Innholdsfortegnelse for August 1, 2016 i India Today

For over the century, the Olympics has been the ultimate expression of human excellence. It’s a collection of incredible stories, of hope in the face of despair, and valour in the face of strife, that comes every four years to serve as a reminder of what our species can achieve. It tests the limits of endurance, stamina and, above all, the human spirit. Every Olympics drives us to go faster, soar higher and emerge stronger. Citius, Altius, Fortius—not just on the field of play but as an inspiration for everyone in all walks of life. Since the Cold War, the Olympics got associated with the pride and prowess of a nation with the legendary rivalry between the US and the former USSR. Then China decided to enter this race in…

The judiciary is the lone man facing the advancing tanks of political tyranny in the Arunachal case, the lone woman against forces of social tyranny in the Perumal Murugan case Our constitutional democracy, over the decades of its consolidation, has had to fight two sources of tyranny—that which comes from society and that which comes from the state. The tyranny of society has often been fought by the political class, which, embracing the promise of modernity and of rights, has led social reform movements against evils such as sati, child m arriage, dowry, caste atrocities, triple talaq etc. From Raja Ram Mohan Roy to Dr B.R. Ambedkar, a publicspirited political class has fought against the tyranny of society, challenging values and practices that unjustly denied sections of our people their…

GONE ARE THE DAYS WHEN INDIANS WOKE UP ONCE EVERY FOUR YEARS WONDERING WHY WE HAD EVEN BOTHERED TO ENTER THE OLYMPICS ON a hot morning in Zirakpur, Punjab, inside the sprawling, well-appointed grounds of a farmhouse, a wormhole takes you on an incredible journey through time and space. It transports you across hemispheres to Rio de Janeiro, specifically to the Olympic Shooting Centre on the northwestern edge of Brazil’s most celebrated city, precisely on the morning of August 8, 2016. There you see Abhinav Bindra, India’s only individual Olympic gold medallist, a picture of stillness against the lime green background, taking aim at tiny concentric circles 10 metres away. You watch him shoot, round after round, scared to say anything that would break the magic spell. For several months,…

NDA-II Twitter Stars Ministers with the most followers As a prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi was quick to realise the power of social media. His two-yearold government runs a fairly successful outreach using it to communicate its achievements. Modi is also now the third most followed world leader, after US President Barack Obama and Pope Francis with 21.3 million followers on micro-blogging site Twitter and 35 million on his Facebook page. In March this year, the Modi government ramped up its social media outreach, running workshops for ministers on how to use the micro-blogging site Twitter more effectively. The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) also quietly monitors the performance of the cabinet on social media, grading the quality of their tweets. These ratings are also believed to have played a role…

THE SHRINKING GROUND How the Congress has lost the plot in Uttar Pradesh over the past three decades The security guard at this quiet corner house in Delhi’s posh Nizam ud din East neighbourhood is visibly annoyed at the unending stream of visitors over the last one week. The day has just begun. In the glassfronted drawing room on the second floor, overlooking a park, the 78yearold matriarch of the house is settling down for breakfast— sprinkling black pepper on two egg whites and asking the help to get her a glass of pomegranate juice. Her perso nal assistant puts two pills beside her, to be taken after breakfast. In another room, on the ground floor, over a dozen people are waiting, half of them with bouquets in hand. This…

The Bones of Grace Tahmima Anam Penguin Random House Pages 411 Price 499 Bangladesh, unlike India, is a monolingual country. An overwhelming percentage of its people speak Bangla; its independence from Pakistan was already an inevitability when Urdu was declared the sole national language in 1948. The Language Movement of the early 1950s was an assertion of Bengali pride, of a principled refusal to be subjugated by an alien language and its separate cultural heritage. “In Bangladesh,” the English-language novelist Tahmima Anam told the Wall Street Journal in 2011, “people publish write and consume books in Bangla.” Back then, Anam had been ploughing a desolate furrow, writing in English when none of her compatriots could be bothered. There was, Anam had noticed, a “global conversation about South Asia in English”…

