ThebrewNov

CINEMA, MUSIC & ART WITH THE

NOVEMBER 2011 VOL 02 ISSUE 02 ` 40 www.thebrewmagazine.com

Art on polaroid Making of G. Venketram’s 2012 Calendar

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EDITOR’S NOTE

It’s a great feeling writing this note. The Brew completes one year. Symbolically, I would say a huge victory for the team as we were up against all odds. Sitting in Chennai and producing a national magazine with international content has been a challenge. But we have been growing and learning while growing.

People who have followed us over the last one year would agree with me that we have got better with each issue. And as promised earlier, we are creating The Brew as a complete entertainment brand promoting Films, Music and Art. It has been an eventful first year. We launched two big albums with Universal Music: Miracle Worker and 127 Hours. We promoted big Hollywood films like Salt, The Karate Kid, Just Go With It and a few more. We co- presented the film workshop “Imaging Cinema” with IIT Madras. Along with Odyssey and Pan McMillan, we presented Lord Jeffrey Archer’s launch of his book, Only Time Will Tell.

A lot is brewing for the second year as well. We are excited about the launch of our own production and record label The Brew Records, our debut production being Straight Balance in collaboration with the Paris-based artist Marti (SAPTA).

There are a lot of people to thank for their support, but I would like to specially thank my best friend Ashok Verghese for being there during tough times. He is like my big brother. I would like to thank Arun and Neeru Nanda for being there like family and for their support and guidance. Thanks also to my partner Mihir Ranganathan, my art director Sibiraj and my young and wonderful team whose support has been invaluable.

Until next time.

Sameer Bharat Ram Editor

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CINEMA, MUSIC & ART WITH THE

Creative Director 01 Mihir Ranganathan Art Director 02 Sibiraj Bastin 01

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www.thebrewmagazine.com Edited and Published by Sameer Bharat Ram, and owned by SM BrandMuni Consulting Pvt. Ltd, Published from No.609, Lakshmi Bhavan, Anna salai, Mount Road, Chennai - 600 002. Tel.: +91 44 4208 9392.

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Editor: Sameer Bharat Ram

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CONTRIBUTORS AND ADVISORY BOARD

Lord Jeffrey Archer Jeffrey Archer established himself as a literary force with the publication of his first novel, Not A Penny More, Not A Penny Less, in 1975. His third novel, Kane and Abel became a number one best-seller in hardcover and paperback all over the world and has sold over 3.5 million in the UK paperback edition alone. Now, 36 years later, Jeffrey continues to defy his critics and delight his fans. Published in 97 countries and more than 37 languages, Jeffrey Archer is firmly established, with international sales passing 250 million copies.

Gautami Tadimalla An apt example of a renaissance woman, Gautami has acted across Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Hindi and Kannada film industries. With over 20 years of experience in the film industry, she recently won the ‘Best Costume Designer’ for her work in the movie Dasavathaaram. A multifaceted entrepreneur, Gautami also supports various social causes.

Ashok Verghese Is one of the youngest education entrepreneurs who is making a great difference in this field in the country.

He is the Director of the Hindustan group of Institutions, again one of the pioneering educational groups in the country. He supports the cause of promoting young talent in art and music.

Veejay Sai An award-winning writer, editor and a culture critic. He has written and published extensively on Indian classical music, fashion, theatre, food and art, and loves traveling, researching literary and cultural history. He is an editorial consultant with over 40 brands and designers in and outside India and is on the jury for several prestigious awards in the arts across the country.

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Mallika Sarabhai, Educated as an economist and a business manager, Mallika Sarabhai is one of India’s best known Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi dancers. She has taken her work and her company Darpana to not only over 90 countries around the world, but also to the farthest parts of India.

Neeru Nanda A graduate from Delhi University.

Passionate about writing, she freelanced as a feature writer for ten years before switching to publishing.

Author of a collection of short stories titled “IF” (Rupa & Co), Neeru is now working on two novels and a series of books for children.

Dr. M. Lalitha and M. Nandini Internationally acclaimed, award winning Violin Maestros Dr. M. Lalitha and M. Nandini have been widely applauded as the ‘Queens Of Violin’ and have enthralled audiences across the globe. They have been selected as Cultural Ambassadors and dignitaries to the US and UK respectively. They have published books and written numerous articles relating to Music and religion.

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CONTENTS

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30

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24

28

26

VOL 02 ISSUE 02

28

Jagjit Singh

Etched in memory

32

Artrends

Journeying into Indian Art History

30

Decoding Dance with

Sangeeta Isvaran - Diya Subramanian

REVIEW COVER STORY

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20

Zeenat Aman

- Diya Subramanian

Lord JeffREy Archer

FEATURES

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26

34

Brewing with

- Dr. Lalitha Muthuswamy

- Diya Subramanian

Chetan Bhagat

38

Traditions and Styles

Beyond The Lens

- PalLavi NANDAGOPAL

THE AGENDA

Global Violin

10

SEBASTIAN CORTÉS

TRANSLATING THOUGHT with

center stage with

40

INTERVIEW

G. Venketram

Art on polaroid

36

LORRAINE HANSBERRY’s

A RAISIN IN THE SUN - QUEENIE SUKHADIA

40

Steve Jobs

DEMiGOD OF THE DiGiTAL WORLD

Red Wine

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ART

Sebastian CortĂŠs

Beyond

The Lens Diya Subramanian

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SEBASTIAN CORTÉS born in New York, took up photography while at New York University film school where he studied and collaborated with many of the best names in the industry, shooting several short films. In 1985 moved to Milan, started shooting fashion and lifestyle photography assignments for many Italian and international magazines and commercial clients, while also concentrating on portraits and personal work. His clients include Condè Nast, Travel+Leisure, Ermenegildo Zegna, Escada, CP Company, Oberoi Group. In 2004 Sebastian moved together with his family to India, where his award winning travel, lifestyle and fashion photography is greatly appreciated and enriched by several book projects.

inspires me and everyone inspires me, as I see always more talent around me and people who have great vision…. especially among the new generation.

1. Describe Sebastian Cortes in a sentence.

I’m an artisan who enjoys his work, his family and his free time- I’m taking a stroll through life in order to experience everything!

5. How would you describe your style of photography?

2. what about photography interests you the most?

Photography gives me the license to be an endless observer and I even get paid good money to do it 3. why did you decide to move to India?

I needed a big change from what I had experienced up to that point. My eyes and all my other senses needed to be challenged and jolted. At the same time, I was looking for a fresh start, which, would renew my curiosity and I wanted a place where my family and I could explore new symmetries 4. Who or what is your biggest inspiration?

Inspiration is an overused word; I prefer to talk about curiosity and experience. I’m always trying to do things I can’t do. That is how I get to do them. I’m not afraid of trying to move beyond anything that becomes a routine. When I feel safe I get bored and move on to new territory. I guess you could say, everything in some way

I consider myself to have been very lucky and avoided becoming a photographer with a “specific” style, as I moved through many different areas of photography: from fashion to architecture. But I guess I have a specific tendency in my way of working which almost forces me to take a certain type of image and not anotherit’s more a question of sentiment, of knowing how I like to see something photographed.

6. What kind of lighting complements the kind of photography you do?

Natural light is my constant; I very rarely resort to artificial light unless I need to achieve a specific effect. I like cloudy days and diffused light, which floats around and is never harsh. Light needs to bounce and land softly on the subject or the scene.

7. How important is editing in the outcome of a beautiful picture?

Editing is as important, if not more, then the actual shooting moment. If you don’t know how to see the “right” shot during editing, then all the rest is

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9. What is one shoot you aspire to do as a photographer and why?

I would like to do the first Vogue fashion shoot on the moon or on Mars, just because I would be the first- I like exclusivity, which is always more difficult to find and do.

