Mary Kom has won the cov-eted National Award for theBest Popular Film of 2014and director Omung Kumar iselated. The film is a salute toIndian women. Mary is afighter. She excelled both as aprofessional and as a mother.Her life is a lesson for thosewho believe that a profession-al woman is not capable ofrunning her house properly.At the Stockholm Film Fes-tival, where the film won thebest prize, people were sur-prised that such women existin India. Mary hasnt losttouch with her feminine sideto excel in a sport known forits masculine character.

A noted production and setdesigner before Mary Kom,Omung was known for hislarger-than-life set designsfor films like Black and Saa-wariya. He agrees Mary Komwas the most unlikely subjectfor him.

I was expected to trysomething more like MoulinRouge. But then I also comefrom a family of actors andhave done my own bit as ahost. So I wanted somethingperformance-oriented. I

asked my friend and co-writer Saiwyn Qadras tosearch for an inspirationalpersonality, whom the worlddoesnt know much about

and he came up with theidea of making a biopic onMC Mary Kom, a five-timeworld champion. I didnt

know about her exploits inthe ring and out of it indetail.

However, his skills as aset designer came to thefore in Mary Kom as well.People didnt notice itmuch because this time itwas not over the top. Wecould not shoot in Manipur.So we had to create herhome and locality in Manali.Even Mary was surprised bythe similarity. Similarly, hertraining was shot in a shedthat my wife Vanita and I

discovered in a discardedshed on Mira Road in Mum-bai. Nobody complained thatit doesnt look like a trainingcamp for boxing and per-haps that is the biggestvictory for us.

As for the criticism ofpicking Priyanka Chopra forthe lead role, Omung says, Ihave said this in the pastthat I didnt want to make afilm that will be watched bya few.

I thought the story hasthe potential to reach out toa mass audience and for thiswe needed a big name. AndPriyanka did everything toget into the shape of theboxer. Nobody can complainabout her dedication. Andmost of the criticism camebefore the release. Once thefilm unravelled, people for-got about the cheek bone,the eye brow and the ac-cent.

He admits that he in-troduced a bit of melodramain the second half but insistsit all emanated from whathappened in Marys life.We took a bit of creativeliberty to generate a patriot-ic feel, to intercut her per-sonal pain with the nationalduty, he admits.

Omung has now threescripts in his hands. Thereis one on the role of Indiansoldiers in World War II.But I am not sure whether itwill be my next film. Itmight be my third film con-sidering the kind of scale itrequires. I will come up withan announcement soon.

The punch has paid off

DESERVING ACCOLADES Omung Kumar Bhandula receiving the National award

PHOTO: SANDEEP SAXENA

Mary is a fighter. She excelled both as aprofessional and as a mother. Her life is alesson for those who believe that aprofessional woman is not capable ofrunning her house properly

In Delhi for the National Film Awards, director Omung Kumar says Mary Kom helped changeperception about Indian women

ANUJ KUMAR

CMYK

ND-ND

Delhi

Thursday, May 7, 2015

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DaughtersUnplucked

Exhibition of paintings acrylic on canvas by L.Meena Devi from Manipur. Date: On till May 13Time: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.Venue: Annexe Art Gallery,IIC, Max Mueller Marg,New Delhi

ExhibitionAn exhibition of recentworks of Anjolie Ela Menonwith the strong use oficonography, layeredsurfaces and themetaphorical use of motif. On May 7 at Vadehra ArtGallery, D-40 DefenceColony, New Delhi, 11 a.m.to 7 p.m.

SpeciesScience fiction horrordirected by RogerDonaldson starringNatasha Henstridge, BenKingsley and MichaelMadsen on Sony Pix.Date: May 7Time: 9 p.m.

SurvivorTodays episode MyBrothers Keeper onAXN is double the drama ascastaways sustain twotribal councils in oneepisode. Date: May 7Time: 9 p.m.

DocumentaryScreening of Clay Imagesof Kumartuli winner ofNational Film Award for itsextensive study of the craftand community of the claymakers. It focuses on themakers of divine imagessettled in Kumartuli. OnMay 8, IGNCA Auditorium,Dr. R.P. Road, ND, 6 p.m.

Admit two

These are, for sure,not so achhe din forthe world of culturein India. Sample

this: In its first budget aftercoming to power in 2014, theBJP government announcedthe setting up of Hastkala A-cademy in the premises ofCrafts Museum. Even as theMinistry of Textiles pro-claims on its website that theAcademy would be set up atthe Crafts Museum premises,without dismantling any ofthe Museum galleries andwithout disturbing Museumactivities, Crafts Museumsfuture seems bleak. The mu-seum was under much-need-ed renovation which has beenstopped and it is headlessonce again. Its last directorRuchira Ghoshs tenure end-ed in April 2015.

* While a lot of peoplewould have appreciated Dipa-li Khannas tenure as Mem-ber-Secretary, Indira GandhiNational Centre of Arts (IGN-CA), continuing for secondterm to carry on with her mis-sion to revitalise the institu-tion, all she got was anextension of six months. Shefinished her term on March31, 2015. IGNCA is also head-less, once again.

* Kalyan Kumar Chakra-varty was to head the apexbody of visual arts in thecountry, Lalit Kala Akademi(LKA), till 2017, as its Chair-person but he was removedall of a sudden, last month,shocking every well-wisher ofthe Akademi. It is believed hewas in the process of cleaningup the institution and freeingit of corruption and inertia.

And now another perform-ers fate has been decidedwhich is the biggest shocker

of them all. Venu Vasudevan,the man who successfully ac-complished the task of turn-ing around National Museum Delhis biggest but dullestmuseum is being trans-ferred to Sports Ministry. Hewas to head the institution tillDecember 2016. PoornimaSardana, a former volunteer

with the Yuva Saathi Pro-gramme of National Museum,has started an online petitionPRIME MINISTER INDIA:Kindly stop the transfer of Dr.Venu Vasudevan, DirectorGeneral, National MuseumDelhi.

For a cultural bodys headto receive this kind of atten-tion is unusual but Venu Va-sudevans tireless effort atNational Museum is too hardto ignore. But for Govern-ment of India which seemsapathetic towards cultural in-stitutions, their progressionor regression isnt really amatter of concern.

