Blink issue 45 december06 2014

JOHN WHO? Australian lawyer and novelist John Lang lies in this nondescript grave in Mussoorie. Why did Narendra Modi resurrect him recently? p8 saturday, december 6, 2014

c rateesh kumar

In India, one child goes missing every eight minutes. Yet it continues to be a low-priority issue for the State p9

Still missing

MINE TOO Public performances in Delhi reveal how men and women negotiate spaces p15

PROUD TO BE A DIVE Every city has its not-sosecret watering hole, where happy hours are forever p21

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Mind games Financing me, softly

A Chennai-based sports centre pits emerging talent against high-tech training machines to hone their ‘killerofinstinct’ The chronicler Mumbai's underworld writes exclusively for BLink on the rise and fall of Abu Salem and the role of the mafia in the film industry

On the ball Tennis player Ramya Natarajan trains at Quantum Leap Performance, which focuses on building mental strength

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t was a puzzle that Ramya Natarajan was calm during critical moments of the game. “In QLP is among the first sports fitness centres unable to solve. Natarajan knew she was sports, 10 per cent is about talent, 40 per cent in the country to use machines such as Dynaas skilled as her opponents, and many about fitness and 60 per cent about mental vision. Working with such cutting-edge techrecognised her as the next big talent in strength,” she says. nology, a player will have the confidence when Indian women’s tennis. But when it came to facing a peer from a developed country with winning, the youngster was falling short, un- Pressure points advanced training facilities, says Srinivasan. able to proceed beyond the quarterfinals in Srinivasan and Narayan couldn’t agree more.

In transit Mumbai has always been a city in flux, where fortunes made and unmade too easily bloomberg/vivek prakash“Talent is the same everywhere. Difference most are tournaments.

In the mind That was a year ago. The 15-year-old finished comes in the training and exposure,” says Na- But more than physical prowess, the focus on runners-up at the recent National sub-junior rayan. “We in India are rhetorical about the mental fitness sets QLP apart. “Few undertennis championships in Delhi. wasShah the need he recent news storiesThis about for better training.

Performance Indi- stand starry-eyed interest in Bollywood.

Hisofclosest theinnings nuances of athe sport like family, Srinivasan make his with Dawood and third timeRukh that she hadand reached the finals of a an Khan the Pujari brothers athletes has been in the and brush with movie starspoor, cameincluding when he deliverNarayaninto do.his In racing, instance, at the so plunged new jobfor with a zeal and fertournament in less a year.

“Earlier, I used seem likethan déjà vu.

Except this time it just concluded Asian Games,” ed firearms to Sanjay Dutt, hisadds hero,Srinivasan, for Anis in start of a only race,left drivers can beand nervous and vour that destruction despair in to get tiredisafter the first set,isornone would get andifferent.

There of the old who had1993. helped cricketer Sachin that Tendulkar January It was an encounter was to heart beats can go up to a rate of 180 a minute its wake. gry and lose concentration.

I have im- make paranoia when the mafia firstNow laid siege to Bola comeback change both theirafter lives.an elbow (normal rangewas is 60-100), leading Back home, the country going through proved,” she says.

She credits this changeare to injury lywood couple of decades ago. Filmmakers in 2005.

In 1993, Mumbai was rocked by serial bomb its own churning. to mistakes,” says 19-year-old Raj The economy was opened her training regime at Leaptheir Perno longer quivering in the fearQuantum and planning Often, sportspersons blasts thatIndian devastated the city and the nation. up by PV Narasimha Bharath,Rao anand emerging his financeracer wizformance (QLP) the past six months. exit like Rajiv Raicentre (Guptfor and Mohra) who left In- have buckled under Rakesh Maria, who waspressure a deputy police com- ard Manmohan training at In QLP since February.

Singh.

Mumbai, the finanIt takes six Chennai-based centre is jointly headed and diaThe in the ’90s for 20 long years. lackedand the at ‘killer instinct’. missioner the helm of the investiga- cial nerve centre Through personal of the country, there sessions was a lot months to acquire My Name is

by Unlike Ramji Srinivasan Badri Narayan. today, theand mafia invasion of While Bolly- Be it was archer Deepika Kumari, tion, turning on the heat and with audio-video content, happening both in Bollywood Abu Salem a mental skill Srinivasan is ’90s best was known asand the fitness trainer wood in the total terrifying.

The who couldn’twas handle the “presand nobody spared.

When Narayan trains Bharath, and the real estate sector. NataraRich InS Hussain Zaidi Penguin of thewere World cricket dons the Cup-winning dark lords of Indian the industry — sure” infilmstar Londonand Olympics famous the sonand of a jan and other to dians were nowsportspersons laundering their Non-fiction team, US-based sports psychologist Narayan controlling the stars, producers and directors Asian Games, or cricketer Suresh MP, Sanjay Dutt was sent to prisremain calm during “nervous” black money after the govern₹350 Unlike today, the has worked with top and names in lawn tennis. through extortions threats.

The man re- Raina to short on forrepeatedly possessingfalling firearms, Abu moments. exercises ment gave Breathing many voluntary dismafia invasion of “I got to for know about themwas through my cousponsible this mayhem Abu Salem — balls, even seasoned Vishwanathan are also conducted.

Salem,orwho hadthe supplied those takes So, up tothis six months closure“Itsops. was an Bollywood in the ’90s sin, is alsoand a tennis player,” says vain,who heartless money hungry, heNataraalmost Anand, whoknew seemed buckle be under the pres- to acquire a mental weapons, hetowould skill,” moment says Narayan. opportune for black was total and jan. a two-hour session QLP part of sure wentNow berserk and would haveat had theisdubious nextof in playing line. against Magnus Carlsen in the The QLP duo is now identifying emerging money to find its way into Bollyterrifying her daily routine.

“Wethework onBollywood, different World distinction of breaking back of Championship.

Their skill was talent to groom And Chess so Salem escaped to DuforPlans, the international stage. wood. too, were being laid things — had agility, speed and endu- never if his run not strength, been cut short. in question, butmafia mental pressure got the “We don’t want bai, like all the other dons, work with the ‘stars’,” says forto what would eventually rance,” she adds.

Srinivasan monitors her as better Abu Salem began his career as a lowly lieuwhereofhethem. began to eventually Srinivasan. They plan to an exchange prochange thehave geography of Mumshe works on high-tech machines such as Dytenant of Dawood’s brother Anis Ibrahim.

Be- work “It boils to how moredown closely with we Anisbring up our gramme withbai. similar the US and The institutes land in in south-central navision better hand-eye coordination), fore Anis,(for Bollywood had its dalliances with sportspersons.

Our diet is poor and mental sponsor Ibrahim. Anis owned King’s Video, a massive players for abroad.

Mumbaitalented was dominated by training mills, and while Fit footwork) manner. and Vertimax theLight mafia,(improving albeit in a peripheral Black training is not given enough 14- “It pirated film business.

In thatimportance. era, the onlyAway important to have such facilities when theis’80s was dominated by mill strikes, the (to develop Narayan the facilimoney wasstrength). being ploughed invisits to make films year-old European or American child will be you expatriate Indians could watch Hindi movies starting off.when I rue mill the fact that they ’90sare were a time owners werewesety once two in months and remains inmafia’s touch fitter but thatincame from all sources.

The thanvideos. a teenager from India,” says Bhishwas via The mafia had realised the ren’t when younger,” says Shacretlyaround parlaying withI was the state government to through Skype.

Bollywood connection in that period started maraj Bam, a retired police films officerinwho be- rath huge potential for Bollywood the MidKamal, a two-time winner of the free up the mill land for commercial use.CWG For“Now I respond to shots faster andactresses. hit har- came and ended with the starlets and a mental trainer has number worked of with dle East, where there wasand a large In- table gold.to The tunestennis were about be veteran made. player is now der.

Earlier I could compete only with in the Their common meeting ground wasthose Dubai, likes ofmade RahulaDravid Anjali Bhagwat. dians, and killing and on pirated cassettes. training at QLP tohad improve fitness.

“At my Liberalisation its sidehis effects in other arthe 14 ittowas 16-year bracket.

Now I watching can play “It where prestigious to be seen matters a working lot what with you are the age Salem began Anisdoing on theoffvideo skillstorylines is not theof issue.

I need to be fitThe to eas (33), like the Bollywood films. against thethe seniors too,” saysatNatarajan, as she cricket in VIP enclosure Sharjah with Da- field.

Evenbut things the timethe youjob goof to handsleep compete business was like soon given withman the younger lot,” he’80s adds. angry young of the ’70s and and the works to convert her finals appearances wood Ibrahim.

Salem himself at the timeinto was or theBollywood amount ofand water drink daily makes ling theyou builders of Mumbai. romantic hero suddenly seemed like extinct thomasaudience got more asvictories. that she iswho nowhad ablea to stay aThe primarilyIta helps gold smuggler, merely difference,” adds Narayan. ambitious young don was desperate to prince speciesmathews as the younger

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The plot thickens Following the 1993 Bombay blast (below the hindu archive), the police cracked down on Bombay’s underworld don Abu Salem (far right shashi ashiwal) and even filmstars like Sanjay Dutt (ap/deepak salvi)

pirational. The audience — many of them born in the ’70s after the wars with China and Pakistan and the angst of Partition — identified with the younger heroes. In 1990, Mahesh Bhatt’s Aashiqui was a superhit followed by Baaghi, Dil and Ghayal.

The old guard of Bollywood began to slowly decline and in their wake rose a brilliant young generation. There were the Khans — Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan, topped with the machismo of Sanjay Dutt and Sunny Deol and a sprinkling of Ajay Devgn. Amitabh Bachchan’s Hum was only remembered for the voluptuous Kimi Katkar and the song Jumma chumma de de. Though the Kapoor clan tried to revive their stock with Henna, they too had to eventually bow out.

Among the newcomers, one man stood out for his audacious charm and his appeal. Shah Rukh Khan simply swallowed the screen and everybody else with it. The audience could not take their eyes off him. He took Bollywood by storm. He was so compelling that the veteran lover boy Rishi Kapoor appeared lost and spent in Deewana (1992).

When Abu Salem left the shores of Mumbai, Bollywood’s reinvention was near

complete, and prof- police when five youths opened fire upon him. its had soared al- But Rai’s bodyguard managed to put up a most six times from fight and arrested one of them, while others the late ’80s. The fled from the scene. Rai was so perturbed by mafia naturally be- the murder attempt that he packed his bags gan to show an in- and left the shores of India forever.

Gulshan Kumar, owner of T-series and a muterest in what was happening in the in- sic magnate, was not so lucky. His killing was dustry. Earlier, film- very brutal and it shook the film industry. The makers earned solely trick worked. Nobody knows how much monthrough distribution in ey the big movie moghuls coughed up after the domestic sector and mu- the killing of Kumar. But it is said that Abu Sasic rights. But Shah Rukh Khan’s lem made a neat profit of ₹400 crore, besides Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge in 1995 purchasing many prime properties in Dubai, opened up a very lucrative market overseas. which he rented out. For Bollywood, Abu SaThen there were the satellite rights as PV Nara- lem coined a new name for himself. Captain. simha Rao did us another favour by saving us He also used the name Arsalan in his dealings from the limited options on the drab State- with Bollywood, a name he had used to make a run Doordarshan channel and opened up all forged passport for Dubai. of television.

Using his pseudonym Arsalan, he wooed One man from Bollywood who seemed to Monica Bedi, who was a struggling starlet at be on a winning spree at the time was film- the time. Eventually, they fell into a relationmaker Subhash Ghai and he was the first tar- ship and married. By this time, Salem and the get of the mafia. Ghai, known as the showman, other dons’ hold over Bollywood was commade larger-than-life films. He told simple sto- plete. They were not just making money from ries but etched the characters in your mind for the industry but also shaping it. Struggling aceternity. Like Dilip Kumar and tors and actresses had inveigled Raj Kumar in Saudagar or Sanjay their way into Bollywood using Dutt in Khalnayak. Remember mafia contacts. The mafia had bethe way Sanjay Dutt tilted his Salem, who recruited gun to even have a say in the casthead and shook his shouldering of many films. Later, of boys from Azamgarh length hair vigorously in Khal- for hit jobs for ₹5000, course, they got bolder and startnayak, a classic act that won him ed making films. Chhota Rajan’s dispatched five boys numerous fans. He was the first brother Deepak Nikalje got the to kill Subhash Ghai anti-hero of contemporary BolSanjay Dutt hit Vaastav made and Bharat Shah got into trouble lywood long before Shah Rukh for money laundering for the Khan immortalised the trend in Darr. Ghai’s Khalnayak was a mafia in Chori Chori Chupke runaway hit. The protagonist’s reel life image Chupke (2001).

Abu Salem and the controversies on film ficollided with real life when Sanjay Dutt got arrested making the film even more compell- nancing and the mafia only helped Bollying. The cash registers began ringing and Ghai wood. While in the ’90s film producers were emerged as one of the biggest movie moguls not transparent about the funding and earnings, Bollywood was forced to go legit. Today of the ’90s.

Salem’s job was to make calls to the big nobody is shy of claiming that their film made bosses of Bollywood and demand internation- ₹200 crore in earnings. Viacom, UTV, Balaji al distribution rights, access to piracy or just and other big production houses work on cormoney. Most people gave into his demands. porate lines and all financing is above board Ghai refused. Salem — who had started the generally. Movies, of course, don’t run for one trend of recruiting boys from his hometown year any longer and are supposed to yield reAzamgarh for hitmen for measly sums of turns in the first two days of the opening itself. ₹5,000 — dispatched five boys to kill Ghai. The Meanwhile, Abu Salem is just a name, erased boys were intercepted by the Mumbai police from Bollywood’s collective memory.

But the veterans are still wary of Salem’s and the plan foiled. Salem maintained that he didn’t actually mean to eliminate Ghai but presence in Mumbai jails. You never know if he will get acquitted or serve out his time, only was only intent on sending out a message.

The next target was director Rajiv Rai, who to return and make lives miserable again. had three hits to his credit, Tridev, Mohra and Gupt. In 1997, Rajiv Rai was in his Tardeo office s hussain zaidi is a journalist and author, most with his bodyguard, provided by the Mumbai recently of My Name is Abu Salem

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The toothbrush On two wings and the poets

Two decades after breaking up, Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines have reunited to launch Vistara. Will it prove second-time lucky for this ‘match made in heaven’?

The contradiction of the quintessential book to travel with Blue-skying Company officials and airhostesses at is that it can’t be too interestingthe launch of the logo for Tata-SIA’s newly christened

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airline Vistara in Delhi pti/shirish shete

he perfect travel companions let you able to focus and delve deep into Russian literbe yourself. They don’t make too ature in a wayAmber that you neverKPMG’s could atPartner home. the decade”.

Dubey, much noise; they do not fuss and Put Brothers Karamazov.

Accept that anddown IndiaTheHead, Aerospace and Defence, fidget. They do not want to wake up this is not the right time totogether make that fifth points out that this brings a worldtoo early, and they will eat anything for lunch. stab War and Peace. you never will classatairline and one Perhaps, of the best corporate They will pretend to be interested in you and read Middlemarch. houses in the country. “SIA brings in a global your obscure, slightly embarrassing hobbies. network, Travel inevitably shakes offand our airline complacendeep knowledge best They will stay up late with you and will not talk cy, throwsTata’s us offvarious balance.

It forces us to autotrust practices. businesses — IT, too loudly first thing in the morning. It takes the unknown. makesand us eat peculiar foods motive, hotels,It retail general aviation, years of training to bring a spouse to such lev- and handle strange currency.

Wesynergy must now reamong others — will bring in beneels of silent understanding and there are no examine ourselves and our place in the world. fits,” he says. guarantees that he or she will not learn new When fromwill home, wandering unfaThe far airline initially operatedown only in the and devious ways to annoy you as the years go miliar roads, stick the things youcannot love. The domestic space, as to start-up airlines fly by. It is for this reason that I believe that the authors who feelfive likeyears old friends, those books abroad before of domestic operbest travelling companion is neither friend you canand escape into aeffortlessly. ations without fleet of 20 aircraft. nor lover, but a book. Slipped into a back pockAnd what could an easierinescape a The sentiment is be so strongly favourthan of the et, placed discreetly in a handbag, resting short story theKapil idealKaul, thingChief to travalliance thatcollection someone—like Expeacefully within a neatly packed suitcase el with; just the Centre right length to distract,Aviation yet not ecutive Officer, for Asia-Pacific and, yes, even hovering weightlessly within a too to keep you from sleeping.

Don’t5/20 like has long called for rescinding the so-called smartphone or tablet — a good book is the per- the you5/20 are reading?

Skipattothe theearliest next one. rule.story “I hope is scrapped to fect travel companion.

In theIndia handstoofhave masters like Alicelong-haul Munro, John allow a world-class carThe contradiction of the quintessential Cheever and Ruskin Bond, the short story brisrier in Vistara,” he says. travel book is that it cannot be too interesting. tlesHowever, with life.such Eachpositive story touched with a trace thinking notwithIt cannot drag you too far off into worlds be- of longingitfor that souls standing, is escape unlikely to all bewandering a smooth flight yond the page, because you really do have oth- recognise. looking for in something for Vistara. For Likethose the other players the marer things to do. A good traveller has to be alive not swirling with emotion, ket, so it will have to grapple withthe theshort high colleccost of to the world, observant of its nutionsfuel of and Agatha Christie or DuPG aviation turbine airport charges. ances, sensitive to its charms.

Wodehouse, even after all these bey adds that some airports like Mumbai, Any traveller who loves to read will anot let youofdown.

PoiChennai andyears, Goa have shortage slots and must be careful not to fall into tight shoes and Miss “Staff Marparking bays,rot’s especially at peak hours. the trap of just reading and not ple’s gentlefrom murmurings poached competing will airWhen we go will to a have new to be doing anything else while on vasoon have in groomed a restful frame lines at a higher cost andyou then into a place, nobody knows cation. A week spent lying in bed of mind.The Jeeves Woostermay will new Vistara culture. firstand few months us, no one cares... reading is truly well glory, many saw it aas week a fitting finaleDare to a jourmakedue youto smile to yourself, bringthat in a lotsoon of traffic the novelty facwe become spent but,JRD perhaps, a week with best the person ney that had started airline’swhotor, reminding you of allmodel the silly but to sustain a full-service in unthe reads spent home. The most welliconic at maharaja. complicated things in this world.

Indian market will be an interesting chalJoyce? planned travel But that was itinerary not to be.can Thebedisinvestment lenge, though not Equally certain to never insurmountable,” he disapsays. thoroughly demolished by moved an did not happen and the Tatas away not point on a long journey is a book Kaul believes Vistara will be seriously chalabsorbing book, a comfy chair Airlines but lenged by the only from their partner Singapore ofexisting poetry —carriers language to as distilled full-service and quiet balcony. froma aviation itself. powerful airlines like its Jet most Airways and Airform.

IndiaTravel have The ideal booktwo to travel with, however, has with It was almost decades before the two who focus. wants Air us all to keep walking comeRumi, back into India is hoping its to be engaging to to tide youother over all the even began making enough overtures each again if there is noStar place to go to.the Pack up AKclub Radecision to join Alliance, global terribly parts of travel.

Airports filled manujan in 2012. boring The Government had since changed andwill hischange wonderful contemplations of 27 airlines, its fortunes while Jet with noisy who have disturbing the rules andchildren allowed foreign airlines to take a of six-faced gods and dried-up rivers. Try LeoAirways is leaning on its international partner amounts of energy.airlines.

Queues This of loud-mouthed nard Cohen’sEtihad stake in domestic Book ofAirways.

Longing and discover that businessmen who forceairline you toorlisten to their fine, dancing line meant that a domestic between and songWith at least poetry two Airbus A-320 tedious, unending phone conversations. Traf- writing (further entity could tie up with a foreign confounded by the fact that it aircraft ready and waiting in its fic jamsas in partner hot cabsto that smell an like toe jam and is illustrated livery, airline launch by the Vistara author).

Maryto Oliver isCarry preparing take The first few months sweat. travel advantage can mean of adventure and with you andoff. airline While here. Taking listen her as she tells you thata Buttowhen?

That remains may bring in a lot of wonder, it can Jet also mean sold endless the relaxation, Airways a delays and the only life you can save is yoursecret. own. Let the closely guarded There traffic due to the sleepless nights hotel rooms with Rubáiyát of Omar 24 per cent stakeintogarish Abu DhabiKhayyam remind that have been delays.

Set foryou an Octonovelty factor, but to too-hard bedsAirways and noisy air-conditioners. On we are all crawling based Etihad for ₹2,000 underneath thishas bowl of ber launch, the airline so far sustain a full-service days have seen crore.when A fewyou months later,too Tatamany faces of sky, and listenreceived to Kamala Das when she tellscerus only a No Objection model in the Indian strangers the road, when the sky is an unfa- what our bones Sons andonSingapore Airlines willfrom smell like when of weCivil are tificate the Ministry market will be an miliar colour, when your bodytoand the clock gone. Don’t forget were once again proposing yourIttoothbrush, more Aviation. is readyingbut, its flying interesting challenge will syncand at all, thatGovernis when you need a importantly, manual eachnot other to the don’t forget poets. for route andthe aircraft good ment book. for a new airline.

Despite all proving this loftyflights advice,ahead both of know ofus getting Choosing the over rightAir book can be tricky. that I too am the Past troubles India a traveller, learning as I go,regulaequalnod from the airline When we travel,and there is always were forgotten the two com- that tempta- ly unsure of what to pack.

Perhaps General the perfect tor, the Directorate of tion to focused reinventon ourselves, become some- book panies starting to a new full-service for you and your journey will be filled Civil Aviation, for commercial operations.

