Month: February 2015

Categories
Watch

Watch: ‘Begin Again’

The 2013 film features Keira Knightley and Mark Ruffalo in leading roles; music and song writing form the film’s backdrop.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

PVR and NCPA are launching their ‘Director’s Rare’ programme from today, a new monthly series of films picked by PVR.

The 2013 film Begin Again, an American musical comedy-drama film written and directed by John Carney and starring Keira Knightley and Mark Ruffalo, will play tonight at the NCPA’s Little Theatre. In the film, Knightley plays a singer-songwriter who is discovered by a struggling record label executive (Ruffalo) and collaborates with him to produce an album recorded in public locations all over New York City. Gretta’s world takes a turn for the better when Dan, a disgraced record label executive, stumbles upon her performing on an East Village stage and is captivated by her raw talent.

After the success of his 2007 musical film Once, Carney wrote the script for Begin Again in 2010 and employed Gregg Alexander to compose most of the film’s music. With an US$8 million budget, production began in July 2012 with filming taking place in various locations around New York City. The film premiered in September 2013 at the Toronto International Film Festival and was released theatrically on June 27, 2014, in conjunction with the release of the film’s soundtrack. It has grossed over $63 million worldwide and received mostly positive reviews from critics. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song.

The screening is free and open to all on a first come first seated basis. The film begins at 6.30 pm.

(Picture courtesy tribecafilm.com)

Categories
Autism

What is the true meaning of acceptance?

The key for parents dealing with autistic children is to focus on the positives to bring out their innate abilities.
Kamini Lakhaniby Kamini Lakhani | saiconnections01@gmail.com

Part 7 of the Autism Diaries – The only way we can save ourselves and those we love from being hurt.

Wednesday mornings are the best mornings of the week for me – because it is time for our weekly group class! We have a group of eight to nine mothers attending each week. I learn so much from this weekly interaction. I’m honoured to moderate this class and be a guide to all these wonderful people.

So on a recent Wednesday I threw open the discussion with one of my favourite quotes, “And that’s the thing about people who mean everything they say. They think everyone else does too.” (Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner).

Every participant had their own opinion. Most of us identified with the quote. At the same time, we’ve all found our way around this. We understand another’s perspective and over a period of time, have learned not to take this too seriously, or to let it affect us badly.

Blessed to deal with autism spectrum children

We share our genetic pool with our children. Due to a lack of neural connectivity and the brain being wired differently, do our kids who are on the Autism Spectrum experience extreme literal thinking? Since they experience difficulty with simultaneous processing and have problems with perspective taking, is this problem amplified for them? It is certainly a possibility! 

Among these youngsters, there are no pretenses. You get what you see. You get unconditional love – a rare commodity these days. I feel privileged to catch glimpses of greatness on a day-to-day basis. In all the years that I have worked with them, I have felt protected and taken care of. If I am worried about something, one of the little ones will, of their own accord, come sit on my lap. Or one of the ‘big guys’ will walk into my office and put out a hand of blessing on my head!

Something happened just yesterday. I was feeling overwhelmed by a situation that engulfed me. This boy greeted me at the door, took me by the hand and walked around with me – as if to say, Autism spectrum“You’re not alone, I’m with you.” What else can one need in life?

I feel that it’s my life’s mission to create a safety net for all these wonderful people who have impacted my life in such a big way! How do I do this? I don’t have the abilities that they do, but I’m privileged to be able to understand them, to see the brilliant light in them.

The discussion moved to each mother talking about her child’s strengths. Surprise of surprises! Most of us felt that though we are aware of their strengths, we tend to focus on their weaknesses.

Focus on the strengths

For instance, one mother was constantly focussing on her son’s hyperactivity, rather than being appreciative of his love for life and curiosity that he so clearly displays. Another mom discovered that though her son was hugely skilled, she focussed on his ‘aggressive behaviours’. Yet somebody else was focused on her son’s problems related to visual perceptual skills rather than his ability to share his emotions so clearly. I am personally guilty of being over focussed on my son’s health issues rather than his tremendous artistic talent and ability!