When you experiencechange, and radical change,within a year, right from pro-gramming and outreach, tovisitor experience and sig-nage, when you see packedhalls for exciting exhibitions,people from different sec-tions of society, some of

whom might have never feltso drawn to the museum be-fore, you know the place isbeing led by a person who hastruly understood its pur-pose, responds Sardana overemail. She is currently study-ing arts and culture manage-ment at New York University

Ruchira Ghosh, former di-rector of Crafts Museum, wholed the space to recovery, isequally disappointed with thedecision. Even just consid-ering that Dr. Venu was givena written order that he wasbeing appointed to the Na-tional Museum for threeyears, until December 2016,this decision to transfer himto the Ministry of Sports istotally arbitrary. But if hisperformance during the shortperiod he has been at thehelm is reviewed, then the de-cision to move him out is notjust random it is extremelycallous and short-sighted,

and a tragedy for the NationalMuseum and the country. DrVenu has managed, in lessthan 18 months, to totally re-vitalise the museum, openingup galleries closed for years,organizing many exhibitionsof excellent quality and, per-haps most significantly,bringing in a new work cul-ture, enthusiasm and excite-ment, in what was for allpurposes a dead institution,Ghosh, whose five year tenuresaw a snazzy caf, a refur-bished store, refurbishmentof dormitories of the visitingcraftsmen, revamp of galler-ies, and an increased numberof visitors.

I do feel that governmentgenerally, and as a body, doesnot always understand thevalue of culture and heritage.And often when it tries to, itdoes so in such a ham-handedfashion that it does moreharm than good! This is per-

haps even more true of craftswhere we are constantly bat-tling against the general per-ception in government thatcraft is a sunset industry! Asregards cultural institutions,the essential problem is thatthere is no care of institutionsin government. If the govern-ment was concerned aboutthe National Museum, if theyhad done their homeworkand taken the trouble to un-derstand the huge transfor-mation that has taken place,could they have ever suggest-ed that Dr. Venu be movedout? adds Ghosh revealingthat the recruitment rules forthe post of Senior Directorwere recently severely down-graded from a technocraticpost requiring a Ph.D andmany years of experience inthe crafts sector, to a com-pletely bureaucratic one,where all that is now requiredis 12 years experience in gov-ernment administration!

Like Crafts Museum, thereis a lot of unfinished work atNational Museum which willget impacted by his transfer.What happens to the eight ex-hibitions planned for 2015 in-cluding a large scaleexhibition on the Parsi mi-norities heritage, publica-tions and academic researchon collections, will depend onthe timely appointment of hissuccessor and many morethings.

Continued on Page 3

Killing it softly?

ART OF THE MATTER Visitors at the National Museum; Venu Vasudevan PHOTO: S.SUBRAMANIUM

SHAILAJA TRIPATHI

Venu Vasudevans abrupt transfer from the post of National Museums Director-General raisesquestions about the governments approach towards culture

In protestLalit Kala Akademis

cause has also been es-poused on different fronts.While on the one hand art-ists have moved the HighCourt questioning the re-moval of its ChairpersonKalyan Chakravarty and itstake over by the Govern-ment, on another, formerbureaucrat, poet and au-thor Ashok Vajpeyi has fil-ed an online petitionprotesting the randommove.

BOOKMARKINSIDE THE UDIPIKITCHEN "P2

TABLE FOR TWO WITH THE INSPIRATIONALPRAVIN AMRE P4

CAPITAL CHECK DIFFERENT SHADES OFFULL-MOON NIGHT IN THE CITY P3

Rohit Bal is fastidious not on-ly when it comes to his attirebut also his accessories. Thiswas in evidence when the acecouturier, intensely con-cerned with design as an artform, was shown a couple ofwatches before he finallyokayed one.

I went through all thewatches carefully before fi-nally selecting this one, saysRohit, who has an eye for de-tailing, while flaunting hisnewly acquired watch.

The reason for rejectingthe other watches was that Ido not like too much of goldand steel in my watch, saysRohit, who was honouredwith a watch for his contribu-tion to fashion by RaymondWeil, a Swiss watch brand, atits boutique in ConnaughtPlace recently.

At home, Rohit owns doz-ens of watches of Tag Heurand Omega and he wearsthem off and on when he feelsthey are appropriate with hisoutfit or are apt for party wearor fashion-do.

I have a large collection ofwatches which have been gift-ed to me. I do wear them but

generally I am a lazy guy whohas no time to change hiswatch, he says.

Noting that watch is an im-portant component in a de-signers armour, Rohitreveals that he had given hisown personal touch to watch-es while he had partneredwith Titan. It was a big col-lection and I had designedwatches in 25 styles. Thosewatches named RB for Nebu-la are still selling. In future, Imight re-launch a collectionof elegant watches.

Interestingly, Rohit, wholikes dressing up in a grand,regal way, is nostalgic not on-ly about his outfits but alsoaccessories which are eitherhis creation or caught hisfancy during his numerousoverseas trips.

Shedding light on his all-time favourite watch, Rohitsays he bought a sparklingBreitling, with stylish geo-metrical patterns, way backin 1980s, at Brussels and itcontinues to be dear to him.He wears this particularwatch often.

I acquired it while I wason a trip to Brussels. My sis-ter lived there and I was onlya student then. To my good

fortune, I emerged a winnerin a competition and the hostgifted me a big motorbikewhich I sold off and used thatmoney to buy Breitling.

Instead of wasting moneyon stupid things, I investedmoney on a wise wonderfulwatch.

Even those days the watchwas priced at an astronomicalrate and it cost me somethingin the the region of Rs.85,000

to 90,000. But every pennywas spent wisely, disclosesRohit,

During the felicitation, Oli-vier Bernheim, President ofRaymond Weil, said, Wewould like to present Rohitwith sober yet elegant novel-ty from Raymond Weil as amark of appreciation to hiscontribution in the field offashion in India andglobally.

Watch his wardrobe

THREE CHEERSOlivier Bernheim

and Rohit Bal

Rohit Bal has sentimental attachment to accessories

MADHUR TANKHA

CMYK

ND-ND

p2 METROPLUSNOIDA/DELHI

p2 METROPLUS THE HINDU Thursday, May 7, 2015 VARIETY

going to be available for alarge dog to share with, donot let your pup on therenow.

Its not fair to suddenlystop him from sleeping onhis bed (read your bed) justbecause he isnt tinyanymore.

