WEEKLY MAGAZINE, NOVEMBER 18, 2012Free with your copy of Hindustan Times

WEEKLY MAGAZINE, NOVEMBER 18, 2012Free with your copy of Hindustan Times

VIR SANGHVIIn-flight delights

SANJOY NARAYANGenre benders

RAJIV MAKHNITwo fantastic devices

SEEMA GOSWAMI Why I hate Diwali indulge

SweetseductionDiabetesdoesn’t meanyou get bitterabout yourmeals

Bourneand BondTwo reallycool spies.Who do welike more?

“SingwithFloyd”The onething AliZafar wisheshe could do

It’s not just for weddings and pujas. It’s not only for older women and TV saas-bahus. Meet young women who are rocking the whole six yards –and think you should too

Accessories designerIleshaa Khatau says thesari is more comfy thanpeople imagine

4 B R E A K FA ST O F C H A M P I O N S

THIS COVER story is me at my selfish best. Why am I doinga story on young women who aren’t afraid of wearing

saris? Because I’ve shamefully reached age 30 without own-ing a single sari. Don’t blame my Bombay Catholic upbringing– it didn’t stop my mum from rocking the six-yard. Don’t faultmy neighbourhood either – I grew up in Hindmata, Parel, themotherlode of cheap chiffon and cut-price cut-piece. Now,however, I have no excuse to not add one to my closet. Notafter four women have shown me I have nothing to fear.Hindmata shops, here I come!

Brunch Opinion

THE SIX-YARD WONDER by Rachel Lopez

NOVEMBER 18, 2012

Cover Design: SWATI CHAKRABARTYCover Photo: KALPAK PATHAK

DESIGN: Ashutosh Sapru (National Editor,Design), Monica Gupta, Swati Chakrabarti,Rakesh Kumar, Ashish Singh

EDITORIAL: Poonam Saxena (Editor), Aasheesh Sharma, Tavishi PaitandyRastogi, Rachel Lopez, Mignonne Dsouza, Veenu Singh, Parul Khanna Tewari,Yashica Dutt, Amrah Ashraf, Saudamini Jain, Shreya Sethuraman, Manit Moorjani

The best letter gets a Flipkartvoucher worth R2,500!!

The shopping voucher will reach the winner within seven to 10 working days. In case of any delays, please contact chirag.sharma@hindustantimes.com

Drop us a line at: brunchletters@hindustantimes.comor to 18-20 Kasturba Gandhi Marg, New Delhi 110001

EXCL

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AMPA

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... is our cover girl Anushka Sharma. Just 24and already among the top five actresses inBollywood. What makes her tick? Grab yourcopy of BrunchQ to find out... And to readall our other exciting new features and interviews. Pick up your copy today!

The girl who’s living it up...

The new BrunchQ is here!

NOW ONSTANDS, R100

ONLY!LETTER OF THE WEEK!No fancy coffee for me...WHAT ELSE does a working person require on a lazy Sundaymorning, than a cup of coffee in one hand and a copy of Brunch(Battle of the Brews, November 4) in the other, which even tellsyou the worth of the coffee you’re savouring? Providing mewith my much-needed caffeine rush, the coffee shop reviewswere refreshing and insightful. Thanks, Brunch for helping medecide that the extravagantly priced Starbucks cappuccinoisn’t worth my daily ‘Home-buck’ cuppa!

— ZAINAB TOHFAFAROSH, via email

Zainab wins a Flipkart voucher worth `2,500. Congrats!

Spilling the beansTHE COVER story (Battle of the Brews) was a favourite for a coffee junkie like me! I was elated to find mention of my favouritecoffee haunts. It was a quirky and fun read, giving me the much-needed caffeine rush! — ARPITA CHOWDHURY, via email

THE BATTLE Of The Brews cover story was quite a revelation. Intoday’s age where we gulp down coffee almost as if it were water,it was nice to know which is the winning cup. After reading the column, I actually felt like a connoisseur myself. A million thanksBrunch! — RAHUL MEHAY, via email

Rules Of The Game...Don’t Be TheChronically IrritatingPain-In-The-You-Know-Where Who Does This by Yashica Dutt

■ Answer your texts with a ‘K’.It’s just one letter awayfrom sanity!■ Post howmuch youhate Mondays on Facebook.Seriously, every single week?

■ Upload badly shotpictures of food/family/babies andexpect us to ‘like’them. That is plainembarrassing!

■ Request for Punjabi/bhangrain a reggae barthat is known onlyto play dubstep■ Use ‘bro’ 2,785times in a singleconversationLO

VEIT

SHOVE

IT

THINGS YOU SHOULD HAVE HEARD ABOUTby Shreya Sethuraman

■ Aloo parathas.And achaar.

And dahi. Deadlycombo, eh?

■ Dancing in baraats. To the cheesiest of filmy songs

■ Muesli cakes as gifts. We’rehealth freaks here. *coughcough*

■ Backstreet’s back, awright!(Some of us love the ’90s,okay?)

■ Post-Diwali blues■ Match-fixing bans lifted. But

what’s the point when you’reway past your prime??

■ Matrimonial websites. They don’t work. Honest!

■ Kids cooking. And competing. Lots of tears and sympathy hugs. Gaaahh!

■ Wannabe wine experts. Seriously, get a life!

hindustantimes.com/brunch

6 facebook.com/hindustantimesbrunchC OV E R STO RY

NOVEMBER 18, 2012

Thought sariswere only forold ladies andTraditional Dayin the office?Four youngwomen provethey’re just aschic as yourskinny jeans orbandagedress, and justas easy towear tooby Rachel Lopez

Get a blouse in a more contemporary cut and brightcolour even if the sari is old.

Buy tussar or crepe silk, it

doesn’t wrinkle easily and

you’ll wear it more often.

Don’t pick heavy weaves andzari for casual occasions.

It’s not about the sari, it’s

who’s wearing it and how.

Of course you own a sari. We all do. It’s nicely ironed, folded andtucked away in a cupboard to be pulled out on special occasions.It’s very pretty too. So pretty that we wouldn’t dare waste it on aregular day in the office, brunch with the girls, or an evening ofpartying. It’s almost too good to take out of the closet.

No wonder that so few young women are draping themselves inthe six-yard as everyday wear. Tailored trousers are comfier,dresses look smarter and for traditional occasions, a kurta doesthe trick with fewer safety pins. Face it, the sari is too much fuss.