Light Years Ahead Ditch traditional chandeliers for Stochastic, designed by Norway-based Daniel Rybakken for Italian brand Luceplan, brought to India by Philips Lighting. Composed of glass spheres at different heights, the lamp permits infinite combinations. Each sphere is connected to steel rods of different lengths, which are attached to the ceiling, giving rise to different light clusters. A high efficiency LED module is enclosed inside the spheres, generating warm, diffused indirect lighting. PRICE ₹1.83 lakh (72 spheres), ₹1.32 lakh (48 spheres); AT www.lighting.philips.co.in Global Goodies Plüsch Decor has brought to India ASA Selection, a German luxe decor and accessories brand. The product range embodies modern design and includes authentic kitchen and living products. The distinctive characteristics of all product lines is ASA Selection are the consistently simple expression of form,…

PRINTS ON PATTERNS FOR THOSE UNUSED SPACES Prints on patterns and patterns on print are on trend right now and bring in innovation and creativity to any room. Pay attention to those unused spaces like an area near the stairway or a corner in the living room. You can experiment with fabric, texture and colour. Accessorise with some clay objects and vintage notebooks and watch the space come to life. MIX AND MATCH Steer clear of the banal and opt for the offbeat. No, we are not talking about quirky objects, rather, conventional furniture with a dash of dazzle. Like this unsually high coffee table that also doubles up as a console. Use the wall to hang just about anything from your favourite musical instrument to a pretty watercolour. Another…

An artist inspired by nature is seldom news. But for Jayashree Chakravarty, 60, nature isn't a source of inspiration but the soul of her creations. The artist, who has for the last three decades, lived in the planned satellite township of Salt Lake, talks to SIMPLY KOLKATA about witnessing urbanisation unfold infront of her. Salt Lake wasn’t always this symmetrical, urban planning wonder of Kolkata. As the foreword by Soumik Nandy Majumdar to Chakravarty’s exhibition Unfolding Kuchinan, in Akar Prakar says “Long before Calcutta expanded eastward to Salt Lake, in 1958, Kuchinan was shown in an antique map of Calcutta in 1952. It was the area where today’s Bengal Chemical Factory stands. A hurricane and a simultaneous earthquake in 1737 ruined Kuchinan. The main river system Vidyadhari collapsed, and Salt…

1. Because it’s wet and humid, it is best to opt for lightweight fabrics like silks and avoid heavy embellishments. “Keep things interesting with simple but classic weaves like a Kanjeevaram and use the blouse for drama. Play it up with a short crop top or cape blouse instead of a typical fitted one for style and comfort,” says Priyanka Raja, owner of Kora and Kanishka’s. 2. Opting for an unconventional weave and fabric is not just practical because of the season but also a good “investment” because you are more likely to wear the sari again says Raja. 3. “Keep your make-up as light and as close to natural as possible and play on nude, gold and peach tones. Also, dress up your hair with bright seasonal flowers,” says…

On the morning of July 2, a wave of panic hit actress-dancer Daisy Shah as soon as she woke up. It was the day she would be premiering on stage, a performance she had been practising for the past two months. “I did consider chickening out, but Pradeep Gupta (director) would have collapsed,” she laughs. Having played the lead opposite Salman Khan in Jai Ho (2014), followed by the erotic thriller Hate Story 3 (2015), Shah does not seem like the obvious choice to essay the role of a Lucknowi courtesan in the staged period drama, Ek Aur Begum Jaan. With her background in dance, learning Kathak over two months was not as much of an uphill climb. It was performing the dance on stage, learning the 45-page script by…

JULY 18, 2016 Will Arvind Kejriwal’s effort to steer the party to national prominence work? “The fact remains that Arvind Kejriwal is a paper tiger and his Aam Aadmi Party a bubble that is likely to burst sooner than later in its hunger for power and its foolhardy ‘cowboy’ approach to politics.” MAHENDRA B. JAIN, via e-mail Hear that Rattle in the Cabinet? When the BJP was in Opposition, it routinely criticised the Congress for allotting portfolios unmindfully. However, if the recent cabinet reshuffle (Maximum Governance) is any indica tion, it is going down the same way. The much-touted ‘minimum government, maximum governance’ has remained merely a catchy slogan. Had the recommendations of the Administrative Reforms Commission been followed, the ministerial strength would have been reduced to 10 per cent…

ABOVE RTI As Opposition leader, Pinarayi Vijayan would regularly criticise then chief minister Oommen Chandy for keeping the vigilance department and corruption investigations out of RTI. Two months in power, Pinarayi is singing the same tune. He wants cabinet decisions and minutes kept out of RTI, which the CIC had insisted on. The LDF plans to contest it. MOBILE DIDI When travelling outside West Ben gal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee needs her mobile to keep a finger on the pulse of the state. Perhaps why she keeps checking it every five minutes. So much so that when, seated at the same table as the PM for a lunch hosted for CMs after the inter-state council meeting, she was asked to switch off her mobile, Didi flatly refused. ODDS AGAINST ACE…

