Magazine - Sunday, January 27, 2019

January 27, 2019

TIMES HOLLYWOOD:

Black Panther is the first superhero movie to earn an Oscars Best Picture nomination Page 8

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The Founder of chutney-soca, Sundar Popo

Guyanese chutney star Nisha Benjamin

Sometimes you have to lose your way to find yourself, says Goonwattie Harrynarine page 3

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JANUARY 27, 2019

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FEATURE

By Lakhram Bhagirat

W

hen speaking about the impact of music, media mogul Ted Turner brilliantly said: “Music has a great power for bring people together. With so many forces in this world acting to drive wedges between people, it’s important to preserve those things that help us experience our common humanity.”

No matter what you are experiencing, music has the uncanny ability to help you through that. Particularly when it comes to lifting our spirits or forging a bond with our fellow humans, music is always there. The lyrics speak to the soul and can influence a revolution or make a stone heart melt.

At a time when tensions are running amok in the world and even here at home, young Chandrapaul Nathoo is using his gift of making music to soothe our souls and promote unity. He considers himself as one of the most patriotic Guyanese and dreams of a Guyana that is united beyond barriers and he is doing his part to forge that level of unity.

The 18-year-old hails from the peaceful village of Albion Front on the Corentyne Coast in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) and is the baby of his family. He remembers his childhood as one that was fun-filled, but with great emphasis on acquiring a sound education to propel him into the world of work as a prepared individual.

He attended the JC Chandisingh Secondary School and was considered an A student and excelled at his examinations. He sat the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations in 2015 and gained passes in 11 subjects. Apart from gaining a traditional education, Chandrapul actively pursued studies in other areas, includ-

Regional Environmental Health Officer, Marvin Dindyal.

During all these occurrences, Chandrapaul was proactively involved in his singing career. He composed Bhajans of his own. In one instance, he composed a Bhajan entitled “Durga Maa”, which he sung in his Mandir during a Navaratri celebration.

Gradually, Chandrapaul was motivated to participate in the Guyana Chutney Monarch Competition 2019. Music being no stranger to him, he composed a song entitled “Mash 49”.

This song is composed of both English and Hindi Lyrics. “Mash 49” is considered a true patriotic song of Guyana. In this song, Chandrapaul expertly depicts the theme of Mashramani 2019 ing computer science along with Sanskrit and Hindi.

During the same period as he was studying for CSEC, he met with his Sanskrit and Hindi Gurus (Teachers),

Pandit Shamkumar Ramlochan (Sanskrit Kovida) and Srimate Saroja Ramlochan. Here is where Chandrapaul excelled with a distinction in Sanskrit as well as Hindi.

His thirst for higher education became more evident and practical resulting in him joining the Environmental Health programme offered by the Ministry of Public Health. At the end of this programme, Chandrapaul graduated with a distinction in Environmental Health and was also declared the Valedictorian.

Upon obtaining his certificate in Environmental Health, he was appointed as a Public Health Inspector with the Regional Administration.

To further his education, he was accepted into the University of Guyana (Berbice Campus) to pursue a Diploma in Public Management, an encouragement he gained from his

“Celebrate Mash 49 with victory in mind” as the chorus. His Hindi lyrics “garbhse manaao Mashramani, phirse kojo El Dorado” exactly meant what the theme warranted.

A song of three verses reflects the culture of the three major ethnic groups in Guyana. The first verse pays tribute to the arrival of the Amerindians who came from Asia to Guyana bringing with them their food and the word that would eventually become Mashramani. The second verse gives credit to the arrival of Afro-Guyanese who came from Africa to Guyana, bringing with them their musical instruments as well as their Qwe-Qwe Culture. The third verse speaks about the arrival of Indo-Guyanese who came from India to Guyana bringing their musical instruments as well as their festivals and cultures. His concluding line glorifies the National Motto of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana “One People, One Nation, One Destiny”.

Chandrapaul having been selected as a semi-finalist in the Guyana Chutney Monarch Competition 2019 is ready to perform among 12 semi-finalists on the same stage. He is optimistic to be crowned the 2019 Chutney Monarch of Guyana.

He says that you can look for more music from him as he intends to use his talent to unite his people.