Also one new. When go toVistara a new place, nobody domestic airlinewe called (derived from with recipes. it isSubramanian a graphic novel hanging fire isPerhaps BJP leader Swaknows us, novistaar, one cares; we could be anyone. about the Sanskrit or limitless expanse). time travel or a treatise on the naturethe of my’s Public Interest Litigation against WeAnnounced tentatively try things we maythe notinitial try at warfare. in out September 2013, world to is big enough to contain grant of The clearance Tata-SIA’s new airline. all home — boots, oversized sunglasses, denim investment in the joint venture is estimated to these things.with When wemore travel, we money push those However, a lot than and shorts. we become that person who reads be $100Dare million, with Tata Sons pumping in $51 boundaries even a good book the credibility of further. the two And partners at stake, Joyce? thisathe right time to tackle Faulkner? kept millionIsfor 51 per cent stake and Singapore close means we’ll never get too lonely this alliance will be anxiously hoping for a Do notinvesting let the magic of travel you into along Airlines $49 million fortrick the rest. the way. happily-ever-after kind of beginning. thinking that you will become a better person Once again, industry watchers are optimismanickavel is a Hyderabad-based writer ashwini phadnis on your holidays. youaswill tically referring to That Vistara the somehow “marriage be of snigdha

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ill it be second-time lucky for Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines (SIA)? Many see a tie-up between them as a match made in heaven.

It started that way too. They first wooed each other during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government’s rule in 2000. Tata Sons was anyway a name long associated with aviation. JRD Tata’s Tata Airlines was the country’s first national carrier, which was renamed Air India Ltd in 1946. Two years later, JRD founded Air India International Ltd as a joint venture with the Government for long-range international operations and was its Executive Chairman until it was nationalised in 1953. He continued as its Chairman until February 1978. Singapore Airlines, of course, has blazed global standards in passenger comfort, service reliability and worldwide connectivity.

In 2000, Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines tied up to bid for Air India, which was up for disinvestment. An SIA delegation was parked for months at Delhi’s Maurya hotel, doing due diligence for the merger and examining Air India’s books. It was a different time and place, a world far removed from the post-9/11 paranoia of security checks. A member of the SIA delegation recalled being within “spitting distance” of the then US President, Bill Clinton, who was staying at the same hotel during his India visit.

When Ratan Tata, nephew of JRD Tata and Chairman of Tata Sons, said at a press conference in Delhi that he wanted to recreate the magic of Air India and restore it to its pristine

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Angry Birds go to school

The mobile game’s Finnish maker is bringing educational aids to classrooms around the world

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he Angry Birds are coming to school.

It’s not surprising, considering the second largest market on the planet is education (food is first), that the maker of the addictive mobile game is looking to enter classrooms across the world. Following four years of R&D, Finland-based Rovio has started rolling out its educational products in China and Brazil. In two years, it expects this vertical to be its largest revenue generator.

“It all started when we hired some people from the publishing industry who had worked on educational books. We realised that some of our characters really engage people, and engagement is the key to education,” Peter Vesterbacka, who holds the puzzling designation of Rovio’s Mighty Eagle, said on the sidelines of the Open Innovations Conference in Moscow. Open Innovations is one of Russia’s largest technology events, hosting participants from across continents.

A Rovio team went around the world studying school education. In Finland, schooldays are short and kids hardly get homework. Yet, it’s one of the most successful systems in the world. Countries like Korea, Japan and China too have impressive education standards but kids spend 10-12 hours on schoolwork. “Our approach was to not go the Tiger Mom way. In the Asian model, kids deliver results but it comes at a high cost. We want to make learning fun, an addiction in fact,” Vesterbacka says. So the base of the Rovio model is the Finnish system. To that, they added what they learned through collaborations with leading institutions to come up with their Rovio pedagogy. The popular Angry Birds characters will appear in some lessons — “where they add value” — but don’t form the core of the narrative.

The base philosophy of Rovio’s education business is to not disconnect students from their worlds. Urban kids begin playing games on smartphones and iPads at an early age.

Then they go to school, where they are asked to switch off these gadgets and pay attention to the voice of one teacher. It is inevitable that they enjoy it less and absorb even less. In Finland, research showed that boys spoke better English than girls because they played more video games, which were in English. The company’s philosophy then became one of achieving accidental learning — learning while not realising you’re being taught.

Rovio’s educational products are currently made for the early learning category — preschoolers and kids aged three to six; it will build on these products for kids of all ages.

The company is partnering with some worldclass organisations, including NASA, for its space modules, CERN for interesting ways of teaching physics, especially particle physics, and National Geographic.

Interestingly, last year 47 per cent of Rovio’s revenues came from the sale of physical products — Angry Birds soft toys and such like. The education business too isn’t reliant entirely on technology. “We have built our education system in such a way that we can deploy it even when it’s not digital. So we can go to Africa — to a village that does not have electricity — and still be able to teach kids using these products. That’s not the best way of doing it. But it’s important not to get carried away by technology,” Vesterbacka says.

This is not Rovio’s first brush with children. Last year, they ran Code Week in the US. Using characters from games, Vesterbacka says, they introduced 30 million kids to coding in a week. This year, they extended the programme to the European Union. Soon, it plans to add India, Russia and China to the list.

In India, too, small and large companies focused on improving education have sprung up in the last few years. The Indian market is massive in size — firm consulting pegs Technopak softeducational ware and other expertise providers to be a market $15-billion with potential to grow 15 per cent CAGR. It pinpoints mobile devices, digital content and learning devices as the most promising technologies in the Indian context.

Unsurprisingly, the number of players and interested venture capital investors is high. In fact, the latest entrant is rumoured to be Nandan Nilekani, whose Ek Step venture is expected to be announced next month.

(The writer visited Open Innovations at the invitation of Moscow Convention Bureau)

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in 2000, when the scandal broke. It comes as late as page 186, when he says he finds matchfixing and the sordid tales of corruption “repulsive, distasteful and disgusting”. He has however said much more in an interview with Dr Ali Bacher on SuperSport Channel in 2011.

There is plenty about his family, friends and anecdotes from his early years. The pressure that he faced on and off the field also comes to the fore in the few instances that refer to his breakdowns in solitude. The pressure to not offend or humiliate others also weighs heavily on him through the book.

But sadly, the co-author fails to get cricket insights out of Tendulkar. The match reports do have the Tendulkar stamp — he can relive his dismissals, his century-achieving shots and even the bowler concerned. But I wish Tendulkar had discussed the evolution of domestic cricket — from the first game he watched to the last game he played.

There are other chapters which I wish he had included: for example the grooming of a modern cricketer, from selection of equipment to the honing of talent. A chapter on his 10 best innings and the World XI of his dream would have been welcome as well.

He is scathing, and rightly so, when it comes to Greg Chappell. “Greg’s tenure as coach was the worst of my career. His high-handed manner added to our disappointment, and in the immediate aftermath of defeat (World Cup SHOVON CHOWDHURY is 2007), had a harmful impact on Indian crickchief Truthdigger and author et,” he writes.ofThe maestro also reveals that The Competent Authority Chappell suggested he take over the captaincy from Rahul Dravid. The Australian denies neglected children.But Christian moles liketo disthese allegations. there is no reason Santa are taking advantage of this. Recentbelieve Tendulkar.

His relationship with Chaply, pell vigilant in Chhattisgarh waspatriots hardly cordial and caught Chappell’s him red-handed, distributing chocolates. dismissal was welcomed by the senior players.

The Tendulkar CBI reviewed evidence, and said and alsothe deals with Monkeygate some carry messages from Jesus.” the wrappers Multan declaration in different chapters.

With Christmas on itsofway, He was at the centre theSanta stormsightinvolving ings will onlySingh increase.

Kolkata corre- and Harbhajan andOur Andrew Symonds, spondent illuminated gateways on take his wordreports saved the day for Singh.

He does Park feature Mamata Banerjee on Street skipperwill Dravid for his momentous declaraontion onethat sideleft and Santa dressed in blue onAt the Tendulkar stranded at 194. thebook other.

Are theDravid forcessaid of law order up launch, theand decision was takto en theinchallenge? to but be tough,” the team’s “It’s best going interest, it did lead to heasays, “Santa has a flying vehicle, and misunderstanding between themlike at the Phantom, he can betries in many places time. Tendulkar to clear the at aironce. in a chapWeter suspect GPS maythe be involved.

Allthe we can and convince world that two condotinue is be vigilant hopefriends”. for the best.” to be and “good Surprisingly, Tendulkar has no views on Dravid’s three Test centuries, two of them as opener, during the 2011 England tour. Majumdar ought to have extracted his opinion on it.

NATION SHOCKED BY SANTA PLOT!

Fairest of them all Sachin Tendulkar demonstrates that he would rather be polite than honest ap/rafiq maqbool

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Playing it safe

is red jacket, once bright, is now that I’m sympathetic, he ed he was auditioning for the position, filthy, and some of the fur has tries to get off a couple but we’re not so naive. Given the post-rebeen ripped off the edges. The of quick Ho Hos, but tirement options for sarkari servants, pockets of his guards are bulg- they silence him why would he settle for Santa?

The pay is a pittance, ing suspiciously. One of them is wearing ruthlessly. his cap. Santa’s beard is limp and half un“This conspiracy and he has no peons.

Plus, there’s elfglued. His stomach is much reduced. Jail originated in Finfood is not suiting him. “Get the car battery land,” says the Inmanagement.” and some electrodes, and take him into the spector, “Now that But I’m not satremember the excitement of waiting for right until he faced the isfied: the other room,” says the Inspector. He is a man Nokia is no more, they last ball“What’s at the WankSunila Gavaskar to sign of substance. His belly bulges over his belt. have lot of free time.his bestselling au- hede Stadium, where hemotive behind had begun histhis firsttobiography, Sunny Days.

In a kinder, gentler world, he himself could Once we saw pictures of To get hold of a class career in 1988 with conspiracy?” a Ranji Trophy centucopy on the day Mukof its release was like ry against Gujarat. have been Santa. “Sir, the battery is drained President Pranab “Thanks to Dan first-day-first-show Brown, realised due to overuse,” says a constable, “we’llgrabbing herjeeawith Santa, we re- ticket to a Clint Playing It My Way falls shortwe’ve of doing justice movie the days when English to Sachin Tendulkar, thetheman Vatican have to wait till the power comes back.” TheEastwood alised even thein highest and is thenot batwerehad few and between in the Capital. sman. “It seems to me that Inspector waves them away. They drag San-films levels beenfarinfiltono beautobiography trusted. Trame less time to finish reading the book can claim to document every ta off to the interrogation room. SensingIt took trated.

Some suggestditionally, detail ofwe’ve the authan to get Gavaskar’s signature. thor’s life. That’s impossible. There are bound Playing It Sports autobiographies by Indians have to be issues that can’t be written about for one My Way been rather scant. The few well-received books reason or another, events that are too personal My Autobiography Sachin Tendulkar include — Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi’s Tiger’s or perhaps too sensitive. I am not in the habit Boria Majumdar Tale, EAS Prasanna’s One More Over, Vijay Ha- of being sensational for the sake Hachette zare’s A Long Innings, Nirupama Vaidyanath- of it or saying things to ruffle Clean sweep Non-fiction ₹899 an’s The Moonballer, Ajit Wadekar’s My feathers. That’s just not me,” For me, the book’s best part is TenCricketing Years, Balbir Singh Sr’s The Golden Tendulkar says in his dulkar evaluation of the Indian Memory and his coHat-trick, Aslam Sher Khan’s To Hell with Hockey, introduction.

Premier League. “While I agree author let Tendulkar Spin Punch, Bindra’s to A of Doshi’s six inches, shout Abhinav encouragement to an app. He’s like that.” are imporhe BCCI has announced that In-Dilip NagarAndre resident Joginder down in a few I wish ajpat he’d read Agasthat smart IPL performances At History, Dev’s Cricket My and si’s Open, Khanna, andKapil make sandwiches forStyle the CapOther neighbours have different dia captain MS Dhoni will hence-Shotbowlers, surprised an honest46, and self-crit- many, tant enough to open doors to the instances in this book Test required.

Of My Life.The It would be ical analysis forth receive a small assistant toYuvraj tain,Singh’s as andThe when selection after he an iPhone theories. “The signs wereI am all sure there,” of delivered a glorious national team, that IPL to also is have Rahul Dravid, VVSThe Laxman, currently underway. ideal sporting career. said one of them. “Heshould liked tonot keep help him in his wicket-keepingfunprocess at Delhi’s ButSafdarjung then, as Ten-Hospiperformances be used Kumble, will Virender Sehwag and Sourav duties. In a landmark decision, BCCI head NAnilcandidate be photogenic, flexible and dulkar tal today.

The device was surhis hands free. He morbid admits, he never read as a reason to had pickaplayers for the narrate their life story. a go-getter with a passion for success. fear of losing hisformat, iPhone.or, He in andexcepSrinivasan received permission from ICCGanguly gically at mentions 6am too manyremoved books. He Twenty20 Barring Yuvraj Singh, cricketer Ga- perusing Doesnothis markafter a new his for phone were very close.well Hein the chief N Srinivasan to play an after a procedure described Muhammad Ali’s biography, which tional cases, ODI cricket.

Playing vaskar and Kapil Dev chose to share his experiextra person, so long as at trend in Indian cricket?

The comes as ‘fraught with peril’ by for F1, badminton IPL does not would sleep with it good in his enough hand, for as a surprise.

His love make a player ence with fans until Tendulkar witha and BCCI denied it.came “Thisout is just butA he was apprehension always afraid that least one other player in the the hospital.

Both the patient tennis are known, but he hasn’t ever dis- Test cricket. major concernhis tale within a year of quitting the game.

It cussed team is also small. “We had stopgap measure,” the spoand his iPhone have been thorwouldwill creep up in boxing. ing the IPL issomeone that its riches make playing was obviously a much-awaited and the kesperson said.book “Technology the middle the nightand andcorrerequested honourable ICC oughly disinfected, and arereader, respon-wrote his for India somewhat Gavaskar, a voracious less of significant hype that preceded itsprovide launch the in Mumbai will solution.was In- memoirs prise it from his to consider two small playding wellwhen to treatment.

Theand case hasbeen in in- spondingly less he was 26 had appealing.”

Thisfingers. remains the excessive. It was acome well-crafted, market-driven ers as one player,” said a Tax Department is cur- ternational led to intense speculation.

This was only toin bethe expected.” cricket for just five years. It had most profound statement book for me. exercise with active participation rently doing fieldfrom teststhe in many a press responding that spokesman for BCCI. “ICC “Hisfascinating wife has been complaining nuggets about of his life bePlaying ItInMy Way isrelease an autobiography protagonist himself. has kindly agreed, so long as usage of drones for tax col- yond neglect, and is and extremely short-temto the incident, the Apple Corpocricket wonderful descriptions reaffirms Tendulkar’s gracious personality, lection. This will save public about “We know love even both players are employees pered,”the said Babulal Sharma, game itself.

Playinga neighIt My Way falls which ration preferssaid, politeness over you all else, Too tepid from inconvenience of de- short your iPhones, use and enof India Cements, representbour. of “She warned the himimagination repeatedly of the candour. capturing Sunny Daysand wasyou a different reading The tome, as Boriapositing.

Majumdar, theacceptance co-author of Once of reader joy them in a variety of ways. ed by Rhiti Sports and through His family was on voicemail. many fronts and not necessarily be- experience, for Gavaskar came out But all guns the book termed the effort, a mixed bag. The cause drones is ismore widespread, casesTendulkar like this, we would blessed by Rajinikanth.” not getting to interact with him of Tendulkar.

Memory and his co-author blazing.inI wish had doneadvise that too, as narrative is too guarded when it comes rev- let The assistant will collect we expect them to beto introsufficiently, fora few his instances. youngthat you takeunforgettable assistance from a on him downexcept in quite he has in numerous knocks elations and repetitive of the all deliveries below a height ducedin in descriptions cricket fields.” estIt son, who himself intrained would beconverted naive to expect Tendulkar to talk the cricket field.medical professional.” game. I expected more from the man who about match-fixing. His views could not have The Investigator is a fortnightly round-up of all things droll and newsy. All views are personal.

Really personal handled pressure with incredible composure been t@shovonc any different from what he told the CBI vijay lokapally is Deputy Editor, Sports, The Hindu

An autobiography that fails to do justice to Sachin Tendulkar, the man and the batsman

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LIGHTHOUSE

The evil of family planning India, the first country to take up ‘family planning’ in 1952, is one of the last to continue to use government machinery to promote something that is wrong on so many levels Scarlet letter At the sterilisation camp in Chhattisgarh reuters/ anindito mukherjee

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Amit Varma is a novelist. He blogs at indiauncut.com

t’s wonderful to live in the 21st century. I bought a new Android phone the other day, and was fiddling with its apps, marvelling at how the world has advanced so much and we can hold in our palm wonders that would have been inconceivable just a decade ago, when I came across a news item on the internet, which reminded me that, despite all you can pack into a mobile phone, the real world outside is a lumbering beast that’s hard to change. And much of India still lives in an earlier century.

The news item in question was about a group of women who died after a sterilisation camp in Chhattisgarh. According to a report in The Guardian, “more than 80 women underwent surgery for laparoscopic tubectomies at a free government-run camp,” after which around 60 of them fell ill and at least 11 died.

The doctors were suspended, a criminal complaint made, and compensation packages announced. (Consider the obscenity of that term. ‘Compensation package.’ Really?) But what came as a shock was not that the government botched something up, but that in 2014, there was something like a ‘sterilisation camp’ in existence. I had assumed sterilisations as a government-organised activity ceased after the Emergency of the 1970s, in which the evil Indira and Sanjay Gandhi had made it State policy to forcibly sterilise their ‘subjects’.

Three-and-a-half decades on, why on earth is the government conducting tubectomies?

“Such camps,” The Guardian report informed us, “are held regularly across India as part of a long-running effort to control the emerging economic power’s booming population.” Indeed, the government sets sterilisation targets for their health departments, and offers financial incentives to both doctors and the women who come forward. (Anywhere from ₹1,400 to “cars and electrical goods” for the women.) In 2013-14 alone, four million such operations were conducted. The report says, “Authorities in eastern India came

Malthusian, Harrison Brown, worried about the population growing unchecked “until the earth is covered completely and to a considerable depth with a writhing mass of human beings, much as a dead cow is covered with a pulsating mass of maggots.”

Well, we’re not maggots, and that hasn’t happened. Human beings are resourceful and ingenious, and the more of them you have, the more resourcefulness there is floating around. The economist Julian Simon, in his book The Ultimate Resource, pointed out that through history, spurts in population and productivity coincided with each other. (The ultimate resource the book’s title refers to is people, of course.) Had Malthus been correct, you’d expect to see that the places with greatest population density would have the highest resource crunches. But the opposite is true. As Nicholas Eberstadt pointed out a few years ago under fire last year after a news channel un- in a study titled ‘Too Many People?’, there is no earthed footage showing scores of women link between population density and poverty. dumped unconscious in a field following a Monaco’s population density is 40 times that mass sterilisation.” of Bangladesh. It’s doing fine. Ditto Bermuda There are three things terribly wrong with and Bahrain, both more packed than India. this: One, the government has no business inIndeed, the story of humanity is a story of terfering with the private choices of its citi- urbanisation. Why is land in a city sometimes zens. Whether a particular individual wishes 100 times more expensive than in a rural area? to have no children or 10 is no business of the Because of demand, because everyone wants government. And to spend taxpayers’ money to be in cities, because that is where the opporto manipulate these choices is absurd. tunities are. People migrate to cities because Two, it is women who are victims here. Poor of the economic and social networks they conwomen. Manipulated women. Always women. tain — and the more people there are, the more It is never the man who hops over and says, desirable it is to be part of these networks. Ci“Chal bhai, nasbandi karva le.” It is always the ties would not be such desirable destinations woman, because women in this if Malthus was right. country have a status someMalthusian thinking is comwhere between object and perpletely discredited today, and the son, possession and loved one. last couple of centuries have Worrying about the This makes me ashamed. It is not been testimony to the folly of his population became something that fills me with pajudgement. (Indeed, ‘Malthufashionable in the late triotism and nationalistic gusto. sian’ is a pejorative today.) And 18th century Three, all of this is based on a yet India, the first country to take flawed premise. Right from up ‘family planning’ in 1952, is school, we are taught that peoone of the last to continue to use ple are a problem. Or that ‘overgovernment machinery to propopulation’ is a great danger to our nation, mote something that is wrong on so many levand that family planning is its essential anti- els (coercion, pseudoscience, etc). Given the dote, and individuals must sacrifice their de- top-down, central-planning kind of thinking sires for the nation. ‘Hum do, humaare do,’ and of Nehru and his socialist minions, it must so on. But this is flat out wrong, and terribly have seemed that people were a problem, for outdated thinking. India’s growing popula- the more people there were, the harder it betion is not a problem, but a blessing. And the came to control them and feed them. The attiterm ‘overpopulation’ makes no sense. Every tude is condescending, and the consequences human being is precious, and there can never can be criminal, as we saw in Chhattisgarh. For be too many of us.

67 years, we’ve been tied down, mentally, to Worrying about the population started be- the concept of a mai-baap sarkar. It’s about coming fashionable in the late 18th century, time to re-orient our thinking. Our governwith the publication of Robert Malthus’s An Es- ment’s sole purpose should be to serve us, not say on the Principle of Population. Malthus made rule us; to empower us, not enslave us; to prothe seemingly sensible observation that pop- tect our rights, not strip them away. Abolishulation tended to grow exponentially, while ing this family planning nonsense would be resources, in particular food supply, grew an essential step in that direction. arithmetically. Thus, to prevent a catastrophe, t@amitvarma population control was essential. A latter-day

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READER’S DIE JEST

(In brackets) partha pratim sharma

Rupali and Arjun meet each other. And fall in love.

And don’t live happily ever after…

arunava sinha

‘U

ngkul! Why you looking sad?’

Chetan sir’s book into this one.’

‘I just read a book.’

‘Ok then Ravinder makes this boy and girl ‘Reading books makes you fall in love? How do they tell each other?’ sad? That’s why papa tells me not ‘Why is that important?’ to read books.’

‘Uff, Ungkul! Isi mein toh saari pareshaani ‘Arre, this is such a sad story. That’s why.’ hai. (That’s where all the trouble is.) How to ‘Tell me the story, Ungkul.’ tell her you love her. I hope you’ve learnt ‘Par yeh kahani toh bachhon ke liye nahi hain. something.’

History This story is not for children. (This is how Ra‘My bheja was fried, yaar.Shared They went to watch Prime vinder Singh translates all the Hindi dialogue planes land and then had Australian a heavy discussion Minister Tony Abbott into English. In brackets.)’ about where she would take her husband receives from his for a ‘So what? I watch Friends. Mama doesn’t holiday and then he said ‘you’ of ‘my Indianinstead counterpart, know.’ wife’ and that was the proposal.

