Advantage Outsiders
With the balance tilted against it, the Taliban regime will soon find itself vanquished.

Lull Before The Storm
Amid calls for a quick and decisive end to the conflict, Afghanistan has been abuzz with talk of an imminent Northern Alliance ground war against the Taliban.

History's Pointers
The Soviet Union's 10 years campaign in Afghanistan — a conflict that led to a humiliating withdrawal and, some say, its eventual breakup
— can be a learning experience for
the US.

METROSCAPE

It was more like a setting for a period film. Soaring pillars, big verandas, skylight ventilators and a modishly overgrown garden. Instead, at the seat of fashion store Amethyst tucked in Chennai's backwoods, supermodels like Medha and Divya paraded clothes by designers Jason Cherian, Nikhi Mahajan, Manoviraj Khosla, Gunjan Arora, Anjana Bhargav, Krishna Mehta and many more. The show served as a curtain-raiser for "Hot Couture", a two-day exhibition of festive accessories last week and the off-beat venue was widely applauded for its moderated elegance.

LOVE THE WALK: Shobana (centre) in Chennai

As was actress Shobana who was making her catwalk debut on a carpeted portico that became the ramp. The actress was later heard saying that her next film song would be shot here since all changeable clothes would be within arms reach.

-Kavitha Muralidhran

For The Common Good

Delhi's popular haunt-Dilli Haat near INA market-will actually go places with its offshoots coming up in other corners of the city. In an ambitious plan, the Delhi Tourism and Transport Development Corporation (DTTDC) and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi will soon start work on other such bazaars-near Tihar jail in Janakpuri in the west, Rohini in the north, Noida Toll Bridge in the south and Plot 31, CBD, near Shahdara in the east. The open-air crafts-cum food bazaar, almost like a mini-India, is visited by 5,000 people every day and earns a revenue of over Rs 1 crore every year. Says Roshan Lal, chairperson of DTTDC: "The basic idea is not to make it sophisticated but to cater to the common man." Actually, the Haat is one place where the two work together.

-Teresa Rehman

Bringing Life To A Relic

If you remembered Delhi Tourism's Qutub Festival as an uninspiring annual cultural ritual, things are a changing. This year, by including items like the Daksha Sheth Dance Company (right), Wadali Brothers and Jaspinder Narula (left) the organisers arrived at a mix that drew audiences to the remote venue and (more importantly) kept them glued to their seats. Yes, Shubha Mudgal was there too, as were the qawwals Sabri Brothers (left) along with the gorgeous Manjari Chaturvedi, whose "Sufi Kathak" is as spurious as her costumes are resplendent.

-S. Kalidas

MetroScape

Looking Glass

Mumbai Restaurant:
India Jones

Mumbai Puppetry Festival: Toccata

Bangalore Restaurant: Chung Wah

Kolkata Exhibition : Life Is Beautiful