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FEATURE

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uite often we discover our best selves in moments of peril or even after we would have fought a losing battle. It is in those situations that we discover what we are capable of and how we can transform our lives and the lives of those around us, realising our true potential.

It is loss that made Goodwattie Harrynarine realise that she has more than what it takes to make a name for herself in the music industry. It is that very loss that led her to making more music and not just any kind of music, but music that resonated with her listeners and today she can boast as being one of the women on the forefront of changing the face of Chutney music in Guyana.

The 25-year-old Shieldstown, West Coast Berbice resident is popularly called Amrita and is one of the most notable residents in her community. Not because she is a Chutney artiste rather because of her love for music. Amrita’s story started in the mandir.

She considers singing the praises of God as her big break.

From a very young age, she has been actively involved in the local temple scene and singing melodious bhajans.

For her growing up meant school, a little time with friends and more time in the mandir, since she comes from a staunch Hindu family.

At the age of five, Amrita took up singing and dancing and now she is regarded as being accomplished in both fields. She has been participating in various signing competitions and one of the biggest stages she has been on is the GTT Jingle and Song Competition, which she did not win.

It was following that loss that she worked to perfect her craft and ever

since has been making her mark. Amrita is also a regular in the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha’s Kala Utsav festival. Now she is dabbing her feet in the Mashramani Chutney Monarch Competition and is the only female participating.

By being the only female, Amrita is hoping that she can influence the current generation of young ladies and show them that women can do anything a man and do it even better than the guys. She is hoping to grab the first prize with her track called “Dulaha Dulahin”.

According to her, the song is about a bride and groom at an Indian wedding as they make their way down the stairs. She notes that it was written with guidance from former Chutney Queen Vanita Willie.

With this being her first major Chutney performance, Amrita said that the state of the local music industry was not one very encouraging, since there was major support lacking. She notes that getting corporate sponsorship was the biggest challenge since most companies opted not to give their support to an up-andcoming artiste, rather they play it safe and support those who are already established.

Additionally, she notes that getting the local stations and DJs to play your music is another task, since they are more ‘foreign-minded’. She is hopeful that that will change as more progress is made.

For now she continues to make music and is concentrating on making herself a household name, not only in Guyana but further afield.

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guyanatimesgy.com

By Lakhram Bhagirat

C

hallenges are a part of our daily existence and overcoming them is what makes us strong individuals, but quite often we have to have that passion for what is on the other side in order to overcome the challenges. So about six years ago when a producer told Deonarine Balkissoon or as we may know him Nishal B that he should never sing again, he lost all hope and gave up.

Nishal’s journey into the music industry is quite unconventional, since it was something he did not want to do: from a very young age, he had his eyes set on becoming a cricketer. However, fate had something else in store for him.

Reflecting on his journey, the 30-year-old father said that while growing up in the village of La Bonne Intention (LBI) on the East Coast of Demerara, he was all about having fun and ensuring that school was the priority. His love for the game of cricket developed when he was about 10 years old and from then no one could stop him.

At the age of 11, Nishal and his father were in an accident that resulted in them being badly injured and caused him to stop playing cricket for some time. When he was 15 and a student at the Bladen Hall Multilateral School, he decided to take back up the game he so loved.

He became a member of the Demerara Cricket Club and beg a n polishing himself for a career in the cricketing field.

“I wrote CXC, but never wanted to further studies because of the love I had for this game called cricket. I kept following my dreams of being a cricketer, but as soon as I was getting the opportunities to make it big in cricket, I developed a back injury that kept me out of the game until this day,” he said.

After Nishal was forced to give up his dreams of being a cricketer, he had no idea what to do with, himself since there was never a plan B. “I spent days thinking and even cried about this. I slowly got over my injuries and soon after I head over to Trinidad and Tobago where I spent some time and develop the love for Chutney music. I move back to Guyana and got myself settled and started to do construction work.

I then got married and started to follow music,” he said.

Getting into music for Nishal was a challenge he certainly was not prepared for.

It was difficult beyond comprehension, he says, and to

this day although he is an accomplished singer, it is still a challenge in the music industry. The challenge is to stay relevant and make music that everyone enjoys.

At the age of 24, he made his first attempt at making music after his friends in Trinidad would encouraged him to sing. He initially reached out to a number of local artistes for tips and general advice, but the response was non-existent.

