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METROSCAPE
Pak Unplugged
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| KNOW THY NEIGHBOUR: Students do teamwork
exercises |
The gaggle of fresh-faced youngsters cheering
through qawwalis, pop songs and poetry reading at India Habitat Centre,
Delhi, could well be mistaken for a bunch of collegemates enjoying grad
night. But along with the students of Delhi University, Jamia Millia Islamia
and Jawaharlal Nehru University were those from the universities of Lahore,
Karachi and Peshawar. The occasion? A dinner party culminating the week-long
cross-border interaction between scholars organised by Delhi-based wiscomp
(Women in Security, Conflict Management and Peace) and the students of
Delhi's Lady Shri Ram College (LSR). The week-long workshop, "Rehumanizing
the Other", was all about promoting neighbourly feelings in a period
of bad press and worse prejudice and was packed with film screenings,
debates and discussions with Indian mediapersons.
In between, the students took time off for customary
rounds of shopping and sightseeing, including a trip to Agra. Rabia Shoaib
from Karachi's Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture had only one
regret: visiting the romantic Taj without her miyan (husband). The shopping
list largely included books, dupattas and saris, the last item being highly
prized as all-weather formal wear in Pakistan. Syed Khurram Hussain from
Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) was "floored"
by the variety and taste of Indian food although he felt that they "make
better kebabs in Lahore". Music-loving fellow lumsian Jehanzeb Sherwani
was floored when a friendly flute seller in Delhi's Connaught Place not
only ignored potential sales to teach Sherwani the flute but on realising
that he was soon leaving for Lahore, gifted him the one valuable he had:
a silver kara (bracelet).
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| MORE THAN WORDS: Sherwani makes
music with LSR's Annette Phillip |
CANDLE IN THE WIND: The farewell
function |
Plans for the future: more visits, more bonhomie,
more shopping and the ultimate signature of 21st century comradeship-a
joint web-site.
-Shuchi Sinha
 TIMED
EVENT: Nowadays, most events are non-starters
in Chennai unless there's a ramp and the associated thrill of sporty catwalking.
The organisers of the opening of Swatch's new store in Spencer's Plaza
realised that and sagaciously roped in some budding talent from the city's
National Institute of Fashion Design whose sequins and brocade-heavy gear
was paraded by leggy Chennai models Naveen, Sikander, Megha, Medha and
Trisha. Filmstars Khushboo and Abbas and former cricketer-cum-entertainer
Kris Srikkanth were the other magnets of the opening that concluded with
an athletic performance by Jeffrey Vardon's Hot Shoe Dance company. The
evening drew such an overspilling response that even poor Khushboo could
not find a chair ... she was found giving company to Abbas' wife Erum
and Miss Chennai Pooja Nair. Don't know if the free Swatch makes up for
it.
-Arun Ram
STACK
UP
Bangalore pubs with the
coldest beer and the hottest crowds
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| TOAST TO FASHION: Urban Edge |
180 Proof: This Gothic confection of high
ceilings, arches and a tiled roof was once the meeting ground of a religious
tract. Today, it's a five-level pub with a friendly DJ who spins the latest
tracks. The weary must beware though, the joint's hipness quotient overwhelms
the limited seating space and the crowds don't encourage conversation.
Mars 2211: Also split-level, this funky
joint on Castle Street was an old mansion that took three years to refurbish.
The new look sports a granite floor, galactic blue and yellow furniture,
a slinky silver bridge that winds its way across the entire pub, a balcony
and subtle lighting. Good place to be at if you don't want to be seen!
Urban Edge: This new kid on the block
is a pub-cum-disco that stretches across 6,450 sq ft, offers 1.2 lakh
watts of sound and has a jukebox to tempt one onto the fibre-optic embedded
dance floor. The smoke-free climate control system makes this brainchild
of couple P.M. Ananth Narayan and Kavitha Ananth, the choice of fresh
air fiends.
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| OLD FOR THE NEW: Pub World |
NASA: One of the city's oldest watering
holes, Nasa's star-studded port windows, rocket-shaped table legs and
aptly named cocktails like Zero Gravity and Heavy Fuel are a favourite
with Dennis Tito wannabes who'd rather not spend $20 million on a flight
of fancy.
Pub World: The Residency Road retreat
is the granddaddy of the city's pub culture. But there's nothing ancient
about it. The 10 televisions and two master screens are added entertainment
in sections Down Town, Der Keller, Red Lion and West Saloon each of which
offer distinctive food and drinks. A good meeting point for family and
friends.
-Stephen
David
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