There is a difference between being aware of what is lacking and focussing almost obsessively on it. I’m certainly not telling any parent to put on blinkers and stop looking at the deficits. What I am saying is this: Be aware of your child’s strengths, understand how your child learns. Focus on this, build the positives and support your child to overcome the deficits. But support your child by being respectful. Do not break the child’s spirit.

Here’s what one of my veteran moms, Sudha Ranganathan, has to say about this: “Acceptance is recognising their strengths and limitations and still expecting and supporting them to do better.”

Let me explain by using an example. Shraddha is a wonderful young girl, always smiling and happy, a willing learner and totally well versed and comfortable with kitchen skills. She has deficits with visual perceptual skills. Her mother feels that if Shraddha gets better with this, we could work on her reading and writing, and thereby give her an effective way to communicate.

She has a valid point. But if we focus on just getting Shraddha to read and write the conventional way, we will in all probability, fail. Instead, if we focus on the positives – her good nature, her willingness to participate, enhanced gross and fine motor skills – we can make a positive difference to this lovely girl’s life. Plus, if we keep in mind the delayed processing that Shraddha displays and learn to guide her appropriately with this, could we not come up with a superior, customised plan to teach her to read and write?

Isn’t this what respect is about? Work with their strengths. Use these to support them to overcome weaknesses.

For if you try to force a square peg into a round hole- you may end up damaging the peg! If you want to improve lives of families with children on the spectrum, or if you have any queries about autism and other learning conditions, feel free to email me at saiconnections01@gmail.com. I will be glad to help.

Kamini Lakhani is the founder of SAI Connections. She is a Behaviour Analyst, an RDI (Relationship Development Intervention) Consultant, Supervisor and Trainer responsible for RDI professional training in India and the Middle East. She is the mother of an adult on the Autism Spectrum. She is also a member of Forum for Autism.

Next: How motivation and resilience are connected to each other.

(Pictures courtesy www.jhsph.edu, www.matthewreardon.org)

Categories
Tech

Review: Xiaomi Mi4

What’s new and improved in the Mi4 model that the Mi3 didn’t have? We do a check to find out.
by Manik Kakra | @Manik_K on Twitter

What comes to your mind when you hear the name Xiaomi? Good hardware specifications, reasonable pricing, and flash sale, right? And now, Xiaomi seems to be building further on those thoughts. With the Mi 3 making its India debut, the company made quite a few ripples in the online retail space – flash sale for a mid-range device that has hardware specifications you would associate with higher-end models. Does the Mi 4, with its revamped UI, upgraded camera, new design have what it takes to ship Xiaomi’s ship further in the Indian market? Let’s try and find out.

The looks. Xiaomi’s Mi 4 (MI 4W) follows a different design language than the Mi 3. Having stainless steel frame around with chamfered edges, hard back with no curves and two vertical cuts on the top and bottom, the phone does have some heft to it and feels sturdy to hold. There are no creeks or random loose give to it. Besides the 5-inch full HD panel on the front, you see the silver Mi logo, sensors, ear speaker grill and front-facing camera while below the screen are the three touch keys – Menu/ Options key, Home and Back key, plus the oval-shaped LED notification light. These buttons and light lit up just about the right amount – not dull or too bright. On the left side panel, there’s the micro SIM card slot, while the right side panel houses the volume rockers and Power Lock key, both are made out of metal, requiring you to press a bit firmly.

On the hard white rear, you’ll see the 13 MP camera near the top-middle, surrounded by the LED flash and secondary mic, and the Mi logo towards the bottom. On the top, the infrared port and 3.5mm headset jack are placed; and the bottom sports the microUSB part and loudspeaker. The Mi 4 seems like having better design and feel than its predecessor, and it’s good that Xiaomi didn’t just follow its previous design pattern.