“I then decided take matters into my own hands and head into a studio to record a song. I went and record and did my first song called “Titan”. The studio guy had a hell of time to record me ‘cause I didn’t know one thing I was doing. I thought to myself that I’ll go to a next studio to see if they can help me, but that was the worst decision I made at that moment. The studio guy told me “boy, don’t sing back after today, you too green” as he meant I don’t have the potential to be a singer.

“At that moment, I walked out his yard and dropped singing completely. Four years after, I was on Facebook and saw a guy name Michael and notice he is a singer, so I messaged him and we had a chat and he encouraged me to get back into singing and he will put me on to someone who will help me,” Nishal related.

From then, the journey has not been easy but it is more comfortable since he has the support of his fellow musicians.

He said after the conversation with Michael (only name given), he was linked with local artiste Bunty Singh who owns the BKVJ Studio where he recorded some songs.

After that, his voice and style of music started impacting the local scene, resulting in the bookings starting to come in. He eventually became a group act with Vicadi Singh and AW Lyrical where they worked on a number of local and regional shows.

Eventually, his music career was given an unexpected boost when Terry Gajraj offered to record a song with him called “Wine on Me”.

“After doing that song, Mr Gajraj offered me a chance to go New York to perform and I made full use of the opportunity and went. From that moment, I’ve been travelling back and forth, performing locally and internationally. At the moment, I have one album out and currently working on a next.”

Nishal has been making his mark on the local music scene and many may not know this but the males’ reply to Ravi B’s popular song “Start Over” was sung

by Nishal. It was recorded in the Shakti Strings Studio in Guyana.

Not one to plan ahead, Nishal said that he hopes to make it big in the music industry and is currently a semi-finalist in the 2019 Chutney Monarch Competition with his song called “I’m proud to be a Guyanese.”

guyanatimesgy.com

By Lakhram Bhagirat

F

or Sasenarine Hitnarayan, there are two things he is immensely passionate about and those are cricket and singing. For him, like many artistes, he sees his music as being a tool for uniting people across boundaries.

The 26-year-old hails from Number 68 Village on the Corentyne Coast in East Berbice. His passion for singing and cricket developed simultaneously, since he can remember playing cricket from a tender age and started his singing career at just five years old.

“I spent most of my childhood days with my brothers and sisters. Growing up was always a struggle for us because we were very poor and had very little. But we were always con-

tented with what we got and always worked hard for what we wanted,” he said.

The struggle for Sasenarine’s family intensified when his father left the home when he was just eight years old. This placed his mother, Sharmila, in a position where she had to venture out to take care of the family. It also meant the struggle intensified as they were growing up. It also had an impact on his ability to concentrate in school, but he persevered and is on the path to success.

“I graduated Skeldon High School and then went on to start working at the Skeldon Estate as an agronomy hand in the year 2009 until it was closed.”

In relation to his singing, Sasenarine said that he first started at the age of five in his mandir and vividly remembers his first bhajan “Tum hi ho mata” and the encouragement he received. From there he was a regular in the temple’s kirtan group and would sing wherever he was afforded the opportunity to do so.

“Over the years, my love for music has grown so much that I utilised all the opportunities afforded to me. In 2013, I entered the GTT Jingle and Song Competition and I was selected to be in the top ten, but because of my financial difficulties I could not turn up to perform on the finals. But that never stopped me from living my dreams.”

“I met Bunty Singh who was just starting to create his studio BKVJ in Shieldstown, West Berbice and I recorded my first song in the same year 2013. The song was “You are my Love”, and it was because I experience the worst heartbreak ever and I just put the songs into a song and it instantly became a hit and I was happy,” he notes.

To date, he has made 17 songs and has been actively pursuing his dreams of becoming an acclaimed singer, not just locally but also further afield. He has been capitalising on the various competitions and would have entered the Chutney Monarch contest three times, coming second last year. This year, he is hoping to snatch the crown and be-

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come King.

His track in this year’s competition is called “Love and Unity”. He says that it is a song that is calling on all Guyanese to come together as one people, in one nation with a common destiny of living together in unity.

“The song is sending a message to us Guyanese because we need to come together and love each other which is a way to a successful Guyana,” he explained.

Sasenarine said that he hoped to take the crown and

work towards revolutionising the Chutney music scene making it more about addressing issues and promoting national harmony. He advises his fellow singers to do everything they can to ensure that they support each other and not try to bring down someone for their own benefit.