I’ll never manNarendra Modi, John ‘Achha? Ok. So there’s this student who goes age anything so difficult.’ Lang’s petition against India from Bihar to Delhi to study in a college.’

‘Then? Arjun took Rupalithe toEast meet his mothbehalf of ‘Ungkul! You read Half Girlfriend? Then why er? No love possible Company without onmother’s the Rani of Jhansi, in you said…’ approval.’

Canberra last month ‘No no. This one’s a girl. That was a boy. Ru‘Yes.’ afp/mike bowers pali Sinha. If you’re from Patna you have to be ‘Ungkul?’ a Sinha.’

‘What?’

‘When does she meet the boy? What’s his ‘Do they kiss? Make out? Make love?’ name?’

‘Chhih!’

‘When she is planting a sapling. This is im‘What, Ungkul, you’re such a prude. Phir toh I portant, ok? Don’t laugh. His name is Arjun. am sure there is kissing at most.’

Political type.’

‘Nahi, the other thing also. But only in ‘Sardonic but strong? Beard? Kurta? dream sequences. Thank god. Nahin toh I Broods?’ wouldn’t have been able to take it.’

‘How do you know all this?’

‘Now there will be a tragedy, right?’

‘Have you seen how your Ravinder looks ‘How did you know?’ these days? Aren’t his heroes always him?

‘Formula, Ungkul. Your Ravin doesn’t write They even had his name in the first two books.’ happy endings.’

‘You’ve read I Too Had LoveforStory and Can India remember himthe wellprofessor because hass people” (a phrase he A used commoners ‘Haan.should So Mahajan, that’s Love Happen Twice?’ defeated theand EastArjun Indiahad Company in itstoown in Julius Caesar).

Shakespeare was re-invoked he whom Rupali managed get has. She200 toldyears me. Who Rupali’s in gets an Indian contractor’s case, wrote by‘No, the didi Romantics, afterishis time. court into jail, bail. And then…’ friend?was Sheahas to have a girlfriend.’

India, and wasnow, alsoUngkul?’ the lawyer of There ready audience for him. He had novels ‘Whyabout you looking angry ‘Saloni.

Rupali Ranithen of Jhansi for the Doctrine Lapse written to the future.is sweet and salwar the‘And this novel goes where itofhas no kameez…’ case. of Lang in most the rightThe to. Iname shouldn’t be appears telling you aboutofthis, n‘So retrospect, John Lang was by all scholarship Saloni is off-shoulder andforgotten shorts, no?’ on Rani very you’re so young.

But of youJhansi, knowbut the only Nirbhaya the three ‘belonged’ to. you He briefly, ‘Tumne yehcountries kitab padhhe li hai kya? (Have fordon’t half ayou?’ page, as a British lawyer who incident, wrote against British incessantly, and also wrote read this bookthe already?)’ only firsthand account about the Ra‘Yes.the Don’t tell me that…’ with great pecuniary The gossip and ni’s‘Yes. ‘Nahi nahi.

Formula.interest.

You don’t know?’ appearance.

Indian hisThe sameTwentieth-century thing happens to Rupali.

Mascandal his newspaper, TheRupali Mofussilite, ‘So it’sinalso formula that joinssold the torians hardly showed interest beyond hajan hires thugs to makean it happen.’ like hotcakes to Arjun’s the bored English wives.

He that. music club and political party breaks man of takes convivial habits, really, a smoker, a ‘So Athis book something really was of the legal and military systems drinker, theircritical instruments?’ a romantic disposition, barely horrible with that affected everyone in India and of ‘Obviously, East India Company, andI can being insider, Ungkul. And tellan you what makes cut nationalistic discourse. And turns itthe into a in sada ending for a romance?’ he painted vivid pictures of the corruption in so ‘Something happens after that.

You said Arjun is in poliLang lived with elan, but the teleological like that.’ these All this tics? Theinstitutions. girl does something brave, no? And removed him from the ‘That’s whytrajectory you’re angry?’ formed great material for her his to join?’ the political parties all want clan that populates history. The ‘Yes. How could he have taken something so witty It isstory butthen. natural ‘Younovels. tell me the Also tell me why I big and made curtains had out come on a silly novel of itdown — just bethat the novel.’ contemporary British read this Lang, he slept peacefully in cause there has to and be death at the end of his Ruskin Bond had historians ‘Becauseignored you are ahim, manthe of 21litand you’ve nev- love stories? Mussoorie tillare a bigger few random reSome things than selldiscovered his grave erary critics a ‘hospier studied incalled Delhi him University and never had a ing thousands searchers me got curious. of bookslike to starstruck adults a few decades ago tal bed’ novelist. girlfriend and you can’t understand anything with the brains Ruskin Bond had discovered his of TV-watching adolescents.’

Lang did not live long in Auscomplex.’ few decades ago, talking but he ‘Ungkul! grave That’s a yourself you’re tralia his adulthood, ‘Oye!during Do you know this novel has molesta- about.’ also had a specific interest in which him forgettable tion andmakes atheism in it?

Rupali stops a profesfinding the grave a writer ‘Yes, this novel is about me. of And that’s who why I’m buried angry. And there.

Having completed law from En- was sor named Mahajan from his molesting a lady in hisafraid. town. Of the way I look to gland, he returned to Sydney.

He was part ofa myself.’ peon. That’s not deep?

I couldn’t evena make The reason why Lang was forgotten is also youhis said the sapling In was the Emancipist group, or thesogroup that beFacebook status, it was difficult to the‘Ungkul, reason for re-appearance. animporage of tant. Why?’he bears a big hashtag — that of believed in more rights for former convicts. (To hashtags, understand.’ theofgirl the sapling lives the‘You uninitiated, Australia was aisconvict colony understood why Arjun an atheist?

He ing‘Because the lawyer thedies Ranibut of Jhansi, though it and just becomes her pink dupatta, which Arjun or a penal where theAchha, burgeoning is, na?

Can’tsettlement, be Rupali. Or Saloni. aren’t was one meeting with her, and a case lost shouldahave muzzle himself. number dangerous as well as petty crimi- within there anyofother characters?’ week.used WithtoAustralia-India tiesSo onthat the we would never have had read this story nals of the of spoon-stealers sent to tide, ‘Hain na.order Of course, there are.were Prosonjeet, there is hankering for to common ground, andshared pretend that we’re would work buildisamisspelt new colony).

In Sydney, the for whosetoname like Kolkotta is mishistory.

Sharedreaders. history That evokes emhave been happy loudmouthed young lawyer Lang exceeded spelt. And Madhav.

I think he has walked out of pathy.

Oncea you areending.’ tied, you can take the tide, (This monthly helpsaudience you talk about his brief on a couple of important occasions, and trade.

Therecolumn was a ready for thisa bookto without having to read it.) and had his business in doldrums. The fiction play be played again. that Lang wrote about Australia had convicts arunava sinha translates andLang contemporary amit ranjan has a PhDclassic on John and an as protagonists. He was on the wrong side of dr Bengali fiction upcoming bookand on non-fiction the subject into English t @arunava the conservative critics again.

John come lately Your Dreams are Mine Now Ravinder Singh Penguin Metro Reads Fiction ₹175

The reason why Australian lawyer and novelist John Lang was forgotten is also the reason for his resurrection by Modi

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On his recent visit to Australia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi presented documents pertaining to John Lang to his Australian counterpart. John who? John Lang. Now an obscure writer, journalist and novelist, who was born in Sydney in 1816 and died in Mussoorie in 1864. He spent almost half his life in India, penned witty jibes against the British, won a case against the East India Company, ran a newspaper from Meerut and Agra for 20-odd years, and wrote ambitious novels, many of which have an Indian setting. Most of my friends have believed for the past seven or so years that this John is a fictitious character, concocted out of a fertile, mischievous mind.

Let us draw another parallel to test the ‘ready audience’ theory. Ayodhya, before it came into the limelight in the late ’80s, was a sleepy temple town, known to be the holy land of Ramayana, but not important enough to kindle public imagination. Ayodhya was spurred into action after 130 years — it had last seen the pitched battle of revolution in 1857. Just before 1857, when both Hindus and Muslims fought together, in 1853, there were communal riots fuelled by the now familiar issue of the location of the mosque on the probable site of Rama’s birth. Rumour-mongering on both sides — about preparing for attacks — led to bloody clashes. The history of 1853 reemerged long after the details and the nittygritty of the events were forgotten. There was a ready audience for the play.

Since the metaphor of ‘play’ has been used, one may as well digress and invoke William Shakespeare. The great bard was populist and commercial; he wrote for the “rag tag hiss

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In the blink of an eye The missing persons cell in Old Delhi tells of too many incomplete stories vv krishnan

Lost

Each year, one lakh children go missing in India — that’s one child every eight minutes. And despite the notable efforts of some, a missing child rarely comes home

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oor* speaks in a shaky, melodic rhythm like most 11-year-olds, her sentences punctuated with pauses to catch her breath. “I was playing outside in the small park near our jhuggi (slum), when Kaajal aunty came and gave us water and said she’ll buy us things,” she says.

Noor, who lives in Camp No.2 in Nangloi, a lower-middle-class neighbourhood in the outer reaches of west Delhi, was narrating how she was kidnapped and taken to Agra, purportedly trapped in an adoption racket. She was lucky though. She was brought back home after six days. Noor was nine then. The penultimate child among nine children, her alcoholic father had made himself scarce, leaving the older children to provide for the family. “Kaajal aunty said she’ll buy me new clothes and bags for school, so I went with her.

But they put us in a van and took us all to Agra.

There she introduced us — there were three other children, two boys and one girl — to some people and said we should all call them abba and ammi.”

Back home, now enrolled in Class V at the lo- How she got there and how the police found cal government school, Noor is dimly aware out before any of us, I have no idea,” says Khan, that her future could have been very different who has been tracking such cases for 16 years. had the child-snatcher ‘Kaajal’ Losing count not come back to the same neighbourhood in search of Since 2011, according to the Ministry of Home Affairs, 3.27 lakh more victims. “She was spotted It is telling that the children have gone missing by some people in the area and National Commission across the country and nearly 1.5 caught red-handed. We got infor Protection for lakh remain untraceable. The sitformation about Noor from her, Child Rights has been and handed her over to the pouation is particularly grim in without a chairperson Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, lice,” says Noor’s mother, Aleefor over two months na*. ‘Kaajal’, however, escaped Andhra Pradesh and the National Capital Region. Begging, domesfrom the police station. “They tic labour, human and organ trafsaid she ran away when she ficking are a few of the sordid went to use the bathroom,” says NGO Nav Srishti’s Nazma Khan, in whose office situations missing children find themselves I met Noor and her mother. Nav Srishti, a child in. “The reasons are many, but the underlying rights’ organisation, has an active presence in cause is mostly poverty. In a space where there the area. But after all their pleas to nab ‘Kaajal’ is poverty, children and women are first to get again fell on deaf ears, they alerted the media. impacted, and more often than not, suffer the “Soon after, the police called us and said Noor most as well,” says Soha Moitra of Child Rights was in an empty field near our area, and we and You (CRY), “The issue is a silent emergency found her exactly where they said we would. that nobody is addressing.”

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Still searching A child holds up a placard during a protest rally at Jantar Mantar in the Capital v sudershan

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Not just a white girl Kalki Koechlin proves time and again that she knows how to break stereotypes, as she does yet again in Margarita, with a Straw

Method actor In Margarita, with a Straw, Kalki Koechlin plays a young woman with cerebral palsy

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Apart from NGOs like CRY and Nav Srishti, there are several State actors whose mandate includes lowering the incidence of missing children, proactive recovery and rehabilitation after rescue. Statutory bodies, such as the various commissions for protection of the Child Rights Act, Child Welfare Committees and so on, are all part of the pool. Barring a few eated bang the middle of the by theatcases, however, theinchanges effected all re, actress Kalki Koechlin bundle these organisations have largely was beena negligiof nerves asscale her movie ble (relative to the of theMargarita, problem).with It is Straw premiered TorontoComFilm telling, afor instance, that at thethe National Festival choicehas of mission inforSeptember.

ProtectionThe of unusual Child Rights seat cast sits in front) been(typically without athe chairperson forthe more thangave two her full now. access to the faintest of reactions, months murmurs and spot reviews from theDelhi audience.

Arun Mathur, chairperson of the ComMany in the were of people withRights ceremission foraudience Protection Child bral palsy,says, and “The theirsituation reaction mattered to (DCPCR) today is amost sad reKoechlin. the movie, she plays Laila, atoteenflection ofIn our priorities, when it comes this age grappling with thetosame vitalgirl issue.

The DCPCR tries take disability. action on Once came back but, on, Koechlin’s conevery the caselights that is reported unfortunately, vincing performance many fooled.

“Those the numbers are onlyhad increasing.”

In Delhi, it who didn’t know were surprised is estimated that 18me children go missingthat on aI didn’t reallyIn have cerebral one daily basis. many cases,palsy even(CP). if theOnly child is guy came to me said, ‘Ihome, wouldhe have tofound andup sent to aand recovery or she tally it, exceptthere that you had of muscles, endsbelieved up languishing instead going which person with CP can’t have.’

I thought, back toa the family.

“What we do now is to put ‘Damn! A little miss from the costume department,’” she says with a laugh.

It’s a slip you might be willing to forgive. It took Koechlin six months to prepare for the part. Last week, she even bagged the best actress award at the Black Nights Festival in Tallinn, Estonia, in recognition of her efforts.

A considerable amount of prep time was spent with director Shonali Bose’s cousin, Malini Chib, the inspiration behind the character of Laila. Chib is a disability rights activist and the author of One Little Finger, in which she documents her life with CP. “I slowly got more and more involved in her life. Once we spent the whole day together in wheelchairs. She had donated her old one to me. I remember her telling me, ‘At the end of your day, you can just get up from your wheelchair and walk, but I can’t,’” says Koechlin.

The remark hit home hard. “Malini has a double MA, she’s gone to Oxford and written a book. But still, in a conversation she can’t come up with a quick answer. She’s thinking

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Back home Aleena with her child Noor at Nangloi in west Delhi sibi arasu

with oil all over our body, it is nice to show something so real. You can’t even take your clothes off without somebody’s help if you have CP,” she says. Yet, shooting full-frontal nudity is not an experience she looks back at fondly. “I thought I was so comfortable with my body. I said, ‘Ya man, please go for it.’ By the end of it I started crying,” she says.

It’s no surprise then that on the last day of shoot at Coney Island in New York, Koechlin leapt out of her wheelchair and ran across the beach with abandon. The film is scheduled to release in India early next year. Given that the film tackles bisexuality, the actress hopes for a fuss-free release in the country. Her film Happy Ending, a romantic comedy in which she plays Saif Ali Khan’s nagging girlfriend, was just the cure she needed to get past the Margarita hangover, even though it flopped at the box office.

“I would love to do more commercial films but not many come my way because I am in this box 13-year-old boy,I out notices and photographs of the missing Last month, UtkarshofVerma, a ‘veryaserious actor’. ransom but look was atlater children at all these homes as well as police was kidnapped for think people me near his house east stations across the State, and on portals like found dead in a gutter as a dark, ravinginfemizipnet.in, so that anyone with any information Delhi. The police were unable to Koechlin. apprehend nist,” says can reach out to us immediately,” says Mathur. the kidnappers in time because callBut they beingwere French, Zonal Integrated Police Network or Zipnet was ing from a mobile number that had been acand born and raised created in 2004 to share information about quired without requisite proof she of in Puducherry, crimes across states. The ‘missing children’ identification. Later, the police chargedstereoVodahas broken section the site has now been outsourced to fone, the telecom company it, but itoftakes time thatall hadher provided types life. “I thecommunicate.

Ministry of Women and Child Develop- the SIM to the kidnappersalways to By without vergetproper questions ment,point whichthe runs another site, trackthemis- ification. They have alsolike, that joke brought the like compaDo you Inwhere singchild.gov.in, has gone. That’s the details of ny’s negligent conduct the dia? You can eattospicy all the missing children frustration I wanted toare postattentionfood? of the Telecom And in theRegulastreets ed. While such may prove capture,” says sites Koechlin. tory Authority (TRAI). they willof beIndia like ‘Hey beauusefulhas toa tech-friendly parents Chib more severe form But canyou only turn proty’. technology Only when A child’s sociosearching for a missing a of CP compared to whatchild, Laila’s vide the authorities with tools. around and reply in Tamil, can economic class majority, has especially the The poor, character in the film. filmmakWhether those she tools that image,” says.galvanise The perremains crucial to you his break continue to creative throw punches in they wanted ers took that call because them into action is another ception, to some degree, continues to dogmather or her chances the dark. audience to comprehend everything of therescue ter altogether. recovery even today. After separating “Yes, from her husIn recent years, however, thehad intensive band, filmmaker character was saying.

Koechlin ratesAnurag have become espeKashyap,better, last year, it police and the Chib’s abductors aliketherapist and wasn’t easy for sessions with speech cially in Delhi,” admits Reena BaKoechlin to find an apartment. have leveraged to technology physiotherapist learn theto mannerisms, “When I moved nerjee, of Nav intofounder my flat,member I could see my their advantage.

Deepak speech and shortness of Mishra, breath.

Srishti, “but the overall situation neighbours were suspicious. special commissioner, law and order, Delhi Po- is still bad.” Banerjee “We tried so many things like feels athought child’s socio-ecoThey probably — ‘White lice, says,marbles “Sure, technology has made it easier nomic class girl, putting in my mouth. remains crucial hisAnurag, or her just broke uptowith for criminals to get operate but, at the same time, chances of rescue.

When I had to my wisdom “It is unfortunate Bollywood actress…’ that But theI it has extracted, made it easier for the us to track them too.” teeth I asked denpolice interested because they said are knocked on their door and I think people lookare not tist to give me an extra shot so Children who aresaid, rich ‘Kitni hardlysimevThey later at me as apoor dark,people.hello. that my tongue would be dead,” er go missingple forladki morehai. than hours.

When it So 72 nice.’

So the sterraving feminist she recalls. is the poor, even after 72 days hardly eotype breaks asthere soon are as you do The strict attention to detail any results.” it,” she explains. was required to make the charIt also helps that filmmakers acter authentic, yet Koechlin Order and chaos have slowly begun to see her fit says she was careful not to portray her as an into “It’s not true moulds at all that wenot don’t look intowhite comvarious and just as the object of pity, which several films on disability girl. plaints. in the lastcame weekher there A lotOnly of those parts wayhave afterbeen she are guilty of. On the contrary, her Laila has a debuted two cases, was a jeweller’s sonall and anothinone Kashyap’s Dev D. When else fails rather eventful life. Much like “any teenager she er that a fruit vendor. equal attengoesofback to her rootsWe in gave theatre to sharpwith raging hormones,” she surfs dodgy porn en tionhertocraft. both,” says special commissioner “It always helps me when I do a sites and guzzles margaritas, but with the film Mishra.

“I think is just stereotype.

I’dTrivsay right after athis play,” she asays.

This year, help of a straw. Reeling from rejection from a ial it’sDisaster, impossible to bring the number of misdirected by acclaimed theatre diman she fancies in Delhi, Laila takes up a cre- rector sing children to zero close to that, we Atul Kumar, hador a successful runbut across ative-writing course at New York University to the put country. in our best efforts to track all the comescape the humiliation. She later finds herself plaints that currently are filed. in More stringent puniKoechlin’s the midst of writing drawn to Khanum, an older woman she meets her shment for the accused who are caught and own play, which she has tentatively titled A at a protest march, and forges an intimate re- Play convicted would a long way may in curbing the on Death.

Thegogrim name reinforce lationship with her. menace though.” the beliefs of those who consider her a “dark Speaking about the physical relationship and In serious” May 2013,actor. the Supreme Court deliveredifa But don’t be surprised between the two women characters, Koechlin she landmark breaks judgement that myth aswith well.regard to missing says, “It’s not a sexy scene. In a world where we children — the greatest development so far, in chaudhuri are showing sexuality in a particular light, mohini terms of judicial intervention. In a case filed

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Out of the proscenium Gender-Ventions has found that malls often make for poor performance spaces, whereas smaller neighbourhoods provide the most enthusiastic audiences yashas chandra

by Nobel Peace Prize winner Kailash Satyarthi’s Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA), the court took cognisance of the fact that 90,654 children went missing, with 34,406 of them still untraced in 2011. However, only 15,284 FIRs were registered and investigations launched.

Following this, the court ordered that every complaint about a missing child should be registered by the police with the assumption that the child is a victim of kidnapping and trafficking, along with a slew of other orders aimed at tracking the children more effectively. Yet, there appears to be more action on paper than in practice at the moment.

“Laws on missing children have evolved over time. Until a few years ago, no FIR was filed. The police would simply register a complaint in their daily diaries and that was the end of the story,” says Anant Kumar Asthana, a child rights activist and lawyer. “Even though the situation is much better now, overall the Juvenile Justice Act is poorly implemented, and the reason is that children don’t figure as an area of concern in governance. A frequent complaint I hear from parents is that the police ask them: ‘why do you have so many children, if you can’t take care of them?’”

Before and after Institutions, such as the Child Welfare Committees, set up under the Juvenile Justice (care and protection of children) Act of 2000 are required to find out why children went missing; and their reasons, if they left voluntarily. The State governments are required to establish a CWC in every district. Kamla Lekhwani, chairperson of the CWC in north Delhi, says, “We handle the cases where FIRs have been filed and the children have been traced. It’s our job to find out why he or she ran away.” In her district, the bulk of the children are from families of migrant workers. “And we have noticed that since the parents are at work through the owtend much space — physical space — day, children to run away, and many end you occupy?

In the Metro on up getting do addicted to cheap drugs or or gambus, do cycle you fold into yourself?

Or bling. It is aavicious of poverty because, you the slather yourself the often, evendo after children areacross brought seat and capture you back, they tend tothe bearmrests? addicted,Where or try do to run feel the most comfortable? home? Or away again.”

In Lekhwani’sAtdistrict, sheanyrewhere and everywhere? the anceives an average of 35 Unfortunately, child-related cases a swersof to these questions areconnected too simple, day, which at least four are to reductivechildren. even. They depend on only one critemissing rion — are you man woman?