Screen. The device boasts a 5-inch (1920 x 1080) screen that’s manufactured by JDI, which it claims provides a better solution than Gorilla Glass. The display produces good colours, is usable under direct sunlight and seems to have good viewing angles. Watching full HD videos and images, the screen won’t disappoint, provided you haven’t been using a high-end phone panel as the Mi 4 doesn’t quite seem as sharp and vibrant as the most high-end phones, but it does the job pretty well.

Camera. Talking about the 13 MP (f/1.8) camera, the company claims it has been upgraded and vastly improved. Here are a few sample images.

The phone takes detailed, bright images when used under daylight conditions. Its shortcomings come to the fore when taking close-up shots and using it in low-light conditions. I liked the app, which has a lot of options and modes like Refocus, Burst, HDR, Panorama and also the manual mode, and yet the camera app is smooth and simple to operate. The front-facing 8 MP camera is more than capable in handling selfies and making video calls. Thanks to its wide-angle sensor, you can cover more area for group shots.

Network and call quality. The phone handles basics like network reception, call quality and network switches without any trouble. I didn’t notice any network issues or call drops and WiFi, GPS and Bluetooth worked fine. Infrared connectivity, on the other hand, was a bit glitchy as it took me a while to sync and control a Samsung LED TV. On the audio side, the loudspeaker is loud and clear and not bad for games and videos, but it could have been placed ideally at a better place. You don’t get any bundled headsets, but using a basic pair of earphones, the phone delivers above average in-ear output.

Battery. I found the 3,000 mAh battery unit a downside. The phone hardly ever lasted me a full day as it needed to be plugged in within 24 hours of a full charge. At about 30 per cent brightness, using Email, Twitter, Reddit and a bit of music and calls, you may end up with more juice when switching to the power-saving mode.

Software and performance. The Mi 4 runs on Android 4.4.4 with the new MiUI 6.3.9 in place. Under the hood, there is Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 80 SoC (2.5 GHz quad-core processor, Adreno 330 GPU) coupled with 3 GB of RAM. Scrolling, swiping and opening of apps is fairly smooth. One thing worth mentioning is that the launcher often redraws, re-launches and you would have to wait a second or two to tap somewhere on your Home screen after exiting an app. This wasn’t the case with the Mi 3 running MiUi 5, so hopefully there’s a quick fix for this issue. With the 16 GB model, you get about 2.4 GB of storage space, so you might want to spend a bit more to get a 64 GB variant.

The new MiUI 6 seems like a more colourful, refreshing and minimal skin than earlier. With having all your app shortcuts and widgets on the Home screens and no separate app launcher, the setup isn’t very different. What’s different is the icons and widgets, which have been given a cleaner look.

Notifications have been given a major overhaul. You now get a pop-up like notification shade (similar to iOS) on getting an Email, SMS, etc. and can tap to reply no matter what app you’re in. You can choose which app is allowed to show notifications in pop-up, preview its icon in the status bar and Lock screen. Status bar icons are redesigned also a bit more on the monochromatic side of looks. Clock has been shifted to the left side and Lock screen looks simpler now with the only shortcut being the camera app. App icons now show you if there’s any unread message (showing a number), which is handy. Swiping down gives you toggle buttons and swiping left lands you at the notification shade. All in all, the new MiUI seems like a good step towards cleaner and neater UI, while there’s surely shades of iOS at various places, there quite a few useful things and tricks to like in it.

Concluding our review, the Mi 4, which we would have appreciated if Xiaomi had launched sooner than six months of its initial launch, seems like a worth competitor in this mid-range. It has a good screen, average battery life, capable camera, it might not be as compelling as the Mi 3 for its price, but is a worthy competitor to the likes of the HTC Desire 820Q, OnePlus One, Lenovo Vibe X2, giving a bunch of good options to buyers to pick from.

