Richman In The World

Australia jobs rebound, unemployment dips anew

2008-07-09T23:27:00.000-07:00

SYDNEY: Australian employment staged a surprisingly strong revival in June while the jobless rate ticked down toward three-decade lows, keeping alive the risk that a drum-tight labour market could fuel inflationary pressures. The Australian dollar jumped half a U.S. cent after the government reported employment rose by a net 29,800 in June, easily beating forecasts of a 10,000 gain. That made up for a revised 25,600 drop in May

Media free again in Parliament

2008-07-09T23:25:00.000-07:00

KUALA LUMPUR: Members of the media are free to move around again in the Parliament lobby, after the barricades that were set up to confine them in a corner were removed Wednesday. Reporters,...

Tibet to Re-open to Foreign Tourism

2008-07-09T23:22:00.000-07:00

Fires in Tibet capital, Lhasa after protests, 14 Mar 2008China says it will reopen Tibet to foreign tourists, after closing it during...
Chinese riot policemen aboard a truck patrol in front of the Potala palace in Lhasa on June 20. Tibet will reopen to foreign tourists on June 25, China's state-run Xinhua news agency has said, quoting a tourism...
by Dan Martin 18 minutes ago BEIJING(AFP) - China will allow foreign tourists back into Tibet from Wednesday, state-run Xinhua news agency reported, lifting a ban imposed after it cracked down on anti-Chinese...

China Loosens Olympics Reporting Rules

2008-07-09T23:20:00.000-07:00

Foreign television broadcasters have reached an accord with Chinese authorities to allow live news coverage during the Beijing Olympics -- including from Tiananmen Square -- settling one of the major remaining roadblocks to the Games that will begin in just a month. TV companies, some of which have spent hundreds of millions of dollars on the rights to broadcast the Olympics, had been in a stalemate with Beijing officials since May over the ability to report live via satellite outside

Kurd rebels kidnap 3 German tourists

2008-07-09T23:13:00.000-07:00

Kurdish guerillas have kidnapped three German tourists on a climbing expedition in eastern Turkey, a local governor was reported as saying on Wednesday

Vidya patch up with Sarkar

2008-07-08T23:48:00.000-07:00

Vidya Balan and Pradeep Sarkar recently patched up their differences. The two were not on talking terms after Vidya refused to do Sarkar’s Laaga Chunri Mein Daag (the role went to Rani Mukerji).

Ellen Gray: Holly Hunter thrilled to return as boundary-pushing cop in'Saving Grace'

2008-07-08T23:45:00.001-07:00

By Ellen Gray Philadelphia Daily News Daily News TV Critic SAVING GRACE. 10 p.m. Monday, TNT. THE PHRASE "passion project" gets thrown around a lot in Hollywood, but in television, where even the brightest ideas can lose luster in the grind of a weekly series, passion like Holly Hunter's can be hard to sustain. But as the Academy Award-winning actress ("The Piano") returns to TNT next week for Season 2 of "Saving Grace," an offbeat drama

Drew, Justin call it quits

2008-07-08T23:39:00.000-07:00

Los Angeles - Drew Barrymore and Justin Long have split up. The couple - who had known each other for seven years before they co-starred in romantic comedy He's Just Not That Into You - had been dating since August 2007. Drew's representative said: "I can confirm the split with no additional comment." However, the couple are said to be determined not to let the split ruin their long-term friendship. A source close to the couple revealed: "They are still friends, and will always be friends."

Sir Ben Kingsley a Beatle would-have-been?

2008-07-08T23:36:00.000-07:00

LOS ANGELES, CaliforniaImagine Sir Ben Kingsley as a Beatle. It was one of those might-have-beens for the knighted actor. 'I was offered a contract by Dick James who recorded all the Beatles' early discs,' the Oscar-winning thespian said in a recent interview. 'It was an extraordinary meeting. Dick was quite insistent because he heard me play the guitar and sing onstage in London, as did the boys, John (Lennon) and Ringo (Starr). It was quite difficult for me to decide which way to go.

New & recent releases

2008-07-08T23:31:00.000-07:00

In this photo provided by Universal, Selma Blair and Ron Perlman star in " Hellboy II: The Golden Army." (AP Photo/Universal, Egon Endenyi) NEW RELEASES LOVE STORY 2050 A Bollywood musical. 150 minutes.Unrated. THE RAPE OF EUROPA *** 1/2 Writer-directors Richard Berge, Bonni Cohen and Nicole Newnham focus on Adolf Hitler's plan to loot the nations of Europe, destroy art that displeased him and enshrine the rest in his boyhood town of Linz, where he planned the largest art

Oscar winner to put on festival

2008-07-07T23:47:00.000-07:00

Oscar winner Tilda Swinton has proposed to put on a film festival in Nairn in the Highlands.

African refugees find strength in numbers

2008-07-07T23:44:00.000-07:00

he leafy trees around the apartment complex are only used for shade and social gatherings. There are no terrified civilians cowering behind them, dodging gunfire. Teenage girls can walk down the street during the day and not fret about being raped. Mothers can send their sons to school without fear that they will be kidnapped and trained to be soldiers. And so, on this peaceful street near downtown Lexington, a careful optimistic spirit seems to be spreading among African refugees from places

How one cultural vision has lessons for the whole world

2008-07-07T23:42:00.000-07:00

The British Museum is now our top attraction. If only others would shrug off their deadening ways and follow its lead According to its director, Neil MacGregor, the monstrous iron gates of the British Museum have only twice in its history had to be closed to the public. The first time was in 1848, for fear of angry Chartist radicals. And the second was earlier this year, as thousands queued for the museum's Terracotta Army exhibition.

Culture museum in Dubai will be first in the region

2008-07-07T23:40:00.000-07:00

A Museum of Middle East Modern Art will rise on the shores of the Dubai Creek, the first in the region. His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai announced the museum will be in Culture Village

Hendrix photographer captures diversity of Islamic culture

2008-07-07T23:34:00.000-07:00

One of the world's most celebrated rock photographers has launched a collection of work showcasing the diversity and beauty of the Islamic world. Peter Sanders, who made his name photographing famous rock and roll icons of the 1960s, has launched "In the Shade of the Tree", documenting the author's travels around the Muslim world. The book illustrates Sanders four decades of travels to experience the wonders of the Islamic world.

Rare hawk disappearing from Everglades

2008-07-07T04:03:00.000-07:00

A graceful bird is disappearing from the place that gave it name, a victim of both nature and human meddling with the water flow in the Everglades. It's never a good sign when an animal disappears from the place that gave it its name. That's what is happening to the Everglades snail kite, an endangered hawk whose numbers are in free fall from the compounded impacts of back-to-back droughts and a long-controversial water management scheme intended to protect another equally at-risk bird.

Bird watchers as far as Britain flock to Alaska

2008-07-07T04:00:00.000-07:00

These are just two of the many sea birds bird watchers come to the Bering Sea island to see . ST. PAUL ISLAND, Alaska -- British birder Annie Andreae bristles at being called a "twitcher" - friendly slang in England for someone who will drop everything at the drop of a hat to get a glimpse at a must-see bird. "I'm not a twitcher. I just like watching them

Seeking pollinators in wings

2008-07-07T03:56:00.000-07:00

With domesticated bees on the decline, scientists are studying whether native species could keep the nation's crops going. By Sandy Bauers Inquirer Staff Writer On a sunny morning, amid 35 acres of Montgomery County farmland lush with tomato, bean, basil and cantaloupe, Neal Williams affixes a yellow flower to a stick and steps gingerly through the watermelon vines, intent on catching a bee. The flower hasn't been pollinated yet - it's been covered since dawn by a cap of bridal veil

Why Canada Is the Best Haven from Climate Change

2008-07-07T03:54:00.000-07:00

A group of islands with the potential to develop into a tourist paradise has been named as the country least equipped to withstand the effects of climate change. The Comoros Islands in the Indian Ocean, between Mozambique and Madagascar, are a small nation of sparkling blue lagoons and picture-postcard beaches. But the country is politically unstable and a report published today says it is the world's most vulnerable country to the future impacts of global warming such as increased storms

Organic chickens 'less flavoursome', researchers say

2008-07-07T03:49:00.000-07:00

It will undoubtedly ruffle a few feathers among campaigning celebrity chefs. But according to a new scientific study, organically reared chickens are not as flavoursome as intensively farmed birds. The findings fly in the face of claims by campaigners who argue that consumers should opt for chickens which are allowed to roam outdoors. They say this environment makes for a naturally tastier option on the dinner table and justifies the more expensive price tag

Attract wildlife by the yard

2008-07-06T10:04:00.000-07:00

Whether you live in the city or the suburbs, with a little effort, you can attract a surprising assortment of birds, butterflies, insects and small animals to your yard. The lure? Food sources, water and places for the creatures to rest and nest....