Sasenarine is wise beyond his age and he plans to continue influencing the kind of change Guyana needs through his music.

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Feature

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hutney music is a form indigenous to the southern Caribbean, popular in Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname, and other parts of the Caribbean. It is also popular in Fiji, Mauritius, and South Africa. Chutney Music is a mixture of Bhojpuri music with influences from traditional genres such as calypso, soca and Bollywood filmi songs.

Chutney music emerged mid-20th century and reached a peak of popularity during the 1980s. Initially lyrics were religious in nature and typically sung by females but as time progressed the males started to dominate the scene. Chutney music was established in the 1940s within temples, wedding houses, and cane fields of the Indo-Caribbean.

There were no recordings until 1968, when Ramdew Chaitoe of Suriname, recorded an early rendition of chutney music. The album was entitled King of Suriname and all of the songs were religious in nature.

However, Chaitoe soon became a household name with East Indians not just in Suriname but throughout the Caribbean.

Although the songs were religious, they had a dance vibe throughout each track. For the first time Indo-Caribbeans had music that spoke to them and was not specifically Indian or European/American in style. This

music in Trinidad, Guyana & Suriname.

Chutney Music also got its first big impact commercially in live concert performances during the 1980s when the music was presented

by Rohit Jagessar in large stadiums and cricket fields in selected countries around the world.

The 1985 revenue from these concerts surpassed US$1 million for the first time in the history of the genre and Jagessar signed Kanchan to a conwas a breakthrough for East Indian Caribbean music, but the fame was short lived.

Chutney music exploded again in 1968 with the female singer Dropati, who released an album entitled Let’s Sing & Dance, made up of traditional wedding songs. These songs became huge hits within the East Indian Caribbean community. The album gained recognition for chutney music as a legitimate form and united East Indians, regardless of their birthplace.

1969 was a turning point for chutney music when record producer Moean Mohammed recorded Sundar Popo with Harry Mahabir’s BWIA Orchestra.

Sundar Popo modernized the music by including western guitars and early electronics into his music. Although Popo became known as the “King of Chutney,” the art of singing songs in “Chutney” style was introduced by a singer named Lakhan Kariya, from the town of Felicity, Chaguanas who preceded Sundar Popo.

Other artists, such as Sam Boodram, followed in his footsteps by adding new modern instrumentation into their music.

Chutney music until then remained a local

promote the popular brand in a most memorable television commercial that very same year.

The modern chutney artist writes lyrics in either Caribbean Hindustani or English, then lays them over beats derived from Indian dholak beats mixed with the soca beat. Chutney is an uptempo song, accompanied by bass guitar, drum machine, electric guitar, synthesizer, dholak, harmonium, and dhantal, tassa played in rhythms imported from filmi, calypso or soca.

The nature of current chutney songs are simple. They speak about life and love for many things, whether for a significant other or for an object of possession. Some chutney songs favor the topic of food or drink; however, like most West Indian music, there can be a hidden message found in the song if you read between the lines.

The origin of chutney being in the Caribbean has meant that it’s been in close contact with different peoples, traditions, and other musical styles since its inception. This has allowed chutney to fuse with other genres and/or implement new instruments into its own style, creating an array of syncretic subgenres including ragga chutney, chutney-bhangra, chutney hip-hop, soca-bhangra, and chutney soca.

Chutney soca is the most notable of these, as it has become virt u ally i n distin-

guishable from what is considered normal chutney in recent

tract with Johnson & Johnson to produce and

years.

In Guyana, one of the most popular chutney singers was Nisha Benjamin who was considered as the mother of chutney music. Benjamin, who died in 2010, sprang to fame in the 1970s and became the first major IndoGuyanese performer. She became popular around the same time Trinidad’s Sundar Popo emerged with “Nana and Nani” and held claim to being the Chutney King.

Sadly, Nisha Benjamin’s sterling contribution to the very beginning of Chutney music and its evolution in Guyana has not been recognised locally, according to many in the industry. In the late 1970s, Nisha Benjamin came out with her most memorable song “Benjie Darling,” a beautiful love song to her second husband “Benjie.” She thought of the words for the song while on a ferry in the Essequibo River.