MyGov prepares a weekly social media audit for the PMO analysing activity for the #transformingindia trend topic. Ministers are encouraged to tweet this hashtag Report for the week July 4-10, 2016 #Impressions: 560 million #Total tweets on this hashtag:168,486 #Total unique users: 34, 486 #Top places using the hashtag: Delhi, Lucknow, Jaipur, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Pune, Bengaluru, Puducherry, Chennai, Hyderabad Trending Topics Cabinet Reshuffle 3,485 unique mentions were captured around Cabinet Reshuffle; PM Modi congratulates his new colleagues Farmer Loans 2,386 unique mentions were recorded around approval of Rs 18,276 cr for interest subvention of farmer loans Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas Unique 439 mentions on motto of Modi-led government, especially his statement on equality while framing policies for transforming India Smriti Irani in Textiles Unique 394 mentions with netizens congratulating Irani…

THE GREAT DERANGEMENT Climate Change and the Unthinkable By Amitav Ghosh Allen Lane/Penguin Books India Price Rs 500 Pages 380 In 2009, Dipesh Chakrabarty wrote an essay called The Climate of History: Four Theses. In this work, the distinguished historian focused on the idea of the Anthropocene—the name proposed for our current geological epoch in which, for the first time, fundamental processes of the earth and atmosphere have been changed by human use of fossil fuels. Chakrabarty began by confessing that his extensive training in social theory had not prepared him “for making sense of this planetary conjuncture within which humanity finds itself today”. The Anthropocene makes Enlightenment ideals obsolete. Key premises such as the duality between Man and Nature must be discar ded. The pursuit of freedom—human autonomy and…

NO MORE WATER WOES Come monsoon and suddenly there is a rise of water borne diseases. This is where the new Dr Aquaguard range of water purifiers from Eureka Forbes comes in. Features include a mineral cartridge that enhances the taste of water and a hybrid carbon chemi block that removes chlorine, bad odour, organic impurities and hevay metals. PRICE ₹8,990 to ₹22,990; AT www.eurekaforbes.com A BRIGHT BEAUTY The IOTA Lite Smart Bulb comes with preset modes (like reading, relaxation and party) to adjust and customise light. It has a ‘dimmable’ option to adjust the brightness using a smartphone and is energy efficient since it uses LED technology (which consumes one tenth the energy of a traditional bulb). It also has the ‘scheduling’ option, where you can programme it (to…

Can a furniture piece help you shut out the rest of the world? According to Vector Projects, a turnkey solutions provider, it can. Case in point their new Incontri Collection, built to provide privacy by cutting out noise. Designed by Paolo Ceola, this state-of-the-art semi secluded island is a blend of fine modern Italian design, cutting edge technology and modular furnishing element. It forms a structure of curved pieces that unite and create a spiralling effect, shielding occupants from external distractions. As the height of each panel increases along the length of the spiral, it creates a dramatic sweeping line, and can transform any monotonous open space into an elegant breakout area. Moreover, due to its flexible design and robust nature, it can be easily moved from one area to…

Chitrangada Singh was in town to unveil the Scotch Whisky Collection, a collection of three different Scotch labels that include Black Dog Vat 69 and Black & White. The actor talks to SIMPLY KOLKATA about films, stardom, fashion and ofcourse, poison of choice. Q. Since you’re promoting the Scotch Whisky Collection as an ideal gifting option, what is the favourite gift you have been gifted? A. It was a beautiful pair of teardrop shaped solitaires that my mom gifted me. She knew that was my favourite shape and they were stunning and outrageously expensive. Q. Do you prefer whisky or wine? A. I prefer wines, but I am also learning to appreciate fine scotches and single malts. It’s something that has always been a part of my life since my…

VITARA BREZZA ZDI+ Engine 1.3-litre diesel Max power 90bhp@4,000rpm Max torque 200Nm@1,750rpm Gearbox 5-speed manual Wheelbase (mm) 2,500 LxWxH (mm) 3,995x1,790x1,640 Price Rs 9.50 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi) The affordable SUV from Maruti Suzuki has perhaps been the most awaited vehicle in the Indian automotive industry in recent years and we take it for a spin. Why Vitara Brezza will go down in the annals of Indian automotive industry is because it was conceived, designed and engineered by a predominantly Indian team. The result is in fact excellent. The car looks good and seems like a much larger SUV than it actually is. It will perhaps be the best looking sub-4m car in the country and incorporates the best of Suzuki design that has been successful in the past—including the floating…

