Month: June 2015

Categories
Enough said

What’s next in the Sushma-Vasundhara-Lalit Modi triangle?

As the issue becomes murkier, it’s time to examine if ministerial resignations should also be made compulsory, like everything else.
Humra Quraishiby Humra Quraishi

The present Government was supposed to weed out every sort of corruption, starting with bringing back the black money reserves stashed abroad. But as each day passes, it is becoming obvious that far from rooting out corruption, the Government is firmly entrenching itself in it.

If Cabinet Minister and Chief Minister helping fugitives is not corruption, then what is? External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj ‘helping’ the tainted and wanted Lalit Modi due to some rumoured ‘family ties’ has only brought out the fact that the latter is Swaraj’s lawyer daughter Bansuri’s client. Nobody knew this before, and nobody would have known till Swaraj’s involvement in helping Lalit Modi had not been brought to light.

Then came the news of Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje’s involvement in the matter, and the issue became even murkier. Even Vasundhara has ties with Lalil Modi’s family – her son Dushyant Singh has business connections with the London-based tycoon.

These are just two links out in the open at the moment – can we be certain there aren’t many more? After all, corruption is not just about taking money, it is also about influencing the outcome of several matters, or pressurising others to do things a certain way to gain some advantage.

What’s more, Lalit Modi seems to be in a mood to reveal many names connected with the matter – who else has been giving out the information about family histories and business links? The bigger question is, what does the Government intend to do with this information? Whether more names come out or not, what is it going to do about Sushma and Vasundhara?

If the Government can make yoga compulsory in schools, if it can enforce a beef ban in Maharashtra (and look to ban it in other States as well), why can’t it make resignations of errant Ministers compulsory?

Humra Quraishi is a senior political journalist based in Gurgaon. She is the author of Kashmir: The Untold Story and co-author of Simply Khushwant.    

(Picture courtesy www.ndtv.com. Image is a file picture) 

Categories
Film

Review: ABCD 2 (Any Body Can Dance 2)

A tiny plot and passable lead performances are bolstered by lots of dancing in ABCD sequel, and is worth one watch.
by Ravi Shet

The plot of this film is the journey of the real life Fictitious Dance Group’s from Mumbai’s Nalasopara to the finals of the World Hip Hop Challenge in Las Vegas. ABCD 2 (Any Body Can Dance 2) directed by Remo D’Souza, features a motley crew of dancers named ‘Mumbai Stunners’ with Suresh (Varun Dhawan) as their lead.

The group, also comprising Vinnie (Shraddha Kapoor) and a crew of others, are accused of copying each and every dance move from a famous dance group – Philippines’s ‘All Stars’ by the judges (played by Remo D’Souza, Terence Lewis and Seema Pandey) and are disqualified from a reality show. Post this incident, the group is taunted by one and all as a bunch of cheaters (a customer calls out to Suresh, who is working as waiter in a pub as a ‘cheater’, then sarcastically corrects it to ‘waiter’, a woman in a salon tells Vinnie she wants a haircut like Katrina Kaif, and says Vinnie can do it expertly since she is good at copying, etc.) Even a popular TV comic mocks the group on his show.

Suresh wants his group to participate in the World Starz Hip Hop Challenge in Las Vegas and prove to the world that they are not cheaters through their dance performances. Vishnu Sir (Prabhudeva), a struggling choreographer guides the team and also renames it as Indian Stunners. After that, the film follows a fairly predictable graph.

 

There are a few moments that drag it down, especially in the second half; however the dance sequences makes up for the movie and really hold your attention. Varun and Shraddha have put in a lot of effort with their dancing to match the likes of Dharmesh Yelande, Lauren Gottlieb, Punit Pathak, Raghav Juyal and others.

The cinematography by Vijay Arora is excellent, especially the shots taken in Las Vegas. Prabhudeva’s entry, followed by his dance and the last dance sequence of the film are standout sequences. Sachin-Jigar do well in the music department.

All in all, this is a good film to watch if you’re not looking for a very strong story and lots of dancing.