She was born on the island of Leguan in the Essequibo River.Among her other hits were Dharmat Karo, Na Manu Na Manu, O’Maninja, Sandrowta, Romeo, and Loving Darling.

In O’Maninja, she described the hardships of a woman working and living on a sugar estate. Subtly, she told the story of the political and economic situation in Guyana.

She was also the first artiste to record a song with her father, Eaton Drepaul. So popular is Nisha’s Benjamin’s “Benjie Darling” that a clue on the popular game show Jeopardy was based on the song.

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n an industry where there is very little protection guaranteed to the intellectual property of those on the local music scene, artists have to adapt and most of all persevere if they want to become successful. Not only do they have to persevere to become successful, but they also have to persevere to be able to make a living from the music they make since they are not signed to any big label nor do they earn royalties from their music sales. All they do is earn money from the bookings they get to perform their music.

Those are the struggles of our local musicians as they try to make a name for themselves.

No one knows that struggle more than Chait Singh Mohanlall or Bunty Singh as he is popularly known. Now, Bunty is one of the most recognisable names in the local music industry; that has not always been the case.

In his early days, the 28-year-old would walk miles upon miles to sell CDs of his music in an effort to popularise it and make himself a household name. Music is in Bunty’s DNA since his father was a musician and the family has a kirtan group (Hindu choir) – being around music influenced him. He started singing since he was a child as well as playing instruments.

He is a talented dholak (drum) player and would have won several awards for his playing.

“I use to walk and sell my CDs from Crabwood Creek (Berbice) to Parika (East Bank Essequibo). I did this just to gain more recognition and progress as I journeyed to become successful. To push my music career, I entered the GTT Jingle and Song Competition two times and was placed in the top ten and another time I came in the fifth slot.”

“I also entered in the Mash Chutney Monarch Competition in 2009 and got most promising artiste. I then keep participating in the Mash Chutney Monarch and got no place until 2015 when I placed third. In 2016, I won the Monarch. The next year I got second and then won again in 2018,” he said.

This year, he is back to defend his title with an original song called “Maharani Phoulorie”.

Phoulorie is one of Bunty’s favourite snacks and that is why he decided to write a song about his love for the food. The song was recorded in the Shakti Strings Studio.

Apart from being a vocalist, Bunty is also the owner of a recording studio. With just a few recording studios around for local artistes to record their songs, they were forced to leave Guyana and travel to Trinidad and Tobago to do so and with that in mind, Bunty opened Bunty Kris Valarie Janvi (BKVJ) Recording Studio at Shieldstown.

Since the establishment of the studio, several known artistes have recorded their songs at BKVJ, including Prince JP who now resides overseas, as well as Haresh Singh, Roger Hinds, Wata Flow and others.

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Bollywood/Hollywood

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hilpa Shetty, sister Shamita and mother Sunanda have been dragged to court for failing to repay loan amounting to Rs 21 lakh (GY$6.1M), which was allegedly taken by Shilpa and Shamita’s father, Surendra Shetty. The case was filed by Parhad Amra, an automobile agency owner, who has accused Shilpa, Shamita and their mother of refusing to pay a loan that was taken by Surendra in 2015. The case will be heard by the Metropolitan Magistrate Court on January 29.

According to a report in Mid-Day, Parhad has claimed in his written complaint that Surendra had borrowed Rs 21 lakh in January 2017 at an 18% interest per year. The cheque was written in favour of Surendra’s company ‘Corgifts’. Parhad claims that Surendra had informed him that his daughters and wife were partners in the company while he had asked for the loan. Before he could repay the loan, however, Surendra passed away on October 11,

2016 and since then Shilpa, Shamita and their mother have refused to repay the loan.

The first legal notice to the Shettys was sent on April 24, 2017. The Shettys, in turn, accused Parhad of owing them money. It was then that Parhad filed a written complaint at Juhu police station. He was informed that he would need to file a complaint at a civil court. Parhad then filed a private complaint before the Metropolitan Magistrate Court, Andheri, under section 156 of Criminal Procedure Code on October 26, 2017.