10. You have had a stint in advertising. Can you describe your experience and how it has helped your career as a photographer?

lost.

I always find new images when I edit and I don’t try to force the image in my mind so that I can be surprised again.

8. What is your most memorable photo shoot? Why?

I don’t have any one specific photo shoot that holds as memorable. I’m equally at home on a fashion set with great models and super clothes as I am walking around a abandoned havelis in Rajasthan looking for glimpses of lifestyles that are slowly disappearing- I enjoy every moment behind the camera….

Yes! My wife- a well known artdirector- and I, with several young assistants, had the crazy idea of setting up an ad-agency in Milan dedicated strictly to hi-end fashion clients. We did campaigns for Ferre, Della Valle, CP Company and a few other important Italian brands. We also coordinated the total look from in-store image to the print advertising; it was exciting work during the Italian fashion boom of the late 80’s. I enjoyed having a project in hand from the beginning to end. From a creative point of view, it allowed us to have total control and my photography was a final extension of a full creative package. My photographic career was

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enriched with a better understanding of all the elements, which make a great campaign.

11. What are your immediate plans for the future?

I have book project coming out- a very personal photo essay on the ex-French colony of Pondicherry, which will be published in early 2012. The book will be presented in Delhi, Pondicherry and Mumbai and I’ll have several gallery shows around the country and in Europe.

12. Advice to young and aspiring photographers?

Learn to see and forget about the technical stuff that will come later.

Spend time travelling; visiting galleries and looking at everything you can get your hands on. Understand what you don’t like and who you don’t want to be, it may be easier to become and develop into the person and shooter you want to be…Try to assist photographers you like and don’t be afraid to copy- originality comes with hard work- be a good artisan and don’t try to be an artist!

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MUSIC

Global Violin Traditions and Styles Dr. Lalitha Muthuswamy, Violinist, Fulbright Fellow, USA and Director of MS Academy of Global Music Violin is known as the King of the Instruments and is seen in many world music traditions. Violin, Fiddle, Vitula, Keman, Viulu, Hegedu, Violine, Vayalin (in Tamil) is used in the traditional music of Egypt, Turkey, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Folk music traditions of USA, Albania, Armenia, Russia, Hungary, Moldova, Canada, gypsy music, Jazz music and in the classical music traditions from Europe, India, Morocco, North Africa, the MiddleEast and Central Asia.

I was part of the LGMF along with my uncle Dr. L. Subramaniam who had got in a concept `Violins for Peace’ for this year being the Birth centenary of our guru Sri V. Lakshminarayana Iyer, where different violinists representing various global musical Cultures were presented. I gave concert / lectures / Workshop along with the other violinists

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representing various violin cultures and here are a few observations on the different violin styles.

VIOLIN IN CARNATIC MUSIC OR THE SOUTH INDIAN CLASSICAL MUSIC

Carnatic Music is written for singing and the instrument is required to produce the music as it is sung.

Secondly, it is handed down from generation to generation through oral tradition and is not played by seeing into the notations. The notations here do not provide full information as to how the music should be rendered i.e., all the intricate nuances are not written down and the notation is a mere skeleton. The individuals are supposed to memorise all the compositions. Thirdly Carnatic Music is raga based and gives ample scope for manĂľdharma sangita and individuals add their own imagination.

Posture of holding the violin - It is seen that normally all the artistes assume a sitting posture with the right foot stretched in front and the left foot tucked under the right thigh.

The back of the violin body, especially the upper part rests on the left side of the chest. Some violinists rest it

on the left shoulder below the chin while some (*who are very tall) rest it slightly below the chest region and adjacent to the belly. (This is seen in the Folk music tradition in the USA, in a standing posture). The scroll of the violin rests on the heel of the right foot while in the case of some artistes it would rest on the upper portion of the foot, below the big toe.

The sitting posture is adopted or designed so to have a secured feeling especially while playing the gamaka-s or the ornaments. Since there is no standardization for the techniques or the posture of holding the violin and the bow and other aspects regarding techniques, many differences are seen between individuals who develop their own ways or methods in posture, holding and in other details according to their own convenience.

Hold of the bow - The manner of holding the bow, however, differs widely from one school of violin playing or one artiste to another. The heavier lower portion of the bow is called the `frog of the bow’ and the lighter upper portion is called the `nut of the bow’.

The right-hand fingers hold the stick portion of the bow near the frog and care should be taken not to touch the hair of the bow, which is made up of horse’s hair. The thumb of the right-hand goes inside and is curved.

It is placed near the frog, whereas the other right-hand fingers namely the index finger, the second finger, the ring finger and the little finger are placed above the stick portion of the bow and each of the four fingers have a different function to perform.

The four fingers should be curved and placed on the stick and should not be kept flat. The above method is used in the West and in my school of violin playing.

The Tuning - The tuning adopted is C D and the octave of C D. Any note can be kept as the `Adara Sadja’ or the basic tonic and depending on that the note c can be sa or the note d can be sa. It is Tonic and dominant and the octave of tonic and dominant from the thickest string onwards.

Playing techniques - Right hand

techniques: Svara – Vil, Sahitya Vil, Tana Vil, Bow stress, crossing strings, double stops (for tanam).

Left hand techniques – Use of the 4th finger in certain schools of violin playing alone including ours, janta technique, multiple finger stopping technique, slide, rocking, rolling techniques and fingering is used to produce the pivotal feature of Carnatic music that is the gamaka-s.

VIOLIN IN HINDUSTANI MUSIC

Hindustani music is the classical music of North India – I have included that too.

Posture - The carnatic posture of holding the violin is used. Very few artistes hold the violin by the right hand and the bow is held by the left hand too.

contributing and this period saw the birth of opera. The Classical period had Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven a bridge between the Classical and Romantic period and saw the creation of the symphony orchestra. The romantic era saw Richard Wagner, Verdi and a host of others contributing.

The violin first emerged in northern Italy in the early 16th century and was developed between the 16th and 18th centuries.

Posture - In western classical tradition, the violin is held by the chin and the left hand holds the fingerboard. The violinist either stands or sits on a chair and performs.

Bow Hold – Similar bow hold as mentioned in Carnatic music - bow hold.

Tuning - GDAE – in the circle of fifths.

Bow hold – similar to west

Right hand techniques – Staccato, Martele, Detache, crossing strings, long and short bow turns.

Tuning - usually Pa-Sa-Pa-Sa corresponding to BƄ-F-BƄ-F, for example.

Right hand techniques – long, short bows, crossing strings, staccato type of bowing Left hand techniques include Meend, Gamak, Kan, Andolan, Kampit, Khatka and Murki.

VIOLIN IN WESTERN CLASSICAL TRADITION

The term Western Classical Music mainly centers on the music in the European region and referring to music having its roots in western art, ecclesiastical or church music and concert music. The origins of western classical music can be traced back to the middle ages where the catholic church was one of the major impact in music. Though Western classical music has gradually evolved through the ages, each stage of this evolution has been classified into a certain period like Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic and so on. During Middle ages the music was monophonic consisting of a single melody and during the renaissance the music became polyphonic in nature. Then came the Baroque period which had Bach, Vivaldi and Handel

Left hand techniques – Vibrato, Harmonics, Pizzicato, trill, use of 4th finger.

VIOLIN IN ALGERIAN MUSIC

Algerian Music is identical with a form of folk music called rai that originated in Oran, Algeria from Bedouin shepherds mixed with French, African, Spanish and Arabic Musical forms.

Algerian music was dominated by styles inherited from Al - Andalus, and included nuubaat which are suites.

Algerian music also includes Shaabi or popular music, Andalusian Classical Music, Classical Arabic Music, Bedouin, Berber music and folk music including hofii. Traditional Maqam-s are played. Improvisations also find a place and this music is microtonal in nature. In Algerian tradition 800 kinds of Music are there and oriental influence is also seen.