Orangutans facing extinction in Asia, new study shows

2008-07-06T10:01:00.000-07:00

Endangered orangutans could become the first great ape to become extinct if urgent action isn’t taken to protect the species from human encroachment in Southeast Asia, a new study says. The number of orangutans in Indonesia and Malaysia has declined sharply since 2004, mostly because of illegal logging and the expansion of palm oil plantations, said Serge Wich, a scientist at the Great Ape Trust in the US state of Iowa, yesterday

Ice caps melting

2008-07-06T09:59:00.000-07:00

The North Pole will be ice-free this summer "for the first time in human history," wrote Steve Connor in The Independent. Or so the experts at the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) in Boulder, Colorado predict. This sounds very frightening, so let's look at the facts about polar sea ice. As usual, there are a couple of huge problems with the reports. Firstly, the story is neither alarming nor unique

CHANGING ENVIRONMENT--Dealing with disaster / Biofuel-material cultivation grows

2008-07-06T09:55:00.000-07:00

This is the second installment in a three-part series focusing on global environmental problems expected to be taken up at the G-8 meeting. A 1,000-hectare plantation 20 times the size of Tokyo Disneyland stretches out over hilly terrain in Hluti, Swaziland, a tiny landlocked country in the southeast of the African continent. Planted there is Jatropha curcas, a biofuel material that forms stripe patterns along contours of the land.

FREDERICK THURBER: Why White Mountain wildflowers matter

2008-07-06T09:50:00.000-07:00

THE INDOMITABLE Bill Viall of Providence recently led me and our sons up Mount Lafayette, in the Franconia Range of New Hampshire. Along the way I dawdled along, botanizing and birding and generally making a pest of myself in Bill's fast-moving party. A thunderstorm caught us near tree line on the Old Bridle Path so we sprinted to the Appalachian Mountain Club's Greenleaf Hut to dry off and regroup. As I came sloshing in the door, I said excitedly, "Bill, I just saw some alpine flowers.

NEW YORK -- Sea coral is blessed with wonderful colors, an intricate design and memories of the lapping...

2008-07-05T08:19:00.000-07:00

Maybe the Rolling Stones just don't speak enough Spanish. Despite months of rumours that the Stones were set to sign with concert promoter Live Nation, it seems that the next artist to ink a mega-million deal is an act of a more sultry, hip-wriggling kind. Colombian pop star Shakira finalised a $70 million (£35 million) deal last week, according to the New York Post, to be announced within

Sea lovers say coral is too precious to wear

2008-07-05T08:17:00.000-07:00

NEW YORK -- Sea coral is blessed with wonderful colors, an intricate design and memories of the lapping...

, Maria Sharapova gets back to what she does best... scoring fashion winners

2008-07-05T08:13:00.000-07:00

After a disastrous Wimbledon defeat, Maria Sharapova turned her hand to the fashion game in Paris yesterday. The 21-year-old, who opted for 'menswear' shorts on the court last week, this time decided on a very feminine look for her appearance at a Valentino catwalk show. She turned heads as she arrived at the Place Vendome in a glamorous coat, pencil skirt and towering heels before taking her front-row seat in anticipation of the show. Scroll down for more Bouncing back: Glamorous Maria...

La Moss smoulders in new Parisian photo shoot

2008-07-05T08:10:00.000-07:00

Kate Moss proved she still has a certain je ne sais quoi in a new photo shoot set in Paris. The 33-year-old teams up with emerging French actor Gaspard Ulliel, who is ten years her junior, in the latest campaign for luxury label Longchamp. The supermodel was named the face of the brand in 2005, just months her front page drug scandal threatened to ruin her career. French twist: Kate Moss stars in a new campaign for luxury label Longchamp Smoldering:
Model du jour Agyness Deyn ordered up kisses and hugs during a romantic lunch with her rocker boyfriend Albert Hammond Jr. in New York yesterday. The 25-year-old and the Strokes guitarist could barely

EU orders seal fur ban

2008-07-05T08:04:00.000-07:00

Clothing made from seal fur is to be banned throughout the European Union. Although white pelts from baby seals were banned in 1986, fashion houses still use skins from older animals to make boots
Hundreds of anti-seal hunt demonstrators held a protest outside European Union headquarters in Brussels on Tuesday, demanding that the 27-nation bloc impose a total ban on...
Activists attempting to shut down Canada's seal hunt are organizing a major demonstration in front of the European Union's headquarters in Brussels on Canada Day. But a spokesman for the groups said...

Jennifer Garner's Big Oops: Actress Locks Two-Year-Old Daughter in Car

2008-07-04T05:26:00.000-07:00

Actress Jennifer Garner accidentally locked her keys in her Lexus SUV while shopping this week in Brentwood, Calif., with daughter Violet. The real problem for...
A mother daughter bonding day went awry for Hollywood star Jennifer Garner after she locked her car keys in her Lexus, along with her two-year-old daughter Violet. The actress was sent into a quite panic after
Ben Affleck proved he was a doting dad when he sported a name badge for his daughter's first day at pre-school. The 35-year-old was glowing with fatherly pride as he accompanied wife Jennifer
Within spitting distance of the Calgary International Airport, at an anonymous conference hall, Oscar-winner Ben Affleck moved listeners to tears as he talked about his experiences in Africa

Reese is Hollywood's top-earning actress

2008-07-04T05:22:00.000-07:00

Hollywood actress Reese Witherspoon officially ended her seven-year marriage with actor Ryan Phillippe on June 12. The couple finalized their divorce this week with court...

Reese Witherspoon has sealed another deal: her divorce from fellow actor Ryan Phillippe. Documents filed Thursday in Los Angeles show the pair have resolved the remaining issues of their split

The Associated Press AP Photo In this March 5, 2006 file photo, Ryan Phillippe arrives with his wife Reese Witherspoon at the Academy Awards in Los Angeles

Reese Witherspoon is finally a single girl. Aside from that whole dating Jake Gyllenhaal thing....

Reese Witherspoon has finalised her divorce from fellow actor Ryan Phillippe. Documents filed on Thursday in Los Angeles show the pair have resolved the remaining issues of their split

Priyanka’s really a friend, no more: Harman

2008-07-04T05:16:00.000-07:00

Has assisted his father on several film projects. And at the moment, he is nail-bitingly nervous. That self-assured screen scorcher you see romancing Priyanka Chopra in reel life ( Love Story 205 0) insists that the one thing that’s irritating him more than anything else these days

Naomi Watts pregnant with her second child... as best friend Nicole Kidman prepares to go ...

2008-07-03T10:05:00.000-07:00

Hollywood actress Naomi Watts is pregnant with her second child - just 10 months after giving birth to her son Alexander. The Kent-born King Kong star, 39, is four months pregnant with her second baby with actor partner Liev Schreiber, MailOnline has learned. Naomi's pregnancy news is ironic as her best friend Nicole Kidman is awaiting the birth of her first child with husband Keith Urban any day now. Baby news: Naomi Watts and Liev Schreiber, pictured while the actress was pregnant with...

Madonna and Ritchie not divorcing

2008-07-03T10:04:00.000-07:00

US pop star Madonna and her husband, British film maker Guy Ritchie, are not planning to divorce, her spokeswoman said on Tuesday, denying media speculation that their marriage is ending. "There are no divorce plans," Liz Rosenberg, Madonna's publicist, said in a statement emailed to Reuters

Bips is impressed with Neil

2008-07-03T10:00:00.000-07:00

Shilpa Shetty helps to raise 63,000 pounds for charity

2008-07-03T09:58:00.001-07:00

Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty won the Global diversity Award 2008 here for making a significant contribution to the public appreciation and understanding of diversity. She also helped the organisers to raise 63,000 pounds for a charity - the Silver Star Appeal - that runs mobile diabetes assessment units. Stepping in to galvanise the charity auction,

Saif-Bebo’s love life up on the net

2008-07-03T09:56:00.000-07:00

The love life of Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor, in all its rosy detail including personal information and private photographs, is all over the virtual world.

Rekha and I working together: Big B

2008-07-03T09:53:00.000-07:00

Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan has rubbished reports that he is teaming up with Rekha in the Disney

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2008-07-03T09:48:00.000-07:00

Lindsay Lohan reportedly plays the "passive wife" when she is with Samantha Ronson. The 22-year-old actress - who is rumoured to be dating DJ

Music Release: Singh is Kinng

2008-07-02T09:54:00.000-07:00

Bollywood actors Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif pose with the music album of Bollywood movie Singh is Kinng during the album's launch in Mumbai on June 26, 2008. The movie is scheduled to be released in August

Preview: Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na

2008-07-02T09:53:00.000-07:00

Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na is the tale of Jai and Aditi - a match made in pastry shop at heaven

Promotion Story 2050

2008-07-02T09:50:00.000-07:00

Bollywood actors Priyanka Chopra and Harman Baweja smile during the promotional event of their forthcoming movie Love Story 2050 in Mumbai

Romancing cotton

2008-07-02T09:49:00.001-07:00

Models present designers Meera and Muzaffer Alli's Kotware studio collection during a fashion show "Romance of cotton" in New Delhi

Sao Paulo Fashion Week

2008-07-02T09:47:00.000-07:00

A model wears a creation by Colcci during the Sao Paulo Fashion Week in Sao Paulo

Haute couture autumn-winter 2008-2009

2008-07-02T09:46:00.000-07:00

A model presents a creation as part of British designer John Galliano's Haute Couture Autumn-Winter 2008-2009 fashion show for French fashion house Dior in Paris

Amitabh Bachchan and Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia

2008-07-02T09:37:00.000-07:00

Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan holds a book as flutist Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia smiles during a book launch in Mumbai July 1, 2008. "Woodwinds of Change", a biography, by Surjit Singh was launched on Chaurasia's 70th birth anniversary

Protocol of first Contact with some other E.T.