Or is it? These young women – they’re all under 35 and alsowear just about everything else – will show you that there’s nothing you can’t do in a sari, and that there’s everything to gainfrom pleating up. Saris can be fun, modern, edgy, stylish and cool– and they’re much too sexy to lie forgotten and unloved. Let the stories unravel...

“IT’S A CONNECTION TOYOUR CULTURE, YOUR PEOPLE”

AMRITA Lahiri, 32

Classical dancer

IWORE MY first sari at age 14. Iwas in the US till I was 15 andlike all good NRI parents, mineput us into classical music and

dance lessons. My teacher,Anuradha Nehru insisted, just likethey do in South India, that by thetime the students were 13 or 14, theyshould come to class in a sari – nosalwar kameezes. That’s how itstarted. Instead of feeling forcedinto it, wearing a sari was some-thing we aspired to. It meant wewere grown up.

And it was so difficult, my God! Itwould unravel and we’d get scoldedor embarrassed and had to learnhow to keep it in place. Now it’s abreeze – if you can dance in a sariyou can do anything, anything in it.

I think I have 40 to 50 saris now.But I also wear lots of other things.When I’m going out on a Fridaynight I like to wear jeans, a skirt,heels, whatever. I enjoy having different costumes for differentoccasions. But I also like things thatare structured and have a story tothem, that are not just a printed T-shirt – that’s too boring for life.

Lots of people think saris areinconvenient. But you know what?Women all over India, every day,

mop floors and work in the fields insaris. What’s so special about usthat we can’t get used to one? I’vegone to a Delhi club and danced in asari. Hip hop, bhangra, everything.

People have odd reactions whenyou’re draped in six yards of fabric.I once walked into a shop lookingfor birthday cake, my sari a bitcrushed from being worn all dayand this woman came up to me andsaid, “It’s so nice to see youngwomen in saris. Keep it up!” I wearones that belonged to my grand-mother and people say, “You look sohot”. These aren’t flashy dresses,they’re my grandmother’s clothes!

Like dance, for me, wearing a sariis about making a connection. It’ssomething I’ve been able to talk towith my grandmother or my moth-er, my aunt, anybody. We can allshare this. Is it a political state-ment? Maybe. It’s not activism inany sense, just a conscious personalconnection to a culture, so manypeople, so many things. I don’t thinkI can better it. And nothing looksbetter on the Indian body. A sarichanges the way you move. Youwalk slower – you glide almost – andyou become more graceful. Whowouldn’t want that?

THE FIRSTtime I worea sari for noreason was

when I was 22, atcollege in Chicagoand graduating. It was

a cold, overcast wetday, so I put on a bright

orange one, I walked inand everyone was completely floored.

I wear a lot of otherstuff too – skirts,

miniskirts... I actually wearminiskirts as sari petticoats

since they give you a lot moremovement and it’s not as hot

then. Also it’s one less thing tobuy. When I first started wearingsaris, it occurred to me that youdon’t just need a sari. You need apetticoat, a fall, a blouse. So I justmix and match.

I own only eightsaris but I’m lucky to

be able to wear my mom’s, who gotthem from my grandmother andgreat-grandmother. Mine are most-ly plain chiffon because they make agreat backdrop for jewellery. Youalways feel dressed up in this gar-ment and the best part is that thedressing up doesn’t have to corre-late to how much you spend. A gooddress will cost a lot, but while thereare expensive saris, you can getgood ones without paying much.

Many people say saris are uncom-fortable. But once you’ve worn themfor a little bit, you get used to keep-ing it all together and stop thinkingabout it. The reactions are incredi-ble. Everyone asks me if I’m goingto a wedding. I don’t know if that’s acompliment or just sad becausepeople now think that if it’s a sari, itmust be some traditional occasionor that you’re old and boring. A sarican be such fun. I’ve gone to a bar,had six shots of absinthe anddanced in one and it was such fun –just hold it all up so you don’t trip!

In India today, the upper classesare compelled to dress in a Westernfashion to look modern or attrac-tive. And a lot of India’s aspirationstravel from the top down. But Idon’t see why we have to ditcheverything. It’s part of our tradition,there’s no reason to not do it.

FEWER WOMEN wear saristoday. I guess they think thata sari is hard to wear, or thatyou have to be proper when

you’re in one. I’ve been wearingsaris for the last 13 years, I havemore than 35, and that’s so untrue.You get used to it quite quickly ifyou have the inclination. Mine takethree minutes to drape, five if I’mwearing cotton. It’s not difficult, it’snot cumbersome. It’s so cool.

A sari can do wonderful things toyour body and your sense of self. Iam a moderately fat woman, so letme put it this way: people who are

not so thin will look not so fat in asari. It covers up your bad parts andshows off your good ones.

Of course it’s far easier to get intoa pair of trousers. But if, like me,you’ve had a baby and are thickeraround the stomach, you can’t tuckyour shirt into your pants. It makesyou conscious and that eats upyour confidence and affects work.But if you’re wearing a sari, youhave nice little pleats on theparts you don’t wantto show. Yes ittakes time to wear,but tucking yourshirt into your pantstakes time too.

I enjoy wearing asari – the way it fallson you, the way itshows off your curves.Sure, driving a car will

take getting used to because thefabric bunches at your feet, but it’snot hard to master. I’ve danced inmy saris, run after my three-year-old, I even went to a disco, rightafter a puja, wearing asari. People just said,“Wow!”

7

NOVEMBER 18, 2012

SUSHAMA REDDY,ACTRESS I always, always buy mysaris from Neeta Lulla.She makes the mostamazing and sexy blouses to go with themand her cuts accentuateand flatter! I have a tallframe, so saris look niceon me. My favourites arechiffon and net, the lat-ter are very young, verysexy and drape well.

MANDIRA BEDI, actress & TV hostI tend to wear a design-er in phases. I’ve worna lot of Satya Paulgraphic-print georgetteand crepe saris,I’ve worn around20 Masaba Guptadesigns, andwhenever I needa heavy sari, Iturn to Dabiri,the label of Delhi-based designers DivyaBindra and VandanaSawhney. I also havesaris by Ritu Kumarand Lucknawi geor-gettes, which I findvery elegant. I look atmy saris as an invest-ment because they are timeless. I would definitely spend moreon a sari than I wouldon a dress.

TIPPinning is key to comfortable sari

wearing. Wear theblouse with a flattering

cut. It can make thesari contemporary.

TIPThere are no strict rules

as to how a womanshould wear a sari. Youcan do the pallu drapesdifferently and wear dif-ferent styles of blouses.