Posture of holding the violin - In both the Algerian and Moroccan violin playing traditions, it is seen that the instrument violin is held on the left lap or the left thigh in an upright position (like a cello) and played. The fingerboard faces up.

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Bow hold - The thumb is placed on top of the stick along with the other four fingers.

Tuning - It is the western GDAE tuning that is adopted.

Right hand techniques - Mostly upper part of the bow used. Crossing strings, jumping notes, harmonics are also used.

Left hand techniques – Trills, slides, Vibratos, 4th finger and phrases resembling viraladi-s (which are typical violin playing techniques) of Carnatic music are used.

HARDANGER FIDDLE FROM THE NORWEGIAN TRADITION.

The Hardanger Fiddle is used mostly in folk, dance and is used in ceremonies.

This is an instrument very special to Norway and is a national instrument of Norway. Before 1850s this instrument was played in venues, villages and not in concerts and only for the past 150 years this instrument is played in concerts. It’s a solo instrument. The scroll having the pegs, ends like a dragon or a yali or the lion of Norway and sometimes carved women’s head.

There are 4 main strings and the rest are sympathetic strings. Totally there are 8 to 9 strings. There are 5 pegs on the left side and 4 on the right hand side.

The bow is concave like the baroque period and is black in color, taken from the black horse tail. This is used to get thick sound.

The usage of sympathetic strings is an influence from the Baroque period.

Though it’s a baroque instrument, the music is different and not Baroque style.

Posture of holding the violin – Similar to the western style Bow hold - like the usual western style Tuning - There are 26 ways of tuning and because of this one has to retune several times depending on the compositions. The common ADAE is also used for many hardanger tunes.

Right hand Techniques - More of

long bows, Cross strings Left Hand Techniques - phrases resembling the viraladi-s are mostly used, Double stops, Trills, use of 4th finger.

The peculiarity of the style of playing is that there are no slides and vibratos used.

The music has Minute and small improvisations too.

The chin rest is not used too.

Earlier the fiddle used to be smaller compared to what is used now.

VIOLIN IN THE RUSSIAN GYPSY STYLE

The gypsy music came from Egypt to Europe and gypsies took music from each place they travelled. In Russia, Violins are not that important and only guitars and singing is more predominant. In Russia the violins accompanied for singing and for dance, but this group Lokyo does only solos and do not accompany.

Posture - The usual posture to hold the violin like the hold in the west is adapted when playing with the bow and also while plucking the strings.

The posture is also different, when the violin is held in the hands in side-ways and again the right hand pizzicato is rendered.

Bow hold - It is also similar to that of the West. While bowing different parts of the bridge and playing on , the finger board is also seen.

Tuning – Western tuning GDAE Right Hand Techniques – Long, short bows used, crossing strings, staccato off string bow, pizzicato tremolo bow used.

Left Hand Techniques - slides, vibratos, double stops, different finger positions, trills, hand pizzicato used more. Usage of not only the tip but also the fleshy part of the fingers are seen.

Use of konakkol like phrases not jati-s, but rap certain terms and repeat the same on the violin. Tapping with the foot and playing simultaneously with and without the bow is also seen.

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AMERICAN COUNTRY VIOLIN MUSIC STYLES

There are different styles of American Music designed by 400 yrs of European and African American culture, native American, Traces of Gypsy and middle eastern touches are also met with. In Jazzragtime, improvisations are part of it including Syncopations.

Slow Spiritual music is also part of American Music.

Posture of holding the violin – Like the Western hold Bow hold - Similar to the West Tuning – Western tuning GDAE is adopted.

Right hand techniques crossing strings, Double stops, short and long bows are used in gospel music.

The gospel music has slides, usage of 4th finger, Vibrato while the American Blues also has much of slides.

Whichever style it represents, the Violin which is very close to the human voice, is a popular instrument globally and has integrated itself in various musical cultures.

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ART

Art on polaroid Making of G. Venketram’s 2012 Calendar G. Venketram, a well known personality in the film world is now one of the most successful photographers in the country. Photographer to the stars, his clients include Surya, Ajith Kumar, Vishal and A.R.Rahman. We caught up with the eminent photographer to ask him a few questions about his upcoming calendar for the year 2012.

V

enketram first shot a calendar for Kodak in 2002.

While talking about his famous 2011 calendar that showed Tamil cine stars alongside vintage cars, Venketram says that over the years, he has been shooting for many celebrities. Because of this he came up with the idea for the 2011 calendar. He wanted to focus on fashion and aesthetics for this shoot and the calendar went on to become a huge hit. It featured twelve prominent celebrities of Kollywood, six men and six women.

Venketram did not want the same

monotonous calendar that consisted of celebrities in bikinis but decided to go in a completely different path.

South Indian actors like Surya, Vikram, Simbu and Arya and actresses like Trisha, Shriya and Nayantara were photographed alongside beautiful vintage cars for the calendar. The cars and bikes included the Chevrolet Impala, the MGTB 1956, the Dodge Brother and The Famous James. The calendar was launched by none other than Mani Ratnam and was widely acclaimed by members of the film fraternity as well as the public. The photography and the concept were appreciated and the calendar was

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described as extremely well shot, put together and presented.

Venketram thought of the 2012 calendar only three weeks ago and is already halfway through the photo shoots. So what does this calendar have to offer that is different from the previous one? For starters, Venketram says, “the 2012 calendar will feature only women just to change it up a bit,” The photographs will focus on the beauty of the women and their sensuous attitude. This time there will be emphasis on the color palette in terms of the background, the props, accessories and the interiors. For each of the women, Venketram will be using different sets which have different feels like textures, walls and so on.

The props in the shoot can range from anything like a wooden chest to a carpet. “All the photographs will be taken indoors unlike last time where most of them happened outdoors

because of the cars”, Venketram says.

Another unique feature about the 2012 magazine is that it will be priced. “The production value is large. It will cost for printing, sets, outfits, accessories, makeup artists, etc. We are flying some makeup artists down specifically for the shoot”, comments the photographer. The calendar will also help raise funds for charity. Venketram says, “Since all the actors are coming together for the calendar for goodwill, I wanted to do something with which I could give back to some good cause.”

With regard to the outfits used in the shoot, Venketram says, “I have used different designers to create different looks for each star. These are not designers the stars have worked with earlier.” Chaitanya Rao, Sidney Sladen, Nishika Lulla and Deepali are among the designers that will showcase their creations in this prestigious calendar.

As to how he chose the women for

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the calendar, Venketram says, “I have worked with all of them earlier but it also depends on the availability factor.

All the actresses from the earlier calendar will be in this one except for Nayantara and Shruthi.” The women featured will include all the top stars like Trisha, Shriya, Genelia, Samantha, Kajal Agarwal, Sameera Reddy and Amala Paul.

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CINEMA

Red Wine two years Zeenat was back in India.

Aman graduated from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai and went to University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California for further studies on student aid. Upon returning to India, she first took a job as a journalist for Femina and then later on moved on to modeling. She was the second runner up in the Miss India Contest and went on to win the Miss Asia Pacific in 1970 After playing roles that never really gave much screen space to showcase potential, Zeenat Aman got her due in Dev Anand’s Hare Rama Hare Krishna (1972) where she was the last minute replacement. The movie’s success was mainly because of the Dev-Zeenat pairing which was seen throughout the 1970’s in hit films.

From her hip looks in “Yaadon Ki Baaraat’ (1973) as the girl carrying a guitar, singing ‘churaliya hai tumne jo dil ko’ (in Asha Bhonsle’s voice) to her hit number ‘Dum Maro Dum’ in ‘Hare Krishna Hare Ram’, she won more popularity and the hearts of millions of fans.