2008-07-01T07:01:00.000-07:00

he whole world is waiting on the most relevant matter on this Globe: The first verbal contact between VIP of our Planet Earth with some other E.T. on a Planet in the Universe.

Since I predicted on the point the downfall of World's Stock Exchanges, you may believe me that I am the prophet of God, the real one, to know exactly when the first verbal contact with E.T. (Extra Terrestrials) would take place. It will be in OCTOBER 2008.

Some Geneva Chaps, friends of SETI-Institute in California will, on September 11, 2008, have radio-wave contacts with the VIP from the planet "GWPUT 899" - and on October 11, 2008, as usual in this world - after the "Scientists", some political and religious VIP from EARTH will have the first intergalactic interview, radio-phoned for 6,5 billion of blinded admirers of false importance - like follows:

GW Bush: "Hey, guys up there, we are here. Let's learn some about our lovely Earth. We are the kings in the Universe and very happy to see you. How are you, how big is your Bubble?"

VIP WG Hsub: "Well, friends, the durchmess of our planet is XDEL Miles (sic) and the surface something more. We have wiped out all poor here, by starvation, civil wars, some bombs and Buenos cellars, and now, we the rich VIP can fuck around and play golf and tennis the whole year long and be extremely happy in complete dullness..."

Dick Cheney: "What is your system of economics and oil wells? We have here beautiful systems of Chicago Economics, oil stealing in Iraq and Iran, soft money in heaps in the pockets of the privileged skunks, but unfortunately, the poor and middle class are still alive, but we are on best ways to wipe..."

Kcid Yenech: "Hey friend, I am responsible of the sand here. First our money systems asked for pearls as money, but we found out that sand is much cheaper and now we can buy anything with billions of sand-amounts, we want, all companies of the enemies of your system and send them in some camps, you may know..."

NASA spacecraft finds ice on Mars

2008-07-01T06:58:00.000-07:00

NASA spacecraft finds ice on Mars Martian ice melts in this combination photo taken by NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander's Surface Stereo Imager on June 15 and 18, 2008, in this handout image released by NASA June 20, 2008. REUTERS/NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona/Texas A&M University/Handout By Dan Whitcomb LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Mars Phoenix Lander has found ice on the surface of the Red Planet, triumphant NASA scientists said on Thursday, a key discovery for the spacecraft as it...

Record tourism could harm Easter Island statues

2008-07-01T06:53:00.000-07:00

Chile (AP) -- It's earth's most remote inhabited land, a South Pacific speck of volcanic rock so isolated the locals call it "Te Pito O Te Henua," or "The Navel of the World." But Easter Island is a bellybutton experiencing a tourist boom -- and some are worried the onslaught of outsiders could take a toll on the very things they come to see, the gigantic stone heads known as Moais....

Turkish ruling party put on trial

2008-07-01T06:51:00.000-07:00

Turkey's chief prosecutor has appeared before the country's Constitutional Court calling for the governing party to be closed down. Founded by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Justice and Development Party, the AKP, won a landslide victory in the last election. But its critics say it is trying to impose Sharia law on the secular state.

India leader struggles to complete nuclear deal

2008-07-01T06:50:00.000-07:00

he Indian government is desperately trying to salvage a landmark nuclear deal with the United States that has emerged not only as a personal test for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, but also as a symbol of the difficulties of enacting policy in India's system of coalition politics. At issue this week is whether the fragile government led by Singh's Congress Party will go through with the deal, even if it means being pushed to the brink of what, in a time of discontent over soaring food and...

S.Korea fears beef protests driving away investors

2008-07-01T06:48:00.000-07:00

South Korea's prime minister said on Tuesday violent street rallies against a US beef import deal are harming the country's international credibility and driving investors away....

Mumbai limping heavy showers

2008-07-01T06:41:00.000-07:00

Monday night's incessant rains in Mumbai that continued on Tuesday morning did not disrupt life totally in the city though it did slow down transport systems, causing a lot of inconvenience. Of the three rail corridors

Bellow all pics belongs to TITANIC

2008-06-30T04:48:00.000-07:00

2008-06-30T04:46:00.001-07:00

2008-06-30T04:45:00.001-07:00

2008-06-30T04:43:00.000-07:00

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2008-06-30T04:41:00.001-07:00

2008-06-30T04:39:00.000-07:00

KAREEN KAPUR

2008-06-29T08:27:00.000-07:00

SO BEAUT Y

HOW SHE LOOKS?

DO LIKE HER

THEES STILLS FROM K3G

Sharuk , Kajol and hrithik

2008-06-29T08:24:00.000-07:00

Have a look what a beauty and this still also from k3g

2008-06-29T08:22:00.001-07:00

dancing movement from k3g

2008-06-29T08:21:00.000-07:00

this still from k3g

2008-06-29T08:20:00.000-07:00

kabhi kushi kbhi gum

2008-06-29T08:18:00.000-07:00

2008-06-28T04:48:00.000-07:00

ALL ABOVE STILL FROM BOX OFFICE BUMPER HIT MOVIE

DHOOM-2

VERY NISE MOVIE TO WATCH

I WATCH THAT MOVIE COUPLE OF TIMES

I LIKE ALL CHARCTERS IN THAT MOVIE.....

2008-06-28T04:46:00.000-07:00

BHOOM 2

2008-06-28T04:43:00.000-07:00

2008-06-28T04:42:00.000-07:00

VENGA BOYS

2008-06-28T04:39:00.000-07:00

ABOVE STILLS FROM MOST FAMOUS

ENGLISH POP SONGS ALBUM

VENGABOYS

MADURI DHEEKISHET

2008-06-28T04:35:00.000-07:00

U KNOW ABOUT HER

SHE IS A FAMOUS GLAOURES ACTRESS

SHE IS MOST BEAUTIFULL

HE LAUGHING IS VERY VERY BEAUTIFUL

COFFEE SHOP ALBUM MODEL

2008-06-28T04:32:00.001-07:00

HOW IS SHE LOOKING SO BEAUTYFULL KNOW
SHE IS ONE OF THE COFEE SHOP ALBUM MODEL

Wedding belle

2008-06-27T05:34:00.000-07:00

Blonde bombshell Jessica Simpson has had marriage on her mind ever since her younger sister Ashlee tied the knot. Even though her first marriage to Newlyweds co-star Nick Lachey ended in tears, Jess says it has not put her off the idea of trying again at wedded bliss. The 27-year-old country singer has been dating American Football player Tony Romo for 18 months and has hinted that she would consider settling down with him. “I don’t know about marriage just yet,” says Jess. “I’ve been down that aisle before. But I’m open to it. I want to be married and have kids.” Jess admits she would even let her new brother-in-law Pete Wentz DJ at any nuptials she may have. “DJ Pete did a good job at the wedding. He picked the play list so I would trust him,” she says.

Buddha Mar Gaya

2008-06-27T05:32:00.000-07:00

Money corrupts — that’s the take-off point for the film “Buddha Mar Gaya”, a black comedy about dead bodies, funerals and moolah. Laxmikant Kabadiya aka LK, one of the country’s richest industrialists, dies one day before the launch of the biggest IPO in the country. What follows is a rip-roaring ride into a world infested with greed, corruption and rivalry within the family. Starring Anupam Kher, Paresh Rawal, Om Puri and Rakhi Sawant.

Chemistry works better than math

2008-06-27T05:31:00.001-07:00

If you know how Blackjack is played, you are in to learn a few cool ways to cheat, applying a little mathematics.
Unlike the casino heists that Danny Ocean and Co would pull off, this one is more believable because Robert Luketic’s 21 is inspired by “Bringing Down the House,” the bestseller that documented real life stories of students who made millions employing math-based techniques.
Here, a phenomenally talented geeky good-looker Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess) needs $3,00,000 to pay for his medical school fees at Harvard, especially since he only has a long shot at the scholarship reserved for the one student who can jump out of the page and dazzle the jury. Heading a team of nerds who are building a car that can drive by itself isn’t going to cut it. Nor is a promotion that pays eight dollars per hour.
Prof. Micky Rosa (Kevin Spacey) finds the young man to have the perfect temperament for cheating at Blackjack and makes him join the team that usually scores at the casinos in Vegas.
But what gets the movie really going, in the middle of all that inspired con, is the sexual tension and volatile chemistry between Jim Sturgess (Jude from Across The Universe) and the incredible attractive Kate Bosworth, who plays that girl every guy in college wants to date and one of the team-members.
21 hardly deviates from the regular campus movie formula. There are socially ill-equipped geeks and there is the circle of ‘cool,’ the hero of the story jumps camp and gets the girl, becomes so cool that he forgets his fat beer buddies until life reminds him all about friends, love and who he really is… Yet, to director Robert Luketic’s credit, it feels like a hardcore heist flick — the music, cinematography and editing constantly providing the tension and a sense of adventure.
With the veteran Kevin Spacey and the menacing Lawrence Fishburne around to intimidate them, you know the kids are only puppets and thankfully, the film at no point tries to make the pros look like fools. So even if you don’t understand how Blackjack is played, you still have a lot in the character equations to keep you hooked.
In the end, though it is quite entertaining, you are left wondering what 21 could’ve been had this material been given to the guys who made Knocked Up or Superbad.