One approach to or curb the rising numbers a series of public hasGender-Ventions, been to try and strike at the roots,performpreventances supported the Goethe-Institut, taking a child from by leaving or being takenisaway ingthe theatre into“The malls and and markets, Metro in first place. parents community stations and neighbourhoods raise these need to be aware, and for this wetoconduct provery questions, forcingschools. discussions grammes at various We and havefinally also a reckoning. a 10-minute with helped createThrough a missing children’sclip parents’ three segments Antar Open network, so they—can be Pehchaney, in touch and actand toClose and Bus — the audience is compelled to confront the gendered lens through which we negotiate the everyday. Started in September, close to 30 ‘interventions’ have already been staged across the National Capital Region.

Accompanying the group on a day of performances, one realises how quickly men gather and how women never loiter. Women pass through public spaces, whereas men inhabit them. The group seeks to unpack this crucial difference. Niranjani Iyer, who has conceived and directed these performances, says, “This project is not about finding solutions. It is about debate. Our job is to start that discussion… women should be able to say, ‘This is my city. My space.’”

Our first port of call was Rohini East, near the end of the Metro Red Line. The group of eight professional actors from various backgrounds and director Iyer first scouted for a location that was calm but not secluded. They finally set up their ‘stage’ on a level ground between a chai shop and a Sai Baba temple. Three of the actors sat on chairs, the others stood behind patiently, while Rahul Tewari and Ankita

Reunited Janvi with her parents at their residence in Raghubir Nagar, west Delhi shiv kumar pushpakar

“My daughter was reborn” Rakesh Ahuja, the father of Janvi — the toddler who went missing from the lawns of India Gate in September — talks about the ordeal and the reunion

Whose city is this?

On the evening of September 28, the Ahujas, along with other families from their neighbourhood, Raghubir Nagar in west Delhi, went on an excursion to the Gurudwara Bangla Sahib in Connaught Place and later, settled down at the India Gate lawns for a picnic. Rakesh Ahuja, 30, a part-time photographer and his wife, Sheetal, 27, took their eyes off their three-and-a-half-year-old daughter Janvi “for two minutes”, when she disappeared at around 9.20pm.

Realising that their daughter was missing only a few minutes later, the entire group launched a search for the child around the lawns and informed the police, who managed Anand — the — called out to the paswas prevented by ‘guards’ Spirits to look at sutradhars CCTV footage.

Unfortunately, it revealed very little. Following that,ontheduty. family sersby.

Shortly, a crowd of 30-40 people coldampened but not thwarted, the group started a search campaign both online and offline. They also reached out to the mediaset off lected, includingabeggars forSplashed alms at across again,social this time to Kashmere and organised vigil at waiting India Gate. network platformsGate. and thetelevision temple, clients of Janvi’s Kishankumar chai- publicised Homeuntil to the inter-state buslater terminal channels, case wasthe widely shelargest was found a week wallah and neighbourhood aunties on their in the country, this is not a venue for the fainnear a park in the Janakpuri area. Hanging from her neck was a placard with her father’s evening walk, who had to be gently coerced in- thearted, let alone theatre. With due permisname and number. to stopping. sions acquired, from helpful men in khaki, The group acted out three different vi- Gender-Ventions got down to work. Initially, it Excerpts from the interview gnettes — watching TV at home, travelling by appeared as if a crowd would never gather.

That week, at mya chai familyshop. as well as everyone in in our areacuriosity gave up soon all other work to urbus andentire customers In the first But India, beats all other look for Tewari Janvi. We ensured that everyone our voice saw of the70-odd photosmen of our sequence, asked the audience to focusheard gencies, andand a group gathered. onchild, a male actor. they acted same With sun having set,into women seemed even and we When were really activeout onthe social media.

Wethe divided ourselves various sequence a second time,out he told them to focus inclined to stop.

Finally, did. teams, one to reach to the Press, another less to handle social media, one three to give outThe auonpamphlets, the femaleone actor. the end of it, the he asked dience’s bordered on hooliganto At follow up with police and so on. enthusiasm The media also really took up them spotand the differences. theon.actors were unfazed and in ourto issue, the continuous coverage spurredism, the but police Goldieji, who a jewellery in the control.

Thethe exchange at the the show Thankfully, ourruns efforts were notshop in vain.

And only I know importance of end the of moment neighbourhood, replied the It was like my daughter was reborn. grew a tad heated when the diswhen I heard she was that found…

Except for her head, male and female actors carried cussion arrived at how women which was completely shaved, Janvi was absolutely fine. Things are back to normal now, themselves differently.

The fe‘ought to dress’. One man had and Janvi is going to pre-school. male was ‘sehemifound sehemi the audacity to say,a “If you leave a Theactor police haven’t thesi’kidnappers yet.

They tell us it might have been childless Women pass through (diffident), nearly apologetic. bowl of milk out in the open, a couple who thought they’ll steal our babyspaces, and make her their own. But we are really public men The male actor, on the other cat will come to lap it up.” Clearly, scared and keep a close eye on Janvi. inhabit My advice to any other parent is to get the word them hand, was more confident in his a 10-minute performance can’t out to the media if their child ever goes missing, both social media and news channels, gait and stance. dent the prejudices of all. because that greatly increases the chances of finding their child again.

In Bus, the actors played out a Tewari then asked the men in scene of a man groping a womthe audience, “Is there a space in an, while other passengers adopted various at- which you are not comfortable?” He was met titudes — vicarious pleasure, aloof concern by silence and titters. He asked the few women gether when required,” saysThe Lekhwani. for the police establishment that works at and feigned indifference. audience was ry, in the crowd where they felt comfortable and Mathur agrees: “Bridging the inbehest. Banerjee of Nav Srishti laments then askedoftoDCPCR set right this scene, to make it their they answered, “At home.

Nowhere else.” In formation gap is important. we have been that Swachh Bharatsomething Abhiyan, which better. Goldieji suggested theSowoman should the unlike pause the that followed, haparranging meetings wesaid bring po- has got The great currency, forperhaps instance, “do self-defence” andwhere Siya didi thethe others pened. men realised, forthe theprobfirst lice andhelp. the parents together. we’ve been missing children isanot high on the govshould Dharminderji (anAlso, astrologer and, lem time,ofwhat it means to be woman in this city, trying emphasise the importance of the ernment’s agenda, though a staggering we weretotold, ‘local drunk’) said that while to feel unsafe in alleven spaces beyond the home. first after a child lakh children disappear every “They manfew whohours was groping was disappears. wrong, the Both man one The realisation dawned that we stillyear. live in two the as well as blameless. the police need tose react talking the‘separate next generawhoparents was leering was “Nazar kya keep societies, oneabout male,the oneyouth, female, and quickly. a difficult task.”He tion,” she says,Awareness “But why isdon’t theystep do to somehota haiOtherwise, (What can ita can gazebedo)?” he asked. still unequal’. the first emWhile there arethe efforts being by gov- thing about the children who go missing; was taken on by women in made the audience, pathy and, hopefully, to change. be the next generation?” ernment bodies“Nazar and NGOs, fewhai and who willschedules who protested, se sabthey kuchare hota (A children (Performance can be found on (*Names changed on request.) far And almost all stakeholders https://www.facebook.com/Gendrventions) gazebetween. can change everything).” agree ‘missing children’the is train a low-priority Thethat troupe then boarded to Inderarasu nandini nair issue for politicians in power as a corollalok, hoping to perform near and, the station, but sibi

A series of public performances forces the audience to reckon with gender and identity

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Pinned codes A notice board for missing children at an orphanage in Bengaluru k bhagya prakash

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Homeward bound ‘Yantr Yaan’ by Yantr, from Guwahaa

Boulder dash ‘Continental shift’ by Dutch artist Daan Botlek at the Aseema Foundation School on Hill Road, Bandra

Piece of cake ‘Hey Saint Jude please help me I’m a lost cause’ by Portugal’s Akacorleone at Judee Bakery, Bandra

My palette ‘Indradhanush’ by German artist Tona at thee

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aati, near the Supari Tank school, Bandra

e Supari Tank Municipal School, Bandra

Lady in black ‘Veronica’ by Gomez, from Italy, also at Judee Bakery, Bandra

The elephant on the room ‘Vienna store’ by Ano, from Taiwan, on Hill Road, Bandra

Wall colours A street art project paints the city of Mumbai red

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ot in a thousand years would anyone have thought that ‘funky’ and ‘Supari Tank Mahanagar Palika’ could appear in the same sentence. That they do — marked by German artist Tona’s gigantic ‘Indradhanush’ (rainbow) no less — comes as no surprise to the Supari Tank municipal school’s children, who have been walking past such graphic art over the past month in the Bandra neighbourhood of Mumbai. Tona’s graffiti is one of the 20-odd artworks that make up the St+art Project.

The Mumbai edition, following a similar initiative in Delhi earlier this year, saw the participation of artists from India, Germany,

Portugal, Taiwan and Italy, among others. The city’s walls (unblemished by paan spittle) acted as the canvas, allowing the art to reclaim public spaces and popular imagination. The graffiti, though, was part of a larger pool of performances, pop-up art exhibitions and bboying events held across the city.

St+art India, which put together the project, says this is only the beginning. With graffiti workshops for budding artists, who knows what the city — known as the purveyor of technicolour dreams — will throw up in the coming years. shashi ashiwal

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Still searching A child holds up a placard during a protest rally at Jantar Mantar in the Capital v sudershan

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Not just a white girl Kalki Koechlin proves time and again that she knows how to break stereotypes, as she does yet again in Margarita, with a Straw

Method actor In Margarita, with a Straw, Kalki Koechlin plays a young woman with cerebral palsy

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Apart from NGOs like CRY and Nav Srishti, there are several State actors whose mandate includes lowering the incidence of missing children, proactive recovery and rehabilitation after rescue. Statutory bodies, such as the various commissions for protection of the Child Rights Act, Child Welfare Committees and so on, are all part of the pool. Barring a few eated bang the middle of the by theatcases, however, theinchanges effected all re, actress Kalki Koechlin was anegligibundle these organisations have largely been of nerves her movie ble (relative to theasscale of the Margarita, problem). with It is Straw premiered TorontoComFilm telling, afor instance, that at thethe National Festival inforSeptember. choicehas of mission ProtectionThe of unusual Child Rights seat (typically cast sits in front) been without athe chairperson forthe more thangave two her full now. access to the faintest of reactions, months murmurs and spot reviews from theDelhi audience.

Arun Mathur, chairperson of the ComMany in the wereof people withRights ceremission foraudience Protection Child bral palsy,says, and“The theirsituation reaction mattered to (DCPCR) today is amost sad reKoechlin. the movie, she plays Laila, atoteenflection ofIn our priorities, when it comes this age girl grappling with thetosame disability. vital issue.

The DCPCR tries take action on Once the back but, on, Koechlin’s conevery caselights that iscame reported unfortunately, vincing performance many fooled.

“Those the numbers are onlyhad increasing.”

In Delhi, it who didn’t know were surprised is estimated that 18me children go missingthat on aI didn’tbasis. reallyIn have cerebral one daily many cases,palsy even (CP). if theOnly child is guy came to to meaand said, ‘Ihome, wouldhehave tofound andup sent recovery or she tally believed it, exceptthere that you had of muscles, ends up languishing instead going whichtoathe person with CP can’t have.’ back family.

“What we do nowI thought, is to put ‘Damn! A little miss from the costume department,’” she says with a laugh.

It’s a slip you might be willing to forgive. It took Koechlin six months to prepare for the part. Last week, she even bagged the best actress award at the Black Nights Festival in Tallinn, Estonia, in recognition of her efforts.

A considerable amount of prep time was spent with director Shonali Bose’s cousin, Malini Chib, the inspiration behind the character of Laila. Chib is a disability rights activist and the author of One Little Finger, in which she documents her life with CP. “I slowly got more and more involved in her life. Once we spent the whole day together in wheelchairs. She had donated her old one to me. I remember her telling me, ‘At the end of your day, you can just get up from your wheelchair and walk, but I can’t,’” says Koechlin.

The remark hit home hard. “Malini has a double MA, she’s gone to Oxford and written a book. But still, in a conversation she can’t come up with a quick answer. She’s thinking

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Back home Aleena with her child Noor at Nangloi in west Delhi sibi arasu

with oil all over our body, it is nice to show something so real. You can’t even take your clothes off without somebody’s help if you have CP,” she says. Yet, shooting full-frontal nudity is not an experience she looks back at fondly. “I thought I was so comfortable with my body. I said, ‘Ya man, please go for it.’ By the end of it I started crying,” she says.

It’s no surprise then that on the last day of shoot at Coney Island in New York, Koechlin leapt out of her wheelchair and ran across the beach with abandon. The film is scheduled to release in India early next year. Given that the film tackles bisexuality, the actress hopes for a fuss-free release in the country. Her film Happy Ending, a romantic comedy in which she plays Saif Ali Khan’s nagging girlfriend, was just the cure she needed to get past the Margarita hangover, even though it flopped at the box office.

“I would love to do more commercial films but not many come my way because I am in this box 13-year-old boy,I out notices and photographs of the missing Last month, UtkarshofVerma, a ‘verya serious actor’. but look was atlater children at all these homes as well as police was kidnapped for ransom think people me near his house east stations across the State, and on portals like found dead in a gutter as a dark, ravinginfemizipnet.in, so that anyone with any information Delhi. The police were unable to apprehend nist,” says Koechlin. can reach out to us immediately,” says Mathur. the kidnappers in time because callBut they beingwere French, Zonal Integrated Police Network or Zipnet was ing from a mobile number that had been acand born and raised created in 2004 to share information about quired without requisite proof she of in Puducherry, crimes across states. The ‘missing children’ identification. Later, the police chargedstereoVodahas broken section the site has now been outsourced to fone, the telecom company it, but itoftakes time thatall hadher provided types life. “I the Ministry of Women and Child Develop- the SIM to the kidnappersalways to communicate.

By without vergetproper questions ment, whichthe runs another site, trackthemis- ification. They have alsolike, that point joke brought the like compaDo you Inwhere singchild.gov.in, has gone. That’s the details of ny’s negligent conduct the dia? You can eattospicy all the missing children frustration I wanted toare postattentionfood? of the Telecom And in theRegulastreets ed. While such may prove capture,” says sites Koechlin. tory Authority (TRAI). they willof beIndia like ‘Hey beauusefulhas toatech-friendly parents Chib more severe form But canyou only turn proty’. technology Only when A child’s sociosearching for a missing a of CP compared to whatchild, Laila’s vide the authorities with tools. around and reply in Tamil, can economic class majority, has especially the The poor, character in the film. filmmakWhether those she tools that image,” says.galvanise The perremains crucial to you his break continue to creative throw punches in they wanted ers took that call because them into action is another ception, to some degree, continues to dogmather or her chances the dark. audience to comprehend everything of therescue ter altogether. recovery even today. After separating “Yes, from her husIn recent years, however, thehad intensive band, filmmaker character was saying.

Koechlin ratesAnurag have become espeKashyap,better, last year, it police and the Chib’s abductors aliketherapist and wasn’t easy for sessions with speech cially in Delhi,” admits Reena BaKoechlin to find an apartment. have leveraged technology physiotherapist to learn theto mannerisms, “When I moved nerjee, of Nav intofounder my flat,member I could see my their advantage.

Deepak speech and shortness of Mishra, breath.

Srishti, “but the overall situation neighbours were suspicious. special commissioner, law and order, Delhi Po- is still bad.” Banerjee “We tried so many things like feels athought child’s socio-ecoThey probably — ‘White lice, says,marbles “Sure, technology has made it easier nomic class girl, putting in my mouth. remains crucial his Anurag, or her just broke uptowith for criminals to operate at the same time, chances of rescue.

When I had to get my but, wisdom “It is unfortunate Bollywood actress…’ that But theI it has extracted, made it easier for the us todentrack them too.” teeth I asked police interested because are knocked on their door they and said I think people lookare not tist to give me an extra shot so Children who aresaid, rich ‘Kitni hardlysimevThey later at me as apoor dark,people. hello. that my tongue would be dead,” er go missingple forladki morehai. than hours.

When it So 72 nice.’

So the sterraving feminist she recalls. is the poor, even after 72 days hardly eotype breaks asthere soon are as you do The strict attention to detail any results.” it,” she explains. was required to make the charIt also helps that filmmakers acter authentic, yet Koechlin Order and chaos have slowly begun to see her fit says she was careful not to portray her as an into “It’s not true moulds at all that wenot don’t look intowhite comvarious and just as the object of pity, which several films on disability girl. plaints. in the lastcame weekher there have A lotOnly of those parts way afterbeen she are guilty of. On the contrary, her Laila has a debuted two cases,inone was a jeweller’s sonall and anothKashyap’s Dev D. When else fails rather eventful life. Much like “any teenager she er that a fruit vendor. equal attengoesofback to her rootsWe ingave theatre to sharpwith raging hormones,” she surfs dodgy porn en tionhertocraft. both,” says special commissioner “It always helps me when I do a sites and guzzles margaritas, but with the film Mishra.

“I think is just stereotype.

I’dTrivsay right after athis play,” sheasays.

This year, help of a straw. Reeling from rejection from a ial it’s Disaster, impossible to bring the number of misdirected by acclaimed theatre diman she fancies in Delhi, Laila takes up a cre- rector sing children to zero close to that, we Atul Kumar, hadora successful runbut across ative-writing course at New York University to the put country. in our best efforts to track all the comescape the humiliation. She later finds herself plaints that currently are filed. in More stringent puniKoechlin’s the midst of writing drawn to Khanum, an older woman she meets her shment accused who are caught and own for play,the which she has tentatively titled A at a protest march, and forges an intimate re- Play convicted would gogrim a long way in curbing the on Death.

The name may reinforce lationship with her. menace though.” the beliefs of those who consider her a “dark Speaking about the physical relationship and In serious” May 2013,actor. the Supreme Court delivered ifa But don’t be surprised between the two women characters, Koechlin she landmark with breaksjudgement that myth as well.regard to missing says, “It’s not a sexy scene. In a world where we children — the greatest development so far, in chaudhuri are showing sexuality in a particular light, mohini terms of judicial intervention. In a case filed

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Out of the proscenium Gender-Ventions has found that malls often make for poor performance spaces, whereas smaller neighbourhoods provide the most enthusiastic audiences yashas chandra

by Nobel Peace Prize winner Kailash Satyarthi’s Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA), the court took cognisance of the fact that 90,654 children went missing, with 34,406 of them still untraced in 2011. However, only 15,284 FIRs were registered and investigations launched.

Following this, the court ordered that every complaint about a missing child should be registered by the police with the assumption that the child is a victim of kidnapping and trafficking, along with a slew of other orders aimed at tracking the children more effectively. Yet, there appears to be more action on paper than in practice at the moment.

“Laws on missing children have evolved over time. Until a few years ago, no FIR was filed. The police would simply register a complaint in their daily diaries and that was the end of the story,” says Anant Kumar Asthana, a child rights activist and lawyer. “Even though the situation is much better now, overall the Juvenile Justice Act is poorly implemented, and the reason is that children don’t figure as an area of concern in governance. A frequent complaint I hear from parents is that the police ask them: ‘why do you have so many children, if you can’t take care of them?’”

Before and after Institutions, such as the Child Welfare Committees, set up under the Juvenile Justice (care and protection of children) Act of 2000 are required to find out why children went missing; and their reasons, if they left voluntarily. The State governments are required to establish a CWC in every district. Kamla Lekhwani, chairperson of the CWC in north Delhi, says, “We handle the cases where FIRs have been filed and the children have been traced. It’s our job to find out why he or she ran away.” In her district, the bulk of the children are from families of migrant workers. “And we have noticed that since the parents are at work through the owtend much — physical space — day, children to space run away, and many end you occupy?

In the Metro on up getting do addicted to cheap drugs or or gambus, do you into yourself?

Or bling. It is aa vicious cyclefold of poverty because, you the slather yourself the often, evendoafter children areacross brought seat and capture the back, they tend to bearmrests? addicted,Where or try do to you run feel the most comfortable? home? Or away again.”

In Lekhwani’sAtdistrict, sheanyrewhere and everywhere? the an-a ceives an average of 35Unfortunately, child-related cases swersof to these are connected too simple, day, which at questions least four are to reductivechildren. even. They depend on only one critemissing rion — are you man woman?

One approach toor curb the rising numbers a series hasGender-Ventions, been to try and strike at of thepublic roots,performpreventances supported the Goethe-Institut, taking a child from by leaving or being takenisaway ingthe theatre into“The malls and and markets, Metro in first place. parents community stations and neighbourhoods raise these need to be aware, and for this wetoconduct provery questions, forcingschools. discussions finally grammes at various We and have also a reckoning. a 10-minute with helped createThrough a missing children’sclip parents’ three segments Antar Open network, so they—can be Pehchaney, in touch and actand toClose and Bus — the audience is compelled to confront the gendered lens through which we negotiate the everyday. Started in September, close to 30 ‘interventions’ have already been staged across the National Capital Region.

Accompanying the group on a day of performances, one realises how quickly men gather and how women never loiter. Women pass through public spaces, whereas men inhabit them. The group seeks to unpack this crucial difference. Niranjani Iyer, who has conceived and directed these performances, says, “This project is not about finding solutions. It is about debate. Our job is to start that discussion… women should be able to say, ‘This is my city. My space.’”

Our first port of call was Rohini East, near the end of the Metro Red Line. The group of eight professional actors from various backgrounds and director Iyer first scouted for a location that was calm but not secluded. They finally set up their ‘stage’ on a level ground between a chai shop and a Sai Baba temple. Three of the actors sat on chairs, the others stood behind patiently, while Rahul Tewari and Ankita

Reunited Janvi with her parents at their residence in Raghubir Nagar, west Delhi shiv kumar pushpakar

“My daughter was reborn” Rakesh Ahuja, the father of Janvi — the toddler who went missing from the lawns of India Gate in September — talks about the ordeal and the reunion

Whose city is this?

On the evening of September 28, the Ahujas, along with other families from their neighbourhood, Raghubir Nagar in west Delhi, went on an excursion to the Gurudwara Bangla Sahib in Connaught Place and later, settled down at the India Gate lawns for a picnic. Rakesh Ahuja, 30, a part-time photographer and his wife, Sheetal, 27, took their eyes off their three-and-a-half-year-old daughter Janvi “for two minutes”, when she disappeared at around 9.20pm.