While it would be great to bundle up and stay under the duvet on a rainy day, work (and life) demands that we must brave the wet weather and actually leave the house. That being said, a downpour or drizzle is no excuse to look unkempt or unstylish. Here are six simple tips to stay fashionably dry no matter how much it pours. PUMP UP THE COLOUR It’s easier to battle the grey skies with a colourful wardrobe. Yellow, poppy red, blue and green will keep you upbeat in stormy weather. “Happy colours like yellow, pink, orange and lime help uplift the mood as well. Now is the time to go all out and try those bright neon shades which you would never wear otherwise,” says Delhi-based designer Rajdeep Ranawat.…

It’s easy to identify the works of Joanna Gorska and Jerzy Skakun, known together as Homework. Their posters, currently on display at the ‘Eye on Poland’ exhibition at Bhau Daji Lad Museum, tend to have one simple but striking image set against a bare background. Their minimalistic design is starkly different from the detailed illustrations of Aleksandra Mizielinska and Daniel Mizielinski (Hipopotam Studio), whose 2013 book Maps, featuring the maps of the world, has gained global recognition. These designers are among 30 contemporary Polish artists whose posters, books, exhibition catalogues and album covers make up the display curated by Magdalena Frankowska and Artur Frankowski. “The idea behind the exhibition is to take the viewer on a voyage through a wide range of styles, attitudes and design strategies reflecting the richness…

Women’s hockey, being played for the first time in an Olympiad, features six teams—India, the USSR, Zimbabwe, Poland, Austria and Czechoslovakia. Can India rend the Iron Curtain apart? It does not appear very likely. In the pre-Olympic festival in Moscow a few months back, they could not beat back the challenge of their hosts. Rupa Saini, who has led India twice before and has an Arjuna Award, will captain the team, while Rekha Mundphan of the Railways will be the vice-captain. Three boxers will fight for India at Moscow: the Services trio of Bahadur Singh Thapa (light-fly), Isaac Amaldas (fly) and Ganpat Manoharan (Bantam). Notable omissions from the squad are the two heavyweights who did India proud at the recent Asian Championships in Bombay. Kaur Singh and Mehtab Singh, both…

Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun, Mao Tse-tung famously wrote. That maxim has to be rethought by those still intent on capturing power by force. The plotters of the failed coup in Turkey paid the price for believing that if they rolled out the armour on the streets of Istanbul and Ankara, or flew helicopter gunships over the populace, they would frighten them into rapid submission and be able to grab power. What they hadn’t accounted for was that power now appears to flow from optic fibres and airwaves and to those who know how to use them to win the perception battle. By coincidence, I happened to be a witness to history as it unfurled in Istanbul on the night of Friday the 15th. It…

ABHINAV BINDRA 33 SHOOTING 10 METRE AIR RIFLE QUALIFIED: May 2015, ISSF World Cup, Munich ACHIEVEMENTS: 7 CWG medals, 4 golds; 3 Asian Games medals PREVIOUS OLYMPICS: Gold, Beijing 2008 IT’S not hard being Abhinav Bindra. He lives in a sprawling farmhouse on the outskirts of Chandigarh. He has access to every imaginable luxury. And he also has an Olympic gold medal—the only one with an individual gold. But it’s also not easy being him. To continuously feed the fire inside. To spend hour upon hour in the shooting range in his back garden. To slow down his heart, quieten his nerves, stop his muscles from flinching, exhale, and press the trigger. And to keep doing it day after day, because nothing else will feed his hunger. “IN BEIJING, I…

VIKAS GOWDA 33 ATHLETICS, DISCUS, SHOT PUT HOW HE QUALIFIED: May 2015, Jamaica ACHIEVEMENTS: Gold at CWG, Glasgow 2014, silvers at Delhi CWG, 2010; Asian Games, Incheon 2014 VIKAS Gowda is a giant. Well over two metres tall, he has the height of an NBA power forward and the bulk of a WWE wrestler. He eats two-anda-half kilos of chicken a day and drinks protein shakes in buckets. Maybe not buckets literally, but he might as well; it’d be more efficient. Gowda throws the discus and the shot put. He has thrown the discus further than any Indian man ever has, holding the national record at 66.28 metres. He won gold at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014, becoming the first Indian man since Milkha Singh in 1958 to…