Hats off to Mr. Smarty Pants

2008-06-27T05:29:00.000-07:00

Underdog films are always fun. More so when they feature your favourite TV stars doing what they do best. If you loved Michael Scott, the obnoxious boss from “The Office” (the US version), you are going to love Maxwell Smart. Watching Steve Carell do Maxwell Smart is like watching Michael Scott finally realise his dream to act in that James Bond-like screenplay he wrote back at “The Office”.
And, you’re rooting for him right from the word Get. Also, there’s Todd Packer, his super-gross friend from “The Office” (David Koechner) to give him company at the Control headquarters in Get Smart. And, there’s Hiro Nakamura from “Heroes” (Masi Oka) who plays a techie at Control. Incidentally, Masi Oka and Nate Torrence (remember Clarke Butterfield from “How I Met Your Mother” who has an ongoing feud with Barney and Marshall) have already completed shooting for the spin-off to Get Smart reprising their roles as the techie geeks, this time playing the leads, in Get Smarter: Bruce and Lloyd Out of Control.
When you already have these guys you know and love in a borderline James Bond spoof, the plot is just an excuse to watch them come up with some incredibly funny lines in laugh out loud situations. That Anne Hathaway’s never looked hotter is a big bonus. She could snag a Bond film with this leggy audition.
Get Smart consistently delivers the laughs while stringing along a fairly engaging story and that is good because when you’re falling out of the seat laughing, you can’t quite follow an elaborate plot.
You know who the bad guys are and you know Steve Carell is going to get them with his smarty pants (that last bow where he flashes his cheeks is a howler) and maybe get Anne Hathaway to fall for him along the way.
With a support cast like Alan Arkin (as the Chief of Control) and James Caan (a cameo as the President of the United States), well-orchestrated action sequences (that spoof Speed and Entrapment and various Bond films) featuring The Great Khali and The Rock, you can be assured that this is not something they put together for TV.
Peter Segal (50 First Dates, Anger Management) has this natural knack for comedy through the silliest of excuses and that sees Get Smart through.
Needless to say, the film belongs to Steve Carell, one of the most underrated comic talents ever. He can say the most outrageously funny lines with a serious, straight face.

Well begun, just half done

2008-06-27T05:24:00.000-07:00

lacks strong characters From Vallamai Thaaraayo
Without giving in to the demands of formula, Vallamai Thaaraayo’s creator Madhumita goes about her task of presenting a film that rises above commercial gimmicks. But eschewing the format alone cannot make a film watch-worthy . You also need credible characterisation and plausible narration — areas where the maker falters. Focussed at first, she seems to have developed cold feet midway. How else do you explain the inclusion of Karunas’s insipid comedy track that sticks out like a sore thumb? A linear narrative would have made Vallamai Thaaraayo (U) tauter. Incidentally, the poetic title deserves to be complimented. Dialogue is an impact-making aspect of the film. Many a time it adds pep to a dreary scene.
Anand (Parthiban) and Nandita (Chaya Singh) are newly married. But Nandita is a reluctant bride. She is unable to forget her aunt’s son whom she is in love with. A family feud had separated the two and her unrelenting dad (Anandaraj) gets her married to a groom of his choice. After marriage in their native town, the newly-weds return to the city where the two are employed. Nandita’s stubborn stand makes her seek divorce. She goes ahead and secures it too. But matters don’t end there!
Parthiban as the hero fails to impress because his character lacks depth. As his love for Nandita is not established strongly, you feel little sympathy for him. Chaya Singh scores better, of course, till she begins to wallow in self-pity. The character is confused — so is the viewer.
The heroine goes into a trance every time she sees a billboard with the name Sekar on it! That’s her lover’s name, you see? The expression of love only makes Nandita appear dumber than you think. Madhumita has worked hard to make the climax different. But it ends up being vague. Certain characters are unnatural, certain sequences too.
The most ridiculous role is that of the housemaid, played by Devipriya. Is it so easy for a stranger to walk into a house, inform that she’s available for employment and begin work straightway? Almost at once you see her entering the bedroom, opening Nandita’s wardrobe, sifting through the things in it and even querying her on a pair of trousers she finds there! Presumptuous for the most part, the servant’s actions and Nandita’s reaction (or lack of it) beat reason.
Generally, punch lines are a hero’s domain. Here they have been assigned to Anandaraj and his repetition of dialogue reaches exasperating levels in no time. Composer Bharadwaj hasn’t exerted himself much. The heard-before feel in a couple of numbers dampens your enthusiasm.
Like Mohan in Mouna Ragam, Parthiban waits for his wife’s change of heart, in vain. But when he continues to follow his ex-wife everywhere and adopts childish measures to lure her, he irritates both the viewer and Nandita. The dignity and self-respect of Mani Ratnam’s hero is found wanting in Madhumita’s.
The first scene is powerful and makes you sit up for a riveting story. Sadly the fizz dies down soon. More like Mouna Ragam rehashed, Vallamai Thaaraayo does have its high moments — but they are few and far between. Vallamai Thaaraayo
Genre: Family drama
Director: Madhumita
Cast: Parthiban, Chaya Singh, Anandraj, Karunas
Storyline: Circumstances force Nandita into a marriage she isn’t interested in, but she isn’t going to make things easy for her husband or herself …

Violence continues to rock Kashmir

2008-06-26T07:30:00.000-07:00

SRINAGAR: Two boys were killed and 70 persons, including 23 policemen, injured and two dozen vehicles damaged as violence and protests against the controversial allotment of forest land to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) spread to other parts of the Kashmir valley on Wednesday. A spontaneous strike affected life in the valley for the third consecutive day.

In Mazhama village on the Srinagar-Gulmarg road, Wednesday’s protests took an ugly turn when the police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) opened fire on demonstrators killing an 18-year-old student, Farooq Ahmad Rather, and injuring two others.

Locals said the police fired indiscriminately on the protesters. The police, however, said the agitators blocked the road, and a scuffle followed when the police tried to remove them. The police then opened fire. The boy, who was on the first floor of his house, was hit by a stray bullet. An official said a policeman was injured and was in a critical condition.

More people then came out on the streets to protest. The area is reportedly tense and top police officers are camping at Magam, the nearby town.

Hours after this, CRPF opened fire on protesters in the Fateh Kadal area of downtown Srinagar in which a boy, Samir Ahmad, was killed. Witnesses said CRPF personnel opened fire on the demonstrators. Samir, who was hit, was rushed to hospital where he died. Thousands of people later took to the streets raising slogans.

The violent protests regained momentum in adjoining areas after this incident. The residents have refused to bury the body and threatened to intensify the agitation.

Earlier in the day, violent protests rocked the entire city. Even the Civil Lines, usually unaffected by strikes and protests, witnessed demonstrations and roadblocks. Tyres were burnt and stone-throwing continued throughout the day.

In pitched battles between the police and the protesters in Srinagar, Anantnag, Pulwama, Baramulla, Handwara, Chadoora, Ganderbal, Bandipore, Kulgam and Shopian, over 70 people, including three Station House Officers and 20 other policemen, were injured. Reports said 27 vehicles were damaged in the violence.

Police and para-military forces used batons and tear-gas in Rajbagh, Nowhatta, Nawakadal, Jamalatta, Hazratbal, Lal Bazar, Parimpora, Ali Kadal and other localities in Srinagar to disperse the mobs.

The situation in the north Kashmir district of Ganderbal remained volatile as protesters again blocked the Srinagar-Baltel cave shrine route for the second consecutive day.

The joint action committee comprising bar associations, chambers of commerce and industry and trader groups staged a sit-in protesting against the controversial order here. Led by KCCI president Mubeen Shah, they demanded revocation of the order.

A general strike hit life for the third consecutive day as shops and business establishments remained closed and traffic was off the roads. Educational institutions were also closed and attendance in government offices was thin.

Police put senior Hurriyat leaders Syed Ali Geelani and Shabir Ahmad Shah under house arrest, while Jamiat Ahladees chief Showkat Shah, chairman of Joint Action Committee for SASB Land Transfer Mian Abdul Qayoom, Traders’ Federation leaders Sadiq Baqal and Farooq Baktoo, Transport Union leader G.M. Bhat, Democratic Political Movement leader Firdous Shah and scores of other political leaders were arrested from their houses.