Communication: Beclear while communicatingwith your dog. Do not con-

The journey of raising a pup-py is filled with fun and laugh-ter as well as hard work. A lotof experienced pet parentswill tell you that raising a pupis similar to bringing up a hu-man child. Just like theirnon-tailed counterparts, thefurry ones need love, pa-tience, time and discipline.Here are some of the dos anddonts that may be helpful:

Patience: Unlike humanbabies, puppies cannot be putinto diapers. Which meansyou will have to patientlyclean up while they are stillbeing toilet trained.

Good Manners: Just likechildren, teach your pup goodmanners. Learning to stopwhen told to and not jumpingon people would be some ofthem.

Set ground rules: Thisgoes for puppies and dogs ofall ages and rules have to beset right from the first day. Donot allow a certain behaviournow if you wouldnt want itrepeated for the next 14 years.So if your couch or bed isnt

fuse the little chap by givingmultiple commands. Re-member, puppies do not un-derstand our language. Theyare only trying to connect thesound of words to actions.

Reward: Reward all goodbehaviour immediately. Itcould be a treat, a scratchbehind the ear or just a nicepraise of good boy or girl.

No violence: Do notscream, hit or use any phys-ically reprimanding tech-niques. This only causes fearwhich in turn can fester andturn into serious behaviouralproblems later. Be firm ifneeded to get the attentionbut no shouting!

Quality time: Spendquality time with your pup.Teach your dog things he cando around the house. Gettingyour post or newspaper isone of them.

Reading: Read more onthe breed specific traits ofyour pup and do not let himget bored.

Give him enough mentaland physical stimulation asrequired by the breed. It willhelp him to channel all thatpent up energy effectively!

And most importantly, bethe person your dog wantsyou to be. Watch him and hewill tell you all you need toknow about him.

(The authors are caninetraining and behaviour con-sultants and can be reachedatcheekypawscc@gmail.com)

Pup raised

NIRMITI & PRASANNA

Bring up your puppy just like the wayyou raised your kids

ADORABLE DARLING Treat your pet with care

Transcendingbarriers

An interactive session forlifelong learners titledChallenging Challenges wasorganised in the Capitalrecently by Shift Series. Aneclectic mix of speakersstressed the need to breakboundaries with innovativeideas. Ameen Haque,founder of Storywallahs,narrated a story aboutchallenging challenges inthe traditional dastangoistyle, while Sindhu Vee, astand-up comedian, sharedher challenges during hergrowing up years. RJ Navedsent home the message ofbreaking down stereotypesthat divide communities. Ritu Dalmia spoke aboutwhat it took to break outfrom being a conservativeMarwari girl to becoming acelebrity chef.

Russian filmfestival

To mark 70th anniversary ofvictory over fascism in theGreat Patriotic War (1941-1945), a five-day filmfestival was held at theRussian Centre of Scienceand Culture recently. TheBrest Fortress was theinaugural film. Speaking at the festival,Sergey Karmalito, SeniorCounsellor, Embassy of theRussian Federation in India,said the functioncommemorated a historicallandmark which changedthe destiny of mankind. Hepointed out that theoccasion was celebrated ina grand way throughout hiscountry.

Group showArt Life Gallery is hostingSummer Harmony, a15-day group show of sevenupcoming artists, at itsNoida premises. The artists haveemphasised that harmonywas badly needed in todaysenvironment. People living in a conflictzone, want to be away frombloodshed. Persons living inabusive relationships, lookfor harmoniousrelationships, said PratibhaAgarwal, co-promoter ofthe gallery, whilecommenting on H.Rehmans work, whichdepicts a girl with birddenoting mans harmoniousrelationship with theanimals and birds. The exhibition concludes onMay 20.

Musicaltribute

On completing 72 years ofsinging, noted playbacksinger Asha Bhosle wasgiven a musical tribute byAnuja Sinha at KamaniAuditorium recently.The musical programmefeatured evergreen filmsongs sung by Asha Bhosle.Ambassador Deepak Vohra,(Special Adviser to thePrime Minister- Lesothoand Guineau-Bissau)conferred Sakha Awards onpersonalities, includingAnuja Sinha and MukteshChander, flautist.

In todays life, we havetechnology for almosteverything. When everyoneslife revolves around work,health complications crop up.They have, in fact, nowbecome common.

A problem, which is risingalarmingly, is of infertility. Ithas been found that thefertility rate is gradually goingdown and a large number ofpopulation isnt able toconceive. This leads to hugeemotional distress among theaffected couples. In VitroFertilisation certainly offers ahope when nothing elseworks.

There are several reasonscausing infertility which caneither be related to male orfemale, or both. One factor isage. Today, due to variousreasons, couples postponehaving babies in their initialyears of marriage but by thetime they try to conceive, it

just does not happen as withage, fertility of a person alsodecreases. Generally after theage of 35, risk of miscarriagesand inability to conceiveincrease manifold.

Another major cause ofrising rate of infertility is oursedentary lifestyle. Lack ofsufficient physical exercisesaccompanied with poor eatinghabits results in obesity,which is also the leading causeof infertility. But, being toounderweight can also makeone vulnerable to developinginfertility.

Another reason behind alarge number of infertilitycases is addiction to alcohol ordrugs; or heavy smoking,which directly affects apersons reproductive health.

Sometimes, sexuallytransmitted diseases, if leftuntreated, can also result ininfertility. Other causes can bepersistent exposure toharmful chemicals, lack ofsufficient nutrition and

mental stress. Also, there arecertain genetic factors toothat can affect a personsability to reproduce.

Unable to conceivenaturally doesnt mean thata couple cannot havechildren. By theintervention of medicalscience, many new optionsare now available. Amongthem, the most promisingand popular one is IVF.

IVF is a process in which,sperms and eggs arefertilised outside the body,in a laboratory. Once thefertilisation is successful,embryos are kept inlaboratory for a few initialdays under supervision.Once they are fit to betransferred, the best one isimplanted in the womensuterus for further growth.This process of fertilisationis useful for people withunexplained causes ofinfertility, women havingblocked fallopian tube or

of conceiving. So, in order to get it

done successfully,maintain a healthy weightand Body Mass Index.Strictly refrain fromalcohol consumption orsmoking. Also, limit yourcaffeine intake to ensuredesired results of IVF.There are manyadvantages of IVF. Firstand foremost it helpscouples have babies.Apart from that, it is a

downside is that is a veryexpensive procedure whichmany people are not able toafford. The cost of using thistechnology starts Rs.50,000onwards. There are alsochances of twin births, whichincrease the risk ofpremature baby.