Z

eenat Aman was born in 19 November 1951 to a Muslim father, Amanullah Khan who was a famous scriptwriter in that period and a Hindu mother, Scinda. He died a little after Zeenat’s 13th birthday which then led to her mother’s re-marriage to a German, Mr. Heinz .They relocated to Germany where after a short period of

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Magazines cashed on her popularity and featured her as the cover girl one too many times. So much so that she was the launch face of the popular magazine Cineblitz and was also the favorite cover girl of Stardust.

In 1978, she starred in Raj Kapoor’s massively publicized yet heavily criticized Satyam Shivam Sundaram (1978) The subject ironically dealt with the notion of the soul being more attractive than the body, contradicting the same, Kapoor chose to showcase Aman’s sex-appeal. The Indian audience was still conservative and did not accept their heroines being half clad, but somehow, later on the film had a great deal to do with Zeenat’s fame and the movie itself

ZeenatAman was distinguished as a work of art and Zeenat introduced the tagline of a “sex symbol” in Indian cinema. She also earned a Filmfare nomination as Best Actress for this film.

Zeenat possessed a convent schoolgirl accent and a penchant for revealing dresses. She matched Sophia Loren & Gina Lollobrigida in the battle of oomph at Shalimar’s launch. 1978 could have been a disaster year for her, because of the diminishing box office returns of Satyam Shivam Sundaram and Shalimar, but it was Don that came to the rescue and set her career soaring again.

Zeenat Aman’s persona was such that newcomers were (and till today are) compared to her highly set standards.

Parveen Babi was called “The poor man’s Zeenat Aman”, Sarika was christened “Zeenat Aman 2” and Padmini Kolhapure was named “Baby Zeenat”.

In an industry where male dominance is of great prominence, Zeenat Aman began a new trend, helping launch careers for male actors - something Indian actresses never did. She signed Insaf Ka Tarazu with then unknown Raj Babbar and Deepak Prashar, pushed Mithun to many of her producers when he was considered a jinx Aman had her stint in television with her TV show called “In Conversation with Zeenat” made by B4U TV, and also made an appearance along with Hema Malini in the popular show Koffee with Karan hosted by Karan Johar.

Zeenat received a Lifetime Achievement Award during the Zee Cine Awards function in 2008, as a recognition of her contribution to Hindi Cinema.She also received An Outstanding Contribution to Indian Cinema award at IIFA awards 2010 held at Colombo, Sri Lanka. She

dedicated this award to her mother A good look at Zeenat Aman’s career graph shows her portraying unconventional roles with unmatched panache ,be it as the opportunist who deserts her jobless lover for a millionaire (Roti Kapda Aur Makaan), the ambitious girl who considers having an abortion in order to pursue a career (Ajnabee), the happy hooker (Manoranjan), the disenchanted hippie (Hare Rama Hare Krishna), the girl who falls in love with her mother’s one-time lover (Prem Shastra), and a woman married to a caustic cripple but involved in an extramarital relationship (Dhund).She balanced it with a fair share of conventional movies.

The Indian film makers always used women as a prop to highlight the age old morals of purity but then enters, Zeenat Aman who broke the time immemorial mindset that was etched in their minds by revolutionizing the thinking of the Indian audience who until then had been on a diet of sari clad lead ladies whose very priority in life knew no more than to be married and make a million sacrifices. In short, she has been the best example to show a great blend of a cultural cocktail and also prove that westernization is yet another avatar donned by Indian women.

Cinema, Music & Art with the Brew | NOVEMBER 2011 | 25

ART

Chetan Bhagat is the author of five bestseller books that are making its waves around the country. One of his books ‘5 point someone’ was made into a blockbuster movie.

Chetan Bhagat is now out with his new book ‘revolution 2020’ and was in Chennai for the book launch. We caught up with him for a little conversation...

TRANSLATING THOUGHT with Chetan Bhagat Diya Subramanian 26 | NOVEMBER 2011 | Cinema, Music & Art with the Brew

How and when did you realize writing was your calling?

The first book I wrote was when I was still in the office and writing was just a hobby, writing is some thing i’ve always done from the start. I always thought it was just a hobby but once I did three books in a row and they were all hits then I realized this is what I need to do for the rest of my life and then I quit my job.

Could you tell me a little bit about revolution 2020?

Revolution 2020 is a love story set in Varanasi it’s a love triangle actually set in the backdrop of corruption in the education sector. The three themes are love, corruption and ambition. Those are the themes i tried to explore, for me corruption is a very important theme and love and ambition is very important for youngsters. Therefore I have looked into these themes.

Your book 5 point someone was made into a Blockbuster movie .Did it turn out the way you imagined it to?

It is very difficult to turn a English book into an Hindi adaptation because the cinema in Hindi has a lot of limitations such as the stars, songs and high budget but all those things kept in mind it was very good film and I really enjoyed it.

When you aren’t writing what would we find you doing?

When im not writing I am normally with my kids as I am a house husband.

My wife works so I am at home. I am also a motivational speaker .so I go to give a lot of motivational speeches.

What makes a good novel for you?

For a good novel you just need to write a gripping story so that people keep turning the pages. It has to be the kind of story that helps people connects to the characters. The people should basically enjoy reading it and have a good feeling after they are done.

Studying in the top schools in India was very intense. But from those schools I really learnt excellence there. I learnt to work with great people and I try and apply that in everything I do. I also try and bring quality to what ever I do.

What is a day in the life of Chetan Bhagat like?

In the morning I wake up, help my kids get ready for school. Then my wife also leaves for work. Then I go and attend to my emails and write a little bit till the kids come home...then I have lunch with them. I then work a little more in the afternoon and yeah, that’s about it.

The book revolution 2020 deals with a lot of issues… corruption, the education system and love as well. How did you decide to address these issues?

I felt that these are the most important issues for young people.

When I went to give motivational talks around the country I realized that the education system needed more care.

And it’s not something news channels are covering so I thought I should cover it in my book.

What was it like studying in the top schools in India?

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MUSIC

Etched in

JagjitSingh 28 | NOVEMBER 2011 | Cinema, Music & Art with the Brew

in memory B

orn on 8 February 1941, Jagjit Singh has made a permanent mark for himself in Indian music. He is a singer, composer, music director, activist and entrepreneur. He has sung in various Indian languages like Punjabi, Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Gujarati, Sindhi and Nepali.

Jagjit Singh was born in Sri Ganganagar, Rajasthan and had two brothers and three sisters. Lovingly called “Jeet” by his family, he went to Khalsa High School in Sri Ganganagar where he studied science at Government College Sri Ganganagar.

He then graduated with a degree in Arts from DAV College, Jalandhar and did his post graduation in history from Kurukshetra University in Haryana.

He was originally named Jagpreet Singh. During a visit to Sahwa, a saint heard him singing hymns. The saint told his brother-in-law that if he changed his name from Jagpreet to Jagjit, he would win over the world with his voice. He learnt music from Pandit Shaganlal Sharma and spent six years learning Khayal, Thumri and Dhrupad forms of Indian classical music from Ustad Jamaal Khan.

During the 1970s, when ghazal singing was dominated by well established singers Jagjit still managed to make an impact on the public. When his album, ‘Unforgettable’ hit the market, Jagjit’s style was incredibly different from the usual style of singing ghazals.

Though there was a lot of backlash from the critics, he persevered and the album went on to become a huge hit.

When Jagjit was doing jingles, he met Chitra, another singer. After a two year long courtship the couple got married in 1969 after which they became one

of the first popular husband and wife singing duos. They were pioneers in modern ghazal singing and were the most successful recording artistes outside Indian film music. They have come up with a lot of successful albums together including Ecstasies and A Sound Affair and Passions.

In 1990 they released an album called ‘Beyond Times’ which was very experimental but still got a good response from the general public.

It was during this time that their son, Vivek, met with an accident and passed away. They recorded the album ‘Someone Somewhere’ after this and it was the last time the album of ghazals that Jagjit and Chitra sang together.