Interpreting history

2008-06-26T07:27:00.000-07:00

ON Wednesday, December 6, 2006, on the 50th death anniversary of Babasaheb Ambedkar, a biopic on the man who drafted our Constitution finds a commercial re-release. The film, "Ambedkar", made by Jabbar Patel in 2000 is scheduled for an all India release, dubbed in nine languages. The print byte (equivalent of sound byte) in the newspaper advertisement in Pune is succinct: "They were segregated, humiliated, condemned.... Until he changed the rules of the game... the untold truth, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar."

The film is well made. This is primarily due to the terrific narrative drive of the script (by Sooni Taraporevala, Daya Pawar and Arun Sadhu), which takes us from 1915 when Ambedkar was at Columbia University, New York, to October 1956 when he converted to Buddhism, together with hundreds of thousands of his followers. The film is shot on location in the U.S., England and India by possibly one of the finest cinematographers in India, Ashok Mehta. The period setting, the costumes and the performances are top class and one would not hesitate to say that it is the finest historical film made in India by an Indian production unit.

Richard Attenborough's "Gandhi" (1982), the only other comparably large production on the same period of history and shot in India, was an essentially foreign film. Interesting, perhaps shocking, is the fact that in Attenborough's "Gandhi", Dr. Ambedkar makes no appearance at all, as if to say that the framer of our constitution had little or nothing to do with Indian independence.

Cinema is not history, fortunately, but it can be a reflection of contemporary interpretation of historical personalities. M.K. Gandhi, on the other hand, finds a place in Jabbar Patel's "Ambedkar", but a very small one. In one scene, Gandhi (Mohan Gokhale) is astonished when he is told of Ambedkar's caste and says: "But I thought he was a Brahmin from Pune!" Mahatma Gandhi spoke much on being a Hindu and so did Dr Ambedkar. Their views did not converge, though they respected one another. In Dr Ambedkar's view: "Mr.Gandhi is not a saint. He is a seasoned politician." The movie is a refreshing antidote to the way we have looked at the great figures of Indian history in the last century.

The celebrated Malayali actor Mammooty, who plays Ambedkar, transforms himself into an uncanny replication of Ambedkar's iconic picture and statue we see and honour so often today — an Indian who makes it a point to dress in Western suit and tie when the typical Congressman of the time was in white Gandhi cap and dhoti. Ambedkar's sartorial choice was deliberate, probably to make the point that he was not accepted by the largely upper caste Indian leadership of the freedom movement. In the few scenes that he shares with first Gandhi and then Nehru, Ambedkar appears uncomfortable and ill at ease.

This was a man who had come back from America and England with an unparalleled academic record that should have taken him, by right, to the very top of Indian society. What Ambedkar found instead was unparalleled discrimination. At his first place of appointment, the peons refused to let him drink water from the common container at the office, lest they be defiled by his caste. When ordered to take files to him, they flung them on his desk rather than place them in his hands. Indeed, this was apartheid on a daily basis and practised by his own countrymen; in a sense more humiliating than M.K. Gandhi's experience of being thrown off a train in South Africa by a white ticket collector. The basics of human existence were denied — Ambedkar found it nearly impossible to find anyone to rent a room from at his first place of employment; this in his own land and amongst those of his own religion.

End and beginning

Indeed, what the film demonstrates is that the Indian freedom movement was just one of many struggles in the continuous striving for human dignity for a vast majority of Indians. Political freedom is not synonymous with social and economic empowerment, as the life and struggle of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar demonstrates. That is why the ending of the film in October 1956, with the mass conversion of Ambedkar and his followers to Buddhism, is so important and moving. It is both an ending and a new beginning. And that is why the significance of Dr. Ambedkar's death anniversary on December 6 this year is so vitally important and symbolic for so many millions of Indians who are technically free, in terms of the constitution framed by Ambedkar, but not as yet fully empowered. It becomes the 50th birth anniversary of a freedom movement that is still evolving and taking shape.

According to director Jabbar Patel, it is important for every Indian to see the film because "we don't often read this chapter of our history. As we can see from events around us today, the social struggle of Dr. Ambedkar is important to know because it helps us better understand the present".

The movie "Ambedkar", in many ways, has a narrative that can explain the chain reaction from cause to consequence that many of us are shocked by, and completely fail to understand, when we watch TV reports and news analysis of events right in front of us today.

communities and angst

2008-06-26T07:25:00.000-07:00

As the pleasant October sunshine fought hard to stall the onset of winter, London’s South Bank and Leicester Square came alive for two weeks with over 11,00,000 film buffs making a beeline to watch over 300 films at the 51st edition of the Lond on Film Festival (LFF).

As the lights went out in the theatres, the stories unfolded from 43 countries…Ukraine, Brazil, Romania, China, India, Uruguay, France, Indonesia, Spain, U.K., Japan, Germany, U.S., Sri Lanka, Egypt, Mongolia, South Africa…stories of communities and their struggle for survival against insurmountable odds.

Initial controversy

Booker-nominated Monica Ali’s novel Brick Lane in its celluloid adaptation premiered at the LFF amidst initial controversy. The story of poor immigrant Bangladeshi families living in London’s impoverished East End found its protagonist in Nazneen, a Bangladeshi woman (sensitively played by Tannishta Chatterjee) living in a tiny council flat with her much older husband and her two daughters.

Life changes when Nazneen buys a sewing machine, and a handsome Bangladeshi youth walks through her door to give her tailoring orders. What follows is not only financial independence but also heady sensual love… Things change when her lover decides to join a group of militant Islamic youth to avenge western attacks on Islam.

The glittering closing night gala had a heady Indian flavour to it with Wes Anderson’s “The Darjeeling Limited” starring Adrien Brody, Owen Wilson and Amara Karan, a British-born Sri Lankan in her debut role as a train attendant. The film is a whacky comedy about three American brothers who decide to bond after several years of separation. They are not quite prepared for the surprises in store for them in trains, the deserts of Rajasthan and the foothills of the Himalayas as the journey unfolds.

British-Asian director Asif Kapadia, earlier celebrated for his award-winning “The Warrior”, locates “Far North” in the Arctic tundra and proceeds to tell an amazing story about two women and their struggle to stay alive in the harsh conditions. The entry of Loki, whom they rescue and nurse back to health, provides the director a canvas to probe both psychological and physical conflict.

Miles away from the Arctic on the plains of Kolkata, Indian director Buddhadeb Dasgupta weaves a cinematic tale of ennui, desire, love and terrorism . In “The Voyeurs”, Dasgupta builds a complex narrative through the comic-tragic experiences of two youth from Beherempore who come to Kolkata to find a livelihood in and their adventures when they find a real-life Madhubala to replace the one in their fantasy. What starts as playful voyeurism soon turns dark. Yasin is gunned down by the police in a case of mistaken identity. Dasgupta was inspired by Charles De Menezes incident following the London bombings.

The Khan story

2008-06-26T07:19:00.000-07:00

It is 1958. The city is Delhi. The place is India Gate. A strapping unemployed youth, Meer Taj Mohammed, rescues a pretty lass, Fatima Lateef, from a car accident and donates blood to save her life. She survives and love blossoms. They get married in 1959 and have two children.

hen the son is 15, Meer loses a battle with cancer leaving his daughter mentally maimed for life. His son too is shattered but vows to take care of his mother and sister. The son grows up and falls in love with a Hindu girl. He travels to Mumbai to woo her and wins her.

But fate intervenes again and he loses his mother in Delhi. Depressed and lost, the young man comes to Mumbai and tells his filmmaker friend, Viveck, “Let’s make films.” And then declares, “One day I am going to rule this city” (read Mumbai).

Sounds like a Bollywood film script? Could be. But that’s actor Shah Rukh Khan’s life for you. The man behind the myth has been unmasked in film critic Anupama Chopra’s third book, King of Bollywood: Shah Rukh Khan and The Seductive World of Indian Cinema.

The biography traces the life of an Urdu poetry-spouting boy who faces life with the same conviction as he does the camera in later life; it’s the story of a boy who dreams of becoming an Army officer but becomes one of Hindi cinema’s most charismatic and successful actors.

“While writing my second book, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenga, the idea of doing a book on Shah Rukh germinated,” says Chopra. “As I interviewed him for that book, I encountered a fascinating person. His personal sto ry was so dramatic that I wanted to write about him. Also, Shah Rukh is a prominent face of modern India, an India which has Bollywood as its brand ambassador today.”

Not an easy task

But getting the Khan to talk about himself was not so easy. Recalls Chopra, “His first reaction was ‘Why me?’ He was actually embarrassed. But I pursued him for six months before he relented. But once he did, he was completely honest. What I admire about him was that, at no point, did he tell me what to write and what to leave out.”

Chopra got fresh perspectives by talking to people close to his parents. Like producer Bobby Bedi’s father who was in jail with Shah Rukh’s father during the Freedom Struggle. “But the main tool of research was interviews with SRK.”

Shah Rukh Khan has been the subject of many books in recent times. So how different is this one, one would ask. Chopra weaves the life of Bollywood’s badshah around the events that were shaping modern India and creating a new global brand called Bollywood. In Shah Rukh’s words, “Whoever reads the book will have clear … understanding of Bollywood and of course, me.”