DIPANNITA SHARMAATWAL, MODEL I pick up my saris from several places, starting fromSatya Paul, Sabyasachi, Shahab Durazi, Masaba Gup-ta and Ravi Bajaj to FabIndiaand heirloom Assam silksaris from back home.

“IT’S NO BIG DEAL” Phot

o:SA

ROJ

KUM

ARHER TIPS TO SPICEUP A SARIWear your sari with leg-gings or a skirt. Basicallythe only reason you reallyneed a petticoat is to tucksomething in, and as longas you’re covering what youwant to cover, it’s fine.

Don’t have ablouse? Fold up thebottom of a fittedtop or tank top andjust drape it on.

If your family saris arefalling apart but theirborders are intact,sew them on to yourneon chiffon saris.Choose the lightestfabrics so they don’tadd bulk on the hips.

“IT’S MORECOMFY THANYOU IMAGINE”

ILESHAA Khatau, 24

Accessories designer

Her tips for beginners

Silk and chiffon are the easiest

to wear. Cotton takes time to

drape.

Tie your petticoat nice and

tight, and nothing will unravel.

Still paranoid? Use lots of safe-

ty pins till you’re confident.

TIPWhen you buy a

sari, get twoblouses made –

one conservative,and one daring.

SIX-YARD CHIC

Photos:KALPAK PATHAK

SUSHWETA Bhoir, 34

Has a “proper corporate job” as partof the finance team at Siemens

8 twitter.com/HTBrunch

UNTIL I WAS in my mid-20s, I was like everyoneelse. I loved the sari butpulled out mine only for

Diwali, weddings and special occasions. But about six years ago,around the time Roli was workingon a book on the sari, I started toget interested in it. It packedsuch an incredibleamount of information– every pattern, everycolour, every yarn hada story – I was hooked.There’s nothing morepersonal, morebespoke than this gar-ment – how could I notbe partaking in thisvery high-end fashion?I bought my first one,my first own sari,from a little shop inEast Street, Pune, for

some R700. There’s been no lookingback since. I have 70 saris now.

I hate when people assume thatsaris are impractical. I go to thegym and in the summer I usuallycarry a sari to change into; andwomen 15-20 years older look so

shocked, it’s as though I’m tyingon a kimono! They tell me it’ssuch torture to wear. But I

can actually do morethings in the garmentthan in pants or a skirt– like sit cross legged inmy chair at work. Iwear all kinds ofthings, from dresses tokurtas, and I mostlyshop abroad or at sur-plus stores becausethe stuff fits me bet-ter. But with a sari,you never get thewrong fit. And you

don’t need safety pins – they lock inthe pleats and you are not verysmooth in your movements. Sarisare meant to take the shape of yourbody, let them. Keep your ghagratight. Retie it later if necessary.

Saris will make you look beauti-fully feminine and sensual withouttrying too hard. I have pick-me-upsaris for when it’s going to be along hard day, and they alwaysmake me feel better. Every sin-gle time I wear them, there arecompliments. People aren’tused to seeing someone of myage and background putting iton. Flight attendants havetold me how nice it is to seewomen travelling in a sari.And because I love them somuch, for a while, all mybirthday gifts were saris. I’mnot complaining. They all fit!

rachel.lopez@hindustantimes.com

C OV E R STO RY

“IT’S REALLY FOR EVERY DAY”

ANKITA LOKHANDE,TELEVISION ACTRESSI’ve bought over 300 saris for myrole in Pavitra Rishta, eitherfrom shops or a designer. I usually frequent Lokhandwala,Bandra and Malad in Mumbai

for designs. In Pavitra Rishta,I change my style everymonth – everything fromKolkata saris to broad-bor-der saris to chiffon oneswith brocade blouses

and net saris.

JIAH KHAN, ACTRESSI love Masaba’s saris. Ilove the fact that shedoes not do conven-tional stuff. I like thatshe experiments withprints and cuts. Otherthan that, I would buysomething off the street if it catches my eye.

MINISSHALAMBA, ACTRESSIf I want a nice sari, Iusually get it from NeetaLulla or SabyasachiMukherjee. Their designsare not only traditionalbut also quite modern. Iusually buy georgette orchiffon saris. I also havea few heavy Mysore silksaris that really lookbeautiful on me. I don’tlike very heavy saris, so Ialways buy somethingwith a thin border or noborder at all.

TIPBefore selecting a sari,

consider your bodytype, skin colour and

height. The sari framesyour personality, so getsomething that really

complements you.

TIPCut your petticoat

or wear a shortskirt and drape asheer sari over it.It will reveal just a

hint of leg.

NOVEMBER 18, 2012

TIPOnce you’ve

draped your sari,bend forward and check to

see what’s still sticking out or ifyou’re revealingtoo much. Then,tuck or fix thingswith safety pins.

Photo: M ZHAZO

PRIYA Kapoor, 33,

Director, Roli Books

and CMYK bookstore

SIX-YARD CHIC

Her tips onwhere to find itHead to ByLoom inCalcutta. Bapa theredoes such beautifulweaves.Register with RawMango and pick uptheir lighter saris.In Jaipur, Benu Bhatnagar does exquisite Rajasthanigota patti work.

WHAT IS the best thing about no-frills airlines? Ifyou answered, ‘the fares’, then you would be onlyhalf right. Yes, there was a time when the so-calledlow-cost carriers made flying cheap and

accessible. But those days are long gone. Now, all airline ticketscost a bomb, no matter whether the carrier describes itself ashigh-cost or low-cost. In fact, it is actually cheaper to fly to theFar East than it is to anywhere in India because fares within thecountry are so high.

And why are they so high? Well, blame it on the foolishness ofthe government. Taxes are prohibitive. Aircraft fuel ispriced at absurd rates. And the new privateowners of our airports keep raising fees tosuch extravagant levels that airlines strug-gle to cope. In some cases at least –Bangalore or Delhi, for instance – thenewly-enriched monopolists who ownour airports (they are all sitting on thou-sands of crores of undervalued landassets) are providing travellers withdecent facilities. But anybody travel-ling out of Bombay International air-port must wonder if he is in Sub-Saharan Africa.

But I digress. My little rant about fares is onlyto tell you why it makes less and less sense to flyto a holiday destination in India any longer. Oreven to a metropolitan city. (You want a compar-ison? Okay, Delhi-Bangkok-Delhi in Club Classusually costs less than Delhi-Bangalore one way!Never mind that Bangkok is much further awaythan Bangalore. And even the Economy fares havereached the stage where it is cheaper to fly abroadthan to go anywhere in India.)

