfrt (Jammu -awl) Express ' - .'m, 

: ’ ■ ■ i v t \ 

(jiMshatl Express 

Gorakhpur Express 
pjrtwncha 1 (Gorakhpur) Express 

: ■ * ■ f ■ >, wi , s - ■ 

Doon Express .i.. ■. a ■<, •, 

1 ‘dyan Abha TrwTwi Express f .' >. 
Amrflsa Express 


Mthfia (Raoul) Express 
Kamiup (Giorahd!) Express 
Black Diamond hxpnsa 
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Asaraol Express 
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Jamafpur Express 
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Chambel (Gwalior) Express 

M 

Shlpra (Indore) Express 

‘I A'r', ‘ -ll \ IJI. 

•\ Vvl * ' .1 

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■■’,i ■ f i- 1 iv *.r 1 1 . ■ -h, 

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• «<. a., ih.i.‘ a r .is 


AttIwJ 

Time Dn 


i .■ 

' i ‘-.i'li . 

» ‘i A^ 

in- :i<‘>> 

1u . 4 « w 

" <■« «'*.■: 


I 1!. 1.1 , 

. .. -t'i\ 


•1 -m \y 

: M ■ Mt: 


*x. '"V 

«4', IM4 


Dsparture 
Up Tims 


SOUTH-EASTERN RAILWAY 

Howrah 

Mains Mall 

S Mall tu N,njpu. 

(Bombay) Express 
(Rourtta) Express 

' 'i'| v An i.ilunj.i. 

AMiMmaa express 
Kurla Express vix N.»oinjr 
Coromandel (Malm) B anos VIJ \ !! . r 
Fulaknuma (Sacundarsbsd) Bgxws 

A'r M.r li'iif *r '*•! 

Bangalore Express 

'in '.i'. i„\ 

Am .■n-'j.i, 


Arrival 

Urns Dn 


Tate Steel Express 

K: /i 


ispat (Jharaugudo) Express 

Tnagerb Express 

Hawil Hath Express 

.'! r 1 . 

*• .}(■ 
r hi 

b:i:’ 

K)n»> 

hou« 

Purl Express v.,i ( ni.-j' j 

JU 

‘U'ojh 

Jagnoth (Purl) Bqvaas 

;» ;n 

R 4 ir. 

Dhauli (Bhitiansswar) Emms 

East Coast (Hyderebwl) Express 

"i 1 

M 

iu 

nl'Ab 

Purulb Express 

•'■•j Srtl» nljy 

n Mj 


■*i : * t-u 1 ■* j'l.loV 

Aad Hind (Pune) Weekly Barren 

['S' & A,' 'J'.'.'i'HiV 

Bhubaneswar-Nse Delhi Raktonl Express -v * 

1 i A. .I’ll '".Illl.Jt V 

Nee Delhj-Bhuhanesaar Raktonl Express .• « 



ib M‘ 

Hi 1 * 



I'.'AMii 1 ‘‘H'.iMiy 

Gumhtfl Hrevrah Irtandnm Central Express 

V ..Os ■ ” S 'V 

Trivandrum Central Howrah - GuwaMI Express 

■■<!-■!•» «*.. 

Cochin Harbour Terminus - Gumhitt Weakly 
Express j A 1 1 'A' i* 1 . 

Thi;* ,irf, s\.\\ 

GwsfsH - Cochin Hartwur TannlniB WteoMy 
Express *, 7 i 

\r'}> Uj.J, , *n \ 

Cochin Harbour Tomlnus Barren . . ,i 

Vi. iiki.iipvii *i' a • !• twi.ir.' 


i-VK 1 Gunahati - Bangalore City Weekly Express .i .v i r - 

^ -wiii i A ■’ ■ it:ji ► ■ 

■ *iii ^ 

!*• I- 11 ’ Bangalore Cl^ - GuwMI Weekly Express iim ‘i i; 

*!lJAI.il. ^ l k. 

M-'i-ldv unit 

ENQUIRIES: For round the clock Information of Eaatom Rahway and South- 
Eastern Railway trains, please dial 2209545-&4 for Irncomlno trains; 2203535- 
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Railway and South-Eaatom Railway trains, dial 2203496-3500 (from 8 am to 
8 pm on wee kdays and 8 am to 2 pm on Sundays and dial tod IwHdaya). 
In addition, dm mil (for raoordad mformation on train rurmlna). 131 (mgar 
ding train operations) and 135 (regarding reservations). Train service ampaiy 
a Saaldah:,.350353&*S7. 


17 



IFESTYLE 

CLUBBING TOGETHER 

Uft -handers, asthmatics, ot eneeight people and supporters of euthanasia 
hare organised themselves in support groups, reports Shameem Akthar 


S upport groups wore once an 
delusively Western concept 
The most famous ot them all 
was, of course, the Old Bags 
Club, formed by Lady Moon, whose 
husband left her tor a younger 
woman. She joined together with 
other abandoned, middle- aged wives, 
to get over the trauma of abandon- 
ment Blit only after she had cut the 
left sleeve and left trouser leg of all her 
husband's Saville Row' suits and given 
a wav his vintage wine collection to the 
neighbours 

We don't have an Indian counter- 
part to her as vet, bui support groups 
are slowly sprouting in such cities as 
Bombay and Pune The Indian Meno- 
pause Society, for instance, where 
middle-aged women ran Jiscuss the 
hormonal changes that ensue once 
they stop menstruating Left-handers 
can get together to crow over the 
achievements of Mich other south- 
paws as Brian Lara and Amitabb 
Bachchan. 

Asthmathic patients can prove that 
they are as fit as anyone else hv climb- 
ing the 35 floors ot the World 1 rade 
Centre in Bombay or tweak the craggy 
peak of Duke's Nose mountain Ovei 
weight people, assaulted by the ima 


gesof Twiggy-thin models, can now- 
set up a charter of obese rights. And 
when age does wither and custom 
stales our infinite variety, we could 
choose \ dig-utn'd death h\ tommy the 
1" iithanasui ^ !ub 

Irritated l»v the right-handers' domi- 
nation in this 'unimanual' world Bipin- 
''handra Chougule, a television serial 
producer. set up the Lett hand *rs 
Association in Pune in 1 W2 The mem- 
bership n! over 4,000 disgruntled left- 
handers, who for long put up with 
even simple tools such as the scissors 
being designed only for the right 
handed, can gripe together now 

They i an muse on how. for centur- 
ies every' religion from Judaism, 
Christianity, Islam and Hinduism, has 
made left-handedness out to be 'profa- 
ne' "For puftis and receiving pwitd th« 
id! hand is forbidden. Not many, 
even educated adults, are rid of this 
superstition 'I hey must realise that 
any hand, most convenient in dav- 
to-day usage, should not be subjected 
to such prejudices/' savs Chougule 

He took ihe left-handers' point of 
view' to schools and institutes 
Teachers and parents, suffering from 
this hang-over of generations, ne»*d to 
be taught not to iorce left-handed 


children to use their right hand, says 
Chougule Methods like tying the left- 
hand behind the back, extreme 
methods like burning the left-hand 
and other such punishments, should 
go. Stammering and other deep injury 
to a child's psyche, left -handers' point- 
ed out, would be carried over to adult- 
hood if this did not ship. 

Chougule feels that they are beginn- 
ing to make some headway with their 
Left-Hander bulletins (modelled on 
the lines of the American magazine for 
southpaws). 7'hey have started getting 
letters from converts, mainly teachers 
and parents, admitting their mistake 

Not all left-handers feel discriminat- 
ed against Asnuta Hulayalkar dropp- 
ed out of the dub because the mem- 
bers "were making it out as if being 
left-handed made us all somehow' d li- 
ferent" Perhaps, she muses, it mav 
have been a problem with the older 
generation 

Prince Charles, tor instance, still 
appears m public with his left-hand 
held behind him in a weak attempt to 
hide his innate c hoice and CHieon Lli/a- 
both may not publicise hei own left 
preference, but the West has set ai. 
evamplc lor the less royal by mamifai - 
turmg gadgets and tools tor the 
left-handed. 

1 laving its pleas for sirmlai items tai- 
ling on the deal right ears of Indian 
manufacturers, the club intends to 
import such gadgets to cater to the 7^ 
per cent of the population which, a rec- 
ent F : rench survey established, are 
left-handed 

Icons in the left-handers' w r orld are 
aplenty Actors Sanjeev Kumar, Aitu- 
tabh Bachchan, former and current US 
Presidents George Bush and Bill Clin- 
ton, tennis superstar, Monica Seles, 
and umpteen Test cricketers. 

The club preaches to its members 
(aged from two to 70-odd) that nature 
inexplicably makes the choice of one 
of the brain hemispheres. The right, 
which determines the actions of the 
left part of the body, is associated with 
skills related to the musical, pictorial. 


Asthmatic patients of the You-Too-Can-Do-lt movement 



10 




Yamini Zaven of the XL club: Fat is fine 


intuitive and the telepathic world It 
this does not make left -handers speci- 
cil and talented, whai could? 

The choice also affects the rest of the 
body functions, like the left eai. the left 
heart etc I ett is Right, may well he the 
motto ol the left handers' club. 

/T^al is Right' is what members ol 
X tlvXl C lub .w\ oai by Yamini 
Zn\ eri, who herself comfortably fits 
into exti a-larg« M lothes. hast lei iried 
that 'at people should ha\ e the i ight to 
he, will tat 

This grandniece of Tribovandas 
Bhimji Zaveri has by now trimmed the 
problems of being overweight in a 
w'orld of weight- watchers. After feel- 
ing humiliated at visiting dress shops 
and being told "size mhtti hai" by snee- 
ring shop-owners she started her own 
garments company that promises 





Dr Niphadkar (left) of the 
You-Too-Can-Do It movement 


L 'Extra Elegance loi some figures only' 

S Her first exhibition, with siz.es ranging 
’ from 42 to 3b, was a '14V per cent ' ■ ,ell- 
1 out. She even modelled r garme 
having fun all along the way 
\ Her ciodo- 1 am fat, i nrn large and 1 
I don't have a pi * ibiem This has transla- 
J; ted into the XL t lub foi tat people wei* 
ghed down not by their obesity, but bv 
\ the prejudices of the world against it 
Zaveri says that her club would leallv 
take off in February this year. Her 
view's on this subject have already 
attracted .V) members who intend to 
meet every month to discuss the lards 
of problems that go with being over 
weiglrt. Slender spouses will be taught 
to accept their more generously 
endowed partners Medical, emotion- 
al, psychological and sexual problems 
will be discussed frankly al their 
meetings 

According U> Zavei i, this will not be 
a "weight wale hers club 1 din not 
advocating fat, but la( is line with a 
health) body and a healthy mind" 
Instead, the club will ottei relict to 
those w ho i eject the star\ ation-thin' 
models ot ft >d,w 

T he Indian Menopause Society was 
launched around end- 1 SNS by a 
group of medical practitioners who 
are "committed to fostering the care 
and well-being of mature and elderly 
women" It intends to demystify the 
scientific, jargon-riddled explanation 
ot menopause 

Anthropologist locelyn Scott Keed, 
University ot C alifornia, explains " 
(This) was the result ot the escalating 
energetic cost of gestation, lactation 
and c hildc are and the ensuing 
increase* in inlant helplessness and the 
^ concomitant piolongation ot |uvenile 
dependence* Natural selection favour 
od females who became premat ui el v 
interfile as the escalating cost ol rais- 
ing each offspring led to maternal 
depletion and made* it more profitable 
m terms of lifetime lepn iductiw sue 
cess to continue investing m existing 
I offspring rather than attempting late 
• piegiuincies". 

The Indian Menopause tetv, pio 
neored by Or l» I' fha ot the Hinduja 
Hospital, invites menopausal women 
to 'c heck out' Reed's interesting 
concept 

This multi disciplinary soi iet\ 
which invites women over 4t) to beco 
me members. purs through the shred- 
der the different myths asses laled 
with this mid life crisis 

It otters examples, c ourlesy Or 
Kama! 1 lazari's well- research* d ai li- 
cit 1 on the sub|cN t, on how post 


* w 



Ar»n k'/7i n A. , »*/ . ( "t*un f .» 'iiuctiliv i near - 

rtvt misami options generated by 
types like Howard lones whodemoli- 
shtKi menopausal women as a cu’-ica- 
ture ot their vour.^or ^'Iws al rhe.-i 
emotional worst’ and 1 i yt h lenfurv 
Europe whu h dubbed n lenopnu.seas f 
the Rubicon in women who decayed' 
after its onset | 

More such arm les 11 ■ th» mining 
months, aw sel to spread t h« light oj I 
reason and reassurance among mill I 

ions o’^vomen who suiter tin*- mul ‘ 

) ite event'* I 


R unning along snmlai lines is Hu 
^ oil loo-C. an Do-it movement 
within the Asthuiathn bncietv oi India 
which smashes the tears » i| patients by 
setting up -»e*’iningl\ insurmountable 
targets. Ape group siviuhl) Only 
ntenon tor membership \oti have to 
be asthamat.u and determined Tai- 
get 2,1 HK I ft abo\ e sea ie\ el 

Since lew hundreds <.r these 

patients have been regularly * lamhei 
ing lip hilloi ks, mountains and multi 
store Vi*d buildings to show ihe world 
and more important 1\- themselves 
that they are not less physic allv tit 
than anvone elsi 

l)r P V Niphadkni as a student in 
the US, was inspired bv the American 
model to >tait an Indian socieiv that 
would renun i man . tears ;n tin* 
hearts of asthmathu patients Bet hjs 
You To * 1 movement was h.s own inno 
vation The West scared In litigative 
patients, ii.nol vet reulv tor this trial 
bv -steps model that demolishes 
patients' tears 

[\u t ot this demolition pr* >i ess v\ ei 
surv eys which siiuiied whether 
patients' uuipient tears, su. h a-* eating 
bananas triggering orf an attack or 
that anv attdi k 1 - likelv to he tatal 
were true And educating the patients 
to use the many i elier giving gadgets 




| The cover of an Indian Menopause 
Society journal 

that e\ en the medicos otlen didn't 
know how to use 

The strategy that worked best was 
h»wve\ er, that ot setting impossible t.u 
gets which many taint-heai ted 'heal 
thy persons would also tine. ditficulL 
to meet bv ..iiirrvmg up mountains 
such as the l >uke's Nose. the slipper \ 
mi kholds ■ »t klidiulaU and kalsub 
h.ii scaling the tough tv.rt ot shiv.ni 
Muliiirni.il l\*th or the Ti-sloreved 
World T rude C entie, .i 2 .tha 1 n.UK *- 
were told that they could do am thing 
they set i heir minds to 

'l he las! such taiget, the World 
1 rad. 1 c Vnlro, toll short i d tin- staii - 
dead 2.1)00-11 marl Hut made up md it 
tu idtv bv tlu* ‘ruuteness ot the* steps' 
whn h, Dr Nhphadkar notes made 
i limbing u as strenuous, it not moie 
than l lie uk ky peaks 

At N on 1 cm \ e\ eryonr i - an 
a* lue\ eT I’here is Vi-veai old 
Madhukar 1 Vsm. .in old hand, who 
ran up life World 1 radcCVnlie m just 
etglu minutes. 75-v ear-old Modi who 
has umailmgly attended e\ erv <iimb 


You-Too-Can-Do-lt: Asthmatic patients scale hillocks to prove their fitness 





s' ■ wv % 1 


• ■ 

- 

....fo 


Vi, < 


• * ip* 'IM; jr 


and M-vearold V.P. Koppikar who 
walked five kms m 44 minutes. 

There are spunky young ones like 
12-vtw-okl r>eepti Karkhams who 
did 1,143 rope skips in 15 minutes, 
tinv si v-vear- old Pallavi Kulkarm 
who kangaroo- 1 ike did 205 
Su}ifitnama*kars in just 20 minutes The 
list of achievers at You - l ex > kee] >s 
inci easing each year 
This year's target will he 1 an 
improvement on previous ones 
Enthused by the show ol enthusiasm 
till now. Dr Nhphadkar plans to make 
this target e\ rn more ditticult It will 
be a rocky peak at the height ol the 
monsoons l he Alpino trekkers, 
volunteers who help il a patient can- 
not make it to the top and back and 
help in can ying him or her piggy- 
back, mav have their hands lull this 
season But Pj Niphadkai is sure that 
his i«\nn w ill make ’t, as usual 

Hero. too, icons art' llaunU'J to keep 
the morale up Members learn that it 
dslhmatliKs hko Ikn hchnii ■. riekc tei 
Ian Borhairi ami spirited ks V .e Joyner 
can do it. so v an llu*\ 

T h»* olmi'spheic js not quite no 
upbeat m the **ul iianasia « iuh*»r 
the Si ii let' tea th« Right ti* I >ie vvitJ’ 
Dignitv loundefl eminent sm ■! 

.il ti v ist Minot . Mas, mi m Hu* 1 igtmes 
Tlu Suj*nru» i k ourt ruling m T'*M 
sinking - low n sc. v l u n « hbu of tlu* Indi- 
an I Vital Code dial made suicide an 
olrexu e, ha*- giv t n Hus organisation 
n\o»e teeth 

Tlu coin ept ol lc!u ha Mai an or the 
living will' thiough w huh jvnpli 
chiH'se to die dignified deaths ha- 
increased in popularity And now. 

♦ here is a demand tor i h.tpteis cn H»\* 
soci-’tv m Chaiuligai h md IVitnaas 
well 

Nevertheless the numbers ai c not 
high despite tlu* tac t that this i oncoj t 
is not alien to India There are only 400 
inkers tor it here as opposed to ovei 
two lakh members ol the American 
ilia pier oi thesonetv 

Dr B N C 'old ha walla notes in one ot 
his well- researched essays. "The choi- 
ce to relinquish I lie is as b.isn as the 
one to live Kunti C.andhai i .md Dhn- 
tarashtra ended then lives in 
cw/wsprn.sf/w wJien they tell that the 
purpose ot their lives have been sie- 
ved BJusma prepared a bed ot ai mw- 
s and willed the ilav and time ot his 
own death " 

Members ot the Society toi the Right 
to Die with Digmtv want the same 
right that Bhishma took tor granted. 
And they arc v\ llling to wage a 
MuliMmmt ot t hotr own ■ 


s - *. iv*' 1 ' ".'Cl 


JUNIOR WHIRL ’ HAI i a; i= 



BOX SCORE! See if you can guess who gets 
which gift, then check through linos to see if you 
guessed right 


DRAW STRING! Draw three circles Place 
three cirtles. Place the numbers 3. 1 and (S 
within them. Now arrange the circles to form 
anumber that is di visible oy 7. How is it done? 


hn'UMM i»i u Mpp.ipisiJn \|suiii| 


TRICKY NICKY! ■ » 

Leave it to old St. /v/ 

Nick to torm through 
with an amusing par- 

tv trick. It requires a jrV' <1" 

slieet o( paper cut 

part wav through in j 

two three pieces with k. ^ ! \r ; | v! 

a simultaneous tug L il ■ :^T. | fry Wn 

the two sides. !§$ f f Y.1 

Alas, most times it [ 11 

will tear into two. 

Is there a secret? I lere's St Nick's answer 
Simply chomp down on the middle piece with 
your teeth, then vank the sides. Alaka/am, three 
pieces ensue. Hof 



U2PK8H 

■gpsiM 

mbpeib 


pHBKpO 

IIMHM 


Gas il 


CLUE-IN G YOU IN ON NET 
RESULTS 

LET S SEE it you can identity 
all si\ stepped-off NET words in 
the diagram, is accord with the 
clues below. 

Definitions: 

1- ABC, CBS and NBC, for 
instance (pL) 

2. Mind with a single focus 
(hyph. word) 

3. Marco Polo was one. 

4 . Thumbnail sketch. 

5. Kitchen storage places. 

6. Global info surfing place. 
How qiiirklv can you fill the 

blanks? 

hine limit. Two min 

i4'iu)|U! c* Nj.m-.ji' 1 ^ .in ■i*Vi i \ i 

Tirr..ni t > j .'unv \i.»s, i 


HAT STUFF! What bird is named (or a 
hat? Tho fez- ant What hat suits the 
queen? The reign -bonnet 









CALVIN AND HOBBES ■ WATTE RSON 


•.Amu 

VN' VU >0 «■ '■ 



. ■> r 

' ,! i 0 ’ n )■ v ; 


m tiRTF*i 

»• r. 

WT V»'» '/ fi 


wn ’ma*> ► iwiv 

i A»/» WM HV VI 
I I M MAT 
‘ J AMI' Ml Jr 
\ W'lfct.'MKfr 

* sj TV\V »\*Vi ' '\J& ' 

•T A<T'.vMV-, SFiM 

y V. JNWf . 


v.v*m as^it m\ mi* ^ iny.", 
Yhwvjmm m ua. ‘,>?l 'Comm Tvfv. - 

M* MS M'' 

( »;*. wwm iniw 

l 1 '/JfcT'Jl.V^ATV I 

-v T~ v v 'i ! v* '■* 

«* p> j,*L> I « * . ‘M r u* *;•* . b 1 ■' 

, '-y 7 / IV* l K’.U 


>*> ' , *y' / IV- 1 K\U M*'* 1 ' 

j ] - \ 

! / f { * MVt ijM’TJ A' .■ I 

i‘s - >. 


_ _ J M 


• [>ur \ A TVolV VCAJCUi ^ 
< Ml , Tow tml y.il»’ r - 


C. MAPM'Tt? vut; 

rm vut> xvvts to 
«v. *wsn oV «TiCto 

‘V If* N^ T TVWfTU* 
irMD’W'iu 





HEVftT. mV l*DS 

FL ITLA'nvi 
(NIT* tti£ 

’■■AW_r-.wV J 

f*rwrf> 




mi v»r,m , i * macl 

*A NUUL '*> ”»»£ 
ASYJELV n-i'J J 


* W rr-. 


f jAUVA vV\Aft 

, ■' MAM UMTM. VKVC \ 

X AV.tT-V Vtj V*i r #A \\ 

/ _ a.' ; I <-M« \ ' 

; iwn£fv.f \ 

■p ■ ® simjw 



*#?' 7 


































PORNLINE TRAFFIC 

The debate over electronic erotica is dividing cybetsfxtce r says ShameemAklhar 


D ivisions is cyberworld run 
deep. The reason: electro- 
nic erotica, which is rapidly 
leading the blissful anar- 
chy of cyberspace While some want 
the freedom to watch, read and down- 
load porn if they want to, others are int- 
ent on throwing it off the Internet. Puri- 
tans, worried about the un trammeled 
porn availability here, are calling for 
international laws to prevent children 
from having access to it 

India, making its modest entry on 


Internet, does not want to be tripped 
by misguided conservatives calling 
for a blanket ban on cyber-surfing 
Instead, urge Indian Net-addicts, 
there should be a movement against 
cyberporn. 

A small start was made recently 
when computer guru Vijay Mukhi 
among those frying to popularise 
Internet in India, and his associate 
Kanakasabapathv Pandyan, launched 
the NOPORN campaign. NOIVIRN 
( Now C )rga msec 1 1 Vople C )f f eri ng 
Resistance to NetPoin) has set itself an 
ambitious target It hopes to accumula 
te a million signatures of people across 
the glotie "'who are determined to 

:>k 


maintain the moral integrity of 
cyberspace". 

As Mukhi's letter tin the e-world, cal- 
ling for cyber support, explains, "Inter- 
net offers great opportunities for 
nations like India, which are owning 
up to the world, and these opport unit 
ics must not bo allowed to he 
strangled Pornography and net cri- 
mes will entourage governments to 
intei vent* and that is exactly what 
must be prevented at any cost, toensu 
re frt v and independent 


commumration." 

The million- signature momoran 
dum, with flourishes by amateur sur- 
fers like actor Anupam Kher, cartoon 
ist Mario Miranda, paintin' M.F. 
t lusain, environmentalist Bittu Seh- 
gal, will be presented to the secretary 
of the United Nations, pleading for 
eyber watch over pornographic materi- 
al And e- messages have started seep- 
ing on I ’and van Kfr?)e World .com and 
at the anti-poi n group's website . 

But disaster struck the 
NOIXTRN site when installation of a 
new* programme wiped out many of. 


the support letters that had been stor- 
ed at the surfers' HQ at Mukhi's office. 
Hut some letters, which have been 
salvaged, show the divergence of opin- 
-jon ovt r ryberpom's raison d'etre. 

S ome are outraged at the suggestion 
of mi >ral fencing T on)- Toews, inde - 
pendent computei consultant and self- 
. itointed 'Jack of a few' t ompiiter- 
. • Sated trades and master (or certified) 
« ■* none', questioned if there wa*- any 
moral integrity m the first place on the 
».< ! 

And as to the NOPORN declaration, 
which declares. "We are not here to 
1 estrain free speech or individual choi- 
ce but we. believe that the Internet, 
which has access to millions of homes 
work 1 wide, must not be subverted by 
peddlers of pornography and crimi 
nals out for a fast buck' , Toews orders 
conservative signatories like Husam 
and Miranda not to visit those areas 
Toews, the irrepressible net liberal, 
suggests that if the Indian govern- 
ment intervenes against net crimes 
and cyberporn, it deserves to be 
Thrown out'. And ends his e mail 
note, saying, "1 totally disagree with 
your message ' 

Another surfer, l>on Marti from 
Indiana University, dashed off his 
curt order to NOIA.'IRN: "Please keep 
this kind of off-topic posting off the 
sci newsgroups." 

I lopping in and out of this website 
is the surfer couple Prasha nth and 
Meeta from Avon who alternate bet 
„veen giggly, partly juvenile queries 
on the NOrORN moralist attitude 
and abusive language that reeks of 
words like 'Packin' 

T hey write. "I el's see now ..public 
figures from the country that holds kis- 
sing m movies to be pornographic , but 
finds murdering new bride's for hav- 
ing small dowries to be acceptable, is 
now presuming to judge what gets 
posted in the net. Woooo... sit,back 
and watch the fun!" 

The NOTORN backers, on the other 
hand, are shyly supportive and just 
obediently punc h in T support 
NOPORN'. The colourful language 



A sample of cyber pornography 




M.F. Husain 

seems to he prerogative ot I hi* liberal 
group 

)o!m H Robertson a mechanical 
engineer and sheep farniei from 
( aecnville loi example, who files 
"How do you propose to cenxoi the 
Internet, Miv.r no single bodv is m lm » 
in i haige oi it ' 1 t>eheve that votri 
Attempt to eliminate por w * lgraphv 
and hustling o:t the Internet is as futile 
as tilling the (H~e.ui bv living into it 
t .et .1 life " 

American MiJuH (ones seems jn-.l 
A'- mi fled by the NOTORN puntaiw 
? Icsiiuushc* their intent with "Yom 
position that you should bo tree to 
express your opinions to the woi Id in 
blatant disregaid ot established net 
use while trying to limit I nx* expres- 
sion in others is dishonest, hypocriti- 
cal and repugnant In short, the porno 
graphers wlu> post only m established 
groups tor that purpose have fai bet 
ter manners than you " 

W ht’w! but never mind what the 
libertarians say, nations are wak- 
ing up to the alarm bell ol porn pro- 
blems Cyber f reedtmi will bo trashed 
once legislation, evolving through 
such freewheeling debates, finally 
muzzles the electronic mouse and irre 
vocably locks the computer against 
misuse. Already most nations have 
given their policemen a new beat 
cyberspace. 

This, it has to be conceded, is a very dif - 
ficult boat, indeed. First, the keyboard 
seat offers criminals more anonymity 
than a packed tram platform Second, 
the global nature ot surfing covers up 
spoor of the criminal. 

Pandyan says that the US senate has 
evaluated certain legislation now 


being subjected to public debater 
C )nce the dust kit ked up ovei these set 
lies down, tlie American law would 
set a trend, "but even thi^ will create 1 a 
problem since most countries resent 
the big brothei attitude of America 
and s<v m these laws a subtle hint of its 
imperialism, but till then, porn sites 
will lx* lreelv available observes the 
Net specialist 

Those who visit these sites are post 
ed with newsgroups through registra- 
tion that required surfer s ciedil card 
number. Some groups issue a warning 
that the surfer isenfeiing the site at his 
own risk ot lesponsibihtv Nations 
likc( terniany obviously donut 
believe that much rus*d is paid to the 
latter and in (nnnan u-nsored the new 
sgroup CompuServe 

Mora I -keepers m C.ermanv tell that 
the material dnw nloadcd bv C om- 
puserve's voyems violated the 
country's child pornography laws It 
also included material that is illegal 
for adults to my and pornography that 


^ is legal for adults but unsuitable toi 
children 

CompuServe, unable to just jam its 
surlers in Germany, has clamped 
down its worldwide ac cess to 200 sex 
bulletins, but since it could not jus! 

( lam up in i iei many, it has temporari- 
ly blocked access to four million users 
'Though company oft it lals carped that 
they should he treated on par with 
phone companies which are not held 
responsible tor what speakers mum- 
ble into receivers, it has buckled under 
( icTiTum blockade and is creating a 
software dial will bar list .erman 
uscisfiom such sc‘\ dis. ussionsdeclaf - 
i\i illegal m t rormany 

C.ay giciups frothing overt Jenna 
nv's decision to v hannol oil homo 
sexual piefiTem es online, protested 
bv pouring Ik*!*! in sewers m tionl ot 
the ( .oelhc Institute in San Francisco 
They called tor a boycott ot Ciermjn 
goods Angry and uncharitable com 
pari sons were made 1 to Nazi consul 
ship and book burning under Hitlei 

his debate over online lit vrt \ , link- 
ed irretnevablv to cvherpurn, is 
set to grip ever \ coinpuler-IrieruJIv 
nation Those, used to careening 
unshackled through the Net balk at 
the though! o« new c hecks but that 
freedom, unlettered b\ national laws, 
enjoyed h\ TS million net users over 
(0,000 new*- groups worldwide, may 
finally be reduced to a phantom 

Ac cessibihty has made i vbcipom 
all- age pervasive bntam iailed a com 
pule i consultant recently tor down- 
loading netporn, while t >\loid inmci 
si t v blocked its student access to the 
Net alter tracking '1,00b connections 
made to sexual video clips A survey 
m C entral I anvashuo reve.iU'd that 
one among ten sc hoollug s air glued 
10 compute* porn 

Another American sur\ ev establish 


Vijay Mukhi- Leading the anti-pom campaign 





rd thilt.il uf»»* university l^oillol th* 

H » most taithtullv *il nowserouj 

luii ! alainiiiig names -nich as alt- 
sex stones, rw arts # eiolua and 
ah sex bondage. Fmuif;h to set every 
r tghMhmkmg parent sweating and 
waiimg tor l.iv\s to barricade routes to 
such sit-in sexual giaiification 

I lowev. or. Muh h\ .toncal con*erv«i- 
tivt reaction leads lo inflations silmi 
tions too In LXx ember, AmonuiOnh- 
ne detidcd to purge tour-letter and 
r.u uil epithets In its /eal, it axed 
‘breast’ (rum its vocabulary till it was 
l minted ouMhat the word was v ital tor 
div ussior. ofi nut in me. nan < aiuer 
.liimru; women 

Panu km^ i >vor other sue h repeats 
and the tea i ot rightist might gaining 
ovei night the NcUunsortiuw rompri 
smg Micrusoif. International Busnx-v* 
Machines. Apple Computer. Netscape 
C ormnunu ationsand other maforonli 
ne services have da uicxl to lorm the 
Into) mats *n t b.ghu as Parent..! 

I in power rut fc rn s .roup dial -a ill give 
parents, tea* hers oi lorupiiPie*. the 
so 1 * ware to i log smut on Net ( » roups 
iikeSurtvA ate ii w hat h otters online 
smut h!ti rs, v\ iH tnonu port ot the 
i onsi srliuin 

M po!u ing would ensure sumv.il 




Mano Miranda 


. «! the World With’ Web muiti 
i xliu lab at k .^‘.bridge m Vlas 
. bused e working on sikh web 
( hnologx to he released _iOon among 
j iik s|i k ken Net-users 

\ his e. in response to It it* two hills 
«s uir, debated hotly m Amerna The 
hist one passed lit June h\ (ho Senate, 

I he fommunuations l.Vccney Act. 
u huh would blanket all online profa- 
nity The other bill, Internet Freedom 
«md Family Tin powermen l . calls tor 
sell watch instead ot blacking out ell 
s* \ troni the sc reen. 

All this is clear iv no child's play 

I h« nigh c vhorponi, m its latest turns 
formation has tumped into the cartoon 
bandwagon. An American site on I he 
V. eh w.i:- switched oft the screen 

be* aiise it ottered ‘I >irtv T>isney' bv 
rr working the innocent antics of 
dl.uiin and Princess Jasmine into a 
c «md sexual clinch. Madein I a pan ero 
t.* a cartiHins like the Manga, titillating, 
v :lb images ot demon rajus are also 
-.11 n\ er the » omputer screen. 

I lie prudes have enough reasons lo 
m learn themselves 'blue'. Radicals, in 
retaliation ridicule the yellow in their 
jaundiced eve's. The debate over cvber 

I I cedom is set to become more colour- 
1 n I As the wc >rld gix*s into paroxysms 
o\ er this, India which is still on the 
hinges ot the Net, can only watch the 
ttWHtoha from the sidelines. ■ 






Sketches 

POTTED HISTORY 

What the chattering classes are talking about 


This week: The Maharajas 


H ow it all began: 

Prom the son 
and the moon if 
you believe the 
Maharajas themselves. 
Actually, very few of them 
can trace their origins back 
to more than a couple of 
centuries with the possible 
exception of 
Udaipuv/Mewar. 
(Remember what we learnt 
at school about Maharana 
Pratap?) 

So, where did they come 
from then?: The vast 
majority were governors, 
viceroys, generals and the 
like who jumped up to the 
throne. The Nizam of 
Hyderabad was the 
Mughal Court's man in the 
south; Gwalior (Scindia), 
Baroda (( iaekwad) and 
Indore (Holkar) were 
Shiv.iji's generals. For 
instance, Scindia is merely 
a corruption of the lamiliar 
Maratha surname, Shinde. 
And the Holkars are not 
even Marathas. Others 
were created by the British. 
Is there a peeking order?: It 
is a bit silly but it has to do 
with gun salutes. Top of the 
league are the houses with 
21 -gun salutes: Kashmir, 
Gwalior, Mysore, Baroda 
and Hyderabad. Then you 
have 19-gun salutes, 

17-gun salutes, and so on. 
Does anybody still care?: 
Well, the Maharajas 
certainly do. Over the last 
sevcm years, Kashmir, 
Gwalior and Baroda have 
all entered into marital 
alliances. 

But isn't Gayatri Devi a 
big deal?: Oh dear! At last, 
the embarrassing question. 
Well it all depends on how 
you define 'rag deal'. The 
Maharajas don't reckon 


that Jaipur is a major house: 
the family first costal up to 
the Mughals and then to 
the Brits, so there's lots of 
money in the family 
coffers. But no, nobody 
give*.* the Jaipur house a 
great deal of respect. 

And Gayatri Devi?: She's a 
pleasant old dear, really. 
Her mother, a Baroda 
princes* married to Cooch 
Behar (Ma Cooch was her 
nickname and not, as it 
often incorrectly reported, 
Cooch Nahin), was a great 
beauty and a jet-setter. 
When Avesha (Gayatri 
Devi to you and me) 


married Jai (Sawai Man 
Singh of Jaipur to the rest of 
us), they made a glamorous 
ample and spent many 
evenings with the jet-set. 
That made them 
glamorous. But glamorous 
is not always the same as 
respected or influential. 
And is Bubbles like 
Daddy?: Nopes. He's not 
so keen on the jet-set. He 
made a good soldier 
(decorated for valour in 
1971) and lacks his 
step-mother's 
ambition. 

The Maharaja for the 
Gayatri Devi crowd in the 
Nineties is Bapji Jodhpur 


(or more properly, plain 
Mr Gaj Singh), an old 
Ftimian, who loves plaving 
the Maharaja for foieigners. 
All of this can't really 
matter Oh yes, it can. It 
doosn' t mathT politically 
— only Madha vrao Scindia 
could win a parliamentary 
seat on his own And it 
doesn't matter financially 
— Dhirubhai Ainbnni 
could probably buy out the 
top ten Maharajas without 
having lo sell a single 
duplicate share (though 
Jaipur would require a 
little extra digging into the 
pocket). 


But it still matters to the 
Maharajas. Most live in 
worlds of their own where 
servants bow low and even 
friends are encouraged to 
address them as 'Maharaj' 
For every Bubbles, Kar an 
Singh or Madhavrao 
Scindia, are ten jokers in 
turbans and achkans who 
don't realise that times 
have changed. 

And it matters socially . 
They still bow low tar 
Bubbles when he enters 
Annabel's (the one owned 
by Mark Birley , not the 
Punjabi rip-ott owned by 
LaHt Sun) and Delhi 


hostesses regard Bapji 
Jodhpur as a groat catch 
Lven Gayatn IX'vi «.an stop 
all conversation at a party 
simply by entering the 
room. 

Is this because they are so 
elegant?: Alas, no. The 
Maharaja* have the worst 
taste of all Indians. The 
women wear flowery 
chiffon saris (georgettes 
when they can gel away 
with it); anti the men look 
like refrigerators draped in 
ill- fitting jodhpuris; anil 
their homes are design 
nightmares. 

But there must be some 
people with style?: Well, 
Tiger l\itandi, definitely. 
Karan Singh has his own 
elegance if you forgive the 
safari suits. Scindia has 
started dressing better over 
the last few years and his 
sister, Vasundhara Raje, 
has taste. But the rest look 
like Wodeyar of Mysore 
who. in turn, looks like a 
cross between Satish Shah 
and Oliver Hardy 
How does one address a 
Maharaja: ' You" if he's 
well-behaved, "I Icy, you" 
it he's not Don't even 
attempt "Your I lighness" 
Most will never let you call 
them anything else*. Karan 
Singh and Pataudi will 
protest at the use of the title 
though, and Scindia will 
mumble "Cotne oft it" 
while looking secretly 
pleased. The rest will 
wonder why you've 
forgotten to bow. 

What shouldn't you say to 
the Maharaja?: Say what 
you like. Bui remember 
that most disasters in the 
Chamber of Princes begin 
with the words: ' Fed like 
another drink?" 0 



Gayatri Devi: The grande dame of Jaipur 



First person 

SHWETA SHETTY, the dusty and sensuous pop singer, hasshot into thelimeUght with herchartbustmg , 
number Rukmini, Rukmini front the film Raja and het album Johnny joker, She has been nominated for . 
the Filmfare award for Best FnnaleSmger for the Rangeela number, Mangta Had |Cya 



\ A That Is your idea of perfect 
VV happiness? 

Peace of mind, being content 
What is your greatest fear? 

Having a car accident; cockroaches. 
Who or wv^at has been the greatest 
influences jpimr life? 

My mother. 

What do you dislike most in others? 

Dishonesty, disloyalty. 

What do you dislike most in yourself? 

1 am very brutally honest and that 
sometimes leads me to trouble. 

What is your most precious 
possession? 

My soul. 

What objects do you al ways cany? 

Chocolates, lipstick and a couple of 
photographs. 

What makes you most depressed? 

Poverty — specially children 
begging on streets. 

What do you dislike most on your 
appearance? 

My nose — a bit too big. 

Whalt is your favourite word? 

Shit. 

What is your favourite journey? 

From Bangkok toSanmfin 
Thailand. And hopefully, the journey 
to hea ven. 

What is your favourite dream? 

To win a Grammy. 

What is your nightmare? 

TItal I am marrying o frog. 

What or who is the greatest love of 
your life? 

I am loveless right now and am 
learning to love myself. But my 
greatest loves arc my niece, nephew 
and my friends. 

What is your source of sustenance? 

Music, low, my songs, chocolates 
and food. 

On what occasions do you lie? 

When f reallv have to — if it will 
help me. 

What is your 
nightmare? 

That I am marrying 
a frog 


What is your greatest regret? 

f started my singing career too late. 
What has been your happiest 
moment? 

It's yet to come. 1 have never had 
either any wonderful highs or 
depressing lows. 

What brings tears to your eyes? 

Sad movies, love songs. 1 once 
saw a beggar on a cold winter night 
ora! that brought tears to my eyes. I 
wished I had a coat or a shawl to give 
him. 

How do you relax? 

By working out, with music and on 
Ihe phone. 

What do you envy most ito others? 

Nothing. I am a very confident 
person and I always look at the good , 


What do you dislike 
most on your 
appearance? 

My nose — iC s a bit 
too big 

side of things, in others and myself, 
How would you like to be 
remembered? 

As the greatest singer who ever 
lived. 

How would you liftefn die? . 

On stage, in my husband^ arms, 
vVith my children abound me. ; 





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25 FEBRUARY 1996 flfr 


The Telegraph 



Made In India 

m Pterhafps, to thi? list of the 
new breed of Indians ano- 
ther three types could be 
added ITHseovery of Indi- 
ans' December 31)* The , 
yuppie intellectual/ for 
instance. 

This type likes to go 
about the world sporting a 
dishevelled look, his nose 
buried in Milan Kundera 
paperbacks. He tlirts with 
girls like those models in 
colourful commercials and 
watches Superhit Muquabla 
on TV. 

The other type is a 
group of ladies, ins pi it'd 
by tin? queen of sleaze, Hho- 
bha Dv, who have discard- 
ed ail convention and have 
adopted an J-don't care 
altitude that is quite 
puzzling. 

The third type, may he 
influenced by than a and 
Prince Charles, j* out to 
destroy the myth that mar- 
riage is a noble institution. 

Do you agree? 

Debaahis Sen, 

Culaittu 

M Hie nco- Indians may 
look a class apart from the 
masses but they are a part 
of this composite cultutc 
called India and may well 
be accepted. 

Another prominent bre- 
ed of Indians is the now- 
| look politicians. They 


The new-breed Indians 

enjoy tremendous media 
hype and if they are well 
conversant ii> the queen's 
tongue they will be l*q>ped 
bv all glossies and TV new- 
smagazines to give l heir 
views on anything from 
Ayodhya to hawala. 

They have a suave, eru 
dite look about them and 
are generally more popu 
Jar because ot their classy 
outfits good kxiks and 
Western mannerisms 
Sunt! Banerjee, 

Cokuita 

to There was a time when 
a politician was identified 


by the Gandhi cap ho 
wore There were very few 
Congress leader* of the 
pre-independent jx^riod 
who did not sport a Gan- 
dhi cap. 

Later. Pdtuiil lawahurlal 
Nehru made the cap a per- 
manent fixture of his atti 
re Moiarjj IVsai and Lai 
Hcihadui Shastn. veteran 
Congressmen that they 
were, were never seen 
without the white 
accessory 

But curioush enough, 
the present Prune Mini 


BBHRSRI 


sler, Narasimha Rao, is 
always seen with his head 
uncovered. 

PraMad Aganvtil, 

to Anurag Mathur should 
have named a new Indians 
who fitted the various sec- 
tions of new Indians he 
talks about. 

Art a Mishm, 

Cuttack 

Only Fashion 

to Since the Magazine tan- ! 
not gi ve up i ts fasti natu >n 1 
for fashion, if might as 
well rename if self as /V 
Telegraph Fa>hum Magazine, j 
Stircndra Rathi f I 

Calcutta ! 

I 

How About j 
Heritage? ! 

to 1 would request the 
Magazine to re-tmixhbuv j 
the Heritage column by j 
Kathin Mitra. i 

Parthn Ptntim MiulaK, 1 

Howrah j 

Identity Crisis | 

to I he hirst Person o» j 

Ashish Vidvarthi (jar.uaiv 1 
2H) contained wrong inlor- ! 
mation in the introduction 
t rink* s}i i'- a t h.mu U*i in 
/.oe ] V\ I Jjs/.va /nui not 
Kitruk- heiw as siaii d 
Ihpiih ^nntu^i. 

CrifcnPi ' : 



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IS b 1. k 1!’ Il'i • ! 



Mike Pay 
















Should ] >r Karan Singh fx i our next {’resident' 

Seenui Goswami {mi/ites the (x’st candidate yet 

BUT FIRST. Tilt’ OBVIOUS QUESTION- WI IAT KINI H if I'Ki-sl! ) 
ent should India have? 

The answer, of course, is equally obvious. He should be 
intelligent, compassionate, secular, and a man of stature. 
And, in addition to all this, he should have the ability to 
inspire the loyalty and trust of the nation which he leads, 
albeit as a titular head. 

So much for how things should be. How they really arc 
is, in fact, another matter. 

In recent times, Indian Presidents have more often than 
not been political hacks, who have been rewarded lor a 1 ite- 
time of service to the Congress (read the Gandhi family) 
by being elevated to the highest post in the land. Giani 
Zail Singh is, of course, the best example of this breed 

Looking back it is difficult to find more than three* Presi 
dents who were men erf consequence. There was Dr 
Rajendra Prasad, who participated in the freedom strug 
gle; there was l^r Radhakrishnan, who was a philosopher 
and academician of note; and then there was Dr Zakir 1 lux 
sain, a giant in the Muslim community. Leave these three 
aside, and all you have is a list of mediocrities, who found 
themselves in the top job by some twist of fate. 

Next year's presidential election promises to be* no diffe- 
rent. There are the usual suspects lined up. Atal Behan Va|- 




payor, Narasimha Kao, K.K 
Narayanan, etc. (set box), bul not one 
person who could hold out hope to a 
nation that stvms to have succumbed to 
a soul numbing cynit ism. 

Hut if the whispers in I Vlhi are to be 
believed, then* is a wild iard in the 
oftmg No. it's not the King ot Spades; it 
is the tormer Mahara|d ot Kashmir, L>r 
Karan Singh 

B ut why IV K«iran Singh? He has 
btvn out of the [>olitical arena since 
the Eighties, it vou discount a short stint 
as me Indian ambassador in 
W ashingt^i By all ace mints, he has 
spent this period travelling the world, 
delivering lectures on Ivhalf of the 
Vu.it I Iirniu Samaj that he founded, 
and the inter -faith movement of which 
he is a leading member 

So, w'hal makes him an ideal 
candidate for the presidency ot India 7 
hir one thing, there is n v i denying 
that IV Singh is a man ot stature His 
intellectual achievements are bevond 
dispute, his philosophic treatise on Sri 
Aurohindo is still regards! as a 
masterpiece. And wlule he is a deeply 
religious man, nobody doubts his 
secular credentials 

In fart, they were reinforced m the 
most positive way possible when Hr 
Singh and his wife, Yasho Rajya 
Likshmi, visited Kashmir m the 
dltermath oi the Ha/ralbal crisis. 
IXspite the strong anti-Indian and even 


stronger nnti-t iindu feelings hi the 
Valley, the Kashmiris greeted J> Karan 
Singh, the 1 Xigr.i Maharaja, with cnes 
of. " Harmin' bcuulshnh aa^ai/r " 

( )r Singh was even asked by the 
militants to mediate in their 
negotiations with the government But 
when the funner Maharaja offered his 
services, he was fobbed off by the 
Governor, (General K V. Krishna Kao. 
The government of India, it was made 
dear to him, did not want liim to 
interfere m the situation in the Valley. 

The main reason for this rebuff was 
I V Singh's position on Kashmir. While 
he has never come out m support of the 
militants' call for aziuuh, he is at pains to 
pom l out that there have been atnx ities 
on both sides in the Valiev. While it is 
true that the militants have taken 
recourse to vi< »lence. the security forces 
tex) have violated the human rights of 
the Kashmiris. 'These stork's are too 
well documented foi us to ignore 
them," IV Singh slid in an interview "I 
think we should send our human rights 
commission to Lhe Valley to investigate 
these' violations." 

( aven this position, IV Karan Singh 
is one man even the Kashmiris 
(including those in the Valley) would 
be happy to see as IVesidenf of India 
And who knows, it may help tone' 
down the cries of "Axtadi" that rend the 
air in the Valiev these days 



With wife Yasho Rajya Lakshmi 



Those in the race for India's 
presidency: 


ATAL BEHAK! VAJPAYEE 



The current position within the BJP 
is that Vajpaywis its prime ministe- 
rial candidate. The party intends to 
fight the general ejection under his 
stewardship; not that it has much 



Choice, now that L.K. Advani has 
fallen victim ho the hawsUa scandal 

Btt t what it the 8JF fails to secure 
amajority.andhastoformacoali- 
tion with the Congress to come to 
power? There is already talk in 
Delhi of asecret deal between Nara- 
simha Rao and Vajpayee, accord- 
ing to which oneo? them would . 
become Prime Minister and the 
other President irt such a scenario. 

And the betting is that Rao will 
take the better job, leaving Atalji 
with the presidency. 

NARAS1MHA RAO 

Becoming President of India is not 
what Rao reahy wants; he'd much 
rather be Prime Minister for ano- 
ther term. 

But Rao knows as well as anybo- 
dy else that politics is the art of the 
possible. And that if the BJP is the 



senior partner in thecodliifon 
government outlined aboveythen . 
hemayWftwoedtoghfeuphis , 
daimtothetopjob. ‘ 

Instead, wemay wdlbetreated 
toShri P. V. Nara&imh* Rao, Presi- 
dent oflndia. 


SHANKAR DA YaL SHARMA 

■ : 1 ' . '-'y.- . " * r . ■ • m' 1 , 


■* if 

X: ; 







K ashmir was w lirrv i» all Ny.an 
Karan Smj;h w,i‘. N>m to 
I lari Sm>;h ami Vliliaran: I ,u t , I )i \ ion 
ni,mh rn\ I hr Ma!iaia]a h.ui 
rem.imnl diiKlkssilt^pjir h,r ,n;j 
Ukirrnxl Iwur KaranSm ? 'li ivasK»mot 
111' third w ili* 

Tin* birth U»oV pl,unr» aim-, m »hr 
hr. mo*, u hm* tin Malur.'i.i'' 
ontoura^r had tnkon o\ i-: l!u rnMm 
ihird floor oMIh Mat'JK- ! lotrl Hum 

W 4 1 ‘- inil'.h IO|Oli III,' w Ih'Ti \ !’’• II In ‘III 

K«ishmu thronr was Imi n ami 
-.rli'hralioiisiontinurd tiil Mu* j ■ ni' 
K'turnod to India 

Hut Karan Smpji - rhik'hi'oil v\.r iu>f 
a partu ularlv liappvonr IK hi* n.\n 
a< i omit. Ins paii‘»ns urmtiMi.littryn’i 
is aloi»i; !ni extenilrJ 

jvruxis ot tm»r f oi thr ini’sl paii !i>r\ 
m.untaimxi ^opaiah’ losuh-ni i*s and 
till* \ OMTIp > U 'Ii/IIMI llldsiN hismoihr! 
lor ohr hum rvm da v and hr i.ilh", 
on« ci'n’i’i' ihnv J.w s 

This was In m» pvm'Is ,iii ulr.i' 
i hildhood r:n lmumrui hut n 
propari-d Karan Sm^h loi in* np.'iir 
that lav aluMd n »«■ lust m nos » o ..m-' 
hr hh*( ami* o> ith Iho IndnjM nd m • nt 
India I lis iatiio> M iIi.imj., i i,a i spii.h 
was i shod to ml:*: llu* Inslmm* "f • »r 

AiO’ssion lr »■ u»rdamr w ili* w iikls 
Ka d’.'ntr would hi\nmr p.nt ,»t ■ u ) 1 i 
I la) i ‘mp.j;!' ditlu H*d o\ i ■? this 
JtM-.ioi!, and withpoou mason ifju 
lp.KVil In loin Mir l mnn 1 ♦» Indi.. tin 
Muslim n\ijor:l\ N allov wouM lu 


tber term. hut unfbfhjnat^yndbp- 
dy seemsto itgree wtfKhini. The ' 
genetelxamsenaislsthati^ 
too old and In very inditferentheal- 
th.tjfeflqe, he couldn't possibly do 
)i»sttce to Jtils duliws as hpad of stole 
were he re-elected. The argument / 



though, and he is constantly lobby- 
irtgfpr another stint In Rashtrapati 
Bhavan. . 


K'4t;Ki*AYANAN 



Astrong section within the Con- 
gress is very keen that the man next 
in line, Vice-President Narayanan, 
be elevated to the presidency. The 
reason that Narayanan is an eru- 
dite man, has served in the foreign 
service with distinction, conducts 
theKajyaSabha with rare dan, and 
is in every way qualified to be the 
next President 
What's more, his would be a 
very politically correct choice, 
indeed. Narayanan is a Harijan, 
and if he succeeds Sharma, a Brah- 


ntun, the Congress would haw pro- 
ved that it has no caste bias 

L.M.S1NGHVI 

Currently serving as India's high 
commissioner to the Court of St 
James, Singhvi is very keen to come' 
back to India. And as die President 
of the country, no less. 

Singhvi; who has never been 
( closely identified with any party, 

1 hopes that he may become a consen- 
sus candidate in case no party has a 
majority in the electoral college at 
the time of the next presidential 
poll. 

NAJMA HEPTULLAH 

Until now, nobody is taking her 
candidature too seriously, but 
Na jma has a lot going for her. Site is 
a Muslim, a woman, and has been 
in active politics all her tile. 

Of couisc, these very facto is ma> 
work against her candidacy, Indi- 
an politics being what it is 




unhappy vvjfh his choice. And if he 
went i ‘ver to Pakistan on the grounds 
that his was a Muslim -dominated state, 
he would anger the \ i indie- of Jammu 

But even as the Maharaja wnstled 
w r ith this problem, the Indian annv 
marched into Kashmir to help make lip 
his mind Kashmir fcxvame part ol 
India, but 1 lari Singh hmiseli - who 
was not Sheikh Abdullah's favourite 
person - was sent into exile in Bombay 
on June 20, 19-19 

At the age of 18, Karan Singh lx^ame 
the Kegenl ol the State, with Sheikh 
Atxlullah as lYnne Minister Singh was 
not m the l\^i of health at this tune, 
either He had had a re* urrent hip 
problem, whu h had kept lum m bed tor 
I ho better part ol two years, and tor 
which hi* had undergone surgery in 
New York. But despite these 
constraints. Sngli tru'd to fulfil the 
duties that should, in the natural course 
• >( events, have t * *en his father's 

In NM, Short h AKhillah * alletl for 
an abolition of monarchy in Kashmir, 
an*l decreed tfut the slate would haw 
an elected head of state, w ho would lx 
c aUtd Sadjt < -Kivasat Karan Singh 
wa*> made the hrst Sadar-c Riyasat lo 
make tht' transition simpler anil easier 
for all concerned 

Maharaja I fan Singh was outraged 
With Parooq Abdullah 


at this move, hut Karan Singh himself 
was quite philosophic a! about it 1 fe 
knew in his heart that the feudal order 
was on its last legs, and that the 
Maharajas would soon be history. 

In the midst of all this, Smgh took 
time off for what was, perhaps, the 
most important event m his personal 
life* his wedding to Yasho Rajya 
1 akshmi, a Nepali princess on March 5, 
19S0. Karan Singh was 19 years old. and 
his wife was just 1 \ a gauche teenager, 
w r ho hail l*d a very sheltered life m 
Nepal, but was nowexjx-cted to 
entertain heads of state and 
government in a style lo which they 
were aeinslomed 

That early framing - - not to mention 
being thrown into the deep end - - paid 
oft 1 ot fay. Dr Singh and \asho Kajya 
are counted among the U*st hosts in 
1 VI hi Their large airy home m 
t h.makvapun, su r round evl by a 
beaimtulJv-kept garden, is the venue ol 
some of the most exclusive parties m 
f k i lhi if is the first port ol call loi most 
visiting dignitaries and celebrities, and 
Karan Smgh and his wife organise the 
most wonderful lunch*'*- for them in 
their elegant and low- key style 

Not loi the Singhs, the ostentatious 
display ot wealth that most 
industrialists and busint'ssmen re'vl in 


77iey wouid much rather pay attention 
to the guest list and the menu, than 
bother with Rosenthal glassies and 
gold -edged plate's -- though they have 
more of that stuff than any of the 
nonrcan ruhe types, who hope to give 
them a run for their money. 

L unch at Dr Karan Singh's. The guest 
of honour is Nadine Ciord liner, the 
Nobel I aureate, who is in Delhi to 
deliver the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial 
Trust lecture She had first met Karan 
Singh in South Africa, when he had 
gone to deliver a speech at the 
celebrations in Durban lo mark the 
centenary of Mahatma C i.mdhTs arrival 
in South Africa ( lordimer had been 
utterly vKrmuxI by him, and his 
sj-Kwh, whic h she rated as among the 
best ihat she had ever heard 

Now in f Vlhi, (_«ordiniei is the star 
attraction at the lunch hosted bv I )r 
Singh And that takes some doing, 
when you realist* that among theottiei 
guests - winch include fustic e I .eila 
Seth, Kim war Nat war Smgh and the 
lieutenant -( vovernov ol IVIIu - js 
S oma C ianclhi 

At any other l V!lu s*k lal event Sonia 
would be the ct'iitie of attention, with 
all the other guests crowding around *o 
have a word with hei ca e\ en just catch 



8 




Karan Singh with Indira Gandhi 


in r i‘\ r i Min su- h I s . the ambience tha* 
i >r -wugh i 'i ali s a* his lunches that 

T’ treated just another guest- - 
l hough to be tan, Sonia sivmr.il 

modesty helps 

k irun Singh himselt is the perhvl 
host. Hilling from guest lo guest, 
introducing people to one another , 
keeping rile conversation and the 
i In i ks flowing His w lte, Yasho Kajva, 
supervises the food which is laid out 
oi« the large dining table in a room 
dominated In paintings ot the u tuple's 
children 

It's not a sit down lunch, but it's very 
elegant tor all th.it The quests are 
handed .1 silver truth, which is divided 
into compai tments la nice touch to 
prevent the gravies from running into 
one another) and asked to help 
themselves 

1’heie is usnaliv one Kashmir 1 and 
one Nepali dish on otter (representing 
theeuhnarv traditions oi the Maharaja 
and the Maharaiv). and dinner is 
fcillowed bv colit v — and f/t/mi, tor 
those with an Indian palate 

Liveried servants dash around 
offering drinks and second helpings. 
But the interesting thing is not how wvll 
they're Iraincd. but that they don't call 
Karan Singh "Maharaj" or even "Your 
Highness", which is the wav most 


royals in India are addressed bv their 
household staff Instead, they reter to 
him as "Ool lor Saab ' Bui tins is how 
Karan Singh prefers it According to 
him, he would much rather be called by 
a name that he has earned - Doctor -- 
than a name that he inherited Mahara] 
While this makes tor an interesting 
anecdote in itself, there is quite a sti »r\ 


The Maharaja of Kashmir 




behind Karan Singh’* d<u Inrate As 
Regent, the voting Singh was both 
Chancellor ol and a student at kashmir 
UniversiK "And when I got m\ 
doctorate," lie laughs, "it u as th*- hist 
case m history ■ >1 a 1 ham elloi 
graduating from his o\\ n nmveisitv 
There's more to Karan Singh than 
academics, though Despite the senior 
statesman air that surrounds him, he 
quite enjoys an evening of rock music 
His favourite group the Pot Shop 
Boys When it's not music (lew people 
know that the former Maharaja has a 
fine singing voice), it's pot-try, of 
which Karan Smgh has published ' 
few volumes 

B ut is ah ol this enough? Dr Karan 
Smgh may well be tno best man for 
the job, but will he be able to convince 
everyom to choose him 7 And more 
importantly, does he want to 1 it the 
past decade has proved any tiling, it is 
that Dr Smgh has no taste tor political 
lobbying iW last thing Ik* wants to do 
is hang around in Central 1 fall or m 
various part) conclaves telling 
people tnal he should be the next Presi- 
dent of the Kepublk ot India 1 fe 
would much rather sit in Ins India 
International Centre (ot wnn li he has 
been chairman forth*' last three v«*ars) 




The Chrar-e-Shanf 


office, entertaining men anil women 
of consequence 

I he Congress h«is lit lie time tor him, 
under Narasimha Rao 1 he otnci.nl 
line, of course, is that Singh i annul be 
forgiven his betrayal of Mrs Gandhi in 
the pusl-I anergeney period. But this is 
hard to believe, when you consider 
that it was Indira's son. Rajiv, who 
appointed him ambassadoi to 
Washington 

The truth ol the matter i*, that Narj- 
sun ha Rao is a hit wary ot Di ^mgh 
The I •nine Minister is quite willing to 
come over to Karari Singh's house tor 
lunch, bur as tor anything beyond 
that lorgel it 

The government has made it clear 
from the beginning th.it Pr Smgh has 
no role to play in the Kashmir crisis 
Tins, despite the tact that the former 
Mtihar.j|a got a tumultuous reception 
.in the Valley on the last two occasions 
when he visited after the Ha/iatbal 
and Chi ar-r-Sh.i m irises 

Congress support to* the presidenti- 
al polls is, therefore, out ot tne ques- 
lion - though die wav things are 
going the party mav be out m the cold 
when it's time to choose a new 
President 

So, what about the H J 1 * 7 After all, 
what mm o could that party v ant than 
a man who is a Shiv Hhnkt and the foun- 
der of the Vir.it Hindu Sainaj 7 
Blit no, even the I findu right is not 


keen on Dr Smgh It is n< »t comfortable 
with his version of religiosity, which 
comprises a deep faith m I fmduism 
along with an abiding belief in the t on- 
cept that all religions are fundamental- 
ly alike This line of thought is not like- 
ly to go down well with the Ashuk 
c »inghalsand UmaBharlisot the world 

S i », what docs Di Karan Smgh have 
going toi hun' StrangeW enough it 
is the fact lhat he has a growing consti 
tuenvv m the Indian middle-class, 
w hich sees him as one of their own 
The former Mahardfa of Kashmir an 
honorary member of the Indian 
middle-class* Yes, the mind boggles 
But there is some truth to this 
perception 

lnr starters. Dr Karan Singh has all 
along played down his royal lineage 
1 le is very uncomfortable about being 
referred to as the Maharaja, and 
makes it a point of asking people to 
call him Dr Singh I le is far more pro- 
ud ot his achievements than he of his 
parentage. And the middle-class ran 
identify with a man who values educa- 
tion above money, even though he 
had loads of it 

Then, there is Dr Singh's intellectual 
constituency at the India International 
Centre, which he has run with distinc- 
tion over the list several years. When 
Karan Singh took over at the IIC, it 
was with the intention of revamping 


and cjriymg out maioi changes 

1 he lirM thing lie did w as try .ind 
change the companion ot the lie mom- 
bos ship While llC was Mill at the con 
tie ot intellectual lift in Pellu the 
younger lot ol people wen slowly 
moving aw.u from it Ami there was 
some dangei that hv the end u! the ion- 
tuiv, tht lenlie would become just 
anotlu r hang out lo» retired 
academics 

It is to Pr Singh's credit rlul he has 
brought Hie movei s and ''bakers hack 
to UC and ensured that »l will conti- 
nue to . ount until well into the next 
decade 

The truth ot the mattei is that ii a 
poll was held to choose the next Presi- 
uentol India, with everyone with a col- 
lege degree In. mg allowed one vote, 

Dr K.nan Singh would win hands 
down 

But. unlortunatelv that's not how 
the President ot India is elected I ie is 
choosen by an electoral college 1 , com- 
prising MI*s and Ml .As And to win, 
you've got to have the support of at 
least one maior political party. And 
that's something that Dr Karan Singh 
doesn't have.* 

Dr Smgh mav be the perfect candida- 
te But it may well turn out that the sys- 
tem fails to accept him because he is 
too right foi the job ■ 





’■xsmmmm- 

,XTRACT 


Sex, Violence and 




Extracts from the 
first ever spy-th riller 
it Tit ten by an 
Indian woman 


BY 

Anjoo Mohan 

Extracted frown 
Shangrila by 
Anjoo Mohan; 
Published by 
Har-Anand 
Publications, 
Price Ks 95 


alfway across the globe things were 
no! going so smoothly In the elegant 
Park Avenue penthouse apartment of 
the Reeds in New York, the 
Samuel sons were impatiently 
awaited It had been a week since 
there had been an\ news oi Andrew' 
and 'Ferry Philip Reed had been again- 
st the madcap scheme lrom the \ery 
beginning and had insisted on const- 
ant communication from his son and 
daughter -in* law 

As lone as they had remained in 
cities, he had spoken to Andrew' every- 
day but once they had gone on their 
godforsaken trek, there had been abso- 
lute silence. On top of that Iris had 
been driving him up Lhe wall to do 
something Not that he wasn't worri- 
ed himself 

The doorbell interrupted his 
thoughts as his butler i a me m lo 
announce the Sa m nelsons Johann 
Samuelson had come to America as an 
impoverished (.Herman youth and had 
stayed with relatives in Chicago, 
showing an uncanny acumen for his 
uncle's second-hand furniture 
business. 

It was largely due to his hard work 
and foresight that his uncle today was 
one of the largest furniture dealers in 
Chicago. As for himself, he had done 
really well even though it had been 
hard woik and twice as difficult for he 
was an immigrant but he had made it 
to the big time and a partnership in 
Wall Street's premium investment 
(inn was something not to be ignored. 

A truly self-made man, nearly every- 
body in the business world knew' that 
he had come up the hard way and had 
always crooked his nose at the inheri- 
tors, who had everything laid out on a 
plat*' 

His partnership with Reed had rais- 
ed uuite a few eyebrow's lor Reed was 
nothing if not a Boston Brahmin and 


his family had been m the banking 
business for generations 

But both had recognised in each 
other a hunger lor powei wTueh had 
brought them together, Samuel son's 
only regret was that he had no M»n to 
carry on nftei him, but Terrv more 
than made up for the lapse 

E ver since the children got married, 
Samuelson had been at peace w ith 
himself Now was the time to look for- 
ward to grandchildren His wife The- 
rese agreed wholeheartedly and they 
planned to shift to l ong Island perma - 
nently and hand over the reins 
But where the hell were Andrew 
and Terry? 

"Maybe they could not get 
through," said Ins, ' Com mun nations 
in third world countries are 
abominable." 

"No, they would have reached back 
New Delhi bv now, they would have 
got in tom li, " said Heed, "Even if they 
extended their programme, both art- 
responsible enough to let us know T 
can feel it, something is w rc-i ig ' 
Heanng the pessimism m Reed's 
voice, Therese burst into U ars "Do 
something ] oh aim Ican'tbeai it," shi 
whispered between sobs 

Johann Samuelson who had remain- 
ed ouiet uptil now said, es. w e can't 
sit here and wait lor something to hap- 
pen, Andrew' and Tei r\ au not ado 
lescents upto some m 11\ p r ank i <■( me 
speak to Richard I kivenpoit y 1 
what he can do ' 

Richard Davenport was a scnatoi 
whom India counted amongst hoi 
friends in the US On more than one 
occasion he had stalled anti -hut 1 a huh 
in the Senate and had raised a hig hue 
and ci v ovei repeated military assist 
ance to Pakistan, India s sworn 
enemy He could even ring up South 
Bh>ck, the office of the Prime Ministri 



of India if he wanted 
Johann op Richard's George- 
town result lire in Washington and 
relaxed automatically on hearing the 
deep bariUme 

"KeLu Miami, the kids are on then 
honeymoon for God's sake, slop brea- 
thing down their neck," Richard said 
good nahjiedly. Still I'll speak to 
Nick at the embassy and see what 1 can 
do, if vou are so worried. ' 

N icholas Lang was the American 
ambassador to India and quite 
enjoyed the oriental ambient e of his 
assignment 1 lo got along well with 
the MFA and there was less headache 
associated with a third world posting 
ever since the Russians got friendly 
and the cloak anti dagger games had 
come to an end 

Richard's call came just before he 
was to go for a reception at the Chine- 
se embassy m honour of the visiting 
Chinese premier 

"I'm in a lurry, Piekv, could you 
call hack, * jn't be kite for these diplo 
malic do's, he spoke into the phone 
while Ins wife struggled with his cuff 
links 

"1 do new flunk anything is amivs, 
since theie has been nothing about 
White tourists m the papers These 
things gel roper led very quickly you j 
know But 1 will keep an eye open and ! 
ask the home ministry to look into the 
matter if they do not get in touch ov er 
the weekend," he said and 
disconnected 

"What is it?" asked Jenny Lang 
"Oh some New York big shots 
uptight ovei their children who came 
trekking S j em to have gone under- 
ground Probably holed up in 1 kmu- 
man Dhoka in Kathmandu, drugging 
theii vi % ins out Let's go " 

But the Reeds and the Samuelsons j 
waited in vain over the weekend 
There was no news oi Andrew and 
Terry j 

C alls were placed on both sides of j 
the globe, some angry, some fervent j 
and a hun* w as launched lor the miss- j 
ing tou lists They were traced uptill ! 
hotel Norkhill m Gangtok hut after ] 

that there had been no due It was as if ] 
they had been swallow* d up hv thr 
eai'h 

J he fc iUj vriiitciidopt of police wa*- 
feeling the heat and w as beside him- 
self to find out something but to no 
avail They had not been booked with 
any trekking organisations and none 
had come forward with any informa- 
tion ex* opt that they had been seen 
shopping m the Sunday Bazaai at Lai 
■c/kef 


| After that, nothing, absolute silence 
I A local stringer o! the Thr 7 drgitiph 
; newspaper spied all the* activity and 
: frayed tempers in the central thaw 
i and asked aiound till the whole story 
was revealed to him Not that the hunt 
: had been secretive Soon all the nation- 
I al dailies were ablaze with the news 
All sorts of theories wen* propounded 
; Kidnapped for ransom, some said, 

; others said that they had gone rock 
! climbing and could have died in some 
i fatal accident but as the weeks went 
1 by, the story shifted to the inside 
! pages of the newspapers Nobody 
| knew what had happened to the new - 
ly married couple 

At the American embassy on the 
beautiful Shanti Path in New* I >elhi 
I Nicholas Lang was speaking U > 

Richard Davenport 
"Nr Dicky, Incy are definitely 
missing " ! 

' The police has no due. the 1 Ionic | 
ministry has promised to le.u e no j 

ground uncovered wocanonh j 

WMlt " ! 

"I know it is tough on the p* rents 
but it is silly oi them logo thcic alone 
At least thev could have c hccked with 
us first " I 

" The Northeast lsvonstantlv m uir- ; 
| moil hj India Although Sikl- .m is rela- ! 
lively peaceful, the people are of 1 

Mongoloid origin and have ? irelv lelt j 
an affinity w'lth India Thev always ms- ! 
ist on a separate identity " | 

As he- was concluding his call, Lang 
noticed Neil Kant come into the room 
Ostensibly the trade and economic 
attache at the embassy, he was a CIA 
agent and Lang often had little to do 
w'lth him } le w'as CIA s station master 
and was more often out of the embas- 
sy than m it. 

Lang had probably never noticed, 
but Kant's name sounded more Indi - 
an than American l )/ily its spelling 
was anglicised I'evv knew' about he- 
background 1 .nokmg at his deep blue 
eyes and fair complexion, nobod c 
could even guess that he was in reality 
half Indian and had been a* pains all 
his life lo disguise his thud world 
background 

1 fis lather T>uniuU*i Kant had migra- 
ted to the Slat’ . in the early Kitties 
India was not y» -I equipped to put his 
abilities to use. 1 ie was perhaps the 
first physicist who was interested in 
nuclear technology and m those days 
when India wa*- considerably closer to 
the Soviets than to the Americ ins, he 
had been quickly noticed by the CIA 
and ottered a comfortable berth at 
NASA, The elder Kan l jumped at the 
chance simply because he was a scien- 



tist lust and he knew' thai India ( ould 
neve/ aftord the facilities which he era 
ved feu his research Al least not to his 
lifetime 

He did not think tor a minute that 
his lmgi ation was part of a detrimen- 
tal flow out of the nation, which soon 
cam** to be known as brain dram 

What's more, the physicist had to 
break all ties wth his mother country 
and never came back once ht* left his 
native shores Simply because he was 
a set uritv risk and worked on sensi- 
tive military experiments It would 
not do if he went home one line day 
and never came back 'The CIA was 
pleised with its find, he was a major 
asset 

Surindei Kant missed home but 
drowned himself in his work and 
would often be seen at the heart of 
arguments trying lo prove that India 
had moie to it than snake charmers, 
elephants and impoverished 
maharajas 

\ lo married a Relish woman Anna 
and had one son and two daughters 
None of his children looked like him. 
His Indian blood called out infcim to 
name his son Neil, which could be 
accepted in both communities. White 
and Brown. He agreed to his wife's 
request to baptise his children. But his 
bedtime stories to his son would be 


m* « i 




horn the Rjiyijn ane anti the 
Mahabharata 

So NlmI grew up with a racial handi 
cap fcven though he longed more 
Anglo Saxon than Brown, Ins tat her s 
background always hampeied him 
from being accepted completeh bv fel- 
low students 1 {c did not know who* 
ther he was Indian or American 1 le 
tclt interior 

Noticing his son's contusion Surin- 
der Kant got him books, Arnold Toyn- 
bee’s The Cr/nri/ that mi* India, transla- 
tion o( ancient Sanskrit manuscripts, a 
copy of the Geeta, works by Western 
historians on the ancient Indus vallcv 
civilisation and also Gandhi's tome. 
My experiment s with Truth 

It was this book which changed the 
course of Neil's life. He suddenly 
understood voung Mohandas' dilem 
ma when he was studying law in Hng- 
land and the subsequent rage that he 
felt when he was thrown out of the 
first class compartment of a train in 
South Africa. He was suddenly tilled 
with pride for India 

He took a year otf after he finished 
studying modem languages at Yale 
University and spent roaming around 
India. He even went looking for long 
forgotten relatives, staying with them, 
trying to converse and ridge the gap 
between the two worlds. He was pain- 


ed by the obvious effort on the part of 
his cousins to please him so that they 
could be invited to the States. They did 
not understand at all that it was a 
tough life out there and the White man 
allowed nobodx in his cushioned 
world. 

He also utilised America's folly in 
assuming that all thud world c ountios 
were tilting towards communism due 
to Soviet influence The time vs as 
momentous, the heady Seventies 
when several colonies across the 
world weie gaming independence 
md wanted a shaie in international 
decision making. 

In tact, all they wanted was money 
and materials toj development and 
newly born African and Asian nations 
were not a verst to playing one super 
power against the other m an attempt 
to gain the maximum benefits 

Neil Kant was recruited into the 
CIA from his Yale campus It \\ as in 
the cittern lath ot the Pokhian blast bv 
which India had announced to the 
world that she was a threshold 
nuclear power and there was sudden- 
ly a need tor agents who could under- 
stand the enigma that was India 

1 le hail pioved to he an exceptional 
field wnrkei with an ability to melt 
into any background 1 tis dossici was 
M’\ei a! mclvs thick \\ it]', a mple X 
security c lea raw r requued to go 
thimigh it He had broken more rules 
than C IA made ami had been tolerat- 
ed because he had delivered what was 
requited and nioie } le had also come 
to terms \\ *tb his dual identity know- 
mg that he would always be an Ameri- 
can hist 

Kant w as c !A\ maverick, a person 
who preferred ihebvlaneso! thud 
world cities like (. alculta, Khartoum 
and Cairo to tin 4 slick cities of Western 
L ; u rope Although few superiors paid 
much altenuon to him lor lie was not a 
desk man and hud little tune to lick the 
a — s of the WAShsh official* he had 
seen the signs on the walls 
*** 

S udip stepped out ot thedirlv rail 
wavstahon at lalpaiguri and was 
immediateh surrounded bv ta\» 
dnveis. 

"Where tosu n Where 7 1 iangtok’’ 
Oily 600 rupee's. Maruli car sir , ' As 
one of them attempted to puli his Adi- 
das bag out of hand, he brushed him 
aside and spoke in rapid fire Nepal i 
"1 know rnv way around here and 
the rate to Gangtok is only R* 4 r > 0 , 1 
onlv want a i uie till the Tenzing Nor 
gay bus terminal " 

Immediately, he sensed a new res- 
pect for him The urivei s began joking 


with him curious to establish his ante- 
cedents Alter all there were mule a 
few Sikkimese and Ncpuiis settled 
abroad I le could be one nl them 
Maybe, the\ could wangle a tew dol- 
lars out of him. But he did not look like 
a Nepali at all 

One ot them had at lead v U-cmd tour- 
ist* going to Darjeeling and he magna- 
nimously ottered to dn »p Su hp at the 
bus terminal from when he would get 
SN 1 buses toi Gangtok over\ hall an 
houi 

But tnst he would stop fin 4 1 typical 
Nepali meal at Lama s dhubu I hs 
mouth watered at the thought o! |k rk 
curry, sour cheese pickle , hied fish 
and fragmrit rue 

At the bus terminal Sudip was lucky 
to got a seat in a bus which was leaving 
soon and as the bus stai ted to nun *• he 
do/zed otf 

He came awake suddenh neai 
1 eesla town as the bus bi aked dial ph 
to make way tor an imports ci |eopspcv 
ding down from Kalimpong A blon- 
de head turned and lookedcl gtmily at 
the bus, before the jeep speeded ahead 
of them to wants llu* Mall 

Sudip was immediately intrigued 
Imported vehicles were few and tai 
between and he looked appieciativelv 
at the broad tyres, wheel caps, timed 
glass and the smooth sw lit motion ot 
the jeep Cans and |ecps were a pa >sion 
with Sudip and U\ was suddenh envi- 
ous of the drivei 

Maybe he would keep his pride 
aside and take a loan from his dad and 
buy t« Mahindra jeep this tunc Import- 
ed tour-wheel-dnve \ ehu les were just 
too expensive 1 le noticed the jeep par- 
ked at the cheek point but paid sc ant 
attention to it 1 le w;s yearning for 
home as the bus began its clunb into 
the mountains 

bar below him the! eesla snaked 
sensuously in the opposite direction, 
its roar filling his c ars, like a newly 
born cub on its first hunt Soon it 
would become pregnant with mini 
and silt and waddle to its tr\ si v\ ith 
the Bay of Bengal But here high m the 
hills, it enchanted Sudip, with it . 

youth! ul ness 

1 hs reverie was broken as the bos 
streamed into ( iangtok chased b\ 
aiolic s and taxi drivers I It' alighte d 
amidst the hubbub of voices and bre a- 
thed m the familial smc'lls cud fell 
immediatelv at home A hand .i lasped 
on his shoulder and he turned it ml ' a 
beat hug f hs fattier grmned at him 
and silently kissed his tor, 'brad 

juti tin Ihnt " he immediately I ip - 
ed mtc» Nepali ' Are you well, lathe 

Shi! lie could not i ie^c that invisible 



Wiill bolwivn them 

"Yit. as a hddV," he rephed Man 
Bahadur Adhikan was a short stocky 
man, a tuhullwr Brahmin who came 
from one of the richest families of Sik- 
kim His mother had belonged to the 
Lepcha tube from who he had mheiit- 
ed his rmv eves along with vast tracts 
ot land which were the basis ot his 
wealth 

Man Bahadur s father had been 
Nepali and the trans tribal marriage 
between Sudi p's grandparents in the 
early Twenties had caused a furore m 
the close km in Nepali community so 
that his father had been ostracised 101 
his marnagge to a tribal girl 
However, the birth ot a son had chang- 
ed all that but Svdip's grandmother 
had never telt at home in Gangtok's 
upper crust and after tin* death ot hei 
beloved husband she had gone hack to 
I.achun, where her father's tamilv still 
lived and she had made herself com- 
fortable amongst her own people 

Although she rarel\ travelled to 
Gangtok any more, she expected her 
only grandchild to visit her regularlv 
everytime ho came home ‘sudip too 
wastond his grandmother, remember 
ing the musky smell of hei clothes and 
her mouth constantly chewing churpy, 
a hardy cheese made from goat's and 
Yak's milk 

As father and son made their way |o 
the car, one ot the few Maruti KKJOs in 
the area, Man Bahadur saw the local 
girls surreptitiously looking at his son 
He felt his chest swell with pride but 
he could never understand Sudd ip's 
lack of interest in women Maybe that 
woman still ruled his heart, God 
forbid 

As the car rolled homewards, they 
began exchanging gossip 

"Bo|u as usual expects you to visit 
her. 'Hus time 1 will not be able to 
accompany vou " 

"Why*" asked Sudip 

Their annual trip to I, at hun was 
somelhingg which his parents looked 
forwaid to as well I hey would ever* 
polish their rifles and go hunting deep 
into the 1 Iimalavan fot**sf look ing lor 
boar and Jeei , always coming back 
with something ‘1 here would be an 
open barheai" with the Tepeha men 
and women dancing and stomping 
into the haoi ground, with sj\. >w Ma- 
kes crai klmg under their y.ik skm 
shejes and the coins stitched on then 
caps glinting in the light or the lire 

"Something is m the air 1 1 .n't put 
my finger on it The people see m to be 
restless 1 here have been too irwaiy 
political clashes, Fven at Dussehra 
there had been stehbmgs It was never 
1/t 


like this before Voung men. who were 
nobody before, are strutting around 
drunk with power It is as if soniebodv 
is financing ^wui/msm." 

"Relax dad, it is always like this 
before an election Gun mg has been in 
powei tor years and he is known to be 
corrupt, maybe his ad vvrsarie ■ are pin- 
ning to unseat him." 

Bui Man Bahadur knew what he 
was talking about He was politically 
aware without being a politician and 
was respected tor his wisdom and poli- 
tic a! acumen He had been actively 
involved in the Nepali language issue 
ind was proud that it was now includ- 
ed in the Constitution 1 k* had otten 
been asked to stand for elections hut 
did not desire political ottu e On the 
other hand he had been oiten consult- 
ed by chiet ministcis. 1 1c was also res 
pecterl m New I Vlhi because of the 
positive role he had played when Sik- 
kim merged with the Union ol India m 
WS 

In shor f he was one of the mos* 
influential men in Gangtok anil his 
riches had nothing to do with it t to 
felt slightly irritated at his son's sim 
phstic explanation Guiung w.islns 
personal friend 

"No. you have not been home tor 
years, this is not plain politic king, but 
a lot ot v.olence seems to be taking 
plaee and surprisingly noneot the poli- 
ticians seem to be involved Lvervbo- 
dy is booing targeted And the first 


i asualty is trust Nobody knows 
whom to believe I am expecting my 
buyers to come and take a look at the 
pioduce anytime. Can I move this 
time You will have to go alone " 

1 le telt silent as the car climbed into 
the broad driveway of his beautiful 
home, a two-storied house made in 
the Tibetan style like a monastery com - 
plot with carved posts, cupolas and 
pagodas 

f (is mother wailed on the porch and 
she ran down lightly as the car came to 
a slop Again Sudip was enveloped 
into a hug and his mother's French per 
fume wafted upto him I ler eroi t 
Western bearing seemed incongruous 
in the traditionally Nepali surroun- 
dings He looked dim n at the diminu- 
tive woman and suddenly tell like a lit- 
I le boy 1 (is mother w«v> a beauty, sul- 
try looks combined with large lumm 
ous Bengali eves shaped like t \ Hindu 
‘ i(»ddess 

She was the toast ot Sikkimese socie- 
ty known toi her tasteful dinner parl- 
ies where Bengali and Nepali turanr 
was served m a tasteful mix But sadlv 
she had not been able to arrange h»*i 
only son's wedding reception Maybe 
this time he vull agree, she thought 

Sudip kissed hei cheeks and |oked 
'so how mam girUhave you got lin- 
ed up this tune 

His mother reddened bill laughed 
anyway "I am an old woman, 1 long 
tor the patter ot small feet m the 




house " 

"Old, hah, you are timeless, 

Amma," Sudip replied 

He had often heard ot his father's 
love affan 

In a family where a marriage by ch * >1 
ee seemed to be the norm than an 
exception, love stones were retold at 
the slightest insistence. 

After completing school m Gang- 
tok, Man Bahadur had gone to Calcut- 
ta's St Xavier's College for graduation, 
resplendent in his Daura Sur il and 
Nepali topi All the students had joked 
about his unusual attire which includ- 
ed a clmndar like apparel with a kurta 
which closely resembled an Angarkha 
tied sideways, lipped with a coat I le 
was at pains to explain to his ta -hiona- 
Me classmates that he was wear mg the 
traditional attire ol the Nepali men 

Unable to bear the |okes, one dav lie 
had slu cmnbed and had gone and got 
himself a three-piece suit from an 
Anglo Indian diessrnaker on Park 
Street 

Several p. in sol eves followed Imn 
i unousb in i ollege and there w ere 
snigger- but diankliillv I he jokes an J 
liiUghf'M had stopped He heaved a sd- 
ent sigh of relict tdl one Bengali gn I 
n a Iked upio him 

1 yes Ma, mg she ragi d. 'Haw von 
no sell lespei C When* i - your pride * 
|usl bee, vise a lew r»*»*b make Inn of 
von, vtui will give up vour tiaditmn.il 
wavs .ind become a Hone, ned lin y 


will laugh at the way you eat so you 
will .-.top eating!" 

Man Bahadur AdVnkari, the leading 
scion of the Tuladhar family where 
even his mother spoke to him with res- 
pect and used a formal title and novel 
his name had never been given such a 
tongue lashing 1 le was rendered 
speechless, slowly he raised his head 
to look into the most beautiful pair of 
eyes he had ever seen and was hooked 
tor life 

Years later he would still tease Susli 
mi La that her eyes had watered with 
her anger, and Sush would blush 
deeply. 

CM course after that day, Man 
Bahadur never wore anything hut his 
traditional Nepali clothes hut now he 
had an other problem to agonise over 

How to tell Sushmita that he want- 
ed to marry her? 

She belonged to the cream ot 
Bengali society, a Bhtulntlok, whose 
tatiiei, a leading lawyer was in some 
way connected to the Tagore family 

1 fer father was progressive enough 
to send his only daughter to college 
but certainly not modern enough to 
marry her off to an ape from the hills 
who ate beef in his mother's 1 epcha 
kitchen 

Wooing Sushmita had boon easy, it 
seemed she had always been aware ot 
Ins presence, only hi' had been too 
embatiassed to notice girls, but to 
tackle her patents was a tough job 


Sush tell that living m Gangtok would 
be an adventure, she f mild not visuali- 
se herself as a Ihwnm (daughtcr- 
m-law) m a liaditional Bengali house- 
hold ovei seeing the preparation o! 
h/lu> mu* fu ll There w.is no guarantee 
that her husband would also allow her 
to step out of society She could be 
under house arrest lor evei A life with 
Man Buhadui seemed exmting 
In the end, the only way out ioi 
them was to elope 

One bright morning Sushnuta dres- 
sed herself up m Ium bright red inniihini 
sari and climbed into her lather's 
imported cai lo go to i ollege but never 
toieturn Her father and brotheis clos- 
ed her out ot their life Although Man 
Bahadur ti led several times tor a com- 
promise, it was fruitless Since then 
Sushmita had gone to C alcutta several 
times and had cruised past herRashbe- 
hari A\venue house on quite a tew on a- 
sions, she could never muster up the 
courage h » knock on the severeh clos- 
ed gates evei hnallv aller tin 1 birth ol 
Sudip she had m.ide < winglok her 
home and fell at peace with he r hus- 
band anil his tamih . she had not even 
been informed about the death of her 
parents, reading then obituaries in 
7 fir I rlrgTifji/i bhe knew -.he would 
never be well nnir m C ali utta 
amniore 

Instead she had i uiu end a led in tur- 
ning her home into paiadisc, putting 
her training, lo good use, then was a 
lot ot jostling t- * get into her good 
hooks and an m\ nation to her table 
was always a malte» to boast about 
today she was the ihi ihairperson o! 
seveial women organisations V. Man 
Bahadur had gone on to pili nches 
upon in fit s, lfu'\ had heiome.ai indis- 
pensable part of spi ietv 

But m a shai p *- ontrast Suihp -Bow- 
ed no sign-, ol settling down in 
Gangtok 

They had indulged him w hen he 
wanted to go to the Mai* s but when lie 
went to stud \ ti.’.thei in China and 
had si ft led d< »wn loan academic car 
| e» i in Heilu Sushmita and Man 
Bahadur had beer mortified 
Sudip h..J l uuie; l out like otllel 
Nepali boys w ho go to big » ities to 
studv, neve: to return feeling ihein- 
seh is to he too good lo* til- -ii native 
place But m solitude Sushmita knew 
that it \\ as the affair ovi St mam that 
had taken Sudip away 

she had thought that lime would 
hea! him hut look mg al him, his tired 
e> es » leased \\ ith loneliness, she 
knew that he had never forgotten her 
Slu 1 knew these things, after all she 
was his mother ■ 




Ti 



Days of operation using 7-day 

PLIGHTS 

Departures 

Fit No Tiro Days 

„ m! V. , 

\1'! -M’ 

W ’ '< 

£* AHMEDABAD 

».* ajzawl 

i^l ,'l' I. J 


Ss£,>SrteiA»fe' 

IME TABLE 

All arrival and departure times are for Calcutta 

1 MONDAY r l TUESDAY U WEDNESDAY ■> THURSDAY 3 FRIDAY ® SATURDAY SUNDAY 


I &• BAGOOQRA 

i 


BMNOALORE 


; m BHUBANESWAR 


•BOMBAY 

I I 


-I 


m DELHI 


It DIBRUQARH 

I 

m D1MAPUR 

m GOA 
■ GUWAHATI 


* 


PLIGHTS 


m AMMAN 
m AMSTERDAM 
* BANGKOK 

r i 1 ‘ 1 u\~' 


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. 1 *> 


Departures 

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* 


v-ir 


m HVOfimBAO 


'■#. i ' U-." 

B ' (MPHAL 

* _T ‘S'. 

* JAIPUR 

. ■ -V l i. 

« JGRHAT 

.* ■ 1 1 is 

* ULABARI 

■ l / * ■. 1 :-M 

m LUCKNOW 

m i n 

. "Hi l'-"n 

m MADHAS 

M. | 

I 'l 

, . 1 - 1 , » 

II 1. 1. 


m NA OPUS 

j. 1| I* "I 


* PATNA 


• . PORT BLAtR 

, i r 4 : 

• RANCHI 

■i f.f i*.r. 

m SHILLONG 

i ■ i * 

m SILCHAR 

I -‘IT . 

„ . . ; ii.. S' 

- I ' 

, i 1 i ■ ' ’■ 

m VBZPUB 

. 1. I Mi. . > 

m VARANASI 

u-. 

It VISHAKHAPATNAM 

!' V,. "I f ’ 1 . 

I I > fiL R'iKi 1 


t 1 
! 1 
. I 


Iii "ill 


: *» 1 1 1 




m BUCHAREST 

hr: f-.'t r. 


DOMESTIC 


Arrivals 

Fit No. Time Days 


fij . «.• 1 
IT ; . 


il' 

y fM,» ■ 




1 1 

j' 


i - . 

!• 11 

|,.- 


! 1 ' 1 "1 
:■ i , 


:l • 1 


<: ■ < ", ! !■ 


! ■ l!l. 


INTERNATIONAL 


ii, ; . 


.i -u- 
•io si-’* 


16 



Departures Arrivals 


Fit No. Time Days 

Fit No. 

Time 


Sf CWTAOONG .■ 


‘t K ■ 

■ ;• i 

1 \ 1 1 

!' ' .'! . 


i 

Bi->. \ r j r ; 1 

■i.i b ! t. 

n,v. 

t 

W JMAKA ' - 


S V ( - 


t , !-«-v irv. ; . 

I'll li’ 1 ! 

i.MUl 

*! r . 

c*Q '.'J_ UV. ’ . 1 

ill 

' 

! «■ : " / 

pli . i.' ’ . ■ 

■i. , 

‘ /" 
ij: »■ 

1 1 .■ ■ 1 

Hi, .'ll ,. 

H*\ l!" 

Hllj 

■\ 

tin :Pi ■ : "1 : 

; 1. 

Ji^tj 


Im'-'tXJ&M 

b- ’■/ ?1 ■!' 

1- * 



■m KWHMANUU 



r . ■ * '.if 

■ j 

p:-: 


: -1 

1 l 

!! -i ‘ ,i 

: '4- 

1 

1 r. 


Departures 

Arrivals 

Fit No. Time Days 

Fit No. Time Days 

i \?W < * 0 WX« 4 '-.. . 

;• . ,•;■■■, -y.' ■ ' 

BA- M*. ;m- 1 , ■ 

BAM- 1 - 1 ‘ .J, ’ 

: .-waeeeaBw..-v..- ■ 

• , .. • 

, siiisa i^ v: . 1 

it :o v-:.’ 4 

•: evwmo." 

. ■ - ' • • .* * ?V* 

; "d lOi. 1 

rfi lih w.'i v t . 

; rR lOl. I '. 1 


..•''aH'KW’OWB ' 1 


1 co ■i* r ;*i 4 ‘ 

PJ'ir ’/ : 

H: luh i'h;i 

p 1 ./ ciion r. 

■*e : -BORA' 


I ^ r :-j J 

'J 1 r.r hSl! 4 

XOKXO ■ 


i 1 V '41 

Ai x,; 1 tf-'C- ij 

■YAWQON 


" 1 . 

'f.-'.v- 1 c ‘hj 4 7 


Al Air India • BA British Airways • BG Biman Bangladesh Airlines • Bl Royal Brunei Airlines • D2 Skyline NEPC • D5 NEPC Airlines • 1C Indian Aiiiines • 
KB Dmk'Air • KLW1 Royal Dutch Airlines • LZ Balkan Airlines • M9 Modiluft • PF Vayudoot • RA Royal Nepal Airlines • RJ Royal Jordanian Airlines • RO 
Tarom Air Transport • S2 Sahara India Aiilint o • SQ Singapore Airlines • SU Aeroflot • 4S East West Airlines • TG Thai Airways International • 9W Jet Airways 


fi 


Departure 
Up Time 


TRAINS 


EASTERN RAILWAY 

Howrah 


Arrival Departure SOUTH-EASTERN RAILWAY Arrival 

Time Dn Up Time Howrah Tbna On 


Uelhi-kalto Mail 
Anilisar Mall 
Bombay Mall i , ■ > 
F'uor^h DeW) Exons* 


Pooraa (Now fjfliiiP, Express . 
Raidhtm fopra-s 
Kjidhsr,! * /press 




Madras Mill 
Burnt™ Mall ,i M,p- 
GltanJaJ! (Bombay) Express 
Shatabdl (Roufola) Express 

«■; \ •* . *-»( l’5 * ’ rdtUI I '.1 . 

Ahmedabad Express 
Kurla Express • fi-j; ■; 

Coromandal (Madras) Express . .1 '!■ :m » 
Fulaknuma (Secunderabad) Express 


Bangalore Express 


8 ?C Horn 

r if 1 * jt/n 

r-'Jt 1 Xu 1 ,' 

s !*• non 

ii .*t. «)>j 

ly itr 7U0A 


n-i‘- by 1 


J.vllipm 

CM.M (Potorn Steel C.ty) fxprtfes 
hKiiQlri (Jammii-lawl) Express 
fiiwuMali F/piiea 
uuiakhp'.i f^rtTvS 

• 1 • 

Purbancliril (Gorakhpur) Express 


J 

$ 

I. 1 -/ 


Ispat (Jharsuguda) Exprase 

TSfeaarh Express 

Ranml Hade Express 

iC 

.vu. 

81 1 ; 
im 
hfMh 

Furl Express , 1 .. • ..f.'i - 


Bfif’l* 

.lagannatli (Purl) Express 

8 . if. 

MU' 

Dhauli (Bhubaneswar) Express 

East Coas» (Hydarabad) txpress 

■.'I ,|1 ' 

^ ’I- 

MU' ’ 
f-U Mi 

Purulla Express 

; ' ii, 

fyjib 


» ■ ; . *i . 


D0011 Express ... 

Udyan At.ru Tnoian Express * )"-■ 

Amrnsar E^res: 

kathgudum Express ' ' - 1 

MitnIU (RdXdvtl) Expies* 

Kamrup (Guwanatl) Express *■" » 

8!a' Diamond fcjpress ' 

Codfttiu E xpress 
Asansoi Lauras^ 

Danapur Express '■ 

Jarrvilpur txprws ' . . 

Santiirihetan Express '• : ;1 . 

Chamtial (Gwalior) Express 

Shlpra (Indurei Express 


Arad Hind (Pune) Waakly Express 1 0 m." J 

• ■ \ Af. .Ml-! 1, 

Bhubaneswar’ New Delhi Rajdhanl Express /v is 1 . 

1 .v , 1 : -v • ■ , 

New Delhi-Bliubaneswdj Rajdham Express ... sr .4 . 

' ■ v, ' M ■ . . ", 

GnwaheM - Howrah - Trivandnjm Central Express . is 

Trivandrum Central - Howrah - Guwahah Express ' 1 V, b r j; • 

• i' it. ■ • 

Cochin Haroour Terminus - uuwahatl Weekly ' * 4 '. 1^1 - 

Express >*. .! . \ ■ 

Guwaliatl - Cochin Harbour Terminus Weekly r. 

Express ■ 'V*' *■ ■ 


• V I 

StiakSlpunj (Chof Express 
1 Chcmbal (Agra Gantt) uprose 

, 'Hi t .. .,i « 

Up Tiro Sealdah 

' !. Tuesta-Torsa Express 

1 ! 1 Daijeollng Mad 

1 Lai Quits Express 

kancfuniunga (binding) Express 

Cionr Express 

Katitiar Express 

Jammu- i awl Express 

Mugtial Sarai Express . 1 .1 > ■ 1 • .1 

Bhaglrsthl Mgoia) Express 

Ganga Sap? (Gorakhpur) Express 


f .idiln Harbour Terminus Egress . .. 


Time Dn 

t : >«4 

. . 1.1 

• ]. 

\i ' ‘ I.. 

*1 V ' i,l. , 

1 . - 

i J‘. ■ ! 1 H 1 1 


Guwahat! Bangalore City Weekty Express ■ . .1 

'■ lAJ.. 

vV " 1.:. 

Bangalore City Guwahati Weekly Expres ■ 4 '; l ! ■ 


ENQUIRIES For round the clock Information of Eastern Railway and South- 
Eastern Railway trains, please dial 2203545^54 for incoming trains; 2203535- 
44 for all other Information For Information about reservations on Eastern 
Railway and South-Eastern Railway trains, dial 2203496-3500 (from 8 am to 
8 pm on weekdays and 8 am to 2 pm on Sundays and gazetted holidays) 
In addition, dial 1331 (for recorded Information on train running). 131 (new 
ding train operations) and 135 (legardlng reservations). Train service eneprir 
at Sealdah 3503535-37. 

17 





The prize-winning Shitzu of the Rawa’s 


IT’S A DOG’S LIFE 

Bangalore is fast turning into a dog 's paradise, reporlsDipti Dave 

I I you walk down the tonjer streets 'our children", and pamper them just | when mv nephews are visili: g and 
of Bangalore the first things you as they would their progeny Rocky they happen to enter Rocky's room, he 
notice dr° the signs outside each and [ackie love* to eat out, go on long keeps a close watch on their move- 
bungalow "Beware of dog," they drives, have their birthdays celobral- moms in case they slip out with some 
warn unwary pas^oi s-by, and in case ed every year, and he in their warm of his stuff." 

you miss the point, there are ghastly beds late into tfv' morning during the (ackie, a miniature Spitz, who join- 

drawings of the most ferocious beasts winlei ed the family a year ago, initially caus- 

accompanying the text Clearly, m the The Amarnaths 'adopted' Rocky, a ed Rocky a lot of heartburn. But ovei 
garden city of India, dogs spell securi- German Spitz, around four years ago tune, the two have grown close and 
ty from intruders and prospective Even though the dog slept with his are now virtually inseparable Ever}' 

burglers adoptive parents, he was given a room evening, they create a ruckus about 

Not everyone, though, keep** dogs to himself in the Amamatn abode "1 going out, and says Mrs Amarnath, "It 
lust so they can guard their property, love collecting stuffed toys, bone they happen lo hear the names of their 

and scare away trespassers Increa china miniatures of d* >gs and cats and favourite restaurants all hell breaks 

singly, people in Bangalore are keep- other knick-knacks/' says Mrs A mar- loose." And since they appear to 
ing dogs just because they like lo. Tne ruth. "I keep them m his room and tell understand, Tamil, Telugu and 
Amarnaths, for instance, who refer to Rocky that everything is his And English, it is difficult lo keep such 

their two dogs. Rocky and (ackie, as clearly, he understands this, because information from them. 

18 


Since most restaurants refuse to 
serve dogs, the Amamaths take their 
'children' to drive-in joints, where the 
waiters know them. "Once they see 
our car/' she says, "they themselves 
place the order for Jackie and Rocky: 
roomali roti and chicken without 
masala !' 

At the Rawa household, the quiet 
atmosphere belies the fact that there 
are 13 dogs and one Siamese cat under 
one roof. Amelia Rawa is a breeder 
and her Shitzus, a rare breed of Chine- 
se palace dogs, have won numerous 
prizes at shows throughout the 
country. She has six Shitzus and three 
pups of the same breed, and seven 
Golden Retrievers, of which Buddy 
seems to be the favourite of her hus- 
band, Ron Rawa "1 got him around 
thrce-and-a-half years ago," says Ron, 
an American heading a multinational 
company in the city, "and since then 
he has been an obedient dog though 
he loves parties If our guests do not 
mind, we make sure that he is there to 
enjoy himself." 

The Kawa.s came to Bangalore from 
thePmlippinesarnund four years ago 
Amelia, a F ; ilipmo, had a kennel in her 
own country and imported theShit- 
/us from there " Faking cart' of these 
dogs," she says, "is a lot of hard work 
! have to groom them everyday to 
keep their long tui coat knot-free " 

H ome to siuh rare breeds as Great 
Danes, Ugly Queen, Boll- 
mastiffs. poodles, West I hghland 
White Terricts, Welsh Coorgisand Bel- 
gian Shephers, Bangalore is soon beco- 
ming the centre tor dog breeders in the 
country And with eignt out of every 
! 0 household* boasting a pet dog, 
there has been an increase in the 
demand for better-equipped veterina- 
ry clinics, shops selling animal care 
products and graveyards to bury dogs 
and cats. 

Dr Jagannath, who runs a pet care 
clinic m one of the posh areas of the 
city, and says he has modelled his ser- 
vices on the Western system, gives 
first priority to cleanliness "People." 
says Dr Jagannath, "avoid taking their 

f ie Is to government-run veteraiary 
tospildls because these, they com- 
plain, are dirty and ill-equipped " His 
own clinic is open only to members, 
which he savs is the only way to keep 
the premises germ-free There are 
around 2,000 members of his clinic, of 
which 70 per cent have become 
permanent 

In around two months' time. Dr 
lagannath plans to introduce an insur- 
ance policy with Oriental Insurance 



Paws and Claws: Bangalore’s exclusive shop for pets 



Mrs Amarnath with Rookie (junior) and Jackie at Rocky’s birthday 



Buddy, the Golden Retriever, playing with Shitzu pups 


covering jcoden s littcT deaths ami "Thev take good c.ur ol the animals," as there i *<>i enough demand But we 

missing dogs, with owners paving says Pi Jagannath. "ami tlierehave will soon start selling lat rued " 

him Rs 100 per month, tv>i instance. il been ne complaints su rar " As ol nmv. Paws and Claw is a Jog 

their petcosls them Rs 1,000 Hisrlinu Howevoi, this "while- lovers' paradise, selling such merchan- 

also otfers burial service m a small plot vou-are-awav" eaie centre eschews all dise as chewing siuks (available in 

that was donated bva tneml Hr Japan- responsibilitx it your pel dies when chocolate and plain fl.ivmus) Kdh - 

nath vharges Rs 100 lor everv burial, \ on are away And betore the owners pops, musical balU, wooden balls 

and has buried hveor six dogs over lea'V thi k y have to sign an agreement, dumuells. deodorants, taks tonics, 

the last five yeais There are, however. pro\ iding details like the animal's diei sleeping tots and baskets made from 

some taimlies, which insist on eremaf chart, the telephone luunheis of Kaslunm bamboo with a foam-lined 

ing their pets mild taking then ashes friends who can he contacted if there is mattress, which are machine washa- 

tor immersion m the C auvery an emergency, and w hen they will he hie There an alst> slamless steel pots 

Pr lagannath’s elimt also utters back The daily ihaige is Rs 50, which in all sizes and eoiom co-ordinated 

hoarding and Helix ery facilities for includes loud "We give them l he bathing tubs 

dogs that aio left behind by families same food that they are used Lo." s..vs 1 he shop also has a special range of 

which go away on holiday or are hav- Pr (agannath "But eve n then, there Shahna/ I lussam products called Sha- 

ingpups The dogs are auommodal- are times when I h.u e to coax them pit So. if your dog is allergic to urdma- 

od in a room, which is fitted with into eating bv bribing them with cho- ry tali s and soaps, you can svviU I ' over 

spartex tiles (vvimh aie easy to clean). eolates find i v creams " tn Avurvedi*. lotions, including anti 

and are divided into lour cubit les one scabies skin oil to anti-tick hair clean- 

cubicle toe wry dog Apart Irom Ians T^he K.iwas use mipoi ted soaps, sei Hie price range is quile reasona- 

-- - which are switched olf onlv at X shampoos and deodorants foi hie, going from Rs lb to Ks 85, while tal- 

night — the d* >gs are also provided their dogs, but the Amarnaths make cum powder sells lrom Rs 25 to 50 

with a mosquito lepellent Ther ' is a | do with the products available m local Tin* store also sells greeting cards 
bathroom provided foi bathing and shops, which have a mind-boggling wlm h one dog-owner can send to ano* 

grooming, with the best of shampoos >. aneh \1i »si peuiwnei s patronis.* ther, posters and dog care books 

and soaps on off ei. There are twoatten- Paws and C law* Recent I v. Paws and Claws has also 

dants who come in tor two hoins each one of the most ext lusive shops tor started staling drv meals, containing 

every morning and evening and are pets m Bangalore Says its owner. In- minerals and vitamins tor growing 

paid a salat v of Rs 2.000, tor duties ra, "We have lots of things loi dogs, pups Clearly, a dog's life is not what 

that include walking the dogs dailv but there's not much available for cats 1 it's often made out to be ■ 

20 Owing to pressure oi i space* 'Junior Whirl', could not be earned th/s week- - Editor 



Innereye 


BEJAN DA RU WALLA 



i Aries 

i March 2 1 - Apn! 20 

“] Ganesha says, the 
sun changes i>ignx, 
ushering in 

, j ^.1 opportunities tm 

rapid advancements licctu. 
socialising and a bit of 
romancing, ton Pay (.ai.'rm 
attention to nractiu] matins, 
huause the better organised 
vuo arc, the more von will 
accomplish News, views and 
messages figure 

Taurus 

Apnl 21 — May 20 

j Time to jwt van r 
I shouldei to the 
| wheel and heave 

Hu* i* would not iv 

wise to neglect tlv home, 
bci ausi ! rouble umld come 
front that duet, tion Pori t 
burs' disturbing eirinluuv 
| Work through them I hut'* ‘he 
I usi r o w.iv to lv happy A I’Ji o* 
tt nov.it ion and dt mu ution is 
to be ev pis led 

Gemini 

May 21 - Jun»; 20 

! hr. i . ii u eeh * »i 
*no\ eii u'i it and r, ’irv- 
b.r it w il! nt‘i 0 a hitli 
help t*oin i i*iif sidi 
Yh.i a •!! h .i\« t • l.ise t»',* 
initiative and hmld enthusi * .m 
and th.it sli- , eid Ik- ji./U i ,is\ !i 
would be wonderful to 
tonoMUr.ite on p.irlni ,r ship . anil 
ri'lalionships, .is the>e will mean 
the world t«» y\ui I'uhln its and 
u'n'monv ate foretold 




Cancer 

June 21 — July 20 

Clearly, a week of 
joint -finances, loans. 

, funds, trust-,, legai v 
.T*!?. J and it should spread 
out u\ the next 21 day*' to 
sizeable proportions I, Xpert 
visitors and loieigmns to 
desrer d upon von Thai 
should pmvr very 
Mintulalmg you aoj-.oie in 
vour woi k thanks to 
Memos - Venus tme placing 

Leo 

July 21 — August 21 

Now is the lime Un 
paitnei ships, he 
r they peisonal oi 

I. sliu t!y business, o' 

holli Attachments .ind ties 
will have .i whole new mean- 
ing for yon Loans and funds 
will be reuuntd lor a protect 
.ind you should get it loo 
Buth *»l i In Id fen anengage 
rienl. a m.imajv’ arc Lne other 
evi ntualibes Ka 1 eons 

Virgo 

Auqust 22 -- September 22 

! his week the tin us 
will he nr. work he 

it job business or 

pu.tossion Tr is also 

a trine wh» n i linege' m the 
home 1 oltii e 1 shop ill sia-* 
Hu\ log 'selling j*. ,i sal leti i 
1 1 atun* -ii it Many Vngoans 
will know oi at least fee! the 
transformation and changes in 
then altitude A touch ol 
» onip«issmn wilt he there 



ffi 



Libra 

September 23 - October 22 
You will i \pencnce 
the power to be vour 
own master, it > on 
woi k Ui a plan, 
negotiate skilfully and do not 
shuk from responsibilities 
t"'h'l«her, will pi.n a maim 
pari m yum hie is tni 

studies/ cMinmimu atrons Also 
tof impioving the nund by 
education, hooks, visu.il aid-, 
and travel 

Scorpio 

October 23- - November 22 

j A week of gains and 
j ('(intent men t tliough 
i tin* 1 wo seldom go 
• together (j*mesh.i 
says, many of vmi wih be 
um>lved in sonir way oi other, 
with hiivmi*/ selling and als.» 
leiiny citmn/dixMrahiiu ot ilu- 
house ur office You w til In.- 
ioiuvntr.it mg on person.! I 
affairs and that will naturally 
include health and propi il\ 

Sagittarius 

November 23 - December 20 
j lupitei Vnio r« 

j fiptj; your sign, a* i ording 
to Western astrology 
wBbJi gives you fust the 
mi l»i*l thrust you need to turn 
\oui life around, be it in 
sp»n ts tm.iji'e, marriage and 
so on iVilitips, thegieatest 
i hange will he in your attitude 
towards Ido 'Inis week, a trip 
is possinle and \ oi. 
i nmmunii ate i tteetiy eh 


BIRTHDAYS 



\W : 


Capricorn 

December 21 - January 19 
Rest assured that 
despite pressures on 
lime. 1 1 lends and 
supporters will help 
you a gieat deal Then’ will be 
an mi asion to sm iahse or 
hold a meet, a lontereme 
shortly You will t»e up tv' your 
e'.rs in family and (manual 
ii. a Iters and here pay 
attention v*ty parhudarly to 
behind -the -sc ene aeti v ities 

Aquarius 

January 20 February 18 
Slowly but siuelv. 
you wili be intio- 
spoil n e and soul 
scan lung T xpenses 
will be high tor a worthy 
i.!iN' You will ci’ilainly 
extend a helping hand to oth- 
ers In vour work, expert to go 
places, anticipate invitations 
and parties On socialise A 
trip oi a house move is mill 
catod tor some of you 

Pisces 

February 19 March 20 

I tic sun in \oiJi sign 
helps vou to get 
flung 1 - done and 
motivates vou into 
m tion Hus week you will Lm 
i\td mg vmii h*'art out in job, 
piofessuin vii business Success 
is definitely indu ated You i' ill 
have' the knowledge and the 
skilN to make a real go ot it lry 
to take a broad and humane 
Mew ol men and matters 



Pebruaty 25: Moon trine Neptune makes you at ease with 
prince* and paupers and assures influx of money. Romance and 
promotion complete ibc scene for you. 

February 26c Moon's first quarter gives you the options, 
make the most of it. Those in leaching and writing do 
extremely well, 

February 27: Moon- Venus sextile will result in luxuries, 
comforts and more importantly. new opportunities for 
romance, kids and marriage. 

February28c M<*>n trine sun Wads to excellent placing for 
those in business and profession. Happiness in the homefront is 


also assured. You can look Jorward to an upward swing in your 
life. 

February 29: M<x>n trine Mars favours engineers 
executives explorers, hunters and those in defence services. 
This a good time also for pools and writers, 

March J: Mars sextile Jupiter will compel you to work hard 
and long There will be obstacles on the way but you will win 
the game. 

March 2: Sun -Jupiter sextile shows given imagination and 
labour, this particular placing will work best. Money, fame, 
children and roman re are on live cards, 





c 


'S.-V \ . 

CiMICS 


ARCHIE 



CALVIN AND HOBBES 


WAT I EPSON 


'■pWflH-* 


PHtN IT wu. 

uvx 

K1 ShOWM^l 
UfcL n, Sfc*vl 

ICMftS 0»D r 
lv€l VMCOLDj 
BT tCWM 



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THE ADVENTURES OF LEGIONNAIRE BEAUPEEP 



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HE’S PLAYING 
OURSONG 

Mike kay, flic sinking !ei>end of the Se/vulies. is hack in Delhi and in 
!><•{ x 1 1 ' vii t \ rc/H >rts Samita Bhutia 

I I - ''p- il T -r i n l .i s -you've is, wh\ just ask anyone who frequent today it's the ^ilk Orchid dll hr New 
gel ii ku'(. , 1 " Rarely w iil the ir.lt i rd the Oberm or the Maury a m I Vlhi Delhi I iilton that's swaying lo the 
vicvmvj * into your qwn KIv during the S/ven ties Says one Ian, strains of his guitar. C avat news for the 

st nbbied not ' bay tv as the one w ho almost single old timers * Mike Fay is bark ror an 

mho*, but Mike bay does handed ly orchestrated thr concept ol encore It took this country 14 long 

' hi: band vv assailed Mv.tik pelt j night life' into thr non-existent years to lure the musician back but 

M v -s t i-k * I li.it w.is m ( alcutta j enter tamment st **ne in the capital " it has finally happened. 
vsjvt>jtkm PWJ when \\r plavrd to h(\ite( hin or. at thv Oberoi and Ol course, by now Fay's not vour 

this packed restaurant on Park street ' Bah 1 Ii at the Maurya had reverherat- standard rocket . I le's close to SO, 

If you're wandering w ho Mike F.»\ ed to the strains of his music then, though he looks much younger. 1 [e 



£ from his proposed l wo- week vacation 
$ to a month long "working holiday" 

"It worked out well, as the short 
J comebac k helped me get over a diffi- 
cult period in my life — - the death ot 
my mother, a ragged divorce and hard 
times without a regular job. Besides it 
gave me the opportunity ot visiting 
my girl friend, Priya, in l*une l who is 
going to be his wife next month). It 
was then that 1 decided to return to 
India after lying up all the loose ends 
m the States. And then it w F as a kind of 
'musical hotels' after 1 returned to 
Delhi." The Hyatt Regency bagged 
him for eight weeks before Fav dead 
ed to move onto greener pastures 
Armed with the Mike l av legacy of 
the Seventies he found Delhi verv 
receptive to his music, and the offers 
came swiftly. Though he lived a better 
part of his childhood m Bombay but 
Delhi — - that still remembers him well 
and fondly — was always the first choi- 
ce for him 

What was meant to be just a one 
night stand to usher in I ( >% at the Thai 
restaurant. The Silk ( hx hid. turned 
out to be a three month contract with 
the 1 hi ton management. )ust as the 
gourmet meal - T om Yum Koong' 
soup, Tla Koong' and 'Kacng Keow 
Waan Kai' tingles your palate. F ay 


and his three meinl>ei hand, lmpuK< 
land the drum machine), will belt oui 
some jx»pulai oldies and current hits, 
/>vr /isii Km! and even Night ^ in Whtfr 
S atm. 

'It surprised me no end that despite 
a whole generation having passed by 
in the 14 vearsof absence, people Mill 
remembered me and were bringing 
their children - the new 
generation - - to lister' ti* me pl.i v r 
says f 7 ay 1 Se’s nostalgic about the 
times before 1^82 when he left nmn 
"We really did take !X*Ihi bv surprise 
with our high powered musu. and 
darn e sequences that lasted fiom 1 1 
pm to one am On weekends, the band 
didn't take a break ' Delhi loved I a\ 
and gave him the recognition and 
appreciation that he cherishes till 
today 


T oday, St) per cent ot what hay play- 
comprises hilsot two dec ades 
bcKh "We rehash them add some 
new' beats and our diners really iclish 
this music " But Fav is disappointed 
with his 1 Mhi audiences 'Doesn i 
Delhi listen to the radio or watch 7 V * 
Fight out of the 1(1 requests that i gc*t 
from the diners .ire the same and tor 
the really old, old songs I don't ev en 


sports a necklace ot tiny red, black and 
white heads whic h lie is convinced is 
his good luck charm 1 le holds an Indi- 
an passport, speaks verv comfortably 
in Hindi, knows a smattering ot Pun ja- 
bi F.nglish (ot course), Italian and Cab- 
man and when his voice acquires a 
raspy tone*, many even liken him to 
fohn Pennon. 

He always play«* live — no pro- 
rtvonied sequences will do foi him 
("what if the power trips 7 "/. Born ot a 
Pakistani lathei and British mother 
and having travelled through the 
world. Fay is still very Indian at heart 

T he tourney back 'home' has been 
long and traversed three contin- 
ents— Africa, Europe and ot c our.se, 
America. "Africa was a great mix of 
music and wildlife safaris; In America 
1 spent a long time managing a music 
store and playing on weekends at 
exclusive country clubs and private 
parties for whic h we charged an arm 
and a leg," recalls Fay. 

It was last June that Fay made a ten- 
tative and somewhat low-key Indian 
comeback. That was when Bali l h at 
The Maury a had dragged lnm away 





innrmbrr < 1 1 1 Mu* uorils in? some of j this ' t>e prrp.irrd fo hr MHciv 
t ) i»'i n ‘ disfippomtod 

Ask Inin to phn f r"'rym if hrr, ind Kin I lo\vr\ rr, Mu* Impulse tind Kiymni 
mi^hi just w hispid \e» Miennkr bine jclds nt le.is! Iwnnm sonj;s hi 

" IhomJil von umld do boiler than j their repci toiree.n !• ueok lleriv.il- 



m 


K, V\ luU'iiisi i) was i e.ili v bij; in Mu >se 
JilVS It mviiis just .is piipillil! It u i. i %’ 
though it has Ihvii prppeied heavily 
with th* >l'hiw';iii We pki\ that Loo." 

lhit it '*• not j-isl the prrtrreiuvs ili.it 
h.»vi'i,myK irin.niied um h.niyrd 
over thi* visits I ,iv nli'ii’nrsii triilr 
sadly th«it it's jjsi. i hi* Iik id bands thii! 
have stagnated Whuliiswht hr!. .is 

Sl Mill* lott V | Miip.s lot thom lip hlSNllVV l* 

I! ha\ was tht* first mu’ to \> ate 
f )elln \\ i‘h Mu K .it Ins imi’.n . iu* 
mip,ht |usl also be tlu* ht si one to 
streamline the mamu i in svlin h Ihe 
lot ill bands imu (ion U\hu h .it tlu* 
moment is quite haphazard » 

lop on Ins list of priorities r srltuu; 
up a booking. ly.eni v svhu h v\ ill br^ea 
ri*d towards bniij;iny, the v\oi dry 
bands under one umbrella I hr aj;en 
i v vviil not only help th<* miisu urns >»et 
j’ood pin rmrnts, lull will br targeted 
to raising i hr quality o| then musk, 
even providing them with i]Uiihty 
equipment o» international standard 
"I r.in visualise a professionally run 
other, ti kind ol our stop shop for the 
maybe 20 or more Kinds in thr < lty," 
hr muses with a tar away look m Ins 
rvrs 

In case you lirid *inv doubts on tlu* 
score Mikr Fa v is bark lor ftoot ! and 
hr promises to j»et better with raidi 

B‘K ■ 






Sketches 


G laimtofamnShe 
& the woman 
Whom Shah 
Rukh Khan, the 
heart-throb of millions, 
wed /despite objections 
from her family — and the 
lady herself. 

She wasn't willing?: Not 
rttolly. She broke off with 
Khan on the grounds that 
they couldn' t continue 
seeing each other in the face 
of parental opposition and 
refused to meet him for 
months. 

Was Shah Rukh crushed?: 
You've got to be joking 
The man wouldn't 
recognise a brush-off if it 
bit him on the nose. 1 lejust 
followed Gauri home one 
day, ambushed heron the 
street and threatened to 
sing, dance and generally 
create enough of a nuisance 
unless she relented 
Did the ploy work?: Like a 
charm. The couple wed 
shortly afterwards, with 
the blessings of Gauri's 
family (Shah Kukh only 
had one surviving sister.) 
Early days; Gauri followed 
her husband to Bombay, 
where the couple lived 
with a friend — the 
producer of Kahhi Hmm 
Kabhi Nm — for a while 
before they moved into 
their own flat. 

Happy days?i Oh yes, very 
much so. Gauri and Shah 
Rukh appeared to be 
surgically attached at the 
hip, and made Joint 
appearances at most f flmi 
f inctions, quite the perfect 
couple.SmhRukh even 

twiadrwaiwpwy' vV 

r.,NS 

\A ■■ ; 


' A beiter look at the better halves 

This week: Gauri Shah Rukh Khan 


So did. he pose with 
Are you kidding? DoiVt 
you know that men like, 
Khan protect their wives 
from tne menacing media, 
not expose them to its wily 
ways? Well okay, maybe 
they do, but only vvlien 
they want some positive 
publicity. 

She remained in the 
background, did she?: Ah, 
not quite. It was difficult to 
find a film party shot which 
dkln'thavea 
minidress-clad Gauri 
lurking in the foreground. 
Shah Rukh's reaction: 

Why shouldn't my wife 
wear minis if she wants to? 
After aIL she's worn them 
all her life, she's 
comfortable in them, and 
what's more, she has the 
figure lor then) And 
anyway, sh^s not in the 
movies, I am. So, if you 
have to criticise someone, it 
should be ir.e, not her. 

C iauri is not a public person. 
Isn't she?: Well, she's given 
interviews to film 
magazines about how 
much she loves her 
husband, and how she 
trusts him implicitly. She's 
veejayed the BPL Oye 
show*, and she is part of the 
Shiamak Davar dance 
troupe, with which she 
performs cm stage. 

But what does my of this 
have to do with Shah 
Rukh?: Nothirtg at ail if 
vpu discount th$ feet that 
khan appeared with heir on 

'J^9^^P|?PP* 'UW lit 'f 

hteir - . 

,.w 

teak-AnA mPwfoi&ii : 



* * ; ■ 
, V.'v :w. -V t- . ■ .» 


m*Yth ktdi,UH«Mi{wn, 
wht^ShahRiikfihad 
danced to.lvr Baazmr. 

.$% mbat-i Wrong with 
Itmh It Vod$Sh«w been 
feftteaArirftt iffeottiCaim 
an4:$^. ftattt feadn't ' \ 


made such a song and 
dance about how she was 
mow than just an extension 
erf her husband; she was 
her own woman. 

Her own woman?: Well, as 
they say, go figure. * 


mam 


DEV BENEGAL is backing in the media accolades that have followed the all~lndia release of his 
award-winning film, English August. Born, as Reneged never fails to point out, on the same day as the 
I .umiere brothers screened the first film 65 years earlier, ficnegal has grown up on a diet of American and 
English cinema. He has filmed several documentaries, including Anantapuram or the Infinite Forms, on 
handlooms and the Field of Shadows (for BBC's Channel Four). Hr is already working on his next mega 
turn tore Kavan & Fddie. 


W hat is your idea of perfect 
happiness? 

A hooray in Madna with Anuradha 
and Ish»m 

What is your greatest fear? 

being asked to spend that holiday in 
t ina instead 

Who or what has been the greatest 
influence in your life? 

Mahatma t .andlu 

r ” 

i 

What is vour 
nightmare? 

msmm 

To have Indian 
Airlines passengers 
smile at one another 


What do you dislike most in others? 

That they don’t appreciate I he 
Mahatma today but fieak out on Bill 
Clinton 

What do you dislike most in yourself? 

No comments 
What is your most precious 
possession? 

My wife Amu ad ha 
What objects do you always carry 7 
Anuradha, lsh«in and un 
IVv\ erbook 

What makes you most depressed? 

The hill in Apple CompubT Stink 
What do you dislike most on your 
appearance? 

l h-«» I don’t look like IVrv el3rosi.au. 
What is your favourite word? 

Am tom letter word 
What is your favourite journey? 

I rom Romahy to Marina it puts 
lire m perspi.»cti\ e 
What is your favourite dream? 



j At the* shooting sm?: Dev Hencyal (right) with actor Rahul Bose 


'I’o be fe.itureil m a column like this. 
What is your nightmare? 

To h.ive (ndicin Airlines passengers 
smile atone another. 

What or who is the greatest love of 
your life? 

Ihe woman I’m piesentlv having an 
all.ur with - Armradha 
What is y ou r source of sustenance? 

That IVn cBiosnan has signed a 
thus* movie deal as lames Rond 1 .till 
have two mon- shots at making Ihe 
ultimate bond 

On what occasions do you lie? 

When I meet mv prndiKei'- 
What is you* greatest regret? 

Th.it 1 dn in I direct fvi'tyychi \ !ovv d 
flu' line about [uli.i KnboTls' molhe* j 

harassing \ en 'spit Iberg 
What has been your happiest 
moment? 

Pi : i\ h n» \\ ! 10 si * n g m*> | u eiH e m 

I nyh^' wlii\ h appemil m !!u 

mlcrntilion.il version. » 

,,,,,,, . , ■ -.V 

I I What makes you ! 

i| most depressed? 

| ww&mtikfr 

i The fall in Apple ; 

| Computer Stock : 

[ 1 . ]| 

What bring?* tears to your eves? 
Agrist\.i's performance m ft lyh^h 

Apcj/sf 

How do you relax? 

1 king mil on the Bombay block 
e\c h.ingo floor 

What do you envy most in others? 

Ihat they don't not'd lowcai a 
baseball » ap 

How would you like fo be 
remembered? 

As the person vaporised b\ Bn ice 
and A rme 

How would you like to die? 

I d like In be ' it minuted with 
exhemc prejudice ' by Brin e \\ tile 
and Ainu* in a Sam IVckmpah film 
diiech-cl by Shekhar Kapur 


ACIDITY ? ANOREXIA ? CONSTIPATION ? 


LIVER Problems and STOMACH 
Troubles are the root Causes of 
most of the diseases. 











Every car has 
its own private Sittie hell* 

And from now on, its own 
private little blessing. 



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Wfwi aw demand 
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A 



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i ifatPitf. pi ift t *it a 


" 4 



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A n/r c *r Ut s land j >r 
r 1 habd r ) ami 
end" amt 


RELAX u'lth HELIX 


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Shell So ihoosr lor voui car its own blessing Choose youi own Helix 


FORMULA 


THE 


T O 


FIGHT 


CAR 


STRESS 


3 MARCH 1996 



Nothing like Indian cuisine 


Palate 

V Tood for Thought 7 
0anuarv 7) was educative 
I as well as entertaining. 

Rasa or sensuou&ness is the 
$oul of Indian cooking. It is 
this rasa which has popula- 
rised Indian cuisine 
abroad. 

Many exclusive Indian 
restaurants are doing tabu- 
( lously well in America and 
Britain. Spicy Indian food 
is a big hit there. 

Cm any Western dish 
match the taste of our desi 
hfutpa ihsh? India offers the 
most varied fare, each slate 
and region boasting of its 
distinct culuiaiy. For an 
Indian to make a choice 
between home and 
Western Kod is difficult. 
Debashis Sen, 

Calcutta 

There is nothing like 
good Indian food. I am a 
man of 77 and still going 
strong, reading, writing 
and exercising. My food 
habits are saatvik, pure 
vegetarian, which have hel- 
ped me to maintain perfect 
health all through my 77 
years. 

P.C. I *asgupta, 

Calcutta 

5& Cooking is also an art 
and needs the right blend- 
ing of ingredients to 


achieve the right taste. 

Both the Uriani and Ayur- 
vedic systems believe that 
different fruits and vegeta- 
bles have different seaso- 
nal effects on the mind and 
health. 

M.S. Qurai^hy, 

Calcutta 

M Jiggs Kalra, for a 
change, talks about the 
numerical significance of 
Indian cuisine His exotic 
dishes, the reapes of 
which appeared in the 
Magazine earlier, may 
make colourful copy but 
considering the soaring 
market prices it is not that 
easy to purchase* those 


quaint ingredients of his 
recipes. 

Prahlad Agartval, 

Nacha 

M The entire process of 
cooking should have an 
aesthetic appeal: right 
from purchasing the mgre 
dients foi pakurnt to its 
cooking and finally serv- 
ing it on a platter 
Uebabrata Mohan ty, 
Balasorc {Orissa » 

Unbreakable 

Bond 

M Whatever happened to 
Kuskin Bond's column? 1, 
for one, enjoyed reading 
his essays. In a world full 


of complications the 
childlike simplicity of his 
writings was endearing. 

I am sure the slot will 
now be taken over by fash- 
ion and five-star living. 
May a jit Mazumdar, 
Kharagi?ur 

®f The Kuskm Bond 
column was the major 
attraction of the Magazine, 
i am disheartened that you 
have chosen to discontinue 
with it. 

Btkram Saha, 

Rahara (W.R I 

Honeymoon 

Special 

il!H was taken aback that 
the Magazine had to 
publish an extract from a 
book like How to An tinge a 
Wttiiitng which gives a 
long list of articles that 
would be needed during a 
honeymoon. Articles 
which have more cerebral 
appeal would l>e more 
appreaated. 

Tania Chakrabarty, 
Kharagpur 

SI How convenient it i> to 
be presented with a list or 
necessary items one needs 
for a honeymoon. Hie 
Magazine would bo ot 
great help to those embark- 
ing on a honeymoon or 
planning to get married. 
Prabal Cuba, 

Patfiu 




PAGE 4 

W.'W. AMWttn 

^1 1 ASI !l T1 lAKCXDR'S nnpressn »ri> ot India 
alter globalisation 

PAGE 26 

MANEKA (iANOHI raises hei fingers vet 
again This t-me to stop Goa's favourite .-.port 
bull fighting 

Shashi Tharoor 


1AT1MK1 AMI I 
11 JUNIOR V. Hfkl 
22 ( 'OMK'S 

26 fouls 

30 FIRSlTl*.RSOh 




CoVFR STORY 


THAROOR’S 

INDIA 


// this is I'Jnhuhsation , \>irchiw svv.nie.shi (Uiythty 



< >N MV f-IRS I NIGH 1 IN DM, HI, 
the lift at the Maury a Shera- 
ton took u.s up to the 12th 
floor in a breathtaking six or 
seven seconds. "Remarka- 
ble," I commented admiring- 
ly to the friendly hotel 
employee in a maroon sari 
and businesslike page-boy 
haircut, who had draped a 
three kg marigold garland 
around mv neck as I stepped 
aerov, the threshold. "Must 
be among the fastest lifts m 
the world " 


She took n ! y praise in stride, as well she should have. Jetiagged affei an 1 8-hour jour- 
nes from New York, I had failed to notice that this was not some super-speedy new eleva- 
tor (.ethnology that liie Maurva had brought info 1 >eihi, but ratliei some highly creative 
labellieg. When I finally woke and looked out ot rny window, 1 realised that what the iitt 
but ums had called the 12th floor was in tact the second, { he gleaming Maurya elevator 
hat! i Merely taken pie lor a i .de and a --hoi ter rid..' than I'd imagined 

l.iioion I keep me nco'-.-lon lone out of my von e the nett time 1 ran into the maroon 
sari twelfth t!ooi, h.aih? I '-.ait 1 pointedly J ‘! didn't think liberalisation meant being 
abeia! ia ilh tacts 


~’hc * • as .ai rpnsi ‘:1 lh.':i I ! la* i lak. ; : . a i. a. e. ‘ ( Kir loreign v lsi tor- nu it h p re ter to till ilk 
<1 vli. ti e! v ■ 's as being on tl o I J * f > and i 2 Li i Moors i at her than ti le Inti or sect>ntl," she 
- • ’■ V* ije e\ . tl ilWOi i Ot e. " M *d ! ! ie\ / toii'l !■, .ok OL.t O^ tilt V v M idow* i|l,lt lTU.lt '! 1 

• V - ■ r . * * I o new ind.e \u indi-i ! \va~ dis. owrme Stoili iheoulsi.lr an Indian! five- 
smiiij: mo alio snu ioti talking note! si.ill, '.viler- nothing is tiuiu 




what it 

■wms (not oven the elevator buttons), 
whcrt windows are not meant to bo 
opened and appearances art' the only 
reality. 

I There you go again You 're doing fust 
what you criticised the Nmpauls for . draw 
irtg gnteruhsed conclusions from one tnv- 
levunt example. "Nothing is what it 
seems?" That’s true of any place, nor just 


five-star hotels . / 

I had averaged a visit home each 
year &ini\ leaving India for post- 
graduate studies in the US more than 
20 years ago, but I had always stayed 
with family and friends, of whom 
thankfully 1 still have several across 
the country. This time, however, I was 
in India not on holiday but toi work, 
to address a United Nations [peace- 


keeping seminar and to auempcaiv 
UN Under Set rotary -Ceneni l h 4< fi 
Annan on a senes of official meeting:, 
As a n'sult, I was set'ing anoth* r buha 
the India we present to foreigners It 
was a curiously disorienting 
experience 

L>f»n't get me wrong I m not com 
plaining It's difficult ki complain 
about a standard of hoteiienng ! have 


rarely come across in lour continents 
in the course ot a peripitelu prutessio 
nal life oveiwhelmingh attentive 
statt who were tar mun- numnou^ 
than then counter pails m the do\ elop- 
ed world tiiu] tar more capable than 
thee counter} ».irts in the developing, 
tfarthngh effluent housekeeping, 
and food «it a debt im ism *ss and vane 
i\ th it Western cuisirvs would he 
hard put to imaguie t )n» uiuld ghdly 
e.\t hange a wee)- in paiudisc foi a 
week ip the Maury '• Sheraton, and not 
noiivt' the dilloienve 

Provided somebody else is pa\ mg 
ihehili A' 

What should an Indian make of a 
morn rent that msts me.r* . m om 
night than am- of the hotel s diligent 
start make in a month * Oi j telephone 
■a stern that * h uy.es Ks 7 a puK* 1 foi 
!;s ;l culls' 1 k >1 tin ettu lent laundrv that 
wdJ \\ ash and »elurn com seeks f h* 
same das tor ton Mint s the pine sou 
paid to hue them ; Of a hospitable 
lounge where b uving wallers u ill pK 
vour guests' i hildren with ihree md) 
halt glasse* ot I ant, i at Ks^Oeaeh. 
plus t.mO 

IFnongh atieudy \ on tiioik this e- 
fictin /,/ uou* Indian rcadc'*' 9 If you ft 
i i^tomshcd i/irt - imur p'obicr*. Indian- 
hare taken i .n< * pm a*- m -dud/ fur n lore, 
lime - if they pjimni^c hoc slw hint h- 
J hdn 1 1 /on nom e the cuwih a/ Indian'- m 
tin’ /jiV'7 lobby. tht onc/ng tin 1 n\hiutam-, 
helping thcm^lrt - feds t it pec won now 
ai the buffet ? hid hi rs ia*gc it unlaw- mu! 
tilmir s It hus r.uw fa* Mnun/t. hicndons 
utttf dhubtis ; 

Shad eoine In India and tounda ion* 
ign country, one where the i barges see 
mod to have bevn cab uluted in dollars 
and then converted tor up* e.s And 
\et. this India is patronised by as 
mam* Indians as Westerners xj it any 
one was out el touch, if was me 

It lertamlv wasn't the beggar 
woman apathetic infant at her breast, 
who approached my hired Confess*! 

.it an intersection I offered hei mv larg- 
est com, ami she pracl ually thrust it 
ba< k at me "itabu:/, tin mpue sc kuu 
hoga " It two rupees aren't enough for 
abeggai in today's Now Delhi, one 
wonders whv tht* government bothers 
to mint anv oi the smaller coins As 
hotel doormen expert Rs 10 tips lor let- 
ting you into \ our car and railway 
porters start their tariffs at thnv figu- 
res. I imagine the mpv going the wav 
of the lira or yen, becoming the indivis- 
ible base monetary unit as the paisa 
ceases to have any value M all 

/ Who a* r you to talk 7 A ten-rupee Up is 
just V) t ruts for the likes of i fou Are you 


going to begrudge a hotel karamchan un 
amount that wouldn't get you a nip of cof- 
fee in New )tori 7 Jfwc haor a sirto* of on ** 
mwomi/ dedicated r-» making torn grins 
feel t otnfoi tabic, what':, iwong with expet - 
ting than to respond w A nuT* An offu ml 
making a dollar Hilary is the last person 
who dnndd be not trim; June nun h things 
(0<t in India Ask my mother, who neon 
passes a beggai without handing oca a 
linn, lum* he iris about the > rang i list oi 
enautu ! 

! r | Mu- sums one routmeh hears abet it 
j .1 m lliciapitij) » ^rtainlv tend to con- 
firm nil predation L akhs are discuss 
ed as it lhe\ wi*n’ snuil! < hange the 
n»*w Inditiii i ntreprenems an cm/ep// 
u*. A \ Tilled Nations , olleaguehas 
jest sigiied iier I'Msi'in thea{>pio}>n.iH 

l\‘ na’ik d \(’\,' I i sends' ( nlom she is 
}MVint; Ks ],'i(r,P | )ii.i munlh, \\ ith two 
\ rap/ i rni in a,h’-im c I he landlord 
veui prohaoJv make m -.|\ I’amlhs 
v a ha! he spent total U » build lii 1 
j h»msi 10 \e.u- ago 
i ! hitside the mfeinalicMiai tn’i* stai 
cm ml ol i nurse, the talk wa a at! cm 
1 triwal.:, .it sprawling nmlti-c lore far- 
mhouses and the dairi** > ‘c ept u« them . 
and o! the dramatic rhange the latest 
vandal was going to bring abnur ai 
i the u.ihoiiN politual fortunes Moth 
j ot the excitement Mvmed, how\ vpi. to 
( be 1 1 infilled to four nalists who as a 
i triU’ tend to hear earthquakes when 
I others merely slam doors "This is ter- 
| r :f n. ’ nu-ii.i man '-aiil to mi .ilvmi 
! the! law ala allau sii(>: IK a!termter\ le- 


! w mg menu IMe inoie pmsau ijuestmns 
! of ('ruled Islationspeace-kivping 
: "It's the biggest story sim r 

j Steve Kapoor. The new 
] generation singer 



Independence!" 

I Since whose independence — the Sei/- 
i hclles' 1 What about Gandhip's assassina- 
tion, the Chinn War, the three Pukwars, 
the F mergenty, the nuclear explosion. 
Operation Bluestw, Mrs Gandhi's killing y 
the Delhi and Bombay r tots . n Why is this 
that much mote earth -shaking than : >0 
other stones one tou Id name 7 1 

Ordinary Indians were more' blase; I 
did not meet a single' person who 
dhtn t think all politicians were cot- 
ruj >t anyway Their attitude to the 
1 iavvala scandal was a combination ot 
"what’s new 7 '' and "So whaf ? " l ; or 
the newspapers to wax indignant 
! about the n. lines in Iain's hsl is ralhej 
i like finding a P page ot the telephone 
directory and concluding iha! only 
f’ateU have phones f he lew pohtiou- 




ns on whom the press and the CB1 are 
focusing represent those who receiv- 
ed money from one, rather small- 
scale, operator during one particular 
year It is a safe assumption that there 
are other politicians who have taken 
money from other operations m differ 
ent years, quite probably in amounts 
that would d warf those dispensed by 
the meticulous Mr lain, hut they have 
been lucky enough to have been subor- 
ned by people less diligently devotes! 
to the art of double 1 -entry 
book-keeping. 

iThe truth t * that whereas Americans 
demand of their politician * standards that 
diw’t exist w their society at huge (ask 
Gary Haiti, most Indians ua ept conduct 


w our neighbours As a pwoplr uh: tend to 
he open, hospitable , generous, truthful, 
faithful amt generally honest, and we 
expei t our friends ami relations to be the 
same T wo classes of people are, however, 
exempt from these norms, politician and 
mooie star s These largn ■- than -/ ife figure ; 
enjoy a social carte blanche to lie, cheat 
dissemble, and to commit large s< ale larce- 
ny, adultery and tax fraud, only murdrt is 
a little more difficult as San jay Singh 
(and, indirectly, 'sun fay Putt hire lear 
rung. So what the media mavens will dis 
cover is that their journalistic enthusiasm 
isn't entirely mirrored on the street huh 
ans expect their politicians to he drdionest 
and duplicitous, and are not sui pi tsrd to 
have then assumptions confirmed To the 
ma Public, all the talk of liawaln is »i lot of 


hawa, lal 

T he only truly outrageous comment 
that emerged from the f lawala 
business while 1 was in India was Bi|u 
Patnaik's proposal that the Army 


from politicians that we wouldn 7 tolerate | ma Public, all the talk of Huwuln is a to 

The Wills World Cup inauguration. Indian culture needs an Italian, Gianfranco 
Lunetta (inset), to make Sushmita Sen 'look Indian’ 



shou Id ta ke over the a >untry A s it hap- ' 
f>ens, because of my UN peace- * 

keeping-related business. T spent j lof * 
of my time in India m the company of 
army officer;:. They were unanimous 
ut theircmharirissi'd rejection of the 
.suggestion made hv the Grand Old 
Man of C trissu politics It was not sur- 
j'iisiiig that they disclaimed any inter- 
est m taking op the Tunning oi Uie 
vou;\ir\ like all true professionals, 
tin v only wph io do what they are trai- 
: us 1 to uo well Hut equally important 
getting involved in governance would 
only rum tine of the few institutions in 
the ; ounlry^hui ha-, not vet been ! 

Oesmirched bv the pi\ vailing mor-\s i 
J he Army is iJi a splendid ad v r» ,A o j 
vnwnl !oi India Tin (iialitu* 1 . u 


prize*, and tin ines i; uvdib 

- >n 0- men 

from their f a’ best davs.e. 

kiefs in du 

Indian Military Aonii’mv 

*e tliosy 

that an' im ri’aoiigiv r.uej < 

C41* ’ 

wouniiv high staii'lards o’ ] 

' i*m toipian- 

a . hmieslv. hard wo»k sell 

sae- if k e 

ait ot ruplibjlif e r le tJ »- *<. t ;• ■; 

l. r ad. t ion 

d:scipliiu Ue.mspivu 1 rn 

\rniv lia*. 


no plan' loi bigot",’ m ib l.mks pi« , iu- j 
-.lire cm discrmun.iMon mi ji i ; fe *ai( ill J 
instem ivh.;rofi are \ om| -c< leh : 

unknown i sp- A-» m 1 1 * * • \ oung < udet-. j 
.it tin !M *\ and n;.r \ eiled it llv j 

' allies and .1 ] i>jti.m; lliev were pn.- j 
1 ivi 1 \ taking iiae adulthood f" i he ; 
sate 4 V , honour md wdtare >t v»Hir 
coijoivv i time tirst anva\s in* ! ever yh- 
me. Ilu honouj well. uc and safety n» 
tin you 1 emr-and nviu ueii 
\ «>u* own cast worn tor I and s.Ueb 
1 • ri.i* last. % iiv< 4 ys and o \ vf vtuiu\ j 

»uystn< iV. 'xrij'dg .iml <t w.r» IcMr j 
Sunjay Outt: Enjoyinq social ! 

c trie blanche I 




fh.il everyone there, from theC om- 
maiidanl to the youngest icuiel, lakes 
lies '.redo verv seriously ) 

)'ui the hi st ol India can onlv hi pie 
mtv.sJ bv msu la ling tin Army fiom j' 
die piesMiri's of the worst ot India --- | 

bom il»i ur.ceusingiontenhonofr^g- 
iop .aid i el noon trom (iu % n if ional ! 

h.ual \>t 1 uring enters. irom tin* sei- 
t:sbn»'ssa!td tin lruhsi ipiineoi llwpie- 
vaitsng public ethos and 1 reap the poll 
tu ian's pruclHt of • 1 •Ming tn.m the 
j'ovu'i to pci iiut Mi lVai.aik apj»e irs 
loloigel tlKil the verv qualif ios he 
v\\n'i*s the Ai m\ lobjingi > govern 
iiH'si 1 ar«* the ones ihi Army would 
lose it it stayed m government j 


I A > I watched the nui^md band: of the 
•nmed /e.'ci’s heatin: the tclrcat' oul'iide 
Raditrayad lliwvtm. roith the ■* kiri oft a \ l 
trn <»?//»/ uoudy vs/ny ovn the ti rim 
net! r nlei s if! the camel < ory^ silhouetted 
u^irrrd the Delhi tieih^ht. / wa^ filial 
with f idmnation No one know:- luxe to put 
on a splendid 'how bettei than oni untied 
fon r*., i/ point midrib 'f*red it feu'dtHh 
earhei ut the RcfniblK Dim parade J'hepre 
co u’t ; man hie;: of out -nld:er\ thrudom 
•id oai ten/ of the dated float*, thrplmaf 
i on nf India on display m the uniform s, 
head^em, nimble ethnu itie^ and coen the 
heights of liu Uffeicrd mihtan/ uniN the 
mo < 'inx myjit of the a'ldoieed nudhei na 1 
omx th* • medal <0 heron ally cat tied by her 



officer son, all suffused me with pride and 
gratitude Pride and gratitude, too. for the 
fact that the betibboned uniforms were on 
the marchers , not on the tmewmg stand 
The Indian Army knows its place — and 
takes it with honour.] 

The Army has resolutely refused to 
lei down its standards, but in the new 
Ihdia it's hurting In a land where 
then* are usually a 100 viable candida- 
tes tor every job, the Army is suffering 
from .i shortage of officers. A colonel 
in the Paratroop Brigade told me that 
instead of the 22 officers he should 
have had to run his battalion, he had 
only 10 One of his majors, a bright 
and self-confident flier, freely confess- 
ed his intention to soon take his skills 
into the burgeoning private ectoi . 
There was a time when service to the 
nation was lewaidmg in every sense, 
including the material, but as our eco- 
nomy has opened and grown, our 
soldiers, diplomats and administra- 
tors are finding themselves the poor 
cousins of the businessmen, bankets 
and the television talk show hosts of 
tiie i iev\ India 

r ‘n , odav s India otters its residents 
X more choices than evei - on 
c\ hen to walk, but also on w hat to 
bm iv ha I In di i\e and u hal to listen 
• o 

1 w as s{i uck. attei ,i gap ol just 18 
months, b\ the globalisation' ol Indi- 
an hte the piotusion ut hoardings, 
advertising, Western brand names, 
the multiplk ilv ol vehu les on the 
in, ids that weie ,u>l ambass«idors and 
fiats, the advent nt a new pop music 
that owes m« >ie to trends in I .ondon 
..nd in Now Yoi k than to anything out 
ol Bollywood Sorting audio channels 
m Air India, I had to listen attentively 
to leahse that the lyrics I was hearing 
were in t. *i I in Hindi, oi a l least prima- 
rily so - >o American was their 
si mud, tin’ll accent, their ver\ 
intonation 

/ 1'hiit n how *■ hinr long i nm hirer been 
nwt\f Alisha. Mu hihu . Slim on ham’ been 
m tm ml fur age* Indians *./i/y pop *vik. 
nip mul i twib/nutiei/'. of till three Put thei/ 
at w ^ nig tilnu geel, glhual^, mid i !a>^n ul 
.viol What’ difteient about todmf is that 
then' mou ofe •en/thniy mill it^ itoiie 
icith gieutci wpl actuation / 

I grew ii)i in .in India that wasobsos 
sed with ^wadedn National sell res- 
pect seemed to icejuire that we made 
them eveiv thing we needed here, how- 
ever bad l\ - bom out moded cars to 
outstanding * \ la. Today we seemed 
to have lost oui patanoia about lore 
ign goods, and mir even gieatei para- 
noia about toieign investors t bie ol 



0»ju Patnaik: The grand old man of Orissa politics 



A ransacked KFC outlet in Ranqaiore 


the lessons oi !.: u .1 \ e Ml it \ ■ i 1 * in 
learn the \\ lone, i " > os lumi I Aoi\ 
ovei sin.* '.he! ra |ri._!,a V eMpaie,' 
i iK h .! 1 1 . \ ia\ ed ■ ■ ! i ;■ i rule, 
inn ill Iris *i,i . •• i i n ill- - Si.it l« i\- oUlu 
impel i.ihit lvh»n» I * \ ei \ 'i.itr ■ witha 
hneli ase Nov i *■ « si em to 
have on I you . n ' ! 1 1 i: 
the luiMili •s .in. i li ■. i “• * . no sma- 
shed hentiiil'. : ' I ' hi* hn i pi elm 
St's in li. me. ilon* . i < . . \\u pniili i.ae- 
who are diil h . m., n * i i. m hit due. i • 
in i >i II u 

// tiw li ' • /•" -■ t /■'.», /.» I 

the ItfC ’»,■ I'l'i :'i ■ ; 'I : •*! s . I "I 1 I, ! 

Ihnnltul I't ii^thuul • j 

frit IhJnw i /■:« t.i " V f /d, 1 j 

i/n.s rJ'/i/ ti'iciyn a /i 1 1 «' '■ f i> ■» a\; j 

lilli hub li *n* tIU i .I.’i/h.;. *. 1/ ., // j 

?//;; U/oo no/// 1 - ■ /#. ./ . i ./ n /i * . f e j 

M( /'.V '.<’//.» ' ■;< . Inf «*ii ■ /sv | 

///;u »./*•<»’ then w <■' i n. f ■/Mi// rv.’.i/M j 

t'd i>if the riie'n >m u', f /c> ‘ r ;>» -n.;> 

///nr fft /f/zc/ */ :*"(”//’. ' ///.V w « •<.(/ no/ a 

U'0)thn'h:le nleutiii' tr f" "!• / /Vm/m 

noheih'i then thee:-', /i/ >‘tin;uhn in 

m> u'ho >»m/c ial /: !i ir:: c.;//...' . ! tin 

ttiolo) > tn ho itir.c it ,eo;di ; 7 ■ • *• *//»■;/. #•/ 
th I'fr'i'O'k f':nit ..Wtf f he Hit '/m f, i ! i *n, 
i ui then; int . 1 n/;j//,\// l< t ti ij iht >, .// 
hehihnt nnhlu och »/(’/e.../d/ */ a/ 

Pan^ilun i 


O i'n * hane/' i * oukl t help noliciru; 
vaslhalpr ictM.ilh evrrvon* 1 
; 1 new in the punt media has now v;one 
; m»o relrv ision 1 h“ new India seems 
j »o h.n e m.'ie I \ piudut Lion * ompan - 
! ies ill. in l.i a tend m 1 ^Lfinrants lhonjj;h 
. 1 ■ in iiu liP'\i lo pi‘*lIk ! th.it the radio 
\» iH *e\ ei si itsi ll m the « oiii my, ve f u s 
hut lo >iild:,'t In e. on iht fv’orreturi. 
• i phoih * all In ‘in a jour no list Irii'nJ 
without -»e« 1 m \_ p vet another larmliai 
lav on (lie hos, earn*". rh diseussm^ 
th* ! ,i f e ot the N. it mil ill sou li* I* hit e** 
s aihei than eoli»nin inelu's 
IWn.tt iliH - ini' ' hli ,»/i ./!/ * / iltu'i fhn! 

... ,/e» I li'.ht Il'ri J'l >!i i/s nnu a • 

.r.i /*» ^uil th ,nnh\‘ t'otuii fitch hi juno 
.'»<*//« ? ihitn fwit. tn thill '*oiin , inb; oft 
"f fine 1. 1 </ /i/A s/(’ss t line Mhl vtti'it 

'h>>'' n'iitm\ irteifinle. m ell •* the ahm c 
l'hh,< e* m loot *he h tlcu'il hull of it. iwd 
r. * 1 / 1 l / * it ’It on ;h. hti'imh, now it ^vee 
.u'./n '*)/»»,•;/*’ the l''h>l tf.hc i ultmcot the 
iVe./i /a / 

O w • more pmnl o* this ^ ame on rm 
last t i.i\ m India when . Uiie \; s r ran a 
tiom pae,** headline s* reaming “Suslv 
mit i to (un)diess up tor (.'up '' The 
stoi v urnl on toannourue that theloi- 
niet Mis:- L-m verse, ‘siishmita Jxmi. 
w*mld he the in. i|*>r .itharhon" at the 
World C up opening at the hdeii ( >.u 
*h ns it uuoted ,m Italian, iif all people. 


the eh u man < »l •metinny * ailed 1 iall 
Moon linay,!’ (_ onsuli.nils. jei.-i i n 
me, Ui.it Sushmila would j^i-ar? i ‘thv 
hue heaiit\ oi hidi m u mianluu n I 
uhiJe 'taking **U hei c lothe*- 1 {tlou 
tile v\ t\iiK1 Ml u ith th' 1 « 1 ‘iemonv s 
* I’Jlest * hli' I iiMiilstei ! v oil i * « i 
t!i*' man w he had l \» i me. I '■*ai nanlha 
f o\ it on i ( a lull t a l< a tea; that s!;.‘ 
nm'ht taLe o!f hej el* »(!»»- *.v i - in it 
in* 1 1 1 it ui' *4 1 )' I am you ‘y, to in.il> i h '2 
lot»k ail Indian 14 » ne-. *'t hetoir th»‘ 

I hilt Moi »n '*Mi; 1 iio: added 

So it has utile to this I he *\ orld '*■ 
m- )st k \ ,ou l*‘ih;eal’lr * tk k **i at idiot u e 
'le^'vl- a linn of Sma^e v * usu It tints 
(Imm land when- theonlv eru kets 
t!ie\ ' v* ■ heard .a an* nisei U. tn t i^ai el 
ie liyhteis) lo m.iimt.h tui e a 
j ■ * liunule a la-^ei show ' h» j*»n it * an 
laiuwh a en* kehne **\ « nt I heeistwhi 
le * apit.il ot Indian vulture n< *\|s an 
Italian to m.ikeoneo! itsuti/<*iis ' look 
Indian" And the oiy.imsers m'tionut 
,uh ant e public i elation" e. to di op 
iCtisers about tlu* re. id mess *»t a svm- 
bol ot contempvirai v Indian uoman- 
hood to umin\ss I (liou^Jit mm h llun» 
only happened with the lull moon, not 
under a I lalt Moon 

It this is globalisation, yi\'e me 
>w 'ihU’zJii any dav ■ 



Innereye 


v-.-QFw.%y ■ 3 

BI-JAN DARUWALLA:! 


I Aries 

I Mairh ? i - April J.U 

I ! li'i ■ MS, »l\ | ii ,1, Mill'' .' 

*t .11 lll'l,, ■ 'll* l>S 

PW ! ‘"‘‘I o' >» • • 

BK • ■ * * ■ ■ i • -I m-’s 
J h' n ■ *i !* »v »; ■ i »*i . 1 ,* ■ ■], ( »• >ii 
\ » " j* 1 ■ . .ii - 1 nn p!,:i 

| Ml.’ki |!M ' f> , >T . ’(i,r!n x 

i i - \ * r . ’:!• ■ ! . ■ jm * ■ . -in 

• .n •(*■!" |J\ \l, ft ! > Ir 

» ■ *i!' ib, :r "i is 

J» >- It * ■' *■■.!» i .il, ! M ' sill if 

\ I. ,|(i I . I It »\ . ,|l|Sl • H II * II 

Taurus 

Apr i 1 .' i Mi'/." 1 

_i >3 '* 

f *’e * ‘.l '\ •• i 

BhEe • 

i 1 • , > i ■•ii' ' f. »'i '■ 1 

.. .i* b* i'll' l » 

■ • , ■ . • i ' ■ i • . i . : f ■ 1 1 i ii * 

, i ,■ 1 1 ■ 1 * .■ uni 

-■ ■ \ ’■ ' 1 ! 1 1 1 i 

- i i . » 


1,0 I , • 

a r >v 


. . ■ ■ . . , in.: 

l : ii ■. i • i 1 1 1 1 ! )• 



Cancer 

June 21 • July 20 

YOU VVlU hrivn lu 
inuVi- last, wry hist 
it- :;rt tin p •odir*. ,V' 
nimprhtion \\ ill hr 
*n nu ■ u is ms I o Uiiiuv* «u” 
i *' lot n* I Ii'- Inst mi Indus 
Jm.iiin s jru *■ isj ol loiuis, 

I ip id . mi r .1 Piriil «iTk 1 • tipit.ii 
f t ir nuiuun .ill of which pi. iv .i 
' il.ii | II* ! f I i •u , ii;n firs .mil 
rr.pir.ihiiiiii! mm os cimshtutr 
'in* m. ■ nnd 

Leo 

July ?! Auqust ?1 

I I If '.Nil Jupili ' 

.r-; v. * • i.ukl make 
r ! IjN* .s hi! ■ I if r !• uM 
hr.lllbu’lsi 

'Jit i IVIM* fill -»lli * 1" S Ill 

riUhni., \\.i:i in* s ..i'.',.' ,i. .i i .* 

\. ii! !*.» .i>ii| !\ | 'iir’.uiiiii UtJ 
M.mv ! . mi*. niMsf h.iv i» i.i. 

! i' s!» ■ <■ ii , in 1 1 \* i.r.i ‘.ii 
■ i »• ui in. I .mv r i|i* 

t ! II 1 < l.irrm »\ lli.*; j 
I m tin ■ .tp’ ii.ii*ii«’ i 

Virgo 

*\ i« ]i 'V September 

'.s fiJ* llw i' • null! hi 
•; ii m .1 # -i *:i I- pl.i:i*., 

■'id r\*»*n .< f.iflmi 

•U! II nil'll! L’l* 

■ . * • i * ’ . . ■ . r * *. f .1 l\il» 111111* jp 

* ' " . . !’|| I UlpU \ Uli’.ll III Ii* 

•; s i. ' .i.’.p ir in hi*.- i n 

pr l\ .ir' I'liipnr'Ui 

. !»*mi •• 1 -i'lji v«n. t" .i r l'.»\ 

I ».i! * iv ni.i’ lir«\» i<i Muir altnr 
ii <! p'*] .i >ii.il .ippiMr.i’ti * 

‘vl.Ml Ii >• !l J i - h».** ! t. ■ i. k 



' 0 . 


i Libra 

Soplei 7 >oor ?3 - October 2 P 

1 v. , n< t A^.un, v’li.inp's 
.nu! i a I’T h.mhn^ m 
ihr ]nh srv Um .lit 
iiutiiMfi'il MimUIi 
S t” Ml* l I III* n SpL’i l.’S i .lH' illlll 
.lUrnli.m hi m.illri., M’l.ifiuy. 

tO i III 111 It 11 , U'Sl .Ill'll i UMtlM" 

puiMiitN hlmm.il mi; untinr. 
U'.u hilly;, s. iilptmu. lliu^K 
jiihitci'liin p.i’iii'm mii 
piil'Iu'Pt Ni'iii UkU Imki 


Scorpio 

Octofoor7tt - N 


Nov/pmber ??. 

1: i\ouM lx hi'M i.i 

li s t im i \ tin i *^'11 ii 

Jiltli bit ,»n.i not hi* 
mt ill\ mvol\ ml 

.CIM.HII'l t“' l ullU'^h.l 
Iv»t»« ’V. itii ■ : « ft i • «i iif;« ii ■ .i«wl 

.i’ll 1 .ill' HI ' ll iu'llS' , otlm* 

*.!i''j'.’ii for»5ol*l f m I ui util t, 

Ii i.iiiinr, .m. i u-.i rslm.'iif, 

h.i*s.!,i\ tl ii vniy,!i Ilinr-.tH vaiI! 

l>t* .*t \ 'l.il imp »: I.iiii i 
MivJil.Uu'Ji i\ ill hi ip 

Sagittarius 

Novumt)f»r JJ -- D^vniln r 

I III III ,l!If .Mil wil 1 

bt in^; -it fill*, is .linl 

hum! y nu’iriOrr*’ 1 . 

Sll .pi*. I »' viili'.! 

v.His. ttii'ii. hi. Mum 
'■•.il.uI.:! Kin*- w 'll hr 
. um’iiiniii .linn; .it !it«‘Ki!!;' 
■iilMK-ilt*' l SI ’» 1*0 * Ollli.l.t" 

I Ollhi hr .'P 'Pi .liH’i \ isih 
i :t* it I* *v\ • . .wut tt"‘ts m 

om.ii'Uii Mr vou PrrjMii' lot 
n on 






Capricorn 

Dnc;omher ^1 - January 19 

'lou IlitVi’ .) lll.lfli l' let 

, !o«ill\ tiiow .uul hr 
pr.nsrd tur h "I lu- 
i» i*i up, n-jv K* tou>»h 
but il i*. ill hr vvril \i'orlh it, 

.ind tb.si r mipnituiit l.rhrrs, 
..tils, posn-Ts tlvvis. .ids and 
*«tlu*i mrilu ot uonmmiiuituin 
i*. il! rntiu* vou h’t .ul all 
iDiro.irts .uul Ivlti'is 
I lot rihlr rrrois x oulvi i rrrp in 
Mi \uu 

Aquarius 

Januarv ?0 - Fchmarv IB 

) rrp ,1 It ,:sh I 111 
l.nnilv 'Mill hn.iiKt 1 , 
a* both I < mid out 
»it Ikiiul Ihrimkis 
to kn» u\ w hep «ii:d wlurrtn 
dr.iv\ dir Imr iVspilrthr 1 
diltii ullirs vou will ha\ r tin* 
nr i \ r and w'ln* to do wli.it 
vou ii.iv 1 to It wo -Id hr host 
lii put \om kUmv juoss rlrar- 
!v .uul hnr!l\ vMthout .urrdo- 

inv: it 

Pisces 

F ehr ua ry 1 9 - Mai i;h JO 

. \n»id drpn'SMOU 
.inti :m*!iini boli.i and 
In* sun voui iraiod 
__ 'Jl i Iuiiil;< tor iht* 

hrttri slio’tb, \ Irlp troir, 
sh.nyr pkurs v\Trt puwns 
and l •Oil wii! in iIkto tor you. 

1 hr bt s', [iiiln i \miliMLh tti he 
diplomatic .ihop| tin thmp.s 
von don l like oi appiovi 
l ..lit *i * -ii, s on i - >tild shut 
i on in.* \ .'in dis.ippnn al 


!i 

i! 



BIRTHDAYS 


A * • '■ '* !i.‘ a'\‘. mo; ivy, and job hair a dirret and 

«'“rt* i tpjn .s n.u*i imu, K .\ \y t i\%ay bun uorij ol 

•n ilo i x i' • 

Mtirc h f* bun r.’aj •, • • ihjiriv’t mu hrlps you h* pvt vout house 
;n xs-dri j»rf Unnas done, tmt t‘,irrr i'« al*TO a po^Mbtlity ot ill 

1 -WMith 

Jlfarrti 5 ; Vbr lu»l niimu in t'rnr pl.uing with fupitrr nr\ake:s 
you ii.mni and Hj»ht!v or, mi sod, MarrUgu, trips and 

i *i!ij!/*ii, ,r i> , n* I iiP’ iorot'olvi 

6; Moon N'rpmur tun.' is ryeplient tor writers, 
(.•itbns u* »“•** ""'t ii hx -uaiLstRiafv,, histoians. paintris, 


j musit ians and film star*.. Yon will hr tested and n>mr out a 

j winner 

i March 7 : Moon *• quaic Jupiter sujy^i*»ts you will have to 
I work with a will, u^e your likill and imagination fullv if you 
want to make the most n< Ihi*; year 
March &* Jr .in us srxhte.s l^luto u.uisini; you to have or 
rather cultivate leadership qualities, which should stvvid you in 
I PMvIlrnt stead in years to rnme. 

i Matx h Mcxm wtiM; Jupiter pivin^ you the oppc*rhjnily 
| .inn the. whru vith.il to make ttnod in hfr. A nnv world amid 
1 opet. out Mi you. 




Exquisite craftsmanship in International Standard 22/22 karat gold and 
, diamond jewellery. Dealer in precious and astrological stones. 





P. C. CHANDRA 

Jewellers 


A jewel of jewels 

I’h ; 475 6754 + 27 7221 1 246 H 062 




Limelight 

LIGHTS, CAMERA 
ACTION! 


Madhahi Mnkherjee. Satyajit A 'ay sfai 'nnnte actress 

Susmita Banerjee 

T in' blue-black iron gale of tht her hair pushed back and gathered at 

National Film Pevelpment the top with a scarf, her usage, despite 

Corporation opens with a a light bru»h of makeup betraving hei 

groan to allow the age She Hashes a smile at the 

Ambassador in A fragile form in gatekeeper jnd is ushered inside (he 

white and black steps out of the eai, building 





. turns director, reports 


I he Sixties' queen o! tht Heugah 
silver screen, Madhabi Mukheqee 
has decided to regain the spotlight in 
middle age. this time not as an acties-, 
facing theau light . and camera but as 
a direi for She ha** just t omplebd 
shooting hei maiden him 
sti »ry based op a r.o\e J h\ k ie.it.u anjan 
Cohosh, and is now bus*, editing md 
dubbing th»‘ lilin 

"(-Ollld \OU pIlMSi'TOpiMl il'.,lt 
sentence." Madhabi ieun«*sb aitor 
Indrajit I V'b 1 >eh v. ho plm s a polu r 
oiticer in Alni/tiu. ill o rt ho. Ihioal, 
moistens his hp., an.i obliges k'lilu n* 
dclu> ektu hutke ' IxielieuH" 
Madhabi claps her hands m 
appiecMhon and the lights * ome up m 
tht' dubbing theatre 

M adhabi has lung muti»n\l the 

dream nl mal mg, a him: through 
which she would be able lo address 
certain socio-human problems 
Suppression oi women. tin *i ; lights, 
marital maladjustment and its 
consequent fallout 1 s*'pm ation and the 
breaking up ol the homt . uncaied tor 
otfspiim; who shuttle between the 
father and the mother, are some of the 
themes which ha\ »■ long haunted this' 
actress, a one-tin it Satyajit Kav 
favou rue 

"In our socictv adjustment means 
s.icnficeon the part of tiie woman," 
says Madhabi forcefully "It she walks 
out on her husband she is held 
responsible *md Iwi children suffer 
the most" \V hy should fhe mother, 
she wonders aloud be forced to 
"relinquish hei hold on hei child 
whom she has nourished in her womb 
fm nine long months ’, |iist hi -cause 
the couit orders so alter the snapping 
of marital ties-’ 

Poes the film then mirror hei own 



life which has had more than its fair 
share of pain and agony? For Madhabi 
has long played the lonely and 
neglected princess, unhappy in 
matrimony and looking for solan? in 
motherhood and social work Last 
year the release of her autobiography. 
Arm Madhabi, created a furore where 
she revealed her conjugal 
unhappiness. She described her 
husband Nirmal Kumar as a 
self-centred person who had married 
her to "revive his sagging career" 

She canu * out m the hook as a 
dejected, defeated and disillusioned 
person in whose hte there was "no end 
of pain, (for whom) life and pain are 
complementary" She also dwelled on 
the love she tell toi someone she 
immensely respected but added in a 
rathci plaintive \em that "despite 
desire and atoac tion cm botli sides, 
social impediments come in the* 
wav l nevei wished to build mv 
home b\ Jest loving someone 
else s " hut the implication was clear 
the «ulies- .hi! h»*i duectoi, Satyajit 
Kay, ha<l h ‘en romantically involved 
hid Madhabi 01 Madhuri (her 
ongmaiiuiiy helm.' -.hi joined films) 
denies tin' si gjM on that her maiden 
him as duectoi . -nl< I he based on t h- • 
Mniy ol hei hte s|ii* shakes h»»r head 
v igcMou-.ly and .o "\ v h\ should the 
him hi ao'ohio ,i.ij*hn lT 1* deals with 
a sot i.il I'lonle; e huh main i ouple*- 

ni» i *ui t. * i 

C ~' 1 ho .ti s novel locuses on the 
Jimport met ot good parental 
n Inborn m ' hi. a Mvm hi Id does not 
suiiei ,ni\ nient.ii ti.mma htiauseol 
the hie.ikd* m ti 01 lelalions between 
thetiithi'l and molliei I'lie couple in 
Annii;a (played b\ Madhabi herselt 
."ad lit •! husband 1 < annot .id just to 
CiiJi ollii r - ueeils 1 lie resuh tension 
at home, hreaki h .wn of 
(ommuim alion and finallv, 
sepmatm i h<* dnughtei tlndi.un 
Haldai ? h.irhoiii s mlense hatied 
against both hm parents and grows up 
mton rebellion* lonfused person 

e^peruiienhiU, " dh felatioiishij^s (she 
has a sh mg of m< *i » h lends plaved by 
Shaswata *"h.slfeijei Ashnk 
Vishvvan.ith.in A 'jun k haki aborfv 
and Suml Mukhi pee) 

"It is the mother, anew hei e m the 
woild. who glooms hei ihild 
inculcate) \ alia s in him It's never the 
father " Madhabi asserts So does the 
gnl m her film go hack to her mothe*^ 
Madhabi is not w illing to entertain 
such queues 'My him s*i el- 
even thing " 

So, how < Iom* n Madhabi to her two 


daughters? Her eyes mist over with 
emotion. "They arc all grown up, 
leading their own lives They live with 
their father," she says, bitterness 
tinging hoi voice. 

N early 25 years ago, Madhabi 

looked through an opera glass m 
Cham lata She hummed "Phule, 
phule" moving back and forth on a 
swing m the garden of a large palatial 
19th century house while Amal, her 
husband's cousin, lay on the grass 
penning poetry The bored, 
melancholic wife of Bhujiati craved 
tor love and attention But her 
husband was too busy with his 
printing press and publication The 
entry of Amal into her household 
changed her life and she felt the first 
stirrings of emotion 

Perhaps the same was true when 
Madhabi first encountered Satyajit 
Ray Mrmal Sen's h’a/sj/ci/ Shnnuw had 
just been released when Mamk/wfru 
-- as Kay was popularly known — 
asked Madhabi to see linn tor a role in 
the new film he was conceptualising, 
Muhatuiyai Madhabi was then 
struggling tor a foothold m the 
industry, she needed money to 
suppoi 1 her family 1 lei mother, after 
being abandoned bv hei husband had 
li lt hei home in hast Bengal and 
settled w ilh her two daughteis m 
kali utl.i And from the age ol fi\ e 
Madhabi had to contend with the 
responsibility ol providing toi herself 
and her family 

1 In thought of meeting a 
pcrsnu«iht\ as Unvoting and as 
famous as Satyajit Kay excited the 
( young Madhabi but she had a veiy 
| strong feeling that lie \\ ould i eject her 
Ray didn't The test is history 
1 learnt that acting i an he very 
simple from MamkK//»/i." Madhabi 
retails While he u d" shooting 
A1 uhmiu^at where Madhabi played the 
ioli' of an ui ban working woman, Rnv 
fold Madhabi she should not «u t but 
just "feel" the rhaiacter 

"1 did |usl that and ever since I have 
been doing that 1 am told that I have a 
ten lhc screen piesem e," sa\ s 
Madhabi toda\ "1 realh don't know 
w hy people sa\' it because 1 don't do 
an> thing chik iousIv to attain it It just 
happens " 

Three films from Ray in a row and 
Madhabi beramt a st.ir She found 
herself paired with matinee idols ol 
that period like Uttam kuinai. Ami 
Chaiterjee. Soumilra (’hath rjee A 
choi us of praise and a clutch of 
awards followed She is the onl\ 
actress from Bengal who won the 



Madhabi in theSixln 




ROLES MADHABI PLAYED 

She was strong, unconventional and very, very good 



Mahanagar <19()3):'Madhabi plays 
the middle-class wife, Arati, who 
takes up the job of a salesgirl to sup- 
plement her husband's (Anil Chat- 
terjee's) income. Her father-in-law 
does not like the idea of the 
daughter-in-law going out L o 
work. An exciting new world 
opens up before Arati and she finds 
a friend in her Anglo-Indian collea- 
gue, Edith. 

Her husband asks her to give up 
her job when he gets jealous of her 


transformation from a housewife 
to an independent, confident car- 
eer woman who talks much about 
her boss, one Mr Mukherjee. When 
Madhahi hands in her resignation 
letter, her husband also loses lus 
job. Now that they are both unem- 
ployed, they see each other in a 
new light and understand each 
other better. 

Charu lata (1964):Based on 
Rabindranath Tagore's famous 
novel, Nnshta Ntr, here Madhabi is 


The sophisticated Kanina (Madhabi) in Kapurush o Mahapurush 



the listless, unhappy wife of Bhupa 
ti, an aristocrat k* wealthy young 
intellectual who edits and publi- 
shes a political weekly, ^cututcl 
His cousin, Am»d, comes U* ^tay in 
their house and for the first time 
the young Chin u finds a friendly 
companion in Anial and gels 
drawn to him This film has that 
famous. shot showing, Madhabi pee- 
ping from behind the shultcn. «*i 
her window at thi load below lot 
gonette in hand - one or the mosi 
memorable m ones ei % bed in tin 
mind of Indian Cini'ivn rs bnopui. 


Madhabi in Chami&Li 



is unaware of the dovolopmci its 
between his wife and cousin and 
discovers it only m the tag end of 
the film. 

Kapurush O Mahapurush (1965) 
Madhabi (Kanina), the sophiMh at 
ed wife of Har.idhan Banenei* 
(Bimal Gupta) a tc c . estate 1 owner, 
chances upon her old Uwe Sou 
nutra Chatterjei. (Aunt ihh 1 Roy) 
when he spends a night at the 
Gupta household as his • ar break*** 
down. The old fire is rekindled and 
Soumitra gets drawn to her once 
again. He asks her to elope with 
him and even pn -inises her that ,*e 
will not let her down this time, but 
Madhabi spuins his of hi 







coveted l Jrvashi award (for L hbmutnr 
kaln/ii) MdJhahi's days ('I struggle 
wore over and new she was a celebrity 
Siio may have conn* across as .1 
striking personality on screen, Kay s 
idea ot "intellectual beauty" and 
poise, her sharp well-defined features 
adding to her persona, but she was 
never the conventional good-looker 
hi fact she had such bad teeth 
(worsened by her addiction to puuti), 
that Ray had real difficulty in filming 
her Ray admitted as much to Andrew 
Robinson in Inna Kite "l had to put 
the camera a* a lowish angle so tnat 
when she spoke the lower set ot teeth 
wouldn't show In fart, my wife had 
serious objections to using Madhabi at 
all for her teeth but I knew the camera 
could manage that" 

R ight from her tirst film. Put Bcifui 
Madhabi had the good fortune of 
working with the best d 11 pc tors of 
Bengal save, of course, Rajen Taratdar. 
There was Ritwik Chatak 
(Subarnarcklw), Mnnal Sen (Baidwy 
Shnn'an). Satvaju Kay (Mulnitnwar. 
ChnutliUu and Kapurush O 
Mahapurush), Tapan Sinha, Tarim 
Majumdar the list continues And 
each time she faced the camera she 


studied her mentors diligently, their 
individual ways of handling the script 
and shooting. 

"1 cannot say I have been influenced 
bv any particular director Satyajit Ray 
was very meticulous about his work, 
he had a great eye tor details May be I 
have learnt a few things from him 
Mnnal Sen, Ritwik Ghatak and others 
had a different style of shooting and 1 
have picked up a few things from 
them, too " 

Though Madhabi is identified with 
the new- wave tilms ol the Fifties and 
Sixties, and as the fiery, intelligent and 
graceful Roy heroine, she refuses to he 
dubbed a "feminist". "I feei Jor 
women, all right," she says, but adds 
that she is not willing to take her battle 
to the stieets Neither does she 
suppoit the overt feminism of films 
like Paumui which directly challenge 
male sovereignty She admire-. 

Apama Sen nevertheless and is 
fascinated by her many splei idoured 
personality actress (stage and films), 
director, wife, mother, editor - - all in 
one mould 

M adhabi is not the first actress 
from 1 ollywood to take up the 
director's baton, then* was Manju L ie. 


Arundluiti Devi and Apama Sen 
before hei But what has surprised 
everyone is hr* decision to chart a new 
course for herself at a time in life when 
most people decide to call it a day 

Diehard Kay loyalist, Dulal Dutta. 
who has worked with the master since 
he- Kiintiict Putu hah day s to Aguntuk, is 
ama/ed how this ageing actress could 
come out with such a brilliant script 
without am expei icnce l fer work is 
so advanced* l ler him can compare 
with any ot the works ot the great 
masters, ' he says and then adds, 

" Aparna is good, h m but she had the 
gioommg and the support ot the best 
names m the industry It is not so with 
Madluibii/.' 

Her Mould be l he rags to riches 
stoi y but here the princess did not live 
happilv •■vei after She ci it’d more 
otten than she laughed I ite may not 
have been kind Lo Madhabi, but she 
has had her moments nt glorv anti 
ecstasy too As a st.imieh believer in 
causes, Madhabi would now like to 
drown herself in social woik 
providing relief to geriatric^ and 
destitute children 

"I like to be on the nun e, ‘ murmeis 
the actress* and ’die has proved it with 
this latest rno\ e to turn director ■ 

lb 


aotoupca 




wmmm 

Time table 


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MO-322 

1510 

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PF 301 

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PF 302 

1500 

1. 3. 5 


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1620 

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1205 

2. 4 6 

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IC213 1140 2 6 1C 213 1540 7 6 

$2 026/02/ 0850 1. 2, 4 5 S2-028/005 2005 1. 2 4. 5. f 

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PF -301/303 0645 1. 3. 6 Pr 304/30? 1635 1 3. 6 

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IC 812 1515 1,3,5 1C 811 1715 1,3,5 


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16 20 

8029 



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2841 

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1' 10 

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2305 

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3306 



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(ji*r« tut . t" \ r -it Arr Tuei Wed & ilal 



dOo: 

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r - 30 

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3046 

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4 30 

6048 



Dep L«Lrpt 5alura.jy 

Arr l ti fcpl SunriHy 



3009 

20 30 

Doon Boreas vi<; ijrand Chi nd 

Ute Aha Tooten Boress »m Mam L me 

/ 1)0 

imo | 

1030 

15 60 

Arad Hind (Pin) WreWy Express 

'■ 16 

1H29 

300/ 

9 30 

lb- 15 

IMill ! 



Dip »K An i:ii Suudciy 



3049 

13-20 

Anvtnr Bonn 

15 3(j 

3050 j 

.121 

16-40 

Bhubeneeear Near Delhi RNdwnl Expran ,vm 

lh 10 


3019 

3021 

565<» 

21-00 

16-05 

1/35 

Kdhgodun Boreas 

MBda^raiA Expreo 

Kifi^ (GumW Express 

Btarir Dkanond Boreas 

11 55 

5 1X1 
o-3l) 

1020 ! 
3022 

5u00 

! 

11 (l!> 

Muwr.r") ^unl.rv rmly 

Nm DelhkBhufaananiar Roldhanl Express <vn 

How .ill I SiluMlJV only 

ill 45 

243? 

3317 

b-10 

21 25 

3318 

bv: 

?2 36 

Guwdwll - Howrah - Trtwndnm Central Bams 

27 15 


3029 

17 11 

fijwmmu Floras 

10 30 

30Ju 



Monday iM'iy 



3035 

10 20 

Asanaol Ererea 

8 45 

3036 


14-06 

Trtvandnm Central - Howrah - GumMI Express 

1 1 45 

bl'21 

3031 

21-05 

Danapw Boren 

Jte3m Bans 

SadMdrai Borara 

Ctranbal (Qwdor) Express 

6-30 

3032 



S.ilunJav unl\ 



3071 

22 -.30 

5 in 

30/2 


14 u6 

Cochin Harbour Tarmlnu - Guwehatl Weekly 

13 46 

6113 

3015 

1159 

9 55 
15-25 

15 40 
7-55 

3016 

N60 . 



Express (VM Vr..*kli<U)rjlMrin ■ & Hnwrahi 

Tl'iiiMjjy only 

Guwddt - Cochin Hotnur Tsndnus WnMy 





IJcp Mnn fue & Thurs Arr Mun Thins 8. 

hi 


63 1 - 

I 1 . 

17 I 1 

— 

1171 

15-25 

Shlpn (Indore) Boren 

Dep Wfd Sat & Sun 

7-55 

il/2 



Expran i v 1,1 “i,am 1 i 8. v. .jKt.iraii’dni) 
j-itunJav nn'v 





Arr Sun . Wed & Sal 



6U6 

.7 "'6 

Cochin Hatour Terminus Bonn :vm 

1.1*45 

6315 

3327 

11B1 

14- 30 

15- 25 

unamM (Agra cam) upnaa 

Dep Fndav An Tuesday 

4 60 

7 66 

3320 

1182 

6,52(1 

32 .15 

Vi NsMvrp.i'nwi & Hnwrari) 

I'i'ij liii 1 '. & t'. 

A.( Tii/^ & Fr 

Guwatm - Bangalore CNy Weekly Bqven /vih 

32 15 


UD 

Tim 

Seaidah 

Tkrn 

On 

1 


Hewral A CulS.i' i' ! 

VJHoi'es'Mv unlv 



3141 

13-40 

TradarTona^Min 

6 35 

3142 


14-05 

Bangalore Coy - Guaotdl My Bom. (vm 

13 45 

65(9 

3143 

19-15 

LM%ufla° Express \ia Man' Lim*. 

8-45 

3144 



HowiAh A Culljrkl Monday unlv 



3111 

20-15 

7 s5 

311? 







(lundtag) 


Jammu-Trad 
Mughal Sam 



vi j SBC* loop 


0no> S*BV i . . 

Dep & Arr Tu&>. fhurs & Sat 


20-35 
5 15 
4-15 
15-50 
12 30 
10 25 
4-25 


5658 

3154 

561)4 

3153 

3134 

3104 

5086 


Railway trains, dtef 2203496-3500 (Mm 
) am to 2 pm on Sundays and gant 

___ __1 (lor recorded Information on tram 

Mining). lJI (regarding train operations) and 135 (regrading reserva- 
tions). Train semes enquiry at Sesktah: 3503535-37. 


ENQUVUES: For round the dock Informat io n of Ea stern Railway and 
South-Eastern Railway trains, please did 2203545-54 for te-oonring 9dm; 
2203535*44 for ell other Information. For Informdlon about rasarvdlons on 
Eastern Railway and South-Eastern 
8 ran to 8 pm on waatatey s and 8 i 
ted hoUdwaT In addition, did 1331 (for 
nmnlno). i31 (rer 


17 



Panorawx 

MY BRILLIANT 


CARRIER 


They buy goods from Bangkok, sell them in Calcutta . and vice versa; 
Gargee Bhattacharjee reports on those behind this flourishing trade 



haotic sc enes at airports arc 
not unusual But oven those 
who arc accustomed to 
them are often taken aback 


when they arrive to board the early 
morning; Indian Airlines flight to 
Bangkok from Calcutta's 
1 nterna 1 1 1 >na I term i nal 


Passengers jostle each other as 
they queue up to check in, trolleys 
by their side The trolleys are a sight 
m themselves, overflowing with 
luggage that w ill never come within 
the 20 kg allowance that most 
economy class passengers have Bui 
then, most ol it is not going to be 
checked in. anyway The passengers 
intend to carry these huge packages, 
foi want of a better word — tightly 
wrapped in plastic, on board. 

Never mind it there is no space 
in the o' f'rhead lockers to 


accommodate it. Never mind if they 
have to shift it in the little space 
before then seals and sit perched 
uncomfortably on top ol it Then 
comfort is not a priority, the bags 
are After all, they aren't going to 
Bangkok bn a holiday; they are only 
travelling because of the luggage 
Welcome to the little-known 


world of the 'carrier' These are the 


people who make weekly trips to the 
Thai capital, loaded with goods that 
they sell ip Bangkok And then, 
make the return journey with things 
that sell lor a piemmm in India 


From C alcutta— and on occasion, 
from Delhi * they cairv items like 
incense, mustard oil, spices and 
pulses that are m grea! demand 
among the Indian community in 
Bangkok Costume jewellery, 
bangles, cheap ready-made 
garments, tea and coffee also have a 
ready market here And handicrafts, 
such as the handbags typical of 
Santimketan, are also hugely 



18 




Passengers alighting from an Indian Airlines aircraft at Dum Dum airport 


ipnliir. 

Ihr items that are brought in 
1 ron i Bangkok air also \ aricd. First 
on the lisi *1 ii ■ clothes: di esses, tics, 
and bundles ami bundles of dress 
mail 'rial Perfumes and cosmetics 
ini m .i Luge pait of the trade, and 
recently, earner** have started 
bringing in integrated circuits and 
computer parts Foieign sports 
^imds aNo have a good market here, 
special!) h.idminion and tennis 
i acquets 

B ut how can this be a lucrative 
business'’ After ah, these people 
ha\e to pa\ duly on the goods they 
bring m, don't they? 

Well yes, they d But more often 
than not. say inside ,, they have an 
imonn.il 'understanding' with thi 
customs department, which lets 
them get away by paying the 
absolute minimum After all, the 
argument goes, they have a living Ic 
make, don't they 7 

Not that the customs are 
dishonest The goods brought in are 
valued according to a book which 
has not been updated for years, even 
though inflation has been rampant 
over this period. So, the duty pa-id is 
vastly disproportionate to the actual 
i value ot tne goods 


Then, of course, there is 
ignorance. Customs officers don't 
always recognise the things that the 
carriers bring in, and are unable to 
charge the right amount of duty 
Some years ago, for instance, when 
cable television was still a novel tv in 
Calcutta, the carriers brought in Low 
Noise Boosters (LNB), a vital 
component of the cable antenna But 
at the customs counter, they were 
described as "rubber stamps" which 
cost around Rs 20 to Rs 80. The 
officers, who knew no better, valued 
them accordingly. 

It was only after a couple of 
weeks, when enormous quantities of 
"rubber stamps" were coming in 
with every flight, that it occurred to 
somebody to enquire as to why so 
many people were bringing in such 
an item. A sample was sent off for 
evaluation and it was found that 
each LNB cost no less than Rs 2,500. 

Then, there was the case of 
billiard table cloth, which costs 
around Rs 40,000 per metre. The 
carriers described it as ordinary 
curtain material to the customs 
officers and got away with paying 
minimal duty before the department 
got wise to tneir tricks. Carnets 
often also bring such medicinal 


powder as tetracycline, and pass it 
off as cosmetic herbal powder 

Their method of bringing in gold 
is almost fool-proof. They include a 
number of women in their party, 
who arrive hack in Calcutta laden 
with gold jewellery. Since most 
Indian women usually wear such 
items as gold bangles, necklaces, 
bracelets, earrings and the like, it is 
virtually impossible to prove that 
this stuff has been bought in 
Thailand, and is being smuggled 
into India. 

Bangkok is not the only 
destination of these carnets, though 
it does appear to be the most 
popular. They also travel to 
Singapore and Hong Kong, 
sometimes flving there via 
Bangladesh The 'Gorakhpuvis* 
settled m Bangkok first started this 
trade, but these davs most of the 
carriers are Puniabis from Calcutta, 
though Delhi is fast catching up 

The mam men behind this 
operation remain behind the scene, 
providing the carriers with tickets, 
passports and money, and then wail 
for them to do their stull Once the 
goods arrive in CalcuLta, thev find 
their way to such shopping centres 
as Fancy Market, the Five-St.u 




Market, New Market, Vardaan 
Market, Air-Conditioned Market and 
even Burra Bazaar 

Ilu* operations that are carried 
out trom Calcutta airport are 
relatively simple compared to those 
conducted via Dhaka Here, the 
modus operandi is to form a group 
of 20 to 10 people, who are taken to 
Bangladesh and put up at a hotel 
Only two people from that gioup 
then boara a Might to Bangkok or 
Singapore, carrying with triem the 
entire foreign exchange that the 
whole group is entitled to 

Alter a shop-lill-vou-drop stay in 
Bangkok or Singapore, the group 
reunite* Lhe Dhaka transit lounge, 
where the baggage is distributed 
among the wnolc group Since-! every 
member of the party is entitled to Rs 
6,000 worth of goods free of duty, 
they have to pay a minimal amount 
to get their stutt into India 

Once the carriers have gone 
through customs, they congregate 
outside the 1 airport, where tne goods 
are collected by the main men of the 
operation The carriers are paid their 
commission, and everyone goes 
home happy 

W hile this is one way- and a 
very popular one at that — of 
carrying excess foreign currency 
abroad, sometimes carriers conceal 
their extra dollars on their bodies 
Then, there is a system known as 
IinhJi' that is also brought into use 
Under this, the carriers are given 
certain coded messages, which they 
carry to designated people in 
Bangkok, who provide them with 
the money to shop for goods 
Rut it's not just work, work, 
work ior the earners They are intent 
on oving themselves as well on these 
trips And for them the party begins 



Thailand: A favourite carrier destination 
the moment the plane takes off the' 
runway. Thev down beer and 
whiskey (served free even m 
Economy Class on Indian Airlines) 
and rapidly get very drunk — and 
often, very aggressive — indeed They 
misbehave with the air-hostess* 's, 
thev smoke in the aisles, dropping 
ash on hapless co-passengers and 
generally make a complete nuisance 
ol themselves 

Some parties even sing loudly as 
the journey commences, and pla v 
such games as Antakshan Thev 
bring their own packed lunches, 
which they proceed to eat after the 
airline meal has been disposed of 
This is all verv well, but the 


The Fancy Market on Calcutta's Garden Reach Circular Road 



Calcutli-Bangkok haul is a short 
one, and b\ the time thev are 

halt-wav through their second 
meal, it is time to land But no 
matter how loudK the air-hostesses 
entreat them to put up then liav 
tables. ihe\ mnlimie ti» linK into 
their pmuthii s and tuinii 

But the real tun begins when the 
plane lands Lven as ilu aircratt is 
taxi-ing to the hay. the carriers leap 
up trom their seats and begin 
retrieving their luggage, which is 
often strewn all over the pi. me All 
entreaties of the cabin ciow to keep 
then seat belts laslened until the 
am i aft comes to a complete 
standstill tall on deaf ears Ihey'iv 
tar too busy getting then hags 
together, so that they can be the hrsl 
ott the plane 

Inevitably, tights ensue between 
passengers, and quite ollen these 
result m scuffles, which the crew is 
hard pul to end 

One reason tor all this urgency to 
get off the plane is that most of these 
people have to queue up fo r a visa 
on arrival And it they don't get to 
the baggage carousel on time, their 
luggage is often 'stolen' bv those of 
their fellow carriers who f\ave then- 
eye on the mam chance 

But despite such problems -not 
to mention the hassle ol dealing with 
customs officers in both C alcutta and 
Bangkok — these carriers continue 
flying in and out of the country 
every week, laden with kilos of kilos 
of luggage Tt may not be a great life, 
but it's a way of making a living ■ 


20 


JUNIOR WHIRL 


UAL KAUr MAN 



SEE WHAT! Look for a sign in this crystal ball. 
What sign can it be? Draw lines from 1 to 2 to 3, 
etc. to find out. 


S-CURVES1 Letter S completes each of these 
seven-letter series: 1. MNOPQR — . 2. OTTF- 
FS — . 4. MAMJJA — . See if you can explain 
why. Hint: Each is an initial letter. 

Mi|!(ii|..1.v l u i| spiiri*.*, t 
Vrp mu's Ji>| spui'tv*, \ |i.i\.is io ( spiu‘|ss ; •• unMi'hi' in i v. »u »i s [ 


DOT'S NICE! 


. r *m m . 


An intricate cirde- 
and-line design 
shown here provides 
a challenging wits 
test. It is possible to 
place nine check 
marks among the 
various circles so that no tw checks appear in the 
same row, column or diagonal line. 

Two starter checks are already in place. See if 
you can insert the remaining seven. 


IM Mi'Ph MM-pu: 


1 p-4 .»! up pll£ AilIJ pil ( * lit » pu t ' SSj.1,11^ ^ 











OMICS 



























LOCKING HORNS 


Goans see red as Menaka Gandhi asks for a ban on the bull fights that take 
place here regularly, reports Shameem Akthar 


I t was % the height of the bull- 
fighting season in Goa that Mena- 
ka Gandhi decided to lock horns 
with the organisers The best- 
known animal lover in India asked for 
a ban on the sport, which has been a 
regular feature of Goan life since the 
Seventies It attracts both sports lovers 
and gamblers, and keeps the organi- 
sers in food and teni through the year. 

Not surprisingly then, the organi- 
sers are seeing red at the prospect of 
having their bulls sent back to the pen. 
And nave decided to club together in 
an association to fight the Menaka 
threat. 

Pandharpur, the warrior buffalo 
who has never lost a single bout or 
dhiro (Konkani word for 'close horns') 
this season, is not aware ot this imbro- 
glio He chews cud in the afternoon 
shade, occasionally snorts with an inn- 
ate anger that sends hi rivals scur 
rying, rolls his blood -red eyes and 
paws the dung-hard ground with his 
hooves When irritated with the clutch 
of little dusty boys around him, he lets 
out a deep bellow that evokes a 
delighted titter from the urchins. 

Pandharpur keeps company with 
the other champions, threj buffaloes 
and three bulls, at the Ciaido house- 
hold in Zuan village of Goa Velha. 
Simon Ciaido, self-styled pioneer who 
transformed the informal bull-tights 
held in the villages into organised 
events that now charge hefty entry 
fees, shares these powerful animals 
with his seven brothers. The Ciaidos 
have no intention of losing their liveli- 
hood, Mcnaka's grandstanding 
not withstand ing. 

"If Menaka goes to court, we will 
fight it out there," says Simon. "Our 
entire family depends on these ani- 
mals. We treat them as if they are our 
family members. They get to eal better 
food than most human beings." 

That seems true enough. The hand- 
some Wellington, another challenger 
who is temporarily out of the arena for 
having lost the last dhiro, shares kitch- 
en space with Mrs Ciaido and bends 

26 


like a well-trained dog to be fondled 
by his keeper. 1 le rubs his long, 
sensitively-veined face affectionately 
against Ciaido, whose eyes mist over 
with emotion. 

The bull, standing almost six-feet 
tall at his pin-sharp norns, is a vision 
of energy and health --*• his snow- 
white, pastel pink skin glows after his 
daily scrub. His powerful hump 
bends heavy witn healthy flesh, while 
his shanks stand out in muscular glory 
Little Bosco, Ciaido's son, offers to 
hold his reins to show you just how 
tame he is But that is before another 
dhiro starts and the crowd ]eers him 
into the held for a 'clench' with his 
equally robust rival. 

The blood-thirsty audience will not 
be appeased till one bull lunges off the 
field in defeat. Not all bulls oblige A 
good proportion of the fights end wtf h 
one of the animals obstinately refus- 
ing to meet the rival head-on. A 'good' 
dhiro , in Ciaido's words, is one where 
the bulls decide to plunge into a tussle 
the moment they eye each other, lock 
horns for an hour sometimes, digging 
Lheir hooves m, refusing to budge 
Victor Rodrigues, a contractor from 
South Goa, has organised one such 
'Kodekant (champion) Dhirio' at 
Veisao to celebrate the 'Reianche' 
lesta, a local feast, on January 6. Ice- 
cream vendors make a killing, as the 
children, throals parched with scream- 
ing for their favourite champions, lick 
the ice-sticks with a thirsty vengeance. 

O rganisers have orchestrated the 
febrile excitement well. Vans, too- 
ting information on the event, make 
several forays into the neigbouring vil- 
lages. Multi-coloured posters, listing 
the names of the bulls —• ranging Irom 
the inexplicable Latur and 2044 to the 
hilarious Hand-break and Diesel — 
have been distributed. 

The sleepy village readily forgoes 
its siesta to be part ot this mela . Loud- 
speakers blare out old favourite Goan 
Portuguese songs, while a Konkani 
commentator drowns this squeaky 



Spectators enjoy a buH-fight in Goa 




music with his breathless spiel on the eye away. Bobby could do with some who run around the animals, trying to 

wonders of each dialknger. uck because his competitor Brownie hold them down in the lock-horn posi- 

Rodrigues has lined-up five fights. has, this dhiro season, gored to shreds tioa are jostled by the audience. The 

The highlight of the tournament, the reputation of many champions. exdted crowd forgets about its own 

h ° W T“i ,S lhe . B ?5 b y v s Brownie Among the vanquished is that glori- safety and jumps into the pit even as 

match. Brownie! Brownie!", scream ous bull, Hanuman, owned by Chur- the bulls are charging at one another 

the wds when they spot him, as the chill Alemao, former chief minister of The fight ends only when Bobby 's 

hue-holder hobbles pamfuUv down Goa, who had growled with displeasu- neck is stained with blood, to match 

the van that has ferried him here from re over Menaka's pronouncements. the red sash around him He has tned 

his stable in Agacaim village. When Brownie faces Bobby the to withstand Brownie for hali-an-hour 

Hisnval, Bobby, is daubed with ink- crowd goes berserk. Local goondut. join before conceding defeat I fe is led 

blue handprints, which his owners the tamosha by pelting the crowds and away, his whole torso shaking with 

the Agnelos, hope will keep the evil bulls with heavy stones. The trainers, defeat and fear Brownie, with the elan 



of a true title-holder, pulls his reins 
free from his trainer and runs around 
the pit acknowledging the cheers of 
the crowd 

The fallow field used as a make- 
shift ring guarantees protection to vie- 
wers, many of whom have come from 
far-off villages after reading press 
advertisements. The 'ring' is sunk 
several feet below the surrounding ele- 
vation where viewers grab precarious 
fool-holds The palm trees bend down 
with the weight of intrepid village 
boys, whi » have clambered up tor a bet- 
ter view. ^ 

It makes scribe to maintain this kind 
ot distance. On January 4, one man, 
who came too close to the action, died 
a gory death at the horns of a 'ravag- 
ing beast' (in the words of a 1< >cal news- 
paper) The victim Chandrakanl N'aik, 
a bull-owner, suffered a blood- 
spattered end atter having his intesi i- 
nes ripped out. 

Not everyone is interested in the 
bull fights though Some people have 
paid the Rs 35 entry tee to gamble at 
dice games, which could make them 
much richer by the time the day is 
over Not that this compares with the 
heavy betting on the bulls, during 
which only 500-rupee notes are visible. 

Savio Figaro, who operates a tourist- 


taxi agency in Panjim and also owns a 
prize bull, explains, "Owners of a sin- 
gle animal do not earn much. But for 
those who own several, it is not too 
bad." 

Insiders reveal that prize bulls, 
whose fighting skills keep crowd 
excitement at fever pitch, may earn 
their owners as much as Rs 50,000 to 
Rs 60,(XX) per appearance, including 
the prize of Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 and a 
percentage of the bettings. Even losers 
earn around Rs 20,000. ( )f course, the 
vanquished also earn a tongue - 
lashing from their owners, and are oft- 
en manhandled if a disappointed 
crowd concludes that there has been 
ngging 

But the figures that are quoted are 
mostly guesswork; nobody is keeping 
accounts here. Explains a local, "One 
reason why these events are always 
held in South < joa is that, apart from 
being more rural, it also has more 
money Rowing in from the Gulf when* 
many of its residents work " 1 .ike 
most unregistered gambling this, too, 
is used to iccydi? black money, he 
alleges 

[ournalist Nora Secto de Souza 
notes that the trained bulls are 
'brought to fighting pitch by being 
goaded incessantly by several * ecret 


methods'. Others hint that this is 
achieved by making the animal kneel 
for several hours before the scheduled 
fight. Bull-owners like Ciaido, Figaro 
and Alemao dismiss such allegations 
as so much nonsense. 

S^ivio maintains that the profits are 
not as attractive as they are made out 
to be. "They promised to pay me Rs 
20,IXX) tor my bull But they did not 
pay even half," he complains. "Calcul- 
ate my expenses in hiring a van for his 
transport and my earnings don't come 
up to much. Money transactions are 
made on trust and we cannot demand 
much if the organiser's expectations 
are not met." 

B ut despite these complaints, any 
suggestion that bull fights should 
be abandoned is greeted with outrage. 
Says Ciaido, " This sport has been part 
of our village scene for hundreds ot 
years It also coincides with our har- 
vests We cannot have Goa without 
dhirios." 

There are not many historical recor- 
ds of this event, which is held every 
Sunday and on feast-days during 
these harvest months right from Sio- 
lim to Anjuria, from Taleigao (which 
always kicks off the season with the 
first dhtrio by inviting local VIPs) to 



A ii nor 1 in its pen 
?8 




A gory battle in progress 


tVnaulim 

Women, dripping wilh gold jewelle- 
ry and in their Sunday best, scream 
alongside their husbands as little 
children try to outdo them Except tor 
.1 smattering of whites, the tourists 
keep away from this essentially local 
event. 

Tlie bull fights symbolise the vesti- 
gial remains of the Portuguese-Latin 
rule in Goa. Unlike the Spaniards who 
killed the bull in an uneven match 
where the animal was weakened by 
several barbs before receiving the 
death stroke, the Portuguese indulged 
in bull-bailing where the animals 4 
horns were padded. In Goa, however, 
there is no man versus-beast clinch. 

Tins, in Aleman's reasoning, is 
enough grounds not to ban it "It is not 
as if any human being is injured Why 
doesn't Menaka Gandhi do something 
about wrestlers who fight each other 
to death on the ring? Why is slu* bothe- 
red about animals when people are 
dying in this country? Bull-fighting is 


part of Goan sport spirit We will 
never allow it to be banned," he says 

With the crowd frenzy that it whips 
up, bull-tight ing is set to become a fix- 
ture on the Goan horizon. The earlier 
scrawny farm animals have been 
replaced with stud animals ?m pm ted 
from Karnataka and Maharashtra 

Though the animal husbandry 
department keep** no head-count. Ale- 
mao says that there may be 10,(1(10 
prize bulls in Goa, specially its sou- 
thern half Visits to cattle meltts, to pick 
up probable fighters, are now com- 
monplace Four- year-olds are 
preferred 

"In Karnataka, bull-tights an* more 
organised rheir, the bull has to Jiag a 
cart tilled with boulders The fastest 
bull, which also drags the cart the long 
ost distance, wins These bulls are trai- 
ned to be very' strong and hardv 
Whit h is why we piefei tin- animals 
from that state." explains C'laido. who 


claims to fei*d them the best pulses. 
"Some trainers even feed eggs and 
milk to make them stronger," he adds 
Though he has an equal proportion 
of bulls and buffaloes he says that 
most trainers prefer buffaloes because 
they fight longer and are less deiu ate 
Bulls, on the other hand, drain their 
owners with then constant need for 
maintenance, cleaning and af lection 
In Ciaido's stable there is a tour - 
year-old young bull, nameless until 
now, pure white and sulheved l h> 
h* ad, explains Ciaido, is still ten* -i'ft 
to take on th> a hard sometimes fatal 
buttsot other fighters I !»_■ is being latte 
ned foi the fights, tor which he \\ til be 
ready in three wars 

Such long-term planning indu. ties 
the organised nature ot the t 
here And as long a^ a lather • nnnrnie* 
to asks his ht!le -on a-- he did at 
Volsau it he »v* mid ■ i*d. « *ne i upee 
agamsf V> paisoou Bn idlin' th» 
willsuiMVc ne ma!h ! how ii-. ii 
mini** polih-’iar^ < a!! lor a i» 





IRST PERSON 











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ID MARCH IMfi 


The Telegraph 





End of Terror § 

■ We find yel another I 
high profile public servant f 
scrutinising the admi- 
nistration through his pen 
('An Officer and a Writer' 
January 14)* 

The Punjab supercop, 

Ved Marwah, grvesus die 
inside story of the anti- 
terrorist operation in Pun- 
jab and discloses some 
startfing information 
about certain politicians, 
bureaucrats and die police. 

It is an interesting trend 
that senior men of the 
administrative service are 
willing to publish ft iir per- 
sonal reelings regar ling 
certain arts and decisions 
of the government. It is a 
good sign that they no lon- 
ger want to be mere 
lackeys of the government. 
Joydeep Mitra, 

Calcutta 

*8 The life and times of the 
supercop, Ved Marwah, 
were brilliantly brought 
out in the Magazine. IF pnly 
we had more courageous 
men like Marwah in our- 
country . 

Prabal Guha, 

Patna 

it Punjab lived through 
hell, there were so many 
killings every day that 
people and the administra- 
tion lost trade of the num- 
bers. No one was spared; 


andSushmlta 
neither the aged nor the 
women. Innocent children 
on their way to school 
were massacred. No one 
thought the colourful and 
bounteous state would 
see such dark days. 

Tania GHo&al , 

Patna 

® The extract made excell- 
ent reading, particularly 
since Marwan dwells at 
length on the genesis of ter- 
rorism in India. 

Prahlad Agarwal, 

Nadia 

i® Operation Black Thun- 
der may have attracted 
adverse criticism from* 
some quarters, but with- 
out this intelligent army 


operation terrorism would 
not have come to an end in 
Punjab. 

S. Pramanik, 

Calcutta 

Official or 
Unofficial? 

® As more and more 
MNCs come to India, jrival 
brands will face more com- 
petition ('Not the Mole 
Story', February 11). When 
ordinary campaigns fail 
they will take to counter 
advertisements like the 
famous Coke-Pepsi war at 
the Wills World Cup, play- - 
mg around the word 'offici- 
al' and 'unofficial'. 

When there are so many 


product* in die market, it 
is really a difficult job for 
the consumer to choose. 

And rival brands will do 
anything to prove it is bet- 
ter than the other. TheSurf- 
Nirma campaign really 
had consumers foxed as to 
whidi was the better 
detergent 
Debabrt its Mohanty, 

Balasorc (Orissa) 

Historic j 

Moments 

Ml I suppose the Magazine j 
needs any excuse to put a ! 
picture of either Susnmita 
Sen or Aishwarya Rai on 
its pages ('Potted History', ! 
January 28). It is almost 
two years since the two 
Indian beaqties charmed a 
team of international 
judges and walked away 
with die coveted Miss j 
Universe and Miss World 
crowns. j 

They are part of history 
now and best forgotten. \ 
Shakeen Johan, 

Calcutta 

Gillian’s 

Writings 

WS Why did the Magazine 
discontinue with Ruskin 
Bond and Gillian Wright's 
columns? They were the 
two most-read columns 
B- Bhattackarya, 

Strampore (W.B.) 



PAGE 4 

INDIAN AIRLINES was pronounced the best 
domestic airline at the recent Hotel and Food Ser- 
vices award presentation. A remarkable turna- 
round, the credit for which goes to lA's manag- 
ing director, Probir Sen. 

PAGE 28 

AFTER HIS mega-hit Dilwole..., Aditya Chopra 
is now Bollywood's most sought-after director. 

Indian Airlines 



16 TIME TABLE 

21 JUNIOR WHIRL 

22 COMICS 
26 FASHION 
28 LIMELIGHT 
30 FIRST PERSON 

Cover Rnpiridor Sfwrrvj 





CcVERSTOW 

HIGH FLIER 


How a bhadralok used courage and common sense to turn 
Indian Airlines around. SeemaGoswami reports 


A FEW WEEKS AGO, CIVIL AVIATION MINISTER GHULAMNABI 
Azad dragged Probir Sen, die managing director of Indian 
Airlines, to Bombay along with him. Azad was chief guest at 
the annual Hotel and Food Service awards, the tourism 
industry's answer to the Oscars. 

As the awards for best hotel, best restaurant, etc., were 
being announced. Sen realised, to his horror, that coming up 
was the award for best domestic airline. Others at his table 
were quick to sense his discomfiture. "Don't worry, Probir," 
they joked, "at least with you there is no suspense. Nobody 
expects Indian Airlines to win any awards." Sen smiled tightly. 

Then finally, as Liz Kerkar, the chief designer of the Taj 
Group, arrived on stage to present the award for best domestic 
airline. Sen felt his stomach tighten. He arranged his features 
to reflect benign unconcern, but felt his jaw drop as the envelo- 
pe was opened. 

"And the winner for best domestic airline is... Indian 
Airlines!" 

Sen rose to accept the award in a state of gratified shock and 
when he returned to his table, was pleased to note that the 
smirks had vanished from the faces of his fellow guests. The 
award was based on a poll conducted by Marg and there was 
no possibility of rigging. Clearly, a majority of people in the tra- 
vel business and the frequent travellers who were polled by 
Marg genuinely believed that Indian Airlines was better than 
the private airlines. 

Now that he has got over the initial shock. Sen says that he 
shouldn't have been so surprised. In 1995, IMRB conducted 
three polls among frequent flyers and all of them showed that 
Indian Airlines was the airline of choice. £ 

"But somehow, we had all been so demoralised after the | 
launch of the private airlines that we couldn't bring ourselves | 



to believe that people actual 
ly preferred us/' explains Sen. " 1 
mean, just three years ago if you had 
told people that Indian Airlines 
would be regarded as the finest airline 
in the country, you would have been 
laughed out of the room." 

It is, by any standards, a remarkable 
turnaround. And despite the low 
media profile that he has deliberately 
adopted, much of the credit goes to 
Probir Sen. 

S en is an unusual candidate for a cor- 
porate turnaround. In an era where 

Probir Sen 



Ghulam NabiAzad 


private sector wiz-kids are being draft- 
ed to 'save' the public sector, his suc- 
cess suggests that at least some of the 
old rules are still alive. 

In a sense. Sen is the perfect gene- 
ralist, the very anti-thesis of the mana- 
gement expert who has boned up on 
his case studies. His background is 
solidly upper middle-class I !e went 
to Mayo College, Ajmer — one of its 
earliest non-Mahara|a students after 
the school borrowed Principal Jack 
Gibson trom Doon. He went onto Cam- 
bridge where he was a contemporary 
of Rajiv Gandhi's and then returned to 





India to take the UPSC exam 

He got into the Indian Administra- 
tive Service (IAS), chose the Madhya 
Pradesh cadre, and quickly made a 
reputation for himself as an 
independent-minded civil servant 
with an abrasive streak To be fair, this 
streak tended to manifest itself much 
more in the 1980s after the calibre of 
politicians declined 

While most cow-belt civil servants 
learned to grin and bear it. Sen's combi- 
nation of bhadrulok self-respect and his 
public school -Oxbridge background, 
prevented him from buckling under. 

} le dosed factories which flouted envi- 
ronmental norms over the objections 
of the political establishment and beca- 
me the civil servant who the more 
venal politicians loved to hate 

It helped also that Sen was determi- 
nedly non-careerist, 1 le knew that as 
an IAS office! the worst that could hap- 
pen to him was that he would be trans- 
ferred to the boondiK'ks. Unfortunate- 
ly for the politicians, Sen loved the 
boondocks; he is that rare phenome- 
non, a civil servant who longs to work 
in the districts. 

Fortunately, not all politicians are 
unconcerned with performance, and 
though Sen refused to play the T- 
was-at-Cambridge-witn-Rajiv card, 
he got posted to Delhi anyway. As a 
joint secretary in the dvil aviation 
ministry, he neld temporary charge of 



6 



Indian Airlines a few years ago, and 
was also the director-general of civil 
aviation (in which capacity he violent- 
ly opposed the grounding of the A- 
320s in 1990) before moving on to 
other responsibilities. 

Then, L. Vasudevan, the man select- 
ed by the public enterprises selection 
board to head Indian Airlines got 
involved in a ruinous battle with the 
pilots. The airline's losses mounted, 
services were frequently disrupted by 
industrial action, and the private airli- 
nes began to sweep up Indian Airli- 
nes' traditional passengers. 

By then, the Vasudevan versus 
pilots battle had become an ego thing 
with neither side willing to back 
down. Civil aviation minister Ghulam 
Nabt Azad sacked Vasudevan (who 
went off to Madras in a huge sulk) and 
gave temporary charge of the airline 
to a joint secretary in the ministry, Bri- 
|esh Kumar 

Kumar was able to restore some of 
tin* plumetting morale, and began the 
rocess of re inventing the airline. But 
c remained a part-time managing 
director with other responsibilities al 
the ministry and as Indian Airlines see- 




Russi Mody 





med in serious danger ot becoming a 
basket case, the ministry looked for a 
full-time MD. (Fvenlually. Kumar 
took over as managing directoi of Aii 
India.) 

Fortunately tor Indian Airlines, 
Azad chose Probir Sen. 

A sk his colleagues about ProbirSen 
xXand you will get a variety of res- 
ponses At the ministry, they are a lit- 
tle peeved by his unwillingness to 
always play ball (though Ohulam 
Nabi has always been supportive) His 
chairman, Russi Mody, reg.uds him as a 
little too arrogant to make a good >ub 
ordinate. And his contemporaries 
reckon that he is a bit of an odd-bod — 
the sort of chap whose idea of a corpor- 
ate giveaway is not a keychain or a 
calendar, but a copy of 1 lobsbawn's 
The Age ofllnreas<m. 

But of one thing there is no doubt: 
he has recast Indian Airlines m a new 
image. Gone are the bureaucratic 
obfuscations of old. In their place is a 


new aggression and an unJamitiai 
decisiveness This is now' a no- 
nonsense airline 

The results arc plain to see Though 
much is made of Indian Aii lines' los 
ses, these arc entirely a consequence ot 
:he debt repa\ rnents on the cos! ot ihe 
A-320s ordered by the Rajiv Gandhi 
regime Take away those interest pay- 
ments and Indian Airlines is already 
profitable In the first seven months ot 
the 1995-% financial year, it made an 
operating profit of Rs 16 5 crore 

Contrast this with the first seven 
months of the previous year, when it 
made an operating loss of Rs 53 crore 
All other parameters demonstrate the 
extent of the improvement Passenget 
load factors in the just concluded tour 
ist season have grown by nearly IS per 
cent The overall seat iactor tor die 
whole of last year n presented a 6 1 
per cent rise over 1994 The same is 
true of on-time pertormance In 1995. 
it went up 6 6 per rent over the previ- 
ous yea i to touch e>«5 per cent 



An IA Airbus 320 


At a time when the private airlines 
are making losses — industry experts 
reckon that only Jet Airways and just 
possibly, Modiluft are at all 
profitable ■ - - Indian Airlines has the 
decisive advantage of fleet It has 10 A 
VXS, ’W) A- UOs and 1 4 737s. No priva- 
te airline, on the other 1 and, has more 
than six 737s 

(>t course, Indian Airlines also has 
many disadvantages In 1992, it had a 
100 per cent market share. (But it still 
made a loss ot nearly Rs 200 crore that 
year.) Now, with the proliferation of 
private airlines, its market share is 
down to 63 per cent Obviously, com- 
petition has made things that much 
moie difficult But even so, its losses in 
1994 were lower than in 1992 And this 
year, the operating profit will be high 
enough to ensure that net losses 
(which include interest payments) are 
at their lowest for five* years 

The airline claims that it could pro- 
bably make a net profit inarm'd lately it 
it did what the private airlines do and 
operated on the trunk and tourist 
routesalone But obviously, this is poll 
tically unacceptable and it is forced to 
fly on several uneconomical routes 
such as Jammu and Kashmir, Anda- 
man and Nicobar and, of course, the 
north-east 

Sen has off-set these handicaps by 
winning for Indian Airlines the rignt 
to fly to profitable foreign sectors in 
the far east and the Gulf. Among the 
8 


'domestic' airlines' foreign stations 
are Bangkok, Fujairah, Kuwait, Shar- 
jah, Kuala Lumpur, Muscat and Singa- 
pore In many of these sectors, Indian 
Airlines has performed better than Air 
India For instance, it makes a prolil 
on its Bangkok flights; Aii India does 
not 

N evertheless, as impressive as. 

these figures are. Sen's principal 
achievement is in another area' the 
pilots 

Anyone who has flown by Indian 
Airlines knows that the airline has 
always been at the mercy of its pilots 
You can operate a flight without an air- 
hosless, hut you can't do without the 
pilot. 

In the wintei ot 1991, the pilots went 
on strike to disrupt operations during 
the tourist season. Wncn a panicky 
government settled with them, an out- 
raged Air Marshall Ramdas, the airli- 
ne's managing director, resigned in 
protest The following winter, as the 
country reeled from the demolition of 
the Babn Masjid and the communal 
riots that followed, the pilots did it 
again Managing director, L. Vasude- 
van, tried to break the strike by hiring 
Soviet aircraft. When one crashed, 
minister Madhavrao Scindia resigned 
and a tew months later Vasudevan fol- 
lowed him through the door. 

All of th:s gave Indian Airlines' 
pilots the feeling that they were invin- 


cible. At the Indian Commercial 
Pilots' Association (ICPA) it used to he 
said that any managing director who 
dared to Like on the cockpit crew 
would be forced out ot the airline 

This was befou' the advent of the pri- 
vate airlines. 

When they began lecruiling, things 
got even worst? In just over a year, 158 
pilots left Indian Airlines. All of them 
got salaries vastly in excess of what 
they were earning at Indian Airlines. 
Moreover another 48 pilots retired or 
sought voluntary retnemenl during 
the same period. In effect, Indian Airli- 
nes lost 200 pilots in the space of a lew' 
months 

All ot this had the effect of crippling 
the fleet Of those who left, 91 were 
commanders and most of those who 
retired were also of the same seniority. 
It is always possible to hire more 
pilots, but it is impossible to hire more 
commanders. To reach that grade you 
need a certain number of flying hours 
and that takes time. 

By last year, Indian Airlines was 
short of seven commanders for its ten 
A-300s; of 22 commanders for its 14 
Boeings; and 3 Q commanders for its 30 
A-320s. Even this was a slightly 
improved picture because the airline 
had re-hired 1 5 commanders on con- 
tract. Take away those contracts and 
the airline was short of 83 comman- 
ders. Last winter, it was unable to use 
two A-300s and five A-320s because of 





this shortage. 

Obviously, this is a disastrous situa- 
tion for any airline. It had the effect of 
making the pilots even more consci- 
ous of tneir indispensibility. And last 
year, they decided that they were 
going to cripple the airline if they did- 
n't get what they wanted. 

Had it not been for Probir Sen, they 
would probably have succeeded. 

I t was a measure of how arrogant the 
pilots had got that they launched 
their agitation by off-loading senior 
air-hostesses who had committed the 
crime' of earning more lhan junior co- 
pilots. Next, they started reporting 
sick or walking off flights. In June 
1995, Indian Airlines began cancelling 
14 flights a day and losses amounted 
to Rs 50 lakh for each day of disruption 
Confident that they had demonstrat- 
ed their invincibility, the pilots issued 
their demands. None of them made 
much sense. They wouldn't fly with 
contract pilots. They would not fly 
with senior cabin crew They wanted 
extra allowances on the Ahmed abad- 
Delhi sector if passengers on the flight 
went on to fly to New York. They 
would not fly with executive pilots 
who undertook more landings than 
1CPA members And so on. 

The pilots had picked their time 
well Cnairman Russi Mody was 
abroad. Ghulam Nabi was in London 
recovering from gall bladder surgery. 
And Sen was alone. 








Dum Dum Airport during a strike called by Indian Airlines 


They expected him to buckle under 
To their horror, he told them to go In 
hell. 

Entirely on his own, Probtr Sen laun- 
ched a huge public opinion campaign 
pointing out that the pilots *re mak- 
ing unreasonable demands He lobbi- 
ed the chief labour commissioner and 
the labou r minister He procured assu- 
rances of support from Ghulam Nabi 
in London and he conveyed his strong 
stand to the Prime Minister Office 
(PMO). 

As the media turned against the 
pilots, and the government agreed to 
back him. Sen did what no other mana- 
ging director has c vei done successful- 
ly. Any co-pilot who refused to fly 
with a member of cabin crew was 
thrown off the aircraft Pilots who did 
not turn up were chai ge-sheeted 
Those who claimed that they were ill 
were examined by the airline's own 
doctors and threatened with suspen- 
sion of their pilot's licenses And the 
ICPA was told that Sen had a con- 
tingency plan readv 

He asked the Indian Air Porcc it he 
could borrow 18 Boeing 737' pilots Pri- 
vate airlines were told that in the event 
of a strike they could take over Indian 
Airlines' most profitable routes And- 
foreign airlines were informed that 
even they could come in and fly- 
domestic sectors 

Armed with all this. Sen told the 

10 


ICPA that it was welcome to go on 
strike 

As the editorials thundered, the 
airline's other unions threatened a 
boycott of pilots, and public opinion 
began to turn viciously anti-pilot, the 
ICPA buckled under There would be 
no strike There would be negotiations 
instead. 

In January' 1996, these negotiations 
were finally concluded Sen gave the 
pilots more money, but he extracted 
more flying hours and secured agree- 
ment on a new system which made it 
easier to promote co-pilots to comman- 
deis. More significantly, from a long- 
term perspective, he broke the ICPA 
The union is now so divided within 
itself that it is in no position to threaten 
anybody' else 

I t would be foolish to pretend that all 
is well it Indian Airlines You can- 
not change the attitudes of a lifetime in 
the course of a couple of years Many 
members of the airline's staff still act 
as though they are doing passengers a 
favour And despite the improve- 
ments, the eastern region still remains 
the black spot in Indian Airlines' 
record 

There art* problems in the board 
room as well. One would have expect- 
ed Sen and Russi Mody, both public 
school educated Oxbridge types, to 
get along, but their relationship has 


been stormy Mody regards Sen as opi- 
nionated and stubborn and Sen in turn 
treats Mody as a nice old buffer who 
should chair board meetings and then 
go home Both men are justified in 
their views but it is hard to see how- 
such a combination can work in the 
long run 

Nevertheless, nobody can dispute 
that the airline has changed beyond 
recognition. Apart from the cosmetic 
improvements — the quality of servi- 
ce, the greater variety of food, etc. — 
there is finallv a recognition that it is 
the job of the management to manage 
and not to give in to aggressive sec- 
tions of the work force. 

That Probir Sen should have been 
the man to have restored the airline's 
backbone tells us something of the 
certainties with which we have 
approached the public sector Air 
India has been home to a series of priv- 
ate sector wiz-kids who have pursued 
short-term strategies and scampered 
off, leaving behind a sick and unprofit- 
able airline 

On the other hand, Indian Airlines 
is now firmly on the path to recovery 
That an IAS officer managed to do 
within the aviation sector what no 
management wizard could, suggests 
that even in this era of liberalisation, 
there is no substitute for education, 
intelligence and integrity ■ 



g — 

Extract 

The strength of 



short story from Manjula Padmanabhan s recently published collection 


Y ou know what I mean, you have a train 
to catch at four thirty, you start pack- 
ing at three-thirty, and at quarter to 
four, you're all done That's when you 
remember that you've forgotten to 
take your ticket So you go to the big 
wooden almirah in the comer, the 
kind in which all important things are 
kept locked away, and you insert the 



Extracted from Hot 
Death , Cold Soup 
Tueltte Short 
Stones by 

Manjula 
Padmanabhan; 
Published by KaU 
for Women. Price 
Rs 120 


little key in the key-hole with the worn 
edges and — the key refuses to turn 

Refuses to turn 

To begin with, you arc calm, you 
move it back and forth in the hole, 
gently, knowing that it's just a small 
maladjustment, a little pggling will do 
the trick. 

But it doesn't budge. 

You start to get a little anxious, The 
time is now ten to four. You need your 
ticket. The traffic is heavy between 


your house and the station You will 
need time to find a taxi, time to give 
the driver the right change, time to 
check that the train is on the same plat- 
form as al ways, time to find your 
bogey and your seat. 

The key doesn't shift so much as a 
millimetre. 

You tell yourself. Look, the tongue 
of the key has three little bumps and 
one depression, the lock has three little 
depressions and one bump; due to 
some minor dislocation, the bumps 
and depressions are not correctly 
aligned, therefore the key does not 
turn, ft's only a fiwy little sliver of 
metal which has caught against the 
wrong edge in the lock, it's really very 
small, it'll slip into place now, any 
minute now, just be patient, any 
minute now . 

No deal. The key feels as if it is turn- 
ing against a cement wall 

Five minutes to four and you begin 
to lose nerve You jiggle the key, you 
turn it hard, and your fingers, swea- 
ting, slip on the small flat loop of the 
head of the key 

Doesn't budge 

You lose control and hit the edge of 
the door of the almirah with the side of 
your palm You shake the knob on the 
door violently. You start to pant. 

You sit down by you r suitcase in des- 
pair v ou know that this if those 

situations in which the kc\ will not 
turn until you have missed your train. 
You wipe your forehead, you feel cold 
panic down your spine 

That's when you begin to think of 
the strength of small things One tiny 
edge of metal, pressed tight against 
another tiny edge And that prevents 
the kev from turning in the Jock, 
which prevents you from oper mg tJic 
cupboard, and from getting the ticket 

JLL 



and from catching your tram 
The strength of small things 
Look at me*, for instance. 

I'm big. Six foot two. My mother 
used to feed me with her own hands 
until I was 10 years old, telling me stor- 
ies with every mouthful My elder 
sisters might have been starving, or 
crying, or just waiting to have their 
hair brushed, but Ma would feed me 
first, make sure every scrap of food 
went in Then she'd wipe my face and 
my mouth and call me a good boy and 
tell me that I would be big and strong 
when I grew up^if I always ate like that 
I used to adore my mother. Thought 
the world of her Nothing was good 
enough tor her. 

She was small too, come to think of it. 
When my father died, I was still just 
a boy But I was already growing, I 
was already shooting up, just as any 
mother said I would I felt big and 
strong when I was near her. She 
would stand near me and her head 
just came up to whore the bulge in my 
biceps began and she would look up at 
me and I would feel my heart expand 
with love and pride 

She would say that 1 was all she had, 
her big boy, her only boy. She would 
rub the inside of my arm and she 
would say I must never leave her and I 
used to wonder why she ever bother- 
ed withsavmg it I never would. Never 
did. 

Not really. Well, I mean, o* course. \ 
had to go away to study. Went to the 
USA My unde paid for me I studied 
to be an engineer. But she was always 
with me, my mother I wrote to her 
every week, I thought of her whenever 
I wasn't thinking of anything cise She 
sent me food, she sent me gifts She 
told me not to tool with foreign girls. 
Life was hard for her she said, while I 
was away She had to live in my 
uncle's house, my three sisters had to 
be married oft, a lot of money had to 
be spent on them If I fooled around 
with any foreign girls, I would forget 
her and then — who would she have? 
Nobody. Nobody to look after her in 
her old age 

I used to fuel like screaming when 
she wrote those letters because 1 felt so 
useless to protect her, so far away, so 
futile. I knew I had to stick it out m the 
USA and that I had to earn my degree 
and J had to do well Otherwise if 
would all bo hopeless and 1 would be 
unable to do anything for her. 

I was three years in the USA 

In the end, I did have girlfriends, 
just like everyone else — or, should [ 
say, I had them, but not like everyone 
else. Some other Indians used to say 

12 


that they felt bad, when their girl- 
friends would ask them if they would 
get married soon, if it was real love 
But I never felt anything bad 1 would 
tell every girl that 1 loved her, that she 
was the only one for me They seemed 
to like to hear that It made them 
extra loving and caring. They would 
want to do all rny cooking, and wash- 
ing and cleaning T hen after a couple 
of months I would tell whichever one 
it was that I had a rare tropical disease 
and that I hoped they hadn't noticed 
the symptoms of it yet. 

They always left before I had a chan- 
ce to describe the symptoms! 

And in a couple of weeks, at some 
party oi at a bar. I'd meet someone else 
and the story would start again 1 did- 
n't ever have to get involved Those 
girls could never understand that for a 
man like me, even a thousand ot them 
could not take my mother's plate in 
my life TTiey could clean and wash 
and cook for a hundred years, even, 
but when the time came tor me to go 
back to my mother, I would forget 
their names before the airport bus pull- 
ed away from the kerb I would forget 
their faces, their bodies, their 
existences 

I didn't tell my mother about them, 
though, T think she would have been 
hurt. Or afraid Afraid that J might not 
return to her because of one of them 
She needn't have worried. I didn't 
want to do anything which would 
make her even more afraid for her futu- 
re than she already was 


B y the time I returned, two of my 
sisters had got married and one 
was being shown around It helped 
her prospects now that 1 had returned 
from the USA, her big brother who 
was an engineer with a foreign degree 
I would go with rny mother to the 
homes of prospective in- laws, and 1 
could sec now impressed they would 
get, with my heignt, and my new acc- 
ent and niv clothes, I would show off a 
bit, and sprawl on then solas and tell 
them about the film stars I had met 
and the dirty movies I had seen. 

We would tell them that, just as 
scum as I was m .rried, we would be 
able to gi ve them the sort of dowries 
they were demanding 
Some ot them even offered to 
exchange their daughters for my 
sister! Free of charge! 

T used to laugh at that F low will I 
look after my mother like that, 1 would 
say Where is that money going to 
come from, huh 7 Who's going to pay 


for my mother's old age, huh? Your 
grandfather? 

Fools. 

Any way In the end, my sister ran 
off with someone, some rich boy, and 
we didn't have to pay a thing. We 
never met the boy or his parents, and I 
don't know where she is now or what 
she is doing My mother said, in her 
gentle voice, "Good nddance! Now 
we have only to think of a nice girl for 
my big boy!" 

It didn't take very long I left eve- 
rything up to my mother. 1 let her 
choose the girl and I let her decide on 
the price. 1 just went along with her to 
the homes of the girls, and I smiled at 
everyone and 1 showed off my credit 
cards I even suggested that I had a gre- 
en card and that we would live in 
California 

The girl my mother chose was not 
very tall, and nothing much to look at, 
but we had already agreed, my 
mother and I, that it a girl is very good- 
look.ng, she can also be very proud 
and cocky. The thing was to find some- 
one vvho would be humble and who 
would just quietly sit in the house and 
look after my mother's needs And 
mine, of course, but my mother would 
be there to take care of me anyway 

We got married and the girl's family 
paid 20 lakhs in <. ash and another 20 m 
gold and jeweller}'. They bought us a 
Maruti and promised that in two years 
we would have a deluxe model 1 said 
that I would prefer a Fiat NE 118. They 
| said, sure, sure, anything — but v/hat 
about California? 

I said, "Everything depends on that 
extra 50 lakhs we talked about, remem- 
ber? In dollars, piyable in the USA?" 

That shut them up 

In two yea is, they said When we 
marry off oui son . 

S o there we were, three of us, living 
m a flat in Bombay. The flat belong- 
ed to the girl's family, and would 
belong to us, eventually. I started to 
work. The girl was a fairly good cook 
and she had done a secretarial course. 
She wanted to work, she said, she wan- 
ted to earn her own living, but my 
mother said no to that. My mother 
said, "When a girl earns her own 
living, she gets the wrong ideas about 
life She must stay home and look after 
her husband." 

Then she was pregnant. My mother 
advised me that we should start a fami- 
ly quickly, to get that out of the way. 
"Have two sons," she said, "that 
.should be enough." 

The first pregnancy was of a 




so we got rid of that one "Why waste 
time with girls," my mother said 
The second time she was pregnant, 
my wife said she wanted to go to her 
parents' house. We wanted to do the 
test, hut she escaped before it could be 
done. When she came back from her 
parents' home, we went to the doctor 
hut the doctor said that even if the test 
showed that the baby was a daughter, 
it was toe !ate to have an abortion. "It 
would be dangerous," he said 
"Dangerous for whom?" said mv 
mother, "Isn't it dangerous to have 
daughters? Isn't it dangerous for fami- 
lies to have daughters?" The doctor 
looked at her strangely and said some- 
thing about old fashioned views I said 
we would find another doctor 


Then she got pregnant again. She 
said, 'This time l won't have anv tests 
You can do what you like, 1 won't have 
anv tests " My mother said, "It you 
want to be like that, go to your par- 
ents' house and ha v* the wretened 
brat. Why should we pav tor your 
medication m \ ain r ' 

She went away and she had a 
daughter 

T he two years were up by this time 
and 1 wrote to her tamilv to sav 
that my mothei and I were waiting tor 
the 50 lakhs to appear 

Her family wrote to sav that, unless 
we took hoi back, there would be no 50 
lakhs anywhere and anytime 

I said, "Why? We ted her and cloth- 


abroad without all this trouble of wait- 
ing tor m\ wite's parents tv) provide 
me with the dollars or ot being saddl- 
ed with an ungrateful wretch who 
refused to listen to reason and who 
kept running home to her parents at 
every slightest problem 

l said, "But how will 1 get a divorce? 
I don't think my wife's tanuly will let 
her give me a divorce " 

My mother said, "Why bother with 
a divorce? Don't you read the newspa- 
pers? There's a much simpler w.»y and 
everyone does it " 

I said, "You mean " 

My mother said, "Yes " 

Foi the tirst time in my life I argued 
with her. I begged her, I pleaded with 
her not to ask me to take this course. 


finally, we had the test, it was 
shown to be a girl, and we got someo- 
ne to do the abortion, but when the 
what's it came out, it proved to have 
been a boy after all. Tnen my wife was 
terribly unhappy and she cried for 
months and wouldn't do any work in 
the house and my mother told me that 
she had a feeling that this girl was not 
suitable after all 


ed her for two years Paid for all her 
hospital bills." 

But there was silence from that side 
I had not vet seen my daughtei even 
once. Not that I wanted to, but still. 

By this time, my mother said she 
had an idea She said, someone she 
know had a daughter studying in the 
USA, a girl who had got a green card 
If I could marry that girl, 1 could settle 


"It's wrong," I said, "it's sintul to take 
someone's life " 

But she did not budge She said, 
"When you have a disease you have to 
cure it by killing the germs " 

I cried, I fougnt, 1 wont down on my 
knees and touened her feet, I stopped 
eating my food But she was like a 
rock. She, so small, so frail, so white 
haired, was like a great mountain 


13 



made of solid diamond and I was like 
a dung beetle in front of it, trying to 
make it move. 

In the end I gave in, I gave in What 
else could 1 do? 

I wrote a sweet letter to mv wife, tell- 
ing her how much 1 missed iier. I said, 
I was willing to settle for half the 
money now, in rupees, and forget the 
rest, we'd work out something I 
said, I needed her in the house and 
that everything would be different 
when she came back I said that even 
my mother missed her. My mother hel- 
ped me write the letter 

We have a^nallish flat, just oft Prin- 
cess Street m bombay There are two 
bedrooms, one with a bathroom 
attached and one with a large veran- 
dah and some fresh air coming in My 
mother had that one, because of her 
breathing problem When my wife 
came back, she would have liked to 
stay m that one because ot the baby 
and the nerd for some more space, hut 
it was important tor the plan my 
mother made that we should stay in 
the same small bedroom 

M y wife brought the baby hack 
with her It was tour months old 
hv then and quite sweet Sometimes 
when 1 held the haby 1 telt something 
shift inside me Babies have that effect 
There are so small, so weak and yet 
they can reach into the hard places insi- 
de a human being and shift something 
there I don't know how th^y do it My 
mother told me not to hold the baby 
too much or else 1 would get attached 
My wife brought the monev bai k 
with her in a suitcase It was the old- 
fashioned type, the kind where the 
sides are stiff and unyielding, and the 
locks are the kind where ther 's a 
small flap which lias a sort ot flat loop 
in it The loop fits into a slot on the 
lower front side of the suitcase v\ hen 
the case is shut, the little flap is held 
down and the loop pushed into the 
slot, where it is held in place by a hai 
which can be slipped back and forth 
with the aid of a round button -shaped 
release-lever When the suitcase is 
locked, the lever is fixed in place, so 
that the slotted loop cannot be releas- 
ed from the bar You know the kind 
My mother's plan was that we would 
put some sleeping powder in my 
wife's cup of coffee at night, lock her 
and the baby into the bedroom and set 
fire to the room We would leave ciga- 
rettes around to suggest that my wife 
had caused an accident while smoking 
in bed. If we did it late enough at 
night, no one would notice tne smoke 
until it was much too late 


We decided to do it on the first 
moonless night after my wife's return. 

I was supposed to go away on a busi- 
ness trip, lor which reason I had a 
couple of bags around, supposedly to 
take with nie on my trip, but actually 
meant to carry the money My mother 
would have to stay behind in the 
house, so that she could see that before 
the fire came to anyone's attention, 
she could unlock the bedroom door, 
so that no one would suspect anything 

Also, it would seem as if her own 
life have been in jeopardy, and that 
she would convince people that a 
genuine accident had taken place. 

Everything went as planned. My 
wife didn't suspect a thing We had a 
hearty meal and my mother made a 
show ot preparing the night-cap of cof- 
tee 7he haby was a bit peevish that 
night find I was walking her up and 
down to make her sleep I thought 
about vhat was going to happen to 
her I felt had about it 1 felt I couldn't 
do this to such a tiny little thing. Then 1 
tell to thinking about how it is that 
women, who are after all, so much 
smaller, weaker, stupider, less import 
ant than men, still manage to survive 
in life I low they endure Girl children 
get less food than boys, they get atten- j 


tion from their parents, yet when you 
look around, there are so many old 
women around, apparently so many 
of them do survive. They say that 
women live longer than men 

I thought of myself, and of how big I 
am, and of how 1 am not afraid of 
anything. I thought of how much 
mbre power I had than this tiny creatu- 
re in my arms. I thought of how easily I 
could snuff her life out and how she 
could do nothing, nothing at all to 
harm mine. 1 noticed that she was 
asleep. Her lashes seemed to tremble 
slightly and her skin seemed fine and 
very delicate I felt something shift insi- 
de me. 1 reminded myself that 1 was so 
much bigger than her, so much stron- 
ger than her and I took her quickly insi- 
de the bedroom and nut her in her cot 
and shut the door behind me. 

My wife said she would go to bed, 
because she was feeling tired She offe- 
red to pack tor me, blit 1 said that 1 
would manage. She went inside I sat 
in the dining room with the video on, 
waiting for her to tall asleep. 

Soon all was quiet in the house, and 
in the building It was already about 
one o' clock and n»y first flight was hv 
Air India, one of their cheap internal 
tares to Delhi My mother came to ipe 



14 



and said that we had better get on with 
the plan. 

1 took one last look around, then I 
spilled a bottle of my wite's nail- 
polish remover on Ine carpet near the 
bed, let the cigarette drop onto it and 
noticed with satisfaction the flame spr- 
ing up I had about 1 5 minutes to trans- 
fer the money from the suitcase to my 
two bags. 

I put the suitcase up on the dining 
table, got out the keys and unlocked 
both sides. I wondered whether my 
wife would wake up at any point or 
whether the fumes would get to her I 
had arranged the bed clothes so that 
the rest of the room would burn before 
the flames reached her, so that she 
would die oi asphyxiation. 

I pushed hack the button releases 
and — one of them refused to move 

1 said to mv mother, "It's stuck, 1 
think it's just some rust Get some of 
that oil — that oil you use on the sew- 
ing machine- " 

But it w a*- useless, it |ust made the 
trout or the case messy with oil 

Mv mothei said, ' You should have 
done it before, 1 told you to do it before 


I tried again with the key. I turned it 
around to lock and unlock the release 
lever, but m one of my attempts I twist- 
ed the keys so fiercely that it got bent 
and I could no longer remove it from 
the lock. 1 began to sweat 

My mother said, "Why don't you 
take the suitcase with you? Why do 
you need to transfer the money?" 

1 sat down, my head between my 
hands "I can't take the suitcase with 
me because ..because " It seemed 
such a silly reason now, but 1 had 
thought it would seem incriminating, 
if I came back with the suitcase m tow 
It was a huge, bulky suitcase and I had 
thought it would be easier if the 
weight of the money were distributed 
in two cases 

"Break it open/' mv mother was 
saving, "take one of the big knives and 
break it open " 

That's when 1 heard the sound of 
glass breaking 

It came from inside the bedroom, 
and for a sickening moment, I thought 
maybe m v wife had woken up and 
was breaking open the windows But 
even as 1 leapt up to go and listen at the 
dooi I realised it couldn't he that. 



because surely she would have madejj 
some other sound, surely she would 
have tried the bedroom door first. I 
stood outside the door, listening, try- 
ing to understand what would 
make that sound 


;en 


Then 1 heard the baby. She had woki 
up and was crying. 

She was screaming Of course, 1 ! 

couldn't hear her very loudly, because! 
there was a crackling sort of noise insi-j 
dc the room and the door was quite i 
thick But I could hear her She was j 
screaming in that way that babies j 
have, halt- way between rage and fear, ■ 
she was screaming for her life. 

Literally 

I remember lhat my mother tried to 
hold me back from going in to get the 
baby, to make her stop crying, but 1 
was already opening the door Or try- 
ing to Of course, it wouldn't open. 

Too hot, right? Right Some small 
piece of metal inside the lock, now 
expanded out of shape, no longer 
accepted the teeth of the key last a 
tiny bit, nothing much really, nothing 
compared to the si/e of my muscles or 
the strength of my fear, but enough. 
Enough to keep me from being able to 
open the door in time to stop the bay 
crying Enough to ruin mv life 

Because the baby's crying woke the 
neighbours up. Then they saw the 
smoke, coming in through the 
bathroom ventilation shaft. In panic 
they came up to our flat and when we 
didn't respond to the doorbell, broke 
the door down and tound me and my 
mother and the suitcase full of money. 


M y mother died of a heart tailure 
shortly atter the tire brigade 
ai rived that night 

My wite and my baby survived, hut 
ot course they are no longer mine, my 
j in-laws proseculed me successfully 
and sent me to jail on the evidence of 
the neighbours, who were able to say 
that they caught me in the act rf trying 
to murdei my wife 
And so ! sit here in my squalid cell, 
which I share with seven other men I 
watch the ants So small and so 
industrious 

### 

And 1 am da/vled that these small 
*. things are - - what is the word 7 So 
steadfast, so incorruptible, so pure m 
then purpoe They haw no task but to 
- slay in place and to do the tilings tor 
t: which they ha\ r been designed. And 
t, in their smallness, m then modesty, in 
'■ then lack of ambition. the\ have 
strength 

The strength ot small things ■ 



Ti 


IME TABLE 

All arrival and departure times are for Calcutta 

Bay* of opmtion.mhtf 7-d.y cod.: MONDAY TUESDAY T WEDNESDAY '4 THURSDAY '5' FRIDAY <f>> SATURDAY 0? SUNDAY 

- ^ 4mm 





Departures 

Fit No Time Days 


I( 1* >i. iK 

If ! ' IKi ■' (J.Vn 

.V 1 ' • ’ ■ ■ 

M'f </ ■ l?20 2 ' 

£• ii" -ll* lihi:" i . 

PF '*01 IJh-1*' 


km- 'BMDOGRA' 

if. : ■ u : ■ 

i: »h* ‘"i 

ii-ms 

X#;WMALQm, 

U V ii'iill' 

«w >r Mi .ti • . 


2 1 . -ll.. 1 

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rn-i 


Mil 1 

1 t 


W .'I' 

BBOMBAY 

I. I.V, 1 H 

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1 Mi 
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h.v 

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M's - ■ 

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Fit No Tims Days 


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Days 

Fit No. 

Time 

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r ..•! isijf 

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11.10 

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A HYDERABAD 





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16 




Arrivals 


HI No. 


Urns Days 


...... s 

IC-225 0800 I 1C 726 1020 1 

86-898 1735 ? i SGW Ifi 5;, 2 j 


BG-09? 

0850 

4 5 

flG-091 

0810 

4 5 

BG-092 

1150 

1. 2. 3 6 7 

BG 091 

1110 

1 ?. J b 7 

IC-723 

1250 

1,3 3 5 6 

1C 734 

r.20 

1. 2 S S b 

BG-094 

1905 

1. 2 3 5 h 7 

HO UQ3 

IR?*. 

7 .1 ; 'i i 

BG-094 

1910 

4 

BG-Oqj 

163*' 

4 

BG-09b 

>1UfJ 

: 5 

BG 095 

2071! 

! 


07-061 

R 


RA-214 

IC-74' 


1?4i 3 Q.’-OM UK) 7 

v. ; “ : : 

'IfifJ 'i Bl-108 07 J. 1 ) 

ftWi •'■ 

121*1 7 4 0 RA21J IMP 2 4 t, 

111 1 1,2 4 i If 74 H I-:./. • 2 *. i) 


^'tCtolOON* 

BA 14? '* IS 

» MOSCOW 

Sl-S'ih i'V* 

.» J##» r-w 

KH-1M0 1 lli’i 

KH-"iK. ii*S 

:jO-4is .'ii* 

I 1 .! 10* .,o'P 

1A 

! / *|!M 1 ’"I 

a. m vin 

S YANGON 

K. . v i« Hi 


Fit No. 

mV- -.4 
si- 

t\, 'i* 

'0 41. 

p: p‘ 

’ 1: MS’ 
A! -i.‘i 
k * , \ , i 


Time Days 


1» V' 


v .. 


t , 

. ■ * vr*'- **■ 

Ij 

4 , 


Al Air India • BA British Airways • BQ Biman Bangladesh Airlines • Bl Royal Brunei Airlines • D2 Skyline NEPC • D5 NEPC Airlines • 1C Indian Airlines • 
KB Dmk-Air • KLM Royal Dutch Airlines • LZ Balkan Airlines • M9 Modiluft • PF Vayudoot • RA Royal Nepal Airlines * RJ Royal Jordanian Airlines • RO 
Tarom Air Transport • S2 Sahara India Airlines • SQ Singapore Airlines • SU Aeroflot • 4S East West Airlines • TG Thai Airways International • 9W Jet Airways 


!Si 


Departure 


Vi* 
'i i ,l > 

;u7- 

.“ii i v 

501'. 

504/ 

3U04 
300' 
:«i4‘i 
301 ‘i 
3021 
56 >9 
1317 

JOL'il 
J035 
3031 
3071 
1015 
11 M0 

1171 


332/ 

1181 


3141 

3143 

3111 

5657 

3153 

3663 

3161 

3133 

3103 

5085 


TRAINS 


EASTERN RAILWAY 


Arrival 


Departure 


SOUTH-EASTERN RAILWAY 


Arrival 


1 * 

Time 

Howrah 

Time 

Dn 

Up 

Urns Howrah 

Time 

On 

23 !' 

fi i 1 . 

DelhHCaVa Mall 

( - V . 

'■>17 

! hi*!- 

’i Madras Mall 

i, i i , 

U)i !4 

3(1115 


Amritsar MM 

7 r i|. 

J(K^> 

1 Mi ■; r 

!'■/'■ Bombay MNI N.i • 

Gltanp (Bombay) Express 

4 «c Shdabdl (Hourkda) Express 

8 i) 

hf'.il 

■rufi- 

7 i. uc 

Bombay Mall .m Aiidiuui.j 

1 \ ir 

vi'-J 

■V.K- 



; f.ii 

I. .. 

Pocky* ( Nbw Delhi) Express v.i [..ivd 'juras, 
lVl > Will 'll.!.-. .*. MKI 

if. " 

-3 ’ 

7 . . 7 ' 

. 1 'Vi 

■d:v 






!" i . >. A. • >i p. ...ii i l.’v 





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Purbenchal (Gorakhpur) Express 
LV|j K Ar luii Xi.).i lArrJ t. In 
Doon Express vu •' irand Grand 

Udyan Abba Toohn Boreas vi#i Mdin uf»* 
Aintaar Express 
Kdhgodun Boren 
Mflhn (Raoul) Expr 
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Black Dtamond Ex 
umu expires 

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Ispat (Jharsugreta) Express 
TMagarh Express 
Honcm rHDB cxpreD 
Puri Express via C i:i'd. •« 

Jaganmlh (Puri) Express 
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East Coast (Hyderabad) 

Preulla Express 
r-ip 

And Hind (Puna) WsnWy Express 

f .'PI r ,<, A| I l/i \U ill, , 

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I'WiH! ijii'i.w'v .i' :> 

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f/m v-nU 

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i.'v nr 1 .; 

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‘. jJ.'-.j i 1 1 

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BIQUIRIES: For round the dock Information of Eastern RaJNrey and 
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17 






KETCHES 


POTTED HISTORY 


What the chattering classes are talking about 

This week: The Diary 


B egan life as: Samuel Pep vs* 
way of winding up a perfect 
day by putting it down on 
paper Put there are those 
who suggest th.it the diary ha* longer 
antecedents than that, and that the 
first diary was kept by the 
Neanderthal man in the form ot a 
stone tablet on which he notched his 
conquests (i.e even visit to that cave, 
dragging a hapless woman by Her 
hair). 

Gained world-wide fame as* The 

Diary of Anne / uvd, a haunt me, 
account kept by a Jewish teenager ol 
the years spent m hiding with her 
family The Nazis were on the 
rampage, and the Franks were hidden 
away by some friends until the threat 
from Hitler subsided 

Sanjay Singh 


Natural progression: After the diary 
as literature, il was only a matter of 
time betore we were treated to the 
diary as literary device The most 

famous and perhaps the funniest — 

example of this genre was the Dianes nf 
Adrian Mole/ by Sue Townshend. The 
outpourings of a boy growing up m a 
working-class dysfunctional nome in 
England, these are first-rate studies of 
the turmoil of an adolescent mind 
Caving this close competition is The 
Ihay of a Mud Housewife, a tragi-coniic 
stud v of a woman m her mid-thirties, 
with two young daughters and a 
husband who has lost interest in her 
The wav she topes with this mid-life 
crisis >s run/ i v all right, but nobody can 
miss th“ underlying pathos 
The ind tan version: The one that 

Anne Frank 


achieved the greatest notoriety was 
the diary kept by Amita Modi, then 
the wife ot badminton star, Syed 
Modi . The diary was produced in ’ 
court as evidence after Modi was 
murdered, and appeared to indicate 
that Amita and Sanjay Singh, a friend 
of the couple (and referred to as S2 in 
the diary) were having an affair. 

And why would anyone think that?: 
Well, you know how people 
are . Though the fact that sample 
quotes went something like, "S? canu 
twice " didn't exactly help 
The case for Amita: Well. Tallulah 
Bankhead did sav: "Only good girls 
keep diaries Bad girls don't have the 
time." So, maybe the diaries didn't 
chiomclc a hot affair after all And, 
like Amita said, they were merely 




1 



18 






'Ik 


Amita Modi 

fantasies that slit: hud written down in 
idle moments 

So, did they Him out to be clinching 
evidence in the murder case?. Not 
quite Sanjuy Singh was acquitted ot 
tne charge of conspiracy of murder. 
Anuta moved in with hue t'only a 
good friend, you understand') to gel 
over the trauma ot he r husband's 
death arid a few years later the two 
married quietly and are now jointly 
raising Amita's daughtej 
Perhaps, there's not much wrong 
with diaries, after all: Wrong! Wrong! 
Wrong! Ask .my politician and he will 
tell you that they are the root ot all evil 
and should be banned forthwith. 

Well, at least, such people as arms 
dealers and industrialists should 
certainly be prevented from indulging 
m such practices. 

Arms dealers?: Now, don't tell us that 
you've forgotten Martin Ardbo 
already? Yes, we're talking about the 
Bofors executive who kept a detailed 
record of the company's Hov itzor 
deal with India, to the extent of noting 
down how much money had been 
paid out (as kickbacks or political 
contributions: take your pick) to those 
negotiating the deal . 

Who benefited the most?: Well, 
strangely enough, it was a man who 
hadmt been paid a single kroner: V.P. 
Singh He resigned as finance minister 
from the Rajiv Gandhi government. 


against the Prime Minister 
Eventually, he formed his own 
political party and became Prime 
Minister of India after the 1989 general 
election. 


What happened next?: The V.P. Singh 
government fell within nine months 
and after a brief interregnum when 
Chandra Shekhar took over as Prime 
Minister with support from the 
Congress And once the Congress was 
back in power, Bofors was given a 
quiet burial, though not before 
intrepid investigative journalist 
Chitra Subramaniam had got a book 
out of it. 

Latest installment: Why, the Jain 
diaries, of course, in which 
industrialist S.K Jain has apparently 
kept detailed records of how much 
i money he paid out to which politician. 

And lo make things easy for the 
| investigators. Jam obligingly referred 
to the politicians in question by their 
| initials (l.h A for L K Advam, for 
j| instance) 

Phe government response: 

Narasunha Rao adapted a lofty 'the 
law must take its own course' 

sit ion. and the CBI charge-sheeted 



The politicians' defence: Some 
denied taking the money; others 
agreed that they had accepted the 
payments, but that these were in the 
nature of political contribution (in 
layman's terms, money to fight 



The Bofors gun 


seveial of his ministers and such 
stalwarts of the Opposition as BJP 
leader, T..K. Advam. But contrary to 
what most people had imagined, the 
accused succeeded in getting bail 
(unlike poor Kalpnath Rai, who 
landed in Tihar after being charged 
under TADA). 

The public reaction: It could be 
summed up cnnle accurately in two 
words. "So wnat?" 

You mean nobody cared?: Not really 
The general reaction was, "Well, all 
politicians take money, anyway So, 
who cares if these people did, too." 


elections with). 

Did this make sense?: Most certainly. 
In the absence of state funding, Indian 
elections are fought with the help of 
contributions made by industrialists. 
And while it is true that these 
payments should bo made by cheque 
and should be accounted for, it is a sad 
fact of Indian political life that they are 
invariable m the nature of cash 
hand-outs. 

Bottom line: After the usual 
sensational headlines, this too shall 
pass After all, how many of us 
remember Martin Ardbo today? ■ 

iy 






NNEREYE 


i mnrnnr rnururn^iiifm tthtii riTfinmri n "iiiinimniiiiiii— 

BEJAN DA RU WALL/ 


^4n‘« 

March 21 - April 20 

~ (".tlIH‘sh.1 s.IVS, gl l utt 
li» a h< Mdsl.ii t. take* 
s^PIl^Rji the initiative •inJ 
tKT that wifi help \nu tu 
i;H wcnk done liipilri-l r.uuis 
h.ipp\ toim.ition promise"- 
money, mm. mu* .uul a shiv nt 
good link, so nvu'sstirv lor 
smguLii simvs^ Now-* and 
mvss.igvs will hi- ol tho ulmosi 
mfpMtaivt’ !■ »r Arums hike 
v.iri* of health 

Taurus 

April 21 — May 20 

Venus, vc »ii i main 
OBSr planet is m excellent 
' formation with 
Smirn giving \nu a 
i h.nuv lo man \ get cnp.iged, 
entei mio p,M tiioi ships, 
lit" elop i untiut.s anJ * ulmate 
h i»ikIs, as g.udeiiers i u!h\ ale 
»oses Inuinev w ill i a possible 
,i>ip-i>MM is hkel\ and should 
pn*\ c benetu i a I and 

pUI p >Sc*lul 

Gemini 

May 21 — Jun^ 20 

M.iis helps vt hi to 
rea. h out ti i people 
and plat es in a 
giandiose and gainful 
i» av I hat tnvans moiu'\ wen 
inega bucks Chi^lren, 
promotion/ p'rks. sixiuilaln e 
veil In res, a now high in 
pr» itossiivi, enlethiinment and 
amusements are the oil km 
as^vets of the week The <\ilt ol 
elders ma\ cause concern 



Cancer 

June 21 — July 20 

: 1 he* ke\ is in group 

. activity 

' ^ amaitiderie. 

. socialising, the 
ability to got along and he a 
team person V»u will 
i i’itainK sv\ inj; it Deals, 
tiarisai lions, negotiations, 
out ol '_ouit settlements are 
ihi indications C hildren, 
hubbies and treat n e ventures 
give vou delight 

Leo 

July 21 — August 21 

it I run i remote con- 

trolled iieromodels 
to massive nrgunis 
' my, to Mights ot 
t*i.i\ \ dl be vour enormous 
lango as the moon ionium (** 
lupitei, die muni lu c k planet 
Yes I'jpitei also helps vou in 
I'uiU-rs re laled to house, 
house ciline, innovation deto- 
:alii»n slutts and inoM-s uuir 
w it \s ill da//ii the audience 

Virgo 

August 22 — September 22 
|oui nevs and 
’ eollaboi , limns 

appiMi tated 
M. liters lelated to 
gifts taxes, legacies, 
endcu\ ments and imnt- finance 
make vou happ\ Do ex pet t 
honev and mono, a 
combination hard to heltei A 
proposal ot oftei comes to 
\ oil Aciept il Those in 
authoiity wiU dehm*.el\ help 


Libra 

September 23 — October 22 
j You will not be 
! mired in dark 
turmoil but rather 
i find a new /est and 
]ov in life F v pec t \our heart to 
quiver, vour mind to bend, 
\oiir imagination to Inf the 
sk\ In short, expect chance, 
money and tamilv to enrich 
voiu hie, says t ianesha Hihtu' 
and office also come m tor a 
possible facelift 

Scorpio 

October 23— November 22 
The great low ol 
, vour lile is on 
his/her v\ a), that is 
i the /she has ihi< 
done so tar this war Antic ipate 
love, lde, laughte:, expenses, 
deals i outran Is, collaborations 
meets, interviews, outings, 
rendevous negotiations and 
settlement vjuite an armt.il 
really I 'ms iv also the* time to 
devoli \ ourself to work 

Sagittarius 

November 23 — December 20 

While legal issue's 
and posers ate 
possible, just 
rt'inembiM thesi i an 
and should be sorted out A 
nip, a journey. a meetthg 
should help you to turn thing*- 
around Avoid bi.ivadto and 
t'lustei. keep to adjustable 
sc hedules as changes aie 
certain and he ready to create 
vour own demand 








BIRTHDAYS 




Capricorn 

December 21 — January 19 
The new' moon 
brings about a fast 
forward in business, 
trips, art, teaching, 
religious rites, trading, 
courtship and marriage 
C hildren will play a pivotal 
role and that also means the 
birth of a c hild. (Jroup 
ai tivilies will be ideal and are 
theiefore to he encouiaged 
Soc m I status so.irs 

Aquarius 

January 20 — February 18 
f.xpecl it ma|or 
promolmn if in 
set vice a loan it in 
business, or a new 
oUu e i! in piotesMon 
l*ropert\ niatteis .ire distinctly 
laicnned Here a house ot 
other mm e i - not unhkoh 
IMentv ol i ommuhng and 
shunting i • \ oi ir iot j host* in 
le.u lung pre.a lung and 
puhhciK win laurel 1 

Pisces 

F ebruriry 19 — March 20 

A » »i i will be working 
«mJ a!ic» pla\ mg chi 
l .11 lOll - lev els 
siniult.mecHisU but 
the two main ones will be 
money and low I xpect 
tremendous jo\, thanks to 
children, an important journe\, 
a possible collaboration, 
trading and hiokerage } h>bbie<> 
will have an extra dimension to 
them 



MaiiCh 10 c Moon trine Sun- Saturn formation says play your 
cards well, you will, and thus wch the* top, be il love, money, 
sporty launch of on industry or an idea 
Marchl 1 : Moon square Mercury could lend to 
misunderstandings and conflicts, intentionally or otherwise. 
Secret deals and finances atu Id well be go hand in hand. 
Mtlirch 12 : Moon's last quarter could fire your imaginaHtm 
considerably. But others, including family members and even 
wellwishers may not quite agree with you. 

March 13 : Mood trine Venus leads lo comforts and creativity, 
lust sec that you are not cheated or deceived Family members 


rruiy not see eye to eye with you Those m arts, rescanrh and 
chemicals do well. 

March 14 : Moon, mi net Jupiter, good luck, hold hands 
giving you freedom of expression, passion, enthusiasm* ability 
and willingness to go ai! the way and acertain confidence. 
March JrJCrMeicury sextiles Jupiter ushering ui a lot of 
oppominihc's and avenues sav, marriage, promotion, higher 
leaning, new ventures. Let your mind open out and unfurl. 
March 16 : Moon squares Venus making for expenses, all 
sorts of connections and ties* Avoid the use of drugs, go slow 
on drinks and take good care of health. 


F.xquisite cnftsm.inship in lnternntion.il Simulat'd 22/22 karat gold Tiul 
^ diamoml jcwcllci'y. Denier in precious mul nslrologicnl stones. 


P. C. CHANDR 

W L 




JUNIOR WHIRL - HAL KAUFMAN 



DUEL CONTROL! Unfair! One person above 
seems to have a big advantage. Draw lines dot 
to dot to complete picture. 


DUD LETTER! Just scrutinise this sentence 
very carefully and it can be quickly determin- 
ed which letter of the alphabet is missing. 
Which letter? Answer in 30 seconds. 


Mlfrr °M1 


UFO A-GOGO! 

A sky watcher 13 —I P 

claims to have spott- a y* 

ed a formation of nine 16 

unidentified objects \ X — 

(see diagram), each x x ”*6 

bearing a respective 
number, with num- g j 

bers of each row w | * 

having a total of 33. 

Unfortunately, our pal could not recall exactly 
where each of the numbers appeared in the group. 

See if you can puzzle it out. 
Remember, each row totals 33. Each number 
shown is used once. 

II op |[i*i L i *| 1,1 y, [-J 'L q| - • 'doi 1 1 - »J»u.» 1 



PONDER THESE 
NO-SEE-'EMS! 

SEE HERE, folks, you may not 
be able to see what's described 
below, but all four subjects, assu- 
redly, are familiar ones. How 
quickly can you identify them? 

1. Though I can't be seen by 
you at all, I can be heard and 
will return your call. (See 
illustration). 

2. Hello? . goodbyes, and in 
love I'm dwelt, I can't be seen, 
but I can be felt. 

3. 1 walk, I run, I work, I play, 
but I can't be seen on a cloudy 
day. 

4. I'm something that no one 
ever yet did see, that never was, 
but always will be. 

Out of sight, out of mind? You 
decide. 

4 si lAisUC ss.WlH li«»A 

pip JO viojioiuoi f- M0pPl|s v t ‘•‘f'l \ 7» , M mu V ! 
























HEY, WAIT/ l HAVE A PORTABLE TV THAT 
WORKS OFF OF A CAR BATTERY / 



^1 


LETS JUMP IN OUR 
CARS AND DRIVE TO 
ANOTHER PART OF . 
TOWN/ 




FORGET IT : I 
I CHECKED AND THE 
y WHOLE CITY'S 
l BLACKED OUT/ 






SO SET IT, 

. QUICK // < 


$ 





..'v 

‘ 4 - ’ .7 






r*.' - • fV j „ 




II 


SHOULD WE TELL 
THEM THE POWER'S 

0A< ^JL^2^’ NQTHEY'RE 
JMhP* HAVING SUCH 
pZflv FUN OUT THERE... 

LETS JUST KEEP 
WATCHING OUR 
MOVIE Y 


& v.a - -W 1 **? ; 







Np* 8M: 






Til 

aa.'j 


■fer- 


•<* v /. 

^ " .0* • 
• fcs ■ 


v vv-: : : 


— / 1 ^ 





\ 


. r. , 'MRS 

YS#'*'"’* ' Yi-IIliY T# 







Fashion 



FASHION AND FABRICS 

Both were on display in Calcutta, as Bengal tried to popularise its 
weaves, reports Rajlakshmt BhaUacharyya 


I t was, perhaps, one of 
the most amazing col- 
lections of Bengal' s 
fabrics ever From 
mesmensmgmushnsto 
gorgeous lamdante; fabul- 
ousbahicnans to delicately 
woven kathas, cnsp fassare 
to ethnic tanginh — 'All 
these, and more, were 
showcased in a scintillating 
fashion show The event 
was jointly hosted by NIFT, 
the premier fashion insti- 
tute of this country, along 
With the ministry of texti- 


les, six apex 


of 



Asha Bakshi, Nendita Das- 
gupta, 5u}sta ROychow* 

26 


Photographs by Arko Oatta 



Swapna Du? and 
AnjdStHau-Hnd 
sundry weavers, dyers, 
printers and fabricators 
Choreographed by Man: 
Robinson, the show at 
Hotel Airport Ashok, 04- 
cutta, ha*f all the glamour 
of a major event The 3-day 
nungum (from 15-17 
Bdmury, to dhodr off 

ves and cx&w&miMp saw 

dwihN{^yoni)ca0>idfet|i, 


pirouetting rmthe^bsttboo- 
tfltottdttno. 
£v«nAsthen^otM» 








IgriwjpMde pm 


ttaft wrnattaafl 
fromRs900toRs 
tmn^ier 
shades 




MdaStoHacfo carmine or I hne. ftusedBalkab, asilk 


Theeight^eguence fash- 
4km phantasmagoria Had as 
its first offering, the 
centuries-old kantha co8ec>- 
don including the nakshi 
kandaqdNbdimd 


- iT-l V' j rT»I'~k 1 1 r-T I «j ^ . 


These were the delicate 
Uttar scented cotton nestled 
between Mizrahidahad 
sdks coupled with khadi 
muslins 

The second comprised 
zaidozt hand-painted tus- 
sar and jute-bkmded 
fabrics- The sequence cli- 
maxed with an eco~ 
friendly plaid tiousersuit 
made of hand-woven 
fabric on which vegetable 
dye had been used. 

Western wear in this catego- 
ry was. marked by patterns 
that owed a lot to Santimkc- 
tan As a fitting tribute to 
the hand-painted collec- 
tion, a dramatic dturidar 
hurt* was done up in kalei- 
doscopic hues and die 
same pigments of colour 
were repeated for the Stole. 

The xaronxi in untreated 
silk and 



set. The silk lehenga choh 
however left a lotto be desi- 
red What was most strik- 
ing was the more formal 
ladies suit for summer 
wearinmatka Temxntta, 


show comprised 
mtricatdy-woriced b»lu~ 
dtaris Jhe'andhals'had 
diffw - it replicas of badsha- 
hi and oriental motifs that 
had once sunk into obso- 
tetoence m MttnMeUbad 
but was later revived by 
Shu vo Thakur m fo* Forb- 
es. He, along with Akshay 
Kumar Das of Bishnupur, 
worked to bring back the 
fost heritage of baluehari 
art. They are now bade in 
vogue said have come to be 
synonymous with Bishnu- 
pur. The colours were very 
'modem', wjthan abund- 
ance of greys, newrose. 
beige, Mack, midnight blue 


da Z*ri work. Natural tirs- 
sar and Mack topped flus 
coflectfon'e 
ensembles AndarvC 



whole ensemble. 

Jackets, trotters and 
dress shirts in yellow, grey 
and black were givCn trm- 
dy silhouettes to suit die 
sartonal preferences of 
today's executives. Shoes 
and bags were made of 
jute, and the feweDery was 
mainly in terracotta, 
threadwork and silver 
filigree 

Tne fourth was a ran col- 
lection Sheroarasmadeot 
resham were redolent of 
the nostalgia of 19th centu- 
ry zammdan. Salwars in 
ochre and zanworkdazzl- 
ed the onlooker as did the 
mauve jacket and die typi- 
cally traditional dhakka 
dhoti replete wiih creases 
and starched folds. 

The fifth Was an all -black 

autumn and winter codec- 
Bon whkh emphasised tan- 


y i ; v --r.-m | . t i \ rrvT 7 ' 


and sbrateht cuts added ele- 
gance to Swearer and 
attwsspttesw'&epamd 
48wt*|or a netey undutter- 
edfocK. 

Tttesbdhin flftewasan 



di'mkmiL l»a6flttauJteft^ 


p^mecowundin^an- 
dised metals andgold add- 
ed glitz to the gaffy colour- 
ed range of the show 
The seventh collection 
ermtamed Hue-grey 
camouflage prints on cot- 
ton twiBs combined with 
beautifully knitted T- 
shirts. Deitensdnped with 


Wtgtriftatbna^ look 

for Summer and spring 
fttatesyttap# aw* flora* 
laminated the short 


and maroon 
Though the designs of 
the domes weren't exactly 
breathtaking (most of 
them, however, had a 
certain precision and were 
quite wearable), the range 
and colour of immaterial'! 
definitely were Perhaps 
now, dime fabno, hitherto 
unexplored, and languish- 
ing in local bastrnlmtp., will 
create a splash m this 
country's ntey couti me 
circuit ■ 






lilMEUGHT 

MAKING MAGIC, NOT MOVIES 

77/fDilwale . director, Adilya Chopra, is a private man, says 
Lata Khubchandani, but he knows how to apjieal to the public 


W hat do you do after 
you've delivered the 
box-office hit of all time? 
Well, if you're Aditya 
Chopra, the 24-year-old director of Oil - 
wale Dulhamyc Le Jayange, you prompt- 
ly go underground and put yourself 
hcyond the reach of the press. All 
requests for interviews are turned 
away by parents Yash and Pam 
Chopra, and Aditya himself never 
comes on the line. 

When he's finally lured to the 
phone after being assured that he'll be 
left alone after a short conversation, all 
he comes up with is: "Well, I really 
have nothing to say." Push him a little 
further and ne concedes, "I feel very 
thankful to God for giving me this 
success " 

But what made him decide on mak- 
ing yet another boy- 
meets-girl-and-parents-get-mad kind 
of story’? 

"I've always watched films," 
explains Aditya, "where a boy and 
girl meet and fall in love and then 
when their parents protest, they run 
away. That always bothered me, what 
did they do, did they over meet their 
parents again? 1 wanted to make a film 
where the pair do not run away but 
marrv with their parents' consent." 

The young Chopra, who wrote the 
story tor the film himself (though the- 
re's some dispute over that: Honey 
Irani claims that she collaborated with 
him), began his career in films as his 
father, Yash's, assistant. Dtlwaie Du I ho- 
my a Le Jaycnge was his first movie as a 
director, a fact that makes his success 
even more creditable. Of course, there 
are those who suggest that Aditya 
merely copied a tried -and -tested for- 
mula and came up with a thinly- 
disguised remake of tin' mega box- 
office grosser. Hum Aapkc I Jain Knun 1 
But not everybody agrees with this 
perception. 

Says Taran Adarsh of Trade Guide r 
"In Bollywood, the saying goes, 'Hit 
hat to fit hat/ So, even if the film 
reminds people of Hum Aapke 1 fain 

?8 



Aditya Chopra 


Koun ' ultimately that's not important, 
the entertainment value of the film is 
And Dilwale . is not just three hours of 
fantashcentertainment; it is one year 
of fantastic entertainment. Aditya is 
brilliant, and that is an 
understatement." 

According to Adarsh, Sooraj Barja- 
tya and ? Aditya Chopra are the future 
of Indian anoma. "You can mention 
their names with the best filmmakers 
we have had: Kaj Kapoor, V.Shanta- 
ram ..They have proved that it is not 
technique that works; it is the quality 
of the film that makes people sit in a 
dark auditorium fur three hours." 

Indra Kumar, the director of such 
hits as Beta, [hi and Raja, agrees: "We 
think that the younger lot have no 
background of traditions, but today it 
is the young directors who are moving 
away from sex and violence to films 
that can be watched by the whole fami- 
ly together. Aditya has obviously been 
inspired by Sooraj Barjatya, but the 
film he's made is incredible " 

ovies have always been a pas- 
sion with Aditya. Even when he 
was a little boy, he would spend count- 
less hours watching films. Says his 
mother, Pam Chopra, "Hindi films are 
his lifeblood, though he watches 
every kind of movie. When we travel 
abroad, he's the first one to hunt 
around for a good film that is playing 



and see it." 

Pam remembers a time when the 
entire family was watching a movie on 
television Suddenly, Aditya, who 
couldn't have been more than eight or 
nine years old, said, "That's a crane 
shot." His parents were completely 
taken aback by this kind of comment 
from a young boy. But Aditya was 
obsessed with the movies- he would 
write stories, develop scenes and 
recount them to us, show us how he'd 
worked out a script. 

Perhaps his love affair with cinema 
is best illustrated by an incident that 
incurred when Aditya was still in col- 
lege. He was sitting for his B.Com final 
exams, but on the day of the first 
paper, a trial run of jo feeta Wolu 
Sikandrr was scheduled. The show 
was due to begin at 3 pm, and Aditya's 
paper ended at 2 pm. But since the 
theatre where the film was to show 
was some distance away from the exa- 
mination hall, he finished his paper 
halt an hour before and rushed to see 
the movie. 



Yash Chopra with wife Pam 





Says Pam Chopra: "He's a complete- 
ly commercial bachcha. He must see 
every him on the first day, sitting with 
the audience in the theatre. Of course, 
he has my husband's influence, but 
he's different in his approach. He's not 
sophisticatedjust for the sake of it." 

But Yash Chopra, Aditya's father 
and producer of Dilwale..., is unwill- 
ing to take even an iota of credit for the 
movie. Says he, proudly, "I have con- 
tributed nothing at all to the creative 
side of the film; it is fully Aditya's 
baby. I was just the producer." 

According to Yash, his son was com- 
pletely sure about what he wanted in 
the film, and which actors he wanted 
to cast. "He had Parmeet Sethi in mind 
for the villain's role, and nobody else 
would do. Then he had to have Mandi- 
ra Bedi and Achala Sachdeva. Next, he 
made it a point to explain to each actor 
and actress himself, so that his percep- 
tion of die role was passed on to them 
He's done a better job than even 1 
would have done. He's put everyth- 
ing in the film. The background of 
family life in Punjab was so authentic 
that it surprised even me He has rare- 
ly been to Punjab, he gets all this from 
his mother." 

Pam Chopra is cautious enough to 
point out that they should not g?t carri- 
ed away by one hit, even though 
Di t wait'... is not a fluke, considering 
how confident Aditya was during its 
making. "If at time.; I was not convinc- 
ed about something or did not agree 




don't know what allows him this con- 
viction. Maybe, it is the fad that he's 
watched so many films, has gathered 
so much knowledge about the 
movies " 

I t was this courage of conviction that 
helped Aditya win the respect of his 
actors even though must of them were 
senior to him. "Il was as if," says his 
lond mother, "the film was running in 
his head " 

Anupam Kher, who played a pivo- 
tal role in the movie, agrees whole 
hearted ly "Initially," says Kher, "he 
was a little embanassed because he'd 
just graduated from being an assistant 
to his father to becoming a director, 
but I don't think he was unsure at all. 
I've known him for the past eight 
years and he's always been singularly 
passionate about his work, be it the 
story, the screenplay or the music. Eve- 
rything is an obsession with him, and 
he's also smart enough to know what 
is popular, what wortes with the audi- 
ences. And his conviction comes 
through in his work " 

But if your first film is such a pheno- 
menon, then wouldn't everything 
after that be something of an anti- 
climax? Ramesh Sippy, who has to con- 
tend with being known as the Sholay 
director, so many years after the 
event, feels that people should not bur- 
den the young Chopra in this manner. 
"What he has made is a lovely Aim," 
says Sippy. "And the success ratio of 
this Aim should not be used to judge 
his subsequent work. His Alms should 


be judged as individual films, and if 
they're lovely, well then, they're love- 
ly. Dilwale . should not become a bam 
meter for the rest of his work " 

Like almost everyone else, though, 
Sippy has nothing but praise for 
Aditya's first film. "To the extent that 
this is a romantic film," he says, "you 
could say that he is following his 
father's footsteps, but he has his own 
individual approach 1 was very 
impressed by the way Aditya showed 
two different lifestyles the Western 
atmosphere and the homecoming to 
India, so that the contrast could be 
highlighted. It is very contemporary, 
very today, and yet no has shown the 
traditions and values that need to be 
adhered to, respect for elders and the 
well-being of the family." 

That's not to say, of course, that 
Diliwle... is a perfect film. The charac- 
ters are somewhat stereotyped and 
the ending is chched and even inexplic- 
able in many ways. The central char a. - 
ters who have been defined very 
strongly in the film, suddenly start act- 
ing completely out oi character. Shah 
Fukh, the Uilwaia and his even more 
flamboyant father, Anupam Kher, 
suddenly bow out of the struggle for 
the dulhaniya without any explanation 
being profferred On the other hand, 
Amrisn Puri, who has remained stern 
and unbending throughout the 
movie, undergoes a sudden change of 
heart, and tells his daughter to follow 
wherever her love leads her. 

But this is, after all, a Hindi film. 

And with it pulling in crores, nobo- 
dy's complaining. ■ 


29 



IRST PERSON 


NASSSH KUMAH. MrlSO 
Cup squad m 19B9 but atom 
forme national tfutnxpi&t, 1 
top players of his time. The 

best in Indmt cup history. At prea^. hekatittjmtotv&l 
ns 

tiriitbyouriiindlpalBci 

f" hippincnT 
Flaying with my grandchildren. 

Wlirt I* 'wdr neatest four? 









Who orwiMt has b«» the greatest 
Influence in your Hit? 

My brother Surest and Rostti 
Mody. 

Whet do yea dislike Mtl in 
others? 
i nsinceri ty. 

What do you dislike moot in 
yourself? 

Oacking jokes at the expense of 
others. 


How would you 
like to be 
remembered? 

As a gentleman 


What is your moat pradow 
possession? 

My wife, 'Sun-Son*. 

What objects do yon always cany? 

Nothing in particular. 

What makes you moat depressed? 
Poverty. 

What do yon dislike most on ymnr 


What is your favourite journey? 
Overnight flight to London 
What i» ynta r iaWnntfte dream? 
Sitting in the Royal Box at Ascot 

with the Queen. 

What is vow nightmare? 

Arriving at die centre court at 
Wimbledon with no racquets. 

W|«t Of who k the greatest lore of 
yonfih? i 

WkSnSroot source of sustcoauoe? 

F&mify, unity and lore. :• - 
Ou what McaMoua do you Be? 

Ontoomaojecmeions. •' - 
What is jwriftiltit lynirlT , 
That f arid ' 

achieve moW» .. • : ',4 



S’ : 

mm:- 


,'t 



mm.: ■ 





fWOwUJ^ OUT MmXbiy UJfUHPf , 


What is your 
favourite dream? 

SittingSdie Royal 
Box at Ascot with 
the Queen 




wri'VtVjS 


£-- -tm 














Indian Airlines 


The Telegraph 


17 MARCH 1998 



MORTEM 



irneto&tiei, dteanUnesa and. 


' ¥ was (Rnprised you 
O mitted Cakutta'sHotei 
HteMunlNtemtiimal 
MHtOte 
Smbi (Bihar) 

■ The rich, people who 
{tare money in abundance, 
can experiment widt five' 
star hotels* favouring one 
and discarding the other 
for one reason or the other. 
Baft far the poor, five-tea* 
Kving is a teal dream. They 
am mad a lot about luxury 
hotels but never get the 
opport uni ty to stay there. 
Mtothmke KmauttSaka, 
ldt*pur(W.BJ 






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Alka Yagnik and Kumar Sanu dominate the 
field of Hindi film playback singing, 
reports Lata Khubchandani 


SWITCH ON THE TELEVISION SET, AND TUNE INTO ANY 
Hindi film song-based programme. You will soon dis- 
cover that it is impossible to get away from the voices 
of Kumar Sanu and Alka Yagnik. Eight out of 10 (if 
not more) songs will be sung by this pair, and in all 
probability, the two others will be solo numbers by 
them. Whether it is Kajol, Madhuri, Sridevi or Tabu, 
she will be crooning in Alka Yagnik' s sweet, if slight- 
ly tinny voice, and the men, right from Anil Kapoor 
to Akshay Kumar, will sing in Kumar Sanu's Kishore 
Kumar soundalike tones. 

Much has been made and said of the Mangeshkar 
monopoly, of the fact that sisters Lata and Asha domi- 
nated the world of playback singing and kept every 
newcomer out of the reckoning. But few people seem 
to have noticed that another monopoly has taken 
over the world of Hindi film playback singing: that of 
Alka Yagnik and Kumar Sanu. 

They have not been dubbed the Golden Couple for 
nothing. It is beginning to seem as if Alka and Kumar 
have only to sing a duet for it to climb inexorably up 
the charts; they have only to record a solo number for 
it to be nominated for some award or the other; and 
they have only to announce a live show tor the tickets 
to sell out in a matter of hours (and that's as true in 
Mumbai as it is in Manchester ) 

Perhaps, the best measure of their monopoly can 
be gauged from their performance at the Filmfare 
awards, the Indian version of the Oscars, and just a.*; 
prestigious. Kumar has won the Filmfare award for 
best male singer for five consecutive years, from 199 1 
to 1995, a record in itself. And when Alka won the Fil- 
mfare Best Female Singer award for Choli kc ;v< v'/< iwu 
kya kai, she confessed to being slightly disappointed. 
And she had good reason to be. All the five nominat- 
ed songs had been sung by Yagnik and she was hop- 
ing to get the award for a song other than the Choli 





I'm enjoying ft more. I've also stopped 
singing for regional films* though I've 
sung a lot in regional languages earlier." 

Nevertheless, it is often difficult to 
get Alka's and Kumar's dates for 
recording on the same day, so they 
often end up recording their bits 
separately. The duet is then spliced 
together in the studio. Some may say 
that this has the effect of reducing 
spontaneity and even lessens the effect 
of a song. After all a film number often 
acquires an additional resonance from 
the interplay between the singers. But 

in this age of digital hi-tech, and 
over-worked playback singers, music 
directors are only too willing to make 
such compromises. 

And with cassette sales mounting, 
and the songs themselves climbing the 
popularity charts, nobody is 
complaining 

H e may be the highest-paid 9inger in 
the business today, but Kumar 
Sanu stumbled into the field of 
playback singing quite by accident Ihe 
son of Pashupdtinath Bhattacharya, a 
classical musician, Sanu was trained to 
be a tabla player. But singing was 
always his first love, and he was 
dttfermmod to make it as a singer. He 
sang at some dubs and community 
functions m Calcutta wheiv he was 
bom and brought up, before he derided 
to by his luck with Gulshan Kumar's 


Qayamat se Qayamat Talc A landmark film for Yagnik 

Barsaat Kumar s Love tujhe love mein karta hoon became a runaway hit 

number which had not made 
any great demands on her as 
a singer But her disappointment was 
somewhat dissipated when she won 
the National Award for Ghutighat ood 
sr. 

The two of them have long since lost 
track of how many songs they have* 
sung over the years, though they 
concede that it would be far above the 
10,000 mark. Kumar Sanu, in fact, 
functions as a bit of a .song machine, 
moving from one studio to another, 
recording as many as 10 or 15 songs a 
day; his record, he says, is 28 songs m 24 
hocus. Rumour has it, he often makes as 
much as Rs 20-50 lakh every day, 
though some insist that the figure may 
be even as high as Rs 1 crore 

Yagnik’s day is just as hectic, though 
she says that she is trying vciy hard to 
cut down on her commitments. "I've 
tried to reduce the number of songs that 
I sing because it was getting too much 
spending the whole day going from 
one studio to another," she says. 

"Nowadays, I've reduced my work to 
one or maximum two songs a day and 



8 




T-Senes label. 

Sanu went off to Delhi, where Kumar 
decided that he would launch the 
young singer as a Kishore Kumar clone. 
T-Series brought out an album of old 
Kishore Kumar hits sung by Kumar 
Sanu, which became one of the biggest 
grossers of the label, and launched 
Sanu with die proverbial bang. In fact, 
such was the success of the album that 
an elated Gulshan Kumar gifted Sanu 
with a Maruti van as a reward for a job 
well done 

It wasn't long before Kumar decided 
to move lo Bombay, in an attempt to 
make it in the Hindi film industry. He 
didn't have to wail long; his first film as 
a playback singer Aashicjui, proved to be 
a runaway hit, some said mainly 
because of its successful soundtrack, 
and Sanu was on his way to the big 
time Today, he is the undisputed king 
ot playback singing in Bombay and can 
say with groat aplomb, "I'm expecting 
to get the hlmtcire award tor either 

Tujhc ih'klm to itch fiuma stitmni from 
l hi Mile Piiliilumw' Le Itiumgc or Sautili 
s abut ten jhcel sr tianken from Hum Sab 
dun Ham or Ijove tujhc love maw Lirta 
h<\m from Bar unit " 

Strangely enough, even Alka Yagruk 
began her rareri in Calcutta, where she 
used to sing folk and filmi songs at 
cultural functions and the like "l have a 
very cush\ background,” admits 
Yagnik today 'And even in my career 1 
didn't have to struggle very much. 



Alka Yagnik 


Very early on J got to sing for fYakash immediate recognition as a result, and 1 

Mehra's Lawaans The song was Mere haven't looked back since then " 

ar/\mc mem tumham tya Liam hat. which Yagnik learnt singing from her 
became veiy, very popular I gut mother, who is a classical singer But 

Alka herselt was never reallv inclined 


Kumar Sanu with his wife 



towards classical singing ”1 enjoyed 
light singing," she says, "and as a child 
used to be stuck to the i adio all dav, 
imitating singers like Lata// and Asha// 

I love to sing romantic soft numbers, 
and l think they suit my voice " 

Yagruk became reallv busy after HNh 
when she sang foi {Juuaimt Sc Quyamat 
Tak Says Alka, "My voice seems to go 
well with a lot of heroines, 1 think it 
particularly suits Madhuri Dixit, luhi 
Chnwla and kajol But I have sung ior 
almost every heioine In one sen 1 
guess I'm lucky in this industry ll is hits 
that count, other things are less 
important " 

Yagnik concedes that ‘>0 per cent oi 
the songs that she has sung with Sanu 
have been runaway hits "People seem 
to like us togelhei," she savs mien mg 
to the popularity ot then duets m siu h 
Minis as Rata. Rin^tat, Kaum .\ivm and 
Coolie No 1 Sanu adds. "I ven u ifh 
such films as Akele Hum Akeie Inn, 
which were not so weii apprei ialed. (lit 1 
music of the Him was noted and liked " 

While Sanu has given such tilrni hits 
as 1'hol: bhah huikt fSwhsr it: hmhuh ! 
and 7 u nnlechl kittle ti 'timmah. he also 


brought out a non-tilnu album in 1^95 
This private album, called Nut hit, was 
produced by Time Audio, and did very 
well according to Kumar "All in all/' 
savs Sanu, " 1*W was a good year tor 
me." 

P rofessionally, Sanu may have done 
very well indeed, but his personal 
hie was a bit of a mess Mis marriage 
broke up very acrimoniously/ with 
Kumar moving out ol his bungalow, 
named Aashiqui after his tirst nit him, 
leavingi^js wife and two sons behind 
His wife, father part, moved court to 
ask toi half ot Kumar's income, which 
she said amounted to nearly Rs 1 crone 
every day. 

Sanu is very bitter about his marital 
break-up, and is liable to rave and rant 



A still from the film, Criminal 



Kumar Sanu 


about his estranged w ite at the slightest Assam to be with her family and they 
provocation 1 hs sistei has, since then, c nine down during the holidays as 

moved in with him to look alter his well And so tar, at least, ihe 

house*, and there have been rumours nt airang'emcnt seems to woi k 
his involvement with \ annus starlets 

(One sue h stai let had her car windows But whatever the difference in then- 
smashed by San u\ irate wile ) domestic arrangements, both Yagnik 

Yagmk's personal lite is tar happier, and Sanu arc universally regarded as 

though it is not very i ' »n ventional 1 ler being the pick of the 1< >t as tar as 

husband and children h\e bark home playback singing is concerned Says 
in Assam, while Alka is based in music director Anu Malik, "They are 

Bombay where she works hard at her very popular today, their songs are 
career She makes frequent trips to liked by the public, and that success is 

10 


very important Alka's voice suits my 
tunes, and she is able to mould her 
voice to suit any actress which is one 
reason for her popularity For the 
dulcet kind of songs, both kumai and 
Alka are very good You could say that 
theieisan Alka \ Kumar monopoly in 
the Him industry’, but it is a constructive 
one " 

Jatin Lalit, who composed the music 
of Pihmlc [htlhimn/a l.r lux/cugr, have a 
ditterenl perspective on the situation 
"Yes," they say, " Alka and Sanu are 
definitely the most popular singers 
today, but actually today it is the songs 
that do well and not the singers I oday 
singers can't hav*» a monopoly because 
it a number is good it will do w'ell 
irrespective of who sings it Singers are 
important but the public accepts a good 
song despite them " 

T hat may be one point ol view', but 
there aren't very many people who 
subscribe to it After all, it it didn’t 
matter it Sanu sang youi song tv Sonu 
Nigam did, then producers woi Idn't 
be paying a bundle and wailing tor 
months so that Kumar could do his 
stuff before the microphone And it 
Alka w as just another singer who has 
incidentally delivered more hits than 
anybody else, then Kavita 
Krishnamurthy would have as many 
films on hand as Yagnik. 

But that's not how it is. Both in terms 
of their pay packets and number of 
movies on hand, Yagnik and Sanu are 
miles ahead of the competition And if 
you have any doubts on that score, well 
then, you can always rely on your own 
ears. Switch on the television or turn on 
the radio; the voices that will 
reverberate through your living room 
w'lll be those or Alka Yagnik and 
Kumar Sanu ■ 




XTRACT 


Television and the 



I fas the idiot I tax 
c/estn >wd family life 
as u e knoie it ? 

Extracts from a 
a civ hook about the 
impact of'lY 
on children 


BY 

NAMITA 

Unnikrishnan 

ANDSHAILAIA 

BAIPAI 

Extracted [from 7 he 

Impact nf Television 
Advertising on 
Children by 

Namita 

Unnikrishnan (And 
Shaiiaja Bajpai ; 
Published by Sage 
Publications India 
Private Limited; 
Price Rs 450 


very viewer has a very private and per- 
sonal relationship with the television 
set, even when he is watching it as part 
of a group After all, each individual 
has unique feelings, responds dilfe- 
rently to and absorbs the messages of 
television in a distinctive manner We 
might, therefore, be watching the 
same programme but our reactions to 
it could he diametrically opposite 

What we are currently experiencing 
is a drawing-room revolution of 
almost contradictory’ dimensions 
Television is changing relatioships 
within the family and even outside it 
On the one hand, the trend, mention- 
ed earlier, of families owning more 
than one television set and acquiring 
more viewing options suggests that 
people living in the same house are get- 
ting increasingly isolated from one 
another 

Simultaneously, our study found 
that people believe that televison has 


the power to unite people and help 
them share similar experiences, it is 
commonplace, nowadays, to discover 
an entire family sitting and watching 
TV together either m companionable 
silence or talking all the while. 

Television has also become the 
focus of social interaction on a larger 
canvas Many of the mothers we spoke 
to, rather shamefacedly admitted that 
it they were invited out to dinner on a 
weekday, they did not leave the house 
till 9.30 pm — much to theii husbands' 
annoyance — because they 5 ’ wanted to 
watch their favourite soap opera. 
Someone should have told them that 
they could have watched it along with 
their hosts! The father of a three- vear 
-old told us that he had decided not to 
opt for satellite TV 

Because everywhere you go tn the 
evenings people are sc* busy watching 
TV that they have no time tor vou. 
We've been invited to people's homes 




only to tind ourselves sitting in silence 
watching Santa Barbara or something. 
Is that what we're meeting tor? Might 
as well stay home and watch it. (At the 
time of this study Santa Barbara and 
The Bold ami the Beautiful were aired 
horn 8 pni to 9 30 pm.) 

Also, coming home to find everyo- 
ne engrossed in The Bold and the 
Beautiful is not my idea of family life. 
Resides, if people can get so involved 
in what's happening m the lives of a 
handful of TV characters who are not 
even liftkan why can't they show 
more interest in what's happening in 
the lives ot people around them? 

T elevision's ability to simultaneous- 
ly unite and separate people worries 
man\ observers Jerry Mander, fur 
one. describes rather eloquently how 
IV isolates human beings. "Televi- 
sion encourages separation, people 
from community, people from each 
other, people from themselves ..it 
becomes everyone's intimate adviser, 
teacher and guide to appropriate beha- 
viour and awareness Thereby, it beco- 
mes its own feedback system, further- 
ing its own growth and accelerating 
the transformation of everything and 
everyone into artificial form This ena- 
bles a handful of people to obtain a 
unique degree of power " 

Mander's observations could just as 
well be about the modern urbane Indi- 
an home A young /orking mother, 
who is a\vay from home between 9 am 
and 7 pm. outlined her normal even- 
ing routine- "1 get back, have my bath, 
then begin to help in the kitchen We 
now have two TVs and are thinking of 
getting a third You set 1 , the men want 
to watch sports, while my mother- 
in-law and I want to watch serials like 
The Bold ami the Beautiful My five- 
yea] -old daughter gets irritated if we 
switch channels from MTV and Hind* 
films songs programmes which she 
enjoys Instead of having to listen to 
her constantly say, 7 Why aren't you let- 
ting me watch?' we may as well invest 
in another TV " 

Many people wo spoke to, said they 
would do anything to keep the peace 
at home riven if it means spending 
another Rs 12,000 or more to buy yet 
another television set tor a 
five-year-old. 

Rut imagine what life in such house- 
hold is like after 8 30 pm, when major 
ch< »r«>s aie over dinner is no longer a 
family affair at the dining table It is 
now eaten m tront ot the television 
The working mother (who has the 
second TV in her bedroom) and her 
mothei- in-law take their plates to her 
room The men sit in the drawing- 


room watching sports The little girl 
usually joins the women hut will soon 
have her own corner and her own tele- 
vision set As she grows up, the little 
girl will establish her own special rela- 
tionship with her TV set. It will be her 
companion, her surrogate playmate, 
compensating for other activities 
within and outside the home Evi- 
dently, family life is no longer what it 
was even five years ago 

* * * + * 

MEALTIME IS TV TIME 

O ur earlier observation that dinner 
was a popular accompaniment to 
TV-watching was confirmed when 
more than 50 per cent ot our respon- 
dents (the figure rises to almost 60 per 
cent in the 8 to 1 5 years age group) said 
that mealtimes were synonymous 
with TV time This figure drops to just 
under 20 per cent in tne case of the 5 to 
8-year-olds largely because this age 
group eats early and presumably got s 
to bed early too 

The oaling-as-vou-watch-TV syn- 
drome, our research showed, was 
most pronounced amongst the attlu 
ent families and least pi (.mounted in 
families that are less privileged. 
Children m the 8 to 1 5- year age group 
from middle class and affluent homes 
said that watching TV. partu ularly 
over dinner, has become the norn i Par- 
ents admitted that they found TV the 
best mealtime baby-sitter, specially 
for children who are fussy about their 
food Describing their evening routi- 
ne, several adults said that dinner is 
increasingly becoming a casual ahair 
It is not always the collective, on- 
the-table or on-the-flooi family event 
it used to be 

TV watching does not, howevei, 
dominate mealtimes in lower class 
families where eating is not a leisurely 
pastime Many children ( mostly girls) 
told us that they are actively involved 
with household chores throughout 
the evening They help to cook, wash, 
serve and clean; TV time is, therofoie, 
restricted and, generally something 
they indulge in after their chores are 
ove- In families such as these, dinner 
is a one-time affair, being cooked and 
served hot as it comes off the stove 
What else do children do while 
watching TV? Well, when they're not 
eating they tend to talk More than 40 
per cent of the children in our study, 
claimed that they chatted to one ano- 
ther or others, repeated things they 
heard or saw on the picture-tube and 
oven enacted some of the scenes Some- 



rtNEWM £(4AKl 


limes, they admitted, they even enjoy- 
ed a good tight' 

* 1 i i t 

GROWING CONCERNS 

A s television i.nd children s depen- 
di nee ujuin it tor recreation have 
increased, so has parental concern 
about the ettec t on their children of 
watching television indiscriminately 
for kmg hours Some parents, who 
earlier regarded telei ision as an innoc- 
ent and haimlcss iv n ot keeping 
children on upivd, have subsequently 
rhnng *d their minds I'm parents ot a 
three-year -old who has gi own up on a 
ric h diet oj television, say their child 
knows not only how to operate the TV 
set and tune m to particular channels 
oi programmes, but also how to have 
the local cable-operator contacted and 
summoned to sort out satellite and 
cable- related- problems That apart, 
the paients are now beginning to look 
at television critically to see if it might 
have anything to do with the way their 
son has begun behaving. 

He's suddenly become very aggres- 
sive 1 , somewhat uncontrollable, and 
physically demonstrative in ways that 
disturb us We are wondering whe- 
ther li is intake oi adult progjamming 
on television and the high degree* ot 
violence* that satellite and cable incor- 
porate in their programming might in 
some way be responsible for the way 
he is i ight now \ le certainly seems to 
be aping things that he sees, but does 



no! understand, and it makes life diffi- 
cult and sometimes embarrassing 
Whether 01 not the behaviour o! thi*- 
child li.m a dn eel coi relation with 
watching TV is o! omrsc unclear l he 
i ole tif television and indeed ot films 
m promoting aggressive , violent reui 
(ions continues to he., controversial 
issue Pitlerent studies ha\ i surest- j 
ed either that there is evidence to 
holster the damn that it does entoura- 
ge \ loleneeor that such a connection 
cannot really he proved 

Nevertheless, existing data on 
child i on and television suggests that 
we cannot ignore the possibility that 
there is a symbolic link between viol- 
ence on TV and violent behavioui m 
real lite For install* e, a (voiding to the 
Committee lor Children's 1 elevision 
(Metro Petnul, USA). 

Acts ot viol' nee occur in six out ot 
10 TV programmes (on American TV ) 
Cartoons depict tour times more 
violence than othei TV programmes 
* Research shows cartoon violence 
produces anger, irritability and 
aggressi ve b< *ha viou r 

Recently, a story m an hnglish dailv 
newspaper in India reported how a 
young.boy had severely beaten up his 
younger sister alter an argument over 
which TV programme should be 
watched His tactics and inspiration 
were from World Wrestling Federa- 
tion ( WWF), a popular satellite TV 
and cable TV programme. 

Whatever be the truth ot the matter, 
tor many parents the euphoria ot 
enjoying access to so many channels is 


now being tempered by a growing 
sense ot unease regarding television 
Most ul this anxiety relates to the hold 
television has on children of 8 years 
and above Television i* bringing in 
new ideas, a culture that many parents 
are unfamiliar and uncomfortable 
with, and diverting children's atten- 
tion away from creative activities, 
sporls and school-related work 
Sigmtuantly, wc discovered, that in 
spite ot their growing concern, par- 
ents are finding it difficult to control 
their children’s TV viewing habits. 

* i * * * 

WHO CHOOSES? 

I n their responses to our questionnai- 
re, more girls than boys claimed that 
their parents decide what they should 
watch More boys said that parents 
were not concerned with wnat they 
watched than did girls. 

This gender bias might be due to the 
parental desire to protect girls from 
exposure to seamy and steamy scenes 
and images depicted in many Hindi 
films and foreign and Indian TV seri- 
als Safeguarding the purity ot the 
girl's mind and body is still consider- 
ed important by Indian parents Con- 
versely, it is felt that buys should be 
aware of the facts ol life in ordei to 
grow up into men 

A dass profile of viewing habits 
also reflects a gender difference. In the 
slum and lui*h environments, children 
said they watched "whatever was 
coming on TV", adding that when a 


choice had to be made it was the eldei 
males who took the decision MikI 
children from these areas said that 
their mothers rarely watched T\ 
because theii "eyes hurt’ , they were 
embarrassed to watch with the men- 
folk; because they could not under- 
stand what they saw, or because they 
simply did not have the time. In sharp 
contrast, children from affluent 
homes (particularly in the 8 to 15 years 
age group) indicated that they wore 
much more in control of their TV sets 
and they often decided what they wan- 
ted to view 

Simultaneously, close to 8S per cent 
of the youngsters in the 8 to IS years 
age group, irrespective of dass. said 
that they were regularly advised not 
to watch too muen TV When asked 
why they claimed their parents were 
worried about the effect it could have 
on their eyesight Very few recalled 
their parents objecting to television on 
the grounds that tho* programming, 
might be unsuitable tor their age 
group. 

These responses seem to indicate 
that the majority of children do not 
feel restricted bv active parental inter- 
vention m then TV viewing habits and 
that they enjoy almost unlimited 
access to TV at home But, in some mea- 
sure, the children contradicted them- 
selves when in answei to the question- 
naire, they wrote that there were seve- 
ral kinds of TV programming that 
their parents did not want them to 
watch. 

Significantly, more than 30 per cent 
of the children in the sample said the) 1 
were under no parental guidance 
whatsoever with regard to program- 
me selection. How many of these 
children were merely indulging in 
wishful thinking remains uncleai 

Ot those who volunteered informa- 
tion regarding their parental objec 
tions to certain kinds ot TV habits and 
programmes, 42 26 per cent said these 
were related to watching late night 
programmes and films Parent 4 -, with 
whom we discussed the issue, said 
that late night TV viewing eats into the 
children's quota ot sleeping hours, lea- 
ving then* groggy, difficult to rouse m 
the morning and inattentive at school 
They also objected to the 'adult' scenes 
in such programmes 

Asked to identity programme 
which parents restrict them from 
watching, the children listed the 
following 

1 Late night programmes / films 
43 49 per cent 

2 Others (T his category includes 
adult programmes, WVv'F, M J’V and 




programme with sexually explicit sce- 
nes): 14.20 per cent 

3 Violence and Horror 1 1 Ob per cent 

4 Hindi films /films. 9.1 1 per coni 

In spite of this feedback, we remain- 
ed unclear about how effective paren- 
tal intervention really is— -even when 
it occurs. For example, a number of 
children mentioned that their parents 
had forbidden them from watching 
several Star TV serials, including 
World Wrcbtlin$ Federation and The 
Bold and the Beautiful as well as the chat 
show's on I )D which discuss marital, 
sexual or women's problems 

However, a tew children, went to 
the trouble of letting us know in the 
questionnaire that despite the prohibi- 
tion they watched WWT and the other 
programmes whenever they could 
Parental sanction, it would seem, does 
not always work 

TV DOES NOT 
DISCRIMINATE 

S everal parents, especially those of 
younger children, told us that they 
did not want their children watching 
'dirty scenes, condom and sanitary 
napkin ads' or even campaigns for 
family planning Theviclt uncomforta- 
ble about exposing their children to 
such issues. However, given that tele- 
vision does not discriminate between 
adult and child viewers, they find it 
difficult to prevent this from happe- 
ning Parents cannot always police 
their television sets or their children 
However, some mother said that 
although they were embarrassed to 
discuss these issues, especially in front 
of other family members (especially 
the men), they were pleased that televi- 
sion was taking on the responsibility 
of educating their children about them 
We also found that sometimes, des- 
pite the good intentions underlying a 
TV presentation, TV can be harmful, 
especially when children are loo 
young to understand the full meaning 
of the message delivered. For instance, 
a Bombay ad film maker found him- 
self disturbed by a satellite TV ad on 
areata I neglect of the child While ht? 
ad n 1 quarrel with the sentiments 
and the concerns of the advertise- 
ments, he felt a child viewer might end 
up harbouring unfounded resent 
ment against his or her parents merely 
because the context of the ad had not 
been understood. In this particular 
case, the ad was framed in a Western 
nation where child neglect was legally 
defined and punishable. 


Clearly, television does not take 
upon itself the full responsibility of 
showing the nght stuff to the right vie- 
wer at the right time, and where childr- 
en are concerned, the onus of discrimi- 
nation lies essentially with the adults 
in the household If parental vigilance 
is lax or simply non-existent, children 
tend to watch whatever comes their 
way. This is particularly important in 
the view of parental viewing habits. In 
a chance encounter on the Rajdhani 
Express from Bomaby to Delni, we 
overheard a mother recalling a recent 





episode from a popular TV soap 
opera. Her eight-year-old corrected 
her as she went along Surprised and 
not a little annoyed, she asked, "How 
do you know so much about it?" 
"Well," replied the child, "1 was sitt- 
ing right there while you were watch- 
ing it." Visibly upset, the mother 
exclaimed, "But 1 told you not to 
watch!" 

As pointed out in the introduction, 
there are positive contributions that 
televison can make to children's awa- 
reness and learning Not everything 


shown on it, is harmful; selecting the 
right programmes tor children to 
watch and discovering relevance or 
meaning in programme content is a 
conscious and demanding activity 

1 otind out just how active a rolepai 
ents are playing in influencing their 
children's programme choices and hel- 
ping them to get the best of TV, we ask- 
ed the following questions* "Do par- 
ents look out for good informal! vc- 
cu in-entertaining programmes on tele- 
vision for their kids to watch 7 What do 



they encourage them to tune into? 

About 00 pei cent of the H to IS year 
olds said they were encouraged to 
'watch TV' Asked to specify what 
they were urged to watch, 37 per cent 
mentioned informative programmes 
on science and international affairs, 
quizzes and the news bulletins Less 
than 1 S per cent of the children, parti- 
cularly those m the 8 to 12 years age 
group, said then parents encourage 
them to watch entertainment 
programmes 

However, from the tone of their les- 
ponses and from the list nr pmgranv 
mes they claimed to watch most 
frequently, it is evident that children 
resent parental guidance and general- 
ly consider parental recommenda- 
tions to be boring This attitude may 
well be a response to the lack of quali- 
ty programming on TV in areas other 
than entertainment 

Not a single child drew a link bet- 
ween learning a subject in school and 
related piogiamnung on television 
which might make it more interesting 
Using television to enhant e legular 
learning is not usually attempted 
either by schools or at home In anv 
case, very few progi amines bear any 
relevance to topics m sc ience, h'story, 
economies etc , which would awaken 
children's interest Since this research 
was a indue led, some IV c hannels to 
satisfy / tin get the child audience and 
moi e child - spi -eilic j >n igram ming is 
beginning to appear BBC World Servi 
ce Telev ision has a number ol 
documentary, science and naturr- 
relatcd programmes Ideallv suited 
tor children Star I V "s scientific and 
environmental series are greatly 
appreciated by some parents and they 
doenroiuage then children to watch 
them These progi amn ies/ series are 
well made fascinating and hold the 
child’s attention Fhev an not viewed 
by childi en as an imposition 

l-.Mialh and in the Indian context, 
the most important TV service is ol 
course, national broadcasting net- 
work. Poordarshan Conceived of as a 
public bi oadc listing system whose pri- 
mary aim w as to educate an illiterate 
population, Doordc'i shan lias a histo- 
ry ot educational programming The 
Um\ ersii\ t aants Commission 
(U( IC) urns a one-hom »*dui ational 
programme on weekdays. and then- 
arc regular clasMumculum broad- 
casts on \veekda\ mornings 
However, the quality c .1 such pn igr ain- 
nring »s largeh poor and, a** we will 
see in the next chapter. Dnord.u shan’s 
emphasis has rum changed and educa 
tuur is no longer a priority ■ 


T '**- .-V •*.*- s 

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Tarom Air Transport • S2 Sahara India Airlines • SQ Singapore Airlines • SU Aeroflot • 4S East West Airlines • TG Thai Airways International • 9W Jet Airways 




U> 

LM11 
W 
;r ir. , 

: ihi 


Time 

i'j 15 
19 7i: 
y\ on 

■< i r > 


7.U i ! It- 10 


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7 IP; 
201m 

30/1 

1HM5 

5U49 


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73 (Ju 

77 Of) 

73-U'J 


5047 19 IK) 


3009 

Mr 

3049 

30H 

3071 

bbbG 

331/ 

3029 

303b 

3031 

30/1 

J015 

1199 

1171 


.1327 

1181 


Up 

3141 

3143 

3111 

5657 

3153 

5663 

3151 

3133 

3103 

5085 


20 30 
9 3C 
n-7f 
71 -Oli 
1f>0 r 
1 > M 
H in 
i/ it 
ifl 70 
21-09 
22 36 
9 55 
15-26 

15 25 


14-30 

lb-25 


Time 

13-40 

19- 15 

20- lb 
ft 2b 

22-00 
20-00 
11 20 
20-b5 
IB 20 
12-40 


TRAINS 


EASTERN RAILWAY 

Howrah 

DrtiMUta Mall 


ill vi,i Ail ifMbdd 

Poorva' (New Delhi) Express vn yjAi* v\r.iru‘. 
f)»-r V4M four- A 
Aii ljj'»s Wed A Sa! 

Puorea (New Delhi) Express *u PdUu 
Dcp Mm iiw* f ri A 1 at 
Vr Mur-, fru", »n K f .un 
Rajdhanl Express { i.iv ■ 

Ill'll Mon r in , Wh-! ‘ f\ K ..ii 

flff Mu. ft,K. *■ r» rui- 

Rajdhani Express . 1 / 

I >ui lmr A :m, • A ,r W»*n A :,hI 

Jodhpu* Express 

SMfadi (Bokaro Steel Cky) Express 

I'cp & A?r rxcepl Sunday 

Hlmglrl (Jammu-Tawf) Faprees In-Wkiv 
t'op Tiit;» fn & 5a: ft" Tur Wwi. 4 : 
Guwahdl Express 

l)e& WudnuPCMy All fluid-, 


Time 

h-45 
7 5f. 
13 on 
ib i*i 


Dep 4 Air Thu'Utiy 


fr^p & Arr Sun Mon Wed & fn 
Boon Bom via Grarrl Chord 

n Am 1 


Ktihoodum Boren 
MlmS (Roaun Exj 
Kamo (GumMI) 
Black Dtonond - 


Express 


vi.i Main Line 


Demur Bjpwas 
Jonopur Cxprau 

DmSr^i^oWren 

Dep Mimi Tut 4 Tfiui:^ Air Mnp Thi.ib 


(Indore) Enren 

Oep Wed b dl 4 Sun 
An Sun Wan 4 Sal 

«SJET , j!2TSi?KL 

urenn (Agra con.) Express 

Dup 1-nd.iy Air Tuesdiy 

Seaktah 

Taretn-Toree Bgnm 
0« Jeediv Med 

Lai Quill D qprea a via Main 1 me 
Kanch yMv (UanBno) I 
Gour Boren 
KNRn Express 
JorerahTwl B9 

; via SBG Loop 


& fn 



Dn 

7312 
3001, 
3004 
23H ' 


1ft 15 7V.34 


10 45 2302 


12-50 23fn 


4-10 
21 10 

I 1 35 

17 25 

11 35 

4 30 

7-00 
IB 15 
15 30 
H-55 

5 00 
r,-30 

2 1-2.5 
10 30 
R‘46 
r-30 

5 10 

15 40 
7 55 


710ft 

2070 

3074 

3040 

5050 

5048 

3010 
3008 
3050 
3020 
3073 
5660 
331 B 
30.10 
. 3036 
3033 
3072 
3016 
1160 


7 b! 1177 


4-50 
7 55 


3328 

11B7 


Time Dn 


(JtV 4 Arr Tut* I hurt. 4 Sdt 


G 35 
8 45 
7 15 
20 35 
5 15 
4-15 
15-50 
12-30 
10-25 
4-25 


3147 

3‘4« 

3112 

5658 

3154 

56M 

315? 

7134 

3104 

5086 


Depreture 
Up Time 


SOUTH-EASTERN RAILWAY 


WH3 

B(.U7 

38mO 

3U7I 

80 34 
8010 
2841 
7001 


30 30 

19 20 
13 «■ 
1) 5f 

20 4L 
11-20 
1 1 05 

8 10 


G3* 1 22.95 


801.3 
H'i 1 
8005 
0015 
8007 
8409 
?8''i 
HG45 
8017 


1030 

2471 


6322 


1 7 3T 
6 00 
7«J-5*. 
71-40 
?? 15 

»5 on 

b 15 
10 30 
1ft 4b 


1b 50 
ift 4ft 
11 05 
2 2 35 
14 05 
1 4 05 


Jl via Nay pi, 1 

I (Bombay) bqnss 
J (Rourtota) Express 

IJl-f. & A /, Lx r .cri! 'jrfliiniav 

BVim , liihnJ Cw«um« 

Miraomo uQjfns 
Ktsta Btpraas «i.> Naypur 
Coromareht (Madras) Expran «m 
F uUnana (tenderahtf) Express 

Dep ?ij.. lues i fn 
An Mm- Ttiui-. t -»al 

Bangalore Btpress 

I)Fp ‘.nndav 
An Sunday 

TNb Steal Express 

S aw-” 

1 rmm upms 
Purl Bqpreas via buda- « 

Jagarenh (Pul) 


Dhaull (BhUanaewv) Emress 
tfll UM Upnss 


L'*ep Except Saltifday 
Aft t'xrepl bumjdv 

Azad Hind (Puna) BMdy Express 

Dt’p & An oil Stmd.iv 


6314 33 35 


6316 33 J f 


fib 20 2? 35 


14 05 


How r aM S-iriday ufil\ 

mm INTO NTOM 

How ran; Saluida-, on. 

GuwMI - Howrah - Trharebum Cerem Egress 

Monday oniv 

TrtrenJmm Cotral - 

Salufrtav only 

Cochin Hartxxir Tarmlnus - GuwahNI Weakly 
[ 141WW (via V-Mkrupan-'m & H iwiafti 
Th.i^djy mily 

GuwMI - Cochin Hretour Terminus 

Boreas ivia h.-wruh ^ vi^Mu[..i('M n 
Salum.iv only 

Cochin Harbour Temikus Ei^ran 'via 

Bliidift a ni'W r ahf 
Hep TiVs 8 l n 
Arr Tue, & In 

GuvaM - Bngatore CRy Weekly Erenas u>.i 
Howrah A Tuild'H 
Wcfi.iL'Sdiiy -jnly 

BangNore CRy - GuMhtf BMdy Ewre iv-.j 
Hnwiah & CuPjik Mnndav um (> 


Tiro 

ft 55 
3 71J 
15 75 
21 OT 

5 15 
It 2ft 
12 10 
19-40 


10 20 
21 75 
560 
6-10 
5 30 

8 ill 

22-05 
15 10 
11-35 


5 15 
1ft Ifl 
HI- 15 
27 15 
13 45 
13 45 

77 15 


Dn 

ftOU4 

Bom 

2859 

2072 

80 <3 
8029 
7843 
7004 


6317 


8014 

8H2 

8006 

8016 

0008 

8410 

782? 

8046 

RC1H 


10/9 


?43? 


6371 

M13 


13 45 ftilft 


13 45 6519 


8 am to 8 

(regar dtng* train opsraUbns)' and 135 (regarding 
tlons). Train sarefce enquiry a* SaaMah- 3503535-37. 


tod hollday^n L additlo(nflaf 1331 (for recorded infbrmadoh on 
IL 1.31 ( n “ 


ENQUIRIES: For round the dock Intonation of Etttom Railway real 
South-Eastom Railway trains, ptaaae dial 2203545-54 to In-comlng trains; 
2203535-44 to all othar IntonwHon. For Intomdlon about raaarvtoloitt on 
retd South-Eastern Railway trains, dial 2203496-3500 (tom 
on weekdays and 8 em to^ 2 pm on Sunda ys and^gsad 


17 



Sketches 

SIGNIFICANT OTHER 

A belter look at the better haloes 

This Week: Jemima (Goldsmith) Khan 


E jyrly life: W as the 
illegitimate 
daughter of Sir 
James Goldsmith 
and Annabel Birley (after 
whom her husband Mark 
named his nightclub) Her 
parents married only when 
Jemima was around seven 
years old; until then 
Annabel lived with her first 
husband, Mark Birley, who 
has since been described as 
her only real love 
First taste of fame: As part 
of the famed Goldsmith 
clan — several wives, 
mistresses and numerous 
children — Jemima was 
never far from the public 
eye But she became a 
full-fledged media 
celebrity when Vogue 
featured her in an article 
revolving around a pivotal 
moment in her young life: 
the purchase of her first 
haute couture garment 
A sal war kameez, right?. 
Er, well, not quite 
Jemima's choice was a 
long, black dress by the 
Italian designer, Gianni 
Versace, with a plunging 
neckline and a halter neck, 
which showed otf her thin, 
well-toned and evenly 
tanned arms to perfection. 
Did Imran approve?: He 
wasn't on the scene those 
days Jemima was busy 
dating various eligible men 
in her set, though not 
always very successfully. 
On one memorable 
occasion, the Goldsmith 
heiress quarelled with her 
boyfriend (who shall 
remain nameless) while 
driving on the motorway. 

The argument got more 
and more heated, until 


finally Jemima pulled over, 
asked her date to get out ol 
the cat, and drove ott . 

So, where was Khan, 
anyway?: Too busy 
consorting with such 
women as Sita White, the 
daughter of Lord White, 
from whom he is alleged to 
have an illegitimate child 
Sita apparently ti led her 


best to gel him to marry 
her, even changing her 
name to one that embodied 
witelv devotion (Sita) 

Alas, nobody told her that 
Kam was a 1 Jindu, not a 
Muslim, god 

How Imran met Jemima: 

Contrary to the general 
peiception, the couple did 
not meet at Annabel's, the 
nightclub named after 


Jemima's mother. They 
were introduced by mutual 
friends, and apparently, hit 
it off immediately 
Whirlwind courtship: 

And before you could say 
biiihallah, Imran and 
Jemima had announced 
that they were to wed Not 
surprisingly, that set the 
paparazzi on their tail, 
though the couple 


Imran Khan with wife Jemima 




managed to throw them off 
long enough to have a 
private niktuih m Pans (the 
registry bit had been taken 
care of in London) 

The Indian connection: 
TarunTahiliani, fashion 
designer and owner of the 
Bombay boutique. 
Ensemble, was assigned 
the task of making 
Icmima's wedding dress, a 
sal war kameez. Tahiliani 
made it in record time and 
flew off to London, 
booking an extra seat for 
the 'dress'. 

Much to poor Tamil's 
embarrassment, howevci, 
the dress was rejected, and 
Jemima decided to go with 
a light blue sal war kameez 
designed by the British 
coutu rier, Bruce Old f leld 
Public reaction: General 
dismav in the popular 
prqss in England, nt the 
thought of a young English 
rose marrying a 
middle-aged Pakistani 
roue After all, the 
argument went, how 
would poor Jemima adjust 
to life in purdah after being 
bi ought up as a free spirit 

There was a strong 
anti-lslamic current 
running beneath all the 
ciiticism, though Sample 
cartoon Jmran asks 
lemima's father for his 
daughter's hand Sir lames 
replies, "Why, has she been 
caught shop-lifting 0 " 

And were the Pakistanis 
pleased?: No way Imran 
had always claimed that he 
would marry a nice 
Pakistani girl when it was 
time to settle down And 
nobody could quite forgive 
him for marrying a 
foreigner, and a Jewish 
one, at that 

The consensus was that 
Imran had destroyed hi * 
political prospects by 
marrying Jemima; and that 
Benazir Bhutto no longer 
had anything to fear from 
him. 

