Riding The Tide
The US endorsement of Pakistan's position on Kashmir bolsters Musharraf's fortunes even as anti-American outrage gathers steam.

Powell And Patience
President Bush's invitation to Vajpayee for a one-on-one in Washington next month makes up for the disappointment in New Delhi in the wake of Colin Powell's visit.

Autumn Of Turmoil
The Northern Alliance waits and watches the US moves in anticipation of a post-US-attack power struggle with the Taliban.
A look at the mood and the ground realities in Kabul.

METROSCAPE

Energy Spin

Oorja. Literally, energy to create. A bunch of students from Bangalore's J.D. Institute of Fashion Technology took the theme rather seriously. Each presentation at the city's Le Meridien had a natural theme: Likwid, Ecstasy, Natural Cosmos, Chameleon, Sakhi, among others. And, don't ask why, Humanism Against Terrorism-which, apart from models mouthing "Aloha!", seemed every bit Hawaiian. That apart, the show had plenty of ethnic wear-Ashok Maanay's Holi-inspired ghaghras in silk, organza and tussar, embellished with floral zardozi and aari work, and Sadhana Apte's pastels and embroidery. Says Sona Bose of the institute, "This is the easiest way a young designer can make his or her presence in the industry." Exude enough energy to attract the fraternity's wayward attention.

—Stephen David

Reign Of The Stars

	WINNING SMILE: Radhika with husband Sarath Kumar and Ravikumar. Sarath received the newly instituted Sivaji award

It was Jo-not sprinter Flo Jo or bare-all J Lo but home grown Jyothika-who was the unclouded favourite among stars in the south Indian sky. At the Hero Honda 21st Cinema Express Awards in Chennai's Nehru Stadium, besides the whistles and cheers, she also walked away with the best sensational actress honour.

The evening started with veteran Nageshwara Rao from Telugu cinema being awarded for his 60-year service to filmdom. And in between sizzling stagings by Rambha and Mumtaz were awards for Ajit Kumar (best actor), Meena (best actress), K. S. Ravikumar (best director) and Radhika (women achiever), among others. After the starry night, of course, it was back to lashing rains in the otherwise clouded city.

—Kavitha Muralidharan

Textile Tales

Jasleen Dhamija has to just look at a textile to know the cultural heritage of the people who made it. But the art historian/crafts expert/ former UN worker (Dhamija eschews labels) didn't get to that stage in a day. In the 1960s, when she was working with the Handicrafts Board, Dhamija realised it wasn't enough to appreciate a craft. "I had to know about the socio-economic background of the artisan too," she says.

That often meant varied experiences: from taking a bullock cart ride into an interior village to check out black pottery to devising self-help programmes for war-torn Balkan women. Last week, she tried to take Kolkatans in that direction as well-telling them to look beyond beautiful embroidery at the people responsible for it-with a talk called "Wrapping and Draping: From Life to Death". Some interesting highlights: the pagri is an inter-generational bond; the Bengali sari, in the way it is worn, automatically accords a woman motherhood status; the Maharashtrian "kashta" could well be an indigenous chastity belt; the "misunderstood" veil actually stands for empowerment not subjugation-women can chose who to reveal themselves to. In these Taliban times, Dhamija's tips are certainly an eye-opener.

—Labonita Ghosh

MetroScape

Looking Glass

Kolkata Restaurant: Tangerine

Delhi Yoga: Morarji Desai National Yoga Institute

Delhi Cultural Festival : Qutab Festival