Apart from that, certainfertility drugs and hormonesare used which carry somemild side effects.Having ababy to complete the familyis a blessing which everycouple looks forward to.

Having it naturally is thebest way, but when thats notpossible, IVF can help.

great boon for people havinggenetic disorders. ThroughIVF, such couples can getembryos screened fordiseases and save a healthyembryo. Not just that, if aperson is about to startcancer treatment, whichinvolves chemotherapy thatcan harm egg or spermproduction, retrieving eggsor sperms is a good option.

Though, a very effectivealternative, IVF too hascertain drawbacks. One big

having ovulation problems,men having abnormal orlow sperm production.

The probability ofconceiving using IVFlargely depends of thequality of eggs and spermsretrieved. Also, age plays amajor role. Especially forwomen, using non-donoreggs, chances of conceivingdecrease with age. Alongwith these, overall health ofa person plays a major rolein deciding the probability

Wellness

The best place to find a helping hand

(Director- Obstetrics,Gynaecology and InfertilitySehgal Neo Hospital)

City scan

Udipi evokes a mem-ory. The memoryof having breakfastand lunch day in

and day out at a joint by thatname on Delhis BahadurShah Zafar Marg many sum-mers ago. Working as a trai-nee in a newspaper on thatroad, and living away fromhome in a new city, my findwas a cause of relief as muchfor its simple, tasty food as itwas for its trainee-friendlyrates.

Mother-daughter duo Ma-lati Srinivasan and GeethaRaos recently publishedThe Udipi Kitchen (West-land), however, takes memuch further into the regionthan just refreshing that fondfood memory of mine. Packedwith hundred vegetarian reci-pes from the kitchens of theircommunity, the MadhawaBrahmins, residing in that fa-mous temple town of Karna-taka, the book is as much anopportunity for the interest-ed one to widen his repertoireof Indian regional cooking asit is to understand a food cul-ture that can broadly be cate-gorised as bygone.

The book begins with Ma-lati opening a window to herchildhood, of watching thewomen of her family preparefood, particularly her auntAthi, the one she says is re-sponsible for developing inher a serious interest in cook-ing. To enter the kitchen, ev-

ery morning, after her bath,aunt Athi wore a fresh sariand a blouse that had beenwashed and dried on a hori-zontal pole hung below thedining room ceiling, adjoin-ing the kitchen.

Malati gives an interesting

peek into the ritual of cookingfollowed in those days in Udi-pi, their traditional kitchensetup and the processes in-volved in dishing out a tradi-tional meal, also coffee,before the advent of ma-chines in kitchens. How in-

teresting it is to read, andthink of the times that werewhen she writes, In ourhome, dawn was signalled bythe sound of tinkling cow-bells; the milkmans arrivalwith his milch cow in tow,sometimes accompanied by anewly-birthed calf. The teth-ered cow was milked in frontof our home; straight into themilk vessel.

And the making of degreecoffee, that speciality of aSouth Indian household?Making the coffee decoctionwas a process, where coffeepowder was put into a piece oflong cloth, placed on themouth of a vessel, over whichboiling water was poured,she writes.

Talking about it in an emailinterview from Toronto,where she is now based, Ma-lati states what remains ofthat culture and what hasmoved. Rituals associated

with daily cooking are stillfollowed by women in ortho-dox Madhwa Brahmin fam-ilies. Concepts of ritualpurity or madi are adheredto where food is not cooked,until the cook has bathed andis attired in freshly washedclothes, she says.

The Madhwa Brahmin cui-sine uses a lot of masale pudi,spice powders that manyfamilies, including hers stillmake at home. Hand poun-ders have been replaced byelectric grinders, making thewhole process quicker andmore efficient. Some brandedspice powders are good sub-stitutes, she adds.

As far as running the coffeedecoction through a cloth isconcerned, Malatis daughter,Bangalore-based Geetha Raosays, Thankfully, it is nomore made that way in homesthese days though cooks fol-low the method when cater-

ing to large functions likeweddings.

Traditional utensils madeof bell metal, bronze, copper,brass, iron and wood were anorm in a Udipi householdwhen Malati was growing up.Bell metal or kanchu, a hardalloy made from copper andtin, in the ratio 4:1 was themost preferred metal forutensils. It was a good con-ductor of heat and retainedheat well as well as it did nottarnish. Utensils, like the nar-row mouthed Annada patre (avessel for cooking rice) Hali-na patre (a vessel for boilingmilk) and Yenne gindi, (a ves-sel to store oil) were common.Urali, a wide-mouthed vesselwith beautifully carved han-dles, was used for ceremonialoccasions, when payasam wasmade, as it needed slow cook-ing without burning thedish, she recalls.

Geetha adds, Woodenspoons and spatulas wereused to stir the cooking foodand serve pickles. I boughtseveral in the quaint storesthat surround the KrishnaTemple in Udupi and usethem every day.

Though to an outsider,most South Indian foodseems the same, particularlyfor its medium of cooking, itsseasoning, this is not the caseas far as Udipi menu is con-cerned.

Geetha highlights, A dis-tinguishing feature of anUdupi menu are the gojjus,sweet, sour and spicy graviescooked with vegetables and

fruits. They are served in be-tween courses as palatecleansers, similar to sorbetsin a French meal. Some of thesignature gojjus are hagalkaygojju made from sliced bittergourds; pineapple gojju;drakshi gojju made from rai-sins and the unique kittlehan-nu sippe gojju made from thediced peel of loose-jacketedoranges that gives a unique,mild, bitter, after taste.

Though times havechanged and traditional prac-tices like wood fire cookinghave nearly vanished frommost middle-class house-holds, Malati feels it has notaffected the taste of the tradi-tional food significantly. Ifeel that today heightenedawareness of food gives youdeeper insight into food prac-tices and often taste is en-hanced, for example, addingonions to the potato palya inthe masal dose or kharabhat.