It was filled with emotionally moving songs that gave the public a sense of the loss they were feeling. Chitra was so overcome by grief that she quit singing altogether.

Jagjit’s singing career on the other hand had taken off and he continued to gain popularity with each of the albums he released. All his albums were highly successful including Hope, In Search, Insight, Mirage, Visions, Kahkashan, Love Is Blind and Chirag.

He then came out with an album called ‘Sadja’ which constituted of ghazals

by Lata Mangeshkar and him. Jagjit next came out with Punjabi albums.

His ghazhals made use of poetry by Mirza Ghalib, Firaq Gorakhpuri, Qateel Shifai, Shahid Kabir, Ameer Meenai, Kafeel Aazer, Sudarshan Faakir and Nida Fazli.It also included the words of contemporary writers like Zaka Siddiqi, Nazir Bakri, Faiz Ratlami and Rajesh Reddy.

composed all the songs in the film ‘Pramgeet’. He was a playback singer and sang for the films ‘Arth’ and ‘Saath Saath’. His later albums such as ‘Marasim, Face to Face, Aaeena and Cry for Cry’ show a more soulful version of Jagjit. His songs were also used in Bollywood films like Dushman, Sarfarosh, Tum Bin and Tarkeeb.

Jagjit released albums like Maa, Hare Krishna, Hey Ram... Hey Ram, Ichhabal and Man Jeetai Jagjeeth which showed that he was also an excellent bhajan singer. He made a huge contribution to spreading the Punjabi language through his music.

In 2003, Jagjit was awarded the Padma Bhushan for his contribution to the fields of music and culture. He was also a philanthropist who supported causes like CRY and Save the Children.

In May 2007, during a joint session in the Indian Parliament, he performed to commemorate the 150th anniversary of India’s First War of Independence.

In September 2011, Jagjith underwent a surgery after suffering a brain hemorrhage to remove clots in his brain. After his surgery the doctors monitored him under intensive care but the singer passed away on 10 October 2011 at the age of 70. Though the world mourns the loss of Jagjith’s golden voice, he will forever remain “The Ghazal King”.

Later, Jagjit also ventured into film song composition. He composed songs for the popular TV series ‘Mirza Ghalib’ which are still going strong. He also

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ART

Decoding Dance with

Sangeeta Isvaran Diya Subramanian

1) How did you get into dancing?

Well, my whole family -- my sister, several of my cousins and I were put in dance classes at the age of 5.

And I really enjoyed the art so my mother gave me the opportunity to continue learning. I then went on to get a Masters in Performing Arts from Sarojini Naidu School of Arts and Communication Central University of Hyderabad.

2) Which is your favourite performance and why?

I don’t have a favourite performance.

I deeply believe in every performance and bring it out to the best of my ability. Every performance has a lot of meaning to it. And you have to perform it to the best of your ability. I love my own creations very much and I work extremely hard on them as they mean a lot to me. But obviously my more recent performances are clearer in my memory.

3) Other than dancing what are your interests?

All of my interests are somehow interwoven into dancing, traditional Bharatanatyam and contemporary dance and theatre. I guess that makes me a bit monochromatic. I do a lot of work with dance and education as well. I deconstruct technique from the different dance and theatre forms I know and use it in empowerment workshops with many underprivileged communities such as sex workers,

juvenile delinquents, aids patients and so on. Most of my interests are to do with dance, either in performance or using them in the context of education or in writing. Dance is a very integral part of me and it reflects in everything I do..

4) You’ve traveled to many places!

What is the one place you’d love to live in ?

Frankly when you spend 8 months traveling there is no place like home and Chennai is definitely HOME! I also have a very strong base in Paris. Well, there are places I love in the East and West. Cambodia, for example, Siem Reap and Phnom Penh are filled with friends. In Indonesia, I have friends from Sumatra across Java, Bali up until Maluku. They are absolutely beautiful. Like the East, the West is also gorgeous. Burkina Faso, Mexico and Brazil are all places where I have been doing a lot of work lately .

5) Who is your biggest inspiration in the dancing world?

That would definitely be my guru Smt.Kalanidhi Narayanan.She is an absolutely amazing woman, a path breaker .There are no compromises in her art. She dances with no orthodoxy.

She is the one who has taught me to dance without inhibitions. After leaving dance for 40 years she went on to get the Padhabhushan for dancing. She is one person who has inspired me and many many others across the world, immensely.

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6) Could you tell me something about the workshops that you have been hosting?

Right now I am working with an NGO in Nilankarai; dance and creative expression as well. I’m also working on a project for the State Juvenile Delinquent Home in Belo Horizonte, in Brazil. There is another project potentially with the Cité De La Musique, Paris, which is a series of workshops on multi-ethnicity with immigrant communities, this program helps bring them together.

I also hope to work in the Juvenile home in Chennai. The workshops I host are ways to help the people gain confidence and focus through different forms of dance.

7) What kind of social work are you doing?

All the social work I do is all with dance and theatre. I believe strongly in using dance and theatre in social reform, and am passionate about the development of specific techniques to use the arts in education, empowerment and economic development. Having worked with many NGOs such as UNESCO, World Vision, Handicap International, Angkor Association for the Disabled, Deepam Educational Society for Health, Aseema trust, Friends and Oxfam and so on, we have created performances to give a voice to marginalized and underprivileged communities such as sex workers, street children, landmine victims, refugees, tsunami and

earthquake victims, destitute women, transvestites and so on. Through dance one can address many issues such as Waste management, Sexual abuse and many more. Dance is the attraction get people to come and it is also very important to create a safe space where they can discuss issues even those that are taboo.

8) What are the other dance forms you have learnt?

I have studied several of the dance forms of South-east Asia. I love these dance forms because even though the countries are so close together the dance styles in each country vary so much. Each style is so beautiful and different in its own way.

the art form needs to change, it will change to reflect the times we live in.

But I feel change is good – fossilization is death to any art form.

10) What is the most important thing you have learnt over the years?

The wisdom embedded in traditional art forms!!My goal has always been to understand the underlying precepts in our forms and use them in a very intelligent way. For example, the focus and use of the eyes is very important in dance. A person who has undergone

trauma can benefit from learning that and through dance we can do it in a fun-filled way. Open shoulders, deep respiration show confidence, why not put on some African music and dance to develop that? There is no glamour to social work; sometimes you see the dregs of human nature. It is a lot of hard work, lots of fun too, dedication and most importantly for me, intelligent application of ideas built over centuries. We shouldn’t throw our culture out of the window.

I have learnt dance forms from West Africa. These dance forms really caught my eye because of the energy they involve. It is amazing how the energy is centered in the naval as well as towards the earth.

Other styles I have taken interest in are from Latin American.

There are so many beautiful styles of dance, and not enough time to learn them all!!!!

9) Do you think Bharatanatyam has changed over the years?

Yes, the style has definitely changed.

Yet there is a core that remains and every artist improvises and invents new movements. It is like a language -- English has changed from Shakespeare’s time. Although we don’t talk like that any more, it is English. The same thing applies to Bharatanatyam. It changes yet there is a continuity in its language that connects it to its past. Who dances, who watches, where you dance, all that has changed over the years so

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ART

Artrends – Journeying into Indian Art History PALLAVI NANDAGOPAL

T

he journey of modern Indian art has been an exciting one from its birth in the 19th century to current trends in the 21st century responding constantly to the ethos of an evolving nation. From the late 1940s, modern art saw a shift in emphasis moving gradually away from a strong engagement with international art movements to search for an art for the newly independent India. This search found artists like their counterparts in literature and theatre forming groups and collectivities towards attempting new visual languages and expressions to establish modernist identity. Thus significant among them were the Bombay Group of contemporary Indian artists ( also called the ‘young Turks’) established in 1937. (Significant artists

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among them P.T.Reddy, M.T. Bhople, K.A. Majeed, M.Y. Kulkarni and C.B Bapista.) This group was followed by the Calcutta group of artists in 1943 ( Gopal Ghosh, Paritosh Sen, Pradosh Dasgupta to name a few).