Categories
Listen

Attend: Sarod recital by Ustad Amjad Ali Khan

Tonight, sarod exponent Ustad Amjad Ali Khan performs with Vijay Ghate on the tabla, at Nehru Centre. Do not miss.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Today, on the occasion of Mahashivratri, sarod’s most enduring name in India, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan will perform at the Nehru Centre, accompanied by Vijay Ghate on the tabla.

After performing for an august audience at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo recently, the maestro is giving this rare solo performance in Mumbai where he will regale music lovers with traditional ragas and vintage renditions in his inimitable style.

Khan was born into a musical family and has performed internationally since the 1960s. He was awarded India’s second highest civilian honor, the Padma Vibhushan, in 2001. Khan has recently been awarded 21st Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavna Award. 20 August is celebrated as harmony day, the birth anniversary of Rajiv Gandhi. Khan received the Padma Shri in 1975, the Padma Bhushan in 1991, and the Padma Vibhushan in 2001, and was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for 1989 and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship for 2011. He was awarded the Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize in 2004. The U.S. state Massachusetts proclaimed 20 April as Amjad Ali Khan Day in 1984. Khan was made an honorary citizen of Houston, Texas, and Nashville, Tennessee, in 1997, and of Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 2007. He received the Banga-Vibhushan in 2011. Sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan, who has shared his rich experience in Indian classical music in classes across the West, will now teach for a quarter (three months) at Stanford University, this course will have lessons on Sarod as well.

(Picture courtesy www.kavitachhibber.com)

Categories
Bombay, bas

The femininity code: Contrasting Mumbai with Thailand

A recent trip to Thailand opened this Mumbaikar’s eyes as she introspected on the status of women the world over.
Pooja Birwatkarby Dr Pooja Birwatkar

Travelling to foreign places has really become a fashion trend. Thailand, of all such places, seems to be hot favourite among Indian tourists. Almost all my neighbours, family and associates have been to Thailand. Hearing about its popularity, this year we decided to go there as well. The most appealing factor, of course, was that the Indian rupee is not so low in denomination as compared to their currency, so we wouldn’t spend all our time mentally calculating and converting while shopping!

But the trip to Thailand totally shook me up and made me seriously rethink issues that feminists all over the world have been most vocal about. I was cautioned by few people that Thailand was ‘a naughty place’ and so when I travelled there, that adjective ‘naughty’ was firmly stuck in my head.

Actually landing there and experiencing the place made me reinterpret my own ideas of what constitutes ‘naughtiness’.

The first thing our tour manager, Tuk, told us was to keep our eyes, mind and heart open. She said, “This is Thailand, not India…Everything happens here. See the other side of the world.”  I soon understood what she meant. Imagine my shock when I saw young girls moving around with oldies who could pass off as their grandfathers. The night life was rather too bold for me. Not that we Indians are unaware of such acts back home in our country, with numerous stories of bawdy brothels, prostitution and human trafficking doing the rounds in the news and mass media almost every day. But you don’t witness these as openly as you do in Thailand.

I was intrigued by these girls wherever I saw them, on beaches, in hotels, in shopping arcades, on the streets and mostly when travelling in those cute tuk tuks. I shamelessly stared at them and observed them; sometimes I was obvious enough for them to notice and smile cutely at me.

I also noticed that unlike in our country, these girls were not a taboo on their society. They were as much part of the regular local crowd as anyone else. The locals did not treat them differently or Sex workerslook down upon them. I began to wonder if their work was looked upon respectably here. A little discussion with my tour guide on this made me realise that whatever these girls were doing was not disrespectful in the eyes of the people of Thailand. They were merely doing their work, so what if the work happened to be of a ‘different’ type?

Pondering over my own reservations about their choice of profession, I began to feel a deep respect for these girls as I saw them walk with their head held high. I am sure they must be regular wives, daughters and motheres in their houses and their profession may not way affect that ‘normal’ part of their lives in any way. I gathered that women in Thailand did all types of work and millions were were bread earners of the families. Only I wish there were more dignified professions for them.