Two-and-a-half hours past midnight on July 16, a squad of the Jammu & Kashmir Police (JKP) laid an ambush at the entrance of Srinagar’s Press Enclave. Minutes later, as the solitary van showed up, carefully negotiating the coils of concertina strewn across the road, the waiting policemen sprang into action, aiming cocked Kalashnikovs, angrily barking orders at the lone occupant to get off. A cursory look in the back confirmed they had what they wanted—no, it was no wanted terrorist but stacks of freshoffthepress copies of Rising Kashmir, just one among some 65 Urdu, Kashmiri and English dailies that did not reach readers that morning. The media blackout was part of the latest crackdown in the Kashmir Valley, set ablaze all over again by the slaying of Burhan Wani, the…

Engage the common man through ministers’ social citizen-centric media interaction on governance issues; project the government as a single entity in the public eye Keep ministers on their toes to improve their performance and, in the process, pressure the bureaucracy below them to perform Opportunity to share decisions of other ministries to kindle the NDA team spirit Afford people a chance to rate the performances of ministers; also a self-appraisal of the government…

KF: Like many readers, I was happy to see a new book on the Anthro pocene. And I was pleasantly surprised by your preoccupation in this book with the limitations of the novel as genre, and of fiction in general, in grappling with the crisis of climate change. But while you talk about the innate limitations of the novel as a form that is impli cated in the pathologies of modernity, I think of how so much popular Hollywood cinema deals, fairly directly, with the very catastrophe your new (non-fiction) addresses: I mean natural disaster movies from The Poseidon Adventure back in the day to The Day After, to Armaged don, San Andreas, Dante’s Peak, tornado films… AG: I love them! KF: I imagine you would, but do you think…

AZIZ ANSARI Became the first Indian-American actor to be nominated in the leading role category at Emmys THIS AIN’T NO DIRTY PICTURE Vidya Balan will have to jostle for screen time with a bevy of actresses— Gauahar Khan, Pallavi Sharda, Ila Arun, Mishti, Ridhima Tiwari—in the fem ale ensemble drama Begum Jaan. But she isn’t worried, dubbing them all the League of Extraordinary Gentlewomen. A NEW DISHA For now, most know Disha Patani as Tiger Shroff’s rumoured girlfriend. That might now change with the model set to star opposite Sushant Singh Rajput in Dhoni: The Untold Story. She plays Dhoni’s love interest before wife Sakshi came into the picture. THE SPIAN’S SPIN Three decades after Angoor, poet-lyricist-filmmaker Gulzar revisits the comedy for stage with Salim Arif’s Chakkar Chalaaye Ghanchakkar. Starring…

He isn’t your typical angry, tattooed chef on television. Jamie Oliver is homely, happy, and always seems bubbling with energy. The master chef, hugely popular thanks to shows such as Jamie’s 30-minute Meals and Jamie’s Comfort Food, runs two restaurants in Delhi and is finally launching a pizzeria in Mumbai. He talks to SIMPLYMUMBAI about going vegetarian, sustainable sourcing and his projects ahead. Food Check JAMIE OLIVER Q. It’s been almost a year since you launched in Delhi. What are some of the things you learnt from your time there? A. Well, we had a really great start and the restaurant has continued to be busy, so we must be doing something right. What’s really pleasing is that lots of people have been visiting regularly, which is always a good…

1 LADIES NIGHT July 25 If you think you’re funny and you have your own take on booze, boys, Bobbi Brown, it’s time to test your jokes on a judging crowd. The Big Mic, one of the country’s longest running series of open mics, is back this month with a night especially for ladies. AT The Hive, 50-A, Huma Mansion, Next To Ahmed Bakery, Chuim Village Road, O. Union Park, Khar West TIME 8.30 p.m. to 10.30 p.m. TICKET PRICES Rs 200 T EL 9619962969 2 TRADITIONAL TOUCH August 19 to 22 The annual Paramparik Karigar exhibition is back with the handcrafted works of 100 craftsmen from across the country. The NGO, established by Roshan Kalapesi and Kamaladevi Chattopadhaya to help craftsmen keep their skills and techniques alive, is celebrating…