Realising that their daughter was missing only a few minutes later, the entire group launched a search for the child around the lawns and informed the police, who managed Anand — the — called out to the paswas prevented by ‘guards’ duty.

Spirits to look at sutradhars CCTV footage.

Unfortunately, it revealed very little. Following that,onthe family sersby.

Shortly, a crowd of 30-40 people coldampened but not thwarted, the group started a search campaign both online and offline. They also reached out to the mediaset off lected, including abeggars for Splashed alms at across again,social this time to Kashmere and organised vigil at waiting India Gate. network platformsGate. and thetelevision temple, clients of Janvi’s Kishankumar the chai- publicised Homeuntil to the inter-state buslater terminal channels, case was widely shelargest was found a week wallah and neighbourhood aunties on their in the country, this is not a venue for the fainnear a park in the Janakpuri area. Hanging from her neck was a placard with her father’s evening walk, who had to be gently coerced in- thearted, let alone theatre. With due permisname and number. to stopping. sions acquired, from helpful men in khaki, The group acted out three different vi- Gender-Ventions got down to work. Initially, it Excerpts from the interview gnettes — watching TV at home, travelling by appeared as if a crowd would never gather. week, atmya chai family as well as everyone in in our areacuriosity gave up soon all other work to urbusThat andentire customers shop.

In the first But India, beats all other look forTewari Janvi. We ensured that everyone our voice saw of the70-odd photosmen of our sequence, asked the audience to focusheard gencies, andand a group gathered. onchild, a maleand actor. they acted same With sun having set, into women seemed even we When were really activeout onthe social media.

Wethe divided ourselves various sequence a second time,out he told them to focus inclined to stop.

Finally, did.

The auteams, one to reach to the Press, another less to handle social media, one three to give out onpamphlets, the femaleone actor. the end of it, the he asked dience’s bordered on hooligantoAt follow up with police and so on. enthusiasm The media also really took up them spot and the differences. ism, theon.actors were unfazed and in ourtoissue, the continuous coverage spurred the but police Goldieji, who a jewellery in the control.

Thethe exchange at the the show Thankfully, ourruns efforts were notshop in vain.

And only I know importance of end the of moment neighbourhood, replied the It was like my daughter was reborn. grew a tad heated when the diswhen I heard she was that found…

Except for her head, male and female actors carried cussion arrived at how women which was completely shaved, Janvi was absolutely fine. Things are back to normal now, themselves The fe‘ought to dress’. One man had and Janvi differently. is going to pre-school. male was ‘sehemifound sehemi the audacity to say,a“If you leave a Theactor police haven’t thesi’kidnappers yet.

They tell us it might have been childless Women pass through (diffident), nearly apologetic. bowl of milk out in the open, a couple who thought they’ll steal our babyspaces, and make her their own. But we are really public men The male actor, on the other cat will come to lap it up.” Clearly, scared and keep a close eye on Janvi.inhabit My advice to any other parent is to get the word them hand, was more confident in his a 10-minute performance can’t out to the media if their child ever goes missing, both social media and news channels, gait and stance. dent the prejudices of all. because that greatly increases the chances of finding their child again.

In Bus, the actors played out a Tewari then asked the men in scene of a man groping a womthe audience, “Is there a space in an, while other passengers adopted various at- which you are not comfortable?” He was met titudes — vicarious pleasure, aloof concern by silence and titters. He asked the few women gether when required,” saysThe Lekhwani. for crowd the police establishment that works at and feigned indifference. audience was ry, in the where they felt comfortable and Mathur agrees: “Bridging the inbehest. Banerjee of Nav Srishti else.” laments then askedoftoDCPCR set right this scene, to make it their they answered, “At home.

Nowhere In formation gap is important. we have been that Swachh Bharatsomething Abhiyan, which better. Goldieji suggested theSowoman should the unlike pause the that followed, haparranging meetings wesaid bring po- has gotThe great currency, forperhaps instance, “do self-defence” andwhere Siya didi thethe others pened. men realised, forthe theprobfirst lice andhelp. the parents together. we’ve been missing children high on the govshould Dharminderji (anAlso, astrologer and, lem time,ofwhat it means to beisanot woman in this city, trying emphasise the importance of the ernment’s agenda, though a staggering we weretotold, ‘local drunk’) said that while to feel unsafe in alleven spaces beyond the home. first after a child lakh children disappear every “They man few whohours was groping was disappears. wrong, the Both man one The realisation dawned that we stillyear. live in two the as well as blameless. the police need tosereact talking the‘separate next generawhoparents was leering was “Nazar kya keep societies, oneabout male,the oneyouth, female, and quickly. a difficult task.”He tion,” she says,Awareness “But whyisdon’t theystep do to somehota hai Otherwise, (What can ita can gazebedo)?” he asked. still unequal’. the first emWhile there arethe efforts being made by gov- thing about the children who go missing; was taken on by women in the audience, pathy and, hopefully, to change. be the next generation?” ernment bodies“Nazar and NGOs, few who willschedules who protested, se sabthey kuchare hota haiand (A children (Performance can be found on (*Names changed on request.) far And almost all stakeholders https://www.facebook.com/Gendrventions) gazebetween. can change everything).” agree ‘missing children’ is train a low-priority The that troupe then boarded the to Inderarasu nandini nair issue for politicians in power as a corollalok, hoping to perform near and, the station, but sibi

A series of public performances forces the audience to reckon with gender and identity

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READER’S DIE JEST

(In brackets) partha pratim sharma

Rupali and Arjun meet each other. And fall in love.

And don’t live happily ever after…

arunava sinha

‘U

ngkul! Why you looking sad?’

Chetan sir’s book into this one.’

‘I just read a book.’

‘Ok then Ravinder makes this boy and girl ‘Reading books makes you fall in love? How do they tell each other?’ sad? That’s why papa tells me not ‘Why is that important?’ to read books.’

‘Uff, Ungkul! Isi mein toh saari pareshaani ‘Arre, this is such a sad story. That’s why.’ hai. (That’s where all the trouble is.) How to ‘Tell me the story, Ungkul.’ tell her you love her. I hope you’ve learnt ‘Par yeh kahani toh bachhon ke liye nahi hain. something.’

History This story is not for children. (This is how Ra‘My bheja was fried, yaar. Shared They went to watch Prime vinder Singh translates all the Hindi dialogue planes land and then had Australian a heavy discussion Minister Tony Abbott into English. In brackets.)’ about where she would take her husband receives from his for a ‘So what? I watch Friends. Mama doesn’t holiday and then he said ‘you’ of ‘my Indianinstead counterpart, know.’ wife’ and that was the proposal.

I’ll never manNarendra Modi, John ‘Achha? Ok. So there’s this student who goes age anything so difficult.’ Lang’s petition against India from Bihar to Delhi to study in a college.’

‘Then? Arjun took Rupalithe toEast meet his mothbehalf of ‘Ungkul! You read Half Girlfriend? Then why er? No love possible Company without onmother’s the Rani of Jhansi, in you said…’ approval.’

Canberra last month ‘No no. This one’s a girl. That was a boy. Ru‘Yes.’ afp/mike bowers pali Sinha. If you’re from Patna you have to be ‘Ungkul?’ a Sinha.’

‘What?’

‘When does she meet the boy? What’s his ‘Do they kiss? Make out? Make love?’ name?’

‘Chhih!’

‘When she is planting a sapling. This is im‘What, Ungkul, you’re such a prude. Phir toh I portant, ok? Don’t laugh. His name is Arjun. am sure there is kissing at most.’

Political type.’

‘Nahi, the other thing also. But only in ‘Sardonic but strong? Beard? Kurta? dream sequences. Thank god. Nahin toh I Broods?’ wouldn’t have been able to take it.’

‘How do you know all this?’

‘Now there will be a tragedy, right?’

‘Have you seen how your Ravinder looks ‘How did you know?’ these days? Aren’t his heroes always him?

‘Formula, Ungkul. Your Ravin doesn’t write They even had his name in the first two books.’ happy endings.’

‘You’ve read I Too Had Lovefor Story and Can India should remember himthe wellprofessor because hass people” (a phrase he Aused commoners ‘Haan.

So Mahajan, that’s Love Happen Twice?’ he defeated theand EastArjun Indiahad Company in itstoown in Julius Caesar).

Shakespeare was re-invoked whom Rupali managed get has. She200 toldyears me. Who Rupali’s courtjail, in gets an Indian contractor’s case, wrote by‘No, the didi Romantics, afterishis time. into bail. And then…’ friend?

Sheahas to have a girlfriend.’

India, and was alsoUngkul?’ the lawyer of There was ready audience for him. He had novels ‘Whyabout you looking angry now, ‘Saloni.

Rupali Ranithen of Jhansi for the Doctrine Lapse written to the future.is sweet and salwar the‘And this novel goes where itofhas no kameez…’ case. The of Lang appearsyou in most the right to. Iname shouldn’t be telling aboutofthis, n‘So retrospect, John Lang was by all you’re Saloni is off-shoulder andforgotten shorts, no?’ scholarship on Rani very so young.

But of youJhansi, know but the only Nirbhaya the three ‘belonged’ to. you He incident, ‘Tumne yeh countries kitab padhhe li hai kya? (Have briefly, fordon’t half you?’ a page, as a British lawyer who wrotethis against British incessantly, and also wrote read bookthe already?)’ only firsthand account about the Ra‘Yes.the Don’t tell me that…’ with great pecuniary The gossip and ni’s‘Yes. ‘Nahi nahi.

Formula.interest.

You don’t know?’ appearance.

Indian MahisThe sameTwentieth-century thing happens to Rupali. scandal his newspaper, TheRupali Mofussilite, ‘So it’sinalso formula that joinssold the hajan torianshires hardly showed interest beyond thugs to makean it happen.’ like hotcakes to Arjun’s the bored English wives.

He that. music club and political party breaks man of takes convivial habits, really, a smoker, ‘So Athis book something reallya was critical of the legal and military systems horrible their instruments?’ drinker, with a romantic disposition, barely that affected everyone in India and of ‘Obviously, East India Company, andI can being insider, Ungkul. And tellan you what turns makesitthe cut in a ending nationalistic discourse. And into a sad for a romance?’ he painted vivid pictures of the corruption in so ‘Something happens after that.

You said Arjun is in poliLang lived like withthat.’ elan, but the teleological theseTheinstitutions.

All this tics? girl does something brave, no? And removed him from the ‘That’s whytrajectory you’re angry?’ formed great material for her his to join?’ the political parties all want clan that populates history. The ‘Yes. How could he have taken something so witty It isstory butthen. natural ‘Younovels. tell me the Also tell me why I big and madecurtains had out come on a silly novel of itdown — just bethat this the novel.’ contemporary British read Lang, he slept peacefully in cause there has to and be death at the end of his Ruskin Bond had historians ‘Because ignored you are ahim, man the of 21litand you’ve nev- love stories? Some Mussoorie few random rethingstill area bigger than selldiscovered his grave erary critics him a ‘hospier studied incalled Delhi University and never had a ing thousands searchers me got curious. of bookslike to starstruck adults a few decades ago tal bed’ novelist. girlfriend and you can’t understand anything with the brains Ruskin Bond had discovered his of TV-watching adolescents.’

Lang did not live long in Auscomplex.’ grave a yourself few decades ago, talking but he ‘Ungkul! That’s you’re tralia his adulthood, ‘Oye!during Do you know this novel has molesta- about.’ also had a specific interest in which him forgettable tion andmakes atheism in it?

Rupali stops a profesfinding the grave a writer ‘Yes, this novel is about me. of And that’s who why angry. And there.

Having completed law from En- I’m sor named Mahajan from his molesting a lady was buried in hisafraid. town. Of the way I look to gland,That’s he returned to Sydney.

He was part ofa myself.’ peon. not deep?

I couldn’t evenamake The reason why Lang was forgotten is also youhis said the sapling In was the Emancipist group, or thesogroup that beFacebook status, it was difficult to the‘Ungkul, reason for re-appearance. animporage of Why?’he bears a big hashtag — that of believed in more rights for former convicts. (To tant. understand.’ hashtags, theof girl the sapling lives the‘You uninitiated, Australia was aisconvict colony understood why Arjun an atheist?

He ing‘Because the lawyer thedies Ranibut of Jhansi, though it becomes her pink dupatta, which Arjun or na? a penal where theAchha, burgeoning is, Can’tsettlement, be Rupali. Or Saloni. aren’t and was just one meeting with her, and a case lost used muzzle himself. number dangerous as well as petty crimi- should there anyofother characters?’ within ahave week.

WithtoAustralia-India tiesSo onthat the have had read this story nals of the of spoon-stealers sent to we ‘Hain na.order Of course, there are. were Prosonjeet, tide,would there never is hankering for to common ground, pretend that we’re would work toname buildisamisspelt new colony).

In Sydney, the and whose like Kolkotta is misfor shared history.

Sharedreaders. historyThat evokes emhappy loudmouthed young lawyer Lang exceeded spelt.

And Madhav.

I think he has walked out of have pathy.been Oncea you areending.’ tied, you can take the tide, (This monthly helpsaudience you talk about a his brief on a couple of important occasions, and trade.

Therecolumn was a ready for this without having to read it.) and had his business in doldrums. The fiction book play to be played again. that Lang wrote about Australia had convicts sinha translates andLang contemporary dr amit ranjan has a PhDclassic on John and an as protagonists. He was on the wrong side of arunava Bengali fiction upcoming bookand onnon-fiction the subjectinto English t @arunava the conservative critics again.

John come lately Your Dreams are Mine Now Ravinder Singh Penguin Metro Reads Fiction ₹175

The reason why Australian lawyer and novelist John Lang was forgotten is also the reason for his resurrection by Modi

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here is always a ready audience when History decides to rise.

On his recent visit to Australia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi presented documents pertaining to John Lang to his Australian counterpart. John who? John Lang. Now an obscure writer, journalist and novelist, who was born in Sydney in 1816 and died in Mussoorie in 1864. He spent almost half his life in India, penned witty jibes against the British, won a case against the East India Company, ran a newspaper from Meerut and Agra for 20-odd years, and wrote ambitious novels, many of which have an Indian setting. Most of my friends have believed for the past seven or so years that this John is a fictitious character, concocted out of a fertile, mischievous mind.

Let us draw another parallel to test the ‘ready audience’ theory. Ayodhya, before it came into the limelight in the late ’80s, was a sleepy temple town, known to be the holy land of Ramayana, but not important enough to kindle public imagination. Ayodhya was spurred into action after 130 years — it had last seen the pitched battle of revolution in 1857. Just before 1857, when both Hindus and Muslims fought together, in 1853, there were communal riots fuelled by the now familiar issue of the location of the mosque on the probable site of Rama’s birth. Rumour-mongering on both sides — about preparing for attacks — led to bloody clashes. The history of 1853 reemerged long after the details and the nittygritty of the events were forgotten. There was a ready audience for the play.

Since the metaphor of ‘play’ has been used, one may as well digress and invoke William Shakespeare. The great bard was populist and commercial; he wrote for the “rag tag hiss

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In the blink of an eye The missing persons cell in Old Delhi tells of too many incomplete stories vv krishnan

People are the place Mirza Waheed on growing up in Kashmir during the rupture of the ’90s, the beauty and the violence in his state, and his love for the game of cricket

Lost

Novelists might create fictions, but they are created from facts and events. As a teenager growing up in the ’90s in Kashmir, Waheed witnessed the rising strife in his state. His most vivid memories of the time include the crackdowns, the sieges, and the scattered slippers and shoes after a shooting. He recounts a crackdown that happened when he was 16 or 17. The men of the neighbourhood were asked to assemble in a hospital, where they would be paraded before an informer. As they walked into the hospital, he noticed a couple of ‘dead bodies’ by the side. “You can’t stop. There is a posse of army men and policemen surrounding you. Giving orders and instructions… I think one of them [bodies] was still alive… his lips moved. Maybe he was asking for water, or taking his beloved’s name. No one knows… you simply walk on. And later the bodies are thrown into a truck.”

Another experience he recounts with exacting detail is the thrashing he received on his bottom from a CRPF (or BSF… he can’t remember) jawan. His crime? Riding pillion with his friend Wasim on his beloved All Terrain bicycle. ‘Double sawaari’ was banned at the time,

ap/mukhtar khan

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The Book of Gold Leaves Mirza Waheed Penguin Fiction ₹499

irza Waheed wants to talk about hi, a Sunni woman, and Faiz, a papier-mâché cricket today. In the Capital for artist and a formerly wealthy Shia. Faiz, the esthe launch of his second novel, sential artist, is arm-twisted by certain events The Book of Gold Leaves, he bub- to adopt a more violent course. While this is a bles over with excitement when he describes tender love story, the satellite characters his mean leg spin and his bendy wrist. The prove to be the most interesting, be it Shanta London-based author avows that he can bowl Koul, the headmistress of a girls’ school, or a batsman behind his legs — the dream of ev- Major Sumit Kumar, who has turned her ery leg spinner. In 2012, when he was first school into a garrison and must establish ‘Arrecruited to the Authors Cricket Club (or Au- ea Domination’. Through his characters Wathors CC) by his friend and fellow author Ka- heed illustrates the impossibility of arriving mila Shamsie and skipper Charlie Campbell, at an “unquestionable truth” in a place like he quickly delineated Shamsie, Will Fiennes, Kashmir. The contrasts — the delicacy of Faiz’s Nicholas Hogg and Campbell as “the greatest golden tigers and long-necked cranes pitched people alive in the British Isles”. He waxes elo- against the brutality of the Zaal (an armoured quent about Fiennes’ batting prowess — his vehicle that seizes people from the street) — shots and sentences share a simimeaningfully evoke an idyll in lar flair. He adores Campbell’s obthe midst of war. session with the game — he While Waheed, father of a Back home, five-year-old now enrolled in Classwrote V at thethis lo- How she got there and how the police found in aZealshaky, melodic orders his oor* bats speaks from New son, rhythm likeShamsie most 11-year-olds, her worse cal government school, is dimly aware and. And admits that is book at hisNoor kitchen table in Lon- out before any of us, I have no idea,” says Khan, It was that thatinher futuredon could have been verya different hasof been tracking such cases for 16 years. punctuated pauses actually thesentences “non-playing manag- with or propped with tower of who war… at least war, Novelist his times Mirza Waheed writes to catch her breath.

“I wasyou playing hadisthe ‘Kaajal’ er of the team”.

Authors CC last pillows on his bed, the book pul- evocatively of his teen years in Kashmir know this warchild-snatcher Losing count the sounds, same smells and outside the small park near our jhuggi not come back played inin1912 with the illustrious satestowith in because search ofofhis deep familSince 2011, according to the Min(slum), when Kaajal auntyConan came and gave us neighbourhood PG Wodehouse and Arthur sights of Home 3.27didn’t lakh water saidrolls, she’llWaheed buy us things,” she says. more victims.iarity “She was Doyle and on its says withspotted its setting. He was but the twoistry teenage boys Affairs, obviously It is telling that the children have gone in the and in Kashmir, think it applied Noor, who lives given in Camp in Nangloi, a by some people proudly.

Having up aNo.2 highborn andarea raised to lowly cycles.

Aftermissing all, you National Commission across the country and nearlyrea1.5 red-handed.

We in got inlower-middle-class neighbourhood in the profile job with the BBC four years ago,outto caught spent his teenage years Srinagar and lived can’t really shoot a projectile from a cycle, for Protection for remain untraceable. sither,worked in the sons Waheed.lakh er reaches of west Delhi, was him narrating how formation write full time, cricket allows the opporall over theabout state Noor as hisfrom father While the bamboo caneThe stung, Child Rights has been handed her over to the pouation is particularly grim in she was and and taken to Agra, pur- and tunity to kidnapped leave the house leaves him with tourism industry.

He learned to swim and fish for Waheed the humiliation proved indelible. without a chairperson Madhya Pradesh, portedly trapped adoption racket. that She lice,” Noor’s Alee- lake, which the bruises, aches in andanhappy exhaustion in the says Dal lake, andmother, lived by Nigeen Waheed is Maharashtra, quick to downplay his own expefor over two months ‘Kaajal’, Andhra Pradesh and the was lucky though.

Sheforwas brought back only athletes know. But Waheed, cricket is na*. he says is evenhowever, prettier. escaped riences, calling it “banal” because in National Kashmir Capitaleveryone Region. endured.

Begging, But domeshome sixofdays.

NoorItwas nine then. policeadmiration station. “They also “aafter game return”. transports himThe to from His the absolute and reverence for everyone suffered, the tic’90s labour, human and of organ trafshebecome ran away whenasshe penultimate child among nine her said Kashmir, which he left in 1993 for children, Delhi UniverKashmir apparent soon as Waheed rupture in the sowed the seed his writa few of he thesays, sordid the bathroom,” says you, by the ing. Carefullyficking alcoholic fathercontinues had made himself scarce, sity, but which to be his muse, his went openstoause conversation.

He leads rollingare a cigarette, “It missing children find themselves Khan,idyll” in whose office situations leaving thehis older children to provide for the NGO home and “Sarajevo”. hand,Nav to Srishti’s VerinagNazma a “pastoral in south was worse than war… at least in war, you know met Noor andwhere her mother.

Nav Srishti, a child reasons the underlying family. said she’ll buytakes me new In The“Kaajal Book ofaunty Gold Leaves, Waheed the IKashmir, from the Jhelum originates, to in. this“The is war.

If youare aremany, a verybut young person… it mostlyto poverty.

In awill space there clothes and bags for with her. rights’ organisation, haswhere an active presence in cause reader to a land thatschool, seemsso allI went too beautiful, Lal Chowk in Srinagar, he would cycle will dois things you. You bewhere marred for poverty, women areto first to get But after pleas tounderscores nab ‘Kaajal’ is But us in a van and us alldetailing to Agra. the andthey is tooput colonised.

With itstook minute afterarea. tuitions.

Butall hetheir repeatedly the rest ofchildren your life.and It takes years process. more often it.” than suffer deaf ears, the media.