The public relations 
battle: Imran and Jemima 
went on the Breakfast with 
Frost show on the BBC- 
World Service to tell Sir 
David Frost — and 


millions of viewers — how 
much they loved each 
other, and how they were 
sure that their marriage 
would work 

Imran did most of the 
talking though, dressed for 
some strange reason in 
cricket whites, and threw 
nervous glances in 
Jemima's direction 
whenever she tried to get a 
word in edgeways, scared 
perhaps that she would say 
somelrnng that would be 
taken amiss in Pakistan, 
whete the BBC Wc.rld 
Service is available 
Jemima's contribution: An 
article she wrote 
exclusively for Votin' about 
life in Pakistan According 
to femima, women in 
Pakistan were strong, 
independent, and had 
careers of their own; there 
was no question of living 
behind the veil 
She, at least, was 
enjoying herself 
immenseh . gorging on 
what she called " kulfii," 

( ,’jf//i . presumably), even 
as everyone called her 
" publu'' the Punjabi word 
lor sister- in law 
Was that all that she did?: 
No, lemima also did her hit 
tor Imran's pet project the 
cancer hospital he has built 
in his mother's memory. 
She invited Princess Diana 
to Pakistan to help raise 
funds for the project, and 
the Princess of Wales was 
flown over in Sir James 
Goldsmith's private jet, 
accompanied by Jemima's 
mother, Annabel. 

And did the publicity 
help Imran?. Well, actually, 
the visit did more to further 
the cause of Indian — and 
Pakistani — fashion. 
Princess Diana, Jemima 
and Lady Annabel all wore 
sahvar kameezes, and that 
went a long way to 
popularising the outtit 
abroad 

What next?: Who knows? 
Maybe an article in Vogue 
about another pivotal 
event in young Jemima 
Khan's lite: the 
commissioning of her first 
designer salwar kameez. ■ 



THE SHORTEST CAP 

BETWEEN PAM 




Prepared with a provei 
formula that induces deef 
penetrating action, Eutheria 
quickly relieves muscular 
aches and poms, sinus, headaches, 
arthritis, backaches, neuralgia. 

What's more, Eutheria is ■ 

Non greasy * Non-staining + Non-irrilant. 

And costs o lot less then it should 

Cutheria 

Strong on relief. Gentle on cost. 



KNQAL CHEMICALS 4 FHAflMACEI/TICALS LTD 
(AOovt oMndtaEntarpriM) 





NNEREYE 



Aries 

March 21 - April 20 

I'hr moon enables 
vihj to get vi*ur wav 
through 

manipulations savs 

(iancsha Tlu’ moM positive 
and siueesslul muise ot action 
will mnu' through working 
with a group Inwards a 
tommon goal, he it tinuncvs, 
family values, trading, 
buying/ selling/ entertaining, 
whorl 12 % dealing and so on 

Taurus 

Apnl 21 — May 20 

• Group* will meet 


m 


haltwav as moon 


ionium ts Mercury 
so make it a social alfau oi 
i all in tlu* 1‘amilv tor help and 
adviie l his week, he firm 
You have a lot of power and 
personal leverage, as the sun 
is in ycuir sign, according to 
Western astrology I earn to 
use th.it wisely and well 

Gemini 

May 21 — June 20 

1 leave expense or 
ovemilhusiasm mav 
trip vou because legal 
matters could 
entangle you A secret attai? is 
more than possible is a trip 
It is best to keep vour ontion.s 
open If things do not quite 
move vour way, you could slide 
into a different situation or ball 
game Safeguard health and be 
resource! u l 


iviny £ i - 

bl 





Cancer 

June 21 — July 20 

Good week to apply 
managerial 
techniques to 
i SLI fK-i sonnel issues and 
posers I la vi someone come 
in, or you should take up the 
role and give a workshop 
featuring creativity, 
motivation and organisation 
Expenses will be high but 
W'ork will be done. Be sure 
everything will fall into place 

Leo 

July 21 — August 21 

Important lompa- 
■ me*, can be involved 


to 


m ynui success 

Your work will be 

vour life blood and that's 
saving a U l The powei of 
the written oi spoken word 
will be in sharp evidence 
'laities must be forceful 
Someone who helps you in the 
beginning returns to help you 
in the end 

vu 

Augusf 

}j3§| ! education and 
j jgPp r ! research take top 
IMT ! priority along with 
ceiemonv and lonviviality 
You will most lertamlv 
scheme and plan more 
caietullv ami thus the chance 
of success will definitely be 
greater Bewail* ol a glitch, a 
delay oi postponement You 
will work with a will 


ireo 

gusT22 


September 22 
Journey, intuition. 


m 


Libra 

September 23 — October 22 
By March 17, 
money, investments 
buying, selling, 

shopping, trading, 

and journeying should present 
a eleai picture. 11 you are 
dealing with two partners or 
people, one will have the 
gokien touch while the other 
one will not be particularly 
helpful. 1 earn to use the* 
connections of the resourceful 


Scorpii 

October 23 - 



O 

3 — November 22 
Ganesha says, reserve 
your best shot tor 
March 18 Marriage, 
collaborations, 
journeys and conference find 
you m your element 
f’ai adoxica 1 ly, court cases arc 
also foretold Or a grievous 
hurt brought about by a big 
chasm /difference in attitude 
and opinion It is this which 
makes it an intei eshng week 

Sagittarius 

November 23 — December 20 
Health safeguards 
won't hurl You will 
have a juicy bit ol 
information that you 
doubt and need to use. 

Muvbe, you have a supeib 
idea that you need to 
implement but clo not know 
how Lot others help you 
Group etfoits will be helptul it 
vou are willing to seek the 
help of others 


m 



BEJAN DARUWALLA 
Capricorn ^ 

December 21 — January 19 

Take all the help you 
ean as that's the wa\ 
to succeed You will 

succeed through a 

partner or with correct 
information knowledge or 
education or both are mighty 
important now Do put on a 
good front for sure even it you 
do not feel like it Time to 
socialise hea\ ily as the mood 
iti your family will be upbeat 

Aquarius 

January 20 — February 1 B 
llJUfeW R Home and the out- 
side world now 
| really meet in the 
L.ji ; sense that buying, 
selling, renovation, decoration, 
otfue, house will lake up vour 
time and energv and vet it will 
hi* essential to the success of 
vour work Gel all the dui ks 
in a row while waiting loi 
things to mo\ e ahead 
Children gi\i gieat jn\ 

Pisces 

February 1 9 * March 20 

( jood Wi*i*k to lake 
adv antage ot 
situations as the\ 
ansi- and i.idu afh- 
i li.inge i iicurnstam es tor tin* 
better Actions pav ott You lan 
gel a promotion with a large 
finanu.il gain beli>re I Viembei 
lanuarv' You must reach out to 
people and places to usi a 
clu he 1 his is dc tinitelv one ol 
the most new‘-\ weeks 



BIRTHDAYS 


March 1 7: Sun conjunction Saturn, sextile Neptune means 
avoid depression and melancholia and do develop a positive 
attitude as it really boils down to it. 

MarcMSt Moon Jupiter sextile leads to excellent 
opportunities for advancement, be it work, play; love, children 
marriage or a new venture. 

March 19? New moon gives you the chance to really make 
it Arists, scholars, businessmen, farmers and pharmacists will 
be in their element. 

MarchZO: Moon square Jupiter signifies that as long as you 
are not too hasty' and Impulsive all will be well. Buying, selling. 


and renovating are very likely. You will be called upon to host 
dinners and parlies. 

March21: Mats textile Neptune assures final victory and 
abundance. That is what life is all about. You will work with a 
will and do so intelligently. 

March 22} Mercury sextites Neptune, Mars conjunction 
Saturn means there could be a slight danger of an accident, 
operation and depression. It will pass away. 

March23? Sun-Phno trine assures power, pelf, position Y?u 
will reach out to people and places effectively. This is a 
thumping good year. Progress is certain. 



Exquisite crnllsmanship in International Standard 22/22 karat gold and 
diamond jewellery. Dealer in precious and astrological stones. 


P. C. CHANDRA 



A jewel ot jewels 

) 17=, (.73-1 ♦ 77 7221 * 24s. 


20 





JUNIOR WHIRL ' HA1 KAUFV.AN 



HARE THIS! Sweet dreams, Mr. Rabbit, but your 
turtle pal is winning the race Which path leads to 
the finish line 9 


CERTAIN AGE! Take your age, add seven, 
double result, add 16/double result again, | 
divide by four and subtract 15. Answer will 
be your age, whether you are 1 or 100. Give it 
a try, then challenge someone else. 


STRING ALONG! [71 It j>| 

You Lire challenged _ _ 

to insert names of five j J* N 

musical instruments 

in blanks at right, and 3 R f 

do so in such a man- 

ner that letters in O 

squares showing — — 

musical notes may be 5 J* G 

rearranged to form L 1— L 

the name of a sixth instrument — one of six letters, 
usually having six strings. 

Use five of the following five-letter names to 
comply: Banjo, viola, piano, bugle, cello, organ, 
flute. JV’jin'/ v ui.Miiiui-au 41*« , • ■iwim f i "W'M ; »*|i‘ii I 



Iqbbni 



LION IN WAIT FOR DETAILS 

HEADS Ur, it seems the king 
of the jungle, at left has all but dis- 
appeared To restore missing 
details, simply draw lines in 
accord with these letter-number 
coordinates 1 

Begin at B-4, draw to C-5 to 
D-5 to E-4. 

Start again at D-5, draw to D-b 
to C-10. 

Draw from C-ll to D-ll to E-7 
lo H-9 to H-8 to J-8. Add E-6 to 
E-7; also add H-9 to H-10 to 
G-10; add G-ll toK-11. 

Draw from K-ll to K-8 to F-3. 
Add A-3 to C-2 to complete the 
task. 

If era von s are handy, add an 
appropriate colour or two. Mow 
long will it take you to finish 







Comics 


ARCHIE 



















THE ADVENTURES OF LEGIONNAIRE BEAUPEEP 


LOOK. 0 EAO- 
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FWCE OF CHN^ER. 


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WBS OF THE ENeStnrl 


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Focus 

SHADES OF 
GREEN 

Eco<onsciousness has come to Indian marketplace as well, 

reports Sh ameem Akthar 


S o, where does one start? Per- 
haps, with the Green tooth- 
paste, Niranjan, which is speci- 
ally made for vegetarians; in 
case you don't know, most other 
brands use bonc-ash Or should one 
begin with Green boilers, which con- 
sume less power than the convention- 
al variety, or even Green refrigerators 
which are free of the eco- unfriendly 
chlorofluoro carbons, and are current- 
ly being used by Coca-Cola in its can- 
vending machines Then, there is 
Arvind Mills' blue denim which has 
recently turned an attractive shade of 
Green by proudly sporting the Fico 
l ex trademark affixed by jGorman 
consortium which ocrti.*ed it as an 
"Fcologhall\ Optimised Fabric" 

The muu^ry of enviromnenl, reco- 
gnising the possibilities inherent in 
such certification, has .list' got into the 
act, releasing numerous advertise- 
ments to drive home the importance 
of having an et ornark logo. 1 his is 
designed in the shape of an earthen 
pot, and apparently serves as a "guide 
to the right environmental choice 
which signifies that the product that 
carries it, does least damage to the 
environment". 

To sell the logo to stick-in-the-mud 
manufacturers, the ad appeals fer- 
vently;"The earthen pot symbolises 
the earth. And the earthen pot stands 
for man's inherent urge to create and 
preserve. Its solid and graceful form 
represents both strength and fragility, 
which also characterises our 
eco-systern". 

It urges consumers to look out for 
eco-labelled products such as toilet 
soaps, detergents paper, laundry 
soaps, food items like edible oils, tea, 
coffee, beverages, infant food, process- 
ed fruits and vegetable products, lubri- 
cating oils, packaging material like? 



Nature Options: Customers become eco-conscious 



paper, boards, plastics, laminates, expensive that the ordinary brands 
architectural paints and power coat- available, and can only be bought by 

ings and automotive lead and people who are not on a tight budget- 

add batteries. The list is long and But then, the eco-friendly movement 

obviously not many of us were aware in India is itself driven by those in the 

that an innocuous sip of tea or the upper socio-economic bracket . 

casually crumpled paper could actual- 
ly wound Mother Earth. T ^ co-fads are well and truly in. 

With the emergence of the eco-mark JIL though to be fair, most are more 
logo, Indians, too, can claim to have than just fads. Beauty Without C'ruel- 
becomc part of the international move 4 - ty, the Pune-based organisation has, 
ment to save the environment, to pre- since 1 974, been campaigning against 

serve the fragile balance that keeps the use (or misuse) of animals in 

our planet habitable by man. And cosmetic trials. The organisation is bit- 
since most movements that begin in terly opposed to testing any product^ 

the West find ready adherents in used to beautify men and women 

India, this eco-consdousness trend on animals, and also directs 

may well succeed. Already several its ire against the misuse of animals by 

Green products are on the market, industry as a whole, 
though most of them are much more The organisation's campaign has 



had some effect The Indian govern- 
ment lias banned the use of animal ren- 
net in cheese-making since this is 
extracted from the stomach of unwean- 
ed calves. Over the last seven years, 
thanks to the untiring efforts of Beauty 
Without Cruelty (BWC) we have Lx^n 
eating only vegetarian cheese in India 
Once the foreign brands enter the mar- 
ket, however, even die-hard vegetari- 
ans will not be able to know which of 
them arc responsible for the slaughter 
of calves. 

BWC has also managed to weave 
together the first polyester brocade 
zari sari in a 'silky finish woven on 
hand loom' This saves unsuspecting 
silk moths from a very hot, uncomfort- 
able and untimely death Nut that 
most silk lovers know that to produce 
just one gram of woven silk, 1 S nu >f hs 
are cither boiled or steamed alive m 
their cocoons. 

The oiganisation has been on its 
"Save the Animals" campaign foi ma- 
re than a decade now. In ihr Eighties, 
the BWC bought an entire flock of 
Karakul sheep to save the lambs from 
being killed for their pelts. These 
lambs are specially sought after 
because the soft curls of then wool 
remains tightly wound since they arc 
slaughtered within 48 hours of their 
birth Again, in 1992, the BWC launch- 
ed a campaign which pressured the 
government into banning trade in 
ivory. 

As impressive as these campaigns 
and their spccess is the BWCs 
Investors' Guide, whose puqx*se is 
laid exit as follows 'The BWC Invest- 
ment Guide has bt*en created at the 
request of prospective investors who 
come from a ..vegetarian hack- 
gnetund, for a source of information 
about tlie nature o? businesses < ar 
out by various companies. 

'Many such people art very n mivrn 
'■d about what ingredients (he cum pa 
ny's product contains for what the pro- 
cess is of making that pn h! uct . I’hc \ 
even refuse to share in ihe piotits o( 
such companies suxi* to them n repres- 
ents ill-gotten wealth. It is foi such 
people that this guide is written.' 

The guide contains the names t .ill 
companies listed on the Bombay Stcv k 
F ^change at the end of 1 The com- 

panics are listed under ein-n, orange 
and red to identify ivhetni-rthe' compa- 
ny is truly green or red (as opposed to 
green) or orange (which means that 
BWC is not certain) For example com- 
panies making jelly use U»iu material, 
badminton and tennis racquets have 
strings made from catgut, while soaps 
jiavc animal fats end even an mnoc , i*n l 





AWWF shop 


male offspring; insecticides and pesti- 
cides are tested on animals; wine and 
beer need animal ingredients for clari- 
fication* glycerine and gelatine con- 
tain animal fat and bones respectively. 

T he Green movement has even led 
to the invention and sale of eco- 
friendly toilet paper, which is wood- 
free and made from recycled agro 
waste: a procedure that spares numer- 
ous trees from an untimely and waste- 
ful death. Then there is jute, a material 
that is increasingly being seen as an 
eco-option to skin-ravishing synthe- 
tics. Jute chappals tread with more 
grace than killeHeather shoes. 

Eoo-geysers will soon replace 
energy-guzzling ones (no PUF or glass 
woolin the paint), with venting sys- 
tems that will release toxicants from 
chlorinated municipal water. We also 
have new Adidas unisex shoe that 
"taps the growing demand for foot- 
wear made of natural and recyclable 
materials," aptly titled 'Hemp' shoes 
(kicking up a controversy over its 
being synonymous to marijuana). 

Synthetic ceramic granites, brands 
Like Bell Granito Ceramics, now 
cement this new environment- 
consciousness. This means tiles 
naturally-grained and hard like gra- 
nite without any mining involved - — a 
process that disembowels Mother 
Earth. 

A naturalist's path is paved with 
not just eco-granitcs but also soft 
flowers. Dr Rupa Shah in Bombay has 
resurrected 'flower remedies' created 
in 1930 by Harley Street homoeopath 
Edward Bach. Flowers specially cull- 
ed from pure Himalayan tracts are 
used for this healing process which 


looking silver foil or varkh needs the 
intestinal wall of freshly killed oxen 
on which the silver foil is kept and 
hammered to fine thickness 


Sounds a bit extreme? But wait, you 
haven't heard anything yet. Try this 
for one: a Poona Hospital run by Jains 
is among the first to categorise blood 
as vegetarian and non-vegetarian on 
the basis of the diet of the donors. Simi- 
lar alternatives to dedicated vegetari- 
ans are offered by B WC s list of 
I lonour which suggests available 


f 


A 


options to finicky shoppers. Those 
who enjoy the finer things of life may 
be shocked to learn that gourmet 
tastes extract more than their share of 


flesh. 


Here is what BWC has to say: phar- 
maceuticals are tested on animals; 
dairy products lead to starvation of 



T-shirts promoting nature care 


28 




marks yet another return to Mother 
Earth's lap. From stressed-out mana- 
gement types to infertile housewives 
all have been rushing to embrace this 
new-craze nature cure. 

Now there is also eco-jcwellery, 
paper ear-rings, coconut shell pend- 
ants and terracotta chains, all eco- 
packed in cotton by die new kid on the 
designer block, Santosh Nair. 
Melange, theeco-fashion house that 
Sangita Kathiwada built on a no- 
plastic foundation, is treading a simi- 
lar path. Here you find only eco- 
designs, all nature inspired. 

For instance, Wendell Rodricks' 
'Clothing the Sou!' range last year was 
inspired by the sun, sand, sea and air 
of sun-kissed Goa. Two years ago, 
Narendra Kumar held his show on clo- 
thing made from chattoi. But eco- 
f ana tics may frown at pearl embroide- 
ry and silk (olds (poor oysters and 
moths which are sacrificed at the altar 
of fashion). 

Tradition, too, is being repackaged 
in eco-fadism. Kalamkari, vegetable 
dye's on cloth from Kalahasti in 
Andhra Pradesh, is being resold to a 
hungry public as "indigenous art that 
uses only plants, trees, iron and jagge- 
ry as sources as dyes Waters from 
river Swamamukhi is used to wash 
the paints so that the right mix of salts 
in it holds the colours firmly on the 
cloth". 


I n keeping with this trend is Kavila 
Mu kill's Nature Option shop in 
Bombay's elite Napean Sea Road, 
which has most things natural. U is 
also very eeo-nghteous. Its pamphlet, 
which dubs the shup as Earth People 
and Animal Friendly Establishment, 




Eco-friendly docks 


asks pointedly: "We conserve, protect I 
and re-use all that we can. Do you?" | 
And promises that it will go beyond 
its latest addition, the* veg-dyed dhur- 
ries. "Gradually we will have the natu- 
ral alternative to all that you need, that 
is, we will soon be the natural everyth- 
ing shoo." 

Mukhi's options say no to sugar, 
refined oils and refined grains. In 
short, Mukhi would say no to all these 
'nutrient thieves'. As this movement 
takes root in India, the eco-dictionary 
is gradually expanding to accommod- 
ate a number of exotic new words and 
phrases. And Nature Options has 
them all — there are organic grains (as 
opposed to those grown with the use 
of pesticides), there are sun-ripened 
tomatoes, nature cures such as aroma- 
therapy and ayurveda delights like 
spirulina, amla murabba. And now T- 
snirts, hags, aprons or dusters with 
'earth messages'( all meant 'for the 
soul'V 

And 'for the mind' a selective collec- 
tion of books that range from the rib- 
tickling Politically Correct Bedtime 
Stories by James Finn Gamer and the 
prolific health guru Dcepak Chopra 
writing on The Return of the Rishi to 
Quantum Healing . There is also a 
rebounder /trampoline that promises 
a 10-minute guarantee to good health. 
Cashing in on this coo-boom is Allen 
Solly (from Madura) which held a 
wildlife tie festival where stodgy cor- 
porate men were given a chance to go 
wild with animal motif — from the 
cute Daffy Duck to sinuous lions. Ano- 
ther shoppers' stop replete with ani- 
mal motif is the Worldwide Wildlife 
Fund's Nature Shop which was 
inaugurated by Prince Charles. T- 
stvirts sporting the Panda logo show 
that 'You care for Nature'. Tne same 



Saving trees: Non-wood pencils 
for children 

slogan screams from key chains, caps, 
docks and wrist watches. Non-wood 
pencils made from non-toxic polymer 
urge you to 'Plant more trees', while 
corporate gifts sporting f igers and 
koalas entreat vou to return to nature 
In the U.S., tKe Wwld Watdi Insti- 
tute has mooted an eeo-tax on erring 
companies which besmirch nature. In 
India, the trend has just started with 
the gurus of the alternative lifestyle 
urging us to use shikakai instead of 
shampoo, jute instead of plastic, cot- 
ton instead of synthetics, etc., etc 
Eco- friend 1 incss, however, comes 
complete with a steep price tag But as 
the Greens would say, that if a small 
price to pay. Afteral), when we talk of 
preserving Mother Earth, what we are 
really talking about is our own 
preservation. ■ 





- . IHHijirara? 
AraeiMqufeti^sa^fetmftr . 
y^mksS and children am id 




m 


faisfe^thenw^ml ray . 
WuldamJU^oniiiiisftra? 
D tAo ncsiy, May and a 1 . 


Ttefaetdurt ttmveto HewmetimeK 


whraelotti'f 


irggs 


a^fjba^tett top ttrawra 

fswrelt 1 pteelraii' ' 


* r u**m P *»m f <*i m ** 

nunwc. 

WluteI>)«d«A>yo«ih%»^^ 
Apafer of haMMMRnd qres without 





siy dowfc^ct IcrtscSji &cion 6 l|tiM$cr^ l > ( 
excess baggage, my telephone diaiy 
indant^mMMvmineelhg 
new people. 

W tondra yw n wO dyaratf 

Slaying away frtum fame for loo 

kmg^losi^owtooankseprc^nmime 

^fwy^nV'?ok»<l«(fc«ettin' . 
Hindi Batraootofafl, the tteuj^tfcait 
my hua^f^ynoiongerai love unftr 


i i 

m 





and hnpe-God grant 


i * j f ni *rc 




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wybywri^inmt - 

D(randi^.^Htovi#l c*n.s*rims® 

Wfcirit»v»lw!»fa i a ragw > ^ lffwo< 

ynrlib? 

I have vtenific crush «i Sonil 
G a waflkar which haft been • 
nmajpiootod 

Wuri bym *ota**«# mtttmwmce? 

'. A joy in life. 

6>wto »toi«iWI do pw Be? 

In embarrassing sttuattoas 

though th*» is not often. 

• Uft. -T V-' .'* - _ ^ .A 

WMI ^fpW - - 

1 I hratMirt fodhyijid a mother's 
nmlpbee bin the house. 
tytiBf fiiihirn wiiii hiiiwfi -* , 


Voty ofomihecwrap many things 













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& aafit 


PAGE 4 

GONF. ARF the days nt formal power dressing 
for the corporate executive. I lie accent is now on 
casual off ice wear that guarantees both comfort 
and class 

PAGE 28 

’ f AKA T AZiZ returns after three vears with a 
new album, Sh.ihk^ir 

For casual wear 


SIX I IONS 


16 TIMH TAHI.1-: 
21 JUNIOR WHIRl 
22COMKS 
26MARKl.TIN<; 
28LIMnLIOHT 
30 FIRST W.KSON 










A KB+T showroom 


Cove r story 

Friday 

Dressing 

Relaxed 'formal wear makes its apfxa ranee in the Indian market — and in 

offices around the country 





IT BEGAN, OF COURSE, AS SA I L' R1 >- 
ay dressing in offices in Europe 
and America. Executives, who 
were tired of wearing the regula- 
tion suits and buttoned-down 
Brooks Brothers' shirts with a 
conservative tie throughout the 
week, prevailed upon the mana- 
gement to relax the dress code 
over the weekend. So, on Saturdays, they would tome to 
work dressed in casual jackets, chinos, and even polo- shirts 
(though companies still frowned on jeans and round neck 
T-shirts). 

But once long weekends came into vogue, with most com- 
panies giving their staff both Saturday and Sunday olf, the 
new, relaxed dress cotie began to be implemented on F riday, 
and soon the term Friday dressing was being used as a gene- 
ric term to describe all manner of relaxed formal wear that 
preppies could wear to work on that day. 

Research showed that the new dress code hail worked 
wonders for staff morale. And that people worked much har- 
der and much better when they were allowed to wear what 
they pleased. But even as management was taking advanta- 
ge of this new development, the fashion industry was also 
waking up to the birth of a new segment in the market: that 
of relaxed formal weai that worked as well in the ottice as it 
did for a weekend of golf, or even lunch with old friends. 

But while the concept of Friday diessing took root in the 
West over the last decade it is coming of age in India onlv 
now. With the entry of such labels as Arrow. Allen Sollv or 
even Mexx and Lacoste in India, more and more Indian nv n 
are giving up on the ill-cut suits that served them so ill tor so 
long, and going in tor the more casual and less (badlv ) tailor 
ed look. Shirts done in wide — and wider - -stripes are fl\ 
ing off the shelves, even as the colour palette gets more 
adventurous. 

Not that Indian men have ever been enamoured of a dress 
code, anyway. As a people, Indians as a whole tend to dress 
more informally for office than their Western counterparts. 
But in the absence of a ready market of well- made, 
competently-tailored, ready-made alternatives, they had lit- 



Allen Solly: The right accessories 



Executive's at Samsung opt for the casual dress code on Saturdays 


tie choice but to buy Vinial or Raymo j 
nds and rely on the expeitise of the 
neighbourhood darzt Thanks to the 
new entrants in the segment of men's 
clothing, all that is changing. 

T he biggest beneficiary of tins 
change is, of course, the English 
company, Allen Solly, which has enter- 
ed the Indian market w *h its brand of 
formal shirts, trousers, ties and belts. 
The company, which helped pipulari- 
so the term Friday dressing in India, i 
described 1 Ls dollies as being the ne w I 
and international look toi the work- j 
place. The shirts had a broader sil- ! 

nouelte, the trousers had a more relax- j 
ed fit, and the ties had more adventur- 
ous pattei ns than the ones available in 
Indian stores. 

I he pruvs, though not cheap by 
Indian standards were reasonable 
enough. Shirts ami trousers could bo 
bought for lx* tween Rs MX) 8(X), the 
belts retailed fm Ks and the 

ties cost Rs 4*)5 to Rs XIX) Accessories 
cost muie than the shirts and trousers, 
but then the argument was that most 
men lnuight jusf a couple of ties and 
belts, but would splurge out on the 
staples of the:r wardrobe 

It is to- » early m the dav to say who 
J hei this sh ategv will work in the long 
run., special!) sin< e there are several 
other complines that an* providing 
tough competition to Alien Solly in 
this segment Arrow shirt-.-, tor install | 
rv, have proved to be rather popular 
with du the Indian executive, though 
Van 1 leuson ami 1 .ouis I’hilhppc don't 


seem to have the same cachet with the 
middle-level executive 

Middle-level salaries, however, 
don't extend to such other staples of 
Friday dresssing as the l acoste polo 
shirt; these are the exclusive preserve 
of people on the upper-most rungs of 
management. But then, at a price ol 
Rs 850, there aren't very many people 
in India who would buy them even if 
they could afford them. After all, 
when you can get designer shirts and 
jackets in the Rs 8(X! to Rs 2,000 price 
range by the likes of Jatm Koch a r and 
Khurram Pasha, why would you 
spend good money on what is, after 
all, a T -shirt? 

1, acoste polo -shirts that have beco- 
me something of a uniform with the 
international jet set, with everyone 
from Wall Street bankers, Madison 
Avenue advertising executives, ^oily- 
wood stars and even such Presidents 
as Eisenhower and Kennedy, sporting 
the I .acoste logo on their chests (hence 
the bumper sticker. "Save a crocodile, 
shoot a preppie") But in India, sales 
have suffered because you can all too 
easily pick Lip a fake Lacoste from the 
pavement at a fraction of (he price; 
and nobnuy wants to buy a garment 
that will be viewed dubiously at the 
office paity 

The salesman at the Delhi outlet ot 
I .acoste, howevei, has a different story 
to tell "There are many rustomeis," 
he says, "who have bought eveiy one 
a* the* colours introduced by 
Lacoste, and have left instructions that 
they are to be called as soon as a new’ 


colour is introduced "He admits, 
though, that most of these people are 
working for multinationals, and earn- 
ing dollar salaries So. they clearly 
have more disposable income than the 
average executive 

There are several industrialists who 
art' Lacoste Ians, though Keshub 


Men's leisurewear from Contempo 





Mahindra, Ratan Tata and Parvez 
Damania are among those who have 
been spotted wearing the crocodile 
logo. H. Balasubramaniam of Modi 
Xerox explains this phenomenon thus: 
'"With the greater opportunity for 
international travel and extensive 
exposure through the media, men are 
now insisting on quality in both gar- 
ments and well as our lifestyle — 
which now includes more leisure time 
than ever before." 


HPhe Friday dressing rage has contri- 
i buted — at least in part — to the 
growth in the leisure wear segment. 
Benetton, Mexx, Wearhouse and 
Weekender have all reported increas- 
ed interest in their wares; as also larger 
sales. And with more and more Indian 
men opting for branded garments 
rather than doing their shopping at 
export-reject stores, those sales are like- 
ly to go even higher. 

In Calcutta, for instance, Shakespca- 
io Sarani (still called by its old name. 
Theatre Road, by most citizens) has 
been transformed into the city's High 
Street, with «uch stores as Mexx. 

I .jcoste, oU opening shop ucv 1 to one 
jiiotnej Says kunal kapasi, the mana- 
ge'* ot tlir M(*\ x stoic. "My customers 
a r e coum inu.tot international fashion 
trends they arc regular shoppers 




Mexx shirts: Trendy and comfortable 

abroad and are aware ot quality and 
design. Ihcy art 1 choosy and discern- 
ing and ki*en to experiment wnth their 
wardrobe." 

kapasi also doubles as the mai lager 
for Allen Solly, where most executives 
and managers in Calcutta shop; or else 
their wives do it for them. Alka Baja], 
for instance, who is assigned the res- 
pinsihihty ot buying clothes tor her 
husband, thinks that the store is both 
reasonably priced and good value for 
money * 'iho clothes an 1 both exclu- 
sive and comfortable," she says. 

Weekender and Wearhouse provi- 
de more 'Visual clothes for younger 
people, and are relatively cheaper. 
Wearhouse, the chain that began life 
in Bangalore, has caught on in Calcut- 
ta as well, mainly because its clothes 
are stylish and priced to suit smaller 
budgets as well Wearhouse is yet to 
become as much of an institution in 


Calcutta as it is Bangalore, where eve- 
rybody - frotn college students t< > 
fathers oi four dress in Wearhouse clo- 
thes - - hut it has captured a signify .mt 
chunk of the market 

In Bangalore, howevei, the chain 
ha< five stores throughout the nt\, pi* 
of them doing brisk busn icss 1 he UKt 
per cent (Ot ton shirts alone f which 
retail for Rs 27.5 onwards) account tor 
a turnover of Rs 60,000 to ?0,iKXJ pei 
da) , and in the season (from Septem- 
ber to January ) it goo* up to a lakh 1 he 
trousers, that come in three size 4 * ■ 
baggy, tight fit and, regular — aIm » sell 
well, with around 100 pieces ot the 
regular fit alone being sold m a single 
day. 

SaysSharada Kanappa, manager at 
Wearhouse, "The store is popular not 
only because or its range of shirts and 
T-shirts but also because- ot its price It 
offers clothes, casual as well as parh 
wear for students and executives 





Benetton shirts: Colourful and wearable 


aiike." 

As does Mexv , which prides tlseli 
on epitomising a fun-tilled approach 
to life. Says Saluni Walia of Mexx, 

" The i iam«* means more than ju^t cloth 
ing to its customers. When they buy 
Mexx. they buy a lifestyle The coordi- 
nated Mexx col lections are aimed at 
those who care about how they dress 
and look Mexx keeps them in touch 
with a young and modern way of hte 

I n this tast-developing scenario, one 
label that has held its own against 
the competition is the Indian Cot item- 
po range of clothes from Inter Shnpjn:, 
tor which Indian designers have been 
pulling together collections lor the 
Indian malt 1 that he can actually relax 
in. Designs from Jalin Kochar, Khur- 
rarn Pasha and I’ciyal Jain have been 
finding buyers all too easily 

Says Pa me) la Hastu of Contempo, 
"Inter Shoppe is at par with other inter* 
national brands available in the mar- 
ket Some may feel that our range of 
clothes arc priced on the steep side, 
but we are not short of customers and 
can get whatever price we want to 
fetch." 

The reason for this is not difficult lo 
fathom. As Praveen Walia, marketing 
manager of Good Year explains, 
"Earlier the choice was very limited 
and all we had to fall back on was die 
range from Raymonds. But now vyr can 



"Relaxed fit’ trousers from Allen Solly 
go to some place like Benetton Where 
the prices arc on par with or even less 
than thaf of other international labels. 

I can pick up a basic T-shirt for Fs 199 
and polo shirts at Rs 299, which are 
the lowest prices in the market at the 
moment " 

Not every company m India, 
however, has officially introduced the 
concept of Fr , lay d ressmg — - or Sa tur 
day dressing— -*o its work force. 
Among those who have is Samsung, 
where every Saturday fmwer d ressmg 
is abandoned for the familiar comfort 
of jeans and a casual shirt. 

Says Sudhir Singh, deputy general 
manager, HRD, Samsung, "Mostly, 
there are no meetings scheduled for 
the end of the week and a casual atmos- 


:ihei . naturally mote conducive to 
interaction between 1 *' »lli j agu«»s Hesi 
des after work, most of us head tor 
some place to relax or simply to parly 
It's more convenient being casually 
attired " 

The same relaxed atmosphere pre- 
vails at the Modi Xerox office over the 
weekends. Says H Hal asubramamam 
CM, MIS, "By the end of the week one 
is tired of the formal attire that is ru ws- 
sary for those involved in client servi- 
cing. The traditional straight -jacketed 
suit actually begins to get on one's ner- 
ves So, all of as look forward to Satur- 
days when l.ideci jeans and blazers are 
the official dross axle " 

Alas, not many executives in India 
are able to look forward to the week- 
end with such enthusiasm, as their 
companies have yet to adopt the Fri- 
day dressing concept. But with time 
that will change, as it has abroad. And 
when it does, the Indian executive will 
at least be able to overhaul his 
wardrobe. 

Well, at least, he can take comfort 
from the fact that he will have no 
trouble finding the staples of his new 
look. The stores are already open, the 
merchandise is in place, and all he has 
to do is spend, spend, spend. 

Reported by Samita Bhatia, 
Susmita Banerjee and 
Dipti Dave 




Short story 

TO GET THE SUN 


This is the first prize-iei lining cutty of Juki Mehta from Peusierc. ci short 
story competition organised by lire English Academy St Xarier's College, 

and sponsored by The Telegraph 


// T T'urvup 

m 1 - - 1 Amnia 
I will be 
JL JL wailing 
Ini us al the door and 1 bet 
she is going to give us a 
good thrashing today," 
Shvam told his liltle 
brother Sanjay but Sin jay 
paid no attention to his 
words He trudged behind 
his brother with weaiy 
halt 'hearted sh ides, 
stopping a He? eveiy few 
steps, tin mug around and 
staling in ama cement at 
the ‘ little print'' that his feet 
lett behind in the ^and 

t he t!u k'MIllJ.; glow 

from the setting, sun 
reminded Saui.w ot an 
apple :nn) th.ii made him 
wonder whethei he would 
gel anything ioi dinner or 


whether he would be sent , 
• to bed aftei a good hiding j 
i lrom his drunken mother 

"Why does she hit us i 

, so much, bhni\/iP Doesn't ; 

: she like us 7 Why doesn’t j 

: she like us. bhatya ? Will 
she give us dinner tonight? | 
| What does she drink that j 

i makes her mouth stink so 1 

i much 7 Why doesn't she ' 

! give us dinner when her j 

. mouth stinks?" 

"Because the rotten i 

dinner will make our j 

mouths stink loo/' Sliyam j 

snapped at his brother j 

San jay could go on and j 
on with his questions and 
this irritated Shvani I 

because he could not i 

answer them all j 

S.mjay was cihnut to 
slait rambling again when 


he realised that they were 
home 

"Uh ! My darlings, so 
vou are home at last " 

Their mother was standing 
at the door of their shack 
There w as something 
strange about her and as 
far ns Sanjav could tell she 
was certainly not drunk. 
What Sanjav could see was 
the rage in her eyes What 
he, in his childlike 
incapacity for hatred, 
could not comprehend 
was the pure, scorching 
despair lurking behind 
that black rage 

"Come in, " she 
continued, "come in, deal- 
son.'* So what did you 
bring tor your Amnia? 
Nothing? No stars, no 
moon, no sun 9 Well, well. 


O 





that's just like vnui father. 

lie had promised me 
the moon and do you 
think he didn’t keep his 
woid In tact, that’s the 
onlv thing he ever gave 
me the moon So, now 
that I’ve already got the 
moon and the stars why 
don't you gitt me the sun." 
Her voice nad been 
reduced to a hoarse 
whisper She turned 
around and walked into 
the shack Atter sometime 
the boys followed her 
inside and quietly retired 
to their corners 

Everybody was asleep 
within an hour everybody 
except Saii|ay He lav 
awake throughout the 
night, his little mind trying 
to sort out the 
complexities ot his 
mother's words After 
hours and hours of 
pondering, he turned 
around, shook his brother 
and started talking 

"HZ//// i/a. will Amnia be 
happy it I got her the sun? 

I can get it tor her It s just 
across the sea and I can 
swim a little. In tact, if 1 go 
right now. I'll be able io 
catch it before it rises 
completely over the water 
and r»e back before Amma 
is awake It I go now, 
promise me you'll not tell 

Shvam muttered 
something sleepih and 
Sanjav taking it tor his 
brother's consent got up 
and crept noiselessly out 
ol the room 

Foiu day* later when 
the sun was |um rising, the 
waves washed ashore the 
swollen lish-e.iten body of 
Sanjav ■ 



L 


FESTYLE 


THE FINISHING 


TOUCH 


Vaishali Honawar re. 


vporlson Ihejbiishing schools that are helping vounv 
mi n un(l li'otfieu to better themseh 'es ' 



Anooradha Patel: Teaching etiquette 
to 


E arlier, when anyone mention- 
ed finishing schools, you 
thought of elegant chalets in 
Switzerland, where young 
ladies, trom moneyed / aristoc ratic 
backgrounds, spent a year or two 
betore they officially 'came out' in 
society 

They leumt how to eat dessert with 
the right fork, which glass was used 
tor white wine, and how they should 
address invitations to divorced 
women. Once the course was com- 
plete, they flew ofl to London, Tans or 
New York to find themselves hus- 
bands who were as rich - - if not 
richer — than their fathers and lived 
happily ever after 

These days, however, finishing 
schools are an entirely different ball 
game; well, at least, those institutions 
that go by that name m India are. They 
don't just cater to the rich and the 
famous, and their progeny. They are 
places where the upw ardly mobile 
among the middle classes can go and 
improve their lot. After all, in an age 
where personality and grooming is 
rapidly becoming everything, everyo- 
ne wants to update their self-image. 

Of course, the definition of a finish- 
ing school too has undergone a major 
cnange to keep up with the times. 

Actress Anooradha Patel, who along 
with Amrita Tahil set up the Orchids 
inishing School in Bombay, emphasi- 
ses at the outset that hers is not just a 
finishing school as in a Swiss finishing 
school but a personality development 
and grooming programme designed 
to create better people "What we try 
to do is work on the strengths and 
whittle down the weaknesses of every 
individual so that a final, stronger per- 
sonality can emerge," she says. 



N ot surprising then that men too 
have been enrolling for these fini- 
shing school courses in "surprisingly 
large numbers/' asSonal Parekh, who 
runs the Oasis Finishing School in 
Bombay, puts it 

"We started out as a women's pro- 
gramme but have been a co-ed saiooi 
for the past year/' says Patel She too 
claims to have had a "good response" 
from males. Orchids has also attracted 
students from all over the country and 
some from abroad as well, mostly 
children of non-resident Indians 
Patel, a successful Hindi film actress 
and grand-daughter of veteran actor 
Ashok Kumar, decided to start a finish- 
ing school "because my mother 
thought it would be a good idea and 
would keep talking about it." With 
Amrita Tahil, wife of actor Dalip 
Tahil, she opened Orchids eight years 
ago. So successful was the idea that 
they have are now producing the first 
Indian serial on grooming and perso- 
nality development in the country, 
Pehchaan, which is to be aired on Sony 
Television. 


Sonal Parekh ot Oasis has her own 
ideas cm why finishing schools have 
become more popular over the years 
According to her, it all began with the 
advent of satellite television in this 
countrj . The kind of programmes 
shown emphasised the importance of 
grooming And, she adds, "Given our 
success in beauty pageants, people 
started showing more interest in fini- 
shing schools, which would help them 
look better and deport themselves 
with elegance and style " 

As recently as last year, says Parekh, 
she had taken a stall at a career fair, 
and most ot the visitors had no clue as 
to what a finishing school was "But 
this year too/' she says, "we had a stall 
at the fair, and so many people came 
up to us expressing an interest in join- 
ing our finishing school " 

Parekh, herself a business manage- 
ment graduate from the US, has been 
running a counselling centre for stu- 
dents keen on studying in the US tor 
the past four years and the idea of start- 
ing a finishing school came to her 
when she realised that manv of the 


people who came to her — both stu- 
dents and their parents — found it 
very difficult to open up and talk 
about any problems they might have. 
"It was only after they had come a few 
times and vve knew each other better 
that they W'ould speak out/ 1 she recalls 

Last year she set up Oasis Finishing 
School with a partner and savs that 
"while we had some teething pro- 
blems, we are doing quite well now-," 
adding that she has designed the cour- 
se along the lines of similar courses in 
the Ub. 

Adil Choudhurv, a student ot MMk 
college, decided to join Oasis because 
of his mother w'ho was worried that he 
wasn't quite a good communicator 
and his spoken English w asn't good 
"Also, 1 didn't have many Inends and 
felt the need for all-round develop- 
ment in my personality," he says 

1 le savs that the course has made 
him a far more confident, well-spoken 
teenager and toda\ he is happy ne 
enrolled "!t has really helped me," 
says theonce-shv bnv who was rlmseii 



runner-up at the Mr Oasis contest for 
his batch 

T he toes for such courses, as can be 
expected, are high, but not so high 
as to be out of the reach of the middle 
class Ad 1 1 did not find them too high, 
besides, as he says, "the overheads are 
high too " The classes are conducted 
m five-star hotels and the teachers are 
highly qualified professionals in their 
respective tields 

Orchids charges Rs 6,900 for an enti- 
re course contacted over eight Sun- 
days in I Intel We$t-End and Hotel 
Guest I me Oasis charges Rs 5,250 for 
its 35-hour course conducted over five 
Sundays in 1 lotel Oberoi and Hotel 
Leela Kempinski. 

There are also some other, cheaper 
finishing schools in the city such as Ele- 
gance run by Davar's College which 
charges just Rs 2,455 plus registration 
tees of Rs 1 50 for a course of two 
months' duration with classes held 
every day of the week on its premises. 

According to Dr Madon wno coordi- 
nates the course, "We are the oldest 
finishing school in the city, though 
Orchids keeps laying claim to that 
position." 

But what exactly is taught at a finish- 
ing school 7 A course at Oasis, for 
instance, would begin with a lecture 
on the importance ot a good, firm 
handshake followed by a tall on the 
importance of personal hygiene and 
another on English conversation 
where a student would he taught all 
about speech delivery, accent, gram- 
mar and even groomed on how to take 
the TOITI exams winch most stu- 
dents. keen on studying abroad, are 
expected to go through by foreign 
universities This is followed by clas- 
ses on the art of conversation, develop- 
ment of poise, body language and the 
importance of humour in a 
conversation. 

On the following days, other com- 
munication and social skills such as 
.salesmanship, persuasion, telephone 
manners and dress codes are taught 
The Oasis course includes a class on 
aerobics "as we fell our students had 
to learn the importance of exercise," 
and nutrition There is also a class on 
cooking and another on make-up 
which is tor the women students 
Men, meanwhile, are taught the 
importance of body- building and how 
to cultivate looks appropriate to vari- 
ous occasions 

The course at Oasis includes a talk 
on A IPS awareness which Part kh 
thought imperative "as our young- 
sters are so influenced ov Western cul- 


ture yet art 4 not aware of the problems 
it brings along " There is also a class 
on ballroom dancing and a program- 
me of psycho-analysis where each 
individual is assessed for his strengths 
and weaknesses and told how to work 
on them At the end of the course' a 
certificate is awarded to the students 


and a test is carried out to pick out the 
most outstanding students who are 
then crowned Mr and Ms Oasis 
The programme at Orchids is simi- 
lar in some aspects. Here students are 
trained in ballroom dancing, deport- 
ment, etiquette, entertaining, plann- 
ing parties, using crockery and c utlo- 


A model being trained in a finishing school 




rv, make-up and skin-care (only for 
women), personality development 
and communication skills 

T he teachers include such people as 
Sm 11 ta Prasad, who owns a restaur- 
ant in London, who teaches etiquette 
and entertainment, Dr Lata Shetty for 


communication skills, Shahnaz Ana- 
nd for dance, Anooradha Patel for 
make-up, Amrita Tahil tor deport- 
ment, Dr C Shah for health and hygie 
ne and Nishita for hair care 

Orchids usually takes 25- It) stu- 
dents in each batch and has had 
among its students aspiring models 



Pooja Bhatt: Product ot a finishing school 

and actresses such as Poo|a Hhalt 
Oasis has had a Channel V veejay 
among its students and many, many 
aspiring models, though Parokh ins- 
ists that there are many housewives 
and career women, too, who cm oil 
simply because they want better 
personalities 

"I would put the proportion ol 
housewives to career women attend- 
ing Oasis at 50.50/ says Parekh "I 
have had housewives among my stu- 
dents whose husbands have come to 
me after the course and told me that 
their wives have really changed uftei 
coming to us, that they've realised 
their own potential " 

Mndula Sharma, a housewih 
whose husband is in the army, leads a 
very hectic social life and tell the need 
to attend a finishing school because 
''I'm very outgoing but sometimes I 
would just not feel confident 
enough " She admits she has benefit- 
ed tremendously from the course and 
is now a tar more confident person 

Indeed, her confident e is quite ama- 
zing and it is difficult to see hei as a 
woman who was once not quite sire ‘ 
about herself. So, even if the Indian 
finishing schools don't quite produce 
young girls who will go on and beco- 
me Duchesses or the wives of captains 
of industry, they are still fulfilling a ; 
valid purpose They are helping oi di- 
nary men and women — - from e'vrv 
class ot Indian society — realise their 
full potential. And some would sav < 
that this is as noble an objective a-, am | * 


Sketches 

POTTED HISTORY 


What the chattering classes arc talking about 

This we ek: Indian whiskey 


W hisky? Why 
whiskey!: 
Because it is 
what dll the 
fuss is about thuso days 
Don't be ridiculous: No, 
it's true You'd be sur- 
prised at how crucial 
whiskey is to the Indian 
middle-class male’s defini- 
tion ot his own identity 
Nonsense. Nobody 
defines himself by Solan 
No.l: No, no, you have to 
take a lateral look at the 
issue Broadly, there are 
two kind of drinkers m 
India: those who pride 
themselves on onlv drink- 
ing Scotch and those who 
are happy enough with 
RovalChaf* 
of ice 

So?: Well, here's the rub 
F.ven those who think that 
they are drinking Scotch 
are actually drinking 
Indian whiskey Rost arch 
has shown that 90 per cent 
of all whiskey sold by 
smugglers in India as 
'Scotch' is fraudulent 


lallenge and lots 



Usually it consists of 20 
per cent of Scotch and 80 
per cent Indian whiskey 
That can't be true: But it 
is Ten years ago, the Taj 
Group ot Hotels sent a 
dozen bottles til Scotch 
bought horn various 
places in Bombay — includ- 
ing the airport duty-free 
shop- -to Scotland to find 
out which was the real 
thing 

All 12 were bogus. 
Including the bottle from 
the duty-free shop?: Yes. 
^ou see, what happens is 
that when a bootlegger is 
raided. Ins entire stock is 
confiscated and then given 
to ITDC to dispose ot As 
this stock is fraudulent. 
ITDC ends up selling desi 
• *hiske\ as Scotch at duty- 
free shops 

Can one get the genuine 
article in India?: Not from 
a hootleggci, on the whole 
More lonnnie Walker 
Black Label is drunk in 
IncLa than the total pro- 
duction of Johnnie walker 
- , in Scotland 
| But can't 
people tell the 

( difference? 

Of course not 
Most Indians 
have forgotten 
what genuine 
Scotch tastes 
like. When 
they go abroad 
they always 
feel that the 
whiskey is a 
bit off. 

7'hc Taj used 
bottles lor its 
test that had 
been 

submitted by 
I Bombay fat 
) cats who 


u 

A 


• - r m 



1 claimed to be great experts 
: on the subject. T hey weie 
all proved to he drinking 
; Solan No 1 out of Black 
Label bottles 
i Can't you get the real 
■ thing in the shops?: Aha, 
i this is tne difficult 
| question that newspapers 
1 and magazines nevei 
; answer for fear of losing 
' liquor advertising. (And 
! here. The Telegraph pauses 
I modestly to take a bow 
; because of )ur 
I courage /foolhardiness o» 

! whatever ) But we'll loll 
1 you the truth 

1 lie wav it was 
supposed to work was 
; tins Indian mud** foreign 
hqum (IMFl to the trade) 

• is basically flavoured 
j alcohol Real whiskey (or 
j real gin, or real vodka or 
l whatever) consists ot the 
: original ingredients (mall, 
j barley, peat, i U ) that is 
i fermented amt aged 

t 

The foreign companies 


; came into India promising 
; to import real liquor as 
against indigenously 
produced IMFL. 7b an 
extent, this has happened: 
i Seagrams TOO Piper, Black 
| Dog, etc. Bui then the 
I hqour multinationals 
! realised that this was a 
! waste ot time and money 

| The average Indian 
| clrmkei couldn't tell the 
Jilfereiuv between IMFL 
| and the real thing. 

: So, what did they do? 

1 hey made IMFL. Take 
! Gilbe\ 's Whiskey, a huge 
commerci«il success 
Gilbey's is a well-known 
: brand ol British gm But in 
India, they used the name 
tor w hiskey People buy it 
thinking that it i^ Scotch 
(though it doesn't actually 
say so on the bottle), and 
never realise that it is 

■ IMFL The difterence 
between this and Solan No 

■ J is only a matter ot 
1 degree 

; And this is true only of 
whiskey?: Nope lake 
; Smirnoff, an international 
vodka brand Abroad it is 
the real thing but Indian 
Smirnoff is plain IMFL, no 
, different in generic terms 
; from Red Czar or anything 
else made in India ft is 
hard to imagine the 
manufacturer daring to 
sell Indian Smirnoff to an 
American consumer as the 
'real' Smirnoff 

• So basically, it is a rather 
: dodgy business! 
i Absolutely. The moral is: if 
i you aren't very rich and 
! very know' led gable avoid 
; being a whiskey snob, 
j You'll onlv make a fool of 
yourself, tk 


14 


Innereye 


BHJAN PARL' WALLA 


Aries 

March 21 - April 20 
} Ganesha says take 

M , time by the forelurk 
jMHjfl and make it work tor 
you. Challenging 
tune if you are looking lor 
perfection A lot of energy can 
be devoted to finance, 
romance, family and work, 
and that s quite a terrific range 
to run through. This is the 
time when you can indulge in 
massive socialising 

Taurus 

April 21 — May 20 

Quality control will 
now go to the 
extreme it you are in 

business, sales and 

production Others are likely 
to offei help Irom behind the 
st vnes Travel is a strong 
possibility Workers and 
friends will work their magic 
tmm closed doors for 
you, lain vans Big shots spend 
money tor ptiblu.it) 

Gemini 

May 21 - June 20 

I.av the ground work 
and be* deal about 
finances Xouioukl 
well hi at the right 
Mail* at the right rime * .roups 
headed b) important persons 
could baik you It you don't 
have clout, get someone to bat 
and howl for you t his is a 
gre.it lime tor those who an 
innovative and most Cieminis 
are |ust that 





Cancer • 

June 21 — July 20 

] The tucks, deai 
Cancerians, is to 
I i break through old 

■ thinking patterns 

because Mercury, intelligent e, 
trines Pluto, giving a new /est 
tor living Do capitalise on 
vuur leputation, or take help 
| to pull off something total k 
j new It is clearly at lion time 
j and news, views, lettcis, tall 
I should make your dav 

i 

i Leo 

July 21 -- August 21 

Youi ideas can he 
fantastic, hut \ our 
o\ei ulion must In 
J nei feet 'Phi will he 
in a mood Iot giandiose 
schemes Active preparations 
U» r liavel, publicity ceremonv 
collahoialions, will detimteK 
he made Youi individuality 
will show. Be a nvat:ve 
enfrepienem \ time to fulfill 
your set ret desne 

Virgo 

August 22 — September 22 

■ >ou must rei ognise 
that it is time, m f<u 
J high Mine, f< >i new 
n'l.it Kinship* new 
things new tidings and new 
work k.cnlk and diplumaln 
negotiations <..in improve 
uinmuinu ations and huge 
links 1 oans funds j,nn' hank 
acioimLs ‘(ini. a toupdahon 
the next 2^ da\s lheierou* 
\tni should attend to it 


Libra 

September 23 - October 22 
Paitnei ships and 
• i M 1 Ml links iIk mi tent 



! - 

i 4 j$ 


liend loi \ • iu Pride 
and ego i ,in pudi 
vi m todostungi llnngs 
unless ton areitiielnl ,ind 
ie .eived Mso cliei k th«* 
budget and gauge \om 
tmaiuial risks You aie in a 
period of total tiansitiou .inj 
tin- liexl ihree months will 
deudi* mam tilings lor \ou 

Scorpio 

October 23 — November 72 
C.anesha *■ l.unis tliat 
|ol\ \\ oik. soi i,il 
" 1 wollar.*, sanitation 
puhlu health, loans 
and funds willt.tki up mud 
of \’t tin linn* This is a good 
time for t ummilments and 
plans to beiome Inin and more 
lOiurele Be youi own mWu 
hut rek on others foj pnulu.il 
suggestions in d.l\ to da\ 
li\ mg 

Sagittarius 

Novembei 23 - December 20 

f antaslu wvk 
l nexpe. led 
nusundei standing' 
and iunlronta(UMi , 
are po-isihk* Bui so too aie 
liappi alliaiues sweet 
nmiaiui* good business, jov 
lluough i htldren and 
gr.mdchildien Spei ulations 
and came of . ham e, lind an 
adnnici and tan in \ on I lu 
hou si* Lome-, m lor .iUenli«»n 





Capricorn 

Decernbei 21 - - January 19 

Non c in keep up 
w ith the neighbours, 
make the nviessary 
changes in your 
home and duspiii some fl.ik 
ami upposiliiin, kei p a ste.idv 
i outse, hav e .i lu at and gel 
V oil i VMM k done |nsf . 

lemi mhei. that health w ill not | 
he ot tin* best and mhi mav 
ha* > It > make do with 
Hl|Uslnieilt-. 

Aquarius 

Janu.it y 20 - r ehruary 18 

s. ituul lime to mo\ e 
on, he U L.lire: job, 
busiiu ss, j if si m.il 
lelalionslups lake a 
i ham i* il v on h*i | so im med 
\|omiu*v aiontiail makes 
mhi happv in iIk long run 
t alls let lei s, messages , ads j 
iht media mi shoit w ill p|a\ | 
an important pait in voui life 
i i \ on must gear up toi it 
l si i Oil i w its 

Pisces 

February 19- March 20 
Bus mg selling, 
leasing Minding, 
shopping,, kike lop 
piiuiik Do host 
[Mi Ins and do make it a point 
to go to omi it mv ik'd i ,uod 
appeal am es mac mst v oil a 
Ini M M it hnl it is w oi ill it It is 
also 1 1 1 m* to lu mluispei ti\i* 
and let M'in mtuiMoii decide 
lot \iui Xon: diean’s wil'he 
ijlllti piophetu 



BIRTHDAYS 


March 24: Ganesha says. Sun- Neptune sex tile, give's \ ou 
victoty over rivals, keen thoughts, sharp intelligence, and 
others will trust you with money. 

MUTCH 2 $: Mercury trine Pluto means artists, artisans, 
craftsmen, scientists, managers, editors and .sportsmen come 
into fheir own. 

March 26c Mercury sextile Uranus means do not count vour 
chktensbefore they are hatchcxJ. Success is possible I lcaltli of 
elders may cause concern. 

March 27 : The moon's first quarter make* you 
sympathetic, adventurous, artistic and exceptionally 


responsive those in politics, ails, puhlu it v, industry w ill gain 
the maximum horn il 

i March 28: Mars ti me Plufo is excellent tor artists and 
; scientists Xou have worked hand and now is the year tor happy 
i rewards 

| Match 20: Mars soxtile Uranus gives you gic.it ness and 
j energy, chaim. imagination, mno\ ativenoss and charisma. Trips 
• and ties are possible 

March JO: Moon. Mars and Saturn conjunction means 
! despite hurdles, you an* bound to be successful and happy, say 
h\ Scptcmboi fins v«*ar 


rj 


Exquisite craftsmanship in International Standard 22/22 karat gold and 
diamond jewellery. Dealer in precious and astrological stones. 



A jewel of jewels 

I’li : 47? 0734 ♦ 27 "221 + 24S 80t 




Ti 


IME TABLE 

All arrival and departure times are for Calcutta 

Dayi Of operation using 7-day coda: J MONDAY ti TUESDAY J> WEDNESDAY THURSDAY <3 FRIDAY SArURDAY ' SUNDAY 

mam v domestic 


Departures 


Arrivals 


m BAODOGRA 

a 

L is ' 

[V ■- i 

M BANGALORE 


m BHUBANESWAR 

»r. ; ' • ! 

!< iii r 

i i*. 1 , i 

*»i ; :.i 1 

•BOMBAY 


'<V: •! 


1i>i 

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■i.i •' I 

i '■ 


1 1 , 
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Departures 


m IMPMAL 

i'i 1 

, > ■ mi. 

a JAIPUR 

» JORHAT 

m ULABARI 

■I .’I s :'m 

a LUCKNOW 

" . , ■ i i • 

■ ■ *i •* * . ,i' 

a MADRAS 


Fit No Time 

Days 

Fit No. 

Time 

Days 

Fit No 

Time Days 

Fit No 

« AGARTALA 


ic a 

1 1 ■ -ti ■ 

i : 

■ , ’i 

i * .i 

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m AHMEDASAO 

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M ; 

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a HYC30RABAO 


m AI2AWL 






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Fit No Time Days 


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M ■ 
tf ' - 
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a DELHI 

\ f 

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r.i i ■. : 

i 

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* V • 


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a OIBRUGARH 

i , it. i 

■v i v 

a DIMAPUR 

n V)i 

a GOA 

j.' > ,’Sj l! M 

• QUWAHATJ 

;■ T .: , 


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ri ; i <■:, 
■ u.j fw'r 
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PfclHIffw . i. 


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a AMMAN 

•i 1 *« 1 1 1 i 

a AMSTERDAM 

(Wc\» ■ KL-6ft 

• BANGKOK ■. W 

i\H 085f; Jb KP UK". 


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a NAGPUR 

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a PATNA 

, * ;■ , i ■ 

a PORT BLAtR 

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a RANCHI 
a SHILLONG 

a SILCHAR 

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a TEZPUR 

i *!■ • ;.n* 

a VARANASI 


a VISHAKHAPATNAM 

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If. .‘i-v 

: Hi v.4 ! :* . 

, ’iirt: Hid 

i BucMAravr 

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Ml* 


rNTERNATlONAL 


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Mil * 'i 


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PC' II 'S \ l 


16 



Departures 

Fit No. Time Days 

m cHrmooNG 

li -*21 OWH' 1 

Hli i/lb !/ v 

m DHAKA ' 


Arrivals 


w, w 

Hli \K 
K 

K.-lVtt 
HU- 11'14 
HI. IM«- 

m DOHA 

0' •’ in i vr. 

m DU 0 AJ 

!'• 11 V .M.i; 


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Arrivals 


Time Days 


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m MOSCOW 

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At Air India e BA British Airways # BG Biman Bangladesh Airlines • Bl Royal Brunei Airlines • D2 Skyline NEPC • D5 NEPC Airlines • 1C Indian Airlines • 
KB Druk-Air • KLM Royal Dutch Airlines • 12 Balkan Airlines • M9 Modiluft • PF Vayudoot • RA Royal Nepal Airlines • RJ Royal Jordanian Airlines # RO 
Tarom Air Transport • S2 Sahara India Airlines • $Q Singapore Airlines • SU Aeroflot • 4S East West Airlines • TG Thai Airways International • 9W Jet Airways 


TRAINS 


Departure 

EASTERN RAILWAY 

Arrival 

Up Time 

Howrah 

Time Dn 

•1’,, ' > >1 

Delhi-Kalka Mall 

Amritsar Mali 

Bombay Mall . . *«it *1. :...ni 

Poorva (New Delhi) Bqmbss . . 

tfV- ■’ r,, iir. \ 1 »jn 

*1 1 ’ 5 
:i'V 

■ u!i'-5 

1!. 1 L _.1S, 

' 

i 1 ! 1 i ' m i 

PtyorvB (New Delhi) Express . > . 

f 

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' « r 

Rajdhanl Express .■■■ ... » 

1 ■■ , '. ■! A'.. 1 *i ' J 

1 !• 


»• 1 1 f r- " \ 

Raidhani Express > 'm ■ , 

i , ,■ „ t |1 , \ 

1 1 .»i 


Jodhpur Express 

Shabbdl (Bokaro Steel Cltv) Express 

•*. • - ■ i ■ ,l ii 

Hlmglrt (Jammu-lawl) Express ’■ * - 

' 1 '■ . 1 . '.l'. •' 1 . *. 

Guwehati Express 

* !' A, ‘ 1 • * *' r ■ ’“ii 

I .1 ‘it 

« , 5 , 

1 m >1 

\ t M .4I 

' ' 

Gorakhpur Express 

■ i . *>■ 

Purbancha! (Gorakhpur) Express 

; • in- 


■ i. 
1H1 


11-11 
Ml.' 
‘.1 1 
ill 1 ,.. 

> ' 'l.< 

■i-.l 

'M'4 

■Hli 1 - 


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■i. 1 • 

r ' •" 

. I'-'.Hi 

1> m 
v. y 
!8 

L- Ji- 


lAion I 

Udyan Abna Too tan Express 
Amritsar Express 
Kaftgodum Express 
Mlthlla (Raoul) Bp 


Kamrup (Guwatetl) Express 
Black Diamond Express 
Coalfield Express 
Asansol Express 
Danapur Express 
Jamupur Express 
Santlnlketan Express 
Chambai (Gwalior) Express 

' -‘I V' : • *. '■ ■ I 

Shipra (Indore) Express 

" i’ 1 ii i 1 1 

.* ji‘ A i .! -i* 

ShakUpunj (Chopan) Express 
Chpnbal (Agra CantL) Express 

‘■I * -i.iv 

Sealdah 


■ ' \'t 


■I* M’J. 1 


Teeato-Tora Express 
Darjeeling Mall 

LalOulla Express v-ir. M" 
Kanchanfunoa (Lumdlng) Express 
Gour Express 
KaUhar Expsss 
Jammu-Tawi Express 
Mughal Saral Boren . v -tu 1 > 
Bhigirelhl (Liteii: Express 
Gangs Sagar (GoraktyN 
Pup K 


l\ 

■*1; 


’I. ■*' 1 

i* V 


"V 
'!■ ‘ 


Tima 

ii / 

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t. 1 'i< 
i'l . *i 


1 U. 

Dn 

.11*1 ■ 

1144 
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V-! 

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Departure 
Up Time 


iy •• 1 1 

..m v 
»v ' 
i 

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} i . 


! 

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SOUTH-EASTERN RAILWAY 

Howrah 


Anivaf 

Time Dn 


ill v ■ f’l.i'jl'u: 

Gltan|all (Bombay) Express 
Shdabdi (Rourtala) Express 

Ahmedabad Express 
Kurla Express >• ! : i , >j 
C oromandal (Madras) Express 
Fulaknuma (Secunderabad) Express 


Bangalore Express 

i ' ■ -I.'. 

1 . .■ i, 

Tata Steel Express 
Ispat (Jhareuguda) Express 
TTttagarh Express 
Ranchi Hatla Express 
Furl Express . . t 

Jagannath (Purl) Express 
Dttauli (Bhubaneswar) E 
East Coast (Hyderabad) 
Purulla Express 


1 Azad Hind (Pune) Weekly Express 

■ ’» . ’ ''ll, 

Bhubaneswar-New Delhi Rajdhanl Express 

■ 1 ■!* , -S*‘ I. • , ■ . 

New Delhi-Bhubaneswar Rajdhanl Express * 

Guwahatf - Howrah - Trivandrum Central Express 1 

■ ii- 

Trivandrum Central - Howrah - Guwahah Express 

' '•...:«. ■■ , 

1 1 ■! Cochin Harbour Terminus - Guwahatl Weekly • 

Express ■. > 1 't' 1 .• ■ \ L :< 

■ .'■! Guwahati - Cochin harbour Terminus Weekly 

Express i- ■ 

■I !'. " 

" Cochin Harbour Terminus Egress ■ " ' *■ 

. in'*:-'! \ - a : 

i- ■ 

iv. Jt Guwahah - Banoalore City Weekly Bqras 

HPW- |* \ ".'i i. 

VvV 'I'l’MI.ii .'i, 

Bangalore City - GuwahOJ Weekly Expres in • 1 

I .N ' . ,M ■ r' M'Mi'MI )■ 

ENQUIRIES: For round the clock Information of Eastern Railway and 
South-Eastern Railway trains, please dial 2203545-54 for In-comlng trains, 
2203535-44 for all other Information For Information about reservations on 
Eastern Railway end South-Eastern Railway trains, dial 2203495-3500 (from 
8 am to B pm on weekdays and fl am to 2 pm on Sundays and gazet 
ted holidays}. In addition, dial 1331 (for recorded Information on train 
running), 131 (regar ding train operations) and 135 (regarding 
tlons). Train service enquiry at Seiddah: 3503535-37. 



Fashion 

THE SUMMER 

OF ’96 

Seema Goswami on the hid inn woman's fashion options 


he feeling is familiar to all ot 
us Thai ot throwing open 
our closets, examining the 
clothes hanging desolately on 
their hangars and exclaiming "Oh 
Cod! 1 have nothing to wear!" And 
the summei — specially the Calcutta 
summer which can gel very very 
humid indeed —makes matters nun h 



worse. After all, in the winter at 
least, we can gel away with covering 
up even the most diabolical ol 
fashion disasters under a 
particularly fetching jamevar shawl 

So. what i/<#e> one wear this 
summer’ Should vw* go along w ilh 
the usual mu I mill salwar kamecves 
that Kohit Bdl and the fashion duo of 
Abu |am and Sandiup Khosla have 
been making a foitune out of (even 
two years ago. they retailed at 
around Rs Or ev on the crisp 

cotlon satis that have been the staple 
of Indian \vu id robes over the last ll) 
40 years, usually worn with 
sleeveless blouses oven bv middle- 
aged matrons who could well be 
tick ised to cover the yards ot flesh 
they leave bair 1 Oi should ur ti\ 
and update oui ward lobes in line 
with tne mood prevalent in the 
intei national Nineties 

It you're the adventurous kind, 
we at Hit' Iclcghiph have some 
suggestions toi vou but lemember, 
these .lie not meant to he followed !o 
the letter Rick up those elements 
and colours that appeal to vou and 
using these as basic s evolve a style 
that is vours, and yours done 

P you're young and thin, the 
possibilities .ire, ol oiuise endless 
You could, lo r instance, experiment 
with th * sleeveless cotton /linen slip 
dress that has been a staple nt the 
col lee 1 'oils ot most Western 
designers tor the List couple ot years 
Calvin Klein, tor one, has made it his 
own, producing versions in satin toi 
evening wear and letting the 
hemline— -which usually hovers on 
or around the knee down to the 
ankle tor tormal occasions 

Yes. yes, we know what you're 
muttering darkly to yourself Which 
young Indian girl could possibly 



walk dmvn Park Street, wearing 
what looked her best piece ol 
underwear, and escape the attentions 
of every toadside Romeo w ithin a 
200 yard radius Blit remember, what 
we said al the outset 7 You're only 
supposed to puk up the essential 
ideas and mutate them m ways that 
best suit your lifestyle 

In the case ot the sleeveless shift, 
the possibilities are endless You 
coufd tailor it in the best quality 
linen or cotton available in the 
Indian market, and pair it with 
typed chundars, rounding otf the 
oLittil with a contrasting dupatta of 
the linest chiffon for a luxurious look 
that would seem right both during 
the daytime and al night As far as 
the colours are concerned, you can 
get as daring as you want, pairing 





magenta with lilac or even dark blue 
with military green Alter all, didn't 
Diana Vreeland, the legendary editor 
of Vogue once say, "Shocking pink is 
the navy blue ot India?" 

If discos and nightclubs plav a 
large part in vor life, well then 
discard the churidars and the 
dupatta look, and wear the shifts on 
their own, showing off your baie 
(and exfoliated, we hope) limbs lo 
best advantage To adu a touch ot 
piquancy to vour outfit, vou could 
drape a brightly coloured scarf 
□round your neck, but that is 
optional. What is not, is regular 
exercise If you’re wearing this outfit, 
[ you simply cannot have even a hint 
t of cellulite on your upper arms and 
! thighs It you do, well then, it s off to 
the gymn tor hourly workouts everv 
| day preterabl\ with a trainer who 
! knows what your goals are 

It that's too much trouble, well 
• then vou could always cheat hi 
throwing mi a transparent chitton 
skirt (m a contrasting colon i tor the 
m.iximum effect) ove- the ^)nf t As 
they saw fashion is the arL of the 
possible. 

B ut \\ hat does one \\ eai to o|f n e ' 
Ah, that is a tough one You 
. umld always pla\ sate and sink to 
SkWAsalwai kamee/es, with < hsktni 
work on them « m ev en bu\ the usual 
rubbish that sells out oi the so-called 
designei boutiques that littei the citv 



Not a very exciting prospect, right? 

There are options though. You 
could experiment with loose baggy 
trousers, paired with long kurtas 
which look as good with dupattas as 
they do without them. Or if you look 
the tailored look, then pair the 
trousers (ot sal wars, if you are more 
com tm table with them) with 
structured kamee/es that hug the 
contours of vour body Tor the 
Sixties - Sadhana, Asha Parekh look, 
vou could wear the tailored 
kamee/es with churidar kurtas 
rather than with loose trousers or 
sal wars One advantage of these 
kinds of outfits is that the) have an 
inwedibly slimming etleil, speciall\ 
it you steer ileai ol pastels and 
beiges that could make even Snnali 
Beiuln look a little heav\ around the 
hips 

Some i >1 ficcs, ot course, have a 
tan ly stru t dress rode You simple 
haw* to wear saris, ot else In that 
use, you should haw no problems 
in Calcutta, which has the greatest 
variety ot cotton saris available 
am wheie Theie are the Bengali 
/an/ -, ot course, the kotah cottons 
which aie a great hit among 
Marwari women. and lor those who 
have t hf inonei, there are 
which ot l*'ii lelaiJ Ini a 'ouplc of 
thons.iiuls it not more 

But instead ot going m toi the 
lalhei boring Indian habit « >t 
wearing plain cotton blouses ot the 
s«ime shade as the sari, try and see 
how a i onliasling colour loot s, oi 
even embrouli r\ and mirror-work 
w hich i*-tt'*n makes even the most 
restrained out! it come alive 

Toi those who an* intky enough 
to work m such places .is ndveitising 
agencies and in the media and are 
allowed to come as the\ please the 
possibilities are, immense it \ou iv 
the 1 leans and I -shirt type then you 
could dress up vour out tit with 
colourful waistcoats It vou pretei to 
weai chinos and a loose shirt, then 
weai a laux Hennes (lew ot us could 
atlord the real thing) start slung 
across one shoulder toi the 1 casual, 
chu look Nou muld e\ en tr\ 
knotting a linen tic* !oosel\ around 
\ chu Collar, i / In Plane keaten 

Skills aie iiuk\ though It \ ou 
weai them loo shoit, vou could end 
up being tegai ded as the office 
!loo/\ Weai them too long, then vou 
look fai too matronly for comfort 
One acceptable compromise is to go 
toi the mid -c alf length bin have a slit 
on the' side’ running right up to voiu 
knee (but be’ careful that the slit 
doesn't ride up when vou sit down ) 
Not only will tins help voii lake 



longer strides when you're walking 
from vour desk to the xerox ■ 
machine, but it will also impart an 
international look to vour outfit 
After all, it was Donna Karan 
who first popularised the tight-fitted 
jer>e) skill which buttoned down 
one side, the length ot the slit 
depended on how mam buttons you 
choose to leave lcjow.jOne 
advantage ol thi^ U^ThaTVou could 
wear the skirt both-to office, looking 
as decorous a-* /he mousey brunette 
at the next desk. and then unbutton 
it up to voui thigh to make an 
impulsion at (he wild party you 
were going to (hat evening No 
wonder they sav that Karan's clothes 
work \crv hard indeed 

I n the Indian summer, howexei. 

jersey could never be* the fabric ot 
choice Instead go in (cm linen that 
seems all set to become the iahne ot 
the season Already such stores as 
I’oloui Pius and Walter Johnson are 




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at the right price. 

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Many novel features. Weekly departures in May fk )une. 

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stocking Ilium shirts, trousers, skirts 
and even light-weight jackets that 
art 1 suitable tor I he evening And it 
won't be long before such shops as 
Weekender and Wearhouse succumb 
to this movement 

One advantage ot linen in the 
summer is that it allows the skin to 
breathe, and that is very, very 
important m the humid Calcutta 
heat that leaves you feeling 
completeh strung out at the end ot 
the da\ Another plus point ot using 
this fabric is that most qualities of it 
tan be washed at home, so vou save 
on drv -cleaning bills (Hut remain 
warned, most upmaiket shops like 
C. oloui Hus will insist that you dr\- 
clean then merchandise ) 

It \ on leel that linen mimples 
too soon i though there are crease- 
resistant \ aneties in the market) and 
l«\i\es vou looking ragged e\ en in 
the middle ol I bit * day. then gist 
slaw h the c lollies liglith w hen \ ou 
non them "Ihe\ will look Iresh mmh 
longei. hu* Mm must go slow on the 
quanht'. of star* li used It vou 
oveuli i if, not on In w ill \ our nock 
li* h hk» mad, \ oil'll also end up 
looking like an mil -ol -w ui k 
polihci.m I lu n, ot ionise, tlieie's 
the most unpoilan* element ol ull 
colons W hat c oloui s should \ ou 
w (Mi in the lridi. in summer il vou 
w ant to beat the heal ^ 


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based on hotels such as Le Grand Bleu PLM Azur, Le Maurlcia. 
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CLUB7 


■HOLIDAYS PVT LTD’ 


Air fare increase likely in April'95 Beat it > Book now 


4. Circus Avenue. 4A. Circus Plaza, Cal- ! 7 
Tel : 2478504/70 1 7/2404Z6 1/8745/0893 
Fax 91-33-2474946/2424330 


9 


WE SHOW MORE, YOU PAY LESS. CHECK OUT A BOOK. 


Ih«*ii* .ire miivi* who insist tli.it 
W’.ln i oloui ** while i u'.im. \ ellow, 
beige, pink powdei hlui* elc make 
llii* must sense Nut unl\ do \ou 
loot n»ol but \ou aUo l»vl it And 
.im w . 1 ' , it is the height ol 
loolishne^ to wear stinng shade** 
undi'i the hl.i/mg ‘-nil ot Calcutta 
(. leal ly, those who sav tills haw 
n<*\ ei \ isited K.iiasthtin, whi re the 
vNomrii are lesplendcnl in hnght 
oranges \ ellow s, in. mums a id n.iw 
blues even as the desert heat 
threaten^ loo\eicome th*’m II \ou 
want lo ola\ it salt 1 , by all means 
slick Le Ihe paler than pink shades 
Hut when \ou go out to chouse 
hihtu heloie that visit lo vaur 
1 1 lend 1 v neighbourhood <//.’» /, 
lemember that across the Atlantic 
the lolours that will he in vogue the 
vear are orange, sattron, verdant 
green, langerine and hot pink, 
sometimes all used in the same 
outfit 

So it s up to i ou reallv Would 
you rather he safe in pastels ot stanc 
out m pistachio green'* And when 
\ou make your choice, remember it*- 
not just you i wardrobe you are 
deciding on; it'*- vour entire attitude 
to life ■ 



JUNIOR WHIRL 


i lA; k'A;_ 



COURT CASE! Hey, I thought we were here to 
play basketball What can you draw to complete 
the picture? Connect dots. 


PLANET EX! 

A certain planet discovered by Wm. Herschel in 
1781 was originally called Georgium Cidus, 
George's Star after King George III. Bv what name 
do we know it now? 


MMIl J 1 Jl .H«l 1 .’\\ 


PIECE CORE* r ' " 1 

A curious, do- I j ! 1 ^ 

it-vourself jigsaw I ' | ^ 

puzzle is suggested I 1 ~ 1 | 

tor your amusement I— — J I j 

below:Remove and 9 

discard one corner of — [ '•fjkfA 1 

a cardboard square IT I J 

(dotted lines ot Figu- | 3 | J 

re 1). Cut remaining I I / 

portion (Figure 2) r 

into four equal sized L -shaped segments. 
Scramble these pieces and ask someone to use 
them to reform the original square 

Figure 3 shows how pieces may be deployed tor 
a hollowed out version ot the original. 


HOCUS-FOCUS 



A0C0CF6HIJKL 


FIND AT LEAST 6 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PANELS. 

luajapip si pjom 9 luejajjip Sf d bq <j 6uissfuj si ia>poi p jauogs 
si pjoo e Guissiuj am siojiuoo z Guissiui aie spoils i .seouajewa 


HOP-SKIP-JUMP 
DRAWING CARD 
ALL ABOARD for a hop, skip 
and jump drawing lesson. Simp- 
ly draw lines in the diagram at 
left in accord with the following 
letter-number coordinates: 

Draw from 11-C to ll-D to 9-F 
to 11-G, 11-J, 10-G, 7-G, 7-H, 

6- G, 5-H. 

Add 6-G to 7-F to 7-E. 

Draw from 7-F to 8-G, 6-1, 6-J, 

7- K, 5-J, 4-K, 3-K, 3-L,2-L, 2-K, 
1-L,2-J, 3-J, 4-H, 4-F, 6-C, 10-C. 

Use a sharp pencil, draw 
straight lines ~ 

Be sure to dTaw in accord with 
nu mber and letter coordinates. 
Agaasaimr or two, if crayons 

arehSMJvC 











C OMICS 


























RAGE 

% 

The Gold Council is attempting to restore some order to the gold market in India, 

reports SamUaBhatia 


I t's alluring. It's enduring. It's 
dressed up. It's strifwddown. 
It's sensual. It's soulful It's gold, 
and its appeal is forever. 

Now try this for size: "Think about 
gold jewellery as you would about clo- 
thes. In both cases start with great 
basics that will give you a lot of wear 
and style?" The suggestion, coming as 
it does from the World Gold Council 
(WGC), has caught the fancy of worn' 
en around the 24 countries where the 
Council operates. Further, it has con- 
vinced mam* that, 'Today the only 
thing that is certain is uncertainty 
And gold." 

Funded by the world' . milting com 
numity, tliu WCC’s natural Object! ve 
i> to promote the ' consumption' of 
gold jewellery. Thus, its gameplan kir 
the Indian market — where it nas suc- 
cessfully launched Gold Clubs in 
Delhi, Madras and Bombay With Cal- 
cutta high on its list of priorities — is 
not much different It's to make you 
buy, buy and buy more gold 
ornaments. 

Despite the fart that Indians are 
expected to consume nearly 500 ton- 
nes of the previous metal this year, the 
Council feels that sales need to be 
pushed up further. In case you hadn't 
noticed, trie yellow metal is threaten- 
ed by serious rivals. According to G.S. 
Pillai, manager (north). World Cold 
Council, "With the flush of consumer 
goods in the market, the safe of gold 
jewellery has stagnated. Sophisticated 
electronic gadgets, state-of-the-art 
cars (which am? today's status sym- 
bols), investment in the share market 
and real estate have given people an 
alternative. Those who were buying 
gold earlier now prefer to gp for the lat- 
est toy in the consumer goods market. " 

The Council is up against some 
other heavy odds in a country where 
26 


gold is a way of life, and which is the 
world' s largest consumer of the metal. 
The quality of the gold one buys is 
never free of suspicion even if purchas- 
ed from a premier store. Walk-in cli- 
ents in jewellery stores are few and far 
between as the casual shopper is inti- 
midated by the aura exuded by the 
large stores. But, the Gold Council 
hopes to change all this by streamlin- 
ing the trade in a systematic manner 
and increasing sales substantially. 

To speed up the sales of gold the 
WGC has many innovative plans m 
store, some of them akin to those they 
tried in the Middle Hast. Against the 
background of traditionally high 
levels of gold consumption, the Coun- 
cil identified and developed a new 
niche market - - gold jew ellery for 
children. Little golden Ninja Turtles 
were created and advertised and lur - 
ed littfe girls to ra id the gold souks 
with thcif parents, triggering otf sales 
i»f 300 kilos of gold! 

Don't be too surprised then if inno- 
vative marketing and creation of niche 
products in India sees a deluge of inter- 
esting collections targeting specific 
clients. Gold jewellery fur working 
women, manga! sutraa that go with 
both jeans and sarees, jewt-Peiy for 
children, or ornaments for men may 
just become the order of the day. 

While securing a foothold in the 
Indian gold industry, and making lof- 
ty plans for it, the WGC is gathering its 
flock of jewellers into Gold Cubs. The 
gold fraternity — manufacturers, who- 
lesalers, retailers and the bullion 
dealers --- has been invited to form 
these Gold Clubs with the objective of 
providing them with a common for- 
um. 

Says Deepak Mehra of Mehrasons, 
leading jewelfors in the country, "The 
industry has welcomed the WGC and 


has supported the idea of the Gold 
Cubs whereby traders can work 
jointly, exchange ideas, address issues 
and identify opportunities for the 
industry. Besides, trends indicate that 
the customer is demanding better 
designs and superlative quality." 

A multi-pronged strategy is in the 
making, just waiting to be unleashed 
to bring together this fragmented and 
unorganised sector Improvements to 
both the design and the physical quali- 
ty of gold jewellery needs to be tackled 
first. 

Pillai's grouse is genuine, " Though 



th^rehiivetwen m 
to the indui&y there h^ 
changes whatsoever over the past 40 
yeara in the nuouifacturing techniques 
ar marketing the prodiKSu a 

lafge part oflndian jewellery is hand- 
crafted it amid do with sophisticated 
tools ami a better work environment 
far the Icarigars'* Hallmarking is non- 
existent so how can a customer be sure 


of the quality of the 22 karats he 
buys?" 

With the Council going hammer 
and tongs at it, hallmarking gold jewel- 
07 may just become a trend in the 
India market. So too professional 
jewellery designers. "Hallmarking 
jewellery is a very positive approach," 
observes Mehra. "While jewellers will 
have to become very cautious of the 


quality of die gold they sell, the custo- 
mer will be the one to benefit in the 


long run." He explains that if custo- 
mers want to sell gold ornaments 
today they get df better price if they sell 
to the shop from where the piece was 
originally purchased. "But when the 
product is nail marked it becomes 
acceptable to any jeweller/' 


In this arena the Council's trend 
.books, researched by designers, may 
soon provide jewellers and manufac- 
turers with the directions they need 
for the development of new products. 
The Council is currently in the process 



ESSENTIAL 
TIPS 

How to take care of your jetvdlery; 
and how to ctioose it 

TkyTany elements determine the 
lVJLprice on that little, non- 
descript tag. Once you understand 
them, you'll be able to judge whe- 
ther a particular piece of gold jewel- 
lery otters the value you are look- 
ing far. 

• Karats count, as you already 
know. Generally the higher the 
karatage (the percentage of pure 
gold) of the piece, the higher the 
price. But price is also determined 
by the total weight of the piece. 

• Naturally then a larger, heavier 
piece is likely to be more expensive 
than a smaller, lighter one. 

Ornamental detailing such as 
engraving or a diamond laser 
finish or a special matte or Florenti- 
ne finish also adds to the cost. 

Hand-crafted jewellery is obvious- and will eventually lead to 

ly more expensive. breakage. 

• A gold wardrobe, some jewel- • Keep gold jewellery away from 

ters suggest, includes five essenti - all sorts of chlorinated cleaning pto 

als; a necklace, a bracelet, a pair of ducts and out of swimming pools, 

classic button-style earrings, a pair • For cleaning, use a jewellers 
of hoop earrings, and add on pend- recommended solution or luke- 
antsfor a quick change of looks iwaon, soapy water. Rinse with 

• Give your gold jewellery just a dear water then dry and polish 

little care. Gold's worst enemy is with a soft doth. Rings and intrioa- 

chlorine. Repeated exposure can fee pieces which are hard to dean 
weaken the structure of the piece, can be steam cleaned. 

of bringing out its third Indian trend arrive at wliat the market is denum- 

book. Says Pillai/'The idea behind the ding, the aspirations of the buyers. It is 
trend book is to stimulate jewellery these observations that will get t ran si a- 

manufacturers and designers to create ted into popular jewellery patterns 
ornaments in keeping with the chang- and designs." 
ing moods of the market . ' ' Getting As tin' market will demand pru- 

into the act with the Council is the fessionals in the field of designing 

National Institute of Fashion Techno- jewellery, training institutes will not 

logy (NIFT) that has farmed out 25 of find it difficult to find placements lor 

its accessory design students to differ- them . On Mehra's roils is a di >signei 
ent jewdler} r aula’s of the countrv to who is runcnfly engrossed in u h 

study trends. ing jewellery designs for young worn 

Says Jatin Bhatt, chairperson. Acres- en aged between IS to 2^ Say. 
sory Design Department, NIl-T, who Mehra, "Fashion and jeweller v m v die 
is among the faculty members invulv- two sides of the same coin Anil y* ith 

ed in creating 'Gold Trends India qualified professionals on the \ob. 

"Through interaction with options can be given to today’* 

the retailers and customers in the dilfe woman to onsuie ihu* goto jewellery 

rent parts of the countrv we want to remains an inherent part < her hie." ■ 







LimelIgk? 

TUNING IN 


Tahit Aziz releases a netv album. Shahkaar, after a three-year hiatus, 

reports Shameem Aklhar 



T alat A**y r s wife Bind is rribl*- 
inggiXHi naturedly "YVe 
have ht_*en manned for years 
now and he has never com- 
posed a ghazal with me in mind " But 
it Hnu Kook'S lhat things wil! improve 
after this rather public rebuke, she is 
wrong After the i\*(vnt release ot his 
latest audio-cassette, 'Shahkaar, her 
soulful ghazal singer husband will 
find even less time do any in- house 
singing 

In lack A/a a has littU time these 
days to do any singing at all i hs first 
music album alter a three- year hiatus 
has set off a media frenzy that is driv- 
mg him quite crazy. 1 fis normally 
dear voice has grown nasal with 
ack now lodging o uigratu latnrv mess- 
ages and cond uct mg i nterv sews ITu* 
music and regional language channels 
an' inundating him with t -quests tor 
an appearance and his peaceful after- 
ncx>n siestas have been transform^ 
into an interviewee's nightman } !e is 
getting hysterical trying to cram 
quickie television scripts for various 
countdown shows am! music pro- 
grammes like the Su Re Ga Mu. 

Meanwhile, his in rant M>n, feeling 
left out. clambers onto his kruv tearful- 
iy. insisting that hi; will drmk his glass 
of milk only from papa's hands Clear 
Iv Aziz shares a special relationship 
v\ ith the boy, but this bespt-i tai led 
Amitabh Ba< hi han look-alike, is kwn 
to play down the devoted father bil. 

1 le '‘till nurses an ambition to make it 
to the big st reen as a star, even though 
his iirsl film, the Mahesh Bhatt- 
duveted [>huu fco -star ring Sangeeta 
BijlanO appears to be jinxed 
Still fresh m memory is the media 
iness-up of his quotes lhat seemed to 
make Mahesh Bnatt out to be the vil- 
lain behind this jinx. There were 
rounds of da nf ications and counter- 
clarifications that cleared up the air 
betwivn the director and the 'star' 
Bunhe movie did not benefit from all 
this. '"I“he cans are still lying in my 
house Some distribution problem/' 


Talat Aziz 

mumbles the ghazal star, when asked 
about this ill-fated venture. Anti any- 
way, he seems to have decided that if 
the big screen dix;sn't work out, he 
will settle for the small one. 1 le has hn- 
ftl up a few television serials (courtesy 
the Cine vista group) and is happy to 
be dabbling in grease paint and squint- 
ing before the powerful lights of the 


TV camera. Obviously, he is not com- 
fortable talking about the big screen 
ditch. There are too many unhappy 
memories then?. There was the jinxed 
fan nut with Juhi Chawla (when she 
was just an aspring starlet) and Aditya 
Pancholi which was re-released in an 
unrecognisable IV format with a 
tongue-twisting name that sunk, mer- 





rifully for Juhi, without a trace. Yet 
another film, called Char Detwari 
remained# as Aziz observes sadly, 
within the four walls of the studio. Of 
course, he was not intending to run 
around trees or dutch onto stariet 
pallavs . "I would not do anything ridi- 
culous. It Would have had to suit my 
age . But anyway, leave these talks 
about my movie attempts aside, ytuir. 1 
do not like to see my enazal-singing 
image diluted by all this/' orders the 
singer. 

Nor will he talk of his initial tryst 
with cricket or his student days slogg- 
ing for a commerce (Honours, those 
days) degree. Happy memories, but 
hi* is in the present and now. Digging 
around in me past is not for him, 
unless it be in nis lovelorn lines of his 
ghazals Mention the silly rumours 
that dogged him down when he was 
touring America and he is equally 
uncomfortable In the aftermath of the 
Bombay nets, when invited by foreign 
sponsors for a ghazal-singing spree in 
tnc Stat<?s he left only to find the gossip 
columns take off about how 'he had 
run away from the i tots' and returned 
'only after peace relumed to Bombay, 
after three years'. 

"Nonsense/* snorts Aziz ‘T left for 
the States in February 1993 and return- 
ed to India after a tew months I did 
not run away I was shifting home, l 
had my two babies whose childhood 1 
wanted to be part of and was doing 
my foreign tours/' 

Meanwhile, his contract with HMV 
fell by the wayside, not to be renewed 
despite a few naif -hearted promises 
initially from the audio group. "1 am 
very vague, you know, and had not 
kept in mind the period of contract 
expity," he smiles in between numer- 
ous phone calls. 

T alat would much rather talk about 
his new album . " Shahkaar means 
something extraordinarily good, 
super. But/' he adds quickly, "it does 
not mean that this word has anything 
to do with my performance. It is just 
the title of my audio-cassette." 

"Ghazal composition needs extraor- 
dinary discipline, control o* er the 
words and tne creative flow of 
thoughts," says Azis. "A lot has been 
said about my 'cultural background' 
and my parents' literary inclinations. 
But my father was a high-powered exe- 
cutive and my mother, Sajida Abid, an 
Urdu short-story writer. But then’ was 
nothing extraordinarily or obsessive- 
ly creative about my parents. On Satur- 
day evenings, the white dhurries were 
spread out and friends wore invited 



for an evening of Hyderabad! get- 
together. Those mehfils were wonder- 
ful experience, yes. But they did not 
make me a ghazal writer overnight. 
That came after years of practice." 

When asked to explain what he 
meant when he said that he laid great 
stress on gayaki, he rolls his eyes 
ti redly, "Oh, that will involve compli- 
cated explanations/’ he sighs. "But I 
meant that my singing look the path 
on which both the exponent and the 
amateur met. My singing appealed to 
both the ordinary people, uneducated 
in music and the expert musician. The 
tightrope of balance had to he 
achieved. And it is for my listeners to 
say if I have managed to achieve this/’ 
I ic has often been criticised for sim- 
plifying the language of the ghazal. 
But, he retorts, criticism is the inevita- 
ble reaction to anything innovative 
and novel. "Mirza Ghalib was criticis- 
ed in his life-time. He died a pauper's 
death. People criticised him also for 
making the ghazal a popular art 
form," he says in his defence. "Not 
that I would compare myself with' 
greats like Ghalib, but criticism cannot 
stop us ftom popularising it" 

He reminds these* critics how when 
his double album Tasaiwur in 1987 was 
made into a video many purists were 
outraged at his attempt to picturise 
pooliy on the screen. "I told them then 
that there will bo some to whom lliis 
form may appeal. If there are even a 


few who like it then my attempt 
would bo satisfying," recalls Aziz. 
"Also, today everybody is doing 
videos of songs, hirst attempts will 
always draw such flak. 1 ' 

Strangely, the song that he did not 
quite like singing — the gravelly torn 1 
mat Ik* rendered as tarixxjuc Sheikh's 
voice in Umrao Juan - made him a 
household name. Before that, of cour- 
se, he had already tasted success with 
debut album, Singh Presents Talat 

Aziz, which had been a hit in 1979 His 
training stints with Ustad Hamad 
Khan of the Kirana gharana, Ustad 
Faiyyaz Ahmed Khan and 'the 
maestro of ghazal renaissance Mehdi 
Hassan' improves his voice even 
further. 

His first album was composed by 
ghazal -singer and friend-mentor Jag- 
jit Singh w«»se gentle prodding had 
drawn the singer into tne world of pre- 
tty music and prettier words that 
enhanced and appealed to music afi- 
cionados. "Ghazal comes from a word 
that means 'deer'. It implies grace It 
graces romance," explains Talat, in an 
attempt to explain why the music 
form appeals to the young and old 
alike 

Perhaps, romance is an outdated 
concept in today's fast -pace world? 
"No," insists the singer, 'it may have 
limited appeal. But tfii*- appeal isendu 
nng " As, indeed, is 1 alat Aziz him- 
self m 







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31 MARCH IMfi 



P® MORTEM 


Who’s the 
Number One? 

■ It is unfair to compare 
Madhuri Dixit with kajol 
('KajolK February 11). 
Madhuri has reached the 
number one position after 
years of slogging in the 
industry. She is sincere, 
hard-working, professio- 
nal and above all very, 
very talented. 

This, of course, does not 
mean that Kajol has none 
of these abiding qualities. 
But she is a newcomer 
who still has a long way to 
go to prove her worth. 

In Ine three / tour years 
that she has been in the 
industry, she has gjven not 
more than three hits and 
this does not make her a 
contestant for the number 
one slot. 

Suddhasathva Bose, 

Cooch Behar (W.B ) 

33 Madhuri and Kajol nrc 
both beautiful and talen- 
ted. It would be a difficult 
task for Kajol lo reach the 
top slot Urmila Matond- 
kar is the only actress who 
ran give Kajol a run for her 
money. 

Debaahis Sen , 

Calcutta 

W Of the stars who have 
introduced their 
daughters to films, Tanuja 
and Bobita have been most 



Kajol in Dilwate Dulhaniya Le Jayenge 


successful. Mala Sinha 
introduced her daughter, 
Pratibha, amidst much fan- 
fare but the newcomer 
could not make much 
headway. 

Fven Dimple, whose 
daughter, Twinkle Khan- 
na, made her debut in 
Bar*uat, has doubts about 
her daughter's career. 

Kajol has reallv been 
lucky although she started 
her career with a flop film. 
But it would be wrong to 
^presume that Kajol would 
take Madhuri's place; for 
Kajol is yet to be marked as' 
a good dancer like 
Madhuri. 

Even choreographer 


Saroj Khan has praised 
Madhun for her natural 
dance movements on the 
strength of which she has 
iven some of the biggest 
its in tinsel town. 

Partha Pratim Moduk , 
Howrah (W.B.) 

31 Bom and brought up in 
a family of filmstars, it was 
only natural that Kajol 
would pick up the traits of 
her family members. 

She definitely has an 
edge over her rivals 
because of her liveliness, 
charm and vibrancy. She is 
beautiful in a careless kind 
of way which makes her 


i irresistible to her admirers. 
Sunil Banerjee, 

Calcutta 

91 Three generations in the 
film industry: Shobhna 
Samarth, Tanuja and now 
Kajol. Acting, has of late, 
become a dynastic profes- 
sion in Bollywood. I ,ook at 
Kanshma Kapoor Who 
would have thought that 
she would break the 

Kapoor family taboo and 
enter films. 

Of course, she had much 
to thank her enterprising 
parents who did not come 
in the way of her ambitions 
Sukla Das, 

Jamshedpur 



PAGE 4 


INDIANS AKL umx! to the idea of cricketers — 
both from hen* and .ibro.nl — having s(- 'ft - 
lived affair, with Indian actresses Some -'f these 
have culminated in marriage and Mime h.-ve 
not. So, will A 7 h. 1 n.utdm and Sangeeta finally tie 
the nuptial knot or will the relationship fizzle 
out? 


16 TIMfc TABU. 

21 JUNIOR WHIRL 

22 COMICS 
26 LOCUS 

29 POTTED HISTORY 

30 FIRST PHRSON 


Mohammad Azharuddin 







Vaishatt Honatvar details the irresistible attraction between 
film actresses and cricketers 


IF YOU WEREN'T LOOKING FOR IT, YOU MIGHT WELL HAVE MISSED IT. IT TOOK MOST NEWSf’A- 
pers only a few column inches to announce that India's Test cricket captain, Mohammad 
Azharuddin, had divorced his wife of nine years, Naureen. But most people were looking 
out for such an announcement, anyway. Ever since, in fact, the first rumours of a dalliance 
between model-tumed-flop actress Sangeeta Bijlani and Azhar had begun doing the 
rounds. 

They began as hushed whispers last year, when Azhar and Sangeeta were spotted din- 
ing in various trendy Bombay restaurants, and holding hands in the lobby of Hotel Lexing- 
ton (the Taj property in New York) while on holiday in America. Those who dismissed this 
as gossip were convinced when Sangeeta and Azhar arrived in Bombay together; to be 
greeted at the airport by Salman Khan, Sangeeta's ex -boyfriend, who was intent on bash- 
Gary Sobers 


Anju Mahendru 





Sharmifa and Pataudi 

ing the cricketer's fact* . 

Still, there were those who insisted 
that the affair was merely a figment of 
the media's overworked imagination 
After all, they asked, what on earth 
could Azhar and Bijli (as Sangeeta is 
popularly known) have in common? 
Sangeeta vva> the hips Bombay girl, 
who loved wear i rig short skirts and 
grooving the night away in discos. 
Azhar, on the other hand, was the 
scion of a lower middle-class ortho- 
dox Muslim family from Hyderabad, 
who despite his extensive travels 
abroad, still spoke very dodgy 
English I ie may have moved to the up- 
market area of Banja ra Hills, but the 
sophistication that was so much a part 
of Sangeeta 's charm was completely 
lacking in Azhar. 

So, what on earth could she possibly 
see in him? All this talk must be just 
that: talk. 

Not quite. Just when the stories 
were beginning to die down, Azhar 
and Sangeeta themselves gave the gos- 


sip a fresh leas** of life, making headli- 
nes while on a visit to Bangalore. The 
couple were photographed while they 
were on a romantic walk m one of the 
tonier neighbourhoods ol the city, and 
the story made it to all the newspa- 
pers But no, there weren't any pictu- 
! res accompanying the storv, Azhar 
j had grabbed the camera, torn out the 
I roll, and landed the photographer a 
couple of hefty blows for good 
measure. 

The divorce announcement was the 
final word on an issue that was 
already exercising the public mind. 
Clearly, this was no one-night stand, 
dirty weekend or even a holiday 
romance. This was the Real Tiling, and 
Azhar intended to make an honest 
woman of the girl he loved. 

N ow that was unusual. The Indian- 
public had become used to 
cricket players — both from here and 
abroad — having short-lived affairs 
with actresses. But it was only a 


minuscule number of these alliances 
that actually resulted in marriage. 

Take the Imran Khan-Zeenat Aman 
affair, for instance. This, of course, 
took place when Imran was still the 
star of the Pakistani cricket team, and 
was known as the Loin (no, not Lion) 
of Punjab, rather tlian an upholder of 
the Islamic faith. He arrived in India, 
very keen to meet Zeenat, who was 
then the reigning sex symbol of 
Bollywood. 

Things didn't go too well, initially, 
though. Imran was reportedly mortal- 
ly disappointed when he first set eyes 
on Aman at a film party ."You mean 
that is Zeenat Aman?" he is said to 
have asked incredulously. 

Matters tix>k a somewhat more for- 
tuitous turn after that, though, and 
Aman ended up spending a few 
months living with Imran in England, 
while he was playing county cncket. 
But the affair ended soon after. Imran, 
who was then involved with Emma- 
Sarjeant, didn't want anybody back 
home in Pakistan to know that he was 
dating an Indian actress And in those 
days, he was still insisting that he 
would only marry a Pakistani virgin 
choosen foi him by his mother. 

Not every Pakistani was quite so 
particular, though Mohsin Khan, tor 
instance, who married Keena Koy 
after a short and tempestuous court- 
ship. Reena had just come out of a dis- 
astrous relationship with Shatrughan 
Sinha, and w T as keen to settle down, 
and Mohsin was, apparently, dazzled 

Neena Gupta 





Amrita Singh Ravi Shaslri 


Vivian Richards 



by the glamour associated with a 
Hindi film actress. Also, hiscncket car- 
eer was ending, and he was hoping to 
n^dke it in the Bombay film industry. 
So, it didn t exactly hurt to have a wile 
who was well clued m to that scene. 
And since Roy had a Muslim father, 
there were no problems of a religious 
nature, either. 

Things began well enough, but pro- 
blems ciopped up in the relationship 
when it became clear that Mohsin was 
never going to make it in Hindi 
movies. The couple drifted further 
and further apart, until finally Mohsin 
upped and left for Pakistan, taking his 
baby daughter Jannat with him. As 
things stand today, Reena has begun 
acting in movies again, and hasn't 
seen her daughter for years. 

T his irresistible attraction between 
actresses and cricketers isn't a rec- 
ent development, though. The first 
such alliance was that between Man- 
sur AliKhanPataudi, then India's fore- 


most cricketer (now editor of 
SfwkwoTld, a sister publication of 7 hr 
rdcgrapk) and Sharmila Tagore, a 
descendent of India's most famous 
poet, Rabindranath Tagore 
But Sharmila and Tiger (as Pataudi 

is popularly known) had more m com- 
mon with one another than later 
actress-cricketer pairings Both had 
more or less similar backgrounds" 
they came from uppcrdass homes, 
which were modem. Westernised and 
subscribed to liberal values. They 
were famous in their respective fields 
of work, and were, therefore, not inti- 
midated by each other' s celebrity. 

And such was the strength of their 
union that it survives to this dav. at a 
time when most marriages end up 
being mere shams or arrangements of 
convenience 

But the Khans are an exception to 
the rule; most cricketer-actress rela- 
tionships have proved to be Jtss than 
enduring. There was the famous enga- 
gement between Anju Mahendru, 



Imran Khan 


Zeenat Aman 


tht*n a small-time actress and Gary 
Sobers, the West Indian captain, who 
was then touring India a$ the head ot 
his team An|u was a regular fixture at 
all the matches and the cc jple celebra 
ted their engagement with a big party 
to which all of Bombay u ns invitt d 

The relationship, however, lasted 
only as long as the tour itself. No soo 
ner had Sobers fiown oti home than it 
was announced that the engagement 
was oft, leading people* to speculate 
that it had only been a publicity' stunt, 
anvway, and sixm after, Anpj began 
an affair with Rajesh klianna, who 
was then the number one hero m Bom- 
bay. The couple remained together for 
many years, until Rajesh ditched Anju 
to marrv Dimple after a whirlwind 
courtship 

More recently, another West Indian 
cricketer has been involved with a 
small- time actress, though this rela- 
tionship has had more than a whiff of 
scandal surrounding it. Viv Richards 
and Neena ( .upta were an item a lew 
years ago. w hen the West Indians 
were touring India. And when Gupta 
announced soon after that she was pre- 
gnant, there was much speculation 
about the identity of the child's father. 
But even as rumours flew around that 
Richards was the man m question, 
Gupta refused to either confirm or 
deny them. 


But some of her decisions in the fol- 
lowing months told their own story 
Neena named her daughter Masaba. 
which apparently means African pnn 
cess, thereby indirectly confirming the 
child's parentage. And one particular- 
ly enterprising magazine got hold 
or the baby's birth certificate, which 
had Viv Richards named as the father 

Neena, tor her part, maintained a 
discreet silence even as she entered 
into a senes of relationships. The most 
tamous of these was, of course, 
with a bearded l>elhi journalist, who 
was a good friend (and a Dt>on and 
Cambridge classmate) of Rajiv Gan- 
dhi. But none of these seem to have 
worked out, for now Neena and Viv 
appear to be back together. 

What's more, these days Neena and 
Viv have thrown all discretion to the 
winds. Richards reportedly visits 
India once a year to set 1 his daughter, 
and the couple take her on holiday 
regularly. And recently, Neena and 
Vi v were seen sitting next to each 
other at a function held in connection 
with the release of Asha Bhonsle's 
new cassette, Rtdiul and 1. What's 
more, Richards even spoke to a televi- 
sion crew at the event, quite unconcer- 
ned about the fact that Neena would 
be seen smiling over his shoulder on 
small screens all over the country. 


T he best -documented of these rela- 
tionships was, ol course, the Ravi 
Shastri- Amrita Smgh liaison For one 
thing, this was one affair that was con 
ducted in the full glare ot media pubii 
city, with bolh Shastn and Singh mak 
mg no secret ot the tact that they were 
seeing each other. And for another, 
both of them were very serious about 
making a go ot things; they had even 
got officially engaged and hoped to 
get married m time. 

That wasn't to be, however Nobo- 
dy is sure whv exactly the relationship 
ended, but soon after Amrita was seen 
painting the town red with Vmod 
Khanna This time, too, Amrita 
announced that she planned to marry, 
but all such plans collapsed as her 
family raised objections to the vast age 
gap between Klianna and her. 

But then, Amrita had never had 
much luck with men. Her first relation- 
ship — while she was veta school girl 
— with yet another cricketer, Kirti 
Azad (son of the Congress politician, 
Bhagwat Jha Azad), also ended badly. 
And Amnta decided to leave Delhi to 
try and make it in the movies in 
Bombay. 

She managed to achieve a measure 
of success in her film career, but Amri- 
ta never succeeded in marrying a 
cricketer. In the end, she had to make 




GOV 

escape 






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do with the son of one Sail All Khan, 
the eldest son of Tiger Palaudi 

But Amrita's relationships, at least, 
were serious ones, in which marriage 
was a real option. The same cannot he 
said til the short-lu ed attair between 
Kapil l Vv and Sarjka, which took 
place long before India's most famous 
all rounder settled down with Romi. 
Or even Manoj Frabhakar's brief dalli- 
ance with Farheen, a small-time 
cic tress wh< > made the most of her strik- 
ing resemblance to Madhuri Dixit 

B ut none ol these relationships have 
attracted the attention that the 
Azharuddm-bijlam liaison has com- 
manded. When Azhar played a reck- 
less shot and gifted the ball back to the 
bowler at the now-notorious World 
Cup senn-hnal m Calcutta, the crowd 
seemed to think that the captain's foo- 
lishness was caused by his relation- 
ship with the actress 

Sangeeta left hden Gardens immedi- 
ately after A/har left the crease, but 
the crowd was m no mood to forgive 
the duo. "Salman Khan's carver went 
through a bad patch because of her 



Sarika 


Reena Roy witti her husband Mohsin Khan 




Kapil Dev 


and only improved when she nun ed 
away," said one biller cricket tan 
"And row she is bringing bad luck to 
A/haruddm." 

This is certainly tcx> harsh and com- 
pletely unfair Would Sangeeta lia\ e 
been given the credit it India had won 
the World Cup 7 So w hy blame her tor 
a defeat? 

But this hysterical over-reaction 
shows how difficult it will be lor the 
couple to survive the gossip and scan- 
dal surrounding their relationship. 
For the record, though, Sangeeta's 
secretary maintains that the two have 
no plans to get married This is wide!) 
believed to be a consequence of the 
controversy surrounding the break- 
up of Azhar's marriage Clearly, 
Sangeeta doesn't w r ant people to sa) 
that he's left his wite and children for 
her. 

But unless something goes very 
wrong, it seems dear that Azhar and 
Sangeeta are going to be a couple for 
the forseeable future. Perhaps this 
spell of bad luck will pass and so will 
the controversy. And who knows, 
they might just become the Tiger and 
Sharmilaolthcl^O* ■ 



Extract 

Talkies from 

TOLLYWOOD 



Looking at Bengali 
ineina through (lit* 
yc'ai.s. \n extract 


Extracted from 
Rasa Hie Uidum 
Pcrftinmng Arts in the 
Last J5 Years, Volume 
II, 'theatre and 
Cinema , Edited by 
Ananda Lai 
(Theatre) and 
Chidananda 
Itasgupta 
(Cinema); 
Published by 
Anamika Kata 
Sangam Research 
and Publications, 
Calcutta; thrice 
Rs 1,500 


incma in Bengal as an organised 
endeavour will complete 75 years in 
1994, a date that broadly coincides 
with the centenary of cinema in the 
world. But film activity in Calcutta as 
a sporadic exercise is as old as the pres- 
ent century it we take into account the 
attempts at actuality shooting or film 
viewing in tents, in commercial 
theatres; hotels and private places In 
1895 itself, a few months after the 
L.iimiere invention was publicly 
demonstrated in Paris, film strips 
were shown m Bombay's Warson 
hotel. Soon, the select groups in Calcut- 
ta were exposed to the marvels of the 
new scientific invention. A few intre- 
pid souls made their foray into the 
unexplored territory, cranking a came- 
ra at the turn of the century. Hiralal 
Sen ot hallowed memory tried his 
hand in recording stray events happe- 
ning around. Some commercial 
theatres ot North Calcutta soon 
entertained their audience by project- 
ing actualities as additional attraction. 
Unfortunately, no material of that per- 


iod survives to give us a first hand 
account of the endeavour. However, 
reports and advertisments in some 
contemporary newspapers bear evid- 
ence to the activity: the movement 
against the first Partition of Bengal in 
1905 is reported to have been filmed, 
as was the Delhi durbar of 1911. 

Showhouses for exhibiting films 
from abroad started being built by the 
Madans The first film audiences were 
excited by the very tact of seeing mov- 
ing objects projected on screen by a 
machine As the medium came to be 
commercially exploited, people 
gradually got used to the wonders of 
the motion pictures exhibition of 
imported films in tents by travelling 
showmen, the building of permanent 
picture palaces, followed bv local pro- 
duction, laid the foundationof the 
film industry in Calcutta in |ust over a 
decade. 

The ambience was cosmopolitan. 
Films were imported for exhibition 
and equipment, and so was raw stock. 

, Actors, actresses, technicians from 


Kanan Devi and Pramathesh Banja in Mukti 




Suchitra Sen and Uttam Kumar: The fifties' romantic duo 


other parts of India came to Calcutta to 
seek their fortune Even in 'he colonial 
period when the fruits of invention 
were primarily to the entertainment 
and commercial needs of the minute 
minority of foreigners living here, a 
new vista arose, both tor creative use 
and commercial exploitation. The aspi- 
ration of a people in bondage found 
expression in the new medium as the 
spirit of emancipation soared in suc- 
cessive waves of the freedom 
movement 

The pioneers started forming orga- 
nisations with their evitable word 
'bioscope' attached to the names of 
companies \ firalal Sen's Royal Biosco- 
pe, an early venture was followed by 
Madan's Klphin&tone Bioscope. 
Eiphinstone Picture Palace was built 
by Madan in 1907. A decade later he 
owned 1 2 of the 1 3 showhouses ip Cal- 
cutta In the entertainment world of 
the time the Parsis had a strong presen- 
ce,both in production and exhibition. 
Both the first feature film Rithramangal 
(1919) and the first Bengali talkie fanini 

12 


Sasthi (1931) were produced bv 
Madan Till 1931 only silent films were 
made ir. Calcutta though sound films 
had come to India a couple of years 
back The silent films often had titles 
in more than two languages Nearly 
130 silent films were made here in the 
12 years between 1919 and 1931. 

As in Bombay, mythological and 
religious themes dominated the early 
period But in Bengal, the tradition of 
literatim 1 , and theatre influenced the 
outlook of the filmmaker right from 
the beginning and 'social' emerged in 
no time, thanks to the time-tested 
popularity of Bankimchandra, 
Rabindranath and Saratchandra The 
latter two we: e in the fullness of their 
creative life in the Twenties and Thirt- 
ies and their presence was itself a sou 
rce of inspiration. Literary material 
was considered 'safe' as the audience 
was supposed to be familiar with the 
big names and pei haps the a intents of 
the stories and novels and the milieu 
in which most stories were woven. 

The middle class audience lapped up 


the screen versions of famous books 
From an average of 10 silent films in 
the Twenties, production peaked at 20 
in 1931 when the curtain on the silent 
period was finally rung down The 
Madans had a headstart which conti- 
nued for nea r . two decades, but as 
more producers took the field in the 
beginning of the 'talkies' and more 
showhouses came to be built, the 
Madan empire shrank. Fven in the ear- 
ly Twenties, the new medium attract- 
ed a sizeable number of bright and 
adventurous members of the elites of 
Bengal. Apart from those who had 
made their mark on the stage like Sisir 
Bhadun and Naresh Mitra, others like 
Dhiren Ganguly (DG), Niranjan Pal, 
Modhu Bose, Nitish Lahiry and later, 
Nitin Bose, Debaki Bose, P C. Barua 
and B N Sircar gave the cinema in 
Bengal a distinct appearance and a 
name Thus, to the entertainment 
world of Calcutta dominated by 
theatre and music performances on 
the one hand and circus and football 
on the other, the now dtncnsion of i ine- 
ma was added more than seven 
decades ago. 

++ + 

I n the Thirties and the Forties, 
thanks to *he studio system 
spearheaded by New Theatres, a body 
of work in Bengali cinema was created 
which, despite the hangover ol a 
theatrical tradition and Ihe literary 
influences, was able to cater to the 
audience's need Fven Satyajit Rav 
commended the technical competence 
in camera work, sound, editing and 
laboratory work ol the New Theatre's 
technicians in the Thirties and observ- 
ed that in contompoiary (late Sevent- 
ies when he wrote the piece) Bengali 
films, one hardly noticed that kind of 
skill. From the devotional religious 
films of Debaki Bose in the Thirties 
through the music based films of 
Madhu Bose, Nitin Bose's Pcshcr Mat i 
and Barua's Adhtkar (a shade different 
from the standard middle class the- 
mes and roles), to Charu Ray's 
Ban lee, Bimal Roy's Ud inter Pa the 
and Hemen Gupta's Rltuli Nai and '42 
(Political content), in less than two 
decades Bengal traveresed its path, 
with some recognisable films about 
contemporary mores The harvest was 
not poor. A certain angst informed the 
films. 

Nevertheless, crisis has always been 
endemic in Bengali film industry The 
studio system which gave the indus- 
try a measure of stability, ensuring 
steady production, regular releases, 
fair return and occasional all-India 


exposure, was showing signs of the 
debility from the early Forties. The 
war years pumped in a lot of money 
and some clever ones injected part of 
the wealth into filmmaking Many 
actors and actresses were lured out of 
the studios to work foi independent 
producers for the big money they offe- 
red. Hordes of independents entered 
the field of production. Studio- 
produced film production came down 
alarmingly. As in Bombay where 
heavy inroads were made by unscru- 
pulous moneyed section, Bengali film 
industry could not withstand the 
onslaught. Since the end of war a shift- 
ing ot workplace by directors from Cal- 
cutta to Bombay was witnessed over 
the years In a few years, directors like 
Bimal Roy, music directors like S.D. 
Burman, technicians, even actors and 
actresses left for Bombay (Nimai 
Ghosh went to Madras in the Fifties) 
for more secure working conditions 
*** 

I n 1951 . Nemai Ghosh made 

Chhwmnnitl, on the appaling condi- 
tions ot the displaced poeple trom 
Fast Pakistan As a cameraman he 
knew how the tragic situation should 
be filmed and he turned a director to 
make that reality a vivid account of the 
political and social upheaval that 
engulfed Bengal This was followed 
by Na^arik by Ritwik Ghatak, a second 
attempt to capture the devastations of 
Partition The film was not released at 
the time These were intrepid attempts 
at lilmmaking in C alcutta which 
swam against the prevailing current 
in T< illygunge. 

The mainstream Bengali industry 
con* mued to be affected by the shrink- 
ing market. Like in Calcutta, Bombay 
industry also did away with studio 
system due to the thrust of black 
money and the new class of produ- 
cers The star system evolved as funds 
were used lt?ss for the production per 
se but to placate the stars who with 
their good looks, song and dance and 
extravaganza would capture the 
public. The lowest common denomi- 
nation of taste of the audience was aim- 
ed at and much of this crap was lapp- 
ed up. 

Bengali films were hardpressed by 
the dominance of such Hindi films. In 
the face of such adversity two new 
stars were born in Tolly gunge. Uttam 
Kumar and Suchitra Sen, formed the 
star couple in accepted sense. From 
the early Fitities onwards they became 
the mainstay of commercial Bengali 
cinema for more than a decade. The 
industry gained a little confidence. 


The stars could rescue them when the 
going was really tough. 

But the lack of foresight became evi- 
dent in the industry's extraordinary 
reluctance to invest in toning up the 
infrastructure — better laboratory and 
equipment facilites and production in 
colour. The result was reflected in 
shoddy local production and the avoi- 
dable dependence on unnecessary 
trips to Bombay and Madras for mak- 
ing films in colour. 

Satyajit Ray launched his career in 
filmmaking in circumstances well 
known. In 1955, Pnthcr PancJiah was 
released. The audience seemed too 
overwhelmed to react in the first few 
weeks, and the detractors viewed it 
with mild derision. But soon people 
came to realise that they were witness 
to momentous hapenmg m the crea- 
tive arena. Yet the visual excitement 
came from the much used tool in the 
Bengali cinema — the translation of a 
literary classic to the screen Only this 
time it was a transformation, using 
untried technicians, mostly non- 
professional actors and actresses, Ray 
created a transcendence In a trice the 
picture of rural Bengal was laid open 
to a world with a universal story. 
People with men, women and childr- 
en portrayed in glowing human 
terms The atmosphere is authentic 
and the tone lyrical. The story is the 
timeless saga ot a family struggling for 


a modest living in a small place Ka\ 
wenton to create an impressive t lirom- 
cJe of Indian society for nearly four 
decades. He himself observed that he 
did not like to be typed as a filmmaker. 
That explains his experimentation in 
fantasy, comedy, children's stories, 
social commentary He was an avtnir 
m best sense, exercising personal con- 
trol over his films more than any other 
major director His own film stories 
had special qualities — Knnchanttmghn 
(1%2), the first colour him, Nayak in 
which he cast the matinee idol ol the 
Bengali screen Uttam Kumar, Ptkoo, 
made for the French television, Bhnklui 
Prothakha, a French production 
Agnntuk lus last film and Uttnran 
which he wrote but could not take up 
as death intervened All of them bear 
the typical Ray stamp m conception 
and execution. The sequal to Goopu 
Gym' Baffin Ih/nc. Snnat Kell a and /<?/ 
Balni Phelunailt also exude a certain 
charm and are favourites of all age 
groups 'The supreme humanist ot 
the world's directors" never faltered 
in his conviction and easily spurned 
offers of filmmaking even trom f lolly- 
wood as they did not meet his terms 
The consummate artist also lived the 
life true to his conscience. He- prodigi- 
ous output of 56 films, including 
documentaries in as many years is a 
testimony to his single minded ness 
Even when portraying the depth ol 


Anil Chattorjee and Supriya Chowdhury in Meghe Dhaka Tara 



13 




poverty he never allowed his vision to 
be clouded by pessimism He lifted 
Bengali cinema out of the morass of 
sloppiness and half baked ideas about 
the medium that had relegated it to 
the backwaters 1 hs influence on the 
cinema of other regions of India inspir- 
ed new movements in Karnataka and 
Kerala. Later tht new wave in Hindi 
cinema in the early Seventies started 
largely with funds from the govern- 
ment agencies also owed its inspira- 
tion to the path breaking work ot Ray. 
In Calcutta itself, it created an ambien- 
ce, in the late fifties, not onlv in tin- 
form of bettei taste tor good cinema, 
but in the urge to experiment. Some 
producers saw it was easier to find 
commercial outlet for a new Ijpe of 
film of modest budget without the tor- 
bidding presence ot actors and actres- 
ses of higher financial range and 
invested in such films Apart trum his 
two major contemporaries, Ritwik 
Ghatak and Mrinal Sen who also 
could perhaps breathe a little freely m 
the otherwise stifling atmosphere of 
Bengali cinema, others also thought of 
making their foray into filmmaking 
There were some who joined feature 
filmmaking only to make one film, 
like Barin Saha, Chidananda Dasgup- 
ta, Bhupendra Kr Sanya! and O.C 
Ganguly. It would not have been poss- 
ible for them to make a start if the situa- 
tion had not been radically altered by 
the overwhelming presence of Ray. 

Two, characteristics of Ritwik Gha- 
tak for which he stands out among 
other filmmakers are his originality 
and his daring His association With 
IFTA must have imbued m him strong 

14 


social awareness which is the hall- 
mark of his filmmaking Himsell 
uprooted by the Partition ot Bengal, 
he cried out with deep tee) mg against 
the politu lan who brought Partition 
and endless misery to the people ot 
Bengal 

Atter his first film Nagank (P>52) fail 
cd to be released, he made Ajmitnk in ' 
1^58. an unusual story ot the relation- 
ship of j taxi driver with his ear attribu- 
ting human qualities to the machine 
The response to the film was sensation- 
al for the initiated audience which was 
gradually taxing shape by that time 
when Ray had already made three 
films and the vigorous film movement 
was in lull swing It was clear that ano- 
ther filmmaker of outstanding talent 
had appeared on the horizon. 

Of the eight films made by Gha- 
tak in two decades, the three in a row, 
Mvghc Dhaka T am, Kottial Gamf/nir and 
Suharnarrkha were on the theme of Par- 
tition, to which Ghatak was never 
reconciled. The tone is often harsh, the 
tenor uneven and the dialogue theatri- 
cal The characters take on archetypal 
traits which Ghatak often underlined. 
He made a highly emotional film Tit as 
Ekti Niniir Naam after Bangladesh had 
been liberated. The long, meandering, 
sometimes clumsy course of the film 
reflects life itself in its mynad moods. 
His last film ]ukh I'akku Gnpfio discour- 
se on the state of contemporary society 
even though he never gave up hope. 

The strength of his feelings and his 
unused theories have often blurred 
his accomplishment as a craftsman. 
Most of his films failed at the box office 
or were not released at all even though 


in his lifetime he became a cult figure. 
His untimely death, perhaps brought 
about by a tempestuous life created a 
sudden void. Recent years have seen a 
new interest in his work in some fore- 
ign countries. 


M rinal Sen started in W56 with a 
film which even he does not care 
to remember now Next year with Neel 
Akasher Niche , based on a story by 
Mahadevi Varma, he became well 
known as a director. Baishc Sraban 
( 1%0) established him as a frontrank 
filmmaker. Deft portrayals of reality 
and command over the medium made 
him one of the three new masters of 
cinema in Calcutta. His association 
with the cultural movements of the 
Left and the film societies gave him 
the additional right to be one leaders 
of the' hew cinema movement But like 
Ghatak, he also did not lind favour 
with the ordinary hlmgoer and even 
low -budget films he made m the early 
Sixties depicting man woman rela- 
tionship in everyday milieu in middle 
class house failed to dick In Aknsh 
Kusum ( 1 %3) he dabbled in devices 
like tree/eshots and jump cuts, a hi 
Truffant and was promptly accused of 
gimmickry. 

Despite Ins restless nature he has 
always been a resolute filmmaker He 
made a him in Oriya m l%4 which 
shows his grasp ol the medium and 
sensitive handling of character and 
situations His real break, however, 
came through with Bhubrw Shomc 


Naseeruddin Shah in Gautam Ghose's Paar 





(1969) in Hindi with funds from the 
Film Finance Corporation. Tht? new 
wave of Hindi cinema has its origin in 
the films and state funding as a matter 
of policy got a shot in the arm The 
eventful but uneven career o! Sen took 
a new turn with Interview (1971 ), Cal- 
cutta 71,Padntik and Chorus made in 
quick succession The period was of 
political turmoil, the Leftist forces 
were trying to consolidate and Sen 
was trying to be commentator and 
chronicler ot the political scene and at 
the same time tried to find new forms 
ol expression by breaking with the 
new narrative mould 

By the Seventies he had attained 
maturity as a filmmakei with a cause 
1 lis experiments continued, hi made a 
fine lilm in Telugu (Oka Oori Kntlm ), in 
Hindi (Mri\’i/i/u), till he changed track 
in FI I )m Pratuhn Hofinalh left 
behind the strident message bearing 
exercises, mellowed enough to look 
imvai d am! to stud v the foibles ot indi- 
viduals caught in the web of society 

I he film sv one in Calcutta was cover- 
ed with glorv by Sat vajit Kav, tor the* 
entile period since Independence by 
v ihalak lor just over a dixade Sen lor 
over three dec ados in a crusade he con- 
tinues There wei e others who attemp- 
ted at steering a middle course Tapan 
Sinha, a content pomi v ot Rav with a 
solid technical Ku kgiotmd chose u> 
make films on a \ arietv of themes He 
commands a sizeable audience to 
stand by his large output. Tarun 




A scene from Mrinal Sen's Akaler Shandhaney 


Majumdar too is a good tilmmaker 
who has often struck it rich at the box- 
office. Filmmakers like them have sus- 
tained the industry with their tho- 
rough masterv of the craft combined 
with a keen sense of the audience Asit 
Son stated off dramaticallv with 
Cluilacluil ( 1 956) and followed up (or 
sometime but soon found himself 
changing gear to head tor Bombay Raj- j 
on I arafdar's Ganga (I960) had also a 
strong audience following for his 
earthy, virile, nch-in music, presenla 
tions There w-is Hansadhan Dasgup 
ta, a pioneer documentary filmmaker, 
trying his hand in a couple ot features, | 
fluid and elegant, but somehow the 
foray has not been i epoated Purnen 
du Potree and O C ’ C ianguly commer 
cial artistes like Ray and Tarafdar, 
began with promise but could not sur- 
vive the tough « onditions in Bengali 
film production Barm Saha, a camera- 
man trained in Fu rope came with 
high hopes, made Vrro Nodit Parc, but 
found himself left in the lurch. C.’hida- 
nanda Dasgupta after a feu shots, 
made Bilet Phcrnf tthe same name as 
IXi's film, the first 'social' m India), a 
tryptych with striking ongmahty and 
a certain freshness. Rut the expen 
ment has never been repeated The 
path of Bengali cinema is littered with 
many genuine inventive exercises dis- 
rupted by an unthinking industry and 
an unfeeling audience who failed to 
support these attempts 
Even technicians of the calibre ot 
Subrata Mitra and art director Hansi 
Chandragupta found themselves out- 
siders in the hidebound and rnon 
bund atmosphere of Tollygunge 


Actors like Souimfra Chiitterjivand 
actresses like Madhabi and Aparna 
have sin v ived bv their sheer professio- 
nalism I Vspite the lowering presence 
of Satvaiit Rav, the Bengali film mdus- 
tr\ could not pull itself up from its 
morass The number of showhouses 
did not rise, studios and laboratories 
tailed torflect investment in better iaci 
hties and equipment The market was 
getting less attrac 1 1\ e e\ en in V\est 
Bengal itself, audience taste gradually 
changed in the face of the I hndi films 
with theii dazzling colour, and their 
extra vagan/a with dam e and songs 
galore l here weie no training facili- 
ties; barring a handful, filmmakers 
were treading the beaten path Decline 
set m with alarming rapiditx 
The state gov ernment slopped in to 
the b r each m the late Seventies with a 
policy ot loan, giant, direct produc 
tion, and investment in infrastructure 
like taking over ot a loss making stu 
dioaiul later, setting up a colour lab \ 
film centre was also set up in the mid- 
F.ighties I his could not stem tht* 
whole rot hut piovided lor the flower - 
mg of new talents in the late Seventies 
and the beginning ol the Hghties Bud- 
dhadeb l )asgupta. C .autam C.hose 
l s, palendn ( hakrabortv were sup 
ported m then filmmaking career and 
acquitted themselves reditablv. A 
measure ot stability in produeiton was 
the immediate fallout but the basic 
inadequacy ol release' houses could 
not be met bvlhe stale agent irs Mean- 
while, more ami more show houses 
were lured into the I hndi Jisti ihution 
outlet to make matters worse for 
Bengali c moma m its ov\ n habitat ■ 


17 



Ti 


|3«RS®W^ 

IME TABLE 

All arrival and departure times are for Calcutta 

Days of operation using 7 -day code: 1 1 1 MONDAY C4) TUESDAY i3) WEDNESDAY 'i THURSDAY c£) FRIDAY M?’ SATURDAY ■7) SUNDAY 

nioHrs 



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Fit No Tims Days 

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Al Air India • BA Bntish Airways • BG Biman Bangladesh Airlines • Bl Royal Brunei Airlines • D2 Skyline NEPC • 05 NEPC Airlines • IC Indian Airiines • 
KB Druk-Air • KLM Royal Dutch Airlines • 12 Balkan Airlines • M9 Modiluft • PF Vayudoot • RA Royal Nepal Airlines • RJ Royal Jordanian Airlines • RO 
Tarom Air Transport • S2 Sahara India Airlines • SQ Singapore Airlines • SU Aeroflot • 4S East West Airlines • TG Thai Airways International • BW Jet Airways 




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Howrah 


MhUtatka Mail 
Amritsar Mall 

Bombay Mall a'M'-ii".: 
Poorva (New Delhi) Express 

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Poorva (New Delhi) Express 

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Rajdiianl Express < - 

Jpdhpor Express 

Shrtsbdi (Bokarc Steel City) Express 

’ N. ! x , . ' .|-i.l ", 

Mmglrt (Jsranu-lawi) Express n* 


Guwahrt! Express 

f ,\‘ i i i 

Gorakhpur Express 
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Purbanchal (Gorakhpur) Egress 
lii’p M I y \ (I. vv.'il 
Uoon Express ,v ■ .i.»- -. »:im i 
Udyan Abha Toofan Express vi.* 
Amritsar Express 


Vv. 


M.i. ■ 


Ml 


Kamrup (Guvranafl) Express 
Black Diamond Expron 


Coaffleld Express 
Asanaol Express 


Chambal (Gwalior) Express 

Mm hjr .\ f|-i« . A:t Mon T-' .ir-. 

SMpra (Indore) Express 

'i.-p Will ' .it A l ii.H 
Ai, '.!j'i Wi"] A ■■ ■ 

Shaktjpunj (Chopan) Express 
Chamoai (Agra CartL) Express 

l-'-j. A|« T'jl\i 1 ,y 

Seaidah 


TmA-Tom 
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LNOulla Express vm Main Imp 
KandhanMip (Lumdno) i 
Gour Express 
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ENQUIRIES; For round the dock MormaMon at Ea ri am Railway and 
Souttv-Eastam Railway tralna, pteae dial 2203545-64 tor In-comlng trains, 
22133535-44 tor Ml other Mbmaflon. For Intomrelton about raaanfttons on 
Eaatam Rattwrey and South-Eastern JMIw^ trains, dial 2203496-3500 (horn 


8 am to 8 pm , ^ . 

tad hoHdaysIT In addition, dial 1331 (tor recorded Information on 
running). 131 (rear ding train eparatfons) and 135 (r “ 
tfona). Train same enquiry st snlrtah: 350353M7 


on wakdaya and 0 am to 2 pm on Sundays and gazat 

train 


17 



ALL THAT JAZZ 


Ananda Lai on hou- he first discovered Herbie Hancock ; and then 
ended up meeting him in Calcutta 


S ome ot us owe out love of jazz 
to 1 lerhert Jeffrey I lancock. 
Take my case Hu ring my 
school and college days in the 
late Sixitos and early Seventies my 
father often went on lecture tours as 
a visiting professor to American 
universities Steeped m Sixties rock, I 
used to give him lists of albums 
unavailable in India to bring back 
tor me. Above and beyond the call ol 
paternal duty, he'd not only procure 
those LPs but ask some ot ms more 
fai-out students to tape their 
lavourite records toi nt\ collection 
That's how I first heard legends 
like Jerry t iarcia and Trank Zappa 
(may their souls rest in peace), long 
before peers in Calcutta had even 
heard of them. I pmtected all those 
cassettes like anybody else would 
guard gold and— though the terric 
oxide is wearing out now and the 
plastic hubs are snapping away in 
rhythm — they still survive Worse for 


wear, they've grown old with me 

In this eclectic hoard one year, 
there arrived a TPK C-9() with Stevie 
Wonder's groovv Fulfill mini's*' First 
Finale on one side and Herbie 
Hancock s Headhunter s on the other 
Who was Herbie Hancock? Or 
maybe I should ask "Who are the 
Headhunters?", I remember thinking 
at that time The typical American 
scrawl on the cassette didn't 
distinguish between title and band 
Naturally, 1 he.i.d Stevie Wonder 
first, loved it, and heard it again and 
again 

But one day I decided to give the 
B-sidc a listen I never recovered 
from the impact Since then. I've 
listened to Headhunter ^ so often and 
initiated so many friends into it that 
ihe treble response on the tape has 
dulled and one chanm ! has gone out 
ot balance with the other Never 
mind, 1 still love it. 

I'd never faced anything like the 


massive bass riff in "Chameleon" 
before — pounding away like a 
single-file umvoy of elephants 
.slightly inebriated on nralwa and 
smashing through Ihe jungle in step 
Strangely enough, tor many years, I 
never knew* the titles of the numbers 
or the personnel on this 1973 best- 
seller because the American 
undergrad who'd taped it mu*d have 
been too freaked out to list these 
little details on the inlay card I gin 
hold of the names much later. 

The music, I recall noting then, 
was instrumental (1 was into rock 
songs at that time), yet it didn't 
sound like jazz I'd heard jazz before, 
on AIR, and i hadn't liked the brassy, 
somewhat discordant effect But this 
1 liked. (No wonder Hancock used a 
Pender Rhodes, a rlavinet and two 
Arp synthesizers on it. Yet there was 
something vibrant, sensual, in it; not 
the artificiality associated with . 
electronic instruments now. That's 


18 


Rashbehan Das 


probably why Hancock is still rated 
the top musician on synthesizer by 
the readers of Downbeat, the most 
prestigious jazz magazine.) 

So I wanted to hear more of 
Hancock after that. Thrust and Man- 
Child followed. These belong to 
Herbie's "soul funk" phase; he 
explains, he was "incorporating jazz 
and funk into a very happy 
marriage. . It gives the music a 
character that is broad, vast, yet in 
touch with the people " I could 
appreciate that- it's now he had 
appealed to me in the first place But 
these next few albums didn't create 
the magic for mo that Headhunter* 
had. 1 didn't much care for pure 
funk, 1 found its beat synthetic and 
monotonous, whereas the rhythm- 
and-blues influence on "Chameleon" 
or the snaky meandering on 
"Watermelon Man" (so reminiscent 
of Indian street hawkers' cries) were 
tar more subtle 

Meanwhile, I’d begun tuning in 
to the soloing on Headhunters 
(whaiovei little there was, according 
to purists). I found the concept of 
improvisation intriguing, since I'd 
st, 11 ted listening serioush to Indian 
classical music too Their was 
something adventurous, challenging 
m the idea that every performance of 
the same i (imposition could he quite 
dilterent Irom I he last 

I was hooked My juosl lor jj// 
commimrd With a couple of fellow 
enthusiasts whose musical tastes 
were mo\ ing in the same direction, l 
joined Calcutta's only |a/./ dub, 
established under the aegis ot the 
Ament an University Center in l c >72 
C.uided b\ the unfailing process of 
sell -education, I began 
systematically seeking out 
recommended records by jazz 
masters as well as looking into the 
past work ot Harbr* Hancock 

Tracing him one phase back to 
the nud-Sixties when he played in 
v\hal many regard as the finest jazz 
combo ever, led by the late Miles 
Pa vis Herbie was one ot the key 
figures in Miles' band, innovating 
with modes (raga-like scales, instead 
of the conventional chord-based 
patterns in ja/z), collective 
improvisation (rather than solos bv 
turns), changing rhythms m the 
same piece, and writing his 
trademark lyrical compositions like 
The Sofcercr (1%7) 

It was Miles who suggested that 
Herbie shift from acoustic to electric- 
piano, leading up to the sensational 
plugged-in keyboards tr ; o of 
Hancock, Chick Corea and Joe 
Zawinul all on In a Silent Way (1969), 


the origins of fusion, which 
scandalised critics so much that one 
commented, "It was like finding a 
raised lavatory seat m a nunnery." 
Herbie contributed immensely to the 
revolutionary transformations 
wrought in jazz by Miles. 

Going back even further to 
Herbie s early career, when he 
recorded under his own name for 
the trendsetting Blue Note label 
Discovering for myself why he had 
built such a reputation already in 
this period for composition — 
melodic, rhythmic tunes with a 
gospel flavour and also for 
improvisation — characterised by 
dense chords against light arpeggio 
runs— 'Culminating in the classic 
album Maiden Voyage (1965) 1 began 
to comprehend why Herbie now 
says, "the acoustic piano is what I do 
best." The purity and incandescence 



Herbie Hancock 


oi In 1 ' sound and tooth on it art 
unparalleled 

Realising this deep attachment 
with the acoustic medium, Herbie 
returned to it in 1976 by reuniting 
most ot his Maiden Voi/age crew 
(trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, bassist 
Ron C arter, drummei Tony Williams) 
and adding saxophonist Wayne 
Shorter (all colleagues under Miles), 
to constitute the supergroup VSOP 
which featured on two brilliant 
double albums released in 1977. 
VSOP and The Quintet This back* to- 
rools move returned me now a 
straight-ahead jazz tan. to Herbie's 
current music again In 1 982, he 
revived this band m another 
incarnation, replacing Shorter and 
Hubbard with young Turk Wynton 
Marsalis on another superb lwin-1.1 1 
titled Quartet. And in 1986 he scored 
the sound track for the jazz movie 
Round Midnight. (Another great 
Hancock sound track was for 
Antonioni's Bkm:-Up in l%6.) 

So, by the time I was sitting 
awestruck next to the 55-y ear-young 


Herbie in Calcutta watching him 
autograph my copy of Crossings, his 
1972 record where he first 
experimented with electronics, 1 
knew pretty much all about his 
music. But 1 didn't know about some 
other things What docs 
"Mwandism", the African name he 
adopted on Crossings, mean? "It 
means composer' in Swahili. The 
percussionist Mtume gave it to me. 

As supporters of the Black Power 
movement, we were all into 
searching for on Atro-American 
identity" Why doesn't he use it any 
longer? "It s not that. I don’t put it 
on my discs, but I'll still respond it 
you call me Mwandishi!" 

But at the same time he 
converted to Nicherin Shoshu 
Buddhism "Yes One night 1 was 
tremendously moved, spiritually 
inspired, bv a set that (bassist) 

1 Busier Williams played. I told him, 

: whatever makes you play like that 1 
r want to know about it 1 fo 
' introduced nie to this Japanese 
Buddhist sect, which is now called 
Soka Gakkai. Jt clicked with my 
personal beliefs. Other religions gave 
me more questions than answers 
This has taught me that life is 
eternal, that strength comes from 
within, that you create your own life 
through karma and need not just be 
a victim ot external circumstances " 

Does he still piactise it? "Sun 1 . I 
believe, 1 meditate, we chant a 
Japanese version ol lines from the 
Lotus Sutra " How does it influence 
his music? "I hope my music is a 
positive inspiration to listeners You 
see, music is medicinal m the 
broadest sense " I began to 
understand where Heibie s humility, 
good humour and openness came 
from Unlike many a star, he has no 
; ego or hassles whatsoever. Although 
beset by a tight schedule, he 
virtually had to be dragged away to 
lunch, otherwise he'd have gone on 
talking 

At the Oberoi Grand concert, a 
schoolmate ot mine who now 
teaches in SI Xavier's School 
reminded me that l'd taped 
Headhunter * tor him 20 years ago It 
struck me that another close 
friend — now a Bombay-based 
executive for India's largest - 
circulating English monthly — who 
actively snared .ind continues to 
share my enthusiasm tor Herbie, 
was surely trying to communicate 
with me telepathicallv From all of us 
and many more across the world, 
Mwandishi 1 lerbie, thank you tor 
j the music and tor helping our 
generation to cross over into jazz. ■ 



NNEREYE 


BEJAN DARUWALLA 


Aries 

March 21 - April 20 

j. C'.dm-sh.i s,iys it 

i,r uJ messages 
MAW iUi’ duLiyi-ct, lost or 
■_,*.! misplaced do no! 
u'oirv overmuch On and after 
Aprif 4, it tied is up New ties 
dnd partnerships .ire on the 
anvil to sav tho least House 
will need your attention, so 
will parents and old lolks 
This is1*|vveok ot pressures 
and pulls 

Taurus 

April 21 -- May 20 
rgg". lake ca re of the 
MBp ■ pennies and the 
H9L j shillings will take 
y y J can* (4 themselves 
This time you will have to be 
a fight wad, parsimonious and 
lean to save Anothei 
outstanding bend will be trips 
and ties, rendezvous and 
meetings April 1-2, are the 
days when sii L h things will 
happen 

Gemini 

May 21 — June 20 

a Chances to improve 
vo’ir station in life 
Ft lends anil |ob 
opportunities will 
mine von; wav Your emotions 
will be divplv aroused and can’ , 
must be taken in relationships, 
matters to do with children and 
sp<vulabon I .uikih, on and 
attei April 4. Venus helps you in j 
love, mmtoits ami finances You i 
could plan a trip now 


I Cancer 

I June 21 — July 20 

i The moon's first 

quarter localises 
: jjjjf your personal 

■ problems, health, 

, attitudes and opinions He 
j tolerant and outgoing and do 
not judge others on 
insufficient evidence On the 
positive side, you will make a 
headway in vuur work and 
should have a position of 
responsibility or trust 

Leo 

July 21 — August 21 

B l'iiro to reach out to 
people though it will 
nave un tor seen 
complications. Bo 
optimistic, Jo your duty and 
rest assured thing*, will work 
out by Ma\ Thru 1 is a strong 
concentration on collabora- 
tions. ties, contracts, contacts, 
letters, calls and ads Romance 
is definitely in the air. Health 
may pose pioblerns 

Virgo 

August 22 — September 22 

* he accent will be on 
j joint finances, loans, 

! mortgage, bu\ mg, 
■H WL..: selling and ser\ ne 
before self, so to say This Iasi 
aspect of service will win 
friends tor vou For finances 
April 3-x w ill Lie mu ml It 
would be a wise po|u\ to 
entertain md hi tnendh 
C hildien and house moving 
have \ out attention 


| Libra 

! September 23 — October 22 
! i “£I”j While there could be 
I I 1 some opposition to 

: jSf plans ! ideas, you 
; I.Jk — i could steer around 
| it be charming and 
i conciliatory and thus get woik 
| done It j.s not an impossible 
situation Yonr friends well 
wishers, sweethearts will 
stand up to you. assures 
Ganesha April 3-4 will be 
pointers to the week 

Scorpio 

October z3 — November 22 

ZXjD 1 Do not be* 

^S$k & 1 impressionable amt 
! allow people to svva\ 

! you. bis ause youi 
job 1 profession is very much al 
stake here You need to clear up 
a few misunderstandings First 
two days is best tor getting on 
with tlu- work IVts and your 
own health do need immediate 
and very careful attention You 
lace many lesponsiLnlitie* 

Sagittarius 

November 23 — December 20 
ris&fe*', ! You will led imdul\ 
fgw| optimistu ami i mud 
k |W Inn e a totalh 

ditteient wa\ ol 
doing things C hildren, idea, 
i reatne use of things, 
inventions, schemes to get rich 
vjuick are what the week is all 
about A tew false starts 
si mu id not *ie al lowest to 
bothei vcui k.oahi.id hips 
.md tn's an toietolj 


Capricorn 

December 21 — January 19 
r ^ V, You will have to be 
upbeat and most 
j j certainly, put in a lot 

! brf||R%!l ol extra effort and 
that will tire vmi out. causing 
a different set of posers Push, 
relax, push, relax is your best 
but for sin cess Family matters 
could bog you down, unless 
you are i aielul and 
diplomatu April 1 -2, fw are 
important 

Aquarius 

January 20 - February 18 

t \ Do not go in foi 
■ shady stuff, 

■ running with a dis 
reputable set i>l 
people oi angling to. the 
unlikely and me dangerous 
News, \ lews message*, ads, 
publu il\ \entures nintaits 
should pl.i\ a lead mle lor 
\ou Tups <■( id ionti.li Is die 
signing of do. umuits and a 
•oui h ol rouuiiii e ipiclold 

Pisces 

February 19- March 20 

M l islen to both sidi *. il 
von i m lei go ol the 
um ssential*. Iiowe'-ei 
exctUug, li .a ii to bu\ 
and tell b\ taking exjvrl aJ\ne 
is the iisii i» message loi you 
Ml agreements and settlements 
ma\ mil he tan leather lhe\ 
rna\ he inevitable You may 
Iww e to divide up the iiioncx or 
business o: as,iuialions I le.ilth 
sateguaids ■„ ■v.eiiiial 


BIRTHDAYS 


March 3/: Moon square Venus means overindulgence, 
expenditures, lack of judgment, buying and selling, It amid be 
a problem handling them. 

April 1: Moon bine fupiter leads to housing, work, love and 
family. Lagans, funds and new jobs are on the anvil. Health will 
imprpvo. 

April 2; Moon-Neptune trine helps musicians, lawyers, 
writers, enterpreneurs, industrialists, astrologers and all those 
who live and enact before the limelight of publicity. 

April 3r Venus sex tile Saturn formation brings in money and 
honey which will both be yours. A chance marriage or business 


partnership is possible. A year to advance and enjoy life in 
general. 

April 4: Fhis full moon helps you to develop contacts, have 
friends, go on a journey, face difficult ami tough situations and 
come out of a light spot, 

April 5: Moon square Uranus does *ihow radical changes and 
perhaps a different lifestyle altogether It may not be simple and 
easy to do it. 

AprU& Moon Jupiter sextik* means opportunities, so be 
happy. These will be un the form nf finances, work, romance 
and marriage. 


Exquisite uaitsmansliip in lntern.ition.il Standard 22/22 karat gold and 
diamond jewellery. Denier in precious and astrological stones, 

b». 


P. C. CHANDRA 


E W E 


-M 


\ juwvi <>[ ]t‘\\T'|s 

47 1 fi/.i 4 4 77 J7! ^ 7‘4* yiS-, 7 v ;:7 






JUNIOR WHIRL 1 1 Al K.AUr,‘/Ar- 



WEBWARO HO! Follow that bug — see if you 
can make your way through openings in this 
spider web to black dot at center 


PITCH IN! Find lid, 1 Jan, Stan, Flo, Ron. Al and 
Sue among lonseculive letters of the lolhm ing 
sentence We need both lonu-rn for, and an 
understanding of, lots of environmental issues. 
Time limit, two minutes. 


PULL SWITCH! 

Observe that 

numbers shown (1-8) 
total 12 on each of the 
four sides at right. It is 
possible to move 
these number^ one at 
a lime, using empty 
circle to start, and in 
nine moves attain a 
toialol 15 per side. How it's done? 

P.s Lise of numbered disks will facilitate moves. 


->|vH ■.»*.*(.! .ii] ir'ii sj » m-.iii’ i uni i iiiiijin«> i< 

iv.vMr vi u|t »|iw v i - -iOhi » i- t t- • 


m 




HIDE AND SEEK WILD LIFE 
FIND a creature — animal, 
bird, insect, etc — listed below to 
complete the name of each ot the 
following flowers and plants 
[Ex No l is a lion). 

1. Dande _ 

2. lily. 

3. _glove. 

4. __ . __balm. 

5. . ... . ...grass. 

6. bane. 

7. tlax. 

8. _ spur. 

H. ... Jail. 

10. _berry. 

11. root. 

12. cabbage. 

Creatures Cat, snake, lark, 

fox, goose, skunk, bee. tiger, flea, 
crab, lion, toad 


vis :i *vs i 
V 1 i ,,, i I n mv*i 'i i «»>*i f 


n . . in- | 
* j j «h" r I 






OM)C5 

- 


archie 









7 >i3N'3M? [g30|l 









£ 'MS 5* Ki"0 Sfwin --S Vio*W "(f,!* 









R5SS 

WAITING 
FOR Si ll 

VirSanghvi stands outside dissident leader Suu Kyi s house and watches 

Burma s version of political activism 


T he vigil begins at lunchtime. 
Every Saturday and Sunday 
at 4 pm, Aung San Suu Kyi 
appears at the gate of her 
house on Rangoon's University 
Avenue and speaks to whoever wants 
to listen for an hour. Because Suu Kyi 
is not allowed to address public 
meetings, she cannot step out of the 
gate The Saturday and Sunday 
lectures are the closest she can get to 
public meeting 

And so at lunchtime, the crowds 
begin to gather. There are no chairs, no 
benches; there is no place at all tv' sit. 
So, thousands of ordinary Burmese 
bring pieces of newspapers and crowd 
on the pavement (some sitting at the 
edge ot an open dram) outside the 
University Avenue building. 

The Junta's police force is there to 
ensure that traffic is not disrupted and 
to guarantee that the afternoon talks 
do not degenerate into full-fledged 
political rallies. Barriers arc put up on 
both sides of the road to prevent tne 
crowd from spilling over and normal 
traff ic proceeds along the road that 
divides the crowd into two. 

Because the crowd swells by the 
week, nobody is sure of finding place 
near the gate where Suu Kyi will 
appear. Hence the decision to come 
early and bag a piece of ground under 
the not Rangoon sun. Perhaps because 
of the police or perhaps because the 
Burmese are polite people on the 
whole, the crowd is extraordinarily 
well behaved. There is no shoving and 
pushing and foreigners are welcome. 
Consequently, the Saturday and 
Sunday darshatib have become tourist 
attractions and White faces mingle 
with Burmese. 

At five minutes past four, Suu Kyi 
appears. Half-an- hour before her 

20 


Suu Kyi, flanked by bodyguards, addresses the crowd 



arrival, her volunteers, in white shirts 
and dark lungees (aJl Burmese wear 
hutgees; nobody wears trousers) have 
taken up position in front of the gate. 

And when Suu Kyi climbs up to 
ensure that her face is visible over the 
top of the gate, two volunteers stand 
with her, their eagle eyes scanning the 
crowd for signs of Junta-inspired 
trouble. 

I n person, Suu Kyi is far more 
attractive than she appears in her 
photographs. She is beautiful but 
there isa certain strength to her face 
that the camera never captures. Her 
speaking voice embodies the same 
qualities; it is mellifluous but there is a 
steely determination to her tone. 

Guards outside Suu Kyi's house 
The crowd begins to gather two hours before Suu Kyi appears 

Her talk to the crowd consists of 
answers to questions that people have 
sent in First she reads out the question 
and then after a smile or a little laugh, 
she answers at length. Most of the 
questions have to do with democracy 
Since the isolationism ot the Ne Win 
era, most Burmese have had little 
contact with the outside world They 
are dimly aware that America and 
England exist but they assume that 
they are military dictatorships as well. 
Suu Kvi tries to tell them what the 
world is like and to explain that 
democracy is their right 

Some speakers inspire crowds with 
their fervour. Suu Kyi is not like that. 
There is no hysteria, she never raises 
her voice and the crowd does not 
resort to slogan shouting Rather, she 
educates her people And most listen 
attentively, their faces pictures ot 
devotion. 

At the end of the talk, she switches 
to English in response, she says, to 
requests from the many foreigners 
who have gathered at Universify 
Avenue Her English betrays few 
traces of her Burmese origins, it is the 
diction of an Oxbridge educated 
person, not even that ot somebody 
who went to Delhi's Lady Snram 
College (as Suu Kyi did). 

The English portion of the talk his 
two principal components The lirst :s 
to warn tounsts not to be misled by the 
Burma they see on the streets of 
Rangoon. The Burma of the villages is 
a very different place: poor, primitive 
and deprived. Nor are things getting 
better. "Educational standards are not 
just low, they arc tailing," she explains. 

The second component is to 
dissuade foreigners from investing in 
Burma. Things are changing very fast, 
she says There is no guarantee of how 

27 






The road outside Suu Kyi's house. All that the crowd gots is a look at her from this distance 


long this regime will last. And 
investment in a society that is 
undergoing a transformation may not ■ 
be wise. 

She is not against mvt.*tmcnt or 
prosperity, she explains "But a 
society that is prosperous when its 
people are unnappv or oppressed, is 
not a successful society. ' she insists 

In the Burmese part ot her speech, 
she has given the example of 
Singapore — one ot the principal 
investors in today's Burma — as a 
society that denies political trerxiom to I 
its citizens. She does not repeat this in j 
English but the message is j 

unmistakable. 

Then, almost as suddenly as she has j 
appeared, Suu Kvi smiles and 
disappears into the bungalow The 1 
crowd disperses silently under the , 
watchful eye of the police Many will 
rorne back the following day for the 
Sunday talk. But there will also be 
thousands of new listeners. 

I 

\T obody can dispute Suu Kvi's j 

1 sincerity . She has suffered 

considerable hardship for the sake of ! 
her people. Equally, it is as clear that in j 
Rangoon at least, she is astr mishingly j 
popular. It takes guts to assemble 
outside her house and yet thousands 
of Burmese are willing to squat on 
28 


< >pen drains |ust to hear her voice 

But none of this is to say that her 
struggle will necessarily succeed. It is 
difficult to assess the extent to which 
her message has penetrated to the 
villages. And while the Burmese 
government does not respect human 
rights or democratic niceties, it is still 
not a repressive regime m the Lon Nol 
or Pol Pot class; hence, it is difficult to 
predict how eager the people are to 
overthrow the government. 

Moreover, the government has also 
provided its own counterbalance to 
Suu Kvi's crusade. Suu Kyi is aiming 
for the same Western model ot 
governance that we have chosen in 
India; one that emphasises liberty 
over affluence To those of us who 
regard freedom of expression as a 
basic right, no other model can make 
sen.*; 

But the counterpoint to Western 
liberalism is ^xiutheast Asian 
affluence The three most influential 
Asians of the last four decades have 
been Mao Zedong, jaw aha rial Nehru 
and Lee Yuan Kew. 

It is Lee's prescription — more 
economic growth, less political 
freedom but no unacceptable 
repression — that most of south-east 
Asia has followed. The Burmese 
government hopes that this will work 


in a country that is as Southeast Asia n 
as it is south Asian. 

\Ju Win's isolationism has been 
reversed, foreign investment is 
eagerly sought and Rangoon is full of 
office blocks that are half-way 
constructed by Singaporean and Thai 
lirms. Eight different kinds of foreign 
beer are readily available, Adrian 
Zecha has already taken over the old 
Strand hotel and opened an Italian 
restaraunt ^for those foreigners who 
prefer their noodles Bolognaise rather 
than Burmese) and the streets are 
lined with hoardings for Apple 
computers and Japanese watches 

The government hopes that like 
many Southeast Asians, the Burmese 
will prefer affluence to political 
freedom. Already, the citizens of 
Rangoon have seen their lives 
transformed beyond belief. This has 
not prevented them from gathering at 
University A venue but who can 
predict what will happen in the future? 

Hence Suu Kyi's message to those 
who want to invest in Burma: don't. 
She is bright enough to realise that 
rising affluence may knock the bottom 
out of her struggle. But she is brave 
enough to hope that in the end the 
Burmese will pick democracy over 
dollars. ■ 

Photographs by the author 



Sk^ches 

SIGNIFICANT OTHER 


ippencd 

*?: What 
u mean 

happened? She hit the 
jackpot, got the man of her 
dreams and lived happily 
ever after 

No kidding?: Honest Yes, 
dear reader, this is one of 
the true love stories of ouj 
times. Our heroine, Tina 
Munim, is a beautiful 
young model from a 
progressive Gujaiati 
family, when she is spotted 
on the cover of a women's 
magazine by I Vv An and. 
The actor producer- 
director- writer-humbug is 
looking for a heroine for 
De s Parties She is cast as 
the heroine and the film 
becomes a hit — the last 
box -office success of 
Ai land's career. 

Tina is all set to become 
one of the top three 
heroines when a 
misguided sense of loyalty' 
to teenage boyfriend 
San jay Dutt stops her from 
getting thi re Sne turns 
down nig movies (she was 
the first choice for F.k Duje 
Ke Uye, for instance), 
accepts rubbish (Rorku, 
starring you-know-wno) 
and then, is forced to drop 
Dutt when he becomes a 
complete junkie. 

Things look bleak. 

Isn't this a love story?: 

Yes, yes, but you have to 
wait for that bit. It doesn't 
happen until 1986, seven 
years after Des Pardc$ 
when she meets and falls 
in love with the Gujarati 
community's most eligible 
bachelor: Anil Ambani He 
is fighting V.P. Singh’s raid 
raj while nis father 
languishes in a San Diego 
hospital and the two are 
drawn irresistibly to each 



A better look at the better halves 


This week: Tina Munim (Ambani) 


other. 

By 1987, the family is back 
on top again and fike .ill 
Hindi movies, the parents 
gel in on the act and utfe? 
to find our hero a tat, rich 
girl so that his marriage 
can become an industrial 
alliance. 

He says. No way, I love 
Tina. 

What happens next?: Not 
a great deal, for a while at 
least. The couple appear to 
drift apart Tina gives up 
on movies (she was 
always out of place m the 
film industry; anyway) 
dabbles in the family 
business, goes off to 
Australia and seems fo be 

Anil Ambani with wife Tina 


j Does Daddy relent?: 

! Nobody is sure what 
, happens and how bul 
! suddenly, a tew years later, 
; the couple appear to 
resume contact. A week 01 
so aftei this happens, they 
get engaged at a small 
party at the Ambani 
resid entu in Bombay's 
Cufte Parade The cake 
says* "There Is No 
Alternative.” The acronym 
for this is, of course, TINA 
All is well?: And how? A 
huge wedding follows. 

The Ambani family clasps 
Tina to its bosom and she, 
j in turn, becomes the 
j perfect daughter-in-law 
I And is she a glamorous 


i surprisingly low 
i So what does she do?: She 
1 concentrates un raising 
their two children, he cuts 
; down on travelling, they 

■ spend a lot of time 
together and socialise onlv 

1 with close friends 
Is that it?: Well, she seems 
; to be emerging out of that 
now that the kids are 

■ growing up She has an 

■ event planned which 

j involves getting India's 
: best painters together for 
! an exhibition tentatively 
| ( ailed Harmony 
I Vou know, this sounds too 
, good to be true!: Perhaps. 

; But isn’t it reassuring that 
I in these cynical times it is 



out of Anil's life. 

He throws himself into the 
business, becomes a huge 
success but refuses to 
a) get married and b)even 
get involved with any girk 
Really?: You bet! This is 
true love, the real thing. If 
they can't see each other 
then the couple won't sec 
anybody else either 


socialite now?: No, that's 
the funny thing. She's a bit 
of a reclUvSc. Anil is much 
more into the' film 
industry than she is. The 
couple don't seem to go to 
parties, they are never 

r tted at premieres, Tina 
■s not hol-foot it to 
Davos every year, and her 
public profile is 


j possible for two people, no 
j matter how rich, how 
i good -looking and how 
| famous, to actual 1\ hud 
ha pp mess with each 
i other? 

| This sounds like a Hindi 
| movie: Probably Mjv be 
j all that Tina's r.invr lacked 
; was the right hero She’s 
! found him now • 


29 





ERSON 


:; :r 




ff happiness? , .■ 

To be afcle to do exactly what I 1 
Want and not fed thatl was hurting 
anyone. - 

What ii ysw greatest fear? , 

Sickness in oM&age «ind therefore 
being depepdtniL 
Who iK whathasbeen the greatest 
influence In yourllfe? 




My parents atone. 

What do you didike most in 
O&tlft? 

Dishonesty. 

What do y mm dislike most in 
yourself? 

My wanting to keep everyone 
happy alt the time and failing to do 
s a 

Wh*t ts your most precious 
possession? 


What afijriwi dislike most on y&ui 
appeanmce?- ■ , 

Lots « too much to get into 


What objects do you 
always carry? 


A small brass 
laughing budciha 



■ areinvolvedtn ehcc 


Whatls your nightman? 

That f will never fully realise that 
happiness can only come from ■ 
•within. 

Who* or who it the greatest love of 
yourtife? 

Whoever and whatever 1 have 
now,'' 

What la your source of sustenance? 

. Food and lots of it. 

On what occasion* do you lie? 

When conflicting values arise and 
I Want to avoid hurting the people 
. concerned. For example, 
grandfather's value* and mine. 


. 1 could have done much more 
5 and still.not trying to amend the 
8 situation. 

What has been your happiest 
•jqMMttenf? 

■'f; There are too. many to pen. 

‘What brings lean to your eyes? 

When I yyatch someone eat alonc> 
,;^be«ial)y ifthere are poor or helpless 
; pepphrar sound. . ...• 


What do you envy 
most in others? ; 

When someone; is 

: 'V not inhibited 




9mm . ; 3BehBK»iaw>*aa**W W<MT^ ? 


30 










I 


In Karnataka 

the 

entrepreneurs 
can now dance 
their way to 
profits 



If you have a tourism- releated project in mind, 
fill in and mail the coupon to * 


The Director, 

Department of Tourism 

Government of Karnataka 
I Floor, ’F' Block, Cauvery Bhavan, 
K.G Road, Bangalore - 560 009. 

Tel : 2215489 Fax . 080-2272403 

% vutatcUGa,. 



Karnataka tourism 
invites investors 

The tourism industry in Karnataka is poised for a big future Drawing 
18 million visitors annually and with a turnover of Rs. 1,200 crore, the 
state boasts of a wide variety of tourist attractions covering history, 
architecture, art and culture, wild life sanctuaries, beaches and 
metropolitan centres. All laid out in 1,91,791 square kilometies of 
Nature's choicest land. 

Incentives and Concessions for the Tourism 
Industry in the State 

The Karnataka Government has a package of incentives and 
concessions for the tourism industry. 

• Investment subsidy • Exemption from sales tax, luxury tax, 
stamp duty & concession in registration charges • Power tariff relaxed 

• Waiver of fee for converting agricultural land into commercial land 

• Special concession for vanous categories • Incentives foT utilising 
non-conventional energy sources and also for a large tourism industry 



Single Window Agency 

The Department of Tourism has setup a Single Window Agency to 
clear the projects speedily. It 

• considers the applications of entrepreneurs and the locations of 
the project • finalises the extent of land /building required for the 
project and enables the acquisition and sanction of same through the 
appropriate Government Agencies • considers means of financing 
the project by way of subsidy, equity, loans through the Government 
agencies like KSFC, KSBDC • sanctions infrastructural facility by 
way of power and water 

A few possibilities 

• Developing Hotels, Beach resorts, Eco-resorts and 
Convention centres • Promoting Water sports and developing Golf 
courses • Bangalore having International Standard Airport, there 
is scope to develop airports in Hassan, Hubli and Mysore. 

Profit from leisure 

pYes, I am interested. Send me more details. 

j Name 

I Designation : 

| Tel Fax 

| Superscribe the envelope "Single Window Agency" 

taatcttty <r<Mcct*cce. 




In Karnataka 


the 

entrepreneurs 
can now dance 
thetr way to 
profits 



If you have a tourism repeated project m mind, 
fili in and mail the coupon to 


* »■' 
fr ftsafiww 



The Director, 

Department of Tourism 

Government of Karnataka 
I Flooi, f F’ Block, Cauvery Bhavan, 
K G Road, Bangalore - 560 009 
Tel 2215489 Fax 080 2272403 


Karnataka tourism 
invites investors 

The tourism industry in Karnataka is poised for a big future. Drawing 
1 8 million visitors annually and with a turnover of Rs. 1 ,200 crore, the 
state boasts of a wide variety of tourist attractions covering history, 
architecture, art and culture, wild life sanctuaries, beaches and 
metropolitan centres. All laid out in 1,91,791 square kilometres of 
Nature's choicest land. 

Incentives and Concessions for the Tourism 
Industry in the State 

The Karnataka Government has a package of incentives and 
concessions for the tourism industry. 

• Investment subsidy • Exemption from sales tax, luxury tax, 
stamp duty & concession in registration charges • Power tariff relaxed 

• Waiver of fee for converting agricultural land into commercial land 

• Special concession for various categories • Incentives for utilising 
non -conventional energy sources and also for a large tourism industry 



Single Window Agency 

The Department of Tourism has setup a Single Window Agency to 
dear the projects speedily h 

• considers the applications oi entrepreneurs and the locations of 
the project • finalises the extent of land /building required for the 
project and enables the acquisition and sanction of same througn the 
appropnafe Government Agencies • considers means of finan^ ing 
the pioject by way of subsidy, equity, loans through the Government 
agencies like K5FC, KSIIDC • sanctions infrastructural facility by 
way of power and water. 

A few possibilities 

• Developing Hotels, Beach resorts, Eco-resorts and 
Convention centres • Promoting Watei sports and developing Golf 
courses • Bangalore having International Standard Airport, there 
is scope to develop airports in Hassan, Hubh and Mysore. 


Profit from leisure 


("Yes, I am interested Send me more details 
| Name 


n 


I Designation 

I Address 

I Tel 


Fax 


| Superscribe die envelope "Single Window Agency" 

'la—tctHce. 


.J 


v ... . 






JPtorfte ^ch 

■javed Akhtar adopts a 
simplistic style to express 
his thoughts in his poems 
tohichmakes him so very 
popular with the masses 
rMan of Letters', 

February 18). 

He is a modem poet no 
doubt; his imagery will 
vouch for it. Akhtar has a 
kind of magnetism in his 
personality, voice and 
thoughts mat makes him 
an instant hit with die 
public 

But he is not a kind of 
poet who will allow his 
tines to go unnoticed. He 
has in him a lot of busi- 
ness savvy, too. He has 
shrewdly assessed the 
market and realised the 
kind of poetry people lap 
up. 

Joyneel Mukherjee, 

Calcutta 


■ Akhtar has earned so 
much fame in such a short 
time that he can almost be 
called a legend. His lyrics 
in Silsila, 1942: A Love 
Story, Papa Kahte Ham are 
sheer lines of exquisite 
poetry. 

The adjectives 
employed to describe the 
imagined beauty, Ek ladki 
ko dekha to~. are really 
high poetry.' 
Kuhnnt%k 
Jamshedpur 



• Creative-geniuses have 
always been successful in 
more fields than one. Take 
Akhtar, for instance. He 
excells in all departments 
erf literary creativity: 
script, story and lyrics 
writing. 

Amp R. Boko, 

Jamshedpur 

■Akhtar, for sometime 
in his career, was forced tp 
pen the kind of stuff that 
Is normally not associated 
with a poet-lyricist of his 
calibre. But keeping pace 


with the changing times 
and rapid commercialisa- 
tion of the film industry, 
he also had to bend cer- 
tain rules. Now that he 
has established himself, 
commercially, he has gone 
back to his refined cou- 
plets. 

Biswajit Kar, 

Kharagpur 

■Akhtar was known all 
this while more as the 
husband of Shabana Azmi 
and the writer of gripping 
dialogues. This is the first 


time he has established 
himself as an independent 
identity: a poet who also 
is a lyricist and a writer. 
Debashis Sen, 

Calcutta 

■ Akh tar's journey 
through life, with its 
proverbial ups and 
downs, will oe inspiring 
many young and aspiring 
writers and poets. 

It is wrong to say 
Akhtar has suddenly 
emerged as a poet. For a 
lyricist ts also a poet and 
some of Akhtar's lyrics 
Uke the ones he composed 
for Silsila are sheer poetry. 
Utpal Man, 

Bankurq. 

■ It may be far-fetched, 
but not an impossibility, if 
Akhtar turns to film direc- 
tion. For a person as cre- 
ative as Akhtar it would 
be a natural transition. 
Partha Modak, 

Howrah 

New Role 

'Lights, Camera, Action! 4 
(March 3) presented 
Madhabi Mukherjee in a 
new role: hum an actress 
to a director. This is good 
news for ToUywood 
which has long been 
going through a bad 
phase. 

Shantanu Das, 

Calcutta 



PAGE 4 

BOTH CHANNEL V and MTV were in India 
recently with their promotional tours. So, 
which of the two music giants will hnally win 
over the Indian audience? 


SI X HONS 


16 TIMKTABI.l: 

20 1NNKR LYL 

21 JUNIOR WHIRL 

22 COMICS 

JO MRST PliRSt »N 


('over Rahul Khanna by 
Rashbehiin Das 


Sophfya Hague of Channel V 






Which one will the Indian 
t newer prefer, 
Shameem Akthar 
reports on the battle of the 
tuo music giants 


ASK ANYONT AT CHANNEL V 
about their much-vaunted 
competitors, MTV, and they 
will look at you Incredu- 
lously. Competition? And 
from MTV? You have just 
got to be kidding! Channel 
V has the Indian market all 
sown up, and there's little 
chance of anyone else gett- 
ing even a note in edgeways. 
This competition/rivalry 
exists only in the fevered 
imagination of the media. 

At the MTV office, it is 
much the same story. Sugg- 
est that they may have a 
hard time weaning the Indi- 
an viewer away from Chan- 
nel V, and what you get are 



pitying looks. Don't you Channel Vs Road Show in Calcutta 

know, they ask patiently, that MTV is the music channel of choice the world over? That any- 


one who has even a passing interest in Western music swears by MTV? So, why on earth 


would they feel threatened by V? 


MTV Chan n 




f be worried by the entry of the music 
| giant, MTV, into its territory After all, 

$ MTV' was in India long before Chan - 
£ nel V v\ as even created, and may well 
recapture some of its old magic. 

Channel V. in fact, was creak'd once 
MTV somewhat messily severed its 
umbilical cord with the Star Televi- 
sion Network in 19^4, and went oft the 
Indian screens It made a reappearan- 
ce last year when Doordarshan aind a 
two-hour programme presented by 
the channel But at the beginning of 
this year, MTV came hack to India as a 
full-time 24 -hour channel, presenting 
its own brand of funky, way-out pro- 
gramming to this country. 

But MTV is not sure tliat wooing the 
Indian viewer back is going to be easy. 
Over the years, Indians have proved 
over and over again that though they 
may like to wear Levis jeans and eat 
Dominos pizzas, when it comes to 
entertainment, they prefer their own 
software Given a choice between Piiii 
tcra devar deewana and Take That, they 
would go for the former. And given a 
choice between Alisha C'hinai and 
land Jackson, our Baby Doll would 
win hands down. 

So, M TV is well aware that it has the 
mother of all battles on its hands. And 
William Roody, president (inteinatio- 

Rahul Khanna and model Achla Sachdev 
at Anticlock, during MTV’s promotional 
tour in Calcutta 


But behind this bravado displayed 
by the two princifuls, there are some 
very real worries. While Channel V, 
which has with its unique brand of 
Hindi filtn/pop/rap music leavened 
with Western hits, captured the heart 
of the average Indian, it can't help but 



KNOW YOUR VEEJAYS 

No matter which channel they are on 


MTV 

Danny McGill: Of Chincse-lrish 
parentage, Danny was bom in 
japan and grew up in Los Angeles. 
Since however, he has lived 
in such plac&as Seoul, Hong Kong 
and Bombay, making him a truly 
international person. He first 
joined MTV in 1991 and formed his 
own band. Power Onions. He left 
the channel in 1994 though and 
went to Los Angeles to make a 
career in music for himself. But he's 
now back in India and on MTV; so 
make the most of him. 



Rahul Khamta: The son of Vinod 
Khanna was widely expected to try 
his luck in the movies. But unlike 
his brother Akshaye, he decided to 
give films a miss and began 
veejaying on MTV Asia. Brought 
up in Bombay, Rahul was bitten by 
the show business bug early, and 
studied film and video at the 
School of Visual Arts in New York. 
He now presents a number of 
programmes on MTV: Superock , 
Alternative Nation and MTV Most 
Wanted . And given his looks, it's no 
surprise that he's a big hit with the 
girls. 

Axtu Kottoon Until recently, she 
was known as Chunky Pandey's 
girlfriend, but now Anu has more 
fans than her flop actor boyfriend. 
The former Miss India is now 
based in Singapore, from where 
she hosts various shows, apart 
from travelling all over India 
making films and videos for the 
channels When Kdttoor is not 


working, she loves following 
fashion and shopping. She is 
remarkably easy on the eye with 
her light brown hair and fresh 
complexion, but it will be some 
time before she is totally at ease 
before the camera. 

Mike Kasem: The son of the. 
legendary radio-TV personality, 
Casey Kasem, Mike was born in 
Los Angeles and trained at the 
Academy of Radio Broadcasting in 
Huntington Beach. He began his 
career with Inside Track, a monthly 
entertainment magazine on audio 



Danny McGill 


cassette, on which he interviewed 
stars from films and musk. Apart 
from music, Kasem is interested in 
mountain-biking and water skiing. 

Tara Deshpande: She was a finalist 
for the Miss India 1994 contest, but 
had to drop out at the last minute 
because of a sudden Ulness. A 
graduate in economics and . 
political science from St Xaviers' 
College in Bombay, Tara was 
interested in the theatre and 
starred in several plays cm the 
Bombay stage. Apart from serious 


reading — Milan Kundera, Vikram 
Seth, Stephen Spender, Yeats are 
some of her favourites — 
Deshpande also has a keen interest 
in the arts. 

Rajeev Datt: He was bom in 
Dehradun, but was brought up in 
Canada and the United States. A 
natural athlete, Datt was a tennis 
pro in Canada, where he also 
dabbled in the theatre. Since his 
ret-im to India, he has starred in 
tht latest music video of the Indian 
roc < band, Indus Creed, and has 
won many modelling assignments 
with leading Indian fashion 
designers with his striking good 
looks. And now, of course, there is 
lus career with MTV. 


Preeti Sethi: She started at MTV as 
an intern during her second year at 
university, and shortly afterwards 
became a production assistant on 
various MTV news documentaries. 
Since then, she has worked on such 
shows as 24 Hours in Rock and Roll , 
Help Not Wanted , and is now a 
reporter and producer on MTV 
News. Currently based in 
Singapore, some of Sethi's more 
unusual assignments include 
shooting behind the scenes at a 
cockfight, and taping a 
neurosurgeon who listens to hard 
rock while performing brain 
surgery. 


Sharon Gomes: As 
producer/news anchor for MTV 
Asia, Gomes' tasks include 
conceptualising news stories, 
directing the shoots, interviewing 
Asian and international artistes, 
writing the news scripts, 
conducting research and 
interfacing with the record 
companies. And if you think that's 
a tall order, then consider this: she 
also found the time to co-present 
the first Asian Youth Forum on 
Aids. But the best thing that Gomes 
likes about her job is the travel that 
is such an essential part of it. 



[V] 


CHANNEL V 


Jav«d Jaffrey: He first came to 
fame as the loose-limbed dancer 
who made quite an impression in 
some of the cameos that he 
performed in Hindi movies. But 
this son of yester-year comedian 
Jagdeep didn't quite make it in 
films, and was hanging around the 
fringes of Bollywood when 
Channel V discovered him. Since 
then Jaffrey hasn't looked back, 
hosting such programmes as 
Videocan Flashback and Timex Time 
Pass , and establishing himself as 
the primary comic talent of the 
channel. 

Ruby Bhatia: She first appeared on 
the Channel V screen as a gauche, 
unsophisticated teenager, who 
thought that jumping into 
swimming pools with the likes of 
Gulshan Grover made for great 
television (well, strangely enough, 
it did?)- These days, however, Ruby 
is the epitome of sophistication, 
clad in designer rags and 
impeccably coiffed even as she 
barges into people's houses as part 
of her In Your Face Routine. And her 
Palmolive Ek Ka Teen is particularly 
well-appredated. 

Sophiya Haque: The daughter of a 
Bangladeshi father and an English 
mother, Sophiya had formed a 
music band of her own before she 
decided to experiment with the 
world of veejjaying. She was one of 
the first veejays to make an 
impression on Indian audiences 
and remains an all-time favourite. 
There are those who say, though, 
that Haque has been cosmetically 
altered over the last year (ala 
Pamela Anderson), but that may 
well be a foul rumour. 


Luke Kenny: He is the man whose 
flowing locks would put even the 
pretty Sophiya to shame. And his 
Hindi is far better than thedesi 
Ruby's. But theh, Luke Kenny, 
despite looking very fining indeed, 
hasbeen bom and brought up tn 


India and considers himself to be a 
true Bharttya. What's more, in 
addition to being a veejay of some 
distinction, he also has a fine 
singing voice and would have little 
problem finding an alternative 


Alessandra: She is, perhaps, the 
most non-descript of the people on 
this list. That's not to say that she's 
not good-looking; Alessandra is 
very pretty indeed. But for some 
strange reason, she looks different 
in every programme she hosts and 
one can't help thinking that she 
would be impossible to recognise if 
one met her on the street. But a 
competent veejay nonetheless, 
despite the striking lack of star 
quality. 


Javad Jaffrey 



Rageshwari: She tried her luck 
with Hindi movies — as every 
pretty teenager in Bombay seems 
to do these days — and starred in 
Aankhen . The film was a great film, 
some said because of the superhit 
song, Lai dupatte walti tera mam to 
bata f but Rageshwari's career went 
nowhere after that. Since then, 
she's got a fresh lease of life with 
the BPLOyeshow, which she hosts 
with a gamine charm. 


Tich: She's the fresh-faced 
youngster who has recently 
debuted on Channel V with BPL 
Oye. Unfortunately, she's still 
better-known as Tanisha, the 
younger sister of movie star Ka jol 
and daughter of Tanuja. But given 
the professional eafee with which 
Tich (that's how she's billed on the 
show) conducts herself on camera, 
there's little doubt that she's a star 
in the making. Provided, of course, 
she doesn't switch to the big screen 
like her big sister. 



nal) MTV, admits that India is the com- 
pany's top-most priority now. So, the 
channel is going all out with new and 
innovative programming, and is com- 
ing to town with such old favourites as 
Danny McGill, who used to work tor it 
during its first innings in India. 

O n one level, Channel V's confiden- 
ce doesn't seem misplaced. The 
channel, which emerged from the 
a sht^s of the fight between Star TV' and 
MTV, was launched with just a skele- 


tal three- member bureau. What's 
more, it had to start from scratch, 
designing a new logo (which looked 
suspiciously like the old MTV logo 
with its ends chopped olf), shooting 
promos which had to he as funky as 
those of MTV and coming up with 
creative programming 
Today, with nine producers and 120 
employees, the V office boasts of a 
good mixture of marketing and crea- 
tive staff which has managed to sell 
the channel to nearly every Indian 



Anu Kottoor 


household. Rare is the family these 
days that does not watch BPf. Oye, the 
channel's Hindi film countdown pro- 
gramme, or even the Great Indian 
MatHmngyanik Slum*. And even the 
older generation tunes in to watch the 
comic genius. Javed Jaftroy, host Video 
am f lashback. 

Its veejays have become celebrities 
in their own right, with Sophiya 
Haque, Ruby Dhatia, Luke Kenny and 
even the more recent entrant, Ales- 
sandro, getting mobbed by fans when 
they venture out on to Indian streets. 
Ruby Dhatia, in fact, has become some- 
thing of a television icon in her own 
right, hosting everything li oin Palmo- 
live F.k Ka Teen to the F : ilmfare Awards 
show. 

And Channel V is very proud of its 
prod ucts Sneers Sud ha N air, t he cl ian- 
nel's information manager, "Who is 
Anu Kottoor? Our veejays are all 
superstars. MTV may have managed 
to get Slash, but everyone in India 
thought that their Roadshow was a 
Channel V event. And that's because 
in Indian minds, there is only tine 
music channel and that is C hannel V." 

So, having come this tar from such 
humble beginnings, can you really 
blame Channel V for crowing about its 
achievements 7 Or about the fact that 
now they — not MTV — are the trend- 
setters in the field of musical program- 
ming. Says Sudha Nair, "When we 
began, we had to improvise on what- 
ever we had. But today we set the rules 
for getting the viewers' attention. And 

Continued on Page 26 


Luke Kennft|nd Sophiya Haque at the Victorial Memorial, Calcutta 



8 




‘We named him Sachin 
after S.D. Burman’ 

Ajit Tendulkar talks toShameem Akthar about his close ties with his brother 
and how he wrote the book, The Making of a Cricketer 


T he reclusive Ajit Tendulkar is 
not dodging interviews 
deliberately. Only/ till now he 
has been used to such 
requests being directed at his younger 
brother Sachin, whose formative 
years in cricketing have been chalked 
out with such tender affection in the 
elder brother's just -released book, 
lust as he managed to shield the 

C ^rsonal aspects of the young Sachin, 
v also contrives to shield his own 
personal life from such sudden 
scrutiny. His mild-mannered voice is 
soft with affection for his younger 
brother. As in the book, he 
occasionally slips that odd nugget of 
information on then close ties and the 
firm family bonding which, as the 
foreword by Sunil Gavaskar notes, 
has been the prime reason behind 
Sachin's exceptional winning traits. 

The interview allows one tne chance 
to gauge the truth behind Gavaskar's 
observation that, "You can be an 
outstanding individual in your 
chosen career but to be a good human 
being is not easy, specially for 
successful people. It is dear that 
Sachin's family background has 
helped him to keep his feet on the 
ground in spite of nis soaring m the 
stratosphere with his cricketing skills/' 
Excerpts from the interview with the 
author: 

What provoked your decision to 
write the book and how long did it 
take you to compile all the details 
that make the book anecdotal? 

As I have explained in the preface, 
one writer (who does not wish to be 
named) came to me with the offer for 
writing a book on Sachin. That put the 
idea in my head. I started in July and 
hoped (and managed) to finish the 
book for the World Cup scries. 

Initially, 1 started jotting down 
notes by hand. A friend suggested that 



AJIt Tendulkar 
Sachin likes a heavy bat 



1 do it on the computer. That really 
helped because it became easier to 
read and correct my initial jottings 
and move them around to make them 
chronologically right. 

1 derided to do the entire thing 
myself right up to publishing and 
distributing it. 1 decided on trie name 
Ten' Promotions since newspapers 
have called Sachin 'Tiny Ten' so many 
times as a child player. Ten is also part 
of our surname Tendulkar. 

Was it difficult remembering all 
those aneedeftes that are detailed in 
the book? 

Actually, there were no problems at 
all because I had witnessed 
everything that has been mentioned. 

It was all there in my mind. 

You have said you deliberately 
decided not to seek the help of 
cricketers and coaches. Why? 

Yes, that was intentional. Since the 
book was to be only on his formative 
years before his Test career, I did not 
want to include people who may have 
entered it later. Then, 1 might have 
hurt some people who may tee I left 
out. Also, many see Sachin in his 
present status. It would be inevitable 
for these people to make a comment 
on his career, which 1 did not want 
since the focus of the book was very 
clear m my mind. 

How did your family help? 

Oh, everybody in my family 
contributed towards this book. Right 
Irom my elder brother, Nifin, to my 
uncle, my sister-in-law. Even my 
mother was very understanding since 
1 was served food inside the room and 
did not have to venture oift ot it I 
never allowed anybody to enter the 
room and I think by being so tolerant 
my family members helped me in 
writing this book. 

Now that the book is out, is there anv 
interesting detail that you feel you 
have missed out, and would have 



Skipper Azharuddin releases Ajit Tendulkar's book in Mumbai 


liked to include? 

No. Because every detail was 
entered into the final draft only after J 
thought hundred times over it. I 
would say that 9M.9 per cent I have no 
regrets. May be ten years later I may 
think ot something. No, 1 think the 
book is complete 

I used to sit the entire ddy before the 
computer. In tact, I went without pay 
from office for the leave for the entire 
period, I wanted to focus my entire 
concentration on the book. In the 
beginning 1 had made the mistake of 
taking ti ve-day intervals twice and 
realised that this was breaking my 
flow of thoughts 

Except for a few interesting stories 
about Sachin, the toddler, there are 
almost no other personal snippets 
about him in the book. Why? 

Yes. Sachin did not want anything 
personal to be* written about him. 

Also, since this was only about his 
formative years I did not sec the 
reason for giving more personal 
details. There was no need tor the 
focus to shift from the cricketer. For 
instance, if 1 want to read about 
Amitabh Bachchan I would be more 
curious to know about his acting than 
about hi,s personal life. 

Well, J know Sachin's fans would 


have liked the book to be more 
personalised. Maybe tidbits on how, 
when he was born. The family elders 
had decided that we three siblings 
should choose* bis name. So we kids 
decided that we will name him after 
Sachin Dev Burman, the composer. 
Since that name was long, we decided 
that we will settle for just Sachin. 

Was there any sibling rivalry 
between you two? 

There was no chance of that. The age 
gap is there, it makes me more 
protective to him and he is respectful. 
Sachin also has such a personality that 
nobody can feel like that about him. 

In the book you have discussed the 
passions of your siblings, but there is 
nothing about yourself and your 
interests. 

(Smiles) I used to listen to Nitin's 
poems. We used to like listening to 
such readings of literature We used to 
share interest m music. Like I said, 
Sachin Dev Burman's music was a big 
favourite. We were all passionate 
about music. Of course, there was also 
the English music. Initially this was 
not heard much in the house, but 
Sachin had convent friends from the 
Bombay Scottish School and that 
music too became popular in the 
house. 


I like listening to bhavgect, natya 
sangect. Sports has always been a 
passion in the house. Not just cricket, 
but any sport. If Mike Tyson was in a 
bout, tnen we discussed the wrestling 
match. If there was a tennis match, we 
discussed the finer points of that too. 
You have mentioned how the entire 
family got involved with Sachin's 
career. Does it mean that the entire 
family, including your 
grandmothers, discussed it 
whenever Sachin played? 

Yes. The whole family knows the 
game thoroughly now. But, none of us 
watch the match when Sachin is 
playing. We all become extremely 
tense. We only watch replay or v ideo 
recordings. 

Is the relationship between you two 
like that of friends or does the age 
gap make the relationship more 
formal? 

He treats me like an elder brother 
more than as a friend. There is the big 
age gap between us. 

Do the two of you exchange notes on 
the game, since you play a good game 
yourself? 

(Laughs). Never. I don't take his 
advice at all. And he wquld not offer it 
himself, either. 


t)CTRACT 


A child 




Ajit Tendulkar 
recounts his brother, 
Sachin Tendulkar’s 
progress as a 
cricketer in his 
early years in 
this extract 


Extracted from The 
Making of a 
Cricketer: Formative 
Years of Sachin 
Tendulkar in Cricket 
byAJU Tendulkar; 
Published by AJit 
TenduOutrfor ten* 
Promotions (a 
division qf Sachin 
Tendulkar 
Promotions Pvt 
Ltd}; Price Rs 5SO 


achin grew up in quite a different 
atmosphere tnan Nitin, Savita and me. 

I was the youngest in the family till 
then. The age difference of almost 11 
years between me and Sachin must 
nave mattered a lot. When Sachin was 
a baby, both Nitin and 1 were really 
crazy about cricket. A little later, I start- 
ed playing for my school, then for my 
college and various clubs. He would 
see me leaving for matches with my 
cricket kit; he would hear us discuss- 
ing the latest news in the game at 
home. Perhaps these influences matte- 
red; perhaps they kindled the sporting 
flame in him in his early childhood. 

The playground in Sahitya Sahawas 
is quite large — some 30 by 30 yards. A 
rare sight in congested Bombay, this 
'huge' playground was instrumental 


in inspiring the younger generation in 
the Society and inviting it to play 
games. The 1 1 buildings of the Society 
nad enough boys of all ages to easily 
form two cricket teams. 

Hie small kids would be busy 
cycling, spinning tops, playing mar- 
bles, flying kites.. .Sachin was always 
one of them. 

He was an impetuous child who hat- 
ed to sit down in one place for long. He 
would always be moving around, run- 
ning rather than walking. Instinctive- 
ly, his interest in outdoor games grew. 
In the school vacations, when most of 
his companions returned home in the 
afternoons to read comics, and play 
cards or scrabble, Sachin loitered on 
the ground through the day, playing 
whatever he could . 


With Kapil Dev 




The one thing that could keep him 
in any place for long were the sports 
transmissions on the television. He 
watched the Wimbledon duel of 1981 
between Bjorn Borg and John Me 
Enroe with keen interest. While most 
of us wanted Borg to win, Sachin root- 
ed wholeheartedly for McEnroe. 

When McEnroe won, Sachin's joy 
knew no bounds. Instantly, he became 
a fan of the young American star. He 
was so impressed by McEnroe's style 
that he demanded a tennis racket, a 
headband and two wristbands so that 
he could look like his hero. He would 
imitate McEnroe when he played ten- 
nis on the concrete pathway surround- 
ing the playground. With nis curly 
hair, he looked a miniature McEnroe 
and his friends took to ca lling him 'Mac' . 

I feel the television coverage of all 
the major international sports events 
was the main reason for our attraction 
to sports. The sports tournaments on 
our annual 'Society Day' underlined 
this passion. We played a cricket 
match, had a cycling competition, and 
atheletic events like the 100- metre 
dash, the long jump and the shot put. 

We played hockey and football with 
almost the same enthusiasm as we 
played criket. However, cricket remai- 
ned our main passion. These were the 
years when Sunil Gavaskar was shatte- 
ring record after record. Kapil Dev 
entered the scene and thrilled us with 
his unique style. The consistent suc- 
cess of these two Indians at the interna- 
tional level, year after year, found 
them a place in the hearts of most of us 
in Sahitya Sahawas. Cricket did not 
remain a seasonal activity for us. It 
was a craze, a passion. We just had to 
play, be it in the scorching afternoon 
sun or in a heavy downpour. 

The smaller kids watched us seniors 
and formed their own teams. If w e 
occupied the playground, they would 
play on the concrete paths, the garages 
or tne terraces of the buildings. This 
reflected the cricket atmosphere m 
Bombay. 

Some our Sahitya Sahawas kids 
soon got good enough to be included 
in the senior team. Sachin was one of 
them. He was thrilled that he was 
allowed to play with us. Shy and quiet 
with the older boys, Sachin would talk 
with great confidence at home. Was 
this tne same little boy who not so long 
ago used to sit quietly sucking his 
thumb and sratching his head (his 
childhood habit), listening to us bro- 
thers and Savita talk cricket? The 
change in him was really surprising. 
His growing maturity as a child 
cricketer and his quick understanding 



With Dennis Lillee 


of the game almost made us forget the 
age gap between us. We started, watch- 
ing his game with greater interest. I 
was Sachin's immediate senior in the 
family. Having played competitive 
cricket, I had some experience of the 
game. Sachin started relying on me for 
more knowledge about cricket, for 
basic tips in batting and bowling. 

This was when 1 noticed something 
unusual about my little brother. 
Though Sachin used to imitate his 
heroes in other sports (like John McEn- 
roe), he was never seen copying his 
cricketing idols. Whether batting or 
bowling, his style was his own. Re 
never hesitated to play strokes. While 
batting, his arms always swung freely, 
I thought, he had a great feel fot the 
game arid excellent judgment in read- 
ing the length of the ball. For those 
who saw him play, his body move- 
ments were enough to provide eviden- 
ce of the natural sportsman in him. 

1 saw him play very often and felt 
that 1 was watching a real cricketer. 

I thought there was talent in Sachin 
which should not be allowed to go 



& v 

waste. 

FIRST MONTH AT THE NETS 

1 asked one of my cricketer friends to 
introduce me to Achrekar Sir and 
one day I landed up at Shivaji Park to 
meet him. 


Achrekar Sir conducts two nets here 
— one for the Kamat Memorial 
Cricket Club (a club he owns), and the 
other for the Shardashram school- 
boys. Sassanian Cricket Clubs, the 
second club that he owns, have their 
practice sessions at the Azad Mai dan 
in South Bombay. 

1 still remember how Ach rekar 
was surrounded by aspiring lads of all 
ages. That scene made me wonder if 
he would have the time to watch my 
brother and spot his talent. 

"How old is your brother 7 " Sir ask- 
ed me after hearing me out. 

"Eleven," I replied. 

"Has he ever played with a proper 
cricket ball (a season ball ) before?" 

It was a casual question. But it had 
me worried. Was Sir going to refuse to 
coach Sachin if I said he wasn't used to 
season ball crocket? 

"No sir," I answered "But I'm sure 
he'll have no problems." 

"What does he do?" was Sir's next 
question. 

"He bats and he can bowl quite fast" 
1 replied. 

i3 


In those early days, Sachin had a 
fascination for bowling fast. 

"Fine" said Achrekar. "Let him 
come here tomorrow and watch the 
others practice." 

I heaved a sigh of relief. The next 
day Sachin and I reached the ground 
when practice was already half over. 

"Let your brother watch the others 
today," Sir told me. "Tomorrow, I'll 
see him in the nets." 

So tar the first and so far perhaps the 
only time in his cricket career, Sachin 
just stood and watched the others 
play . On a couple of occasions, he turn- 
ed round and told me how some of 
them were making mistakes, how he 
could have easily hit all those bowlers 
and clean bowled all the batsmen. 
There was nothing boastful about his 
judgment and the claims he made. 
Sachin has. always had this inborn con- 
fidence in his own ability to play the 
game. 



B atting over, the boys started their 
fielding practice with Mr Das Shi- 
valkar, one of Achifekar Sir's deputies. 
Sir asked Sachin to join them. Though 
1 knew my brother's ability, 1 must 
admit that 1 was a little surprised to 
see how well he fielded. For one thing, 
he wasn't used to a season ball. For 
another, the playground in our colony 
where he usually played was surroun- 
ded by trees of every size which didn't 
provide enough opportunities to take 
nigh catches. But Sachin was quite 
relaxed, judging high catch' s per- 
fectly, positioning his palms exactly as 
they should be while catching and 
throwing the ball with aplomb. I realis- 
ed once more that he had natural tal- 
ent which should be nurtured. 

However, when the other players 
discussed their mistakes during the 
fielding session, he stood by himself 
with his arms crossed, biting his nails 
anxiously, giving an impression that 
he wasn't part of the game at all. 

"Practice starts at 7:30 in the morn- 
ings so be here on time tomorrow and 
make Sachin wear full trousers," Sir 
instructed me. I nodded and took 
Sachin home. 

On the way, he told me, "1 can bat 
better than any of them." 

"Fine," I smiled at him, still a little 
anxious. 

We reached home. Sachin rushed 
off to join his friends. 

The next morning, Sachin got up 
early. He was going to bat for the first 
time in the nets. Everyone in the fami- 
ly wished him good luck. For the first 
few days, I accompanied him. He did- 
n't have regular cricketing gear for a 
14 


w hile. He wore jeans, T-shirt, running 
shoes and carried the Kashmir willow 


bat that Savita had bought for him 
from Kashmir. 

Sachin walked ahead of me, eager to 
get to the ground as early as possible. 
He kept turning around and question- 
ing me all the time. 

"How should I bat?" he asked me. 
"Should I attack or defend?" 

What probably played on his mind 
were images of the boys he had seen at 
the nets, playing back or forward 
defensively. 

1 replied with a vague "Let's see" 
After all, I had no idea of what kind of 
player Achrekar Sir preferred — a 
strokemaker or someone with a solid 
defence. 

"Should I bowl?" Sachin continued. 
"Of course you should/ ' I told him. 

I knew he wanted to try a few boun- 
cers something he did very well with a 
runner ball. 

We reached the ground at 7:30 am 
sharp. After the initial warming-up 
exercises and jogging, the net practice 
began. Sachin had to field for a while. 
Then Sir asked him to pad up. I helped 
Sachin to put on his pads. He entered 
the nets, took guard exactly as 1 had 
instructed him and batted for a few 
minutes. 

Achrekar didn't express any opin- 
ion about Sachin's batting but allowed 
him to come and practise during the 
school vacation. That was quite a 
relief. Ii looked like Sachin would be 


given enoueh time to adjust at the nets 
and to play his natural game. 

Don't go by the polished play of 
today's Sachin Tendulkar, tne expe- 


rienced Test cricketer. Little Sachin's 
batting style at 1 1 years of age was a bit 
odd. He had this tremendous pench- 
ant for on-side play, having develop- 
ed the habit of coping with the bounce 
of the rubber ball by pulling with a 
cross bat. Another technical peculiari- 
ty of rubber ball cricket is the way 
most young cricketers play on the rise 
to a ball that's pitched up to them. 
Sachin did this too but he showed 
uncanny ability in judging the length 
of the ball and middling it. He really 
had a natural feel for batting which 1 
thought was most important at that 
young age. And despite his question 
to me of whether he should attack or 
defend, he had no notion then of cor- 
rect defensive play. He either hit the 
ball with full power or pushed and 
deflected it with the wrists. 

He also had the habit of lifting the 
ball. With the tall trees in die colony 
playground, it was a safe stroke to 
play, because they prevented fielders 
from taking catches easily. In those ear- 
ly days of net practice, Sachin discover- 
ed that it wasn't that easy to hit a sea- 
son ball. His arms just didn't have that 
much power as yet. That was good in a 
way since he might have created a bad 
impression by trying to lift every ball. 

1 was quite satisfied with Sachin's 
first essay in the nets, considering he 
had never batted in the nets before. 


A fter the first few days, Achrekar 
asked us to get proper cricket clo- 
thes for Sachin. I guessed that Sachin 
had been accepted as a regular. My 
father was very happy that Sachin was 
practising on a regular basis. He took 
Kim to a fashionable clothes store and 
bought him a pair of white trousers. 

By no stretch of the imagination could 
one have called them regular cricket 
trousers. They had loops, big pockets 
on the hips, bell bottoms ana they 
were made of spongy material which 
was most unlike the flannel used for 
cricket. 

Sachin was most thrilled with his 
first cricket trousers. He put them on 
immediately and came in to show 
them to me. I didn't approve of them 
at all and showed my displeasure. 
However, nothing could spoil 
Sachin's joy. 

But at least it was a beginning. 
Sachin also acquired a small bag from 
Savita and her husband bought him a 
pair of gloves. In those bell-bottomed 
trousers, holding his bat above his 
shoulder rather man under his arm- 
pit, Sachin looked more like a child 
actor. 

"Sir said I'll be playing in the match 



tomorrow/' Sachin told me one even- 
ing after a couple of weeks at the nets. 

It was a 50-over game between two 
teams made up of boys from the same 
net. In Achrekar's strict regimen, there 
was no let-off from morning practice, 
after nets, the boys would get half an 
hour's rest and then start the match. 

Sachin was up early on die day of 
his first match ever. So was the rest of 
the family. We wished him good luck. 
He touched everyone's feet, someth- 
ing he still does before leaving for an 
important match or a long tour. 

We were quite anxious about 
Sachin's performance in his first 
match. 

"How much did you score?" I ask- 
ed him when he returned. 

"Zero/' was his honest reply 

"Don't worry, you'll get runs next 
time/' I said 

We tried to boost his confidence but 
fortunately Sachin was quite relaxed, 
perhaps because the concepts of suc- 
cess and failure were still alien to him. 
Enjoying the game seemed to be his 
only motive. The second match 
brought him another zero. But he soon 
got into his stride and started scoring 
consistently. He used to keep a record 
of his scores in a diary which he has 
misplaced. I wish T could consult it 
now. But from memory l remem- 
ber that he had scores of 51, 38 and 45 
runs one after the othei . In those limit- 
ed overs matches, batsmen had to reti- 
re after making 50 runs. From the very 
beginning, Achrekar Sir made Sachin 
bat at number four. That remained his 
fixed place in die batting order irres- 
pective of any important senior 
player's participation. 

I wondered why Sir chose the num- 
ber four spot for Sachin. Perhaps it 
was because of his attacking style of 
play We were happy to see Sachin in 
this position because the number four 
in the batting line-up had an aura 
about it. G.R. \ ishwanath, one of Indi- 
an cricket's most stylish batsmen, who 
was also one of our favourite 
cricketers, always batted at number 
four. 

Sir watched Sachin in these practice 
matches and made him a regular mem- 
ber of his Kamat Memorial Cricket 
Club with an admission fee of Rs 65 
and a monthly fee of Rs 10. 

O ne day Achrekar Sir arked how 
he spent his afternoons when not 
playing in a match 
"I play with my friends," Sachin 
told him. 

"Very good. Then come here for 
afternoon practice too/' Sir ordered. 


Sachin had not expected that. His 
afternoons so far were devoted to his 
friends. He didn't mind morning prac- 
tice since most of his pals got up late 
during the summer vacations. But 
afternoon practice! That was going to 
be tough. Very often, he cooked up 
excuses to miss it so that he could be 
with his friends in the colony. 

However, once he was on the 
cricket field, he wanted to take the initi- 
ative in everything that happened. ..he 
wanted to bowl, bat, field with gusto. 
His constant involvement with every 
aspect of the game has helped to sharp- 
en his cricketing skills. 

One day Sachin finished bowling 
his quota of overs in a practice match. 
Then, seeing that Achrekar was not 
around, he put on the wicket-keeping 
gloves. In tne summer heat of Bom- 
bay, wickets are usually dull and the 
ball doesn't bounce much. Sachin bent 
down to gather a shooter and the ball 
suddenly popped up and hit him on 
his right eyebrow. The cut bled heavi- 
ly. His friends tried putting ice on the 
wound, then panicked when the 
blood continued to flow. There were 
not many people on the ground in the 
afternoon. So a friend put Sachin on 
his bicycle and quickly brought him 
home io Bandra, all of six kilometres 
away. We were terrified to see 



Sachin's condition, l uckily my lather 
was home and could rush him to the 
doctor. The half a dozen stitches did- 
n't stop Sachin from entering the nets 
the next dav 

Towards the end of the summer 
vacations, l heard father discussing 
cricket on the telephone. This was 
something unusual. Curious. 1 tried to 
listen on and find out what was 
happening. 

"Achrekar Sir would like Sachin to 
be in the Sharadashram school team," 
father told us. "He feels Sachin has the 
potential to go far." 

"What do you think we should do," 
was my father's question to me. My 
opinion counted as I had played quite 
a bit of cricket by then 

Sachin was studying in the Indian 
Education Society's New English 
School, very clow to our place in 
Bandra East. Most of his friends also 
studied there The school had boys 
who were keen on cricket but the lack 
of a good cricket ground and a good 
coach had prevented the school from 
building a cricket team. 

I felt tnat switching to Sha- 
radashram would give Sachin adequa- 
te exposure to school cricket. But mv 
parents did not want to impose anyth- 
ing on him S'-' far he had played regu- 
larly during the vacations Now he 
would have to play and study. They 
weren't sure that he could carry this 
burden 

In the evening, the family sat down 
together and discussed the matter 
with Sachin He had skipped after- 
noon net practice that day and was sca- 
red that Sir had called up to inquire. 
When he heard the reason and father 
explained that he would have to 
change his school but also that the deci- 
sion lay completely with him, he 
though about it for a while 

"I want to continue playing cricket 
seriously," he said as he came to a deci- 
sion. "I don't mind changing schools 
I'll meet my friends in the evening " 
We were a little surprised at his hrm 
stance since he had always been a 
happy-go-lucky child. 

lie had made his decision. We in the 
iamily now had to prepare ourselv es 
for many things ..making sure that his 
studies and his health didn't suffer 
while he pursued his passu mi; finding 
the money for a proper kit as cricket is 
a fairly expensive game, and most 
importantly, being able to teach 
Sachin that there was a lot of uncertain- 
ty in this game. Though we wanted 
him to be a success, we had to be prepa- 
red for ups and downs and even total 
failure. ■ 



T!'me"|tabl'e 


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Urns Days 


fit No. Tkm D*s 


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1520 

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1625 

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Al Air India • BA British Airways • BO Biman Bangladesh Airlines • Bl Royal Brunei Airlines • D2 Skyline NEPC • DS NEPC Airlines • 1C Indian Airlines • 
KB Dmk-Air • KLM Royal Dutch Airlines • LZ Balkan Airlines • M9 Modtluft • PF Vayudoot • RA Royal Nepal Afcriinos • RJ Royal Jordanian AMneo • RO 
Tarom Air Transport • S2 Sahara India Airlines • SQ Singapore Airlines • 3U Aeroflot • 4$ East West Aiftines #TQ Thai Airways International • 0W Jet Amoys 


D*f 

Ft No. 

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Al 

HtNo. 

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1515 

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2000 

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Al 309 

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IC-227 


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TRAINS 


EASTERN RAILWAY 


DflteFKafca m 


Ita Dn 


ill via Allahabad 

Poona' (New MN) Bans vm Cjyd Varanasi 

1 >|i Whl 1 Mir. & oUn 
Air lut- . Wed ,1 'nil 

Poorva (Now MN) Bp* via Pains 
.‘■Mi Mm !ui- In 4 Sat 
Ar Mil 1 ii.ni:. Irl A !ui 

fatal Express v.,i 

I .’Pi Mv.:. I.if, Wed In & Sal 

/ni Mon nits, ItuiC) Fi> & Sun 

fatal Bprsss via Patna 
r 'Cii 'hue 1 K Sin* An Wtxi & Sol 
Jodsur Booms 
SUbdi (Beta SM City) 

!>«, <s An LxiT.pl Sunday 
HtmgJri (Jannu-TaaQ Byreas i»-Wkiy 

Tun i Fn i i»ai Ar lues Wed A Sal 
GimMI farm 
' Vl Wi'd'MMJ.rv, All c nddy 
Sorakhpur Egress 
r ku 4 An Tlnjisdav 
Puftandnl (Gorakhpur) Express 
!) ,, |) 4 An Sun Mon . Weil & Fri 


Udyan 


6-45 
7 55 
1.1-00 
16-16 


4-40 
21 111 


Bom vm Grand Chord 

Area 1 


i Toahn 


via Mam Line 


Krehaodun Boren 
MBNla (Bain 6q 
Kama (Guam) . 
Black Diamond E^pran 

UmMKI UpTOB 


Draw Bpm 
Jmfeur Ex pres s 
“ “ tan Bonn 
I A E 


Dep Mon Tue & Thor; Air Mon . Thurs & hi 


Enraas 

Snip 


Pep Wed Sal 
An Sun Wed 4 Sal 

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17 








P^Srle 

PAST PERFECT 


Sheela Bhate, now 78, re-visits her sculptures that adorn 
the Birla Planetarium, reports Trina Mukherfee 

Photographs by Amit Datta 



I t was a trip down memory lane 
for Sheela Bhate. The 78-year-old 
frail lady walked down the 
corridors of the Birla Planetarium 
with a new found zest. Alter all, she 
was visiting her creations after a long, 
long time 

The slight stoop disappeared as she 
paused to stand in front of the likeness 
of Galileo Galilei that she had fashion- 
ed out of plasticine so many years ago. 
"This was my favourite," said Bhate 
with a smile. 

Galileo's bust was one of the four 
busts made by her and are exhibited in 
the Birla Planetarium hallway. The 
others being those of Johannes Kepler, 
Nicolaus Copernicus and Sir William 
Herschelle. Bhate made them more 
than 30 years ago. These busts bear 
mute testimony to the beginning and 
end of Bhate's life as a sculptor. 

Female sculptors are not a rare bre- 
ed today. But in 1938 in Lahore, there 
were not many of them. Bhate's 
father first got an inkling of his 
daughter's talent when she made his 
likeness in plasticine and decided that 
she was going to be a sculptor. 

Bhate's first teacher-mentor, Bha- 
besh Sanyal, however, felt otherwise. 
He tried to dissuade Bhate from tak- 
ing up this art form. Sculpture, accord- 
ing to Sanyai, was extremely strenu- 
ous and too demanding for a woman 
to handle. It was another young sculp- 
tor, Dhanraj Bhagat, who worked in 
Sanyal's studio and gave Bhate her 
first lessons in clay and plasticine. She 
exhibited her first life study at the 
Lahore Society of Arts in 1939 and 
won a prize amounting to the "prince- 
ly sum" of Rs 75. 

It was encouragement enough for 
her to apply to the J.J. School of Arts, 
Bombay. Much against the wishes of 
the principal of the school, Bhate sat 
for the entrance exams and topped the 
test, competing with a majority of 
male students. Beginning directly 
from the fourth year of a five- 
year-course, Bhate worked for two 
years before her marriage in 1943. 


Sheela Bhate 
18 



She managed to carry on sculpting, 
exhibiting at the Bombay Fine Arts 
Society and also accepted private com- 
missions. Notable among them was 
the one commissioned by India Steam- 
ship Company in 1950. 

Bhate was more inclined to life stUT 
dies. As she explains: "You can make a 
dead man talk and the mute express 
himself through a life study." The 
strong influence of Michelangelo and 
the school of Western Realistic sculptu- 
re is evident in her works. The power- 
ful bone structure of her 'heads'; atten- 
tion to minute details; the slight arch 
of eyebrows of Johannes Kepler, the 
stiff starched collar; the strange tilt of 
the hood costume of that^period or the 
careless fall of Galileo's lock of hair, 
speak of immense verisimilitude. But 
these details are heightened with sub- 
tle impressionistic touches. Geoff 
Chaffee, the first curator of the Planeta- 
rium, who admired her work, had 
commissioned her to do these four 
head studies. Bhate felt that it "was a 
challenge" she could not turn down. 

"There were too many answers I 
did not know," said Bhate, "How big 
was Copernicus' head? Was Galileo a 
pleasant man? Or Kepler a sociable 
gentleman?" The minuscule pictures 
bearing their likeness did not answer 
her queries. Yet she had to go by them 
to create their images. "I had to study 
and imagine. You always have to put 
something of yourself into it" says 
Bhate. 

She did not get very many opportu- 
nities to do more sculptures as she 
became allergic to plasticine and also 
due to her faiUng health. She did mana- 
ge to give live demonstrations in 
Washington and spent a lot of time 
strolling through the museums in Lon- 
don. Bhate recounted an amusing inci- 
dent during this phase. She was hold- 
ing a demonstration in life studies at 
the American Women's Club. Bhate 
was supposed to select her model 
from among the guests. But to her 
horror and dismay, she found all lad- 
ies sporting elaborate hairdos in their 
earnest effort to be the "perfect 
model" for study. "I finally had to 
choose a bald and deaf man as my sub- 
ject," said Bhate in mock despair. 

Rich with the wealth of experience 
and yet poor with not too many fruits 
of her labour, Bhate still has a feel of 
her subjects: "It is the idea that is all 
important and the elusive third dimen- 
sion to one's work." Her vision, now 
gone dim with the onslaught of age 
still sparkles when she touches her ini- 
tials, which are etched behind her 
immortal creations. ■ 

19 


NNEREYE 


BEJAN DARUWALLA 


Aries 

March 21 - April 20 

■ The full moon, says 
Ganesha helps you 
to forge links and 
ties, thus 

augmenting income and 
doubling pleasure, and surely, 
that's what lile is all about. 
April 7-9 is certainly about 
journey, news, visits, 
interviews, meets and 
advcrtismg. April 11-13 is tor 
career advancement 

Taurus 

April 21 — May 20 

You will have to 
work with a will and 
:■ vengeance. From 
J April 8, children, 
buy ing/sel ling /partying will 
be fascinating for you because 
Mercury impresses your own 
sign, Taurus, according to 
Western astrology. Pets and 
projects, loans and funds do 
take up vour time and energy. 
Well worth it too 

Gemini 

May 21 — June 20 

Success through less 
than normal c/iannels 
are assured 
Mutually beneficial 
situations will work best now 
because ot the full moon impact. 
Expanston is your mode of 
operation, therefore, please be 
jovial and optimistic ftie 
essence and the emphasis is on 
love and group activities. 
Therefore, an exciting time . 


Cancer 

June 21 — July 20 

Good time to make 
YwmJ sweeping changes 

w hicn shut down an 
F.llfrfifPU old situation and 
move you into new altogether. 
The astro reason is, Saturn, 
according to Western 
astrology, which will change 
signs from April 7, honing 

J i'oui ambition and skills. The 
lomc, too, will have its share 
of attention 

Leo 

July 21 — August 21 

B You could diop a 
project for a hare- 
trained new idea or 
campaign. Concepts 
may be totally new. Love will 
also tug at vour heart. 
Contracts and deeds will have 
to be signed. There is just too 
much going on for real peace 
and rest You tend to be con- 
servative and matters require 
risks now. 

Virgo 

August 22 — September 22 

■ Don't be afraid to 
1 mess up and be 
* confused. Loans. 

J funds and monetary 
dealings are emphasised the 
next 23 days You may rewrite 
your contract, go to new 
commitments, upgrade and 
thoroughly modernise 
machines and more 
importantly, your own mind 
and ideas. 


Libra 

September 23 — October 22 

M Personal equations 
will clamour for a 
solution, be it love, 
marriage, or even a 
business partnership. You will 
have to attend to it. April 7-8 
are for intense and hectic 
activity. That is the time to 
play Vour hunches, give 
intuition a free rein. Be 
concrete and focussed for 


achieving goals. 

Scorpio 

October z3 — No 


October z3 — November 22 

■ Ganesha says, work 
in secrecy and 
reserve your 
ammunition for your 
foes and rivals. Conflicts of 
interest are likely. Agreements 
could fall through, or may have 
to be amended Do a Jook-nice- 
job job, as the Americans say. 
Give things and matters a once- 
over, a second look before you 
sign and agree 

Sagittarius 

November 23 — December 20 

■ You will feel unduly 
optimistir and could 
have a totally 
different way of 
doing things. Children, ideas, 
creative use of things, 
inventions, schemes to get rich 

r :k are what the week is all 
ut. A tew false starts 
should not be allowed to 
bother you. Go ahead. Trips 
and ties are foretold 


>- •-4.V4j.Av i***-is&* i 


Capricorn 

December 21 — January 19 

H information you do 
receive and you will 
receive more than 
you can really chew. It is 
absolutely certain that work 
pressures to really perform 
will be overbearing and 
tremendous. This could tell on 
your health. Otherwise, all is 
nice and dandy. April 9-11 will 
be important for progress. 

Aquarius 

January 20 — February 18 

■ A big project can 

come altogether this 
week. Noble ideas 
succeed when they 
are backed with staying power 
and bullncadedness. Be posi- 
tive, because Venus- Uranus 
trine helps you immensely in 
your attitudes. Surrender 
I sweetly to the dictates and the 
demands of love, romance and 
idealism 

Pisces 

February 19 — March 20 

H I 1 Aians and Kinds wiM 
] be up your street ft is 
\ lime to angle lor 
j them also it you an* 
interested Saturn, according to 
Western astrology, goes out ot 
your sign on April 7, and 
therefore, pressures and pain 
and opposition will most 
certainly ease Confusion will 
stop A new era will begin 
Work will be done 


U • J ' . ■ 




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f W I 












JUNIOR WHIRL HAL KAUFMAN 



FIND TWINS! There are two sets of twins among 
the various beach balls above. See how quickly 
you can find both sets. 


IN CROWD! 

Insert a consonant into the name of a desert 
animal and find the name of a California seaside 
resort. Into this name, insert a vowel and find a 
possible choice of centre in a box- 




LINKUPS! — — 

This classic poser 
continues to present a A fC / 
challenge. We have If ^ 

six segments of chain K ^ 

containing five links Ui*** 0000 * ft 

each, at right. We If* / V M 

would like to join ^ *f 

these segments into T* 

one continuous chain qpuj^ 

by opening and closing the fewest number of links 
If it takes one minute to open a link, and one 
minute to close one, in how few minutes can we 
complete the circle? 

OJ HUl[ m** 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 HutKTl pur MIIMuHtA H «1 |l» Tnui( OrtlJ ||l» 9uiu*4n s,1|nUHU U.»J^ 


HOCUS-FOCUS 




ADD-A-LETTER WORD 
POSER 

Add a letter in each step pro- 
gressively at left, re-arranging let- 
ters as necessary to form new 
words in accord with the follow- 
ing definitions: 

1. First letter of alphabet (A, in 
place). 

2. In attendence 

3. Occupied a chair. 

4. Hollywood status. 

5. Gaze steadily at a person or 
thine. 

6. Metal frames used in fire 
places etc 

7. Unfamiliar. 

8. Police off icers next below cap- 
tains or lieutenants. 

Time limit: 2 mins 

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CALVIN AND HOBBES M WATTE RSON 


WM 0 J 9 H * 


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IF VCU COULD JUMP OFF 

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ANSWERS. to I OCNT ; 
NEED TO ASK, RIGHT’' 


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you CAN WATCH AS I FLOAT 
TO THE GOEWNP. GENVUf 
AS A LBAF > _ 



UVS MOWS GONG TO UASJE 
, A FIT ABOUT THOSE 
\ Base BUSHES . ^ 












GARFIELD ■ JIM DAVIS 


h 



















Tara Deshpande 

Continued from Page 8 

whoever comes after us, will have to 
follow them." 

That, of course, is a reference to 
MTV. Channel V, which is watched in 
55 million homes, is clear about one 
fact, in India, at least, MTV is very 
much the Johnnie-come- lately. And 
what's more, it has still to get its pro- 
gramming mix right. Though only 35 
per cent of Channel V's programmes 
are in lndiar languages, mainly 
1 lindi, they have cleverly positioned 
them at prime-time slots to give itself 
an "Indian' image 

MTV, on the other hand, goofed up on 
this score during its last stint in India* 
By showing explicit — by Indian stan- 
dards. at least — vidocs, replete with 
half-naked girls and writhing couple*?, 
they earned the wrath ot the nation's 
moral-keepers. The channel was wide- 
ly denounced as being subversive, 
and a bad influence on the nation's 
youth. Channel V has steered clear of 
making such mistakes. Says Samin 
Desai, the channel's executive produ- 
cer, "We do not want to be an interna* 
tional masala channel. We want to bt? 
India- specific." 

B ut then, so does MTV - - without 
exactly going the Channel V way. 

It is very clear that it wants its own slot 
in the Indian market, rather than just 
rely on Hindi film music to do the 
trick. And this strategy makes some 
sense. After all, these days, most chan- 
nels seem to be showing the same 
songs ( * ver and over again . I f Zee is bla- 
ring out the tunes of Trimurti, so is DD 
Metro, ATN and even Jain Television. 
MTV would rather stick to its mix of | 
?6 


Ruby Bhatia and Sophiya Haque: All for Channel V 




gcx>d Western music, peppered with 
Indian pop artistes, and then hope for 
the Ivst 

In one important way. though, 

MTV has made a concession to the 
Indian market. Most of its veejays — 
with the notable exception of the Irish- 
Chinese Danny McGill — are Indian. 
There is Rahul Khanna, the son of Indi- 
an actor Vinod Khanna, who hosts 
such shews as Superock, a bi-weekly 
programme for rock music fans, and 
Alternatin' Nation , a daring cult-Lsh 
late night show which airs videos 
from the alternative music scene, and, 
of course, M TV's Most Wanted, the 
immensely popular daih request 
show. 

Among the other high-profile Indi- 
an veejays is the beautiful Anu Kot- 
toor, the product of a south Indian 
father and a Burmese-Punjabi mother, 
who works out of Singapore. Then, 
there's Tara Deshpande, whose bio- 
data (as provided by MTV) has it that 
she is interested in the works of such 
intellectual giants as Milan Kundera, 
Vikram Seth and Gabriel Garcia Mar- 



Mike Kasem 


que/. Her philosophy in life, though, 
is somewhat more down-to-earth- 
"Try to change the world and they 
will take away your T-shirt." 

The latest to join the MTV stable is 
Rajeev Dalt, who was a model before 
he became a veejay. He was discover- 
ed by one of the channel's producers 
at the Blue Camel Bar in Bombay, 
because he "stood out in the crowd". 
Ask Datt why that was so, and he 
laughs, "Because I was wearing plat 
forms at the time!" And MTV New* is 
anchored and produced by Preeti 
Sethi and Sharon Gomes. 

None oi them have, however, 
achieved the kind of cult status that, 
for instance, laved jattrey has. To be 
fair, though, MTV has only been on 
the air for a couple of months, and its 
veejays will prohably crime into then 
own soon enough. 

Not that Channel V will lot them do 
so without a fight. The channel is 
already devising new programming 
and is coming up with more commerci- 
als of the Quick Gun Murugan variety. 
This, tor those of you who don't watch 





At the MTV launch: Chandni Sahgal, Asha Bhosfe, Peter Jametson and Bill Roedy 


Channel V, was based dh the concept 
of a wrnlkjr Western, with Quick Cun 
Mtimgan enacting the part of a dusn 
and id //-quaff mg sharp- shooter. And 
then, of course, there's the V's bottom 
line that has won the hearts ot most 
Indian viewers: "We are like this 
only." 


M TV's answer to javed Jaftrey 
seems to be Danny McGill, the 
light-eyed veejay of somewhat eclectic 
tastes: he has about 5,000 Cds and 
"enjoys Metallica on Friday nights 
and Vivaldi on Sunday mornings". 

He is widely regarded as being one of 
the best-informed (as far as music 


goes) veejays in the fields, and is best- 
known for his off -the-cuff comments 
on the videos he runs for the audience. 
He's hosting the tJeadhangcrs Ball in 
his own inimitable style, and will win 
many more fans before the 1 next 
couple of months are out. 

Adding the international touch to 
MTV is also the Indonesian/ Australi- 



Alisha Chinar and Angela Chow 


an Nadya Hutagalung, Stella Sohn, 
and Mike Kasem, the son of Casev 
Kascm, the legendary radio-TV persi>- 
nality, who also writes in Inside Track , 
a fan/.inc on cassettes 

But MTV maintains that its veejays 
are different not just in their looks and 
style, but also in their attitude to their 
jobs. Rather than just giggle and chat- 
ter through their routines, they combi- 
ne show business with serious social 
commitments. 

To illustrate their point, they refer to 
the Channel V Roadshow, where such 
exciting prizes as a BMW bike were on 
offer. In contrast to this was the MTV- 
Levi's Clothing Exchange organised 
for the launch of MTV Asia. Here all 
the guests were encouraged to donate 
a wearable piece of clothing that was 
exchanged for a limited edition of 
Levi's MTV Indian launch T-shirts. 
The clothes which were collected from 
the guests were then given to Reach 
Out, a non profit non-governmental 
organisation (NGO). 


no 






The proceeds from MTV's charity 
raffle and ticket sales went to AIDS 
awareness charities, yet another exam- 
ple of the channel's commitment to 
good causes. But then, even its veejays 
seem very aware of their social respon- 
sibilities. Sharon Gomes, for instance, 
has copresenteu the first Asian Youth 
Forum on Aids and Mike Kasem has 
been named the national youth chair- 
man of the Muscular Dystrophy 
Association. 

But the channels seem to differ in far 
more fundamental ways than these. 
Their attitudes to their target audien- 
ces, for instance. MTV seems to liave 
targeted 15-35 year olds, going in for a 
much younger audience profile in the 
hope that these people will stick with 
them even As they grow older. Chan- 
nel V, on the other hand, has targeted 
entire families because of the wider 
variety of programming it has to offer. 

In ef feet, this means that MTV is 
going in for a niche audience, and will 
make more of a headway in homes 



Sharon Gomes 


which have multiple television sets. 
But Channel V, on the other hand, will 
have its takers even in single-set fami- 
lies, with both parents, grand parents 
and children tuning in to watch differ- 
ent kinds of programmes. 

It is this difference, in fact, that will 
determine the future of the two chan- 
nels. If MTV does not change the cha 
racier of its programming — and it 
shows little signs of doing so — then it 


will have to content itself with niche 
advertising. This would mean that it 
would earn much less revenue than 
Channel V, which will gamer far more 
advertising because of its mass 
appeal. 

For the moment, though, MTV 
seems to be quite happy with the way 
it has positioned itself in the market, 
and remains convinced that it has 
enough hardcore fans in India to make 
it a viable proposition. As a MTV 7 staf- 
fer explains, "Channel V has now 
hvussed on a broader, more tamil\ - 
oriented market in the push for 
advertising revenues. But MTV is real- 
ly tor the urban, young-at-heart indiv i- 
dual with a taste tor Fnglish language 
music and international fare. Basical 
ly, we are in for the youth market ' 

The coming months will tell us whe- 
ther this strategy will work. And if 
MTV will be able to give Channel V a 
run tor its music. But whatever hap 
pens: remain tuned. This will be a 
musical well worth listening to. ■ 





SAIFUDDIN CHAUDHURY, the firebrand four-time CPI (M) MP from Katwa, West Bengal, has 
been denied a Lok Sabha ticket despite the recommendations of the party's state committee . Widely 
regarded as the brightest spark among young CPI (M) leaders , Saifudain is a major player of the. pro - 
change brigade led by Jyoti Basu. 


W hat is your idea of perfect 
happiness? 

To acheive unity of thought and 
action. 

What is your greatest fear? 

Loss of honour and dignity. 

Who or whafltQS been the greatest 
influence in your life? 

A party worker in my village 
whose lone and selfless campaign 
with a red flag and a hand-held loud 
speaker made a deep impression on 
my childhood years. 

What do you aislike most in 
others? 

Deception. 

What do you dislike most in 
yourself? 

Saffuddtn Chaudhury with his wife 


What do you 
dislike most on 
your appearance? 


My appearance after 
a haircut 


Complacency. 

What is your most precious 
possession? 

People s goodwill 


What objects do you always cany? 

A free-flowing pen and a clean 
writing pad. 

What makes you most depressed? 

Treachery and meanness. 

What do you dislike most on your 
appearance? 

My appearance after a haircut. 
What is your favourite word? 
Change. 

What is ymflr favourite Journey? 

From Howrah to Mexnari by local 
train, sitting at the window seat on a 
spring evening enjoying the gentle 
breeze on my face. 

What is your favourite dream? 

The resurrection of good and 
noble persons. 

What is your nightmare? 

No comments. 



What or who is the greatest love of 
your life? 

My two children. 

What is your source of sustenance? 

People, friends and family. 

On what occasions do you fie? 

On April Fool's day. 

What is your greatest regret? 

No regrets. 

What has been your happiest 
moment? 


On what occasions 
do you lie? 



It has yet to come. 

What brings tears td your eyes? 

A hungry child 
How do you relax? 

By listening to music. 

What do you envy most in others? 

1 don't envy other human beings 
but 1 do envy the birds their 
freedom. 

How would you like to be 
remembered? 

As a simple, honest and free man. 
How woula you like to die? 

With dignity. 


30 





THE 

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numerous and vaned products catei to a 
wide spectrum of industries, both in India as 
well as abroad This reality is a result of our 
discerning eye - our R&D 



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and meet all the rpqurements of the Uepun 
ment of Telecommunications and tR* Railway > 

Udyng vthar P O Chorhah'* Rr^.t ?.Wt' lm U • M ft 


Hand-in-hand with the Nation's progress 


— CM. P. thrfd C/roup 

MI'MHAI lnd«iMi\ Houmt I s*» nuiixh^H 1 Ki\lam.iiion Mumhji 4 IHI n?i) lei ‘‘M lIM l> v\ 11 

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Classic 


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In s ! r ! \j o 

Raymond 

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TheT 



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14 APRIL 1996 ( 


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wwnaii 


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canonist «0-a sdmter '. . ' "•■ 
\vmo$k vlbre' jte^-lte^ ;(. 
,v^kjte^44^MdMMl.' lie V' 
, : hias wMr aiBoWedhissec - : 
ular credentials to be 
questioned under any cir- 
cumstance. And this 
should be (he most impor- 
tant factor in choosing a 
President. 

But it is also a fact (hat 
such men of worth do not 
find a place in today's 
politics where vested 
interests and powerplay 
dominate the proceedings. 
Going by past experience 
it is only to be expected 
that the gubernatorial post 
will eo to someone who' 
wit) be a compromise can- 
didate; made President 
under political comped- . 
sions. . 

Santosh KumarSkarma, 
Kharagpur 

• Dr Singh's erudition is 
beyond debate: nets 
eKtreniely lmon^edgedMe % 

tiM oft n ‘ 


fa mOr&y tocut*fbbon& 


v- 'Ar A 


t ' ■ 


Dr Karan bngh: Tha boat eattdkfote forPmaktant? 


Apart frewnbeinga dose 
aid of Indira Gandhi he 
has presided over a num- 
ber of prestigious posts in 
the Indian administration. 
His secular credentials 
have never been ques- , 
tinned. One wonders why 
the Naraaimha Rao gov- 
ernment has never used 
dwgood ofBcesof Dr, 
SbmitDShretlie 
Kashmu'imbKJglio. 

,/bm AwMrNm^ . 


our present Presidentone 
feels the 66-year-old for- 
mer Maharaja of Kashmir 
would be the best candi- 
date suiting the elegance 
and prestige of be nigh 
■post: 

As President he might 
usher to a mew Ora of : 
peace and prosperityin 
the Valley inducing be 
terronste togjveiap their 
arms, ftfai of me d ioc ri ty 
hayeking doodiwlndthis 
. irtqmriambut ornamental 
poet. We now hoed an . 
mfe&ectd&l who Will do 


larte^mbdotstpctwared 
speedre&andvisH Mieteh 
cwfoWjw at the cost of the 
tutfhsuil exchequer. 

When the President has, 
no constructive role to 
play, the Constitution 
should be amended and 
bis post abolished. 
D.LohM. 

Jamshedpur 

alt Dr Singh is be true 
liberal Indian unshackled 
by any political prejudices 
ami Has a pragmatic 
approach to Kashmir, ben 
he is the best candidate . 
for President. 

The turbulent VaDey 
needs aphysirian like 
him who has an opti- 
mistic message for be 
people. 

DetmtMaSem. 

Calcutta 

VAtalBehati Vajpayee 
would make abetter 
Presidential candidate. 
PrabatGmka, 

Patna 






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PAGE 4 


INDIA'S BEST known fashion photographer, 
Prabuddha Das Gupta's book. Women, is a fas- 
cinating collection of images of some of the 
most beautiful women from the country. 

PAGE 26 *V. 

WHEN IT comes to advertising, woifcen arfr* 
more successful than men in selling produces. 

Advertisers prefer them 


SI < I IONS 


16 TIME TABLE 

20 INNER EYE 

21 JUNIOR WHIRL 

22 COMICS 

26 ADVERTISING 
28 MI -SIC 
30 FIRST PERSON 









THE MAN 
WHO LOVES 

OMEN 


i / <. '/'}'{ i i / c • v c / ; /. '///;■ c / / 

; / / / « /<. ' v \\ . ■ f ; ; ■ ; 


y < / / / ■ /> / c / / y<' / n ( ) i { / ) / i / 


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Samitu lifmtia 






W ispy, blue smoke-rings 
float languidly towards 
the ceiling. India's ace 
fashion photographer 
watches them contemplatively, occa- 
sionally brushing aside his tresses that 
an.' streaked with grey. 

You'll always catch Prabuddha Das 
Gupta looking relaxed, laid backand, 
more often than not, introspective. In 
one such pensive mood he might |ust 
tell you that there's no such thing as 
perfect happiness. A cynicism that 
will give way the next moment to 
mock-seriousness That's when he'll 
c laim th<3^ie sinks into a depression 
when his "ntftst precious 
possession" — his cigarette lighter — 
is misplaced. His wife Tania will corro- 
borate helpfully, "He didn't sleep one 
night when he thought that he'd lost 
the thing!" 

He's cryptic at most times, exudes 
an air of curious detachment, loves to 
say 'no' and dislikes hypocrisy in 
others - - and in himsclt too He confes- 
ses, "I love women and photograph- 
ing them is one of the pleasures of my 
job " 

So, is it any surprise then that he's 
most relaxed while he r s working? Or 
that it is the female form which has 
catapulted him into the pages of glos- 
sv magazines and news reports? Or 
that, these d avs Prabuddha Das 
Gupta answers to the sobriquet of the 
Man Who I oves Women? 

O t late. Das Gupta has been in the 
news because of his first book. 
Women , published by Viking (some 
time back he was in the headlines 
because of the controversial Tuff 
Shoes ad) The genre to which 
Women belongs— the stud v ot the 



nude female form — has enjoyed an 
elevate status through the ages. Only 
here the medium is a new one — 
photography. 

A collection of some 90 black and 
white images of some ot the most beau- 
tiful Indian women, the book is attract- 
ing rave reviews This, despite the fact 
that Women was launched with practi- 
cally none of the publicity that goes 
with the birth of a coffee table book — 
and no launch party cither. It slipped 
quietly into the World Book Fair to for- 
ge its own destiny 

Some have called it path-breaking, 
others a landmark achievement, being 
the first photographic coftce table 
book to be published in the country 
that deals with the subject of female 
nudes. While Prabuddha is heaving a 
sigh ot relief at the fact *he book has 
not been sensationalised, he says that 
now that the book has a life ot its own 
he finds himself "in a limbo, exhaust- 


ed and empty." 

Explains the maverick photogra- 
pher in the Afterword to the publica- 
tion, "The human bodv has always 
been considered to be the most beauti- 
ful ot nature's creations, and has been 
acclaimed as such in all the arts, 
universally. Its plastic and sculptural 
qualities on the one hand and its enig- 
matic erotic quality on the other have 
inspired poets, writers and Mulptu- 
i s But although the nude, and che- 
mes related to it, have been a vital part 
of any artistic tradition, they have 
always been sensitive subjects " 

David Davidar, editor, Penguin 
India, which is a sister concern of 
Viking, is also satisfied with the res- 
ponse that Women has evoked. While 
"some thousand copies" of the book 
were published, he says, over a thou- 
sand nave already found buyers not- 
withstanding the Its 1,500 price tag. 
Says Davidar, "The book has been 





received just as the way we hoped it 
would — as a work of art. Penguin 
looked at Women as a new kind of art 
book going by the premise that photo- 
graphy 'is' an art form. Besides, Pra- 
buddha happens to be the best fashion 
photograpner in the country. He has 
been photographing the human body 
in a way that other Indian photogra- 
phers are only beginning to emulate 
now." 

Davidar feels that with Women Pra- 
buddha has broken new ground and 
set a new landmark. Says he, 

"Penguin has a reputation for publish- 
ing books that are unique and are not 
me-too products. And this picture 
book is not derivative of any other pic- 
ture book, it's a very personal point of 
view." 

Prabuddha nods in agreement. The 
book is a personal journey, a photogra- 
phic interpretation of the subject of 
women, women that he as photogra- 
pher has known. Not surprisingly 
then, some of the images in the book 
go back more than a decade Explains 
Prabuddha, "I've tried to explore the 
totality of the nude as a photographic 
subject rather than focus on sexua- 
lity — the curve of a back, the beauty 
and purity of the form " 

I f Ins area of specialisation is women 
then his medium is primarily black 
and white Prabuddha unleashed the 
trend ol black and while photography 
m the late Eight ies, at a time when the 
industry was saturated with colour 
"Strangely, a stigma seemed to he 
attached to this genre ot photography 
at that time," says Das Gupta. There 
was nothing glamorous about it and 
one only associated passport size pic - 
tures and the downmarket stuff with 
black and white photographs." While 
he claims that it was Lady Luck who 
smiled on him, associates press the 
point that Prabuddha's runaway suc- 
cess in the field brought about a resurg- 
ence in this medium and had other 
photographers jumping on to the 
bandwagon. 

Fashion designers who have work- 
ed closely with Prabuddha are effu- 
sive in their praise of him. They feel 
that the hallmark of hi <; work is an 
incredible sensuality and his dramatic 
use of black and while. Says the 
Ensemble man, fashion designer 
Tarun Tahiliam, "Prabuddha is the 
kind of photographer who will hang 
upside down from a ceiling to get the 
right angle. He never clicks what's in 
front of him but visualises the best 
way the shot can be taken. If the 
model's hair is not 'just right' Prabud- 


dha is disconcerted. He has a stylist's 
eye." 

Designer].] VaJaya adds that Pra- 
buddha has mastered the art of con- 
trolling natural light. While it is techni- 
cally very difficult to make things look 
great in the existing light conditions 
Prabuddha deals effectively with this 
problem. 

Just as accolades pour in so does a 
fair share of criticism from others of 
Prabuddha's ilk. While photogra- 
phers concur that Prabuddha has 
nandled black and white tones excee- 
dingly well some assert that the book 
lacks the depth and vision of a dedicat- 
ed person whose experience has given 
him an insight into the theme that he is 
working on. 


Observes Raghu Rai, the man who 
practically invented photo-journalism 
in India, "There are four or five ima- 
ges that are quite original in their com- 
position, besides in totality the book is 
aesthetically appealing and quite 
romantic with a dramatic design ele- 
ment. However, the lines and tones 
are not enough in my opinion to carry 
any book." 

Rai observes that had the book been 
split into chapters individually summ- 
ing up some of the different aspects of 
womanhood, it would have been bet- 
ter "directed". He adds that bifurca- 
tions would have breathed in a sembl- 
ance of a visual continuity in the ima- 
ges. Rai adds, "The book doesn't 
excite me as a man, while a woman 





^< 5 * * r ; hj - 


It is, therefore, a tribute not only to 
Prabuddha's skills as a photographer 
but his qualities as a human being, 
that so many women — top models 
among them — agreed to pose in the 
nude for him. There are few photogra- 
phers in this country who could inspi- 
re that kind of trust. 

Putting the book together, however, 
was even more difficult than the pro- 
cess of photography. The process of 
editing and sifting through mountains 
of photographs for the final selection 
was ultimately not a very personal 
exercise. Each of the images had to be 
approved of by the models first. Many 
personal preferences of Prabuddha 
nad to be excluded because the model 
had second thoughts about the photo- 
graphs being used. Some were even 
pulled out just when the book was to 
go into print. 

He explains, " 'While the models 
were keenly interested during the 
shoots, it hadn't hit them just then that 
the pictures would be published in a 
book that would sell in every other 
bookshop " 

So, what made them agree to sign 
the release forms (without which their 
pictures could not have been used )? 
Prabuddha muses, "Frankly, I don't 
know what 1 have said or done to inspi- 
re the confidence in these 40-odd wom- 
en to have vested that trust in me to 
photograph them for the book. Per- 
naps it's a respect that goes beyond me 
being a photographer or a maker of 
images. Most were friends whom 1 
had worked with betore so in that res- 




will not find what she is looking for in 
it." 

Detractors point out that while Pra- 
huddha deals with a subject that has 
enormous possibilities Women 
restricts its scope to encompass a 
certain type of woman. Besides, the 
book is a collection of images that are 
'posed' as opposed to candid shots 

Prabuddha has an explanation. 
Women is not meant to be an anthropo- 
logy on women or an attempt to do an 
expected 'Women of India' kind of 
volume — the very purpose of such a 
tocus becomes different However, 
the title, perhaps misleads one into 
expecting images of women in various 
geographic and social variations. Per- 
haps the title 'Woman' might have 
been more appropriate." he says in 
hindsight. 

So there is no snatching of moments 


& 


or creeping up on someone for a can- 
did picture, he says with a half smile. 
"The genre of nude photography or 
portraits by their very nature implies a 
controlled environment where a pose 
must be struck." 

D oing a book of this nature wasn't 
easy. Prabuddha explains that 
given our current environment and 
the cultural climate not too many 
women are willing to be photograph- 
ed without their clothes on. "It's a mat- 
ter of utmost delicacy and no matter 
how much exposure the woman may 
have had to the camera or however 
confident she may be before it, she will 
not be completely convinced to pose 
in the nude. Besides, taking off your 
clothes before the camera is only a 
stumbling block but to have the photo- 
grapher critically examine your body 








pect none of them were complete 
strangers " 

And when word spread that Pra- 
buddha was working on a hook of this 
nature, complete strangeis too got in 
touch and wanted to be included and 
become a part of this artistic creativity 

As the reams and reams of film were 
clicked, Prabuddha's wife Tania, a 
designer bv profession, got her act 
together Explaining the line taken by 
her in designing the book, she says, " I 
decided to keep it extremely simple 
The idea was not to overpower the pit - 
tures, which v^rc meant to stand oTit 
just the way they Were I think the 
whole book is very pine -it s not 
sensational." 

Pure it may be, hut it is not devoid of 
erotic content "Any nude that is not 
erotic is a failure l lowever, there's a 
difference between eroticism and tit il- 
lation My pictures don't say 'come 
hither. Pin sexy' they are not meant to 
titillate," says the photographei 
firmly 


P rabuddha never thought that one 
day he would grow to become the 
most sought-after fashion photogra 
pher in the country As a matter of fact 
ne never thought that he would ever 
become a professional photographer 
As a copywriter with Ulka advertising 
in Calcutta, Prabuddha says he was "a 
closet photographer" for nearly eight 
years before he launched fu* 1 time into 
photography in 1 Q SK 

In the latter years of his ad days, Pra- 
buddha began putting his photogra- 
phy to great use m campaigns where 
ne'd write the ad line as well as shoot 
for the campaign It was his experien- 
ce with the agencies — Ulka in Calcut- 
ta and Delhi, Clarion and Everest, also 
in Delhi — that armed him with the 
capacity to "think visually" all the 
time Reminiscing about fiis advertis- 
ing days he says, "I never wrote a copy 
in isolation." 

This fashion photography specialist 
began his career in this arena with cam- 
paigns for Inter Shoppe and Blue 
Lagoon jeans The shift from the ad 
world to fashion photography was a 
gradual one Most assignments that 
Prabuddha took on were people orien- 
ted, with the clients hailing from the 
fashion world And before he realised 
it, his career as photographer predomi- 
nated that of being copy writer. 

Assignments were not hard to come 
by and Prabuddha stood his ground 
and took on no more than three or four 
campaigns in a month. "I never com- 
promised on my craft. I never had a 
craze or fasrinatiojifoi; money in the 

10 


PRABUDDHA’S FAVOURITES 

He rates Shyamoli Vemia and 
Mataika Arora the highest 


T he lines on your face will 
appeal to him, so t(x> the 
blemishes and the puffiness 
around the eyes. And chances are 
that if he photographs you little 
will be done to camouflage these 
with a few deft tricks of his lens 
In fact, Prabuddha's Women is 
replete with portraits where the 
fine lines and smudges are not 
concealed "The concept of beauty 
is very subjective. A lot of women 
who I find truly beautiful are not 
considered so by others," says Das 


oosessive sense/' lie says 

The turning point in Prabuddha's 
carcei came when the 1 late Kohit 
Khosla — the designet who introduc- 
ed haute couture to India — sought him 
out for assignments "Whatever little 
feeling I have tor fashion and any tech- 
nical know-how l possess on the mat 
ter of fashion pholograph\ is due to 
Rohit," says Das Gupta. 

Luck swung in his favoui again as 
the fashion boom set in The concept of 
the designer label was catching on and 
then 1 Was a breaking away from the 
traditional ideas o* fashion The indus- 
try was in its nascent stages and expe- 
rimentation was in the air It Garware 
Suitings and Raymond's had ruled the 
roost before as the only benchmarks in 
the arena of 'designer wear', then 
Ensemble with its < olloetion o! 
designers was poised to usher in a 
new era in Indian high fashion And 
Prabuddha was m the right place at 
the right time 

T oday Prabuddha claims that he 
works best in a situation ot chaos 
and depends solely on his inslini ts for 
the finer points of fashion photogra- 
phy. Perhaps the most un-fashion con- 
scious fashion photographer, Prabud- 
dha's response to high fashion comes 
through an instinctive and intuitive 
tool for the subject He snnles "I 
haven't the faintest idea of what stylos 
are or those that are pus sr or whether 
the look of the Sixties or Seventies is 
back again " 

Prabuddha arrives fora shoot with no 
pre-conceived notions as to how he 


Gupta "When I photograph 
women 1 like them to go slow on ' 
cosmetics. Yes, the fine lines and 
blemishes constitute my vision of 
beauty in its totality. It always 
helps to have some imperfections.*' 
He obviously goes beyond the 
conventionally pretty face and 
instead "looks out for a strength of 
character/' The one woman who 
epitomises his definition ot 
Woman - - and not just 
photographically — is none other 
than yestet -yeai supci model 


would like to structure the assign- 
men l ' I always go with .1 very basic 
idea of how the snoot should turn out 
All 1 like to arm myself with is the 
basic information about how many 
models are involved, the location and 
the clothes to In 1 modeled 

Nol very surprising then that the 
unpredictability of Piabuddha's 
motUt > opi'rmuii is kn* »wn to have 
thrown many of f balance 

Model Ruchie Malhoira who has 
worked with Prabuddha on many 
occasion says that he may function 
best in chaos, ' but he k*iow r s exactly 
what he wants There aie many who 
get intimidated by his working style 
but as a model I know that the shoot 
will he over within an hour Besides, 
the model can rest assured that she'll 
end up looking her best." 

Models and designers vouch for the 
fact that Prabuddha is a stickler for 
detail I le may not know what's in and 
what's out in the fashion arena but he 
sure knows which accessory or prop 
will give him the result he is looking 
for Attention to detail is one fetish 
that Prabuddha can never shake off. 
While a battery of professionals — 
from a make-up artist to stylist — lend 
a helping hand to put the shoot toge- 
ther designers say that Prabuddha's 
keen interest in the props, the back- 
ground and the clotnes goes to enhan- 
ce the product that he's shooting. 

While the brief from the designers 
are pretty much open-ended, and give 
his creativity a free hand, advertising 
campaigns must adhere to certain 
parameters. "Yet he does manage to 



Shyamoli Vcrma. 

"Her's is an 'aura' that gets 
translated into print, whicn rarely 
happens. There are innumerable 
women who are beautiful in 
person but are not photogenic But 
Shyamoli is by far the most magical 


woman to appear before mv 
camera/' muses Prabuddha. 

Another is Malaika Arora who 
Prabuddha says has an in -born 
relationship with the camera. "She 
has the ability of changing before 
the camera/' he says about her. 


change each brief!" says wife 1 ania 
smugly. 

Prabuddha explains, "When an ad 
agency commissions me for a job they 
pay me not only for my technical abilit- 
ies but also my creativity Besides, I'm 
not divorced from the jargon of adm- 
en when they speak of advertising 
objectives or marketing strategies. 
Since they are not photographers 
themselves I must interpret their brief 
and then translate it into photographs. 
So, yes, a lot of the initiative is mine " 

A word of warning for admen. 
Never ever make the mistake of bring- 
ing your little book of 'Advertising 
Greats' to Prabuddha for emulating. 

"I show such people the door," says 
Prabuddha blowing another smoke 
ring towards the ceiling. 

P lagiarism is what he obviously 
hates and accusations of this enra- 
ge him — just like they did when the 
Tuff shoes ad controversy broke This 
lanky photographer whose lens had 
captured the models Milind Soman, 
Madhu Sapre — and the serpent — ent- 
wined together, all in the name of sell- 
ing shoes, refused to comment on the 
campaign when it ran into troubled 
waters. The campaign was lambasted, 
banned and thereafter hastily 
withdrawn 

Today he explains, "The attempt 
was to shock and have the product 
noticed We never intended to offend 
anybody's sensibilities." Besides, 
when ihe Indian moral code came 
cracking down on the team behind the 
ad, Prabuddha, part concept ualiser of 
the campaign, was smarting at the sug- 
gestion that the ad had been plagiaris- 
ed from a foreign campaign 

"I felt exonerated when the same 
advertisement won an international 
award in New York There was an ele- 
ment of thrill at having won acclaim 
for the ad which had competed with 
countless campaigns from the world 
over and had been criticised in one's 
own country," he says 

More importantly, Prabuddha was 
absolved of the charge of plagiarism, 
as amongst the competition was the 
Calvin Khen advertisement that he 
had supposedly mutated. 

While he rides a euphoric wave non- 
chalant 1) , Prabuddha gets on with his 
next project This lime it's contribut- 
ing to a book on the ten years of the car- 
eer of designer Suneet Varma And 
going by his track record, that should 
prove to be a smashing success as 
well ■ 



11 


Focus 

CAUGHT INAJAM 

That hest sums n[> (.aft ntta traffic; hut . asks Rajlakshmi Bhattacharyya . 

is there any hofe of improvement? 


I t is said w lien the ^ unj; ;yfs \ 
tuu^h.tlu loui;h e,el vaoiml; Ini a! i 
iiitta I In ui^h. mu 1 has eeHo be 
ti >i i^.h to hattleope's vwv 
through tlu» !i .if hi And mthisut\ 

I rat f K itself 1*. hut a hvw nrd lor « ■ i.i- • 
and sheer pandemonium j 

and trucks v han>;e lanes 
at v\ ill. often missme, each othei h\ th« ■ i 
prm eibial w lu-koi , hawkers peJdit ! 
thrirw ares on the footpaths so that j 
pedi'strams hav e little i h « »m hu* to : 
walk 01" the i * Vi Ti uhv ded roads. .llid 1 
thelr.iltu polue u his| 1 1 impviLmfh. . 
into their \sulk«i -talk :cs. and I line, ! 
their arms ,ii ound hut to little <u ,iil ; 
More often than not the i omplete l*u k j 
of road disuplmr slows the hatlk | 


dov\ n to a snail’s p.n e mat it 
impossible to show up am v\ line on 
time 

Hut u hat ails mu ir.iltu system 1 Is 
thn e p« » met h« »d in the madiu ss that 
• unvnlh prevails 1 

! he iirst ,md perh ip- tin* most 
insurim unt.ibli piohlem is thatot 
inadequate road span- Calcutta has a 
meddle si\ per ient as compared to 
Bombay's 2M pi. t eent a rut I Vllu's ? r ' 
pei i ent ol road sp.u «* I In raho indiiri- 
tes not on I \ » pam it v in the numlv r ol 
1 1 MUimitahli loads hut uKo madei|ii.i 
te w uUh of i \i dim; ones \ l«irp,e 
i tin; if oi tin' io.i i spare is taken up hv 
alle\ s and ha* k lanes lli.il are m»l 
hroiid cm Mir.l i loan omniodriiej two- 


wriv Iratlic ol cars leave alone buses 
I o tui i her com plu ate the situation is 
| the tail lh«. t buses aie not allowed to 
1 ( i\o thioue.fi residential areas, and have 
■ to ply on tlie mam arterial roads 
* ’[ rams aNo contribute to traffic bol- 

1 tlenci k** r hv hieakinp down on sin h 
! main maiUas H K ( .ane.uli street 
1 KabinJra saiani Amherst Street and 
! Me. Uoad i all ntta I ramw.iv s has 
! b*vn asf ed bv the tiatlu police depart - 
j menl !u e breakdown \ .ms ,it sin It 
j road i rossiiij-s. so that the minimum 
i ini onv emeiu e I* j aused 
i lalkottialhi signal equipment' , 

| and \ o»* would e\ eri .. lew m ar s 
j av;o be lalkuii; i *t funk I he signal* 
i hav e neither been , it >Ie to east the Irat 


A typical traffic jam in Calcutta 





arroslmcj a iay walker during last year's Traffic Week 

in jams noi ha> e tlif\ it'pl.Kri 1 the | Anoidm,’ to the latest miwis rsh j |ih mi; !< ami f min C entra) ( r i It ufl.i In 

traditional lonstahles iln \ stand, oil- 1 mates ( al* utla n said to he the rn- »s' ’ .i\ old lalhes I he v »ad vxiil i ul acros-. 

m HmJ .is ,i hat nil hcshk painted ! denst *v populated metropolis I In i tin* pai k and extend Irnm the 1 *,pla 

at turns hhnku 1 : 4 amber li>;hl In [ rise in the number ni vein* le- land luule I as? Ka| Hhavan i ro-siny, In the 

nuvk, peril.. ps I lie pi ni. »us state nl j there at e 1(H) "HHl new wiisrxeix , ( ln>w nn^hee s \ Ikinetie. Kn.ul 

t f ic‘ « » l \ l *trattu » month) hitting tlie rn, ids huxe also hksmiv Om* the 1 oad i-% laid, C entral 

1 he si»u itjmi lm^hl impmx'e nine . I* ept p-n e v\ dh tlu i;jox\ th in popula 1 C <il« mU.i tiatiu \\ ill not ha w louse 

lhemo;.uiK {H-njn! iMmpl.-inented 1 tion tii;uies ! 1 solanade I ast .it all I iu.l sln-U h will 

I his w ill i edi u i‘ tin* * niu eutration nl j l hie nl tin* pi un ipai \v ax s In s. >I\ e 1 hi ,oirlx maintained tm i a Hies Indue 

truth* in siu h ar ti nal i oads ,is ihei risisol luvuieii snail sp t ne x\as the i nurse nl tune 1 ^plunadi I ast can 

< lum nnejiee and Park^lieel I In ; introduction nl v ,m wax trahii 'he he.nnn dieullu i.il \ emu Mtinihes 

wi'^Utii t la nk nl ^fi.inu Uoao is. hemp, , 1 1 rsl .it tern pi \\, as ma» ie si u i < ‘ssl ul'ix e\\ i *pl ih« ma|u: nne * \\ 1 . a h will he 

miiiretwif and un» e Ilia! is »mmpiote ‘ m/\ era! vear • -i,.’ > in the Pur k Mn et 1 held at llu I >i i^ade P.nado ^umnil 

i ' s expe* ted that the cnhic I h n\ iah C a max street I lieatre l\uad area ^ ol ]» il is mere aux xxax to p»e\ eui tial 

hi Mind iMltk will * l in se «il uni; it. e,i\ j tins x\ ,n no* extended m it lur till a lev\ Iu hi me, di-au pled h\ demon -.Mahons 

me, the mam i itx a mi L s I he with ; xearsa^n inlanuaix P'hil and pm- r*- ,]mm ' \\ hm ih.\ , 

diavx 1 ol hams m this area has also • 1 hi ■ one- w ax i in* illations i - n siihs.di w ell pLumai! pi oi e-— n m and mt» m n .a 

enme iis s< -ik*w htit nt a i ehet fn iratlu i aix rnad> hnkinp. w lth mam ar ter Lil turn i mins x^ i II u, adx m-i.wi in !<j 

commuters And om e tin* Metro is i mad - has mad* --omedilk rerv elo trat pr- >x kli alter uati\ e n >.iti *- toi n» -nal 

lulls nj’iM at mnal, it is rxpw ted In c u j hi speeds though not In i per ■ ept i hie mat. m n.ts j t il 1 tinnlliei h m { lie i a! is ’sts^ 

r\* the hrim! nt the nor t)i -smith tiattu j decree ( losing street * t** x »'!i u les sax Uamakt ishna IV, it ti i snap 

" A kijMiiese team lias s Ul »,.est«\l the j either pailiaih nr lompletelx would | dem- Misfiatmn* cnmputi rised dis 

i nnstrui linn n! mm e llxi w e? s t>\er* j lu , lp regulate the ill >\' nt tralhi l! I pla\ hn.eds ,n e in t!i« pipeline tn ena 

bridges null ul mi‘ ped est nan ones 1 maVes sense lur uuUine toil »ie 1 'Si ■ eliuii » »w ne* s to t a k • theiiuh! 

1mm lluA mitral metro st.ilinn inter j \ew* \l«u k* t t« » tialh» .auK >n\i*itits !i».iii> Xniiiuuu em» nl- :in, 1 \! 

st‘i tmn jmf^rnx'ements and p*\!es|r lan . p.u kme, 'one into a hi mi lex aid I In r ad i« i .uul pae.ei s ha' e lu ipen, hi 

pki/as/' says s Ivamakrishna. Joint t Pi situation m 1 kilhoiisieS^juare » an he 1 damn imh- tin i oiie.estun! at times 

flraltk) But whether tliex will brmj; imprnx ed hv mak me; piniple alk to , \ > nniputerised t'atfn a sinn 

about an end i.» the il ill u ul ties nuisi tht'ir iitlui's tunn the mam road Whili , ih r oiij;li maps that are • > mu pun r viex i 

< ommuters lace is lnird to predu t The it is r »* >1 px»s^ihle to mi uxm* i nad I, »p.\i w id in i, -om! Mr proiidm^ 

number ot peoj'le pomin^; m horn space, a inure si lentilu m.ma jemenl mtm mahon f <* the mol« >: : ’Is le^a'd 

iHM^hbcuirmj.; slates shows no si^ns n| ol the e\is|uu; ones an epsiue a mi\iu» m-* i esti u hon- ir lam m tin i ifx uu 

p,i»in^do\vn .uul Lhentv is ill tlier sx sten ol traxe! , nt i eon ihem,.ti o:i n In. h ]i- jsfi.-M 1 

equipped to u»pr vx ith siu h In^h Plans are also on ti >! i\ mad ' line, and in Tru-i. ■», ini, rr <hu ' i.eix 

dumlvrs through k Ul ml. Park to help ' ehn les j .Miid.-im. - \!*- ml I v - ' » i , »s ,!i«is " l ! ’ 




CATCHING THEM YOUNG 

A new project in St Xavier's School is geared towards inculcating 
a respect for traffic rules in their students 


v. T AThen the chairman of the Civic 
; VV Affairs and Rural Devclop- 
j/ment Committee of the Indian 
[V ■ Chamber of Commerce, Calcutta, 

. visited Bombay, he was impressed. 
.. Not by the city itself, but by a 
' couple of ho^r^ngs that had 
Spearheaded a traffic awareness 
/ movement in Bombay. The agency 
involved in putting up the hoard- 
: - fngs was Contract, which was then 
: approached by the chairman to 
draw up a similar plan for Calcutta. 
; Looking at the overall traffic 
j situation, it was felt that schools 
, l were the most fragile and vulnera- 
ble victims of traffic congestion. 
Besides, it was always easier to dis- 
. cipline a child than educate an 
Adult. St Xavier's School seemed 
like the ideal venue for the pilot pro- 
ject scheme, even if its students 


yvouki be the first guinea-pigs in 
i/ifoe experiment. 

* * Once a tranquil zone, the school 
is now surrounded by chaos. Cars 
•‘ belonging to school children, nesh 
./ dents, Vardaan shop owners, visi- 
; tors and office-goers clog the 
streets creating both parking pro- 
blems and noise pollution. 'Someth 
4tnes the din due to traffic snarls is 
' Attfch, it is impossible to hear oneself 
^ink,?;rues Clayton Moses, the 
Xavier's School. And 
' : the streets, too, are getting nar- 
roWerdue to double parking, he 


adds. 

The time had come to do some- 
thing, and it had to be done last Ft 
is at this juncture that the Indian 
Chamber of ( ommerevand the Cal- 
cutta Police came forward 
Announcements were made at the 
school assembly to tell the childr- 
en that a special effort was going to 
be made to improve traffic in and 
around their school area T he 
children were then expected to car- 
ry the message back home to their 
parents ■ who were otten among 
the traffic offenders 'The kids we 
thought, were our best ambas- 
sadors/' says Moses. 

No sooner were the first zebra 
crossings laid, than the children 
voiced their observations in the 
assembly T hey were encouraged 
to cross them with their parents as 


a first step towards developing a 
sense of traffic rules Everybody 
agreed to name the area a child- 
friendly /one and hoardings which 
used a child's face to plead 'silence 
please' or 'if you honk too loudly, I 
migt /might fail in class" were put 
up as part of the gen tie persuasion 
drive. Warnings were issued that 
cars parked near the gates will be 
picked up. "Though," saysS. 
Ramakrishna, joint commissioner 
(CP) traffic, "there is a limit to the 
number of cars that can be towed 
away every day. The real discipline 


should come from within." 

"Hans to issue letters to parents 
by the kids have also been chalked 
out," said Moses and a need has 
been felt to take the seniors into the 
fray to give the movement more 
momentum. 

Though Moses would not allow 
his little ones on the street U > help 
enforce traffic rules, he has brought 
about a change in the very attitude 
of the kids. They are asked not to 
rush down fhe corridors and to 
stay in tme, which he feels is the 
basic rule in traffic training Interac- 
ting with conductors and bus 
drivers, issuing stickers and host 
ing contests in school on designing 
road signs, to essays on what a 
child should do wore he caught tr a 
jam can go a long way in instilling 
traffic discipline, savs Moses. 

Parents of children would be per- 
suaded to pool their cars bv rota 
tion every week so that the number 
of vehicles entering the /one is 
minimised.. Both car-owning resi- 
dents and shop owners have a right 
to park but tend to abuse the facilit 
ies offered. But if parking atten- 
dees and constables remain vigil- 
ant and honest, then parking ir. no 
parking zones could be reduced , if 
not prevented altogether. 

"There arc definitely some signs 
of improvements/' it vis Moses 
and even Ramakrishna has suggest- 
ed sending his traffic officers to 
school the children on traffic- 
regulations. 

As for the kids, they will soon get 
talking about the project which is 
expected to bo implemented in 
other schools, too, should the 
Xavier's experiment work out. But 
the children should be made to feel 
it is a part of their lives and not a 
part’ of their curriculum. "It won t 
be assessed nor would grades be 
put on it/' says Moses, "for that 
would be self-defeating". 

But, with luck, this project will 
produce children who know that 
traffic rules are not meant to be 
broken. They are there to make the 
roads a better and safer place to 
move on. 



IWcem boarding near St Xavier* a School 


14 



haveiompuleriM'd truth* signals 
With a view Umtu ou discipli- 
ne, safe driving and minimising <icci 
dents, theL\ilcutt«i Tr.ifhc Police h.iv e 
introduced speed c heck radars, w hie h 
•ire being used, according to traffic j 
reports, at the FaMcrn Metropolitan j 
Bypass Other projects in pi ogress are ! 
the list* lit wheel clamps on vehicles ! 
parked in areas not tailing within the ; 
parking /ones to check illegal parking, j 
useot breath analvseis to c heck drunk ; 
en driving and the use of cones or port j 
able guard rails to act as road di\ idep- j 
This is already in evidence on Red j 
Road to ensure lane wise flow ot traf- 
fic and to pie\ ent people tit>in bred 
king /jumping the lanes, 

One of the most pressing problems 
atleehng not |ust mad transport but 
the\ei\ lives of people who avail ol it, 
is the alarming rise m «itmospheric pol- 
lution In i c M r >, tlu*L alcutld tratli. poll- 
< e organised diagnostic c amps and 
Anti Auto Pollution Week whu h initi- 
ated a total of 12,227 cases against 
noise and blow -horn pollution What 
the c it \ i e ill v needs aie auto emission 
centre-* wheie pollu lion can be momlo- 
red and mob'le i hecks done Theeasi 
est thing would be tor e.n I' ow ni*r t«» 1 

keep )us care lean w huh does not ! 

•ilw ays cost nmi h w hen delei Is ,ire [ 



small and i elated to basic I says Ramakrishna While l l W4 registe- 

mauilenance red latal c uses, in W9S, he puts the 

Responsibiliti must also In- with 1 figure to The number m accidents 
citizens \\ ho are too dilhdent to share j are highest I tom S am- 1 pm, 4pn\-7 
the blame foi traliic congestion With j pin and Hpm A >pni I he tirst two zones 
zebra crossings pedestrian llvovers ! arc* related to rush hour traliic when 
and sulnv,i\s reduce 1 *! loan msignitu- 1 even one is m a hurrv and tempers are 
ant pari o! the c uv s landscape, it was tr.wed 

ni^i sin prising to see 1,0% jav w ulkers 'Pedestrian movement can be core 

being arrested and fined last year trolled at anv point of time but what 

tiom various road intersections Wh.at reallv counts is a habit," emphasises 
was disheartening was the lack ol a Ramakrishna alcutta despera- 
sustained drive b\ the ('alcutta polite tel\ ne'eds a more conscious and vigi- 
"We h.n’e tried to enforce w hatever lauttr attic c ulture But from the look 
facilities are available so that near of flu roads, it will be a long timebofo- 

Si'.iltlah. a* • uients are on the dei line " reitacluallv acejmre's cme ■ 


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TRAINING Six months Inil-isi , i if tunning in i" r.sit'Ol ; !.j» Uriels in India 
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Time table 


All arrival and departure times are for Calcutta 

Day* of oporatiM u»in* 7-day code: ' MONDAY ' TUESDAY : WEDNESDAY i THURSDAY ;• FRIDAY '(■’ SATURDAY ’ SUNDAY 


* 


FLIGHTS 


Departures 

Fit No. Time Days 

* AGARTALA 


Arrivals 

Fit No Time Days 


DOMESTIC 


Departures 

Fit No Time Days 


Arrivals 

Fit No Time Days 


% 

AHMEDABAD 

AIZAWL 


■ HYDERABAD 


BAGDOGRA 


• IMPHAL 


■ BANGALORE 

,‘i' 1 ; i 

■ BHUBANESWAR 

■ MUMBAI 


■ JAIPUR 

■ JORHA7 

■ LILABAR! 

■ LUCKNOW 

m MADRAS 


■ DELHI 


■ DIBRUGARH 

■ DIMAPUR 

■ GOA 

■ GUWAHATI 


■ NAGPUR 

■ PATNA 

■ PORT BLAIR 

■ F1ANCHI 

■ SHILLONG 

■ SILCHAR 

m TEZPUR 
« VARANASI 

■ VISHAKHAPATNAM 





■ AMMAN 

i . 

■ AMSTERDAM 

■ BANGKOK 


- ii 


INTERNATIONAL 


■ BUCHAREST 


16 



Fit No 


Departures Arrivals 

Fit No. rime Days Fit No. Tims Days 

ft CHimGON o 

l,’ 1 '- 1 • 1 ■ f ■ ..I : 

i.'+ ; i !i ■ ■ : ■ 

ft DHAKA 

|*ll I IV } I ,N 

rtl.Ji'jc Iff. 1 , ! ... f 

;"ii : t 

r.-M . VM 

ij t\ . . 

* DOHA 

v.i i. i* ■ ■. ■ ! 

ft DUBAI 

filin' 

ft KATHMANDU 

"V. ! 1 ... 


Departures 

Fit No. Time Days 

ft LONDON 
ft MOSCOW 
ft PAH O 

m * 1 1 

ft SINGAPORE 

» • *if ■ 

ft SOFIA 
ft TOKYO 
V YANGON 


Arrivals 

Time Days 



Al Air India • BA British Airway* • BG Ei.man Bangladesh Airlines • Bl Roya 1 Brunei Airlines • D2 Skyl»ne NEPC. • D5 NtPC Airliner. • 1C Indian Airliner • 
KB Druk-Aii • KLM Royal Dutch Airlines • l 2 Balkan Airlines • M9 Modiluft • PF Vayudoot • RA Royal Nepal Airlines • RJ Royal Joidanuin Airlines • RO 
TancmAir Tiansport • S2 Sahara India Airlines • SO Singapore Airlines • SU Aeroflot • 4S East West Airlines • TG Thai Airways international • 9W Jet Airways 


IB 

| TRAINS 





w 

Departure 

EASTERN RAILWAY 

Arrival 

OfpUtUIE 

SOUTH-EASTERN RAILWAY 

ArTtval 

I Time 

Howrah 

Time Dn 

Lip Time 

Howrah 

Time Dn 

■ 

Delhi-tall* Mari 

Amritsar Mail 

Bombay Mail 

Poorvd (New Delhi i Fjqires^ 

Fooror (New Drthi’ Expire 

Hdftian! txp*QSi 

. . 

! 

Madras Mali 

8ombay Mad . w ■ 

Gltaniaf 4 (Bombay) Express 

Shatobdl (Rnurtela) Express 

; * •• * i 1 ' , 

Ahmudabad Expiess 

Express ■ r ■ 

Ccrrxnandai (Madras) Express . 

Futoknuma (Socunrierabad) Express 

■ : i 

■1 'Ml, 


fiajcta. Express 


Bangalore txpiess 


Jodhou* r*p r «s 

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huwatuti 

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Tab Stool Express 
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Amrltsai Exprift.; 

Kathoodum Express 
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ShaWipenj fChocanl Express 
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Up Time Seaidah Time Dn 

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:•!■ "i .■ Darjeeling Mail l 4 -t'. iv. 

1 Lai Quito Express >/. ■ . • '■ 

■h/-. ( Kaneftanjunga (Lumding; Express »' • i. 

•I's - Gour Express : ; 

v-r- >v Katiftar Express 

in. i Jammu-Tawl Express 

■i « ■ • ■ Mughal Sam Express : 1 . <. 

i; 1 Bhagtrathl (Ltola) Express 

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> . .1 ■ , 

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Guwahafl - Bangalore City Weekly Express ■ ) 

■■ v *. i fc 

, VI* . . , 

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.*. • .. * .v. .i , 

ENQUIRIES' For round iho clock Intonnat/on of Eastern Railway and 
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tlons) Train service enquiry at Seaidah 3503535-37 



Sketches 

WAR GAMES 


And the Jtenf’/r aim /tiny them 

This Week: Manisha Koirala Vs Mamta Kulkarni 


"■T TTow it began: Nobody is 
LJ too sure Manila's 
ft I supporters insist that it 
JLwJLwtis Manisha \\ ho started 
it allovcalling Kulkarm a 
'vernacular' type (a snide reference 
to the tact that Main la was from a 
lower middle-class background and 
spoke very dodgy F.nglisn) The 
Koirala camp, however, has a very 
different story to tell According to 
this version, it was Mamta who 
began the war by making 
disparaging references to Manisha m 
interview's to various film 
magazines 

So, what did Kulkarni say?: Well, 
the general thrust til her attack was 


on Manisha’s dunking habits, and hv 
that we don’t mean that Koirala 
drank entirely too manv IVpsis ti» 
beat the bomba v heal 11 Mamta was 
to be believed, then M liusha's putty 
true, and those unsightly tv ns 
around the imd-nfi owed moic to 
Baiaidi and toke than biryan.* and 
raita. 

Manisha's reaction: Spluttering w ith 
indignation. Kouala retoited th.it it 
was beneath hei digmtv t< ■ respond 
to such attacks bv H-grade a< tresses 
like kulkarm Hut not betoie she had 
pointed out that Maml.i w.is hardly 
the one to talk about putl\ and 

podg) arms, considering how lvuuh 
weight she had put on suit < hei 


salad days (when she posed topless 
tor the cover of Stmiiu>t). 

Was this just another storm in a C- 
cup?: Well, not entirely The two 
at tresses slopped speaking to each 
, other --ext ept through the columns 
of sundry gossip’* magazines- - and 
the vibes between them were ice 
cold it they e\ rt i in into each other 
Their friends took up cudgels on 
thejr hehaJl, and the mmoi skirmish 
had soon become full-si. lie wni 
Bui was there any truth to the 
allegations?: It voifre talking about 
Kouala s drinking Itahils then .lias 
we have It* repl\ in the .iftirm itive 
Her jnetereiu e toi t u ohi il is too 
wcll-dociiniiMiled to be wished a*\av 


Manisha Koirala 


Mamta Kulkarni 




Kajo! Karisma Kapoor 


She lias often reported on the sols 
with a nuissivt liangovei, and on one 
celebiafed occasion Mnhesh Rhatt 
rvrn called pruk-up once lit/* I got 
iho TlliMSUro ol Mdllishd s putty 
cheeks and Mood -shot eyes. What’-, 
niorc, koirala has oven sulteied the 
mortification ol tripping and Jailing 
down on stage, white poi to* mmg in 
a dcir nito abroad 

And what about Mainta?: Well, it s 
certainly trim dial tin* Kulkamis are 
nuv Maharashtrian Ivpos, as tar 
romo\ od trom Malabar Hill and 
IVddei Knad as you could possibly 
imagino And it is also correct that 
Manila hasn't had tho benefit ol a 
convent S' hool education like some 
others m filmland, hence the 
accented and less than grammatical 
English. Rut it would be hard to 
justify calling hoi * veriV After all, 
she is dressed in the latest designer 
garments -even it she does end up 
looking like a fashion victim at times 
— and by now even knows who 
Gianni Veisaie is 

As for tht' puppy fat issue, well, 
just have a look at her recent 
pictures and judge tor yourself. 

Why are these two at loggerheads?: 
Logically speaking, it makes little 
sense. Mamta is not really in 
Manishd's league, whatever she may 
say to the contrary- Koirala has had 
such major hits as Bombay, and is 
accounted a very tine actress. 

Mamta, on the other hand, is still 
better known for the poses she 
strikes on magazine covers. 



Raveena Tandon 

So, why does Mamsha bother to 
respond to Mamta's bitchy 
remarks?: By now, Kouala probably 
realises that she mad 1 * a mistake b\ 
lolling it lip But now it's too iatt to 
remedy matters She's already 
granted Mamta some measure ot 
legitimacy by retorting m kind; and 
indicated — if only bv 
implication — that Mamta isn't too 
low down on the stardom scale alter 
all 

So, the honours go to Mamta, after 
alL Do all actresses have these kind 
of cat fights?: Yes and no There are 
some like Karisma who seem to 
attract enmity even without trying. 


hirst, the Kapoor daughter got 
involved in an unseemly battle with 
Kaveena Tandon, who had once been 
close to A|u\ Devgcin. then kansnid's 
boyfriend The two guls attacked 
each other in print, and even 
Karismd’.s mother, Bdbi ta. got 
involved in the tiacas But oiu e the 
HevgaivKapooi romance came to *in 
end, Karisma and Kaveena math' up, 
and now will even be starring in a 
movie together 

But, men, hajol took otr trom 
wheie Kaveena lett off; and not 
without good reason She had 
started dating A jay Devgan land the 
l.itest gossip is that thev may well 
get maineci), and rather 
understandably, didn't like Karisma 
too much So, when the two heroines 
came lac*' to face at some studio or 
the othei, Kajol looked through 
Karisma 

The Kapoor daughter was not one to 
give up without a light So, she 
called up A|a\ and complained that 
his girhnend was being rude to him. 
Rut Kajol had her defence ready she 
hadn't had her contact lenses on. and 
so had failed to see Karisma. 

But what's the Kites! on the Mamta- 
Manisha front?: Thankfully, things 
hint: auitened down ever since 
Mamsna started going around with 
Nana Patckar, wiio, apparently had 
a very sobering influence on her But 
now that Koirala and PaLekai have’' 
split up- - so Manisha informed the 
press last month- fireworks may 
well resume.® 


IP 


Innereye 


RE.1AN DARIJWALL 


1 Aries 

: Mrii'.l; 21 - April A) 

■ { ..I*') “i 1 ,.l 4 \ ‘ 

Jmm, < "u • ’ 1 1 .■ j:r ■: i iii s' \ 
-m ih» 

■T o 'i 1 Moniiei tin 

i i ! ! ■* I l * 1 1 1 t *_i • l \ \ 1 1 1 1 ( 1 l ■ 1 1 , 

1 P- r 1 1 1 1 l l p, . ii'l ^ I ml 

iria'.iousl.ip*. iinUI i i ■ l i i 
i *11111 I iii ' i ■ ti ■ kn p tiii‘ 

: Mitinn , iM<i:u i»« 'iiv., rv i n i- hci 
j f* i» *rt i ' iii’ ih'i 1 T o push \ .mi 
I haul if \l.ii*.. • *n< ■ im u il! 
r«iii<n\ t ! ii vii 

Taurus 

April May 20 

IV ti ■ in \ m 4 .im 
0 CB&^ ‘lpii avoiding to 

BK Wrsln .isl roloV\ 

| hy!p » i'll li* 1 . i ki 1 1 it* 

hit im \».’iii mou'h and mu last 
,i- . |. i !lOlM*‘. |lMPnc\ l ha’lgr 
> m »\ r ■ ail i < m 1 1 > ingrthe* i.iiw 

■\|m I pi MU'S Will sks n*v k« *t 

I'l'it’lriii^ i iii- lv n .’ni"l out 

:i\ i'i. ju'ismti'iii t' iinj 
2i Vll . it v Null W 111 llilVi 1" lAo 1 
‘i.'Uiil 1 1 ‘•pt’iv-ihiSiti'” 

Gemini 


f'-.-lV ?\ 



June ?[ > 

■nil ■ i v ihiough 


ilium. v .mil \ i un 
liaoning h.-h.i\ umr 
i - it *r* ti'lii 'mill 

iilltln.il 1 sii- >ukl hi -.v ITlp.lMK’lli 

.11 H I null erned t* 'i iilhi-P' 0 
iii,vv’\ i * the .*-sue if should h<* 
'Villi V* Ml -,ll*ir1Jv t lUMlllsIlips 
»\ il! Olossom Mulualk 
!»• ■ii* , Iii j.il situations w rl h* st 
S* mm oppi Mlimitu *> *oi 
M1.IIH propie 


w 



Cancer 

Juno 21 - July 20 

I . r .m2 wort now 
real I v iomr logethri 
or i lash depending 
mi your iiLtiliid'’ 

*I'U1 will 1 1.1 vt* It i MU lil 1 1 sc. 
work hiird, wade ihmugh a 
! i tl It* opposition in mdei lo 
eel what \i‘U iv. Mil Non w ill 
h.uv lo shaie the i.ikr |usl to 
•ali-av o'U' ,ind nil Apiil 1 4, 
i *\ I ^ v* ill he unpoi l.in! I- n 
tin* news you d«« u , u"\ ( 

Leo 

July 21 - August 21 

• hr List million <mJ 
““ |! work possibilities ol 
i list. im pi.irr* will 
iinpiruv upon \ou 
I hosr m mini math mi I V 
r.lt'dll ill ' llldustM .in.’. 

{. lion Hi .J i nopor I, evpori. 
loreigu lI i fill ? s leadership .liul 
manaemiml li. lining do won 
dm tii 1 1 \ I' is.rn.jm tluit you 
e il! work vouisril to the l»onr 
I l ill '» to M 'hi ^ 

Virgo 

Augusi 2 J Suptcrnhoi 22 

! he hi. k ot the diaw 

ill hr with v> >ii h 

is .i challenging 
need >on nur.l hr 
iiphcat and put m j lot ol 
n.r.dwoik I oi tunatrly. vuui 
I WMllVlU Will hr supri'L* 
l onus and I units hu\ me, and 
si'liim, will i a hi vnnr hmr and 
talent Health safeguards 
tow .ini'- tin* work’s ilosr an 
e-vaMiliiii 


§ 


1 ^ A. . ! 

* 



Libra 

September 23 * - October 22 
You tin ^el caught 
midstieam between 
fi tradition and 
inoderiut\ 
Ri'Iatmnsliips could gc' ask4*w 
causing pain and disruption 
linn* lo change tracks 
eompleleh is tlu loud and 
ileal message ol lupiter- 
Salurn T hat done, you 
ihnuld hr on the high road to 
sui 4 ess He turn ol purpose 

Scorpio 

Octobcv 23 — November 22 
i uinesha s.n’s a tup 
would he tied in u itki 
Win k. studying and 
rr*o . li ivr ^oll i an and 
w 'll luwe k* take up v udgeis fivi 
Mi|Ustur and illlt’y politic* 
lobw ise there could ht a )rvi 
changes \ little extr.i v.iir ol 
\ our liiMlth is ad\ lsahlc S*i n*t 
wo»k v' ill liavetobi d«»ne >0 
U1.1t neifhei c Im s noi 
mloi'nalior is e.iven out 

Sagittarius 

Noviimber 23 — Decomhoi 20 

A nsk lakiin* \\r> k 
anil ho hum 
aimniiin si»l o( mic * 
_ liM do not appl\ 
t hikin' 1 ’ graudi hiLiiru. 
i'll!, a! I. <u new rntt 1 pi isr 
ile\ • loping e liohhi 1 ould 
i’\c itr \ oil Iheiluw will, omi 

tioiu t hi* slier 1 spontaniMu-i 
jo\ ol lining lhi'isHit turn 
Um von to take long inj's In . 
and 1 ontiai Is ait* to«viold 





Capricorn 

December 21 - - January 19 

Attention to details, 
a sense ol perfection, 
a grow mg 
anno\ ance with 
things as thi’y are will gup 
vuu You will have to move 
giiiiklv and efhuentlv vv'itluiul 
! rultling too mam feathers and 
j tlial ionld he dilhc till Sparks 
an* idling lo llv I tome 
. conditions rnav not he all that 
you ask tm' 

Aquarius 

\ January 20 -- F ebruary 18 
you will have to 
communicate real 
last and v\ 1 tl 1 exrep- 
Lional 4 lar it\ to get 
your tnessag" across and \ ou 
\\ J! d* * it While you w ill v;i*t 
.1 , .islant 1* irom others atlrasl 
.1 I ; 1 1 1 * * vuu v\ Jl h.o r t< • di ■ 
t« *lio\\ ups I here is plrnlx ol 
nio 1 rmrnt llio week, not in 
mi h* u nut of |< mu nr\ hut 
a!* o me 1t.1l ••liimila'ion 

Pisces 

February 19 - Mai»:u 20 

! i.o.1 iii 1 1 ta'nlrd 
< ’! Jr 1 . i pi* 'i! p.r.i, c ir' 
110a hop. « huiic 1 

hr klg.t 1 loi lilt lulu"' 

1 lus is a time 01 Ik ding hut it 
v il! lake . 1 tune 1 )' » li.n 1 . om 
1 \ 1 *• si 1 on the gi»ai Monex 
naiisai tron*. can he wi.'J. m< nr 
simple iiul c rentiv »■ i ,10111 ■ 
elloi ts and l>a- knps v* ill N 
1 H ■* s lr< ( ! he 1 ’ 11 k is In 1 1 >1 it. u. ( 

those W Il'M iMI'll 



BIRTHDAYS 


April 1 4 : Moon srxtile lupi lor- Menu ry stands for money. 

Mm ur>' tor skills and l.i*cju>e botFi are in good placing with 

the moon, this could he j year tor Luitillment 

April 15: M.irs square Jupiter means von would hav r to go 

slow and keep yv»ur wits about you. h you au* put m an 

awkw ard sjluation, you will get out ot \t 

April 16: Moon sextih'.s Venus-Laanus m<lir.it<\s an 

unusually poweiful birth year tve au-.e both money and 

happiness will be '^veu \x>n. 

April 17: I Vhpse of the .sun could livid to a slightlv tough 
“ye«\i m the sense th ii < vt-u work and . om miration will hr 


; needed tv>gi*l thing, s done Bebnve, a*t rightly «»nd thus hr 
I satisfied. 

April m Mercian, trim Jupiter means those who an' venters, 

| tea cl uts, filmstars, travel agents, astmlogc.-Ts will gt't the most 
out or it. 

April 19: Moon time Jupiter leads to a good conscience and 
a 1 lear nnnd all i»l which will vvurk wontti’rs At work and plav, 
. V our luck will hold 

i April ^M*Muoii-hatuni sr^hle shows ms u Iks and 
. rcs| '»nsi hill ties will matenolisL by August and l>eembt.*i. If 
1 }’ou d* • \ out part anti a little moie \v»u will win the game. 



Exquisite craftsmanship in International Standard 22/22 karat gold and 
diamond jewellery. Dealer in precious and astrological stones. 


CHANDRA 


A jewel of jewels 

475 6734 ♦ 27 7221 f 245 Si )62 





JUNIOR WHIRL 



HURRY CALL! Hurry, our elephant-rider friends 
are in need of a ladder Which path from top left 
leads to the scone'* 


ZANY POEM! Io hall a dozen, add half a 
score, and you will plainly see. !usf twenty, 
neither less noi nnm*-- do toll, how can tins 
ho? See if you can puzzle it out 


SUM LENGTHS! 
Place soveial coins 
upon I he table and 
ask someone to point 
to a com Call back 
you*' friend, provide 
a pencil a no paper 
and ask him oi her to 
jot clow n the identity 
of the selected com 
Alaka/am, the 


Seuet. Answer is keyed lo length ol the | 
lie-in to coins is di vised and memoi ised 
pertnrmaiu e of thi truk C *i\ c a a tr \' 





FIND AT LEAST 6 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PANELS. 

6uissiuj si s 6 uiS3iuj si pjig 9 6uissiuj ojp (aejj ui) souioiq f 

Buissiui 9JV sajoa € PSaouj si ujjv Z 6uissmj si >pog 1 . soouejawiG 


PICK A PAR LNER BOXING 

MA1CH 

mi KKS a bo\ i<>i this and .1 
bio t v n t ! 1 . * 1 listed u low And ihe- 
ie .1 vomp.mion list e,| hux 
»c , aled “| mi tnei s ' l low vjun kb 
can v v >1 1 mail h h* * s r 

1. Sandbox panelist 

2. Mailbox writer 

3. Soapbox bandit 

4. Jury box angler 
Shoe box voter 

b. Press box gai donor 
7. Jfatbox realtor 

5. 1 ackle box toddler 
9 . Flowei box postman 
'10. Saltbox oratoi 

1 1. Strongbox cobbler 

12. Ballot box milliner 

Note f acli box is to h.o e ( 1 1 -it on»’ 
pa r tni‘i 

f inie linnt ? mins 








T JH - l »*" 
■ ' ■ ■■ - 


Am’ fcfiA '• 
r <t h 77 y. t ./'*.] 


P^Ot!.?y PO^ RAPING 1 WAS vJliST \ 

vmv. i: ‘ir*uPc OlP who / 
Vf.\ ^.vifj r Mt. OF { / — ‘ " 

j&aa 




n>a S^PA^.N ■"“ 'S/T 0b’ 
j PA ’ W| r* S W A'f Z F , GOCD L OOK '. 


Ws 7 ncf.fi M'S Y| J> 17 HtARTHAT. J-JC- *ShE THlMKS 
• LOOK'., aw:; /Ms V I LOOK LtVE A V.OviE. 6V.f 



CALVIN AND HOBBES 




; J C 


WACTERSON 

\.F1 N\F CiAft w y4v\AX YHt )! 

rJtr\K.T»BLL I'S OM»Ay . ,' I 


^ atM* ? \ 


r-i MvjNbii \ 

V f ' 



z^jL. 






THE LOCKHORNS 



"YOU CAN COUNT LEROY'S FRIENDS 
ON ONE FINGER" 


"WMAT A DAY! !T REALLY WAS A JUNGLE OUT THERE'” 



THIS CAME FROM THE GRAY A-'£A 
Of MY COOKBOOK " 



I'M SURE THAT HAIRDO WILL COME BACK SOMEDAY' 


GARFIELD ■ 




BJT TOR tjuCH A THING 
that ohow« n thc PjRt., 
n SURL PON 1 r MAKC 
0*N HURT 






THE ADVENTURES OF LEGIONNAIRE BEAUPEEP 





! /.T5 / iT±5 T1M= z: 

/ OF US' “TO \ f CZAS 77-!S VVOU£\ 
T-i;-? -ACZ O- ->-= WO^L-O 
co aviSS* - 7 CrH l\C5 Li-AZ= 

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A. >tV. 


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IjNJ A COUP^s 
Cr :t*a> = 






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KEEPINS V^&NOOO 
^ 50 LONS ? 






Advertising 

GENDER BENDER 

Women are the current sex symbols of advertising, selling anything from soap 
to aftershave, but men have yet to get a look in, saysManisha Gulati 

he saying of course, goes: the J Nonetheless, you have Lhe example 
way to a man's heart is of the Yamaha ad, where a 

Kupugh his stomach. But step glamorous, sexy babe is hoisted on 
into tne world of advertising, to a bike to appeal to such hunks as 
and you’re left in no doubt that the would want to buy one. Explains ex 

magic pathway lies a little lower adman-tumed-editor at Television 

Ana that it is this road that most Eighteen, Rohil Vaid, "While most 

advertisers are inclined to use when men desire a hard muscle-toned 

it comes to selling their products. body for themselves, they don't want 

Oh yes, sex sells! And what's to go to bed with one Advertisers 

more its sells anything from Lee cash in on this and use the woman 

Cooper shoes for men ('W per cent in advertising men's product as a 

ot Italian girls want you to slip into way to lure the unsuspecting and 
them”), Peter Pan bras ( "What 1 like willing male ” 
best about Peter Pan is how Swati Bhattacharya, creative 

comfortable it makes my husband whi/ at Hindustan Thompson 

feel") to Bruhmi Amid hair oil ("My Associates, has a different take on 

heart fills with passion when I think the issue She says, "When the 
of my dark and silky possession," appeal ot the traditional copy and 

says model Mamta Kulkarni) visual look began to pale in the mid- 

Oi course, in Indian advertising KUs, people began to look to the US 

when you talk of sex you are really tor inspiration Unfortunately, this 

talking about the woman as sex came in the torm of nudity." 

symbol And she appears m every But in India, at least, this nudity 

ad, whether it is to s°ll glasses, or semi-nudity, if you want to split, 

mixer/ grinders or even the urn, hairs —is restricted to women 

motorcycle: which few women alone. So, you can have a mini dress- 

would ever dream of riding. dad Rageshwari nibble on Perk 


chocolates, or a bikini-clad model 
sell Liril, but you’ll never see Ar|un 
| Rain pa I in shorts selling lamca, or 
| Coke. And even when Milind Soman 
stripped down altogether to sell Tuff 
shoes, it was in the company of his 
fiancee, Madhu Sapre. 

But the use of women as sex 
symbols is not just restricted to the 
field of modelling alone. Take the 
case of the automobile exhibition 
that was held recently in Delhi's 
Pragati Maidan. Walking through 
the various stalls, one often heard 
murmurs of, " Ych model uihchi hai 
Quite understandable, you 
would think Only these people 
weren't referring to the cars on 
display. They were, in fact, 
commenting on the long-haired, 
short-skirted beauties who had been 





26 



employed by the organisers to take 
visitors on guided tours, and extoll 
the various virtues of the cars on 
display. 

But how often have you seen 
bare-bodied men in boxer shorts 
escorting visitors around an 
exhibition of household appliances? 
Never ever, we're quite sure. 

When it comes to the 
preponderance of naked female 
bodies in advertisements, though, 
who do we blame? Is it the fault of 
the advertising agency, which takes 


use of women in this way is usually 
the client's idea. 

So, if you want to sell beer, you 
show a luscious, perfectly lipsticked 
mouth closing on the can; very 
suggestive, and oh! so effective. If 
you want to sell a man shoes, show 
the woman of his dreams slipping 
into them; and ten to one, he'll pick 
up the pair. 

All of which makes one wonder: 
are women the superior sex because 
they have the power to sell; or are 
they the inferior sex because they are 



the safe way out, and relics on that 
tried- and -tested formula: sex sells? 

Or is it the client who insists that sex 
form a major part of the campaign? 

Says Nakul Wahi, brand manager 
at Nestle for Maggi Sauces, "The 
client is only interested in showing 
his product How it is done is not nis 
problem. It is the advertising agency 
that always comes up with a woman 
because of a lack of more creative 
ideas " Agrees Swati Bhattacharya of 
HTA, "Its the easiest thing to fire the 
gun from someone else's shoulder" 

Maneesha Cleetus, creative 
consultant at O&M, 1 long Kong, 
disagrees. She says about the 
Charagh Din advertisement for 
men's shirts, "The semi-dad woman 
is possibly there to detract from the 
shirt s flaws But 1 would say that the 


used as products themselves? 

But what about women 
themselves? Aren't they supposed to 
have fantasies too? And can't 
advertisers appeal to them by 
making these come true? 

In India? You've got to be 
kidding. The conventional wisdom is 
that the Indian woman is not 
attracted by sexy images m ads And 
that she would probably be put off 
by a product that sold itself on the 
basis of a bare male torso So, such 
ads — rare enough in themselves — 
are geared more towards 
homosexual men than heterosexual 
women 


But as far as women arc 
concerned; well, anything goes. Says 
pTadipto Nandi, who makes 
advertising films, ’There is a 



difference between justice and nght 
Sexist ads work so they are right But 
they are blast'd, so they are unjust 
Would I do them? At tno risk of 
sounding filmi, yes, it the product 
demanded it " 

Some advertisements can, 
however, get downright obscene. 

The Priya cinema hall in Delhi, for 
instance, advertises tor its in-house 
magazine. Interval, with this 
advertisement Sharan Stone 
j Spread(s) at intermit. Now available 
; at Priya " And some people like Raji 
| Madan, an architect, even buy this 
I stuff. Madan says in his defence, "1 
love Sharan Stone And if she’s 
asking. I'm giving " 

Pooja Malik ot IITA, Bombay, 
thought that, for a change, she 
would give the women of this 
country what they wanted But 
getting an evenly- tanned, well- 
toned, muscular hunk in swimming 
trunks to model her anantr gurde 
bejewelled costumes wasn't easy, ir. 
tact, nobody w r as even willing to 
consider I he concept Instead, they 
wanted a well-endowed brunette 
who was willing to reveal ail f or the 
camera. 

Because in the end. the customer 
is always right And if products 
continue to sell- and sell well- -on 
the strength of a woman's planes 
and curves, why would anyone 
want to tinker with a suecesstul 
formula ? 

So, what are we complaining 
about, anvwav? The inequality of the 
sexes 7 Or why women are so much 
more successful than men, specially 
when it comes to selling anything 
from candy to crystal ■ 


27 



Music 

AFTER THE GRAMMY 


Life goes on for Vishwa Mohan Bhatt; he's composing tunes, collaborating 
with foreign artistes and watching Hindi movies , reports Dipti Dave 



T hese days his favourite 

heroine is Kajol. "She's such a 
natural/' he gushes about the 
Dilwale heroine. Earlier, 
f however, he used to swear by the 
charms of Madhuri Dixit, and before 
her, that of Sridevi. But during the 
conversation he interrupts to give 
Juhi Chawla her due as well. "She is 
very beautiful," he says. 

He took 15 days to watch the 
Bollywood blockbuster. Hum Apke 
Hain Koutt..! and saw the Shah Rukh 
Khan -starter Darr m installments — 
once until the interval, and then after 


it. 

The late Madan Mohan and R.D. 
Burman were his favourite 
composers, and the song thai 
appeals to him most these days is 
KaJma hi kya , the hitnumber from 
Mani Ralnam's Bombay. 

He's our Grammy man. But for 
the soft-spoken Vishwa Mohan 
Bhatt, this sobriquet is only 
incidental. "I just got lucky," he says 
diplomatically about the award he 
received. But he's now ready for 
another Grammy, this time in 1998 
and has teamed up with the same 
company. Water Lily Acoustics, to 
record a CD titled Silk, Jade and the 
Begging Bowl , for the world music 
category to be released in May. 

His tace, flushed with the 
excitement of a satisfied 
performance at the Vijayotsava 
festival amidst the ruins of the 
Vijayanagar empire at l iampi 
recently, Bhatt willingly talks about 
his music and himself. For him, 
"unfortunately," popularity came 
when he, along with Ry Cooder, won 
the coveted Grammy award in the 
world music category for their 
album, A Meeting by the River in 
1994. 


Cashing in on the boom in fusion 
music, Bhatt has ventured into the 
territory where most exponents of 
Hindustani classical fear to tread. He 
recently performed a duet in 
Bangalore with lie Bine Chen, a 
Chinese folk violin (called an erhu) 


28 



Respite his aversion to duets, he 
says, "It was a unique experience to 
coordinate with a foreign instrument 
like the erhu and I would want to do 
similar shows in the future/' 

Bhatt is a visiting professor in 16 
US universities which has | 
helped by way of increase 
interaction with Western musicians. 
He recently recorded two albums 
with country musicians, Dabro 
(guitar player), Jerry Douglas and 
Bela Flack, in a Los Angeles church 
at midnight. "It was bliss," he 
reminiscences. "There we were in 
the silence of the night trying to 
make music in a church/ he recalls 
adding that the natural echo 
enhanced the quality of their work. 

"Playing music #/ since his early 
teens, the low-profile, 44-vear-old 
Bhatt is the creator of Mohan Veena, 
rechristened from the Hawaiian 
guitar in 1970. Though the 
instrument looks like the Western 
guitar it makes the assimilated 
sounds of sitar, sarod and veena and 
has 14 extra strings with its ability to 
generate the vocal style (gyaki ang) 
and to incorporate the tantrakan ang, 
which is its greatest advantage over 
the sitar and sarod. 

A foremost disciple of Pandit 
Ravi Shankar, Bhatt, however, did 
not let his guru down. His is no 
"hippie" music. "If my instrument is 
capable of playing that kind of music 
(Hindustani classical) then it should 
Kajol 




A R. Rahman 


be acceptable, and it was," claims 
Bhatt, replying to the early criticism 
his instrument generated. 

Thanks to tne Grammy, more and 
more young people are crowding his 
concerts. In tnis MTV era, Bhatt 
hopes to maintain a balance between 
classical music — which he feels is 
not for entertainment alone — and 
popular music. "Music today lias 
come to mean both sound and sight. 
The visual factor has completely 
taken over. An album's popularity 
has more to do with the sleek video 
than the music," he says, but adds 
quickly, "We won the Grammy in the 


Juhi Chawta 



world music category where a video 
is not mandatory. ' 

Bhatt, for all his loyalties to the 
classical, is, however, not averse to 
composing "good" scores for films. 
He was recently approached bv 
Marti Ratnam to work with A.K. 
Rahman "J may consider this offer 
because 1 think Rchman is the best 
we have, while Mani Ratnam 
understands music," says Bhatt, who 
has reservations about Bollywood 
producers "They often interfere 
with the composing so I have to be 
careful." 

He has even composed music tor 
the telesenal, Geet Govmdam , and 
music for relaxation for Music Today. 
In another album by Music Today, 
Meghadutam, to be released shortly, 
singers Kavita Krishnamurty and A. 
Hariharan have sung to his tunes. 

Originally, a Telangi brahmin 
from Andhra Pradesh now settled in 
Jaipur, the music gene binds the 
Bhatts more than anything. Bhatt is 
now learning vocal music from his 
80-year-old mother. His elder . 
brother, Shashi Mohan, is among the 
first three disciples of Pandit Ravi 
Shankar and his sister, Manju, also 
plays die sitar. Saleel. 24, his eldest 
son, plays the Mohan Veena and 
Sourav, 21, is learning the tabla and 
is interested in composing as well 
As for wife Padma, "she takes good 
care of us," he says, smiling 

What docs he do when he's not 
composing music? "Mostly 
travelling for my concerts and, well, 
watching the lovely ladies on the 
silver screen," laughs Bhatt And 
who knows, he may soon he scoring 
songs that they will lip-sync on 
camera, in their most fetching 
manner. ■ 


29 








StCETcWs 


DYE-INGTOBEYOUNG 


All those who stayed black and beautiful 


I ndira Gandhi: Yes, 
ves, we know that she 
tiad one 

strategically- placed 
lock of hair which was pure 
white. frstQod out from her 
high patncfan forehead, 
and was a god-send to 
cartoonists, who need one 
particular feature to make a 
portrait come alive. 

But if you're thinking 
that that bit of white meant 
that Indira Gandhi had let 
nature take its course, well 
then, think again. From the 
time that the late Mrs 
Gandhi stepped into her 



R.K. Dhawan 


forties, she had her hair 
dyed. And performing the 
honours was none other 
than that high priestess of 
herbal beauty care, 
Shahnaz Hussain. 

But Indira realised that a 
full head of black hair 
would look unnatural on 
.■somebody her age, so she 
would ask Shahnaz to tuck 
a wav one lock before 
beginning work That way, 
she had a suggestion of 
white in her hair, and could 
easily claim that she wasn't 
one for denying age its due 
R.K. Dhawan: Talk about 
being more loyal than the 
Qu<?en! Indira Gandhi's 
trusted aide wasn't going 
to be left behind m trie 



Indira Gandhi 



Vyjanthimaia Bali 

dyedng stakes. Only he 
wasn't as canny as his 
mistress, and ended up 
with a head boasting of the 
most unnatural shade of 
black; hence all those digs 
about Mrs G's 
raven-haired factotum 
Chandra Shekhar. His hair 
became something of a 
national issue when a 
video newsmagazine 
reporter asked rum why he 
didn't bother to Cv,mb it. 

But even before that 
Shekhar had had to face 
many awkward moments 
in press conferences, when 
reporters wanted to know 
why his beard was white 
when the hair on his head 
was jet black. 



Subramanian Swamy 


Stumped for an answer, 
the former Prime Minister 
of India took refuge in 
anger. "Aap ko ken problem 
hai kyu 7 " he asked the 
reporter, voice shaking 
with rage. Needless to add, 
the hack backed off 
Subramanian Swamy: 
Those who have known 
Swamy through the years 
are well aware that his hair 
has been — gently, but 
surely — turning grey all 
the while. And Swamy 
seemed to be quite at ease 
with this ageing process as 
well, wearing his salt and 
pepper strands with pride. 

No longer. These days, 
Swamy's nair has been 
miraculoulsy transformed 


into a shade fit to rival 
Dha wan's raven locks. But 
such is the strength of 
Subramanian' s personality 
that nobody dares to ask 
him embarrassing 
questions , of thekind that 
poor Chandra Shekhar had 
to field. 

Vyjanthimaia Bali: The 

actress-tumed-politician 
has cropped her hair short, 
but it is still as dark as ever 
But then, nobody should be 
too surprised by that. After 
all, she is from the world of 
show business, where 
illusion is all and reality 



Rajesh Khanna 

only a minor nuisance 
Rajesh Khanna: He is the 
best example of how not to 
age. Not only has our Kaka 
gone fat and jowly, he has 
also lost an enormous 
amount of hair. Of course, 
what he has left is dyed to 
within an inch of its life. 

But for the 

ex-Phenomenon of Hindi 
cinema this is not enough. 
His keen attention to detail 
entails that he also pamt his 
scalp a matching shade of 
black, so that it doesn't 
shine through his sparse 
hair. Some, of course, insist 
that this is but a foul 
rumour. But nobody's 
willing to go near enough 
to find out. ■ 


30 







In Karnataka 
the 

entrepreneurs 
can now dance 
their way to 
profits 



If you have a tourism- releatcd project in mind, 
fill in and mail die coupon to - 

Th^ Director. 

# Department of Tourism 

C Government of Karnataka 
1 Floor, 'F‘ Block. Cauvery Bhavan, 
K G Road, Bangalore 560 009. 
Tel . 2215489 Fax ■ 080 2272403 


Karnataka tourism 
invites investors 

The tourism industry in Karnataka is poised lor a big future. Drawing 
18 million visitors annually and with a turnovci of Rs. 1.200 crore. the 
state boasts of a wide variety of tourist attractions covering history, 
architecture, art and culture wild life sanctuaries, beaches and 
metropolitan cenlres. All laid out in 1,91,791 square kilometres of 
Nature’s choicest land 

incentives and Concessions for the Tourism 
Industry in the State 

The Karnataka Government has a package of incentives and 
concessions for lire tourism industry 

• Investment subsidy • Exemption from sales tax, luxury tax. 
stamp duty & concession in registration charges • Power tariff relaxed 

• Waiver of fee for converting agricultural land into commercial land 

• Special concession lor various catcgones • Incentives tor utilising 
non conventional energy sources and also for a large tourism industry 



Single Window Agency 

The Department of “Tourism lias setup a Single Window Agency to 
clear the project* speedily It 

• considers the applications of entrepreneurs and the locations of 
the pi eject • hnalises the extent of land A>uilding required for the 
project and enables the acquisition and sanction ot same througn the 
appropriate Government Agencies • considers means o! financing 
the protect b v way of subsidy, equity, loan?* through the Government 
agencies like KSFC, KSIIDC • sanctions infrastructure! fauhlv by 
way of power and waiei 

A few possibilities 

• Developing Hotels, Beach resorts, Eco resorts and 
C onvention centres • Promoting Wawr sports and developing Gnlt 
courses • Bangalore having International Standard Airport theic 
is scope to develop airports 'n Nassau, Hubh and Mysore 

Profit from leisure 


[""Yes I am inter e-iteri Send me iru>ie cletaik 

| Name . , _ _ . . _ 

Designation 
1 Aikfrcss _ 

! Tel _ . I- ax 

| Snperscnbe the envelope "Single Window Agent v“ 

jf4 CxAtc*U^ K%**tCU6C&. 


In Karnataka 

the 

entrepreneurs 
can now dance 
their way to 
' profits 



If you have a tourism- releated project jn mind, 
fill in and mail the coupon to 



The Director, 

Department of Tourism 

Government of Karnataka 
I Floor, T 1 Block, Cauvcry Bhavan, 
K.G. Road, Bangalore - 560 009. 
Td . 2215489 Fax : 080-2272403 




Karnataka tourism 
invites investors 

The tourism industry in Karnataka is poised for a big future. Drawing 
18 million visitors annually and with a turnover of Rs. 1,200 crore, the 
state boasts of a wide variety of tourist attractions covering history, 
architecture, art and culture, wild life sanctuaries, beaches and 
metropolitan centres All laid out in 1,91,791 square kilometres of 
Nature’s choicest land. 

Incentives and Concessions for the Tourism 
Industry in the State 

The Karnataka Government has a package of incentives and 
concessions for the tounsm industry. 

• Investment subsidy • Exemption from sales tax, luxury tax, 
stamp duty & concession in registration charges • Power tariff relaxed 

• Waiver of fee for converting agricultural land into commercial land 

• Special concession for various categories • Incentives for utilising 
non conventional energy sources and also for a large tourism industry. 



Single Window Agency 

The Department of Tourism has setup a Single Window Agency to 
dear the projects speedily. It 

• considers the applications of entrepreneurs and the locations of 
the project • finalises the extent of land /building requiied for the 
project and enables the acquisition and sanction of same througn the 
appropriate Government Agencies • considers means of financing 
the project by way of subsidy, equity, loans through the Government 
agencies like KSFC, KSI1DC • sanctions infrastructural facility by 
way of power and water 

A few possibilities 

• Developing Hotels, Beach resorts, Eco-resorts and 
Convention centres • Promoting Water sports and developing Golf 
courses • Bangalore having International Standard Airport, there 
is scope to develop airports in Hassan, Hubli and Mysore. 

Profit from leisure 

fveT I am interested. Send me more details. 

| Name 

■ Designation 

■ Address : 

I Tel Fax . _ 

| Superscribe the envelope "Single Window Agency 1 

<UMM4U€Ce>. 


1 

.J 


21 APRIL 1996 



PSSTmortem 


The Swadeshi 
Indian 

m Shashi Tharoor evident- 
ly has great wit and an 
incisive mind (Tharoor's 
Indict' March 3). 

tt is truly an ignominy 
that India prospers within 
its five-star glitz and crorc 
pati culture while life out- - 
side grapples with dimin- 
ishing returns. It appears 
that the folk who form the 
vanguard of our society 
| and the fortunes of whom 
i are determined by the fate 
i of that society, need to be 
I educated in the art of a 
j nation's survival, 
j India certainly needs 
. globalisation but not of 
| the kind that boomerangs 
| on the people. 

, Shouri Chose, 
j Calcutta 


H It's a tragedy that 
our Swadeshi gentle* 
man who cares so 


much for his family 
(First Person, February 
11) and country and is 
m sincerely devoted »o 
Rte motherland, is a f \ 
0f:N^wYoHt. 


Mi 

Of: 


Ctfr&tU 


m It is heartening to learn 
that Tharoor is not daz- 
zled by die opening up of 



Officially or unofficially, do we need this drink? 


India to Western culture, 
but is rather disillusioned 
by it 

Today, everyone seems 
to have his own definition 
of globalisation. 

We need to ponder 
whether the neo- Western 
culture that is developing 
so fast, can effectively 
complement our heritage 
and values that we still 
nurture. 

We cannot mindlessly 
give up everything in the 
name of liberalisation. 
Joydeep Mitra , 


! Calcutta 

M The fruits of liberalisa- 
tion are enjoyed by a 
select few. An ordinary 
Indian cannot afford to 
stay at the Taj Bengal, the 
Delhi Hilton or the Lecia 
Kempinski. 

Only the affluent class 
caii enjoy a BMW, Cartier 
trinkets and Giorgio 
Armani oufits. 

The free-market econo- 
my has Westernised our 
habits and thinking with- 
out improving our 
income and standard of 


9 living. No wonder politi- 
| dans are caught in nawala 
9 scandals. 

| Should we allow this 
| attack on our heritage and 
I culture to continue? 
Manoranjan Das, 

Jamshedpur 

Broken Bond 

Sit It is a matter of great 
regret that Ruskin Bond's 
eminently readable col- 
umn has been discontin- 
ued. 

Could you please 
revive his column? 

Dilip Kumar Mallick, 
Htioftfily 

Right Prediction 

CS flats off to Bcjan 
Dam walla! I le had pre- 
dicted a favourable gain 
on March IB for Scorpios 
bom on November 8 . 

One of my dreams came 
true on that day. a letter of 
admission to a prestigious 
US university arrived on 
that day. 

Arjun Pratim Duttu, 

Calcutta 

IS We cannot totally dis- 
belief astrological predic- 
tions. Many times Bejan 
Daruwalla's words have 
come true in my case. 
Pinaki Roy, 

Patna 




PAGE 4 


lit IS a part-time industrial-stand .1 full- time 
politician. Amar Singh ot Calcutta is now a 
name to reckon with in Delhi's power circle. 

PAGE 26 


SHYAM BENEGAL is all set to release his new 
film, Sardan Return. 

Shyam Senegal 


mm 

16 TIME TABLE 

20 INNER EYE 

21 JUNIOR WHIRL 

22 COMICS 

26 LIMELIGHT 
30 FIRST PERSON 

Cover HupiMdr* Stij! T nj 


CcMRSTCXV 

The Irresistible Rise of 

AMAR SINGH 

How a Calcutta boy made good in New Delhi; 

Seema Goswami has the inside story 

HE IS A FREQUENT VISITOR 70 RACE COURSE ROAD, AND CONVERSES REGULARLY WITH NARA- 
simha Rao on his mobile telephone. Mulayam Singh Yadav wants him to accept a Rajya 
Sabha or Lok Sabha ticket from UP. Madhavrao Scindia counts on him for political savvy. 
H.D. Deve Gowda uses him as an ambassador in New Delhi. And his close friends include 
such heavy weights as G. Venkataswamy, A.R. Antulayand MadhavsinhSolanki. 

Chandra Shekhar called him “my brother" from a public platform. Amitabh Bachchan 
says that he is a member of his family. For Shyani and Shobhana Bhartia he is even more 
than family. 

In Calcutta, Subrata Mukherjee is among his closest friends, but he also shares a relation- 
ship of mutual admiration with G.P. Goenka. In UP, industrialist Ashok Chalurvedi of the 
fast-growing Flex Group, is his confidante. And in Delhi, he is a member of K.K. Birla's inner 

Subrata MuKheqee: Amar Singh’s political mentor circlo < a position that led to his appointment as a direc- 
tor Oil the board ol The Hindustan Time*. 

And yet, you may never have heard of him. Amar 
Singh, the part-time industrialist and full-time politi- 
cian, has shunned the limelight. When he has hit the 
papers, it has been because of his relationship with 
Bachchan or because of his Chandra Shekhar connec- 
tion. For his own part, Amar Singh has avoided giv- 
ing interviews. And when the publicity has been bad, 
he has fretted and fumed, but consciously refrained 
from demanding a correction or a clarification. 

Consequently, while such terms as trouble-shooter 
and power broker have often been applied to him, 
the public at large knows little about Singh. 

Few people realise that he is an industrialist in his 
own right. He has two units, one Of which makes 
ethyl alcohol while the other manufactures packag- 








***$«&uanb 



Amitabh Bachchan: His friend and business partner 


Chandra Shokhar: Close ties 


ing materials 1 le is now sett- 
ing up a Rs 50 cr< ire-power project in 
Karnataka; Amitabh Bachcnan will be 
chairman of the company and an equi- 
ty partner while Flex's Chaturvedi 
will he a director. Moreover, he is also 
a director of the State V ink of India 
and a member of its central executive 
committee 

The industrial ventures are profes- 
sionally managed, but the income 
allows him the freedom to indulge his 
first love: politics Hence, the network 
ol relationships with a wide spectrum 
of the famous and the powerful. Many 
people are friends with the mighty, 
but few have associations that cut 
across so many party lines. And Amar 
Singh is not a man for casual acquain- 
tances; each of these relationships is 
deep and long-lasting. 

It is in keeping with the air of myste- 
ry that surrounds him that few people 
realise that despite his jot-setting 
lifestyle— -breakfast in Bombay, lunch 
m Lucknow and dinner in Delhi — 
Amar Singh is a Calcutta boy. 

I iis head may be in the clouds as he 
soars from height to height but his 
roots are firmly planted in Chittaran 
jan Avenue and Burrabazar 

B orn in January 1956 to a trading 
family in Calcutta, Amar Singh 
had a childhood that was less than 
idyllic. His father had inherited a shop 


that sold building fittings in the con- ! 
gt-sted Burrabazar area of the city Ilie 
family mad*' a reasonable living. 

But says Singh, had a very hum- 
ble upbringing We used to live in a 
small flat on Chittaranjan Avenue 
near Mahajati Sad an There was no air- 
conditioning or even attached baths. 
There was no stress on education; it 
was just assumed that we would join 
the family business And there was no 
tradition of going on holiday, can you- 
believe it, I have never even been to 
Darjeeling, despite having been born 
and brought up in Calcutta?" 

Amar Singh was sent to the 
Saraswat Khatri Vidyalay in neighbou- 
ring Machua Bazar for his schooling 
Bui instead of learning anything of 
consequence, all he acquired here was 
an interest in politics. The headmaster 
and assistant nead master ot the school 
were at odds with each other and the 
assistant headmaster prevailed upon 
the young Amar to stage demonstra- 
tions against his headmaster. "The 
political bug that bit me then, " laughs 
Singh today, "is still affecting my life." 

Politics, however, was not all that 
was exercising Amar Singh's mind at 
this time Sensitive to the fact that his 
schooling hadn't been quite up to the 
crack, and that he couldn't even speak 
English fluently, he was determined 
to improve his lot. And the only way 
of doing this — as far as he could see 


-- was to try and |oina first-rate colle- 
ge like Presidency or St Xavier's. 

And to everyone's surprise, Amar 
Singh succeeded in passing the entran- 
ce examination to St Xavier's and join- 
ed the English Honours course. 

Ol course, things didn't work out 
quite as Singh had planned; and some 
of it at least was his own fault . 

"Instead of concentrating on my stu- 
dies," he says today, "I was only inter- 
ested in forming a students' union. 
Needless to say, that made me univer- 
sally unpopular " 

Not that Amar Singh tried hard to 
make friends and influence people. 

He was ill-at-ease in an atmosphere 
where everyone spoke public school 
English, wore the best of clothes and 
drove to office in cars — for the most 
part, imported. "1 still remember/' he 
says, with a wry smile, "that Aja> 
Kanoria, who was an industrialist's 
son, used to come to college in a car 
which always had a hanger in it for his 
coat and tic?. And he would drive 
directly to office after his classes " 

Amar Singh, on the other hand, 
used to travel on the number nine bus, 
and walk to St Xavier's from the Park 
Street crossing. And while the rest of 
his colleagues used to hang around 
the gates of the nearby Loreto College 
and Flury's, Singh (who would only 
get one rupee from his father every 
day) would go back to help out with 





the family shop. 

These stints convinced him that the 
family business was not for him, and 
that he would have make a life 
elsewhere. Politics was the obvious 
choice, and Amar Singh joined the 
Chhatra Parishad, the student wing of 
the Congress, hoping to make an 
impression in Bengal politics in time. 

His first political mentor was Subra- 
ta Mukherjee. then home minister in 
the Siddhartha Shankar Ray govern- 
ment. But the two became close only 
after the defeat of the Congress in 
1977, and Amar Singh's involvement 
in Bengal Congress polities increased. 
As did the anger of his family, which 
couldn't understand wny he preferr- 
ed the hurly-burly of street politics to a 
safe, secure existence at the family 
shop. 1 lis father asked Singh to either 
join the business or leave home 

Amar Singh divided he would be 
better off following his own destiny. 
So, he lett home 

T^hus began another phase in Amar 
1 Singh's life In which he stayed 
w r ith friends, depended on their gene- 
lositv to keep body and soul together, 
and studied law. It was around this 
lime that he first came into contact 
with his major political contact Veei 
BahadurSmgh. 

Veer Bahadur was only a minor 


minister in the UP government, but 
used to visit Calcutta often to address 
meetings held by social organisations. 
Amar Singh and he hit it off, and 
Bahadur Singh prevailed upon him to 
move to Lucknow. This suited Amar- 
Singh fine: his maternal grandparents 
lived in Lucknow, so hehada ready- 
made establishment to move into. 