But there is one advantage to the low-cost carrier boom. And that is the food. Most airlinefood is rubbish. We all know that. Some of this hasto do with the way flight kitchens are organised.For the most part they are nasty, industrial oper-ations to which hotel chains usually exile their

worst cooks. (There are some glowing exceptions: the Taj’s SatishArora and Arvind Saraswat are master chefs, for instance).

But the real reason airline food is usually so disgusting (espe-cially in India) is because of the problems with a) customer pref-erence and b) cost. Ever since Kingfisher went bust serving high-cost meals (high cost, maybe; but inedible anyway – you can tellthat the management had no idea how to offer value for money),it has become an article of faith within the Indian airline

business that the route to survival lies in cutting food costs.So portions have grown smaller. Flight kitchens are

being paid less for each meal. And you and I,the hapless passengers, have to eat this reheat-

ed, low-cost garbage.The second reason is our fault – or so the

airlines tell us. Apparently, their researchshows that when Indians fly (domestical-

ly at least), we want only one kind of meal:salad, one sabzi, one greasy paneer curry or

some form of chicken curry, dahi (at least in thefront of the aircraft), rice, a rolled-up reheated cha-

pati wrapped in silver foil and a stodgy dessert. If thedessert is Indian then it must be made with milk. If it

is foreign, then it should be made with gelatine.Any airline that deviates from this formula pays the

price. Meals are returned uneaten. Letters of complaintare written. Cabin crew are insulted. Nobody will eat mush-

rooms; paneer is the only ‘vegetable’ that many NorthIndians regard as perfect at 35,000 feet, and chicken is an

all-time favourite. Try something more adventurous andpassengers will protest.

So, while airline food is usually prettypoor everywhere in the world, the food

on India’s domestic airlines is aboutthe worst. When you tell

airline executives this, they

Vir Sanghvi

rude tr

avel

10 indulge

NOVEMBER 18, 2012

THE RIGHTBITE, ON A

FLIGHTThe food on India’s domestic airlines is aboutthe worst in the world, but low-cost airlines give passengers a choice. You can actuallyorder a perfectly decent inflight meal

Photo: IMAGESBAZAAR

POPULAR CHOICEIn a flight, if the dessert isIndian then it must bemade with milk

JUST FOR YOUIf an airline has some idea of what each passenger wants to eat, then it can prepare and load the food in advance

THE LAST few days have been incredible.Very rarely do we see so much great tech-nology released simultaneously. From the

Microsoft Windows 8 blitz, Apple releasing moredevices at one event than ever before, Googledoing the same and truly throwing down the gaunt-let in the hardware business, to Nokia’s event forits all-new Lumia phones and then HTC andSamsung following suit, it’s been overwhelmingand frankly even intimidating. So much good stuffhas been announced and released that it seemsit’s Christmas every single day.

EXCAVATION TIMEBut there is a downside to this onslaught of gadgetry that has been hitting us at the speed oflight. Due to the sheer quantity of incredibledevices being released, some really significant stuff tends to slipbetween the cracks. These are the kind of devices that are truegame-changers but have been superseded by something thatmay not have any out-of-the-box features but has got more hypeand buzz attached to it. It’s time to dig out two big ones that arerewriting the rules of technology.

GOOGLE NEXUS 10Tablets today are a dime a dozen. More seven-inch tablets arereleased in India today then the number of smartphones that seethe light of day. Even larger-sized tablets struggle to make anynews or noise as it’s really tough to differentiate one from theother. But one tablet that should have stood out, but got lost inthe flood, is the Google Nexus 10. If further proof was ever requiredthat Google is now a serious player in the hardware part of theworld – then this tablet more than offers it. It’s built by Samsungwith specs dictated by Google and a pricing policy (just $399)that makes it quite a steal. But it’s what this tablet offersthat makes it a total must-have. The first is the most obvi-ous: the super delicious 10-inch, LED-backlit, IPSLCD touchscreen with a mind-boggling resolu-tion of 2560x1600 pixels. That’s an unprecedent-ed 300 pixels per inch spread over its entire hugescreen. Just to put it in perspective, the latestiPad Retina Display has 264 pixels per inch. Whilethe processor, RAM, form factor, how light it is

and how thin it is are all top-notch features – thatscreen really is a big deal as it now forces the com-petition to up the stakes. Low-res tablets aren’tgoing to cut it any more after this, and you’regoing to see even economy Tablets huff and puffand come up with enhanced versions of theirscreens and displays. On a Tablet, where youspend 95 per cent of your time consuming con-tent visually off the screen – the Google Nexusjust made that whole experience a lot sharper andsmoother.

MACBOOK PRO 13 WITH RETINA DISPLAYIt’s impossible to even think that an Apple device

as significant as an all-new MacBook Pro would get lost in thenoise. But unfortunately, this stunning device came out at a timewhen the world was holding its collective breath for the iPadMini. The dust and the fury of that little thing totally obliterat-ed the significance of what Apple was able to put into this for-midable machine. It’s thinner, it’s lighter and it’s so powerful that at times it seems they’ve packed in a F1 car engineinside its slim profile as this one zips along at almost impossiblespeeds. While many may argue that the bigger 15-inch siblinghas equal or slightly better specs – that’s exactly where the 13-incher scores. If you can pack the same power and performanceinto a device much smaller, thinner and lighter – then the trueHoly Grail of tech is reached. But once again, it’s not the insidesthat make this a game changing device, it’s the outside. A 13-inchscreen and stunning Retina Display with a resolution of 2560x1600.

THE BIG DEALIf you’re as sharp-eyed as I am hoping you are, then you’ve caughtthe similarity: the exact same resolution as the Google Nexus 10.And there’s a reason. This is now going to be the gold standardfor devices. The next level of benchmarking if a device has tostand up and be counted. And that is a very big deal for all of usas it’s now been proven that the human eye can truly see the difference and benefit from pixels that are so closely put togeth-er. Eye fatigue is reduced by a significant amount, text is clean-er, jagged edges disappear, Web pages pop and look clean andsharp and eBooks and documents look smooth and appealing tothe eye. Movies look stunning and pictures and images truly showoff the goodness of your brand new state-of-the-art camera.Super-high-resolution machines are the future and a clear pathto the future was paved by these two small little devices that gotcompletely lost. It’s time for you to reach in deep into that crackand dig these two out.