There us — there were three — fromshe the introduced delicacy of pomegranate flowers to again that hefell is aon novelist andthey not alerted a journalist or his- impacted, There is noand point fighting Henot, fought it the as well,” says — Soha Moitra of Child Rights the police us and said Noor other children, boys to and girlof—the to “Soon the fragrance of two lavender theone might torian;after, his mandate is called to invent characters, to most only way he could by writing. in an field near our area, and we some people we should all than call them Jhelum — thisand booksaid is sensory rather cere- was “invest theempty place with colour and texture, to and You (CRY), “The issue is a silent emergency nandini nairis addressing.” nobody abba and her exactly where they said we would. that bral. At itsammi.” heart it is a love story between Roo- found play around”.

Each year, one lakh children go missing in India — that’s one child every eight minutes. And despite the notable efforts of some, a missing child rarely comes home

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dipankar

in 2000, when the scandal broke. It comes as late as page 186, when he says he finds matchfixing and the sordid tales of corruption “repulsive, distasteful and disgusting”. He has however said much more in an interview with Dr Ali Bacher on SuperSport Channel in 2011.

There is plenty about his family, friends and anecdotes from his early years. The pressure that he faced on and off the field also comes to the fore in the few instances that refer to his breakdowns in solitude. The pressure to not offend or humiliate others also weighs heavily on him through the book.

But sadly, the co-author fails to get cricket insights out of Tendulkar. The match reports do have the Tendulkar stamp — he can relive his dismissals, his century-achieving shots and even the bowler concerned. But I wish Tendulkar had discussed the evolution of domestic cricket — from the first game he watched to the last game he played.

There are other chapters which I wish he had included: for example the grooming of a modern cricketer, from selection of equipment to the honing of talent. A chapter on his 10 best innings and the World XI of his dream would have been welcome as well.

He is scathing, and rightly so, when it comes to Greg Chappell. “Greg’s tenure as coach was the worst of my career. His high-handed manner added to our disappointment, and in the immediate aftermath of defeat (World Cup SHOVON CHOWDHURY is 2007), had a harmful impact on Indian crickchief Truthdigger and author et,” he writes.ofThe maestro also reveals that The Competent Authority Chappell suggested he take over the captaincy from Rahul Dravid. The Australian denies neglected children.But Christian liketo disthese allegations. there is moles no reason Santa are taking advantage of this. Recentbelieve Tendulkar.

His relationship with Chaply, pell vigilant patriots in Chhattisgarh was hardly cordial and caught Chappell’s him red-handed, distributing chocolates. dismissal was welcomed by the senior players.

The CBI reviewed evidence, and said and Tendulkar alsothe deals with Monkeygate some carry messages from Jesus.” thewrappers Multan declaration in different chapters.

With Christmas on itsofway, He was at the centre theSanta stormsightinvolving ings will onlySingh increase.

Kolkata corre- and Harbhajan andOur Andrew Symonds, spondent illuminated gateways on take his wordreports saved the day for Singh.

He does Park feature Mamata Banerjee on Street skipperwill Dravid for his momentous declaraontion onethat sideleft andTendulkar Santa dressed in blue onAt the stranded at 194. thebook other.

Are theDravid forcessaid of law order up launch, theand decision was takto en theinchallenge? to but be tough,” the team’s “It’s best going interest, it did lead to heasays, “Santa has a flying vehicle, and like misunderstanding between them at the Phantom, he can betries in many places time. Tendulkar to clear the at aironce. in a chapWeter suspect GPS may the be involved.

Allthe we can and convince world that two condotinue is be vigilant hopefriends”. for the best.” to be and “good Surprisingly, Tendulkar has no views on Dravid’s three Test centuries, two of them as opener, during the 2011 England tour. Majumdar ought to have extracted his opinion on it.

NATION SHOCKED BY SANTA PLOT!

Fairest of them all Sachin Tendulkar demonstrates that he would rather be polite than honest ap/rafiq maqbool

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Playing it safe

is red jacket, once bright, is now that I’m sympathetic, he ed he was auditioning for the position, filthy, and some of the fur has tries to get off a couple but we’re not so naive. Given the post-rebeen ripped off the edges. The of quick Ho Hos, but tirement options for sarkari servants, pockets of his guards are bulg- they silence him why would he settle for Santa?

The pay is a pittance, ing suspiciously. One of them is wearing ruthlessly. his cap. Santa’s beard is limp and half un“This conspiracy and he has no peons.

Plus, there’s elfglued. His stomach is much reduced. Jail originated in Finfood is not suiting him. “Get the car battery land,” says the Inmanagement.” and some electrodes, and take him into the spector, “Now that But I’m not satremember the excitement of waiting for right until he faced the isfied: the other room,” says the Inspector. He is a man Nokia is no more, they last ball“What’s at the WankSunil to sign of substance. His belly bulges over his belt. have a Gavaskar lot of free time.his bestselling au- hede Stadium, where hemotive behind had begun histhis firsttobiography, Sunny Days.

In a kinder, gentler world, he himself could Once we saw pictures of To get hold of a class career in 1988 with conspiracy?” a Ranji Trophy centucopy on Pranab the day Mukof its release was like ry against Gujarat. have been Santa. “Sir, the battery is drained President “Thanks to Dan first-day-first-show Brown, realised due to overuse,” says a constable, “we’llgrabbing herjee awith Santa, we re- ticket to a Clint Playing It My Way falls shortwe’ve of doing justice movie the days when English to Sachin Tendulkar, the theman Vatican have to wait till the power comes back.” TheEastwood alised even thein highest and is thenot batwerehad few and between in the Capital. sman. “It seems to me that Inspector waves them away. They drag San-films levels beenfarinfiltono beautobiography trusted. Trame less time to finish reading the book can claim to document every ta off to the interrogation room. SensingIt took trated.

Some suggestditionally, detail ofwe’ve the authan to get Gavaskar’s signature. thor’s life. That’s impossible. There are bound Playing It Sports autobiographies by Indians have to be issues that can’t be written about for one My Way been rather scant. The few well-received books reason or another, events that are too personal My Autobiography Sachin Tendulkar include — Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi’s Tiger’s or perhaps too sensitive. I am not in the habit Boria Majumdar Tale, EAS Prasanna’s One More Over, Vijay Ha- of being sensational for the sake Hachette zare’s A Long Innings, Nirupama Vaidyanath- of it or saying things to ruffle Clean sweep Non-fiction ₹899 an’s The Moonballer, Ajit Wadekar’s My feathers. That’s just not me,” For me, the book’s best part is TenCricketing Years, Balbir Singh Sr’s The Golden Tendulkar says in his dulkar evaluation of the Indian Memory and his coHat-trick, Aslam Sher Khan’s To Hell with Hockey, introduction.

Premier League. “While I agree author let Tendulkar Spin Punch, Bindra’s to A of Doshi’s six inches, shout Abhinav encouragement to an app. He’s like that.” are imporhe BCCI has announced that In-Dilip NagarAndre resident Joginder down in a few I wish ajpat he’d read Agasthatsmart IPL performances At History, Dev’s Cricket My and si’s Open, Khanna, andKapil make sandwiches forStyle the CapOther neighbours have different dia captain MS Dhoni will hence-Shotbowlers, surprised an honest46, and self-crit- many, tant enough to open doors to the instances in this book Testrequired.

Of My Life.The It would be ical analysis forth receive a small assistant toYuvraj tain,Singh’s as andThe when selection after he an iPhone theories. “The signs wereI am all sure there,” ofdelivered a glorious national team, that IPL to also ishave Rahul Dravid, VVSThe Laxman, currently underway. ideal sporting career. said one of them. “Heshould liked tonot keep help him in his wicket-keepingfunprocess at Delhi’s HospiButSafdarjung then, as Tenperformances be used Kumble, will Virender Sehwag and Sourav duties. In a landmark decision, BCCI head NAnilcandidate be photogenic, flexible and dulkar tal today.

The device was surhis hands free. He morbidfor the admits, he never read as a reason tohad pickaplayers narrate their life story. a go-getter with a passion for success. fear of losing hisformat, iPhone.or, He in andexcepSrinivasan received permission from ICCGanguly gically at mentions 6am too manyremoved books. He Twenty20 Barring Yuvraj Singh, cricketer Ga- perusing Doesnothis markafter a new his phone very close.well Hein the chief N Srinivasan to play an after a procedure described Muhammad Ali’s biography, which tional cases, for ODI were cricket.

Playing vaskar and Kapil Dev chose to share his experiextra person, so long as at trend in Indian cricket?

The comes as ‘fraught with peril’ by for F1, badminton IPL does not would sleep with it good in his enough hand, for as a surprise.

His love make a player ence with fans until Tendulkar witha and BCCI denied it.came “Thisout is just butA he was always afraid that least one other player in the the hospital.

Both the patient tennis are known, but he hasn’t ever dis- Test cricket. major apprehension concernhis tale within a year of quitting the game.

It cussed team is also small. “We had stopgap measure,” the spoand hisboxing. iPhone have been thorwouldwill creep up in ing the IPL issomeone that its riches make playing was obviously a much-awaited and the kesperson said.book “Technology the middle the nightand andcorrerequested honourable ICC oughly disinfected, and arereader, respon-wrote his for India somewhat Gavaskar, a voracious less of significant hype that preceded itsprovide launch the in Mumbai will solution.was In- memoirs priseappealing.” it from his to consider two small playding wellwhen to treatment.

Theand casehad hasbeen in in- spondingly less he was 26 Thisfingers. remains the excessive. It was acome well-crafted, market-driven ers as one player,” said a Tax Department is cur- ternational led to intense speculation.

This was only toin bethe expected.” cricket for just five years. It had most profound statement book for me. exercise with active participation rently doing fieldfrom teststhe in many InMy a press release responding that spokesman for BCCI. “ICC “Hisfascinating wife has been complaining nuggets about of his life bePlaying It Way is an autobiography protagonist himself. has kindly agreed, so long as usage of drones for tax col- yond neglect, and is and extremely short-temto the incident, the Apple Corpocricket wonderful descriptions reaffirms Tendulkar’s gracious personality, lection. This will save public about “We know love even both players are employees pered,”the said Babulal Sharma, a neighgame itself.

Playing It My Way falls which ration preferssaid, politeness overyou all else, Too tepid from inconvenience of de- short your iPhones, use and enof India Cements, representbour. of “She warned the himimagination repeatedly of the candour. capturing Sunny Daysand wasyou a different reading The tome, as Boriapositing.

Majumdar, theacceptance co-author of Once of reader joy them in a varietycame of ways. ed by Rhiti Sports and through His family was on voicemail. many fronts and not necessarily be- experience, for Gavaskar out But all guns the book termed the effort, a mixed bag. The cause drones is is more widespread, casesTendulkar like this, we would blessed by Rajinikanth.” not getting to interact with him of Tendulkar.

Memory and his co-author blazing.inI wish had doneadvise that too, as narrative is too guarded when it comes rev- let The assistant will collect we expect them to beto introsufficiently, fora few his youngthat you takeunforgettable assistance from a on him downexcept in quite instances. he has in numerous knocks elations and repetitive all deliveries below a height ducedin in descriptions cricket fields.”of the estItson, who himself intrained would beconverted naive to expect Tendulkar to talk the cricket field.medical professional.” game. I expected more from the man who about match-fixing. His views could not have The Investigator is a fortnightly round-up of all things droll and newsy. All views are personal.

Really personal handled pressure with incredible composure beent@shovonc any different from what he told the CBI vijay lokapally is Deputy Editor, Sports, The Hindu

An autobiography that fails to do justice to Sachin Tendulkar, the man and the batsman

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DHONI TO GET TINY ASSISTANT!

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MAN, 46, DELIVERS iPHONE!Q

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saturday, december 6, 6, 2014 saturday, december 2014

Hill and hearty The GHNP was added to the Unesco World Heritage list this June; LIGHTHOUSE locals depend on it for their livelihood, with many of them making cane baskets or kiltas ashish kothari

Travel Log Reach

From Kullu hire a car or take a local bus to Gushaini (40km). Stop 4km short of town at the Forest Rest House (FRH) in Sai Ropa for permits, registered guides and porters.

Park entry at Tirthan valley is from Gushaini.

The evil of family planning Visit

The best time to see wildlife in the lower

India, the first country to take up ‘family planning’ in 1952, is one ofreaches the last to continue toprepared is November to March (be for sub-zero temperatures). use government machinery to promote something that is wrong on so many levels Do

Greathimalayannationalpark.com lists several Scarlet letter At the sterilisation Park fees are ₹50 per person per reuters/ campitineraries. in Chhattisgarh anindito mukherjee

day, guides ₹600 per day and porters ₹400 (a porter carries a maximum of 20kg).

Malthusian, Harrison Brown, worried about Stay the population growing unchecked “until the the website (above)and fortodetails of the earthSee is covered completely a considerable depth with writhing mass of human beFRH. Or calla homestays (tirthanvalley.com) ings,such much a dead cow is covered with a as as Raju’s Guesthouse (09418149808). pulsating mass of maggots.”

Tip Well, we’re not maggots, and that hasn’t Identify and use one of three datoons happened. Human beings are resourceful and available here as a toothbrush. ingenious, and the more of them you have, the more resourcefulness there is floating around.

Thethe economist Julian Simon, panies general tranquillity here.in his book The Ultimate Resource, pointed out that Beyond Ropa, the climb continues.

Tirthan through history, spurts in population prorumbles below, more distant, yetand increasingly ductivity coincided each ulti- All alluring in the with heat of theother. open(The stretches. mateofresource book’sappears title refers to guides is a suddenthe the forest and the people, of course.)

Malthus been correct, ghobegin to point Had things out. A goat-antelope you’dral expect seehill, that themade placesfrom withthe greatacrosstothe flour seeds of est population would have thehunters highest harthe kanordensity tree, ruthless bounty resourcevesting crunches. the opposite true.chatri, As a theBut forests of all itsisnag Nicholas Eberstadt pointed out for a few yearsto ago rare medicinal herb, export China. t’s wonderful to live in the 21st century. I under fire last year after a news channel un- in a study titled Many People?’, thereclose is no they They ‘Too have stories of how bought a new Android phone the other earthed footage showing scores of women link betweencame population density and poverty. to a brown bear, the night they day, and was fiddling with its apps, mar- dumped unconscious in a field following a Monaco’s population density is 40oftimes that spent in the cold and, course, where velling at how the world has advanced so mass sterilisation.” of Bangladesh. fine.visited.

Ditto Bermuda all It’s the doing Pandavas At the top of much and we can hold in our palm wonders There are three things terribly wrong with and Bahrain,the both more packed than India. first climb, a signboard advertises that would have been inconceivable just a dec- this: One, the government has no business inIndeed, the story of humanity a story of a Mobile Point, the lastisspot to make a ade ago, when I came across a news item on terfering with the private choices of its citi- urbanisation.

Whycall is land a city online sometimes phone or incheck for the the internet, which reminded me that, despite zens. Whether a particular individual wishes 100 timesweather. more expensive thanis inmomentarily a rural area? out The Tirthan all you can pack into a mobile phone, the real to have no children or 10 is no business of the Because demand, because everyone wants ofof sight. world outside is a lumbering beast that’s hard government. And to spend taxpayers’ money to be inFifteen cities, because is where the is opporminutesthat later, the river back and to change. And much of India still lives in an to manipulate these choices is absurd. tunities are.closer People migrate cities because much than before.toToblerone rock faces earlier century.

Two, it is women who are victims here. Poor of theexposed economic networks con- The by and it liesocial adorned with they creepers.

The news item in question was about a women. Manipulated women. Always women. tain — and the more there are, the more shade that youpeople walk in is in contrast to the group of women who died after a sterilisation It is never the man who hops over and says, desirable it is to be part of these networks.

Cisunny riverside, which is again in contrast camp in Chhattisgarh. According to a report “Chal bhai, nasbandi karva le.” It is always the ties would noticy beblueness such desirable destinations with the of the water.

The sound in The Guardian, “more than 80 women under- woman, because women in this if Malthus right. of the Tirthan kickswas in and is joined by cicadas. went surgery for n laparoscopic hour past thetubectomies entry gate at of the country a of status somenext have to some the paths.

All in all, it’s just the A seemingly Malthusian thinking is comidiotic bird dives into the fast a free government-run camp,” after which Park Great Himalayan National where between object and perright amount of manufacture to make the flow of the pletely today,coolly and the riverdiscredited only to surface where around 60 of them fell ill leastand 11 died.

(GHNP), anand oldatman his wife son, beauty possession loved one. of theand wilderness accessible. Beauty, on the water last couple centuries havepoint is calm.

In aofmovie, this is the Worrying about the The doctors were suspended, a criminal complough their modest field with This a makes me hand, ashamed.

It isitself not into every corner where you the other forces been to to thethe folly of his aretestimony introduced protagonist. population became plaintsolitary made, bull, and compensation an- only and sow barley.packages Theirs is the something meand with paof yourthat eyes,fills nose ears.

(Indeed,to ‘MalthuAt GHNP,judgement. you are introduced the Hippo. A fashionable in the late nounced.

(Consider obscenity of the that land holding stillthe inside the Park on southtriotismFrom and nationalistic gusto.

Gushaini, a road starts alongside the waterfallsian’ is a pejorative today.)

And so serene, no description is befitting.

18th century term.western ‘Compensation package.’

Really?)

But the Three, side, a good four-hour walk from all of thistowards is basedthe on village a Tirthan river, of Ropa. It is India, first to country to take In theyet past, I’ve the walked the Hippo, sworn whatnearest came astown a shock not that governof was Gushaini.

Hethe offers you tea flawed premise. yet Right from for a few kilo- a coupleup un-metalled motorable planning’ 1952, isgone of ‘family times, taken off myinclothes, mentand botched something up, butinthat in 2014, of swears at the langurs anticipation school, we are taught that peo-to see people walk for a short, metres.

It is encouraging one of last to continue to use icythe swim, looked for the perfect therethe washavoc something like wreak. a ‘sterilisation camp’ they will He speaks of how ple are a problem.

Or their that ‘overrather than take cars here. As privileged camera angle, government machinery profound none and felttolike taking in existence.

I had assumed sterilisations as a his the Forest Department wants to relocate population’ great danger desis onisa astrenuous hike,toweour arenation, essentially moteasomething that isThere’s wrong on so many selfie in despair. nothing onelevcan do government-organised ceased after family and that onlyactivity after death would he conand that familyour planning is its essential anti- els (coercion, betraying feudal instincts.

To compensate, etc).places Givenbut theto be to capturepseudoscience, the essence of such the Emergency of the 1970s, in which the evil dote,we sider the idea. andtake individuals must sacrifice along one porter too their de- top-down, central-planning kind of thinking in them. And thus, five minutes Indira and Sanjay made itI did StatesomeOn my last Gandhi visit to had the GHNP, sires many for theand nation.

‘Hum humaare wind up do, carrying a do,’ and of Nehru and hisfrom socialist minions,near it must the waterfall, the gates policything to forcibly sterilise their made ‘subjects’. unfathomable.

Having the effort so on.

But this is flat out the wrong, and terribly have seemed thatof water bottle, while spouse people were a problem, the Park, I set up camp.for Three-and-a-half decades why on and earththe is variof carting myself, myon, associates, outdated India’swith growing mightthinking. burden herself a pet- popula- the more people there were, the harder be-gate, Over the days spent atitthe the government conducting tubectomies? ous expensive bits of hiking equipment I untion is a problem, itenot purse.

Yet webut area blessing. walking And the came to control them and feed them.

The attiI had the opportunity to spend A faint odour of “Such camps,” possess The Guardian deservingly to the report gates inof the termalongside ‘overpopulation’ makes and no sense. the Tirthan it Every tudeaccomis condescending, consequences time atand thethe Hippo, to observe the cannabis formed us, “arePark, heldI regularly as time National chose to across spend India all my human being precious, melts theis wax plugs toand ourthere souls,can never criminal, asseemingly we saw in Chhattisgarh. idiotic bird, toFor spot a paniescan thebe general part there of a long-running to control the be too — 20 feet fromeffort the gates. many us.only acknowledge and we ofnot 67 years, we’ve been tied mentally, to — snake, todown, learn about the trees tranquillity here emerging power’swalks booming popTheeconomic Park has several on offer in the Worrying about theinpopulation started be- the concept of a two fellow travellers the opposite mai-baap sarkar.

It’s about of which are good as datoon ulation.”

Indeed, the government sterili-treks eco zone — from day-walks to sets weeklong coming fashionable in the lategreet 18th century, time to re-orient(toothbrush), direction but may even our thinking.toOur governswim in the rivsation targets forranging their health departments, — and flora from pines and cedars at with them. the publication of Robert The vegetation goesMalthus’s from An Es- ment’s sole purpose should serve not er, to lie in be thetosun andus, not worry and offers financial incentives to boththe doctors 1,500m to glaciers well above tree line. say onbroad the Principle Population. Malthus leaf andofrhododendron to made rule us; to empower us, not us;my to proabout the enslave charge on phone. I and There the women whorolling come meadows, forward. (Anyare large, or thach the seemingly observation that pop-some pine and sensible then some cedar, and after tect our strip them away. had rights, time tonot think about that old Abolishman and his where fromSound ₹1,400 to “carssteep andvalleys, electrical (think of Music), narrow ulation tended exponentially, time we getto to grow the village of Ropa. while ing this planning be the wifefamily living inside the nonsense GHNP andwould hope that goods” for the women.)

In 2013-14 alone, four that ledge-like paths and wooden bridges resources, in particular supply, grew At Ropa, beside thefood wooden temple, people an essential step in thattodirection. reason he wanted stay on was based on the million such operations wereTirthan conducted.

The crisscross the Sainj and rivers.

Woodarithmetically.

Thus, to prevent are weaving kiltas or canea catastrophe, baskets on their same feeling I had — a desire to take in the t@amitvarma report “Authorities in eastern Indiaboulders came to ensays, ladders have been built along population control A latter-day rooftops.

Half was the essential. village does ‘village-like place, one picture postcard at a time. assist us city slickers up and down trails. There things’, while the other half works as guides are unoccupied and unfurnished huts too and porters. A faint odour of cannabis accom- kunal condillac is a teacher based in Shimla

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At the gates

There’s nothing one can do to capture the essence of a place like the Great Himalayan National Park in Himachal Pradesh, but to be in it

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Amit Varma is a novelist. He blogs at indiauncut.com

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The toothbrush On two wings and the poets

Two decades after breaking up, Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines have reunited to launch Vistara. Will it prove second-time lucky for this ‘match made in heaven’?

