Raga Ensemble mesmerises fashion lovers

Raga Ensemble mesmerises fashion lovers

Models walk the ramp as malkauns and basant bahar herald designer collection.

Devanshi Joshi. Vadodara/DNA

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

The cultural capital of Gujarat had a unique musical concert recently. Raga Ensemble turned out to be a fascinating and unique way of expressions where the classical ragas were rendered in visual forms through designer outfits, and not in the usual form of recitals. Chandrakant Golani, a city-based designer, converted the rendering of two classical ragas into visual forms through his outfit creations at the city based Abhivyakti Art gallery. The designer used ragas malkauns and basant bahar for interpretation of his designer collections.

Raga Ensamble, a creation inspired from the classical ragas, was an event of exploration of the Indian classical ragas through a live visual interpretation in the form of elegant embodiments. Models presented the designer collections on the ramp to the rendering of malkauns and basant bahar.Raag malkauns, primarily considered to be the raga of the worship of Lord Shiva, was presented through colours like black, blue and golden. The accessories like Rudraksh, damru and tattoos were used to make the effect of the raga alive. Basant bahar, the patron raga of the spring, was presented through bright colours like red, orange and turmeric. “This is a rare form of art where ragas are used in a visual form to present the designer outfits. Here the designs are not a form of glamour but it is a form of presenting the classical music. The creations have been based on the ragas malkauns and basant bahar. The collection includes shades colours and accessories representing the ragas,” said Golani.

In a specialty creation, an outfit created by Golani doesnt have a single stitch. Talking about the idea of the ragas being used for his creations, Golani said: “Being deeply interested in classical music and designs, I was keen to exploit the depth of the ragas by applying it for interpretation of my creations, hence this creation of designer collections.”Hundreds of fashion and music lovers were thrilled at the novel form of expression involving classical music and fashion at Abhivyakti art gallery.

Sharmishta Chawda, the organiser of the event, said: “This is for the first time in the state that the designer collections have been presented through classical ragas. The ragas are presented considering the colours, accessories, designs and time, typical to the ragas.”

This Barodian can make worlds smallest paintings

This Barodian can make worlds smallest paintings
Prajesh Shahs painting of 10 mm size has got him a place in Limca book of records
Devanshi Joshi. Vadodara/DNA

Monday, December 29, 2008

Worlds smallest painting enclosed in just 10 mm has got 29-year-old Prajesh Shah a place in the Limca book of records. Micro paintings, micro calligraphy, rangoli on nails, chalk carving are some of other creative skills that this Barodian artist possesses.

Shah, a visiting faculty of interior designing at MSU and an art teacher in a school of Vadodara, has not taken any formal training of art. But his interest in designing and keenness to create something different took him to the world of micro paintings.

“When I used to see big size paintings in exhibitions and on internet, I felt why not to make micro paintings. I started making micro size paintings of 100 mm, 75 mm and gradually narrowed down to the latest 10 mm which has been selected for Limca book of records as worlds smallest painting,” said Shah. Sometimes, it just takes 20 minutes to make a micro painting while sometimes it takes 20 hours of stressful eyes and back pain to create a piece of micro art. “Micro art demands a lot of concentration and patience. Many times it happens that a single small mistake could scrap a whole piece of art. After making more than 5,000 pieces of art finally I have collected 111 best pieces of micro paintings,” added Shah.

Interestingly, his brushes for the micro paintings are made of his own hair and eyelashes. Shahs micro world is not limited only to the micro paintings but he also does calligraphy on sesame and poppy seeds (khas khas). He can write about seven characters on sesame and on khas khas which is just too microscopic but done without the use of any magnifying glass. Shahs other creation includes an album which includes 10 micro paintings of 15 mm size. He has also made a calligraphic portrait of Narendra Modi by inscribing “Shri Narendra Modi” 12,000 times, which he has sent to the CM. In addition, he does rangoli on his own nails. Carving on chalks is another piece of art by this multitasking artist.