As he hung around the edges of UP 
politics, Amar Singh met another man 
who was to prove to be an important 
influence in his life: industrialist 
Shyam Bhartia, who was also the son- 
in-law of K.K. Birla. The year was 
1980, and Bhartia's advice to Singh 
was that if he wanted to make it in poli- 
tics, he should stick around in the 
1 lindi heartland. No matter how 
strongly he felt about his Calcutta 
roots, no non-Bengali could hope to 
get very tar inpolihcs m that state. 

Singh saw his point, and decided to 
shift base to 1 ucknow. But not to dab- 
ble in politics alone, there was also the 
small problem of making a living. 
Singh set up a small plant of ethyl alco- 
hol in Gha/iabad — his family chipp- 
ed in with the investment required — 
in 1985, named Faster India Chemi- 
cals Limited; a business which now 
has a turnover ot Rs 20 crore a year. 

1 lis family, too, left Calcutta, and 
his last links with Calcutta seemed to 
have been se\ ered 


Amar Singh 

N ot quite Even today, Amar Singh 
is a presence to reckon with in Cal * 
cutta Congress circles Whenever he 
visits the city, there are huge hoard- 
ings and banners put up, saying "Wel- 
come Shri Amar Singh to Calcutta " 
rhe ostensible reason for this, of 
course, is that Amar Singh is a mem- 
ber of the All India l ongress Commit- 
tee (AICO from Madhya Pradesh. But 
not every AICC member who visits 
Calcutta gets quite the same treat- 
ment So. what makes Amar Singh m> 
special ? 





Madhavsinh Solanki and A.R. Antulay : 

Singh has his own views on the mat- 
ter "These' hoardings," he says, "are 
not put up by the party T hey are put 
up by humble Congress workers, who 
set- .1 ray of hope in me They know 
that I was one of them, and they feel 
that it I have got so tar, so can thev " 

And got tar, he eertaii.Jy has Today, 
he lives in his multi-crore resident in 
Delhi's (Greater Kailash, drives a Mer- 
cedcs Benz. and is a regular at such up- 
market restaur t mts a$ the I louse of 
Mmg at the T a) Mahal Hotel and La 
Piazza at the Hyatt Hist nckson mobi- 
le phone is never out of his reach, and 
is constantly buzzing as everyone 
from the Prime Minister to Mulayam 
Singh ^ ad- iv tries to get in touch with 
him 

In the run-up to the election, Amar 
Singh's life has become even more fre- 
netic He intends to campaign for 
Mulayam Singh Yadav ir* Uttar 
Pradesh, even though he has been kee 
ping m mdiMeronf health of late 
(Singh is diabetic). But, he says, he will 
only do so after he has left the Con- 
gress, because it would be unethical 
for him for campaign for anyone else* 
otherwise 

As tor his own political future, 

Singh is less certain how matters will 
develop ' ' I am desperate to gam pol »ti- 
cal legitimacy or leave politics altoge- 
ther," And in Singh s mind, the only 
way to acquire the legitimacy he so 
desires is to become a member of 


fcmar Singh's close allies 
Parliament. 

But no. he won't be standing for elec- 
tion this time- round. There are conside- 
rations ot health, for one thing, and 
then, there is his disillusionment with 
tile Congress party. "I’m still in the- 
Congress," he says, with a troubled 
frown, "and have gol many well- 
wishers in the party. But senior 
leaders in many states like Maha- 
rashtra, Utiar Pradesh and 'Iamil 
Nadu and not happy about the selec- 
tion ot candidates. And the denial of a 
ticket to Scmdia will have an impact in 
Madhya Bharat as well." 

So, has Singh given up on the party 7 

"Well, around the time the hawala 
controversy broke. Narasimha Rao// 
personally asked me not to leave the 
party. But given the way things are 
today, and the fact that no specific role 
has been assigned to me, it se^ms that I 
am not really wanted," says Singh 

If he dot's give up on politics, then 
what 7 Well, there's always the busi- 
ness that appears to be going from 
strength to strength, and raking in cro- 
res for Singh. 

But how important is money to 
Singh? 

Amar Singh thinks hard and long 
about this one "Money never used to 
be important to me/' he says finally. 
"But I have learnt the hard way that 
our's is a materialistic society, where it 
is important to have your own share. 
What's more, it is very important that 


I have the capacity to spend in my own 
cirrle when* the others are even more 
well-to-do than lam" 

Though Singh is careful not to com- 
ment, there is speculation in T>clh» that 
now thjl he has turned down 
Mulayam Singh Yadav's offer ot a Lok 
Sabha ticket, he will be nominated by 
the SP to the Kajya Sabha after the elec- 
tions That will give Amar Singh the 
legitimacy he wants 

The problem with this is that he will 
be identified with a single party At 
present, his low profile role in the C on- 
gress (as an A1CC member) docs not 
prevent him from hob-nobbing with 
— and being trusted by — politicians 
from all parties But Singh seems to 
think that Mulayam will not be overly 
possessive and that he will be able to 
maintain his personal relationships. 

It is a heady prospect for the boy 
from Chittaranjan Avenue. Over the 
last ten years, he has gone from agit- 
prop on the streets of Calcutta to Arma- 
ni bandhgallas and state-of-the-art 
laser disc systems Now, he will have 
the best of both worlds: political legiti- 
macy and an industrialist's lifestyle. 

"But," addsSmgh, "I never forget 
where I came from. 1 am finally a child 
of the Calcutta streets. And that is 
where my heart still is. When my 
friends tell me that I am too direct in 
my approach, 1 tell them that this is my 
strength This is how I've got where 1 
am. And this is how I will stay." ■ 




EXTRACT 

Wielding the 

WILLOW 



Extracts from 
Slow Turn, a 
thriller set in 
the world of 
cricket 


BY MIKE 

MARQUSEE 


Extracted /Kmk 
SlowTum by Mike 
Marqusee; 
Published by 
M*enguin India; 
Price Rs 150 


he haze in the air cleared in the after- 
noon and though the heat was intense 
the atmosphere was more comforta- 
ble, at least for the spectators. Out in 
the middle Robin resumed command. 
He lost another partner (bowled 
Chaughiri, caugnt at short leg), but 
hardly blinked an eye, for him the occa- 
sion was one to relish, and he swung 
his bat in an arrogant full arc. He dis- 
dained easy singles now, which didn't 
make life any easier for his partners. 
Fours rolled off his bat to all comers of 
the field. Fven the wily Chaughiri suf- 
fered, though as always Robin treated 
him with respect. It was an innings of 
deliberation, as much a part of his 
Grand Prix plans as the elaborate cha- 
rade he'd been playing with the press. 
This was his answer to the old men 
who had dumped him unceremo- 
niously in the off-season while he was 
tolling on a second-string tour of 
India. Between balls he patted invisi- 
ble rough spots in the pitch, ignored 
everyone (including his batting part- 
ner), and managed to act as if he was 
alone and unobserved — in front of 
50,000 people. 

1 left the balcony and sought distrac- 
tion in the old newpapers scattered 
around the dressing room. But all I 
found were cricket reports and articles 
about the disturbances in Madras, arti- 
cles that made even less sense to me 
after talking to Lakshmi the evening 
before. I returned to the balcony, put 
my feet up on the white-painted rail- 
ing and watched, from under a large, 
floppy sun hal, tiny figures play out a 
finicky, infinitesimal drama in the cen- 
tre of a baking concrete oval. 

Robin moved inexorably towards 
his century. The crowd cheered for 
him, the same crowd that would bay 
for his blood if he gaveany of their 
bowlers half a chance. Meanwhile, 
other batsmen came and went, conclu- 
ding die pitch was impossible and 


Chaughiri unfathomable. Dour 
Donald Blackburn joined him and had 
limited success pushing the ball off his 
legs. But the show was Robin's. At tea 
he was 123 not out and returned 
through the members' enclosure to 
rapt applause. Cuthbart and Narayan 
stood in their places and roared, 'Well 
played', and 'Good show 7 . 

We all clapped him into the dress- 
ing room. Kidleigh gave him a cup of 
his special tea nad babbled about the 
umpires and the wicket. Robin said 
notrting. Sweat matted his thinning 
grey hair and dipped from the refined 
point of his nose His gloves were soak- 
ed through and he tossed them aside 
with a wet thud. Dougie, suddenly 
softened by the spectacle of the 
exhausted captain, replaced them 
with a pair of new ones, clean and dry, 
from Robin's kit. 

From the balcony I watched the mil- 
ling, stretching, jabbering crowd. Sud- 
denly 1 caught a flash of long brown 
hair, a swirl of white blouse and 
brown arms, I leaned over and 
shouted. 

"Lakshmi!" 

The long hair fell aside and above 
the white blouse was revealed an unfa- 
miliar, middle-aged face. It disappear- 
ed in the crowd. 

"That your bird then?" 

I whirled around. Kidleigh had 
sneaked up behind me. 

"Didn't know you fancied those 
coloured birds, DTS, ' he chortled. 

"Leave it out," 1 spat at him. 

He backed away nervously, still 
wearing that stupid grin. 

I looked at the crowd. How absurd 
to think 1 could pick a single woman in 
this sea of strange faces. I was annoyed 
with myself. I should have dropped 
Kidleigh over the railing and let the 
spectators tear him to pieces. Instead I 
had acted as if Lakshmi were some 
guilty secret. I had my hidden secrets. 


but Lakshim was the least ot them She 
had probably gone to work today as 
usual. Why should 1 expect anything 
else? 

After tea Robin batted on tor 20 
minutes He seemed determined to 
punish the bowling and hammered 30 
more runs before being caught in the 
covers for 155. 11 had been a classic inn- 
ings on a slow pitch. The applause 
lingered after his return to the dress- 
ing room and he was forced to acknow- 
ledge it from the balcony with a raised 
cap — his (former) county cap. 

Of course, theuweren't clapping a 
simple display ofuatting, however 
skillful. The applause was about other 
things. It was about Robin's dismissal 
by his county club; it was about his sta- 
tus as captain-in-exile of the English 
Test side; it was about his age and the 
near certainty that never again would 
he grace the ground at Chepauk They 
were as much a part of the innings as 
the late cuts and off drives 

Soon after Robin's dismissal 
Donald spooned a catch to midwicket 
and it was my turn in the middle 1 wal- 
ked down the cool concrete corridor 
and emerged through the small door 
into the glare of the sun, the noise, and 
50,000 pairs of eyes 

I had mv helmet under my arm and, 
suddenly conscious of my bruise and 
red ear, I pushed it on my head and 
pulled it down over my face. A mur- 
mur spread through the crow ^ and 
gathered like a little wave into a gentle 
ripple of applause. 

It was the story in the paper. 1 blu- 
shed. The applause continued as I step- 
ped on to the brittle, manicured out- 
field and made my way to the wicket I 
felt I ought to acknowledge the crow- 
d's apparent good grace and ever so 
slightly 1 raised my bat. Embarrassed 
enougn already fit had never occurred 
to me that my injuries would be of the 
least concern to anyone else) J was 
tongue-tied when Chaughiri himself 
came up to me 

"It's terrible for such a thing to hap- 
pen to you in Madras It's not like that, 
you know, not usually." And he sigh- 
ed and wandered slowly back to his 
mark, fingering the seam of the ball 
thoughtfully. Even the square-leg 
umpire shook my hand, said he hoped 
I was feeling all right and then opined 
that something really must be done 
about all this violence. 

At the other end, leaning on his bat 
and barely 9upressing a smile, Ernie 
beckoned to me. 

"They'll clap you to the crease, but 
see what happens when the ball 
catches a nick on the pad." 

to 


I shrugged and walked slowly back 
to my crease As I did I allowed myself 
to become aware of the crowd surroun- 
ding us like a vast saucer brimful of 
humanity. They were separated from 
us by a sea of empty grass, not to speak 
of vvire fences and slouching police 
patrols, but they seemed to bear down 
heavily. Go slow, go slow. 1 told 
myself, as I usually did, largely 
because there was no alternative 
Hold out to the end of play Keep 
wicket intact. Keep score ticking over 
I took my guard and steadied my head 
to receive my first ball from Chaughiri 

Like a hovenng, apparently motion- 
less bird, it hung in tne air for ages, 
then dropped outside my off stump 
and moved into my front pad, which I 
had luckily stretched well down the 
pitch. 

The noise, as Emit* predicted, was 
deafening, though Chaughiri himself 
showed no interest whatsoever. For 
the rest ot the over I attempted to eon - 
coal my inability to decide whether to 
play forward or back to the leg- 
spinner and somehow survived I was 
relieved when the strike passed to Ear - 
me at the other end. 

I managed to avoid Chaughiri for a 


few overs and even took some easy 
runs off the other bowlers, which 
made me feel better. Though the sun 
was beginning to set behind the top of 
the stand, the heal was still intense 
and in notime my clothes, gloves, hair 
were soaked with sweat. I removed 
the helmet and passed it to the umpi- 
re, who placed it behind the wicket kee- 
or. Injury or no injury, it was just too 
ot inside the damn thing. In any case, 
I felt peculiarly safe out there in the 
middle, among fellow cricketers, and 
the crowd seemed far away. 

One of the fielders stared at my 
wounds. 

"You look like you've been playing 
West Indians, not Indians," he said. 

"I think I'll save that thing," I answe- 
red pointing to the discarded helmet, 
"and use it off the field from now on." 

Thev laughed. 

At the non-striker's end, l watched 
the famous Chaughiri action close up. 
After a run-up of our stilled paces, he 
brought his right arm over trom 
behind the small of his back m a loop- 
ing are His wrist turned over so fast I 
could never make out exactly what he 
was doing with the ball and certainly 
could never read the googl v Ernie cop- 




ed well enough to the other end, 
though his scoring was only slightly 
faster than mine. He played back more 
often than not, used a lot of bottom 
hand, and poked his nose at every ball 
as if a very nasty smell was coming 
from it. 

It's supposed to be easier for lefthan- 
ders to play leg-spin, but against 
Chaughiri there didn't seem to be 
much advantage. My sole intention 
was survival Nonetheless, I clipped 
one off my legs for two and the next 
ball I sneaked past square-leg to the 
boundary for four. I began to relax. 
The longer I stayed out there, the more 
it felt like any other cricket match. I 
listened to the Indian players talk 
among themselves in their curious 
argot, a mixture of Tamil and English 
in which phrases like 'extra cove?, 
'well bowled' and 'good length' pipp- 
ed up incongruously. 

1 felt 1 had re-entered a private 
world, and yet here I was in front of a 
huge and utterly alien crowd, as 
public as if a spotlight had picked me 
out on a stage 1 know some cricketers 
for whom the whole game is an inten- 
sely private matter. Batting specially 
breeds this attitude. Total concentra- 


tion is required: There can be a long 
wait between balls and the only way 
to deal with it is to turn inward, to con- 
duct a kind of dialogue with yourself. 
This can become all-absorbing and 
even block out any consciousness of 
the paying customers. You know 
they're out there, but they seem not to 
matter, because in the end it's you 
who's got to decide how to play the 
well-pitched-up ball, whether to step 
down the track, or to glance the ball 
away to fine-leg. 

My footwork, slapdash at the best of 
times, was well out of synch on this 
pitch. Somehow, my score reached 18. 

I could hear Dougie mumbling under 
his breath. "Keep your head down. 
Don't worry about runs. Runs will 
come. Concentrate." But with each 
ball from Chaughiri the middle of my 
bat seemed to shrink and it was 
al ways a relief not to hear the clatter of 
stumps or the hysterical shout of 
appeal. 

I escaped to the other end. Ernie coil- 
ed himself into his cramped, tortured- 
looking crouch. Chaughiri delivered. 
The ball hung in the air for the longest 
time, then turned outrageously wide 
of tire off-stump. Ernie prodded at air. 


then swore. I avoided his eye It's bad 
enough everyone else watching you 
without your team-mates looking on 
as well. 

Ernie tapped the bat impatiently As 
Chaughiri flicked the ball from hand 
to hand like a card sharper. He turned 
and began his run-up, looking for all 
the world like a stiff-legged teenager 
learning to waltz. 

In the air the ball looked to be a repli- 
ca of the previous one. Ernie was 
already high into his backlitt and fol- 
lowed through with a savage swish in 
the direction of mid-otf. 

A tiny dick echoed round the 
ground. Chaughin's indecipherable 
googly had sneaked between swing- 
ing bat and static pad and gently 
knocked against middle stump, bare- 
ly dislodging a single bail There was a 
silent split-second as the crowd cran- 
ed necks to confirm what had happe- 
ned, then uproar Ernie stiffened and 
walked back to the pavilion with a 
glum, mortified stare. The cheering 
was prolonged and passionate. It wa«? 
what the crowd wanted to see, and 
Chaughiri had delivered the goods 
with all the elan of a master magician 
calmly making a volunteer from the 




audience vanish into thin air. 

The funny thing about this kind of 
spin bowling is how hostile it is. Its 
gentility, its sheer artful slowness, dis- 
guises aggression and violence. When 
you bat against it you are under a very 
personal form of attack. In which any 
weakness you might have ever dis- 
played will be used against you. The 
bowler wants you and no one else, he 
wants you removed from the field of 
play and he is willing to lie, cheat and 
flatter to get it. 

I was joined at the wicket by off- 
spinner Geoffl; Robinson. 

Geoff has a casual slouch on the field, 
like a lean, ghostly version of Give 
Lloyd. As he approached me he wore 
a surprised look, as if amazed to find 
himself the object of so many foreign 
gazes. 

"Skipper says shut 'em out for the 
rest of the day/' he informed me when 
we met in the middle. 

I nodded agreement. 

"How's the face?" he asked 
brightly, as if injecting a personal note 
in a business conversation 

My glove moved automatically 
towards the tender ridge on my fore- 
head. "I've got enough to worry about 
out here without that/' 1 said, and 
brought the hand rapidly back where 
it had belonged 

Geoff dealt with the remainder of 
Chaughin'sover with rock-like immo- 
bility Then it was my turn against a 
younger bowler at the other end. His 
gentle off br ,iks looked easy enough, 
but somehow 1 couldn't get the ball off 
the square. Suddenly Chaughiri seem- 
ed to nave blocked all the gaps The 
young bowler's reward w^s a maiden 
over and a round of applause. He look- 
ed quite pleased with himself. 

As the fielders switched over and 
arrayed themselves in their menacing 
spider’s web of close-catching posi- 
tions, there was a disturbance at the 
far end of the ground A man had clim- 
bed and mounted the wire fence and 
held a banner aloft between outstretch- 
ed hands He shouted fiercely. 

The umpire at the bowler's end mut- 
tered under his breath. The players 
exchanged glances. They seemed to 
shy away from me and Geoff, who 
were left baffled by the incident. On 
the man's banner were flamboyant, cir- 
cular, swirling Tamil characters, and 
from his high, uncomfortable perch, 
he claimed something equally incom- 
prehensible in a loud, hoarse voice. 

Within seconds a mob of police had 
converged on the man. Swiftly they 
mounted the fence to pull him down. 
There was confusion in the crowd, 

12 


some cheers and some very aggrieved 
booing. The man struggled with the 
first policeman to reach him, flailing 
and twisting away to keep his banner 
aloft. In the meantime, a second police- 
man had made enough room to grab 
him from the other side. With a sudd- 
en lurch both policeman and demon- 
strator fell off the fence into the crowd 
behind. The police were now separat- 
ed by the fence from their comrade 
and the demonstrator. There were 
shouts and screams. Police filtered 
through the gates into the crowd, 
lathis field threateningly across their 
chests. Five of them frog-marched the 
demonstrator along the aisles and out 
of a sight under the stands. 

The ground was seething The boo- 
ing and shouting came to a stop and 
were replaced by a furious murmur, 
as if the simmering cauldron of the 
ground was not quite ready to boil 
over. The police formed a neat ring 
around the boundary fence. 

"Come/' said the umpire, looking 
at his watch. "Enough time wasted. 

Play, please." 

Chaughiri flicked the ball in the air 
absent-mindedly, his eyes wandering 
vaguely over the agitated crowd i place, so what was to prevent me from 

"What was that all about?" I asked j wing attacked again? Strange as that 
him. | logic sounds it was what I was think- 

His head tilted ambiguously and 1 mg when my mustngs were mtemipt- 
his mouth twisted into a pout ! ed by Geoff's breathless call foi a stn- 

The banner said, 'Release Imprison | gle following an edge to third man 
ed Strikers,' he answered in the j I reminded myseli or Robin's tnjunc- 

ncutral tone-of someone translating j tmn Chaughiri bowled one on the off- 
for an illiterate foreigner. j slump, nearly over-pitched, but it 

I watched Chaughiri torment Geoff j caught me by surprise I met it with 
Robinson while Geoff struggled to ! the bottom of a hastily lowered bat It 
maintain his perfectly strokeless j dropped and c *pun at my teet. 1 picked 

defence But my mind was elsewhere. ' »t up and tossed it back to the bowler 
Arrests and disruptions at cncket j The next delivery turned into me. not 
grounds aren't so uncommon any whe- • very fast and I pushed it gently to the 
re in the world, but now my hand i on side Short leg pounced on it There 
unconsciously touched my damaged ; was no question of a run 
forehead. I kept thinking of the young j I played two more deliveries defen- 
man in the T-shirt. Strangest oi all, ! I sively back down the pitch. 1 looked at 
found myself worrying about Siva's ! my name on the scoreboard and the 
party tonight Who would be theiei | -’eeble figure next to it. 23 That had 
What would they expect of me? If Lak- been my typical innings these last few 
shmi didn't turn up, would I even j years A slow, somewfiat chancy pro- 
bother to go? And now 1 was suppos- ! gross to the mid -twenties, abruptly 
ed to stand out herj and block tne ball j terminated 

for another 35 minutes. I felt I had j Ihenexi bail was. short I moved off 

been cast »n a role I wasn't suited to 1 easily out of the crease, legs ci iss- 
play. j crossing comfortably, and drove it fir- 

I felt vulnerable and not just to i mly along the ground between the 
Chaughiri and his dose catchers and bowler and mid off. A tour. Scattered 
the (purportedly) unreliable umpires, applause At least, they hadn't com- 
For all I knew my erratic attacker pletely forgotten I was out there, 

might be lurking somewhere in the I felt better 1 felt 1 was at last taking 

stands. And if he wasn't there, then matters in hand, 
perhaps someone else with the same Chaughiri seemed unconcerned, 
intention was. There had been no rea- He skipped m, precariously balanced 
son for my being attacked in the first and delivered. I followed the ball out 






ot his hand on its high trajectory and 
began moving forwards to drive 
Then I saw the thing dip and swer- 
ve, as if it had a life of its own Too late 
I saw the idiocy of mv intended stroke. 
Still lurching forwards I didn't have to 
look behind to know* the keeper had 
the ball in his hands and was whipp - 
ing oft the bails The cheers said ll all 
My exit was accompanied by the 
same polite applause that had greeted 
mv entrance. It was a had time to lose a 
wicket Dougie pointedly ignored me 
as l showered and changed. Robin, 
luckily, was busy elsewnere. 

"Checking his shares," said Paul 
Walker, who was sipping cold tea and 
rocking in a chair by the balcony 
Dougie at last condescended to 
acknowledge my existence "This 
came for you." 

It was a typewritten note on thin, 
tissue-like paper: / will pick you up \n 
front of your hotel at seven, i 
Kumbaikonam . 

I was careful to hide my delight 
from Dougie f to would have regard- 
ed it as unbecoming in a man who had 
just been comprehensively stumped. 

Forty minutes later we gathered in 
the duo room in the pavilion for the 
daily 'meet the press' ritual. Robin join- 
ed us. Tea and lemonade were served 
(fresh lemonade, loaded with sugar 
and ice). Players from both sides 
mingled, chatting about the heat and 
the pitch and the standard of hotel 


accomodation. Everyone remarked 
on my injuries and everyone apologis- 
ed that 'such a thing' should happen 
'in our city'. Did Indian mugging vic- 
tims in London receive similar treat- 
ment? The Indian players wanted to 
know all about the cricket scene in Eng- 
land and in particular the situation in 
the northern leagues, where several 
hoped to play as professionals in the 
coming year. They were full of admira- 
tion for Robin's innings and keer. to 
know my opinion of Indian cricket. I 
was happy to tell them I was most 
impressed 

In one corner Robin held court The 
reporters quizzed him over the latest 
turn in his county dispute. He answer- 
ed with a face as straight as his bat. He 
spoke in his most deferential manner 
but v r as, as always, full ot quotable 
material. 

"All I've ever sought is a contract 
that refelects my contribution as bats- 
man and captain. I've spent my whole 
career with one club and I would 
much prefer to keep it that way. I'm no 
advocate of football style transfers 
and big fix?s. That sort of thing only 
destabilises the game and creates an 
elite of highly-paid super stars. I want 
to see better * onditions and fairer 
rewards for everyone in the game." 

When Robin had finished with the 
press ( abandoning Chaughiri to their 
merciless probings), he spoke to Mr 
Narayan who flitted about shaking 


hands and smiling at everyone. For a 
moment I watched them in conversa- 
tion. Then Robin looked up and 
caught my eye. Excusing himself, he 
walked over and pulled me to a quiet 
comer. 

"You spoke to Siva?" he asked out 
of the comer of his mouth, while smil- 
ing stiffly at a gang of passing cricket 
officials. 

"Is this a good place...." I stared ner- 
vously around the crowded room. 

"Never mind that," he snapped, 
keeping his voice low and his race 
expressionless. 

"Well I talked to him. I told him 
about ..." 

I spoke into a craggy sunburnt ear. 
"He's not interested. He's going 
into politics. He doesn't need it now." 

"Yes, I'd heard that," Robin mused. 
"They're mad enough here to elect 
him. I'm sure." 

"He said to wish you luck. He 
thinks the idea i« workable." 

I'm sure I don't need advice from 
Siva Ramachandran. Thank you. 

You'll be seeing him tonight?" 

"How do you know?" I was startled, 

"Narayan mentioned it," he said 
casually. "I'd go myself but I have 
some business calls to make." 

"I'll bet you have." 

He looked at me sternly, "Sarcasm 
can be an unpleasant character trait, 
David. I suggest you avoid it in future. 

I smouldered but said nothing. 

"You know my commitment," he 
was lecturing me, his freshly scrubbed 
features haggard at the end of the long 
day "If I have a plan I stick to it. The- 
re's little point in moving the field to 
cover tlie gaps." 

Ostentatiously I looked at my watch. 

"Tell Siva," he commanded, "the 
last thing we want is to interfere in his 
political career. It's his support we're 
looking for, not his time." 

"He's not interested." 

"He might be yet, remind him of the 
Coromandel Coast Investments sche- 
me That should set his mind at rest 

"What?" 

"lust remind him " 

1 agreed, but swore to myself it 
would be my last flight as earner 
pigeon. The two stars could pass their 
own cryptic messages in future. 

"And get Fraser to have a look at 
that head of yours." He moved closer 
and whispered, "There's a great deal 
at stake here. Our little proposal could 
stir up quite a hornets' nest," 

He plunged back into the crowd, 
receiving compliments on his century 
with the blank politeness of someone 
too used to bom praise and blame. ■ 



HARMONY PREVAILED 


Vaishall Honatvar reports on the art exhibition organised 
by Tina Ambani in Bombay 



i SaritimkeUin and Manu Parokhs 
| Flower and Animal at Window, were 
| both a little removed from the 
| harmony theme. The other artists on 
I display included S.H. Ra/a, with his 
j characteristic use of colour, and N S 
j Bendre 

! The response to the exhibition 
was, on the whole, positive. 
Certainly, the artists themselves were 
more than happy with the display 
that they had got Said lehangir 
Sabavala, after a quick round ol the 
! various halls in wmch the exhibits 
: were housed, "It’s a wonderful 
! exhibition There's a gieat deal ol 
j good work on display and it tomes 
S up to the expected standard " 

! There were some, though, who 
confessed to being disappointed 
I Latika Katth, head of the department 
of sculpture at tlw Janua Miflia 
1 University in Delhi, for instance 
■ "The exhibition does not come up to 

! S.G. Vasudev’s Earthscapo 


K Khosa's Joy 


i 


Y ou ve got to sav this tor the 
Ambanis When the\ do 
something, they do it in 
style And in all fairness, one 
has to concede that the Haimony 
show, organised by the Reliance 
balw. Tina Ambani, was not so much 
a display of money power as it was 
an exhibition ot the most stunning 
works by some of the best talents in 
this country What’s more, the 
inauguiation ol this arl show, held in 
Bomba)- on April 2, was an event at 
which the gliteratti showed up in 
full strength 

Adi anci Parmeshwar Godrei 
were in attendance, as was Harsh 
Goenka, who pioneered the trend of 
holding such events (remember his 
'Bombay' exhibition held last year 1 ) 
Ashok Advani ot the Business India 
Group was also present as were such 
first-division designers as Shahab 
Durazi and Tarun Iahiliani 

But among the socialites, who 
were dad in gold and weighed 
down with gold. Tina Ambani, the 
lady behind the show, stood out in 


her flaming orange ensemble, 
flanked by her more soberly-dressed ! 
husband. Anil The Ambanis were j 
the perfect hosts, mingling with their j 
guests and making sure that j 

everyone had a drink. But Tina I 

steered clear of journalists, everyone | 
of that tribe who tried to approach j 
her tor a quote was fobbed off with 
the Standard reply: "She is so busy." \ 

Once you got beyond the society | 
ladies, you realised that there was a i 
fair amount of art on display as well; ! 
138 paintings and 36 sculptures ! 

which were the work of 96 artists j 
from across the country. The j 

ubiquitous M.F. Husain contributed j 
two paintings but wasn't present at 
the inauguration himself because he j 
was in the US, attending the 
Sotheby's auction But Jehangir j 

Sabavala, who had contributed two ■ 
of his works, both untitled, was 
there m person. ! 

Though the theme of trie j 

exhibition was harmony, the artists 
interpreted this with considerable 
lattitude. Jogen Chowdhurys 



14 


:4 




'.-if ••'- 


Y 


*5* 


'V 


I H. JM*?' m ? s ‘ ot the cxhiblts °n 

i P bad rather steep price tags 

i ^ the . d a P a rt from the Husains! the 
; habavalas and two of the Razas 
! J^hjch were marked not for sale' 

, ; having, apparently, already been' 

! bought by thy Ambanis themselves. 

! Anjohe Ela Menon, basking in her 
ivcont success at the Christie's 
| auction where she out-priced 


r i*r 


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h 


Imx 


m. 




m 


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si 


s&i I 

m 




Tina Amban, light, ng the ceremonial lamp a, th* Harmony show 
the national standard one woulH 1 ■. 

expect," .she complained There's stone 57 l,nbuted two metal and 
hu, much work by all Linds of c " f * U, J*! , , res ! ltk ‘ d M ^»c,n to 

rirbsts, not necessarily uood " Katth which v ‘ S ""' ™"T rS ' botb of 

, which were priced at Rs'i.OO, 000 






■ 


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mw . aH * "«i, 

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$■ 


$V.V. 


j Manu Parekh's Men in Benares 

Husain, was asking for Rs 85,000 for 
' f.hny painting and Rs 2,25,000 for a 
: slightly larger canvas Despite the 
' pnees, both paintings were 
\ am ° n 8 the first to be sold. 

Some works were more 
reasonably priced, though. Samir 

“- 3S f S ^ ng for onl - v 

Ks 35,(>00 each for two brilliant 
triptychs titled Harmony I and 
Harmony 11 Prabhakar kolte s works 
too, weren't too expensive 

to hm?‘rh at ° Veryom ‘ ,hert> was keen 
u 7 ™ ert ' were - of course, those 
who had just come to be seen 
sipping delicately at their tomato 
juice and eating the canapes on offer 
i hen there were those who had 
! co ™ e tl ' have a look at the exhibits 
and to marvel at the tact that so 
many Indian artists had been 
persuaded to display their creations 
under one roof 

But then, as they .say, money and 
organisation can work miracles. And 
lma Ambam had both behind her 
not to mention her own charm and 
considerable persuasive powers ■ 


Ti 


f 


IME TABLE 

All arrival and departure times are for Calcutta 

Day* of operation uaing 7-day coda: 3 ■ MONDAY & TUESDAY WEDNESDAY ' 4 : THURSDAY $ FRIDAY © SATURDAY <T> SUNDAY 

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nr 'i, 


Al Air India • BA Bntish Airways • BG Biman Bangladesh Airlines • Bl Royal Brunei Airlines • D2 Skyline NEPC • D5 NEPC Airlines • 1C Indian Airlines • 
KB Druk-Air • KLM Royal Dutch Airlines • LZ Balkan Airlines • M9 Modiluft • PF Vayudoot • RA Royal Nepal Airlines • RJ Royal Jordanian Airlines • RO 
Tarom Air Transport • S2 Sahara India Airlines • SQ Singapore Airlines • SU Aeroflot • 4S East West Airlines • TG Thai Airways International • 9W Jet Airways 


TRAINS 


Departure 
Up rime 


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EASTERN RAILWAY 

Howrah 


Delhi -Kalka Mall 


Bombay Mall . .. >v:"i v- 4 

Poor# (New Delhi) Express 

i ; ■, i- . \ 

Poona (New Dellil) Express 

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Rajdhani Express 


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Departure 


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' ‘J'HJ 

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! - IM 

' 1 "1 


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SOUTH-EASTERN RAILWAY 

Howrah 

Madras Mall 


GHanjall (Bombay) Express 
Shatabdl (RourtoMa) Express 
. . f r ' 1 1 

Ahmedabad Express 
Kurta Express .■! \ ... 
Coromandal (Madras) 
Fulaknuma (f 


Express 


Arrival 

Time Dn 


i »i. 

. 1 .V ' l 


• i i' ; j 


'i /: 
'■l "i 1 


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L'«l IS 

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■ ! 211 

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2D s*j 

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12-40 


Rajdhani Express . 

Jodhpur Express 

Shatabdi (Bokaro Steel City) Express 

■ : i • 1 i :.■% 

Hlmglri (Jammu-Tawl) Express '»■ 

■\ 1 ■' 1 1 Vi.m 

Guwahati Express 

I , Ml.l 1 ■■■ 

Gorakhpur Express 

V\\ ■'* .*■ " 1 i'i ’-ii 

Purbanchal (Gorakhpur) Express 

i-i-’- A \'.i-. W‘“'. \ l r 

Dxxi Express .-V .mi .• f . i 

Udyan Abha Tootan Express w 
Amritsar Express 


Mlthlla (Raxauh Express 
Kamrup (Guwaratt) Express 
Black Diamond Express 
Coalfield Express 
Asaraol Express 
Danapur Express 
Jamvpuv Barnes 
SandnlkaBn Express 
Chambal (GwaHor) Express 

r » f. >i \ •■•■ji: A-'i Mi.- :i 

Shlpra (Indore) Express 

ti «Aei X S. .»■» 

A'i luJii »V‘’J i .i‘ 

Shaktlounl (Chooan) Exp ress 
Clw^(^ra^)B^ 

■''Lp I A.' Ji'f 

Sealdah 

TaasN-Toraa Express 


iJ Qull* Express «'.i i/i 1 1 ' LKlf 
Kanchanjungs (Umdlng) Express 


Jammu- Tawl I 

MmhH Sarel sue. mop 





Dr;p & Air Tups ffuis A Sat 


() 

1 1'. 


I r :f 
' r »5 


Tima 

i» hi 
6-4* • 

20 
5-15 
4-15 
15 W 
IL’oO 

,r> 

4 25 


J H. 

'l‘A' 
vi . 
‘ttl 1 
'*'6 
V! 'L 

n 

U’H 


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- :/n 

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Dn 

*=.142 

HUS 

311/ 

MW 

V.M 

rw 

'll h 4 

Hi 1*4 
V'br. 


Bangalore Express 

r . i 

••! ! 1 I 

Tata Steel Express 
tspat (Jharsuguda) Express 
TWagarti Express 
Rancnl Haifa Express 
Pu^ Express . M > 
Ja qannath (Purl) Express 
Dhv.ill (Bhubaneswar) r 
East Coast r ‘ ‘ - 
Purulla [ 


i'i j 


Azad Hind (Pune) Weekly Express 

. 1 i fsl. ■' 1 1 

Bhubaneswar-New Delhi Rajdhani Express 

M .1 .!■• . 

Nsw DeUu-Bhubansswar Rajdhani Express . 

I VA' |!. |i . . 

Guvahati - Howrah - Trivandrum Central Express 

r i’.i» . i » 

Trivandmm Centra) - Howrah - GinkM Express 

Cochin Harbour Terminus - GuwahaH Weekly 
Express ■ . ii - ■. \ .■ . 

■*n ">i: j\ i ■ » 

Guwahati - Cochin Harbour Terminus Weekly 
Depress . • . v' ■■■ i. if" ■ 

Cochin Harbour Terminus Egress 


■-52i' Guwshaff - Bangalore City Weekly Express . 

.V- £. i ..r 1. 1 - 
iV' J 

u . : Bangalore CRy - Guwahtl Weekly Expra ■» 4 '« ‘.-i 

d C»J!i f Mo'i ij 1 , ' 

ENQUIRIES: For round the dock Information of Eastern Railway and 
South-Eastern Railway trains, please dial 2203545-54 for ln-comlno trains; 
2203535-44 for all other Infomvtion. For Information about reservations on 
Eastern Railway and South-Eastern Railway trains, dial 2203496-3500 (from 
8 am to 6 pm on wee kd a ys and B am to 2 pm on Sundays and gazet 
tad holidays). In addition, dial 1331 (fix recorded Information on train 
running). 131 (regarding train operations) and 135 (regarding reserva- 
tions). Train service enquiry at Sealdah: 3503535-3?. 



Sketches 

POTTED HISTORY 

What the chattering classes are talking about 

This Week: Uma Bharti’s hair 


E arly life: First emerged as two 
well-oiled pigtails, which 
graduated to become 
full-fledged plaits. Those 
were the days when Bharti was 
preaching to congregations 
throughout the world about 
Hinduism, quoting from the Gita and 
the Vedas at gnat length. 

Next stage: Came when Bharti had 
entered politics, and Parliament. 
Surrounded by the well-groomed 
beauties of New Delhi, Uma began to 
get a wee bit tired of the long-haired 
look. So, one afternoon, she drove to 
the beauty parlour at the Kanishka 
hotel in New Delhi, and asked them to 
chop off her lustrous locks. 

Result: A particularly fetching 
hairstyle, that ended well above 
Bharti's shoulders, and brought her 
brown eyes and well-defined 
cheekbones into prominence. 

Did the experiment work?: For a 
while, at least, it did. Uma paid 
regular visits to Kanishka to get her 
hair trimmed and maintain the style 
she loved so much. And certainly, she 
looked much better in photographs as 
a consequence. 

Political fall-out: Uma's mistake was 
to admit to the hair-cut in print. Not 
the most savvy of politicians at that 
time, she hadn't quite realised what 
admitting to frequenting the Kanishka 
would do to her public image. So, she 
was dismayed to find that everyone 
had seized upon the fact that a 
self-styled sanyasin like her was 
getting her hair cut at a (relatively) 
up-market Delhi hotel. 

Around election time, her hair-cut 
even became a campaign issue, with 
her opponents trying to embarrass her 
by references to her expensive and 
flamboyant lifestyle. 

Could we possibly date this?: Well, 
this was around the time that Delhi 
was agog with rumours about the 
Uma Bharti-Govind Acharya affair. 
According to the gossip, the two had 
been romantically involved for some 
time, and Bharti had even sought the 
18 







Govlnd Acharya 


Sadhvi Rithambara 


6 . 


BJP leadership's permission to marry 
Acharya 

And did the rumours die down?: Yes, 
as soon as Uma Bharti announced that 
she was taking mi m/as and shaved off 
her hair to complete the sadhvi look 
She had, said Bharti, been hurt beyond 
measure by such irresponsible talk (to 
which, you understand, there wasn't a 
grain of truth), and believed that the 
only way to counter it was to seek 
refuge in saffron. 
t Who was most upset by this 

decision?: Strangely enough, it wasn' 
Govind Achorya — so perhaps, Uma 
was telling us the truth, after all. It was 
Vasundhara Ra|e, the daughter of 
Vijaya Ra|e and a colleague of Bharti's 
in the BJP, who was most put out. 

Until now, she and Uma had been on 
par as far as appeal to the electorate 
went. But if Bharti re-styled herself as 
a sadhvi and went to seek the people's 
blessings wearing bhagwe vostro, then 
Raje was bound to lose out. Also the 
BJP, being a Hindu rightist party, 
would always give more prominence 
to a woman of the doth rather than to a 
Maharani clad in chiffon 
Should she have been worried?: Not 
in the least. Those who have seen 
Vasundhara campaign at elections 
can vouch for the fact that she has the 
rare ability of striking a chord in most 
people's heart. And that despite being 
a Gwalior princess, she has tne 
common touch. So, certainly, she had 
nothing to fear from Bharti, whose 


style is combative rather than 
conciliatory. 

Bharti's real rival: Was none other 
Sadhvi Rithambara. she of the 
vituperative tongue and fasdst world 
view. Both Rithambara and Bharti 
essentially appeal to the same 
constituency: that which comprises 
communal bigots of all descriptions, 
who believe that the Babri demolition 
was cause for celebration and that all 
Muslims should be despatched to 
Pakistan forthwith. 

Did the cropped look endure?: Not, 
Vasundhara Raj* 



as it turned out, for very long. After 
the usual photo-opportunities had 
been taken care of, Uma allowed her 
hair to grow out. There were no trips 
to the local barber shop this time 
around, to maintain that length 
Maybe all that bad publidty the first 
time around (remember Kanishka?) 
had put her off regular trims. 

Result: Bharti's hair soon grew to 
quite a respectable length, just 
brushing or falling below her 
shoulders. She took to oiling it 
regularly and wore it in an 
old-fashioned plait. When it grew too 
long or developed split ends, one of 
the women who form part of her 
entourage, would cut off an inch or 
two. 

End of story?: Not quite. These days 
Uma can be seen sporting the shorn 
look again. She recently appeared on 
television with hair that would do an 
American Marine proud, the choti 
very much a thing of the past. 

Was she beating the heat?: Coping 
with the exigences of electioneering, 
more likely. Now that Bharti has to go 
out and ask for votes on behalf of the 
BJP, it makes good political sense to 
reinforce the sadhvi image. After all, if 
she had her hair done up in a braid or 
bun, how would she be any better 
than Vasundhara Raje? 

Will the ploy work?: Why ever not? 
And even if it doesn't, it never harms 
to try. As they say, it's better to be 
shorn than sorry ■ 


19 




Innereye 


BEJAN DARU WALLA 



Aries 

March 21 - April 20 

IjiMH'shii *i«ivs the 
sun has* changed 
r| digits leading to 
! selling, travelling . 
trading and borrowing foi 
sou People w h«> have 
separated will get together, 
thanks to \0111 unceasing 
ettorLs i ravel stars arc 1 m the 
ascendant, thanks to Mercury 
Also \*%\ vvill impress those 
w ho reallv Shatter 

Taurus 

April 21 — May 20 
r>^'” A promotion is due 
nr to you and should 

' come through Those 
mTjP ■ m production and 
sales Jo well. Low tugs at 
\Oiii heart and will not he 
denied Form, design, colour, 
symmetry, chemicals, tood 
and musu will all edge 
toiwaul in vour lite the nest 
27 da vs At the same time, 
expenses will be hea\ V 

Gemini 

May 21 — June 20 

Iiv to meet deadlines 
It m foi a job, pn-pare 
lor an interview. A 
change to travel 
should he taken lip People will 
* omplain and coax you * n their 
own selfish ends Tlioielurr, 
lodge the situation Ltiretullv 
1 ove i on Id hi* intense* and 
sudden Ahobln can be 
converted into a vocation Keep 
a tight hold on purse stnngs 




m 



Cancer 

June 21 — July 20 

You will excel in j 
- work and at plnv | 
I and thus tee I happ\ I 
and confident. You j 
can now pull out all the stops 
and make things really 
happen according to your j 
sweet desire You could even ■ 
try taking risks and winning • 
Cancerums are in tor majoi i 
achievements in their field ot | 
activity i 

Leo 

July 21 — August 21 

l y L)ll W1 U be straining J 

every smew and j 

ner\e to advance i 

Passion, too, will ■ 

dominate Propertv matters, ! 
renovation decoration will ! 
also figure tor Lons. Health 
safeguards will help you ! 

Addition to \ oui wardrobe 
will impiove \ oui image 
Collaborations, travel and cor . 
pmonv are the spin otts j 

Virgo 

August 22 — Septomber 22 
T ime tor healing 
1 ; uniting, \ommg to 
: terms with yoursel! 

L. ' andotheis I here 
will be mutual satislai lion, as 
your life and that ot others, 
reiolve around one another 
Sex appeal and originality will ' 
distinguish vou You will 
make new fi lends and hold on 
to old ones and that's ximplv 
wonderful 


m 


Libra 

September 23 — October 22 
"j Loans, funds, 
finances and 
employment will 
practically take up 
all your time Partnerships are 
also highlighted Love ton Id 
he placed on a pedestal but 
finally vou will have to face 
reality Poets, artists, 
pshvchics, writers, editors and 
dancers do a grand job, says 
Canesha 

Scorpio 

October 23 — November 22 
The mating season 
i will be on despite the 
! heat and the sweat 
j You'll reunite with 
Perfect y oui work 
techniques and streamline voui 
procedure it in sales 
management, teaching, trailing 
and most certainly, managing 
corporations You ma\ gel \erv 
lontidcntial intoimahon v huh 
could help you 

Sagittarius 

November 23 — December 20 
A job switch, 
funding taking i ate 
ot pets, lv i mg oi 
filing workers » it 
servants, taking i.vv ol health 
and hygiene, are the stiands 
this week I he trie k is not to 
wavei tiom your ohjectiv e A 
dash ot toman* e anil 
adventure keeps you 
imolwd 'shortly, vou II locate 
a tea*. her and glow wise 


people 


£ 


BIRTHDAYS 




Capricorn 

December 21 — January 19 
Luck ot the draw, 
will be yours so go 
in tor a lottery, it vou 
I tvel like taking a 

chance. A love relationship 
will be strong and durable. 
Your karma will now help you 
to be happy, as well as 
successful Ihe locus is on 
style and panache. You will 
win plaudits, Just he long on 
confidence and conviction 

Aquarius 

January 20 — February 18 

Home. propert\ and 
ti avel aie a grand 
triple-header tor 
Aquarians You must 
! go in tor diwisitv. hi 1 it poli- 
tics management sales pitih, 

■ literature, cinema, musn or 

• lese.irch, is you will be 

. innately wisutilo Piopeit\ 

! value marital status ind laim 
h values meet lo be einpha 
! si seel bonding w ill be clusi 

; Pisces 

• February 1 9 — March 20 

(_ alum, 

lx'.iutitn alion and 
leumon is fh«* 
message of the sun s 

entiv into Idums hmtheis, 
sisters lel.itiws and old ti lends 
will again appeal in your iife 
Sumd tall 1 )on‘t give uj> on 
pmuiples All will turnout 
well An addition to the tanv.lv 
is possible 'ton w ill do well m 
exams 



Aprtt 21: Moon conjunction Venus symbolises money, 
beauty, comforts, luxury, buying, selling, bargaining and 
trading, It is Here that you will excel and be happy. 

April 22: Moon textile Mm refers tamrgy, enterprise^ 
industry, factory, rasewdi spdrts ili prtfcuiar, ardent romance 
and even marriage*. , ■ " 

Aprtt 2$ Mocm textile sutife gteat fer politicians, 
bureaucrats, builder^; product ; 

and musicians. ■ 

Aprtt 24: Sun Uranus tfqariie means just keep an eye on •/.? 
financial fluctuations jfbtstodkft, sh^^ySpeculattonand 


industry Rink taking is not advisable os a rule. Joy comes 
through the home. 

Aprtt 25: Moon-Saturn trine indicates consolidation and a 
blueprint for prosperity over the years. Focus will be on 
creativity. 

Aprtt Moon Saturn conjunction means you will have to 
be a little careful in secret matters and journey. Enemies could 
■ be active* ' 

April 27: Mo on acKble Venus, trine Mars leads to luxuries, 
comfort^ finance and romance. Your dteams could come true. 
• Be ready to.acquirenew skills: 



20 





JUNIOR WHIRL HAl KAUFMAN 



HERE, HEREI H-e-r-e’-s Grandpa, and guess 
what he has in his arms. Draw connecting lines 
from dot 1 to dot 2, etc. 


YULE DO! Follow directions. 1. Remove a 
shopping centre and a present remains: 
MgAiLfLt. 2. Remove a green tree and an animal 
remains: PdleNeEr. 3. Remove Santa's transport 
and a sky object remains: SsLtEaDr. 

J»l«'Cri3S E »»P'3Nld z nvw 1 


sum DiwYiit is ~ a f - g — \ rS 1 "! 

• possible to divide the 1 7 3 q ^ 

diagram at right into QR ' - 7*2 ° ^ 

four segments of 2 7 7 ^ 

approximately the 

same size and shape, /. C. _ I ; M 
with each segment ^-J -^2 ft ^ | ^ 
containing numbers 0 3 n"^/ V 7 8 

through 9. It may be I Q? O 5^1 
done with scissors or 

a pencil (if a pencil is used, a ruler will help too). 

Remember, the diagram is to be divided into a 
total of four pieces, each containing digits 0 to 9. 

Hint: It can be done with just two straight cuts 
or lines. It's that easy — think simple. 

jouioj 01 jaujoj uikijj |nj jo Mpjp t(duuq 


HOCUS-FOCUS 




OPPOSITE WORDS TO 
PONDER 

YOU are asked to insert a 
word of opposite meaning for 
each of the terms below; Exam- 
ples (See illus.): Tall, short; big, lit- 
tle, etc. How quickly can you 
comply 


Smart: — 
Give: — 
High:— 
Good: — 
Pro: — 
Hit— 
Sweet — 
Fake:— 
Rich: — 
Stop: — 
Day: — 


Strong: — 
Fast: — 
Win: — 
Buy: — 
Wet: — 
Sick: — 
Full: — 
Love; — 
New: — 
Heavy: — 
Open: — 


Answers may vary 
Time limit 2 mins 

pML>p 148*1 'pio ' 31*4 'Xjdun '| p.M -.Up 

*[|AI 'MO| 'MO|« 1«MI 1l{8lU '08 'JOttd 1*31 'JIUM 'SVIUI 
1 h» r p*q 'MO| # qumci utojjoq oi doj X] JAtpadtUN 









CALVIN AND HOBBES Wt WATfERSON 
































LImeught 

THE RIGHT DIRECTION 

He brought art cinema in India to life with Ankur; and now Shyam Benegal is all 
set to release his neiv film, Sardari Regum. reports Vais halt Honawar 


h is something very relax- 
ing about being with Shyam 
Benegal Perhaps, it is the 
way he talks, with an ease ot 
manner which almost makes you for- 
get that you are sitting with the man 
who made Indian audiences take cine- 
ma seriously Perhaps, it is the cool, 
la/v ambience of his simply but 
tastefully-appointed office which 
stands on one of the messiest roads in 
Bombay city. 

Book cases line one wall of the 
room, reflecting his eclectic tastes and 
eye for detail, there are volumes on 
Nehru, on cinema, on Bombay city, a 
Sanskrit dictionary, and a senes of 
books on Hindi grammar Above his 

Shyam Benegal 


little table m one corner of the room 
are posters of The Making of the 
Mahatma, his ambitious venture on the 
life of the young Gandhi, the loose 
ends of wnich he is busy tying up. 

'Articulate, intellectual, involved../ 
such words are often used to describe 
Benegal and he is doubtlessly all ol 
these. But there is something more to 
him which is not as easily described. 
Gentle, perhaps, is the word that com- 
es closest, and then it is not a descrip- 
tion most critics ol his films would 
agree with. For there has been nothing 
gentle about his films, each one a stark 
re-telling of the truth, a brutal narra 
tive of life as it is, without the rose- 
tinted lenses that most Hindi film 


makers use. Films like Ankur, Man- 
than, Nishant, Suraj ka Saatvan Choda 
which are all about exploitation, hel- 
plessness, anger spiralling out of con- 
trol But despite these violent emo- 
tions, what comes through is Bene- 
gal's sensitivity as a film maker and as 
a man who cart's deeply about the sub- 
jects he handles. 

There is too his tremendous versati- 
lity. The man who started his career 
with the sensitive Ankur went on to 
handle with equal finesse such diverse 
films as the biographical Rhutnika. the 
epic-scale Junoon, the humorous 
Man di, the child- like Charandas Char 
and the rather complicated Kulyug 
Not to mention the many tele-serials 





A still from Gaman 


he brought to our living rooms, includ- 
ing Rhaiat He Khoj and Yatra among 
others. 

A t the moment he is putting the h ni- 
ching touches to his newest featu- 


re film, Sardan Return, which is the 
story of a Ihumn singer in old Delhi; a 
work of fiction, he emphasises at the 
start It is like most of his other films in 
that it comprises a cast of relatively 
new fact*s and was made on a fairly 


tight budget. It has a strong narrative 
structure; but then, telling a story has 
always been Senegal's single-greatest 
passion. 

The film revolves around female 
characters, once again a Senegal speci- 
ality for he simply loves to go into the 
complexities of a woman's character, 
plumbing its depths as he explores her 
relationships. "But it's not as if I want 
to always present women as victims/' 
he says. “There is something very inte- 
resting about women, particularly in 
India, because the social pressure cm 
them is so much more than on men 
due to the way Indian society is What 
1 intend to show is the* ability of wom- 
en to handle the situations they have 
been placed in." 

Sardari Begum then is about a classi- 
cal singer who finds her place in the 
sun for a brief while and then fades 
into obscurity, only to make single 
column news when she is killed m a 
communal riot. 

"Basically it's a film about a woman 
who makes it on her own in life, about 
the kind of music she sings which is 
now on the decline. It is also about th*’ 
world of a singer and her relationships 
as a human beivig. She's a different per- 
son to different people and this subjec- 


Farida Jala! in Mammo 




live attitude of people is very exciting 
to explore in cinematic terms/' 
explains Bencgal 
The story develops through a 
young journalist who is assigned to 
work on Sardan Begum’s story after 
her death. As she interviews people, 
including the singer's husband, her 
daughter, her relatives, her first 
patron, the music company and the 
directors who gave her an opportuni- 
ty to record, the narrative leaps back- 
ward and forward in time. 1 ater, the 
journalist discovers that San i an 
Begum ha^ctually tieen her aunt and 
was kept awayfrom the family tor hav- 
ing broken the code of honour by beco- 
ming a singer This new bond, so to 
say, further involves her m the story. 

Sardan Begum, as a teenager, is 
played by debutant actress Sniriti Mis- 
nra. while her older version is portray- 
ed by Kiron Kher, wite of actor Anu- 
pam Kher Kajina Rajbisanya, another 
new face, plays the journalist while 
Surekha Sikri, who has worked with 
Senegal in Mamma, plays Sardari's 
music teacheT fTie only star in the cast 
is Amnsh Puri, an old Senegal favou- 
rite, who plays Sardari's first patron 
After Bhumika and Matuli, tnisis 
Senegal's third film where music 

Neena Gupta in Suraj Ka Satvan Ghoda 


plays a prominent role. While his 
other films have made use of some 
hauntingly beautiful melodies, as in 
Manthan, the music has been there 
strictly to enhance or supplement the 
narrative "l do use songs in my films, 
but not to punctuate dramatic or com- 
ic sequences, the way most Hindi 
films do lam concerned with the nar- 
rative elements and other aspects 
which in my way of thinking are more 
interesting." says the film maker. 

The film's music — light classical - 
has been composed by Van raj Bhalia 
and the lyrics are by Javod Akhtar 
There an* nine songs in the film, includ- 
ing a couple of thumri s. 

The screenplay of Sardan Begum has 
been wrilten bv Khaled Mohamod 
who also wrote the screenplay of 
Mamma, another film by Donegal 
which was screened at the Bombay 
International Film Festival last year 
Interestingly, Mohamcd, who is the 
editor of Yilmfare , has in the past been 
rather heavy-ha ruled in his criticism 
of Senegal's films. But that obviously 
doesn't bother the film maker who, in 
fact, seems to find the whole' thing 
quite amusing. "It's true that he has 
been very critical of my films, but 1 
don't worry," he laughs T don't auto- 


matically become an enemy of all the 
people who criticise my work." 

Tne story is based in the mohallas of 
old Delhi and old Agra but Senegal 
has shot it entirely on location in Bom- 
bay's Film City, using elaborate sets. 
Financed by Plus Films, it is almost 
complete now and is expected to be 
released by the end of April. 

O ne of Senegal's greatest successes 
as a filmmaker is the fact that he 
has managed to get people to actually 
go to cinema halls to watch serious 
films, though certainly not in the large 
numbers that mainstream cinema 
draws But unlike other serious film- 
makers, he is not complaining about a 
lack of audiences for good cinema in 
India 

"There is no .such thing as a single 
Indian audience," he says "'Ihe Indi- 
an audience is made up of so many dif- 
ferent kinds of people. But just 
because filmmakers tend to make one 
kind of film, it is assumed that there is 
only one kind of audience " 

Indian audiences, he says, h«ive 
been forced to remain "in a slate of sus- 
pend! adolescence If you orient 
them continuously with bad cinema, 
where relationships are naive and eve 





Rajvt Kapur, Rageshwaii and Shyam Benegal 


rylhing is reduced to black and white, 
what can you expect? Is that how life 
is?" 

According to him the real reason 
why serious films do not succeed is 
the lack of an infrastructure tor reach- 
ing the right kind of audiences "In a 
ixiuntry of 900 million, there are at 
least 15 million who would like to see 
my films. But how do 1 gel to those 
people, that's the question. We have to 
develop the right marketing niche/' 
says Benegal. 

Working with stars cannot solve the 
problem for him "because their image 
creates certain expectations. For exam- 
ple, Amitabh Bacnchan has the image 
of the angry young man fighting the 
ills in society. When people go to set' 
his films, they expect to see him in that 
role. If I present him as something else, 
people will not accept him So what's 
thepoint in casting a star? ' 

Tne other reason why he doesn't 
cast stars is that they cost a lot of 
money and he usually works on small 
budgets. But if there were an opportu- 
nity, he says, there are many stars in 
mainstream cinema such as Shah 
Rukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, 
Madhuri Dixit, Aamir Khan and Srkie- 
vi whom he would love to work with. 
"But unless my film requires their star 
image, there would be no point in my 


taking them," explains Benegal 
Though his cinema is all about reali- 
ty and its shades of grey, Benegal is 
not dismissive about mainstream cine- 
ma, particularly such hugely success- 
ful but less-th an -realistic films as Hum 
Aupkc Ham koun. ! and Dilwale Dulha- 
tuya Le Jaayetige. "Films like HAHK 
reinforce certain attitudes which are 
necessary in the upwardly mobile 
urban community of India This com- 
munity is losing its traditional bear- 
ings and that makes them very insecu- 
re," says Benegal "Films like f/AHK 
and DDL] allow you that identity with 
tradition and custom and make you 
feel all's right with the world These 
films tell you that you can be modern 
and have your tradition too It's a lor- 
mula of a most credible kind " 

On the other hand, he feels, serious 
cinema too has to make an effort to 
cater to audience needs if it is to work. 
"Cinema cannot work if a film maker 
insists on staying in a bubble of his 
own which has nothing to do with the 
rest of the world," he says gravely. "A 
balance has to be struck between the 
creative urge of a filmmaker and audi- 
ence tastes. Those films fail which do 
not make contact." 

T here have been in recent years 
such film makers as the hugely- 


successful Mam Ratnam whose films 
attempt to strike a balance between 
reality and fantasy. Benegal finds Rat- 
nam very populist but also "an intellig- 
ent filmmaker. He has style, credibili- 
ty and a sense of style. He knows how 
to get to the audience mindfully, not 
mindlessly He has learnt his lessons 
well, as 1 iollywood has *' 

But on the whole, he feels, cinema in 
India has not really evolved "There 
was a time when people made films 
with social content, films which were 
closer to the soil. In the past, each stu- 
dio had its own particular type of film, 
Wadia Men ietone made stunt films, 
Sohrab Modi made historical. New 
Theatres made films with social con- 
tent, Sagar Movietone made fanta- 
sies." explains Benegal "But with the 
breakdown of the studio system every - 
one is just getting into ways ot making 
a fast buck There is no longer an> crea- 
tive control. Everything's come dowm 
to simple supply and demand " 

But ne, for one, is going to continue 
making films his way. There are seve- 
ral protects he has in his mind — ' each 
one a dream project" — - and he is 
going to work on them and when 
the money comes in. Shyam Benegal, 
for one, is not going to lose his grip on 
reality. ■ 




JC. /, ALPHONS KANNAimiAtfMt, Delhi's 'demolitimmatSim 

Khaimar did for Bombay. He has strmfcR terror in ike hearts ^wnsCT'jupMl^ ’ . ■ \ 

land grabbers, reducing to rubble vast unauthorised commerced $truch/trc& ■ 

heads an NGO, Janashakti, which aitjfo to fight corruption, He is also btoum to havepioneerrd the tom 
literacy programme in Kottayam, the first tonm in India to do so. 


fAThil is your idea of perfect 
ff happiness? 

Chilled beer in Delhi summer 
after a hard«day's work. 

What is your gkfatest fear? 

To be forgotten by friends. 

Who or what has been the greatest 
influence in your life? 

John F. Kennedy. 

Who or what has 
been the greatest 
influence in 
your life? 

John F. Kennedy 


What do you dislike most in 
others? 

Selfishness. 

What do you dislike mrst fh 
yourself? 

My singing. 

What is your most precious 
possession? 

My self-respect. 

What objects do you always cany? 

My gun and my ego. 

What makes you most depressed? 

The state of affairs in this countiy. 
What do you dislike most on your 
appearance? 

I love everything about my 
appearance, 

what is your favourite word? 
Thanks. 

What is your favourite journey? 

Back to my village. 

What is your favourite dream? 

To run this country in 2006 AD. 
What is your nightmare? 

That somebody may kidnap my 
sons. 

What or who is At e gr e at e st love of 
your life? 

My dreams. 

What Is your source of sustenance? 
Myuifter self 

On What occasions do you He? 
When ftdoe* not hurt. 

■i ' npenj® , mgpciiiBUii ; 



What has been your happiest 
moment? 

When my sons hug me. 


What brings tons to your eyes? 

Sight ofpoverty. 

How do yon relax? 

At the disco- 


Wflat fe-ypuf 

m ' ' 


Wlut do you envy most to others? 

Ability to sang. ‘ 

How wouldyoalike tobc 



As asm who mods India .. 
dreont} ■’ 

How woo Id you Ilk* to die? 

, Wm dObtfc en k rttb h if Urt ■ 
deathafiwlWo 

■swhf.V:v-'i 


30 







The Telegraph 



Managing Weil 

M Indian Airlines has 
come a long way since its 
turbulent days when it 
suffered phenomenal loss- 
es, ministerial highhand- 
edness and was run by an 
inept management ('High 
Flier', March 10). 

But thanks to Probir Sen 
it has become everyone's 
favourite domestic carrier; 
competing with other pri- 
vate airlines which are 
employing various tactics 
to woo passengers. 

The latter may boast of 
special on-board facilities 
but most of the time they 
arc not up to the mark. 
Also the arrival and 
departure timings are not 
always correct. 

Debabrata Mohanty, 
Balasorc 


'52f The cover story eulo- 
gised Probir Sen as the 
dynamic I A chief who 
assiduously contributed in 
turning the airlines from a 
loss-making concern into 
an airline which bagged 
the best domestic carrier 
award. 

This brings to mind a 
remark of HjG. Wells: "In 
the country of the blind, a 
one-eyed man is the 
king/ 


Whiz-kids are non- 



Indian Airlines: Grand take-off 


starters in India in an era 
of license, permit and 
quota raj. 

To drag in the name of a 
highly respected and glob- 
ally admired Russi Mody 
was in bad taste. Mody's 
academic and professional 
record is impeccable: 
schooling at Harrow, 
undergraduate studies at 



Balliol College, Oxford. 

He could nave been 
another Robert 
McNamara or Ian 
McGregor. 

A brilliant US manage^ 
McGregor was hired by 
Margaret Thatcher to 
bring the ailing British 
Steel and British Coal 
to sound health. 

Sadly, Mody was bom 
in India. 

H.B. Roy, 

Kuala Lumpur 
(Malaysia) 

M The cover story appears 
lop-sided. The wnoie 
objective of the story was 
to extol the virtunes of 


Sen and denigrate others 
of consequence at Indian 
Airlines. 

Russi Mody, too, had 
paid a lot of attention to 
in-flight service, on-time 
performance, «ind disci- 
pline, and his efforts did 
Dear fruit. 

Ishita Dvtt, 

Jamshedpur 


ffl Probir Sen's real credit 
lies in challenging the 
agitations of tne Indian 
Airlines pilots who were 
making unreasonable 
demands. 

Sunil Banerjee, 

Calcutta 



PAGE 4 

THERE WAS a time when Bombay actors and 
actresses had little backgrounds, family or edu- 
cation, to recommend themselves. But today, 
they come from upper-middle class, it not rich, 
families and are educated and speak excellent 
English. 


SECTIONS 


16 TIMETABLE 

20 INNER EYE 

21 JUNIOR WHIRL 

22 COMICS 

26 PANORAMA 
AO FIRST PERSON 


Raveena Tandon 



Cover story 

The Changing 
Profile OfThe 
Filmstars 





These days, most Hindi film heroes and 
heroines are both rich and hip, and come from 
the most respectable of backgrounds. 

Lata Khubchandani nfiorts 

PITY POOR MAMTA KUl.KAKNl! SF IF* HAS ONLY TO APPEAR 
on the sets for her co-stars to snigger behind her back, 
make her the subject of the most nasty practical jokes, 
and make fun of everything from her accent to her clo- 
thes. The word heard most often at these times is 
"vern". An abbreviated form of "vernacular'', it is used 
to sum up Ms Kulkarni, who never went to convent (or 
public) school, doesn't know Tom Cruise from a Tom 
Collins, and speaks English with aghati accent. 

If this ribbing was good-natured and just restricted to 
the odd remark about how Mamta pronounced 
"beaches" so that it sounded like "bitches", it could 






have been possible to dismiss it as part 
o! the customary horseplay that takes 
place on the sets. But no, there is an 
edge to this attack, and Mainta is left in 
no doubt about the fact that she is the 
odd one out in a club of insiders. 

While this can't be too good for 
Mamta’s morale, it's not really Ms 
Kulkanu s feelings that is of the greatest 
importance here Wlud is tar more 
relevant is what such incidents tell us 
about the changing character ot the film 
industry itself. 

C lone a dp the days when girls — and 
boys--— frornipwei middle-class 
backgrounds, with little* or no 
education to boast ot, entered the film 
industry. When women such as Nargis 
and Madhubala, who originated from 
the kothu, became the foremost actresses 
of their time. And when Dharamendra, 
a farmer's son from Punjab, created 
box-office magic with his brawny good 
icK>ks. 

Today 's stars are di fferent For the 
most part, they am* from moneyed — 
or at least, upper middle-class — 
backgrounds, they have been educated 
in the' best of sc hools (even if most did 
drop out in eigth grade), and like' most 
rich teenagers today swear by such 
brand names as Ia»vis jeans, Armani 
jackets, and Calvin Klein aftershave 
They are more comfortable speaking 
Fnglish rather than Hindi (hence the 
digs at the hapless Mamta), have to 
learn Urdu at special classes so that 
they can enunciate their dialogues 
properly, and join acting classes 
so that they can dance 1 like ^ 

rather than Patrick Sway w ^1 

It's not really relevant whether they 
are from filrni families or not; though, to 
be fair, most are. Right from Kajol and 
Tich, Karisma Kapoor, Twinkle, 

Raveena Tandon to Saif All Khan and 
Bobby Dml, they all consider films to 

AJay Devgan 




be a family business. The Sunil Shettys 
and Shah Rukh Khans, who were not 
even tangentially associated with the 
industry, are rare. 

But what is important Ls that all of 
them come from the same kind of 
background: rich. Westernised, and 
very, very hip. Even ten years ago; their 
parents would have refused to let their 
sons and daughters enter films - ■ no 
matter that they had made their livings 
from that very industry. Movies were 
regarded as a big, bad world, from 
which the young and innocent had to 
be shielded. When it came to the next 
generation, it was either business or 
law, medicine, or some such other 
noble profession that was required. 

No longer. Today, Kandhir Kapoor 
happily sits back and watches his 
daughter Karisma execute a 
bump-and-gnnd routine to Sttrkm/r In/n 
khutiya, producer Ravi Tandon gives his 
daughter Raveena all his support in her 
film career, and Rajcsh Khanna happily 
waddles on to stage to present his 
daughter Twinkle an award for the best 
newcomer of the year Sharmila 
Tagore's son, Saif, enters the movies 
alter being sent to that most tony oi 
public schools, Winchestc] in 
England And Bobby Peol may 
ltxik like an Italian stud, but it's the 
Bombay him 
mdusLry he wants 
to conquer 
Savs la ran 

Adarshol 7 mJ* 
Guide, "’I he lad th«it 
people from good 
family's- -both within and 
without the industry -- are 
ntering is a healthy sign. 
Earlier, movies used to tv 
looked down upon; but 
these days they an* 





only tangentially, he is Chunky's 
brother. 

For the most pirt, Sh.'h Rnkh is just 
like any other young professii mal. f le 
could just as easily be a corporate 
lawyer, a chartered accountant, even if 
he 1 \ an incredibly good-looking one 

Sunil Sheltv, on the other hand, is an 
entrepreneur along with being a hero 
The Shetty s are restaurantcurs and own 
a boutique. Mischief, in Bombay, and 
Sunil is still very involved in these 
enterpriser For turn, films are at best, 
jusf another career option. And even so, 
Shetty insists that he will retire as a hero 
in another two to three years 1 fe may 
turn prudiKcr then, if it seems like a 
lucrative prosp.M, but otherwise it 
would be back to busings 

The other Shetty of filmland, Shilpa, 
also comes from a business family And 
while she may announce that she will 
not rest until she is number one m the 
industry, Shilpa stumbled into films 
only by accident She was trying 
desperately to ma*e it as a model, and 
was turned down by every agency 
because she wasn't considered 
good-looking enough. 

When nothing seemed to work, 
Shetty decided to try her luck in the 
movies. 1 ler mother was there to 
support her all the way, even 
accompanying Shilpa on to the sets. 


and i*x)n toiazitfur had made Shetty a 
recognisable face. Of late, Shilpa's 
career has ground to a halt, but Shetty is 
lar trom worried. After all, she aiuld 
always complete her management 
course and join the family business 
Even lugal Hansraj, wiio first 
achieved fame as the child actor m 
Shekhar Kapoor's Masooni, says films 
are only one option open to him, not his 
entire life "I m interested in 
photography and have even studied 
it," he says. 'T was thinking of a career 
in advertising, but when the 
opportunity to act came, I was only tix> 
happy to take it." 

A mong the heroines, Mamsha 
Kt irala is as far removed from 
filmland as you could possibly 
imagine A member of the Koirala 
family, which has given Nepal a Prime 
Minister and is part of the elite in that 
country, Manisha used to visit India 
quite often But films only became an 
option when Subhash Ghat offered to 
launch her in Suuda^ar. 

To this day, Manisha considers 
herself a cut above such other heroines 
as Mamta Kulkami and l Jrmila 
Matondkar, who don't cx>me from as 
up-market a background as her. Unlike 
most Hindi film heroines of yester-year 
who disguised their rum and whiskey 


in C okes, Manisha makes no secret ot 
the fact that she enjoys a drink. And like 
any other liberated young woman in 
her twenties, she has had her share of 
affairs, all of winch she readily admits 
to. 

As does Pcxija Bhatt. Daughter of 
Mabesii, the man who loves to sliock, 
Pooja epitomises the New Woman. 
When she was in love with Kamal 
Sadanah, she moved in with him, not 
worrying for an instance as to what 
people - - and the* gossip maga/.ines - 
would say. When her fancy hit upon 
Bobby rX-ol, she walked out on 
Sadanah. Then, Bobby began spending 
all his time (this was before llarsaat) in 
her house, oven though his orthodox 
family disapproved heartily of Pooja. 

But even Deol didn't last for long. 
Pooja, whoso attention span appears to 
be* as short as her hair, soon turned her 
sights on Sohail (Salman Khan's 
younger brother) and Bobby was 
history Today, Bhatt is very much a 
member of the Khan household, even if 
it is without the* benefit of marriage, and 
k«*eps up her 

smoking drinking- dancing lifestyle 
with nary a cart 1 about what the bad 
publicity will do to her. 

Kajol is another one who doesn't care 


a 



about appearances I'he tirst-born of 
1 f iiui jo and shorn u Mukherjre, she is 
not ihc stutl ol which Hindi film 
hr mil tcs vwn thou ght to he made 
ot she doesn't \\ a\ her upper lip 
runs around without make-up most 
ot the time. vu\irs glasses when she's 
off- camera, and spends her spare 
moments on the sets reading a hook 

F.veu lirr relationship with Ajay 
1 Jovgan has been conducted on lairly 
unconventional lines Rather than 
hiding him as most actresses would 
have done ten years ago, ka|ol came 
ile.m with her leelings tor him Not 
just that, she even cuddled up to him 
a tei shootings, Misslully 
unconcerned about who might be 
watching And when she was 
presented with the Film tare award 
or best at rvss, the first person Kajol 
thanked was her boyfriend, Ajay. 

L ike Kajol. '1 Winkle, too, is a child 
ot the him industry But her 
parents had little thought of her 
joining movies when they sent her 
off to boarding school in Panchgani 
after they split up But like most 
industry brats, no sooner was 
Twinkle back m Bombay than she 
teas dreaming of films, trims and 
films 

If Raj Kapoor had been 
confronted with a daughter who 
wanted to be an actress, he would 
have probably reacted by marrying 
her off to the richest industrialist he 
could rustle up in a hurry. But 
Raiesh and Dimple reacted 
differently. Khanna, who had 
resolutely refused to lot his wife act 


m movies alter he married her, 
announced that lie would back 
Twinkle all the wav. And kapadia 
(who has long been invok ed with 
Sunny) helped launch her daughter 
in a Pool home production with 
Bobbv 

Not that the Kapoors themselves 
are sticking to Raj// s views on this 
mallei His elder son. Randhir, tor 
instance, took the bit between his 
teeth when daughter Karisma 
decided to enter films Separated 
from his wife Babita, Randhir didn't 
have much control on his daughter's 
actions anyway But it is unlikely 
that the film industry would have 
welcomed Kansma with open arms, 
if her father had made clear that he 
disapproved of her ambitions 

But Rand hi i had no intention ot 
doing any such thing He w as there 
I to give tips to his daughter all 
; through the shooting ot her first 
film, and was present at the 
j premiere along with Babita, both 
| very much the proud parents And 
neither Randhir nor Babita have 
: batted an eyelid even when their 
•; daughter has performed the must 
| provocative of dances, no, not even 
when they v erged cm the vulgar 

! Director Ravi Tandon offered the 
| same behind-the-scenes support to 
j his daughter, Ravoena, though he 
! didn't launch her in a homo 
j production as say Dharamendra did 
I for his two sons/Bobby and Sunny. 

I And Tandon. who was eailier 
i reviled for her fat thighs and puppy 
! fat, soon hit the* big time with Mehta, 
! and is today known as the Mast mast 


girl even though she hasn't had a hit 
foi a long lime 

Bill Kaveena at least was 
cotin* ‘tied with the* film industry 
Ak^hav Kumar, with whom her 
name has been frequently linked, 
wasn't Having led a peripatetic life, 
which inc luded stints in Bangkok 
(when* he worked as a waiter) and 
in Calcutta (when, he was the 
glorified peon m a liavel agency) 
Akshay or Rajiv Bhatia as he was 
then, arrived in Bombay, trying to 
figure out a way to make a living. 

1 le began as a photographer's 
assistant, but his good looks soon 
brought him modelling offers. Once 
his portfolio was respectable 
enough, Akshav decided to try his 
luck m film*', aftoi all, he d tried 
everything else *\nd much to his 
surprise and everyone else's he 
soon became tin heoj throb of the 
masses 

But then, with his designer jeans 
and sweatshirt, rippling muscles 
acquired after hour-lone work-outs 
on the )uhu beach, and his 
international background. Akshay 
epitomises stardom today As does 
Sait, with his English education and 
his Nawabi backgiotind Oi even 
Kansma, who's happiest m the 
Harvov Nichols department store, 
splurging on such Italian designers 
as Giorgio Armani and Dolce and 
Ciabbana. 

The da\ s of the 1 Nfadhubalas, 
YVaheeda Rehman and T >ilp kunurs 
are long ovei I ong live the T* inkles 
and the Kajols ■ 








XTRACT 


Reconstructing the 

SCANDAL 


A ugust iwi it was |ust a month ago, that 
Vijaya Rama Rao had taken over as the 
Directorol Central Bureau of 
Investigation from a dapper Vi|ay 
Karan 

An officer of Indian Police Service, 
Andhra Pradesh cadre, Vijaya Rama 
Rao, came to Delhi with a big 
reputation While he had no experience 
(if working in the CB1, he had acquired 
investigative experience m the state 
CfD Tne two strongest points in hi^. 


favour wert‘ that he was a man of very 
high integrity and that he had the ear of 
Prime Minister P V. Narasnnha Rao 
Another great advantage lor him was 
that he had not been posted in I X-lhi in 
the past, he was in Albert Camus' 
words, the classic Oui^uin 

One day he came at toss a sketchy 
report about the 'fain havvala scandal' 
and how the CBI had been sitting on it 
tor the last two years Vijaya Rama Rao 
was outraged 1 le did not know what 


CBI Director, Vijaya Hama Rao, leaving Supreme Court after the hawala hearing 


A new book by 
journalist 
Stiujay Kapoor 
traces the histoty 
of the hawala 
affair 


Extracted from Bad 
Alnnn ,Bad Politic* 

by Sanjay Kapoor; 
Pubiished by Alba 
Paperbacks; Price 
Rs 95 



10 


the newspapers were referring to } to 
was also furious with his officers for not 
telling him about the scandal. 

T hat day as soon as ho reached his 
office in thi CT iO complex ho began 
informally asking Ins offic ers about the 
scandal Most of the 1 officers loigned 
ignorance 1 The memory ot O 1* 
Sharma's exit from the* agency in 
unsavoury circ umstances was still 
fresh in then minds 'They knew that 
hawnla was had news and it was belter 
to stay away from it 

An exasp -rated Vijaya Kama Kao, 
called a meeting nl all thesenioi officers 
and asked them what they knew about 
the so tailed 'Jam hawala scandal' In 
bits and pieces information began to 
flow in Vijaya Rama Rao wanted to 
know the* status of the- diary, 1 le was 
informed that Iain's diatv was a part ot 
the 1 1 ourt records and if w as safely lying 
m a brown packet m mnalklnitm 
Assured ot t lit* tait that the diary was 
sate-, Vi]aya Rama Rao V new lli.it the? 
cast* could h«- PVoiHtiucled 1 le also 
w.mted le« know whether Surender 
Jain's statement had been recorded. 

The Director was told about ihe 
existence of theO P Sharma bribery 
case and how Jain was a witne* s in that 
Kama Rao was also informed that they 
did not want to rub Jam on the wrong 
side, lesl lie bee ame* hostile 

Vi|.iyj Rtima R*:o saw through their 
defense ot m.iction o( nioie Ih.m two 
years, and got down to work Rao 
earned on wnth the meeting till well 
ovee midnight after he had understood 
the nuances ot the case* 

The hawala sc andal was handl'd 
over to Amod Kanth, another high 
prof de policeman from Delhi cadre 
Kanth took the case after the diary was 
retrieved from the recesses of the CBl. 

After the press conference bv Rani 
Jethmalani, a public interest litigation 
was filed in the Supienie Court The 
petitioners behind the PII . were Vineet 
Narayan, Kaiender Pun, Kamini 
Jaiswal and Prashant Bhushan The 
lawyer for the petitioners was Anil 
Dewan. 

Dew an who had lit do experience of 
such matters was recognised a.* a man 
of integrity. } fis specialisation may 
have been company matters, but this 
did not stop him from petting up a 
spirited performance when the matter 
came up at the admission stage m front 
of the Supreme Court. The bench had 
Chief Justice, Venkatachalhah and 
Justice S P. Bharucha. Anil Dewan in 
his petition had taken the help ot the 
evidence garnered through newspaper 
reports (specially Blitz , August 10, 

1991) and the video tape made by . 



S.K. Jain (top) and N.K. Jam (below): Brothers in crime 


Vmeet NJaravan. 

The petitioners wanted iheir petition 
to be investigated in at c ordance with 
law'. Besides appointing a special 
prosocuter and booking the guilty in 
the case, the PTL also wanted the court 
to ensure the sealing and securing of 
ptim'hatunnas and all seized articles and 
documents, from the aforesaid four 


! Jains spcikilly tlu* book- of . 1 ^ ounts 
! diaries and loose documents J he PII 
also pleaded that the 1 j »ol u» diar\ m 
whu n the* preliTmn.ii \ inter rogafi. »n of 
1 K lain, from whose house diaries had 
been seized, should a bo be taken mtu 
possession. 

Ihe Supreme Court asked the 
petitioners to amend then PII and 

1 1 






Justice Venkatachalliah 


a)me back. The pages of Jam diaiy and r T 1 he CB1 had been sent into a tizzy by 

a few respondents were removed. The 1 the Supreme Court order Most of 

revised PIL was pi esented m front of the senior officers were divided about 

the Supiomc Court on December 15, how they should tackle the situation 
1993. Justice Bharucha, who had a close The PIL had given them a fair idea 
look at the PIL was disturbed by the about the extent of understanding of 

suggestions that Jam's statement had the petit . mors. Thev were definitely 

not been recorded after the raid in May not being themselves on merely 
3' i 991 , newspaper reports or a video cassette. 

The SC which began m a They had a lot more Even Vijaya Ranu 

conservative lash ion, asked the CB1 to Rao wanted everything to be given to 

furnish its reply to the charges levelled the court. 

against it in (he petition It also wanted The counter affidavit Pled by the CBI, 
the- documents, if they had indeed b<vn by and large, endorsed the litany of 
recovered from Jain's house, to be put allegations levelled in the Public 
in a sealed cover and made available to Interest Litigation. CBI tied itself into 
the court. The petitioners could see knots when it told the court that they 

light at the end of the tunnel. had tried to interrogate Surcnder Jain 


and J.K. Jain, but they avoided to 
appear before them and even went 
abroad The CBI could secure their 
presence only in September 1993, 
through the immigration authorities It 
was as clear as day, that the CBI had 
stirred only after Jcthmalani addressed 
his press conference But the admission 
by the CBI, that there was a diary and 
the coded entries, signified a major 
improvement on what was earlier 
being palmed off as truth. The battle to 
take the matter to its logical conclusion, 
had |ust begun 

The CBI in its counter affidavit lent 
considerable credibility to the diary. It 
revealed that S.K. Jam had taken the 
plea that the payments had been made 
from the proceeds of black money 
generated by his company, fain, by 
taking this line, did not want punitive 
action against himself under foreign 
Exchange Regulation Ad iFFRA) 

J.K Jam, his employee, had told the 
Income Ta> Authorities that Rs 58 9 
lakh in cash and Ks 10 5 lakh in Indira 
Vikas Patra was his black monrv The 
CBJ affidavit did not throw am light 
about how J K Jam generated Midi 
huge monies, it also did not show how 
Surender lain countenanced his 
employee making so much of money. 

Surender Jam told his inquisitors, 
that the entries had been made by J.K 
Jam at his behest Hie CBI was very coy 
about revealing the identity of those 
who figured m the dairy as codes This 
was in spite of the fact, that the names of 
those who had received money from 
Jam had been bandied around in the 
Press and there had been no denials 

The petitioners continued to punch 
holes in the defense put up by tne CBI. 
The counter affidavit mentioned the 
fact that even though the story' had 
appeared in Blitz on August 10, 1991, 
the agency had done practically 
nothing. The counter affidavit also 
alleged that an attempt is being made to 
help Iain wriggle out of TADA. FERA 
and the application of COFEPOSA. 

CBTs initial diffidence to follow up 
on the case was slowly giving way' to 
greater purpose*. Amod Kantn, 
travelled to London m April to record 
Mohini Jain's statement Mohuu 
brought up the I oiulon link of the 
ha wain chain Mohini refused to offer 
much help and the CBI found it difficult 
to establish dual criminality. Even in 
Dubai, where they had gone to examine 
Tarikbhat, the CBI team did not meet 
with much success and came back 
disappointed. 

S urender Jain was busy m a damage 
control exercise. He was meeting ms 
friends in the government who had 





V* * 
a 

* 




some access to Prime Minister I 1 V 
Narasimha Rao This had become a 
pattern of sorts for the harassed Jains 
Whenever the east 1 ra me un for hearing 
in the Supreme Court, or. men* was a 
flurry of activity, they would go around 
building support for their east* 

fain also displayed moral 
indignation wnen criminality was 
attributed to their business activities. 
Jain even wrote a letter to Madhu 
Limaye, the veteran si snalist leadci, 
clantying his position on payments to 
Bhartiya Janata Tarty leader, I. K 
Advani. Limaye in a well argued piece 
in Mainstream had linked the payments 
to politicians with the security ot the 
country. 

Similarly, Jains had taken unkindly 
to representation by the General 
Secretary of the National Thermal 
Power Corporation ( NTPQ where he 
had protested against the manner in 
which Jains walked into the offices of 
the public sector undertakings well 
alter office hours. The trade union 
leader had also alleged that fains never 
entered their names in the visitors' 
diary Tire net outcome ot the 
representation was that Surendor 
wrote a stinker to the Chief Executive of 
the company and demanded action 
against the office bearer of NTPC 
union His clout was evidenced when 
the trade union leader was transferred 
out ot the unit, where he was working 

By September 1 W3 Su render was 
hopeful that both the courts and the 
agency would take a lenient view 


towards him. His 
had assured him t 


owerful patrons 
at it was a matter of 


Vlneet Narayan (top) and Rajender Puri (below): Two of the petitioners 


time before lus misery ended 
The SC bench presided by Chief 
Justice Venkatacnalliah kept tabs on the 
progress made by the CBI Tvery time 
the matter came up tor hearing in the 
SC, it generated considerable 
enthusiam, but the court could nut 
break the impasse Around the month 
of October, trie SC bench ot Chief lust ice 
tirst revealed its dunking on the matter, 
when they began talking ot handing the 
matter to the special pro^erutoi or a 
retired judge llie petitioners had their 
own views about it The stalemate 
continued Soon Chief )u*-hv t* 
Venkatachalliah returd i lie ne\t lime 
the scandal came tor hearing, then was 
a remarkable change m circumstances. 

T he case found itbdl in the beiiLh of 
Justice J S Verma I ust u e s P 
Bharucha and fusuie Vn Justice 
Verma who had .1 reputation Ji <? being 
a tough niwumsen.se judge 
immediately took charge ot t lie cast* lie 
was outraged by the manner in which 


CHI was perceiving the hnwalj scandal 
What took the apex count's goat was the 
manner in whein the GBI had 
employed dual standards Uj treat the 
evidence that it had collected in the last 
few years The court lelt that even a 
'‘tliMiciiat would do a hotter |oh" 

" I here is something rotten m the State 
ol Denmark", is how the three judges 
leaded to the CHI's handling of the case 
The attitude that the bench adopted 
during this hearing put the teas of God 
in theCljl Scathing in their remarks, 
the SC bench said, "If we are meant 
only for punishing people for petty 
offenses and letting people who spend 
lakhs on birthdays go scott -tree, w'o had 
better close down the courts" justice 
Verrna said, "It is hard to believe that 
one can perpetuate such a fraud and get 
awa\ with it " 'Ihe tough judge felt that 
thi. Jains were too hot to be handled and 
the onl\ wa\ to kivn them quiet w as to 
allow them to do what they wanted to 
Hie Supreme Court's comment sent 
shockwaves in the government lire 
CBI director, Vijaya Kama Kao also 
countenanced the changed 
circumstan-vs and was bracing up for 
the worst. The Supreme Court was not 
finished with the investigating agency 
The hearing was calk'd the next dav 



The judges made it clear that they 
would not sit idle and allow the 
government to carry on with its 
business of ' cover up' "t>ne thing is 
clear, and beyond doubt that there have 
been significant periods ot inaction 
Who is responsible is a different 
question”, said \ernia Hofuither 


went on to add that the caw would be 
taken to its 'logical conclusion'. 

Now the SC deeded to have weekly 
hearings of the case. The idea was to 
monitor the progress of the case and 
put the toot on tne pedal so that the 
investigation eels accelerated. On 
December 5, tne Supreme Court came 
to the conclusion that there was no 
other agency which could fill in for the 
CBI They ti)ok an undertaking from 
CBI director, Vijaya Rama Rao, that he 
would personally look after the 
investigation. Another key official 
revenue secretary, M.P. Sivaraman, 
looking after cases pertaining to income 
tax and foreign exchange violations 
was also drafted into the probe In spite 
ol the tough attitude displayed bv trie 
Courts, the SC bench had a very 
regard for the two officers The 
countdown for Jam's conviction had 
begun 

Ihe CBI, which now came under the 
microscope of the SC, had little room toi 
manipulation While the middle rung 
officers had theii reservations about the 
case, Vi|uva Rama Rao got down to 
giving shape to the diktats of the SCI" 

For almost a week, Rao equipped 
himself with every asjnvt of the case, 
and came to the conclusion, that the 



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hawala scandal could be seen as a case 
of corruption. This line of action was 
zeroed upon, after the* CBI came to the 
conclusion, that they could not make 
much headway if the foreign angle 
continued to take piecedonce over the 
issue of bribing public servants. 

A special team was formed under the 
Special Director, Amod Kanth, DIG, 
was expected, to do the bulk of the job. 
The CBI discovered a truth which was 
always known to those who mattered 
in the capital. The premier 
investigation team found that Jain was 
an agent of some foreign companies, 
and therefore he had something to do 
with the award of contracts in the 
power and steel sectors. For the' first 
time, the CBI came to finding out the 
mystery behind the horn of plenty 
which was used for corrupting every 
one around 

The CBI found that Jain's companies 
had won more than 200 contracts in the 
coal, steel and power sector While the 
registering of Preliminary Enquirey 
(PF.) under the Prevention of 
Corruption Art was a major 
improvement, there were still tears that 
the cast* may just loose its way . Around 
this time, the CBI sent a report to the 
r Electorate of f:n tor cement 
recommending action against 15 
persons including h K. Jam. his 
brothers B R. Jain and N K. Jain and 
employer J K Jain All this while, the 
two agencies did not have the benefit of 
the statement that CBI had recorded of 
the Jains In fact the Enforcement 
agencies had reacted violently, when 
they were dragged tor manifest 



V.C. Shukla, one of the accused, with P.V. Narasimha Rao 



L.K. Advani: Caught In the.scam 


inactivity in the ease. The truth was that 
the CBI had not sent the statement of 
J.K Jam, made after the raid, to any ot 
the agencies. 

The CBI had made consider able 
progress in linking Jain to the many 
deals that the government had 
awarded his companies The CBI had 
managed to acquire hies of 122 
contracts, which the BECO and his 
other companies had got 

After the preliminary' investigation 
was over, the CBI found material to 
register a regular case of corruption 
against him Charges under Prevention 
At Corruption Act and FERA were 
slapped against Jams. 

Vijaya Rama Rao summoned his 
junior officers and wanted Jains to be 
arrested so that they did not go around 
tampering evidence Rao was told that 
there was no neeod to arrest Jam as he 
was not a hardened criminal and lie 
could be called whenever he was 
needed. Rao was not convinced, Jains 
had to be arrested. ■ 


Ti 


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16 



Departures 

Fit No. Time Dap 

* CHITTAGONG . 


Arrivals 

Fit No. Time 


Dsys 


■ i - 


II J 1 

ii'tiii i 

f* 1 '1 

Trr-. 

liV- 

i / '■ 

I'ii-ii 1 ./ 

!l 

• .»• dhaka - 


r 

i:C. fiV 

i ifi.ii. i 'i 

Wj-f , 1 i 


Hfi i;:.- 

n ji i i 

■ - .' K. : i' 

::in 

H v . 

in , : , 

■ : 'l .V. 

• *. :• 

Mi 'IT. 

i'lti 1 : 

'■ i. ’ Hi. 

' ,J „ ' 

M. :rn 

|'ii. 

r,r „■;{ 

1 >i!i 

Mi l; (,l i 

i i . 

i'.ii ,,! * 

\W 

-m DOHA 




fj iv 

•\v 

f'T .III, 

i 

DUBAI 

k, :-j 

. I ■ i- : 1 

| 1 ' 

i rt. 


i ». KATHMANDU 

KA ,'U •, 

I! /.!' 


1'ji 

1 


Departures 

Fit No. Time Days 

LONDON 

FM-U 

A MOSCOW 

mj r v ' i ■ ; 

* FARO 

ll*. IV 

KF. Sr : 

SINGAPORE 

.1 r. 

II l'|" 

A SOFIA 

.. :■! i;-:, 

m TOKYO 

*v 4* i n- 

a YANGON 

i- . * i* *i: ; . 


Arrivals 

Fit No. Time 


Cfys 


i i. 


Al Air India • BA British Airways • BG Biman Bangladesh Airlines • Bl Royal Brunei Airlines • D2 Skyline NEPC • D5 NEPC Airlines • 1C Indian Aulines • 
KB Druk-Aif • KLM Royal Dutch Airlines * LZ Balkan Airlines • M9 Modiluft • PF Vayudoot • RA Royal Nepal Airlines e RJ Royal Jordanian Airlines • RO 
Tarom An Transport • S2 Sahara India Airlines • SQ Singapore Airlines • SU Aeroflot • 4S East West Airlines • TG Thai Airways International • 9W Jet Auways 


* 


Departure 


TRAINS 


EASTERN RAILWAY 


Arrival 


Departure 


SOUTH-EASTERN RAILWAY 


Arrival 


Up 

firm 

Howrah 

Time Dn 

1 Up Time 

Howrah 

Time Dn 

^■i 


Delhl-Kalka Mail 

ii-: r 

■ '.•f.lij M 

Madras Mall 

1 ' ‘ 'ii! 

.V 

■ . 1 

Amritsar Mall 

I'jlh 

! P".‘ \ i ,-i 

Bombay Mall Ni'im, 

• ' 


. 1 ■" 

Bombay Mall .* >;.j 

Poorva (Hew Delhi) Express 1 i \ -r . 

4 Hi. -t* -CM 

i vi.-' : . ' 

.i 1 j i i. 

Gttanjail (Bombay) Express 

Shatabdl (Bourioh) Express 

. ' i'' _ i ‘ 




; . wi . 

f. il" r * • f! , 1 , 11 - J„, 

Ahmedabad Express 

1 • ii • 

'■ 


Puorvr (New Delhi) Exoress . 

. iU « 

;i : • 

Kurla Express i \ j.i* 

' 1 1 . 




; .’Mi 
: m:. 

Coromandel (Madras) Express . ■ . i! . i 
Eulakrmma (SeaaidBrabad) Express 

J . r'J \ 

i ' ■ ■ ; J 

" 

■ 

Baidham Express . . 

!’ i’ 1 t i 1 .’ 


i'rli ‘ 1 " 



•.'Jr,. 

ti 


ftaidhvii tjipreKi . 

Jodhpur Express 

1-hafcibd! fBokarn Stes 1 City I Expires 


Hlmgld (Jammu Tawi) Depress 
1 '■ ’ >V. ’.i 

Guwahatl Express 

Gorakhpui Express 

Purbancha! (Gorakhpur) Express 

, . • .■ . \; */.i ! 

Unon Express .■ 

Udyan Abtu loobn Express 
Amritsar Express 
Kathgodun Express 
Mlthila (RaxauT) Express 
Kan « up fGuwahali) Express 
Black Diamond bqpress 
Coalfield Express 
Asansol Express 
Danapur Express 
Jamalpur Express 
Santlnltotan Express 
Chambal (Gwalior) Express 
i'". M 1 ■ ■■ .* i r V’ 

SNpra (Indore) Express 

'.v 

f. 

ShakHpunl (Chopan) Express 
Chonoal (Agra CarrtL) Express 

r «»*., 1 '.' r iiit-i.iv 


Bangalore Express 


Tala StBBi Egress 

1 (Jhersuguda) Express 


hi! ! 

n. ' 


! I V. 

’ -'I. 
C 


I.« A , 

I, •' 


'.i.K 

I*fb 


J il 

vi . ' 
’I'-t 

• ,H 
! 1! 


HaUa Express 
Puri Express \*.i 'i ■■ - 
Jagannath (Purl) Express 
Dhaull (Bhubaneswar) Express 
East Coast (Hyderabad) Express 
Purulte Depress 

Azad Hind (Pune) Weekly Express 

■i ,i \ i .11 ’ ! ‘ % 

Bhubaneswar-New Delhi Rajdwil Express 

".H*. •!. .I'll, 

New Delhi -Bhubxttswai Raldhanl Express 

1 ./> ,■!•' . !.!*, ■! , 

Guwahatl - Howrah - Trivandrum Central Express 

Trivandrun Central Howrah - GuwahaU Expres* 

' . ’ j 

Cochin Harbour Terminus - Guwahtfl Weekly 
Express \ •’ \: ■ 


h ;•». 
■M 
y i- 

•1 


l A.i . 


Cochin Harbour Terminus Weekly 


Up 

Time 

Sealdah 

Time 

On 

rn 

'ip 

Teesta-Torea Express 

i- <■ 

ill.' 

u-i’i 

i f ' l‘ 

Darfeellna Mall 

ft- v- 


1 1 1 

.'l' '' 

Lai Qulta Express vi.< Mjn i r.r 

• V' 

FI. 1 



Kanchanjunga (Lurndkig) Express 

V if 

MjM 

. ii' i 
MV- 

2. ! J 

• ■ .'ii 

Gour Bmress 

Kadhar Express 

4 i : 

.«:! i 
•Ijl-I 

tr.« 

ii 1 ' 

i 

1 ■ 

Jammu- Tawi Express 

Mughal Saiai urns .-hi. ■ ■ . r» 

1 ■ '.l! 

! ^ 

nn 

!i . 

BhaQtralhl (Lalgok) Equess 

ii,i j;. 

-in-l 

fiiiHE 

-ii 1 

Ganga Sagar (Gorakhpur) Express 

Phi .I. Air luf-t. murs ^ j.iI 

4 .‘'i 

r -08t’ 


Guwahatl 

Express 


Cochin Harbour Terminus Express 


f ■■ 1 . . '* Giwahati - Bangalore City Weekly Express . 

Vami K i .!*:*■ I,, 

W iT* .-llW 

■■i 1 Bangalore City - Guwahrfi Weekly Expres .* 11 

»' .ft.il . ■,!*»'!. 1 u- • 

ENQUIRIES: For round the clock Information of Eastern Railway and 
South-Eastern Railway trains, please dial 2203545-54 tor In-coming trains 
2203535-44 for all other information For information about reservations on 
Eastern Railway and Soirth-Eastenn Railway trains, dial 2203495-3500 (from 
8 am to 8 pm on weekdays and 6 am to 2 pm on Sundays and gazer 
tad holidays). In addition. dla> 1331 (for recorded Information on train 
r ding train operations) and 135 (regarding reserva- 
‘ ^aldah. 3503535-37 


WU Ill OUUIUUII, UHT UNI (IW ' 

running). 131 (regarding train operations) 
ttons). Train service enquiry at Snaldah. 3 


17 




Sketches 

SIGNIFICANT OTHER 


A he tier look at the better halves 

This Week: Ronii Kapil Dev 



F irst achieved fame: As a 

national hate object well, at 
least, the hate ob|f.vt of even* 
young Indian female oelow 
the age ot 20, when she hooked 
Haryana hurricane , Kapil Dev 
Their engagement pictures- -with 
Romi looking pretty in pmk and 
sporting an enviable rock — made it 
to every newspaper and magazine, 
and the teenybopper brigade was 
less than thrilled. After all, Ronn 
may have been presentable enough 
as Mr as Bomba v college kids went, 
but surH\ India’s foiemost all- 
mu ndei deserved better 
Did he? kapil certainly didn't think 
so I le was deimouslv Viappv at 
having convinced Komi to take him 
on. and clearly belli ved that she was 
the b*\sl thing to have happened to 
him And that s not to say that Dev's 
standards were low, prominent 
among his earlier dates was the 
ravishing act mss, Sarika 
So, were they well suited?: Depends 
on what you mean by well-suited 
As far as socio-economic 
background went, the\ were miles 


apart 

Kapil v' as the suon nt a lowei 
middle-class Punjabi Khatn family 
which dabbled m business and had 
fallen on hard times since his father 
earls demise His brothers had 
raised him well— one of them even 

Marshneill Gavaskar: Devoted wife 


confessed that no matter how hard 
times were, he always ensured that 
Kapil, the sportsman ol the family 
had enough nulk to drink -but hi' 
didn't have such benefits as a pubhc 
school education So, he was less 
lhau fluent m English and very 
uncomfortable on the cocktail party 
circuit, or even at live-star 



~ restaurants 

: In joke 1 hat ‘Kapil and another 
: Punjabi team member were an lour 
in England, where thev would spend 
r every morning scouring tlu local 
papers lor news irom back home 
! One day, I hey saw a head I me 
j loading. "Mori 1 killed in Punjab " 

, Both players were shocked One 
i turned to the other and asked,' "}/wr. 

; ware (a peacock in Punjabi) nu kyon 
\ nninyiui (Why did they kill the 
; peacock 7 )?" 

| And what about Komi? She was the 
i quintessential Bombay girl, who had 
| grown up in an affluent upper 
i middle-class household Vvcll- 
■ educiitcd, poised and articulate, she 
| was everything that kapil was not. 
j Perhaps that was, in fact, what 


18 




attracted him to her. 

Yet, in some ways the couple 
appeared to be made tor each other. 
Both of them were from good 
Punjabi stock, both subscribed to the 
same conservative family values, 
and both were entirely committed to 
making their marriage work, no 
matter now much the cricket 
groupies wished otherwise 
Did Romi prove to be the 
regulation cricket wife?: Well, yes 
and no. She was certainly devoted 
enough to make an appearance at 
nearly every match that Kapil 
played; much like that other symbol 
of wifely devotion, Marsnneilf 
(Suiyl) Gavaskar And she would 
even accompany Kapil on some of 
his trips abroad. 

But unlike some other willow 
wives. Rome like Sharmila Tagore 
before her. managed to carve out a 
career and a persona tor hersell as 
well While Sharmila was one ot the 
foremost actress's ot her time. Romi 
took on the job of managing IVv 
Features, a sydication agency pait- 
owned by her husband, and was by 
all at counts quite successful at it 
So, is Romi the hard-nosed 

Sharmila Tagore: Not just 
Mrs Pataudi 



Romi and Kapil Dev: From the album 



businessperson of the two?: She 
certainly more than pulls her weight 
as far as business goes, but Kapil 
appears to be the more driven of the 
two Romi may ha\o the 
management skills, but it is Kapil 
who susses out the business 
opportunities and cxploies them to 
their mutual profit 
What does Romi suss out?: The 
houses ot the rich and lamous oi 
course She hosts a television 
programme that takes viewer* into 
the living rooms ot celebrities, and 
does quite a commendable Indian 
version ot Tin Lifo tulo oj thr Riel: 
iitui Famous 

Is everything perfect in Paradise, 
then?: Not until recently. Kapil and 
Romi s lasting regret was that they 
hadn't managed to have any 
children of tneir own Romi had had 
several miscarriages, and it 
beginning to look like the couple 
would hav e to give up on then- 
attempts to start a famih 

Happy ending: Some months back 
Romi gave birth to a little girl, much 
to the surprise of the media hei 
pregnancy had been kept a well ■ 
guarded secret And now, Kapil and 
Komi, who have always Iwed by the 
axiom that two is company, am 
learning that three makes lor 
absolute bliss ■ 


IQ 




NNEREYE 


Aries 

M-iioh 2 1 Apnl 20 

1 iM’ik mihl 

1 hi n»mp!et« d tui 

MU? -nlu'duh (..unit 
Hf mtiir m.ition ahuiit 

sttul-s k« *» "j. ■ \ «hii i i>n kiits 
u nil loicigii icpmsml.ilix es 
t Li : ! \ Ini/ • * • i jj;. iinnuiJiucs 
C i.ipi-sIm l I k iiiihiii ^ lirsf 
qu.O lei will tlUn lead li* 
buving # %Mmg koncrpliun and 

iH'I'.lH p». villi'. DoMKLlllSC 
tin I k- • j- \ .‘iirsi-lf luisv 

Taunts 

April ? ! - May 20 

'l v >li will ltvl 
ii’vit.iiwd M’tidx U» 
taki L»n the w'nilil 
single-handed l\ 

I low i-\ .‘i it w ould Ik n ■ lie h 
bolte- to luxe ,i!I lh*.‘ support 
*. mi . tin ( .ill ns ou i in * nn ni 

Ivinn Max 7 Pu rnukv 1 it i 

point i«i s. v i,i list- do tin' 
i orpin ito rounds attend 
meet mv.;** and Imulmns Kiwi 
.liu I trips on thi’ i urds 

Gemini 

May 21 - ■ Jurm 20 

' oil lull tip PI good 
■pii it' 1 iu I .uid 
>V’oJ Inmmi make 

\OU .1 V'. IIIIKI tint 

i*\pi Misi's will Ik- hi av\ P’-nlcs t 
X'uiir vtiKiJ name lost things 
will I'm* found \i 1 old 
itf ijUtiinUmi’ n lvlaliu* pops in 
i • ILll lift \i X\s, \ u*ws, 
JiKumL'nls mntr.uts, l'-ttci'* 
cir id i till i ill doi uk'ilK shape 
Vom riltUM’ tills V\ivk 



Cancer 

June 21 — July 20 

Non will hi- nding 
»l high on mone\ 
sm i,i | w hirhgig 
Stalll- f llld MlelVSS. 
Non w til i*\i harn;e lov e, 
intorni.itiun .mil |o\ with 
older pen pie Luxe will bmst 
tlu* banks and llial should h<* 
editing Most importantly 
\ tui w ill h.i\ e ii sh.it p sense ( a 
Jueilmn and motivation so 
vital tor triumph 

Leo 

July 21 ---August 21 

All anuws point to 

pifNsuir risponsi- 
r j bill tv, prestige, 

ij.i , i , i 1 business and 

.MotL’ssional relationships, 
lead* m ships, ami a In no .ill, 
deadlines and dtamalk issues 
i hi Max n jiipit'-i beiomes 
ictiogade. so p'v voiit ln’si 
si ioi non I earn to cbeei and 
molnate vouisell and others 
as we!! That is the k* v 



Vii 

August* 


irgo 

gusf 22 - September 22 

t ( \ loog distance i all 

• letli i. t.i\, tonl.K t 
j i nuld iih'.iii trawl, 

'• c lot hill};, childbirth 
fashions, Lompulei 
programming, lollahoratioiis. 
a political or a charitable 
project w Diking happilx tot 
\ou Vour artistu and i iilmarx 
talents ionie to the tore 
C^anesha savs a week to move 
ami gel things done 


m 



BIRTHDAYS 


BEJAN DARU WALLA 


Libra 

i September 23- October 22 
! You will deal m 
i j words as others in 
H small change and 
i -4k. . foreign exinange Do 
repair or h.m repanerl, 
meilianu.il objec ts Iheaslio 
menu has unii|ue possibilities 
ol loans, 1 unds, joint- hnain vs 
and public issues II there aie 
an\ loopholes in the law. lhe\ 
will he coiretled walk ihe 
narrow path of vntiu 

Scorpio 

October i-3 - - November 22 
■ rjn I JoinestK 
| , adjustment'' aie 

possible. so also 
! /*NiJ : tr.ne! \lliame-. ol all 
soi fs, that w hosn simjiK 
companionship to elaborate 
i olldhorations and platonic 
adnmations aie loretold, *-avs 
lianesha x kindest me 
ai r.mgements also . n me m tin* 
same p.utnership biac ki l 
A\viid unnecessary hassles 

Sagittarius 

November 2d -- Doromher 20 
Attention n vol\ e . 
nuiud |ob, health. 
Mn.uu mg jieti 
IHhJi bin nn; and st Mini;, 
.Kiel this uni umtiiuic up, lit 
lluouph M.i\ Non could well 
In* in a mood to leplerush voui 
waul lobe Koi*ian«e and dill\ 
dallvinp m.i\ not ^*o well 
together sc>. *•,. hrm c i| 
pinpose and dm <.t m mum 
dealings 




Capricorn 

December 21 — January 19 
l ime to burn the 
candle at both ends 
Time also 
par ados u all y, to 
spruce vourself, j;o in tui 
fashions, loible^ and even 
tads, bhoto^iaj Ju. 
management, pamlin};, music, 
an* a lew i.houe hobbies, 
winch could be a vocation 
Mercur\. m j;ood placing with 
Wptune, le.icb to extra work 

Aquarius 

January 20 — February 18 
The liomehont, 
property, .isseis m 
c^Mieral sw shares, 
jewellerx, vehicles, 
are iui'.lih^hted I k-I p ti mi 
!■ now n and mil. now n ^jii.ii teis 
vomes to von and that cli.mi'es 
ewrctiiim; loi vui 1 >e» set lc» 
uav.’i h.w e a liome iwa\ 
lwnn h"iii» l neimes will liv 
U» buIU and 1 1 »w . ou d< o' n b\ 
.tin .1*0 \ e l s In 

Pisces 

February 1° — March 20 

ffl 1 il «* ihe \i|ii i» mu'. 

tin pu/. les i.il! m 
m pl-l* C 'OI nil. 

I ff "A Ophimsm and tailh 
w ii! \v«'ik v- undeis lu i .iir-e ot 
liipilei Neptune combination 
Non will vorntnniiki'U' with 
\ iv kiU and ei \ c and Ihi's 
|'u I \c>oi niessar.i Mdea 1 . pomt 
ol \ lew aiio-^s ] i n t-| ami 
lomnuilm}; will hi* umisuallv 
important ec i n imjK'uitwe 



April 28: Sauum triiic Pluto leads to happing though 
instant success rnay not be* quite there. Those in diemleals, 
t'onsirutlion and arts Jo well. 

April 29: Mcruuy trine Neptune is excellent (or writers, 
teachers, lawyers musicians painters, filmstars and directors. 
You wifi come up in life whatever be your station. 

April 30: Muon trine Uranus will boost your earrings, make 
vnu .sensitive, to public opinion and relationships and thus, you 
will be popular. 

May J : Moon trine us is a superb trine which leads +o 
comforts, luxuries, money, buying, selling, leasing, housing and 


j even a marriage Tins is .t time to start cracking. Cot your 
j pnorities right. 

! May 2‘ Moon-Neplune squan* speaks of tension.*, and oven 
psychological posers in relationships. Think storight, talk 
starighl bvit expect others to be narrow-minded. 

Miry 5»* This full mcxin is well nspL*cted l^y Jupiter, the planet 
of money, joy wisdom and good luck, and theivtbrv, tlio.se vou 
will have and enjoy. 

May 4: Nloon conjunction Pluto is an exceptionally powerful 
conjunction for industrial bankers, politicians, pruducei^. I 

detectives, spies, military leaders and corporate executive^. | 




JUNIOR WHIRL HA; l-'ALir 



HORN SWOGGLER! Two of these six horns of 
plenty look enough alike to be twins. Which two is 
for you to decide 


SUN AGElTake a half, a third and a fourth of this 
preleen's age, and the total will be one more than 
the age itself. What age is that? 1 ime- One minute 


1*1 SI .Till 1 1 !l.»H .ill ,H[j 


WASH OUTIUntikely J 7 yn 

as it may seem, each — IfnMillri/W 

grouping of letters aired C/lRw!) I 

out at right is taken from ^ ' 

an English word. No 1, 6 

HTH, for instance, is ^ — rrgrjt' 
taken from the word WfXUMHf (NSW] 

EIGHTH Just for hin, f 1 

see if you can discover a — *mTT 

source word for at least HP .JJjWUW WFL 
one of the seven That's ^ LZ-- 

right, just one 

Perhaps you can do better, but be forewarned it is tar 
from easy 

More than one answer may be possible in some 

instailCCS pi.nj niM pip iq .»p [| mow., ^ pit * m ^ m\ 

•) nvi»mi •„ t ^ifNpjvv \ Ji’vsimn ,* , • 



l xriHoaaQ 3 ««| 

FUSS & FEATHERS 
DRAWING CARD 

It may seem like a lot of fuss 
and feathers, but its worth it to 
see what's hidden in the diagram 
shown. A sharp pencil and ruler 
will help. 

Begin at intersection 9-D, 
draw' to 9-G to 10-J, 9-1, 9-J, 8-1, 

8- J,7-I, 7-J, 4-G, 4-E,5-C, 4-D, 3-D. 
2-B, 4- A, 5-B, 8-B to 9-D. 

Dra' ■/ from 6-D to 9-G, 10-F, 

9- F, 10-E, 9-E. Add 10-E to 1 l-F. 
Add 10-F to 11 -F. 

Begin at 2-B, draw to 1-D.l-F, 

2- H. 4-|, 5-1, 6-1, 5-1, 3-( 3-C Add 
1-D to 3-E, 4-E, 3-D Draw 2-H, 

3- G, 4-G. Add l-F to 4-F. Draw 
3-1 to 4-H, 5-H, 5-l,5-l. 4-1. 

Add 5-F to 6-G, 6-F, 7-G, 7-F. 
8-G, 8-F. Draw 6-H to 7-1. Add 
7-H to 8-T. Also 8-H, 9-1 Add 4-A 
to 4-B. Then 4-D to 4-E. Also 3-C 
to 4-D. 

Draw small circles below 3-C 






V. 

OMICS 













THE ADVENTURES OF LEGIONNAIRE BEAUPEEP 


APOLOGISE. 

SENNhS 


' WHSM X SAID \ 
NOLI WE RE .A \ 

half -wittsd \ 

ID/CTT WITH THE > 
X.Q Or A SLLVS... 


T3 


/ ...WHO IS OF \ 
/25? O OSS TD’ 
/ ANT LIVING 
THINS ON EARTH, 


1 




X DIDN'T /mean 
IT" LIKE THATT 


pn 1 


i " 


IT L.1— TAKE A1= ACE =3 
TD SIFT T-iROOCH AND 
CATALOGUE AVI' PAPES 
BOOKS AO DOCUMENTS 


5^7 > 


1 


Et'Egi THIN'cS TriATA 
CRAOC SlON.NI. AIRS 

GSDS— NEATDt 'AggA\<= 
IN /VUUTARi' FASHION. 


J nrs^cr 


/, 


SWEETE5 ON T= 
,LS=T- CO-MICS ON 
\ THE RiSHT - 


f#l 


r \-vfS C=Oi.NC= THSOlKSH 


r 


’ DOES rr \V IS A SIJ-LT 
SAT FIN E \V s/ucr; ” ^ 

VcAHS AQO) T/ 1 

TODAY 3=» / /-I 




►7 


m 


it 


>i 


■fi 


A 


m 


3 S*U. \ 

MOTH&S ‘ er O<X~/V&S) 
TOO /O? 5EA© y 
v ®OC- QV TTtS" / 
x. cw?tv;v 5: 


»tN 















A wall painting ; (inset) tribal artist. Bun Bai, from Bhopal 


Panorama 

THE CRAFT OF THE 

MATTER 

flic Sat tonal Crufts Museum in Delhi is ti showpiece of 
Indian creativity , reports SamitaBhatia 

B un Hai, t\ Hliil tribal artist from lively tattooed when she was 16 ,i.svisi- the next breath, sales will slowdown 
Bhopal, sits on her haunches, Mm; the National C 'rails Museum for as the heat intensifies. She much pre- 
working on a half finished the third time. fers the winter, when the tourists — 

painting. As she painstaking And for her, at least, it has been a specially foreigners- -come in droves. 

Iv colours a gargantuan red lizard, lucrative time. Chunky silver bangles Welcome to the most active 
you can't help but watch her utterly jangling * »n her wrist, she gleefully museum in the country. It's been writt- 
mesmerised, as she makes her life informs you that two $oras bought five en about extensively, draws over six 

back at home come alive on the can ■ of her paintings just yesterday, and lakh foreign and domestic visitors into 
vas. Buri Bat, whose face was exten- simply ltrnd them. But, she adds in its ethnic environs annually (and num- 









bers are going up all the time). And it 
the Taj Mahal tops the list of "must- 
see' spots on the itineraries of interna- 
tional travellers, the Crafts Museum 
comes a close second VIP visitations 
are common and John Major, Hillary 
Clinton, the prince and princess of 
japan are among the luminaries who 
have wound their way through its invi- 
ting passages. 

If it lias been dubbed as the busiest 
museum in the country, it is for a good 
reason. Watching the craftspersons at 
work has opened a whole new world 
for sch(K)l children, art students, arti- 
sts, designers and even the craft trade 
as a whole. Some 80,000 students 
attend the regular creative workshops 
organised throughout the year, also 
taking help of the specialised librai v 
of more than 10,000 books and perii>di- 
cals pertaining to traditional Indian tri- 
bal and rural arts and cultures And 
above all, era! I demonstrations are on 
throughout the year and \ isitors tan 
watch SO master craftspersons at work 
who double as folk performers very 
often. 

J yol i nd ra Jain, sen lor d i recti ir. 
National Crafts Museum, explains the 
purpose of the complex as lie ha^ 
alw ays visualised it, "While being 
somewhat hesitant to assume a con- 
ventional role, the Crafts Museum 
asks many questions of itself and 


A view of the village complex 


strives to identify its task in a complex 
situation of Indian arts and craft tiadi 
lions," he says 

Jain explains that the coie collection 
of the Crafts Museum was put toge- 
ther to serve as reference ma tonal lor 
the craftsmen who w ere increasingly 
losing touch with their own traditions 
in terms of materials, techniques, 
designs and aesthetics of their arts and 
crafts due to the sudden changes caus- 
ed bv modern industrialisation. 

"Thus, it is primarily addressed to 
craftsmen w r ho have now bivn 
brought into a close and integral rela- 
tionship with the Museum says 
Jain. "Their visits provide them with 
the opportunities to moot their new 
urban patrons Besidi's, it is here that 
craftsmen feel free to confine to their 
tradition or to innovate m response to 
their new contemporary 
environment." 

That's perhaps why Narain Raut of 
Orissa could be found making a stunn- 
ing soapstone Ganesh while Ganga 
Devi ol Mithila was paintin * multi- 
storeyed motor cars or scenes of a Tide 
in a rollercoaster' in her paintings 
Meanwhile, Tiju Ram from Rasta r 
moulded iron to make figurine's and 
candlestandsand was delighted with 
the average of Rs 500-1, (XX) that he 
managed to earn each day 

But ManSundan Swann from Bika- 









_ > !' ' * 'i' .. 

. ^ JW V- . 

' ■ '4 $ -v . 




mTWrthn'l entirely htippv though. The 
season is not Vighl and sales are very 
slow On a good dav she manages to 
sell six miniature paintings priced bet- 
ween Rs 'kXMlX). t )n others, only one 
painting might sell 

Bur i Bdi, the tribal artist, too, is one 
among the 50 traditional artists and 
crafts persons hailing from ditierent 
region^ ol the country who take lip 
residence at the Museum each month. 

“1 iere they get an opportunity to 
demonstrate their skills, toconduct 
creativeex pen mentation, to market 
their pro&U£ts to an urban and interna- 
tional clientele and to re-establish 
links with their own past traditions 
through the Museum's collections," 
says Jain 

A grain storing jar 


A courtyard at the Crafts Museum 



?8 



B ut you can do more in the Crafts 
Museum. You can also indulge 
yourself with the pleasures of buying, 
buying and buying. There are no price 
tags on the handicrafts, however, and 
most visitors end up haggling with the 
craftsmen before settling on a mutual- 
ly agreeable sum. But clearly, it still 
makes business sense to sell here 
According to Jain, craftsmen vie with 
one another to spend that one very cru- 
cial month at the Crafts Museum. The 
exposure they get to urban India and 
the sales they tot up aruld well end up 
changing the entire course of their 
future careers. 

To help the craftspersons keep their 
earnings in a safe place, the Museum 
provides them with lockers where 
their cash can be kept till they leave at 
the end of their month-long stint And 
their earnings are not meagre either, 
for some take home as much as Rs 
70,000 - a sum which for them i^ a 
dream come true. Certainly, they 
could never have earned it in the inter- 
iors from where they come. 

The C rafts Museum gives the artist 
an easier access to his real markei and 
also makes him accessible to foreign 
buyers as well "Very often we get 
inquiries about specific crafts from 
overseas buyers. In that cast' we have a 
record of some 1,000 craftspersons all 
over the country whom we can put in 
touch wilh the people concerned/' 
says Jain I .og books of the Museum 
reveal thumbnail sketches of artists, 
their skills and areas of specialisation, 
the history of the craft and the addres- 
ses on which they c:an be found. A 
bulk purchase from one such artist for 
consumption in the international mar- 
kets means a huge profit which would 
otherwise be very hard to come by. 

Getting onto the log books of the 
Museum could also give the opportu 
nily of a trip abroad. "Can you imagi- 
ne what it means to the simple village 
folk to travel overseas? Besides, I have 
seen some artists sell terra-cotta pots 
— which otherwise sells for no more 
than Rs 1 5 in India — go for as much as 
an equivalent of Rs 3,000-5, (XX) in US 
dollars," says Jnin. Marketing without 
middlemen at its best! 

Not many people really know that 
the inspiration for theSuraj Kund 
Mela held annually in February on the 
fringes of the capital came originally 
from the Crafts Museum. Craftsper- 
sons from all over the country conver- 
ge in Harayana each year to display 
and sell their wares directly to the 
thousands who throng this very popu- 
lar otherwise picnic spot. Says S K Mis- 
hra, former secretary in the ministry of 




US First Lady, Hillary Clinton, on a tour of the Museum 


civil aviation and tourism, 'Through 
the crafts mcla we wanted tourism to 
i icate an opportunity for socio- 
economic development of the master 
< raftspersons. The artists were careful- 
ly selected with the help of the Crafts 
Museum that was in touch with them 
I fie Museum at anv rate is undoubted- 
ly an oul standing institution and quite 
unique " 

The Museum with a difference has 
much mure than just ciatt demonstra- 
tions on offer It also houses an enorm- 
ous collection of images, stone and 
wood carvings, jewellery, papier 
mache, dolls and toys, puppets, masks 
and every other bru a brae thal relates 
to our t ullure Hiere are narrative 
paintings of picture story-tellers, tri- 
bal bionzes from Madhya Pradesh. 

Amongst the most breathtaking exlu 
bits is a lurrh that was purchased from 
(iujarat, and transplanted to Delhi. A 
huge balcony or fharokha that's heavily 
carved and majestic leads up and pre- 
paries one for the Imvli that has been 
transplanted Irom its original site m. 

A walk across the building design ■ 
ixi bv Charles Correa lakes one The demonstration section of the 

through open and semi- open passa- Museum 

ges covered with sloping tiled roofs Museum has a timeless quality about 
and lined with carved wooden it — like India itscll - where tradition 

jluirokhn s; through courtyards with and modernity co exist, sometimes as 

domed pigi*on houses adorned with a collage and sometimes as transition 
arches and lattice work panels, terra- from the former into the latter." 
cotta shrines h>r lutei plants, a massive The collection at the Museum truls 
temple chariot, fain explains the reflects the continuing traditions of 

layout, 'Through a walk about in the Indian craftsmanship as both old and 
Museum we wanted to create the aura new pieces ot our heritage have been 
of a journey made through the Pols of displayed to demonstrate the high 
Ahmedabad, the streets of Jaisalmer, level ot creativity and skill that have 
the temple courtyards of Madurai and survived through the ages. You can' l 
f he villages of Banni. The Crafts help but notice that not all the artefacts 



have been put behind thick glass — - 
low bamboo fencing separates the visi - 
tors from the displays Says Jam. "We 
wanted to make it quite different from 
what one would expect at a conventio- 
nal museum." 

T he third leg of your walk about 
will take you through the 
Museum's Village Complex. Actually, 
this part of the Museum is a remnant 
of a temporary exhibition on the 
theme of rural India that was set up in 
1972 Fifteen tillage dwellings based 
on the designs prevalent in different 
parts of India, he cheek by jowi with 
courtyards and shnnes from various 
regions. What make's them even more 
special is that they have all been built 
with construction materials by the re's 
pective village masons, artisans, 
thatchersand carpenters. "Visitors are 
fascinated to see items of day to dav 
life which are displayed in order to 
£ give a glimpse of the wider cultural 
context in which thev were actually 
4? used before they became rare art 
objects," says Jain. 

While the accolades jx>ur m, some 
are not very convinced whether the 
Crafts Museum is fulfilling the pur 
pose for which it was set up. Rajiv 
Sethi, former member ot the Festivals 
ot India Committee and one closely 
involved with the establishment of the 
Muslim, feeN thai their vision of the 
institution hail been much ditferent 
from what it now is. He explains, "We 
had originally intended the Crafts 
Museum to be a university for crafts 
persons A serving station ot sorts, 
that would be user-friendly and reach 
out to those five million for whom 
craft skills determine then livelihotxi. 
Today, it has a very limited activity 
achieving just one per cent of our ongi 
nal aim " 

Not quite touched by the larger 
world -view, the visitor, however, 

: delights in what he finds here 1 o enh 
j ance their experience they can take 
! their pick ot original creations that 
find their wav into the souvenir Miop 
Like one is wont to find in museums 
overseas, the Crafts Museum, ha> 
a shop that sticks tx>oks, pictun pv>si 
cards and a range of contemporarv 
handicrafts 

One of the major disappointment 1 * 
lor visitors to the C alien Mu>rum m 
Ahmedabad is known to hi' a miss’d 
opfxirtunnv to pick up a hole someth 
mg their personal piece of history 
and a bit of Indian culture- - to Like 
Kick home The\ won't have the same 
problem it the\ visit the National 
Cralts Museum in Delhi. M 


29 




Firstperson 


MAHESH BHUPATHI, a promising newcomer in the world of Indian loam tennis, had caused a few 
upsets in the '96 Davis Cup which sent Holland out of the game. He also defeated 0te 20th and 71st best 
players in men's tennis. Despite his disappointing performance against the Swedish team at the Davis : 
Cup, he is the player to watch out for in the coming years. 


TATlul is yoor idea of perfect 
Ff happiness? 

Being able to make others happy. 
What ia your greatest leaf? 

Having an accident and being 
paralysed. % 

Who or what has been the greatest 
influence in your life? 

My parents and my sister. 

What do you dislike most in 
others? 

TWo-timing, hypocrisy. 


What do you 
dislike most on 
your appearance? 

My legs 


What do you dislike most in 
yourself? 

My inability to communicate 
What is your most p'^cious 
possession? 

My family. 

What objects do you always carry? 

Pictures of my family and friends. 
What makes you most depressed? 
Poverty. 

What do you dislike most on your 
appearance? 

My legs. 

What is your favourite word? 

Thank you. 

What is your favourite journey? 

I've Had a ftw. 

What is your favourite dream? 

Bringing the Davis Cup for India. 
What is your nightmare? 

Waking up next to an alien. 

What or who is the greatest love of 
your life? 

That's a secret. 

What is your source of sustenance? 

Prayers from my family 
On what occasions do you lie? 

Only when it's fun. 

What is your neatest regret? 

None yet! Douch wood) 

What has been your happiest 
moment? 

The Davis Cup tie against 
Holland.,. ", ■- - 

What bffitgs teacs4h your eyes? 
People suffering/#. 



What is your 
nightmare? 


How do you relax? 

By listening to music. 

What do you envy most in others? 

Their ability to talk for hours 
together. 


Waking up next 
to an alien 


How would you like to be 
remembered? 

As someone who gave his best 
shot. 

How would you like to die? 
Peacefully, without regrets. 



In Karnataka 

the 

entrepreneurs 
can now dance 
their way to 
profits 



If you have a tourism- releated project in mind, 
fill in and mail the coupon to : 


Karnataka tourism 
invites investors 

The tourism industry in Karnataka is poised for a big future. Drawing 
18 million visitors annually and with a turnover of Rs. 1 ,200 crone, the 
state boasts of a wide variety of tourist attractions covering history, 
architecture, art and culture, wild life sanctuaries, beaches and 
metropolitan centres. AD laid out in 1,91,791 square kilometres of 
Nature's choicest land. 

Incentives and Concessions for the Tourism 
Industry in the State 

The Karnataka Government has a package of incentives and 
concessions for the tourism industry. 

• Investment subsidy • Exemption from sales tax, luxury tax, 
stamp duty & concession in registration charges • Power tariff relaxed 

• Waiver of fee for converting agricultural land into commercial land 

• Special concession for various categories • Incentives lor utilising 
non conventional energy sources and also for a large tourism industry. 



Single Window Agency 

The Department of Tourism has setup a Single Window Agency to 
clear the projects speedily. It 

• considers the applications oi entrepreneurs and the locations of 
the project • finalises the extent of land /building required for the 
project and enables the acquisition and sanction of same througn the 
appropriate Government Agencies • considers means of financing 
the project by way of subsidy, equity, loans through the Government 
agencies like KSFC, KSUDC • sanctions infrastructural facility by 
way of power and water. 

A few possibilities 

• Developing Hotels, Beach resorts, Eco-resorts and 
Convention centres • Promoting Water sports and developing Golf 
courses • Bangalore having International Standard Airport, there 
is scope to develop airports in Hassan, Hubfi and Mysore. 

Profit from leisure 



The Director, 

Department of Tourism 

Government of Karnataka 
I Floor, *F Block, Cauvery Bhavan, 
K.G. Road, Bangalore * 560 009. 
Tel : 2215489 Fax . 080-2272403 


rv«r I am interested. Send me more details. 
| Name 


■ Designation 
* Address ■ __ 
I Tel ' 


Fax 


[ Superscribe the envelope “Single Window Agency" 


1 



In Karnataka 

the 

entrepreneurs 
can now dance 
their way to 
' profits 



If you have a tourism releatcd project in mind, 
fill in and mail the coupon to 


Karnataka tourism 
invites investors 

The tourism industry in Karnataka is poised for a big future. Drawing 
18 million visitors annually and with a turnover of Rs.l ,200 crore, the 
stale boasts of' a wide variety of tourist attractions covering history, 
architecture, art and culture, wild life sanctuaries, beaches and 
metropolitan centres. All laid out in 1,91,791 square kilometres of 
Nature's choicest land. 

Incentives and Concessions for the Tourism 
Industry in the State 

The Karnataka Government has a package of incentives and 
concessions for the tourism industry. 

• Investment subsidy • Exemption from sales tax, luxury tax, 
stamp duty & concession in registration charges • Power tanff relaxed 

• Waiver of fee for converting agricultural land into commercial land 

• Special concession for various categones • Incentives for utilising 
non conventional energy sources and also for a large tourism industry 



Single Window Agency 

The Department of Tounsm has setup a Single Window Agency to 
clear the projects speedily- It 

• considers the applications ol entrepreneuis and the locations of 
the project • finalises the extent of land /building required for the 
project and enables the acquisition and sanction ol same througn ihe 
appropriate Government Agencies • considers means of financing 
the project by way of subsidy, equity, loans through the Government 
agencies like KSFC, KSIIDC • sanctions infrastructural facility by 
way of power and water. 

A few possibilities 

• Developing Hotels, Beach resorts, Eco-resorts and 
Convention centres • Promoting Waler sports and developing Golf 
courses • Bangalore having International Standard Airport, there 
is scope to develop airports in Hassan. Hubli and Mysore. 

Profit from leisure 



The Director, 

Department of Tourism 

Government of Karnataka 
I Floor, ‘F’ Block, Cauvery Bhavan, 
K.G. Road, Bangalore - 560 009. 

Tel 2215489 Fax 080-2272403 

w+uttci&i. 


I Yes, I am interested Send rne more details. 

| Name 

* Designation . 

I Address . 

| Tel Fax 

| Superscribe the envelope "Single Window Agency" 

CstAtcH^ n o*H<x*ce. 


~i 

i 

- 1 
: i 
j 


The Telegraph 


Fi MAY IMfil 


rosrmmm 


Singliig Their 
Way to Success 

HI After the break~up of 
the Lata-Kishoie m 
the Kumar Sanu- Alka 
Yagnik duo is Bombay's 
finest gift to the music 
industry ('The Golden 
Couple*, March 17). 

With her very first 
song, Yagnik hit the jack- 
pot and became a national 
celebrity. Shfc is one 
singer whose career has 
not been marked by any 
scandals or affairs; such 
| dedication to career and 
• family is rare in the 
: industry. 

j But Kumar Sanu had to 
i struggle for a toehold in 
| tinsel town. Today, he is 
| Bombay's number one 
j playback singer but there 
j was a time in the initial 
; phase of his career when 
j people dismissed him as a 
j kishore clone. 

I Personally, his family 
| life also has not been as 
| happy as Yagntk's. His 

it*. i j* 


j much-publicised divorce 
i and numerous affairs 
have rather tainted his 
image and career. 

Santosk Kumar Skarma, 
Kharagpur 

m It is remarkable how 
Kumar Sanu established 
himself in Bollywood 
within a short span of 
^ time. From a Calcutta boy 



with ordinary middle- 
class background who 
used to play tabla in para 
functions, Sanu's meteoric 
rise is no mean achieve- 
ment The industry has 
become so competitive 
and commercialised that 
Sanu is known to record 
as many as 28 songs in a 
day. Wnat a change from 
the old times when music 
directors spent months 
recording a particular 
song. 

Tne lyrics these days 
have nothing in them by 
way of poetry or aesthet- 
ics and the tunes axe for- 
gotten within days. The 
only saving grace is per- 


haps some of the voices 
which make the songs 
bearable. 

Manohar Mandat and 
Anita Roy, 

Nabadwip <W.B.) 

HI There is only one 
Indian singer who could 
have made it to the cover 
and he is Mohd Raft. In 
the words of Manna Dey 
Rafi was the greatest 
singer of die past.. 

The new breed of 
singers are small-time 
wonders. Will anyone 
remember them after they 
are gone? 

Abnresk Roy, 

Calcutta 


0 Kedar Bhattacharya, or 
Kumar Sanu, is today the 
undisputed king of 
meloay. It is amazing 
how he manages to 
record so many sones in a 
day in addition to tne 
sundry shows he puts up. 
Debabrata Mohanty, 
Halasort (Qnsza) 


HI In an era of instant suc- 
cess and techno-mix 
where anything succeeds 


[1, it is lit- 
tle wonder that a Kishore 
done rules the roast m 


Bombay. 


Somnath Mukherjee, 
Calcutta 



PAGE 4 


SIDDHARTHA BASE*. India's first ivlohritv 
quiz-master, is back on television. 

PAGE 26 


16 TIME TABl .F. 

20 INN HR hYK 

21 JUNIOR WH1KI 

22 COMIC'S 

2* focus 

.Ml FIRST PERSON 


COSMETIC SURGERY is the new buzzword in 
trendy circles. 


Ccvei Ra|p p ^ Kumar 





Siddhartha Basil, India 's first celebrity quiz master, is now back on television doing 
what he 's best at Samita Bhatia profiles the man with all the ansivers 


HIS LANKY NF.AR-SIX FOOT FRA ML RADIATES A SIRA - 
nge kind of nervous energy. It is the same energy 
that transmits itself to become almost palpable in 
the cool interiors of Siddhartha Basu's basement 
office in the hub of New Delhi. The loose-limbed 
(some fans are known to swoon over his unconven- 
tional good looks) quiz master finds a natural habi- 
tat in an environ that's book-lined and dotted with 
PCs. 

With his endearing smile, incredibly quivering 
eyebrows, and the oh-so familiar line "the quiz, 
master's decision is final", Basu became — almost 
by accident — the man who single-handedly popu- 
j larised this game form in the mid -80s. Perhaps the 
] first real professional in the otherwise lacklustre 
.. stable of Doordarshan talent, Basu went on to brea- 
Siddhartha Basu-. From stage to television the energy into the otherwise placid DD repertoire. 

The Calcutta-born Basu is now a pucca' Delhiite having settled in the capital iri 1971. And 
Unlay his wife of 1 3 years, Anita, ano lie are very much part of the city's cocktail circuit. But 
Calcutta still holds a special place in Basu's heart; for one thing, he says, it is still the best city 
in which to conduct a quiy. contest. 

For those who came in late Basu was a film maker and stage actor first, before stepping 
into the arena of quizzing quite inadvertently. For a man who once held the position of Cul- 
tural Attache of the Taj Group of Hotels, it was pure accident that brought him before the 
camera, to help make quizzing into an art form. Basu recalls being asked to fill in for the pilot 








of a television programme when the 
presenter, Partn'a Basu, now a top 
executive of Mercury Travels, failed 
to show up The impromptu quip 
master was an instant hit and was 
asked to take over the subsequent 
senes as well. 

That was in W85 and the program- 
me, Quiz Time , went on to bag the high- 
est viewership in the non- 
entertainment programme segment 
The subsequent edition of Qutz Time 
in '86 saw Basil's greater involvement 
and this led to Alpha Plus the following 
year, a game show lor school children. 
The next obvious thing to do was to 
prixJu* e Quiz Time under his own ban- 
ner, Synergy, towards the end of the 
decade 

The English literature graduate 
from St Stephens' C ollege, Basu now 
m lus early forties, recently made a 
comeback to what audiences seem to 
naturally identity him with. It's quiz 
tune again folks! — with Beanstalk, 
Basu and brains from all over the 
cou ut rv 

The Beanstalk Summit Quiz produc 
ed and directed hv Basu and of which 
In pielinuna? v rounds have already 
been canned, gave Basu theopporhim- 
tv ot tvmg up with a sponsor Bean- 

stalk, part of the HC I. group - - whose 
i oiporate brand objective was the 

It's quizz time folks! 



Mahesh Dattani: His Dance Like a 
Man will bring Basu back to the stage 


same as the programme's objective. So 
it's back to another round of national 
level quizzing after a gap ot eight 
years 

S o, where was he when the televi- 
sion boom set in and everybody 
clambered on to the bandwagon 7 
"Around." he beams. "There have 
been programmes in the interim, 
however, we rarely get to choose the 


work we do or what we want to do. It's 
the channel and the advertising sup- 
port that decides what we must even- 
tually do." 

Quizzing may boa staple for Basu 
- what with Saarc Spn trum quiz and 
Kisai Kursi Kn under his belt - but it is 
certainly not the beginning and the 
end of his repertoire. Synergy has pro- 
duced Style Ttfday, a programme on 
design and interiors that was also pick- 
ed up bv BBC Television, and tele- 
plays Saiyun Hhai Kotwal and Kcmwa 
Chain Huns ki Chaal. 

Basu has a grouse though. "The sce- 
nario is truly loaded against the inde- 
pendent producers who have to 
depend largely on comm lssioned pro- 
grammes/’ he says- According to hnn 
it's smooth sailing for mcgn media hor- 
ses like NDTV, Plus Channel, IJTV, 
TV Today and 1 V 18, mini empties in 
the world ot television which have 
pumped in huge investments running 
to the tune of Rs 20- SO crore 1 fc adds, 
"Broadly, the three categories of pro- 
gramming that can bank on sponsor 
ship and advertising support an* 
news, like 7 outfit and A/i rak, and 
film-based programmes Besides, the 
added advantage with television dra 
mas ot soaps which primarily adhere 
to a 'filmi' formula is that thev can be 
produced at lower costs too " 





While enthusiastic about working 
on this computer-driven game show, 
Basil is not entirely convinced that he 
reaches out to a very large audience- - 
and therein lies the inherent problem 
with a game show 'The medium of 
the programme and the numbers who 
watch the show operate in an environ- 
ment where English rakes in a relative- 
ly low viewership in comparision to 
Hindi programmes.” He* explains that 
while Quiz Time notched up the very 


highest among English programme 
viewership in the non-entertainment 
section toting up 14 Dart points, it 
actually reflected just a minor fraction 
of the overall viewership. 

Notwithstanding Basu never tires 
of shooting questions at college kids 
whose levels of awareness and intellig- 
ence are sometimes "scary”. And over 
the years Calcutta has won hands 
down as his most favoured city tor a 
live quiz, "The quality and the size of 


the audience response is tremen- 
dous/' Explaining the enthusiastic 
Calcutta response, Basu says, 'The 
city allows people the time to be enthu- 
siastic about other things than just 
making it big, which is the way of life 
in the other metros. It's the place and 
the culture of Calcutta that allows Cal- 
ruttans to gel passionate about many 
things.” 

Basu has noticed the visible changes 
and the phenomenal growth of quizz- 






ing countrywide. "Quizzing is more 
widespread today than it was when 
we started out in 1985. Participants are 
better informed today and take grea- 
ter pleasure in the game. Quiz Time 
was the only programme on quizzing 
at that time and proved to be a great 
populariser." Today, the scale of quiz- 
zing in the country is phenomenal, 
and says Basu, educational institu- 
tions today allow for a greater level of 
extra-curricular activities 


Prizes and prize money too have 
added to the attractiveness of quizz- 
ing essentially for live shows. A quiz 
conducted by Basu for the Delhi Police 
School earned two smart students a 
PC 486, each worth Rs 60,000. The rec- 
ent Ad Club Quiz in Calcutta gave 
away cellular phones worth Rs 30,000. 
The incentives for television shows, 
however, don't seem as fabulous in 
comparision. 

So what makes quizzing so special 






Those kurf as and embroidered 
waistcoats just don't cut it 

; ANNU KAPOO 

SHAHANE 

¥ tteirs of course, a quiz 
pro gr am s with « dinerence* 
Wlwtdwytesthereisthe 
mrtkipa^ 

nkn songs — who sang them, who 
composed die musk; whkh movie 
they're from* and whkh actors 
hp4yna^to them — rather than 
their general knowledge. But it's 

im 'about the stage. 


dttfrom one anther. 





Lillete Dubey: producer of Dance . , . 

and how is his approach very different 
from that of the other quiz masters on 
the scene? 

"1 don't go hammer and tongs at it 
as a 'qui/./ard' or a quizzer (a qui/./ard 
is Uxisly defined as one who tries to 
cull the strangest tacts about the 
strangest farts)," says Basil. "I am not 
a compulsive collector of obscure 
information (and as some would have 
it, the more obsi ure the better! ) My 
approach is of a communicator and 
film maker while mv expedience w uh 
theatre helps infuse an element of 
drama into the game of quizzing " 

Basu's objectives as a quiz master 
are, thus, quite different trom hi^-coun- 
terpar ts. to share interesting iniorma 
lion, and not just btxikish or academic 
knowledge, in a crisp and abbreviated 
tormat A whole lot of creative resea r- 
ch goes into each programme and Syn 
ergy's team oi researchers authentic a 
U* each and every tact, eliminating sub- 
let tire elements and leplacmg them 
with hard facts basu is veiv alert to 
the dangers of going b\ hearsa\ or just 
taking reports and books ol know 
ledge tor gospel tiuth 

"You d be s\n j »» is»\l .it Uu number 
ot people \vho uime down on vou like 
a tnnol bricks tor the smallest mn-ta 
kes/'hesavs ' ^ on art under -ei utinv 
when beamed nation wide and them 
^ no room for slip- ups " 

S<> at the end ot th«' d jv w hal makes 
lor the bc-sl quiz'* " \t th«*in:vof il mle 
resting, top of the nnnd tip of the 
tongue information " i x plains H.isii 
"The most essential is fhi information 
th.it must have a quizzing angle hut 
which istnghttullv lei luma!, or acade- 
mic or really bookish. The questions 
have to be matched tothepaitu ip. nt's 


^asroener: Das 



With wife 


level of interest, and most importantly 
they have to be equally balam ed And 
o\ er and above it all, you need a live, 
aware auJietue " 

S iddhartha Basu was better known 
m the early 80s as a stay/* artist 
Arid now, he has returned to his first 
love - the stay/* * after the yap oi 1 1 
long years in a Prime Time produet ion 
of Mahesh k)nttani's Dan ce lake a Man 
Basu made his first real stage appea- 
rance way back in 1^71 at a time when 
theatre was the lifeblood of campus 
life. It was some time then that he join- 
ed Barry John to form 'lay (Theatre 
Action ( iroup) which grew to become 
the most influential theatre group in 
the capital. f lis theatre career w r as 
chequered and Basu went on to play 
m / iamirl and in Srr 
tsmt:> of 7 tee Mus/rrs lie also played 
several roles in an experimental Ame- 
rican play kcofr l tyjitly ( losnl in a t mi 
Dry i’lai v, Mo /art in AmaiL u.*, Alan 
Strang in ['.quit* and T.ddie m Sim She- 
pard's / ml for Ijmv 

‘ The last time 1 was on stage had 
been in 1984; that's before my son was 
born and the TV boom became a 
reality," recalls Basu "After that tele- 


vision's unpredictable schedules did 
not give one the time to get back to 
theatre A play require your undivid- 
ed attention tor at least two months 
and finding the time was becoming 
impossible " 

His absence from the stage didn't 
make his return any difficult, going by 
I he rave reviews hi- got for his perfor- 
mance The one reason that Basu took 
on the challenge offered by Dance l ike 
A Man was for its original story-line 
! le laments, "There's so little original 
works done these days, besides which 
Dattam's script came as a breath of 
fresh air The play was primarily 
addre*- sing Indian themes and to my 
mind was very well-crafted." That 
/ torn i* Like A Man was being produced 
under old-time friend I .lllete I Xihey's 
Prime Time banner, helped 

The pi iv has since travelled exten- 
sively through the country and over 
seas to IXibai playing to full houses 
Calcutta is to be the next stop where it 
will play Says Basu of 
what the audience can expect, "What 
makes Dance Like A Ma): quite unique 
is that the play is in Finglish and while 
dealing with universal concerns, in its 
details it's very much Indian." The 


play shifts between the present and 
the past -- way back in the Titties - 
and just four players enact the part of 
seven characters, spanning three 
generations. 

1 fe says that slipping into a role that 
appeared well suited to him was easy. 
"Theatre comes naturally to me, and 
while it was a neat production, we also 
developed it as it went along," says 
Basu 

While quizzing and theatre comes 
naturally to Basu then* are other areas 
that he would love to get into Televi- 
sion drama or fictional drama for tele- 
vision. "I have a particular gut feel for 
satire and comedy," he says. Another 
kind of drama that really catches his 
fancy is the spine-chilling thriller 
which he would like to eventually pro 
dure Me comments that most that is 
written for television serials is done so 
on the run and which develops as the 
story line progresses. Also, the success 
of most of these shows hinges on the 
presence of known faces. 

Basu would also like to develop the 
area of magazine and lifestyle orient- 
ed programmes, infotainment, crisp 
and lively chat shows, which would 
go down very well with viewers. 'The 


8 




Calcutta qualifies for that titk^all right 


problem with the chat shows that .in- 
worked on these da vs is that produ 
cers record as man / as mv shows m a 
day," laments Basil "There appears 
to be very little research, shaping or 
structuring of these shows." 

While these are on the future agon - 
da, on the cards nest are two shows 
that Basu hopes will take of t si >on C ur- 


T t was British journalist Ian Jack. 
Xnow the editor of Granta Book*, 
who put things in perspective. It is 
only decaying societies, he said, 
that place such a premium on 
quizzes. Which is why, added Jack, 
the two cities where auiz contests 
are most popular are Belfast and, 
yes, Calcutta. It was absurd, said 
Ian, to see grown men sitting 
around a stage, nervous tension 
writ large on their faces, answering 
banal and inane queries with ari air 
of triumph. 

Well, hfe was certainly right 
about Calcutta and quizzes, 
though we should let that dig 
about 'decaying societies' pass. Hut 
there is little doubt that this dty is 
obsessed with quiz contests, be 
they ever so humble, and 
absolutely fixated cm trivia, expert 
knowledge of which will get yon a - 
place on the best teams in 
Calcutta's schools, colleges, and 
even clubs. ■ 

Quizzes are fairly all-purpose in 
Calcutta. They can be held on a 
school's annual function, they can 
occupy pride of place in college 
festivals, and even more curiously, 
when advertising companies 
decide to hold huge dinners in tony 
clubs, they hold a quiz to mark die 
occasion. No matter what die 
event, a quiz is the main eveni in 
Calcutta. 

And presiding over qulzhmd in . 
Calcutta is Hut O'Brien randy, led ■ ' 
by father Neil. He Is the one who ■. 
popularised the fojrtn in Calcutta, 
and was areolar fixture atevenf, - 
quiz held In the city for several ' ,* 
years. Neil O'Brien, readers Wfil . . 
remember, even ran a quiz colupm 
in Thr Telegraph Magazbu for many 
years. Ana now, his sans Perak 
and to a lesser extent, Barry, have 
taken owi inidpMNtoM^ 
honours at nearly eve^jji^i '<<& 
ptsasibna^iiedty.. 

: Aadgivwthefevsldf : '. r * 

.Calcutta, fey are nemmortoif [ 
people to quiz. Die-hard qulzzards 



can befound in the most unlikely 
of^dacre arid in every shape, size 
and form. And nothing deters 
them from enjoyingtneir place on 
the stage; not even such stupid 
questions as what an 'air kiss' 
means, birtead, they vie with each 
other to give this *§pf answer and 

aithe«nd<rfthe 



.. jtoeachltisomuApfhfty 

S ,one man's qute contest id the 


rently, his team is seeking the funds to 
produce these shows vvhi» h he i*- u'-u 
vmced will be very popular. 1 lu* tr 
is a crossword game "\ outh oriented, 
pacy and quick", not jus! mean! K» 
attract the crossword anriont-uU but 
also those interested in the Lngl.-h 
language and word game Kins I ’lie 
other is to develop on the \Uir„ h 
Masala theme — "a kind ut spout 
show''' says Basu 

Thus, watch out for^vnerg\ ip the 
coming months. 7 he quiz master says 
so, and remember, his decision 
is final. ■ 


Extract 

A Bureaucrat’s 




K.J. Alphons has 
earned the reputation 
of being a civil servant 
with a difference. 
These extracts from his 
new hook tell us just 
how different he is 


Extracted from 
Making a Different e 

by KJ, Alphons; 

Published by 
Penguin Books 
India (P) Ltd; Price 
RsiOO 


took over as collector, Kottayam, in 
1988 From the moment I took over, I 
decided that my district was going to 
be my domain and nobody else's. 
There would be no politicians taking 
arbitrary decisions. Nor for that mat- 
ter would there be arbitrary decision 
making by me either. It would be my 
kingdom, but with transparency. 

Kottayam is the heartland of Kerala. 
It is the home of spices and rubber and 
the citadel of the Syrian Christian com- 
munity, which is tne most prosperous 
community in Kerala I am a Syrian 
Christian myself, tracing back my 
roots to the first century A.D., when St 
Thomas, one of the disciples of Christ, 
landed in Kerala and converted its 
elite to the told of Christ through his 
magic 

Both my wife and 1 are from Kot- 
tayam The day before the cabinet deci- 
sion was taken to post me at Kot- 
tayam, there were rumours going the 
rounds in the secretariat that I was 
being posted there. 1 met the chief mini- 
stei, E.K. Nayanar, who belonged to 
the CPM, and told him that there was 
an unwritten rule that IAS officers 
should not be posted to their home dis- 
tricts as district collectors. This was to 
ensure that they were not unduly 
influenced by tneir relatives and 
friends living there. Mr Nayanar was 
highly amused. He told me , "This is a 
rule made by the government of India 
and it is a Congress rule. I will teach 
them some rules in administration." I 
didn't know what he had in mind but I 
told him that whatever it was I hoped 
it would not get me into trouble. He 
said that he would certainly keep it in 
mind while taking a decision at the 
cabinet meeting. He was serious about 
teaching the Central government a lit- 
tle bit of administration: the next day it 
was decided in the cabinet that I 
would be district collector, Kottayam. 
He loved to do such tilings. 

My second day as DC started with 



10 


fireworks. My predecessor had acquir- 
ed a few hundred acres of land for the 
Mahatma Gandhi University at Kot- 
tayam. After the award was announ- 
ced, the university refused to release 
the money for compensation to the far- 
mers on the ground that it was requir- 
ed for more urgent projects of the 
university. There was a public outcry 
because the land had been notified 
many years earlier for acquisition and 
the farmers had not made any effort to 
develop it or derived any income from 
it during this period The land had lost 
its value The university now did not 


want the land and the farmers felt chea- 
ted. 1 decided to side with the farmers 
as I felt that the university was being 
unfair. There were skirmishes over the 
next two days between the vice- 
chancellor and me on the front pages 
of newspapers. On the third day, 1 deci- 
ded to surprise the vice-chancellor. I 
landed up at his office unannounced. I 
did not expect a very warm welcome; 
instead 1 was greeted with a hug. In 
two minutes, the problem was sorted 
out. The farmers got their money and 
the university the land. Little did I 
realise that this handsome, greying 


Rajiv Gandhi in Kerala during Onarn; (inset) the author, KJ. Alphons 






% 


/ 




Jr 




*>>«*** 




-T, 




<• V' 


W" 








Sripefumriudui, wheie Rajiv Gandhi was killed 


tayam for the next three-and-a-half 
years. I was one of the favourites of Mr 
Nayanar and the state cabinet. I issued 
instructions to my officers that none of 
them would pay for the entertainment 
of ministers or politicians, even it they 
were ministers of their own depart- 
ments. They were expected to call on 
minsters when they visited the dis- 
tricts and be courteous to them. They 
were not however expected to fetch 
water, clean toilets and clear the bills 
Most ministers do not pay their bills 
when they tour the districts It is the 
collectors who direct their subordina- 
tes to make elaborate arrangements to 
entertain not only the ministers and 
their personal staff but the hangers on 
and hoodlums who hover around when- 
ever the ministers are visiting. The col- 
lectors generally pass on the responsi- 
bility of entertainment to the trhsiLiars, 
supply officers, executive engineers 
and coolies inspectors. If they have 



On an election tour in Tamil Nadu before being assassinated 


man ^iio had greeted me so warmly 
wa i the lamous Kannada writer U.R 
Ananlhti Murlhv, who went onto beco- 
me the p/osi dent of theSahitva Akade- 
tjv tind a in.mpith award winner Thus 
beg, in friendship which was to pro- 
duce dramatic i esults over the next 
tour \ eai s bi >th of us were dreamers, 
but pragmatic ones we had decided 
that \\< would i i'd hse our dreams, 
thev would not remain exercises in 
Jutilih 

The licmeTs were ecstatic, the press 
\\ happy that it had a col lectin who 
would pi * vide good copy. Rv the 
third d.o, , my name was known to 
most p«\>pi< ir\ the district, inthree- 
*md a i r* ' lime, I would know 

tin 'wints many ot them 

AK» id r : vt months late-, tin chief 
miiu^ti i lsited mv district He had 
lunch at tin government guest house, 
i hs pel s. .1 ic*( assistant was supposed 
to cli . t r Hi«‘ ^M's bills on his checking 
out ii .tai liie guesl house. He forgot to 
pay M*‘\t day there was a call from the 
PA to tin- CM to my private secretary 
din v Ting me to deal tie CM's bill I 
found out the amount, it was small — 
R*- 1 'i. Mi iShivjiun was a man of 
tri-g.d h.ihits, h« smoked In celts and ate 
v»*r- ill * >- I- ie and his personal staff 
had sp.-nt only Ks I :>() on the lunch 1 
asked -n relarv to connect me to 
the i'A I iojd ihe PA that 1 did not 
draw my salary to feed the CM He 
was shock* d "I'll tell the CM m just 
these words w hat vou told me," he 
threalene.! "Co ahead," I told him 
I !•* v, o'lld, too, J knew. 1 could lose my 
job 1 Ivh m an-d. 

I\\i‘ weeks later Mi N'ayanar came 
U> thegiiesi house again and I was sum- j 


muned. I went to meet him, not very 
comfortable because 1 knew ihat he 
was going to raise the issue. After 
small talk about the weather, he came 
straight to the call. 

"Did you really tell my PA that you 
did not draw your salary to feed the 
CM?" he »sked. He did not look very 
pleased 

I said, "Yes I said it " 

"Very good," he responded "It is 
the personal staff of politicians who 
destroy their reputation You have 
taught my staff a good lesson, keep it 
vp/ e 

1 could not believe it, I had got away 
with it! I continued as col lector of Kot- 


spent five thousand rupees on 
entertainment, they will collect fifty 
thousand from the local businessmen 
for the purpose This is how corrup- 
tion starts and is bred The entertain- 
ment does not always start and end 
with ministers. The local officials very 
often entertain taluk and block level 
functionaries of variors political part- 
ies who have clout with their political 
masters Many deals are struck by the 
officials at these sessions. No honest 
government official can check into a 
government guest house or dak 
bungalow after sunset because these 
are often the scene of shady activity, 
with most of the rooms occupied by 


i? 



local power brokers and the officials 
entertaining them. 

I raided the rest house at Kottayam 
twice and arrested all those who were 
found to be drunk, including the man- 
ager and staff who were serving the 
liquor After these raids, the rooms 
used to be vacant in the evenings. The 
Kottayam resthouse became a very 
unattractive place for politicians after 
that 


R ajiv Gandhi came to Kottayam on 
an election campaign ten days 
before his tragic end at Sriperumbu- 
dur Three days before Rajiv Gandhi 
came to address the public meeting, 
there were newspaper reports that he 
was going to be at Kottayam. I had 
received no information either from 
the Centre or from the state govern- 
ment that Rajiv Gandhi was coming, 
even though he was in Z+ category for 
security As the distnrt magistrate 1 
was supposed to be in charge of law 
and order and security I rang up my 
superintendent of police and enquir- 
ed whether he had received any com- 
munication from anybody regarding 
Rajiv ( iamlhi s security He said no 
There was absolutely no information 
at nil We decided that we would take 
the mitiativ e to organise the security 
Hie day before hi*- arm al 1 1 flecked up 
again with my office whether there 
was an\ direction from the govern- 
ment regarding Rajiv Gandhi's secu- 
rity 1 checked u p also with the su perin - 
tendent again l le also had no direi - 
tions or information We went ahead 
and provided the best we could The 
helipad was just behind the tolloctora- 
te compound I watched him from a 
window as he got down from the heli- 
copter } le was driven off in a jeep to 
the town I was glad that he was salt* 

1 used to admuo him Ra|iv Gandhi 
when he had taken ovei as Prime Mini - 
ster He had floored the world on Ins 
first trip to the United States I had 
thought that here was a young man 
who could at last bring back hope to 
the country. I le was an innocent man 
who got swallowed by the big sharks 

By 1991, he had done a lot of introspec- 
tion He was bubbling with enthusi- 
asm to rectify the mistakes and go 
ahead Once again l felt hope We need- 
ed someone young, but not necessari- 
ly innocent. In the evening when I 
watched him again take off in the heli- 
copter on his return journey, 1 was 
greatly relieved I en days later the 
superintendent ('1 police woke me up 
in the middle ol the night and gave me 
the stunning news that Rajiv Gandhi 



E.K. Nayanar 

had been killed in a bomb explosion 
We put all our police force on the 
streets We did not want to have any 
tumble in the district 

I felt vei y had for Rajiv He dic'd 
because of the sheer inefficiency of the 
men who were supposed to protect 
him- - not those guarding him but 
those who took the decisions, who pre- 
pared the security plan tor Rajiv Gan- 
dhi and supervised the security opera- 
tions For all the big noise we make 
about VIP security, m actual tact the 
arrangements are so sloppv that the 
VIPs are most insecure, as usual we do 
a shoddy fob 

W hat else did I do as collector 7 We 
had a gieal time 

At weekends we wont Kir boat rides 
in the hart waters with tishing rods 
and nets Sometimes I went to my villa- 
ge. Manunala, kms from the head- 
quarters. The kids lin ed the river 
They would spend hours together m 
the river. Mammala river has absolute- 
ly pure water It also has a lot of fish. 
Mv kids and 1 would sit on the rocks 
and dangle the fishing lines, waiting 
for the big catch 1 he big catch never 
came Every time l caught a small fish 
my kuls would pull it off the hook and 
throw it hack into the river The fun 
was in catching and not in hurting. 


they told me 1 learned to throw- the 
fishing net pretty well 1 managed to 
catch a good many fish with it. In the 
backwaters they were good sized 
ones. We would have lots of cooked 
tapioca and fish on these outings I r s a 
great combination. It gives you all that 
you need for staying healthy We also 
nad good friends on these trips 

1 did a lot of interesting things 
around the house. I had the bes* resi- 
dential bungalow' in Kerala It hud 
been built a Hundred years ugi ■ in 
splendid style It was set m fiv»* sp:.nv 
ling acres of land It was jungle when 1 
took over I cleared the area i cleat ed 
three acres and built a beautiful gard - 
en there, with a small swimming pool 
in the middle. In six months, the gard- 
en was a riot of coloui 1 planted most 
of the plants myself and watered them 
everyday In the middle ol die « wun ru- 
ing pool I had a small nuthouse l had 
water tailing from the oulta wse root 
into the swimming poo! at nigh 1 . ] 
would sit there late at night -im'! dr* ;rn 
of things, listening to the sound • >i 
water falling info the swjii nunc, pool 
I cleared the balance lend 

and converted it into a wi v pio- 
five vegetable garden I piodn* i d 
enough vegetables to*- ihe uulin < n!*>- 
ny Picking the vegetables wax m y p: i- 
vilege Nohod v else was allowed to do 
it They were the prod uit ot my 
labour We sent basketfuls vegeta- 
bles to all the neighbour -i We had 
beans, bitter gomds, lad\ Img.’rs 
My flowers and vegetables wen mv 
big happiness 1 would wml ev»T\ 
da} in the garden at least tor h.dt .>•; 
hour m the morning, before the ' i*i 
tors came Mv wile and kid ^ .pent 
most ol the time there Both mi 
were full-fledged green- \f\ vonugei 
son, Adarsh, who w.i*. juxi ton: w hen 
we came to Kottayam banned mu ■!' 
ing in mv house On» dai whepiiiv 
wife and I were out. my \oungei bn 
ther came down from \lunn •• r ft 
worked m the tea gaide-j-. 1 G teek 
ou l a cigarette a nd ! 1 1 1 1 ^ d a ■ 1 , k ■ 1 1 
him. "Pop/t Jeslro' m\ :> .« t " W 
brother wax quite xtan I*. i I 1 * ■' . v 
smoke tor the rest of th'-e.-ee. ng i in 
weekends we weio out w I • « uj- k kG 
most of the time My eldt i mm, A k ash, 
always ordeied the cai So slop anv 
time he saw trees being cut They 
expected me to arrest am bode w he 
cut a tree Sometime*. 1 ■ »\«! ! r -■ e 
because they were cult me h • - 

matelv l ven in IVIhinn f ■■ i* :s:i 
me to arrest any hi *ii \ id. ‘ .* 

tiee 1 tell them that 1 lun r n- * »u. 
powers In arrest aovon- J in \ a*' 
unhappy with the answe? V 



Advertising 

DISADVANTAGE, 

BENGAL 


Anasuya Basu focuses on the abysmal quality of adeeilisiny in this state 


I f you've been to see a movie in a 
Calcutta theatre, you'll know 
what we are talking about As 
the house lights go down, and 
you settle back in your seat with pop 
corn and crisps, expecting to see the 
trailer of the next Hollywood release 
you renew your hrst shock 

Instead of seeing the glorious 
visage of Den 11 Moore or even 
Sharon Stone, a visual ot a south 
Calcutta beauty parlour is flashed on 
th«* screen The interior is tacky and 
very down-market indeed, and the 
customers on view no better It 
seems extremely unlikely that any 
number ot visits to a beauty parlour 
u ill do them any good Nut 
undeterred, they submit themselves 
to the attentions ot a succession ot 
ugfios, and then have the neive to 
recommend the same treatment to 
vnu 

Iortuie time extends to television 
a- well Fust, a wst-clad man 
appears on the small screen, his t yes 
hidden behind a red band A girl 
then i (imes into the frarn* and hugs 
him horn behind Fortified bv thii 
show ot affection, the man raises his 
gun and takes aim And despite 
being blind folded, he hits bulls-eye 
The vou e-over s,i\s, "Chukh bantihn 

koit' lilntmJiii Itntr fiiit'H " 

I hen, it is t*me lor some health 
advice from one n\ the top-rated 
ac tresses ot lollvwood I Ioldmg a 
bottle ol a Ii\ei tonic in one hand, 
and tapping it lepealedlv with the 
other, she breaks into song to 
recount the virtues of the product 
The camera .hen cuts quickly to a 
'doctor', wlu» repeats her 
exhortations in more senorious 
tones 

N obody can seriously dispute that 
tin* quality ot most 
advertisements produced in Bengal 
is abvsm.il The production values 
are shuddv, the concepts arc* second 



Advertisements that worked: Keo Karpin and Bata had catchy slogans 


01 even third-rate, the models are 
incredible unattractive and the ad*, 
almost laughable in their immaturity 
Nevertheless, some well-know n 
companies ol the city including such 
multinationals as ITC and Bala as 
wi II as Bengali institutions like Ci D 
Phaim.iicutnals and Dev's Medical, 
have tiled to leave then mark in the 
dynamic world ol advertisement 
These companies tew though they 
are in number ---ha ve gifted me city 
meaningful campaigns th.it have left 
an impression in the* consumer nund 
while promoting brand awareness 
and popularity. But such worthwhile 
work is limited to a lew who have 
the wherewithal coupled with the 
good intentions to create 
common fable campaigns For the 
riM, the same old rubbish goes 

"‘Hie small companies are yel to 
realise the potential of good 
promutionals," sa\s Swapan Seth, 
executive director, Fquus Though 
Seth is very defensive about the 
ul\ 's creative think-tank he feels. 

1 he work done here is not very 
contemporary. It tails back bv at least 
a couple ot years " And for this he 


| blames those concerns "who have 
: little foresight and knowledge aboul 
; the consumer market " Sa\s Seth, 

| "Besides, they cannot choose the 
! right agency lor themselves as they 
shop cheaper 1 ’heir ads sutler Irom 
| myopic creativity as their short-term 
; p«*ispectives come in the wav ot 
■ inspiration " 

The small companies in contrast 
! continue to depend on their existing 
j market with little ambition tor 
forging into newer, unexplored 
. terrain A^ a representative ot Allens 
1 1 aboralones, a company selling hair 
j Jertiliser and livei tonics, savs, "We 
| already have an entrenched market 
; We are not seeking to create new 
ones " Pra\, what then is the rc ason 
tor .i premium slot in Doordarshan 
. prime time for its product ad It just 
j has reminder \ alue, he retorts, 
j Not only .ire they unwilling to 
j venture 1 into newer markets, these 
! companies spend a pittance on 
! promotion and publicity Firmly 
| cnscnni ed in the market they have 
! little reason to acid to their overhead 
! costs, thev sav While realising the 
| need and imported ice ot getting their 


14 






products known and seen, these 
Firms are not yet ready to allocate an 
adequate share to advertisements. 

Thus they seem to be in a strange 
dilemma. While they can hardly 
ignore the potential of ads in this age 
of cut-throat competition, their 
shoestring budgets often force them 
to compromise on quality. Poor 
audio-visuals mar tne effects of 
advertisements where the sole 
endeavour is to capture the attention 
of prospective buyers amidst the 
"groat din" created by competitive 
brands. A complete lack of 
originality in tne scripts together 
with poor photography and even 
worse aesthetics malo? the ads look 
cheap and dull compared to other 
high profile competitors 

Ram Ray director. Clarion and 
Response, attributes the deficiency of 
quality work in this part of the 
country to the "absence of 
industries " Says Ray "lsn # t it 
obvious that Bombay, Bangalore, 
Madras would get the fair share of 
work because of the new industries 
growing there '' He himself has 
chosen to stay on in this city "to 
disprove the common belief that 
good campaigns cannot be generated 
from here We at Response have 
done it time and again and have 
won awards also " 

Ray known hu his innovative 
work m language advertisement 
says, "Bengali language advertising 
has not developed much What is 
done is merely a translation ot 1 lindi 
or F nglish ads There is no 
transcreation As a result nuances are 
lost, expressions become wooden, 
punch lines tall flat," he says This is 
corroborated by Seth who finds 
simple Bengali dialect the most 
effective way of communication His 

Ram Ray, director, Clarion and 
Response: Innovative approach 



t Jv v.i 4 - 

-* * ■?, *•’ Bp* ' 

nr 




Focussing on Bengal: Both Boroline and Keo Karpin tried this appraoch 


Bata slogan, 'Haatita mane Bata' 
evoked a tremendous response. 

Seth says there is no excuse tor 
the unimaginative slogans of Bengali 
ads. If there could be such fantastic 
and stylish Hindi adlines such as 
Ogilvy and Mather's ’Kya wad hai 
r.mdegi Aw' (Cadbury) and 'Merawala 
pink' (Asian Paints) why can't then* 
he equally famous ad slogans or 
punch lines in Bengali? 

M aking a difference fo the 

general trend are a handful of 
Bengal-based companies which have 
the will and the means to 
experiment and evolve new 
campaigns that will serve the 
primary purpose of advertisement as 
well as be aethetically pleasing 

Ci.D Phamiaceulicais of Boroline 
lame have through the years come 
up with meaningful campaigns done 
by Response that identified tne 
company with Bengali culture and 
ethos. 

'Batina jiboner an go the ad slogan 
for the corporate campaign sought to 
identify the company with Bengali 
life and times, cashing in on the 
strength of its traditional brand, 
Boroline, says the new-wave 
filmman, Ritupomo Ghosh, who was 
associated with the campaign for a 
decade "It was a deliberate attempt 
to make the company synonymous 
with Bengali culture. We released 
new campaigns (particularly m the 
print media) to lommemmorate each 
of the highpomts m Bengali 
calendar, Naha Bars/ w. Puja," he says 
The product campaigns of 
Boroline have evolved with time. 
From the lyrical commercial of the 
Sixties thai blared through radio 
sets, the campaign strikes a 
contemporary note with ’jiboner otha 
padn sa/mje na lage' and Chtrodvi 


Boroline 

Another company which has to a 
certain extent conti lbu ted to the 
development of Bengali 
advertisements is Dev's Medical 
Stores Private I united Cashing m 
on the opportunities thiown open by 
the proliferation of the electronic 
media, the company shed its "staid 
image" with a watershed campaign 
which repositioned its main pioduct 
Keo Karpin hair oil 'Tot the first 
time we made a value-addition to 
our established identity, that of hair 
nourishment Now we also talked 
about how oiled hair could help one 
to try out different styles," says 
Kishore Chakraharty. account 
director of McCann F.nckson, the 
agency which handles the Dev's 
account 

The Keo Karpin promotional 
have also tried to consolidate the 
message ot oneness between Bengal 
and the company which has its 
maximum market share in the state 
Its sign-otf line Care you can trust' 

| emphasises the lime tested trust 
> endowed on the product b\ its 
' customers through generations i’he 
Bengali slogan Mir nil pmtnlm keo 
Karpin' has be*'n apth translated tor 
; its Hindi campaign 'Ainu Inn tint Keo 
Karpin'. 

Its new product, Keo Kaipm 
Body Oil, tries to give the essentially 
traditional company an up-market 
i and elegant look which is eiihanted 
i by its model Malavika Tiwari s 
| lissom body and glowing skin 
i It is this kind oj upgrading that 
1 Bengali advertisements need 
desperately if the\ aie lo make a 
, mark in an mcrva.singh lompenhve 
. market And until that happens, we 
; will have to put lip w r ith the kind ot 
* funk that we are subjected to during 
! every visit to a movie hall ■ 


15 


T 


IME TABLE 

All arrival and departure times are for Calcutta 

Day* Of operation u.in* 7-d.y coda: 3 MONDAY ® TUESDAY $ WEDNESDAY ® THURSDAY ® FRIDAY ® SATURDAY © SUNDAY 




FLIGHTS 


Departures 

Fit No Time Dap 

• agartala 

* ' HI * ' ^ 

, i , ,, 

• AHMEOA0AO . 

• AIZAWL i • 

■ SAQDOORA 

■ BANGALORE 

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m BHUBANESWAR 

i • i 

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m DIMAPUR 

• GOA 

m GUWAHATI 

ti i 1 

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« AMSTERDAM 

• BANGKOK , 


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16 



Departures Arrivals 


Fit No. Time Days 

Fit No 

Time Days 

:maM*wMNa : 



ic -???. m i 

If. .V!- 

IJH u 1 

BG I’.'Jfl rj‘ ti 

hG 

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. ■; , . , : 1 ■ 

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». ■ ■ 


ra , i4 i • 

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ji' 1 1 


ir 7 , !■* ■ ! r 


Departures Arrivals 


Fit No. Time Days 

Fit No. 

Time Days 

A LONDON 

v '« ?■ «:.**£?■ 


= A m: 

BA N1 

1=1:. 3 / 

* MOSOOW 

’■ *< f ' '*??*< 


x. V IV 

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. v : 't '■ 

/. i.ii ■ 

Ai-V,'* 

■ 32l* L 

• YANGON 

■V--Vv. 



4 "* i: 1‘te 4 7 


At Air India • BA British Airways • BG Biman Bangladesh Airlines • Bl Royal Brunei Airlines • D2 Skyline NEPC • D6 NEPC Airlines • 1C Indian Airlines s 
KB Druk-Air • KLM Royal Dutch Airlines • LZ Balkan Airlines • M9 Modiluft • PF Vayudoot • RA Royal Nepal Airlines • RJ Royal Jordanian Airlines • RO 
Tarorn ArTiansport • S2 Sahara India Airlines • SQ Singapore Airlines • SU Aeroflot • 4S East West Airlines • TG Thai Airways International SOW Jet Airways 




Departure 
Up Time 


'*■11 ■ 


.V" 

M <1 
-ill ' 1 
■V .' 1 . 


• ’Mi 


Up 

I 1 * i 
.‘.14'* 
tin 
M' 1 . ■ 
iiv 

r ,* .i . * 

ii -i 

'i*. ; ; 

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v 

Tima 

1 ■ 4« 

.'l 1 ' 
It 

till 
J'l I'M 
: I j, 
■II ss 
1 M /(• 
V .lii 


TRAINS 


EASTERN RAILWAY 

Howrah 

Delhi -Kalka Mall 

Amritsar Mall 

Bombay Mall .■ ■ ■. ■ 1 1 

Poorva (New Delhi) Express • . >. • 

Pootvr (New rjsihl) Express . 1 " 

i, 

Raldhan* Express 
Rajdhanl Fxpiess 

I. * t 

Jodhpur Express 

Shatabdi (Bokaro Steel City) Express 

■ 1 . 

Himgm (Jammu- Tawl) Express ’ 

! .> i ■ 1 Vi. 

GuwahaU Express 

Gorakhpur Express 

Purtwnchal (Gorakhpur) Express 
■Vi - • I. I Vh 1 r 

Doon Express . .« -.j. 

Udyan Abha Tootan Express / - 

Amritsar Express 


Arrival 

Time Dn 

■ i . • 

• , i ■■ v 


■ it. 
1 i 


Mtthfla (Raxaul) Express 
Kamrup (Gireanati) Express 
Black 'jiamoml Express 
Coalfield Express 
Asansol Express 
Danapur Express 
.tamalpur Express 
Santlnlkston Express 
Chambal (Gwalior) Expiree 

Shipra (Indore) Express 


Shaktlpunj 
ChanZal (Agra 

•M ",'i, I"'*. *'» 

Sealdah 

Teesfe-Torsa Express 
Darjeeling Mall 

Lai Quito Express \ i..i i . 
Kanchanjunga (Lumdlng) Express 
Gout Harass 
Kaflhar Express 
Jammu-Tawl Express 
Mughal Saral Depress *n ..ru, \ 
Bhaghtotil (Lama) Express 
Ganga SagsMGorekhpur) r 

iVn .» Al Tt|i l! im*. 


Time Dn 


i ’■ ■ 1 *, 


Departure 
Time 


UP 


SOUTH-EASTERN RAILWAY 
Howrah 

Madras Mall 
Bombay Mall < - 
Gttanjali (Bombay) Express 
Shatabdi (Rourtota) Express 

' ■ :• *'. '•.* •" ■ .•■c >ii i” . 

Ahmedabad Express 
Kuria Express . * ‘i iii..-.- 
Coromandal (Madras) Express m 
Fulaknuma (Secunderabad) Express 

M ■/. ! ! ■ i ; : f 

Bangalore Express 


Arrival 


Time 

Dn 

\ f. f « 

8004 

r ‘f 1 

BOO 1 

,r ,‘i 

L'fiSO 

.1 l>ii 

XU? 

r, ii, 

t\m 

IM Al 


•2 Ir 


l'J 4 '! 

.'004 

: i 4 ', 

oJC 

i J 

m-14 



. -v, 

KiKH) 

n !( 

801 b 

‘ -30 

HOOfc 

8 Al, 

84’0 

n r , 


i r _ Hi 

MIMf. 

1 ’ /‘j 

SO IB 

■■ Vj 

i 

j,. 

V- jr, 

'M." 


i/I 1 .*. 


Tata Steel Express 
Ispat (Jharsuguda) Express 
TMagarti Express 
Ranrtil Hatto Express 
Purl Express ■ 

Jagannafr (Purl) Express 
Dhauli (Bhubaneswar) E 
East Coast (Hydm^ad) 
Purulla Express 


Azad Hind (Pune) Weekly Express 
Bhubaneswar-New Delhi Rafcfianl Express w 
New DelhFBhubanaswar Rajdianl Express 

A-.' I,. . 1 . 

Guwahafi Howrah - Triwndnvn Central Egress 

Trivandrum Central - Howrah - Guwahtol Express 

Cochin Harbour Terminus - Guwahad Weekly 
Express . , * %.*• -J 

Guwahati - Cochin Harbour Termliius Weekly 
Express ^ v. i 

Cochin Harbour Terminus Express ... 

i»>‘ i ! j ' ’ " A' i 1 ' 


Guwahati - Bangalore City Weekly Express - .... ’■ 

VA . *. '■ 

.Vi i r J’V ' !>.v 

Bangalore City - Guwahtf Weekly Eigne. .-■■■ - 1 J 

4 > v a* ’ i !'.j. s ■ li\ 

ENQUIRIES: For round the dock information of Eastern Railway and 
South-Eastern Railway trains, please dial 22(0545-54 for In-coming trains. 
2203535-44 lor al! other Information For information about reservations on 
Eastern Railway and South-Eastern Railway trains, dial 2203496-350 0 (from 
8 am to 8 pm on weekdays and 8 am to 2 pm on Sundays and qaat 
tad holidays) In addition, dial 1331 (for recorded Information on train 
running), 131 (regarding train operations) and 135 (regarding 
Irons) Train service enquiry at Sealdah 3503535-37 


17 




Sketches 

WAR GAMES 


And the names who play them 


This Week: Sushmita Sen Vs Ai shw arya Rai 



Aishwarya Rai: Current favourite with the bookies 


F irst battlegiound. I In ■ Fomina 
Miss India pageant Sushmita 
was Miss Delhi and 
Aishwarya had been selected 
Miss Bombay But Aishwarya was 
the hot favourite that year, being 
widely tipped to win the crown 
Rai s advantages: She had been a 
model, both tin the ramp and in 
front of the camera, foi several years 
Not only was this excellent training 
for conducting herself on stage, but 
it also added enormously to ner self- 
confidence 

Moreover, the Fcmnia ciowd was 
said to favour her, and it was 
believed that the contest was only a 
formality; as far as the organisers 


j wen concerned. Ash ha already 
1 been crowned 

, Sen's advantages: I hey weren't 
i apparent at iirst sight Sushmita was 
a young Delhi girl, who hadn't really 
made an impact in the world of 
'ndian modelling But what she 
lacked in experience, she moie than 
made up in chutzpah, a ready wit 
and presence of mind 
The Great Upset: Against all odds, 
Sushmita beat Aishwarya in the final 
| round and was crowned Miss fndia 
! 1, some said because of her ready 
; replies in the question and answer 
; segment of the competition Rai had 
1 to be content w r ilh Inc Miss India IT 
; crown. This meant that while 


! Sushmita would participate m the 
1 Miss Universe pageant, Aishwarya 
| would have to vie for the Miss 
I World title. 

j The Greater Upset Sushmita went 
! on to win the Miss Universe crown, 
j once again pipping the favourites at 
! the post. Not only was she showered 
i with money, gifts and attention, she 
; flew back home a national heroine. 

| Clad m a white gown, she was taken 
; in procession around her native 
Delhi in a horse-drawn carriage, as 
: crowds cheered from cither side of 
! the road 

! Where did that leave Aishwarya?: 

; Quite out ot the reckoning, 
j apparently Now that India had 
j bagged the Miss Universe title, the 
; conventional wisdom went, it was 
i extremely unlikely -no, make that 
i impossible — lh.it Rai would he 
! chosen Miss World There was no 
! way that both these titles would be 
! given to Indian contenders So, for 
: no fault ot her own. Ash had been 
! effectively eliminated 


1 Had she?: Not bloody likely r 
j Turning a deal ear to the groans of 
i dismay, Rm went on to compete m 



Bobby Oeol: Ash’s first screen hero 



the Miss World pageant, determined 
to prove the prophets of doom 
wrong. And that she did; being 
crowned Miss World m a surprise 
win. 

So, finally Sen and Rai were quits?: 
To the contrary. In fact, this is when 
the carping and bitching started in 
right earnest; until then, both girls 
had been on their best behaviour, not 
wanting to create waves before their 
respective pageants 

But now, Sushmita gave 
interviews telline the world how 
Bombay models nad given her a bad 
time in her pre-Miss Universe days, 
though she was clever enough to 
add that she was now friends with 
Rai. But despite such disclaimers, the 
message got through all right 
How did Aishwaiya react?: She 
didn’t, though she was quizzed 
about hei relationship with Sushmita 
in every interview she gave. Rai, 
however, kept hci own counsel. 


insisting that while she wasn't great 
friends with Sen, they weren’t 
enemies either. 

The rivalry continues: The second 
act is currently being played out in 
the studios and sound stages of 
Bollywood. Both Rai and Sen have 
decided to try their luck in Hindi 
movies, though Sushmita also has a 
Mam Ratnam film in the bag 
Ash's dream debut: Will be against 
Bobby Deol, the dashing son ot 
Dharmendra, in a Deol home 
production. And she has also been 
signed up by Yash Chopra 
Sushmita's first film: Will be j 

directed by Mahesh Bhatt, who has I 
had an amazing run of bad luck j 
recently. Bhatt will, no doubt, be j 
hoping that Sen will change all that j 
with her Miss Universe celebrity. j 
Will she?. It's hard lo say ben was i 
her usual confident self at the j 

mahurat ot Bhatt's film, and I 



Sushmita Sen: Bagged a Mani Ratnam film 



Mahesh Bhatt: May strike gold with 
Sushmita Sen 


performed exceedingly well despite 
having a long-winded dialogue to 
deliver (Rai, on the other hand, 
botched up a dance number at her 
tmihurai) But who I her she will be 
able to sustain Jus performance 
remains lo be seen 
Sen's disadvantages* Her looks, 
strangely enough, hnr one thing, 
Sushmita is far too tall to lit in with 
the image of a 1 Iindi film heroine 
Also, since most ot tin* present-day 
heroes are quite short -Aamir Khan, 
Salman Khan, etc — producers may 
balk at signing her up opposite 

them. 

Then must people si-e Sushnuta 
as being too Westernised in both 
appearance and manner to work in 
the context ol Hindi movies But 

then, they said the same things 
about Zeenat Aman and Parveen 
Babi; and see how far they got 
On the other hand: Aishwarya is 
said to be just what the distributor 
ordeied With her classical good 
looks and medium (bv modelling 
standards, she's about hve teet seven 
inches) height, she is the archetypal* 
Hindi him neroine Cast m the 
Waheeda Rehman rather than Sum 
Garewal mould, Rai looks better 
equipped to deal with the demands 
ot Bollywood movie makers 

And the winner is...: >0111* guess is 
as good as ours. Blit we have to 
admit that Aishwaiya is the cun cut 
tjvountc with the bookies But then, 
Sushmita has pcrtoimed quite well 
against the odds nn an earlier 
occasion So. what’s to prevent her 
from doing it again? ■ 


19 




NNEREYE 







BEJAN DARUWALLA 


; Aries 

j March 21 April 20 

I " litmi'ihii \ ^ i* *iiit 

I : i ut 1 1 < v cimu.ishv 
.iml pirivaiinv- u» Hi'-' 
•in - 1 Ui’Ui*. ■’ ipita 1 

ullSilljL,. pllUl. JSSIII'S i’| '.Jun."' 

h*«ld » I'ntu-sLii-.i’ \ 
hiudi-n i*. mU ' <»Lii ^huuMi’i ■» 
max be hi'ann nnn'iii.; nitr 
riMii.rui’ 'ini' wl! • , \|viie , iiu‘ 
jmx • iil! 2 %nv a> >mJ thi- pM’.wi 
! which iiu'ncv iinJ influent « 

. « infers 

Taurus 

April 21- May 20 
" Manijgi* vi I hii’u \‘ s 
BBfip .i'i I miiunii' mI ,i 

fw.MMP.it. 

L i 1 1 1 or the l.ii.Is I * m 
humans \|m» ii 
. v*r\ i nii'iv i* r on the i nd‘ 

I un :u-\ ,m- 1 i ni’im »: . \ im •* 
nnmeme ..lMst.u lu >>\ and d- ■ 
nun I'i ti » ci Jd In ■ out h.mu 
balance 1 >m hi mu; inlo lull 
plnx s oin 1 1 1 1 1 ! I Ml 1 1 ' l” ..lll'l’K 
and rTi. 114 m. 1 tr. * h* iHi.iri. r 

Gemini 

May 21 June* 20 

V\. >i ! a,!. i i**pi ■ !-» - 

,ip. I .i om -s;hl» h ip 

in.il > ■ 1 plaii-.il.Ii- r-ui 
i KM I »» M'l, \V!.,I I..I.I 
* h^r 1 1 In Ll 1 '.u !• i!' * 'i ■ *1 ■ - »v.« | 

ill .11 h . 1 st PI 111 . . !l .11 l> • \ Oil 
hut Ir.nn to st p a .it' I Kt I'mii. 
tantu* \ ■v , x*\ . n\i o' nii. ill' ; i 

p.u t Mi'I ‘ .1 1 1 k ’ . |{ ii M, ,U X .1/1.1 |< VI I lf 

hruiit i“* v Miiiti 'n.ii.i \->ii ; u hm 

V>li . illllil »H ’ | ,% *\ !'l'., ll.'c' 

gef si 'i ti < . o 


Cancer 

June 21 — July 20 

Xes, vou can have a 
! fling take o wild 
thanee go the whole 
hog Bower, 
oi ^n'rsniio.n inonev. aits, 
Skneiue anil research should 
fulhil .in mnet need of yours 
difti« nit to describe or pin- 
point l hiMien hobbies, 
travel, a hit nl leisuu and 
pleasure kind a certain wav 
with monel give satisfaction 

Leo 

July 21 — Aucust 21 

>ou will he walking 
that extra mile now 
and cai rvuu; av\ av 
t! o hoolv and the 
pri/e V.ie.ul to details, lead 
between the lines . leaf debris 
and L\ rcadx lomntinue full 
•■peed ahead (hat means 
[mi n!\ oi w . »rk and eliott 
\io.ru 1 Max u a little hit of 
i ; sill' ant me si •mi Ll i ai.se v our 
- p ; i ' 1 s .md hr in*, h'-iiel 

Virgo 

August 2:? September 22 
M.i\ n v # should he 
cu f I. »r i [i u ked, kind 
v v «u w ill hav e .ill llle 
lun \ mu v\ ant to 
I o. /is on i « ■ opeialiv e I'ftorts, 
u'lM'iilnv k irdihilifx and 
[Hil'lii p'LiliuiVi l\n [larfu ul.ir 
1 1* ■<.’« I ti » lien s, \ irv s, ads. 

P'»‘!e! I( tl'Ts .Hid llOtll I'S It 
is ,ilsi him ti *i highei 

!e , it sung ri’se.ir. h and lournex 
lake he • It 1 1 piei aiitl* >ns 


§ 


c — — 1 

m 



Libra 

September 23 — October 22 
Money time tor 
Librans Add to thus, 
_ passion and 
t.J dynamism But you 
must safeguard your health 
Pending work must be 
completed so that vou can 
launch new ernes Matters 
which begin as a routine could 
end up as exciting projects 
Anything to do with land and 
development is positive 

Scorpio 

October 23 — November 22 
Sun Jupiter fine 
juxtaposition makes 

, r to* behind* the ‘-scene 

! C*** ' mo ves and hectic 
manoeuvies Mone\ power, 
romance aie detmilek the 
name ut tile game Marriage, 
ties and partnei ships at all 
levels are very pic. liable 
Arrows point to a good social 
life, partying and having Win 
1 hat's the wav to sui coed 

Sagittarius 

November 23 — December 20 
1 he Meruirv- 
[’ Neptune placing 
eoukl r.iko in monev 
he ii through job, 
prolession, husiness or sale of 
pjopertv oi ton*ign exchange 
d*\il ’Vou ( ('U Id wake up wills 
the answers Areas of uiten*st 
do widen Verx surprisinglv. 
\ou could plav the modest 
man ot w.»man not afraid lu 
ask or li am 



M 



, Capricorn 

j December 21 — January 19 

bhurt are tlie da vs of 
wine and roses, but 
they are here now, 
and it is surelv up to 
you to make the most ut it 
Ganosha says, beauty duly, 
utility will he the way \ou lixe 
and adjust hr lends, well 
wishers, sweetheails, 
supporters, ekleis and the 
children will toini the collage 
of \ oui hie 

Aquarius 

January 20 -- February 18 
Both the houliers, 
work and home wM 
he 1 1 ll l\ . haig.'d 
therelou voiiuill 
i ome alive ^ i >u i eltm (swill 
hi rewarded and \.'u w il 1 leel 
a lot eeilei It is moie than 
possible thal si" iel an I aid 
den help ca'I .a\ die .I.w hu 
\ on IM.ins t.u lie lutim w ill 
he not only draw it om nni 
ini}>lenu nte.l 

Pisces 

February 1^ March 2.’ 1 

> \oi mii\ will \k*n 

us o\ i '. I< •'.( O' iii'ii I 
hut t.iki k'luv .mu - 
sti ide- t« «w ml - 
so, L e-** aiiki 1 .1 ii ii Join lie 1 
ni'ws, v iew i mi it . ii Is 
kontr.uh di'edsund 
.lot umeiiis tuiilJmg h: .di;e ^ « a 
understanding .lie l!n iheig*. 
Viui will h< klt'iuj, n.itiii.i!!\ 
lhjow in roman* «■. i rik I lei mm . 
for gocik.1 me.isme 



BIRTHDAYS 


Mar 5? Mihhi Mars coniundion shows «i bit of stmss ar.d 
strain, s^ivs Oanesha But that can U- overcome with prayers. 
slr<tiglit thinking and right action. 

Mity 6," Moon sun combination icfers to problems of prestige 
and status, leadership and management By September, the 
situation clears considerably 

May 7: Sun trine fupifer leads to tame, riches, enterprise, 
suciess and jo\ siiould yi»u plav youi cards right Journey, 
rtfiX'niony and <’oll«ih<'rativ»n.s an' on the cards fot you. 

May Mercury trine ’Neptune means alJ depends upon year 
skills and charm, dexterity and adaptability as signified bv 


Mercury. Neptune given you the inspiration to try almost 
anything widh success. 

May 9: Moon conjunction Uranus will give a rocket thrust to 
your activities and the chance's arc you will make Iho grade 
You arc on a good wicket. 

May IOC Mood's last quarter makes you work ven- ha-d and 
play hard. Your ingenuity and inventiveness will have five play 
and that is how you will be a winner. 

May 11: Moon tnno Mar.s square Pluto shows a period of 
uncertainty coming to an end giving you nnue fnxxJom Long 
term projects demand a solution 



Exquisite cnltsmnnship in lntenution.il St.inrl.ird 22/22 knr.it j^old and 
s diamond jewellery. Dealer in precious and astrological stones. 




JUNIOR WHIRL HAlKAUf 



HOOP-DE-DO! One of four shots reaches the 
hoop in the basketball setting above. Which one 
is for you to say. 


DUMB STUFF! 

Perhaps it is a dumb thought, but it seems 
amazing how anyone is able to pronounce the 
word DUMB. With D as in fudge, 1J as in four, U 
as in four, M as in mnemonics and B as in debt, 
every letter is silent. 


GREEK-SPEAK! 

Some 2,500 years ago, a 
Greek mathematician 
worked out proof that if 
he grew a square upon 
each of the three sides of 
a triangle, the larger 
square was equal in area 
to that of the other two 
squares combined 

In elation, legend has it, he gave away all his earthly 
goods in offerings to the gods. But contemporaries 
scoffed, made him show his proof to the dogs 

His name, ana gra mined. GRAY PATHOS. Can you 



identify him? 


ui.t(oii|i in' in fr'qi.Vj M|| io ii'ii'iruumi m*.v 


HOCUS-FOCUS 




o 

T 

E 

o 

■ 

H 

T 

■ 

■ 

■ 

E 

■ 

■ 

■ 

s 

■ 

■ 

■ 


FAIR & SQUARE VOTES TO 
CAST 

TWO VOTES carry the day in 
this word square challenge. 
VOTES appear both across and 
down. You are asked to find four 
additional words that will also 
read alike in these two direc- 
tions Definitions are as follows: 

1. What it takes to win an elec- 
tion (VOTES, already in place). 

2. Mother Nature's sky-high 
sun blocker. 

3. Viennese dessert cake. 

4. Enroll in a contest or race. 

5. Persons who claim to peer 
into the future. 

Remember, word square 
words read the same both down 
and across. 

Time limit: Two minutes 














CALVIN AND HOBBES ■ WATTERSON 





























Focus 

ON THE CUTTING 

EDGE 

^ Cosmetic surgery is the new buzzword in trendy circles 
these days , reports Manisha Gulati 

S ince the cosmetic surgery revo- Matondkar, Meenakshi Seshadri have he should ask for his money back). 

lution in the 80s when image all been accused of attempting to But docs this mean that, apart from 

was everything, we have been cosmetically alter their appearances the elephant man, only Bollywood stal- 

bombarded with stories about and have denied the charges. Dev Ana- warts, who are obsessed with theii 
stars who' ve had their faces lifted and nd finally relented when the scarf on looks, go under the surgeon's knife? 
celebrities wi th newly tucked-in sto- \ lis neck became too narrow to hide it. Not really, there are some ordinary 
machs and improved breasts. Some of The former Miss Universe, Sushmita upper middle-class folk who also go 

them go into the tiniest detail about Sen, has been accused of having breast in for the occasional corrective measu- 

every little nip and tuck, even as the implants to give herself the curves she re. But of the ISO medical colleges in 

stars swear that their good looks are lacked. And some people insist that the country only 1 5 have aplastic sur- 

simpty down to good genes. Amitahh Bachchan has had a face lift gery division And out of those only a 

Madhuri Dixit, Sridcvi, Urmila (well, in the unlikely event that he has, measly 10 per cent have provisions for 


Jatm Kochar: After the surgery on his nose And before 



cosmetic or aesthetic surgery, as it is 
also known. The rest are geared towar- 
ds correction of deformities (congeni- 
tal or otherwise), bums and scars. 

Anyone with die title 'surgeon' after 
their name is not qualified to perform 
plastic surgery, only surgeons who 
are trainee! in this particular line are. 

Unfortunately the private sector isn't 
very well controlled in India, and hor- 
ror stories abound about unqualified 
'surgeons' leaving their clients with 
horrible scars, lumps, hollows. 

What occasionally gets lost in all the 
dramatics about Sridevi's nose job is 
that if you are unsatisfied with your 
physical appearance, it can cause you 
genuine mental and physical pain. A 
physical problem can make your soci- 
al life very difficult and absolutely 
crush your spirit. Says consultant plas- 
tic surgeon and owner of Delhi Plastic 
Surgery Clime Dr Suresh Gupta, 

"Some find it difficult to face the trau- 
ma that comes with middle age and a 
wrinkling face. On another front, self- 
confidence falls along with sagging 
b iv asts Kir a third, a nose job can pro- 
bably got someone the modelling 

Amitabh Bachchan : Known to have undergone a face lift 

assignment she was previously reject- 
ed for " 

At the same time a realistic idea of 
what's possible is also important That 
includes what's possible for \ our 
body and for vour personality. It s 
very y to lost' sight of our real pro- 
blems and become obsessed with a 
figure flaw instead. We think "it only I 
was slimmer or had a bigger chest mv 
life would work out". As 21 -year-old 
Ishita Mudan says "A year ago 1 w.is 
really down in the dumps I thought if 
only I looked different I’d have a bet- 
ter sex Hie, more friends, a gorgeous 
boyfriend and a lierter job with more 
money . Thankfully my mother talked 
rne out of getting a nose job. With the 
same nose today l have everything 
except a bettei job. 1 don't think a difTe 
rent nose could give me that " 

V ery often, general dissatisfaction 
can result in someone finding her- 
self or himself on the surgeon « table 
People don't always have a spccilu 
reason for w anting surgery Thev just 
know something is bothering them 
about a particular feature but they 
haven't really thought about what it 
really is, or why they teol like that 
When we think of cosmetic surgery 
we think of perfection Model perfect 
bodies and slogans like ' 1 he perfect 
body can be yours' are sadlv jusL not 
the case. 




27 





ugly or unattractive feature." 

Alka is an attractive 28-year-old ban- 
ker with a good figure and an even bet- 
ter social life. A year ago she underw- 
ent surgery to get her bat ears correc- 
ted ..She explains, "I amid never put 
my hair up or sport a short style. Whe- 
never the wind blew I'd worry like 
mad that my ears would pop out and 
people would laugh. And I was sick of 
usmg hairspray." 

TJashion designer Ja tin Kochhar, too, 
X had corrective surgery done on his 
nose, not once but twice. His story is 
one of woe. fie hates the way his nose 
has turned out and now prefers what 
mother nature had blessed him with 
— the lesser of two evils. I le moans, 
"Butcher! Disaster! The first is my doc- 
tor, the second is my nose. After the 
operation it was absolutely tilted 
towards the left. Then he operated on 
me again. Nothing prepares you for 
the pain after the surgery It was a 
sheer waste of Rs 25, (XX). Even now if* 
got a left bias. If someone tells me fol- 
low your nose I'm in for trouble." 

His surgeon, DrS S. Sethi, president 
of the Plastic Surgery Association of 
India, drawls "That boy needs to see a 
psychologist. I also had three sittings 
with him before the operation hut 1 
don't see what his problem is. You've 
seen his nose, what's wrong with it 7 
And now he calls me butcher 1 refuse 
to comment on it." 

Michael Jackson : Great believer in plastic surgery 

Sushmrta Sen : Accused of undergoing breast implants 

All cosmetic: surgery can do is 
improve what's already there. It can't 
turn you into Cindy Crawford over- 
night. Neither can good looks guaran- 
tee your happiness Princess Diana 
and Marilyn Monroe are proof 
enough of that. At the same time medi- 
cal experts are now more aware of the 
link between emotional and physical 
health. 

As Dr Suresh Gupta says, "What are 
the motives of a person who anticipat- 
ing pain, discomfort and knowing the 
risk of complications, willingly enters 
the hospital, lies down on the operat- 
ing table to submit to an operation? It 
must be a chain of psychological reac- 
tions, unpleasant experiences, linger- 
ing remarks, frustrations, disturbing 
self-consciousness which cventual'y 
brings the* patient to submit to a cosme- 
tic operation. Plastic surgeons who 
deal with these patients know that it is 
not empty vanity that drives them to 
the decision. They want to be inconspi- 
cuous, they want to rid themselves of 
the feeling of being conspicuous by an 



Daby Doll singer Alisha Chinai also 
Dboastsof a facelift, an4 some say, 
breast implants, but she, unlike Jatin, 
is mighty pleased with the results and 
what it's done for her looks. Pop sin- 
ger Michael Jackson is, of course, in an 
entirely different category. He's got 
himself a complete body overhaul: 
eyes, nose, mouth, ears, and even 
colour. 

Why just celebrities. Today aesthe- 
tic surgery is the buzzword in almost 
every nigh-income household . Consi- 
dered a magic cure for life's problems 
the doctor sometimes has to play God 
to help the patient realise whether a 
surgical procedure is actually going to 
make that positive difference or is just 
another traumatic step in a crisis 
situation. 

1'or women who've been sexually 
abused, it’s common to have a distort- 
ed image of their body. They may take 
to cosmetic surgery as a way of chang- 
ing the looks that have caused them so 
much pain. They want to leave their 
old life behind and as a result their old 
looks American actress Roscanne 
Arnold says m her autobiography 
about her sexual abuse by her father, 
'Tvcrytirne 1 looked m the mirror I'd 
see my dad. It's hard to look at your 
abuser in the mirror everyday To me 
plastic surgery felt like a way of revers- 
ing all the shit that had happened. It 
was part of my physical recovery." 

L iposuction is a much harder one to 
argue about on the 1 health scale, it 
can only improve your silhouette by 



Sridevi : WeH done nose job 


getting rid of love handles or smooth- the skin to be removed in this way. dur- 

ing out the bulging lumps on the sides geo ns can only remove a few pounds 
of saddfrbag thighs. It is a body con- of flesh at a tune otherwise you'd go 

touring excercise not a body slimming into clinical shock as happened with a 
one. It can't make your legs or hips young woman in Bombay at a reputed 
slim all over. hospital some months ago. She died 

Liposuction cannot get nd of crilu- chi die operating table Dr Suresh 

lite. The fat that causes it is loo dose to Gupta explains, "You can only 


Madhuri Dixit : Cosmetic beauty? 



remove two litres of fat at a time 
because along with that fat comes 
blood, which needs to be replaced 
Some quacks, impersonating dS sur- 
geons don't realise this and blood pres- 
sure falls leading to disaster." 

On the other hand if you were very 
fat and managed to lose a lot of 
weight, you could very easily be offer 
ed an operation to trim the baggy flesh 
that often remains after massive 
weight kiss — on your stomach, upper 
arms and thighs. But even in this case 
younger, fitter skin snaps back more 
easily after surgery. If trie skin is old or 
has been stretched by repealtd weight 
gain and loss, it can scar and sag more 

Facts such as these must be mulled 
over before you submit yourself to the 
surgeon's scalpel. Because < 'osmetic 
surgery is like any other surgery — it's 
painful and frightening and you have 
to feel if s worm it to go through with 
it. Only you can decide why you want 
it. And whether a nicer, smaller nose 
will really make that important a diffe- 
rence to your life. I 


?9 





JAVED AKHTAR, script-uniter amt lyricist, has seriated some of the greatest blockbusters in 
Bollywood history. After he split with Salim, he embarked on a solo career which catapulted him to the 
heights of fame. In his new avatar as poet, Javed penned his first audio-book, TarkaSn, highly acclaimed 
by critics and connoisseurs of Urdu poetry. 


wss 


is your idea of perfect 


V happiness? 

Something well done, worthwhile 
and well appreciated. 

What is your greatest fear? 

That fascist powers may 
destroy the smdar and democratic 
structure of our society. 

Who or what has been the greatest 
influence in your life? 

The Leftist movement, European 
fiction, Urdu poetry and Hindi 
cinema. 

What do you dislike most in 
others? 

IVtlmoss. 


What do you dislike most in 
yourself? 

Laziness. 


What is your most precious 
possession? 


Books, autographed by their 
writers tike Kishan Ghander and 
Faiz. 

What objects do you always cany? 

My reading glasses. 

What makes you most depressed? 

Communal flare-ups in the 
country. 

What do you dislike most on your 
appearance? 

What makes you 
most depressed? 

Communal flare-ups 
in the country 



It is too late to say that! 

What is your favourite word? 
Decency 

What is your favourite journey? 
Life. 

What is your favourite dream? 

A prosperous India where people 
are healthy educated, broadminded, 
creative, artistic and live in pretty 
houses in extremely clean localities. 
What is your nightmare? 

The socio-economic condition of 
most of India. 

What or who is the greatest love of 
your life? 

A trio— my mother Safiya, my 
wife, Shabana, and my daughter, 
Zoya. To choose one. I'll have to tosj« 
a three-sided com. 

What is your source of sustenance? 
My love for life 

On what occasions do you lie? 

That is rare. 

What is your greatest regret? 

I could have learnt much more 
than 1 haw. 

What has been your happiest 
moment? 

When I bought my first house. 
What brings tears to your eyes? 

The helplessness of the 

Who or what has 
been the greatest 
influence in your 
life? 

The Leftist 
movement, European 
fiction, Urdu poetry 
and Hindi cinema 

underpri vekged . 

How do you relax? 

With friends, books and movies. 
What do you envy moot in others? 

Their capacity for hard work 
How would you like to be 
niDansr 

With warmth and respect 
How would you like to die? 

Not in a hurry. 


30 





28 NAURU HERBS 


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gums. Ayurvedic practice, centuries old, 
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withering heatwaves and a rapid increase in pollution. 

incredibly, your exterior paint 
never I o s 



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exterior finish from Snowcem India. Sandtex Matt is India's first textured exterior finish. And since 1970 

there has never been another, mo^e popular. What ioutd be better ^^SnOWCeiTI IlKlia Ltd 
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..6 MAI'o. 


VP MAY 1996 • 


The Telegraph 


f*W,. , 

Not jusl for 
Fridays 

k WSttt the entry of for- 
eign labels into the coun- 
try; Indians can how 
choose from a tajge vari- 
cty pf outfits f Pfidav 
Dressing', March 24). 

Of course, this applies 
to the well-off corporate 
executives and ^usifiestr 
men who can afford to 
shop in exclusive interna- 
tional designer stores like 
Mexx, Benetton and 
KB+T. 

When a casual wear 
shirt is available for 
Rs 700 or a plain leather 
belt for around Rs 5Q0, it 
shows that the people 
who buy them nave that 
kind of disposable 
income. Obviously, our 
standard of living has 
improved. 

Avijit Outf#, 

Calcutta 

W It is a nice feeling that 
we can now also wear an v 
original Gianfranco Ferre 
in India but how many of 
us can afford a jftoneatit 
orttfotisers? . . ■ ; . 

Rajm 
Oilrntta 

Tropbledby 
Televisttra* 

* 


■ 1 * • , ■, * 'VJ * 

*. l-rf U# * , . *■» 




1>*©n©w r^ng* in menls wear 

educating viewers; Its per- 
nirious effect is now dis- 
rupting social and family 
; We ^Television and the *• 
Pamily'.Match l7>. 

Besides, what fethcte to 

watch on television other 
than e few madcfion seriate 
and ttews magazines, . 
which am BttetW'Wifti '■ 

cornmerttals? •'* •» 


viewer attention. 

Dettubrrta Mohanty r 
Bala&m (Orissa) 

Poetry, Please 

• Why have yousudden- - 
JysJtop&?dpuhlishmg 
poem^l1wj>oeiiy:;^<cge 
added a h?t of ootoor to 
' <he Maga^ineand allowed 
Spiring poefe/tb get their . 


| Tiny Ten 

* I# The book extract cm 
2 cricketer Sachin 
~ Tendulkar was timely ('A 
Child Cricketer", April 7). 
For any person to be suc- 
cessful in life he needs a 
very supportive family 
and in Sachin's case he 
owes much to his elder 
brother Ajit who went out 
of his way to make sure 
the child Sachin had the 
right training. The result: 
Sachin is one of the finest 
batsmen m I he world 
today 

Panchtmava Ba*key, 
hanpada f Orient 

W Ajit Tendulkar has intel- 
ligently exploited brother 
Sachin's name in minting 
money from the book. T he 
price of the bonk explains 
it. 1 

Arffl Mishra ; 

Cu:tocA 

® Cricketers these days 
seem to understand busi- 
ness very well. Them was 
a time when they were 
poorly paid and thetv are 
instances of erketers lead- 
ing lives tif extreme 
depuration 

. Bui how cricket means 
money. JUv addition to this . 
ttiey earn large sums frrop 
th&k hcokfc and modelling 
assignments* 

Saptarsht $inha, 

Patna . 


Z PAGE 4 


& A CONTINCF.NT of retired Indiar. Anm 1 offi 
cers and their wives went to Pakistan iccenth 
on invitation. Their view of our western neigh 
hour 

PAGE 29 

ZURICH BORN chof, FroJi K us ter, comes to 
Calcutta with mouth-watering Swiss delicacies! 

Swiss treat at La Rotisserie, The Oberoi Grand 


16 ITMFTAHI h 

20 INNKR l.Yl 

21 Jl-NTOR WIlIKi 

22 CflMirS 
26 r*Kf NOS 
28 F ASHION 
2 4 > F AT .NI 

M) FIRST IT.RSt )N 

Cover Ashok K Mehta 





Photographs by Ashok K. Mehta 


Aditi Phadnis refxtrts on her visit to Pakistan: the 
warm welcome, the cold kulfi , and the love-hate 
relationship between our two countries 

THE VAN TRUNDLED ALONG, CARRYING SOME OF THE SENIO- 
r most generals, albeit retired, of the Indian Army. There 
were moments of frenetic chatter and long spells of silence. 
All the passengers appeared to be thinking about what 
they were leaving behind; and what they would see on the 
other side. 

"My father was the one who built Lahore's Model 
Town," murmured the liny, but exquisitely tumed-out 
General Dew an Prcmchand, 81 this year, who has 
commanded more United Nations Peacekeeping Forces th- 

The famous kebabs and rotis of Peshawar 






lift 







Mm 




wm$. 




m 


an anyone else in the world. >( 1 
wonder what it looks like today, "he 
said pensively looking out of the 
window. 

"You see the colour of the 
wheat?" remarked Colonel Jasbeer 
Khurana. "Now it is a muddy grey. 
By the time we return, it will be 




• ■ m 


The conversation was abruptly 
terminated at this point as the 
occupants of the bus gaped at the 
sight of a huge barbed-wire fence 
that seemed to stretch out 
unendingly through the wheat 
fields. 

"That's the border fence," 
someone offered helpfully, "11,000 

The Indo-Pak border at Wagah: A six-inch broad marker separates the two and (above) the Supreme Court of Pakistan 


r 

W 


>! I 










a 






X 





V'.* 


if. 



■M 


r 


'X, 


m 





















h 


^i,y * 


• v XX'X 


> & 


& V;- 


S ' \ 








volts of pirn* unadulterated 
electricity, guaranteed to turn you to 
a crisp the minute you touch it " 

We had arrived at the border of 
India and Pakistan 


AxRjshtnva Indian Military 
College, IVhradun — stand out 
bet a use they an* very odd people 
1ak< the Pakistan trip, for instance 
Indian Rimcoliians and their 
wi\es were invited by their Pakistani 
counterparts tor a reunion. They 
could, like others who have visited 
Pakistan earlier, have taken the line 
ot least rvhsfciniv iirid Mown trom 
Pclhi to 1 a) tore Hut they chose to go 
to Amiusar by train, cross the Indo- 
Pakistari border on foot and go to 
Lahore by road, causing endless 




hours of paperwork in India and 
Pakistan, and many anxious 
. moments for officials, 
j Rimcoliians like to live 
; dangerously, in fact, that's what they 
J live for 

■ General M a noha ran. definitely 

j the shortest major general in the 
, Indian Army, revels in danger The 
RIMC wives announce that they are 
going to the land of tulaqs, so tf they 
meet some handsome Path a ns, they 
will leave their husbands, and say 
'kabool' three times happily to the 
Pat bans. 

Mauoharan thinks for a while 
and then asks plaintively. "Hut what 
it a Pathan comes upto me and tells 
me kahixil' three tunes 7 What will I 
do?" 

The van stops at the immigration 
. and customs counter There are 
j many forms to till and several cups 
j ot tea to be had here. We get five-star 
j treatment -normally this channel of 
j travel is open only to foreigners But 
, them's no one there at JO 00 am. 


except some officials (Manoharan 
promply loses his heart to a lady 
j officer who has beautiful eyes) and a 
Golden Labrador sniffer dog, whi 
has no work and sprawls on the 
floor with his nose between his paw 
looking sorr y feu himself 


Gurdwara Panja Sahib which houses an 






One of the temples at Lahore 
damaged in the Ayodhya aftermath 

It takes more than an hour to 
finish the paperwork P very one is 
getting impatient their Pakistani 
hosts will have come to the border at 
9.00 am, and will be waiting. The 
leader of the delegation, General 
Virendra Singh, booms out to the 
officials "A ui kitm dcr lugtry 


There is a panicky moment when 
ItrN.M Ghat ate, another 


dimunitive Kimcollian. a lawyer ot 


some repute and a member ot tiu 
B|I v .n national ex«*cutive, forgets 


imprint of (inset) Gum Nanak’s hand 






if* 


•w 


& w 




what he did with his passport. But 
that's sorted out eventually, and we 
begin walking towards Pakistan. 

We approach the ten feet of earth 
that is no man's land. Exactly five 
tect ahead of us is a thick white line 
that divides the two countries. "If it 
hadn't been for the British, wo 
would have been one/' someone 
says. If only things were that simple. 

A burly Border Security Force 
jawan in full regalia stands to 
attention on the Indian side. I le 
looks a little uneasy, there are too 
many people to be controlled What 
if they lose their heads and make a 
dash for it? The Pakistani Ranger on 
the other side Looks as menacing 1 
cower and am dreadfully 
embarrassed when - as we get our 
luggage together to cross over, there 
are roars from a loudspeaker on the 
Indian side. "Pakistan inurdabad" 

We can see Rimeollians waving 
to u*-' Inmi the other side. Thcv're 



beckoning us to cross over. Geneial 
Virendra Singh takes the first 
symbolic step into Pakistan This is 
not the jackboot ot the soldier We're 
>mg home. 01 what used to be 
iOinc. 


The author. Aditi Phadnis, with Inayatutlah Hasan, one of the surviving 
members of the INA, in Pakistai i 


K 


O ur hosts in Lahore are Brigadier 
and Mrs Nayeem If is here that 
we learn our first lesson. You don't 
talk of the 1 C| 7J war 

Brigadier Nayeern has a bad leg 
' I was shot," he says briefly when 
he's asked how he luirt it He says 
he was a Prisoner of War (PoW) in 
India after 1971 General Ashok 
Mehta, a Rimcollian who was at 
Bogra during the 1971 war and is 
married to me, tells me later he 
might have done the damage I'm 


struck with remorse. Not so Ashok. 
who, on reaching the Nayeemss, 
tucks into iilu La paranthus, dahi and 
roast chicken 

And that's the second lesson 
We'ic invited out to breakfast, lunch 
and dinner. Alcohol is ban nisi, a 
bottle ot local whiskey is available 
only in the black market and costs 
Rs S,00(1 So Pakistanis* who don't 
drmk, stuff you with lood as a 
substitute. 

It is the ultimate high: you go to 
dinner and the tables an* creaking 
with food. There are two kinds ot 
chicken, two kinds of mutton (we 
are not served beef to spare our 
feelings, though more tnan one 


Taj Mohammadi's house at Dera Shadi Khan, Peshawar 



member ot the group is partial to an 
underdone steak). 

When our hosts discover 1 am a 
vegetarian, luuki and tinilu are 
produced for me with profuse 
apologue; they re leftovers from 
lunch 1 resolve to suppn*ss the fact 
that 1 don't eat meat. 

Pakistanis like to eat. Bui 
Punjabis, more than others So 
Lahore is full ot eating places which 
are open all night. At 3.(X) am, shops 
start serving nahan and pay a, soup 
made fium trotters which is 
simmered with pulses and spices. In 
the w inter months you gel hurisa, a 
greasy looking unattractive pulp ol 
greens, meat and 12 different kinds 
of pulses and lentils. 

Harisa originated in Kashmir, 
travelled to Amntsar with the armies 
which lived on their stomachs, and 
has settled down in Lahore The 
signs on the shops m old Lahore still 
say: "Original Amu tsar i harisa" It is 
enormously rich, smooth and lady 
< )n being told it has aphrodisiac 
qualities, Ashok digs into it 

At 11.00 am, you get pun bhajt 
and halva pun. At lunch time, large 
Pakistanis come out burping from 
eating houses, after kebabs, ruffs anti 
firm or dahi. 

After all this, vou cannot expect 
to stay awake But it vou choose no! 
to have a siesta you can have a gla^ 
of sugarcane juice instead, whu n i- 
served on street-comers in /wa/ishop 
like kiosks, or a mini meal ot 
$alvdpptis or ( iuhibhalhr s The ’water* 

| m me ^olgappa* is muvh mi ire sour 
, than it is in India but is J *ss spicy 




A view of a kabari shop in Lahore 

The diihihhdllns are different as well. Lahore. 


In India, a goixf di*hihhatta would be And as for music and dame, who 

soft on the inside but crisp on the says it is unlslamk 1 For a tew stolen 

outside. Then* they an* more hours, we wen? taken to the Shakir 

substantial, (as it is not imid but Ah Memorial, the home of one of 

mtuibh which is used to make them) Pakistan's most famous artists which 


and are served with a topping of 
boiled potatoes and slivers of khtrru 
If you -ire of delicate sensibilities, 
you c-in hav<» fruit with your tea 
strawberries are red 'd plump, it a 
little tart, and in spr» .g you can gel 
cherries and peaches 

And then/s no dearth ot food lor 
dinner Apart from the numerous 
Chinese restaurants in L-ahorc, you 
can gel birjam that is ladled out from 


was turned into a memorial after his 
death 

As 1 wandered through the 
house, l stopped entranced near the 
basement. 1 thought I heard ra^a 
Megh through the door And sun* 
enough, a girl and four men were 
practising the same bund mb in Megh 
-koyahifii kahe kuhu kuhu — that I, as 
a student, had learnt many years 


Why are we enemies with 
Fakistan? 

Though discussion on politics 
was avoided, it was clear why. The 
name of General A.K. Niazi, the man 
who signed the instrument of 
surrender after 1971, continues to be 
a dirty word in Lahore. After the 
war, when Lahoris gol to know he 
was going to settle down in their 
city, tney announced they were 
going to blacken his face and parade 
rum on a donkey. 

In the intervening years, he tried 
hard to restore his name: he held 
press conferences when General Zia- 
ul-I laq came to power. Dressed in 
black with a red patka he tried to 
clarify that it was politicians who 
had made Pakistan lose the war. But 
even the press paid little attention to 
him. Today he lives quietly, speaking 
to no one, not answering nis 
telephone. 

Bangladesh is a sore point with 
Pakistanis And so is Kashmir 
Feelings run high, specially in the 
average Punjabi heart, at the 
atrocities the Indian Armv is 
committing in 'India Held Kashmir' 

'You are the Big Brother. You 
should lake the lirsl step/' says 
Brigadier Mukhlar Karrem, who 
wants to see a 'land lor peace' 
solution to Kashmir Radio and 
television carry on relentless 
propaganda about oppression in 
kashmir Looking at PTV, one would 
think India was Kashmir and vice 
versa But then isn't that true about 
IXuirdarshan and Karachi as well? 

As a result, 1 arn oblivious to ihe 


ssion in 
one would 


huge dt'% s, qornm or marinaded 
chickens that an* strung out on lines 
outside shops, waiting to lx put in 
the tandonr 

Then vou must have u e-cream 
Near Lakshmi Buildings m old 
Lahore (so named because it once 


A kulfi-faluda shop in Lahore with glittering mirrored facades 




belonged to the Lakshmi General 
Insurance Company) you have j 

strawberry and pi st a- flavoured ! 

home-made kulh. If thi*re are many ! 
of you. you tun have a kulfa a blcx'k i 
of ice cream But the kulfi is the bi*st, ! 
creamy swirls bursting with fruit 
and nuts, none of vour sorbet | 

nonsense thank you. and sinfully ‘ 

rich. j 

But there's more to f.ahore than j 
food. lahons like music, drama and 
the arts. The Aihamra is an 
impressive red brick institution for 
painters and students of art. 

Pakistani tele-plays, so popular in 
India, are a by-product of the ! 

vigorous theatre movement in ! 




political upheavals in India which 
nave occurred while we are wining 
and dining — mostly dining — in 
Lahore. 

B ut in the bohemian circles where 
we did 'wine' one day — a set of 
outspoken artists who seemed to be 
very serious about their work — we 
found that no one favours whiskey in 
Pakistan. The national — or rather, 
anti-national — drink seems to be 
vodka. 

But a discussion on a slide show of 
pictures shot during Muh.irram cere- 
monies yielded the following political 
point: that the immersion of the tuzui 
into the sea at Karachi was the effect of 
Hindu colonisation and was of recent 
origin. 

Pakistanis view the Hindu with sus- 1 
picion and uncertainty. The older j 
generation of Pakistanis cannot under- j 
stand how the Hindu, who looks so 



Pace: Imran Khan's swanky store in Lahore 


meek and will not hit you back even if 
you slap him around, can get so lough 
in his own home. 

Brigadier Kareem said he recalled 
the way he would beat up Hindu boys 
in school, but once inside their houses, 
the Hindu boys would not touch the 
Muslims, would not allow them into 
their houses, and would c;Jl them 
' ntlrtkh' (unclean) 

"This really used to puzzle us," volun- 
teered someone. "How can you be 
physically so inferior and yet try to 
take the moral high ground?" 

What with all this dining, there isn't 
much time to see anything. I'm anxi- 
ous not to leave Lahore without say- 
ing hello to Imran and Jemima. But 
they're not at home 

So, we go to Pao.*, Imran's store 
instead It is expensive, so 1 |ust buy a 
packet of Pakistani van which is excel- 
lent. But my appetite is whetted so I 
visit more stores. They're packed with 
imported goods: if you're Pakistani, 


don't drink and are rich, there's lots to 
buy. 

We decide we don't qualify on any 
count. So we pack our bags to move on 
to Islamabad, taking the Grand Trunk 
Road which Sher Shah Suri built many 
hundred years ago. It is an eerie 
feeling. 

Ashok is enormously excited: his 
family migrated from Rawalpindi 
after the Partition. He is certain he can 
locate his old home. 

As a result, on reaching Islamabad 
we leave for Rawalpindi — which is 
about 20 minutes by road — immedia- 
tely. I marvel at Islamabad. The roads 
are broad, the lawns arc beautifully 
manicured and it is very much a dty in 
the making As we are guests of 
Pakistan's interior minister, Nasirul- 
lah Khan Babar, we are put up in Isla- 
mabad's only five-star hotel, The Pearl 
Continental. But the officialdom of a 
capital dty is evident. In Lahore, we 
were free to go where we liked. Here, a 



handful of uniformed immigration 
officers tell us we're free to go where 
we want 

The Rawalpindi tnp is a waste. 
Ashok reaches Talwaron ka Bazar , 
where his grandparents lived, but 
can't locate his home — too many 
buildings have come up changing the 
face of Pindi. But on the way, we do 
stop at a college his grandfather 
built: the Government College, which 
was earlier called the Sanatan Dharma 
College. Obscured by paint, a marble 
plaque announces that this wall was 
paid for by Ramditta Mai in the memo- 
ry of his parents. 

We meet the vice-prindpal of the col- 
lege. I gush on about how sad one feels 
that our two people have been divided 
by forces of 'siyasat'. He is firm. The 
countries have been divided, he says, 
and are now two sovereign nations, 
with different founding pnndples. 
The sooner both come to terms with 
this, the better. 

In the course of the trip, I realise 
how true this is. My woolly liberal lit- 
tle mind is unable to grapple with this 
reality. That night, I eaten Zee TV' in 
our hotel room, ignoring Ashok's irate 
shouts from the bathroom that we're 
going to be late for dinner. They're 
showing clips of Karachi violence 
which has resurfaced earlier in the day 

Whatever the neurosis of India's rul- 
ing elite, Pakistan's appears to be an 
obsession with achieving nationhood. 
The whole world recognises Pakistan 
as a sovereign nation. But Pakistan's 
ruling classes still see themselves as a 
nation in the making. Hence the jehad 
in Kashmir and the compulsion to 
have a stake in running Afghanistan. 




rhe Government Post Graduate College in Rawalpindi: Formerly known as th 
Sanatan Dharma College 


After all, it was all one empire not so 
long ago 

I 'm torn between trying this theory 
out on those I meet during lunches 
and dinners, and listening to the storv 
of their life The latter, of course, is 
much more interestiiig. 

I'm standing next to a tall man at 
lunch one day. I le asks me who I am 
and then introduces himsell. He's Bri- 
gadier Inyatullah Masai , a soldier m 
Subhash Chandra Bose's Indian Natio- 
nal Army, now a journalist who writes 
a column called 'The Cutting Edge'. 
He has been married to an Indian 
Tamil, an Australian and is currently 
wedded to a devout Pakistani Muslim 
several decades younger than him He 
is an atheist, a Rimculhan, and has 
been a millionaire and a minus millio- 
naire. He is the most interesting man 1 
have ever met in my life. 

He tells me a story. 

When the IN A was at a cross-roads, 
someone told him that there were 
many similarities between the Indone- 
sian revolution for independence and 
India's own freedom struggle Hasan 
was a young man with no ties. He pack- 
ed his bags and left for Thailand, to 
somehow smuggle himsell into Indo- 
nesia and join tne resistance 
One evening he was knocking 
about on the beachfront, hoping to 
meet someone who could help nim, 
when he noticed a young Indian loll- 
ing about in his chair, having had a 
great deal to drink After a few more 
rounds, he told Hasan that he was a 
pilot, and that he flew between India 
and Indonesia. Hasan asked if his 
plane was with him; could he give 

10 


I lasan a lift? "Hop on," he told Hasan 
nonchalantly, and fell asleep, snoring 
loudly. 

Hasan wondered what to do He 
couldn't leave, the pilot might take off 
without him In the morning, atter 
j many cups of coffee, Hasan and the 
pilot took otf for Indonesia Hasan 
timidly asked him his name "I'm 
Biju — Biju Patnaik," he told Hasan 
That friendship has lasted all these 
years Hasan's face lights up at the 
mention of Captain Laxmi Sehgal I 
tell him she's in fine fettle and that her 
daughter. Sub has him, a Marxist, is a 
carbon copy of her. We're so engross- 
ed in each other, we don't realise oui 
host has come and gone; the stocky 
Nasirullah Khan Babar. 1 resolve to 
correct this lapse in my manners when 
we go to Peshawar. 

W e leave for Peshawar and go to 
Babar's home, which is filled 
with antiques as he's an avid collector 
of beautiful things We notice the 
change of ambience. Peshawar is more 
like tne stereotype of Pakistan we are 
told about. There's no time to visit 
either the resettlement camps where 
refugees from the Afghan war are 
living, or me contingent of Bosnian 
refugees who are trying to live in Paki- 
stan to disprove Western notions that 
Muslims of the West are quite differ- 
ent from Muslims of the East. 

Babar is a local boy. Though he's a 
minister, there is no secui ity, none of 
the lal batti and gunmen we associate 
with our ministers. People wave to 
him as he drives through the streets. 
There are no Kalashnikovs but rosy- 


cheeked Afghan boys say they can pro- 
cure them for us if we want. "Badam? 
Kishtmsh? Pista ? /' they ask, then in a 
lower, more helpful tone, 

"Kalashnikov?" 

Peshawar is famous for chappal 
kebabs: beef thickly ground, then made 
up with fiery spices into a flat kebab 
that looks like the sole of a chappal 
And of course, the dry fruit. I go mad 
slowly Ashok tells me firmly we can't 
take all the dry fruit of Peshawar back 
to India and stops my buying spree 
We drive through the city, in search of 
carpets, Peshawan chappals and look 
at tne sights 

The Vadgar Chowk was built for the 
martyrs ot the 1971 war. But the road 
and the area around it has been taken 
over by moneychangers. In Peshawar 
you can change any currency of the 
world You get special rates if the cur- 
rency notes are torn For instance, you 
can change a torn halt of a dollar note 
if you pay a small commission How 
the moneychangers keep in touch 
with the fluctuating monov market ot 
the world is a mystery But it is a flouri- 
shing busmen 

The other business t s drugs But I 
decide it is not prudent lo trv and 

make contact with drug dealers while 
we are guests of the interior minister 

W e return to Islamabad and are 
told we still have Murree to 
visit. Murree is a typical hill station 

A picturesque view of Murree: On □ cleat day 



like Dehradun or Mussoone, the diffe- 
rence being that you can see Srinagar 
in the distance on a clear day. 

At dinner, we are told we are going 
to Dora Shadi Khan, the village of the 
oldest living Rimcollian, Taj Moham- 
med Khanzada, who is a Muslim Lea- 
gue member of the National Assem- 
bly. Many jokes are cracked; Tai 
Mohammed and Nasirullah Baoar are 
on opposite sides of the political fence. 

The village is a revelation. This is a 
typical Pathan settlement, with 
beautifully-kept houses all arranged 
back to back according to the hierar- 
chy in the family. I walk around the vil- 
lage with one of the ladies in the fami- 
ly There's something familiar about 
her. I ask her hesitantly if she's from 
Pakistan. She smiles She comes from 
Badulla, central Sri Lanka, and has 
married into the family. 

Farida Khanzada is highly educa- 
ted, but has chosen to live in an obscu- 
re Pathan settlement for love, she met 
and married her husband while he 
was running a distillery in Sri Lanka. 
Being accepted by a Pathan family of 
the lineage of the Khanzadas was diffi- 
cult. But she has managed to integrate 
with the household She says there 
isn't much to do, no one reads much, 
or listens to the radio It is either the 
television, gardening or eating. 

Drugs are a serious problem, on 
account of easy availability And 

you uan see Srinagar at a distance 



1 



Jhulum: The moneychangers here exchange all kinds of currency 


because the Pathans are so close-knit, 
marriages within the family can create 
serious problems. Pathan mothers are 
obsessive about sons. They choose 
wi ves. This causes a neurosis of epic 
proportions. 

Sne tells us a funny story. She was 
listening to opera one day in her room, 
quite lost in tne beauty of the music. 
Sne came to only when she found 
other women peering through her win- 
dow and banging on her 
door 

What was the problem, she asked 
them. 

Was she in any pain, they enguired. 
They'd got worried when they heard 
those shrieks coming from her room. 

No, she explained patiently. She 
wasn't experiencing any pain; it was 
only Puccini. 

I'm enchanted by this wonderful 
quicksilver woman. But it is time to 
move on. We are to visit two gurdwa- 
ras: Panja Sahib and Dera Baba Nanak. 
Panja Sahib bears marble plaques to 
commemorate the visits of Kamail 
Singh Sandhu in 1984 and Jewan 
Singh. It is easier for NRI Sikhs to visit 
Pakistan than it is for Indian Sikhs. 

Panja Sahib is so named because 
when Guru Nanak was travelling 
through this region, his two disciples 
stopped to drink water. Guru Nanak* 
noticed a boulder roll down from a 
nearby hill. He put out his hand and 
stopped it. The imprint of his hand, 
the panja, can be seen even today. A 
spring of water welled up at that spot. 
Today, plump trout frolic in the kund. 

Dera Sahib is full of pilgrims. Sera 


goes on in both gurdwatan with lan gar 
and kara prasad and kirtan. 

T he trip is coming to an end, and I'm 
beginning to feel tearful. It is as if 
the holidays ire over and you have to 
return to boarding school. We return 
to Lahore and make our way back to 
the border. It looks exactly as we left 
it — except that we are on the other 
side this time. 

I can read a sign which says "Mcra 
Bharat Mahan" and welcomes you to 
the world's Largest democracy I don't 
want to go back I don't want to leave 
Nasir Fatehuddin and his charming 
daughter, and Brigadier Nayeem and 
his wife who have forgotten all their 
commitments to look after us. We bid 
goodbye to Major Istiaqur Rehman 
who is one of the moving spirits 
behind the tnp. Brigadier Mukhtar 
Kareem reminds me te write about his 
'land for peace' proposal on Kashmir 
Fat tears are about to roll down my 
cheeks. But we cross over, promising 
to meet again at Dehradun for the plati- 
num jubilee of the RIMC 
Once again, there's silence as we 
return to Amritsar from Wagah Gene- 
ral Samir Sinha recalls how, during 
Partition when he was overseeing the 
movement of refugees, an old woman 
came up to him and asked him, 

" Puttar are we in India? Can l shout 
'Pakistan niurdabad' now?" 

One of the greatest gifts t »od has giv- 
en human beings is the power to for- 
get. But when it comes to Pakistan, can 
we ever forget? ■ 

Aditi Phadnis is the Chief of Bureau 
i of Sunday magazine 


Focus 

JUST SAY NO 

But whcit happens to those who succumb to the temptation 
of drugs? Manisha Gulati finds out 

Children require guidance and sympathy their age, profession or | disease that a person willingly 

far more than instruction. socio-economic background The \ subjects himself to. But what makes an 

— Anne Sullivan , American educator individual is completely helpless once ! individual choose this path of 

in the throes of addiction, and it is j self-destruction? What really goes 

M ost people regard drug extremely unlikely — in fact, near j into the making of a drug addict? 

addiction as a problem; impossible — that he will ever ; Research over the last couple of 

what they don't realise is manage to come out of it without decades points to several factors, 

that it is a disease. And outside help. family background, curiosity, poer 

that, like any other disease, it affects But, unlike other ailments, drug pressure, loneliness, depression, 

all kinds of people, no matter what abuse is a self-inflicted, self-chosen 1 frustration and even broken 


Drug addiction: Once you are hooked, it is very difficult to become clean again | The killer addiction : You have to be highly 



relationships, with the family playing 
a pivotal role as a contributing factor. 
Previously an affliction of the late 20s 
and early 30s age group, drug 
addiction has now permeated even 
the school and college level. The 
reason for this is a growing awareness 
of drugs, easy availability, newer 
forms of drug like pills and smack, 
and parental neglect. 

Within the first five years of a 
child's life the interaction between 
him and his parents determines his 
personality. A child can only grow 
normally when his parents nave his 
best interests at heart, specially when 
the child is totally helpless and 
dependent on them But many times 
parents try to satisfy their personal, 
individual, family and social needs 
through the child. So much so that it is 
claimed that even before a child is 
bom his position is defined in the 
family. 

motivated to emerge from its throes 



A drug addict: Choosing to destroy himself by shooting up 



You might wonder then, why one 
child grows up to be a normal nappy 
kid and the other turns out to be 
depressive or rebellious? 

SaysDrO.P Kashyapofthe 
Vidyasagar Kaushalya Devi 
Memorial Detoxification Centre, 

"First of all let us make it dear that 
there is no such thing as the same 
family environment for everybody 
because there is such a thing as 
domestic politics And pressure 
comes to bear on one individual more 
than others. In every family you will 
find at least one individual who is 
'bad' or 'mad' or 'sad'. If you tend to 
be 'bad' or 'mad' people will tend to 
throw bricks at you. So you should be 
'sad' One becomes a scapegoat. And 
in a colluded rejection process 
everybody sees their own badness in 
one individual and he gets assigned 
the bad role He has to fulfil it He is 
constantly criticised, blamed, shamed, 
humiliated." 

In their zest to control people, some 1 
families have it in them not to 
understand how the members of their 
family can be different from one 
another. This is a direct or indirect 
result of our society which is largely 
organised around controls If we get 
an opportunity to stigmatise people 
we do 

Says Dr Kashyap, "Society rinds so 
many things undesirable that we have 
to pretend to be none of those. What 
we do not realise is that life is nothing 
but growth and development. One 
has to subscribe to the concept of 
development Things don't happen to 

13 


us merely because we choose for them 
to be that way. When we suppress 
people we suppress their 
development Many responses never 
grow in people because of that. They 
function with halt a deck Some cards 
are missing. So they're not cor' *lete 
individuals And drugs bei' ne an 
escape route " 

A jay Mehta, a product of a joint 
family, was always considered 
the black sheen ot the household Not 
interested in the family business, he 
was more concerned with getting into 
films. Rebuked and emotionally 
blackmailtSJ, he succumbed to family 
pressure afid joined the business in the 
end But at the same time, he took 
refuge in drugs to cope with his 
frustration and failed ambition 
Started as a weekly fix, he smoked 
mainly smack, w hich gradually paved 
the wav tor cocaine, unnl he was 
caught, rebuked more, and shunted 
into a de-add iction centre Clean now, 
he speaks of his experience "When | 
we judge somebod y as good or bad we j 
naturally evaluate them," he says "If j 
we really understood them we j 

wouldn’t say if they were good or bad J 
Because they are only naturally j 

unfolding themselves in a certain i 
way When that balance is tampered J 
with, the mental balance also goes for I 
a six But today I'm much more stable ! 
and at terms with my life." j 

The Vid yasagar Centre has a 
majority of smack addicts. Between 
1 00 to 500 add u:ts logister here every i 
year. The doctors help to bring their j 
body back to normal functioning after ; 
detoxifying them At this stage they j 
undergo what is known as the turkey I 
period' . They suffer wilhd ra wal I 

symptoms like body pain, vomiting, 1 
insomnia, loose motions, a running 
nose, high blood pressure, and 
secretions of the respiratory system 
Medication is given to ease their 
suffering This is coupled with 
individual counselling, family 
counselling, group discussions, yoga 
and a health 1 , diet 
Since this programme lasts for only 
1 5 days it is not enough for a hardened 
drug user t*.* do an about-turn and 
revamp his life Though he is 
encouraged to come bark for 
counselling sessions, the motivation 
to do so is sadly lacking m most drug 
addicts There are always people 
around to tempt him to fall back into 
his old ways, and the reason that 
made him take to drugs in the first 
place still faces him as he leaves the* 
centre. 


What' s worse, drug peddlers even two years, fie blames this on his 

try to get themselves admitted to the friends who introduced him to the 
hospital on the pretext of being drug in the first place. He admits 

addicts and supply d rugs to patients, getting tempted even as he lies on the 
not wanting to lose their customers! hospital bed, specially ns he sees some 
Says Dr Kashy ap, 7 ’ The same home pa tients smoking secretly in the toilets, 

environment that created the problem The success rate at the hospital is 
acts on them subsequently. Families pretty dismal. Of the patients that 

lose faith. Even when families bring in check in, 30 per cent give in in the first 
patients for trea tment, they three months while 60 per cent lapse 

sometimes supply them with drugs in the first three years. Only 5-10 per 
from outside when they see them cent remain clean, 

suffering. And some only pretend that 

they want to be cured, so that their "O ehabilitation — rather than 

families are satisfied. " Axde-ad diction — centres, on the 

other hand, meet with slightly better 

Suresh, a smack addict at the results as patients stay in the centre for 

Vidyasagar Centre, has come back for about six months after detoxification, 
the second time after being clean for ; In this period they follow a relatively 


College students: They are most at risk with temptations surrounding them all the time 



strict time-table and are disciplined i 
into leading a healthier way of life. | 

Kripa Counselling Centre and ! 

Sahara are two such organisations. As [ 
Jagmohan Bagai, former d rug abuser j 
and now counsellor at Kripa reveals, 
"Out of 199 cases registered m the last 
three years, 61 were admitted for the 
rehabilitation programme in Bombay. 
And about 33 of these have stayed 
dean/' (This is roughly the same as 
the international rate of success ) 

Kripa spends an average of Rs 4,500 
a month on each patient, only 
charging him for food. About 45 per 
cent of their patients are treated 
absolutely free of cost 

jagmohan himself is a success story 


A drug and alcohol addict for 21 years, 
he speaks about his introduction to 
drugs, the struggle to give them up, 
and finally the solution. Introduced to 
charas in 1968 by his friends, he 
gradually took to drinking which 
became an addiction After being 
unsuccessfully detoxified ten times, 
losing his job and being deserted by 
his wife, he finally came into contact 
with Alcoholics Anonymous. 

Off alcohol for five years now, he says, 
"Alcoholics Anonymous is a self-help 
group which teaches you to be more 
aware of your feelings, emotions, 
thinking and practise a different way 
of life. It teaches you that what you 
have is a limitation, a disease like any 



other. It is a behavioural difficulty 
Your reaction to the outside world. 
Drinks arc only a symptom." 

Every member of Alcoholics 
Anonymous, says Jagmohan, is a 
source of strength and inspiration to 
the other. And most drug 
de-addiction centres would do gtwd 
to follow this example. 

B ut, in most cases, the desire to give 
up drugs arises only out of real 
dire circumstances. Either because the 
drug is not so easily available or 
because money runs out 
Seventeen-year-old Deepak, who 
studies in a prestigious Delhi school, 
smokes grass and sometimes takes 
intravenous drugs. Eager to kill the 
habit eventually, he is not yet 
prepared to tell his parents or clean up 
his act. 

He says, "It's the easiest thing to 
find a drug peddl r They even hang 
around colonies at night. I go to one in 
Jangpura. Sometimes money is a 
problem but my parents give me 
enough. When I'm short of cash J just 
take from their cupboard Both my 
parents work so they don't really 
know v/hat 1 do Actually they don't 
have the time " 

Clearly, the role of the family is 
crucial in such cases Dr Kashyap 
agrees. "Wh.it a person really needs at 
this point is the support of family, 
friends and society. Understanding 
helps, misunderstanding hurts " 

Preeti Khanna, family counsellor at 
Sahara Rehabilitation Centre claims, 
“When a person takes to drugs, his 
habits and lifstyle change in such a 
way that there is no sense of 
boundaries or discipline in his life He 
may take drugs out of anger or to spite 
someone, or because he is not strong 
enough and succumbs to his 
unhealthy environment " 

But even de-addiction is, often, not 
the final solution Sonic times even it 
the patient gets cured family 
dynamics result in forcing him back 
into his original role after the 
honeymoon phase of compassion and 
kindness. Parents sometimes offer 
compassion instead of understanding 
because understanding involves 
change. 

What people — specially those who 
deal with drug addicts — need to 
realise is that though one person ma\ 
succumb to the addiction, the roots of 
that disease are found m practically 
every person. Because in the end, 
drugs are not really the disease ol an 
individual, they are the disease of the 
system. ■ 



Time table 


All arrival and departure times are for Calcutta 

tayt of operation wing 7 -day coda: T' MONDAY ® TUESDAY O' WEDNESDAY »; THURSDAY < 5 ' FRIDAY ® SATURDAY © SUNDAY 



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*■ . 


Al Air India • BA British Airways • BQ Biman Bangladesh Airlines • Bl Royal Brunei Airlines • D2 Skyline NEPC • D5 NEPC Airlines • 1C Indian Airlines • 
KB Druk-Air • KLM Royal Dutch Airlines • LZ Balkan Airlines • M9 Modiluft • PF Vayudoot • RA Royal Nepal Airlines * RJ Royal Jordanian Airlines • RO 
Tarom Air Transport • S2 Sahara India Airlines • SQ Singapore Airlines • SU Aeroflot • 48 East West Airlines • TG Thai Airways International • 9W Jet Airways 


I— I 


TRAINS 


L W 

Departure 
U 0 Time 

2<r io 

^i0'. !‘i ' 


4‘i 


’ *0 • ’ 


di-J 1 .. 

v. 

‘0C7 

■i W 

304*. 

! *U 

1(119 

: ■ 'in 

dll? 1 

!)) li 1 


1 7 Vi 

13 1’ 

•> 111 

lll.’M 

1’ 1 

3035 

i8 ;v 

3031 

21 115 

3071 

2’j M(j 

3015 

il-55 

iiv. 

■ ' 7 1 

15 .'5 

l* 

J32/ 

M 10 

hr; 

15 ,.’5 

UD 

Tlrtie 

3141 

13-40 

3143 

19*15 

3111 

20 15 

5657 

6 25 

3153 

22-00 

56G3 

20-00 

3151 

11-20 

3133 

20-55 

3103 

18-70 

5085 

12-40 


EASTERN RAILWAY 
Howrah 

DeHiMCalta AMI 
Amritur AMI 

Bombay AMI vu ailkmum 

Poors (New DelhQ Express \ I ‘l.'V.I-Vrtl 

iifi An! I-ur, \ -i-i. 

•**!■ 'lil , 'Al-'! v 4 , Mi 

Poona (New Delhi) Ewes vi.i ivt.*.,-. 

■•"i Mni iiit ,r > ' i'v :.j! 

/’ ’ ■ 'V'.n tui. r . . .\ V 

Rajftani Express .u ■i-v.i 

•(■ V«- ' " W»£ 1 I. . t»' 

* . W ir hn- . * i." t ' v k . *ii *li 

Ftydhanl Express 1 iv-.. 

I-ti. Thin* K. *■[' A-i W'i K. r .di 

Jodhpur Express 

Shetebdl (Botarc Steal Cflyl Expraw 

L-*.|’ ' Ac l Vjh'uv 

Hlmglri (Jemmu-Tawl) Boren in Wp'v 

: *.' III.-, If, /. ‘M- #V r. ; p. A-.,. 

Guwahtff Express 

L'r'- W J'-MJI, »V "1(1.1, 

Gorakhpui Express 
IN' v . Ar ViurvJay 

Purbenchte (Gorakhpur) Express 

Or 1 ;. & An r j ji Mnn Wk»' £ 1 :< 
Doan Express »n >. jnd L -uni 

Odyan Abba Tootan Express v-.i Ma». • I 

Amritar Eqm 

Koehoodun Boms 

Mttvka (Rood) Express 

KOTru ^ (Gwsr a tQ Exp ran 

Black Dtimond Epw 

GoalfWd Express 

Aiaraol Ewan 


Arrival 

Time Dn 

MS 231? 

i 55 TO> 

1 } 00 '1004 

If) is w 


4-40 2306 

21 10 ?<j2fi 

11-1S 1074 

V '.i'Jh 

113! Sl’SO 

4 30 5040 


5 14 ! 30 ^ 

6-30 Sfifin 
tVi S 3^18 
10 30 3030 


Danaxr Bgrass 
Jamepur Boms 


* ■■ ■ » ~ 

aavnuBn uome 

Chambil (Mkir) Bqxass 

l>p Vnr. fin: & Thus** An M.*r. 

Shlpn (Indore) Express 

n».(i Well !i.V >i ,.ur. 

Am oun Wl*i! >, ')jl 

Shteisuni (Chopai) Boren 

OnmTI^greu&f^oren 

D*ip f r.n,iy An TuesiJav 

Sealdah 

Teaste-Torei Boren 
DatasHrei AMI 

LteUuMa Bgraai VIA M.im Limp 

KanchartMnoi (Umvtno) Bonn 
Gout Bonn 


vid 9BG Loop 


Jamm-Tael I 
Ateghte Sate 


4 oP 13 ’8 
/*!■ MtV 


Tims Dn 

fi 35 31 4/ 

Mf< 3144 

ME 111. 

20-35 5058 

5 15 3154 

4-15 5804 

1 r * 50 3l!*l' 

|j 30 3134 


Departure 
Up Tims 

6001 ?(: 30 

eno? pi ?p 

2860 V jn 

20/ 1 0-50 

«U3<i .7i-4(i 

8030 11-JU 


Arrival 

Tima Dn 


WXVj 20* 5 l 

Bij 1 5 ?1-10 
6iX)7 .2 h 

M0‘i i'i 00 

2B7 1 6 IS 

80*15 10 *0 

80 '7 IB- 15 


2471 1h 4'i 
H05 


1 Si ‘(ib 

h 1l. Mi'll- 


Genoa Saga (Gonttour) Bones 

Dop & An 1 tits,. Thors. & Sat 


SOUTH-EASTERN RAILWAY 
Howrah 

Mata ami 

Bombay AMI vi,i Nd.ji.u: 

GJtanjaE) (Bombay) Express 
ShtetexM (Roiehtea) Boreas 

l )*t Ar t E*rt*pi 

Ahmedtead Bpns 
Kurts Bonn ...j N.-^vr 
Coromandal (Malm) Boren v.j .//i.iri' 
Fuktonna (SocwidBrteaa) Express 
fep 5li.. :Jf' ji f r. 

An W. :«!•!• \ 'mi 
Baoslore Express 
D‘jp ; 

An r 'iin.li, 

Ttei Steal Boesss 

a (Jha rsuoudx ) Boms 
ah Boms 

I rwB CXpfBSi 

Put Express vi.i i:uhd.k 

Jsgannteh (Puri) Boreas 
Dhaull (BteOanearer) Enms 

U A 4 /V 1 -1 1 A 

w®ft (HyoBnDaa) cxpran 
Purulfe Express 

[j.ip : 

All i-«.T, r il Sijfi l„y 

Aza) Hind (Pune) Wesldy Express 

Dl^ A:- 1 i'Hi\ 

Bhutanaswa-Nsw Delhi Rajdanl Express 

Howiatii * ■i.Jc.; ui'. 

Near Dteht-Btetaeswa Ftydhail Expren ^ 

Mcwn 1 .' .'I ■ 

Guetead - Howrah - Trivmdnin Central Express 

AA i'i' 1 , 

Trtvendrum Central - Howrah - Guwteotl Bqnes 

Lm'ijMMv i’i*i» 

Cochin Harbour Tarmtnus - Gwteitel WMdy 

Bones !*■ V.v.k'.ip.iirsi.i' \ M.’whM 

. htir^r: is j*i 

Guwehed - Cochin Habore Terminus Waokly 

Express u (S. vivK r .-i|iii’. 3 n: 

oanucjv ". ■' 

Cochin Harbour Terminus Boms .* -* 

V.SiikM Ci.' ,, ..ir X »*t*. |i* 


ro'; 'v 15 Gwnhrat - Bangalore City Weekly Boms mi 

il-Twr-ih A ...llark- 
WlHli 11’VJ.Ir Iii'v 

’■4 P5 fiangteore City - Guwahah Weekly Born. < »5' ,s 

Howr.m 5 (. utlacK) Mi'tmv uuu 

ENQUIRIES: For round the clock Informteton of Eastern Railway and 
South-Eastern Railway trains, pteasa dial 2203645-64 for In-coming trains; 
2209635-44 for all ottwr Information. Foi Information about resarvatlons on 
Eastern Railway and South-Eastern Railway trains, dial 22034964500 (from 
8 am to 8 pm on w o a kd ay s and 8 am to 2 pm on Sundays and oazet 
ted hotktey». In addRfon. dial 1331 (for recorded Information on train 
naming), 131 (ragar ding train operations) and 135 (regarding reserva- 
tions). Train asrnoe enquiry at Seektah: 3503535-37 


17 



Sketches 

POTTED HISTORY 

What the chattering classes are talking about 

This Week: Campaign styles 


I n the beginning...: There was the | 
iniquitous Ambassador, that i 

strong sturdy car that trundled 
through various rural and urban , 
constituencies as leaders of the calibre 
of Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel : 
made their pitch to voters. j 

i 

Technological upgradation: Became | 
popular only in Indira Gandhi's time, j 
As the principal vote-catcher for her | 
party, Mrs G was flown around the I 
length and breadth of the country to 
round up Congress voters and send 
them packing to the polling booths. 

And no, in those days there was no 
T N Seshan to compute the cost of this 
exercise and countermand the 
elections if the expenditure was above 
the stipulated limit 

So, was Indira Gandhi the original 
high-flier?: Y€*s, though her younger 
son, Sanjay, harboured ambitions of 
out-doing her on that front — an 
untimely death in a plane crash, 
however, put paid to all his plans 
Not that Mrs G's campaign style 
was restricted to helicopters and 
private planes. Fully understanding 
the effect of the dramatic gesture on 
the electorate, Indira was often given 
to riding elephants and the like on the 
campaign trail 


And what about Raiiv?: True to the 
family tradition, he narboured a love 
of flying as well; after all, he had been 
an Indian Airlines pilot in his time. 

But when it came to his own 
constituency, Rapv — accompanied 
by his wife, Sonia — preferred to drive 
his way around Amethi in a jeep, 
stopping at every village on the way to 
check on how his constituents were 
doing 

While Rajiv conferred with the men 
folk, Sonia and daughter Priyanka 
lent the human touch by walking into 
houses, asking women what was 
available for lunch, and then sitting 
down in their kitchens to eat with 
them. 

18 



Indira Gandhi during an election 
campaign; the helicopter is in the 
background 


The BJP's contribution* Was the 
so-called 'rath'; even if it was just a 
jumped-up Toyota. L.K Advani 
began the trend when he embarked on 
his Rath Yatra, campaigning for the 
cause of Hindutva, and the Ayodhya 
tempi?, through the Hindi heartland 
Of course, tnere was no election in 
the immediate offing, but then 
Advani — canny customer, tha t he is 
— was thinking in the long term. In 
the short term, of course, all he 
achieved was the outbreak of 
communal violence m certain 
sensitive areas. 


Dr Joshi's answer: Tc> Advani, his 
principal rival in the party, was to 
clamber on to his own chariot and 
drive through India on what he called 
an Ekta Yatra. Needless to add, not 
much was achieved by way of ekta 
(togetherness), but yes, communal 
tension did follow in Joshis wake. 

The other charioteer: Was none other 
than N T Rama Rao, the late leader of 
the Telugu Dosam Party (TDP) His 
chariot was rather grandly named the 
Chaitanva Ratham, and was equipped 
with every comfort known to man 
What's more, with his rat ham, NTR 
had no need tor a political platform; he 
just had to climb on to the hood ot his 
chariot to address his acolytes from a 
lofty height 

Also from the south of India: Was 
Jayalalitha, the extremely large chief 
minister ot Tamil Nadu, whose 
speciality appears to bo addressing 
crowds from behind a bullet-proof 
screen The reason, appaiently, is that 


Rajiv Gandhi and Sonia greet people from i 




the lady is on the LTTE's hit list, but 
one would have thought that the Iron 
Butterfly's bullet-proof cloak (which 
matches her sari exactly) would have 
been enough. 

But let's give poor — well, 
enormously rich, actually — Jaya a 
break. Maybe she thinks that with all 
those large cut-outs of tier's dotting 
the horizon, people don't need to see 
the real thing. 

An insomniac's delight: On the 
campaign trail was none other than 
Narasimha Rao. Not only did Rao 

L.K. Advanl on his Rath Yatra 


pan jeep during an election campaign 


lecture rural folk on how our balance 
of payments position has improved 
after liberalisation, but he also, on 
occasion, dwelt at length on the 
troubles in Eastern Europe to people 
who don't know where their next 
meal is coming from. 

A communication gap?: You bet! But 
then, Narasimha Rao is used to 
speaking to people who don't have a 
clue as to what he's going on about 
Remember the time ne had to address 
an election meeting in a T amil Nadu 
village in English because there was 




no interpreter around? 

The organisers had mistakenly 
assumed that Rao — who speaks nine 
languages — was proficient in Tamil. 
But the PM had to confess that though 
he had read the works of Gabriel 
Garcia Marquez in the original, he 
couldn't go futher than "Vantiakam” 
in good old Tamil 

Campaigning by proxy: Appeared to 
have taken the place of campaigning 
by chopper m this last general 
election, what with Mr Seshan sitting 
in the sidelines, his calculator at the 
ready. 


NTR atop his Chaitanya Ratham 



And excelling at this was none other 
than the former environment 
minister, who masqueraded as Alka 
Kamal Nath in his constituency of 
Chhind wara, asking the people to 
vote for him, even though his wife (the 
aforementioned Alka) was the real 
Congress candidate 

The common touch: Was, strangely 
enough, provided by the former 
Maharaja of Gwalior, Madhavrao 
Sdndia. The former Union minister 
who was used to travelling around 
Madhya Pradesh in a helicopter, 
which he often piloted himself, hit the 
ground running in his Tata Sierra 
Accompanied only by two other 
cars, he travelled through the rural 
areas of Gwalior, addressing 
impromptu meetings along the way 
And when the track got too bad for his 
car, the intrepid Scindia climbed on to 
the horse provided by locals and rode 
into the limelight ■ 




19 


1NNEREYE 


BEJAN DARUWALLa 


Aries 

March 21 - April 20 

l nlJU'shtl S.IVS 
jSttlk | mom v and family 

kill' till’ IVMMS who 

MK miU 1 M)u hiiui iinil 
- pur von lo glorious 
• ii hu*\ niit'iil 1 - (hiving. svlhng, 
Ir.ism^, bonov ini; and 
funding hi;K1 !hi* ki*\ lu a 
li.ipp\ you Whilr iiiinjiiu' is 
pnv.iMi, it will h* spi'iudu 
and mkLIi'ii V»u might he 1 
hosting parties and hinrhPiis 

Tautets 

April 21 - Mfty 20 

I hv Min iinJ 
\rpluru* m Miprrb 
positioning givi's 
\ on thi' fillip, tin 1 
imaginative hiilliame tin* 
intuitive hold on limits 
necessary l* » ‘.peed .lhvad and 
ho a winner Ho if musu, 
m irnu . iiMMnh i mistmetion 
work hoioiiiu and 
■uancigvmout, \uu shuiild 
h agi 1 ahead 

Gemini 

May 21 ■ ■ June 20 

ICN In a earn ‘out from 
^JP Liit \> ivk, then* is a 
BMWB ‘.IMPO* to IclLllli't 1 a 
ESIN v i , ntui«\ open a 
rcst.iumut s»art a business, have 
a Ivgai \. gvt loans and Hinds 
s.im tinned Visits interviews, 
appointments . l tomb of 
romanve and pasaon ai la led 
A lot oi intrigue and t-uvign 
< nlLiLkuation.s seem tn bv 
biewi Mf; toi '.oil 


Cancer 

June 21 — July 20 

[ Romantic linking, 

; colLiboi at ions, 

! jJJT travel, trade and 
L_™3 !Ll wedding bells are 

t >redicted tor Cameruins 
•t'cause the Saturn- Uranus 
se\tile helps to a< tivate 
things Many L.incenans are 
in for a change of direction, 
both in then personal and 
piotessmn.il hie It will be tor 
the hetlei 

Leo 

July 21 — August 21 

~j The pointers are tor 
MMS|n| hiiid work and 
mm>\ sweet rewards and 
«SEB ! that is hne in any 
situation Do take chances, be 
.it vout best, get work done 
and also tind lime to relax and 
i*njo\ A our system needs it 
Use voui imagination and w.Il 
to get what you desire and 
expert Aitors, editors, teach- 
ers and managers get mileage 


Virgo 

August 22 - 


September 22 


Mam ot you will be 
i : taking dec is've 

[ jgmf ; at tic>n and 
iflKL tortunalelx toi you 
it will be the right one The 
moon Jupuei conjunction will 
spioul new ideas and gambits, 
tu»c>st travel, make \ou 
innovative* and ingenious, 
daring and deadly Time lo 
start or expand a business and 
prepare to make monev 


Libra 

September 23 — October 22 

^ k ‘ nt V hehind-the- 
AX/lk scvntJ activity. cross 
cur rents of 
friendship and 
animosity vvill he strong, so 
best take it in voui stride. 

F inances get top priority 
[ourney, ceremony, buying, 
selling, lending . funding, 
foreign connections and secret 
deals are the warp and wool 
ol your very existence 

Scorpio 

Octoher“23 — November 22 
HegjTn Thoughts ut love will 
iNlf® I keep you occupied 
1 I his is an excellent 
rv : wivk to marry, co- 
ordinate*, collaborate, build a 
house, renovate, move and 
reach out to others l uJlivale a 
hobby, rear up kids, take a 
study course, contact and 
communuali 1 vigorously and 
etfectivelv The nivd to tmd 
ni vv avenues foretold 

Sagittarius 

November 23 — December 20 
l.ancsha miv. a week 
j figpV: ot gains and 
jj9Mj tiruinciiil 
mmM transactions, tups 
and ties, too 1. cians Hinds, 
investments, capit.il 
formation, buying, selling, are 
the highlights tor you A 
pjornobon, |oh switch, loving 
pels, luring i>r tiring staff, 
finding lost articles and goods 
and impioving health lorelold 


BIRTHDAYS 


[ Capricorn 

December 21 ~ January 19 

The focus will be on 

famil y va * ues / 

finance and most 
igHSn certainly, on strictly 
personal relnti onships. 
Children, hobbies and credtivc 
pursuits snatrh your heart 
away This week and the next 
week von will experience the 
truth of it, as this period 
started right from April 24. it 
is time to step out in style 

Aquarius 

January 20 — February 18 

t i An excellent week to 
{ travel, publicise your 
1 wares, burnish your 
! image and that of 
the company you represent. It 
is a goodtime to sally lorlh 
and be with the world 
Matters i elated to the* house, 
home, family, vehicles, proper- 
ty jewellery, office, warehouse 
and agriculture receive a 

boost 

Pisces 

February 19 - March 20 
: Many of you will 

in id your txsinngs 
,T' be a wan ol voui 
1ST Vlj potential and pow»*r 
hi able to mote tasl and get 
what you desire You can now 
start sv>mething new, diHcrenl 
and exciting, as the liming is 
right Those in communication, 
publicity, sales, leaching films, 
painting, research and 
i liemu als do wonders 


May 12: Moon-sun sex die, means wishes will be fulfilled. 
Friendship, money, love, children and hobbies all come 
together for you. A happy btrthyear. 

May 1J : Moon-Safurn union and trine Muto signifies that 
you will be misunderstood and reviled, but you will make 
excellent headway ■ , ■ 

May 14; Moon' square JupiU^ formation leads to expenses 
and a danger of being cheated nr at least misled. It would 1 be 
best not ti» take the easy way out but to get at the truth. 

May IS: Sun-Mercury conjunction favours ptirtfcufad y for 
law yers, musicians, architects, pharmacist, film etox§, 


producers, copywriters agriculturists and scientists. The luck of 
the draw will be yours* 

May 16: Moon-Mars conjunction is excellent for wtoctey; 
journey, ceremony, pxiblicity, marriage long-distance . 

connections and collaborations 

May 1 7: The new moon helps you to grow, evolve, be 
tenacious, and have the drive to succeed. Many of you will be , 
marking new beginnings, following the policy of v run till done'. 
May IS: Saturn sex tile Uranus helps you to be imaginative 
take chana*, and do well financially iRomahoe is in the ait Sp 
make the most of St. ^ 







JUNIOR WHIRL A HA! KAI ll MAN 



SEE HERE! What can you draw to complete this 
party game saga? To find out, add lines from 1 to 
2 to 3 and so on. 


TUNED INIFill blanks of these record titles with 

missing colours. 1. Rudolph, the -nosed 

Reindeer (Gene Autry). 2. f'm Dreaming of a 

Christmas (Bing Crosby). 3. Christmas 

(Elvis Presley). Limit: One minute. 


A-Z SUM UP! See if you 
can find a 20-number 
route from A to Z at 
right with a total of 
exactly 100. Make your 
way one square at a time 
in any direction — 
horizontally, vertically 
or diagonally. Do not 
use the same number 
square more than once in your tally. 

One answer is given below. But others may be 
possible. 

Indeed, there is a way to total 100 m just 16 A-Z 
numbers, that you may wish to puzzle out. 

7 1 V 


ffl 

m 

B! 

a 

Ol 

a 

a 

□ 

B 

B 

a 

B 

D 

B 

a 

D 

B 

□ 

a 

B 

B 

B 

B 

O 

Q 

D 

B 

B 

B 

B 

a 

a 

B 

O 

B 

B 

□ 

B 

IB 

a 

B 

m 


AMquinu q j ui A ym auo 7 sj.kjhiiui ()jr ui ) 


HOCUS-FOCUS 



FIND AT LEAST • DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PANELS. 

'hmmiiiP si iuwubuio ’9 luajaujp si d*o s fiwswui si moq , 
S) u6is c ‘isuoii* si j|Bh Z Sutssjc/si puBJis pssg i .SMuaiejiiQ 



MINI-THEATRES TO 
PONDER 


Theatres in the round (see 
left)? Yes, in a manner of spea- 
king. Four mini-stagings are pre- 
sented, and a title for each is sug- 
gested below (not necessarily in 
order). Let's see how quickly you 
ran match these titles with the 
lour presentations: 

A. A Drive in the Wood. 

B. A Pumpkin Patch. 

C. A Quick Turnaround. 

D. A Ten-Piece Band. 

Remember, idea is to match 
titles and presentations. 

P.S. It's all in fun, folks, and 
shoudn't take much time at all. 

Perhaps you can come up with 
some suggestions for similar sta- 
gings. Give it a try. 

roy-.VI H'L V 








C M- MOTi 

OMICS 


























DON'T KUSH ME 
THIS IS TOO y 
IMPORTANT ) 
TO DECIDE ^ 
QUIGKLY r ^ 



S0** 

i^a 









Trends 

PLAY THAT FUNKY 

MUSIC 

Afto*r theme parties the latest trend is to have a dee jay in attendance when 
you throw a hash. Manisha Gulati reports 



I t all dates hack to the year 1988 
when Discotheque On Wheels, 
Delhi's first entertainment 
mobile service, was launched 
Disc jockeys, music, bands, fire- 
eaters, jugglers, crooners, caterers, 
you name it, they arranged it For 
parties, weddings, banquets, going 
a ways and coming backs, any excuse 
was welcome Until owner Sunny 
Sand decided ro call it a day and 
concentrate on becoming Delhi's 
most sought after disc jockey at the 
Maury a Sheraton Hotel 

Then, in 1994 the fever struck 
again when Sound Ot Musk was 
launched Bigger, belter and here to 
stay Today it is the city’s premier 
mobile service, organising up to ten 
parties a month. 

You want 'Fue And tee' 7 No 
problem within no time at eJ! your 
farmhou.'** resembles an iceberg, 
with cotton on the grass and trees. 


white canvas sheets covering the 
house over ultra violet lights and a 
fire-breather on the dias to complete 
the breathtaking effect. For those 
with a ‘Bandits and Concubines’ 
fetish, suitable armour is arranged 
Your man for the evening . yean 
...move it. .that's the way.. .is your PJ 
JC 

Akin to request programmes on 
radio and television, these parties 
provide ample opportunities to have 
your favourite song played. And yes, 
you can dedicate it to ‘the greatest 
lover, the prettiest host', tne best 
remake’ {<~hura Jjya by Bally Sagoo) 
llie 2000 watt Fischer music system 
comes equip tied with powerful Bass 
speakers and 3000 compact discs, 
catering to English, Hindi and 
Punjabi tastes. For die-hard South 
Indians, A.K. Rahman’s No Problem is 
the ptt'ie tic resistance 

Says Sunny, managing director of 


DJ Sunny Sand as Santa Claus at a 
Christmas party 



26 




the company, "We gauge the mood 
of the people and play the muse 
accordingly. A little slow to start 
with, then as the booze flows and 
the bodies warm up, we increase the 
beat. With recorded music you can 
the same effect. It'll 
be techno from beginning 

So much so that Indians regard it 
almost as a status symbol (after 
cellulars and Cielos) to have a 
private disc jockey for their not so 
private parties (you know, the bring- 
your-friends-and -thei r-friends kina 
of invitations). Of course you have 
closer knit affairs of the same scale 
in the posh farmhouses of Mandi 
Village or Chhattarpur. children 
surprise parents with a bash on their 
silver jubilee, parents do the same 
for teenagers on their 1 8th birthday, 
husband surprises wife with a fancy 
dress do, etc., etc. 

Says Rajat Bancrjee (301, 
hollering above the din at nis DLF 
party "Organising a party can be a 
neurosis- inducing activity You need 
someone supportive and funny who 
can also set the tone for the party 
and if things go wrong, sod it " 

Quite a responsibility for one 


never get 
probably 
to end." 



Sunny recording at Sound of Music 
digital studio 

person to handle. But, with as much 
as Rs 50,000 being paid for 
organising such events, nobody 
seems to mind the hard work so 
much. 

Budgets can, of course, be 
regulated according to your pocket. 
They start at Rs 10,000 for just music. 



and for two lakhs the world is your 
oyster. You can have the snazziest 
theme, the choicest musicians (Louis 
Banks Suneeta Rao the Pan l loon 
Main girl), and the best of French 
cuisine. 

cene: A 'wear what you are* 
e party, jostling their way 
through the 18 to 30 crowd are a 
Toga dancer, Phoolan Devi, Akshay 
Kumar in Mokra, and Sharon Stone 
in Basic Instinct. Party animal Bobby 
Bathwalla (un)dressed as Tarzan in 
his designer loin cloth feels, "It s a 
logical compliment to fashion." 
Bubbly Anita Chawla in a sheet and 


little else agrees, "We can only be 

lone. Buckle up! Were in 
r ride." It seems as if the 


tame for so Ion? 
for a bumpy i 
current trend of subtlety in fashion 
and beauty is being replaced by a 
movement towards new cartoon-like 
extremes. 

Co-host Sumecta Banerjee quips, 
"Leading an active lifestyle means 
you don't always have the time to do 
things you want to. Our party 
invites people to indulge in their 
fantasies and for one evening be 
someone they always washed they 
could be." 

DJ Harry adds, "It's virtual reality. 
You put on your best cologne, wear 
your cape and suddenly you're 
interacting with Sharon Stone or 
Mona Lisa, with Michael Jackson 
playing for you in the background " 
Loud voices, hip hop dances, vibrant 
faces, the revelry seemed never to 
end. Amidst cheers and bottoms up 
(a group pointed their rear ends 
towards the sky) at 4 am the party 
was declared an absolute success. 


jD iding on this nouveau success 
J\.wave are other DJ's too, who 
have started their own mobile 
services for such parties. Sunny 
Singh, former Dj of Annabellcs at 
the Hilton, Delhi, left the job for a 
more lucrative career of owning and 
runnung a music shop and catering 
to private parties. Rumi of Oasis 
discotheque at the Hyatt provides 
music and his particular brand ot 
skill tor these grand affairs as well. 

To cope with the increasing 
demand for theme parties, and m- 
house deejays. Sunny of Sound Of 
Music now plans to open a school to 
train aspiring disc jockeys. 

Says wannabe DJ Ash ^he refused 
to divulge his real name), "There's 
nothing more adrenalin-pumping 
than seeing 500 babes bouncing to 
your tune. Well, if your reasons are 
right you can never go wrong. ■ 




Pa5hk5n 


A TOUCH OF FERAUD 

Taking a look at his spring/summer collection 


T |his year, as the 

summer boat gams 
in intensity, you 
‘qjon't have to 
restrict yobrself to Rohit 
Bal's mulmul sal war 
kanMV70s or to Shahab 
Dura/i’s linen collection. 
Now, you can go 
resolutely Western with 
Louis Feraud, whose 
spring / summer collection 
has something tor 



I everyone- -well, at least, 

! everyone with reasonably 
I deep pockets 
j Women can choose 

l from the 'Sets' and 'Main' 
j collections. The first 
J comprises separates that 
! can do mixed and matched 
' according to your tastes, 
j and the second consists of 
j co-ordinated outfits, which 
j include dresses, trouser 
j suits and skirt suits 
■ The 'Sets' collection is 

i divided into two colour 
j schemes Pavilion Pales is, 

| as the name suggests, 

I dominated by such neutral 
j colours as cream, lilac, and 
I honeysuckle, occasionally 
; leavened by the u>o of 
j ensp white stripes In 
Riviera Blues, however. 

! electric pink mixes happily 
j with marine blue in 
. checks, stripes, and 
i textured wmdowpane 
! weaves, making for a 
, casual, sportive look 
j In the Main' category, 

; trendsetters combines the* 
i principles of classic 
; routure with modem 
i styling So. you have suits 
* in poodle-tooth ducks, 

; lignl nhbon tweeds come 
. with pined button holes 
i and high contrast details. 

; For the light, summery 
! look, you can go in for the 
< printed silk suits and 
j giweettc ensembles, and 
; for tne more adventurous, 

! there are plenty of polka- 
1 dotted outfits to look 
daring in 

lhe Bright Strokes, the 
j second 'Mam' theme, 
j relies on the us* of colour 
„ for its distinctive appeal 
; The hik'd single -but Ion 
and single ’breasted jackets 
! use the colours of 
j strawberries, blackberries 
j and even mint And the 
i ensp linen blends impart a 
cool efficiency to the 
! garments. 



i 


have* some new variations 
like the addition of the 
Frenc h cuff and the half- 
sleeve Also included for 
the first tune are linen and 
linen blended shirts. 

Along with the jackets 
and shirts are available 
colou r-coord ina ted 
trousers in natural and 
blended fabrics. If you 
want to set off your outfit 
with a dash of colour, you 
can splurge on Louis 
Feraud ties, which come in 
daring prints and shades 

And for those who 
prefer the casual look, 
there an? T-shirts and 
Bermudas on offer, which 
would look just right 
when you finally manage 
to take time off for that 
beach holiday ■ 


T he ready-to-wear j 

collection for men j 

| offers the Idlest French ! 
! styles Swiss fabric is used j 
! in the formal shirts, which ! 



28 


Event 

SAY CHEESE! 

The Sunss hold a food festival in Calcutta, hoping to attract more tourist traffic 

from India , reports Susmita Banerjee 


S cenic chalet* and 

emerald meadows; 
yummy chocolates 
and cheese fondue; 
that's Switzerland, tempt- 
ing vacationers from all cor- 
ners of the globe to sample 
its magnificent Alpine alar- 
ms. And if food is the finest 
way to worm your way 
into a stranger's heart, then 
the Tourist Board of 
Switzerland couldn't have 
chosen a better way to enti- 
ce Indians: hosting a Swiss 
food festival that doubled 
up is a tourism promotion 
exercise 

Fredi Kuster. a Zurich- 
born hotehor-cum-chet 
from the picturesque lown 
of 1 uzern, Hew down to 
India recently to give gour- 
mets here an authentic 
taste of Swiss cuisine* 
tangy soups, fresh salads 
ind mouth watering 
desserts 

Luzern, nestling amidst 
the chivied, snow- 
crowned Alps and the 
shimmering Luzern l^ake, 
is a tourists' paradise Dat- 
ing back to 1 1 7H, this anci- 
ent town still retains its 
14th tvntury defensive 
wall and nine slender 
towers among which the 
octagonal Water Tower on 
the Heuss river is the most 
turnons "It's like your Taj 
Mahal," exults the Tourist 
Board Managing Director, 
Kurt 1 1, llh, who hopes to 
welcome a good number of 
Indian tourists back homo 
once the food festival is 
over 

In Calcutta, Ihe Swiss 
food festival was held at 
the f ,a Rotisserie at Ihe 
Oberoi Grand The restaur- 
ant wore a rustic Swiss look 
with potti*d geraniums and 
handcarts of bread at the 
entrance* of a curtained 


chalet inviting diners to 
step into the Alpine ambi- 
ence of folk music as chef 
Kuster, aided by his Indian 
assistants, dished up an aro- 
matic Swiss spread of 
bread, air-dried meat, sal- 
mon and venison. 

The flour used for Swiss 
bicad is very special and 
had to be flown in from 
Switzerland to make the 
wholewheat, buckwheat 
and rye bread. Swiss meat 


is air dried and Kuster had 
them imported as well for 
the salads and other deli - 
cacies. "But your meal 
tastes belter than our' s We 
lend to stuff them with vita 
mins which dilutes the fla- 
vour," says llli 

At Rs 350 (plus the 
ubiquitous taxes) diners 
could take their fill from an 
elaborate buffet compris- 
ing soups, starters and 
afters: Buendner taeller, air 


dried beef, raw ham, smok- j 
cd bacon and salstz, onions i 
and pickles; Wurscht-chacs ■ 
salat, Swiss sausages and | 
cheese salad to be relished 
with pickled onions and 
sauces. The Basler chrueter 
suppe of fresh herbs and 
cream delighted those with 
a taste for greens. 

Non-vegetarians had a 
varied choice of main cour- 
se's: Bckti mit xnandle (pan- 


fned bekli with almond fla- 
kes); Acmmitaler svhatsvo 
reaisc (lamb stew in crea- 
my sauce); Puulet 
brueschtle nach waeggiser 
art (grilled breast oi chick- 
en in orange sauce served 
with steamed rice) and Fil- 
let steak mit root ivy soose 
(beef steak in a delicate red 
wine sauce served with Wil- 
liam potatoes) 

' Indian potatoes and 
fruits are excellent The 


fruits are delicious and 
much better than out's," 
says masterchcf Kuster 
who runs an inn-style hotel 
near Luzern called Gasthof 
zum Mohrem. But the cho- 
colates? The world's best 
manufacturers of chocola- 
te. the Swiss VLsitors were 
rather reluctant to try out 
Indian ones for their des- 
serts. "We have brought in 
our own chocolates/' said 
Mi. 

No Swiss meal is com- 
plete without a radettc. a 
halt wheel of cheese placed 
in a special oven heating 
the cheese from above It 
melts layer by layer and as 
it becomes crus tv is scrapp- 
ed off and served with 
jacket potatoes and pearl 
onions. La Rotisserie plans 
to introduce some of these 
1 terns on its menu very 
soon 

The desserts were a real 
treat: crisp apple fritters 
dipped in warm \ anilla 
sauce, meringue with whip- 
lied cream, chestnut puree 
with cream and walnut tart 
engadin style And of tout 
s»? the irresistible chocola- 
tes in fun sizes and shapes 

1 .uzorne, featuring 
among the top »0 destina- 
tions of the world, has the 
maximum number m tour 
ists coming from Asia (2S 
per Lvnl followed bv the 
United Stales) ( instm 
festivals have been hosted 
in Japan, the 1 ar ! and 
West Asia. The first k*xi 
festival in India m 1^*4 had 
an encouraging wsp'iiw 
and Uli is confident the 
year’s eflort will go? even 
more Indians intero-ied m 
Switzerland 

So, it veu r taste buds 
crate tor chts'sc and * hevo- 
late-i. how about a Swiss 

holiday 7 ■ 

1 


The buffet spread 




IRST PERSON 




’ ' ’Oi *■» V* '■ 




vi*k 


Midi a perfect ■ ' ^ 

butfneett and* 




SP 


Wba or wbt>« been the greateat What o* wh© {* the greatest lave of 

inlWMibywfttbf year life? ■• , 

Mfonodwi, ,.-• jamc. ■; 

Wn|t4B fan 4U0ta mortb . : ■ Whab your MurraofnHtounu? 

o»S«*fr - .• 

■■" 0».**hM occaatons do you He? 




■S*k 


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£ 



winner of CAPEXIL'S Highest 
Export Award for eight consecutive 
years, Modi Continental has 
established its supremacy m India as 
wen as made impressive forays into 
ma jor international markets. 
Achieving an this through sheer grit 
and determnatioo 
A commitment to quality, strenuous 
R&D activities, wen-honed human 
resource, superior technology and 
the will to win has helped Modi 
Continental and India to move to the 
forefront of progress 


we have given India what it had always 
deserved - reco gn i ti on. 


fif 




§Modi ( Snlinffinial ^) 



!*i/MRL'3G03 







wrmor of CAPtXIL'S Highest 
Lxport Award for eight consct ulive 
years, Modi Contnental has 
estabfished its supremacy n India as 
wel as made mprcssive forays nto 
major ntcr national markets 
Adnevng al this through sheer grit 
and detcrmnation. , 

A commitment to quaity, strenuous 
R&D activities. weWioned human ; 

J 

resource, superior technology and 

} 

the wi to wn has he^jed Modi ^ 

Contnental and Incte to move to the j 

forefront of progress 


ays 




19 MAY 1996 % 


The Telegraph 



Follow the Star 

M Raised in a conserva- 
tive Muslim family 
Mohammed Azharuddin 
was clean bowled by the 



•Showgirl'. 

Maybe because of his 
rigid family upbringing 
he never had a frank and 
close association with any 
woman save his wife, As 
a result the first glamour 
girl that came his way 
swept him oft his feet. 

His infatuation 
with the beau- 
tiful model has 
ruined his 
family life; his 
dismal perfor- 
mance during, 
die Wills 
World Cup can 
also be traced 
to his dis- 
turbed state of 
mind 


guard the interests of 
women* 

MS. Quraishy, 

Calcutta 

The 'special attraction' 
between film stars and 
cricketers is not going to 
harm Indian films because 
Bollywood actresses have 
very little scope to act on 
screen. Such affairs are 
going to destroy Indian 
cricket The case of 
Azharuddin is a pointer 
With a broken marriage 
and a much-publicised 
affair with a 
flop actress, 
he could not 
concentrate on 
his game and 
hence India's 
defeat in the 
Wills World 
Cup. 

Abnhhake 
Kumar Saha, 

Irhafwr fW.B ) 




His sudden 
announcement 
to the Press 
(and that too, 
during the 
World Cup) 
that he had 
divorced his 
wife, revealed 1 
the vulnerable position of 
women in Muslim society. 

The Muslim personal 
law as it is in India needs 
to be reviewed to safe* 


\ M What 

Azharuddin lacks in 
looks he makes up 
in talent. He is 
undoubtedly one of 
India's finest crick- 
eters. He may have 
been bowled over 
by the breezy Bijlani 
but the latter was 
definitely looking 
tor publicity. With a 
non-existent career 
and age exactly not 
on her side, the 
actress could not 
have found a better 
match. 

Art* Mtshra, 

Cuttack 


tt What's 
wrong in two 
people falling 
in love? They 
amid be film 
stars and 
cricketers or 
celebrities 
from any 
other field. 
The media has been 
unnecessarily harsh on 
Azharuddin's girlfriend 
and even blamed her for 
India's debacle in die 


l 

l 

i 

i 

\ 

! 

i 

1 

i 

I 

I 

f 

i 



Sangeeta Bijlant: Sweeping Azharuddin off his feet 


Cup. 

Rajib Ckatterjee, 
Asansci 


just be a passing fancy for 
the skipper. 

Indu Bnushan Bose, 


Jamshedpur 


The logical culmination 
of love may be matrimony 
but it is doubted whether 
Azharuddin and Sangeeta 
will finally tie the knot. 
After all Azharuddin 
comes from an orthodox 
Muslim family and has 
two sons from his first 
wife. And Sangeeta could 


at Cricketers and film 
stars both enjoy similar 
backgrounds: a lot ol 
glamour, media hype, 
money and a jet-setting 
lifestyle. Naturally, they 
pair well. 

Mahesh Kaposi, 

New Delhi 



PAGE 4 

SHAAN ANDSagankd Mukhenee, the broth- 
er-sister duo, are the new stars- in Indian pop 
music. 

PA GE 26 

THE MAKING ot the new Feluda by Sandip 
Ray. 


SECTIONS 


16 TIMETABLE 

20 INNER EYF 

21 JUNIOR WHIRL 
11 COMIC'S 

26 FILMS 
30 FIRST PERSON 



COVERSTORY 




Vie brother sister duo of Simon and Sagarika are all se! to lake the world of Indian ftp music 

hy storm. Vaishali Honawar reports 

f m fi> may h a\ eairf.o thkik nirri KENcr;^ to mi- world in i'hhrfirsi vidh o , amahota 
thit but in real hie Shaan and Sagarika Mukherjee appear anything but incompatible. As 
they tease each other and laugh at each other's jokes, this voung twosome are very much 
a normal hrother-and-sistor pair with only one difference: they are the fastest rising stars 
on die Indian pop music firmament. 

Consider this. Shaan and Sagarika have a three-year Magna sound contract in the bag. 
1 hey have sung for Shweta Shelty, Stylebhai and Oorja. And what's more, they've cut 
their own alburn, Nmoiiwau, with music maestro Biddu, setting off speculation that they 
may be the Na/ia and Zoheb Hasan of the Nineties. 

Btddu: Re-creating the Hasan And with such hits as the re- mixed version of Disco Dcewnne 

and Roof’ lnk,t Mastaanu behind them, it's not surprising that 
most people predict that the Mukherjee siblings have a very 
bright hiture in front of them. 

Meeting them is a> refreshing an experience as listening to 
then songs. The pretty, wide-eyed Sagarika is the older ot the 
two at 23 and very much the perfect hostess, while the hip 
Shantanu with his rock star- length hair and gold earring is 21 
and soft-spoken. Both, however seem sensible beyond their 
years. 

Music flows in their blood, they tell you, and that's 
certainly true enough. Their father, Manas Mukherjee, was 
a music director in films and they were barely out of their 
nappies before they had recorded a cassette of nursery 
rhymes in Bengali for HMV. Through the years they 
continued to sing ad jingles and Sagarika even sang for 
some films. 






TO 


*' ' ?' 1 ' ’i.' ’n" . * ly ..s’. 


zt// ?/jgse sing^ woulci feature in an 




j Alisha Chinai 

I 

She hs without doubt die most 
: popular pop artiste today, with a fan 
; following that extends well beyond 
i the shores of India and takes in all 
! of Asia. Gbgitwiing as a Madonna 
1 wannabe, a (jgisnt long before 
j Chinai shrugged off her Baby Doll 
! image to announce that idle was 
! Made in India. 

: Her talent extends to Hindi films 

as well, where her numbers Scry 
j Sexy Sexy (since re- titled Baby Baby 
; Baby) and Ruk Ruk Ruk have proved 
| to be runaway hits. 

I Anaida 


■m^v 

W Sri-tf * 

. -1 1 . \f .ifa • 


! Her best-known albums are 
! Oinm Oama and Hoo Hath Hoc. Of 
| Persian-Greek parentage, Anakla 
; doesn't speak Hindi, and her only 

i Anaida; Qreek-Pandan beauty 


] Alisha CMnab The BafoyDofl gra vim up artogoe* international " . •' 

i link with India is that she studied . | . f awtilw* llafttcffei 

her* far a white- Hewt*tMif*s*'s#«e'ls T * > . • 


one of the better-known pop artistes, 
in India today, with her striking 


best advantage in the video of Hm . 
mta Hoo. ln thift, India’s first 
animated music video, Anaida is 
shown as a beautiful woman who 
has all the men in the World falling 
in love with her. 

Suchitra Krishnajmuthy 

Her first album, Zamaana 
Deewana, came immediately after 
her bit fitm, KaWti Haatt Kochi Ntf. 

But success wasn't catching, and the ■ 
album turned oat to be the 
proverbial damp squib leaving been 
several years in the making. As 
Suchitfas acting career cbftsped 
even as her singing career failed to 
take off, at looked as if she was 
destined to fade into ottivioa 

But just when everyone bad 
written her off, Suchitra hit back 
with EWe Ook. that climbed , 
inexorably up the popularity charts. 
And now with her huesthfa Dote ■ 
Tara, n he has ptoved that she js hete 
to stay. ’ . _•/ ; 


Her first album, recorded by 
Magnasound, was called Men 
- Dism. bbt}asndm Best hit the 1 
heWlineiswidt her sexy video, 
Which featured her cavorting on .a 

.da^iim'BafttohK.Bcny stager ■ 








3hweta Shatiyi fSawortu l vote* 

four-poster in a se*y negligee. Since 
th«v Jasmine has remained in the 
new^ p&(tktdarly tk/ith her stage 
show?, which dh£««*Hs at, hs&fog 
bemMte8^wifliv<jh«^um<|te''’ y 
pr»&kK:B^0«mk^wiUp^iyfo • 
the gallery only to an extend (or 
instance, she refased to give in to •’ 
popular demand and siftg m Hindi. 

Her latent album, Pmn f become 
the stuff of controversy because 
Jasmine claims that her animate! 
video was released before Anaida's* * 
But it remains to be seen which one ; 
does beta*: butaetein ttie fatale. 
stoics. 

Suneeta Rao 



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But music as a carve; was nut 
something that they considered 
seriously. Confesses Shaan. "I wasn't 
too keen initially on singing as a 
profession.” His sister Safari ka nods 
in agreement and adds, "There was a 
period when all our friends were 
doing something and we too tell that 
we should try our hand at 
something different Somehow, 
nobody seemed to take us seriously 
when we said that we were singers ” 

So. when Sagarika was 17 and 
studying for a degree in economics, 
she decided to try her luck with 
something different, and began 
working as a model coordinator. The 
experience, according to her. "was a 
disaster 

Shaan, also an economics 
graduate, did his bit as well, 
experimenting with desk top 
publishing. Tnis project, says Shaan, 
went off "fairly well' , even as his 
sister contradicts him laughingly 

In the end, however, the brother- 
sister duo tell back on their first love 
music Says Shaan, "Somehow, this 
seemed to he lust too much effort tor 
too little, while music was far more 
rewarding " Sagarika even trained in 
classical music tor a bit; an attempt 
that is teasing ly dismissed by Shaan 
as "not very successful." And the two 
continued to sing at school and 


She’si 

whu c«» bHhgariy show aS^-with', 
her metUfluous voicc arid graceful 
dancing. Suneeta's rehsases so fiir ' 
include Parte, whaise Video ■teas* ’ 
rage some time back. befarewhidiV 
she released twocassettea, Sertorita <•; 
andDJrttate. 'She fate Msopitensv^g 
jtaybackfor UrM'&m 
next album ft^ntereleased adfbb. ' 


j. 

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her* 

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college functions, and lor their 
friends, even if "they didn’t want to 
listen". 

It wasn't long before the siblings, 
tired of their amateur status and 
tried to enter the big league Their 
first breakthrough canu* when 
Sagarika recorded a cassette ol Hindi 
versions of various Whitney 
Houston numbers »or Kajesh i better 
known as Alisha C hmai's husband) 

J haven’s music company. 

But when that eltnrt came to 




naught, the duo tried to find wo;V. in 
Hindi films, but with little success 
Recalls Shaan, "No one seemed 
interested in giving younsters a 
break It was as if one had to 
struggle for several years before one 
could become a singer." 

But just when the MuJkhcrjee 
kuls were getting disheartened, they 
tound the answer to all theii 
problems' pop music. 

Shaan ana Sagarika s luck 
changed when Magnasourid signed 
them up^jjnr a ihree-year contract in 
i ‘W4. Sint?* then, the duo have sung 
on several albums recorded bv the 


music company, including Shweta 
Shetty’s The New Album, Style Bhai's 
eponyinously named effort, and 
Oorja, whose Q Funk video, which 
stars both brother and sister, lias 
been quite a hit. 

As part of the dnve to make the 
duo household names — and 
faces— Magnasound got them to 
j perform at a number of stage shows 
I Shaan and Sagarika sang at the 
1 Onida Pinnacle Awards last year and 
at the Channel V roadshows in 
Calcutta and Pune in 19^6 
Says Shaan, "The nowds at 
Calcutta really surprised us with 


( their enthusiasm, something we 
honestly weren't expecting in a city 
where people are more inclined 
towards the classical arts." 

Bui their biggest break came 
j when they recorded their first 
j independent album, with none other 
! than the golden boy of Indian pop 
j music; Biddu, as the composer 
| Naufauxm, which hit the music stores 
| in early April, heralded the 
J "beginning of the good times" says 
j Shaan 

Biddu, who has already written 
. such hits tunes in recent times as 
i Alisha Chinai's Made in India and 


THE HASAN SAGA 


After a brilliant start, Nazia and Zoheb ended not with 
a bang, but a whimper 



Nazia Hasan: The baat ban jays girl 

S haan and Sagarika an 1 probably 
right to take great umbrage to 
, being called latter-day Hasans 
i After all, the Nazia and Zoheb 
I Hasan story didn’t have a 
j particularly happy ending; well, 

I not as far as music goes, anyway 
; The Hasan saga began when 
; Nazia, then a young scnoolgirl, was 
: head-hunted by Hindi film 
producer-director Foroz Khan to 
j sing for his film Qurbani. The music 


director was Biddu, die song was 
Ajrp ]aisa Koi , and the rest, as they 
say, was *iistory. 

Nazia's husky tones soon 
captured the hearts of the Indian 
public, and before you could say 
l baai ban jam the young Hasan 
girl had become a star. 

But instead of staying on in 
India and cashing in on her fame, 
Nazia Hew back to London where 
! her family was based, turning her 


back on Hindi movies. Her 
association with Biddu endured, 
however, and the duo, along with 
Nazia s brother; Zoheb, came out 
with another album.. Disea Deewane. 
This, too, set the cash registers 
ringing, and the Hasans were here 
to stay. 

Bui just when everything 
appeared to be going so well, 
things began unravelling for the 
brotner-sisler pair. They continued 
to make music, but the" general 
consensus was that their tunes 
were repetitive and boring. And it 
was also felt that while Nazia had 
genuine singing talent she had to 
work too hird to carry her 

brother who was mediocre at 

best— aiong. 

Perhaps the siblings would 
have recovered lost ground and 
regained the popularity they once 
enjoyed, hut late had other ideas in 
mind. Nazia was diagnosed as 
suffering from stomach cancer, and 
gave up singing for a while. 

Once she had been pronounced ■ 
out of danger, she decided to marry 
a Pakistani businessman who had 
been chosen by her family and 
settle down to happy domesticity. 
That left Zoheb, but unfortunately, 
without Nazia backing him up, he 
didn't amount to much. And that 
was the end of the Hasans as musk 
lovers knew them. 

Here's hoping that Shaan and 
Sagarika are dean a better hand 
than that by destiny. 


Shweta Shelty’s Johnny Joker, is 
dearly a big favourite with the 
Muicherjees. "Biddu knows the pulse 
of the people," says Sagdrika. "He 
doesn't have to work very hard to 
write a hit number; it just comes 
very naturally to him " Adds Shaan, 
"Even though ho composes from 
London, he still has his hand on the 
pulse of the Indian public " 

But what Shaan and Sagarika 
appreciated the most was that Biddu 
gave them plenty of space while 
working on their first album, even as 
he guided them closely all the way. 
Says Sagarika, "Since this was our 
first album, wc wanted to put in a 
lot in every song. But he advised us 
against over-enthusiasm and asked 
us to stick to the tune the way it 
was " 

And it worked. The Naujnwati 
numbers have a fresh feel to them, 
both in terms of the music and the 
voices. Biddu has tried a new 
technique in this album, that of 
using 'jungle rhythms", where the 
music tracks run tour or five times 
tastei than the vocals This 
technique, which has become very 
populai in the West, is being used in 
India for the first time 

The songs that stand out in the 
album are Amu Hotu Hni, the 
soothing Men Wafu and the 
enthusiastic \ \'kh But the one that 
was the most difficult to get together 
was A mu Hotu Hai, which has Shaan 
and Sagarika detailing the 
diftoiences between them m a light- 
heaned manner 

Biddu was not too happy with 
the iirst version because it sounded 
too contrived So, the composer and 
singers sat down and put their heads 
together to come up with a new 
version, by bouncing ideas otf one 
another The result is, says Sagarika, 
a " sing-along" song, which could 
well c limb right up the popularity 
charts 

Shaan and Sagarika have already 
shot for a video for this number, 
directed by reigning whiz-kid Ken 
Ghosh, which is currently being 
aired by Channel V, MTV and a host 
of other local music and general 
interest channels. The duo also hope 
to release another video soon, which 
should improve the ratings ot their 
album. 

B eing siblings and working under 
Biddu has inevitably attracted 
comparisons with that other brother- 
sister team that reached such dizzy 
heights under Biddu's baton in 
India. Nazia and Zoheb Hassan. 

But Shaan and Sagarika are quick 
to point out that such parallels don't 



apply Says Sagarika, "Ov* ..Nim 
has really nothing to do with their 
kind of music And anvwav, it's been 
15 years since they made it big " 

But if Shaan and Sagarika are 
hoping to avoid the inevitable 
comparisons with Nazia and Zoheb, 
they are going about it the wrong 
way Their debut album, Nau/uccan, 
includes a remix of one of Na/u 
Hassan s greatest hits. Disco Dec wane, 
and the song that made the Pakistani 



| singer such a rage in India Aap Jaise 
I Kui, which Biddu recorded for Feroz 
Khan’s Qurhutn. 

But while Sagarika sings Disco 
Dec wane. Aap Jmsa Koi has been 
recorded by Shaan, thus giving it a 
new feel. And shaan does his bit by 
infusing the number with all his 
enthusiasm and youthful vigour. 

Surely by singing these songs, 
the Muknerjees will only reinforce 
their image as latter-day 1 lassans? 
Shaan and Sagarika don t agree. The 
only reason tnev included these 
numbers, says Sagarika, w r as because 
they wore both new names and 
Biddu lelt that people would need 
"soi t of reference point" But, she 
adds, "It was not done to remind 
anyone of Nazia and Zoheb." 

The siblings are elso von keen to 
clear up one other misconception 
about them that has gained ground 
of late They are NOT remix artistes, 
they say with some indignation, 
though most people see them as 
such after the success ot such 
numbers as Hoop Jnka Mastuna Says 
Shaan, "We are nol into remixes iVs 
just incidental that we did a couple 
of numbers, and these happened to 
become hits." 

The duo are thus vorv insistent 
that they will be choosey about what 
they record in the future, so that the 
listening public doesn't bracket them 
in the wrong division "We want to 
be trendsetters rather than follow the 
trend," says Shaan 

And that's exactly what they've 
tried to do in Nmnawtu; recording 
songs that they hoped would stick in 
the public mind lot a long time to 
come. "One significant feature of our 
album," says Shaan, "is that it is not \ 

ditfi 




based on anv current trend or 
particular style. There are different 
songs with different rnoods A dance 
track becomes popular for a couple 
of months and is then forgotten 
Naujawan, however, has longevity 
value " 

The duo believe that pop is 
where the future of Indian-English 
music lies The days of rap — is Baba 
behgal listening? — are over, but pop 
is still around, and will become 
bigger m the years to come. 

"As far as their ow r n careers go. 
the duo are laying great score by 
Naujawan, which they hope w'ill 
catapult them into the big league. 

But even if that doesn't happen, 
Shaan and Saganka are sure that 
they will be okay After all, thejr solo 


albums are due to come out next 
year, and that's sorm thing to look 
forwnid to. 

M agnasuund cert.nni\ has high 
hopes of the brother-sister pair, 
and is promoting them in a big way 
But ratner than distribute publicity 
pamphlets anc! posters of the 
singers, the company is Irving to _ 
give them a high public profile 

Both Shaan and Saganka have 
appeared as veejays on such popular 
programmes as Su peril it \luuablu op 
Doordarshan and Public Dcnnuid on 
HLTV fheir Ai^a biota Hat video is a 
regular on every music channel, -and 
says Saganka, "We re just enjoying 
everything that's happening to us " 

Tn the future, though, they hope 


to think more seriously about the 
kind of music that they make. The 
pop scene in India, they say, is still at 
a nascent stage and has a lot of 
growing up Lo do And they hope to 
do thru bit to help it matuie 

"Initially " snvs Saganka, "we 
didn't want lo get into this whole 
pop thing because coming from a 
musical family we had this feeling 
that pon w r as ver y non-sen ous Tne 
songs did nut seem very challenging 
and it seemed as it anyone could do 
it ' 

Adds Shaan. "It appeared to be 
more show bo than singing But 
then/' he Scivs, laughing, "that's w'hat 
it is " 

C urrent!' . the duo appear lo be 
wrestling with the true nature of pop 
music in India, wliuh seems to be 
embracing every genre, right from 
Mmdi him songs to lolk tunes Shaan 
points out how Ha A run and uurdas 
Maan, who both started out a-*, lolk 
singers, are now regarded as pop 
artistes And. adds Taganka, "l ven 
ii Im nm c <c these d ivs oiruenl rates 
on a good beat In la< t the onls thing 
to distinguish if horn a pop song is 
that you need to shoot a video tor 
the latter 

i heu own tastes in mnsu are 
eclectic Shaan lines ever\ thing from 
the Beatles, The Poors, (Jueen, 

Wham, Mkhael hukson. Prince 
Alums MonseUe. Sling, to Rhvthm 
and Blues to Hindi film music ot the 
Seventies and Seventies, while 
‘■■'dgnrikd, too, has a varied taste that 
im hides pop. fa/./ and Hindi music 

Among their contemporaries, 
Shaan finds Piyush Soni "very nice" 
and Sagarikii ad nuts to liking Ha 
Arun rhev alsv have nice things to 
say about Keuio and Chirv Lawyer, 
"who have been doing fheir own 
thing o\er the years" Colonial 
I'ei/s/i;*,, a new cassette featuring 
I Jatiharan and I esley Lewis also 
meets their approval And they add 
"Sbw ”ta Shetty ha r . hei own style 
whic b makes nei stand out and 
Alisha is good too " Clearly, they 
don't have a bad word about 
am one 

But thankfully, Shaan and 
Saganka are dightiv more critical 
about their own work When they 
an* slightly more 'commercially 
settled" they sav, thev will start 
doing ihcir kind ot music 
"Something re. illy good," Ka«, s 
Saganka, and Shaan adds. ” 
"Something witli better lync matter" 

In the next breath, however, they 
hasten to add, that Naujawan has all 
these qualities. But don't take their 
word for it; buy the album and judge 
for yourself..® 




L 58 


NNEREYE 


BE] AN DARU WALLA 



April 21 —N 

* 


Aries 

March 21 - April 20 

Communication, |ob. 
journey and quick 
business* returns on the 
cards While von ma\ 
drive a hard bargain, it 
will nut pay to be totally 
J selfish and untair Fuse 
ambition with tolerance Thai wa\, says 
Cianesha, you will get flu* besl mileage 
Romance i*. probable Conti acts are* 1 
foretold Clive tune to it 

Taurus 

April 2 1 — May 20 

: f mantes and ponses art' 

| going to take up a lot o* 

; vour tune hut it will be 
‘ well worth it Business 
| tiansartions will he 
] mu.o stul Tht'se m 
■ impoil-export, 
collaborations, teaching, leseareh and 
publu relation 4 - werkeul.i sdirnu* 
p ’lUstlv Health safe-guards are essential 
Ini tht hi J Ivvo davs 

Gemini 

May .? ! -- June- 20 

j ■ '’IBS! Amtei ts. businessmen, 

professional-- and ,val estate 
dealers have it made Vuir 
fnendsiiiul well wishers 
w ill iv •; neyleel you At the 
same time learn to bo 
innovative and sell 

motivated You are in foi a new enteipnse, 
sa\s c ianesh.i Do have time tor y«Hii laimlv 
though work presMin-s will K too much 
J le.illh ol eldeis m.u cause cojicem 

Cancer 

June 21 - July 20 

T ven the tains and the 
waves will know* that von 
are the boss Success in 
work, happiness m the 
homotiont, a ltnmd of 
■oniaiue and fun, money 
in the kitty, laiuels abroad, 
the luck ot the draw, and some sharp 
shooting tor Cancenans foretold lime for 
some introspection You need to devote 
more time towards pending work 






I 


I 


: Leo 

July 21 — August 21 

Tins is the lime tor love 
and romance Vm will 
work at a feverish pace, 
accomplish much, and vet 
squeeze in time lor tun, 
trolic and fanfare It would 
be best to follow a hunch, 
play bv the ear and heed not to mindless 
I criticism Home affairs, entertainment and 
| the perks of office are goodies lor von 
| Well deserved, tor sure 

! Virgo 

; August 22 — September 22 

I lieie will be c hmues for 
writing, teaching, 
i ommumcdtion. 
lnhiirnatu n\ explosion, 
scoops news, views, 
debates and so on Attend 
to financial affairs and 
, details You could iirid out a tew 
| discrepancies. Capital formation time tor 
' businessmen, professionals and builders 
| Meditation will help immensely 

Libra 

September 23 - - October 22 

■ [ — - 1 >ou will linker with new 

>1. te43BELrt« ; ideas and thus boiihomies 

and camaraderie will 
j prevail It w ill cer l.unlv 
j help to gi : tilings done 
! Also. -,l means popularity 
-* for Iabra ns Do accept 
| invitations and respond to requests This is 
i vour bonan 'a tor the week. C »anesha sa\ s 
; Do take care «»l the health ot elders. Travel 

■ time toi most 

Scorpio 

October 23 - - November 22 

t idnesha savs job 
opportunities financial 
security, a legacy a 
windfall toi secretne vou 1 
The last tour days will be 
mighty eventful, say an 

: ... ^ attachment, a letter, a call a 

meeting does the trick. Plenty ot sunshine 
and happiness await all Scorpios St* make 
the most of it now. It will do you gtxid A 
round ot socialising foretold 








Sagittarius 

November 23 — December 20 

The strum ot the guitar, 
and the jo\ of heart's 
discovery ioi Sagitlarians 
The next 2 1 days are also 
lor joint finances, 
insurance, loan and funds. 
Ceremonies toi ancestors 
is a probability Publicity boosts are 
certain. This is the lime to make tiavel 
plans as the rest of the year will get taken 
up with work * 

Capricorn 

December 21 — January 19 

While home and property 
j ^ have a facelift, you will be 

; busy solung piofessional 
I and personal 
J entanglements Therefore 
J be aleit and shed all 
. 1 1 inhibitions Rules nav 

, have to be broken and initiative taken Do 
i not get too taken up with what others 
have to sa\ Things may gel awry after a 
1 while 

Aquarius 

1 January 20 — February 18 

>iiu will be decisive and 
dominating This torcetul- 
ness, m turn, could mean 
dashes But it also means 
that you will he respected 
and vour ideas nghllv 
implemented Your 
instructions will be faithfully followed 
1 Romance, outings and hobbies excite you 
. now So do find time loi leisure ailivilies 
1 Take i are ot the lamilv 

Pisces 

\ February 19 — March 20 

Buying, selling, investing 
oi shopping are on the 
i ards An enterprise can be 
started You will have your 
fill of dinners, lunches, 
partying, socialising and 
assorted amusements 
PiseCcins will also succeed m tanning out to 
people and places Signing contracts or 
taking «m new assignments are on .the 
cards.Thev will find time to wi*o 




BIRTH D AYS 


JH tQ/'tSk Satam sexttle Uranus meamswwwgs aod comforts, 
and a genercttw d«sfi ofromanas and b 
, - tHe. work* bow ^xxtyqw reaJly are.- 

, A^nus.fel _ „ 

. andTibirttiMs, '<Whfew*ah4 , 

E>p-9PC*aHa» gab* and tohi ' .. 

''Mttfft 21,’ bteott eodik; lybtr? j* iflw idta^We.barrwl flun. ' 

' , bwattfas;. finance ttM PboSxxtix ( f'ntyc.mix) niiifi* 

,, 5s a jwlileb egjdfies. that . 

*y\ *■ v/oj/r ^ Pj<. \ .p-'*' ^ S )*' 


occult will have m excellent yew. But ©Hperpses wfll Mir, 
Affair of the heart ava quite likely 
May 23> Mooattiqe Saturn indicates consolidaHon and a 
L bide print hr pnwperrty over the year. Focus wiil he cm 
1 hcahe and property. 

; Mqy i ML‘ square Mercury means you will have to he 

careful In secret inattet*, joumey. and *qrnne$ could be active 
and vindteuye. Expensies could skyrocket, 

M&jt ij* Sun triiieLfraiuis Get to the gravy. Collftboratrdnft 
publicity, ceteirewy maniaiger links, tteW journey. 

the 'goodies for ihe yew. ” ■ _ ' 

v ‘ 


Extract 

Strange 

CUSTOMS 



Extracting 

Carl Muller’s 


hi with me, innl till i/i./n declare , 

Ami it 1/01/ 're oznrhurdi net I, soy a 
j> rayer! 

’"This is your < a plain speaking Delhi 
airport authorities require that the 
cabins ot this aircraft be deodorised 
before landing We will now 
commence to spray the cabins. >011 
may dose vour eyes brieflv to avoid 
anv r discomfort " 

Let us spray . 

I was treated to the sight ot a 


little cabin attendant running up and 
down the aisles, coat flapping, 
clutching an aerosol in his ujprai<ed 
hand Like the last ot the Valkyries 
1 le hissed as he ran No It vs as the 
can that hissed. A belligerent goose 
of a can The aircraft began to smell 
like the loo ot a five-star hotel I 
looked out of the window. Dawn 
over Delhi was not a pretty sight 
The country below the wingtip was 
like a dirty dishcloth. The sunlight 
danced on the turboprop Inside, the 


short story 
about his 
experiences at 
I )elhi s 

international 

air/iort 



funny thing ; 
happened on | 
the wav to ih* i 


cemeuw i 


I3Z33&EXE5J 



Extracted from *t 

Funny Thin# Happened 
the Wav to the 
Ccmctoy. Si cues' Fn mi 
a Sn Lankan life . 

by Cart Muller; 
Penguin Books; 

Rs 150 





stench of lemon and cut limes was 
overpowering 

We landed with a thud. Coasting 
the tamiac was like nding the noon 
stage into Dakota. Even the seat-belt 
juddered the diaphragm. I was not 
heavy laden Just a beat-up suitcase, 
briefcase and camera. I walked into a 
sea of humanity that, at five-thirty in 
the morning, was positively 
unnerving 

If anything raises eyebrows at an 
airport, it is mv passport. It looks 
like the old, oily pocketbook of a 
bazaar trader in Khota Bam The Sri 
Lanka government had issued me 
this passport upon whose black 
cover were the words, PASSPORT 
DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST 
REPUBLIC OF SRI LANKA in letters 
of gold Yes, gold. But the gold had 
come off long ago 

"What's this'-'" 

'Passport/' 

l get a keen look The kind ot 
look that savs, "I've seen passports 
and passports " 1 look past the 
immigration officer's shoulder He 
m mlics each page doubtfully. The 
Indian visa reassures hun "Go to 
Baggage," he saws. 

Easier said than dime Where the 
de\ il is Baggage? There’s baggage 


everywhere. Indians, I'll have you 
know 1 , don't travel light After 
shuddering over hundreds of heaps 
of suitcases, boxes, bales of stuff 
wrapped and hog-tied with straw 
matting and canvas, 1 begin to lose 
orientation. One doesn't go to 
Baggage ...The whole damn airport 
is baggage. You just pick your spot 
and wallow. 

The bag tracks keep up their 
perpetual motion. People cluster 
around, mesmerised 1 lean against a 
mountain of crates From 
somewhere, I tell myself, mv 
suitcase will emerge It did, and it 
came forth so ill-used and wan, 1 
could hardly recognise il. All the 
spirit had been beaten out of it Like 
a dry birth plus forceps. I rescued it 
irom the carousel on its second orbit 
and lugged it to Customs 

"1 will be taking back my 
camera," I said. 

"Ah, it is your camera?" 

"Ot course it is " 

" Achcha.. then you must declare 
tor re-export " 

"I declare." Should I tell him I'm 
tor re-export too No, he will not be 
amused It was too early in the 
morning 

"You have something else to 


declare?" 

I shook my head. 

"No dutiable artid .*s?" 

"No." 

"Where you are slaying in 
Delhi?" 

"Ashok Hotel " 

"Good You go now and declare 
vour camera that you're taking 
back " 

It was the beginning ot a saga. 

The line ot people who brought 
in dutiable articles to sell but 
i declared them tor re-export in order 
to avoid paying customs duty was 
I tlu 1 longest 1 had ever seen in any 
i airport. 1 stood There was little else 

■ to do A man with a fierce 

! moustache and blearv eves slood 
| behind a low counter He eyed us 
with loathing He must have been 
up since midnight, judging by the 
j bags undei each eve me operation, 

! I noted, was a bureaucratic idea of 
j Umbo There were forms to fill and 
. chops to chop, stamps to slap on. 

cross reference*" to get cross-eyed 
j over and smuggles to make The 
1 man behind the counter would 
j pause, suck the top ot his Biro, look 
i paint u 11 v down the line and 
j mentally consign us all to a special 
i place of torment in ancient Hindu 
I mythology ilc would then examine 
i the top of his Biro, possibly checking 
for erosion, then return to Ins task 
; At length I thrust my camera under 

■ his nose and proffered mv passport 

| "You're going back when' 1 

: Ticket?" 

1 Shown 

"You're taking back camnd 1 " 

1 nodded 
; "Why?" 

j "If ‘s nunc " 

"Ah," he scribbled furiously He 
> looked at his Biro again, decided 
. against taking a nibble and put it 
down with a sigh "What is the 
, value?" 

He had me there The camei a 
i was pretty old Older, by tar, than 
; my suitcase It had liijosled its tai, 

! share of dust and grit It was also a 
; sort of merger of three photographu 
, companies, one for the camera, one 
1 for the lens and another for the flash 
i It was a hybrid ol the worst sort tor 
I a red-eyed Dolhian 

; "Make is Manny a," he said 
; unnecessarily 
’ I nodded. 

; He wrote 'Manuya' laboriously 

• "What is number'*" 

| "Search me " 

"You have am thing else?'' 

"No . what?" I was contused 

"Then for what loi 1 must search 
; you?" 

I decided to button up We were 






getting nowhere. 

"You not know th«’ number, ah' 1 * * * * * " 
"No." 

He perked up Anew challenge 
had been thrown at him at seven in 
the morning I longed ior a cup ot 
tea 

"Lens have number." he 
informed no one in particular l le 
wrote that down carelully He gave 
the camera '.he ome over "Ah, nave 
number tor Hash." This was also 
written down with a flourish Good, 
I thought, we are getting along The 
camera proper was given the third 
degree "No number," he said 
mournfully 

"What do you mean 1 There must 
be a number?" 

1 have looked. Here, you look 

"How you i in bring a camera 
with no anv number 7 " asks the man 
behind me "Mv Cod, now wall have 
to stand behind you tor alt the Jay" 

1 ignored him Greater things 

were at stake I was m possession oi 

a pieu* ot equipment unheard of in 

the annals ot Delhi Customs The 

camera was <. anmbalised with a 

concentration awesome to behold 
The lens was removed and held up 

to the admiring gaze of oilier 
customs iralluit s who had gathered 
round to see duty done A mil i»t 
film was extracted and placed on the 
counter with the levcrenre usually 
reserved tor the Dead Sea Scrolls 
"You see/' 1 was informed in a 
hushed voice, "inside, outside, 
frontside, bac kside. nothing No 


number " 

"That's bad 7 " 

"Is very bad I must enter 
number of camera, no?" 

"Perhaps," 1 said brightly, "the 
Jens number is also lor the camera." 

"Must be sample camera/ put m 
oni ot the customs onlookers 

Appealing thought 1 had this 
sinking feeling that mv camera did 
have a number originally A sort ol 
etched or raised serial which, 
thiough years of usage and 
roughage, had been obliterated 
'Idling that to Delhi customs was not 
going to help II might oven 
complicate matter.-.. 

It was now creeping on U« eiglu- 
iifteen 1 have been in New Delhi tor 
two hours and forty -live minutes 
and had advanced no more than 800 
yards into Indian territory Wonder 
what Clive would have done Up m 
the gal*erv behind glass panels, my 
host w f as having hysterics The pool 
man had rolled on* of bed at five in 
the morning to welcome me. I stood 
J le stood 

The -'uslonis men went into a 
huddle A son of mini-summit They 
looked at me on occasion One 
frowned Another grinned. They 
examined my passport as if it were 
the Grimoire ot 1 lonorius. They 
scutched their heads Then they all 
beetled olf to an ojfice and returned 
with a Big Brass who had several 
clusters or what lookecfclike silver- 
plated gooseberries on his 
epaulettes. He was a cheery soul 


• "So you have camera without 
number 7 Ha. ha, must be stolen 
j property no?" 

; Tis the season to be |olly! 

1 "You're taking it back no ? " 

! " That's why I have been here 

‘ from sis m the morning " 

Ha, ha, vnu should have* told us 
that camera haven’t any numbei 
. The man behind me agreed 
| vehemently "I am standing and 
i standing," he moaned. 

"JTI tell you whuP ^ou lake 
; camera and go. We w r ill enter that it 
! is a prototype " 

. "Thai’s fine." I said Suddenly 
- there was light at the end ot the 
| storm dram The officer sucked his 
j Biro meditatively He wrote camera’ 
but he drew the line at 'prototype' It 
seemed that the whole affair had 
! gone beyond his ken. He had never 
| entered prototype' before and he 
was not going to set a precedent 
j now Besides, how the devil do you 
| spell 'prototype'? 

I 1 walked stiffly to the* barrier 
1 where my host told me that even the 
j garland ol frangipani he had 
j intended to hang around m\ neck 
! had wilted "What was wrong?" he 
asked 

1 shot him a dirty look. "First 
tea," I said 

It was JO minutes to nine. Delhi 
was wide awake Scootcrshaws 
whizzed by and crows were scolding 
raucously The air was as crisp .is 
early lettuce. 

I had arrived. ■ 


1 A 




KETCHFS 


SIGNIFICANT OTHER 

A better look at the better halves 

This week: Dimple (Rajesh) Khanna 


P opularly known 
as: Dimple 
Kapadi a No, she 
hasn't used her 
married name ever since 
she walked out of 
Ashirwaad, the marital 
home she shared with 
Rajesh, or 'Hatiji', as she 
then referred to him, rather 
coyly 

The early days: Were sheer 
bliss, as the lb-year-old 
heroine ot the runaway hit 
Bobby married the man of 
every woman's dreams 
Rajesh khanna. the 
reigning superstar of 
Bollywood 

T )unple, who had yet to 
lost* hoi puppy f.il (watch 
her cavorting m a bikini in 
Bobby, it you don't believe 
us), gave up on the movies 
and played the devoted 
house wite to kakaji The 
babies — daughters 
'I winkle and Rinki ■ — 
followed soon after, and 
the couple appeared to . 
settle down to happy 
domesticity 

So, what went wrong?: 
Well, just about 
everything Dimple, who 
was used to being the 
centre of attention, tound 
life difficult cm the 
sidelines Rajesh spent 
every evening drinking 
with his chamchas, and paid 
little attention to his 
beautiful wife. And 
matters got even worse 
when his mom began 
flopping. Soon, stories 
about marital violence 
were doing the rounds in 
Bombay. 

Dimple's reaction: Was to 


have an affair; and a very 
public one at that, with 
small-time actor Vijcndra 
Ghafge. She walked out on 
Khanna — this was one of 
the several separations 
before they finally parted 
ways — and moved back in 
with her parents 

Was Rajesh 

heart-broken?- If he was, 
he recovered pretty fast in 


divorce (friends said that 
she was worried that if 
Rajesh and Tina had 

children, her daughters J 

would lose their | 

inheritance) asking him to j 

go to court if he wanted on 
Not wanting to put his 
children through tne 
trauma that this would 
entail, he declined And not 
surprisingly, Tina walked 
out on him. i 


keeping a low profile. 
Dimple and Sunny 
increasingly threw caution 
to the winds, and were 
soon an open couple in film 
land 

To add insult to injury, 
even Twinkle was 
launched in a Deol home 
production, starring 
against Sunny's younger 
brother, Bobby. 