The Progressive Painters’ Association of Madras was established in 1944 led by K.C.S. Paniker and others. The Bombay Progressive Artists’ Group was established in 1947 ( S.H. Raza, M.F. Hussain, K.H. Ara, F.N Souza are well known among the Bombay Progressives).

The major art schools of India played a crucial role in shaping the trajectory of Indian art. Prominent among them are the Govt. College of Arts and Crafts, Madras( the oldest art institution in the country), J.J. School

of Art, Bombay, Govt. College of Arts in Calcutta, Faculty of Fine Arts in the M.S. University of Baroda, The Delhi College of Art. Since the 1990s, the Indian art scene has entered a new phase in response to opening up of the Indian economy to forces of liberalization and globalization. The current art scene reflects the exciting experimentation and search as contemporary Indian artists attempt to negotiate and reconcile demands of the new globalism with local concerns.

It is in the context of this historical back ground that the reprinting of the journal Artrends that was originally brought out from 1961 to 1982 by the Progressive Painters’ association of Madras has great relevance, offering valuable documentation on 203 artists pan India who were part of the exciting time of dynamic change in that period.

The various issues of the journal have been compiled into a single volume as a coffee table book by the same name as a joint publication of the National Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi and Cholamandal Artists’ Village, Chennai.

The book was formally released at Cholamandal recently.

“The book appeals to a cross section of readers as it has editorials on important issues in Indian art, essays and writings by some of the well known art writers ad artists of that time. It also covers important national and international art events, excerpts from inspiring writings by literary giants, debates, uninhibited reactions to certain exhibitions, thought provoking revelations and commentaries.

Bringing out the journal in the 1960s and 70s was a labour of love for the editorial committee with meager funds and a comparatively more demanding publishing and printing process.

For the discerning artists and art writers , Artrends was instrumental in capturing a search for identity trying to reconcile the Indian ethos with western abstraction.

The contributors to Artrends include some well known names such as Mulk Raj Anand, Keshav Malik, Geeta Kapur, S.V. Vasudev, Jagmohan and also fascinating articles from international journals and newspapers. There are also sprinklings of personal, witty and wise quotations from the Panchatantra, the Bible, Plato, Tagore, poetry of A.K.Ramanujam, T.S. Eliot, Jean Cocteau, etc.

The journal began as a quarterly in 1961 with the late sculptor P.V.Janakiram as the editor followed by the late Prof. Josef James , the well known art theoretician of the Madras Movement in contemporary Indian art. The last stretch of four years was edited by the painter K.V. Haridasan.

With newspapers becoming more responsive to art coverage, the need for Artrends declined.

However, publications of Artrends as a single volume makes it available to art students, art lovers and collectors offering insight into an era of Indian contemporary art that was exciting and path breaking.

Talking about the relevance of reprinting Artrends, one of the senior artists says, “There were many artists in the 1960s and 70s whose works are still inspirational and many of the young artists know very little about them.” “In the 1960s and 1970s, the media was not a source of publicity for arts and there was an urgent need for an art journal that focused on art with a local, national and international outlook”, said another prominent painter.

The ‘Artrends’ book , priced at Rs. 1500/-, is available at Cholamandal Artists’ Village on East Coast Road, Chennai, The Regional Centre , Lalit Kala Akademi on Greams Road, Chennai & at Lalit Kala Akademi, Rabindra Bhavan, New Delhi.

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MUSIC

center stage with

THE AGENDA 34 | NOVEMBER 2011 | Cinema, Music & Art with the Brew

Hindustan University supports young talent in Music and art.

This initiative with The Brew magazine is to get young bands noticed and promoted.

The Agenda is a contemporary jazz,soul and Rn’B outfit featuring the vocal talents of Sunitha Sarathy, doing what she does best.

‘The Agenda’ comprises:

Saxophonist, pianist and composer Matt has played in large numbers of jazz groups and ensembles both in Uk and in India.He lives in Auroville near Pondicherry where he teaches music as well as being an active participant on the Indian music scene. He leads his own quartet on saxophone, featuring his own original music and has performed at all the major jazz festivals of India. He has also released 2 albums under his own name since 2003.

Mishko MBa is among the cream of French bassists, having worked with renowned musicians such as Ray Charles, Barbara Hendrix and Didier Lockwood.

He is based in Pondicherry and has featured extensively on the Indian jazz scene. He also performs and tours regularly with leading world music group Ziskakan from the Reunion Islands.

Sunitha Sarathy, is a professional playback singer based out of Chennai, who has been singing from the age of 6.Her vocal talents have deep roots in Rn’B, Soul and Jazz. She has sung in several international projects which include Columbia Tri-Star’s ‘Warriors of heaven and earth’, ‘The Lord of the Rings’ and ‘Elizabeth II’. She has also participated with several world renowned musicians, both for concerts and workshops-which also includes a workshop with the multi Grammy winning Herbie Hancock and his ensemble and the students from the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz.

Rahul Gopal started playing the drums at 19 and has been burning up stages ever since. He plays with the Matt Littlewood trio, featuring Matt Littlewood and Mishko Mba and The Sunitha Sarathy Band.Rahul is currently involved with The Drummerboy Project, a solo effort, blending electronics with main stream pop and rock influences

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ART

A RAISIN IN THE SUN BY LORRAINE HANSBERRY REVIEWED BY QUEENIE SUKHADIA

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‘A

Raisin in the Sun’ by Lorraine Hansberry is a play that has layers of meaning to it. Essentially, it revolves around the pivot of a black family and the trials and tribulations they face as they struggle to eke out a ‘normal’ existence. Battling the vagaries of a perhaps malignant fate with white racism and poverty, this family is a fighter. The play, focalized through the Younger family, allows the reader a glimpse into the average poor black household and the struggles faced by them in their mundane life. This play tackles issues of patriarchy, sexism, economic status and of course, racism. The daily human challenges of responsibility and love toward the family become harsh battles in the face of urban poverty and the bitter cold of racism. The play also addresses the disparity between the perceived challenges of the older generations of African Americans and the younger generations.

Each character in this play is a symbol for something larger and more profound.

While Mama Lena is the mother figure, caring for her son and his family as well as her unwed daughter, in ways she is different. She is not the kind who will bow down to male authority. She is the type who will fight for what is right, fight for what is beneficial for the whole family. Ruth is the typical housewife, beaten down by continuous, unrelenting poverty, sacrificing herself at the altar of her family.

Beneatha on the other hand is a caricature of the forward-looking, educated Black woman. Aspiring to become a doctor and not a nurse, she challenges the conventions and customs of traditional Black society. She is the epitome of new thoughts and ideas and is continuously looking into the future. She is educated and has well-reasoned arguments. She is inquisitive and independent. She makes her own choices and resists fatalism.

The men in the play are also stock characters. Walter Lee, Ruth’s husband is the typical Black man, cowed under poverty but still dreaming big, for himself and for his family. He harbours a desire to be independent and self-reliant and to make his family proud.

Many issues have been brought up in this play which question our assumptions and make us think. The questions of self-determination and assimilation have been dealt with in depth. They are debated and argued throughout the play, either overtly or covertly. They force the audience to think for themselves, to emote with the characters on stage, to take up a stance. Many issues about God and religion have also been brought up.

The beauty of this play lies in the fact that anybody and everybody can relate to it. Nationality, religion and culture pose as no barrier in being able to relate to the characters and their miscellaneous troubles. The allure of this play is encapsulated primarily in this element- the fact that it can reach out to anyone, anywhere, anytime. It transcends the hollow barriers of time, space and location and becomes immortal.