Parhad’s advocate Yusuf Iqbal was quoted in the same report as saying, “The matter came up for hearing on December 8, 2018, and since no one from the Shetty family nor their lawyer were present for the hearing, the court directed Juhu police to make an inquiry under section 202 of Criminal Procedure Code and submit their report. The matter is slated for [hearing] on January 29.” (Hindustan Times)

elevision actor Ankita Lokhande is making her Bollywood debut with Manikarnika and is already being a thorough professional. When asked in a recent interview if she is open to working with her ex-boyfriend Sushant Singh Rajput in a movie, Ankita said she is.

Speaking to The Times Of India, Ankita said, “As an actor, I have no choice.

If the script is good, I will definitely work with him.”

Ankita and Sushant met and fell for each other on their television soap opera, Pavitra Rishta. It ran from 2009 to 2014. The two split up in 2016 after a six-year relationship.

Ankita is now dating a businessman Vicky Jain.

She confirmed her relationship in an interview to Bombay Times. “He is a very nice guy. He is a businessman from Bilaspur. Yes, I am in love and you will get to know about it when the

time is right,” she said. She was also asked about the wedding to which she responded, “If it happens, I will let you know and invite you for the wedding. I can’t say anything right now, but there are no such plans, yet.

I am just focussing on work at the moment.”

Sushant also wished Ankita good luck when she shared her first look from Manikarnika. “It looks absolutely great Ankita. I’m extremely happy to see this.

May God bless with lots of success and happiness,” he

has posted on Instagram.

He spoke about wishing her in a recent interview, “I liked it (Ankita’s first look) a lot and whatever I wrote was from my heart. I wanted to congratulate her.” He was also asked if he wished Ankita personally, and Sushant said that he did not feel the need to do so. “What I write on social media is how I am really, and whatever I wrote on the platform is not for the people but for her (Ankita).” (Hindustan Times)

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ario, who’s appearing on Fox’s “Rent: Live” Sunday with Tinashe, denies he’s dating his costar. Tongues wagged that the singers are an item after they were spotted leaving a recent latenight dinner at Craig’s in LA. But Mario told us, “She is a beautiful girl

Crossword Solution

and we do have a vibe.

But I [had] never been to Craig’s, and she asked me if I wanted to go to dinner with her and her manager.”

He added that he has a rule about online flirting: If chatting hasn’t turned into real-life dating within a week, it’s not going anywhere.

“I’ve dated girls that dropped in my DMs . . . absolutely; it’s 2019,” he said. “But if we don’t get out of the DMs within the first week, we’ll keep it at ‘Hi’ and ‘Bye,’ just a friendship. I’ll probably just fade away because I’ve had many of those.”

(Page Six)

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lack Panther is the first superhero movie to earn an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture, a move that many critics, industry members, and fans have deemed a watershed moment.

It wasn’t too long ago that debates sprung up around Hollywood about whether a superhero movie could or should earn a Best Picture nomination when standing alongside more stereotypical dramatic films.

In fact, it was exactly 10 years ago that those conversations started, after Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight failed to earn a Best Picture nomination, which many people still regard as one of the biggest Oscar snubs in history. At the time, Ben Child wrote in The Guardian that “there remains the sneaking suspicion that many voters refrained from nominating The Dark Knight not because they did not believe it to be a great film, but because they did not believe it to be the right sort of great film.”

The outcry that followed The Dark Knight’s snub seemingly forced the academy to change a core facet of its approach in handing out nominations: the number of films within the Best Picture category

jumped from five to 10.

That change was designed to make room for less traditional “best picture” movies.

“The message was clear: War pictures, tearjerking dramas, biopics, and message movies were on notice; they’d now have to share the room with action blockbusters, superhero films, sci-fi flicks, animated features and comedies,” Nathaniel Rodgers wrote for Polygon last year.

That was the assumption, anyway.

Between 2009 and this year, superhero movies still didn’t receive much attention from the academy in its biggest categories. That’s the entire lifespan of Marvel’s current Cinematic Universe — a total of 22 movies passed over. Genre films have largely been relegated to the science categories, including Visual Effects.

Black Panther still has to beat out films like Bohemian Rhapsody, Vice, The Favourite, and Green Book, all of which are seen as potential favorites. But the fact that it was nominated at all is a defining moment for both superhero movies and the Oscars: Black Panther is not just a popular movie.

It’s a damn good film.