Was Rajesh annoyed?: If 
he was, he didn't show it. 
He still took an active 
interest in his daughters' 
lives, and in public at least, 
acted as if Sunny didn't 
exist 

And at election time: 
Khanna, in an attempt to 
bolster his image as a 
family man, yanked 
Dimple out of Sunny's 
brawny arms and flew her 
out to Delhi. And Dimple, 
who was only too keen to 
reinforce her rights as 
Khanna' s — albeit 
estranged — wife, stood by 
him in a pristine white 
salwar kameez as he filed 
his nomination and later, 
campaigned in his 
constituency. 

Did it work? Atone 
general election; yes. But 
tnis time around, even the 
glamorous presence of wife 
Dimple and daughter 
Twinkle, now a bona fide 
stai in her own right, could 
not save Khanna from a 
humiliating defeat 

Moral of the story. Politics 
may make foi stiange 
bedfellows, but even the 
electorate draws the line 
somewhere. ■ 



A touch of glamour Rajesh Khanna campaigns with wife 
and daughter 


the company of some of 
Bombay's most beautiful 
women In the end, though, 
he settled down with 
co-star Tina Munim, who 
even moved m with him. 

And they lived happily 
ever after?’ Not quite. 
Rajesh was determined to 
do the decent thing by 
Tina, whom he loved 
madly, but Dimple wasn't 
willing to play ball. She 
refused to grant Khanna a 


The ironies of life: Rajesh 
and Dimple's elder 
daughter, Twinkle, was 
affectionately called Tina 
by the family And so. 
Dimple had to endure a 
rival whose name was the 
same as that of her 
daughter's! 

And Rajesh had to endure 

The constant presence of 
Sunny Deol, who had 
become Dimple's 
paramour After initially 



Time table 



All arrival and departure times are for Calcutta 

toys of operation using 7-Pay coda. '■ MONDAY T TUESDAY * WEDNESDAY '< THURSDAY FRIDAY f> SATURDAY 7 SUNDAY 
(Af. thpse pdiitjs go to oi us*, one week in advanci:, readers, should check vvrth respective ai. lines iind railways tor last minute change iri timings! 

VUWtf* 




Departures 

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Arrivals 

Fit No. Tiro 


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It 226 


10--5 


4 7 


Al Air India • BA British Airways • BG Biman Bangladesh Airlines • Bl Royal Brunei Airlines • D2 Skyline NEPC • D5 NEPC Airlines • 1C Indian Airlines • KB Druk-Air • KLM 
Royal Dutch Airlines • 12 Balkan Airlines • M9 Modiluft • PF Vayudoot • RA Royal Nepal Airlines • RJ Royal Jordanian Airlines • RO Tarom Air Transport • S2 Sahara India 
Airlines • SO Singapore Airlines • SU Aeroflot • 4S Eas; West Airlines • TO Thai Airways Intemalional • 9W Jet Airways • Q7 Qatar Airways • VF VIE Airways 


■e 

Departure 


f 

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M|‘J 

'll.’! 

4654 
M f 
Ju24 
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30 J I 
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3141 
\ 3143 
i 3111 
i 465/ 
! 3153 
, . 5603 
> 3151 
3133 
3103 
5085 


TRAINS 


EASTERN RAILWAY 


A /rival 


Purbanchd (Gorakhpur) Express 

(■■i'll ft /*r ■ l.M.i Wiir* WtM & I 
Doon Express »w ui.i-.il ■ non] 

Udyat Aha Toobn Express v... M.i.: 
Amritsv Express 


Krthgodun Express 
MRmta (Rnsuh Exj 
Ksmrup (Guwra) Express 
Black Diamond Express 
Coalfield Bq 
Asmol Exp 
Danamf Era 
JffSpur & 

SandnBoBn 


Express 


Asmol Express 


!4 jl) 
15 25 


Tiro 

13 41) 

14 15 
iYI-15 

h A 
22 00 
?(i 00 
11 20 
20 55 
18 25 
12*40 


(l . . 

IV, i Mun , 'in' A Th«j. , ■"*! ■ Muf 

Srapra (Indore) Express 

l 'up Wild S*t A Sun 
An oiki VVtd A ‘'.a! 

ShridJpunJ (Chopan) Express 
ChwvZal (Agn Gantt.) Express 

Dpi: Iridav An 1'j-vl.iy 

Seaktah 

■Toni Bqxess 


LalOulla Boreas via Mdiri Lum 
Knfsnjivgi (Lumdrig) Boros 



vi 3 SUb Loop 

.. .—JooIiji Ex 

tap 8 DP I. 

Dep A Arr 1 u»js. Tours A Sal 


7 15 
,'0 35 
r . 15 
4 15 
15 50 
P m 
10-25 
4 25 


311 ’ 
5b58 
3154 
5hHI 
it:-: 
3134 
3104 
508b 


Departure 


SOUTH-EASTERN RAILWAY 


U0 

Tiro 

Howrah 

Tiro 

Dn 

! UJ> 

Tiro 

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INQUIRES; For round the dock Wormdlon of EaTOm Ralhsay and 
South-Eastern Ralhra^ trains, please del 2208545-64 for lit-ooNno trains, 
2203535-44 tor all other InfomttNon. For Inttorvradon about feeanraUons on 
Eastern Rdtwey and Southeastern Railway trains. dW 2203496^500 (from 


B am to 8 pm on ereek da ya and B am lb 2 pm on SiaKtays and onte- 
tod hoUdnaT In addMon, dial 1331 (tor recorded Irdonratton on ttton 
running), 1S1 (regvrilnq train operation^ and 135 (ragavdlno raaenratfona). 


Train service enquiry 


17 





■WCTM/'. 

OMEN 


WORKING MOTHERS, 

RESIGN! 

You have nothing to lose but your minds, says Manisha Gulati 


W hoever said mother 
hood was fun was 
obv xouslv not talking 
about working mothers 
Ask any < areer woman who is a new 
mother it you don t believe us In t ict 
the only way that w orking mother- 
hood can ever be tun is if y ou increase 
the hours in a day from 24 to 72 
It starts with feeding, washing, 
playing, feeding, working, playing, 
feeding, washing, playing interspers 
ed with umpteen telephone calls at jrhc 
office to inform \ ou about a broken 
vase a clacked nail misplaced socks 
unpalatable chicken stew a despica- 


ble niaid serv ant \ ou know the 
feeling 

rho return home m the evening is 
greeted with wailing moieiom 
plaints a demand tor Monoply or 
undiv ided (hv each -.lbling) attention 
a v isit to Appu Ghn or a bout ot horse- 
riding (y ou ic s the lursc ) On better 
days the little dev ils *re out pla* ing 
with friends but the drama starts 
when thc> return with i bleeduur nose 
or scraped knees 

Of course husbands help but onlv 
after a shower i sna< \ and j suueglt 
But by then you rc icadytor bed or ♦he 
as\ lum 


Says S»ema Khurana, mother of \ 
tw o w ho w orks for Abov e And 
Beyond Consultants I ve suddenly 
moved tiom girl to superwoman 
Whatever thev sa> about husb inds 
and w i\ es sharing duties at home is d 
platitudes The roles are pi etty clear 
\ ou woik at ofhcc but \ nu woik at 
homt too A*- much Ihc man come* 
bai k home to *ola\ and h*\ e fun Cav 
him moii to do an J he II start mminj 
ba k late 

So much tin worm n c lib 
1 U r bos, \ it as < ompkvns !l it 
iomt 4 to a chon i between cmplm m c 
in irru d w oman or en u im * r t led 


A stay-at-home mother : bringing up children 







Many mothers are forced to give up their jobs to look after the little one 


home for all. 

Vani Pahwa, computer program- 
mer, says, "Back when I was in my 9 
am to 7 pm working- warriors mode it 
seemed unbelievable that I would 
some day be a stay-at-home mom. But 
when my little one was bom, the choi- 
ce was clear." 

But to be fair to those scant consider- 
ate men, one must admit that there are 
working mothers and stay-at-home 
pops operating from a room in the 
nouse Vir and Nita are one such 
couple While Nita makes and mar- 
kets her soft toys and baby parapher- 
nalia, Vir has his oftico on tne first 
floor of the house so he can also cope 
with the added responsibity of food 
and kids He says, "Marriage is a part- 
nership and you should do whal's 
best tor both. I say to each his own 
because what's meat for one man is 
poison for another." 

B ut why can't more men be seen at 
the poolside teaching their kids to 
swim while the mothers do their twen- 


gir] I would definitely go toi the latter. 
J m married myself and though my 
wife is not working 1 know the sort of 
pressures facing working mothers. It's 
not that they are lax at work but halt 
the time their concentration is directed 


towards their kids at home and whe- \ 


ther they have eaten or not Phone 
calls go back and forth Their energy 
levels are also lowc?r js there is no res* 
pite for them even after a hard day’s 
work. I also led guilty it l have to ask 
Secma to stay back late for some 


work." 


Pooja Khanna, another irate work- 
ing mother and account directoi in an 
advertising agency, stresses, "The role 
of women has been so well defined 
over the last couple of centuries that if 
she chooses to work, that's her fune- 
ral But her duties at home as wife and 
mother must not he neglected." 

Which is why so many women 
these days give up a nine-to-five job at 
the office after motherhood to work at 
home instead and also look after child 
and hearth. The decision isn't easy but 
the scales are easily tilted. You can 
keep up your high pressuie job and 
work the same hours as your husband 
and get stressed out from trying to be a 
hotsnot at work, a perfect mom at 
home and a hot mama for your hus- 
band, while coping with tne constant 
guilt of child neglect. Or you can tor- 
get about meetings, deadlines arid pro- 
motions, and direct all your energies 
towards making your house a happy 



She works in office and back at home too 


19 




ty Lips? Or why can't they he seen 
wheeling prams at Lodi Gardens mak- 
ing baby talk and answering goo goo 
ga ga while the mother is out shopp- 
ing with the girls? And why does tne 
father become this remote figure in the * 
child's life, someone who can only be 
called upon when the child does some- 
thing naughty and mummy says. Til 
tell papa' 

He is this demi-god who is only a 
head of the family and not a part of it 
Sadly it is these circumstances that 
lend themselves to fathet and child 
not beirt$ friends which eventually 
leads to the dreaded phrase, 'the gene- 
ration gap' 

Psychofog ist Tehmina Majumdar 
explains, "The man has for so long 
been given the role ot master and 
macho figure that breaking away from 
this stereotype to come to one level 
with the woman and be accessible to 
the child as a friend rather than an 
onlooker will probably take a few 
more years. But the situation is impro- 
ving gradually and there is more 



A happy stay-at-home father : Fnioymg parenthood 



acceptance and sharing of labour on 
the part of the man " 

Anju Kaisth, tour and travel mana- 
ger, says, 'T:ven il you decide to work 
at home it's like having 1 5 jobs at once 
with no assistant And at the end of the 
day you have people asking you silly 
questions like, 'what did you do all 
day at home?"' 

Surely it helps if you have a portable 
computer and a portable profession 
like, say, journalism? 

Pat comes the reply. "Believe me, a 


Do Not Disturb' sign doesn't work 
with a two-year-old or even a seven- 
year-old " 

In other words you can't really 
work at home — just a minute, someo- 
ne's at the door — where you can be 
w ith your kids and — Varun don't put 
your finger in the socket — keep your 
sanity 

Or you can give up your high- 
powered career to throw your conside- 
rable energies into motherhood and 
become a near raving lunatic as a 


result of talking to no one except three 
small kids and an irate maid all day 

"Oh i ' exclaims Vani "You be 
me counsellor to all the 
wives w'llh weight problems (that 
amounts to one m each home), to those 
w'lth boyfriend problems, redecora- 
tion problems, pet diseases, as w'cll as 
a regular watcher of Santa Butbara and 
The Bold And The Beautiful — - both of 
which vou probably scoffed at earlier.' 1 

We stand corrected Working 
mothers, you are missing quantity 
time not only w'lth your child but w'lth 
the entire neighbourhood and their 
pets as well 

Before we start sounding like l he 
problem and not the solution, allow us 
to give you some invaluable tips 

ambitious but not killer-1. ke. 

^■Re equal to the man but admit 
that he's slightly more equal than you. 

^Reproduce but only when you've 
achieved absolute selflessness. 

Employ a maid, a cook, a driver, 
and a shrink 

^Pamper your husband's ego and 
their w'hims. 

•“Go for long vacations sans family. 
Remember, kids eventually grow up. 

After all, m the words of an upcom- 
ing poetess of Delhi, Anita, this is how 
most men feel 

1 want a wife who goes to work ; 

But hou senior k she must never shirk, 

A job that brings her home asmihng , 

So / can spend my wettings whiling, 

While she slogs and I unwind, 

For another day of grind. ■ 





JUNIOR WHIRL HAl K'/Mjf WAN 



DOUBLE DRIBBLE! Two of eight basketball play- 
ers above look enough alike to be twins. Which 
two? You decide 


DO TELL!Mel fell Ed fled, Jan ran, Pat sat. Sue 
flew, Dave gave, Frank drank, Kate ate and Bert 
hurt. Can you think of some more similar name 
rhymes? Give it a try. 


TRY THIS 

brain-to-finger 
signal -crosser. Clasp 
hands with wrists 
crossed in the manner of 
Santa's at right. Twist 
clasped hands inward 
(see arrow) so that they 
appear before you as in 
inset. 

Now, have someone 
point to one of your 
fingers and 

see if you can wiggle that ft 

Put your friend to the tes 
told hands similarly, and y 



IU 

can wiggle that finger. It is not easy to comply, 
ir friend to the test, too, by asking nim or her to 
s similarly, and you do the pointing to fingers. 


HOCUS-FOCUS 



D 

2 

3 

n 

5 

□□□ 

o 

10 


12 


FIND A7 LEAST 6 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PANELS. 

Hurs'siui sr ipfl 9 tfuiffs'iLU j.xjinnN £ ^uawjjip 
<;i jivj-i f .uiajajjvp «i h»h C Suiwnu si iia’u z Suissiui ei piig i .KXuiAMvjvn 


KNOCK BLOCKS 
OFF STAMP 

The cluster of 12 stamps, at 
left, can be separated into sets of 
four. One such set would be 
1, 2,3,4 or 5,6,7, 8; etc. How many 
sets can you find? Be creative. 

* Other possible variations are 
1,115,6; 1,2,3, 7; 1,2,6,7; 1, 2,3,6; etc. 
You're not allowed to rip stamps 
in half, natch. 

Remember, you're trying to 
find the stamp" number of four- 
stamp sets. 

Too hard to count? Take a 
guess. 


C9R| »,,»* iliuvic in»ij |I ■ Nxxurnu 












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THE ADVENTURES OF LEGIONNAIRE BEAUPEEP 


-phis isnt \ I >po E XPe ' c r CJS TO 1 
SELF-SERVICE— A \ DO THS COOKINK 3 


ms slavery: 


BEFORE SERV/NKE > 
cOURSeLVESP ^ 


III 


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III; 


7xve <307* THIS 
/ St~L.F= - S ERVICE 
( SYSTEM PSRR 5 C 1 
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DONJE THE 

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EAT SOMEWHERE ELSE. 




x ROOM, this seu=-\. 

/ SaRVCfi TWIPSKS IS N 
OETTHSK 3 OUT OF HAND/ 


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lOOKJTH VHJeV' S/MFLJE— 
FKT< L 5 ^ WAIVES AND FCWKST 
THS IPOO«... — ‘ 






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\y zve decided ■n-uvr^^T^ 

^ TABLE SERVICE WASTES y 
TOO /MUCH TIME -MV PLACE V 
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1 















FiTms 

THE 

MAKING 
OF THE 
NEW 
FELUDA 


Sabyasachi Chakrabarty tries hard to Jit into Soumitra Chattcrjee's shoes, 
tinder Sandip Ray 's direction. Trina Mukherjee reports 


E very time a Bengali tourist 
turns up in Rajasthan, the 
triendlv local guide enquires 
with a smile, bunar Ktlla nehin 
dekhmfte? The location that Satyant 
Ray chose to Him his Feluda thriller, 
bo? tar Kella (The Ciolden Fortress), is 


The cover of the novel Sonar KeUa 



now famous for just that reason, just 
as Benares is associated with his Jut 
Baba Fclunath (The Mystery of the 
Elephant Ck>d) 

The name Fe*luda evokes the 
image of a suave Soumitra 
Chattorjee stalking the forts of 
Rajasthan or crouching in 
anticipation in the dark alleys of 
Benares. Jatayu immediately 
conjures up the serio-comic visage of 
late Santosn Dutta who could not be 
told apart from the author's — the 
films wore based on Satyapl Ray's 
detective stones — illustrations of the 
character. And then, of course, there 
was the rule yet curious lopshe, 
played by Siddhartha Chatterjeo in 
the first two tiJms. 

After the success of these movies 
there have been a few attempts to 
bring feluda back to life on 
celluloid, though Satyajit Ray 
himself decided not to make any 
more Feluda films after the demise 
of Santosh Dutta. He was 
approached by Sabyasaclii 
Chakrabarty, an ardent Feluda fan 
himself, for the role of Feluda. 
Chakrabarty, then, was riding high 
on the success of his television 
serials Tew Parbon and Rudra Sener 


Duiry, the latter being a detective 
serial. But Ray turned him down 
l! was the late director's son, 
Sandip Ray, who decided to rev i ve 
the character of Feluda and chose 


A stll from Bakshya Rahashya. To be fotlowec 



26 



Sandip Ray in action: Will his new Feluda, Sabyasachi Chakrabarty, prove to be as good as Soumrtra Chatterjee? 


Sabyasarhi to do il Says Sandip Ray, 
"l was looking tor an actor who 
would not only be a gv*od Feluda for 
my ftukshya Rahashya but also would 
be an ideal Feluda in the long run." 
Playing Feluda would require a lot 
of physical action and the former 
favourite Sourmtra Chatterjee is not 
really young anymore. "So 
Sabyasachi was an ideal choice/' 


says Ray. The new recruit, a fan ot 
Soumitra Chatterjee as well, was 
"elated" to be playing his "dream 
role". 

But there was another major 
obstacle to be surmounted. Who 
would play the role ot Jatayu? 

Bibhas Chakrabarty, while directing 
a couple of Feluda adventures for 
the small screen, studiously chose 
those stories which did not have 
I jatayu. Sandip Ray’s previous 
1 attempt — Kathmandu Ka 1 or the 
national network— was not well 
| received. Viewers, especially Bengali 
I viewers, refused to accept the 
attractive but overweight and 
middle-aged Shashi Kapoor in the 
j role of the ace detective Kapoor as 
the Old Fox, yes, perhaps, but 
Feluda? No way Mohan Agashe 
fared even worse in terms of both 
appearance and performance m the 
much loved character of jatayu 
So how did Sandip Ray get 
around the problem? "My father was 
very apprehensive about casting 
anyone in the role ol jatayu I too 
was hesitant. But as I had to select an 
alternative for Santosh Dutta, I was 
confident it had to be Robi Ghosh." 
Ghosh, undoubtedly is a fine actor, 
also having acted in a few Satyajit 
Ray movies which included his 
legendary Bagha Baiven role. 

| According to Sandip Ray, "This was 
a test case in terms of any future 


Feluda feature films." 

Selecting a new Topshe was 
relatively easy. Saswata Chatterjee, 
the budding actor-son of Subhendu 
Chatterjee, was found suitable e\ en 
by the senior Rav who had seen him 
at a wedding Already a Veteran' of 
two movies. Atm a; a and Nayutitum 
produced by NFDC, C hatterpv did 
not find it too difficult "to faithfully 
follow the instruction^ ot the 
director" 


T he only advice the director could 
offer his new cast was to avoid 
watching old Feluda movie*- and to 
stick to the stones, gleaning as much 
as it could from the text and the 
illustrations bv the auihox, Satyajit 
Ray Sabyasachi Chakrabarty too. 
paid more attention to "hi* tacial 
expressions, eyes, gestures and 
postures". More brains than brawn, 
that, according to Chakrabariv, was 
Feluda 

The new Feluda rna\ have less to 
worry about, if the word of the old 
Feluda, Soumitra Chatterjee, is 
anything to go bv. Chatterjee insets 
that "Cnakrabartv will do justici to 
die role." 

So, is there* another |anu> Bond- 
stylo debate m Lhe offing 7 Who's 
better; Connery or Moore .. or rather, 
Chatterjee nr Chakrabarty? 
According to the latter, "No matti i 



27 





Fetuda 1, H and tth Soumttra Chottwjoe, Shashi Kapoor and SobyaaacN Ctafcrabarty 


F eluda fans have n isanto both 
cciebrate aud grieve (h» year. 

; 1996 marks 30 glorious years of the 
dynamic detectives career. It would 
afc» witness- the reappearance of the 
' acc ' pr> vate investigator’ cm the 
television screen complete with 
entourage, a trrsh trio comprising a 
new Feluda, the familiar yet new 
: face of Jatayu and a younger, 
greener Topshe in Sandip Ray's 
; Baksltya Rmashya 

But there would be no Feluda 
: story to pounce on in the coming 
! Puja speaats. And Satyajit Ray, had 
■ he been alive, would nave 
; completed 75 years on May 2 this 
[year. 

The Feluda legacy, however, still 
, runs strung. In 1965 — the younger 
generation had then grown quite 
weary of a few stereotyped and 
quaint detective characters stalking 
the pages of Bengali thrillers — a 
new face appeared in Sandesh, a 
children's magazine edited by 
Satyajit RayfThe chiMiwi's 
magazine was launched by his 
grandfather. Upend ra Ki shore 
Raychowdhury). 

, A figment Qf Ray's ever-acbve 

imaginatiorvaKivayR ready to 


experiment and eirolore new genres, 
this was Pradosh C. Mittet anas 
Feluda. accompanied by his young 
nephew-cum-assistant Tapesh 
Ranjan or Topshe. At last Bengalis 
had their own Sherlock Holmes and 
Dr Watson pairing. Ray wrote the 
fust Feluda story entitled Fduder 
Gaembtgm, a suspense thriller set 
against die hilly backdrop of 
Darjeeling. And then there was no 
looking back. 

But writing for adolescents was 
no child's play. As Ray himself 
admitted in his foreword to Satyajit 
Hay: The. Feluda Stories (Viking 
Penguin India), an omnibus 
containing aO 16 stories translated so 
far, "To write a whodunnit while 
keeping in mind a young leadership 
is not an easy task because the 
stories have tp be kept 'dean'. No 
illicit love, no crime possiond-," 

Sava Sandip Ray, "My father had 
varied interests ana Feluda was one 
uf them." Satyajit Ray was a self* 
confessed "avia reader of crime 
fiction" and a fen of Sherlock 
Holmes. 

Perhaps, the Holmes in him 
egged him on to give Feluda a fresh 
new lease of life and "forced" life to 


write a Feluda novel every year. The 
first adventure was followed by 34 
Feluda stories /novellas over a span 
of 27 years. Sixteen of them were 
published in Stmdesh which devoted 
its December * 95 issue ( Feluda 30) 
solely to Feluda, 18 in Dcsh (Puja 
specials) and one in Anondutnela. 
Nauan Rahashya was the last novel 
published during Ray's lifetime. 


And RoberisonrrRuhy was published 
posthumously in 1992. 

Ray had a new approach to each 
adventure. Each had a different 
locale, a picturesque setting and was 
populated with strange, sinister and 
comical characters. In 1971, the . 
author introduced Labnohan 
Ganguly alias Jatayu in Somr Ketle 
to Feluda fans. 

This dodk. middle-aged • 
gentleman penned cheap, thrillers 
and was meant to art’W "a fojlto . 
Fetuda" arid "provide dollops Of 
humour", latavu, vtrHlt hie mfearint 


for the "mysterious'ende 
himself to nfa readers. Set 
enamoured was SfenBt 1 
new creation feat a-M«s 
even * movie became tad 
without his presence. . 



The cumsrt year i»an 
interesting one wr Fefcda 4e Go. in 
terms of numerology. This year, 
apart inxn brine t&c 30th 
«nhm«ydfFehid^ 

«lw> finds Lalmohsn Ganguly alias 
Jatayu completing; 25 years m hot 
pursuit erf isigimm awl criminals 
te^wtiAiMu4a>Mw2.19%waa'. 
Saty^tltaysTSthbfaifi 
anniversaxy. Fehida made his sixth 
w^ttwww o a t ftfeww: 

Ray filmed Sonar Kola in 197* 
and in 1979, Jm &aba fehtwth was 
completed with Soumitra Chstterjee 
.in th# lead. In 1990Qwrtteijee 
■ reappeared as Fehida In a tde-ttrid 
directed by Bibhash Oukrabofte 
Ghutgkutist Ghatmut, and again m 


. . Later fav 1987, 
Feiuda fans all over India followed 
one of his adve n t ure s on the 
Doordaishan national network fat 
Kiasa Kathmandu Ka, starting Shashi 
Kapoor as Fehida, which was 
shown under the tele-series, Satyajit 
Ray Presents. The current hiefifan, 
Bakshya Rahushya, has Sabyasachi 
Chakrabarty making his first - 
appearance as die new Fehida. 

In print, Feiuda stories have 
always been bestsellers. Says Badal 
Basu, manager. Ananda Publishers, 
"The cover of Sonar Ketla was 
personally designed by Satyajit Ray 
as usual but after making the movie 
he suggested that we use a still 
from me Sim on the cover." But 


readers may soon See die original 
cover in its newly-printed edition at 
the popular novel . Hakskya 
Rahashya, the latest story to be 
filmed* for television, has already 
sold 74,000 copies. In 1994, Ananda 
Publishers came out with an 


innovative package of die novella 
accompanied by an audio cassette 
at its dramatised version. This too 
had the voices of the original trio; 
Soumitra CHatterjee as Feiuda, 
Santosh Dutta as Jatayu and 
Siddhartha Chatterjee as Topshe. 

Howevec the highest setting 
Feiuda novella is Baashahi Angh 
which has sold 91,000 copies to 
date. 


Incidentally, Fehida's fictional 
rival in terms of popularity, 
Professor Shantou, will join the - 
world of comic strips on May 2 in a 
sd-fi adventure entitled Ptnmmor 
SHanku O UFO. But Fehida, die 
Calcutta-based sleuth who Is 
audadextre^exedto m martud 
arts, hypnetev card tricks, 
languages and writes his personcu 
diary faiGrseek, subom |o «a»a acji 
edge overtfte clever sdefatist 



Costume illustrations from Jm Baba Felunath by Satyajit Ray 


who plays lames Bond, Connery' 
would remain the best " One can 
only hope that he has inoore* to 
offer than that. 

The telefilm, a taut economical 
thriller, definitely has a lot to offer a 
double crime and two criminals, 
interesting fcharacters and a dramatic 
climax against the snowy setting of 
Shimla. In other words, a ‘clean , 
fun- filled children's movie which 
could be viewed by their parents 
too. Considering the dire quality of 
children's films in India, that itself is 
a worthy achievement Whether the 
'new trio’ will dick or not, however, 
is a tough question to answer. 

Every one involved with l he 
movie had his own share of 
problems. Sandip Ray had to choose 
an adventure that would offer the 
scope of good locations and also fit 
the constraints of the small screen. 
Robi Ghosh, according to Ray, 
worked very, very hard to fit into 
another man's shoes and Sabyasachi 


Chakrabartv. too, coyly admitted 
; that in a particular scene where he 
looks around ioi an address he 
"could not flash his torch into the 
camera lens even after trying about 
15 times!" 

That must hi- the least ot his 
problems, though, considering his 
new avatar is yes, that’s right, that 
of a detective And it takes a lot 
playing She? kick Holmes, Kakababe 
ana Feiuda one after the other 

Now it is only a matter of time 
before Feiuda fans decide whether 
they like the new Fvludn adventure 
or not. This telefilm was a "ti iai run" 
according to Sandip Rav to decide 
whether more exciting Feiuda 
adventures like Bomban/cr Bomhetc 
could be made into full-length 
feature films But mom importantly, 
Bakshya Rahashua would reveai 
whether the new Feiuda can cut it 
Or whether he is destined to go the 
Shashi Kapoor way. ■ 

Photographs by Hirak Sen 


29 


First person 



W hat is your idea of perfect 
happiness? 

A stiff whisky. 

What is your greatest fear? 

The red line bus and failure. 
Who or what has been the greatest 
influence in your life? 

My father. 

What do you dislike most in 
others? 

Greed and ego. 

What do you dislike most in 
yourself? 

My fat and arrogance 
What is your most precious 
possession? 

My integrity and 


my Home. 

What objects do 
you always carry? 

My glasses. 
What makes you 
most depressed? 

Mean assaults. 
What do you 
dislike most on 
your appearance? 
My doublechin. 

30 


What is your favourite word? 

"Go for it". 

What is your favourite journey? 

Driving in the desert. 

What is your favourite dream? 

Taking on challenges to break 
new ground. 

What is your nightmare? 

Fatal accidents. 

What or who is the greatest love of 
your life? 

My son. 

What is your source of sustenance? 
Myself. 

On what occasions do you lie? 

For sneer 
survival. 

What is your 
greatest regret? 
That I don't have 
any formal 
education beyond 

higH school 

What I 
your I 







■ / 
■J 


, 1 ■ » r - ■ 


favourite 

... 


desert 




Giving birth. 
Whatbriftl 


\> 4 *«*.,, /. , ,J *. V * .->• 

In 1 - £, 

tears to your eyes? 

Kind words. 

How do you relax? 

Dancing and drinking. 

What do you envy most in others? 
Sharp intelligence. 

How would you like to be 
remembered? 

As a funny fat friend. 

How would you like to die? 

} With a drink m zny hand. 



Over a decade, you've experienced furious monsoons, 
withering heatwaves and a rapid increase in pollution. 


incredibly, your exterior paint 
never lost its complexion. 



In a fast changing world, some things remain brightly constant. Like Sandtex Matt. The country s premium 
exterior finish from Snowcem India. Sandtex Matt is India's first textured exterior finish. And since 1970 

there has newer been another, more popular. What could be better jQf SnoWCGITf lndl<{ ltd 

guarantee. SUBS So invest in Sandtex Matt. And brush away time. moi« s no i nn«io« mi»i 



A winner of C API XU'S Highest 
L Xpert AwitfiUoi oiyh 1 i ousen it ivi ■ i 
years, Modi C on! inenhii has | 
t'_ s t dt 'ilist K*d its supremo*. y 11 1 India as j 
va/ cl! as made 1 impressive I or ays into j 
major international market'* : 

j 

Achieving all this through sheer grit j 
ai id dot criminal ion j 

i 

A commitment to quality, strenuous j 
R&D activities, well I tor tod human 
resource, superior technology and 
the will to win has helped Modi 
Continental and India to move to the 
forefront of progress 


we Have given India what it Had always 




Modi Continental* 


j.‘i 


l«4 MPL'3093 




The Telegraph 





oodie 

w4$ 

;^bl«CMWV«<^am^ 

, - w- 



proved abighit to jfectatt 1 
finu*-: As n result, ‘ '' * ■ > 

Channel V would be the . 
ultimate choice of the peo~ 
pieas rt presents both 
Weatcni and Indian songs. 

On the other hand, 

MTV beams only Western 
numbers and can be pop- 
ular with a section of 
young lrtdiahs. However, 
if MTV were to introduce 
prizes for its programmes, 
and such other incentives, 
viewershtp would defi- 
nitely soar. 

Parma Pmtint Modak, 

Howrah 


It IS difficult tli 
predict the outcome 
of the music war. 

Rut, at least, it has 
helped the women 
VJs to further shorten 
the lengths of their 
dresses 