A play that truly explores the obstacles between black families and the American dream, A Raisin in the Sun is truly refreshing. A 100 - page play, all it takes is one pleasant afternoon by the pool to submerge oneself in the mysteries and turmoil of a family living half the world away. This play allows you to escape… and, escapism is indeed revitalizing.

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ART

With

Lord

JeffREy Archer Bringing hope to children Yesterday evening I had the pleasure of sitting next to Professor Sir Magdi Yacoub, the legendary heart surgeon, now in his 75th year. The occasion was the Chain of Hope charity’s annual ball, held at the Natural History Museum, which was attended by over 400 people. The affection and respect for Sir Magdi could not be missed. Clearly there were many people in the room whose lives he’d saved. One of the most touching stories he told me, was on arriving at London airport recently, a BA attendant in her early twenties, thanked him for saving her life. “I don’t remember operating on you,” Magdi said. “Neither do I,” she replied, “but then I was only three at the time.” It must be wonderful to do something where you can see the results of your labours every day, which is why, he explained to me, he’ll never stop working. The law in this country doesn’t allow you to operate over the age of 70, so Sir Magdi is now devoting himself to working in Africa and Egypt. He added that he would go on operating until he could no longer find a country which would allow him to. I had the privilege of conducting the auction, with Sir Magdi standing by my side. These are difficult times, we are in recession, but that audience generously raised £600,000 so that he can carry on saving lives until he falls.

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NOVEMBER 2011 2011 || Cinema, Cinema, Music Music & & Art Art with with the the Brew 40 || NOVEMBER Brew

I

In 1976, from a mere college dropout he went on to make Apple computers, which was the first of its kind to generate colour graphics only followed by the Macintosh computers which coined the word “personal computing”.

He was 25 and his net worth had crossed $200 million.They called him ‘genius’.

After a bitter downfall, He rose like a phoenix and with him came NeXT computers and Pixar which went on to be the world’s best animation studio releasing the first ever film made with CGI, Toy story in 1995.After a decade of being away, it took him only 6 months to bring Apple back to greatness with the sensational iMac computers which blew away the computing industry.

They called him a visionary.

In the 90’s, he showed the world evolution with the portable Powerbook, Newton,a handheld pen based computer and the hot seller of the season-the multicoloured all in one desktop-iMac. It was only fueled by the onset of the millennium where

DEMiGOD

products like the iPod, the first ever smartphone-iPhone and iPad-a touch screen tablet that gave computers a microsized form was out to sell.

There was no stopping him. This man became legend. The world called him Steve Jobs. iAm

Steven Paul Jobs was born on February 24 1955 in San Francisco, California to University of Wisconsin students, Abdulfattah Jandali and Joanne Carole Schieble (later Simpson, via marriage). On facing opposition to their marriage, this unwed couple did not want their son to submit to the illegitimate tag and had already predetermined his adoptive parents, a lawyer and his wife who only later decided that they preferred a baby girl. Meanwhile, a young lower middle class working couple, Paul and Clara Jobs who had been wait listed in the adoption center came forth for this baby boy and the procedures began only to be stalled when Simpson came to know that both parents hadn’t graduated from college, which led to initial hiccups. This was however sorted by Clara’s promise to make Steve a graduate. The adoption was legalized. Steve grew up in Silicon Valley-the world centre of computer technology which explained his fascination for computers and gadgets

OF THE

DiGiTAL WORLD Cinema, Music Music & & Art Art with with the the Brew Brew || NOVEMBER NOVEMBER 2011 2011 || 41 Cinema,

of sorts and it was here that he met Steve Wozniack-popularly called Woz and a bond was established only to be made stronger with their love for electronics. Throughout his formal schooling, Jobs was an exceptionally good student and was even offered to skip grades but this was turned down by his parents who wanted him to follow the route set for every kid his age. After graduating from high school,Steve Jobs questioned his parents affordability by choosing Reed College but they only obliged because what had once started as a promise had now come off as a dream.

It took him only 6 months to realize that college wasn’t going to help him figure what he wanted to do in life and draining his parent’s savings for the same no longer seemed worth the deal. So he decided to dropout and let his curiosity and intuitions take over, transpiring every trace of fear.

Dropping out only let him drop in to classes which served his interest and omit the rest. He had a fair share of compromises to make and being financially unstable didn’t help the situation anymore. Jobs had it in order, he would return coke bottles for 5 cents and that usually took care of his food, not being able to afford the luxury of a dorm room he would sleep on the floor in friends rooms and his weekly visits to the Hare Krishna temple graced him with a full meal that his pocket could never afford. Then came his hippie period where he adopted the ungroomed look, strange diets and looked much into eastern mysticism. The impulsive Jobs travelled to India in search of enlightment during this phase in his life. After experiences and episodes to remember, Reed College was a closed chapter.

interest and on that note, Apple was conceived. Their workstation was Jobs garage and a year was spent trying to market their product in the local computer stores. This led to another discovery, Apple II which was a very promising never-seen-before product and in no time they had an enthusiastic investor, Mike Markkulla who was only too sure that his $250000 was going to launch Apple into the corporate world. With quality came demand which only resulted in growth. Apple II had a jaw dropping success rate but was soon threatened when the corporate giants, IBM made an entry into the computer market in 1981.

Losing out to competition was not even a considerable possibility as the team headed by Steve Jobs went on to start a new project ,Lisa, the first computer to use graphical user interface. It was around this time that Jobs got John Sculley from Pepsico.inc to be Apple’s CEO and mentored him. Soon after the Lisa project started, internal conflicts came into highlight and Jobs was thrown out of the project which infuriated him. Rebellion translated into the Macintosh computer which threatened the sales of Lisa and at the same time created a huge divide within the company. In 1984, Macintosh computers were introduced with a grand fanfare and its advertisement

iStart

On his return to the valley, he collaborated with his childhood friend Woz, who by then had already come up with a computer that consisted of a circuit board which had generated much interest among the Homebrew computer club circle. Steve suggested that they capitalize on this growing

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went on to receive great laurels. This computer which was made to be of simple mechanics did not reign for too long which made the count rise to 2 failed projects putting a red alert across Apple. The rift was evident and people jumped to the safer side leaving only one man to sink, Steve Jobs was that man. iExiled

After the very public dismissal of Steve Jobs from Apple by the board of directors, John Sulley included, he was spiralling in a realm of disbelief having lost that one thing he set his focus on!

It sounded almost impossible to be fired from a company that had been your brainchild. But it had happened and there was no Plan B. Even time couldn’t heal this blow but it gave a whole new perspective to Jobs when it dawned on him that even a rejection this bad hadn’t been able to get past the surface to destroy his love for computers. So the mastermind started over, equipped with the lightness of being a beginner, less sure but that only meant a million other possibilities.

What NeXT?

Steve Jobs was passionate about building computers and in 1985 he decided to start a company called

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NeXT which aimed to create advanced computers to serve in higher education and scientific research institutions. He was transparent as he explained his motive to Apple and asked for a team from the very successful Mac project to assist him in this endeavour. Not only did they deny him but also threatened to sue him .It wasn’t disappointment this time, it was disgust that he felt for his former company and that made him steer clear of every last stock he owned.

NeXT was happening and on October 1988,NeXT Cube was out. Overpricing affected sales and in spite of repeated efforts, NeXT failed to make the impact Steve hoped for .Steve then made a smart investment of $10 million in acquiring an animation company Pixar where he explored yet another dimension in computer application and worked to introduce a 3D language called renderman.

But marketability is a strong factor in determining the success of anything that tends to the customer and the sales weren’t any more than a few hundred which failed to even come close to his

previous achievements. As luck would have it, Pixar looked up just in time.