The changing lifestyle alsodoesnt mean traditional foodcant fit into it, that they areweight enhancing as often al-leged. Geetha mentions,Many of the recipes arewholesome and cater to vege-tarians, vegans and those re-quiring gluten-free diets. Thepalyas are simple and quick tomake, nutritious becausethey are stir fried or steamed.So are the yoghurt-based dis-hes and the tiffin varietieslike dosas idlis and upmas.

For someone who survivedon Udipi fare for nearly ayear, it is time to nod a yes toher! Nnnn

KITCHEN AND LORE Malati Srinivasan and Geetha Rao

The Udipi food culture Through The Udipi Kitchen, Malati Srinivasan and Geetha Rao bring to readers the food culture of Madhwa Brahmins of that popular temple town of Karnataka

SANGEETA BAROOAHPISHAROTY

Petpals

INNOVATION IS THE KEY An embryologist at work PHOTO: REUTERS

ALKA JAIN

CMYK

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p3 METROPLUS THE HINDU Thursday, May 7, 2015 SPECTRUM

The BeckoningOf Gyanganj

Gyanganj, a mystical abodeof immortal beings, locatedin the remote Himalayasinfluences a series of eventsfrom two eras and results ina cocktail of Himalayanadventures, spiritualism,love and romance, hatredand politics, sufferings andrevolt. Chandan K. Pathakthrough this book has triedto weave his own storycentering on love, romance,spiritualism and politics.Brought out by LeadstartPublishing it is priced atRs.175.

The MGRMurder Trial

A powerful collection ofstories about the darkestyears in Sri Lankan history.In these vivid and inventivetales, Shobasakthi givesshape to the unspeakableviolence, fear and traumaunleashed during the yearsof Sri Lankas civil war andits aftermath. By turnsvisceral, moving andshocking, it ably conjuresthe horrors suffered by asilence people. Priced atRs.299 and publishedPenguin Books.

The VanishedPath

A graphic travelogue byBharath Murthy who,accompanied by his wife,set out on a pilgrimage tothe historical sites in Indiaand Nepal associated withthe life of Buddha. The bookis an account of theirjourney through the ruinsthat mark the Buddha's life the places where he livedand taught, lands fromwhere all traces of thatpast have almostdisappeared. Whetherinterested in Buddhism ortravel, the journey is boundto be interesting to thereader. A Harper Collinspublication, it is priced atRs.399.

NimbleChallenging traditionalnotions of strategy in thisbook, Baba Prasad drawson his research at some ofthe worlds best businessschools to show howintelligence can help aperson and his business tonavigate the turbulence intodays world. Bridgingstrategy, leadership andinnovation and with vividillustrations it provides apath-breaking assessmentmethodology and asystematic four-stepapproach. Published byRandom House India, it ispriced at Rs.499.

Court cases have always fasci-nated the common man whodepends on the media, printand electronic, to update andexplain the jargon. RedHanded: 20 Criminal CasesThat Shook India, a Rupapublication, co-authored bySouvik Bhadra and PingalKhan attempts to bring thetrue accounts behind severalhigh profile cases to the read-er who need not have special-ised knowledge of law. Thefact that both have a law de-gree from National Universi-ty of Juridical Sciences,Kolkata and are practisinglawyers lends weight to thepublication.

Mr. Kapish Mehra of Rupaduring a chat on a flight men-tioned they had an idea topublish a book dealing withfamous cases which should bewritten by an advocate to en-sure that it is authentic andsimultaneously be neitherboring nor sensational. Thefocus he said had to be onfacts, investigation whilespecifying if the allegationslevelled were substantiated inthe court or not, explainsSouvik as to how the bookcame into being.

The mlange of cases pre-sented in Red Handedpertain to all kinds of crimi-nal activity from terrorismto crimes against women, andwhite-collar crimes to politi-cal murders. So it has theDhananjoy Chatterjee, AjmalKasab, Harshad Mehta, theBest Bakery, Telgi stamp pa-per, Sanjay Dutt and Parlia-ment attack cases amongothers. According to Souvik,the selection was restricted to

the timeframe of last threedecades to enable the readersto be able to recollect andconnect to them.

The book brings to fore therole played by media and itsimportance. In the Priyadar-shini Mattoo and Jessica Lalcase, without the media in-volvement and the way theyhighlighted the two cases, itwould have not reached thestage it has, comments Sou-vik. Having said that, I wouldlike to specify that the trial bymedia is not a good trend. It isfine where judiciary is failingbut reaching at a judgmenteven before the trial is notappreciable in the civil socie-ty which has a specialized or-gan trained to make thesetypes of decisions.

The book provides easydefinition of certain legalterms, e.g. direct and circum-stantial evidence with the ob-jective of enabling the readerto understand them and their

usage in the judgment. Thishelps in appreciating the ra-tionale behind the judgment.Every story ends with au-thors note summarising thecase and presenting their takebesides beginning with a quo-tation providing the readerthe basic idea of the narrative.

Commenting on a recenttrend among the advocates toboycott representing an ac-cused in a case, Souvik says,Everyone has a right to prop-er representation. Boycottdefeats the entire process andthe idea of fair trial. In fact,we are supposed to representeveryone as long as it is with-in our capability.

Having been batch matesand working together has cre-ated a mutual understandingwhich helped the two lawyersto pen this book. They are al-ready working on an academ-ic book on law. Wecomplement each other,says Souvik.

PERFECT MATCH Pingal Khan and Souvik Bhadra

S. RAVI

The book brings tofore the role playedby media and itsimportance

Red Handedprovides aninterestingaccount of somehigh profile casesin India

Straight and simple

Shelf life

Full moon nights arethe stuff romance isborn for. Our ownDelhi may not have a

Taj Mahal and a horde oflove-birds on nights of the fullmoon, but the city that em-braces the ancient, the me-dieval and the modern byturns, is not short of sights tobehold when the sky is lit upby a lamp of its own, the onethat shines in reflected light.

At Humayuns tomb, saidto be the precursor of the Taj,you may not, in this age andtime, find young birds croon-ing Chaudhvin ka chand hoya aftab ho, but hang arounda little longer.

Look around, see how themoon kisses the top of thedome, how its rays dissolve inthe niches of the tomb, how

even the grass basks in thegentle light.