The contradiction of the quintessential book to travel with Blue-skying Company officials and airhostesses at is that it can’t be too interestingthe launch of the logo for Tata-SIA’s newly christened

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airline Vistara in Delhi pti/shirish shete

he perfect travel companions let you able to focus and delve deep into Russian literbe yourself. They don’t make too the aturedecade”. in a wayAmber that you neverKPMG’s could atPartner home.

Dubey, much noise; they do not fuss and and Put down Brothers Karamazov.

Accept that IndiaTheHead, Aerospace and Defence, fidget. They do not want to wake up points this is out not that the right time to make that fifth this brings together a worldtoo early, and they will eat anything for lunch. class stab atairline War and Peace. you never will and one Perhaps, of the best corporate They will pretend to be interested in you and houses read Middlemarch. in the country. “SIA brings in a global your obscure, slightly embarrassing hobbies. network, Travel inevitably shakes offand our airline complacendeep knowledge best They will stay up late with you and will not talk practices. cy, throwsTata’s us offvarious balance.

It forces us to autotrust businesses — IT, too loudly first thing in the morning. It takes motive, the unknown. makesand us eat peculiar foods hotels,It retail general aviation, years of training to bring a spouse to such lev- among and handle strange currency.

Wesynergy must now reothers — will bring in beneels of silent understanding and there are no fits,” examine ourselves and our place in the world. he says. guarantees that he or she will not learn new When far from home, wandering unfaThe airline will initially operatedown only in the and devious ways to annoy you as the years go domestic miliar roads, stick the things youcannot love. The space, as to start-up airlines fly by. It is for this reason that I believe that the abroad authors before who feelfive likeyears old friends, those books of domestic operbest travelling companion is neither friend ations you canand escape intoaeffortlessly. without fleet of 20 aircraft. nor lover, but a book. Slipped into a back pockAndsentiment what could an easierinescape The is be so strongly favourthan of thea et, placed discreetly in a handbag, resting alliance short story theKapil idealKaul, thingChief to travthatcollection someone—like Expeacefully within a neatly packed suitcase ecutive el with; just the Centre right length to distract, yet not Officer, for Asia-Pacific Aviation and, yes, even hovering weightlessly within a has too long to for keeprescinding you from sleeping.

Don’t5/20 like called the so-called smartphone or tablet — a good book is the per- rule. the story you5/20 are reading?

Skipattothe theearliest next one.

“I hope is scrapped to fect travel companion.

In theIndia handstoofhave masters like Alicelong-haul Munro, John allow a world-class carThe contradiction of the quintessential rier Cheever and Ruskin Bond, the short story brisin Vistara,” he says. travel book is that it cannot be too interesting. tles with life.such Eachpositive story touched with a trace However, thinking notwithIt cannot drag you too far off into worlds be- standing, of longingitfor that souls is escape unlikely to all bewandering a smooth flight yond the page, because you really do have oth- for recognise. looking for in something Vistara. For Likethose the other players the marer things to do. A good traveller has to be alive ket, not so swirling with emotion, collecit will have to grapple withthe theshort high cost of to the world, observant of its nutionsfuel of and Agatha Christie or DuPG aviation turbine airport charges. ances, sensitive to its charms.

Wodehouse, even after all these bey adds that some airports like Mumbai, Any traveller who loves to read willanot let youofdown.

PoiChennai andyears, Goa have shortage slots and must be careful not to fall into tight shoes and Miss “Staff Marparking bays,rot’s especially at peak hours. the trap of just reading and not ple’s gentlefrom murmurings poached competing will airWhen we go will to a have new to be doing anything else while on vasoon have in groomed a restful frame lines at a higher cost andyou then into a place, nobody knows cation. A week spent lying in bed of mind.

Jeeves Woostermay will new Vistara culture.

The first and few months us, no one cares... reading is saw trulyit aas week well glory, many a fitting finaleDare to a jourmakedue youto smile to yourself, bringthat in a lotsoon of traffic the novelty facwe become spentthat but,JRD perhaps, a week with best the person ney had started airline’swhotor, reminding you of allmodel the silly unbut to sustain a full-service in the reads spent maharaja. at home. The most welliconic complicated things in this world.

Indian market will be an interesting chalJoyce? planned travel But that was itinerary not to be.can Thebedisinvestment lenge, though not Equally certain to never disapinsurmountable,” he says. thoroughly demolished by moved an did not happen and the Tatas away not point on a long journey is a book Kaul believes Vistara will be seriously chalabsorbing book, a comfy chair Airlines but lenged by the only from their partner Singapore ofexisting poetry —carriers language to as distilled full-service and aaviation quiet balcony. from itself. powerful airlines like its Jet most Airways and Airform.

IndiaTravel have The ideal booktwo to travel with, however, has come It was almost decades before the two with Rumi, who focus. wants Air us all to keep walking back into India is hoping its to be engaging toto tide youother over all the decision began making enough overtures each again even if there is noStar place to go to.the Pack up AKclub Rato join Alliance, global terribly parts of travel.

Airports filled of in 2012. boring The Government had since changed manujan andwill hischange wonderful contemplations 27 airlines, its fortunes while Jet withrules noisy who have disturbing the andchildren allowed foreign airlines to take a Airways of six-faced gods and dried-up rivers. partner Try Leois leaning on its international amounts of energy.airlines.

Queues This of loud-mouthed nard Cohen’sEtihad stake in domestic Book ofAirways.

Longing and discover that businessmen who forceairline you toorlisten to their fine, dancing line meant that a domestic between and A-320 songWith at least poetry two Airbus tedious, unending phone conversations. Traf- writing (further entity could tie up with a foreign confounded by the fact that it aircraft ready and waiting in its fic jamsas in partner hot cabsto that smell an like toe jam and is illustrated livery, airline launch by theVistara author).

Maryto Oliver is Carry preparing take The first few months sweat. here.

WhileTaking travel advantage can mean of adventure and with you andoff. airline listen her as she tells you thata Buttowhen?

That remains may bring in a lot of wonder, it can Jet also mean sold endless the relaxation, Airways a delays and the only life you can save is yoursecret. own. Let the closely guarded There traffic due to the sleepless nights hotel rooms with Rubáiyát of Omar 24 per cent stakein togarish Abu DhabiKhayyam remind that have been delays.

Set foryou an Octonovelty factor, but to too-hard bedsAirways and noisy air-conditioners. On we are all crawling based Etihad for ₹2,000 underneath thishas bowl of ber launch, the airline so far sustain a full-service days when have seen crore.

A fewyou months later,too Tatamany faces of sky, and listenreceived to Kamala Das when she tellscerus only a No Objection model in the Indian strangers the road, when the sky is an unfa- what our bones Sons andonSingapore Airlines willfrom smell like when of weCivil are tificate the Ministry market will be an miliaronce colour, when your bodytoand the clock gone. Don’t forget were again proposing yourIttoothbrush, more Aviation. is readyingbut, its flying interesting challenge will not sync at all, thatGovernis when you need a importantly, manual each other and to the don’t forget poets. for route andthe aircraft good book. ment for a new airline.

Despite allproving this loftyflights advice,ahead both of know ofus getting Choosing the over rightAir book can be tricky. that I too am the Past troubles India a traveller, learning as I go,regulaequalnod from the airline Whenforgotten we travel, there is always were and the two com- that tempta- ly unsure of what to pack.

Perhaps General the perfect tor, the Directorate of tion to focused reinventon ourselves, become some- Civil panies starting atonew full-service bookAviation, for you for andcommercial your journey will be filled operations.

Also one new. When go toVistara a new (derived place, nobody domestic airlinewe called from hanging with recipes. it isSubramanian a graphic novel fire isPerhaps BJP leader Swaknows us, novistaar, one cares; we could be anyone. my’s the Sanskrit or limitless expanse). aboutPublic time travel or a treatise on the naturethe of Interest Litigation against WeAnnounced tentatively try things we maythe notinitial try at grant in out September 2013, warfare.

The worldto is big enough to contain of clearance Tata-SIA’s new airline. all home — boots, sunglasses, denim investment in theoversized joint venture is estimated to these things.with When wemore travel, we money push those However, a lot than and shorts. we become that person who reads be $100Dare million, with Tata Sons pumping in $51 the boundaries even a good book credibility of further. the two And partners at stake, Joyce? Isfor thisathe right time to tackle Faulkner? this million 51 per cent stake and Singapore kept alliance close means we’ll never get too lonely will be anxiously hoping for a Do notinvesting let the magic of travel you into happily-ever-after Airlines $49 million fortrick the rest. along the way. kind of beginning. thinking that you will become a better person Once again, industry watchers are optimissnigdha phadnis manickavel is a Hyderabad-based writer on your holidays. youaswill tically referring to That Vistara the somehow “marriage be of ashwini

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ill it be second-time lucky for Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines (SIA)? Many see a tie-up between them as a match made in heaven.

It started that way too. They first wooed each other during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government’s rule in 2000. Tata Sons was anyway a name long associated with aviation. JRD Tata’s Tata Airlines was the country’s first national carrier, which was renamed Air India Ltd in 1946. Two years later, JRD founded Air India International Ltd as a joint venture with the Government for long-range international operations and was its Executive Chairman until it was nationalised in 1953. He continued as its Chairman until February 1978. Singapore Airlines, of course, has blazed global standards in passenger comfort, service reliability and worldwide connectivity.

In 2000, Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines tied up to bid for Air India, which was up for disinvestment. An SIA delegation was parked for months at Delhi’s Maurya hotel, doing due diligence for the merger and examining Air India’s books. It was a different time and place, a world far removed from the post-9/11 paranoia of security checks. A member of the SIA delegation recalled being within “spitting distance” of the then US President, Bill Clinton, who was staying at the same hotel during his India visit.

When Ratan Tata, nephew of JRD Tata and Chairman of Tata Sons, said at a press conference in Delhi that he wanted to recreate the magic of Air India and restore it to its pristine

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DIY chef

Angry Birds go to school The worst-kept secret

naintara maya oberoi

MEAL TICKET

The mobile game’s Finnish maker is bringing educational aids to classrooms around the world

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Rovio’s educational products are currently he Angry Birds are coming to school.

— preIt’s not surprising, considering the made for the early learning category esto from a jar. Malabar parottas it will six; to three aged kids and s schooler planet the on market secondislargest from a packet. Convenience (food is first), that the build on these products for kids of all ages. n educatio is easy to find in the aisles of a suworldaddictive mobile game is looking The company is partnering with some the can’t permarket. But maker what ifofyou for its NASA, g includin tions, organisa class Follow’ve been trying not to write about world. loos can be demoralising, and the music conjure up a table, and they already the across ms classroo to enter get to the store in time and the local sabziways ing interest for CERN s, has space Rovio my favourite place module in the world, is strictly pre-1990.ofFor décor, they have know what I want. “Vodka-tonic, lime based FinlandR&D, of years four ing wala has long deserted the streets? You orly particle especial s in its teaching since singing praisesphysics, has previflatscreen TVs,physics, an aquarium that may or juice, chilli potatoes, kung pao chicken?” out its educational product rollingthe der in, of course. started Not from hic.

Geograp l Nationa this and ously backfired, making finding a expects it may not be the provenance of the fish fin- they say, beaming, as if it’s my name. years, two In Brazil. and China neighbourhood takeaway, but from onRovio’s ofvery cent 47 per last yeargers, ingly, Interest r. spot there harder than getting a French generato and one luxuriant moustache.

Wherever I am in the world, I try to find revenue largest its be to vertical line vendors who home-deliver pre-cut physical prodof above-mentioned from the sale s cameworstpeople4S isrevenue visasome extension. now Delhi’s The moustache be- the local 4S, for comparison’s sake. Every we hired all started and measured ingredients“Itwith a recipewhen like. The andtosuch soft toys — Angry ucts kept secret, and the less peopleBirds know who had longs Rajinder Chauhan, who stands city has one. In Kolkata, I am told, it’s Oly publishing industry from the card (to idiot-proof the package).

A healthreliant isn’t too business n educatio realised about it, the better.

Still, when the editor We guard outside,entirely with a pistol-shaped ciga- Pub, and in Bengaluru, Koshy’s. In Mumbooks. nal educatio on worked ier and, often, a more exciting ‘gourmet’ n our educatio built “We gy.to on technolo told engage me she peohad resigned herself myhaverette lighter, and a delighted smile for ev- bai, my friend Neha assures me, the 4S of rs really of our some it alternative to Pappe dathat Dhaba, alsocharacte it deploy can we that way a such in n,”to 4S system sneaking an ode past her, I could no erybody. Inside, the rest of the staff, led the south is Gokul, while the 4S of the to educatio the key is ent engagem and ple, keeps you from buying that bottle of fish go to is just as welcoming; north is Janata. (I’m inclined to agree; Jacan even when it’s not digital. puzzling longer myself. the restrain bySo PK,we the manager, cka, who holds Vesterba sauce you barely use. ThePeter metros have first not have you and doesremember to a village thatthey Africa said on who someone likes—complicated Eagle, nata even scores points over Mighty For Rovio’s of tion designa dibs as usual. But the ready-to-cook conto teach abledrink, still beyour ty — andlike cocktails and bars electrici with gimmicks ions Conferand appear at 4S for having prawns KoliInnovat Open the of s sideline the cept appears to be gaining ground in oths. That’s product these of kids using one passwords, teacups, or basic levels ions iscats, your elbownot just when you wada on their menu). In Moscow. Open Innovat ence in er cities too. The price range is between imporBut it’smore way of doing the bestchoice. hosting hygiene, 4S is an atypical But it it. need ice or interiorBrighton, there are two congy ofevents, technolo largest Russia’s ₹200 and ₹700 for a meal for two. by techget carried away to favourite Despite its frou-frou tant not is, without exaggeration, my ts. desecrating chilli lamb. tenders — the Basketmaparticipants from across continen cka says. This friendly atmosphere reputation, Paris is studybar. been going nology,” there forVesterba over a decworld the I’ve kers’s Arms, and the Druid’s around went team Rovio A Mumbai with brush Rovio’s is not Thiswill ays lining surprisingly grungy ade, asschoold my stomach attest.

(Eat first and the close-packed tables Head. In Budapest, I suspect In Finland, n. educatio school ing The new (meal) kit on the block, iChef.in ran Last isyear, children rk. Yet, at your own peril.

No, . there no they homewo make for Code a very sociable bar. it’s the Szimpla Kert, in the kids hardly getthere short and has a dainty menu of six,are including lamb rs from US. Using characte the Triangle thethe Week justification CrispyinTofu systems infor ul Although you might enruins of an abandoned Sovisuccessf most the of one it’s sliders, chicken teppanyaki and tofu fajithey introVesterba China Peanut Butter Sauce.games, And yes, even cka De- says, Japan and counter the odd unwelet building.

Korea, like es Countri world. tas with guacamole. in aline or two, to coding 30 million but duced Colonys patriots stay away from thekids come n standard chat-up In Paris, I’m still evaluatimpressive educatiofence too have Purveyor of gourmet (and sometimes pro-never stand for any of ing the possibilities. Despite its frou-frou d the This year, they extende week.

“Ourchicken ‘Taste ofork.

Def Col’ wings.) the staff would on schoolw hours 10-12 spend kids rare) ingredients and kitchenware, FoodSoon, it n Union.

Europea to thehapIn prices, gramme A legend for its its stretchy Mom way. their customers, especially women on reputation, Paris is a surprisingly grungy to not go the Tiger h was approac esto.com also offers six DIY options on its list. to theharassed, China and Russia to add plans butitsitgreasy py hours, menu (theIndia, frying their own, being resultsand as Chauhan city, and many old-school bars are as imdeliver kids model, Asian the site, sourced from the popular kitchens of ies compan large and small too, India, In learntheme extends even to the ice cream), 4S once told me. That’sfoto make one of the many rea- pervious to décor, prices or cocktail want We cost. high a at comes Indigo Deli and The Table. Think papardelhave sprung ng educatio cused on aimprovi is a dive withcka no complexes, bulwark Vesterba sons 4Snendures. trends as 4S. Based on popularity and ing fun, an addiction in fact,” la, beet risotto and roast chicken. is is somewhat one- pricing, Aux Folies, a graffiti-ed bar that market Indian The years. few last up in the new placis the against all the underwhelming model Sadly, my love for 4S Rovio the of base the So says.

Eatopia.in, however, has an “artisanal In— in sizebars massive they whatand in Delhi, all the hip ‘concept’ added sided. Though they’re always happy to spills over into the alley outside — always theyes system. dian” flavour and peddlesFinnish spice mixes tooTo that, firm ng consulti leading (please stop bringing me ‘deconstructed’ with see me, they don’t miss me like I miss full, always cheap, always welcoming — is ations collabor through learned (Parsi dhana jeeru, anyone?). pegs ak work).

Technop peda- me and making do all the their Rovio them. And I haven’t been initiated into a contender, although the waitstaff’s institutions to come up withdrinks soft- the secret inner circle, which is invited to lumbersexual beards are just a hair too nal golden rs will interior is a educatio deep-fried characte gogy. The popular Angry BirdsThe Delhi and Gurgaon other experandcertain val- is ware brown, theadd rexine squishy, ta- sample PK’s legendary meat curry. Still, hip. For peculiar smell, there is the dirtthey — “where in some appear That Cookfresh.in has nearly doubled itslessons be a every time I go, the staff smiles, and they cheap Bar Dix, which only serves sangria, s toThe provider e. tise narrativ bles are wobbly and others sticky. the core of the form don’t but — ue” number of dishes — now, an impressive market n n $15-billio educatio Rovio’s among prints that haven’t changed since of hy philosop base The line up of 33 — in 10 months, is certainly an the 19th century, and an odour that imect students from with potential to grow disconn not to is business indication of its popularity. Apart from plies someone has been assassinated in begin playing games 15 per cent CAGR. It pinkids Urban worlds. their the savoury plates of massaman curry, one of the wine barrels. And going by a iPads at an early age. points mobile devices, digital and ones smartph on Vietnamese pho and Burmese khow suey, long happy hour and a total disregard for where they are asked content and learning devices as the most school, to go they Then they also win brownie points for peddling changing times, there is the unpretenthese gadgets and pay attention promising technologies in the Indian context. switch off sweet eats like cheesecake,to blueberry muftious Clair de Lune, a traditional zinc bar It is inevitable that Unsurprisingly, the number of players and inteacher. one of voice the to fins and moist chocolate cake in a mug. s is high. In in Montmartre with a retro neon sign they enjoy it less and absorb even less. In Fin- terested venture capital investor ed to be Nanrumour is entrant latest the fact, better spoke boys above the counter. They play Eye of the tithat showed research land, Bengaluru they played more dan Nilekani, whose Ek Step venture is expectger in the afternoons and reggae in the because girls than English Youjustcook.com seems fairly reasonable — evenings, and the entire neighbourhood which were in English. The com- ed to be announced next month. games, sea bass with ginger brothvideo for ₹275, Asian (The writer visited Open Innovations at the invitacan be found here: burly men with their became one of achievthen hy philosop pany’s grilled prawns for ₹200 and Thai-spiced cloudy Ricards, young couples out for an — learning while not tion of Moscow Convention Bureau) learning al accident ing pork loin, their most expensive dish, for a apéro, office colleagues, harassed mothyou’re being taught. realising veena venugopal princely sum of ₹350. Taking “tiresomeers, and an old lady who will leave in a ness out of trying”, they grade each recihuff if they run out of peanuts. pe’s “cooking effort” from high to low.

The jury is still out, but in the meantime, please don’t go to 4S. It’s hard Multi-city enough getting a table without all of you With a pan-Indian reach online — thanks muscling in too. to Amazon.in — and a special focus on naintara maya oberoi is a food writer based Mumbai and Bengaluru, Chefsbasket.in in Paris t@naintaramaya has also tied up with retail stores in Mumbai, Thane and Pune. On offer are Thai, Italshutterstock/alex saberi ian and Mexican specials, all vegetarian.

A legend for its prices, its stretchy happy hours and its greasy menu, 4S in Delhi is a dive with no complexes… No wonder, wherever I am in the world, I look for 4S

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PARTHA PRATIM SHARMA

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Mind games Financing me, softly

A Chennai-based sports centre pits emerging talent against high-tech training machines to hone their ‘killerofinstinct’ The chronicler Mumbai's underworld writes exclusively for BLink on the rise and fall of Abu Salem and the role of the mafia in the film industry

On the ball Tennis player Ramya Natarajan trains at Quantum Leap Performance, which focuses on building mental strength

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t was a puzzle that Ramya Natarajan was calm during critical moments of the game. “In QLP is among the first sports fitness centres unable to solve. Natarajan knew she was sports, 10 per cent is about talent, 40 per cent in the country to use machines such as Dynaas skilled as her opponents, and many about fitness and 60 per cent about mental vision. Working with such cutting-edge techrecognised her as the next big talent in strength,” she says. nology, a player will have the confidence when Indian women’s tennis. But when it came to facing a peer from a developed country with winning, the youngster was falling short, un- Pressure points advanced training facilities, says Srinivasan. able to proceed beyond the quarterfinals in Srinivasan and Narayan couldn’t agree more.

In transit Mumbai has always been a city in flux, where fortunes made and unmade too easily bloomberg/vivek prakash “Talent is the same everywhere. Difference mostare tournaments.

In the mind That was a year ago. The 15-year-old finished comes in the training and exposure,” says Na- But more than physical prowess, the focus on runners-up at the recent National sub-junior rayan. “We in India are rhetorical about the mental fitness sets QLP apart. “Few undertennis championships in Delhi. wasShah the need he recent news storiesThis about for better training.

Performance Indi- stand starry-eyed interest in Bollywood.

His of closest theinnings nuances of the a sport like family, Srinivasan make his with Dawood and third timeRukh that she had reached the finals of a an Khan and the Pujari brothers athletes has been in the and brush with movie starspoor, cameincluding when he deliverNarayan do.his In new racing, instance, at the so plunged into jobfor with a zeal and fertournament in less a year.

“Earlier, I used seem like than déjà vu.

Except this time it just concluded Asian Games,” ed firearms to Sanjay Dutt, hisadds hero,Srinivasan, for Anis in start of aonly race,left drivers can beand nervous and vour that destruction despair in to get tired the first set,isor would get old an- who is after different.