“Yes, this book is the story of India with Bollywood as its backdrop and Shah Rukh as the lead actor for an audience comprising not just Indians but Americans as well,” says Chopra, who has been writing about cinema since 1993 for India Today, The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times. Chopra’s first book was Sholay: The Making Of A Classic.

Chopra’s narrative is simple and easy-to-read. As you turn the pages, you encounter a Shah Rukh who faces quite a bit of humiliation and rejection but works his way up with sheer grit. You begin to admire the man.

The book is peppered with interesting titbits. He was a great Amitabh Bachchan fan and watched all his films. And who accompanies him to the theatre? Amrita Singh. Here’s some more trivia: he played a small part along with Arundhati Roy in “In Which Annie Gives It To Those Ones”. As a kid, he would “imitate the hip-swivelling walk and coquettish manner” of actor Mumtaz.

Trivia apart, as the book progresses, the myth overshadows the man. So, the second half of the book is about his infamous brush with the mafia, his foray into film production, his jumping on to the product endorsements bandwagon, and his special friends Aziz Mirza (who’s almost like a father to SRK), Karan Johar and Aditya Chopra. But as Shah Rukh says in the book, “I am just an employee of the Shah Rukh Khan myth.”

Complete entertainer
Chopra, who’s unapologetic about being “a die-hard SRK fan and a Bollywood person to the core”, says, “He is a complete entertainer, on and off screen. And that’s what makes him endearing. He’s articulate, funny, and surprisingly normal. No starry nakhras.”

However, one gets the feeling that if you peel off that “I am happy; I am funny; I am a brat” mask, you meet a man who is still battling his demons and is lonely at times.

In fact, director Sanjay Leela Bhansali chose SRK to play Devdas because he “had the saddest eyes... and the dominant note in his personality was an enduring, unhealed hurt.”

As for Chopra, writing is a genetic thing for her. Mother Kamna Chandra and sister Tanuja are script writers; brother Vikram Chandra is a successful author (“He’s my first reader”) and husband Vidhu Vinod Chopra is a filmmaker. Her favourite films are “Sholay and DDLJ”. And she adds, “If there’s one actor I find extremely intriguing, it’s Rajnikanth!”

New light on Hampi

2008-06-26T07:18:00.000-07:00

The pupil of the eye has never seen a place like it, and the ear of intelligence has never been informed that there existed anything equal to it in the world,” wrote Abdul Razzaq in 1443. In its heyday the Vijayanagara Empire stretched from Orissa to Karnataka. The capital Hampi, covering more than 20 sq.km., was built on the banks of the Tungabhadra river, on a hilly site strewn with huge boulders thrown up by volcanic eruptions lost in eons of geological time. Architecturally and scenically it was, and is, spectacular.

We flew down from Bangalore in a busy-looking propeller driven plane with plenty of leg-room, and landed at the miniscule airport owned and operated by Jindal Steel near Bellary. You didn’t have to chase a conveyor belt which seems to take a perverse delight in running away with your luggage. The bags came in on a hand-drawn trolley and were loaded straight into a waiting car. Such a civilised way to travel! The Jindal Guesthouse is a showpiece surrounded by stretches of lush green lawns, and flowering trees and bushes. A temple, a park, a cinema hall, a memorial museum to the founder of Jindal Steel, and a cricket ground where elderly gents in traditional white play out their retirement years, are part of the huge estate.

Field work at Hampi, 70 km away began more than 20 years ago, and Marg, had issued a book on the findings in 1981. Since then the site has attracted a growing number of archaeologists, art historians and budding architects, and is now on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The present volume incorporates recent discoveries and recreates its geography and visual impact in 113 colour plates and 17 maps and drawings. A fine DVD directed by Shyam Benegal outlining the rise and fall of Vijayanagara complements these two books. The oldest reference to Hampi dates back to the year 690 when it was a place of pilgrimage dedicated to the goddess Pampa. It grew in importance till, by the 14th century, it was the most sacred spot in the region, and was chosen by the Sangamas to build their capital. At its centre was Vitthalapura, the township which grew around the Vitthala temple complex.

Lifestyle

Surrounding the main temple were smaller ones dedicated to various Alwar saints, and the remains of a Vaishnavite monastery with residential quarters of a secular nature. Cooking pots, storage jars, and mortars with grinding stones were dug up, and there are indications of community activities such as the playing of games, with boards engraved on boulders and temple floors, and game pieces of ceramic and stone.

Indian temples, some dating back a thousand years, have had a longer life than palaces of which none prior to the 14th Century has survived. Those at Vijayanagar from the mid-14th Century are the oldest royal structures in an urban setting. The most exciting new find was made while excavating some overgrown mounds in a corner of the Royal Centre. Eighteen palaces, 13 wells, three tanks and the ruins of several small temples were uncovered; also waterworks consisting of stone or plaster-lined channels, ponds accessed by steps, and a masonry tank on an outcrop from which terracotta pipes descended to a crevice forming a natural cistern.

The art is typical of the Vijayanagar style with an abundance of yalis flanking the steps leading from one level to another, basement friezes adorned with elephants and horses, and dancing stick figures, a favourite motif. Fragments of Chinese porcelain adorned with floral designs in vivid colours were unearthed, also local earthenware.

The Great Platform to which an entire chapter is devoted was thought to be a triumphal emblem built after Krishnadevaraya’s return from the Oriya wars. Recent research, however, indicates four phases of construction. Here the king was enthroned during festivals, particularly Mahanavami, presiding over the feasting and celebrations. The platform sides are covered with delicate relief carvings, a must-see for tourists, which faithfully recreate every aspect of life in this fabulously wealthy kingdom, with trade links stretching from China to Africa to Portugal. There are horses and riders, martial sports, parades of camels, elephants at work, and scenes of courtly receptions, music and dance. The hunting scenes are the liveliest, with startled animals fleeing from dogs and hunters, and a man fighting a tiger single-handed.

Depiction

Surprisingly there is nothing of a religious nature, and only one mythological narrative showing Narasimha wooing a tribal maiden. Foreigners are depicted in large numbers, Central Asian Turks judging by their clothing, dancing while beating tambourines, leading parades, riding horses and camels, or paying homage to the ruler. We know that contingents of Turks waited upon the Vijayanagar kings, and their presence here testifies to the secularism of these enlightened monarchs.

A group of Sultanate-style buildings in the Royal Centre provides further evidence of their cosmopolitan outlook. The magnificent Lotus Mahal, for example is a remarkably synthetic structure. Laid out on a mandala-like plan and raised on a series of shallow platforms in the manner of a temple, its entrances are topped with pointed and lobed recessed arches on four planes with exquisitely delicate plaster decoration recalling the Islamic Bahmani style. The focus of research from 1987 to 1997 was the area, approximately 540 square miles, surrounding Hampi, and its transformation in the process of provisioning a huge metropolis with hundreds of thousands of inhabitants. The site categories cover agricultural settlements, sacred places, and the forts and roads so essential in a militaristic culture. Parallel rows of large boulders called “horse stones” were closely laid on approaches to the city to impede the free movement of invading foot soldiers and cavalry.

From the DVD we know that the city was planned as a microcosm of the Universe, suggesting an equivalence between divinity and kingship. John Malville explores this idea in depth. The principles of Vastu appear to have been used to create a totality, with interlocking relationships between constructed and natural features. Several examples, with detailed measurements, support this argument.

For instance, the Royal Centre is divided into public and private spaces by a north-south axis that passes from the king’s Audience Hall in the east to a palace structure in the west.

Other structures such as the Virabhadra temple atop Matanga Hill are set in a precise alignment with this axis, and if the night sky is viewed from the ceremonial gateway one can see that the north pole of the rotating heavens lies immediately above the tower of the temple. This conjunction between the pole and the axis of the city indicates an astonishing degree of architectural and astronomical sophistication long before the telescope was invented.

Remains

New Light…is a seminal book, a must-buy for historians and anthropologists, but one should experience Hampi to get a sense of what it was. Only one of its magnificent temples was not vandalised and is still in use, and a small town has grown around it.

From Matanga Hill you look down on the other temples, their ruined gateways, towers, mandapas and chariot-rides desolate except for a scattering of tourists. The palaces, the Great Platform and the Queen’s Bath lie empty.

Small settlements fringe the river and coracles ply across it as they have for centuries. Jagged hills rise on the opposite bank, and somewhere out there is the site of ancient Kishkinda where Ram met Hanuman. Huge boulders glow rusty-orange in the afternoon sun and the silence is broken by occasional bird-calls. Here as nowhere else you feel the ambience of the historic past. In much older cities such as Athens or Rome it has been lost in gleaming high-rises, busloads of jostling tourists, and the unceasing roar of traffic.

Picasso and the other faces of Malaga

2008-06-26T07:14:00.000-07:00

He was born here, in this small Spanish Mediterranean town. Or, rather, it was small then, but very old. Twenty-seven centuries ago the Phoenicians had established a settlement here. Among their successors, down the ages, had been Romans remembered by their amphitheatre, and ‘Moors’ from North Africa who had built a fortress, the Alcazar, on top of a hill overlooking the town.

