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METROSCAPE
FREE WHEELING: It was
a zippy drive through the evening and cost a zilch. The catch? You didn't
get too far. But at the Maurya Sheraton in Delhi last week, you weren't
expected to: it was the launch of the Mercedes-Benz C class. The car,
with its trademark headlights kissing each other like two air bubbles,
was in place and the cash-padded chatterati was hooked. As VJ-turned-actress
Sophiya Haque (below) and the four Chhau dancers performed, the eclectic
bunch including J.J. Valaya, Satish Gujral and H.K. Dua looked on. Driving
wasn't on agenda. But who was complaining?
-Riju D.
Mehta
Dreamy Designs
 Life
is rarely black and white... except if you are Sadhna Marwaha. Then the
contrasting greys of a fire escape become as irresistible as the metallic
eyes of drying fish and the gaping sinkhole in the kitchen. "Black
and white photos give me more control," says the award-winning 44-year-old
photographer who has captured nature, architecture and everyday objects
in an exhibition titled "Dreams and Designs II" at the Piramal
Gallery, NCPA, Mumbai. The exhibition, which took over a year to compile,
has been shot in various places including Singapore, Louvre, New Jersey
and her home in Pune.
 Marwaha
began life as a conformist-an MBA grad working on s string of development
projects. But it was while she was freelancing with the Singapore History
Consultants to compile the history of Indian immigrants in that country
that she discovering the joys of photography. And that was as recently
as seven years back. She has since made up for lost time, holding exhibitions
in Singapore, Virginia, US and Bangalore and picking up awards from the
Singapore and American Photographic Societies.
She distrusts professional studios, prefering
to print all the images herself. "I get this intuitive feeling when
I am taking a picture so while printing it I want it to be as good."
Good decision.
-Himanshi
Dhawan
Prize For Dummies
I prefer Bush's nose to Clinton's." Mumbai-based
ventriloquist and puppeteer Ramdas Padhye isn't usually interested in
physiognomic features of world leaders. But this is different. It's about
his own "babies"-one string and two ventriloquist puppets fashioned
on the US Presidents. Padhye hasn't been able to stop running a critical
eye over their papier mache faces since they were completed two-and-a-half
months ago.
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| FOUR IS COMPANY: Padhye with his puppets |
He has reason to be fussy-they will be the centre
of some highbrow attention at Atlanta, US, when American puppeteer Robert
Rockwood uses them in a political parody during US Independence Day celebrations
in July. But the 50-plus artist can't help ponder why he was chosen over
hundreds of American professionals to make the puppets, though he does
have an idea: "Things are very specialised out there. One is either
a ventriloquist, a puppeteer or a puppet maker. I'm all three and Rockwood
probably felt that I'd understand best the practical difficulties of using
such puppets." Isn't he going to miss them? Says the man who left
an engineering career for ventriloquism: "Sure, but my wife and I
are going to America too to catch the initial shows." Follow the
leaders.
-Natasha
Israni
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METRO TODAY
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