Rajiv Makhni is managing editor, Technology, NDTV and the anchor of Gadget Guru,Cell Guru and Newsnet 3. Follow Rajiv on Twitter at twitter.com/RajivMakhni

NOVEMBER 18, 2012

THE AWESOMETWOSOMETheir stunning Retina Display makesGoogle’s Nexus 10 and Apple’s all-newMacBook Pro the real game changers

POWER-PACKEDThe MacBook Pro is sopowerful that at times itseems Apple has packed ina F1 car engine inside itsslim profile as this one zipsalong at almost impossiblespeeds

Rajiv Makhni

techilicious

12 indulge

Due to thequantity of

devicesreleasing,

somesignificantones slip

between thecracks

LOST IN COMPETITIONIf further proof was ever requiredthat Google is now a serious

player in the hardware market, then theGoogle Nexus 10 provides it

facebook.com/hindustantimesbrunch

SOMETIMES IT takes a re-issue of old albums to rediscovera musician that you’ve been out of touch with for a while. Soit was with me last week. When a couple of re-issued Nick

Cave and the Bad Seeds albums landed up, re-mastered and withbonuses such as DVDs in tow, I revisited Nick Cave and after thefirst couple of tracks on the re-issued Dig, Lazarus Dig!!! (original-ly released in 2008), I wondered how on earth could I have let somuch time elapse before I re-heard Cave’s music.

Nick Cave, 55, is (if you’re unfamiliar with him) anAustralian-born musician, songwriter, author andactor, whose career began in the early 1970s with aband called The Birthday Party. Although they exploredmany styles, they got labelled, a bit unfairly, as a goth-ic band. Nevertheless, in those pre-Internet days, theband found cult followers in both Australia and theUK. The Birthday Party evolved into Nick Cave andthe Bad Seeds, a band that has lasted for years andhas some 14 studio albums in its back catalogue. A15th is said to be in the works.

If that were not prolific enough, Cave has had othermusical projects over the years – Grinderman, a sideproject, has two studio albums to its credit; he’s scoredmusic for films, ranging from the post-apocalyptic, Viggo Mortensen-starring, The Road, to contributing a song on Harry Potter and theDeathly Hallows; he has authored at least half a dozen books (okay,some of them are compilations of lyrics of his songs), including2009’s The Death of Bunny Munro, which is about a sex-addictedsalesman; in addition, he has acted in films and written screenplays.

It is difficult to slot Nick Cave’s music into genre-based boxes.He and his band meld many genres – punk, garage rock, blues,and even jazz – into their songs. And their sound can changefrom album to album, sometimes quite dramatically. If you wantto sample Cave’s music, I’d recommend Dig, Lazarus Dig!!!, analbum name inspired by Lazarus, a subject of a miracle in theBible in which he is depicted as being raised from the dead by

Jesus. In the title song, Lazarus is “Larry” and hesurfaces in New York and San Francisco beforeeverything goes pear-shaped for him and he’shomeless and in line at a soup kitchen.

Cave is obviously influenced and inspired bymusicians such as Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen andBob Dylan but he has a unique edginess of his own.His music has a bass-heavy foundation but alsoswirly keyboards, occasional electric guitar for-ays and, best of all, the words. Cave isn’t your typical rock lyricist. His themes dwell on issues ofsex, relationships, death and God – nothing uniqueabout that – but it is the dark humour, the men-ace and the charisma that he adds to them thatmakes his songs different. He’s clever; he’s wittyand sharp as a razor.

Cave released Dig, Lazarus Dig!!! at 50, an ageat which many rock musicians lean heavily on their

back catalogues or on recycling. Rather than doing that, Caveupped the ante and made a hard-driving, punchy album with fastsongs that have words guaranteed to make you listen carefully tolyrics. I like to put Cave’s albums on repeat to be able to listen tothe music and lyrics more closely.

The other re-issued Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds album is 2003’sNocturama. If Dig had a full-throttled sound, Nocturama is just theopposite. It’s got a laidback air of a man who’s put his angry youth

behind him. The songs are ballads about love, rela-tionship and seem, at least in comparison with Cave’spast, tender even. But just as you thought Cave wasgoing soft, the last track on the album, Babe, I’m OnFire, kicks in and it is all what the previous nine arenot. For it is a muscular, loud and nearly 15-minutelong track, which reminds you that Nick Cave stillhas the fire of his youth raging away inside.

Perhaps Babe, I’m On Fire was also a sign of whatwas to come. Dig, the punchy album, yes, but alsosome other things. With my interest in Cave’s musicrekindled, I fished out his two side-project outcomes– 2007’s Grinderman and 2010’s Grinderman 2.Conceived as an alternative project, Grinderman was

the name of a four-member stripped-down band that Cave formedin order to do things in a more unhindered manner than the BadSeeds band would let him. Grinderman comprised some of the personnel on the Bad Seeds team (Warren Ellis, the violinist, MartynP. Casey, the bassist, and Jim Sclavunos, the drummer) and thesound was wilder and raunchier. I now remember why, as I said inthe beginning, I’d stopped listening to Cave’s music at home.Grinderman’s song lyrics have a bit of the NSFW/H to them andthe first album’s cover shows a monkey doing something that you’dprobably like to keep away from impressionable young children’seyes. But what music!

To give feedback, stream or download the music mentioned in this column, go tohttp://blogs.hindustantimes.com/download-central, follow argus48 on Twitter

SanjoyNarayan

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It is difficult to slot Nick Cave and theBad Seed’s music into genre-based boxes. Their sounds change from albumto album, sometimes quite dramatically

THE JUKEBOX

The Texas indie-rock band, Spoon’sfrontman, Britt Daniel, and the

erstwhile Canadian band, WolfParade’s Dan Boeckner, have a new project,Divine Fits. It’s what youcould call a supergroup giventhat another member of theband, Sam Brown, is from theOhio band, New Bomb Turks.Divine Fits’ debut album iscalled A Thing Called DivineFits. It is a set of slickly pro-duced pop-rock songs thatdemonstrate how a couple ofstars in their own right canwork together without ruffling each other’s egos.

NOVEMBER 18, 2012

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GENRE BENDERS

13indulge

Cavereleased Digat 50, whenmany rockmusicians

lean on theirback

catalogues oron recycling

PETRI DISH If you want to sample Cave’smusic, I’d recommend Dig,Lazarus Dig!!!

NOT AN AVERAGE ROCKER Nick Cave’s (seated, centre)dark humour, menace andthe charisma that he adds to them makes his songs different

DON’T GET me wrong. I like a celebrationas much as any other Indian. And likeeveryone else, I wait all year for the fes-

tive season to come around. There is the first hintof winter in the air; the markets are lit up, gleam-ing like new brides; and the annual round of par-ties promises some great food and drink. What’snot to like? And I do like it very much indeed.