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Home & Cooking

Home Décor

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he island kitchen layout is a great way to integrate extra counter space into what might usually be a cramped area. Although the island kitchen layout doesn’t work for all kitchen sizes or shapes, this layout works best in an L-shaped kitchen that measures 10 by 10 ft. and opens to another area. You need a minimum of 42” of aisle space on all sides.

If your kitchen is too small to allow for this, try a portable island that you can move in an out as needed. Here’s some extra info to help you decide if an island kitchen is the right layout for your home.

Working island

This type of kitchen island is usually a furniture piece, styled after vintage worktables, often with drawers and open shelves.

Storage island

A basic freestanding or built-in island provides counter and cabinet space without the expense of sinks or major appliances.

Prep and wash island

Sinks make islands ideal for washing hands and food and bartending for parties. Tuck bar sinks, like this one, into corners to maximize counter space.

Give full-size sinks at least 1 foot of counter on both sides.

Cooktop island

Cooktop islands are dedicated to the stove or range, with an area for resting pans or pots. Unlike a range by a wall, a cooking island leaves hot pans more exposed unless a buffer wall is built, and will cost more to ventilate.

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Puzzles

ACROSS 1 Bit of baby talk 5 Expertise 10 Rental option 16 Steel rod 21 Ottoman VIPs 22 Boredom 23 Fifth-century invader 24 “Any fool can make -- -- ...”

(Thoreau) 25 Haystack 26 Grazing land 27 Dwindle 28 Weight unit for gems 29 Inclined to stick 31 Actress -- Thurman 33 “What’s in -- --?”

35 NASA counterpart 36 Beau 37 Dah partners 40 Oklahoma town 41 Munro’s pen name 42 Building wing 45 Route follower 46 Berlin article 48 Capp and Jolson 50 Not uniform 52 Plate boundary hazards 54 Bucket defect 55 Scribbles down 57 Thou, today 58 Bobby of Indy fame 59 “Nautilus” skipper 60 Baja Ms. 62 DEA agents 66 “-- -- the picture!”

67 Deserves 69 Omelet ingredient 71 Technical word 72 Draft horse 74 Navy noncom 76 Pedro’s friend 78 Thai language 79 Sci-fi award 80 Rowboat part 83 Laundry chore 85 Worse than bad 88 “The Little Engine That --” 89 Knocks down 90 Take steps 93 Cyclists’ headgear 95 Chicken style 97 -- so?

98 Urbane 100 CD preceders 101 Tough and shrewd (hyph.)

106 Thing 108 Does ranch work

110 Odd facts 112 Sign of spring 113 Bo of “10” 115 1492 caravel 116 Orchidlike blossom 117 Quit 118 Karate level 120 -- -back (relaxed) 122 Clucks 123 Teeny-tiny 124 Turned on 128 Wily 129 Approves 130 Physique, slangily 131 Attorney’s deg.

132 “Tomb Raider” Croft 133 Big Ben numeral 135 Sherpa’s sighting 137 Very important 139 Hail, to Caesar 140 Battery’s “+” end 142 Caribou kin 144 Valiant 148 Subatomic particles 150 Motif 153 Crumble away 155 Low voice 156 Monica of tennis 157 Go for pizza, say (2 wds.)

158 Less rosy 159 Splinter group 160 Upright 161 Puts a spin on 162 Misty-eyed 163 Derisive snorts DOWN 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 30

Antony the Roman Exchange premium SST speed ind.

At an angle Not just flirting Scoundrels Deeply felt Drag along In -- of Ocean, in Mongolian Pass near Pikes Peak Qt. parts Kudrow or Bonet Ms. Verdugo Pleasure-dome site Road rally Geologic division Agency Nome home List price Drab, as colors

KATHLEEN SAXE

WORD GAME TODAY’S WORD -- WALLOWING (WALLOWING: WAHL-oh-ing: Rolling about as if in water or mud; reveling.)

Average mark 30 words Time limit 40 minutes

Can you find 38 or more words in WALLOWING?

wagon wail wain waling wall walling wallow wigan will willow

wing aglow align allow allowing along awing lain lawn ling

lingo

noil

lion

gain

llano

gall

loan

gallon

loin

gill

long

glow

lowing

gnaw

owing

goal

nail

gown

RULES OF THE GAME: 1. Words must be of four or more letters. 2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of "s," such as "bats" or "dies," are not allowed. 3. Additional words made by adding a "d" or an "s" may not be used. For example, if "bake" is used, "baked" or "bakes" are not allowed, but "bake" and "baking" are admissible. 4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit words are not allowed.