Rating: 3 out of 5

(Picture courtesy movies.ndtv.com)

Categories
Event

Attend: Iyengar Yoga event at NSCI

On International Day of Yoga, you can be part of a masterclass on Iyengar yoga and learn a variety of asanas.
by Ravi Shet

On December 11, 2014, the United Nations General Assembly declared June 21 as the International Day of Yoga. To celebrate this day and also to pay tribute to the much feted Yoga exponent Yogacharya BKS Iyengar, his students have conceptualised an event, ‘Experience Iyengar Yoga’.

This will be an open public event where they will have a presentation, a practical class and an inspiring film for the attendees. This event will be held at the National Sports Club of India (NSCI) stadium (Worli) and the session will be from 5 pm to 7 pm, on Sunday, June 21.

Yoga is derived from Sanskrit word ‘yuj’ which means ‘union’ or ‘to join’ – a union of individual self with the cosmic consciousness. The benefits of various yoga asanas for health disorders have been observed not only in our country, but also in western countries and widely accepted throughout the globe. By performing simple yoga asanas on regular basis, one can achieve peace of mind, improved focus, instant contentment and long lasting transformation. Yoga is not restricted to any age or generation; everyone, from a small child to a senior citizen, can practice it and keep themselves physically and mentally fit.

New entrants will be taken through the Iyengar Yoga class along with precise and synchronised instructions to get an experience and feel of the Iyengar tradition.

Registration for this event is free and starts at the venue from 4:15 pm. Interested participants must carry their own yoga mat, while people with major medical problems can observe the class.

(Picture courtesy blog.janoindia.com. Image is used for representational purpose only)

Categories
Listen

Attend: Sawani Shende performs in Mumbai

Vocalist Sawani Shende will lend her rich voice to rain themed ragas this evening at the NCPA. Do not miss.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

The rainy season is richly celebrated in Hindustani music. While there are ragas specific to the monsoon, semi-classical genres of thumri and allied forms such as kajri, sawan, jhoola also express myriad shades of emotions, from pain of separation to the joy of union with the beloved, in the months of Sawan and Bhadon.

Born in a musical family, Sawani Shende has trained in classical and semi-classical music under Kusum and Sanjeev Shende, her grandmother and father, respectively. She also received guidance from vocalist Veena Sahasrabuddhe. Sawani’s music is an aesthetic blend of Kirana and the Gwalior Gharanas. Having made a debut at the age of 10, her musical journey is replete with performances and awards. She has a number of commercial albums to her credit, and has sung for several Marathi films and TV serials.

This evening, she performs in ‘Meghranjani’, with a song selection picked from traditional repertories of classical and semi-classical compositions celebrating the splendour of the rains.

Head to the NCPA at 6.30 pm. 

Categories
Hum log

Finding the new ‘Normal’

Arathi Menon was divorced at 35, and wrote about the experience in a humorous book which dispels the ‘taboo’ from divorce.
by Ritika Bhandari Parekh

Mumbai-based, Bangalore-bred Arathi Menon doesn’t strike one as lady who would write about her bad experiences. Everything about her spells ‘happy’, from the pixie haircut to the cute elephant earrings matching her red dress. Her debut novel Leaving Home With Half A Fridge’ has received uniformly positive reviews and it was launched recently at a Kemps Corner bookstore with much ceremony.

Arathi Menon Armed with a post-graduate degree in Journalism, 38-year old Arathi started as a copywriter in advertising. Her last job was in corporate communications at The Times of India. The only child of her parents, Arathi found her way into writing through short stories and poetry. But during the trying times of her divorce, she realised that there was little literature on the sensitive subject. “I did not find any books that could help me through it. I had to figure out a lot of things on my own. I simply wanted someone to say that divorce is not all that melodramatic as our society and television makes it to be,” she says softly. “Sometimes bitterness happens in real life and though all of us feel sad, how is one to deal with it in a normal way?”