But of late, the build-up to Diwali has left mereaching for the sick bag as the commercialisa-tion of the festival reaches new heights every year.And as the original spirit of the day – to celebratethe triumph of good over evil, the victory of lightover darkness – dies a deafening death every year,I get more and more disillusioned by what wehave turned Diwali into. From a festival of light it has been trans-formed into an orgy of noise; from a day of prayer, when we wel-comed the Goddess Lakshmi and the spirit of prosperity into ourhomes, it has turned into a celebration of conspicuous consump-tion; and from an occasion to get together with friends and fami-ly, it has become an endless round of social events where one-upmanship is the name of the game.

Every year, as I settle down to clean the debris of the festival,sending off hampers of baked goods and mithai to the neigh-bourhood orphanage, I can’t help but reflect on how soulless andimpersonal our Diwalis have become. So here, in no particularorder of importance, is a list (by no means exhaustive) of what Ihave come to hate about Diwali.

1The advertisements: The build-up starts weeks before thefestival, as every company worth its marketing budget

starts bombarding its target customers with exhortations tobuy, buy, buy – and then buy some more. Buy your wife gold jew-ellery; buy your mother a bigger, better fridge/TV/expensiveelectronic appliance of choice; buy your kids a new phone/iPad.As I flip through newspapers or surf TVchannels, I can’t help but wonder how thisaffects people who can’t afford any of thisstuff. Do they feel like failures becausethey can’t buy new clothes for their kids,leave alone jewellery for their wives? Dothey get depressed at the thought thattheirs will be the only family in theneighbourhood not to get a new TV orsofa set? Is the festival effectivelyruined for them because they can’tafford all those goodies, so seductive-ly set out for their delectation?

2The traffic: Yes, it does become abit of a nightmare, doesn’t it, as

the entire city gets behind the wheel

to do the rounds, driving from one cornerto the other to drop off all those Diwalipresents to friends, family, business colleaguesand corporate honchos?Result: Travelling time gets doubled no matterwhere you go and what time you set out. Tempersfray, instances of road rage increase, and don’t evenget me started on the amount of fuel wasted.

3The hampers: Ah yes, the hampers. The bas-kets full of rubbish, most of which, I suspect,

has been hastily recycled from one basket toanother (though, on the bright side, it does makeit more eco-friendly). Gone are the days when adabba of mithai would suffice. Now you have tosource exotic chocolates, endless pastry prod-ucts, jars of olives, and that obligatory bottle ofwine/champagne. Honestly, why not just send adiya and be done with it?

4Card parties: Oh God, how I loathe them! Allthat huddling around a table, staring furtively

at your cards, refusing to wind up the game sothat dinner can be served at a decent hour, andthen moaning and groaning about how much

money you have lost. How can this be anyone’s idea of a party?

5Diwali melas: They are my idea of hell. It is as if the entirecollection of second-rate products in the world has been

brought together in one place so that you can choose fromamong a treasure trove of tasteless tat (once you’ve found park-ing for your car, a near-impossible feat). Isn’t it time we redis-covered the charm of shopping for Diwali at our own locals?

6The spam: It starts from the week before, as every compa-ny/PR outfit/shop/restaurant that has bought your phone

number off some master list starts inundating you with SMSs.Get 20 per cent off on Diwali dinner if you buy a loyalty card;say no to crackers; buy a new flat.

7The crackers: Diwali has long since been transformedinto a festival of sound rather than a celebration of light,

but of late the cracker menace is getting even worse. I’m notone of the green brigade that believes that crackers will bringabout the end of civilisation as we know it, but I can’t helpbeing appalled at just how over-the-top the fireworks displayhas got of late. As children, we were happy to light our

phooljharis and anaars and set off the oddrocket. But the sheer scale of cracker-burstingthese days is both scary and repellent. Just

how much money do we blow up everyDiwali, and how much damage do we

do to our environment (nevermind, scaring the life out of little

children and dogs)? I can’t helpbut think that if all of us curtailed

our expenditure on some – if not all –of the above and gave the moneysaved to charity, it would be a truecelebration of Diwali: the festival thatmarks the triumph of good over evil.

seema_ht@rediffmail.com. Follow Seema on Twitter attwitter.com/seemagoswami

SeemaGoswami

spectator

NOVEMBER 18, 2012

Photos: THINKSTOCK

Photo: IMAGES-BAZZAR

14 indulge

SOUNDAND FURYCounting the many,many things I hateabout Diwali

Weeks beforethe festival,

every companystarts

bombarding itscustomers withexhortations tobuy, buy, buy

NOISE POLLUTION!I can’t help being appalled at just how over-the-top the fireworks display has got of late

WHERE’S THE FUN?Huddling around a table, staring atyour cards, and then moaning abouthow much money you have lost. How canthis be anyone’s idea of a party?

twitter.com/HTBrunch

HAMPER HEADACHEGone are the days when a dabba of mithai would suffice

16 REEL WORLD

TAKE THE bloody shot!” barksM through the microphone toNaomie Harris as Bond strug-gles to keep steady and topple

a terrorist off a train in Istanbul.Despite the telescopic sight, insteadof the baddie, Bond takes the bullet.Double-O-Seven falls off a cliff intothe water. That is how the openingcredits of Skyfall unspool. Of course,

the superhero will survive andbounce back to be born again.

Wait a second. Did you just hear,“The name is Bourne, JasonBourne”? Doesn’t the sequenceremind you of the opening sequenceof The Bourne Identity? In the celebrated trilogy based on RobertLudlum’s books (The Bourne Identity,The Bourne Supremacy and The

Bourne Ultimatum), Matt Damonplayed the spy who survives after he’sbeen shot and falls into the sea too.

JB VERSUS JBThe similarities don’t end with theinitials and incredible openingsequences. For decades, Ludlum fanshave known that his books have beenflaunting this blurb by Entertainment

Weekly: “Reading a Ludlum novel islike watching a Bond film… slicklypaced… all consuming.” And muchbefore Hollywood discoveredLudlum’s multi-billion dollar poten-

tial, Mario Puzo, the ‘Godfather’of crime fiction, had anointed

him an “ingenious story-teller”.