There none of the had1993. helped cricketer Sachinthat Tendulkar January It was an encounter was to heart beats can go up to a rate of 180 a minute its wake. gry and lose I have im- make paranoia whenconcentration. the mafia first Now laid siege to Bola comeback change both their after lives.an elbow rangewas is 60-100), leading Back home,(normal the country going through proved,” she says.

She credits this changeare to injury lywood couple of decades ago. Filmmakers in 2005.

In 1993, Mumbai was rocked by serial bomb its own churning. to mistakes,” says 19-year-old Raj The economy was opened her training regime in at fear the Quantum Leaptheir Per- blasts no longer quivering and planning Often, sportspersons thatIndian devastated the city and the nation. up by PV Narasimha Bharath,Rao anandemerging his financeracer wizformance (QLP) past six months. exit like Rajiv Raicentre (Guptfor andthe Mohra) who left In- have under Rakeshbuckled Maria, who waspressure a deputy police com- ard Manmohan training QLP since February.

Singh.atIn Mumbai, the finanIt takes six Chennai-based centre is jointly headed and diaThe in the ’90s for 20 long years. lackedand theat‘killer instinct’. missioner the helm of the investiga- cial nerve centre Through personal sessions of the country, there was a lot months to acquire My Name is byUnlike Ramji Srinivasan Badri Narayan. today, the and mafia invasion of While Bolly- Be archer Deepika Kumari, tion,it was turning on the heat and with audio-video content, happening both in Bollywood Abu Salem a mental skill Srinivasan is ’90s best was known asand the terrifying. fitness trainer wood in the total The who couldn’twas handle the When “presand nobody spared.

Narayan trains Bharath, Nataraand the real estate sector. Rich InS Hussain Zaidi Penguin of thewere World Cup-winning Indian cricket dons the dark lords of the industry — sure” infilmstar Londonand Olympics famous the son and of a jan and other to dians were nowsportspersons laundering their Non-fiction team, US-based sports psychologist Narayan controlling the stars, producers and directors Asian Games, or cricketer Suresh MP, Sanjay Dutt was sent to prisremain calm during “nervous” black money after the govern₹350 Unlike today, the has worked with topand names in lawn through extortions threats.

Thetennis. man re- Raina to short on forrepeatedly possessingfalling firearms, Abu moments.

Breathing exercises ment gave many voluntary dismafia invasion of “I got to for know themwas through my cousponsible thisabout mayhem Abu Salem — balls, even seasoned Salem,or who hadthe supplied thoseVishwanathan are also conducted. takesSo, up to six months closure“Itsops. this was an Bollywood in the ’90s sin, is alsoand a tennis player,” says vain,who heartless money hungry, he Nataraalmost Anand, whoknew seemed bucklebe under the pres- to acquire a mental weapons, he towould skill,”moment says Narayan. opportune for black was total and jan. a two-hour session QLP part of sure wentNow berserk and would have at had theisdubious against Magnus Carlsen in the next of in playing line.

The QLP duo is now identifying emerging money to find its way into Bollyterrifying her daily routine.

“We onBollywood, different World distinction of breaking thework back of Championship.

Their skill was talent to groom And Chess so Salem escaped to DuforPlans, the international stage. wood. too, were being laid things — had agility, speed and endu- never if his run not strength, been cut short. inall question, butmafia mental pressure got the “We don’t want bai, like the other dons, work with the ‘stars’,” says for to what would eventually rance,” she adds.

Srinivasan her as better Abu Salem began his careermonitors as a lowly lieuwhere ofhethem. began to eventually Srinivasan. They plan the to have an exchange prochange geography of Mumshe works on high-tech machines such as Dytenant of Dawood’s brother Anis Ibrahim.

Be- work “It boils to with how we moredown closely Anisbring up our gramme withbai. similar the US and The institutes land in in south-central navision better hand-eye coordination), fore Anis,(for Bollywood had its dalliances with sportspersons.

Our diet is poor and mental sponsor Ibrahim. Anis owned King’s Video, a massive players for training abroad.

Mumbai talented was dominated by mills, and while Fit footwork) manner. and Vertimax theLight mafia,(improving albeit in a peripheral Black training is not given enough 14- “It pirated film business.

In thatimportance. era, the only Away important to have such facilities when theis’80s was dominated by mill strikes, the (to develop Narayan the facilimoney was strength). being ploughed invisits to make films year-old European or American child movies will be you expatriate Indians could watch Hindi starting I ruemill the fact that were they we’90sare were a timeoff. when owners sety two in months and remains touch fitter butonce thatin came from all sources.

Theinmafia’s than a teenager from India,” says Bhishwas via videos.

The mafia had realised the ren’t when wasstate younger,” says Shacretlyaround parlaying withI the government to through Skype.

Bollywood connection in that period started maraj Bam, a retired police films officer be- rath huge potential for Bollywood in who the MidKamal, a two-time winner of the free up the mill land for commercial use.CWG For“Now I respond to shots faster and hit har- came and ended with the starlets and actresses. a mental trainer has number worked of with dle East, where there wasand a large In- table gold.toThe veteran player is now tunes tennis were about be made. der.

I could compete only with in the TheirEarlier common meeting ground wasthose Dubai, likes ofmade Rahula Dravid andpirated Anjali cassettes.

Bhagwat. training dians, and killing on at QLP to improve fitness.

“At my Liberalisation had its sidehis effects in other arthe 14 ittowas 16-year bracket.

Now can play “It where prestigious to be seenI watching matters lot what with you are the age Salem begana working Anisdoing on theoff video (33),the skillstorylines is not theof issue.

I need to be fitThe to eas like Bollywood films. against the seniors too,” says as she cricket in the VIP enclosure atNatarajan, Sharjah with Da- field.

Evenbut things timethe youjob goof tohandsleep compete business was like soonthe given withman the younger lot,” he’80s adds. angry young of the ’70s and and the works to convert her finals appearances wood Ibrahim.

Salem himself at the time into was or the amount ofand water drink daily makes romantic hero suddenly seemed like extinct ling Bollywood theyou builders of Mumbai. thomas victories. helpssmuggler, that she iswho nowhad able to stay aThe primarily Ita gold a merely difference,” adds Narayan. ambitious young don was desperate to prince speciesmathews as the younger audience got more as-

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pirational. The audience — many of them born in the ’70s after the wars with China and Pakistan and the angst of Partition — identified with the younger heroes. In 1990, Mahesh Bhatt’s Aashiqui was a superhit followed by Baaghi, Dil and Ghayal.

The old guard of Bollywood began to slowly decline and in their wake rose a brilliant young generation. There were the Khans — Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan, topped with the machismo of Sanjay he BJP onslaught in West Bengal has begun. AfDutt and Sunny Deolter and a sprinkling of Ajaythe party has seen a rise the 2014 elections, Hum was only reDevgn. Amitabhin Bachchan’s its membership, especially from the minority membered for the voluptuous Kimiobservers Katkar community.

Some say that the BJP is de. Left Though and the song Jumma even chumma replacingdethe as opposition to the Trinathe Kapoor clan tried revive their with mooltoCongress.

Instock its attempt to conquer the ma, Henna, they too had to eventually bow of out. maati and maanush Bengal, the party is leaving Among the newcomers, man stood out bringing people back no stone one unturned, even for his audaciousfrom charm his appeal.

Shah theand dead.

In a press release issued last week, Rukh Khan simply swallowed the acclaimed director Rituparno the party stated that screen and everybody Ghoshelse willwith be joining them for election campaignit. The audienceing. could notGhosh passed away last year, succumbOnly, take their eyes off him. ing to He a heart attack. Even as the TMC was quick to took Bollywood fter several false starts at making war, North Korea pointbyout the gaffe, the BJP’s lieutenants hurriedly storm. com-out corrected messages saying they meant the seems to have finally made a beginning. A group of He was sosent pelling hackers, calling themselves #GOP aka Guardians of that the veteractress Rituparna Sengupta, not director Ritupar- complete, and prof- police when five youths opened fire upon him. its had soared al- But Rai’s bodyguard managed to put up a an lover boy Rishi Peace, have threatened to leak Sony Pictures’ “secrets no Ghosh. What’s in a name, really? most six times from fight and arrested one of them, while others Kapoor appeared and top secrets”. Major 2014 movies like Fury and Mr the late ’80s. The fled from the scene. Rai was so perturbed by lost and spent in Turner were leaked online earlier this month, promptThe plot thickens Following Deewana (1992). mafia naturally be- the murder attempt that he packed his bags ing SonyBombay Pictures call in investigating agencies — the 1993 blastto(below the hindu archive), the police When Abu Salem gan to show an in- and left the shores of India forever. from the FBI to private eye FireEye. The group apparentcracked down on Bombay’s Gulshan Kumar, owner of T-series and a muleft the shores of terest in what was ly hacked Sony’s Twitter accounts, posted spreadsheets underworld don Abu Salem Mumbai, Bollywood’s happening in the in- sic magnate, was not so lucky. His killing was with theshashi salaries top executives and even hijacked ashiwal)of and even (far right reinvention was near dustry. Earlier, film- very brutal and it shook the film industry. The the company the filmstars like email id. It is suspected, however, that salvi) Sanjay Dutt makers earned solely trick worked. Nobody knows how much monattacks are(ap/deepak in response to the upcoming James Francothrough distribution in ey the big movie moghuls coughed up after starrer The Interview, which is about an assassination atthe domestic sector and mu- the killing of Kumar. But it is said that Abu Satempt on Kim Jong-un by the US. According to North sic rights. But Shah Rukh Khan’s lem made a neat profit of ₹400 crore, besides Korea’s UN ambassador, this is an “act of war”.

Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge in 1995 purchasing many prime properties in Dubai, opened up a very lucrative market overseas. which he rented out. For Bollywood, Abu SaThen there were the satellite PV Naralem a new himself.

Captain. matters as name much for as an offline one, ired rights of theas endless debate oncoined simha Rao did us another favour byrashtra? saving Of us governHe also used in for his Estodealings the Hindu therethe arename plentyArsalan of perks from the limited options the drabtoStatea name hefrom had used to make a ments on promising bring with back Bollywood, nian e-residents e-signing run Doordarshan channel opened all doing forged passport for Dubai. black and money and upthen documents to e-polling. Estonia of television.

Usinghas hisone pseudonym he wooed nothing? Well, there is a solution. of the bestArsalan, digital infrasOne man from Bollywood seemed to Monica Bedi, whoin was struggling starlet Become awho citizen of Estonia… a tructures thea world; it gave us at be on a winning spree at the time In waswhat film-is being the time.Skype Eventually, they uploading fell into a relationand is now govdigital citizen. maker Subhash Ghaicalled and he first tar- movship andernment married.business By this time, thewas firstthe step towards in theSalem cloud,and in the get of the mafia. Ghai, known the showman, other dons’ overinvades.

Bollywood ing awayas from ‘nation-state hegecase hold Russia For was now,commade larger-than-lifemonies’, films. HeEstonia told simple plete. were nottojust hasstobegun to They you’d have visitmaking Estoniamoney to get e-from ries but etched the characters in your mind for the but alsobut shaping it. Struggling citizenship by 2015, all Esto- acoffer e-citizenship to anyone whoindustry eternity. Like Dilip cares Kumarenough and to sign up. In a nian tors and actresses had t all began with two guys in the US who, when diembassies will offer theinveigled seror Sanjay Raj Kumar in Saudagar way into Bollywood using agnosed with Amylotrophic Lateral Sclerosis world where an online identity vice. their Sign up!

Dutt in Khalnayak. Remember mafia contacts. The mafia had be(ALS), dumped cold water on themselves and the way Sanjay Dutt tilted his Salem, who recruited gun to even have a say in the castmade videos. The Ice Bucket challenge was born head and shook his shouldering of many films. Later, of and went viral, spawning scores of boys from Azamgarh length hair vigorously in Khal- for hit jobs for ₹5000, course, they got bolder and startspin-offs. In Côte d’Ivoire, peonayak, a classic act that won him ed making films. Chhota Rajan’s ple used soapy water in a dispatched five boys numerous fans. He was the first brother Deepak Nikalje got the ‘Lather against Ebola’ chalto kill Subhash Ghai anti-hero of contemporary BolSanjay Dutt hit Vaastav made lenge; in Gaza, it became and Bharat Shah got into trouble lywood long before Shah Rukh the ‘Rubble Bucket’ chalfor money laundering for the Khan immortalised the trend in lenge; in India, we subDarr. Ghai’s Khalnayak was a mafia in Chori Chori Chupke stituted rice for ice. runaway hit. The protagonist’s reel life image Chupke (2001).

Now, the Aam Aadmi Abu Salem andhen thein controversies film At ficollided with real life when Sanjay Dutt got ardoubt, holdon a rally.

Party has launched mafia only Bollyrested making the film even more compell- nancing and the least, that’s thehelped adage politiits own take with the ’90s film producers were ing. The cash registers began ringing and Ghai wood. While cal in parties in West Bengal seem to the ‘I Fund Honest the‘rally funding and emerged as one of the biggest movie moguls not transparent believeabout in. The virus’ hitearnthe Politics Chalings, Bollywood forced go continue legit. Today of the ’90s. city lastwas week andto will to lenge’. While AAP shy of claiming film made Salem’s job was to make calls to the big nobody is plague it till thethat 2016their Assembly elechasn’t decided on in earnings.

UTV, Balaji bosses of Bollywood and demand internation- ₹200 crore tions conclude. Viacom, For instance, after the format, the big week’s production houses on coral distribution rights, access to piracy or just and otherlast BJP rally, the work TMC responchallenge might inall financing is above board money. Most people gave into his demands. porate lines dedand with a ‘counter-rally’ that involve ice cubes or Movies, of don’t run for and one Ghai refused. Salem — who had started the generally. cluded lotscourse, of name-calling brooms. It may skip and Mamata are supposed to yield retrend of recruiting boys from his hometown year any longer little else.

Banerjee didn’t physical activity altofirst days thewas opening Azamgarh for hitmen for measly sums of turns in the turn uptwo and theof rally a flop.itself.

Last gether. The AAP has Abu Salem a name, erased ₹5,000 — dispatched five boys to kill Ghai. The Meanwhile, week’s lineupisofjust ‘democratic procbeen a trendsetter, hosting collective memory. boys were intercepted by the Mumbai police from Bollywood’s esses’ included a protest against the the first political fundraisBut the‘attack veterans are still culture’ wary ofand Salem’s and the plan foiled. Salem maintained that he on Bengal’s a raler in the country, and now Mumbai You never if didn’t actually mean to eliminate Ghai but presence in ly to opposejails. ‘aspersions castknow on mawith the challenge. Will he will getdrassas’. acquitted or serve out hisnext time, only was only intent on sending out a message.

What’s showing week? the BJP follow make lives miserable again.

The next target was director Rajiv Rai, who to return and A counter-rally to protest TMC’s suit? had three hits to his credit, Tridev, Mohra and counter-rally, one against a slander Gupt. In 1997, Rajiv Rai was in his Tardeo office s hussain campaign zaidi is a journalist andand author, most on TMC, one for comNameharmony. is Abu Salem with his bodyguard, provided by the Mumbai recently of My munal Rally on, we say.

Dead men walking

The BJP push in West Bengal falls prey to a deadly blunder

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War and peace

A North Korean group wages a battle by leaking motion pictures

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Citizen of the world

The tiny Baltic nation of Estonia opens up its digital borders for e-citizenship

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What to do in Kolkata this holiday season

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cornerstone in-faq by joy bhattacharjya Demolitions

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t’s December 6, the 22nd anniversary of the demolition of Babri Masjid. This week, we look at a few welcome and not-so-welcome destructions and demolitions.

1

The Tower of Bastille was stormed on July 14, 1789. Which former inmate is believed to have fuelled the attack on the castle, addressing the public from the top of the tower and later shouting from the window of his cell? He was transferred a few weeks before the assault.

2

Satyajit Ray’s Hirak Rajar Deshe (The Kingdom of Diamonds) was the second film of his Goopi-Bagha series. The film ends happily with even the wicked king now willing to help pull down his own statues. The destruction of which African dictator’s statues in the late ’70s is believed to have inspired the scene?

3

In 1753, the Reverend Francis Gastrell purchased a historic home and had it demolished six years later as he was fed up with people who came to look at his house and knock on his door. Whose former home did he destroy?

4

Early 21st century. The New York Times reported that according to a spokesperson, the decision to destroy these structures was taken in a rage after a foreign delegation offered money to preserve these works instead of feeding starving children. The destruction was supervised by the head of a council of scholars.

Name the structures.

the new york times crossword-0629

dime store

5 6

After five centuries of existence, what was finally destroyed by the armies of Bakhtiyar Khilji in 1197 AD? The Eiffel Tower was built for the 1889 World’s Fair and was meant to be torn down after its 20-year lease expired. In 1909, what did Gustave Eiffel demonstrate that saved it from destruction?

7

RAF squadron 617 was a legendary World War II fighting outfit. What sobriquet did they earn because of their role in destroying a specific type of structure?

8 9

In 2009, what occasion was celebrated with a 2km line featuring thousand giant dominoes, which took half an hour to tumble?

After the 9/11 attacks in 2001, which film’s teaser posters were pulled out by Sony as they featured the World Trade Centre tower. The few posters that remained are now highly priced collectibles.

10

Spolia, literally ‘spoils’ in Latin, was a practice often followed in antiquity.

Examples include the Arch of Janus, much of the medieval architecture of Colchester and the mosques of Kairouan and Cordoba. What is Spolia — workoutable and common in India?

Answers

1. The Marquis de Sade, whose activities contributed the word ‘sadism’ to the dictionary.

2. Emperor Bokassa of Central Africa, who was finally overthrown in 1979.

3. William Shakespeare, who died here in 1616. Which is why, his fans now visit his wife’s cottage.

4. The Bamiyan Buddhas 5. Nalanda University 6. He put a radio transmitter on top of the tower and offered it to the French Defence Ministry as a communications base. It proved very useful and was later used to jam German radio communication.

7. Dam busters, who destroyed the Mohne and Edersee dams, vital to the German war effort, and also damaged the Sorpe dam.

8. The 20th anniversary of the destruction of the Berlin Wall.

9. Spiderman 10. The practice of reusing earlier building material or structures on new monuments.

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joy bhattacharjya is a quiz master and Project Director, FIFA U-17 World Cup t@joybhattacharj

ACROSS 1 Letter-shaped opening in a machine shop 6 Sticky stuff 10 Mature 15 Not playing with a full deck 19 Goonlike 20 River that drains the western Pyrenees 21 Hersey’s “A Bell for ___” 22 “House of Frankenstein” director ___ C. Kenton 23 2014, for Doublemint gum 25 Mexican president of the early 2000s 27 Triangle part 28 Tyler Perry to Katy Perry, e.g.

30 Churning, as the stomach 31 Draw (from) 33 Kitchenette cooker 36 Happy refrain 37 One with home protection?

40 Middle-of-the-road 44 Like mother-of-pearl 46 When repeated, White Rabbit’s cry 48 Nonalcoholic brew 49 ___ souci (carefree) 50 White-crested ducks

52 Game in a forest 53 Former political divs.

54 Car ad fig.

55 Country whose name is an anagram of another country’s capital 57 Part of i.o.u.

59 Extra wager 62 Took for booking 63 Podiatrist’s concern 65 Southern university whose newspaper is The Hullabaloo 66 Several days ago, say 70 Bugs that technically are misnamed 72 Burn up 73 Butler of book or film 75 Prepares to be shot 76 Suggest 78 “Dies ___” 79 In 80 ___-pitch 83 Mountains have developed over them 84 Soul: Fr. 86 “Foreign Affairs” author Alison 88 Whoop-de-do 89 Blood-typing letters 90 Bully 93 Agent’s cut

96 Total value of the symbols created by the special crossings in this puzzle 98 Doctor’s orders 100 “___ has no age”: Picasso 101 Sand, maybe 103 Fast crowd 104 Floored 107 Flaxseed or quinoa, e.g.

111 Opus ___ 113 Something square to eat?

116 Defendant’s cry 118 Mythological subject of a Michelangelo painting 119 Hair extension 120 Of Peter O’Toole’s eight Oscar nominations, how many he won 121 Scruffs 122 Broadway singer Linda 123 Venomous snake 124 Cries (for) 125 One for the books DOWN 1 Dangerous part of an alligator 2 Where many tickets are distributed 3 Not going away 4 German direction 5 Agatha Christie mystery setting

6 Type 7 Theater award 8 Kind of fixation 9 Film legend Negri 10 Entree item with crimped edges 11 Chowderhead 12 Percocet, for one 13 Suffix with ethyl 14 Partisan leader?

15 More profound 16 Pounds’ sounds 17 Moving ice 18 Message with an emoji, maybe 24 Bright stars 26 “Così Fan ___” 29 Summer weather stat.

32 Dangerous units 34 Blabs, say 35 Crawler on an M.C. Escher Möbius strip 37 It may be a credit to you 38 Mobile-to-Birmingham dir.

39 Nervously excited 41 “Things are not looking good” 42 Untroubled 43 Samples 44 System of beliefs 45 Town on the south shore of Long Island

47 Reagan attorney general 51 “___ man walks into a bar …”

53 Youngest-ever French Open winner, 1990 55 Fruit with a flat pit 56 Pot collection 58 Articles in a paper 60 Formal reply to “Who’s there?”

61 Snookered 62 Harvests 64 Two by two 66 Shampoo instruction 67 Clothe 68 Like some patches 69 Starts 71 Actress who co-starred in “The Lincoln Lawyer” 74 Chess champ Mikhail 77 Keep an ___ the street 80 Hillary Clinton’s domain, once: Abbr.

81 Summer hair product 82 Some freight cargo 85 Times table?

87 Abbr. in many an officer’s title 88 N.B.A. coach Jackson and others 90 Muscle builders 91 Year in Madrid 92 One who’s taking inventory?

94 “Keep your ___ the prize!”

95 Half-baked, maybe 97 “Honest!”

99 Make bigger: Abbr.

102 Emit, as a big sigh 103 Craving 104 Not lifting a finger 105 Craving 106 Right hand 108 Funny Fey 109 Certain co. plans 110 Informant 112 Wee, informally 114 Pan Am rival 115 T-shirt size: Abbr.

117 Actor McKellen

By Elizabeth C. Gorski / Edited by Will Shortz

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