Over at Purana Quila, nottoo far from the Abode of theLord, young men and womenface a quandary. The fullmoon with its petals of temp-tations brings them to itslawns, its walls, its stairs, nottoo far from Sher Mandalwhere Humayun fell to hisdeath. Yet it is the Moon andits luminosity which preventsthem from taking the nextstep, very much akin to thedilemma of Nargis and RajKapoor in the song Dumbhar jo udhar muh phere inAwara.

It has been more than 60years since Awara graced Mo-ti cinema in Chandni Chowkbut on the night of the fullmoon, one does not mind be-

ing a wanderer, a wayfarer.Talking of Moti, for manyyears there has been a marketof music cassettes and CDsnext to it. Once it was notunusual to hear the shopsplay Aadha hai chandramaaur raat aadhi. That was theage when the name of V.Shantaram helped sell a thou-sand box office tickets. V.Shantaram though completedhis innings long ago. Now, thespeakers in the market havegone on mute mode. It is onlythe mind that plays the best ofsongs. Like the inimitableHemant Kumar and his NaYeh Chand Hoga Na TaareRahenge or Noor JahansChandni raatein, which re-counts those heady dayswhen the world sleeps andlove birds stay awake. Jab

sab soye aur hum jaage.taa-ron se karein baatein.

Too much of Old Delhi withits narrow lanes and damphavelis on Chaudhvin KaChand? Drive down to IndiaGate and its vast spacious-ness. Look, gape and wonder

how beautiful the monumentthat has a brick with the nameof a soldier, looks in moon-light! For a moment forgetthe families out on a picnic,children running after a ball,look at the stars and themoon.

Too much history on a ro-mantic night?

Drive up to a flyover andstop by the railings at thehighest point. The philoso-phers might tell you that thislife is like a bridge, and adviseyou to pass over it but do not

build upon it. But on thisnight, be like the black cat in adark room that the philoso-phers can never find. Stand-ing on the flyover, by theYamuna, watch the Moontease the ripples of the river.Life is in a moment. Live it.

FROM POETIC TO PROSAIC Different shades of the full-moon night in the city PHOTOS: SANDEEP SAXENA AND SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA

Swooning over the moonFull moon night charms both the philosopher and theromantic. What draws you to the natural CFL?

ZIYA US SALAM

Capital check

Continued from Page 1

National Museum washeadless for several yearswhich really affected the in-stitution. After Dr. Venujoined it, he made it alive notjust through some incredibleexhibitions but internallytoo through archiving, docu-mentation. He should be al-lowed to continue, saysJyotindra Jain, a museolo-gist who has headed Nation-al Crafts Museum andIGNCA in the past. He hassigned Sardanas petition.

Hoping and praying forNational Museum to contin-ue on its current path, Sarda-na cites a particular remarkby a signee, The NationalMuseum of India, the face ofIndias culture to the worldand its own people had justbegun to communicate withpeople. Is it then prudent tocause his transfer? He is do-ing incredible work and be-ing untimely moved toanother Ministry, I wishsuch erratic decisions wereunheard of and hope thatthis petition is heard.

Museum on a roll under

Venu Vasudevan

* One of the highlights ofhis tenure is Yuva Saathi Pro-gramme under which collegestudents were trained asguides for visiting schoolgroups at the museum.

* For the public there isVolunteer Guide Pro-gramme (VGP) or Path Pra-darshak. Visitors interestedin visiting the museum withthe help of a guide can booktheir requirement of a guideon National Museums web-site in advance. On this 90minutes tour, the trainedguides introduce highlightsfrom the displayed collectionwhich runs into lakhs of artworks.

* The Museum in 90 Min-utes was another initiativelaunched to make the wholeexperience easy and quickfor those who are pressed fortime. A booklet titled TheMuseum in 90 Minutes, giv-en to visitors free of cost, in-troduces them to 25 mostunique pieces of the mu-seum. With the help of the

book and the audio-guide,navigating the museum islike a breeze.

* Some major exhibitionslike Musical Landscapes &The Goddesses of Music Re-cent Advances in InteractiveArt, A Passionate Eye Tex-tiles, Paintings and sculp-tures from the BharanyDonation, Unearthing Pat-tanam Histories, Cultures,Crossings. Union CultureMinister Dr. Mahesh Sharmato Open Exhibition; TrenchReplica, Select ExcavationFindings, Nauras: TheMany Arts of the Deccan,The Peranakan World:Cross Cultural Art of Singa-pore and the Straits of Malac-ca and The Body in IndianArt a stunning exhibitionof 300 art works from 44 in-stitutions, studying repre-sentation of body over 4000years across regions, religionand culture.

* Before Venu Vasudevanjoined, six crucial gallerieswere shut at the museum foryears. While four of thesegalleries have been opened, a

new one launched, and theremaining two Bronze andManuscripts are to openlater this year in 2015.

* In collaboration withUNESCO, the museum orga-nised a seminal workshop onMaking Museums Accessi-ble for Persons with Disabil-ities in April this year. Theworkshop coincided with theexhibition Cadence andCounterpoint: DocumentingSantal Musical Traditionswherein a Braille booklet,tactile graphics and an au-dio-guide are being used forthe first time for the benefitfor visually-impaired people.

* Nearly 10,000 objectshave been digitised and putonline making it accessibleto public.

* A number of publica-tions, lectures, talks, publicprogrammes, childrensprogrammes.

* He also played an impor-tant role in organising theKochi Biennale 2014.

* A theatre practitioner, heperforms with his theatregroup Abhinaya.

Killing it softly

Actor Ram Kapoor, whoseems to have broken the im-age of a stereotypical hero onsmall screen with many of hischaracters, says he hardlygets time to watch television.

When asked if he gets timeto watch his wife GautamisTV series Tere Sheher Mein,he said: I havent had thetime to watch (the show). Idont watch TV and I dontwatch my own shows either.She knows I am not the audi-ence for this.

Most of the time I am bu-sy. Also I like to work andmove on as I dont like to sitback and watch it. I have nev-er been a big fan of watching

Directed by Devang Dhola-kia, the film is slated to re-lease on Friday.

IANS

after he gets a chance to meetBollywood star Shanaya(Sunny), whom he alwaysfantasised about.

my own shows, he added.Ram, however, says she is

very supportive as a wife.Gautami is supportive.

She is an actor and she knowshow hard it is to survive hereand she is happy with my suc-cess. She has realised that thisis a good time for me and shesupports me, said the actor,who is set for his next releaseKuch Kuch Locha Hai that al-so stars Sunny Leone.