But not many knowthat Ludlum himself

wrote a special essayfor EntertainmentWeekly in 1992 (Jamesat 30), where he

expressed his admira-tion for the literary genius

of Ian Fleming: “Fleming was a con-temporary nexus, a vital connection,

as well as a necessary contribution,that forced my generation of sus-pense writers to look deeper intothe intrigues – political, geopoliticaland international – than we mighthave before he arrived in print.”

Observers surmise the opening ofThe Bourne Identity was inspired

by the ending of You Only LiveTwice, on what might happen if Bondforgot who he was. Aamir GhajiniKhan, take a bow!

BONDING WITH BOLLYWOODSriram Raghavan’s thriller, AgentVinod, featuring Saif Ali Khan, hadcar chases, hot babes and spies a laBond. The director, whose moviesremind many of Vijay Anand’s, hasconfessed he’d borrowed the style of

The Name isBourneSo, who’s your favourite super spy?

by Aasheesh Sharma

17

shooting action sequences fromthe Bourne series and even shotone in Tangier, where The BourneUltimatum had an exciting rooftopchase. “The Bourne Identity is oneof my favourite thrillers and theMatt Damon films are a great tril-ogy,” he says.

Raghavan, who earlier paid trib-ute to James Hadley Chase inJohnny Gaddaar, confesses he is inlove with the spy genre. “I love theMission Impossible series and theTom Clancy adaptations in whichHarrison Ford plays Jack Ryan.”

But Bond beats them all hollow,says Raghavan. “TheSpy Who Loved Me hasperhaps the mostimpressive pre-titlesequence when after aski chase, Bond jumpsoff a cliff and a para-chute unfolds. By theend of the title song byCarly Simon, I haddecided I wanted tosee it again. The filmhas the right mix of the realisticand the fantastic with Bond team-ing up with a Russian spy to fight amegalomaniac villain. It also intro-duced the Jaws character. There’s alittle homage to that in Skyfall.”

Raghavan is not the onlyBollywood filmmaker who swearsby Bond. Tigmanshu Dhulia, whodirected the acclaimed Paan SinghTomar, says Bond is the real dealwhen it comes to spies. “Like mil-lions I, too, was in love with 007 foryears. But gradually the treatmentof stunts in Bond movies was bet-tered by other franchises such asThe Fast and The Furious andMission Impossible. To make Bonddistinctive, the studios began mak-

ing the character more psychologi-cal, particularly after the arrival ofDaniel Craig. I love Craig’s portray-al of the spy. He has added a newlayer to the character,” feels Dhulia.

After the Cold War era, Bond,too, had to be up to speed. “Bond is50 and the longest running fran-chise in films. The world haschanged, the viewers have changedand it makes sense that Bond toochanges,” says Raghavan.

Raghavan agrees that Bond filmsfeaturing Pierce Brosnan hadbecome a little outlandish beforeCraig’s arrival with Casino Royale.

“Craig as Bond does-n’t come across as amere action hero withglib lines. There isemotion in his faceand he can make youfeel for the character,however fantastic thesituation. He is, per-haps, closest to theIan Fleming characteras in the books,” says

Raghavan. And how can the high-octane

world of spy films function withoutseductive women? Here, too,Bourne poses no competition toBond who appears to have a licenceto thrill. For Raghavan, an integralpart of the 007 experience has beenthe Bond babes. And which one ishis personal favourite? “There aretoo many to remember, but thosewith tremendous oomph wereUrsula Andress, Halle Berry,Barbara Bach and Eva Green.”

No wonder he can’tstop raving about The SpyWho Loved Me!

aasheesh.sharma@hindustantimes.com

hindustantimes.com/brunch

■ Ian Fleming’s estate hasbeen commissioning others toauthor new novels, startingwith Kingsley Amis, who wroteunder the pseudonym RobertMarkham for Colonel Sun(1968), followed by John Gardner, Raymond Benson, Sebastian Faulks, JeffreyDeaver and William Boyd. ■ After Robert Ludlum passedaway in 2001, his estate hiredEric Van Lustbader to continuethe series. The Bourne Legacy(2004) was followed by TheBourne Betrayal (2007), TheBourne Sanction (2008), TheBourne Deception (2009), TheBourne Objective (2010), TheBourne Dominion (2011) and

The Bourne Imperative(2012). ■ Daniel Craig, 44, couldwell continue as Bondthree more times beforereaching his 50th birthday.Sean Connery playedBond seven times (fromage 32 to 53), RogerMoore seven times (age46 to 58) and Pierce Brosnan four times (age 42 to to 49.)■ In 2002, the franchisesfirst crossed paths whenMatt Damon made his debut in The Bourne Identity and Pierce Bros-nan had his final outingin Die Another Day.

BOND AND BOURNE INBOOKS AND MOVIES

NOVEMBER 18, 2012

The newJames Bondis beginningto look a lotlike Jason

Bourne

18 WELLNESS

DIABETES IS medically a lifestyledisorder, which essentiallymeans that it arises out of the

way we live and the choices we make –with nutrition balance, exercise, ourstress coping capacity and other habits.It can be scary to hear about, but thegood news is that diabetes is one of thefew disorders that is most responsiveto improvement if you make smallchanges in your diet and lifestyle. Tomake sure your blood sugar levels don’tcontrol your entire life, there are several practical tips to follow.

SAY NO TO SUGARBlood sugar is most affected by

the kind of foods we eat. The most obvi-ous cause is eating foods that causeyour own blood sugar levels to shootup. If you consume foods that take timeto convert to sugar, then the body is

better able to maintain its insulin lev-els. The foods which convert to sugarrapidly in the body include all refinedfoods – flours like rice flour, cornflour,maida and sooji, refined sugar, sweet-ened fruit juices, bread, white flournoodles, potatoes, arrowroot and bis-cuits, sweet fruits, bakery foods andready-to-eat items.

SAY YES TO FIBREFor diabetics, the best bets are

foods in their original form that havetheir natural fibre intact. Theseinclude brokenwheat (dalia),whole grains,dals thathave theirskin still on, alltypes of fibrousgrains,

especially jowar and bajra. Andthose with high blood sugar need-n’t shun all fruits. Papaya andsweet lime are the safest toeat, though most other fruitscan be eaten in moderation.Just avoid the too-sweetfruits like banana, chikoo,musk melon and grapes. Allfibres like oat bran, wheatbran and isabgol are good fordiabetics.

All vegetables, apart from arbi andpotato, are good too. Green leafy veg-etables are particularly good for thosewith sugar concerns. Among the nutsand oilseeds, most deliver nutrientswithout much harm. Flaxseeds are aparticularly good source of omegaacids, while almonds, pine nuts, wal-nuts, sunflower seeds and pumpkinseeds are healthy as well as tasty.