Arttab Banerjee, 

^ Calcuttn 

~~~ m ' V ' ”7' 

m I and my friendswere 
delighted with the cover 
j. story as music happens fa? 



'I 

■:» : I JWL '■* 



ACtMnhelVroedehdwM^etcutts 

he our greatest tove. Sorne' t^eh ou^ttqnei they are 
time bark DD2 afared MTV ' “ rt 

for about a couple of 
hours much to the joy of ^ 
viewers like us who could • 
not afford cable television,:. 

It gave us anoppoirturu- „ 


Attupsma Mitm, 

■<3i icqm 


ty to relax with owr 
favourite Westemtracks. 
Will IX)! please revivethia 
programme? . 
AhM/tpaOswau, • 

. Calcutta 

» Thank y<mforthe 
vronderfidcnyeri ' 

.MTV'wwtr 



Wi Theso-caUed wajf 
between the two f 
musical gftmtgfen 
a creation of the media 
. . A minuscule Sectkm of 
Indians, of the upwardly 
mcSbife and English- . 
speaking variety, maybe 
watching thesechannels. . 
BuMhej 
watch* 



>w*it. 

t Tfietwectwnnete'pro- 
motional programmes Hke 
road shows with skimpily 
dad girlsmwaihing 


PAGE 4 


unstoppaMemumbo jum- 
bosmay intensst the for- 
mer type. ft dties hot 
meanthatthoy have b«n 
able to win over all Indian 
viewers, 

Debabruta Mobanty, 
BMmrefOHm) 



Indian viewers. Both 
beam lively, pulsating 
musk that endear the 
young crowd. 

But as Channel V also 
has some Indian music on 
its Bat, there is every pos- 
sibiiitythat this channel 
wil) be more popular with 
the Indians. For there am 
many young viewers who 
may like last music, but' 
not necessarily of the pop 
and rock variety’ 
■OhMafyotl Biswas, 
Bfautwhyto: (W£.) 

■ The success of a chan- 
nel gueatiy depends on 
AeaUbteQfvt^ayahDw 
they present the pro- . 

S amines and how well 
ey can entice viewers so 
as tokeep them glued to 
the screen. • 

Channel Y VJs have 
greater savvy and com- 

fll,. Also. Channel V has a 
greater variety of pro- ■ 

Ij 

Calcutta 



g FALLINCi IN love is beautiful and more so 
when you get the right items in the market to 
express your feelings. From cards to flowers 
and soft toys, an entire industry has sprung up 
to cater to young lovers 

PAGE 26 

OMmtMnanwwiM 

MANPRBET BRAK finds herself a new role. 
Love gilts 


SECTIONS 


l« TIME TABLE 

20 INNER EYE 

21 JUNIOR WHIRl 

22 COMICS 

26 LIMELIGHT 
30 FIRST PERSON 

Cover Vivek Das 
Models Aiishuman Hoy 
and Nayamka Sanyal 




VmkDw 



Greeting cards, flower shops, request 
programmes; all of them depend for their survival 
on young lovers. Manisha Gulati and 
Susmita Banerjee report 


EVERYONE LOVES THE IDEA OF BEING IN LOVE. EVEN THOSE W- 
ho haven't found the man/ woman of their dreams, go right 
on dreaming about that ideal love affair. You know the kind: 
where your boyfriend showers you with flowers and cutesy 
greeting cards; where your girlfriend declares her love for 
you on the FM 
channel, or better still, on 
television; where you 
spend hours on the tele- 
phone exchanging sweet 
nothings; and your.Vale- 
ntine's Day gift is a dia ° 
mond engagement ring. 

And, as they say, the whole world loves a lover. So, there 
are always special bonuses on offer when you're dating that 
special someone. Your friends may rag you mercilessly, ask- 
ing for every detail of what wont on during the late-night 
show of Basic Instinct, but the rest of the world will show you 
a rare indulgence, bestowing sweet smiles as you hold 
hands surreptitiously beneath the restaurant table. 

But while your fellow diners may regard you with fond 
wistfulness, others will be far more business-like. And who 
can blame them? After all, that warm romantic glow that 






every day that he's known you!” As 
romantic gestures go, that may take 
die entire bowery, but you'd need to 
do some serious work with the calcula- 
tor, and make a dent in your bank bal- 
ance as weH, if this is a long-standing 
affair. 

Nonetheless, men continue to flock 
to flower shops, buying up anything 
from carnations, lilies, roses, birds of 
paradise, gladioli to orduds for their 
women. Such popular flower shops as 
Pollen in the Greater Kailash market 
in New Delhi sell to around 30 men in 
a single day, and the flowers end up 
costing between Rs 50 to Rs 2,000 for a 
really impressive bunch. 

Most people who buy flowers pre- 
fer home delivery Th is nasi ts advanta- 
ges. For one thing, there is a certain sur- 
prise element inherent in having a bou- 
ouet delivered to your doorstep. And 
then, ot course, there are those delici- 
ous moments spent in anticipation of 3 
that thank-you phone call. Says Bobby « 
Bhatia, a student of architecture. "It is § 
a technique of seduction which teases 1 
without looking like the person is tout- 
ing for business." 

This can often lead to the most piau- 
ant situations, though. Sailen Pal, who 
runs the floral boutique for the Agri- 
horticultural Gardens, recounts inst- 
anees when his customers insisted 
that the flowers be sent anorivmously 
But mu<h to Pal's horror, the recipi- 
ents landed up at his shop the next 
day, demanding that he name names. 
Only when he confessed that he didn't 
have a due, did they leave, muttering 
darkly that tliey would ensure that his 
shop was dosed down it they were 
ever pestered in this manner 

Su< h incidents am exceptions, 
though; most people — women in par- 
ticular — are thrilled to get flowers. 

And Pal tnes his best to satisty all 
tastes, even flying down orchids from 
Bangkok, even though the cost is pro- 
hibitive On Valentine's Day, he says, 
his sales double and he sells up to Rs ;; 
1 0,000 worth of flowers. ° 

The florist shop of the Taj Bengal is & 
also rather popular, though the ^ 

blooms here are far m.ire expensive. 
Ranjit Pradhan, who has been looking 
after the shop for the last five years 
and does most of the arrangements 
himself, says that most of his clients 
range between the ages of 17 and 35 
and think nothing of spending as 
much as Rs 5,000 on a special bouquet 
ot flowers. 

Pradhan, who is something of a 
romantic himself, lias a special touch 
when it comes to making flower 
arrangements for lovers: he uses heart- 



Coffee mugs in different shapes and eye-catching colours at Archies Gallery 



Heart-shaped showpieces for your love; available at Archies Gallery 





AST I 





“'•' l ■' «-'••' ■■ .-y ' sV *‘>>'. '" ' *f 

4 -it’ 



shaped baskets and trays 
Bui don't belabour under the misap- 
prehension that only men say it with 
flowers F.ven women have been 
known to send off the odd bunch on 
such special occasions as birthdays, | 

anniversaries and, of course. Valenti- 
ne's Dav . Says Rajiv Khatri ot Delhi 
Flowers, ' I mainly supply to all the 
Delhi hotels, but on February 14, this 
huge mass ot mankind swoops down 
on us. It’s difficult to even calculate the 
number, they come in thousands." 

And they inc lude men, women and 
children, ** *me of whom are all of six 
years old! 

Greetings 
from your 
lover 

tn 

A nother 'done to death, but works 3 
like a charm' rase is that of a card 2 
m the mailbox The copy may read £ 



Bouquet tor the lady love 


y 




-Vy-: :,>■ 

/ * t 

’ ■ ^ 

V 


V ! ' . * ' 

:• / 

i;, 

/ 


/ 


from the downright erotic {"The erubc 
touch of your hand and the sensual 
smell of your flesh...") to the sublime- 
ly romantic ("You are the island in my 
sea" ), but cards are given in any love 
affair 

Such greeting cards companies as 
Archies and I taUmark vie with each 
other for business. The former sells 
around 300-400 love cards every day 
in Delhi alone, and the number 
increases several times over during 
the month of February. Says Amar 
Deep Singh of Archies Gallery, Delhi, 
"The demand is so great that wc have 
to come out with new cards each 
month as well as reprint older ones. " 

Adds Hallmark franchise owner 
Manor Gupta of the aptly-named Senti- 
ment Gift Gallery, "Of the 1,000 odd 
cards we sr U in a day, 700 are love mes- 
sages. And nearly 70 per cent of the 
buyers are girls " Clearly, women arc 
still the more romantic of the two sexes. 

Archies Gallery has a branch in CaF 





cutta as well, on Lindsay Street, 
though the cards themselves come 
from Delhi. Archies has a special crea- 
tive team in place which does the 
'copywriting' for the cards, studying 
market trends, watching movies and 
reading foreign magazines to get new 
and fresh ideas. 

The price of the cards range from R s 
12 to Rs 150. And for your money, you 
can have every kind of message, from 
"Just love me" to "It's time we made 
up with kisses", or even "Please let me 
in," showing a young man knocking 
on a dosed door. 

The cards on display at Giggles on 
Park Street are also both eye-catching 
and witty Supplied by Hallmark, 
they are priced between Rs 12 to Rs 50. 
And according to Mrs Mehra, who 
looks after the store, most of them are 
sold out by the evening, and she has to 
find replacements for the empty 
shelves. Love and anniversary cards, 
she says, are most popular, and yes, 
her clientele also ranges from ages 17 
to 35 

Radio ga ga 

T here is a certain vicarious thrill m 
hearing vour inner-most feelings 
being described by your favourite dee- 
jav over the radio. And these days, 
more and more love-lorn teenagers — 
and even someoldci people — are opt- 
ing for broadcasting their love rather 
than merely expressing it. 

Says deejay Mamsh of FM Radio m 
Delhi, "It's not humanly possible to 
even listen to. let alone air all the mess- 
ages we get. There's a whole world of 
love-sick citizens out there." 

Poonam Mehta, a college student, 
tries to explain this fascination with 
relaying love messages over the radio. 
"You do not have to use gifts as an 
entry visa or a bargaining tool. Compli- 
ments delivered publicly are as good 
if not better " 

In Calcutta, you can call up while a 
programme is in progress and not just 
deliver a message fo»- your loved one, 
but even ask for a special song to be 
played for him/her. Of the shows that 
are specially popular here are Phone 
Aapke, Geet Human’ (in Hindi), MP 
Jewellers Bengali Dial -in, and a special 
love programme, Britannia Little 
Hearts. Love is On The Air , which broad- 
casts as many as 125 requests every 
week. 

FM radio also receives a number of 
letters from their listeners, which the 
deejays are then expected to read out 
on the air. Some of these, says Soub- 
hik, an FM radio deejay, are very 
emotionally-charged, and often have 


Cute carry-bags: With love and all 

to be edited to suit the time constraints 
of the programme 

There have been instances when 
lovers who have quarrelled or had a 
misunderstanding have made up over 
Times FM by having a friendly deejay 
read out their letters of apology. And 
on other occasions, the songs that they 
have requested act as messages them- 
selves. One girl, for example, asked 
that a certain song be played for a boy- 
friend: Please release me, went the lyrics 


Says Indram, the deejay who hosts 
Britannia Little Hearts , "We feel the 
messages should not be plain love 
talk They should also be witty and 
imaginative " 

And, tor the most part, that's just 
what they are Sometimes, the liste- 
ners compose a nice, long poem conv 
pnsing pn rases from various songs 
And on other occasions, they contain 
themselves with a romantic, mushy 
message with a song to inati h . 




Sometimes, love even spills over to 
? the people who are reading the messa- 
§ ges. Consider the experience of Rishi 
9 Prasad, the man who started such FM 
| programmes in Delhi as Dial- In -Hour 
f and Time-out Confessions , for instance. 

I "Girls used to write love letters to me 
in blood," he says, an incredulous 
expression on his face. "I mean, dee- 
jays are all fools themselves. You can't 
take them seriously You'll only end 
up feeling foolish about yourself a day 
later." 

Prasad may be bemused by all this 
attention, but most other men are 
auite happy to receive an ode from 
tneir loved one over the wireless Feel- 
ings and messages are reciprocated, 
and the radio often ends up doubling 
as a dating agency. 

Says Rajat Pahwa, a hotel ownoT, 
"The more imaginative you are, the 
more you achieve An extremely ver- 
bal description of wha! I am feeling 
and planning to do, delivered over the 
radio, added greatly m my lavour 1 
won her heart ’ 

Not every’ love note gets broadcast 
though Says Gurbani Malik, also an 
FM deeply, "We air the less bi/arre 
messages Sometimes, though, the 
male will provide himselt with a varie- 
ty ot imaginary talents, which he is fai 
from possessing m reality, from wind 
surfing to a three-month stint in the 
army " Such messages, apparently, 
are a strict no-no. 

W hat Musuul Band- Ho i was to tee- 
nagers in the Seventies and 
Eighties, television request progi am- 
ines are to their Nineties'counterparts 
The most unusual of these, of course, 
is Mere MesatitfC, Mere G*rt on Sony I V 
Here, young lovers - oi even fond 
parents, aunts and uncles - -don't 
nave to restrict themselves to writing a 
maudlin message which is then read 
out by a vivai ious deejay. On this pro- 
gramme, the persons in question 
ac tually appear on camera to send 
their messages across to their ioved 
ones It may he to a girlfriend who is 
sulking for some reason, to a fiancee 
who lives in another city, or even to a 
wife on an anniversary but the essen- 
ce of the message hardly ever varies 
from the "1 love you, I miss you" 
variety 

Then you have such programmes as 
Rasn a Song Tvrv Nairn, where you can 
ask for your favourite song to be play- 
ed for tne one you love, along with a 
meaningful message Okay, you don't 
get to appear on tele' ision, but then 
not everybody wants to Remember, 
love in India is still a rather secretive 


Cuddly teddies: For your loved ones 



Gilded butterflies: Bound to set your heart aflutter 


venture And must young people 
would dieot mortification — ot 
would he put under house arrest- - if 
their love attain, hecanu public know- 
ledge *n ta^ t, say deejays, sometimes 
the names ot the lovers in question are 
not real either, and even their messa- 


ges are conveyed in elaborate code. 

Sample quote. "Would the young 
ladv in red at the college social get in 
touch with Mr X I le hasn't had a good 
nights sleep evci since they attended 
that poetiv reading. " Well, you get 
| the picture 



A Gift for Someone You 
Love 

I f you're still at the stage where you 
need to inundate him/her with 
gifts to spark their interests, then 
you couldn't possibly go wrong at 
Giggles, the gift shop on Park Street. 
On offer for the incurable romantic 
are ceramic mugs that are twisted 
and misshapen and come with the 
message, "1 melt in your hands”; or 
even those which have a hole 
running through the middle which 
sav, "I love you hole-heartedly.” For 
those with a less adventurous bent 
ot mi rid, there are the usual cuddly 
toys, or heart-shaped cushion which 
say "I love you” and can be hung on 
youi bedroom wall. You could also 
buy her a sticker for her car that 
says, "1 love you too much to let you 
go” or pot-pourri filled heart-shaped 
plastic jars. There are also plastic 
neart-snaped pieces on offer which 
would look just right on her study 
table, and have such messages os 
"LoLs of love to someone wno means 
si' much to me,” embossed on them 
If you're loaded, of course, you 
needn’t bothei with these trifles Just 
go right ahead and splurge on that 
solitaire. After all, doesn't th>? saying 
go 1 "Diamonds are forever” 


11 


OSTALGIA 


SCENES OF OLD CRIMES 

Anita Mehta revisits the haunts of her student days 


A rcjum to the scene ot old cri- 
me?! 19 always dangerous, 
specially it the return is 
soon after the first 

parting — there are so many ghosts to 
be laid to rest, whether these be of old 
enmities i ir old friendships So I was 
understandably wary when I went 
back recently to the terrain where I'd 
lived for almost two decades, until my 
return to this city last year — but 1 felt 
obliged foi professional reasons to 
make the trip to F rance and England, 
somewhat earlier than originally 
planned 

Shades of old partings returned as I 
made the midnight trip to Durn Pum, 
past rows of sleeping houses on the 
VIP Road and along the deserted high- 
way which was to symbolise tor years 
the loneliness of impending farewell; 
at the airport. I played once again the 
role of an earlier life when time after 
time, the breaking night would swal- 
low me up and away from Calcutta, as 
I moved a way (rom the extended bou- 
quets of loving hands that waved 
goodbye This time, however. I knew 
it was only a role — this time, the 
thought of return lulled me to even- 
tual sleep as we headed towards the 
western nonzon, the sun rising at our 
heels 

First to Fans, and to tho welcome 
that only that city of all others can 
make to me - - somehow there is a 
sense of deep belonging that surfaces 
slowly when 1 am there, akin to the 
way m which i*s sibilant language 
makes a gradual comeback to my 
linguistic nerve < entres, causing me to 
remember words and phrases that I'd 
thought were as buried as the times 
when 1 tin t learnt them as a child 
M) friends tnere were as warm as 
ever, possibly more so now that they 
could no longer take my proximity for 
granted -- a far cry from more 
northern societies w here one it forgott 
en along with I Fie sound < > tone's retrea- 
ting footsteps I, too. was deeply 
aware of how r little I could lake for 
granted what had once seemed within 
easy reach — the friendship and love 
that exists despite a deep knowledge 
12 



The Eiffel Tower, Paris 




An imago of Durga resplendent In shola carvings 


of the other, the lazy mornings over 
rich black coffee and pain au chucolat, 
the morning rush on the sparkling cob- 
blestones of the lbth arrondissement, 
somehow never devoid of sartorial ele- 
gance and the whiffs of French fragran- 
ces, the sloping grey rooftops that lend 
a unique signature to the dullest of 
skies, the presence of so much .art so 
concentrated, as in the tip of a blazing 
needle, in this one city, tne restaurants 
■with cuisines from around the world 
that provide a tnp to another culture 
of an evening. 

Paris is for me the city of cinema — 
nowhere else can one find Bunnuel, 
Ray, Bergman, Allen, Almodovar and 
Fellini c$>ex is ting with an air of nor- 
malcy, week after week, year after 
year; nowhere else are there movie 
halls in every arrondissemont which 
shows films of ever y type, every gesta- 
tion and always with avid viewers of 
every age and class. 1 recall seeing Ara- 
nycr Dinratri for the fifth time in Paris, 
being surprised at the quality of the 
French translation (which far surpass- 
ed the English in its acuteness), surpri- 
sed at the ability of the French audien- 
ce (still numerous, despite the many 


[ times it has been shown here) to laugh 
I at the right times, to appreciate the 
quality of the unsaid despite being in 
the presence of a translated culture. 

Perhaps this is because less is lost in 
translation here than m many other 
cases, Paris has aspects of great cultu- 
ral affinity with Calcutta in ways that 
are often not the most obvious That 
the French are as passionate about 
their language as the Bengalis are 
about theirs, is well known — but 
what, on one occasion 1 found truly 
evocative of Calcutta, was when a 
stranger I 'd asked directions of in Par- 
is insisted on walking me to my desti- 
nation simply because he registered 
real pleasure in the fact that my requ- 
est was made in French 

There is an undcfinablo something, 
as well, that unites our two languages, 
the social complexities, behind our 
use of apw and turn/ are instantly com- 
prehensible to my French friends, the 
feeling for the unspoken at the end of a 
sentence, the use of generalities pregn- 
ant with symbolic exchange, are 
aspects of both French and Bengali 
conversations which lead in the end to 
extremely verbal societies. 


[ Pans is also, for me, the city of jazz, 

I specially of the Latin American 
variety: the lambada was tirst vulgaris- 
c*d here from its origins in Bahia, and 
in so doing given the consciously sen- 
suous Parisian twist which was much 
tess self-conscious in it* place of ori- 
gin. Star Brazilian singerslike Gilberto 
Gil, Gaetano Veloso and Chico Buar- 

S ie are easier to access in this city than 
ey are in their country, and 1 recall a 
memorable night where they perform- 
ed to a clamorous audience, winch 
ended in an impromptu display of 
warm and ail-embi acing brilliance on 
the dance floor. 

Paris seems somehow the 1 home 
away from home for the manifestation 
of a culture where subtle intellectual 
perceptions rub shoulders with a 
hard, almost rough sensuality; and 
Parisians above all, with their love of 
logic seem able to appreciate the inner 
contradictions which generate and 
sustain this cultural vibrancy 

Lest I am accused of being overly 
Francophihc, let me say that 1 was not 
blind this time to the scourge ni home- 
lessness, to the alarming incr' ase in 
begging, to the boarded -up houses 

13 



L* 


«’■ ffiri'.* ... '« ^ 


.tWrfi-i- . .*•* 

‘i!«' 

“*■ ••*<! 


*2 4 

I 

; ■ -;*v 







Kpi 

& 


'■*> 




II 


characterising the areas where the 
unemployed and underemployed 
live, which have begun lo atflict even 
the most deeply imprinted images of 
endless sparkling evenings in roadsi- 
de cafes 

1 lowever, the images 1 earned aw ay 
with me were those of the steeple of 
the church of Louvecienncs glimpsed 
across a bare forest under pale late 
afternoon skies, of glasses oft tull- 
bodied wine raised m celebration with 
an ever -increasing ring of friends, of a 
glut of Renoirs at a museum that left 
one breathless with undigested 
richness 

And so to Cambridge, and to even 
more dangerous personal leri itury, as 
I went as a visitor to a place that was 
tor vears my home - il seemed 
strange to know a place so well, and 

The gate of Palai du Louvre 


A still from Satyajit Ray’s Aranyer Din Ratri 






The homeless catching a bit of warmth on the banks of river Seine 



yet to be denied now, the full know- 
ledge of love, to be constrained to the 
level ot well-bred formal exchange as 
befitted old acquaintances. The book- 
shops and music shops which were 
my naunts here are still largely unalte- 
red, and 1 felt I was melting into time 
past as I slid unnoticed into alcoves 
peopled with my favourite authors 

Kings College Chapel, to which I 
made a delayed visit as I wanted to 
make sun 1 1 could withstand the 
onrush of memories deriving from 
years of singing and listening to music 
there, made mi' a beautiful offering, 
quite by chance, the chon performed 
at Evensong the Poulenc e mass that 
our chon had sung there many years 
ago under the same conductor, Steph- 
en Cli'ohury 

Tlie bright candlelit faces ot the cho- 
i istcrs the resonant es of the great old 


organ, the grace of the fan vaulting, 
the limpid luminosity of the stained- 
glass windows, the echoes of the sing- 
ing fading softly, softly into an ether 
thick with memories and majesty and 
mystery, were reminders that 
immortality attaches itself to the 
moment, even when the present suc- 
cumbs to the inevitable. 

The parallels with Oxford, the scene 
of even older crimes for me, are obvi- 
ous- - there, it was Evensong al New 
College, in front of the altar that has 
always reminded me of the sholar 
thakur that one sees during the pujas in 
Calcutta with its resplendent while 
carvings in their vertical ascent to the 
ceiling 

There, it was another old favourite, 
one of Vaughan Williams' Five Mysti- 
cal Songs, "Rise heart, thy lord is risen' 
that provided the miraculous element, 
transcending the moment, and leav- 



ing it burnished on the histories of all 
who heard it The sun shone, that Sun- 
day in Oxford, unusually for spring 
this year m England — and the gar- 
dens around me were idyllic, as only 
English gardens can be with their silve- 
ry, filmy willows, then sprightly 
daffodils 

And most importantly, the solid 
friendship of those whose piesence 
formed tne staple of my student days 
there, was everywhere m 
abundance - whether m college 
rooms at Christchurch on a rainv Mon- 
day or m ihe welcoming home in 
'Bolloy ot my closest friend' a** we 
watched on video a stunning six-hour 
BBC production ot Pi nie and Prejudice. 

The BBC, one of the things 1 most 
miss about England, allowed me to 
wallow m the nostalgia of other morn- 
ings when 1 would wake to the sound 
ot the Today programme on Radio 4, to 
John I lumpnreys' sardonic hunvHir 
delivered m an eminently comforting 
voice, to the point that its very tones 
would con|ure up the aroma of freshly 
brewed roftce and rolls, the vision of 
sunlight streaming through my kitch- 
en windows 

Nostalgia tor a vanished England 
was also the basis of the great success 
ot Emma Thompson's brilliantly scrip- 
ted Sen^eaud Sensibility, evoking as it 
did the spirit of another time within 
the quickfue pace of the 20th century, 
ol reserve couching lives intensely liv- 
ed rather than being a meaningless 
chaff tor emptiness within in a world a 
million miles away from the post- 
modern drabness ot roundabouts and 
shopping arcades that disfigure the 
same places today 

When l lei t Cambridge early in the 
morning to catch my return flight 
from Stansted. the sun was rising in 
the eastern skies, and it would be 
untruthful to claim that the mist 
through v\ Inch I saw' it was entudv 
atmospheric I was reluming, once 
again, from <i place to which I'd retui Ti- 
ed a month ago, to the one 1 lived in 
now, which I'd also loved and left 
many years ago tor the place 1 w as 
now leaving - the concept ot return 
seemed to be turned on its head, the 
concept ot leaving, was something that 
1 had clearly left behind long ago, and 
all trajectories were circular 

Fverv where there was a leturn to a 
part of life once lived, i ontingent on a 
parting trom the same in another 
place, nomc was both the place to 
which I was th ing, as well as the one I 
was leaving behind, and the idea of 
return i\ as no longer directional no 
longei had a unique sense ■ 


T 


IME TABLE 


* 


All arrival and departure times are for Calcutta 

Days of operation using 7-day coda: ' MONDAY TUESDAY i WEDNESDAY ■« THURSDAY V TRIDAY -4 SATURDAY t SUNDAY 
iA-* these p-njes «.jd it- press une week in invanre, marieis should check with lespective airlines and railways foi last minute change in Innings) 


FLIGHTS 


Departures 

Pit No Time Days 

« AGAHTAtA 


gW AHMEDABAO 

Mil «iU’J ■ j . 


;:m aizawl 

Pf ’I 1 *.t i I 


>M 8AGDOGRA 

if, .7 1. ' 


* BANGALORE 


M • 1 ■ I."* :■ . 

i« BHUBANESWAR 

n r «- v .■ ■■ 


• DELHI 

a 

\v. >.|. • 

if i»i. 




Arrivals 


Departures 


n v 
'i - . 

' 'I -i 

■ ' 1 - 


i -i. 
i i-l 


* MUMBAI 


A. 

t/-, 'll ! 

I' l'| ll ■ ' 

''ll 


DOMESTIC 


Arrivals 


Fit No 

Time 

Days 

1 Fit No. Thm 

Days 

Fit No. 

Time 



■ „ . S A . ;■*,* - 

; v i Mu 

: 

'A VJ 

i .'Ui 


i r 

, ; 1 ■ * * 1 

; 'iiV.lt H«. 

daily 



.■ 


■i 

• IMPHAL 

, 



'* iM 

i -r 


j '(.-Jp fH-ll , 

* 

■I ? l ». 

Ml. . 

.s’ ■ ■ 

ii i>. 

v '. » 

| /’ 'iii' 


!'' '! \ 

S'.i.i 

1 1 ' 

■ ' 11 

* 

* JAIPUR 







V V ->M; 

! . ' 1 

fi.,» ii. I'. 

•Ir' 

Mi 1 '. 1 

b • 

; . ' 4 r r. * 

' W JORHAT 




Pf i:, 1 




1 7 

i* 

1 .1 

i *. , 

ii -‘i 

_ 1 

W ULABARt 







, n 'f'j, i 

: ; i< 

51. * 



1 

. 4 r 

m LUCKNOW 






. 

: !? ,i u..i 

j r 

i. ‘.-1 


t . i; 


i ; ; 

' o i ini . .'r ‘i 1 

* . « i 

„ i;". 


■' 1 

U !l 

1 

■ MADRAS 

, 


... 


• NAGPUR 


.« DIBRUGARM 

r. . i* 


- W DIMAPUR 

!■; 


Mi GOA 

vi: ■■ 


GUWAHATI 


I .Cm ' ! ’ 

M ,r t ' 

(» HYDERABAD 

" ' ' 

u -,v ' 1 



FLIGHTS 


AMMAN 

pj \< ' : v 

ft* AMSTERDAM 

K. -■! », u. . 

BflB BANGKOK 


HP 1!.'» 
r- ii ■ 


l/e'i 


PATNA 


* PORT BLAIR 

* RANCHI 


StLCHAR 

■/. tj^i 


t;, j.* 

Ill, 


ll 

i/.'.l 
: v 


■ TEZPUR 

" Z 1 * U-’l* 

* VARANASI 

r -. H-. Hit; 

M'« 'H I' 1 ' 1 1 it. ii" 


i!iiii ) 


. W V13H AKHAIWNAM 

i.' .-!■ mi ■ .* -i r . »■ 

I rt 'ijf. «! 


Ii, ■ '* 

'■ 'I 
if -ft’i ■ 

if. 'Ill 
int. 


ifty. 

11 . 7 . 

Uf> 

' ViE 
1 'Mi 1 


-i ; 


* BUCHAREST 

Ru fi/t /i JU 


1 . Si 1 iKi'. 

M'. 'I I'll l'* J - 


Ii - I' 

!•■■ I! I 


'll .ll 
I*. 'll 


INTEWTJONAL 

i - 1. 


iiN 

Hi) 


i.n-i 

in.- 


Ilii'i 


16 



Fit No. Time Days 

mimmmom, 


Amvait 

Fit No. Tiro 


Arrivals 


DB 5 A 


if. Ai. • 0700 

1 :f l'L’n 

'JfCU 

i 

pc 6% i. 1 :'. 

'• Ij(. 

11 55 

'. r 

mhmtm 

■ • / 1 " ■- ' 

• / ‘ 

- A :. zj* ^ 

BC-0'1? Oh'/. 

4 BG Ml 

nan: 

4 !) 

BGfiy. im) 

i '■ 1 r ’ BC.fjn 

1110 

1 ;■ 3 . i* ,* 

u:-,v« i.'OO 

1 1 !■ 1 II ;/l 

1*)?0 

1 A '• b 

BC 0'J4 V-*' 1 ' 

! . 1 ; kii fni 

142'. 

!MU ' 

ISC VW • 1 , 1 1< 

1 Ri, li*l • 

V.3H 

-1 

BG O'di) :ii:o 

' *■ BC '. ,u 5 

2M' 

1 

l-WHA 


- ‘.‘v ' 


0/ OHI 

m DUBAI 

HI 1H 1 .'vn. 

07 (Mi 

I/TJ 

1 

< m! 111! 

‘ 07/0 


• KATHMANDU 

HA '11 

1/ :* j 


i 


u\ 

i.; ‘V 


\ ."..O 


Fit No. Time Days 

Fit No. 

Uma 


RA 142 21 l u . J / 

' “ i<" 

. * V.'< . 

1 it ‘'. J ’. - 

' r ’■ ■ 

BA 142 

::.t- 

.. ! 


«V..‘ j- s , 1 

• V - . ■ " 

■7 . ; j , 


SUbte i/v, 1 

mi w; 

i-^ ' 


,wm 



i^aiaaKw 

IOC 1105 i 

KR ire, u« 

KB-UP. 

"Vi in 

2 6 

• m-.wmtmam 

; 

, _ 

‘r'- ■> r_* * .. 

gc 41 :• c'W, . r . 

-.il 4 Hi 

r 


Bi-inf. isb J 7 ! 

B> 10 ‘ 

7 UJ 0 




f c. 


17 1 7 -'.J 

! '■ ‘. 0 * 

it jii 

1 



' . . 

• . ; / \ 1 . 

Ai xv.. mi* 

Ai tj'< 

u,y 

i. 

,m YANQON . 

‘ \ ' 



ic :v- 15 v; -1 ■ 

H i/r 

wy- 

M / 


Al Aii India • BA British Airways « 
Roya! Dutch Airlines • LZ Balkan 
Airlines • SQ Singapore Airlines i 


» BG Biman Bangladesh Airlines • Bl Royai Brunei Airlines • D 2 Skyline NEPC • D 5 NEPC Amines • 1 C Indian Airlines • KB Druk Air • KLM 
Airlines • M 9 Mwdiluft • PF Vayudoot • RA Royai Nepal Airlines • RJ Royal Jordanian Airlines • RO Tarom Air Transport • S 2 Sahara India 
i SU Aeroflot • 4 S East West Aidines • TO Thai Airways International • 9 W Jet Airways • Q 7 Qatar Airways • VF VIF Airways 


s 


Departure 
Up Time 


;.i ", /i. , 

iv •• r' 

>.i-t l 

^I'i-j 
■' i.'; '( i lb 

" u'.*' I i 1 ’. 

; < 1 A v; 
il|[M i/'. 

■h.r is..* 

ji'tl , I || 

t if 

vl'i * ! l 

r > ■ l«. ,'S 


14 7.1 
IS 


l* 

M-n 
■,i:i 
■•h:, ■ 

HI'. • 

•ii» i 

.list 

'.i tj 
iiu.l 
SOBS 


TRAINS 


EASTERN RAILWAY 


Arrival 


Howrah 

Time 

Delhi- kalka Mall 

Amritsar Mall 

Bombay Mall 0 n< 

Poorva (Now Delhi) Express • . - n v.ir.u .1^ 

• 1 4 ‘ ^ , 1 

h 4 '. 

' .i’. 

r re 
H !• 

» ' .■ : <\ 1' 

Poorva (New Delhi) Express 

, r • i . , „ . . \ \ , 

: r 

.1 ' 1 , * , ■•!. 

Rajdhanl Express , • ■** 

. | J ?, .j , , v ' , r 


1 ' ' ■ 1 . , !' |r ' l «, ,-r, 

Rajdhanl Express ■ 1 1 

1 • III ' ■ r • , * A j , 1 m \ 


• , 1 ( 1 1 l m • v ; 1 1 * 

Jodhpui Express 

Shatabdl (Bokaro Steel City) Express 

; ii. 

71 


Time 

I 1 -ill 
1 ‘J 1 ‘. 
Al l T . 

(•- 

,V- 0 (i 
.'ll Uli 

II 20 
L'fl 55 
it: ,■{» 
12 40 


i 'il !■ ' 1 I 1 ' ‘.i 

(Jammu-Tawl) Express 1 

M '•]■ 1 ' \ . 1 ' Ai '.V'" 

Grewlttti Express 

■ [ W-ii'-i il.i, A' 1 "I i, 

Gorakhpur Express 

*, -xr. u 

Purbanchal (Gorakhpur) Express 
i.i,' \ i":; r ij" M>.! xV-ci .v in 

Ooon Express «... v mi iWd 

U dyy Afaha Tootan Express m *'»m 

Amritsar Express 

Kathgodun Express 

MMMla (Raxaui) Bam 

Kamnit (Guwandl) Bpass 

Black Diamond Bqpress 

Coalfield Express 

Asansol Express 

Danapur Express 

JamaJpur Express 

SartinIMan Express 

Chambii (Gwalior) Exprass 

LU| M..p 1,1, % T»1 jr- Al w„r. I! , :i: r l 

Ship® (Indore) Express 

i)i'[i /»i"j 'i.it f\ 'il' 

A,i ' II" '.\v.' \ ,{! 

Shaktfpunj (Chopan) Express 
Chamral (A ore Cant) Express 

. ■» |* h|i1.,y m|- Iui’mM', 

Sealdah 

Taasb-Tom Express 


1 3.1 

7 Oil 

v:. t*. 
r. if* 
: 1 bS 

•-nr 

h jO 
^l-^J 

If 3 f i 
ii 4'. 
» 10 
r . n; 
U- 4 C 

' ss 


Dn 

AH, 

#/X, 

n’li'l 

aih. 


<'|0 

.'■i/I 1 

^ 171 

ton. 

mi 

■kA\‘. 

kiOh 

Ai/n 
.«!. 2 

ir.ie 

ji'j 

ni.’;* 

r «n;o 

i Hi,'. 


■ sf. n/: 


Lai Quite Express vi i Mj-ii hni' 

Ksnchanjunga (binding) Express 

Gore Boreas 

tvsarar txprasa 

Jvrvnu-Tml Bow 

Mughal Sanl born :.»g Limp 


ml bom vi.i : 

(Lalaols) Bore a s 
Gangs Sagx j^aktrar)Eqms 

Dfip & An , i n»‘ Thi |r s it s^l 


4 to 


Time 

I , '35 
G 4 lj 

' 1 !i 

.’(i ->1 
5 15 
4 :.•) 
15-50 
K jl) 

in 

1-25 


» V.'i 

iuc 


Dn 

m4:’ 

*144 

jM' 

ns 

!ihM 

31V 

J134 

JI04 

*1030 


Departure 
Up Time 


tAMk. 

boo: 

:'W 4 . 

A’.'l 

ttfW 
Hun: 
2311 
/*i in 


r/n : 


Kit*. 

Hill 

auo: 

Bln 1 . 

ixtr 

1141’ t 

i; • ; 

sill. 

•ml 


if"." 
24. ! 


Ki.'f’ 


bl 1 * 


211 - 2,1 
n "u 




1 1 


SOUTH-EASTERN RAILWAY 

Howrah 


VI/I fwuii"’ 


Bombay 

Gltanjail 


/'• 4 

.’i 1 ‘ 

I “-(.I, 
h ! r 
"1 

Hi - 4 ‘- 


\b ’hi 

:n 4 i 

• i t .‘. 

y 

m . . 
'- c . 

'v 


MU. .‘.‘-V 


M i' 1 -. 


j Berm 

1 An f <t epi 

* 

mmmm txpmi 

Kurta Express r,.< Naqivj 
Coramandal (Madras) Express t t C uiu . 
Fulaknuma (sacrextaretad) Bom 

i "I. 'm. ii.‘ A ■ r 
All V™, I'l"', i\ „\\ 

Bangalore Express 

f»|i ■■■■ , "ld/ 

A;! 

Tala Steal Express 
Israt (Jharsuguda) Express 
Tmaanh Bom 
Ftochl HaBe Express 
Purl Bgvaas *■ ' r 'ill/,, k 
.lanan i Wh (Pud) Boress 
SSSl^hubanwwr) Boreas 
East Coast (Hyderabad) Bores 
Puwlta Bom 

i.'f; i. ». i-f.! ' ..t' jul . a 

An 1 ■' • p* 1 ii ,| d.i\' 

A2Bd Hind (Pun) Weekly Express 

Ut'ii ^ An «'i 

Bhubaneswar-New Delhi Rajdhanl Express -v 

M..AIJH .vimJdv mi-, 

MX re-lfc-l m j flnliJi Hill ri 

rMM us ini 'B n uDB nww r nsiOttfii express > 

• ii'Aijhi MtUi .lily . -n 1 r 

GunohNi - Howrah - Trivandrum Central Bom 

M 'I'.JdV <v«lv 

Trtvandnm Ortral Howrah - Guwaltetl Bom 

.•]„•! Id, i'll. 

Cochin Harbour Terminus - Guwahtel Weakly 
Express i-'.i v^w'iifi' M iw l '- . 
rvjiyjr.’, yi' 1 . 

GtamluB - Cochin Harbour Tamrinus Weakly 
Expran :<n <• iii s v.'-kh (lv-'mi’I' 
iv *p:, 

Ccchm Harbour Tarmlnui Boreas >.... 

HdW :h' 

D»0 !.e, .1 
r i i,ar & 

Guwahtf - Bangalore CRy Weakly Bom . > 

niwM 1 . .Si UJtld.lt' 
y,vctn.’Mj.iy oni\ 

Bangalore CRy - Gumehtel Waakty Exprae . . 

K am! & Cljtl'll kl MjllJ.lv Ul»l| 


Arrival 

Time Dn 

WK'-i 
*■ 'i ,ffl' 

1 .’hv* 


i 

If. .'0 
1.' 12, 
■'i 41 ! 


AlJ.v 

HC.A, 

/H4, 


din.' 1 
w . ' . y 
ix'if" 

Ml," 
f Jl 
bHh 
KM If-. 


ENCUPES: For round the dock InformMkin or Eastern Railway and 
SoutM-astem Railway trains, plena dial 2203545-64 tor In- coming trains; 
2203535-44 (or all other Information For Information about reservations on 
Eastern Railway and South-Eastern Railway trains, dial 2203496-3500 (from 
B am to 8 pm on we o kd a ys and 8 am to 2 pm on Sundays and amat- 
ted holkteys) In addition, dial 1331 (tor reoontod Information on tram 
running), 131 (regarding train operations) and 135 (regarding reservations). 
Train service enquiry 3 Sealdah; 3503535/37. 


17 


Sketches 



What the chattering classes arc talking about 


% 

F irst gained popularity in 

India: Strangely enough, in a 
foreign incarnation Yes, it was 
the mother ot all chat show 
hosts, Oprah Winfrey, who brought 
this format into our living rooms, and 
made us all addicts to her brand of 
confessional television It wasn't long 
before we were hooked on to the 


This Week: The Chat Show 


emotional outbursts ol sundry 
dysfunctional Ameucan families, 
who would discuss anything from 
incontinence to incest under the 1 glare 
of the studio lights And even those 
among us who'd never heard ot 
bulimia 01 anorexia in our lives were 
completely involved with Oprah's 
personal battle ot the bulge 


I low we suffered when she gained 
an extra pound’ I low we exulted 
when she reported that she hadn't 
gone on a binge tor a couple of weeks’ 
And what bliss reigned when Winfrey 
{mails came down to her ideal weight 
and stayed there 

Across the gender barrier: W'as none 
other than Phil Donahue, who seemed 
to revel in bringing ever v freak in 
Amenta on to lus show, his special 
preference, though., seemed to be for 
trails sexuals iikI transvestites With 
his shot k ol white* hair and 
hypei active style, Donahue 
maintained an iron control over lus 
show, though he did have the grace to 
look discomfit tod when a particular 
abusive person called m While he 
lacked Oprah's easy charm, he more 
than made up with his own pec uliar 
brand of aggression 

Across the ocean: Was Robert 
Kilruv-Silk, the I orv MP who 
resigned his seat in Parliament and 
sta. led a Phil I )onahue style show on 
telev lsion, emboldened by the fact 
that he had been labelled the prettiest 
tace in the 1 louse ot Commons. But 
before he was allowed on the idiot 
box, he had to drop his 
double' barrelled surname — on the 
grounds that it would alienate most 
middle and working class viewers — 
and call hiniselt Kilroy 

I I is show too vv r as based on an 
unhappy compromise 1 formula like 
this one 1 le tried lo pul up a show 
which combined Oprah Winfrey style 
theatrics w'lth intellectual concerns, 
and it simply didn't work. 

His female counterpart:! lad her own 
cponymously named show, Vanessa 
1 ler lumpy frame dressed in ill-cut 
suits, she looked just as down-market 
as her programme But she did 
manage to find quite a few faithfuls in 
the lower end of the English social 
spectrum. 


Nikki Bedi: Fiory exuberance 



18 




And here in IndiaiWell, we have 
Slwkh, the programme that deals with 
women's issues This is more serious 
stuff, winch deals with such problems 
as the empowerment ol women and 
their place in Indian society The 
original hostess, Malvika Ra|kotia, has 
taken time off to have a baby and the 
show is now fronted by Piiriit.i Roy 
But the staple fart' remains the same 
Dealing with men's issue: Is none 
other than the beatif u ally-snulmg 
kiran Kher, on the 

* aopropi lately-named Parish ^hrtru 
§ The programme is as much a 
? showcase tor kher's impressive 
/ collection of saris as it is tor such 
■ 'male' concerns as impotence, 

! pre-mai liai se\, pornography , and 
; now important if is to have* a virgin tor 
,! \ our bride But to he tan r kiran deals 
with ali sin h trick\ issues with 
consummate case, getting her 
parlinpantsover trick v ground and 
disusing the t< nsion when things 
appivi to be g» Iting loo hot loi 
. com toil 

And you h.ive t« » admire her 
s i/.vnc turn' when v* »ii lealise that the 
. pool u oman h.is to ilisi uss such 
issues as the Icmalc oigasni in i hndi! 

Bringing up the rear: And \ e» v badly 
at that is IViva 1 endulkar It you want 
to know how mu to conduct a ch.st 
show then .ill you have to do is catch 

Vinod Du a: The suave chat show man 


ITiya in action She looks awkward 
and out of place on her own sets, lets 
the participants yak on and on and on 
without asking them to get on with it, 
or e\ on cutting them short, allows 
them to go otf on a tangent In short, 

1 endulkar has no control over the 
programme which is more often than 
not taken over by ihe people she has 


invited to the studio for their 1!S 
seconds of fame 

It is an abiding mystery how her 
pilot over got passed by Doordarshan 
And it is even more difficult to 
understand how the show continues 
to be aired on the channel, one would 
have thought some kind soul would 
have yanked it oft by now 

Perhaps she could learn a lesson 
from: Vinod Dua whose ClwkiiU'ifhu 
dealt with serious issues without 
making them dead boring But then. 
Dua knew r his stuff he kept the 
comments short, pithy and to the 
point, and never allowed any 
participant more than a couple of 
minutes of air time What's more, he 
ensured that the discussion never 
went oft on one w'dd tangent or the 
other 

The one that got away: Why. Nikki 
Bedi, of course’ And in some w ays, 
that is a pity Bedi may have had her 
detractors in the media — and 
certainly, there's no denying that she 
tended to go completely over the top 
on occasion — but she knew' how to 
keep an audience engrossed in her 
show. And if that took discussing 
breast implants and the like, well then, 
so wTiat? But in time Bedi would have 
learnt to keep her natural exuberance 
in check, and have developed a more 
responsible style And then, with her 
theatrical good looks, overwhelming 
smile and ease m front of the camera, 
she would have been hard to beat 



19 




NNEREYE 


BEJAN DARUWALL/ 4 


Aries 

March 2 1 - April 20 

(j.mcsh.i s.ivs bu\mg. 
celling, .shopping, Kiruliry 
,,n< -‘ ,nvi, stnu*nt will 
|q™|j§W|| wr onie again in 

sJu-nu* nl things AKu, 
!B &&B P r ' \ nil will roach nut veiv 
' splendidly to people anti 
places ho all media ol t onimunu ation and 
lra-jj>port, and [hat should help vou to 
giat^the goodies All i-‘ well in voui wort 
.no a f\pt*i l a promotion 


Leo 

| July 21 — August 21 

r ' g— I This is vorv do hnitcfy a 

“ time to moot, to stretch 

yourself out, till the hn- 
geis that give moot tin- tin 
gers that ifcoivc. be it 
money gilts, love, con 
tracts or plain taxes It is 
certain that work pressures and demands 
lould be almost teintying in thou interim 
ty and urgent v but you will do n superb 
|ob 



j Sagittarius 

■ November 23 — December 20 

I egaev, property Iin.inies 
and work make the 
important quartet ol voui 
hie This trend will 
continue light thiough tht 
month business i ould 
demand a lot of \uiu time 
and attention I axes and transactions take 
Up four lime Whittle the expenses Do 
away with unnecessan clutlei and 
wastage 



Taurus 

April 21 - May 20 

Nieicurv-M.iTs luuiuniLmn 

j uni uu ales a flurry ul 
, .il ti v i t v lor those in 
; business, hade, commeire, 
. industry and the arts 
Children, education and 
■ high vwltage cicatml\ are 
assuieil to give pleasure Your heart 
pound-, with passion a * ladv lurk lavours 
miu n ilh lo\ i- monev, mk ials and 
luni Moms 



Virgo 

August 22 - Septembei 22 

the moon's tirst quarter in 
your sign means time to 
tontvnlraif on voui |oh, 
but keep your we.ithei eve 
wide open toi promotion 
or job sw itc.li fomne\ 
ven-morn. publicity 
lollahmatiou, ihild buth higher education 
and rescan, h a»e taled and therefore 
cannot be blotted Sioiu.uh and nei ves 
mill’ need medication 



i 


j Capricorn 

' December 21 - January 19 

>ou i ul a u ule sw aliie in 
tei ms ol puhin i * nioiu-v 
ii'ieinom imuiiev, 
lollahut ations and new 
.lssignnu nl . I or si in it a 
w is! i lull dime, m i nines 
thn mgh as |! ir moon 1 
lirst qu.ii lei linn «ml to In most 
tasoui.ibli- 'loin i.uii.agi i la! as ■ 1 ei M*.lu 
skills aiul len.le; u ie*. i om» mlo h,M pla\' 
\ew sv u ei k t-. >. ■ 



Gemini 

j May 21 - June 20 

The sun in voo^ sign gives 
vou the neiess L ii\ boost to 
win tr lends, skirt a new 
enlerprise, win people o\er 

10 vou? side. honu- and 
ottue influences w ill .ihn 

11 nmale I his is a good 
time to hu\ sell house, » o-nmoJities .nul so 
op S i mui-h nix-' 1 ^ li » be done * o quick h th.it 

houi- might |ii‘-t not hi* enough roi vou 
i le.iltl. nv\ v ause temporal v « oiu ern 



Libra 

' Srptember 23 — Octoboi 22 

A grand reaching out lo 
people, vaiied 
rntci tamment and the 
1 i : immense |o\ olnealion, 

be it a recipe, a melody, a 
painting, a poem, a iluld, 
or a business ile.u I hose 
in rest mci h hn ini mg. investments 
housing, lalligraphv, tele* oninumicalion, 
wilting, trashing ailing and modelling, 

I V and itlin- stnke it luckv 



Aquarius 

January 20 — F'chrunry 18 

) 'ai Im i hn • li- a-'h 

poM rs lew ion to l hi 
hoiw'iiuiil l-u\ in -, s'-llin*', 
loaning and funding .re 
t!i» -..llir-it it atuii s j. m 
V jim i tan* V*u ■ . ill make 
Mu i leiil dei 1 . i • *»*.-. lh> ti._-.li 
lhe\ nun not hi Mie niosi h.ipj-t, mus 'on 
i ould 11*1*1 .i \\ i r nit u* -.Ik - . ' ei i it 1 1 fated 

liutLh..t . a passing, phase ke»p‘-h..ij 
implements out ol cliildien s i.asid‘ 



Cancer 

June 21 - July 20 

■ Moiles linu passion, 
i.n rtmnil, tauti a and 
niantia aie on tin* t ard-. 
\tni will spin. dan*’»- do a 
|ig Ilo* l ru K is t< » mov e 
last, lake < hami-s, im*\r il 
you have to and forsake 
ihi old tor the new though if might uiiim 
i w li O' h s, * lew s, letters and t alls 

and hi liiud-thr-si eni ai tis Hies are 
highliqhu d 


Scorpio 

October 23 — November 22 

, 'shades ol glusnost and 
| glamoui too toi uhi as tin 
sun and Saturn loim Inn 
i pkn mg this wivk The sun 
; gives vou just l hat bit ol 
; conlidence and perception 
1 sou need to overcome 
ohstek les, Saturn the teuai ltv to hokl on A. 

1 iniunev i» i*n\ isaged <. .ood lor \ on, sivs 
i Cj.inesha Imanci.il mud lies, taxes, loans 
investments are predicted 


Pisces 

Februnry 1 9 -- March 2U 

Ik if expi nses an 
? isgagement .« m linage o< 
a i \ tl!a‘*oi,ihi»i , it is 
pai liii-iship tu ie at all 
le\ els ( aoup .u ti\ ities is 
the wav it goi*s nov Alsu, 
\ .nl w ill he tying up all the 
1 1 Msi ends 1 hose m M’ligi. si, jsluilogx. 
le.u Ivng, resean h, editing, \\ riling lilnis 
and ‘healii’s, he.iling tanning nutrition do 
• e-iAaikahh well 





BIRTHDAYS 


May 26c Sun Wtile Saturn, says Canesha, means victory and 
money Wish-tultillmcnt, changes in the home tnmt and a home 
away from home seems likoly. 

May 27: Moon trine Neptune will make you egoistic 
adventurous and intuitive. That in turn, will help you to nuke 
headway 

May 2b t Moon trine sun indicates work will be done, people 
w ill bo friend h and new heights of power arid glory, The trick 
is to define your goafs. 

May 29: Merruiy conjunctions Mans means skills, dexterity, 
.speed, messages and powers of communication making you 


enterprising, successful and famous. Children and money 
make you luppy. 

May 30c Moon square Uranus could lead to complexities and 
a trying lime. It will be difficult lo be in control all the time. 
Tough but not an impossible year. 

May 3/; Moon sextile Jupiter leads U> maniage, 
collaborations, journey, overseas connections loans and 
investments. 

Junta l: The full moon conjunct*. Pluto making you daring 
and ready to explore and experiment. You will be travelling, 
rcadimg out to people and places. 


20 


JUNIOR WHIRL * HAl KAUFMAN 



WEIGH FAREIIt seems that if Loma weighs less 
than Fran, and Hazel weighs as much as Loma, 
and Sue weighs more than Fran, then Hazel 
weighs less than Sue. True or False? 


<mj) «5i juauiajcjK 


SWIM PARTY! A missing figure is needed to com- 
plete this swim scene. To complete picture, simply 
draw dot to dot. 


P AIR GAME! ^ f\T***^r"*/v m 

A dozen words shown p I Mrl 

in the diagram at right JSPA ST I 1 L 

are to be paired to form i 

just six words (of SKY WAL.L. 

’side] ring 

Words at left are to ^RAmItDAPT 

precede word at right in DMIjM ■ “Aw I 
the new words formed. ‘at | i a dl/ 

A way to avoid -■ ■■ 1 

confusion in solving this poser is to 
start With first word in the first column, find a 
compatible word in the second column and draw a 
connecting line to the second word. Do the same with 
next woref etc. 

A|diuco [|IM UTJiir pup uipjupq '([Hmapis Huueds pints' M>quioi pjcyv\ 


HOCUS-FOCUS 



l-To-6 SEQUENCE 
COUNTDOWN 

LOOK over the systematic 
arrangement of numbers 1 to 6 at 
left. Tnen see if you can determi- 
ne in how many different ways 
you can find 1 to 6 in order, mov- 
ing up or down, to right or left, 
but nut diagonally. 

Each 1-6 run must differ. That 
is to say, each six-some must be 
traced out in a varying path to 
include at least one new number. 

Perhaps you lack the patience 
to make ah actual count. If so, 
take a guess instead. 

Check answer below. 

( sApm )U 9J4jjrp XIA Mjij «* no V p|no,v\ 


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THE ADVENTURES OF LEGIONNAIRE BEAUPBEP 













Limelight 

MODEL TO VEEJAY 

Manprcet Brar ; ex -Miss India, is the new veejay for 
Channel V, reports SamttaBhatia 


S he zips around Delhi in a 

brilliant yellow Zen, dwarfs 
vou with her heeled six-feet 
frame and hopes to co-star 
with Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir 
Khan when she hits the silver screen. 
That's Manpreet Brar, India's ex-Miss 
India Ask ner where she gets that hint 
of an accent from while Veejaying 
Sansui Mangta Hai and she's shocked: 
"On the contrary, compared with 
other VJs, 1 sound like a poor country 
cousin As a matter of fact, I must get 
myself a twang immediately!" 

Ask her who she'd like to star with 
in her very first film and she savs 
corkily: "Kishen Kumar!" As you 
gaw k at her wide-eyed she promptly 
bursts into a huge laugh. Ask her 
where she did her schooling from and 
pat comes the rejoinucr. "Wrong 
question. I changed about 1 3 schools 
Should 1 name all? I am an 'army kid' 
through and through " 

She confesses in the same breath 
that developing roots in one place 
makes her very nervous, "1 never had 
any affinity for roots whatsoever' — 
which she puts down to her army 
background . And though she wears 
rings — there's not one significant one 
as "essentially men can't take the 
success of a woman. If the ring is to 
crime he'll have to be very successful 
m his own right " 

hast year saw this ex -Miss Universe 
runner-up do a juggling act - - 
travelling tni fashion shows, studying 
tor her MBA exams and finding the 
time tor an Agra -based organisation 
dedicated to children's causes. 

"Thank god for the fact that the 
institute that 1 was studying in was 
flexible with me as far as attendance 
goes," she savv sounding very 
relieved W ith her parents puHty 
determined about insisting that their 
daughter finish her education and not 
leave i\ off mid- way, Manpreet found 
htTselr shuttling between Delhi and 
Bombay, sli .gging hard at studying 
for her MBA finais and shooting tor 


Mangta Hai. "Peer advise makes a lot 
of difference and perhaps if it wasn't 
for them I wouldn't have gone 
through with the course, and they 
knew this and thus their insistence." 

Though now armed with an MBA 
degree, this newest entrant on 
Channel V doesn't think she'll have 
much use tor it in the near future. She 
explains, 'T hadn't thought of any 
other career when 1 took cm this MBA 
course. In a way I'll perhaps use it 
every day of my life but, frankly, I 
don't think I'll follow it though to take 
on a job Probably, few years down the 
line — but not right away anyway." 

With hex MBA exams now over and 
done with, Manpreet is all set to make 
a wmi-permanent home for herself in 
Bomba)' "I was shuttling between the 
two cities Quite frequently last year 
but now I trunk I'll be spending a lot 
more time in Bombay in the future So 
I guess I'll be getting a place for myself 
then' " 

And Hai — the request 

programme that earlier leatured 
Meghna Reddy and Anish - - came to 
Manpreet quite easily. The channel 
which was on the lookout for a VJ 
asked her if she'd be interested. A 
couple of days later Manpreet was 
auditioning in Bombay, the next day 
she was asked to pm and two days 
later she was on the sets shooting her 
first programme as VJ. The channel 
was nard pressed tor time and the first 
two episodes had to be rushed 
through, "but it was interesting," she 
adds 

And it's not really bothering her too 
much that her involvement with the 
programme ends with its 
presentation The letters are sifted 
through by the producers and 
requests pertaining to those bands 
that are in the news internationally arc 
aired. "The first few episodes were 
quite like a warm up for me Chatting 
with the viewer didn't come naturally 
to me, however, in the last two 
episodes wc shot 1 was more 


spontaneous and the shoot, too, went 
off far more smoothly than the initial 
episodes. The more you see yourself 
on screen and the more feedback you 
get on your performance, you alter 
your style It takes some time but you 
get there sooner than you expect." 



While she's enjoying her new role, 
it's too soon to teffl whether the 
audience has taken to her. She says, 
'Tve been on air for just about a 
month or so. ft's a slow process and it 
takes people some time to realise that 
the VJ is mere for good and is ru»t 
compering the programme tor just a 
couple of episodes." 

With her in die pilot's seat amongst 
the changes that one notices in the new 
avatar o tMangta flai, is that outdoor 
locations are being given a preference 
over a static studio environment. 
Recently, one saw Manpreet weave 
her way through the resurrected 
Neemrana Fort. 

She, too, prefer* the outdoors to the 
sets as a lot of uncontrollable things 
happen during such shoots which 
make tor some very interesting 



reactions. "Besides being visually | Manpreet Brar (middle) after winning the Miss India 1995 crown 




pleasing, there is bo much more 
stimulus that you can react to on an 
outdoor shoot that is not found in a 
studio." In the case of the latter the 
script has to be very gripping as the 
onus falls entirely on the VJ to cany 
through the show.. "Take Javed 
J artery's programme for instance — he 
needs a static background " 

The show may have' shifted out ot 
the studio ambience, but the effort is 
not to allow xt to become another 
'Public Demand' programme "There 
is no poip* m doing what the others 
are doing >ust can J t do that taport 
thing all over again It can't be the 
same " 




While Manprcei is under contract that 
prevents her from hosting any other 
music she's not too excited at 

the thought of acting in soaps. With 
her eye fixed on filmdom she's in no 
mood to be typecast as a small screen 
actress. "Besides, the quality of 
production and even the story -line of 
our soaps is very poor There aie very' 
few worth watching and the majority 
atvieally bad. I doubt it whether too 
many people actually follow them." 
However, what she'd like to do 
eventually is a chat show quite cm the 
lines of Kiran Kher's Purush Shctru 

T3 es.ides being the newest VJ on the 
l3h lock, Manpreet has been actively 
involved with UNDEP s 1 II V cell The 
organisation has hit upon the idea of 
putting together concerts for a larger 
purpose rathei than creating AIDS 
awareness. The concerts emphasise on 
helping and accepting those afflicted 
with AIDS She's depressed by the fact 
that even today people are not willing 
to accept HIV patients readily. 

Though there are countless cases of 
'AIDS deaths', the people have 
actually died of tuberculosis,, she 
adds. "Concerts such as these are very 
heartening; the mood at our last 
concert was one of ioyousne&s, one 
that struck a very cheerful note. We 
were just trying to establish that HIV 
doesn't mean death. So there were no 
serious or doleful speeches." She feels 
HIV has been painted too black. 
"We've gone too owiboard in trying 
to create a fear psychosis in people, 
and to gel people to accept tnose who 
have contracted the disease has 
become practically impossible/’ she 
laments. 

v She explains her involvement in 
I social causes thus: "Whatever said 
and done, when there is a familiar face 
& nufcii^ a statement, people do stop 
| and listen far mote than they would if 


£>8 





it was a face they didn't recognise. So perhaps? 

why not use that? Specially if it is for a For the sake of record she clarifies 

cause that affects all of us." lhat at no stage did she make any 

promises which she couldn't keep. If 

F or her own part she would much she didn't have the urge to return to 

rather be a doer than a talker. But a society all that she had got from it, 

question that gets Manprcet's hackles then she wouldn' t On the other hand 

up is the one oft thrown to beauty if the desfre to involve herself in 

queens past and present. "Do you ask something hit her even 10 or 20 years 
of a sports-person what he's doing for down the line she'd probably drop 
charity or what he'll do for some cause everything else and get into it full 
once he makes it big? At beauty time. She adds, "When 1 was crowned 

pageants you are shot this question I definitelj' held back from in aking 

only for one reason which is that for any statements or tall claims that 1 

one year the winner has to take up a couldn't see through. Social work is 

cause. The organisation tor its part very personal and you don' t do it 
wants to arrive at where your interests because 10 people ask you, vou do it 
lie, so that you can channelise your because it makes you happy. It has to 
energies in that direction for the next come from within and you can't do it 
one year/' A trifle unconvincing, half-heartedly. And if you are doing it 


half-heartedly then you are obviously 
doing it for the publicity or media 
attention — in tnat there is an inherent 
hypocrisy. On the other hand are 
those who are working silently 
without bothering about who is 
making note of their work/' she 
explains. 

She cites the instance of Michelle, 
Miss Namibia, and Miss Universe at 
the time when Madhu Sapre was 
runner-up, who has dedicated a lot of 
her time and energies towards the 
uplift of children, thnmgl i her 
organisation, Michelle s Children's 
Fund. "And she's not into movies — 
she's just into collecting funds tor 
children that she's helping support So 
I really don't think it's fair to 
generalise and make a blanket 
statement that all beauty aueens use 
their titles for promoting tnemsch es." 

B ut largely, are these titles just 
springboards to stardom; the 
glamorous world of the films 7 'Hu 
'social committment' lasting for the 
year of her victory, and then it's on to 
pursuing her own goals? Agitated she 
responds, "That one year does not 
belong to you as you are practically 
bought over by the organisation After 
the year is over, perhaps the first thing 
that the person wants to do is get on 
with pursuing her oa r; life cind 
ambitions, into things that i-lu* wants 
to do." Which need not be true all the 
while, she adds as an afterthought 
For Manpreet otters for films 
started pouring in the day she was 
crowned Miss India Now that 
Bombay is to be her second home, she 
weighs the options once she returns* 
"Last year was a matter of priorities. 1 
couldn't take on films as l was still m 
the middle of my MBA There is no 
point in doing two tilings and tailing 
at both. And other than having missed 
a few good offers I don't think I've lost 
out in any way " 

So, has becoming a public figure 
changed her in any way as a person? 
She says thoughtfully, "Well yes and 
no Wnile I have become a lot more 
patient [ have also learnt to say 'no' 
When people began to notice me after 
Miss India and subsequently Miss 
Universe, I found it very difficult to 
say 'no' to their requests tor shows, 
functions etc. I just couldn't bring 
myself to turn them down and since it 
was humanely impossible to live upto 
all the committments and 'yeses', I 
would end up cancelling it the last 
minute. Today, if I want to do 
something 1 do it willingly, if 1 can't t 
don't make a promise " ■ 


29 



'IRST PERSON 


mighty punch, ' ;m 

htypbx*T 

SyxrfowtktebMansbiptL 
Wkrifey^grei'tartfett* 

Being JodqMlup kt a 3x2 imp' . 

inMWtanarW :• 

- uw-cpfestfetni mark. .• 

Whit da wM dislike most la " 
others? . 

1 matte b mldifMfc. 

^ Wh* JSytm dislike meet in ■ 
yoottejl? 









i H S S till } : IT S MAM Of- 
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V V C -*' •’ '■■•*•■•' ' • .... 

5r* w 

iy« 



^'.**A^*ll 

41 




M The cover story 
headline reads, 'The 
Man Who Loves 
Women'. But Das 
Gupta is not the only 
man who loves 
women. 

Any man is going to 
be swept off his feet at 
the sight of a beautiful 
face. 

Arta Mishra, 

Cuttack 


.-d^uicpMr,. J 










PAGE 4 

SANJAN A KAPOOR shines as the hostess of 
the Amul India Show. But theatre still continues 
to be her first love 

PAGE 26 

THE MARKET for gourmet cooking is obvious* 
ly booming with the rise in the number of chefs 
and a host of cook books 


SECTIONS 


16 TIME TABLE 

20 INNER EYE: 

21 JUNIOR WM1R1 

22 COMIC'S 
26 LIFESTYLE 

50 FIRS T PERSON 










Cover stc^y 

UTTERLY 

BUTTERLY 

DELICIOUS 

Sanjana Ka/joor brings the small screen alive as the hostess of the Amul India 
Show. But, says Vaishati Honawar , theatre is still her first love 

SANJANA KAPOOR IS A KF,1 Ut T ANT CELEBRI- 
ty. She hates the spotlight and would do 
anything to stay away from it. So what is she 
doing hasting the Amul India Show on Star 
Plus, a programme designed to showcase 
highlights of Indian life? 

Ask Sanjana about her relationship with 
this “little monster" — as she describes tele- 
vision — and she laughs. No, she wasn't 
exactly brimming over with enthusiasm 
when she took on the job of anchorperson, 
but despite her misgivings, she did end up 
having a “super time" on the show. And, 
she adds, “There's also been a lot of positive 
feedback on the show, which is 
encouraging." 

Those who have watched the Amul India 
Show on Sundays swear that Sanjana is per- 
haps the best thing about it. She is beautiful, 
elegant, bright, and most of all, she knows 
to hold the diverse bits of the programme 
together with her brand of patter. 







And even though Sanjana does 
remind people ol that other fair- 
haired television host, Nikki Bedi (of 
Nikki Tonight notoriety), her line in 
chatter is very, very different Not for 
Kapoor, the theatrical, slightly over 
the- top style of Bedi. or even the camp 
commentary tit Kay C , who used to 
host the India Show earlier. Santana 
prefers the more laid-back approach, 
hut is all the more effective tor that 
According to Kakesh Sharma, cxecu- 
tive producer of the show, having San- 
lana as a^chorperson has been a defi- 
mte plus. 'She is a familiar face," he 
says, "and it is easier for the people 
she is interviewing to relate to her as 
they know what she is talking about 
She is also able to focus the conversa- 
tion. so there's a visibly easy, relaxed 
atmosphere." 

The lady behind Prithvi Theatres 




I hs point is well taken. There may 
be a slightly no- nonsense air about 
Sanjana, blit her bright smiles flashes 
through all too often, and she laughs 
an often lot And she's breathtakinglv 
attractive, even on an unbearably hot 
summer day. clad m a long, xleevele: x 
dress with just a dash oJ lipstick tor 
make-up Right now, she is in the mid- 
st of doing her bit by way ol publicity 
for the Annil India Shflu\ and it in cleai 
that she's not really enjoying any o! 
this 

S anjana's aversion to being in Mu* 
limelight perhaps has its roots in 
her family history. The only daughter 
of Shashi and Jennifer Kapooi, she 
grew up in a world where both her pai - 
ents were public figures Her mother, 
the daughter ol English stage thespi- 
ans, Laura and C.eoffrey Kendel, was 
more interested in the theatre - 
though she did play the lead in dfi 
Chawnnght'c la tic — but father Shashi 
was the heart-throb of millions when 
San|ana was growing up. And having 
seen him being mobbed by people on 
the road, celebrity status was not some- 
thing Sanjana aspired to. 

And [ennifer Kapoor made sure 
that her children - -both Sanjana and 
sons Karan and Kunal — had their feet 
planted firmly on the ground. "We 
had an absolutely normal chi Id hm xl 
in that there was no filntt atmosphere 
at home," recalls Sanjana. "We were 
given Rx 5 as pocket money and we 
would go to school by bus. Even at 
school we were never treated as cele- 
brity children Belonging to a film 
family really did not make any real dif- 
ference to us as there was no slarriness 
in our lives." 




But for ^11 that, Sanjana was a fully- 
paid member of the Kapoor family, ’ 
which had been part of the Hindi film 
industry for several generations, and 
that influence was not going to go 
away in a hurry. As a child, Sanjana 
did cameos in such films as funoon, 36 
Chowrmghee hwc and later in Lltsav 
and Salaam Bombay . But her first film 
as heroine came only in 1988. 

Titled th’wHiralai, the movie was 
an unmitigated disaster, but Sanjana 
is not prepared to be apologetic about 
it. She acted in the movie, she says, 
only because she wanted to work with 
director Ketan Mehta and Naseerud- 
din'Shah, who was her co-star in the 
film. But her performance came in for 
a great deal of criticism and, says Sanja- 
na, "It was then that 1 realised that 
belonging to this family was nof going 

A scene from the play Gaslight 



Getting ready for a show 



V*. 





Shashi Kapoor: Doting father 


to be enough " 

Sanjana then dabbled with telcvi 
sion. acting m a ample of serials, 

1 1 win Liya Parshan and Any Kyu km ic 
But it wasn't long before she was com- 
pletely disillusioned with the small 
screen as well, especially since* one of 
her serials never aired, and the nthe: 
fizzled out after a while 

B ut then Sanjana always had her 
first love to come back to theatre. 
"I have alw r ays wank'd to act," she 
says texiay, 'T>ul joining mamstieam 
Hindi cinema was nevei a choice* for 
me*. 1 do love watching Hindi movies 
(Govinda is a hot favourite), but 1 
would never want to be a part of is,." 
So, the stage was the next logical place 




THE FAMILY KAPOOR 

What are Sanjana's siblings and cousins up to? 


Kunal Kapoor 

The surprise package. Despite 
i some early success as a hero in 
j 4histu and a strong 

j performance in Govind Nihalani's 
■ Vi/cta (produced by Shashi Kapoor), 

! Kunal and the Hindi film audience 
l decided that they weren’t meant for 
each other 

Normally, that should have been 
the cue for a descent into loaferdom, 
but Kunai has bounced back as an 
extremely successful ad film maker. 
He makes lots of money and is the 
one who runs the house. His wife, 
Sheena, is Ramesh Sippy's daughter. 

j Karan Kapoor 

I 

The Nondic-looking member of 
the Kapoor family. Went into I lindi 
cinema only to Hop badly in such 
films as Sultanate , but his heart was 
never in acting. He saw himself as a 
photographer and chose to move to 
London, where he does freelance 
assignments for a variety of 
publications. 

In India, he is still best-known as 
the Bombay Dyeing model, though 
the launch of a jeans label in his 
name has proved abortive. 

Randhir Kapoor 

Has led a roller-coaster of a life. 
He was given the best launch any 
son could hope for when he 
directed his father andgrandfathcr 
in Kal Aaj Aur Kal, but neither his 
directorial ventures nor his career as 
a hero saw any great success 
(though,to be fair, he did have some 
hits including faumii Dcewamy 

In the last years of his father s 
life, Randhir look over the running 
of R.K. Studios, a job he performs to 
this day. His image in the film 
industry was transformed after the 
success of Henna, which he directed. 
It is now' up to him to prove that 
this was no flash in the pan 


j Rishi Kapoor 

j 

The most successful member of 
the third generation of Kapoors.One 



Karan Kapoor Better known as the 
Bombay Dyeing Man 

of the enduring mysteries ol Indian 
cinema is why audiences are willing 
to accept the thick-set, paunchy, 
short, forty-something Rishi Kapoor 
as the young lover But for some 
reason, thev are. And though Rishi's 
career has had some ups and downs 
after the super-success of Bobby m 
1973, he remains a box-office draw. 

Karisma Kapoor Known for her 
bump-and-giind numbers 





Rishi Kapoor. Forty-plus and still 
going strong 

Ranbir Kapoor 

When he was launched, there, 
wen.* those who predicted that 
Chimpoo would oe the real star of 
the family. His resemblance to the 
young Shammi Kapoor led to many 
jokes about Yahoo days returning, 
out somehow Chimpoos career 
never took oft even though he acted 
in one of the biggest hits of Indian 
cinema, his father's Raw Ten Ganqa 
Maili . 

I lis first film as director, Prem 
Grauth , has Madhuri Dixit and 
brother Rishi in the lead. He now 
hopes to become a Daboo like figure 
who is better known for his skills 
behind the camera than in front of 
it. 

Karisma Kapoor 

Not really a member of Sanjana's 
generation, Karisma is Randhir 
Kapoor's daughter and the second 
member of the family after Sanjana 
to disregard Raj Kapoor's dictum 
that Kapoor women don't join the 
film industry. 

And worse, unlike Sanjana who 
concentrates on Prithvi Theatre; 
Karisma has become a full-fledged 
film star, who executes the most 
lurid of bump-and-grind routines 
clad in skimpy outnts.Grandpa 
would not have been amused. 



for her to be. 

In 1989, still in search of her 
medium, Sanjana attended an eight- 
month actors' workshop at the 
Herbert Berghof Studio in New 
York. As a child, Sanjana had toured 
schools in England with her 
grandparents, playing Titama in A 
Midsummer Night 5 Dream . And once 
the workshop was concluded, 

Kapoor had decided where her 
future Jay: in theatre. 

But where would she work? 
Would it be in theatre-loving Britain, 
where her grandparents were based 
with their company 
Shakespeareana? Or would it be 
Bombay, where theatre is still in its 
infancy, despite the years ot effort by 
dedicated lovers of this art form? 

Says Sanjana, "Making the choice 
was difficult initially. It could have 
been easier for me to stay on in 
England because there is so much 
work to be done in theatre there, and 
the scope is also much wider." But 
she* was never very comfortable with 
the grey, ramv weather ot England 
"I seem to have inherited my English 
grandfather's love of the sun," she 
says: so sunny Bombay it was. 

On her return to India, Sanjana 
took over the reins at Pnthvi 
Theatre, w hich was run by her 
family and named after her 
grandfather, as honorary director. 
And since then, there's simply been 
no time for second thoughts 

In her six years at Prithvi, 

Saniana has worked hard to find for 
it a special niche in the world of 
Bombay theatre. In 1991, she began 
holding annual theatre workshops 
for children at the theatre, and in 
1992 she organised the International 
Prithvi Theatre Festival, which has 
been held since then every two years 
with both Indian and foreign theatre 
groups participating. 

In 1993, Prithvi Players, the 
theatre’s own group, was set up and 
it has mounted two productions 
since then. Gaslight and Who's Afraid 
Of Virginia Woolf? To encourage 
young talent, Kapoor also began 
platform performances every 
weekend at the theatre and in 1994 
she re-opened the Prithvi Art 
Gallery, once run by artist Tveb and 
Sakina Mehta, which had closed 
down 10 years earlier. 

Sanjana's future plans include the 
setting up of a library at the theatre, 
and "trying to get Prithvi Cafe back 
to what it used to be" Also, later this 
year Prithvi wiH be organising a 
national-level theatre festival tor 
children. And next November, 
Kapoor intends to "take a dose look 


at where India stands in the world of 
theatre today" by organising a 
national festival. "Sitting here in 
Bombay, it is so difficult to know 
what's happening in the rest of 
India," she laments. 

Since 1989, Sanjana has also been 
working with the children from the 
Happy Home School for the Blind, 
ana ner eyes light up as she talks 
about this experience. "This was 
something I was roped into doing.s 1 
just didn't want to do it but I've 
really grown to love it since," she 
says. "The children are far more 
perceptive and intense than regular 
kids; they're wonderful." 

And while doing all this, Sanjana 
has also found time to work in such 
well-recicved plays as Rashomoti, 

An ms and the Man ’ Gaslight , Who's 
A fraul of Virginia Woolf 7 , and even a 
television serial, Thoda Sa Samudra , 
Thoda Sa Aakash . Two years ago, she 
even tried her hand at films again, 
acting in Aranyaka. directed by A.K. 
Bir, whom she has great admiration 
for. 


away by television and now, even 
Sanjana appears to have succumbed 
to tnc lure of the small screen 
But Kapoor doesn't agree with 
the view that there are no audiences 
for theatre in India, As she says, "At 
Prithvi we have a play every single 
day of the year, except Mondays 
when we are closed, and there arc 
people queueing up for tickets." 

She concedes, however, that 
money is a problem Advertisers, 
who can and do sponsor plays, are 
more inclined to go in for more 
glamorous productions, where their 

I ingles will be played and their 
lanners put up oh stage. But, says 
Sanjana, "In serious theatre we 
cannot give the sponsoring brand 
more importance than the play." 

Prithvi Theatre was sponsored by 
Vdzir Sultan Tobacco (VST) for 10 * 
years, but the company backed out 
of the arrangement two years ago 
and Sanjana is yet to find another 
sponsor And though nothing has 
been worked out until now, she i* 
optimistic about the future. ' Within 



Sanjana Kapoor with Naseeruddin Shah in Hero Hlralal 


Considering how much Sanjana 
has achieved in her 28 years, it is 
surprising to hear her say that she is 
not the ambitious sort. But Kapoor is 
imick to clarify what she means: 

out I am ambitious about the work 
I do; about where 1 want to take it. 
I've never wanted to be an achiever 
because l don't think what I'm trying 
to do will bo achieved in many more 
years to come." 

Certainly, dragging Indian 
theatre both in Hindi and English 
out of stagnancy is an uphill task. 
There's no money to promote it for 
one thing / and for another whatever 
talent there exists is being sucked 


the next two years we should be all 
right," she says. 

Clearly, all her plans for the 
future revolve around Pnthvi; 
television is just something that pays 
the bills. And certainly, Sanjana has 
no intentions of compering another 
show "But if 1 were to hear of a 
good film," she says, "I wouldn't 
mind going up to the director and 
asking for it. And I would love to do 
more plays if 1 could only get the 
time. Next year, may be 


After all, acting is in Sanjana 
Kapoor's blood. And blood is a lot 
thicker than Amul butter ■ 





NNEREYE 


BEJAN DARUWALLA 




Aries 

March 21 - April 20 

pTT* — ' " v ' ; < .unvsha savs, with flu ■ 

; change in sun's position, 
there will be new 
oppnrt u Miiu-s and « j . f’rvsli 
scope Kir <ii I v finrcmi'nl It 
is important tor you lo 
reach out to people anti 
plan's Wv* s. views ami messages will 
go a long wax ■311 HI thuring yout i,mvr 
goals So the make fh»* most ol this hectic 
phase 

Taurus 

April 21 -■ May 20 

; I his is a week when |omf 

i Milan* os, loans and 

] legacies will plav a majoi 
n»lo in shaping \ our 
• tuture Ciiie.sts and \ isitois 
] will ktvp vou bu-v I lu 
- 1 work front prows 
demanding, and thar should Icmvo \ou 
with little time to relax The health ot 
riders mav cause loruern but onh 
temporarily 

Gemini 

May 21 — June 20 

>ou will bo thi* master o» ali 
you sur\v\ and that should 
be \ erv satisfying Do m>t 
neglect vuui responsibilities 
as u will onh’ tom plicate 
matters Chi 1 hen, hobbies 
and sixifilising will ktx p 
you occupied during the lattei half of the 
week Time lor communication, tra\ el, 
eunLw ts and lontMcts you would do well to 
plan things in advance 

Cancer 

June 21 — July 20 

Then will be rnut h 
aitivitv and gams in the 
coming weeks You will 
have to take the initiative 
to galvanise things into 
tKlinn Relationships with 
tamilv and triends show a 
marked improvement Do lake time out 
fpr socialising. Tins will also be the week 
when work pressures mount Publicity 
and comm unic.it ion gam in important e 






Leo 

1 July 21 — August 21 

This is the time to make 
the most ol opportunities 
that come your way It will 
be better not to neglect the 
homefmnt as it now needs 
your undivided attention 
tl is best lo tind solutions 
, to the problems nf the mind that prevail 
, Be patunt with yourself and others 
around you That should go a long wav in 
si thing matters smoothly 

1 Virgo 

i August 22 — September 22 

■ — | There will be enough 
^ j si ope for partnerships 
though business oi 
professional lies could be 
a little strained. Use tact 
and diplomacy lo further 
— — ■ your gt »als, for that's the 
wav to make it Attachments will give a 
whole new meaning to your life There 
1 u ill be ample funds and loans available 
lor a project eon'll handle 

Libra 

; September 23 — October 22 

Be it business, job or a 
work you have been 
assigned, Librans will do 
wonders A transfer or a 
move is definitely on the 
raids A loi of buying and 
selling foretold this week 
On the ivorkfront, you will gain the 
| lotihilcncv ol your superiors which should 
boost yom contidence Health caution 
1 essential. 

Scorpio 

I October 23 - November 22 

I ru nds and well wishers 
piove then loyal tv tc* you 
despite the pressures that 
mount You will hold a 
conference, a meet, which 
will eventually keep you 
socially busy finance, 
children, travel or research are highlighted 
this week !t also proves luikv for teachers, 
writers, media tvrsons, artists or 
Uthnu.illv qualihed poisons. 


Sagittarius 

November 23 — December 20 

There will be ample gains 
this week This is also the 
phase when you will go in 
for buying, selling, 
renovation, decoration, a 
move or a transfer So 
there is much that is 
happening around vou. Do not get too 
pessimistic as happy tidings are foretold. 
Your hard work will finally pay dividends 



y pa 

hap] 


V) 



... 



1 and that should keep vou 

Capricorn 

December 21 — January 19 

j The- planetary position m 
your sign helps vou to get 
things done You will he 
overworking this week So 
take Liire ol \ our health. 
Success is di tiiutclv 
indu ated tm most ot you 
Irv lo lominuniCtile at all lowl . as this 
; ' v i * I prove beneficial to \ou i ><* devote 
lime lo yourself and vmi fannh Bulb 
need vour undo id»'d atlenli mi 

Aquarius 

: January 20 — February 18 

'Uni vvili litLuiiIv gel 
going, be il ui roinarUA . 
finance loans, leg.n u s or 
a! the v\ or k liont This 
tuvk a trip is on the 
cauls Fh.it should lift 
youi spirits You will tom- 
mimic ate ven elliMiveh at public meets 
j or social gatherings. Money malteis 
j nnpioxe though the honietronl bothers 
you. 

Pisces 

i February 1 9 - March 20 

This is the tune lo look 
inward^ and assess your 
tremendous potential foi 
interacting with people and 
gaining grounds through 
sheer giil and 
determination You will be 
extending a helping hand to others. There 
w»ll be* a hectic bout of socialising, parties, 
meets and conferences Expenses soar but it 
would not go M waste 






BIRTHDAYS 


#jUUe 2r.Ganwhi» says despite the moon Venus opppoairion, ' 

, money will come lo you through various avenues. A Httk* care . 

; in romance essential. 

June 3: MonnSaturn fqaure leads to disturbances in the 
. homefcont amd misunderstanding about money trough fheie 
, be no dearth of money jfor sure* 

yj$me 4: Moqn)i*piter conjuiKlriorii leads to power and petf 1 
,k and if your pejpstttaJ hjtMt^cope Is also you wUI reach v 
feymghe|g^<rf iuww and. glory, 

win JNelp Voia 

You 

|5(i, .'ji'f i V ' '>• 


cnidtive and thus win aedatm. Children and friends will stand 

by you. 

June (Sr Moon sun trine helps .you lo posh ahead in life and 
lave a happy life. However, there is sotoe danger, of acddetjte < 
if you are not careful. < :■ 

JnneJ: Moon Pluto Sqauie leads to inner fcwwic** despite off 
you have; and you do have plenty. On the php»ic*J and; -• 

JfiWW/fJf, 'Moon'» l*»f inakjtWJu d/ttHfr'- '■ '■ 

Bewwaaop^mi^tea m aiute-X, ei&dfy,.. 

Oes^iwC^' hMill his rWan. ‘ • -T . ; ■ . 


E mmmmm 

XTRACT 

The politics of 

RELIGION 


D r Karan Singh, a former Governor of 
J&K, has said thal the Hazratbal 
incident (in October-November 1993 
when the Indian army laid siege lo 
the mosque after receiving reports 
that the locks of the safe containing 
the holy relic had been tampered 
with) was a "municipal issue" and 
that it was not for the army to 


intervene One is inclined to agree 
with him. Yet, the incident 
snowballed into an international 
scandal due to our inept handling oi 
the episode 

The government of India is not 
responsible for the upkeep or 
security of temples, churches, 
mosques and gurdwaras This is the 


In this extract 
Hari Jaisingh 

raises some 
pertinent points 
about the 
government 's 
hand l i ng of the 
Hazratbal crisis 
in Kashmir 


Militancy in Kashmir: Valley of guns and terror 




Extracted from 

Kashmir, A Tale of 
Shame; by 

Harijaisimgh; UBS 
Publishers' 
Distributors ltd.; 
Rs 250 




job of the communities to which they misused tor political purposes and Karachi, have not Shia and Sunni 

belong But it . my ot these holy that no militants have taken shelter fundamentalists been attacking each 

places is threatened by communal inside? These are routine other's mosques regularly? Yet, 

violence, then the Central administrative precautions, which Abdul Chant Lone, a Kashmiri 

government or state government has any decent administration will leader, declared on Doordarshan that 

to step in This was the case with the enforce. But the Governor has taken no Muslim could have torched the 

Babri Masjid in December 1992. no such initiative to make the Chrar-eSharief mausoleum. 

Neither the Centre nor the trustees responsible in the first Comine back to what happened at 

Kashmir administration is instance; hence the burning incident Hazratbai, it is now clear that there* 

responsible for the maintenance or at Chrar-e-Sharief in Mav 1995 was practically no coordination of 

security of the Hazratbai mosque If It is said that no Muslim' would approach among the various official 

Muslim militants had turned this attack a mosque and that Chrar-e- authorities. The Centre?, the 

mosque intpan armed camp, it was Sharief could have been burnt down Governor and his. administration, as 

the job of t HP J^uslim Auqaf Trust to only by the Indian army. This is utter also the army, alfacted on their own 

throw them out. The Trust could nonsense, Were there not and at cross-purposes. That is why 

have asked the police for help. The fundamentalists who attacked the this episode becomes interesting, for 

trustees must have been aware of the Grand Mosque m Saudi Arabia, the it again demonstrates that the 

Central government policy — that holiest place for Muslims? And, in Central government has not even 

places of worship are not to he 

misused for political purposes There Hazratbai: Militants holed up inside the shrine turned into it into an armed camp 


Protection of the relic 
is the primary 
responsibility of the 
mosque trust. It was 
wrong for the security 
forces to lay siege. As 
for the militants they 
had been using the 
mosque for a long time 

were precedents in Punjab Yet the 
Hazratbai authorities had permitted 
the terrorists to use the mosque for 
their activities, and the Kashmir 
administration looked the other way 
Our policy should be clear and 
unambiguous. It is not the duty of a 
secular state to storm a holy place to 
flush out militants if they Hole 
themselves up inside it, nor should 
the law-enforcing authorities make a 
body-check ofpilgrims as they enter 
a holy place. Tnese functions are for 
the community authorities to 
perform. But once it becomes known 
that a religious place is being 
misused, people who go m or come 
out of it after worship should be 
subjected to a thorough search for 
arms and other clandestine 
materials. If militants take shelter 
inside a holy place, it is not for the 
state to decide whether or not the 
place has been desecrated; it is for 
the community to do so. 
Unfortunately, the Centre has no 
clear policy on any ot these matters 
even after our bitter experiences in 
Punjab. Why can't the fcovemor of 
Jammu and Kashmir ask the trustees 
of the Hazratbai mosque to furnish a 
monthly report that it is not being 




laid down a proper drill to deal with 
an emergency, and allocate 
responsibility to each authority. The 
state of affairs explains the total 
ineptness in the handling of the 
episode. This is the situation in a 
state which has faced a series of 
crises from 1947 onwards. 

It is widely believed that the siege 
of Hazratbal was undertaken on the 
basis of d*report that two locks of the 
room which contains the holy relic 
were tampered with. There was no 
effort made to verify' the report. It 
could have been a planted story. 
Governor Krishna Rao says there 
was no time to verify the truth. He 
could have, in that case, denied the 


report and ordered an examination 
of the locks. In any case, whose job is 
4k to report such an event? And to 
whom should it be reported? Is there 
no drill or puideline for these 
matters? Did we learn nothing from 
the December 1963 incident? 

Protection of the relic is the 
primary responsibility of the mosque 
trust. It was wrong for the security 
forces to lay siege. As for the 
militants, they had been using the 
mosque for a long time When the 
government got the report, why did 
it panic? 

Governor Rao says that he was 
forced to order the siege because loss 
of the relic could have created 



Governor K.V. Krishna Rao 


unprecedented violence as in 1963- 
64. If his administration was so 
concerned about the holy relic, why 
did it not post a regular police 
guard? In 1964, after the theft of the 
relic, the state administration 
allowed the Sheikh's followers to 
fully exploit the incident for political 
purposes The authorities should 
have known then that the same 
method could be used by anyone 
else to create mischief. Vet the 
Kashmir administration failed to 
arm itself with a proper response to 
such challenges. 

Having laid the siege, there was 
no effort on the part of the Governor 
to allot specific tasks to the army 
and the civil administration In any 
case, he was in conflict with the 
army The idea of flushing out the 
militants holed up inside the shrine 
was given up. It was decided by the 
army to starve them into submission. 
But what was to be done with the 
pilgrims? Here was an excellent 
opportunity to use the pilgrims to 
break down the will of the militants, 
j but the softies at the Centre and in 
| the state administration decided on a 
| different course. There* were 
| foodgrains inside the mosque. So the 
militants could have held out But 
with the depletion of food and 
water, the pilgrims would have 
raised a howl against the militants 
The militants would have been 
compelled to final 1\ let them go 
Instead, the Kashmir administration 
(more precisely Wajahat I lahibullan. 
the divisional commissioner) 
ordered the supplv of hot bunnini to 
the people inside the mosque The 
army naturally asked * hat then was 
the siege for? "Wither Co\ ernor Rao 
| nor his admmisii ation t\ad an 
i answer. Serving food defeated the 

13 




army's objective It was immaterial 
a* to who ate the food The army 
decided not to let the militants nave 
a telephone facility 'Hus was 
overruled by the Kashmir 
administration. As a result, the 
militants could remain in touch with 
IS I agents and foreign media The 
army would have liked each militant 
to surrender with his respective 
weapons so that he could be 
identified and kept in a camp 
Instead, it was decided to give safe 
passage to .'*$(, including the foreign 
mercenaries aiM let them leave their 
weapons in designated dumps. 

Most of the negotiations were 
conducted by the administration, 
and the army had no hand in them 
However, the army opposed the deal 
worked out bv the administration 
which allowed the militants safe 
passage from inside the shrine The 
army is reported to have objected to 
this deal as it would have appeared 
like a moral victory for the militants 
and their supporters in Pakistan and 
as a major setback to the Indian 
army The deal was to hand over the 
shrine to the police in order to lei 
them allow tne militants to escape 


Even when the 
militants refused to 
accept food fiom the 
government Wajahat 
Habibullah did not 
give up the idea of 
feeding them. Instead 
he came up with the 
proposal that the 
supply of food should 
be entrusted to a 
private caterer 

under the v.over of darkness and 
transport them to special places 
from were they could flee 
The dav after the siege began. 
General £ M Zaki, adviser to the 
Governor, claimed that a decision 
had been taken to cut off water and 
power. Later, it was reported that 
there was a well inside. But the point 
is: the employees of the concerned 
departments refused to carry out the 
decision and no action was taken 
against them In fact, they refused to 
carry out any orders against the 
militants. So the army nad to carry 
out the order. Yet, when it was seen 



Former J&K Governor, Karan Singh 

that the militants were collecting 
water from the Hal Lake, the water 
supply was promptly restored by the 
administration. Habibullah was 
ill these soft 
he claimed he had 
authorisation. Even 
when the militants refused to accept 
food from the government. 
Habibullah did not give up the idea 
of feeding them Instead, ne came 
up with the proposal that the supply 


responsible for , 
approaches and 
Governor Kao's 


of food should be entrusted to a 
private caterer 

One can only say here that even a 
permissive state like India should 
draw a line beyond which it should 
not allow its citizens to stray. Such a 
line lias not been drawn by our 
rulers because they do not want 
themselves to be bound. Instead, 
they follow the policy of ad|)ocism, 
judging issues as they come along, 
making arbitrary ana contradictory 
decisions. "They are our boys", they 
say about the militants. This is the 
usual retrain of the politicians, 
specially the softies, with regard to 
rebels who have taken up arms 
against the rest of the population, 
against our state, tor tney do not 
want to be identified with any 
drastic decisions against the 
militants. These "boys" are, in 
reality, our enemies, for they intend 
to kill us indiscriminately in order to 
advance their own cause In fact, 
they want to enjoy total power and 
edge out then opponents. They do 
not believe in the ballot, and in 
sharing power In any case. India is 
not a tyranny. It has a buoyant 
democracy, and although it is by no 
means perfect, here we can change 
things through the power of the 
ballot. The process may take time, it 
may be frustrating, but things do 
change As tor other problems, the 
rebels should understand that India 


The controversial BaDr! MasJId that was demolished In December 1992 



! 



The Chrar-e-Shanef: Another instance of desecration of a holy place 



is a conleradation of equal states and 
that the Centre has a responsibility 
to look after the uniform 
development of all states. If there 
have been failures in this aspect, it is 
because some states want to march 
ahead at others by exploiting Central 
j resources or because those who are 
! denied equality are not strong 
I enough to protest There is no way 
■ by which the Centre can bestow 
| special advantages on a state. In any 
I case, Punjab has the highest per 
! capita income and the Kashmir 
! valley comes second 

Advocates of ‘ our boys" should 
know that justice cannot be different 
for different people How is it that a 
J bank robber nas to languish in 
’ prison for vears, while a militant 
| who robs dozens of banks goes scot- 
free? This is the easiest way to 
destroy the sense of justice and 
respect for law and encourage 
political revolt. This way we have 
already created a privileged 
community of criminals in a number 
| of states, particularly in Punjab and 
Kashmir. These people ore not likely 
to give up the “privileges" they 
have enjoyed. 


Thus, m the entire episode, the 
army personnel were made to look 
like fools, tor while they wanted to 
pursue the general objective of 
bringing the militants under control, 
the governor and his administration 
wanted to give them a safe passage 
Can there be worse contradictory 
policies? The militants must have 
understood I rum the whole episode 
that there is no umlv ot will among 
those who are entrusted with the 
task ol containing militancy. 

This is not to sav that the army 
alone has a solution to the problem 
or that it is beyond blame. In tact, it 
has given cause for embarrassment 
to the Central government whenever 
it overreacted to provocations by the 
militants This was the case at 
Bijbehdi a, where 37 persons d«ed 
and over 70 were wounded m army 
tiring (on October 22, 1993) in reply 
to serious provocation by the 
militants Such incidents are bound 
to be blown out of proportion bv 
human rights activists and Western 
press and media hostile to India. The 
armv officers must know that years 
ot their good work can be damaged 
by a moment ot wrong reflexes. M 

- 15 * 


Time table 



All arrival and departure times are for Calcutta 

toy* of operation u*lng 7-day coda: / MONDAY T TUESDAY J WEDNESDAY » THURSDAY ff. FRIDAY £ SATURDAY ® SUNDAY 
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ocus 


A HEAD FOR HEIGHTS 


Do short men tty harder? Manisha Gulati investigates 


W hat do Sachin Tendulkar, 
Aamir Khan, Dudley 
Moore. Posi Shroff, ^ 
Danny DeVito. Al 

Pacino, Billy Joel and Napolean have 
in common? They're all snort. And 
they're al) successful. These are all 
accomplished men, some of them 
gifted, others obssessed But all in 
the limelight We look forward to 
seeing them, pay money to be 
entertained by them, aamire them, 
even worship some of them. 

All of which leads us to wonder, 
is there any correlation between 
height and ambition? Are they 
classic examples of compensation? In 
other words, do short men try 
harder or does the benevolent one 
up there make up for what they lack 
in height by giving them that extra 
edge somewhere else? 

According to psychiatrists and 
other observers of human behaviour, 
the answer seems to be yes. Says a 
psychiatrist, "l Gunk a person who's 
compensating for something about 
himself that ne perceives as a 
disadvantage often strives to achieve 
a large success A lot of small men 
run businesses for example They've 
compensated their way to the top of 
the heap " 

Raman Kumar, anothei 
psychologist, however feels success 
is not necessarily a manifestation of 
height, or the lack of it. "Possibly, 
just because they are short we are 
laying more emphasis on their 
success," he says. "After all, there *ire 
enough md more tall success stories 
in the world But definitely a short 
man docs have a complex about hi» 
height and he would like to 
overcome emphasis on it if possible. 
Whether that happens through his 
becoming a success oj whether he 
uses it negatively is a very 
individual thing " 

A targe number of short men 
seem to dominate the entertainment 
business. Showmanship brings with 
it it's own merits: z flaunting of selt 
without any self-consciousness and 
misgivings and a massive pumping 
up of the ego. Bui not every short 
man handles his shortcoming in 
such a positive and constructive 



18 



Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man: Short and successful 


you name it, fashion has made it 
easier for the fairer species. 

Alan Ladd, the great ladies man 
of the Forties was so short that his 
directors had him stand on a box or 
had trenches dug fof taller actors 
who were playing opposite him 
(Rishi Kapoor probably had the 
same problem with Amitabh 
Bachcnan.) 

Tom Bronson, a Hollywood 
costume designer who works on all 
of Sylvester Stallones movies, has 
confessed that all actors nowadays 
use build-ups in their shoes. 

Stallone, wno has a larger than life 
image on screen actually stands only 
1 .78 metres in his socks. Initially a 
sore point for the actor, he wore 
doctored shoes for all his movies. 

But then realised that his height was 
more or less average and resigned 
himself quite happily to normal 
shoes. So much so that he married 
Brigitte Nielson who is a full five 
centimetres taller than him. 

Tom Cruise, too, is rumoured to 
have worn elevated shoes m the 
movie Interview With The Vampire so 
as not to be overshadowed or 
towered over by Hollywood hunk 
Bradd Pitt. 


manner. Some end up becoming 
loud, aggressive and obnoxious 
Others try to led belter by making 
the other fed worse American 
author Erica Jong had once 
described this kind as. "The kind of 
short man who compensates by 
automatically putting you on hold." 

And then there is the the worst 
kind the man who doesn't have a 
point but still thinks he has one to 
prove Psvchiatrists have even given 
this partu ular affliction a name. 

They call it ‘little man's disease* 

This can also be handled in two 
ways' reaction formation, in which 
you end up doing the opposite of 
what you really feel so you become 
the tall man in real life that you feel 
you aren't in stature This is the most 
common and successful way The 
second is to become permanently 
embittered, feel small, second rate, at 
a disadvantage. 

O ne would think that in this age 
of equality and liberation 
centimeters would be irrelevant, 
right? Wrong. Advertisements for 
modelling, acting, on-flight jobs in 
planes ana even matrimonial 
advertisements stress on height. 
Traditionally, men have to be taller 
than women and in looking for a 
suitable match many are rejected on 
the basis of their height. 

In this tall and short rigmarole. 


women come out luckier Required 
to be shorter than the man in any 
case, they can also get aw*av with 
heels: platforms, stiiletoes, wedge. 


Dustin Hoffman spent many an 
aggrieved year as a snort child. His 
j mother is claimed to have said that 
! he would act up in class, make jokes 


Tom Cruise arrives with his actress -wife Nicole Kidman for the world premiere 
of his new film, Mission Impossible: Height no deterrent to stardom 




and distract the other students, 
possibly compensating for being the 
smallest kid in town. Hoffman 
himself agrees that he wanted to go 
out with trie tallest girls in class even 
though they made it amply clear that 
none were interested in dancing 
with him. He said, M lf I were to rate 
girls on a scale of one to ten. I'd have 
to say I went out with a lot of short 
fours." 

Raman Kumar explains, 'That’s a 
perfect example of looking outside 
for something that you lack in 
yourSelfc.The person has such a low 
esteem of himself being short that he 
doesn't want to associate with 
someone else who has the same 
problem as it reminds him of his, 
and also because he doesn't look up 
to the person because of it." 

Actor Dudley Moore at 1 59 
metres, for instance, is known as 
Cuddly Dudly. But for him that's 
never mattered. He went out with 
actress Susan Anton tor three years, 
and she is a staggering 24 
centimetres taller than him. Brave 
Dudley Moore even stood on a chair 
while she stood on the floor, looked 
her in the eye and sang to her. 
Romantic and oh so cute! 

Like Shashi Dua a five foot three 
inch male bemoans, ' That's just the 
roblem. We'll always be cute Never 
andsome, a stud or macho " 

Ask our desi B oily wot >d actors. 
Many have apparently switched to 
elevators since joining the industry. 
Salman Khan, Rishi Kapoor, Aamir 
Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Govinda (he, of 
course, unabashedly wears the heels 
outside). 

S tature is a state of mind While 
victims of dwarfism can be 
treated with hormones, not much 
can be done for a normally short 


Sachin Tendulkar 




Riahl Kapoor 


man except boost his self-esteem at 
home and make him learn to accept 
that shortness is not a deterrent to 
success. 

But why is height, and by that 
we mean tall and big, such a 
fundamental issue to us? What 
makes bigger is better such an oft' 
quoted phrase? 

Answers Raman Kumar, ' We Live 
in a society in which everything big 
connotes prosperity: houses, cars, 
salaries, jewellery. And this also 
extends to the size of a human being 
A taller human being is looked up 
to, a shortei one is looked down 
upon. Even in a spat, by sheer dint 
of size the taller person nas an edge ' 

For women too, taller means 
safer. They feel more protected by a 
man who is tall than by someone 
who is Iheir height or shorter As 
Charu, a five foot six inch, taller- 
than-average Indian girl says, "I 
would fool like I would have to 
protect him or thdt he was younger 
than me. I don't know, it’s a mind 
block and 1 feel mean saying it but 


Aamir Khan 




Pesi Shroff 

I’ve always dreamt that my man 
would be able to take me in his arms 
and I could just get lost there. You 
know, a bear hug " 

We know Cham, and 
unfortunately, so do the men. All foo 
well. Perhaps that's the reason some 
of them feel the pressure to try 
harder than a taller man to get 
noticed. In command attention, and 
to stand out m a crowd where 
everyone else seems to tower above 
them making them feel pretty left 
out 

But there an? those women out 
there who seem to pro ter, not just 
mind, going out with a shorter man 
Whether it’s because the shorter men 
seem to go out of their way to make 
the woman feel special because in a 
strange way he feels obligated and 
grateful, oi whether it's because he's 
not so lull of himself as a taller stud 
might be and can therefore be more 
sensitive to his partner's need, 
remains to be debated 

Says Seema Sun, 26 years old, 
five foot seven inches, and married 
to Ravi, five foot five inches tall, "A 
i shorter guy really puts his heart into 
| the relationship He values you 
i more. When Ravi and 1 look into the 
| mirror together, 1 know Ravi will be 
looking at me and not obsessing 
about nimsell like a guy who is more 
concerned about his looks might be 
; doing." 

| Whatever our reasons and 
i whatever our preferences, the fact is 
! that sex appeal lies in the person 
| inside and not on the cover. And 
certainly not the height Besides the 
good thm(> about being small is 
beautiful' is that you can shop in 
both the children's and the adult's 
sections. No searching for the 
fountain of youth' for you. A shorter 
person will always look younger 
than a taller one. So there you go, 
you six foot, hags! ril 




JUNIOR WHIRL * HAL KAUFMAN 



SPOT TWINS! Two of 16 lighter-Hian-air craft 
shown above are twins. Can you find them? P.S.: 
Study them carefully 


AIR BASEIEarth's atmosphere is said to be 
composed mainly of three gases in rough volume 
in amounts of 78 per cent, 21 per cent and 1 per 
cent. What are the three gases in order of volumes? 

'imXir puviuAMxO ' ua ^ 0iJ, N 


9-COUNT!l,et # s say f‘ 1 " " 1 r T" " 

you have 24 marbles — I I 

that's right, 24 — and I I 

you wish to place them | 

in empty compartments I ^ 

of the .square at right so I 

that the .sum on each | 

side is 9. Place three in r" — ■ 

each box and alakazam, I I | 

the deed is done. I I 

BUT, let's say now 1*1 

you have only 20 
marbles and 

wish to achieve the same result — that is, have 9 on each 
side. How quickly can you insert the 20 marbles to 
achieve' anotlier 9-per-siae arrangement 7 Give it a try. 

vrtq .iippuu q *».» m mo pue x(\q jjiuoj ipoa ui t.qqjtmj jnoj jjmlu y 



1 IN. 

2 IN 

3 IN 

4 IN 

5 IN 

6 IN 

7 IN 



COUNT-ME-IN STEPWORDS 

YOU are asked to find seven 

E rogressively longer words 
eginning with IN (see left), in 
accord with the following 
definitions: 

1. Sign, as a contract (slang.) 

2. Move along slowly in a traf- 
fic snarl. 

3. Back of the book subject 
matter. 

4. Vital tax form info. 

5. Out of the elements on a nas- 
ty day. 

6. Footsoldier branch of the 
army. 

7. Player at third or short stop, 
for instance. 

See how quickly you can find 
the answers. 


l Ai)m*ju) usitjopuj l, 'H uiuuf xopuj i'^uj 7 VI l 





C OMICS 


ARCHIE 



WERE WA'rtNG tAOKWEV 
HEADS ? WE ARE HOT ARE 
TH3SE UfeAUN MGNIKEN HEADS 7 



I'VE NEVER hA£> MC* WEN HEAPS 0ETCRE • 
1 WONDER WHAT 
YHENRE EMX 


VOW MOWCEV 
HEADS' 



w kinda sqmisvw 

CCAUflClC \SVWATA 
HQ&E ? NUATSVW\S 7 
8 RA\NS* r DtDNT 
THlHV; IUEV‘0 BE 
SO feoeSGR^ 



WHAT. 1 * I THOUGHT THESE, were 
SNtTED PEW» HONES . ^ 

“ uecx as this?? whatever 

IT IS. I’M NOV EATING IT ' 

Jr 



















OH SOOt?, HIS V 
WALLET IS r 
STICKING \ 

our op his V 

POCKET AND 4fl 
1 WON'T HAVE 1 
TO WAKE y A 

HIM r - 1 






OH, FOB HEAVEN'S 
SAKE, BLONDlE. 
THAT’S SILLY/ 

HE WONT MIND) 


YOU'RE RIGHT, L 
TOOTSIE, HE 
WOUUDNT CARE. 
I'LL GO BACK IN 
AND GET IT 


•'•Wi 4 ? 















Lifestyle 

TOO MANY CHEFS 

Result in a plethora q f'cooh. boohs. Samita Bhatia reports 


T here was a time when 

lips I rum Tlalbir 
Singh and Tar la Pulai were 
the ultimate tor millions of 
Indian gourmets While the 
publications that carried then advice 
were neither slickly produced, not 
especially adventurous, the results in 
the kitchen weren't too bad At the 
end ot tin day it reallv didn't matter 
that then' were no exotic pictures to 
g*» with the recipes nor the tact that 
these h.mdlul of cookery authors 
had htll< competition m the 


publishing world The books were 
very user -friendly, inexpensive and 
went on to become household 
names, going into frequent lepnnis 
The culinary arena threw up 
some other names as well Mauhur 
lafiery, Pamella Tal and m tlu* early 
Nineties, Ranjit Rai While laftery 
has taken her innumerable followers 
on culinary |ourneys across the globe 
on internationally aired channels, 

Kai made news in l** l M) with his 
blot kbustci Curry. I wry, Cuiry 
(Penguin which was reprinted 


several times over. More recently, his 
second book Tumtooi (Viking Rs 730) 
has proved to be a culmination ot his 
exploration of this method ot 
cooking. Tinntooi iiflers more than a 
simple history of the traditional 
tam!(\'f (Rai had to delve into 
historical archives), its origins and 
development down the ages, a series 
ot reupes that extract the maximum 
flavour from this method 

The market tor gourmet cool* ing 
is obviously booming, which i*- 
manifest even in the tact lh.it v. hut 
were mnsideicci exotic ingredients 
(button mudirooms, hioccnh, kib\ 
corn) an* available today 1 in \our 
neighbourhood Mother Pairv 
veg<*table booth If there* were jusl .i 
handful of authors to consult a lew 
decades ago. mam a 
kitchen simple o» stult-ol-the art ■ 
has been inundated by a plethora ot 
recipe bonks, going by the 
evergrowing mounds in the cookery 
sections ot book stores. As book sale*, 
indicate, eook book*- are today a very 
important segment tor the publisher 
Ac Lending to Ashok khopra ol l US 
"After selt-help books, cookery 
comes a c lose second UBS do<*s us 
many as six a veai " 

Just a cursory look through the 
shelves ot book store's reveal such 
title's as t won iook Hook. Lmitroi 
Cooking, Summer Cookery. Cooking 
with Expert*. Cooking Without Pm om 
urui Civ In, The Vegeta; tun Atniu Hook , 
Yummy Sweet* and ZVssrrfs and 
among tlie host ol others even Fun 
Cooking for Children 1 1 ulmurv 
traditions thus pass on, enriched by 
master cooks’ sonic of whom are 
often simply housewives, who have 
perfected their art over several years 
spent slaving over the gas range. 

More recently, other magical 
cooks have joined the bandwagon 
excutive chefs ot luxury hotel chains 
who have lent a whole lot of colour, 
glamour and authenticity tor good 
measure. They share a common 
motif- putting Indian cuisine on the 
international map With Indian 
culinary delights tingling mom 
palates than even Chinese cuisine 
worldwide, the market for these 
books has picked up overseas as 





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Authentic Recipes from 
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Authors Bnnder Narula, Vijendra Singh, Sanjay Mulkam and Thomac John (top to 


well Obsei ves Chopia. "Many 
Indian cook books hnd a launc h pad 
at international hook fairs Besides 
evei, kitchen abroad is stacked with 
cookery books- -hence a huge 
inaikei is waiting to be tapped 
Indian homes on the other hand 


tend to associate hotel books with 
glamour and authenticity and even 
love giving away these books as 
presents 

However,, some housewives aie 
wary of using expensive ingredients 
lavishly.' 


Gev Desai, senior executive chef, Welcomgroup, Maurya Sheraton 


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bottom ) of the cook book (above) 

Prom the Oberoi kitchens iome 
The Food nfhithu and your step-bv 
step guide to clinging vour favourite 
cocktail Published by Pen plus 
Editions, Singapore, 7 hi / unf of India 
is part of a senes of books on Asian 
cuisine with chefs from Oberoi 
hotels iroin various p.irls ol India 
having contributed to the collection 
oi recipe* . The chefs behind the book 
view it as ’ an effort to capture' the 
variety ot Indian cuisine and preseni 
it to the world " 

The Ashok 'flavour has Uvn 
doing the rounds since with I'he 
A*hok Book of Tuvounie Indian Ret ,pe* 
while the chefs of Maurya Sheraton 
and the Taj group have put together 
some sumptuous dishes horn then 
kitchens all over Ihe country l he 
New Delhi Hilton too has a couple 
under its belt having published The 
Great Indian Ciwk Book and / loth 
Recipes in its avtaar as Hoiidav Inn 

While many housew ives have 
misgivings about how comfortable 
they would bo with recipes that 
hotel books offer, chefs make a few 






Satish Arora, director, food 
production of the Taj Group (southern 
and western region) 


clarifications. They arc emphatic in 
stating that their hooks arc meant 
primarily lor ihc lay person Says 
Gov Desai, senior executive chef, 
Welcomgroup Maur\ a Sheraton 
Hotel and Towers, "The recipes tire 
not very complicated, the 
ingredients .ire all easilv available 
and the procedures are very user- 
friendly Ih* hooks art a means lor 
die chefs to share their vast 
lepertone of authentic culinary 
knowledge ’ Hit recipes are 
thoroughly researched and proven, 
with vAih being sarn led more than 
five times by chefs and othei 
foodie*-' before the\ arc* included m 
the hooks Sa\s sai, That 
demands tremendous work and 
ivsotm es " 

Much m keeping with the IIIK 
philosophy el popularising exotic 
Indian dishes among Indians a*, well 
as io/eigrvTs, t'hc .1 diok Book 
attempts to create 1 hdlarued leCipes, 
whu h v' >M als» • t ip pc ai to the health 
roust kius VNhwh is perhaps wh\ 

I he A>hok Hook proved to he so 
popular dial U had to go into repunt 
in W*) r i 


The Nlaurva « hels largetted the 
gourmet market m the L r k and 
Germany through The Indian Menu 
Planner which proved to he a huge 
success. The hottnmlme of I hi Indian 
Menu Planner, explain** Ghet I Vsai, 
was, ' lo ,.c knowledge all the chets 
who work tireless! v at the chain's 
hotels behind the' scenes They ar* 
neither educated nor do they htive 
the wherewithal to contribute to a 
publishing house, i he bcnik is 
actually a tribute to them (the credits 
carry trie names of 12 chefs j, and to 
sec that their recipes actually reach 
out to people throughout the world ' 
How would the chefs gauge* the 
success of their efforts m tne 


published format? They concur that 
of the hundred people* who try the 
recipe if 95 recreate them 
successfully, the recipes are a 
success The 1 hole] books are meant 
tor housewives, and not 
professionals or institutions. 

The chefs try to get as 
personalised and creative- as they can 
get So don't be surprised when you 
come across 'Lobster Kika', an exotic 
I dish which is named alter Chef 
j Satish Arora s daughter. Choi Arora, 

| director, food production, western 
; and southern region with the Taj 
j ( .roup, is proud ot the off-beat 
combinations that he along with 
Arvmd Saraswat, director, food 
production, northern region, Taj 
group, have included in their hot 
selling book Best of Indian Cuisines 
The book is a wealth of traditional 
dishes and is liberally sprinkled with 
'created 1 recipes Says Arora "More 
chefs should get involved in writing 
■ ewpe books for these are tai more 
authentic than those written by 
housewives Besides, chets tan 


explore and experiment with 
regional cuisines and come up with 
brand new* recipes." 

While the dominant opinion 
rules that hotel recipes cannot be 
recreated at home — what with a 
wealth of material resources the 
hotel infrastructure affords, special 
hand is and burners at the chefs 
disposal etc — the chefs have 
another point of view They concur 
that though they cannot give the 
exact recipe that they are wont to 
employ in their own state-of-the-art 
kitchens at their restaurants, they 
have tailored the procedures to cater 
to the needs of the average 
household 

Says Desai, "When we think ot 
putting the recipe into the b*>ok I 
question myself whether my wife or 
mother would be able to make use o! 
it with reasonable degree of success, 
whether all the materials would be 
available lo them as easily and it at 
all our formula is user-friendly" So 
there's no pmcedure that savs turn 
burner lo the G mark' "( >ur user is 


J.M. Choudhury, senior executive chef, Ashok Hotel 




primarily Indian, thus, we must use 
Indian terms Measurements like 115 
grns wouldn't perhaps work, as not 
more than 20 per cent Indian 
kitchens would have weighing 
scales. We've taken care to replace 
precise measurements with terms 
tike — a cup, a tablespoon or level 
teaspoon etc." 

A cookery book writer herself, 
Rohini Singh, too, is quite open to 
trying what the chefs prescribe. 
According to her, hotel books 
represent what hotels have to offer 
in their restaurants Thus there's a 
whole lot of different regional 
cuisines that you can take tips lor. 
Says Singh, "As a rookery author 
myself I find the books auite useable 
and interesting And of tne lot, it 
even two recipes turn out well, tor 
me the book is a huge success. 
Another major advantage of books 
authored by hotel chefs is that most 
of the recipes are valuable and some 
ot a kind that only hotels can 
experiment with and in turn offer to 
to us in a simplistic manner Then 




Coffee table recipe books may 
lend the kitchen shelf a certain 
profile but chef Desai brushes them 
aside as 60 per cent recipe and 40 
per cent jargon These books have 
very little to do with cooking and 
more to do with beautiful 
presentation, a great finish and an 
overdose of history, ho says. Hotel 
books — veritable recipe banks — on 
the other hand are 95 per cent recipe 
and five per cent jargon. Critical 
about glossy coffee table books he 


Currently Choudhury is planning 
anothei glossy Royal Ri\ ipr book 
which will encompass all the dishes 
that the 1TDC chefs have conjured 
up for royal banquet;) tor state guests 
and othei top international 
dignitaries Also slated toi release is 
Ronini Singh's 7 he foolproof Cook 
Rook for Rt'gmnrrp. Bachelor* utni I hose 
Who Hate Ctkikmg But why anyone 
who hates cooking would invest <n a 
cook book, however, remains a 
abiding mystery. ■ 


FIRST PERSON 



tat is your idea of perfect 
happiness? 

To love and to be loved 
What Stvpur greatest fear? 

1 mighf tniss a step while 
performing or the musicians may 


PRATHIBHA PRAHLAD, a Bharatnatyam and Kuchipudi exponent , is counted 
among the 
and is now 
Recently she 
faxwurs . 

W hat is your idea of perfect I What do you dislike 
happiness? I most in others? 

Hypocrisy and 
double standards. 

What do you dislike 
most in yourself? 

My short temper 
What is your most 
precious possession? 

Dance. 

What objects do you 
always carry? 

My smile and wits. 

What makes you most depressed? 

Bad performance and bad 
reviews. 

What do you dislike most on your 
appearance? 

My broad backside. 

What is your favourite word? 

Love. 


go wrong. 

W1 


Vho or what has been the 
greatest influence in your life? 

Dance. 


'\ 


i W&i itdo yov 
.. . dlslike iaost on 

’ My broad backside 



seeking sexual 


What is your 
favourite journey? 
Art. 

What is your 
favourite dream? 

At present, to have the 
best performing arts 
complex in Bangalore. 



What is your 
nightmare? 

1 might meet with an 
accident and lose a 

leg. 

What or who is the greatest love 
of your life? 

Dance. 

What is your source of 
sustenance? 

My friends, family and fans. 

On what occasions do you lie? 

Only to journalists. 

What is your greatest regret? 

Not having married... sorry, 
cannot name him. 

What has been your happiest 
moment? 

When I recently got the railway 
minister to increase the travel 
concession for artistes from 50 per 







lu- 


cent to 75 per cent and also a 50 
per cent concession in first class. 
What brings tears to your eyes? 

Mushy movies and perfect art. 
How do you relax? 

Flay golf, party and go for long 
drives 

What do you envy most in others? 

Their complacency. 

How would you like to be 
remembered? 

As one of the greatest dancers 
and a fantastic person. 

How would you like to die? 

While dancing on the stage. 




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DOWN SOUTH. 

ASHOK ELITE I IOTELS AT MYSORE, BANGALORE & KOVAIAM 


The Ashok imup utters 
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Combine business with 
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96.VfSmOCi! 




The Telegraph 


9 JUNE 1996# 


POSTMORTEM 



Michael Jackson: New look face with plastic surgery 


In Search of 
Power 

V Amar Singh is a fine 
instance of wnat determi- 
nation and dedication can 
achieve (Tower Centre', 
April 21). From Calcutta 
to Delhi was a long and 
intriguing journey for this 
| ex-Xavenan. But as they 
say if there is a will there 
I is a way, Singh also 
proved that with the right 
contacts he could become 
a name to reckon with in 
the capital's power circuit. 
San tosh Chowdhury, 
Calcutta 

ft Thank you for the 
wonderful cover story 
profiling the 'irresistible 
rise' of Calcutta's Amar 
Singh. It is incredible how 
this lesser-known politi- 
cian developed such pow- 
erful contacts in the politi- 
cal circles of Delhi within 
such a short span of time. 
T.R. Anand, 

Saraneabad, 24-Parganas 

w.b.T 

m 1 was overwhelmed 
reading the cover story on 
Amar Singh* From 
Chittaranian Avenue to 
Delhi ana his association 
with big names like 
Amitabn Bachchan, 
Mulayam Singh Yadav, 
Chandra Sheknat Subrata 


Mukherjee, read like a 
fairy tale. His ambition 
paid him rich dividends. 
Vet he is so humble and 
never forgets his- modest 
beginning. 

As a Calcutta boy who 
loves his old city, I request 
him to do something tor 
the street children of 
Calcutta. He has the 
resources and the neces- 
sary contacts. The desti- 
tute children need a home 
and a better life. 

P.C. Dasgupta, 

Calcutta 

i The Magazine is eulo- 
gizing a man who is a 
rank opportunist and a 
middleman bereft of any 


ideological conviction. Do 
you want the young gen- 
eration to emulate him? 
The Jains (of hawala 
fame) also had incredible 
contacts with people who 
mattered. 

M.S. Quraishy, 

Calcutta 

■I Who is Amar Singh 
and what has he done for 
Calcutta? The story says 
he has not forgotten his 
roots; in that case, what 
has been his contribution 
to the dty? 

On the contrary, as a 
Calcutta boy Mitnun 
Chakraborty has done 
much for his old city. He 
is always there to help 


anyone who is in trouble. 
He has participated in 
umpteen Calcutta-based 
social works taking time 
off from his shootings and 
business. He is actively 
involved in works for tha- 
lassemia patients. Don't 
you think he deserves to 
be featured on die cover? 
Sunil Bantrjee, 

Calcutta 


Wonder 

Surgery 


■ The article, 'On the 
Cutting Edge' ( May 5) 
was very interesting. 
Plastic surgery can really 
work wonders and doc- 
tors can achieve miracu- 
lous .results: a flat nose 
can get a pert look, sag- 
ging face muscles can 
receive a lift, excess fat 
can be scooped away. 


It is unbelievable how 
Michael Jackson has trans- 
formed himself from his 


original looks. The altered 
nose, lips, colour have 
given him a totally differ- 
ent look. 

Thanks to modem 
surgery we need no 
longer peer into the mir- 
ror and feel depressed at 
our bad features making 
us look ugly. A good sur- 
geon can take care of that. 
Pinaki Roy, 

Dflbfam Dinahmr ( W.B J 



PAGE 4 


AN EXCLUSIVE on hair care and styling. Also, 
a visit to some of the best beauty parlours for 
tips from beauticians. 


PAGE 26 


16 TIME TABLE 

20 INNER EYE 

21 JUNIOR WHIRL 

22 COMICS 
26 FILMS 

30 FIRST PERSON 


PROFILING KAMALAHASAN, the actor- 
producer. 


Her crowning glory 




LET YOUR HAIR 
DOWN... 

( )rf)ut it Hji. oreroi cut it short uilh'Y\\e 
Telegraph 's A ■ to the Ix-'st hair styling 



Silhouette. Calcutta Running full most of the time 

WE'VE ALL HEARD ILIE CLICHE THAT HAIR IS A 


woman's crowning glorv. Yet, rare is the woman 
who is satisfied with her own hair. It she has 
straight hair, she w ants it curly; it it’s fizzy, she'd 
rather it was dead straight; it it's black, she wants it 
red; and it it's dark brown, she broods as to why it 
isn't jot black . 

Wo don't know it the grass is always greener on 
the other side, bu t there is no d ispu ting the fact tha t 
the hair on vour neighbour's head always looks 
more attractive. And that no matter how hard you 
t'rv, vours neviT wen is to attain that level ot 
perfection 

And there's no deriving that Indian women are 
Irving increasingiv harder to get their coil teu.r |ust 



right. Even ten 

years ago, it was hard to find an Indian 
middle-class woman who visited the 
hair-dresser regularly. Most of them 
were content to tie their hair in a plait 
or put it up m a bun. And when tney 
were feeling particularly self- 
indulgent, or there was an important 
family function to attend, they would 
visit tne neighbourhood beauty par- 
lour and come back with an elaborate 
hair-do 

Most of them also steered clear of 
shorn heafef, preferring to grow their 
locks no matter how abysmal the quali- 
ty of their hair. Sometimes it was 
because the in-laws would disap- 
prove, sometimes they themselves 


were uncomfortable with the idea of 
short hair. But whatever the reason, 
short hair was restricted to school and 
college kids; once you married and set- 
tled down, then long hair was a sign of 
respectability 

No longer. Today, Indian women 
are becoming more and more consci- 
ous of the need to look after their hair, 
and are getting more adventurous as 
well. Beauty parlours report that an 
increasing number of women arrive at 
their doors, asking for short, smart 
hair-cuts, or even just a blow-dry so 
that they can look good for an evening 
out. And several professional women 
think nothing of visiting the hair- 
dresser twice a week to ensure that 


Gina: Sharing a personal relationship with her clients 



they always looks impeccably 

Our mothers may have dyed their 
hair in the privacy of their own 
bathrooms, but women these days 
drop a couple of hundred bucks to get 
this done professionally. And more 
often than not, they insist on foreign' 
hair rinses and dyes, which result in 
more natural colours than their Indian 
counterparts. 

One reason for this, of course, is that 
more women are today earning their 
own money, and thus feel less guilty 
about treating themselves to an oil 
massage, followed by a cut and blow 
dry at me most expensive salon in 
town. 

And then, there is the fact that the 
Trophy Wife has appeared on Indian 
shores. Married to a rich businessman 
or successful executive, all that she is 
expected to do is look good at all those 
interminable, boring parties she has to 
attend with her husband. So, she feels 
completely justified in spending a 
couple of nours in the beauty parlour 
every day, primping and preening her- 
self to maintain that salon-perfect look. 

But where should the hair-care neo- 
phyte go, when she wants to look well - 
groomed? For her benefit. The 
Telegraph has compiled a list of hair- 
dressers and salons in the three major 
metros, where she could have anyth- 
ing from a hair extension to a simple 
perm. 

CALCUTTA 

Silhouette 

Situated at the Oberoi Grand, this is 
Calcutta's premier salon. And the pri- 
ces here are in keeping with the five- 
star ambience. So, be prepared to 
spend around Rs 100 for a sham- 
poo/blow dry. And if you think that's 
a little steep, remember that at the 
Delhi Silhouette you would have to 
spend more than double the amount 
for the same service. 

The manager of the Calcutta Sil- 
houette, Ritika Singh, concedes that 
the salon could seem expensive to fir- 
st-time customers. But then, she adds, 
the use of imported shampoos, 
bleaches, and perming solution tends 
to push up the price anyway. Says Mrs 
Singh, "Tiiere are enough people who 
are willing to pay for the services ren- 
dered, provided they meet their expec- 
tations. And contrary to popular opi- 
nion, we are full most of the time." 

At Silhouette, you could get your 
hair washed either with Pantene or 
with Biotique products. And a new 


customers' faces. In fact such is their 



Polly, the manager ofTaj Beauty Salon, Calcutta, attends to customers 


Swedish shampoo, called Oriflame, is 
also proving to be quite popular here. 
But if clients wish to bring in their own 
shampoos, either foreign or Indian, 
they an? quite welcome to do so. 


There are two hairdressers in resid- 
ence at Silhouette: Jenny and Linda. 
Both of them have been at work with 
the scissors and comb for years, and 
are adept at styling hair to suit their 


expertise that most clients prefer to go 
to diem, rather than to the foreign hair- 
stylist that theOberoi imports every 
winter: Martin Kneller. 

While opinion is divided on 
Martin's skills as a hairstylist — same 
clients feel that the Chinese girls better 
understand the demands of an Indian 
lifestyle — there is no doubting Knel- 
ler' s expertise at colouring and high- 
lighting hair. He brings his own pro- 
ducts — Wella and L'Oreal — with 
him, and can offer you several colour- 
ing and highlighting options. 

But with Martin, you can't just walk 
into the salon and come out with a 
head of brilliantly-coloured hair. He 
will first insist on taking a small cutt- 
ing from your hair, which he will test 
overnight with the product he intends 
to use. Only once he is satisfied with 
the results, will he proceed to work on 
your hair. 

On the whole, Kneller recommends 
short and simple styles that are easy to 
maintain in the humidity and pollu- 
tion of Calcutta. "Lacquered and 
moussed hair here begins to look limp 
after a day or two/' he says. 





Silhouette, Delhi: One of the oldest salons in the capital 


The Taj Beauty Salon their conservatism over the years and 

have begun experiments with novel 
Situated at Taj Benga this salon ha5 ideas in styling their hair. "With the 
a hairstylist Polly, presiding as the innumerable channels on television 
manager. She also doubles as the most these days, the enormous increase in 
popular hairdresser in residence, with fashion and film magazines, and worn- 
most clients insisting on having their en travelling all over the globe, their 
hair cut by her. consciousness is bound to increase, " 

Polly, who is an international diplo- she says, 
ma holder in beauty care and treat- But Polly is not too happy with the 

ment from a Canadian uni versity, quality of shampoos available m the 

maintains that her clients have shed Indian market; they can't, she says. 


The beauty parlour at the Taj, Delhi: Trying out new hair styles 



i 

r 


cope with the climate and pollution of 
Calcutta. According to her, shampoo- 
cum -conditioners are a strict no-no, so 
she recommends the use of gel sham- 
poos to all her clients. And, says Polly, 
there's no such thing as washing your 
hair too often Instead, shampooing 
your hair every alternate day will 
keep it both healthy and dean. 

Tne Taj beauty salon manufactures 
its own shampoos, so that more specia- 
lised care can be taken of all kinds of 
hair. But most of their dients prefer to 
use imported shampoos, Wella being 
the most in demand. 

Polly's advice to ail her dients is not 
to follow fashion blindly, but to cut 
their hair keeping in mind the shape of 
their face, their height and their 
lifestyle. And she doesn't abide by the 
current trend of importing foreigners 
in to cut hair. "Foreigners," she says, 
"will not be aware of the current 
trends and fashion here, so it is of no 
practical use/' 

Sudha's Beauty Parlour 

Even though this is situated in 
Hotel Hindustan Internationa], the 
ambience at this salon is far from five- 
star. The parlour is small, even slight- 
ly cramped with three chairs, two 
beds and a sofa. 


8 



Run by Sudha Bibra, a qualified 
beauty consultant and therapist, for 
the past 20 years, the salon is popular 
with everyone from society ladies to 
college students. And Bibra herself is 
eminently placed to comment on the 
changes m the Indian beauty scene 
"In the past few years/’ she says, 
"there has come about a complete 
metamorphosis in the women of this 
city. No longer are they satisfied with 
the sedate look and the stereotypical 
image. They want to try out the latest 
styles and go wild " 

Bibra, however, doesn't agree with 
the conventional wisdom that short 
hair is easy to maintain. On the contra- 
ry. she says, it requires regular trimm- 
ing and incessant brushing to keep it 
m place Long hair, on the other hand, 
can be lied in either a plait, or a top- 
knot, making for a 'cooler' look 

Sudha doesn't think that there is 
much to choose 1 between the various 
hair products in the market And as a 
beauty therapist who treats such hair 
problems as dandruff, split ends, pre- 
mature grey ing and halt loss, Bibra 
makes her own remedies They range 
trom ban packs and conditioners to 
dovens o! snot ul oils 1 ler cupboard is 
full ol such herbal products as neem, 
;rvf/zt. bnihrw. amiu and even flowers 
like jubakuiiuni t 

Despite being a trained hairstylist, 
Bibra doesn't cut liaii herself. Instead, 
she di\ide» on the cut a particular cli- 
ent should have, and restricts herself 
ft' placing the doctor to diseased hair 
Most of tne clients swear by her hair 
packs and conditioners, the contents 
i ■ which remain a closely -guarded 
secret 

Gina 

She f’rs; jiegan cutting hair at the 
age of 13, when she worked at Eve's 
beauty parlour in Calcutta Aftei that, 
Gina graduated to working with A.N 
John, before going on to work at Sil- 
houette But a 'misunderstanding' 
with the management led to her walk- 
ing out and setting up a salon in her 
house 

Of course, all her i iienls followed 
her ns well, and Gina was in business. 

I oday, sue run:? her salon with the 
help of her two neices and one other 
teinale employee, and is always inun- 
dated with customers, with most of 
whom she has a personal relationship. 
"1 have always had a friendly relation- 
ship with all my clients/' she says pro- 
udly "They even supply me with 
cosmetics and shampoos when they 
travel abroad." 

But Gina doesn't agree with the 



Habib advising a customer 


view that women have started taking 
a greater interest in their hair the^e 
days "In the old days/' she says wist- 
fully, "women were so fastidious 
They used to go to balls and the race. , 
and they would come to me to make 
them look more beautiful But young- 
sters today arc so busy that they iusf 
want a short hair cut, or a pe« n? which 
is so much in fashion those days ' 

Toppers 

Though th«s salon lacks the five-star j 
touch, it is very popular with college i 
students and housewiv es on a tight | 
budget, and has a fairly large client 
base. Angela Chu, the leading hairstyl- 
ist here, however finds the work a lit- 
tle boring Chu, who began her career 
in Bombay, finds her customers in C al 
cutta a little lacking in the proper spirit 
of adventure. They are unwilling to 
experiment with novel styles, preferr- 


ing the: more conservative cuts. 

But while wild and whacky styles 
are out, perming seems the order of 
the day at Toppers, with most custo- 
mers preferring the trizzy look. 

As for hair products, only Indian 
\ >nos are on offer at Toppers And 
that’s how it should be, insists Angela, 
because "Indian shampoos are as 
good as foreign ones, and sometimes 
even better " 

DELHI 

Silhouette 

Regular svveai by this salon, situat- 
ed at theOberoi m Delhi Silhouette, 
w hich is one o» the oldest salons in 
existence in Delhi today, is placed at 
the top end of the market, but it's pric- 
ing policy is competitive compared to 
some of tlie more recent entrants in the 
field 

And even though some women 


Avfiasfi Pasncna 


HAIR CARE 

Tips to ensure the good health of yotir crowning glory 



The beaded look 


^Always ensure that your hair is 
clean. All those stories about the 
damaecioo much washing can do 
to the nairiQpe just that: stories. 
Your hair will come to no harm if 
you wash it every alternate day, or 
even every morning as long as you 
use a good quality snampoo, and 
oil your hair regularly. 

■•'Never use a 

shampoo-cum- conditioner. A 
shampoo and conditioner perform 
entirely different functions and can 
never be combined in the same 
product. So, beware of any product 
that says that it can do the work of 
both at the same time. Even if you 
end up spending a little extra, 
always buy a separate shampoo 
and conditioner. 
arGo easy on the henna. It is a 
popular misconception that henna 
is a good conditioner. On the 
contrary, it can have quite a drying 
effect on the hair, and should be 
used only rarely ana in^njunetion 
with something oily like yoghurt 
There are some hairdressers who 


would advise you to give up on 
henna completely. According to 
them, henna forms a coating 
around your hair and prevents it 
from 'breathing'. And the lack of 


fresh air can damage hair all too 
easily. 

arTrimyour hair at least once 
eveiy six weeks. This will ensure 
that you maintain the style that you 


may baulk at paying their prices, the 
salon does provide value for money. 
Silhouette, for instance, is probably 
tiie only beauty parlour in the city that 
uses sterilised combs and brushes 

Says Mrs Prem Mehra, the proprie- 
tor of the Silhouette chain of beauty 
salons, "In the current scenario where 
the AIDS scare rules the roost, we 
can't be too careful. Besides our clients 
feel more secure in the knowledge that 
our equipment is safe/' 

Silhouette also offers a membership 
option to all its clients, who can then 
avail of a 10 per cent discount at all Sil- 
houette salons (in Bombay, Delhi and 
Calcutta) And since the bills here can 
amount to quite a tidy sum, even this 
measly 1 U per cent seems worth it. 

Club Olympus 

Dubbed as the most expensive salon 
in the city, Club Olympus is situated at 
the Hyatt Regency Hotel But despite 
the steep prices, the salon is always 
crowded with clients asking for anyth- 
ing from a simple hair-cut to a com- 
plete makeover. So, you'd be best advi- 


you go. or prepare to be disappointed 
Because a major proportion of the 
clientele is foreign — some of whom 
are hotel guests — the salon uses a 
number of foreign products And as 

A new style from Habib's 



tar as hair care is concerned, the most 
popular brand name is Wella, while 
those who swear by herbal products 
stick to Shahnaz Husam The procedu- 
re that most women seem to opt for is 
streaking and highlighting hair even 
though it can set them back by Rs 1, 1 00 
k — and that doesn't include the 10 per 
% cent tax that is added on to the bill. 

$ But even if you just want to get your 
9- hair styled. Club Olympus is not a bad 
bet. The hairdressers are competent, 
and sufficiently clued in to give you a 
cut that is both trendy and suits vour 
face, figure and hfstyle. 

Profile 

This salon lias a very soothing inter- 
ior, done up as it is in soft pastel 
| colours. The aquamarine blue, green 
>|fl and grey greet the client who enters, 

■1 looking for a new look for herself. But 
even though every treatment under 
the sun is on offer here, what Profile, 
situated at New Delhi's Hilton, is most 
popular for is the wide variety of perms 
that it offers If you want the frizzy 

Innlr tVlPn von ran r\\r\r\cti kilituum 




have gone in for, and also take care 
of split ends. 

rf^Give yourself an oil massage 
once a week and steam your hair 
thereafter to ensure that the oil 
goes down to the roots. Then, 
shampoo it dean, but never ever 
brush your hair when it is wet; that 
will only increase breakages. Use a 
wide* toothed comb to detangle it, 
and let it dry before you use a brush. 
•Avoid blow drying your fair too 
often as it can have a drying effect 
on your hair, and even weaken it at 
the roots. If your cut requires a 
blow dry occasionally tnen half dry 
your hair before beginning to style 
it as this will reduce the heat that 
your hair has to endure. 

•“Change the hair products — 
both shampoos and 
conditioners — that you use every 
couple of months or so. Hair tends 
to develop a resistance to products 
if you use them ti>o often, and their 
rthf aty fades after a while Also, it 
is* necessary to change your 
shampoo once m a while if you 
want to avoid build-up, that is, the 
depositing of various ingredients 
(of the shampoo) on your hair over 
a period of time. 

• If you use herbal products, check 
them to make suie that no 


Others who don't want such a dras- 5 
t . ■ change in their appearance can con- s 
tent themselves with just putting high-£ 
lights in their hair, as there are a good 
range ol tones available here | 

Among the celebrity clients wbo ‘ 
frequents the salon is the film actress 
Madhuri Dixit, on her trips to Delhi. 

La Bella 

The Mei idien’ s beauty parlour is 
exceedingly popular with all Delhi lad- 
ies who spend a lot of time, attention 
and money on thoir hair. Located on 
the fourth floor of the hotel. La Bella is 
the only salon that can boast of natural 
light, and sprawls over one entire floor. 

This salon, which is very popular 
with the age groups between 1 8-35, 
specialises in herbal oil treatments. 
There is also a special section which 
deals with such problems as dry hair 
and dandruff. But if you are satisfied 
with the quality of your hair and just 
want a good cut. then the best interna- 
tional styles are on offer here as well. 

Rolf Lucke, a specialist from Wella 

^ iUa ril/tn *v» a frumon. i 




chemicals have been added to 
them And remember what you 
put on hair isn't half as important 
as what you put inside your body. 
So, eat lots of green leafy 
vegetables and fruits, and drink 
lots of water if you want your hair 
to be your crowning glory. 



ry was completely lull Toi the eight 
days that he worked at the salon. .*s 
Delhi ladies poured mlo the salon u» 
avail themselves ot his services 

Bindiya 

This is possibly the only beauts par 
lour in the city which gives you such a 
good view, in this case, the sw lmnung 
pool of the Maurv a Sheraton, where it 
is situated The salon, which sports a 
completely new look these days, 
offers both slate-ot-the-art equipment 
and such imported products as W ella 

Rindiva also offers hair tre.itm* nt 
wuth the help of Climazon, a mat lime 
where the heat is regulated through a 
computerised system And aa or ding 
to the salon, ome internal causes fni 
hair loss have been controlled, the 
treatment lor tailing hair - carnet! 
out over h\e sessions- • lsgauranteed 
to completely conhol hair Ins*- 

According to several do* toi s mn 1 of 
t a uses uf spondylitis m women, is the 
use of incorrect basins used tor wash- 
ing hair in salons. At Bindiya. 
however, you would use a hvd* juIk 
wash basin, which any orthopaedic 
surgeon would approve of A narrow 
indentation in the basin support- the 
neck and prevents any incorrect 
stretching of the neck muscles 


The Taj Mahal Hotel 

The beauty parlour at this hotel was 
closed tor several months lor renova- 
tion, but has now re-opened wuth a 





Yasmeen at Touch of Joy 


completely new look Now, in addi- vegetables And then, there are the 
tion to the usual hair-cuts and cut- usual options ot perming, crimplmg, 

and-blow dry regimen, it also offers streaking, tinting, natural hail slrea- 

scalp consultancy, which can help you , king, hair art and hair extensions Sha 
deal with such irritants as overall hair \ hnaz l lusain also offers turban thera- 
loss, loss of hair in patches, greying ! py, that has caught on ot late 
and split ends Among the products Natural hair streaking is among the 

used are Wella, Pantene, Rev Ion and mure popular procedures because no 
Astrol haii conditioner chemicals are required for this treat- 

The specialists at Ihe salon go to the mrnl lin( j t he hair can be highlighted 
root ot problem, asking you questions Wll h .freaks of colour And if vou 
about v our lifestyle, diet etc. And they wan # increase the length of your 

also keep a proper record of e\ cry hair. y OU can ( ,pt lm hair extensions, 

client, and what kind of treatment she going trom shoulder-length to waist 

has undergone, so that vou can always length in the space of an hour 
go back even a couple of vears later Regulars at the salon include Vvjan- 

umhdent in the knowledge that your thimala Bali, the Maharani ol Jaipur, 
history will be on the files Padmim F Vvi. and telev i aon news- 

At the Taj, you can also g" m lor tern- rcMC J L . r , Salma Sultan And a growing 
porary or party streaking- a semi- number of a mbass.id* >rs wives are 

permanent colour that comes otf after beginning to patronise Shahnaz 
the lirst wash The salon also speciah- Husain 
ses in li.ur extensions, and is the first to 


^ Hairstylists 

Habib Ahmed was the man who 
^ was responsible for revolutionising 
k the concept ot hair care and styling in 
this country way back m the 70s 1 hs 
father, Nazir Ahmed, was the perso- 
nal hairstylist to Lord Mountbatton, 
the last Viceroy of India, and Pandit 
fawaharlal Neriru Habib himself pick- 
ed up the nuances of hair styling from 
the Vidal Sassoon Institute and the 
Morris School ot Han Pressing. 

Today, ho is armed with as many as 17 
international diplomas and is also the 
u\ ipient of the India International 
C.old Award 1^5 

These days, Habib's three sons, 

I awed, Parvez and Amjad, work at his 
salon at the ITDC-run Lodhi Hotel or 
at Habib's Salon and Hair Academy m 
South Lxtension Habib's is not 
known for any kind of hair tieatinent, 
but many people frequent it because 
ot its leputation Sav^ Jawed. "We aie 
known as stylists and people come to 
us expecting to be told w hat will look 
good on them People trust us 
explicitly " 

In Last ot Kailash, a south Delhi <, ok* 
nv. is a rosy eo i ner occupied by inave- 
ruT hairstylist. S\ Ivic The ambience 
is moie trit-ndlv and home-like than 
five-star, and the hairdresser ha* a 
easy, friendly lelationship with Ins 
clients, even sending them ^anls and 
flowers on their birthday*. Not evei vo- 
ne protesses themselves salisfred by 

the teat her ruts and perms that Sylvie 
excells in, hut hi* has his faithful list ot 
clients 

Among the other hair stylists who 
are much in demand in the city are 
Nancy, who runs The Salon at the Park 
Hotel And in the less expensix o 


offer hair weaving, which provides 
one with an alternative to wearing a 
wig for an Atro style, you would be 
advised to go m tor bead weaving 
Poonam, who manages the salon, 
also gives her clients recipes and 
encourages them to treat themselves, 
at home rather than go through ses- 
sions and sittings at the salon, even 
though that would make the parlour 
less money But. as she explains, "We 
believe in building an image tor our- 
seh es, not |ust revenues " 

Shahnaz Husain 
Shahnaz salons specialise in hair 
< «irc with herbal packs that include flo- 
ral extracts and henna Scalp treat- 
ments are also available for dandruff 
and alopecia Also popular are hair 
packs, compristnu a hair conditioner 



bracket are Andre m the Defence Colo- 
ny Market, and Barbara, which is run 
bv a ladv of the same name 

BOMBAY 

Silhouette 

This is the Bombay branch ot the 
chain, and is as popular ns its counter- 
parts in C alcutta and Delhi It is not 
ouite as posh as the Delhi branch, 
though .belter equipped than its Cal- 
cutta equivalent, but its clients swear 
by it. In tact, il would be no exaggera- 
tion to say th.it everybody who is any - 
body in Bombay goes In Silhouette tor 
all kinds ol beauty treatment- right 
trom oil massages to facials 

But it's hair which is tire salon's spe- 
cial strength, and most clients sweat 
hv the stylists who work here, preferr- 
ing to use their services rather than 
those ol such visiting hairdressers as 
Martin 



Men too can have more than a haircut 


Touch Ot Joy 

Situated behind the Taj Mahal 
1 Iolel, this has its own list of legulars, 
must ot whom -'wear by the skills or 
Yasmeen, the hairdresser m residence 
Yasmeen has her own ideas about hair 
< are and the pci lei t style, though she 
often has to give in to the wish« s ot hei 
clients who \\ alk m and say that the\ 
\v. mill lik i to i- >k e*a. llv I.ki 
It lu i.i h. »rri -ter m j'iii 1'ohl >w>i r'.v 
iUwntifi'! pi U\r i Vniple hap.uha 

According to > usmeen, the style of 
the day is .1 shag cut willed is i ut long 
behind and short in front But she 
would advise everyone who has pro- 
blem hair to go in toi a shoit haircut 
"But," she says, "it someone has love 
lv, thiik hair that does not need too 
auch maintenance, they would do 


well to wear it long " That, according 
to Yasmeen. is really a matter of indivi- 
dual preference than a question of fol 
low mg the trend. 

At Touch ot loy, foreign products 
are much in evidence, because Yasme- 
en i-. not confident of the quality of 
Indian shampoos and the like She 
also finds the concept of a shampoo- 
viim-conditioner completely ridicu- 
lous, though most people in India 
tend to use it. 

Nalini and Yasinin 

Situated in the Bombay suburb of 
Randra, this is very popular with film 
and television actresses and fashion 
models. Says Nalini, one ot the two 
women who runs it. "When we start- 
ed out m 1^72, it was so difficult to get 



people to actually take an interest in 
their hair Most simply asked tor a 
standard cut It took us ages to convin- 
ce them that there were other stvles 
that would also look wonderful on 
them. We would also have to tell a 
woman with curly hair that she could 
not, tor instance, carry off a hair cut 
like the kind that Madhuri Dixit 
sports " 

In fact, Nalini was e\ en interviewed 
by Channel Four lor a serial on Indian 
women because of the short hair cut 
that she gave Navneet NJishan who 
plays the lead role in the tele-serial. 
Turn Says Nalini today, 'When N.iv- 
neet came to me, she had long hair m 
three different colours l convinced 
her to cut it short and see how popular 
ithas become. Amrita Singh too had 
long hair and it is only now that she 
has cut it, and see how well it works 
for her Fven Madhu Sapre and Mehr 
Jcsia sport short hair now and have 
become role models tor Indian 
women." 

Nahm doesn't like to use Indian pro- 
ducts on the whole, but says that new 
brands like Pantent* which ha\ e come 
on the market are good for the hair 
And she does her best to convim e her 
clients that th- - should use diampoo, 
not soap, on their hau 

Reports from Anusuya 
Mandal in Calcutta; Samita 
Bhatia in Delhi and Viishali 
Honawar in Bombay 

Cover Photograph: 

Som Subhra Sarkar 


id 


Extract 


Paper 



T ow nsend was hack ai tin (,/n'th bv 
sown tin* lollown,; morning I fe 
took the lift to the so. flooi. and 
uallo'd around thoo.nptv desks of 
* 1 it ad vevhsmp .1 1 id it i mil ads 
department Fxen with nobody 
around. In* < ould viisi i!i«- ilooi was 
m«*tiK i»*nllv r-ei n i’aneis won* strewn 
.ill o\e» desks. hlos had hot'll loft 
open .uni si coral liehts li.ul 
o!>\ icitisli boon Inirmii); all tJiM'UcJi 
tho mphl I It boo., in to reihsi* p, .1 
how lone !ns 1 ,1^101 mil 1 { ha\ o been 
aw ay from tho i »ttki 

I ho fust employee stiollt.il in .u 
ton past nmo 

"Wlio .no von asked lownsend 
■ is die walked .u i -os tin- room 

Ruth." sho said "Aiul wild .in* 

\ ou *’ 

'' I in koilh low nsoihl 
Oh, yes 'sn C .mil. ini’s ^>n ’ sho 
s.’.k! flatix’, and walked o\ ot to hoi 
dr-sk 

"Who inns tin . ilt*|\u tmoiit ,n 
.•*. L otl lownsoinf 

'Mi Mt»iris ‘ sht* i-’pliotl, * ilhnj*, 
dow n tind taking .i i omp.n ! tint ot 
hor hap 

"And w Lon tan 1 expect to soo 
him 

"Oh. ho usiullv pets in iii * ihiid 
mne-thiih, Ion " 

"Poos ho 7 " s,mt hiwn^ond ' And 
whit h is hi> oft nr I ho yen mp 
woman pomtod atioss ll.o floor to 
lJ«o i.n lompr ot tin* mu'ii 

Mr l him*, appeared in in-- oltue 
.if iim«‘ Jot f \ seven, hy whit h tinu* 

It> vnsoiul had boon tlnoin;h most of 
hi . lilt's "\\ hat the hell d* you ll link 
\on ir Llom^ , " wore Harris's rust 
words w hen ho found Townsend 
sitf'ii^ behind his desk, studying a 
shoal of papers 

"Waitim; to? you,' said 
Townsend "I don't expect mv 
advertising manage* to hi* strolling 
in fust before ton o< look 1 
"Nohod v who wofks for a 


newspaper starts work much before 
ton Lvon tho tea hov knows that," 
said Harris 

"When 1 was the tea ho\ on the 
Dmlu / .i/’h’ss, I ord Beaxerbrook was 
sitting at ins dosk by oi^ht nVIoi k 
ex orx 1 moi mng " 

’ But l i.irely pet away betoie so, 
in the evening." Hams protest***.] 

| "A detent journalist laivh v,o!s 

ho*no betoio oipht, and tile hat 1. 
bench staff should cousidei 
themselves luck) it the\'re.iwa\ 
muJi he I ore nudmphl Start in a, 



Kt ■;lh 

Jlt/n/M’ihl 
t. av //<> tmi rs 
(/' hr Idhi’s 
>>rcr l hr 
jt w/iiy j\ij>rr 
l\.Y/nn/s 
from 

Mlfriy 
Archer s 
line'll i/oi i l. 

1 !h- ! (i'fri!i 


fwirm ted front 

r ln / HiUit r- J 

l>yji>/fn'\ Archer. 
Published by 
Hurperi.ollins. Price 
JL 2 .W 


14 




tomorrow, you and I will meet in my 
office every morning at eight thirty, 
and the rest of your staff will be at 
their desk by nine. If anyone can't 
manage that, they can start studying 
the Situations Vacant column on the 
back page of the paper Do I make 
myself clear?" 

Harris pursed his lips and 
nodded 

"Good The first thing 1 want 
from you is a budget tor the next 
three months, with a clear 
breakdown of how our line prices 
compare with the Measniyt t 1 want 
it on my desk by the time T conic m 
tomorrow" He rose from Harris's 
chair 

"It may not be possible to have 
all those figures ready tor you by 
this time tomorrow'," protest* d 
Harris. 

"In that case, you can start 
studying the Situations Vacant 
column as well," said Townsend 
"Hut not in my time " 

I le strode out, leaving Harris 
shaking, and took the lift up one 
floor to the circulation department, 
where he wasn't surprised to 
encounter exact I v the same luiwz 
tiiirc attitude An hour later lie left 
that department with more than one 
ot them shaking, though he had to 


admit that a young man from 
Brisbane called Mel Carter, who had 
recently been appointed as the 
department's deputy manager, had 
impressed him. 

Frank Bailey was surprised to see 
"young Keith" back in the office so 
soon, and even more surprised when 
he returned to his place on the 
window ledge for the morning 
conference Bailey was relieved that 
Towmsend didn't offer any opinions, 
but couldn't help noticing that he 
was continuously taking notes 

By the 1 time Towmsend reached 
his own office, it w'as eleven o'clock 
He immediately set about going 
through his mail with Miss Bunting 
She had laid it all out on his desk 
and in separate tiles w'ith different- 
coloured markers, the purpose ot 
which, she explained, was to make 
sure that he dealt with the real 
priorities when he was running short 
of time. 

Two hours later, Townsend 
realised w'hy his father had held 
'Buntv' in such high regard, and w'as 
wondering not when he would 
replace her but just how long she 
would be willing ti) slav on 

' I’ve left the most important 
mattei until' last," said Bunty. "The 
latest ottei from the Ml; Sir 


Colin Grant called earlier this 
morning to welcome you home and 
to make sure that you had received 
his letter " 

"Did he?" said Townsend with a 
smile, as he flicked open the file 
marked 'Confidential' and skimmed 
through a letter from Jervis, Smith & 
Thomas, the lawyers who had 
represented the Messenger for as long 
as he could remember. He stopped 
when he came across the figure 
£ 150,000, and frowned He then 
read the minutes of the previous 
month's board meeting, which 
clearly showed the director's 
complacent attitude to the bid But 
that meeting had taken place before 
his mother had given him a ninety- 
day stay of execution 

"Dear Sir, " dictated Townsend, 
as Bunty flicked over the next page 
of her shorthand pad "I have 
received your letter of the twelfth 
inst New paragraph In order not to 
waste any more of your time, let me 
make it clear that the Gazette is not 
for sale, and never will he You is 
faithfully 

Townsend leaned back in his 
chair and recalled the last time he 
had met the chairman of the 
Messenger Like many failed 
politician. , Sir Colin was pompous 





and opinionated. particularly with 
the young " hhe scon-and-nol-he aid 
brigade' , was how he deicrihed 
child ri n. it lownsend rememben d 
correct Iv lie wondered how lone, il 
would be before lie K\nb u -.aw 
him again 

T wo days later, lownsend was 
slud\ ing 1 lanis'x ,uh eitixmg 
report when Hunli popped her he, id 
rounJ the door lo sa\ tli.it S»i Cohn 
Grant vv^ on the hm lownsend 
nodded and picked up the phone 
' Keith no bo\ Welcome home 1 
the old man began 'I ve just read 
youi letter and Wondered it you 
were mare that I had a verbal 
agreement with your rnothei 
concerning the sale ol ihi < ui:rltt’ 

Mv motlier lc»lc* \ou. Su Cohn 
that she would be go mg 'oui olt« i 
hei seriou 1 ' vonsidenlion l die made 
no verbal lornmihnenl. and anvone 
who suggests olhnw ise is 

"Non hold on, \ ming lellow 
intt rrupted Mi t olm ' 1 m only 
acting in good I ulli As vou v\e!l 
know, yoin talher and I were close 
friend'.’ 

"Hut my lather is no longer with 
vrs Sir C olm, so in lulnn* you w *11 
have to deal w ith me And we an 
not i lose friends 

"Well, it that's vein altitude, 
there seems no point in mentioning 
that \ was going, to iru lease mv ollei 
toL 1 7i Mini) " 


"No poml a f all, *vr C olm 
Km tiuse 1 still w ouldn t c 'nsidei it 
"Wi will in time baiked the 
oidei man, 'beuiiiM within six 
month*. I H run vou **ti flu* sheets, 
and then \ 'ill'll be onlv too happv to 
fake t‘ r >!i,lidi) toi whatever remains ot 
the bits and pieces ' Sii Cohn 
paused "heel tiee to call me when 
^ on ehange \ oie mind 

! i )\ \ n -end pul i hi pt»one down 
and asked Utility to tell tin editor 
lli.it hi w .iiifcd to si e him 
immediately 

Mis . Huu'.ng hesitated 

"i-, them -.ome problem, Birilv'*' 

* \ Ml\ that \oin lath* i u>**d to go 
d\ wnaikl iee the edilei mb's 
olti* e " 

"Did he mall*. said low iisend. 
remaining seated 

‘T(i , 1 - 1 him to conn up su.uglit 

inVflV ' 

lew n send mined lo the ba» K 
page, and studied !h • 1 la! toi Kent 
M.lumn while lie wailed I (e had 
already decided (hat the tourney lo 
Melbourne m cry weekend stole too 
manv precious hours ol his lime 1 le 
wondered how long he'd be able to 
hold oft telling his mnlliei 

[ rank Hailev stormed into his 
oit.ee n lew minutes later, but 
lowiisend couldn't see the 
o>. passion fill las lace, his head 
r.'iii.uni-J down as he pretended lo 
be absoihed in I In* bcUk page He 
{ ; icli*d a box, looked up at the editoi 


amt passe d him a pie* <’ of papei 1 
want vou *c» pimt this )i lie! *rom 
|ei \ is, Smith & 1 Imnia*. on the hoi il 
page* tomorrow, brank and I II have’ 
3(U) wolds i * mu I v loi the li ade* 
w ithm ihe houi 

'Hut said 1 tank 
'And dig out the worst picture 
you can find ol Mi 1 olm Grant md 
pnl it alongside the 1 dlei 

"Hut Id planned In lead on the 
Taylor tnal tom* ‘now. s.nd the 
editoi ''Hi' s umcK enl, and wen* 
known as a campaigning paper 
"We re also I* novvn as a paper 
that's lo .mg rwoiU-v, ' said lowiisend 
In any case, llie l.ivloi h.al was 
\ esteulav s news >ou can devote as 
much space lo him as vou like, but 
tomorrow ii woo l lie on the lion! 
p w ge " 

" An\ tlung el -o 1 asked l tank 
, sarcaslic.illv 

"Vs,’ said Townsend calmly "1 
1 espeet to sec 1 llie page out 1 lavoiil oil 
mv desk belor* 1 leave tins evening 
, I iank sliode angrily out ol the 
i office, without uttering another 
word 

"hievl I want lo see the' 
advertising manager/' Townsend 
told Buntv when she leanpcared. lie 
opened the lile 1 lari is hail delivered 
ii day late, and staied down at the 
carelessly compiled figures That 
1 me eting lurried out to be even 
! shorter than I ranks, and while 
; | lai ns w as clearing Ins desk. 








Townsend i ailed tt»i 1 1 it- drput\ 
v. If l lll.lt ion ea.Uiagei Mi 1 C .11 let 

When th** mar enUied the 

Timm fhr look on I ii ^ Lm- inJu a ted 
l*Mt in: It »i ■ \\ as r\ p«*. (my; *o he told 
ih.it hi- Ji si- should m * (eaied by 
ilu- end ot the murnini. 

" f hive a sea!, Mel." said 
Townsend 1 le looked down at his 
ill** "1 m r vm/ve reirnl!\ |o;neJ us 
on .I ihivr month I r id! 1 of mr make 
it i Ic.u front thi* outset t licit I'm onlv 
mleiested m results you vc got 
davs st.ehng lodav. In jumr 
Mini si'll .is ad\ i*i hsmg managei 

I hr \ i Ming man looked siii prised 
hill relieved 

"So lr!i mr, ikI Tow'iisend. "if 
you lould change mu: thing iboul 
the Cmi^'/lr what would it hr > " 

"The hark page, ' said Mci 
without hesitation ’ I'd mow thr 
small ,u!s to an inside pap: ' 

"Win?' asked Townsend "It s 
the pap 1 whieh generate* om largest 
iiumiu’ a little over L’ T,uO() a day n 1 
lemomher coiivctlv ' 

"1 realise that," said Mel "Hut the 
Mcssn/yi i has recently put sport on 
the back page and taken another 
10,000 ivcideis jwj\ trom us 
They've worked out that you can put 
the small ads on any page, because 
people are far more interested in 
circulation figures than tliev are in 
positioning when they decide whop' 
to place an advertisement I could 
give you a more detailed breakdown 


ot the figures h\ -i\ o'clock tonight if 
ihd* w ivild help convince you " 

I h eei fainlv would " -aid 
Towns, M»d ’And *1 you have any 
i *t!ier bright ideas, Mel. don f 
hesitate fo shaie ihem with me 

Ton 11 find un dooi is always open " 

I I was .i change lor Townsend to 
sec someone lea\ mg his offic e with a 
smile on his fan He cheeked his 
watch as BunU walk* d in 

'Time lor you to be' leaving loi 
your lunch with fhe circulation 
manager of the ATcs-.c/zycv 

"\ wondei it I i an ,itioi\l if,' sau 
lownsend, chock mg Ins watch 

'Oh yes " she said ' Your tat her 
always thought the' l_’a\ton C.rill 
very reasonable It's Pillignm'* he 
consider* d extravagant, and he onlv 
evei took iolii mother there " 

"It s not the price ot the meal I'm 
worried about. Hums It’s how much 
he'll demand il he agrees to leave the 
.Uwiivn and |om us " 

T ownsend waited tor a week 

before he called Uu I rank Hailey 
and (old him that the small ads 
would no longei be appearing cm the 
hack page 

"But the small .ids have been on 
the back page for over 70 veais,* was 
the editor's first r action 

"II that’s true, I can't think ot a 
bettei argument l »i moving them.” 
said Townsend 

"Hut our readers don't like 


change." 

"And the Mc^cn^ci s do'*" said 
Townsend "That's one or the many 
reasons they’re selling far mole 
copies than we are 

' Are you willing to sacrifice our 
long tradition simply to gam a tew 
more readers?" 

"I ran set 1 you ve gol the message 
at last." said Jownsend, not blinking 
"Bui vour mother assured nm 
that. " 

"My mother is not m charge ot 
the day-todav runnmg of this papei 
She gave me tfn 1 1 responsibility." ) le 
didn't add. but onl\ tin L K) days 
The editor held his breath foi a 
moment before he said i.tlmlv, "Arc 1 
vou Imping i ll resign - *" 

T 'ertamlv not.’ said Townsend 
tirmlv "Hut I am hoping you'll help 
me run a pi of liable newspaper ’ 

He was sui prised hv the editor s 
next question 

"Can you hold the decision off 
tor another two weeks'" 

"Wh\ ?’ asked Townsend 
"Because in\ sport* editor isn't 
expected back horn holiday until the 
end of the month " 

"A sports ediloi w'no lakes three 
weeks off m the middle of the cricket 
season probabh ^oulcint even 
notice if his desk had been replaced 
when he came hick." snapped 
Townsend 

The sports editoi handed in his 
resignation on the dav he returned, 
which deprived lownsend ol the 
plea Min ot sac I* mg h»m Within 
hours he had appointed the 2? -year- 
old cricket correspondent I" t.ike his 
place 

Frank Ikulev i mu charging up to 
Townsend* room, a tew moments 
alter he heaid tile news * It's the 
editor's jo)' to make ipnmlmeius." hi 1 
began, even heioir hi had closed til* 1 
dooi to Townsend s oMic i . noi 
"Not any longei it i-.n said 
Tow nsend 

J’hi- two rien staled e! e,u h othei 
f(»! M»nii tinu* ee!>'ii ! rank tried 
again ' in an*, ^i*.. * he's rai to.» 
voung to tale on such a 
responsibility 

"l le s three \e L i»s .*ldei tlian I 
am said lownsend 

! rank hit his hp Max i remind 
\ou, ' he said, "that when \ ou \ isiud 
my office tor the tusi rune on!v !o»u 
weeks ago, you assured mi and l 
quote, that 1 don t intend to be ilv 
sort of publisher who interferes with 
editorial dec eions? 

Jow'iisend looked up bon le.- 
desk and reddeuded slights 

"I'm soi rv l iai.l he said "i 
hed ' B 


17 



T IME TABLE 




All arrival and departure times are for Calcutta 

Days of operation uslntf 7-day code: MONDAY 66 TUESDAY & WEDNESDAY T THURSDAY FRIDAY $ SATURDAY ■» SUNDAY 
ihesu p*ii|Ob ijo to p»u.si> one week in advance, roaders should check with respective airlines and railways tor last minute change m timings! 

■ V-'TMfr 

»TiV ■ r 'Ml ' ,? 


PUOHT* 




Departures 

Fit No Tima Days 

m AGAJfTTALA 

. ■!-/ 


AHMEDABAO 


W! ■ 

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« BAGOOGRA 


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4 i " 

f - » 


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i ■ i . ■*! : 

m GOA 

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m QUWAHATI 

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■ HYDERABAD 


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flights 


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HI No. Time 





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1506 

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non 


Al 3(r. 

1825 

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Fit No. 


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*■» CHITTAOOWG 

K. ’?*! 

FGi/j. 11 1- 

m DHAKA 

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1 i. 


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Fit No. Time 


ji "v 
hii t,'it 

i-.r. i.-ii 
K. O'll 
r. /ji 
HG- v) 
Hj im i 

Pi i U v l f 

R' '.Ml, 

[,«. . 

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Ihp 

MV' 

*110 

i-pn 

."i '.i 


IJ.M 


Ui 


Days 


Fit No. 


Time 


Days 


m LONDON 

RAW ! , 

• MOSCOW 

\li\Jh 

M FARO 

KIJ 11 II li'ii 

KE 1 Hi*- i S ,r . 

m Singapore 

Mi IV 

If III- I Jo ’l' 

m SOFIA 

l /MU ' T .u 

M TOKYO 

»■.' n it. nii' 

«• YANGON 


Arrivals 

Fit No. Time 

HAM.' 

Mm.!, 

kV'E) 1 ’ ' 


Mi 111. 
Hi it,.* 


1 1 •wr- 


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vi y. 


V.MJ 

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Dm 




1 '' s 


/ 


Al Air India • BA Bntish Airways • BG Biman Banqlariosh Airlines • Bl Royal Brunei Airlines • D2 Skyline NEPC • D5 NEPC Airlines • 1C Indian Airlines • KB Dnik-Atr • 
Royal Dutch Airlines • LZ Balkan Airlines • M9 Modiluft • PF Vayudoot • RA Royal Nepal Airlines • RJ Royal Jordanian Airlines • RO Tarom Air Transport • 82 Sahara 
Airlines • SO Singapore Airlines • SU Aeroflot • 4S East West Airlines • TG Tnai Airways International • 9W Jet Airways • Q7 Qatar Airways • VF VIF Arrways 


KLM 

India 


TRAINS 


TO 

Dapaiture 

EASTERN RAILWAY 

Arrival 

Departure 

Up Time 

Howrah 

Time Dn 

Up Time 

' ■ ‘ - 

Delhi- Kalla Mail 

Amritsar Mall 

Bombay Mali . ■ i . 

Poorva (Now Delhi) Express \ . 1 • i v i.i • 

ii V Ml 

n * 

i • i i 1 ..;.j 

».rv- • jii 

MJ'i. "i. 1 .- 

jhm ■ •? 

M. 1 f. ■ 1 


A 1 , 

Poorva (Now Delhi) Express 

! 1 1 i- 1 

»l .. . 1" 

.ii ' M i 


. . i ' 

i 


"i., ■ 

M'l 


UP 

r»4! 

iMi 
. i 

StS/ 

JIM 

;.ir j 

uoj 

MS r . 


Time 

I i 4u 
Vi 

r» 
h A 
■V IMJ 
/i) (in 

II iG 

ih : ,f . 

i;-»u 


Rajdhanl rxpiess ■ 

Haidham Express .*■ - 
Jodhpur Express 

Stiatabdl (Rokaio Steel City) Express 
Himgiri (Jammu-Tawh Express ■■ .V 
Guwahati Express 

; t . i|t ,| r . t 

Gorakhpur Express 
Purbanchal (Gorakhpur) Express 

1 1 . ■ ’ }| ' * ! r\ - 

Boon Express . .i r » '•!»!. n 
Udyan Abha Toolan Express u« V-h- 
Amritsar Express 


Kathgodum Express 
MlthlSa (Raxaul) Expi 
Kamrup (Guwahati) l 


Express 

(Guwahati) Express 
Black Diamond Egress 
Cmffloh Express 
Asansol Express 
Danwur Express 
Jamapur Express 
Santinlkatan Express 
Chambal (Gwalior) Express 

v ■ .. » Mil. A.. V , 

Shlpra (Indore) Express 

'!i, ’Ar! i' ■. 

.*1 1 i j F», « • 

Shafctipun] (Chopan) Fxpress 
Chambal (Agra Cana) Express 

■■■l n- l-.-.iiv 

Sealdah 

leesta-Toraa Express 
Darjeeling Mall 

Lai Qulla Express vi.« Mr- im» 
Kanchanknga (Lumdlng) Express 
Gour Express 

MnHIlf rifTiiWMr 

Kannar express 

Jaranu-Tawl Express 

Mughal Serai Express vu sfg iu«.v 

Bhaglratfil (Lafgola) Egress 

Gangs Sager (Gorakhpur) Express 

Otv A An r.ip'i , Tliins & ".ar 


V' 5" 


■ 1-in 


Tkna 


k u j 

4 ' r , 
Vi Ml 
1/ 10 
IM 


1 V-. 


Un 

■:i v» 

Mv: 

I I. 

‘■n* | 
' { 1 

W 

.M.V 

■1^1 

KVK- 


I-."" 
M'l', 
Hi '<■ ,■ ■ 


SOUTH-EASTERN RAILWAY 

Howrah 


Madras Mall 

a Mall vi 

(Bombay) Express 
Shatabdl (R outksla) Express 
f l !■ % A, L«f« t.r : * ' — ll' 1 Im v 
Anmsoflw express 
Kurts Express < j N rf #.n.j. 
Coromandal (Madras) Fxpress v.< ■ 
Fulaknuma (Sectxxterabad) Express 


Arrival 

Time Dn 

i. *i him 

^ /n div 1 


* jit i. y 


i». ,*i 

*, n*i 
IM 11' 


SO," 


1 •. 

Bangalore Express •' v r t. 

"i 

■ ,r « in i 

Tata Steel Express 'm i i.k 

jspat (Jharsuguda) Express 

Tmararh Express * iv Mini- 

Ranchi HaUa Express *• w w:'i 

Puri Express m.i ■ jit a u ) m. di'jt. 

Jagarmath (Puri) Express i 1 o4'i 

i v Dhaull (Bhubannwar) Express 

1 1 East Coast (Hyriarabad) Express >' M v-u, 

*» V* Purulla Express r.iin 

: <i : *■ ■ i ,! Mi'.ii j i'. 

Azad Hind (Pune) Wsekty Express • " 

!"| /* -Vi i I- ’ 

4' Bhubanaswar-New Delhi Ra|dhanl Express .• • m 

" r *n!!« .."ifl.u ;miv 

New DelW-ihutow^r Rajdhwi Express /■ > v 

l4 « A',’f ' it'll !I"\ 

Guwahab - Howrah - Trivandrum Central Express \ 

1 ' ■ «>..* ' -’-I 

’ i Trivandom Central - Howrah - Guwahati Express 

’ - Cochin Hwbour Terminus ■ GuwahaH Weekly ' r v*'i 

Exp ess i>- i-. ..m \ "!* 

i, 

Guwahati - Cochin Harbour Terminus Wsekty 
Egress I* * 1 * " . ■ «• i; .f-*9-n> 

Cochin Harbour '•erminus Express 


11 Guwahati - Bangalore City Weekly EtgMiss . . 

v \ .vi i 1 \ i ■.*. y 

vlrl, 'll.! , 

'■■■ Bangalore Cky - GuwshaH Weekly Expres • w 

IVwm: k i i.tlf I’- Mm Jd r .y i, 

ENQUIRIES. For round the clock Intomration of Eastern Rallwqy and 
South-Eastern Railway trains, please dial 2203545-64 for Incoming trains: 
2203536-44 for all other Information. For Information about reservations on 
Eastern Railway and South-Eastern Railway trains, dial 2203496-3500 (from 

am to 


on w o ak da y a and 6 am to 2 pm on Sundays and gazet- 
ted holidays). In addition, djal 1331 (for recorded Information on train 


6 am to 8 pm i 

IldaysT In 

I), 131 (n 


running), 
Train service 


(regarding train opsretions) and 
enquiry 2 Sealdah: 3503535/37. 


and 135 (regarding reservations) 


1 


NNEREYE 


4 . 


tin ■ 
I uir ^ 


A rics 

fvWrh ..’ 1 April 20 

( .iinc.lui -..iv- Jp< u.s on tin' 
lipmi’hunl 'I'iim ,Uk»ji 
J i’iPi.ilum p.iiiuiK 
ml.iw^ iMsntim,, 
ri'liirhi’-niiii.* .illii >i lipmr 
jw.ii »ti»m luimr 
i\n .ldmu .i!!\. \uii h.i\r 
in igs .md tin* i.'U'i-t lor ,i In mpulims 
'^'1 . H’.ltlX 1 1 \ tVlcI! * U ip till’ s.ni VlMUls 
« . mji mi Hoi - mi | ii.it 1 l 1 1 >pu ■ puld w i’ll In* 

.1 rpVifltf l'llP.IV..kk>I "| goodwill 

Taurus 

Apnl 21 — Mdy 20 

Buxine, si'lliMt; «md 

slinpnilh! Iil.il.r-. till*. .1 

jSJ2g§2^ r - 1 1. . in v\i‘i4. lor vdli l!u-s,‘ 
in .md | »r mi 

v\ ill ■ ,il! .nit Hu pr v>l it 
.md pii*i*. I'lopiTb 

p I'.’lU . . illitm l, liixillli*^ 

. Ians funding, mxistiiu; 

.nr nl s( i :• v!\ pciNiisi.il 

' .is m.n ri.»i;r .rut 

» I it *1 i.li i Is tins W ivl* 


i.imsli' v .ilui 
.i id t.'f-int; > 

Ji I.lhiXIsIllps silt 1 
I' mink hip .in- ili.< 

Gemini 

May .? 1 - June 20 

\ i • i hi: p!.u n't.ii \ in hnl 

Mi"i i!’ s i iiim.in I-- M.u- 

i’.\ nitf \ mi tin* piuwi oi L i 
IT li 11 1 > STUl Mills \pH IS tlu* 

Mini 1 Ip V I'.li w Mil .|!| ' mi 
h.n i .uul ii'inpTiiht r O.ii 
nr . v\t-'K . * v i’p h-'Hi'i 
I . H >1 i !in in. i .i: ii I J.umh -1'PuiJ liuiui* 
pin'.ii'i p J J\ Mil- w i * i I ' .Ms.* . j Minus tfi’t 
lui_illni* i* . * 1 1 j ' .I* 1 1 iln's i-. him gi\ i 
.Tl'pll I 



Cancer 


June .-'i 


July :*o 





Iipu li .; , .i' ■ »t pul’lu i • \ Mil! 

• ■i « i' ls , IMS Hi 'Mp, hell 

■ iiil.l in'.ii nil nij:r i!ip*i is 
n» »t 1 -.Hi J i ill, 

p\ **; * niiimr, .imh.tu.n 

■ mild hi. ud i ■ mi !• » tin* 

.i) if v f» • hi L.u.Mi'ri Mi* In 

|-lli . I > 1 til ll ,i'lil}’ PM 
[1. I. ."Ill .111 III Will -li 

t • ,,r | ii i- .;!* i 


REJAN DARUWALLA 




Leo 

July 21 ■ August 21 

Nuthing Irss ihdn .1 rivsur- 
genu 1 ut spirit anil an 
.ittrmpl .it understanding 
tlir spnitual a iv tho issues 
lor vim A lull switih, 
hiuius peiks. pipriiotjun, a 
new liitfli in status and 
position «im the ptnhahi lilies loi I iniv* 

Nuw is ihi* Imu’ loi . on! i icts, low and 

LHitflitei Finn* also to iom the soi i.il 
w hirhtfit; 

Virgo 

August 22 — Septembet 22 

>oin tumbles w ill huist 
liki* bubbles. vu inovi .it 
hisei spii*d voiu sli.u kli". 
hurst free, \oiii 
mi.itfimition Hairs art ind 
invention and , pim lu Mil 
brats Ip a distant ilium in 
\uiii work, hril husimssoi piote.sion, 

' i'li dii sum* vwl! \nw is tin* tune in push 
afi« ad witfi iPiitidi i hi* and umuip’ and 
■ mala \ • mu mark 

Libra 

September 23 — Octobei 22 

>ou wil 1 fasti and delight 
Ul tlu* ti ml • ol llti’, hr it 
roni.imr tru’ndship, ...s\ 
i oinlor ts i.f tin home 
rriiP\ atuui and dr. oi.itinn. 
tiavrl It a it s 
i pllahorati'iiis and 
« rTini ij nrs It would hr vriv good ulra 
l i .r I Hu la» puis tins wrrk and thr n.'Nt 
l .anrsiia alsn sa\s tf.o’rl and 
• omuiunii aiipn will hr rruitlu! 

Scorpio 

C'ctober 23 -- November 22 

\ . i ash 1 1 it ii st' n ''.rairli 
iPMiriili.ition, nil dilation, 
loan* , funds and 
im rslPWjits an w hat the 
iM’i'l' is all ahiiLH 1 h*‘ uru 
six months also tavom an 
ottu '.ll rnrap/Mnnil oi .1 
i h pi* r is ( linnet lions will he 
■ ill \ slrnnr, J’tnanrial hassles and 
simhi ii! I ir.iltli -mi* mori tnan I4'*l\ fi.r-el 
i. .o ,s n i in ■ L.irdx 




u.i' 1 1.1/ 

• ■ I i'tlOl' 




Sagittarius 

November 23 - - December 20 

I rtf.il issues and hassles 
an* likrlv now, hut these 
should end on a liappv 
note and that’s what irally 
matters Plenl\ ot action to 
keep \ou nutfhi\ busy as 
people will iMtliei Iommu 
| hate you and i( rould tell upon youi 
; health t he home and ottu e tronlieis will 
■ he hilly aelivatrd and that means hurnuitf 
: thr landle at both ends 

: Capricorn 

, December 21 - January 19 

A lot ol rltoTl and 
organisation will tfo into 
maknitf a hi’ttri m.m 
eth< lent luiriiau and 
i onsulrralr \ on ll is 
malm if y liin.' hr. ausr 
M» mir\ will lu 
' eonmutinu supeihh with w.ii main 
pianel Siluin oil I'ane l g Salii'M 
s< ilu li ties, i * ins. ilk tail’s, make, whole and 
peiuiuiient that which muut 1 lixine, 

Aquarius 

Januaiy 20 - - F eoruary 18 

Mailer'- U> d«- w 1 1 1 1 ;• »* • 
hop. luaiiuu; tundme, 
hiu-iMw nitf hn uitf i *r iiinv.; 

p| stall, \» <ii L j n •_* .in'! I ’ii i* • 
.ilu! looking am i i hi | Ji' , u 
pal i nts inlaw T.ikun: a 
Ipuiih'V vs i Ui a stoj lover 
air the e\lrns,\i .uea 1 tun wihnnw ui.v 
It is a i;iientuni leap loi waul Ilu* t.ut is, 
vimi v\ 'll still has r l!ie time to i.’I.o amt 
. have lun 

Pisces 

Fetiruarv 19 March 20 

c’hildirii oirtfiiatu v, 
aiioptiPfi, Ii. »hhii s 
tfoveinmrnt.il • onnet lions, 
a I ion ir avvav fi« mi humr, 
piopri t\. irni" ltion, 

| Vfg ■ diuoiahon, pns-iihle luuise 

or other nioir. are ll.i 
matters with wiinh you will he involved 
this week Oh\ muslv, von will h.irdl\ have 
: i moment Ip v our'-ell, iheu’lorr heasun 
i 'pm leisujc 




BIRTHDAYS 


June 9: M*>un tune I’lum mokes voti willintf and rapable of 
tal.n-tf import .irit decisions as well a«; bni; risks. ispayolt time 
and vimi sfmukl do wrl! in business 

June 10: Sun iv»n|im«;»u)p Venus is an cKcrllent conjunction 
Fin’ Winters, teachers, astrolotfri’s salt-smea Uilois, FiairdtWkjrfl, 
jiAirnalists and film and TV folks. 

June 11* Mercury tnne \eptune means you MM tiavc the 
inspir ation and the quick sense so necessary to find your way 
iimontf obstacles. TX>n> padi too hard. 

June 12: Muon tnrie Jupiter is a tfviod trine tor lawyers^ 
spinhiaJ leaders, poifticians. public figures and industrialists. 


But cvf^enseb could be hctivy. Marriage is on the cards tor the 
eligible. 

JunelJ: Moon trine Neptune is an excellent combination for 
those who are very creative and inspirational. It favours 
money making and a comfortable life fojr artists and researchers 
' June 1 4: Mercury Mars opposition Pluto mean* ail may not be 


have the energy to go ahead. 

JumlS: Mercury conjunction Mars shows that it is a winning 
situation for those who live by the intellect Given this fact, it, is 
up to you to make the most of it 


JUNIOR WHIRL 



FIND TWINS! Two of these fair damsels look 
enough alike to be twins Which two 7 Study 
details carefully to decide. 


HOCUS-FOCUS 


r t/V. Y 


SAY WHAT!There\s a 13-letter word expressing 
little point 1 or purpose that contains the same 
consonant (S) six times, another consonant (N) 
twice, another (L) once, and the same vowel (E) 
four time's. What word? 

sNHIss.ii.isii,f, 11(1 M 


PAIR GAME!Many TTI j 

words sound alike but ___ ^ »N \ 

are spelled differently. 1 ^ 

Examples Hey /hay, r A r\ 

so a r / sore; *"77 “ 

wear/ where, etc. Let's h t K 

see how quickly you can 7? ' L . “ "" “ " 
supply missing letters W A 
in tne diagram at nght I “ . " _ 

lo soundalike words tor R I 1 

the following- 

1 . One 2. Fare 3 Here 4. Waste S. Right (or i 
It shouldn't take more than 30 seconds 
lust for fun, see if you can list M) 
soundalike words. 


.ijiJM 1 V'H'W t •‘’•Mi i " r I * lJ,, V. 1 





SPRING INKLING 
DRAWING CARD 

LET'S hear it tor spi mg trom a 
venerable creature whose outh 
ne is concealed m ihe drawing 
card shown at left. 

To bring this figure into view, 
simply draw lines in accord with 
the following letter-number coor 
dinaies. A slurp penal will be oi 
help! 

Begin at A- 10, draw to 0-5, 
F-4, 1-4, E-8, 1M0, A-10. 

Begin again, this time at B-10, 
draw to C-ll, D-1I, C-10, F-H, 
F-ll, D-9, F-8, H-10, 1-10, G-8. 
H-6, J-8, ]-9, K-9 K-8, 1-5, K-3, 
L-3, L-l, |-l,J-2,II-4. 

What is it you've drawn -1 

'Tis a creature \\ liose voice 
heard in the land." 


FIND AT LEAST 6 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PANELS. 

-fiUjSFlUJ SI OdlJlS 9 fiuiSBIUi 61 IplBd UJJV S J0JJOMS SI ^plis J0UOMC 
SI pjoo BJd’JJBQ X Buissiui si deu JB3 z 6UISSI111 SI un$ * .saauajawiQ 








ARCHIE 






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Mf ffj vJVfc. TO 
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VJV'BtPT-., YJOOVlUW 







GARFIELD ■ JIM DAVIS 

























THE OTHER KAMALAHASAN 

We all know him as an actor, hut he's enjoyed some success as a producer 
as well. Sudha G. Tilak proj'iles the man behind Indian 


F or Hindi film audiences, 

kuinalahasan will always be 
the young *oulh Indian lover 
who captured Rati Agnihotn's 
heart in L'.k Date Kc i life Others may 
remember him as the dwarf m 
Apoori’U Sahodhat yal And yet others 
may see m him shades of the 
underworld dim, Vardarajan 
Mudaliar, whom he portrayed with 
su<h conviction in NaifuLm 

But there is another persona of 
Kamalahasan's that not too many 
people are familiar with that of 
producer. Not that you can blame 
them, Kamal's stint as producer 
hasn't exactly been unblemished 
The first v ilm to be produced 
under the Kajkamal banner was 


j Kujapartm, in 1989, This was 
{ followed by Vikram, a racy James 
j Bond-style caper which bombed at 
: the box-oftice despite having a good 
storyline and Bollywood glamour in 
the shape of Dimple Kapadia After 
that, the Kajkama! bannei produced 
11 movies, all of which dia 
indifferent business. 

But those who had written off 
Kamal as a producer had to think 
again when throe of his films, 
Mugahr Mat turn, Sadhi ijeclavathi and 
Kurudhi Vunal broke a long-standing 
jinx at the box-office. All tnree ran 
tor over 100 days, no mean feat in an 
industry that's facing massive losses 
And now, of course, then* is Indian , 
to buttress Kamal's reputation both 


as an actor and producer 

Both Magahr Mat turn (Ladies' 
Special, an Indian used version ot 
Nine to hive) and Sadhi Leelavathi 
(again a take-off on She Deiul) are 
comic capers with a message which 
struck a chord with the audiences 
with their unusual characters and 
racy storylines. Kurudhi Punal was a 
serious psycho drama that won 
critical acclaim despite doing only 
moderate business. 

Says Rohini, who acted in 
Mugahr Mattum, "Acting in such 
meaningful movies comes as a 
contrast from the run of the mill 
flicks that are dime a dozen". 

C. Mohan script writer and 
theatre person who worked in all 




these movies, is all praise for 
Kamalahasan, "Kamal as a producer 
is concerned about everything in the 
script/' he says "His zeal for 
perfection has contributed for the 
success for these films" 

With all the three films Kamal 
has also proved a point That in film 
land you don't have to make big- 
budget movies and throw in a half-a- 
dozen soi ig-and -dance sequences to 
rake in the booty A good story 1 ine, a 
shoe-string budget and oodles of 
talent and acting can also result in an 
ov erflowing coffei 

Sitting pretty m his office, Kamal 
deals witn nis success in the most 
low-key of manners "1 don't feel 
like flaunting my success." he says 
soberly, "but each production is 
dealt with fear" 

That is perhaps one reason why 
his magnum opus, the Rs 5 cro re- 
plus protect Mat udhatniyakam, a 
period him of the 10th century, has 
neon on hold for the last five years. 

In addition to like minded friends, 
Kamal ha** "borrowed" yet another 
teammate t*»i his production house 
wite Sarika, who has been looking 
alter his costumes as w»*ll as the 
sound recording "l would rather 
that she lake care ol mv growing 
daughters," savs kam.ilahasan, "but 
I'm selfish so I borrow her talent for 
my production too" 

But then, Sarika has always 
played a major part in every project 
of Kamnl's Cinematographer and 
director PC Sn ram had roped in 
Sarika as his assistant direcloi lor 
kuntdhi Punal And she also pitches 
in with gathering research material 
tor KiV. ail's films 

K amalahasan has come a long 

wav from the lime when lie used 
to skip nigh school to take lessons in 
Bharatanatyam and music. A 
lawyer's son from conservative 
Srirangam in Tamil Nadu, Kamal 
was quite the young rebel, doing all 
the things that his tamilv most 
hated 

And while the rest ot the family 
turned to such respectable 

C mtessions as the law, Kamal 
ecamo proficient in Kathak and 
Kuchipudi, and began tcuring with 
his own dance troupe. 

His first initiation mto films was 
as a dance director to the hip- 
swinging starlets of yester-year. This 
was followed by a stint behind the 
camera as assistant director Says 
Kamal today, "1 became a star by 
accident 1 really wanted to be a film 


BEHIND THE MASK 

| Will the real Kamalahasan please stand up? 


XTobody gave Kamalahasan a 
l\l second look when he entered 
the crowded hotel. But then, who 
could blame them 7 The actor 
looked nothing like himself, m his 
ageing make-up and a dhoti-kurta 
i rather than the natty' casuals he 
| usually sports. Kamalahasan's 
disguise as and in Indian had fooled 
everyone. 

That, at least, is the story 
circulating in film circles in Madras 
But once you've w r atched Kamal's 
transformation in Lhe movie, it is 
easy tu believe that tins is not just 
promo talk The actor has, in fact, 
been transformed beyond 
recognition with make-up. And, as 
R Simdara Murthy, a senior make- 
up artiste, says, "Make-up can carry 
an entire movie on its shoulders 
and this effort calls for 
appreciation " 

For someone who looks as good 
J as Kamalahasan does, he sure 
| spends a lot of time and effort 
! trying to look ugly. But the actor 
j doesn't agree "Not really." he says 
! "1 just want to look a.s ugly or as 
good as the average person on the 
street " 

But in an effort to look all of 70 
years old in Indian, kamal took tour 
! hours to get his make-up done 


i What's more, he imported 
| American make-up expert, Michael 
i Wessmore, to give him a creased 
| forehead, wrinkled throat, puckered 
j mouth and aged skin. But now that 
I the applause is rolling in, 

• Kamalahasan feels that the crick in 
- the neck was worth it 

| 

. In tact, so fascinated is Kamal 
‘ by make-up tricks and disguise that 
! he makes it a point to pick up 
make-up techniques and tips each 
time he holidays abroad with his 
family. He has to peep into a 
Hollywood studio to steal a few 
ideas. And back home he has 
founded his make-up laboratory, j 

j Dra vidian Cosmetics, and came up j 
| with prosthetic make-up which j 

i makes blood look real and skin look ; 

• wrinkled This is what helped give 

i him a jelly belly pug nose, hairy j 
! ears and buck teeth in tndran j 

C handran, a bald patch in Nai/akan, a i 
! sooty face with a double head in 
j Guna, and to cut himself down to 
size in Apoonw Sahodhar^ui a trick 
he still keeps his lips sealed about 
A star, says Kamal, "must break the | 

! monotony of playing his own selt ; 
i in every other movie" . And j 

| disguise and make-up give Kamal, I 
; as well as the audience, a break • 
1 from his own looks. j 



27 


maker." 

Acting in K. Balachander's 
movies changed all that, and slowly 
Kamal the actor began to take shape. 
And today, two national awards and 
a large number of Filmfare trophies 
adorn his display racks, bearing 
testimony to nis undeniable talent. 

Kamalahasan's greatest asset as 
an actor is, perhaps, the fact that he 
prefers iconoclasm to type-casting. 
Thus, even when he was in his early 
twenties— when good looks are the 
most ir^>ortant consideration for a 
hero — Kamal turned into a 
dribbling, lisping cripple in 
Padinaaru Vayadhinilr, which was 
later lemade in Hindi. He played a 
blood-thirsty and crude psychopath 
in Si^apfu Rojakkal, whicn was 
remade in Hindi as Red Rose. And 
despite being part of an industry 
where loud theatrics and song and 
dance rigmaroles are the order ol the 
day, Kamal tempted fate by making 
Pushpak. a silent film. 

That's not the only way in which 
Kamalahasan is extraordinary. Even 
though in Tamil Nadu politics is the 
next stop alter stardom, Kama! has 
steered clear of this arena. He may 
present a congratulatory bouquet to 
Tamil Nadu chief minister, 

M Karunamdhi, but that's as far as 
it goes 

Beyond that, Kai al shuns 
politics, and keeps his political 
views, such as they are — to himself. 
Quite a contrast to Rajamknnth, who 
was instrumental m bringing the 
layalalitha government clown 


DOUBLE TROUBLE 


Reviewing Indian, in which Kamalahasan plays 
both father and son 


i 



Manisha Koirala with Kamalahasan In Indian 


I n the final analysis, Indian is the 
story of one man's struggle 
against corruption. As 
Senathypathy, Kamalahasan is an 
active participant in the freedom 
struggle, joining Netaji Subhash 
Chandra Bose's Indian National 


Army (IN A) to fight for his 
country. He returns home to marry 
a woman who was also intensely 
involved in the freedom movement. 

But time does not treat either 
Senathypathy or his country well. 
As the Nineties dawn, he finds his 


K amal has his share of detractors, 
though. Directors who have 
worked with him complain that he 
interferes too much "One wonders 


who is calling the shots with him 
around," cribs one young director, 
who had Kamal for bis hero in one 


Kamalahasan with Shekhar Kapur and Shankar, director of Indian, celebrating 
his third success as a producer 



film. And many south Indian 
actresses who nave worked with him 
have grumbled about his 
"overbearing attitude during 
scenes". 

While it is true that Kamalahasan 
often gets so involved with his 
movies that he rubs people up the 
wrong way, there is no denying that 
most actors and actresses would give 
an arm and a leg to work with him 
Says Manisha Koirala, his co-star in 
Indian , "I've been a fan of his since 
childhood, and couldn't refuse 
acting with him." Urmila Matondkar 
agrees, "Working with him is 
learning things anew " 

But whatever the idiosyncrasies 
of his personal style, everybody 
agrees that Kamal works Dloodty 
hard on his movies. Such is his 
attention to detail that he even 
computerises his scripts during the 
planning stage of a project. He 



honest sett m mrnhxmism in a 
society in which bribery and 
comnptian was endemic. The aims 
and the anguish of this pushes 
Swift ypfetfty over the edge, and he 
begins stalking a hoard of 
government officials from collectors 
to district officers to 'weed' them 
out. 


On the opposite end of the 
spectrum is Senathypathy's corrupt 
son, Chandra Bose, who works as a 
brake inspector at the government 
traffic office, and spends his free 
time flirting with the two nubile 
nymphets played by Mani&ha 
Koiiala ana l/rmila Matondkar. 

Both these characters are played 
by Kamal, and the tension between 
the two makes for some fine 
moments in the movie. 

Histrionics apart, Indian is 
especially commendable for its 
technical virtuosity- Kamalahasan 
even manages to do a Forrest Gump 
in the sequence in which he is 
shown shaking hands with Netaji 
Subhash Chandra Bose (just as Tom 
Hanks did with Jack^Kcnnedy), with] 
the help of some computer imaging, i 


Within the framework of a 
commercial potboiler, director 
Shankar has managed to weave in a J 
powerful social theme, and much I 
computer wizardry to keep the 
front-bencher happy. For me most 
discerning viewer, of course, there is 
Kamalahasan's brilliant performance 
as both freedom fighter and 
worthless son. 


decides on his actors and actresses 
well in time, and refuses to settle tor 
second-best even it he has "to wait 



Kamalahasan in Guns: Playing a schizophrenic character 


tor a certain heroine's dates because 
she is right tor the role." 

For the future, Kamal has a 
period film in the works, as well as 
two othei projects in collaboration 
with ad film maker Shantanu 


Sheorey and Singitham Sreenivasa 
Rao respectively. Despite his success 
in Hinrli movies, Kamalahasan has 
decided to steer clear ot them and 
concentrate on regional Tamil, 

Malay alam and Telugu cinema, 
where he gets to experiment more. 


With Revathi. Urvashi and Rohini in MagaJir Mattum 



"Bombay is cosmopolitan but it 
has lost its enthmeity, he says when 
asked to explain his decision "Th ,s 
will reflect in most films". According 
to Kamal, every film needs to be 
rooted in a certain milieu to have 
meaning. That's why, he says "1 can 
see Pather Pamhalt a film made many 
years ago and still clearly 
understand its meaning". 

His production successes don't 
mean that acting has taken a 
backseat."! won't throw away 
potential stardom in favour of the 
other skills 1 know", says Kamal 
And with more movies on the floor 
and production ideas in the offing 
the star from the south is all set to 
reach tor success, but only on his 
own terms. ■ 



First person 


AfEET CA UK, acclaimed as one of the finest short story writers of Punjabi literature in past- 
independence India, this Sahitya Akadcmi awardee has published several short story collections and 
novelettes which include Gulband, MeKak di Maut, and Post Mortem. She has been editing a 
monthly journal, Rupee Trade, for the past 31 years. Besides the Sahitya Akademi, she has also 
received Bharatiya Bltasha Parisftad ana the International lata award among many Others. Last year, 
she set up the Academy of Fine Arts and Literature in Delhi. But what she is most proud of is her well 
known daughter, artist' Arjuina Caur. 


TATIu^i^rour idea of perfect 
Ff happiness? 

' rVricrt Happiness' is an 
illusion. The whole world is in 
pursuit of this illusive mirage. 

What is your greatest fear? 

Pain, physical or mental, of tile 
person I love most: my daughter 
Arpana. 

Wt io or what has been the greatest 
influence in your life? 

I was not fortunate enough to 
have any 'influence' because then 
hfe becomes easy, you get ready- 
made role models. 1 leamt it ail the 
hard way. (ravelling on my own 
bare feet 

What do you dislike most in 
others? 

Deceit, because 1 am a very 
trusting person. Also, lies and lack 
of integrity. 

What do you dislike most in 
yourself? 

Whenever 1 inadvertently or 
unknowingly hurt anyone. 

What is your most precious 
possession? 

My daughter 
Arpana, a creative 
genius, a saintly 

r erson. Sometimes, 
look into her 
large, deep, brown, 
mellow eyes and 
wonder, " 1 must 
have done 
something really 
nice to have 
deserved this 
miracle!' 

What objects do you always cany? 

My glasses, a small rosary, four- 
five pens, and my Press card. For 
long journeys and holidays a 
bagful ot books, a loi oi frej>h pens 
and ensp nice smelling sheets of 

lT 

at makes you most depressed? 

My daughter's tears. Her 
physical pain. 

What do you dislike most on your 
appearance? 

T don't exactly dislike them. Bui 
at times the footsteps of time on my 



face and body depress me because 1 
let so much of precious time go 
waste. 

What is your favourite word? 

'Love', 'Compassion' and Total 
Integrity'. 

What is your 
favourite 
journey? 

Our yearly travel 
(me, my daughter 
Arpana, her 
husband 

Harinder and our 
little Pekinese) to 
some remote little 
village where no 
newspaper ever 
arrives, where no 
telephone ever 
tinkles. And a deserted guest 
house, perched iii the lap of lush 
foliage, thick forests and high 
mountains around covered With 
snow. 

What ip your favourite dream? 

Which one? The one that you 
weave in your half-working hours? 
Or the nightmares you pass 
through in your half-sleep? 

What is your nightmare? 

My daughter's unhappiness and 
illness. 

What or who is the greatest love of 


What is your 
source of 
sustenance? 

Myself, and 
Arpana 


your life? 

My daughter Arpana. 

What is your source of 
sustenance? 

Myself, and Arpana. 

On what occasions do you lie? 

When 1 am having a terrible 
headache or feeling exhausted, 1 
request the servant to tell the? caller 
that I am not at home, feeling 

a all the time. Never, for 
ing else do I He. I hate 
untruths, half-truths. 

What is your greatest regret? 

Having wasted 13 precious 
years of my life trying to tread the 
traditional path chalked out by my 
mother's mother and all their 
grandmothers. Being lost in my 
own pain and anguish, I must h, 
caused great deprivations in 
Arpanas childhood 


ave 


Arpai 

What 


? 

who 


at has been your happiest 
moment? 

Any new painting by Aipana, a 
new book of mine ! Or, when I sail 
against five wind and hold my 
ideologies sacred. 

What brings tears to your e\ 

Memories of all the peopli 
left and went their way: my 
younger daughter Candy, my 
mother my father. And, 
undeserved kindness from life 
from friends. 

How do you relax? 

With books, films. 

What do you envy most in others? 

Basically, I never feel any envy. 
But I do wonder at times when I 
find Arpana working throughout 
the day, or my fellow writers 
churning outprofound books at 
such speed. Then my own laziness 
and shortcomings make me feel 
uneasy. 

How would you like to be 
remembered? 

As a brave wotrfan who fought 
her own battles and was more ■■ 
concerned about the integritywith * 
which she fought them* 

How would you like to die? 

Quickly, peacefully, painlessly, 
without troubling others. 



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U tJP KXMH 


The Telegraph 


The New Stars 

• "The Changing Profile 
df the Film Stare (April 
2B) was interesting. The 
film industry, like any 
other industry, is becom- 
ing professional and it 
should not come as a sur- 
prise if boys and girls 
from affluent, prestigious 
backgrounds decide to 
make a career in films. 

1 agree with Taran 
Adarah that it is a healthy 
sign that actors and 
actresses from good fami- 
lies are entering films giv- 
ing this profession a social 
legitimacy; because films 
were always shunned by 
the middle class and only 
those who were really 
needy dared to enter the 
studios. 

But times have 
changed. Avinash 
Wadhawan (who has 
starred in films like Meera 
Ka Mohan and Balmo) had 
come to Bombay to collect 
his MBA degree and land- 
ed up dancing and 
singing in films. 

Being educated, of 
course, does not mean 
that present-day actors 
and actresses are better 
performers than their 
peers. How qualified was 
Raj Kapoor one of Indian 
cinema's greatest actors? 

Vet, he went on to por- 
tray some of the most 



Mamta KuMcamk Dos* mom, desi btmsha 


moving characters on cel- 
luloid. 

Piyali Biahnu, 

Idutpur (W.B.) 

® Speaking in English is 
no big deal. Look at world 
cinema: how many actors 
and actresses converse in 


English? They all speak in 
their mother tongues and 


are quite proud of that 
fact. It's only Indians who 
consider speaking in 
English a requirement for 
smartness. 

« Mamta Kulkami is 
after all acting in Hindi 
films where she has to 
utter dialogues in Hindi 
and it little natters 
whether she knows the 



Queen's language or not. 
ft is mean on the part of 
her co-stars to make fun 
of her because she cannot 
talk in English. And may I 
ask how many of these so- 
called convent educated 
starlets ever going to act 
in English films? 

Sm Dm, 

Cuttack 

i Education always 
helps. At least it makes 
one very confident of one- 
self. Look at Amitabh 
Bachchan. He is a brilliant 
actor, has impeccable 
good looks, a towering 
height and he is also edu- 
cated and well read. It 
was for nothing that he 
became a screen god. The 
confidence with which he 
spoke and acted made the 
characters he enacted look 
real and convincing. 
Somnatk Mukherjee, 
Calcutta 

® There was a time when 
parents wanted their sons 
to be either doctors or 
nofessions 


which spell 
and respectability. 

But nowadays if the 
child has interest in films 
and acting he/she is not 
discouraged. Parents 
think more progressively. 
Monetarily also, it is a 
very fulfilling profession. 
Hantoah Dey, 

Calcutta 


PAGE 4 


KARAN THAPAR gained fame as the "juvenile 
delinquent" who harassed government minis- 
ters in Khula Munch . Today, a quieter, more 
mature Thapar, is head of Home TV’s program- 
ming, and a major power in the world ot televi- 
sion. 

PAGE 2 8 

PROFILING HARIHARAN whose album. 
Colonial Cousins, is doing great business. 

Karan Thapar 


16 TIME TABLE 

20 INNER EYE 

21 JUNIOR WHIRL 

22 COMIC'S 

26 PANORAMA 
28 MUSIC 
JO FIRST PERSON 


Cover Rupinde* Sharroa 






The Greying 

Karan 

Thapar 

The had boy of Indian television grows up. 

Seema Goswami reports 


THE FIRST THING THAT STRIKES YOI I ABOUT KARAN TH- 
apar is how much thinner he looks in real life. Dwarf- 
ed by the large desk behind which he sits, Thapar 
resembles nothing more than a one-size-too- small 
version of his television self. 

The tight polo shirt outlines a concave stomach, 
thin arms protrude from half sleeves, and the taut jaw- 
line proclaims a person who has never had a problem 
sticking to a diet (in Karan's case, it consists of starv- 
ing himself during the day, and then pigging out at 

Karan Thapar on the Eyewitness show 




A special Hindi broadcast of the BBC News^produced for the first time in South Asia; on Home TV 


dinner). Which is just as well if you 
remember the adage that a television 
camera adds ten pounds to your frame. 

Level your gaze higher and you 
notice the grey. These days, Thapar 
favours a Marine-style crew cut, but 
even then it is difficult to miss the fact 
that Karan's hair is more white than 
black. And that it coupled with the 
wire- rimmed glasses tnathe sports, 
gives him the gra vitas that goes well 
with his new role as chief of 
programming of the Home TV 
channel. 

But what stays with you is Tha par's 
stillness Sitting ramrod straight in his 
chair, he only moves to answer the 
telephone, or to jot down little notes to 
himself. Presumably, these have to do 
with the Home TV programmes 
running on the television screen in 
front of him, with the sound turned 
down. 

Other than that, however, what 
characterises Karan most is lack of 
movement. It's almost as if he is 
preserving all his nervous energy for 
better things than just another 
interview; even if ne is on the other 
side of the media fence, as it were. 

This is a very different Thapar from 
the one we are used to seeing on our 
television screens. On TV, Karan 
comes across as both excitable and 
exciting, as he persists with a line of 
questioning wnidi his subjects dearly 
find uncomfortable. His eyes gleam 
behind his spectacles as his 
interviewees squirm awkwardly, and 
he fairly chortles with glee as he pins 
6 


them down with that immortal line. 
"But, you're not saying no!" 

But this new Karan Thapar is very 
different. He answers all queries in a 

3 uiet monotone, makes his point with 
le minimum fuss, and even 
provocative questions don't irk him. 
You can't help feeling that if he was 
any more laid-back, he'd keel right 
over. 

Ask him about the change in his 
persona, and Thapar merely says, 
"Yes, 1 have become a little smoother, 
that initial gawkishness has 
disappeared. But then, I am older, 
more confident, and more at ease with 
myself " 

I t is hard to believe that this is the 
man who was once described as a 
"juvenile delinquent" by veteran 
politician George Fernandes. The year 
was 1990, the programme was Khula 
Match, and at issue was Thapar' s 

was completely alien to the etiios of 
Indian television, as it was then 
defined. 

Certainly, nobody expected that a 
young, foreign-educated television 
journals* could go on Doordarshan, a 
government-controlled channel, and 
give ministers and senior 

E rliamentarians a hard time. When 
ran did just that, the protests came 
loud and dear. And before Thapar 
knew what was happening, his 
reputation as the enfant terrible of 
Indian TV had been established. 

Not that Karan has any regrets on 


the score. Ask him how he reacted to 
Fernandes' now-famous put do wn, 
and he smiles benignly. "I didn't mind 
at all," he says. "After all, that one 
phrase made me both notorious and 
famous. So, I'm quite grateful to 
George for that." 

But how did it feel meeting 
Fernandes after he'd made tnis 
statement? "Oh, I meet him all the 
time," says Thapar. "There's no 
problem at all. In tact, just the other 
day I was telling him tnat T was now a 
'senile delinquent'", he adds, laughing. 

But Thapar dismisses the 
suggestion that he set out to provoke, 
or try something new on Indian 
television with a view to making a 
name for himself. "This was not a 
deliberate ploy," he says. "It's just that 
1 am a persistent sort of person, so I 
kept at people until they answered my 
question. And the strong reaction I 
provoked merely convinced me that 
people in India were not used to this 
style of questioning. But things have 
changed substantially since then." 

And Thapar has played a major role 
in bringing about this change, with his 
performances on both The Chat Shoux 
and EyeWitrvss. It was Thapar who 
taught us that it was okay to pin down 
an interviewee even if you ended up 
making him look foolish on 
nation-wide television; or even if you 
ended up looking boorish yourself. 
That being kind was not an 
interviewer's skill; being incisive was. 
And that keeping a subject off-balance 
was as important as putting him at 




A scene from Safer produced by Home TV Grilling Manmohan Singh on the Eyewitness thow 


ea^e. 

That's not to say that Thapar always 
got the balance right. One famous 
interview with the then Prime 
Minister, Chandra Shekhar, earned 
him a lot of flak even though Karan 
himself was not conducting it; a 
reporter on the Eye Witness team was. 

Carried away, perhaps, by the 
momentuoushess of the occasion, the 
young man burst out: "Mr Prime 
Minister, why don't you comb your 
hair?" 

Chandra Shekhar froze on camera, 
a look of absolute fury on his face. And 
then, curtly informing his interviewer 
that this was not the kind of question 
to ask u Prime Ministei, he stalked off 
camera. 

Most people agreed with Chandra 
Shekhar. And criticism of the 
EyeWitncss interview mounted, as 
people expressed their horror at this 
cavalier treatment of the head of 
government. And even though 
Thapar was not directly responsible 
for what was seen as a world-class 
gaffe, some of the flak was directed at 
him as well. 

But like a veteran journalist, even 
several years after the event, Karan 
stands by his story. "At the time, it 
was a legitimate question, even 
though many others thought it was 
impertinent," he says. "If you believe 
in the dignity of a particular office and 
you feel that the incumbent is not 
upholding it, then you have the right 
to ask suen questions." 

So, if he were interviewing A.B. 


Vajpayee or H.D. Devc Gowda today, 
would he ask him such a question? 
Thapar thinks for a moment. "No," he 
says finally, "I wouldn't." 

K aran Thapar was bom to a life of 
privilege and good fortune on 
November 5, 1955. And like most 
upper-class boys of his background — 
his father went on to become the Army 


Chief of Staff — Karan was sent off to 
boarding school once he was out of 
short pants. In his case, it was Doon 
School, where Thapar spent six years 
(from 1966 to 1971). 

That was the extent of Karan's 
education in India. In 1972, he was 
enrolled in one of the most prestigious 
public schools in England, Stowe, 
where he remained till 1974. Then, it 
was on to Pembroke College, 
Cambridge, where Thapar studied 
Politics, Philosophy and Economics 
for his degree. In 1977, Karan moved 
to Oxford where he did his 
post-graduate degree in International 


Relations. 

This was a great time for Thapar. 
Not only did ne shine academically in 
his Oxbridge years, he was also 
elected the President of the 
Cambridge Union (a debating 
society); his counterpan at Oxford at 
the time was the young Benazir Bhutto. 

Eventually, though, Karan had to 
leave the world of academia behind 


and begin looking tor a job With his 
qualifications, it wasn't difficult to 
find, and Thapar began working for 
the London Times as its West Afnca 
correspondent. He moved to Nigeria 
in 1 980 and remained there for two 
years, doing a series of articles on the 
inefficiency of the local government 
Not surprisingly, the authorities 
expelled him from the country in 1982. 

So, it was back to England, where 
Karan began working on the features 
desk of the Times But the print media 
couldn't hold his attention for ever, 
and Thapar soon joined 1 xindon 
Weekend Television as 


In fact, it often seems that there are two Karan 
Thapars on television. First, there is the stern figure 
clad in a Jermyn Street shirt who will brook no 
nonsense from politicians and ministers. And then, 
there is the easy-going, smiling chap in a polo shirt, 
who laughs only too readily 




Karan Thapar 


Fernandes once described Thapar as a 'juvenile delinquent’ 


"correspondent, producer, editor". 

Here, ho worked on such current 
affairs programmes as Eastern Eye, 
Weekend World, The WrHd This 
Weekend and Whitehall. And he ended 
up interviewing such first-division 
subjects as Rajiv Gandhi, General 
Zia-ul-Huq, General Ershad, such 
British ministers as Michael Heseltine. 
and his old friend, Benazir Bhuttc 

But just when things wen 1 going 
swimmingly for Thapar, everything 
went terribly wrong. Karan's wife, 
Nisha, who nad a very successful 
career m the City working for such 
organisations as Merrill Lynch and 
Morgan Stanley, and was then 
executive director of National 
Westminster Bink, was diagnosed 
with encephalitis Flown back to 
London, she went into coma in 24 
hours, from which she never 
recovered 

Devastated by her loss, Karan tried 
hard to put his life together again. 

"My wife and I had decided to come 
back to India when we had children," 
he says today. "After she died, 1 had to 
decide what I wanted to do now that I 
was on my own. The choice was 
between returning to India within a 
year or staying on in England for 
good/ 

In 1990, the decision was made 


easier for him when Rajiv Gandhi — 
who was keen that Thapar return to 
India — introduced him to Shobhana 
Rharti a, ed i tonal director of The 
Hindustan Times , who intended to 
diversify into television soon. 

So, Karan came bark to India for a 
trial run, during which he spent some 
time working with Doordarshan. At 
the end of a three- month period, he 
decided to come back home for good, 
set up HTV and forge a career for 

It was Thapar who 
taught us that it was 
okay to pin down an 
interviewee even if you 
ended up making him 
look foolish on 
nation-wide television; 
or even if you ended up 
looking boorish 
yourself. That being 
kind was not an 
interviewer’s skill; 
being incisive was 


himself in Indian television. 

I n retrospect, it was a wise move. 

Today, Thapar is one of the most 
respected interviewers on Indian TV, 
and is numbered among the most 
personable anchors. His handling of 
news stories on EyeWitness has shored 
up his journalistic credentials, and on 
The Chat Show he has proved that he is 
just as good at the lighter side of life 
In fad, it often seems that there are 
two Karan Thapars on television. 
First, there is the stem figure clad in a 
Jermyn Street shirt who will brook no 
nonsense from politicians and 
ministers. And then, there is the 
easy-going, smiling chap in a polo 
shirt, who laughs only too readily. 

So, which is the real Karan Thapar? 
The man will not entertain any such 
questions. "How can you 
compartmentalise people like that?" 
he asks "Both these personas are part 
of me. A man is made of many parts: 
wit, repartee, intelligence are all 
combined in the same person." 

Despite his success — or perhaps 
because of it — Karan has his share of 
critics. According to them, Thapar's 
advantages — his upper-class 
background, his foreign education — 
are, in fact, his biggest disadvantages. 
They say that Karan is top up-market 




Karari Thapar at work: Too up-market for Indian television viewers? 


tor Indian television audiences to 
identify with or even be comfortable 
with him. And that, he often doesn't 
understand what an Indian audience 
wants to see on the small screen 
Thapar, however, has little patience 
with such talk "I don't think that my 
persona is a handicap," he says 
lorcetully ''Audiences don't respond 
in terms of content, but of style They 
respond emotionally and intuitively 
The theatre and drama of television is 
what people see bo, I don't think that 
there is anv problem of my being 
perceived as too up-market " 

Karan does admit to one handicap, 
though his inability to speak Hindi in 
a formal interview-style situation But 
that isn't as much of a problem as it is 
made out to be, he says "There is a 
large audience tor English language 
current affairs programme's," says 
Thapar, "though people still prefer 
entertainment in their own languages 
And don't forget, there are a large 
number oi satellite households, 
whose members asp in to speak 
Fnglish, and will watch programmes 
in that language " 

I ha par s own programme on 
Home TV, In Vucu^. is conducted m 
Hinghsh, a mixture of Hindi and 
English that works surprisingly well. 
His first subject was Sunjay Dutt. who 
spoke movingly of his experiences in 
jail, his drug addiction, and his 


struggle to come to terms with both 
Clearly, Thapar is trying to correct 
the impression that he is yet another 
Brown Sahib and a misfit in a world 
where Zee TV rules the roost And he 
couldn't have chosen a better vehicle 
than 1 Iome TV in that effort 

M arketed as a "family oriented 

fun channel", or as they call it in 
Hindi, the " mazedaar channel, 1 Iome 
TV is targeted at the Hindi- speaking 
audience J he only English 
programming is on otter after 1 1 pm, 
when an English drama is telecast for 
on hour (in the first week. Home TV 
telecast Ildward and Mrs S imp* nit , a 
series on the British king who gave up 
his thione to marry an American 
divorcee) Other than that, it'* Hindi 
all the way 

And that's not going to change in 
the future either, because as Thapar 
explains, "that would diffuse 1 the 
market focus" But I Iome TV does 
intend to carry out regular sur\ evs to 
find out what their viewers would like 
to see, and commission programmes 
accordingly 

As the man who dec ides what gets 
on to Home TV, Karan has his plate 
full His workday - ■ ■ which extends 
from 9.30 am to 8 30 pm— is devoted 
to watching pilots and reading scripts 
that have been submitted tor lus 
approval. And then, of course, he has 


to keep ,ir eagle eve on that IV set in 
his room, which is lorever I Lined to 
Home TV 

Even at home, Thapai spends a lot 
ot time m front of the television set, 
keeping abreast ol In*, competition 
I hs favourite programmes he says, 
include junonn Imtihun. J nru. fiafwyt 
Apt] i limit and 1 k'kh Wnu Lh'kh He also 
enjovs v\ atching Supnln! \hhjahlu, and 
the nows or i both Dooidarshan land II. 

But since watching 1 V is also 
another kind ol work, how does 
1 hapar relax? 

"Well, I play squash ever\ 
weekend And I like reading when I 
have the tune," he s,»ys J hs taste in 
books extends trom fiction t«> 
biographies and autobiographies 
And he’s just Imished readme I't trnwy 
Colnm ■* the novel about theC Imton 
candul.KV, written hv an anonymous 
author, who v\ as apparently an 
important ligui e in the ( hnlon 
campaign team 

Thapai lr, es alone m L Ml a. taking 
time oft e\ erv \\\ ek to *. imI his mother 
who stays m her larmhoiisr m 
Chhiitiirpui Hut no lie says, he is not 
lonely, he's got used ti- h-*ing on his 
own after his wifi died And anyway, 
how van you he loner. when the TV 
sel is loreve? on, and the phone 
follows you wherever \ ou go? fl 


9 



■ Extract 

Death Becomes 

HIM 



Extracts from 
Silonl \X[n>p(.T.s, 
the first murder 
mystery mitten 
by un Indian 
u'oman 


Hxt fueled from 
' lictti Whi'sfH't'* 

by S tijiiia Sahnis. 
Published by Alka 
Paperbacks. 


ga slowly kepi the phone down cin cl 
ired at the wall opposite him 1 fo 
J not see the Lnvdiy M F’ i lusain 
print tioi llu* .lieaper oil painting 
i an impossibly convoluted horse 
What 111'' man trom Delhi had just 
told him was . disturbing In tact, i< 
w *n bloody tunny *nd he had to 
ll. -I ■ out wh.it this could mean 
|el!e\ had to be told about it and that 
loo soon enough But what the hell 
did it Mb AN? It surely was not a 
lomridi’iue and it it was not then 
tlu*»e was '•oincthing bloody screw v 
going on He would have to think 
this over very carefully 

Vimt casually threw his coat 
down on the armchair and went to 
the corner mahogany bai to open a 
( nla lor him.sell from the mini fridge 

What will vc »u have Dad ? " 

Nothing, vou go ahead " letlev 
c|uietly K»oked at his son — in these 
Iasi years the last vestiges- of the 
\ ulne v ablc youth had vanished His 
sin his 2o-vear-old son was instead 
a handsome man, considered to be, 
lu* knew, as one ol the most eligible 
bachelors in Bonibav I le also knew 
that he was much in demand as a 
painter, with son a hies vying lor each 
and every one ot his canvasses. He 
stall'd tor a long time at that beloved 
face, unee so waim and loving and 
now' full of strength, yes, but also 
liaid, unkind almost Vimt had 
insisted th.it he did not want to join 
the family business, and Jelley had 
let him Vimt had been determined to 
live sepeiately- in quite a pokey 
teiiace flat m Malabai Hill whose 
only plus seemed to be that it had a 
fantastic sea- view and a glorious 
amount ot light And Jetley had 
given in on that too, never asked 
wnv he couldn’t stay with his father 
in the huge mansion that was 
Ramvilas 

So, you were going to discuss 
something about Drvma, weren’t 


you?" Vimt seemed impatient, 
restless, looking like' a bird captive' m 
a cage 1 

She wants to marry, Vimt " 
Sharplv Vimt turned. She has 
told vou th.if r ’ 

"No but she will soon, I know 
I see," Viml nodded norui-alk’, a 
tinge ol contempt in the' tone as he 
coldly looked at his father 



10 


'Information courtesy Aga ot course 
Bui maybe Aga is wrong, maybe Devu 
is | List having a nice fling - girls do that 
you know 1 

Not Oovinu, Vinit. von know 
thal " 

1 fe casually loped in the sota m 
fiont ot his father, a picture of relaxed 
disinterest, only the nerve ticking in his 
left jaw and his slightly clenched! ist 
gave him away 

So who is the man tins lime 7 " 

A I >elhi bov Sameer Mmocha " 
Any good" 1 I’m sure you. dogs 
must have lound out all about him by 
now 

Jetli'V ignoied I he thinly veiled 
insult and jus! said, ‘He seems lo be " 
And st' are \ou going to give 
them youi bit'*, sings' Maybe «l won't 

tome to lh.it Suppose something 
happens to poor Sameoi, gist the way 
it happened to Sunecl and ( lovmd 7 " 
ll was sai J sottlv, etMv sottlv, Vet (l 
^lulled let lev frightened him 

Mo " in said harshly Nothing is 
going to happen tins lime, did vou 
h«- ir nothing Mo one is going to harm 
Smioi i in anv wav. I am going to see 


Sujata Sabms: Plotting murder 
tc » it " 

Ah yes, just tile way \nu saw 
with the pool e\ -boyfriends of 
1 >c\ mu?" 


" I hat was diljeienl, I 1 was not 
prepaied But tin** lime 1 im, and let 
me tell you that 1 have alieadv put two 
men onto Minoeha ft» pinlerllum 
Vmit staled at his lather tor a long 
time betoie tinning awa\. a cuielul 
look on !us face 

But you also have to think about 
what will happen it Dev mu gels 
mained lo this guv Suppose it makes 
hei in some wav 

lemeniher things she has forgotten? 
Have you though! of that'” 

liredlv |etli \ nibbed lus foiehead, 
Vui llunk 1 haven't 7 But she has a 
right to be liappv ton, she has had a 
l»lood\ shitty life Ma\ be she won't 
rememliei aig thing evei but it she 
does 1 11 tell vou one thing " Onu* again 
he gav e a ban I stale lo his son. "I ll see 
to U that no one and l mean no one 
- hanns hei ['ll lake ( aie ol her I'll 
protect hei " 

Solth said his son, That could'put 
you in a kind ol a dungci too, have 
you ihoughi .tlioul th.it r " 

let lev st.ued at the opposite wall 
when* a picture ot his hiother and 
Munoiumu hung right above the 


Illustration Subrat, i Gungopadhyay 








I iSfei 




'M 


%1 


numtlepiece and then I .iced Vjrnt 
"If it does, I'm prepared tor thal 
too Foi too long 1 nave been afraid, 
afraid all the timr Now I am fjoin^ 
to think only about I Vvu's 
happiness Nothing else No one ^ 
else." 

Mr looked at his son's ton sc face, 
saw him gulp down the coke* After a 
moment Viml said, ' So why have 
you tailed me here''" 

Devu wants hei family to meet 
Sameer Which means you and me " 
You, oj course But why me?" 
You anther cousin, Viml She 
loves you " 

'Yeah, hut only till she doesn’t 
remember, right?" 

Arnar didn’t bother to .mswer, 
looked quietly at the tight, sarcastic 
face ot his son Alter a moment, Ymit 
looked away, shrugged, picked up 
his coat 'Oh well, alright. I will no 
there I suppose I am . interested an 
meeting this Sameer " 

Me smiled thinly and with a curt 
nod walked a wav. All ot a sudden, 
letley tell tired, very tired Semis, so 
many secrets, hidden from his son 
from Devina, lioru the world 

Secrets which he couldn’t allow' 
to come out- they would destiny 
everything he lo\ed, everything he 
had built up But sec rets also were a 
dead weight, they sapped your soul, 
made* it feel impossible to cairy on 
Fie sighed and laving his head hack, 
closed his eyes No math i what the 
cost, he would see to it that thi.-» 
secret would remain where it should 

be in the deepest, darkest corner 

of his heart No one would know 
about it ever, not ever 

W ell. Aga, what have you tound 
out? It sounds urgent Wlut is 
it?" 

"You know Mr letley that mv 
man had gone to Delhi to dig out 
more slutf about Sameer Minocha 
Wei . he* tound out a curious fact " 

A hesitant pause stretched too 
long made jet ley impatient ' Okay, 
what was this tat r Let’s hear it " 

Aga shrugged and worriedly 
said, ' My man talked to Sameer s 
friends - you know, |usl fishing 
around And he discovered 
that well Sameer had a best friend 
who is now mi.. sing tor the last tew 
months " 

"Who" 

Softly Aga intoned, 'Govind 
Ankalesana -Devina s boyfriend 
who . disappeared 

Ciovind's best triend”' Sameer is 
Govind's best friend?" stunned. 

Jet ley hit as if his leet w'as standing 
on shitting sands "I don't believe it! 



lius doesn't, *a.>und right .to me.Aga 
Bui .could it he a coincidence? n 

Stoically Aga shook his head, 1 
don't think so Mr letley and nor do 
you But mv job is to get inhumation 
tor you It's your headache to inter it 
any way you want All 1 can tell you 
is that Sanuvr and Govind were not 
just friends, hut real Buck ones - 
vou know right from the school days 
upto college kinds, more like* 
brothers " Me hesitated loi a moment 
and pointed out, "Look, maybe 
before lumping to conclusions, you 
should check out with 1 Vvma Who 
knows lie* may have mentioned it to 
her and she didn’t bother to tell you 
about it " 

Mutely )etley nodded. I'll gu to 
her Hat immediately l must get to 
the bottom of this 1 11 call vou back 
latei " 

I etlev slnwlv kept the phone down 
and brie! I > ordered lor lus cai on 
e intercom But before thal he* must 
phone up someone and tell this new 
development. He briefly talked on 
the phone, and looking at his watch, 
walked out of the room Within 
minutes he was whizzing past the 
imposing gates of Kamvilas towards 
Marine Drive Me hoped Devina 
would be theie at home- -and alone 
Me quietly looked at Devina 


sitting like m kitten on the sola, 
dressed up m a simple cotton salwar 
kamee/ and looking very pretty 
De\ ilia l want you to tell me 
something Did vou ever tell Sameer 
about * iovind 

In a hesitant soit lone she said, 
Vui mean I he tact that I vva? going 
steady i\ ith him 

Ses ! >id you tell him' 1 " 

Yes, I did. in tact, I told him as 
soon as 1 thought that he v. as getting 
serious about me And he* told me 
about his past atiaus Why do you 
ask?" 

Me insisted, h»u told him 
(lovind s lull name* Govind 
Ankalesana' ,, ‘ 

Now' she seemed to he really 
■ pi i/./ led. Yes I did, m fact, I e\en 
; asked him whether lie had met 
| ( Joy ind in Delhi < «ovind did his BA 
from Sl Stephens Saineer is also 
from the same college, vou see " 

And what did he say?" 

Sameer .said that he couldn't 
really remembei anv such student, 

| though ot louise he may have seen 
j him .i round the campus 

Jetley c leiuhed his liand and 
| with an abrupt nod said, i think I 
I must tell you something which 1 
' found out today A a friend ot mine 
; came Irom Delhi and it seems he 
i knows the M mocha family' very 




well 1 lr was iusi telling iin 1 about 
them when In* mention *d that 
SanuvTs Im'sI triend wa*. a boy called 
k .ovincl Ankalesaru ' \niai lollcv 
paused heavilv and lh. n bit out, 
md tii it tin-. ho\ missing loi the 
pas! few months 

She gapped and tin m*il white 
.inti ten a long time was silent Tlu*n, 
with tin ob\ ions effort she - .ml. Are 
"on lolling me that Sjmeei not only 
ijicw ( lovintl but that he was also 
his best Iricnd *' 

Yes 

I Vsjieralnly she aigued, ’An* 
you sure about tins? Maybe tins 
triend ol yours vv is mistaken, m.ivbe 
lie was talking .iboul some ollie r 
Covind— llieie must be many in 
Delhi ■' 

* Devil, how many t iovmd 
Ankalesana iheie will be who stay m 
Ashok Vihar and study in the 
department of psychology at the 
University campus’ I checked, you 
know " 

She was bewildered now, 
bewildered and worried * But then 
why didn’t Sameer mention it to 
me?" 

I don’t know, IV vma, you toll 
me- why didn’t lie 1 " 

1 just don’t understand this I. I 
even snowed him a photo of Covind 
and he didn’t say a word 


Which means you have to lind 
. out why not, and lind out petty fast. 
You have to know what this boy 
really wants lrom you Why he lied 
to yon about Covuula Devina, it 
may hurt, but you have to think that 
his motives were suspect " 

lears had started welling in the 
big brown eyes as she hugged 

■ herself tight ,is ,t to protect herself 
1 horn an emotional pain 

I can't believe that, 1 won’t 
believe it. There must be some other 
; explanation- there has to he 1 11 ask 
him today, right now I'll go talk to 
him nght now " 

Stubborn iy she shook her head 
1 can take care of it myself, Tin 1 
big girl now " 

jet lev hesitated for a minute and 

■ then nodded Alter all then* would 

. be Aga's man behind her all the tr ie 
1 - - they would see her sate back 
, home 

1 

S dtneei M mocha was tall and truly 
handsome, with the frankest of 
■ smiles which had won him triends 
j throughout his young life He was 
not smiling just now, though Instead 
as he sat down w ith a slump near 
, his computer desk, he thought ol the 
■ terrible nalt-an-hour he had just 
spenl It had been difficult to answer 
; Devina, it had been even mom 


difficult to explain And what c\>uld 
he explain 7 Could In* have told 
Devina about ('annul s last letter to 
him m which In* had told Sameer 
certain unbelievable things? Could 
he have told Devina about Cnvind's 
suspicions 7 And what could he have 
said about his own when Covind 
had vanished so mysteriously? 
Covind l Mice again that name 

evoked in his mind like a pain 

nagging, tioublesome, hurting pam. 
Covind his best friend of so many 
years. Covind with his mischievous 
grins and clever pranks Covind 
who thought he was much smarter 
than most others and sometimes 
mned it too Covind who hud 
oved to prv into other people's 
affairs, loved to ferret out secrets, 
had always talked grandly about 
information being power 

In these three months, he had 
tried so hard to find out what it was 
that Covind had disvoveted He 
thought he knew now. or at least he 
was naif way then 1 The rest the 
police could find out perhaps He 
would go fo them tomorrow But Jt 
had been tumble to lace Devina 
Terrible She had been so hurl He 
had felt like a bloody* heel Bui she 
would understand He would make 
hri undci stand II would be ‘or her 
own good too Then* were many 




things which she cluiri't know Which 
she should know I le was ah aid hut 
he would tell her, 

The kitchen wa s almost in total 
datkne-s. the dim light of n -moil hue 
pawned bulb tlaowm g a '-hado i ry light 
an a daik figuic ’The jiu c mas u dud a aj 
conmiti at ion, blank of all i .\pies-ious, 
and only the cue*, g leannn g >tiaugely, 
gave an indication at a mind not quite 
bane. The hand- mac busy shaipenwg u 
huge steel butt ha knife, pushing the 
knife back and faith an the shurpenei 
with cold etfuieney ( 'uniull 1/ the figioe 
puked up thfanife anti tom lied it - edge 
It was s , - month , beautiful, tail 
beautiful ' An excited ^im spread on the 
smooth planes of the fine If mu' $0111$ 
to b'’ fun Wanda ful fun. lo piah this 
into the (halting, lying double dealing 
body at deal Siwieer ( V? i/r\ it would he 
lovely to see the fan m Samoa - eye^, to 
hear hit* - eieam . to feel his pain Today, 
today it will be it wa- ditfn ult to 
wait, mi veiy difficult when the 
tiembhng hand s weie hteially itching ti 
do what had t ■ be done Softly mingling 


a tune, the figme looked out-ide at the 
pelting lam, ware a dm l -brown laimoai 
and walked out of the dooi The bub hci 
knife wiv safely lying in the picket*, 
ready and willing to bleed, it > maim, to 
kill before the dooi whined \ hut , a -oft 
giggle leeerberated win id the loom 

S ameer was tesllcss, on an gdge, 
some deep toicboding twisting 
his innards I le was almost sure lfi.it 
he had found out the tiuth, hut he 
didn't leallv want lo lace it no. to he 
honest, he was alraid And not 
because he was a r owaid, he was 
not, and he could hue jusi about 
an\ thing hul not madness No, he 
was staied ol .1 mind which had 
ijuielh, unknown lo most, become 
stalk, staring mad The mind ol .1 
ruthless, pitiless killei. albeit 0 
hidden one And there was 
soim .lung else that he suspected bill 
that was so hi/aiie, so unbehevahl ■ 
that lie didn't want to e\en think 
ahout it So wli.it else was then* to 
do’ He luul wall hist table, he had 


tried to read a book, nothing 
worked He had tnednol lo think of 
I )evma and the huit in her eves as 
she had confronted him about 
C.o\md and that hadn’t worked too. 

It was best to have an early dinner, 
eariv' lot him that is and go off to 
sleep AC a Impose would no Ip 

I le swallowed his Calm pose wuth 
a gulp and shut oil the TV- the 
table was .living the old 
I hkhiockian classic Psi/i ho and on 
the si urn the image ol an unknown 
hand slaughtering the gnl in the 
showei was as terrifying as ever 
Normally, he would have lo\ed to 
watth it, this was oik* ol his all time 
favourites ailei all, but today the 
image ol the long, hulchei knite, the 
fren/\ and the pnme\al scream of 
the girl sickened him. Probably 
C.ovmd was also killed in a similar 
wav ■ I le shuddered and on an 
impulse he picked up the phone and 
dialled STD He had thought ot 
1 .illmg his elder sister in Delhi 
tomoirovv morning, but something, 
s« am* instinct made it impel alive 




that he called her today, just this 
minute After a long nng, Umesh, 
Somya's husband, picked it up, said 
in a sleepy irritated voice, "Yes, 
hullo?" 

"Sorry to disturb you Umesh so 
late but I wanted to talk to Soniya 
Can you call her on the line? It's 
rather urgent 

Urnesn sounded concerned, 

"Any problems 7 " 

"No, none, but it s something 1 
must talk to her about Will you call 
her* 1 Is she sleeping?" 

'No she is here " 

Sameer heard static on the line 
and then a sott voice spoke on the 
phone, atfectionale concern making 
her sweet voice sharp 

"Sameer, hi, how are V'*u, what's 
up' 1 " 

"It’s something very important 
Soniva I had to tell you about it 
Didn’t want to toll anyone else , not 
light now 1 

Wli.it is it, you sound funny. 
Aie you sick of something? Are you 
in sum** kind ot trouble tell me 



immediately Sameer " 

He could hear her voice rising 
with anxiety and hesitantly told her, 

' We. ..you know why I had come to 
Bombay, didn't you?" 

"Yes, to hunt out Govind " 

"Sonu, 1 think I know what has 
happened to him I'm almost sure I 
am near the truth. 1 found it just two 
days back .and. and I can tell you 
this it's horrible horrible and scary." 

"What do you mean, scary? 

What have you found out? Tell me 
right now'; what the hell have you 
got into?" 

"Govind was murdered, Sonu," 
he said in a frightened whisper, the 
horror in her brother's voice chilling 
her a thousand miles away 

'Murdered 7 What nonsense 
Who murdered him, wdiy should 
they murder him, what are you 
talking about?" 

"Why? because he found out a 
secret belonging to the jetley family, 
you know T those big industrialists? 

"You mean the family of Devma 
Jetley whom you are going around 
with 7 This is melodrama, Sameei, I 
don't believe it Jetley family's 
secret? And Govind knew 1 it? What 
serel*’" 

' Som)u, it goes 10 years back, 
and it’s something sickening, 
something crazy, mad I suppose 1 
can toll you though you will find it 
difficult to believe. You see 
Sonu Oh shit, wail a minute, the 
doorbell is ringing, hold on, will 
you, 1 11 |usi go and see who it is 

He jnessed the hell again, hi s hands 
twitching on the knife with mitii ipatwn 
God how he hated Sameer, hated him , 
hated him They were all the same, all 
out to j, mound, you couldn't truH 
anyone, not anyone and i erf and y not a 

tweet talker like that h inside 

S uneel should hair taught him that , 
Govind should have too, hut once again 
he had hern conned. He was too tuft and 
Devma was too soft too, that was the 
problem She was really much too nice, 
much too silly -- that's why these 

f ers took advantage Put not for long 

— not once he had wised up to them 
Suneel and Govind had discovned that 
no one fooled Devma and got away with 
it. Not while Hi was there to teach them 
a lesson. Today it was Sameer’ s turn to 
discover just that Fven now when hr 
thought of his mealy mouthed ways, the 
surei lying smiles, the way he had 
totally dazzled Devma into believing 
him - he could puke 1 And Sameer knew 
too much , he had found out too much. 

The b , the b , the 

h ... with the litany growing in 

Ins mind , the fingers gently touched the 
sharj) edge of the knife. Yes, it was sharp 


| enough - today . it had to he for today 
j was going to he the enactment ot The 
! Silence ot the 1 .anihs only Sameer 
' wa s no lamb, more like a jackal how 
| he would loir to hurt him. make him 
j scream, make him beg foi men y, kill 
\ him , kill him, kill him. 

i 

! 

T he door opened an inch as 
Sameer peered out ot the safety 
chain This was an important 
moment, Sameer should not suspect 
anything, should open the door. He 
put on his most winning smile and 
said quietly, ‘ Hi, Sameer!" 

| 1 le could see the surprise in 

i Sameer* s face as well as 
I bewilderment Uncertainly Sameer 
j said, ' Hullo oli you heie' 1 I didn't 
j expect you here!" 

| I le kept on smiling with an 
i effort, It s something important 
| Sameer And it's urgent May' 1 come 
in**" 

"Well I was t, ilkine, on the 
phone tci Delhi, hut . ves. ot course, 
come in lust a minute, I'll open the 
safety chain 

He Hepped in with difficult a 
controlling the mailing c\citcmcnl, the 
fever that gripped In * mside-' He knew 
hv * ei/i's* u ere glowing arid he < ould sec 
Sameei Haring at them I le could see the 
instifh lire fear m that haled face, the 
glowing imceilamty that -» nucthmg was 
nirt rigid '\ird then Howly. softly to 
pi along the ecHasy he took out the knife. 

He s aw Sameei \s fine growing 
white, he s aw fear m the darkening eyes 
Still Sameer did not vrrn to give up 
hope, he still thought that tie could not 
he harmed. He hand Sameer In/mg to 
reason with him, What are you doing , 
don’t do this, come give me the knife ,l 
lie heard the word* w ;} in some 
kind of a dream C Vi ye.*. I le would 
certainly give the knife to Sameer, that's 
what he hail come here tor after all 
Sameer tried to grab tis< hand Put d 
would he of no use, he knew lie war 
blessed with a maun strength at tnese 
times he knew / le i aught hold of 
Sameer ’s hand in an iron leftu grip with 
his right, jrlunged m the knife at that 
softest, rnoH vulnerable spot in the 
body the stomach 

It was sweet, real sweet the way the 
knife went in, smoothly, and he dmv it 
out loving the red spurt which came out. 
and then he plunged the knife Inuk and 
again, and again and again 

On the phone nearby some panicky 
female voice kept on calling - Sameer, 
Sameer, Sameei " Quietly, keeping the 
receiver hack he chin kit'd hupjuly 
Sorry, sweetheart, hut Sameer doesn't 
live here anymore he doesii t hv i here 
anymore. ' ' ■ 


Time table 


All arrival and departure times are for Calcutta 

Day* of oporatlon using 7-day code: h MONDAY l TUESDAY <t WEDNESDAY ® THURSDAY 0; FRIDAY <£) SATURDAY to SUNDAY 
(As these p«iqes qn rn pruss one week m advanco, readers should check with respective airlines and railways for last minute change in timings) 


Fit No. Time Days 

KMAmwu 

H.-M! in "■ l.i 


m&mmmzmm' 

M9-3IM/M ■ '’-'SO 


I' mmmm u 

Arrivals 




Arrivals 


Fit No. 

Time 

Days 

FltNo. Tiro 

Da» 

FltNo. 

Tima 

Dsa 



— 

”5 

■ - — 


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*/F 101, 1740 

1 

VI-I0S 

i/oo 

1 

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■Jdily 

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15411 

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16 



Ft No. Urn D* RNo. Tkm D*> 


mppp|pBSHM 

EMMp - -.Scwrall 

* 

mm 


IC 225 

0700 1 

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0920 

1 

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BG 897 

1655 

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BG-09 1 

0810 


BG-092 

1150 1 2, 3, b, 7 

BG 091 

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1. 2 J 6. 7 

IC-723 

1300 1 ‘1, 5, b 

IC 724 

1520 

1 3 5. G 

BG-094 

1905 1 2, .1. 5 8 7 

BG-093 

1025 

1 2 2 5. b 7 

BG-094 

1010 4 

BG 093 

1630 

4 

BG-096 

211X1 1 5 

Bf.095 

2020 

1 5 

iMHl 



Q7 061 

1000 3 

Q/-060 

1230 


RMO? * **0/30 * 

" T 




RA 214 

1525 ? 6 

HA-211 

1425 

2 f. 

IC 74/ 

103!. 12 4 6 

ic /4a 

1350 

12 4b 



VWPlIw^PWilWWlS.’C wl iWl/V 

BA 142 J11 BA 143 



mmmmw 

KB 10 p Itfit. 

KB 10 T 132 '. 


i KB 105 0610 


3 

4 

2 b 






SQ-41E 

2<4‘. 

GQ 411, 

2? 40 7 

Rl IUH 

iib in 

bl KT 

2000 6 





! I-H 1)4 

I/5C 

1/ w 

Ih50 4 


- -'.'/V; 1 


A! .tot 

Villi 

Al ■«!*! 

Ih/f 


‘ . 


If 22/ 

IMIl 

k. j;p 

19 r >'i 4 / 


Al Air India • BA British Airways • BG Btman Bangladesh Airlines • Bl Royal Brunei Airlines • 02 Skylme NEPC • 05 NEPC Airtinos • 1C Indian Airlines • KB Druk-Aif • KLM 
Royal Dutch Airlines • LZ Balkan Airlines • MO Modiluft • PF Vayudoot • RA Royal Nopal Airlines • RJ Royal Jordanian Airlines • RO Tarom Air Transport • S2 Sahara India 
Airlines • SQ Singapore Airlines • SU Aeroflot • AS East West Airlines • TG Thai Airways International • 9W Jet Airways • 07 Qatar Airways • VF VIF Airways 


Departure 
Up Tiro 

23M 1 4- 1 r . 

3005 19 70 

30014 20 iKl 

2Joi ‘i 15 


TRAINS 


EASTERN RAILWAY 

Howrah 

DdhHCaHa Mall 
Amritsar Mall 

Bombay Mall vm Ai^hnt.an 

Poona (Naar Delhi) Emms m.i f MVil-VoMiUSI 

ln'l' Wuii I hi if, * sun 

Ar Ini**, Weu ft s.ji 

Poo nst (Naur OeH) Express vm f\Un«i 

1 'i p Mori r,ii- i r. ft vil 

Am Mo ri f lu-r'. hi \ ' >un 

Ftajdiani Express vid ii.iva 

!>fp Mci- l.iK. VV'tl hi ,s> S.il 

An Mcv, Ti>r. | ms f i» ft son 

RaJAiml Express v.,i Pdirvs 

Ut’p Mi, ns 3. hill Air Vizi'll Is, hit 

Jodhpur Express 

SIMM (Bokaro SM City) Express 

! *»-|i ft Ar; iuppt CunrldV 

Hlmglri (Jammu- Towf) Express Tn wtly 

r if(i T'ii-s h, \ l j.V Am I jr'- VVp.J ft b, 

GuwaMI Express 

Wt'di.i'MI.iv Ari I'ndciV 

Gorakhpur Express 

f'lip ft An in.iiMldy 

Purbanchal (Gorakhpur) Eqmn 

0'*| 1 ft Arr l.in Mor. Wnd ft In 

Ooon Boren via Grand Cvonl 

Udyan Abha Toatoi Expran via Mam Lmn 

Miami txprau 

Kdhgodum Boreas 

MQtma (Raul) Express 

Kanrup (Gum) Express 

Black Diamond express 

CosIMd Eg re ss 

Asatsoi Expran 

Danapur Boreas 

Jvnupur Express 

saranunn op* 

Chamba) (Gmlior) Express 

Mcp Mm. Tuf* A Tiiui , Ar Mon rtiun. & 

Shfpra (Wore) Express 

Dcp W»'d Sal fthm 

Arr bun , Wrd A Sat 

Cnambre |Agre GsraL) Lxpreas 

Uftp hnday Air hipsdav 

Sealdah 


AnM 

Tims Dn 


Tmto-Tona Bgras 
DarWUng MM 

LM Quito Boreas via Mam Line 

Kaxhanjunp (Ufiaflng) Barren 

Gour Boren 

KMha Egans 

Jammu-Tari Boreas 

Mughal Soil Boren vu SBC Loop 


DeJ) A®!!? fcfmSr, ^Saf 


Departure SOUTH-EASTERN RAILWAY AiM 


i «• 

Tkna 

Howrah 

Tiro 

On 

1 uxo 

JO -30 

MMras Mdl 

(■ 55 

6004 

i non:* 

1 9 70 

Bombay Mall v.a Naqpiu 

Gltanfol (Borrhsy) Bqpress 

ShaftM (Rouriata) Express 

H. 70 

6001 

i 7860 
j 2071 

V 40 

I. 50 

1'-25 

71 (Hi 

r /m 

7027 



(■m> ft Air 1 - vi i>jM s.irufo.iv 



i Hi 144 

JO 40 

mi 4_i i r* _ 

wmna Lxpros 

6 15 

8033 

: Bino 

11 41 

Kurts Express vu Naiipm 

16 70 

B0? 1 ) 

1 2H41 

| /HOI 

14 -O'. 

8 l.i 

Corarrandal (Madras) Bpias vi.i Cutiar k 
Futakrana (SacMmzbnO Bonn 

V (15 

M 40 

II 



[il'|. 5un Tor, 4 hi 

Arr M.j.i Inur, ft '.at 



| *■,. 

| 

22 J. 

I'lf 5iifiiia, 

Arr Mimldv 

10 45 

Ml 7 

I HU. 3 

V 41 

Tata SM Emaas 

ID 70 

flfMI 

' Hill 
| Hllllt 
i 8015 

(.-Of 

Jli-bt 

J1 4U 

tgt (JhWKMli) Enww 
inagam opm 

RnoM Hdta Expren 

71 7'j 

5 (Ml 
b-111 

6112 

8006 

6016 

! Hun/ 

1 

Puri Boren vm Cuiuk 

5-3(1 

BOOR 

! 8400 

V, lift 

Jaganndh (Pul) Bqpraas 

8-25 

8410 

: 7H2 1 

1 01)45 

() 1! 

1ft A 

Dhaidl (BhMar—r) Bonn 

Eat Cant (Hyderabad) Boren 

27 05 
is 111 

78 7? 

8046 

| Wl/ 

K. 45 

PuruUa Expran 

Tjpij [<.ppl , l ,'itnrrj.iv 

11 35 

8018 

1 

1 'iMfi 

15 hj 

A>r F«i.i:iji '.umJuv 

Azad Hind (Piro) Wsakty Eqnen 

5 15 

1029 

1 


lii’P ft Arr ui. r.tind.iv 



i -’■■ 1 

lh 4(. 

Bhubonawair Near Delhi Raldhenf Bqxees ivm 

Ho*rdh) Ountl.iy only 

16-10 


i 

n U5 

Naar Dslhl-Bhubanasmr Raidtoni Expran rv.a 

Mi'WMhl 5dtur f Uy urly 

1(1-45 

?4?7 

| 0X22 

?? 3 1 ’ 

Guwahall - Howrah - Trivandrum Cartial Boren 

2i 15 


j 

1 1 O'. 

M.’iidjy uiiiv 

Trivanoun Cadre! - Howrah - GuwalMI Bqaan 

17 45 

6321 



Ixilurdjy un ! v 



i 

i 

i 

14 c 1 

Cochin Harbour Terminus - Guwahdj Wsakty 

Expran iV'rf 'visikii.iiMliwrn ft HrtAr.jli) 

Thb'itfldv only 

H 4 r ' 

6313 

f. 1*4 

'J 

GuwahaU - Cochin Ftotxwr Terminus Wsddy 

Express i vi.i •Hlnwvr.rii ft Vi’.iikKipduirfiiil 

Caturoav »*r. ! y 

77 15 


(.316 

! 

1 

22 V 

Cochin Hatnur Terminus Expran (vi,i 
Vi'HkhdpdlntUi* ft FlowrdliJ 

L'^p i.Jws ft 1 M 

An Thus ft fn 

».< 45 

6115 

hb20 

1 

Vi 15 

GuwM - Bangalore CRy Wnkty Barren iv. i 

Hu n\ al. & Cullar.k) 

Wttlnesrlay only 

77 15 



14-05 

Bavdore CRy - GuwalMI WaaMy Exprea r ivu 

l lownh ft Cuttack) Monday only 

1- 45 

b5!U 


B4QUWE& For round the dock (nfomMUon m Eaton Ralhmy and 
South-EMwn Ralhny trains, plane dial 2203545-54 for In-comlng Mm 
2203535-44 for all other Information. For Information about reanwtfona on 
Eaton Railway and South-Eastern Railway trains. dW 2203496-3500 (from 
8 am to 8 pm on weekdays and 6 am to 2 pm on Sundays and (rent- 
tod hotUMV In addition, dial 1331 (for recorded Information on tin 
running). 171 (minding train conations) and 135 (ragndbig rearewtore). 
Train anvtoe enquiry 3 SaakttT 3503535/37. 


17 



Lifestyle 

FEELING HOT, HOT, HOT 

How can one best cope with the summer heat? Some tips 
from Manisha Gulati 


S ummer is something of a two- 
faced season Consider first the 
positive side The hot weather 
grants permission to wear a 
completely comfortable wardrobe of 
hare basic pieces — a bikini that might 
weigh two ounces soaking wet, shorts 
with a microscopic inseam, a fl uttery 
wisp of a short dress, casual Allen Sol- 
ly trousers and doing away with 
(ugh!) ties But then there's the nasty 
side of the season. We want to be insi- 
de at every possible moment The 
most mundane errand-i mining after- 
noon becomes a nightmare The sun 
tricks us into uncovering body parts 
that would really have benefited from 
mime shade and sun -protection 
moisturizers instead And the tact that 
while we're 'enjoying' the sound of 
the hot winds, we're getting buffeted i 
by a whole range of environmental 1 
hazards 

Tor flu* more particulai, these cause 
hair » hanges that \ ould do a neo- 
punk proud, and pul the salons out ot 
I'ii sin ss The challenge is simply to 
get sin It ■ the season's good side with a 
bami bodv c are routine, cold salads, 
water sports (in India, read swim- 
ming) and an escape route While advi- 
ce tor a suitable regimen and quick 
fixes follows, there's no getting 
1 round the tact that summer time liv 


^ « J* • • . 




Sv • J V i '' 


Shading the eyes in a pair ot glasses 

mg isn't as easy as u list'd to be Oh, 
excuse us, the light just went out and 
writing in the dark isn’t one of our 
stronger points. And please, do excuse 
the sweat drops Longgoni are the 
days of chilling out in airconditioned 
rooms Where's the electricity 7 Filter 
genet a tors and invertors 

B ut options now have flow vied 
More and more people now head 
tor the hills in the more expensive 
locales ot the West to spend a cool and 
easy summer Twelve noon at the Mall 

Fresh ti uits. Mooting summer’s 
nutritional needs 


Shimla you are as likely to bump into 
your neighbour as at your local gro- 
cer Nainital is an old time favourite 
with North ]ndians,and those in the 
east usually head further east All to 
arrive at their perfect second home 
To land owners the second home or 
the holiday resort really makes sense 
It is in a desirable part of the world, 
where real estate prices should appre- 
ciate steadily over the years. Sitting on 
your asset you could even argue that 
it's increasing value is effectively giv- 
ing you tree vacations as you look 
down upon the poor tourists staying 
in the t Uhmoi oi the Holiday Inns of 
the country hills Not foi you the 
21 -day dll-inclusive package that the 
rest of humanity has to endure Says 
Mr Pahwa who owns his little hidea- 
way m Nainital, "Once a year J like to 
get away from the hustle and bustle ot 
Delhi and the power cuts which in 
Greater Kailash happens everyday. 
And staying m a hotel is too imperso- 
nal so I decided to invest in this house " 
The Mdthur family ot three, on the 
other hand, prefers the plush portals 
of a hotel to cater to their needs Says 
the wife Kaloana, "I don't want tu gel 
away from trie work and heat of Delhi 
only t.> slart looking after .mother 
place in the lulls even if it's cooler 




A 

4 


Coating the boat 

there I ot the hotel do the work so I 
i .in ha\ e *1 nvil holiday " And so while 
others sv\ eat in 14 decrees heat you 
can sunhathe in 20 degrees and trek, 
horsonde ,»nd tish But mind you, 
you'ie missing i»iit on the week end 
hinges of theeitv Saturday night is 
usually spent at a posh (armhuuse par- 
ly where the re\ ellers are chucked into 
the pool haltwa) through, clothes, 
shoes, lood and all No one minds and 
no one is spared It's a pertec t end to a 
party where evi ryone is sweating 
their guts out 

Sw miming w hen you're prepared 
tor it also provides a hm alternative 
With ( tubs parked to their gills, hotels 
can afford to charge over Rs 200 for a 
dip Ot course some shun this fun m 
the sun tor ven r ditfeient reasons 
Model Nidlu Chadha complains, "I 
can't afford the tar. that comes with it 
Untanned skin provides the perfect 
canvas for the current ethereal look of 
make-up. The last thing you want to 
do is fight the elements " The unstated 
message here - -- less make-up means 
skin had better be in bare -able condi- 
tion Which can be hard to pull off as 
things heat up. oil production shifts 
into high gear, perspiration increases, 
pores dilate and become clogged more 
easily Make-up artist Pradipto Nandi 
favours a summer palette of toned- 
down shades, a transparent shrimp 
tone on the mouth, shell pink blusn 
and eyes swept with cool brown 
shadow He laughs at womens' para- 
noia about the sun "Why worry," he 
says "Don't they know Pigs sweat, 
men perspire, women glow " 


Naimtal: The summer retreat 

Given the current rage tor cropped 
tops, shirts hod high on the midriff, 
and low slung shorts, the likelihood of 
having to bear the proverbial 'pale 
white underbelly' has climbed even 
higher of late Men, fortunately for 
them, are not so pre-occupied and 
botheied about customizing their 
colour They'd rathei |ust shade their 
eyes in a pair of Ray-bans. Even the 
advertisement for the glasses seems 
geared toward the Indian summer- - 
'Revel in the sun under the protection 
of Ray-ban sunglasses' I lave your 
day in the sun! Styles in hair also move 
from long to short as an exposed nape 
becomes the buzzword of warmed-up 


social circles 

Illustrating the latest chapter in 
fashion's move toward paring down 
and loosening up, designers otter a 
wide array of novel fakes on a versati- 
le loved-through-the -decades classic, 
the white shirt It's not a collection 
about lines and shapes. It's about atti- 
tude And that attitude is tbmwn- 
logether chic Summer's watchword, 
simplicity, is more apt than ever this 
season as jeans and a t-shirt is whittled 
away to pastels and floi als Hie best 
hot weather lashion forecast follows a 
less- IS' -more strategy, as styles are 
stripped down to bare, sun- 
compatible essentials A« lashion 
model Stuti Chandok says, "Fashion 
should be slap-happ) in summer anJ 
exposed seams is the stufl ot which 
summer is made up." Speaking of 
which no one can ignore summer 
foods 

Watermelons, mangoes, litchies. 
cherries (for the lucky ones), and 


stiawbeiries (tor the M.ihabaleshwar 
returned ones) And lor those who 
can't escape the blitzkrvig ot soil 
drinks advertisers, there's also the 
Pep.-.i and Coke cans, now' launched 
lor the season and trorh avaiblc lur IG 
IS Fancy cocktails and Peach Sn.ipps 
also become favourites of bar -goers as 
anything cold goes But one bit ot dieta- 
ry advice that gets every nutritionists 
approval is loading up on as many 
freshiruitsand vegetablesas possible 
--- thev're low' calorie, low tat and 
packed wnth vitamins, minerals. Mbit 1 
and water And that’s about as easy 
and appealing a recommendation tor 
summer as one i an get ■ 

I H 




NNEREYE 


BEJAN DARUWALLA 


I Aries 

March 21 - April 20 

J— — 1 Jinii* to Opt'll out, be if 

\ iDnifiiHX* or h liana*, says 
Cuinvslui Marts ut vou 
will ho mlo travol, Ira do, 
inmmission, job, business 
ih.ingc oi expansion or 
ovon both Mars, energy, 
anil Uranus, inspiration, both, work lo 
give vou croabvilv. joy. lovo, travel, 
onnlai^and definitely contracts A time 
when you Will win LiurcU 

Taurus 

April 21 — May 20 

"’"j You will wino and dine, 
buv and si'll, possess and 

also shatc, m.iking you 
warm and li»\ able I he 
truk is to dixersify, sow 
j seed*' ol opportunity lor 

-- -■ you i sell and others 

hxiellenl time loi making peai e with old 
enemies C»ood nows awaits yum 
Mealthwise, also, a good and solid week. 
Take time olt Irom work 

Gemini 

May 21 - June 20 

Independent e ol thought 
^ and at turn helps you to w in 
tin- name Mars, now m 
your sign, .iccoidmg lo 
Western dstrologx. makes 
you push\ r hold and 
asst Thee and that's how it 
was meant to he I.iki the initiative, get set 
to win name' and lame anil he happy with 
vourselt This is .1 gr.rnd week to get things 
done last and tunous 


* j 



] Leo 

I July 21 — August 21 

I * — The sweet smell of suet ess 

■ 1 B — and the thrill of enterprise 

will he yours. 1 his is the 
right time to lead 01 even 

! follow a great leadei or be 
| devoted to spiitual affairs 
- 1 You will mix in haloed 
lompanv Rdther rare m our world Love 
! and communication enliven your life This 
| is the time lo get set for travel, trade, eon 
i tacts and contracts 

Virgo 

* August 22 — September 22 

■ r - - — j |\iv atlenlion to the* 

I w ritfen and the spoken 
{ woid And also team lo 
j read between the lines It 
| is absolutely certain that 

your arc heading tor 

■ yutoiv and fame, nothing 
I will stop you Be flexible, haw the 

! common touch It is in yom work and at 
| vour home that nm will show maximum 
! efficiency and artistry 

Libra 

; September 23 — October 22 

f - - *• ~ I Timing, luck and 

| popularity will nde with 
! J Jk IT A j you louinev, ceremony, 
i 1 M f jm \ pilgrimage and publicity 
I j ! should be fulfilling. 

. | I Favours can be asked amt 

' l - - ■ ■ given most happily >ou 

will be ideally suited lor research work or 
| »inv other experiment and data collection 

■ Vm lommumiate with people and go 
j places this week 


Cancer 

June 21 — July 20 

: - • ■ - : You will he reviewing, 

y jjaT l ! revising, pei lecting 
| Wp| I I tec hnic(cies. tiavelling and 
1 very definitely he in .in 
I introspective, soul 
j seal chmg mood I’rogreSi 
l - is c.erlam II you are 

prepaied to change and adapt, the pace 
around you will he truly hectic and you 
might he lorced to hurry your strokes and 
be absolutely ready Ini au\ emergency 


Scorpio 

| October 23 — November 22 
- — -- 1 ike (he Libra ns you too 

j I .lie now ideally suited tor 

| jSSSl pS£ I reseaich, studying anil 

j di*velopment, high final in's 
| or the alie\ latum ol 
! suffering and pain Iry not 
'to feel morbid or 

! depressed Call people over, he cheerful, 

I soc uilise and enlist in a club tor this is the 
; phase* when vou tan afloid lo relax and 
j en|oy yourself 


Sagittarius 

November 23 — December 20 

Any sort of linking 01 
partnership or group 
activity should be ideal. 
Hospitals, museums, zoos 
and prisons could be 
visited for helping others. 

, A chance meeting, a 

! flirtation could have endless possibilities. 

| \ou will be asked to cooperate in your 
| community or cirile or vour friend might 
j ask a favour from you 

j Capricorn 

| December 21 — January 19 
j A financial breakthrough, 

| the lifting of a burden, 

yn W joint bank an ounts legacy 
1 and unexpected money 

arc* important facets ol' tlie 
! ■ppBpMKsqJ week Other salient 
| r ^‘ leatures include romance 

j and passion There could be pleasing 
i changes on the work hontier and you 
j deserve vom good Untune Soon it will he 
1 time lor shilt, move and journey 

Aquarius 

j January 20 — February 18 
; — ~ (rci " tv ■ You 1 adventures will ele 
| | v,lU ‘ vour sjsiril and give 

| iMMBHt I vou line matei ial benefits 
I Cultivate your onginal 
1 flan and humour lo 
i maximum leverage 

! - ' Children and granJchil- 

j dren give joy 1 lobbies, romance and 
1 rrejtivilv bring out flu* veiy hesl in urn 
; You will be appreciated and applauded for 
l your encteavoms 

Pisces 

i February 1 9 — March 20 

Willie the* torus 1 1 strong 
and sweet 011 the home and 
property fronts, you will 
also succeed in n akmg 
inroads in vour job 
profession and business, 

, therefore', go all out for 

i what you want Barents, inlaws, your own 
i society and community could very well 
I need your services and sympathetic 
j understanding 


BIRTHDAYS 


June i 6: New moon, according to Caneaba's claim*, help* 
you tn an enterprise, finding lost things and making a go of 
your marriage. 

June 1 7: Moon trine Uranus is an excellent trine for writers, 
technocrats, inventers, radio and TV talk show hosts. Your life 
will take new directions, 

June IS: Mam trine Uranus signifies energy and ingenuity 
which will lead to success and glory. Your views will veer 
towards home and family, 

June l$f Mercuty trine Saturn helps entr^mteurs, land and 
building constructors, salesmen and astrologers, It is time to 


teach out to .people and places tn every possible way. love will 
also knock on your door. 

June 20: Moon sextile Vfcnus pladngspcaks of love, comfort 
property good things and overall happiness around February, 
April 1997. 

June 21: Moon sun Resettle catapults yoii to feme* name arid,. , 
glory giving you the impetus to go ahead in life. It will be 
easier for you to get things done. 

June 22: Mars Seattle Saturn Is idea) for doctors, politicians, 
leader*, engineer* and professors. Ye*, it will pitch you in the 
limelight of publicity Be daring. 


20 


JUNIOR WHIRL s» HAL KAUFMAN 



SEVEN-UPIThink of a number — any number. 
Double it, add 17, take away three, halve the 
result, and subtract the original amount. 
Alakazam, answer is always seven. 


CORNER KICK! Our floor-painting pal has 
worked himself into a corner. Which of four 
routes leads to the door? 


MATCHUPSIChallen- I'OARI PIPEI 

S e: You are asked to *_ . , . . 

)nn six two-syllable G A I N J K I N 

words from 12 l uir u |c^ /v v 
one-syllable words nlvrl [O A T 

£» h£d 'POST JWAV 

column are to precede *0 AG IL-OCK 

words in ri^ht-hand k U 

column in answers. PUMP 1 AG E 

One way to proceed is to begin with first word at top 
left, find a compatible word at right and draw a line to it. 
Move on to second word, etc. 

See how quickly you can make the six matchups. 
Time limit: two minutes. 

iipfduirifj y jdidSvfi s tAeMijUiH £ Anuir') ZYKH-^O 1 



QUICK ON THE DRAW 
UNDER PRESSURE? 

LET'S see if you have your 
wits about you under a great 
deal of pressure. Suppose you 
are the young man at left who 
hopes to avoid being clawed by 
an obviously free-to-roam lion. 

What can you do with an 
object at hand — an object in the 
picture — that will keep the beast 
in its place? 

Think fast, and not too hard. 


ailu jo sn*q uuuj 

O) |Op oj i»p A||e»jMA uuij MRjp «>| |LHi.id «n Xjduntj 


STRING TRIOI If the sum of 
three consecutive numbers is 
63, what are the numbers? 

qmi-Ahwmi 

pun «uo-A|uomi an anqumN 

































1 




I'M GOING TO STAY ) i 

UP AND READ , 

AWHILE r-x^; 


T1 


A i 


BKZDEAMybUfltS*-**- ^TAM rDRAK^ 


|>v: 




DOGGONE IT* NOW I 
HAVE TO 60 OOWN 
AND SET ANOTHER 
BULB OR I WONT 

BE able to finish 

MY BOOK... 


NOT ONCE HAVE I 
EVER CHANGED A_ 
FRIDGE BULB. 1 I CONTI 
UNDERSTAND 
WHY SOME BULBS 
BURN OUT AND 
SOME DON'T/ 


UH-OH.' I THINK I'M 
EATING THE SAUSAGE 
0LONOIE TOLD 
ME NOT TO TOUCH.' „ 
WHY DO l ALWAYS J 
FORGET < 
EVERYTHING?. 1 


V 


* % 


ill 


# 




* it: .ViAi .. 




BON VOYAGE 


Dipti Dave visits the ancient port town of Beypore, a 
ship-building centre since the 14th century 


I t all started when Chorraman 
Penpal went to Mecca in the 
14th century While he was busy 
embracing Islam, the Arabs fell 
in love with his dhow The simple 
et attractive ship carved out of 
t town t 
:ame every 


Sjilambur teak at the port town of 


le porl 

Beypore near Calicut nee 
Aran’s 


» dream btiat Though Perumal 
has long been lost in the pages ot 
history nooks, Beypore is a "must 
stop" for every sea -loving Arab 
This ancient port has been 
carving custom-made luxury boats, 
fishing boats, cargo ships and just 
about anything on water foi the 
sheikhs m>m the United Arab 
Emirates, Kuwait, Katar, Bahrain 
and Oman who often sail here either 
to order or repair their ships Word 
has also spread as tar as Germany, 
japan and America 

A former lapanese ship captain 
and author of a book on Similarities 
ot Indian and I a pane* * culture', 
Akira Iwata, visited Beypore in 1991 
with a unique request Representing 



A partly constructed ship tying at Beyport 


BONSAI VERSIONS 

Mohammed Bashir makes the most exquisite ships — in miniature 


Tk Jf ohammed Basheer is a busy 
JLVJjtnan. What started off as a 
hobby in between working hours in 
a ship-building yard at Beypore, is 
now a full-time occupation for this 
carpenter- turned -entrepreneur. 

Owner of MKMTbys, which 
makes model boats, uru in bottles, 
kottrya, bine, sambook, including 


I caters only to the 
da. With help 


-din 


market in West Asia, 
from local youths, emp„ , 

Dubai and Saudi Arabia,! 
list is never empty. In tact, 
merchants visiting Beypore never 
miss a- stop -to his workshop and . 



■ bagged his first contract 
from a firmin Bahrain to 1986 and 
since then orders have poured in . 


MocWboatsoldby 
from private trading hous^s in 
Saudi Arabia and soom'tourist firms 
in West Asia. 

With keel lengths ffom sdx 
inches to six feet, theboats cost 
between Rs 250 and Rs7,000. The 
wood comes from wasteteakwood " 
used in bigger d$!>s which to , v . 


bought at scrap value. The smaller ; 
models take about a day or two to - 
'finish while the more intriguing 
Sones— miniatures in whiskey 
bottles — can take about a week. 
"This involves complex 
craftsmanship and patience," says 
Mohammed's brother-in-law, a - *■ 
partner in the business. Hence its 
price tagis aiso higher from Rs 200 
to Ss SOD a piece. 

Reluctant to disclose the 



made ml „ . -- 

to ptdiifasmgh * hot dr opehis# . 


26 




an association for restoration of the 
Sumerian ship, he was convinced 
that the ancient ship was built here 
about 4,000 years ago and wanted a 
replica of the ship based on the 
specifications deciphered from a 
Mesopotamian tablet excavated 
some years ago. 

According to a proposal placed 
before Abdul Gaffur, a dheno builder 
and exporter, the Japanese wanted 
him to build a 120 GUR (252 litre) 
Sumerian ship thus proving the 
existence of trie "ocean silk road" 
scientifically with a voyage on the 
restored ship According to his plan, 
his voyage was to begin from CTalicut 
and end in Tokyo via Basrah, 

Karachi, back to Calicut, Singapore 
and then to Tokyo. 

However, he had to reschedule 
his programme because of rough 
weather at Basrah and proceeded 
directly to Tokyo. The snip, built 
according to specifications in the 
tablet, which stated that no iron nails 
were to be used and instead coir 
threads were stitched to hold the 
boards together, met with an 
accident near Osaka. For a whole 



A dhow being crafted for a German client 


20 to 25 carpenters work on a shin, 
which was earlier made of Nilambur 
teak (now extinct). Bey pore ships, 
which are not mass produced, come 
only with sails and masts and the 
Arabs later motorise them, including 
addition of such extras as interior 
decoration in Dubai. 

Most of them order luxury 
vessels for going on a cruise with 
family and friends during weekends. 
"In fact," says Gaffur, showing an 


made in and around Bey pore. A 
number of lodges are also available 
for the Arab merchants who come 
shopping toi boats. 

B ut in the past few years this 
small-scale industry has been 
facing rough weather Says Gaffur, 
"Orders are few and far between 
now." Like all things else one can 
blame it on mindless modernisation 
For one, the Nilambur teak. 


day, the crew floated in the ocean advertisement in a local Malyalani 

holding on to the upturned ship. newspaper, "a resort in Cochin is 

"Thev were rescued the next day planning lo offer cruises in one of 

and the ship js now exhibited in one the ships which we built tor a 

of the islands in Japan," says Gaffur. merchant from Dubai." 

A bOO-tonne ship costs about Rs 1 Bey pore has a majority of 

crore while small fishing boats work Muslims with a large mosque 
out to about Rs 10 lakh each. The dominating the landscape Most 

ship builders mainly make the basic shops along the sandy path deal in 
structure of the ship, which takes ship-building products like anchors, 

about two years to complete. About iron nails and sails, all of which are 



considered one of the best bv the 
Arabs, is no longer grown. ''The 
British had started Nilambur 
plantations in the Malabars in 1800, 
nut now it is difficult to find even a 
single tree," says Gaffur 

About 40 to 50 feet of teak is 
required for the keel of a ship and 
transporting it is a major problem. 
Now, kariinarudu wood, found in 
the Wynad torest, is used instead 
Since the wood is also available in 
Malaysia, the Arabs import it 
directly and are making their own 
ships with the carpenters brought 
from Beypore. Moreover, since the 
wood has to land via Mangalore, 
most ot the ship building activity 
has shifted to tne port city of 
Karnataka. 

The exodus of good carpenters to 
West Asia, where they are paid 
more, coupled with greater demand 
for fishing boats made of fibre glass 
has added to the woes of the 
builders. The fact that the industry is 
faring a lean season, which is from 
September to May, is evident from 
the half-finished to just started ships 
covered with dried palm leaves 
resembling remnants of some 
forgotten civilisation. 

But who knows when another 
Japanese may turn up with an 
unusual request, or even an 
American in search of a replica of 
the Noah's Ark. And then, the 
builders of Beypore may be in 
business again. ■ 



CARRYING A TUNE 


Is what Hariharan does best. Sudha G. Tilak profiles the singer, whose 
new album, Colonial Cousins, is doing great business 


C olonial Cousins , you say 
pounds more like* a white 
tramp tag for a couple of 
Indians. But instead of 
taking offence, Hariharan merely 
chuckles good-humouredly. But 
then, he can afford to laugh; in fact. 


such has been the success of this 
album that Hariharan can laugh all 
the way to the bank. 

Colonial Cousins , touted as the 
"first ever Indian pop album" was 
released in April and has already 
crossed 65,000 copies in sales so far 


and is expected to do even more 
business m the months to come. 

And, clarifies Hariharan, "There's 
nothing gimmicky about the name. 
It's just to signal a moving away 
from the norms." 

The fact that the album was 
destined for success was apparent 
even when it was being recorded by 
Hariharan and Leslie Lewis at 
Manor Studio in London. All those 
dropping in at the studio— -and this 
apparently included several big 
names of the music world — were so 
carried away by the beauty of the 
music they were listening to that 
the> decided to pitch in ^tor this new 
sound and different kind of music", 
as Madhav Das, genei al manager of 
Magnasound. south, puts it 

Grammy winner Vishwa Mohan 
Bhatt, Vernon Reid and Doug 
Wimbish of Living Colour, Skip 
McDonald, Talvm Singh, Sipra Bose 
and Najma Akhtar. all of wnom were 
there at Manor Studio in London, 
contributed to give the album a 
universal colour. And the 
atmosphere at Manor Studio helped. 
As Hariharan says, with a hint of 

f >ride, "That's the place where F.lton 
ohn and Paul McCartney recorded 
their albums " 

Ghazal singer and currently a 
favourite of the film playback 
industry, Hariharan says the album 
was bom of an "unplugged concert" 
close to midnight at a recording 
studio in Bombay Leslie Lewis was 
composing the music for an 
advertisement jingle which 
Hariharan was to sing. During a 
break that went on for too long, 
Leslie, to alleviate the boredom, 
began to try on a bit of jazz and 
blues and Hariharan joined in, 
humming a sargam and pitching in 
with a taal Break over, the hangers- 
on clapped and went back to work. 

But the experience stuck with the 
two musicians. Keen to replicate the 
sound they had created, the two 
came and together decided to 
compose the lyrics, set the music and 
sing together. The album has 
numbers that mix English lyrics with 
Indian classical notes. The songs 


Hariharan: A voice that is all honey and velvet 



28 



Posing with Leslie Lewis for the album Colonial Cousins 


deal with such subjects as religion j 
and Iriendship ana rely on such 
diverse musical influences as the I 
blues and Rajasthani folk tunes 

C olonial Cousins is a bit of a 

surprise coming from Hariharan 
who for the last one decade has been 
better known as a ghazal singer, fie 
was included in the World Archives 
of Music, when his ghazal album, 

Aab Shaar-e-Ghazal attained gold 
status. And this year, his album, 
Gulfam, won him the Best Album of 
the Year Award. What's more, he has 
a firm grounding in Carnatic music 
and is a Tamilian to boot. ,r He has 
broken the taboo that a south Indian 
can excel in north Indian classical 
music too," says playback singer S.P 
Balasubramamam . 

Hariharan is too modest to admit 
it, but at 40 he has come into his 
own with mass recognition for his 


film songs like Tu hi re from Bombay, 
Hai rawa from Rangeela, which have 
turned out to be cnartbuslers. "Life", 
he chuckles, "begins at 40". Actually 
with a bit pf pancake and lighting 
Hariharan could well be the ideal 
do-gooder elder brother in the Tamil 
movie. That is, of course, if he got 
rid of the ponytail that he has bevn 
sporting of late. 

A. science graduate who later 
picked up a degree m law ("You are 
expected to pick a couple of degrees 
in the south, ' he says) he decided to 
make music his profession. True to 
his roots in Tamil Nadu he had in his 
boyhood days been tutored in 
Carnatic music by hisjparents. 
classical vocalists of Thanjavur and 
TirunelveJi. Moving to Bombay the 
NRT (Non Resident Tamil) got to 
listen to an LJ* of Ustad Mustafa 
Khan and overcome by the beauty of 
the music began learning I lindustani 


music. 

The next milestone was ghazals, 
thanks to an earful of Mehdi Hasan. 
In 1980 he released his first album 
Ghazal ka Mausam . Hariharan got to 
prove a point this way: that 
'Madrasis' don't sing with an aiyaiyo 
accent. He worked hard on 
perfecting his Urdu diction and 
unlearning his Carnatic influence 
while singing Hindustani. 

Hariharan's ghazals at their best 
are a package of soulful music, 
drowsy dreams over lost love, with a 
strong streak of romanticism "The 
fusion is not m my music but in me 
for I have got all streams ol music 
into me," says 1 lariharan. 

Bill despite the training in 
various genres of music and being 
gifted with a voice that’s all honey 
and velvet, populai adulation 
evades! Hanharan "That came with 
A R Rahman", he acknowledges, 
sitting in Rahman s Panchalhju 
Recording Inn at Madras 

Despite popular songs in Lonthc 
or Boxer and hrving worked with 
Naush.id, Salil Choudbtiry, 
Hariharan wasn't accepted by the 
1 fmdi film industry It made it 
difficult tor those who wanted to 
typecast hipi as either a ghazal 
singer or a Tamil trying a different 
kind of musu' or a classically bent 
film singer. 

"My contribution is that I have 
avoided the claustrophobia that 
comes with being slotted in a 
particular kind of music and made 
my mark in whichever genre 1 have 
been involved with'', says Hariharan. 
So a Colonial Cousins which has him 
switching with ease irom Carnatic to 
Hindustani and to English vocals is 
just an extension of a long innings in 
the music business Backstage at his 
home in Bombay, which he shares 
with his wito and two sons, 
Hanharan flips tor action flicks, 
hangs around in shorts and tries his 
best not to miss his morning riyair 
"I just love- to do all kinds ol thing*'", 
he says He might like to give an uv 
cream a skip to save his voice from 
thickening, out he can't give up a 
spicy Tamil diet of sambar or 
kozahantbu. 

Having finally come into his own 
after frustrating years of having his 
talent go unappreciated, I lariharan 
isn’t going away in a hurry. There is 
a quiet confidence that is evident 
about him now. But, for the rest, he’s 
pretty much the same. Quiet 
manners, friendly laughter, 
completely unaffected, but easy and 
stylish. And like his music: soothing, 
mellow and romantic. ■ 


29 



First 


person 


■a : 






Ahot cupof tea after a job wett 

,ytea^ fe *j^ ^ .•' • 

twgtoi Of pAtrktfrteov 
Wboorwluth^b^tnthe g g ca i t i l 




What Is your 
favourite dream? 


Playing a perfect 
cover-drive 


fatfbme in yon life? 

My family. 

What do you dl.Uk* aunt in 

Cynidsm. 

What do you dialtke moat in 
ymowlO • * 

Luanem. . * 

What it your moat predoo* 


My children. 

What objects do you alwaya 
cany? 

My typewriter and my trade 
•uit 

What makes yoe moat depreseed? , 
Narrow-oundedifees. 

What do you dislike moat on yow 
appearance? 

Too many thing* to choose 
firDm* 

What is yont fa vo urite word? 
Amazing. 

What ia yoeur fa eo nrit e tourney? 

Dehra DravMuasoorie. . 

What isyoui favourite dream? 
Playing a perfect cover-drive. 


What is your 
greatest regret? 


Being bom about 
50 years too late 


ttewrdo ywt phd ,• 


muS ^lu 'ii'inj I t) min 

^TKeabiJityto utUifietntte well. 
Qknrp«u«|Mliket>:hi .. 




30 






tr - * 


m'. 


U‘>: 


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?3 JUflE 10B8« 


The Telegraph 



Siddhartha Basu: The friendly quiz master 


Over to the 
Quiz Master 

■ It was simply delight- 
ful to have a cover story 
profiting the handsome 
quiz master, Siddhartha 
Basu, ('Quizzically Yours', 
May 5). 

Quizzing has become a 
popular form of entertain* 
merit where the partici- 
pants range from young 
school kids to college stu- 
dents and adults. 
Quizzing is a nice way of 
keeping oneself alert 
about current affairs. It's 
also a good way of testing 
one's level of intelligence. 
Nirmalcndu Chakraborty, 
Cooch B char 

tit Thank you for the 
cover story on our 
favourite television per- 
sonality, Siddhartha Basu. 
His good looks, coupled 
with his serious image, 
have made him a cult fig- 
ure of sorts. 

As quizzing adds to 
one's knowledge, it 
should be introduced as a 
compulsory subject in 
schools. 

Manohar Mandat, 

Nabadwip (W.B. 

V Quiz contests have 
become so popular 
because general knowl- 
edge is very important for 
excelling anywhere; be it 


in schools/ colleges or in 
competitive examinations. 
Debanjan Banerfee, 

Calcutta 

■ One quiz master who 


became very popular in 
the Eighties was Bhaskar 
Bhattachanee whose rival- 
ry with Siddhartha Basu 
is well known. He had a 
good voice and diction 


and was also the English 
news reader on the 
National Network. But he 
faded out of the scene in 
no time leaving the world 
of quizzing to the one end 
only Siddhartha Basu. 
Dyuthnan Bhmttachmrya, • 
Buxarah (Howrah) 


■ The best thing about 
Siddhartha Basu is the 
confidence with which he 
conducts the programmes. 
His success is purely due 
to he research he and his 
team undertakes. 

There can be various 
opinions about one partic- 
ular question. But the 
Credibility of the quiz 
master lies in giving the 
correct or most correct 
answer; for which 
research is necessary. 
Prmfulla Sinba, 

Patna 

■ With quizzing becom- 
ing a regular feature on 
die social circuit and 
most lavishly promoted 
by dubs and other estab- 
lishments, it has become 
die favourite pastime of 
students. 

In fact, some of them 
are seen reading more of 
quiz books than their 
school text books. 

Aren't studies more 
important than quizzes? 
Soman Barman, 

Calcutta 



PAGE 4 

SUBHALAKSHM1 KHAN, wife of san»d mae- 
stro, Arnjad Ali Khan, is more than just a house- 
wife ana mother; she's an artiste* by her own 
right. A profile. 

PAGE 26 


SECTIONS 


16 TIME TABLE 

20 INNER EYE 

21 JUNIOR WHIRL 

22 COMICS 
26 FILMS 

30 FIRST PERSON 


KABIR BEDI is back in action in Sandokan's 
Triumph 


The Khan family 









Suhlralakshm i, the wife of sarod 
maestro Ustacl Amjad Ali Khan , isn t 
just a perfect home-maker and ideal 
uHfe. She's also an artiste in her own 
right, reports ManisHa Gulatt 



"DOMO ARIGOTO UDAI MAS- & 
ta. Ami ki bolbo. Madras | 
vande renda aradha veedi 


madyri. Afeete sen. Nice to 
see you. Hindi to apko pata 

hai.' 

Meet Subhalakshmi 
Khan in five different 
languages. A perfect welco- 
me by our perfect hostess 
for the day. But then, Sub- 
halakshmi, spouse of the 
sarod maestro, Ustad 
Ainjad Ali Khan, is full of 
surprises. A dancer, a cultu- 
ral ambassador of India, 
and now a linguist. 

Treading warily you 
step into the breathtaking- 
ly beautiful interior of the \ 
Khan homestead. Every » 
hand-picked piece brea- 
thes exclusivity, and you're 
almost afraid to sit down 
for fear that you might 
knock one down carelessly. 

A white marble staircase 
leads up to* the bedrooms 
from the colour co- 
ordinated drawing room. 

A split-level house, the 
wooden library and teach- 
ing room are situated in the 
basement. 

Over chilled glasses of 
mango milk shake and 
Bengali mishti, Subhalaksh- 
mi Khan, looking radiant 
and fresh, opens her heart 
out about her life as an arti- 
ste, as an artiste's wife and 

Subhalakahml with AmjadAR Khan: 




well respected. 1 started learning Mani- 
puri dancing with the maharaja's 
daughter." 

Her family shifted out of Assam for 
reasons of the children's education. 
Subhalakshmi also travelled all over 
the country for holidays and later on 
to perform. Not too keen on studies 
and school, she dropped out alter her 
tenth class and that's when she could 
devote all her time and energies to 
dance. In 1955 she met Rukmini Devi 
Arundale at a dance drama. Watching 
her perform, Subhalakshmi made up 
her mind that that particular form of 
dancing was the one she wanted to 
learn. And so the transition from Mani- 
puri to Bharatnatyam took place. And 
Subhalakshmi started learning under 
Rukminj Devi at the internationally 
famous Kalakshetra Institute. 


Their wedding: It was love at first sight 

as a mother of two artistes. 

"What can people want to know 
about me? 1 am such a simple person, 
what is there to tell?" is her very mod- 
est beginning. Right, why would 
people want to know more about cele- 
brities. She laughs, looking 15 years 
younger than the 50 that she is. 

Subhlakshmi started her career as a 
dancer at the age of eight. Bom in a 
family of music lovers in Assam, she 
was exposed to the arts at a very 
young age Her father, Parshu 
Bo roo ah, left his home and 
parents because they 

Revelling 
in her 
role as 
gurupatni 


for Amjad Ali Khan 

didn't approve of his inte- 
rest in music. But the major influenc- 
ing factor in her life was tier father* s 
brother, P.C. Borooah. He was the first 
to script Assamese music and also 
encourage her to learn dancing. 

The Maharaja of Manipur was a 
good friend of her father and he guid- 
ed her, under Guru Rashibari Sharma 
to learn Mampuri dancing. "There 
was also nothing to do in the evening 
after we came back home from school. 
We had so much time on our hands, 
my sisters and I decided to take up 
dancing. And 1 continued it and 
took it up more seriously. In 


F ate seems to have played a part in 
her decision because it is through 
her dance that she was to finally meet 
the man she married. Performing in 
Calcutta in the year 1^74, she wasn't 
even aware that the young Amjad Ali 
Khan was in the audience. Soon after 
that the two were to meet at a common 
friend's house. And then it was a spate 
of intermittent dating and coinciden- 
tal meetings for almost two years. 

In January 1976, the two performed 
together on stage in Guwahati, and 
made magic But for Subhalakshmi it 
was a slow kindling of fire. On the 
other hand, Khan Saab, as she calls 
him, was smitten from 



6 






Subhalakshmi, Amjad All Khan and their two sons with Prince Charles 



Subhalakahmi and Amtad All Khan at a functkwi: The happy couple 



The Khan couple with Hariprasad Chaurasla 


She confesses, "I could never 
believe that such a well-known person 
could fall in love with me. When 
people used to tell me that Khan Saab 
keeps coming to see your performan- 
ces and it's a big thing, 1 didn I even 
take it seriously. Afterwards when he 
started calling me up from Delhi to tell 
me how he frit I realised. But even 
then 1 didn't say yes immediately. 1 

told him I needed time to think/' 

And think Subhalakshmi did. For a 
good six months. During which time 
she was plagued with telephone calls 
from people she scarcely knew or did- 
n't know at all. Calls that were meant 
to ward her off Khan Saab. But rebel 
that she is, the more people spoke 
against him, the more her desire and 
determination rose. Until she finally 
accepted his offer of marriage 
Till today, though, Subhalakshmi 
remains (he individualistic woman m 
command. She knows her mind and 
she plays according to her rules. "I'll 
accept Khan Saab's views if he is tell- 
ing me something different to what I 
believe, but he has to convince me it's 
right. 1 have my principles and 1 stick 
by therm." Which doesn't go to say (hat 
Khan Saab doesn't have the last word 
in most matters at home. "But I need 
to express my opinions and have my 
questions answered . " 

A typical day at the Khan house- 
hold begins at 6:30 am. "I am lucky 
that Khan Saab doesn't insist on me 
waking up before him. Sometimes 1 
wake up to the sound of him playing 





The smile that charmed the sarod maestro 


the sarod. It's a beautiful feeling. And 
then we have tea together. Even if 
Khan Saab has had a cup before me, 
he'll always have another with me. 
That's a must. It's these small ways in 
which he makes me feel very special." 

After that it's the constant ringing of 
the telephone and people, people, 
people. "He tells me to answer most of 
nis calls and take the messages. People 
must be thinking the wife always 
picks up the phone. But I manage all 
nis affairs and trip arrangements, con* 
certs, meetings." 

And doc^fi good job of it, too. A 
very organised person, Subhalakshmi 
likes to nave every thine just pat. 
Always with a diary inner hand for all 
the do's and dont's for the day, she is a 
stickler for detail. Going by tne decor 
in the house one can be assured about 
that. Nothing is where it shouldn't be 
and a broken candle in a crystal candle- 
stand is giving her that familiar 
uncomfortable feeling. "I've joined it 
but 1 know I'm going to change it. I'm 
a perfectionist." 

The menu for the day is planned, so 
all that's left is the running after the ser- 
vants for the upkeep of the house. 
After a life ot dance, spent under the 
limelight, doesn't the thought of a rou- 
tine scare and suffocate her? "The deci- 
sion to leave dancing was totally my 
own. 1 am a conventional person with 
strong family values You can't have 
two people so involved ./ith their car- 
eer tnat there is no one to look after the 
needs of the family." 

Was the derision coloured by the 
fact that Khan Saab is a big star and 
needed her support at home? 

"It is not a question of being a star," 
she says. "If you love someone you do 
certain things because you want to for 
that person. It is not a sacrifice. So 
many housewives give up their career 
after marriage because they want to 
look after their husbands and 
children " 

O ne can't fault her for her decision. 

Their two sons, 18- year-old 
Ainaan and lb-year-old Ayaan are 
extremely well-mannered boys with 
no pretentions and strong values that 
can teach one a thing or two about 
family, discipline and respect (And 
very handsome to boot — well, what 
do you expect with that kind of 
lineage ) 

"It's a great feeling to see how my 
boys have turned out," say., the proud 
mother. "Even if they fight with me 
they always come back later to tell me 
that they are sorry. They respect me 
and they are not spoilt or ill- 


mannered. 1 always teach them to live 
in a balanced way. There are cars aim- 
ing out in the market everyday Today 
if they have a Maruti 1000, tomorrow 
they'll want something better that's 
available 1 tell them whatever car you 
have it is g<x>d enough to take you 
from one place to another They listen 
to what I say." 

Both boys are also extremely talent- 
ed and have at this early age achieved 
star status They've performed with 


Amjad Ali Khan on the sarod at seve- 
ral concerts. A lesser-known fact 
about the boys is Ayaan's painting skil- 
ls. He is sheer magic with a paint 
brush The walls of the house are deco- 
rated with his masterpieces — Ganesh 
in every inconceivable form: as a billi- 
ards player, as Charlie Chaplin, as 
Akbar 1 ne Great, smoking a pipe, per- 
forming on the sarod, eating ladoos. 

Obviously the boys have no qualms 
about religion and its various forms. 




even though their parents belong to 
different faiths. "We respect all relig- 
ions and celebrate all occasions," says 
Subhalakshmi. "Khan Saab and I are 
not rigid people." So much so, that she 
did not feel tne need to convert to 
Islam when she married a Muslim 

But talk about possessivcness and 
Subhalakshmi's eyes start sparking. 
"I'm a typical Cancerian. 1 love intense- 
ly and very possessively. But trust is 
the biggest thing in marriage. Khan 
Saab travels so much and meets so 
many people I can be jealous and sus- 
picious But l always tell him, if there 
is something you tell me first. I don't 
want to hear it from other people And 
people are always talking. 1 just tell 
them to keep quiet " 

Does he react in the same manner? 
Laughing loudly she replies, "I don't 
know He's a l.ibran and very balan- 
ced It there is a party that we are invit- 
ed to and he's not in town and I ask 
him it 1 should go, he'll say, 'turn dekh 
Id 1 le trusts me and lets me make my 
own decisions " 

For the long trips though, she and 
the boys both join him, making it 
business-cuni-pleasure "It’s expen- 
si vo but then he likes to have us with 
him " At this point a very polite serv- 
ant enters and she rattles oft some 
instructions to him in Bengali. "When 
Khan Saab isn't here 1 get al 1 the pend- 
ing housework done like painting and 
lumbing fobs " The perfect 
omcmaker 

So, what is the one thing that is not 
so perfect about her? 

"Oh, I have a lousy temper," she 
laughs. "It blows up to the sky but 
when someone talks to me and makes 
things okay, it immediately cools off 
Like a bubble. I keep telling Khan Saab 
neither of us is normal. We both have 
these artistic temperaments." And 
now with four artistes in the house 
plus several more when teaching is on, 
it must be a very volatile atmosphere. 

How strongly does the concept of 
' Guru Patni ' apply to her? 

"Very strongly. KhanSaab's stu- 
dents call me 'Did/' or 'Mu' and many 
of them come to talk to me about their 
problems Even when Khan Saab and 
the boys are sitting together and talk- 
ing and I enter the room and ask them 
what the matter is they tell me and say 
you tell us what to do. I give them a 
solution and they always listen and 
take my advice " 

Subnalakshmi and Amjad Ali Khan 
have always been referred to as the cul- 
tural ambassadors of India. "When 
Khan Saab and 1 go abroad it is not 
only for his performances but also 


Girija Devi blesses the couple 

when we meet people we reflect the 
culture of our country in our beha- 
viour, our speech and our views," she 
says. "Ido perform with Khan Saab 
occasionally if it is a charitable func- 
tion. I guess that's how the name, cul- 
tural ambassadors comes about." 

So, how does she feel about Sushmi- 
ta Sen getting the same tag? "Probably 
Sushmita and Aishwarya both reflect 
the culture of our country," is her 
diplomatic response. 


)ust then the telephone rings Meet- 
ings for the day and the next .ire being 
fixed up It's time to make a graceful 
exit. Subhalakshmi laughingly claims, 
"I don't know what you are going to 
write, but I will probably be in the US 
when it comes out so 1 don't know 
how people will react " 

7’he words of an American artist 
come to mind, 'Art is the only way to 
run away without leaving home'. ■ 



ocus 

ROAD BLOCK 


Calcutta's chaotic traffic has Nari Kripalani up in arms 


T lhis nitiJuniuyjn ' s mobile 1 

^jrjiivvhcm must make most 
min rrui3 See the 
i mpt >ssible vehicu lar 
assortment juxtaposed with various 
Tmrig nealOTes, a veritable* Noah's 
Ark ot moving bodies and 
contraptions 

You start with the two-legged 
varietv. the ubii|iiitous sell- 
propelling pedestrain (call it f'KT 
Personal Rapid Transit), then come 
bicycles, rickshaws carts, carriages 
(drawn by horses, mules, bulls, 
donkeys, perhaps even liv camels 
and elephants), t\\ n-wheolei s, 
three-wheelers (autos, tempos), 
taxicabs, trucks, buses, goats, 
donkeys, sheep, horses, ptgs, 
chickens phis hears, monkeys, 
geese, ducks cals, dogs, rats, 
squirrels, bandicoots, serpents and 


: a motley collection of birds and 
i insects, and ot course, mcn-at-work 
| and equipment from the electric, 

: telecom, metro-rail, tram, road 
repair departments, etc (Despite 
this exhaustive list, some exotic life 
toxins might have been missed ) 
The frenetic and unruly drivers, 
riders, pullers, pilots' ot Calcutta 
are a bleed opart They have learnt 
the hard way, that only the gutsy, 
the congenitally aggressive can get 
ahead in the city's norrend ous. 

Ira flic jams 1 

As you know, 'offence is the 
best form ot defence, and Lhe only 
wav to advance in Calcutta is by 
sheer, cussed. Offensive Mobility 
(OM in short) Good manners, 
abiding by the law and common 
road courtesy and decency are 
thrown to the winds just so you can 


put one fool (or one wheel) 
forward. 

The following 10 
commandments ot Offensive 
Mobility arc* prescribed for the 
different categories to ensure that 
their capabilities arc well-honed. 

The pedestrian 

Y ou are the king, so please hog 
the roads, the tootpaflis, the 
streets, the* lanes, m fact, any 
walkable space More power to 
PRT The pedestrian must have the 
right of way, and while crossing, any 
road at any point, indulge m your 
death wish of ending your life as a 
traffic cop with your hand blatantly 
raised to oncoming and perhaps, 
unstoppable traffic ordering it (like 
King Canute \"ilh the waves) to 


Caught in the jam: A school girl, impatient after a long wait, looks out of the window of her car 



0 


stop 

If in tho bargain you arc maimed, 
in|urod or simply run over, well, 
that's the surest one-way ticket to 
your creator Onward brave soldier, 
sav a prayer and move on, as one 
false step and it's curtains for you. 

Rickshaws and hand carts 

You guys are a bunch of militant 
maniacs, to say the least, with no 
sense of direction or road manners 
Continue to push /pull forward — 
squeeze through any nook, crevice 
and opening and prolong Calcutta's 
anachronistic anomalies, the* 
rukshaw/ hand cart should have 
been junked long ago— but what the 
hell! 

Bicvcles/cvcle-rickshaws 

Being the poor man's transport 
how can we possibly deny you your 
place m the sun 01 the rain, day in 
and day out 7 Lise your power every 
' huh wav \ou can anu go forth 

Two-wheelcrs of all kinds 

Whv do vou always want In 
move up m lronl, snaking in and out 
ol traffic so senselessly 7 but since 
Vi »ii fellas are a bunch of 
mouslai hioed toughies continue 
voui one- step-ahead- manship and 
mcrnlv pioieed, despite danger to 
life and limb 

Autorickshaws, taxis,minibuses 
You break e\erv traffic rule every 
day and get away with it Your 
astonishing insouciance and devil- 
mav i are allitude are just the right 
ingredients tor moving forward in 
ilu it v 

Where m the w'orld do you have 
vein* les stop anywhere in tne 
middle of the road in anv crowded 
intersection to load /unload 
passengers or cargo? You minibus 
pilots’, why do you drive with such 
hysterical frenzy treating every turn 
in the load as the last Jap of the Indy 
5 l UP \ou sure know how to charge 
into the valleys ol death every 
minute without respite. 

The problem is that we foolish 
CakutLans, with our naive 
masochism and innocent streak for 
identifying with the underdog 
(including hyenas, jackals, wild 
dogs, wolves, pariahs and the like) 
bear your shenanigans with 
unmitigated indulgence. Keep up 
the BAD’ work You guys are 
doing fine. 

Trucks and buses 

With you smoke-spewing, 
polluting, ramshackle, antiquated 



The authorities still cannot decide whether to preserve or terminate trams 


behemoths huitlmg down Calcutta's 
mean thoroughfares, small wonder 
so many denizens are despatched to 
that kingdom m the sky every day, 
thanks to your 'killer' instinct 

Cars 

The utter Jack of common civility, 
the culture of dog eat dog, dog run 
over dog, is evident everywhere 
There is fire in the motorists' eyes, a 
certain burning desire to proceed by 
any means, against all odds, all the 
time ready to brave the moving 
multitudes, some psychopathic 
pronencss for jockeying into 
positions of advancement on the 


byways and highways of the city, 
oblivious to the obvious dangers, 
giving no change to the other driver 
lo move forward 

Perhaps, this is your idea of one- 
up-mansnip, a free-tor-all condition, 
even though in the insane crush ail 
you save are perhaps only a few, 
worthless seconds in the face of 
possible injury or death Well, if you 
gotta go, you gotta go 

Trains 

You have been reduced to the 
status of pitiable, forlorn destitutes 
with the powers that be unable to 
decide whether they should preserve 



Chowrmghee: Forever witnessing a traffic bottleneck 


or terminate yon. Seeing you 
sometimes brings tears to one's eyes, 
remembering nostalgically when 
your gleaming beauty was the pride 
of Asia But vvno knows there may 
be a metamorphosis soon The 
venerable hulk will be transformed 
into a wondrous light- rail car. Cheer 
up, there is still hope lor you. 

The political/executive 
heavyweights 

W hy when the dictatorship of 

the proletariat must prevail, do 
you need to shut down every street 
and road when you pass 0 If 
empathising, sympathising, and 
participating with the public is the 
sunmiutn binmtn of your ideology, 
why do you have to cleanse' the 
roadways when you drive by? You 
should ne reminded that in many 
socialistic countries even prime 
ministers ride to work on bicycles, 
mingling with the crowds 
Perhaps, all of you dreamt 
dreams of being generalissimos and 
commisars, god spins ot all you 

12 


survey. If you want to look like road- 
struck. tin-pot dictators with your 
cavalcades of |eeps, cars, 
ambulances, whizzing past us, flags 
aflutteruig, what you must do is get 
some flashy gill -buttoned, 
epauletted uniforms from Soviet- 
surplus marts for a song and strut 
around the city in full gear with 
richly caparisoned flunkeys. 

Don't worry, il ever)’ time you 
lush by you create unnecessary 
resentment and hostility against you 
in the hapless waiting public. Please 
remember, Calcutta needs 15 per 
cent of pavement but has only about 
six per eent and your path-clearing 
reduces av ulable road space to 
about three per cent as you breeze 
past with your screaming sirens The 
Geriatric Brigade rides forth in 
blazing glory 

The traffic police 

You arbiters of our transit 
destiny, you have to be pampered 
and cajoled; you have to be 
preserved well as you are an 
endangered species. 


You suffer from ennui, totally 
burnt-out, placed as you are above 
(and beyond the reach) of the law, 
you can have your cake and eat it 
too. You constantly do the 
disappearing act from traffic jams 
and mix-ups, hold up traffic while 
you chatter with your buddies 
j chewing man and/or khaim You 
allow indiscriminate jay walking and 
speeding and look for duck ponds' 
where inevitably you will make your 
daily assigned quota of tines with 
the least effort 

You poor scrawny blokes, 
constantly facing those wayward 
juggernauts that zoom about you 
front all sides, you indeed are 
sangfroid personified Believe it or 
not, your fives are protected by the 
mothers from the crushing jaws of 
death on the streets. Here, however, 
are a few commonsense tips to 
j relieve some of the recurring 
congestion find daily bottlenecks 

(a) Every intersection or T-sechon 
should be clear and blocked Mi is 
will allow cross- ti at lie to proceed 

! uninterrupted 

(b) On one-way streets, any 
traffic from the opposite direction 
(other than emergency vehicles) 

i must be strictly controlled 
| Rickshaws, taxicabs and police vans 
| have a tendency to ignore traffic 
! regulations thereby aggiavatmg the 
problem 

(c) School zones (where 
nowadays cars and buses ate parked 
two or three deep) must be cleared 
and made 'Pedestrian Only Zones' 
during school opening/ closing 
hours; the timings of various 
neighbouring schools must be 
staggered 

AH vehicles for picking up or 
depositing students must be parked 
only where there is open space, ie. r 
in trie Rawdon-Loudon-f lungerford 
Street area, for instance, vehicles 
should be parked at Rawdon Square 
There should be shuttle buses from 
the schools plying the school 
entrance /egress routes and students 
should board these shuttle's and be 
taken to and fro These .shuttle buses 
alone should use the streets during 
school start and finish timings, 
except vehicles of people living in 
the adjoining buildings only to enter 
or exit. 

(d) Every unmanned 
crossing /intersection must have 
traffic lights or four- way stop signs 
with vehicles from each direction 
proceeding alternately. 

These ten commandments must 
be etched in stone for the itinerant 
public that must be taught proper 
discipline and traffic rules. ■ 





E smmmm-* 

XTRACT 

The Sands of 




The intrepid travel 

writer, 

Robyn Davidson , 

wandered through 
Gujarat and 
Rajasthan, 

accompanying a 
group of nomads. An 
extract from Desert 
Places, in which her 
experiences are 
documented 


Extracted from 
[ )csrrf Pltu c\, 

by Robyn Davidson. 
Published by the 
Penguin Group . 
Price Rs 500 


squiggle of smoke, a figure in billowing 
robes, a camel and a bed silhouetted 
themselves against the horizon. To the 
east a moon squeezed mto the skv; 
behind me the sun dissolved in the 
Arabian Sea. This was where I wanted 
lo be. These were the people I wanted to 
live with. The previous year of doubt 
and confusion lifted off my back like an 
outgrown skin. 

It had taken us three days to reach 
Bhui, the ancient capital of Kutch, in 
northern Gujarat Dreamboat and 
Narendra had done most of the driving 
which left me free to appreciate the 
landscape, a labyrinth of desert and sea 
as barren and beautiful as Mars The 
instant we crossed the state border the 
roads became strips of aerodrome 
perfection. Gone were the death-trap 
potholes, gone the ridges, bumps, two- 
foot-high shoulders, gravel patches 
suddenly appearing on hairpin bends 
Gone the overloaded truc ks littering the 


' sides of the road like dead cockroaches, 

| their guts spilled, their wheels pointing 
j skyward. Why 7 Because in Gujarat, 

| unlike Raiasthan, the money for roads 
I did not go directly into someone's 
1 ocket Some of it was actually spent on 
uilding roads In Gujarat one could see 
j women Unveiled women Women 
I riding scooters’ And you rouldset* 
forestry plots by the side of the road that 
contained real trees rather than 
phantom trees which, in Rajasthan, only 
! exist on paper Bui besl of all was 
I having Narendra with me. Not only 
1 could no translate languages, he 
| tram lated what was buried beneath 
! them — the gestures, cultural forms, 

| shared social signals Besides that, he 
I was the least flappable companion I 
! had ever travelled with, the most 
| patient, the most generous. 

I l had in my possession one hastily 
j scribbled name. Dr Rama Krishna, 

| assistant-director, Gujarat Sheep and 


The author walking her new camel back to Jodhpur 



13 




Wool Development Programme, 

Bhiij Experience had taught me to 
place little hope in such names But 
on meeting this South Indian and the 
sa ints-among-bu roau era ts who 
worked tor him, 1 knew I had struck 
}>old. 

Dr Rama Krishna had 
immediately brought us to a 
shepherd whom he particularly 
liked, Rangka bhai Kabari It had 
taken us a day to find him, camped 
on his windswept little plain just a 
mile outside the village His mother 
spread hoi best uuilt on the ground 
tor us and brought tea 

“I have no home but these 
camps," she said "\ livt under the 
sky, no matter whether there is rain 
or sun The village is not our home, 
the dang is our home. That is where 
our property is " 

Rangka assured me that there 
would he several dangs leaving from 
his village and setting out for 
Saurashlra He would not he going 
this year but he would talk to his 
community on my behalt. His 
mother suggested that l would do 
better to remain here in Kutch, 



Bhopavand. a Rabari village near Anjar in Gujarat 


wandering the local area with her. 

Rangka's wife Jasu laughed, 
dazzling the company with her 
beauty, which was not merely 
physical but an emanation of her 
whole potent self "Yes, stav with us 
here. You carry the water and 1 shall 
carry the flour But be warned, if you 
travel with us your skin will become 
as black as ours F.ven your hair will 
go black " She tugged at my blonde 
straw then took me to see Her 
'equipment' stacked neatly on the 
cot Thickly embroidered blankets, 
appliqued flour sacks, a marriage 
. smock for a little brother which 
would take years to complete, a 
blouse studded with fragments ol 
mica into which she tried, 
unsuccessfully, to squeeze my bulk 

14 


This was the finest embroidery 1 had 
seen anywhere and aeons ot 
wandering were coded in its 
patterns. 

Rangka would rot be migrating 
this year because he was on ms 
honeymoon, lie had waited for his 
wife for over 21) years travelling back 
and torth to his in-laws' house, 
begging them to send her to him He 
and lasu hail been together for just 
four months, so 1 can be forgiven for 
seeing him as a man undone by love. 
She had cost him Rs 45,000, most of 
it in jewellery, but by the way he 
looked at her from under his brows, 
checking whether his words received 
her approval, it was clear that he 


thought she was worth that and 
more. Thev were a handsome couple 
and you wished, when you saw 
them together, that the feudal talcs 
of desert romance were true that 
lasu and her husband found deep 
pleasure in each other out there' on 
the bed under the stars. But it's 
unlikely 

For one thing, there was always 
someone else around--- his sisters, 
mother, visiting children, other 
shepherds. For another, there 
weren't the necessary hours to spare. 
And it was the women and children 
who shared Jasu's bed, not 
Rangka. 






Two ancient shepherds came 
hobbling in. They worked for a local 
landowner tor a yearly set of clothes, 
their tobacco ana flour, and a Rs 170 
per month We teased them by 
asking if they were married, to 
which they laughed good-naturedly 
and confessed that they weren't 
wealthy enough even to get 
engaged. I did fmd myself 
wondering if they enjoyed carnal 
knowledge of their ewes but 1 found 
out later that though the practice 
was not unheard of, it was 
considered immoral and punished 
accordingly Sex was not a right but 
one of lire's bonuses. Like wealth, 
you were lucky if you had it but if 


you didn't, you got on with the ta: k 
m hand — surviving 

It was not uncommon, 1 was told, 
for a woman to bo in her mid thirties 
before her parents finally 
relinquished her to her husband, 
usually at the behest of the elders 
The reason may well be economic as 
a daughter is a valuable worker. But 
from what 1 was to see later on, the 
detaining of daughters had as much 
to do with affection as it did with 
finance. Or, perhaps in a community 
like this, one's ability to work and 
contribute is inextricably bound up 
with love and respect one receives. 

Dr Rama Krishna thought that 
the Rabari had a hard time being 


kept in their parents' homes until 
they were old But 1 interpreted the 
phenomenon differently. Here were 
women whose value as human 
beings was reflected m the heavy 
bride price They owned property in 
then own right (receiving sheep 
from the husband's tamily at 
marriage and inheriting the mother's 
jewellrrv) and although they did not 
sit in juim hints or attend the men- 
only smoking /yarning sessions, no 
one doubled the ferocity ot debate 
back home They were not burdened 
with child-bearing during their 
teens Then work was as valued as 
the men's They could shop and do 
business in villages and towns 
without being chaperoned and 
without covering their faces 1 do not 
mean to say that women were in any 
sense capricious legardmg 
community law ( >nly that the power- 
between the sexes was balanced, so 
producing a confident sauciness in 
the women and a humorous 
appreciation in the men that were 
delightful to behold. 

The Kaiasth.ini Raika women I 
hail met were liver than females of 
many other castes, hut, even so, I 
had neon' somewhat taken aback by 
those little peep-holes they made in 
theii arm*, and the way they covered 
their heads and went silent when 
then men were present- -so unlike 
their Kutchi cousins Perhaps this 
was due to their links to the higher 
caste Rajputs, who are such sticklers 
lor jmntiiii that women may be 
lucked up tor their entire lives It 
seemed to me that the Rajput 
influence had other negative effects 
on the Raika. While the Rabari of 
Kutih were patrician m their 
demeanour — the servants ot no one, 
the Rajasthani Raika boasted of 
being servants to kings and were 
quick to dissociate themselves trom 
Rabari who were not 

These were the first peoplt who 
had wholeheartedly supported the 
idea ot my travelling with them. 

When we rose to bid farewell, the 
mood was one of excitement, 
pleasure, satisfaction Narendra took 
out two hundred and one rupees 
and gave them, with a certain 
flourish, to the youngest child who 
accepted the' money w r ith equal 
graciousness. 

"How do you do it. ; " I said as 
we got into the car ‘Please, tell me 
the rules " 

‘‘There are no rules It was a 
happy meeting. The money was a ■ 
wav of acknowledging that. It is 
onfv done once and then only if the .■ 

16 ) 


feeling is good. I gave it because Narcndra provided everyone i the turbans. Purple ,red, gold, black 

they impressed me, because we liked around us wim a glass ot tea I silk, tied so that they had a slightly 

each other. You don't have to feel (cobblers, cloth merchants, beggars, ; triangular shape lending the faces 

nervous of doing the right thing fust , shepherds et cetera ) and we sat on j beneath a Pharaonic cast Next, a 

do as you feel Be spontaneous wooden planks outside a tiny shop j long sleeved smock made ot thick 

What they respect is genuineness " made of beaten tin and cardboard— ■ white cotton drill, embroidered in 

We drove to Aniar, or as it is : Anjar's version ol cafe society — to j minute stitches of every colour — 
otherwise known, the Pans of Kutch watch street life It was the wedding ■ purples and reds dominating — 
(There was a Copenhagen of Kutch, ; season and the streets were packed 1 edged m gold or silver, tight fitting 

a Jaisalmer ol Kutch, even a Venice ! or rather, I should say, garlanded | until gathered beneath the breast to 

of Kutch ) ft did not look at all like ! with Raban grooms, ranging in age I flare at narrow hips, the sleeves 

Pans but like a dusty little medieval from two to twenty The old man ! pushed up into wrinkles at the wrist, 
town with a Portuguese influence in j slurping next tome grumbled that he ; Beneath tne smocks, white lawn 

the architecture Kutch is more or ; was fed up with the wedding season i dhotis, one of the oldest forms of 

iess cut off frWn the rest of the j because tne young shepherds were i dress in the world, were tucked into 

country during the monsoon and ■ showing off their finery instead of i pink-, red- and black-striped nylon 

Kutchis tend to be faced, j helping him with the sneep. He ’ socks which disappeared into mgh- 

psychologically, to the sea. The ' grumbled but he watched me j heeled leather clogs decorated with 

thriving ports, the huge ships with , watching the young men and smiled | brass studs, the toes curling 

foreign names, give the people an , with satisfaction i backwards into Sindbad points They 

outward -looking character, a j hung around together m groups like 

cosmopolitanism that is not shared Beauty is a poor standard by adolescent boys anywhere, shy and 

by theii land-locked neighbours ■ which to judge numan beings but ! giggling one minute, swaggering the 

'fhore was room to breathe here 1 1 how could people who looked like I next. And, in among the riot of 

did not get stared at quite so much. that not be beautiful inside as well? j masculine colour, groups of women 

The population was thinner loo What flair! Wh.it sense of colour and [ in black wool and silver, black arms 

because Kutch lacked watei and ! design! What magnanimous display j swelling out like jib-sails, strode past 
without it people cannot live ot self for the delight ol others! First, 1 whitewashed walls 

The end of another day: The sun sets over a desert; a camel is silhouetted against an evening sky 



Here, Rabari marriages all 
occurred on the same day, the 
second of September. Usually, 
auspicious times for Hindu 
weadmgs are ascertained by 
Brahmin priests who are paid to 
consult the stars. But the second of 
September is Krishna's birthday so 
how could it not be auspicious? This 
bending of rules was typical of 
Rabari thrift and sense. 

Dr Rama Krishna and the others 
held no illusions about the 
innocence of the nomads but they 
felt deep admiration for them and 
worked unceasingly on their behalf 
Building up trust with their clients 
and at tne same time challenging 
certain traditions which were no 
longer useful to them (for example, 
convincing them that the goddess 
would not punish them if they gave 
their sheep medicine for pox 
infections) were no easy tasks That 
they had success in botn was a 
tribute to their commitment and 
vision 



******** 

Back in Bhuj I collapsed in a 
heap in the Prince Hotel whose air- 
conditioning, fine service and 
chicken hkka masala 1 would come to 
depend upon in the months ahead. 

| But today the very thought of 
l chicken tikkn masala made me want 
to die Narendra sat on the side of 
the bed and forced me to drink 
utmbu soda with sugar. I hated him 

My policy in India had been to 
eat anything and to drink whatever 
was available on the assumption 
that sooner or later my body would 
learn to accommodate the bugs. And 
it worked T had onh two bouts of 
j illness, both of them mild, and this 
was one of them Besides, from what 
1 could discern of what lay behind 
various village walls, it wasn't only 
visitors who suffered intestinal 
troubles. And if Indians could cope 
without dubiously bottled water, so 
could 1 I had had my shots of 
gamma globulin, rabies vaccine and 
tetanus, and sometimes remembered 
| to take my quinine More precaution 
j than that seemed obsessive . . 

j ******** 

j It is not easy getting from Delhi 
! to Bhuj — a long plane journey via 
1 Bombay — then from Bnu| to a 
| village, carrying all youi camera 
gear and sqeezing it, along with half 
a dozen people, into a single jeep, 
specially when back in Delhi you 
have a wife and a newborn baby 
with whom you would prefer to be 

At village Varshameda, wv were 
greeted politely but not warmly 
Word had spread that child 
marriages were to be photographed 
j and this had caused some ructions 
l within the community Might we not 
show these photographs to the 
government and land the people m 
trouble? The women regarded me 
sourly. Our contact, Naka Bhai, was 
doing his best to help us but even he 
was having a difficult lime w r ith hi* 
relatives He said, "Most ol the 
Rabari are innocent but I've lived 
around the ports and 1 am more 
knowled cable. It is hard to change 
them " Naka was aware of the 
difficult future facing his caste. He 
had sold all his sheep and bought a 
truck, and was trying to convince 
others that they should follow suit 
Slowly, a knot of men formed 
around us, anxious that we should 
hear their problems 

An old retired mukki began, 

"Our children will always herd 
sheep. What else can they do? They 
are not educated And how' can we 
abandon our way of life, it is all that 


! we know?" 

| A young man took up the 
! theme "They is no fute tor us 
| Rabari. The government tells us that 
i we destroy the forests but they said 
| they'd replant those forestry areas 20 
I years ago and they've done nothing. 

| So why can't we graze our sheep 
! there 7 And why do they plant a tree 
| that is useless tor every ting except 
| cooking fires? The thorns gets stuck 
| m the sheep's mouths during the 
! drought wnen they eat them in 
I desperation " Hoping, perhaps, that 
| his words would travel further than 
S Varshameda, perhaps, even as far as 
| the Rajsahha itself, lie declaimed, Tf 
• the government does not help us, 

| we'll go to Pakistan." The discussion 
! became more heated, the old men, 

| confused by the politics giving way 
| to young hot bloods. Finally, the 
! anger ox nan ted itself 

| To lighten the atmosphere, 1 
! addressed the old men So when 
! are vou going to make this young 
I man a leader." 

; To winch someone , replied, 
j How can we make him a mukki , 

| i/aur? He might land ns all in 
| Pakistan " And everyone tell about 
! laughing 

| We waited several hours for the 
! ceremonies to begin At last Naka 
| came to us tull of apology, and said, 
i They have decided that you cannot 
i photograph ' Dilip went off like a 
! cracker but it was no good The 
i decision had been made Jt was final. 

i 

| 1 wotricd for Dilip. As he said. 

You are only as good as your last 
; photograph," and he tell nc wasn't 
! getting the materia I he needed The 
j Rabari were not making it easy for 
! him. But what more could 1 do? 
j During the long periods of waiting. 

events would hppen without 
I warning, leaving no time to call him 
| from Delhi Or, as on this occasion, 1 
i would summon him and nothing 
j would happen My responsibility 
j button was being nit w r ith the force 
1 of a jackhammer Very w^ell then, one 
! Ilimg 1 could praise him - pictures ot 
| camels swimming in the sea and of 
\ the last traditionally built Rabari 
i village in Kulch. But not just yet i 
; had nocn told the people ot that 
j village wcie suspicious of outsiders. 

| Therefore. I would go to live them 
i myself for a couple of weeks under 
the auspices of Dr Rama Krishna, so 
that the inhabitants would get to 
know me and to understand what 
was being asked of them 1 would 
prepare them for the rather 
| more dramatic arrival of a 
i photographer ■ 


17 


All arrival and departure times are for Calcutta 

toy* ot operation mine 7-toy coto: • MONDAY • TUESDAY • WEDNESDAY • THURSDAY • FRIDAY • SATURDAY • SUNDAY 
(As ihobi paqes go 10 press one week in advance, readers 9hould check with respective airlines and railways lor last minute change in timings) 


Departures Arrivals 


Fit No. 

Time 


Fit No. 

Time 

o«y* 



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Arrivals Departures 

The Days Fit No. Tiro Days 


Arrivals 

Ft No. Tiro Deys 



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18 










Departures 

FI No. Tim Dm 


Arrivals 

FRNo. Tim Dm 


AOM 

rVINMi 

U700 

17 IF. 

Ml 

' i 

IIS 





£ 

.VCWMCtof^: 



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0850 

4, 

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0810 

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1110 

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2 3 6, 7 

1 723 

!30U 

1 


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1C 7?4 

1520 

1 

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1905 

1 

2 

3 5, 6 7 

BG-093 

1825 

1, 

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B C LN4 

mil' 

4 



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1830 

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Departures 

Ft No. Tim Dm 


Arrivals 

Ft No. Hm Dm 


SU 538 2100 4 SO 537 0930 4 

KB 106 1105 3 KB-106 0811) ?. b 

Kli 106 1325 5 

BI-1CH 0830 7 RI107 2000 0 

SO 416 2345 2. 6 SO HG 2230 2 6 

>wmmm 

L2 504 1750 4 17 503 165(1 4 

AI306 niu S A'.-JM 18? 6 

ii: ??y 1530 i. : i c *\b w 4 / 


Al Air India • BA British Airways • BG B-man Bangladesh Airlines • D2 Skyline NEPC • D5 NEPC Airlines • 1C Indian Aiilincs • KB Druk-Air • KL Royal 
Dutch Airlines • LZ Balkan Airlines • M9 ModiLuft • PF Vayudoot • RA Royal Nepal Airlines • RJ Royal Jordanian Airlines • RO Tarom Air Transport 
S2 Sahara India Airlines • SQ Singapore Airlines • SU Aeroflot • 4$ East West Airlines • TG Thai Airways International • 9W Jet Airways 


TRAINS 


SOUTH-EASTERN RAILWAY 

Howrah 

mu m 




K Ar: t-x.it. 

mnum txpiw 
Kuril Bum v.: hw 
ConmnU (mu) Baras ui r«.:ia;s 
FuMnums (Sanjemiaq) Bpra 

•H i 

Ai 1 Mm- 7M«. \ I** 

bngdon 6qm> 

Wi Vkj* 

A': '."ii ji g - 

TO SM Boras 
W Uhraguk) Esns 


m 

mi Hata 
Purl Boms 
JvmSi (P 



it\i it Ai* rue, 1 hup. A Sa 


Mi, > 1 1 , Purt bum i'll I’Jtidrv .in Htv-h 

mi o h-flfi Jspnnii (Purl) Boms toil* 

w M l * Dhull (BMwiaai ) Bum >.!•■ 

0 ^ i-.: e Ea Coat (tydnbad) Eqmi is if w«, 

M r - Puruila Expreo " 'hJirt 

U rfl p! 

Ai' t *r»-4ji ,uni]dV 

IK i' Si AalHW(Pi«)WiiUyBvw ms w j 

L;. \ A ,r j-OjiiIA 

•‘1 't imu BhubnM4avNMh|iMB9nni' , -> '»■ to 

JTWdill ' ’<i 

US No DahHthubanmar Ra|M Bqnn -v : 4 1 . 

M‘j*r.ih, Sd! if (if, 'V , 

■ JLV A 1 < r . GuaMI - Hard) - Trtvmdun CsrM Boms 'S 

Mc n t1a/ c r i) 

Hi''- Trtumhvn Cartil - Homh - GuaMI Bqras ua* o- ,m 

r M.u!d3v OFi'y 

Cochin Hvbour Tormlnus - GraMI Mdy 1 1 -I*-. • n ■ 

Baras (VJ v idtrucriif & Ho/i'.r- '%\%i 
n3M , ; is GuraM) - Cochin Hrtai Temlnus fatty r •/ i f 

Baras w 1 ^ H|, w^ i Vi)d^dphid m i ■p'y 

(.Hi 1 v v Cachbi Hvbour Tania Bans n/u v ^ndptfrir ■ ■ <*■ m- 

f, HrVu I 
I -p fj-_ <1 1 'I 
At- Tie. f, n 

f-s/ii a is GuraM - Bingtion C*y faty Eon v- 

HwmI 1 r-j'drki Acilrir-sJdV nmy 

14 Bngrion C% - GunM Wdy Bans • w 1 is 

HiM'Uh A Cutfy if) 

MnnrJay only 

BIQURBS: For roivl thi dock Mvmflon of Eaton Rtoay South Eaton R toay 
trtow, piato <M 220364644 tor ffHnmtog totoa; 220063644 tor al othsr Momtobn. 
For MbrmsMon tbcU rantoMonv on Eaton Rtoay ad 8ou9vEaton Rim toka, 
dto 2200490-3600 (bom 8 am to 0 pn on \mkkfi ad 8 am to 2 pm on kndra 
and Qvattol honw In MBon, (id 1331 (tar rvoordad MomuUm on train runrtatf, 
opanttsfli and 136 faianfcQ laarv a flona). Trato aantoe anquby U 

Maratoe Votaa Rapona Syatom (6 am to 9 pm ftaytytan Mondato Savttoy; 6 «n to0 
pm on Sundae Forraa^mtiB, dto 136(caraxJto1a8d);DW^ 


19 







BEJAN DARUWALLA 


Aries 

March 21 - April 20 

( JlirK . s h c i sjys |oint- 
; finance. insuiiinic, 
premiums I nans, funds 
capital formation. will 
l>» the salient features 
Liu.. . JHHlJ of thus week I ha n ks to 
Mercurv^plonty s>l messages, hectie 
comm i irritation and partnerships, either 
on a pei son.it' or a professional level are 
foretold 

Taurus 

April 21 — May 20 

j Romantic linking, 
business collaborations, 
travel and trade, a 
certain giving and 
* taking ol heart and 
head, a fair exchange, 
reallv. us what the week is all about For 
quite a few', the peal of wedding bells is 
loretold. That’s good tidings tor vou 
1 'repare vourselt for the best 

Gemini 

May 21 — June 20 


m 


On the ivoi k Iron tiei, 
spectai ular 
developments can be 
anticipated Fxpeii 
good money around 
|une 2.» \our health 
will improve and that, m tuin. will 
enable you to give your best It would 
be wise to go in tor ph\sical fitness 
and take an interest in your health 

Cancer 

June 21 — July 20 
IT A week to si ore, take 

1 ■ chances, be youi best, 

get work done and also 
find tune to enjoy, have 
I tun atul soi uilise 
! MeieiiTN’* Venus 

beautiful ion|iinction formation helps 
vou to he imaginative, intuitive and 
ingenious 1 Ins is the right tune to 
make tunids and Lave a hubby 



Leo 

j July 21 — August 21 

Mars in vout sign, 
according to Western 
astrology, gives vou the 
pep and push needed 
to go tor the goals and 
J goodies Many I eons 

■ will also be attending to house, office in 
1 the sense of buying, selling renovating, 
j decorating, painting and refurbishing 

J Health safeguards essential 

Virgo 

j August 22 — Soptember 22 
I r— ^ " i You have a chance to 
| | launch a venture open 

j a restaurant, start n 
„ ! business, reach out to 
| | people and places by 

• ! different media of 

j transpon and public lly Tor salesmen, 

; teachers, statisticians septet. tries, 

■ pshychologists. doctors and 

; accountants, .1 week to go ahead 

Libra 

j September 23 — Octobei 22 
j " ‘ j rhe focus will he on 

| finances, familv values 

I ™ I Jm Jnc * personal 

| relationships, a grand 

X ^ (i i«> In finances, earned 

! .. 1 income, loans and 

; business transactions are definitel\ 

• inclinled A family get-together is on 

! the eards Many l.ibrans will he seeking 
! new goals 

| Scorpio 

j October 23 — November 22 
i pn ' Moon -Mars opposition 

XjKpA makes you mighty 

| ^iSlSBr ambitious and forward 

looking Many of you 
’ will be taking decisive 

i L. * ! ac tion, and it will be th»* 

, right one The next week will also be 
i important toi it Ihe moor/s last quarter 
; also f avniiis taking a lew chances 
! Nothing ventured, nothing gained 





Sagittarius 

i November 23 — December 20 

Plenty of behind- the - 
scene activity, cross 
currents of friendship 
and animosity, says 
Ganeshd. So keep your 
cool Many ot you will 
■ be seeking pastures new' and green 
! shortly, so it would be best fo go about 
; making plans now Travel is on the cards, 
; as things start happening rapidly 

: Capricorn 

December 21 — January 19 

i [" ] An excellent week to 

'I ask for tavouis, move 

! tfiji m ahead with plans and 
| | pioiec ts, start a 

! campaign, spearhead a 

! movement The beaut v 

. ot it all i „ vou will sqiiei-71 out time for 
urn and games, have* a ball be happv 
, like .) king and quivn I he next 2^ days 
J are foi iche viiig 

Aquarius 

! January ?0 — Feb'uury 18 
. j ’ I uni in make voiii 

! move, without being 

| j chances are vou wd! 

I — . — ! Aquarians vvill now feel 
l confident enough to be on their own, 
j sfarl something new *uul different and 
| exciting mid by Novembei H^h. the 
1 project should conn* tluough 

Pisces 

j Fobruary 19 - March 20 

A good tunc to travel 
public isc v« m i r wares, 
j burnish your imng«' and 
I that ot voiii company, a 
time to sallv lorth m 
style and concjuei Youi 
i heart will pine for love and th,.r is what 
• vou shall find l oi those in business or 
! profession, it is time tor contacts acd 
i customei satisfaction 


BIRTHDAYS 


June 23 : Mercury- Venus conjunction makes you laughter - 
loving, comfortable and fond of comforts. Those in arts, crafts 
and chemicals do well, 

June 24: Moon's first quarter brings out the imp in you. ■ 
Chances will be taken. Children, industry, arte, research and ■ 
marriage play an important part* 

Jum 25: Moon trine Venus gives you the much needed 
hope, age and conviction. Try the long shot the 
unattainable so to speak. 

June 25: Moon trine suit will lead to glory and jhoney. You 
have H made, Just do what comes naturally and that - 


Cancman and can do only too welt It & a year of solid 
communication at every level 

June 27: Moon sextile Jupiter means despite tensions, the 
■ yew Sa good for any sort of creative fnmmk*:, Waua# of the . 
opportunities and the people you run iht& 

June 28: Moon scxttte Neptune will m^e a moiie inspired 
. human being out of you and you ate already fine tuned. You - 
will tide over triate sucvessfuily. 

June 29 ; .V<mu$*Mara a«vun<^ion wiji |S tf* ettongtlv . 

and the tea^natton to fight and : £; 

come your way. * : , v \. ' ■ V V 


20 



JUNIOR WHIRL > )•'•.! K"! ii .VA!- j 



DOTS LIFE! Yeah, it’s only me again Who’d you 
expect, Tyrannosaurus Rex 9 Draw dot to dot to 
complete the picture 


SAFE BET! Bet someone that he or she has a hole 
in a sock. You can't lose. Every sock has a hole in 
which to insert foot. 


ROBltf 'HOOD! Four if— if | 4 1 B 1 

more five-letter words R 

are needed to P" — — " *— — 

complement the word O 

ROBIN in the diagram “ ““ 

at right, and thereby ROBIN 

form a word square — a 4 • 

cluster in which all 

words used read the * ^ 

same both across and ^ 

down 

Definitions: 1 "On the eighteenth of — , in Seventy 
five...". 2. Pennsylvania railroad town 3 Heralded first 
bird of spring (ROBIN, in place) 4 Trojan War epic by 
Homer £ Singer Ronstadt, for one. 

Let's see how quickly you can fill m these' words to 

complete the sqaure - i»pui I |VI||[ UU|»H I i[op,| £ |i idy I SMWSU\ 


HOCUS-FOCUS 




FIND AT LEAST 6 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PANELS. 

‘6u!SSiuj si deo 9 Poaouj si ujjv s Jeuoqs si quii| eoji * buissuu si 
hsbo lueujruisui p lueiau’P s; jish Z Buissiuj si uk> ysejj. i sroudJdjjiQ 


Hj 

mmm 

|yS 

iji 

GH 

iMi 



UNDO-IT-YOURSELF TV 
CAPER 

So your TV's down, repair 
shop's closed, and you're bent on 
fixing it yourself. Such a person 
is shown at left, and pictured 
with him are some trials and tri- 
bu lations in the fix-it process. 

Is our good friend successful, 
or is he a oust? To find out, start 
with panel 1, study clues, and see 
if you can rearrrangc panels 2, 3 
and 4 i chronological order. 

Time limit: 2 minutes. 

‘Z ' 1 Sim LI) sp|i>|im .»|P) ) 1 ->I I 


LETTER GOlInsert a letter (the 
same letter) in the middle of each 
of these words to form another 
word: 1. ROOT. 2. TALE. 3. 
ALUM. 4. REEL. 5. COOL. What 
letter complies? 

‘(aXvnSuvj j^induuo S 

1303H t WneiV i 310 VJ. Z XOftON I — n 











c 


OMICS 





















THE ADVENTURES OF LEGIONNAIRE BEAUPEEP 

vWBMPSR n I I , 

ANCmmK Prink ) (±h3S»nt; „ Ikh! 


X HAVSN'T, 
* NCmCBD < 
HIS GLASS ; 

. is emm^'r' 




?S4f " f 


^waL.iHEiees >ojr 
LfiHTBR TO SANTA 

ALLDONE ^ 

i/ (SBBAT/ 




W y 


its aptt 

JLWMT FIT 
.. . icmnirsiQ -ft 
SLAOCWAIL 
H//V1 WITH. 


vS 


►A '-I 


Z6UPPOSE YOO ' 
Ay s TTP BE RBALCT 
1EVHR ID WORK , 
FOR SANTA. _ 


-) I 


, OH, EXTRSVIEUrT 
1 IHEfeES A LOT* OF 

ORGANIS ING TCJ txa 




m 


/ TWO CF T"7HE> VE GCTT-aTI 

/ THS ENiEVIV \ / WHTE FLAG — IT \| 

^APPR OACHING ) ,^/VtlGHT BE A TRICK ^ 


wrrr 








LT. 








m'Jm> -rs y- 





.*& 


l . Jk . a . 




By T^EAAj'yboNJC^r ^ STAN T^RAI^S 






OH HO . 4 HE 
MUST'VE 
FORGOTTEN 
ABOUT TVE 
TOURNAMENT /I 



'i! 



PA&WOOP.'C'MON, FOR PETES SAKE.' 
TONIGHT'S THE LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP/ 



4i 



> HUH...? 1 
WHAAA...? 





WOW • DID VOU SEE THAT?/ 
DAGWDOD JUST GOT A BEAUTIFUL 
STRIKE// 





YOU'O BETTER / HE’S REALLY OUT OF IT . 4 

wake Him, rrs jL, i waveo a pizza 

HIS TURN is-^fr UNOER HIS NOSE 
AGAIN / JHSkL ANO IT OlONT EVEN 

FAZE HIM 4 









OH MAN 4 ME ^ 
GOT ANOTHER 
L, STRIKE W 


WHEN HE’S AWAKE. HE 
i ONLY BOWLS HALF THIS 


WELL ! 







/^V 






Kabir Bedi playing the lead in Sandokan's Triumph 



SANDOKAN REVISITED 

Kabir Bedi shoots for the sequel of the mini-series that made him a celebrity 

in Europe. Dipti Dave reports 

I I took all of 22 years. but of a 19th century Malaysian hero. | serial in India by next year, but the 

Sandokan has been resurrected And now Bedi is back in action [ details for this have yet to be worked 

at last 1 bough the television in front ol the camera in Sandokan’s j out. 

mmi-sones was an instant hit in Triumph, an Italian-German I Sandokan, which was aired by 

F'.uropc two decades ago, whal ; production which will be aired on f Doordarshan around 15 years ago, is 

mattered to us m India was that the | Channel Five in Italy over the | the story of a swashbuckling pirate, 

homegrown Kabir Bedi was playing | Christman season. Bedi, who owns • also called the Tiger of Malaysia, 
the eponymously-named lead, that I the Indian rights, plans to release the i who is fighting the British for his 
26 



country's independence, and falls in 
love with an Indian girl. The sequel, 
which is currently being shot near 
Bangalore, brings Sandokan to India 
in aid of his best friend, Yanez de 
Gomera, whose lady love, a princess 
from Assam, is being harassed by 
neighbouring kings. Sandokan, 
while helping princess Surama retain 
her kingdom, comes in conflict with 
the British again. And all the while 
he is trailed by a half-Indian half- 
English reporter, who ultimately falls 
in love with him. 

The serial, described as a 
"Western tandoori", is a fast-moving, 
plot-driven, action-oriented film 
with a cast which is a combination of 
the good, the bad, and the ugly. 
Explains Kabir Bedi, "Sandokaris 
story is basically a story of a man's 


desire to be free." Hinting at, 
perhaps, yet another senal, he adds, 
h A major part of Sandokaris story 
needs to be told and possibly l could 
do it." 

O ne of the few Asian heroes, who 
has made an impact 
internationally, Sanctokan is the 
creation of an Italian writer, Salgari, 
who supposedly never ever travelled 
out of his country but nonetheless 
wove fantasies about India, Africa 
and other Asian countries which he 
had read about in encyclopedia* So, 

Sandokan is not really a historical 
figure, though there were enough 
brave people like him who were 
willing to take on the colonialists. 

Sandokan (Kabir Bedi) with Yogi Azim (Franco Nero) and Yanez (Fabio Testi) 


Being made at an estimated cost 
of $15 million, the sequel, according 
to Bedi, will be a major media event 
in Europe this Christmas. The mini- 
series which is targetted at a Western 
audience and tells the tale of a 
Malaysian hero, is being shot 
entirely in Mysore. But then, as 
Mathieu Carnere, whoplays the bad 
guy. Raska, explains, "Tins has 
palaces, temples, rivers and forests, 
which is an ideal location lor a fairy 
talc kind ot story." 

Carnere, a Gentian actor, looks 
every bit a ri//ii, if one overlooks his 
white skm And he confesses that he 
is relishing every moment ot playing 
the 'best bad guy yet" The scene 
being shot revolves around him, the 



27 




Princess Surama (Romina Power) with Yanez (Fabio Test!) 


black raja who is out to usurp 
princess Sura mas throne, and lias 
ordered the rebels to be trampled by 
elephants. 

The tension is palpable as the 
entire unit waits nervously for the 
shot to be canned. Gemini, the 


elephant who has been hired from a 
circus, is gently coaxed by his mahout 
to raise his foreleg and bring it up 
until it touches the extra's head, so 
that it looks as if he is squashing it. 
After a few more takes, the director, 
Enzo G. Castellan, okays the shot. 


This is Castellan's second visit to 
India And the action movie di lector, 
who has such films as Bronx Warrior, 
Shark Hunter and Battle of Briton to 
his credit in addition to a number of 
Westerns, is hard to work trying to 
recreate the Sandokan magic "But/' 
he says, "though it has been good 
working on this project, but making 
a sequel to a film wnich was not 
directed by you lakes away much of 
the? excitement " 

Incidentally, no one on the crew 
has hail a chance to see the original 
serial. But asks Carnere, who has 
earlier played the romantic hero in 
German, Spanish and French films, 
"Does it really matter?" According to 
him, the original senes did well 
because of the Italian love for 
costume drama, and the sequel will 
do well for much the same? reason 

Carnere, who like Bedi has "had 
a ball throughout the shooting" with 
snakes, horses and elephants, says 
he would "definitely liW to work in 
Indian movies". Dragging on his 
cigarette, he quips, "I think 1 have 
more of an Indian in me. I have not 
boon down with cither diarrhoea or 
malaria." 

This is Raska's day. The erstwhile 
Rajendra Vilas Palace Hotel has been 


28 



He may have hit the half century mark, but Kabir Bedi is still going strong 


Lie may be 50-plus, but he's still 
X Xgoing strong. His Sandokan 
had teenyboppers all over Europe 
swooning over him nearly two 
decades ago, and now Kabir BedS is 
all set to perform a repeat. 

Bedi, who is the only actor from 
the original series who will be 
performing in the sequel, 

Sandokan's Triumph, isn't in the least 
concerned about how the passage 
of the years may have treated him. 
And he's very confident that he is 
the right choice to play the 
Malaysian hero — even though 
Yanez, Sandokan's friend, is being 
played by a younger actor. "The 
only change in Sandokan," says 
Bedi, "is that he is more mature 
now. And why not?" 

Why not, indeed! 

Relaxing at the Lalith Mahal 
Hotel on his day off from shooting, 
Kabir looks good for another lOyear 
run at least. The light-eyed hero, 
who amassed coveted awards in 
Italy, Germany and France for his 
role as SandoKan in the original, 
appears to be the image of an 
archetypal rebel; and thus 
eminently suited to play a 
Malaysian pirate. He still retains the 
rugged good looks that led the 
Corricre Delia Sea , Italy’s most 
respected newspaper to run a front- 
page article saying that he had 
Drought "star craze back to Italy". 

Drawing parallels with the 
character he plays, Bedi says that 
they share the same passion to 
willingly risk all for whatever they 
believe in. "I am my own man," 
says Kabir, "and Sandokan too is 
answerable to any authority." 



family's role in India freedom 
struggle. In 1933, his father Baba 
Bedi, married an English girl, 

Freda, at Oxford, where the two 
were studying. On their return to 
India, they plunged into the 
freedom movement, and also 
served time in jail. Hence, Kabir's 
empathy with Sandokan, whose life 
is one big struggle against the 
British, though ne does fall in love 
with an English girl. And, as Bedi 
reminds us playfully, pointing at his 
beautiful wife, Nikki, *1 also 
married an English girl." 

Well, half English, at any rate. 
Nikki, whose father was an Indian 
doctor who married his English 
nurse, is better-known in India for 
her chat show, Nikki Tonight, which 
came to hn untimely end because of 
a controversy over certain remarks 
about Mahatma Gandhi. These 
days, however Nikki prefers to 
keep a low profile as she spends 


most of her time in Los Angeles 
with her husband, whose third — 
and he swears, last —marriage this 
is. 

Fanned by critics for his 
performance in Hindi movies, Bedi 
has proved to be a bigger hit with 
Western audiences, though the foies 
he can play are limited because of 
his ethnicity. But Kabir believes that 
things are changing in India. "With 
the boom in television channels," he 
says, "the nature of Indian cinema is 
also poised for a change." This 
change will bring with it greater 
professionalism, says Bedi, and an 
entirely new breed of film directors. 

Of the new directors on the 
horizon, the one Bedi would like to 
work with most is Mani Ratnam, 
who, he says, "has some artistic 
sensibility in this world of 
commercial cinema". Other than 
that, Kabir, who has feature films, 
television serials and theatre plays 
to his credit, would like to turn 
director, perhaps with a sequel to 
Sandokan. 

But until that happens, Bedi has 
no problem playing the 
stereotypical Asian warrior or 
prince in practically every Western 
film of his. He is yet to appear (in 
India) as a Moroccan prince in The 
Bold And The Beautiful, but he has 
acted with Joan Collins in Dynasty, 
David Hasslehoff in Knight Rider, 
Tom Selleck in Magnum PJ, Hunter 
Tyio in The Maharaja's Daughter. 

There's a fair bit of acting left in 
Kabir, though. So, don't be suprised 
if he's playing a swashbuckling 
piiate even as he celebrates his 65th 
birthday. 


converted into his palace. And his 
enemies are being condemned to 
death, even as the palace gaurds 
shout "Long live Raska''. Tne black 
raja even manages to knife a rebel 
wnile sitting on his cushioned 
throne, with the beautiful Yainira 
smiling behind him. 

And Carriere is dearly enjoying 
himself hugely "Not a single drop of 
blood is split/ he laughs, "Here lies 
the fun. 1 Kill hundreds and no blood 
is shed." But what annoys him most 
is that whenever he is close to 
getting what he desires, Sandokan 
appears out of nowhere and forces 
hun to a duel. 


Except for Bedi. the only other 
Indian actors in the series are Arjun 
Sajnani, a Bangalore theatre person, 
Ravi Khote, Rajat Gowda and Shiv 
Nanda. But then, as Sajnani explains, 
"Since they are making the film, they 
would want to play the roles too." 

And it's not as if they are doing a 
bad job of it, even as they have a 
good time on location. Randi 
Ingerman, the American actress who 
is playing Yamira, Raska s mistress, 
is very excited about her role "This 
is like a dream come true," she 
gushes, showing off her Indian 
costume and jewellery, "When I was 
a little girl, I would imagine myself 


as a princess of a faraway place " 

'Then there's Lady Dora Parker, 
the reporter, who falls in love with 
Sandokan, played by the half-1 ndian 
half-German Mandala Tayde, while 
the princess Surama is played by 
Romina Power, daughter ot the 
famous actor, Tyronne Power 

The serial which is being shot 
from April onwards, doesn't just 
have an eclectic star cast It also 
boasts of some extra-sf>ec:ial effects, 
like chariots which blow up in the 
most spectacular manner, elephants 
on the rampage, and fights on 
horseback. So, remain warned, it's a 
masala mix all the way. ■ 


29 




What is your greatest regret? 

That I did not learn 
What has been yourhappiSst 
moment? 

When I graduated and said 
goodbye to stydieeforever. 

What brings tears to you eves?' 

Orphaned children andthe ' 
thought of death of my towed dues. 
How do yon relax? 

‘ Soak myself in a bufe-Wefealth 
with bath oil a glees ■ 

In- hiod and ti««g'tol!8SSi . . 

ov« the phone, . ■ 

What do you ynvynKMit in mMmt 


"lAThat )« yoeur 

7T^ eaof Wh 

Sappiness? ni{ 

Lots of love 

and lot* of I 

swoera. Growii 

Whatwyenr 

gttaMKiesr? OWTV 

Drowning in a 
boot In. the. 
middle of the sea. 

Who or what has been the 
gre at est influence in your life? 
My sister. 

What do you dislike most hi 
others? '« . . 


What is your 
nightmare? 

Growing old on my 
own — all alone 


Ladkof self- 
esteem. 

What do you 
dislike most in 
yourself? 


I love everything 
about myself. 


, J What is your 

alone most predoos 
nttdiprniitnnT 

What eddecta do yen always 
carry? ■ ■> ■ 

. upstkkr hair brushand my 


makes you meet, d e pw s ee d? 
sple w lto hate nothing, good 


ip theirmduth. i' 

v^o wiy nl d ^ou Hketobe 

As an«motio«aLft*nny 
: intelligent model ^actress. 
iyAoW wtMtkiyouuka Afttlfe-' 


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Street art in Lahore: The female figure atop the tiger Is clearly inspired by Images of 
the Hindu Goddess, Durga 


A Friend and 

* Foe 

* Thank you for the 
wonderful cover stoiv on 
f^kmmn rUravels 
Through Pakistan', May 
12). As two neighbours 

j sharing common prob- 
j lems and interests, we 
{ could have had a better 
| understanding of each 
! other. But due to false 
j propaganda, illiteracy and 
| misinformation, majority 
! Pakistanis harbour a 
! wrong impression of 
j India. 

B.N. Bose, 

Calcutta 

* Congratulations to the 
writer lor her brilliant 
cover story Having so 
much in common it is dif- 
ficult to comprehend why 

• we are always at logger- 
heads. 

Nisheeth Bijawat, 

Calcutta 



j account was exciting and 
authentic. We don't get to 
read much about Pakistan 
in India and only real life 
accounts like this cover 
story satiate our curiosity 
about this neighbour. 
Atish Bajpai, 

Santiniketan 

• The hospitality that 
Indians received in 


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Calcutta 

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Stndri 

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Jamshedpur 


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serious about peace. 
Abhishake Kumar Saha , 
Ichhapur (W.B ) 

* Thanks for the free trip 
to Pakistan. 

Arta Mishra, 

Cuttack 



PAGE 4 

PRIYA PAUL'S appointment as the new presi- 
dent The Park group of hotels is m keeping 
with the hotel chain's now policy of inducting 
dynamic professionals into the business. A pro- 
file of the young heiress. 

PAGE 26 

AMIT SAIGA L. The man who loves to rock. 


smQsn 

16 TIME TABLE 

20 INNER EYE 

21 JUNIOR WHIRL 

22 COMICS 
26 MUSIC 

29 SKETCHES 

30 FIRST PERSON 





MAKING HER 



The Atrium: Part of Park Hotel's new look in Calcutta 

Priya Paul is the new name to look our Jar in 
the hotel business. ScuniU* BHatia profiles 
the young heiress 


NO COFFEE OR TEA FOR PRIY A PAUL., THE YOUNG 
president of Apeefay Surrendra Hotels. She pre- 
fers a tall glass of nimbu parti instead. Nor does the 
mandatory computer grace her polished desk. A 
palmtop lies within easy reach, though, and helps 
facilitate her work as a busy corporate head. 

"You can hook it onto a fax or printer, which 
makes life very convenient for me when I travel," 
she explains, adding under her breath, "Must 
make sure that all my executives get them." That 
she is technology friendly is clear from the well- 






Lighthouse: The new multi-cuisine restaurant at The Parte, Vizag Lutyens Lounge: Providing a panoramic vfei 


thumbed copy of Micro- 
soft Windows 95 that lies alongside The 
Green Hotelier, reflecting both her pro- 
fessional interest in hotels and a perso- 
nal one in the environment 

Paul is tastefully, but simply dres- 
sed, the only stroke of extravagance 
being die solitaires that flash tongues 
of blue fire in her ears She is quite the 
cool collected businesswoman, 
though a softer persona gleams 
through as she answers her cellular 
phone, that rings only too frequently. 
It's just friends calling to say "Hi", die 
offers. 

If today this 30- year-old Calcutta 
girl — a Loreto House and La Martinie- 
re product — is the youngest presi- 
dent to head a chain of hotels, then she 
was also perhaps (he youngest gene- 
ral manager any hotel had known 
when she commenced her hoteljering 
career at the absurdly young age of 23. 
The Park hotels that she now steers are 
part and parcel of the Apeejay Sur- 
rendra Group, a diversified Indian 
industrial conglomerate that her 
father once headed. 

Today, the Apeejay Group which 
was started in 1910 has all too many 
interests: operations in steel enginee- 
ring, shipping, tea, confectionery, con- 
struction, real estate, international 
trade and, of course, hotels. And Pri- 
ya's appointment as president albeit 
because of providence, is much in kee- 
ping with me trend of inducting a new 
generation of young, professional 
6 


managers who would infuse dynam- 
ism into a business enterprise. 

Tnitiated into thehoteliering trade by 
-Lher father, Suirendra Paul Priya 
learnt the ropes at The Park hotel in 
Delhi, soon after her graduation in Eco- 
nomics from the United States. " Die 
Park, Delhi didn't have a general 
manager in those days," she explains. 
"1 took on my first job three days after 
I touched down in India as marketing 
manager, also doubling as its acting 
general manager." 

The plan was to let Priya leam the 


ropes of the family business from a 
relatively less important position of 
authority. But fate had otrier plans in 
store for the young woman. In 1990, 
her father was shot dead by ULF A mili- 
tants as he toured his tea estates in 
Assam, and Priya had to grow up in a 
hurry. She was appointed president of 
Apeejay Surrendra Hotels, and was 
expected to take charge of the family's 
hoteliering empire. 

Reminiscing about those days, 

Priya says thoughtfully, "Even 
though 1 was prepared to get involved 
with the family business eventually, 


Surrendra Paul: His untimely death catapulted his daughter into the hot seal 





F New Delhi's Jantar Mantar 


Zen serves both Southeast Asian and Chinese food at The Park, Calcutta 


this unexpected responsibility after an 
upheaval in the family came like a bolt 
from the blue." 

Thrust into the hot seat — with 
sister and brother helping her in the 
business — Paul found herself faced 
with a difficult task. The first problem 
that had to be tackled was the re- 
positioning of The Park chain. 

When she took over, the properties — 
the chain's flagship in Calcutta, the 
Park in Delhi and the relatively 
unknown property in Vishakhapat- 
nam — were not included in the 
upmarket and top-of-the-line catego- 
ry of hotels in India. All three hotels 
would have to be overhauled tho- 
roughly before they could take pride 
of place in the Indian hotel business. 

Now, six years down the line, Paul 
can look back at her work with satisfac- 
tion. All three hotels have been revam- 
ped thoroughly and re-launched as 
'boutique' hotels: luxury five-star 
hotels rather than chain hotels in the 


Inter-Continental style. As she says 
proudly, "Today, die Park is a brand 
and has been consciously developed 
and marketed as such. It's a package of 
three boutique hotels, very five- 
starish and elegant." 

But how did she manage to bring 
this turn-around m such a short space 
of time? After all, when she took over. 
The Park in Calcutta had gone to seed, 
engulfed in its old world aura. The six- 


acre prime property in Vizag hadn't 
been able to find Its niche despite 
being opened way back in 1966. And 


The Park in Delhi was facing stiff com- 1 
petition from such other deluxe hotels * 
in die capita] as the Taj and the Oberoi. 

In consultation with the hotel vice- 
presidents, Paul decided to embark on 
the master plan that her hither had 
chalked out: to renovate — and practi- 
cally rebuild, if necessary — all three 
hotels over die next five years and 
relaunch diem as a contemporary 
chain of hotels. "We were firm on the 
fact that we had to establish or re- 
establish their positions in the local 
and international market by looking 
at a complete turnaround in their 
image/' says Priya. "Today. I think we 
are pretty much on target." 

A specific programme for the entire 
chain was (hen chalked out. That was 
when huge investments were planned 
and pumped in, renovations and refur- 
bishments undertaken that would con- 
vert die dilapidated structures to tren- 
dy hotels. "The bottomline waste 
become the preferred choice amongst 
international business and leisure tra- 
vellers and die obvious choice for Indi- 
an corporate travellers," says Paul. 

In order to do this, it was necessary 
to infuse a sense of 'different-ness' by 
giving a contemporary feel to the hotel 
interior. Hence, a deliberate derision 
was made to go in for a liberal dose of 
stylishness, and a very 'young' look. 


Repositioning the botefe was not an 
JXeasy task. Though the properties 
ring for them' 


the properties 


lot going for them by way of 
their strategic location in me three 


cities, the customer didn't identify 
them with sophisticated luxury 
hotels So, a thorough overhaul was 
called for. 

As part of this plan. The Park :n Cal- 
cutta was practically built anew. Since 
1990 nearly Rs 12 crore has been lavish- 
ed on the hotel to give it a brand new 
personality, complete with such new 
restaurants as the Atrium, Zen and 
Someplace Else. 

The Park in Vizag has soaked in an 
investment of Rs 2 crore giving 50 per 
cent of the rooms a fresh look, the 
lobby a facelift, a new restaurant and a 
spruced-up swimming pool. The curr- 
ent year and an additional Rs 3 crore 
will take care of the remaining pro- 
blems. Besides giving the property a 
new look, the management is also try- 
ing to put the destination on the leisu- 
re and corporate traveller's itinerary 

The Parkin Delhi too bears a com- 
pletely different look, beginning at the 
lobby level. You can't miss the Hemi 
Ba wa abstract in glass as you enter 
(nor the loos thatlie very conspicuous- 
ly next to the elevators). Then, it's onto 
Lutyens Lounge on the exclusive 
deluxe floor with its panoramic view 
of Jantar Mantar and the newly refurbi- 
shed banquet areas. The hotel has also 
opened yet another watering hole in 
tne heart of Delhi: Someplace Else. 

The runaway success of 'Someplace 
Else' a pub- 

cum-nestaurant-cum-nightclub in Cal- 
cutta prompted The Park to launch a 
restaurant on die same lines in Delhi. 


"It's not just a bar, a pub nor a dub — 
it's all three rolled into one," Paul 
claims, with a smile. 

So, if you're looking for favourites 
like steak and kidney pie, roast 
chicken. Fisherman's basket and Lon- 
don Mixed Grill in the capital you 
know where to head for. The outlet 
functions as a pub-restaurant during 
die day and a dub at night when it is 
open exclusively to members and resi- 
dent guests 

To ensure that you have a swinging 
time you can also sing along on 
Karaoke^ special days. For those 
who want to reel the pub atmosphere, 
the dartboard offers a favourite pasti- 
me. And these are but some of the 
refuibishments in the Delhi property, 
which have totted up expenses of over 
Rs 6 crore. Further renovations of 
rooms and addition of facilities are on 
the anvil during the current year, 
1996-97. 

The extensive refuibishments on 
the group's agenda for the hotels, says 


Paul is a confirmation of their commit- 
ment to the market. She explains* 
"Though a lot has been done, the job is 
never really complete, what with reno- 
vations befog an ongoing process at a 
hotel. Besides, what the turnaround 
has actually achieved is giving the pro- 
perties one identity. They are no lon- 
ger three hotels that guests look at in 
isolation. They are looked upon as a 
chain with streamlined procedures 
and strategies. AD three offer an identi- 
cal experience just like any other hotel 
chain of international standards. 
Today Park hotels are comparable 
with any other top-of-the-line hotels." 

Having refurbished, the hotels are 
in the process of consolidating their 
position having already achieved a dis- 
tinct customer profile. While the capi- 
tal attracts a large part of the tourist 
segment the Calcutta property fills up 
with business traffic to the tune of 
80-85 per cent, while 50-60 per cent of 
Vizag bookings also come from the 
business traveller. 


13 ut how does this petite woman fit 
Dintodre male-dominated world of 
Indian business? Well if you must 
know, very comfortably. 

According to Paul die travel trade 
accepts women a lot more easily than 
any other industry. "1 fed that the 
industry is much more approachable 

and for more relaxed than any other 
male dominated field," she says* add- 
ing a moment later, "At die manage- 
ment level it really doesn'tmatterwhe- 
ther you are a man or a woman. You 
could either be a good manager or a 
bad manager. It's performance and 
competence that reaDy is the deciding 
factor and not gender." 

However, while there are a consider- 
able number of women in various 
departments of the hoteliering busi- 
ness like the front office, housekee- 
ping, sales and public relations, Paul 
concedes that very few actually scale 
the top. She muses, "I really don't see 
too many women at the topmost or 
managerial slots. Maybe one in ten. 


Someplace Else: Yet another watering hole in the heart of Delhi 



8 



Even the F&B department has fewer 
women than one could expect to find. 

I guess that is due primarily because of 
the hours and the pressures of the fami- 
ly that keeps them from greater 
involvement in the industry." 

But as president of the hotel chain, 
Paul's own involvement is complete. 
As is The Park's involvement with the 
local activities of the city in which it is 
based. So every now and then there's 
supper theatre at the Park, with local 
troupes performing tor the benefit of 
its guests, while celebrities in the capi- 
tal are also invited for 'Going Public at 
the Park', a brainchild of Taul and her 
team of VPs. 

'Going Public' is an exercise unique 
to The Tark in Delhi, which was intro- 
duced to promote awareness on diver- 
se subjects by way ot regular public 
speaking events. 'Hie hotel offers emin- 
ent speakers a platform to share their 
views, knowledge and experience 
with the public at large, as attendance 
is open to anyone who is interested. 

As many as 13 speakers have gone 
public at The Park including Jatin Das, 
Salman Khurshid, Mancka Gandhi, 
Kiran Bedi, Subodh Bhargava of 
Eicher group, Ramesh Vangal of Pepsi 
Foods, Dr M B Athreva, management 
advisor and Shiv khera a human 
resource consultant 

Paul explains the other diverse inter- 
ests of the group at large "The hotels 
have taken upon themselves to promo- 
te contemporary art and culture, and 
the pertorming arts We try and keep 
as active on the social scene as we can 
We have tried to include as many inter- 
esting things on the Park agenda as we 

^ if 

can. 

At the Delhi hotel, the seeds for ano- 
ther novel scheme were sown 
recently. A midnight art bazaar threw 
open its doors giving Delhiites an 
opportunity to view and buy from a 
collection of over 200 works of over 
1 00 artists. The bazaar was enlivened 
with not just the works of young and 
upcoming artists from all over tne 
country, but also such old masters as 
Ram Kinkar Bai), Jamim Roy, Aba- 
nindra Nath Tagore, M F Husain, Jog- 
enChoudhary and Manu Paiekh. 

The bazaar had been visualised as a 
catalyst in the creation and enrich- 
ment of art by acting as a bridge bet- 
ween the artists and the patrons. Also, 
it helped focus on talented upcoming 
artists, giving them a platform to 
bring their works to art patrons at 
such a well-known forum. 

Paul says that the bazaar "kept in 
mind that today people have very lit- 
tle time to actually spend browsing 



around at an art exhibition": The 
show w as timed as an after-dinner, or 
late- at night event throwing its doors 
open to the public trom 9pm to 2am 
['he main attraction ot the exhibition 
was that many ot the works on display 
were available at very affoftlable 
rates. Besides, the visitors had a chan- 
ce to interact with some of the artists 
who were present at the time the 
bazaar was in full torm. 

Explains Paul, "Sponsoring the art 
bazaar is an area we have gone into 
quite effortlessly keeping in mind the 
important role that art has played in 
the extensive renovations and icposi- 
lioning ot the* Park hotels as the first 
chain of boutique hotels in India " 

While the Park hotels in Delhi and 
Calcutta have grown to become pivo- 
tal points of the cities' social activities, 
the Vizag hotel is actively promoting 
the destination it is located in. An inno- 
vative tour package was thus introduc- 
ed recently which attempts in packag- 
ing attractively, the destination and 
the hotel thi ough a very attractive holi- 
day scheme Valid till the end of Sep- 
tember the Vacation Vizag Package 
offers a four days and three nights holi- 
day that w< ill take care of airport or rail- 
way transfers, all meals on all days, 
free use of the pool and sports activit- 
ies on offer and even a half day sight- 
seeing trip. All this for just Rs 5,555 
(taxes included) for double occupan- 
cy. And children below 12 stay free. 
"We've met with mixed success but ( 
we are aware of the fact that it takes | 


time to sell the destination But the 
hotel is showing signs of recuperating 
and tots up 50 per cent occupancy 
levels throughout the year," she 
explains 

L ike any other hotelier, Paul too is 
quite concerned about the paucity 
of hotel rooms in the capital and other 
metro cities "Perhaps tnc only posi- 
tive fallout of the shortage of hotel 
rooms has been the fad that hotels are 
scaling high rates of occupancy even 
in the summer months which are tradi- 
tionally off-season. This low season 
has actually shrunk to a bare tw'o 
months!" she exclaims. 

Paul reflects the concern of the. 
industry regarding the fact that there 
is also a complete lack ot mid-range 
hotel chains. She says, "There are not 
enough choices in the mid-pricing 
range And in the lower range of 
hotels, there is very little or practically 
no standardisation whatsoever At the 
end ot the day the traveller ends up 
spending either a fortune or is compel- 
led to put up at a hotel where his expec- 
tations are not met with " 

So it's not surprising that the group 
is planning on expanding and in the 
pipeline is a 4-star hotel- 
cum-residential club at new' Bombay 
with further plans to open up new 
resort hotels to cater to the growing 
tourism market. Further expansion is 
on the cards through the acquisition or 
managing additional properties 


1 mrnrirmi' 

Extract 

The Name of the 

ROWS 



Jug Suraiya 

writes on 
Mani Shankar 
Aiyar. Extracts 
from his new 

book 


Extracted from 
The Great Indian 
Bores 

by Jug Suraiya 
Published by the 
UBS Publishers 9 
Distributors Ltd 
Price Rs 120 


ani Shankar Aiyar likes to call things 
names. The first thing he called a 
name was me. In his column in 
Sunday magazine he called me a 
clown of The Times of India. The 
fallout was most gratifying; the 
Suraiya stock registered a marked 
rise on the sensex of public 
consciousness 

People who hadn't called me 
anything or anywhere in years, not 
even to their second-best dinner 
parties, called me to inform me of my 
newly acquired celebrity status. 
Perfect strangers accosted me on the 
street to felicitate me on my 
achievement, and on my visits to the 
local sabziwalla 1 kept a sharp eve out 
for lurking autograph hounds behind 
the bandh gobi. 

Chuffed as I was by all this 
attention, I couldn't help but wonder 
if it was entirely warranted. I don't 
know Mani personally, but I know 
him by reputation — as indeed who 
doesn t? — and I had this feeling that 
in the present instance he hadn't 
given it his best shot. Being called a 
clown of TOl — particularly by one 
who could be said, to fulfil a similar 
function for a larger and more 
exalted entity, namely 
GOl — appeared to me to be a case of 
damning with faint condemnation. 

At least if he'd called me a four- 
anna clown it would have been 
something. I wasn't entirely sure 
what a four-anna clown might be. 

But it is a matter of record mat that 
quadruplicate coinage is an old 
favourite of Mani's, who used it with 
memorable effect to designate his 
political colleagues who ne felt were 
shortchanging the Congress party 
rather than coming to its aid. If foui- 
anna Congressmen were fit only to 
be consigned to the begging bowl of 
history as the loose analeftover 
change of a tender no longer legal, 
how much more dispensable a four- 



10 


’ MJ4 

anna down? Being called a four-anna many parts of north India mom in fool) he would have discovered: 

clown would have suited me fine. the nature of a salutation expressing buffoon, zany, ass, donkey, goose. 

But by his failure to add a fraternal camaraderie rather than cuckoo, idiot, natural, half-wit, 

denominational prefix to my opprobrium. But then, what can you mongol, cretin, moron, imbecile, 

clownishness, Mani had implicitly expect from a chap who at best silly-hilly, stooge, butt, laughing- 

upgraded me to being a fully- was— so to Mani-speak— an eight- stock, twit, clot, bungler, birdbrain, 

capitalised 16-anna clown, an anna PM? feather-brain, dotard, ninny, 

unremarkable species in Congress or Mani himself, however, is not an simpleton. Simple Simon, tom- 

other drdes. eight-anna anything. Indeed, if one noddy, charlie, noodle, nincompoop, 

Still, one takes what one gets and gives him full marks, and annas, as juggins, muggins, booby, sap, big 

tries to make the most of it. When the both columnist and Congressman, he stiff, poor stick, dope, jerk, gowk, 

then deputy Prime Minister, Devi totals up to an impressive 32 annas. galoot, goof, greenhorn, weed, drip, 

Lai, called the then editor of the And from 32 annas one does expect a softy, sucker, dupe, gaper, gawker, 

Indian Express , Arun Shourie. a little more, even in these inflationary dunce, dullard, blockhead, numskull, 

familiarly disparaging epithet, and decimalised times. duffer, dolt, dumb, duck, ignoramus, 

editorial judgment deemed it fit to I don't know if one can get a fathead, thickhead, bonehead, pinhead, 

record the episode for posterity on thesaurus for 32 annas these days, dunderhead, blunderhead, 

the front page of the paper, never but Mani could have borrowed mine, chucklehead, jobbernowl, nitwit, 

mind that the term in question is in There, under clown (sub-division, dimwit, mutt, chump, clot, clod, oaf* 


Connaught Place, Delhi: All efforts to rename It came to naught 






booby, loon, bumpkin 

Or — in keeping with nn status 
as an honorary Bengali - -he could 
have called nie a nonsense. A 
nonsense is the ultimate verbal 
gauntlet in Bongdom, signifying 
full-frontal, eyeoa I Mo-eyeball 
confrontation When two Bongs 
prepare to cross dialectical swords 
—typically in a coffee house or a 
similar miita — the fu^ullmndi begins 
in low k^ r , with both participants 
metaphorically clearing their 
throats as it were with a couple of 
muttered bokas and blip 1 kothns 
Then, in consonance with the 
Dong's bicultural credo that the Sen 
never sets on the British empire, the 
logomachv escalates into English, 
Baaqar fellow! exclaims one duellist 
with a deadly thrust. Raskad, 
why fore you are showing me red, 
red eyes? ripostes the cither. Things 
are distinctly wanning up now 
Then comes the clincher, the final 
broadside. You nonsense 1 thunders 
one combatant, evoking shades of 
Surcndranath Bannerjea 
denouncing the partition of Bengal 
After that it 's sleeve rolling up 
time, referees out of the ring and 
call up the stretchei bearers 

Rajiv Gandhi: Part of the Dosco class 


1 low Bengal slangs today, the 
rest of India will slang tomorrow 
So Mam could have called me a 
nonsense with telling effect. Or, in 
view of the fact that I am a Pun|abi- 
in-law through marriage, he could 
have called me duddooaan di punscri 
Duddooaan Ji punscri , Bunny assures 
me, represents state-of-the-art north 
Indian invective; it is the Maruti 
Esteem of Pun) malediction 
Technically speaking, duddooaan di 
punscri means five seers ot frogs, 
which sounds about as scurrilous as 
an indent tor a biology lab or a 
French grocery list But when the 
drivei ot a Delhi Red line bus leans 
out of his window over the 
scooterist who has had the temerity 
to make himself into tomato puree 
under the tyres of the bus without 
as much as a by-your-lcave and 
hollers Arrc, duddooaan di punscri! 
the two-wheelenua//fl knows exactly 
whal the phrase connotes: You great 
slithery, suppurating, repugnant, 
vile, noxious, quivering lump of 
gangrenous toad flesh, how dare 
vou besmirch niy sight with your 
foul and loathsome presence! 

Quite so. I could have lived with 
being called duddooaan di punscri. 

of *60 


Or, going back to his roots in 
Tamil Nadu, Mam might have 
lobbed a siwu krukki at me 
Apparently down South, savu krakki 
is the preferred form uf address 
adopted by all good, patriotic , 
Goo-tearing citizens when referring 
to outcasts, pariahs, criminals, 
heathens, human excrescences and 
other Hindi chauvinists.Srtri/ krakki, 

[ am informed, means may you 
perish, and is obviously the Dravid 
counterpart ol the Cockney 
perisher 

At a pinch, I'd have bought a 
Tam-Branm perisher from Mam 
But down? Suiely lie could do 
bettor, given the right inspiration. 

Reviewing the Bookei prize- 
winning novel Hotv Late It was How 
Laic by lames Kelman, a resident of 
Glasgow, a critic noted that the 
book contained 4,322 expletives 
undeleted, oi roughly one fifth of 
the total length ot the 1 woik The 
Booker is worth 20,000 quid, 
excluding royalties from flu- sale of 
the book Which means the author 
got 4,000 pounds tor saving 
precisely sweet eft all No doubt 
about it, there's cash in cussing. 

And what a Scotsman can do, a 32- 







Sonia Gandhi: Could have had Janpath renamed after her 


amici columnist-cum-pnlitic inn ran 
certainly do hotter, particular!) with 
an eight-anna Bong-cum -eight-anna 
Tun] to help him 

M mi and 1 might never win a 
tandem Booker But between us we 
should certainly be able to bag an 
invite or two lo a couple ot tour- 
anna dinner dos So lay on, Macduff 
-—and literally damned be him that 
first cries. I fold, enough* 

U nfortunately, Mam did not lake 
me up on my oltei I figure he 
tell he had graduated to bigger and 
better things than calling me names. 
He decided to call 1 )elhi's 
Connaught Place and Connaught 
Circus names instead. He called 
them Rajiv Chowk and Indira 
Chowk, respectively. This caused a 
bit of a kerfuffle 

The mammoth public rally 
organised to felicitate the man who 
had delivered the bold and decisive 
coup dc gtacc to history — that 
conniving and insidious tool of the 
ragtag opposition comprising 
everyone and anyone trom tne 


British rai to the Sangh Parivar — 
regrettably misfired It came to 
naught, or, more precisely it carrn to 
Con-naught, the con having been 
performed by the new nominal 
Lutyens of the Capital, who in a 
midnight tryst with the Union home 
ministry had had the place renamed 

Take me to RC, said a would-be 
rallyist, using the new abbreviation 
for CP Aho, ji 1 said the auto rickshaw 
driver with alacrity You are too 
much liking RC? All good gentries 
too much liking RC these days, said 
the driver approvingly, causing the 
would-be rallyist to reflect on tne 
innate political rectitude and sense 
of civic duty of autonckshawfefl//<7s 
as a tribe. 

The would-be rallyists' faith in 
the innate political rectitude and 
sense of civic duty of the 
autorickshaw-ww/tfs was somewhat 
shaken when the fellow pulled up in 
front of a boo7** shop. This isn't RC, 
protested the wannabe rallyist Take 
me to RC! Shaking his head m 
resignation at the wilful 
dimwittedness of some of the 


pussinjcr** ho had to carry, the 
auto U'cillii hauled the cither out of the 
vehicle and dragged him to the 
shelves stacked nigh with RC, which 
as all auto-dnvers in their innate 
political rectitude and sense of civic 
duty know stands for Royal 
Challenge whisky, on-spot 
commission payable to anyone who 
brings a cash-paying customer to the 
counter 

Similar scones were being 
enacted all over the city, resulting in 
total chaos and unprecedented sales 
of Royal Challenge. Commenting on 
me unfortunate episode on the 
following day, a correspondent to 
the Letters to the Editor' column 
pointed out that the confusion could 
easily have been avoided had greater 
care, planning and observance of the 
due properties gone into the 
renaming of CP The correspondent 
noted that while the person 
responsible foi the renaming had 
genuflected dreplv m memory of the 
illustrious leader, he had not 
genuflected deeply enough Rajiv 
Chowk? Who did the fellow think he 


13 



was that he got oil calling Rajiv 
Rajiv and not — as betiuod the finest 
traditions ot indigenous culture, 
civilisation and sycophancy 
— Rajiv//? The renamed Rajiv Chowk 
should torlhwith be re-renamed 
Rj|ivji Chowk, or R|iC (pronounced 
RGC) tor short. 

In response to this inspired 
suggestion, a massive public rally 
was planned for the next day at 
RjiC The massive rally turned out to 
be not quite as massive as planned 
as a large number of woulu-be 
delegates went air-dashing off to 
Calcutta, home ot the RGC, as in 
Royal Golf Club This confusion 
regarding the venue, whether it was 
Delhi or Calcutta, was compounded 
by the fact that Delhi was no longer 
Delhi but Rajivjigaon 

At the depleted rally that was 
Imally held in RjiC, it was decided 
to re-re-rename the re-renamed RjiC 
to RjiCji, on the sound principle tnat 
Rajivji's name could not possiblybe 
associated with a common or garden 
chowk, as were the names of noi 
polloi, hut should be yoked to an 
appropriately elevated Chowk// 
After a quick look-see through 
dictionaries, encyclopaedias and 

14 


atlases to make sure there was no 
pesky RGCG to cause more 
problems ot mistaken identity, the 
motion for RjiCji was carried, new 
con 

A dissenting note, however, was 
struck in another quarter A niorcha 
was taken out by those who wanted 
to know why, when Indira// and 
Jawaharlal/i had been duly 
honoured for their familial 
pioximily to the Great Leader, they, 
who were linked to Rajiv// with a tic 
thicker than that of blood, namely 
the old Doon School tie, had not 
been similarly commemorated. The 
Dosco class ot b() took to the 
renamed streets demanding that 
something, anything be renamed 
after them as well 

Faced with this new crisis, the 
whim ke-vn^te master replanner of 
Delhi dashed for high-level 
consultations to 10 Janpath, on the 
way quickly renaming Janpath 
Soniajipath betore someone else 
thought of that wheeze. The 
discussions ran into an unexpected 
snag when it was discovered that 
there was nothing left m the city to 
rename So how were the Doscos to 
be accommodated, not to mention 
the Indian Airline pilots who were 


threatening to start a similar 
agitation? 

How about renaming Sulabh 
Shauchalayas after Doscos? 
suggested someone. Trouble was 
there were more Doscos than there 
were Sulabh Shauchalayas. Couldn’t 
we build some more? another 
suggested Problem was that after 
repainting all the renamed street 
signs and changing the addresses on 
the official stationery there was no 
money left to build anything, not 
even janta loos 

It was then that the master 
replanner of Delhi had his master 
stroke; Why restrict oneself to 
renaming inanimate things? Why 
not go the whole hog and rename 
animate things as well? 

And so it came to pass that those 
permanent fixtures of the Capital, 
the bulls and cows who decorate the 
streets of Delhi in inexhaustible 
abundance together with their daily 
produce, were suitably rebaptised. 
And as a fitting tribute to himself, 
the master renamer renamed himself 
as well: Mam Shankar Ayah, self- 
appointed nanny of the Nehru- 
Gandhi legacy and all its attendant 
baba-lngM 




Innereye 


BEJAN DARUWALLA 



Aries 

March 21 - April 20 

Ganesha so vs the full 
moon activate* vour 
work angle, bo it a |ob. 
business, profession, 
and here, you make 
headway and inroads 
into the territory of you i rivals. 

C Obviously, sparks will fly. You do make 
big plans on Tuesday and Wednesday 
Fxccute than now 

Taurus 

April 21 — May 20 
f " "I Aline opportunity to 

i p,o ahead, travel, tan 1 
BMA chances an 

enterprise Alsu, 
to gallivant and hav'e 
1 some tun. say by 
Thursday and I ridav |uly h is 
partuularly promising foi tun, 
pi onuses loans and funds Venus 
ersuios i omloi ts 

Gemini 

Mny 2 1 - June 20 

Mars \enus duo both 
help vou to win 
lavours, he asset ti\ •*, 

\\ m Inends, mliuence 
peopU . get voui hands 
on money and loot up 
to someone toi lou Inly *l-n are 
\oiu best bet toi romance, liname and 
.i (hfiiiic to in. ike tilings h.ippen |ulv t» 
is ide il toi gel fogel lio^s 

Cancer 

June 21 - July 20 

Meruirv m your .sign 
hum |ulv 2 favours 
news views, ideas, 
endeavours, opinions, 

messages, calls, 
r, irrvspondemv, 
iontails and liavel Surelv. all ibis is a 
tall order foi ]usl one week, but that's 
the Wciv it is going to be You will be 
hard put to cope with demands 




Leo 

July 21 — August 21 

A quilt of expenses and 
hardwork with patches 
of passion best 
describes this week 
Luckily, these* expenses 
could well be for house 
and health of family members You will 
be meeting vnur full share of people* 
and could be hard put to cope with it 
Problems of adjustment arise 

Virgo 

August 22 — September 22 




[ovo will play its harp 
in vour heart and you 
will swoon, in eestaev 
It is most certainly a 
time of creativity, 
children, prayers, tantra 
i mantra, hobbies, home, decoration, 

| lonovahon, buying, selling, trade and 
; travel In others words, many things 


aSBr 

JUT "- 



will happen simultaneously 

Libra 


^ win ^ 


j The home and the 


| outside w r orld conveige 


beautifullv in .1 


| delightful manni*r 

WT X 

j Beauty will be vour 


: birthright and ><>u shall 



have it Lxpecl visitors, foreigners, and 
slamgep* to partupatc in yum life, says 
( i.mesha 1 his is an ideal week to try 
out the new and different 

Scorpio 

October 23 — November 22 

With effortless ease you 
will move and 
monoeuvre, thus 
proving youiselt as a 
master strategist A 
crash course in studies, 
business, home, interior decoration, law 
and international trade should be right 
up vour street This is a time to move 
mentally and phvsicalh 



Sagittarius 

November 23 — December 20 

This is a period of 
journey, money and 
strong attachments as 
well as repulsions. 
Therefore powerful 
likes and dislikes will 
be at work and you should be careful of 
what you say and do Curb the impulse 
to be outspoken or it could lead to legal 
action 

Capricorn 

December 21 — January 19 

The full moon m vour 
sign makes you 
impetuous, daring, 
romantic and quite a 
giahber of the goodies 
of life A tune to marry, 
j get engaged, collaborate and step out in 
j style There could be confrontations and 
j health hazards, but that’s all part of the 
game Money prospects brighten 

Aquarius 

February 18 
Complete secrecy is the 
key to success, be it an 
affair of the heart, easy 
money, a job-switch, 
funding, investment, 
buying, selling, 
shopping, writing, composing or 
starting a new venture While vour 
health is a little suspect, your creativity 
will be outstanding 

Pisces 

j February 19 — March 20 

Responsibilities and 
rights go togethei That 
is what you will really 
discover this week By 
the week's close, matters 
w'ill be resolved, making 
tor well earned sleep and rest Changes 
in the home front are almost certain 
Children, education and weddings make 
\ou c omiortable 



I R T H D A Y S 


June jtft Moon-Mercury opposition suggests that you 
should be careful in the messages you give, the ideas you 
offer and the things you say. 1 

Jufy -if OaneshA.eays this fuU moon is ideal for cagageWeshli 
marriage, links, tie* trip* and o qn fat ric e i tMa an topagtf. : 
budding bhthyear. , : 

July 2t Moon sextile Satum-Pluto helps in fang range ; / ■ 
planning which wfD result in lasting benefit* be it children, 
property, shares and stocks. ; 

July 3 : Moon trine Vemw-Mars is excellenffoic those hi i. 


trade. Children give satisfaction. Money and' popularity ; 

you' to soar. . , . ■> t&iZtffciit 

fatty A* Sureoppesltion Jupiter sf 



Tdfifi* Pfam'aux betaken. Ifrm - . - 

■svidt jifiju: Hite teanexoelteot year tor pw a yapA ] 


IS 


Ti 


_ IME TABLE 

All arrival and departure times are for Calcutta 

Day* of operation using 7-day coda: ® MONDAY 9 FUt'SDAY 9 WE.DNFSDAY ® i HUDSDAY ® FRIDAY 9 SAFURDAY ® SUNDAY 




(As thuso page:, ijn to prey one m*i+ in adv.inue readers shouici rlsi’i.k wil!i rrspt-rli.'*’ uriineb .mil railways for la-si minute Uidnqe in timingsj 

FLIGHTS *\ ‘ ■ 


Departures 

Fit No. Tims Days 


Arrivals 

Fit No. Time Days 


a I AQARTALA 

II T P M, i. 

it .1 IM 


■i ’■ I - » • 

ii 'I liilii 

.■ ■ H !. 1 ■ 

M 1 ' i. 'I*' ' 

M' 1 1 ' i 


M'i i, ’ 

m ( , ■ r ii 

a ahmedabad .... 

'.1 1 i<4 :4 . I ■ ‘ 4 '. M" 1 1 . '»• 

a aizawl 


i*F u 1 iV.l ! ’34 

Pf ii. • 

i f -.. 

a BAGOOGRA 

n in.* 

* 

■ , m ,.| i , 

K V. 

•i i. 

v ! • ■ ■» 

! ! rr 


'-■'.4 VVi 

(V l.i * 

1 .. 

L , > i ;; 1 ■ l 

i • ■ • i 


m bangalore 

•i '| Mi'n ■; i , 


•i\ 

1 Ml' ! i ■» 

•|»V i 1 'JljT ■» 

Mi ; i • 

/. ! ■ 

! .. 

a BHUBANESWAR 

!■» Id ’ i' in. 1 

i-i 'In* 

■ 1 

i' j i 

■i ii\ 

’ll 

,1 . II. ■ ! 1 

!' 

: v 

/ i : -i 

vF '.I* 

i 

a DELHI 

F. pi ! , , 

Vi iIV 

i -f. 

Mi , ■[ II.. . 

Al ■v/' 


1 ■ ■:./ 

ii Hi'. 



r 

■i . 

■; 1 1 1 J « l 1 1 

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■. 1,1 y 

W« .!■' 

!t 1 

i . 

a D 1 BRUGARH 

}■ , , 4 '■ 

J 1 .( • 

1 1 : .' 1 

1 . 

■■ 

■ i ' ' 1 1 ' 1 

i H'l 

1 ■ i 

* DIMAPUR 

. i » A 1 


i ■, ■ 

.. . ... i • •• 

n " 7 . 


a GOA 

Mi . 1 ' 1 ’ - 

M'i .I-"' 11 * 

■■ 

a GUWAHATI 

... :<v \ 

:■ -in 

■ 1 

i , >1 'ii.i.i ] ■ , 

!■ Mi. 

j 4 ( 

■ ■ ! ' - 

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1 r I, 

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ii ■. 

1 i . . J . 

4 i'l 


r.-i i ■ ■ ■ : i 

i ; v 

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i* ■' • 

■i'.I". 


' iii;'. 

i ' . 

a HYDERABAD 

'».» 1 1 ’i"! 1 . 

v. 1 

: iii. 

femurs 


s* w * 

• AMMAN •' ' 

v nr. 4 

1 * 1 1 .4 


a AMSTERDAM ?■ 

I', » . !l Vi ' 

■■•l . :■ 

:n jn 

• BANGKOK 

kj. Vj-. nftfp , f 

k-:-IFii. 

ii. !l 

| 'M *. 

Kh Id' 

In 'i : 

. -so 

: 'i 1 


Departures 

Fit No. Time Days 


a IMPHAL 

a JORHAT 

1 ' ' 

B LILABARI 

. , I # i" .*• ■' 

■ LUCKNOW 

• it •' 

* MADRAS 

.■ ii- 1 ,1 '- 


m MUMBAI 


. ■■ i 1 ' 

m NAGPUR 

.i '■ ' 

m PATNA 


M PORT BLAIR 

■ RANCHI 

■ 1 1 lit, 

m SILCHAR 

, -i* 


m TE 2 PUR 

; : i- 

m VARANASI 

1 1 l! 

m vishakhapatnam 

1 1 n , 4 i 


a BUCHAREST 

m'hm ' 

■ CHITTAGONG 


Arrivals 

Fit No. Time Days 


.•ii . 
1 HJ 


i. • 1 . 


In 1 
1,1 


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4 l"j 


Ji Li.iv 


! 4 .f. 
i 4 ;. 


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FR No. Una Days 


Departures 

Arrivals 

FMNo. Time Days 

Fit No. Time Days 


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1 3 6. l. 

BG (N4 1%5 1 

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3. 0 1 7 

till (M 

Wb 

: :* 3 ; t 

BG 004 1310 A 



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iniO 

1 

BG 09b ?10U 1 

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1 1. 1 " 

RA 214 1 r ,:*3 



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1 V . 

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HA-142 A IS 


Departures 

Fit No. Time Days 




* YANGON 

if „i ’ 1‘jSll 


1 "■ 'V;v* * :* :::: .-7:, r-. 


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d 9 .:d 

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to .(I 

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a: 1 ' 4 1 ; . 

a: su'i 

... 

IM* 


!'»•, a ; 


Al Air India • BA Bntish Airways • BG Biman Bangladesh Airlines • Bl Royal Brunei Airlines • D2 Skyline NEPC • D5 NEPC Airlines • 1C 
Indian Airlines • KB Druk-Air • KL Royal Dutch Airlines • LZ Balkan Airlines • M9 ModiLuft • PF vayudoot • RA Royal Nepal Airlines 
• RJ Royal Jordanian Airlines • RO Throm Ah Transport • S2 Sahara India Airlines • SQ Singapore Airlines • SU Aeroflot • 4S East West 
Airlines • TG Thai Airways International • 9W Jot Airways • Q7 Qatar Airways • VF VIF Airways 


ns; 


Departure 

EASTERN RAILWAY 

Arrival 

I Departure 

Up Uma 

Howrah 

Tima Dn 

UP 

Time 

'3i 1 V« 1'. 

QethMCaUo Mall 

1 . .i f , . :r s 

1.1 (j 

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‘11 HT !'■ / f i 

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.’Mil, 

Mil-. 

: . i< 

mil' mi in; 

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in)" v .» • 1 

■:»i 1 ' 

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1 1 • y;i j d 1 hiji r . '.r«n 

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: • |« Mill' r.n ‘r v. 

A" 'Vim’ 1 1 1 !' 1 ‘i i.i. 

Ra)dhanl Express vu f .i v • 

Ir, lb . |'4 

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1009 

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21 00 

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14 30 

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15-26 

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314.3 

19- II. 

3M1 

20 lb 

5657 

b 25 

3153 

22-00 

566J 

20-00 

3151 

n-rn 

3133 

20 r.5 

3103 

iB-:'5 

5185 

12-40 


. i-T' Mi.' .'ii'. A'.il I r \ -r 
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r M ■ Tin, i 9 , Sjh An 'A- il 9 ‘ l! 

Jodhour Exoress 

5l (Bokaro Steel City) Express 

i>< u f. An I <i fp* o’ip'I.iv 

Hlmglri (Jammu-Tawl) Express T- V; u y 

ivn !i ■-* . mi \ „jl Art lur, WmI 

GuwahaH Egress 

fill. Ari I n«l.-v 

Gorakhpur Egress 

Lh-i- & An Tlmuiiv 

PurbanchaJ (Gorakhpur) Express 

Ini? K An "'i in Mnn WkJ \ hi 

Doon Bonn vu GmihI i.l-mil 

Udyon Abha Toohn Express V*d Mrlli. 1 IIU 1 

Amritsar Express 

Kalhgodifn Boren 

Mflhita (Rnul) Express 

Kgjri^^ 

CotfMd Exprass EXPIBSS 
Assnsol Express 


1 

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MM . 

17 +1 

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Jmupur Express 
SantfnUUan Express 
Clumbal (M fo) Express 

Hep Mui hip * !|vj:^ Arr Mon Tli'jr^ A. •’ !i 

Shlpre (Indore) Express 

Ot’li Wi-U.Gdl Aoiiri An Sun Wp -1 «, Cht 

Shaktlpun) (Chopan) Express 
CterZal (Agra CartL) Express 

Of*p I riday Air lursaday 

Sealdah 


TmV-Tcim Eqmn 
DtriatHno Ml 

DdN Boren vw Main Imp 
Kanchenjinga UumdmQ) lores'. 

Gour Boren 

Kaflhar Express 

Jrenmu-Tnri Boren 

Mupal Soil Bonn se.G Loop 

Dop & Air Tui's mur. & Sat 


8 1*. Ml If 

r 4£» 3n«»: 

r . in lil.V 

1 r >40 lUlh 

/Sb 1161' 

\ r . 1 1 7 


Tims On 

6-.3 r . 3 W 

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4 !!. MiM 

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12 30 JiM 

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I. 1 I". 2M. 


If) 20 rill 1 ‘I 

A i ,r ' Hi 12 

*. mi Rum. 

-» W H'llb 


Departure SOUTH-EASTERN RAILWAY Antval 
Up Time Howrah Tims Dn 

i.i Cj . o :ii Madras Mall •• mid-1 

' • i 1 Bombay Mall vi.i i. 1 jur> J .it hoo! 

, i , n' " Gltaniall (Bombay) Express 

.v ■: «• Standi (Rourksta) Express -*M " .'kV 

I hi. A Arr I mi rpl ‘.linrijj,* 

HO Ahmedabed Express ' i « Him 

h :u 1 1 Kurla Express hi N.iynu ir i«>J> Huji 

*m 1 : i * ,r Coromandal (Madras) Bonn vu # uii.r.i> i.’ i". 2M. 

'•■f s it Fulaknuna (Secunderabad) Express i'«.iu .dim 

tup 1 iuii 'u»" K »r« 

Ai ■ Mu'. Jfti.". \ \.t' 

•Ti; ..ms Bangalore Express i J r sril. 

Lfp ‘iiiuh 1 , 

/*i! huiuLif 

mm i V +! Ttfa Steel Expran id 20 hum 

sin n I'D Ispat (Jharauguda) Express /' ; ,r - H'<V 

.v iii 1 . c'D '.n Tnagarh Express <sd hoik. 

wr r .m id RanSl HaUa Express ■> m H'tlb 

■ Ml')' .VI s . Puri Express VI. s r Illt.n> b U1 hlHJli 

iw nu) Jagamalh (Puri) Express w din: 

h.M «. i J . Dft&il! (Bludnnnirar) Bopress nb :kv 

!!);’•■ East Coast (Hyderabad) txpraes u* iM 

■w'ii ii. -v. PuruHa Express im‘> himm 

!ji'|i txrf|l it'jniiy 
An hi I'M l.'iiilrf, 

i"‘H r. n Azad Hind (Pune) Weekly Express Dl"i 

t'rp \ Arr i.n c .in*. l.iy 

>\r p. .hi Bhubamswar-New Delhi R^dtanl Express « v j w- H* 

I'j'Atiiri' 'Turidiy CJfilv 

M Nets DaBHRkUbMAw Raktenl Express .v.* in r- mm 

Howrrftn '».ilunl^v i.iilv 

m. ' V‘ Guinhall - Howrah - Trivandrum Central Express 0 if. 

Muiiiitv ('iily 

i ; i“. Trtvandnm Central - Howrah - Guwahdl Biprass > < i*. •.t.m 

■ .MllJllJ.lv ..'.IV 

n.' 1 Cochin Hvbour Terminus - Guwohtf Weakly .3 i r < 'Ml' 

Ex pre ss i v : 1 .'iijHti.i'ir'Iiv ill' \ 1 SiiifiT i 
l n iirsriav in !v 

»• ‘M /' v. GiMahad - Cochin Harbour Terminus Weekly ii 1 

Express Vi ‘.■w.’iil. 4 7; > .rpt , rj[ji:iiii;ii 

'..dllll')d\ lllll> 

Cochin Harbors Terminus Express ■ ' o »»'■'■ 

Vr.aiiiMpJii an K Hi'amIc 
Uhd lufs f. in An Iup'j \ * n 
t-'i/Ti 2? .ft Guwshad - Bangalore City Wsakty Expran tv..i 

Howrah & Cu 1 I-«kj Werln»*si!av only 

m os Bangalore City - Guwahad Wsakty Bqmn vj i < 'i*. ■'» 

Hnwrjli & r.nliduk) Mnnilay only 

BtQUHES For maid Be dock kitomB to n ot Eaatom Mhny red SodBt-Eaakm Rdkoynina. 
ptaaaa (Hal 2203546-54 tor bhoomlm trdns; 2203&3M4 tor all other biformtion. For Mormnon 
about reoamadons on Bahm RaHwy and South-Grann RaNny trains, dm 2203498-3500 (horn 8 
am to 8 pm on w eekda ys and 8 am to 2 pm on Sundays and nattod hotkfcp) In addltjon, 
dW 1331 (tor recorded Intomodon on train nmnlng). 131 (regaranp kata operidons) and 135 
(regardlno reaarwdottt) Trdn sendee enquiry d SeakSdi 3503536^37 
Intaracthre Voice Raapona System (5 am to 9 pm nsryday from Monday toSduttayS m to 5 
pm on Sunday): For reeenredon status, diaJ 136 (oompinrisad); DW 2203406 (manual wxpdry). 



Fa hion 


STREET SMART 

With fash in) i going cheap on the pavement, that's the only 

way to he, says Manisha Gulati 

T he relationship between us these clothes came to called, Street fashion, as sold in Sarojini 

street fashion and tashion found their way to the pavements, C?Nagar and fanpath, was once the 

designers has been well where they sold lor dirt-cheap best-kept secret in Delhi. Today it is 

documented The most prut 1 .. a veritable institution And caters to 

obvious example ot this symbiotic every demand* from suits for the 

bond can, ot course, be found m the Luch city had its own place lor working woman to stretchy fabrics 

collections of the Biilish designei these* cheap but due outfits In which will tit beautifully on the 

Vivienne Westwood, the inventor of Calcutta, such outlets as Cuys and beautifully proportioned bodies of 

punk fashion. Westwood found Polls and C.okuldas opened to meet high society women to the trendiest 

inspiration m the whacky, eccentric with the demand for tnese cottons for men These bazaars 

clothes worn by linglish teenagers inexpensive but trendy clothes In don't just have a faithful following; 

on the high street, and created an Bombay, they retailed on the they have assumed the status of a 

entire new look around them Her appropriately' named Fashion cult with the hordes of customers 

clothes, whethei it was the leather Street Anil in Delhi, Sarojini IMagar who patronise them 

mini-skirts or the dresses held and fanpath became, the new F.ver since busy fashion fanatics 

together with safety pins, owed as centres ot street fashion have discovered the time and 

much to street fashion as it did to 1 
the designer s own imagination i 
And nor was Westwood the 1 

only one to rely on th- * street The 
French designer Yves Saint Laurent j 
most famously proclaimed, "Tin 1 ; 
street and I, it’s a love story" Saint 
Laurent considered 1^71 to be the ! 
most important year in the history | 
of fashion because fashion finally 
came dowd to the street What the j 
designer didn't mention was that ; 
the street had always lei l its imprint j 
on haute couture i 

F\en today, such internationally i 
renowned designei s as feun Paul J 
(«aulMer and (aanm Versace present I 
us with their own take on high ; 

street designs every time the\ show j 
a new collection on the ramp And * 
it rip-olfs of their prel-a-porter 
collection find their wav to the high 
street sooner rather than later, then 1 

that's only fair Alter all, the street is , 
only taking back w h.it it inspired m i 
the tirst place i 

In India, the concept of street 
fashion took shape with the export 
boom in the Seventies There wen 1 
numerous tashion export houses j 

trying to cope with the demand toi 
Indian ready-mades And not all ol j 
them managed to meet the 
deadlines or the strict quality 
control standards that were m j 

effect Result these "export rejects". 



18 





money saving chic of street fashion, 
dressing by catalogues, labels and 
money nas become less mandatory 
With more than 50 shops and over 
the same number of designers to 
choose from, women can buy 
everything from headbands to high 
heels simply by paying a visit, 
browsing through neaps and the 
most essential word word, 
bargaining. 

It has often been said that the 
concept is inspired by the street 
scene in Paris . hence the short little 
trench coats, cotton-satin zip-front 
jackets, and body hugging suits that 
Parisians are currently wearing from 
the Bastille to the Champs FJysees. If 
the clothes have a retrospective 
feeling — they were probably seen on 
models wearing designer labels And 
why not. The collection actually 
consists of the rejected pieces of 
clothing from exporters and 
manufacturers that are not sent all 
over the world due to small defects 
like a button shift, increase in length 
by 1 inch, or a round collar instead 
of a pointed one 

Designers abroad send in their 
patterns to India where they are 
manufactured in bulk, sent abroad 
and get the appropriate labels 




slapped onto them Jayant Sahni, 
fashion coordinator at Otto, India, 
says, "Westerners are very finicky 
when it comes to designs. Even a 19- 
20 difference from the sample is 
enough for them to reject Inc whole 
pile. These are then sold here for Rs 
20 instead ot $20 Once when 1 was 
in London 1 bought a t-shirl tor my 
neice for $ 35 . It's only later when I 
got it home that I saw the Made in 
India' tag on it. I felt like such a fool. 
They would think 1 bought it hen- 
form Sarojim Nagar." 

Sizing problems notwithstand- 
ing, the pleasure ot getting the latest 
fashions dirt cheap nas touched the 
most sophisticated big-city trend- 
setters. Not surprisingly, today s 
bargains are a lot mom in tune with 
hip ready-to-wear silhouettes than 
they were five years ago. Witness the 
new at-home-oi.-the-range offerings. 
They're right on target for this years' 
fascination with all things Western, 
including some pretty wild stuff : 


soft, supple fringed satin jackets, 
pallazos and tops in various shades 
of tobacco, sage-brush and 
sandstone 

While some shops till their 
hangers with glitz and glamour, 
several take a more relaxed approach 
with casual wear You can gel almost 
impeccably cut, seamed and fitted 
clothes that hug the body like a film. 
This season specially, hemlines have 
gone higher, dresses have scooped 
out or squared off necklines The 
long numbers are flared or cinched 
in at the waist 

Madhoo, a Sarojim Nagar 
regular, gushes, "They’re audacious 
T hey put more outrageous things on 
your bodies than any designer. The 
other day I was wearing this lop and 
matching pants which I had got 
! from Sarojim Nagar months ago and 
; my boss asked me Are vou wearing 
■ David Abraham 7 ' And then went on 
j to tell me that David Abraham had 
i come out with this new 


19 




monochromatic collection which he 
thought I was wearing 1 wanted to 
tell him David was a vear too late." 

C omfortablc, wearable and most 
often durable, the men’s collection 
focuses more on form and styling 
details, that give it a fashionable 
handwriting, than on fabric and 
quality The clothes tend to be 
hybrids A natural earthy 
palette browns, sands, olive, 
greens, greys — is accentuated by the 
1 1 sc o t tc\ lu red lab ocs- -corduroy, 
brushed cotton. The baggy; bulked 
out look is made of thin cotton, 
crushed cotton and blends All in 
blight colours, plains, stripes, plaid 
checks and psychadelic patterns 
Steles vary according to 
taste - sharp mun-about- town, 
notched or peaked lapels, no lapels, 
usual or tormal buttons 

The collections' simplicity ensure 
that the clothes will not date rapidly 
It s sensible, and it's civili/ed Which 
is just what you’d expect for a 
hundred bucks Runny says, "It's a 
modern collection, not a classic 
Mecv " Ago vs Patel, "It is a light- 
lraited and down-lo-earth approach 
to shopping " 


bargaining with non-stop banter and 
sometimes a tip here and there about 
what is in and which shop provides 
tt. 

Janpath is m tested with the 
regular tourist crowd Connaught 
Place is famous for Needless to say, 
prices vary for the white-skinned 
and the not-so-fair. Flanked by a row 
of cosmetic shops and the famous 
Deepauls with their more famous 
cold coffee, [an path is a great 
rendezvous joint for the youngsters 
in the mood for a little look-see and 
with little purchasing power The 
heaps of clothes on ‘sale' if you can 
call it that — prices come down from 
Rs.50 to Rs.20 — have an incessant 
screaming shopkeeper saving ck kc 
do 

Part ot the pret-a-porter gang are 
also the lingerie shops located just 
next to the outer-wear department 
The latest designs and the most 
bright colours, they’re an absolute 
eye-stoppper, specially the corsets 
and the g-strings Be forewarned 
though They look betle; than they 
fit 

Astounding looks and maverick 
style apart, a selection ot the latest 
costume jewellery is also available at 


metal beads, ethnic beads worn 
multi-layered, ornate metal amulets 
and cult links. The designs look as 
hip on the streets of Delhi as they do 
in New York, Milan, London, or on 
the streets ot Paris The new trend is 
to make one bold impression with 
your chosen piece woqi on an 
otherwise simple but fashionable 
outfit 

And now for a summary of what 
is popular on the streets of fashion 
for this fall : 

Legs, the longer the length on 
display, the better 

Silver whether it’s necklaces, 
bracelets or belts, shine on for 19%. 

Red. that is the colour of the 
season, no matter what you're 
talking about — trousers, skirts, 
dresses, shirts or suits 

Pop art ideas. Sixties' inspired 
silhouttes and prints move into the 
Nineties. Colour has made a 
comeback Pucci print leggings arc 
already as popular as black ones 
were a year ago 

City quilts: quilted outerwear 
goes urban. 

Colour clash, surprisingly brash 
tones team up. 

Fur trim: the fake stuff on 


D own-to-earth is right 
Sandwiched between a 
vegetable market and and all-goods 
market, Sarojmi Nagar is quite a 
levelling experience One bag 
contains the latest denim bustier and 
the other has a sprig of dhanm leaves 
popping out Quaint loo are the little 
tamers you can get for the whole 
shopping expedition tor Rs.5 The 
little girls carry your bags and see 
you through the rigours of 


the most cost-cutting prices For all 
those perennial favourite outfits, 
leans and a white shirt, a classic 
trouser suit, a sweater dress, a black 
polo-neck or a black evening dress— 
you simply have to select a tew key 
pieces to update your wardrobe to 
the hottest new fashion styles. 

The must-haves are matte gold 
or silver pieces, diamante' type 
sparklers, silk cords worn with 
pendants, extra long strands of 


blouses, skirts, satin jackets is the 
new in thing. 

Graphic patterns: look great in 
black, white and red. 

But if you want to be a true 
forerunner of the revolution that is 
taking place in fashion, choose your 
garment according to vour personal 
slvle. Because as they say 'you are 
what you wear' And we wouldn't 
want an identity crisis here now, 
would we? ■ 


JUNIOR WHIRL j UAL K AUF .MAN 



•WHO SHE?"Cina is my niece/' said Georgina to 
her brother George. "But she is not MY niece," 
said Georgina. How can this be explained? 
Answer in one minute. 


j.i|ifttnvps .itf i» •")*.! wii*' 


WAY TO GO! Move along, Mom, we’ll be late for 
the parade. Draw connecting lines dot to dot to 
complete the picture. 


TEN COUNT! Note 
amounts 230, 210, 2200 
and 22 on the 
blackboard in the 
diagram at right These 
arc results obtained 
when a certain number 
is multiplied by 10, 
divided by 10, increased 
by 10, or reduced by 10, 
but not necessarily in 
that order. 

You are asked to determine that certain number 

Hint- Answer has three digits 

Remember, amounts on blackboard represent lesults 
of tour different computations. 

\UM*I pur p.upunqii’ui >i ikmin.imPm : Miuuifv, 




MUSICAL MIX-UPS TO 
PONDER 

There is a mix-up of sorts in 
the drawing at left - one of the 
musicians is out of step. And 
there are mix-ups aplenty among 
names of the 15 musical instru- 
ments below. 

How quickly can you rearrange 
letters to identify instruments? 

1. Buta 8. Etonbonn 

2. Napio 9. Lufet 

3. Locel 10. Pumtrct 

4. Urmd 11. Snobaso 

5. Eboo 12. Belug 

6. Arincelt 13. lnovil 

7. Locopic 14. Scyblam 
15. Phaxsoone 

S ee if you can unscramble at 
least ten of them. 

•ii it n|«ii >x rj, s| s|pi|UM‘) |»| ui|ni,\ u J|Sfn« f| 

uoo*.srq i| i.hIuiiu], oi f» .uiu»himii q n|n\n t | 

^ l.mui'i > q.RKH) uiiij^i t ‘M| t > hum, | ; | i 









0k 

v OMICS 


ARCHIE 













WHY CO X LET 

you humiu/ktb 

MS LIKE THIS 7» , 


l/coe if TOO \ 
I /DON'T X'ULPOU- 
TOOR LUNGES OUT 
















Amit Saigal: Happy that his dream came true 


Rock Around 
the Clock 