“So after I reached my ‘happy place’, I decided that I wanted the society to know that divorce is kind-of the new Normal,” she declares.

Writing the book

Two years after her divorce, she started off with a column for LiveMint.com. Readers’ feedback helped her realise that she should write a book on her divorce. She saw that if ever another person needed to talk or read about this ‘social taboo’, Leaving Home With Half A Fridge would be of tremendous help.

“I made sure that the content was not duplicated so the book got more structured. It starts off when I was contemplating getting a divorce and moves on to when I find a lawyer, then a place of my own. It talks about the many emotions a divorce puts you through like dating again after marriage, with all its complications,” she explains. “And then the point where I am happy, whether alone or with someone.”

She laughingly says, “People don’t realise the pain a divorced person goes through and one should spare them a moral judgement on the topic.” Her writing Arathi Menon book Coverhandles the sensitive topic with a feather’s caress and that is what readers are currently hooked on to. “I didn’t want to write any nasty things about my ex, because he is a nice person and though things didn’t work between us, he was not the villain,” she emphasises. “It was always about if you ever get stuck in such a situation, how you can move from the point of divorce to the point of happiness.”

Being a not-psycho 

Talking about the quirky title, she says, “If you go to any house, there is one fridge, one television, one washing machine, one microwave. So when you are leaving it, you cannot take half of these things, can you? While a divorce is emotional, it is also chokingly practical. You look at bed sheets and you wonder how many to leave behind and how many to take…So I just kept everything behind!” But she acknowledges that she wrote the book in a healthy frame of mind. “I had fought my demons and two years later, I decided that the book is for someone who might be going through the same nonsense.”

The author admits to being quite honest in the book. “I have spoken about how I stalked my ex or did mean things to his stuff, because I just wanted to say that it is normal to do something like this. No, I am not a psycho but I was not happy back then.”

In the process of writing the memoir, Arathi started writing a set number of words every day. “It is not a time thing, as initially I thought of writing from 10 am to 1 pm. But that didn’t happen, as I keep dreaming and the time would go. So now I write regularly.”

She posts a fantasy story on her blog Nothing Beastly About It, every Wednesday. Arathi reveals, “As publishing takes a lot of time, instead of waiting for this book to come out – I just started writing my second book. So I am done with that and I am working on my third book now. As most of my topics are dark, I wanted a ‘happy’ space which is where my blog comes in the picture.”

What inspires her? She says, “If you want to be an artist, there is nothing like inspiration. It is simply hard work. You get up every day and you sit at your table and you do your work. I think anybody who says ‘I wait for inspiration’ is lazy. It doesn’t work for me!”

She believes working in advertising has made her more professional, while being artistic was intrinsic, and that being in Mumbai has given her a sense of freedom. “I loved Bombay the minute I set my foot here. The city allows you to be anything you want.” She credits her editor Pranav Kumar Singh for handling the book with sensitivity and kindness. The author finds Akhil Sharma’s Family Life to be her recent favourite book and counts Flannery O’Connor and Alice Munro as her much-loved authors.

As I skim through her book before buying it, I chance upon the last chapter titled ’12 steps to a divorcee’s tango’ – and I realise that Arathi is not just the survivor who told her tale, but the one who danced and happily sang the sad, but true note.

Categories
Tech

Review: ASUS ZenFone 2

Priced at Rs 24,000, the phone has some great features and some minor quibbles, but is a good device overall.
by Manik Kakra | @Manik_K on Twitter

ASUS has been slowly and steadily climbing up the smartphone ladder in the Indian market. The tech company got rave reviews with the original ZenFone. Continuing the trend after the ZenFone 5 and 6 is now the ZenFone 2 that has a lot of things going for it – 4 GB RAM, 5.5-inch full HD screen, 3,000 mAh battery, among others. Let’s find out if this Intel-powered device can hold its own in its price segment.