He signed a deal with Walt Disney to create the finest animation movie, Toy Story(1995) made completely with Computer Engineered Graphics and once again Jobs had charted his product to the top slot. Toy Story’s success was phenomenal and Pixar was in the public eye basking in the success only a week after release .Before he knew it, Steve who owned 80% of the company had his net worth rise to over $1.5 billion-5 times the money he had ever made in Apple in the 80’s! iCEO

Apple was stagnant and running at the risk of losing market share with the release of the Windows 95.It was then that the CEO,Gil Amelio decided to replace Apple’s old Mac

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software with yet another of Jobs creation, NeXTSTEP. With a $400 million deal, NeXT was now Apple’s software. Jobs was back to captain his life’s biggest investment, Apple Computers. He filtered the potential projects and later announced collaboration with Microsoft which raised a few eyebrows given the history these arch-rivals share. A new slogan-Think Different was constructed and marketing schemes revolved around the same, giving people an idea that Mac was that one tool that was set for dreamers who dared to think different. With products like PowerBook, Power Mac G3,the company was stabilized but then Steve unravelled iMac which came in as a visual treat followed by iBook, the first ever consumer notebook. Apple believed that the world would live a digital lifestyle in no time and so they created iApps, a set of applications that included iMovie (1999), iTunes (2001), iDVD (2001), iPhoto (2002), iCal and iSync (2002), GarageBand (2004) and finally iWeb (2006), disabling Windows to come with any equivalent solution .Demand soared as people thronged stores to make this their own. In 3 years; Apple skyrocketed to claim its rightful place, at the top iMade

The Apple and Microsoft battle is something hard to ignore with the former slapping lawsuits against Microsoft for breach of copyright.It started when Microsoft used the graphical user interface which Apple considered their own after the Lisa and Macintosh. Apple had previously consented to license certain parts of the GUI to be used in Microsoft’s Windows 1.0.But Windows 2.0 came soon after that with a revised version that included features similar to the Macintosh.

The

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court case was dramatic and much was said against each other publicly only to be resolved much later in 1997 when Apple agreed to have Internet Explorer as their default browser and Microsoft continued to run Windows and other software for Mac. The battleground stood still. iLoved

Jobs, who was always known to be fiercely protective about his personal life was suddenly in the news tabloids and this time for his biological invention-Lisa Brennan Jobs. Steve denied parenting this love child with high school sweetheart, Chrisann Brennan, claiming that he was sterile but the court ordered for a medical test which proved Steve wrong. The media aggravated the story only to be silenced when Steve came in terms with his situation and also named a computer after this 5 year old. He later found true love in Stanford graduate, Laurene Powell . This couple took their wedding vows on March 18, 1991 in a ceremony presided by a Zen Buddhist monk and had one son, Reed and two daughters, Erin and Eve. Steve’s family was now complete.

Steve still had a lot happening on the family front as he began to bond with his biological sister, Mona Simpson who was born after their parents had a 10 month long marriage. Their mother remarried and gave Mona her stepfathers sir name. The siblings met much later and kept their relationship secret for a year. Steve shared a cordial bond with his birth mother but it was his father that he was unaware about. Incidentally, Abdulfattah Jandali was running a restaurant at that time and had once told “I know Steve Jobs, comes to my restaurant often, great tipper” without realising that this man was no other than his own son. On knowledge of the same, he publicly announced his desire to meet his son and cautiously added that it was not for any wealth reasons.

Jandali even sent Steve his medical history hoping that it would be useful for his cancer treatment but Steve wasn’t up for any father-son bonding and once again this relationship that knew no more than blood was lost in

time. iCreate

The millennium catapulted Apple to another level of excellence with Jobs unveiling his best creation yet-The iPod which awed the world with its distinct features like the click wheel that made it possible to scroll through thousands of songs music in a fraction of a minute. This music player which

came in the size of a cigarette box got a market share of close to 75%.Music became an accessory. 2006 became one of the most critical years for the company with products like the iPod hi-fi and the Apple TV, a set top box with an intricately designed network that set a unique standard.2007 was when Apple introduced its ultimate

product to the masses, the first smartphone that ever was, the iPhone, “light-years ahead of its competition”, as Steve Jobs said.3 years was all it took for the launch of yet another of his innovations, The iPad which transformed the lifetime old computer into a tablet form.It was beyond intelligence. Apple reached the zenith.

Everybody enjoyed the profound technology and Steve Jobs enjoyed this

most. iEvolve

Jobs evolved into a newer space, the television industry which was always a highly competitive and a commoditized market and entrance to this required something very different from the rest. Who understood ‘different’ more

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than Apple did? Nobody. It has been believed that Jobs last project was a net enabled TV set. The company has always twined their products with applications that cannibalized industries, like for instance, iPod came with iTunes an online library where people could buy music legally. The iPad came with the apps store that in turn affected the telecommunications industry. It was only obvious that for this television set to come into market Apple required the same ecosystem and its strained relationship with the content providing networks only made it harder. But Apple went two steps ahead and produced their own iCloud infrastructure which if rumours are to be believed, served the purpose beyond the capability of any existing network! iFought

Steve Jobs was diagnosed with a rare form of pancreatic cancer that the doctors told was curable with surgery.

But Steve did not oblige, choosing dietary treatment over medical help and a potentially life changing surgery as he looked upon it as a violation of his body. His perspective was not comprehensibly for his family who continued to think that surgery was the best option. This ongoing debate ended when he finally gave in to the surgery but cancer wasn’t one to wait and had spread dangerously by then. He underwent a liver transplant in 2009.After much denial it was out for everyone to see as he frequently absent himself on a medical note.

He went for an experimental surgery in Switzerland that would use a radioactive isotope to attack the faulty hormone-producing cells of the body. In the medical world,9 months of ignorance came with much consequences. He repeatedly kicked

death with his “magical thinking” and finally gave in on October 5th 2011. iCon

If technology was man’s brainchild then Steve Jobs was the one who nurtured it most. His brilliance radiated from every one of his creations. He had an uncanny ability to predict what the world demanded and if there wasn’t any demand, he knew how to create it. In a career that spanned 35 years he conquered every bit of digital space with his future centric products. Jobs filtered the complexities of technology to give Apple’s refined products that not just made life easier but rather enjoyable.

He gave technology a dreamlike existence .His work immortalized him as an icon and with every iPod, iPad and all of his sensational creations, the world celebrated Steve Jobs! iQuote

“ Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition, They somehow already know what you truly want to become.”Steve Jobs “Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations” “Being the richest man in the

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cemetery doesn’t matter to me …

Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful… that’s what matters to me.” – Wikiquote, as quoted in The Wall Street Journal (Summer 1993).

things, and every one should be really excellent. Because this is our life. Life is brief, and then you die, you know?

And we’ve all chosen to do this with our lives. So it better be damn good. It better be worth it.” – Fortune

“Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected.”

“Almost everything–all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure–these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.” – Steve Jobs’ Stanford Commencement Address

“I was worth over $1,000,000 when I was 23, and over $10,000,000 when I was 24, and over $100,000,000 when I was 25, and it wasn’t that important because I never did it for the money.”

“My job is not to be easy on people. My job is to take these great people we have and to push them and make them even better.” – All About Steve Jobs “You can’t just ask customers what they want and then try to give that to them. By the time you get it built, they’ll want something new.” – Inc. Magazine “That’s not what we think design is.

It’s not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works” – New York Times, The Guts of a New Machine, 2003 “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.”

“We don’t get a chance to do that many

“Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes… the ones who see things differently — they’re not fond of rules… You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things… they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.” – Think Different, narrated by Steve Jobs “I’ll always stay connected with Apple.

I hope that throughout my life I’ll sort of have the thread of my life and the thread of Apple weave in and out of each other, like a tapestry. There may be a few years when I’m not there, but I’ll always come back”

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