Recently, Shah has been invited to the Kankaria Carnival by Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation along with other artists to paint on a 2,000 ft long canvas. In all, 150 artists and 200 fine art students will paint the 2,000 ft long wall at Kankaria as a part of the carnival on Monday within the time duration of nine hours. Each artist will be given canvas of 4x5 ft size to make painting on given themes. He will be painting on Beti Bachao theme.Other than this, Shah knows various different art forms - Varli painting, Madhubani painting, Rajasthani painting, cartoons, modern art, mural, sculpture, rangoli and other 25 different types

Girl students outshine boys at MSU convocation ceremony

Girl students outshine boys at MSU convocation ceremony

Devanshi Joshi. Vadodara/DNA

Sunday, December 28, 2008
In a stunning event 288 gold medals were awarded to the meritorious graduating students at the 57th annual convocation of the MS University for the year 2008, which was organised at the university convocation ground on Saturday. Attended by a large number of dignitaries, including members of the Universitys Senate and Syndicate, besides the students, the event was graced by Dr RK Pachauri, director general, Energy Research Institute (TERI), New Delhi and chairman, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change as the chief guest.

Emphasising on the importance of research and knowledge-based education, Dr Pachauri urged students to “dirty their hands in research and bring out the best”. “We need to make our education system more research oriented. It can be the best way to learn and get something out. Knowledge cannot be preserved by selected authorities. It should rotate in flow. Quality education is required from the beginning to make the career stronger,” he said.

This years convocation was totally dominated by the girl students who won 149 gold medals out of 288 gold medals distributed among students of different departments. The girl students not only achieved the gold medals in non-technical streams like commerce and arts, but also marked their presence in technology and engineering fields with gold medal in Mechanical, electrical and other technical subjects. Shobhit Mathur, a medical student was the event stunner with a haul of six gold medals followed closely by three girl students who received five gold medals each.

Addressing the gathering, chancellor Mrunalinidevi Puar, said: “Getting a degree from MSU is definitely a moment of pride for all the students. I urge the students to actively contribute to the society and to the nation through their education and also to utilise the education in a best way and to keep themselves updated to match steps with the world.”

Pre-marriage sex counselling comes of age

Pre-marriage sex counselling comes of age
Young men and women are keen to get rid of misconceptions about sex before getting married

Devanshi Joshi. Vadodara/DNA
Friday, December 26, 2008

Even in the 21st century, sex is a term that is best kept under wraps in our society. Though we claim to have become modern, talking about it openly, is still a taboo. The preset medieval thinking that we still nurture has led to many a problem in families as a result of which, dreams of happily living ever after is turning out more of nightmares than before for the conjugal life. However, now, young educated couples have started opting for pre-marriage counselling to clear misconceived notions and fears about sex, than live a discordant marital life later on.
With the three-letter word dominating almost every sphere of visual medium, from television to the Internet, sex often becomes more of a misconceived notion borne out of suppressed curiosity. “The knowledge of sex is very limited, thanks to the rigid societal norms,” said Dr Surekha Vinod, a Vadodara-based gynaecologist, while talking to DNA. Therefore, couples intending to marry should avail sexual counselling to remove these false notions, she said.
When these couple come for the counselling, doctors give them separate or joint session depending on their flexibility. “Generally girls are shyer than boys, but boys have wrong perceptions about private body parts. The counselling is not only about understanding physical aspects but also improving their mental level,” said Dr Meeta Saija, a gynaecologist at Waghodia.Rahul and Avani a betrothed couple from Vadodara found the pre-marriage sexual counselling very helpful. “Being a science student, I thought that I don't need to undergo any sex counselling but acting on the advice of my US-based friend, my fiancé and I consulted a sexologist who counselled both of us separately and the sittings were very informative. We have become familiar with many things and notions which we did not know earlier,” said Rahul, who is an IT professional in a city-based MNC.
With the wedding season in top gear, brides and grooms to be are busy with their wedding preparations, which now also include the counselling sessions. “Though the number of young boys and girls coming for the sex education before marriage has increased by 10%, it is still not a significant increase. Only well educated and modern youngsters come for it and that too in small numbers. Surprisingly, despite high education, their knowledge of sex relationship is shallow. They have some vague idea about sex and family planning, these are often mired in notions, which may prove dangerous. Counselling gives proper guidance but our society is still open to the concept unlike in foreign countries,” lamented Vadodara-based sexologist, Dr Vinit Shah.

Israel plans to start dairy farm in Gujarat

Israel plans to start dairy farm in Gujarat

Devanshi Joshi. Vadodara/DNA

Tuesday, December 23, 2008
“Israel plans to start a dairy farm in Gujarat, which will be equipped with modern technology, but certain details need to be finalised before this can happen,” said Orna Sagiv, Israels Mumbai-based Consul General, who visited Vadodara on Monday for the start of a five-day film festival which began on Monday.