32 Inventory wd.

34 A throng 38 -- Mahal 39 Spill clumsily 41 Short and thick 42 Furnish 43 Fencing move 44 Powerful beam 46 Hooded cloak 47 Oodles (2 wds.)

49 Lightning flash 51 Immeasurable time 53 Fries topper 54 Damsel rescuer 56 Stalk 59 Agrippina’s son 61 “Oh, sure!” (2 wds.)

63 Antique 64 Flivver starter 65 Hazy conditions 67 Tilly or Ryan 68 Ancient manuscripts 69 Most refreshing 70 Kind of trip

73 Story-telling dances 75 Like nice grapes 77 Of yore 81 King beater 82 Mo. summer hrs.

84 Fan 85 Orchard pest 86 Penned 87 Easier to count 91 Polish 92 Hold down a job 93 Redheads’ tints 94 Avoids responsibility 95 Mr. Kristofferson 96 Mont. neighbor 99 Colorado ski town 102 “We try harder” folk 103 Shoulder warmer 104 Canvas support 105 Nerdy guy 107 The press 109 Every morning 111 Play with fire 114 “Krazy --”

117 Fragrant wood 119 Fritz’s refusal 121 Do Easter eggs 122 Plug away 123 Kiln locale 124 Slip by 125 Mr. Cugat 126 Spicy cuisine 127 Former radio tubes 130 Student’s notebook 134 Without a flaw 136 Circus quarters 137 String-quartet member 138 Pet shop buy 140 Sec’y 141 Como -- usted?

143 Hung on to 145 Defendant’s answer 146 Hankering 147 Pixels 149 Toshiba rival 151 Charged particle See 152 Kind of reaction Solution 154 Funny Charlotte -- on Pg 14

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JANUARY 27, 2019

Sunday Times Magazine 13

Fun Times

Archie

ARIES (March 21April 19)

Take care of your personal responsibilities before you move on to pleasurable activities. A change will encourage you to be more active and update your appearance.

Emotions will mount if you TAURUS let stress fester. Engaging in (April 20- physical activity and getting May 20) rid of the things you no longer need will help relieve tension. Don't ignore what needs to be done.

GEMINI (MAY 28June 20)

Listen more while revealing less. If you ask questions and show interest, you'll be offered information that will make you think twice about the people you associate with.

Getting together with friends or relatives and en(June 21- gaging in projects or pasJuly 22) times that are geared toward people of all ages will change your perspective on how you want to proceed personally.

CANCER

LEO (July 23Aug. 22)

Dilbert

Peanuts

Don't feel obliged to make a change. Listen to what others have to say, but don't buy into someone else's plan. An emotional decision will lead to regret. Bide your time.

VIRGO (Aug. 23Sept. 22)

Look at your options, but don't make an impulsive move. You are better off being an onlooker for the time being if you want to avoid making a mistake.

LIBRA (Sept. 23Oct. 23)

Have fun by going out with people who build you up. Don't feel you must make a decision if you aren't ready, regardless of what someone else does or says.

Emotional matters will SCORPIO escalate if you get into a de(Oct. 24- bate with someone. Rely on Nov. 22) past experience to guide you.

Concentrate on a creative outlet to ease your stress.

Make changes that will SAGITTARIUS render your home more in(Nov. 23viting.

Don't lend or borrow Dec. 21) money or possessions, or give anyone access to private information that could be used against you.

Calvin and Hobbes

Stick to the facts, live by CAPRICORN the rules and regulations, and (Dec. 22- don't follow the crowd. Relying Jan. 19) on your experience will help you avoid making a decision based on emotions instead of common sense.

An emotional incident AQUARIUS will leave you feeling un(Jan. 20- comfortable. Don't take part Feb. 19) in something just because someone else does. It's OK to say no and follow your own path.

A poor decision will lead PISCES to financial loss or legal im(Feb. 20Mar. 20) plications. Look for a way to protect your investments, reputation and rights.

Patience and honesty will be necessary.

14 Sunday Times Magazine

AUGUST 27, 2017

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JANUARY 27, 2019

Sunday Times Magazine 15

16 Sunday Times Magazine

JANUARY 27, 2019

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