Slated to release on May 8,Kuch Kuch Locha Hai alsofeatures Evelyn Sharma andNavdeep Chhabra.

In the film, Ram plays a 45-year-old married man, whowitnesses a turmoil in his life

I dont watch television

SUNNY DAYS! Ram Kapoor with Riteish Deshmukh

CMYK

ND-ND

p4 METROPLUSNOIDA/DELHI

p4 METROPLUS THE HINDU Thursday, May 7, 2015 FOOD

Marwari cuisineIndulge in the richness of the authentic Marwari cuisine atDilli 32, the Indian cuisine restaurant at KempinskiAmbience Hotel. The restaurant is all set to take itspatrons on a culinary journey toMarwar region ofJodhpur, Rajasthan with its traditional Marwar foodfestival. The menu includes murgh chappe,murgh ka soola,masala pasla, atta ro chakki ra saag,pittod ro saagtoraabori harapyaaz,paneer khaas Jodhpuri,panchkutta,mirchi wada, mawe ki kachoriand manymore. All this can be paired with the nest selection ofspirits. Located at 1, CBD, near Yamuna Sports Complex,Maharaja Surajmal Road, Delhi. On till May 10.

Mother'sDaybrunchKitchen of Awadhhas arranged anamazing lunch-onwith authenticAwadhi cuisines onthe Mothers Day.It is claimed to bemade with thechoicest ofingredientsenhanced by nespices. One can pickfrom a variety ofvegetarian and non-vegetarian kabab platters like galawatke kabab, kakori kabab, asli shammi kabab, kathal kegalouti and daal ke kabab along with biryani and ulta tawaparatha. Besides there is the signature special drinkpanchamitra and kesari phirni as dessert.On till May 10, the meal for two is Rs.1000 approx at A208, Supermart 1, DLF Phase 4, Gurgaon, between noonand 11 p.m.

DimsumEggspectation, the 24-hour resto-caf at Jaypee GreensGolf & Spa Resort, Greater Noida invites food lovers toindulge in the taste of authentic dimsums with its lunch.One can enjoy the three course menu with a glass of housebeer which includes soup, unlimited dimsums and dessert.Unlimited Dimsums that one can choose from steamedversion with chicken, prawn and veg lling. The threecourse meal includes a diverse selection of vegetarian andnon-vegetarian offerings like mushroom and waterChestnuts dimsum, prawn siu mai dimsum, clear soup withvegetables and tofu, clear chicken soup etc.On till May 10, between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. The price ofunlimited vegetarian is Rs.999 plus taxes and theunlimited non vegetarian is Rs.1199 plus taxes.

AperitivoCaffee Tonino, whichserves Italian cuisine,including antipasti,wood-re pizzas,pastas and desserts,adds Aperitivo to itsmenu which basically issocialising over drinksand nger food at theend of the day. Thecaffe offers a widerange of aperitivococktails which includes negroni, bellini, cosmo-secco,negroni sbagliato, kir royal, Manhattan, the Bond martiniand the classic spritz, garnished with a half slice of orangebesides different offering everyday from the kitchen likemarinated olives, peanuts, cashew nuts, platter of crostini,sandwiches, nachos, boiled egg with anchovies, cheesestraws, chicken mortadella and more. Located on 1st Floor,PVR Plaza Building, H-Block, Connaught Place (23320081/41528042) between 8.30 a.m. and 11.30 p.m.

Celebrating Mothers DayRodeo brings an array of food, fun-lled ambience andexcellent services to host a special lunch/dinner formothers. It is offering a lavish main-course meal on thehouse. The guests can savour a wide variety of vegetarianand non-vegetarian soups, starters and appetizers alongwith summer chillers and lip-smacking desserts tocompliment the meal. So there is complimentary meal forall mothers if accompanied by their children. The price isRs.650 onwards plus taxes per person plus motherstreated to a complimentary meal by their child. On May 10from noon onwards at A-12 Inner Circle, Connaught Place(23713780/81/8588815454).

While you may be no strangerto cooking with flowers cauliflower, drumstick flow-er, banana flower and pump-kin flower, have you ever triedrecipes using lavender, hibis-cus or calendula? Flowerssuch as marigold, nasturtium,lavender, zucchini and roseslook attractive as garnishes,but what do they taste like?

Nasturtium has a deliciouspeppery flavour, while vio-lets, roses and lavender lend asweet flavour to salads anddesserts. As calendula is simi-lar to saffron in flavour, it isused as an alternative. Allflowers are not edible; someare poisonous and couldcause serious stomachproblems.

If you are prone to aller-gies, introduce flowers insmall quantities, so you canjudge their effect.

A couple of recipes

Hibiscus teaIngredients:1 cup boiling water1 hibiscus flowerSugar to tasteA few drops of lemon juiceA few ice cubesMethod:Remove stamen from the

flower. Clean the flowerthoroughly. Ensure it is freeof pesticides.

Alternatively, you can buydried hibiscus tea in a healthfood store.

Place one hibiscus flower ina cup, and then steep it inboiling water.

Stir (the water will turn ablackish purple as the colourcomes out of the flower).Remove the flower.

Add sugar to taste, and thenstir to dissolve. Squeezelemon juice into the cup. Thecolour will turn bright pink.Set aside to cool. Add icecubes and serve.

Rose petalcustard

Ingredients:1 litre whole milk4 cups rose petalsQuarter cup sugar (adjust

to taste)1 tsp vanilla extract

Half cup corn starch1 tsp rose water1 cup chopped fresh fruits

of your choice2 tbsp coarsely ground nuts

(almonds, cashew andunsalted pistachio)

Method:In a large, heavy-bottomed

saucepan, bring the milk toboil, and then remove fromthe heat.

Remove half cup of milkand set aside. Gently mix rosepetals in the warmed milk inthe pan and let them soak for15 to 20 minutes.

Strain the milk, discardingthe petals.

Pour the infused milk backinto the saucepan; add sugarand vanilla and bring to asimmer over medium heat.Whisk corn starch into thehalf cup of milk that has beenset aside, until there are nolumps.

Add the corn starchmixture to the pan andsimmer over low heat,stirring gently for 8-10minutes or until it isthickened and coats thespoon.

Remove from heat and letin cool.