His father was an art teacher named Jose Ruiz Blasco. When the child was born on October 25, 1881, he was named Pablo Ruiz Picaso. According to Spanish custom the last surname is that of the child’s mother who, in this case, was Mario Picaso Lopez: Picaso being spelt with only one ‘s’. The name ‘Picaso’ was only a formal appellation. When Pablo was nine years old, he painted his View of Malaga Harbour, showing considerable pictorial talent but, more significantly, he signed it ‘P. Ruiz’.

Phases of creation

His initial years in Malaga left a lasting impression on the budding artist. The brooding blue of the sea on cloudy days, the joyous pink of geraniums nodding in window boxes, the vivid radiance of the gold-encrusted altar and the stained glass windows in the cathedral: all these were later to emerge as the leitmotifs marking the various phases of his 73 years of continuous creation. During this period he produced an incredible 20,000 works of which 155 are collected in the Picasso Museum, Malaga. This is only one of the 26 in this capital of the province of Costa del Sol. The tourist trade associates this region with sun, surf and retirement. Some years ago we attended an international tourism conference in Torremolinos, further down the Costa del Sol. It was full of middle-class Brits; and pubs, burgers and fish-and-chips outlets catering to their home-away-from-home needs. In contrast, though Malaga does have pavement restaurants on its beach-front, they still serve Spanish food and vendors barbecue sea-food on sand-filled beached boats at the edge of the surf. There are, also, town-council supported yoga programmes for senior citizens and one of the tourism officials we met greeted us with a ‘Namaste’. In the foreseeable future, Indian visitors to Malaga might be able to order idlis, dosas and puri bhaji on its Mediterranean shores. Hopefully, many of them will also make it a point to visit the Picasso Museum and get an insight into the wide ranging achievements of a truly remarkable artist who left an indelible mark on world art.

The Picasso museum is in a graceful building awash with Mediterranean light and air: a delicate blend of Moorish arches, Renaissance and contemporary Spanish architecture. Our very knowledgeable guide, Jose Antonio, led us through the life of Picasso as reflected in his paintings. Picasso, according to him, was obsessively attracted to the female form to the extent that he even portrayed his son emphasising the child’s feminine features. Since the paintings in the Museum cannot, normally, be photographed, we shot a picture of a copy of this portrait made by a pavement artist outside the cathedral.

It was only after Pablo Ruiz moved to the avant-garde art capital of the world, Paris, that he dropped ‘Ruiz’ as being too plebian, and adopted ‘Picasso’ with the double ‘s’ in emulation of Matisse. Picasso always responded to things happening around him. His starvation years in Paris brought about his melancholic ‘Blue Period’. When he was 23, however, he became infatuated with Fernande Olivier. His passion for the lady launched him into his Rose Period.

Khosla ka Ghosla

2008-06-25T07:11:00.000-07:00

For a guy whose first venture has won the National Award for the Best Hindi Feature Film, Dibakar Banerjee is remarkably humble and frank. “I am still the same guy. Not many people know me. I am not famous. I am comfortable that way. I recently spent a few weeks shooting in Delhi for my next film, ‘Oye Lucky, Lucky Oye’. I found no disturbance. Contrary to what people feel, I am quite anonymous.”

Major risk

Talking about his debut film “Khosla ka Ghosla”, he says, “I was naïve when I made the film. When you make your first film, you just want to make it with your conviction, your belief. I was not even aware of the market exigencies. While shooting, I knew that mine was a non-star, performance-oriented film. Since almost every such film faces some problem in release I was prepared for that. But it was a major risk for my producers. Give them credit for sticking with me; a guy without proven credentials and a script that was treatment-driven. We completed the film in 2004.” After a little under one-and-a-half year UTV picked it and spent a few months deciding how to market the film.”

So, was the National Award a surprise considering the film was stuck in the cans for long? “No. It was a stroke of luck but not entirely unexpected. At other award functions, the film had been nominated or won an award. Obviously the National Award has its own unparalleled prestige. But the bigger surprise was at the box office. I learnt that you don’t need a star to sell a film. The film had proven performers, including Anupam Kher and Boman Irani, but no big stars. That was a huge boost to my confidence.”

There is another thing Dibakar hopes will change with the award. “It is a comedy but not a light film. When it was released, people said the problems in purchasing a house shown in the film happened to them too. Hopefully, after the award the film will be taken a little more seriously, more people will see with the requisite depth. It is a vindication for me that the film touched the people’s psyche.”

Busy wrapping up his next film where he directs veteran Paresh Rawal and youngsters Abhay Deol and Neetu Chandra, Dibakar promises “a single swallow does not a summer make”. But with “Khosla ka Ghosla” he has got his nest well feathered all right.

Golf, new dream

2008-06-25T07:09:00.000-07:00

As if being a worldwide pop icon and Hollywood actor was not enough, Justin Timberlake wants to become a pro-golfer as well. J-T is rumoured to have bought himself a golf course so he can practise as often as he likes and now he admits he wants to pl ay the sport for a living. “When I was growing up I always dreamed of becoming a pro basketball player — but that didn’t work out. I still dream of it. I know that’s not going to happen, so instead I dream of being a pro golfer.” He admits his dream of being a sportsman didn’t work out because he followed in his father’s musical footsteps. “My father’s side of the family has always been musical. I was always around it when I was young, so it was natural for me to just be involved with it. I never knew I would be able to be a professional at it. I just always loved it.”

Kim’s mad dash

2008-06-25T07:08:00.001-07:00

Sexy socialite Kim Kardashian got herself into hot water when she almost lost one of her mum’s treasured vintage belts. The sex-tape beauty was shopping while on holiday in Monaco when she left the pricey Moschino belt in a changing room. “I was wearing my mom’s vintage Moschino belt that I had borrowed but I forgot it at a store when I was trying on another belt. When I later realised it was gone I had to run back for it. I was so worried. It was a close call. I was so embarrassed going back into the shop to ask for it but Mom would have been so mad.”

Chocolate thief

2008-06-25T07:06:00.000-07:00

Edward Norton has got such a sweet tooth that he used to sneak into his co-star Liv Tyler’s trailer on the set of The Incredible Hulk and steal her complimentary chocolates. “I would go to Liv’s trailer and raid the little basket because she would never touch any of the chocolates. I took them because I am a sugar addict! My trainer was often in my trailer and she would tell me off if I went near my basket. I used the excuse of script notes and schedules to say ‘I have to go and speak to Liv’ then I would sneak in and get the treats. Mostly those chocolate-covered raisins,” he says. “I was on the Bruce Banner diet — what could I do!”

Ready to walk the aisle అగైన్

2008-06-25T07:03:00.000-07:00

Reese Witherspoon is ready to be a bride again because her kids have accepted her new man. The Walk the Line actor, who divorced Ryan Phillippe last year after eight years of marriage, is said to be ready to tie the knot with Jake Gyllenhaal, as he has become “part of the family”. Reese has been very careful about her relationship with Jake, says a friend of the actor and her children Ava, eight, and Deacon, four. “For a long time she would not have him stay over at her house because she was worried about how the kids would react. Over time, Jake has really bonded with the kids and they spend a lot of time together. Because of this Reese has relaxed her rules and gone against her feeling that she will never marry again. She really feels Jake would make the perfect husband.”

bhool bhulaiyaa

2008-06-23T23:20:00.000-07:00

Supernatural laced with madcap humour, that’s what Bhool Bhulaiyaa is all about. The story revolves around Shiney Ahuja and Vidya Balan who go back to their native village, and decide to settle down in a deserted palace which turns out to be haunted. Soon strange things start happening to the couple and those around them which prompt Shiney to call up his psychiatrist friend Akshay Kumar.

Laugh out loud -- The Happening

2008-06-23T23:18:00.000-07:00

After Lady in the Water, M. Night Shyamalan probably had a nightmare. He could see people walk out of the cinema halls halfway into his film and kill themselves because they couldn’t take it any more. He woke up and wrote and wrote and wrote… Different ways how people could kill themselves… They could jump off the roof, shoot themselves, lie down in front of a lawn-mower, bang their heads into glass windows, cut off their veins if car-crashing didn’t work… He didn’t have a plot as such, so he looked back at his films — he’s shown the living dead, a superhuman born on earth, aliens from outer space, a village that lived in the past, nymphs and scrunts from water — and realised that logical progression demanded paranormal activity out of thin air.

So he finished his script in a line: A mysterious air-borne toxin (which will remain mysterious till the end of the film) is making people kill themselves all along the West Coast of America. We already know Shyamalan has the knack of stretching short story scripts to a feature-length thriller and we’ve never had a problem with that because he manages to weave in a conflict (both for the protagonist of the film and the larger community) and resolve it with a little bit of logical reasoning.

Mere Baap Pehle Aap

2008-06-23T23:16:00.000-07:00

Not many understand the joy and the pain of a man looking to start all over again on a clean slate. Not the least among them is good old Priyadarshan who pours such ridicule, such scorn on a man starting late that his film Mere Baap Pehle Aap becomes a test of patience.