With Amit Saiga l, editor-publisher of India 's first music magazine, The Rock 

Street Journal . Manisha Vardhan reports 


T hen- isn't much that makes 
him stand out in a crowd 
Not much at all, it you 
discount the shaggy 
ponytail sprayed carelessly with 
splashes of grey, the soft hazel eyes, 
and ilie sudden smile that 
illuminates his face. 

But what really does set Amit 


Saigal apart is that he is a dreamer. 
Not your usual run-of thc-mill kind 
I of dreamer. But one who dares to 
| realise his dreams. That, in the end, 

| is the most compelling quality in 
| him. 

! Thirty-year-old Saigal’s story 
j and that of his drenm-cnild, The 
! Rock Street Journal, t>egins in the 


north Indian town of Allahabad. A 
town still languishing in the slower 
lane of life, in one small quiet 
corner of which lives a rock music 
aficionado, who tries to share this 
consuming passion of his with 
others around the country through 
his magazine. 

But even in Allahabad, Amit 


26 






Saiga] is far from being a household 
name. Ask about him, and his 
magazine, and you will encounter 
blank, uncomprehending looks. And 
it takes a lot of persistent 

; to finally track him 


Bom into a conventional Punjabi 
family, Saigal's initiation into the 
world of music was just as 
conventional. Typically his first 
encounter was with Hindi film 
music "We grew up listening to the 
likes of Manna Dey 
and Lata 

Mangeshkar, " he 
says. "The result is 
that today I find 
myself viving to all 
kinds of music/' 

But Hindi film 


void which was looking to be filled 
up. 

The ground for the birth of The 
Rock Street Journal was laid in these 
years as a struggling musician. In 
fact, so obsessed was Amit with his 
'magazine' that he flooded his 
girlfriend Shenna, during their 
courtship years, with dummy 
layouts of the magazine ratiurr than 
corny greeting cards. Crazy, and 
witty, tnese have been preserved 
carefully to this day by Shenna. 


But bringing out a magazine was 
easier said man done. It was in 
January 1993, that Amit and wife 
Shenna launched the first edition of 
the Journal . Nothing fancy. Just a 
black-and-white self covered issue of 
34 pages. 

Amit wryly recalls the crazy 
gimmicks that he resorted to in an 
effort to get the magazine off the 
ground Tt was at a LSR (Lady Shri 
Kain College in Delhi) tost that we 
decided to launch the magazine. In 
between 


songs soon gave 
way to Western 
music. Amit thinks 
he was in class X or 
XI when he heard 
his first live rock 
performance. "It 
was the first time 
that we saw a 
performance we 
could relate to. They 
were a group from 
the Agricultural 
Institute and called 
themselves 'The 
Agies”' he recalls, 
with a laugh 

‘Ihe spontaneity 
and the instant magic 
of a live performance 
worked its charm on 
the young and 
impressionable mind 
of Amit and his 
friends 

So it was not long 
before Amit and his 
gang got together to 
form a four-piece 
band and did the 
usual circuit of 
college festivals for six years. 

A nd that's where the story of the 
Rock Street Journal starts. 

During his days as a musician, 
(he played the guitar) Amit found 
himself constantly craving for 
information about music. He also 
felt this need to connect with other 
music lovers. 

"There was this paucity of 
information," he recalls. "Basically 
we had to depend on the 'network' 
(the small but die-hard bands of rock 
freaks in the country), you know. 
And there was no magazine in this 
country which dealt seriously with 
rock music/' There was a kind of 


' programmes, we 

'We grew up listening to the likes of Manna Dey rn^SScnis 
and Lata Mangeshkar % Amit says. 'The result is about this great 
that today I find myself viving to all kinds of music.’ tefSIT 8 
But Hindi film songs soon gave way to Western We had installed 
music. And Amit thinks he was in class X or XI 
when he heard his first live rock performance. 'It ca > uI ? 
was the first time that we saw a performance 
we could relate to* 



mymg. 
even offered 
heavy 
discounts " 

This was no 
crazy, impulsive 
venture into 
printing. Amit 
had approached 
his dream project 
in a systematic 
fashion He 
conducted a 
survey at the 
Pilani festival in 
October 92 "We 
circulated a 
questionnaire. 

We were trying 
to find what it 
was that young 
people wanted 
to see and read 
in a music 
magazine/’ he 
says today It 
was the 

overwhelmingly 
positive response 
to that survey which gave final 
shape to the magazine 

H aving a publishing background 
did make things much easier. 
(His father owns and runs a 
publishing business). But 
nonetheless, the first six months 
were very tiying. "In the beginning 
it was just Snenna and me," ne 
recalls. Gradually The Rock Street 
Journal team grew as did the 
magazine. 

In fact, the magazine underwent 
a sea change. The black-and-white 
facade gave way to colour. From 3? 
pages it moved to a glossy of 40 



27 


So obsessed was Amit 
with his 'magazine* that 
he flooded his girlfriend, 
Shenna, during his 
courtship years, with 
dummy layouts of the 
magazine rather than 
corny greeting cards. 
Crazy, and witty, these 
have been preserved 
carefully to this day by 
Shenna 


bul no pop, please/’ 

But the story does not quite end 
here In fact, Amit would not allow it 
to do so. Then? is a lot more that he 
wants to do. Hjls real interest has 
always been the Indian music scene, 
and he is intent on creating a 
platform for budding Indian bands. 

And for this, the magazine was 
not enough So, Saigal organised a 
talent search last year, where up- 
and-coming musicians sent their 
demos. The result was an album 
called The Great Indian Rock. 

Even though there are no big 
names featured in the album, wnat it 
reveals is the enormous depth of raw 
talent waiting in the wings to be 
discovered. And this album has 
given all of them an opportunity to 
be heard. 

Says Amit, "1 want to make this 
talent search an annual feature. 
Besides, I'd like to organise a festival 
of Indian rock bands some time in 
the future/ 1 

The magazine may have been 



Amit In love with music 


Amit’s dream, but wife Shenna has 
pitched in gamely to make it her's 
too. Working behind the scenes, 
helping witn lay-outs and publicity 
ana "doing all the dirty jobs in 
general," as she wryly puts it. "I am 
not really into rock music, the way 
Amit is. But it's been an enjoyable 
experience," says Shenna . 

"What I have really relished is 
the opportunity of playing 
godmother" she says, referring to 
the album that she helped bring out. 


"It was never just a magazine for 
me. What I really wanted to create 
was a forum, an atmosphere of good 
music," Amit explains seriously. One 
look at the sincere expression on his 
face, and you believe in him and his 
dream. 


And trust him to cherish and 
mature yours, like the young groups 
featured in The Great India Rock did. 
And like his faithful band of 30,000 
subscribers do. ■ 


20 



Sketches 

SIGNIFICANT OTHER 

A better look at the better halves 

This Week: Millnd Soman 


B est known for 
Draping himself 
around nis buck- 
naked girlfriend, 
supermodel Madhu 
Sapre, for a commercial 
featuring Tuff shoes and a 
python. Yes, both the 
snake and Soman were 
naked as well. 


Did the shoes sell?: Who 
can tell? The ad was 
yanked out of the papers 
in record time, ana both 
Madhu and Milind had to 
appear in court on 
cnarges of obscenity 

How did they plead?. 

Not guilty, of course. 

They came to court 
looking suitably shame- 
faced, and said that they 
hadn't known they worn 
breaking the law. They 
were merely following 
orders on just another 
photo-shoot (talk about a 
Nuremberg defence!). 

Did this bring them 
closer together?: Well, by 
the look of things, the pair 
appears to be surgically 
joined at the hip. But all is 
not well in paradise, if 
Madhu's interviews are 
anything to go by. 

The lady never loses any 
opportunity to point out 
that Milina is an arrogant 
sod, who is only too 
aware of his good looks, 
and is spoilt silly by all 
the attention lavished on 
him because of them. 


Milind's reaction: Is to 
g^in shyly, and say, "But, 
you love me, Madhu." 
And such is his charm, 
that Sapre gives in to it 
time and again. 



Milind Soman and Madhu Sapre: The Inseparable couple? 


So, when do the couple 
plan to get hitched?: 
Neither of them is willing 
to say. According to 
Milind, he has proposed 
to Madhu on countless 
occasions, only to be 
turned down oy her. 

Sapre is, apparently, quite 
content with the status 
quo. 

Doesn't familiarity breed 
contempt?: Not with 
Sapre, evidently. The ladv 
is happiest witn the devil 
she knows best. And 
that's as true of her 
professional life as it is of 
ner personal. Some years 
ago, Madhu went off to 
the West to try and make 
it in modelling circles 
there. But she was back in 
a matter of months, 
having missed India too 
much. Well, that, at ]east, 
was Sapre's version. 

Was there any other?: 


Isn't there always? Sapre's 
detractors had it that 
Madhu had failed to get 
much work in the West. 
According to them, Ms 
Sapre's backside was far 
too large by foreign 
modelling standards, and 
she had been turned 
down by most important 
clients. So, rather than be 
relegated to the second — 
or even third — division, 
Sapre had decided to 
come back to amchi 
Mumbai. 

And Milind?: He 
remained back in India, 
joining Madhu only for 
the odd holiday. Clearly, 
he didn't think that the 
girls — not to mention the 
model agencies — in 
London and Paris would 
go a bundle on his brand 
of dark good looks. 

Future plans: Include 
making it in the movies 


(these days, Bollywood 
appears to be the next 
port of call for all models: 
look at Aishwarya and 
Sushmita, for instance) 
Madhu and Milind were, 
in fact, signed up by Dev 
Anand for his next movie. 
But those plans came to 
naught, and Anand 
announced that he was 
dropping the pair. 
Apparently, their nakhras 
were too much for the 
veteran director to 
stomach. 

Bye-bye Bollywood is it?: 
No way, this couple 
doesn't give up quite so 
easily. Both Sapre and 
Soman are trying hard to 
land another film. But 
much to their horror, they 
are not being offered hero 
and heroine, but villain 
and vamp 

And nobody's throwing 
in a python lor good 
measure, either. ■ 


29 



PERSON 


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7 JULY 1996# 


The Telegraph 


■POSTMORTEM 

SM«Doo 

■ It wre great reading 
about me Mkdeherjee mb* 
lines making fit big in the 
Hindi pop scene (things 
Sartre*, May 19). Despite 
bdM the diildren of a 
W«D Known music direc- 
tor Manas Mukherjec, 
they did not use their 
father's name and chose 
to work their way up. 

We feel quite proud of 
them and hope their 
musical career will have a 
happy ending unlike 
the fete of the other broth- 
er-sister duo — Nazia and 
Zoheb Hasan. 

MwMbm Chakraborty 
Calcutta 

S At this moment Shaan 
and Sagartka require a 
godfather like Biddu who 
can give the right break 
and add his Midas touch 
to their numbers. 

Pmrtha Pratim Modmk 
Howrah 


£ It was a refreshing 
change to read about 
Shaan and Sagarika's 
meteoric rise to the top of 
the Indian pop. I had the 
opportunity to hear them 
live in Calcutta and they 
definitely have what it 
takes to become present 
day popstais. 

But they should con- 
centrate on composing 




g- 

// 


*Jt- * 

*v 


* 



original scares rather than 
belting out old Hindi film 
hits. 

Singing techno-mix 
numbers will not help 
them gp a tang way in the 
highly competitive world 
of pop music. 

' ilinnf lHuHtnJfr 
Calcutta 


S PAGE 4 


£ These new kids on the 
block did not deserve 
such coverage. Their 
music will not be able to 
stand die test of time. Can 
anyone recall any of their 
numbers which remained 
popular for more than six 
months? Perhaps there is 
a specific dan of fans for 


such "six-month-won- 
dm'. 

AotmMhhm 

Cuttack 

* It is encouraging to 
read about sudi ttpcom- 
ing pop artistes like Shaan 
Sagarika in your maga- 
zine. But there are several 
competent exponents of 
Indian classical music 
who performed with great 
success in India and 
abroad only to be neglect- 
ed or ignored by the 
media. They too deserve 
the attention and respect 
due to them. 

Sautaak Kumar Skarma 
Kharagpur 

New Feluda 


is a talented actor and is 
best suited to slip into 
Soumtoa Ch atter je c' s 
shoes as the new Feh»?a. 
Chakrabarty has already 
p er fo rmed credibly in 

films like Swct^l^athmrr 
Th*ia and KaktMm Here 
Gelcn. He should have no 
tin enacting die 
k«rf Feluda. 
SandipRay, after balk- 
ing Fehidta fans by pre- 
senting a bulky Shashi 
Kapoor, has finally made 
a commendable choice. 
Armmb Bmmer j ec 
O Ocutt* 


LUKE KENNY, the celebrity veejay, talks about 
Calcutta, the city of his birtn and his life at large 

PAGE 26 

WHAT'S "IN' this summer. Fashion designers 
unfurl their season's collections 


Luke Kenny 


S| < | IONS 


16 TIME TABLE 
20 INNER EYE 
22 COMICS 
26 FASHION 
30 FIRST PERSON 


Cover: Oesha Kdly an 
ChowdtKiry 




KENNY 


The Channel V veejay is hot stuff, reports Susmtta Banerjee 

Ptwtoy»ph»byD wh« K«ly«nChoww»iyqf 



ALL OF INDIA MAY BE IN LOVE WITH LUKE 
Kenny; well at least those under 21 . But Kenny 
himself is in love with Calcutta. The long- 
haired blonde veejay was bom in this city of 
joy, and even though he left it after a mere four 
months, he still has a special place in his heart 
for it. 

What he didn't like was Roland Joffe's 
portrayal of it in his movie. The City of Joy. "It 
was all trash," he says angrily about Joffe's 
take on the city. "I think Calcutta is a lovely 
place," says Kenny, "It's cool and not the 
black hole that it is dubbed overseas." 

Foreigners may be discouraged from visit- 
ing Calcutta, but Luke enjoys spending time 
in this city. And he particularly likes the vinta- 
ge aura surrounding the city. "It's got both the 
colonial and the native blend," says Luke. 
"When you walk down some of the roads in 
Calcutta, you have this feeling that die days of 
the Raj are looking down on you." At the same 
time, says Kenny, the city is very vibrant and 
modem in its tastes in music, fashion, films, 
and even architecture. 

Strolling down Bentick Street on a lazy after- 
noon, Luke is taken aback when a school kid 
stops in his tracks and asks him, "Hey, aren't 
you Luke?" Television has made him a cele- 
brity, and he's probably recognised all over 
the country. But being recognised in the dty of his birth, Calcutta, 
holds a special thrill for him. 



Walking the streets of 
Calcutta and (left) the 
long-haired veejay In a 
serious mood 


Luke Weis bom in Calcutta's Rippon Street to Irish-Italian parents 
who moved out of this city to settle in the showbiz town, Bombay. But 
Luke can never forget his Calcutta connections. 

"I wish there was someone who could show me die house I lived in as 
a child on Rippon Street," he says wistfully. That's, of course, assum- 
ing that the house even exists today. It's quite likely that a highrise 
building is now in existence on the site, and that every sign of the 
Kenny household has been wiped out. 

Luke's memories endure, though, based on the tales of Calcutta he 
heard from his grandmother. Tales of pheaton rides and gas lights. 



Cau^IntibtrackcYcwnofim 


and of a far more elegant age. But 
today's Calcutta of the slew Metro 
system, the swanky Marutis and the 
monster mini-buses doesn't exactly 
tally with the fairy stories of 
grandma. But Kenny is fascinated 
with this new face of the 
rityaswelL 

'It is incredible," he marvels^ "the 
way Calcutta manages its transport 


system, the buses* the trams* the Metro, 
horse-drawn carriages* human-drawn 
carriages* you name it and they're 
vying for a space on the road." The 
veejay loves Calcutta's trams the best, 
as tncy ace the city's hallmark- "The 
government should do everything to 
preserve it" he says. "I think it is the 
best form of transport maybe not as 
weD maintained as those in France and 


Hong Kon^, but they are great 


/"Tad in faded jeans, knotted 
V^Jiandloom top and boofe his 
blonde tresses caressing his shoulders* 
Luke Kenny looks like just another 
ftnmg tourist loitering on the streets of 
Calcutta. The Gandhi sunglasses 
complete the look, but the image is 
destroyed dre moment the veejay opens 
his mouth. He speaks English and 
Hindi without a trace of an accent as he 
browses through a book shop on Park 
Street and asks the sales assistant how 
much certain books costs. 

Luke loves to talk, and when he does* 
you can't help fed that he always thinks 
that a television camera is focussed on 
him. Yes* heisisalwayspeifpr n iipfr 
whether it's talking nineteen to the 
dozen, throwing his arms about 
jumping up and down to emphasise a 
point or even cracking the odd joke or 
dropping a one-brier or two. It's only 
when somebody comes up and 
whispers urgently in his ear, "Luke; we 
are late for the shoot" that you realise 
that he's not on camera as yet 

Channel Vs hottest veejay on the 
block, Luke is definitely different from 
his ilk A foreigner bom and brought 
up in India, who proudly claims mat he 
is a Bhartiya. He does not roll his 'r^ to 
get that typical American twang while 


LORD OF THE RINGS 

Luke Kenny ’s fingers can do with some checking out 


Once Luke folds his hands and gets 
veejaying, making those quick 
movements of the head and waist 
don't miss the rings that he sports 
on his fingers. There are eight of 
them! Made of dull silver and 
picked up from such varied places 
as Bombay and Delhi or gifted by 
friends and near and dear ones. 

''There is a philosophy attached 
to each of these rings," explains 
Luke, "in the signs they stand for. 1 
believe in them." There's the ring 
that preserves his father's memory; 
a bloodstone set in silver; a sign of 
peace (he wears a similar sign hung 
from a long golden chain round his 
neck); the two faces of Gemini (his 
Zodiac sign); one with Buddhist 
scriptures inscribed on it; a Shiv 
lingam; an eagle; a woman; and the 
sun. 

The sun and the eagle, symbols 


of power, fascinate the voting everyone likes to achieve at some 

veejay. Power is s6metning which time or the other in one's life and 

Luka's coltection of rtoQK Each has a fate to tei 



Having his cake and rating it too? 


Luke is no different. And as an 
Indian' he never forgets to stress 
cm the point that he believes in all 
religion and hence the Buddhist 
script and Shiv lingam adorning his 
fingers. 

But what about the woman 
residing on one of his fingers? But 
Kenny's take on women is rather 
more complicated. "I think they 
are great politicians. Ever since 
creation my have proved it Men 
think they rule the world, but they 
don't. It's the woman who controls 
the universe," is his philosophical 


response. 

The last time Luke was in 
Calcutta for the Channel V Road 
Show, he looked around a few 
shops on Chofwxinahce for a couple 
of quaint rings but he did not like 
the ones on mplay. But Kenny 
han't tost hope as yet "lam told 
that in New Market there is a shop 
which spedatiaesm silver baubles 
and antique jewellery/' he says. 
'The next time I am in Calcutta I 



veejaying, as his co-hosts and hostesses 
do even if they haven't been further 
west than Dadar. Nor does he use 
Americanisms to get his point across. 
Kenny's English is that of an upper 
middie-dass Indian, and his Hindi is 
completely authentic. And why not. 

For, as the veejay emphasises, "1 am an 
Indian." 

In a sense, Luke has stood the 
conventional wisdom — as far as 
Channel V went — on its head. It had 
long been accepted (from the days of 
MTV Asia, in fact) that the veejays of 
Western music programming should 
be Western not just in their looks*, 
orientation, reference points but also in 
the way they spoke. Itnelped, of course, 
■ if they looked Indian so mat the 
audiences could identify with them 

So, a perfect c omp romise was struck. 
The music channels took Indian — or 
half-Indian — boys and girls who had 
either been bom and brought up 
abroad or had spent a lot of time cm 
foreign shores and made them into 
veejays. This strategy had its 
advantages. Not only were these 
people familiar with the Western music 
scene having grown up with it but they 
also spoke 'foreign': a quality that most 


Indians are impressed by. 

Thus, the Indian television screens 
played host to Ruby Bhatia (who had 
been brought tro in Canada}, Sophiya 
Haque (bom of a Bangladeshi father 
and an English mother) and Kamal 
Sidhu (another Canada-returned 
beauty queen). 

But then, along came I^uke Kenny, 
and changed all the rules. Despite his 
Irish-ltafian lineage, and his/rnut# 
looks, Kenny had the appeal of — and 
sounded Kike — the boy next door. He 
used Bombay Hindi as part of his TV 
patter, his English was unaccented, and 
nis performance was completely 
natural. 

Today, when you walk down die 
streets of the dty with Luke, you realise 
that he's a bona tide celebrity. Not only 
is he continually haunted by autograph 
hunters even those who don't 
approach him nudge each other and go, 
"Luke, Luke, isn't it?" And like most 
other celebrities, Kenny gets his share 
of perks, media attention wherever he 
goes lots of crazy admirers good 
money, and a new flat in Versova. 

But then, even when he was a child, it 
was obvious that Kenny was headed 
for the big time. The boy, who was bom 




with the proverbial gift of the gab and a 
talent for histrionics, was always doing 
something in school, "cither acting or 
singing"' quite the best training for 
someone who would grow up to be a 
veejay 

Kenny, however, entered the world 
of television quite by accident. The 
garrulous 20 year old (he's now 24) was 
deqaying at a private party in Bombay, 
when he was singled out by a Star TV 
official, who had been quite taken in 
with his performance. And the rest, as 
they say, was histoiy . 

I t was way back in the Fifties that 
Luke's grandparents came to India 
His grandfather began working as a 
jazz drummer in Calcutta, and the 
Kennys took up lodging somewhere in 

8 


Kippon Street. Nearly a decade later, 
diners at the Blue Fox rocked to the 
tunes of Luke's father's guitar. It was 
the Sixties and rock 'n roll held sway 
and this small Irish-ltahan family 
merged with Calcutta's cross culture; 
where tl\e rich and the fashionable 
dined out every single night and 
patronised musical bands in 
restauranV. 

After Luke was bom, the Kennys 
shifted to Thane in suburban Bombay. 
Thus, little Luke grew up in a 
cosmopolitan, middle-class 
atmosphere, playing in the locality 
ark and shattering the glass panes of 
is neighbours with his wild sixers. "I 
was a terror in the neighbour hood and 
everyone called me the monkey boy," 
he reminisces. It was only a matter of 


time before Kenny was speaking 
perfect Hindi which he learnt from his 
friends, and had become as Indian as 
them: only his light skin and golden 
locks set him apart. "I've always had 
long hair. 1 allowed it to grow till I 
would be caught in school and thrown 
out," recalls the veejay with a chuckle. 

His grandmother doubled as his 
mother (who died when he was just 
seven) and had a tough time bringing 
up the mischievous brat. There would 
be complaints from the neighbours, as 
well as from the principal of Luke's 
school. Luke hated studies and if he 
could help it he would stay away from 
classes every day. "1 was never an 
outstanding student, but just about 
managed to scrape through." But a 
stickler for discipline that she was. 
Granny Kenny made sure Luke 
completed his 10 years in St John the 
Baptist. 

"Then," confesses Luke, "I joined 
Elphinstone College but dropped out 
before the H.S. examinations." "Tell 
me," asks Kenny in his next breath, 
"does education serve any purpose in 
this country? Look at the people 
running this country, are they 
educated?" 

It's not necessary to be a good actor to 
be a good veejay, runs the rule. Fluency, 
ready wit, and a good script can see you 
thnmgh the programme. But Luke is 
also a good actor having performed in 
school plays in his student days and 
having worked in the productions ot 
Burjor Patel and Bharat Dabholkar in 
his youth in Bombay. Some years ago 
Calcutta theatre lovers will remember 
seeing him perform in the English play. 
Carry an Bhidas, at Kala Mandir. With 
his fluid Hindi diction he was also 
featured in a Hindi /English three- act 
play. Partner. But Luke wouldn't like to 
pursue a career on stage for, as he says, 
"I like to act now and then and more so 
in musicals, but I am not so senous 
about it". 

He loves the camera and the idea of it 
following him to exotic locations while 
he chats with his audience through the 
lens. But talking to the camera can be 
boring unless enlivened by anecdotes 
and jokes and some light chatter. "You 
have to do a lot of reading also to keep 
yourself up to date on the music/' says 
the veejay. And Luke is a voracious 
reader: from films, music, fiction, non- 
fiction, you name it; he has them all. 
Once shooting is over and he has 
finished his hot chai he will settle down 
in his favourite chair and thumb 
through the pages of a classic 

"You must be dear about what you 
are saying before the camera and be as 




much youisclf as possible/' says Luke. 
Bui LSi\'t iheie a chance of certain 
amount ot boredom setting in, as the 
viv,av becomes repetitive? 

"No/' comes the emphatic response, 
"first of all there is a script written by 
someone else although most veejays do 
not strictly follow it. Secondly, each 
programme has a different theme and 
mood and there is only a five per cent 
chance of you repeating yourself," 

L.i ike p< >ints out As lar as l ,uke is 
concerned, toi most of the time the 
script is forgotten and he packs in his 
owii words into the show. "It comes out 
wonder tully/' he says in his usual 
modest fashion 

G rowing up m Bombay on a diet of 
Amitabh Barhchan blockbusters, 
Luke always wondered how it would 
be if he too could grow up to be a 
superstar like his matinee idol. Films 
became a passion with him and 
whenever there was a little time and 
some extra pocket money he would 
sneak into a cinema hall. 

Steven Spielberg opened a wide new 


world of wonder before him; he fell in 
love with David Lynch; he saw Gotw 
with the Wind four times and never felt 
satiated; Cussablanca had him in tears. 
He started buying all kinds of books on 
films and spent hours devouring them. 
At one stage he found he was spending 
more mor\ey on books than on nis food. 

At 24, Luke still dreams of becoming 
an actor on the big screen. With his 
Bombay style English, fluency in Hindi, 
and 'foreign' looks he could make a 
place for mmself in tinsel town's 
formula films And Kenny is quite 
confident of doing so. "In three-four 
years' time I'll do something in films: 
either before the camera or behind it," 
he says, with quiet confidence. Would 
that be an English or Hindi film? "The 
language is not important," says Luke, 
"but I can assure you it will not be a 
formula movie but something you will 
all enjoy." And where will he snoot it: 
in Hollywood or Bollywood? "That's 
again not important," comes the 
dignified rejoinder. 

The road from Rippon Street to 


Versova hasn't been exactly tough 
going for Luke And there's no reason 
why the road to Film City — and from 
there to Hollywood — should be 
strewn with thorns either After all, 
haven't things always come 
remarkably easy tor Kenny? 

Despite that, the Channel V veejay 
has a remarkably cool head screwed tin 
firmly to those slender shoulders. 1 le's 
not a prisoner to his celebrity status, 
he's quite happy walking down the 
streets in Iris comfortable jeans and 
funky shirts. He doesn't smoke, he 
doesn't drink, and he is a strict 
vegetarian And despite being one of 
India's most eligible bachelors, he 
doesn't have anyone special in his life at 
the moment. 

But then, the veejay doesn't believe in 
the institution of marriage, either. 
"What is important is that two minds 
meet," he says, "and does that happen 
in all marriages?" Perhaps not But we 
can think of millions of girls who would 
give an arm and a leg to try, when it 
comes to Luke Kenny. ■ 


9 


EREYE 


BEJAN DARUWALLA 



Aries 

March 21 - April 20 

"i (kmesha say*’, the 
j personal and the 
professional, do mix 
this week All the action 
you want will he from 
Inly y to July 12 Work, 
home and all practical attnirs will be 
slanted. The eliS as well as relatives 
and even vour boss, might need your 
care and attention 

Taurus 

April 21 — May 20 

'I Do watch you i step, 

] literally and otherwise 
! Expenses could 
j multiply, though for a 
| worthy cause It could 

I well be travel lime lor 

business and tor welfare or others and 
yourself too July *M1 will be important 
for family and work Your colleagues 
and pets will demand attention 

Gemini 

May 21 - Juno 20 

I he week accentuates 
your job, profession 
and business A good 
time to give/ieceivc 
favours he generous 
At dinners and parties 
your luck will hold Try to have your 
moments oi stillness amid all the 
hustle and bustle W'thm your 
limitations, you will have choices 

Cancer 

June 21 — July 20 

I ho sun-Mcrcurv 

■‘1 ¥ injunction on July II 

LJJOpJ makes you bold and 
adventurous Be so by 
• all means but also 

remember to be 

practical and woildlv There's much 
unliru ihed business to be done and 
that will letpnre the best you are 
capable ot 


m 



Leo 

; July 21 — August 21 

'] The middle of the week 
is ideal tor buying, 
selling, slioppmg and 
trading. Yes, your 
sources ol income do 
_ increase, and by 
| September von should have the spin- 
off a good ('ne, ot the etloils \ou do 
put in, now fuiunev, celebrations and 
expenses make a trio 

Virgo 

August 22 — September 22 

’ j This is a good time to 
mend yum fences, heal 
yourself and others and 
that's not easy and 
simple It is lime tor 
von to cleai away the 
i inessential and make life simple I’he 
I paradox is that love will find a home m 
I your heart But it v\ ill not he a simple 
i affair A little caie ot health would help 

•Libra 

S September 23 — October 22 

IVopk ma\ not see 
tilings vour wav, but 
JU' jTjffiL communications, travel 
■ft av and a good time make 
l ^ it worthwhile A little 

ta c t will help This 
week is a medley of work and 
household atlairs It is certain that you 
w ill be slogging it out at work Fxpecl 
happy lesulls in the next two months 

Scorpio 

j October 23 -- November 22 

r ' The i hild shows the 

\ghjlLjL man, as morning shows 

! the dav" and this is a 

tune lor mcmoi ies and 
3 flashbacks hum the past, 

, . assures ( .anesha 

; Meditation, tiavel and health safeguards 
| should see you through satelv ion will 
’ certam!\ meet l few interesting peojile 
Be s\ stematic in your work 


Sagittarius 

November 23 — December 20 
Love, feelings, 
spontaneity will 
activate you While this 
could create 
complications, rest 
assured that's the real 
| you and therefore there is no shame in 
being what you really are Meeting and 
I breaking of minds and hearts is more 
j than possible. July 11-13 is action time. 

; Capricorn 

; December 21 — January 19 

while pressures will 
i build, you will be alert, 

l f MR m your antenna vibrant 

CSS^Jh and ready to receive all 

I JLSST messages and hints. 

; Clashes and 

| coopeiation go together Wh'le finances 
j will continue to be important, you will 
| look to the subjective side of vour life 
! including the home and the family 

Aquarius 

| January 20 February 18 

Alliances and meetings, 
home and family 
memoers, contacts and 
consequent contracts is 
what the week is all 
_ about Also, then* will 
he a strong emphasis, once again, on 
job, work, loans, investments and 
health ha/aids and that will apply right 
upto July 2?. Week ot changes 

Pisces 

! February 19 — March 20 

Finances and emotional 
bonding make your life 
Reserve vour best shot 
tor July 10-1 J Your 
creativity will be at a 
high pilch ot excellence 
j Children, hobbies, pastime, fun and 
| games is how it will go w'lth you On and 
j altoi July IS, you should have a happier 
lime ot it Fven it hurt, try to he polite 


BIRT HD AYS 


Jufy 7 : Moon aext He Veruus-Mare will provide, claims 
Ganesha, help «hd relief despite difficulties. This la a good 
time to ask for favours. 

jtify <8.' Moonsquaw Neptune assure* a pragmatic, no- 
matoabMm approach. You could becaught in the cross-fire of 
.making crucial 'd*$$one. .bo leave a margin for delays. 

, Jftdy 9 ; Moon trinejjfupUer means time to travel, romance, 

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of success ia ftjretdd. Ymnpjcial life will be great. 

Jiffy 10: Moon eektfle fcajffiepttine macks one of the finest 
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Money position, commwnicafive fUK 
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July II; Sun-Mercury conjunction enafcfy*;:«ni: tob$t 
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CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE 


Kalpana icijmi is all set to film the story of a hermaphrodite and his ageing 
actress mother. Vaishali Honawar profiles the director 


H er office in Bombay's 

Matraj Studios is full of 
portraits and memories of 
the lone-gone past when 
other members of her family were 
making their presence felt in India's 
film world But Kalpana Lajmi 
herself lives in a world that is as 
modem as the computer on her 
table. For, him else could the 
woman have made such a 
pathbreaking film as Ek Pal. 

For years this niece of film 
legend Guru Putt has voiced 
torthright views on her lifestyle and 
single status, ami hei 
unconventional ideas haw found 
reflection in the unusual films she 
makes. Her first him, Ek Pal, made 
in 19H7, brought her acclaim and is 
certainly one of the more 
memorable movies of the period It 
told the story of a married woman 
who renews an old affair while her 
husband is away and e en gets 
pregnant 

With Rudiiali, which was 
released in 1994, Lajmi once again 
reiterated her position as a film 
maker of substance, wowing the 
critics and pulling the audiences 
into the theatres L> watch a 
"morbid" story that had been told 
differently 

Now, aftei a longish gap of over 
two years, she's ready to go on the 
floors with her third film, 

Darmiyaau. Says Lajmi, '1 lake a 
long time between films because I 
prefer to do eve ly thing myself 1 
also research my subjects m depth 
and get all the details right before 1 
begin shooting " Extensive 
rehearsals and dancing classes tor 
the entire cast 'to make their bodies 
supple” have also been in progress 
"After all, I cannot afford to keep 
shooting retakes with the kind of 
budget I have," Lajmi laughs 

There have been several setbacks 
since she first began the project. 
Dimple K«ipadia and Shah Rukh 
Khan, her first choice for the roles of 
the protagonists, an actress and her 
hermaphrodite son, backed out. 
Paresh Rawal, who was also 



Kalpana Lajmi: Forthright director 


approached for the eunuch's role, 
signed the film and then went on to 
do a similar role m Mahesh Bhatt's 
Tanmtna a fact Lajmi is still bitter 
about But she has managed to get 
past the hurdles and shooting for 
Darmn/tum will begin in August. 

Sitting m her office one ram- 
specked atternoon, Lajmi appears 
pretty relaxed, (hough one can sense 
the energy bubbling away in the 
strong voice that makes its point 
articulately and minces no words. 
Her bio-data tells you she's 42 but 
nothing abcpiil her gives that awav 
and despite her ample build it's not 
difficult to believe that she's the 
woman whom Dev Anand once 
offered Zecnat Amin's role in limn 
Pnnna 

The memoir makes her laugh 
delightedly But there are no regrets 
ovei that lost chance to become a 
Bollywood star She did love acting, 
she says, and even played major 
roles in some plays. But it was 
cinema that beckoned in a stronger 
voice until one day she jest barged 
into cousin Shyam Benegal s office 
to beg for a job 

"lie was finishing Attkur around 
that time and 1 became one of his 


assistant directors,” she recalls. ‘I 
had to practically start from 
scratch.” The 12 years she spent 
with him were a vital education in 
discipline rather than film making 
per se, she savs, which stood her in 
good stead when she decided to 
strike out on her own 

L ajmi has since proved hersell as a 
director of substance several 
tunes over, both on television and 
on the big screen Alter the critical 
success ot Ek Pul, Rmiuult fetched as 
tnanv as M) national a ml 
international aw aids, (liuugli no! a 
single one tor director, ’slu sav’s 
with an i \ agger. iled sigh 

Perhaps ifs a lapse she can 
correct with Lhinnn/uon Hie film 
with its unusual slorvlme should 
certainly make people sit iip and 
take notice Produced by R V. 

Pandit, the film's story revolves 
around the relationship between a 
fading film star and her only child 
who is a hermaphrodite lhe 
beautiful mother, who abhors the 
freak child, laces a dilemma she 
cannot bring hersell to accept the 
child, nor can she give him awav 
Thus, like both of 1 .ajmi s earlier 

Rakhee and Dimple in Rudaali: Morbid’ tale 



12 


films, Darmiyaan too is an 
exploration of the woman's psyche 
essentially that of the ageing actress 
"Even the cential character, the 
hermaphrodite, has all the trappings 
of a woman," she says. Women and 
their problems, she feels, make 
interesting subjects though she adds 
Lhat she doesn't go out looking for 
women's subjects when she makes 
films. 

For her research Lajmi studied 
the life of the eunuchs in Bombay 
over a long period "It's a ve*y sad 
life," she says about them. "It s 
terrible to be pushed to the 
periphery of society the wav they 
are " 

The story weaves its way 
through the film industry of the 
Foities and the world of street 
eunuchs in the Fifties "It s a 
tragedy" says Lajmi, "with the 
protagonist striving to be accepted 
as a normal person by society and 
not succeeding It is the story of an 
individual who is ditterent and his 
problems m surviving in this sort of 
world " 

A rank newcomer, Govind 
Menon, will now play the role ot the 
hermaphrodite while Kiron Kher 
will play his molhei "After Dimple 
and Shah Ruhh backed out, I 
decided not to hunt around for other 
stai s but take tresh faces instead 
because it is easier lor them to be 
accepted in unusual roles than it is 
tor stais," sa> s Lajmi 

‘■'he picked Menon, she says, not 
because she thought he was a better 
actor than the others she had s< reen- 
tesled, but because when she 
dressed him up as a woman he 
appeared the most feminine T 

with a difference 



Govind Menon: Plays the hermaphrodite son in Darmiyaan 



thought then lhat he would blend 
into tne film Even in trousers and a 
shirt Govind has this androgynous 
quality," she says 

But she's not yet confident about 
whether he can carry off the difficult 
role "We'll just have to wait and 
see," she says. "After all, it is not 
easy for a normal person to bring 
out the walk and gestures ot an 
androgynous person naturally And 
unless it's done really well, the 
character can become a joke " In that 
sense, Darmiyaan is a "tightrope 
walk" for her, says Lajmi, and one of 
the most difficult films she's made. 

Even the rest of the cast 
comprises newcomers with the 
exception of Tabu who makes a 
small appearance to inject that vital 
dose ot glamour A thumri singer, 
Rita Ganguli Kothari, and television 


actor Shahbaaz Khan make up the 
remainder of the main cast. 

The film has been written and 
scripted by Lajmi herself, as all her 
films arc, and the story, she says, 
was inspired by an article Mafiosh 
Bhatt wrote a couple of years ago in 
Scrim where he spoke of a star of 
the so-called Nazneen Begum and 
her hermaphrodite child, Tiku. T 
liked the idea and developed it," 
says Lajmi. 

The story will be told in an 
operatic style and Lajmi is visibly 
excited about the film's music. 
Darmiyaan has a huge array of songs 
composed by Dr Bhupen Hazanka 
with whom Lajmi has had a Jong 
and steady association. The songs 
have been penned by Javed Aktnar 
and eunuchs have been roped in to 
sing some of the group songs. 


13 




At the sets of Darmiyaan: Shahbaz Khan, Kiron Kher, Dr Bhupen Hazarika and Sudesh Bhosle 


"Rhupenda has used authentic 
instruments belonging to the era in 
which the film is based/' she says, 
adding that she expects the music to 
be even better received than that or 
Rwiault 

I ajim admits that while the film 
has a rather morbid storyline, she 
plans to handle it in an entertaining 
manner Bombay and Bunch I Queen 
both balanced the commercial aspect 
and the reality factor very well, she 
points out, besides being marketed 
excellently by ABCL. 

L ajmi does not belong to the tribe 
of serious lilmmakcis who insist 
our audiences are just not readv for 
good cinema. The audiences are 
tnere, she says, but vou need to tirst 
get them to realise dial you're going 
to tell your story interestingly and 
different ly 

This, she says, is one ma|or 
reason why she uses stars in her 
films Working with stars helps me 
reach out to a wider audience, 
because the subjects I tackle are not 
going to go down very well with a 
mass audience Also, using an 
experienced actor helps, in that, even 


if he /she can't give a felt 
performance, he /she can give a 
trained one " 

But working with stars, she 
admits, has its problems too * It's 
difficult to tell them what to do. A 
director can, m that sense, 
differentiate better between the 
personal and the professional than 
an actor can, 1 feel." 

Her relationship with Dimple 
dui mg the filming of Rudaah , Lajmi 
admits, had its shades ot grey. "We 
had a great rapport on screen but off 
screen 1 always wanted to be very 
friendly while Dimple was not so," 
she says "l later realised that it's 
because she s a ver\ reserved 
person " 

Also, she points out glumly, 
established stars are never too keen 
to experiment with different lypes of 
roles. For example, she says, any 
Bollywood star would not agree to 
play a eunuch because it would go 
against his ‘macho'imagc. "I keep 
telling them that when they act, tnoy 
portray characters that are not 
themselves. That's what acting is all 
about Bui they just don’t seem to 
understand " 

Coming as she does from a 


family of filmmakers, each noted for 
his unique style ot creating cinema, 
one wonders il Lagm loo felt the 
need to be different to prove her 
worth as a filmmakei 

Bui she is quick to point oul lhat 
while her films have always dealt 
with off-beat subjects, it’s not as if 
she consciously makes the decision 
to be different ' I feel that if my 
voice can be heard through my 
medium, then why not highlight 
areas that have not been explored?" 
Kalpana explains. 

Among her other forthcoming 
projects is a film where she plans to 
cast Madhuri Dixit "She's rcud the 
script and appeared quite excited, 1 
hope she ll do it," says Lajmi and a 
serial based on Leo Tolstoy’s 
Resurrection, titled The Awakening, 
which will be telecast on DD. "It's a 
love story based in the Northeast" is 
how she describes it. But she's not 
yet sure when it will be on air 

Darmiyaan too should be ready 
for release by the end of this year, 
she says. And while it's been a long 
wait since Ruduali, with Lajmi one 
can at least be sure the film will be 
well worth it. ■ 


14 



X TRACT 

Man About The 


HOUSE 



Extracts from 
Kustim 
Sawhney 's 

book of short 

stories 


Extracted from 
Wyt h Stones 

by Kusum Sawhney 
Published by 
Har-Anand 
Publications 
Price Rs 95 


ara was happy and it showed in many 
different ways, in the involuntary smile 
that lit up her face from time to time, in 
the numerous out of key tunes she 
hummed softly to herself, in the little 
dance steps she could not resist and in 
her hands as they deftly and with 
practised ease busied themselves with 
the cooking The kitchen was her 
sanctuary and in its environs she found 

The author, Kusum Sawhney 



an enveloping peace It was warm and 
welcoming and pleasing to the eye, 
with its rust coloured mosaic tiles, 
vegetable patterned wall paper and 
plants perched atop cupboards and 
hanging from the ceiling. There was an 
old fireplace besides which were two 
worn cushioned chairs in a cheery 
chintz print, a vivd rug with an Aztec 
motif and lots of dried flower 


dev outturns Tin* kitchen had a farm 
house feeling that relaxed those who 
entered its portals 

|ars of all kinds or condiments, 
jams, amd spices wen* neatly l.ud in 
rows and the tridge was alwais well 
stocked \\ ilh grapes. melons or 
whatever hr me truit of tin* sr.ison 
Hoit 1 lara could immerse herself in 
thr pn ■paratinn ot a favourite dish; 
dwellling on each ingredient, feeling 
then magu with her hands, inhaling 
llie aroma and v losing her eyes in 
ecstas\ as it then veiv aroma 
pMi hevl sofa* part of hi*r soul. And 
ihev had to he Fresh Anything less 
would not do I'hus the packaged 
variety was never seen in her 
kitchen ( hoiking and rechecking 
each item and then losing herselt so 
<ompleteI\ in hei most treasured 
hohhv that cooking invariably took 
longei than it ought to Bui it was 
always woith the wait The dishes 
thal were presented ultimately were 
both a work of art to behold and the 
taste was indescribably delicious --a 
connoissem # s delight 

In the kitchen lara cut herselt ott 
from the rest (it the world, any 
problems or worries sorted 
themselves out a- her hands worked 
magically and her thoughts moved 
on to other realms Not Inal she was 
a day dreamer but just that she liked 
to tJo her thinking in an atmosphere 
that was ot her own choosing Tara 
somehow did not belong to this 
world She lived elsewhere, in her 
mind, in a pi. ue ot her own 
choosing, only venturing now and 
then because she had to 

faia was a httle woman, no moie 
than tour feel and ten inches, and a 
real beau tv A small retrousse nose, 
perfectly arched eyebrows that owed 
nothing to artifice below which were 
eyes, the colour of the sea. At times 
blue and green, at times brow n blit 
always wide and luminous, innocent 
and childlike A wide Inrehead and 
welll denned lips completed the 
picture But apart In mi being such a 
refined beauty Lara was a lovely 
person, a tritle si iv but affectionate 
and lull of warm feeling tor 
everyone Phis was apparent in the 
joy others took from seeing her and 
invariably some friend or the other 
dropped in to have a chat Maybe it 
wms hei small frame, her defenceless 
look, her innocence, or then again 
may be it was all three But wtiatever 
it was, she inspired deep protective 
instincts Horn those who loved her. 

Today, she had decided to cook 
lesaniun, .1 winter Iranian dish she 
had learned from a close Persian 
Iricnd when her husband had boon 
posted m the country It was a very 


special dish, tor it brought back 
countless happy memories of their 
stay there, that were startlingly 
vivid. ..like the wannth of snared 
meals, of dropping by accidentally 
and still being welcomed. Memories 
of winter nignts and w r arm fires, and 
exchanged confidences The smell ot 
the barbecue and much laughter A 
cherished time, yes, a very specifil 
time 

Tara had become something of 
an expert at this dish, having 
mastered it authentically and in the 
process it had become a popular 
meal with the family First she grated 
the onions, tears, rushing to hei eyes 
as the acidity from the onion juice 
stung md Nayantara, her daughter 
entering the kitchen at just that 
moment, rushed to her side in 
concern 

“Why didn't you call me to grate 
the onion, look at your eves, mama, 
you just sit down and refax, vou 
shouldn't be doing this, please listen 
to me Sit down, sit down and let me 
do it quickly" 

Nayantara was as ugly as her 
mother was beautiful. Abroad flat 
nose dominated her other features 
which were so unremarkable that the 
uni) thing people noticed was the 
nose All hei life she had lived wnth 


this handicap, more pronounced 
when people stared disbelievmgly at 
her mother. It had forever, produced 
no grudge or resentment in 
Nayantara. On the contrary, she 
idolised her mother 

Her mother's pretty looks and 
delicate mien had developed m the 
child feelings ot protection. As tar as 
she could remember, she had 
always wanted to look after her 
mother Tt had a Jot to do with the 
early morning and late night rituals 
of bedtime stories and being told 
you were loved It was 
demonstrated in affectionate cuddles 
and much hugging and kissing And 
Nayantara blossomed under such 
love. And though the bedtime stories 
h.id changed to shared lonhdonoos, 
the tucking still remain and the 
kissing still continue with Na\ antaia 
more of the protector and her 
mother the recipient 

As Nayantara tried to take the 
grater from her mother’s hands, she 
protested gently, 'No vou listen 
silly" IcHignmg lovmgl\, ‘ d»> n»>t 
fuss so lam making tesan|iin vou 
know, your father's favourite dish, 
and 1 want to make 11 all mysell " 
Then stooping the gtaled umon 
into the deep pan, she tailed to see 
the look ot concern and odd side 



16 





ffTOV t 


glance hc‘r daughter gave her. 

"Oh?" was all Nayantara could 
say in a seemingly nonchalant 
maimer 

"Now let me cook," her mother 
said looking at her affectionately "it 
is getting late and your lather will be 
here soon." 

Tara seemed to forget about her 
as she immersed herself in the 
cooking. Nayantara stood looking at 
her mother She had lost a lot of 
weight, she noted, she had dark 
circles under her eyes which sht had 
made an attempt to hide with a 
foundation cream that stood out a 
mile and her collarbones wore 
jutting through her blouse She made 
an incoherent sound and hit hei lips. 
Sht 1 stood at the entrance of the 
kitchen tor a long while with a 
strange look on her iao* and then 
rushed out abruptly but Tara, 
subhmelv unaware of anything 
except the tood preparation in front 
ol her failed to notice her daughter's 
tense departure 

Sum the chii ken was trying on a 
low heat while 'lara got the sauce 
ready it was a sweetish mixture ot 
pomegranate concentrate and 
walnuts Ln no tune, the ingredients 
win 1 all heaped together and the 
sauce was bubbling gently She then 


put the soaked rice on a slow fire 
and left to have a shower 

An hour later, looking incredibly 
pretty in a peach cotton saree with a 
purple border and patterned blou-e, 
she set the table and railed out that 
dinner was ready and they would he 
eating soon. On hearing her 
mother's dulcet voice, Nayantara 
entered the room with a look ot 
apprehension The dining table was 
transformed from its usual 
everyday look to one ol festive 
elegance She saw that the special 
damask tablecloth had been used 
and the Venetian crockery was laid 
out which was something very rare 
11 was only used on special occasions 
when they had something to 
celebrate 'The table was dominated 
by a vase ot spectacular irises, the 
profusion ana abundance of the 
yellow and purple colour adding a 
vividness to the setting Seeing her 
mother's smiling face she pulled 
together and sat down ready to eat. 

' Okay mother, I am ready tor 
the great dish," she said 

"Bui," Tara protested, "we musL 
wait We can't eat now, vour father is 
not here vet." 

Nayantara stared at her mother 
in total amazement "Why did you 
call me then? You just said dinner 


was ready " 1 ler mouth stayed open 
and she wanted to say more but no 
words came out With a slight shake 
ot her head she changed her mind 
and said instead, her tone terse. 

' Papa is always late on Tuesdays, 
you know that, he wouldn't want us 
to wait tor him " 

"I know, I know," said her 
mother. “But let us wait |usl a hit, 
you Know how vour papa likes 
eating with us And you'll be able to 
talk to him also That would make 
him very happy," she said 
pleadingly 

Then catching sight of her 
daughter's shamed face she quickly 
added, "but if you are very hungry 
nuvbe we should start Nayantara 
seized her chance and agreed at 
once, ‘Yes, let us " 

Still , her mother hesitated and 
much to her chagrin asked her to be 
patient and wait just a while longer 
Nayantara grimaced in response but 
decided to humour hei mother They 
waited for over an hour Tara sat 
calmly and happily humming to 
herself. Navalara tried to kill time by 
flipping through a magazine bul 
she put it down after a few minutes 
without reading a word Then she 
looked through her CP collection to 
pul on some music but out of the 



17 




hundreds of CDs she could find 
nothing for the moment She 
switched on the television hut each 
programme seemed mom inane than 
the other She was becoming more 
and more tense and agitated and 
finally no longer able to contain 
herself she shouted in frustration. 

"How can you sit there waiting 
for someone who is not going to 
come, you know Papa died a year 
ago, he's dead, he's dead, don't you 
understand, he's dead, so stop 
kidding yourself It js time you faced 
reality sc; let's |usl get on and eat," 
she sobbrc! tearfully 

Tara was aghast She stood up 
drawing herself to her tull height 
and shouted back, ‘ Have you gone 
mad, have you lost leave of your 
senses Whatever is the matter with 
you, how can you bring yourelt to 
say suih pernicious untruths, such 
blasphemy, such horrible lies." 

She shook her with all her 
strength 'I could slap you for 
saying such a vile thing about your 
father." Then seeing Nayantara's 
tearful face, she took her gently m 
her arms and questioned sadly, “my 
darling what has upset you and 
made you say such vile things. It is 
so unlike you How can you vo say 
such a grotesque thing like this? And 
that too about your own father. I just 
cannot believe it This is too much, 
just too much " 

It was Nayantara's turn to stare 
at her mother in disbelief. She 
couldn't believe w'hat she was 
hearing hut decided to hold her 
tongue and refused to say anything 
further, but just wept miserably into 
her hand ketch let 

Tara looked at her daughter 
helplessly. Sometimes 1 just don't 
understand you," she said in 
exasperation, ‘but you are right (t is 
late " she hesitated for a few’ 
moments we won't any longer, 
we'll leave the food for your father 
in the kitchen, he can heat it when 
he comes home later" 

Thev ate in silence broken only 
by the occasional sounds of laughter 
from outsidi The fesanjun looked 
extremely appetising, lightly brown 
with the pomegranate seeds shining 
through and the walnuts adding to 
the crunchy texture It was delicious 
but both then* appetites had waned. 
The exchange earlier had left them 
dispirited with the lesult that thev 
botn loved with their food, eating 
little 

Nayantara was tired and upset. 
Her mind was whirling with a 
multitude of thoughts rushing at her 
trom all sides, pricking her mind like 
thousands of little needles She tell 



confused and uncertain. When 
would her mother face the truth 
And she wondered for how long she 
could keep up with this, this act of 
deception She was not sure how 
long she could keep up a brave face 

I ler mother lost in her own 
thoughts said very little The meal 
was over soon and thev cleared the 
table together each in their own 
separate w T orld. By some unspoken 
mutual consent they decided to 
retire early 

Nayantara found it difficult to 
sleep The electricity had gone off 
and she could feel the sweat 
trickling down her back and her 
knee joints. She tossed trom side to 
side wondering how long the power 
cut would last. "It could last trie 
whole night," she said out loud. And 
it probably would, she thought in 
anger. Didn't it go every' nignt She 
hadn't had a decent night's sleep tor 
the past week and she felt miserable 
and irritated. She should be used to 
it by now. 

Having tossed about for another 
hour she decided to have a glass of 
i old milk 

On entering the kitchen, the first 
thing she saw was a plate set on the 


sideboard, tilled with rice and 
fesanjun waiting to be heated for her 
father She couldn't believe it, it was 
like some horrible nightmare. Oh 
dear God. When was all this going 
to end? When would the 
denouement take place? What was 
wrong with her mother, her dearest 
most precious, beautiful and gentle 
mother? 

In pure frustration, she found 
herself sobbing gently, half laughing 
at the ridiculousness ot the situation, 
half in pain and despair How was 
she ever going to convince her 
mother trial her father was dead For 
how long could she exist in a world 
where he was always on business, 
hence the reason why he was never 
at home. The third Friday of every 
month always brought this 
emotional upset. It was, in fact, the 
day he had died in the car accident. 
But that fatal day seemed to be 
erased from her mother's mind. 
Instead, he was not seen by others 
but existed only in the world of her 
mother's making. Knowing no one 
was going to eat the fesanjun, 
Nayantara opened the friage and 
put both the rice and the fesanjun in 
their respective dishes and washed 





tin* pi, ill* 

Next monung she awoke U> tin* 
fan whining above her bhe couldn't 
remember when slu* had tallon 
asleep but n had been attn riouis n| 
deep thinking .ind staring at lln 
ceiling above I hank God. she 
thought, as .s!ie heaved hersell out oJ 
bed. I fe nolhei loude 1 * than usual 
humnun^ .drurk lu i as uiui.*ual It 
was not llie solt undei the hieath 
humming she was used 10 hearing It 
had a lilt ol happ ne.^ that ivn > 
unexpected filter vest< * rd .)> s events 
and that was most unlike her 
mother Did you sue \oui lather, " 
Tara asked hei daughlei as she 
entered the loom N.ivantara shook 
her head wearily oh no sin- thought, 
not again It only happen.* on 
Tuesdays Why has she lapsed so 
soon. 

1 ler mother took no notice ol her 
silence, "Your father arrived late 
last night, he slept in his spare 
bedroom so as not to disturb me. He 
ale all his fesanjun and even washed 
the dishes," she chirped happily "I 
think he went out tor a walk but he 
should be back in time lor breakfast 
I miss him so much/' she broke loi 
a moment, tears smarting her eyes 


and he? voice wabbled dangerously, 

1 wish he could stay home all the 
lime " Then she brightened up, "but 
he is here now arid 1 had better go 
and get breakfast readv " 

Nayanlaia looked at her mother 
I fere was a different person from the 
one she had left the night before 
before her stood a woman who was 
positively glowing For her 
everything was in its place as it 
should be and as lar as she was 
concerned her husband was alive 
and well. She seemed convinced of 
that tact. It was all too much. It was 
|ii. st too unbelievable. Navantara 
opened her mouth to speak and then 
shut it again What could she say. 
Was there any point in saving 
anything That she had put the food 
away last night and washed the 
dish No, her mother would not 
believe her, worse it would upset her 
again and Navantara could not bear 
that She would just have to keep 
quiet about the dishes She turned 
away in utter despair What should 
she do In frustiation she put her 
knuckles in her mouth and chewed 
on them Would she believe her or 
even listen to her if she told her 
mother? 


But it was wrong.. .It was wrong 
to let her mother live like this, in 
total ignorance of reality and really, 
anyway, for how long would it last 
How long before she came to her 
senses and realised what I he truth 
was. By then maybe the reality 
would be too much for her to 
i endure What if.. .what if the shock of 
! it all became too much for her What 
! would happen then... ? Yes, she 
| realised she had to make her mother 
| understand now. Right now. In fact, 

; it was imperative she do so before 
; something terrible happened that 
1 was irreversible 
i She turned back towards her 
| mother dreading what she had to 
I say but knowing she had to tackle 
i the problem headon. Her voice was 
flat and intensely compulsive. 

* "Ma, listen to me, and listen to 
j me clearly Please try and be brave 
i and try and understand, truly 
| understand what 1 am about to say 
j Papa is dead. He died last year in a 
j car accident Don't you remember, 
j you were with him... we bother 
! were, .look, look at your hand," and 
| she pulled her mother's arm 
| forward, "look, look at the mark 
| you've got in the accident," pointing 
j to the ujjlv gash that would always 
! remain. 'Do you remember now, do 
: you?" 

Her mother moaned. But 
i remained silent and just looked at 
1 her daughter with sad eyes 
overflowing with tears. Nayantara 
could not bear the agonised look 
that had replaced the smile on her 
mother's face She felt her heart 
twist inside itself and rushed to put 
her arms around her and hugged her 
hard. 

Determined to do what was right 
she took her mother's trembling 
hands in her own and holding on to 
them tightly said, "You must face 
the trutri There is only both of us 
left now But don't worry. I'll always 
be here to look after you Always ’* 
Her voice faltered for a tew seconds 
but then took on conviction that 
came through in the confident 
manner in which she said, ' always" 

It was her mother's turn to take 
her in her arms and rock her gently. 
"Oh, my love, my child, my dearest 
child," she said painfully, "when 
will you understand, when will you 
understand?" 

A few minutes past by with 
mother and daughter wrapped in 
j each others arms The silence was 
broken by a slamming door and then 
a familiar manly voice from upMain 
floated down ..where are inv 
j slippers.. Tara.... did 1 leave them 
I downstairs again? ■ 


19 



Time table 


All arrival and departure times are tor Calcutta 

Days of operation uaiitf 7-day coda: ® MONDAY 9 TUESDAY 9 WEDNESDAY 9 THURSDAY 9 FRIDAY 9 SATURDAY 9 SUNDAY 
(As These pages yo to pipss one wenh m advjnce, leaders should check with respective airlines and railways tor last minute change in timings) 


:-m uwts 


Departures 

Fit No. Time Days 


agajw uk 

'C /4i ri. ! : 

it, H ‘ iN*i ''j' , 

M i 'I j 

W'i ■ i "ij .i 

V AHMEDABAD 

V'l-IM 14.< . •*_ ill 1 ■ 1 

' * AIZAM. ’ 

P 1(1 1 i'M c , ' 1 i 

at bagdogra 

if Hi'!- « t , 

{{. I I ."hi i ■ 

ib UM I V: '■ 

to mi mu i 1 

ic r M iji.m, .ii'v 

fyUl. lllvV'-r On Hi I : 1 

l iiA iH M.jii rii>, 

‘ :'«• WMjmmSWAR 

lb •in; » ■ 

IC^I 'if. • ' 

iC /c'l M ! » 

\i i.w, i "• i 

ai ODLHt 


Arrivals 

Fit No. Time Days 


M'l 

I : i. V'. ' 


m tmAPm 

if :*i uk 

if iTJI * '(i ■ ilt.i' 

a ooa 

wo i'l-t ir: 

• OUWAHATl 

r -:ii 'd. 'fi 

O', i n 1 ■> in 

1 r tin i.;-' 1 1 

ir ; "i i «■ 

.• 

■r, • • i m’i 

M'l *. ! Ju 

M'l 

t /-,< '■ »■. 


A HYDERABAD 

•iW r .M Mi If 


Ii ,'U 

MM- Vi 

1 if " . : 1 , 

M“ i- , 

■ „ i 

‘Ii. > 

1 

if Hi.* 

;/i‘, ,i, . 


.‘I, 1 

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i'j til)'. 

■ i ■ : i 

- V HfH 

V ii 

1 

H. H'n, 

l h <i 1 / 

K -hm 

1 . 

1- 

MM .ij ' 

'Mil, ,) , 

■Vi « i i 
.. .■,{ 


f!j 

9. 4TXSROQARH 




■K VI l> 

l.'ir i • 

: ;■ 

*• 1 


r. i.v 

1 ’<i ■ i i 

i M 

'r ,, 

: 

i». 

: 1. : . 

1 .•••' 

'• -i 



■ V vi; V*. 


Departures Art 


Fit No. 

Him 

, ;; 

h.r 

\ 

l.itS 

m nil. 

!Mf< 

■ 1 MPHAL 

:i ;.s 

ir .r 

mi . 


• JORHAT 

•i in 

m UtABAFU 

id, ; V "til;. 

m UJCKNOW 

1 ii. ■! 

A MADRAS 

W o/i 

-V 'll* 

u ■ j 

rj. I.” 'i4i. 


a MUMBAI 

V'i V III, '.I I 

«•/, 1 1 ' i 

l,'}i .1, <1 


a atAOPUR 

! r ’h ' l«)< 

« FWNA 

!*:■ r»j i.id 

I'./h Ml. 

I-* .i 

rn PORT BLAtR 

if .Tt’i 'Mf. 

m RANCHI 

|i - 1 14 ■ 


Arrivals 

Fit No. Time Days 


r i iiKi ’:u, ir- 


i, >• i ■ 

ii 


■ ■' ii.' , 

9 SflUCHAft 

!l ; ( iir:](i 

. 1 f. 


On:. 

, , 

I ; 1 

it ;-'i flit 

J .) 

I! .‘it. 

Ml’ r > 


' -r 1 , 

M‘. '1. \ i.'.fl 

, i, 

M'l v 1 

I - -I* 

. " 

Ml*. 

M'l i/ ; ' I.Mi 

! 1 

M« i.»*. 

1r»Hi 

i a 

'*-« 0 

i> t'i ■ • 

rn T 6VUR- 1 ' 

\\ ;!■ ; MO 

1 b 

k; : j i j 

1V1!| 

i 

* * . * i ■ i -i 

*. ». 

a VARANASI 




ii.-'. . : •' 

M“lorm Div i; 

l,i.l, 

i". HiJh 


’i ^ 

'/> i . . 

Ti r '111" i iM: 

j 

M’l-ip.sm 

h:i', 

Odiiv 

‘Hi. .'.-r 

m VtSMAKHAfVtTNAM 

, , \ 



: "it 1 

'K 1 ,' 07(11! 

‘ii 111*1 

: J <1 . n 

ii r .n 
fo -tin 

1!t»i 
! ’«(; 

i : 

j *. 


fUOKK 


■'W- 

>0 M 4 ‘. . 

•rn--Amxmom:-y 

Ki-fl/f. l)l> ' 

kB ii'* ; *. 




i .i 


IP-H.*. 1 IV- 4 


if’ T3; 

l( H‘m 

1506 

1 nn 

r P " ’ / 

Tt 114 HSO 1 

A| l‘)10 

i r. 

Al 'Oh 

•8J'j 

i " ■ ■" 


♦..••ucMiwwr 


» ■ ■ , t ■ 




Hfl-O/t. <’1 ill 

i 

R0 0/b ’ 

1100 

i 1!it. i . 

1 ll.'l ! 1 

i P 1 I 1 

■l 

■l( l , 


, f ‘ ■ 



■1" 1 ‘1 (l 

K 72: l!7(K) 1 


IC 2'k 

0020 


20 






Departures 

Ft No. Time Days 

Fit No. 

Arrivals 

Time 

Days 

BG-m 

173‘. 2 ", 

8G t) l c 

UiV, 

* 1 


j . ■ 

- '.*■/* . ( v-7 v 

j- -r,v 

BG ‘J92 

0850 4 *? 

Ki-iMl 

unio 

■i r 

BG 092 

1150 !, 2 3 r / 

H(]-091 

1110 

1 2. t- 7 

IC-773 

130(1 1 3 !', l 

If 7?4 

1.VI) 

1 J 5, n 

Bii-094 

1 j .) i. 7 

’ bG-oyo 

Id'.'fi 

12356’ 

BG-094 

1410 .1 

HG-(W3 

183U 

4 

BG-096 

.’ICO 1 b 

BG-IH/. 

7l; ? ii 

1 5 


Departures Arrivals 

Fit No. Tims Days Fit No, Tims Days 


5U r 'J8 MU] 4 'ill 53/ IN3U ! 

Si* 

KB 1U6 Mir. i KB Kb 0810 > „ 

KB-10R M.: 1 


07-061 1000 


" ;:sk7i<o> ViA v.'-S* 

o> 060 i?w ? 


Bl- 107 2100 (. P1 108 0/30 

ION’ KM 1 1.46 1C 74P i «i)ft i : 1 ti 

RAV14 M .' r RA-.’H 14.;*> 2 f. 

m> mmm v; m .'*■ - r~^-*wr» 

BA 14? :>r;. ? ; B-' 141 Mir. -■ ■' 


BMl'fi Utt m' - m lir 2000 f. 

SQ-41: 1 .■.«►. . ’, SO 41 1’ .230 ' 0 

1/ 504 i/Mj 4 lZ 503 1660 4 

A 1 1(11' V!;i 182 t 

'Iu'inw^ ;; -i 

ll-.’e 1MM 1 ■ !( LVH Mv.i 4, t 


Al Air India • BA Qntish Airways • BO Biman Bangladesh Airlines • Bl Royal Brunei Airlines • D2 Skyline NEPC • D5 NEPC Airlines • 1C 
Indian Airlines • KB Druk-Air • KL Royal Dutch Airlines • LZ Balkan Airlines • MO ModiLuft • PF Vayudoot • RA Royal Nopal Airlines 
• RJ Royal Jordanian Airlines • RO Tarom Air Transport • S2 Sahara India Airlines • SQ Singapore Airlines • SU Aeroflot • 4S East West 
Airlines • TG Thai Airways International • 9W Jet Airways • Q7 Qatar Airways • VF VI F Airways 


-£ 

Departure 
Up Timb 


EASTERN RAILWAY 

Howrah 

Dolhl-Kalta Mall 
Amritsar Mail 

Bombay Mali ■■*i m!‘ V. lUh. 

Poorva (N ew Delhi) Express . .. -.■/• w: 

'. ■ , ■) . ■- m 

iV. ■: a a 

Poorva (New Delhi) Express • 

r»! Vi- 1 !"'. " \ 

Mi, 1 T-..f r- •, ,J. 

Rajdhanl Express n- ■ ^ 

'■1*1' Vi I' -I"-. '-Vwi 1 I X ..(! 

M' M ■ «■ I* *!"■? • i K ‘.ill 

Rajdhanl Express ■Y-ui 

'ii | Tl':' v . Ar '/M * .!* 

Jodhpur Express 

Shatabdl (Bokaro Steal City) Express 

i "|! A *.i l <» i j |'i f > iiifj.r, 

Hlmglri (Jammu-Tawl) Express wuy 

:«■{■ lii* ir. r. !„,r Ar T.iis Wmi i*. .nil 

Guwahatl Express 

,.'l vV-Irr * 1 1 A" ir'liv 

Gorakhpur Express 
i’.'i. A’l , ii"f.riii» 

Purbanchal (Gorakhpur) Express 
ii n |. .Si am iii; Mi>ii Wi"l ’v 
Door Express *u m.-.i n f n<"-! 

Udyen Abha Tootan Express *u M.ur- : .ml 

Amritsar Express 

Katfnodum Express 

Mfthfia (RaxauH Express 

Kamns (Guwanati) Express 

Black Diamond Express 

unmera express 

Asaraol Express 

Danapur Express 

Jamslpur Express 

SantlnlkBtan Express 

Chambal (Gwalior) Express 

Im Mm T:-f j i*. ihi-rs V Mum iln.r. &hi 

Shlpra (Indore) Express 

(ri- \V. -1 ‘ml iS * iii All 1 >U! W< j >! ft.W 

ShaMfpunj (Chopan) Express 

CharSal (Aura CartL) Express 

Dfp ri.-M/ Ail liirivluy 


Sealdah 


Toerta-Toraa Express 
DariaeMng MW 
Demi Bonn v,d Mam Lilli 
Krohanjunga (lunxiinqi hpiHVv 

Gour Boreas 


Jammu-Taal Bprass 
Mugtaf Said BqMua vu SBG Loup 
BhaolnM (Lam) Bpnaa 
Gvga Saoar peafthpu) B (press 

l)ep $ Arr lues . murs & Sat 


Arrival Departure SOUTH-EASTERN RAILWAY Arrival 

Tims Dn Up Time Howrah Time On 

■■ Jl nhIi i'' 1 ■’ Madras Mall » 

’ > .Vu ►•i.ii. Bombay Mall ..i uk,i-ji n 2 u moo! 

•i'm- iii-i iii-i 1 GltanlHl (Bombay) Express i : . ?(• ji^'i 

u. i* i» i Shatabdl (Rourkela) Express /i -i0 ,W 

r i -s An !<iu j r/ Hiiiifiv 

w.4 .(■ i. Ahmadabad Express *i l. 1 ; fi ( H3 

» ' 'iM '•’Ck! • 1 i ■ Kurla Express ...i i\hqdi-' u ?T ho?‘1 

.'■Ml v i*. Coromsndal (Madras) hpress v,« «iii|.iri i.mi', 

vi i r; id Pulaknuma (Secunderabad) Express i‘* -K/ 1HI4 

V 1‘- ‘I’J T5i-p .iir< liii*. A fc 

Am Mu. ll-ii", \ [)t\ 

luii ? •-j". Bangalore Express 1 1 4 r . r.Ti 1 

:? su '■'rit. Hyp : iiRri.iv 

. i.iiilv, 

4 -if , Vj n'iM :■ .l Tda Steel Express *u _ti hum 

ill'- H'u iii) In* (Jharsuguda) Express tin. 

bOii 1 ?'■ Tmagarh Express : oi< 600(. 

«' wi :i!i v . Ram HaMa Express mi. Hull* 

'Ml,'.’ s*. Purl Express v- CutL-i r , n: hckib 

'"V. ‘•i. 1 - 4' Jagann*h (Puri) Express a/-. MU) 

1 Dhsuil (Bhubamamar) Boreas a*. ,‘W.: 

Hi'. ‘im-v East Coe* (Hyderabad) Express i:. w ri',»4ii 

•vu' «i p. Purulla Expnos n & unb 

I MI r>-5 r •« *jf|S CjtiK'1.1, 

Am [ »- opt l-.nriT, 

1 mc v 1 1 ' i • *«j ' c ! Azad Hind (Pm) Weekly Express 1 >■ ih:"j 

’H if 3(irf. I \\i . J j Art (in 1’i.r.u i, 

15-30 TOO .'4.* 1 :«• 4u Bh uba nes war He* Delhi Rajdhanl Express -vu* i‘> im 

! I 5. r - ui2U •inerihi V'MUjv uiU 

;» ihi i:jv V'" New DriM-Bhubanaswar Raidhanl Express u-.i UN', .*4,/ 

L-ln Hi amIii Datudiif oii'm 

?i .?•. *-ih GumhaU - Howrah - Trivandrum Central Express .v i • 

1l. .vl <i: .Vmul.iv Li I 

6 V vmi, i.j i Trivandrum Central - Howrah - Guwahatl Express w 4'. 

r<- ill SC i.‘ -,1‘i-MlU ■|-1I\ 

i.i J iif? M i- Cochin Harbour Terminus - Guwah*l Weekly ' * 4- • 

i r i -ii' "ji : a Express ■■. -u M ;. in,.. ■. ! -..,u I1 i|. 

‘j 1 * ! fr " i.. v'jv » i 

ii.: 1 1 Guwahatl - C -iiln Harbour Terminus Weakly 

■’ v ' l.V Express ;v-. n a \ Ur . nh-MtiMin' 

.Mil lit 1 , ! , |i- V 

1.0 K\“. ii «ln ..•{'• Cochin Harbour Terminus Express f vi ' ■ -c ori 1 * 

f ;.K 1 1M,- 1 :t|*rt..i .S. llM.Vrfli) 

L'i'|. lias ^ t-n Air lijrr, A i>. 

70 .10 GuwMI - Bangalore City Weekly Express 'vu 

Tima Dn Hr* rail & LuJtarKJ Wudnes&iv only 

14 c r i Bangalore CRy - GuwiiMI WesMy Express -vu -V. v.iu 
h 35 3 M? Howrah A L uttar H* Mond-iy only 

H 45 3144 

7 is oil? BIQUHES: For mu* the dock MtomWkxi of Easbm Rrikny and SmihUwn RNknyMnib 

20 3;, snbd ptarea dW 2203546-64 (or kKombig trains; 2203535-44 tor *1 other ktamtion. far hrfonn*lon 

5 15 1104 about resanallons on Easfem Railway and SotthEam Rafhwy vaina. dKd 2209486-asOD (tom 8 

4 io 66M an to 8 jm on wed ed ay s and 8 am to 2 pm on Sinkys m osattd hoWnfS) In addMon, 

it* M 1 3152 dl* 1381 (tor reoontod Irribrmtfon on train naming). 131 (reganlng Mn operations) and 135 

1^ 30 3134 (wg*iing wa mtotan s) . Train sandoa enquiry * Srektoh: 3503535/37 

10 2f) 3104 lnlmdlireVWr*lto*xmsSMtom(5amto9pmMydtorlnimMon^ 

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21 




C OMICS 





: 4530)1 


THE LOCKHORNS ~l 



"I JUST CANT SEEM TO LOSE. NO MATTER THINK WE'D BE WATCHING TV EVERY NIGHT . 

HOW MANY FAT-FREE COOKIES I EAT!" BACK THEN. THERE WASN'T ANY TV." 




"IT'S HARD TO BELIEVE YOU MADE THIS "I LIKE THE DOUBLE INDEMNITY PMVT. 

WITHOUT THE USE OF A CEMENT MIXER." WE’LL TAKE IT!" 


GARFIELD ■ JIM DAVIS 










BLEW w_ 



'{COWS. DOWN 
FOR A 
MINUTE ? 


^5 




OH WOW, THIS 
SHELF IS REAL 
LOOSE / I'O , 
BETTER FIX IT . 



^m§. 






LUNCH IS \ 
READY, DEAR ) 







BEAT THE HEAT 


In high fashion, as Indian designers come out with their summer 
collections. Samitu Bhatia reports 


T here is oik* designer, at least, 
who appears bored stiff of 
being asked about the 
direction fashion Innuls 
have taken this sulhy summer. 
Blinking languidly in the Delhi 
heat, J J. Valava drones in response: 
"Whafs in, what's out? Nothing, 
absolutely nothing " 

But push him a little further and 
he gets more assertive. "It's vour 
individual, personal style which is 
really the 'look of the season'. No 
major fashion dictates happen in 
summer, and collections are 
launched bv designers at this time 
of the vear basically just for the 
sake of doing a line of the season' 
The collections don't make a 
fashion statement nrr do they 
reflect any concrete trends" he 
says 

This mat ter -ot- fact statement is 
corroborated by other trendsetters 
in the world of Indian haute 
couture. Pose Kavi Bajaj the same 
question, and he says* "What is in 
is what you are most comfortable 
wearing. But technically, it's linen, 
cotton and viscose in medium to 
pale colours." 

Pale colours? You can say that 
again, going by what's available off 
the shelf today The designer 
palette has indeed gone wan and 
the most popular colour this season 
is lime gnvn 

Valnya has gone for pristine 
white delicately tempered with the 
blue of Ming pottery from which a 
part of his collection takes 
inspiration His Russia -inspired 
designer outfits are m shades of 
pt’acn, light green, lemon and 
cream. While the colour schemes 
border on the pallid, the look is 
unrestnetive. Broadly speaking, 
designers like Bajaj have adhered lo 
" a loose and flowing silhouette, 
open shoes and minimal jewellery." 
The fuss and frills have been kept to 
the minimal with wearability being 



26 


the bottom line . 

While the Indian fashion pundits 
have not really stuck out their necks 
to set a, pace tor the coming months, 
it is quite obvious that they are 
treating comfort as the key element, 
with emphasis being laid on a soft 
structure, very subtle colouring and 
extremely fine fabrics. For the 
spring-summer collection of '96, the 
designers have focussed on fabrics 
and colours interplayed with 
embroidery, neither taking away 
from the other but harmoniously 
blending together to create the ideal 
summer ensemble. 

While Valaya's last collection 


emphasised on cottons, he has 
discarded the material this summer 
for a more fluid look that can be 
bought for anywhere between Rs 
6,000-20,000. Explains Valaya. "The 
look that I was interested in ova ting 
was free flowing as opposed to 
being restrictive." So, it was out with 
the cottons and organzas and in with 
the chiffons and georgettes, 
delicately embroidered upon with 
silken threads 

T f Valaya's inspiration has been the 
JLblue pottery of the Ming dynasty 
and Russia, and Ravi Bajaj's is "as 
always — quality", Geetanjali 


Kashyap's imagination has been 
fired ry the Indian bride and a 
colourful palette. "Colours are an 
unending source of inspiration for 
me," says Kashyap, who has 
concentrated on bridal wear suitable 
for the sweltering summer months. 
No longer need the bride be heavily 
attired in crimson; Gitanjali has 
other plans for her this summer. If 
the JB adds goes, Tradition is not 
what it usod to be,' Kashyap, can't 
agree more. 

"The colours for this year's 
Indian summer fall in two broad 
categories — dusty pinks and peach 
for the bride and a contrasting group 
] Ritu Ben’s summer line 4 


Ravtssant summer design from Ravi Chawta 



■ 4 ] 


27 


THE HIGH STREET OPTION 

> *■ 

A cheaper w#y to update your wardrobe thip summer s 


N ot everybody's wallet extends 
to buying enormous quantitie* 
of degjgnerwew And even, those 
who live in haute couture don't 
want to play m it Hence, the 
importance of high street fashion 
IbtSfe days, Indian men and 
women tune an increasing number 
of options when it comes to casual 
wear in summer. There was always 
vVeaihouae, Weekender and 
Benneton to fall back upon, but now 
the more sty hah — andfer ocher — 
cwt opt for Color Plus and Walter 
Johnson as well (though the latter 
likes to slot itself as a designer 
label). 

The Calcutta branch of 
Weathm e may not have as great a 
range as the shops m Bangalore and 
Madras, but you can still take 


darts, trouser* and dresses cn aSfet 


The rates at Weekender aw- sigh% 
steepeg but if you want well-cut 
trou sers and Hnen shirts, then a visit 
to Hus shop may not be a bad idea. 

For the more fashion conscious, 
there is Odor Plus It’s not exactly 


between Rs 1,000-2,000, but 
cotton stuff is cheaper. And the 
loose pyjama-type trousers that they 
retail here are ttw best bet for a hot 


late Into the night wifli t 
Color Plus alsohas mom dressy 
options on otter ffpptwSfestyla 
indad« « a great deal of sodalteing 
At Walter Johnson you can 
either go for the tadortsd look (With 
loose trouser suits and fitted Jackets 
that can.be worn with loose pants) 
or the more casual approach to 
dressing up (cotton and Bnen shuts 
and trousers that wdlbecDme the 



drop a Couple- 

this store; Ms styles at 

Bid If mym naedis AptuA 
bmiser^tiooi^di'isahdiheedd 
dram m take you fhnwpt ihabpt 
months, then street fashion is not 
such a bod option. In Calcutta, yoo 
have GbMdafc white ffweffioSd 
and Bswhacy swam by Janmfft, 
Stoops Nagar and Street 

re«ieeSvidy. The clothes here come 
ink; * in Rs 2,000 yod could buy a 
whore new wardrobe. 

Ofwm^iheymight'notkflt 
for more than a couple of months 
the colours wdl run, acsne Of tihem 
WiH shrink, and they'll probably fall 
to pieces after a few washes. But 
who qares? After all, by the time the 


4 stnped outfit from Rrtu Ben's collection 



different styles ot embroidery' Tht 
fabrics are intricately embroidered 
with typically Gujarati sitara and 
don work and some exquisite dull 
hand cut sequins The motifs an 
geometric and cover the fabric 
entire!} lo bring in an element of 
freshness f have used conti a sting 
colours tor example using detailed 
silver embroidery done on a gray 
base for a rust knrta whit h in tact, 
highlights the workmanship, 
explains Nashyap 

Imagine a sheer net organza in a 
single tone, nch embroidery in 
coppi r on deep grays cut in a very 
evening silhouette Close to zardozj 
in its visual appeal, yet different in 
technique, it bestows the ensemble 
with a sensual perfection The zari 
and embroidery are not very bright, 
but dull silver, and dull gold almost 
beige to go with the subtle colours ol 
the fabrics This gives the outfits a 
touch of elegance and exclusivity in 
terms of colour and pattern 

It a loose silhouette is in so is a 
layered look Kashyap has used 
three to four layers ot chiffon in each 
outfit the lehangas being double 
layered, first witn net and then with 
tissue The highlight of the bridal 
collection is the 'farshi lahenga, that 
as the name implies, sweeps tne 
floor 

Geetanjali s iehanga collection 
has introduced yet another approach 





ji ' "' ^ H * , ,'* + ^ ’ '. • ‘ '? / p : ‘-j . -: £' > ■ * 


to wearing the garment by the 
innovative use of two dupattas 
instead of one with each attire. This 
lias already been done by the 
Bombay designer pair of Abu )ani 
and Sandip Knosla, but Kashyap 
puts her own spin on the idea. The 
light manageable net dupalta is 
designed specially for covering the 
bride’s fate, as tradition dictates. A 
designer who, on the other hand, has 
done away with 'lehangas' 
altogether this summer is Valaya 
who has instead gone in for the ever 
popular chundar 

The Indian summer collection 
from Kashyap includes blouses of 
two different kinds. The first is 
inspired by the traditional dioli from 
Rajasthan and UP which is short and 
fitted to the body. The other is the 
kurti which ends just below the 
waist and has small side slits. The 
designer's second line this summer is 
the ready-to-wear ranee in two 
contrasting looks. In the fast all- 
white section, Gitanjali has made her 
entire statement in crisp, cool fabrics 
like diiken, mixed with hakoba and 
hand-made lace. The other part of 
the collection has woven checks and 
stripes — in a medley of dominant 
whites, exuberant greens, indigo and 
blacks. 

And as an in-between choice to 
the heavy bridal outfits and the 
casual ready-to-wear range are the 
evening ensembles. Chiffon straight 


A striking dress from the Ravissant cottectoon 


pants, lehangas, kurtas, dupattas 
once again m pastel greens, sky- 
blues and dusty' pink. 

Another designer whose summer 
collection is really, really cool is Ritu 
Beri who has attempted to craft real 
clothes for the real woman. "It's 
fashion for a more private woman," 
explains Ben. And in her quest to 
create an antithesis of the busy, fussy 
and frilly look of the last year; Beri 
has found that women are more 
keen to be stylish than trendy. 

There are a lot of straight tines 
with block printing that brims over 
with a youthful attitude. Short and 
long dresses for all tunes, feminine 
wrap blouses that embrace summer's 
upbeat mood, and long, flared, bell 
sleeved tunics with fine embroidery. 
And then the omnipresent flowing 
silhouettes, layered look, adaptable 
to different looks in any number of 
variations for each and every 
occasion. If the floor price of the 
outfits is just under Ks 1,000, the 
steepest could be Rs 18,000. 

In Ben’s collection bright, fruity 
primary colours make a comeback. 
So there's a kaleidoscope of cream, 
olive, maroon, black to blights — 
orangey red turq and blue ... and of 


course, green, white and pristine 
white. 

The chiffons and georgettes in 
the Ravissant collection, too, are cut 
for comfort. Ravi Chawia has gone 
for the very basic no fuss, simple 
contours while the colours range 
from the light pastels to bright acids. 
Additionally, there is the traditional 
Ravi Chawfa Mack and white range 
in geometric dean and bold prints 
There are checks and stripes which 
are fast becoming the Ravissant 
hallmark. "A lot of the Ravissant 
designs are created for the working 
woman who travels a lot. Thus the 
cut must be simple &o she's 
comfortable wherever she goes,"' 
explains Chawia. 

While Chawia watches out for 
international forecasts on the trends 
in haute couture, so does Ravi Bafaj. 
He explains, "Since we only make 
western clothes, it Is imperative for 
us to keep in sync with international 
trends, as a typical Ravi Bajaj client 
is familiar with other top 
international brands and trends," 

YMl in this age of satellite 
television, so is the entire Indian 
middle-class. But that, as they say, is 
another story. ■ 


29 



First 


person 



Who or what has been tire greatest 
nflMttlBMrUfc? 

That who has made me feel a 
title smaller a little humbler 

That which I like most in 
ggrseff — laziness. 

That which 1 Mhe most in 
others — recklessness. 

1 am still treasure hunting. 

What objects da you always carry? 

My ice-box to stay coot! 


That one has to still ho 
an equal society but lor a 
unequal one. 

What da you dislike mm 


not for 


choice? 

Whatisjour 


That with my height I have to 
look up to so many idiots. 

What » your hvouote word? 

1 am often left speechless. 

What is your favourite journey? 

Going on location shooting. 
What is your hmaHe dream? 

Anything short of a ruehtmaie. 

' What js your 

That my wild dreams may just 
about come true. 

What or who is the g re ate s t Imre of 
your fife? 

I am married. Do 1 have a 


What or who is the 
greatest love of 
your life? 


Dteffood. voiirl 

mSmdo J our J 

3 T£U» 1 am married. Do I 

3£are?«» teve a 

has to be. ChOlCC? 

What it your 
greatest regret? 

That my parents are a part of my 
memory — not of my today. 

What kia* been ywaur happtott 


year eyes? 

*THEENtr. 
UowdoneidU? 
By growSngaad 
snarling at my wife. 
What do you envy 
most In others? 
tS links *nsm mere 
vusoeschtm kyott 


I am blissfully unaware of it. 


? is lew dun raineX 

| HmWooMjmSie 

to be remembered? 

Mine was not * taS stnyiiul 
you can't cut it short either. 

Hem would you like to die? 

Wilh the heart beat slowly 
receding. 


30 







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21 JULY 1996 # 


The Telegraph 


k 




* Thai* you for the 




•tawitn*Vju«* 2y With her. 
firmg looks and Western 
accent, she cutsan inter- 
esting figure tfni tateviatah. 

; The fltW generation 
of Kapoors has not been 
very successful in. their 
cwseere except of course . 
■'the evesgseen^tohi :- 1 ■ 
Kapoor and hie niece/"* {'■ 
Kansma Kapoor. Kunal . , 
and Karan, Sanjarin'a "■ 
brothers, could not snake - 
much headway in tinsel 
town although the? stiurtr 
ed off with a bang. They 
were big flops on screen* . 
Samjjsna also hilled as a "■ 
cinestar. 









K’-: - - . \w" . : ' 

W" - 



i r /• * ' 

'd: . Cs! ’$■ vA •■-;*■' 1 <•’ k- • •' 

V?:>- ,^ V 


r*K4^... 1 




wr. - 


w%Mwwr«f» 


aftaraema; 






£V/;j . . 






PAGE 4 


sections 


16 TIME TABLE 

JATIN KOCHHAR takes the Liberty to comment 20 INNER EYE 
on the wardrobes of some of the celebrities. 22 COMICS 

26 FASHION 

PAGE 26 30 FIRST PERSON 


INTERNATIONAL LABELS become the new 
status symbol. 


Madonna: Jatln's favourite 










Covers™? 

ShootingHis 

MouthOff 

Fashion designerjatin Kochhar spares no one as 
he holds forth on celebrity dress sense 



Jatm Kochhar Hitting below the belt 


Wearing black and white trunks and a charming smile, fashion designer Jatin 
Kochhar wrings his hair, gives his wet, wet, wet body a thorough towelling, 
rubs his hands in glee and sits down to tear celebrities —and their outfits— to 
little shreds. 

Here's Jatin at his bitchiest best (or worst), holding forth on famous fashion 
failures and victories. 



Sylvie 

Celebrity hairdresser — and 
cross-dresser 

T T 

JL JLe's got the courage to be 
what he wants. But rather tacky and 
too loud for my taste. The concept of 
dressing is very good: micro minis 
and long ball gowns. But wearing 
that he goes off into the men's loo 
and abuses in Hindi!. His elaborate 
hairstyles leave me cold. 

Rating as a man: can't recall him 
looking like one, never seem him in 
pants. 

Rating as a woman: 55/10 J 


Snshmita Sen 

Model, former Miss Universe 
and aspiring actress 

c 

Xm^an't get any better Very 
glamorous with a' brand new pair 

of t . Before she made it she was 

disastrous. But finally she's 
convinced me she's not. She knows 
what to wear and when to wear it. 
She's an experimental dresser. Her 
favourite seems to be no bra* huge 
neckline and her breasts popping 
out. 


Rating: 8/10 



Suahmlta San: Experimental dresser 



Akshay Kumar Looks great In leans 

Akshay Kumar 

Actor 


v. 


ery sure he neads a new 
designer. And his present designer 
needs* major help. He's a disaster 
with a name like Rocky. Reminds me 
of my long-lost dog. 

I like me way Akshay's jeans fit 
him though. But he doesn't have a 
personal style. Always looks like a 
fast minute put-together dresser. 
Would probably be lost without his 
lousy designer 


Rekha 

Actress 

r~|Hf 

.4- ime she dressed her age. 
Could sober down. Could do away 
with her p-caps and elaborate 
headgear. She's quite with-it but 
someone should tell her chains are 
not happening anymore. Simplicity 
rules trie runways now. But she was 
brilliant in Umrao jam. And Til rate 
her on the basis of that. 


Rating: 7/10 


Rekha: Hooked to head gears and 
chains 




Aishwarya Rat Plastic beauty 


Aishwarya Rai 

Model, former Miss World 
and aspiring actress 

P 

X lastic looking. Very proper. 
Very boring. So sweet she gives you 
diabetes. Not a versatile dresser. 
Very jacket oriented, always covered 
up. 










Michael Jackson: Should think twice 
before taking off his shirt 


Malini Ramani 

Delhi socialite 

v 

v ery funky dresser, Don't 
know what she'd look like in a sari 
or Indian clothes. But it would be 
nice if there was more to her than 
clothes. 

^Rating: 6.5/10 

Raveena Tuition 

Actress 

I'm indifferent to her. 

pRating: 5/10 

Trey 

Channel V veejay 

T 

JL like his style of dressing. He's 
really cool. 


Rating: 7/10 


] 

] 

] 



RohK Bal: Versatile dresser 


Rohit Bal 

Fashion designer 

V 

▼ ersatile dresser. Can be very 
formal or very juttglee. His dressing 
is never offensive. Can carry off his 
whacky metallic gear. 

I Rating: 5.5/10 


Michael Jackson 

Singer 


H 


-e needs help. God blr$s 
him. He's got some audacity to take 
off his shirt with that flatland inside. 
Should get his body polka-dotted. I'll 
do it forrum. 


{Rating: 1/10 


Rishi Kapoor 

Actor 


JLt he stops wearing sweaters 
woollen shops all over the world 
would go out of business. And only 
he can wear yellow pants and multi- 
coloured sweaters. Anyway, it's time 
he launched his son into movies and 
lived happily on his pension. 


Rating: 3.5/10 




Trey: Whacky sense of clothes 








Madonna: Really cool in her ways 


Madonna 

Singer 

Q 

L/Someone who can say "I 
don't care if 1 have a boy or a girl 
as tong as my child is hisexuaf'is 
really, really cool. I like everything 
about her~-the way she talks, 
walks, takes off her dothes, wears 
them, takes them off again and 
what she wears. 


[Rating: 9.5/10 


Ann Kutoor 

MTV veejay 

T T 

JL JLot! Really hut! Love the way 
she dresses. What does she wear? 
Nothing. Nothing much. Doesn't like 
wearing many clothes. One of the 
few Inaian models who possesses 
foreign designer dothes and can 
carry them off. 

[ Rating: 7/10 

Anu Kutoor. Hot hot, hot! 




Madhuri Dixit Desperately needs a 
new wardrobe 


Madhuri Dixit 

Actress 

c 

an go to the dogs. Needs an 
image \ wardrobe \ make-up 
consultant to start with. It's time she 
started spending some money on her 
grooming. 

She had used this outfit and 
shoes of mine for a shoot and after it 
was over she sent me a note saying 
that she really liked it and could she 
keep it. I asked her to pay for it and 
that was the end of her interest. 
Anyway, she desperately needs a 
new wardrobe. And please she 
should stay away from those 
atrocious blonde wigs. 




Rating: 1.5/10 






JL JLot Indian beauty. Nice 
dresser. She could eliminate 
bodysuits from her wardrobe, she's 
too busty for them. She needs to lose 
weight on her hips too, but now that 
she's in Hindi films I guess she's 
okay for diem. 


Rating: 5.5/10 



personality. They do wonders for 

him. Represents the entire cartoon 

community. Great entertainer. So bad \ 

that he's good. And fiercely honest hould get rid of his 

about the fact that he's a garnuar. His mangalsutm. lime he got his hair 

clothes go with him, literally. permed. 

Rating: 6/10 Rating: 4.5/10 


Govinda: Mom of a man in his clothes 



orange tan 

Madbu Sapre 

Model and aspiring actress 

Q 

gf^lShwth an orange tan. Cool 
clothes. No one in India can wear a 
shorter skirt than her and get away 
with it. She looks great in them. 

Rating: 6.5/10 
Tbra Deshpande 

Model and MTV veejay 

s 

Li/he has a scooter tyre on her 
waist. She could lose a lot of weight, 
narrow her 40" hips and not insist on 
wearing 36" skirts. She's also a bit of 
a behanji, you know, a little behind 
the times. Likes to wear oxidized 
silver earrings with a swelte mini 
skirt that 1 had designed for her. 


Rating: 4/10 





Mayuri Kango 

Actress 

v f 

▼ ery frocky. 


Rating: 3.5/10 


Jasmine Barucha 

Singer 

N 

the fact that she's not tall and there’s 
nothing wrong with it. Neither am 1. 
She doesn't have to always totter 
around in 8" heels. And it's okay if 
she wants to wear deep necks, But it 



Jasmine Barucha: Nothing wrong In 
being short 


shouldn't be neck-less, so that her 
breasts fall out and she has to keep 
putting them back in. 

Rating: 4.5/10 


Bobby Deol 

Actor 

X_T 

JL JLe has the greatest collection 
of sunglasses. He mows what he 



looks good in. Typical Aquarian in 
his way of dressing, which means 
that he's particular about what he 
wants to project. Though he can 
wear any colour and look good in it, 
black and white are his favourites 
and he's almost always in a blazer. 
But he's got his own personal style 
and 1 like that. 


Rahul Khanna 

MTV veejay 

A 

Jl JL complete pyjama. And 
wooden at that. He's not so fat. why 
is he forever after loose t-shirts? 


Rating: 7/10 

Saiyana Kapoor 

Actress and television hostess 

V ery artsy style of dressing. 
The kurta, jhola, loose clothes type. 
Doesn't look sexy. Rather like a pair 
of kolhapuri chappals. 


Rating: 4.5/10 

Sweta Shetty 

Singer 

p 

M ood, star-like dresser. Buys a 
lot of my clothes. Very international 
in the way she dresses, presents 
herself, socialises. Has big hips but 
can't really do anything about it, 
she's big-boned. 

Rating: 4/10 



Rahul Khanna: Too fond of 
loose T- shirts 


Jatin Kochhar (on Jatin 
Kochhar) 

Fashion designer 

I' 

JL m into undies. Black is my 
favourite, so is black and white. But 
1 hate plain white underwear. Matte 
gold and silver look good too, but 1 
can never get my size. They're 
always too big. The waist, that is. I 
have Calvin Kleins, Horn, Alex und 
the Indian Jockey Speedo Really, I'm 
no hot -shot! fi 


9 



w 


Extracts from 
Ghulatn Abbas ' 

book of short 

stories 


Extracted /from 
Hotel Moenjodaro 
and Other Stories 

by Ghulam Abbas 
Published by 
Penguin Boohs 
India 

Price Rs 150 


Extract 

For Better or for 


WORSE 


hen he first learnt that his wife had left 
him, he was completely taken aback, 
because they had been married less 
than a year, and he found it very hard 
to believe that she was gone. He went 
to her room a few times, to reassure 
himself that she was no longer there. 

All her things were gone, too, including 
that picture which used to sit on her 
table showing her as a child holding a 
pigeon. And she had even taken all her 
makeup things with her. 

For the next few days, he lived in a 
dazed state. He did not leave the house 
and said nothing to the servants. He 
did not even share his bewilderment 
with his friends and relatives. Weeks 
passed and he no longer felt afraid of a 
scandal as he had been at first, neither 
was he hopeful of her retum.Reflecting 
calmly on what had happened, he 
thought of the love he had given her, 
the care he had taken of her, the 
readiness with which he had done 
whatever she desired and he began to 
wonder what had gone wrong. She had 
left without saying why, without even 
leaving a note. He tried to think of the 
years of loneliness that lay ahead and 
shuddered. 

His parents were poor and he'd had 
a lonely childhood His education had 
been modest and he had lost his father 
and mother in infancy. It was only 
natural that he had tended to become a 
loner In any case, given his straitened 
circumstances it was not even possible 
to go out and meet people. His early 
youth was spent looking for economic 
security ana with hard work and luck, 
he had succeeded in achieving that, but 
he still avoided company and was 
happier by himself. However; since the 
change in his fortunes, a number of 
relatives had cropped up from 
nowhere. They had imposed 
themselves on him ana were always 
going on about his being single. "Are 
you going to remain without a wife all 
your lifer Come on, we are going to 
find you a lovely girl who will make a 
home for you." 


One older gentleman who was some 
kind of a distant uncle once said to him, 
"Why go far? In our own family, we 
have such beautiful and accomplished 
girls. Surely. " 

With time, he began to weaken, and 
finally allowed himself to be prevailed 
upon to marry one of the girls from the 
distant family She was nice looking 
and she had an education. As a student 
he had always opted out of the 
excursions his classmates would make 
to neighbouring villages looking for 
fun, so he really had no experience of 
women at all. Now that he was married 
he realised what an absurd life he had 
spent and what he had been missing. 

He proved to be a perfectly devotea 
husband. He would spend all his time 
at home and even avoid office parties 
and get toge there. He met very few 
people and could not beat to be away 
from his wife for very long, and even at 
work he would keep glancing at his 
watch. 

If he ran into a friend on his way 
home who wanted to take him out for a 
bit of fun and action, he would tell him 
coldly, "You will have to excuse me. 

My evenings belong to my wife who 
waits at home for me all day, all alone." 
Or, "I never go anywhere without my 
wife." 

What a fool he had been! All that for 
a faithless whose love was a pretense! 
He suddenly felt very angry. He began 
to breathe hard and across his mina 
flashed an image of himself strangling 
his wife. Her terrorised eyes begged for 
mercy, but he felt none. He was 
strangulating her, slowly derterminedly. 
He saw her pink face become black and 
lifeless and blood flowed out of her 
eyes. He picked up her lifeless body 
and threw it on the floor. 

However, after sometime his 
intense, almost insane feelings of 
revenge began to fade. Instead, when 
he thought of his marriage, he found 
his love and devotion and even the 
faithlessness pf his wife laughable. 

One dav he said to himself. 'What a 



fool I am to have taken a mere 
woman so seriously! It is the neatest 
folly for a man to do so. One should 
deal with woman as one deals with 
children. You divert them with toys 
and trinkets and when they become 
a nuisance, you just hand them over 
to someone else and leave. As for 
love, it is nothing but a fraud." 

One evening, as he was on his 
way home from work he ran into an 
old friend who always used to try 
and take him out for an evening on 
the town. He wanted to avoid him 
but could not do so, as he had been 
seen. His friend did not, of course, 
know that his wife had left him and 
so he said, "I don't care what your 
wife says, we have got to have an 
evening of it today. 

He smiled. "All right, where do 
you want to go?" 

His friend could not believe his 
ears. 

They walked around until it was 
nightfall and then discreetly made 
their way towards the prostitutes' 
and singing girls' quarter. This was 
his first time and he was a bit afraid, 
somewhat hesitant, and he even felt 
guilty. He had lived a sin- free life 
until now, but that was all going to 





change and all because of that 
faithless woman. However, a few 
quick drinks soon quelled his 
misgivings. He felt perfectly at home 
and found himself enjoying every 
minute of it and even making risque 
suggestions to the performing 
courtesan like a seasoned habitue of 
these places. 

That was the beginning of a new 
chapter in his life. For the first few 
days he had needed the guidance of 
his friends but now he was so much 
at home in these streets that he did 
not require any companions. His 
routine was always the same. He 
would walk up and down the 
quarter like a trader evaluating 
goods and then pick up the woman 
who attracted him, tor the price 
asked. This was the good life. He 
would often come to the women # s 
quarter straight from work and 
every day he would sample a new 
woman, listening to her false 
assurances of love and extending 
even more false assurances to her in 
turn. The next day both the woman 
and what had been said the night 
before wen? forgotten. He liked this 
kind of relationship because it was 
simple and uncomplicated, being 


based on money. 

He earned enough to live in 
comfort and raise a family, but it 
wasn't so much as to admit a fund 
restricted spending, day after day. 
Before his marriage, he had little or 
no expense of his own which was 
how he had managed to build up his 
savings. Even the many expensive 
presents he had bought his wife had 
not made much of a dent in the 
figure but he now realised that he 
had begun to spend so much money, 
that before long, he would have 
nothing left except his salary. Afraid 
of losing his financial nest egg and 
worried over his indifferent nealth 
because of the irregular life he was 
leading, he gradually reduced the 
number of n\ visits to the quarter. 
Sometimes he would stay away tor 
days on end. 

One morning when h e was 
ready to go for work, there was 
a gentle knock at the door. 

"Who is it?" 

There was no answer. . He opened 
the door and almost fell backwards. 

It was his wife. She looked terrible. 
Her eyes were lowered and she was 
wearing unwashed clothes. She 
hadn't done her hair for weeks ana 


he noticed her face was pale and 
there were circles under her eyes, 
she reminded him of a dog which 
hadjust been wallowing in mud. 

She did not speak but fell at his 
feet, her arms around his legs, 
weeping bitterly. 

He tried to wrest his legs free but 
she wouldn't let go. "Forgive me, 
forgive me," she managed to say 
between sobs. "I know you hate me 
and do not even want to look at my 
face, but I do not ask that you love 
me. That is something I have no 
right to expect. I do not deserve it 
but you must take pity on me and let 
me stay in this house. More than that 
1 do not wish. I was blind. Please 
forgive me, 1 was betrayed." 

His anger against her was mostly 
one and what was left of it 
isappeared, seeing her as she was. 
He aid not feeljpity, however, only 
disgust. Since she had left, he had 
often wondered about the man she 
left him for. Was it someone he knew 
or a total stranger? But right now he 
felt no curiosity; he just wanted to be 
rid of her. 

She was saying, "I know you are 
a good and kind man who will not 
push me out. 1 have nowhere to go. 




Oh, the trouble T have seen! Treat me 
as a servant, because that is what I 
deserve." 

"Keep your voice down. The 
servants might hear you." 

1 Ie was getting late and he 
managed to free himself, but not 
roughly. Then picking up his cap, he 
walked out of the door. 

All da y long her face danced in 
front of his eyes. Was this the same 
young and innocent girl he was so 
madly in love with only six months 
ago? Was this the same woman who 
loved perfume and who could not 
stand even a speck of dust on her 
body? Was this the person he was so 
proud of walking next to, on the 
street? 

He debated with himself. "If all 
she wants is to be allowed to stay in 
the house, I am not so mean as to 
deny her that. One thing, however, is 
certain: I will have nothing to do 
with her. Perhaps, one day, when she 
has had enough of my indifference 
to he£ she will leave of her own 
accord." 

It was two weeks since she had 
returned but he had not so much as 
cast a glance at her, nor had they 
spoken. It was as if she did not live 


in the house. She, too, had tried to 
stay out of his way while reminding 
him of her presence in different 
ways. When he woke up in the 
morning, there would be fresh 
flowers by his bedside. He was fond 
of reading the morning paper in bed, 
which was where he was now being 
served breakfast. The houseboy 
would bring him steaming hot, 
aromatic tea and crisp brown toast 
the way he liked it. That was how it 
had been in the first days of their 
marriage. When he would step out 
of his snower, an immaculately 

P ressed suit would be ready for him. 

he shirt would be spotlessly 
laundered and a matching necktie 
and breast handkerchief laid out. 

The links would already be in the 
French cuffs and his shoes would be 
polished. He would send for food 
from home at lunchtime and it 
would invariably be delicious and 
only dishes he specially liked. 

A bitter smile would appear on 
his lips and he would say to himself, 
"I know these are all tricks to lure 
me back, but I am not going to be 
fooled again." 

He would come home, then leave 
and not return until late in the night. 


Sometimes he would stay the night 
out. However, there was no change 
in the arrangements. He was still 
being shown the same loving care. 

Three months passed. The 
monsoon had broken. It rained often 
and steel blue clouds danced around 
in the sky most of the day. He had 
not gone out for a week and felt like 
making up for it that evening He 
wrote out a cheoue and sent the 
officeboy to the bank next door, but 
when he returned, he had no money 
because there just wasn't enough in 
his account. Although he had 
apprehended the approach of this 
day, when it did arrive, he felt 
surprised. He had never thought 
that he was so close to the ena of his 
resources. He phoned a couple of 
friends but it was close to the end of 
the month and they did not have 
any money to spare He suddenly 
remembered that a precious ring his 
wife had once given him, lay in a 
small jewellery box at home. It had 
no sentimental value in his eyes any 
longer and he could easily sell it for 
good money. 

He went home, found the ring 
and was passing through the 
courtyard on his way out when a 




woman delicately perfumed and 
wearing a lovely silk sari appeared 
from the other side of the house and 
went past him. She did nr + look at 
him but he had caught a glimpse of 
her face, which though brief, was 
enough to captivate him. It was none 
other than his wife who only three 
months ago had looked like a 
zombie fleshly out of its grave. 
Living at home in comfort, eating 
good food and taking care of her 
skin with lotions and creams had 
worked wonders and brought back 
her looks. Her cheeks were full and 
her eyes sparkled. She looked as she 
had looked on theii wedding night. 
Her expression which was then 
innocent was now maturer and her 
self-consciousness had given her 
added attraction. 

However, he did not stop, and 
walked out of the house. Soon he 
was in a jewellery market where 
business seemed brisk, with 
customers crowding most shops. He 
had never tried to sell anything 
before and felt a bit hesitant about 



i roamed 
through the area but somehow 
wherever he looked, he found 
customers leaning over counters. 
When a group would leave another 
two or three would take their place. 
At last he noticed a shop whicn was 


relatively less busy and mustering 
his courage he walked in. 

"What can 1 do for you?" the 
jeweller asked. 

"I am looking for a pair of 
earrings, " he replied, wiping his 
brow 

The shopkeeper placed several 
infront of him. lie picked up a pair. 
"How much for this?" 

"Sixty-five rupees." 

"Oh, I am soiry, 1 forgot my 
money at home, but please keep 
them aside, I will come for them 
tomorrow." 

"That is all right," the 
shopkeeper said somewhat coldly, 
while returning the ornaments to 
their appointed place. 

He felt a sense of relief as he 
walked out of the jeweller's. 

It was rather late now and the 
best thing to do was to go home now 
and send a servant out tomorrow, to 
sell the ring. It was also possible that 
he may not have to do that at all and 
money may come through some 
other source. He was tired but he 
did not feel depressed. In fact, he 
was in a pleasant mood, which was 
what induced him to walk back 
home by a diversion through the 
courtesans' quarters, just for a look- 
see 

The bazaar was full of life, it 
being that time of the evening. The 
women, bejewelled and heavily 


made up, hung out of their balconies 
or could be seen through the 
windows, pacing up and down in 
their rooms, where song and dance 
performances for die customers took 
place behind dosed doors. It was 
quite a scene, with men 
promenading past the houses, ogling 
the inmates. Amid the noise ana 
laughter, you could hear stringed 
instruments being tuned. 

He walked past one house after 
another, quite a few of which he had 
frequented, but he did not stop. In 
fact, without realising it, he 

Q uickened his steps. When he was at 
le end of the street, he suddenly 
thought of his wife and he saw her 
as he had seen her that morning in 
her splendid silk sari. He couldnot 
help comparing her with the women 
of the quarter. Most of them were 
really nothing more than theatrical 
heroines who looked quite lovely if 
you were at some distance from 
them, but ugly when you saw them 
from up dose. His wife, on the other 
hand, was beautiful at any distance. 
These women did not have her 
breeding and manners which only a 
good upbringing and education 
could give. Most of them painted 
their faces and did their hair crudely. 
While some of them were 
undoubtedly pretty, by and large 
their taste in clothes was cheap and 
loud, bordering on vulgarity. ’They 
preferred screaming colours as rustic 
women do. They tended to load 
themselves with ornaments but they 
lacked the beauty which only good 
taste and simplicity can give a 
woman. 

As he walked, he could not stop 
thinking of his wife and the early 
days of their marriage. For the first 
time in his life, he had discovered 
the joys of physical intimacy. He 
trembled slightly as he relived those 
nights when the farthest things from 
his mind had been sleep. He felt 
o\ erwhelmed when he thought of 
the enjoyment he had once 
experienced. It also occurred to him 
that all those good times were free of 
cost. He had not had to pay for 
them, as here on the street. 

He was practically running as he 
approached the house. Yes, it was 
true that his wife had not been 
faithful to him, but what about the 
women whom he had been visiting 
all these months? They could be had 
by anvone who paid tneir price. 

Sne was all alone, stretched out 
on the bed, cool and fragrant, half 
awake, half asleep, and looking very 
beautiful. She heard footsteps and 
she knew that someone was walking 
up the stairs to come to her. ■ 


14 



NEREYE 


BEJAN DARUWALLA 




Aries 

March 2 1 - April 20 

Ganesha says, romance 
and finance will now 
go hand in hand 
Children and 
grandchildren give 
ample joy. This is a 
good time to improve your mind, 
widen your horizons, travel, take 
prayers and meditation very seriously 
July 25-27 is tor socialising 

Taurus 

April 21 — May 20 

~n The spotlight will be on 
home developments, be 
they a mere shitting of 
the furniture, or 
renovating the entire 
^ place, or buying, selling 
of office or shop or godown or 
warehouse or just the land You could 
pick up a bargain now. The hosting or 
attending of parties foretold 

Gemini 

May 21 — June 20 

You will have i« chance 
to get on top ot your 
rivals in a test or a 
competition Tups and 
ties are destined and 
these will boost your 
ego Those in research, ads, publicity, 
governmental work, politics, 
communication and liade do well fuly 
25 26 are tor finance and romance. 

Cancer 

June 21 — July 20 

You will hum, strum. 

'1 W hollo h'ol deeply, 

' react instantly and have 

. your spills and thrills. 

j It would be advisable 
A'WUtilUw J to be adventurous, take 
courage in both your hands Thursday 
and Friday are ideal for it. Many 
C'ancenans will be partying and going 
full steam ahead m their ventures. 


Leo 

j July 21 — August 21 

A very favourable sun 
placing helps you to 
steal a march over your 
rivals You will succeed 
in making your 
;J presence tel* and that to 
you is important At meets and 
interviews, you will show your true 
worth. For corporate executives and 
writers, time to push ahead 

Virgo 

AugusT 22 — September 22 

H Follow your hunch and 
heart and delve deeply 
; within for treasures and 
answers Very possibly, 

. it will be journey time, 
so get your travel kit 
ready Many Virgoans will be m touch 
with foreigners and people from distant 
places Those in travel, trade and 
accounts get kudos 

Libra 

September 23 — October 22 

. You will start anew and 

sue reed Your love life 
A Jj Mk - is bound to improve 
and so will your bank 
jL balance Those in public 

L. relations sh ine and 

I even scintillate because they win 

| awards and rewards tor work we 11 
done. A family get together is definitely 
on the cards, says Ganesha 

Scorpio 

October 23 — November 22 

r Your style and class will 

. begin to tell Youi work 

will take top priority. It 
ls certain that you will 
push ahead with vigour 
. . SlL - — - -J and confidence, thus 
making excellent headway Loam to keep 
youi plans completely flexible for last 
minute changes Participate m meets and 
gatherings. 


I Sagittarius 

I November 23 — December 20 

People will flash smiles 
and compliments at 
you because of your 
looks and apparel. 
Accept it gracefully. 
There will be a certain 
air ot restlessness about you because it 
is time to move. This could be mental, 
physical, spiritual, emotional or 
possibly all of it. 

Capricorn 

December 21 — January 19 

The salient features are 
joint finances, taxes, 
investments, buying, 
selling, shopping, 
leasing and capital 
formation, and these 
should continue for the next 36 days at 
least Capncornians see better days. A 
house or office move is probable for 
Capncornians. 

Aquarius 

January 20 - - February 18 
1 Information 

dissemination will be 
^ accompanied by 
partnerships and 
* alliances for Aquarians. 
m You will have an 
| emotional response, a warm one, to 
most situations and persons, and that is 
slightly unusual for you. An official 
engagement or change of job foretold. 

Pisces 

February 19 — March 20 

While the focus is 
clearly on job, work and 
promotion, your 
personal relationship 
also comes under a lot of 
attention. Your 
imagination and style will help you to 
sell an idea or product to maximum 
advantage July 23-27 is the time to push 
a project through 



* i'j ' 1 * ■ *• * \ ‘ 

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■ T* >* 


B 1;R T H D 

• - -■ s.. .... .. i 'i. . *.■ 


Ltl* m. v" j . --i * 3 k. 'U- j 








* : 













IME TABLE 

All arrival and departure times are for Calcutta 

Day* of operation uaing 7-day coda: <D MONDAY 9 TUESDAY 9 WEDNESDAY 9 THURSDAY 9 FRIDAY • SATURDAY 9 SUNDAY 
(As those pages go r,, prt*ss one week in advance, readers should check with respective airlines and railways for last minute change <n timings) 

* ■ . PLIGHTS ■ ..-V - - 'V; 


Departures Arrivals 

Fit No. Tbm Days Ft No. Tima Days 


Departures 

Arrivals 

Fit No. Time Days 

Fit No. 

Tima 

Days 

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• RJ Royal Jordanian Airlines • RO Tarom Air Transport a S2 Sahara India Airlines • SQ Singapore Airlines • SU Aeroflot • 4S East West 
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plans m 2203546-64 lor Incoming Mm 22Q353M4 tor all otter Information For totonmion 
about raamWom on Entom fete* ml South-Entom Railway trains, dial 2203496-3500 (lem 8 
m to 8 pm on wedtdyi nd 8 am to 2 pm on Snndqs and meted holidays) In addtoon, 
dal 1331 (tor noorted toton m ion on train running), 131 (rsprdtog train operitera) and 136 
(ragrtng resmdorn). Train amtos enquiry d Sadctoh 35U&35/37 
Mhndtos Votes taponre Syatam (5 am id 9 pm mayday from Monday to Sdurdqr. 5 am to 5 
pm on Sumy): Fra remvmdaba, dal 196 (omiaitateed);DW 2210486 (rnsnmrniuby). 





TY 


BEAUTY IS SKIN-DEEP 

Some tips on how to take care of your skin this summer from Manisha Gutati 



E verybody is equals but some 
parts of every body are more 
equal than others when it com- 
es to skin stress and the effect 
of the elements On these you need to 
lavish more tender loving care than on 
the others. 

These are parts of the body that we 
never think about — the crook of the 
arm, the ear, behind the knees — as 
anything other than parts of the 
whole. At most these areas are lucky 
to get a pat of body lotion after a bath. 
We tend to be obsessive about the skin 
on our faces and uncaring about the 
other 90 per cent of the body's 
surface — polishing our cheeks twice 
a day, but gating with relative indiffer- 
ence on the unmoisturised, delictae 
skin of our shoulders, neck and 
decollete. 

Yet it is precisely these sensitive, 
and often rather secret places that 
need extra care Tender places like the 
nape of the neck are often sensual 
zones too, and don't deserve to be 
neglected. 

Summer is the time that most 
people become aware that some body 
areas are more tender than others. 

Few people tan evenly, (and who 
wants that either). Instead, there are 
danger zones that become more ten- 
der, tanned ajid oily after a day's batte- 
ring from the ultra-violet rays. The t- 
zone (forehead, nose and the sides run- 
ning onto the cheek) is an exquisite 
area of torture The top of the nose and 
the shoulders are areas we expect to be 
bum-prone These are the two parts of 
the body most exposed to merciless 
sunlight from above when we are stan- 
ding upright 

Lips, too, are accepted as delicate 
and entitled to total block and the regu- 
lar dab of vaseline. And the eyes, the 
first area to wrinkle, are an obvious 
zone for tender loving care 
Other summei danger zones are the 
collarbone — it can easily become a 
brown or red weal across an otherwise 
fairer or lighter coloured chest. Ano- 
ther forgotten body zone is the scalp. 
Though somewhat protected by the 


hair, it can bum right down the par- 
ting, peeling into little sheets All this 
gives rise to dandruff. Regular oiling 
and frequent washing with a mild 
shampoo helps. 

Most often it's the folds of the body 
that are treated most cruelly by the 
sun. But why should these places be 
any worse than the rest? 

"Areas which bum fastest, apart 
from those that are exposed at right 
angles to the sun, are those that have 
not seen a lot of the sun, day by day, 
during the year," says Finesse Salon 


owner, Kavita Khullar. Covered up in 
winter, they are not protected by tne 
normal thickening of the skin in res- 
ponse to ultraviolet light. 

But why is burning more dangerous 
than gradual tanning? Kavita says, 
"The more you damage your skin by 
repeated burning, the harder it is for 
the skin to repair itself." 

A great deal of the pain can be taken 
out of tanning, burning, and the result- 
ant greasy skin by giving a few extra 
seconds to tender places. It needn't be 
a complicated matter because differ- 




ent products are available for every 
separate niche. All you need is a sun- 
block stick or at least a tube of sun pro- 
tection cream When it comes to year- 
round care some beauty companies 
. are learning to focus on the needs of 
; specific parts of the body. There are 
1 rod ucts for hips and thighs, for 
ands and for me throat. 

B ut you don't have to invest in a 
cream for every nook and cranny 
Take hand lotion — usually richer 
than body lotion — right up to the 
elbows and foot lotion up to the knees. 
And maybe one day someone will inv- 
ent a little. pot of cream for earlobes, or 
the bits between the toes. Until such 
delicacies abound, a little tender lov - 
ing care will abound 

Here's a little how-to for your parti- 
cular type of skin: 

Dry Skin: Whatever type of skin you 
have, there's a natural way to care for 
it, and to pamper yourself at the same 
\ time A dry and sensitive complexion 
& is caused by too much water evaporat- 
1 ing form the cells in the skin. The 
| result is a delicate flaky complexion 
that needs a careful regimen to prev- 
ent it form dehydrating further 
Dry -skinned people often lack vita- 
min A and vitamin B Camomile is soo- 
thing to dry skin. It works to maintain 
1 the oil \ moisture levels, protecting the 
skin against the harsh effects of cold or 
I dry environments. A relaxing treat- 
gment containing sweet almond oil 
Ihelps reduce red veins and encoura- 


ges elasticity — vital in the battle again- 
st lines and wrinkles. 

Oily Skin: Though prone to spots 
and blackheads, oily skin has great 
resilience against UV rays and cold 
weather. Nevertheless certain plant 
extracts help stop it from clogging 
with dirt and looking lifeless. The 
secret is to promote cell renewal for a 


healthy, glowing skin 1 . Cucumber's 
refreshing properties have long been 
employed in beauty treatments 
because the acid \ alkaline balance so 
closely resembles that of skin, without 
oil production. 

Fragrant and slightly astringent, 
lemon balm calms and minimises the 
pores of oily skin. Finally, Rosemary 
contains camphor which stimulates 
cell generation while their gentle anti- 
septic qualities help to heal and soften. 

Normal skin: Normal and combina- 
tion skins balance qualities of the two 
extremes of skin type. With the help of 
the right plant extracts, even the oil 

C rone t-zone should remain clear. 

ime blossom is a mild anti- 
inflammatory which invigorates the 
skin, beautifully scented orange blos- 
som makes a penetrating moisturiser 
and in fact enhances the skin's own 
moisture-retaining capacity. 

And to stimulate cell renewal 
carrots rich in minerals and vitamins 
A and B can help keep that peaches 
and cream complexion. The oil in the 
peach kernel otters a hydrating treat- 
ment for body and hands, protecting 
the skin and maximising it's moisture 
levels. 

So, this summer, at least make sure 
that those awkward bits of your body 
look better than they ever did. Once 
winter comes around, you can always 
hide behind all those bulky sweaters 
and shawls, can't you? ■ 



19 


S . .. i. VV^ 

KETCHES 

POTTED HISTORY 

This Week: Private airlines 


H ow it all started: j 

Long before 
there was an 
Indian Airlines, 
:here were lots of private 
urlines who flew Dakotas 
between Bombay and 
Delhi The government, in 
ts wisdom, decided that 
rigger was better, j 

lationalised all the j 

■urlines, merged them and ! 
o and behold! Indian I 
Airlines was bom. j 

Till the 1990s, various j 
ibortive stabs were i 

nade at starting private i 
lirlines. There was Jam | 
Air; there was j 

Zontinental, and there 
wre lots ot airlines that j 
lobody remembers, . 

Then, in 1991, the 
government iniroduced an ! 
Tpcn-skies policy, 1 

?ncouraged people to 1 


import aircraft and 
allowed them to compete 
with Indian Airlines 

And did lots of people 
start airlines?: You bet. 
Everybody and his dog 
wanted to start an airline. 
If you were a big 
businessman, you always 
said that you were on the 
verge ot starting your own 
airline Two big 
businessmen (lid actually 
start airlines Vijay Mallya 
started UB Air which flew 
the skies till he got bored 
and wanted to do 
something else. And 
S.K. Modi started 
Modiluft with technical 
cooperation from 
Lufthansa. 

Weren't there any serious 
players?. Not too many. 


alas The logical route for 
; entry into the business 
, was the travel trade. East 
j West, one of India's largest 
! travel agencies, started an 
j airline only to be haunted 
j by allegations that 
| Dawood Ibrahim was the 
I bcrtami owner. The 
| directors had just finished 
! denying that they had 
anything to do with the 
underworld, when the 
managing director was 
shot dead in a gangland 
hit. 

Then, there was 
Subrata Rai, whose 
Sahara empire takes in 
everything from 
magazines to finance to 
TV studios to Raj Babbar. 
His airline crashed, quite 
literally, at Palam airport, 
but made a worthy 


comeback on the basis of 
advanced 737-400 aircraft 
and excellent cabin crew 
who, contrary to rumour, 
did not greet you by 
saying, "Good Sahara". 

But Rai knew his 
finance. Unlike poor 
Parvez Damunia, a 
chicken farmer, who was 
hopelessly out ot his 
! depth and who soon 
realised that fashion 
shows, models, and 
actresses were not enough 
to keep an airline flying 

Bui was there a biggie? 
Only one Naresh C.oyal, 
widely regarded as tne 
shrewdest man in the 
travel business who is the 
general sales agent for 
over 20 foreign airlines 
Goyal got equity 
participation from foreign 


Jet Airways: The most successful carrier in the private sector 



airlines, hired an 
expatriate CEO, chose the 
tuel-efficient 737-400, and 
built up the largest fleet. 

As a consequence, his Jet 
Airways is the most 
successful of the private 
airlines. 

What about the 
Khemkas?: Well, they 
certainly entered the 
business with a bang. They 
had a local south Indian 
operation called NEPC 
Airlines, but when they 
put poor Parvez Damania 
out of his misery by 
buying his Damania 
Airlines (now called 
Skyline NEPC), they hit 
the big time. They 
billowed this up by 
I .lunching a hostile 
takeover of Mudiluft 
despite S K Modi's claims 
that he owned a ma|onty 
ol the equity. 

After that, things have 
gone downhill The 
Mudiluft takeover 
hasn't gone through, 
Skyline NEPC is in a bad 
way, and there are 
constant rumours of 
liquidity problems 

Will they all survive?. Oh 
no, they won't. East West 
is already in trouble. It 
owes crores m landing 
tees to the Airports 
Authority which grounded 
it for a few days till it 
promised to pay up 
Lufthansa has pulled out 
of Mudiluft, but 
S K. Modi insists that he is 
better off without the 
Germans. Skyline NEPC 
, has its own problems (see 
! above) and Sahara has yet 
to make its mark. A 
smaller airline, Archana 
Airways, suffered when a 
plane crashed in Kulu 
recently 

Do people prefer them?: 
Well, they used to. But 
now, there is a large-scale 
exodus back to Indian 
Airlines According to 
Indian Airlines this is 
because the national 
carrier has turned itself 
around. According to the 
rivatc airlines, this is 
ecause Ghulam Nabi 


Azad has stopped them 
from serving alcohol. 

Why did Ghulam Nabi do 
that?: Mainly because of 
Damania, which kept the 
whiskey /lowing on such 
medium jhaul flights as 
Bombay-Ealcutta, 
ensuringpiat passengers 
leamt thit a Boeing 
wasn't the* only way to get 
high. ij. 

Will thetAlbe new 

entrantsf^rhere is a new 
entrant baiting in the 
wings. Tpp years ago, 
Singapore Airlines tied up 
with the Tatas to launch 
what would have been 
India's biggest private 
airline. The aircraft would 
have come from Singapore 
Airlines and in-flight 
service and on-time 
performance would have 
been on par with south- 
east Asias finest airline. 
When everything was set, 
Ghulam Nabi Azad 
announced that Indian 
airports were very 
crowded, so there was no 
room for the Tata 
Singapore airline. The 
travel trade saw the hand 
of Jet Airways' Naresh 
Goyal in the decision; a 
charge he strenuously 
denies But even Ghulam 
Nabi could not explain 
why if airports were so 
crowded, Naresh Goyal 
and others were being 
allowed to expand. 

All hopes of a change 
in this policy were dashed 
when trie new civil 
aviation minister C.M. 
Ibrahim, announced that 
he would not allow 
private airlines which had 
a foreign 

shareholding Obviously, 
nobody had told him that 
Jet Airways was owned 40 
per cent by two foreign 
airlines. 

And the future?: Bleak. 
Prepare to travel by 
Indian Airlines, Alliance 
Air (an Indian Airlines 
subsidiary) and Jet 
Airways. Those will be the 
biggies in the year9 
ahead. ■ 


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Fashion 

LABELS FOR MORE 


Status symbols abound with international brand names taking over the 

market, says Samita Bhatia 


W hether it's hand made 1 
suilx from Milan, or 
rcathns and body pain! 
in the Amazon basin, 
every society clothed or naked has 
its symbols to define status, 
dominance and style: Symbols that 
can be owned at a cost - - sometimes 
even a small fortune 

And today, symbols such as 
these have infiltrated the Indian 
markets with a bottom line which is 
kind of obvious, those: with meagre 
bank balances need not even lake a 
look-see. Obviously top-oMhe-linc 
international labels m India have 
targeted the upper, upper crust of 


other Indian televisions. Home 
theatre systems too are becoming 
something of a craze in the 
entertainment market. 

r iod«iy you can 7 ip around in a 
Ks 20 lakh plus luxury Mercedes 
Ben/. And the multiplicity of 
options tor the wheels you can drive 
is sum to delight those who love to 
change their cars like they do their 
shirts The Opel Astra (Rs 6 3 lakh), 
Rover Montego (Rs 10 lakh), and the 
Honda (Rs 6.5 lakh) are soon to take 
to the roads— -just take vour pick — 
even as marketing strategies protect 
the cars as the ultimate status 
symbols 


Lancome, YSI/s Opium, Chanel No 
5, Milsouko Guerlain — are all 
available off-the-rack. Floor price: 
around Rs 3,500 

Van lieusen, Arrow and Louis 
Philippe are here too and so are the 
footwear giants. On the footwear 
front it the all-Indian shoe doesn't 
appeal pick up a Hush Puppy, * 
Reebok or a Nike for a price that 
some are wont to think is criminal 
for a shoe Expect to pay in the 
region ot Rs 2,500-3,000. 

Ready-made dosignerwear has 
not bypassed the Indian woman 
Artfully detailed mature — slim 
jackets, dresses, bright scarves- - 


Mexx men's leisurewear 


The Louis Feraud showroom, New Delhi: No 



buyer. 

So, you no longer find yourself 
deciding on which music system to 
buy, but instead lace a dilemma as 
to which model of cellular phone 
suits you best. What will it be? 
Nokia, Ericsson, Motorola, Siemens 
or Sony? 

Your search for a television set 
will take you through a range of 
Panasonic Top Domes to 44 inches, 
and Akai ana Samsung sets that are 
legally available, above board, with 
prices that are comparable with 


D esigner labels in the ciothes 
department for both men.and 
women ^re already making their 
presence felt, and other goodies that 
may have sneaked into the 
smuggled goods bazaars are freely 
available. 

Starting from leading 
international signatures tagged onto 
contemporary, ready-to-wear suits 
created in the design temples of 
Italy or France ana going on to 
exotic perfumes witn equally 
evocative names—- loop, Covet 



and vibrant ensembles from Louis 
Feraud have found ample buyers. 
This despite the fact that prices vary 
from Rs 8,000 for jackets and escalate 
to Rs 40,000 for evening wear. 

The Revlon (another cosmetic 
brand finding its feet here) lady, 
Mehar Bhasin simply loves to shop 
here. "I've modelled the Louis 
Feraud Western collection and that's 
how I discovered it/' she says. 

"Most people are today aware of 
what world-class labels are all about. 
A branded perfume in any market of 
the world costs a lot of money. 
Brand-conscious people are very 
aware of what they pick up and to 
diem price is immaterial/' In this 
receptive scenario, enter the Italian 
Marzotto Group and America's 
Target. Marzotto entered the market 
with a flourish tying-up with KB+T 
for technical ana design know-how 
for the manufacture of classic Italian 
men's suits, jackets and trousers in 
India. 

Up front in the textile and apparel 
sector in the American, European , 
South American, Australian and 
South African markets, KB+T was 
launched in the country’ after it 



KB+T: The label that counts 

reportedly conducted surveys that hues, from blue to navy, KB+T rules 
spoke to over 10,000 men in 12 cities all the way. And these can bepickcd 

across the country to arrive at the up from an affordable Rs 6,000 to as 

right styles best suited to the Indian high as Rs 20,000. 
physique. From wood hues to pale Despite the hype, however, some 

shades in gray, from beige to golden customers have returned from the 




KB+T store quite disappointed. Like 
Raj Naiesh Singh who drove ail the 
way from Patiala, Punjab, to pick up 
his size of suit. 

Singh is 6 ft 2 inches plus and 
wears a size 46. "Friends had been 
recommending the label for the 
variety of its sizes, however, I 
couldn't find one for myself. Why 
shouldn't 1 opt for a custom-made 
suit from Raymonds or Study by 
Janak then?" he asks. 

A not!r*f international designer 
label to hit the market soon is 
Target that comes to the Indian 
market with a promise of giving the 
customer a choice of 13 sizes. Target 
Ls poised to bring its premium 
collection to India, though not its 
other popular brands (Target has 
different brand names for different 
markets) like Stanley Blacker, John 
Whiles or Arnold Palmer which are 
retailed in the stores of New York, 
London and Paris 

According to Apt Arora, 
chairman and CEO, Golden Gate 
Company, which has tied up with 
Target, "Though our clothes have 
been priced looking at the uppei end 
of the market at Rs 9,500-15,000, 1 
feel that the Indian male is ready to 
pay a premium for quality fabric and 
the latesf international fashion 
tailored according to his physique." 

Says Murli Menon, publishing 
director with a leading publishing 
house, 'The range of clothes the 
companies promise will be crafted in 
wools trom Beilla, Italy, while 
collections from the design centres of 
Paris, London and Milan will also be 


KID’S STUFF 


Labels are big business even in the children's 
wear segment of the market 


I f Benetton's 0-12 range has made 
a considerable dent in the 
kidswear market, can other 
international labels, catering 
primarily to the young ones, be 
long in making tneir debut here? 

The latest entrant in the 
children's wear segment is an old 
American favourite that brings pure 
Americana to India. A tongue 
twister but hip nevertheless — 
OshKosh B'Gosh — is known to be 
die largest oldest and most famous 


children's clothing company in the 
world. 

Now the stores axe on-line in 
Delhi's alive —but perhaps not very 
upmarket — bazaars, Lajpat Nagar 
and Karol Bagh. But come 1998 you 
may just find a hundred exclusive 
retail outlets all over the country. 

Hie store offers a different kind 
of clothes range for children of 
varying age groups. At OshKosh 
the emphasis is more on denims 
and the styles are quite different 



Panthore bracelets and broach from Cartier 



available here. If the companies live 
upto their promise there's no reason 
for men not to buy ready-to-wear 
designer suits. The price is steet> but 
then reputed Indian designers tike 
Rohit Bal, Ravi Bajaj or J.J. Valaya 
also charge more man Rs 8,000 
upwards for jackets alone." 

And there is more available as far 
as embellishments for the Indian 
male go. If it's up-market you are 
looking for, it's up-market that you 
are i ring to get. You can step into 
the Ravissant showroom in Delhi 
and pick and choose from a range of 
Cartier products that have been 
elegantly displayed. 

Cartier's masculine range of 
watches is easy enough to recognise: 
in steel, all gold or a blend of steel 
and gold, the Chronograph range 
looks — and is — awfully complex as 
well. 


The watches have names to go 




Osh Kmh B’Gosh: Old favourite 

from those in other stores. The 
prices are somewhat steep but 
other stores too are no less 
expensive. So, for your four-year- 
old get prepared to shell out R s 

1.000 for a pair of overalls and Rs 
250 for a pair of s odes as the 
company targets retail sales of Rs 
14 crore for 19%. 

The stores — just like the 
clothing they display — come in 
different sires. Depending on the 
covered floor area they are dubbed 
as "mega/ ' mighty' and 'mini/ 
Tailored after me American barn- 
like designs, the garments are 
trendy with a complete emphasis, 
says Michael Lewis, MD for the 
Asia- Pacific, on "quality, quality 
and quality in that order of 
priority/' 

with their male appearance. 'Pasha' 
at Rs J 10 lakh, ran there', a range 
where no two watches arc identical, 
thus justifying the Rs b lakh price 
tag, 'Cougar' and the Louis Cartier 
Tanks' prices for which vary between 
Rs 1 .5 lakh to Rs 6.80 lakh. 

This is also the place where 
some — Sonia Gandhi, for instance, 
who is known for her love foi 
silverware from Ravissant — might 
order their crockery'. That will be Rs 

65.000 for the tea set, please. 

Says the lady behind a counter at 
the Ravissant showroom, which also 
houses the Cartier counter 
"Industrialists and businessmen 
who are our clients (she refuses to 
divulge any names) don't consider 
prices but look for the quality of the 
product they buy. And ever since we 
advertised for the Cartier range the 
inquiries have bcenpouring in." 

This regardless for the fact that 
Cartier scarves will be available for 
Rs 8,300 and Rs 8,800, Trinity rings 





/ 


•if 



Casual wear for men at Contempo 

for Rs 23,000 to 36.000. And it 
doesn't end there: lighters arc tagged 
at Rs 13,000-20,000 and clocks for 
Rs 23,000, Rs 35,000, Rs 65,000— and 
if that wasn't enough — or even as 
much as Rs 1,23,000. 

Pushing hard at the affordability 
factor, the lady says helpfully. "YVe 
have a range of affordable watches 
as well. The Must 21s are not only 
swanky but also reasonably pi iced. 
Rs 38,000 40,000 and Rs hO^OftO.’ 

Price needs must be a secondary 
factor when Cartier's jewellery watch 
can be ordered by paying a small 
fortune — Rs 25,43,000. A range of 
jewellery pens comes with a Rs 8 
lakh tag. It it's any consolation the 
nibs are gold and platinum alloys. 


Besides the history that the 
company claims which comes with 
each Cartier product, they also carry 
a two-year guarantee 

During this period any defect m 
the product will mean that it will tv 
exchanged for free — no questions 
asked 

Upmarket international designer 
labels are hen 1 . and to May And 
from the looks of it the promise of 
international standards m quality are 
winning customer- wer Bui the 
sv\ank\ labels hotter watch out tor as 
the Indian cuslomei becomes 
increasingly discerning, a slip in 
standards m quality could mean a 
swift fall from grace ■ 

29 



First person 


SHANKO CHAUDHAKY, the Octogenarian sculptor, has created masterpieces- in. hronsxandnwrbte 
that adorn many world capitate fifjbh Rio De janeno to Copenhagen to Delhi . Today, in ike twdtght of 
his career, he is all set to start afrah witk a new medium~-stairues$ steel! 



What is your idea oi perfect 
happiness? 

to be engrossed in work, 
preferably in something 
worthwhile, not necessarily 
sculpture. 

What is your greatest fear? 

To be a cripple. 

Who or what lias been the greatest 
influence in your life? 

In sculpture my teacher 
Ramkinkar. In life, my mother and 
my another teacher, Krishna 
Kriplani. 

What do you dislike moot in 
others? 

Jealousy and cruelty. 

What do you dislike most in 
yourself? 

My inability to say no when I 
should. 

How would you 
like to be 
remembered? 

As a naughty boy 


What is your most 

precious 

possession? 

My 

ethnological 

connections. 


What is your 
nightmare? 


Faith in near ones. 
On what 
occasions do you 
lie? 

If I feel truth 
would be hard on 


friends and family. 
What objects do 
you always cany? 
Nothing in 


particular. 

What mala 


Diving deep into 
the water and 
unable to surface 


What makes you 
most depressed? 

Being accused of meanness! 
What do you dislike most cm your 
appearance? 

Slovenliness. 


;ep into Others, specially 

“ _ those dear to me. 

>rand What is your 

surface fSSMEl 

music. 

What has been 
your happiest moment? 

When my achievements made 
my mother and wife happy. 


What Is your favourite word? 

Chor fThief). 

What is your favourite journey? 

To the tribal world at home and 
abroad. 

What is your favourite dresm? 

Childhood days in the tribal 
areas. 

What is your nightmare? 

Diving deep Into the water and 
unable to surface. 

Who or what is the greatest love of 
your life? 

Probably music. 

What is your source of sustenance? 


What brings tears to your eyes? 

When I see a real act of charity 
or compassion. 

How do you relax? 

By listening to music and taking 
a trip to tribafaieas* 

What do you envy most in others? 

Who have the means and can 
travel as they like. 

Hour wotddyou like to be 
remembered? 

As * naughty boy. 

How woabfywi tfke to dfe? 

A sudden deaths p r ef e rab ly in 
an accident. 


30 




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Carry On 
Karan 


i The Magazine has 
become more readable 
With your new set of 
Cover stories focussing on 
personalities from diverse 
fields of excellence and 
Hie Greying of Karan 
Thapar' ( June 16) was 
one such enjoyable story. 

Indian television has 
really come of age: techni- 
cally and content wise it 
can match up to the stan- 
dards of any foreign tele- 
vision coverage. The new 
television culture has 
spawned a breed of super 
journalists of the likes of 
Nalini Singh, Vinod Dua 
and Karan Thapar 


They have established 
such credibility among 
viewers that their pro- 


gramme 
by the 1 


ics are 


very mention j 
their names. 


Thapar, in particular, 
is the no-nonsense jour- 
nalist who keeps probing 
till he gets his answer and 
he can be quite a terror on 
screen No wonder 
George Fernandes called 
him juvenile delinquent. 
AsitRoy i, 

Calcutta 


M Karan Thapar 
undoubtedly brought 
about a spectacular 



Karan Thapar The stem, aggressive Interviewer on television 


change in the concept of 
television journalism with 
his rapidfire questions 
and stem approach; often 
embarrassing ministers 
and making them sweat. 

I remember, Thapar 
Was once interviewing 
Kiran Bedi after she made 
available certain extra 
facilities toTthar Jail 
inmates. Bedi tried to 
defend her actions but 
Thapar was unrelenting. 

The supercop really 
cut a sorry figure in 


front of Thapar. 

Sunil Banerjee, 

Calcutta 

H Karan Thapar is the 
finest thing that could 
have happened to Indian 
television. life was the 
only televisionjoumalist 
who could ruffle even the 
most sedate guest and 
make him speak. 
Debabrata Mohanty, 
Balasore ( Orissa > 

■ You seem to have over- 
glorified Thapar. In your 


honest attempt to assess 
this colourful personality, 
you have overlooked one 
very important quality of 
an interviewer and that is 
not to interrupt the guest 
speaker too often. 

Viewers are interest- 
ed in hearing what the 
celebrities invited on the 
chat shows have to say 
but this often becomes 
impossible as the host 
himself does all the talk- 
ing. 

Subrata Chakravarty, 
Calcutta 




PAGE 4 


RAGHU RA1, Indio's ace photographer, talks 
about hi$ art and photo-journalism in an inter- 
view to the Magazine. 

PAGE 26 


GOUTAM GHOSE traces the Silk Route in his 
forthcoming film. Beyond the Himalaya. 

Raghu Ral 


SECTIONS 


16 timetable; 

21 INNER EYE 

22 COMICS 
26 FILMS 
28 TRAVEL 


Cover Nitin Rat 



FOCUS 

Raghu Rai is India 's best-known 
photographer. Samtta Bhatia profiles the 

man behind the lens 

R aghu Rai's house is an extension of 
his art. Set cheek-by-jowl with a 
bustling Delhi market, it still mana- 
ges to a maintain a peaceful silen- 
ce. It's green, and how! Even the 
address is not visible, lost some- 
where in the foliage. The languid garden appears 
to be overgrown at first glance — till you discover 
the method in it s madness. Manicured it is not, 
untamed, maybe, but with an obvious attempt at 
a cultivated wildness. Past the bamboo-shaded 
gate, meandering through some leafy palms, 
some terracotta figurines and a wooden pillar, 
you find the bell. 

India's most distinguished photographer 
obviously loves his spaces. While you'll find a 
fine collection of antique furniture at the entrance 
and in the living room, there's nothing cluttered 
or heavy about the setting. It's just, well, distinc- 
tive. You simply can't quell the urge to ask where 
he picked up the stuff from and he answers, 

"From all over — Calcutta, Gujarat and 
Rajasthan. I wouldn't recommend Delhi. It's far 
too expensive." 

Surprising though it may seem, what you 
wouldn't find embellishing the stark white walls 
in the Rai home is a single photograph taken by 
the ace photographer. And if you find on your 
next visit that the setting has changed complete- 
ly, don't be too taken aback. "When I get bored 



with the world and myself I change everything 
around me," says Rai matter of facdy. 

A man with simple tastes by his own admis- 
sion, antique furniture notwithstanding, Rai con- 
fesses that "even my camera and lenses are never 
really sparkling dean; they are like me, rough 
and tough" . So, it's not surprising then that Rai 
spends tne better part of his time landscaping his 
farmhouse on the outskirts of Delhi all by himsdf 
— bulldozers and all — creating levels and struc- 
tures quite in the ilk of an artist. 

But there's another artist concealed somewhe- 
re in the privacy of Rai's home. The marble-top 
table has the tell-tale — and indelible — scribbles 
of a one-and-a-half-year old. "That's my young- 
est daughter trying out my waterproof pens/' tie 




explains indulgently. 

As you look surprised, he shrugs. “Conventio- 
nally to be father of a toddler, while your older 
children are married and have children of their 
own, can make some people uneasy/' he says. 
“But it doesn't matter to me, as eveiy child is a 
new experience and every human being is bom 
with something unique to discover ana under- 
stand. When my older children were bom I was 
very young and didn't really understand 
fatherhood, but my little girls (aged one- 
and-a-half, and four years) are a new experience 
for me and I find myself growing with tnem all 
over again." 

Ragnu Rai, the celebrity photographer, goes 
through life with not one cnip on ms shoulder. 


“Sometimes people make you conscious of your 
so-called fame but I still love to sit on a footpath 
and eat some papri chaat live my life the way I 
want to. I am a surgeon who cuts Raghu Rai to pie- 
ces with ruthlessness and never gives him any 
concessions/' he says. 

TA Thile he can be blase about his celebrity sta- 
V V tus today, life wasn't always as easy when 
Rai positioned himself behind the camera lens in 
the 60s. His gurus, Kishore Parekh, then with The 
Hindustan Times and older brother S. Paul who 
was photographer with ! The Indian Express — 
both 10 years nis senior — were struggling to do 
something 'different'. But as they taught Rai the 
ropes, little did they realise that their understudy 


would be offering diem stiff competition within a 
couple of years. 

"When I joined 7he Statesman as the chief pho- 
tographer/' says Rai, "1 had just one thought 
each passing 

day — my work had to be different and new 
When you are young and raring to go, you under- 
stand little but have a zest that motivates you to 
implement your grand plans." 

Those were the days when eight-column 
human interest pictures were splashed on the 
front pages when the political scene got dull. Full 
page and half page pictures were not a surprising 
occurrence either. 

Kai's images — those dating back to die 60s 
and the more recent ones — have a haunting 
quality' about them that keep them alive even 
when their memory would nave faded. So does 
he think he has made any difference to the world 
as it is seen through the eye of a camera lens? He 
says ambiguously, "1 am making a difference to 
my own life," and adds, "to make the difference 
you have to use an energy and vitality which will 
override the drudgery that the medium has fallen 
into. As a photographer you have to develop a 
vision which will capture the essence of what you 
are shooting." 

This penetration, he feels, comes with years of 
experience which lifts the photographs from the 
realm of a quick picture to something that con- 
veys a thousand words. "Daily news pictures die 
a daily death, but if you have the ability to go 
beyond the daily needs by penetrating deeper — 
that's what makes all the difference," says Rai. 



A landscape by Raghu Rai 


Maturity and vision may come with age, but 
according to Rai there are some young photogra- 
phers who are doing "smart" work. Pra veen Jain, 
Manesh Swaroop and some of the work of his 
own son, Nitin Rai — who has photographed 
Raghu for this article — have been "eye- 
catching" . But the final test is for the photographs 
to live on. 

Rai's formula for aspiring photographers is 
indeed a tall order. He feels that while the subject 
must be captured with honesty, great precision, 
sensitivity and discipline, the mind should be 





clean and reflective. Creativity which is an instinc- 
tive urge, he says, must be kept alive no matter 
how difficult it may seem, while the distance bet- 
ween the photographer and his subject treated as 
a tightrope walk. Fie elaborates, "One step extra 
or a step too far can shatter the magic of the 
moment." 

A good photographer, in his opinion, is one 
who has an experience to share with a fresh 
approach, no matter what his subject. Rai doesn't 
Have favourites; even his son is not spared criti- 
cism. "But Nitin's work is bold, direct and 
strong," he adds, proudly. "I have often been 
annoyed by stray remarks like 'Take him under 
your wings'. For had I done so, when would he 
nave had the chance to discover his own wings? I 


have been very tough and ruthless on him 
because I know that while we can share and dis- 
cuss matters, he cannot 'inheri:' an art." 

Thus, Rai's advice to aspiring photo- 
journalists: your 'guru' dwells inside each person 
and they had better listen to his dictates. 

Rai rues the fact that young photographers in 
the field today lack dedication and seriousness, 
"Even though envinmments and attitudes arc 
changing they are not making a concerted effort 
to alter tneir responses, styles of photography, or 
subject matters," he says. "The repetitive junk 
that is being produced is fast becoming very 
boring." 

Rai feels that a photographer's job is far more 
difficult than that of an artist's, musician's or a 


IN 

FOCUS 






f' 

t: 



One of Raghu Rai’s photographs 


person associated with any other creative field. A 
photographer must be alert, sensitive, reflective 
and responsible at all Limes without getting dis- 
tracted or influenced by other people. "Painters 
or musicians on the other hand have the luxury of 
meditating and doing riyaz for hours together," 
he smiles. 

He elaborates that a painter can choose his 
colours and compositions but a photographei 
cannot. "Life has its own spontaneity and that 
flow must be captured just that way for itself in its 
most natural way without looking for composi- 
tions. That is what makes us different from pain* 
ters — for we can't affect colours or structure 
situations." 

TAThile Rai obviously had an intense experien- 
V V ce with all the newspapers and magazines 
he worked with, eventually ne relinquished him- 
self of the constraints that came with the designa- 
tion of chief photographer or photo-editior. 
"With a newspaper or magazine one gets bogged 
down with a hundred little tilings that have to be 
done for the journals/' he clarifies. "Your 
instincts, sensitivities and urges have to be sup- 
pressed to meet the demands of the job at hand. 
To grow, a creative individual has to be free of 
sum restrictions." Besides, the demands of the 
print media have changed so much today that Rai 
finds himself inadequately equipped to give 
them what they are looking for. 

Rai is convinced that most 
editors — despite their claims — are visually Ulite- 




rate and don't have a sensitivity to 'read' pictu- 
res. "The other day a Japanese artist came to me 
and requested to see some of my work/' he says. 
"Though he didn't say a word, just the way he stu- 
died the pictures was the appreciation that any 
photographer could hope for." 

And therein lies the difference. Even today, 
while on the one hand he finds many publishers 
and editors extravagant in their praise of his 
work, they are hesitant to be liberal with the 
space they can give those photographs. He 
explains, "Nobody will give you the freedom to 
do as you want on a platter, nobody will give you 
the space, even if you deserve it. Every moment 
you have to fight for that space, which is related 
to the 'space' you have experienced while you 
were photographing." 

The factor that was primarily responsible for 
Rai pulling out of newspaper and magazine jour- 
nalism, was the fact that beyond a point his vision 
and energy were not understood by many 
people. "It can be a very painful experience if an 
intense moment captured on film needs to be 
explained to people," says Raghu. "If a moment 
captured by you doesn't make the reader drop a 
heart-beat, your effort can be a complete waste. 
Sharing such moments in newspapers and maga- 
zines are impossible." 

He feels that giving the art a new direction is 
not possible while working for the print media, 
unless you are a bom fighter and can battle for 
your space. Photography must capture the 
change, not the predictable and approachable. 
"Newspaper and magazine photographers are 
happy with the work they are doing for that gets 
published everyday Obviously it's mediocrity 
that sells. The level of expectation in Tndia is very 
low," says Rai. 

Despite years pul into the profession, there is 
not one photograph that Rai would like to single 
out as his favourite "There is no point in glorify- 
ing something," he says. "The last few years I 
have been choosing my own assignments — 
whi re the human interaction is powerful, intense 
and fulfilling." A man who prefers not to rest on 
his laurels, or the brilliance of past assignments, 
Rai is not one to harbour a nostalgic madness 
about his work. "I live it, I enjoy it and then it's 
over. As a matter of fact, if you were to throw 
away all this (a sweeping gesture encompassing 
one of his books lying casually on an antique set- 
tee) in the dustbin it really wouldn't bother me 
beyond a point." 

Success, according to Rai is essential, the 
applause is required but an overdose can be 
dangerous: "If success goes to your head, you 
run the danger of becoming a performer. Having 
identified what the people have liked, you tend 
to fall into a pattern to keep the recognition 
intact." Which is why today, he muses, we don'* 
have actors and actresses — we have stars, perfor- 
mers and entertainers. "You have to step back 
from the dizzying effects of success and delink 
yourself from it." 

Fame to him is important, but having touched 
exalted levels of sensitivity and understanding, 
he feels that the person has to stand alone. "I 


haven't fallen in that 'frame' in which photogra- 
phers deal with everyday. Mind-blowing appre- 
ciation can sometimes make you a prisoner of 
that frame. Each time you experience exhilara- 
tion at the discovery of a new concept, composi- 
tion or space which is very rare and difficult to 
capture, you have to make a deliberate effort to 
break that very frame and liberate yourself from 
its bondage," no says 

A dramatic situation that could shake you m 
that one moment — a mutilation, a dismembered 
head that makes it to the front pages. Or calls tor a 
photo feature m a colour weekly — often beco- 
mes the subject of a heated debate on the ethics ot 
photography. So, do photographers have the 
right to cover such events as the brutal assassina- 



tion of Rajiv Gandhi, the gory scenes of riots, acci- 
dents or murders in as graphic a manner as possi- 
ble? "Sensiti vi tv lies in photographing that situa- 
tion in a manner which symbolically, in a sensi- 
tive way, tells you everything," says Rai "But in 
photo-journalsim today an action picture is a real- 
ly great picture, no matter how gruesome." 

Rai questions the very ethics of printing pictu- 
res every day ot the year. "Publishing the pictu- 
res of politicians day after day is gruesome, tireso- 
me and painful for me. Why should the picture of 
the Prime Minister be published everyday, why 
not of the millions of people who are the essence 
of this country?" he asks 

Rai was known to often tell his editors that they 
must actually go out with the reporters and photo- 
graphers for major events and 'feel' the situations 
for themselves, rather than just imagine them 
and thus decide on what must be carried. He feels 
that we have a set pattern of tackling news 
reporting, major events and political situations 
wnich is neither sensitive, original nor refreshing. 

"We are here in big cities, publishing newspa- 
pers and magazines that basically serve the big 
guys. Imagine if we were doing stories from the 
remote corners and villages of the country you 





10 


would discover that all the politicians would 
come to these villages to meet you and maybe 
even be compelled to work wiih the people 
there/' he says. 

R ai's first major book was on India's USP, the 
Taj Mahal, which has sold tremendously well 
here and internationally. The Taj Mahal is a con- 
stant, but each time he went to pnotoeraph it with 
a particular perception in his mind it had someth- 
ing totally different to offer. 

"You must respond swiftly to whatever nature 
has in store tor you/' says Raghu. "If you make 
yourself available to a theme with sensitivity and 
responsibility then the theme, story or situation 
whispers to you. And these whispers are eternal 
and tney lead you to the truth For that is what 
nature had wanted you to do and if you' ve delive- 
red that/' 

After the Taj Mahal, many others followed — 
India, The Sikhs, Indira Gandhi (after her assassi- 
nation), Tibetan Exile, Khajuraho, Delhi and 
Calcutta in black and white. Raghu Rai's Mother 
Teresa is on the anvil that is due to be published 
by Element Books in England and America while 
another on musicians is coming up 
One regret that Rai has is nor being able to 
share his work with the people in his own coun- 
try — primarily due to tne fact that his books cost 
a small fortune and second because a lot of his 
work is published in foreign journals. He 
explains, "It can't be a one-way traffic, that on the 
one hand you are so intense — you love situa- 
tions, you love people — and then not being able 
to share these moments with your own people is 
a terrible dilemma." On the other hand books 
that are to make a visual statement have to be 
well produced which tends to make them very 


expensive and out of the reach of many, he says. 

"If you've written an A-class book and have 
that printed on ordinary paper, people can still 
read it, you could sell it for even Rs 30, but not so 
with a visual book. It might sound arrogant but 
creativity beyond a point can't always be shared 
with everybody/' says Rai. "Even those who can 
afford the book may buy it only because it is a 
very popular book that could grace their centre 
tables, without being read. So ultimately you 
actually share your work with a very slim percen- 
tage of people." 

However his fans can look forward to his next 
projects which will be in a smaller size — and 
thus easier on the pocket. Others can expect to see 
some of his best works at an exhibition that is com- 
ing up in November 

Not a man given to urges of exhibiting his 
work, he sayshe can count the number of his own 
photo exhibitions on his fingertips The first and 
only real exhibition that he admits putting toge- 
ther was way back in 1970. Then in 1982 when 
Ebrahim Alkazi egged him on with "nobody can 
afford to buy your books, and you won't share 
your work with us!" This wa- followed with a 
quick show based on 'Delhi'. Come November 
'96 and the much awaited Raghu Rai Retrospec- 
tive will open at the National Gallery of Modem 
Art, as what he describes as "my second 'real' 
show". 

And if, as they say, one picture is equal to a 
thousand words, then this will be the stuff that 
epics are made of. 



Photographs of Raghu Rai by 
Nitin Rai 


11 




E * ' f- r * . * . , 

XTRACT 

Behind the 

FACADE 


G 


Extracts from 
Rama Mehta’s 

account of an 
independent 
woman 's 
struggle in a 
traditional 
world 


Extracted, from 
Inside the / Inreli 

by Rama Mehta 
Published by 
Penguin Books 
India CP) Ltd. 
Pt lce Rs 150 


eeta tossed and turned in her bed A 
cold sweat erupted all over het body 
as she thought of the day ahead of 
her The noise from the kitchen 
below her room woke CJeeta up well 
before dawn It was 21 days after 
Vijay had been born Even after two 
years in the huvclt she te It nervous 
when relatives gathered, she was 
still not comfortable moving around 
with her face covered 

7'he women of the /uicv/f, nth 
and poor, young and old, knew 
exactly what to do, they were never 
awkward No matter what they 
were doing they earned themselves 
with effortless grace Ceet.i got no 
confidence from her college 
education Nor did the admiration 
and constant reassurance from her 
husband make her feel more at ease 
The remarks the women had made 
on her first dav in the tiuveli came 
back "She wifi never ad|ust She is 
not one ot us " 

As the clamour of voices and the 
clanging of utensils grew louder, 
Geeta decided it was time to get out 
of bed. Any minute the maids 
would be there to prepare her tor 
the festivities, She went into the 
adjoining bathroom to bathe and 

o put 

on her sari when her mother-in-law 
came almost noiselessly into the 
room 

"Binm //, Dhapu will bring vour 
clothes l have brought the |ewellery. 
See if you like the pearl set, if not, 1 
will take out the “name I one," said 
the 1 mistress of the hnveh , sitting 
down on the floor She seemed 
preoccupied as she carefully 
separated ihe bangles from the 
bracelets, the anklets from the 
armlets, the necklaces and the 
earrings 

Bhagwat Singh //'s wife was 
called Kan wa rani Sa by the servants 
She was a tmv person with small 
hones delicately tilled which made 


her look frail and fragile Her 

■ complexion was smooth though 

, sallow from lack of exposure to the 
j sun Her movements were birdlike 
. but she held herself erect. Her 
moulh was firm, there wa-; rigidity 
in her thm lips when pinsed 
together. She walked with 
! indescribable self confidence and 
! exuded strength and dignity as it 
she were naturally horn to 
. command 

j 'Binni//, she* said gently but 

firmly. "keep youi tace covered, bv 
: now you should be able K> move 
around without uncovering vout 
face " Then, at lei a brief pause, as it 
i to give emphasis lo her wo'ds, she 
j said. Do not talk too muc h lo vour 
; young cousins-in-law, it's not 
becoming You know, the 1 women are 
, critical because you are still clumsy. 

I want to show them tlial even an 
| educated girl can be moulded 1’hal I 
| was not wrong in selecting you as 
the wife ol my only son Besides, 1 
i am getting old now' and soon you 
, will have 1 to take over," she said, and 
; carefully fastened the bracelet on 
: Geela's wrist. 

Then .is an afterthought she 
added. Give Pari//// all the money 
, you tecoive foi Vijay; the accountant 
: will note it down so w'e know what 

■ lo give on a similar occasion in 
i another havch " 

"Yes, Hukkum," said Geeta, 
j using the politest form ol address to 
i cover her numiliation. She knew all 
het tears weie justified. No one* 
j thought her worthy of the family. 

| Everyone was afraid she would 
! embarrass them by an indiscreet 
. word oi a faulty move. 

| "Binni/f," said Bhagwat Singh// 's 

wife 1 , getting up, "I know you don't 
eat properly wnen there is confusion 
around you. As soon as the women 
i sit down to eat, you come upstairs 1 
! will have your tlmh sent up. Wait till 
Dhapu comes to put on the 1 rest of 


12 



the jewellery/' she said, lightly 
shutting the door behind her 

This was the kind ot concern and 
direction that made Bhagwat 
Singh/i's wife so dithcuU to fathom 
Though she was strict she was not 
uncompromising In many small 
ways sne showed an understanding 
of Greta's nature and tried to adjust 
to her needs But tin essentials she 
it id not compromise 

From the dav Geeta came into 
her family she had to abide by the 
form and the etiquette ot the havcli 
H«t mother-in-law ' s personality was 
such that it was difficult to 


contradict her or even express a 
different point of view Sne had her 
own way of prevailing over others, a 
blend of cratl and tenacity She never 
lost her temper, she was always 
seemingly considerate and gentle. 
She never raised her voice; she was 
patient and prepared to listen It was 
due to her tact and her gentle 
persuasion that Greta had been 
gradually drawn into the life of the 
havcli without even wanting to resist 
it There was something in this way 
ot life that frightened and fascinated 
her at the same time 

Dhapu came into the room 



smiling with the bundle of clothes 
balanced on her head Since Geeta 
was pensive she said, "Binni/i, has 
something upset you that you sit 
staring at the floor?" as she put the 
bundle or clothes down. "Today I 
have no time to hear your 
complaints about the havcli. 1 have a 
thousand things still to do " Dhapu 
started to unfold the red brocade sari 
with quick strokes of the hand “Oh, 

1 nearly forgot, Kanwaram Sa told 
me to warn you not to lift the baby 
or show any concern for her in front 
ot others, not the way you lifted 
Vijav Bai Sa and kissed her the other 
day in the presence ot your aunt-in- 
law" 

Stop lecturing me, 1 am ted up 
with all the pretence that goes on 
here," said Geeta in a hign-pitched 
voice, at last releasing the irritation 
she fell T hate all this meaningless 
fuss’ Don't tell me what 1 should do 
with my own child!" 

Dhapu cringed a little, she wasn't 
prepared for this outburst ‘ 'Binni//, 
don't bo angry with me Today is a 
very special day for us servants. We 
have waited tor it for 27 long 
j years," she said in a voice full of 
I emotion, and silently continued to 
i drape the sari round Gceta's slim 
j waist, then with deft fingers closed 
| the clasps of the bracelets and 
anklets. It was when Dhapu pulled 
the sari over her face that Geeta 
knew she was ready. 

As she came out of her room, her 
head was bent more than usual, as 
much by the heavy jewellery she 
wore as with anxiety at the relatives 
gathered in the courtyard. 

When at 19 Geeta had come as a 
bride to Jeewan Niwas, she was 
lively and spontaneous She had not 
been taught to stint m giving 
affection, nor was she taught to keep 
her feelings concealed Her parents 
had encouraged her to speak her 
mind There was a child-like 
j enthusiasm m everything she did or 
| said She knew marriage meant 
going into unfamiliar surroundings, 
but she was not afraid. In her 
youthtul confidence she believed 
that with love she could win over 
anyone, anywhere But after two 
years she was not so sum of herself. 
In the havcli no one really expressed 
their feelings. They covered their 
emotions in an elaborate exchange of 
formal gestures and words. Even her 
husband talked to his parents as if 
they were dignitaries with whom he 
could take no liberties. The form and 
courtesy which the young 
maintained before tne old lacked 
spontaneity. In the two years Geeta 



had never heard any really The widows, some of them 

unpleasant exchange of words young girls, were in black, the 

between different members of the contrast of their saris with those of 

family. She was aware that certain the married women like a blot in a 

relatives were not liked and others spectrum of bright colours. Everyone 
were definitely disliked, but each was talking as if they hadn't seen 

time they came to the haveli , hei each other for years As more guests 

mother-in-law met them as if she arrived they joined m, there was no 

was overjoyed to see them. Everyone need for introductions* everyone 
moved cautiously, every word was knew each other The children 
weighed before it was spoken Even played hide-and-seek behind their 
with the servants no one lost their mothers' skirts, shrieking with 
tempers; they were reprimanded delight, but nothing disturbed the 

with polite but cutting words tvhich women; they kept on talking, 
was almost worse than if they had Pan steered Geeta through the 

been openly abused crowd to her grandmother-in-law 

In the two years, Geeta had lost Bhabha Sa sat on her bed in the 
much of her exuberance but slill she covered verandah of the courtyard, 
was unable fully to control either her Vijay lay next to her. Tier maids, 
words or her feelings. She was still Bhatiani// and Gopi Bai, fanned the 
capable of talking frankly with her flies off the baby's face, 
younger in-laws. Because of this, her Geeta bent down and touched 

mother-in-law kept reminding her of her grandmother-in-law's feet. "May 
the importance or reticence. you nave many, many sons, my 

The courtyard was already full of child, and may you always wear 

chattering women m bright red, red," said Sangram Singn/i's wife, 

green ana orange saris and a host of fondly stroking Geeta' s covered 
unruly children in their tinsel head. 

embroidered frocks. In the centre of the courtyard the 

14 


! priests sat under the canopy, 
j chanting prayers Then, at the exact 
time set by astrologers, Bhagwat 
! Singh;/ and his son entered the 
courtyard There was an immediate 
, lowering of voices. They walked 
j slowly with great dignity to the 
i canopy as if what they were about to 
| do was of great significance. As the 
: priests lit the pile of sandalwood 
1 fire, Pan escorted Geeta to the 
j specially eroded platform and seated 
her next to her husband on one side 
: of the fire Bhagwat Singh// and his 
i wife sat on the opposite side The 
1 chants grew louaer as the priests 
| poured melted butter on the fire, and 
! instructed Bhagwat Singh// and his 
son to follow suit I he incantations 
! of the Vedas were drowned in the 
screams of the children who 
1 continued to run around the 
1 courtyard But as if noise were a 
i natural accompaniment to prayers 
the priests went on undisturbed 
The worship over, Bhagwat 
1 Singh?/ and his son quietly went out 
of tne court vard As soon as the men 
left, the women relaxed; their voices 
rose again, they started where they 
had left off Pari helped Geeta off the 
stool, adjusted her sari and then 
pushed her way to the senior-most 
’ relative tor the ritual of tuuching the 
; feet Geeta could hardly see through 
; the gold embroidered sari; the tinsel 
; tickled her nose and she wanted to 
1 sneeze She had never felt so 
| nervous before. She walked 
: cautiously lest she trip over 
; someone s feet in the congested 
courtyard As she bent down to 
touch the feet she vaguelv heard, 
"May you have? eight sons; may the 
gods bless you May this haveli 
flourish forever." The words barely 
registered in her mind; all she was" 
aware of was the next pair of feet 
she must touch without losing her 
balance. The heavy sari, the full 
pleated skirt, the gold, all combined 
♦o make her feel as if she W'as a 
heavy log of wood that had no 
mobility When Pari held her back 
to sit down next to Bhabha's bed 
again, Geeta could hardly believe 
that the ordeal was over. 

The noise and confusion were 
getting worse; the air was stifling 
around Bhabha's bed, as one woman 
after another came to her offering 
their congratulations and placing 
money in the tiny clenched fists of 
Vi jay. The amount they gave was 
according to the status of each haveli 
and its relation to Sangram Singh;/ 
The family accountant with his steel 
rimmed glasses sat with his head 
bent, noting down the name of the 
haveli and the amount, as it was 




called out bv Pan 

It was nearly twelve o'clock by 
the time the last woman had greeted 
Bhabha Sa and blessed her little 
great-grand-daughter The priests 
had left with gitts of fruits, grain 
and cloth. The maids had spread 
thick white strips of cloth along the 
verandah surrounding the 
courtyard and on the edge of the 
cloth they placed large green banana 
leaves for plates and cups made of 
dry leaves pinned together with thin 
twigs Steaming rice, dal, vegetables 
and different kinds ot currier were 
in buckets, ready to be served The 
sweets were in large ihahs The 
aroma of spices, mixed with incense, 
made the air heavy 

Once everything was reads 
Bhagwat Smglirr s wife, with great 
formality, invited the women to sit 
down to eat, as it they were guests 
who had come to the house tor the 
first time Tantalised by the smell ol 
lood, the children were getting 
restless. They jostled and scrambled 
iO get what places remained or 
squeezed themselves next to their 
mothers or grandmothers The 
chatter ot voices was soon replaced 
by the smacking ot lips. The close 
relatives served the guests As soon 
as the serving buckets were empty, 
full ones v r crv brought 

Bhagwat Singhji’s wife with her 
elder relatives went around coaxing 
the guests, ‘ ‘Have some more rice," 
One' more purer," At least a 


1 Union' There were protests, but 
i finally they were persuaded to take 
, something more. Having eaten with 
| relish they belched with satisfaction 
! and got up, washed their hands and 
crossed into the adjoining courtyard 
j where them was room for them to 
! stretch their legs and relax 

The first group of women having 
I finished, the maids quickly picked 
up the leaves and cups and threw 
| them outside the courtyard wall 
The stray dogs and cows were ready 
; to lick them The maids moved 
! rapidly; through years of experience 
i they had become experts at feeding 
a large number of people without 
! getting flustered The relay ot 
reeding and clearing went on till all 
1 the guests had been served Bhagwat 
Smgn/z’s wife was on her tee l till the 
! last row of women had been served. 

In between the eating sessions 
: Geeta was given the sign that she 
could go up to liei room. When after 
two hours she came down she felt a 
I little more composed 'Them was less 
! noise, the maids were busy cleaning 
, up the puddles of dal and curry, 

! sweeping the grams of rice ana 
savoury' crumbs ot the Hour The 
ladies were quiet, the heavy spicy 
food seemed to have dulled their 
spirits tor a while Bhabha Sa 
seemed happy. The elder women sat 
around her bed talking She would 
doze off for a few minutes and 
| again sit up She did not want to 
miss anything The younger women 



had formed a group of their own at 
the other end of the verandah so that 
they could talk freely. But still their 
saris fell over their faces lest some 
elder relative see them Geeta came 
quietly and sat down among them. 

Late in the afternoon the 
household seemed to be astir again. 
The professional singing group had 
arrived and started to serenade the 
ancient house of Sangram Singh /i. 
The families of these women nad 
served the havrli for several 
generations, singing and dancing on 
festive occasions As the singing 
gathered momentum, an elderly 
ladv got up and came to where the 
young married girls sat huddled 
together and said, shaking one of 
them bv the shoulders "You have 


had enough time to digest your 
food Get up and dance This is an 
auspicious day, you have also talked 
enough " 

Tne girls coyly demurred and 
dipped tneir hands deeper into their 
laps. "Come on! Don't act as if you 
have fresh henna on your feet , as if 
you are a bride," said Kanta, the 
widowed niece of Bhagwat Singh/i. 
"In my days, I didn't wait to be 
persuaded; in tact I had to be 
forcibly taken off the floor. Ask 
Panji/7 if you do not believe me " 

One of the girls reluctantly got 
up, pulled her sari well over her face 
and shyly went to the centre of the 
courtyard. At first she made graceful 
gestures with her hands but her 
body refused to tilt or bend to the 
beat of the drum. She tried for a 


while and then fled in 


embarrassment The singers did not 
j conceal their disappointment. 

i 

| After nudging and nagging a tall 
slim girl got up and went nurriedly 
to the centre At first sight she too 
taltered and hesitated, out then her 
limbs became supple. Her body 
turned and twisted with grace, her 
; skirt swirled and her hands were 


cupped in the shape of a lotus and 
the arms turned into floating fishes. 
The singers raised the pitch of their 
voice and the drummers auickened 
the beat. The courtyard echoed with 
rhythm and song The girl paused 
for a moment to pull the sari over 
her face and then she started again. 

"She is graceful, she is talented/' 
the women said with admiration as 
they came up with their rupee 
notes, carefully taken out from 
inside the blouse. Solemnly they 
encircled the girl's head with the 
money and then threw it into the lap 
of the singers. Thus the evil spirit 
wa9 bribed from casting its envious 
eyes on the youthful dancer. ■ 


15 







Departures 


Arrivals 


FRNo. 

Tiro Days 

Fit No. 

Tiro 

BC-6^ 

M'i / ■. 

BG *vt T 

Ir//. 

’•WeQMWMA ' ■ 



Bfi 0*J.‘ 

cm Vi 1 

w. trr 

' b'.V 

H(,-0V 

MM. ! . . 

c. . ht;-(;«i 

i 1 1 1 1 

it. f/i 

\m i 3 

c. 1:. u'A 

VjJ' 

bg m 

1 l i0!i 1 / 1 

D t. ■' FG O'* 1 

!,V f . 

BG 094 


4G-ri'\i 

14^0 


1 r > 

I'll D r, l 

/•) -n 

HOOHA 



07 fjT.1 

1'lfll 

•) ir. 

I Mf. 

• euwu 



HI ID 

'Mill 1, 

• 1l.,* 

•i7 Id 

m KATHMANDU 



IC >’V 

‘W ' * : 

■ Ii 'V 

. 

MA 214 

i.»*. ; •. 

nA 1 1 

1-1 1 

«> LOKRXIN 



HA-14/ 

/M 1 ’ 

ISA 1 | i 

"»li 


Departures 

Fit No. Time Days 

.NT MOSCOW 

' l. H|. 

mm 

km*.< Mir, 

KM |ij(. l.: 

• moApa m - 

HI HV, Vi |i 

i 1 

m SOFIA 

. ■ I ■ ,1. \ 

• TOKYO 

V <h I'iM 

• YANGON 

ir /*' l «: 4 . 


Arrivals 

Fit No. Tims Dap 


mi :i*. oino 


Al Air inaia • BA British Airways • BG Biman Bangladesh Airlines • HI Hoyal Brunei Airlines • D2 Skyline NEPC • D5 NtPC Airlines • 1C 
Indian Airlines • KB Druk-Air • KL Royal Dutch Amines • LZ Balkan Airlines • M9 ModiLufi • PF vayudoot • RA Royal Nepal Airlines 
• RJ Royal Jordanian Airlines • RO larom Air Transport • S2 Sahara India Airlines • SQ Singapore Aiiiinos • Sll Aeroflot • 4S East Wost 
Airlines • TG Thai Airways International • 9W Jet Airways • Q7 Qatar Airways • VF VIF Airways 




Departure 
Up lima 


,i)MM 

.1' M 

il'if): 

1 1 v, ' 

104M 

1,. Ii 

.3(1 1' 1 

■ 1 ifll 

10/1 

If-, i' 

» r ) )M 

\V7 

1, if) 


\ 1 1 

30 3 r 

IS /(' 

,«x.l 

/I n fi 

:if)/i 

// Hi 

.i0i r ' 

:> v, 


i‘. : r . 

1171 

If. L ,£ ; 

.ur* 7 

M .HI 

11A1 

,r -/fi 

Up 

Time 

3141 

13-40 

3143 

10-15 

3111 

?0 15 

J>6 V 

b 25 

3153 

/:-oo 

56b3 

20 00 

3151 

11 ?0 

3133 

20 55 

3103 

Id-25 

51B5 

12-40 


EASTERN RAILWAY 

Howrah 

Dslhl-Kalta Mall 
Amritsar MaJI 

Bombay Mall >i , 7 

Poorva (Near Delhi) Express < . 

I v‘.l , . ‘ li'i 

1 .V .1 ,\ •’ 

Poorva (New Delhi) Express . • .- 

! ■ j Ml I' I'll ■' . . 1 

\i 1 M n i >.i 1 1 • c-. 

Rajdhani Express ■ • ■* • 

, ' *:i ■ iij, ' , i • 

' 1 ■ 1 ■ r ' 4 n 

Rajdhanl Express .i E m ■ 

■ *. ■ A* -i ■ '■ 

Jodhpur Express 

Shatabdi (Bokaro Steel City) Express 

\ |, f- . I ■ , : 

Hlmgirl (Jammu-Tawl) Express i 

'll !||| '■ < 1 i! ,'■’. I wn! 

GuwehU Express 

Gorakhpur Egress 
1 I V* ’’ll 
Purbanchal (Gorakhpur) Express 

i ', ; p \ Am ■ 'll' f.ii i V".j ft r i 

Doon Express • i ^*«.i, , i» s i 

Udyan Abha Toofan Express .u Mm - u 
Amritsar Express 
Kathgotiun Express 
Mfthlw iRaxaun Express 
Kami) (GuwanU) Express 
Black Diamond Express 
coanwo express 
Asansol Egress 
Dmapur Express 
Janapw Express 
SariftMai Emu 
ChardU (Gwellor) Exorew 
Dr-p Mi ii i lue AlhJT r An M-.n Th,n^ ft hi 
Shlpra (Indore) Emu 
I .ill Wi-i I Sii' A Min A: r Sill- <wni fi. MJ! 
Shddtoun] (Chopai) Boren 
Charoni (Agn Cant) Expren 
•Jcp Eridiv Arr TlipmHv 

Saaldah 

Taafe-Tom B ore n 
DoMIng MU 

Dm Bon n vi/ Mw. 1 me 
Kanchagunip (Lumd'ng) Eupn-s. 

Gour bum 
KUhabqjran 
Janmu-TuH Boren 
MuglU Sarel Bonn vw 3R(J Loup 

tap S^r^MUni) &prws 

Tep & Arr lues Thrift ft Sat 


Arrival 

lime Dn 


Departure SOUTH-EASTERN RAILWAY Antval 


Madras Mall 
Bombay Mall . • 

Gttanjall (Bombay) Express 
Shatabdi (Rourlota) Express 

, ( \ •V” : > *-!■■ f .if. M i. 

Ahrnxfabad Express 
Kurfa Express „.i fj< j|.m 
Cororrandal (Madras) Express . ■ i 
Fulaknuma (Secunderabad) Express 


I,',' Ml' I 

ri V «|I0* 

!•■,*, /JVl 

no nw 

. I 1 . 

M, ,m» HU’/'I 

1*1.. .»H4/ 

!'• u ; 'in*, 


,| ' 1 * m TOa Stud Express v 1 .v E*-» 1 1 4 

■■ii • Ispet (Jhareuguda) Express *: ^ Kn:* 

e « '■' Traanarh Express ■■ chi a()(». 

! i> Rarchl HUa Express 1 w Mi. 

Pud Express . - ■, ,, i r ’.!• >w. 

1 M * "■ Jaganndh (Purl) Expren vii.i 

.> ' '.O' Dhaull (Bhtomnar) Boress . m,. ?kk 

i'. 'I* ' East Coast (Hydsratnd) Express "> in BO-Hi 

J . i' r Pumlla Expren :■ ivri. 

l-i’l, I HI I ! 1 ■ i» :M.i, 

Ari i yi • |.‘ .hi i|,i, 

r. mi Azad Hind (Pune) Weekly Express '• iu,M 

'll |J S Ad 1 I 'Jdy 

M. M- tii Bhubane sw er Ne w Delhi RaKtanl Express mi m. m 

•.u'l'Iil, ■’ i*, 

i’i.' New DethE-Bhubawawar Rajdhwil Express ..u i'. 4 1 . 

‘‘i/rtry ' '..ili iJ.i, * I'M 

v. Guwehoti - Howrah - Trivandrum Central Expren i 1 

rt y ii 

i*. •' • Trivandrum Central - Hnwvah GuwelaH B^raes < i 'i«.m 

ii'- 1 CochlnVlwIiour Terminus - GuwahU Weekly w v, wu 

Expren mm 1 i^’ »n i' r .i, 7 A iciia. , .' , i 

• ii ; V GuwahU - CocNr. Habout Tannlnua Weddy ' r 

Express i ’ijAui'. ^ x, i % . Ai 

'.■.•■.•il.iv i ,,! v 

1 ■'( Cxhln Harbour Temlnia Expren >..-i ' M r . 

i\ i' ir.ijn, 

! •• p u.i 1 K n. V 1 \ • i. 

d'.'i .v v. GuwahU - Banodore City Weddy Express , : 

‘^■whIs & ' iiHaiK' vV*"Jn«v1 r, nnl « 

4 BanoUxe City < Gunrehtf Weekly Btpren ir.i - ' r >io 

•H!V»nt' ft UiIlJLh' Mol’llj, 1.111% 

BJQUNE5: For mnd tha dock h ikmUon of Entam RUnwy and tioU i Cre lw n RUwaytralne, 
ptaan dW 2203545-64 tor IfKOmlng trains, 220353544 for U dhar MnreUoa For kdonnUon 
about TaaanUkm on EaM RaNw and SoUtfHtam Rdlny Vakn. dW 2203480-3500 (bom 8 
m to 8 pm m weakd aya and 8 an to 2 pm on Sundays snd nattad hoHdaya) k UU tan. 
dU 1331 (tor raoordad kifomutfon on Mn nmirn), 131 (ragadb^ Mn oparUons) and 136 
(ragwilng ruarvUom). Trek aavtoa enquiry t Saadih. XXBSSb/Sf. 
totandfnVokaReapimMop(5apto9pmereryd^fromMondreftDSaur(ky;5anto6 
pm on Sunder): For mnrvUo n atolui, dW IdStoontoukrlnd)-. DU 2203486 (ranualanquby)- 


17 


Fashion 


STANDING TALL 


Keen the vertically challenged woman can do that now with the help of the 
high heels in the market , says Manisha Gulati 


T Jiis summer Mats have been 
grounded in favour of the 
fashionable incline. The 
newest highest heels are 
st nippy sandals with 4" stilettoes 
and waisted 7" platforms This 
rather uncomfortable footwear is an 
amazing exercise in self-control and 
one can only wonder which dare- 
devil designer thought of the idea 
first 


Designer Vivienne Westwood 
had come out with 9" stilts way 
back in 1991 Her reasoning? High 
shoes are like pedestals, ennobling 
the person who wears them, at their 
best when elevating already tall 
girls to Olympian heights and short 
ones to respectable ones 

Of couise, these aren't things 
you wear for a long time On health 
and safety grounds, high heels are 
beyond tne pale. They ruin vour 
feet, causing hamm rtoe, bunions, 
knobbly heel spurs and worse. They 
shorten your neck to give you 
Dowager’s hump. They do terrible 
things to your back, jarring the 
vertebrae at every step. They make 
you feel tired faster. 

Women who have been wearing 
them for some years claim, with 
absolute truthfulness, to find them 
less comfortable than flat shoes. The 
reason for this is that the tendons in 
their calf muscles, adapting to high 
heels over the years, have shrivelled 
and grown shorter 

And yet high heels are 
aesthetically pleasing, they make the 
average leg look slimmer and 
longer. Maid wore high heels in her 
early twenties mainly because she is 
quite short and wanted extra height. 
It took her two years to get adjusted 
to flats once she decided to come 
down to earth. 

If you have been wearing high 
heels for several vears and want to 
change down to flats, it is important 
to kick the habit gradually. Says Dr 
Rashmi Anand, 'Reduce the neel 
height by half an inch at a time and 
be patient while your body adapts " 
She then adds, "It’s all a question of 
what is in fashion When people are 



Marilyn Monroe. Always on stilettoes 


influenced by a particular celebrity 
weanng flats, we get groaning 
women suffering from painful lower 
back problems, foot cramps and 
aching calves, all caused by 
exchanging their high heels for flats 
ovemignt Y ' 

For anyone interested in the 
health of tneir vertebral column, the 
most villainous high heels are the 
thinnest. Spindly stiletto heels are 
no good as shock absorbers, they are 


i 

i 


i 


treacherous tor ankles and can 
easily turn the shortest of strolls into 
a balancing act. 

Clumpy (often mistaken for 
dumpy) heels distribute the weight 
more evenly Ask Shahnaz I fusam 
or her daughter They have the 
thickest heels, fashionably called 
platforms, that elevate them about 
H" above sea level — they do look 
like they are on a different plane 


T hat doesn't go down so well with 
the men though Akhil, Mala's 
husband '•ays, “It's not so much the 
; height as the width of the heel that 
constitutes it as high heel* and 
therelore sexy to me " 

How about the time- tested lace- 
, ups with square heels almost three 
inches high? "I hev're not high heels 
in the way even very low 7 stilettoes 
; are " 

■ So there you are platform lovers. 

| Please the men or look after your 
| own. 

| Spindly heels will limit your 
' freedom dramatically They stop 
! you walking for mom than 100 
i yards at a time. They art lethal 
| when running (we're not presuming 
! you're trying to catch a bus m a 
I pair), they re agony tor pregnant 
; women, carrying babies or shopipmg 
j (imagine a bag of groceries, 

I toiletries, lamb chops, a designer 
1 salwar kameez) bo w here does that 
leave us? In 5" heels in discos, for 
socialite evenings, to make an 
impact at meetings and 
presentations. 

Choreographer Proddy explains. 

* 'High heels are very bad for the 
posture Think of the dreadful way 
they make the shoulders eo 
forward. We teach the girts to walk 
with their pelvis forward, tucking 
their bottom under and the 
shoulders back which can't be done 
in high heels. We encourage them to 
wear flat shoes or a heel of about an 
inch during practice sessions and 
even for shows. Some even go 
barefoot." 

Going by the current vogue for 
short skirts and high heels one 


18 



wouldn't think models did 
otherwise He disagreed, "The ! 

shorter the skirt, the higher the heel j ; 
High heels and short skirts look very • 
bad/' 

Fame shoe shop in Delhi's Lajpat , 

Nagar sells an entirely different j 

concept So many 18 to 20 year olds I 
who come here have never worn j 
heels before They want high 4" ! 

heels. They totter a bit at first ! 

They're sick of being tomboys These ! 
days even silver and gold strappv ‘ 
shoes are very popular They weai j I 
sensible walking shoes in the j 

daytime hut at night they want j 

heels. Basically because men like 
women in high heels. 1 

But there is a tendency for tall | 
women to take to flat shoes This is j 
obviously inspired by their wish to 1 
minimise any discrepancies in height : 
with male companions On l he other j 
hand, a little heel often helps to 
avoid the little girl look (if you're not 
a little girl), and also a sometimes Shah 
childish way of walking Says Arpan 
Das Gupta, I always tell my the o 

girlfriend that with legs like hers she India 
should onlv wear black tights and high 

high black court shoes " heels 

run a 

S ome men are primarily concerned Anil* 

for the sartorial elegance of their V 

women There is a \ast army that this y 

believes in the slimming virtues ot appt-i 

Germaine Greer: Urging women to walk freely 



Shahnaz Husain: On a different plane with eight-inch platforms 


the court shoe. Anil Sethi ot Timr> of 
India has other reasons Kir liking 
high heels. He says, "1 like high 
heels because thev mean a girl can't 
run a wav trom me " Good thinking 
Anil* 

Marilyn Monroe zoomed in on 
this particular sort ot high heel 
appeal wobbling around on 


j 


l mb**- — • 




L* -'Vjtsft 1 *. jA 
r-v 




at*’- V . VwybfifcfrR 


ms' 






stilettoes like a plate of jello on 
springs' as lack Lemmon quipped 
admiringly m Some Like It Hot . But 
less admiring was the revelation that 
'.he used to nav- 1 a quarter of an inch 
saw n off one of her high heels to 
promote a more unsteady lurch and 
wobble 

The latest defence of high heels is 
that they are a status symbol. 
Successful women wear them to 
teeter along the corridors of power. 
High heels show that you don't use 
public transport (only a Maruti 10UG 
or something) 

There is a new generation 
though, which is having its cake and 
eating it too They wear low or flat 
shoes all the time, but change to 
heels in the evening for the top-spin 
they give to dancing, or for the 
novelty or fun of being a different 
height. However, they simply won't 
be uncomfortable for more than ten 
minutes at a time and carry a pair of 
flat slippers in a drawstring bag if 
there is any doubt at all about 
having to stray too far from their 
place of seating. 

Feminist Germaine Greer in the 
final chapter of hei book Female 
Eunuch urged women to ‘be 
emancipated from the helplessness 
and need and walk freely upon the 
earth that is your birthright. To 
refuse hobbles and deformity and 
take possession ot vour body and 
glory 1 in its powers, accepting its 
own laws o? loveliness'. 

Heady stuff! But are any of those 
gorgeous ladies listening? ■ 


19 



Sketches 

SIGNIFICANT OTHER 

This Week: Naureen Mohammad A*haruddin 


H is bolter half? 

Well, you could 
forgive her all 
too easily it she 
had turned into his hitler 
half, given recent events. 
Alter all, it ■ an't be \ cry 
leading to have vour 
usband cheat on you as 
publicly as Azhar has 
been doing of late with 
the lading actress, 
Sangeeta Bijlani 

Especially when you 


All reporteis who try 
and get her to slag ott 
the Indian Test captain 
and his glamorous 
girlfriend are fobbed ott 
with a quiet "I am waiting 
foi mv husband to return 
home to me ' 

Any chance of that 
happening?: No way. Bijli 
seems to nave dug her 
talons into Azhar well and 
good, and thos** v\ho have 


had a tiikknh, and are now i 
man and wife One ] 

particularly scurrilous j 
veision goes even I 

further, according to i 
this, Sangeeta was 
.iheaJv thre* 1 months j 

pregnant when the 
mainage v\ as solemnised, | 
and given her condition, 
Azhar had little option but 
to make an honest | 

v\ oman of her , 

This seems highly 



Naureen with Azharuddin in happier times 


gave up ever\ thing at the 
age of lb to become his 
child bride; and presented 
him with two adorable 
sons so on after 

So, is Naureen bitter?: It 
she is, she is doing a darn 
ood job of hiding it 
nsconsed in Azhar' s 
Banja ra Hills home m 
Hyderabad, Naureen has 
the support of her 
estranged husband's 
family, and that seems to 
have nelped her cope with 
her desertion with a rare 
dignity and courage. 


seen the lovebirds in 
' action in England testify 
that thev appear to be 
> surgically |oined at the 
, hip Sangeeta even travels 

■ bv the team coach and is 
a constant present v m the 
Indian team's dressing 

• room even though this 
has led to tremendous 
: heartburn in cricketing 

■ and media circles 

■ Will they live happily 
ever after?: It certainly 

■ looks that way In fact, 

j rumour has it that Azhar 

■ and Sangeeta have already 


unlikely, given that this 
supposed mkuith' was 
solemnised more than a 
couple ut months ago, 
and Bijli's waistline is as 
trim as '■ver 

What's the truth, then?: 

The two are certainly 
planning on a future 
together. And Azhar is 
even said lo have bought 
a flLt in Bombay into 
which he and Sangeeta 
will move once they are 
legally man and wife, And 
this will, in all 
probability, happen once 


the- couple are back in 
India, after their 
vacation in England 

But what happens to 
Naureen?: 'mere are 

lonHii ting reports no 

this issue W hile A'h.u 
insists that lie has 
divorced his first wife, 
and has even agreed on a 
settlement (he will, 
apparently, give her the 
Banjara 1 fills bungalow 
she lives in and K-* T'-i 
lakh) othms maintain that 
he lias done nothing ot 
the sort 

According to them, th*. 
i ou pie are still legally 
marred, and that 
Naureen hopes that thev 
will leconcile 

And if that doesn't work 
out?: Well then. Naureen 
will at least be well 
pro\ ided Km With a ( ash 
reset ve ot Rs 7's lakh and 
a bungalow, she will never 
ever have to wink lor a 
living And the future ot 
her two sons hom A/lnr 
will be assured as well, 
atleast monetarily, how 
they will fare 
emotionally, however, 
remains to be seen. 

Current reports 
indicate that sne will 
continue to live with 
Azhar’s parents, though 
her own family is said to 
he very unhappy about 
this. Her parents, who are 
livid at the way their 
daughter has been treated, 
want her to move back 
home. 

As for Azhar: With the 
Indian captaincy slipping 
aw a) from his grasp even 
as his marriage collapses, 
all that he really has left is 
Sangeeta. And we can 
only hope that she is 
worth it. ■ 


NNEREYE 


*rAW****anf^^ 

BRIAN PAR U WALLA 



Arivs 

March 21 - April 20 

(jiiiU'slui nivs, nohlm". 
and pastime. w riling 
honks. m painting .1 
hue picture 01 uvaling 
mu*.u- »jr applet icitinj; 
these In autitu! things 
will iiuki \mili.:ppv ll is ».ilsi 1 (i tin u 
lor bonding and r.rmg llealeis, 
ill k tins , psh\ chics and entei Unnei s 
will hr in thru clement 

Taurus 

April 21 ~ May 20 

1 1 ti'p.' will In* pulls 11 
pi.utiiall) rvci \ 
po'-sihU- illinium Bui 
,!*■ llir sum. povu't, .mil 
Saturn « mmsoIkIjIIiom, 
iiii- m r\i ellrm 

positioning, \ mi innv I'vpnt piogir-.-. 

I and liraUw.w iji v.r.n milk .mil tin' 

; 1 iu'i .imuiis \ dii iM.ikr I’.mmls anil in 
■ l.mspltw tin nupoi t.iiil piii l 

1 Cemini 

j May Cl June 20 

l.ikiiu; ii » hiiiu «■ c ill 
w ill k out v 1 1 \ 

.pi’i mP\ it it has m do 
v’. 11I1 cioiip .h ti\ 1 1 v 
V'll ■ .111 dl-.i l*\ li 111 J 

• 1 11 1 1 1 1 .li 1 ul\ .uil.ii.i *> 

• in’ 1 1 • * 1 1 1 I ip ir. ti »« », In ii I • 'i • Ii »M V 
ideals lh.it x .in t h.mge \ m.i 
1 u< UiiT.Ixiin !■'. i umiiiiiMii .it 1011s ,ukI 

I Hiil.11 ts In. ul t» • Min rss 

Cancer 

jane 21 July 20 

M.h •. hi’lps v 1 iu In 
I mi ml aggies* in «‘l\ in 

till dim lit HI N ull 1.1 1 1 

dr ip* 1 )o uni hr 
hniik'd ui inlinn t.ili d 
in mli". and 

II »»ul 1 1 ions v\ I in » 1 will shoi tl\ In 
mild. prd in .in\ i.i-.r ll.ivr unit n;r, 
l.ikr tiu plungi . hr it lov r. sm i.il nui'iil . 
■ >r hrluivioiu al p.ittri 11s 





Lett 

July 21 August 21 

^ .n Mention rot itrs 

j ciinuriil clukhen 

challenges art. creative 
! pursuits. Uni* .mu 

bimduu;. ^ 11 mind 
_ tilso tin 1 1*- In holid.n • 
pas ii n 1, 1 1 11 ill and dunk''. dt\ ui .J ion* 

• *\pu ssious ol Ion r .mil hupr fi list and 
! lovallv, as tu you, ihiil's what ldr is 
trail \ .ill about 

Virgo 

1 August 22 -- September 22 

. Oiu r again, r\pi nsrs 
■ miiinl I laid nn 01 k. 

: seems lesti nril su 
1 hi'ttci gild up Vi ill 1 
Inins f ui. mi ial and 
emotional Mahilil v \i ill 
hrjp \ 0111 soil esteem VVIi it v\ a*- lost 
m.p w i'll hr in uvi'ii'd \ou nn ill lsa\< to 
inri't itr nil mi’s though von arr 
mrtu id. ms, l.ikr • air w ilh dues 

Libra 

■ September 22 Oclobm 22 

I hr n i*rk U’l. ill's to 
stand. lids idras ..nd 
j in alivr puisml*. that 




' Lx 111 id Irad to pioti'.ihli 
rntri pi :sr [ >rh.u' 

! tui in*. 1 1 11 *i kin mils, 
and i'liniiii.ili 1 imnr- iss.ii v expeiri s 
I ram In ie ilisi wli.il \ 011 io.iIIn desire 
l'i 1 ansi- \ ni» an* liL. \\ in 1 liange \0111 
mind .nut thru 11 • mild hr ton lav 

Scorpio 

Octobei 23 - - November 22 

t .anrsha *a\ .. 1 1 1 * * huiiir 
and tin* 1 Mil -.idr win Id 
linalls iiuni logrihei tin 
\ on 1 lull inrail . a 
iniind ot haul, ■ ustainrd 
\n 01 k oi a home aw .is 
tiom IliMlK' with Mil isll ll l*\l M *ll<*n. IS 
'toll \n ill u .ll li .' l.Uge .1. iilii'ili r h\ 
pIxiN 1111; to ll\i gdllerv hr r, itlli isi.isl n 
1 \niir journey turn. has just begun 





Sagittarius 

November 23 Docembei 20 
'Vou have a truly 
umvrrsal peispectivr 
and vu'ivpimit and 
voui sympathies ,111* as 
broad too \oii umld 
hiivi a Ion 1 h.itllr on 
n nui hands as llif oppositr party Mows 
hot and mid It 1 mild In 1 time in move 
1 m atlrasl trawl |ul\ Ul to August 2 is 
1 .k linn limr fm von 

Capricorn 

December 21 - January 19 

Ur. ul and Nvntr ami do 
not hidr \ 0111 light 
uiuli'i .1 hii'.hrl A little 
opposition to pi. ms 
slu >11 Id not hr allowed 
to di n\ m .isl v mu 
spirits 1 11 1 y' to 1 ;il v C ' 1 show thr NN.IN 
thr tide \x ill tin 11 M.mv ( api 11 01 mans 
w ill hr iimiIn In Vi’n mII uhiisi* I Iralth 
safeguards r'.srnlia! 

Aquarius 

January 20 - February 18 

I 00k hrhmd thr .sn'iics 
Make' voiii uUi'iitions 
(leal but don't push too 
li.ii d \ little 1 air ol 
In alLli vn ii 1 save you a 

jot x>t t.-n-anns and 
stirs'- |)u not go h\ get mli si hrmrs or 
idlMs NNhlih h.lNr not h"i*n tllOMg])( Oil* 

1 li arlv I )i 1 1 hi 'i k t .it is and figures hr a 
hit 1 .nit ii m i " 

Pisces 

February 19 March 20 

I hr spotlight is ilrarl\ 
mi |oh, power, aulhmity, 
emotional posers and 
loans l sr past 
ex pern mi i"- In youi 
advantage N* prepared 
to wm k uiuiri pnssmrsand Ir.iMi to 
utilise \ mil 1 11*11 ■ to tlu 1 hilt It will 
htri.ilk p.i\ tu hi efti< lrul and 1 uni 
undri tile and duress 




BIRTHDAYS 


July 28 : Muon conjunction Jupiter, M.|uare Saturn; t.ianesha 
says # Jr spite obstacles and wo» ri<?s, you will march on and 
co’nquer in the sense ol achieving objectives. 

July 29: Moon conjunction Neptune spells fine time for 
writers, teachers, editors and managers. It means your past 
ettortB vnll he rewarded. He.nty of movement for you 
July 30 : Sun -Saturn trine and other factors being 
tavourabk* in your personal horoscope, spells a great year tor 
both achievement and joy. Dove, power and pelf await you, 
July if t Moon trine Venus opposition Mercury: As long as 
you are in absolute control in your speech and action, all is 


well. Otherwise, you could land in serious trouble Love, 
courtships and luxuries were meant for you. 

August 1: Moon trine Mars means for editors, computer 
programmers and those in ad and publicity, a superb placing 
to dhow their undoubted talent. 

August 2: M0011 sextile Neptune, square Venus warns 
over-indulgence will be your enemy. Yes, you will have 
brilliant ideas. But please take a trial before executing them 
August Moon trine sun, conjunction Saturn: Both the good 
and the bad art your lot. It is certain that your deeds wtU be 
truly glorious. But you will also (ao> flak and opposition, k 


21 


QMIC5 


ARCHIE 


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r PI6UKEOOUT 
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WORKS WITH A 
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PAU<5HT6R VVCMT 
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I the woman who taught TAI OH] 

91 TO THE SBCOWPCOOSlNOPTHB 
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FOR THE FATHER OF VKRONiCA *,/ 


CALVIN AND HOBBES B WATTER SON 

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'^r .*?<? d ^ 

~~nd [ml,"") ,„, WM f 


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THE ADVENTURES OF LEGIONNAIRE BEAUPEEP 


\P rrs -rw\e to \ 
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PERSONAL 


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ASOL5T THIS 
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®yX>EAN^>Uigfe»-V STAN T3«AK= 









NOT QUITE THE 
SILK ROUTE 




Amita Malik on Contain Chase's new film 


W henever 1 think of 

Goutam Chose, I think 
of him with pride and 
affection. And I 

remember Oberhausen and Leipzig 
and the early awards he won at 
these leading documentary festivals 
I remember M aabhoomi and Hungry 
Autumn. 1 think of him with 
affection because Goutam has 
remained his modest, unaffected, 
dedicated self And pride, because 
he has since gone on to major 
features like Antarjah futra , Paur and 
the Indo 'Bangladeshi co-production 
P admit Nadir Majht with such 
confidence. 

lake his documentaries, his 
features have also dealt with 
burning social issues and mixed 
anger and compassion to great 
dramatic effect 1 have admired him 
for not toxsaking the documentary 
medium, as some others have done, 
and, above all, for not torsaking 
idealism for commercihsm. 

So when I learnt of Major H.S 
Ahluwali as groat coup in 
persuading the Chinese government 
to give permission to an Indian 
team to make a five-part 
documentary film on the ancient 
Silk Route and that the director 
would be Goutam Ghose, my joy 
knew no bounds. And it was 
moving to tmd that Han Ahluwalia. 
who had got a bullet in the back on 
the Iasi day of ihe IndcvPakistan 
war of 1%5 and boon crippled for 
life after climbing Mount Everest 
was to be part of the expedition. 

The fact that the president of the 
Society of tile Disabled m China, Mr 
Deng Pu Feng, was also the son ol a 
top Chinese leader, tipped the _ 
balance in India's favour There 
were to be no restrictions, not even 
during the halt at Tibet. An exciting 
prospect and the chance of a lifetime 
for an Indian film maker to make a 
film which the rest of the world 
might well envy. 

If, in the event after all I have 



The Charminar in Bukhara 

said about Goutam, 1 am 
disappointed with the overall effect 
of the film, I shall document what 1 

say 


For one thing, the film needed 
formidable advance research by a 
team ot top historians, 
archaeologists and geographers, 
when the BBC did a programme on 
Varanasi as a religious centre, they 
spent two years of research on it I 
feel the near total dependence on 
Michael Haggiag, who also doubled 
as a narrator resulted in the film 
getting bogged down in Haggiag's 
personal preferences. In the episode 
In Search of the Buddha , a long visit to 
Samath was uncomfortably touristy, 
with the narrator and his wife 
indulging in some trite observations 
and tnrougout mispronouncing 
Buddha as Booda (a common 
Western mistake which Goutam 
Ghose should have corrected) and 


in an even more embarrasing 
moment, Sujata is first pronounced 
correctly and then the other party 
says: "No, it is Soo-jutter." Could 
thus not have been redubbed? Infact, 
1 think the wife of the narrator was 
a disaster. I suspect Goutam thought 
the presence of Western people 
would enhance the international 
attraction ot the him Tn the event, 
the mam reason for the second 
episode being something ot a bore 
was its diversion from the Silk 
Route. I feel much more tould have 
been done in the way of comments 
by distinguished Indians such as 
Major A mu wal ia And it sivns 
strange that no attempt was made to 
introduce the only woman member 
of the team or let us have her in 
closeup. Navaz Bathena, is one of 
India's leading rallv drivers and 
could well have provided some 
comments on driving m such 
unfamiliar terrain at such high 


Jeeps at Everest base camp 



26 




Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet 


altitudes. One hopes she was not 
kept in the background because she 1 
was an Indian, because she was a 
much more interesting personality 
than the English woman, who was 
colourless and redundant 

In the tirst episode it is the charm 
of the people and the fascinating 
locale which saved the day But, 
equally, many cultural opportunities 
were lost. Having visited noth 
Bukhara and Samarkhand more than 
once. 1 think one of the highlights of 
any visit is the least with tne long 
table under the grapevines with 
dishes unique to the cuisine of the 


region Since Ahluwalu was at the 
head of the table, it certainly 
deserved as much of closeups and 
detailed description as the recurring 
shots ot something as unromantic as 
noodles, once we crossed the 
Chinese border 

Tdking the tirst episode as a 
whoU , il was a local tolk music and 
dances (Lhe girl darners mostly 
having their feet cut off while 
dancing, as is the Doordaishan 
custom, but not what we expect 
from Goutam Gho.se) which brought 
lhe episode alive This part of the 
commentary w,i.i better written and 



spoken, although Art Malik is not 
very good at either Central Asian or 
Indian names. But the incidental 
music was confused, ranging from 
variations on in a Persian Market to 
generalised Western music which 
did not quite fit into the locale. It 


was by and lai 
irtivc of tl 


and not 
supportive of the visuals. 

lhe third sequence. Talcs of the 
Silk Road , also seemed to linger too 
long on Auriel Stein and other 
Western explorers who admittedly 
looted some priceless treasures. But 
it became lar too academic and long 
winded and at the expense of the 
Silk Route For that matter, one can 
still get wonderful silks in Bukhara 
and surely they warranted inclusion 
in the story? After this came tin? 
sequence on Tibet, and this was, in a 
way, the highlight of the journey 
because one lias not seen much of 
libet's now order, or heard much 
about the tale of the monastries and 
the lamas. It was particularly 
comforting to see that the regime is 
now much loss stnot and that some 
of the destroyed buildings arc being 
renovated and voung lamas are 
being trained m the old manner This 
sequence hold interest in the same 
way as the first and people did not 
yawn through it or leave, as they did 
during the second sequence 

And then the mad from Lhasa to 
Everest. Sad that H S. Ahluwaha was 
affected by the altitude and had to 
return without the stunning first 
view of Everest, looming like a 
Cathedral in a fold ot clouds and 
disappearing within minutes. It 
seemed a great pity that the co- 
climber of Everest with Ahluwalia, 

1 1.C.S Rawat, and the grandson of 
one of the first surveyors of Everest, 
was not }H h rmittcd to make a single 
comment although this seemed to be 
his right. Once again the Indians had 
been bypassed. 

To sum up, 1 think the coverage 
‘ ded with moments of 


; with 


was lopsidc 

intense interest alternating w 
moments of comparative boredom. 
Made as it is for TV, the senes lacks 
balance m its episodes. 1 think giving 
the major section of the commentary 
to Michael flagging, and more 
particularly his wire, was a mistake 
and deprived the Indian members of 
the team of a chance to make 
firsthand comments during the 
expedition. 

Beyond the Himalaya is a co- 
production between Global Arts 
Production, the Youth Explonvig 
Society of India and Doordarshan. 
The expedition was organised by 
YES chairman H.S. Ahluwalia and 
Academia Sinica of Beijing. ■ 




A meadow in the Garhwal Himalayas: Captured in Take a Break on DD3 

GOING AROUND 
THE GLOBE 

Pick your favourite destination from the various travel shows 
on offer on television, says Samita Bhatia 


S o you're about to take a 

holiday? Small problem, you 
can’t decide where to go Well, 
just tune into DD3, Star TV. 
BBC or Zee IV and get a low-down 
on what may just be the destination 
of your choice A cast' of a veritable 
every thing- y ou- w a n ted - to- know - 
about-ch<x)sinj;-the-right-holiday- 
bul-didn't-know who-to-ask. But 
rest assured that these travel shows 
won't be replete with any such 
cliches Your wallet may not 
approve of a lot ot the 
recommended plates, but then you 
could always play the armchair 
traveller 

What is it that you re looking 
tor** A much-needed rest far trom 
the pressures of everyday life 
Possibly a place that’s tranquil and 
relaxing on the one hand, yet 
exciting and spectacularly 
enter tainmg when you want it to he. 
The accommodation depending on 
your budget should be from basic 



BBC's The 7 Yavei Show : Has class 


to first rate and the dining superb. 
The service efficient but never 
intrusive. A price that you must 
know, even if roughly in advance, 
so there aren’t any unpleasant 
financial surprises during your 
holiday. 

Looking for a sun drenched - 
holiday on any one of the world’s 
most scenic beaches, or want to 
experience the sophistication of 
Monte Carlo, or even just to kick off 
your shoes, relax, and have a great 
time exploring the enchanted 
islands of the eastern Caribbean 
then it’s Trtrvel Plus on Star TV, 
f loliday and The Travel Shou * on BBC 
that you need to tune onto. Giving 
you a flavour of places closer home 
are Take a Break with Hugh and 
Colleen Gantzer on DD3 and 
Namaiile India on Zee TV. 

Avid travel writers- turned- 
producers Hugh and Colleen 
Gantzer return to the small screen 
after the success of Looking Beyond 


28 



with Hudi and Colleen Gantzer. 

And in Take a Break they have 
widened the ambit of the show, by 
adding a lot of history and 
increasing the kind of destinations 
covered. 

Namaste India, the travelogue 
with the difference that was 
launched on Zee TV a year ago, has 
run through 52 very informative 
episodes. The programme came like 
a oreath of fresh air on television 
when all one associated with travel 
programmes were documentaries in 
stilted tones. Suddenly there was a 
programme that in a word spell 
infotainment. 

•The Namaste hosts revel in the 
wonder of the destinations they sell, 
enjoy the pleasures of the locale and 
give you a veritable masala mix, a 
package of sights, sounds and even 
the smells of the destination. Says 
Anu Malhotra, producer-director, 
AIM Television, the creators of 
Namaste India, "The presenters are 
seem enjoying the place and around 
their experiences a loose 'story-line' 
is built up. I wanted to portray India 
wrapped in it's strengths, m its 
history, diversity, amazing cultures 
and traditions as never before, in a 
format that was completely 
new- -evocative visuals with frame 
picture post-card perfect." 

Like the Gantzers, Malhotra, too, 
teels that we've had a surfeit of 
information on overseas travel while 
little is available on our own cxmntry. 
As the Gantzers ask, "How many of 
us realise that we are most at home 
in our own environment, and 
language? And there is a complete 
paucity of information on our own 
country". That needed to be fixed 
and the Gantzers and Malhotra 
knew just what was needed to be 
done in show-casing the country. 

Accolades have poured in for 
Namaste India. 'Hie prestigious Onida 
Pinnacle Award for excellence in the 
television category for the Best 
Director, in non-fiction and more 
recently the Lion's Club, Bombay 
award for the "Best Travelogue on 
•Television'. 

In all, Namaste India has traversed 
through 80 destinations in the 
country and recently made forays 
overseas giving Indians their two 
favoured destinations — Dubai and 
Mauritius. Avid viewers have 
savoured the many-layered history 
of Jaipur and Benares, the patriotic 
fervour of Punjab, the ethereal 
beauty of the Taj, the historical cities 
of Udaipur and Mysore, the rolling 
hills and snow capped peaks at Auli 
and western Sikkim. The list of off- 



Shtvani Wazlr hosting Namaste India , a travelogue with a new approach and 
(below) BBC's Under the Sun: Spirits of defiance 



29 



beat or lesser-known destinations 
has included Yuksum and Orchha, 
wild life sanctuaries at Corbett and 
Ranthambore and a quick Goa 
getaway. 

Namaste India has not only 
succeeded in capturing the essence 
of India but has fired a feeling of 
patriotism as well. "I was 
determined to gel Indians to see 
their country portrayed and painted 
on the best canvas," says Maihotra. 

' 'So I made sure that there were 
going to be no snake charmers, 
elepnants/ipws, buffaloes and even 
the done-to-dtaath touristy cliches of 
the Golden Triangle. It had to be 
new and it had to be different from 
the way this country had hitherto 
been handled by programmes on 
India on international channels. 


even AIM had to do some intense 
research before presenting the 
destination — got a shot in the aim 
after the episode was aired. The 
number of inquiries received by the 
Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam 
(GMVN) surpassed those received 
the past five years! "How many of 
us know that some of the winter 
sports facilities available in Auli 
compare with those in 
Switzerland ?"asks Maihotra. 

bviously, travelogues are more 
than popular. So will other 
channels look to such shows to 
increase viewership? The BBC, 
which has received several proposals 
from Indian producers for new 
programmes, has a travel show 
included in its scheme of things. 




Shooting for Take a Break with Hugh and Colleen (right) Gantzer 


When you look out for the negative 
points you are bound to find them 
which is what has been played up at 
most times. 1 wanted to project the 
best the place hjd to offer in the 20 
minutes at my disposal." 

The success of Namaste India is 
apparent from the fact that the 
channel has received letters from as 
far as England stating that viewers 
had chosen India as a travel 
destination only after watching 
Namaste India Maihotra adds, It s 
gratifying for us when we learn that 
the Punjabi community in l.ondon 
wept after watching the episode on 
Punjab or when a delegation from 
Pakistan confesses to watch Namaste 
India and see India for what it really 
is after all the negative publicity it 
normally gets on its National 
network " 

Tourism in Ault a destination 
about which practically no 
information w ‘S hitherto available- 


Says Anshuman Mishra, general 
manager, India, "People nave more 
disposable income today. Besides, 
from our research and air travel 
patterns we find that a lot more 
people are taking vacations. The 
domestic travel industry has 
changed dramatically over the last 
10 years and even the hospitality 
sector is expanding all the time." 

Mishra says that their 
programme will be a mix while 
primarily targeting the domestic 
traveller it "must nave a global 
appeal in keeping with the BBC 

J >rofile,"he clarifies. Quite Namaste 
ndia-e sque, viewers can finally see 
destinations with price tags they can 
identify with on the BBC. "Off-beat 
places, touristy destinations and 
adventure travel will be looked at 
actively," says Mishra. 

Defending programmes like 
Holiday or The Travel Sluw> that 
explore the most exotic places at 


equally exotic prices, he says, 
"Actually the BBC London gets a lot 
of inquiries from India on the 
destinations covered on the show. 
The interest is obviously there. On 
the other hand there's always the 
armchair traveller who loves to see 
what the world looks like even if he 
can't go there!" 

And hopefully this time round, 
the BBC will redeem itself and not 
hard-sell India as the enchanted land 
of elephants and snake charmers. 
Mishra smiles, "We will be looking 
at a reputed Indian producer to do 
the show. Surely he or she won't 
slam India. Besides any negativity 
that may have filtered through in the 
past has never been intentional." 

Though there's the BBC 
programme hot in the pipeline, 
Maihotra is not too sure if many 
other channels will look at travel 
programmes very seriously. She 
explains, "For one, the shows an? 
extremely difficult and expensive to 
produce. While game shows can 
pack five episodes a day and soaps 
shoot for one complete episode in 
the same time span, one destination 
on a travel show takes four to five 
days to shoot. The Sangla Valley, for 
example, took us eight days to can. 
There are huge travel expenses and 
the innumerable permissions that 
must be sought can be very 
daunting. At the end of the day 
niche programmes like travel shows 
simply don't get sponsors." 

While the viewership and thus 
the response is "fabulous"and Zee 
TV receives 5,000-10,000 letters 
pertaining to Namaste India in a 
week, while each episode on Zee's 
Dak Ghar invariably has innumerable 
queries on Namaste India , its 
Television Rating Point (TRP) scores 
continue to be low. Maihotra 
explains, "It's an English 
programme on a Hindi channel and 
that's the big problem. "So next time 
round when Namaste India resumes 
shooting after the monsoons 
(meanwhile episodes that have 
already been telecast are being 
repeated), you may well see its very 
Hindi avtaar 

But no matter what language 
they are in, travel shows are here to 
slay. And as India becomes more and 
more integrated into the global 
village, and people's disposable 
incomes go up, the travel bug is 
bound to bite a larger number of 
people. And when they begin 
planning their vacations, guess what 
they'll ao? 

Yes, you’re right! They will tune 
into the various travel shows to find 
out what they have to offer. ■ 


30 





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m ai mi inT 4 nnfi i 



Her Crowning 
Glory 

-|l Paahkm and beauty are 
fte two industries which 
iiave undergone a meta- 
morphkal change in India 
|n recent years; conse- 
quently, fhere is a jpiolifer- 
ation of beauty salons and 
fashion boutiques in die 
metros catering to the rich 
land not-so-richbut bendy 
Class of people (‘Let Your 
Hair Down, June 9). 

Undoubtedly, hair i$ a 
woman's most valuable 
asset as it frames her vis- 
age and the kind of style 
she sports can either 
transform her face to a 
beautiful one or totally 
mar her appearance. Yet, 
women, in the past, often 
neglected this important 
aspect of grooming. 

But thanks to the 
boom in beauty business 
and the foray of imported 
cosmetics, all women 
have become careful of 
appearances. Looking 
beautiful is not only aes- 
thetically pleasing out 
adds a lot of confidence to 
the persona. 

Sarmiatha Sengupta , 
Calcutta 


Ml Beauty care has 
become almost a craze 
nowadays with women 
trying out various lotions 



and herbal wonders to 
enhance their beauty. 
Gone are the days when 
the grandmother mas- 
saged hot oil onto die 
scalp of the young grand 
daughter in the hope that 
she would have long, 
envkms tresses. Shikukai, 
ritha, amla were some 6f 
the old favourites for hair 
care. The only reason why 


1 they fell out of use with 
the modem generation 
was their tune-consuming 
application process. But 
thanks to modem cosmet- 
ic companies women can 
have the best of beauty 
and herbal care packaged 
scientifically in easy-to- 
handk bottles and jars. 

So, women have no rea- 
son to complaint about 


norfcftvtt$ to groom 
themselves. AH diey have 
to do is go to the nearest 
shop and pick up the 
beauty ahts of their needs. 
Gmaefto* 

Calcutt a 


■ Thank you for die bag- 
ful of information on hair 
care and styling. Habib's 
was particularly interest- 
ing. 

ML Khan, 

Durgapur 


■ The tips offered by the 
beauticians were most 
il but you listed 
those salons which 
are beyond the teach of 
the middle-class. 



It is Just out of die 
question for a middle- 
dasd housewife to get her 
hair shampooed for Ms 
100. She would rather 


spend that on some essen- 
tial items that her family 
may need. 

Forth* Praitm Modak, 
Howrah 


Ml The kind of beauty 
parlours that you men- 
tioned were five-star. 
Obviously, the people 
who patronise these 
salons have that kind of a 
rich lifestyle. 

So, doesn't it follow 
that to look beautiful you 
must also be rich? 
AnauDntti Sen, 

Calcutta 



PAGE 4 

RITU BER1 is now a big name in fashion; the 
Indian contingent for the Atlanta Olympics will 
be seen in some of her creations. 

PAGE 26 

MEET RUPDCA Chawla, one of India's best- 
known art restorers. 


KCTIONS 


16 TTME TABLE 
20 INNER EYE 
22 COMICS 
26 ART 

30 FIRST PERSON 


Cover- Nrtin Rai 


Rupika Chawla 








At 28 years of age, Ritu has achieved much. The designer who 
had dreamt once of growing up to be a doctor, turns many a 
head wherever she goes. Some even go as far as to say that she 
could have been a model with as much oomph. Her good 
looks and semi-celebrity status get her noticed, but "not 
hounded" she adds, with a touch of relief. 

If a cluster of diamonds and emeralds twinkle on her 
fingers it's not because there's a special person in her life. 

She hastens to dispel any such misconception, "They are 
just extravagant birthday presents," she clarifies. "I don't 
have anybody in my life but I'd love to have somebody in 
it. But 1 do believe that relationships can be a very 
beautiful part of life, it’s very important to share your 
feelings, thoughts, successes, failures with somebody 
special. Makes life more livable." 

The special friends in her life are few and far between 
she says. A very private person other than her three 
'best' friends there are few others with whom she'd 
share her secrets. She loves her own company, is 
definitely not a party animal and abhors making 
inane conversation at gatherings, "And isn't that 
exactly what one ends up doing at parties?" she 
asks. 

ATaurian, and she confesses, a very "strong minded" 
one at that, she enjoys reading fashion magazines and 
watching movies. Often she buries herself in the poetry 
of Khalil Gibran. But that's when she’s not reading 
books of her favourite author, John Grisham. An 
outdoors person, she loves travelling and when back 
home she's frequently spotted at her favourite 
restaurants: Ego or La Piazza at the Hyatt Regency 
Hotel. 

She may not be particularly social, but that doesn't 
stop others from seeking her and her designs out. 

Her Lavanya label has been a sell-out at 'Liberty', 
the up-market department store on London's 
Regent Street and Rehana's on Green Street. Her 
couture line has traversed choppy oceans to find 
clients in New Jersey’s 'Silk Heritage’. Back home 
her showrooms in the capital are thronged by 
Ritu Berl‘s design for the Indian contingent at the Atlanta Olympics 





wearable designer clothes in the 
market, Ritu began designing outfits 
for herself which inevitably led to her 
creating clothes for her frtonds. And it 
wasn't long before that she was in 
business. 

However, there is a vast difference 
between designing on paper and 
creating a great outfit "After terrible 
experiences with dealing with cutters 
and tailors, 1 decided that I needed 
formal training," she recalls. So, in 
1988, this Delhi University student 
who had discarded the idea of 
studying medicine "not wanting to 
spend a lifetime working with illness" 
joined the newly-established National 
Institute of Fashion Technology 

Special T-shirts for animal lovers: From 


(NIFT). 

NIFT, which was then affiliated to 
the Fashion Institute of Technology 
(FIT) of New York, trained Beri well. 
The concept of 'fashion 7 , she says, 
actually arrived in the country with 
NIFT coming to India. Due to its 
association with FIT, a lot of the 
faculty in the first few years hailed 
from New York. This afforded her 
vital exposure to the West and gave 
her a perception that transcended the 
Indian scenario. "Today NIFT has 
innumerable branches all over the 
country and it is trying to reach out to 
as many people as it possibly can. 
However, we still need plenty of such 
other institutes," she says. 

Ritu 




And the result of her NIFT training 
was Lavanya, her personalised 
designer label, with creations that are 
an extension of her own self. Not 
surprising for, loosely translated, 
Lavanya means charm which die has 
oodles of. 

But how does Beri put a collection 
together? 

Says Beri, "l design by impulse, and 
with the sudden inspiration that 
makes me scribble designs on paper at 
all odd hours and in the most unlikely 
of places. If I were to consciously get 
down to work at a collection, 1 could 
have never been able to bring out the 
best in myself. An effort at putting it 
together ends up making the creative 
process veiy mechanical and 
uninspired. I work best when 1 allow 
my thought process to run free at all 
times — right from the time 1 wake up 
in the morning, to the time 1 call it a 
day. The stimulus is the atmosphere 
around me. Designing is all about 
moods, if I'm feeling a particular way 
then it reflects on my clothes. 
Otherwise 1 could just sit and try as 
hard as 1 can and get nowhere." 

An inspired Beri had returned irom 
France last year, chargtxl with the 
concept of doing something different. 

' France Mesamounf was the result — 
her Fall Winter collection’95 

"For a designer everything has to be 
inspired," explains Ritu. "If it's 
flowers at one stage then there'll be 
collections that take on the flower 
motifs in a huge way So you've got to 
be inspired by a particular look and 
it's important to find i aspiration from 
a particular motif and adapt it the way 


Ritu: Fond of casual outfits 




The young designer. Beautiful and successful 


you think best. Last year 1 took my patterns — this last collection has 

inspiration from French designs." highlighted all these elements," she 

The latest on offer from Beri ' s explains. There are hal ter blouses, 

workshops is a very basic collection. short printed skirts, wrap blouses, 

It s a mix-and-match of trousers, long cross strap dresses, tunics with 
dresses, shift dresses, and basic embroidery and even saris "J love 

blouses that you just knot up with embroidery which is why a lot of my 

jeans. The evening look is complete clothes are heavil v r embroidered ' ' But 

with a lot of French Lace and chiffon. what the designer does not do is show 
1 ^ too much skin A conservative 

s Says Beri, "Since I enjoy the craft of designer, she firmly believes that a 

| w «at I do the fitting or the clothes, women doesn't have to look like a 

3 draping of the fabrics, making billboard to show her assets 


7 




Primarily a designer who creates 
outfits for women, Ben does men's 
clothes strictly on order. She has 
dressed many ft bridegroom in 
achkans, kurta-pyjamas and 
chu ri dar-kurtas . And this is an area 
where she's not likely to step into 
either, for as she explains: "I don't 
dabble in men's lines for I feel that 
men are not adventurous enough. I'd 
love to go wild and give them an 
orange jacket, but I don't think they 
are ready for it." 


TA Then Beri is not designing for the 
VV glitterati she turns nigh fashion 
to something even more basic — a tool 
to sensitise people towards animals. 
Animals have been her first love going 
by the fact that she has not just grown 
up withacuddly pooch or purring 
kitten — she's run through a pretty 
unconventional catalogue: a monkey, 
a squirrel, a parrot and lots of chicks, 
besides. 

"Given a choice I would rather 
reach out to an animal than a human 


Making it Hg at 28 








For the Olympics: Chic and elegant 

being if the two needed help. That's 
because the treatment meted out to 
animals, on the one hand, and their 
own helplessness on the other, really 
disturbs me The best way I could help 
them was to use my creativity to 
convey a very important message — 
that animal abuse must be fought at a 
war footing. Besides protecting them, 
we must give them tne love and 
attention which they rightly deserve," 
she says emotionally . 

This 'feeling' for animals has been 
translated into designer-items for 
Maneka Gandhi's voluntary 
organisation 'People for Animals' So 
there are T-shirts and mugs that 
declare 'Animals are People too' — 
products that will find their way into 
all Archies galleries and other select 
stores in the near future. With 'Carrng 
means Sharing' as the motto, the 
collection extends to caps, mugs, 
notepads, postcards, pens and key 
chains. For toddlers there are stuffed 
toys and for children posters and 
geometry boxes. 

Besides the fact that the col lection is 
replete with figures of animals for 
whom extinction looms large, the line 
is unusual in its choice of materials. So 
there are leather substitutes, fake fur, 
cotton, acrylic and even paper — all of 
which do not require the killing of 
animals. At the end of die days the 
funds that the product line will raise 
through its sales will be instrumental 
in establishing additional animal care 
centres throughout India. 

While she has a keen interest in 
animals, Beri is quick to point out that 




With Maneka Gandhi at an exhibition on animal-friondly products for the organisation, People for Animals 

she's eei Ui inly not an animal rights top-of-the-line designers have found a summers ago still draw rave 

activist. She says, "Mrs Gandhi flourishing market m the country comments at parties. Ritu's own 

app ‘niched me to design some' But Ben feels that they still have a prices start at 

T-shirts tor People for Animals The long way to go, "Though we"re doing Rs 1,200 (to some a modest price to 

idea was to create an awareness about great, I think that the boom in Indian pay) and inch up to over Rs 1 lakh. 

Ihc organisation which has been fashion is still to come. It will arrive One of the show-stoppers of an earlier 

actively tryirv, to spread the message when we filter down to the masses bridal collection was priced at Rs 1 .25 

that animals are people too " maybe five years from now " lakh. However, an important part of 

Bori adds, "I didn't do this with The masses? Does she seriously her range includes lines for young 

Maneka or any other particular think that with the kind of prices that college or single girls that an 1 both 

person m mind, I did it with a heart designers charge, they will ever be affordable and versatile, 

and groat love towards animals. But as bought by normal middle class folk? While our home-grown designers 

it happens the only person who l think But Beri has her defence ready. have carved a niche for themselves in 

is working actively tor animals is "The price of designer wear depends the domestic scenario, du they stand a 

Maneka Gandhi." on outfit to outfit," she says. "It's a chance in the international fashion 

fallacy that all designer clothes are Meccas, the catwalks of Milan. Pans or 

T rends have changed drastically ' exorbitantly priced. While they may London? 

over the years and fashion has be slightly more expensive than Somehow one is not <, onvmcvd on 

evolved as a way of life. Beri, for garments that are not strictly known this score despite Tarun Tahiliai u's 

instance, has observed that people no labels, the wearer can be sure of designing a salwar kamee7 for 

longer dress up for a special occasion exclusivity and of getting his or her Jemima Khan nee Goldsmith for what 

— they want to look tneir best every money" s wo rth. Such outfits can see was dubbed to be the wedding of the 

moment of the day. They are dressing you through many seasons without year (the outfit was rejected by 

to suit their personalities and not just looking outdated." Jemima, who went with Bruce 

in what is 'in' While designerwear Some of Ritu's clients would Oldfield eventually) Given the fact 

may not be the only component of corroborate her view, for outfits from that Indian designers continue to plod 

being up-to-date or tashionable, her organdy collection of three along with a host ot outdated 

a 



machines and technology that is 
crying out to be upgraded? And this, 
with the kind of manpower which is 
perhaps just not conducive to 
producing quality that c an vie with 
international standards 

Ben concuis that one ot the major 
stumbling blocks in the business of 
creating i lothes is the complete lack of 
infrastructuie m the country ■ - a 
problem that she's trying to 
overcome Though the country 
affords a great degree of 
craftsmans1np fi a large majority of 
them Bengali-Muslims from Calcutta, 
the levels of literacy don't seem to 


Beri: Caring for animals 




| match. "If our craftsmen were trained, 
<j» our quality would impiove twice 
g over I've gone crazy trying to tell my 
§ embroiderers to keep tneir work 
* environment clean, and to work with 
clean hands If I work with white it 
comes back each time looking cream!" 
she says with a touch of exasperation. 

Though she's into exports in a big 
way Beri feels that given the right 
work environment she could do 
miracles with her collections. The ball 
has already been set rolling and Beri is 
in the process of changing the 
machines her craftsmen work on "But 
any drastic overhaul of a system takes 
time to bear fruit It is going to be 
tedious and time-consuming to 
educate my craftsmen about how 
things must be done " 

Ben is, in fact, quite despondent 
about the environment in which 
fashion designers find themselves 
working in, as it puts them at a 
disadvantage m the mtei national 
rink "I would rate Indian designers 
— - and that includes me - — on the 
international scenario in two ways 
The first, in the creativity department I 
would rate us as 8/ Ills, but in terms of 
professionalism and quality, we 
wouldn't hope to get more than 4/10. 
No, 1 don't think we've arrived vet, for 
we are very good with our traditional 
clothes but when it comes to Western 
clothes we are way behind If we had 
to sell our Western clothes abroad 1 
don't think we stand a chance " 

And what of international labels 
that have set up shop in India? 

General impression rules that most 
international designer labels that have 
arrived in the country over the past 
tew years have not created the wav** 
that they were expected to The 
reasons .ire quite clear, says Ritu "The 
fashion that these labels present m 
India is outdated as they probably 
expected Indians to accept everything 
that was thrown their way. The pricc?s, 
on the other hand, are phenomenal." 

However, the designers she would 
like to see on Indian soil are Giorgio 
Armani and Calvin Klein She 
explains, "The lr collections have all 
that young people are looking for 
today — they are trendy and have 
loads of mass appeal " 

And what of trie future? She says 
with a lop-sided grin: "I don't believe 
in five year plans or deciding on 
things for the future I don't believe m 
deciding what I would like to do years 
hence. What is on the agenda must be 
done today, for I don't know if I'll live 
till tomorrow. So I must live every 
moment of my life to the hilt " ■ 


10 



NNEREYE 


BEJAN 1>ARU WALLA 




Aries 

March 2 1 - April 20 

. p ( i«iru‘slia sa\ s d nrvvs 

gctx misinterpreted. do 
not bother miii h Oi\ 
and after August 4. it 
1 l liars up Now ties and 
I'untr.K b tiro definitely 
on tin taidslos.i\ ! hi- least House will 
need \oui iiltoiitKin ti>i lenovahon .mil 
decoration, so will paients and the 
elderly 

Taurus 

April 21 — May 20 

’lake t .lie tit die 
gi ittii", nr else woi k 
will pile up low arris thf 
weekend Ilu going 
• m.n nnl In* as eas\ as 
i: till I ll.lt .lllil \ oil W ill 

li.no to ho i.uitnuis \n voui dealings 
with pioolc \notliei outstanding liend 
w ill ho tups ,md lies lendivvous .inti 
mi'i’lini; 1 

Gemini 

May 21 - June 20 

ChtiiKos to imp-iivo 
\oui social standing 
I ru nds. |t»h 

opportunities 'ml 
t a reel will figure 
prominently this week 
Vhii emotions will ho dooplv aroused 
and t.ut* nuisl ho taken m m. liters ol 
the heai l l aniily meinheis and 
hiends take up your tune 

Cancer 

June 21 - July 20 
i ^ ^ ^ ’ , I he moon's tirsl 

| | W> tjiicii ter lor.ili -.es voui 

] peiMni.il matters, lies, 
j | attitudes and ideas lie 

! patient and souahle 

i and do ni.it have 

preconceived notions On Ihe plus side, 
you will make ample progress m woik 
and should haw* position ol 
considorat'le importance 



\Leo 

j July 21 — August 21 

! ( , . . . . i You will he reaching 

11 1 out to people and 

| detimtel\ going places 
| lie oplnmshi, rind do 
j put in voui best efforts 
. : tor things to work out 
| smoothly, lor thc\ ultnnateh will in the 
] end 1 heir is a strong emphasis on 
j col labor alums, ties . ontracls. contacts, 
i letleis, wills, ads and livers 

Virgo 

• August 22 - September 22 

■ You w ill he gwing a lot 
j ol mipoi tame to 
i ihildien hobbies, hips, 

' tu‘s research and 
! socialising I hese will 
! help sou to win friends 
1 and make things easier tor you 
i mantes will be crucial on August Vg 
j It w nuld be a w ise policy to entertain 
| and be Inendls 

Libra 

September 23 - October 22 

ll is necessary for von 
to he extremely 

| X \ lautious and patient in 
:j vonr dealings with 

! ™ I people l eu that will 

I . . .J ultimately hold you in 

1 good stead It is not altogether an 
; impossible situ iluin \our ll lends, well 
! wisheis and sweethearts will stand by 

i you assures (.i.inisha 

\Scorpio 

. October 23 — November 22 

ii ' I )o not take things loi 

■ I • granted ten you will 

SOfjBr have to work hard to 
■ ■ ■ achieve* your desiied 

j . goals I irst two d>ivs ot 

j L J __ _.i f his week is best tin 

] getting woik done lV*ts and youi own 
| health need immediate caie You could 
j indulge in a bout ol socialising as tv tends 
! w ill be most helptul during this phase 



Sagittarius 

! November 23 — December 20 

>our approach towaids 
ClfSil • vol,r W()1 ^ vvill be very 
, | positive and that may 

| j j be to vour advantage in 

i | the long run. Children, 

ideas, creative use ot 
things, inventions and scheme’s to get 
lull quick aie what the week is all 
I about Don't get worked up it people 
; don't see eve to eve with you 

i Capricorn 

! December 21 - January 19 

! i Inne to work hard and 

jBr ' 1 put m that extra ettort 
< Mjl \ ■ because that is what 

ES^Jk j will help you gam an 
j edge over your rivals 

! Remember, there is no 

! short cuts lor success F-amily matters 
! could get von down, unless you are 
j i aief ul Health ot elders, possibly in- 
laws could get vuu worried 

Aquarius 

1 January 20 — February 18 

: . Do pay attention to the 
! kind ot people you mix 
j with. News, contacts, 

■ contracts, messages, 

I publicity ventures and 
j travel should play an 
• important role tor you Inps and ties, 

; and a touth of loinance complete the 
I scene r his is also the tune to take rare 
; ot pending matters, 

Pisces 

, Feuruary 19 — March 20 

You must try to be 
Mtion.il or else things 
will go out ot control 
This is a wivk toi 
i buying, selling, 
lenovation, decoration, 
socialising, impoit and export. Pay 
i attention to deeds and documents when 
1 llu v are being sigiu d You win triends 
i easily Rel\ on them 



BIRTHDAYS 


August 4: Moon square Neptune, says Ganesha, might 
mislead you be it in finance, romance or just plain common 
sense. Change of work or at least pace are foretold. 

August 5: Moon trine Jupiter* Mars square Saturn* means 
you should beware of accidents, sudden expenses and family 

disturbance*. 

August & Mercury sextile Mars i» excellent for lovers, 
poets; entrepreneurs, fashion designers* architects, 
housewives and sportsmen. 

August 7: Mercury trine Jupiter is an excellent placing for 
those who have to use hands or words to get work done. 


earn a living or entertain. Many of your obsessions will fee 
realised and thus you will get over tlwm. 

August <t Moon sextile sun means you will have a few : * 
opportunities to push ahead. That very obviously depend* ' ?' 
completely upon you. 

AagUSf 9* No strong aspect. That means freedom to do , 
your own thing* be all that you want to. be- Friends will and: 
by you. 

August Itk Moon conjunction Venus-Mars indicates die 
home could well be where the action really is. Expenses slid 
innovations are certain* prepare to travel. , . ’ 




Extract 

Discovering 




Extracts from 
Anurag 
Mathur’s 

new travel 

book 


Extracted from 
Tren ails with Anurag 
Mathur 
Published by 
Alka Paperbacks ; 
Price Rs 95 


Calcutta — City of Every 
Contrast 

ali and communism, Vivekananda 
and vamps Radicals on their way to 
revolutionary meetings in rick- 
shaws. The greatest poverty and the 
greatest wealth. The giants of com- 
munism and of capitalism. Bankim 
Chandra and Bhappi The narrowest 
insularity and the widest universali- 
ty Marx and Moon Moon Ram 
Mohan Roy and Sonagachi. Tycoons 
and Mother Teresa. Clubby convivi- 
ality and raging revolts. Tagore and 
trams Netaji and nightclubs. 
Calcutta, contradictory Calcutta, a 
peaceful onomatopoeia 

The great Indian renaissance in 
matters of the spirit, religion, social 
mores, culture, industry — all have 
atleast some of their seeds here. If 
the curse of colonialism was most 
strongly rooted here, many of the 
boldest, most passionate, earliest 
advocates of independence during 
this century also sprang up here. 

The great Indian glory that has flow- 
ered and fallen so many times over 
the millennia owes several of the 
first stirrings of its latest incarnation 
to now foreotten back streets and 
crumbling homes in this city of 
every contrast 

My family lived here when I was 
a child and I spent long summer 
vacations here every year, so I have 
a natural nostalgia. I visited it once 
after that, but I returned after some 
15 years. 

Much has changed It's a greatly 
more affluent city, for one. But its 
soul is intact — that ability to be 
civilised yet supercilious, cultured 
yet passionate. I always felt this pas- 
sion to be unique, even if it was tor 
taking it easy. Only the Calcuttan 
could be intense about being lazy. 
And where else on earth would you 
find a respectful revolutionary? But 


tor all its genuine fervour, dedica- 
tion and idealism, the city, even in 
the wore days of turmoil and vio- 
lence and sudden death , was never 
a sad, fear-ridden, desolate place 
where the heart became a moon- 
scape The restaurants were envied 
for their music and cuisine, the 
ladies of Calcutta were legendary 
through all of Asia and the clubs set 


A 1 raff ic jam on Howrah Bridge 




Netaji International Airport, Calcutta: The right terminal in the right city to start an art gallery 



the social pace even among the radi- 
cal leaders. Only here could 
Comrade Kali be warmly escorted 
by atheists for an evening drink 
with devout money worshippers 
The reason no one realises now 
unusual the whole thing is because 
it appears so normal here. 

Among the changes is a new ter- 
minal building at the airport with 
which I am inordinately impressed. 
It's immaculately maintained and 
has what appears to be colourful 
Agnis hanging from its roof Good 
idea. Anyone making nasty cracks 
about the city gets tied to one and 
shot in the general direction ot 
Pakistan But the Netaji Airport is 
the right terminal in the right city in 
which to start an art gallery which 1 
think might be beneficial to all con- 
cerned, potential buyers and sellers 
If it works here, other airports can 
follow. 

I had gone to interview Sunil 
Gangopaahyay, Bengal's greatest 
living writer, and everything I saw 
returned me to my youth. The signs 
in Bengali were no longer intelligi- 
ble, but the first language 1 learned 
to write in Asansol was Bengali I 
still remember having nightmares 
when I was introduced to Pet kata 
Sha, literally translated as the alpha- 
bet Shut witn its stomach slit, that 
mix of rhyme and revolution at 
which Bengalis are so good 

Driving through Ho Chi Minh 
Street reminded me that it had been 




South Indian priests performing rites at a temple 


so named during the Vietnam War 
It was a sensitively chosen name, 
since the street is graced by the pres- 
ence of the US Consulate And 1 
remembered seeing that giant, 
familiar structure, tnat the I fowrah 
Bridge had always seemed to have 
something personal against me 
Whenever 1 arrived from school, 
there would be a huge traffic jam on 
it on my way home And whenever l 
was tearfully leaving for my hostel, 
the damn thing was like the auto- 
bahn. It's a structure redolent with 
legends and history though not suffi- 
ciently appreciated worldwide I 
mean, imagine the fate of the hook, if 
Vikram Sotn's magnum opus had 
been called Howrah Budge instead of 
Golden Gate. 

The Ambassador car, so sturdy, 
reliable, quite possibly eternal, on 
which I first learned to drive quite 
illegally on the Strand, is still a dom- 
inant presence. The traffic jams con- 
tinue and I speculated whethei the 
ones I saw were the same ones 1 had 
seen 15 years ago, nothing having 
moved an inch 

The delirious inti rest the city has 
in the arts continues When Sumlrftf 
stepped out with us, he was routine- 
ly asked for his autograph on the 
street. Only in Calcutta In every 
other place, a writer's autograph is 
usually sought eagerly only wnen it 
is on a cheque And most reassuring 
ly, to show that not that much has 
changed, everybody still grumbles 
enviously about the Marwaris 

The flights to and from Delhi 
demonstrated how all the airlines 
are competing by finding ways to 
feed the passengers at virtually 
every moment Soon, I expect a time. 


when pretty airhostesses will he lac- 
ing up and down the aisle, hair 
dishevelled, eyes bla/mg 

Don't chew," one would bark, 
"there's no time, lust swallow" 
"This one can't drink his juice, 
tea, coffee and water simultaneous- 
ly," another would shriek 

Feed him intravenously," the 
senior one would order 

"It has been a long, 15-minute 
flight," one would gasp, "I've man- 
aged to feed my lot breakfast, lunch, 
tea and dinner, but we're landing, so 
how do I give them their snacks?" 

"Stuff it in their ears while 
thev're waiting for their baggage " 
Anyway, it's a great improve- 
ment over the earlier days in every 
way 

Punjabi Suits and Puris Invade 
the South 

I've just leturned from the week 
long trip to the Konkan and to 
Madras, my first to either place, and 
I'm full ot initial impressions 

For one, the sal war kameez, or 
Punjabi suit as it's called every- 
where. has become the national 
dress of Indian women. Why could- 
n't the original Sweety// have 
thought of Hot Pants? And while the 
places themselves are flourishing, 
with rura* Karnataka being particu- 
larly impressive, compared to the 
poverty and chaos of their Northern 
counterparts, the ways of getting 
there have not improved sufficiently. 
While airport terminals arc physical- 
ly impressive, their services are not 
acceptable 

nut the difference between the 
city and the small town has almost 
completely gone. One sign is the 
guest register at the quite fancy five- 


storey Sharon Hotel at Coondapur, a 
trhsd town three hours drive from 
Mangalore It sternly asks. 
Relationship with other occupants 
ot loom, male/ female " Hey, guys, 
they re swinging in Coondapur 

It is now apparently required by 
law for anyone going nCdf 
Mangalore In explain with rising irri- 
tation to his friends, a minimum ot 
at least five times, "No, no, not 
Bangalore. I'm not going to 
Bangalore. I'm going to Mangalore, 
Mangalore " It's like conversations 
use to be on pre-liberalisation long- 
distance phone calls 

Another sign of change is that at 
a restaurant in Udupi, the town 
being, synonymous with South 
Indian food, there were no masala 
dosas We could, however, have as 
many /u/r/s as we wanted, with what 
was called hefee And a final sign of 
galloping modernity, at a 13th cen- 
tury Shiva temple, the priest, com- 
plete with his marks and bare chest, 
ooked at our film crew and knowl- 
edgeably asked if the lighting we 
used was through solar power I 
gathered that's what lit nis temple. 

Madras was all spruced up for 
the SAF Games and wo were greeted 
with their celebrated giant cut-outs 
ot the Prime Minister with a particu- 
lar genius for detailing his painful 
footwear Some of the city was 
frankly mysterious. Painted signs at 
various spots demanded, "Bit no 
bills." Naturally, 1 immediately 
promised not to, but the bills in com- 
parison to Delhi are so reasonable 
that you actually don't need to bite 
any. 

There were so many signs on 
vehicles exhorting, announcing, urg- 
ing family planning, that 1 began to 


14 



asks his wile Aniu whcit colour shirt 
will match with nis trousers, it his tie 
looks right, would brown shoes go 
better than black. Anju’s answer 
comes pat and Rajnish is not loathe 
to take it. He says, "People have 
often complimented me on my way 
of dressing so I'm confident of Anju's 
taste Besides I hate to bother with 
colour coordination and fashion's 
latest moves I'd rather just ask her 
than have her tell me 1 look lousy 
after I'm dressed " 

Psychologist Tehrmna Majumdar 
feels, 'Men usually shirk from the 
response a negative opinion could 
get from the woman Many limes 
they know what's wiong bubcan't 
really pin-point what’s right. The 
cjuestion nnout how she looks puts 
mom on the spot and it teels like a 
control ita Lion which they would 
rather avoid " 


So how do we get an honest 
answer? One way is to nrlv on a 
tiienu who you know will not lie to 
you lor the simple mason she 
wouldn't want you to he to her 
Mind you, not a mutual admiration 
society bill a mutually respectful 
one But ask lor an honest answer 
when you know the other person is 



Tell him how good he looks m this suit 


Won’t you tell me I look wonderful? 



in a position to give it, and you are 
in a position to receive it 

Don't ask vour triend if you look 
fine in your little black mini, halfway 
out thiough the dooi, vour dale 
waiting m the cat Be lair to the 
Inend Ask a day belore or at least 
an hour beforehand so that hurried 
alternatives can he planned out And 
don't tell vour man his outtit sucks 
just as he nervously leaves lor the 
big meeting with the boss All he 
wants to heat right then is 'you look 
great' 

So then, when is confession time? 

When hei hair needs a cut, not 
when she gels one Thank God you 
went In the hairdre? set \otir hail's 
been looking ghastly long enough," 
is more than enough to make am one 
loo’., at their past with a feeling of 
horror 

When she v^ ears a wig just tor 
tun, it's not the ideal time lor it s 
much better than your usual curls’" 
When he comes home e\i ited about 
the new tie lie's just bought toi hi- 
mauve suit !r\ not to burst his 
bubble bv saying 1 was going to 
throw that horrendous looking suit 
a wav " 

And finally it she says, Jell me 
1 look wonderful", without a 
thought, tell her. ■ 


19 


•KETCHES 


POTTED HISTORY 

What the chattering classes are talking about 


I t all began with: That original 
model -actress. Zoo not A man 
The former Miss Asia was 
discovered' by d i rector - 

f ^roducer-actor Dev Anand, and 
aunched with suitable fanfare in 
Hurt 1 Rutna Hun • Knxhtui 

Affectionately dubbed Zeenio 
baby by Dev, her friend, 
philosopher, guide and love, the 
name was soon picked up by all the 

Juhi Chawla: Model-turned-star 


This Week: Models-tumed-? 

swan song 

Who came next?: There were several 
models who tried their luck in the 
movies, but the only one after 
Zeenat to really make an impacL 
was Juhi Chawla Chawla, like 
Arnan, was a former Miss India, and 
made her debut in Qaiftwuit Sc 
Quyamat Tnk. 

The film was <i box-otfice 


success, but somehow Juhi’s career 
never really took oft Until, of 
course, she shed a couple of kilos, 
raised her hemlines, dropped her 
necklines and turned glamorous 
with a vengeance Then, suddenly, 
she was presenting stiff competition 
to Sridevi and Madhuri Dixit But 
her recent bereavement — her mother 
died in a road accident in 
Prague — seems to have made her 


Zeenat Aman: Former Miss Asia and the first Indian sex siren 



20 



^thoughts turn to re ti remen 

/ 

(The latest models: Are, ot *.* „* *.. 
Sushmita Sen and Aishw. 
who have both entered th 
world of Bollywood, and 
signed movies down sout 
Much has been writtei 
about the two former bea 
and their respective chan< . 
land. All we would like t 
that neither ol them is likf 
Mamsha Koirala sleepiest* 


The wild card: Is, undou 
Poo]a Batra, both former 
ex-girlfriend of film actor) ENTER SOME SORT OF 
Kumar. She has been sigi<E THE GOLDEN GLOV/EG." 
the Amitabh Bachchan C ■" — — 

Limited (ABCL) for one 

forthcoming releases, an *'*' 

things are expected ot h« ■') 

she can live up to these """* 

is. ot course, another s b 

Pooja BatrarVery promisi ^ 


THE LOCKHORNS 




’ 7 /, 

//JJ 


'IT'S A SIZE TOO SMALL AND A PRICE TOO LARGE. 



* CHOIR. THAT WAY. 
HE BLAME.” 



•LEROY’S MOVING TO HIS SOMMER QUARTERS.’ 



GARFIELD ■ JIM DAVI! 


- T v ^ 

worked 01. \ / v -^ 

every designer or , <“ 
country And moving 
fashion, the lady paints as * 

Small screen sirens: They include 
among their number, the former 
Miss India Manpreet Brar The 
daughter of a defence sei vices 
officer, Brar was a surprise winner at 
the beauty contest, the general 
consensus was that she was too 
gawky and awkward to stand a 
chance. But Manpreet had other 
ideas; and while everyone watched 
open-mouthed, she walked away 
with the crown. 

Since then, Brar lias given 
modelling a miss for a chance to 
veejay her own show, Sansui Matigta 
Hai on Channel V. She isn't really the 
stuff of which television show hosts 
are made of — she could, for 
instance, do with some extensive 
elocution lessons over the next 
couple of years. But Brar has the 
necessary celebrity status, and these 



none o 

I Chatterjc ■ 

with long ring* 11 * \ 
exquisitely madc-iq. 
her the usual fora vs a 
or even into telex ision h. 

Chatterjee has set herself u t 
‘celebrity manager', in a venn 
up by Anupam Kher. 

In case you're wondering whail 
'celebrity manager' means precisely . 
well, it means just that Nnvnnika 
will, in her current reiru a. nation, 
'manage' the careers ot various 
celebrities, or even people who have 
the potential to become famous This 
would entail negotiating with 
agencies and companies on their 
behalf, seeing to it that they're not 
ripped olf, ensuring sufficient media 
exposure to all their ventures, well, 
you gel the idea ■ 





t ail began with: That original 
model-actress, Zeenat Arnan 
[lie former Miss Asia was 
'discovered 1 bv director- 


producer-actor Dev Anand, and 
launched with suitable fanfare in 


f lute Ranni Hare Krishna 


Affectionately dubbed Zeenie 


baby by Dev, her triend, 
philosopher; guide and love, the 
name was soon picked up by nil I he 


Juhi Chawla: Model-turned-star 



swan song 

Who came next?: There were several 
models who tried their luck in the 
movies, but the only one after 
Zeenat to really make an impact 
was Juki Chawla Chawla, like 
Aman, was a former Miss India, and 
made her debut in Quynmat Sc 
Qayamai Tak. 


success but T mow 'pout 
success, out 1 SOME PRISB 

never really 7-^— _ ... 

course, she s> '' ' x#C w V -- 

raised her hi 
necklines ani/^i 7 2 ^ 

with a ven ** 

she was p rescA VA w\ 

to Sri do vi anv-3y-AA>> l j J. 

her recent be ,>s — - M / 

died in a road '' 










P^/~7 


AiSJOTHS^ OOiS/S V 

3TANP WHAT WAS /VTT ] 
MA3Df? AOHIE\EviENTr*/ 

Hf 


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ATT" PERSONAL. SEST FOR 
TVIMC^ MYSAMCALS 


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I'M LEAVING 
NOW, HONEY 



' r r 


I'M TAKING DAISY 
TO BB GROOMED 
ON MY WAY TO 
HELEN'S 
PARTY 


|| 


CATHY AND l 
APE GOING TO 
THE MOVIE. 
DADDY 


\ 








SHPK 


IS 


WE'RE GOING TSEE YOU 
over - no Plater,' 
MARK'S XGUYS^ 

house 

PLAY SOMEJin 
VIDEO I 

GAMES ) I 


V /A 

► VS* * --r*Q 




l>f. 



OH BOY, WHAT A PERFECT 
OPPORTUNITY kJ— 

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LONG NAP ) jmSP* 









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CLEANING UP 
HER ACT 

Rupika Chawla is one of India 's leading art restorers, ; 
Geeta Sharma profiles the lady 



Rupika Chawla: Busy at her work of restoration 


he moment the white Datsun 
wheels into the wide 
driveway and she alights 
from the self -driven car, 
Rupika Chawla is all apologies for 
being a trifle late "So sorry, l got held 
up at home/' she says while breezing 
past to open her studio door lor you 
"But where is the painting?" comes 
the question, even before vou c an say 
a hello 'llwn, catching sight of another 
lad\ waiting m die porch, she realises 
that you're not one of her clients, and 
another stream of apologies pour out 

26 


as we are ushered into the studio, 
stacked from top to bottom with old 
«md not-so-old paintings. 

It is business first, as she turns to the 
woman .vith a 3 feetby 4 feet painting 
of Husain in tow 'Hie painting of three 
women huddled together, has a cut 
running through its dust-laden 
canvas ' Oh! Thus is so filthy! So filthy! 
i cannot believe this," Chawla 
exclaims, as the lady stands quietly, 
almost like a child being 
reprimanded "1 must know if 
someone has done something to it. 


there are layers of varnish on the back; 
so obviously, someone has tried a 
hand at it. I must know what has been 
done to it before 1 work on it," Chawla 
says. The lady, on the defensive now, 
promises to get back after checking 
with her husband and leaves. 

She then turns to you. Seeing you 
stand quietly in a comer, she is back to 
her gentle self as she arranges the 
stools around her huge working table 
She lifts four weights of five kg each 
lying on a painting kept upside down 
on the table and asks you to make 








Before and after restoration 

yourself at home. 

"If only people were more open 
about how they have tried to have 
their collections restored, it would be 
much easier forme to tiy and put back 
the painting to shape," Chawla 
mutters. The first tning most people 
owning a precious work do is to call in 
any artist and ask him to help restore 
the damaged or dirt laden work. 

"And the easiest way out for such a 
person is to apply generous coats of 
varnish or thick paint to hide the 
cracks and wipe the dust" she 
laments. 

The fact that Chawla is among the 
bare handful of art restorers in me 
country at a time when art has never 
had it so good, seems to be of little 
consolation to her. There can be no 
short-cuts or brutal compromises in 
restoration. What is needed is ethics, | 
commitment and above all patience, f 


she feels. 

Little wonder then that many of her 
clients, who come to her from 
far-flung comers of the country, get 


tired of asking her when they would 
get their works back. But that is not 
what Chawla is concerned about. "I 
need and take time to think, decide 
how to go about the work and then get 
down to it/' she says. "Many a time a 
painting, just docs not seem to 
respond so at times T just keep looking 
at it and talk to it. If it docs not 
respond, I keep it aside and then go 
back to it with a different approach." 

Chawla's small studio, that she set 
up at her parents' house in the posh 
Golf Links residential area, about two 
decades ago, bears testimony to her 
statement. Works of past and present 
masters, from Raja Ravi Varma, 

M.F, Husain, Man jit Bawa and 
Hemant Majumdar are lined in 
various stages of repair and 
restoration. The countless number of 
bottles of chemicals, and solvents, 
paints and brushes and her working 
table occupy less than one fourth of 
the space in the little studio. 

/Getting Chawla to talk about 
Vjherself first and not restoration, is 
a tough job. With slight prodding, she 
reveals that her foray into 
conservation was by accident. A B.A. 
in English literature from Lady Shn 
Ram College and a masters in French 
literature from Jawaharial Nehrui 
University, Chawla had settled down 
to domesticity after her marriage to an 
LAS officer, sitting at home, looking 
after her two daughters. 

One day, a friend of her's from 
France, settled in London, visited her 
and prodded her not to sit idle. 
Realising that a regular job would be 
difficult with small children, he 
brought her books on conservation 
and art and suggested that she give it a 
try. "That was my first introduction to 
conservation," she recalls. 

As her interest grew she began 



27 






to look for a place where she could 
learn the art. The National Gallery of 
Modem Art (NGMA), then under 
L.P. Sihare,. had a huge conservation 
laboratory headed by her teacher 
Shukanto Oas. "We were about six of 
us and would sit around a huge table 
discussing conservation techniques 
and observing him work and talk 
about ethics, now they affect one's 
work and its final outcome on the 
painting," says Chawla 

The students were encouraged to 
read a lot and were allowed to touch a 
work onfy^ifter six months of 
observing When Sihare moved on to 
the National Museum, the group too 
moved to the museum laboratory. In 
1^87, Chawla branched out on her 
own and set about collecting her tools 
and equipment such as scalpels, 
tacking irons, solvents/xmsolidators, 
weights and measures and even 
carpenter's tools at her little studio at 
her parents' house 

Once that was done, work simply 
came C’hawla's way. She never had to 
pitch in with any ads or spread word 
among friends Even before she had 
finished one painting, another 
arrived, and since then there has been 
no looking back 

Chawla, essentially a restorer of oil 
paintings, says that paintings quite 



often run into danger when they are 
transported, as they quiver along in 
shaky vehicle There an 1 also several 
inherent dangers such as damp walls, 
extreme temperatures, bright 
daylight, proximity to lit fireplaces, 
gloomy and dusty room* that leave 
the paintings slashed and with 
endless tears, canvases smoked and 
shattered, dark and obscure paint 
surfaces and mottled and patchy 
canvases afflicted with fungus 
But even a seemingly simple and 
routine task like removing dust and 
fungus from a canvas can be a very 
cumbersome |ob, says she. Pointing 
out to a 6 feet by 4 feet Manjit Bawa 


THE FINE ART OF 
RESTORATION 

And how best to practise it 


W hile there are a handful of 
private restorers in the 
countiy, die National Museum 
Institute of History of Art, 
Conservation and Museology, the 
only one of its kind in the country, 
has been churning out a small band 
of art restorers over the past six 
years. Many of these restorers have 
joined the INTACH conservation 
centres or arc working on 
government-sponsored 
convservation projects around the 
country. Some nave set up their 
own private studios. 

The institute, which provides a 
two-year course in conservation to 
raduates in Fine Arts and Science, 
as developed various techniques 
of conservation in art objects of 
differing mediums. Professor 
I JC Bhatnagar, a senior professor 
at the Institute, elucidates some of 
them: 

Terracotta 

Terracotta figurines and pots 
and vessels, both of which nave 
been exposed to the elements and 
which have remained buried in 
soil, are prone to damage because 
of absorption of moisture. If tliere 
art* some salts, such as calcium 
chloride and calcium sulphate 
present in the soil, they can lead to 
cracks and water-logging in the 
objects. Such objects are treated 
with a layer of paper pulp soaked 
in water that is wrapped around 
them. The pulp absorbs all the 
moisture and salts embedded in 
the object and once it dries up, is 
removed. The process is repeated 
three to four times till no moisture 
and natural salts are left in it. It is 
then given a thorough wash and 
given a protective preservative 
coating to prevent further damage. 

For objects with broken parts 
and edges, if the broken part is 
available it is stuck back with 
synthetic adhesives. But if not the 
object is left with minimum 


interference to maintain its 
originality. 

Stone 

Stone figures and sculptures 
make sound materials but like 
terracotta, are prone to damage by 
absorption of moisture and soluble 
salts specially during rains and 
humidity that leads to cracks. So 
they too are gi ven the paper pulp 
treatment. Stone figures are also 

S >rone to fungus and algae layers 
orming on their surface, leading to 
black stains. These arc cleaned 
with a mild solution of an alkali 
and brushed and wiped before 
being given a preservative coating. 
But before that, the objects have to 
be washed thoroughly to remove 
all the chemicals that nave been 
used. 

Bronze 

The metal apparently looks 
strong but is not so resistant to 
decay. It is prone to corrosion that 
leads to a lot of surface tarnishing. 
The corrosive layer, an oxide of the 
metal itself, is scraped off and 
mixed with adhesives to fill up 
whatever cracks there arc in tne 
object. If the corrosion is uniform, it 
is best left as it is. But if patches of 
various shades form over it, they 
are removed with a mild solution 
of Roshelle's Salt mixed in water. 

Water colours 
Are prone to flaking as the 
colours begin to wear off from the 
surface. So a loose adhesive is 
applied to strengthen the colours 
on the surface. If there is any loss of 
a painted part, in keeping with the 
basic conservation thumb rule that 
there should be minimum 
interference with the artist's work, 
the damaged areas are re-touched 
with light tones which only a 
discerning eye can make out. If the 
painting has a cut or a tear, it is 
mounted on an arid free board. 


26 





While mounting, care has to be 
taken that it does not come in direct 
contact with the glass surface in 
front as that may lead to moisture 
absorption. 

Ceramics 

Ceramic objects generally break 
and are joined together wim epoxy 
raisins. The cracks and gaps are 
filled with powder made out of the 
broken pieces and adhesive. They 
am also given a thorough washing 


canvas whose once bright yellow base 
has turned pale and dull with fungal 
layers over it, she says cleaning a 
painting is not tike wiping dust off a 
piece of furniture. Paintings have to be 
cleaned inch by inch, with a small 
cotton bud dipped in solvent and 
touched with saliva. "I take out the 
painting, which was apparently hung 
on a damp wall and work on it from 
time to time because it can be a veiy 
laborious and time-consuming task/' 

she says. 

Many a time , it is also the artist's 



in a mild detergent and do not need 
any pro t ective coating. 

Wood 

Wood has dimensional 

ud^moisturein theairand , ** 
develops cracks. It is also 
susceptible to insect attacks and 
fungus. So wooden objects are best 
preserved after cleaning in a glass 
case in which some absorbent 
material like cotton wool is kept to 
absorb moisture. Cracks in 
wooden object^ too, are filled with 
adhesives mixed with saw dust 


neglect — some of whom maybe 
unaware of the material they are using 
or are in the habit of painting on a 
surface before it dries up — that leads 
to a painting's untimely decay. More 
than the material, it is the stretcher, 
(the skeleton of the canvas) that can 
cause irreparable damage to a 
painting. 

"If a stretcher is made of 
substandard wood or shoddily 
constructed and made into weird 
shapes, it is sure to bend and twist 
with climatic changes. That in turn 
plays havoc with the canvas which 
can go slack in parts, get taut and crack 
in others," says Chawla. 


HPhough she has worked on 
JL contemporary and past masters, 
Chawla' s eyes light up when she talks 
of die dozen-odd works of Raja Ravi 
Varma she has restored. Most of his 
works have suffered the vagaries of 
time and human interference over the 
century The master, she explains, 
often used a coat of varnish over his 
work to give it some luminosity and 
clarity. The varnish darkens over the 
years, hiding the real colours and 
details beneath. "Not many have 
understood these changes and have 
actually talked about Varma's 'dark' 
paintings and mellow colours!" says 
Chawla. 

A typical example of one such work 
that Chawla restored is a canvas 
depicting Sita's ' Bhumi Pravesft. All 
that one could make out from the 
canvas when it first arrived for 
restoration were blurred images of 
Sita being held by Bhumi Devi and 
entering die open earth. Ram, 
l.axinan, Luv and Kush, stood 
watching in bewilderment. 

Once the painting was cleared of the 
dark varnish and dark coats of brown 
paint (conveniently applied by 
another restorer) was painstakingly 
removed, a who& lot of dramatic 
details of the emotive drama came to 
light. The fine details such as tiles 
flying out of the earth, Sita's sari 
Guttering in the impact, her eyes red 
with burning tears that flowed down 
her cheeks, and her mouth taut with 
control and grief came to light. 

"All these aspects were hidden 
because some restorer whom the work 
was sent to first, had found the easy 
way out of simply applying a thick 
coat of black and brown paint to hide 
the cracks of time," says Chawla. But a 
Jr restorer's job is not to wipe out the 
| traces of time on a work. "It has to 
3 belong to the moment of time but it 
has to nave the signature of time and 
artist on it," she asserts. 

Contrary to what one may come to 
believe after a conversation with her, 
Chawla, has interests other than 
conservation. She has authored two 
books, Ramachandran — Art of a 
Muralistand the more recent Surface 
and Depth's besides others on 
conservation. Bharatnatyam, is her 
other passion, that takes upto two 
hours of practice every morning The 
last three months that she has had to 
stay away from il due to bad health 
have left her feeling a little out of sorts. 

But as Chawla says herself, as long 
as she has her work, her studio and the 
canvases to turn to, nothing can really 
be amiss for her. ■ 


29 



First person 


SABYASACHl CHAKRABARfX shot into Hmdight as the ebuUientGora in the TV serial, Ttero 
Parban and went on to portray mmiad characters m serials such as Rudw Seitg DiaCT, 
Udaandiandi and the latest hit, mha. Hr has also starred in fadunMum:i^^^Fa/lihaane 
Tliala, Kakababu Here Gden atm pfayed Fduda, the papular detective created by SatyajitRay in 
Sandip Ray's tele-film Baksha Raltjoya. But theatre ; according to him, remains 
his first passion. 



ytftt alwiyi cany? 

My wallet handkerchief and car 
keys. 

What makes yon moat depressed? 

Children and animals suffering. 
What do y ou dislike moat on your 
appearance? 

The whole of it (Blit I have no 
choice). 

What is your favourite word? 

No favourites in particular. 

What is your favourite journey? 

Into the wilderness. 

What is your favourite dream? 

1 don't remember dreams. 

What is your nightmare? 

ition explosion. 



Not getting an 
Oppprtujatjrto 


What or who is the greatest love of 
your life? 

My wife Mithu. 

What is your source of sustenance? 

My mother Monika Chakrabaity 
On what occasions do you lie? 

On rate occasions. 

What is your greatest regret? 

Not getting an opportunity to 
woxk with Satyajit Ray 


YAThat is your idea of perfect 
f ? happiness? 

P erfect i on and happiness don't 
mix. 

What is your greatest feai? 

Deforestation — I 
fear it would lead 
to the end of the 
world. 


ft 


t do you dislike i 
othen? 

Snobbery haughtiness and high- 
brow attitude. 

What do you 
dislike most in 



Who or what has 


life? 

My father 


dislike 
yaiir 


iy erratic 
lanpo MMnt. 

What fey oar 


I do 



Many of them, in feet 
What brings lean to your eyes? 

Can, conc er n and faith. 

How doyou relax? 

By sitting in a jungle and 
listening to nature. 

What do you envy must in othere? 

Their ability to keep their cool 
fewmsUjMilifelefe 

As a man who was not selfish. 
How would yon tike to die? 
wonting. 


30 




Discover a 
whole new world 



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(.' n p u t d o w n a h 1 e 

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lie Telegraph 



It When celebrity mar- 
riages ate cnimbftng glob 
ally, the marriage erf aaiod 
maestro Ustad Anted Ah 
Kjhan and Subhalakshmi, 
has proved to be an 
exception (The Maestro's 
Muse', June 23). 

Of course, to make a 
marriage work there has 
to be strong commitment 
from both ends. In this 
cast 1 the credit goes more 
to Subhalakshmi who sac- 
rificed her career for the 
sake of her husband and 
family 

As wife and mother 
she has reached total ful- 
filment, Mo wonder she 
looks so happy and radi- 
ant! 

There is no conflict in 
the family even in terms 
of religiosity; thanks to 
the parents the Khan chil- 
dren have a perfect secu- 
lar approach to life. If 
only all Indians could 
view religion in the same 
fashion as the Khan's then 
there w ould be no com- 
munal violence in the 
country 
Sufit Banetjee, 

Calcutta 

■ It is said that behind 
every successful man 


there is a woman. And the 
saying could not have 
been more true in the case 
of Amjad Ali Khan. 

Though Khan saab 
tasted success early in life 
(even before meeting his 
better half}, it was only 
because of her homely 
attitude, mature love and 
sacrifice (hat the maestro's 
married life and career 
did not experience any 
crisis. 

She's an ideal wife 
and mother. The women 
of this generation should 
learn a few things from 


her. the importance of the 
home-maker. 

Sanctum Ghosh , 

Howrah 

ft Without his wife's sup- 
port and sacrifice Amjad 
Ali Khan would not nave 
been that successful. For a 
musician wiih a career as 
demanding as his, the 
sarod player looks a 
happy family man. 
Sumanta Ghosh, 

Burdwan ( W.BJ 

• Apart from being the 
better-half' of Amjad Ali 
Khan does Subhalakshmi 


Art a Afisfim, 

Calcutta 

■ Subhalakshmi Khan is 
indeed an admirable per- 
sonality. The kind of 
social circuit she hails 
from generally has 
women busy in their per- 
sonal life; partying and 
shopping. They are 
unable to spend quality 
. time with ttieir husbands 
and children. But here she 
is a devoted wife and 
mother controlling the 
home. 

Sujoy Karmakar 
Madhyamgram (WM.) 

ft It is true music knows 
no barriers. The Amjad 
Ali-Subhalakshmi pair is a 
perfect satigam : a meeting 
of two minds that has 
overcome all hurdles of 
Caste and creed. Mr and 
Mrs Khan are a true sym- 
bol of national integra- 
tion. . 

Md Tanwecr, 

Calcutta 

ft Subhalakshmi has once 
again established the fact 
that it is the woman, 
always, who makes or 
breaks a home. 

Tapan Chatvdhury, 

Calcutta 



PAGE 4 

NOYONIKA CHATPERJEE, the model with 
the unconventional good looks, turns to 
celebrity management 

PAGE 26 

BRISTLING WITH ideas, culture secretary 
BJP. Singh is the bureaucrat to watch out for. 


SKCTIONS 


16 TIMETABLE 
22 COMIC S 
26 CULTURE 
2H FOOD 
30 FIRST PERSON 


Cover Kakfn Dorjec* 


Noyonika Chatterjee 




» 

A 



Noyonika Chatterjee ’s unconventional good 
looks are a big hit. Anita George profiles the 
modcl-tumed-celebrity manager 


BY INDIAN STANDARDS SHE HAS UNCONVENTIONAL 
looks — a total contrast from the waxen buxom 
wide-eyed doll-like beauty that draws ferns and adu- 
lation like ants to honey. Eight years after she appea- 
red on the modelling scene for the first time, Noyo- 
nika Chatterjee, the reigning queen of the ramp, sits 
in an office in the suburb of Andheri at work in her 
new role as celebnty manager in Media Entertain- 
ment, the company set up by Anupam Kher. 

At the peak of her career Noyonika is cutting 
down on modelling assignments to pursue other 
interests. "Actually, I have always been doing some- 
thing alongside modelling," says the unassuming 






lady in her suit 


ceramicdessgn. Ibeganottdeihngm 
cofle^lHitncHwtfhdieinteixtionof 
adSc a career of it" Modelling #iot 
her to tame, but as she puls it, "I didn't 
get carried away with megLimoorcrf 
itIn£act /r ^addsy^lbrawhilewhR^i 
I stopped studying and didfustmodel- 
ling it really bothered me? I left I 
wasn'4 

As a student of St > 

Noyonika got into i 
hobby. One show led to another, and a 
full time pr ofess ion. "Apart from die 
excitement of doing shews, there was 
all the travel seeing different cultures. 
I love walking die streets of a new 
place, taking it in, eating off the roads. 
1 love food, and nc^ I don't have any 
regimen or diet. I just control my eat- 
ing when 1 start putting on weight. 
And Tm not too excited by clothes* I 
don't spend so much time shopping 
for them. Meddling also made me 
very independent" she adds. "Even 
though! was living with my parents, it 











lipf 

"'.s. 

... 




was as good as living here on my own. 
It really taught me to manage my 
affairs r 

/^\n stage she cuts a different figure 
V/from the rest with her dramatic 

curly hair and sultry loots. "She 


6 


ueiw$wx*v 


„ v wwEunv 
- pean or AfirkaftT With her stride and 
pokm, wife an un fo rced regafoy about 

tier appearance; Noyonika appears a 

natural personality for the catwalk. 
Phot og n y herGantam Rajadhyaksb 
rmabout^nindecmknBip. 
Not everyone has the ability to display 



the potential of a garment or fabric 
when worn — some people develop it, 
but she understands it so well, even 
when she started out" 

Despite everything Noyonika has 
restricted her appearances in print 
advertising saying: "I personally 
enjoy ramp modelling it is fast it gets 
over, unlike shoots, which go on and 
on! Being on the ramp is like a perfor- 
mance, with the music the audience, 
everything/’ Rajadhyaksha disagrees 
with her decision about limiting tier 
appearance in print advertising. "She 
has the personality . At the time she 
entered the scene maybe people 
were more conservative but look at 
the scene today, the kind of ad films 
and still photography being done! Per- 
sonality counts today. 1 would love to 
shoot her. She is an artist in every 
way." 

An appropriate choice of word, 
since Noyonika has always been arti- 
stically inclined. She paints, and loves 
to collect art material —brushes, pens, 
paper. "When I was young my par- 
ents were always sending me off to 


^ a**behan Os* 


some worktop or other? And one of 
them was a pottery workshop. Per- 
haps that somewhere struck a chord, 
because I later on enrolled at the Natio- 
nal Institute of Design for a course in ; 
ceramic design/' 


#- 


wm 


A nd so to the subject that makes an 
otherwise rather quiet mtervie- 
*wee visibly light up "You have at 
your disposal all this day and a wheel* 
and tiiesc shapes take place in your 
hands. The feeling is like magic!" 
When she decided to tram in pottery 
back in when ceramics wasn’t as 
popular as it fegetting to be today* the 
general reaction to her decision was a 
bemused one. What, pottery? 

"And after my studies at the NID, 1 
realised that it couldn't be a full time 
occupation " She held two exhibitions 
in the aty, though* one at home and 
one in a gallery . A great break came 
when she wrote to die famed ’potter 
architect' Ray Meeker ui Pondicherry 
asking to work with him. "I literally 
begged him in my letters" she says, 









PM* 








m 




y * 


r 






snuiing And eventually wens to /\uro- 
villc in 1992. Working with Ray 
Meeker — who devrlujied the tech- 
nique of tiring mud houses that he 
designs, after packing them with 
bricks, as one would do ui a kiln — 
was. "a brilliant learning experience" 
The following year she returned to 
Pondicherry for another six months 
"1 would eventually like to start a 

8 


m 


ft 


Noyoruka Chatteijee with model AcMa Sachdev 




/ 


•«0 ui*Qid 


pottery studio here, but it demands 
too much, specially with space being 
such a problem here." Going by the 
rates that studio potters in Delni and 
Bombay charge for their pieces, it 
would appear that ceramics is an eli- 
tist exercise, leaving the average buyer 
unable to indulge in some good taste. 
Noyonika is keen to prove the notion 
wrong. "1 want to give people an 
opportunity to buy. I do believe it can 
be made affordable — in my exhibi- 
tions, mugs were priced at Rs 25, and 
the most expensive item was a coffee 
table for Rs 1,500." Which is, by any 
standards, reasonable "The thing is 
that abroad everything handmade has 
a special value, is a novelty, so it carr- 
ies over here!" 

H er now challenge though, is 
handling Celebe, the celebrity 
department of Anupam Kher's compa- 
ny, Media Entertainment, a job she 
took up two months ago. Set up two 
years ago. Media Entertainment 
began as a television software compa- 
ny, then diversified into celebrity 
management, with advertising films, 
event management, and feature films 
as well, in the pipeline 

"I got into mis when Anupam and I 
were working on a television serial, 
which was put on hold He asked me 
whether I would like to handle this 
department. Basically what we do 
here is manage people's careers — 
mostly people who want to woi k in 
the entertainment business. We 
handle two kinds of people, celebrities 
and potential celebrities," says 
Noyonika. 

Noyonika is responsible for meeting 
and sizi ng up hopeful entrants into 
the world of entertainment — actors 
and actresses in films and television, 
singers, even some models. "We man- 
age everything about their professio- 
nal life — their shooting dates, promo- 
tion and publicity, photofeatures, 
payments. It's a job I really identify 
with, because, having been through it 
all myself, when I lookback I wish! 
had had someone to manage my car- 
eer 1 wasn't good at promoting 
myself, and I'm really diffident about 
discussing money. A lot of people 
have problems discussing money and 
getting payments on time. And I want 
to make it very clear that iye are 
choosy about thepotential of the 
people we take. Tnough there is a 
registration fee, if we feel that someo- 
ne is genuinely unable to pay it, we 
forego it." 

Well known personalities like 
Madhu Sap re and National Award 



winning Bengali actress Debashree 
Roy (Chumki) are under the Celebe 
wing too. "In the case of established 
names we manage their schedules, 
payments, if necessary do a 
re-imaging or relaunch. Celebrity 
management is a new concept in 
India. Professionalism has got to come 
in!" Years of experience as a model 
have come in very handy. "It has 
taught me to deal with people, I can 
handle all sorts without getting 
ruffled. Besides, f know people in the 
business. I'm aware of the problems 
that crop up." Her ability to relate to 
people is well appreciated by those 


who know her, who describe her as 
very professional and with an 
excellent attitude despite all her 
success. 

She puts her success down to her 
parents, "who are always there for 
me. We are extremely close; I know 
whatever I do they will never let me 
down!" So whenever Noyonika 
decides it's time to make the move into 
ceramic design as a profession, she 
will be banking on her own 
pragmatism and level headed 
approach to life, and the bulwark of 
her family's affection that has 
sustameu her. ■ 


9 


XTRACT 


The Modern-day 

RAMAYANA 



Extracts from 
Shobita 
Punja’s 

new book in 
which she 
reinterprets 
several myths 
of the Hindu 
tradition 


Extracted from 

Daughters of the 
Ocean 

by 

Shobita Punja 
Published by 
Viking Penguin 
India 

Price Ps 300 


Who is Havana? 

n the Rainiu/aiw he was handsome, 
very seductive, influential He 
became very powerful and the plan- 
ets, the earth, even the gods were 
terrified of him. 

Ravana is our greed. He has ten 
heads, one body with ten mouths to 
feed. He is our over-indulgent pam- 
pered self-perception, our obses- 
sions, our excessive consumption, 
our unbndled greed for more, our 
extravagant lifestyle, our exorbitant 
taste, our immoderate demands, our 
superfluous entertainment, our 
voracious appetite, our gluttonous 
greed. 

One quarter of the food purchased m 
the United States is never consumed; it 
either rots in the fridge or is wasted on 
the plate. 

By the year 2000 more than 
588,000,000 people on this planet will 
be seriously undernourished 

Ravana, our lust Eventually 
Ravana is left lying dead on the bat- 
tle field where his lovely wife 
Mandodari finds him Her lament is 
one of the most moving passages of 
the Ramayana. She talks to Ravana as 
if he were alive, chastising him for 
his fall You had everything- a beau- 
tiful wife, a huge empire, faithful 
courtiers, enormous power; the 
earth trembled whenever you 
walked. Why should someone with 
a beautiful, talented wife warn 
another? why should one with so 
much power be destroyed by a 
woman who refused to compro- 
mise? Why should lust trip up 
someone as mighty as Ravana? Why 
should someone who has everything 
want more? 

Ravana had ten heads which 
means he also had 20 eyes. Twenty 
eyes for looking and lusting. Twenty 
eves to covet and crave with. 
Twenty eyes to express his desires 
Twenty eyes. Why do we, who have 


everything, have a limitless appetite 
for more? 

Havana's downfall was his lust- 
his obsession to possess another 
man's wife. You must understand 
that Ravana is not some corny hero; 
not even the classic villain of 
Western cinema He is handsome, 
extremely well brought-up. educat- 
ed and suave in other words, one of 
us That makes him, Ravana the 
character, more frightening and 
more convincing. What is terrifying 
is that Ravana and the Ramayana 
have been around for over 2,000 
years Yet no one seems to have 
recognised Ravana and killed him. 
Ravana looks suspiciously and dan- 
gerously like us 

Ravana's greed, the object of his 
passion, was Sita, He lusted after the 
earth, the fertility of the soil, the 
bounty of nature, the abundance of 
the land. The Ramayana clearly 
demonstrates that Sita cannot be 
possessed: she will not be subjugat- 
ed, coerced or forced to yield. We 
cannot forcibly possess or own her. 
We do not possess the earth, just as 
wc cannot possess innocence, cannot 
retain our youth 

T he relationship of human 
beings and the earth is described in 
muen of Indian literature The 
alliance is still understood by many 
A village story-teller in Khajuraho' 
was explaining the relationship to a 
group of villagers. I cannot improve 
on his sentiment. He said, Tn the 
village market today I heard the two 
brothers were fighting over a piece 
of property. The land was given to 
them by their father to share and 
nurture together. Now each one 
wants the land for himself. How 
strange, 1 thought. 

The earth is Parvati, Shiva's 
beautiful, often temperamental wife. 

How can we fight over the 
earth? 

She does not even belong to us. 



She is Shiva's wife not ours to 
have and hold. 

Our ideas about nature, the way 
we look upon the earth, also reflect 
how we understand human nature. 
Is nature something to be sup- 

E ressed, controlled, manipulated? 

lust we strive to reap as much as 
,we can from the earth, to exploit, 
dominate, tame it. If this is how we 
think of the earth, then it is not sur- 
prising that we have the same atti- 
tude about people and children, and 
about our own todies How do you 
look upon your body; how do you 
respond to the earth, to Sila, to 
Parvati? 

We know that the white man does 
not understand our ways. One portion 
ofthe land ts the same to him as the next , 
for he is a stranger who comes in the 
night and takes from the land whatever 
he needs The earth is not his brother , 
but his euemu , and when he ha s con- 
quered it, he moves on He leaves his 
father s graiv behind , and does not care. 

I ie kidnaps the earth from his children 
and hr dors not care His father's grave 
and hi< children's birthright are forgot- 
ten lie treats hts mother , the earth , and 
his brother the sky , as things to be 
bought ami plundered, sold like thee}) or 
bright beads. His appetite will dmour 
the whole earth... . 

— Chief Seattle, the Sacred Earth. 


Abduction of Sita 

Sita wavs abducted. Ravana, symbol- 
ising all the tantalising pleasures of 
the world, is the abductor, the seduc- 
er, Sita's kidnapper. Sita did not go 
willi.gly but was taken by force. 
Your innate goodness, childhood, 
your dreams, your innocence will be 
lost, and taken by force. Schooling, 
socialisation will ensure the abduc- 
tion of your true nature. 

Over 10,000 women were raped last 
year in India; nearly 25 per cent of them 
were children. 

What is the world's record** 

Sita was abducted; kidnapped. 
My reading is that the fertility of the 
earth is being taken by force every 
day. You want to know why I say 
this Look around you, not at politi- 
cians or what governments are 
doing. Take a good look at me. Take 
a look at some letters from friends. 

1 have re-done the bathrooms of 
my house in California with Italian 
marble. I bought an afghan hound 
for my apartment in Bombay.... In the 
country I have a macaw that has 
come all the way from the jungles of 
South America.... My husbana went 
to Japan and bought me a necklace 



The author, Shobita Punja 


of five rows of natural pearls . . 1 
love your coral necklace, is it from 
Naples? 

Every year over 200,000 parakeets 
are illegally exported from India One 
out of three arrive alive at their deshna 
tion. 

Sita Said 'No' 

We’ can also read the metaphor of 
Sita as our ability to say 'No' 

Ravana offered Sita everything; 
promised the world on a platter lie 
wooed her, sought to seduce her, 
threatened and kidnapped her. He 
took her to his palace and showed 
her the wealth he had accumulated, 
the riches, the jewels and the power 
that would be hers if she would just 
give herself to him Very tempting! 
But like Sita, we have to say 'No' It 
is tempting but you have to resist 
and refuse to comply. It is an inde- 
cent proposal, if you succumb, it will 
shatter everything that you value 
and hold dear 

Ravana is the promise ot a life of 
ease, a life of power, a life of war, a 
life cf hatred, a life of indulgence, a 
life that causes the destruction of so 
many other lives. 

An innocuous looking hamburger 
The cost, the earth 

A world where everyone eats as 
much meat as the Americans is a recipe 
for ecological disaster. 

Refusing to compromise, refus- 
ing a gift, refusing to comply when 
you realise its actual cost. What is 
the cost of eating meat: the loss of 
forest land, home to so many 
species, that has been converted into 
poor grazing fields for a single 
species. The cost of aerated drinks in 


aluminium cans, the loss of forest 
cover, the ruins of the earth's water- 
sheds, displacement of tribal com- 
munities in order to mine bauxite to 
make cans that hold a drink that 
ruin our teeth. The cost of individu- 
als driving private cars to and trom 
work each day: the loss ot unrenew- 
able resources, congestion and pollu- 
tion of our cities, the systematic 
destruction of our health 

What would you do if you were 
given a mink coat, a pair of snake- 
skin bools, a string of corals? We 
have to start saying 'No # 

We have to teach our children 
that tiger penis soup, bird's nest 
soup, ox tail soup, and frog log soup 
are no longer fashionable 

The rate of extinction oj spa ics has 
now reached at least one spears per day 
By the middle ofthe next cm hi m w*' 
could lose one qiurln of all sprites with 
whom wc share the planet today 

What you wear, what you eat, 
what you use ever)' day will insidi- 
ously destroy you Greed breeds vio- 
lence. What we eat, what we weai, 
what we say, what we do not say, all 
breed violence. Be Sita and have the 
strength to say 'No'. Drop the pre 
tence, be confident There are many 
Sita's today There are many who 
have started saying No' Begin at 
home, and set 1 how much you have 
done in the name of progress, 
sophistication, class, fashion, or just 
to keep up with the neighbours 
Know when to say 'No'. Learn when 
to stop — when enough is enough 

How many lives support you? 
How many death are necessary to 
keep you happy? How many deaths 
will you cause in a day one cow, ten 
square kilometres of forest cover, on° 
lobster, twenty prawns, one goat, 
one chicken, a small section of coral 
reef, one oyster, one tiny little snail? 
How many deaths do we cause each 
aay? 

Be Sita Just say No' 

Unheeded Messages 

When Sita was abducted by 
Ravana she left messages with the 
animals, the birds, the plants, the 
trees. "Tell Rama," she said, ' that 1 
have been kidnapped." 

Kama cried out, " When is Sita 7 ' in 
a xroice broken by sobs. Thus addressed 
by the Lord of Men , the deer rose and 
turned their neads towards the south , 
looking upward , thus indicating the 




A gutted dome structure at Hiroshima 

path by which Sita had been hot nc 
away., .then the deer emitted cries, run- 
ning m front of the two brother* seeking 
to attract their attention 

— The Ramayana of Valmiki, 
Aranya Khanda, ch b4 

Rama failed to understand the 
messages Only too often so do we. 

Nature is transmitting message's 
jll the time — symptoms, signals, 
signs 

Seeing that great vulture , like unto a 
crest of a mountain , Rama said to 
Lakshmana , "Without doubt there is the 
titan who , ranging the fori st under the 
guise of a vulture, has destroyed Situ 
Having satisfied himself by devouring 
that large-eyed princess, he is resting at 
ease ; I shall puree him with my dreaded, 
fiery shafts that fly straight to their tar- 

get. " 

Vomiting blood, that great bird 
Jatayu , addressed Rama the son of 
Dasharatha in the mournful accents of 
one about to die He saui , 'O thou of 
long life , that divinity whom thou seek 
est in the great forest, as one does a heal 
mg herb , has been home away by 
Raimia, as has my life also 

—The Ramayana of Valnuki, 

'Aranya Khanda'. ch 07. 

12 


[uLivu the great bird was a friend 
not toe. The bravo turd lust his life 
trying to save Sita I * rrinuiteiy lor 
Rama, the dying bird was able to 
provide him crucial information 
about Sita in tune At least he lis- 
tened -- and eventually Rama board 
what was being said to him 

Human beings have been using 
animals and birds as indicators of 
environmental disasters 

Coalminers carried canaries in 
cages down mines to test fir danger- 
ous air. It the canarv died, the min- 
’ers knew that o> ygen was in shuil 
supply or ot the existence ot a pocket 
ot poisonous gas vVith the death of 
the biid they knew .sometimes, th.1l 
they just nuugh time to escape tn 
much the same way, the decline in 
animal and bird species throughout 
the world is a clear indicator that 
our lives are in danger. 

Today over 25,000,000 pcojde die 
each year of polluted water and water- 
borne diseases 

How many floods, famines, dis- 
asters, tragedies ot deaths must 
occm before you mmIim* what is hap- 
pening u» the e.utn 


The Sleeping Gargantuan 

When the lortunes of war turned 
and Kavnna felt he was losing, he 
woke lus brother, Kuinbhakaina The 
giant who slumbered was awakened 
tor a day and he destroyed whatever 
he could 

The world had been at war for many 
years The ambiguous nature of vic- 
tory eluded both sides In a desper- 
ate attempt to settle the issue and 
claim themselves victors they awoke 
Kumbhakarna* 

On the sixth dav of August 1^45 the 
weather was tine A gentle breeze 
was blowing ovei the land and sea 
The cl*! v began as normal; people 
who wore going to work, children 
were walking to school. 

A message was sent to the 
American B-2 l > plane Lnola Gay. 

'Fair weather ready for the air 
raid " 

Al H 1 L ~ am that morning an 
atomic bomb was dropped over 
'Hiroshima A huge mushroom 
cloud' was seen rising o\.*'i the citv 
Halt .u. hum ian r a k onti.igratmn 
broke out then the h?**--tonn erupt- 
ed Between 11 am and .1 pm that 
da' the tin pm* lud a Himax, a pow- 
erful tornado developed Rumbling 
thunder was hoard from afai 

Black clouds and smoke drifted 
towards the nor ill - west black rain' 
pouted For over an hour it rained 
ovei an area of thirteen square kilo- 
metros around tho bomb's hvpocon- 
tre. As black tain' foil, it was sticky 
and people thought it was oil pour- 
ing from the sky leaving a black 
spotty pattern wherever a raindrop 
stnuk The imv turned black Fisn 
died, cattle that ale the glass on 
which the black rain had fallen, died. 

The temperature fell rapidly ar.d 
people shivered 200,000 people lost 
their lives in Hiroshima 

The devastation was caused by a 
combination of heat rays, blasts and 
fires. The total area ot 13 square kilo- 
metres around the hypocentre was 
reduced to ash People died of ther- 
mal injury intense burns, their skin 
tried and charred like charcoal. They 
died ol blast injuries as they were 
blow n against walls and crushed to 
death Tney died of radiation injury 
T hey died because of the decimation 
ot the environment Fifty pier cent of 
those seriously m|uied died by the 
sixth day Another 25 per cent died 
between the seventh and twelfth 
day Ninety per cent of those injured 
died by the fortieth day. 

Today, two generations have 
been born and brought up on radia- 
tion m the soil ar.d in the foetus; 50 
year 1 Liter the people of Hiroshima 




A Ram Lila being staged in New Delhi 


bear the scars — leukaemia, anaemia ulaiiau. 
and cancer The loss to the fertility Khumbakarna is like our 

of the earth cannot even be estimate Sleeping Devastation Our 
ec *- r Hiroshima, the nuclear holocaust, 

Today the world ,i as the equivalent the sleeping giant with an appetite 

of one million Hiroshima bombs; enough for destruction. 
to kill four times the present global pop- You may say, T did not start the 


That's not true. As long as you are 
silent, as long as you don't say "No' 
to war, you are guilty as I am. The 
giant wno devours innocent people 
and children lies asleep 
You may say, "1 do not care; it did 
not happen to me. I was not there; 
nothing can happen to me " The 
Inert violator is asleep, not dead. It 
is alive, and only a day ot wakeful* 
ness can devour this planet. 

Like Rama, we have to disman- 
tle it completely, limb from limb, so 

that we, the human race as protec- 
tors of the earth, can live without 
fear of our Kumbhakama. 

Life Without Sita 

The war was won 

Rama questioned Sita's inno- 
cence Once, twice; once too often. 

Do you accuse Rama for having 
questioned Sita's innocence? Do you 
think it was unforgivable that he 
doubted her loyalty? In a day how 
often do I betray Sita? I have done 
nothing to prevent trees from being 
cut, to limit my greed, to stop wars, 
to make this planet a safer place for 
my daughter to inhabit.T stand 
accused of far worse crimes. 

By the time my daughter was 
three years old she had learnt that 
swimming was in the confines of a 
pool, not amidst the expanse of the 
ocean; that flowers grew in pots on a 
balcony and not wild on the hillside; 
she has seen tigers only in the zoo, 
not free in their natural habitat, the 
jungle. 

My daughter will never see the 
exuberance of a tropical rain forest, 
the sparkling loveliness of a clear 
uncontaminated nver, green valleys 
that have not been converted into 
crop fields, a million twinkling stars 
in an unpolluted sky. Will Sita who 
has such faith in me, abandon me? I 
stand accused of denying, debasing 
and banishing Sita. 

Someone gave my daughter a toy 
gun. 

I did not destroy it. 

Will she forgive me? 

The tale of Ramayana is alive: it is 
still being told, retold, acted, enact- 
ed, lived and relived Every year in 
India wc celebrate the defeat ot 
Ravana and the return of Sita with 
much festivity. The myth of Rama 
has great depth and lends itself to 
endless interpretations. This is how 
I wish to annotate it, for the signifi- 
cance of the Ramayana will always 
remain very precious to me 1 can tell 
you many epic stories with the same 
message Will you listen? ■ 


13 



V 


>v," 

IEWPOINT 


THE EIGHTH DEADLY SIN 

differ cm what that might he. Manisha Gulati takes a quick poll 

X A "JFhat sm should be added is always 20/20 But one should look like dirt/' she says. 

» /% / to the seven deadly ones forward, not back. Mohini Sethi, professional cook and 

\i ' already existing? How "That's our country's biggest teacher, says in her book that 

w w ^ often have we heard mistake. The days of fuel for 50 paisa "overpowering delicate food" is a sin. 

people turn around and talk about have gone. Now think about today She hates it when people take delicate 

something as being a sin? Wc see a and make the best of what is there. It's tasting food like fish and prawns and 

beauty married to a beast and the only way to progress." douse them with all sorts of masalas. 

consider it a sin Our child wastes food Varsha Diwan, a producer, takes a "If you want that why don't you cook 

at the Taj Bengal and we tell him that's different view of the matter mutton or pork. They lend themselves 

a sin. Are we then all sinners in the According to her, hypocrisy is the to all this flavouring. People in India 

guise ot moral citizens, or has 'sin' eighth deadly sin. Saying things like don't know the first thing about 

become a synonym for day-to-day "How lovely to see you again", "Of subtlety," says Sethi 

slang for high society no-no's? course 1 temember you", "We must Ajit Shinoy, a journalist, votes for 

V iews differ. Some consider that get together for lunch some time", intolerance — as far as he is 

nostalgia is the real killer. Housewife "Promise I'll call you in the morning" concerned, at least. "I don't suffer 

Reenia Sharma, for instance "Whv do "Why do people say things they fools gladly and I am not proud about 

people think that the past is better don't mean? No one is sincere any that because everyone is not made the 

than the future?" she asks. "They're more. You don't know whom to same way," he confesses. "I'm always 

always talking about what was, what believe and whom not to As a result expecting people to be or behave like 

could have been, and how things in you end up taking the wrong people me. After all, I am not God and I 

the past were always better Hindsight seriously and the right ones you treat should not forget that 1 dread to think 

Cruelty to animals, according to Maneka Gandhi, is the biggest sin 







For others, terrorism is the greatest sin c 

of the day I'll make a boo boo. I'll have 
20 people to stab me in the back and 
front." 

G urbani Malik, a social worker 
with Menaka Gandhi, considers 
cruelty to animals to be the eighth 
deadly sin; though, no doubt, m 
Menaka's book, it rates as the first. 

Model Nidhi Sharma plumps for 
jealousy. She says, "Agreed, imitation 
is the best form of flattery. But when 
someone thinks you look great and is 
only resentful of the fact that you do, 
without wanting to look like that 
themselves, that's dangerous arid 
harmful. If s the 'I don't want you but I 
don't want anyone else to want you 
either' syndrome. That scares me." 

In model Stuti Chandok's book, 
however, having silicon implants 
qualifier "God made you in his 
image, why tamper with it?" she ask s. 
"In the end when you're showing off 
your cleavage in that skimpy halter, 
it's all false." 

Ajay Mehta says that being 
orthodox is a real drag. " Arre, go with 
the flow," is his advice "If your child 
wants to have a divorce because his 
marriage has failed, let him. Why hold 
on to the sanctity of marriage when 
there is no marriage." 

And Mehta should know. He has a 
son who got divorced recently, and for 
whom Ajay paid Rs 8 lakhs as part of 

the divorce settlement. 

Neena Chawla, who is an American 
citizen, votes for the 'British 
incapacity to be surprised', while 
Harmeet Singh, whose father was 
killed during the Delhi riots, considers 
terrorism to be the greatest sin of all. 

Manish, a deejay on FM radio, is 
more concerned about health — both 


his own and that of the general public. 
It is nr surprise then that he thinks that 
there's nothing worse than chain 
smoking in public places. "It should 
be banned," says Manish forcefully. 
"And as for chain-smoking at the 
table, it quite kills the treat for the 
people with you — and those seated at 
the next table " 

Pradipto Nandi, choreographer, 
says that "being told that the cheque is 
in the mail" is the biggest sin of all. 
Well, at least, his sense of humour is as 
healthy as ever, even it his bank 
balance isn't. 

Colonel Vaid, who is a regular at the 
Gymkhana Club, holds the 'invention ' 
ot the swizzle stick' to be a sin. "The 
ladies in the Gymkhana Club use 
them to kill the bubbles in the 
champagne," he complains. "Can 
there by anything more sacriligeous 
than that?" 

Clearly, the Colonel never had the 
good fortune to meet Bubbles 
Rothermere, wife of the media tycoon, 
Vere, who got her nickname from her 
habit of swirling a swizzle stick 
around to get rid of the bubbles in her 
glass of champagne This kind of trick 
appears to go down a treat in high 
society. 


V idya Batra, the 83-year-old social 
worker and general secretary of 
the National Association for the Blind, 
takes a more serious view of the 
matter. She says, "There are none so 
blind as those who will not see, none 
so deaf as those who will not hear, 
none so dumb as those who will not 
talk against injustice, cruelty. What 
sort of a world are we living in where 
poeple are so involved in their own 


lives that they cannot even see if their 
next-door neighbour is dead or alive, 
let alone care? Everyone is selfish and 
no one feels another person's pain. 

The country can't heal if there is no 
one to heal it." 

In photographer Sha rad Bhandari's 
view, "trying too hard" is a sin. He is, 
therefore, greatly opposed to "those 
fashion slaves who try so hard at being 
trendy, but only end up looking like 
wannabes. Those who can't speak 
English too well but speak it 
nonetheless because it's the language 
of upper class India." Bhandari also 
condemns hobnobbing with the elite, 
or at least trying to, by hanging out in 
the 'right' places. 

Poverty is the eighth deadly sin in 
13-year-old schoolgirl, Tanya's book. 
But P.P. Bindra, the owner qf Moets 
Restaurant, is more concerned about 
prohibition, which may well end up 
impoverishing him if it were ever 
extended to Delhi. 

"Ever since this wretched 
prohibition happened in Haryana/' 
ne moans, "my life has been ruined. I 
used to go there to my friend's place 
practically every evening. Now I don't 
even want to call him on the phone in 
case he invites me over because now 
we can't sit and drink and enioy 
ourselves the way we used to. We 
aren't drunkards, so why are we being 
punished? Even the doctors say that 
one drink a day is good for your 
health." 

But the last word rests with Anil 
Sethi, of The Times of India. 

According to him, the biggest sin of all 
is not sinning at all! ■ 


15 


IME TABLE 

All arrival and departure times are for Calcutta 

Dayi of operation lulitf 7-day code: ® MONDAY 9 TUESDAY 9 WEDNESDAY 9 THURSDAY 9 FRIDAY • SATURDAY 9 SUNDAY 

(As these pagos go to press one week in advance, roaders should check with respective airlines and railways for last minute change in timings) 




Departures 

Fit No. Time Days 


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16 







Daparluraa 

Arrivals 

Departures 

Arrivals 

FRNo. Itm Days 

Fit No. Time Days 

FttNo. Time Days 

FRNo. Time Days 


173;- : ') bg w? lew 2 5 


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Indian Airlines • KB Druk-Air • KL 
• RJ Royal Jordanian Airlines • Ri 
Jet Airways • Q7 Qatar Airways 


• BG Biman Bangladesh Airlines • Bl Royal Brunei Airlines • D2 S 
L Royal Dutch Airlines • LZ Balkan Airlines • M9 ModiLuft • PF 
RO taro.ii Air Transport • SQ Singapore Airlines • SU Aeroflot a 


Skyline NEPC • D5 NEPC Airlines • 1C 
F vayudoot • RA Royal Nopal Airlines 
• TG Thai Airways International • 9W 


■H 

Departure 
Up Thro 


*70" l‘l 

J - i'ii 


EASTERN RAILWAY 

Howrah 

Deihi-Kaita Mall 
Amritsar Mall 

Bombay Mail <■ . a* -liv.i 

Poorva (Naur Delhi) Express <1(1 fjliV.J •/i'j'lJS. 
'►ll 7."' I'l'i* . \ ■ 

\r 1 !!■:", V.h* w . .i. 

Poorva (New Delhi) Express . > 1 .i"m 


Rajdhanl Express •.* . :..i<d 

[y i b ' ■ 'hi's WhI h. A ’..i 1 
“I- \'l T ..Ji ’ ..si. M j :r 

Rajdhenl Express v i ' .< 

I'ef. ili,J‘ v ; .mi Ml VnP.1 5 V) 

Jodhpur Express 

Stnabdl (Botero Steal City) Express 

! <t i* \ A'i 1 »i i ji 1 . oiifiJiiv 

Himpirl iJamrou-Tto) Express .r V«H\ 

■ l Ti •- , * 1 x Am i\pfl S S.'.i 

Guwahati Express 
i j U IV .'jnr.ii.iv A. f 1 1 > mv 

Gorakhpur Express 
!V|. A : fi 1 1’li! 'J-!) 

Purbanchal (Gorakhpur) Express 

i.ii i \ Air b.j' Mom vV u d A F-ri 

Doon Express <.j v"h:.ro 

Udyan Abha Toofcn Express v*.i Mm. Lnii 

Amritsar Bpren 

Katfigodum Boren 

MNhlMUxBd) Express 

Karraup (Guwaratl) Express 

Black Diamond Boress 

CorfWd Express 

Aiansol Expren 

Danapur Expren 

Jamafcu Expren 

CtanM^Gv^^Emrast 

C>cp Mom li,p & Ih.'r^ Ar f Won Tliuri. & Fn 

Shlpra (Indore) Bonn 

Dpu Ww< SU S T \n:. Ah L'li.i We., & Shi 

» | (Choovi) Boren 
(Agra CartL)Expmb 

P»r FniJav Air Uii^day 

Sealdah 

Tenb-Torea Expren 
OoWino Mbl 
Dstnll Boren vid Mam Line 
Kandanjwga (lumdmq) Txprcss 

to Bore n 

KMlMrBvren 

Jvnmu-Tawl Boren 

Midvl Soil ooren via SBC. loop 

BhaglnlN (lida) Ejpren 

Ganoa Saoo (uorekhDur) Boren 

DeJ. & A r lu^Thurs ibal 


Departure SOUTH-EASTERN RAILWAY 


Dn 

up 

Time 

Howrah 

Time 

Dn 

,\Ti2 

hi 103 

20 JSI 

Madras Mall 

tj ‘.r. 

61 KU 

!0!ir, 

b002 

1 1J ■»£ 

Bombay Mall v j 'J.nir \u 

5-20 

4001 

1IM14 

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«5-2 r i 

7B5'.i 


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(. * 

Shatabdf (Rouriota) Express 

; . Oil 

2022 


Rl'34 

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L ,,, l' * An - v ■ L 1 ' r»J -.’O.'v 

Ahmadabad Express 

5-15 

8053 

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Kurla Express « N-iq!.' ■■ 

'5 20 

8029 


2J.M1 

*003 

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Futakntsne (Secunderabad) Expren 

1. .'J*. 
Im-JU 

:W7 

7004 




Air Mcri ir-ir, \ ’l.il 




bill 

2?-3i 

Bangalore Express 

12 45. 

631 / 

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4r Sunday 



' iUt‘. 

bu!3 

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in*. 1 ) 

8014 

2f)7f: 

30 ’4 

u-» -1 1 

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21 AC 

tag (Jhwunuda) Emma 
inaoBm expren 

Ranchi Hatla Express 

71 2‘J 

5 -00 

5 111 

01 1 2 

HOI16 

8016 


9007 

22-1.-. 

Puri Bqpren vj ''mImoi 

5 30 

6008 

304 fi 

fMO‘j 

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Jagantoh (Puri) Express 

8 25 

0410 

50*30 

.3, 1 
804 r 

6 !5 

10 25 

Dhauii (Bhubanaswar) Express 

East Coni (Hyderabad) Express 

ib 

15 1C 

/R22 

8046 


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Ifi 4 f * 

Purulla Express 

1 !-J5 

8l)i 8 

5048 



Pep Ev'opt CjlLirtlciV 

All l ^1 r’pl Sljr.tl.l^ 



3010 

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15-6G 

Ato Hind (Pune) Weakly Express 

r .ieu & An on SuiNli) 

6-ib 

1029 

10UP 





30jG 

3070 

'421 

ib JO 

Bhubanaamr-NMi Dam Rajdhanl Expren (via 
HowmII) buiid^y ( .ii p 

N m Dolhl-Bhutanaato Rajdhanl Expren ’\\s 

16 10 


30L2 


11 05 

10-15 

74 ?: 

5660 



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M Ifl 

612. 

22-35 

GuwahdU - Honah - Trtvandmm Certral Expren 

7? I 


3030 

3036 


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Monday onlv 

Trtvarinm Central - Honah Gutond Expren 

U 41. 

b??1 

3032 



Sdluiddy omv 



3072 


14 06 

Cochin Hartnur Terminus Gutom Weekly 

1.1 45 

•-il 3 

30lii 



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1)60 

t.31 4 

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GuwnMi - Cochin Harbour Terndnus Weekly 

27 15 


117/ 



Expren (^>i Hownn \ \!fdX:;jodtndm 






Salu.ddv Oil i v 



j.V28 

6Dh 

»1 3fi 

Cochin Harbour Terminus Expren .vui 

:;i 16 

6115 

H02 

Dn 

6521 

77-36 

Vibd l< li ipt-'toJi- i H.hm.iIi, 

Uep !ui n £ s n .',1 Mil". \ 1:. 

GumM! - Bengtore Cty Wnldy Express « v 1,1 

Huwriih & f.utldcK) Wedf.c::ddy only 

' ' \ l t 

- 


14*05 

Bengdore CRy - GunahKI Weekly Expren iwa 

5 A 1 

6 r '19 

i.A2 



Ho*>.ih .S. r urtdi'k 1 Mrvioay only 




BK2UBCS: For maid Ho dock MonnOkxi d Eaton Mkny nd SoMokm Mm**** 
(ton to 2209645-B4 lor kHxndoo trains; 2209S&44 lor a ctor IrdonnBon. For kdoneton 
tout renntom on Etom Rtoay nd SouBvEtom Rtoay fcdra.d«220M9M500 (Iran B 
■n to 8 pm on wnkdays and B on to 2 pm on Stns^p nd ototod hoUdqa). to adtom, 
M 1391 (tor noontod IntomaBon on Mn lundno). 131 (rep ntoQ ah optotons) and 135 
(reipRlne reamMond). Train store inquiry d Soodih: 3503535/37 
ktoadln Volos Rnporw Syton (5 an to 9 pm ewrydav kom Monday to Sdwdqr. 5 ■« to 5 
pm on Sunday): For reaarvtom status, dial 136 (computorisad); Dial 2203496 (nvulanquby). 


17 




1 iMR 

Focus 


AMBASSADORS OF 
GOODWILL 

Fij'e Calcutta businessmen double as honorary consuls of various countries. 
% Sujoy Dhar finds out what their second jobs entail 


hat do Sanjeev Goenka, 
Harsh Neotia, Abhijit 
Sen, Amiya Gooptu and 
J P. Chowdhury nave in 
common? Yes, they're all big names 
in the corporate world. But that's 
not the answer we're looking for 
What binds all five men together 
is that they are all honorary consuls 
for one country or the other While 
Sanjeev Goenka, son of the 
venerable R P. Goenka of RPG 
Enterprises, does his bit for Holland, 
Harsh Neotia represents the 


interests of Israel J.P Chowdhury, 
the chairman of Titagarh Industries 
Limited, is honorary consul of 
Switzerland Amiya Gooptu of the 
Everest Group of Industries, 
represents Hungary while Dr Abhijit 
Sen, managing director and co- 
chairman of the NICCO Group, is 
the honorary consul for Sri Lanka. 

And all five men, despite their 
busy schedules, devote enough lime 
to fine-tuning their diplomatic 
savoir-faire, replying to trade 
enquiries that various nations might 



Sanjeev Goenka:Does his bit for Holland 



have, and facilitating cultural 
exchanges. 

While for the foreign nations, 
one of the reasons behind the 
appointments is economic — they 
save on maintaining full-scale 
consulates in the eastern region of 
India — for the appointees this 
means a lot of social prestige. 

But how do these nations decide 
on who would best represent their 
interests? Amiya Gooptu, who 
represents Hungary, explains, 

"Well, besides a man of means, they 
prefer a businessman who has links 
with various stratas of society and 
possesses a good knowledge of his 
country’s economic and cultural 
background." 

Adds Harsh Neotia, honorary 
consul for Israel, "Business interests 
being the thrust area other than 
cultural ties, we businessman can 
convey their message more 
expeditiously to the concerned 
people by dint of our affiliations 
with the various chambers of 
commerce." 

Small wonder then that most 
businessman are thrilled to be 
approached with such an offer. 
Gushes J.P. Chowdhury, honorary 
consul of Switzerland, "I was 
caught unawares when the offer 
came to me, but it was indeed a 
pleasant surprise." 


I t is not necessary, however, that 
the person appointed have any 
cultural affinity or business interests 
with the country in Question. 

Gooptu's ties witn Hungary, for 
instance, were marginal at Best. As 
he says, "I personally had been a 
great admirer of the vigorous 
cultural life of Hungary which 
despite being a small country has 
produced so many Nobel Laureates. 
But 1 was quite surprised when they 
offered me the post." 

Dr Abhijit Sen got his offer when 
he visited Sri Lanka a few years 


18 



! 

I 


Harsh Neotia: Representing the interests of Israel J.P. Chowdhury: Pleasant Swiss connection 


nack with a FICCT delegation But 
Harsh Neotia's honorary consulship 
of Israel came about as a result of 
the businessman's own initiative 
after lie met the Israeli ambassador 
to Delhi on some occasions 

A honorary consul's job includes 
such ceremonial duties as observing | 
the national day of the nation in 
question, receiving the^r dignitaries, 
etc. But it also entails doing such 
tough jobs as promoting business 
and cultural ties, and looking after 
the problems ot tourists from that 
country. 

Says Dr Abhijit Sen, "Currently 
Sri Lanka is on a privatisation spree 
of its tea companies and they want 
to negotiate with Indian 
industrialists for that purpose. So, as 
a honorary consul, I have to help in 
the process, providing such trade 
information as is needed to 
prospective Indian buyers " 

Harsh Neotia too sees his job in 
much the same way. "The growing 
importance of eastern India/' he 
says, "will result in a lot of business 
ties between Israel and states like 
West Bengal and Orissa in the field 


of agro-industries." And in his 
capacity as honorary consul, Neotia 
will facilitate this process 

According to Gooptu, the need 
for honorary consuls arises when a 
country has potential business 
interests in a particular area, but the 
requirement is not substantial 
enough to set up a permanent 
consulate. And most people prefer 
to appoint businessmen, Decause 
such a person is associated with his 
country's economic changes, and 
can help dispel various 
apprehensions of a foreign country. 

For example, when the minority 
BJP government came to power (a 
snort-lived stint, as it turned out) at 
the Centre recently, it was up to 
Chowdhury, who lias held such 
posts as the president of CII and the 
Indian Chambers of Commerce in 
the past, to allay the fears of the 
Swiss authorities that liberalisation 
would be discontinued in India. "I 
was able to convince them," he says, 
"citing the examples of states where 
non-Congress governments were in 
power, that our economic policy is 
irreversible whatever party forms 


the government." 


B usiness interests apart, cultural 
interaction plays an important 
role in the selection of a consul. And 
more often than not, such interplay 
between nations improves after 
honorary consuls are invited. 

For instance, soon after Dr Sen 
took over the consular responsibility 
of Sri Lanka, the government of that 
country donated gold railings to the 
Buddhist shrine at Bodhgaya, where 
dignitaries and tourists from pre- 
dominantly Buddhist Sn Lanka 
come in brge numbers. 

Thus, it is not surprising that one 
finds Harsh Neotia organising Israeli 
film festivals at Nandan. Says 
Neotia, "Only recently, the Israeli 
band. Gathering, famous for its 
synthesis of eastern and western 
music, performed to a good response 
at Kala Mandir." 

Likewise, Amiya Gooptu, the 
former Sheriff of Calcutta, has to 
coordinate with such organisations 
as Asiatic Society for the exchange of 
scholars. This, m addition to doing 


19 



Abhljtt Sen: Improving relations with Sri Lanka 


such jobs as looking after the upkeep 
of the grave of a furious I lungarian 
scholar in Darjeeling; a site that most 
dignitaries from that country visit 
when they come to India. 

Indian artistes, too, benefit from 
the good offices of the honorary 
consuls For example, when 
Tanusree Shankar wanted to perform 
in Switzerland on her way to 
London, Chowdhury's office* came 
riding to her rescue Visas for the 
troupe were arranged at the last 
moment, because of Chowdhury's 
interv ention. So impressed was 
Shankar, that she later 
acknowledged this debt m a letter to 
Chowdhury 

But that’s not all that honorary 
consuls have to do. They also have 
to maintain their independent 
database, to cater to any enquiries 
that may come in. While some of 
these businessmen have their own 
official staff look after their consular 
work. Harsh Nootia works as consul 
out of an annexe to his corporate 
office, and has an information officer 
on his consular statf. But. even if 
extra people are hired, in most cases 
it is the consul himself who bears the 
expenses. 

M oreover, living up to the d'gnily 
of the office also makes 
90 


honorary consuls extra cautious. 
Says Gooptu, "I have always 
believed that 1 will never use my 
honourable office to push my own 
interests." And this sentiment is 
echoed by all the other honorary 
consuls as well. 

Nor do these people want the 
fringe benefits associated with 
becoming members of the 
diplomatic community, the use of 

Amiya Gooptu: Improving ties with 
Hungary 

r 



CC plates, imported cars, duty-free 
liquor. And they feel that the powers 
or immunities that career diplomats 
are entitled to remain a grey area. 

The government of India, too, is 
no less fussy in giving its approval 
for such posts. Despite these 
businessmen being respected 
members of the community, most of 
the honorary consuls were given 
clearance by the intelligence 
department only after a thorough 
checking. For most, it took nearly a 
year to get the clearance. 

The businessmen were also 
careful about choosing the countries 
of their appointment. As 
Chowdhury explains, "I would have 
thought several times before taking 
up the job if the offer had not been 
from a friendly nation." 

So, should India follow the 
example of such countries as 
Holland and Sri Lanka, and appoint 
honorary consuls in other countries. 
According to Gooptu, most certainly. 
He feels that for strategic reasons 
alone — if not for business 
considerations — India should be 
represented in places like Central 
Asia and Africa. 

Perhaps, the success of these 
Calcutta businessmen will make our 
South Block mandarins think afresh 
one day. ■ 





NNEREYE 






Aries 

March 21 - April 20 

The moon's quarlei 
energises you and those 
interested in romance 
and finance, and I am 
sure the majority of you 
are So the gain will be 
i onsiderable Canesha savs the house 
will have a strong influence on what's 
going on now in vour life. A tew ot you 
\\ ill he winners all the way 

Taurus 

April 21 — May 20 
! ' , While tlu- law of 

] averages is not against 
j vou, he sure you know 
i wh.it you want, because 
j vou might tall between 

! tv\ o major si reams and 

that would he re.il nasiv I ike the 
Alien-. Im \ oil. too home bu\mg and 
selling w !l hr mighty important l his is 
a wt ek » »t pressures 

Gemini 

June 20 

Meieury voui ruling 
planet is superbly 
placed giving \ on |ie.t 
that exlia edge whnh 
makes lor ihampions 
eUMVwhen Yom 
iniorm 1 wdl augment fiom various 
sources While kids and tanu’v will 
make unusii.il demands, he sine vou 
will he able to vope with them 

Cancer 

Juno 21 - - July 20 

It \ mi h.n e been 
knocking or. the doors 
ot oppoilimitv. now is 
the tune when it will 
open wide and vou van 
step in he sure to 
utilise the oppoiturules to the hilt, fou 
will he doing the social mcrrv-go- 
mund and interesting contacts could 
re suit 






| Leo 

| July 21 — August 21 

There's a lot of catching 
up to do, and i1 that *■ 
not enough, new 
ventures and activities 
do take your time and 

( L J talent. This is a wee l oi 

j moree\penses than gains though seerel 
! help and benefits are .ilso predicted 
1 Travel slais are in the asieudant Vou 
| will he taxing your health 

I Virgo 

j August 22 - - Septombor 22 

Vou eould well he in an 
introspective mood, 
and here, von are in 
your true element I hr 
paradox is you will he 
almost lorrrd bv 
I eiruimslaiues to reach out *o people 
| and plan's Mevei a dull nionient 
( though the pulls and tugs could wear 
, vou down a little 

Libra 

| September 23 — Octobo r 22 

i \ The right time to wish 

I in «m past fa vou is and 
endeavours and ell that 
vou have clone lot 

. . — * ^ — i others People will he 
il. _i io-operative Money 

j should exchange hands. Mow freely and 
that's \ ei v encouraging Property 
| ahairs go with a swing he it house 
■ other or land development m hemes 

| Scorpio 

I Octobet 23 - - November ?.? 

tianesha .a\ s a n»unJ »>' 
love and laughter aw .iib 
you, also siime 
opposition to plans and 
mavbe lonfluts, and 
that's the complete 
pictuie lor the week Mamagr, 
i engagement aie the possibilities to he 
j considered and it on the lookout toi a 
! collaboration, this is the lime Uu it 




PE] AN DARUWALLA 




Sagittarius 

November 23 — December 20 

Plenty o* movement, 
hustle and hustle, and 
in the bargain upward 
mobility for 
SagiUari.ins J he toe us 
now is on linaiue. 

| woik leligmn, leiemnm and travel 
; \oii will liaxe U» cover a I. >< ot ground 
; and though you air pu lly good at it. .i 
lot will p-mani to be done 

| Capricorn 

Decern he i 21 -January 19 

PiuaiiLi s will dominate 
and so will tanuh and 
the two l ou Id iw 11 be 
interconnected Thete 
will he quite a tew 
i liso a' in ms and 
atti.u lions tor i ou ami the next month 
could show you the wa\ the wind is 
, blow i:i ( ; I hi name ot ibe r. une will he 
aha> luuenls al ill k \ els 

Aquarius 

January 20 February 18 

'ioii will find the 
w herewilh.il and the 
•merge to push ahead 
despite restraints and a 
certain hnstilit\ \our 
relationships and work 
are I he areas which demand \ oui 
, i.siiiHsliale ahenlion August J1 12 is 
im incl mg headway A minor wish 

. tulhllmoni i s luv-sihle 

Pisces 

' i ehi u.ir y I M.u<:h ?•) 

1 trail in' ise then 1 will he 
some iinpioveinent but 
V' oik piles up and you 
could be hard put to 
(* i ope with it the tirst tew 
J days Alter that, vou 
■ should hi* able to manage* it rather 
ettic'eiiLK f In* tew days hold great 
pioumco* not onl’i satisfaction hut 
1 positive u>\ and elation 




B I R T H D A Y S 




August It: Moon 'M mmtv Mps teamen, wtlttare, 

artiste, designate and all five 6v wttten ot • 

spoken word. .* A. ; 

August Wwito:^t»w» 

though that wilt he uhw^echsd.'dhiii^B!S; #«<!•.' 4tf8cutttwfc . 

sskjj t&sessset#* 

joy. . " ‘ ‘ ' *'• 

August 14: 

governmental 



beneficial effect will Ik? felt on and after February, a sort of 
amalgam of gains amt goodies. 

August 15: Moon trinvfo Jupiter giving you material 
benefits and probably spiritual uplift. Those in busing gain 
con$WmbJy. 

AHjgU$t 1ft Moon sextilv Mats means politicians, 
sportsmen, bankers, importers will be in the limelight of 

publicity. 

August t 7 : Moon trine Uranus is excellent kv industrialists, 
artists, researchers, lovers and explorers- For others# too, the 
. chances of success am excellent. 


21 
































Culture 

A MAN OF CULTURE 


With his numerous new projects and ideas, B.P Singh, culture secretary, is 
the man to watch. Geeta Sharrma reports 


S >'\ frafcucddcs ago, in Bihat 
village of 1 TMorth Bihar, a 
young boy o t eight, 
accompanied by his older 
cousins, was taken for admission bv 
his grand tat her in a new school that 
had been set up in the village by 
Ciandhiji Hie boy, unlike his 
cousins, who were migrating from 
jnothei school, had had no formal 
education The headmaster gave 
them three sheets ot papers to 
answer three questions on The task 
done, all the three, including the 
little boy, wen' admitted to Hass 
VI IJ, 

When the little bo\ s father a 
lawyer, heard ol this, ht was furious 
that Ins son, barely eight would 
have to cope with the strain of 
stuilvs much above his age and 
Level But the grandfather prevailed 
and an agreement was worked out 
wherein the buy was nt to mad or 
wnft after sunset so Lhai his 
rhiMho:*! would continue 

! he ban on tht boy s studv me 
afti r dusk was titled only when ne 
was haltw.iv through college at age 
I* A year later, he passed out with 
flvmg r oIouts-- b) topping ip his 
ml Lege and ranking fifth m Patna 
University - with .111 honours 
degn *. in political science Barely j 
year latei, he was teaching students 
much older than him m Patna 
Unive-sitv w here he was appointed 
a?i a Lee tunT -a record he holds 
along with an American, which has 
been acknowledged bv the Guinness 
Book of World Record* 

Mo. This is not the storv ot a 
child prodigy who went on to 
perform endless academic feats But 
of Balrniki Piasad Singh, Secretary' 
m the Department of Culture 
(DOC), in the Human Resources 
M in isf ry U nlike h is pr*deees_so rs, 
Singh, m his quiet silent way, has 
wtlnin months ut taking over, set 
about puttingthe much neglected 
houv of thelXX’ into order, right 
from clearing the* mess in the 
Archaeological Survey ot India 
(AS1) to getting things finally 

26 



B.P. Singh: Contributing towards culture in his quiet, low-protile way 


moving on the long awaited 
National Cultural Fund 

F or the year -old bureaucrat, 
w hose mild demeanour jnd 
unassuming style, betrays little of 
(he tough assignments he has 
handled in the past, much happened 
early m life This includes marriage 
at age 19, three children soon after 
and selection as an IAS officer, from 
(he Assam- Meghalaya Cadre at age 
20. In the service he saw Assam 
through it> most turbulent years ot 
violence and insurgency, that later 
earned him the prestigious 
Jawuharlal Nehru fellowship m 
1 W2, besides senio* posts m the 
ministries of defence, environment 
and forest? and steel and mines at 
the Centre 

Mane ot these assignments 
resulted in several dose brushes 
with death, the most recent being 
when a bomb was planted in bis car 
after he ordered a probe into ULFA 
at tivities m the forests of Assam. In 
another incident — way back in 1974, 
when Supercop K.P.S Gill was also 
posted there-— in one student 


agitation, about 400 college boys 
were held holed up inside a college 
building in Guwanab while the BSF 
held siege outside. Thousands ot 
anxious parents also stood outside. 

As Deputy Commissioner, Singh 
offered to go inside to talk to the 
angry students despite being 
advised against it. He drove into the 
college gate with an armed 
constable and his driver who were 
asked to wait outside the main door 
and fire it he was attacked when he 
stepped inside. But once inside, he 
was able to pacify them and ask 
them what they wanted. 

" ( asked those who wanted to 
give the exams to stand on one side 
and those who didn't on the other," 
he recalls. "After a long pause, three 
boys raised their hands to say yes to 
exams, so I took them aside and 
asked the rest to leave / 1 Outside, the 
moment the boys came out, the BSF 
rushed in, but he shouted across 
that they were to be allowed to go. 

" It was a moment when I could 
have been killed but it turned out to 
be a moment when my efforts to 
resolve the tangle without a single 



shot being fired, triumphed. The 
blessings the sobbing parents 
showered on me was my reward." 
he says. 

Challenges and dose shaves 
aside, his present avatar, as culture 
secretary — an assignment he took 
up last October — is something Singh 
is most pleased about "I came to 
culture, not as any expert but with 
some general awareness of poetry, 
an interest in literature and the need 
to further nurture the creative 
environment in the country," he 
says. 

But once I took ovc% I began to 
realise that India was a developing 
economy but a developed nation 
because of its rich cultural heritage 
and environment," says Singh. He 
firmly believes that in the post -Cold 
War scenario and spcdally since 
1991, trade and market and not 
military capability am the deciding 
factors of the power of a nation 
Along with this, culture is also going 
to become art important factor in 
determining that status " So the 
world is going to respect us not only 
because our forefathers had createa 
a great culture but because we have 
created a conducive environment for 
it to grow further/' says Singh. 

And Singh has set about 
contributing his bit, in his quiet, 
low-profile way. The most 
substantial among them is the tilling 
up of more than 50 posts of 
Assistant Archaeologists that have 
been lying vacant in the 
Archaeological Survey of India for 
over five years now, and had badly 
affected the excavation work of the 
AS1 across the country'. But unlike 
his predecessor in the DOC, Singh, 
in his capacity as the acting Dimeter 
General of the AS1, has been able to 
unravel the technical snags that had 
made the UPSC hold up me 
recruitments, and have the 
interviews conducted last month. 

Singh, realising the mess die ASI 
is in today, has decided to provide 
all superintending archaeologists 
with two assistants, a fax connection 
each and an additional vehicle to 
give them more mobility and better 
communication facilities 


among the three Akademies which 
had reyected the Haksar Committee 
recommendations for their revamp 
as these would have taken the 
control out of their hands. It has 
been enmeshed in controversies 
about awards being given to and 
purchases being made of the art 
works of the council members and 
their relatives. As a result, eminent 
names in the art world have 
distanced themselves from the 
Akademi. 

Singh has, however, got the 


Kekjcharan Mahapatra: A much 
sought after gum 



Akademi officials to agree to many 
recommendations of the Haksar 
Committee though he is tightlipped 
at this stage about how and what he 
has got them to agree to. Insiders, 
however; say he had first tried to 
convince the* Akademi officials to 
come around, but when they refused 
to relent, he withheld the annual 
grant to the Akademi till they saw 
sense. 

Not all cultural issues are that 
easy to resolve. There are, for 
instance, more complex problems 
since culture rates the lowest on the 
government's list of priorities. As 
many as three of die four premier 
cultural institutions such as the 


A nother challenging job Singh has 
J\.laken up is setting things right 
in the Laid Kata Akademi, the 
National Akademi for the Promotion 
of Fine Arts, that has earned itself 
the dubious distinction of being 
controlled and run by an art mafia of 
mediocre artists in the name of 
democracy. The Akademi, governed 
by a 'Democratically elected 
General Goimril was the only 


National Museum and the National 
Gallesy of Modern Art, have been 
lying headless for years now and are 
just one pointer to this trend. 

Singh explains that the situation 
is due to faulty recruitment rules 
that have renoered many 
professionals in these institutions 
ineligible for the top posts. But he is 
also baffled why his predecessors 
could not find a way out. Singh 


involved experts, senior artists and 
others in the field to examine the 
issue and came to the conclusion 
that creating a separate cadre of four 
services — Indian Archaeological 
Service, Museum and Art Service, 
Anthropological Service, and 
l ibraries and Records Service — -to 
man such institutions. Singh was 
encouraged by the example of the 
forests management that was once in 
a chaotic state. But onoe a separate 
cadre was created, the situation 
improved immediately. 

> " 1 have already put the proposal 

S before the Pay Commission and the 
® Planning Commission. Both have 
l responded favourably to the idea 
£ and am hopeful that it would 
| become a reality in a couple of 
years/' says an optimistic Singh. 

In the meantime, Singh is trying 
to find ways out to do away with 
some of tKe recruitment niks and fill 
in the posts in the next couple of 
months Singh has even 
recommeridcd a much higher 
allocation to the culture department 
! in the ninth plan — Rs 5,000 crore as 
! against Rs 700 crore in the current 
j plan. 

i Singh recalls that when he was in 
? Bhubaneswar recently he had called 
j on Gum Kelucharan Mahapatra. 
j Singh was amazed to find mat 
j parents of young girls from Bengal, 
i Maharashtra and U.P had rented 
I rooms there during vacations so that 
their daughters could learn dance 
for a couple of hours from the Guru. 

‘ ‘ 1 was most touched to see the love 
the parents had for their daughters 
and reverence for the guru. That day 
l felt that we need to create 
conditions so that each city has such 
gurus and maostros," he says. 

Almost as a sequel to this. Singh, 
reveals that the National Cultural 
Fund, on the anvil for some time, 
will soon become a reality. Under the 
fund, which is likely to nave 100 per 
cent tax exemption, business and 
corporate houses will be invited to 
sponsor cultural and conservation 
projects. They will have a choice nol 
only to select the project they w ant 
to finance but also to have a say in 
the people they want to be involved 
with the project. Institutions such as 
ASI or the Sangeet Natak Akademi, 
would provide the expertise in On- 
running of these projects. 

Even though lie has cut down 
the number ornis working hours to 
10 to 12 hours from upto 14 a day 
earlier, Singh lias still set a long fist 
of tasks to be accomplished. And 
knowing him, he will not rest easy 
until henas tied up every last loose 
end ■ 


27 



PrcdPTl!: 

WHAT’S COOKING? 


Paronrita Mukhopadhyay meets Joyce Westrip , who has written several 
Ixxjks on Indian food from her home in Perth , Australia 


m oyce V^strip was seven years 
old when «be bit her first chilli. 

U was a game that she usually 
~aycd with her sister and 

Every night at dinner as the 
children were having their soup, 
they would be made to close their 
eyes. A chilli was dropped into one 
of the soups and whosoever 
scooped the chilli had to eat it This 
time it was her turn. 

The tingling taste of that chilli 
led to her passion for Indian food 
and recipes. Westrip today has a 
library of over 700 Indian recipe 
books in Hit collection back home in 
Perth,, Australia. She has given 
audio visual presentations on 
India's art and culture. And her 
radio talks and cooking classes 
— Indian food, ot course — too are 
very popular Down Under 

Wes trip's links with India goes 
back to her grandfather WHliam 
McCosh. An officer in the British 
army, McCosh lived in Calcutta His 
mansion, Khilant Lodge on Camac 
street, still stands on that busy 
Calcutta thoroughfare. Her parents, 
Alec and Doris Cave, too met in 
Calcutta. It was at a fair held at the 
Calcutta maid an. ‘Die 15-year-old 
Dons was afraid to get on the big 
terris wheel while her mother was 
keen on it. Luckily, Alec Cave, a 
British officer, was around and he 
was given the task of looking after 
the teenager till her mother 
returned- "Ever since/* Westrip 
laughs, "my father had my mother 
on tne wheel " 

By l^2h. C ave had left the army 
and joined the Kolar gold held at 
Tamil Nadu and remained there till 
1*^46 "My mother ’ s speciality was 
the brinjal pickal which she learnt 
here,” recalls Westrip. She studied at 
the Bishop Cotton School in 
Bangalore and later went to England 
for her graduation. 

Bui she missed Indian food 
there. "On one occasion," she says, 
"when I tried to make a curry it 
turned out to be a shame/' It was 
only after her mother sent her the 
spices from India that she was able 

28 



to do justice to the dish. 

Her royal hunt for Indian rcdpes 
began then. "It was very 
difficult to find recipe books then as 
it was mainly a verbal tradition but I 


never gave up," says Westrip. Her 
priced collections include antique 
pooks written far the memsahtbs, on 
in Marathi for the Maharaja of 
Baroda and a little book written in 
the 18th century by a Nawab. 


W estrip's recently released book 
-Aw ABC of Indian Food - From 
Aab Gosht to Zeera has been widely 
acclaimed. It is a dictionary of 
colloquial Indian versions of various 
food and vegetables. "1 have spoken 
to many tourists and found that they 
often don't know what to eat and so 
1 thought this is what they need," 
says Westrip. 

Her second book on Moghul 
cooking is due to be released in 
England in October. It contains 100 
recipes of Moghlai food including 
drinks and desserts. But it's not like 
any other regular cook book. Every 
recipe has a tale behind it — how it 
cainc about. "A chicken dish to be 
named after emperor Akbar had to 
be cooked over 200 times till His 
royal highness approved it" says 
Westrip 

Cictting all the information was a 
difficult task. 

Westrip travelled 

extensively -including a trip from 
lstanabul to Kashmir just to 
understand the Persian influence on 
Mughalfood "T have spoken to the 
descendcnts ot a number of chefs at 
the nawab's kitchens/’ says Westrip. 
It look her 10 years to research ana 
finally write the book. 

And that's not all. Westrip has 
also co-authored another book with 
Pc'ggy Holrojd which awaits 

E ublicalion. It's called India Down 
\nder. As the name suggests, the 
book deals with the links betwixt 
India and Australia. "Anyone would 
be surprised by the similarities 
between the two countries/ 1 she 
says. 

Both the authors Ira veiled 
through Australia interviewing 
different people whose ancestors 
lived in India. Tve heard the tales ot 
an Anglo-Indian matron who cycled 
through cities during the riots and 
the nanny of many officers' children. 
The eighth Nizam of Hyderabad has 
property in Perth — there are so 
many others,” she says. 

AH through it was her husband, 
Charles, who stood by her. He has 
been in the building industry in 
Australia and, says Westrip. "He 
knows the taste very well and is my 



Joyce Westrip with her husband Charles 


own flavour. You will never find this 


‘It was very difficult to 
find recipe books then 
as it was mainly a 
verbal tradition but I 
never gave up’ says 
Westrip. Her prized 
collections include 
antique books written 
for the memsahibs and a 


in any country in the world,” claims 
Westnp. 

However, her favourite are the 
Hyderabad dishes. "The sweet and 
sour taste of tamarind base is 
fascinating Dopiaza and 
Bagarebaigan an* dishes that you'll 
never find anywhere in the 
world/Du! rice tops her priority 
"You can torture me to any extent 
and T won't let out a secret but put a 
bowl of rice in front of me and 
eveiy thing will come pouring out,” 
she laughs 


little book written in the Back home at Perth, Australia, 


18 th century by 
a Nawab 

best critic.” Asked whether his wife 
Charles replies, 

" adding, "doesn't it 
show/’ as he points to his paunch 
He favourite dishes lncluae Dal and 


a good cook, i 
She s excellent. 


Westrip cooks Indian food at least 
twice every week Luckily, most of 
the ingredients arc available there. 
After planning what to cook, she 
spends a day shopping. Next comes 
the propara tions— chopping, 
grinding and laying out everything 
in proper proportions on her tray. 
When there are guests, her sister. 
Maureen* helps her out. 


Chicken Kashmiri. 

F or Westrip, cm »king is all about 
love and sharing Sne considers 
this the essential ingredient in any 
recipe. The uniqueness of Indian 
food lies m the freshness of the 
contents, the spices, and the aroma 
She has travelled all over the world 
and visited Indian restaurants "But 
Indian food in India is much better 
in India than anywhere else in the 
world. It is the loss of oils and the 
freshness of the fla\ our that makes 
the difference/’ says Westrip. 

Another fascinating part of 
Indian cuisine is the regional 
variations. "Take the sauce-based 
dishes, for instance, each one has its 


In tack guests arr a regular 
feature at home Otter, the Wes trips 
entertain important dignitaries. Just 
before her recent Irip to India thev 
had the Indian 1 ligh Commissioner 
over for dinner/’l always prepare a 
buffet and give at least eight dishes 
so that then* is enough to rhixise 
from/’ says die enthusiastic took 
Westrip's cooking classes .ire 
famous. Sne also gives radio talks 
and has personally introduced 
hundreds of people to Indian 
cuisine. And she hasn’t given 
up — writing another recipe book on 
Hyderabadi food is next on her 
priority. "My heart is there and ! 
want to do it well," she says, going a 
little misty-eyed at the thought. ■ 


29 


'IRST PERSON 


NAMITA GOKHALE made her d&ut with Pare*. Dreams of Passions, a novel rohich pre-dated 
the much hyped Socialite Evenings, put, then, Gokhale fas always been a trend-setter; she edited ; 
Super, a film magazine that gave Stafcdust a run for its money in the late Seventies'^: amide of yeah 
ago she published her second novel Gods, Graves and Grancmiother. Her latest bikdcA Himalayas 
Love Story, is due to hit the stands this month. 

VAThat Is your idea of 
w V perfect happiness? 

A winter afternoon, 
in the hills, and^taring 
at the blue i%ibove 
What is your greatest 
fear? 

rm terrified of lifts; j 
my greatest fear is that 
I II be stuck in a lift and | 
everyone will forget 
about me. 

Who or what has been 
the greatest influence in 
your life? 

My husband, Rajiv, 





who died last year 
What do you dislike 
most m others? 

Complacency. 

What do you dislike 
most in yourself? 

I recognise that 1 
have a tendency 
towards social hypocrisy 
What is your most preck 
possession? 

The full moon reflected on a 
still lake; I'm not good with 
possessions. 

What objects do you always cany? desori 
My favourite hairbrush and the 
Ftanuman Qhahsu. novel. 

What makes you most depressed? What 

A friend wrote this poem for me Ah 

a long time ago: "Reclining on my Trimi 

fair tape's heaving breast Nainif 

When she inhales toms bit depressed. u What ! 


myscdf when I Was two 
years old. Anyway all 
writers are narcissists. 
What is your source of 
sustenance? 

Cognac and the 
company of friends. 

On what occasions do 
you He? 

; I'm the worst bar in the 
world— 1 get a silly 
smirk which is a dead 
giveaway when I lie. 
What fs your greatest 
regret? 

That i missed outon a 
formal academic 
education. 

What has been your 
happiest moment? 
Watching my daughter 
Mem's unblinking stare 
as she came out of my 
womb. 

What brings tears to 
your eyes? 

The sight of anybody 
trying against 
insurmountable odds. 
How do you relax? 
Vegetable shopping and 
my evening swim. 

What do you envy most 
in others? 


What do you dislike most on your 
appearance? 

My crooked front teeth. 

What Is your favourite word? 

L 

30 


novel. 

What is your favourite dream? 

Almost every nteht I dream of 
Primrose’, our old house in 
Nahutal. 

What is your nig ht m are ? 

The last four years, of my life 
have been a waking nightmare. 
What or who fa the greatest love of 
your life? 1 ■ . 

I fell seriously in. love With 


other's company 
How wouldyou hketo b^ 


give strength to oAeta?;:-; 

Ho wMWytjl'ttahM 1 . 
WMfc my eyes o pm r eager and 

death, . ■ / ■ . 






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gfflS 






wmmmmn 

1 \. " '*! ' I ' 11 J * 1 k . * . * ,/ -_v 1 » , 


fiikti ’ ,■* 
m tWtjf&Wg |dn«b wtittMKit 
assessing 6«t 
Or they willbe fokis4 to 
eat thw word* as irt the 
ease of Sour*v Ganguly 
(r All fouhder', July 1 4) 

There can be no doubt 
that cricketers from the , 
eastern zone have been 
made victims of regional 
politics. Subroto Banerjee 
and Utpal Chatteijee 
started their careers well 
but were dropped from 
the team soon after when 
their performances were 
found not up to the mark. 
Had they also been treat- 
ed sympathetically like 
Raju and Ankola, they 
too, could have proved 
their worth. 

Kmial Ck*tterfee, 

Dhmdmd 




m 


0^ 


^ , 




been neglected in . 
rvationaTcricketing scene. 

P isnot that the $c0*:'' v ,: 
could not |»m«e an ’ 
piay«r of repute bettne 
«MritedanK-B«wri • V-j 
k% dWactwidlyaiMdte 
t a afpen of mttajra mood*-/ 
k% talmK' 


fftiirfrrfnftihC 

Wmlm: 


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& im ■ 




Perhaps, While we 
were rejoicing over 
SouraV# foot we forgot 
another play er from 
Bengal a chess prodi g y 
by the <umeof 
SuryaaekKar Ganguly; • 
wnOfflukliuttttaMd 


because of lads of funds 
Tether the. Oept^ n or ' 

; r'.' 


Mte wime 


r-jV##-'-* 












Family Pride 

Raima and Riya, Moon Moon Sen 's daughters , are the family’s third generation 
entrants into the glamorous imrld of show business. 

Rajlakshmi Ehattacharyya reports 

YOU HAVE TO GRANT MOON MOON SEN THIS MUCH ATLEAST; ITIS IMPOSSIBLE TO FAZE HER. YOU 
may walk in on her, as she emerges from her bathroom, fresh from an invigorating shower, 
with only a towel to preserve her modesty. But rather than shriek loudly, and insist that you 
leave forthwith, she merely raises an eyebrow and asks you what you're doing there. You 
remind her that you have an appointment. 

"Oh yes," she says, "Well, just wait for a minute. I'll get dressed and join you." 

Moon Moon is as good as her word . A few 1 minutes later she comes and sits besi 

de you, wearing a pair of 
jeans, with her thick hair fall- 
ing down her back in a 
deluge of curls. With the light- 
est of make-up and in the 
glare of sunlight, she looks 
amazingly good. Amazing, 
because Ms Sen is the mother 
of two grown-up daughters, 

Raima and Riya, both of 
whom have already made an 
entry into the world of 
showbiz. 

And Moon Moon is already playing the proud mother. "Two big companies," she tells you, 
"are fighting to get my daughters to model for their shampoos." And when Dolu and Buri — 
as the two girls are called at home — arrive, dressed to kill for the ensuing photo-session,' you 
can understand why. 

Raima is resplendent in a lime green skirt and a matching brief top, while Riya is dressed in 
a black and white mini skirt, paired with a skimpy white top. They come trotting in on stille- 
toes, their heels clattering in the corridor outside. Their silky black hair is left loose, as they per- 
form for the camera with consummate ease. 

But then, they have the perfect model to follow: their own mother. A photographer in her 




own right, nobo- 
dy understands camera angles better 
than Moon Moon, and she gives the 
benefit of her vast experience to her 
daughters, instructing them to turn 
this way or that, and flash "those 
pearly- white teeth". The daughters 
obey with alacrity, even as their 
mother beams with pnde. 

r T , his kind of encouragement was 
X what Moon Moon lacked sorely 
when she herself was a teenager. file 
only child of Bengali film actress — 
and livir^fclegend — Suchitra Sen, 


Moon Moon nad a very protected 
childhood. Photographers were pre- 
vented from shooting her when she 
accompanied her mother on the sets. 
And under this protective umbrella. 
Moon Moon grew up to be a shy, intro- 
verted child, who kepi out of the lime- 
light and wanted nothing more than 
to concentrate on her studies. 

The idea of joining films hadn't 



even occurred to Moon Moon then. 
She dabbled in everything from teach- 
ing to photography, but then die inevi- 
table happened: she was asked to 
model tor a toothpaste ad. (It is one of 
life's amazing coincidences that Suc- 
hitra Sen also began her career with a 
dental ad; as did ner granddaughter 
Riya.) Films were a natural progres- 
sion, and Moon Moon made her debut 
with Rajbodhu. 

Then began the long — and in the 
end, thankless — struggle to come out 
of the long shadow cast by her mother, 
Suchitra, who was Bengal's leading 
heroine thanks to such films as Agni- 
pariksha. Deep Jele /a4 HaaranoSur 
and Saptapadi . Moon Moon did well 
enough to bag an award as a non- 
Telugu actress in K. Vishwanathan's 
Sri Vinela, and her performance in 
Satyajit Ray Presents was a personal 
milestone. 

But like her mother before her. 
Moon Moon never succeeded in con- 




quering Bollywood. Suchitra had tri* 
ed to break into Hindi cinema with 
first Mamta, and then Andhi; but only 
met with limited success. The same 
story was repeated with her daughter, 
who despite playing in several movies 
in Bombay, never really made it to the 
top bracket, though she was a constant 
fixture in the gossip columns. 

Moon Moon now concedes that her 
career was "very accidental and 
haphazard", but she wants her 
daughters to go about things in a more 
systematic manner. "And while 1 am 
not idiot enough to think that they are 
the most beautiful girls in the world," 
she says, "my celebrity status may 
give them a break in showbiz. As for 
the rest, they would have to work very 
hard." 

But films is not what Moon Moon 
wants for her daughters right now; 
she would rather they spent three four 
years studying. "I am looking forward 
to their reading Kafka," she says. 


l 




Riyaat JJ. VaJaya's fashion show 


"listening to Western classical music, truly welcome are her two 

visiting coffee houses, or arguing granddaughters 

endlessly over a wide spectrum of As Riya puts it, " Amma is a very 

topics — as most students do in colle- quiet and canng person, and she 

ge. To have to think of a profession at minks we are these delicate creatures 

that stage would be terrible " who need to be constantly nurtured. 

There are times that she visits us, and 

M otherhood is, dearly, something in the not too distant past we would go 

that Moon Moon takes very over and spend long weekends at hei 

seriously. Having lost her first child house. Bui at the moment, exams are 

because of a niscarriage, she consi- keeping us away from staying over- 
ders her two daughters to be "beauti- night with heT." 

ful gifts of God", and regrets that she Raima, an ardent admirer of her 

missed a lot of their growing up grandmother, adds, "She is a very pri- 

because she was away working so vate person, who can have a bad tem- 

often- per." But, she says a moment later. 

Even now. Moon Moon says, she "Though frankly, mother's is worse." 

finds it difficult to devote as much As in most families, the grandmo- 

time to her children as she would like ther is more prone to spoiling the kids 


f [Ml* [?* F- ^ \ j <T0 \ M kIoFTh iMiK «Ta m' 


films, serials and even a jatra, Sundar- asking her mother — in pure |est — 

banerRupashi "What we are doing to why she had no objections to Raima 
our kids is criminal, " she says, "for and Riya coming under the ardights, 

there is no substitute for the time that a when she never encouraged her own 
mothershcmlddevotetoherchildren daughter. Suchitra replied "They are 
— which is always." my granddaughters." End of 

But then. Moon Moon had help in conversation 
bringing up her daughters: from her Like all grandmoms, Suchitra 

husband and mother, Suchitra, who is believes that Moon Moon is too strict 
devoted to the two girls. Though Sen with her daughters. And Moon Moon 

Senior now lives like a Garboesque for her part, says that she has left it to 

reduse, the only two visitors who are her mother "to ingrain into them the 




basic values of life"' before they leave 
the warm centre of their family to 
make a mark in the world. For, at the 
end of the day, Suchitra is her 
daughter's best friend, with whom 
she can share her "closest thoughts" 
in a way she can't with anyone else 
Moon Moon insists., despite appear- 
ances to the contrary j she is very 
much a family person. She calls up her 
daughters tom wherever she is, 
accompanies them to discos, and gives 
them bps on how to walk, talk, dress 
and jive. 

M oon Moon was only in Class V III 
when she met Bharat Dev 
Varma — who went on to become her 
husband — at a friend's party* in Cal- 
cutta But no, sparks didn't exactly fly 
and several years passed before Moon 
Moon's and Habi's (as Varma is popu- 
larly known ) paths crossed again, at 
yet another friend's place, where she 
was invited for lunch. 


The friend, who had just been 
crowned Miss Calcutta, was Varma's 
date for the evening. But he offered 
Moon Moon a lift back home. And 
soon, they were dating regularly — 
going for picnics, dinner and dancing 
— in an increasingly romantic court- 
ship. It wasn't long before Habi (who 
had had a short-lived first marriage) 
proposed; and Moon Moon accepted. 

Moon Moon miscarried her first 
baby, and was not allowed to go out 
for several months. "As I had to tie the 
whole day," she recalls, "my mother's 
portrait that hung tom one of the 
walls on my bedroom made me wish 
for a daughter who would look exact- 
ly like her." And when Raima was 
bom, her resemblance to Suchitra pro- 
ved to be striking, much to Moon 
Moon's delight. 

Raima's introduction to the world 
of show business came early. Moon 
Moon's face breaks into the fondest of 
smiles as she remembers the time 
when she modelled as a young mother 
putting mosquito repellent oil on to 
her child's bottom. That child was, 
of course, Raima. 

When Raima was only nine years 
old, she acted in a movie, Saapcr 
Chokh and later enacted her mother's 
childhood role in Swagat. Ashit Sen, 
who directed the movie, is perhaps 
the only film maker to have worked 
with all three generations: he directed 
Suchitra in Uttar Falguni and both 
Moon Moon and Raima in Swagat 

Riya's brush with films came with 
Vishkanya, when she was only seven. 
"I acted as the young Fooja Bedi," she 
recalls, "hating every moment of the 
shooting \ /him got whirring some 
time around 3 o'clock in the morning." 

"In the sphere of acting," adds 





1 








The romanK duo: Suchitra Sen and Uttam Kumar in Agnipariksha 


Moon Moon, "it was Sournitra Chat- 
terjce who worked first with my 
mother in Saat Paake Bandha, and 
later with me and Riya in Gajawukta " 

Now, however. Moon Moon's tv r o 
daughters are all set to conquer farther 
fields. Raima, who is named after a 
river in Tripura by her father, is 
already dreaming of making it in Bolly- 
wood. "I have received two offers so 
far," she says, "One was of a wheel 
chair-ridden girl, which was not quite 
what 1 would like my first role to be." 
But there is still talk of her portraying 
Sarada Ma's childhood, though the 
details of the project have still to be 
worked out 

Says Raima, "1 agree with my 
mother that studies should come first 


Saat Paake Bandha : Suchitra Sen and Sournitra Chatterjee 


■?» 







Suchitra Sen at her daughters wedding; Sanieev Kumar was a special guest for the occasion 


and that tilms will have to take a hack- 
seat at least for the lmu* being Mother 
wants to send me to an ai l school in 
Pondicheny and I >addv feels that 1 
should learn the classical dames, hut 
lot s see 

R iya is the more tierv of the two 
sisters, chirpy and vivacious, and 
nurturing dreams of becoming a lash 
ion designer Modelling, ot course, 
remains an option, though she may 
just end up flirting with it Catted with 
a raie sense of colour, she paints at lei- 
sure, and is a se't -confessed Channel V 
freak 

Raima, who was alwas getting into 
trouhlo at school (she still relishes rela- 
ting those pranks or her's), prefers to 
watch movies in her spare time - 
Jodieloslei Jill' MadliUT i Hi\it are he* 
cun ml Ijviumtes Hi . 1 tin *e i*. .j sen 
ous side io Raima as well she has join 
ed her school's social service wing, 
which takes them once a month to 
serve at old age homes and orphana- 
ges A short stint at Shillong earlier 
had seen her teaching handicapped 
children to read and w rite 

But like most kills their age, Raima 
and !bv.i iov** ha' 'og fun as well Both 

K, 


ot them volunteered tor the Channel V 
Roadshow, putting up posters, hav- 
ing lunch with the veejays arid a 
groovy time at discos Nol to be outdo- 
ne, M'l'V roped in Moon Moon and 
Riya for a cruise down the Hooghly 
with Rahul Khanua who asked Riya 
such questions as: "Are you a flirL 7 ' 

"l told him 1 wasn't,' remembers a 
iiiuniphant Riya In fact, both sisters 
deny having steady boylnends, 
though they concede that they do go 
out to parties "with friends who am 
boys' 1 . In tact, Riya agreed to do a 
toothpasle ad only because all her 
friends were involved and it would be 
"fun" 

Riva s hrst introduction to the 
world oi fa'-hion came at a | J Valaya 
fashion shoi in which she w as dress- 
ed .e .i Red Indian chu-t's J tushie: "1 
w as 14 then, and quue tense .mj or* 
vous,' giggles Riya tod a) 'the photo- 
grapher, Rolut Chawla, who is also a 
friend ot my mother's, had asked if I 
could be taken m tor the show And 
soon f found mvselt walking beside* 
the t ashion markin' with teathei - 
stuck in mv hair " 

But while Moon Moon is quite pleas- 
ed to have her darlings participate in 


fashion shows and model for the odd 
advertisement, movies are a big no-no 
tor the time being — unless, of course, 
some big-time producer approaches 
them bor the moment, she w r ants 
Raima and Riya to concentrate on 
their studies and develop well- 
rounded personalities. 

And nobody is better placed to 
achieve this than Raima and Riya 
7’heir home is constantly overrun with 
all kinds ot celebrity visitors, ranging 
from Princess Alexandra of Greet e, 
polo players from Argentina, writers 
of repute and, of course, actors And 
Moon Moon is quick to realise the 
advantages inherent in allowing her 
daughters to interact with them 

As she says, "It is not enough to be 
born beautiful. One has to be intellig- 
ent as well. And 1 would like my 
daughters to grow into tine human 
beings who are able to take care of 
themselves " This was a lesson that 
Suchitra had imparted to her 
daughter. Moon Moon And she in 
turn is passing it on to the third genera- 
tion. ■ 

Photographs of Moon Moon Sen 
and her daughters by Amit Datta 



Inn ERE YE 




BHJAN DARUWALLA 


Aries 

March 21 - April 20 

' Gdnohha says attach 
month and tics, or at 
IMH*! least now contacts, 
„JMCI figure prominently, 
adding spier ana ice to lite 
While the locus will bo on |ob 
and occupation, vou will have 
the time and energy to 
socialise, ho a good sport, sell 
an idiM or a product, burnish 
the image ot your company 
and plav with children 

Taurus 

Apnl 21 — May 20 
r+tt \ 1 .uc k is • »n viuir si do 
flBV* j and that moans 
! chances i an, and 
i should be taken 
I here arc many good things 
happening hul the main will 
he emotional happiness |oy in 
the heart anti th.il's what !itc 
r- all about children. spoits, 
rccrcalional pm suits and hob- 
bies oiko again give ample 
Si*!iski'.tion 

Gemini 

May 21 - June 20 

>ou .in* ailvi.asl t* > 

Sum tie searchlight 

on vouiselt and give 
all the attention you 
i an to the home as well 
Kcm nation, detoiauon inslal 
lain »n ol machinery and gad 
g°U in the olhie are also tore- 
told This is dohnitolv a 
mights buss week, with many 
irons in the tiro and it will 
reqi; e .ill voui skills 




Cancer 

June 21 — July 20 

C a tch time by the* 
forelock by making 
phone calls, writing 
letters, meeting peo- 
ple, attending parties, propos- 
ing to vour loved one, travel 
ling , communicating, signing 
contracts and keeping 
appointments Sleep less, eat 
less and give vourselt to the 
sonal circuit I he next week is 
toi puisumg unfinished work 

Leo 

July 21 — August 21 

Fm client week to 
introduce model n 
concepts and 
methodology to old 
tried, tested systems and situ 
alums >i»u will feel alio Inm- 
ate. buoyant, perked up and 
thus radiate <■ lot of energy lor 
other- to hi'd upon and 
utilise Obviously you will be 
popular Time to soiialise and 
win I no ids 


w 


Vi 

Augusl 


rgo 

lust 22 



- September 22 
1 blrong .ind positive 
i ai cent on anv sell 
’ improvement plan 
j are on thi anvil 'ton 
. do len'ive good news in the 
, next I 'l days oi so This is i 
1 tinu* to shed old skim and be 
j a different you \ou will hi 
making plans toi the iutuie 
1 and they will come to pass 
j That's good tor vou Iiavel 
1 and lo\ e toictold 


M 


Libra 

September 23 — October 22 

t onhdential and pri- 
vate matters will pc 
taken up and exarn- 
1 .jJh, \ med in the clear 
light i*l dav so to sav 
E xpenses will he heavv anvl so 
keep a hold on vour spending 
oi it could :im awav with vou 
Do e\pei l v lsitoi s or you 
could he journeying or even 
both are probable People will 
sympathise 


Scorpio 

October - - I 



October 23 -- Novembei 22 

j (..aiK'sha says go all 
i| out loi vour heart s 
set ret and open 
[ .t _w desires ..nd the 
i halites an* vou may gel at 
least one Partnerships should 
be one nl voiit primaries Any 
t\peol sou.il outings should 
end happily .md even prof- 
: itahlv Shiewdncss brings suc- 
cess in mmpluated negotia- 
. lions 

Sagittarius 

November 23 — December 20 
: Non will woik hard, 

t fiPl pl«iy haid and travel 
jjgW; Ihe Iasi will he p.ir- 
tu nl. i r I v relevant in 
! vour life Vm will sparkle 
j with iliaim, ladiate with joy 
1 .itil! tli nigh hard pressed tor 
turn , vou will give voursell 
1 heel y and hunumrlv Vou will 
1 be .i gib loi the World this 
w»*ek lake caie ot vour health 
as woik pressures mount 


BIRTHDAYS 


Capricorn 

December 21 — January 19 

The flush tunes, the 
I good times beckon 
i and you will 
mmej respond like a race 
horse. Vour sharp intelligence 
will help you to make the 
right decisions about finance, 
borne, t a reel childien and the 
t.uets of life as it were. [Tie 
next week is j continuation of 
these decisions and therefore 
give it the best you do have 

Aquarius 

January 20 - February 18 

You will be able to 
. regroup and reor 
! gamsc and that 
i., should be most 

encouraging Partnerships and 
ties a' all levels, the pragmatic 
to the strictly platonic are indi- 
cated I his week is loi mdepth 
thinking and planning 
Finances nine again hold die 
ke\ arid you can anticipate 
U ms and funds 

Pisces 

February 19 — March 20 

Wedding bells once 
| again, links and lies 
1 toi*, business 
! alliances and collab- 
orations, take youi time and 
energv It is a good time to 
meet people be Inendly and 
j aciomodatmg as much as pos- 
sible and eii|oy life in the bar- 
gain A wish fulfillment 
should complete the cm le loi 
vou 




September &Moon conjunction Mars-Venus indicates, 
according to Cfanueho, glory and money love and luxury, A 
bfrthyear of tremendous promt sc. 

September fl? Mercury Wxtite Venus slgnifatt by dexterity, 
charm arid jAttf Hiefc a vbry formidable trio, you get the 
goodies of tffc, bethey Jove, fame, house and position. 

lie iMfats trine Plato means, according to 
GaneshA, both these energy planets tan help you to achieve 
. even the impossible, provided there is effort. 

$*pt embmrtf: Venus trine Saturn means it you ran just con- 
tain yoursdlf a bit then* are no heights you conn* »t climb, be 


it business, profession, job or ju# pleasing a loved one. Pate 
wants you to be happy, 

September 1% New moon helps you to be positive and 
enthusiastic. Children, contacts, communication, journey, new 
opportunities and challenges will claim you* 

September i J : Moon conjunction Mercury fa excellent for 
traders, statisticians, editors, programmers and tailors. 

Victory is assured, 

September 14: Moon opposition Saturn does mean stress 
but u docs not rule out joy and success. Alt It means is a little 
■ (*x Ira effort. 


Exquisite craftsmanship in 
international Standard 
22/22 Karat gold and 
diamond jeweUery . 
Dealer in precious and 
astrological stones. 


1 


P. C. CHANDRA 


W 



A jewel of jewels 

Ph. 475 6734 • 27 7221 • 248 8062 


n-RT 








s 


An extract 

from 

Satarupa 
Ba~ierjee’s 
new cook book 
for ivor king 
women who 
need to cook 
in a hurry 


Extracted from 

7 he Workaholics 
Cuokbi *<>k 

by 

Satarupa Baneriee 
Published by 
Penguin Boohs 
India (P) Ltd 
Price Rs ISO 


XTRACT 

SHORT 



tore your weekly requirement ot 
ni'Mt, chicken and fish in individual 
portions m the freezer fcvery night, 
place one portion on the last shelf of 
the retried ator so that vou don't 
have to maw it the following morn- 
ing If you h«ive to m.uinato any- 
thing, do so the previous night, so 
that all that vou have to do m the 
morning is to cook it 

To make garlic easier to peel, 
separate a pod into its component 
segments Kub a little oil on to each 
segment and leav e it in the sun for a 
day The thin skin will come otf easi- 
ly after that and the garlic can be 
ground and stored in a jar m the 
refrigerator It can be used to flavour 
almost anything from a plain cauli- 
flower dish to a fancy fried fish 
When a recipe calls for finely 
chopped ginger, grate it in the 
coarser part of grater C» rating garlic 
instead ot cutting it is quicker too 
Pressure cook twice the amount 
of dal you need or <1 meal Store half 
in the refrigerator and serve it the 
next day with a diflerent seasoning 
Spinach boded and pureed in a 
blender can be kept ana used for 
several dishes, with masalas, pota- 
toes or pioneer as a dish, with soup 
cubes and milk as a soup, added to 
omelettes to make them interesting, 
m a cheese sauce with chopped up 
sausages for a baked dish and so on. 

Grated coconut freezes well in 
the ice cube section ot even a small 
refrigerator and is a wonderful way 
of bright t» mig up an everyday veg- 
etable or dal 

Cook every' thing m a karhai The 
heat is distributed more.evenly, you 
use less oil and everything cooks 
1 aster 

Practically any vegetable can be 
boded, mixed with a couple of soup 
cubes and s^mc cheese and made 
into a. delicious soup, even tinda. 

Use peanuts or any other nuts to 
make the plainest dishes more exotic 


— a salad, a sandwich, a fancy rice, 
an omelette and make them more 
nutritious in the bargain. 

When a recipe calls for chopped 
nuts, spread them on the counter 
and crush them with a rolling pin 
until they aie ot the size you require 

Cake batters can be made quick- 
ei if you powder the sugar in the 
imxie and bring the butter to room 
temperature before creaming the 
two, d basic step in most cake 
recipes. 

Shell peas and keep in a plastic 
bag in the refrigerator. Take out the 
necessary amount Will keep for at 
least a week. 

Grind onion, ginger and garlic to 
a paste, fry it till brown. Cool and 
freeze it in an air tight container. 

Add fresh tomatoes or tomato puree 
or curd and your gravy is ready. The 
entire house will not reek of onion 
and garlic every time you make a 
curry Make it a once -in-a- fortnight 
process and keep yourself cool and 
the home free of trie ever pervading 
smell of masala. 

Sandwich leftover vegetables, 
brush the outside with ghee and 
toast them in the sandwich toaster. 
Top it with tomato sauce. Delicious 
at breakfast or tea time. 

Dip soiled plates and utensils in 
a basin of water to which a little 
soap powder has been added. This 
loosens grime and grease and makes 
washing water easier and quicker. 

Keep pieces of newspaper to 
wipe fooa particles chopped on the 
table This avoids soiling of dusters. 
Bettei still, place the chopping board 
on a newspaper and just dispose of 
the waste afterwards. 

If your family thrives on pota- 
toes, boil up enough in the cooker to 
last for 3-4 days and store in the 
refrigerator. Save time in the morn- 
ing by previously boiling up several 
eggs and storing them in water in 
the refrigerator. The shells peel off 


12 



easily. If warm eggs are preferred, 
put the shelled eggs in hot water tor 
a minute. 

Keep sugar powdered in a jar 
Coffee beats up easily and becomes 
frothy in a fraction of a minute with 
powdered sugar. 

Mix one part pepper and two 
parts salt and keep ready in one 
shaker. In the early morning, overv 
minute counts. 

A pair of kitchen scissors is most 
convenient for snipping heibs, green 
leafy vegetables, green chillies and 
other vegetables, so, do invest in 
one. 

Grate the corns on the cob It is 
much easier and quicker than 
removing with a knife 

To soften butter in a hurry, keep 
it on a warm tava or cover it with a 
heated bowl. When buttering 
sandwiches, dir the knife 
into hot water occasio 
naflv to facilitate 
spreading. 


Make mayonnaise with less 
labour by adding vinegar to the egg 
volks before adding the oil This 
helps in emulsification and the oil is 
absorbed much faster You win then 
add the oil by teaspoontuls instead 
of drop by drop. 

Here's an easy way to clean a 
greasy oven Just put a small bowl of 
household ammonia inside and 
leave overnight with the dooi 
closed. The ammonia tunics will 
work on the grease and it will come 
off very easily the next morning. 

Instead ol trying croutons, 
spread both the sides of a slice of 
bread with tat. cut it m small cubes 
and place on a baking trav Hake in a 
low temperature oven till crisp and 


brown. 

When a recipe calls for frozen fat 
to be mixed with sugar or flour, 
simply grate the butter or tat and it 
will not only be quicker but easier to 
mix also 

Make more stock than required 
and freeze the rest in ice cube trays. 
When frozen, divide the cubes in 
small portions in plastic bags and 
use as needed. They will kc?cp for at 
least a month. 

To quickly peel cucumber, 
gourds etc., use a potato peeler. 
Saves time and effort. 

If you're in a hurry and want to 
bring the refrigerated eggs to room 
temperature, just cover them with 
warm water for a minute or two. 

( larlic bums quickly In a recipe 
where garlic and onions are fried, 
first fry the onion until soft 
















jr 


A container ol ready mixed sea- 
soned flour is handy lor coating 
foods to be fried Make up m 
advance by sifting one cup flour 
with two teaspoons salt to taste and 
two teaspoons pepper powder Use 
as required Will keep well tor at 
least 4-6 weeks in an airtight tin 

Where seasoned Hour is used for 
coaling chicken, fish or anything else 
for trying, keep leftovers and use tor 
thickening any sauce m the p/m. 

Crush cornflakes or biscuits in a 
roomy polythene bag This keeps 
them in on^place with no mess to 
clear up afterwards Some cooks like 
to use the same idea tor flouring 
chicken pints, fish fillets or anything 
else Put the flour and seasoning in a 
polythene bag. Add whatever you 
want floured and shake until evenly 
coated. 

While using butter tor frying, 
heat a little oil along with it It takes 
away nothing of the taste but does 
help prevent butter trom scorching 
and browning too quickly at a hign 
temperature 

To make an egg go further for 
coating fish, chicken or anything else 
for frying — add one tablespoon oil 
and beat 

Always pass a slice of white 
bread through the machine after 
mincing soft ingredients like meat or 
cheese. It pushes out the last few 
pieces of the ingredients that always 
remain inside 

Oven ware is preferable to other 
kinds of tableware, whenever possi- 
ble. Clean any cooking stains from 
the dishes before setting on the table, 
using the wet comer of a teacloth 
and salt as an abrasive. 

It is worth buying a non-stick 
frying pan just for scrambled eggs — 
it saves a good deal of difficult 
cleaning atterwards. 

Never plunge eggs cold from the 
refrigerator into boiling water; it is a 



sure way of cracking them. Cover 
them with cold water and bring up 
to a boil, then cook as required 

Sprinkle paprika pepper Uiegi 
mtrch) over cheese or snacks topped 
with cheese sauce before grilling It 
browns beautitully and insrantly 

When poaching eggs, add one 
teaspoon vinegar to the water before 
cooking. It helps the white of the 
egg coagulate quickly and keep a 
better shape and you get no after- 
taste ot vinegar 

To retain the maximum volume 
in a hot souffle recipe, always fold a 
little of the beaten egg whites into 
the mixture first to lighten the tex- 
ture before folding in the remainder 

Egg whites do not whisk up 
foamy and stiff if they contain any 
trace of egg yolk. As an extra pre- 
caution some cooks always wine the 
inside ot a mixing bowl with tne cut 
surface of a lemon to remove any 
traces of grease. A pinch of salt helps 
to give a better volume too. Apincn 


refrigerator into boiling water; it is a of cream of tartar helps stabilise the 



.'W: 


froth. 

One table spoon of oil added to 
the salted water for cooking pasta 
will keep them from sticking togeth - 
er Oil also helps to prevent the 
water from frothing up and boiling 
over, so add it to the water tor cook- 
ing spaghetti and macaroni too 

Never toss a salad m oil and 
vinegar dressing until ready to serve, 
the acid in the vinegar makes the let- 
tuce and other salad greens go limp. 

Slice tomatoes witn a serrated 
knife; it is often a good idea to use 
the bread knife — much quicker and 
easier for soft tomatoes. 

If soured cream (mentioned in 
many of the recipes) is hard to buy, 
use cream sharpened with lime juice 

After peeling or cutting onions, 
rinse your hanas in cold water and 
rub yvith a little salt. If the smell stili 
lingers, try rubbing with fresh pars- 
ley or coriander leaves, crushing out 
the juice between your fingers or 
with dry mustard, rinsing it off 
again under cold water. 

Scalding tomatoes by covering 
them with boiling water and leaving 
them for about ten seconds is the 
best method of peeling them. The 
minute the skins begin to curl up, lift 
the tomatoes with a perforated 
spoon and transfer at once to a bowl 
of cold water to cool quickly and 
keep the flesh firm. Teel off the 
skins. Use skinned tomatoe& m sal- 
ads and as a garnish. 

When making a traditional 
white sauce — warm the milk to be 
added to the roux of butter and 
flour, it blends in much more quickly 
and evenly. 

To make a brown roux quickly, 
brown the flour on a baking tray in 
the oven before making the sauce. 

Keep a jar of seasoned flour 


14 


handy for making sauces. For every 
one and a half tanlespoons of flour, 
add half a teaspoon of salt and pep- 
per each 

You ran keep a white sauce hot 
without any skin forming on the sur- 
face if you stir in all hut about two to 
three tablespoons ot the milk for 
mixing during preparation Bring the 
sauce to a boil, season and simmoi 
for a few minutes to cook Then turn 
heat to very low and add the 
reserved milk slowly so that it lies 
on the surface Remove carefully 
from heat so that the milk hmg 
uppermost is not disturbed Po not 
stir until just before serving. 

To make «inv cream or concen- 
trated soup go further, add a chicken 
stock or cube and a whole exiia can 
of water 

When heating canned soups, 
bring only just up to a boil Stir con- 
stantly too Ovo moiling or scorching 
will spoil the flavour 

whenever cream is added to a 
soup 01 sauce, recheck the seasoning 
because cream tends to mellow 1 
flavours Tlu* reverse can be useful 
too, tor the addition ot cream will 
reduce the too strong taste of .111 
over-seasoned recipe 

To make hard butter sub toi 
spreading quickly - -heal m a little 
boiling Wider Use one teaspoon lor 
every oucirtei cup ot butter and 
blend thoroughly in a mixing basin 


If the utli batter has not torment- 
ed enough, boil some water m the 
pressure cooker and switch ott f he 
gas Place the* vessel containing the 
uih batter m the cooker and close the 
hd Within a couple of hours, tbit* 
ha! *r will be ready tor making idtis. 

To draw out insects from cauli- 
flower and green vegetables, soak 
them m a mixture ot vinegar and 
water for tec. minutes 

Green tomatoes will not ripen 
fast but will also stay firm if stored 
m a brown paper bag and placed m 
a dark cupboard 

Curry leaves, fried m oil and 
kept in an airtight bottle or jar 
remain fresh for days without losing 
their originl taste They can be used 
as and when necessary 

To save time cind ttvis on slicing 
onions finely for any gravy, cut 
onions into l wo pieces and boil them 
in a pressure, cooker in a minimum 
amount of water Grind the boiled 
onions and fry the paste in oil. 

Gravy that has turned water)' 
can be thickened by adding roasted 
semolina. This tip will come handy 
when tomatoes are scarce or when 
you do not want to use onions 


Apply a little glycerine to the rim 
of the utensil in which milk or anv 
other liquid is boiling This will pre- 
vent the liquid from boiling over 
7 b select bnnjals with minimum 
seeds, buy the ones with a small scar 
at the tip If the scar is large, the 
brinjal will have a number of seeds 
The greater the number of seeds, the 
more bitter the brinjal will be 

When making tomato soup, add 
a little sago to it while boiling The 
soup will be thick, creamy and more 
nourishing 

Anything will fry belief it a tew 
drops of vinegar arc added to thi 
hot oil or ghee 

In order to keep vour mixer 
blades sharp, put some table salt m 
your mixie and run for a few 
seconds Do this ome n month 
To eliminate fat from soup and 


If almonds or anv other nuts are 
used to garnish cakes, dip them in 
milk. Thev will not get dislodged 
while baking 

To store unbeaten egg yolks, 
cover them with cold water or milk 
and refrigerate Drain the liquid 
before use Will keep for a week 
Dry fruits are quite expensive 
Substitute them with honey dew 
melon, water melon, pumpkin and 
cucumbci seeds -known as chuar 
and sold bv th.it name You 
can even wash the seeds at home 
and dry them in the sun Peel and 
store tor later use 

During barbecue, sprinkle some 
lemon juice over the hot coal in the 
1 iast few minutes ot grilling to add 
| flavour to mutton or chicken 01 any- 
thing else that is being grilled. 

It for any reason, you feai the 



stew, drop ire cubes into the pot As 
you stir, trie fat will cling to tne 
cubes Discard the cubes before they 
melt Lettuce leave too absorb fat 
and can he used similarly 

It vour ■ utl*'ts tend to fall apait, 
soak a handful of beaten rice m a lit- 
tle water Squeeze out the water and 
add to the cutlet mix. Shape and fry, 
the cutlets will retain their shape 
For a fat-tree butter substitute, 
hang skimmed milk curd in a muslin 
cloln tc remove whey Add sail, pep- 
er and mustard (optional) to it 
lend well 

To prevent biscuits from getting 
soggy. Keep them in the refrigerator 
Secure the packets tightly once it has 
been opened The biscuits remain 
fresh and crisp for a long time 


milk is getting spoilt, add a pinch of 
soda to it and boil The milk will not 
curdle 

Rancid ana "tale lime pukle ian 
be given a fresh lease of life by 
adding a little sugar and vinegar to 
it Keep it in the sun for . 7-4 days 
The pickle will taste better 

The shell of a hard boiled egg 
will come ott easily if vou boil it 
along with a little salt 

Store green tomatoes m a paper 
bag along with a ripe tomato or an 
apple The green ones will ripen 
faster. 

Chopping drv Iruit can be a diffi- 
cult task Use scissors and dip it m 
hot water before use Nuts will chop 
taster and will not stick to the sci - 
sors ■ 


1 



T wmmm 

IME TABLE 


' I 


All arrival and departure times are for Calcutta 

Day* of operation uala g 7-day coda: 0) MONDAY 9 TUESDAY 9 WEDNESDAY 9 THURSDAY 9 FRIDAY 9 SATURDAY 9 SUNDAY 
i As ihosi* pagrs cjo to pinss one week m advance, readers should check with respective airlines and railways tor last mnute change m timings) 


njQKn 


.. v •*.* 1 * *V.-v ‘j>:? ■ v"', •: ■■ \ ¥ f wHWW 


Departures 

Fit No. Time Days 


» AGARTALA 


1 -I ^ ■■'M:. 

i % JU.I 

m AHMEO/0SAO 

f' 1 V 

B A1ZAWL . 


BAGDOGRA 

1 •• ,i 


P BANGALORE 

t.’ r 'V v 

iv r Uiii'. 

•B BHUBANESWAR 

i *: 1 >' 


Arrivals 

Fit No. Tim Days 


■ OCLHt 


■1*1 ,'l Jr|l 

■n' ■ri- 
ll I, I., 

1 i. ■ 4 


DIBRUGAHH 


DtMAPUH 


m GUWAHATI 

>1 {■•■!.* 


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Al Air India • BA British Airways • BG B.Tian Bangladesh Airlines • Bl Royal Brunei Airlines • D2 Skyline NEPC • D5 NEPC Airlines • IC 
Indian Airlines • KB Druk-Air • KL Royal Dutch Amines • LZ Balkan Airlines • M9 ModiLutt • PF Vayudoot • RA Royal Nepal Airlines 
• RJ Royal Jordanian Airlines • RO Yarom Air Transport • SO Singapore Airlines • SU Aeroflot • TG Thai Airways International • 9W 
Jot Airways • 07 Qatar Airways 


EASTERN RAILWAY 

Howrah 

Delhi -Kalla Mall 
Amritsar Mail 

Bombay Mall ...< a- . 1 * 11 . 1 . ■ 

Poorva (Noe Delhi) Express llr I Jill .1 V-> 

1 '.’fi *\l * I I * ' 'I 

\V-. \ - if 

Poorva (Now Delhi) Express 


Rajdhani Express ■ . .v 

•|| U.i -V. 1 ■■! S >1: 

'•i 1 M- ■ 11 . > i*'r . v . . 

Rajdhani Express -n •'.w.,, 

Jodhpur Express 

Shatabdl (Bokaro Stool City) Express 

«*l ■ r. ’ Tl '‘"U' 

Hlmolri (Jammu-Tawl) Express l* k , > 

."•I f 1 ! A" 1. r Vv*. ■ 

Guwahari Express 

»'i: !n , 'i- 

GoraMipur Express 
1 »i S A' '•.,!• i! I. 

Purtanchal (Gorakhpur) Express 
I'M *. Ar '..i- Mm AlmJ I *. 
Doon Express v.: <.<•,• 11.4 t iir-n< 

Udyan Abho Toofan Express vu fAim 1 
Amritsar Express 
Kdhgodrar. Express 
Mttilta (RaxaJ) Express 
Kamnjp (Gumraff) Express 
uwmona express 
Coalfield Express 
Asansol Express 


Doparture 
Up Time 


Danapur Express 
Jaredpur Boreas 
oaronmnn Boreas 
Chambaj (GynHor) Express 

>p Mon Tne 8. mu*- Art Mon Dili's & I r 

Shapes (Indore) Express 

L'f-p W u d So; i Sum Am ‘mjii 'Ahj 

(Agra GnLj fcxprer 

i>p An lueiddV 

Sealdah 


Tessta-Torea Boreas 
DarMng Mdl 
Daft Boms V<d Main line 
Kanctanjunga iLumduvj) fxpwss 

Gcur Boms 
KaUharnpress 
Jammu-Tawl Boren. 

Midol Sard Express via sru lc^p 
B hagbdN (Ldjpfc Expren 
Gags Sagra r up — . 1 

Dep 5. An lu“s rTuiis A Sdl 


SOUTH-EASTERN RAILWAY 

Howrah 

Madras Mall 

Bombay Mall vi« fr»unu 
GRanJarl (Bombay) Express 
Shatabdf (Bourksla) Express 

l-ip a An Erfii^ji i.iliiiilif 1 


Antal 

Tbna Dn 


i'.'ii ,i * U «0 GRanJafl (Bombay) Brprass ^ ?\ ^MVi 

.h 1 1 >.i 1 Shatabdf (Bourksia) Express jik? 

l-ip a An 1 ) i*’ 

M< Mi .v ‘W Ahmedebad Express *> If. M 033 

Si Mi' 11 .M Kurta Express v..i Namiui if- .»« 

1 1 i'll Conomandal (Madras) Express 1 ■•il.Kt V’ Oh 

T,, 0 ! «ir Futtmuma (Sacundsiabad) Express iMi. FflOi 

I’M '.’i' .ii» M 1 -i 
Ap Mup M-i: a '..i' 

i* J i: Bangalore Express H «lh W; 

'-•»H . i.i'lU 
A, ‘in* i.l.i* 

* i” Tata Steel Express i (»/0 H 014 

lap* (Jharauguda) Express 11 Mil. 1 

hiv'i 'is * Ttagvh Express !. ou Boot. 

JiiiV -it* Randil Htata Express *■ H« HoVj 

:.u. ' 1 . Purl Express w 1 i-MM ! Vi BOOB 

t« 4 i. 1 Jaganralh (Purl) Express a A 

•- Dtajll (Bhii»neewtf) Boress ,v ii c - 

w ‘1 H' /!' East Coast (Hyderatad) Express ih id RMr 

M.i- «p v. Prnulla Express iMf Bum 

1 It |. I M t[>! ,il>l •'S.'r 
•'fi l »■ m. -id 1 . 

M.v r.M: Azad Hind (Pune) Weekly Express *. <s 10 , ’h 

1 »i i A" ni ' mi l.iv 

AVI l*. -i f ‘ BhubarmMo 4 tar OettH Raldhani Express .v>.i D> m 

•nrtwr ill* 'IiimiU, i.'Py 

'i t’. Nm DaHH-BlMteinmi Rsldhtnl Eipms . u iu-li M::‘ 

H In’ ’..ili.ii) ./ .-.in . 

* . 1 r Giwahad - Hoerah - Trtandmm Central Fxpress 4 1 i*> 

M. nl-v Miilv 

J '- «' Trivandrum Central - Howrah - Guwehatl Express T> M.M 

' r'.lilM'Ui .JFiiV 

’ 1 Cochin Harbour Terminus - Guwahab Weekly "3 4 *i i 

Express iv 1 * • t -ii owl., 

11 Guwahad - Cochin Harbour Terminus Weddy v. 

Express >.< H. ,vrri * jkhAi j. it» 11 » 

■ ||> 

f-'ii- . . Cochin Harbour Terminus Express >*• ■ 1 - 4 '. »■ .I 1 

Vi'talkii jlMl 1 ' |l|< I 1 ', MvlWI.il" 

Lt I* V ■ a .1 Am 1 1 V 

i ' < r . Grerehatl - Bangalore City WMdy Express ■ 1 . 

lltiA'rf 1 \ '.lll.i.* W._.!ii'vh/ L’Mly 

'•i p'. Bangalore Cty - Guvrehab Weekly Express .*•.> > i-MO 

M ifti.i," \ ‘ ullrfiki M'.iuify 'Mr, 

ENQURESw Far mud the dock krlonratfon of Eastsm Railway and Sodh-Easlam Rdtalta 
pime dial 2203546-54 for bhoomirH) tans, 2203535-44 for all other Information For Momtfkxi 
about reservations or. Eastern Railway and South-Eastern Rdtay trains, dial 2203486-3600 (Iran 8 
■n to 8 pm on weekdays and A on to 2 pm on Stntays ml gaatted holidays) to itafton. 
ifel 1331 (tor recorded MonraBon on train rurming). 131 (reganano train openttone) and 135 
{ragring raeantfons). Train service enquiry at Seddah 3503535 '0 
raradta VWce Response System (5 am to 9 pm everyday from Monday to Saturday. 5 am to 5 
pm on Sunday)- For raaarvdkm status, did 138 (omptfertaed); Dial 2209488 (manual enquhy). 







IFESTYLE 


BUMPER TO BUMPER 


Just get a load of those car stickers, will you, says Manisha Gulati 

Photographs by Dosha Kalyan Chowdhury 


C onstipation: This car 

constipated, it hasn't passed 
a thing all day Aspiration. 
When I grow up 1 want to be 
a Mercedes Consolation. I maybe 
slow but at least I'm ahead of you 
Welcome to the world ot car 
stickers. There's one for each occasion 
and every temperament And it we 
can extend that to personality, well 
then these days cars seem to have 
more of it than is packed into the 
ownei's whole frame 

Cars were always considered a 
status symbol, a display of our wealth 
(or the lack of it) and in a man's case, 
his ego (Though why a woman 
should be exempt from this 
expression who knows ) Today a car 
speaks volumes about our sense of 
humoui and strangely enough our 
wealth too, displayed in obtuse ways 


on windows and other hi-fi gadgets 

So, you find Rahul next door 
driving around in his souped-up Zen 
with a word of warning 'Perhaps 
you've confused me with someone 
who gives a $#% A \ Even a regular 
44-yea r-ord (the one who doesn't 
sport home made tatoos or own a 
collection of Whigfield CDs) can be 
seen with a Sex is like a car accident 
Never underestimate it' poster-size 
sti . ker on his Esteem model 

/'All for effect," remarked a female 

friend dismissing the tad 
disgustedly, on spotting a young 
Lothario in his Maruti 800 with the 
words 'Not so clore. I'm not that kind 
of car' 

"A smirking, conceited buffoon at 
whom no woman in her right mind 
would look at twice," commented 


another She's right A woman in her 
right mind would look at him (or his 
car) six to twelve times if possible 
Appearance can be an unfair 
advantage. And let's fac o it. These 
stickers do attract attention of 





whichever kind. It's like Govinda. 
Love him or hate him but you just 
can't ignore him. Add to this, mutated 
flight simulator technology that seems 
to nave permeated the four-wheel 
market. You can create your own 
fantasy car combining disco lighting, 
instruction stickers, aerodynamic 
attachments, high velocity speakers 
and coloured screens X-ray vision 
may be required to look into one of 
these Frankenstein cars 
Just the other day a clutch of 
hcadbangers were cruising their way 
through ACUXT Five minutes later 
the same headbangers blasted out the 
BeeGees with Staying Alive , remixed 
with a more modem, more disco 
version of the same song by a newer 
unpronou noble group. The 'original' 
cuwbovs had set up their own rock 'n' 
roll saloon just down the road 

And then the action began Boy and 
his mates see girl and her mates. Girl 
and her mates see car and inmates, in 
that order Bingo! Attention is 
giabbed and held The car works It 
really does. 


O n the more sedate (less popular) 
side you have the Polo puns 
Great advertising strategy those 1 A 
personal favourite is 'Driver 


airconditioned by Polo'. It speaks of a 
cool head and is definitely not for the 
maniacs — the 1 10 km per hour kind. 
Moreover they're the more intelligent 
of the lot. As one cynic put it, "They're 
one of the few pieces of physical 
evidences that people still think before 
they slick something onto their cars." 

How does this evidence grab you? 
'My wife ran away with my best 
friend I sure miss him.' 'If you don't 
like the way I walk stay off the 
sidewalk.' Subtlety is definitely being 
replaced by a movement toward new 
cartoon-like extremes 

So what is it that finally forces any 
man to say 'that's enough', to 
metaphorically pull on ms six guns? In 
most cases it's probably when 
something horribly embarassing 
happens to him — no one notices him, 
his wheels tall off A rattleship 
breaking down or a run-ot-the-mill 
car stalling is a very run-of-the-mill 
fiasco No one thinks twice about it 
and r.oboby laughs But a snazzy car 
giving way is something not many 
self-respecting males will be able to 
live down. 

You know how it is. The smarter 
you look, the more is expected from 
you in terms of performance A 
dilapidated three-wheeler stops for 
you. What's Ihis, a message on the 
front? To quote , ' Sher sunne ka mazaa 
aata hai, snersunanc ka mazaa data 
hai. Par asli mazaa tab data hai jab sher 
saamne aa jata hai ' 

As Raj Nath Batra, multi-faceted 
businessman who doesn't have any 
sticker on his car (not even a 'pollution 
under control' one) says, "I guess I'm 
not hip. I'm in the hip sidecar." ■ 





B etter half?: Well, to Loll the 
truth, she's actually 1 bettor 
quarter She shares her 
husband, Salim Khan, with 
lus tirst wife, Salma, and plays 
happy families with his children, 

Sal mar., Arhaax, Sohail, Alvira and 
Arpita All ot them live undei one 
roof, and the two wives are the best 
ot friends, going otf shopping 
together and being joint hostesses at 
the children's birthday- and 
wedding — eelebr ations 

Was it always this civilised?: Not 
on vour hte When the Salmi Khan- 
Helen love story first broke, Salma 
was reportedly heartbroken She 
issued ultimatums, made threats 
and tried her best to cut the 
affair short And lor a moment 1* 
looked as it she might succeed But 
Salim stuck by Helen, wed her, 
and moved her into the 


Salim Khan:Devoted husband 


Did Salma walk out?: No she just 
decided to make the best of a bad 
situation, though she would have 
been perfectly justified in creating 
an almighty fuss. After all, she had 
broken with her (Hindu) family to 
inarrv Salim after converting to 
Islam, and had devoted the rest of 
her life to Salim and his children. 


What happened next?: In time, the 
two women grew to like, respect 
and admire one another and became 
the best of friends Helen then told 
reporters that the two of them were 
