"I remember when I was eight ... My
mother was constantly trying to make me look presentable ... And then suddenly one day she
saw me walk into the house looking dashing and debonair ... I had seen my first Dev Anand
film " That was Aamir Khan speaking at the Festival of Film, Mumbai, where Devsaab
won the Lifetime Achievement Award. The cutest of all Khans spent two whole days preparing
his speech, plus an audio-visual presentation with Plus Channel. Can you imagine what it
did to the old boy? "I had tears in my eyes," says Dev. "I felt, do I
really deserve this?" Aw, come on, don't be modest.
Just A Little Story
It was a spot of prejudice that got her thinking. When
filmmaker-cum-schoolteacher Mitra Sen -- born in Britain, based in Canada -- shared some
bindis with her students, they learnt a lesson in the school of hard knocks. The children
who wore the little dots on their foreheads were taunted as "Pakis". Inspired by
the incident, Sen made a 35-minute docudrama called Just A Little Red Dot that has so far
shaken Canada's teaching and human-rights establishment, spawned Little Red Dot Clubs in
the country and just last week, won the Best Film Award at the International Film Festival
for Children and Young People, Hyderabad. "Racism is a fact of life," says Sen.
"Instead of feeling dejected, we should educate others." She's doing plenty of
that herself. After Just ..., Sen started the first Little Red Dot Club and a newsletter
for kids to promote cultural understanding. She also plans a website on the subject. So
what next, ma'am? "The right idea and concept has to hit me," she replies. Just
a dot of inspiration will do.
Tickled Pink
She missed the first prize (a trip to Las Vegas for the Billboard Awards) but
so what? Geeta J. Ajwani, one of the voters for the Channel V Viewers' Choice Award, has
landed a designer autorickshaw: pink, open-topped, with chrome fittings and fake tiger-fur
upholstery. Poor Ajwani! "It's too funny," says the 21-year-old Mumbai medico,
"but my friends are dying to take a ride and freak out." Why an auto, for
heaven's sake? V replies: It was this year's Viewers' Choice Award symbol because (this is
logic!) Viewers' Choice Award=elections=campaigning=autorickshaws "fitted with
banners and bhonpoos (loudspeakers)". Now Ajwani must get an auto licence. Or did
they think she had one already?
Sketching A Saint
M.F. Husain has painted her, so has Manjit Bawa. But as
portraits of Mother Teresa go, here's the sweetest one of all. When Calcutta's Reeshav
Chatterji entered the Olympics of the Imagination International Art Contest for kids
(organised by Visa International), he had to paint his favourite personality in an Olympic
sport. Chatterji chose Mother -- and won a ringside seat at the 1998 Winter Olympics in
Nagano, Japan. "I have watched her tending to the needy," recalls the
11-year-old. "I felt she could do almost anything." Even ice skating? "Of
course." His option was Alpine skiing but ice skating it was because "I wanted
people to always think of her in a sari, and the heavy skiing gear would conceal
that". The maturity is taking him places: Reeshav won (his first overseas trip) out
of 5,494 entries from over 4,000 schools in India. "I'm looking forward to meeting
the winners from other nations," he says, "and learning about their favourite
personalities." And who would they be, we wonder. The Dalai Lama tobogganing? The
Pope on skis?
"I remember when I was eight ... My
mother was constantly trying to make me look presentable ... And then suddenly one day she
saw me walk into the house looking dashing and debonair ... I had seen my first Dev Anand
film " That was Aamir Khan speaking at the Festival of Film, Mumbai, where Devsaab
won the Lifetime Achievement Award. The cutest of all Khans spent two whole days preparing
his speech, plus an audio-visual presentation with Plus Channel. Can you imagine what it
did to the old boy? "I had tears in my eyes," says Dev. "I felt, do I
really deserve this?" Aw, come on, don't be modest. 
It was a spot of prejudice that got her thinking. When
filmmaker-cum-schoolteacher Mitra Sen -- born in Britain, based in Canada -- shared some
bindis with her students, they learnt a lesson in the school of hard knocks. The children
who wore the little dots on their foreheads were taunted as "Pakis". Inspired by
the incident, Sen made a 35-minute docudrama called Just A Little Red Dot that has so far
shaken Canada's teaching and human-rights establishment, spawned Little Red Dot Clubs in
the country and just last week, won the Best Film Award at the International Film Festival
for Children and Young People, Hyderabad. "Racism is a fact of life," says Sen.
"Instead of feeling dejected, we should educate others." She's doing plenty of
that herself. After Just ..., Sen started the first Little Red Dot Club and a newsletter
for kids to promote cultural understanding. She also plans a website on the subject. So
what next, ma'am? "The right idea and concept has to hit me," she replies. Just
a dot of inspiration will do. 
She missed the first prize (a trip to Las Vegas for the Billboard Awards) but
so what? Geeta J. Ajwani, one of the voters for the Channel V Viewers' Choice Award, has
landed a designer autorickshaw: pink, open-topped, with chrome fittings and fake tiger-fur
upholstery. Poor Ajwani! "It's too funny," says the 21-year-old Mumbai medico,
"but my friends are dying to take a ride and freak out." Why an auto, for
heaven's sake? V replies: It was this year's Viewers' Choice Award symbol because (this is
logic!) Viewers' Choice Award=elections=campaigning=autorickshaws "fitted with
banners and bhonpoos (loudspeakers)". Now Ajwani must get an auto licence. Or did
they think she had one already? 
M.F. Husain has painted her, so has Manjit Bawa. But as
portraits of Mother Teresa go, here's the sweetest one of all. When Calcutta's Reeshav
Chatterji entered the Olympics of the Imagination International Art Contest for kids
(organised by Visa International), he had to paint his favourite personality in an Olympic
sport. Chatterji chose Mother -- and won a ringside seat at the 1998 Winter Olympics in
Nagano, Japan. "I have watched her tending to the needy," recalls the
11-year-old. "I felt she could do almost anything." Even ice skating? "Of
course." His option was Alpine skiing but ice skating it was because "I wanted
people to always think of her in a sari, and the heavy skiing gear would conceal
that". The maturity is taking him places: Reeshav won (his first overseas trip) out
of 5,494 entries from over 4,000 schools in India. "I'm looking forward to meeting
the winners from other nations," he says, "and learning about their favourite
personalities." And who would they be, we wonder. The Dalai Lama tobogganing? The
Pope on skis?