I also questioned the entity of women. Are we mere objects of sexual desire or are we actually reduced to being such objects? I remember a few days ago, after a visit to a beauty parlour, my six-year-old son asked, “Why do you go to the parlour and endure so much pain?” He then asked if he would have to go to the parlour too, when he grew up. I told him that boys didn’t need beauty treatments.

His next question was simple: “Why?” And even as I fumbled for an answer, I realised that we women groomed ourselves to look attractive, but nobody placed the expectation of looking good all the time on men (though I know of several men who groom themselves a lot). The larger question is: who exempted men from looking their best at all times? And who said women cannot go about with unmanicured nails, hairy armpits and visible moustaches? What is so unattractive about that? And if we have to blame ‘society’ for these expectations, then aren’t we women a part of this society, too? Why, then, do we accept the idea that women must always look attractive and ‘ladylike’ at all times?

We lament the plight of our women but I find that women are exploited all over the world. My experience in Thailand made me introspect about my own status as a woman and I found that thankfully, till date, my gender has never been a hindrance during any of my life stages, be it school, college, career or even as a citizen. I am proud to say that I owe most of this to my city Mumbai which has largely contributed in making me cherish my gender rather than be struck down by it.

Mumbai definitely scores much above all other cities in India as far as gender issues are concerned. Despite incidents of molestation and rape being reported on a regular basis, I still feel safe in Mumbai. The city doesn’t care much about me being a woman, and I get to enjoy my freedom when I walk on the streets late at night or reach home late from work. I have my own compartment and seats reserved in trains and other public transport. I can have coffee at a coffee joint without being stared at. My workplace does not give me any concessions because of my gender. I see hordes of women every morning stepping out of their homes on the way to their jobs, and they don’t look nervous or scared – on the contrary, their confidence rubs off on newcomers in the city. There are dark sides to Mumbai where one can find Thailand-like scenarios, but still the city lets you be what you want to be. This is a city that belongs to me as much as anyone.

And my heart goes to the millions of women all over the world who are sex workers. I feel their outrage at being commodified, but I feel tremendous respect for them for being courageous and dignified despite their situation.

(Pictures courtesy content.time.com, www.zimbio.com. Images used for representational purpose only)

Categories
Watch

Shop and explore art at Kurla this month

Phoenix Marketcity Kurla ties up with the art collective Dolna to present an art installation comprising work by renowned Indian artistes.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Art continues to get the patronage it deserves in the country’s financial capital, Mumbai. What is heartening is that contemporary art is stepping out of the confines of art galleries in the city and becoming accessible to the everyday Mumbaikar, in the spaces he or she frequents.

Taking the idea of making art accessible to all, Phoenix Marketcity Kurla has tied up with Dolna to present the ‘Art Horizon Series’ from February 15 to March 31, 2015. The idea behind the initiative is to allow every shopper to have a close encounter with art. This series opens with its first collection titled Eclectic Collection that mirrors the eclectic nature of life itself.Cotton Field by artist Subodh kerkar

Through the Eclectic Collection, Phoenix Marketcity Kurla and Mithu Basu, Founder of Dolna, bring to Mumbai brilliant art curated from the studios of ace artists such as Shaam Pahapalkar (his work is featured above), Subodh Kerkar (his work is featured on right), Dr Sudhir Deshpande and Govind Biswas. “The aim of the exhibition is to take further Phoenix Market City, Kurla and Dolna’s vision of widening the horizon for art, artists and the audience,” says Mithu.

The Eclectic Collection consists of artwork and installations based on concepts such as reincarnation, the divide between rural and urban society, the daily life in a city, and many more contemporary concepts. The installations will be exhibited at the mall from February 15, 2015 to March 31, 2015.

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