a united force, and would get 
together and fight a good fight if I 
Salim strayed again. Two wives i 
were all that Khan was going to get, 
and he'd better be satisfied with 
this. 


Why did Salma relent?: One version 
is that she decided that halt a 
husband was better than none And 
that she should preserve her 
marriage at any cost - -for the 
children's sake, if nothing else The 
more charitable say that Salma 
developed a genuine fondness tor 
Helen, who had had a pretty rough 
deal in life until she found true love 
with Salim 

Helen? A hard-luck story?: Yes, 
you'd better believe it She may ha\e 
epitomised glamour, beauty and ihe 
high life in her film roles, hut reality 
was anything but Helen was 
introduced to Bombay cinema by 
PN Arora, a complete sica/ebag 
who played Svengali to her 
throughout her cared* Arora 
controlled both 1 lelen s hie and the 
purse-strings And despite being one 
c«f the best- paid actresses of her linn*, 
Helen ended up a paupei after the 
two split 

How did she cope?: Bv the tune 
Helen discovered that ho r fortune 
was practically non-existent, it was 
tar too late Not only could she not 


recover her money, she couldn t 
rebuild her movie career either She 
was loo old to plav the cabaret- 
dancing vamp for much longer, and 
with the cellulite piling up, it had to 
be goodbye to celluloid sooner 
rather than later. So, Helen sought 
solace m the arms of a much- 
younger actor, whose film came? 
was on the skids as well. But even 
that didn't work out, and she was 
soon on her uwnsome lonesoim all 
over again 

Enter Salim: At what was quite the 
most vulnerable stage of Helen's life 
She was that most insecure ot beings 
when the two met a beautiful 
w oman who w r as losing her looks. 
And the fact that her cai eer— and 
earning capacity — depended entirely 
on her physical charms only made 
matters worse 

The two of them hit it off at once, 
and hiendship soon blossomed into 
tu 11 -fledged romance But unlike all 
the othei men in Helen's life, Salim 
was intent on doing the right thing 
tor hei 1 le proposed marriage, she 
accepted, gave up on films and 
beiaim the second Mrs Salt m Khan 


Helen.Quite happy in her new role of a housewife 




| A still from Khamoshi in which Helen 
' plays grandma 

i 

: How did the family react?: There 
| were the usual adjustment problems 
; in the beginning, out the children 
soon got used to 'Helen aunty'and in 
1 time began to regard her as tneir 
mother along with Salma. Helen 
; never had any children of her own, 

; and no doubt, this made the 
! adjustment process much easier 

; Helen as housewife: This persona 
I endured tor many years. But the lure 
| of the lights pinned too strong for 
i Helen, and sne finally succumbed 
I w hen she was offered the rule of 
j Mamsha s grandmother in Khamoshi. 

; (No doubt, the fact that her 'son' 

| Salman Khan was playing the hero 
, m the movie, made that decision 

■ much easier.) 

i 

\ Helen as grandmother?: Yes, yes, we 
, know the mind boggles at the 
thought. But give the lady credit she 
has aged gracefully And what s 

■ more, she is possessed of more grace 
| these days than when she was 

j gyrating away m her sequins and 
j chiffon. There aren't very many 
| Indian actresses you can say 
| that of. ■ 




CALVIN AND HOBBES ■ WATTERSON 












THE LOCKHORNS 




















e> 












%1 


^ /A..' A 


»y tDEAAJ'ybuKK**--^ SW "DRAKES 


*W REALLY LOOKING 
fORWARp TO OUR 
DINNER 
TONIGHT/ 


3* 




r 


NOW WHEN WE GET 
INSIDE, DON'T SAY 
ANYTHING 
ABOUT WHAT 
I DO FOR A 
LIVING 


Vlrrl 


pa: 

to 


MJT YOU ) 
ARE! S- 


>1 


-J 


U V 




B 


PLEASE. HONEY, 
JUST PROMISE 


l< 


/, X ON, OKAY, I PROMISE 
t Y 1 WONT SAY A WORD 

-A ABOUT WHO 

YOU ARE 






I CAN T BELIEVE rf ! SOMEONE PORSOT 

TO SEASON MY CHICKEN ! THERE'S NO 

ROSEMARY, THYME , GARLIC 

NOTHING * 


S' 


3 


£ 


Vv**A 


£» 






' iv'-'V 


/ 


A I * * * 5 

m 


WAITER. SOMEONE FORGOT 
TO SEASON MY WIFE'S 
CHICKEN * 


|^>Pr ‘ 




■i. 


Jfr- 


v 







Focus 

ROMANCING THE STONE 


Diamonds may he forever; but training young, unemployed men to cut 
them is just as important. Geeta Sharma reports on a foundation that 

is doing just that 



Futuristic platinum earrings set with 142.45 carats of Baguette and trapeze 


I t is cold, colourless and callous 
and yet, anybody who is some- 
body possesses it. Myth and 
legend have dogged its exis- 
tence, be it I he Koh-i-noor or the 
Mountain of Light diamond of 
which legend has it that its owner 
shall rule the world, but no male 
must ever wear it 

It's true worth was recorded 
only around the sixth century in the 
Gupta IVriod, when a diamond was 
regarded as invaluable because* of its 
clanty and transparency, which 
were complimented by six sharp 
sides, eight Hat and similar sides, 
twelve straight and sharp edges ’ 
And since trie faceting and shaping 
of a diamond began to be taken seri- 
ously around the ISth century, the 
shaping and grading of diamonds 
acquired methodical proportions. 

Kaufilya's Arthast istra required 
the state goldsmith to possess thor- 
ough knowledge ot the species, 
characteristics, colour, weight and 
formation of a diamond. But m 
keeping with the tames, the dia- 
mond's journey in the Eighties and 
the Nineties, moved to aesthetics 
and the emphasis shifted from puri- 
ty. danty and luminescence to dar- 
ing and design 

A synthesis ot this clarity and 
design is being further perfected in 
today’s day and age in the idyllic 
surroundings ot the sleepy town oi 
Nawalgarh, about 150 km from 
Jaipur. 

Young heads are intently bent 
over then working tables, in a con- 
crete shed m the town, giving fine 
edges, through the eve of the nee- 
dle, to a near invisible teeny weeny 
stone piece stuck on the tip of a 
semi-automatic rod. On another 
table, another set of heads is busy 
polishing the cut and shaped stone. 
The din of the fast moving machines 
ls the only sound that is audible m 
the shed which houses a diamond 
training centre where educated 
unemployed youth are trained in 
the specialised art ot cutting, shap- 
ing and policing diamondLs. This 

26 


cut diamonds 

in turn provides them with a com- 
fortable livelihood. 

B ut what is a diamond cutting 
centre doing in the deserts of 
Rajasthan instead of in its usual 
haoitat of Surat or Ahmedabad in 
Gujarat? 

Diamond cutting centres are no 
longer new in Rajasthan, thanks to 
the enterprising Marwari spirit that 
has turned the state into an impor- 
tant gem and jewellery centre. But 
bringing such a centre to the semi- 
and terrain of Nawalgarh, in 
Jhunjunu district of Rajasthan is the 


result of the efforts of the M.R. 
Morarka-GDC Rural Research 
Foundation, that has initiated a 
number of development activities in 
the area. 

Set up barely three years ago, 
the diamond cutting centre has 
already carved out a niche for itself 
as a model training institute, where 
the almost two-years long training 
course in major centres in Gujarat 
and other states has been con- 
densed into a six-month intensive 
programme. " By the time our boys 
leave the centre, they have enough 
skills and experience to have a work 


output of Rs 100 a day, " says 
Mulcesh Gupta, chief executive of 
the foundation. The foundation, with 
this centre, hopes to make die north 
a major hub Jfor the training of peo- 
pje in the cutting and polishing of 
diamonds as against Gujarat and 
Bombay, which have traditionally 
been the focal point of all diamond 
activity in the country. 

The fact that prestigious gemolo 
gy institutes such as the Surat-based 
Indian Diamond Institute (IDI) and 
the diamond training centre in 
Jaipur are now asking die founda- 
tion training centre to help redesign 
their training courses speaks vol- 
umes about their time-saving inno- 
vations. It is also in the process of 
setting up a jewellery manufacturing 
training institute in Sitapur, in col- 
laboration with the Rajasthan 
Industrial Corporation 

Unlike the other training insti- 
tutes such as the Surat-based Indian 



mg (pre-shaping) cutting and polish- was the minimum qualification for 
ing and sorting and grading, the training at the cesntre, which has a 

apprentices begin work rightaway fee structure ranging from Rs 2,500 
on the semi-automatic Israeli to Rs 3 r Q00 for the six-month course* 


Diamond Institute (IDI), where the 
entrants are made to practice on 
small steel balls for about a year- 
and-a-half before getting lo work on 
real diamonds, the training at the 
PTC begins straightaway on dia- 
monds (not the expensive variety 
but an inferior quality imported 
from Australia and Africa). "There is 
a lot of difference in the hardness of 
steel and diamond, so it is not much 
point training on them for so long,” 
points out mTP Goswami, who is in 
charge of the training at the centre, 
liven though practicing on diamonds 
raises the training cost much more, it 
gives on-the-job experience and a 
definite edge in speed and dexterity. 

Also, unlike in other diamond 
cutting centres, where the traditional 
tools an* used initially before putting 
the novices on to the semi-automatic 
gadgets for the three stages of bruit- 


machines that have been installed at 
the centre. 

G oswami, himself a product of 
IDI, says the course has been 
devised to ensure that there is no 
compromising on quality and crafts- 
man skills in die training, even 
though it is of a short duration. "We 
first gauge whether the apprentices 
have a geometry -sensitive eye If not, 
we give them work-book lessons 
and exercises on angles and degrees 
till they developed a trained eye." 

He says, normally at other centres, 
apprentices who nave mastered the 
individual stages of pre-shaping 
cutting and polishing, are taken off 
to start work on those particular 
areas. But the DTC ensures that its 
apprentices complete the full course, 
before starting any kind of work. 
Earlier secondary level education 


Diamond cutting centre of Morarka Foundations: A model training institute 



( 80 per cent of it subsidised by the 
foundation.) " But going by the sue* 
cess rate ol the course and the self 
employment opportunities it opens 
up, graduates and even post-gradu- 
ates nave started coming for il," 
boasts Goswami. According to him, 
the institutQ,bas.a liw-up-wilh several 
gem-cutting centres in Surat, 
Ktehsana, Ahmedabad, Chit ton 
Udaipur and Jaipur, where the stu- 
dents are directly absorbed after 
completing the course. "Our capaci- 
ty as yet is to train only 150 to 200 
apprentices m a year, while the 
demand is for 500 to 600 already," he 
adds. 

Training from the institute has 
already helped more than 400 
employees get gainful employment. 
Among them, is Ashok Chaudliary, a 
deaf and dumb youth who has not 
only successfully completed the 
course in die prescribed time but is 
also now employed as an instructor 
at the centre. As part of its commit- 
ment to the Integrated Rural 
Development programme, the DTC 
provides free training and a scholar- 
ship of Rs 400 a month to youths 
living below the poverty line. " Our 
effort is to reach the most unprivi- 
leged of the underprivileged,'* says 
Gupta, the brain behind the centre's 
innovative approach. 

Successes and gains notwith- 
standing, with no signs of man's 
vanity vanishing, diamonds are here 
to stay as the gems of die future, as 
stones that will forever be coveted 
and cherished. And till that remains 
true of the demonic, devilish, death- 
ly stone, Che same may be true for 
the fledgling centre in the green con- 
fines of Nawalgarh. ■ 


27 




music 

TRAPPED IN THE NET 

Indus Creed is the first Indian band to have their own site on the 
Internet. Anita George reports 




1 




‘ 1 

* >>: 

I 

• i 


Indus Creed : Now going great guns on the Net 


ndus Creed, Mumbai's hard- 
rocking band, must be feeling 
flattered these days. And for rea- 
sons other than the attention 
they are getting from music chan- 
nels. 

Early this year, a fan attending a 
concert in Pune pinned them down 
backstage and asked them to go on 
Internet The band wasn't too sold 
on the idea. But the true devotee 
that he is, NiJay Soneji, a manage- 
ment student from Mumbai, went 
ahead and created The Indus Creed 
Home Page on the Net, designed, 
monitored and undated faithfully 
by Soneji. And tnat makes it yet 
another first for the band! 

"Zubin (BaHaporia) and f then 
wrote out the matter for the page/" 
28 


says Uday Benegal, lead vocalist for 
the band. Relaxing at home, dan- 
gling a long narrow plait and sever- 
al earrings, he browses through the 
page on his computer It opens with 
the declaration* 'This page is dedi- 
cated to Indus Creed, tne only inter- 
national hard rocking band to 
emerge out of India. 

An 1 there’s a news flash too: 

Sleep has been nominated the 
Indian Viewer's Choice for the MTV 
Video Music Award this year. So 
send in your votes, people!’ 

Then there's all you want to 
know about the group— biography, 
discography, videos, lyrics, chords 
and concert information. Uday 
opens the biography — it describes 
him, among other tilings, as an 


Internationa] cuisine buff. "Yes, I 
LOVE food. In fact, when 1 finished 
college I had no idea what to do, 
and studied catering for two years. 
And that's where I met my wife! 
Anyway, after two years 1 did a stint 
in a hotel, and decided it wasn’t for 
me.. So I went back to music," says 
Benegal. 

Tnat should explain the band's 
ultimate plans, which pop up on 
screen: to develop the perfect lemon 
meringue pie, and tour the planet 
with tneir music. "Zubin maintains 
the band's newsletter which is also 
here on the site. He replies to all let- 
ters himself. We try to keep our con- 
tact with fans personal, as long as it 
will be possible to do so/'says 
Benegal. 







The site has been visited by 119 

people since June, and there is a 
Guest Book where they can sign in, 
and leave a message. Then ‘ 


’re s a mes- 


( 'Really, you guys...’) and one rather 
mean one from an L. Saldanha. 
Senegal recalls a student in Texas 
who wanted some information on 
Indus Creed for his university news- 
paper and got it through the net. 

"It’s great fun, you can sit on it 
all day long! Which is why," he adds 
wryly, "1 make it a point to sit at the 
computer not to surf but to look for 
a specific piece of information!" 

A t the Net, Bcnegai meets all 
kinds of people, and they meet 
a band whom many have never 
heard of before. "One of the first 
questions people abroad ask is what 
kind of music we play, "he says. 
"That’s why our intro says we're a 
hard rocking band. There may be 
someone looking for Indus Valley, 
and under Indus he finds us! We 
found a band likewise called Nein 
0°ed m Germany [twin is rio' in 
German). 1 was looking up info on 
Led Zeppelin once, and I find this 
Indian guy, a Xerxes Bagalia m 
Buffalo. New York, maintaining a 
I ed Zep home page! So we met and 
got chatting through E-mail." 

For a rock band, the Net is a 
gold mine. Chords, sound dips, 
videos, everything is there for the 
taking. "Like I want the lvncs of 
Pearl Jam... you can't make out what 
those guys are singing So I take a 
printout of their lyrics from their 
web site! Mahesh (Tmaikar, lead 
guitarist) is putting together the 
chords of our songs for our page," 
says Benegal. 

Sound clips from their albums 
are also being prepared, but that 
project is on nold at the moment 



because of the costs involved, and 
the time it takes downloading. 

Benegal makes a quick visit to 
the site of one of his favourite 
bands. Tears for Fears. "Hello" he 
says, "what do you have here, r I*he 
Unofficial Curt Smith Shrine! Curt," 
he adds, "is the guy who left the 




!e pores through it briefly and 


/ % 

> s ^ 


moves on, past Job Opportunities on 
the Sony site and listings of strange 
names in the music scene; 
Mystidious Misfits, Korn, Groove 
Theory. "Another thing we are 
working on is an interactive CD 
ROM/' lie puts in, while taking a 
look at some band’s concert dates. 

'We’re looking for a sponsor for it 
right now. What we want to do is 
take it abroad when we go — we’re 
trying to get a recording deal in the 
US." Meanwhile, their home page 
v/ill continue to be looked after oy 
Nilay, who checks in for mail, 
updates information, sees who has 
signed in the guest book. "The good 
thing," says Nilay, "is that abroad, 
the pages of many bands are looked 
after by farts and there is no guar- 
antee that the information is true 
Here, I make it dear that all the 
material comes directly from Indus 
Creed. They give me access to what- 
ever I need. It's going great guns, 
better than I expected! ' 

Meanwhile, he's keeping his 
eyes peeled for other Indian bands 
whom he can lure into the web. 
After all, if Indus Creed is around, 
can the others be far behind? ■ 


29 




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M l; : 









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15 SEPTEMBER 1996 < 


The Telegraph 


Postmortem 



MadhariMonia 

• Kudcto jatin 
tCochhar for sizing tip 
celebs and their sex 
Appeal like the wav he 
cuts his designer clothe* 
CShooting His Mouth 
Off, July 21). 

Giving Madhuri Dixit 
1.5 on 10 is sacrilege. The 
queen of gyration is still 
at the top though Manisha 
Koirala may have come a 
dose second and is about 
to topple her. 

Madhuri's box-office 
success lies in her win- 
some smile and her 
supremely agile body. 
Thus despite a diminutive 
form she aits a ravishing 
figure on screen 
Combined with this her 
large brown eyes and the 
thick black mane that 
frames her face make her 
the most desired star on 
the Indian screen. 

It does not really mat- 
ter what she wears. 
Madhuri will remain the 
nation's hcartthrob, 
Dyutimmn Bhattacharya, 
Howrah 

® It was most disap- 
pointing to find Madhuri 
Dixit being so poorly 
rated by Kochnar. She is 
one of Bollywood's most 
successful stars and if 
clothes were really a 
deciding factor for star- 


dom, she would not have 
been there at the top. She 
looks gorgeous in whatev- 
er she wears. 

Saif Hussain, 

Calcutta 

SB Jatin Kochhar's com- 
ments on celebrity 
wardrobes enlivened my 
Sunday morning break- 
fast, 1 totally agree with 
his ratings but I was 
heartbroken that the 
design^ should rate 
Maahuri so poorly. 

The dhak, dhak girl of 
Bollywood, you had bet- 


ter watch out! 

Prabal Guka, 

Patna 

■ jatin Kodihar seemed 
more interested in peo- 
ple's figures than in their 
attires. His suggestion 
that Michael Jackson 
should get his body 
polka-dotted was in bad 
taste. 

Pram Barman, 

Calcutta 

IR If Jatin Kochhar's ideal 
dress code is nudity or 
near nudity, God help the 


5 fashion designer 
iKakaliDatta, 

Cl It is obvious jatin 
Kochhar isn't very sure of 
his own dress sense and 
so he prattles about his 
undergarments and in the 
end does not even rate 
himself. Of course the fig- 
ure would have been 
zero! 

Niianjana Bhattacharya, 
Calcutta 

Businessmen As 
Ambassadors 

M Ambassadors of 
Goodwill' (August 11) 
made interesting reacting. 
But you have omitted a 
couple of other names tike 
that of Mahesh Trivedi, 
consul for Indonesia in 
Calcutta, who is the CEO 
of Deruo Ispat. 

D.N. Hakemi, 

Ruhr* (WBJ 

Boarding 

School 

1 The Magazine cover 
stones have become emi- 
nently more readable. I 
am looking forward to a 
story on tree best boarding 
schools in the country. 

C. Kent, 

Calcutta 




PAGE 4 

THE FIERY Mayawati could be the next chief 
minister of Uttar Pradesh. A profile 

PAGE 26 

WHAT IS it like in post-prohibition 
Haryanana? 


Mayawati 


aatiHiivfl 

16 TIME TABU*. 

26 PCX HIS 
30 FIRST Pf-KSON 

Cover ■ Jrtender Gupta 


OVER STORY 


MAHA 


She’s fiesty. She's fiery. And Mayawati says she 
will be back as chief minister of UP. 

Geeta Sharma meets the firebrand politician 

FIERY, FIESTY, A FIREBRAND’ FORGET IT. MAYAWATI LOOKS 
nothing like her usual ebullient self, as she sits in her pink- 
hued room, head bent intently over a sheaf of papers. 
Recovering from a thyroid surgery, she looks pale and 
drawn, as she greets you in a barely audible voice. One 
hand is permanently holding her throat, which seems to 
pain her every ti ne she swallows a spoonful of the corn- 
flakes that comprise her breakfast. 

But as the conversation gets going, and inevitably turns 
to politics, animation sneaks back into her voice as she 
talks about her party's agenda. As in, fighting the manuwa- 
di (status quo) forces and ensuring justice to the shoshit 
(exploited) backward castes. 




Mayawati relaxing with her pat rabbit 


And as she holds forth on the strengths and weaknesses of the Bahujan Samaj Party 
(BSP), whose rise and fortunes matched hers in the political arena, her face suddenly 
comes alive. And you begin to understand why this woman appeared from nowhere to 
become the first Dalit woman chief minister of India's most populous state. And why she 
is today one of the most powerful symbols of the changing caste and gender equations in 
Indian politics. 

By now, Mayawati is in full flow, as she demolishes all her political rivals: from the 
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP/, Mulayam Singh Yadav, to all the manuwadi forces in society. 
It is dear that with the U.P. Assembly elections around the comer, Mayawati sees herself 
as the UttaT Pradesh chief minister in waiting, 

Before you can dellect her a wav from electoral politics, there is an interruption, in the 
shape ol the lungi-dad (and bate-chested) Kanshi Ram, BSP supremo, and Mayawati's 





Kanshi FLamrMayawatTs mentor and guide 


guide and mentor 

Introductions follow, and Kanshi 
Ram is affability itself. "Do a good 
write-up,” ho advises you, before 
moving on to the next 
room— personal assistant in tow- 
for a shave. 

This little interlude and the fact 
that both she and Kanshi Ram live 
under the same roof in a Humayun 
Road flat in Delhi, prompts one to 
repeat the much-asked- about 
question about their relationship 
Mayawati takes this in her stride. 
Calmly, she replies: "Ours is a 
purely 'Guru-Shishyu relationship. 
You can yourself gauge that from 
what he just told you, she says. 

'Manyowar , as she and alt others 



address Kanshi Ram, is, Mayawati 
adds, "one of the two most powerful 
influences in my life. the otner being 
Babasahib Bhimrao Ambcdkar." She 
goes on. "It wa'* Manyawar who 
brought me into politics and made 
me what 1 am today ” 

Second of her lather's nine 
child ren, Mayawati was two years 
old when her lather Prabhu DavaL, 
now 71, brought the family to lielhi 
from then village, Dalapur, in the 
Chaziabad district of U.P The 
turning point in the young girl's life 
was her frW reading of Ambedkar's 
ideology. Thi$j coupled with some 
instances of discrimination towards 
the Dalits that she witnessed as a 
child, prompted her to work for the 
shush tt samui (exploited classes) 

As a teenager, living in the JJ 
I Ju$$ht-jJwnpri, to give its full name) 
clusters of a down-market locality of 
Delhi, tar removed from the 1 
Capital's nosh areas, Mayawati also 
realised tnat it was necessary to 
become someone to be able to do 
something That it was necessary to 
gamer educational skills to 
transcend the social obstacles the 
Dalits faced. 

A keen student, she went on 
after her higher secondary exams to 
get a B.A, an M.A, a B.Ed and a Law 
degree from Delhi University, before 
taking up a teaching job as sne 
prepared for the civil services 
examination 

} Ier interest in debating brought 
her on the same platform in social 
forums with such political 
heavyweights as Atal Behari 
Vajpayee. It was at one of these 
meetings — a jati Todo meeting wav 
back in Delhi, in 1977, that her 
mentor-to-be, Kanshi Ram the then 
leader oi the Dalit Socialist 
Sangharsh Samiti, a precursor to the 
present day BSP, heard her and 
immediately sensed her inherent 
leadership qualities. 

Me ca lied on her at her home 
one day and asked hei what she 
planned to do m life. When 
Mayawati said she was preparing 
for the IAS he asked her, "Arc* you 
ready for a career in which these 
same IAS follows will do as you 
bid?" 

Yes, she replied, and the very 
next day joined Kanshi Ram and his 
outfit, which later came to he 
known as the BSP. Bui all this while, 
she did not give up her job a*, a 
school teacher. She did so only m 
July 1984 when she finally devoted 
herself fully to politics to take the 
BSP to dizzy heights, with the able 
help of M/wi/awar. 

Carrying forward her resolve to 



Vajpayoe:Brilliant orator 



Kanshi Ram with Mulayam Singh Yadav:Trying to work things out 





Mayawati with members of her Cabinet 



bo something and tnerebv to serve 
the tho^ul s Limn • Mayawati 
contested the LoK Saliha elections 
several times, but w.is successful 
only in 1989 from the Bijiion scat 

H owever it was her ascendancy 
to the chief ministership of 
Uttar Pradesh as Kanshi Ram's heir 
apparent after the party's marriage 
oi convenience with the BjP in fune 
last vear, that crowned her political 
achievements As the first ever 
woman Dabt chief minister of India, 
she became a text-book example of 
the changing face ot the Indian 
politician. 

Commentators immediately 
drew contrasts between Mayawati 
and other upper class and caste 
women who had attained high 
office m the past. Since none ot the 
two prerequisites of national 
political orifice for South Asian 
women — violent death of a 
father / husband or a well-known 
family name— were valid in 
Mayawati's case, analysis 
conveniently attributed her rise to 
the chief ministership, in large 
measure, to her association with 
Kanshi Ram. 

But Mayawati points out, her 
proximity to the Bsr supremo need 
not have been viewed as an 
advantage exclusive to her, given the 
fact that having a mentor, male or 
female, was crucial to most aspiring 
politicians. 

Taunts and jibes aside, once in 
the saddle (for a brief tenure of foyr- 
and-a halt months) she surprised her 


7 






Mayawati: Strong and forceful 



Dr B.R. Ambedkar 


supporters and detractors alike by 
going all out to put her own stamp 
on tne state administration. 
''Everyone, including the BJP, 
thought that since 1 had never been 
even a chota rmito'mimster 1 would 
be a convimient puppet whik* they 
ran the show," says Mayawati, a 
mischievous smile playing on her 
face. "But Mxin, they found out I 
meant business ana started calling 
me the taez tarrak mukhya mantriT 
With her reformist broom in 
hand, she set out to wipe the state 



Mahatma Gandhi 


clean of arajakta, goondagardt and 
mafiagardf (lawlessness, and the rule 
of hoodlums), which according to her 
was a legacy of the Mulayam Singh 
Yadav regime. So within a short 
span of tnree months, as many as 
1,45,000 anti-social elements were 
arrested and put behind bars while 
the rest fled across the Nepal border. 

Errant officials in the 14 
rommissionaries of the state were 
punished with sackings and 
transfers if Mayawati thought that 
they had neglected development 


works. "1 always made it a point to 
punish the topmost officials. Because 
even in a family, if the children go 
wayward, it is not they but the 
elders who are responsible for it," 
she explains. 

Her ' karak ' avatar earned her the 
reputation of being an arrogant and 
hard taskmaster. But U. P.’s Mrs 
Thatcher was and is unfazed because 
she feels that the people of the state 
appreciated every action of hers and 
want 'Mayawati behenji s’ rule all 
over again. As she says/’I had to rule 
the way 1 did because 1 was a 
woman Dalit chief minister, and also 
because it was the only way to 
defeat the manutvadt uyavastha 

Nor is Mayawati in the least 
apologetic about her provocative 
rhetoric, which may make the 
middle classes flinch, but helps her 
reach her own constituency. 

Consider her statements about 
Mahatma Gandhi, for instance, by 
which she still stands by. 1 believe 
and have said that for us Gandhi*s 
philosophy was not as relevant as 
Ambedkar's. So, what is wrong with 
that?" she asks, defiantly. 

According to Mayawati, the 
manuwadi press distorted her 
comments to rake up a controversy. 

"1 felt that Gandhi, instead of trying 




to make the sarnaj had tried to fcreak 
it by calling us Harijans, and had 
even gone against the Constitution," 
she explains. "Because if we arc 
Harijans (children of God) are the 
rest Shaitan ki aulad (devil’s 
children)? How am I bothered whose 
children Gandhi and Nehru are? We 
are not concerned with their 
backgrounds Our fight is on the 
basis of ideology " 

W ith the Assembly elections m 
U.P. on the anvil, Mayawati, 
like any other political leader, is 
convinced that all the people ol the 
slate and not just the Dalits are 
looking forward to her return to 
power A rally called by the BSP at 
an eight-day notice was attended by, 
she claims, more than five lakh 
people on July 30 in Lucknow —yet 
another indicator of her popularity 
in the slate 

With child- like relish she recites 
for you, the slogans that she says the 
people have already coined for her 
* Art/* ki jnukhya nuwtri kutfii ho' 1 
Mayawati Iw (Who should your 
chief minister be like? Like 
Mavdwati); Aay k\ majhoori hai. 



Mayawati zaroon hai ( You have no 
choice but Mayawati)," etc., etc. 

In fact, Mayawati has the 
arithmetic of her supposed victory 
all worked out. The alliance worked 
out with the Congress — after 
disastrous liaisons with Mulayam 
Singh's Samajwadi Party and the 
Bharatiya |anat a Party— is meant to 
ensure that they cut into the high- 
caste vote banks of the BJP, 
designated as enemy number one. 
With lessons from the past fresh in 
her mind, she says that the party has 
allocated only 125 of the 42$ seats to 
its alliance partner, "because we are 
confident of winning enough seats to 
make a government on our own." 

So. what is the need for an 
alliance at all? 

Mayawati has her explanation 
ready ^'Because we do not want the 
Congress to become weak for that 
would mean a strong BJP" 

1 he BSP national general 
secretary, even has the exact 
measures of her recipe for the power 
votes worked out well in advance of 
the coining Assembly polls 
"Mulayam Singh, with all the 
support he got from his leftist and 



9 



Mayawati: Long journey ahead 


rightist alliance partners, managed 
to poll 21 per cent of the votes in the 
Lok Sabh.i elections, while the BSP 
got the same percentage on its own 
But in the Vidhan Sabha elections, 
we are sure ot increasing it to 41 per 
cent/' she says 

According to her, this will come 
about by cutting into Mulayam 
Singh s Muslim votes, the BJP's 
upper caste votes and improving the 
BSP's own backward caste margins. 

But how ia Mayawati so sure that 
she can pull this oft? "Because these 
are the Assembly elections and the 
people ot Uttar Pradesh want their 
girl to become the mukhya mantn," 
she says, without missing a beat "I 
have many unfinished tasks that I 
have lo complete, mainly to wipe 
out the remnants of the Jungle Raj ot 
the previous regime " 



A ppearances notwithstanding, 
there is a soft, feminine side to 
Mayawati that is hidden from the 
outside world. But not for her the 
cooking, housekeeping, 'grahini'- 
variety passion Gardening is what is 
closest to her heart. "1 have never 
had the time to cook Luckily the 
Samaj has given me enough to afford 
help who cooks tor me," she says. 

Pride writ large on her face, she 
takes you on a guided tour of her 
garden "I have designed and 
planned it with help from the 
gardener," she admits, but it is clear 
that this is a place that the owner 
takes special interest in 

Young Ashoka trees stand in 
disciplined rows along the periphery 
of the lush green lawn, leavened 
with a whole range of seasonal 
flowers In one comer of the lawn, 
stands a swing for hci nieces, and in 
the other, her prized possession, a 
bird house that has about half a 
dozen parrots. "Whenever 1 get too 
tired of being among people, 1 come 
to them for lospite," she says 

Why doesn t she seek refuge in 
the bosom of her tamily? "Simply 
because 1 am not the type to get 
bogged down by family ties," she 
explains, fiver since she plunged into 
politics, Mayawati has had little time 
for her family an aged lather, six 
brothers, who are m government 
service, and two sisters, one of them 
living with her 

But the fact that she could not 
even attend the marriages oi her two 
brothers or seldom be with the 
family for festivals and get- 
togemers, has not alienated her from 
her flock Mem rishtc mite aur trej 
tyohnr mem vishuui* nahw kartt. Kruml 
karma par kart! boon (1 don't believe in 
familial ties and festivals and fairs I 
believe only in karma)” is her 
philosophy And yet, she adds, "they 
all look to me for guidance, even iny 
father listens to me " 

For her part, she says, her father, 
Prabhu Dayal, has been a strong 
support and never nagged her about 
getting married and settling down. " 
He knows I have devoted m3' life to 
the skoshit samaj and have no plans 
to marry and he has left it at Inal," 
she explains, looking a little relieved. 

But then, which father would 
dare risk the wrath of a daughter 
like Mayawati. When even such 
stalwarts as Mulayam Singh Yadav 
treat you with grudging respect, 
your family has per force to follow 
suit 

After all, which able-bodied male 
would like to tangle with Mayawati 
in politics — both domestic and 
electoral. Or even, relish bumping 
into her in a dark alley ■ 


Extract 


The Birth of a 

DREAM 


B ibhuh Bhusan Banncqi who wrote 
about all kinds of moods, at least a 
tew ot which were outstanding, had 
led a life of hardship, ending up as a 
school teacher after doing odd jobs 
in various parts ot the countrv 
brahmin by birth, his father had 
heen a priest like Apu s m Pathcr 
Pamhali He had married early, but 
h.id lost his wife within a yeai 
Heartbroken, he had remained a 
widower tor twenty-two years 
before marrying a second time 
It was his widow, Mrs Rama 
Baimerji, whom I approached for the 
film rights to Putin** riimhalt Mrs 
li.mnrrji turned out to be a great 


admirer not onlv ot the illustrations 
1 had done for the short version ot 
Pathrt Pam huh, but also oi the writ 
mgs ot my lather and grandtathei 
She reieived us most graciously and 
assured me there would he iu» prob- 
lems about my getting the film 
lights, when we had money to 
launch our production Mis 
Hannerp's brolner. Chandidas 
Chatterji, asked me to keep him 
informed of developments. The 
done, 1 at last started looking for a 
sponsor 

The fir ,1 person l approached 
was Mr B N Sircar, a sort el Bengali 
Louis B Mayer, a true producer in 


The famous kaash field scene from Pather Panchali 


An ext met 
from 
Satyajit 
Rays 

memoir of 
how In ■ math' 
the Apu trilogy 


Extracted Jratn 

M\ Y iwrs with Afnt. 
Menu nr 

by 

Satyajit Ray 
Published by 
Penguin Itoohs 
India (P) Ltd 
PrUe Rs 125 





who was helping him with the cater- 
ing business, knew a young produc- 
ei who had just launened a new film 
and who might be persuaded to 
back me 

1 met Ami Choudhury who 
turned out to bo about tKe same age 
as me and who seemed to have his 
wits about him. Choudhury took me 
to see his friend, the producer, who 
was staying in a somewhat seedy 
hotel m the heart of central Calcutta 

Choudhury was visibly excited 
by the script, although Das, the pro- 
ducer, proved noncommittal But as 
Das told Choudhury later, he was 
willing to put up the money if a film 
produced ty him (which had |ust 
own released ) proved lucrative. As it 
turned out, it didn't In tact it was a 
resounding Hop and Das expressed 
his inability to nut up the money for 
my film ChoudLurv. however, 
stayed on to strengthen the small 
band that still stood behind rue 
patiently 

The e.irh setbacks, notwithsland- 


Apu (Subir Bannerji) in a pensive mood 

the Hollywood -»euse He owned a 
studio and a lab New Theatrics, and 
had on his payroll most of the lead- j 
mg actors and directors of Bengali 
cinema Mr Sircar's halcyon days 
were past, but he was still a man to 
be reckoned with I went to see him 
in his office with mv sketchbook A 
perfect gentlemen, Mr Sircar 
received me coidially, gave full 
attention to what T had to say, then 
he said he was extremely sorry, but 
he had just launched a big produc- 
tion and wasn't in a position to help 
me m anv way Then he clapped my 
shoulder v alfeitmnatcly and asked 
me to come back alter six 
months - the next time, of course, he 
would trv to help me 

Next I approached another sol- 
vent producer — one Mr 
Bhattarharva ot kalpana Movies He 
heard my recital, glanced at mv 
sketches and said ne was interested 
Would I give him 10 days to make 
up his mind? 1 thought 1 saw a silver 
lining and left with a promise to call 
back within 10 days Three days 
later Bibhuti Bhusan's brother in- 
law 7 Chandidas Chatterji got in 
touch with rue He said he was fac- 
ing a dilemma. One Mr 
Bnattacharya of Kalapana Movies 
had been to see Mrs Bannerji to 
negotiate for the film rights of Father 
Panrhah to be directed by the veter- 
an director Debaki Bose What did 
Mrs Bannerji tell him?" I asked anx- 
iously '‘She said she had made up 
her mind that Satyajit Ray would 
direct the film and she was not pre- 


| ing, my fund of optimism was inex- 
haustible While waiting for a 

j pared to consider any alternatives " ha* ker, ! gave mv mind to the busi- 

j So Bhattacharya had to he discard- ness of casting The roles need 

I od This second disappointment was non-professional artistes, but 1 know 
followed by a third one when a dia- some roles demanded a certain pro- 
betic producer came to my house to fessional ability roles such as the 
listen to my treatment and interrupt- parents' and old auntie's Buycic 
ed my recital three times to visit Ine Thai had only one professional in it. 
toilet He liked the treatment but the actress who played the southsav- 

lacked the sense to sponsor some- er For the mo the t, Saibajaya, I had 

thing that was so drastically offbeat in mind the wife of a friend of mine, 

I had begun to feel uncertain who had done some w'ork on the 

after these experiences, when one stage. She was not a rural type at all 

day. Ashish Burman, the writer- being a graduate with a sophistical- 

caterer frend of mine told rne that ed urban background However, I 
someone called Anil Choudhury, felt she was physically right tor the 

Durga (Uma Dasgupta): Spontaneous performance 





part and given the right clothes to 
wear, the right sort of business to 
perform and the right lines to speak, 
she would bo all right For the father, 
we had a professional stage and film 
actor, Kami Bannerji, who, I thought, 
would be just right tor the part I 
started next by looking around for 
the children— -a boy ot about six and 
a girl ol twelve or so There are no 
coaching schools tor movies m India, 
where you can find albums of pho- 
tographs to make vour choice from 
There are two obvious ways to look 
for children. One is to look in 
schools, and the other is to put an ad 
in the paper The tirsl proved 
abortive in the case ot Apu We put 
an advertisement asking the parents 
to bring their six to seven year olu 
sons to a particular address at a pur- 
ticulai time The boy had to be tan, 
good looking, with a natural flair lor 
acting Thru* w as no suitable place 
tor an interview in our somewhat 
small flat and a large room was 
icon lied through tru help ot a stu- 
dent. a hoy. who shared mv love fer 
iilrns and western musit 

1 here was a huge ivsnonst to our 
ad, but most ot them, including a 
girl who had come straight from the 
barber w ith hei hair tut slioit a-'d 
pow der at the base ot hei neck, had 
to be rejected at sight I felt a teeling 
of depression slowly creeping over 
ni<’ for the first time 'I hen my vvite 
found Apu in the playground ot the 
Mat adjacent to ours Tne boy w.Vs 
playing with his eldei brother and 
friends when he was spied by my 
wife Yes, she was right, physically 
he certainly had all the attributes 
Subir Bannerji was the name ot 
the boy Old n't he go to school? Yes 
1 tad hi* done any acting or renting 
on stage? No How aid he react to 
the idea of appearing in a film m a 
principal role? He didn't seem to 
have any opinion ol his own hut 
said it his parents told him to he 
would agree lo it ‘Til do what my 
mother tells me " 

The finding of Durga proved just 
as tough until one day A slush 
Burman brought hope 1 te had been 
to a girls' school where he knew one 
ot the teachers and had spotted a 
girl, who, he thought, could be per- 
fect for Durga. 

Burman was right. We made 
enquiries and it turned out that the 
girl's father was an ex-footballer. He 
nad heard of my reputation as a 
book designer and desired to see me 
at his house on a Sunday morning. I 
turned up, chatted with the parents, 
had a cup of tea and selected then 
youngest daughter Lima Dasgupta 
on the spot to play Durga, when and 



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it tlv him w is mj.iy l h 111 taken my 
I enj w’tii ■ 1 if * .mil Imi 4 her lip to the 
nml h i Kil r .unit- pi\ tores Since she 
seemed In hr a bit demure, and 
I >urga w,ii a tombo\, I asked Iut to 
m.ikr r.i« i.-s for the camera She 1 obhg- 
i n me with a tot.il lack of inhibition 
With Apu and Durga in the can, J 
icR I would take a little* time over 
* 'id A untie It I tound a sponsor, I 
*_nuld well do some shooting with 
the children There were lots of 
scones with | ust the two of them 
VVi ^|d budgeted the film at Rs 
7(1,0(10. but oven the low amount 
seemed ambitious tn nin-ot- the- mill 
Oiodueers * Smu* you are not using 
any stars, ary songs, any fights, can't 
you gel it \hghtiv lower 0 " 

After a point, 1 had what seemed 


a trntas'n idea We would shoot the 
film m Jo mm and then blow it up to 
3 r i mm for tlirdtriL.il release. 1 he tost 
would dt hmtelv be reduced b\ hall 
V\hv iw»i i» l Vl it a trial 7 

With mounting excitement, we 
borrowed a holes hum a friend, 
bought some negative stock and 
went to ,i village to take -.ome test 
shots 1 was a* tompdim J by young 
Subnf.i \liha who had studied 
< laud* 1 Ri-noir'-* method-*, who I 

would photograph nw him 
When I put the suggestion to him he 
hemmed and hawed Nonsense,” I 
admonished if \ou know slil! pho- 
togi.iplu, an*1 you do, 0 looting a 
movii n :i location is only a step 
away Viu measure voui light with a 
expos*. vour l»*n • .ind your 
apertuie and shoot The mysteries of 
camera wort the professional < am 


I eraman talks about are all balder- 
dash 1 " 

The village we chose was 
j Gopalnagar, where Banerjec used to 
teach It .served as a setting tor the 
mood, he had renamed the village 
Nischindipur in the book It was 
nud-monsoon, we had to make our 
way through knee-deep mud, wash 
our legs in a pond and then proceed 
with the photography 1 operated the 
camera mvselt, deliberately shooting 
in weak light in bamboo groves, in a 
courtyard when it was raining We 
also shot details — lotus leaves stir- 
ring in a breeze, the surta/e of a 
pond where raindrops tell, swaying 
plantain leaves in the wood and so 
on 

The processed footage looked 


excellent m 1 h mm L very thing had 
come out exactly a> I had imagined 
The next step was the blowup nt the* 
footage for which there was no facili- 
ty in Calcutta The* footagi had to be' 
sent to a lab m Bombav When it 
came hack we found that the thing 
had'nt woiked at all What was shot 
«il a speed of 24 frames nei second, 
now seemed more like 30, with (lie 
result i'.al the speed became distort- 
ed We questioned I he lab and they 
said that was the best they could do 
We were now back to square one 
Meanwhile, Anil Chnudhurv had 
contacted «i few new producers and 
drawn a blank It betaine more dear 
to me that unless we could prove 
oui bona tides by producing some 
actual footage, the credibility gap 
would widen After all, none of us 
had any experience Why did we 


expect that the producers would 
share our confidence without first 
convincing themselves that we had 
the knowhow? What was needed 
was actual film footage featuring the 
two children. 1 now* realised that I 
had a personal source of funds, my 
insurance policy. I enquired and 
learnt that I could get Rs 7,000 
against the policy. With that we 
could buy raw stock and hire a cam- 
era I also approached some of my 
friends and relatives, those more 
affluent than us and asked each for a 
loan of a thousand rupees They 
were, of course, told that they would 
be paid back as soon as we had a 
sponsor Everyone we approached 
had faith in us and was convinced 
that this could be made to work. In 
all, we collected Rs 17.000 One roll 
ot Kodak black-and-white negative 
then cost about Rs 1,200 so we could 
definitely shool for a week before 
our funds ran out. 1 deci ded to start 
w'llb the usual highlight ot the film 
calling toi no dialogues, as w r e 
iooUln'1 attord a sound recordist 
The scene we chose was of the fw'o 
children's hi -.t sight ot the railway 
train 1 had coiueived the scene tak 
mg pla-v in a large field of white 
i Iut f V ^iiiis f i flowers to contrast w r ith 
the bJjek smoke ot the train ktuish 
w.i s a i lower which bloomed in 
autumn and had a lite of about a 
couple nt months We enquired and 
learnt that there w.s a train h5 miles 
from Calcutta whose railway line ran 
alongside a large expanse of ktutsh It 
would he the perleet setting for us 

We had the money to pa\ the 
two children Durga, I had little 
doubt, would perform well, bu'« 1 
was not -io suie .ibout the boy 
Howevei, I was prepared to make 
the etlorl to get the exact results 
tronr hi nr 

f or (.hr camera vve approached a 
private photographic studio that had 
a 3 b mm imported Wall movie cam- 
era as against the more orthodox 
Mitchell which the film studios 
employed We obtained the Wall at a 
mm i mum rate, the studio photogra- 
pher being a friend called Asit Sen, 
who later became a film maker him- 
self. He also happened to be a mem- 
ber ot our film society 

I hadn't leached ihe point yet 
when I would discuss the matter 
with my manager at Keymer's 
(Broom had left and had been 
replaced by Kenneth Day). We 
decided we would work on a 
sunday, oi, if it came to that, on two 
ir three successive Sundays. 

On Sunday October 27, 1952, 
which happened to be my wife's 
birthday, we set out for our location 



Satyajit Ray along with photographs of Pather Panchah 




Durga (Uma Dasgupta) discovers the body of Indir Thakrun (Chunibala Devi) 


with the camera crew and the two 
children, Uma Dasgupta and Subir 
Banneiji We arrived around midday 
and after a quick lunch got down to 
the job ot shooting As tne sun 
climbs, Apu and Durga have a quar- 
rel Durga sticks out hoi tongue at 
hei brotnei and runs away, Apu pur- 
suing, anxious to make it up with 
Did i (elder sister) They arrive at the 
field of kaash flowers, and are 
stopped short by the inspiring sight 
ot a telegraph pole I Hirga applies 
her ears to it and hears a myslenous 
hum Apu does likewise Durga slips 
away and settles down to chew at a 
stub o? sugarcane which she has 
wrenched off on the way Apu n ach- 
es Didi, ju-w prepared to make his 
peace At this noun she is the hist to 
ncMi the rumbling sound ot an 
approaching nulwav train Yin v are 
thrilled hv then hist encounter with 
the mighl\ metal monster whose 
,-iOund they hcai evetv evening hom 
their cottage 

On this hist Jay. what I had 
planned to shoot was the business at 
the telegraph pole Apu losing sight 
ot Durga amidst the dense tall flow- 
ers and 'hen finding hoi again 
Wo dicin' 1 have a propel ciew 
apart from Phiiisi who helped m 
•every department Anil Cnoudhury 
who was Production Controller (he 
remains so to this day) and Ashish 
Burman were my sole appointed 
crew along with Subrata Mih a, the 
cameraman- — with the camera came 
Asit Son, more to provide moral sup- 
port than anything else 

The first set-up had Apu walking 
thiough the field ot ktwi. calling out 
to his sister whom he had lost sight 
ot temporarily Bansi had reminded 
me that 1 had to shout action' and 
cut 7 when they were called tor 
Subrata Mitrn applied his eye to 
the viewfinder ol the Wall, 
Choudhury held up the clapstick — 
yes, we had prepared a temporary 
one — Apu took his position in front 
of the camera, the camera rolled and 
I shouted 'action' 

What this produced was a stiff 
zombie-like walk from Apu winch 


had no relationship with the kind of 
walk called for I had told him that 
he was Lo walk, stop, turn his head 
this wav and that, start looking tor 
his sister and then walk again This 
had had no effect on the walk that 
now took place to greet mv eyes and 
which the camera photographed 
using expensive raw' stock 'Say 
cut' it you are not happy," urged 
Bansi 1 did so wnlh considerable 
force 

1 Iwid learnt a lesson All my 
preparations over the years the tran- 
scribing L»v hand ot notes on cutting 
takes while watching a film, the 
arduous reading ot Pudovkin, 
Feenslem, Rolher, Spottiswood, mv 
open disdain for the home-grown 
product, all these have finally pro- 
duced was this one shot of which it 
was difficult lo imagine anything 
more lifeless and futile 1 must say, 
though, that it didn't take me long to 
decide that the* thing could be recti- 
fied 1 had simply had no idea that it 
was so difficult to make a single 
action like a bov's walk appear con- 
vincing to the eve What 1 now did 
was to provide met haim al aids lo 
the hoy 1 planted Anil, Bansi and 
Ashish benim 1 v lumps of kaaah in 
various positions ot varying dis- 
tances from each other They were 
asked to t all out Subir' at certain 
intervals and Subir was lo react to 
each call by turning his head in the 
direction it came front, though never 
stopping his walk T hen I pu* twig." 
on the path at irrcgeLii intervals for 
him to step across 

A second take was arranged The 
three assistants called out as instruct- 
ed, Subii icactcd evervtime by turn- 
ing Ins head -this would appear on 
the screen as if he was looking for 
Durga- while he walked irresolutely 
forward stepping on the twigs It 
was ported and 1 could shout 
'kureka' for the discovery ! had 
made about handling a child who 
•was emjpharicall) not a born actoi 
Throughout the shooting of Pathct 
Vatic! mil I had to use devices like this 
to get the right expression 
Fortunately, Subir looked exactly 


right for the part, otherwise it would 
have been a disaster 

We shot about a third of what 1 
had envisged and the scene came 
out first class We had enough funds 
and film stock lo shoot over the next 
Iwo Sundays 

Meanwhile, the negative was 
developed and prinlect We saw the 
rushes in a lab in the southern 
extremity of Calcutta Wr found the 
footage auite satisfactory Since we 
had no snooting till Sunday, 1 was 
anxious to cut it in the meantime 
Bansi had introduced an editor In 
nie called Dulal Dutt. whose experi- 
ence consisted of editing one feature 
film, but who had worked an ama- 
teur on a number of films (Du ft is 
now one ol the leading editors) We 
hired an editing machine, called 
movieola, as it is called, and sat 
alone joining the shots in sequence 

There, another lesson awaited me 
and shook me to the core The shots 
wouldn't cut 7 In other vvoids. they 
were taken in the wav I had directed 
but joining didn't make them flow 
dually our film showed that mere 
cutting is not applicable in all cir- 
cumstances f now realise that a 
grammarian could write a whole 
chapter on these problem*- of filming 
one character following another and 
their maintaining equal interest m 
both at all tunes and making the 
journey cinematic.illv interesting 

I hoped to make up for the lack 
next Sunday when we would go 
back to our locution and carry on 
with the seem What happened oil 
this day, 1 described in an article I 
wrote for S/y/;/ iS S omul Here is the 
relevant extract 

. on the following Sunday v-. e 
weie back .it the same location But 
was it the same location 7 It was hard 
to believe it What was on tin - previ- 
ous occasion \ sea ol fluffy white- 
ness was now a men- expanse ot 
uninspring brownish graj s We 
knew kau^li wu.. a .seasonal llowei 
but surely they vvete not that sluul- 
lived a local peasant provided the 
explanation t he flowers lie said, 
were food I'm the cattle Hie tows 
and buffaloes had come to gr.i/e the 
day before and had literally shewed 
up the scenery 

This was a mu|or setback and tor 
the first time l found what 1 consid- 
ered a compromise I even had the- 
suicidal notion of chopping the 
kaush flowers Tln^chikimn would 
see the train hv a field of paddv If 
was neai harvest time and I must 
have been out of my mind I did take 
such a shot with Apu and Durga 
looking on as a train petsed in tin 1 
distance ■ 


Time table 


All arrival and departure times are for Calcutta 

Payo of operation uolng 7-day coda: <D MONDAY ® TUESDAY ® WEDNESDAY ® THURSDAY ® FRIDAY • SATURDAY ® SUNDAY 
(As these pager go to press one wetk in adv-tiu o reador*. shouM :,f.i t ► ‘vith icspectiw -urlsiwv and railways foi last minute change in timings) 




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Departures 

Fit No. Time Days 


Arrivals 

Fit No. Time Days 


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MOSCOW 





V ->K 

>.U. 4 

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PARO , 

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Al Air India • B/T British Airways • BG Biman Bangladesh Airlines • Bl Royal Brunei Airlines • D2 Skyline NEPC • D5 NEPC Airlines • 1C 
Indian Airlines • KB Druk-Air • KL Roy'.l Dutch Amines • LZ Balkan Airlines • M9 ModiLuft • PF Vayudoot • RA Royal Nepal Airlines 
• RJ Royal Jordanian Airlines • RO Ta.om Air Transport • SQ Singapore Airlmos • SU Aeroflot • TG Thai Airways International • 9W 
Jet Airways e Q7 Qatar Airways 


Departure 
Up Time 


i J . «* 
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iC A' 

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Tima 

j 1 11 

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3143 

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b657 

A ft 

3133 

22-Ob 

:>6bi 

20 00 

31 bl 

11 20 

.im 

20-5S 

3101 

lfi2b 

511 -j 

V/ 40 


TRAINS 


EASTERN RAILWAY 

Howrah 

Delhi -Kalla Mall 
Amritsar Mall 
Bombay Mall .. 

Poorva (Near Delhi) Express , . » * ■- i 

Poorva (New Delhi) Exprnss 
Rajdharn Express . 

• 

Rajdhanl Express 

■ " r "■/. . in m ’/;■•: \ 1 .. 

Jodhpur Express 

ShateDdl (BoKaro Steel City; Express 

i | i » ■ 1 . i ■ !.i. 

Hlmglrl (Jammu-Tawl) Expires •• .V- 

• | f lll -I 1 |! 1 I I'. I Vv .' 

Guaahati Express 

i »i ■; * ’.vV 'i in ► 11 ■ i ' . 

Gorakhpur Express 

i . j % ■ ‘i, , i 

Purbancha! (Gorakhpur) Express 

'iH ■. Air '< 1 ,!. vV. ■ J \ '» 

Doon Expiees ■ ■‘.•.u* 1 . ! . i : 

Udyan Abhe Tootan Express M*" 

Amritsar Express 

Kadwodun Express 

MttTla (ItoauT) Express 

Kami up (Guwanatl) Express 

Black Diamond Ejqpvess 

Coalfield Express 

Asansol Express 

Danapur Express 

Jamalpur Express 

Sartnltahn Express 

Chambal (Gwalior) Express 

L>i- Mm tin 'i l : 1 r A' f, ''i ' M'i' 

Shlpra (Indore) Express 

[ic;> Wi*ri ‘..it iii Vi- *V "L'ii Wh 5 v 

ShaMIpuii (Ctupan) Express 

Chambal (Agra Cart.) Express 

(Vr hi« My Vi 

Sealdah 

Taaate-Torea Express 
Datellng Mall 
DaWI Bmmm vm Vu.n Line 
Kanchteipnga 'lundinqi E'pn'v, 

Gout Bans 

Uttar Ep rasa 

Jammu-Tawl Bipress 

Mughsl Sarel Exprau «m jug i oup 

Btaglnlhl (Latapta) Express 

Ganga Sagar (Gorakhpur) Bipress 

Dep i Am lues mur*. & S-i' 


Arrival 

Tims Dn 


Departure SOUTH-EASTERN RAILWAY Arrival 
Up Tims Howrah Tima Dn 

> i . :i. Madras Mall ” *•' hOt'4 

S Mall i.« r.-np'.' h .'ii 8Di.i 

(Bombay) Expires < . .*• /hvi 

(Rouriela) Express . 1 m- 

. Al' IMI* j fii .r. lay 

Ahmedabad Express i:» mHi 

0,1 ?' k - Kurla Express m N.i.ji.u- ih /s' hii. , v 

.V. , I:" Coromandal (Madras) Boras v.< mjh,j k i, <i‘ <]h.i. 

1 1 1 Fuiafcnuma (Sacun&rabad) Express ri 4i. /iMrf 

' «T ' ■« !'■■■• * ■' 

Afr Mi.. \ 

• .i' . ' >■ Bangalore Express t,*\* 

!■*■! vi u 
A'! '.l.l 

■ l v 1 Tala Steel Express !?■■'* Hw\a 

k -t!< •, Ispat (Jhareuguda) Express 7 b Hit/ 

“. ri i Toagarii Express *i ni: ;Uhjc. 

■i! ' '< Hancnl Halla Express '■ m 

• i ' 1 " Puri Bqpras . i k '■ h'ici» 

1 • " Jaganrath (Puri) Express h wi’i- 

Dhaull (Bhubaneswar) Express ." ia VU\‘ 

East Coast (Hyderabad) Express d-Mb 

Purulla Express wmh 

’ t, « _i r ‘ ‘ ..'iMul.r* 

'' *" ■' 1 f ,p ' 

And Hind (Puna) Weekly Express •. < L . in' i 

'*.!■ »r 

<• Bhubaneswar-New Delhi Rajdheil Express n- U» 

1 1* iVM!ij i.'ilrjy wily 

Maw DetM-Bhubarmwar Ralttonl Express v u ,r . 

'!'■■* i ah. 0‘iiv 

Guwahrt - Howrah - Trtvandnan Csrtal Express /. 

MdiliMrf ni' 1 , 

! i 1 Trivandrum Central - Howrah * Guwatati Express -r. «..{;■ i 

Cochin 'Harbour Terminus - Guwahatf Weakly i 
Express f..s i j<s«i’ , > , ,»i'iiii * \ rn wi.li 

1 1'iJf *..! i, 'M'i 

Guwahati - Cochin Harbour Temdnus Weekly 
Express . i - J //.ii. a ■ ^l* *p nn.ni:. 

jii • I-, 

Cochin haibour Terminus Express ivn ■ i I <■ !*■ 

,n-' .I'Jl'.l" ^ Hi'#l.lh. 

r 'e;, : .,r’ & ■' ri Aif 1 m-, f.'i 

!*/■■ Guwahad - Bangalore City VlMdy Expres s .i > 

luwr.i 1 A ’ ijM.ii i. ) ^’(Inrvlav bi-li 

Bangalore CRy - Guwahtei Weekly Express k>i W' 

llnwrah & uiiMtU Mijulay nn'v 

B4QUMES For round the dook h dormrilon of Eastern RaBwny and SodfhErtim RdRiMi, 
please dial 22Q3M544 tor IrKomkg Mm. 220SS3M4 tor tt other Intomttton. For MDtmtton 
about reservations on Eastern Rattray «xl SoudvEartm FWhey traki^dtol 2203496^500 (from 8 
are to 8 pm on weekdays and 8 am to 2 pm on Sundays ntf gutted hoHdays) In addRton, 
dial 1331 (tor recorded Intorevdton on train running), 131 (regvrang Mn opareHona) and 13b 
(regarding raasnattom). Train service enquiry al Sealdah. 3603535/37 
Interactive Voice Response System (5 am to 9 pm everyday from Monday to Saturday; 5 am to 5 
pm on Sunday): For rasaivabon status, dial '.36 (oompteariaed); Dial 2203496 (nwnute enquiry). 


17 



Fashion 

THE TYRANNY OF 
FASHION 

Must we give in to it? Asks Seetna Goswami 


W e've ci 11 had those* mad 
moments in our life 
When we've run around 
town trying to find that 
particular pair oi Levis jeans (501 ) that 
all the kids m college arc wearing. And 
later, when we have ripped these 
apart at the knees so that we can look 
.r- \ool' as the rest of the gang 
!i you' re -.lightly older, your 
experiences will have been slightly 
different You will have splurged on a 
pair tat the very least) of white 
mulmnl ^ n I v\ ar kameezes the 
moment the mercury starts to climb 
highei. Abu Jani-Sandip Khosla, if 
vnu're loaded, Sewa if you're not If 
\ our tastes are more Westernised, you 
will have shocked up m all the loose 
linen trousers and shirts (Ritu Beri or 



Indian models in Rohit Bal designs 



* 

3 

i 


A creation from Vivienne Westwood 


Color Plus, depending on your 
budget) that were the r age last 
summer, so that you could go with the 
flow 

Or, like a good friend of mine, let's 
rail her X, you are one of those people 
who gel fixated or. certain garments 
Madame X, for instance, spent two 
months scouring the shops until she 
found a particular round-necked 
dennn snirt that she JUST HAD TO 
HAVE 

Yet others are slavish followers of 
the fashion magazines — and we're 
talking about Vogue and Harpers and 
Queen here, not Verve They carefully 
follow the colour palette adopted by 
designers ranging from Calvin Klein 
to Donna Karan to Vivienne 
Westwood for that season, and then 
ask their darzi (please don't give 
anyone else his address’) to run up 
their wardrobe tor that season 


And, if they have the money, they 
make four trips abroad every year to 
ensure that they are never out of 
fashion, even though they may never 
ever be in style. 

Y es, there is a new creature looming 
large on the Indian horizon: the 
fashion victim She may be wearing 
either Versace or Varma (as in Suneet). 
she may be m Manolo Blahmk pumps 
or Doc Martens, but there is no 
mistaking her when she walks into a 
party. I ler clothes will be colour 
co-ordinated, and she will be perfectly 
accessorised i ight down to her 
matching toe-nails 

One reason why you can't possibly 
miss Her, is because she will be 
surrounded by several ot her sisters in 
fashion bondage If it's a Delhi society 
party, these victims will be w earing 
identical kalidar kurtas in different 
pastel chains, it it's a disco you're 
visiting, then the little black dress will 
rule, and if it's a wedding, then those 
brocade sari ensembles that every 
designer worth his zardozi wort 
chums out, will be much in evidence 

If a Martian — - assuming for one 
moment that such a being exists — 
were to walk into one of these 
gatherings, he could be forgiven for 
thinking that Earth Women were only 
allowed to socialise in uniform. They 
could vary slightly in colour, but 
styles were very closely monitored to 
ensure uniformity. And that a 
different outfit was designated for 
different functions 

B ut why do women go in for this 
kind of mass-scale fashion? Why 
don't they feel comfortable until they 
are wearing a variation of what every 
other woman in the room is? 

The most simple — perhaps 
simplistic — explanation is mat they 
suffer from some kind of deep-rooted 






SK'* 

,.*L. U. 


A Rohit Khosla outfit with a Western touch 




insecurity. And that they feel safe only 
when they are dressed 'right', i e in 
exactly the same way as their peers are. 

Hence, that oft-noted female trait 
of calling up all her friends on the 
eve of the annual Divali bash, to ask 
them what they will be wearing 


From Versace 


V I-’ 

m 


m*' 

te; 


im 




A ravishing Yves Saint Laurent outfit 


| Only after such resuaich does any 
1 self-respecting woman dei ide *<n hei 
own outfit, taking care to ensure that 
it is close enough l*' rh«»se oi h*'»' 
fnenils to look m', it diheienl 
enough to look ot.ginal And m >re 
often than not, she errs on the side 
of discretion rathir than oiiginahty 
But insecurity — though it plavs a 
( large part- -is not all there is to it In 
^ some cases, it is sheet laziness th.it 
leads women to follow the herd, as if 
were Alter all, it is simpler to fashion 
yourself as a mirror image ot all youi 
peers, rather than try for a brand-new 
look In the end. when it comes to the 
sartorial stakes, it is better to be sale 
than to be sorry. 

What most women lose sight ol -- 
in this mad scramble to look ' right’ - - 
is the truth that while fashion is 
ephemeral, style is eternal Y on d* >n't 
have to be wearing capri pants, or 
hipsters when they are in fashion If 
you can cariy them otf with suff it lent 
panache, even paia/./o pants would 
look great with a cropped top. And 
you don't have to wear your skirts a 
particular length just because Armani 
dressed Linda Evangelista m them »n 
the last issue of Vogue 

If you prefer your skirts right down 
to your ankles, then go right ahead 
and wear them that length, And it 
you're feeling slightly adventurous 
then undo the bottom six buttons for 
the elegant but sexy look Who 
knows — given the way that most 
women are given to i opy »ng one 
anothei — you may well star! a 
brand-new trend! ■ 


Sketches 

WAR GAMES 

And the names who play them 

This Week: Annu Kapoor Vs his Co-hosts 


B egan the pro- 
gramme with: 

Durga lasraj, the 
daughter of Pandit 
Jasi jj, and a singer ol 
some talent herself. Annu 
and Durga flagged oft the 
show little realising that 
Clow -tip Antukshari would 
soon assume cult status on 
Indian television 

The problems: Began 
early, with Duiga express- 
ing her dissatisfaction 
with the wav in which 
Kapoor insisted on hog- 
ging tin* fiame. while she 
tried in vain to get the 
odd close-up in The vibes 
between the two 
anchors--- which had 
been cool to begin with ■ 
turned positively* icv, as 
tlii'ir differences mounted 



Durga Jasraj with Annu Kapoor: Vibes that turned icy; 
and (below) Kavita Paudwal: Clearly upstaged 


End result: Durga lasraj 
leit the show in a hufl But 
poor Annu didn’t have the 
satisfaction of hosting the 
programme all on his 
own, the producers insist- 
ing on hiring Kavita 
Paudwal, daughter ot 
singei Anuiadna Paudwal 
(ol 1 -Series tame) as a 
replacement lor |asra| 
Renuka Shahane and Annu: 


Did Paudwal work bet- j 

ter?: On the contrary, 
things began going down- ■ 
hill nom the moment she 
climbed on to the podium j 
m her designer salwar- 
kamee/es, microphone m j 
hand Kapoor tried every- ; 
thing — from dancing like ' 
a maniac, making faces 
and turning cartwheels on ; 
camera-— to upstage her. i 

i/ho outdid whom? 1 




And in the end, he suc- 
ceeded m freezing her out 
of the frame, restricting 
her to one lonely corner 
on the set. 

Paudwal's response: She 
tried her best to shove 
Kapoor out of the range of 
the camera for a second or 
two; but failed miserably 
at the attempt. In the end, 
she decided to go the 
Durga Jasraj way, and 
walked out of the show. 

So, who came next?: The 


maniacally grinning 
Renuka Snanane, fresh 
from her triumph in Hum 
Aapkr Haiti Kami 1 But give 
the toothsome Shahane 
credit; she succeeded 
where both Durga ai id 
Kavita had failed She 
actually managed to get a 
few i lose-ups as she sang 
along with the partici- 
pants, even though Annu 
tried his besl to steal the 
‘-how from undei her grin- 
ning visage by making 
Shammi Kapoor-like nois- 
es whenever he lrlt that 
nobody was paying him 
any attention 

Did Kapoor give in with 
good grace?: On the face 
of it, yes. But insiders 
swear that there was 
much tension between 
Annu and Renuka off the 
sets And even vioweis 
concede that if sometimes 
spilt over into the p r o- 
gramme 

But all's well that ends 
well, right?: Not quite. 

The latest on the 
Antakshari front is that 
Renuka Shahane is leav- 
ing the show — just like 
her predecessors did And 
no, she’s not leaving 
under particularly pleas- 
ant circumstances 

Who's next?: Yet another 
dedicated grinner, who 
goes by the name of 
Pallavi Joshi. She's sched- 
uled to join the show 
soon, and no doubt, Annu 
is looking forward to try- 
ing his one-upmanship 
tactics on her as well. 

So far the score has 
been Annu. 3; his Co- 
hosts: 0. Let's see if Joshi 
can change the odds. ■ 




Aries 

March 21 - April 20 

; Ganosha says much 
can and therefore, 
must be achieved It 

i is time to open up all 

| throttles on the work tront 
] -\lsu. the right time to work 
j on creative projects Around 
i the l^lh. a touch ot romance 
brightens up a husv week 
L hildren and hobbies do 
antic* • von Keep your mind 
j open about people 

< Taurus 

■ April 21 — May 20 
j ' The nev\ moon helps 

| Ijrfp ' you to decide wisely 
! HBL ' and well \oui ui j 
I at i ve junes vm II once 

i ,ig t 'i»» I low lieel\ and enise- 
| i|ivntl\, painters Uaihers 
: fci ! ili " 1 musician*, and com- 
| pi ll*] piogrammeis do ai 
, I'^v .’ili'nt |ob but lake care ot 
i JietaiN indisi returns >ou 
j Jmuld he in a happy tiame ot 
j fund 

j Gemini 

May ?1 - June 20 

Uii'iMj;iim a strong 
toi us on liouse, 
propel ty. reno»’alnm, 
dc iw.ition, hciving, 
selling, shopping draperies 
hnenc « ann troj'«peries >ou P 
r ,i l omit* a tew domesln 
• h"U »* oi.t o! the wav Also it 
is lime to p,et \oui travel kit 
rea« but do try and keep 
vM:r personal lite sepaiate 
bom business ami profession 



Cancer 

June 21 — July 20 

■ ^ l,r ^ ld P s ' om ‘ °f die 
r \3EJ i newsy weeks 

j JQT j of the entire year 
t You will be happy 

about developments in com 
munication, contacts, publici- 
ty, human lelatumships, travel 
and contrails You mav do 
some shopping, buying and 
selling unpulsivelv Kind time 
to enjoy leisure ictivities Thai 
is m\e.ssar\ 

Leo 

July 2 : 

' 




sell, shop, pay taxes, 
mvext- 


- August 21 
Time to make 
money, ponder, 
philosophise, buy 
pay 

angle for loans, funds, l 
rnenls and capital 
formation ( Hwimislv, vou 
could be panting lor bieadi 
lium all inis Charm will open 
powerful di»ors tor vou It is 
on I hi* cards that you will be 
in a romantic situation 

Virgo 

Aug.JSt22 — Septembci 22 

1 ' Your imaginative 

i ‘'’id vour 

oW P j intuitive gi asp ol 
IflK : nu n and matters are 
trill v heightened because ot 
th«' sun-Mercury conjunction 
this week You will have the 
skills and the * onhdence to 
oveicume all obstacles and got 
at the goodies Aiound the 
Ihth, vou have a field day An 
e\< client week 



Libra 

September 23 — October 22 
While u would be 
best to work in 
sec levy and cultivate 
a subtle appioarh it 
is certain that b< uslerous and 
extroverted people will sui- 
round vou That's real life tor 
vou It could well be journey 
time Unexpected expense’s ate 
likel\ to tear holes in yoiu 
pocket hortjiiatelv there will 
he smpe to make nu»ne\ loo 

io 

?3- November 22 
I lie right tune to 
deude about the big 
or small issues ot the 
tutme S'ptemher 
17- 1H appear ideal toi it You 
will be moving into top gear 
m votu woik area In voui 
plav field and romance, there 
are inanv sweet surprises The 
is a good time to soi lalise and 
turn on voui undeniable 
charm 

Sagittarius 

Novomber 23 — December 20 

! You will ieallv have 

I] to |uggle your sched 
[j ules to <u commodate 
leisure activities and 
solid work, and both w ill 
demand top priority A very 
luck\ artcnl is pi, tied on busi- 
ness and piotessional mat- 
ters Vm an bitions aie all.une 
and \ou will do the needlul to 
realise them Midweek will be 
greatk satisfying 



BIRTHDAYS 



BEJAN OAR’JWAl.LA 

Capricorn 

December 21 -- January 19 
^ \oiii heart w ill he a 
nest tor singing 
;■ buds says ( lanesiia 
t* Yoiii insighw and 
toiesigh.ts will ple.lsc 1 vou 
L.oocl news m voui birthright 
and you shall have U 
Romanic is detimii'k on die 
cauls and it should he a wi I 
i otiu* t liange m \ oui lit* ^ oui 
mental cap.uity will ie,nh 
unexpkm d depths 

Aquarius 

January 20 - February 1b 

I m. uues w ill t!( iw 
novv 1 giving \ on 
rein I It i . a good 
time to move il you 
leel up to it In .ms * ase the 
latest b\ nc vt ye, u, a Ini oi 
nuweiiieiit is toielold Be 
diplomatic and do not try to 
rutile te.itlieis Spend tmie ml 
tivatmg voui hobbies a*, it is 
impoitani th it vo'i relax hme 
to* liaml Ion 

Pisces 

F ebruary 1 9 - March 20 

Meanly is m the e\ e 
of the behoidei and 
com loved one w ill 
admin \ ou 11 
would be w isi to lOiiin ihe 
compliment l! pUiiiimii; a 
niiirnage, an olfiuai ••ng.ige 
men*. no*\ is tlu time- t<- start 
it oi even have it per funned 
journey and collahcM .ilion* aie 
also on the anvil -\ good time 
to rear h our to people 




September!# Moon square Neptune says Ganesha signifies 
you wifi face reality, be practical and loam more about rela- 
tionships. 

September Iffr Moon square Mars, textile Jupiter means 
expenses should eat into your income, A separation horn a 
loved one is possible. 

September I ft Sun-Mercury trtne Neptune signifies that a 
great and favourable year is in store. Travel money home 
and property bring happiness. 

September !&' Moon sextfie Mercury is excellent for those in 
business and the arts. You will be fulfilled in various ways 


and that should prove important. A lucky year for those deal- 
ing in property. 

September 19: Moon trine Venus brings in a multiplicity of 
interests. Romance and finance make a happy combination 
for you. 

September 2fc Moon square Saturn docs moan a few prob- 
lems with people and finances You will have to hone your 
skills. 

September 21: Moon conjunction Jupiter favours money 
progress, good impulses, thoughts and good deeds. You will 
lv successful and happy. 


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astrological stones . 




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A If 








CALVIN AND HOBBES 


WATTE RSON 


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LOGWOOD .' WE 
WEED YOU OOWN 
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WERE SUPPOSED TO HAVE AN 
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1 WERE CATERING, BUT THE 
CARVER NEVER *— 
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BEER, ANYONE? 


If voit live in Hatytma. you 'll have lo travel ac mss the border for a pint. 
Samita Bhatia examines post prohibition lifestyles 


.it urn I hi’ I Vlhi -Haryana 
h*'.rdei finK' 
post-prohibition f larvana 
Characters- ] wo 

' walkie-talkied' 1 I.uvaiu police cops 
ami a scooterist m possession of a tew 
bottles ut beer. w anting to cross the 
bordet lo Maryana. 

1 le sl.iuit nuhtamh at the cop> 
standing, just a tew kvl away - that 
crucial iron barricade his only shield 
against the Harvana Police 1 refuse 
to relinquish the bottles ' he said 
cockilv. "I'll wait til! you guvs tail 
asleep to noss over J A classic case ol 
so near and yet so tar' 

While all the fops needed to do was 
to re ric h out and greb the offender, the 
tart that he stood in Delhi — no more 
than a step away from the barrier — 
made all the diffei t* net ' l am i iot a 
boo/ard so win should the law 
prevent mf tiom keeping a bar at 
he asked, as hr stood his 

ground 

The man waited for a while —and 
some more The rops didn't lail 
asleep, |ust changed duties. Their 
quarn was at hand and the lure of 
lucre as in a reported cash awaid ot Ms 
500 pei bottle con fist ated. was enough 
to keep slumber at bay Muttering 
disgustedly the "sharabf' (anyone 
who drinks has been dubbed thus bv 
the l [ary ana Police) turned his scooter 
around and disappeared in the 
direction from wrnch he had come. 

His is a query 7 that is being asked bv 
many in the stale Take the case ot 
Prateek Chaw la, resident ot Sushant 
Lok, Gurgaon. In his newly 
constructed home. Chaw la had spent 
hours with the architect designing a 
bar that would do justice to what he 
proudly calls a "connoisseur' s 
collection. ' 

July 2, prohibition confirmed, 
Chuwla stole out into the night, car 
loaded with some coveted vintages, 
malt whiskies and a lull range of 
Mane Bizzard liqueurs to slink past 



Fireball, the disco at 32nd Milestone, before prohibition 


the cops on the border to his 
mother-in-law's home in Delhi where 
his collection is now harboured While 
the mother-in-law is not complaining, 
Chawld hates to see his range of 
cocktail shakers progressively turn 
rustv. 

Then there's a Palam Yihar resident 
who's otlen been accosted at the 
border every evening as he returns 
trom Delhi after a day s work 
Exasperated he says, "These human 
breath-analyzers (cops) simply duck 
their heads into the cars and want to 
smell the bct?r on you. It's awfully 
demeaning " 

While not one to keep a bar at home, 
whenever he feels like a drink, he 
parties in Delhi before returning home 
— to battle with the border police and 
Have his car minutely scrutinised. "I 
keep a stock of Polo mints in the car 
now," he says, rather amused at the 
situation. 

Atul Sharma, resident of the same 
colony, is perhaps amongst the few 
conscientious residents of Haryana 



2t 





South City Club 



On the eve of prohibition, Sharma 
poured all the alcohol into the kitchen 
drain and hasn't indulged himself 
since. 

While innumerable ice makers, like 
one Ram Char an have shut shop, 
residents of Gurgaon and Faridabad 
have noticed the sudden 
disappearance of bbiyid-wallas and 
dal-mothwallas from theiriocalities 
since prohibition was imposed 
Poultry shops too are faced with 
drop in sales. Singh, owner of The 
Chick Shop, complains that since 
there's no beer flowing, his chicken 
sales have dropped by 40 per cent 
k abariwalLis are refusing to pick up 
any empty bottles too So, if you have 
them, you're stuck with them 

W hile those belonging to the elitist 
cocktail circuits in the state are 
convinced that prohibition never 
works, even the economically 
backward sections haven't really 
reaped any of its advantages so far 
Mani Devi is a construction worker 


employed at a site in Fan dab ad some 
35 kilometers from the captal 
Sashahandhi may have come to the 
state but she is yet to reap any benefit, 
she s.yvss, for there's little that will stop 
tier husband from drinking "Aftn a 
hard day s work at the site my, 
husband, along with several other 
men. sets ott for Delhi, which is hardly 
.1 few kilometers away And then none 
oi them return home at night, which is 
tar worse!' 1 

A resident oi Sushant 1 ,ok 
Gurgaon, claims that her house maul 
has been abandoned by the husband 
since she has stopped plying him with 
money torliquoi 

The genet al mood in Haryana is one 
of acute exasperation There is much 
concern that prohibition may bring in 
it.^ wake a lot more illicit liquor and a 
resultant increase in hooch tragedies 
'l heir tears are vejy real A month altoi 
the state went dry, the first hooch 
tragedy took ils toll of 12 lives vt hilr 35 
persons were taken grievously ill after 
consuming spurious enuntn -made 
liquor. 

Says a resident of PI ,F Qutab 
Enclave, "Even though ( ujara! is a 
dry state, it's no secret that the 
bootlegging mafia is very' strong 
there. Haryana may ju&t follow suit " 

The implications of prohibition 
obviously go beyond a painful shift of 
a connoisseur's collection, harassment 
at the border, or turning teetotaler. 
Property development in Haryana, 
fast paced till now has run into 
unforeseen obstacles 

The state government has decided 
to increase tne sales tax on building 
material of all types probably with the 
purpose of making up the revenue 
loss incurred because of prohibition. 
This has lead to a steep escalation in 
construction costs So the price of 
bricks has gone up from Rs 1,050 per 
thousand pieces to about Rs 1,300 
sfrmc dust from Rs 900 pei cubic feet to 
Rs 1,025 per cubic feet Naturally the 
builders arc groaning 

T he hospitality industry - - 

primarily the 13 three-star hotels 
m the state and 10 other smaller 
properties — is crumbling undei the 
burden of revenue lo*-s 

32ud Milestone, a ies* *rt complex .32 
kilometers awa\ h«»m Delhi, is doing 
some hard thinking The closure of tne 
bar Club 32. and the desertion of 
Fireball bv diohaid disco-goers has 
resulted m huge losses Though the 
bar is to be i on verted to a Cyber Cafe, 
the management is faced with the 
• ■ventiuilift 1 that the idea mav nr msv 



not dick. 

Get a load of this, the first week of 
prohibition, 32nd Milestone saw a 45 
per cent dip in revenues, these 
escalated to 50 per cent in the third 
week and now the resort complex ls 
staring at a 70 per cent dent in 
profitability 

Laments an agitated (albeit 
resigned) Debashish Bhattacharya, 
food and beverage manager, ''The 
gross operating profits are declining 
at an alarming rate, while our 
expenses remain the same," adding as 
an atte^u night, "On the contrary, 
costs have fcone up since prohibition 
was imposed " Though tne resort 
complex is breaking even for the 
moment, Bhattacharya wonders how 
long that will last 

Unitech's South City Club too is 
lacing similar losses in revenues. The 
exclusive strictly- for-membcra club 
now dues sales worth Rs 6,000 a day 
compared to Ks 35,000 of the 
pie- prohibition days According to 
Priti Singh, manager, "During 
weekends over 500 people visited the 
club, numbers which "have dropped to 
KCI or 100 now We've also been 
compelled to convert our bar to a 
coffee shop and revenues generated 
here can never be comparable/' Sila 
Heritage Resort and Pa lam Vihar's 
Chancellor Club, too, find 
themselves in a similar boat 








Fireball, the disco at 32nd Milestone 1 
has ceased to be a crowd-puUer Set up 
just over a year ago at a cost of some 
Ks 2 crore it has ceased to be 'the' night 
spot for revellers. Wednesday nights 
are no longer packed to capacity, with 
crowds jostling to be served at the bar 
by the celebrity bartender of the 
week — Chunky Pandey, Manpreef 
Brar, Dilip TahiL etc Headcounts 
over the last couple of Wednesdays 
have revealed pathetic numbers - 4 
and 59 respectively. "Chuck dc Phatte' 
and Bally Sagoo nights are events 
strictly of the post. 

Says Bhaltacharya, "The disco h.is 
to operate as usual with the musk, 
lights, the works. While earlier over 
200 people would come to the disco on 
Tuesdays. Wednesdays and 
Thursdays, today there are days when 
not a soul checks -in Fridays normally 
pulleJ a crowd ot about TdO, today we 
are lucky it we get a it w couples ' 
Saturday night capacity crowds ol K00 
have dwindled to less than 100. 

Tbe management tears that verv 
tew, it a! rill, wili renew membership 
While the T&B business at th* 1 ^2nd 
Milestone is down hr 7() per cent 
during dinner, **0 per tent of the 
foreign clientele tliai puts up at I he 
20- room hotel in the complex has now 
checked-out — tor good 

The hospitality industry knows that 
osl cutting will have to be the ne> t 



Tho bar at So a Jth City Club has now been coverted into a coffee shop 


step. But at what cost? "Unfortunately 
the services will inadvertently be 
affected white some hotels will be 
forced to shut down, others will have 
to retrench staff," says a hotelier. He 
cites the example of Apna Char that 
has recently gone out of business 
while Resort Country Club is actively 
k coking for a buyer. Reportedly 
another hotel to be hit is Situ Heritage 
Resort 

W hile small-time businesses and 
the hospitality industry face 
losses on all fronts, theie's one 
segment that's irpurtedly raking it in 
No prises lor the right answer - the 
Hary ana polu e force Armed with 
blank search wan ants, the cops raid 
any house that appears in have a bash 
m full swing The cars parked outside 
the honu are indication enough 

Rumours are nie that .* certain 
resident m Dl,F na:» found .serving 
liquor. A head munt was taken and .t 
simple c alculation yielded a figure ot 
Rs 7().(KKl m damages The host and 
guests argued, pleaded grovelled 
With the possibility n* an arrest 
staring them m the lace the host 
e\entuaJI\ cougned up a cool Rs 
10 000*--- and a few beers--- to settle 
matters amicably 

Another random housi search 
rewarded the policemen with four 
beer bottles Tne ' s hjtiibi' was given 
the choice of paying Ks 2,0'M) per bottle 
or immediate arrest Then again, a 
certain couple was returning home 
after a late night party from l )elhi 1 he 
human breath-analysers divided that 
the couple had had one drink if -n 
many A body search (whatever tor ? 
they demanded) was ordered and the 
coos were delighted to discover a loo* 
of Rs 24.000 

"We were told that it wt dnln I 
r Iinquish *lu* money a liquor bottle 
would he plant*:* j m the < ar. tor winch 
we knew the consequences/' sav . llie 
v.um.Ki in qut • fion 'We paid ifie 
n u nry wt had which iiuidenl.illv 

w is meant nn a tzidgi- we to buy 

r« if .'i*i huiiv.- the ne'i dav 
} A .esident wraps up *>uc* uu rSv 
Banning l.qoor bv tiu- » *.v never 
work I’nihibmen work <* .mlvit (here 
is a *>OKt.ii rno\ ennnt .jg.unst alcohol 
abusi lode* : hose wiv . have to drink 
! will Jfcnk no t a\ tie ibe w i\ you 
j «..u* Hi wh vou want hi 

llai.-jii. 1 oHi u doobi" the vost, 

md :i ( np 

; ha! wil! *■'■ Ks rr- for the bottle of 
bee i. please 1 B 





First 


person 


SAGARUCA M UKHERJEE, at# haJf of the brother-sister duo pf Shorn 
as she sounds. Hyped as the Nineties' version of the Nazi* and Zoheb ***% 

a number of re-mix hits to their Credit Asad hoot cut their own album mt 

tutelage of music director Biddu. ;■ 


VAThat is your idea of perfect 
ft happiness? 

Having loving arms around me. 
What is your greatest fear? 

Notbetng accepted. 

Who oriAat has Deen the 
greatest influence in your life? 

My father and good books 
What do you dislike most in 
others? 


Introspection and 




On what occasions do you He 
When I come home late. 

What is your greatest regret? 

Not being able to prove nr 
to my father before he p 
away. 


Narcissism and bad mouthing, a 
What do you dislike most in S 

yourself? 1 

My pessimism.. f 

What is your most precious | 

possession? 

My voice and my inner voice. 

What objects do you always 
carry? 

Money, driving license, lipstick, 
cards, digital diary and loads of 
things — my hag is a bundle of 
obferts. 

What makes you most depressed? 
When 1 don't sing well. 

What do you dislike most on your 
appearance? 

My nose. 

What is your favourite word? 

Right. 

What is your favourite journey? 
Northeast 

What is your favourite dream? 
Nature. 

What is your nightmare? 

Falling. 

What or who is the greatest love 
of your life? 

life. 

What is your source of 
sustenance? 


What is your most 
precious 
possession? 

My voice and my 
inner voice 


What is your 
greatest regret? 


Not being able to 
prove myself to my 
father before he 
passed away 



>B3S3m 


Wromsmy to ■ 
pul down. 

What Mngs 
lean to your 
eye# 

When I swea 


How do fftu 
relax? 

By sinking 
my#elfina ' 
warn both. 

Whatdsyoa 
«fy«iwtUi 
«a mmt . - 


What do you 
envy most 
in others? 


Their noses 


30 












whole 


world. 


The Telegraph 


Wr* r C* C* 

every Monday 
w i t'li 

The Telegraph 


l ii f) u t d o ir h ci h / e 

Ask for your copy 


fi nrmnRFn iqqr i 


The Telegraph 



Black and 
Beautiful 

4 The concept of beauty 
has really changed; die 
f^-skinned, doe-eyed 
fuB- mouthed gill » not 
the rigid and conventional 
formula for beauty any 
more ('Tail Dark and 
Beautiful', August 11). Or 
models like Noyonika 
Chatterjee would not have 
been a rave in die fashion 
world. 

By international stan- 
dards, Noyonika has a 
commanding height and a 
very graceful gait, of 
course cultivated over 
time, and a face which has 
a pronounced Afro touch 
which sets her apart from 
the other models on die 
ramp. 

Noyonika arouses a 
lot of curiosity. 

Nandini Chatteijee, 

Calcutta 

# Noyonika is really an 
exception. While other 
models turn to the silver 
screen for greater expo- 
sure and lucre, Noyonika 
has taken up something 
more celebral like celebri- 
ty management. 

Partha Pratim Modak, 
Howrah 

® Going unconventional 
is the latest trend. On the 



Noyonika Chatted**: Success has many colour* 


international front super- 
model Naomi Campbell is 
creating ripples with her 
dark looks. She has even 
made it to Madame 
TLssaud's museum. 

Looking at Noyonika 
no one would dunk she is 
an Indian — with her 
frizzy ham thick lips and 
flat nose. Yet, she is one of 
the most successful mod- 
els on the ramp. 

In a way she is like 
actress Kajol who has 


very ordinary looks — she 
is snort, dark, has loads 
of puppy fat mid the 
famous butterfly eye- 
brows like a teenager. 

Yet, she is one of the 
most popular actresses in 
Bollywood now. 

Vinay Asawa, 

Calcutta 

* It is a great pleasure 
for Bengalis tc see a girl 
hum their state doing so 
well in Mumbai's model- 


ling world. In die final 
analysis, Noyonika has * 
personality *nd poise 
which put her ahead in . 
die race for supremacy. 

Her new job in the Media 
Entertainment will give 
her career a good boost, 
RebaBoae, 

Jamshedpur 

■ Noyonika has risen to 
the top through sheer grit 
and confidence. Also, she 
has a very pleasant dress 
sense; pidong her 
wardrobe judiciously so 
that die colours add to her 
charm. 

Rajaahree Roy, 

Patna 

B Thank you fori 
tall, dark and beau 
Noyonika Chatterjee to - 
the heights of Naomi 
Campbell! 

Arta Miskm, 

Cuttack 

* :i 

We are receiving many j 
telephone call* and 
letters asking us for 
die address of Yeshi 
Dhonden C Doctor 
Knows Best*, August 
, 25). Readers may write ■ 
j to him at this address: ! ( 
! Dr Yeshi Dhonden, - ! 
! Madeodguni, 

! Dhammsala, \ 

j Himachal Pradesh 



| PAGE4 

f ROM1, KAPIL Dev's wife, revels in her new 
role as mother - - the happiness which came 
her way 15 years after marriage. 

PAGE 26 

MAKE IDYLLIC Maldives your nexi bench 
destination. 

Rami Dev 


SECTIONS 


16 TIME TABL E 
26 TRAVEL 
30 FIRST PERSON 


Cover Jagdish Yadav 



Romi Dev, supportive wife and business 
partner to her husband, Kapil, now has 
a new role to play: pmud mom. 

Samita Bhatia refxjrts 


SHE MAY HAVE MARRIED INDIA'S BEST-KNO- 
wn all-rounder when she was just 21 years 
old. But Romi Dev nee Bhatia has never had 
stars in her eyes. Today after more than 15 
years of marriage she may enjoy the advant- 
ages that come with being Mrs Kapil Dev, 
but she's not overpowered by her hus- 
band's celebrity status. And there are occa- 
sions when she's irritated at being identifi- 
ed only as Kapil Dev's wife. 

Her luxurious Sunder Nagar home is a 
glowing testatment to her personal style. A 
couple of M.F. Husian masterpieces domin- 


| ate the decor, which is 
§ characterised by antique archways, 

\ brocade upholstery, crystal, some^k 
rugs... and two panting Dobermann 
Pinschers. You can believe her all too 
easily when she tells you that she's a 
collector of all things beautiful. 

"I love my home, art and paintings 
and nice jewellery/' she says with a 
wave of her bejewelled fingers. If she 
loves keeping a good home she loves 
her kitchen equally well. She 
entertains a lot and thus ends up 
doing what she simply loves — cook- 
ing a special meal for her guests. With 
Continental dishes being her forte, she 
never ever has outside caterers in for 
her bashes. 

Says Komi, "1 just love cooking and 
it's never been a chore." She muses, 
"In fact, 1 wanted to go into it professio- 
nally some 11 years ago, but it just did- 
n't work out. I always manage to do 
things a little too late. 1 may think of 
something early enough, but by the 
time I finish mulling over it, innumera- 
ble other people get into the fray." 


Mother and daughter 




Kapil Dev: Proud father 


lifestyles of the Rich and Famous 
.mould. Today she helps out at the offi- 
ce giving her husband all the back-up 
he needs. For one who is apparently 
the moving force behind every move 
Kapil Dev makes, she doesn't seem to 
take her role too seriously. 

As she explains, "Kapil is into 
imports of various things and I look 
after the administration and accounts 
of the office. Kapil is awful with paper- 
work and accounts, so 1 just back him 
up m this area 1 do here in the office 
what 1 do at home — essentially see 
that everything goes smoothly." 

While today she's a pucca Delhiite, 
the better part of her life was spent in 
Bombay. After a brief stint at l -oreto 
Convent, Shimla, she returned to Bom- 
bay and Elphinstone College. She bru- 
shes aside as unimportant "the routi- 
ne course on travel and tourism from 
Sophia College, a degree which came 
in nandy when I was helping out my 
mother at her travel agency" 

After her much publicised marriage 
to Kapil Dev she moved with the 
cricketing sensation to Chandigarh 
where they lived with his family for 
three years. Bui living there was prov- 
ing to i:>e tedious as "each tnp out 
meant that we had to pass through 
Delhi first and then undertake another 
five hour journey back to Chandi- 
garh." Tlie move for good to Delhi 
came when Romi inherited rhe 
bungalow in Delhi's up-market Sun- 
der Nagar area, where the Devs now 
live. 

* IT omi Dev w r ill talk to you provided 
| JLvyou retrain from asking her the 
-f obvious question: about her courtship 
? days with the former captain of the 


’T'hough never a career person Romi 
A Dev ably handled Dev Feature 
before it shut shop a few years ago and 
more recently she was on Zee anchor- 
ing High Life ; a programme in the 




te an interest for cricket but surround- 
ed by the game as I was, 1 began to 
understand it and unwittingly follow 
it. While 1 wouldn't break my back to 
go and watch a cricket match, if the 
television was on I wouldn't switch it 
off either." 

One of the reasons that Romi prefer- 
red not to go for a match was that she 
found it very difficult to cope with 
defeat. "Even though everyone says 


ShannihTiim 
The first reallylughpiwfile 
cricketing wife Tagore was tm 
Aggrade celebrity in her own right. 
But despite her busy shooting 

and film commitments. 



Kapil Dev: Long awaited happiness 


NaureenAzharuddln 


she found the time to visit the 
stadium when her husband, 
Nawab Mansur AB Khan of 
Pataudi — popularly known as 
Tiger — was at the crease, and 
cheer every time he struck a six, or 
made a particularly good stop at 
the boundary line. 


Indian cricket team Bored with answc' 
ring queries as to how she met Kapil, 
she may just rattle off in one long 
breath "It's history and I'll just 
repeat it to you mechanically as I'm 
not interested in talking about it." 
Push her a little and she says, "I've 
known Kapil since the time he was 
nothing." 

This may come as a surprise to most 
people, but the fust time Romi met 
Kapil, he hadn't even starting playing 
cricket! When she met Kapil, sne was 
all of 17 and didn't know what cricket 
or mass hysteria was all about He was 
simply a "friend s friend" and it 
wasn't till she was drawn to him that 
she started following what he did. 

Far from being star-struck, she 
never evei te*t that > he was marrying a 
sought-after, eligible superstar. "For 


me it wasn't any big deal or a tairy- 
tale-come-true. We both grew with his 
celebrity status and it wasn't like 
either one of us was catapulted into 
the situation. When you are younger 
you can take things in your stride Initi- 
ally stardom felt nice." she says can- 
didly, adding in the next breath "and 
it still does " 

She may be the wife of a one-time 
hot favourite cricketer, but Romi Dev 
hasn't the slightest interest in the 
game Not one who believes that 
people must share exactly the same 
interests to get along famously, she 
made no concerted effort to get hook- 
ed onto the sport. 

Ot her own admission, "Our one 
major interest docs not lie in the same 
direction. While Kapil is very sporty, 
sports bore me I didn't try and cultiva- 


Manhndl Gavaskar 
WifeoiSuitj],sheam^mbanied 
him on most tours — bom in India 
and abroad — and was a constant . 
fixture around the dressing room. 
And unlike roost otto 
wive^ she had never had any 
moon to hover with intent around 
her husband; Sunil was quite the , 
model of husbandly propriety, 

Kavita Vlsh wanath 

She had die rare privi l e ge of being 

related to twoof most famous. 

oicketerefolhdi^ 

sister to qne — Suu^Gavaskar — ' 

and wif^to the other— Gundappa 

Vishwanath* She kept a low 

profite though, refusing 


6 





quetsand brickbats in your stride, 
quite honestly, 1 didn't find it easy to 
take the criticism that one had to face 
sometimes," she says now. "I simply 
can't say that it didn't affect me. If 
someone is — in my terms — not so 
nice to my husband, it is going to affect 
me. So I would just try and keep away 
as much as possible and not get 
involved." 


AkI 


nd brickbats there were aplenty. 

~ pil, despite his popularity, was 


not credited as a very imaginative cap- 
tain, thinker or motivator. Indians 
remember well that one rash stroke at 
the Delhi Test in 1984 which cost India 
the match against England led by 
David Gower. He was dropped for the 
next Test. 

Then there was the semi-final of the 
Reliance World Cup in 1987 when 
Kapil fell into a trap, lofted the ball 
and was caught, at the crucial point of 
the match. He was stripped of his cap- 


taincy soon after. 

So, unlike other cricketer wives — 
and girlfriends — you'd never find 
Romi Dev in the VlP gallery at a 
cricket stadium. "I went to a stadium 
only occasionally and that, too, when 
we were playing abroad. That was so 
because there was little pressure when 
playing overseas." 

However, when on foreign soil, if 
she ever sensed hostility from die Indi- 
ans in the crowd, Romi would prefer 



Listing some of the better known cricket wives 




AitytfTtodultar 


scribes even though they pestere d 
her for interviev n all the time. 



Nwwyn ^thiltiddto 
Notofyla^andiaboatthe . 
retiring wife at India's former Test 
captain, Mohammad Azksntddkv 
while the two were happily 

Naureen stay home with hfc 

parents arwJaotwMhe^ 


wifedfar ait 







Rangeek star had said some 
uncomplimentary things about 
KambH In print. 

H Noella is to be believed, the 
reason she and Vihod Eve in 
different dtks — Bombay and 
Pune — .for part of the time Is that 
their femBtasare band time. So, 
thoae who say that the couple are 
repented shovdd^o wash their 1 
uHtuvim out 


Anjali TtndoHs 
Hie doctor wife of India's cricket 
captain, Sechin Tendulkar, is a lew 
years okler than him.Btit you'd 
never guess that if you saw them 
to gethe r; she loots refresh-faced 
u h etbc ylt h h iMbsBd- 
But as drikl-Uke a* die couple 
took, they are very mature for their 
ypan They have made a pact not to 
.'«^s«t|n*ad»otiwr'»caieere— 
A^foidoctiw^tNitto^veeadi 


IwiUwrt y; SmAfontx 


CMt 
snpnt 





not to go to watch the day's play as she 
thought there was little point in gett- 
ing into an unpleasant situation She 
explains, "1 preferred to be at the stad- 
ium during five-day Test matches and 
that, too, only when I knew that the 
day would be relaxed and when 1 was 
sure that we wouldn't be packed in 
like sardines." 

II Kapil Dev kept Indian cricket 
lovers on tenterhooks for every 
second he was at the crease, his reck- 
less style gavels wife palpitations as 
well She says selbtnockingly, "I stop- 
ped watching his batting a long time 
ago, as my heart couldn't take it. As a 
matter of fact, if India was batting and 
he was coming in four or five down, I 
would try as far as possible to leave 
the house " 

Unfoitunately for her, just about 
everyone would be? tuned in to the 
game and getting away completely 
seemed impossible "Even the driver 
would think it fit to keep me updated, 
adding to my tension/' she says. 

Tension mounted after the Australi- 
an tour of 1991-92, when Kapil harvest- 
ed his 400th wicket. Unfortunately, 
thereafter it took him two years to get 
the crucial 32 wickets to beat Richard 
Hadlee's record "The 432 figure was 
getting to us and while I tried to get 
away from the game as far as possible, 
when Kapil was playing I w mid defi- 
nitely ask the score in the evening If 
he was bowling, at the end of the day 
dar-d.tr kel'd ask, ‘kya /iua?'." 

So docs that mean that Romi has 
missed out on the best of Kapil? No, 
she says, despite her misgivings about 
the game she has managed to see 
Kapil score most of his centuries. She 
says, "Actually, it's just happened that 
I've been around when he's played 



Little Miss Dev 


Kapil and Romi 



6 


well." She remembers only too well 
his four sixes at Lords and all the 
matches he was instrumental in winn- 
ing for the country. 

The one regret she has today is that 
Kapil Dev couldn't announce his reti- 
rement before his last game. She says 
with a touch of sadness, "The stadium 
should have known that that was to be 
hts last game. But that was not to be." 

His retirement announcement came 
in Delhi at a five-star hotel instead of a 
stadium. "But we got a lot out of it all, 
so if one thing wasn't fulfilled I guess 
it's no big deal." 

T hen, comes the most touchy ques- 
tion of these times. Should 
cricketers' wives be allowed to tour 
with their husbands? Kami's respon- 
se: "Why shouldn't they? I think there 





is going to be a greater distraction if 
the wife doesn't go " 

According to Romi, other countries 
encourage wives to accompany their 
husbands on their tours abroad while 
sports psychologists, too, are of the 
same opinion. "Asa matter of fact, 
today many are of the view that even 
the children should be allowed to go 
along," she says. "1 think that having 
your family along — specially the 
children — is an advantage rather 
than a disadvantage and it definitely 
helps in taking the pressure and ten- 
sion off . Besides, it keeps temptations 
at bay, for there are few players who 
would by choice stay in the hotel room 
watching television But when they 
have a family or their wives to return 
to it's easier on them." 

During Kapil's cricketing days tra- 
vel was hectic, but Romi has now giv- 
en up on Jiving out of suitcases or shift- 
ing from one hotel to another The 
baby — her daughter, Ameya, bom to 
her after 15 years of marriage- — has 
changed all that. 

Not that Romi minds. She smiles 
fondly and says, "But I haven't done 
too badly for myself since she came. 
I've travelled out six times in these 


seven months." It's been Bombay, Cal- 
cutta and Kapil Dev's home town 
Chandigarh. 

TV Tothing could have prepared her 
1 \l for the excitement generated by 
her daughter's birth. When Romi 


returned home she was amazed at the 
over 125 bouquets, the gifts and tele- 
grams that were strewn around. After 
a harrowing pregnancy, seven 
months of which were spent in bed, 
"not even being able to walk to the loo 
or have a bath" the homecoming was 
an event that was celebrated by more 
people than she could imagine. 

Like any other mother, Romi too 
wants to instil] in her daughter some 
good values and manners. But beyond 
tnat there's little she wants to plan for 

She says firmly, "She has to decide 
what she wants to do and I wouldn't 
like to pressurise her one way or the 
other. Ultimately she has to be her 
own person and her celebrity father or 
a well-known mother cannot help her. 
We'd like to give her the best, which is 
what all parents want for their childr- 
en, whether or not they are celebrities. 
In fact she's come late so she really 
hasn't seen Kapil in his heyday, which 
could well go to a child's head." 

As of now, of course, Ameya is only 
dimly aware who her mother and 
father are. At eight months, she has 
begun to recognise her parents, and 
smiles beatifically at them. But she 
hasn't learnt to speak, so it's hard to 
say what lies behind that cheerful visa- 
ge and big, gleaming eyes. 

Ameya wakes up in time for the 
photo-session. Mother and daughter 
gaze at each other in wonder — both 
obviously smitten — and a secret 
smile is exchanged. They amicably 
pose for the cameras, looking directly 
into the Jens and then beyond — to 
what promises to be a very bright futu- 
re. I 


A historic moment KapH holds aloft the Prudential World Cup 



9 





Interview 

‘I Relate Very Strongly 
to the Surreal’ 

Anita George talks to Sathya Saran, the editor of Femina , about her first 
book, Night Train and Other Stories. The book, a compilation of short stories. 

deals with the daily lives of ordinary people as they, in their own ways, 
manifest the surreal world. The stories were written ‘in short bursts, each to its 
completion without a pause'. As the preface says, \ each wrote itself. For the 
author, who grew up in the hills of Guwahati, the spirit of nature is very much 
alive and a part ofus; and it is this commune with the forces beyond that 

underline the stories 


H ow did the book come 
about? 

I had the idea for a hook 
five or six years ago, and 
wrote some of the stones with it in 
mind. But the book didn't happen 
then, so I got the stories published 
individually. Then, a frien 1 of mine 
was getting her book published 
through Har-Anand, so l approached 
them, in ten days flat I got a response 
from them. In fact, the letter of 
acceptance was issued to me on iny 
birthday! 



I had initially wanted to do a 
television serial but in those days, 
there was only Doordarshan, and they 
had taken a decision not to run serials 
based on supernatural themes, so as 
not to encourage superstition! 

The stories are about surreal, even 
supernatural experiences. Is it an 
important aspect to you? Does it 
afnd your outlook on life? 

1 relate very strongly to the surreal. I 
feel nature has a presence, that the 
trees live, mountains talk ... I believe in 
the spirit of things ... and then, there 


A lot of the book is 
based on people I 
know.. .there is me in 
various forms. The 
character in I Spy , for 
instance, is me in 
many ways 


are the stories one grows up with as a 
child. 

Moreover, I grew up in a rather* 
unusual ambience, (in Guwahati, 
Assam) where there was a lot of quiet. 
I was very scared of the dark, of being 
alone. I am even today. 

f remember, after my marriage, 
once when I was alone in the house, 
my husband had gone out. The radio 



Sathya Saran: Editor-turned -writer who 


10 


was playing. ..and, sitting there alone, 
the music took on a very strange 

quality to me...to the extent that I was I grew lip ill 8 ratfaCT "MW—l (in 

S“7toi!3SS d tafe!? ltoffl Guwahati, Assam) where there w«s a lot of quiet. 1 
whtniworked on <he pay was very scared of the dark, of being atone. I am 

we did a lot of work on its even today. I remember, after my marriage, once 

W^wwh^wc^bydJe^deatSaTif when 1 W8S ■*«“* *“ ** h0U8e » “V husband had 
you do no wrong, no wrong wiu come gone out The radio was playing.. .and, sitting there 

10 imay be quae mistaken imhi, alone, the musk took on a very strange quality to 

notion but I have felt quite happy since. ni6«*« to the extent that I was too scared even to go 

Am your own experiences recounted ■“* Switeh lt 0«R I Just S«t there and Crfed, in fear! 

in the book? Incidents, people? 

A lot of the book is based on people I 

know there is me in various forms. cousins, and it was a magic time. the docks, cleaning them, talking to 

The character in I Sm/, for instance, is Now that the house is gone, most of them! If I ever find that dock again. 1 

me in many ways. There is a house the things in it have been given to a shall buy it back! 

that recurs in many of the stories, it is museum, and then each of us have the 

t he home of my grandaunt in Madras, things we loved — 1 have a Ravi The protagonist in many of the 

A gf c.it old house in the heart of the Varma painting and a Persian carpet. stories is often the younger pereon, or 

city, h's been pulled down now and a I remember that someone bought the one that gets bullied, the milder 
»u permarket is coming up in its place, the grandfather dock for just Rs 5001 It or more sensitive person. 

I <.pent every vacation there, with my was really sad. I used to be in charge of That's not intentional, it's perhaps 

because as a child I was the one who 
got sat upon! 1 was at an age between 
tke older and the younger lot, and 
tended to move with the older crowd . 
So I would be at the receiving end! 
Maybe I look at things from that 
perspective. 

Axe you particularly fond of any of 
the inddents or characters in the 
book? 

Yes, I like Night Train ... very mudv 
it came from my train journeys in 
Bombay, when I used to travel alone 
after play rehearsals, and there was 
the physical fear of being alone at thfti : 
hour. And then there is Argonaut, 
where the old Medea story has been 
written in a modem context. Practical . 
Joke is almost true. I was there, when : 
we cousins tried to pull off the ghost 
trick) 

Were any of the stories rewritten, 
recreated? I 

No, each was written in one single ; 
sitting. I can't be interrupted when T re- 
writing, unlike when I'm working on 
an artide. When I wasproofing the . 
book 1 did feel the book was working,) 
because I didn't get bored with it as I • , 
often do with my own writing! 

Are there more books in the offing? 

Yes, another book of short stories. 
This book has been received well . 
That's encouraging, because today the 
aud ience for books has gone, in tenrruj 
of numbers. Those who are left, 
believes in the spirit of things* though# are dedicated readers. 




m mmmm 

Extract 


The Moonlight 

PICNIC 



An extract 
from 

Sathya 
Sar art’s 

collection of 
short stories 


Extracted from 

Night Tram and 
Other Stones 

by 

Sathya Saran 
Published by 
Har-Anand 
Publications 
Price Rs 195 


he woke up in the night to hear the 
wind howling. How it roamed and 
shrieked. ..as if it were going to rush 
the little house into the valley below. 
She gritted her teeth and tried to go 
back to sleep, willed heiself to go 
back to her dream .but the wind 
intruded. 

When Sheila first came to 
Mussoorie, the wind had been there, 
of course It had thrilled her then. 
After her long years in the plains, 
there was something romantic in the 
fact that the curtains were always 
billowing, the trees constantly whis- 
pering. Only in the harshness of the 
winters she had wished the wind 
would blow softer. The shrieking 
torrents that rushed through the 
cracks of their wooden house scared 
her jn long cold nights 

But these days, the wind 
shneked all the time. 'There was 
some theory of deforestation 
being the cause of the increased fury 
but all she knew was that it made a 
mess of her nerves. 

she remembered now her 
evening battle with Mala, who had 
been quite unreasonable, really, but 
perhaps, she had overreacted too. 
She always did these days. But sure- 
ly it was silly of Mohan to agree to 
Mala's going for that picnic. After 
all, she should have been consulted. 
A moonlight picnic indeed, and 
Mala saying she had been to one 
before without her knowledge, and 
would go again. And her fnends — 
Sheila distrusted those friends Mala 
was so secretive about. 

She got up from her bed and 
walked the cold floor to Mala's 
room. The door was closed She 
pushed gently and peered in. Mala 
sat on her bed, reading. The girl 
looked up, startled. The book fell 
from her hands. Gosh, Mummy, 
you scared me!" 

"What are you doing? It's 
almost two-thirty!" 

"I woke up some time ago and 
couldn't go back to sleep. So I 
thought id do dome reading," Mala 


said There was a sulky note in her 
voice, but she was obviously mind- 
ing her manners. 

Mala looked at her where she 
stood There was no welcome in her 
gaze, and Sheila felt an intruder 
there, in her dauhtcr's room. The 
girl had circles undei her eyes, she 
certainly needed her sleep Perhaps 
she had been unduly rough on her 
After all, the picnic was to take place 
within sight oi the compound gates. 
“Mala," she said suddenly, "l think 
you can go for that picnic " 

“Mum., my!" with a leap Mala 
was acrosr the bed, hugging her. 

Tears tilled Sheila's eyes, stupid- 



12 





ly Softy, she mocked herself as she 
hugged her daughter back. 'You 
must not stay too lone, and promise 
you will wear a coat. 

The sun was streaming in 
through her window and the wind 
had died down when she woke 
again. She lay in bed trying to 
remember if she had indeed spoken 
to Mala the night before. 

"Wake up sleepy head/' Mohan 
called from the next room. 

"Mala has prepared a lovely 
breakfast for you and you don't 
want it to get cold do you?" So, she 
had spoken to Mala the night before. 

As she hurried out of tne bed, 
Sheila felt apprehensive again. 
Mohan was going to Delhi tonight 
On one of his official trips and she 
wished she had not given her con- 
sent for the picnic She hated to be 
alone. And yet she could not be sure 
what she dreaded more, being alone 
m the house, or being alone with 
Mala. The last time Mohn had gone 
out of station, she had had a terrible 
row with the girl, over something 
she did not oven remember 
now she checked her thoughts. 

This was no way to feel about your 
(laughter. But where is the girl I 
loved? She thought miserably 


Despite her forebodings, the day 
went pleasantly enough, as it always 
did when Mala was in good spirits. 
Only, that was not quite so often 
now. Sheila thought dryly to herself. 
Mala was cheerful only when having 
her own way; one little 'no' and the 
world collapsed around their heads. 
"Adolescence, " Mohan said, everv- 
tie she tried to put her foot down 
and contain Mala's tantrums. 
"Growing pains," he called them at 
other times, but Sheila knew he was 
being indulgent. She had also passed 
through adolescence and surely her 
mother had never had to face 
tantrums like the ones she weath- 
ered 

Mala was being quite mysteri- 
ous that morning. She had gone to 
the Mall, shopping basket slung on 
one arm. "Getting some groceries 
for the picnic. Mom. Do you want 
some too?" she had yelled from 
downstairs while Sheila was packing 
Mohan's suitcase. Usually she made 
such a fuss to go shopping with her. 
"I hate those messy stores, they are 
so crowded," she'd protest and 
Sheila would have to drag her along. 

"Just get me a loaf of oread for 
Daddy's sandwiches," she had 
called back, thinking — when it's her 


picnic — then stopped herself short 
again. This would not do, she was 
turning into a nag. 

By evening, the cold had set in 
again. She shut the windows and felt 
herself getting tense as she battled 
with the latches Against the rising 
force of the wind. The happy mood 
of the day was gone with tne sun- 
shine. The long night would tick 
slowly by, she thought, watching 
with an increasing aread the sunset 
beyond the mountains. The clouds 
formed mock peaks against the sky, 
closing in on all available space. Tne 
place was getting on her nerves, she 
ought to take a holiday. The moon 
rose slowly that night, flooding the 
slopes with a silver light and even 
her nameless tension could not dis- 
pel the haunting beauty. 

"A perfect night for a picnic," 
she saia across the dining table to 
Mala. Mala nodded, eyes bright with 
excitement. The circles under her 
eyes are darker tonight, she thought, 
and tomorrow they will be darker. 
Dinnerwasa fiasco, with Mala too 
excited to eat and Sheila thinking of 
the loneliness ahead. 

They came when Mala was in her 
room, putting her coat on. At first 
Sheila thought it was a branch 




.rioihir g against the roof, but when 

sound persisted, she opened tLa 

.'W 

Lilt* avid rushed in, filling the 
•c-iise with its presence. A group of 
n> sUxxi outside, huddled togeth- 
v . "'In Mala ready?" one of them 

. r- I 

>.x - 

"Come in/' she said, opening the 
oft r wider But the girls only shuf- 
*ed their feet and continued to hud- 
)e across the doorway. "Nd thank 
ou. Aunty, we are loaded." 

} ler eyes focussed on a shape on 
ie floor and she discerned a large 
onny bag at their feet. "What a lot 
t stuff for a small picnic," she said 
iUghing "What's in it?" 

The girls looked at each other — 
en at tne bag. As if she had asked 
em to reveal state secrets, she 
. ought. 

"'Eats," said one. "A aari to sit 
l, and extra blankets," another 
Ided. At least they won't be cold, 
.eila thought. 

"Ready, Mala announced, com- 
. g down from her room, her black 
antic bag heavy on one arm. Her 
;ht hand was bandaged at the 
ist. "Oh, the can opener slipped 
ten I was trying it out/' she volun- 
n tied, seeing Sheila's eyes on her 

EK/to- 


"Did it bleed much?" Sheila 
asked, then seeing hei daughter's 
eyes cloud over with irritation, she 
changed the topic. "More eats?" she 
asked lightly, looking at the black 
bag, ana one of the girls littered in 
the dark 

"Bye, Mummy I'm off ./' and 
they were gone into the night before 
she could say ail she had wanted to 
say about their being back soon, 
about taking care to keep warm. .. 

She could see them from her bed- 
room window, she realised with a 
start. She had been making a fuss, 
really. Just a girlish get-together, 

Enid Blyton style. After all, other 
mothers had said yes to the picnic. 
Only.. .had the boys been waiting 
elsewhere, while the girls collected 
Mala? 

She went to bed, refusing to 
worry, refusing to hear the whispers 
that screamed fear inside her head 
everytime she was alone in the 
house... 

And awoke with a start. The 
house was quiet. What had woken 
her up? Mala, she should be back. 
The clock showed 10:30 in the lumi- 
nous dial. She moved to the window. 

The shapes were there. Sitting in 
a ring they had managed to get a 


small fire going— sho could sec On ;n 
in the firelight, sitting ‘.luiuUkr to 
shoulder, huddled in wool ions i hey 
seemed tr» be clapping *inJ swaying 
The familiar rhythm eluded her for a 
moment, then she got it — it wa;- one 
of those names -ot -things game* • 
where you changed names to the 
beat of handclaps Giriish games 
never changed, she thought with a 
smile as she went back to bed again 

As she lay in bed, holding her 
mind steady for sleep, she could 
hear the chanting almost. Be quick, 
pause, be quick, pause, be quick, 
foul and fair, fair and foul, be 
quick — then high-pitched laughter 
as a voice faltered.... then a mur- 
mured consultation. Then the voices 
started again Foul and fair, be quick, 
rotten air, be quick, fair and foul.. .ris- 
ing in speed and pitch.. dill the shrill- 
ness woke her. And only the wind 
howled outside. 

Eleven o'clock, the time piece 
said— she had dropped off for 20 
minutes and dreamt all the voices! 
She leapt out of the window. The fire 
burned brighter now and the girls 
were still sitting around it. They 
were eating, she saw them reaching 
out and picking things from the bas- 
kets in the centre. They should be 
home soon enough, she thought. 
Once the food is over, the fun is 




done. “Finish the food, and the 
mood," she remembered. She tried 
to spot Mala in the circle, to see if 
she was eating, but the shapes wen' 
too indistinct, wrapped in their 
shawls and blankets, to be recognis- 
able. 

What a night, she thought — till 
this child returns I can't get any 
sleep. She caught sight of her nice in 
the dressing table mirror How pale 
she looked and how lined her skin 
had become.. .those lines on cither 
side of her mouth made it look so 
drawn She smiled — lifting the 
mouth in a curve and a face trans- 
formed itself into youth, "Why" 
Mala looks like me," she thought- 
noticing the resemblance for tne first 
time. The idea gave her pleasure and 
still smiling, she lay in bed again. 

And slept. To dream of cnes in 
the night, strange knockings and 
maniacal winds that toppled trees, 
picked them up again to lightly 
carry them across the meaaow and 
hurt them into the valley 
below... while shapes rose and fell, 
rose and fell and changed around 
the fire... 

Mala — she came awake once 
more. Surely, it was Mala knocking. 
She rushed to the window, but the 
shapes were still there around a fire 
that had almost burnt out. And they 


were dancing. Not Western style, but 
with strange, jerky movements, 
round and round the fire. Something 
nagged her memory — she had seen 
such a dance spme where... But she 
couldn't remember. At a school func- 
tion? A Shakespeare play? A film? 

She let it be, watching the dancers. 
The clock struck 12:30. She ought to 

S o down and fetch Mala, she 
lought. Mohan would be angry that 
she had allowed her out so late after 
midnight. 

But the thought of the cold out- 
side kept Sheila standing where she 
was. And she could not he a spoil- 
sport. She watched the dancers 
again. Round and round, up and 
down, round again... she realised 
with a start that they were moving 
further away. The fire was outside 
the circle now — between the dancers 
and the house. 

The girls were moving towards 
the edge of the meadow, not know- 
ing they did so in their preoccupa- 
tion with the rhythm Again the 
dance movements nagged her mem- 
ory, then panic took hold. The girls 
would fall off... the wind would blow 
them over... 

She could almost see one of them 
toppling over and disappearing into 
the void, and she could see the 
shocked reaction on the other 
dancers' faces... 

She throttled a scream at the 
image, grabbed a blanket from hei 
bed ana rushed out of the house the 
wind roaring behind her. 

The long run into the night 
sobered her a little— and she arrived 
panting but sane, to the edge of the 
area lighted by the fire. The girls 
were still dancing, holding sticks in 
one hand, jerking their bodies up 
and down. No wonder they felt no 
cold, she thought. 

The circle broke, the dancers qui- 
etened* and formed a line. They 
stood with their backs to her, now 
clutching their sticks in front oi 
them. She could hear a slow chant 
begin — try, try, try ..the words said. 
Some girl guide song, she thought, 
the tune so eerie. It rose and fell like 
the wind, the voices rushing over the 
words. 

The girls started moving for- 
ward, one step at a time, still chanti- 
ng their song.. TVy... try... try... and as 
they rushed forward in one gasp, the 
wind howled and pushed and she 
heard the words clearly this 
time..fly...fly...and the brooms on the 
sticks. 

Sheila screamed in the dark — 
hurrying the bodies to the edge of 
darkness; hell-bent on madness, 
over the brink. .■ 



Indian 

Sift 

House 


COLLEGE STREET 
MARKET 



T 


IME TABLE 



All arrival and departure times are for Calcutta 

Day* of operation using 7-day coda: ® MON DAI « TUESDAY ® WEDNESDAY ® THURSDAY ® TRiDAY ® SATURDAY CD SUNDAY 
tAs trst'M-* pA'je* qo to d r »'ss jiw wntk iri advance readfi r y should cht w > with rf^piH'livi .wiii'i:- and iti-iways /or last miniirp rhanqe in lirmiyc) 




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Ft No. Time Days 

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Ft No. Time Days 


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AI Air India • BA British Airways • BG Biman Bangladesh Airlines • BI Royal Brunei Airlines • D2 Skyline NEPC • D5 NEPC Airlines • 1C 
Indian Airlines • KB Druk-Air • KL Royal Dutch Airlines • LZ Balkan Airlines • M9 ModiLuft • PF Vayudoot • RA Royal Nepal Airlines 
• RJ Royal Jordanian Airlines • RO Tarom Air Transport • SQ Singapore Airlines • 8U Aeroflot • TO Thai Airways international • 9W 


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TRAINS 


Dapartura EASTERN RAILWAY 

Up lime Howrah 

DdM-KaJta Mall 

Amritsar Mali 

Bnritay Mall .. A-,,'’ i 

Poona (Non Delhn Express ... -v*'- 

i'll 'Vf* i ' ... 

*i ‘V., \ ■■ 

Poona (Nee Delhi) Express .- ' .»■ . 

.i-l 1 Mi 1 ' i- ■ » ■ \ j 

A-; M U-.I- i ■ \ .- 

Rajdhsnl Express •, i 

M/i l.jf v\i l > .• 1 

A." M in r r ui ‘'ii, 

Rdtfonl Express ' 1 .ii; 

luf T'-ijr* >4 ‘i.h ■»! 

Jodhour bxoress 

Statabdl (Bokaro Steal City) Express 

i"p \ Ar 1 *.YI ! 

Hlmglri (Jammu- Tad) Express Ti- / * . 

1 • . . n Guwdetf Saralghat Express 

l "v I-.' Wf*: k '..i' #’■■' 'uh 
: t-’M Gorakhpur Boras o\ l *V 

' >r ijin Purtwnchal (Gorakhpur) bora* 

1 -‘v ^ »ii' "»ij( M i" v\ . •• ; .% 


Udyan Abba Tootan Express 
DsmlJnli Express 

AnwItMr Cwmmd 

Amritsar express 
KdhQodun Express 
Mlthlla (Nraul) Express 
Karino (Guaahd)) Express 
nack utamona express 
Codfldd Express 
Asvtsol bpress 
Demur Bjpreas 
Jamopur Express 
SantfnIMan Bqma 
Rampurtdt Express 
Chambd (Gwodtor) Express 
Uf-l 1 Mun hie & lhu: A', 
Shlpn (More) Express 

P“« Wr‘U . Oil! & S:.'I Arr 


i . S.i! & S:.'i Arr bur Wnl & 1 

ugj'gihgL- , 

(Agra caraLj express h 

Sealdah 


awes 


Tsaeto-Tona Bqpras 
DarissUng Mall 
Ddnl Boreas Mam : n*t 
Kandanjungs :Lum.j..iG. Fxp »• »•- 
Gour Boren 
Kdttarupraas 
Jammu-Twrt Boras 
Mu^ol Sml Biprai vm i 
mwQttmn (umohj expvmb 
Gangs Sagv Miitipur) Bqxvs 
Deo & An fbu'b & 


Arrival 

Thne On 


Tiro Dn 

h T- -114." 

H 41. 

' 5 l . 1112 

" [»hb8 

■| 1 A 31 f )4 

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1 •/] 315 / 

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Departure 
Up Tiro 


SOUTH-EASTERN RAILWAY 

Howrah 


• nw vi i hiJurir 

all (Bombay) Bipreas 
K (Rourtoria) Express 


Arrival 

Tiro Dn 

I) 55 f>Pr .4 

h .’(J BDP1 

?■ iXi /U2:» 


IU dUU 

21 * u j BUZ 

S-SX. BUO'l 

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Prtp n An r a: i‘p! S.i!urtJ.sv 

Hi) 1 1 -10 Ahmaddad Boreas M'. 8UT 

1 1-2( Kuril Express via N.jgpu. 1 h L ‘W 81)21 

ii'// Comrandal (kbdres) Boras via *: j »i'i .'8V 

d' iu Futaknums (Socundsidiaa) Expreas PNu , 7 UP4 

L'111 Si” I Mil‘1 hn 
>*i r Mmi 'hui'i & '.ai 

.* ’-3"i Bangalore Boreas 13 15 w.2 

I *t ■: ■ Sunil.lv 

Arr S»j'1t«»iv 

■■it- 1 ■ 3(« Tda Steal Express lu ?v dm 4 

' 'in taprt (Jhareuguds) Express 21 Biv 

mi ' i 1 '. • ■// Tmagsrh &pras 5-:X. BdO'i 

-P!'. 1- Rsntfil Hdta Express r> m Hoir 

n;i;’ ; :• Puri Boreas vu DifW j :xi 91)08 

'*x Jagvndh (Purl) Bqxeas a-: 11 . 84 io 

J8.': i * Dhsull (Bhubmanar) Boren ;? r.»;. ?822 

w 4-. . East Goad (Hydanbad) Express 15 iu 804 u 

X : .i- Pwulla Bipreaa t b L > HO IB 

f H* Dim j ! 'jlmd-h 
A r i IX hpt '*Ui 

'hi " AodHM (Pum) faMy Bonn i r , ior r - 

Dv •'tAi. mi '.i.iK.i.iy 

2 * 1 .' ■ Bhdanawrer Near DdN Rajdnnl Bqpren wu ih in 

imwidhl Miiiiky wily 

Near DaN-Ghdb—aaar Rajdanl Expreas i.’j v> /\x 

ri'iwM'i) I.dliiiddv only 

♦’ 11 Gmaibdl - Hoanh - Trivadnvn Cartral Boreas /; i* 

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'.aliiiddY only 

14 i r > Codiin Harbour Tandnus - Guadad Waddy n 45 (. jl ^ 

Bipreas i via VL.)l.iia|i.iiHd>!i t Hi.wr.ii ) 

Thursday rpiy 

i .M Guam - Cochin Habou TaimlnuB Waddy .v 15 

Ex pre ss (vn iii'Widh & VittKhHpairvmj 
Cfl'.ui-Jd; on! v 

r.-ni ;; 3- Cochlr habour Tandmis Expreas ivj ii4’. 

VisakTiapdinam & Hnwrahi 
L)i-p Tur*s A Fri An lues A Hi 

f.vu 2 . ?h Guadad - Bngdore CRy Waddy Boreas ,..j 2 ; is 

Howrah A Collarki Wednesday only 

14 05 Bkngdore City - GwaM Waddy Express tv. rt 13-45 5i>r- 

Howiah A CutliicH) Monday only 

ENQUNES: For round da dock InfomoHon of Eredm Rdlare ad SouttHEohm RdbapMo. 
phase dU 2203646-54 tor kKodiq treM 2209635^44 tor d odor Monnlhn.hr Hovmdhn 
dxut reaawHon on Eotom Mm ad SouBBm Mw Mni.dM2BBdMBOO (tan I 
an to 6 pm on sadatoys ad 8 an to 2 pm on Sundp ad pedtod hoUaa). In aMton 
dd 1331 (tor recorded Mormdlon on bdn randng), 1 31 (mranoMn opadton s) nd 135 
(regadtaQ rmavdlora). Trdn sadre aiqdry a SmMdi 350353^37. 
htorvthaVQkxRasponas^retomtSBntoBpmewryd^tomMontlwtoSabiddr.SaTitoB 
pmonSurdtofr For rnmmon mtm , id 138 (contoilBrM); Did imm Ipmmi mijtofl. 


i'i 40 832' 

n 45 (.jii 




IT TAKES A VILLAGE 

To begin developmental work in any area, saysGeeta Shartna, after 
travelling through the Nawalgarh area of Rajasthan 


O ne day as Kiran walked 

past the freshly-sown fields 
of her village on her 
rounds, she was beckoned 
by the village heads for a word. The 
Sarpanch asked her tc take a seat 
ana told her that they were drawing 
out plans for the panchayat building 
that was to come up shortly and 
wanted to know if she would 'ike a 
room in it for her ' karyalaya ' ( office). 

At first Kiran thought that these 
men were having some fun at her 
expense. But when the elders went 
nn to tell her how proud they were 
of the work she was doing and the 
awareness she was spreading in the 
village, she could feel joy and pride 
welling up inside her. 

Kiran, who lives in the sleejpy vil- 
lage of Kheru in the Nawalgarh area 
of Raj a s than, had n* /er imagined 
that she would ever step out of the 
narrow confines of her marital home. 
But over the past two years, her 
work as,a swasthya karmt (health 
worker) has not only given her a 
new identity — apart from that of a 
good wife, daughter-in-law and 
mother — but also added a new con- 
fidence to her stride. 

In her new role as a swasthya 
karm ; , Kiran goes arouna ine village 


won 



™ ~ , . tM ' 





ax 


Mothers-In-law accompany their daughtera-Jn-law in tha first 
session of the Morarka Foundation programme 


and talks to both men and women 
about the hitherto taboo subjects of 
family planning, health and hygiene. 
Kiran is among the 25 swasthya 
karmic who have been selected to 
work in as many of the 136 villages 
of the picturesque Nawalgarh area 
of the state's Jhunjunu district by 
the MR Morarka GDC Rural 


Participants of the Swasthya Kamil Programme 


Research Foundation, chaired by 
Kamal Morarka, former Union min- 
ister, is a voluntaiy organisation that 
has been involved in a host of devel- 
opment activities in the area tor the 
past three years. 

According to Mukesh Gupta., 
chief executive of the foundation, 
they took care in selecting the karmin 
so mat they would find tne maxi- 
mum acceptance among the vil- 
lagers. " We opted for the 'bahu' 


mum acceptance among the vil- 
lagers. " We opted for the 'bahu 
(daughter-in-law) and not the 
daughters who would have got r 



daughters who would have got mar- 
ried off. Also, we selected women 
with some basic education so that 
they would understand and com- 
municate the message better 
because creating the right awareness 
in one woman of the family is equiv- 
alent to creating it in the entire fami- 
ly" he says. The Foundation also 
took care to do some image building 
for its volunteers by inviting senior 





igers. But the karmis themselves are 
J3e to cater to such basic medical 
jeeds as giving medicines for ordi- 
nry ailments, distributing condoms 
na contraceptives and referring 
atients to the town doctor for mr- 


ler medical help. 

But their mam work, that earns 
lem a salary of Rs 400, is to awaken 
'omen to their nutritional and 


palth needs. “'I have faced opposi- 
on and resistance at some stage 
om mothers-in-law and die bahus 
icmselves when I have spoken to 
lem about containing the size of 
icir family or improving their nutri* 
| inal intake/' says Kiran. 


* In fact, awareness levels have 
;en so much that younger women, 
•me quietly to me asking for family 
ermine aids, and take them on the 
ledge that 1 would not tell anyone 
■»nut it/' she says with a smile Ught- 
ig up her face. On a triumphant 
nte, she adds that ever since the 
a 1 * thy a karrrii programme began, 
’gistration of births and deaths has 
proved and the rate of miscar- 
ngps and infant mortality have 
ipped significantly in the villages 
|vercd by it 

i ‘ Kiran says that initially she was a 
apprehensive about "the 
jfcsponw; of her family to her remain- 
out of the house tor long hours. 
$jut fortunately, her sincerity earned 
the affection of the villagers. 


Se her husband and in-laws take 
it pnde in her But die best indi- 
jtof of appreciation and acceptance 
I he. work and message, she says 
Itulingly , was the fact that even 
?n in the village who needed con- 
pceptives, would come to her 
“>use and convey what they wanted 
her husband or when he was not 
home, conveyed it to her little son, 
writing it on his slate? 

Cunt a adds that when the foun- 
ition neld the initial training pro- 
famine for the volunteers, on the 
day, more than three-fourths of 
jfc karmia were accompanied by 
w mothers-in-law who wanted to 
»ow what their daughters-in-law 
tre getting into. And the most 
wimon remark overheard from the 
others-in-law to their bahus was, 
u dhyan se sunti kyort ttahin hain?' 
'Vhv don’t you listen attentively) 


lie swasthya karmi programme is 
one of the many projects 
pnehed by the Morarka 
undation which has been partly 
"ided by the Rajasthan govem- 
~l. Among its aims is to raise the 




productivity of the rain-starved rural 
areas of Nawalgarh and create an 
awareness about the methodologies 
required to bring about this com- 
plete transformation. 

Elimination of child labour, creat- 
ing additional employment oppor- 
tunities through vocational training 
upgrading the occupation of tradi- 
tional artisans by implementing a 
complete package covering 200 arti- 
san s for revival of terra-cotta and 
village pottery spread over five vil- 
lages comprise a major part of this 
project. Its education programme 
was crowned with success recently 
when Nawalgarh achieved the high- 
est percentage of universal primary 
education in the district. 

Besides, converting the golden 
triangle of Delhi, Agra and Jaipur 
into a golden square by making the 
Shekhawati region under whicn 
Nawalgarh falls, as the fourth desti- 
nation point is also on the top of the 
foundation's agenda . It has already 
begun organising annual Shekhawati 
Festivals and reviving the dying art 
of frescoes etched on the regions 
20,000-odd ha veli es to attract 
tourists to their grandeur. 

" The foundation works in close 
collaboration with the state govern- 
ment and agencies to identify the 
constraints and work out suitable 
policy initiatives and implementa- 
tion methodologies to bring about 
rural development/'says Gupta. 

He says the foundation has intro- 
duced novel technologies to raise 
productivity of the region that gets 
rainfall for only 23 days in a year 
and has only 19 per cent of its land 
under irrigation. One such success- 
ful experiment that turned out to be 
a boon for the farmers is the Vermi 
Compost technology, with the help 
of which about 99 per cent of the 
land in Nawalgarh has been brought 
under cultivation. 

The foundation has also launched 
a low-cost animal husbandry devel- 
opment programme at the village 
level in the district. It holds camps 
from time to time so that the vil- 
lagers may bring in their cattle and 
livestock for treatment and health 
care at nominal rates. At these camps 
they are also given tips about animal 
care so that they would be able to 
handle the minor ailments them- 
selves. 

Its tall objectives notwithstand- 
ing, the fact that the foundation has' 
been able to involve the people 
themselves, and specially bring the 
women out of the confines of their 
familial homes, to attend to their 
own development needs is an 
achievement in itself.! 



Sketches 

SIGNIFICANT OTHER 

A better look at the better halves 

This Week: Sterre (Satish) Sharma 


her 
to 

Satish?: It's quite a 
romantic story really She 
was a teenage Dutch 
student brought up in the 
United States, on her way 
to Taiwan to study art. 

She had to change planes 
in New Delhi and during 
the flight she sat next to a 
man in aviator sunglasses. 
The man turned out to be 
none other than our hero, 
who declared within 
seconds of meeting her 
that she would become his 
wife. She was appalled but 
strangely thrilled. 
Something told he*- that 
Satish was the man for her. 
She didn't board her 
connection toTaiwan, and 
within a week of meeting 
the aviator became her 
groom, much to the horror 
of shocked parents back 
in Washington. 

Why were they shocked?: 
Well, wouldn't you be 
shocked if your artistic 
daughter set out for 
Taiwan and ended up 
married in Delhi? 

They had nothing against 
Satish really — they had 
never even set eyes on 
him — but it was die 
concept of the sudden 
wedding that worried 
them. Finally, they met the 
good Captain and were 
bowled over by his 
Punjabi charm. 

Oh yeah?: Honestly, you 
mustn't believe what the 
press says about Satish. 
He's actually quite a smart 
confident; laid-back sort of 
fellow. Ai d against all 
odds, the Sharmas have 
20 




Starr*: The painter wtfe of SaUsh Sharma 


survived as a very 
together and very happy 
couple. Her family spends 
a lot of time with them in 
Delhi, and Satish was a 
great favourite of his 
father-in-law's. 


What does she do now?: 
Lots and lots of things. 

She runs a clothes shop for 
children called Balloons 
and has a garment export 
business. But her real 
interests lie elsewhere. 
Along with her sister, she 


is involved in a project to 
create a township for street 
performers. Ana, of 
course, she is a painter 
of considerable talent who 
has exhibited all over the 
world. 

What is she like?: 

Bubbly, extroverted, 
unaffected and very 
charming. She serves as a 
foil to the more 
introverted Satish and 
over the years the two 
have learnt to complement 
each other. 


She fits in perfectly with 
the conservative Brahmin 
Sharma family, speaks 
fluent Punjabi; and 
surprises people who 
meet her for the first time 
with her expertist? in 
Hindi. She even speaks 
English with an Indian 
accent. 

Is she really Sonia 
Gandhi's best friend?: 

No, that's just a media 
invention. The Sharmas 
and the Gandhis were 
friends. They even spent 
the odd New Year's Eve 
together. But contrary to 
media speculation, it was 
Satish and Rajiv who 
were pals, not the wives 
Of course, Sonia and Sterre 
got along, but no, there 
was no special relationship 
and she is not part of the 
inner circle at 10, Janpath 

What should you call her 
if you meet her?: Mrs 
Sharma would probably 
be best. Just as you're safer 
sticking to Captain when 
you meet Satish, but for 
the record, her friends call 
her Kapi, and his friends 
call him 'Stish'. 

Whose idea were the 
marble tiles?: Nobody's. 
There were no marble tiles. 
In 1988, when he was 
building his house, Satish 
imported some ceramic 
tiles. These provoked the 
controversy and it suited 
the mood of die time to 
say that they were made 
of Italian marble. After the 
uproar threatened to get 
out of hand, Satish 
claimed that they had been 
sent as a gift by Sterre's 
father. And who knows, 
perhaps they were. ■ 



Aries 

March 21 April 20 
j V ” "j ( uinrshii s*iys hki a 
1 triple action formula 

pill, vou will reach 
[„ K.] nut to people and 
placid, busy yoursdt with 
l‘in.inct*s and take i lianas Vau 
will still have a hall Plans 
could als(> be made on the 
spur ol the moment and that 
would he gicrtt, News and 
messages will have an extra 
.■d*;v 

Taurus 

April ?1 - May 20 


. Menurv lYiinus fine 
jfiHBp ' pl.uiriy, helps \'ou to 
WSL ■ \\ in Ln our, ami gi-t 

w in k done. \uu will 
he working at full speed and it 
is here that health prei autions 
.m iinessan 1 \pecl \ 1 - 0 Inrx 
i'\ neighbour*,, foldings and 
di*ar ones Fun Mines nunanlii 
intor'-sK ,,n ,j| ,o \ orv snrpi is- 
i ■ u\l\ Filed tin in \f c *7 davs 
vVoik IiaSvl. plil*, soft 

Gemini 

May 2 1 -■ Jurio 20 

iSfc iB i ' kI i -0 " 11 ni |Tu,nrN 

ton While the hon e 
ml Imi'iii is, s iv rerun at ion and 
dri » 'ration do < •mtliule Mom 
the lad month, vou w ill have 
th< ! 1 j i m t - 1 take slot k ol the 
entire ^itualiuii, i ites t uineslia 
I .o' e will speak to v oil in a 
smooth toni;ue aruf vou will 
respond mstanth 


Cancer 

June 21 — July 20 

rriini ^ OUI £ olH * wn rk will 
! mi l P J V At the same 
I jjjjjT time, you will have 
L^SrJ to tread carefully the 
domestie scene There is a 
chance to make a tasl huik 11 
you are so interested, you will 
be pai Urinating m gmup 
aehvity tin 1 social whiilgig It 
will lie ip to loosen vou up It 
is time to finish unfinished 
projects 

Leo 

July 21 - August 21 

S I Mars helps vou in be 
j energetic, mdividu- 
i alistu and assume 
! leadership but see to 
u that vou do not step on too 
many toes, otherwise tun and 
|oy will he lost Lake the 
L ancerians, group activity and 
socialising should make you 
happy, rather fulfill <i part ol 
vour pcrsonalitx Expenses 
will mount 


Virgo 

Augusts - Septembor 22 1 

. j A tine Venus intlu- j 

. ffmm* | cniv makes you dan- I 
|9f i gerouslv attractive I 
fll Buying, selling, 
shopping, purchasing will i 
entice vou Financial deals wmII ! 
ottei splendid opportunities 1 
to i the tutuie, sav November 
tluough the whole of I W 
Talking with agents and advi- 
sors will really be helpful j 

October ‘MS will be exciting I 


Libra 

September 23 — October 22 
"J Mercurv, the mes- 
1 senger helps you to 
spread vom tenia - 
At cles lai and wide, be 
it busmi ss oi nleasuie or both 
Be bold and snoot straight 
Togetherness is the kev to har- 
mony and happiness, says 
Ganesha This is the nghi lime 
to l>e adventurous, spearhead 
a movement oi a lampaign 
sun ess in love predicted 

Scorpio 

October 23 — November 22 

Action lime, so rush 
1 in tire engine style 
| While expenses will 
j be heavy, there will 
be plenty ot movement to 
keep you on voui toes Manv 
ot vou will be in tor an inter 
view, j meet, a conference, a 

f ^et -together and that will be 
lelpful You will have the 
energy and the enthusiasm to 
make plans 

Sagittarius 

November 23 — December 20 
| dfljfcVi From nnd week, a 
. Sgi ; sharp turn lor the 
LjSHnJ better And the due 
WSmM <>r fate rolls imo and 
easy for you. he it contacts, 
i omnium cat ion, finance, 
romance, business deals and 
hettv pavotlsor whatevei 
I’llgnmages, prayers, legar v, 
public trust, joirt finance and 
insurance are the othei iea 
lures of the Week tor you 


REJAN DARUWALLA 

| Capricorn 

j December 21 - • January 19 
j [ Fassiun and profes- 

j a R] sion now L>lend as 
i ; > well as sejiaiate in a 

| feRlPB^ most unusual man- 
i ner lm Lapncorntans )Tu* 

| highs and the lows will be 
j yours Luit oveiall. you do gain 
j and have something to show 
| toi it In this comuvMon. 
i Octobei <J - 1 f !, 14-15* will he 
i markers Paitnrrships at all 
j lex els art 1 foretold 

| Aquarius 

; January 20 — February 1 8 

! Ganesha says |oui- 

j ij pfitf * -1 ' neys, ii'iemimies 
‘ i and collaluirations 

L.3BT .1 JR' down vour lane 
Legal issues could ciop up but 
■ these can be and must be ban 
j died cUTicaleK and t«u ttullv > 
! October 8-U) ulfer promise ol 
! suicess It would be inimitelv 
i to vour advantage Try out the 
I ottbeat and the new follow a 
1 hunch as thdt is best now 

I J Pisces 

j February 19 - March 20 

j fAwjll! Fablu funds, insui- 
| ance, jomL Imame, 

i HRf; loans, tiavel and 
J fir ^A 1 shuttling aie the 
I main ingredients horn which 
| tale will piepaie a dish toi 
; you Mai nag*’, official engage 
i moot, meetings and tonlei- 
; once*- are the other elements 
and factors which will intlu* 

| once vou this week and the 
i next h months 


B 11 T H DAYS 


October 4k Moon brine Hulo, says Ganesha, te an exception- 
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And planning will be required. ‘j.’,- 

October 7: Moon conjunction Mars, mmm . 

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A new high in status and position is almoat certain. .. * 

October fit Moon square Jupiter show a certain strain. inu rela- 
tionship or finance. Best to learn to controly our impulses 
and expenses. , . 

October 9t Mercu ry is finely placed with Urart ^ of 
unexpected events as Wfift fit wfiK^tuto* planet 


riches. Therefore, you have a right to expect die very best in 
tjhefie dilutions. 

October fib Moon-Neptune excellent positioning will lead to 
iWifationfil and intuitive moves and those will turn out 
right. 

October ft: Moon copjuction Mercury means it all depends 
upon new ideas, news, opinions and your ability to convey 
your message. Health needs a tittle extra care, 

October f2i A well placed new moon helps you to run ahead 
of the pari^ be noticed and loved and 4hat> whet life is all 
about The s^rvidss you have mndefed wilt stand you weit 



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OMICS 


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The Indian Airlines office in Male: It runs a daily service to the Maldives 


ne thing you can be sure of. 
visit the Maldives, and 
you'll never want to set 
foot m an Indian beach 
resort ever again After seeing the 
dear blue waters of the (Kean that 
laps the 3000-odd islands of this tiny 
nation, everything pales in 
comparison. 

Did I say clear blue? Well, that's 
just one of the many shades that the 
water assumes in these parts. The 
shallow lagoons an? a pale 
acau a marine blue, venture out a 
little further and the sea turns navy, 
and then, deepens to a royal purple. 
These shades of blue are leavened by 
occasional patches of green, and the 
water is so clear that you can see the 
ocean floor —and the fishes that 
occasionally come right up behind 
26 


you and nibble curiously on your 
calves. 

Oearly, they want you out of the 
sea that is their home. But while you 
are in the Maldives it is difficult to 
stay out of the water for any length 
of time; it looks far too cool and 
inviting for anyone to resist its allure 
in the tropical neat. So, 
visitors — most of whom are from 
Europe, with the occasional 
American, Sn Lankan, and even 
more rare Indian thrown in— -spend 
little time on solid ground. 

If they’re not swimming, they're 
floating in the shallow waters, either 
on their backs or on rafts. The more 
adventurous take a course in deep- 
sea diving and go back home with a 
license to plumb the depths of the 
ocean. Others go snorkelling, taking 


in the wonders of the ocean bed. 
And nearly everyone goes island- 
hopping on motor boats. 

The best way to get an oveniew 
of the Maldives, however, is by 
seaplane, which takes around 20 
minutes to take you around the 
length and breath of this tiny state. 
These planes are small — seating 
around 17 — but they still make the 
most infernal noise as they land on 
the water, churning up the sea as 
they glide right up to the beach. 
Passengers can then walk up the 
beach and enter the plane, which 
is so small, that you can't even stand 
upright. 

A ride costs US $ 60 per head, 
but is well worth the expense. The 
view of the waters is terrific, and 
you get a panoramic look at all the 







various resorts that dot the 
Maldives, and are housed on 
different islands. Hie islands where 
the locals live are easy to identify by 
their humble one-storey houses with 
tin roofs, the resorts, on the other 
hand, are large sprawling structures 
with rooms built right over the 
water, with private beaches, sun 
beds, and a restaurant or two. 

But then, this two-tier system is 
well entrenched in the Maldives. The 
resorts do not have to follow such 
Maldivian laws as that enforcing 
prohibition They can get an import 
license and serve foreign liquor. But 
there's a catch: no Maldavian can 
even pour liquor, let alone drink, it. 
So, all the resorts have Sri Lankan 
barmen, with the locals being 
employed as waiters, instead 

B ut remain wamed.The Republic 
of Maldives takes its no- 
booze' policy very seriously. The first 
inkling most first-time visitors get of 
this is when they fil! in their 
disembarkation cards in the airplane, 
and are informed that it is an offence 
to import liquor into (he country 
Once you're through 
immigration- -Indians needn't apply 
tor a visa before- hand, it will be 
stamped on their passports at the 
airport, free of charge— and have 
collected your baggage, you have to 
queue in front of an X-ray machine. 

And the moment those manning 
it identify something that looks like 
a bottle, they will ask to see the 
ottending object. If it does contain 
liquor, customs will confiscate the 
bottle — only until you reclaim it on 
vour way out of the Maldives, 
though Customs officials will fill out 
a slip with your name and passport 
particulars, and after you've cleared 

immigration on the way out, you can 
collect vour booze as well. What's 
more, the duty-free shops at Male 
airport are full of liquor of every 
kind — from premium whiskey to 
vintage champagne — and you can 
shop away to your heart's content. 

Arriving at Male airport can 
prove to be a bit of a culture 
shock — what with interminable 
queues in front of the X-ray 
machines- — but getting there is quite 
painless. Indian Airlines runs a daily 
A- 320 service from Trivandrum 
airport, and the tare is very 
affordable. Rs 2,000 for a one-way 
economy class ticket, and Rs 2,600 
for a one-way executive class ticket. 

Considering that the difference is 
so marginal, it makes sense to spend 
a little more and travel in the wide- 
bodied seats — quite the most 
luxurious in the business — and 


27 



arrive in splendid shape for what is 
the holiday of a lifetime. But, if 
you'd rather save on the fare and 
splurge in Male*, well then, you 
couldn’t do better than Indian 
Airlines economy class, where the 
service is both quick and efficient, 
and the scats are comfortable. 

From the airport — which is 
housed on a small island, opposite 
the capital dty of Maks- all visitors 
have to take speed boats or dhoms 
(what they call femes in the 
Maldives^fo their resort of choice. In 
fact, boats are the principal mode* of 
transport in this country, which is 
made up of thousands of tiny 
islands, and can turn out to be vour 
major expense. So, make sun? that 
you keep aside a reasonable amount 
of money for just getting from one 
island to another. 

But that may well turn out to be 
your only extra expense Nearly 
every hotel here operates on a full- 
board basis, that is, the room rate 
includes all three meals: breakfast, 
lunch and dinner And since there is 
virtually no shopping that you can 
do in Male- —most Maldivians come 
to India to buy Sumcet mixer 
grinders —there is very little that you 

Virgin beaches of the Maldives: 

The ideal getaway 


can spend on otherwise. 

Male itself resembles nothing 
more than a quiet Kerala town, 
though the streets are far cleaner 
than that of any Indian city. It is 
small — you can walk across the 
length and breath ot the dty in just 
over an hour — but there are a few 
sights you can take in. The one that 
most guide books recommend is the 
Golden mosque, so named because 
of its golden dome, it is a modem 
structure, and even non-Muslims are 
allowed in to visit, so long as 
prayers are not going on, and thev 


have their knees and shoulders 
covered. 

Other places that might be of 
interest to an Indian visitor in 
particular is the Presidential Palace, 
which is a dead ringer for a 
sprawling bungalow in an up- 
market Delhi colony. It was from 
here that President Gayoom of the 
Maldives called up Rajiv Gandhi in 
Delhi when his political rivals hired 
some mercenaries and attempted to 
take over the government. 

Gandhi responded by sending in 
the Indian army and air force, which 


A seaplane landing on the waters:The aerial view of the island is quite terrific 





Male Port: Ports are the principle means of transportation here 


took over the airport - which the 
rebels had rather inexplicably tailed 
to capture — and after securing it, 
went into Male and foiled the coup 
attempt. The mercenaries attempted 
to escape by boat, but were 
intercepted by the Indian navy, and 
handed over to the Maldivian 
authorities. 

So, it might well be said that the 
Maldives have a special relationship 
with India. But despite that, it is not 
an easy relationship to maintain. 
Like most of our neighbours, the 
Republic of Maldives too is rather 
wary of the Big Brother syndrome, 
and the residents are often 
suspicious of Indians, who they feel 
might want to take over their 
country. 

Not that you would ever feel 
their animosity as you walk down 
the streets of Male. Like most island 
people, the Maldivians are laid-back 
and easy-going. And as long as they 
have their rice and fish curry, and 
the freedom to do as they please, 
they don't really get too worked up 
about politics. 

TAThen it comes to choosing the 
V V resort of your choice, it is 
difficult to go wrong in the 
Maldives. Most hotels have a certain 
minimum standard, and all of them 
have provisions for such water 
sports as snorkelling and deep-sea 
diving. The room rate varies 
between US 1 100 -175, but groups 


can often negotiate a discount on 
this as well. Off-season rates also 
vary, so make enquiries at your 
travel agent before you make your 
booking. 

For Indians, the best bet would 
be Em-boo-dhu Fin-olhu Island 
Resort on the South Male Atoll, 
which is run by the Taj Group of 
Hotels. This is one hotel that ij 
geared towards their special needs, 
with Chef Kannen offering to cook 
Indian vegetarian meals for those 
who don't particularly relish roast 
lamb and Chinese stir fries. Even 
some foreign visitors occasionally 
opt for the Indian option, and nearly 
everyone who has eaten his food 
would admit that his rasam is to die 
for. 

The hotel has 16 beach 
bungalows and 48 lagoon rooms 
While the former are cheaper, it 
makes sense to spend a little more 
on a lagoon room, because of the 
unique experience they provide. 
Constructed on stilts over the calm 
waters of the lagoon, the rooms have 
balconies which lead to a sun deck, 
which in turn has a ladder that leads 
right into the water 

So, you wake up to the sight of 
the sea, spend your afternoons 
lazing on the sun-deck with oil 
slathered all over body, and swim or 
float —depending on now energetic 
you feel— in the blue waters and 
watch the sea life all round you. 

If you want to go native with a 


vengeance, then try Cocoa Island, 
also on the South Male Atoll. Here, 
you will find w«»lls made of white 
coral, roofs thatched with palm 
fronds and silky sand floors. But 
don't be fooled by the back*to-natujre 
approach; you can still order the best 
French wine with your dinner. 

But if creature comforts come 
first for you, then Kurumba Village 
may be the place for you. Here you 
can surf ana snorkel as much as you 
want, but you can also play tennis in 
the well-maintained courts of this 
hotel. The highlight of your trip 
could well be the nightly beach 
barbeque, which features the catch of 
the day. 

Remember, however, that there 
are 60-odd beach resorts scattered 
azound the islands. And it might be 
a good idea to spend a couple of 
days in each, before deciding on 
which is the best value for you After 
that initial exploration, you can 
come back and stay in trie hotel of 
your choice. And believe me, when it 
comes to the Maldives, you will 
want to come back — again and again 
and again. 

Indian Airlines flies to the 
Maldives from Trivandrum every 
day at 12.50 pm, and arrives af Male 
at 15.30 pm. The return flight leaves 
Male at 14 JO hours. On Friday*, 
however; the flight leaves 
Trivandrum at 1335 and the return 
flight is scheduled at 15.15 hours. 


29 


First person 


SEEMA KAPOOR, one of the current hot fooourites of the small screen, started her cotter in ■ 
Calcutta as a stage actress, p-eMxkg public attention with plays like fleer Ranijha, ShasShiputra, 
Mirza Saheb etc. It was Ramesh | appy who gave her her first trig break on television wslft Kismat, a 
serial which instantly catapulted her to stardom. Other soaps fouowM Wee Hasratein, Silsila and 
Kurukshetra. But despite her success on the small screen and many film offers, the stage, swears the 
former Miss Chandigarh, remains her first love. 



TATfeatis 
▼ f your idea 
of perfect 
happiness? 

All my 

dreams being 
fulfilled. 


What is your 
greatest fear? 
To be 

emotionally, 
physically or 
financially 
handicapped. 
Who or what 
has been the 



influence in 
your life? 
William 


Shakespeare, 
Raj Kapoor 
and Cleopatra. 
What do you 
dislike most 
in others? 
Double 
standards and 


hypocrisy. 

What is your 
most precious 
possession? 


A photograph of Lord Jesus 
Christ whim Ihave since 
childhood. 


What objects do you always 
carry? 

usually my mobile and 
sunglasses. 

What makes you most depressed? 
Insecurity. 

What do you dislike most on your 
appearance? 

My nose and excess fat, if any. 
What is your favourite word? 

Oh Jesus! 



What is your favourite journey? 

Anywhere abroad. 

What is your favourite dream? 

lo possess a magic wand. 
What is your nightmare? 

To be a failure. 


What or who is the greatest love 


of your life? 


\ duee Js of my life — my job, 
my Lord Jesus and my pet Julie 
What is your source of 
sustenance? 

Faith in God and in my abilities. 
On what occasions do you lie? 

I hate to do so. 

What is your greatest regret? 

Not Having a Godfather, 

What has been your happiest 


Each time when I have 
performed well. 

What brings tears to your, eyes? 


How do you relax? 

By waking up late. 

What do you envy most in others? 
Happiness. 

How would you Ukt to be 

remembered? 

As one of the best actresses and 
human being. 

How woula you like tp die? 

In my sleep. 


30 






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A picturesque view of beautiful Melbourne 


American city, Sydney Has 
a lot to offer to me world. 


In the Land of 
the Kangaroo 

91 Thank you for the cover 
story, In the Land of Oz' 
(August 25). That the 
country 4s a tourists' par- 
adise with an abundance 
of the sun, sea and mirth 
was brought out very well 
in the account. 

It is not that India is 
lacking in natural beauty. 
We have perhaps the 
finest combinations of 
snow-peaked mountains, 
i lakes, valleys, sun-kissed 
beaches, golden deserts 
and dense green forests. 
But we have not been able 
to preserve them well or 
showcase them to the 
world so as to attract for- 
eign tourists. 

An ever burgeoning 
population has eaten into 
our natural resources; 
pulling down trees indis- 
criminately, hunting 
down animals and pre- 
cious sea life, all for pure 
survival. 

Apart from biological 
compulsions, certain 
socio-political forces have 
also been at work leading 
to the destruction of nat- 
ural beauty. Think of what 
has become of Kashmir: 
the once paradise on 
earth. Instead of bloom- 
ing, the dunar is now 
burning. 


it is for us to preserve 
our natural beauty. 
Anhban Dey, 

Calcutta 

# 1 was in Australia 
studying for three years. 1 
have returned to India 
only recently I had some 
opportunity to travel 
around in Australia and 
so the cover story was 
more like a journey down 
memory lane for me, 
Australians arc a love- 
ly group of people: fun- 
loving and hospitable. I, 
too, would recommend 


this place to anyone plan- 
ning a holiday abroad. 
Skarmeela Stngupta, 
Calcutta 

91 The cover story was 
very informative. More so 
the section on the 
Aboriginal issue. I wish I 
could afford a vacation to 
this colourful continent 
Askok Roy, 

Calcutta 

91 It is quite evident why 
Sydney was gifted the 
prestigious 2000 
Olympics. Unlike any 


T. Sirtesh Rao r 
Calcutta 

91 Thank you for the 
colourful cover story. Not 
everyone can afford an 
Australian vacation 
though. So for us travel 
pieces supplement our 
travelling urges. 

But why was there no 
mention of the beautiful 
province of Tasmania? 
Abhishake Kr Saha, 
fchhepur 




l PAGE 4 

I — — 

f FOR PRITISH Nandy journalism, poetry and 
environment take the tack seat as Net surfing 
becomes his latest passion. Meet the new 
Cyber Cowboy. 

PAGE 26 

ANJOUE ELAMenon, despite her fame, 
remains stubbornly modest. 

Pritish Nandy 


SECTIONS 


16 TIMETABLE 
26 ART 

M) FIRST IT RSON 


Covnr Shaile&h Mule 












But Pritish plans to proceed in easy 
stages. He would first like to push up 
the usage of the Net before setting up a 
"really spectacular site — something 
they have never seen before/' lie 
announces, in typical Nandy style. 
The site, he adds a moment later, is 
being set up in strategic alliance with 
Hindustan Thompson Associates and 
Silicon Graphics. 

Plans are already under way, with 
the cooperation of the Videsh Sanchar 
Nigam Limited (VSNL) and Com- 
puter Maintenance Corporation. 
"VSNL has the primary right to open a 
site in India ana we are on their back- 
bone, so when our site comes up it will 
be by far one of the strongest and best- 
located sites in the world," says 
Nandy. 

Pritish has been involved in the sett- 
ing up of cybercafes around the coun- 
try and there are plans for many more, 
he says, including one in Calcutta 
where talks with a major chain are 
already in progress. And mind you, 
he's into this "as a journalist, not a busi- 
nessman. I'm very keen to increase the 


The old Pritish Nandy 

has gone from dabbling in virtually 
everything to concentrating on virtual 
reality. And of late, he seems to see 
himself as a Cyber Cowboy, surfing 
the last frontiers of the Internet. 

But Nandy would rather not talk 
about die new love of his life: the Net. 
At least, he says, not until his plans 
materialise. And specially, not to the 
media, which, he says, "makes a 
natak over me, so that everything I do 
gets lost." 

Despite such disclaimers, though, 
Nandy doesn't seem to mind being 
interviewed at all He's got used to it, 
you see. Sitting in his art- 
and-antique-decorated office ("it was 
converted from an attic," he offers hel- 
pfully), Pritish answers with enthusi- 
asm questions on everything from his 
vegetarianism to his art, his poetry 
and, of course, the Internet. 

Nandy 's got huge plans tor the Net. 
In fact, he sounds all set to usher in a 
cyber-revolution in India. And he's 
been at it foi a while now in a planned 
manner, setting up cybercafes around 
the country, planning thousands of 
cyberbooths where people can surf the 
Net "for a pittance". 





reach of the Net and I'm not looking at 
business opportunities yet/' he says. 

The Net nas a brilliant future, insists 
Nandy, for the people "are fed up 
with tne mindless entertainment of 
television driven by the lowest com- 
mon denominator, and the controlled 
information that emanates from print. 
The Internet has not made much of an 
impact so far, hut one fine morning 
you will wake up and had there's a 
huge quantum leap; that's what hap- 
pens with the media " 

The Net, he adds, is also beyond the 
ability of governments and media - 
ow.iers to control and that is another 
reason why he >*ees gre it potential in 
it. 7sa journalist it has always been 
my idea U » get closer to evolving a 
delivery platform beyond censor 
ship " he says 

Nandy illustrates his point further 
"You've s*vn the kind of journalism l 
did in the ///ustrateJ Weekly/' he 
says, "which was substantially differ- 
ent from the kind ol journalism vou've 
,n the 7 j/»o:.,U llril I mu ot sum 1 
had complete treednm from owner 




l ontrol — that was the strength i »f the 
weekly After I left they couldn't sus- 
tain the fierce independence of the 
magazine " 

But where ihe Internet is concerned. 
British is looking at the big pktur« 
Television drew readers away from 
print, he claims, and now the Net is 
going to do the same thing with both 
print and television The future 
belongs to the electronic media, h»* 
announces. 

And to etwironment- 
consciousness 

T he environment, and the state of 
our fragile eco-sy stein, is a favou- 
rite bugbear of Nandy* s these days. 
"More and more countries around the 
world are going to stop allowing trees 
to be cut to support this amazing hun- 
ger for paper One w ill see more and 
more communication moving on to 
non-paper mode. Everything which is 
environment-friendly will have an 
edge over everything that is not," he 
says. 

Not surprising words from the man 
who became vegetarian a few years 
and, along with Maneka Gandni, foun- 
ded the animal-rights group, People 
For Animals. "It's the fastest-growing 
NGO in the country," he says proudly 
of this organisation. "We've done a lot 
of significant work and people have 
shown a great deal of interest too. Envi- 
ronment helps us change our 


lifestyle " 

That does sound impressive, but 
doesn't he miss his seafood once in a 
while? 

"Well, I do," he laughs, "I would 
still be lured by the idea of seafood but 
it's the question of making a moral sta- 
tement And 1 don't say I'm a vegetari- 
an, 1 inst say 1 don't like eating anyth- 
ing that has a mother." 

Environment is one sublet he can 
goon about forever, that's easy to see, 
as he talks energetically about the 
depleting fish in the waters around 
India, about the number of birds killed 
m the process of caging that one bird 
which will adorn a living room, about 
the country becoming a slaughter- 
house for the West. 

India and her future and his plans 
for both figure in his talk with frequen- 
cy. He isn't thinking of getting into 
politics yet, is he? "Who knows 1 just 
rni^ht someday, if 1 feel 1 could contri- 
bute effectively," says Nandy gravely 
"I don't just want to go in there and 
become an eunuch." 

Through all these change’s in his life, 
the one constant has been his passion 
for writing poetry 7 He had recorded a 
few cassettes of his poetry, read by 
himself of course, and is now planning 
another He has also done six books of 
translations from Sanskrit erotic 
poems "which have actually been 
pubhsned" But he's not talking about 
the sort of poetry he's writing now "It 



A charmer all the way 


ail depends," is the cryptic answer. 
"Maybe I'll publish some soon " 
Poetry was his first ladder to fame, 
bringing him the Padma .hreeat 26 
Did he decide not to stick with it 
because it doesn't pay? 

"You'd be surprised/' says Nandy 
"1 made more money in my years as a 
poet than 1 ever did in my years as a 
journalist But ihat was okay because I 
wanted to do something which would 
change India, that's why I moved to 
journalism "And while today he fivls 
that "it's not an easy country to 
change/' he is quick tu add, "But one 
can stand up for the things that are 
nght. That's what I see my role as 
That's what I have done all mv life/' 

H e's also held four or five shows of 
his art — drawings made tor his 
children, ceramics and poetry 
manuscripts --and claims to have 
even sold off all of them. 1 le recalls a 
"fun" exhibition he held in Calcutta. 
The event, featuring drawings for 
children, was inaugurated by Anuta- 
bh Bachchan ■ /hile Anupam Kher and 


Satish Kaushik performed a children's 
play on the roads. Ail of Calcutta stop- 
ped dead in its tracks!" 

Calcutta, he believes, thinks him to 
be completely "whacko," but then it's 
also a creative city and "they're proud 
that I've been a creative person/' he 
says. "It is the aty where my heart is. 1 
love Calcutta, 1 enjoy it/' he says, 
though he left it at 29 to make Mumbai 
his home. "Calcutta to me is like the 
old man in vSindbad story - -he's on 
your back, never leaves you." But he's 
quick to scotch any suggestion that he 
surrounds himself with Bengalis wher- 
ever he works. 

And o, he also doesn't agree with 
what most seem to think has been his 
lighlhearted dalliance with various 
careers He's had a fur time, he agrees, 
but he has also been faithful to his one 
passion — communication. "I am 
essentially a creative person and 1 ran 
change my medium at different times. 
Today what I am doing has become 
fashionable — it's being called multi- 
media/' says Nandy. "I've done multi- 


media for a decade and a half now, 
looked at multiple communication 
options." 

If and when he returns with the 
Illustrated Weekly, the title to which 
has been bought tor him by a con- 
troversial industrialist from Tamil 
Nadu, he will revive it across various 
media like television, the Net and 
print. "Let's see which way it survives 
and does best/' he says. He insists he 
has definite plans tor it but will launch 
it only when things "settle down tor 
the media. Right now the media is in a 
bit of a chaos. Lot of papers and televi- 
sion companies are going through a 
rough patch." 

B esides, at the moment he has his 
software company, Pritish Nandy 
Communications, keeping his hands 
fairly full. It makes shows on news, 
entertainment, environment and 
"we've been on every channel 
around — you name it," says Nandy 
proudly. 

But after TheFritish Nandy Show 
was taken off the air by DD for having 
"busted a politician, which is a sacrile- 
ge", he's not been out in front of the 
camera. Well, except for acting m a 
Stylebhai video. But the moment he 
can do things his way, hr plans to have 
the show back on air. 

Open media, says Nandy, is the real 
need of this country And whether 
that happens to be foreign or Indian is 
irrelevant so long as one can get unevn- 
sored, free information. "Indians 
must have a choice to decide what 
information they want. People are not 
fools," he says emphatically. "Hope- 
fully one day the power of the state 
will be replaced by the power of the 
people. T nat's why 1 am a believer in 
weak governments They do good tor 
the country." 

He also nas great belief in the future, 
he tells you, and in himself. "I never 
look back/' he says strongly. "I've 
always discovered that the future is a 
zillion times more colourful than the 

E resent or the past." That hope, and 
is love for freedom, are what have 
really sustained him, he says, and foi 
some reason that is not difficult to 
believe. 

Unputdowriable he certainly has 
been, through his various flings and 
career changes. "I'm not awed by any- 
body/ 1 he continues. "I'm not frighten ■ 
ed by anybody. I'm not intimidated by 
anybody. I've enjoyed the freedom to 
be myself. And tnat is the ultimate 
delight." ■ 

Photographs by Shailesh Mule 




NNEREYE 


BEIAN DARUWALL 


Aries 

March 21 - April 20 

1 Cjdnrshfl b«iy\ youi 
ambition will Lie all 
Mfljj fired up, and 

El because of that, you 
will be motivated and .success 
ful That's how it works 
Relationship wise, however, 
expect a see-saw and some 
dramatiL’turns. News and 
messages will decide the 
issue. You should pav heed to 
n Travel is a possin»fil}. 

Taurus 

Apnl 21 — May 20 
HR "i Journey and over 
IMBp 1 seas connections 
SjE j might tip the si ah's 
jFjR j in vour favour 
Men u ry and Mars helps you 
to earn money, trade, try tor a 
L>ettei job, but health is cer- 
tainly suspect and you are 
advised to be a bit more caie- 
tul 1 \penses will be epute 
heavv Mam ol vou will he in 
the midst oi changes 

Gemini 

May 21 - June 20 

a ’I he name ot Ihe 

gain* 1 i* nmnev You 
will haw it in one 
v. a\ or .mother v om 
creativity will Le p.henomeiMl 
and .ilniost plvlhoiic and 
abundant i lnldien and p.ii l- 
nei ships will he nnduh 
importain and nisot.il lo vou 
An addition lo your w.mliobe 
will make vou happv with 
your i magi' 


Cancer 

June 21 — July 20 


W l l*i meed relentlessly 
to vour ultimate 
I goal You will be in a 

j position to woik 

wonders from next week, so 
why worry. This is a strange 
week of partnerships, separa- 
tions, changes, people coming 
and leaving, but overall a 
preparation for a glorious 
Inline. Home conditions w r ill 
also influent c vou 

Leo 

July 21 — August 21 
j r-i“ Hard woik will 
, begin to pay in the 

i next month or two, 

| PUSSHl there ton 1 , do not be 
j disappointed and do not give 
up, a.-> vou arc* prone lo do, 
from turn* to time travel 
plans and renovation, decora- 
tion, alteration plans might go 
simultaneously Deeds, docu- 
j merits and conti acts will lie 
! *-i cned 


Virgo 

August 22 


August 22 - September 22 
! lidiioshd sav F s the 
! J locus is on finances 

1 and trips, and the 
MK I two i on lit have a 
link oi a connection New 
oilers will come U> you within 
V/ da\ s and vou should take 
lull ad\ antage ot il 
Wighbnm*.. n'l.itnes sc-i more 
ol you You will show \oiii 
tiui worth at meets and ■_nn 
terences 


Libra 

September 23 — October 22 

' *4^*1 ^ ti lend i ou Id he 
! 1 Tj[i responsible for a 
I wl w ' business or personal 
L contact, ana that, 

should stand vou m gocul 
stead. Surprising romantic 
developments are foretold, si' 
alst. is a little confusion Wear 
the kites!, present pioduits or 
ideas intelligently, and you 
will win the day, despite 
opposition and upsets 

Scorpio 

October 23 — November 22 
j You will he taking 

;• j the imlMtiv e. says 

j 1 C’.anesha and within 

a fortnight, results 
will start to show Manv ot 
vou will be in tor new and 
varied experiences At group 
meetings, debates and confer- 
ences, you i views will he 
heard with irspect Romance 
j is m the air lust this w»vk gi> 

J siow on hard work 

Sagittarius 

November 23 — December 20 
j 'egi+? The sont«icts\ cm 
\ B0l j develop should 
LlSwIj serve you well tor a 
IHBtoJl longtime Finances 
are strongly emphasised and 
so are personal at fairs You 
may have to do some tight 
rope walking between Inc 
Iw'u Oi tuber 22 2 ^ show the 
way the wind will blow' (or 
you Health ot elders ma\ 
i ause tout ern 


BIRTHDAYS 


Capricorn 

December 21 — January 19 
l jU While cei tain things 
j jfe do need to be sorted 
j fpLA j out, or straightened 
kIrwH out, rest assured, 
you will he able to do it, with- 
in |ust 27 davs, and then, then 
should be i|uiet contentment 
about it Ciroup activity. a 
loiuli ol classy romaiue 
maki*s Y'»u happ\ There couli 
he a temporary falling out 
with colU agues 

Aquarius 

January 20 - February 18 

■•iSSfe*! ^ nv { ri averages 
[Mgr! will help you to get 
j • luckv Foreign lands 

j and distant places 
will beckon you 'those in 
sak's teaching, arts and n lifts 
philosophy and meditation, 
business and indiisti v Lome 
rig.itlulh into their own Just 
be can'tu I it riding, driving or 
sw immmg I ravel is a dislmc 
possiMitv 

Pisces 

February 19 -- March 20 
j About of passion 

;JyP|! awaits you Slav 
/’ t * LtU * mm bnancml 
W tiansac turns which 

are shady uid are ot doubtful 
value Avoid stale tood. At 
gathi'rmg' and socials, you 
will he happv and popular 
| '1 ravel plans will be finalised. 
| Wt>rk will hung rich dtvt 
1 dends He a little outgoing anc 
! hold 


March 20 


October 3Xk Moon constriction Uranus helps you to be inspi- 
rational and bold* says Conesha, Children, hobbies, creative 
pursuits give much pleasure. 

SJtef abet Zh Moon trine Mercury helps public figures like 
teachers, politicians, judges, lawyers, actors, playwrights, 

' musician* and so on. 

October 22; The planetary positions indicate that a major 
chapge in your life is likely. Be cautious while signing deeds 
and documents, friends will be of immense help. 

October ZB: MOon sekttle Venus means opportunities will 
lutoc^ aryour door. Those in government service, beauty 


salons, politics, acting, and music havc.it made. This is a flue' 
year to take chances. 

October 24: Moon conjunction Saturn trine Pluto could bring 
about depression and difficulties in alliances or relationships. 
But Pluto effect should do much to nullify it. 

October 2$: Venus trine Neptune is ft n excellent formation 
for artists, writers, managers and those in travel and trade. 
Otherwise also, you will make the right moves. 

October 26: Saturn trine Pluto indicates a long term gain and 
advantages. The next three months will also be* lucky fur you*. 
Many of your plans will come true. 






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XTRACT 


Anthony and 


CLEOPATRA 


leopalra is perhaps the most fasci- 
nating queen of all times She had 
all the ingredients of success — beau- 
ty, a sharp mind, a keen intellect and 
erudition, a great capacity to capti- 
vate, and even a greater talent for 
intrigue and manipulation, which 


she used for attaining her ambition. 
But in the end, like Mary, Queen of 
Scots, her very ambition to rule a 
great realm was her downfall It is 
always a surprise to find that those 
who live so closely attuned to power 
do not always perceive its destruc- 



At i extract 
from 

Achilla 
Moulik s 

novel . Kings, 
Queens & 
Lovers, 
resurrecting 

royal 

romances, 

from 

Cleopatra to 
Diana 


Extruded from 

Kings, Queens & 
Lingers 

by 

Achala Moulik 
Published by 
UBSPD 
Price Rs 165 


A bust of Julius Caesar 






m 

I 




Romans Sensing Clepatra's superior 
powers and ambitions, her brother 
Ptolemy XII banished her from 
Alexandria. Hearing of this Julius 
Caesar sent for her and she came 
ingenuously swaddled in quilts. He 
was impressed by her courage and 
intelligence and commanded 
Ptolemy to take her back on the 
throne. 

In the insurrection that followed 
Caesar fought back from the royal 
palace; part of the fighting led to the 
destruction of the famous library of 
Alexandria. In this time of trouble, 
young Cleopatra remained a loyal 
ally When Caesar once more estab- 
lished order he arranged the exile 
(or assassination) of Ptolemy XII, 
and set Cleopatra on the thrones of 
the Pharoahs with a younger brother 
Ptolemy XIII. Cleopatra became the 
supreme ruler of Egypt. 

Even an astute ruier like Caesar 
lost his heart to the entrancing 
Queen. Despite growing unrest in 
Rome he stayed Dehind to dally with 
Cleopatra, feasting all night with her 
on the royal barge. At the end of 
nine months, Cleopatra bore the 


Elizabeth Taylor in a still from Anthony and Cleopatra 


tive potential. 


It is tempting to speculate what 
might have oeen the rate of 
Cleopatra and the empire of Egypt if 
she had been the wife of Julius 
Caesar instead of his disciple Mark 
Anthony. 

Macedonia had produced the 
great emperor Alexander, who had 
established the city of Alexandria on 
Egypt's northern coast as he 
marched to India. A century later, a 
Macedonian named Ptolemy made 
Alexandria his capital and ruled the 
land of the pharoahs. The line he 
founded became the Ptolemic 
dynasty of Egypt. For a century the 
Macedonians ruled Egypt with 
vigour and competence out as in 
otner cases, exposure to oriental lux- 
ury and vices undermined their 
energy and abilities. Their inertia 
and enervation invited the Romans 
whose republican domain expanded 
with an eye on markets, and 


Alexander's dream of a world - 
empire 

Julius Caesar, the greatest ruler 
of Rome, arrived in Alexandria in 46 
B.C., when theyoung Ptolemy XII 
and his sister Cleopatra were 
decreed as joint monarchs of Egypt 
In time, according to the custom of 
Pharoahs, she would marry her 
brother, and beget another Ptolemy 
of pure Macedonian blood. This 
pure blood also produced intemper- 
ance and ir 'moderation, which 
could obliterate the cooler and 
steadier qualities of the mind. 

Julius Caesar saw a young and 
beautiful princess with an impres- 
sive education, a talent for speaking 
Greek, Egyptian, Syrian and a 
knowledge of classical literature and 
philosophy. She displayed better 
administrative and financial acumen 
than her brother and yet could array 
herself in gorgeous garments and 
ornaments that dazzled the austere 



great Roman a son who was called 
Caesarion. Like many women after 
her, Cleopatra's great dreams of 
aggrandisement began with a birth 
of a son. She conveyed her desire to 
Caesar — of uniting the 
Mediterranean world under the 
throne of the pharoahs. 

Julius Caesar was no Mark 
Anthony. He realised how his long 
absence from Home had stirred 
Pompey, Caelius and Milo to revolt 
and the Roman garrisons in the 
Levant, and Asia Minor to mutiny. In 
a senes of bold moves, he quelled 
the insurrections and mutinies to 
restore order and turn his attention 
to administration and legislation 

In his tnumphal return to Rome, 
Caesar brought Cleopatra and 
Caesarion with him when Romans 
scrutinised both her beauty and alien 
status Cleopatra was installed in the 
mansion of L)ona Pamphilia — not far 
from the present Borgnese gardens. 
Here, in enforced idleness, Cleopatra 
wrote treatises on cosmetics ana 
recipes for beauty. When a Roman 
matron asked her how she managed 
to keep her skin fair and unblem- 


ished, she advised the lady to bathe 
in ass' milk which she claimed to do 
herself . "There are plenty of asses in 
Rome," she twittered. Cleopatra's 
diaphanous dresses and exotic hair 
styles were soon avidly copied by 
otner women. For shopkeepers and 
merchants she gave discourses on 
weights and measures. 

However, these wore mere diver- 
sions; as Caesar's mistress and 
Egypt's queen, she never stopped 
intriguing. Indeed, Cleopatra both 
fascinated and frightened Romans 
with her ambition and the desire to 
take Julius Caesar to Alexandria 
which would become the capital of 
the Roman empire. 

Caesar, however, had no inten- 
tion to comply with Cleopatra's 
designs. He lived in outward harmo- 
ny with his wife Calpumia and 
strove to restore Rome to its full 
glory, laying the foundation of the 
great Augustan age of Julius 
Caesar's grand nephew Octavian. 

Reformers are not popular with 
those who have enjoyed privileges 
that are abolished and wealth which 
is redistributed. Though popular 


with the people, Julius Caesar's 
reforms and administrative mea- 
sures infuriated the Patricians who 
sought to restrain him. Since no 
other means was possible to do this, 
a group of conspirators decided to 
remove Caesar fey assassination. 

Shakespeare nas immortalised 
the plot of Brutus, Cassius and Casca 
which arranged the murder of one of 
the greatest rulers of the world who 
was both statesman and administra- 
tor, scholar and soldier, hedonist and 
humanist. 

In the chaos that followed, 
Caesar's two heirs — Caius Octavian 
and Marcus Anthonius who 
destroyed the conspirators and 
divided Caesar's realm between 
them. Octavian inherited Caesar's 
statesmanship while Anthony pos- 
sessed Caesar's gifts of a comman- 
der. Underneath their temporary 
truce lay a deep conflict as to wno 
would inherit Caesar's mantle. 
Lepidus, a general, and the third tri- 
umvir, was given Africa, Octavian 
took the Western empire while 
Anthony took Egypt, Greece and the 
Levant. 









Egypt brought Anthony into con- 
tact witn Cleopatra Flushed with 
success and territories, Anthony 
arrived in Alexandria and sent tor 
Cleopatra She kept him waiting tor 
i while and then came sailing up the 
Mile on a gilded barge fluttering 
Artth silken sails and attended by 
land maidens dressed as nymphs 

The Roman general was 
enthralled and captivated, literally 
ry the Graeco — Egyptian queen. He 
orgot he had an empire to govern 
nd dallied with Cleopatra at 
klexandna With a foMy, rulers can 
carcely afford, Mark Anthony 
lixed politics with romance While 
jithony gave his heart to Cleopatra, 
v used his love to acquire 
hoenicia, Syria, Cyprus, Cilicia, 
idaea and part of Arabia. Her ulti- 
iate design was to bring Rome to 
lexandria and to control Anthony 
; a consort. 

In Rome, Anthony's wife, Fulvia, 
as trying to undermine the power 
id authority of Octavian and raised 
revolt against him which 
rtavian's general Agrippa quelled, 
ilvia died of exhaustion and 
artache over Anthony's faithless- 
ss. Taking advantage of this, 
ithony came to Rome and married 


Octavian' s sister, Octavia, whose 
modesty and kindness was a total 
contrast to Cleopatra's ruthlessness 
and ambition With this marriage, 
Anthony hoped to disarm his rival 
Octavian 

But Cleopatra had truly 
enthralled Anthony After a brief 
spell of harmonious domesticity 
with Octavia, Anthony left her in 
Rome and returned to Cleopatra and 
Alexandria where they began to 
raise armies for further conquests I le 
took the step which brought his 
latent hostility to Octavian in the 
open; Anthony divorced Octavia and 
made Cleopatra his new wile, estab- 
lishing her and Caesarion as ro- 
rulers of Egypt, and his children by 
Cleopatra as ms heirs. Octavian and 
Rome suspected that Cleopatra 
would use Anthony to rule Rome. 
Octavian declared war on Cleopatra 
but in effect on , vnthony. 

The two navies met at Actiuni 
near Naples Bay where Octavian 
defeated the combined forces of 
Anthony and Cleopatra who retreat- 
ed with her fleet tow rds 
Alexandria Anthony knew that all 
was lost 

He sent offers of truce to 
Octavian but the victorious triumvirs 


did not need such offers Octavian 
marched towards Egypt. Cleopatra 
sent Octavian offers of peace and a 
golden crown as a token of submis- 
sion. Octavian replied that he would 
leave her and Egypt untouched if 
she would surrender Anthony to 
him or have him assassinated. 

While Cleopatra considered this 
offer, Anthony wrote to Octavian 
and offered to surrender Jus own life 
if Octavian spared Cleopatra. Even 
now, the gallant Anthony refused to 
betray the woman who would not 
have hesitated to betray him. Certain 
of victory, Octavian marched 
towards Alexandria Anthony gath- 
ered a small force and gained a 
small victory. Overwhelmed and 
awed by the spectacle of Octavian's 
vast forces, Cleopatra's soldiers sur- 
rendered. Hearing that his beloved 
queen had committed suicide, 
Anthony stabbed himself but hear- 
ing il was a false report he implored 
his last adherants to take him to the 
palace tower wher Cleopatra had 
enclosed herself with her hand 
maidens — Charmion and Iris, and 
her vast treasures The wounded 
Anthony wasnulled up to the tower 
on a basket. There, in tne arms of the 
woman who had bewitched him to 



destruction. Anthony died 

Octavian allowed Cleopatra to 
bury her consort the brilliant tri- 
umvir who could become .in 
Augustus Caesar - had he not been 
enamoured of and enslaved by 
Cleopatra who had used him only to 
lurther her own ambition to rule 
Rome 

Not even Mark Anthony's death 
daunted Cleopatra She was still 
queen ot Egvpt and wanted to pro- 
tect 1km realm and her interests It 
w is tins what had been ot para- 
mount interest, which had been the 
motive tor her alliance with Caesar 
and then with Anthony She had 
loved neither Julius Caesar nor Mark 
Anthony. They had been her means 
to attain glory and power but she 
had not been content with the prize 
that Anthony had brought her 
Cleopatra had wanted more power 
Being queen of Egypt was not 
enough; she wanted to be Empress 
ot Romo as well And it was this 
dream which had brought about the 
destruction of Anthony 

Now, aged thirty-nine, no longer 
the voluptuous be.iutv who had daz- 
zled Caesar and enslaved Anthony, 
Cleopatra sought and was granted 


an audience with Octavian 

It was Cleopatra's hope that she 
would be able to win concessions 
from this Roman general as she had 
with his grand-uncle Julius Caesar 
and later with Anthony. Indeed, she 
felt that with Caesar's son Caesanon 
as a pawn, Octavian would find it 
difficult to harm the Egyptian queen 
whose son Caesarion was after all a 
cousin and kinsman of 
Octavian.Cleopatra nursed the plan 
of wresting the mantle of Julius 
Caesar through Caesarion 

So came Cleopatra, dressed m 
finest silks and jewels with traces 
still of her great beauty Dignified 
and charming, she refused, however, 
to do obeisance before the pale, cold, 
unimpressive man of thirty-three. 
Octavian saw in her, as he had seen 
from the beginning, a threat to his 
dominion, and not the entrancing 
siren to whom Julius Caesar had 
given his heart and Mark Anthony 
ms head 

Coldly, he informed her ot the 
terms of peace, the conditions tor 
leaving her unmolested Cleopatra 
heard with astonishment the humili- 
ation that he offered, as well as a 
position of subjugation Shorn of 
power, dignity, wealth and freedom, 
she would live in the shadows, an 
apology to her past Cleopatra gave 
no indication ot her intentions as she 
left the audience chamber of her 
own palace. Promising to consider 
the terms of truce, Cleopatra went to 
her own chambers where Octavian 
held her as a virtual prisoner and 
pondered . 

She realised that Octavian was 
cast in a different mould from either 
the gn»al Caesar or the dashing 
Anthony l ie was all mind, all pur- 
pose and strategy, just as she had 
neen in her youth Two such cold- 
blooded people could not co-exist, 
she acknowledged, in one kingdom 
And since she was the vanquished 
one, Octavian would ensure that 
nexer again would slu pore a threat 
to her dominion or has ambitions 
There had been rumours that he 
would take he r to Rome in his tri- 
umphal march, displayed not as tl.e 
Oueen of Egypt as Caesar had done, 
but as a captive to be scorned. 

Dressing in royal robes as a 
reminder to all of her exalted status, 
Cleopatra decided on suicide Since 
a’! weapons had been removed for 
such eventuality', she had arranged 
to have small serpanls of asps 
brought in with a basket ot tigs 
Placing one on her breasts, she wait- 
ed lor death with the calm ma|estv 
that she had possessed all hei life 


Octavian found her deadon the 
gilded throne. He may have paused 
to muse on the fatality of beauty anci 
the tragedy of ambition But the 
sight of her death did nothing to 
soften his heart or halt his purpose. 

The future Augustus Caesar whe 
presided over the greatest age of 
Rome began his reign by a series of 
murders First he sent orders to 
Rome to arrange the death of the 
eldest son of Mark Anthony by his 
first wife Fulvia since this youth of 
twenty- two could challenge the 
hegemony of ( Vtavian and ask for 
his father's inheritance Then, the 
future emperor sent his emissaries t< 
search tor cightcen-year-old 
Caesanon, who was a fugitive m the 
Nubian desert There the emissaries 
found the youth and brought him 
hack to Octavian who saw for the 
first time his own cousin, the son of 
Julius Caesar, by Cleopatra, who 
could claim the Roman empire for ' 
himself as well as Egyptian king- 
dom The boy was executed at once, 
leaving Octavian as the master of 
Rome 

Cleopatra's dreams had ended ii 
tragedy for herself, her beloved son, 
and Mark Anthony Unlike many 
queens who allowed themselves the 
luxury ot love only to he destroyed 
by it, Cleopatra's head always dicta! 
ed her ««. lions Nevertheless, she ha< 
charmed two powerful men and 
bent them to her wnll and purpose. 
Julius Caesar had installed her on 
the throne or the Pharoahs while 
Mark Anthony had attempted to 
bring the Roman empire under the 
crown ot Egypt Even when Anthor 
had been defeated she had tried to 
buy peace with Octavian. 

Perhaps m the end, it was 
Cleopatia's tiagic fate which con- 
cluded the story Perhaps the endin; 
might have been different if a differ 
ent man had been her adversary. 
Neither (iilius Caesar nor Mark 
Anthony would have treated her 
with the cruelty that Octavian did. 

I lie\ were men ot passion and 
romance Octavian was devoid of 
passion when* statecraft was con- 
cerned I le wanted the empire for 
himself and tolerated nothing to 
lorne m the way ot his purpose 

From Alexandria, Octavian wer 
to Asia to quell rebellions and then 
returned to Italy to impose law, dis. 
upline and ordvr attei two decade? 
of turmoil and civil war The peopH 
disliked the loss ot ticedmn but w* 
coined orEm and did not protest 
when Octavian became a virtual 
tatoi as Augustus Caesar and wen*, 
on to become along with Julius 
Caesar the greatest ruler ot Rome. 


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B1QUNES. For rewid Ma dock tafonntfon d Eaten ftetaay and SouflhEnUm teHwvMm, 
pfene dte 2209645-54 tor bKonrino trteir. 2203635-44 tar te dter mtonredon. For Mormfea 
on Eatern mm «d Sodh4^ain ate*itt2MM»«0O ^ s 
m to 8 pm on nttp and a an to 2 pm on Suxtoys aid poted hoMaya). to akHton 
dte 1331 (tor rnontod Momtetan on train nndng), 131 (ragate ng min opateon) nd 136 
baonta rewaBons). Tram sarvtoa snqtey a Saddte: 3603636X37 


Pep & An. fues. Tnurs & Gal 


(itgarlng reunabons). Train sarrtoe onqtey i 
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pmonSwdv) For«^i 0 nteiui.dlil 136 (oampitertwJ); Dial 2203486 (mawi«ni|uiry) 


17 



ULTURE 

BODIES OF EVIDENCE 

Geeta Shamtu examines the state of our cultural institutions; and 

finds them sadly lacking 


A couple of years ago, 

Bhaskar Ghosh, the then 
secretary of the department 
of culture, had remarked at 
a seminar in Delhi "I and my 
colleagues in the government are 
indeed of the view that the 
department of culture should be 
allowed to wither away. We agree f hat 
the artistic community should be 
given the responsibility of running 
cultural institutions directly/' 

Today, given the prevalent 
situation in most cultural bodies in the 
national capital alone, his 
statement — a rare one coming from a 
government official — sounds very 
ironic indeed. After all, these days the 
bureaucrats in the department of 
culture (DoC) in Delhi, from the 

Indian Museum: Housing some of the c 


secretary downwards, are holding 
charge of one or the other premier 
cultural institution that has been lying 
headless for years now. 

The present culture secretary, B.P 
Singh, is officiating as the director 
general of the Archaeological Survey 
of India (AS!) while the joint secretary, 
Ashok Vajpeyi, is overseeing the 
affairs of the beleaguered Lalit Kala 
Akademi, which is without a 
chairman and a duly selected 
secretary. Anjali Sen, deputy director 
in the ministry is officiating as the 
director of the National Gallery of 
Modern Art 

The National Museum, the 
repository of the nation's priceless 
artifacts, is the only exception as the 
director general's post, lying vacant 

untry *8 most precious artifacts 


for over two years, was filled a couple 
of months ago with the appointment 
of Dr S.S Biswas, the previous head of 
the Indian Museum, at its helm But 
there is a catch here too, for his 
appointment has been challenged in 
court by a host of cultural luminaries 
in the capital, on technical grounds 

Tire situation is a sad pointer to the 
government's ad hoc approach to 
culture As eminent artist Krishen 
Khanna laments. "Culture in the 
government's list of priorities is 
relegated to a lowly place It's only 
worth it for them in its entertainment 
value, its adage like quality to be tilted 
in as a filler in political entertainment 
sessions " 

More relevantly, it leads one to 
question whether our archaeologist*. 





to head the bodies cannot do so on 
technical grounds. After some bad 
publicity in recent times, the ministry 
set in motion a recruitment reform 
process with a view to get around the 
rules strictly upheld by the UPSC 


J. Swaminathan: Artist and a good administrator 


museologists and artists are not 
competent to run the bodies and 
institutions where they have been 
working and training for years and 
are acknowledged international 
experts. Also it makes people wonder 
how does a government decide that, 
in the absence of administratively 
competent people around, the official 
pen pushers are better placed to 
understand not only the 
administrative but also the technical 
and creative side of the profession. 

The present mess can at least partly 
be explained by the strange and 
incomprehensible recruitment and 
promotion rules which have led to a 
'atch 22 situation m these institutions. 

According to the rules, which are 
wcrsecn and enforced by the Union 
'ublic Service Commission, anyone 
ippomted to the top post has to serve 
or a certain number of years in the 
Hist just below it — as an additional 
Ki or Deputy 

>G - to become eligible for the top 

list 

Hut thar ks again to the faulty 
romotional procedures, not many 
ave been able to make it, leaving a big 
a p between the top and the middle 
jng hierarchies As a consequence, 
v'cn professionals competent enough 

harat Bhavan: The Museum of Man was successfully run by an artist, J. Swaminathan 


which oversees the recruitments. But 
when that will actually come through 
is anybody's guess. 

C ulture secretary B P. Singh, who 
took over l«st year, says ne is 





foxed why none of his predecessors 
suggested the setting up of a separate 
cadre for various cultural institutions 
to prevent such a situation from 
arising again. Singh has himself 
mooted the idea to the Pay 
Commission and the Planning 
Commission, both of which, 
according to him, have reacted 
favourably to it. 

To be fair, though, not many in the 
artists' community have opted to raise 
a voice against the vacuum. Some, in 
fac$ have even supported 1 he idea of 
civil servants running such 
institutions if need be. Anjolie Ela 
Menon, for instance, who says : "I 
don't think there should be any 
principle that bureaucrats can't run an 
art institution and that only artists or 
museologists should. In fact I don't 
think that it is an artist's job to run an 
institution in the first place because it 
involves mainly administrative work. 
That is not to say that there cannot be 
exceptions like 

J. Swaminathan who successfully ran 
the Museum of Man at the Bharat 
Bhavan " 

Ram Kumar, another eminent artist, 
voices similar views when he says that 
a creative person is so enmeshed m his 
creativity and attuned to his own 
ideological viewpoint, that he may not 
be the right person to run the 
day-to-day affairs of an organisation " 
The likes of Krishen Khanna and J. 
Swaminathan may have that 
capability too, but not the Tyeb 
Mehtas, Akbar Padamsees, and Ram 
Kumars," he adds 

But not everyone feels this way. 

"For the bureaucrats, the experience 
of heading such prestigious 
institutions with all the 
accompanying glamour and media 
attention, is like having tasted blood 
and they are then unwilling to give 
way to those who deserve to be at the 
helm here," says a Delhi based artist 
requesting anonymity. 

"For all practical purposes, these 
institutions are being run the way a 
bureaucrat would run them — like 
government offices," adds Pupul 
Jayakar, the high profile cultural 
luminary and former head of the 
Festivals of India Committee. And 
there are many who would agree with 
her. 

The controversy, earlier this year, 
over M.F. Husain taking objection to 
the appointment of poet-bureaucrat 
Ashok Vajpeyi as the chairman of the 
Bharat Bhavan trust, is only one such 
manifestation of this feeling. Husain 
at a press conference during his visit to 
20 




Pupul Jayakar Against bureaucratic 
control 

Bhopal for the birthday celebrations of 
Bharat Bhavan, had reportedly 
threatened to resign. He said 
bureaucrats should not be selected for 
such posts as they have little 
knowledge and understanding of art 
and culture. 

Vajpeyi, of course, lost no time in 
setting tne record straight. He pointed 
out that he had not been made part of 
Bharat Bhavan (which he, among 
other personalities, had helped set up 
in the first place) in his official capacity 
but was nominated to the body in his 
capacity as a writer poet. 

S uch protests apart, there is little 
denying the fact that even though 


there is no 'creative audit' or 
assessment of the programmes and 
objectives of these cultural bodies 
from a creative point of view, all is nol 
w«»ll with them. 

And one needn't look far for this. 
The Archaeological Survey of India is 
the most obvious — and 
worrisome — example. It has been 
under bureaucratic rule since 1992. 
According to the rules, any 
professional has to first work as ar. 
additional DC for at least two years 
before being appointed as the nead of 
the organisation As no senior 
archaeologist has been able to fulfill 
this technical requirement, thanks 
again to the stiff promotional policies 
an IAS officer, Ms Achala Maulik, had 
been at the helm (though as additiona 
DG ) 

This has, apparently, led to 
enormous resentment among the 
archaeologists at the ASl. "Only a 
professional man can understand the 
needs and expectations of the ASl. ^ 
This is not a finance or commerce 
ministry that anybody can beput in 
charge," says a former ASl DG, 
requesting anonymity. 

The resentment against a 
bureaucrat heading it, has already 
cost the ASl dear, since all excavation 
work has virtually come to a 
standstill. The culture secretary, who 
is officiating as DG, has now brought 
some semblance of order to the 
Survey, which had come to be referred 
to as a torso without head and feet 

The only exception to the current 
scenario is perhaps the NGMA, whid] 
has been headed, by deputy director 


Anjali Sen after the last incumbent | 
Anis Farooqui's sudden death in 1994. 
Her presence at the helm of the 
country's premier art gallery, has seen 
many far reaching initiatives being 
put into effect. The employees who 
were virtually up in arms during 
Farooqui's tenure, describe Sen's 
presence and approach as a 'healing 
touch' after the 'dictatorial regime' of 
Farooqui. 

But more than that Sen has initiated 
work in the second wing of the gallery, 
a plan that had been almost given up 
by her predecessors. She has alto 
remained open to the advisory 
committee of eminent artists, critics 
and historians in deciding on the 
exhibitions and purchases by the 
NGMA, which is now being hailed for 
its innovative approach 

The exceptions notwithstanding, 
however, it is fair to say that the 
situation prevalent in most cultural 



JF 


Bhaskar Ghosh: For artistic freedom 

bodies is far from satisfactory. And 
everybody is agreed that some 
solutions are needed — and fast. 

T hat, of course, does not necessarily 
mean simply giving over all 
powers to the artists or museologists. 
The state of the Lalit Kala Akademi, is 
a case in point. The Akademi, which is 
functioning under the so-called 
'democracy' of the artists has, 
according to its critics, turned into a 
mobocracy controlled by a small 
group of small-time artists This has, 
say the Akademi's detractors, 
alienated those who matter in the art 
world. 



Lalit Kala Akademi: The artists' 'democracy* which has been reduced to a 
mobocracy 



Incidentally, the LK A is the only 
Akademi, which has refused to accept 
and implement the Haksar 
Committee report set up to suggest 
reforms in the running of the LKA, the 
Sahitya and the Sangeet Natak 
Akademis. The Haksar Committee 
had recommended a multi-pronged 
strategy — allocation of more 
resources, delegation of more powers, 
granting of greater autonomy and 
better coordination with state 
academies and more accountability, 
as an effective formula to put these 
bodies on their feet. 

Since not many artists have 
administrative skills and not all 


bureaucrats have the creative vision 
tor a head of any cultural institution, 
Vajpeyi says that what we need is a 
plurality of people with different 
skills to manage an institution. 
"Cultural management will have to 
become a specialised area in which a 
number of professionals, or 'artocrats' 
as the US already has, would have to 
be involved," he says 

The institutes of management 
should also offer courses in cultural 
management and corporate houses 
could also be involved in the venture 
to provide the infrastructure through 
their financial support, he suggests. 
Krishen Khanna also stresses the need 
for such a cadre of cultural managers. 
Khanna also feels that art schools like 
those in Baroda, Delhi, Hyderabad 
and Madras, could incorporate the 
administration of culture in their 
curricula. "Not all those who join 
these art schools become professional, 
successful artists. So why can't they be 
trained instead to become managers 
of art? " he asks. 

Secure in the confidence that the 
creative community is of little political 
significance and incapable of 
becoming too much of a 
troublemaker, the government has to 
date taken a casual, laidback approach 
to the problems that have beset its 
management and care. But, warns 
Pupul Jayakar. if it continues to 
overlook this vital aspect of our lives, 
the nation as a whole — not just the 
artistic community — will suffer a 
tremendous loss And thus may well 
prove to be quite irreparable in the 
future. ■ 


21 





























PORTRAIT OF AN ARTIST 

Her brush with fame has left Anjolie lila Menon remarkably 
unaffected. saysGecta Sharma 


S Iv i « -in art historian s night- 
m fc i*v 1 lor -dyle and technique 
overlap iiwr centuries, which 
kr* it difficult to fit In t into 
a.‘i\ A flii 1 t km t little of mod 
rrni 1 !, j-ost -mu- Vrnra. uupiesMoriisf 
pr-'-^ionis* .school ■ ot painting 
Hr tut is th«* la*t thing Anjulie R! i 
\ Tenon. onr of India' . nt.«st accom- 
plished pamtois is wnrn-.M about 
I am not ipte rested in tag » and 
ctv!*- - 1’iv.msi 1 panning ii a v \ <r v per- 
sonal .md selfish own ise .mu: ail 
oitrT thsj\i;s around it become 
peripheral to the m ijor act ot t roal- 
uig .1 work or ait, ’ Mu 1 declare* In 
hut. M’j'on is qm!i reconciled to 
borne called a maverick, who unds 
soli-vtprcs^ion in an idiom out o? 
contest with the times in wlu» h she 

live- 

P.» Anjolie, who is today noised 
on the fop-must e< helo..- ot tm 
Indi in id world and wnose paint 
mgs have gone tor tom time’s their 
rt-svi ve price u the Christie's and 
biith"b\ s auctions when* her works 
c.r.ne under the hammer recently, 
painting does not mean creating 
vvoiks of art in the hope that they 
would hnd a market same w he 1 re 
‘“ln.spi ration suddenly comes to you 
and von are blown over and loll 
with tlif* urge to try it out till U is out 
of yoin system/' she says, explaining 
the creative process. 

Sitting in her plush, sprawling 
South Delhi apartment, adorned 
with her works - - portraits, nudes, 
interiors and landscapes — and the 
choicest bric-a-brac, she affectionate- 
ly cuddles her cight-month-old 
granddaughter Madhavi. as she talks 
about her latest exhibition, currently 
on at the Wallace Galleries, New 
York. 

Titled 'Mutations' the exhibition 
is a mix of computer images, pho- 
tographs and paints and typifies 
Menon's penchant for dabbling fear- 
lessly in new techniques and materi- 
als, the onslaught of criticism 
notwithstanding. 

The exhibition is a body of 27 
large works in which computer 



26 





Anjolie Ela Menon 


•g ,the Soviet Union, where her hus- 
$ band was posted, came the strong 
£ influences ot the Renaissance and 
s Byzantine art. The tradition of the 
cathedral icon painting, whom thin 
layers of translucent paint are 
applied and then heavily varnished, 
influenced her greatly. 

In contrast to her earliei nudes 
and portraits, the Romanesque influ- 
ences of the Soviet phase produced 
many works with a central Christ- 
like male figure, set off in counter- 
point to the 'Madonna and Child' 
scries. These, in turn, came at the 
intersection of motherhood in 
Anjolie's life. 

The nudes made a re-entry later 
as well — paintings of empty-eved 
women in idyllic settings with goats, 
monkeys, lizards and crows. “ 1 
found the crow regularly visiting me 
in Bombay when I painted. It is a 
very human creature with a lot of 


Itersonulity and it seems to have 
moved in and established its pres- 
ence in my work/' says she. 

Ibis phase was followed by the 
chairs — of all shapes and sizes. 

They were a move away from the 
figure. As noted art historian Isana 
Murii says, " The solitary chairs and 
empty landscapes ricochet from for- 
gotten sepia photographs, leaving a 
great deal unspoken and unarticulat- 
ed even in the furthest reaches of the 
mind." 

But in Anjolie's own words/ the 
window was an idiom, looking in on 
secret interiors or looking out onto 
mysterious landscapes." 


A njolie s marriage with her child- 
hood love, Ravi Raja, in 1%2, 
took her through thick and thin, 
through cushy and tough pastings 
around the world with tier naval 
officer husband. Stints in such varied 


images have been broken and assem- 
bled to form a new imagery with 
photographs, collages painted over 
and over again with acrylics, oils 
and inks resulting in an intriguing 
surreal matrix. 

The inspiration came to Anjolie 
while she sat one day in front of a 
scanner, in her son's computer soft- 
ware company in Bangalore, select- 
ing photographs for the first-ever 
boot on her life and work, Anjolie 
Ela Menon : Paintings in Private 
Collections brought out by Dayal 
Publishers. 

T he artist whose works occupy 
pride of place among the major 
collections and in museums such as 
the National Gallery of Modem Art 
and in several elite private collec- 
tions in India, Europe and the US, 
has come a long way since dabbling 
in oils in school 

Bom in undivided Bengal, 

Menon had her early schooling at 
the Lawrence School in Ooty where 
she also met her husband. After 
school, she joined the JJ School of Art 
m Bombay, where she found she was 
much ahead of the class and 
dropped out to study English litera- 
ture, but painted all along. 

She had her first exhibition 
before her final year in college. It 
was a collection of 50 paintings. The 
grand old man of Indian art, M.F 
Husain, took half the show and pre- 
sented it in Bombay. Since then, 
Menon has not looked back. 

The exhibition was followed by a 
scholarship to the Ecole Beaux Art in 
Paris for a course in frescoes. On its 
completion, Anjolie hitchhiked her 
way back through southern Europe 
with a friend. From there and later in 



Translantic Journey: One of Menon's works from the Mutations' exhibition 


27 





places as Lucknow, England, Russia, 
West Germany, besides trips to 
America, Iran, Europe, all combined 
to shape her canvases with minarets, 
domes, icons, desiccated bodies and 
pastoral nudes Alongside came her 
initiation into motherhood and the 
joys ot bringing up her two sons. 

Influences and phases in her art 
apart, a major break in her career 
came when the Menons moved to 
Bombay in 1974 and Anjolic was 
offered a solo show by a big gallery 
In a small corner of her flat she 
made a nruftt*$hift studio and set out 
to create a largt enough body of 


work to do justice to the opportuni- 
ty- 

in retrospect," she says, "it 
became a turning point in my career 
as it drew very favourable reviews 
and was sold out Just being solvent 
gave me a great deal of courage and 
confidence. The children were in 
school and the days of painting with 
a ladle in one hand ana a brush in 
the other were coming to an end as I 
could even afford a cook!" 

Then followed a spate of exhibi- 
tions and several commissions to 
paint murals while Anjolie longed to 
do frescoes. But no patron was will- 


Neha with a Cat at an exhibition in Vadhera art gallery 






The artist with her husband Ravi Raja:ldea( 


ing to give her a years time, which 
is required to make one. So, in the 
years that followed, she painted sev- 
eral mock frescoes. 

As Murti observes, the Nineties 
have seen the prevailing socio-cul- 
tural turbulence finding a noticeable 
echo in Anjohe's works. Her foray 
into resurrecting bric-a-brac and old 
furniture is a case in point. Her paro- 
dies of garish posters depicting char- 
acters like well-known South Indian 
film star Kamal Hasan on cupboards 
and chairs, have been hailed as both 
innovative, wry ana even as a gim- 
mick to sell art in a new way. 


okv? mim §tii i pj fti 


LJAnjolie's work reflects a feminine 
sensibility, it does not capture the 


Vishwanath 







| couple 


predicament of the Indian woman. 
'Sometimes, I think I am only a 
crypio-Indian (her grandmother 
being an American), and having had 
the best opportunities — freedom 
and success — I cannot pretend to 
identify with the typical Indian 
woman, especially one who is seen 
as oppressed and exploited/' 

m the book, Anjolie Ela Menon: 
Paintings m Private Collections, she 
says "My world is far more immedi- 
ate — many of the women 1 paint 
are my sisters and aunts, dose 
friends, people who have worked 
with us. Drought us up. And, of 
course; there are women whom I 
respect and have great sympathy 
tor. 

Bui above all being a traditional 
mother and a conservative wife, 
Anjolie is a woman who has bal- 
anced all her roles with excellence. 
"They all run parallel to each other" 
she states simply At the same time, 
she voices her disregard for women 
artists who constantly complain of 
having to struggle on both ends. "1 
teel sorry for women who have to 
work to a nine to five regimen." 

But educated women who can 
work at home have no business to 
complain spedally when there is 
domestic help available here, she 
feels. "1 really get angry with 
promising, talented women who tell 
me, 'Oh! You are still painting! 1 had 
to give it up because of my two 
kids/" Anjolie, who has bcn?n 
through the grind when she had to 
strap her kid to her bark and paint 
and go around cooking and dusting, 
m the house, all by herself, feels 24 
hours in a day is long enough to find 


time to pursue one's interests. 

Almost as if to vindicate her 
point her media-shy husband, walks 
in to comment that 'Anjolie has 
never had any fancy feminist con- 
flicts about working at home and 
painting." Anjolie's architect daugh- 
ter-in-law Vandana chimes in/'Sne is 
the most easy-to-get-akmg-with 
mother-in-law. She decides the days 
menu, cooks excellent Chinese and 
continental meals, and is glued in to 
everything going on at home, 
despite her busy painting sched- 
ules." 

As with the stereotypical picture 
of Indian womanhood, Anjolie also 
does not identify herself with artists 
who make a virtue of the physical 
hardship they may have gone 
through. ' Perhaps it is true that suf- 
fering is often tne well-spring of cre- 
ativity. I too have been through my 
bit of it but do not want to make a 
virtue of it as do many of our cryp- 
to-communist peers," she says. 

She recalls the times when she 
did not have money to buy a canvas 
so she painted on whatever she 
could lay her hands on — on paper, 
on the back of shoe boxes, ana on 
the inside of a cupboard* 

Iben, there was her 1963 Bombay 
exhibition, the only one in water 
colours, organised on the most mea- 
gre resources. The works, were 
mounted on the back of shoe cartons 
and the frames were made by her 
husband with bamboo and nails on a 
budget of Rs 17! 


B uoyed by today's vibrant ait 
scene, Menon feels what is hap- 
pening in the world of Indian art is 
not something in isolation. It is die 
natural outcome of creative freedom 
that has seen the extraordinary work 
of Indian writers, scientists and 

Malabar 



scholars to catdi the attention of the 
world. 

She says there are several 
painters in India today whose works 
are highly original and bear no 
resemblance to any school of art any- 
where, However, except a few, who 
actually live abroad, mil many have 
made an impact outside India. This 
according to hei; is because of the 
workings of the global market, 
"which has become totally dominat- 
ed by the dealer-critic nexus, almost 
impregnable for any outsider, which 
also means those residing in the 
Third World/' 



Shabnam 


According to Anjolie, among the 
most outstanding artists of today arc 
Arpita Singh "who doesn't think of 
herself as belonging to die Baroda 
group but is the most brilliant artist 
of that genre., K.G Subramaniam, 
who has achieved a brilliant synthe- 
sis of folk art with a genuinely mod- 
<ni idiom; Jogen C ‘howdhury, who 
has the most satirical and provoca- 
tive paintings; Santosh, and Raza, 
who nave formalised the most com- 
plex ideas and precepts from the 
tantra art; the late J. Swaminathan 
for his contribution to tribal art and 
Manjit Bawa for his original indige- 
nous work." As for the adulation 
that has come her wa\, Anjolie is 
stubbornly modest ‘ what ever has 
happened has happened in spite of 
me, not because of me I have never 
sought the press nor have l gone 
after critics and galleries. Ard 
believe me, I am not enjoying all this 
fuss ai all. All I hanker after today is 
the joy of ordinariness." ■ 


29 



'IRST PERSON 


BAPPI LAHIRI took the Bombay film industry by storm when songs from films like Zakhjnee and 
Chalte Chalte became great hits in the early Seventies . These were followed i by numerous chartbusters 
from Tohfa, I>isco Dancer, Sharaabi and Aankhen. He now plans to go international after his 
Habiba number was ranked 23rd in the Billboard charts . Branded as the master of plagiarism by his 
detractors , the man is un fazed by such criticism and feels it requires akal' to make 'nakai'. 



lAfhat is your idea of perfect 
Ft happiness? 

Composing superhtt tunes. 
What is your greatest fear? 

[ .ivirtg in a non- 
musical 
atmosphere. 

Who or what has 
been the greatest 
influence in your 
life? 

My family. 


What do you dislike most in 
others? 

In sincerity. 

What do you dislike most in 
yourself? 

Having to get up 
early in the 
morning. 

What is your 
most precious 
possession? 
Music and my 


What is your 
nightmare? 

The Latur 
earthquake 


ability to sing. 

What objects do you always 


carry? 

The. 


! awareness of being a good 
human being. 

What makes you most depressed? 

When I remember my mother, 
late Kansan Lahiri. 

What do you dislike most on your 

p? 


Nothing. 

What is your favourite word? 

Music. 


What is your favourite journey? 

Going to Europe for holidays. 
What is your favourite dream? 

To get an Oscar. 

What is your nightmare? 

The Latur earthquake. 


How would you 
like to he 
remembered? 


As a lovely person 


What or who is (Ae greatest love 
of your life? 

My wife Chitrani Lahiri. 

What is your source of 
sustenance? 

My family. 

On what occasions do you lie? 

I try not to lie. 

What is your greatest regret? 

That I could not save my 
mother 

What has been your happiest 
moment? 

Receiving the China Gold 
Award for Disco Dancer 
What brings tears to your eyes? 

1 hate tears. 

How do you relax? 

By watching cricket matches on 
television. 

What do you envy most in others? 
Nothing. 

How would you like to be 
remembered? 

As a lovely person. 

How would you like to die? 
Peacefully. 


30 












Discover a 
whole new world 
of science 



P :r ci 

every Monday 
wi { h 


The Telegraph 


l n j> a / d (> fi if a h / (' 

Ask for your copy 




Unforgettable 

Robit 

1 It's goo d to see Rohini 
Khosla nas remembered 
tier talented brother; 

Rohit, in such a novel way 
(‘'Remembering Rohit', 
September 1). 

With bis good looks, 
the designer Rohit Khosla 
could have given models 
a run for their money had 
he been alive. Rohit start- 
ed off at a time when 
fashion was in its nascent 
stage in India. Only the 
very bold and privileged 
tried out some of the cuts 
and colours of fashion 
pundits, or rather the 
handful who dated to 
project themselves as 
fashion designers'. 

Rohit's success story was 
one of struggle and sin- 
gle-muuieaaevotkm. 

Today, every Tbm, 

Dick and Harry flaunts 
his status as a fashion 
designer and some of 
their creations wouldn't 
warrant a second glance. 

Yet/ they are big 
names in the industry and 
quote astronomical sums 
for their fashion state- 
ments. 

Rohit was indeed a 
rare name among his 
tribe; his creations were 
aesthetic and sensible. 



Rohit Khosla: The first to make Indiana fashionable 


Though of course well 
beyond the reach of the 
common man. 

Shomt Mukhrrje* 

Calcutta 

8 Rohini Khosla's liter- 
ary adulations for her 
brother are laudable. But 
like designer dothes, her 
book is priced exorbitant- 
ly 

So, the book, like the 
outfits of some of the top 
designers of the country 


remains out of our reach. 
A.R. VaswUvan, 

Bokaro 

8 Thank you for featur- 
ing the great Rohit Khosla 
on the cover. The pho- 
tographs were real works 
of art. The artist in Rohit 
craved for harmony in 
thought and colour and 
this is in evidence in his 
fashion modelled by some 
of the best names in the 
trade. 


Rohit’s lifestovv proves 
that art cannot be taught 
It's finally talent that 
makes you a winner. 
Sourav Ghosk ChowJhury, 
Calcutta 

Beautiful 
Shilon Bagh 

U Shona Adhikari s The 
Hills are Alive', (August 
18) was a marvellous 
piece and quenched the 
thirst of many a reader 
bitten by the travel bug. 
The lucid, first person 
style in which the author 
has recounted her memo- 
rable trip to this wonder- 
ful nrftmntain resort was 
engaging. 

Such pieces really 
bring boo; a surge of nos- 
talgia when travelling was 
such apfeasant experi- 
ence. The environment 
was unpolluted, accom- 
modation cheap, there 
were no nagging fears of 
bandits and other political 
movements holding up 
tourists. 

In times like these 
travel pieces of this nature 
really revive our faith in 
the grandeur of nature 
and that there axe still 
some virginal pockets of 
beauty. 
hlimuilya Roy, 

Calcutta 



PAGE 4 

THEY ARE intelligent, successful, talented, 
and some of them arc even gorgeously beauti- 
ful They have all made a mark for themselves 
iri their chosen fields. The Telegraph lists some 
of the women we can't help but love. 


11 EXTRACT 
16 TIME TABLE 


30 FIRST PERSON 


Lata Mangeshkar 




THE 

MED 

MfEIOVE 


There is no dearth of lists com- 
prising the names of the best- 
dressed — and worst-dressed — 
ladies in the world. But, on the 
grounds that there is more to 
women than their clothes and 
accessories. The Telegraph 
Magazine decided to go one steji 
further. The residt ivas this list of 
women who have been movers and 
shakers in their fields of endeav- 
our. And robot's more, have done 
this with grace, charm, and with 
their feminity firmly in place. 

Tor convenience, these ladies 
ham* been clubbed into easy com- 
partments like business, industry, 
fashion, and films. But what they 
have really excelled at ts life itself. 
And that’s what u>e celebrate them 
fur. 

P O L I T I e s 

Sonia Gandhi 

Yes ve^ »v»‘ know that stu's licit real 
Jv ift poliliws. !iut there fir*" few wf.'i could 
di.spuv that Sima Gandhi has had n»on* 
influence nn tin tours* <>i Indian public 
lift* than anyont m ref *'nt Years Rajiv 
Gandhi entered polling »mly after she 
overcome her strong resistance to the idea 



of her husband becoming his mothers 
heir apparent. Sonia was the idea! hostess 
during ms years in power, and a pillar of 
support when he was voted out of office 
But Sonia showed her true mettle only 
after Rajiv's tragic assassination Despite 
the pressure exerted on her bv a power- 
ful section of the party, she refused to 
take over as Congress President Instead, 
she devoted her energies to the Rajiv 
Gandhi Foundation, and its programmes 
of social upijftment. And whatever politi - 1 
cal influence she retained witrun the 
Congress party, she used to expedite 
enquiries into her husband's death. If 
Soma wanted she could have emerged as 
a major player in Indian politics. It is to 
her credit that she resisted that tompta- 


tior and chose to restrict her 'political' 
work to nurturing the traditional Gandhi 
constituency, Amethi. 

Renuka Chowdhury 


CaJl her loud. Call her brash. Cal! 
her crass. And there are plenty of people 
who call her all of the above. But love her 



oi hale her, there is no ignoring Renuka 
Chowdhury We, of course, love her. And 
with, good reason This is one woman 
who has strong views on most subjects, 
and the courage to stand by them. So, if 
she is appalled by N.T. Rama Kao’s deci- 
sion to inflict his new wife, 1 akshmi 
Piirvathi on tTie party, then slit* won't just 
SjI on the sidelines and sulk. Nor will she 
paste an artificial smile on her face and 
pay oliei sance to the rising star That's 
not CT' wdhurv’s style She'd much 
rather make her displeasure public, even 
if that moans incurring the displeasure of 
the Great White God (rsITR) himself And 
if he chooses to expel her from l he party, 
well then, she'll just do it alone md take 
her chances. But it Kenuka is on your 
side, then you have nothing to fear This 
is a woman who, legend had it, once 
snatched the gun ot a policeman — who 
wanted to arrest the fasting NTR — and 
threatened to shoot him with it. And who 
has no compunction in slapping anyone 
who treads on her toes. 

Vasundhara Raje 

By rights, she should have had a 
fairy-tale life. Born into the royal family 
of Gwalior, Vasundhara Raje Scindia was 
the princess of all she surveyed in her 
early childhood. However, she learnt to 
her surprise at boarding school in Ooty, 
that her wish was not everybody’s com- 
mand. But adjusting quickly to the 


demands of a non-royal existence, Vasu, 
as she is popularly known, soon became 
head girl and believed — somewhat 
naively as it turned out — that life was her 
oyster. But things began going badly 
wrong soon after. Her marriage to the 
scion of the Dholpur royal house unrav- 
elled soon after trie birth of her son, and 
Raje had to begin Looking for another 
centre to her life. She found it in politics 
joining the BJP, where her mother, Vijaya 
Raje, was a prominent presence, 
Vasundhara was elected to the stale leg- 
islative Assembly, and later to 
Parliament, where she excelled in raising 
issues that may nol hevo been media- 
friendly, but were very relevant for all 
that. Much more importantly, she 
excelled in her role of single mother, 
bringing up her son, Dushyant, as a nor- 
mal, down-to-earth boy, who had no pre- 
tensions about his royal lineage, and no 
scars as a consequence of his parents' sep- 
aration. 

Sushma Swaraj 


Born into the 
royal family of 
Gwalior. 
Vasundhara 
Raje Scindia 
was the 
princess of ail 
she surveyed in 
her early 
childhood. 
However, she 
learnt to her 
surprise that 
her wish was 
not evtT> body's 
command 


Beginning life as a socialist — in 
which guise she was the youngest-over 
Union minister in the Janata government 
of 1977- Swaraj was soon converted to 
the saffron cause. And it is in her hhagwu 
aimtar that she has found fame A fanatic 
admirer of BJP leader, L.K. Advani, 
Swaraj was appointed spokesperson ot 
the party for at) the right reasons. Not 
because' the BJP wanted to soften its 
image by having a woman peddling the 
party line, but because Sushma was both 
articulate and fluent in Hindi as well as 
English But what is creditable about 
Swaraj is not that she is a woman who 
has got ahead in a man’s world without 
asking tor anv special favours, bul that 
she refuses to regard women as the weak 
er of the species who need positive dis- 



5 



Pradtf Sanya* 


According to 
her [Sushina 
Swaraj], a level 
playing Held is 
enough; once 
that is achieved, 
Indian women 
have enough 
talent, 

pe&everence 
t *»d chut /pah to 
make it to the 
top on their 
oM n steam 


elimination to succeed. According to her, 
a level playing field is enough; once that 
is achieves, Indian women have enough 
talent perseverence and chutzpah to 
make it to the top on their own steam. 


BUSINESS/ 

INDUSTRY 

Maureen Wadia 

She may look like your typical 
industrialists. wife in her designer suits 
and pearl jewellery; the perfect socialite 
down to her manicured nails. But don't 
|udgc Maureen Wadia by her splendid 
coiffure • or the ease with which she circu- 
lates in the A-list of Bombay society. Jf 
you want to see the real Maureen, drop 
into her Glud Rags office, and watch her 
wrestle with page lay-outs, argue with 
printers, and fuss over the participants in 
her Supermodel contest. Yes, Wadia is 
more career woman than pampered rich 
wife. Even at her husband's Bombay 
Dyeing she has her own well-defined 
role, as head of the ad department. In this 
capacity, she decides on how all Bombay 
Dyeing products, from sheets, towels, 
shirts and fabric will be marketed. But 
not content with lust being part of the 
family empire, Maureen has created her 
own little kingdom m Glad Rags What's 
more, she has made the magazine work 
Critics may snigger about the number of 
swimsuits in it, but Wadia has the satis- 
faction of knowing that her product 
breaks even. And she has been the wife of 
an industrialist long enough to know that 
the bottom-line never lies 



Rita Singh 

When it comes to Rita Sineh, it 
appears as if nothing succeeds like 
excess. The woman behind Mescos lives 
in a plush suite at the Maurya Hotel in 
New Delhi, while her Rolls Koyce occu- 
pies pride of place outside the entrance of 
the hotel. But that's only Singh's town 
house; she also has a huge mansion in 
Giattarpur, and a home in Ghaziabad, 
from where she stood for election as a 



Congress candidate a few months back 
and Tost. But the glitz and glamour hides 
a story of back- breaking work, and the 
kind of enterprise that builds empires. 
Singh began small, with a few buffaloes 
which she had bought on loan to start a 
dairy business. Once that took off, she 
diversified into sugar. And then, came the 
venture that made her a household name 
in India: Mescos, the shoes that have 
taken India by storm If Singh's stop,' 
leaches us anything, it is that dreams can 
be translated into reality, as long as you 
have the vision to back them up. 

Sunita Pitamber 

Daughter of the legendary obstreti- 
cian. Dr Shirodkar, Sunita is married to 
R.K Pitamber, golfing champion and 
managing director of Mahindra and 
Mahmdra. But there’s more to her than a 
distinguished pedigree and a successful 
husband. To Sunita goes the credit of 
starting Artistic, which sold India's first 
designer shirts. But not content with just 
selling clothes, Pitamber branched off 
into making reproductions of antiques — 
called Fabulous Fakes — with the view to 
popularising them. Her artistic nature 
next found expression in Inner Spaces, an 
interior decoration company she started 
in collaboration with Parmeshwar Godrej. 
Their glass-leather-marble-chrome look 
soon caught on, and is best show-cased in 


that up-market Bombay restaurant, China 
Garden. Godrej and Pitamber went their 
separate ways in due course, and these 
days Sunita specialises in a softer look as 
far as interiors go. She has also collabo- 
rated with Shakira Caine in a jewellery 
business, and is a fully paid-up member 
of the jet-set, consorting with the kind of 
people who are featured in Vanity Fair . 
but despite all that, Pitamber has her feet 
planted firmly on the ground, and still 
takes the greatest pride in introducing 
herself as Dr Shirodkar's daughter. 

Camellia Panjabi 

Educated at Queen Mary's School in 
Bombay and at Cambridge University, 
Camellia Panjabi was the first woman 
member of the Tata Administrative 
Service. She was then transferred to the Taj 
Group of Hotels and, along with Ajit 
Kerkar, was responsible for revamping 
the Taj chain, and making it the up-mar- 
ket, efficient outfit it is today. In recent 
years, however, Panjabi has become bet- 
ter-known tor her interest in food. She 
changed the face of Chinese food in India 
by opening The Golden Dragon at the Taj 
Mahal in Bombay, which introduced 
Schezchwan cuisine to India. She was 
responsible for introducing Dum Pukht 
m the Taj Pa lace, Delhi's Handi 
Unfortunately, the concept never really 
caught on, and the Maurya stole a march 
over the Taj in tins regard. To Camellia 
goes the credit for taking Indian food into 
tne up-market bracket m London with 
Bombay Brasserie, the restaurant that she 
helped open in London. Panjabi s book, 

50 Great Curries of India , has oeen 
described as the most intelligent book on 
Indian food, and it would be no exagger- 
ation *o say that Camellia is today one of 
the best-informed people about food in 
India And it doesn’t hurt that she is on 




first-name terms with such international- 
ly renowned chefs as Anton Mossiman. 


Priya Paul 


Few people could have had as sud- 
den a growing-up as Priya Paul did 
Brought up in luxury in Calcutta as one 
of the heirs of the Apeejay empire, Paul 
was initiated into aaultnood by a major 
tragedy Her father, Surrcndra Paul, was 
assassinated by ULFA terrorists, and 
Priya— along with her sister Pnti and 
brother Karan — was forced to grow up in 
a hurry. But that wasn’t the only blow 
that fate had in store for her. Priya, who 
had married a Hone Kong-based busi- 
nessman in one of tnc most glittering 
weddings that Delhi has witnessed in 
recent times, found her marriage going 
terribly wrong. And it wasn't long before 
a divorced Priya — who had reverted to 
her maiden name, Paul — was back home 
in Delhi. Paul, however, proved to be a 
true survivor Throwing nerself into the 
business, she began re-creating The Park 
chain as a boutique hotel group. Interiors 
were completely re-done, menus were 
overhauled, new cuisines were intro- 
duced, and a night-spot, Someplace Else, 
came into being Today, The Park - 
whether in Delhi, Calcutta or 
Vishakhapatnam - is one of the most 
happening places in town. And in the 
process Priya Paul has proved that when 
it comes to running a business — and run- 
ning it well — she's got what it takes. 

FASHION 

Ritu Beri 

Even five years ago, there were few 
people who were familiar with Beri's 
design label, Lavanya. Today, however. 


If u>u want 
to see l he real 
Maureen 
fYVadia |, drop 
into her Glad 
Rags office, and 
watch her 
wrestle with 
page lav-outs, 
argue with 
printers, and 
fuss over the 
participants in 
her Supermode« 
contest 



only visitors from Mars would not be 
familiar with the gamine designer's per- 
fectly -foimed features and ricnly-embroi- 
dered designs Bm has gone from being a 
lesser-known B-division designer to 
becoming the person most eligible for 
inheriting Rohit Khosla s mantle, as the 
leader of India's fashion world. That's 
partly because Ritu doesn't restrict herself 
to fashion alone, but is also devoted to 
causes — both fashionable and otherwise. 
Everyone remembers her product line for 
Menaka Gandhi s . People for Animals 
project, which virtually flew off the 
shelves, for instance. Pretty- enough to 
model her own clothes on the ramp, 

Ben’s is a face made for the centrespreads 
of magazines. But she still prefers to get 
by on the basis of her design talent, than 
her looks. You can't say that of too many 
people. 


shv (Madhu 
Sapre j iftwhat 
K — 

figure, beaytitui 
face, hoarse 
■voice, ghati 
accent — and 
proud of if. You 
can t help hut 
admire her for 
that 



Madhu Sapre 

Splendidly athletic, Sapre is an origi* 
nal. Not for her the anorexia and bulimia 
that plague most models. Madhu would 
much rather go for an hour-long jog 
along the beach — with weights attached 
to her arms and legs, for good measure 
Unfortunately, it was this obsession with 
keeping fit that cost Sapre the Miss 
Universe title. Having made it to the 
finals of the contest, she was asked what 
her priority would be if she were to 
become Prime Minister of her country. 
Sapre didn’t have to think for too long. "I 
would build a sports stadium in my 
country," she offered proudly. Result: she 
only made it to third place. What is 
remarkable about Madhu, though, that 
she does not regret giving such an inane 
answer to such an important question. In 
fact, there is nothing that Sapre regrets in 
life. She is what she is - wonderful fig- 
ure, beautiful face, hoarse 4 voice, $hatL 
accent - and proud of it You can't help 
but admire her tor that. 

Rina Dhaka 

She likes to t>e known as the Donna 
Karan ot India But Dhaka is dam sight 
prettier than the American designer, even 
though she does make the same kind of 
hard-working clothes that can take you 
from a day at the office to a fancy' party at 
the local five-star hotel Dhjka has been 
in the fashion business for a long time 
now. Her initiation came when she 
worked for a garment export house as a 
gauche teenager But the woman who 
was brought up in a conservative Jat 
household soon found her feet and her 
own label Since* then, then* has been no 
looking back for Rina These days, she 
makes both Westemwear and Indian 
clothes — even though she began by 
insisting thal she wouldn’t do sal war- ‘ 
kameezes — and is the mother of a young 
son as well But like the woman of the 
Nineties, Dhaka makes sure that her son 
doesn’t lose out because mummy is a 
very busy lady She takes him — with a 
maid — wherever she goes, be it a fashon 
show, a television shoot, or a fitting. And 
funior has a makeshift nursery beside her 
office, to boot. 

Aishwaxya Rai 

The only fault you can find with 
Aishwarya Rai is that perhaps, she is too 
perfect. Not that we mind. It’s a long time 
since we've had a model — and mure 
recently, a film star — who didn't think she 
had to throw tantrums and show tem- 
perament to be taken seriously. Ash 
believes — and quite rightly too — that 
she only has to be herself for everybody 

Continued on page 26 




Aries 

March 21 - April 20 

Ganesha says, the 
full moon makes 
you ambitious and 
totalises your tamily 
affairs and your financial 
standing, as well as, transac- 
tions. Loans and funds, capital 
formation, investments, buy- 
ing, selling, purchasing and 
leasing are emphasised. Also, 
your romantic impulses will 
surface strongly 

Taurus 

April 21 -May 20 

This is a tune to sep- 


arate the wheal from 


• jy % 

WBL ■ j the chaff, be realistic, 
J what you want 
Weddings hells, engagement, 
socialising, entertainment, 
amusements are the highlights 
ot the next U days. Many of 
vou will be running into old 
friends and making new ones 
loo It is, in short, a time to 
converge and correspond. 

Gemini 

May 21 — June 20 

Venus is happily 
plated giving you 
s» ime much needed 
love and lender 
care Your kids do better and 
that is a source of deep 
satisfaction Ganesha says a 
knotty problem will be 
resolved and you will breathe 
a sigh of leliet The travel bug 
will get at you. assures 
Ganesha Take chances if you 




IH 


Cancer 

June 21 — July 20 

Socialise, cast bread 
upon the waters and 
be friendly. Seek co- 
operation. That is 
your best bet to money, and 
more, importantly, happiness. 
This is the right time to polish 1 
your image, sell an idea or 
product, fee dashing and 
valiant, show the world how 
good you really are and use 
your considerable talent. 

Leo 

July 21 — August 21 

A home away from 
home is what you 
should aim at. Also, 
renovation, decora- 
tion, buying, selling, renting, 
land developing either for 
home, office or shop should 
interest Leons. The signing ot 
documents and contracts 
should be of vital importance. 
Travel is a strong possibility. 

Virgo 

August 22 — September 22 

Opportunities by the 
mSS* dozen 1 °mc your 
flflp I wav, so to say, and 
J therefore, rest 
assured that you will do well. 
Shun and exile nervousness 
and be daring, bold and 
Adventurous. That's the mas- 
ter key to glory Venus and 
Uranus help you to make 
money, have brilliant but 
eccentric friends. 




Libra 

September 23 — October 22 

Many things happen 
simultaneously on 
various nlanes and 
levels. You get 
money. Family ties become 
close and well knit You . 
become decisive and demand- 
ing Inspiration helps you to 
be highly creative. Love slides 
into your heart. It is absolutely 
certain, says Ganesha, that 
you will go places. 

do 

>3 — November 22 
Ganesha claims hap 
pincss and health, 
wealth and wisdom 

tor you, a great 

quartet indeed Yes. it is tht? 
right time to travel, take a 
study course, cal! friends over, 
get engaged or marry if you 
want to. Time also to sign 
deeds and documents, 
socialise and engage in sports 
and exercises. 

Sagittarius 

November 23 — December 20 
A possible job- 
switch. or promo- 
tion, may please be 
anticipated IVrks of 
office also come under the 
same ambit. At the same time 
do expect or suspect a lot ot 
things happening behind the 
curtains, so to say. Secrecy is 
the name of the game You 
had better get your travel kit 
ready. Romance foretold. 







O'* 

it-'.'- \ W‘ \ 


iCfc.-'A y.s 

;■» ' ; » iXmyenw+wmim $ 

1 ■ f |- * -J- 



Capricorn 

December 21 — January 19 
FjR 2E Battle stations 
■ should be ready, 

because it is action 

time, work time, 

love time and time tor happi- 
ness too. This is a good phase 
when you can have children, 
get engaged or married, take 
in employees it you are the 
boss, pursue a career with zeal 
and dedication, start a venture 
or take up a challenge 

Aquarius 

January 20 — February 18 

What had been kept 
secret will be out in 
the open Die home 
\ and house and prop- 
erty lumbers gel a big boost.. 
The accent should be on com- 
mercial enterprise and practi- 
cal possibilities ot «i venture 
People will tonfide m you 
because ot vour great capacity 
tor objectivity and coun- 
selling 

Pisces 

February 19 — March 20 

Some sort of award, 

• loiunev, ceremony 
and publicity were 
meant just for vou, 
dear Piscenns. News, views, 
ideas, opinions, come in real 
handy in arriving at a major 
decision. Relatives and neigh- 
bours will have much to say 
Do get set to travel Follow up 
on invitations, clients, busi- 
ness possibilities 

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Feel it. 



It's Wicked.' 



XTRACT 


Friends and 

STRANGERS 


M 


An extract 
from 
Ruskin 
Bond's new 

book, 

Strangers in 
the Night 


Extracted from 
Strangers in the 
Night, Tivo Novellas 

by 

Rushtn Rond 
Published by 
Penguin Books 
India (P) Ltd 
Price Rs 150 


y train rushed into die darkness, the 
carriage wheels beating out a steady 
rhythm on the rails. The bright 
lights of Kapila were swallowed up 
in the night, and new lights — dim 
and flickering — came into existence 
as we passed small villages. A star 
falls, a person dies. I used to wonder 
why I aid not see more shooting 
stars, because in India someone is 
dying every minute. And then 1 
realised that with someone being 
bom every halt-minute, falling stars 
must be in short supply. 

The people m the carriage were 
settling down, finding places for 
themselves. There were about fifty 
of us in that compartment sharing 
the same breathing space, sharing 
each others' sweaty odours. 

At four in the morning I woke 
from a fitful sleep to find the train at 
a standstill. There was no noise or 
movement on the platform outside. 

It was a very small station, and the 
train for some mysterious reason of 
its own had stopped there longer 
than ususal, so that those in the train 
who had woken up had gone to 

The author, Ruskin Bond 



sleep again, and those few who had 
been spending the night on the plat- 
form slept on as though nothing had 
happened. This was not their train. 

I watched them from the win- 
dow, a very small bov was curled 
up in a large basket. f-Iis mother had 
stretched herself out on the platform 
beside him. A coolie slept on a plat- 
form bench The tea stall was 
untenanted. A dim light from the 
assistant station master's office 
revealed a pair of sandalled teet 
propped up against a mountain of 
files. A bearaggled crOw perched on 
the board whicn gave the station its 
name: Deoband The crow cawed 
disconsolately, as if to imply that — 
this dismal wayside station was 
none of its doing. And yet — 
Deoband! — the name struck a chord. 
Wasn't this, by tradition, the most 
ancient town in India? 

The engine hissed, sending 
waves of hot steam into the fresh 
early morning air. My shirt clung to 
me We were all smelling of perspi- 
ration There had been no rain for a 
month but the atmosphere was 
humid, there were clouds overhead, 
dark clouds burgeoning with mois- 
ture. Thunder blossomed in the air. 

The monsoon was going to' break 
that day. I knew it. the birds knew it, 
the grass knew it. There was the 
smell of rain in the air And the 
grass, the birds and I responded to 
tnis odour with the same sensuous 
longing. We would welcome the rain 
as a woman welcomes lover's 
embrace, his kiss, the fierce, fresh 
thrust of his loins after a period of 
abstinence. 

Suddenly I felt the urge lo get 
out of that stuffy, overcrowded com- 
partment, away from the sweat and 
smoke and smells, away from the 
common places oi life, from the cer- 
tainty of my destination and predes- 
tined future. I would bo a free wan- 
derer the last in a world where even 
the poets had retreated into the scul- 
leries of their minds. 

1 knew where I was supposed to 


be going: Delhi. I knew what I was 
supposed to do there — take the fatal 
step towards respectability. To be 
respectable — what an adventure that 
would be! And this prospect of an 
ordered, organised life frightened 
me. I knew that 1 could not put it off 
forever, but perhaps it coula be post- 
poned. I haa five hundred rupees in 
my best pocket. It would provide 
me with freedom for two weeks, 
perhaps three if I was not too 
extravagant. Five hundred rupees; 
the smell o^oming rain; and out- 
side, an unknown town. The combi- 
nation was too strong for my way- 
ward spirit. 

I clambered over my fellow pass- 
sengers, my suitcase striking heads, 
shoulders, backsides Grunts and 
curses followed me to the door And 
then the train began to move. I was 
seized with panic If I didn't get off 
quickly, I would never get off 1 
would be frozen forever into a 
respectable bulb manufacturer! 

I flung the door open and tum- 
bled on to the platform. My suitcase 
spun away, hit the comer of a bench, 
burst open. The crow flew off in 
alarm. A dog began barking. 

The train moved on to Delhi car- 
rying with it 600 souls in bondage, 
while I stood alone on the platform, 
in temporary possession or my own 
soul. 

The suitcase, which r ?ver locked 
properly, was soon closed. I looked 
furtively around. The coolie was still 
asleep — obviously no one ever got 
off at Deoband at that hour — or he 
would have grabbed my insignifi- 
cant burden,carried it for a distance 
of 20 feet and charged me a rupee. I 
needed my rupees. I could no longer 
scatter them about at random or live 
on credit as I did m my hometown I 
walked quietly to the turnstile. There 
was no one there to ask me for my 
ticket. I walked out of the station 
and found myself in wasteland of 
nondescript shacks — some of them 
labourers'^ huts, some warehouses, 
one or two of them uninviting 
teashops. The scene was a dismal 
one, and if the train had still been at 
the station 1 would have returned to 
it and gone to Delhi But so far in my 
defiance of the gods, I had done 
quite well, and it would have been 
admitting defeat to have returned to 
the station to hang around waiting 
for another train. 

By evening 1 was still disconso- 
lately on a small hotel balcony over- 
looking the street telling myself that 
1 was a fool. For three hours nothing 
had happened to m? and now it 
looked as though nothing was going 
to happen. There was no Mulia to 


press my aching limbs, no Samyukta 
to ravish, no Shankhini to battle with 
my ego. My only acquisition was a 
headache from drinking too much of 
the local beer and sleeping too long 
under the electric fan. 

The camel had gone from across 
the street but in its place was a buf- 
falo. The traffic had increased, there 
were more people in the street. There 
were also more flies on the balcony, 
and one of them came buzzing into 
my half empty glass in an effort to 
drown itself in what remained of my 
drink. It was a suicidal kind of 
evening. 1 rescued the fly from my 
glass, placed it gently on the balcony 
railing and wataied it crawl groggily 
away. But my compassion was wast- 
ed As the fly neared the wall, a 
gecko, chuckling greedily, swooped 
on the insect and gobbled it up. 

There was no one to talk to. The 
hotel manager was a moron and the 
bearer's thoughts dwelled on the 
contents of my suitcase. A large drop 
of water hit the balcony railing. 


darkening the thick dust on the 
woodwork. A faint breeze sprang 
up, and again I felt the moisture, 
closer and warmer. 

Then the rain approached like a 
dark curtain. 1 could see it marching 
down the street, heavy and remorse- 
less. It drummed on trie corrugated 
tinned roof and swept across trie 
road and over the balcony. I sat there 
without moving, letting trie rain wet 
my sticky shirt and gritty hair. 

Outside, the street rapidly emp- 
tied. The crowd dissolved in the 
rain. Stray cows continued to rum- 
mage in dustbins, buses and tongas 
ploughed through the suddenly 
rushing water. A group of small 
boys, now gloriously naked, came 
romping along the street which was 
like a river in spate. When they came 
to a gutter choked with rain water, 
they plunged in, shouting their 
delight to whoever cared to listen. A 
garland of marigold, swept from the 
steps of a temple, came floating 
down the middle of the road. 





The rain stopped as suddenly as 
it had begun. Trie day was dying, 
and the breeze remained cool and 


moist. In the brief twilight that fol- 
lowed, I was a witness to the great 
yearly flight of insects into the cool 
brief freedom of the night. 

It was the hour of me geckos. 
They have their reward for weeks of 
patient waiting. Plying their sticky 
pink tongues, they devoured insects 
as swiftly and methodically as 
American's devour popcorn. For 
hours they crammed their stomachs, 
knowing that such a feast would not 
be theirs again. Throughout the 
entire hot season the insect world 
perpared for this flight out of dark- 
ness into light, and not one survived 
its bid for freedom. 


I had walked the streets of the 
town for over three hours, and it 
was past midnight. Shop fronts were 
shuttered. The cinema was silent and 
deserted The people living on either 
side of the narrow street could hear 


my foorsteps and I could hear their 
casual remarks, music, a burst of 
laughter. 

A three-quater moon was up, 
shining through drifting, breaking 
clouds, and the roofs and awnings of 
the bazaar, still wet, glistened in the 
moonlight. From a few open win- 
dows fingers of light reached out 
into the night.Who could still be up? 
A shopkeeper going through his 
accounts, a college student preparing 
for his exams, a prostitute extricating 
herself from the arms of her para- 
mour who had suddenly fallen 
asleep.... 

Three stray dogs were romping 
in the middle of the road. It was 
their road now, and they abandoned 
themselves to a wild chase, almost 
knocking me down. A jackal slunk 
across the road, looking to right and 
left to make sure the dogs had gone. 
A field rat wriggled its way through 
a hole in a rotting plank, on its 
nightly foray among sacks of grain 
and pulses 



As I passed along the deserted 
street under the shadow of the clock 
tower, I found a young man, or a- 
boy (I couldn't tell which) sleeping 
in a small recess under a rickety 
wooden staircase. He was wearing 
nothing but a pair of tom dirty 
shorts — his shirt, or what was left of 
it, had been rolled into a pillow.He 
was sleeping with his mouth open; 
his cheeks were hollow, and his 
body, which looked as though it had 
been strong and vigorous at one 
time, was emaciated. 

There was no corruption, no 
experience on his face, tie looked 
quite vulnerable, although 1 suppose 
he had nothing much to lose in the 
material sense. 

1 passed by, my head down, my 
thoughts elsewhere — that is how we 
of the towns and cities usually 
behave when we see a fellow human 
lying in the gutter. 

And then I stopped. It was 
almost as though the bright moon 
light had stopped me and I started 
myself with a question, "Why do I 
leave him there? And what am I 
doing here anyway?" 

I walked back to the shadows 
where the boy slept and looked at 
him again. He seemed a very heaw 
sleeper, the sort of person who can 
fall asleep anywhere, at any time 
oblivious to all that goes on around 
him I coughed loudly, but nothing 
happened; I whistled, but still he 
slept; I picked up an empty can and 
dropped it besiae him, but the noise 
had no effect on the sleeper. In his 
dreams he was elsewhere, moving 
among the spirit-haunted moun- 
tains, while nis material body lay in 
this town. I found myself wishing 
that I cold sleep like that — it was a 
sleep of one wno was protected by 
his own innocence. 

I went down on my knees and 
touched the boy's shoulder. But he 
must have been touched often in his 
sleep. His lips moved slightly, but 
there was no alteration in the 
rhythm of his breathing. 

One arm was thrown back, and I 
noticed a scar under his armpit 
where the hair began. Looking at 
that scar, all the warnings of Mulia 
and my mother crowded in upon 
me — tales of crime by night, of 
assault and robbery. But when I 
looked again at the untroubled face, 

I saw nothing there to disturb me. 

And since he did not wake, and 
seemed comfortable, why did I not 
stand up and walk away and take 
the morning train to Delhi? I still do 
not know. Something was pressing 
me on, urging me to shake the boy 

nilt nf hie clumKor 




I took him by the shoulders and 
gave him a good shaking He woke 
with a loud cry, as from a nightmare, 
and stared at me with something like 
terror. He sat up, cringing away, 
holding his hands before rus face. 

But then, when he realised that I was 
a man and not the demon of his 
dream, his fear turned to indigna- 
tion 

'Who are you I * * * * * 7 What do you 
want?" 

‘ Nothing, " I said, standing up 
afid moving away "I did not see 
you there. I am sorry to wake you." 

I moved a few steps away, then 
stopped and looked back at the 
youth. He was still crouching on the 
steps, still staring at me, but he had 
lost both his fear and his anger, and 
he was only a little puzzled hy this 
apparition in the middle ut the night. 

"Haven't you anywhere to 
stay?" 

He shook his head 

Perhaps the tone of voice I used 
gave him some confidence, because 
the hostility left his face and in its 
place I saw a glimmer of hope. 

I had committed myself. 1 could 
not pass on. 

Do you want a job?" 1 asked. 
"No" 

“You have money?" 

‘ No. " 


Do you want some money?' 

“No babuji ." 

Then wnat do you want?" 

“I want to go home." 

“Where is vour home?" 

In the hills" 

Tar away?" 

“Yes, babuji. In the jalan hills." 

‘ And how much does it cost to 
get there?" 

“Twenty rupees." 

“And how much have you got?" 

“One rupee." 

He held his tom shirt in his 
hands It was his only possession. I 
liked his open look, tne way he 
returned mine without any attempt 
at evasion. 

“I'll see that you get home," I 
said ‘ On one condition." 

A shadow of doubt passed across 
his mobile face (It was no mask, that 
face.) 

"Babuji — I have never done any- 
thing— anything shameful." 

shameful? You have not heard 
my condition. What did you think I 
was going to ask you to do — sleep 
with me?" 

He laughed and looked embar- 
rassed 

I said, ' Don't be an ass. I have 
always taken my pleasure with 
women. Listen to my condition 


before you start getting nervous." 

He did not say anything but kept 
twisting his shirt in his hands — he 
was no longer looking me in the eye. 

"I was about to say that I'd help 
you to get home provided you took 
me with you. I would like to see 
your hills." 

His dark, sombre face lit up. He 
smiled like an angel. All the latent 
hospitality of his tnbe welled up and 
burst through the barrier of his 
poverty 

"On, I will take you to my home, 
babuji . 1 have nothing here, but in the 
hills I have a house, fields, a buffalo! 
Yes! 1 will take you to my home." 

No longer hesitating, he came to 
me, brimming over with a simple 
trust and joy. I could not betray that 
trust, nor could 1 fail to trust him. I 
was committed to a stranger in the 
night. I had sought him out deliber- 
ately, imposed my will on him, and 
the consequences of the meeting 
would be entirely of my own mak- 
ing. 

And so there were two of us on 
that lonely street. The rain had held 
off just long enough for the 
encounter. Soon it began to drizzle. 

"We will go to my hotel/' I said. 
"Have you anything to bring with 
you?" 


•m 



'Nothing/" he said 'Yesterday I 
sold my shoes " 

Never mind, Let us get some 
sleep while the night remains with 
us Tomorrow, in tne morning, we 
will leave this place. It has served iks 
purpose, and now there is nothing to 
keep me here. Nothing to bring me 
back again." 

The boy lay on the mattress 
which I had removed from the bed 
and placed on the floor His face was 
in darkness but the light from the 
verandah bulb fell across his legs. 
There was no escape from my 
father's bulbs! I lay flat on my belly 
on the string cot, while the ceiling 
fan hummed in the moist air imme- 
diately above me. 

"Are you awake?" I called 

"Yes," said the boy. 

"The mosquitoes make it diffi- 
cult to sleep. So let us talk. Tell me, 
how do we get to your village?" 

"It is a difficult place to reach," 
he said. 

"Well, if it was easy to reach, 
there would be no point in my going 
there. Will we have to walk a lot? I 
have not done much walking." 

"We must walk about thirty 
miles. But first we must take a train 
or a bus. Later v* e walk." 

"Good And now tell me your 
name." 


"Roop" 

"You nave brothers and sisters?" 

"A brother, no sisters. My broth- 
er is younger than me and goes to 
school. I never went to school. There 
was another brother, but he 
died— he was attacked by a leopard, 
and the wounds were so bad that he 
died after several days." 

After a brief silence, he asked, 
"Why do you wish to visit my home 
babujt? " 

"Because it is far away. Because 1 
am bored with my own home I have 
a mother and father and servants, 
but I am bored with all of them." 

Roop was one of those people 
blessed with the eift of being aole to 
sleep sweetly ana soundly through 
cannon fire and earthquake. Once he 
fell asleep, there was little that could 
wake him. The morning sun 
embraced him, moved lovingly over 
his dark, gleaming body, touched his 
eyelids, settled on his untidy hair. 
Still he did not wake. He slept on as 
though drugged. I called him, I 
shouted, I reached out and shook 
him by the shoulder, but he did not 
stir. A fly settled on his lips, but 
although his mouth twitched, he did 
not open his eyes. 

"One of us will have to get up," J 
muttered, looking at my expensive 
smuggled watch which showed nine 
o' clock. "Otherwise we won't get 
anywhere today." 

And I wanted to get away as 
soon as possible. The urge to stop at 
Dcqband had been strong, but the 
urge to move on was stronger. 

During the night I had dreamt of 
pine forests and mountain streams, 
pale pink flowers growing in the 

clefts of rocks and fair hili maidens 
bathing beneath pellucid waterfall. 

I got up and sprinkled water on 
Roop v s face. Nothing happened. 1 
placed mv foot on his broad, heavy 
thigh and shook him vigorously. But 
he simply smiled. He was still 
dreaming— of a girl, perhaps; or pos- 
sibly of the chicken wc haa eaten on 
returning to the hotel the previous 
night. 

I decided that 1 would have to 
use some more positive method of 
rousing Roop Snaking him was of 
no use, slapping his face would have 
been impolite. So I 
compromised — held the water jug 
over his head and kept pouring until 
he awoke, spluttering and shaking 
his head ana greeting the day (and 
me) with foul language. 

An hour later, my purse consid- 
erably lightened by our short stay at 
the hotel— we were sitting in a bus 
and moving hopefully in the direc- 
tion of the hills. ■ 



COLLEGE STREET 
MARKET 




Time table 


All arrival and departure times are for Calcutta 

Day* at operation tuU« T-day coda: <D MONDAY ft TUESDAY 0 WEDNESDAY • THURSDAY 9 FRIDAY • SATURDAY 9 SUNDAY 
lAs these pages go to press one week in advance, readers should check with respective airlines and railways tor last minute change in timings) 


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Ft No. Urn Days 


LZ 504 -1750 4 17 503 '550 4 

Al-IOt) '<110 6 AI-3OT 187 1 

1C -227 1530 4. 7 1C, 228 1955 4 7 


Al Air India • BA British Airways • BO Uiman Bangladesh Airlines • Bl Royal Brunei Airlines • 02 Skyline NEPC e D6 NEPC Airlines • 1C 
Indian Airlines • KB Druk-Air • KL Royal Dutch Amines • LZ Balkan Airlines • MS ModiLuft • PF Vayudoot • RA Royal Nepal Airlines 
• RJ Royal Jordanian Airlines • RO Tarom Air Transport • SO Singapore Airlines • SU Aeroflot • TO Thai Airways International • fW 
Jet Airways a Q7 Qatar Airways 


TRAINS 


EASTERN RAILWAY 

Howrah 

Mhl-KaHa Mall 
Amritsar Man 

Bombay Mall *.,■ AUjK.ib.iri 

Poorva (Now Delhi) Express i:.i .u h varanau 

fi»’[ Veff' Tf-UN & Sur. 

Arr 1 : if- » Wi’-J \ •.-ji 

Poorva (Na w DalhO Express vie Pan.,* 

!>|j Wop I ups r ri & Sdl 
An Ml-h Thu.” F i : A Su'- 
RNdhanl Express vm f idvri 
[)C[\ Moil Tufjs Wrd Fn & S-it 
Ari Mem Iliu r s hi & bur. 

Rajdhanl Express >u nanw 
Pep 1 iiij r s & Sun Arr Wed d 

Jodhpur Em 

SMUbcH (Botaro Stoal Cfcy) Bpw 

Up[i & An Except OuMday 

HSmglri (Jenmu-TaeO Bqwn in Wm* 

Dep Hips Fri & Sat , An !.jes Wed & Sat 

GuwMl StfatghatExpreo 

Dtp lue*. Wml&Sat Ar lue? Fn A Sal 
Bonn Den & Arr Thursday 


• A; ^ ^ 


I* J 


via Mam Lme 


't urrirjinq) Express 


Departure 
Up Tima 


B0U2 1‘) 20 

2m "<!-’<$ 


603-S 7U J£ 
flUM.* 10-45 

2841 14-00 

7003 7 Ml 

6511 22-35 


8013 

8011 fiSU 
3005 20 40 
8015 21-35 
8007 22 '00 
340“ 19-00 


3017 lb-45 


Rtl/'l 23 3U 
KJJ0 15-45 


2421 10 40 

2422 11-05 


SOUTH-EASTERN RAILWAY 

Howrah 


lull 22 35 


f»J2J 22 35 
Oi'u 1-2-35 


Bomb* MaH N.igpur 
GMel (Bonto) Bonn 

ssm^ia 

Dtp & An Except Saturday 


Kuria Enpran vw Nagpur 
Coromndal (Maritas) Bonn 
Futtnuma j&onlnbad) Bq 
Bmpalon Express 
Dep Sunday 
Arr Sunday 
Tan Stoal Express 


Cuttack 


Dep Except Saturday 
Arr Except Sunday 

UnnKBipren 4-15 

AzadFtnd (Pun) VtMly Boren .vn 

Dep Sunday, Arr fnday 

BhUbfawr Naw Dadd Wml Boren {vie i 1, 10 

HnwiahJ Sunday only 

linar DaKiMiiijlDnnnnHV RnldtaN 

Howrah) Saturday only 

Q uwah rt - Howrah - Trivandrum Central Bonn V i*. 

Wcuiesday only 

Trhamfcum Cental - Howrah - Gumahtf Bonn 1:1 45 

Monday only 

Cochin Hvbour Tamtam - Queahtf Weetoy 12 4: 
B ore n {via Vis.rkhapatn.rm 8, Howrah) 

Ihnisday only 

GuwaMl - Cochin Harbour Tamtam Vfesldy 12 15 

Bonn ivta Howrih 3r Visakhaparndni) 

Saturday or.'y 

Trtvandnin Warty Bonn Dep & Arr lue:.d.tv 1 j 45 

Cochin arbour Tamtam Boren ivm 1 5 4 s 

Vlsakhapatnarn & Hnwiah) 

Dep A A n Fnday 

Huwrah & MSS^uSay^on!? 

Banprtm CRy - GunM Warty Bonn km 1 1 45 


Tiro 

On 

h-55 

(>iH)4 

8 .id 

8001 

15 30 

2859 

i'1-dfi 

2022 

5 4U 


lb 20 

8020 

12 20 

2812 

10-41) 

7004 

U45 

b512 

in 20 

8014 

21-35 

8012 

5-U0 

8006 

6-20 

8016 

5 40 

8008 

8-40 

8410 

22 £>5 

2822 

15-20 

8l'4f> 

12 05 

8018 

4-15 

tt'Jfltl 

.vn 

1029 

i^ 10 

7421 

Hi ■ / i , i 

2422 


13 45 

6321 

12 4J 



1 j -15 r vJ.' • 

1 5 4H mi-. 


Howrah A. Cuttack) Saturday or-iv 

MURES; For round Hu dock MonaRon of Urn RRaw and Souto-Gtam Ntoqrlnh* 
(ten dW 2203645-54 lor haring Na; 220B58M4 tar aTl oHiar MbnnRonftr totomrtn 
Soul ranrvRm on Mm (Man nd SbutftMmt Wtay tal«.M22MH5<]0 flnm 8 
m to 8 pm on naMna nd 8 an to 2 pm on SudM nd nadtod hoUdqi) to addMon, 
dW 3331 (lor raoonM HomOton n Into matoo). iFjragdtog min opaNtom) and 135 
(mnln inraM TMi mnh» nqRy d Sa« 388353537. 
Naradh4VotoBRanonnSyatom(5imto9pmmnydtoto)mMond^toSnurtoy.8OTto5 
pmonSunfert F«naervallonsNn.(W136(otmoutortoad);OW 









Music 

RHYTHM AND RAAG 


Pandit Gopal Chandra Panda's mission in life is to get Odissi music the 
recognition it deserves, says Geeta Sharma 


W hen Pandit Gopal 

Chandra Panda alighted 
at the New Delhi rail- 
way station, he received 
a welcome that will live in his mem- 
ory for a long time to come. The 
announcements that were being 
made over the station's public 
address system were accompanied 
by music. And not just any old 
music at that; but music set to raag 
Anand Bhairavi . 

To this teacher of Odissi music 
from Bhubaneswar, the sound of this 
raag, a strong component of Odissi, 
on the railway platform of all places. 


added to his resolve to get Odre ’ — 
as the locals in Orissa call Odissi — 
music its rightful place as a classical 
Stitigeet shaili (form of music). 

The guru later gave a lecture 
demonstration at Delhi's India 
International Centre (IIC), laying 
special emphasis on the Gitagovinda 
astht wadi's (eight-line poems) to 
which most Odissi performers 
dance. This lecture, held under the 
aegis of Kiran Segal's dance outfit 
'Pallavi', drove home the point that 
Odre music was facing the danger of 
losing its regional flavour because of 
the heavy influence of Hindustani. 


According to Professor Panda, 
'Odre' music needs to be allotted a 
separate identity of its own, just like 
Hindustani and Carnatic music have 
their own identity. "There are sever- 
al raag s such as Varari and 
Mangalagujjari in Odissi music, that 
have not been found in any other 
stream. This and several other pieces 
of evidence that I have been able to' 
find during the course of my 
research, prove that Odissi is a sepa- 
rate shaili of music and should be 
recognised as such/' says Panda, 
who has been studying this music 
for over a decade. 


Pandit Gopal Chandra Panda: Striving to give Odiasi music its rightful status 





SI§i 

■j, ;-V*V' L -f 


ubmtf 

■:S$ 


Practitioners of this dance want to go back to the roots of Odissi music 


Professor Panda maintains that 
every asthapadi in the extraordinary' 
i2th century book of poems, 
Gttagovinda, composed by Jaidev, 
mentions at the outset the particular 
raa 8 and the tala in which it is sup- 
posed to be sung But singers and 
musicologists are not fully conver- 
sant with the original raag, and 
hence rendered the asthapadi in the 
heavily Hindustani flavoured style, 
thereby losing sight of the original 
Odissi music, he maintains. 

Panda, who is head of the Odissi 
vocal department of the Utkal 
Sangeet Mahavidyalaya, says his 
contentions are the outcome of his 
research into the major works of 
Odissi music such as Geeta Prakash, 
Sangeet Narayana and Sangeet 
Bhaktavali. 

The guru, who has written many 
texts on Odissi music, such as 
Sangeet Manjari, Odissi Raga Prakash , 
Gita Govinda Suralipi and Odissi Rag 
Parichay, says it is not difficult for 
any Odissi singer to identify die raag 
mentioned by Jaidev atop every 
asthapadi, ' It is simply that no one 
has tried to study or research the 
way the old raags are meant to be 
rendered and have simply accepted 
the style that was prevalent or that 
ttiey had learnt from their gurus " 
says Panda. 6 

He maintains that raags like 
Varadi, Desavaradi, Mangalagujjari 

Gundahri which are native to 
Odissi, go to show that Odissi music 


is based on the Udramagadhi 
Pravritti ' that was prevalent in the 
eastern part of the country. 

To prove his point. Panda ren- 
dered the Malavagauda raag at the 
lecture-demonstration, stating that 
both Geeta Prakash and Sangeeta 
Muktavani make the same references 
about the raag. He also rendered 
some of the Gita govinda asthapadis , 
notably \Keshimathar?a?n udartaw' in 
Gundakeri and ' Srtakamala 
Kuchamandala ’ in Mangalagujjari raag , 
as laid down by Jaidev. Panda's 
daughter Santa's performed an 
Odissi dance to the asthapadis sung 
by her father. 6 

I Panda's findings and contentions 
have earned hinv both bouquets and 
brickbats from within the music 
community, but that is not what he 
is worried about. His main concern 
is to get people to start rendering the 
raags in their original style so that 
Odissi music may get its due status. 
^ J . Ki . ran herself a noted 
Odissi dancer, who organised the 
event, maintains that dancers like 
her would be more than willing to 
itnderstand and accept the original 
renderings of the asthapadis that they 
dance to. As she says. In fact, the 

ProSssor Putdatohelhi was to get 
them the right kind of notice ana 
attention because very often dancers 
riom Delhi go to these gurus, get 
hold of their findings and then come 
back and tout diem as their own.'* ■ 



Perfume 
Your Personal Si^natutc 




Sketches 


POTTED HISTORY 


What the chattering classes are talking about 


I t all began in: 

America, where else? 
Television stations in 
that country had 
cracked what worked on 
TV during the evening 
(news, talk shows, game 
shows, and the like) but 
needed a formula for the 
rest of the day. 

They found it in day- 
time, daily, long-lasting 
serials that appealed to 
housewives, who were 
free during the afternoon 
and became the captive 
audience These shows 
had a fair dose of both 
high drama and 
melodrama, and were 
sponsored — in the 
beginning at least - by 
soap companies. Hence, 
the use of the term soap 
opera to describe them. 

In India: However, soap 
opera was introduced 
during prime time, rather 
than during the day-time. 
The first such show was 
the now-legendaiy Hum 
Log, brain child of 
Manohar Shy am joshi It 
told the story of a lower 
middle-clkss family 
comprising three 
generations, focussing on 
the tensions set up by 
modem living. 

The format w as still 
quite primitive, with one 
of the characters 
delivenne a little homily 
at the ena of each episode. 
But despite such 
shortcomings. Hum Log 
soon became something of 
a phenomenon, with the 
entire nation tuning in to 
watch the twists and turns 
in the plot. 

Able successor: To this 
show, was Ramesh Sippy's 

20 


This Week: The soap opera 


Buniyaad This serial, too, 
focussed on the family 
tracing the life and times 
of a Punjabi household 
before, through, and after 
Partition. Buniyaad made 
such actors as Alok Nath, 
Anita Kanwar, Kiran 
Joneja and Mazhar Khan 
household names, and the 
end of its run was 
occasion for country -wide 
mourning. 

The upper-class segment: 

Was taken care of by such 
serials as Khandaan , in 
which Neena Gupta was 
first introduced to the 
nation as the super-bitch 
of television But despite a 
tautly-scripted storyline 
and above average 
performances by the 
actors, this show 7 never 
really captured the 
imagination ot viewers in 


the way that Buniyaad did. 

The format changed: With 
the advent of suen 
American day-time soaps 
as The Bold And The 
Beautiful and Santa Barbara 
on Star Plus. These relied 
heavily on sexual intrigue 
to climb up the ratings 
charts, ana it wasn't long 
before Indian viewers 
were also biting their nails 
wondering w r hether Ridge 
Forrester would marry 
Brooke. Or whether he 
would walk up the aisle 
with his former girlfriend 
Caroline, who had earlier 
been married to his 
brother, Thome. (Well, we 
did warn you about the 
sexual intrigue bit, didn't 
we?) 

It was, of course, 
another matter that Ridge 
had already made this 


A scene irom Ramesh Sippy's Buniyaad 



crucial decision on 
American small screens. 
And that we were 
watching episodes that 
had been aired in the USA 
several years before. 

How did this affect 
Indian shows?: The 
storylines of Indian soaps 
changed, to begin with. 
The focus shifted from the 
domestic to the romantic, 
and love — both marital 
and illicit — became the 
moving force behind these 
shows. Thus, every serial, 
whether it was on 
Doordarshan, Zee TV or 
Sony, dealt with the issue 
of adultery, both male and 
female, and pre-marital 
sex — which had been a 
big no-no earlier — began 
to feature regularly. 

The biggest success 
stories of this era: Were 
funoon on Doordarshan 
and Tara on Zee TV. While 
funoon gained because it 
was on a terrestrial 
channel and had been 
dubbed into Tamil to 
appeal to south Indian 
audiences as well, Tara's 
heroine, Navneet Nishan, 
gained an immense fan 
following despite her 
rather unconventional 
looks. 

What viewers are looking 
for. Is probably a mix of 
The Bold And The Beautiful 
and Buniyaad, with a little 
bit of Andaaz and Dynasty 
thrown in for good 
measure. 

But then, knowing 
Indian producers ana 
writers, such a show is 
probably playing on a 
television screen 
somewhere in the vicinity 
even as you read this. ■ 


REND 

BEHIND THE WHEEL 

Indian women abroad take to driving more readily, 
says Vaishali Honawar 



In the driving seat: Women drivers are a common sight 


hen Mrs 
Sharad Gupta 
wanted to go 
to the super- 
market cm a rainy day and 
discovered there were 
throe cars in the garage 
but no one to drive her, 
she derided it was time to 
lake action. Mrs Gupta, 
who was then in her tor- 
tios and had been living in 
London for 15 years, had 
otten taken driving lessons 
but had never managed to 
muster enough courage to 
go tor a driving test Her 
well-intentioned but ner- 
vous husband did not help 
matters by going: "Don't 
do it this way 1 " or "Watch 
out 1 " every time she sat 
behind the wheel to learn 
But this time Mrs 
Gupta was determined 
With help from her daugh- 
ter, Nidhi, she took a few 
more lessons and soon 
was the proud holder of a 
driver's license 

In India a woman 
behind the wheel still 
evokes a little surprise and 
a lot of snide remarks, 
except perhaps in cities 
like Bombay, Delhi and 
Calcutta. But a tiny, old 
Gujarati lady in a sari 
manoeuvring a huge 
Mercedes would not be an 
uncommon sight in 
Southall, a suburb in the 
outskirts of London which 
is dominated by 
Indians — or anywhere in 
the UK for that matter. 

L ast month a survey car- 
ried out in London 
claimed that of all the eth- 
nic minorities that live in 
the UK, Indians were the 
most likely to own a car. 

And as Nidhi Dalmia, who 
has lived there since child- 
hood points out, most of 
the Indians actually dri- 


ving would be women 
who traditionally end up 
doing much more house- 
work than men. "A 
woman would drive to the 
supermarket, drop the 
kids at school, perhaps 
drive her husband to the 
tube station and then drive 
to work herself/' points - 
out Nidhi who drives a 
Ford Mundial. 

Nidhi, who shifted to 
India for five years after 
her marriage, finds driving 
on the streets of Delhi a 
horror as compared to 
London. She believes that 
is one of the reasons why 
women back home do not 
take to driving as easily as 
they do in London. "Also, 
India is so much more 
male-dominated when it 
comes to driving/' she 
says. "There's a great deal 
of prejudice when it comes 
to women driving." 

"In London it is sim- 
ply necessary to know 


how to drive because pub- 
lic transport, while being 
good, might often not ser- 
vice areas near schools. 
Also, driving a car is 
cheaper than using public 
transport," says Sutapa 
Bhattacharya, a writer who 
has been living in London 
for over 10 years now. 
Nidhi points out that 
Indian women— specially 
those belonging to the 
older generation — driving 
cars are becoming an 
increasingly common sight 
in the UK. 

Mrs Jaya Chauhan, an 
elderly child-minder, 
migrated from Uganda to 
the UK several years ago 
and was forced to learn 
driving immediately after- 
wards. She drives a Proton 
and describes herself as a 
J "very slow driver who 
| stays within the limits" 

| Ramesh Choudhury, a 
J journalist who has lived in 
the UK, however, feels 


Indian women often make 
dangerous drivers, flout- 
ing the rules and speeding 
beyond limits "Every' 
time I am with an Indian 
woman and am driving, 
she keeps asking me to go 
taster," ne laughs 

Nidhi admits that she 
loves racing and recalls an 
incident when she was 
speeding around a corner 
on her way to work and 
almost crashed into anoth- 
er Indian woman speeding 
from the opposite direc- 
tion. ' 'We noth swore at 
each other and it was fun!" 
she laqghs. She says she is 
more careful these days 
after reading ads about 
children dying in accidents 
and feels that is why 
women make better dri- 
vers than men "They sim- 
ply are more careful and 
caring," she says. 

Her husband, K.N. 
Dalmia, testifies to her 
abilities as a driver saying 
when he shifted to London 
after having lived in Delhi 
all his life, it was Nidhi 
who taught him to tackle 
London roads ‘ T would 
say, even today that she is 
a better driver than I am," 
he says. 

And the male passion 
for fast cars seems to have 
rubbed off on our women 
too Sutapa dreams of 
speeding around in a 
sports car while even the 
mild Mrs Chauhan would 
love to sit behind the 
wheel of a Mercedes. 

Nidhi 's favourite cars are 
the Audi, the Volkswagon, 
the Peugeot and the 
Toyota and she would love 
to own one of each some- 
day. 

For our women in 
Britain, life is certainly 
moving into top gearJi 



OMICS 


ARCHIE 




CALVIN AND HOBBES ■ WATTERSON 





























Continued from page 8 

to love her. So, don't even try to provoke 
her by recounting what Susmita ben has 
been saying about her. Rai will just smile 
sweetly and refuse to comment. Don't ask 
her about her affair with Ranjeev 
Mulchandani. She will deflect all queries 
with a we are just good friends' defence. 
But she'll do this with such good grace, 
that you will never be able to take 
offence. That's because Aishwarya is that 
rare specimen: a beauty who is as good 
as she looks. And the rest of us can do lit- 
tle more than gawpe in admiration. 


FILMS 

Kajol 


She's pretty, talented, and has a mind 
of her own But more than that, what 
makes Kajol stand out among the bevy of 



ir : Kitaj 

n V;(tO 
US 

umthiitg, it is 
ha* reams can 
hi truncated 
into reality, as 
long as you 
have the vision 
to hack 
Uv'in up 


beauties thatcompri.se the film world is 
her absolute disregard of convention, 
both in her personal and professional life. 

She can’t be bothered with plucking 
her eyebrows or bleaching her upper Up 
She cloesn't care if she's seen wearing 
spectacles m public. She cuddles up to 
her boyfriend, Aiay Devgan, unabashedly 
on the sets. She thinks nothing of taking 
off on. vacation with him. And she is 
never accompanied by mummy — yester- 
year actress Tanuj.»— while shooting. 

But while Kajol doesn't have the mak- 
ings of an old-fashioned star in the 
Madhubala mould, she more than 
makes up with her high-voltage perfor- 
mances in such hits as uihvale uulhaniye 
Le layenge. And what makes this all the 
more aarmrable is the fact that she is the 
exact opposite of the character she plays 
in this movie: the quiet, docile Simran, 
who does whatever her parents want her 
to. 



Finally she is what she is because 
she is unpredictable and passionate; per 
haps it's the Bengali in her. 


Rekha 


Who would have thought that l he 
fat, dark teenager who was launched in 
Sawan Bhadon back in the 1960s would 
metamorphose into the ageless swan of 
the 1990s? 


All right, Rekha is no spring chicken 
(she must be in her late 

forties, though age is such a racket in 
the film industry), out there is now a 
timeless quality to her. Hema Malini has 
retired to lonely domesticity, Mumtaz 
looks nothing like the impishheroine of 
old, Sharmila is more Begum than beauty, 
and even such later entrants as Zeenat 
Aman are past it. 

But Rekha keeps j$oing This year, she 
has posed for Harper s Bazaar (pictures by 



Mary Ellen Mark) along with girls 
young enough to be her daughters 
(Susmita Sen and Aiahwaiya Rai) and 
given a major hit all of her own, 
KhUadiyon ka Khiladi. 

Those who predicted that she would 
co bananas, claimed that she was unsta- 
ble or argued that she would age badly 
have been silenced by her longevity. 

This is a woman who thrives on 
being alone and serves as an example to 
all industry women. 

Manisha Koirala 


The thinking man's Madhuri Dixit. 
Those who remember her when she first 
came to Bombay, accompanied by a 
pushy mother and ensconced in Sanjav 
Dalmia's guest house, cannot reconcile 
the slender child who acted in Subhash 
Ghai's Saudagar with the accomplished. 



bosomy actress of such hits as Bombay 
and Hindustani. 

The secret i«t Manisha 's success is that 
unlike Madhuri, who will nevei accept a 
proposal unless it's a surefire, commer- 
cial venture, she has never been scared ot 
taking risks. 

Sometimes the gambles have paid off 
and sometimes they haven't. 

She took Mani Katnam's Bombay even 
though the whole world told her that 
nobody would accept a Nepali beauty as 
a South Indian Muslim in an art film. 
Somehow, she carried it off. She accepted 
a role in Kamalahasan's Hindustani even 
though the pundits said that Urmila had 
the better song. Now that the film is a hit, 
it is Manisha not Urmila who has benefit- 
led. 

Even those gambles that have back- 
fired have not hurt. Khamoshi will be 
remembered for two things: its terrible 
box-office performance and Nana 
Fatekar's even worse on-screen perfor- 



mance. But nobody blames Manisha for 
the flop. In fact, they say that she did her 
best despite the dismal screenplay. 

This is a woman who is not afraid to 
drink or to love, a woman of the 1990s 


Ritu Beri has 
gone from 
being a lesser- 
known 
U-division 
designer to 
becoming the 
person most 
eligible for 
inheriting Kohit 
Khosla's 
mantle, as 
the leader of 
India’s fashion 
world. 1 hat's 
>>urtl> fnviiiust' 
Kite doesn’t 
t riel hi rsetf 
i-s f.tvnwn iii'HH’ 


TELEVISION 

Salma Sultan 

With her trademark rose (stuck dis- 
creetly behind one ear) she hasbeen a per- 
manent fixture on our television screens 
for as long as there has been « 
Doordarsnan. So much so, that her gen- 
tly-smilingteatures Iilvc become com- 
pletely identified with the Hindi news 
bulletin on the national network 

And Salma is perfectly aware of the 
place that she occupies in the national 
consciousness, hence her violent reac- 
tion to the news that the mandarins at 



27 


She [Marii.sha 
Koimliij took 
Mam Kain.un'-* 
Ur.fnhay vwu 
tho«i«Ji the 
vhole world 
iiiM her 
nobody would 
accept a Nepali 
beauty a:-, a 
South iniliau 
Muslim ii? an 
art film. 
Somehow, >he 
carried it off 


Mcindi House were planning to terminate 
her services. 

But if those faceless bureaucrats do 
get their way, Indian television will 
soon lose one of its most recognisable 
faces. And one that both inspired trust 
and was easy on the eyes 

And that would be a real pity 

Neena Gupta 

Which one is the real Neena Gupta? 
The superbitch of 1980s' television sen- 
als? The art film actress ot Shyam 
Benegal s Trikmil? The disastrous talk 
show hostess of recent memory? The 
vulgar bosom-thrusting dancer of Choli ke 
perhchcy? 

It is a tribute to Neena Gupta's versa- 
tility that we accept her in so many dif- 
ferent roles. Wc accept her talent and we 
accept her right to lead an unconvention- 
al private life: she has shown no embar- 
rassment over the love child with West 
Indian cricketer, Vivian Richards. 

She is not young any longer The 
looks are beginning to go And the voice 
sometimes reminds you ot somebody 
scratching his nails across a blackboard 

But nothing stops Neena She’s even 
done a music album, and as her looks 
have faded she has found roles that are 
m ore in keeping with her altered appear- 
ance. 

At the end of the day, one of the great 
survivors of our times 

Karuna Samtani 

If you’ve never heard of Karuna 
Samtani, do not despair That is probably 
how it should be. She is one ot those 
backroom wizards who decides what 
wiil appear on our television screens 
without ever imposing her own personal- 
ity on u.s 




It was Karuna who Subhash Chandra 
put in charge of the fledgling HI TV 
channel. Despite the competition from 
Big Brother Zee TV and from the mega- 
buck backed Doordarshan network, she 
managed to create a viable channel on a 
tiny budget — so tiny that wags named 
it Ll Cheapo TV 

Now, she's gone as far as she am in 
Subhash Chandia's set-up 

She is head ot programming for Zee 
TV itself, a t rucial job considering the 
competition from new quarters. Home 
TV and Sony. 

Rumours that differences with newly- 
appointed Zee network head, VC Jindal, 
would push her into accepting a senior 
post withrival Sony have been dis- 
proved. 

But she is a hot property in the world 
of Indian television. And sne knows it. 


THE ARTS 
Mallika Sarabhai 

She's come a long way from the days 
in which the Bombay film industry 
would dismiss her as a I’arvcen Babi 
look-alike who missed the bus Some 
people expected the daughter of Vikrarn 
and Mrinalim Sarabhai, and an accom- 
plished classical dancer in her own 
right, to give films a miss and to go on to 
something more serious. 

But Mallika made her point. She shift- 
ed to Gujarati cinema, where she and 
Kiran Kumar became a dhokla version of 
Amitabh and Rekha, both on and off the 
screen. (Don't be surprised She has 
interesting tastes. Pritish Nandy is an ex- 
beau.) 

She was rescued from dhokladom by 
Peter Brook, who cast her as Praupadi in 
his version of the Mahabharat, an expe- 


28 



rience that appears to have become 
central to Mallika's life, both profes- 
sionally and personally. 

These days, she runs a publishing 
house, Mapin, named after her and some- 
time husband. Bipin, and does the odd 
bit of television, though last month 
Home TV cancelled her eponymous pro- 
gramme, On Air With MaiJika. 

No matter. Shell find something else 
to do. 

Lata Mangeshkar 

Everyone makes much of the 
Mangeshkar Monopoly and how Lata — 
with some help from her sister, Asha 
Bhonsle — never let any other playback 
singers make it in the Bombay film 
industry But no amount of carping can 
detract from the fact that Lata has 
ruled supreme in Bollywood recording 
studios for around five decades. Ana 
she couldn't have done that by manipu- 
lation alone; she had to have nad the 
kind ol voice that launches a thousand 
best-selling albums. 

But while her singing talent is beyond 
dispute, what makes Lata remarkable is 
her ability to command respect Whetlier 
it is the orchestra leader or die highest- 
paid music duet tor in film land, they all 
treat Mangeshkar with due deference. 
And tins, in an industry that has a long 
and hoary tradition of treating single 
women with scant respect. 

Lata, however, remains an exception 
to that rule And in an era when singers 
rely on scanty costumes and sexy gyra- 
tions to remain on top, Mangeshkar’s 
dulcet tones arc enough to keep her 
at the top of the heap. 




Arpana Caur 

With her large, luminous eyes, and 
the slightly fngntened expression that 
lurks in them most of the time, Laur is a 
little difficult to figure out. Lor one of 
India’s leading painters, she is remark- 
ably unassuming, and doesn't make too 
much of her indisputable talent. 

And talent she certainly has in large 
measure. Whether it is a series on 
Hiroshima or just ordinary portraiture, 
Caur's artistic eye imparts the paintings 
with an ethereal quality that is easy to 
identify as her own But praise her 
work, and she looks mildly surprised, 
almost as if she can't quite believe that 
anyone would find anything of conse- 
quence in her work. 

But don't bo taken in by that mod- 
esty. Arpana may not he a relentless 
self-promoter like M F Husain, but she is 
an artist. And in the end, that is alf tlvat 
matters. ■ 


Hi t : ¥*.A 
^ '•'iuj.’f-L' .‘, 

rt h on r 

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' V\\ I .ihtfi',': 
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29 



SHANTANU ^ 

adds the spirited dimension fa 
between them and the Nazia-Z 
their own album ft/aujav/an 
of pop music. 



in, 


vnutffa&s* tfestr&ngty 
»i tea* n and prefers fa be 
fer music director Biddu, 














THF STUNNING RANGE Of ALT WOOL WOOLRICH AND POIV WOOI BIENDL 














If) NOV/FMRFR 1996# 


OST MORTEM 


Her Master’s 
Voice 

A Mayawati's meteoric 
rise from a very humble 
background to political 
prominence, speaks vol- 
umes of her guts and 
determination fMaha 
Maya', September 15). 
Mayawati let nothing 
come in her way of educa- 
tion. She would have been 
an IAS officer had fate not 
intervened and changed 
her interest to politics in 
the shape of Kanshi Ram. 
She has much to thank 
her guru for shaping her 
political earner She would 
nave made a good chief 
minister. 

M,S. Quraishy, 

Calcutta 

W Very few women 
politicians have been able 
to make a mark for them- 
selves in the male domi- 
nated arena of politics. 

E von Indira Gandhi had 
mentioned many times 
during her speeches- 
abroad that she was fight- 
ing for a place in an exclu- 
sive male world. 

In such a situation, 
Mayawati's rise deserves 
appreciation. Once the Bill 
on women's reservation is 
passed in Parliament, 
women like Mayawati 
will be able to play a 


’ - m 

& • 



Mayawati: Eyes set on chief 

more constructive role. 
Prahltid Aga rival, 

Nadia 

& Indian politics needs 
some strong and commit- 
ted women politicians. 
Women parliamentarians 
are generally favoured 
with some? light depart- 
ments like child welfare 
or family planning. We 
have never had a woman 
defence or finance minis- 
ter. May be the arrival of 
more strong-willed politi- 


f ministership 

dans like Mayawati will 
alter the imbalance. 
Supama Battik, 

Calcutta 

A Uttar Pradesh is begin- 
ning to reflect Indian 
women's age-old quest 
for attaining equality with 
men. Mayawati has gone 
down in history as the 
first woman chief minis- 
ter. This speaks well of the 
state's progress in freeing 
| itself from gender biases, 
j The state also lias had its 


UJ 



i PAGE 12 


first woman Governor: 
Sarojini Naidu. 

Ramesh Saha, 

Rnmpurhat ( W.B .) 

A What Mayawati lacks 
is an individual image. 
Her political career totally 
hinges on Kanshi Ram, 
her fortune-maker. Her 
protection as a champion 
of tnc shoshit samaj is a 
lactic to bring the Dalits 
under her spell. 
Otherwise, apart from 
rhetoric, what has she 
done for the Dalits? 

She is also given to 
compromising. She aim- 
promised on ner 
Manuwadi politics when 
she joined nands with the 
BJP. She should first be a 
true leader of the masses 
and then long for the 
kurst. 

Md Rizwan , 

Jamshedpur 

A As is its wont, the 
media tries to stir up a 
gossip linking Mayawati's 
name with that of Kanshi 
Ram's. We should judge 
her for her political 
achievements and fail- 
ures. After all to succeed 
one needs a godfather In 
the film industry without 
a godfather you are 
nowhere. In politics, too, 
one needs a mentor 
Swati Vcrma, 

Dhanhad 


hit 1 IONS 


IT WAS the TV serial Hum Lev that made him a 4 ElhM 
celebrity. Manohar Shyam Josm can take the C OVER S1X>RY 

credit (or having brought Western soap operas ^8 TREND 
to India with a distinct desi touch. 30 FIRST PERSON 


PAGE 4 


KAMALAHASAN PLAYS mourn. 

Manohar Shyam Joshi 


Cover Neons 




MAAMIMIA 

Kamalahasan gets in touch with his feminine side in his neu> movie, 
Avvai Shanmukhi. Sudha G. Tilak reports 



Inspired by Mrs Doubtfire: Kamalahasan as maami flanked by two co-actresses in Awai Shanmukhi 


H e's demo it again 

Kamalahasan has come up 
with another 
surprise — something that 
ho seems to do with amazing 
regularity. In fact, the only tnmg 
predictable about the actor- 
producor-di rector these days is his 
unpredictability 

The success of Indian in Tamil, 
Telugu and Hindustani in Hindi has 
probably egged Kamal on to tty' a 
now look on celluloid. Alter all the 
mam USPol Indian (or Hindustan/, if 
you will) was Kamalahasan in the 
role ot a 70 plus man, wrinkles, 
crinkles, and all- accomplished 
with the help ot some expert make- 
up 

Sailing on this new box -office 
trick, kamalahasan's next tilm slated 
tor a Diwab release is a scream all 
right A take-off on Mrs l loubtfire. 


Avvai Shanmukhi has Kamalahasan in 
the unrecognisable garb of a Tamil 
Brahmin tnaami (any elderly Brahmin 
lady goes by the name of maami in 
Tamil Nadu). 

But wait a minute- this is not the 
drag look that every Hindi film hero 
worth his biceps and chest hair 
sports in some movie or the other. 
You know the kind we mean, don’t 
you? Govmda in skirt and ponytails, 
playing hockey; Aamir Khan 
shaking a nylon-clad leg; Amitabh 
Bachchan getting into gnagara-choli 
for Mere angane mem; and even 
Naseeruddin Shah squeezing into a 
swimsuit along with Aditya 
Panscholi. 

In these films, everyone is m on 
the secret, including the audience. 
But for some reason that is 
impossible to fathom, only the poor, 
dim-witted heroine fails to recognise 


our man — despite his all-too- 
familiar voice, gestures and features. 

K amalahasan, of course, believes 
in doing things differently. And 
in Awai Shanmukhi, he has done just 
that, giving Robin Williams, ot Mrs 
Doubtfire fame, a run for his money 
As maami , Kama! is a portly 75 
kilos, with a smooth complexion, 
rosy, chubby cheeks, and w ith corals 
glinting in nis ears and on his neck. 
The feminine grace and gestures 
weren't hard to come by; Hasan’s 
years as a Bharatnatyam dancer 
helped him in getting his act right. 
And as for the voice, Kamal 
managed to change it enough so that 
he didn't need a dubbing artiste to 
fill in. 

As a result, the actor is absolutely 
convincing as maami. And if you 
don't believe us, just take a look at 





Sporting another look: Kamalahasan applying make-up for Nayakaan 


the picture featured on these pages. 

Perhaps it is to move away from 
the hackneyed drag look that a new 
stream of film makers like Amol 
Palekar and Kalpana Lajmi are 
making that loolc at transvestism 
with a serious bent of mind. 

Palekar's Dtiarya and Lajmi s 
Darmiyaau are both films that are 
trying to take away the absurdity 
inherent in the way in which Indian 
films deal with transvestism and 
eunuchs. 

The West, of course, has done it 
before. It started with the big hit of 
Tiwtsie with Dustin Hoffman 
popularising the drag look to the 
more recent Priscilla , the Queen of the 
Desert which examines the world of 
the transvestite. 

In Avvat Shanntukhi, Kamal has 
tried to emulate these examples. And 
the result is a movie that has the 
makings oi a commercial success, 
and yet has a strong message 

P laying the role of a Brahmin cook, 
Kamalahasan had visitors to the 
sets fooled alright. Since one 
sequence required a feast with a 
dozen maamts to keep Kamal 
company, director Ravi Kumar 
decided nothing but the authentic 
look will do A dozen real manmis 
were roped in for the scene. 

A Durga who had walked into 
the sets looking for "her favourite 
hero" was disappointed at not 
finding him there. Until she espied a 
minimi seated m a chair calling out 
directions in a male voice. 

kamal, tongue firmly in cheek, 
recalled, "Well, I had some lady 
artiste whispering absently to me: 
'Check your slipping pallav , 


The real Kamalahasan sans make-up 



woman 1 " Nothing could have 
pleased the actor more, at last he had 
achieved the authenticity he was 
looking for. 

Tlie new look to out-do Robin 
Williams at his own eamo needed 
work all right. Kama! went to the US 
to meet Michael Westmore, the Star 
Trek make-up whiz who helped 
Kamal with prosthetic make-up in 
Indian. Tshis time he had to use a 
single rubber prosthetic piece to 
fashion his cheeks, rounded jowls 
and saggy neck. 

Having imported the piece from 
the US, Hasan had to be very careful 
indeed while working with it, as it 
was made for one-time use. It ended 
up costing Kamalahasan nearly 
Rs 10,000 each time he turned into 
maami but Jthe results seem to have 
been worth it. 

As were the travails of sitting 
wearing a nine-yards Tamil sari and 
learning to walk, run along, and also 
give chase on a mobike in it. He also 
Had to make do with sipping juices 
and liquids during the snooting 
since chewing and yawning or 
'using 1 his face would endanger the 
look, and there was every chance 
that his 'face 1 would go out of shape. 

Having derided on the drag 
effect, Kamal even daubed on 
feminine perfume instead of an 
aftershave. This after trying to cream 
or shave the fuzz on his chest, arms 
and legs. 


P erhaps because it is intended to 
shock and impress, the movie 
was shot amidst much privacy. 
Nosey scribes were shown the door 
and hangers-on were not 
encouraged. Two song sequences of 
the film nave been shown to a select 
tribe of mediapersons, but much of 
the thrill is meant for viewing on the 
big screen. 

Not that everyone is applauding 
this effort Kamal's detractors have 
been saying that the actor has been 
borrowing heavily from Hollywood 
for all his films of late. And that his 
recent successes have all been 
Western-inspired Indian editions. 
Sadi-Leelavathi is the Indianised 
version of She Devil , Magalir Matt um 
was a take-off on Nine to Five 
currently being filmed as Ladies Only 
in Hindi with Randhir Kapoor 
playing the lecherous boss. Closer 
home, Kwf udhi Punal was a remake 
of Govind Nihalanis acclaimed 
Drohkal. And now Awai Shanmukhi 
is inspired by Mrs Doubtfire. 

Borrow he may, and try the 
headiest tricks in the box-office book 
to make an impression on the 
audience, but there is no stopping 
Kamalahasan. He has discoverednis 
own personal mantra for making 
successful movies, and if it owes 
something to Hollywood, who 
cares? 

Clearly the audiences don't 
— and in the end, that's all that 
matters. ■ 




VHwpSInT 

FEMINISTS OR FEMINAZIS? 

In their zeal to stop the Miss World contest, by force if necessary, our women's 
organisations have exposed their ugliest face yet, saysSeema Goswami 


I always believed that the whole 
point about women s liberation 
WtRfc mst that liberation. That 
shorn of all its bra-burning 
cliches, the movement sought to win 
freedom for all women, no matter 
where they lived, what colour they 
were, and whether they wore skirts, 
sarongs, saris, or well, swimsuits. 

It has taken the current 
controversy raging over the Miss 
World contest, scheduled to be held 
in Bangalore on the 23rd ol 
November, to show' me how naive 
this belief was. It now turns out that 
the freedom' that all our feminists 
have been fighting so hard for is 
restricted to a chosen tew 

So, if you wear a salwar-kameez 
and sport a bindi on your forehead, 
then you're entitled to the protection 
of the feminist umbrella. But the 
moment you slip into a bikini — or 
even a mini-skirt — and try out the 
latest shade from Revlon lipsticks, 
then you're on your own 

As long as you're agitating 
against dowry deaths (a very worthy 
cause in itself) on the streets of 
Delhi, the feminists will applaud 
^ou. But try and earn an honest 
iving by walking the ramp duung 
fashion shows, and you will have 
the wrath of this PC (Politically 
Correct) Brigade descend on your 
weli-coiffed nead 

And going bv the current 
brouhaha raging in the press, beauty 
contests come a dose second to 
amnioccntisis m the Feminist Book 
ot Evil 

The argument, as 1 understand it, 
is that beauty contests commodify 
women by placing a premium on 
personal appearance. They also 
reinforce stereotypical (read 
Western) standaids of beautv:cvery 
contestant is at least five feet seven 
inches tall; is reed thin; etc., etc And 
that making the participants parade 
the stage in swimsuits while men the 
world over ogle at them is 
demeaning not only to the girls in 
question but to womankind itself. 

I have no doubt that the feminist 
lobby believes implicitly in this 


i 


sition, and wants to stop the Miss 
Drld contest only to save those 
hapless beauty queens from a fate 
worse than dcatn: dishonour. And I 
would have no problem if they sat 
these ladies down, and over their 
broccoli and Bisleri (or whatever it is 
that they eat) initiated a dialogue 
that convinced them to withdraw 
from the event to support the cause 
of the Sisterhood. 

ut the feminists don't do that. 

X2 Instead, secure in the conviction 
mat their's is the only valid point of 
view, they lecture us on how our 
culture is being destroyed by foreign 
cosmetic companies, and by those 
women who prefer to dress in Levi's 
jeans rather tnan ethniewear from 
Gutjari. 

If any man dared to dictate to us 
as to how we should dress, all of us 
would be up In arms. If any male 
* suggested tnat women who wore 
revealing clothes were 'asking for it'. 


we would be crying 'male chauvinist 
pig' until we were noarse. 

And yet, when our feminist 
sisters argue that swimsuits are 
perfidious influences, and that any 
glimpse of female flesh will lead to 
trie collapse of Indian civilisation, wc 
don’t raise our voices in protest. We 
don't ask them to take a flying jump 
from their moral high ground, and 
let us make informed cnoiccs about 
how we want to live our lives. 
Because surely that's what freedom 
is all about: the freedom to make 
choices, even if they are ones that 
our mothers don't necessarily agree 
with. 

We may have got over our 
'Daddy knows best' hang-up, but we 
still seem to believe in some corner 
of our hearts that Mummy still does 
know better than us. And every time 
we act on that premise, or remain 
silent when we should have stood 
up to be counted, we encourage 
people — irrespective of their gender 


Miss World 1994, Atshwarya Ral (India) flanked by the two runners-up 




Miss World 1995, Jacqueline Marcano 

— to treat us like little children who 
have to be told how to live, eat, 
behave, and dress. (And if we don't 
fall in line, well then, they'll just 
have to bum that stadium down, 
won t they?) 

C onsider how stronglv we react to 
every edict of the Taliban in 
neighbouring Afghanistan which 
infringes womens rights- whether it 
relates to the closing down of 
schools for girl children; the 
enforcement of an Islamic dress code 
for females; and the decision to 
exclude women from the workplace. 

And then, think for a moment: is 
what our feminist friends are doing 
any different from the actions of the 
Taliban? They may be on opposite 
ends of the political spectrum, but 
their essential position is not very 
dissimilar 

The Taliban wants women to 
remain at home so that their 
modesty may be preserved; the 
feminist lobby wants them to stay off 
the catwalk. The Taliban believes 
that the Islamic fabric of their 
country will be destroyed if women 
abandon the chador; tne feminists 
are convinced that Indian culture 
will be desecrated if girls are 
allowed to parade in swimsuits in 
beauty contests. The Taliban is 
suspicious of education when it 
comes to the female sex; the 
feminists don't trust women to have 
learnt enough from their lessons to 
make their own life choices. 

Ultimately, both believe they 
know best; both are unwilling to 


from Venezuela (centre) poses with Miss 

entertain a world view other than 
their own; both want to dictate to 
women. When push comes to shove, 
both reveal themselves as militant 
movements with a fanatic edge. The 
Taliban may be a fundamentalist 
organisation, but our feminists have 


The Ihliban believes 
that the Islamic fabric 
of their country will be 
destroyed if women 
abandon the chador; 

the feminists are 
convinced that Indian 
culture will be 
desecrated if girls are 
allowed to parade in 
swimsuits in beauty 
contests 


also been exposed as teminazis. 

The old i9o0s' term for feminism 
was "women's liberation', sometimes 
shortened to women's lib. It is no 
accident that this term has fallen out 
of favour. What the feminists are 
asking for has nothing to do with 
liberation. It has to do with a 
theology that may be more 
politically correct than the Taliban's, 


Croatia and Miss Trinidad & Tobago 

! but is no less restrictive. 

That, alas, is how a section of the 
women's movement has gone: from 
women s libbers to feminists to 
teminazis. 

It is one thing to be rigid, 
unforgiving and narrow-minded — as 
the opponents to Miss World are — 
quite another to use force to seek to 
impose your views on others. 

The Taliban parallel also holds 
when it comes to the methods 
adopted by some of the contest's 
critics. The ABCL office in Bangalore 
has been bombed, the Godrej 
showroom ransacked and more is to 
follow. One organisation has 
threatened to bum down or 
demolish the stadium where the 
contest is being held. And given that 
the protestors now include the 
lunatic fringe ot the BJP, perhaps wc 
should take the demolition fear a 
little more seriously (the warning 
signal will be when they start calling 
the stadium a circular structure'). 

These methods are those 
traditionally used by the enemies of 
the freedom, be they the Taliban, the 
Bajrang Dal. or the Nazis The ready 
recourse to violence emphasises the 
essence of the so-called tern mist 
case': the women participants are not 
just unworthy of deciding whether 
to join the contest or not, hut they 
are also unworthy ot any 
consideration as regards their safety. 

Human life is merely a trifle in 
the eyes of the wild-eyed feminazis. 
The end matches the means ■ 



Extract 


A Pukka 


BACKGROUND 



Art extract 

from 

QurratztUiin 
Hyder’s book 
of short stories 


Extracted from 
The Street Singers of 
Luknow and Other 

Stories 


hy 

Qurratuiatn Hyder 
PubUehed by 


Sterling 
Paperback* 
Price Rm 83 


asal Masih is a poor, khaki-clad 
sweeper with a beatific smile. He 
works for an ill-tempered 
Englishwoman who lives on 
Mussoorie's Vincent Hill. Every 
evening, at sun down, he brings a 
fair, blue-eyed child to the Library 
Bazaar to eat the air", as he puts it. 
He places the child on his shoulder 
and stands under a lamp post, 
watching the ebb and flow of holi- 
day-makers. Standing motionless 
under a lamp post he can remind 
you of the Hindi couplet, khara kabi- 
ra der se, mange sab kikhair : Kabir has 
long been praying for everybody, for 
friends and fees alike in the market- 
place of the world. 

In Csarist Russia people like 
Fazal Masih were known as Holy 
Fools. Muslims call them majzoob — 
absorbed in God. Perhaps Fazal 
Masih is not a mystic, merely a 
sweeper with a very low IQ. And he 
seems to dote on the little girl who 
looks like Shirley Temple. She is so 
pretty that the passers-by often stroll 
over to the lamp post to regain their 
breath and baby-talk to her. She is a 
quiet, well-behaved, well dressed 
baby and looks like a high-bom 
Missy Baba. Mussoorie is full of 
prosperous English and Scottish 
families. 

But you can't know much about 
Goldilocks because Fazal Masih 
never speaks. He keeps gazing at the 
distant mists as though he is trying 
to find his answers there. Once, out 
of idle curiosity, a passer-by had 
asked him, "Whicn Saheb's daugh- 
ter is she, Jamadar?" to which he 
had retorted, '"She is my own niece, 
Babuji. You just let us be..." 

The unexpected reply has 
amazed the newcomer from the 
plains, but some of the local cooks 
and bearers, ayahs and coolies know 
that little Catherine Bolton is Martha 
Masih' s daughter and that her father 
was an English Tommy. No matter, 
such things sometimes happened. 


Martha is Fazal Masih's attrac- 
tive sister. In Urdu, squirrels are 
fondly called Katto. Because of her 
playful agility Martha is also known 
as "Katto Gimeri". Like her brother, 
she works for Miss Celia Richmond, 
her parents had been baptised by 
Miss Richmond's missionary father. 
Miss Richmond runs a second-grade 
"Europeans Only" guest house 
called Richmond Inn, frequented by 
Poor Whites and fair-skinned Anglo- 
Indians. No dark Eurasian can 
aspire to be Miss Richmond's guest. 

N ow it came to pass that towards 
the end of the Second World 
War, an English Tommy called 
Arthur Bolton was billeted in 
Richmond's Inn. And he turned out 
to be a bit odd. Instead of King and 
Country he liked to hold forth on 
Truth and Conscience and Mr 
Gandhi. He befriended the Holy 
Fool, Fasal Masih, and spoke to him 
in the native lingo. Like other British . 
soldiers he had been taught Roman 
Urdu but he also liked to hear North 
Indian folk songs which Katto 
Gilheri sang rather well. Arthur 
Bolton was a drummer in a regimen- 
tal band. He would have likedto be 
a famous musician but like many 
other artistes the lack of opportuni- 
ties had kept him unknown and 
poor. So, instead of staying at the 
Savoy he had to make do with cro- 
chety old Miss Richmond's genteel 
hostel. Arthur went hiking in the 
sun-hazed mountains ana with 
Fazal Masih he watched the dawn 
mists. He certainly was a very pecu- 
liar sort of Cockney. 

Before returning to Meerut 
Cantonment Arthur Bolton told' his 
friends at the Inn that they may 
never hear from him. ""Even it I sur- 
vive the war I may not write. I hate 
writing letters," he said candidly. 
However, he did send thank you 
notes, postmarked Meerut, to Miss 
Richmond and her two servants. 



before leaving for the European 
Front. 

When Martha Masih, alias Katto 
gave birth to a blonde who resem- 
bled Arthur Bolton, Miss Celia 
Richmond was not amused. She was . 
not shocked either She knew that 
Martha was not a layabout. She had 
erred and may God forgive her. 
Secretly Miss Richmond was happy. 
The cherubic infant had suddenly lit 
up Miss Richmond's lonely and dis- 
mal life. She felt that now she had 
someone to live for. She was also an 
incorrigible romantic and a snob. She 
invented a pucca background for the 
waif: "My first cousin Col. Arthur 
Bolton/' she told her Poor White 
guests, "has been reported missing 
on the Western Front." "Poor 
Arthur/' she would add singing, "he 
was quite a charmer, you know. And 
so handsome. He had married an 
Irish peer's daughter just before 
coming out to India. Shortly after he 
left tor the Front poor Cathleen 
Bridget died in childbirth. At the 
Military Hospital, you know, in 
Peshawar Fortunately, Arthur had 
given my name and address to the 
authntie.s as his next-of-kin in India. 
The Red Cross sent the little orphan 
to me- 

Even while getting her baptised 
Miss Richmond nad quite recklessly 
given the parents' names as "the late 
Col. Arthur Bolton and Cathleen 
Bolton" ’ ’So help me God," she had 


said to herself crossing her fingers. 

Catherine Bolton was a toddler 
when India became free. Mussoorie's 
English population suddenly van- 
ished. Miss Richmond stayed on. She 
didn't want to wash dishes in an 
inhospitable England. But being 
English and practical she removed 
the 'Europeans Onl/ board from her 
gate. The guest house began to flour- 
ish. Wealthy citizens of independent 
«India found a certain snob-value in 
staying at die quaint old inn... "Ye 
olde England type, you know, still 
run by a charming English lady/' 
they wrote home on their picture 
postcards. 

Catherine Bolton was nicknamed 
"Chhoti Katto" by the few locals 
who knew the secret. She was grow- 
ing lovelier by the day. 

Rev. John Sigmore, the kindly 
English parson who had baptised 
Catherine in 1946, had migrated to 
Australia the following year. He had 
continued to correspond with Miss 
Richmond. On Catherine's fifteenth 
birthday he wrote: "1 am worried 
about tne dear child. What is her 
future in India? Would you like her 
to become a cabaret dancer or a fash- 
ion model or marry a heathen? Bring 
her over to Australia before it's too 
late " 

Miss Richmond pondered over 
the matter. What indeed was to 
become of this exquisite Eurasian 
girl? Was she to join the ranks of 


telephone operators, office secre- 
taries or, God forbid, cabaret 
dancers? Tongues had already start- 
ed wagging about Catherine Bolton's 
exuberant vitality. 

The Hindi teacher in Catherine's 
school happened to be a local rogue. 
One frosty evening he tried to kiss 
her and was fiercely rebuffed. He 
called her a tart and a "cheap mon- 
grel" Catherine rushed home in 
tears and told her Aunt Celia. 

That freezing December evening 
Miss Richmond made up her mind. 
She spent a restless night dreading 
the unknown tomorrows that were 
to dawn in the Australian outback. 
But go away she must for the sake of 
dear Catherine. She will tell them. 
She summoned them to her room in 
the morning and steeled herself to 
make the grim announcement. 
Catherine sat by the fireside sorting 
out Elvis Presley records. The 
moment the servants came in Miss 
Richmond dropped the bombshell 
"Martha..." (she reserved the ayah ' s 
Christian name for important occa- 
sions), "we are going away to 
Vilayet. Katy Baba and I. Do not 
worry. I'll give both of you excellent 
chits." 

Both Katto and her brother were 
’dumbfounded Thev gaped at the 
bird-like Miss Sahco. Miss Richmond 
knitted away furiously. Katto broke 
down. After some moments she 
wiped her tears and said defiantly, 
"Miss Saheb. Katy is my own flesh 
and blood. I shan't let her go. How 





can you ..how...?" 

"Shut up!" Miss Richmond 
snapped in her high-pitched voice. 
"You are forgetting your place, 

Katto. Kindly remember who you 
are. Besides, what proof do you have 
that Catherine Baba is your daughter?" 

Katto was horrified. The sharp- 
tongued Miss Saheb had never been 
so callous. The poor ayah began to 
sob heartbroken by now 

There was too much hysteria in 
the gloomy, Victorian bedroom 
Catherine got up and went out. The 
very existence of her mother and 
uncle had begun to embarrass her 
since her last birthday when Miss 
Richmond had shrewdly told her the 
truth ' 'Col Bolton, Catnlcen Bolton 
and her father, the Irish lord, are 
entirely fictitious But remember, 
some truths are not worth bandying 
about. You must keep your real 
parentage a dark secret." 

Catherine instinctively knew the 
rules for the struggle for survival 
She had followea Aunt Celia's 
advice. 

After she left the room. Miss 
Richmond said more reasonably, 
"Think coolly, Katto What would 
happen to Catherine Baba after 1 die? 
Suppose more people get to know 
that she is your child? Who would 
marry an untouchable woman's 
daughter — even if she looks like a 
European? Tell me, eh? Besides the 
natives have scant respect for cross- 
breeds. What will she do for a liv- 
ing? Would you like to see her take 
off her clothes, one by one, and 
dance naked in a hotel? God forbid!" 
she added shuddering "Or would 
10 


■ 1 f 


you marry her off to the head 
jamadar of the municipality?" 

Poor Katto had no answer for 
that. 

Miss Richmond sold the guest 
house to a Sindhi businessman. She 
was still there when he took posses- 
sion. He replaced Jesus and Mary 
with Shankar-Parvati and Guru 
Nanak in the lounge: ‘Richmond 
Inn' gave way to The New 
Himalaya Vegetarian Hotel' at the 
gate. So the day arrived when the 
emigrants' train pulled out of Dehra 
Dun railway station Katto and her 
brother were left standing on an 
empty platform. Fazal Masih rubbed 
his eyes and resumed staring at the 
gathering mists .. 

M iss Celia Richmond alighted at 
Sydney airport and was 
thrilled. At last she had arrived in a 
White country. (She was bom in 
Gorakhpur and had spent only six 
months in England.) She waited for 
someone to pick up her luggage. 
When noboav took any notice of her, 
Catherine brought a trolley and 
asked her to help. As Miss 
Richmond began pushing the lug- 
gage cart, suddenly she felt that the 
end had come. 

Rev. Jon Sigmore was waiting in 
the airport verandah. He drove them 
home Miss Richmond had already 
transferred her assets from India. 

The clergyman had bought her a 
modest flat and a grocery shop in his 
suburban parish. Soon Miss 
Richmond found herself behind a 
counter selling vegetables. She had 


become part of Sydney's working 
class 

Catherine joined a school and 
began dating She came home late 
Miss Richmond was of missionaiy 
stock and old-fashioned. "Aunt" 
and "neice" began to quarrel An 
uprooted, middle-class English spin- 
ster and a rootless Anglo-Indian 
teenager made a sad and lonely pair 
indeed. 

Miss Richmond died attei a cou- 
le of years. Life in exile had killed 
er. Catherine was not yet twenty- 
one when her godfather and 
guardian. Rev. Sigmore, died too. As 
a woman of means Catherine Bolton 
attracted crooks and hangers on. She 
began to live in style, in keeping 
with her fictitious "upperclass 
British" background. One of her 
boyfriends was a bookie. Through 
him she lost most of her legacy at 
the races.She had to sell her flat and 
shop to pay the debts. She desper- 
ately wanted to become an actress. 
There was no film industry in 
Australia. "The shortest cut to 
London's show business is through 
the nightclubs," a boyfriend told her. 
She learned cabaret dancing and got 
a job in a shady joint. She needed the 
money. 

Years went by. As 'Catriona the 
Sizzling Stripper' Catherine Bolton 
eventually landed up in the 
Hongkong-Singapore-Kualalumpur 
nightclub circuit. She could never 
benave like a hardened mullatto. The 
imaginary Col. Bolton always told 
her to live with a certain dignity. She 
remembered her doting mother and 


uncle and her affectionate Aunt Celia 
and had bouts of depression and 
self-pity. 

Life as a taxi-dancer and night- 
club hostess humbled and saddened 

corrupt political leaders and busi- 
nessmen of what was now being 
called the 'Third World'. Which was 
her own world? she wondered, flit- 
ting from hotel to hotel dealing with 
lecherous men of all nationalities. 

In every hotel room she found 
the same massive Bible on the bed- 
side table. How much had the Bible 
helped the world, she wondered. 

In Jakarta, met a Dutch a sufi — 
thick-set, blond and magnetic. He 
had come to Jakarta to study 
Indonesian sufism, he told her. He 
was a "Dutch sensitive" and 
explained to her all about ESP and 
Islamic mysticism. "Your father is 
still alive/' he declared one evening. 
"And ho is a remarkable man." 

'Where is he? What does he 
do?" she asked eagerly. 

"Can't tell you more. I can only 
set? that he is alive; and I can also 
sense that he is a great man." 

"Great man?" she repeated excit- 
edly. 

So perhaps he was really a 
colonel and may now have become a 
genera! in the British Army. The idea 
that he was still around somewhere 
suddenly made her feel less inse- 
cure. The Dutchman's bulky pres- 
ence was quite reassuring too. 

Pretty soon she found herself in a 
mosque An Indonesian 'Sheikh' 
converted her to Islam and married 
her to Mohammad Mueen Koot of 
Amsterdam. She saw her new name 
on the nikaah register and felt good: 
Halimawati binte Col Arthur Bolton. 

Mr M. Koot was a strict Muslim. 
He forbade her to dance semi-naked 
in floor shows. And since his money 
order had not arrived from 
Amsterdam, she had to pay his hotel 
bills too. Once again she ran through 
most of her savings. 

A month passed. One sunny 
morning Catherine Koot woke up to 
discover that the Dutch "sufi" had 
vanished — along with her jewellery 
•and cash. An empty plastic cup lay 
on the bedside Bible which suddenly 
reminded her; Only last evening her 
learned husband auoted an 
American author. It was something 
to the effect that you may roam the 
earth but a day comes when you 
realise that the world is full of 
Holiday Inns and plastic cups, and 
that you must eventually return 
home. . 

Catherine Koot, too, managed to 
return to Sydney. She was aging fast 


and could only become a bus con- 
ductor. 

Never give up hope: is the basic 
rule for the struggle tor survival. 
Catherine Koot handled the bus tick- 
ets and wondered — Maybe at die 
next bus stop the Prince Charming... 

aja Sir Narendranath Baipai's 
l\ancestor was a poor Brahmin 
astrologer who haa once pleased 
Emperor Jehangir with his predic- 
tions and received a jagir in the 
Jamuna Valley. The prsent Raja 
Saheb lived in his modem mansion 
in New Delhi and ran an export 
business. His son and heir; formerly 
Yuvraj Shailendranathjee (now plain 
Mr S.N. Bajpai), had come out on a 
business tour of Japan, Southeast 
Asia and Australia. The Prince was 
not frightfully intelligent and 
Australia was the first White country 
he had ever visited. Therefore, he 
had gone gaw-gaw. 

One Sunday morning the 
Rajkumar decided to see the India- 
Australia Test match, studied the 
route map and boarded a stadium- 
bound bus. 

The coach was full of good-look- 
ers — Lebanese, Greeks, Italians. 
Moon-faced Australians. But the bus 
conductor simply dazed him. 

He blinked. She smiled politely 
and ambled on. The smile encour- 
aged him. He remembered die 
Indian maxim about women — Hattsi 
to phasi. If she smiles, it means that 
ah^'s.gawe. He took the same bus at 
the same time every day till he suc- 
ceeded in introducing himself as 
Prince Shailendra of India. 

She had met a lot of young 
princes in her school in Mussoorie. 
As a former nightclub hostess she 
could also distinguish between a real 
prince and a fake. She accepted his 
dinner invitation. 

Our Rajas and Nawabs used to 
keep at least one European woman 
(often a Cockney barmaid) in their 
harems. Catherine Bolton had an 
impeccable background. Father 
British colonel. Maternal grandfather 
Irish peer. 

As a young widower Prince 
Shailendra was fancy-free. He pro- 
posed to Catherine . The following 
week she found herself in a Hindu 
ashram in Sydney* In Jakarta an 
Indonesian sheikh had turned her 
into Halimawati. Down Under the 
South Indian swami called her 
Akshandsowbhagyavati 
Rajyalakshmi Shaiiaja Devijee. On 
the asram's marriage register she 
signed her new name: Snailaja Devi, 
daughter of Col & Mrs Arthur 
Bolton. ■ 





MSp&i fw!*W®Pww 

VOVER STORY 

SERIAL 

KILLER 

Geeta Sharma meets Manohar Shyamjoshi, 
the man who brought the soap opera to India 
with Hum Log and Buniyaad 


rr IS WITH A RUEFUL LOOK 
on his face that he says, "1 
have been faceless as a jour- 
nalist and foolish as a script- , 
writer." The lament is hard 
to digest, coming from a 
person credited with hav- 
ing given India its own 
genre of the desi soap 
opera with such serials as 
Hum Log, Buniyaad and 
Humranhi. 

But 64-year-old Manohar Shyam Joshi is 
serious. He feels frustrated, he says, that he 
never used his position as editor of a lead- 
ing magazine, Saptahik Hindustan, to 
"make a mark" by mingling with ministers, 
going on jaunts and flaunting himself in his 
magazine. Worse still, after the runaway 
success of Hum Log instead of going into 
production, he kept accepting scripting 
assignments while the others minted 
money. 

But there is consolation yet. There is, for 
instance, his identity as a 'highbrow' 


Vill 


Hindi writer with novels 
such as Kuru Kuru Swaha, 
Kasap, Haria Hercules ki 
Hairani, Humzad and Ta 
Ta Processor to his credit. 
And he has no hesitation 
about admitting that his 
television writing was noth- 
ing more than trash, which 
he did only to keep the 
home fires burning. His 
real Creativity was restrict- 
ed to his novels. 

And yet, sitting in his spartan south Delhi 
DDA flat, where his lecturer wife, with 
maang liberally smeared with sindur, 
graciously serves you tea, Joshi doesn't 
come across as an embittered man. And as 
he holds forth in his easy, charming style it 
is easy to visualise him as the author of that 
spell-binding soap. Hum Log India's 
longest-running television serial that told 
the story of an Indian lower middle-class 
joint family, in an urban setting. Or even as 
the writer of Buniyaad, the saga that traced 


12 


the history of a Punjabi family before 
and after Partition and had the entire 
country hooked. 

Then followed a string of smaller 
successes — Mungeri LalKeHaseen 
Supne, another tale of the middle-class 
dreams related through the endearing 
persona of Raghubir Yadav; Kakaji 
Kahin a powerful tongue-in-cheek 
critique of Indian politics delivered 
with just the right punch by Om Puri; 
Humraahi, another middle* class saga, 
Zameen Asmaan ...the list is endless. 

M odest as he is, joshi says there is 
nothing great about his 
scripting. It only means following 
certain tricks and formulas of the 
trade. There is, he says, an 
audio-visual imagination that some 
people possess that helps them to 
remember and narrate incidents 
down to the most minute detail, be it 
the women's gossip in mohallas or a 






family fued. Then you need the knack gossip hours. of the tr adit ional Delhiwalias for the 

to give your own imaginative touch to However, for the 104-episode Punjabi refugees. The serial was, in 

stereotypical characters in the Buniyaad for Ramesh Sippy, Joshi had fact abruptly wound up with the last 

stereotypical situations that typify all to put in a lot more research and read episode skipping a few decades and 

soaps. all the possible books available to get showing the family in the 1990 s. 

Take for instance Base&har Ram of the facts and dates about that period Now, however, it is time for Joshi to 

Hum Log the archetypal bad father right. He also had to speak to a whole wipe out the bitter memories as 

who drinks and mouths obscenities. lot of Punjabis from the capital, who Buniyaad is all set to be revived by 

But then, he also has certain had lived through the Partition, to get Star Plus, on which it will be telecast at 

characteristics that set him apart — his the right kind of reminiscences to base prime time, 

penchant for singing Saigal songs and his stories on. 

ius grandiose dreamsthat make him a Ironically, while the whole nation T oshi says that he had never intended 

lovable character and give him an stayed tuned in episode after episode, I to become a writer. He had set out 

extra dimension. . to witness the unfolding fate of Lajoji, from his home in Ajmer, where his 

For 'frufn Log, Joshi recalls, he took Masterji and their clan, Joshi had his educationist-musicologist father was 

a lot of the middle-dass touches from first bitter experience with the Mandi a school principal, for Lucknow, to 

the gossip sessions that he had House mandarins. study science and become a scientist, 

clandestinely heard and stored away As the serial's episodes about the This, against the wishes of his family, 

in his mind during his stint as a Partition began airing, the authorities which mought he would do well as an 

journalist, when he worked night started to hack portions and engineer. Throughout his university 

shifts and was in his middle-class stubbornly refused to telecast any days, he read a lot of popular science 

surroundings during the day-time scenes which showed the resentment and even got a Rs 50 prize as Scientist 


Manohar Shy am Joshi: Giving videshisoap a desi touch 





of Tomorrow, lor a write-up on 'The 
Romance of the Electrons'! 

At the same time, he was bitten by 
the communist bug. Though he never 
became a card-carrying member of the 
party, the fact that ne hung around 
with the comrades and was a 
sympathiser, provided enough reason 
for a police dossier to be maintained 
on him. The dossier haunted him 
throughout his career, but also 
provided him the spark to become a 
writer. 

Sitting with the comrades in a 
dhaba one day, a friend of his casually 
commented tnat he should be a writer 
because he "spoke in short stones". 
The comment was enough to inspire 
Joshi to hone his skills as a writer. 

But despite his success in Hindi 
literature and Hindi entertainment, 
Joshi claims that he was never the 



Humraaht Himanl Shlvpuri and Nirupama Vanua 



"Hindi speaking type" thanks to his 
upbringing in a family that hailed 
from Almora and that was both feudal 
and anglicised at the same time. "My 
Hindi was atrocious and I was 
notorious for my spelling mistakes," 
he say s, with a laugh. 

But once his short stories started 
bringing in enough to supplement his 
pocket money, Joshi decided to take 
his writing a little more seriously and 
began searching for a guru to guide 
him. He found one in noted Hindi 
writer, Amrit Lai Nagar, who fought 
Joshi the basic rules. 

The first was a crash course to 
improve his Hindi, the second was to 
learn the basics of Khari Soli and the 
third was never to shy away from 
using a dictionary or a thesaurus. 
Above all, he taught Joshi the art of 
listening to people talking in various 
dialects and reproducing them in his 
writings. 

Soon, he landed in Delhi, armed 
with a letter of recommendation for 
Feroze Gandhi who was managing 
the Indian Express group and Durga 
Das of the Hindustand Times group. 
"Being the braggart I was, 1 told them 
t* ith I could write on anything and 
everything. And both were equally 
unimpressed by my claim," says 
Joshi So he ended up writing sundry 
articles on sports and assorted subjects. 

Then followed short stints as a 
journalist with All India Radio, 
through his second guru. Vasty a van 
Agyeya, and a lucky opening — nis 
police dossier notwithstanding — in 
the Central Information Service, that 
took him to Bombay In between, there 
were innumerable instances, when 

15 





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Joshi wrote under pseudonyms (lie 
has lost count how many he wrote 
under). 

One of the more outstanding 
instances was when he decided to fill 
in the two-year boycott of Dharamyug 
editor Dharamveer Bharati, and wrote 
week after week on sundry topics. But 
the lid blew off when Joshi, writing for 
the magazine under the pen name of 
Kurumanshi, wrote all the articles of 
the special issue brought out on the 
Chinese aggression on India in 1962, 
one wcelLahead of its sister 
publication. Illustrated Weekly. 
The fact that the entire issue had 
articles by one person, proved to be 
the last straw and an explanation was 
sought by the management about the 
goings-on! 

Joshi, who was very much attached 
to his mother and wanted to look after 
her, his father having died early, then 
moved to Delhi, to take up a job as a 
journalist in Dinman, since his guru, 
Vatsyayan, had joined as editor. From 
Dinman, he got nis break as editor of 
Saptahik Hindustan launched by the 
Hindustan Times group And he 
remained here for 1 7 years, 
maintaining a very low profile. 

The lucky break for him in 
television came in 1983 when S.S. Gill, 
the then secretary, information and 



A stilt from a Joshi comedy, Kakaji Kahin,wh\ch had Om Puri in the lead 





broadcasting, sought his services for | 
devising a soap open to get home the I 
message of copulation control. 

"There had been endless delegations 
before that which had been on 
countless trips to Mexico, from where 
the inspiration for the soap came, to 
study tne technique and style. But 
nothing had come through. Finally, it 
was Gill and I who sat down and 
decided on Hum Log,” Joshi recalls. 
And the rest, as they say, is history. 

S oaps, sagas and serials have come a 
long way since Hum Log. And 
Joshi does not hide his dismay at the 
current fare being dished out on the 
innumerable channels. "Every other 
serial these days ends with either a 
'bitch' or 'bastard' or both. Our desi 
soap is becoming videshi very fast. No 
one is stopping to think of the need for 
socially relevant wholesome 
entertainment," he laments. 

loshi attributes this change to the 
needs of the market, where the 

up-market yuppic-values-driven 

advertisers and sponsors decide the 
trends and the selling techniques, 
which are based on the Santa Barbara 
and The Bold And T^e Beautiful 
model and not on the desi Hum Lx>g 
variety. "To me, such fare is not so 
much 'up-market' as ' upasanskritf 
(alien culture)/' he quips. 

For the man crowned with the 
Onida Pinnacle Award for lifetime 
achievement and the Uptron Award 
for best serial (for Buniyaad and 
Humraahi ), there is nothing new to 
watch or look forward to on television 
now. "There is a sameness pervading 
all channels," he says. 

loshi attributes this dismal picture 
to the dearth of good writers and lack 
of a dear policy about the idea of 
entertainment. "1 wish I could train 
some of our young ones in writing. 
There was a time when I had hoped to 
start evening classes here, but my 
shuttling life between Bombay and 
Delhi has left me with little scope for 
that" 

The only saving grace, says Joshi, is 
that the audience is proving to be 
discerning enough. For, despite the 
trash being shown on the various 
channels, viewers have shown a 
preference for such serials as 
Mahabhaiat, Chandrakanta, Krishna 
and the like, which showcase 
traditional values. 

Having, apparently, foreseen the 
inevitable downslide in television 
software, Joshi had tried his luck with 
films too. His first two projects, with 
RameshSippy, Bhrashtachar and 



19 










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A still from the serial, Zameen Asmaan 

Za/mien, proved to be either flops or 
nonstarters I 1c has also done the 
dubbine srnpts lor Drohkal, and 
Kamal.inasan's Appu Kjjj and is 
working with him on the Hindi 
counterparts of his Tamil films 
Nonetheless, joshi still sounds 


enthusiastic about his television 
proposals. Two of them — one based 
on a novel by Bhairappa, called 
UlUnuhan, on the untouchables, and 
the other on the Bhaval Sanyasi case of 
Bengal where a man, given up for 
dead came back but was not accepted 


. i - f . . n ; ,r " ' X- ,-t M " ' Vv 


/ 7 ' > ' ■ ‘ 





^.<U I t "■ ■' 



■ ■ >#.0 . 


by his wife and family, even after 
winning court battles to prove his 
identity — are yet to take oft. Also in 
the pipeline is a Burtiyaud type saga 
that would trace the travails of a fami- 
ly from east Bengal to India. 

None of Joshi’s three sons , two of 
them pursuing computer studies and 
nnology in the US and the* third, 
hef at a Delhi I lotel, seem to have 
inherited their father’s writing skills. 
Bui Joshi does nol add that to his list 
of laments. In fact he says, both he anc. 
his wife, a lecturer in Delhi's Lady Shri 
Ram College, arc happy that their chil- 
dren are pursuing areas of interest 
they chose for themselves. 

And as far as he and his wife are 
concerned, Joshi says before his wife 
can get a word in edgeways that 
theirs is a ' happy division of 
labour"’ 

And what is that precisely? Joshi 
has an explanation ready. "Well, the 
facl that tne male of the species never 
lifts a finger for the household 
chores!" he says, in his most matter-of 
fact voice. 

Trust Joshi to live up to the arche- 
typal middle-class male image he has 
so brilliantly created for the small 
screen. After all, you know what they 
say about art imitating. reality! ■ 






Innereye 


Aries 

March 21 - April 20 

This is an important 
week tor you as 
insurance, invest- 
ments, joint-finances 
are definitely on the cards. 

You should be careful about 
your expenditures as they will 
mount though money docs 
pour in This is also a phase 
when socialising and romance 
give you pleasure, so make 
the most of it. 

Taurus 

April 21 -May 20 

1 November will be 
] marriage time, and 
j also the phase when 
i there is love, collabo- 
ration nnd pailnerships on the 
cauls Journey and ceremony 
v\ ill lake the spotlight, and it 
could be about yourself, or 
friends ui relatives Hut voui 
active partcipatmn in such 
social gatherings is definitely 
foretold 

Gemini 

Mav 21 - June 20 

'I here is n lot waiting 
(i / he c omplcted 
Hus is a good tin it' 
_ _ tc ii sel f- assessment 
. ki finish oft pending work 
>ou should also think of new 
| w ays of doing a prujei t or 
| handling a job that is assigned 
! to \ ou * earn to know people 
! tor vJi.it the* are. Health 
I need* sate guarding A hieak 
j from the past is indicated. 




Cancer 

June 21— July 20 

The focus will be on 
money, socialising 
and friends all of 
which are well posi- 
tioned. Guldren and grand- 
children give joy. Your creative 
juices will flow freely and take 
you near the top of your cho- 
sen profession. That seems 
encouraging tor the future 
also Take home disturbances 
lightly. 

Leo 

July 21 — August 21 

TSZJvl There are two pre- 
dominant trends this 
week. The first 

includes journey and 

an intense need to go ahead 
The second centres round ren- 
ovation, decoration, alteration, 
buying and selling, leasing 
and financing A home a wav 
from home is also in the cards. 
Collaborations vvill be on the 
anvil 

Virgo 

Augusf 22 — September 22 
; r\^; j Gel off to a headstart 
; , as you will need 

| {BMP ; energy and enthusi- 
i HJ asm to get things 
done, start a venture, go in for 
a major enterprise or assig- 
ment Rest assured that the 
chances ot success arc excep- 
tionally bright, a near certain- 
ty. The now moon sharpens 
vour intellec t and hones it to 
a fine edge 



Libra 

September 23 — October 22 
A flurry ot activity 
and money and fam- 
ily at the end of it is 
the forecast tor 
I .ibrans. It is time for develop- 
ing new skills and taking a 
study course Venus helps you 
to be charismatic and diplo- 
matic It should make life 
comfortable tor you Visits, 
conferences and meets could 
lead to contacts and contracts 

Scorpio 

October^ — November 22 

1 Canesha claims you 
come into your own. 



make rapid headway 
and romance, mar- 
liage, new job, business possi- 
bilities loom largo. Journey 
will result m sweet satisfac- 
tion Secret and open deals 
and negotiations are very 
probable lhe best part is, oth- 
ers will help you and success 
should come easily 

Sagittarius 

November 23 — December 20 
l ; ot you also, secret 
deals and negotia- 
tions aie indicated 
and gains could be 
made Week getaways should 
be tried out tnis week Also 
important phone calls and tax 
should be made because they 
could well turn the tide in 
youi tavoui. Expenses really 
sky-rocket Be willing to listen 
before you finally decide. 


«a i 

M 


days 

/ 1 ... * ' k.i 



BEJAN DARUWALLA 
Capricorn 

December 21 — January 19 
Game, set, match, 
Capricorn! Your cro- 
'j ativity and organisa- 
tional ability will be 
simply superb. A partner or a 
friend or a lover or a mate has 
an unusually brilliant sugges- 
tion to make. Take it up. New 
beginnigs an* favoured 
because ot a slice ot luck and 
extra energy Your confidence 
should do the rest. 

Aquarius 

January 20 — February 18 

There will be oppor- 
tunities to make 
money, revive old 
contacts and culti- 
vate new ones. And this trio 
should put you in the driver's , 
seat latest by next February. 

But it all starts now 1 Try to 
avoid «\ny tad-like regimen for 
heal til or even personal 
progress or professional suc- 
cess 

Pisces 

February 19 — March 20 

A job offer, a tern - 
ij nerainent.il friend, a 
fj nil of loving and 
U laughing make it a 
really rich week Do look for- 
ward In visitors and travel 
Your thinking will be brilliant 
to the point of being innova- 
tive, and therefore, the right 
time to trv out new' ideas, 
delve into the thinkUnk and 
come up wuth something new 




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IME TABLE 

All arrival and departure times are for Calcutta 

Day* of operation Ming 7-day coda: <D MONDAY <9 TUESDAY « WEDNESDAY • THURSDAY 9 FRIDAY • SATURDAY 0 SUNDAY 
(As these pages go to press one week in advance, readers should check with respective alrtines and railways lor last minute change in timings) 


Departures 

Fit No, Time Days 


Arrivals 

Fit No. Tim (Nyi 


Departures Arrivals 

Ft No. Tins Dqs Ft No. Tims Dsn 


if rrt n /50 1 \ ;, r, it, tots 6 

DWft Oblil) 4 5/ If ,'4? 1205 I 4, ? 

IC-’-IJ 044', 2 1C ,'44 1205 2 

IC-/43 I3UI I 1. 4. ‘, (■ : if-/44 1520 1 3 4 5 6 2 



M9 304/1 19 

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M9-128/301 

1900 

1, 

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1145 

2. 4. 6. 7 

IC 25 1 

1550 

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IC-812 

1530 

1. 3, 5 

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1915 

1, 

3. 5 

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rv:- 


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BaaaaBMaa 


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!^nr 

Mil 

mi 

1C -771 

0600 

daily 

IC 7/2 

1140 

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9W51! 

1400 

rtjiiy 

9W512 

2150 

daily 


in 77J 

1B2 r ’ 

.1 5 7 

’.C-//4 

17411 

3 5. 7 


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lb 402 

tr A.AA 

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OriSO 

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Ai-682 

0925 

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IC-4iV 

1715 

iJd.lv 

IC -656 

U955 

4 7 

11.-4% 

1830 

4, 7 

If 101 

08%. 

da-’v 

M9-30* 

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M‘i «)1 

19IX) 

daily 

W '<12 

19% 

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■iW 911 

1915 

■lady 




IC r'trl 

2?in 

tiailv 



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v, ? r ' 

2. 4, . -t 

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1620 

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1*740 

1 1. 5, 7 

1)2 182 

1625 

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m&mmm-i 

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1 145 

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2. 4 ft “ 

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(Hi4- 

J 4, «i 

PF 306/ 

302 1555 

2 4 L 





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1. 4 7 

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l)n' , '.(i 

W 1 b 

IC-2.1T 

1310 

dad) 

FI JO! 

083! » 

1 J. L 

•lW M2 

mo 

dat.y 

H. ?,'9 

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dady 

PF 30? 

1500 

daily 

‘M 61 1 

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1530 

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IC ’ll 

ifiOfi 

■i ' 

05-60 r 

?uuu 

da:!) 

1 y^v ■ ^ & 



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i<m 

3 5 7 

IC 777 

1/00 

3 5 7 

IC 7/C 

zm 

2 4 6 

ic rtfi 

Ihl5 

2 4 15 

9W 512 

215U 

fixity 


11.2.45 'W<: ’ 4 4 K. 246 IM) 14 5 


!( . 255 

'WXi 

1 4 5 

IC. 256 

12% 

IC 213 

nil. 

2 C 

if. 213 

1540 

IC 713 

MW 

3 : 

iC ;i - 

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swiiWr /; 


II.) 184 ! 445 4 P1 10-1 0204 4 

Ki 8/6 0324 / KL-8/4 0130 / 






IC 213 1140 



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7 ? ; 


D5-4Q6 

1330 

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1835 3 5 

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D.5 402 
IC-544 

0700 

1230 

4. 6 

1 2. 4. 5 

IC 543 
05-401 

1125 1. 2. 4. 5 

1230 3, 5 





1130 
















Da 

partutas 

Arrivals 

Daparturaa 

Arrivals 

Ft No. 

Umo Dan 

Ft No. Una Q$t 

Ft No. Time Days 

Fit No. Ills Das 


BG-698 

BG-092 

IC-723 

BG-094 

BG-094 

8G-D96 


1735 

0850 

1150 

1300 

1905 

1910 

2100 


2 5 

mm 

4. 5 
1. 2. 3. 6 7 
1 2, 3. 5, 6 
1. 2, 3, 5,6,7 

4 

1. 5 


BG-697 

wwaw 

BG-091 
BG 091 
1C 724 
BG- 093 
BG -0*1? 
BG-095 


1655 

0810 

1110 

1520 

1625 

1830 

2020 


2. 5 

■L 

4. 5 
1 2 3. 6. 7 
1 2, 3, 5, 6 
1 2,3 5, 6 7 

4 

1 5 


mmm m 

Sll-5'i8 ?I01 4 SU'53' 0930 4 

KB10F. 1105 ; KM05 0810 2 

KB 106 132.. 5 KB 10:. 1710 4 



Bl 108 
50-41*' 


o*in 

?J45 


Bl 107 
t»Q-4l(, 


MOO 

2230 


1C-747 


1315 


1. 2. 1 5. 6 


IC-748 


1645 


1 7, 4 b, b 


BA-142 2116 ,i 7 BA-143 1515 3 7 


LT-504 1 .'50 4 I/6Q1 1650 4 

AI-306 1W, 5 Ai-309 18!' h 

ll-?'7 1530 4. - 1C *Vft 1955 4 7 


Al Air India • BA British Airways • BQ Biman Bangladesh Airlines • Bl Royal Brunei Airlines • D2 Skyline NEPC • D6 NEPC Airlines • 1C 
Indian Airlines • KB Druk-Alr • KL Royal Dutch Ainines • LZ Balkan Airlines • MO ModiLuft • PF vayuooot • RA Royal Nepal Airlines 
• RJ Royal Jordanian Airlines e RO Tarorn Air Transport • 8Q Singapore Airlines • SU Aeroflot • TG Thai Airways International • BW 
Jet Airways • Q7 Qatar Airways 


NS) 


Up 

33 i 1 
.«l)05 

.linn 

2981 


2309 

/".ill 

m. 

m~> 

201*1 

31.73 

3046 

5049 

5047 

KK19 
1I1U7 
3039 
3049 
3010 
3021 
5659 
331 f 
3029 
3035 
3231 
3071 
3015 
3017 
1159 


UmB 

n 15 

I'J 20 

20 iK« 
«i 


4 15 


in 3i ; 


1 3 *16 


?\ j0 


22 no 

2i00 
13 00 

20- 30 
9-30 

21 00 
13 20 

21 - 00 

16 05 
! 7-35 
6 1U 

17 11 
18-20 
21-05 
22 30 

9-56 

m*- 

15 25 


1171 15 25 


3327 

1101 

UP 

3141 

3143 

3111 

5657 

3153 

5663 

3151 

3133 

3103 

5185 


14-30 
15 25 

Tim 

13-40 

19- 15 
20 15 

6 25 
22-00 

20 - 00 
11-20 
70-55 
18-25 
12 10 


TRAINS 


EASTERN RAILWAY 

Howrah 

Mhl-KaJIa Mril 


Arrival 

Tim On 


,M A! ! dlldlwil 

Poorva' (Nee Delhi) Express vij Gavn-Vjidfidii 
[ier WtiO lliur. A 
Arr T ui j ', vA/ed & Sal 
Pern (N ear Delhi) Banes r:a 1‘athri 
Mill, 'uei in « Sar 
Air Mnn 7ruir f Hi 8. 'up 

Raldim Express vu G.iv,i 
(M Mni' I up, We.3 r *> A r Jat 
Am Men Mi*-. i|Ki‘ , h. A Sun 
Rsjtfunl Express vm 
LH T h«ir*j A £l.u . An W«1 A Sal 
JoctiDU Banes 

S (BoSn) Steel Cly) Exprass 

D*H) & Arr Fnrpl 5ui"My 

HlmoM (Jenmu-Tewi) &prst8 Tn Wkly 

lipfi fue 1 li. A Sal Air fu.^ Wkc! A fwii 

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23 











ARCHIE 

















THE ADVENTURES Of LEGIONNAIRE BSAUPEIP 


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msm 

REND 


THE GOLD RUSH 

Samita Bhatia details the advantages of branded jewellery 


A t the Enchante factory off 
Uhe Delhi-Jaipur highway, 
you'll see some very high- 
Ltech Italian machines and 
lots — as in LOTS — of gold dust. It 
flies off a few hundred feet off the 
gold chain that passes through 
precision-transforming machines 
that give gold a superior finish and 
glitter. 

Meanwhile, skilled hands in 
various other rooms operate 
computerised induction melting 
furnaces producing the perfect wire 
which is then bent, twisted and 
braided into some 43 designs The 
use of the Italian-style end clasps 
allow the chain to be finished in 
keeping with international quality 
standards. 

Branded jewellery is fast making 
inroads into the country's show- 
windows If Tanishq from Titan is 
catching people’s fancy. Enchante is 
the other orand that's making its 
presence felt. The la. ter is an 
example of niche marketing at its 
best, what with the brand restricting 
itself to the manufacture of gold 
chains and bracelets to begin with, 
for those in the age group of 25-35. 

But why this emphasis on 
chains? Well, the company estimated 
that of the total Rs 24,000 crore sales 
of gold in a year, 40 per cent was 
accounted for by the sale of chains! 

There are many who question the 
need for branded jewelleiy. But then, 
how many people walk out of a 
jewellery store without any 
misgivings: about the purity of the 
metal; at the manufacturing charges; 
and whether they should get the 
piece evaluated f>y another jeweller 
instead of implicitly trusting their 
'family jeweller'? 


it 


at's where brands like Enchante 
have an advantage. Buy yourself 
Enchante chain and walk out of 
the shop with a pre-sealed package. 
The pre-packed chain comes with a 


an 



over the ci'aftman’a bill! 

Commenting on his brand of 


jewellery, Chand Mehra, director, 
Enchante Jewellery, who has set up 
shop along with his brother Vinay 
Mehra says, "The finish of the 
product is of intematior^l standards 
and backed by our corporate 
guarantee. If the product is found 
defective within one year from the 
date of purchase, the company will 
replace or repair the product free of 
cost for the buyer." 

Enchante has another first to its 
credit. The company has compiled a 
detailed study entitled ' How to Buy a 
Perfect Gold Cham \ This rule of 
thumb could naturally apply to any 
other gold ornament you buy. 


copper — is common, and has 
flourished in the absence of controls. 

Says Mehra, "Many retailers go 
for it for competitive reasons, to offer 
the product to the consumer at a 
cheaper price. At other times when 
the consumer is nor willing to pay 
them manufacturing charges to tneir 
satisfaction, they indulge in 
undercarating to make up for the 
price." 

A nd it doesn't end there. Often 
the retailer wants the 
manufacturer to supply the product 
on credit, and to recover the interest 
costs, the purity of the gold is 



Mehra, like G.S. Pillai, manager 
(north) of World Gold Council, too, 
believes that branding must make a 
headway into the Indian jewelleiy 
market. According to World Gold 
Council estimates, Indian consumers 
have been cheated out of an 
estimated US $1.5 billion this year by 
Indian jewellers through 
undercarating. Branding, which is 
synonymous with quality, will 
ensure that the malpractice of 
undercarating peters out. 

Undercarating— lowering the 
percentage of pure gold in the 
ornament by replacing it with less 
expensive alloys such as silver and 


lowered by the manufacturer. 
"Essentially undercarating creates a 
built-in margin for all players in the 
fray — the manufacturing sub- 
contractor, the manufacturer, the 
bulk wholesaler, die wholesaler and 
finally the retailer," adds Mehra. 

Tne guide published by Enchante 
tells you in no uncertain terms that it 
is very important to know which 
manufacturer has in fact produced 
the gold chain you are about to buy. 
While most retailers will dutifully 
inform the customer that they sell 
their own machine-made chains, "it 
is a fact that 99.99 per cent don't 
have their chain manufacturing 



facility and that they are sourcing 
their chains through manufacturers, 
bulk wholesalers and wholesalers,” 
the book asserts. 

Retailers are thus unable to 
control quality as they lack 
infrastructure, and in a scenario 
where lack of standards rule the 
roost in the absence of a hallmarking 
system, unscrupulous jewellers 
profit by selling undercaratage 
goods. 

Explains Mehra, "It is a fact that 
the Indian jewellery industry is 
using very primitive technologies as 
a legacy of the Gold Control Act and 
that our jewellery is not globally 
competitive Besides, the Indian 
consumer too is being provided with 
very poor quality products.'* 

Adhering to international quality 
standards, the 22-carat chains from 
Enchante range from lightweight to 
heavy, weighing trom 2 gm to 52 gm 
The chains start at Rs 2,00() and can 
get as expensive as Rs 50,000 or 
b0,000 while the bracelets at the 
lower end can cost as little as Rs 


1,000. The designs are a mix of the 
new-fangled and the traditional 
Enchante has a totally integrated 
chain manufacturing facility set up 
on the outskirts of Delhi at a huge 
cost of Rs 20 crore. The first of its 
kind in Asia, and one of seven 
throughout the world, the plant is 
equipped with high-tech Italian 
macnines on whicn the company has 
sole rights in India. 

hile hand crafting has no 
substitute, Mehra clarifies that 
his brand is not competing with this 
segment of jewellery. "They are two 



machine-made pieces do have some 
advantages over hand-crafted ones " 
The hand crafted process may 
indeed yield infinite designs, but it is 
virtually impossible to ensure 
perfection of other qualify factors 
! that include purity, tensile strength, 

1 shine, finish, polish, colour and 
guarantee. 

In the machine-crafted process 
on the other hand, the number of 
designs that can be created are 
limited depending on the number of 
machines at the manufacturer's 
disposal but the results axe perfect 
and the quality too is far superior 
than hand-made pattejns, 


Explains Mehra, "However, the 
machines, tools and R&D obviously 
don't come cheap, which is a major 
deterrent in the production of 
machine-made jewellery." 

As the number of machines 
involved in each process of crafting a 
chain — wire making, basic chain 
making, chain transformation, 
diamond cutting, end piece and 
hook, finishing, polishing and 
plating- is substantial, the cost of 
setting up an integrated system is 
very steep. 

Currently, most manufacturers 
have machines to craft just one or 
two segments in the total 
manufacturing process relying 
heavily on sub-contractors to fill the 
gaps in the production for the 
complete product. Thus the quality 
of the product cannot be controlled 
or guaranteed as there are far too 
many people involved in the 
manufacturing process. 

James Morse, director, technical 
operations, Enchante, says, "In 
hand-crafted jewellery pieces the 
interest of the wholesalers and 
retailers are paramount — as the 
product is being produced for them 
and as per th* j fineness specified by 
them. Thus the same design doing 
the rounds in various jewellery 
stores could be of varying levels of 
purity, as underrarating is liberally 
indulged tn Enchant^ jewellery on 
the other hand holds tne interest of 
the consumer as paramount. We 
manufacture the jewellery and bring 
it to the consumer directly 
eliminating the intermediaries " 

As India's integration with global 
markets increases, the Indian 
consumers' exposure to international 
quality products will 
correspondingly increase and the 
time is not far when every consumer 
will demand quality. Witn the 
economy opening up, the future, 
say r s Menra, could well lie in foreign 
companies setting up jewellery 
manufacturing facilities in the 
country to cater to the demand for 
quality jewellery. 

Alternatively, foreign companies 
may start importing jewellery to 
meet this demand for quiility Indian 
companies will have to counter this 
by setting up their own state-of-the- 
art jewellery manufacturing units 
pcrriaps in collaboration with foreign 
technology suppliers to give the 
consumer a quality product 

Next from Enchantd will be cutf 
links, tie pins and pendants for men 
while diversification will come by 
way of Shubham/ a range of silver 
jewellery. Another enchanting range 

111 falrA UAnr ■**■*-1*’ ■ 




ALOKANANDA ROY has had an illustrious career in the classical dancefbrm, specially Odissi. 

She has danced practically everywhere hi India and toured all over U.K., USA, Europe, Japan and 
Singapore. Site runs her own dancing school, Chandanaloke, besides choreographing a number of dance / 
dramas, ballets and solo recitals. Exquisitely beautiful, she had at one time participated in the 
Miss India contest. 


W hat Is your idea of perfect 
happiness? 

To liv&nd work with self 
respect, dignity and love. In 
addition, possessing a fit mind and 
body as long as I live. 

What is your greatest fear? 

To lose faitn in myself. 

Who or what has been the 


What is your favourite 
journey? 

To the land of dance, 
music, beauty, laughter 
and happiness 


greatest influence in your life? 

My children. 

What do you dislike most in 
others? 

Disrespect for the 
underprivileged 
What do you dislike most in 
yourself? 

Hypersensitivity and 
impatience. 

What is your most precious 
possession? 

My willpower. 

What objects do you always 
carry? 

My smile. 

What makes you most depressed? 

Insensitive attitude towards 
child labour. 

What do you dislike most on your 
appearance? 

Familiarity breeds contempt. 

I'm so familiar with myself that I 
find fault with almost everything. 
What is your favourite word? 

Tomorrow is another day. 

What is your favourite journey? 

To the land of dance, music, 
beauty, laughter and happiness. 
What is your favourite dream? 

A cultural centre for the 
handicapped and Prerana, a home 
for old people, destitute women 
and omhans, living as families. 
What b your taightmare? 

The thought mot for some 



reason beyond my 
control 1 may have to 

6 ‘ve up dancing. 

Iiat or who is the 
greatest love of your 

My children. 

Wnat is your source of 
sustenance? 

The tremendous support 
of my children, friends 
and family. 

On what occasions do 

r ou lie? 

don't tell lies, but at 
times 1 avoid telling the 
truth. 

What is your greatest 
regret? 

No regrets— 1 live for 
today and tomorrow. 
What has been your 
happiest moment? 

The day I became a 
grandmother. 

What brings tears to 
your eyes? 

Any great achievement 
by any person in any 


What is your 
greatest regret? 

No regrets—4 live 
for today and 
tomorrow 


field. 

How do you relax? 
Chatting with friends 
over the phone. 

What do you envy most 
In others? 

Patience. 

How would you like to 
be remembered? 

As a good human being. 
How would you like to 
die? 

I don't even want to 
think about dying right 


now. 


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every Friday with 

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17 NOVEMBER 1996® 


m 






Woman of 
Substance 

Oft TKe beautiful swim- 
mer, Nafisa Ali Sodhi, has 
really grown up ('Water 
Baby Grows Up', 
September 22). Not in 
years because she is just 
39, but mentally. She has 
truly honourca the crown 
she won in the Seventies 
foi Miss India by actually 
being concemea about 
social causes. 

It's a tradition with 
iieauty queens to mouth 
platitudes hke looking 
after the poor and work- 
ing for the uplift of soci- 
ety at beauty pageants. 

Nahsa nas seriously 
taken up social work 
lending her ear to the 
problems of slum 
dwellers and trying to 
improve their living stan- 
dards. This is praisewor- 
thy for a celebrity who 
Jives in the lap of luxury 
in her Delhi home. 

Nafisa is a kind of per- 
son who loves the home 
more than anything else 
and cherishes the impor- 
tance of family life and 
bond. 

For one who is so lov- 
ing and for love, it 

is natural that she would 
like to share it with 
others — the less fortu- 


nate ones. 

Arindam Ckowdhury, 
Calcutta 

■ Thank you for the 
cover story on the 
Calcutta beauty, Nafisa 
Ali. 1 cannot think of 
another woman who is so 
many things — swimmer. 
Miss India, equestrian, 
amateur jockey, actress, 
model and TV hostess — - 
moulded into one. 

For an overtly sensi- 
tive person like her social 


work cannot be a fad. She 
must be honestly feeling 
for the people. 

Nirmalcndu Chdkraborty, 
Cpoch Behar 

M India produces so 
many Miss Indias but few 
of them make an impres- 
sion on the public mind. 
Nafisa Ali and Sushmtta 
Sen are two of those rare 
personalities. Nafisa radi- 
ates warmth and grace 
unparalleled in her area of 
excellence. And Suahmita 


! exudes intelligence and 
wit which can sweep, even 
her severest critic ott . 
his/her feet. To be bom 
beautiful is a gift. But to 
shape yourself into a 
beautiful person with the 
right mixes of compas- 
sion, love, anger, patience 
and tolerance is a greater 
achievement. 

Md Tknweer, 

Calcutta 

V Nafisa Ali is one* of the 
finest products of 
women's lib in India. But 
she has never been a 
rebel. On the contrary, she 
has used her femininity to 
the best advantage. 
Married to Piddes Sodhi, 
she has not lost her identi- 
ty But has managed to 
craft for herself an indi- 
vial image of a wife, 
mother, daughter, model, 
actress, TV personality, 
beauty queen and now a 
charity worker. 

X. Sutaj, 

Hooghty 

■ We don't mind the 
water baby growing up. 
But our pshyche is yet not 
ready to accept a greying 
Nafisa. We still cherish 
the picture of that young 
swimmer fresh and 
unspoilt. Let it be that 
way. 

Arta Mishta, 

Cuttack 



PAGE 4 


I ( I IONS 


EXERCISING HAS nothing to do with being fat 
or thin. No matter what your weight, working 
out will benefit you. 


22 COMICS 
26 HEALTH 
28 PROFILE 
30 FIRST PERSON 


PAGE 28 


MEET S.T. VENKJ, the special effects man who 
is the current craze in India's movieland. 


Keeping fit 


Cover: Vivek Das 








LET'S GET 

PHYSICAL! 

Everyone needs to exercise; no matter 
how much or how little they weigh. 

VaishaU Honawar examines 

the options 



IF YOU ARE YOUNGER THAN 60, WEIGH 
in at your normal weight, have no 
health problems and don't follow a reg- 
ular fitness regime because you think 


v 


\ 



you don't need to, try doing any one of 
these activities: Walk up two flights of 
stairs without panting. Inflate a balloon. 
Walk a distance of two kilometres with- 
in 20 minutes. 

If you cannot do any one or all of 
these and if you tire easily, you are well 
below your optimum fitness level. In 
other words, your body is not 
performing as well as it should. 

A regular bout of exercise could 
make all the difference, however. And 
you could choose from a proper 
workout at die gym to an aerobics class 
to swimming, cycling, jogging or abrisk 
walk. Even an increase in your day-to- 
day activities, like taking the stairs 
instead of the lift, stretching at the desk 



and walking during lunch 
hours can help. 

Bui first of all, you need to banish 
the belief that if is only those with 
weight problems who need to exercise. 

To illustrate this point we tested 
two persons - - one male, one female 
— at the Piramal Sports and Fitness 
Centre to find out how fit they really 
were Both were dose to their ideal 
weights and had no health problems, 
but the tests showed them to be way 
below their desired fitness levels (see 
boxes). 


L ack of exercise can have several 
adverse effects on the body which 
may not be immediately visible. It can 
increase the amount of fat in the body, 
bring down lung power and 
flexibility, cause stiffness, increase the. 
risk of injuries, increase blood 
pressure and, in extreme cases, cause 
obesity. 



A balanced, regular workout can keep diseases at bay 


FIT OR FAT 

Lima Golwalkar thought she would only be asked to shed a few kilos after her 

fitness test; but she was in for a surprise 


W ith Uma Golwalkar, 23, it 
was more a spirit c c 
adventure than an interest in 
fitness that made her agree to go 
through the rigorous, two-hour 
fitness test at the Piramal Sports 
and Fitness Centre in Bombay. 

Uma works as a marketing 
executive with a publishing house 
and has a fairly busy lifestyle, 
though she admits she could make 
time for a fitness routine if she 
pushed herself a wee bit. "But then 
I'm just too lazy," she laughs. 

Sne lives alone in the city and has 
an irregular diet. Breakfast is 
usually wtis and subzi and dinner 
is the same, with lunch at work 
being anything from a sandwich 
grabbed in a hurry to a greasy 
biryani . She admits to having a 
sweet tooth which she indulges 
with chocolate. 

Uma is in perfect health and 
believed all she would be told after 
the fitness test was that she needed 
to knock off a few kilos. Surprise, 
surprise. 

Tne test carried out at the 
Piramal Sports Medicine Centre 
showed her to be well under her 


optimum fitness level with a 
higher content of fat than normal 
and extremely poor stamina and 
aerobic capacity. In an older person 
this could mean bad news for the 
heart, though Uma is too young to 
worry about that. 

After the preliminary pulse and 
heart rate tests,. Uma was tested for 
her body composition — the most 
important parameter in fitness. 
Says Anar Shaft manager at 
Piramal Sports Centre, "The body 
composition is what really tells you 
how fit you are, more than your 
weight or any other parameter." 

Tne test, carried out on 
bioelectrical equipment, shows the 
percentage of water and fat present 
in the body. I Jean tissue or muscle 
tissue is 71 to 75 per cent water 
while fat tissue is 14 to 22 per cent 
water. In Ur.ia's case, 47 per cent of 
her body weight comprised water 
— just a little under the average of 
50 to 60 per cent. 

The percentage of fat in her body 
was 34 per cent — much above the 
average of 20 to 26 per cent for a 
female her age. Uma's aerobic 
score of 130, determined through a 


step test where she was made to 
step up and down a 12-inch-high 
stool was rated as very poor and 
her cardiorespiratory function or 
lung capacity was found to be 
below average* Her total body 
fitness level was rated as poor. 

Various muscle groups in her 
body were tested for performance 
and while Uma's abdominal 
muscles and leg muscles seemed to 
do just fine, her muscle power was 
only 50 per cent while her upper 
body strength was zero! 

Shah pointed out that most 
women do tend to ha ve weak 
upper bodies. Weight training can 
help this but Shah felt there was no 
immediate need for Uma to 
concentrate on that part at the 
moment. Uma, 167.5 ems tall 
and weighing 66 kgs was told to 
knock oft seven to nine kgs. 

T o lose this in three months 1 
time, i.e. 91 days, she would 
ha ve to follow a sustained 
dietary /exercise programme 
designed to help tier loseO.7 kgs 
per week. The exercise programme 
Shah designed for Uma does not 



Of course, one cannnot say that 
everyone who doesn't work out is 
unfit. But, as Dr Kinjal Suratwala, 
consulting physician at the Piraxnal 
Sports and Fitness Centre says, 

"He /she will certainly be missing out 
on that extra bit of health and vitality 
that a good fitness regime can give. 
The fact that Indians lead a very 
sedentary lifestyle contributes to our 
lack of fitness. You'd find Westerners 
on holiday walking a lot or even 
working out at a gym, but our people 
tend to take it easy all the time." 

Civilisation has further slowed us 
down, says Anar Shah, manager of the 
Piramal Sports and Fitness Centre. 
Though man's body was meant for 
movement, most jobs today can be 
accomplished without one having to 
push one's body too hard. In the cities, 
problems like pollution and stress 
further affect one's fitness level. 

"Our grandparents and parents 



Shaping up at the gym 


xequirehertogotothegym.lt 
indudes 20 minutes of exercise 
thrice a week, most of it aerobic 
activity such as brisk walking, 
jogging, cy cling or swimming. 

To improve her flexibility and 
lung power, Uma was 


safe level she was asked to 
maintain a daily dietary intake of 
1300 kcal going to a maximum of 
ISOOkcaladay. 

The bad news for Uma was that 
sweets were out as were fatty 

foods. Alargeint^offluidswas 



UmaQohtftftar* fcfc WforWno fltnww tev«t 


deep-t>i*athing axetfdw* for five 

minute to 


optional at&fepolnfc' .. 

cikutMa&to^ 
fcfJofe weight 


vewanmended, specially water. At 
‘Ijhie ervtxtf the day an enlightened 
Unta vowed tornake time every 
daytp «oeo*«Bwdate ihafitnau . ■ 
se&4ub;4ttto her day though she 
dkliiottfiinkshecciuM'MFpu^ 
heiseif to go through a regular 
. wrfowt^^gyin. 


would have climbed the stairs to their 
homes, we take the lift; they walked 
down to the store to buy groceries, we 
order it on phone; they did a great deal 
of the housework themselves, we 
employ a range of modem gadgets for 
our smallest chores," says Sh 

As she points out, the maidservant 
working in your house might be far 
more fit than you are simply because 
she does much more physical labour! 

The most common mistake people 
make is assuming that if they weigh 
normal, their bodies are fit. But when 
it comes to fitness, weight is no 
parameter to go by. The determining 
factor here is the ratio of fat to muscle 
in your body and even an 
underweight person could have more 
fat in his/her body than muscle! And 
excess fat can place a great strain on 
the heart. 

A regular, balanced workout, by 
increasing your aerobic capacity, can 
strengthen your heart. It ran also slow 
down the onset of several diseases, 
increase your stamina, reduce stress, 
improve digestion, push up the 
efficiency of your brain by as much as 
15 per cent and reverse the ageing 
process to some extent 

Says Shah, "If you were to start a 
fitness programme today, your body 
will be younger next year though 
chronologically you'll be older!" 

Also, ailments such as heart disease, 
diabetes, high blood pressure and 
obesity are all directly linked to your 
level of fitness and a regular workout 
can keep these at bay. It could also 
slow down the onset of degenerative 
diseases such as arthritis and 



MUSCLE POWER 

Nandan Patil scormwell on this count; but He Had known 

gooiri&ns, nonetheless - „ 

ad, 3$, run* a store fo » ^S^t«rtwa»oiJyl 20 MviWi* | 


N andan Patd, 35, runsastore in 
Bombay but leads a Bfestyle 
thatsteMniMleMnv He trams 
m itMtmarbataxtaand plays 
foofopK or ctutad every morning 
season,"' 

Nandan doefttft smoke or drink 
and is very diet-conscious He 
avoids too many fatty foods and 
sweets and eats mestyust once a 
week. Not surprising then, hets 
only Slightly overweight — 
“almost negligibly so?' says Anar 
Shah AndnJi '®taewtevd,thoUgJi 
far below ideal, was not as towas 
Uma's 

The tests Nandan went through 
were the same as those for Uma 
Alter die pulse and heart-rate tests 


dfottip fast was only 120 and was 
saMmvmyftoor The best way to 

test yoar mdse tat* before and after 
ftiemhrafout 

Ifyuurpttlre rate after foe 

toyrearirc^fo9|mleerate>itm»ns 
you are unfit a* your heart has to 
wotit that modi Harder to pump 
Mood when you strain yoursett few 
foeworifotih 

"Naiwtat^s case iflustretes the 
hnportance of an overall wenkoot 
for the body," says Shah "IBs 
training m foe martial arts has 
helped develop his muscles but not 
dommufoforldsreiritovascular 
system and hings, as Ms poor score 


Nitfidixi 2ft 

qariWrt jcrp fa fc 

MftA, 

^JbwiSfowty fern foe utatfod 

**fWP » wWf^PSO PwVwpNI 

d^ to improve his hmg power- 
Nandan'sbasal metabohsm was 
calculated at 1529 kcal and to lose 
foe exoem weight ataooawfstent 
level he was advfoedadaflyintaibe 

Shan advised Nandan to continue 
to stay oft too mudt sugar and fatty 
food 

For Nandan fomaelf, foe ftttteso 



Nandan PatH, 35: He scored average in the fitnesa test white the aerobic eapeofty teat rated Mm poor 


came the body composition test 
which showed him to have 22 per 
cent fat tissue— only three per cent 
higher than foe average of 13 to 19 
per cent for a man his age Nandan 
had just foe right amount of water 
tissue — te 59 per cent yf his body 
weirfu 

While his martial arts training 
helped Nandan getan average 
score on the ovenitf fitttesa tat hie 
aerobic capacity gaugtdthnxigh 


in foe aerobic capacity test 
illustrates " 


Tn the musJe-strength tests 
XNandan scored 100 p« cent on 
most counts, again thanks to his 
training m the martial arts His 
fiexrinUty too was rated as fairly 
good Nandan's weight was found 
tobe62L2kg» — pist two to tour kgs 
om his idem weight — and he was 
advised to exerdae thrice a week. 


test was an exciting and educative 
venture "While I have been to a 
gym before 1 have always found 
foe emphasis tobe more on the 


approach is for foam adenftfk and 
tenretmudtmorectedyMe^ 

AideihihfoeMiafo 
aaerdreregfofo^^^^f^e^ol 
coursed * 



WAYS Ol I OSI\<; \\ IK .11 I; \ ( OMI’A KATIN K AN AT V SIS 





ML. 

20 

30 

OOIHl/'JH 

90 

«o 

00 

00 

■EEH 





CM.0WB0 C0WUM0 0 




Walking (IB-17 mln/mll.) . . . 

• a a a 000 

..100 

a .140 

...190 

a ..240 

* .200 

. a .398 

...448 . 

• a .007 

Jogging (10-12 mln/mll.) . . . 

. . . .102 

a *204 

. .200 

..*400 

. . .010 

a .012 

a * *810 

...010 . 

..1224 

Running (B mln/mll.) 

■ • n *100 

..240 

.*300 

.**400 

...000 

.*720 

...060 

..1000 . 

. .1441 

Swimming (brraat strok.) . . . 

. . . .101 

..202 

.*302 

..*403 

...004 

..60S 

...806 

...907 . 

..1200 

CyoHng (2.4 mph) 

* a a • *62 

..124 

. .107 

a. .240 

a a .311 

. .373 

. . .408 

. . .560 . 

. . .740 

Squash 

....132 

*.204 

.*300 

...027 

...080 

. .701 

. .1006 

..1167 a 

. .1582 

BaakatbaU 

a a a a nOS 

.*172 

..200 

...040 

a ..420 

. .016 

. . .687 

...773 a 

. .1030 

FottftMlI 

a a a • *80 

a *104 

• .246 

...323 

* a .41 1 

. .403 

...667 

. • .730 . 

a ..088 

gocoir a 


a. 167 

a MO 

a • .333 

a . .417 

. .000 

...007 

...700 a 

..1000 



*.*62 

a *. 03 

...124 

...ISO 

. .187 

...240 

...260 . 

. . .373 

BagHihiftan 


*.121 

*.181 

* a .241 

. . .302 

. .362 

. . >133 

...343 . 

...724 

Tavtnfai (continuous) 

a a a a *00 

..136 

..203 

...271 

..*330 

. >107 

...642 

...010 . 

..*614 

TaMa tannte 

a a a a *40 

***80 

.*127 

...100 

. ..211 

. .204 

...333 

. . .331 . 

.. *008 

<Mf (carrying bag) ........ 

a a a a nfi3 

..100 

**100 

..*211 

. . *204 

. .317 

...423 

. a .470 . 

*..834 

Judd a a a . a a . a 

121 

*..243 

**304 

.**400 

a ..606 

. .728 

. . .070 

..1002 a 

. .1488 

Qymmstloi . ,.*.*.< 

■ a a a *41 

. a .02 

**123 

*.*104 

a. .200 

.*243 

...320 

...300 . 

...493 

AiroblM (continuous) ' 

a a a *106 

..211 

• *317 

.*.423 

* . .020 

..334 

* . .846 

...002 . 

..1230 


osteoporosis and reduce or limit the 
damage they cause to the body 

I i all these reasons aren't enough to 
gel you started, remember fitness 
can be a great naicissishc pursuit. 
There's always that liny paunch that 
needs to he ironed out or that little bit 
of tJdb on the hips or thighs that needs 
to be worked on. Plus, aJF ter a good 
workout, your skin will glow, your 
hair w ill shine and your body will 
have a wonderfully firm and tnm 
look. And you needn't worry about 
losing more weight than you have to 
because muscle weighs more than fat 
and a regular, balanced workout 
increases the proportion of muscle m 
the body. 

Regularity is, however, the most 
impor Umt part of any fitness regime. 
Working out in fits and bursts will 
simply not do. "Total commitment is 
very important/' says Shah "To 
develop a body that will work well for 
you, you have to work very hard 
yourself/' 

The benefits of a workout last 48 
hours and not exercising for long 

E eriods of time can send you right 
ack to square one. So it is important 
to work out at least thrice a week, for 
20 minutes at a stretch. 

This workout should ideally 
combine a warm-up to prepare your 
body for the exercise, followed by ah 
aerobic workout that could be 
anything from jogging to cycling to a 
brisk walk. Then would come 
stretching exercises to improve the 
flexibility of your muscles and undo 
any damage that the brisk aerobic 
workout might have caused. And last 


but most important would be a few 
cooling-down exercises to bring your 
pulse rate back to normal. 

Breathing exercises, done for three 
to five minutes a day, can work 
wonders tor your lungs and heart. Jn 
case you are interested in 
strength-training to build up your 
muscle power, you should go in for a 
monitored workout at the gym. 

Remember, fitness is different 
things to different people and you 
have to choose what is right for you 

TA7 atching your diet can also help. 

VV No matter how much you 
weigh, cutting down on salt, sugar, 
red meat and fat, drinking plenty of 
water and consuming more complex 
carbohydrates can work wonders for 
the body. Diet and fitness go 
hand-in-hand and one cannot work 
without the other. But don't expect 
overnight results. 

You will have plenty to smile about 
if you stick to your routine for some 
time, as Maithib Salvi, 28, found out. 
When MaithiJi joined the gym, she 
was only four kgs over her ideal 
weight. "Everyone else I met in the 
gym was fat and wanted to know 
what I was doing there!" she laughs. 
But Maithib was determined to 
whittle down an obstinate paunch and 
today, a year later, has reaped several 
benefits apart from an enviably flat 
stomach. 

"I have become more 
nutrition-conscious and my stamina is 
up several times from what it used to 
be," she says. "The paunch has 
disappeared and best of all, I have this 
wonderful muscle tone." No need, to 


ask if she's planning to carry on with 
her one-hou r-thrice-a-week routine. 

Unfortunately, not many others 
think like she does. Rovena D'Souza, 
chief aerobics instructor at 
Talwalkar's gymnasium, says, "Most 
people drop out of fitness 
programmes o>*ce their targets have 
been achieved. The concept of 
maintaining oneself and keeping up a 
level of fitness just doesn't seem to 
enter most Indian minds." 

But on the positive side, she adds, 
fitness is beginning to attract more 
and more followers today, and not just 
the overweight kind. "Most people in 
our aerobics class are probably just a 
couple of kgs overweight and are 
there because they want a shapelier 
body or more stamina," she says. 

Stamina is certainly the greatest gift 
that a good fitness regime can give 
you. From the overweight to the 
underweight, anyone who takes up a 
fitness programme swears that 
exercise helps curb tiredness, keeping 
one fresh right to the end of the day. 

And the best news is, exerase is 
good at any age. Shah feels that a 
regular exercise programme should 
be started as early as possible, in 
childhood itself, and points out that it 
is between the ages of 25 and 35 years 
that one has to be most watchful 
"because this is the mos* degenerative 
phase in one's lite span." 

But even if you're well past that 
stage, there's still a great deal you can 
gam from a programme suited to your 
age and body. Remember, it is never 
too late to start ■ 


9 




A WHIFF OF HEAVEN 

You can sample it for free at La Parfumcrie, the Bombay outlet that helps you 
choose the right scent for you . Vais halt Honawar reports 


C hoosing the perfume that 
smells just right on you 
coulcfoe the most difficult 
job on earth. And the 
limited — almost non-existent — 
choice one has in India can make the 
search all the more exasperating. 

But those days could well be gone 
forever now, thanks to La Parf umerie, 
a unique store in Bombay where one 
can sample — free of charge — 30 
different perfumes from France Here, 
you might come across the scent you 
always dreamed of but never really 
could find 

Unfortunately, though, you cannot 
buy the perfume here — only discover 
it. But as Bohroze Sabatier, one of the 
brains behind this venture points out. 



the next time you go abroad you will 
know exactly what to pick up for 
yourself. Or if you know someone 
who Jives abroad, you could ask them 
to bring you the perfume when they 
visit India. 

La Parfumene was set up by 
Sabatier, her husband Michel Sabatier 
and Ashok Kurien to make the Indian 
consumer familiar with a wide range 
of international perfumes For the first 
few years the store will be run as a 
no-profit venture with Sabatier saying 
that they will not sell any perfumes 
'"as one cannot import perfumes into 
India" Whatever they earn will go 
towards creating other, similar outlets 
in major cities of the country 

"In Europe one can walk into a shop 


You can sample all these French perfumes at La ParTumerie without having to pay 





Behroze Sabatier of La Parfumerie 

selling perfume and try out all those 
available before making a choice. We 
felt that India too needed a place 
where one could sample different 
international fragrances/' says 
Behroze 

And there is a fairly wide range to 
sample at La Parfumene. Perfumes 
from Oscar de la Renta, Yves Saint 
Laurent. Cartier,.SaIvadort)ali, Van 
Clecf Arpels and such scents as 
Jacomo are among the brands one can 
try out here. 

In the coming months Sabatier 
plans to include live more brands, 
including a Spanish one, and umpteen 
more perfumes. She even plans to 
introduce skincare products by Ingrid 
Millet. 

For the brands displayed here, this 
is a unique promotional exercise. Each 
brand pays for its showcase and 
supplies La Parfumerie with samples 
of its perfumes and beautifully crafted 
blotters on which one can try out the 
scents. 

"All the brands have been very 
happy with the response to La 
Parrumerie. In fact, Yves Saint 
Laurent sent down a perfume expert 
some time back to train us." says 
Sabatier. Earlier this month, the 
chairman of Salvador Dali came to 






Bombay to introduce to La Parfumerie 
the latest unisex fragrance from Dah, 
called Dalimix 

F or Sabatier herself, the project is a 
labour of love. "The world of 
perfumes is magical; and every 
perfume has to be a dream/' sne says. 
She finds it a challenge then to help 
every person, male or female, who 
walks into the store to choose the 
perfect fragrance The staff at La 
Parfumerie is fully trained to help 
visitors choose the perfume that suits 
them most. 


There is a visitors' book where 
visitors are asked to enter their 
comments A mailing list is 
maintained and every time a new 
fragrance is introduced that might be 
what a particular visitor was looking 
for, he/she is sent a sample of it. 

"Often 1 find that men sample all 
the male perfumes we have but settle 
for a female one as they find it more 
suitable/' says Sabatier, pointing out 
that perfume »s a very strong pointer 
to one's personality "A per tun ie can 
tell you a lot of things about the person 
wearing it, she says. Conversely, it • 
can also create an image for the person 
wearing it 

And if you thought that it w as only 
the rich and the beautiful wh» ■ 
indulged in luxuries such w* perfume, 
Sabatier has a surpuse toi i’ou ' li is 
usually people belonging !»■ th* 1 
middle-classi and the working 
classes, and a ku ot students wlm 
walkmhero, she says ' And it's quite 
amazing to find how knowledgeable 
some of the customers are about the 
vanous perfumes which are not even 
available here 1 ' 

Bui whether vou are one of those or 
not, if you're in search ot a whill of 
heaven you might want to visit La 
Parfumerie ■ 


E XttW'rt.* . - 

XTRACT 

The Dawn of 


CREATION 




The neurotic is the one who hides his dreams from himself the average man is the 
one who hides his dreams from others, the artist is the one who feels compelled to 
make Ins dreams puhlu 

—Otto Rank 


'A 

An extract 
from 

Ranjana 
Harish \s 

attempt to 
document the 
female 
tradition of 
autobiography ' 
writing in 
India 


Extracted from 

7 he Female Footprints 

By 

Ranjana Harish 
Published by 
Sterling Publishers 
Private Limited 
Price Rs250 


n autobiography is generally taken 
to be the gospel truth set in glittei- 
ine words of gold an artefact of 
self-praise The basic truth is 
writer's own need/ so writes Amrita 
Pntam in her autobiography What 
was her need then? Wny did she 
write her autobiography when 
whatevei happened in her life had 
already found its way into her cre- 
ative writing? In her 'Prologue' she 
answers this question by saying, "1 
thought I might write a few 
lines — something to complete the 
account book of my life and at the 
end, seal it with a revenue stamp as 
it were " When she had talked to 
Khushwant Singh ot her plan to 
write an autobiography she recol- 
lects , he had said jokingly, "What is 
there to your life . ? Just an incident 
or two . you could use the back of a 
revenue stamp to write it " He had 
perhaps chosen a revenue stamp tor 
it as it is the smallest one in size. 

Ye*, right, thought Amrita. if she 
could not write ner story on the 
back ot a revenue stamp, she could, 
atleast seal the truthful account of 
her life with a revenue stamp, a rev- 
enue stamp which signifies the 
truthfulness of the document. 

The only daughter of Raj Bibi 
and Kartar Singh, Amrita was 
taught to be truthful, fearless and 
honest right from her young year* 
Both her parents, who were teachers 
by profession, had lived an honest 
life, honest to the extent of being 
criticised by their community Raj 
Bibi was married when quite young 
to a soldier who was reported miss- 
ing before Ra* Bibi could set up a 
home with the man. The lonely 
woman had taken up a job to sup- 
port herself and had lived a 
widow's life. Nand Sadhu had 
already renounced ancestral proper- 


ty and worldly life and had become 
a sadhu' when he happened to 
meet Raj Bibi m the temple of her 
village. When he realised that he 
had developed some special feelings 
for Raj Bibi and that she too had the 
same type of feeling for him he 
behaved honestly. shedding off the 
hypocratic social norms, Nand 
Sadhu discarded his saffron clothes 
and became Kartar Singh In the 
midst of severe criticism and strong 
opposition the couple got married 

Alter 10 years of their marriage a 
daughter was born to Raj Bibi They 
called her Amrita The father, who 
was a poet himself, wanted to see 
his daughter grow' into an honest 
fearless poet. He taught her to 
respect the written word and was 
rather strict with her so far as disci- 
pline was concerned No loose page 
was ever to be found on the floor of 
their house If by chance there were 
some such page, the child was to 
treat it with respect, pick it and 
place it properly. Putting one's foot 
on any printed paper was out of the 
question in that household. Amnta 
gives the credit for her love and 
respect fur words to her father, who 
sowed such thoughts in her mind 
when she was a little child. 

A striking trait of Amrita's per- 
sonality had been her truly secular 
outlook even in her personal rela- 
tionships Though a daughter of 
deeply religious Sikh parents she 
never had a narrow, intolerant atti- 
tude to her fellow men. The roots of 
this attribute of her personality, she 
thinks, lay in her father's outlook. 

As a child she had witnessed her 
father protesting against her grand- 
mother's discriminatory treatment 
to his Muslim friends. There were 
three tumblers specially kept apart 
to bo used while serving but- 



12 


termilk to his Muslim friends. Little 
Amrita formed a team with her 
father to fight against such discrimi- 
nation by trie old woman. "The 
three tumblers became a cause' for 
me, and we put up a fight with 
grandmother I was adamant. I 
would not drink from any other 
tumbler but one of those/' recalls 
Amrita. Finally her revolt succeeded 
and "thereafter, not a single utensil 
was labelled 'Hindu' or 'Muslim 
How strange that after many years 
of the death of all the three elderly 
people in her life, her mother, father 
and grandmother, the men who 
entered her lift were all to hail from 
the same faith for which the old 
woman had branded utensils and 
against which little Amnia had put 


up a strong protest! All the three 
men in her life — Sahir, Sajjad and 
Imroz — were Muslims. 

Her father wanted to see the girl 
grow into a poet. He taught her 
rnythm and rhyme and all the basics 
of poetry and encouraged her to be 
imaginative. Little did lie know, 
then, that the child wa much more 
imaginative, than what he thought 
her to be. At night the father insisted 
that the girl say her prayer aloud, 
not skipping a single word of it, 
before going to bed He explained to 
the child that saying prayer would 
build a strong fort around her, allow- 
ing no entry, in the comfort of which 
she could sleep safe and sound But 
the little one had her own problem. 

If she built a strong fort around her 


Amrita Pritam: Trying to complete the 'account book’ of her life 



how could her playmate, Ranja n, 
come in her dreams to play with 
her? She decided to skip some 
words, thus leaving some holes fi 
Ranjan to enter the fort. But the 
father was equally smart, he did i 
allow her to skip a single word, a 
if she did, he made her say the 
whole prayer all over again. 
Realising that there was no gettii 
away with such a prank the imag 
native child had a new plan. Whi 
not call Ranian in before saying ( 
prayer and ouilding the fort? Afti 
forty years of these childish pran 
Amrita tells us that the trick she 1 
invented as a child worked well 
throughout her life.Around her 
many forts were built and dcmol 
ished, but she had always manag 
whatever she would to get earn© 
Within the fort there always had 
been a few genuine friends to coi 
fort and protect her 

When Amrita was 11 her mot 
died. She was a religious girl wh 
prayed to God with her heart to . 


her mother's life; still her mothei 
died This experience turned the 
child into a non-believer. She rec 
how bitterly she had cried on he. 
mothe-'s death and had hidden 
dried up chavpntis made by her t 
them bit by bit as long as she coi 

"Like a thief, came my sixtec 
year, my sixteenth year has been 
Lord Indira's work, invading th« 
purity of my childhood., life tool 
a different meaning. It was the 
beginning of the uneven road of 
witn all its ups and downs," thu 
recalls Amrita of her entiy into a 
lescence. She started pouring hei 
mysterious longings on the pape 
But she would destroy every sin 
poem as she knew well that her 
father would not like to see her i 
gious daughter turning romantic 
But how long could she control 1 
adolescent stirrings? She fell in 1> 
with her favourite poet, Sahir 
Ludhianvi She was so madly in 
with the man that in 1957, when 
got the Sahitya Akademi Award 
posed for the press, she went on 
scribbling Sahir 's name absentm 
edly It was only after the pressn 
departure that she realised what 
blunder she had committed; witl 
great anxiety she waited for the 
day's newspaper making her he; 
secret public, i hank Goa, the ca 
eramen were not so detail-orienl 
in their photography. She heavei 
sigh of relief. 

But the poet's secret can nev 
remain a secret; it flows into his 
creative writing most spontanea 
In addition, Amrita was one wh 
didn't care to be secretive, she 



ufcUSVfcd in being honest to the core. 
Though Sabir could not accept her 
offering of love in the way she 
desi rc J, they dul lein.un good 
inends She did teach herself smok- 
ing to reel his present e hv using the 
butts u« Ins cigarettes m the ashtray. 
She longed to have a child by him 
.lid vtsd not he^»lale ir. admitting hoi 
longr-g to her inends who otten 
espo used •■urprisi, about how her 
own -on looked like ^dhii Once 
when Rjjmdei Singh Bedi asked her 
whether Sahir was the fathei of her 
son. she nad'tfce guts to tell him that 
tht siorv was ' coti ect imaginatively, 
jmorre. i tacuuUv 1 l.ven when her 
son coni routed her with the question 
she tolil bin how she too wished he 
wen' Sabir's son, she lold him about 
her infatuation with Sahir frankly 
Her pen doesn't htsitaic in telling us 
that she had a nervous breakdown 
when she read about Sahir 's affair 
with some either woman Her love 
was wasted over a man who did not 
really appreciate it 

About this tune came Sajjad m 
her life By then, she had a daughter 
and .» son He too was a married 
man and had a son Their relation- 
ship v. dS intense and poetic. After 
her moving to IVhrauurt from 
Pakistan the political barriers made 

Sahir Ludhianvi: Adored by Amrita 



j their meetings and correspondence 
] almost impossible for many years. 
Yet, whenever he got a chance he 
would write to her. 

Imroz, six years junior to her, 
brought an emotional security to her 
life He brought the woman w r ithin 
her, who was lost under the layers of 
writerhood, to the forefront. Amrita 
Pritam recalls that only three limes 
did the woman within her, whom 
she had taught to accept the sec- 
ondary role, assort herselt over the 
writer One of those three times was 
when Imroz had dipped his brush 
into the red paint and dabbed a 
i mask on her forehead, w r hile work- 
ing over his canvas; at that moment 
the vvriter within her had moved 
aside and had honoured the woman 
to have her rightful place. 

Amrita looks on herself primarily 
as a writer, an honest, truthful 
writer, and not as a woman. No fem- 
inine reserve or conflict could be 
traced in her autobiography There is 
no shying away from the realities of 
life, specially her love-life, or guilt 
for having lived unconservatively 
Unlike many women autobiogra- 
phers she avoids the talk of her mar- 
ried life almost altogether Only once 
does she mention her husband and 
tells us that he had eczema, while 
parting trom him in 1%4 she told 
him that now his eczema would be 
cured and to everybody's surprise 
her words came true. Her children 
and their partners also do not occu- 
py much space in her narrative. She 
informs us of their lives only as 
much as it is necessary. No feminine 
doting over the family matters is 
found in her autobiography which 
reminds one of the autonioeraphcrs 
like Kamaladevi Chattopaanvay 
(198b) and Shoilabala Das (1^5b), 
who too, like Amrita Pritam, stand 
apart from the mainstream of 
women's autobiography in this 
respect. 

One noticeable fact about 
Amnia's autobiogiaphy is that 
despite her open-minded, unortho- 
dox outlook towards love and life, 
and her guiltless description of per- 
sonal relationships outside the orbit 
of marriage, she doesn't shed oft the 
typical feminine hesitation to talk 
about herself is a body Sox does not 
figure in her works Her truth 
addict' pen expresses her body's 
experiences delicately, suggestively 
and poetically- sometimes through 
her di earns, which form a fascinat- 
ing part of her narrative, while other 
times with poetic images. Her pen 
has .ts own way of handling the 
truth, a way, much feminine and 
poetic. Her pen must keep her com- 



Amrita Pritam receiving the Jnanpith Award 


pany even on her last journey, this is 
Amrita's last wish 

Defining an autobiographer's 
role Amrita writes, The writer of 
the autobiography invites the reader 
to his house beyond the threshold of 
normal constraint And compromise 
with the truth is an insult . not to the 
invited, but to the one extending the 
invitation " In titness to her views 
on an autobiographer's role she tells 
her readers, her honoured guests, 
the unadulterated truth of her life, 
and giving a title like The Revenue 
Stamp to nor narrative, seals off the 
proceeds from her dreams with a 
mark of authenticity. 

*** 

EXCERPTS FROM: THE REVENUE 
STAMP BY AMRITA PRITAM 

RESURRECTING TIME I960 

T his is the saddest year like a tom 
page from the calendar of my life 
Having taken a decision, mv mind 
had kept over the threshold, yet 
tremblingly I did not know which 
way to go. 

1 had just about stretched my 
hand to pick up the phone to put a 
trunk-call through to Sahir, wnen I 
was flabbergasted at finding myself 
glaring at a page in Blitz. It Wared 
forth the news— supported by a pic- 