Agreed, it is a comedy and we should be willing to suspend reason, even keep a little distance from sensitivity. We, the uncomplaining cinemagoers, could have pardoned Om Puri with his ugly wig and a dance number had the director not been so relentless in his mockery. Here his 50-year-old man never seems to find logical ways of finding a mate. Now dancing with a bikini-clad Mumait Khan, now entering college, only to be ridiculed for venturing to see a girl thus.

An unforgettable summer -- Summer 2007

2008-06-23T23:14:00.000-07:00

Debutant director Sohail Tartari dares to tread where others have quivered. His Summer 2007 is on the surface a film about urban youth, five medical professionals who speak the way they do on the campus. But actually, this is a rare, no, rarest of the rare Hindi film that talks of the silent agrarian crisis gripping the nation.

Farmers’ suicides may not make the headlines with the media drunk on the success of Dhoni’s boys or seeking rising TRPs with the Aarushi murder, but Tartari talks of the Vidarbha crisis where many farmers have ended their lives due to their inability to pay an amount many well-heeled families back in our cities spend on an evening out with friends. There are moments where Tartari gets a shade didactic, just as there are times when he adopts a quasi-documentary approach. For too long it seems we are watching yet another campus saga with its overgrown boys and girls, doing their political stunts and mouthing innuendos. But those are little foibles one would allow Tartari.

Rani Mukerji hopes

2008-06-23T23:11:00.000-07:00

She has always been a ‘bhalo main’ (good girl in Bengali). She chose films for a career because she “didn’t want to disappoint” her mother. She chose good films because she didn’t want to upset the audience. She w ore revealing dresses because her mom would tell her, ‘It’s fine. It’s not you, it’s the character.’ She grew up “a little early” and “missed a great part of childhood because of busy shooting schedules.” She had to turn a wife/bahu and wear a sari in her Bollywood debut Raja Ki Ayegi Baraat, at 16. That’s Rani Mukerji for you.

Siddharth Anand’s Ta Ra Rum Pum and now Kunal Kohli’s Thoda Pyar Thoda Magic have brought out the child in her. Thoda… is the second film in which she has kids for company.

In this Yashraj-banner film, Rani plays an angel whom God sends to take care of four orphaned kids (played by Akshat Chopra, Shriya Sharma, Rachit Sidana and Ayushi Berman) who have to live with a tyrant, Ranbeer Talwar, as per a court verdict. Rani as Gita brings them together in this “quite a tear-jerker and yet a funny film”, as Kohli puts it.

Park Seed Flowers

2008-06-21T03:33:00.000-07:00

Many, if not most, plants considered decorative flowers originated as weeds, which if attractive enough would sometimes be tolerated by farmers because of their appeal. This led to an artificial selection process, producing ever-prettier (to humans) flowers. This is thought to have occurred for the entire history of agriculture, perhaps even slightly earlier, when people tended to favored, naturally-occurring food-gathering spots. This may also explain why many flowers function as companion plants to more useful agricultural plants; they had evolved that symbiotic relationship with the food plants before either was domesticated, and therefore was found in the same area, convenient to be selected as an attractive plant.
Once domesticated, though, most flowers were grown either separately or as part of gardens having some other primary function. In the West, the idea of gardens dedicated to flowers did not become common until the 19th century, though in fact many modern gardens are indeed flower gardens.

Flower gardens can enhance almost any home or business. Photo by Christa Hanson, provided courtesy of Park Seed Company
Flower gardens are, indeed, a key factor in modern landscape design and even architecture, especially for large businesses, some of which pay to have large flower gardens torn out and replaced entirely each season, in order to keep the color patterns consistent.

హెర్బ్ gardens

2008-06-21T03:25:00.000-07:00

A flower garden is a form of garden usually grown for decorative purposes, centering primarily on the kinds of flowers produced by the plants involved. Because flowers bloom at varying times of the year, and some plants are annual, dying each winter, the design of flower gardens can be sophisticated, taking such matters into consideration to keep blooms, even of specific color combinations, consistent or present through varying seasons.

Flower gardens combine plants of different heights, colors, textures, and fragances to create interest and delight the senses. Photo by Ashley Sheets, provided courtesy of Park Seed Company.
These have grown in complexity over the years, and are sometimes tied in function to other kinds of gardens, like knot gardens or herb gardens, many herbs also having decorative function, and some decorative flowers being edible.
One simpler solution to flower garden design, growing in popularity, is the pre-planned "wildflower" seed mix. Assortments of seeds are created which will create a bed that contains flowers of various blooming seasons, so that some portion of them should always be in bloom. The best mixtures even include combinations of perennial and biennials, which may not bloom until the following year, and also annuals that are "self-seeding", so they will return, creating a permanent flowerbed.
Another, even more recent trend is the "flower garden in a box", where the entire design of a flower garden is pre-packaged, with separate packets of each kind of flower, and a careful layout to be followed to create the proposed pattern of color in the garden-to-be.

Sylvia's Garden

2008-06-21T03:22:00.000-07:00

Sylvia's Garden

2008-06-21T03:19:00.000-07:00

Simply beautiful and truly serene, Sylvia's flower gardens are a sight to behold. The variety and arrangement of her gardens are visually stunning. You will want to casually stroll through these amazing gardens to feast on their beauty and aroma during your visit to the Little Log House Pioneer Village.
Sylvia's flower gardens span over 40,000 square feet and are surrounded by two large ponds, a functioning water wheel and restored buildings. You will find thousands of annuals and perennials, meandering brick paths and arbors during your visit to Sylvia's garden. Sylvia Bauer is the sole designer of the gardens.

గ్రోవింగ్ flowers

2008-06-21T03:14:00.000-07:00

the flower expert
online flowers encyclopedia
Growing Flowers
Growing flowers is an art - the activity and craft of growing plants, with a goal of creating a wonderful & beautiful world around.
Growing flowers is an admiration for many people, a dream for so many and a full-time work for some others like who grow flower gardens for commercial purposes. Growing flowers thus serves the interests of diverse peoples.
The Growing of flowers necessitates a lot of patience, love, & care. Growing a flower garden is indeed an exciting adventure altogether for those who are really crazy about flowers and growing flowers.
Flowers are classified into three categories. These categories are annuals, perennials, and biennials. Once you discover all the different annual, biennial and perennial plants that you can grow and even start yourself, it´s just a simple step to preparing the beds. Annuals grow from seeds and flower the current year and then die. Perennials establish themselves from seed the first year but do not usually flower until the following year. This category of flowers will re-grow and flower for many years to come. Biennials grow as a small plant during the year they are planted. In the second year they will bloom and then perish.
Why Grow Flowers?
Flowers are magic - literally magic, irresistible to birds, bees, wasps, other flower pollinators and even humans. There are as many reasons to grow flowers as there are flowers. Still, twelve reasons are found to have been the most appropriate as to tell why one should grow flowers.
Flowers make the world more beautiful.
Flowers smell good. Good smells make you happier.
Flowers tell you the season.
Flowers attract predators that will help kill the pests in your garden.
You never feel poor if you have bunches of flowers to give away.
Flowers like sweet peas, lupins, woad, broom, wisteria can fix nitrogen and help fertilize your garden.
Flowers lead to seeds - to replant your garden.
Flowers taste good.
Flowers like chamomile, borage and foxgloves appear to make the plants they grow with more vigorous.
Most flowers have 'cottage kitchen' uses - you can make wines with them or make calendula ointment if you cut yourself in the garden. Our ancestors grew only what was useful (like roses) and preferably it was beautiful too.
Flowers can help weed control. Marigolds repel couch grass, dahlias will stop grass intruding in your garden, a thick crop of poppies will help clean up weeds, cornflowers stop some weed seeds germinating, thickly sown sunflowers will stunt weeds and choke them out.
Any sourpuss smiles if you give them flowers.
The Essential Factors for Growing Flowers
Broadly, there are four main factors to be concerned with, when planting flowering plants. One should see that light, moisture, temperature, andfertilizer are at optimum levels.
Favourable Light : The location of the garden generally dictates the type of flowers that can be grown.
Favourable Moisture : The amount of water a flower garden needs largely depends on how much sun it gets and the type of flowers that are chosen to fill the spaces. There are some flower varieties that require more water than the others to keep their foliage fresh and the blossoms, coming.
Suitable Temperature : The temperatures flowers can tolerate is partially tied to location, because of the amount of sun they receive. So when you are planning your garden, follow the local recommendations for when it is safe to start planting, and put your hardiest varieties out, first.
Suitable Fertilizer : If you´re unsure of what type of soil you have, you can take a sample to your local garden center and have them examine it, or you can purchase a test kit. Knowing whether it is acidic, sandy, or clay-based, can help you decide how to choose the right fertilizer for your flowerbeds.
Again these essential factors depend on other factors like selection of flowers to be grown, selection of the landscape, etc.
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Criteria for Selection of Flowers for Growing
Growing Flowers