The looks. The ASUS ZenFone 2’s (ZE551ML) unique design is not massively different from the Zenfone, but is sufficiently different. The phone has volume rockers (similar to those on LG G3 and now the G4) on the back right next to the camera sensor and dual tone LED flash; other than the loudspeaker and ASUS, Intel and ZenFone logo complete the rear. The back has a nice brushed (almost faux aluminum) plastic material.

The phone’s back has a noticeable curve and with the smooth dual shade plastic sides and curved edges, it is comfortable to hold and carry. Having said that, its sheer size, bezel and weight (about 170 grams) will be a bit too much for some. On the front, the phone has a nice brushed aluminium chin just below the three capacitive touch keys — Back, Home and recent Apps key.

Right above the screen, other than the ASUS logo (second one) you have LED notification light, ear-speaker and 5 MP front-facing camera. The microUSB port and primary mic are placed right at the bottom. Plus, those slim volume keys are not the most tactile ones, but you will get used to them. The Power/Lock key is at the top along with the 3.5mm headset jack and secondary mic. The Power button placed, at the top right, located in the middle, is also hard to press.

Asus ZenFone 2Display. The phone features a 5.5-inch full HD (1920 x 1080) IPS LCD. On paper, it is on par with most other smartphones in this price category today. The screen looks sharp and, while it is not the most pixel-dense display, does a good job for most tasks. I thought the phone performed well with videos and images. You can change the screen’s colour calibration using the inbuilt colour temperature app.

Battery. The phone has a 3,000 mAh battery unit. On most occasions it lasted me over 20 hours on a single charge (with a little over three hours of screen on-time). The usage included one SIM card inserted, two Email Accounts on sync, about half an hour or HD YouTube videos and music playback each. The phone takes a little under two hours to get fully charged from zero using the bundled charger. The battery is a solid point for the ZenFone 2; it hardly drained more than usual.

Audio. The loudspeaker on the back (designed to look longer than the speaker actually) isn’t very punchy for videos and games output and you would often have to use your hand to cup the speaker and get better sound. I didn’t any bundled headsets, so I can’t about in-ear sound. Call quality and in-ear sound were on par, and there were no problems with voice or sound during calls. One SIM card slot has 3G and 4G LTE supports, while the other has just 2G. Basics like WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, and network data didn’t require any troubleshooting.

Camera. The ZenFone 2 boasts a 13 MP rear camera with dual tone LED flash. Here are a few sample images.

The camera can take detailed, sharp photos, especially in broad daylight. The camera app has loads of options, in particular HDR and Depth mode work well and can be pretty useful at times. In low-light, the camera gives noisy photos and you may want to opt for low resolution photos. Having said that, it usually gave bright coloured shots better than most smartphones in this price range. There’s also a software feature called Super Resolution that lets you take 50 MP photos – by combining four shots and stitching them together.

Software and performance. The ZenFone 2 comes with an Intel Z3580 chipset (2.3 GHz quad-core processor, PowerVR G6430 GPU) and whopping 4 GB of RAM, which is surely one of the USPs of the phone. It runs on Android 5.0 with ASUS’s own ZenUI on top. The phone feels a lot smoother and snappier to work on than its predecessor. There are not too many Intel-powered Android phones, but this one certainly does its job without lagging.

ASUS has loaded plenty of options in every nook and corner of the OS. With a dedicated themes center, you can now choose the overall look of the phone – from wallpaper, lock screen, scrolling effect, option to change how your Menu launcher shows app icons or arranges them, to even changing icons from one of the icon packs from the Play Store, yep. Contacts app allows you to select certain contacts under the tab VIP, for whom you may contact frequently or just want to view separate from the rest. There are dozens of ASUS apps pre-loaded as well as annoying third-party apps, which you can uninstall. There is a dedicated ASUS support app you can use to chat and get help from the company’s customer support, so that you don’t have to wait holding calls.

ASUS has done a really good job with the ZenFone 2. With a good camera and screen, feature-heavy and relatively smooth OS, decent battery life and innovative design, the phone seems to be up there with other heavyweights when it comes to phones under Rs 24,000.

(Pictures courtesy Manik Kakra)

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