ture of his and his newly found 
friend My hand stood suspended in 
the air inches away from that dial; 


4 



from the then President, Zail Singh 


my mental state corresponded to 
that ol Oscar Wilde's. 

I determined to commit suicide. 

Alter a time that evil mood passed 
away, and I made up my mind to 
live, bu to wear gloom as a king 
wears purple, never to smile again, 
to turn whatever house I entered 
into a house of mourning, to make 
my friends walk slowly in sadness 
with me. . 

Some people advised me to forget 
all this It was ruinous advice. It 
would mean — the beauty of the sun 
and moon, the music of daybreak 
and the silence of great nights, the 
rain falling through the leaves, or the 
dew creeping over the grass and 
making it silver — would all be taint- 
ed for me. to deny one's experience 
is to put a lie into the lips of one's 
own life. It is no less than a denial of 
the soul. 


It was still vacillating in my 
friendship for Imroz My saddest 
verse belongs to this year I vividly 
recall a weird dream t had. 1 was sit- 
ting m a moving train Opposite me 
was an aged man with flashing, 
piercing eyes I kept turning over the 
pages of my book as he began to 

"Have you ever secii a black 
rose?" 

* A black rose? I don't think I 


have!" 

"A path from the next wayside 
station leads to a small village. 1 
know of a rose garden there with a 
few red roses, a few white...but the 
rest of the vast field is full of deep 
black ones../' 

"Really!" 

"Do I appear reliable enough to 
you, or do I not?" 

"Have I said anything that 
makes you ask that question?" 

"Would you like to see that rose 
garden with your own eves?" 

"I was wondering wnether I 
could ..." 

"There is a myth about it..." 

"And that is...?" 

"Should you make up your 
mind. I'd rather relate the story there 
itself." 

"Sure." 

We got down at the next station. 
Picking our way along a fairly long 
half-beaten track, we discovered to 
our dismay that no transport was 
available but eventually, we got to 
the place we had set out for Such 
winsome beauties I had never before 
imagined could exist anywhere in 
the world. There was a bright red 
patch; there was also a milky-white 
one, but what melted the sight was 
acre upon acre of deep black blooms 
melting into the horizon. 

And now the story..." 

A fair lady, so at least goes the 
legend, was pure of heart and... as 
pure of soul. ...One day, he whom she 
loved, decked her hair with a 
damask rose, and she wrote and 
sang sweet and soft airs 

The course ot true love did not 
run smooth, and the lady spent the 
rest of her life thinking about what 
makes things go wrong And verse 
after verse she wrote from the 
depths of her broken heart 

' ‘Only those who have felt deep 
pain can understand the sufferings 
ot others. Mergmgherself in tlvjt gen- 
eral suffering, she continued to write 
of depths unfathomed." 

"And then what happened 7 " 

"She died., and was buried here. 
And then as if by magic, three 
roses— one red, one white, and one 
black — came forth Irom her grave!" 

"Strange. ..Incredible!" 

‘ The bushes kept getting bigger 
and bigger. Not a soul was around to 
bud or prune them, .no one to water 
them. Yet tney kept growing till the 
rose garden you see, took shape.. " 

"Oh! And what have people to 
say to that?" 

"They say the red blooms shot 
up from the love-poems; the black 
ones from those ol pain, and the 
ones she wrote out of compassion 


for all were milky-white../' 

A shiver went right through me. 

I brought myself to ask; "Ana will 
you not tell me your name?" 

"My name? Er...well, call me if 
you must.. .Time." 

"Time! How's that? How can 
you be digging out of me the story 
of my own life?" 

Time's smile and my own shiver 
then woke me up from my sleep... 

And I wrote: "When you cannot 
fill the goblet of night with the nec- 
tar of life: when you cannot taste the 
honey life offers you, you cannot call 
it tragedy. 

"Tragedy is, when the silver plat- 
ing peels oft and the contents of the 
bowl turn poisonous and penetrate 
into your imagination. 

Tragedy isn't, when fate cannot 
read the adaress of the one you love, 
and so your life's letter goes undeliv- 
ered. 

"Tragedy is, when you wnte 
your life s letter to your love and 
you yourself go and lose his address. 

'‘Tragedy isn't when social and 
the other ties strew the long road of 
your life with thorns and nettles, 
and your feet bleed sorely. 

Tragedy is when with sorely 
bleeding feet you stand where no 
pathway opens before you. 

"And tragedy isn't when you 
keep covering the shivering cold 
form of your love with ragged 
verse." 

Towards the end of that year, I 
underwent treatment at the psychia-, 
t rist's ...really to get to know myself. 
I read the standard books on psy- 
chology At the instance of the psy- 
chiatrist, I put down on paper, to the 
extent I could, all my dreams... some 
of which I still remember. 

I stand on the top of a tower, all 
by myself, talking to the pen I have 
in hand, "Will you always be with 
me? Always?" 

Suddenly, someone clutches my 
hand. 

"You're an illusion Let go of my 
hand!" Sternly l command and 
breaking myself free, flee down the 
st.cr 

No matter how fast l speed, the 
stairway goes on and on. Down and 
farther down 1 go, gasping for 
breath . yet I dare not stop, or 1 will 
be swooped on from behind. 

Finally, I reach the landing ..and 
there spreads before me a fantastic 
garden, with a whole sea ot throng- 
ing crowd! Was it a fair-ground right 
round the base of the tower? There 
was a spectacle of some kind at one 
end: at another, a match 

Suddenly, out of nowhere T spot 
an old bicycle of mine.B 




T 




IME TABLE 

All arrival and departure times are for Calcutta 

Itay* or operation mint 7-day coda: ® MONDAY 9 TUESDAY 9 WEDNESDAY 9 THURSDAY 9 FRIDAY 9 SATURDAY 9 SUNDAY 
f As these lugn-s cjo It. presn one week in advance, readers should check with respective airlines and railways for last minute change in timings) 

wjotrr# . ■ '• 


Departures 

Arrivals 

Departures 

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Fit No. Tima Days 

Fit No. Time Days 

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16 






Departures 

Fit No. Time Days 


Arrivals 

FK No. Time D?ys 


BG-598 1?:iS 2, f. RG W 16’iS 1 ^ 

% fc > .<Vt \1» Y* ^ 

BG-nO:* 08b0 4 b RG on win 4 », 

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Arrivals 

Fit No. Time Days 


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Will*. \\(K- 

KB- 100 ■!?*. 

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Indian Airlines • KB Druk-Air • KL Royal Dutch Amines • L2 Balkan Airlines • M9 ModiLuft • PF Vayudoot • RA Royal Nepal Airlines 
• RJ Royal Jordanian Airlines • RO Tarom Air Transport e SQ Singapore Airlines • $U Aeroflot • TG Thai Airways International • 9W 


Jot Airways • 07 Qatar Airways 


TRAINS 


EASTERN RAILWAY 

Howrah 

NhHCalka Mall 
Amrftsai Mall 

Bombay Mall . < ^nt.-: 

Poorva (New Delhi) Express .1 v,.: /. 
\’i Vi, ■' I, H \ 

I'.." '.V»;i| 

*oorva (New Delhi) Express ... .1 

r,i .i.f. • • ,■ 

\ .Vi. '!’ J r \ / 

Rajdhanl Express ■ . . 1 .1 

■ [1 I it ■ \'y. 

Rajdhanl Express 

>• , k i ■. ■ , 1 >«r ,\ ■ ; \ , ■> 

Jodhpur Express 

Shatehdl (Botaro Stud City) Express 

i :> \ • \ ■ , 1 i..»i v 

Hlmglrl (Jammu-Tawl) txpress ■ v#», 

'. ■ t . \ .. 1 ! 1 !•'- 

Guwahtf Samlghaf Express 

1 .r . .» A't 1 \ * / -■ 1 ■ 1 


Puibanchai ( 


Departure 


Udyan Afaha Tootan Express 
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Up 

Time 

tv'HH 

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.Mfv 

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1 f i- ; 0 
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t. 'ir 

rfJ-'U 
. M : 

;o ic 
ic i:. 
14 M i< 

•'iKs j 
r 1 1 < 

.r 

. nl 1 
.<•■1 1 
w. 

■'ll! 

/ V. 

-. -)C 

' ■ 

r- 1(,‘. 

. . ■ y 1 


SOUTH-EASTERN RAILWAY 

Howrah 


Mokes Mall 
Bombay Mali . h« 
Gftanjall (Borrtay) & 
Shatabdl (Rourtoia) E 

!>i‘ i Arr E n. ei » 


Kuria Express .1.1 NdnsM 1 
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! . • 

A«’ ;m i.jv. 

Tata Steel Express 
Isptf (Sambdpur) Egress 
Sarnbatpur-fteyegaOB Express 
rancm naoa express 
Purl Ei^iren ,.j -.'.in -> 

Sri Jaganndh (Puri) Emmss 
Dhaull (Bhubaneswar) Express 
East Coast (Hyderabad) Express 
Purulia Express 
* 'V* 

Ar* r *lc;J nir'Hi 


Arrival 

Tiro Dn 


1i-. .'i' f’lV 1 , 1 

v .■{’■ ' 


Tlrupatt Express 

i 1 * A- Azm Hind (Puns) Weekly Express fc v 

■J"! .-li.'i'l.iv Ar frrlv, 

i' Bh±annMr-NM CMhl najdhwl Eapms .l, h. ' 

1 'l.'l.iitV O'l.f 

.* 4 . New Deihl-Bhitaneswaf Rajdhani Express 

rL'.vi. *li ,dtiifCta\ u .'v 

Giwahatl - Howrah > Trtvandnm Central Express _v '* 

»V Mi d 1 ; 

Trlvandium Certral - Howrah - GuwahKI Express 1 . 4‘ \.i," 

Mn.'u i.'Vi v- 

Cochin :iartx)ur lerminus - Guwahsh Weekly -4 
Express i j Is 

Iful'dl, 

Guwhte) - Cochin Haibour Tmntnus Vtaaldy 
Express 'wi.« ikiurj ^ vi • 

'.dill' ‘>.1 , .*1“, 

1 : A f Trtvandnfn Weekly Express >. am Iji^h 1 -J" 1 i - ■> 

i' Cochlr. Hartxwr Tennlnus Egress v.i 

'J'W'.q li'i.iir. v . r ■■ 

*' ! f ' '1 l. 

Guwehatl - Bangalore City Weekly Express . 

”1 w \ ► M,vd.it t: .'v 

1 :ii Bangalore City - Guwihdi WasMy Egress ■*.. 

'l.'tM! . h .b« . I 1 i •■*.!. 1‘ I* 

ENOURES. For round the dock htometion ol Eastern Rallen md Soud^Entem Wteey trains, 
please M 2203545-54 lor liKomlng Mns, 220353544 tor all other Manhattan For MornaBon 
about reseradons on Eastern Reiteay and Sodh-Eastam RaHney trains, dtal 2203496-3500 (Item 8 
am to 8 pm on weekdays and 8 an to 2 pm on Sundays and gaottad hoMtays). In addUon, 
dial 1331 (in recorded Intanratfon on Inin nxvilnQ), 131 (regardmo train qpnltanil and 135 
(regardbio resarvtfons). Train sentae enquiry tf SeaMah* 350353W. 

Interadtw Voice Response System (5 am In 0 pm everyttay from Monday Id SalunfcK 5 am Id 5 
pm on Sunday) For reservation status, dial 136 (computerised), Dial 2203406 (nrnal mqutry). 


17 












KETCHES 


POTTED HISTORY 

What the chattering classes are talking about 

This Week: Star Sons 


T he most famous of them all 
wafc Raj Kapoor, even though 
we don't really think of him 
as one any longer But this 
first-born son of rnthviraj Kapoor 
was the first show-biz kid to follow 
in his father's footsteps — the fact that 
he then went on to eclipse his 
father's fame is neither nere nor 
there 


Next in line: Were Raj Kapoor's own 
sons Randhir, Rishi and Kajiv, all of 
whom tried their luck in the movies 
with varying degrees of success. 
Randhir, or Dabboo as he was 
popularly known as, couldn't really 
cut it as a leading man, though he 
played the comedian to perfection. 
And even his directorial career had 
its ups and downs Rajiv , or 
Chimpoo, had much the same 
experience, with his maiden release 
as director Pntn Gr. nth, tailing to 
make an impact at the box-office. 

The only one who did his father 
proud was Rishi, or Chintu, who has 
own playing the romantic hero for 
well over two decades now. He's 
getting to be a bit past it of late — 
what with the ever-expanding girth 
and double chin — but knowing 

Rishi Kapoor: Did his father proud 


Rishi, it won t be long betore he re- 
invents himself and gets a fresh lease 
of life in the movie business 

So, was itiust the Kapoors, then: 

No way Tnerc were several others 
who believed in keeping it all within 
the family. Dev Anand, for instance, 
tried launchmg his son, Suneil, in the 
movies-^only to come a cropper. 
Sunil Dutt, however, had better luck 
with son Sunjay, who had a bona 
fide hit in his first release Rocky, as 
did Rajendra 'Jubilee' Kumar’s son, 
Kumar Gaurav in Lore Story . But 
yvhile Sunju went on to better and 
bigger things, Gaurav, better-known 
as Bunty, remained a one-film 
wonder. 


Bobby, the younger sibling, wasn't 
Quite so lucky. His debut vehicle, 
Barsaat, co-starring Twinkle Khanna 
(daughter of Dimple Kapadia, who 
has been romantically involved with 
Sunny Deol for years now— but, let's 
not digress), didn't make the sort of 
impression it should have at the box- 
office And Bobby, who has since got 

Kumar Gaurav: A one-film wonder 


Also in the queue: Were the Pools, 
as in father Dharmendra and sons 
Sunny and Bobby— good Punjabi 
names for two good Punjabi puttars 
Sunny was launched in a lavish 
home production, Betaab , which 
starred several horses and Amrita 
Singh. The film was a hit, and Sunny 
was home and dry as an action hero. 
Since then, however, his career has 
floundered a little, though he still 
manages to command a good price. 






Bobby Deol: Hoping for a hit in his forthcoming films Sunny Deol: Still manages to command a good price 


married to Tanya, the daughter of a 
Bombay industrialist, is hoping that 
his forthcoming films — in one of 
them he s starring opposite 
Aishwarya Rai — will do the trick tor 
him. 

In the same boat is: Puru Raj 
Kumar, whose first movie, Bal 
Brahmachart, sank without a trace. 
Puru, howevei, is even worse off 
than Bobby The younger Deol. at 
least, can count on Daddy to salvage 
his flagging career, but Purus father, 
the famed Raj Kumar, died a few 
weeks before Bal Brahmachari was 
released So, Puru has to reiy on his 
own ability to get ahead; and his 
father's contacts, assuming that the 
eccentric Raj Kumar had any worth 
speaking of 

So, who's next?: Vinod Khanna's 
son, Akshaye, who is being launched 
in a home production called, 
appropriately enough, Himalaya 
Putra. He is already being touted as 
The Next Big Thing, and nas been 
signed on by Parmcshwar Godrej for 
the Cinthol ad campaign. Whethei 
this kind of hype will help Akshaye 
or harm him — by increasing people's 
expectations of him — remains to be 
seen. 

But, wait a minute!: Didn't Vinod 
Khanna have two sons? Yes, he did, 
but the othei, Rahul, has turned his 
back on the Hindi film industry, 
opting instead to veejay for MTV 


in her day. Saif, who looks uncannily 
like Sharmila, right down 10 the 
dimples in his cheeks, has had 
mixed luck in the moviesi. While his 
performance in such films as Mum 
Khdadt Tu Anar\ has been 
appreciated, he hasn’t really made it 
to the top bracket as yet 1 le’s still 
seen as a second lead, but that could 
change in time. 

Also in the wings is: Fardeen, Fern/ 
Khan's son, who was introduced to 
filmland at a lavish party hosted by 
his father. 1 Its launch is being 
master-minded by his Dad, and we 
only hope — for Fardeen's sake* that 
Feroz does a better job of promoting 
his son, than he did managing his 
own career 

Breaking tne stereotype are: 

Such heroes as A jay Devgan 1 hs 
father, for instance, was not a top- 
ranking star, but a stunt master, who 
went on to become the industry's 
best-known director of action 
sequences. 

Drawing on his vast experience. 
Veeru Devgan launched his son m 
Phool Aur Kaante, an action thriller, 
and Ajay was well on his wav to 
becoming a star in his own right 

So, is it just sons who get the 
treatment: Not really There arc 
plenty of star daughters who have 
been launched by their proud 
daddys But that, as they say, is 
another story. ■ 


Saif Ati Khan: Looks like Sharmila 

Asia. And that's a pity, because he 
looks more the Hindi' film hero than 
brother Akshaye does 

The gender bender is: Saif All Khan, 
whose link to the film industry is not 
his father, Nawab Mansur All Khan 
Pataudi, but his mom, Sharmila 
Tagore, who was an actress of repute 



19 




EOPLE 


JACKSON IS THE EIGHTH 
WONDER OF THE WORLD!’ 


Celebrities reeouut their most livid impression of the pop singer in Mumbai 


-m *jF uliael Jackson's 

Im /■ 

I %/ I Mumb.Ji, 

JL ▼ JL which sent tin* 

( nv into a 1 1 /,/ v tor three 
Jays, is now //Mery Put 
profit 1 .in* still recounting 
the moments, the hype, 
tile weekend when e\ er\ - 
one was t.dkmg the same 
language 11 von got into a 
rickshaw, went to a vuv 
hbiin stall stopped at a 
itreel vendoi, oxerheaid a 
group ot eldeih men on a 
henui m the park, the 
ianuliai name ol tlu pop 
star would crop up sooner 
or Intel it was this uimer- 
^ni appeal that turned on 
thi magic i lore are some 
iclchntx views 
laved Jeffrey I he pe» U »r- 
maiue aside. hicn v is 
hnlhant 'a1i.iI I loved was 
the \ a nations lie did on } 

It id i i/ac 

Milind Soman. t\hat 
impressed me fapail tiom 
die show itsi it, oj course; 

«\ as the t.u f that when the 
causi* I s - i losi enough to an 
organisation'*, heart, any- 
thing v m he done well 
That -* sad. but true. With a 
crowd ot -U’iKIO people, 
w e got into I'm stadium m 
five minutes tlat Whereas, 
when 1 went tor the cm ket 
m.iti h i was -ilmost 
reduced !o a c hutnev f 
Prilish Nandv: 1 m a gre.it 
|a< k ion Ian I feel he puts 
out a. ejoat ,tc t, it's unique 
ami he will sur\ m lor 
quite a u hile ye! No. 1 
didn't go to the shov\ 
h"i a 1 1 se 1 don't care foi 
mruvrts And lour hours 
or wailing would ha\ e 
hrei i t« >o mm Jl lor nw It 
\ \ ‘U ask me a I h * u t the 
political angle, 1 think this 
w ill do lor J It. u ke?a\ and 
the Sim N'l.a what 
lavalalitha s l os ter son s 



marriage did tor her arid 
Sashikaia 1 

Chunky Pandey Oh, 1 

wen i berserk 1 I ve seen so 
rnaiiv shoves but this tops 
e\ er\ thing Everything 
about \t, specially his 
anival, how they built up 
the , ubiety, the* way In* 
came in. tin* whole aura ot 
the show I te s the eighth 
v\ onder ot I he world 
Actually. I took to him and 
lus music only at ter seeing 
him on stage, net before 
th.it And yes. I'll definitely 
go again, if 1 get the tickets 
tree 1 

Baba Schgal: 1 ie is a liv- 
ing legend, but !h best 
part is the sound and stage 
eltec ts Being a very good 
per former, the selling is 
equally important What 1 
found mis-.. fig here was 
that unlike m his converts 
in America. where he talks 
to the aiulieme, strike's up 
a rtsil vibe with them, hero 
he gist said, I love you. 


i India", it was rather like a 
duly’ performed 
I N adeem (of Nadeem 
! Shravan). It w as the most 
spectacular show one 
i could have seen— it was 
like an act ion /emotion 
i movie, one was zapped! I 
, loved the emotional part 
of the show — he knows 
how to do them For c.xam- 
1 pie, when the videos of his 
fnmil\ were run on the 
screen and he went down 
; on his knees and cried. 

The Thackerays have done 
! a great feat 

. Bappi Lahiri. I met him 
personally That was fan- 
tastic. \ it' appreciated my 
, gold chain, and I have 
given him some of mv 
Cl )s, like Ihtlului He is a 
well-balanced person, a lit- 
: tie shy; he loves children, 
being his show is a lile- 
tmie achievement, he is 
the best showman after 
, Elvis I might be able to 
sing well but 1 can t dance. 


f And likewise we have 
many dancers here, but 
they cannot sing. He 
knows how to capture 
people s hearts — remem- 
ber the scent 1 where the 
battle tank comes on stage 
and the little giri stops trie 
soldier with flowers; and 
then there was the Indian 
and American flags com- 
ing together I was almost 
crying, it was so beautiful 
By* the way, 1 am going to 
America to meet mm 1 
have some work with him, 
and when l come back I 
hope to give you good 
news! 

Anna Singh: I Ic s the best 
performer in the world, so 
incredible, and the only 
cme who knows how to 
market his music the* best 
Actually 1 never had taken 
to his music, but after the 
concert l look at it with 
different eyes, I relate to it 
differently now 
Anupam Kher One thing 
I noticed at the party tor 
Michael Jackson was that 
after I shook his hand a 
lot of people wanted to 
shake my hand! He is 
someone who is known 
even in the small towns 
and villages — people may 
not be able to pronounce 
his name correctly bu. 
they know about him 
Uday Senegal I’ve never 
been a huge fan ot his I 
wanted to see a Michael 
; Jackson show. I went, and 
j 1 wasn't disappointed. He 
! is still a force to reckon 
| with because he hasn't for- 
| gotten the art of music; 

| take' his more recent song, 

; Stranger m Moscow. It was 
; a great experience and 
; that’s entertainment! 

! Reported by 

i Anita George 


20 



NNEREYE 


Aries 

March 21 April 20 

| Ganesh.i Suys a 
JK& home away from 
epSSLw. home, plenty 'it 
„ _jBKj commuting and cor- 
respondence and again loans 
and kinds dominate the week. 
The final outcome of mone- 
tary dealings and lamily val- 
ues will depend upon your 
lari, ingenuity and diplomacy 
Insurance and taxes also lake 
uj» much ol your time 

Taurus 

April 21 — May 20 

"j ‘ N * K, 'ilismg will do 
■p j you plenty of good 
J For one, it will hui- 
j msh \ our image. For 
anolhei, it could get you a 
bridegioom -bride it that he 
v'oui target >ts. lurd woik 
and new goals are sure to be 
voui lot A lot ul loose ends to 
be tied Sui prismg as it m.i\ 
sound go ‘Mopping to make a 
t»ist buck 

Gemini 

May 21 -- June 20 

v. .anesha s.n s nine to 
i’V IMIiil \ iUU HHMlill 

hoi i/niv. bv reading 

wak lung films li «i\* 

riling, taking, itud\ > nurses, 
boning, up on gem ral know 1 
edge . fails computer data and 
si i in Meeting otheis hall\\a\ 

vs 1 11 | >i i >d u i e c ^client lesults 

.iiul \ on i an J< • it C liberal 
inteiests an localised Noli 
ruust pav lor win pleasiues 




Cancer 

June 21 — July 20 

Romance and 
finance could well 
walk hand in hand 
foi Gancerians Your 
creativity will mil only be 
recognised bi^t handsomely 
rewnided l : ilm producers, 
poets, astrologers, writers, 
teachers, entrepreneurs should 
strike it lucky There's a fine 
accent on domestic issues 
Also on children 

Leo 

July 21 — August 21 

The focus is once 
.■gam on the two 
I frontiers of property 
and relationships 
Check accounting pioceuuros, 
bank balance, expiration dates 
ol car licenses, lease of proper- 
tv and si i on Do learn to high 
light diverMtx and keep your 
plans flexible because that is 
what you are going to need 
Non w ill be complimented 

Virgo 

August 22 — Seplemboi 22 

j Inloimatun pie\i 

, fifla BBr ■ ousiy hidden comes 
s J9Wf i fo light In any case, 
0ft this is an exception- 
ally new s\ week, h's, there 
an* |ob oppoitumties loi the 
disgi untied as well as tin 
highly talented You will bo 
active in social senuo welfare 
oiganisalioiis, helping others 
and that seems great Plans toi 
childien are highlighted 


r — 

m 

I. ..j 


Libra 

September 23 — Octobci 22 
Relationships that 
went off track can be 
'■ restoied tins w eek 

i and that s important 

tor von Define teims anci 
goals with absolute clarity as 
much will depend later on 
>('11 will beautify voui sui 
roundings no matter what 
your status in lire Diplomacy 
in dealings will Jelimtek pay 
Get set lo tiavel 


| Scorpio 

I October 23 - f 



i£ 



November 22 

(jtim'sha says, the 
financial squeeze 
should be almost 
over, thanks to sun 
and Jupitei in hue placing 
You i personal posers and 
problems will be resolved 
Challenges. variet\ and the 
possibility ol promotion aie 
predicted Ycuu ability to 
analyse ihniacior puts von at 
a ihsadv antage 

Sagittarius 

November 23 — December 20 
lake the lmiiahv e in 
getting lo the heai t 
ol llu- mattei. >ou 
could be concerned 
with propel i\ stahilitv, secun 
tv On the personal level 
await happv developments 
1 )iess up your pTodiic t dis 
plav voui talent and bi open 
♦ n ihe lVindsot change Ini'- e- 
an excellent weeu ten Is av c ! 
arid tamik lcuiuons 


;w 



be- fin, lined I liar 
w ill benerit y.m in 
eVCTV pu« Sibin W a\ 
bill. 1IK talk VUl« lec ei \ e a 
boosi and liiat should nn an 
soiru thing lo you Mat us wise 
v ou /o. mi :u a: the tup But 
ex pi uses will hi lie. i\ v and 
health mac not be ai it- be -I 
'n »u w • 1 1 do well 


BEJAN DARUWALLA 

■ Capricorn 

December 21 - January 19 

1 111' UK US IS on 

• Mganisalion woik 
methods, hasu 

j* issues f i nances 

enfrrt.unmenl inJ amuse- 
ments, therelou. if is a week 
ol niam woiulei ful i olcnirs 

anil contour. You v\ ill both 
leceive and give a gilt >ou 
mai h i\(' to let go el old iji .1 -. 
to leplau wiihiiew ones 
Week of main ac In itu**- 

Aquarius 

January 20 -- February 18 
Flirtations, chan- i 
meeting*- giv e ice 
and spn e to v cue 
hie >om v lew*, and 
opinions vvill make a teirilu 
impact 1 hose w ho speak ill 
will be muted Due i aution is 
mw-isafv m working witii 

electrii.il appliances anv 
kind hue hiu.a:ds mev be 
then >oui opruisile sex will 
slime tei lings low aids cmi 

Pisces 

February 19- March 20 
Two el will take 
plai c oi plans w ill 


BIRTHDAYS 


November i 7 : Sun vScxtile Neptune. s«yK Ganesha, will lead 
to a generous slice of luck in property matters, statu*, social 
standing and personal matters. 

November 18: Mdcm's first quarter indicates you may have 
to put in extra energy to get die best out of the year, but rest 
assured you will be able to do so. 

November ilk Moon textile Jupiter signifies money will 
come in anti therefore, you dan afford to relax a bit, The real 
danger is in falling out. 

November 20: Moon trine eun Piute brings recognition and 
reward*. Your bad patch will end and a new source of energy. 


and intellectual endeavour will take over. In your job or 
work, expect pleasing developments 

NotHftnber 21: Moon square lupuei only un-am e.\|X’iiM s mvI 
extravaganza m all that you d» Your insight mm tiling- and 
people will help you to succeed 

Not'ember 22; Sdn trine Saturn signifies you are in a peiiod 
Of growth and evolution be it finances, tnnumre, education, 
spirituality, travel or trade. 

November 23: Sun sex tilt* l .ranks is an excellent sex tile Iot 
industrialists, artists, scientists, educationalists and those in 
the media. 


Exquisite craftsmanship in 
International Standard 
22/22 Karat gold and 
diamond jewellery . 
Dealer in precious and 
astrological stones. 


I 


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HeaTO 



YOU ARE WHAT 
YOU EAT 


As' people pet more and more obsessed with watching their weight, 
dieticians and health food shop owners emerge as the 
new celebrities , says Anita George 


A ll around us there are signs 
of people's increasing inter- 
est in health (read weight) 
In a generation fed on 
bleached, retined, skimmed, skinned, 
preserved, pickled, coloured and 
aromated food, more and more poo- 
ple are rushing to aerobics classes 
and jogging parks 

And now increasing! v, they are 
turning to dieticians and health lood 
shoos. As a result, the dietician and 
the health food shop owner are turn- 
ing into media celebrities, specially 
when patronised by rich and famous 
clients. 

But are people more concerned 
with their lood out of a concern for 
their figures or theii health? 

Normally the concern begins 
when they’ begin to get fat T nis is 


followed by a variety of self-pre- 
scribed diets, before they land up tit 
the door of a dietician 

Anjali Mukerjec. dietician and 
obesity consultant, has a iis: of 
clients that includes film stars and 
she has worked with models in their 
preparation for the sunermodel con- 
test. And, she adds, i have 150 
clients on the phone from Calcutta!" 

Eight} per cent of the time, she 
says, ncr clients' obesity is a direct 
cau s»* of their eating habits and a 
lifestyle where they exercise less and 
eat out more. And they are well 
aware of it. Only they have neither 
the knowledge or the discipline to 
tackle the problem. 

So they try to treat themselves 
first "Some starve all day and have 
one meal at night, and really hog 


then, and defeat the purpose. People 
aren't aware of many facts, such as 
one has to eat more in the morning 
rather than at night," says Anjali. 
Fasting is immensely populai among 
the overweight, adds Mukerjee 
wryly. 

Dr Chandaha, President of the 
National Diabetic Association (W. 
India chapter) lists some of the diet- 
related illnesses which finally make 
people sit up and take a look at what 
they are eating: obesity, diabetes, 
high cholesterol, high blood pres- 
sure. 

There is some evidence that cer- 
tain cancers of the gastro-intestinal 
system may be diet-related. "You 
could call these diseases the bane of 
urbanisation," he says, "of coco- 
colonisation!" 


26 



E nter the health food store. 

Bombay is perhaps the first if not 
the only city where it exists and 
actually does well. The trend setter, 
Kavita Mukhi 's Natural Options, in 
the up-market Napeansea Road area, 
is an intriguing place to visit. 

Whole grains organically grown 
(no fertilisers or chemicals), unpol- 
ished and stone ground; breads and 
bakes made from whole wheat and 
jaggery rather than sugar and maida ; 
only sea salt used where required. 
Neem leaves are used as a preserva- 
tive. 

Sugar substitutes include 
unprocessed tribal honey, pam or 
sugarcane jaggery, raw sugar and 
palm sugar The unrefined sugar is 
yellowish in comparison with the . 
extreme white sugar that we are all 
used to. Dairy products are 
unprocessed — in fact, Mukhi says 
that the cows providing the milk 
feed on organic food! 

Mukhi's shoo and philosophy 
stretches beyond food to all things 


natural — so you have vegetable | 
dyed clothes, mat chappals , wooden 
massagers and even veg-dyed 
dhurries — a far greater range of 
products than Calcutta's own health 
food centre, which provides such 
'exotic* vegetables as artichokes, 
asparagus and avocados. 

Not far from Mukhi's outlet, on 
Peddar Road, Vineeta Mathur has set 
up The Health Shop, on a smaller 
scale. Organic wheat porridge, 
whole wheat pastas and whole gram 
snacks sit on shelves amidst branded 
products like Kelloggs and Dabur. 

"But," says Mukhi, "what is dis- 
appointing is that while awareness is 
increasing, and the market is grow- 
ing steadily, people are more inter- 
ested in buying the healthy version 
of junk food. Ideally, they should be 
buying more of whole wheat, unre- 
fined sugar and so on. Of course, 
these are still high in demand." 

Some customers admit that they 
buy at a health shop to appease their 
conscience, following a binge on 


Kavita Mukhi's Nature Options: Pioneered the health food store concept 



f. 


'lift*'' 



■' v “|jjfcrv-r- . 

fersSS 




Anjalfi Mukerjee: Teaching her clients 
to eat correctly 

fried food or at Mughlai restaurants. 
But there are actually a few people 
who will only buy from the store! 


; The wheat products surprise you 
. with their fragrant flavour — it is 
| like tasting wheai for the first time, 
and leaves one wondering about the 
kind of food that one eats on a daily 
basis. 

W hat is encouraging, says 

Mukhi, is that there is a market 
here that can sustain such shops, and 
she has plans ol opening one in Goa 
as well. There are people keen on 
opening outlets in cities like Calcutta 
and Bangalore too 

The problem is that the store's 
produce works out to be 15 per cent 
more expensive on an average than 
market rates and that, along with the 
location, ensures that it becomes an 
elitist privilege. The ideal, she says, 
is that one day everyone should be 
able to eat healthily 

Dr Chandalia points out that in 
rural areas, this is more possible. As 
for the urbanite, he or she has heard 
all the dos and don'ts before* min- 
imising direct sugar, salt, fat, cook- 
ing food only when required; using 
whole wheat flour, retaining the skin 
of fruits and vegetables as far as pos- 
sible; and so on and so forth And 
making sure that all this input is 
matched by a proportionate amount 
of energy expended. 

But knowing all this is one thing; 
incorporating this knowledge into 


mcoiporating this knowledge into 
our daily lives is quite another And 
there an' very few among us who 
actually bother to do so. ■ 


57 




ProfTH 

AS IF BY MAGIC 


Prabhu Deva's face vanishes, Kamalahasan becomes a lion: all thanks to 
special effects man, S. T. Venki. Sudha G. Tilak reports 


M ammooty pumps a 

triumphant fist in the air, 
as his plane performs 
acrobatics in the skies. 
Kamalahasan transforms into an 
eagle or a lion much to Manisha 
Koirala’s surprise. Prabhu Deva has 
his mug wiped off and still 
continues to do his jig on the dance 
floor. Aamir Khan and Urmila 
Matondkar orbit off into space 
seated in a garden seat. 

Welcome to the world of 
Sambamurthy Tanjore Venki's special 
effects. And meet the man who has 
of late turned Indian movies into a 
phantasmagoric experience. 

Thanks to his MTV-ish visual 
callisthenics Venki is a much-wanted 
figure in Bollywood these days. In 
the last five years he has been special 
effects designer for more than 50 
films in almost all Indian languages. 
He is currently working on six Hindi 
films in Bombay where ms talent is 
much in demand today 
Venki's home could give 
Frankenstein's house of norrors a 
run for its money No, not that it’s 
atop a dark hillock, set against a 
blue-black sky, or that the man ha 
fluttering bats fur pets 

On tne contrary, Venki's quiet 
home on the verdant College Road 
in Chennai looki like a pleasant 
hideout from the bustle of the city, 
from the outside But inside, it s a 
house where portraits of Dali in 
mustachioed splendour vie with the 
latest Thota Tharani abstract Where 
terracotta sculptures nudge warty 
rubber masks and works of Picasso 
fight for space on the wall with 
bloodied arms' peeping from a 
chest of drawers 

Forty-year-old Venki, currently 
the highest-paid special effects wni/ 
in India's movieland (he won't tell 
how many lakhs he charges for his 
efforts) smiles when visitors shriek 
at the realistic- looking limbs 
dangling by his work table or 
truncated heads m his ateleir. But 
then he can afford to grin: to him 
goes the credit for dispelling the 
notion that special effects meant 



S.T. Venki, the special effects whiz: A 

vanishing acts in spooky flicks or 
flying heads in mythological 

His latest handiwork features m 
bid tan released in Hindi as 
Hnulustafu, which has chart-busting 
song sequences. And most of ihe 
special effects in these sequences, 
which use computer-aided 
technology, are Venki's handiwork. 

The special effects for song 
sequences like Maya M/tchmdra had 
Kamalahasan and Manisha Koirala 
in a fanta‘v world And those for 
TAD A with Urrnila Matondkar 
springing in the air were ail done in 
Venki^ atelier Sitting at his table, 
Venki works with his sets of paints 
and brushes and easel, adding and 
pasting the Aamir Khans aeamst 
soaring skies, wiping Prabnu Deva's 
r-iug off the screen for a song and 
much more 

Venki traces his roots to the 


much-wanted man In movieland 

Cauvery belt at Thanjavur. And his 
pretty wife, Meena, exudes all the 
tradition that a classical 
Bharatanatyam danscuse from the 
renowned school of Kalakshctra can. 
But Venki's career has been based on 
the non-traditional, relying on the 
latest technology in animation. 

Despite graduating from the 
prestigious Madras College of Arts, 
Venki s love of painting soon took a 
back seat. "Animation always 
fascinated me," he recalls. After 
dabbling in making frescoes and 
murals (terracotta sculptures adorn 
his studio as well) he went on to 
London to pick up the latest in 
animation techniques before coming 
home to get into tne world of 
advertising. 

A painter at heart, Venki began a 
short-lived career in drawing 
cartoons, political and otherwise. His 


28 


master remains Picasso, whose 
photographs and prints adorn his 
walls. He still has copies of his early 
works — made before he branched off 
into advertising — collected in a 
scrapbook. 

In the roid- Eighties animation 
was limited to documentaries, and 
there was no demand (or special 
effects in the movies. The artiste was 
essentially a 'repair' man, who 
joined bits of negatives or used a bit 
of animation for titles, “ 'Optical 
graphics and animation were non- 
existent," says Venki. 

But the Telugu film industry 
produced a regular crop of 
mythological movies. This gave him 
ample scope to turn sorcerer’s heads 
into molten lead, create headless 
torsos, and, of course, some hi-tech 
bows and arrows to whiz in the 
skies, and mount ample vanishing 
acts. 

"Our audiences are still not into 
sci-fis," says Venki wistfully, and that 
reduces the scope of special effects. 
According to him, the lack of sci-fis 
and mythologicals have resulted in 
song sequences becoming the focus 
of special effects. 

The other area where special 
effects come in handy is in movies 
which have double roles. For 
instance, Nagarjuna, thanks to 
Venki’s special effects, got to shake 
hands with his long dost twin in a 
Telugu film. And a wrinkled 
Kamalahasan got to trot around his 
dancing son in Indian. 

One of Venki’s recent triumphs is 
the sequence in Indian which has 
Kamal, an IN A personnel, shaking 
hands with Subnas Chandra Bose 
sometime in the year 1946. After 
extracting ill-maintained footage of 
Bose, Venki worked for 35 days on 
matching freshly-shot black-and- 
white footage of Kamal with the old 
film. 

"In fact the idea had germinated 
in me much earlier than Porrcst 
Gump was released 1 just didn’t get 
the opprtunity to work on a 
sequence,” says Venki He, in fact, 
used specially-designed software for 
the motion contract effect while 
matching the 16 mm film with a 
cinemascope one. * This hasn’t been 
done in Hollywood either," he says, 
with pride* 

V enki’s first noticeable special 
effects for movies had people in 
S plits. This was for Kamalahasan in 
the super successful Appu Raja Here, 
Venki doodled a face on screen, 
which made faces at the hero, and 
vastly amused the audience It was 



Prabhu Deva and Naghma in the superhit, KaadhaJan 


this feat that first got Venki noticed 
in film circles. 

The present climate of film 
making is specially suited to 
someone like Venki. The new pack of 
techno-savvy directors like Mani 
Ratnam, A.Siankar, Kadhir, Ram 
Gopal Varma are evolving their own 
grammar for making commercial 
nits. Special effects gives them scope 
to break away from the routine of 
100 'extras' against the skyline in 
identical costumes giving little space 
for iKe lead pair to cavort. "Special 
effects gives a variety for the 
audience tired of this routine for 
over four decades," says Venki. And 
there’s nobody more skilled at this 
game than Venki himself. 

However Venki points out that 
special effects for the sake of special 
effects will be wasted on a 
discerning audience. But, most of 
Venkis work has been in song 
sequences in which it has been 
introduced merely for effect, Yes, 
says Venki, bat "this thrce-year-old 
fad for special effects might not last 
long. The future is vague." 

Flak for Venki’s brand of on- 
screen magic is not lacking. Senior 
directors and detractors accuse him 
of introducing 'unrealistic concepts' 
through special effects. Film maker 


Bharathiraja recently said in print 
that such special effects do not 
contribute much in the making of a 
film. Venki has his reply ready: "It is 
equally unrealistic to nave 100 men 
and women dressed identically in a 
song sequence". 

According to young film maker 
A. Shankar. '^Special effects help in 
breaking the monotony during song 
sequences and in turning other 
important sequences in a film into a 
visual experience". 

Shankar should know. He has 
been the one him maker who has 
squeezed more ideas out of Venki 
than anyone else for his Prabhu 
Deva starrer Kaodholan released in 
Hindi as Hum Sr Hai Muquabla, But 
Venki has still a lot more work left in 
him. And he promises that his early 
influences of Picasso, cubism and 
surrealism will come into play in the 
special effects he designs. T am a 
designer more than an artist," he 
says. 

So, the next time you watch Shah 
Rukh Khan in a Daliesque song 
sequence, or Ajay Devgan trying 
stunts that could put a rubber joint 
to shame, you'll know who’s behind 
the on-screen gimmicks. It'll be none 
other than the man who gave you 
the faceless Prabhudeva.il 





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Losing my smile 


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P4 NOVFMRFR 1996 • 


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Old Soul 

■ Undoubtedly, Zohn 
. Segal's Gfe has been the 
most varied and advert* 
tiuous ('Vintage Zohra', 
September 29), 

This is more so for a 
giri hailing from a conser- 
vative Muslim family. In 
those years she went to 
Germany to learn dancing 
and had to cope with a 
culture and people that 
were all alien to her. 

Unless one has 
tremendous determina- 
tion and courage one can- 
not succeed. Honestly, she 
is a role model for all 
women. 

Anuradha Mukherjee, 
Calcutta 

ffl There was a time when 
art was revered and the 
practitioners of the genre 
were dedicated towards 
it. Zohra Segal is the 
product of mat era of hon- 
est dedication. Her sincer- 
ity, passion for drama and 
the struggle she had to go 
through are all evident in 
her persona. 

Vikas fain, 

Calcutta 

§6 Jt is the confluence of 
Hindu, Muslim and 
Christian cultures in 
Zohra Segal that makes 
her a unique personality. 
The veteran actress : 



Laloo Prasad YMaV dresses up his son as Lord Kristin* aft a functlmln Patna 


deserves the Dadasaheb 
Phalke award. 

Reba Bose, s 

Jamshedpur 

Papa Doesn’t 
Preach 

a The 'Lifestyle' feature 
on La loo Prasad Yadav 
was very colourful ('Hum 
Do Hamate Nau', 
September 29). I was long 
curious about his family. 
The chief minister really 
an amazing personality: 
living like a kang with all 
his rural and urban com- 


forts and yet revered by 
the masses. It's good hts 
children do not want to , 
join politics and yet he is 
not upset about it. 

Sandtp Sarkar, 

Calcutta 

St Laloo Prasad Yadav' s 
children would naturally 
feel proud of their father' 
because they are living 
the life of a prince gnd 
princess while other chil- 
dren are slogging it out. 

What Is important ^ ■ 
are the people ofSSiaras 
proud of mm as h» chil- 
dren? 


His gimmicks are enter- 
tairnng no doubt. But how 
long can a government 
sustain on mat? Have his 
gimmicks contributed to • 
the pro gr ess of the state m 
any way? 

Rnymi Singh, 

Patna 

Ml Ah ideal leader should 
be a model for his people. 
The nsan and kjudm chew- 
ing Laloo Prasad Yadav 
wim nine children cannot 
be the right example for 
die peo ple to follow. 

Jamshedpur 


UJ 



| PAGE 4 

I ARPANACAUR, the celebrity artist, is con- 
* stantly exploring new boundaries in her works 
of art An interview with the painter. 

PAGE 26 


MAIMEKA GANDHI launches her new book. 
First Aid for Animals . 

Arpana Caur 


22 COMIC S 

26 fcx:us 

30 FIRST PERSON 


Covgi Pankaj Sharma 


J 


CcveTstS^y 


PORTRAIT OF AN 



Arpana Caur is the rising star of the Indian art firmament. 
Geeta Sharma profiles the shy, soft-spoken painter 


Photographs by Pankaj Sharma 


Making a statement through 
expressionists colours 
and stark imagery 



siti ve Arpana Caur had felt passionately about. And promin- 
ent among them was the atomic bomb blast that destroyed 
two cities and brought Japan to its knees in World War II. 


Even today, the nuclear destruction that the atom bomb 


wrought evokes the same fear, the same anguish, and the 


m 






Prpi 


same compassion in the artist. So, when the Hiroshima 
Museum wrote to her last year, asking if she would do a pain- 
ting on the theme 'Hiroshima', to mark the 50th year of the 
tragic event, Caur went to work with a vengeance. 

Now back from Japan, where her work, a triptych titled 
Where have all the flowers gone?, was formally installed at 




the sprawling Hiroshima J 

Museum — along with the works of j 
four other Asian artists, who had also : 
been commissioned to work on the 
theme — Arpana C’aur is both modest 
and full of child-like enthusiasm 
about her achievement. 

"It was a nice feeling to see the work 
of not me as an T but as an Indian arti- 
st hung in the museum. What was 
heartening was that it stood out, 
because or its typical Indian colours, 
blue and yellow, as against the blacks 
and brown^f the other works/' she 
says. 

But what touched Caur most during 
her trip to Japan, which she describes 
as a land of beauty and peace, was the 
gesture of a waiter in a restaurant she 
ate in. As she sat there having a meal 
with three of the eight young curators 
of the museum, a waiter, identifying 
her nationality from her sal war 
kameez, came and placed two tiny 
Japanese and Indian flags, stuck on a 
piece of thermacol, on her table to con- 
vey his welcome. 

."I was so overwhelmed by the gestu- 
re that 1 just started crying sitting 
there!" says Arpana 



Arpana Caur in front of her painting at the Hiroshima Museum 


Drawing inspiration from Oriental art 





T he three frames of the 12 x 6 ft trip- 
tych displayed at Hiroshima 
depict lotuses (symbolising life) blos- 
soming under the blue sky and on 
deep blue water; guns and soldiers 
(signifying death); and a forlorn 
woman (the ultimate victim of all vio- 
lence) draped in a black veil sitting des- 
pondently in the rain under black 
doud9 of destruction. The images are 
a subtle yet evocative depiction of the 
twin themes of violence and peace. 

And for once, Arpana is more than 
satisfied with her work. "Not all 
works of art are successful, irrespec- 
tive of whether or not they sell," she 
explains. "I myself do about 12 works 
a year and am satisfied with less than 
half of them. But this triptych has giv- 
en me immense satisfaction/' What is 
more gratifying, she adds, "is that Indi- 
an art has been represented, for the 
first time, in the museum's permanent 
collection that houses some o( the grea- 
test works of art such as Henry Moo- 
re's Atom Peace " 

Hiroshima Museum chose Arpana 
tor the Rs 6.4 lakh commission, after 
having borrowed one of her works, titl- 
ed Resilient Green from the 
3,000-strong private collection of 
Masanon Fukuoka, a Japanese patron 
of Indian art, for its Asian Art Show 
during the Asian Games. The work, 
which also formed the centrespread of 
Fukuoka's catalogue on Indian Art, 
was covered in several Japanese 
papers. The museum officials, liked 
the work immensely and derided to 
commission Arpana for the project. 

The prestigious commissioning 
could not have come at a better time 
for the artist, who by her own confes- 
sion, feels that she is going through 
the peak of her career. "I have been on 
a high each day for the past two-three 
years. Every day is a surprise. In the 
morning, when I sit down to work and 
then take a look at it in the evening, I 
wonder whether I really created these 
new images and explored the new 
territories/' 

The number of canvases that she 
produces may have increased. But it's 
not quantity that matters to Caur; 
what she is most pleased about is that 
the quality of her work is improving. 
And that ner paintings are now imbu- 
ed with a sense of adventure, in which 
new boundaries are constantly being 
explored. 

At present, for instance, Arpana's 
art is going through a period of transi- 
tion. She has begun incorporating ele- 
ments of Madhubani works in her 
paintings primarily because it helps 
create a witty juxtaposition of two 



Arpana with her mother, Ajeet Caur, with whom she shares a strong bond 
With husband who prefers to keep a low profile 





worlds: of women's art from the villa- 
ges in the form of traditional patterns 
of trees and animals, set off against the 
off-shoots of today's worlds. 

In one such canvas for an upcoming 
exhibition, Arpana has pitted the 
Madhubani background against the 
modern deities of television sets, cars 
and other consumer durables and apt- 
ly titled it Brand New Gods. 

For an artist who is forever unsure 
ot her paintings and cannot but look 
surprised when you praise her work, 
the presentassessment of her own 
work is an C&i usual one. For the most 
part, Caur still remains a little hesitant 
about the quality of her paintings. 

Recently, for instance, she was due 
to send two canvases for the CIMA 
exhibition of contemporary modem 
Indian art in London. Recalls Caur, "I 
had .sent three works for the show, but 
developed doubts about the third 
work. So I did another painting and 
sent it to the organisers so that they 
could chose whichever they liked 


more. 


A rpana r s strength as an artist has 
always been her desire to make a 
strong statement in her works. And 
she has done so through the use of 
expressionistic colour and stark ima- 
gery. Her paintings, an extension of 
her social and political concerns, 
speak of the complexities and duality 
of life in an intense and philosophical 
vein, using varied images, that of 
people with big hollow eyes, people 
drowning, dancing or dreaming. 

Caur had a somewhat modest initia- 
tion into art. She has never been inside 
an art college, but today her works are 
the subject of Ph.D. thesis in many art 
colleges and universities. She has been 
adorned with awards from the Lalit 
Kala Akademi. The VI Triennial India 
and the All India Fine Arts Society. 

And her paintings are sought out for 
shows in London, Bombay, Ottawa, 
Stockholm, Calcutta, Tokyo, Athens, 
and even Baghdad, during the Iran- 
Iraq war. 

But even though Caur had no for- 
mal training, the arts were all around 
her as she was growing up. "I remem- 
ber 1 used to draw on walls and news- 
papers with charcoal but was never 
shouted at/' she recalls. Her mother, 
acclaimed Punjabi writer Ajeet Caur, 
in fact, tried to introduced her to vari- 
ous creative media so that she could 
decide which she wanted to take up. 

So dance, si tar and painting classes 
went on simultaneously for young 
Arpana, whose father died when she 3 
was barely a teenager And of course, $■ 

8 


there were stacks and stacks of books owner saw her work there and invited 

from her mother's collection which her for a show, which she went for 
she read alongside. The only extrane- four years later. Although the initial 

ous agent in all this was a radio she got exhibitions did not even cover the cost 
to listen to whenever her grandfather of the shows, they helped young Arpa- 

tuned it on. A television set came in na gain confidence, 
much later 

Arpana now maintains that it was T Ter first 'successful' exhibition 

because she had the best in terms of XJLcame in 1980 at the Jehangir A_rt 
exposure to creativity that she took to Gallery, Bombay, where more than 80 

painting. "I had fewer clothes than my per cent of her works were sold out. 
friends and was often leased about it. Today, her works — be they oil on can- 

but 1 had the best art material because vas, small works on paper with pencil, 

my mother, who herself wrote on the gouache, pastels or prints — form part 

best bond paper, said one should of the collections of such museums as 

never compromise on the raw materi- the National Gallery of Modem Art, 

al," says Arpana. the Indian Council for Cultural Rela- 

Basically a self-ta ught artist, the tions, the Victoria Albert Museum, 

young Caur was taken by surprise besides numerous private collections, 

when three of her pa in tings were selec- including that of Husain himself, 

ted by M.F. Husain in a group show of Unlike her contemporaries, Caur 
young artists. From then on, matters has never sought inspiration from 
progressed rapidly. She held her first European traditions. Instead Oriental 
solo exhibition in 1 975, at Tri veni, art — from miniatures to Madhu- 

New Delhi. A London art gallery bam — have found reflection in van- 


Historic Hiroshima and the lonely artist 




ous phases of her work. Her earliei 
works were more direct, as in the 
Audience series where the theme was 
the 'Missing Audience for Art'. In one 
such canvas, for instance, she showed 
a musician singing m gay abandon to 
the appreciation of a row of empty 
chairs. 

Around the 1980s she telt the need 
to introduce some linear elements to 
offset the round organic effect of her 
figures. That is when Arpana brought 
m the miniature's architecture — with 
its impossible angles and the missing 
fourth wall of the structure in her ser- 
ies titled Women in Interiors where 
women lay passively within the walls 
of their homes 

Then came the 1984 anti-Sikh nots 
and Arpana's first exposure to death 
at such close quarters while she work- 
ed with the not victims in the relief 
camps What followed was a senes cal- 
led The World Cutes t Vi in which 
water became a symbol of death foi 
her. In one such painting, she used 
three areas - - water, earth and sky - 
to show how life went on unaffected 
by death and destruction 

There woie a lot of other works too. 
The Maya T\%igi Rape senes. The 
Widows of Banda ran, Prakrih reflect- 
ing the urban chaos we live in. The 
Bau! Singers of Bengal who have been . 
an endless source of fascination for 
Arpana. 

Then came The body is Just a 
Garment , an important scries which 
was her way of coming to terms with 
life and death and wherein she used 
the triptych form - - a painting split 
into thr< v can v ases or sections - in a 
progression of colour and a chronolo- 
gical sequence. The leil motif was the 
sayingr. of the weaver mystic poet 
Kabir and Lord Krishna in the Gita, 
that the body is a mere garment which 
one changes from birth to birth. 

G iven her shy, sensitive persona, it 
is not difficult to look for the emo- 
tional props that are as crucial to the 
artist as hei sensitivity One is her hus- 
band, Ha rinder, a sitar -player, 
designer, and now a cartoonist, who 
prefers to keep a low profile 
The other, who has an apparently 
overwhelming influence on Arpana is 
her mother, Ajeet Caur. In fact, the 
umbilical bond that ties the two toge- 
ther is so strong that Arpana continues 
to live with her mother erven today 
In fact, Arpana cannot discuss her 
art without mentioning and being gra- 
teful to her mother for what she is 
today. "It is she who cncouraeed me 
to paint when I was young, wno per- 


suaded me to give up my teaching job 
to become a full-time artist In fact so 
great is mv emotional dependence on 
her that 1 don't like to go anywhere 
without her," she says. 

Being a writer herself, Ajeet Caur 
was able to make Arpana feel the 
angst an artist must feel before trans- 
muting it into a work of art Little won- 
der then that Ajeet Caur became the 
subject of a number of her daughter's 
paintings, be it the scries called 
Mother where she explores the mater- 
nal relationship, or canvases depicting 
such mundane activities as hei mother 
twiv/.ing her eyebrows 

It is almost with child -like enthusi- 
asm that Arpana takes you around the 
impressive, newly -built, four-storied 
Academy of Fine Arts and Literature, 
that her mother has set up after 
decades of struggle and toil 

The Academy, which started func- 


tioning in its new premises in the posh 
Siri Fort Institutional area a few 
months ago, houses a huge art galiery 
and has a hall for literary gatherings, 
music concerts, symposiums, films, a 
vocational training centre for women 
and economically backward young- 
sters besides facilities for pottery, scul- 
pture, classes, an amphitheatre for sta- 
ging plays and a cafeteria. 

F or an artist whose bigger works sell 
for anything from Rs 50,000 to over 
a lakh, Arpana comes across as a sur- 
prisingly simple, down-to-earth per- 
son wno delights in the joys she gets 
from doing such mundane chores as 
keeping track of the daily ration 
needs, buying vegetables and cooking 


simple meals for the family — her hus- 
band, mother and herself 

Basically a morning artist who has 
put her best on her palette by the fore- 
noon, Arpana makes no bones about . 
the fact that she is a reclusive person 
who hates having guests over, or 
going out for functions and gathe- 
rings, even if it is an exhibition where 
her own works are showing!. "Even 
our relatives and friends seldom come 
over," she says. 

The only outing that the entire fami- 
ly enjoys is to their guru, 'Sahibji's' 
ashram in Ghaziabad, twice a week. 
"It provides me with a very good esca- 
pe," confesses Arpana Besides medi- 
tation and recitations from the holy 
texts, going to the ashram involves 
doing sewa right from cooking meals 
for all, to washing the utensils and 
sweeping the floors 

"It is a place where everybody is a 


nobody and the only purpose is to find 
spiritual peace/' she explains. 

Today, looking back at her career, 
which sne embarked on more than 25 
years ago, Arpana makes a candid con- 
fident appraisal of her work. "When I 
started, I was a young girl, m search of 
,an identity and in search of a path that 
would help me escape from falling 
mto the assigned roles/ she says 
"Today, that search is long over. Now 
it is a direct confrontation between me 
and my work and the important thing 
is to make it evolve into abetter work. " 

For an artist, there can be no stagna- 
tion. Life, and the creative process, has 
to go on. And nobody knows that bet- 
ter than Arpana Caur. ■ 



The artist in a pensive mood 



G 


An extract 
from 

Shashi 

Deshpande’s 

ncir novel 
which explores 
the intricate 
relationships 
within an 
extended 
family 


Extracted from 

A Ml ittrr nfTitur 

By 

Shashi Deshpande 
Published by 
Penguin Books 
India (P) Ltd 
Price HsJ5> 


Extract 


Home Away From 



opal, who has had no intention of | bum! and father .. 
making a mysler) of his where- '1'his is the right answer to give a 

ahouts, is living scarcely a few mile? doctor and Promi may accept it, but 

away from Sunn and his daughters will Ramesh? Nc>, ho won't leave it 

in the house of an old student ol his at that, ho will ask me to? my symp- 
This is in an old part of the town, toms, he will try to connect them 

where tiny lanes criss-cross one and ultimately yes. I'm sure ot this., 

another and homes, small shops and make an appointment for me with a 
restaurants, jostle together in a jum- psychiatrist. No, best leave this 
bit* of noisy existence Copal's mom, alone 

above the printing press that / thought of Purandunuiasa's hoe, 

belongs to his student, is an odd Listen, the horn strikes an 1 1 was tern- 

place for a man to retreat’ to — the fiat, I knew / was running out nr time 9 

thought will occur to all those who Sumi is the one person who may 

visit mm. But like the truck drivers, understand this, she will know what 

who after a night of frenetic driving, I mean But this is not enough, I 

go to sleep in the womb-like intcri- have to be more honest with het, 

ors of thi?ir driving cabins, wholly more explicit 
■nsulated Irom the outside world, 

'.jopal is unaware of the jangle ot 
noises in which he is living nis life. 

Now the interlude of peace sud- 
denly ends for him Shankar, still the 
student, unwilling to sit down m 
Copal's presence, is then-* to tell him 
that Ramesh had rung up 

' And you told him 1 was here? 

It's all right, I never wanted to hide 
the fact from anyone." 

So Ramesh has traced me here 1 
should have guessed he would be 
the first; he has his mother's 
doggedness, his father's sense of 
duty And so, he will be the first to 
ask me the question "Why did you 
uo such a thing, ( luru?" 

l had prepared myself tor this 
question, I had rehearsed mv 
answers before I spoke to Sumi, I 
had been ready to counter her argu- 
ments Now 1 have to he ready to 
face Ramesh, T have to brush up my 
reasons , for Ramesh will not lot me 
off easily What do I say? What were 
the lines 1 had prepared? 

/ heard a ron e . 

No, I can't say that, it sounds 
utterly phoney. Even Joan of Arc 
didn't get away with that one. 

It's a kind of illness, a virus, per- 
hapt , which makes me nu apubtc of func- 
tioning as a full human bring, as a hus- 





What then? What do I say? 

I stopped believing in the life 1 
was leading, suddenly it seemed 
unreal to me and I knew 1 could not 
go on. 

Is this the truth? Is this why 1 left 
my home, my wife and children? 
Could 1 have said this to Sumi? 

In the event, there was nothing 
for me to say to Sumi, toi she asked 
me nothing. I am thankful 1 never 
had to suffer the mortification of 
wading through this slush of 
embarrassing half-truths. I have not 
been fair to Sumi, 1 know that now. 1 
should have spoken to her earlier, 
iven her some hint ol what was 
appening to me. But how do you 
interrupt tne commonplace wi*h 
melodrama? There is never the right 
time in daily life for these things 
The knock on the door, the peal of 
bell bringing news of disaster, they 
can only come from the outside. 

Since coming here, I have been 
dreaming of my father How do I 
know that the man I see in my 
dreams is my father? I was only 
eight when ne died and nothing of 
him has remained with me, neither 
his face, nor his voice, nor his man 
iters, nor any memory linking the 
two of us together lust a blank. Jt is 
odd, yes, when I think of it now, 1 
realise how curious it is Can one 
erase a parent, even a dead parent so 


completely? To some extent, of 
course, Sudha was responsible for 
this She put away everything that 
was our parents', even their pictures, 
immediately after their death. I 
accepted it then, but now, thinking 
of it, T can imagine that she must 
have worked in a frenzy sweeping 
the house bare of their presence 
And I know this too now, that she 
did it for me It was this, and her 
almost immediate marriage to PK., 
that helped the quick transformation 
of a house of mourning into a nor- 
mal home in which a family lived 
Man, woman and child. PK , Sudha 
and I And so 1 forgot, how quickly 1 
forgot the faces of my parents No 
memories at all. Except that, some- 
times, when Sudha laughed, it 
seemed like something 1 had heard 
once. 

And yet, 1 am certain that the 
man who visits me in my dreams is 
my father The knowledge belongs 
not to me, the: man that Tam now, 
but to the I-figure in mv dreams, that 
disembodied self who is always a 
boy. This father of my dreams smiles 
at me, we walk the streets together, 
he waits tor mo when I Jag behind, 
he holds my hand when Im tired, he 
looks at me affectionately.. 

1 know of course, what it is I'm 
doing I am recreating my father in 
my dreams as I had done m mv 



waking hours All those years ago, 
as a boy Invt?nting him Knowing 
nothing about him then, except tnat ■ 
he had married his brother's widow 
who became my mother; the possi- 
bilities had been innumerable and 
mv adolescent mind had drawn vari- 
ous selves out of the protean being 
of the father I had imagined. So 
many of them: 

A man who sinned against his 
brother by loving his wife. The 
brother dying of grief and the wife 
and the man marrying immediately 
after 

A kmd man moved by pity to 
marry his brother's widow, to make 
that brother's daughter his own. 

A Lakshman -like younger broth- 
er, keeping a promise made to his 
dying elder brother to look after his 
young widow and child 

(No, this never worked. 
Lakshman, who never looked at 
Sita's face, not once, so that the only 
bits of her jewellery he could identi- 
fy alter her abduction were her 
anklets — this devoted brother had to 
be discarded.) 

It was when 1 read Hamlet, fortu- 
nately much later, that the most ter- 
rible version of my parents' story 
entered my mind. Just that once, 
though, for 1 slammed the door on it 
immediately. In this story my father 
became a man succumbing to his 
passion for his brother's wife, the 
woman compliant, a pregnancy and 
a child to come and tnen, after the 
husband's convenient death (no, 1 
couldn't, 1 just couldn't make my 
father poison his brother) a marriage 
of convenience. 

The facts, of course, few as they 
are, spell out a different story: 
Sudha's father died of typhoid and 1 
was bom two years after my parents 
were married. 

But that was how it was for me — 
my father was never a fathei to 
me — not after I knew their story. He 
was my mother s guilty partner, ho 
was Sudha's uncle, her stepfather, he 
was my mother's husband . 

And now I dream of this kindly 
man, as if we have, through the 
years, achieved a kind of peace in 
our relationship, as if, like any son 
with a living father, we have finally, 
after a long struggle, achieved a har- 
monious relationship 

These an' peaceful dreams that 
don't trouble me — unlike the ugly 
dreams that tormented me in the last 
few months before I came here, 
exhausting dreams that seemed to go 
on all night, punctuated by the need 
to empty my bladder. So exhausting 
that once, waking up, I had been 
^ astonished to see that it was only 15 



minutes siiuv I last ivoke up; iho.^o 
15 minutes had seemed a woarv life- 
time 

All a thing ot the past Now* there 
is only this room in whic h nothing is 
mine To; .1 tew days alter I came 
here, J heard Shankar and his wife 
trying to hush the children and ser- 
vants hut the noise and the hustle in 
the courtyard do not disturb me, 
they have nothing to do with me. 

Like the rain- trees on the road out- 
side, mi ver\ mysteriously wonder- 
fully flourishing in this human jun- 
gle, winch seem U> have raised them 
selves above all the i utile activity on 
the road below, 1 am untouched by 
all thal is happening under my win- 
di » w. 

Vet sometimes, when I wake up 
i.ie morning and see the branches 
01 the rain-trees filling up my win- 
dow'. I tee! 1 am back in that hei— 
enclosed room oi the outhouse 
behind Kalvam s house 1 1 hear 
Shankar's wife call out to her chil- 
dren and il is Kalyani's voice calling 
out ‘ Sumi Premi" 

Yes, 1 was at peace then too, like I 
am now sudha. absorbed by her 
young children had treed me from 
the tug of her concern, I had moved 
away nom Shivpur, from Girija and 
a relatioi^hip that had been threat- 
ening to complicate my life. In the 
outhouse, 1 was left alone sel apart 
from the Big House by much more 
than the physical distance between 
us. It was as if the mist that some- 
times came down in the mornings, 
novel lifted, so that the figures 1 saw 
seemed always hazy The voices 
muted and muffled, coming to me 
from some great distance I watched 
them, after a while 1 became a pas- 
time, but there never wa& a sense of 
involvement There was the man 
whom I rarely saw alter my first 
meeting with him coming nut on to 
the terrace, standing there, gazing at 
nothing My landlady, whose tense, 
smaTl figure advanced towards me in 
a burst oi lordialtly, then retreated 
just as abruptly, ihe younger girl sit- 
ting on the sidesteps, silent as a 
wraith, her knees drawn up to her 
chest, squeezing hcrsell into the 
smallest space possible And the 
older girl 


4 ' » 7 »- 

I t is not Sumi, however, but Kalva ni 
who is the tiist lo iomo to Gopal 
‘There's a lady come to sec you, 
sir." the press boys tell him and he 
thinks it is Sumi But it isn't, it's 
Kalyani. Tor an instant, pc; h ns 
because he has so rarely seen her 
outside hei own home. Iv 1 does not 



recognise her She looks a diifercnl 
person in these alien surroundings 
Was she always so tiny, so frail-look- 
ing? Cham is with her. Cham who 
makes it absolutely clear that she is 
here only as hei grnd mother's 
escort Scarcely looking at her father, 
she helps Kalyani up the stairs and 
saying, 'Til be waiting downstairs 
tor you Aruma," prepares to leave. 

* Pon t go, Cnaru, stav here " 

‘ Let her go, Gopala Go, child, I 
won't take much time " 

Come out heie then." 

He shows her out through the 
narrow door, into the small terrace 
behind the room and then hesitates, 
it's too sunny here, there is no shade 
at all But Churu, her hack to him, 
goes and stands near the railing, 
ignoring him 

The moment he comes bark into 
the loom, Kalyani bursts into words 
What have ' r ou done to my 
daughter, Gopala, don't do this, 
don't let it happen to my daughter, 
what happened to me " 

And then she stops, abruptly, a 
hand to hti torehcad, as it rebuking 
hersell This is not what she had 
intended to say! She begins again, 
this time saying things she has come 
prepared with She calls him Gopala, 
d lagging out the last vowel, loading 
the name with alfcction and tender- 
ness. He is amazed that she speaks 
without hostility 


VVhen Sumi married you, she 
was too young, hut I was not anx- 
ious for her, you were older, you 
wen 1 sensible and you cared tor hei, 
es, you did 1 can still remember 
ow you scolded me for being angry 
with her when she refused to nurse 
Scema She can't help it. Amnia, you 
said to me, she isn't depriving the 
baby of milk on purpose How can 
you change so much, Gopala?" 

She goes on Moving from sur- 
mise to surmise 1 las anyone poi- 
soned his mind against Sumi? Has 
she done something wrong? Can't he 
forgive her? She knows — and she 
says this placatingly, so humbly that 
it hurts — -ne is a generous mart And 
Sumi too — he shouldn't think that 
her friendliness with others means 
anything 

'Amina, it's not that, I know 
Sunn.. 

But she doesn't let him speak I 
know she was careless, she says, 1 
know she didn't bother too much 
about her home, "But, Gopala," and 
now she hesitates, "how could she 
have known what being a good wife 
means when she never saw her 
mother being one? I taught her noth- 
ing, it's all my fault, Gopala, forgive 
me and don't punish her for it." 

Once again he tries lo tell her 
that he has nothing against Sumi, he 
tries to convince her tnat he never 
expected her to create for him the 




world he wanted, that he did mil 
make he? lospnn -iMe »r giving lnm 
all that he wanted in life, but 
Kalyani hurries on 

"Is it money, Gopala 7 If »1 i:., you 
know that Sumi and you will have 
everything of mine Prenu is mm- 
fortable, T am not worried about her. 
Even my |etvrllery- most of it is foi 
Sinn i . 

This time he does nol have to 
speak She looks at his face and 
stops. And begins to cry 1 le watches 
her distress helplessly 

'Look at me. Gopala/’ she says 
when she can speak "My father 
died vvorrving about me, my mother 
couldn't die in peace, she held on to 
life though she was suffering — she 
suffered terribly — because of me, she 
didn't want to leave me and go. 

She is crying uncontrollably now, 
she can't speak. And so ho does He 
tells her that this has nothing to do 
with the relationship between Sumi 
and him, it has nothing to do with 
Sunn, she has done nothing wrong, 
she has done him no wrong, on the 
contrary, it is he... 

Listening to him, she begins to 
understand that nothing she says 
can affect him. He can see the anger 
rising in her, anger she tries to con- 
ceal, atraid, perhaps, that she will 
alienate him by that. Once again, this 
hurts. 

"What about your daughters? 


Have you thought of them? Look at 
that girl standing out there — she did- 
n't want to come, she came for my 
sake Have you thought of what you 
have done to them?' 1 

T thought o! everything before I 
took this step Do you think Ammn 1 
haven't'*" 

There is a long silence after that 
Then kalyam stands up 

’Charu." she calls out 

Charu stands at the door, blink- 
ing trying to adjust her eves to the 
dimness after the strong light out- 
side. She gives Kalyam a quick look, 
taking in the fact that she has been 
crying, but she says nothing. 

"Let's go. Charu." 

'I'll get an auto, you wait here, 
Amiria." 

"No don't, Charu. Let's start 
walking, I m sure we'll get one on 
the road We will won't we?" 

Before leaving, she looks about 
the mom lor the first time since she 
had come in, taking it all in— the 
thin mattress rolled into a dingy 
striped carpet, the rough wooden 
plank- of the bed. the bare table, the 
string on the wall on which he has 
hung a towel and a shirt.. 

"You live here?" she asks him 

’ Yes." 

And who's llus Shankar?" 

"A student of mine." 

‘ Oh!" 

She is no longer able to sustain 
interest in anything. The purpose 
that had upheld her when she came 
has receded from hot She goes down 
the stairs like a woman much older 
than her years, putting both her feet 
on a step before going to the next 
one. Charu follows, her dupatta trail- 
ing on the floor behind her as usual. 
Copal has an urge to pick it up, to 
put it back on her shoulder, but as if 
she guessed his thoughts and wants 
to forestall him, she picks it up and 
adjusts it herself. Watching his 
daughter move away from him, he 
has a sense of loss so acute, it is like 
a physical pain Unable to follow 
them, he goes hack to the room and 
sits down, listening to their steps 
recede 

This is part ot it, 1 have to go 
through all this, 1 cannot escape. 
What had I expected, that l could 
inflict pain and feel none m return? 

I f Kalyani came is a supplicant, 

Aru is an adversary, holding her 
hostility before her like a weapon A 
sword, scrubbed to a beautiful sil- 
very sheen, sharp-edged, ready lor 
war. She is determined to behave 
like an adult, or rather, as she imag- 
ines an adult should h * — 


reasonable. She asks the polite ques- 
tions of a visiting acquaintance, 
about this room, about Shankar, his 
press and what work does he do 
there? He imagines that this is the 
way a prisoner would feel with a 
visitor — uneasy, longing for it to be 
over I le can see the effort she is 
making, he wants to tell her to stop, 
he would rather see her grief and 
anger pour out of her, but she holds 
him at bay, she won't let him do any- 
thing but reply to her questions — 
until her questions finally peter oul 
and they are left in silence 

'Papa," she begins, then stops as 
if this is not how she wants to 
address him But the word has 
opened a valve and now it gushes 
oul The confusion in her mind is 
reflected in her language — she skips 
from Kannada to English and back 
again, her sentences incomplete, 
leaving out words that she can't get 
hold of Her voice rises, trails away, 
suddenly becomes gruff and guttural 
as if something is cnoking her 

And then she can't go on any 
longer, she breaks down and begins 
to sob. But ther° is no relief in this 
outpouring, either, she fights against 
it, her body shaken by the effort to 
control herself. He gets her a glass of 
water, tries to make her drink it, but 
like a petulant child she pushes his 
hand away. The watei slops over, 
spills, drenching her skirt, his 
trousers, yet he continues to hold the 
glass before her until she hiccups 
herself into silence, wipes her eyes 
and drinks the water 

But it is not over She begins 
again. And this time like a surgeon 
who has opened up a patient, she 
begins to probe, knowing it is there, 
the tumour, know ing it has to be 
found and removed from tin* patient 
to survive. 

Is it because ot something Sumi 
d;d, something she said? Is it 
because of us, because of me? Is it 
because 1 was rude to you, because l 
always argued with you 7 Is it 
because of what I said to you when 
you decided In resign? Is it money? 

He can see that ms silen* e. he- 
| negatives drive her to desperation 
and she goes on to pietnor'es 1 V 

you remembei. Papa * ' Tin * time the 
appellation ami- ^ cj i ily she is 
unconscious of it. 

"What can I s;q to you. Am?" 

"Say it, whatever i! is, tell me, I 
am not a child " 

But it's no use, he cannot give 
her what she wants, what she has 
come here for When she gets up to 
go, they have both of them the si me 
sense of failure, they am equally 



Sketches 


SIGNIFICANT OTHER 


A better look ell the belter halves 

This Week: Sangecta (Bijlani) Azharuddin 


F irst brush with fame: Was as 
Miss India Sangeeta, then a 
lissom teenager, was crowned 
the most beautiful woman m 
the country, and seemed sot for a 
lifetime in the headlines 
Bijli, as she is called by friends, did 
achieve that, but not quite m the wav 
that she had imagined 

Her innings in show business: Began 
well. She started off with several 
prestigious ad campaigns, pushing 
such products as Vicco Turmeric 
cream, Ninna washing powder and 
Lakhani footwear In tne latter, she 
teamed up with hoi then boyfriend, 
Salman Knan, who was yet to make it 
big in the movies 

Popularly known as Ponvtail 
Khan— atter his rather unusual (m 
those days, at least) hairstyle — 
Salman was the first-born of 
scriptwriter Salim Khan, and had just 
ditened his first girlfriend aftci tailing 
prey lo Bijli's charms 

Did they make a great pair?: Well, il 


you could overlook the tact that 
Sangeela towered above the 
vertically-challenged Salman — who 
was soon to earn the sobriquet of sex 
thimble — then, yes, lhe\ did look 
good together But poor Sangeeta had 
to spend all her time at hei ad shoots 
trying her best to look shorter than 
Khan; to little effect 

Did Salman mind?. Not in the least 
He was deJinoush in love with his 
Bijli, and all was well with his world 
The couple intended to settle down to 
blissful matrimony, as soon as Khan's 
carvel took oft, and after San gee t a had 
had her stinl in the movies 

And how did that go?: Sangeeta's 
stint in the movies 7 You could sum it 
up in one word. Disastrous 
Bijlani made her debut in Rajiv Rai's 
Tr/i/fV, as one of the three leading 
ladies, and came up with a 
peitormance that has yet to be 
surpassed in its woodeimess She 
could have been lorgiven even that, il 
she hadn't committed the worst sin 


yet in a him actress' book- she looked 
awful 

And for an ex-model, who was 
depending on her cheekbones and 
perfect complexion to get ahead, this 
was the kiss of death 

So, did she make an ignominious 
retreat from the movies?: Not quite. 
She was handed a face-saver by 
Salman, who decided that they 
should marry soon— he'd already had 
a big hit in Maine Pythv ki i/fl. So, 

Bijlani announced trial she was 
quitting films to settle down w'lth 
Khan, and that she wouldn't sign any 
more projects 

The general reaction: Was that of 
relief F.ven those producers who had 
retained some amount of belief in 
Sangeeta's artistic ability, wore 
thoroughly fed up with having to deal 
with her boyfriend's histrionics. 

Khan, apparently, was insanely 
possessive of 1 us Bijli, and exercised a 
firm control on how much — or how 
little — she could expose on camera 


Sangeeta Bijlani and Mohammad Azharuddin: Has she finally found the man she could call her own? 





FEET 


hair. Apply it to the ends of your 
hair, ana keep on for a couple of 
minutes before rinsing thoroughly. 
Always finish off with a cold rinse, 
as this locks the shine on your hair. 

If you have dry hair, then you 
can afford to use conditioner all over 
your scalp, rather than just on the 
ends, ana keep it on slightly longer 

Never ever use a shampoo-cum- 
ronditioner. These products never 
really work, because while a sham 
poo cleans hair, a conditioner is sup- 
posed to coat it with a protective 
film. And no one product can per- 
form both functions. 

If dandruff is a persistent prob- 
lem, then you could experiment with 
some ot tHe speciality anti-dandruff 
shampoos on the market today. But 
if you're into nalure cure, then there 
are some home recipes you could try 

Yoghurt often performs miracles 
with dandruff-stricken hair Apply it 
to the roots of vour hair and leave it 
on tor an hour or so before sham- 


first on your hands; and it shows 
even sooner if you don't take good 
care of them when you're young. 

Most beauticians recommend 
regular manicures — once a month is 
generally enough, though twice is 
ideal — to keep hands in prime condi- 
tion. But if you're the kind who hates 
having his/her cuticles pushed back, 
then you can try some home reme- 
dies instead. 

Rule number one is: Always keep 
your hands moisturised So, even if 
you wash your hands after lunch or 
dinner, remember to dab some cold 
cream or body lotion on them. If you 
work, then keep a bottle handy at 
your desk or in your handbag, so 
that you can keep moisturising your 
hands every hour or so. 

These days, there are plenty of 
specially- formulated creams in the 
market that are meant only for your 
hands — rather than your entire body. 
These are often enriched with 



Most of us cheat on our feet dur- 
ing the winters. After all, they're all 
wrapped up in socks, tights or boots, 
and nobody can see them. And what 
you don't see can't hurt you, right? 

Wrong. Chapped teet are not just 
an eyesore, they can be awfully 
painful as well. So, if you know 
what's good for you, lake time off to 
clean, exfoliate — a pumice stone is 
perfect for this purpose — and mois- 
turise your feet. This is best done at 
night, so that you can cream them 
extravagantly before slipping on a 
pair of socks and going to bed That 
way, the cream won't end up on 
your slippers rather than your feet. 

For your feet, a rich moistu riser 
j is recommended, because the epider- 
mis is thick in this area — specially 
around the soles — and a water-based 
cream may not be of much good. 


SKIN 

Your hands and feet may be 
problem areas, but other parts of 
your skin require specialised care as 
well — your face, for instance In 
winter, it becomes essential to clean 
it thoroughly with a wash gel or 
wash cream (soap has a drying effect 
and should be avoided) before exfo- 
liating it with a scrub. This will get 
rid of the dead, dry layer of the epi- 
dermis, and expose the fresh, smooth 
skin underneath. 

But after exfoliating your skin, 
make sure you moisturise it; with a 
water-based cream or lotion if you 
have an oily skin, and an oil-based 
one if you don't. If you shop abroad, 
you could try one of the new -skin 
revtalmg lotions on offer, which con- 
tain fruit acids, and have a gentle, 
peeling effect. 

You should use moisturiser at 
| least twice a day, once in the morn- 
j mg and once before going to bed. 

| But if you travel by air a Tot, use it as 
j often as you can, as the dry cabin air 
| can wreak havoc on your complex- 
| ion. 

Elbows are the other areas that 
need to be pampered during winter 
Regular exfoliation and extravagant 
application of cream is mandatory if 
| you want to wear sleeveless blouses 
I in the summer Avoid this routine, 
and you'll be cowering behind baggy 
full sleeves, even as tne mercury 
shoots up, because you can't hear the 
thought of anybody catching sight of 
your grungy elbows. ■ 


19 




Klran 

Nostalgia 

GOING, GOING GONE... 

Trina Mukherjee visits the auction houses of Calcutta 


A nyone with an inc lination 
tor things past would be* 
familiar with the few auc- 
tion houses of Calcutta 
Concentrated mainly down Russel 
Street, Park Street and Free School 
Street, these old curiosity shops conti- 
nue to thrive, prosper and lure custo- 
mers with the temptation of owning a 
piece from bygone days 

Today, however, these' auction 
houses survive not just by selling 
nostalgia to the bidder, they also have 
to keep pace with changing times and 
offer anything of value to tneir deman- 
ding customers So antiques are rarely 


to be found here 

Some interesting curios, maybe, but 
what really catches the eye is huge 
mounds of modern-day junk, second- 
hand gizmos and gewgaws, and utili- 
ty items at an affordable price. A quick 
recapitulation of some of the existing 
auction marts in the city revealed the 
ravages of time that ensured the sum 
val of only the fittest 

The oldest auction house w as 
Mackenzie Eyall which was establish- 
ed in the early 19th century and is now 
defunct. A few old names now include 
Staynor & Co, Russel Exchange, 
Modern Exchange, Chowringhee 
Sales Bureau (they have shifted from 
Tark Street to Dharaintalla ), Dalhou- 
sie Exchange and Suman Exchange. 
Victor Brothers still proclaims to be 
auctioneers but mainly sells furnitu- 
re. "The present wave." says A K Roy 

20 


of Staynor & Co, which is at present, 
the oldest auction house in the city "is 
for household items of all types-- 
mainly furniture '* 

So, a typical Sunday morning scene 
at one of these houses will not find 
many collectors browsing in dusty cor- 
| ners tor rare manuscripts or ancient 
artefacts One will discover, to his or 
her amusement, the frantic bidding 
foi a set of crystal glasses, or a pair of 
sturdy side stools or even a compact 
divan with built-m this or that (to be 
able to fit into the narrow, small rooms 
of modern tenements). 

At one such auction for instance, a 


set of scratched and much-used oven- 
proof bowls was proudly carried 
away by the winning bidder ignoring 
the scowls of the vanquished lot 
There is also a great dema nd for furni- 
tuie produced by private dealers who 
often fashion them out as period pie- 
ces" We no longer cater for the d iscern- 
mg elite— our customers come mainly 
from the upper to middle-class stra- 
tum," Arun Dey of Modern 
Exchange 

The gloi ious age of auctioneering is 
indeed a page from the past. The gold 
rush for antiques, family heirlooms 
and other vbjets d'art began immedia- 
tely before and after Independence. 
After World War 11 Europe 
was trying to protect its valuables 
I tom the all-devouring Nazis and 
quite a sizeable amount of the finest 
European art found its way to India. 


As far as Calcutta was concerned, 
when the Cora Sahibs left indepen- 
dent India in a hurry, they sold s»omc 
of their valuables at throwaway pri- 
ces, and quite a few of those found 
their way to the auction houses 

Though a far cry from their glamor- 
ous Angrezi cousins, Sotheby's and 
Christie's, these auction houses had a 
quaint charm of their own. And busi- 
ness peaked in the Seventies before 
petering off in the Nineties 

These auction houses may project 
an old, familial sameness to unsuspec- 
ting passersby but their contenis have 
changed over the passage of time and 
the buyers even more so A discern, ng 
visitor would be stunned to see so 
much of cheap porcelain on offer 
□long with p/iorenstutt— -say for 
instance, a ludicrously fat Marilyn 
Monroe statuette leaning against a bot 
tic of perfume, next to a bright floral 
teasel, above a shelf displaying Ray- 
Ban glasses (genuine? maybe, maybe 
not). )ust below, lay some semi- 
precious jewel leryalong with a blow 
drier or a set of curlers, beside a pair of 
Navtal locks Everything of any value 
has its place in an auction. 

Nowadays, a prospective buyer 
would rather opt for a second-hand 
air-con dill oner or a refrigerator com- 
ing from foreign consulates and corpo- 
rate houses than hunt around for Que- 
en Anne chairs or Dresden china "In 
any case, such pieces are rare and far 
between — if they come here at all. 

And they come for a high price/ says 
Roy of Staynor. 

So, next time, you are sauntering 
down these streets and feel like pick- 
ing up a few bric-a-bracs that catch 
your fancy, do so, by all means. You 
might carry home a cute little figure in 
wood, china or metal, some wholeso- 
me (meaning intact and a complete 
whole) pieces in glass, unusual trin- 
kets, an odd piece of furniture or two, 
or even a couple of good old records. 

But if you tnink you have managed 
to buy a relic from the past, chances 
are, you have been duped, not by the 
auction house staff, but by your fancy 
for the glorious past. ■ 




NNEREYE 


Aries 

March 21 - April 20 
r^l Ganesha claims keep 
Mural y° ur channels of 
pPjKSw travel, amimunica- 
L,JKj tion, contacts alive 
and buzzing, oj tacc acute 
problems of rmsundci stand' 
mgs and losses For quite a 
tew a change in job, business 
and profession Health will 
not be of the best the next 21 
days 'Ibis is very clearly a 
period ol transition 

Taurus 

April 21 — May 20 


K "1 Mercury and Mars 
j turn favourable gn 
j ing vou swivtuess 
( and strength In 
piiHlKtil teims it means work 
will be clone, lelatives and 
fnends come o\oi to visit vou 
oi vou go .uid see them A 
tup a tie gives “leaf sahstat. 

I if m I In- - , ivei k Muds you 
stri\ in;.; might and mam So 
tin (her vour career 

Gemini 

May 21 — June 20 
[ VB I he full moon 

i on rages \ ou to 

EfiSPS mav he able to niik 
winners loo ( >h\ lou sly, J nal 
wuild mean more monev in 
the kitty Mnn\ ol vou will be 
beautifying house, office, shop 
or making imyioi l.mt changes 
or he m file process ol buying 
.ellmg. unting, leasing and so 


Cancer 

June 21 — July 20 

"niiri l "^c name of the 

j game is finance and 
JjBf t n»mance and the two 
J can and should go 
together Mars, well placed in 
soiarscopc acl^ as an added 
incentive to name and lame 
Publishing, conferences, meet- 
ings, contacts, journey and 
\ iclory over enemies are high- 
lighted this week Many of 
vou am 11 be rewarded 


July 21 — August 21 
ry - ■~ n Mescurv Jupiter fine 
Mw3|m juxtaposition 
IK favours partnerships 
(tSSflh .j and links Also, 
court cases with an out -of 
court settlement foretold 
Many l.eons will be lindmg 
themselves after a long time 
and by Decentbei this pioress 
should be .’omplele I nose in 
films, broadcasting and trail 
mg do a gieal |ob 

Virgo 

AugusT2? - - September 22 
| J 1 he sun in your 

; IS P r j thud angle at cord- 
'} nig to Western 
IflEJ astiologv, conjoins 
Mescurv helping vou to take 
crucial decisions, come to an 
understanding, start a new 
venture, do a wav with gloom 
and despair, take time bv the 
forelock and move ahead 
November 26-27 is tor con- 
tacts and communication. 


Libra 

September 23 — October 22 
Venus in vour sec 
AY A j ond angle ai cording 
■tt W 1 ll * V'Vstern astrology 
.■ result'- in expenses, 
affairs of the lieart <>r at least 
spending for mm 1 oris, luxu- 
ries and pleasures Children, 
sports, hobbies and creative 
pursuits will have an extra 
edge Gancsha sa\ s you mav 
have to tend to the sick and 
needy 

Scorpio 

October23 -- Novomber 2? 
F”TfejgKl Right tiom house 
!^DRj and property to 
| jPnlBEz 1 ti lends and family to 
l 1 the tough world out- 

side. you will he coveimg a 
wide range of activities now 
thanks to the Men ur\-|upilei 
solarscopic placing u»u 
should deserve uedit tor voui 
courage and etlotts also It 
will he to voui advantage to 
finish pending work 

Sagittarius 

November 23 — December 20 
November 26 27 
UpSj should be pretty 
jSbjL busy dates tor 
■kJI Sagittnnans and 
therefore, you should be on 
vour toes now Meets, confer- 
ences and gatherings hnd vou 
in the centre of activities This 
will certainly be a most newsy 
week and that is tor sun , so 
gear up for contacts and com- 
munication 


BEJAN DA RU WALL A 

j Capricorn 

| December 21 — January 19 

I [ /*** A 1 ! I he chances are you 
| * a In will lie making 
I t flLl j money Contracts 
• LAJSfcJ i an be bagged 

Negotiations can lead to posi- 
tive settlements and thus there 
will bi relief horn tensions 
( and anxieties. Many 
j Caprtcoinians will i eel secure 
! and thus be ready to take a 
I chain e which should prove 
j very worthwhile 

! Aquarius 

j January 20 — February 18 

; r -ffS P, 1 he lull nicion, 

! J UBM au ord mg to Western 
« ' ,lstl ulogv, gives you 
| LM ! just the boost you 
: lequue I he concentration will 
! be fin career, job, profession, 
j loans and possibly moving 
i house office, unless vou nave 
! done so already this year !l 
| signing a contract, better lon- 
| suit a lawyer Do expect visi- 
( tors 

! Pisces 

February 19 — March 20 

: A VMS Expenses and a feel- 
iflUBV ,n K ° r unease and 
'.jff J l >cr ph*\ity are dis- 
Sm?3S.! tinctly possible now 
Hut that should not deter you 
from your July or work, 

] though rest and relaxation will 
j help One thing is certain The 
worst should be over by the 
end oi this month. By 
November 26, normally 
should pievail. 


BL-iCTH 

November 24 : SunPtuto conjunction says Ganfeah* makes - 
you magnrtlcand a. natural leader. Money shpjtfdjgoSB 1 , in.By . 
next wtU tuTirefrospe^ty. ■ . ‘ 

fuH tnooniriyout : . . s 

<> * . 
^v'Marttake fot the fancy free. . _X‘ : vw'’ <■ 

Nq fdmdm rMf Moon squ^e Wr» ' 

hperstipra, staSwaxniwtoderetandln^ wlih • • • : 

.. ,■ ■ : ■ 
No vmkeb yf: Mookirine Venus squaw; totfafr .. 

«1 opportunities arid teso<^!lslflg. But f 


work.Your BaaltK too will trouble you «o late caiu. Stay etear; 
hem familj' hassles. 

'Nct pftj mtUr r 3ft.. Moon ocrtHe Mara, opposftion Jupher ; ■ 

by-^nd lajpe, bg «ood jnoney (anting your way. ■ ' f ’■ 

‘Ibwe is 5^0 iJwofvf^J'rrtu toriiAiTy'. •' .. .v' 1 

MojHmtlw Xfk Moon .opposttkjh Neptune tneana you iihoulcl { 
be,practl<ad>na guard against deceit. TrWel.JSpti^tttle. 
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Focus 

PET PROJECT 


Maneka Gandhi's love affair with the animal world continues, says 
Samita Bhatia, reporting on her new book, First Aid for Animals 


I t’s to believe that a street 

mutt could be so soft to touoh. 

(>r that its coat would slither so 
glossily over its under-nourished 
trame But then, not every mongrel 
has the celebrated animal rights 
activist, Maneka Gandhi, looking 
after him. 

Pedigree doesn't interest our 
Green Queen It's the nondescript 
pooch off the street, that everybody 
ignores or kicks around, that she 
takes under her wings — to nurture, 
pamper and hopefully put up tor 
adoption by animal lovers like her 
Visitors to her house in Delhi's 
up-market Maharam Bagh, be pn 1 - 
pared. The moment Maneka settles 
down m her chair, a motley canine 
crew will surround her. And the lady 
v\ ill tind the time to give due atten- 
tion to each and every one 

Even as she speaks to you. her 
hands wander under f e pelt of the 
dog neaiest her, hunting for errant 
tlcas that he may have picked up. 
Onto she finds one such specimen, 
she flings it on the maihle floor and 
quashes it undeifoot — clearly, ani- 
mal love doesn't extend to insects 
Gandhi has a new project on her 
hands these days: a first of its kind 
guide to first Aid for Animals Co- 
authored with Cautnm Grover 
(Sterling Paperbacks, Rs 60) r tins 
book will tell you all you need to 
know about caring for an injured or 
ill pet- - or even stray animal for that 
matter 

Says Maneka, ‘ There was no 
such first aid book in India We vc 
Come across hundreds of people in 
this country who want to nelp ani- 
mals but find themselves helpless to 
do so. As a result when they are not 
able to help the animals they stop 
noticing the pain of the animal So it 
actually acts as a block that protects 
their own conscience. So we thought 
of doing this book " 

While writing the book Gandhi 
drew on the brigade of youngsters 
dedicated to the organisation, Pcxiple 
for Animals — perhaps India's largest 
NGO ( non-go vemmental organisa- 


tion) with a membership that has 
already crossed 1,50,000 — beginning 
with Grover who had to co-ordinate 
with various veterinary surgeons for 
the diverse information that the 
book offers. It took all of eight 
months to gather all the information, 
to collate it and cross-check facts. 

G andhi explains, "We took on the 
task of publishing a book which 
affords such in-depth information 
because most vets throughout the 
I country don't know anything." 

I Veterinary institutes and colleges she 
| has found, in fact, restrict themselves 
| to animal husbandry and what is far \ 

! Maneka Gandhi surrounded by her can 


ical ethics. 

"Besides, they do such a huge 
amount of unnecessary dissection 
that by the time the student gradu- 
ates from the institute, he or she has 
lost any feeling of compassion for 
the animals, from whom they are 
going to be earning their livelihood," 
she adds. 

This may come as a surprise to 
most people, but around % per cent 
of the graduating vets prefer work- 
ing for slaughterhouses while nine 
per cent wind their way to poultry 
farms 01 piggeries — slaughter hous- 
es of a different kind. 

Says Maneka, "Just a paltry' one 
per cent actually end up working for 

ne crew: I chose animals deliberately’ 



animal welfare. In fact, 1 find that 
compounders are far more learned 
and sensitive to the animal than the 
supposed vet." 

It has been her experience — and 
countless pet owners will corrobo- 
rate this— -that vets by and large 
know nothing about diagnosing dis- 
eases in animals. The result: thou- 
sands of animals die unnecessarily 
just because the vet is unable to 
make an accurate diagnosis. Says 
Gandhi, "They have been known to 
operate unnecessarily or just pump 
the animal with B-Complex doses for 
any odd ailment " 

Healthy young dogs have been 
known to end up with cataract due 
to an overdose of steroids or to die at 
their master's feet after anti-rabies 
shots have been injected into a vein! 
Horrific cases have come to light 
where the vets have operated on the 
animal and failed to stitch it up, so 
its intestines have fallen out 

Gandhi insists that errant vets 
must be brought to book She 
explains, ‘The offenders get away 
scot tree because nobody lias 
thought about taking them to court." 
On the contrary, she has iound that 
colleges, syllabuses and even vets 



abroad have reformed because peo- 
ple are litigious by nature and don't 
spare them for their careless mis- 
takes. 

In this scenario, Gandhi saw the 
necessity of publishing First Aid for 
Animals, a book which, she says, 
should have been brought out by the 
veterinary colleges of Hissar or 
Izzatnagar. Says Gandhi, "Tt's unfor- 
tunate mat these institutions have 
not contributed in any way to veteri- 
nary science." 

Maneka hopes that this book will 
serve a dual purpose: as a hands-on 
guide on animal care, and a textbook 
to train vets throughout the country 
She explains, "If you take your pet 
to a vet then you must know the 
medicines that he will be prescribing 
for the animal. So it's for you to keep 
a double check." 

Training vets in smaller towns 
like Jhunjhunu and Bikaner and 
other remote areas of the country is 
Gandhi's larger gameplan. She hopes 
that, "this book will bring some dig- 
nity into the profession " 

The book is already doing great 
business. The first day that it hit the 
stores, an animal lover from 
Bangalore picked up 250 copies with 
the intention of redistributing them 
in the city. Besides, Maneka Gandhi's 
office has sent letters to the over-200 
units of People for Animals, asking 
them to sell a minimum of 10 copies 
each 


for Animals is an institu- 
started two and a halt years 
ago with Maneka Gandhi as its 
chairperson. The NGO performs two 
basic functions, explains Maneka, 
"One is animal welfare and the 
other to create awareness about ani- 
mal rights. You can’t have animal 
rights unless you have animal wel- 
fare." 

On the NGO's agenda is saving 
animals, running shelters, ambu- 
lances, taking individuals and organ- 
isations to court, collecting money 
that is then donated to other animal 
care institutions that need it. T hus, 
there are a lot of shelters which are 
not directly run by People for 
Animals but are funded by it. 


The NGO goes about its task sys- 
tematically. by establishing animal 
shelters and hospital; and when it 
encounters Jack of space it provides 
ambulances which administer treat- 
ment to the local animals. The sec- 
ond major task for People for 
Animals are their adoption pro- 
grammes. Gandhi elaborates, "That's 
to try and get animal lovers to adopt 
stray dogs off the street rather than 


go for pedigree dogs which are 
forcibly bred." 

Another welcome task performed 
by People for Animals is the produc- 
tion of literature on animals of which 
there is a paucity in India. Thus, ani- 
mal lovers today have access to 
material which instructs them what 
to do when they witness cruelty 
being peipetrated on animals. 
Another is a treatise devoted to the 
‘Animal Laws of India', which is a 
collection of all the laws pertaining 
to animals. This has been sent out to 
judges and lawyers, so that they can 
refer to it 

Few people are aware that this 
country boasts of the greatest num- 
ber of laws m the world pertaining 
to animals "Every day we get hun- 
dreds of letters from people who 
want to know what tncy should do if 
they come across an animal being 
mistreated. We have to stop hiding 
behind ignorance. The laws pertain- 
ing to animals empower us. But it is 
unfortunate that nobody knows 
about these laws and thus takes no 
action," says an impassioned 
i Maneka. 

! While it’s common knowledge 
j that there exists The Prevention of 
| Cruelty Act, i%0, the Wildlife 
i Protection Act, 1972, few are aware 
j of the Indian Penal Code Sections 
j 428 and 429 devoted to cruelty per- 
| petrated on animals. So if your pet 
j was in any way hurt by the vet, the 
i latter empowers you to have him 
| sentenced for three years! 
j Armed with ihesc laws People 
j for Animals has been able to rescue 
j animals from a cruel fate With a 
| quirky smile Gandhi says, 
i Amongst the things that People for 
! Animals does is to go to court all the 
time We are very litigious and have 
never lost a case." 

So recently, camels — used on 
Bombay beaches for rides along the 
waterfront — were rescued and sent 
back "home" to Rajasthan; bull- 
fights were banned in Goa; and 1 7 
construction companies were 1 pulled 
! up in Chandigarh for overloading 
bullocks at sites. 

T he latest feather in the NGO's cap 
has been havidg a ban imple- 
j mented on testing cosmetics on ani- 
mals in the country Explains 
Maneka, "While there are a tew cos- 
metic companies (essentially those 
I dealing in nerbal products) that 
| don't test their products on animals, 

| other leading Indian brands like 
I Lnkme and Godrej were employing 
animals to carry out tests. But as of 
last week they don't " 


27 



With Ritu Beri at the fund-raiser meant to sensitise people towards animals 


Gandhi's triumphant smile is 
understandable when you consider 
that this victory will save four crorc 
animals in a year from a tortuous 
death 

Gandhi also •heads ihe govern- 
ment committee that is involved in 
testing and running experiments on 
animals ' We are on the verge of 
stopping dissection altogether . " says 
Maneka, whose People tor Animals 
units throughout the country have 
been campaigning against dissection 
for over a vear now 

Since raising funds is an impor- 
tant task for the NCO f recently 
People for Animals tied up with 
designer Ritu Ben to produce a 
range of designer items that were 
meant to sensitise people towards 
animals The* fend raiser was instru- 
mental m establishing additional 
animal care centres m the country. 

There were 1 - shirts, mugs, 
notepads, caps, postcards, pens, key 
chains, stuffed toys and even geome- 
try boxes that sent out a singular 
message, animals are people too. 

And the motto was: caring means 
sharing 

The entire collection — a sell-out 
in all the cities that it travelled to — 
was replete with figures of animals 
for whom extinction looms large 
while it was crafted in materials that 
did not require the killing of ani- 
mals. 

28 


For Lhe future, Maneka says, 
"We’ll be doing different things all 
the time Another fund-raiser is com- 
ing up in the near future which is 
going to be a raffle to be sponsored 
py Sita World Travels." The raffle 
will be drawn by actress Sridevi 
who'll probably add a liberal dose of 
glamour to the proceedings 

Celebrities obviously pitch in 
quite readily for the good cause. 
When the Chandigarh unit of People 
for Animals was raising funds for an 
ambulance, Madhuri Dixit was there 
to lend a hand "proving the fact that* 
the animal movement is very impor- 
tant m this country," says Gandhi 

M aneka's animal love has come 
in for a fair sham of criticism as 
well Her detractors have often ques- 
tioned this overriding concern for 
animals in a country where the poor 
and underprivileged often lead bes- 
tial lives. 

Gandhi is not fazed by such talk, 
though ' 'Those who need to do 
things for human beings should do 
so," she says "Besides, in my 
involvement with an animars move- 
ment, I work closely with people as 
well." 

And it's not that Maneka is not 
concerned with human welfare. 
Kugmark, of which she is president, 
has battled to save children from 
being drawn into the carpet- weaving 


industry of India, where they are 
preferred as workers over adults 
because of their nimble fingers. 

Says Maneka firmly, "I find that 
people who feel and work for ani- 
mals do the same for everybody. 
People who criticise movements like 
People for Animals actually end up 
doing nothing for anybody — the 
cocktail party sorts." 

Maneka clearly has little patience 
for these types. As she says, 4 'The 
bottom-line is that everybody should 
help each other. In India, govern- 
ments don't work and have tradi- 
tionally never worked. Therefore, 
India runs because people help one 
another and it will continue to run, 
however haphazardly, as long as we 
have a sense of social justice and 
anger " 

Thus in her own constituency 
Pilibhit, the first thing Gandhi did 
was to establish an animal shelter™ 
and nobody objected. She explains, 
"1 chose animals deliberately. 
Nobody else would have the 
courage to do it. Somehow the point 
had to be driven home that people 
ARE dependent on animals and that 
animals were getting a bad deal It 
needed somebody to come forward 
and to take their side " 

Besides, she explains, her efforts 
tor animal welfare are, in fact, direct- 
ed towards people what with 70 per 
cent of our population dependent on 
animals for their livelihood The 
People for Animals teams fan out 
into the villages, teaching people 
how best they can look after their 
livestock, and also vaccinate the 
cows free of charge. For, says 
Maneka. 'if these animals die or are 
badly treated, then their owners run 
the danger of losing their livelihood. 
So we are not just a cat and dog 
movement." 

While the People for Animals 
membership grows at the rate of five 
to 10 members a day the only real 
problem is the lack of formal train- 
ing for members. But a solution may 
be at hand, with Gandhi actively 
working towards the establishment 
of an Animal Welfare Institute at the 
end of next year that will provide 
training to members and anyone 
who is interested in animal care. 

At the end of the day, says 
Gandhi, "We want to train judges, 
agricultural extension workers, get 
involved with the pesticide move- 
ment, link up the environment, ani- 
mals and the vegetarian movement." 

Good idea that. As Maneka 
would say — echoing her now- 
famous ad propagating vegetarian- 
ism on television — 'acchha haf. ■ 




SNOAV80 





IRST PERSON 

JAYABRATO CHATTERJEE, film-maker and corporate communicator, has recently had a runaway 
success in his first novel, Last Train to Innocence. The book opened to excellent reviews in India and 
abroad. And now news has come that Me is the only Indian author to be nominated for the 1997 
. Hawthorndcn Castle Fellowship, Scotland. Jayabrato is looking forward to working there with four 
other international authors. 

W hat is your idea of perfect 4 

happiness? | 

Spending an entire Sunday with 1 
oil in my hair and a song on my < 
lips. 

What is ym&grcatest fear? 

Lifting my designer kurtas. 

W.ho or what has been the greatest 
influence in your life? 

The permanence of some 
relationships. 


What do you dislike 
most in others? 



Big talk and bad breath 


What do you dislike most in 
others? 

Big talk and bad breath. 

What do you dislike most in 
yourself? 

My outspokenness 
What is your most precious 
possession? 

My sense of humour 
What objects do you always cany? 

A bottle of Obsession for Men, 
Alka Seltzer, dental floss and lots 
of laughter. 

What makes you most depressed? 

Inequality of any kind 
What do you dislike most on your 
appearance? 

Never thought about it. 

What is your favourite word? 

Fun and fiddlesticks. 

What is your favourite journey? 

Catching the Last Train to 
Innocence. 

What is your favourite dream? 

Sipping a robust Chateauneuf- 
du-Pape over a lazy monsoon 
evening with my beloved. 

What is your nightmare? 

Waking up on Monday 
mornings. 

What or who is the greatest love 
of your life? 

My family and friends. 

What is your source of 
sustenance? 

My nervous energy. 




How do you relax? 

By making others 
tense! 


On what 
occasions do you 
lie? 

When I am totally exhausted. 
What is your greatest regret? 

That i was never bom as Peter 
Pan. 

What has been your happiest 
moment? 

When I met my daughter, just 
bom, curiously staring at me from 
the nurse's lap at the Woodlands 
corridors. 

What brings tears to your eyes? 


Sad songs by Nat 
King Cole and 

torrid sunsets. 

How do you relax? 

By making others tense! 

What do you envy most in others? 

Nothing at all. 

How would you like to be 
rem embered? 

As one who loved not wisely 
but too well. 

How would you like to die? 

In a designer ensemble and 
with my daws perfectly 
manicured! 


30 



THEY SAY FAT PEOPLE MAKE THE 
BEST LOVERS. 



DON’T YOU WISH IT WAS TRUE? 


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i ncrsuL 


1QQC 




O 




I nrtjMNf' mki 

r 4fewtety 

mistakefo Call feara 
superwoman considering 
the way she has managed 
the cricketer's life end 
business affairs. 

In the glamorous 
world of cricket, where 
permissiveness and infi- 
delity ate a rule, Komi 
and Kapil have remained 
together although I am 
sun 1 there have been 
many ups and downs jn 
their lives. 

Kapil owns a major 
part ot his success to his 
wife whose supjxirl the 
cricketer has always 
strongly relied upon 
Being a cricketer husband 
is a most taxing proposi- 
tion tor a wife as she has 
to live up to the press ui os 
of his pro less ion a I life. 

Now that Kapil has 
retired from the game, the 
duo c«u really plunge into 
parenthood. 

Shome Mukherjee 
Calcutta 

S® Komi is definitely the 
stronger partner in the 
Dev marriage. Cricketers, 


v\ 'L..^y2 

Little Ameya: The new love in Kapil-ftomi’s fife 

. in the prime of their 
j tamers, are hardly able to 
; play the dutiful husband. 

! often being away on tours 
lor months. The wife has 
to In; not only mature and 
; understanding but also 
j patient as she will have to 
i tear with grin many dis~ 

\ appointments in her mart- 
| taliife. 

I Kapil is certainly not 
one of the most articulate 
cricketers. And Rpumi has 
compensated this beauti- 
fully with her grasp of 


| both Hindi and English. 

! Rnnabir Roy, 
i Calcutta 

i m A> a celebrity wife and 
i now as a mother, Rom* 

{ has attained total fulfil- 
f ment which ir. evident in 
1 her radiant appearance. 
She had everything a 
woman could wish for in 
life: a hugely successful 
husband, pots of money, a 
string of lucrative bust- . 
ness ventures and fame. 
Th6 only filing miss- 


IKfoti^TSyea^of my 1 

sportsman tworf ^cricket 
kivmyet I havealways 
liked Kapil Dm I mm» 
he has become a 


J® l differ with your view 
that Kapil was not an 
imaginative captain. Kapil 
is a natural cricketer and a 
genius and a genius can- 
not be calculative He had 
the calibre by which he 
could turn tne impossible 
into possible. 

As a skipper he 
brought India many 
moments erf glory. It was 
under his stewardship 
that India won the 
Prudential World Cup. 

It is sad, but true, that 
Kapil Dev did not receive 
the desired support from 
many senior players in 
the team for whatever the 
reason. Had there been 
less politicking he could 
have given India many 
more victories. 

Dtbmnjan Banerjee, 

Calcutta 





n 



| PAGE 4 

| 

L UCKY Al 1, son of comedian Mehmood, 
bioomes a celebrity in his own right with hi*, 
very first album, 9 nnoh . A profile 

PAGE 26 

DELHI STARTS looking tor an alternative town 
ship in given liurgaon. 

Lucky Ali 


SECTIONS 


16 TIME TABLE: 
22 COMICS 
26 FOC I »S 
30 FIRST PERSON 


Covoi Vikas Khol 




WuuKhol 


CSvERSTORY 

LISTEN UP! 

Lucky Ali strikes gold ivilh his maiden album, Sunoh, 
proving that there 's more to him than his celebrity 
r %. father ; Mehmood. Seema Goswami rvpt.>rts 

IMF, MOST FAMOUS STORY ABOUT LUCKY ALL BEFORE HF. ACHFFV- 
ed celebrity in his own right, involved his far-more-famous 
father, Mehmood. As the highest-paid and busiest comedian of 
his time, Mehmood didn't get to spend too much time with his 



family. His kids saw him only rarely, and then for brief periods. 
So, the actor was understandably excited when he was meeting 
with his four sons after a long spell apart. 

The reunion was set at the airport, and Mehmood headed 








suddenly, his second -bom son. 

Lucky, gave a start, and pointing 
excitedly at his father began shouting, 
'* Arre dekho, Mchmood, Mehmood!" 

The four-year-old may not have 
recognised nis father in the man 
approaching them, but he knew the 
Hindi film comedian, Mchmood, all 
right. 

! .ike all stories involving the film 
world, this one too has some truth to 
it Rut, as Lucky himself volunteers, 
this wasn't exactly how it happened. 
All's version of the incident goes some- 
thing lik<t^iis. 

f fis parents* he says, were going 
through a far-from- amiable divorce, 
when ne was around three or four, 
and his youngest brother, Masoom, 
was only one. So, rather than have 
their children witness the ugliness of a 
bitter battle between their parents, 
Mehmood and his wife decided to 
send the two eldest ones off to board- 
ing school m Mussourie. 

Lucky and his elder brother were, 
thus, despatched to Hampton Court, 
where they stayed while their parents 
sorted out the details of their separa- 
tion. The boys' grandfather and unde 
would come visiting, and take them 
for the odd movie and outing. But it 
wasn't until the end of the term that 
they went back to Bombay to meet up 
with their mom and dad again 

The entire family had gathered at 
the airport to grivt the ^>ys on their 
return, and there was much excite- 
ment as they stepped off the plane But 
after that long spell apart, neither of 
the boys could iecognise the members 
of their family Until, of course, 
Lucky's eyes alighted on the vaguely 
familiar form of his tathei . He had 
seen this man somewhere before. 

Of course, he had seen him at the 
movies! That was the funny man who 
had made him laugh so much Meh- 
inood 

But no, he didn't shout out, "Meh- 
mood, Mehmood!" as legend has it 
And no, his father was not mortified 
by this reception. On the contrary, he 
was thrilled that he was the only mem- 
ber of the faipily that I ucky had 
recognised. 

T oday, of course. Lucky Ah is a reco- 
gnisable figure jn his own right. At 
38 — a little late by show-bi/ 
standards — he has had a runaway hit 
in his maiden album, Sunoh. His 
single, OSanam, has moved to the top 
of every countdown chart on every 
channel, with its video — set against 
the pyramids of Egypt — being play- 
ed incessantly on television. And All's 
6 


has been anointed the best debut of the 
year. 

But as you catch up with Lucky, per- 
ched on the window-sill of a small 
room in Hotel Sands in suburban Bom- 
bay, he seems remarkably unaffected 
by all the hoopla surrounding his rec- 
ent success. Dragging deep on his riga 
rettc — he takes care to exhale out of 
the window so that the air that his inf- 
ant sun, Ta' Awwuz, breathes is not 
polluted — he talks about his 
childhood, his family, himself , and the 
genesis of Sunoh. 

rhe songs of Sunoh , says Ali, had 
been bubbling within him since he 
was in his mid-20s. The concept of the 
traveller going through life had 
always appealed to him, and he had 
worked some tunes out on such the- 
mes. But it wasn't until he turned 36, 
that Ali began seriously considering 
recording the album. 

Around that time, he met a couple 
of Englishmen at the pool at Hotel Sun 
'N' Sand, who offered to produce the 


album for him in England. But they 
expected Lucky to put up his own 
money, and he wasn't sure he should 
go along with them. So, he flew off to 
England to consult his brother-in-law, 
Michael McCleary, a sound engineer 
at Trident Studios in London, where 
such famous groups as The Beatles 
and Queen have recorded their 
albums. Michael heard the songs, and 
insisted that he would record the 
album, and after some hard dunking, 
Ali decided to go along with this plan. 

Thus it was tnat Sunoh came into 
being at the Sound Studio in Soho, Lon- 
don, arranged and engineered by 
Michael McCleary for Smelly the Fox 
Productions. The album, produced by 
Lucky for Crossover Music, had lyrics 
by Aslam and Arif Dehlvi, while the 
music was scored by Ali himself. 

Once the album was recorded, 
began the quest to sell it to a music 
company Ali had complete faith in his 
product. As he says, "I knew that 
something that had touched my heart 



would touch the hearts of others as 
well." So, he flew down to Bombay 
and began offering Sunoh around to 
such companies as the Avnitabh Bach- 
chan Corporation Limited (ABCL) 
and Plus Music. But in the end, Ali 
plumped for a smaller company, BMG 
Crescendo (India) Private Limited, 
which he felt would be more committ- 
ed to his music and promote it more 
aggressively. 

And given the unprecedented suc- 
cess of Sunoh, that gamble seems to 
have paid off. The album is flying off 
the shelves in music shops around the 
country. And Lucky, who says that he 
had never dreamt that Sunon would 
be such a huge success, has proved to 
be true to his name. 

A s a child. Lucky — so nicknamed 
because his father's career took 
off after his birth; his real name is Maq- 
sood — had shown little musical pro- 
mise, though he did play the air guitar 
(as in strumming an instrument that 




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Mehmood plays the comedian 

V existed only in Ins imagination). A self- 
* described 'closet singer', who used to 
■? exercise his skills only amidst the halls 
of Mussourie because he liked the way 
his voice echoed back at him, Ali beca- 
me seriously interested in music at 13 
years when his stepmother, Tracey,, 
presented him witn his first guitar. 

Bui even then, he was far from 
being a child prodigy He did sing as 
part of the school chorus, but a.- a tee- 
nager he was too busy being a rebel to 
concentrate on anything else 1 As a stu- 
dent at Bishop Colton School in 
Bangalore — where the family had 
moved, taking up residence .it their 
farm — - this rebellion took the form of 
smoking marijuana, much to the hor- 
ror of his parents 

By then, Lucky's mother had maj Ti- 
ed lgain- - a man whom hei mw could 
not stand — - and he was living \\ ifh 
Mehmood and his stepmothei, 

Tracey, whom he was \ cry close to. 
"But I was a very si range kid " he says 
now, "I would Jo something wrong, 
and then I would make sure that my 
second mother (as he calls Fiacey) 
knew about it It was very important 
to me that she knew what 1 w.is doing, 
or how bad 1 was being " 

Tracey may have been tolerant of 
this kind of behaviour, but Mehmood 
wasn't <\nd every couple of mont hs 

7 




‘Now my lather says he is very proud of me* 


or so. Lucky would be Srown out of 
the family home, as punishment for 
his misdemeanours. "There 1 would 
he/' ho laughs today, "clutching my 
suitcase and walking down the drive- 
way But, by some miracle, I always 
managed on my own." Until, of cour- 
se, he reconciled with his family yet 
again — and then was thrown out 
once more 

Ah dropped out of the educational 
system after schcxil, refusing to go 
through the rigours of college. Instead 
he began helping his father on his 
farm, and doing other such odd jobs 
He even startled his own business in 
Bangalore at one point, cleaning car- 
pets, and made as much as Rs 30,000 a 
month. Other jobs included working 
on the rig of the Great Atwood Oil 
Company 

Says Lucl* y, "My father just could- 
n't understand why I couldn't settle 
down in life. He used to keep asking 
me, 'Kya /car rahe ho zindagi mein? 
He used to regard me as a bit of a bum, 
while I couldn't understand why he 
couldn't get off my case. In fact, one 
reason why 1 never thought of work- 
ing in films was that 1 didn't want to 
go around asking people for a break. I 

8 


didn't need that kind of humiliation. 
My father had humiliated me enough 
in life " 

Not surprisingly then, one of the 
things that pleases Ali most about his 
recent success is the change in 
people's attitudes towards him — spe- 
cially that of his lather. "Now he says 
that he is very proud of me," says 
Lucky, "and that is something that I 
cherish the most." 

H is Relationship with his father has 
always been a meaningful — and 
often, difficult — part of Lucky's hfe. 
He realised fairly early in hie that his 
father was special; not like the fathers 
of the other boys in school. "When I 
was about four or five and at boarding 
school in Mussourie," says Ali, "often 
I would find the nuns escorting some 
parents to my classroom. They would 
enter and tell me, 'Stand up. Lucky' I 
would do so, and all the visitors 
would stare at me. Only now do 1 reali- 
se that they were taking a good look at 
Mehmood's son." 

But this kind of attention wasn't 
always welcome. Often Lucky would 
have people ask him what his father 
did for a living. "He's a comedian," 


the little boy would reply. What's his 
name, would be the next question. In 
all innocence. Lucky would answer, 
"Mehmood " 

Recounts Ali, "The moment I said 
that, they would start laughing in my 
face. And that would really disturb 
me. 1 couldn't understand what was 
so funny about Mehmood being my 
father." 

As he grew up. Lucky understood 
better just what was so funny about 
his father's being a comedian But that 
didn't make things any easier for the 
sensitive teenager, and perhaps this 
explains his aversion to the film 
world, which lasts to this day. Ask 
him if he will sing for Hindi movies, 
and he is quick to issue a disclaimer. 

"1 am simply not interested in the 
kind of stuff that they do today," he 
says. "The other day I had someone 
call me and ask me if 1 would like to 
record his song. The lyrics went some- 
thing like, Teh tirchi kamar ... I told 
him thal 1 wasn't into doing things like 
that, and he replied, 'Saab, aajkaJ to 
yehi chaJta hai.' I had to explain to him 
that I was only interested in 'jo nahi 
chalta'" 





Alisha China!: Made h India pop diva 


A nd that is only too obvious if you 
listen to Sunoh. At a time when 
such singers as Baba Sehgal are trying 
their luck with rap music and proudly 
proclaiming Main Bhi Madonna; 
when Bally Sagoo is remixing old 
Hindi films songs with samples from 
sundry Western pop and rock hits; 
and when even such traditional 
staples as Raghupati Raghav Raja 


Ram are being given a disco beat; 
Lucky Ali remains the exception to the 
rule. 

Rather than go with the flow, Ali 
has decided to charter entirely differ- 
ent waters. So, instead of the sound 
made famous by Shweta Shetty (as in 
JohnnyJoker ) and Alisha Chinai 
(Made in India), in Lucky's debut 
album we have a re-creation of the 


music of the Sixties and Seventies, 
when Mohammad Rafi and Kishore 
Kumar were masters of all they 
surveyed. 

There is a cursory nod to the disco 
audience in the title track, Sunoh, but ' 
such other songs as PyarKa Musa fir 
and Yeh Zameen Hai, Aasmaan Hat , 
and even Yeh Mumbai Nagariya, rely 
on melody rather than beat. And Me/e- 
giMelegi Manzil is more reminiscent 
of the griazal style of singing than 
anything else. 

But what made Lucky choose O 
Sanam as the first single to be released 
on video? Did he think that this was 
the strongest song on the album? 

No, says Ali. On the contrary, he 
thought that Sunoh was a far stronger 
track, and so was Yeh Zameen . "But," 
he says, with a wry smile, "my 
countrymen are very romantic. And O 
Sanam was the most romantic number 
I had. So, 1 thought I would have bel- 
ter luck if l released that as the single." 

Despite such calculations. Lucky 
insists that commercial success leaves 
him completely cold. "I will make 
music only as Jong as I enjoy it," he 
says firmly. "The day I stop enjoying 
it, I will stop. And that could be 1 0 
years from now, or it could be 
tomorrow." 

For the moment, though, Ali plans 
to release his second album next year. 
But before that, he will be touring with 
an African group, Impala, in February 
1997, holding concerts in five cities, 
including Calcutta and Colombo. 

Has the success of Sunoh put any 
extra pressure on him? 

No way, says Ali. "In fact, I someti- 
mes wonder why 1 do this at all," he 
says. "All I really want is to keep my 
life simple I just want to be myself; the 
way I've always been." 

B ut the Lucky Ali that we see today 
is very different from the boy that 
grew up in Bombay, Mussoune and 
Bangalore. And a major part of the cre- 
dit for this — as Lucky concedes him- 
self — goes to his wife of two years, 
Masooma. 

When Ali first met her, however, 
she was named Megan. The daughter 
of missionary parents from New 
Zealand, Megan too had grown up in 
Bangalore, wnere she went to school. 
But while both she and Lucky are con- 
vinced that they met as children since 
they lived in the same cities and haunt- 
ed the same spots (the Ashoka swimm- 
ing pool, for instance), they don't real- 
ly have any recollections of these 
encounters. 

Their first official meeting occurred 

9 


two years ago in Delhi, when they 
were introduced by Lucky's brother, 
Mackie Ah was on his way to do some 
shows in Punjab, but the two of them 
hit it off, and exchanged telephone 
numbers Says Lucky now, "I was 
attracted by now she wasn't blatant. 
She had a certain old-world charm. I 
felt that she was very Indian; there 
was a sense of traditionalism about 
her." 

Alter his shows, Ali flew off the 
United States while Megan returned 
home to New Zealand But Lucky 
found thatnayvas missing her terribly 
and called her up to ask her meet up 
with him in India. Megan agreed. 

"She arrived here on a Wednes- 
day," recalls Ali, "I proposed to her on 
Thursday, and we were married on 
Friday " Megan embraced Islam 
before the nikaah and was given the 
name ot Masooma. 

Neither of their families attended, 
though Mehmood arrived in Bombay 
soon after the nikaah was solemnised. 
Says Masooma. with a laugh, "Well, 
we had a lot of explaining to do after- 
wards. But we connected to each other 
so strongly that we felt that it would 
be a tragedy if we missed each other." 

But while the Alis were quite happy 
with the match. MegAn's parents were 
appalled that she was rushing into 
marriage in this precipitous manner 



Baba Sehgal 


And they were even more unhappy 
about the fact that she had not just con- 
verted to Islam but had also embraced 
the concept of hijaab, or purdah. 

This meant that in public, Masooma 
was always seen in a salwar kameez 
and with a chador wrapped around 
her head and face, so that only her 
eyes were visible — in fact, she even 
appeared in the video of O Sanam in 
this garb. The McClcarys, who had 
brought up their daughter in liberal 
New Zealand, were very disturbed by 
this transformation. 

Says Masooma, "1 had to spend a lot 
of time with them, trying to explain 
why I had decided to embrace hijaab 
Finally, she reminded her mother of 
their first-floor tenant, a young girl 
who spent all her time in shorts, and 
often opened the door to visitors in her 
underwear. "If her state of undress 
doesn't bother you," she asked her 
mother, "why does my being covered 
bother you so much " 

Her mother saw the point. 

But why did Megan decide to 
embrace Islam and go into purdah ? 
After all, even Lucky's mother, step- 
mother and sisters didn't practise 
hijaab? So, why her? 

Masooma explains; "I was always a 
somewhat hypocritical Christian, 
even though my parents were missio- 
naries. So, I wanted no hypocrisy 


Anaida: Singing Raghupati Raghav ... 


Bally Sagoo 







All: Not sailing with the tide Mehmood occupies a special place in his son, Luckyfe heart 


when 1 accepted Islam. If I was going Now, however, she is sharing his because, as Lucky explains, "My fami- 

to become a Muslim, 1 wanted to be a success with him. The Alis always tra- ly is very important to me, but so is my 

good Muslim." vel together, and Masooma makes it a space/' 

And in this, she had the support of point to take baby Ta'Awwuz along. But no, they have no plans of mov- 

her husband, who had always been As Masooma says, "We decided that ing to India full-time. As Masooma 

strongly rooted in his Islamic faith life is too short not to do things toge- says, a little apologetically, "I love 

from his childhood. "1 have always ther. If we don' t do that, there is every India. But 1 feel that Bombay is no 

been dose to my Creator," says Lucky, danger of our drifting apart. And place to bring up a child. In New 

"I never ever gave up on my religion. since it's God that brought us toge- Zealand, at least, I can take him out to 

And that has helped me get through ther, we should try our best to stay the park or something. Here, there's 

life." together/' no chance of that." 

Hence, the decision that she should But the couple remain committed to 

A li maintains that his life changed appear in the video of O Sanam , even India, nonetheless. And as Masooma 

dramatically after he married at though only her eyes would show. bravely tries to master the intricacies 

the age of 36. Until then, he says, he This was their way of telling the world of Hindustani — which will help her 

had been something of a drifter. But that they were a team. understand the lyrics of her husDand's 

the steadying influence of Masooma Along with their infant son, of cour- songs, among otner things — Lucky 

— who is five years younger than him se, whonas just learnt to say 'Abu' and touches base with his extended f ami- 

— grounded him. 4 Amma'. His birth, at the Holy Family ly. He may not have lived in the same 

"Until the age of 36," says Lucky, "I Hospital in Bombay, was the high house as them ever since he turned 16, 

was going through this phase where I point of Lucky and Masooma's life. he says, but they are family for all that, 

didn't know where I was going. After But, says Ali, "I never ever felt respon- and very important to him. 

meeting Masooma, I finally found sible for him in the sense of having to Lucky attaches equal — if not more 

direction." provide for him. The Creator will pro- — importance to ensuring that suc- 

It is not entirely a coincidence that it vide; I don't have to worry about these cess, fame and fortune do not change 
was only after his nikaah that Ali things." him. "As human beings all of us are 

seriously got down to the business of Now, the Alis are based in New tempted," he concedes, "but money is 

recordinghis album — and he acknow- Zealand, though they spend a lot of not that important to me." 

ledges his debt to his wife on the time in England and Bombay as well. Music is; and that is what will keep 

cover, thanking her for standing by While in Bombay, they live in a hotel him going, long after Sunoh is just a 

him in his darkest hour. rather than stay in the family home distant memory . ■ 


11 







KETCHES 


POTTED HISTORY 


What the chattering classes are talking about 

This Week: The salwar kameez 


T he tailing point: Why, 

Jemima Goldsmith Knan, of 
course. The young attractive 
English wife of Imran gave 
up on haute couture (Gianni Versace 
was her personal favourite) soon 
after her conversion to Islam and 
began appearing in soft, luxurious 
salwai kameezes that flowed grace- 
fully around her thin frame, making 
the outfit the new fashion statement 
of the Western world. And the final 
seal of approval was granted by 
Diana, Princess of Wales — said to 
be in love with a Pakistani, Dr 
Hasnat Khan — who also began 
appearing m salwar kameezes, 
altnough ner's were more 


| slimline than Jemima's versions. 

Media madness: Was inevitable, of 
course. While Indian and Pakistani 
papers made much of the fact that 
the salwar kameez had finally found 
a place in the world of high fashion, 
such foreign publications as Tatter 
and Vogue ran full-length photo- 
spreads featuring the variations on 
tne salwar kameez pul out by such 
internationally- renowned designers 
as Catherina Walker, Bruce Oldheld 
and Rifat Ozbek 

Did these bear any resemblance to 
the humbler version seen on Indian 
streets?: Only a very very tenuous 


one. The Western take on the salwar 
kameez had the trouser cut very 
close to the leg, while the tunic was 
far more tailored than the Eastern 
version. And more often than not, 
the dupatta was shortened into a 
scarf, which was slung over one 
shoulder instead of being draped 
over the torso in the sub-continental 
style. 

Did the salwar kameez find life 
outside the pages of these maga- 
zines?: Not really. Western women 
continued to regard it as exotica, 
which they wouldn't mind experi- 
menting with once in a while. 

But a fashion staple? You had to be 
joking 

And why was that?. Quite simple 
really. Women who were used to 
wearing skirts, trousers or dresses, 
teemed with matching jackets, 
thought they looked completely 
over-dressed in the salwar kameez. 
So, while they would — at a pinch — 
wear it to the opera or to a fancy 
dress ball, they certainly didn't 
regard it as day wear. 

Didn't Jemima make a difference?: 
Alas, no. The newspapers may have 
made much of her as the new style 
guru after Diana, but her look didn't 
translate too well in fashion stores. 
And it didn't help very much that 
Jemima slipped into a long dress and 
fitted jacket during the hearings in 
the libel case against Imran — filed 
by Ian Botham and Allan Lamb — 
in order to present a more conven- 
tional appearance that would go 
down better with the jury. 

Life before Jemima: Went back a 
long way for the salwar kameez. It 
originated in the north western 
region of undivided India and in the 
tribal areas of Afghanistan, where 
both men and women wore the 
baggy trousers and loose tunics that 
characterise the outfit. 

In Punjab, the salwar was 
referred to as a suthhan and the 


Diana, Princess of Wales, and Jemima Khan: Popularising salwar kameezes 



12 




The modern version of the salwar: Flowing and flowery 


kameez was also called a kurta in 
the pre-Partition days. But after 
Pakistan came into being, the term 
Awami suit came to be used to 
describe the salwar kurta, when it 
was worn by a man. 

The Awami suit was generally 
teamed with a waistcoat by the men 
in this region, though the women 
stuck to tneir dupattas. 

The design element: Was conspicu- 
ous by its absence. There had never 
been a strong tailoring tradition in 
India — most outfits in this region, 
the dhoti and the sari for instance, 
depend on drapes rather than cut for 
their impact — and the concept of 
making anything to size was not a 
widely accepted one. Thus, all sal- 
wars were the same size on the 
whole, and die ttada — or string — 
was used to make them fit both lean 
and fat frames. 

The gaz tiaap was what was used 
to make the outfits — that is, a mea- 
surement of one yard (or three feel) 


| was used to make the salwar and- 
! kurta. 

\ 

Tailoring came in: Courtesy Hindi 
cinema. In the early Sixties, movie 
heroines began to appear in tight- 
tight kameezes that snowed oft 
en every voluptuous curve they pos- 
sessed to best advantage. These 
ended at just above the knee anu 
were teamed with either slim sal- 
u- wars or skin-tight churidars 

;r It wasn't long before every college- 
l going girl was wearing the outfits 
i, made famous by Sadhana, Asha 

Parekh and Mumtaz, and before you 
for knew it, the salwar kameez craze 
was on. 


Other variations: Followed soon 
after. You had printed salwars and 
dupattas matched with plain 
kameezes; plain salwars and dupattas 
set off by printed kameezes; elabo- 
rately-embroidered salwar 
kameezes; salwar kameezes with 


cut-work or mirrorwork on them; 
long flowing kurtas; short, fitted 
ones; transparent sal wars... the ver- 
sions were endless. 

The design boom: Which began in 
the late Eighties changed everything. 
It began with the boutique craze, in 
which every housewife with an 
empty garage and a good local darzi 
set herself up as a designer, and 
began holding exhibitions of her sal- 
war kameezes. But the reign of the 
bored housewife didn't last long; she 
was soon pushed out of business by 
the real professionals. 

And who were these?: Leading the 
way was the pioneer of the fashion 
revolution in India, Rohit Khosla, 
followed closely by Tarun Tahiliaru. 
The latter's contribution was, of 
course, the kalidar kurta, which he 
said would soon become to India 
what the little black dress was to the 
West. 

Angry rejoinders: Were forthcoming 
from Tahiliani's rivals, the designer 
duo of Abu Jani and Sandeep 
Khosla, who insisted that the kalidar 
kurta was their design innovation. 
And how dare Tarun lay claim to it? 

How was this issue resolved?: It 
wasn't ever — though some people 
were heard to wonder why these 
designers were laying claim to a 
style that had been around since 
Mughal times. 

Other designers: Soon jumped into 
the fray. Ronil Bal with his dogra sal- 
wars; Suneet Varma with his sea- 
shell embellished collection; Rina 
Dhaka with her vibrantly-coloured 
line; and Ritu Beri with ner elabo- 
rately embroidered creations. 

But their attempts to re-invent the 
salwar kameez didn't really make an 
impact on the mass market, thanks 
to their pricing policy — though 
some knock-offs did appear in the 
high street. 


The salwar kameez ruled, nonethe- 
less: Not in its high fashion incarna- 
tion, but in its humbler torm as pop- 
ularised by women, both young and 
old, from all the way from Kashmir 
to Kanya Kumari. 

Over the last decade, it has 
taken over from the sari as the outfit 
of choice for most Indian women; 
and in time more triumphs seem on 
the cards — even if Diana has re-dis- 
covered the joys of a short, sleeveless 
dress after a brief flirtation with the 
mystique of the East. ■ 


13 


IME TABLE 

All arrival and departure times are for Calcutta 

Pays of oparation mine 7-day code: © MONDAY © TUESDAY 9 WEDNESDAY 9 THURSDAY 9 FRIDAY • SATURDAY © SUNDAY 
(As these pages go to press one week in advance, readers should check with respective airlines and railways for last minute change in timings) 




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Delhi Janate Express 
Amrtear Express 
Ktetaodum Express 
MHhta (Raxwn Express 
Karreup (Guwahdl) Express 
Bteok Diamond Express 
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^taeaamem 

Extract 

Recollections of a Distant 

CHILDHOOD 

became next month's bedroom, and 
so on: furniture would also be 
moved around quite frequently, 
somewhat to my mother's irritation, 
for she liked having things in their 
familiar places. She had grown up in 
one aboae (her father's Dehra 
house), whereas my father had 
never been in one place for long. 
Sometimes he spoke of making a 
home in Scotland, beside Loch 
Lomond, but it was only a distant 
dream. 

The only real stability was repre- 
sented by his stamp collection and 
this he carried around in a large tin 
trunk, for it was an extensive and 
valuable collection — there was an 
album for each country he spe- 
cialised in Greece, New Foundland, 
British possessions in the Pacific; 
Borneo, Zanzibar, Sierra Leone, 
these were some of the lands whose 


An exclusive 
extract from 
Ruskin 
Bond's 
forthcoming 
autobiography 


D unns my childhood and early boy- 
hood with my father, we were never 
in one house or dwelling for very 
long. I think the Tennis Bungalow in 
Jamnagar (in the grounds of the 
Ram Vilas palace ) housed us for a 
couple of years, and that was proba- 
bly the longest period. 

In Jamnagar itself we had atleast 
three abodes — a rambling, leaking 
old colonial mansion called 
'Cambridge House'; a wing of an 
old palace, the Lai Bagh, I think it 
was called, which was also inhabit- 
ed by bats and cobras; and the afore- 
mentioned Tennis Bungalow, a con- 
verted sports pavillion which was 
really quite bright and airy. 

I think my father rather enjoyed 
changing houses, setting up home in 
completely different surroundings. 
He loved re-arranging rooms too, so 
that this month's sitting-room 



16 






stamps he favoured most.... 

1 did share some of his enthusi- 
asm for stamps, and they gave me a 
strong foundation in geography and 
political history, k'r he went to the 
trouble of telling me something 
about the places and people depict- 
ed on them — that Pitcairn Island 
was inhabited largely by mutineers 
from H.M.S Bounty; that the 
Solomon Islands were famous for 
their butterflies; that Britannia still 
ruled the waves (but only just); that 
Iraq had a handsome young boy 
king; that in Zanzibar the Sultan 
wore a fez; that zebras were exclu- 
sive to Kenya, Uganda and 
Tanganyika; that American presi- 
dents were always changing; and 
that the handsome young hero on 
Greek stamps was a Greek god with 
a sore heel. All this, and more, I 
remember from my stamp sorting 
sessions with my father. However, it 
did not form a bond between him 
and my mother. She was bored with 
the whole thing. 

B etween Tennis Bungalow and the 
palace were lawns and flower- 
beefs. One of my earliest memories is 
of picking my way through a forest 
of flowering cosmos; to a five-year- 
old thev were almost trees, the flow- 
ers nodding down at me in friendly 
invitation. 

Since then, the cosmos has been 
my favourite flower — fresh, open. 


uncomplicated — living up to its 
name, cosmos, the universe as an 
ordered whole. White, purple and 
rose, they are at their best m each 
other's company, growing almost 
anywhere, in the hills or on the 
plains, in Europe or tropical 
America. Waving gently in the soft- 
est of breezes, they are both sensu- 
ous and beyond sensuality. An early 
influence! 

There were of course rose bushes 
m the palace grounds, kept tidy and 
trim and looking very like those in 
the illustrations to my first copy of 
Alice in Wonderland, a well-thumbed 
edition from which my father often 
read to me. I think I have read 
Alice... more often than any other 
book, with the possible exception of 
The Diar\/ of a Nobody, which I turn to 
whenever 1 am feeling a little low. 
Both books help me to a better 
appreciation of the absurdities of 

There were extensive lawns in 
front of the bungalow, where 1 could 
romp around or push my small sis- 
ter around on a tricycle. She was a 
backward child, who had been 
affected by pUio with some damage 
to the brain, and she was the cross 
that had to be borne by my parents, 
together and separately. Inspite of 
her infirmities, Ellen was going to 
outlive most of us. 

Although we lived briefly in 
other houses, and even for a time in 


the neighbouring State of Pitthadia, 
Tennis Bungalow was our home for 
most of the time we were in 
Jamnagar. 

rhere were several Englishmen 
working for the Jam Saheb. The port 
authority was under Commander 
Bourne, a retired British naval offi- 
cer. And a large farm (including a 
turkey farm) was run for the State by 
a Welsh couple, the Jenkins. I 
remember the verandah of the 
Jenkins home, because the side table 
was always stacked with copies of 
the humourous weekly. Punch , 
mailed regularly to them from 
England. I was too small to read 
Punch , but 1 liked looking at the 
drawings. 

There was one cinema some- 
where in the city, and English lan- 
guage films were occasionally 
shown. Mv first tilm was very dis- 
turbing for me, because the hero was 
run ti trough with a sword. This was 
Nal Coward's operretta. Bitter Sweet, 
in which Nelson Eddy and Jennette 
MacDonald made love in duets. My 
next film was Turztm of the Apes , in 
which Johnny Weissrhullei, the 
Olympic swimmer, gave Maureen 
O'Sullivan, pretty and petite, a con- 
siderable mauling in their treetop 
home. But it was to be a few years 
before I became a movie buff. 

Looking up one of my tomes of 
Hollywood history, I note that Bitter 
Sweet was released in 1940, so that 


17 




was probably our last year in 
Jamnagar My father must have been 
over 40 when he joined the RAF, to 
do his bit for his King and country 
He may have bluffed his age (he was 
born in 1896), but perhaps you could 
enlist in your mid-forties during the 
War. He was given the rank of pilot 
officer and assigned to the cipher 
section of Air Headquarters in New 
Delhi So there was a Bond working 
in Intelligence long before the fic- 
tional James arrived on the scene 
The War wasn't going too well 
tor Britain in 1941, and it wasn't 

D too well for me either, for I 
l myself interned in a convent 
school m the hillstation of 
Mussoorie. I hated it from the begin- 
ning. The nuns were strict and 
unsympathetic; the food was awful, 
(stringy meat boiled with pump- 
kins); the boys were, for the most 
part, dull and unfriendly, the girls 
too subdued; and the latrines were 
practically inaccessible. We had to 
bathe in our underwear, presumably 
so that the nuns would not be dis- 
tracted by the sight of our underde- 
veloped sex* I had to endure this 
place for over a year, because my 
rather was being moved around 
from Calcutta to Delhi to Karachi, 
and my mother was already engaged 
in her liaison with my future step- 
father. At times 1 thought of running 
away, but where was I to run? 

Picture postcards from my father 
brought me some cheer. These post- 
cards formed part of Lawson 
Wood's, granpop' 
series — Granpop' being an ape of 
sorts who indulged in various 
human activities, such as attending 
cocktail parties and dancing to 

18 


Scottish bagpipes. "Is this how you 
feel now that the rains are here?*' My 
father had written under one illus- 
tration of 'Granpop' doing the 
Rumba in a tropical downpour 

I enjoyed getting these postcards, 
with the messages from my tather 
saying that books and toys and 
stamps were waiting for me when 1 
came home. I preserved them for 50 
years. My own letters can perish, but 
not those postcards! 

1 have no cherished memories of 
life at the convent. It wasn't a cruel 


place but it lacked character of any 
kind; it was really a conduit for boys 
and girls going on to bigger schools 
in the hillstations. You took nothing 
away and you left nothing behind 

One day in mid-term, my mother 
turned up unexpectedly and with- 
drew me from the school. I was 
overjoyed but also a little puzzled by 
the sudden departure After all, no 
one had really taken me seriously 
when I'd saia I hated the place. 

Oddly enough, we die! not stop 
in Dehradun at my grandmother's 
place. Instead, my mother took me 
straight to the railway station and 
put me on the night train to Delhi. I 
don't remember if anyone accompa- 
nied me — I must have been too 
young to travel alone — but I remem- 
ber being met at the Delhi station by 
my father in full uniform. It was 
early summer, and he was m khakis. 


but the blue RAF cap took my fancy. 
Come winter, he'd be wearing a dark 
blue uniform with a different kind of 
cap, and by then he'd be a flying 
officer and getting saluted by 
juniors. Being wartime, everyone 
was saluting madly, and I soon 
developed the habit, saluting every- 


one in sight. 

An uncle on my mother's side, 
Fred Clark, was then the station 
superintendent at Delhi railway sta- 
tion, and he took us home for break- 
fast in his bungalow not far from the 
station. From the conversation that 
took place during the meal, I gath- 
ered that my parents had separated, 
that my mother was remaining in 
Dehra Dun, and that henceforth I 
would be in my father's custody. My 
sister Ellen was to stay with 
'Calcutta Granny' — my father's 70- 
year-old mother The arrangement 
pleased me, I must admit. 


T he two years I spent with my 
father wen? probably the happiest 
of my childhood — although for 
him, they must have been a period 
of trial and tribulation Frequent 
bouts of malaria had undermined his 
constitution; the separation from my 
mother weiched heavily on him and 
it could not be reversed for she had 
already married again; and at the 
age of eight, I was self-willed and 
demanding 

He did nis best for me, dear man 
He gave me his tune, his companion- 
ship, his complete attention 

A year was to pass before 1 was 
re-admitled to a boarding school, 
and I would have been quile happy 
never to have gone to school again^ 
My year in the convent had been 
sufficient punishment for uncommit- 
ted sins. 1 felt that I had earned a 
year's holiday. 

It was a glorious year, during 
which we changed our residence a( 
least four times — from a tent on a 
flat treeless plain outside Delhi to a 
hutment near Humayun's tomb, to a 
couple of rooms on Atul Grove 
Road; to a small flat on Hailey Road, 
and finally, to an apartment m 
Sandia House facing Conaught 
Circus. 

We were not very long in the tent 
and hutment — but long enough for 
me to remember the scorch* ng winds 
of June, and the bhisti's hourly visit 
to douse the khas-khas matting with 
water. This turned a hot breeze into 
a refreshing fragrant zephyr — for 
about half an hour. And then the 
dust and the prickly heat took ovet 
again. A small table fan was the only 
luxury 

Except for Sundays, I was alone 
for most of the day; my father's 
office in Air Headquarters was 
somewhere near India Gate., He'd 
return at about six, tired but happy 
to find me in good spirits. For 
although I had no friends during 
that period, I found plenty to keep 



me occupied — books, stamps, the 
old gramaphone, hundreds of post- 
cards which he'd collected during 
his years in England, a scrapbook, 
albums of photographs... and some- 
times I'd explore the jungle behind 
the tents; but I did not go very far, 
because of the snakes that proliferat- 
ed there. 

I would have my lunch with a 
family living in a neighbouring tent, 
but at night my father and I would 
eat together. I forget who did the 
cooking. But he made the breakfast 
getting up early to whip up some 
fresh butter (he loved doing this) 
and then laying the table with corn- 
flakes or grapenuts, and eggs 
poached or fried. 

The gramophone was a great 
companion when my father was 
away. He had kept all the records he 
had collected in Jamnagar, and these 
were added to, from time* to time 
There were operatic-arias and duets 
from Iji Bohetne and Madame 
Butterfly; ballads and traditional airs 
rendered by Paul Robeson, Peter 
Dawson, Richard Crooks, Webster 
Booth, Nelson Eddy and other tenors 
and baritones, and of course, the 
great Russian bass, Chaliapin. And 
there were lighter music-hall songs 
and comic rdfief provided by Crane 
Fields (the Lancashire Lass), George 
Formby with his Ukelele, Arthur 
Askey f Big-hearted' Arthur — he was 
a tiny cnap), Flanagan and Allan, 
and a host of other recording 
artistes. But you couldn't just put on 
some music and He back and enjoy 
it That was the day of the wind-up 
gramophone, and it had to be 
wound up fairly vigorously before a 
75 rpm record could be played. I 
enjoyed this chore The needle, too, 
had to be changed after almost every 
record, if you wanted to keep it in 
decent condition. And the records 
had to be packed flat, otherwise, in 
the heat, and humidity they were 
inclined to assume weird and 
become unplayable. After a few tor- 
rid months in the tent house and 
then in a brick hutment, which was 
even hotter, my father was permitted 
to rent rooms of his own on Atul 
Grove, a tree-lined lane not far from 
Connaught Place, then the hub and 
business centre of New Delhi. 
Keeping me with him had been quite 
unofficial; his superiors were always 
wanting to know why my mother 
wasn't around to look after me. He 
was really hoping that the War 
would end soon, so that he could 
take me to England and put me in a 
good school there. He had been sell- 
ing some of his more valuable 
stamps and had put quite a bit in 


the bank. 

igl 

a bottle of scotch whisky. This was 
most unusual, because I had never 
seen him drinking — not even a beer. 
Had he suddenly decided to hit the 
bottle? 

The mystery was solved when an 
American officer dropped in to have 
dinner with us (having a guest for 
dinner was a very rare event), and 
our cook excelled himself by produc- 
ing succulent pork chops, other 
avians and vegetables, and my 
favourite chocolate pudding. Before 
we sat down to dinner, our guest 
polished off several pegs of whisky 
(my father had a drink too), and 
after dinner they sat down to go 
through some of my father's stamp 
albums. The American collector 
bought several stamps, and we went 
to bed richer by a couple of thou- 
sand rupees. 

That it was possible to make 
money out of ones hobby was some- 
thing I was to remember when writ- 
ing became my passion. 

When my father had a bad bout 
of malaria and was admitted to the 
military hospital, I was on my own 
for about 10 days. Our immediate 
neighbours, an elderly Anglo-Indian 
couple, kept an eye on me, only 
complaining that 1 went through a 
tin of guava jam in one sitting. This 
tendency to overindulge has been 
with me all my life. Those stringy 
convent meals must have had some- 
thing to do with it. 


I made one friend during the 
Atul Grove days. He was a boy 
called Joseph — from South India, I 
think — who lived next door. In the 
evenings we would meet on a strip 
of grassland across the road and 
engage in wrestling bouts which 
were watched by an admiring group 
of servants' children from a nearby 
hostelry. We also had a great deal of 
fun in the trenches that nad been 
dug along the road in case of possi- 
ble Japanese air raids (there had 
been one on Calcutta) During the 
monsoon they filled with rainwater 
much to the delight of the local chil- 
dren, who used tnem as miniature 
swimming pools. They were then 
quite impracticable as air raid shel- 
ters. 

Of course, the real war was being 
fought in Burma and the Far East, 
but Delhi was full of men in uni- 
form. When winter came, my 
father's khakis were changed fot 
dark blue RAF caps and uniforms, 
which suited him nicely He was a 
good looking man, always neatly 
dressed; on trie short side, but quite 
sturdy He was over 40 when he had 
joined up — hence the office job, the 
ciphering (or helping to create) codes 
and ciphers He w ; as quite secretive 
about it all (as indeed he was sup- 
posed to be), and as he confided in 
me on almost every subject but his 
work, he was obviously a reliable 
intelligence officer. 

He did not have many friends in 
Delhi. There was the occasional visit 
to Uncle Fred near the railway sta- 
tion, and sometimes he'd spend a 
half-hour with Mr Rankin, who 
owned a large drapeiy shop at 
Connaught Circus, where officers' 
uniforms were tailored. Mr Rankin 
was another enthusiastic stamp col- 
lector, and the two of them would 
get together in Mr Rankin's back 
office and exchange stamps or dis- 



19 




cuss new issues. I think the drapery 
establishment closed down atter the 
War. Mr Rankin was always 
extremely well dressed, as though he 
had stepped straight out of Saville 
Row and on to the steamy streets of 
Delhi. 

My father and 1 explored old 
tombs and monuments, but going to 
the pictures was what we did most, 
if he was back from work fairly 
early. 

Connaught Place was well 
served with cinemas — the Regal, 
Rivoli, Odeon and Plaza, all very 
new and shmv — a. id they exhibited 
the latest Holfywood and British 
productions. It was in these cinemas 
that I discovered the beautiful Sonja 
Heme, making love on skates, and 
even getting married on ice; Nelson 
and Jeanette making love m duets; 
Errol Flynn making love on the high 
seas; and Garv Cooper and 
Clandette Coiner t making love in the 
bedroom (Bluebeard's eighth wife). I 
made careful listings ot all the films I 
saw, including their casts, and to this 
day, I can give you the main per- 
formers in almost any film made in 
the 1940s. And I still think it was cin- 
ema's greatest decade, with the 
stress on good story, clever and eco- 
nomical direction (films seldom 
exceeded 120 minutes running time), 
superb black-and-white photogra- 
phy, and actors and actresses who 
were also personalities in their own 
nght. The era of sadistic thrills, gore, 
and psychopathic killers was still far 
away. The accent was on entertain- 
ment — naturally enough, when the 
worst war in history had spread 
across Europe, Asia and the Pacific. 

W hen my father broached the 
subject of sending me to a 
boarding school, I used every argu- 


ment 1 could think of to dissuade 
him. The convent school wa;» still 
fresh in my memory and I had no 
wish to return to any institution 
remotely resembling it — certainly 
not after almost a year of untram- 
melled freedom and my father's 

want to send me 
to schoof again?" I asked. "I can 
learn more at home. 1 can read 
books, 1 can write letters, I can even 
do sums!" 

"Not bad for a boy of nine," said 


companionship 
,c Whv do v< 





20 


my father. "But I can't teach you 
Algebra, Physics and Chemistry." 

"I don't want to be a chemist." 

"Well, what would you like to be 
when you grow up7" 

"A tap dancer. 

"We've been seeing too many 
pictures. Everyone says I spoil you." 

1 tried another argument. "You 
have to live on your own again. 
You'll feel lonely." 

"That can't be helped, son, but 
I'll come to see you as often as 1 can. 
You see, they are posting me to 
Karachi for some time, and then 1 '11 
be moved again — they won't allow 
me to keep you with me at some of 
these places Would you like to stay 
with your mother?" 

I shook my head. 

"With Calcutta Granny?" 

"I don't know her. 

"When the War's over. I'll take 
you with me to England. But for the 
next year or two we must stay here. 
I've found a nice school for you." 

"Another convent?" 

"No, it's a prep school for boys 
in Simla And I may be able to get 
posted there during the summer." 

"I want to see it first," I said. 

"We'll go to Simla together. Not 
now — in April or May, before it gets 
too hot. It doesn't matter if you join 
school a bit late — I know you'll soon 
catch up with the others/ 

There was a brief trip to Dehra 
Dun. I think my father felt that there 
was still a chance of a reconciliation 
with my mother. But her affair with 
the businessman was too far gone. 
His own wife had been practically 
abandoned and left to look after the 
photographic shop she had brought 
along with her dowry. She was a 
stout lady with high blood pressure, 
who once went in search of my 
mother and stepfather with an axe. 
Fortunately they were not at home 

that day and she had to vent her 
fury on the furniture. 

In later years when I got to know 
her quite well she told me that my 
father was a very decent man, who 
treated her with great courtesy and 
kindness on the one occasion they 
met. 

I remember we stayed in a little 
hotel or boarding house just off the 
Eastern Canal Road. 

Dehra was a green and leafy 
place. The houses were separated by 
hedges, not walls, and the residential 
areas were criss-crossed by little 
lanes bordered by hibiscus or olean- 
der shrubs. 

We were soon back in Delhi. 

My parents' separation was final; 
and it was almost two years before 1 
saw my mother again. ■ 



BEJAN DA RU WALLA 


Aries 

March 21 - April 20 

Ganesha hays you 
H) will make your 
HI views known at a 
El group meeting, a 
conference or a meet Your 
intuition will aid you in yuur 
business. Loans and funds 
will be pivotal. A problem will 
be resolved and that should 

g ive you sweet satisfaction. 

ut try to avoid a confronta- 
tion ot wills. 

Taurus 

April 21 —May 20 

I jy] A little bit of fun and 
creativity, a little bit 
■ of funds and loans 
and some amount of 
partying take up your time. 
Children give joy Take care 
not to go all overboard when 
il comes to handling money. 
You will need extra time to 
pursue personal and private 
interests and whims lake tare 
ot your health 

j Gemini 

May 21 — June 20 

H Ciomtnis are usually 
good at getting and 
ferreting news, mtoi- 
maliun and gossip 
The home will also tall for 
! attention and you may ha ye a 
| lot to handle Do tackle things 
j one at a time There will be an 
1 elaborate round ot socialising 
j m store lor you 'I ravel is a 
! distinct possibility; so gear up 
I tor it 


Cancer 

June 21 — July 20 

idiopyncrdcies of 
I V9uv ol * iers should not be 


i #81% allowed to slop your 
LgjggJ progress. Be tirm 
and tolerant and assess a 
given situation. December 2-4 
will be newsy and rosy. 
Through a friend or the boss, 
you will make new contacts 
which will help you 
Collaboration efforts are defi- 
nitely localised. 

Leo 

July 21 — August 21 

Love will radiate 
kg light and laughter 
Sr lor you. It will also 
m work wonders lor 
your ego Also, you may be 
faced with extra duties, both 
at work and m the home front, 
lake it as a < hallenge You 
could turn to mataphysical 
and spiritual interests. 
Finances, taxes and soun.es of 
revenue will hgure also 


Virgo 

August22 - Septembei 22 
; jmgL I Bust vour judgment 
I ! lin d move ahead. 

IRglf ! You will have the 
IflE— ! chance to make vour 
nuuk An exceptionally 
favourable Mars placing helps 
vou to gel what you want. 
Someone at a distance may do 
you a big ta\ cun or make mat- 
ters e.isv tor you. Benefits 
accrue through socialising and 
friendship. 


Libra 

September 23 — October 22 
Children's interests 
A lift] an d motivations, 
trav, -t Made, lieN, 

J contacts and com- 
munication, expenses, buying, 
and selling could keep you 
occupied these various expe- 
riences will also hold you in 
good stead. Some leftover 
tasks will have to be attended 
to this week, therefore, gear 
yourself for it. 

Scorpio 

October 23 — November 22 

"rear"! Ganesha claims 

good news relating 
to h name, romance, 
publishing, publicity 
and educational matters, all of 
which make you happy. 
December 2-8 tax ours ties and 
business transactions You 
may also look forwaid to an 
influx ot wealth ihe next 21 
days You will roach an agree- 
ment in ihe next 41 days 

Sagittarius 

November 23— December 20 

r ^ t,u w *^ ho a Si l UArt ' 

j shooter and win the 

game Your drive to 
succeed will be enor- 
mous and that will help you 
to achieve yuur goals If small 
problems arise about relation 
ships. \ou will be able to solve 
it Sou will b" inspired to do 
something motive That 
should give s nii an extra 
dimension 


'•S'. A. "** » 'V» 

; 4' 




BIRTHDAYS 


Capricorn 

December 21 — January 19 
r t The use ot finances, 
j Sh W ) joint assets, msur- 
I El j ance and legacy will 
be ol paramount 
interest Your mcoim . too, will 
come m foi scrutiny and 
maybe a raise is on the anvil 
A get -rich-quick scheme will 
be pinposed to you There is a 
lot happening socially so you 
can now make the most of it 
Travel is on the cards. 

Aquarius 

January 20 — - February 18 

The law ol chances 
jiflwQtr. helps you to be pop- 
i i ular, tiavel, gam 

L 3Hl-! goodies and nave 
money Some ot yom social 
plans \\ ill work out with a 
few changes travel plans will 
give excellent results or yields 
mm or next month Get feed- 
backs lor your ideas. The sign- 
ing ot cnnMaits and deeds will 
be important 

Pisces 

February 19 — March 20 

Contacts, contracts, 
[■gRkj an engagement, a 
SRJj position of trust and 
Bfc. TTA.' cuilhoiitv aie the 
happy tea tui vs of the week. 
^011 will have a rapport with 
people despite the struggle tor 
powci. Take- care ol impulsive 
extravaganza as it will cost 
you dearly Do not quibble 
about mumt in. liters it vou 
want to be happy 


MWMjW Aays Ganesha, prove - 
* &Sate$, teeing, ^ptttaifeng, jpoIHics Mid 


' &&&&*$ irMb ctfuftpurit ftut o means* tittle patience will 
#0 mb tWhgs do not quRe go your way • 

: foretold 

; tnctam^ood fortune waits 

\ wish bp fab 


poets have it made. For others too, this will be a yoav of 
changes and chance*. 

Dec eittberf: Moon xcydflo sun *Ikiw* vyhethcr in htisine.su, job 
01 profession, you will have the opportunities you need to 
make it big. Maitiagc is op the cards. 

December & Moon square Jupiter- Neptune show’s white the 
* going may not begreab you will have your just rewards pro- 
vided you are witting to work for it. 

December 7: .Moon sextite Mercury indicates you should 
work in secrecy for best results. You will succeed in selling 
your ideas, products and services. 


H Exquisite crqftsmanship in 
W international Standard 
P 22/22 Karat gold and 
a diamond jewellery. 

p Dealer in precious and 
astrological stones. 


P. C. CHANDRA 


EWE 


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Ph: 475 6734 * 27 7221 • 248 8062 








C OMICS 
























Focus 

IN SUBURBIA 


As land prices in Delhi rocket, more and more people are moving to the 
outskirts of the city. Samita Bhatia reports 



Solitaire Bungalows, SouthCity, Gurgaon: Comfortable and trendy 


F inally The magic of nature. the v\ heezing capital Strategically border since 1981) Huge corporate 

the luxury' of open spaces and located on the foothills ot the giants, committed to providing 

a home you'd love to own Air Aravalis and the intersection ot the comfortable housing to those 

that is actually crisp and clear Delhi-Jaipur national highway that aspiring to better their quality of 

A sparkling blue ^ky whu h you can cnsscrosses with the Menrauh- living, are developing over 6,000 

actually see', complimented with Gurgaon and J aridabad-Gurgaon acres m Gurgaon, the most coveted 

wispy doiflis to complete tin* highways lies *he green alternative settlement just south of south 

picture-perfect setting Close your to the capital Delhi'. 

eyes and imagine an apartment nr an As in anv other bursting metro. The development of Haryana, 

ideal horn* 1 w r ith large, airy rooms Delhi's exodus to its southward courtesy private builders, has been a 

No dark, dingy comers, no suburbs is on History proves that blessing in disguise even for the 

unnecessary echoes, no humping Delhi has consistently moved farmers from whom the land has 

into furniture for lack of spare southwards in search of a better been purchased Says Colonel Prithvi 

Just as Delhi bursts at the seams, quality of life - - from old Delhi to Nath, spokesperson DLF Group, one 

splutters and chokes in it s own new and then onwards to south of the first and major players in the 

smog, Uelhiites looking for a home Delhi Only today the march js area, "The private sector has bought 

“ fa* truni the madding crowd — towards the environmentally- land from the farming community at 

have innumerable options thrown friendly townships that have been prevailing market rates, which has 

open to them Options that arc just a unobtrusively establishing been six to seven times higher than 

stone's thro**' away on the fringes of themselves just beyond the Delhi the government rates, '■ explains 

26 




Nath. Thus, the land is clear of 
litigation and farmers have in fact 
'"become partners in progress/' says 
Nath. 

Besides, the colonies developed 
by the private sector have shown an 
infrastructural and social 
development that is four to five 
times greater than the areas 
developed by the government. Nath 
adds, ' This, despite the fact that 
private builders must assemble the 
entire internal infrastructure in the 
area and depend on the government 
only for the external infrastructure." 

T he saga of DLF Universal began 
in 1947 when India awoke to 
freedom. That’s when DLF was 
called upon to develop as many as 
25 urban townships in Delhi to 
house half a million residents. It was 
in DLF's south Delhi that well- 
planned development took place in 
prime areas like Greater Kail ash. 

South Extension and Hauz Khas 
This was the beginning of DLF’s 
involvement in providing high 
quality housing and establishing 
social infrastructure — a concept 
that was hitherto unknown in India. 

just then Delhi was frozen and 
Haryana, which surrounds Delhi on 
three sides, passed the Haryana 
Development Regulation of Urban 
Areas Act which allowed the private 
sector into the business of housing in 
the state. Says Nath, 'While the ball 
was set rolling in 1980 the area has 
only today reached a take-off point 
and DLF Qutab Enclave has grown 
to become the largest private sector 
township in all of Asia sprawling 
over 2,500 acres." 

Of the six dormitory 
towns — Bahadurgarh, Kondi, 
Fariiiabad and Gurgaon in Haryana 
and Noida and Ghaziabad in 
UP — that form a concentric ring 
around the capital, Gurgaon has 
won hands down in popularity. 

The mini-townships in Gurgaon 
— be it DLF Qutab Enclave, Ansal’s 
Sushant 1 43 k or Palam Vihar, or 
Unitech’s SouthCity — are all 
designed for comfortable living, 
offering stylish and classy homes to 
residents. All of this is symbolic of a 
firm commitment to premium 
construction with a judicious mix of 
low, mid and high-rise buildings 
interspersed with laige open green 
areas. 

A major factor that is edging 
residents towards Gurgaon is tne 
sky-rocketing property prices in 
Delhi. As in every city, as property 
prices spiral, the tendency is to move 
outwards to the suburbs. Says Akash g 
Gupta, a property agent operating in | 


Gurgaon, "When prevailing land 
prices in south Delhi — traditionally a 
most coveted area for home 
seekers — range between Rs 17,000 a 
sq ft to over Ks 1,00,000 per sq ft, 
prices like Rs 8,500-9,500 just-on the 
fringes of Delhi seem like a dream." 

According to Dr G.R. Bahri, 
director. Unitech, which is involved 
in developing mini-cities over 800 
acres m Gurgaon, satellite townships 
have recently caught the fancy of 
Delhiites as residential areas for 
diverse reasons. Topping the list of 
reasons is that the homes here are 
more affordable and the quality of 
life that the townships ofteT residents 


far beats anything Delhi could offer 
them. 

Says Bahri, "When people buy a 
house just on the fringes of Delhi, 
they don't just finance a home but in 
fact buy a lifestyle. The townships 
are self-contained with dedicated 
clubs for members, tight security 
arrangements, schools, health clubs 
and a lot of greenery and 
landscaping that is no longer easy to 
find in the congested Delhi 
localities." 

A nd the residents of Delhi are 
slowly realising the pluses that 
these satellite towns offer over the 
capital city. Today Delhi, amongst 


DLF residential area: Plenty of greenery and clean surroundings 



OWNING YOUR OWN HOME 


It can be a dream come true, or a nightmare, depending on 
whom you're dealing with 


rrihose looking for homes find 
I themselves raced with some 
JL vital questions. Whom do they 
approach for guidance? Do they 
have all the information? Is the 
infonriSliqn credible? Are they 
buying theright property? Is the 
title clear? Are they being quoted 
the right price? 

And most important: where do 
they find the money? 

A dream house is probably what 
everyone aspires to but die process 
of acquiring one is unenduiably 
tedious. Given the large number of 
developers, it is difficult to pick the 
ones with credibility. The process of 
choosing the properties is tedious as 
there are far too many people to 
speak to. When everything seems 
right, the budget is not right while 
raising the finances too can present 
the problems. 

the interest that has been 
generated in townships like 
Gurgaon has galvanised many 
institutions into offering potential 
buyers the answers anotne finance 
to buy themselves t»icir dream 
homes. The development of housing 
loan institutions — government, 
auasi-govemment and private — 
that provide finances are essentially 
in response to the continued healthy 
growth of the property market. 

Driven by the needs of the 
customer, PropShop — an exhibition 
that brings the developer and 
financier under the same roof — 
makes shopping for a home easier 
for the customer Says Raj Khosla, 
director. Shelters, a home loan 
associate of Citibank and promoter 
of Propshop, 'The customer is 
looking out for specifics and as 
financiers we give them what we 
have dubbed as the 4Cs. Credibility: 
or reliability of the people the 
customer is dealing with; Choice, a 
range to. choose from to make his 
decision; Credit attractive financing 
packages and terms to finance the 
purchase; and Convenience and* 
ease of the whole process." 

Hence Citibank decided to 
sponsor exhibitions which brought 
ail the four elements together for 
the customer. At the PropShop 
exhibitions there are innumerable 


pluses that come to the customer — 
by bringing pre-screened developers 
offering a wide range of projects 
which nave been approved by 
Citibank. By offering the Citibank 


housing finance package for all the 
properties available and offering all 
this under the same roof by trained 
staff. 


At PropShop the customer can 
visit the exhibition, get information 
about the loan options available to 
him, ft x his budget meet with a 
gamut of developers and scan the 
range of properties available to him, 
go on site visits (in a chauffeur- 
driven car) and book his dream 
home, get the loan sanctioned for it 
— all in one day. 

PropShop 96 in Delhi had on 


offer a host of affordable home loan 
options from Citibank which offered 
on-the-spot loan facilities upto 70 
per cent of the property value based 
on the customer profile. 

As Sarvesh Samp, business 
manager, mortgages & community 
banking, Gtibankjcanfinns, "We 
address a gamut of consumer needs, 
one of which is owning a home." 
Loans given out by Citibank since 
the launch of their Home Loan 
scheme in 1991 have been to the 
tune of Rs 120 crore to as many as 
2,000 clients. He adds, 

"Convenience is the key as our 
loans can be paid back over 10 to 15 
years, they are easy to access and 
the documentation has been kept 
simple." 


SHvaf Oaks; Swanky condominiums for the high-income group 



2B 




the most polluted cities in the country; 
is driving people away from it. 
Surveys indicate that one of three 
residents suffer from lung ailments 
due to the heavy air pollution. 
Pollution has primarily been on a 
rise due to a phenomenal increase in 
traffic in the city over the years. 

Explains Bahri, "Thus, noise 
levels too are that much higher The 
trend is not just an interest among 
the people to invest in property in 
the satellite towns but a desire to 
relocate themselves away from the 
city/' 

So was the case with Anup 
Gupta, a businessman based in Delhi 
who sold his house in Safdarjung 
Enclave, an area that some may well 
consider a coveted south Delhi 
colony But Gupta moved to Dl.F 
where he invested in a modular 
Town House despite protests from 
his surprised family members 


sell out to builders who construct 
flats on the plot. As a result there is a 
great pressure on infrastructure in 
these colonies as more people move 
into the freshly 'built flats.'* 

Gupta found that he had no 
space to park his cars and that his 
children nad nowhere to play. 
"Blocks cease to boast of parks and 
my children were stifling. The 
pressure on infrastructure also led to 
frequent power failures and acute 
shortage of water. In fact, most of 
Delhi colonies are beginning to 
become hellish/' 

Like Gupta, Osama Manzar, 
executive in a corporate house, too is 
delighted with the home he has on 
rent in Sushant Lok. ' 'Most 
importantly the area is free from 
pollution and offers you some peace 
and quiet that can only be imagined 
in Delhi " 

The distance of the townships 
fiom the heart of town, however, 
continue to rattle some despite the 
fact that the builders 1 claims that 


Says Gupta, "I found the colony 
getting far too congested The norm 
in smith IMhi is for house owners to 



Gurgaon lies just 20 minutes from 
soutYi Delhi and the interna lional 
airport 

Dl.F Groups Nath, however, has 
a different take on this He says, 

' Time is at a premium A shorter 
distance within Delhi may take a 
longer time to cover than a longer 
distance between Delhi -Gurgaon. I 
think most residents of Gurgaon are 
of the same view." Others may 
consider this as a fair trade off 
between travel-time and better 
quality of life. 

I t's not just families who are 
making a move, corporate houses 
too are relocating themselves in 
these satellite townships Amongst 
the most popular options at hand for 
companies is PLF's Corporate Park 
Says Nath, The commercial 
complex is one of the unique 
features in Phase 3 of DLF Qutab 
Enclave which is geared towards 
providing a distinct identity to 
corporations seeking exclusive 
offices." 

Today, Corporate Park has 
become a preferred choice of 
prominent multi-nationals and 
Indian companies, not just for the 
state-of-the-art facilities that it 
provides but because of the walk-to- 
work option that the centre allows 
them. The companies can, in fact, 
locate their exec utives in the 
integrated private sector townships 
around the area Corporate Park nas 
attracted names like Pensiro India 
Holdings, GE Capital, Compaq, RI*G 
Enterprises, VXL India, Interglobe 
and other blue chip companies. 


In the residential areas the 
options are plenty. From single 
family homes to multi-family homes 
to the swankier condominiums. 
Luxurious homes and apartments 
with fine credentials ana equally fine 
names. Take your pick: Tvory 
Towers'. Greenwoods City with its 
duplex and independent homes 
christened 'Solitaire Residency', 
'Manhattan 1 , 'Sunbreeze Towers' all 
from Uni tech; apartment complexes 
like Casa Royale', 'Silver Oaks' 
condominiums from DLF and 
'Designer Villas', 'Executive Villas', 
Designer I lomcs' fiom the Ansals. 

Prices vary and plots and flats 
that have been sold for Rs 8,500 to 
Rs 9,500 per sq yard some years ago 
are today commanding re-sale prices 
of Rs 9,000- Rs 25,000 

Umtech’s Dr Bahri compares the 
prevailing prices between Delhi and 
Gurgaon, ’ If 200 sq yards in south 
Delhi will cost upwards of Rs 1 .5 
ciore then a similar plot size can be 
purchased for Rs 20 lakh! For 
townships to work, the prices have 
to be kept reasonable " Making the 
homes all the more attractive are 
various customer- friendly 
installment options 

Needles? to say that apartments 
and homes find buyers almost as 
soon as they are* advertised with 
bookings coming in from NRIs as 
well. 

I t a host of advantages come as a 
package deal with satellite 
townships, they are* sometimes not 
devoid ol handicaps Says a resident 
of Ansal‘s Palam vihai, "The 
builders need to get their act 
together in some areas. Buying fresh 
vegetables in Palam Vihar some 
years ago was impossible and 
shopping for supplies had to be 
done in Delhi wnich was quite 
inconvenient. Today, though many 
shops have opened up, gnxvries and 
vegetables continue to 1 h? more 
expensive here " 

The complaints pour in from 
other Palam Vihar residents. The 
infrastructural problems refuse to go 
away. Says Inder Kochhar, 
businessman, ’ Tt you are* not mobile, 
then getting to town can be quite a 
bother. The buses coming into the 
colony are overcrowded and in very 
bad snape. besides which the 
timings don’t quite suit every 
professional " 

But despite all these problems 
and glitches, the exodus from Delhi 
continues. Unspoilt surroundings, 
away from the urban hustle, and 
acres and acres of idyllic green here 
lies a Delhiites mouthful of sky. Wh 


29 



First person 


AMEEN SAYAN!, the original difejockey oflndian radio hmadcasts,stdl coste d . 

listeners with his unique style. Having hosted such popular shows 'as S. Kiwtar Kfr- FiEni MisdCOamf^ 

Chamaktey Sitaieomf the evergreen Cibnc&tthen known 0$ ftina^Geetaiala ~ 

his voice to several ad campaigns, Sayani has earned the distinction of being called the 'Grand Old tifaH 

of Indian radio. 



by* cab. 

What makea you most depressed? 

( # Not being abte to Codtmriunicale , 
‘ with those 1 want to moat (such as 
my wife!). 

What de you dislike most on your 
appearance? 

My nose (I've grown a 
moustache to divert attention from 
it). 

What is your favourite word? 
Doom-dhadaka. 

What is your favourite journey? 

Going away from work (which I 
haven't been able to do for the last 
45 years). 

What is your favourite dream? 

Becoming the President of 
India. 

What is your nightmare? 

Becoming the Prime Minister. 
What or who is the greatest love 
of your life? 

Greer Carson and Meena 
Kumari (Their response to me will 
fortunately never be known.) 

What is your source of 
sustenance? 

Delicately tasty food — which 
shouldn't be either too oily or too 
body! 

On what occasions do you He? 

When no true suggestion of 
mine can help a badly produced 
product I'm publicising. 

What is your greatest regrrt? 

That f m not as handsome as 
Errol Flynn or Dharmendra, 


W** is your 


' idea of 
perfect 
happiness? 

Comfortable 
inactivity. 

What is your 
. greatest fear? 

That 1 may die 
without finishing 
the things I want 
to. 

Who or what has 
been the greatest 
influence in your 
life? 

My brother Hamid-r- eminent 
broadcaster and communicator 
who introduced me to radio and 
stage compering. 


What makes you 
most depressed? 

Not being able to 
communicate with 
ifooste I .Want to 4 
most (stidh as my 


What do you 
dislike most in 
others? 

Insincerity, 

What do you 
dislike most in 
yourself? 

My inability to 
Sing. 

What is your 
most precious 
possession? 

None at the 
moment — I’ve 
either given 
atvay or. 

souandeied away all of them! 

What obfecta do you always carry? 

Keys to let me into my office, a - 
wallet to help me get back home 


What has been your happiest ‘ 
moment? 

Watching my son taking his first 
steps. 

What brings tears to >ypur wye s? 

A phrase well rendered, a 
thought well communicated. 

Mow do you relax? 

Doing crosswords. 

Whatdo you Wavy moat in others? 

Their ability to converse (I'm 
usually dumb in groups). 

How woiild you like to be 
remembered? * 

As atxMn who could have saved 
the world <if he oniykncW now 
to). . ■ :■ v • 11 .■ 

Mow wouldyo* Hketb die ?. ) ■: 

.. h ^hr-whhpi#t Jh^eittig.:. 


30 



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ft nFr.FMnra isofi , 


OST MORTEM 


The New 
Phoolan 

91 The cover story on 
Phoolan Devi was really 
nice ('Guns and Poses' 
October 13). It is hard to 
believe that the name 
which was once abhorred 
and struck terror in the 
hearts of people, should 
now be a respected figure 
m society. 

It's also a reflection of 
the progress society has 
made that it has not 
rejected a woman like her 
wno went through hell in 
life; in the hands of those 
who abducted her and 
then later on trying to 
erase the murky chapters 
from life 

Even after having 
absorbed Jiie's most 
unsavoury experiences 
she had the courage and 
the will power to bounce 
back to normal life. Hats 
off to her! 

Kunal Mehta, 

Calcutta 

Considering what 
Poolan Devi went through 
in life, no one would 
have expected her to 
remain sane. But there is 
a thing called the purity 
of the soul which can 
never be ravaged. And it 
is this perhaps which has 



j Phoolan Devi: Guns no more; Vi's domestic duties now 


helped her to return to 
society and resume 'nor- 
mal' life. 

Bharati Dry, 

Calcutta 

Wt What is so great about 
Phoolan Devi becoming 
an MP? In an era of cor- 
ruption, anything goes. 
Look at the state of our 
government where every 
other day some minister 
or the other is being 
hauled up for fraudulent 
practices. Sukh Ram is a 
case in point. Taslimuddin 


had to go because ot his 
dark credentials. 

Phoolan Devi is being 
dubbed as the champion 
of the masses and so she 
gets elected to Parliament. 
Apart from having a long 
record of crime, wnal has 
she done? But in times 
like these, even a killer is 
revered as a hero. 
but rani l Bhattacharya, 
Naihati (W.B.) 

& Phoolan Devi is a cre- 
ation of politicians and 
the media. She has been 





pampered and awarded 
with a plum post tor the 
benefit of a few politi- 
cians. 

Vi hay Asawa, 

Calcutta 

ft It is high time Phoolan 
Devi is tried for her 
heinous crimes. Now that 
the judiciary has become 
aggressive and wants to 
purge the nation of cor- 
ruption as in the case of 
P.V Narasimha Rao, it 
should also look into the 
crime records of MPs. 
Prahlad Agarwala, 

Nadui (W.RJ 

Pony Tale 

ft 1 read with interest 
'Animals Come First*, 
(November 3). I would 
like to clarify that our 
I organisation. Friends of 
Dogs, was the first ani- 
mal welfare body to work 
with the ponies and car- 
riage horses around 
Victoria Memorial. The 
project was started in 3991 
ana it continues till today. 

The leftover food from 
RCTC which is given to 
the horses is sometimes 
stale and causes colic 
problems among them. If 
tresh food could be sup- 
plied, it would be benefi- 


Sona Murshed, 
Calcutta 


PAGE 4 

J AAVED IAAFERI, started off as a dancer in 
films.. Today, he is the most-loved VJ on the 
box. A profile of the tunny man 

PAGE 28 


WITH THF.IR beautiful coral islands, palm- 
fringed white beaches and Jush greenery, the 
Andaman islands are bewiU hing 

Jawed Jaaferi 


SIX HONS 


16 TIMETABLE 
26 MUSIC 
2# TRAVEL 
30 FIRS’] PERSON 


Covet Vikas Khot 




FUNNY FACE 

JaavedJaafen has everyone cracking up unth hts performances on 
Channel V But Anita George found a serious man 
Mund the one-liners 



- JAAVED JAAFERI SITS .. BNf ,10;%^^!^ 
that he designed hfeharti^' 
grew up in. Bandr£ i$ a 
... frocky girls going' tp 


) t*X :J ;* 




,,- v. 


LVJ, . v" 

t» fST \f? 


plonking ,bg& t$e piano. 






bhmgi^ fa^X^k jaave# 


xn sea. face 


about it. o . VhW .,. - • 

': "HamburgemTfh^^ am lost 

phonest Motorbik^i?^^ "TM gay*- -ate all 'CRUlSINGr/; 

he goes oh, stressing the Word sarcastic^ just HANGING 

OUT. u> I^e affects d^e airofthecoifege In sleek ens 

du»t blast 040^.3^ ;.Cartef ;R(a«l ■ ?' Andi'' iiey^ ;bo^ CHBCKD^ 
OUT.” Here henartows his ey^’io'^difedk outran imaginary "babe". 

"That typicadv^O/*'''h^ says, stopping short of cursing , k 

Meet Jaaved Jaaferi, 
... "traditional, sort of 
..-. quiet", who is not in the 
.. least enamoured by the 
pseudo-Westemisation 
ofthe world around him. 

■> No hee-hee ho-ho funny 
man here, dropping pubs 
,r ''and smooth quotable 
^ quotes. Ha is serious, 
^/•■'■y^pxib^ defensive, br so 
^'‘.•.'..r-vyqu imagine. Not. much 
■' tfe -\tuew 


*.'• ,‘vVu V' •: .. 

■. • . ♦ • •* ■ . .'V 


•IsKp 

• MK 

Wmt 


Wmwmi 

.<U C7. • -V.. v v. fa -i 1 , -Cv3v\ 


»WS| 

JSgfeBWSl 

ii-ki &&:i* - sf'*m 



Kj » ♦ m u 
I 

ptj 

ETuTTj 


t 




To bt 1 fair he* brings to the channel 
an indigt nous touch tliat is his own, 
that makes him stand out from the 
American accented cool dude* and 
bimbette bunch and he knows it 
1 ho language I use is very local, 
there s no accent, 1 wear the clothes 1 
v\ ant, sort of semi formal Flashback is 
kind of me really " says]aavc*d 

1 started a totally new pattern too/ 
he adds A VI is normally giv en the 
".dipt here take this do this For 
Flashback, the idea was there, but I 
added the wackmoss, my mind works 
on those lines, and over time the 
w i itei stated tuning into the style It s 
a style that weaves in and out, \\ ith 
one liner ^ puns w here 1 laugh at 
myself — it evolv es itself 
Tor the son of film comedian 
Jagdeep who started out in I iindi 









Jaqdeep Popular comediar 

films with Vfeii Jung and is besotted 
b) the large screen it w as tcli \ lston 
that made him a household narm 
Actually getting into tele vision w as 
a sort of conn down he says ot a 
time w hi n tele\ ision was nowhere the 
cultui a! monster it is today 

Nor is tele\ lsion the medium th 
he has come honv to the ideal vel 
hr has found to express himself 
through No it is him all the u ay 
see myself as an actor first then ill 
rest 

I et s see what are all the thinj; 

I \{ been doing,' he says and run 
through a recap of his career T\ < 
acted in films, 1 ve done dancing 
choreographing, modelling actin 
singing m some jingles like TVS 
Champ, Double Cola I've written 
jmgles too, like the one for Zapata 


CHECK ITOUT! 

Unlike the other Vfs, fSmedJoofcri ' 
has an identity of his own 



nametW) 

M — former models mlmnOf 


rn 


w-T- rr’ r-Tr 


far high school girts on a Aft 
its? bitsy,poika dotted, Uoed, 

flowing . Mannerisms cute, 
defl rttay not ali-knowing Eke the 
mate V]s. 

Compulsory Hnes are 'totte it 


LutoKarmy 

In the Nineties* musk television 
JLbrought to Indian living rooms 
the VJ, a person that has became as 
recognisablea star as those oithe 
fihn industry. MIV brought in the 
brood first— Danny McGill and 
Nome were the most popular, 
though neither is around on the 
channel anymore. Never mind that 
many people thought McGjH, 
despile his knowledge of die 




rw' 


SopHyaHeque 

mime, was dreary viewing, and 
Nome was absolutely irritating 
Bui the intimacy of tne small 
semen, trie novelty of music 
television, aj»d its captivating 
imagery wodted. 

First the VJs were entirely 
phtom^. Then the Indtemsttficm 
started, f^stwaatheoamptomwe 
-Atim/iaMnaMam4 







undented Engbshdidn't quite 
in^i^/Rahtil Khanna went 
straight Jo to# top/Mdyhirgdod 
lo^goodline^ ^ 
despite his inexplicably loot* 

Ami Kufeoar, another favourite 
at teas! With the met* la full of zing 
. whichhdps to compensate far 
weird bait add an American accent 
that has been acquired overnight 
and dropseVterv now and then. In 
the middle of *11 this one has s^en 
film stars ahdl singers came and go, 
each leaving nothing behind to 


Whcste dofcs Iaav<gd stand in aM 


which I wrote and sang too, the recent 
Close Up Liquifresh." 

His miming abilities he puts to use 
in dubbing, not dubbing for people 
but the more specialised kind, for 
inanimate objects and animals. "I did 
the voice overs for Disney characters 
like Sher Khan. That was fun!" Jaavcd 
has an ad film company called 
Entertainer, "but 1 don't consider 
myself a good producer, I do the 
scripting and directing." 

P ause. He gestures at your cup of 
coffee on the table that has 
mqnentarily been forgotten. "Would 
you like it with icecream?" he 
enquires, deadpan. Then he blows a 
kiss to Neezaan, his busybee of a 
one-and-a-half-ycar-old son, who has 
constantly been trying to biff you with 
a basketball, and coaxes him into 
shaking hands. 

During the coffee break, you take in 
the design of his home, that Jaaved has 
done up starkly in black and white. 
While marble floor, black furniture, 
including a polished granite coffee 
table, a rockery and plants in one 
comer. Full length grey satin curtains 
backed by black, and a chandelier 
made of silvery-grey tinted bulbs. 

Graphic elements abound, in the 
wrought iron candlcstands, framed 
black line sketches on one wall, and an 
arrangement of mirrors opposite. 

Grey velvety sofas with, of course, 
black and white cushions, and the 
occasional red one for contrast. 

Formal and rather designer. One 


somehow expected cane and wood 
and plump cushions, lots of books and 
music around. You look at him 
questioningly . "Life in black and 
white/' he offers cheerily. "With 
shades of grey." 

It has been shades of giey at least 
where his ambitions in film have been 
concerned. Unfortunately, and he has 
said this many times before, things 
haven't worked out the way he 
wanted. "I just got branded as a 
dancer. 1 have all the requisites for a 
movie actor — personality, voice, and 
you don't really need chocolatey looks 
for a hero. What 1 did lack was PR. It's 
not enough to be talented. And maybe 
I came too early," he adds after a 
moment's thought. "Because today, if 
you look at say, Prabhudeva, he gets 
roles in films." There have been 
parallels in I lolly wood, like Travolta, 
and Patrick Swayze. "Yeah, but they 
had to wait a long long time," he says a 
trifle bleakly. 

And he will wait for that break till it 
comes his way. "Film is forever, it's 
not like TV wneie you see it 'in bulk' 
so to speak. You Sec a him and you 
remember it." Only problem here 
being a dearth of good films. The 
actors he likes are very few, they 
include Naseemdin Shah and 
Kamalahasan. As for actresses, there is 
a long silence. "Well, Shabana Azmi is 
among the last lot 1 liked And in the 
younger lot, 1 think Pooja Bhatt has the 
talent to make it." 



ViKaaKhoi 



Though Jaaved Jaaferi inctde his debut as a villain in Merijiing, it is as a 

dancer that people remember him 



T he nameplate of the Jaaferi 
home simply snysjagdcep. So, 
it was perhaps natural that Jaaved 
Jaaferi should follow his father 
Jagdeep, aka Soorma Bhopali, the 
popular Hindi film comedian, and 
join Hindi films. He made his 
debut as a dancer-villain in Mai 
Jung, theShubhashGhaihitof 1984. 

Though the rule gave him the 
opportunity he wanted, to play a 
villain, it wastes talent as a dancer 
that stuck in the minis) of jpeople as 
weHissfhe industry. Other, films 

100 Days, Ld Paul and Kami 
Yodha, 

His success in tdevinsm 
followed an epwodein Soperhtt 


Muqabla, die Hindi him music 
countdown show, and an 
appearance on Zabart Sambhal Ke, 
where he took on the role of a 
Gujarati from London, speaking in 
rap. Jaaved's ability to mimic 
caught people's attention and it 
also Wiped him make up his mind 
about a future in television, even 
though it was someth ingot a 
comedown from his first love, the 
* movies. 

Then he was approached to do 
the Flaihbackmew, and he took it 
on since he Was offered the , 
freedom to do his own thing. "My 
mind operates oni wacky lines'', he 


or aduiafofy trip through thepast , 
turned fotoahuario^ 
that eu* across age and cultural 
barriers, ahdhad everyone raving; 
including the pro duc ers. 

One ofhis biggest successes next 
on televiskmwas Timex Thruepass, 
where the screen is peopled by 14 
separated brothers, all played by 
Jaaved, who take turns anchoring 
the programme. These characters 
are creations of Jaaved's — people 
with names like Queerae Singh, 
Analysis Anandan, Hip Hop 
Hingorani, Abdul Cutpiece and VJ 
Saxena, who is called Suceee 
because he sucks a lollipop. Rather 
naive as Hindi film humour often 
is, but a roaring success. 

L ast year, Ketan Mehta cast 
Jaaved as the son of a don in Olh 
Darling, Yds Has India, where he 
starred along with Shah Rukh 
Khan, Deepa Sahi and Amrish 
Puri. Though it was expected to 
give him the boost he needed as a 
film hero, the film didn't do as well 
as was hoped- But Jaaved isn't 
disheartened, he bdieves he will 
eventually be an actor or director 
or both. 

Dahce, meanwhile, which had 
taken something of abackseat, and 
for Whkh he has won many 
awards, is working Ha way baric 1 
info his agenda. He hosts and ■_ 
performs in shows in India .and - 
abroad ~ most recently with Shah 
Rukh Khan, and with Antitabh . 
Bhadkhan-— mddeacribes his ■ 
shows as being different from the 
usual where he usesjug^ as In a . 
stand-up comic act. "Dance is a 
hobby, I kwe it but 1 can' t make a 
career of ill would love to 
eventually do a film where 1 can 
usedano^Uke IVeafSMeStaiyf' 
folW,fo3^WbM«vii 
vrorking cm his own show called . 

MyuslfjWhMt whkhw^tWai 


say* and that is what gave the 
programme its shape, what could . 
have been a typk^y sentimental 


Tfol m^fos musk: #H^WhWb 
he is worfcfegpn 


fo-thenextsevyfaiin^ 




N either is television his idea of 
great entertainment. 
"Everything is too film-based so I 
watch Discovery and the BBC!" he 
says, laughing at the contradiction. 
"What I would really like to do is a 
serial like The Fall Guy , and some of 
the Pakistani dramas are quite good. 

1 did Kashmakash, though, which 
was slightly above average. In televi- 
sion we have a long way to go, spe- 
cially where fiction is concerned. 

And he echoes the common com- 
plaint: "Writing is the weakest spot. 
The same goes for our films. They 
aren't doing so well as they used to 
in the past when every other film 
celebrated a jubilee!" 

"If I do direct a film, which I 
want to, it would be a film that says 
something It should have some kind 
of a message," says Jaaferi. If that 
sounds almost missionary, Jaaved is 
pretty serious about things that mat- 
ter to him. 

He will expound on religion, and 
its role in his hte; on how he studied 
the scriptures of various religions 
when he was m his twenties, and 
chose Islam, which he follows 
devoutly On the work he does, 
which he looks at with a critical eye. 
All his observations punctured by 
comical gestures -- rolling his eyes, 
or wiggling hips signifying lire uk 
tik tik' dancing m films, answering a 
string of calls and bemoaning the 
lack ot a sec rotary 

Then' are plans and more plans, 
including a dance composition with 
Mallika Sarabhai, and, one day, some 
day, an opportunity' to use dance in 
film like one of his all-time 
favourites Gene Kelly Was the 
change m the spelling of his name, 
supposedly for astrological reasons, 
intended to turn his luck for him, to 
make things come true? 

"Not reallv." he says, and offers a 
phonetic reason. "People I meet 
abroad pronounce Javed tn rhyme 
with David or 'saved'. I thought I 
should set it right!" But, he points 
out that soon after he changed the 
way his name was spelt, he got mar- 
ried, took his parents on the Haj, and 
became a father within a year of his 
marriage. "Things were working 
out! So who knows?" 

Meanwhile, there are two defi- 
nite projects in the pipeline. One is a 
television show called Myself \ Javed, 
probably for Channel V. And one, 
which will be worth waiting for, is 
Jaaved the Singer! He has been 
chewing over an album of songs for 
some time now. "I’m concentrating 
on these two projects for the moment 
and that's it." What's the album 


going to be like, coming from this 
avid listener of new ape music and 
the Sixties and Seventies sound, of 
old film music, ot big band jazz. 
Pink Floy d? No comments vet, 
except that il will have rhythms, 
probably some Egyptian, Arabic and 
other percussion. 

But one thing is for sure "These 
songs will talk about life, nature, the 
world. None of this Alv DU Goes 


Boom Boom or Dole Dole 1 " 

Time to strike poses tor the c. un - 
era, so he changes into a beige silk 
kurta and squats on the ilooi. "Oh 
mv earrings!" he exclaims and lush- 
es off Ears laden, he returns, and 
proceeds to pul! faces tor the pho- 
tographer A friend walks in saying 
"hello" laaved Jaaferi greets him 
back with a nasal twang- "Hello 
hello, want a |ello?" Now if I HAT 
isn't familiar! ■ 


I 4#2r#em 

In nereye 


BEJAN DARUWALLA 


I Aries 

\ March 21 - April 20 

" * , c j.im'slui t. w*- the* 

week of the- nt»w 
moon favour* cnn- 
LJ Wk i tacts, umtiacts mm- 
inunn Jliom |ou»‘in*v and trip 
and mo.sl iX'iuiniU mnaov 
pour* in, .iiui that's always 
wolitimi* Vom mood will be 
inspiratuuial. Ktuii manoeu- 
vres spectacular Iqjd \ mu 
Utcst\ lc duly royal fhia is tin* 
unit* U’ move fast 

Taurus 

Apnl 21 — May 20 

Agiund wcvk lui 
jjgj mr , lung -distance con 
M plL 1 lHVtions, loans and 
W+ l funds rhote will he 
meets confrivncos and group 
activities or any sort, a bit of 
tun and games despite pres- 
sures and pulls I eel free to go 
all nut in the pursuit of plea 
sine and happiness If i-. tune 
to take care of (he health of 
elders 

Gemini 

May 21 — June 20 
T VI A business hunch 
pavs dividends 
Komanco and |o\ 

will he \ oius It vou 

like you mav bend the inles a 
hit al v.omv and pla\ But don’t 
oNeido it On the home front 
expect a leu fireworks literal- 
ly and oth.TU isc C oupUs 
should make hihm plans this 
■.veek A speual invitation 
kis ps vou in good hurnom 



! Cancer 

I June 21 — July 20 

Promotion, perks 
and publicity are the 
three things that are 

in stoie. 'Vou will 

have the power to do things 
and make amends. Be true 
and straight in vour dealings 
with people Vour efforts will 
mine U» a head and result in 
positive appreciation trom 
vour boss and superiors Vou 
will have time for love 

Leo 

July 21 — August 2 1 
i ’ Tune to he romantic 

and vet i. ihon.il, a 
, contradict ion 

| indeed Hu. vou tan 

do it, being a 1 con There will 
he mam demands upon vour 
heart and purse strings and 
both de.se j v c to be satisfied 
tullv liavel is a possihilitN In 
\our v\i>ik area \ou come 
through with living mlouis 
Do not overlook minm clc'l.uls 



Virgo 

just 2; 


m 


| “J Time t< 

HI cs 

dc.! Otter It 



AugusT 22 - ■ September 2? 
i T he home and the 

outside world finally 
meet iun\ lb at 
means \ou wiil be 
working hard at both these 
levels and that could tray nun 
nerves Blit it will be worth 
the \ am Vou will be loved 
and appreciated Childien and 
loved ones gi\t* Murt satistar 
tion riiaf is the positive 
aspcxl of Lhi* neek 


Libra 

September 23 — October 22 
! ! Time to reach out to 

le and places 
also to look 

the hometront 

Manv of you will be in for 
huving, selling, renovating, 
decorating of properly, he u 
house, office, shop, gndowrt or 
warehouse I his is almost cer- 
tain You will be in the lime- 
light. t.anesha savs this is a 
week ot work and run 

Scorpio 

October 2.3 — November 22 
I ,aw ot averages 
wort toi \ nu and 
that nuMns success, 
nionev and loving 
care lor you You will ronpro- 
cale fully Meeting with loved 
j ones, advise! s, counsellors, 
people in authoiits will defi- 
nitely help you You will be 
able lo mate money \i*w 
oppoilunilies will conn* vom 
wav liavel is la ted 

Sagittarius 

November 23 - December 20 
H I lie new moon gives 
\ on the steam In tin 
ish pending jobs and 
the eneigv to launch 
new one's 'Iherefoie. \ou will 
have a winning streak 
December 12 H shows the 
\\a\ to powei and pelf But m 
all of fins ]urnhle. it it impor- 
tant that \ .»n find ) ourself and 
mediffile a hi! June U > fiavel 
and socialise 



BIRTHDAYS 




Capricorn 

December 21 — January 19 

Though you will feel 
lonely you will not 
be lost or forsaken. 
Time to shed old 
skin and attitudes and to 
move on with your life News 
from alar will please you. You 
will benefit from a friend's 
thought fulness and care Also, 
it is journeytnne and ren- 
dezvous. Ciet yourself pre- 
pared tor it 

Aquarius 

January 20 — February 18 

•\ To avoid bedlam as 
too many things will 
1 happen Loo fast, 
make a plan and as 
tar as possible slick to il 
despite all chops and changes 
I hat is the wa\ to get maxi- 
mum nvleageoul oi this week 
and the* next T~ davs Self clis 
cipluTe will bring m a lot ot 
gams L.o\i will tlowei Take* 
i aie n! \ mu health 

Pisces 

February 19 — March 20 

'i he right nine to 
sv\ itch H'bs* or sweet 
lu*aits, that is, if 
interested 
Otherwise, old faithfuls will 
do spl^ndkllv at Imsl lor some 
time to conic* Family matters 
and domestic needs will h*' 
paiamounl i\tia duties may 
clash with pleasure^ and 
enlerfainrnept hot that is the 
wav il goc>. u itii vo’.i. 



Decwnber® Moon trine Jupiter lead to energy and good 
luck. This will result in the achievement of cherished desires, 
.Behold. 

Venu» sextile Jupiter-Mar& conjunction signifies 
;\-ayear prosperity end joy. If could mean, personal 

The new .moon turn* particularly favourable 
If.tKt ‘and after Janu^iy 22, and so the next year should be par- 
I*; Ocularly ^warding. 

j. becetuber tU Muon square Saturn means only a little Vau- 
| boh in matters of the heart will help. Also, financially ybu 


should play it safe. Children and grandchildren will give a 
hard time, 

December J2: Moon conjunction Mercury-Jiipin-r i* e*< cl km* • 
for lawyers* managers, teachers administrators, filmmakers# 
actors editors. 

A tiwmber Moon sextite Venu* Will lead to success tor 

those who are in the beauty buatne**. Salesmen and business 
mein will also do well. 

JCtecember 14: Sun square Mars, Venus se\Hle Neptune may 
crt»*e accidents it you ate not careful. On the personal side, . 
headway on the workfront is absolutely certain. 


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XTRACT 

The Brunt of 

ATTACKS 



An extract 
from 

Jeelani 
Ratio's new 
book, A Hail 
of Stones 


Extracted /from 

A Hail of Stones 

»y 

Jeelani Bano. 
Translated by 
Rajinder Singh 
Verma 

Published by 
Sterling 
Paperbacks 
Price RsSO 


astan's wild act to kill Venkat was ment." The villagers stratcd keeping 

not an ordinary thing. Malesham strict watch on the farmhands who 

was a lawyer. He raised a hue and were ordered not to step out oi the 

cry which was heard as far away as village. The cars of Murad All Khan, 
Hyderabad. Honourable men of the Chhote Nawab, Malesham and all 
village agreed with Malesham' s the- other landlords started frequenting 

ory mat Venkat' s murder was the the village. Whispering campaign 

ou tcome of a conspiracy hatched by could be heard everywhere 
the Itihad-e-Musalmeen with the After a few days the Tricolour 

help of Dilawar All Khan. was to be hoisted over the Red Fort. 

Otherwise, how could a petty farm- His Majesty's fate hung in balance, 

head, be driven all of a sudden to People from the villages who went 

kill a person who had been feeding to attend meetings held by the • 

him for 20 years! "The time has Itihad-e-Musalmeen returned quite l 

come tor all the Hindus ot the vil- agitated. There was a cry of Islam in \ 

lage to put their heads together and danger and expression of loyalty to ( 

think how to curb these Muslim His Majesty. People from the city • 

goondns. Long enough have we Jived started touring villages to enrol 
under the Nizam's threat. Now, the Rizakars. Small children, donning «■ 

Congress is about to form a govern- military uniform, could be seen - 




parading in front of mosques after 
the prayer hours. They started prac- 
tising fencing and shooting. Viewing 
all this Hindu families, pot panicky 
Swami Rjmanand Tiratn had started 
delivering fiery speeches in 
Hyderabad. What was going to hap- 
pen? That is what people thought 
when they sat together 

All of a sudden, Sabir Mian, the 
caretaker of Chuppe Shah's Durgah, 
gained importance He became pres- 
ident of the ltihad-c-Musalmeen 
branch at Chckatpalli. People of 
Hyderabad advised him to get a 
mosque builftn his village. A dele- 
gation of Muslini inhabitants 
approached Dilawar Khan who 
readily donated a piece of land near 
his fields for this purpose. 
Ownership of this land had been in 
dispute for a long time Chunnu 
Nawab claimed that it belonged to 
his maternal grandfather while 
Dilawar Khan asserted that it was 
his grandfather's property. But 
when it came to building a mosque 
on it both kept quiet. A contribution 
of four anna s was collected from 
every house. Boys and girls, both 
Muslim and Hindu, joined hands m 
building the mosque which was a 
noble act. One day at sunset when 
Malesham and Kushiya Tiwari went 
tor a stroll in the fields they saw the 
building material gathered at the 
mosque site. They spoke to each 
other in whispers 

One morning as Mauh Sahib 
was going to the fields with a mug 
of water in his hand he saw a red- 
dish thing lying in the dueout foun- 
dation of the mosque He bent, lifted 
the thing and viewed it closely Jl 
was a tiny broken image of Goddess 
Lakshmi, dyed in vermillion Out of 
fear he replaced it hurriedly. 

"Well, sir, what are you doing 
here?" Hearing the sound of some- 
one's footsteps Maulvi Sahib found 
Malega standing before him. Maiega 
was a cropsharer of Venkat but also 
a self appointed general of the vil- 
lage. Involved in a quarrel he was 
always ready to kill or die. The 
whole village was scared of him. 
Maulvi Sahib spoke very gently to 
everybody for God had entrusted 
him with the duty of bringing every- 
body to the right oath. It was he 
who had taught tne young and the 
old how to say namaz and observe 
fast He never told a lie nor 
stretched his hand before anybody. 
That was why the poor thing lay 
coughing under his broken matched 
roof 

'‘What have you thrown here, 
Maulvi Sahib?" asked Malega in a 
light tone. 

12 


"WeH Mai/i, I can't see properly 
in the dark. You please check up/' 
replied Maulvi Sahib nervously. 

Malega picked up the thing and 
observing it in the light shouted, 
"Good God! It is Goddess Lakshmi's 
image. It has emerged from the 
earth. Probably it belongs here." 

"You don't mean it?" said 
Maulvi Sahib. "You please go and 
tell Pantalu." His heart started beat- 
ing fast. He was a man of weak faith. 
He believed in the miracles . .as well 
as feared the wrath of Poshamma 
and Lord Venkateshwar Out of ter- 
ror his voice was faltering as he 
went to give the call for prayers. 

Next morning as the news of the 
image emerging from the foundation 
of the mosuuc spread, the whole vil- 
lage was taken by storm. Sabir Mian 
insisted that it was the mischief of 
some Hindu boy. How could there 
have b^en a temple of Lakshmi at a 
place which had been the property 
of Muslim landlords for seven gener- 
ations? On the other hand, 

Malesham related to every Hindu 
the story he had heard from his 
mother that once there stood a tem- 
ple of Lakshmi. He asserted that the 
Hindus would stake their lives to 
prevent the building of a mOvSque 
nere. And this did happen Urchins 
schooled by Sabir Mian built a 
pedestal overnight and hoisted over 
it the green flag of Ghausul Azam. 

As Malega saw the flag, he hurled it 
down with a kick. That was the 
limit. People tutored by Malesham 
came forward Muslim boys were 
highly agitated on hearing the 
speeches of Qasim Rizvi They wel- 
comed this opportunity to teach the 
kafirs a lesson They beat one anoth- 
er badly. Saloon was the worst hit. 
His back began to bleed and his shirt 
got drenched in blood As he 
returned home bathed in blood, 
Ahmed Bi and his sisters and broth- 
ers started crying Murad, swearing 
at him again and again, remarked: 
"This boy wouldn't let us exist Had 
any Muslim fought against am 
Hindu m this villagef What grudge 
do we bear the Hindu mothers, you 
had better despatch this chap to^ 
mateml grandmother's place. I can't 
settle his disputes." 

"You de «t," shouted Saleem, 


"must all our family members siave 
for the Reddis all their lives?" 
"....Shut up, you...." Murad 

looked at him surprised Then he 
started looking helplessly at his 
mother and said. ‘Mother, what has 
gone wrong with him? Didn't you 
see the fate of Narsaya day before? 
Do you two like to be taken round 
the village on ass back with your 


face blackened?" Murad was at a 
loss to understand how to make him 
see sense. 

"Oh! I've seen many who can 
blacken my face. But which fool 
would come here to get his face 
blackened? The driver of the bus 
bound for Waqarabad tells me that a 
lorry cleaner in the city gets Rs 25 
plus free food. I"ll be sending Rs 5 to 
mother every month," said Saleem, 
spitting blood on the wall. 

"Five rupees every month?" his 
mother started looking at him in 
utter surprise. 

"Ana who will be doing your 
job here? Malesham will kill me. He 
had made it clear that now the entire 
family has to work on his fields." 

"Why do you people drudge 
here? Let all of us go to the city 
together." 

"What? Shall we run to the city 
deserting our village?" Murad's 
hands stopped chopping fodder and 
he shouted. "Will you snut up, lad?" 

Ahmed Bi beat her forehead She 
exclaimed, "If someone hears all this 
we shall be doomed The wretch has 
been beaten badly. Blood is still ooz- 
ing from his wounds Cut to size, he 
is now thinking of going away to the 
city" Murad looked at him and, 
turning to his wife, said "Bring 
quickly some filtered sods. Saleem is 
still bleeding." If dust falls on the 
wounds ol a townie he gets tetanus. 
But a farmer's frame rises from dust 




and ultimately returns to it. That is 
why his wounds too heal if earth is 
applied to them. But Saleem had 
been badly hurt. The news of 
Muslim boys being beaten up 
reached Hyderabad and some work- 
ers rushed to the village. They spoke 
to the villagers, "Brothers! In the 
reign of Asafia dynasty we Muslims 
are being subjected to such tyranny. 
Now these kafirs have the cheek to 
beat up our youngsters. Muslims, 
where is your self respect gone? 

Break the hands that tries to reach 
you. Naara-e-takbiri (God is great!)/' 

Slogan, cries and wails of women 
and children could be heard in the 
adjoiniing villages. Smoke rising 
from Chekatpalli could be seen four 
villages away. 

'Muslims are going to attack the 
village tonight." As soon as this 
news spread in the village bankers 
and other rich men sat in their hous- 
es holding guns Ranga Reddy was 
awfully upset I le haa two young 
daughters and one daughter-in-law 
with him. There were small kids and 
lots of gold buried in the house So 
he engaged a lurry from the city, col- 
lected all his belongings and along 
with his family went to his brother 
living in Nalganda. While departing, 
he handed over the keys of his house 
to Abu Khan Abu Khan was 
Murad's uncle and, like Murad, he 
had been bonded to Ranga for the 
past two generations Now he knew 


only one thing, that Ranga was his 
master, lord or his bread. By his 
race alone his children survived. So 
e cried bitterly. But Ranga soothed 
him. In his shed were cows, buf 
taloes and chickens. In his sitting- 
room was installed the image of 
Lord Venkateshwar before which 
Ranga's mother lit a lamp everyday 
at dusk. Henceforth all these duties 
were to be performed by Abu Khan. 
So Abu Khan brought his elder son 
and brother as well to help him. To 
safeguard the house was now his 
responsibility — the house where the 
honour of his forefathers was mort- 
gaged. He believed that the precious 
clothes and jewellery of his grand- 
mother were kept in Ranga's coffers 
and the mortgage documents of his 
house and fields were also preserved 
in the boxes lying inside. 

Abu took a pledge to safeguard 
the house. His son and brother, with 
lathis in his hands, kept bearing the 
brunt of Muslim attacks on the 
house. Then Muslim hooligans 
brought out luggage from the hous- 
es of Hindu bankers and made a 
bonfire of it in front of their houses 
When they broke into Ranga's house 
and tried to lift an iron box, Abu 
held it with all his might and 
appealed to them: "Don't, pray 
don't bum this box. I touch your 
feet." 

"Hurl this bloody fool as well 
into the fire." So one of them lilted 


him by the waist and flung him into 
the fire. 

"Save, save my son!" Abu's 
mother shouted, treating her breast. 
But no villager came forward to face 
the city hooligans. 

"Abu, Abu," calling him out, 
Abu's mother jumped into the blaz- 
ing fire. Next morning people tried 
hard to tell apart the remaining 
bones of the two or both of them had 
been reduced to ashes. 

v It augured well that the charred 
bodies of Abu and his mother could- 
n't be traced. Otherwise who would 
have joined the funeral rites of these 
fools who burnt themselves while 
trying to save the house of a 
Hindu?" observed Naulvi Ahquar 
Shah Sahib, who was an activist and 
who often came from the city to pro- 
voke Muslims against Hindus. While 
departing, he addressed the Muslims 
and declared that the blood of mar- 
tyrs would not go in vain and the 
kafirs would be made to pay 
through their nose. "Goa willing." 

It was the first communal riot in 
Chekatpalli. So all the people were 
scared. They observed: "What criti- 
cal times we are living in! Never 
before were Muslims and Hindus 
reported to have fought against each 
otner. It is said that Muslims have 
burnt temples. Gosh! What a sin 
they have committed." 

Next day the daily Saheefa 
flashed a news item reporting a com- 






fcpSfMENCat 

OiAKl 


munal riot in a village ot Waqarabad. 
"Muthor and son burnt alive," it 
said Malesham went round the vil- 
lage shouting " All this was the 
handiwork ol Dilwar Khan I'll teach 
hiii. a lesson. Anyday the Tricolour 
is to be hoisted in Delhi. I'll trample 
these bloody Muslims under my 
tcet " 

All the elders impressi 1 upon 
him the need to be quiet. This is the 
age of Rizakars. "Beware! They will 
kill all ot us. They say that in 
Nalganda military and Rizakars 
together are spelling disaster. 
Communists too are raising hell 
against the Nizam. Now lawyers are 
being sent to every village. Farmers 
and farmhands will get a fair deal " 

This news upset everybody. Sabir 
Mian, Dilawar Khan, Chunnu 
Nawab, Malesham, Ranga Reddy 
and all the nawabs, kunbis, bankers 
and Deshmukhs of the village were 
terrified. They exclaimed, "‘Good 
gracious! These goon dan have already 
grabbed Nalganda. Who knows 
what will be the fate of our village?" 

On the other hand, Abu's brother 
Yusuf went round the village shout- 
ing: "They burnt down my brother 
and my mother. I'll destroy all of 
them/ He would cry bitterly and 
faint When he regained conscious- 
ness he would start striking his head 
against the walls. All his near and 
dear ones as well as neighbours 
were upset Murad and Saleem 
would sit holding him. But he would 
fight and run away. 

' What bad times have fallen on 


us, oh God 1 Unheard ot things are 
happening!" exclaimed Ahmed Bi 
holding her head in her hands. 

Mast, in's case was due to be 
taken up next month. Malesham 
claimed that he would be hanged. 
Hearing this Ahmed Bi and her chil- 
dren would burst into tears. 

Sabir Mian's brother went round 
the village shouting: "As long as I 
have not set the entire village on fire, 
wouldn't take rest." He went out ot 
the village. He wont up to 
Hyderabad. He contacted influential 
people and then suddenly disap- 
peared Thev say he joined Dallam, 
the guemllas. 

News ol these happenings had 
cast terror over King Kothi. These 
had been kept secret from His 
Majesty He shouted angrily: "Catch 
the hooligans and bring them unto 
me \ will deal with them sternly. But 
what was left in the huts now? 

Rebel boys carrying guns were 
roaming in jungles and on hills. 
Government subedars and tehsildars 
sent to the village did nothing except 
to get hold ot lovely girls and gooa 
chicken. While leaving ihey would 
secure tins ot pure ghee, baskets of 
chickens and eggs, bundles of sugar- 
cane and bananas. Government 
issued an ordinance that all tehsil- 
dars and taluqdars should stay at 
their headquarters and the rebellion 
of farmers should be pul down with 
an iron hand. 

All this augured ill for the 
daughters and daughters-in-law of 


the village for, after drinking, these 
tehsildars could not sleep without 
women. So police patels and tehsil 
peons weaned children from their 
mothers and took mothers to the 
tehsildars. 

One night a tehsil peon went to 
the house of Narsaya, Murad's 
neighbour. Narsaya was Murad's 
bosom friend Since childhood they 
had played together, grew up togeth- 
er and studied together at school up 
to the eighth standard. 

Narsaya's brother Ramaya had 
got married only last month One 
morning the tehsildar Sahib, along 
with Malesham, went out for a stroll. 
He noticed a black beauty carrying a 
bundle of grass on her head The 
tehsildar was reminded of a poem ot 
Josh Malee habadi in which ne said 
that when you touch such* a sturdy 
maiden you run the risk of bruising 
your fingers. Wiping the spittle 
falling on his sherwani, he told 
Malesnam that he was tempted to 
bruise his fingers. Malesham at once 
summoned aU his servants and 
ordered that the girl be procured 
immediately. At about 10 pm, 

Malega reached the doorstep of 
Ramaya. If any tehsildar, taluadar or 
landlord took fancy to any girl it was 
the duty of the village folk to quietly 
offer her to him. Nobody should get 
wind of it. Otherwise menfolk at 
that house would get a shoe beating 
from the banker. By chance, Narsaya, 
keeping a lamp before him, was 
reading a book. As he saw 
Malesham whispering something to 


14 





Ramaya he put aside his book and 
got up He addressed Malega: 

What's the matter? What are you 
whispering to mv brother? iell me 
what you want/' 

'When 1 shall come to fetch your 
wife I'll certainly consult you/' said 
Malega gleefully 

"Shut up you. ./' Narsaya 
uttered a filthy abuse. But by then 
Malega had dragged Rangi by the 
hand as she stood in a corner, say- 
ing: "Bloody tool! Will you go with 
mo willingly or should I take you 
binding your hands and feet?" 

For quite some time Murad and 
Saleem heard the hue and cry raised 
by Narsaya's people They thought 
that both the brothers were 
quarelling Then Murad came out 
and behind him Saleem and then all 
the neighbours emerged from their 
houses. Lost in the darkness of the 
moonless night several boys, holding 
glittering sickles in their hands, were 
? tehsildar's 

Saleem? 
t?" barked 

Ahmed Bi. 

"Huh! What has gone wrong 
with these lads? How will they be 
able to face such big people?" 
observed Ramaya's old grandmother 
who was crying and beating her 
breast. These big people had a claim 
upon his daughter-in-law. She knew 
that till that da\ none — her husband, 
her father-in-law, father and forefa- 
thers — had ever dared open his lips 


seen running towards tne 
bungalow. 

' Why are you going. 
Will you let us live or not 


on such occasions. Whoever 
expressed resentment was found 
murdered in the fields next day. 

Rangi had hardly reached the 
tehsildar's room when three to four 
boys carrying sickles and lathis 
appeared on the scene. They dealt a 
heavy blow on the head of Malega, 
who fainted and fell down. Rangi's 
hand was released from his grip. 
Hearing the hue and cry, the police 
patel, uudo Sahib, and peon all got 
up, to teach a lesson to the boys 
meddling in official matters. But, 
viewing the fate of Malega, they 
paused. Narsaya stopped forward 
and held Rangi's hand. All of them 
returned to their houses. Silence fell 
all around. The tehsildar had bolted 
his room from inside. The hush of 
the dark night of Chekatpaili seemed 
to be a lull before the storm which 
rocked the whole village The elders 
kept vigil. Every young woman's 
heart was held in suspense. It was 
not an ordinary thing to snatch the 
morsel of prey from the tehsildar's 
mouth. After all, the chastity of 
woman is not so precious that for its 
sake the entire village be plunged 
into disaster. This offspring ot 
Mastan was yet to bring God knows 
what more calamities. And first of 
all, Narsaya had rushed out with a 
sickle in his hand. If the tehsildar too 
had come out with his loaded gun, 
l hen? 

In their heart ot hearts all the vil- 
lages were scolding Narsaya and 
Murad tor they had unnecessarily 
made a mountain ot a molehill. 
Offspring ot Dheers! 1 low they are 
getting spoilt! Next morning the vil- 
lage folk woke up scared and, before 
saying their morning prayers, start- 
ed going to the jungle with mugs of 
water in their hands Saleem too 
woke up. Breaking his daily routine, 
he neither took ablutions nor said 
his namaz Nor did he go to the jun- 
gle with Murad. Sitting near the 
hearth he kept smoking a bin 
Ahmed Bi and Gauri Bi were plying 
the handmill Bi Jam was lighting the 
fireplace. The whole house was filled 
with the smoke of smouldering 
dungcakes. Even small kids got up 
and hurriedly went to say namaz 
Then Saleem lose to his feet. He spat 
at the base of the gulmohur tree 
growing in the courtyard and pick- 
ing hir lathi went to the fields. 

The call for prayers had just con- 
cluded m the mosque. People with 
mugs in their hanas were going to 
the fields when they noticed a cloud 
of dust rising on the pucca road. 
There were two men riding black 
mares. One was Malesham, clad in a 
white dhoti, and the other was the 


tehsildar wearing a black sherwani, 
turkish cap and narrow-legged 
trousers. His black shoes shown 
from a distance. Following him were 
a tehsil peon, the police patel and 
Malega. Challenging the people 
going to the fields they shouted, 
'Come hither, all of you. Have word 
with the tehsildar sanib." All got 
startled Those sitting in the fields to 
evacuate rose to their feet in exasper- 
ation. 

Ramaya and Narsaya confined 
themselves to their house out of fear. 
But when they heard the angry 
shouts of Malega they too rushed to 
the fields. They were now convinced 
that Malesham and the tehsildar 
would not spare Narsaya's life. 

"Where are those boys who had 
raised a hue and cry last night?" 
Malega, with his head bandaged, 
shouted 

Hearing this, Saleem put his lathi 
on his shoulder and wont forward. 
Then some other farmhands stepped 
lorward though on the previous 

night they had been in their houses 
Viewing this scuffle near their fields 
some elderly farmers too came, 
coughing, leaning on their walking 
sticks Their hearts were beating fast. 
The tehsildar's mare was hopping 
and neighing and his whip was 
swaving in the air. Then Narsaya 
plucked up courage. He stepped for- 
ward, stood beside the tehsildar and 
spoke. "Yes, sir, what do you want 
to say to us?" 

Seeing this, Malega came tor- 
ward and, pushing Narsaya back • 
with his lathi, barked: "You bastard!. 
Why are you rushing forward? Talk ' 
with your head bent downwards." j 
And holding Narsaya's neck lie low 
ered it all with his might 

"You dare call me a bastard! Yoi 
son of a swine!" Narsaya shouted ir ; 
Telugu and, snatching Saleem's lathi t 
rushed to hit Malega. The situation 
was taking an ugly turn So the peo 
and the police patel pushed Malega . 
back But Narsaya seemed too pos- t . 
sessed at that moment ;; 

"Get down, sahib. Have a word 1 
with us. 1 too like your wife Would ■ 
you mind sparing her for me for or'lf 
night?" 

"What did you say?" All those dj 
present shuddered, Malesham, 
Malega, and the police patel were 
raining shoes on Narsaya's head. E 
Ihe tehsildar’s mare stopped jump-, :' 
ing The swishing whip in his ham* { 
stood still. His mouth, full of betel /- 'J 
stopped chewing. He felt as if all t 
revolving earth had stopped short 
He looked around He fell as if all /** 
the folk of the village were mount ;{j 
his head. ■ 



Time table 

All arrival and departure times are for Calcutta 

Dtytof operation using T-dny rod*. © MONDAY 9 TUESDAY 9 WEDNESDAY 9 THURSDAY 9 FRIDAY 9 SATURDAY 9 SUNDAY 
(As* lln^c pages go to press one week in advance, readers should check with respective airlines and railways for last minute change in timings) 




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Ft No. Time Days 


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Ft No. Tiro 


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I -; 1 * < 

NTERVIEW 

A LAST TESTAMENT 

Lore, sex, marriage, good mine, the shortcomings of the Bengali character, 
the superiority of Bengali women over their Punjabi sisters, the moral 
cowardice of Salman Rushdie, the decline of England — Nirad C. 
Cnaudhuri holds forth on these and other topics with characteristic gusto in 
this interview with Suntan Bhuchar andAmit Roy 

O utside the semi-detached 
house in Oxford, it is a 
bright, crisp November 
morning The garden, 
which had once been the owner's joy, 
is now overgrown as winter sets in 
Autumn leaves lie in thick piles in 
Lathhury Road I he polished brass 
nameplate bv the door, "Nirad C 
Chaudhuri", lias about it a touch of 
permanence | 

But the* author ot The 
Autobiography of mi Lhikuotrn Indian 
knows he does not have too much 
time In anv case, passing time is 
marked aihir- silling room, cluttered 
with precious books, paintings and a 
Luge collection of European music, 
bv a clock — English, not Swiss — 
chiming sweetly 

Niradhi/Mi's exclusive interview 
celebrates his tian.sition to his 100th 
year on November 23 It is 
reassunng to note that age has not 
dimmed either his tremendous zest 
toi life or his mischievous, c/on 
malicious, sense ol numour 

He recalls how an Italian girl, 
young and beau til Lit, naturally, had 
once kissed him out ot gratitude tor 
his literary genius Now, young 
Bengali women, who were reading 
him m Bengali, were apparently 
ready to do the same. 

With a high-pitched cackle, he 
jokes "But 1 am petrified what effect 
any kissing will have on me." The 
grand old man of Indian letteis has 
an important announcement, his 
new work, a "testmamonf" 
predicting the end ot civilisation 
within 200 to 400 years, will be 
published in India next March by 
Oxford University Press. 

Niradfoifw has lived alone since 
his wife, Amiya, died on September 
17, 1994, after 62 years of a very 
happy marriage. He is coping well 
though he avoids the cola emptiness 
of their bedroom. There is a 
photograph of her in an Oxford park 
feeding tr.<? ducks. 

10 



Nirad C. Chaudhuri: \ have never preached anything I have not practised* 


Though he will not admit it, he 
has had a go at making begun bhaaja 
(fried aubergine) and shiddho bhaath 
(boiled rice), according to his 63- 
year-old eldest son, Driruva, who 
occasionally comes over from Delhi. 

He has bought his father a 
microwave so that the old man can 


warm his own packaged 
supermarket meals. Niradfwifrw 
manages on a modest pension 
though he has not lost nis taste for 
fine wine. A cleaning lady, provided 
by the local council, does the 
housework. 

Behind his barbs aimed at the 


j Bengalis, there appears to be an 
' underlying affection ""I live as an 
authentic Bengali/' he insists. "I am 
■ the only Indian who wears nothing 
but dhoti and paanjabi at home." 

When he goes out, however, he is 
dressed in a smart suit and 
transformed into the perfect English 
gentleman. His head will be covered 
in one of the six hats he keeps in a 
neat line in his hallway. It causes 
him anguish that the England which 
drew him to Oxford and which 
inspired him to write A Passage to 
England has been replaced by a 
harsher, more brutal society. 

Recently, he received a letter 
Irom the police warning him to be 
on the lookout for muggers who 

I Tey on old people. Now so frail that 
ic has had to give up his daily 
walks, the tiny figure of Niradhabu is 
cleraly an easy target He says his 
evesight is so bad that he is "half 
Mind". 

"Can you tell me the English 
people are civilised when you 
annot go from here to there without 
the risk of being murdered?" he asks 
angrily That great nation should 
become so degenerate I could not 
torsee even m 1970," he reflects 

By the iront door are piled copies 
ot The Times which Nira dbahu 
continues to take for an odd reason 
1 want to know how degenerate 
E nglish people <an be The Times is 
the most degraded paper today It 
writes in English wruch is not used 
1 bv even the News of the Wot Id." 

His deepest admiration had once 
| been reserved for the British 
■ Parliament, which he now calls 
contemptible" and the Church of 
England, which he dismisses as 
* corrupt". 


T he nature of the book business in 
Britain is such that publishers 
have to hype their "products", sell 
their authors to newspapers and 
television and promote each major 
work by taking the writer on a 
whirlwind PR trip round the 
country. Even many of the Indian 
students at Oxford are probably 
unaware of Niradfrafru's presence. In 
the country at large, he has a low 
profile. In any case, Niradfrafru now 
writes mostly in Bengali, for such 
publications, as the Puja numbers of 
Oin/i in Calcutta. 

His scholarship, which has 
allowed him to master English, 
Bengali, Sanskrit and French, 
jvmains formidable. He gets by in 
Greek and Latin. He is forever 
living into books, many of them his 


own — Hinduism , The Continent of 
Circe which won him the Duff 
Cooper prize. Scholar Extraordinary , a 
biography of Max Mueller, Clive of 
India and Thy Hand , Great Anarch ! 

He used to write on a manual 
typewriter but now has a word 
processor though he does not make 
much use of it. As with human 
beings he divides writers into two 
classes — paagal (mad) and chhaagal 
(goats). He reckons he belongs to the 
first. 

His opinion of the current crop of 
celebrity Indian writers is not 
flattering. 

"Coward! Living under police 
protection," he says contemptuously 
of Salman Rushdie whose 
motivation, Niradfrafru claims, was to 
make money. "Then when he found 
himself in a tight corner he squealed. 
One thing I dislike about writers is 
cowardice and this is a damned 
coward. What does he write? 

! Rubbish." 

| Vikram Seth, Rohinton Mistry 
! and the others, ho adds, "write in 
j the current literary jargon which gets j 
I out of date every six months j 


almost." 

Arundhati Roy merits, a "Who?" 

His opinion is: "If we are not 
born English and want to write 
English we should write the English 
which has been good English for at 
least 200 years. Otherwise we will 
date in six months. I have read every 
bit of good English prose from the 
16th centuiy to 1920. 1 know what 1 
am saying. 

Literary critics in Britain say that 
although Nirad C. Chaudhuri now 
attracts a small but erudite 
following, his place as a writer is 
assured. 

One familiar with what people 
read today is Ronald Warwick, a 
lecturer and writer who was 
"wowed" by The Autobiography of an 
Unknown Indian — this emerges as 
Niradfrafru's most popular book. 

Pointing out that N.C. 

Chaudhuri is listed behind Chaucer 
in the Cambridge University Guide to 
Literature in English , Warwick says, 
"He has chosen not to write in a 
popular genre like a novel. His kind 
j of writing goes back to Chesterton 
! and Belloc — social commentary and 


His wife, Amfya, and sons: 12 years his junior, Amiya Chaudhuri died in 1994 
after a long and happy marriage of 62 years 





historical observation. His interests 
and prejudices are not commonplace 
ones which conspire to make him a 
less well known writer than he 
ought to be or deserves to be." 

Suggesting that tne Indian has 
"the way of a gadfly", Warwick 
argues, "he has a tremendously 
combativorm of intellect. The truth is 
ot at by arguing things out. We 
ave lost it He nas got it He has no 
one to argue with him now." 

Warwick, who used to work at 
the Commonwealth Institute Library 
in London, forecasts, "He is going to 
be a far more important figure in 
years to come. He writes English 
with enormous style, great beauty 
and clarity. No word is there 
accidentally." 

The TV presenter, Clive fames, 
who recently publised a novel about 
Bombay, The silver Castle , read 
Niradfrafru tor background and was 
"blown awav". 


J ohn Bayiey, 71, who was Warren 
professor of English literature at 
xford from 1973 to 1993 states, * As 
a writer in English he is very 
remarkable and right up there in the 
front rank." 

The distinguished columnist and 
author, John Grigg, 72, who first met 
Niradfrdbu in Delni nearly 50 years 
ago, believes The Autobiography of an 
unknown Indian will stand trie test 


time. "In my eyes, he has a very 
high standing, though his habit of 
making mischief gets the better of 
his judgment at times." 

His former editor at Chatto & 


Windus, Jeremy Lewis, reveals that 
although Th u Hand, Great Anarch ! 
was over 1,000 pages long, at 
Niradfrdw's say not a word was cut. 
The book was written by the author 
without the help of notes or a diary, 
"straight out of Nirad Chaudhuri's 
head". 

Lewis would often visit the 
author whom he found a "self- 
absorbed man, a great man not 
remotely interested in others". But 
the two volumes of his 
autobiography, emphasises Lewis, 
"constitute one of the great 
autobiographies in the language, and 
one of tne tew contemporay works 
one can imagine people reading in 
two hundred years time." 

On Niradlw/jw's shelves is a book, 
given by an admirer — an 
autographed copy of A Second 
Paradise by Naveen Patnaik 
presented by the late Jacqueline 
Kennedy Onassis who sought him 
out and took him tu lunch at the Rilz 
in London. 

Niradbti/iw's own view ot his role 
is simple: "1 consider myst'Jf a 
corrective to my people. Bengalis are 
extremely narrow and they have 
accepted defeat and resorted to 
escapism. They resent being told 
thay are not *il for anything. All the 
Bengali vices proceed from 
weakness, never from bad 
disposition. Even if a tiger comes 



20 


into their garden, they will say it is a 
cat." 

He feels — wrongly perhaps — 
that he has not received critical 
acclaim from his countrymen, '"In 
moTe than 70 years of writing in 
English, I have never heard or read 
any Indian praising my English. 
Wny? They neither understand nor 
appreciate the English which is 
English." 

He says that in the 26 years he 
has lived in Oxford, only two 
Bengali families have been intimate 
with him and now even they have 
dropped off. "They feel an 
alienation." 

In contrast, Oxford University, 
gave hirh an honorary degree in 
1990. And when he was awarded an 
honorary CBE (Commander of the 
British Empire) in 19^2 from the 
Queen, the citation described him as 
"one of the great writers in this 
century in the English language." 

He pulls out the New york Times 
review of 77iy Hand, Great Anarch! 
and reads out the line which reduces 
himself to almost uncontrollable 
mirth: "Nirad C Chaudhun is a 
fiction created by the Indian writer 
of the same name " 1 1c says, this 
observation by David Lelyveld, is 
the 'most accurate estimate ot me 
by a Westerner " 

He remembers the / hndustan 
Times teview of The Autobiography of 





an Unknown Indian had said "the 
book is only lavatory writing." 


H e remembers, too, his 28 years in 
Delhi, when he had encountered 
mostly Punjabi women. He found 50 
per cent of them extremely 
handsome while another 25 per cent 
"purely judging by features," were 
really beautiful. 

' But 1 have never felt attracted 
to any Punjabi girl," he confesses. 

"A Punjabi girl will rub me all over 
and will not produce any sensation. 
Their limitation is that they are 
'mindless'." 

As for Bengali women, "10 per 
cent will not be beautiful but 1 can 
hardly resist a Bengali girl". He was 
34 when he married his wife, Amiya, 
nearly 12 years his junior. 

"In my whole life I have not had 
a physical relationship with any 
woman except her," he emphasises 


"I tell these haramzada English, how 
many men can boast you had no 
physical relations with a woman till 
his 34th year? How many can boast 
a physical relationship with one 
woman in your whole life? I can say 
that. 1 have the right to preach. I 
have never preached anything I have 
not practised." 

He calls his life "the survival of 
the ur.rittest". Although he 
abandoned belief in a God at the age 
of 20, he is of the conviction that 
there is "some mercy in the universe 
which takes care of precisely those 
who are least fit to take care of 
themselves. Religion says you cross 
the cosmos 1 say I am carried along 
the cosmos." 

1 1c is not m the mood to 
pontificate or offer unwanted advice. 
r '01d men give good advice," he 
cackles, "because they cannot set a 
bad example." ■ 


21 


















THE ADVENTURES OF LEGIONNAIRE BEAUPEEP 

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USIC 


SUNEETA SENORITA 


Vaishatt Honawar meets Suneeta Rao, who has just released her 

neu> album, Talaash 


I t's easy taiead Suneeta Rao 
through the expressions that flit 
across her face I ler eyes dance 
as she talks about her new 
album, Talaash, released just days 
ago by Asha Bhonsle; a smile lights 
up her face when she says that 
music is the greatest love of her life; 
a shutter comes down at a personal 
query. 

But she's feeling good about life* 
in general — you ran see that as she 
snuggles into a chair on the terrace 
of her flat in suburban Bombay 
overlooking the sea. The response to 
her video, Dehka Dehka, which is 
being aired over Channel V and 
MTV, has been ‘ 'tremendous" and 
that could mean the album's already 
a hit. 

It's been tour years since Puree, 
Rao's first and perhaps only big hit. 
was released Over sev n years since 
her first pop album, Senorita. and 
nearly 14 years since she started out 
as a songstress in theatre musicals 
It s been a long time but Suneeta Rao 
show's nr* signs of wear 

In fact, she looks much younger 
than her 29 years. And even tn a 
loose nightie with her face scrubbed 
clean of make-up, she resembles the 
swan-like, flamboyant, energetic 
beauty that she is on stage.' I’ve 
always been a performer- -right 
from my childhood," she says "1 
would walk into a room and 
announce my arrival, create an 
audience from my family and 
perform tor them. Performing comes 
very naturally to me " 

Not surprising then that she 
started acting in theatre musicals 
while still at college. During her five 
years at St Xaviers' she did five 
musicals, including Hint a. Crease and 
Bottoms lip. 

And she did brilliantly in 
academics, too. "1 was something of 
a mugpot," she laughs. "I would 
learn whole chapters by heart and 
recite them word for word. It still 
works today when I have to learn 
my dance steps!" 

After graduating with economies 


r 


Suneeta Rao: Energetic beauty 
in 1988, Rao opted tor a career she 
had always dreamed about: singing. 
Hot first pop album, Stmunta, was 
released in 1989 — among the first of 
its kind in the country 

rhose were the days before 
Channel V and MTV had 
revolutionised the music scene in 
India and there weren't too many 
takers for Hindi pop. Semmta, 
however, did well— 'it sold 75,000 
copies which was quite a good 
number". But even if it hadn't, there 
would have been no turning back for 
the girl who grew up listening to 
Barbra Streisand, Whitney I f ouston, 
Billy Joel, Aretha Franklin, Asha 
Bhonsle and R.D. Burman, wanting 
to be one of them. 

a e of the greatest moments in 
er liie, she says, was when 
Asha Bhonsle released Talaash . "She 
listened to my songs and said she 
liked them!" says Rao happily. "The 
release was in a disco ana she said it 
was the first time she'd been inside 
one. And I told her that her voice 
had entered the disco long before 
she had!" 

Her own love for music, says 
Suneeta, is ingrained. "Coming from 



a south Indian family, music and 
dance were always part of my life." 
Also, her mother, Kamla Sista, has 
been a yesteryear playback singer. 

Suneeta trained in 
Bharatanatyam and in both 
Hindustani and Carnatic music and 
admits that this stands her in good 
stead when she sings pop today. "I 
still try to be a good girl and do my 
riyaaz everyday despite my erratic 
schedule," she laughs. 

Erratic, maybe, but her schedule 
must certainly be a busy one. Her 
years in the music world have seen 
her do many things, including 
playback in Hindi films, ad jingles 
and numerous live shows. 

She's also got four albums under 
her belt, including Dhuaurt and a 
compilation. And while she has so 
far turned out fewer hits than many 
others of her genre — "Some have 
said I'm a one-song wonder," she 
laughs — Rao has no regrets. "1 
would like to make music that stays 
with people for a long, long time." 
Besides she's been maturing as a 
singer by the day and that alone 
makes it worth her while. 

"Music," she says thoughtfully, 
"has three functions — it has to either 
make people want to boogey, cry or 
calm them. It also has to 
communicate and touch hearts. If 
my music can do any of these, I 
would think 1 have achieved 
something." 

Paree, perhaps, gave her that 
sense of fulfilment. The haunting 
video made by Ram Madhvani tells 
the story of a schoolgirl's crush on 
her teacher. But no, it was not 
autobiographical, says Suneeta. 

"It was completely Ram's 
interpretation — he saw a sensual 
element there, and an innocence. It 
had nothing to do with my life, 
really, though I am sure that at some 
point in my childhood I must have 
had a crush on one of my teachers," 
she says. 

Dehka Dehka is more Suneeta Rao, 
a vibrant fusion of dance and music. 
In the video she has indulged her 


26 



love for experimentation with the 
various dame forms, using Daksha 
Seth's dancers and their unusual 
combination of Kalaripayattu and 
Chhau. The video, incidentally, has 
been made by Suneeta's sister, Aarti 
Rao Shetty, who runs a filmmaking 
unit along with her husband, Sunil 
Shetty, in Bangalore. 

Talaash , says Suneeta, has 
something for everyone. "It's 
extremely groovy, melodious, ethnic 
and folky in parts. Talaash is a 
ghazal, Dehka Dehka is a grinding, 
earthy tune, while Kesariya, which 
will be my next video, is a rap- 
techno tune that everbody loves 
already." 

It's taken her a year-and-a-half to 
come out with Talaash and she's 



Posing with Daksha Seth’s dancers while shooting for Dekha Dekha 


involved herself in every aspect of it. watch your video. "It is terrific? And 
She has composed the music along for someone like me who already 
with Ranjit Barot The lyrics arc by has all this experience, such a 

Shyam Anuragi but Suneeta stresses platform is a tremendous thing. At 

that she would make it a point to sit last we may have a parallel pop 
down with him and tell him "just industry to rival the Hindi film 

what I wanted". industry." 

Being such a perfectionist herself, 

does she approve of the dozens of Tlut while one cannot dispute that 
music albums and videos being JDthc audio-visual revolution has 

churned out by pop artistes been a boon to Indian singers, it has 

overnight? also led to the video being given an 

"Well, it's good that there's some equal and sometimes higher place 
competition today," she says. “ItTI than the song itself. Can this not be 
do the business a lot of good." But, frustrating for a singer who may 
she adds, m the long run it is the often find his/her song eclipsea by 

best talent that will stay while the the pretty picture on screen? 

rest fall by the wayside. No, says Suneeta. For her, the 

It is a very different scene today visual element has an important role 
from the days I came out with to play in a song. "Every time one 

Senonta," she recalls. "At the time heats a song, one forms a picture in 

there was no competition and no one's mind or associates it with an 

opportunities either. Luckily, event in his/her life," she says “ lo 

Doordarshan introduced this make a song into a video or to 

programme called Pop Time around perform it on stage enhances it and 
the time Senonta was released and gives one more audio-visual 
some of us on the scene then got a fulfilment." 

chance to make videos and air Besides, she says, if a song is 

them." "really good, it will click no matter 

Today, she says, you could be a how good or bad the video is. And if j 

total newcomer but 53 countries will the video is terrific, it will help the 

With Asha Bhonsle who released her new album, Talaash 



sales of the song." 

As for some new groups today 
which cash in on their looks rather 
than their talent for singing, "it is 
totally a marketing strategy and if it 
pays off, that’s good for them. But 
tor myself, music is the most 
important tiling and all the things 1 
do to glamorise it, on stage and in 
my videos, are simply accessories." 

To illustrate her point, Rao cites 
Madonna "who's .given some classic 
hits, is a good performer, a great 
looker, and whose music is very 
cleverly and fantastically written. At 
the same time, it's music you can 
boogey to. She's also one performer 
who can just pick up a guitar and 
entertain an audience. How good 
she and her videos look do not 
distract one from her music."' 

She admits, though, that a pop 
singer has to do so much more today 
than just sing. One has to be able to 
dance, act, do promotional and 
social campaigns, veejay... 

Oh, she's not complaining. It’s 
fun, so long as it doesn't intrude on 
her music. But she has no second 
thoughts before turning down offers 
to compere shows — game shows 
and music shows — "because I see 
that as a different profession 
altogether and not something I 
would like* to get involved with" 

Suneeta’s not planning any 
personal involvements either, in the 
near future. No, there’s no one 
special and no, she's not waiting for 
Mr Right. "Love and marriage will 
happen when they have to 1 am just 
getting on with my life and my 
music," she says firmly. 

Besides, she has her piano 
lessons keeping her hands full. And 
then she' loves to read, watch 
movies, dance .. Every day in 
Suneeta Rao's life js "different". And 
she'll have it no other way. I 


27 


I he 


TrTvel 

BAYWATCH 

Andaman islands, with their white beaches, beautiful corals and emerald 
forests, offer an ideal vacation for those who love nature, 
reports Susmita Banerfee 


A 


s the' Awing 737 hovers 
over the 1 hill- ringed Port 
Blair air port, passengers 
at the I 


gasp at the breathtaking 
sight ot the shimmering landscape 
beneath — visible to the eye in vary- 
ing hut's of unlielievable purple, 
turquoise and green through a 
smokescreen of mists and wispy 
clouds As the plane lands, the sun 
ducks behind an ominous spread of 
grey and you experience the first 
heavy shower of a tropical island. 

But as the car meanders through 
the undulating, snaky n^ads into the 
emerald island, a so 'ring sun greets 
you and you are told by the hotel 
guide that it never rains uniformly 
on the island. If South Point was 
experiencing a heavy shower, 
Wandoor, an hour’s drive away, 
would be having warm sunny 
weather 

As then* are very few vehicles on 
the mad, drivers lake liberties with 
their speedometers while traffic 
polu cmen at instersections stand 
more like mannequins, posted there 
to complete the pictorial canvas. 
White and yellow cottages and glass- 
pant'd wooden bungalows atop hills 
peer from behind luxurious foliage 
and bring back nostalgic memories 
of Darjeeling in its prime, as neatly 
attired little brats with rucksacks on 
their back, saunter to schools. 

It takes time for the visitor from 
the mainland to get used to the idyl- 
lic beauty and calm of the island. 
Apart from the occasional roar ol 
aeroplanes either taking off or land- 
ing and the murmer of the sea, there 
is no .sound to disturb the tranquilli- 
ty of this paradise. 

Although the islanders are full of 
talcs of the indigenous Jarawa, Ongi 
and SentmaJesc tribes, there aie very 
few chances of accosting any of these 
people as they are .screened off from 
the public living in reserved settle- 
ments where no one is allowed to 
intrude, except with special permits. 

With the smell of tne sea in the 
aic the scent of a strange flower 

28 



A panoramic view of the blue-green sea of the Andaman islands 


intoxicating you, and the sky a bril- 
liant shade of blue, you fall irrevoca- 
bly in love with the Andaman and 
Nicobar Islands at first sight. 

T he Island Development Authority 
keeps a strict vigil oil tourists 
descending on the island to ensure 
that the archipelago's delicate eco- 
system of priceless corals, rain 
forests, white beaches and crystal 
dear waters is not damaged. And so 
instead of aiming at mass-market 
tourism, it encourages a limited 
number of up-market tourists to visit 
the islands. No wonder the islands 
have an unspoilt, untouched look 
about them, unravaged by human 
marauders. 

Accommodation varies from the 
cheap dormitories to the very expen- 
sive like the Welcomgroup's bay 
Island hotel. But for tne tourist on 
his maiden visit who would like to 


take back indelible images of the sea, 
the Sinclairs Bay View would be an 
ideal economical choice. The conical 
snow-white roof of the hotel is 
unmistakable from a distance and 
once you check into any one of its 30 
tastefully furnished rooms and make 
a beeline for the verandah, you feel 
as if you are sailing on a ship! The 
sea, gently caressing the shore, is 
right under your nose with only a 
garden acting as a divide; the blue 
stretches interminably before you till 
it meets die sky somewhere in the 
indefinable horizon; palm-dotted 
islands look like minuscule ikebana 
arrangements in the distance and 
there is not a soul to trample on your 
privacy or spoil your midday reverie 
save the gentle knock of the waiter* 

The hotel is fashioned in such a 
way that all the 30 rooms offer a 
spectacular view of the sea from 



dawn to dusk. If you opt for the 
modified American plan, it would 
include a well-appointed AC room, 
bed-tea, special Sinclairs breakfast 
and one major meal for Rs 2,090 
(double) and Rs 1,449 (single). 

Some may opt for the American 
plan (AC room, Ibed-tea, breakfast, 
lunch, evening tea and dinner) for Rs 
• 2,600 (double) and Rs 1,700 (single). 
There is also the Continental plan 
(room, bed-tea and breakfast only) 
for Rs 1,690 (double) and Rs 1,245 
(single). Yet others may prefer the 
European plan (room only) for Rs 
1,400 (double) and Rs 1,100 (single). 
The well-heeled tourist may prefer 
the luxury suite (European plan) for 
Rs 2,000. All non-AC accommoda- 
tion costs less. 

The modified American plan 
suits most budgets Picture tnis you 
wake up to the song of the winds 
and the unperturbed cadance of the 
wav**s, and then enjoy a warm cup 
of tea la/ vine on your bed. Then 
after a quick not shower voti can 
sftvoll into the garden or sprint down 
the stone steps that lead to the 
lagoon, where the hotel has con- 
structed j swimming pool which 
traps the waters of the sea during 
hign tide bv locking the sluice gates 
So, vou get the privacy ot a secluded 
beach plus the constant water level 
of a swimming pool 

The hotel site is awash m memo- 
ries ot the British Raj and it is even 
rumoured that the flamboyant liquor 
baron Vijay Mallva was one ot the 
top bidders for this hotel You will 
chance upon five Japanese bunkers 
jt the base of the hotel and also a 


The Sinclairs Bay View, Port Blair 



4 



All the rooms at Sinclairs offer this spectacular view of the sea 


Japanese canon! Incidentally, the expert from Mumbai, who will leach 

island was under Japanese occupa- you scuba diving, 
tion from 1942 to 1945 and there are Tire notorious Cellular Jail is a 

stories galore of Japanese treasures must on the city tour itinerary A 

lying hidden somewhere on the Scottish couple, Mr and Mrs 

island and the existence of a secret Dunthome, inspecting the gallows 

tunnel under the sea linking Port where once innumerable Indian free- 

Blair and Ross Island which is dom fighters wive hanged, cried out 

stashed with gold! in horror. ' Oh, how could they!" 

The null ti- cuisine restaurant. The Apparently, they didn’t know about 
Palms, (in the second floor, offers a this place being a British penal settle- 
panoramic view ol the sea. Don't inent till they came here We only 

miss the delecta 'lc Tiger prawns and read about the «.oral islands m the 

the local Swrwifli fish cooked in mus- Umelif PUirn't.” they said, 
tard sauce. The weekends are A light and sound show is held 

Tandoori nights; so dinner should on the premises in the evening to 
include some sizzling chicken Ian- recapture the mood ot the 
dooris. The banquet nail on the sec- Independence movement and the 
ond floor is ideal lor hosting mar- guide takes pride in pointing out 

nage receptions and seminars with tnat the film Kaalapaam was 

the sea as the backdrop. shot here 

There is no night life in Port Going round the city, you will 

Blair, people tend to retin? after 7.30 discover the roads are immaculately 
in the evening; but once the open-air clean, because thanks to the ad minis - 
discotheque and roof-top restaurant tration, they are washed every night 
comes up early next year at Sinclairs. and nowhere will you encounter a 

the young, vuppy crowd will have pothole; local buses look spic and 

somewhere to go. span, all public places have a brand 

new look about theuv the inhabi- 

X hciv are a number ol enchanting tanK * or i mm B *» cnjss-a.ltural malm 
island cruises and citv lours ot Bengalis, North Indians, famils. 

ich the visitor should not miss lelugus and Malyal.s, are either 

trips to histone Ross Island, Viper thnving businessmen or well-placed 

Island, the coral islands (jolly Buoy government servants 
or Red Skin). Jolly Buoy, an nour s Seduced as you are, the moment 

cruise from Wan door jetty through a when you have to say adieu to the 
forest-fringed blue -green sea, will paradise is painful Apart from the 

introduce the visitor to an amazing tew mementoes you pick up from 

world of underwater coral life seen the local Aberdeen Bazaar, there’s 

through glass-bot tomed boats. If you nothing you can really bung baik 
want a closer look at the corals, you that will ivmiml you of this memu- 
could hire* snorkelling and scuba rable holiday And you cannot smug- 
diving equipment. At Sinclairs you gle any corals into your baggage 

could even seek the assistance of because it will be subject to check at 

Manvi Thakkar, the water sports the airpoxt and if you are* caught. .. ■ 


29 




my husband ana 

daughter. 

What i* your 
gKdWfeut 

No oopunents. 
Who or What has 
'hNttlbegHti«d 
hftnemhmt 
Site? 

• My first guru 
Pandit HruJaynath 
Mangeslduir and 
ail me great 
musicians of our 
country; 

What do you 
dislike most in 
others? 

Untidiness and 
people who ape opt 


punctual. 

What do ; 


What do you 
dislike most in 
younwlf? 

lam very 
hypersensitive and 
* steadfast person 
at that: 

What is yottr meat 

jtndm 

possession? 

My old toupwir 
Whatoftd* rtydn; 

IWi *^**** 1 




:fc -tt"* “™ 


- Wbatisyour 
amuteof ’ 
sustenance? 

» spending 

j fruftftd hours . 
with my ustadji, 
'r4~$l KhanSaheb 

i UStaJ Niyaz 
Ahmed. . 

' • 

flicafuddnado 
Vo* He? 

.When!. don't 

vintMloineet 
pedple during 

• .. . 


P 


WMfeyotir 

W 



What is your most 
precious 
possession? 

My old tmtpura 


Tew, *rtfr*f . 


it 

lirtV '*! 

., yvnm m.w|w-awdW9W wmp* 

' WM teyo w* fr w rite fromey? - 

■ ' To jfte'wtitwHjbf; “V z ;■ 



Jcf\ ;V M 














POSTMORTEM 

w 



Why single out Miss World; the protestors should first criticise Bollywood films 


Nandy and 
Internet 

1 The cover story on 
Pritish Nandy was inter- 
esting ('Spaced Out', 
October 20). Although a 
bit of a drifter, moving 
from one profession to 
another Nandy will 
always be remembered 
for his sensational exposes 
in print. 

He was identified as a 
fearless investigative jour- 
nalist who would keep 
pursuing truth. 

I lis success in televi- 
sion, however, did not 
echo his success in the 
print media. He looked 
too opinionated and 
pompous as an anchor- 
person 

The cyber revolution 
has many prospect* in 
India. The electronic 
media is the 'in' thing and 
Nandy, with his penchant 
toi the Net, should get lh» 
spotlight back on him. 
Siddhartha Bhattacharjee, 
Calcutta 

& Kudos to Nandy for 
his ever-changing image. 
But it is always as a jour- 
nalist that he will be bet- 
ter known. We still 
remember his tirade 
against the Orissa chief 
ministec J-B. Patnaik 
which led to Nandy's 


office being searched by 
the Orissa police. 

Arta Mishra, 

Cuttack 

I® Nandy is a man of 
many parts. If he was a 
ruthless journalist he was 
also the soft, romantic 
poet of sensitive emo- 
tioas. And this found 
expression in his concern 
for the environment. 

Now, Nandy has devel- 
oped a fettish for the Net.' 
He's clearly a man always 
on the move* 

Subrata Saha, 

Calcutta 


AB Babies 

1 'Feminists or 
Feminazis?', (November 
10) rightly says that the 
women's organisations 
protesting against the 
Miss World contest in 
Bangalore are no different 
from the Taliban forces in 
Afghanistan. 

Feminism does not 
advocate militancy it is a 
school of drought which 
questions certain norms 
of patriarchy, which have 
reduced women to objects 
of sex. 


Feminisn expects, but 
does not forre, women to 
find their own mode of 
self-expression. So the agi- 
tators cannot be termed 
feminists. 

Sarbam Bose, 

Calcutta 


St Can the protestors cen- 
sure the Bombay film 
industry which is getting 
from bad to worse 
because of the obscenity 
being displayed on 
screen? 

Anjana Banerjee 

Calcutta 



PAGE 4 


R.K. NARAYAN, the grand old man ot fiction, 
turned 90 recently. An interview with the 
writer on his life, his literary works and his 
myriad cvpericnces in life 

PAGE 26 


THERE'S MORE to Singapore than the drop- 
ping plazas. 

Rasipuram Krishnaswamy Narayan 


aggros? 

16 TIME TABLE 
26 TRAVE1 
AO FIRST PERSON 


Cover M.K Narayan with 
his great-granddaughter, 
photograph courtesy 
Frontline 



Cover story 

THE 

WRITE 

CHOICE 

R.K. Narayan s facility with ux>rds has 
shxxl him in gcxxi stead throughout fits 
life. SudhaG.Tilak meets the u'riter, 
who recently turned <X) 

"SCIENTIFIC HOAXES WOULD MAKE FOR A 
good movie," says R.K. Narayan. A warm 
mid-morning chat session has turned to 
Ramar Pillai, the wannabe scientist who ins- 
ists that he can make herbal petrol. Narayan 
is dismissive of such charlatans. But he is 
quick to agree that such tricks are pretty 
commonplace in India. 

He recollects, with a gleeful laugh, the 
day when he was relaxing in his porch in 
Mysore and a mendicant came along. "He 
poured vibhuthi from his sleeve and told 
me that he could do more such miracles and 
asked for some money. I told him that I 
could perform better tricks and after watch- 
ing me he left discouraged" 

It is such everyday moments that enliven 
Narayan's writing as well. The regular turn 
of events; little forgettable incidents; sleepy 
towns; the humour and gentle pathos of his 
people; all of these coalesce to make his fic- 
tion special and unique. 


Courtesy P'-ootlrn 




‘At my age I want to get along with the business of living peacefully 1 


And *ilso l he tart that, as biogra- i htvrleaders tor visiting VIPs "The 

pher, Susan Kam, says. 'Hr is most sun would bo immensely hot in Delhi 

non-judgmental and gentle even with anil these c hildren would bt: lined up 

non-respectable people/' Narayan to wave* the flags Utter cruelty," he 

approaches his characters with a d igni- ret alls 

bed gentleness, and presents their 1 U* reads oul a letter written fo him 

ai tions — or even the world — from by school children With childlike 
their point of view appreciation they scrawl how Swarm 

\ ie had served as a member of the am! Friend > has been an inspiring text 

Rajya Sabha m 1 989, and on three occa- for them " Isn't this charming? I will 
siuns, he had demanded the abolition reply to them," says Narayan. 
of the heavy and burdensome school The girl child also occupies a special 

satchels for school children place in his heart. "Foeticide is a hoiri- 

\ ic had also raised the issue of mak- ble practice' \ he says As a member of 
mg children well in the sun posing as Parliament, Narayan wanted a Bill to 


w be passed against the foeticide of the 

* female child. "Health clinics in the 

* name of sex determination also go 
§ ahead with this abhorrent practice 

g and illiterate women are more often 
the victims", he says. 

Narayan has observed closely the 
pain that goes with being a woman in 
traditional Indian society. The tragic 
cruelty they face is dealt with in Tne 
Dark Room, held by critics as a book 
much ahead ot its times. Published in 
1 93H, it showcases the angst of a tradi- 
tional Indian woman pitted against a 
cruel husband, but unable to rebel. 

N aTayan began his life as a full-ti- 
me writer, having decided not to 
hold such jobs as that of a teacher or a 


S usan Ram/academkian, and 
husband N. Ram, journalist and 
editor, have come up with what 
can be called a perfect birthday gift. 
An exhaustive and 
. well-researched biography ofR.K. 
Narayan* their friend dr many 
. yeans. 

What is striking about this 
labouc of love is how the Rants . 
treat the subject of theif work The 
duo adopts an academic approach 
in tracing Narayan's creative 
output over bO-odd years; is 
perceptive in unravelling the germ 
of the writer's many works; even as 
they regard thekflufejeitf with what 
oanbest be desoibedas friendly 
" detadunentThey havesucoeeded 
in elaborating and delineadngthe ; 
socialand economic backdrop to . 
Narayan'? earlylife. And their 
Work is bound tohdptt* 
understand theforcesthat shaped - 
, Narayan, the writer. 

1 As R.Ki Laxtnan> brother df the i 
writer s^onfeaf^ndia^sSeadin^' ? • 
<artoonisM/ described if ip . 7 
JslarayaiC this Us hdbk "that is . si 

;':tmie'fhst htWsuc3Ms4)NillyaydWed,i;,.i. 


^yorkmg'Oih a 

;i$quth;b^iht%'dte fmiffiM.- ) . 

iHwwtp i'i- 

idtmrifiNr sjfft (ftiOTtr'iff * f v ft** ‘ -i": 





clerk. After a few false starts — 
Narayan says his writing was often 
moony and sentimental — he finally 
developed his own style and began to 

shape up as a writer. Malgudi was for- 
med in nis mind's eye and the charac- 
ters and situations flowed from his 
pen. 

Swami and Friends and Bachelor of 
Arts were published soon. Narayan's 
dear friend, Purna, had helped cement 
a friendship between Graham Gree- 
ne and Narayan At Greene's sugges- 
tion, Rasipuram Knshnaswamy 
Narayan reduced his name for print to 
R.K Narayan 

The author was dealt a harsh blow 
by fate when his wife, Rajam, died of 


typhoid in 1939. The two had met in 
Coimbatore, when Rajam was draw- 
ing water from a street tap, and soon 
after Narayan had befriended her 
father. The romance between the two 
was sweet, quaint and unconvention- 
al at the same time and culminated in 
marriage. "No one in our social condi- 
tion could dare to proceed in the man- 
ner I had done," Narayan recalls in his 
autobiography. 

After nis wife's death Narayan had 
to tend to his three- year-old daughter 
and went into "the most shattering 
period of his life", in Susan Ram's 
words. He gave up writing tor almost 
seven years and had some psychic 
experiences which made him fool his 


wife's presence as a palpable force. 

He soon reverted to his creative self, 
though, and published his third novel, 
7he English Teacher, described by 
him as the most autobiographical of 
his works After that, Narayan went 
on to produce more than 12 novels, 
four collections of short stories, two 
travel books and four compilations of 
essays. 

Not everything he wrote got publi- 
shed, though. Now and again, 
Narayan would burn many of his 
manuscripts. As he says, ’1 have sn 
much of paper stored up that now and 
then I destroy them". Inis includes a 
couple of his handwritten 
manuscripts destroyed after his wife's 


r% : : 



of R.K. Namyattis 
a tribute to un did friend 


idea for working br> a biography. 

Says N. Ram, "Narayan is the 
only writer in India to make a 
full-time career of writing alone for 
M yeans which no other Indian 
writer has done so far." Long years 
of association between Narayan 
and The Hindu also threw Ram in 
the writer's company freouently, 
which helped the btoa-apmer get as 
close a view of the author as 
possible. 


Metre than 11 years have been 
spent by the Rams inttacingthe 
letters betiveen Narayan and 
Graham Greene, Narayan’s 
unpublished worts, manuscripts, 
and most poignant of all the 
Private jottings of Narayan after 
his wife's death which he made 
avaihhletotheRams.CHd 
photographs of Narayanand 
familynave also been restored for 
publishing in thebook. 




tyhjie made** < 

• a Iqit thoutf^ayanthroughhfe •' 
book* httiwtureessaysandhis 
autobiography, kfy Eteygthere " 
wa& attend for a biography as well. 
And with Afy Dl^asa major 
framework, this book ftUstne baste 
need to contextuajtee Narayan's 
wort*,’ 

Thehisttwy of Narayan's early 
years is leavened with details or his 
school — Pursawalkamln Madras 
where Narayan's first 15 year* 
were spent — foe process that 
tamedhlm ipfo a- writer, and foe 
friends who helped him along 
This was possible only after 
intensive travels across India, and . 
in the USA and England, where 
Narayan's manuscripts are 
preserved In universities, 

The biographers traced all 
important letters specially those 
between Narayan and Graham 
Greene, numbering around 150. A 
literary association that matured 
info a friendship lasting over 60 
■ years; foe relationship between 

S and Greene ns» few 
in contemporary 
s; and receives much 
Attention m both Narayan's 
autobiography and biography. 


‘ The biography, which was the 
result of many conversations foot 
Susan and Rain had with Narayan, 

his dene relatives and his friends; '' 

and, of course, copious research, 

was released on Narayan's 
birthday on October ifl. 8ut this 

only brings us up fo 1945; foe . . 

second volume which willdeai 
with the later years should make ■ : *\ 
for gyen more interesting reading- 


IN CONVERSATION 

R.K. Naraycm on his life and times 


arayjn doesn't give 
i\| interviews. "What is there to 
say? It's all there in my works/' he 
will hedge. Interviews are 
tiresoi3%\ And he is averse to 
photografAers. So, it is always 
better to just chat with the 
venerable writer. 

He laughs easily, is interested in 
knowing people without being 
curious, and nis assessments are 
more rational than sentimental. Ho 
recollects incidents and anecdotes 
with a bit of play-acting thrown in 
for good measure, puckering his 
face in imitation or crossing nis 
arms in a relaxed mood. 

This correspondent spent two 
days conversing with Narayan 
touching upon things personal, 
anecdotes, nis views on current 
issues, and his pet peeves and likes. 
Some excerpts: 

"Life at 90 should be free of 
worries. I have had enough of 
many things: writing, travelling 
and others. 1 have b gun to relax 
my grip on many things, like 
sanctioning copyright permissions 
easily. At my age I do not want to 
be bothered about m undam ties, 
but to get along with the business 
of living peacefully without 
upsetting my health or my routine. 

"1 have never handled money 
with ease. 1 hate all sorts of 
account-keeping and 
book-keeping. Nowadays my 
son-in-law or rhy granddaughter 
give me money whenever 1 want. 
My wants have become minimal. I 
only want to buy my medicines 
and my scented areca nuts. That's 
ail. 

"I can live alone at my home in 
Mysore but taking care of myself 
needs a support system now and 
the family is a help in these times. 

death and also a manuscript consign 
ed to the flames by compliant literary 
agents. 

These days, Narayan is enjoying his 
sunset years and the freedom of writ- 
ing as he pleases, meeting whom he 
wishes Of course, life still has its ups 
and downs. Age and lack of space 

8 


Being a part of a family definitely 
helps. 

"My life is an open book, with no 
place for privacy at all. It is there all 
in my books. 1 follow a leisurely 
pace. 1 get up late. Write in long 
hand when I please and read what 
interests me at the moment. 

"I didn't feel the necessity to 
learn a skill which could help me 
get a job at any point in my life. All 
my life 1 wanted the freedom to 
come in as I pleased and leave a 
work spot when I wanted. That is 


why I didn't take up a job. 

"1 have been helped by friends at 
unforseen times. Graham Greene, 
Puma and little known friends. 
Being a vegetarian is a problem for 
many abroad. But during one of 
my tours to the US, a friend, 
Sugavanam, would cook my meals 
m my flat and vanish thereafter for 
the day. Another friend would 
help with accommodation while 
another would take me around. I 
have been lucky with friends in life 
"Modem Indian fiction suffers 
from a lack of originality. Most 
young writers want to fit into a 
specific groove and write with that 

have put an end to the long walks by 
the Manna whi Ji helped him as a 
fledgling writer, and later after his 
wife's death. His daughter's death (of 
cancer) recently has been a blow that 
he has had to deal with. 

Nonetheless, there are still no full 
stops in Narayan's literary life. His 


aim. There is also a general lack of 
ideas which comes from limited 
experience and from looking at 
things from a narrow perspective. 
Pulp doesn't carry much weight or 
meaning. Art in all forms has to 
follow certain norms. 

"Protests for wrong issues has 
become the norm these days. 

Women in India and feminists 
must concentrate more on genuine 
issues. There is little idealism left in 
people now and they want to make 
use of protests and dhamas for all 
the wrong causes. Much of the 
so-called protests are politically 
motivated or aimed at publicity 
than for any real benefit. 

"Disciplining our country on 
issues like clean politics, education 
is a difficult task. For a small 
country like Singapore 
administration is easy. Ours is a 
country with a large variety of 
people, from various strata with 
varying educational levels. 
Conditioning our country will be a 
difficult task. We will continue to 
grow in spurts. 

"I wanted to be a playwright and 
dramatist at first. But after writing 
Prince Yazid ( 1 930), I derided 
against it. Recently my literary 
agent recovered it from rejected 
manuscripts and asked me what to 
do with it. I told him to bum it. 

"Coffee saved my life. When I 
was four or so, I fell seriously ill 
with pneumonia or something 
else. The memory that I still have is 
the doctor who gave up on me and 
told my grandmother to feed me 
anything I wanted in the last hours. 
Since the word I had known at the 
age was kapi, I asked for it and was 
fed spoonfuls of it. Surprisingly, 
just after that I bounced back and 
am around on my 90th year." 

16th novel is progressing at its own 
pace, as is his personal life, considerab- 
ly enlivened as it is with the presence 
of his great-granddaughter, cousins, 
nephews, nieces, granchildren, and 
friends. And Malgudi's maker carries 
on with the business of meeting each 
day as it comes. ■ 





E M9MMNK 

XTRACT 

Adventures and 

EXPLORATIONS 



fter the C.R.C., mv uncle got me 
admitted to the Oiristian College 
High School, using his influence as 
an old student. I felt proudof my 
new school. I left home with a lunch 

g ack early morning by tramcar to 
ieorge Town, nearly four miles 
away, through crowds and traffic 
into the heart of the city. I had been 
suddenly let loose into a larger 
world. Purasawalkam, to which 1 
returned in the evening, seemed a 
backwood. Christian College was 
practically the first buildng on the 
Esplanade, and beyond it was a road 
skirting the beach. From the college 
terrace one had a view of a blue sea 
and steamers on the skyline, and a 
salty air blew in all day Our masters 
were well dressed, kind and reason- 
able men, the students very different 
from the crowd 1 had known at the 


Lutheran Mission and the C.R.C. 
High School. Spacious corridors, a 
Gothic tower with a bell, a chapel, 
well-lit classrooms and halls, and 
an accessible library. At lunchtime, 1 
carried my packet of rice and curd 
to a bookshop nearby and ate it 
behind the enormous shelves. It was 
one of the oldest bookshops in 
Madras, importing books from all 
parts of the worldL 1 cannot explain 
why 1 was supposed to go there to 
eat my lunch, except that the propri- 
etor was related to my uncle, who 
wanted to make sure that I ate my 
lunch in peace and privacy. After 
lunch, I browsed through the book 
titles in the shelves until I heaid the 
booming bell at the college tower. 
Some days, if there was a longer 
recess, I crossed the road, hopped 
over the railings, and wandered 


Art extract 

from 

Susan and 

N. Ram’s 
biography of 
R.K. Narayan, 
The Early 
Years, 
1906-1945 


Extracted /him 

The Early Years. 1906- 

1945 

By 

Susan and N. Ram 
Published by Viking 
Publishers 

Price Rs495 





through the enormous corridors of 
the High Court (the same place that 
had received a knock from Lmdeti 
years before), making myself incon- 
spicuous so that the sergeant who 
prowled around crying, 'Hush, 
silence, silence/' could have nothing 
against me. At the end of the day, 1 
raced along with some of my class 
tel lows to tne Beach Station, clam- 
bered on an electric tram, and got 
ott at Egmore, the station nearest my 
home, saving thus the one-way 
tram-tare I never bought a ticket for 
this journey, but on the advice of 
experienced friends, jumped off at 
Egmore and scampered through the 
coal-yard. I continued this practice 
until I bragged about it one day at 
home and was severely reprimand- 
ed bv my uncle, who warned me 
thatl might find myself in jail for 
this adventure. 

The Christian College was, how- 
ever, a shortlived glory At the end 
of the first term, when we had 
Michaelmas holidays, 1 was sent off 
to Mysore, where mv father was 
now "transferred as the headmaster 
of Maharaja s Collegiate High 
School ( Collegiate' meant tnat it 
had a university entrance class ) My 


father had no good impression of 
my earlier schools, was on the whole 
prejudiced against Madras schools, 
and decided to keep me in Mysore. 
Dr Anderson, my headmaster at the 
Christian Collge, wrote him a per- 
sonal appeal to send me back, and 
my uncle also pleaded with him to 
let me continue in a school where 
admission itself was an honour. But 
my father said, "My school is good 
enough. Travelling every day in a 
tramcar is a risk, it is not safe.. " 

T hus ended one phase of my life 
as a man of Madias; I became a 
Mysorean thenceforth At first, natu- 
rally, I missed the life at 
Madras — the companions, the 
streets and the noise, and above all 
the snobbish glow of belonging to 
the Christ, m College But soon 1 
began to appreciate Mysore. It has 
an elevation of over 2,000 teet and 
that makes the climate cool. Unlike 
Madras, where even a shirt on one's 
back proves irsksome, here one 
could dress properly — cent, cap and 
footwear, which my father insisted 
on, both as a headmaster and as a 
father. The hilly roads of the city , 
seeming to go up and down fasci- 


nated me, and the outline of 
Chamundi Hill illuminated at night 
had an air of shimmering mystery. 
The sky seemed to be more colourful 
and intimate, and the great number 
of trees all along the roads made 
passage to the school each day a 
delightful experience. I enjoyed the 
crowd at home too. I had now two 
more brothers to complete our fami- 
ly picture. My elder sister was mar- 
ried and had gone away to her hus- 
band' s home at Coimbatore. My 
father himself seemed mellowed and 
ready to practise a philosophy of live 
and let live. His routine was the 
same as it had been elsewhere — 
school, club, and home; and he had 
now a much larger number of stu- 
dents and teachers to manage. 

Soon I realised the advantage of 
studying in a school where one's 
father was headmaster. One got 
more people seeking one's friend- 
ship. The teachers were on the whole 
more gentle — except one trouble- 
some ootany teacher who fretted 
against the headmaster as well as his 
son, and who would go on saying: "I 
don't care if someone is the head- 
master's son. I'll throw him out if he 
doesn't come to class with coloured 






crayons/ 7 It might be crayons one 
day or a slightly awry outline of a 
paripinnate lea i on my drawing 
sheet, or a blunt penal or the snap- 
ping sound of a clip-board — any- 
thing that 50 others in our class 
might be guilty of. But the teacher 
focused his attention on me and 
would begin a lone peroration on 
how he would deal with sons of 
headmasters. A 9 that moment the 
whole class would turn in my direc- 
tion and grin But I had become less 
sensitive to such situations, and 
grin ned back, which would infuri- 
ate the teacher further. He would put 
aside the drooping plant in his hand 
and say firmly, "I would not hesitate 
to send him out, even if he is headm- 
ster's son. This is no laughing mat- 
ter Beware! 77 His eyes rolled in 
anger I don't know how my father 
treated him officially — no means of 
verifying, as my father never dis- 
cussed school matters at home But 
my suspicion was that the botany 
teacher was no favourite of his. My 
father was as strict with the teachers 
as with the boys, and treated both 
alike. Voices were hushed when he 
passed by the Common Room Still, 
a few teachers suppressed their 


resentment and got on with him, and 
were anxious that the headmaster's 
son should not disgrace himself 
through bad performance. Hence I 
was often advised by one or the 
other of them, Tf you have any 
doubts, come to me without hesita- 
tion/' Where was any room for 
doubts? Doubts arise only with at 
least partial understanding. If I 
coula have had a definite notion of 
the measure of my ignorance, I could 
have specified the solutions as 
well. I used to feel embarrassed 
when such an offer was made , and I 
would say rather sheepishly, "Never 
mind, sir/' or, "It doesn't matter, 
sir.. '' Our zoology teacher was the 
one who persistently tried to 
improve my understanding; he 
would retort. "What do you mean, it 
doesn't matter? It docs matter. Don't 
you want to learn and pass?" 

"I don' i want to trouble vou/ 7 

He was a very short teacher, 
about four and a half feet tall From 
a distance, one could easily mistake 
him for an overgrown baby but for 
his suit and turban. He sketched the 
anatomy of insects in so many 
colours that his fingers were always 
stained with chalk Sometimes one 


side of his nose would also be 
streaked pink or green, and one 
could not help a smile while facing 
him, and he would smile back inno- 
cently. His initials were M.M. and 
we called him Millimeter. Unlike the 
botany teacher, this man was very 
cautious and never called me to 
account as the headmaster's son, but 
he had a persistent habit of corner- 
ing me m order to clear my doubts. 
We had practical zoology on 
Saturday mornings, ana we were 
allowed to ply our scalpels on the 
carcass of some creature stretched on 
a board. I felt no doubt proud and 
important, like a surgeon in the mak- 
ing, and the scent of carbolic lotion 
was for us an exclusive perfume. I 
went through the motions of dissec- 
tion with a Tot of conceit, but with no 
intelligence whatever. I did what my 
neighbour did and came out of the 
class when the bell rang. And now 
there was no use questioning me 
about my doubts^ How could I tell 
the teacher, after he had lectured to 
us a whole morning, that I existed 
under a whole cloud of unknowing? 
My trouble was absolute abstraction 
from my surroundings. My mind 
was busy elsewhere — watching 
through the large windows the cows 
grazing the fields. 

Next to religion, education was 
the most compulsive force in a fami- 
ly like ours My outlook on educa- 
tion never fitted in with the accepted 
code at home. I instinctively rejected 
both education and examinations, 
with their unwarranted seriousness 
and esoteric suggestions. Since revolt 
was unpractical T went through it all 
without conviction, enthusiasm, or 
any sort of distinction. Going to 
school seemed to be a never-ending 
nuisance each day, to be borne 
because of my years. At Madras, in 
my Lutheran Mission days, my 
uncle was strict and would not allow 
me to stay home, however much I 
tried. When I lay in bed groaning 
with a real or feigned headache, ne 
would merely say. "Get up, get up. 
I'D myself take you to the school and 
speak to the taecher to treat you 
lightly/ 7 At my father's school in 
Mysore, it became even harder — a 
headmaster's son faces a headmaster 
at school ana a father at home. 
Though my father was generally 
unmterfering, he was addicted to 
watching the entries in the 
Attendance Register (the most 
unsightly volume in the world) 

Even in the classroom, where he was 
supposed to take an hour a week of 
English prose, he constantly paused 
during his lectures to snatch up the 
register and pick out the absentees 




between last week and this and 
demand an explanation. This was 
such a routine that he never got 
beyond the opening lines of a Lamb 
essay. "The eldeis with whom I was 
brought up were of a nature not like- 
ly to let slip a sacred observance, 
and ringing in the New Year. " At 
this point he would turn his atten- 
tion on someone and demand, 
"Scared observance — can you 
explain what is a sacred observance? 
On you! Where were you last week? 
Urgent business, I suppose; let us see 
how much urgent business you gen- 
erally have, from time to time. Get 
the register." With a father and head- 
master of this temperament, you 
were not likely to let slip a day. He 
would unhesitatingly make you 
stand up, and then declare the pun- 
ishment, and, further, summon you 
to his room at home to say what a 
disgrace you were So at high school, 
1 maintained a hundred pei cent 
attendance, although 1 had constant- 
ly to overcome the temptation to 
dawdle around a nearby nursery 
garden or a tiny lily pond outside, 
overshadowed by immense trees 
and studded witn little brick monu- 


ments on its banks for the dear 
departed of a century ago I resolute- 
ly absented myself from such felici- 
ties and got into my class with the 
firsi bell, otherwise the gates would 
be locked and latecomers shut out, 
until the headmaster arrived and let 
each one in with a proper admoni- 
tion and warning 

efore actually entering the uni- 
versity for my B.A , T nad a whole 
year's reprieve by failing in the uni- 
versity entrance examination held in 
the high school. I had expected to 
fare ill in physics and chemistry, 
both of wnicn had defied my under- 
standing. I never understood what 1 
was expected to do with the data' 
provided with the so-called prob- 
lems, the relevance of 'atmospheric 
pressure' or 'atomic weight', or what 
to do with logarithm tables, or the 
why or how of a 'normal' solution. 
These points never became clear to 
me either through my own efforts or 
through our teacher's explanations. I 
had been certain of failure in these 
two subjects, but, as if by a miracle, I 
had somehow passed in them, 
though not witn flying colours On 


the contrary, I had failed where I 
was most confident — English. I 
failed so miserably and so complete- 
ly that eveiyone wondered if I was 
literate at all. My father, in spite of 
his strict attitudes in school matters, 
had one very pleasant quality — he 
never bothered about the examina- 
tion results. He always displayed 
sympathy for a fallen candidate; he 
had no faith in the examination sys- 
tem at all But even he was forced to 
exclaim in surprise, "Stupid fellow, 
you have failed in Englisn! Why?" 
Proficiency in English being a social 
hallmark, I remained silent without 
offering any explanation, though I 
knew why. One of our English texts 
was a grey-bound book of chilling 
dullness called Explorations and 
Discoveries, pages full of Muneo 
Park's expeditions and so forth. In 
my whole career I have not come 
across any book to match its unread- 
ability 1 found it impossible, and 
totally abolished it from my uni- 
verse, deciding to depend upon 
other questions in the examination 
trom Oliver Tunst or Political 
Selections. But I found in the exami- 
nation hall that four out Of six ques- 
tions were based on 
Explorations — that horrible man, the 
question- setter seemed to have been 
an abnormal explorationist. I gave 
up, left the examination hall in half 
an hour, and sat in contemplation on 
one of the brick monuments beside 
the lily pond 

My outlook on education has not 
really improved with the years. A 
few years ago when my daughter m 
exasperation threw up her studies, 
crying, "Why should 1 bother about 
arithmetic?" I let her drop without a 
word. Thereby she found more time* 
at home for books and music. Now 
when my grandson shows any disin- 
clination for school, I always support 
his cause, but of course his parents 
take a different view As a grandfa- 
ther I view his unseen masters as 
complicated, sinister beings who 
cannot be trusted. I keep my ears to 
the ground to find out if there has 
been any incident at his school. 1 was 
opposed to the system of being pre- 
scribed a set of books by an 
anonymous soulless body of text- 
books-presenbers, and being 
stamped good or bad as a result of 
such studies. My natural aversion to 
academic education was further 
strengthened when I came across an 
essay by Rabindranath Tagore on 
education It confirmed my own pre- 
cocious conclusion on the subject. I 
liked to be free to read what I 
pleased and not be examined 
at all ■ 




NNEREYE 


REJAN DARUWALLA 


G 


Aries 

March 21 - April 20 
’ " " ""' < Cianosha says, the 
Jmk* tciir sex should help 
qMHY you and that help 
_ JH U veil I stand you in 
»od ste.id lourncy and cul- 
aboialum, tours, tiavel, pil 

air fnrclnld Aon vmII 
bo in a g onerous mood aiul 
thus people will flock to von 
Export visitors Also, expect 
moments of great mspuation 
and |ov Money will come 

Taurus 

April 21 — May 20 

] I nends and weil- 
■■mp ' \v«shers mil h»Tp 
• all tlse nay 

1 ( ouples w 1 1 ! K hap- 
pily making future plans Moth 
viiMii'al mteiest 1 - and |uh pm 
suit > • onlinin ii a met r v pai e 
tint all tins vi ill take .1 health 
toll and tlieieloie penodii 
red is essential Dn 'ini n\n- 
v\ 01 K ex i'll M piessme pile-, 
op 

Gemini 

May 21 June 20 

I'. 11 tne. ship'- an I 
u » k alien si« an 
hugely .u h\ ated 

[ hl'leil Hi l - PlilS 

1 omr out in the open I itlle 
things might v.»u m*Mi 
than they' should, but \«>u will 
,et o\ri it m a day 01 »\vo ami 
meielorr, it s best nui to pay 
In ed to it l! is certain that 
monetaiy, issues n ill piedoim- 
hJlr 



S 


ft 


Cancer 

June 2 1 — July 20 

I Once again, |ob, 
j work, payment and 
I a tooling oi satistai 
j tion tor l \mceririns 
aie on the yards You will he 
trusted with sonu confidential 
mtormation Asa lovet vou 
will be m turn C uiUaits nov\ 
stand you 111 good stead and 
people, by and large, will help 
you December 19-22 will be 
outstanding lor you 

Leo 

Ju*v21 -August 21 

The insult ol a pri- 
vate business talk o? 

1 unterem e or meet 
1 w ill please you. 
Sweep aside peisonl feelings 
and minrms however diffi- 
cult it might seem Aon aie 
1 lever and m need of some 
good advuo. \s new opportu- 
nities will be knocking at your 
dooi. be alert to sei/i- them 
en'b.usiast’.Cvilh 

Virgo 

Ajcjus? 22 --- September 22 
1 o\ home. ■ hil 
dieu, and Mil big 
bad wor Id outside 
all tmd \ nu ready 
and w 1 Hum; In take ihaiu es 
that is the spirit A business 
deal 01 a personal settlement 
oi both should please vou 
A our neatly e thinking assures 
yoii ol happiness, which is 
mnic than nn re success this 
w eek will lead to happmt ss 




Libra 

September 23 — October 22 

! -ill media ot 

I JtTZ : riibliniv. advertise- 
iwl w I ,ni * nl / transport. 

L coniinum* ation to 

gam your ends bids ( «anesh ( i 
A 1 hange m the natuie and 
scope' ot Mill! Wolk IS pylSSl- 
ble, and that will be to \our 
advantage Whethei a parent 
or not, vou will have nine h to 
do with children Those who 
are salesmen, will do well 

Scorpio 

October“23 - - November 22 
•5"‘ ’ Aon should be mak- 
ing deals, negotiat- 
ing maybe baig.nn 
mg tor position, says 
C.anesha Aon should mine 
through splendidly trom it all 
Despite woikload you will 
haw time to teel glad tiolir* 
about, gamble a bit if you like 
Jalks with seniors will yield 
good results ’flu* trick is to 
nave lonlideme in yourself 

Sagittarius 

November 21 - December 20 
It w nuld be best to 
lake* 1 bailees, sp< - 
1, illy it you hay e a 
gut teelmg about 
any partu ul.n iwu or idea, an 
enterpi ise or pe:so 1 Ami* 
thinking too will be simp and 
on laiget Vhis is most teit.iiu- 
!v a newsy week be it through 
K tti'l s. 1 alls tax ads or 
pi »s Lei s lake can ol the* health 
■ a eld* 1 s 



*jc»i luai y 1 

r *M at* ; 

m 


Capricorn 

December 21 — January 19 

f £*\ JM ^ ,s not your doing 
I a| or fault, but a super- 
! BLa , sensitive person 
IrldAf* could mismteipret 
what vou say or write 
I hereloie, hi gentle as well as 
piei ise lake- Sigittanans, vou 
tin*, should use all the tools of 
miormalion and publicity to 
put your ideas and messages 
across And yes. you will suc- 
ceed in doing it 

Aquarius 

January 20 — February 18 
Intends and vvell- 
w ishers will rally 
round you and that 
1 BBL. ; will make you feel 
lo\ ed and important A'our 
sources ot income will multi- 
ply A ou will be launching a 
project and reaching comple- 
tion ot anothei By February- 
the picture clears up lor you 
Romance blooms despite 
numerous irons in the tire. 

Pisces 

February 19 — March 20 

This is the right time 
to take decisions, 
dear 1’isi edits 
Devembei 19-22 is 
the lime tor it Also, it im 
important that you devote 
some time to vourselt lor 
meditation, study and prayers 
Couples and partners will be 
preparmg very eagerly and 
wholeheartedly for the future. 
Time to I use work and joy. 



BIRTHDAYS 


December l$> Moon sun sex tile is a placing which confers 
benefits, honour- and riches. You will have the help of influ- 
ential people. 

December 16: Moon textile Mercury placing favours teach- 
ers, writers, astrologers, physicists, artists and those who live 
by their intuition and imagination. 

JJecember 17: Venus trine Saturn indicates your undoubted 
creativity will set the stage tor your deserved success, what- 
soever be your field of endeavour. 

December Ub Moon square Mercury means you should be 
cautious in negotiating settlements and lawsuits. Children 


and avdlivity will be the happy features of the year. In work 
j and personal life', a little extra care is essential. 

! December 19: Venus seMile Lranu.s indicate, s you vs ill succeed 
I ui rtfaieh. ci»mpuict.s. electronics aed newly devised Nj^ems, 
LoVi- is on l hr cauls 

December 24k Wnus i < injunction Pluto means extra jxwer and 
| ihru.st The year 1907 dioul«l bring you gains as well as gaiety. 

] People will look up io you and love you 

Decetnber 21: Moon trine JupitetNeptune promises success, 

I gloiy whatever you rnav be or your line of work. You will be 
I making a lot of money. 


Exquisite craftsmanship in 
Sfc* International Standard 
22/22 Karat gold and 
diamond jewellery . 
Dealer in precious and 
astrological stones. 



P. C. CHANDRA 

DHEHE9H3H9H9EMI 

R S 

tip 

A jewel of jewels 

Fh: 475 6734 • 27 7221 • 248 8062 









Sketches 

SIGNIFICANT OTHER 

A better look at the better ha/res 

This Week: Parmeshwar (Adi) Godrej 


I n the n£»vs for Most recent lv, j m Bombay for a week of festivities 

the MiM^World Pageant, an ' ! But, in vintage Godre) style, she 

event which Godiej — the ! managed to combine business and 

company, as distinct from the j pleasure the beauty queen also shot 

glamorous consort - sponsored. j an ad campaign tor Cmthol 

Parmeshwar flew down to Bangalore j # 

toi the contest, and then flew back j So, you mean she\s not just a parly 

Miss Greece, the newly-crowned j girl?: Oh sure, Parmcsh (as she is 

Miss World, to her beach -front home known to friends) enjoys a good 


Parmeshwar Adi Godrej at the Miss World pageant in Bangalore 



; blow-out just as much as the next 
I person, but there’s more to the ladv 
than champagne and caviar, thougli 
! these are staples ol the menu 
i whenever she entertains And don’t 
| be tooled by the bluff, slightly loud 
; extenor — at heart Godrej is the 
i typical shv C.incenan, as anyone 
, wno saw her ill-at-ease appearance 
; on the stage at the Miss World 
1 Pageant will gladl\ attest to But she 
* trios hard to play the perfect hostess, 
and as always, she sui coeds 

i 

; Her day job However is what 
; defines her Well, day jobs actually 
, As an invaluable part ol the family 
business. Parmesh oversees the 
i Godrei ad campaigns And her s is o 
; hands-on job, right from deciding 
, the concept, to choosing the models. 

; to selecting the clothes, and even 
j supervising the shoot 
; And to Par mesh w .tr goes the credit 
j of popularising several Godrei 
! brands like Cinthol and Crowning 
j Glory by getting both national and 
! international celebrities to endorse 
| them Names that leap immediately 
i to mind are Bomba \ film stars Vinod 
j Khanna, Dimple Kapadia, Pakistani 
; hunk Imran Khan, and now, of 
1 course, the current Miss World 

i 

| 

1 In her own right Parmeshwar has 
| been anything from a fashion 
I designer, interior decorator and real 
! estate developer She began her 
I c >reer by opening an up-market 
! boutique in Bombay, with the rather 
; evocative name of Dancing Silks. 

Ibis was before the fashion 
1 revolution had come to India, and to 
! Godrej went the credit of initialing 
i the design boom m her own little 
| way 

i In addition, Parmeshwar began 
j designing wardrobes for such film 
j stars as Zeenat Aman, both for their 
i real and reel lives And since 
j Godrej's personal style was 
j unparalleled in its wit and panache, 

| she soon had them queueing up to 
| be part of her clientele 

j Personal style?: That’s one thing that 
' Parmeshwar has newer been short of 


14 




Adi Godrej: The industrialist Parmeshwar fell in love with 


A patron of both Indian and Western 
couture, she probably has the best 
wardrobe this side of Seventh 
Avenue. For a long time, her 
personal favourite appeared to be 
the Italian fashion designer, 
Valentino, though these days she 
seems to be partial to Herve Leger. 

In India, she is often seen in 
Shahab Durazi jackets and suits. For 
these she buys the fabric abroad and 
brings them nome to have them 
tailored by Durazi And since 
Shahab is a brilliant cutter in the 
Azzedine Alaia mould, Godrej cuts a 
svelte, trim figure. 

For Indian clothes, Parmeshwar 
swears by The Boys, as the designers 
Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla are 
popularly known. Here too, the 
jersey tabric for her blouses is 
imported, and then embroidered on 
to create an opulent, Oriental look 
tor formal evenings At the Miss 
World Pageant, for instance, Godrej 
was resplendent in an Abu-Sandeep 
creation 

Interior decoration: Was the next 
logical step from her interest m 
fashion design Parmeshwar teamed 
up with Sunita Pitamber to form 
Inner Spaces, and the duo designed 
several posh Bombay homes, 
popularising the leather, glass and 
chrome look that is best epitomised 
bv their most well-known showcase, 
China Garden, an up-market 
Chinese restaurant in the Kemps 
Corner area ot Bombay. 

The partnership broke up soon 
alter, however, ana Godre| went 
solo. In this incarnation, she 
designed me interior of Khvber, and 
then Casbnh, which has now become 
the favourite party haunt of 
Bombay's chi-chi crowd. 

Her latest incarnation Is that of real 
estate developer. There are several 
Godrej properties in Bombay, which 
aie being developed in collaboration 
with an American company, and 
Parmeshwar is in charge ol this 
project. 

Her own woman* Despite the 
general misconception that 
Parmeshwar married well and went 
up in life, the truth is that she is now 
independently wealthy; with her 
fees from her interior decoration 
business alone, she could qualify as 
a millionairess 

And finally, she has gamed 
recognition as a businesswoman of 
note, in which mode she attends the 
World Economic Forum in Davos. 
She is one of the few women in 


attendance who are invited in their 
own right, rather than as spouses of 
their rich and powerful husbands 

Was hcr's a rags to riches story ?. 
Noi really, despite the mythology 


The new Miss World is the current 
model for Cinthol 



that has grown around her. 
Parmeshwai comes from good, solid, 
Sikh middle-class stock tier tather 
was an army officer, and the family 
was comfortably well-oil, though — 
as she would be the first to admit — 
they were never rich Parmeshwar 
signed up as an air-hostess with Air 
India once she was through with her 
studies But she didn't flv for very- 
long, instead she met, lell in love 
with, and married Adi Godrej. 

And they lived happily ever after?: 
Eventually; yes Initially, however, 
there was sonv* opposition to the 
match from the Godrejs. No, they 
were not objecting to Parmeshwar, 
pet >c, they just weren't very happy 
with the tact that Adi was marrying 
outside the Parsi community But, as 
is usual with most families, they 
soon reconciled to the match, and 
now Parmeshwar is regarded as the 
backbone ol the family 

! 

I 

| Everyone loves a good wedding: 

, And now, it's the turn of Parmesh s 
I daughter, Tanva, who will soon be 
j marrying Arvind Dubash, the suon 
j of another prominent Parsi business 
j family Parmeshwar is already busy 
j organising the festivities, and this 
J promises to be the wedding ot the 
j year — if not the decade — in 
! Bombay. ■ 



E TABLE 

All arrival and departure times are for Calcutta 

Day* of operation uata< 7-day coda: (D MONDAY 9 TUESDAY 9 WEDNESDAY 9 THURSDAY 9 FRIDAY 9 SATURDAY 9 SUNDAY 
(As those pages go to press one week in advance readers should check with respective airlines and railways for last minute change in timings) 


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intAmahonal • 9W Jet Airways • 67 Qatar Airways 


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Dattti-KaHa Ml 
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Coromandsl (Mattes) Express 1 

Futokrana (Secunderabad) Express 
Bangalore Express 
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BUUMS: For rand the dock (nkxnrton of Entam Rdiaw «l Sotdh€M Rdknyttdn. 
Idem dW 2203545-64 for (TKordng trains, 2203635-44 tor all other Momrton For totonadon 
about mandlom an Eastern Rdiny and SoutMastom Rdtaay trains, dal 2203403-3600 (ton 9 
on to 8 pm an vnkdays and B am to 2 pm on Sundays and naltod hottttoys). In akRton. 
dM 1331 (tor noontod tokxvrrton on bam naming). 131 (ngniio Into qpmtfon) nd 136 
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pm on Sunday): Frerenr¥nMMus.dU138(conoiA9rind^DW220S486(nw«rtnquky)- 


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Profile 

A YOGI IN AMERICA 

Bikram Chaudhuri is the resident gum of Beverly Hills, with a client list 
that extends to Tokyo. Trina Mukherjee reports 


W hat do Bill Clinton, 

Richard Nixon, Shirley 
Maclaine, Maude 
Adams, Brooke Shields 
and Quincy (ones have in common? 
A natural talent to hog the limelight, 
a love-hate relationship with the 
media, and a man called Bikram 
Chaudhuri. 

Bikram who, did you say? Well, 
this is the man who Has all the above 
and many other celebrities stretching 
and slogging at his beck and call. 

No, he is not a Made In India' yogi 
or a cult guru with an unpronounce- 
able name. Chaudhuri is a yoga 
instructoi-cum-therapist who runs 
the Yoga College of India m Bevei lv 
Hills in addition to a string ot yoga 
centres all over the States and in 
Tokyo 

The storv ot his life reads like a 



modern day fairy tale. Too many 
things "just happened" to this 51- 
year-old man whose lithe, supple 
physique and unquenchable stamina 
would put any 20-year-old to shame. 
His young and pretty wife, Rajashri 
Chaudhuri, is a perfect better naif, 
having won several national champi- 
onship trophies in yoga 

Wiial C-haudhuri has to ofter his 
pupils is what he learnt from his leg- 
endary teacher Bishnu Ghosh Says 
Chaudhuri, ‘Mv motto is — Never 
give up; never too late, never too 
bad, never too old; novel too sick to 
start horn scratch once again " And 
Bikram (he prefers to he called that) 
knows what he is talking about 
Hailing from Deogam, Bihar, he 
started learning vogn from the age of 
three After extensive training and 
practice under the tutelage of Bishnu 


Bikram Chaudhuri wi 1 wife Rajashri striking a yogic pose; (above) the yoga therapist in a more relaxed mood 


1 


i 





Ghosh, Bikram became a champion 
weight lifter by the time he was 17. 
He also nurtured a secret desire to 
join the Indian Air Force but a bro- 
| ken knee ended his ambition of 
i becoming a fighter pilot, 
i Disheartened with life. Bikram 
j decided to leave for Bombay with a 
j teaching assignment from his guru, 
j Bishnu Ghosn. He was to be an 
j instructor-therapist to the third son 
| of S.P. Jain of Times of India tame, 

| whose plush residence at Kambala 
j Hills became the stepping stone to 
; success for Bikram 

It was there that he met members 
of the Birla, Baja), Singhania and 
Jalan families, he savs, and nibbed 
shoulders with Bollywood super- 
stars like Dilip Kumar, Madhubala 
and Nargis. 

After several tutorial assign- 
I monts from these luminaries, Bikram 
1 was invited for a lecture demons! ra- 
1 hon in Bombay on yoga therapy bv 
! the UN for a Iiast-West meet. It Was 
J c* huge success and there was no 
1 looking back after that 

B efore leaving Bombay, Bikram 
managed to establish the first of 
i his long cnain of yoga colleges in 
i Breach Candy with Arvind Mafatlal 




With Brooke Shields and (below) greeting President Bill Clinton 


j sor Bikram to conduct research on 
I the possibilities of cures for chronic 
j diseases like thyroid, diabetes and 
j asthma through regular yoga prac- 
! tice Instead ot opting for any of the 
American universities, Bikram 
decided to go to Tokyo University in 
1970 as it would coincide with his 
research study and the ongoing 
organisation of his Guru's show. 
Unfortunately, Bishnu Ghosh died 
before the show could begin and his 
students went ahead to complete the 
I task. By then, the wsecond Yoga 
School of India opened m Tokyo. 

Professing to adopt a fusion 
method of teaching which included 
the "the best of East and West", 
Bikram's yoga classes became very 
popular And soon, Bikram was 
teaching yoga to the rich and the 
famous in Japan His first encounter 
with royally occurred soon enough 
when he was told to treat princess 
Aeiko Osano, niece of Emperor 
j Hirohito, who was not able to walk 
; after two spinal surgeries After 
j attending ms classes tor three 
S months, she was back on her feel 
I again "It was the Osano couple who 
I became my sponsors and helped me 
open schools all over Japan," remi- 
nisced Bikram 

His next stop was the USA "\ 


coming forward with the land. "I 
never nad to spend -1 dime to estab- 
lish my yoga colleges," says a visibly 
proud Bikram. "My students always 
come together to do so " 

In order to raise funds for a hos- 
pital in Bombay which never hap- 
pened" Bikram made plans for two 
shows of his Guru and his pupils. It 
included yoga demonstrations and 
strange feats like lifting an elephant 
or burying oneself under the ground 
for several hours. This show caught 
the fancy of Fuji TV Company which 
planned to telecast the amazing dis- 
play tor a programme called World 
Surprise Show. 

After a couple of such shows, the 
owner ot an impresario company 
signed a contract with Bishnu Ghosh 
tor holding 120 shows all over Japan 
Bikram, along with Ghosh s son, 
Bishwanath Ghosh, were to asssist 
him in this arduous task This was 
also when the first offer to establish 
a yoga school in Tokyo cropped up. 
Bikram was shuttling from Bombay 
to Tokyo, organising the nitty gritty 
of the show He also had a successful 
stint in Hawaii where he conducted 
a 10-day workshop at the East-West 
University Centre. 

It was immediately after his sem- 
inar in Bombay that Ine UN came 
forward again with an otfer to spon- 





Rajashri Chaudhuri: A champion performer 


had met Hollywood performers like 
Shirley Maclaine in Bombay who 
were strange, confused creatures." 
Maclaine, tor instance, came to 
India in search of "something" and 
was ready to give up everything, 
including her career, to seek peace 
of mind. She had met Bikram at the 
Bombay seminar and he told her 
"not to look tor answers in another 
country but to return home and fol- 
low Karmayosa ” . The actress paid 
heed to his advice and left after 
inviting him to the States 
During his stay in Tokyo, 

Bikram's acquaintance with the 
Osano family brought him closer to 
Emperor Hirohito and more impor- 
tantly, the Japanese Prime Minister, 
Kakuci 'Tanaka The latter took him 
along to the US as his therapist and 
interpreter during Tanaka's meeting 
with President Richard Nixon 
Nixon did not arrive for the 
meeting on the scheduled day 
Reason 7 A bad left leg Nixon was 
suffering from phiebothmmbosis 
and was bed-ridden lor the day. 
Tanaka volunteered to help and 
introduced Mrs Nixon to Bikram 
After a short therapy session with 
the yoga instructor, the President 
lelt much better and went cm to 
« ornplrtc the entire 2 1 -day therapy. 

* Alter that," said Bikram with a 
heart)' laugh, he did not even 
remember which leg was the' bad 
one " 

What awaited him next was a 
pleasant surprise in the lorm of a 
l ireen Card a.s a personal guest ol 
I he Piesident He began bv opening j 
a new 1 school in San Francisco and j 
managing two health spas in 1 

Hollywood called Sanctuary. Very 
soon he had a large number of 
admirers among hts students After 
several visits to Honolulu, Tokyo 
and India, Bikram 'finally arrived 
at Beverly Hills where a new school, 
sprawling ovei an area ot 11.000 
square I eel, waited for him 1 am 
grateful to Shirley Madame and all 
my other students who made this 
possible " 

W hat were his celebrity students 
like? "Very human," says 
Bikram Quincy Jones was suffering 
bom paralysis after undergoing two 
brain surgeries in quick succession 
1 le joined Bikram's classes and after 
13 years of concentrated efforts, he 
is back to normal 

Kareem Abdul Jabbai top rank- 
ing US basketball player, ana John 
McEnroe were referred to him by 
the UCLA Medical Centre. They, 


along with Chris Evert, )uhn Lloyd 
and many Olympic players contin- 
ued to play beyond their retirement 
phase, thanks to the yoga tlieiapist 
from India. "I think 1 managed to 
save no! only their game but their 
body too," saws Bikram 

His roots and area ot work 
reminds one* of another familiar 
name Yes, the famous Dee pa k 
Chopra ot the Ayr/css Body and 
Tmiclc ss Muul and Demi Moore 
fame What does he think ot him? A 
pregnant silence follows. "Deepak 
is essentially a doctoi who was 
responsible tor popularising 
Ayurvedic medicine m the US." 
Beyond that, feels Bikram, it was a 
bad move on Chopra’s pari to ven- 
ture into relatively unknown fields 
like yoga and meditation "One is 
bound to be in trouble if he con- 
stantly changes track " 

What does he plan to do next? 


To open a new school in no, not in 
Rivieia, but in West Bengal. Why? 
Because Bikram wants to train 
"some of our own boys and girls 
from India Who knows there might 
be another Bishnu Ghosh waiting lo 
be discovered " Here, of course, ne 
is facing a peculiar problem None 
of his students or admirers are com- 
ing up help with a plot ol land 
But after a short therapy session 
with lyoti Basu, some years hack, 
things are looking up 

It not. there is always the call ot 
the hills — Beverly Hills, that is with 
its star-spangled yoga college and a 
greener pasture, courtesy Bill 
Clinton Bikram was speedily cho- 
sen as the fund raiser from NRIs tor 
Clinton s election campaign that 
ended recently. With a champion 
sponsor in the form of a re-elected 
President, the sky is now the limit 
for this tough guy' from Bengal. ■ 



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Travel 

SHOP TILL YOU DROP 


But that's not all you can do in the city state they describe as "Surprising 

Singapore', saysSeema Goswami 


T 


hink of Sini 


lgapore, 

first thing that comes to mind 
is- shopping And it's not just 
any kind of shopping we're 
talking about here, but sprees ot the 
shop till you drop' variety, featuring 
everything from diapers and duvets 
to digital sound systems Small won- 
der then, that Indian tourists are the 


and the 


highest spenders m the shopping 
malls ot Singapore, leaving even 
Japanese visitors — with their well- 
muscled yen- - in the shade 

In tact, walking down the streets 
you get the distinct impression that 
Singapore is not so much a city state 
as a glorified shopping mall. There is 
a high-rise department store which 
ever way you turn, with every label 
from hscada to Esprit on salt* -and 
some others that you might never 
have heard ol And there are money- 
changers at every hundred yards, so 
financing these sprees is no problem. 

But even here, Indians have their 
e*vn favoured haunts, where they 
can buy, buy and buy, without 
encountering any language problems 
or having to negotiate cultural harri- 
ers In Singapore, they make a bee- 
line foi Mustafa's, a department 
store owned and managed by an 
Indian named Mohammed — ye-v 
that's right 1 — Mustafa Here, you can 
stock up on kitchen provisions, buy 
fitness equipment, invest in a colour 
television, and pick up cheap watch- 
es to give around as presents once 
you’re back home — all at one go 
Legend hjs it that this store is 
much cheaper than most others, but 
quite trankiv, prices are uniform all 
over Singapore But since Indians are 
more comfortable with other 
Indians, this is probably the best 
place tor them, as all the sales assis- 
tants am from this country 


T his store is situated in that one 
corner n! Singapore that is forev- 
er India Galled Little India, this is 
where the expatriate Indian commu- 
nity- -most of whom are from the 
south of this country -lives and 
works. Here you can buy Indian 

26 


Photographs by FotoFocus 

spices, listen to Hindi and Tamil film 
music, shop for traditional gold jew- 
ellery, and when you're famished 
after all that spending, walk into a 
food plaza and gorge on dosas, 
paratnas or biryatti, depending on 
what you prefer. 

Walk through the streets of Little 
India, and you’ll feel that you're back 
home. The roads are lined with little 
kiosks selling fresh flowers and 
spices among other things, and this 
is one area of Singapore where the 
skyline is not dominated by sk> - 


Diwali in Little India: Tradition survives the test of time here 







A food stall on Bugis Street: Serving different cuisines at a cheap rate 



scrapers Colonial architecture still 
survives here, and you can actually 
get an idea oi what all of Singapore 
must have looked like when the first 
Indians, from the south of this coun- 
try, began arriving on its shores 

Some things, at least, haven't 
changed though F.ven today, most 
Indians seem to arrive from the 
southern city (if Madras, trom where 
Indian Airlines runs a flight three 
days of the week. The traffic on this 
route is quite heavy, ana comprises j 
I an mix of tourists, businessmen, 
workers, and people who aie visit- 
mg the Singapore-based branches of 
their families 

The Madras- Singapore sector is 
slightly longer (about four and a halt 
hours) than the Calrutta-Singapoie 
one, but the flight is a comfortable 
one. The aircraft used on this sector 
is the commodious A 3(H), where 
even travelling economy is not such 
a drag And if you're luckv enough 
to be in Club, tnen you can avail of 
such special services as a south 
Indian style gajra gifted to every 
woman passenger as soon as she 
boards. 

But while the majority of our 
countrymen are based in Little India, 
Indians are, by no means, victims of 
any kind of ghcttoisation here. You 
will find them flourishing all over 
Singapore, running shops and little 
businesses, and Indian 
food— whether it is of the kebabs and 


| bityum or ulli-vaila variety — is easily 
| available and very popular. 

! Food is a major preoccupation of 
the residents ot Singapore, anyway 
The city stale is dotted with food 
halls— -housing stalls that sell ditfer- 
ent cuisines at merediby cheap lates 
— restaurants and roadside kiosks 
selling all kinds ot eatables And vis- 
itors have been known to marvel at 
the tact that these are overflowing 
with locals who are busy satisfying 
then taste buds no matter what time 
of day it is 

Given this kind ot indulgence it 
is nothing short of amazing that they 
manage to retain their sylph like fig- 
ures But by some miraculous 
process, thev do And what's more, 
the/ display them in hsp-hugging 
jeans and short, short dresses, whv h 
do nothing tor your seh- 
esteem - -specially if you vi been pil- 
ing on the calories during your vaca- 
tion. 

T here are some jvople who find 
Singapore too antiseptic with its 
streets that are dean enough to be 
eaten off and self -flushing toilets that 
go off every couple ol minutes or so 
(remain warned, there is a strict 
penalty for failing to flush after you 
have used a public facility ). But after 
the shambolic mess that characteris- 
es most Indian cities in general and 
Calcutta in particular, the well- 
scrubbed look of Singapore presents 

27 




a pleasant contrast. 

And it's not just Utter that the 
city is free of; it is almost completely 
free of crime as well. Thus, you can 
walk down deserted avenues till Lite 
into the night or hail cabs without 
the fear of being mugged As a taxi 
driver explains, the penalty for rob- 
bery is so steep, that it is simply not 
worth anyone s while — unless, of 
course, the sum involved is a million 
dollars or more. 

It also helps that almost everyone 


m the city has a job- -and a reason- 
ably well-paid one at that. 
Accommodation is relatively cheap, 
while food is both plentiful and 
inexpensive, so people can maintain 
a reasonable standard of living And 
disposable incomes appear to be 
hign as well, if one goes by the num- 
ber of locals flashing their credit 
cards at the shopping malls that dot 
the city. 

Running a car may be prohibi- 
tively expensive, though — but dial's 


only because the government dis- 
courages excessive use of private 
vehicles in an attempt to keep pollu- 
tion down and the streets relatively 
undogged. And until now, at least, 
the strategy seems to have worked. 
Unlike neighbouring Bangkok, the 
traffic in Singapore is manageable 
even at the worst of times. 

T here are a number of places that 
are a must on a visitor's itinerary 
but your first stop in Singapore sim- 



26 




ply has to be the legendary Raffles 
Hotel. After extensive refurbishment 
a few years ago, the hotel is back in 
business, but tourists are restricted 
to the public areas. The inside of the 
hotel and the rooms can only be 
inspected if you're willing to pay a 
sky-high tariff. 

One good way of gaining entry is 
to dine at the Tiffin Room, the main 
restaurant of the hotel, which is situ- 
ated just off the lobby. But keep in 
mina that casual touristwear will not 


do here; if you're in shorts, singlets, 
T-shirts or sandals (in the case of 
men) the black-suited man at the 
door will deny you entry. 

But once you've been let through 
by the clothes police, then a great 
buffet dinner awaits you. The food 
on offer is Raj cuisine; that is, the 
kind of food that our British colonial 
masters used to feast on during their 
time in India — hence, the name. 
Tiffin Room. So, you can eat Indian 
curries along with such English sta- 


ples as roast Iamb or mutton chops, 
but remember to keep some room 
for the desserts that are simply out 
of the world. 

For lunch, you'd be best advised 
to go to the Raffles coffee shop. The 
Empire Grill, which is opposite the 
main hotel With high ceilings from 
which old-fashioned fans are sus- 
pended, and wooden tables and 
chairs, the outlet has the look of an 
up-market Irani restaurant. That is, 
of course, before you peruse the 
menu, which includes such south 
Asian delights as Nasi Gorrng. 

T he days when Singapore went to 
sleep at 10.30 pm sharp are long 
gone. Tnese days, this city boasts of 
an active night life, which is centred 
around two mj|or spots, Clarke 
Quay and Boat Quay. These areas, as 
their names suggest, are located on 
the riverfront and have been exten- 
sively developed by the authorities 
Here you can least on satays of 
every variety, gorge on Indian, 
Chinese, or South East Asian food, 
listen to live music, or play cards on 
the wooden tables laid out on the 
sidewalks till late into the night At 
Clarke Quay, you simply have to 
stop by at the Charleston Pub, where 
the primary attraction is a middle- 
aged Englishman who makes the 
most amazing margaritas at the bar, 
and then dons a short skirt and a 
blonde wig to put on a show that 
would put the most talented drag 
queen to shame, to the cheers of ine- 
briated British expats. 

Just u.s there an 1 places that you 
simply have to visit, then* are others 
that you need to avoid like the 
plague. At Boat Quay, tor instance, 
steer clear of the intriguingly-named 
Club Bollywood TTie name jnay 
seem to embody all the glamour of 
the Hindi tilm industry, but the reali- 
ty is a dimly-lit pub with dismal 
music and a distinctly unfriendly 
management. And anyway, quite 
frankly it makes little sense to travel 
all the way to Singapore just to hear 
Tu chft'z badt hat mast mast r 

You would be much better off 
taking the Singapore River Tour 
which begins at the Raffles landing 
site and takes you past godowns and 
shophouses, and old colonial build- 
ings which have been restored by the 
government These are juxtaposed 
against the modem skyscrapers thal 
characterise the city today, and make 
for an interesting study in contrasts. 

And that is, perhaps, the best 
way to describe the city itself. It's not 
tor nothing that it's called 
'Surprising Singapore' in all those 
tourist brochures.® 



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Fair Play 


■ bi this fast changing 
world, it is nice to see 
iVotnen making a place 
for themselves in all 
spheres of activity — from 
politics, arts, academics to 
fashion and industry 
(The Women We Love', 
October 27). 

Sonia Gandhi is 
undoubtedly an 
admirable personality. 

Her determination 
showed in her refusal to 
accept the leadership of 
the Congress party after 
her husband's death. The 
party begged and plead- 
ed, but she remained firm. 

Surprisingly, yet the 
party revolves around her. 
So, even if she is not lead- 
ing the Congress officially, 
she is its unofficial nefri, 

Piiya Paul also repre- 
sents the bold, new face of 
the Indian woman: res- 
olute and resilient 

But Aishwarya Rai 
and Ritu Beri are women 
of a different genre; they 
have combined their 
beauty with their intelli- 
gence. 

Despite the entry of 
young, pretty faces as 
Dooraushan would love 
to have its newscasters, 
oldtunm Hhe Salma 
Sultan will al ways be 
remembered and respect- 
ed. And potitfes does need 



Lata MangMhkar : The woman weak love to 


fiery women like Renuka 
Chowdhmy to add some 
spice to politics. 

Lastly, Lata 

Mangeshkat even having 
crossed 60, continues to 
sing for teenage stars on 
the silver screw. What 
could be a better testa- 
ment of the timeless quali- 
ty of her voke? 

As these women have 
made their presence felt; 
they will also make their 
absence felt 

Calcutta 


■ If is remarkable how 
Sonia Gandhi despite 
being nowhere in politics, 
is a name to reckon with 
in the power circuit. 

The impression dial 
we gathered of her earlier 
was of a shy, viloiti bohu 
who preferred to live in 
the shadows of her 
indomitable mother-in- 
law and caring husband. 

But today, nothing 
moves in the Confess 
without a nod ^rom 10 
Janpath* And every 
Congressman knows that 




PAGE 4 


without her blessing; he 
will be nowhere. 

Surely, there must be 
more to Sonia Gandhi's 
personality than meets the 
eye. 

Robindru Chatterjee, 
Calcutta 

■ We Indians always 
look tor a leader ana it is 
all the more better if it 
comes in the shape of a 
mr. When Indira Gandhi 
was the Prime Minister of 
India, she was revered 
almost like the mother 
goddess. She could do no 
wrung and hence her long 
rule. Now we have found 
her daughter-in-law. So 
what if she is an Italian? 
She wears the sari , covers 
her head with the pattu 
and looks Indian enough 
to fit into the role of a mu. 
Dmmayauti Sanyal, 

Calcutta 


M I am glad you chose 


list of the women we love. 
What an amazing person- 
ality! Always dad m 
white with little embell- 
ishments, and so very 
humble, she has been 
enthralling music lovers 
for over five decades now 
and- still competes with 
newcomers in the indus- 
try 

AoifitGvha, 

Calcutta 


SKCTIOVS 



THE 29-year-old J.J. Valaya may have arnved 
late, but he has already made it big in the fash- 
ion industry. What makes Valaya so special? 

PAGE 26 

WALTER JOHNSON finally emerges from 
behind his eponymous label. 


1* TIME TABLE 
26 FASHION 
3© FIRST PERSON 


Cover* Ruptnder Sharma 


J.J. Valaya 







SITTING 


IP 


RETT Y 


'~ m +m. 


Cover story 

J J. Valaya is all set 
to become the leading 
designer of his 
generation, says 

Seema Qoswami 


■JUf.. \fefaya *»ay hw* «n*w«d •»*»> M **• •** ®* m * s 
a ton*) wy fc»« <*ty*a**! «h9rt|*riwtof 




‘If I feel 



does not look good on someone then I 

streamlined ].J. Valaya who sits before you in the high-ceilineed office 
rawling Chattarpur showroom. '"I have already lost 28 kilos, says the 




non designer with quiet pride, "but I need to lose about 20 kilos more." 
This obsession with getting trim makes some sense when you remember 
it the 29-year-old Valaya is due to get married in February to Meghna Paul, 
seven years younger than him at 22. ine couple were introduced to each other 
by their parents and hit it off immediately. The engagement followed six 
months later and in another couple of months, Meghna will bid Jalandhar 
goodbye for good and shift to Delni as the new Mrs Valaya. 

Suggest this to JJ or, to give him his full name, Jagsharan Jit Singh, and he 
is quick to issue a disclaimer. "Oh no!" he says, "this has nothing to do with 
my getting married. 1 just felt that I had become far too heavy. I would get all 
out of breath even if I climbed a flight of steps. So, I decided that it was time 
that I got into shape/' 

Even now, he says, his shape is far fromperfect, but then, he loves good 
food too much to give up on it altogether. "Tne way I look at it/' he says, "is 
that we have only one life, so we must live it to the full. But, at the same time, 
we have to live it sensibly." So, despite the weight loss, JJ's resemblance to pop 
singer Daler (Bole Tara Rara) Mehndi endures and Valaya acknowledges this 
witn a wry smile. 

B ut say this much for JJ: he pulls his weight in the fashion world, holding his 
own against such top-division talents as Rohit Bal, Abu Jani and Sandip 
Khosla, Tarun Tahiliani, Shahab Durazi and Suneet Varma. And this, despite 
the fact that Valaya belongs to the second generation of fashion designers — a 
league in which Kitu Beri and Rina Dhaka keep him company. 

He may have arrived late, but JT has come a long way in a comparatively 
short period of time. And you only have to visit his JJ Valaya Life showroom to 
realise that. Situated in a large complex in Chattarpur, this houses an art 
gallery, a restaurant — serving Greek food among other things — and a flower 
shop, in addition to an enormous boutique which showcases the designer's 
dotnes, shoes, shawls, tapestries and furniture. Hence the name: JJ Valaya Life. 
"This place," explains the designer^ "deals with all aspects of life. In fact," he 
says, with an expansive gesture that encompasses his entire shop, "this is Life 


will say so. There’s no point in selling something that doesn’t 

the way I see it. There are no boundaries to creativity, so why should I impose 
any artificial limits on mine? 1 ' 

So, Valaya makes everything that you could possibly need for an elegant 
look. There is wrought -iron furniture for your living room, which can be 
paired with some exquisitely embroidered cushions; mere are silk tapestries 
that could grace, the walls of your home; carpets that are heaven to look at as 
well as walk on; curios for your coffee-table or the mantlepiece; hand-made 
shoes that can be recreated in your size; shawls and scarves to liven up 
even the most boring of outfits; and then, there are the clothes. 

There is both men' swear and women'swear on offer here; in both Western 
and Indian designs. Men could choose from the bandhgallas, the granny- 
collar shirts, single-breasted suits and flowery prints that would do Versace 
proud. 

For women, the choice is a little more restricted, though. The Westemwear 
line only occupies one rack, and comprises a velvet collection. The clothes are 
in one size oruy, but can be made to order in your's. The rest is Indianwear. 
salwar kameezes, sari ensembles, lehenga cholis ; all of which are embroidered and 
embellished to within an inch of their lines. 

The prices are equally impressive. If you want to shop here, think nothing 
of dropping between Rs 25,000-45,000 for a single outfit, though the accessories 
are more reasonable. You can pick up a good quality silk pashmina shawl, for 

suit the client. That’s bad advertisement’ 

A Valaya outfit 






CL 

S3 

m 

Vi 

s* 

© 

“D 


£ 

yM 

© 


2 


instance; for only Rs 5,700 — a bargain, by any standards. 

But despite tne pricing, JJ*s faithful clients continue to drive to the outskirts 
of Delhi to check on his latest designs. And if they are savvy enough to make 
an appointment with the designer well in advance, he will be there in person 
to escort them around the shop and advise them on their purchases. 

Says Valaya, "'I'm not into hard sell. If I feel that a certain outfit does not 
look eood on someone then l will say so. There's no point in selling something 
that doesn't suit the client. That only makes for a bad advertisement for the 
designer" 

Jj has his own ideas about how he wants his showroom to be perceived by 
people. "I want a visit here to be a complete experience," he says. "You come, 
you buy some clothes, have lunch at the cafe, buy some flowers and then you 
drive bade" 

F ashion was not JJ's first career choice. An army brat, he was bom in Jodhpur 
in 1967, and then moved around from city to city, as and where his father's 
postings took the family. The Valayas finally settled down in Chandigarh, 
where JJ acquired a commerce degree. He then dedded to do his chartered 
accountancy, but dropped out after a year. 

"1 was 20-years-ola at that time," ne remembers now, "and 1 didn't know 
what to do with my life". But there was a spark of creativity within him. "I was 


;ood at oil paintings" — so Valaya 
erided to try his luck at the National 
* Institute of Fashion Technology (N1FT) 
m which had been opened a couple of years 
I earlier. 

But why fashion? Valaya explains, "1 
thought that this would be a profitable 
way of using my creativity. I saw now well 
fashion was doing abroad, and thought 
this success would replicate itself in 
India." 

In retrospect, this was probably the 
most sensible decision JJ ever made. In 
1990, while still at NIFT, he won the Prix dc 
Incitation, an award instituted by Air 
France, for the best design entry from 
India — an outfit designed in cream for a 
polo spectator. That same year, Valaya 
began working with Rohit Khosla, the man 
who pioneered the fashion revolution in 
India, for his summer training. 

"1 didn't take a salary from Rohit," says 

q JJ today. "I was just there to observe and adapt, and 1 learnt an enormous 
jj amount doing that. And I must say, that Rohit gave me the most tremendous 
JjgJ support. He was always there for me." 

^ But wasn't there a danger that he would be too influenced by Khosla's 
*5 style? That he would begin to ape the senior designer, albiet unwittingly? 
q "There is a rub-off effect," admits Valaya. "And it was there in my first 
#y* collections. But that only happens before you develop your own style, and I 
did do that after two collections." 

IQ The collection that brought Valaya to the notice of the fashion cognoscenti 
JCZ was his graduation collection at NIFT. This was the time when there was great' 
^ unrest in Punjab, soTJ, a Chandigarh boy at heart, derided to do a collection on 1 ' 
the theme: Peace. This was done entirely in white, in a knit-mix fabric for 
which Valaya won the Thapar-Dupont award. 

And no sooner had JJ graduated from NIFT, than he decided to launch his 
own name label at the age of 24, with one master, one embroiderer and one 
tailor. "Everyone thought that I was mad," laughs Valaya. "And that I would 
gobbled up by the big fish. But that didn't happen, and today I employ 160 
>ple in my factory." 



JQ JJ. Valaya: Not into hard sell 




4 f you're in 
food, fashion 
or the 
arts, then 
backstabbing | 
is veiy 
common. You 
just have to 
ignore it, and 
create your 
own world’ 


N ot that establishing himself in the fashion business was easy. Not by a long 
shot. Says Valaya, "The only person who encouraged me was Rohit 
Khosla, who even came over to my studio. Everyone else tieated me as this 
Johnnie-come-lately who was trying to make it big/' 

According to Valaya, the fashion world in Delhi is essentially a very closed 
society. And almost everyone in this charmed circle has known the otners for 
years, they have gone to school together, grown up together. And when they 
see an 'outsider' trying to storm that bastion, they don't take to him too kindly. 
But then, says ]] in a philosophic vein, "If you’re in food, fashion or the arts, 
then back-stabbing is very common. You just have to ignore it, and create your 
own world." 

Even today, when JJ is an established name in the business, and perhaps a 
better brand than some others he would rather not name, he still hasn't 
managed to break into the fashion set. "1 am friendly with a lot of them," 
clarifies the designer, "but I am not friends with anyone. But then, I would 
rather have it that wav." 

Valaya insists that ne wants to keep his personal and his professional life in 
separate, watertight compartments. He would rather spend his evenings at his 
Defence Colony house, listening to music and eating good food, "I’m basically 
a homebody/' he says. "And 1 pride myself on keeping a good home. In fact, 
when people come over they can't believe that there isn’t a woman at home, 
who keeps it looking so good." 

That will, of course, change in February when Valaya gets married, and 
Meghna takes over the reins of the household. But that, insists JJ, is all that she 
will be allowed to do. There is no place for her in his fashion empire, he says 



A J.J. Valaya design 



Valaya 


‘n the 
Middle East 
you can't have 
clothes that 
show the 
midriff. So, 
you can't 
design cholis 
for that 
market. Also 
churidars are 
not accepted 
there, so you 
have to vaiy 
the designs’ 


Valaya experiments with 
Western designs 


tirmly. His personal life cannot be allowed to infringe on his professional one. 

But this compartmentalisation is not always carried forward to its logical 
end. Some of Valaya's clients — Nafisa Ali, for instance, who modelled the 
showstopper during one of his shows — are his friends as well. But these are 
the exceptions to the rule. On the whole, says the designer, he doesn't know 
who buys his clothes. “And when l see someone wearing my clothes at a party 
or a function/' says JJ, “1 get a very funny feeling." 

These days, Valaya sells his clothes at several stores across the country. In 
Calcutta, you can buy his designs at Ogaan, in Bombay he sells at Ensemble 
and Varna, Bangalore's premiere store, Ffolio, stocks him as well, as do Ogaan, 
Signature and Heritage in Delhi. And then, of course, there's JJ Valaya Life in 
Chattarpur, where you can get a piece of the designer's talent to decorate either 
your person or your living room. 

In addition, Valaya supplies the export market as well. In fact, as much as 
40 per cent of his turnover is for suen international destinations as England 
(where he sells at a Beauchamp Place boutique owned by an NR1 businessman) 
and the Middle East (Riyadh and Dubai). 

And for each of these markets, J] has to vary his look. As he explains, "In 



10 


‘waitflo make the kind of pieces that you can pass on to your daughter; the kind that 
become family heirlooms. I'm not ready to do simpler things at the moment 1 





i 



the Middle East, tor instance, you can’t have clothes that show the midriff So/ 
you can't design cliolis for that market. Also clutrnlar s are not accepted there, so 
you have to varv the designs accordingly " 


V alava, however, accepts that there is not much variation in the Indian high 
fashion scene; designers continue to make the same s<irr, * ahvitt : , Ichcngii, 
season after season But 1J is not willing to blame designers for this. 

"The Indian market is not ready for innovation," ne says in defence of lus 
breed, "in fact, 70 per cent of the Indian fashion industry revolves around 
weddings, festivals and the NRI market. And in these segments the only thing 
that sells is traditional designs. And since commercial considerations rule the 
market, it would be foolish to rebel and try to do something different." 

So, does this mean that he w'ill continue to make the ornate, sometimes 
overdone, clothes he has sold all along? 

Says Valaya, "I w'ant to make the kind ot pieces that you can pass on to your 
daughter, the kind that become family heirlooms. I’m not ready to do simpler 
things at the moment." 

Tnis could change, however, as JJ is only too willing to concede. In a couple 
of years he plans to launch a ready-to-wear collection, which will be 
considerably cheaper, though Valaya means to maintain his standards of 
quality. To reduce the costs, he w ill experiment w ith fabrics and prints, instead 
of going in tor cut-rate fashion. 

"This is the direction that Indian fashion must take if it means to survive," 
says the designer, whose couture customers include such Delhi celebrities as 
Feroz Gujral, Madhu Trehan, Kavita Bhartiya, Maheep Singh, and of course, 
Nafisa Ali. Abroad he sells to European and Middle-Eastern royalty, and he 
adds rather endearingly, "to David Bowie s lawyer" 

Like most fashion designers, Valava's pet phobia is plagiarism According to 
him, his designs have been knocked oft all too often, and once, most famously, 
by a colleague who will remain unnamed. But JJ doesn't want to get into 
litigation, no matter what the piovocation Live and let copy, seems to be his 
motto. 

There are some designers whom he doe*; admire, though. Tarun Tahiliani, 
Abu and Sandip, Shahab Durazi, Rohit Bal remain personal favourites, but 
adds Valaya, "In terms of style, none of these people could even touch Rohit 
Khosla " 

About himself, JJ is far more circumspect. Fighting shy of rating himself, he 
w r ill only say, "What I like most about the way that I've come along is that there 
-has been a steady evolution. Every \eai I have mined on to do different 
things." 

And, no doubt, he w r ill continue to do so in the decades to come. Afte- all, 
at a year short of 30, J.J Valaya has a lot of fashion left in him as yet. ■ 


11 


XTRACT 

A Matter of 



Matin Khan's second book, Gods On The Ran, is set against the background of the 
Bhopal gas tragedy. But it talks of a different kind of poison as well: the poison that 
people arc made to imbibe in the name of religion. Khan, who was bom and brought up 
in Bhopal, says that this noi>el is a way of repaying his debt to his home town. But, as 
the following extracts show, he has managed to do much more ilum just that with this 



lixtracls from 
Matin Khan ’.s' 
new noeel , 

( i< kIs on the 
Run 


Extracted from 

(rncl s On /hr Run 


By 

Matin Khan 
Published by Alka 
Paperbacks 
Price RsI50 


Pimp III 

t was a different Bhopal now. Before 
the merger ot States, one found a 
contentment among the population 
and affluence in the lifestyle ot the 
zamindars and jagirdars This was 
nut restricted to horse riding and 
hunting alone but covered a wider 
spectrum ot idiosyncracies which 
almost embraced foolishness They 
would trj:n roosters and rams to 
tight and then hold tournaments to 
determine which rooster or ram was 
the best fighter One whose rooster 
would win went a notch higher in 
the esteem of others Then, there 
was kite flying and pigeon fights in 
the a»r Such activities and the con- 
suming desire to be known as the 

best f- m town found little time 

for education Indeed, there were 
schools but even in schools the con- 
versation centred around these sub- 
jects which the sons of zamindars 
and jagirdars would narrate and the 
other hoys hear with awe and 
delight 

As independent India pushed 
itself forward, Muslim feudal soci- 
ety, buried m the cocoon of its ulio- 
syncracics and illiteracy, found itself 
receding backwards When the 
zamindan and jagirdari systems 
were abolished, many found them- 
selves too lazy to work on their land 
which enabled migrants from other 
stales to buy land and houses at 
cheap prices. 

Begum had only two things left. 
Her family jewels and her regal 
looks. At first she lived off her jew- 
els and after she had •■old all of 
them, only her looks remained It 


was then that she woke up to the 
present and her plight U was diffi- 
cult tor her to give up her lifestyle 
and she became a willing victim to 
the desire ot men 

She was a favourite of every man 
she lived with hut only as long as he 



12 





did not have enough of her fill his Kalua went on, "You don't even nised it as labour pains. He had 

wife found out Soon Begum found know all these Gods and Goddesses heard those voices emanate from the 

that the invitations which came to and messengers have come from an houses of pregnant whores m his 

her by the dozens had dwindled. It area as large as a thumb nail impres- neighbourhood of Laxmi Talkies. He 

was tnen that she met Kalua "Give sion on the map of the world from wanted to help her but couldn't, and 

me a chance/' said Kalua, and I the Nile valley to the Indus valley. Is ran shouting ror help "Doctor/'’ he 

will set you up in a way that instead it that the people in other parts ot shouted, "midwife'^ Nobody even 

of waiting for invitations from men the world followed the straight glanced at him as an avalanche of 

you will find them licking your path? Or is that we who inhabit the people kepi hurriedly running past 

feet." "F off/' had been her stock area between the Nile valley and the him 

reply to him. Indus vallev are such rascals, such Begum screamed again, this time 

Begum didn't hate Kalua merely evil bastards that all gods and god- in agony and then all was quiet. A 

because he was a pimp She fell desses and messengers of god nad to few moments later he heard a child's 

repugnant that a Hafiz who could converge here from time to time to cry, and ran towards hci 

recite the Quran had turned into a bring us back to the straight path of "Kalua," said Begum, her breath 

pimp. "Allah will never forgive you good?" "Where have you learnt all coming in short gasps, making it dit- 

Kalua/' she had told him one day this Kalua?" asked Begum. "From ficult for her to talk. "Don't talk, 

"So Allah is your God?" asked life. Begum There is no better relax," said Kalua. "You'll get well 

Kalua, an amused look on his face teacher than life/' he replied. soon." She looked at him, her eyes 

Yes," snapped Begum, Allah is Kalua saw Begun talter and ran blurred. "I've met many people," 

my God." ‘Suppose your mother up and held her arms to steady her. she said, "men ot wealth, stilus, 

was a I lindu, tnen you would be Tney were on the outskirts of the position but they were all men. You 

vehemently claiming that Bhagwan city He walked her to a clearing are the only human being 1 over met 

Ram is^our God and suppose she amongst the foliage and made her in my life and so 1 leave to you all 1 

was a Christian you would be say- sit "I'm feeling sick Kalua/' said have/' her finger pointing at the new 

mg Hail Mary's and kneeling in the Begum. "Lie down tor a while and born Her hand went limp and fell 

pews of churches praying to Jesus you will feel better/' he replied. He Only her eyes kept staring at Kalua. 

and the Father who art »n heaven look his picket oft and placed it He closed nor eyes and was sobbmg 

‘You know Begum the umbilical under her head to serve as a pillow as he cut the umbilical cord w'hich 

lord w'hich is cut when a child is Begum suddenly screamed, gasping tied the child,a girl, to her dead 

born, is nevei emotionally severed ior breath. Slowlv the screams start- mother wdh a stone. 

The child grows up in the shadow' of ed repeating with an interval ot "You bitch/' he shouted, "I bore 

the womb ' Begum protested but shortening durations Kalua recog- all the insults that you heaped on 

me You called me a pimp, a whore's 
son, a guttersnipe and now this final 
insult? You have left behind your 
daughter to me knowing that I can- 
not make anything except a whore 
out of her. And 1 will be d_ if 1 do 
it." 

The last one saw ol kalua was 
with a little bundle tucked under his 
arm He deliberately threw it into a 
moving truck full of people One ot 
the persons inside the travelling 
truck found the bundle land onto his 
lap 

And nobody in Bhopal ever 
heard of Kalua again 
*** 

Parsi-III 

T hat evening Khurshetn shaved 
for a second time during the day 
He did not want anyone to detect 
the white stubble wTiich had started 
increasing its presence on his cheeks 
fie shaved the right wav The razor 
sliding down to nis chin and then he 
ran it from the chin upwards He 
had a neat moustache, w Inch he 
trimmed At least the moustache, he 
thought, resembled Clark Gable's 
and smiled 

He took quite some time in the 
bath scrubbing himself from top to 
toe He looked at his armpits am. 
w r anted to shave the underarm hair. 

It was a long tune now that he 
kept seeing her One dav she was sit- 





ling by his side caressing his chesl, 
and her h.ind crept up to his 
underarm There was a surprised 
expression on her face which seemed 
to oe saying, I like your underarm 
hair You don't even have to trim it " 
Khurshetji immediately came out of 
the bathroom He heard her voice 
again as he was dressing up. "Halt 
the time you are in the bathroom 
and half the lime vou spend m the 
kitchen " Khurshetji did not know 
what to do with the girl She always 
came back to him which made him 
deliriously happy that someone 
loved him When she didn't, tie 
would drink himselt to sleep 

One morning the voice woke him 
up with a kiss on Ins cheeks ' Good 
morning,” said the voict ' Good 
morning,” he replied and helore he 
could open his eyes the voice 
snapped angrily, Why do you look 
like tni.s and talk like this in the 
morning ” I low?” he asked Take 
you have been drinking,” she said 
He had a hazy picture of her She 
would come when she wanted, not 
when he willed or prayed tor her to 
come The pries I had called it a hallu- 
cination whereas the doctors dubbed 
him paranoid But Khurshetji contin- 
ued to believe she was something 
spiritual -an apparition his loving 
guardian angel 

On reaching Mi Toslwala's 
house, he entered the compound and 
knocked on the door lamsnedjee 
opened the door and welcomed him 
in. Hven before Khurshetji's arrival, 
he had broached the subject of mar- 
riage to Gulu 'What will happen to 


vou, papa 7 " she asked We'll 
always stay together/' he replied 
"But doesn't he love his father and 
mother as much as 1 love you? 
Doesn't he have anybody? Will they 
not miss him? " No he has no one” 
replied her father 1 low does he 
look 7 How old is he? Is he as mar- 
vellous as you? As boyish papa?” 
asked Gulu 

1 fe didn't have the heart to tell 
his 25-vear-old blind daughter th.it 
the man was a more than middle- 
aged hunchback 

I lo had of late been having 
dizzy spells One night he had 
blanked out, on another he suffered 
a stioke of breathlessness which 
forced him to see a doctor I ie was 
1 .‘antic in his search to find a hus- 
band for Gulu Tf I die, there will be 
no one to look after her,” he felt 
Gulu, whenever she cradled his 
gaunt face in Iut hands, would run 
ner fingers along the wrinkles, and 
brush them upwards but said noth- 
ing The boyish f ice and school boy- 
ish hair remained in her eyes hut her 
touch told her that the face was now 
gaunt with sunken cheeks lined with 
wrinkles 

He is a very nice human 
being/' he said, adding, an 
upstanding man any Farsi mother 
would he proud of to call her son.” 
As they walked into the room 
Khurshet|i kept staring at her — 
speechless She was beautiful, 
indeed very beautiful Jamshedjee 
introduced Gulu to Khurshetji 
Inspite ol knowing that it could 
annoy her fathei, Khurshetji went 


and sat by her side Your daughter, 
Mr Postwala, is very beautiful I'll 
feel honoured if you allow me lo 
marry her” As he said this, his hand 
dropped on hers and clasped it She 
put her other hand on top of his T 
can't even tell you how handsome 
you are, Mr Khurshetji, because I 
can't see " The marriage between the 
hunchback and the blind girl took 
place in the privacy of a house as 
did thi* wedding reception It con- 
sisted of a lavish Farsi meal which 
was shared by the three of them 

‘Papa,” she said after the dinner, 
I promise you I'll be a loving, car- 
ing devoted wite But Papa, you will 
always he the love of my life” 
Jamsnetiec was leaving for Nasik 
that night T will be back in a 
week's time,” he told them. “Papa/' 
said Gulu, "Before you go mav we 
hear a sung from you.” T am sure 
Khurshetji knows how to sing bet- 
ter,” repiled hei father "l can't even 
croak in tune,” was his reply 
Jamshetjce cleared cleared his throat 
and sang. 

Beautiful, beautiful brown eyes, 
Beautiful , beautiful brown... 

It was her favourite sone. As he 
neared the end of the song. Doth 
Gulu and Khurshetji joined in the 
singing 

Down through the bar room , he 
staggered. And fell down by the door. 
And the very last words that he uttered 
l 'll never sec brown eyes no more. 

All three of them had tears in 
their eyes but for different reasons 
Khurshetji thought of his mother's 
rich, deep brown eyes. Jamshedjee 


14 




tor Gulu anti Gulu because her own 
liquid brow n eyes could see no 
more. 

As they wort 1 retiring for the 
night, Gulu asked him, 'khurshetji, 
would you like to call me by a new 
name?" He thought ot a few and, 
said "No Gulu. your name fits you 
perfectly " 

They lay on the bed in a deep 
embrace I neii breath started to 
come sharp and fast as the passion 
of their kissing increased. 

Even though swamped with pas- 
sion her conscience kept tugging at 
her 1 was not blind all my life/' she 
thought, "and I know how normal 
human beings look " Whenever she 
embraced Jamshodjee, his back was 
flat What Wrta this big lump on 
Khurshetji's left shoulder 7 She ran 
her hand from where it started to the 
top and down to the other end It 
was a hump Was Khurshetji a 
hunchback, she wondered, even as 
she responded to his kisses Papa 
had never lied to her, why then did 
he not tell her? Was Papa also like 
Mama, fed up of his blind girl that 
he had forsaken hei to a hunchback? 
But whatever now. she thought, he is 
my husband His physical detoimity 
made her feel sad for him and yet it 
turned her on She w r as seized with a 
passion she could never believe she 
was capable of From a docile partic- 
ipant sne now became the aggressive 
partner running her hands all over 
nis body as though trying to learn all 
about his physicahty and passion 
'ind manhood. 

"What is your favourite colour?" 


asked Khurshetji. "Pink," she 
replied. Passionate pink. Khurshetji 
started looking for a pink condom in 
the pack. 

Suddenly, there were screams 
and shouts from outside. "Gulu, will 
you see what is the reason for this 
shouting?" he said She walked up 
to the window, looked out and turn- 
ing back replied, "You know very 
well that my eyes can't see love." 
"Lei them shout/' he said. "Let's go 
to bed." 

They snuggled dose to each 
other. Tneir breath warm on each 
others face Suddenly there was no 
breath on their faces, no air in the 


room, only poisonous fumes from a 
chemical factory in the vicinity of the 


railway station. 

And an unopened pink condom 
on the bed. 

#* V V 


Christian-Ill 


T he next morning, Mary rang up 
his office. She wus very agitated. 
"I must see you/' she said 
"What's the matter?" he asked 
"Molhei 's taking me to Calcutta 
tomorrow. She says that she has 
found a match for me and wants me 
to get married " Til come and see 
you in the evening," he said, but did 
not go 

Even before evening could 
arrive, liquor emboldened him to 
ring up the Mother Superior. It was 
Mary on the line instead The 
moment she heard his voice she 
knew what was coming 

"Whal's the matter?" she asked, 
though knowing intuitively what it 
was. 'You don't want me to go to 
Calcutta do you? I won't " 

"Yes Mary 1 don’t want you to 

The liquor also gave his emo- 
tions full freedom to lose control. He 
sobbed like a little child repeating 
over and over again, "Don't leave 
me alone Mary Please don't. Have 
you ever thought what will happen 
to me without youi love Mary r 
Please Mary, please don't leave me 
alone " 

The next morning he went to the 
convent instead of office. The 
Mother Superior looked sternly at 
him and asked, "Why is Mary refus- 
ing to go to Calcutta? Don't you 
want tne child to have a family, a 
family you know she's never had?" 

i am going to church and will 
be back by lunch Please think about 
it and convince her that she has to 
go " "1 will," he replied 

It took a long time for him to 
convince her "Even if I go, remem- 
ber hp'M nnh) •» j 




always be my love/' 'Remember 
you've promised me. There never 
will be any other girl m your life 
again. I can bear my husband to be 
with another woman but I can't 
bear another woman to be with you. 
Oh shit! I feel so guilty I'll have a 
family but you won't nave anyone, 
Martin " 

'I '11 always have you Mary," he 
replied 

'I'll always be there," she said 
and started sobbing and it took a 
lone timeior him to console her. 

Mother and child returned from 
Calcutta within five days. Mary was 
inconsolable. Mother Superior was 
tense "The good Lord alone 
knows," she said, "what's happened 
to Christians these days Before they 
ask a girl's hand m marriage they 
ask for a fortune first " 

The next morning Mary arrived 
at the flat and handed Martin an 
envelope.lt was an interview call 
from the railways. "1 thought it was 
a cheque" he said 

"(Greedy man, just because 1 give 
you the pay cheque first before 
Mother puts it in the bank. You only 
think of cheques The only problem 
is that the interview is at ltarsi. I'll be 
all alone Martin," she said. 

"I don't think so, " he replied. 
She stared at him m disbelief. 
"You mean to say that you who 
never take me anywhere will come 
with me to ltarsi " 

"No." he replied I won't But 
take my soul with you It will keep 
you from being nervous " 

Mary was due to return the day 
after, by the Grand Trunk Express 
Martin went shopping in the after- 
noon, for fish, fowl, vegetables, and, 
of course, rum. 

As he was climbing the stairs to 
his flat, hi? heard a group of young 
men, assembled below tne staircase, 
laughing and talking 

k You know what, " one voice 
said aloud to the others, “There was 
this girl in college called Mar}'. Her 
arents really should have named 
er 'Easy' Snc keeps coming to this 
old chap upstairs Dunno what she 
sees in him th.it I don't have " "Aw, 
shut up, will you," said another 
voice. ! le's as old ns her father." 

"Yes," said the third. "But he 
regards her as the Holy Mother 
Mary berself She's some Virgin, this 
Mar}*. She has a gala time witn the 
doctors and technicians at the hospi- 
tal I pity the poor old bastard " 
Martin stood on the landing where 
he always waited to see her arrive, 
hearing every word carefully He 
remembered occasions when she 
said that she'd ring up and never 

16 


did because of pressure of work she 
would explain She also did not 
want him to ring her up 

He turned and thumped up the 
staircase. He kept the provisions m 
the fridge and started drinking 
It is getting to be five Mary 
should have been here already, he 
thought 

Dusk and Mary arrived together. 
She rang the bell as was her wont 
and opened the door. 

1 have come to return your 
soul," she said "Throw it into some 
comer," he said. "I don't need it 
anymore." 

‘ 'Are you angry, baba, because 
the train came late?" she asked. 

"F the tram," he growled m 

reply "What's the matter with 
vou?" she asked. 

“Nothing," he said, “nothing 
"Nothing's tne matter. You know 
what Mary," he said filling his glass, 
"everyone' s the same 1 teel like a 
condom except that I have not been 
used only once I have been used 
and discarded again and again 
Lorraine was older than me and see 
w’hat she did to me. Frankie was my 
friend. You who are younger than 
me always said. You are my love 
Martin I'll never forsake you ' Even 
you were not honest in our relation- 
ship The reward of the faithful is 
always betrayal." His voice slurred 
with liquor had an edge of tears to it 
‘I've loughl against it all my life 
Now I can't It has conquered me 
It's an awful load like oncoming 
death to realise that your old age 
has been stabbed in the back by your 
young love God bless you " 

Mary kept patiently listening, 
knowing that he was piss drunk. No 
amount of words could get him out 
of it 

She had to somehow shock him 
out of his drunken stupor and self- 
pity at the betrayals once and for all. 
She walked up to* him and slapped 
him hard, repeatedly. 

The violence in fum again took 
an about turn focussing itself within. 
I ie looked at her, his gla/ed eves 
bnmming with tears 

She held him. “Why are you 
doing this to yourself?" she sobbed 
"I am not doing anything to 
myself," he replied. ' I am giving as 
much of myself as I can and am tak- 
ing the betrayal on myself You 
know I have always been with you 
Mary even when you said you didn't 
need me, I still found a way to be by 
your side didn't I?" He started 
singing off-key. 'Even if every drop of 
mnhvould ha ve a tongue/ 1 couldn't 
tell/the measure of my love ' Suddenly 
he stopped "Even you will leave me 



and want to forget my love Go 
on try to forget me. Try your biM 
You may not love me now You may 
hate me. But you can't forget my 
love nor can I. We aie a part of eai li 
other's life Even when they bury me 
I'll live, not as a photograph in your 
album but in your heart as the love 
of your life " 

I Ie drank the last drops of the 
alcohol straight from the bottle and 
continued, inspite of Mary's sobs 
"You've found young new educated 
rich friends everywhere What's an 
old friend Mary, an old shoe easily 
discarded?" 

All of a sudden he stood up and 
walked unsteadily tu the bathroom. 
“Handsome man, very handsome 
man " Finding Mary's reflection in 
the mirror he asked, there was a 
glow to my face Mary, where has it 
gone? Why has it left my face 
Mary?" 

Mary couldn't take it anymore 
She pounced on him, slapping him, 
crying and talkig at the same time 
“You know you're all 1 have Martin. 

I prayed to god to make you love me 
I lit a candle at dusk every 
Thursday. What did I not do? You 
want me to go down on my knees 
and say I love you Martin? The past 
is dead. Why can't you wake up to 
the present? Why do you think that I 
will also betray you? Do you want 
me to die to prove my love? I am 




willing even to do that tor you 
Martin" Past perfect Mary Piesent 
imperfect l have always boon the 
past; no a pastime tor everybody 
Mary/' he said, adding, a hll-in- 
the-blunks. a stopgap When no 
one's then? that old nuggar Martin 
comes handy. "His voice was lost in a 
scream outside the window followed 
by another and then it seemed that 
the entu _• locality was screaming in 
pain 

Mary ran to the window to hnd 
out the reason She couldn't make 
out anything except that everyone 
was running. 

She looked at the old man who 
was staring at bet with glassy 
drunken eyes His intense love for 
which she had prayed to god, which 
had suffused her being with happi- 
ness was now suffocating her If she 
left him and he died, she could begin 
a new life If he lived, he would 
never forgive her Maybe, he would 
forget her forever, she hoped, tor the 
betraval 

The left-behmd girl opened the 
door and ran into the crowd, run- 
ning for safety, leaving behind the 
only man she claimed was her love 

And even as she ran, she knew 
she could never really run away 
bom Martin. He would always be a 
pjrt of her She ran past the Railway 
Club towards the station climbing 
the stairs and descending on the 


western side Every step she ran tor- 
ward kept kicking Martin hack into 
the past Inspite of the conscious 
I effort he kepi emerging horn her 
subconscious, a twinkle in his eye 
and a grin on his lace teasing her. 

leaving me alone? Co on try Mary" 
1 ler eyes blurred with tears as she 
kept running Everything seemed to 
be growing ha/y Everywhere she 
kept seeing Martin Looking for her, 
putting her to sleep, waking her up 
with a kiss and tea, wailing for her 
with an icci old w ater bottle as she 
came out horn the examination hall, 
teasing her, lighting with her; wait- 
ing, crying, loving, kissing, even in 
lilts and on staircases and on 
Mother's bed, She couldn't remem- 
ber an occasion wlu n Martin did not 
stand by hei. Even when she said. ' I 
don't want to have anything to do 
with you anvmoie I le |ust looked at 
her, lus eyes unploung Can you 
really forget me Mary, he had asked 
l want to. she had insisted Can you 
forget our togetherness, our love, he 
asked I'll t y, she had said, wanting 
to hurt him so much that he went 
out of her life forevt i 

She had tried She was running 
away from him and she had tailed 
She turned and inspitr of the push- 
ing, jostling crowd making it diffi- 
cult, ran bark muttering to herself 
over her tears, "Oh Martin, w r hat 
have I done? 1 can't leave you 


Martin You are a part of me Please 
forgive me " 

Martin had com eout of his stu- 
por He felt thirsty and called out for 
Mary There was no reply, he shout- 
ed for her There was still no reply. 
Only the screamihg and shouting of 
voices which came from outside He 
ran like a mad man from room to 
room, shouting hei name Her purse 
was still there on the table What had 
happened to her? He flung open 
doors, banged them, even looked 
under the low hung bed. "God no," 
he said 'What had she said. I am 
willing to die to prove my love? Oh 
God, no, please, " he shouted, 
"Please don't let anything happen to 
inv Mary " Marv stood m the door- 
wav, the w r ind blowing the short hair 
on her forehead like so many little 
commas. She had heard everything 

She was full of remorse for having 
run away and happy to have come 
back to discover now much she 
meant to him He could not see het, 
his back was turned ' Martin/ she 
shouted, running to embrace him 

I le turned slowly Mary" he cried 
out and started couching He was 
gasping for breath bud den ly he 
crumpled taking Mary with him to 
the floor Mary raised herself on her 
elbows and slowly fell across his 
chest— lifeless Their bodies forming 
a cross on the floor ■ 


Time table 




All arrival and departure times are for Calcutta 

Day* of opunUon using 7-tey cods: © MONDAY © TUESDAY 9 WEDNESDAY 9 THURSDAY 9 FRIDAY • SATURDAY © SUNDAY 
i A*' these pages go to press one week in advance, readers should check with respective airlines and railways (or last minute change in timings) 


Departures 




Arrivals 


Ft No. 

Time 

Days 

RNo. 

• AQAPtTALA 


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Departures 


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Urn 

Days 

FttNo. 

bri- 6 TH 

1 ’ 3 r i 

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V . ■■ v . 

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Arrivals 

Time 


1 b 5 f» 


Departures 

Fit No. Time Days 


Arrivals 

Fit No. Tiro Days 


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If! 74 ' 1 ih 

BA -1 V ?ll'i 


.l/'X V&VV V.'*' 

0 -1, f. 

U 1 ? J h 7 

:n i. ?, 3 o 7 

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4 7 If,-?;;’ I 'AS 7 


LZ 504 ' irsii 

msmtcm ** .- 

Al .406 l Q !l: 

JMIIV 

IC 1 * 2 / ISJH 


Af Air India • BA British Airways • BG Biman Bangladesh Airlines • BI Royal Brunei Airlines • CD Alliance Airlines • D2 Skyline NEPC • 
D5 NEPC Airlines • IC Indian Airlines • KB Druk-Air • KL Royal Dutch Airlines • LZ Balkan Airlines • M9 ModiLuft • PF Vayudoot • 
RA Royal Nepal Airlines • RJ Royal Jordanian Airlines • RO Tarom Air Transport • SQ Singapore Airlines • SU Aeroflot • TG Thai Airways 
International • 9W Jet Airways • 07 Qatar Airways 


NS 


Departure 


TRAINS 


EASTERN RAILWAY 


Up Tims 

Howrah 

Tlmfl 

Dn 

un 

Tima 

• 1 1 1 - :* 

DethHfelka Mail 

h 1 ., 

77 1 : 

hOo:i 

20 IS 

< 1 . 1 “ . ■ 1 71 1 

Amritsar Mail 

7 35 

1006 

8007 

l‘i 70 

:r -ij ,'i .1 ■ 

Mumbai Mall ^1 VN'ni. rf ri 

n ib 

:if .04 

7060 

1 ”- .\ r i 

■in’ 

Poorva (New Delhi) Express m t Vir^us, 

1 h is 


707 1 

6 uf. 


Ai» Ih'." Vvul \ r y 



H 0.14 

7 U-X 

iO ■ 1 r 

Poorva (Nra Delhi) Express v..< Foi:u 

I*, \l 

l ‘104 

Brno 

10 AS 


f'.f M - 11 ■ S. * i»i* 



7841 

14 - no 


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Rajdhanl Express .>1 V v 

1 l’- 4 '. 

I’.ifi ' 

1 .S 11 

72 -. Vi 


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Air M 1 T'li: [ | % '.ill! 





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R^dhani Express /u f • 

1 ? r fi 

?S 0 i. 

MUM 

FJ 0 


Dr-p Hr" \ ' •- VV'Ti ft Mil 



H 01 1 

6 SO 

. -1 1 ' «■ 

Jodhpur Express 

4 n 

'Jflb 

MOOS 

70 40 

.f.i'j 

Shatabdl (Bokam Steel City) Express 

, i n: 

20 . o 

hfi' 

71 35 


Oil. c < An !»■ ^l Suinlay 



Pun ’ 

73 14 1 

1 1 • t : 

Hlmglri (Janmu-lawl) Bqiress ln-Wmv 

SI is 

1074 

. 14 "« • 

in un 


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Guwahdi Sarelghd Express 

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12 7 f > 

i 04 h 

HI 141 - 

O' 1 ‘ 


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Purtnnchal (Gorakhpur) Express 
['»•[! ft Air I hr Mar* Wi-d & 

Ooon Exprasa v-« ijraro Clurn 

Udyan Abha Tocten Express vu Maw line 

Delhi Janata Express 

Amritsar Express 

Kattnodum Expres s 

Mttfula (Ranuft Express 

Kamiup (Gireeratf) Express 

Black Diamond Express 

Coalfield Express 

Asansol Express 


Jamripur Express 
SanUnHotan Express 
Rampurhat Express 
Chantal (QmlloO Express 

Dep Mmi Tiic ft lliiiij Arr k\ns fhur\ & T ri 

SNpra (Indore) Borass 

[)C|. Wed '"at ft .un A.i 'mip Wm Skit 

SMdkNml (Chouan) Express 

c 5 r£j (AoraUWtL)B^SS D*ip r n Air Tufi'. 

Sealdah 

Teasta-Torea Express 
Dadesllno Mall 

Lai Grib Express vi, i Main l hit 
Kanchanjunp (I jmci-nijj i-xur^v. 

Gour Express 

KadharExprasa 

Jarvnu-Tawl Express 

Mughal Sand Boren via 513 G Lcnp 

nt ■ 1 1 imUi f .11 JmmI.X riiwirmm a 

mum {iMQoiB) txpran 
Gnga S^lSrekhpur) Expran 

Dep & •" lues Tnuis & Sdl 


Departure SOUTH-EASTERN RAILWAY Arrival 
Up Tims Howrah Tiro Dn 

6003 2 D 1 r i Madras Mdl !■ S 5 b(J(j 4 

BOO,’ l‘i. j n Mumbai Mall vi j Nagpur ‘<20 HOU » 

unfair 1 ”-::- Gftanttl (Bombay) Express I 1 .*] ?B 5 *i 

/in G .if. Shadbdl (Routes) Express r-OP 2022 

:>ep & Arr Excuit Saturday 

hu.f Atmtabad Express ‘> w Btui 

Bmp 10 45 Kurts Express vid Nagpur 10 20 8074 

2 B 4 i 14 -no CoramvidBl (Madras) Express vi, i ( utu i> *,2 .v 2342 

700:1 7 % Rdatouns (Sacundaratad) Express 10 4 ( 7 'X )4 

'.mi 2 ' 2 -y. Banodore Express lM r . fc £ .i 2 

’-'tip Suild. 1 V 
Air ?nriddv 

wo:'* r .40 Tala Steal Express in tiOM 

«nn 6 b 0 hpat (Sam balpur) Ex press 2 ’ if. H 012 

hr? 21 25 SnS 5 ^Sia?E 5 » B,HTO 1. 20 Sun 1 

Pu<>’ 77 1*0 Puri Express vu l utlJ- r. . :«• BOOB 

■«"«i 10 un Sri Jagmtfi (Puri) Boren i 1 m mki 

MS DhauMBhubanesaer) Boress AM':. 23?2 

on 4 i> o' 1 1 East Coot (Hyderabad) Express !C 70 K 04 B 

Mm.’ ih 4 *. Purulla Express 1 ,-ij*. BOlb 

flRp t- <1 PJll S.J»lif.ldV 
Arr Exit*!)! .uindjy 

Bo 71 * 72 '0 UruMt) Express 4 i*- 31780 

10 -.o i ( *-t r » AzadHInd (Pune) Weekly Express c . i r 1 U 2 ‘J 

'}% Cundav Ar r f rufay 

74 . 1 U.- 4 I, Bhubensswv-Naw Delhi Raidhanl Express Md ir. 10 2471 

I'WMjt ’ 1 oinidav m!y 

7477 ii-ob Nmv DalM-BhUbaramar Rajdhanl Express . 1.1 Ur 4 *- 74 : 2 

Howrah) CaluMl.i> oni; 

U ■’ GuwatHtl - Howrah - Trivandrum Conbal Express . 

Wf.du. ■ day c-r'iv 

14 10 Trtvandnm Central - Howrah - G treated Express 1 ■: 4 :. on 

Mr:nd.iv u:i,v 

*•4 iii Cochin Hartxwr Terminus - Gireahat) Weekly 1 1 4 r > r,U 7 . 

Express (v >7 Vi ,ikp uj iiivir a Hi.^rdiii 
ihur‘'. 1 .iy I'hi/ 

0 . 1 14 . 7 GuimsM - Cochin Hartwur Terminus Weakly 

Bqirees r vi.« Hnwr.ii’ \ Vrd-'ijy im. n«i 
full ml I v nni , 1 

oj 74 22$ Trtvandntn Weakly Express Urp s«vr :i^.ddv 17 4 i , n. j .;j 

( Hi. 27 - M Cochin Harbour Terminus Express mj : 1 4 * o.,k. 

W.'iknapHlnjin \ HsiAr^R) 

I»i'P \Au 1 mlay 

27 J‘i Gueatm - Bangalore City Weekly Express i.u 

HOVkld!’ & liltrli, kj Mullilrt) 

u 10 Bangalore CRy - 6 uwMJ Weakly Express /v... * - a- o' iq 

How.aO ij. r :ult.« k : .’.dl'mld/ !U !, » 

BKKJMES For maid the dock information of Eastern RaRnrey and SouHh€adam RdkNyMa. 
pfwa dal 2203545-54 tor IrHXXdna tndns. 22 Q 353 M 4 for Ml other Hornidta For MonMtan 
dmut neandlara on Eastern Rdhrey aid SoutthEnMn Rdhrey trdns,dtt 2203496-3500 (kora 8 
am Id 8 pm on ueakdm and 8 am to 2 pm on Sundays aid graded holidays). In arUtton, 
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(regadng wnk' Train aaavlca enquiry at Safidr 3603535/37 
Intoractto Voice Response System (5 am to 9 pm mreryday from Monday to SBunty; 5 am to 5 
pmonSuxtoy): For resarrettonsttus, dial 136 (computarisad), Dial 2203496 (manual enquiry). 



Sketches 

WAR GAMES 


And the names who play them 


This week: Ratikant Basu Vs Subhash Chandra Go yal 


According to 
Basu, there was 
an inherent 
conflict ot 
interest in this 
situation as 
C.ov a I was both 
the seller and 
the buyer. And 
the only loser in 
this agreement 
\vas Murdoch, 
because he 
would be 
paving ini la ted 
rates to Zee 
Telefilms 

Basu's solution: 

Was not to 
throw Zee oil 
the Star 
network, that 
would be self- 
dL tea ting But 
Basu was 



Ratikant Basu: Looking for a better deal for Murdoch 


t all began: As soon as Basu w.is 
hired by Rupert Murdoch to take 
over Star TV's Indian operation 
Basu, who had already turned 
Doordarshan around, giving Zee T\ 
a run for its money with his Metro 
Channel, was determined to 
replicate that success in his new |ob, 
no matter what it took 

And what did it take?: For starters, 
it meant increasing the quantum ol 
Hindi programming, and showing 
such serials as The Rohi Atul The 
Beautiful and iFn/wv/t h in Hindi as 
well as English And despite the 
criticism that this move attracted, 
Basu succeeded in his objective, 
latings of the channel doubled. 

Once that limited objective v\as 


i 



Subhash Chandra: Attacking Star TV 


achieved. Basu could lum his 
attention to other pressing matters 
And first on his list was trie Subash 
CiO\ a I / Zee I V problem 

What exactly was the problem?: In 
Basu's \ iew. Star TV had got the 
short end of the stick in the 
agreement it had struck with Zee a 
few years back. According to this 
agreement. Zee Telefilms, a software 
company which is owned by Goyal. 
would sell programmes to Asia 
Today, a company jointly owned by 
Murdoch and Goyal, at prices that 
would be fixed by the channel 


determined to 

re-negotiale the agreement that had 
been struck between Zee and Asia 
Tod .iv, so that Murdoch got a 
slightlv better deal 

Was Goyal willing?: Not reallv In 
his view, the agieement had been 
reached in good faith with none 
other than Rupert Murdoch himself 
And there* was no reason to rescind 
or re-work it now 

Goyal's view Of the situation went 
further According to him, it was Star 
that was acting in bad raith bv going 
in so aggressively for Hindi 
language programming. In Goyal's 
book, tnis territory had already been 
marked out by Zee, and Star Plus 
was needlessly encroaching on it 
As a consequence, while Star's 
ratings went up. Zee was constantly 
losing ground to it. 

Did Basu accept this?: No way In 
his view. Star was only doing what 
any othei company would do in the 
circumstances — trying to increase its 
market share And if that affected 


Zee adversely, well then, that was 
! tot* bud. wasn't it? 

| Will Casu succeed in controlling 
Goyal?: Dithcult to say Goval ha** 
j mounted a new attack on Star, 
j through the information and 
1 broadcasting ministry, wheic Basil's 
I successors are envious ut his multi- 
j crore salary package 

| And how did he manage that?: Basu 
hones to get Murdoch to invest $ 400 
million in a Direct to Home (DTH) 
operation that would cut out the 
cablewallah, and make Stai supreme. 
But Goyal's pals at the ministry want 
to pass an ordinance making it 
illegal to own D TH dishes. Also, 
they are drafting a broadcasting hill, 
which will restrict foreign ownership 
of TV companies to 30 per cent 
There is no way Murdoch will invest 
$ 400 million tor 30 per cent of the 
equity 

What will this achieve?: The idea is 
to convince Murdoch that to survive 
in India he needs Goyal And that 
Basu is a liability.! 



20 




Innereye 



Aries 

March 21 - April 20 
I ~~ H Caneshc says hard- 
work fuses with fun 
and that is rare 
indeed The spot- 
light will be on partnerships 
public image, work, connec- 
tions and definitely a change 
m the* nature and scope ot 
vour work which will influ- 
ence vou deeply in J c >07 
Health needs tare and that 
goes for your itear ones 

Taurus 

Apnl 21 — May 20 
: 'rj £\ Tourneys, collabora- 

jjBfer turns, lies, partnei- 
WBL * ships and even pil- 
I grimages tould well 
ia vour lot now and the next 
’ '» days Vou can take a lead 
■ >n voui rivals You do gain by 
Ihe will ten and the spoken 
unrd so use them as a 
weapon It there is some inex- 
plicable discomfort around 
I Vrembei J? take steps 

Gemini 

May 2 1 - June 20 

A ci ent is on finance 
|oint funds insur- 
ant v. legal v w ills, 
Jotteiv and games ol 
ihiime buying and selling ol 
home vehicles and i rockery 
houM be useful and interest- 
ing 1 lave a hohhv You i an 
s» u uilise exlensivelv as tr lends 
go all oiiL to help you and put 
\o'i at ease Make the most ot 
•he I'xcitmg phase 




Cancer 

June 21 — July 20 

This is your chance 
to swing it, bo it 
romance or finance 
People will pay heed 
to you. Finish what you start 
and do plan a trip Cive vour 
thought to an important rela- 
tionship which needs to be 
extended or closed It clam 
ours tor a final decision You 
must tommunirate with verve 
and vigour 

Leo 

July 21 — August 21 

S You an? in tor a 

round of hard work, 
though it is 
Christinas, cakes 
and alt One thing or another 
leads you on Financially and 
family wise, this is a good 
week But health could be the 
mam culprit. It would be best 
to focus on ucdhvitv and 
style Travel plans will have to 
be made 

Virgo 

AugusT22 - September 22 
j 'Time It' make a go ot 

■ things and win the 
jfi9 T j £‘ 1rm ' You will be 
■BK. J winking and enjoy- 
ing with equal fervour A 
domestic adjustment v- tea 
fined and probably, you have 
been working on it Sou mav 
lour a gulden, a museum a 
library, an art lentie, unothei 
cit\ or district Sour friends 
will prove their woilh 





BEJAN DARU WALLA 


Libra 

September 23 — October 22 
Property and office 
affairs have vour 
H attention Also, vou 
will be into impio\ - 
ing your work prospects At 
the same tune, vou will enjoy 
and have a nice time, though 
vvilh the niggling doubt that 
much remains to be done. 
There's money b> be made and 
friends to be called and the 
departed to be remembered 


October 23 - November 22 
1 1 rips and ties may 
I be a cliche, but they 
I describe accuiaiely 
j |ust what the week 
will be nil about, asserts 
Ganosha. Learn to see situa 
lions, people, places toi what 
thev reallv are and thus you 
will not be Lhe tall and foolish 
guv Home and family will 
also dominate voui week In 
othei words, you will be busy 

Sagittarius 

November 23 — December 20 
r ' i Hu • h i ghli gh ts a re 
finance family and 
n possible gel- 
logelhei However, 
all of it mav not be quite trou- 
ble-free. st) make alternate 
plan if you want lobe com 
fortable and happy 
l Ippnrlumties do exist to 
make I r lends and socialise It 
is the health factor that ir.nv 
c ause concern 



'' rAKsat' 

:*SS'! 

LW! 


Capricorn 

December 21 — January 19 
T ^ ,s vvi ^ be 4i n iw,c T 

! |rj Christmas m the 

sense that vou will 
be able to make the 
niosl of it, despite all the limi- 
tations and hassle's you ivill be 
having Hus is a week ot |omt 
endeavours and emotional 
bonding, so gel set tor it keep 
\ our cool if voui mate does 
no! see eye to eve with vou 
Kuls give joy 

Aquarius 

January 20 — February 18 

You will have to put 
in just that extra mt 
this Christmas it vou 

j want to set it ujt in a 

splendid fashion People arc* 
likeh to blow hot, bl*«w cold 
journey and work might still 
demand voui time and talent 
Home influences will also be 
very demanding It would be 
best to strike a balance and 
find some time loi v ourself 

Pisces 

February Ifc — March 20 

I his is turn ot c re- 
at i vi ly and |o\ 

■ m J despite* numerous 
ISr. V A pressures 1 he accent 
should be on i In Id r* *n hob- 
bies. food, music, hobbies, vet- 
satility ottuc* work, dec ora- 
tion, renovation, doing 
enands and getting it done 
Pisceans are adaptable and 
can t.ike it in then stride with 
a smile 


BIRTHDAYS 


December 22: Sun square Saturn, moon trine Uranus wiU 
cause upsets on the workitont more than the strictly personal 
front. 

December 2$ The Mercury position means you win have to 
activate your lines of comutdiNcaHoh and transport, or there 
could be trouble* 

December 242 This full moon favours an emotional approach 
to life and love. will decide many issues. 

On the workfrwt there are new possibilities. 

December 2jfe No strong aspect Vbu wiU have the liberty 
and luxury of being a& mat youwtm t to be. Finances and 


relationships are definitely emphasised* lime to prepare a 
blueprint for the future. 

December 2& Moon opposition Neptune-Juplter means vuiv in 
dealing in the others and nor to lie overconfident or completely 
isolated or reticent. ’ . , 

December 2 7: Moon trine Saturn, opposition Uranus signifies 
mixed blessings but tt is certain you will have the energy, per- 
sonality and dynamism to push ahead 
December 2& Moon trine Venus will lead to money, harmo- 
ny and beauty influencing everything you do. A change in 
your work pattern wiU do wonders. 


diamond jewellery. 
Dealer in precious and 
astrological stones 


I 


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APPLE PftNCAnES APPLE SAUCE . /~V 


HEY, SLOW 
DOWN ' 


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1 1 ® 


KM 

sISgK» 


HA ' HA ' JUG 1 That Guy 
WISSPELLED’ APPLF COBBLER' 


IV!I 


f NO, 1 MEAN IT S too nice out for' 
Vv AGCHra TO STAV INSIDE ' J 


HEhttri 
gcH*ptuj 
CM 1C 
BOLpmtm 


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CALVIN AND HOBBES ■ WATTE RSON 


SINCE VOUR 
MOM'S SICK, 
ILL BE. MAtlNE 
DINNER, TONIGHT 


B!E MAKING ] A>>5 R 2 

er, lemur r&zz . -15 : 

-xn^Lfi.! 


YOU CAN X OF COURSE 
coot? I I CAN coot 


AS VbOCANSEE, I 
SURVIVED TWO '(EARS OF 
MV OWN CCOtlNG WHEN I 
NAD AN APARTMENT AFTER 
COLLEGE 


MOM SMS J TO MOM WAfWl 
VOO ATE I WERE, S3 SHE 
FROZEN . WOULDN'T KNOW 
WATTLES AND i GET THESTRU? 
CANNED SOOP OUT, WIIL'ICU 1 ’ 
THREE MEATS 


1 ASKED DAD IF MOM WAS 
GOING TO HAVE A BABV, AND 

HE SAID r V^«sr 

NOT THAT I /. . ’5* 

HE KNEW ^t> C 


PAD SAID WE D KNOW IF 
MOM WAS HAVING A KID 
BECAUSE SHE'D LCOt L'.KE 
A HIPPOPOTAMUS WITH A 
GLAND PROBVEM 


ssfy 


DAD SAMS \ WEI I 
SHE MUST V p AO.E 

BE FE ELING , |v - 

BETTEti ' o/P- 


TOU HAVE 
WEIRD 
PARENTS 






























COME RIGHT 
THIS WAV, SIR 


TOOTSIE, FOR PETE'S 
SAKE' THIS IS JUST 
A LITTLE JOKE I'M 
PLAYING ON SLONOIE/ 



HEY, C'MON/ LEMME 
IN / WHAT'S 
l THE BIG IPEA?/ 
THIS ISN'T 
FUNNY" 



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, >1 


Walter Johnson: Emphasising on eminently practical fashion 


T he one fashion designer who 
doesn't have any hang-ups in 
sporting an alligator on his T- 
shirt is the reclusive Walter 
Johnson. Unlike his peers, he has no 
reservations about oisplaying a label 
other than his own on nis person. In 
fact, this fashion designer is so low 
profile, that few people are aware 
that there is a man behind the 
eponymous brand. And that, despite 
the foreign-sounding name he’s all 
Indian and is firmly rooted in the 
capital — you can touch down at his 
studio in Okhla, the industrial belt of 
Delhi, after an arduous trek. 

Recently, Johnson had his first 
solo showing (which was also his 
first ever show for the domestic mar- 
ket) with all the frills associated with 
a fashion-do — a five-star venue, 
cocktails, the best-looking models 
sashaying to and fro, ana snatches of 
music including. He’s an Indian. 

Ask why it's taken him seven 
long years to make a public appear- 
ance in an era when most designers 
are creations of media hype, and 
Johnson smiles enigmatically. "I 
wanted my clothes to do all the talk- 
ing," he says. But with the ready-to- 
wear market burgeoning, Johnson 
decided that it was time he declared 
himself. 

Johnson's forays into the Indian 
domestic market may have begun 
only a few years ago, but the design- 




er has been associated with the 
ment industry since 1971 when 
began his journey into the field of 
design with the Indian Handicraft 
Board. It was there that he worked 
closely with his guru, Kamala Devi 
Chattopadhyay, the czarina of Indian 
culture, who guided him through die 
nuances of diverse themes. From 
product development he moved to 
couture, being influenced by all the 
things he dabbled in: costumes, pot- 
tery, eunmetal, shawls and carpets. 

Working with these traditional 
handicrafts enriched his knowledge, 
expanded his horizons and cleared 
his vision towards art and the craft 
of designing. Today, in fact, the 
industry story goes that Johnson is 
ps one of the few designer pn>- 
sionals who can teach his master 
craftsmen and kartgaars a few new 
tricks. The young designers who he 
has taken under his wings claim that 
Johnson is a perfectionist who 
extracts the best from his people to 
ensure greatest results. 

His expertise has today landed 
him on the boards of premier fashion 
institutions of the country. Students 
of the National Institute of Fashion 
Technology, where he is a consultant, 
look up to the designer as a guru. 
Johnson is also on the board 
of academics at the Pearl 
Academy of fash ion. With so 
much on his plate it's not 
surprising when he sighs and 
says, 'It the week had eight days, 

I d work on ail eight." However, 
he's a stickler for spending lime with 
his family, despite work pressures. 

A round the early Seventies when 
Johnson set foot on the scene, 
the export market in garments had 
boomed and Johnson found himself 
exporting his designs to Europe, the 
US and Southeast Asia under nis 
own brand name, Walter Johnson. 
And since then, he has had little 
occasion to look back. 

Walter sells high fashion gar- 
ments to these markets, riot just post 
tiomng himself as a dur?re to the 
West as is the norm amongst 
exporters. Johnson spends most of 
his time on R&D, visiting fairs, 
working with fashion forecasts and 
innovating print technology. In fact 
for his Fan *96 collection, he has 
worked largely with fabrics and 
prints developed in-house and 
sourced locally, using Computer 
Aided Design systems for print and 
textile designing, pattern marking 
and grading. According to Johnson, 
a « Rood fashion must begin with 


gar- keen fabric base for “if your fabric is 
good then 90 per cent of your battle 
~ c is won." 

If Walter Johnson has been asso- 
ciated with menswear in the country 
since the label hit his two exclusive 
signature showrooms in Delhi, in 
the West he is known for his 
women's fashions. And surprise-, 
surprise, children'swcar too. 

So, why did he launch a 
men's range for the 
domestic market and 
introduce women's 
garments only as an 
after thought last year? 

A long jacket over 
a satin silk shirt 
and check 
trousers 


Black zip front T-shirt over a 
white round-neck T-shirt 


Johnson explains, "While 
researching for men's fashions 
in the country I found that 
the scope for men’s shirts, 
trousers and jackets was 
unimaginative and very lim- 
ited. So 1 thought that I 
would design for men first." 

His first fashion show, 
however, was a melange of 
designs for both jnen and 

A sleeveless evening 
dress 


women: oontemr 




y, chic 


inporary, 

and wearable. The show put 
together pieces derived from 
very different sources into a seam- 
less progression of items. Johnson 
does not subscribe to the view that a 
collection must be segmented. The 
reason — "times have changed and 
people no longer slot dressing into 
particular areas. There's very little 
that's truly formal, or casual, as 
dressing has become completely per- 
sonal and mood driven." 

Besides keeping an eye on the 
latest international designs, Johnson 
consciously watches his clothes for 
wearability. He says, "A garment 
should not be far removed from the 
purpose for which it was created -- 
to adorn the body As for flights of 
fancy, it is necessary to stimulate the 
imagination, but too much of it puts 
one far away from it. Besides, its a 
luxury available to few." 

Thus, Johnson's emphasis is on 
eminently practical fashion, which is 
not completely devoid ot a touch of 
creative eccentricity. ' The inspira - 
tion, "he says, “rather tlun defining 
a boundary within which to create, 
should serve more as a platform to 
elevate the quality and richness of 
the design itself. 

L ooking for a different approach to 
design tech niejues in the country. 


Johnson's Fall collection extensively 
explores the possibilities of mixing 
fabrics, colours, textures and treat- 
ments The first line in the series of 
five, Sicily, borrows from the rugged, 
romantic look of the Forties thriving 
on the lifestyle of the Mafioso. 

Blacks, browns, navy, greys, tobacco 
and coffee with contrasting reds, 
blues and yellows. The fabric base 
varied, with pin-striped worsted fab- 
rics along with solid neutrals, silks 
in dark and light and cotton in 
strong contrasts Slim cut jackets 
with ^jgirts, and trousers with blazers 
added a flash of difference. Two tone 
black and white shoes, ties, cravats, 
hats, cuff-links and suspenders were 
among the accessories for the collec- 
tion. 

Models Madhu Sapre, Colleen 
Khan, Sonilika Oberoi and Noyonika 
Chatterjee among 30-odd others, 
pirouetted on the catwalk in gar- 
ments from the 'Indian Snapshots' 
line, which juxtaposed the bizarre 
with the real, the fun with the fine 
and the rustic with the urbane. From 


A dark navy 
pin-stripe suit 
worn over an 
orange silk shirt 













the coarse textures of plain wool and 
corduroys to the softness of vel- 
veteen, suede and lycra twills, 
Indian Snapshots' plays with vari- 
ous textured designs — velour, dupi- 
on silk, ikat prints and brocades to 
add a touch of elegance. 

Next on the show was the very 
strict and severe lines of Johnson's 
'Military" line in camel, khaki, olive, 
green and black in flannel, twill and 
knits. These were matched with soft 
woollen fabric felts and suedes to 
give a feel of comfort. The accent 
being on simplicity, with woollen 
prints to lena that touch of softness 
to an otherwise severe look. Jackets 
and coats arc teamed with breeches, 
trousers and skirts while shirts and 
sweaters form the basics. Berets, 
brass buttons, leather boots and 


braids complete the picture. 

The Attic' then delved into 
grandma's closet, with its old 
objects, pictures and junk. 
Patchwork embroideries, blacks, 
whites, dusty tones and bright 
colours dominated this line 
Miniature checks and stripes and 
paisleys existed side by side while 
knits with old fashion cables and 


The last of the collections 
revived the artistic splendour of the 
Mughal Raj where only the finest, 
the iriost luxurious would do. 
Brocades, silks, satins, chenille and 
velvets enhanced the evening look. 
Overall a collection that douoled 
up for both casual and formal wear. 

"Mine has been a quest for a 
good product that should Leave the 
customer satisfied. My research 
revealed that price too is a very 
important factor for selling clothes 
in the market," says Johnson So, 
Walter Johnson trousers can be 
bought for anywhere between 
Rs 450 at the lower end and 
Rs 1,500 at the higher side while 
suits can be picked up from Rs 
4,000-10,000 (reasonable when 
designer jackets alone are priced at 
Rs 10,000 upwards) and shirts for 
Rs 350-1,000. And Johnson may vet 
fulfill a dream to get into fan tn cloth- 


mg and bring his garments into the 
volume market 


Competition doesn't worry him. 
Mule fm not afraid to admit that 


high necks in patchwork, lace and 
velveteen made for that ageol J 


look. Waistcoats, cardigans, evening 


gowns and overcoats formed pari of 
the collection, as did cameos, pocket 


the collection, as did cameos, pocket 
watches, old cameras, embroidered 


‘ While fm not afraid to admit that 
the competition in the market is 
very stiff , on the other hand them 
are 950 million people in this coun- 
try. Let the consumer decide and 
have the benefit of the vast choice 
available to them," he savs. 


purses with lacy strings and odd 
bits and pieces. 


And as Johnson goes public he 
has innumerable ideas up his 
designer sleeves. Your children an* 



m3 








First person 


SHAMSHAD HUSAIN, 47, hmbet brush toamo**fir &** 

time years have seen Mm shaZm sf-mi 

sky, reticent artist’s primary matter* ktftkt human jnimtffaiife' 
amhapp mmn&jamt everyday tife. 



mz:m& awswi 








% 




I 






What doyott 
dislike most In 
yourself? 

When I don't paint 
for long 


V 














H 






wis*jr 

--* 

fWllffU 


What is your 


favourite journey? 


IGeeandlet. 
live peacefully. • 
KUbjfWv t 

gM tWtfett? 
Separation. 

Wh»«wMtahm 
kfluaut fat yoar Ufa? 

MyntemundSp 

Yn>#&ym<u^x-,<: 


By train, bus and 
truck to Bastax> M.P. 


What la your favourite word? 

Love. 

What is your favourite journey? 

By train, bus and trade to 
Bastar, M.P. 

What is your favourite dream? 

To keep painting. 

What is you r nightmare? 

Terrorism, ana blackmailing. 
What or who is the greatest love 


of your life? 
Mydridn 


What la your source of 
sustenance? 

Painting and sculpture. 

On what occasions do you lie? 

Don't re m e mb er 
What is your greatest regret? 

March 23, 1995 and May 20, 
1996. 

What haa been your ha pp i est 


\ May 16, 1970. 

What brings tears to your eyes? 


Taking 
unnecessarily. 
What do you 
dislike moat in 
yourself? 
•When I don't . 
'paint for tong. 
What la your , 


How do you relax? 

Together with family and 
fiflfflds. . 

What do you array mast hr uth rt s ? 
■ wppy ^ w ■ 

How would yon like ta'W 


“ * _ .Soenui«n4Atifa, 
■Wh^nhjjeebdO'you'alwayp c*ny? 
My lundnyada sketch pen. ■ 












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