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METROSCAPE
In Letter And Spirit
Add up 22 Indian
writers in 22 Indian languages, and what do you get? Many moods. Many
identities. Or one diverse, pan-Indian festival. "Sahityotsav",
the weeklong annual festival of letters of the Sahitya Akademi drew the
best of writers and fiction from across the country last week in Delhi.
But what was a meeting of minds also turned out to be a melting pot of
many languages and cultures as the year's 22 awardees (for best writing)
spent a lazy afternoon sharing notes at the Akademi grounds over lunch,
and on stage in the evening, inside a packed Kamani Auditorium, receiving
the country's highest literary recognition. Akademi president Ramakanta
Rath and writer-chief guest Keki N. Daruwalla gave away the honours to
the luminaries like Kiran Nagarkar, 59, whose Cuckold on "war, intrigue,
action, against
the backdrop of the Lodhi dynasty", fetched the award for English;
Oriya writer Pratibha Ray whose Ullanghan (Breaking Rules) is "19
short stories on human frailties"; Waryam Singh Sandhu whose Chauthi
Koot (Fourth Direction) in Punjabi is a compendium of "long short
stories on terrorist upheavals and fallen dreams in Amritsar". "I
am amazed," said Nagarkar after
the ceremony, "For the English reader and critic, the sun
usually rises and sets in the west."
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| Melting Plot: Sahitya Akademi winners
(top far left); Punjabi writer Sandhu; Oriya winner Ray(above) |
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There were other concerns mostly on the issue
of translation. Said Daruwalla: "It's sad expats have to savour not
the best of translations." But Rath is all optimism: "The Akademi
will collaborate with literary organisations to produce joint publications
on a cost-resource sharing basis." Till next year then.
-Methil Renuka
Blender's Pride
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(From left) Taj Mahal's Alvares with
Dangwal, Pearson, Thakore and Kohil |
If you don't get
it right, blame it on the night", said Mamesh Dangwal, a bartender
of the Hyatt Regency at the inaugural Rick's Annual Bartender of the Year
competition at Taj Mahal Hotel, Delhi. The slow and steady Dangwal, one
of the four participants, was eloquently exonerating himself in case his
very own concoction, Blame it on the Night that included the mandatory
Bacardi (because the event was sponsored by them) and peach schnapps,
failed to get the honours.
Just as well. The best cocktail which also had
peach schnapps (along with coconut cream, vanilla ice cream and a dash
of pineapple juice) was blended by Le Meridien's Govind Kohli, while the
best barman prize, a 1920s styled dolphin shaker, was grabbed by Virendra
Thakore of the mint-fresh Grand Hyatt.
Judges of the evening included model Ruchi Malhotra
and choreographer Vidhyun Singh but the last word belonged to Rick's bar
consultant and contestant emcee, Andrew Pearson, who said, quite definitively
"that the best cocktail is always the one that is free". Many
(but not all) agreed.
-Anshul Avijit
Mix 'N' Match
It was a
clincher of a serve. For every tip from tennis legend Vijay Amritraj (right),
there were corporate nuggets to be had on the side. Hosting an exclusive
tennis clinic-cum-cocktail session last week was the Hyatt Regency, Delhi,
which invited a clutch of biggies like Coke's Vice-President Vinay Kapoor
(left), Virgin Atlantic India head Mackenzie Grant, Star TV's Urmila Gupta
(centre) and hotel's gym regulars like fashion designer Ravi Bajaj for
the do. Two hours of gleaning pointers at the hotel courts and the invitees
were ready for circulation at the pool side. "Promoting the game
and enhancing social interaction is the twofold purpose," said Vijay
of the session that's been held regularly for close to six years now.
Net working, eh?
-Riju Dave Mehta
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