Research has shown that diabeticsneed chromium which is good for in-

sulin production. Nuts andseeds are a good sourceof chromium.

SAY YES PLEASE TO SPECIAL FOODS

Diabetes is a condition ofan imbalance in the

metabolic process,therefore it is es-sential to strength-en the liver asmuch as possible.To detoxify and

strengthen the liver,it helps to consumeherbs that are verygood for detoxification.Choose aloe vera, whichcan be taken as 20ml di-luted with water daily.Or amla juice (one caneither eat one amla aday or one teaspoon of

amla juice mixed with water in themorning). Cinnamon bark is good too.Crush a cinnamon stick and boil in wa-ter till the water changes colour. Con-sume two cups daily.

Among other herbs, ginger is excel-lent for those who have adult onset dia-betes. Drink a ginger infusion twice aday. Or turn to triphala – one teaspoonevery night balances the vitiated pittadosha very well. And approximatelyhalf a teaspoon of crushed jamun seedpowder consumed daily with waterworks wonders too.

The bitter flavour of karela may not

MIND BODY SOULSHIKHA SHARMA

BEAT DIABETES AT ITS OWN GAMEManaging your blood sugar need not be a bitterexperience. Keep all that sweet stuff in check

FOREVER FIBREAll fibres likeoat bran andwheat branare good fordiabetics

FRUITYSURPRISEPapaya is

the safest fruitfor diabetics

Photos: THINKSTOCK

19facebook.com/hindustantimesbrunch

EXERCISE YOURSTRESS AWAYYoga is the bestway to deal withany stress

be to everyone’s taste, but the freshjuice of the raw fruit, diluted in water, goes a long way to balance thesugar levels.

Nothing however, helps more thanjust drinking enough water to detox and cleanse. To maintain blood sugar,drink nine glasses of water (make surethree of those are lukewarm) in additionto your other dietary choices and supplements. And this advice is greatnot just for those who are battling sugaron a daily basis but those who have oth-er issues like weight too.

SAY NO TO STRESSDiabetics, particularly those who

are not overweight, can really controltheir condition if they improve theirstress-coping abilities. Manyhave found great helpin music therapy. Lis-tening to mantras,bhajans or justcalming sounds low-ers the heart rate,cools you down andimproves the nervoussystem’s ability tomanage stress. Working

prayer beads also keeps the body in asmoother rhythm.

Yoga seems to be the most effectivestress buster of them all. Pranayam, an-ulom, vilom or naadi shodhan, and exer-cises which stimulate the manipurchakra are the most beneficial for stresslevel reduction. Both yoga and exercisehelp improve the levels of endorphins inthe body, which calm the nerves andheal the system.

You can also try water therapy. Dipyour feet in warm water, run a tub bathor have a warm hip bath to improve thecirculation of blocked energy. Ayurvedictherapies are specially beneficial forstressed-out diabetics. Abhayanga (amedicated oil massage), shirodhara (inwhich oil is gently trickled on the fore-

head on the ajna chakra), medicated enemas and mild laxatives all helpcoax the toxins from the body help

the borderline diabetic todetoxify.

SAY YES TO EXERCISE

Low impact activities such asyoga, tai chi and briskwalking not onlykeep the bodyactive, theyburn off ex-

cess ener-gy, help to

calm the nerves and al-low the unhindered flowof energy throughout thebody – all you need tostay fit despite diabetes.

ask@drshikha.com

SMOOTH OPERATOR You can control diabetes ifyou improve your stress-coping abilities

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NOVEMBER 18, 2012

Considering that voice and thoselooks, what is the minimum timeyou’ve needed to get a girl? (before you got married, of course)Romance can’t be captured inan hourglass. Would you rather be a singing actoror an acting singer? Why?I guess I startedwith singing, so I’llalways be more ofa singing actorwho perhaps isnow an actingsinger for many.A cheesy boy bandsong that you singloudly in the car.Quit PlayingGames WithMy Heart. Tell us the storyline ofany oneepisode of Baywatch (assuming youwere watching it for the plot).Pamela Anderson was running,running, running and running...and bouncing.How and when did you meetyour wife?I used to make 15-minute portraits in a hotel lobby. Shecame to get hers done. Iframed her for life.The romantic Hindi number you sangfor your first girlfriend?Humein Tumse Pyaar Kitna.If you had to dodge this interview,what song would you sing?

Achcha To HumChaltey Hain.Your all-timefavourite read?Conversationswith God, A Caseof ExplodingMangoes andScar Tissue.

If you could get 24 hours to be the PM of

your country what would you do?Talk. Brainstorm. Voice myopinion. Lay down various perspectives, possibilities andgoals. Be a voice for the youth. One Pakistani dish you would wantthe world to know about?Saag aur makkai ki roti.One product you think you are perfectto endorse?Family planning.If you could change one thing aboutyourself, what would it be?I’d want to have a better mem-ory for numbers and where I

keep my wallet or cellphone.One Bollywood heroine you’ll neverplay brother to?Can’t think of any.One thing you cannot do without?(you can’t say music, wife, family!)Reading. One number you wish you had sungor composed?My Way by Frank Sinatra.Which is the most overrated song according to you?Pardesi Pardesi jaana nahin. Your dream destination?Probably the rainforests. I’vebeen to all other dream spots. Your favourite singers?Mehdi Hassan, Kishore Kumar,Bade Ghulam Ali, Lataji, Elvis,Sinatra, Jimmy Page, Jeff Buckley, Sting. A tune you can’t get out of yourhead?Hey You by Floyd, for today.

—Interviewed byTavishi Paitandy Rastogi

PLACE OF BIRTHLahore, Pakistan

AliZafar

Singer/actor

FIRST BREAK My first album Huqa Paani

LOW POINT OFYOUR LIFEI try and forget themand not talk about them

HIGH POINT OFYOUR LIFE Career wise, my firsthit song, first hit film

CURRENTLY DOINGWorking on my next music album and feature film

BIRTHDAYMay 18 (Taurus)

20 twitter.com/HTBrunchPERSONAL AGENDA

if i could...I would jump off acliff and fly...sing on stage withPink Floyd...Have conversa-tions with Ghalib,Mir Dard, Faiz, Iqbal... watchKishoreKumarrecord asong in astudio ...Distributehalf of the wealth ofthe rich and not letany one starve

AN ITEM OF CLOTHINGYOU COULD SPENDYOUR LIFE IN?

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