Refrigerate for some time.Gently fold in fruits. Servegarnished with chopped nuts.

FLOWERY FLAVOUR Hibiscus tea

MOUSHMI KISHORE

As calendula issimilar to saffron inflavour, it is used asan alternative

With their special scent and colour, flowers lend a touchof the exotic to food. A couple of recipes...

Cooking with flowers

Whats cooking

He learnt his cricketat the feet of Ra-makant Achrekar,the man who

shaped the cricket destiny ofSachin Tendulkar, VinodKambli, Ajit Agarkar. ForPravin Amre, it was destinythat brought him in contactwith Achrekar. Growing up inDadar, listening to cricket ex-ploits of stars Vijay Manjre-kar, Sunil Gavaskar, SandeepPatil, Ramakant Desai, AjitWadekar, Subhash Gupte, itwas natural for Amre to taketo cricket. He would organiseneighbourhood matches in-volving small clubs and onesuch match gave his dreams abig boost.

My father always sparedme money for cricket. I usedit to book a ground to set up amatch against AchrekarsCub. We were thrashed but Ibatted long. To my fortune,Achrekar Sir, as was his habit,watched the match hiding be-hind a tree. He was known todo that in order to avoid put-ting pressure on the players.He liked my batting and im-mediately invited me to joinhis nets at Shivaji Park. Mylife changed that day, saysAmre when we meet at K3, afine dining restaurant at theJW Marriott, near IGIAirport.

I have known Amre sincehis formative years when heshifted from Bombay to Rail-ways. It was Achrekar Sirwho advised me to take up thejob in Railways after I hadplayed my first season withMumbai. It turned out to be avery sound move for me. Theambience at K3 is cordial. JWMarriott is the team hotel forDelhi Daredevils and playerscan be spotted at various ta-bles in the spacious restau-rant, which offers three livekitchens with distinctive cui-sine, North Indian, Canto-

nese and Tuscan.Water melon juice, Amre

takes guard ahead of thelunch. Remember the dhabanear Karnail Singh Stadium,Amre smiles, digging into hispast when he shared dormito-ry accommodation with fel-low Railways players. Wewould battle opponents inday and mosquitoes at night.Sleeping in Railway coacheswas part of the growing upsystem, not to forget bathingon the platforms.

It was tough grooming butit steeled us. I was used to it. Itake pride in my middle classbackground because it taughtme values which I respect tilltoday. My days with Railwaysensured I did not complainbecause we accepted every-thing sportingly. The aim wasto give our best on the field,achieve and then make re-quest for improvement. Imust say the authorities werekind and accommodating.

One more water melonjuice is followed by Greek Sal-ad. We have all becomehealth conscious now. Earli-er, our salad was limited totomatoes, cucumber, radish,carrot, beet root. Now therange is wide and exotic. Ilove green salads becausethey are not tough on thestomach. But I must tell youthat I love home food best.The fried or grilled pomfretand king prawns. Bliss. I avoidsea food on tours but gorgewhen I am in Mumbai. I buystuff from Citylight, the bestfish market in Mumbai.

A century on Test debut atDurban in 1992 heraldedAmres entry to international

cricket. It was a sensationaldebut on a fiery pitch withAllan Donald making the bat-smen hop around. Amrewalked in with Ajay Jadeja,Sanjay Manjrekar, SachinTendulkar and Ravi Shastriback in the pavilion. He made103 and stood out for his skil-ful display that earned himthe Man of the match hon-ours. Ten more Tests withinthe span of one year boostedhis career which endedabruptly in 1994 with an ODIagainst Sri Lanka atJalandhar.

I had no godfather. But Ihave no regrets. I gave mybest always, says Amre whoturned to coaching, again onthe advice of Achrekar.Coaching was tougher be-cause I had to think at thestudents pace. As a coach,you have to play for them,show more patience. As aplayer I was short tempered.As a coach I am calm.

It is time for the maincourse now. I will go for Chi-nese, Amre, who played 11Tests and 37 ODIs, declares.The chef smiles becauseAmre is a regular. Garlic riceand Fried Tofu with ChilliBean and a helping of Chick-en Black Bean. This is my fa-vourite, says Amre and bitesinto his food.

What, according to him, arethe essential qualities of agood coach? Communica-tion, listening to the players,proper analysis, motivatingthe players, planning andstrategizing, follow up withremedies and above all, hon-esty. At times you have to beblunt to give a strong message because it is important to

shake off your students fromtheir comfort zone. Nameswho would vouch for Amresexcellent guidance are Ajin-kya Rahane, Suresh Raina,Robin Uthappa, Dinesh Kar-thik, Pragyan Ojha andShreyas Iyer. He is the inspi-ration they seek when experi-

encing hard times on thefield.

Amre, who signs off withFruit Caramel and TuffedCake, has a simple philosophyof knowing when his pupil isin good form. The sound ofthe bat tells me how good heis going to fare. I tell myselfhow I can improve this sound.

I look to be one step aheadand keep my pupil also onestep ahead. At 47, he is bestsuited for an assignment withthe senior team. Amre loveschallenges and proving hiscoaching credentials at thetop is the motivating force forthis genial Mumbaikar.

SUCH A DELIGHT Pravin Amre at K3 in New Delhis JW Marriott hotel PHOTO: VIJAY LOKAPALLY

Of sound and formPravin Amre, the man who hit a century on Test debut, onfood and games of destiny

VIJAY LOKAPALLY

Table for two

The chef at Pind Balluchi hasdesigned a new summer me-nu to beat the scorching heatof the season. To quench thethirst there are beverages likelassi manpasand, chaach, aamka panna, annanas ka panna,special jal jeera, blue Hawain,orange blossom, tropicalbruit blossom while the start-ers includes maki de kabab,dahi ke kabab, hara kabab, pa-pri dahi kabab, tandoor angansalad, tandoori cheesy mush-room, murg mirza hasanu,chicken fry, fish Amritsari,fish tikka ajwaini. The maincourse consists of saag da pa-neer, pindi chhole, muttonsaagwala and murg rahra. For

desserts one can enjoy applecinnamon tarts and applesouffle.

Available at all outlets from

12 noon to 11 p.m. For book-ings call: 011-40817733/633.

Meal for two is priced atRs.1600.

Summer menu

At times you have to be blunt to give astrong message because it is important toshake off your students from their comfort zone,,