Walk on Water, Campfire and Passover Fire and Troop will feature in the first-of-its-kind Israeli film festival in the city. The event has been organised by the Friends of Israel society — which works for cultural exchange between India and Israel —to familiarise Israeli culture in the city. “We hope to make the event both entertaining and informative. I have been to Israel and think its culture is as rich as Indias. The idea behind the film festival was to help people here share that culture,” said Friends of Israels Siddhartha Dave.Sagiv added, “India and Israel both have a rich culture. Such cultural exchange programmes are important since they help one country learn about another, and movies make the exchange light and easy,” she said.

On the Mumbai terror attack, she said she felt the world needs to unite against terrorism.She also commented on the effects of the slowdown on her country. “The global recession has affected Israel, but not as badly as other countries.”

Mild winter brings down quality of ponk

Mild winter brings down quality of ponk

Ponk loses its characteristic softness under unsuitable weather conditions

Devanshi Joshi. Vadodara/DNA

Monday, December 22, 2008

Ponk lovers in the city are facing a dearth of their winter staple. Experts say extreme cold weather lends ponk (sorghum) its characteristic softness and milky sweetness. This years off-season rainfall and mild winter, they explain, have affected the crop.

Sarfaraz Vora, who cultivates juvar and runs a ponk centre in the city, said: “This year insufficient cold has adversely affected the juvar crop and, subsequently, the quality of ponk. At our farm, we grow juvar step by step to get fresh ponk, but it requires temperatures to go much lower than they have this year. Most ponk eaters have realised this, and have stopped returning to stalls after one visit.”

Anuj Shaha loves ponk and even hosts an annual ponk party. “Since our juvar crop has not been as soft as usual, the ponk would not taste as good. So, we have decided to give up our annual party this year.”

While ponk centres in the city continue to serve the item in various forms such as ponk Manchurian, ponk noodles and ponk soup, food joints that specialise in ponk admit business has fallen this year.

The owner of one such ponk centre, Girish Patel, said, “Usually, December is the height of ponk season, but this year, it is difficult to believe that winter has even started. Ponk prices are usually around Rs300 per kg when the season begins, and fall to Rs250 per kg as the season end. This year, there have been no major variation in prices, but the quality has fallen due to unsuitable climatic conditions.”

Agriculturists blame the weather for the slide in ponk quality. According to agriculturist Ramesh Pandey, “In addition to the usually mild weather, off-season rainfall has affected a number of crops, including juvar. Global warming disturbed the environmental cycle, which has affected crop development. With ponk, it is important that the crop is handled carefully, since it loses its taste if the weather is not very cold.”

Farmer Mathurbhai explains the method of growing juvar. “Juvar is a high-maintenance crop, especially if one is to make ponk. It needs to be grown in stages and it is important to select only the soft juvar get good ponk, which only happens if the weather is very cold.”

Controversy halts film on Ruby case from hitting floor

Alleging they were not informed about it, the victims family wants to review the script before shooting begins

Devanshi Joshi. Vadodara/DNA

Sunday, December 21, 2008

The Ruby case involving three deaths that had taken place in February 2007 has once again become the subject of controversy, not out of any twists, but because of a film based on it. The shooting for the film was scheduled to begin on Saturday, but was halted as the family of Darshan and Mihir Thakore, who were killed in the case, demanded a review of the script.Talking to DNA, Mitesh Thakore, the brother of Darshan and Mihir said, “The producer of the film, Amit Vyas, had not informed us about it. The case is related to our life and family. So, the producer should have at least asked us before planning the film, more importantly when the case is still on board.” “As we were apprehensive about the script and treatment of the film, we asked the producer to show us the script. We do not want anything to be projected wrongly in the film. We are not against the film, but our main concern is that it should not affect the case adversely,” added Mitesh.On the other hand, Vyas, a Gujarati and Hindi film producer, said, “Being one of the police helpers in the case, I have observed it from close. The star cast and the legalities are all set. It will be made in Hindi, while I am also planning to dub it in Bhojpuri. I was all set with the shooting schedule.”“Now, the Thakore family has demanded that the script be reviews, thus delaying the shooting of the film,” he added.Speaking about the cast of the film, Vyas said, “I have cast Shweta Tiwari, a well-known television actress, as Jyoti, and well-known Gujarati actor Kiran Kumar as PI Sheikh. Chirag Gadhvi will be playing Balkrishna and Dinesh Lamba will play the role of Jayanti Pateliya.”