A tribute to the hero all little people adore

This appeared in last Monday's DNA   Happy 80, Rusty

As one of India’s favourite author, Ruskin Bond, celebrates his birthday today, dna talks to two children’s book writers on his enduring popularity

Bangalore: If there was anyone who can lend credence to the statement ‘Age is just a number’, Ruskin Bond would be it. The prolific writer, whose pen refuses to slow down yet, turns 80 today but who’d know that judging by the books he continues to unspool. Starting off his career in 1951, at the sprightly age of 17, Bond’s impressive cache short stories collections and novels continue to spark the imaginations of kids and adults alike. An avowed fan of the author, children’s writer Asha Nehemiah says, “I am a huge fan of Ruskin Bond. His stories bring out a lot of interest as they reveal simple everyday experiences. They are also told with a lot of humour. I feel children are still very engrossed in his books even today as they have exciting stories on the hills, nature and people. He is one of the most popular children book authors and his books are widely used in various school all across the world. There have been many children who often tell me how they thoroughly enjoy his works and it is true that he is such a well-known author as he is one of the very few names they know. My favourite book of his would be his recent one, Tigers For Dinner. It is well produced and I have bought innumerable copies to give as gifts.” Roopa Pai, writer of the Taranauts adventure series, says, “I just absolutely love him. I grew up reading his books and found them very engaging. The first book I read was the ICSE text, Room On The Roof. I was 17 at that time and so was the protagonist of the story, so it created a huge impression on me. His writing is classic and he uses good language without showing off his diction. Everyone can understand what he writes. He is very indulgent to people and the world and he never judges any characters in his book. He looks at the world with gentle eyes showing no aggression and is very witty. He is not an old stick in the mud. That’s what makes him different. He has a big advantage as his books are now being turned into text books so children are more exposed to his works these days. He cannot be disliked by anyone. He has taught me the power of writing. It is not easy at all but he makes it seem so simple. I was lucky enough to interview him a few years back and that was such an amazing experience. I had met him the previous day just to get to know him a little and during the interview he had told the entire crowd how he was impressed with my books. He was fascinated with all the words I had made up and said if they weren’t in the dictionary they should be included someday. What touched me was that he actually took the trouble to read them. I will always be grateful to him and can never forget him.” mybangalore@dnaindia.net

Street side view

This appeared in today's DNA Bangalore   Street side view

Mohan Vijayaraghavan, whose exhibition of paintings of Europe’s streets is currently on in the city, talks about his inspirations

Riya Patel @dnaofblr

Bangalore: A student of fine arts and a professional creative artist, Mohan Vijayaraghavan breathes and lives art — from portraiture, and still life, to paintings of streets from across the world, he finds inspiration everywhere, and he prefers to work with watercolours. His current exhibition, however, focuses on three of the world’s most popular cities — Venice, Paris, and London. Is your exhibition at the Hackett store part of a new series? Could you tell us a little more about it? Since this is a group exhibition, I have only about four and five pieces on display at the store. In fact, I have created them only for this particular show. The paintings on display are inspired from the streets of Venice, Paris, and London. You have been painting for nearly 25 years, what continues to inspire you today? I started off learning fine arts and for the last 22 years I have been working in an advertising company, so this keeps me going and inspires me every day to paint. I also draw inspiration from what I see around me. There’s something about the streets of India, or rather streets everywhere, and I most often paint things that I see on these streets. In fact, every time I travel, I make sketches of my surroundings and then come back and translate them into paintings. You say you are influenced by rock and classical music... how integral is music to your process of painting? I believe that we all need music in our lives; it calms us down. And music helps me understand art from different perspectives and gives it life, I can feel it in my bones. I am inspired by rock and classical music but it also depends on what kind of work I am doing at the moment. Some of the portraits I have created of rock musicians are displayed in a pub in Dlangon, Indonesia, and a few in the Bangalore pub, Guzzlers. Do you think that having art works displayed in public spaces such as retail stores is a good way to promote art? Honestly, the place doesn’t make much of a difference to me. My current exhibition is being held in a store that is quite small too, but I am doing it because I love it. Then again, it doesn’t really matter where you display your art. Any place is good, it depends on how well your work goes with the place. It is like playing the right kind of music in the right place. Who are some of your favourite artists? All Italian renaissance artists inspire me, right from Leonardo Da Vinci to Michelangelo. British artist William Turner is another artist who has never seemed to let me down. mybangalore@dnaindia.net

Published Date:  May 23, 2014

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For all you Karaoke fans.....

This appeared in the DNA Bangalore edition on May 16th 2014.   Come, sing along

Clear your vocal chords and head out for a night of karaoke where it doesn’t matter whether you can sing or not

Shilpa Bansal and Riya Patel @dnaofblr

Bangalore: Would you believe it if we told you that a large population of Bangalore’s music lovers plan their week according to where the next karaoke evening is at? It is, in fact, one of the most popular musical events in the city and has been so for quite a few years now. With time, the venues have only increased, giving amateur and professional singers the chance to have an evening of fun where music is key and no one is judging. Martin D’Souza, DJ and a popular karaoke host, says, “Karaoke has made professional singers out of people and while the city has quite a few of those, what’s encouraging is the increasing number of new participants each time. I’d say the ratio between old and new singers is almost equal,” adding, “In fact, there are quite a few competitions that are held in the city, and these have helped people find a platform to sing. Karaoke definitely motivates an aspiring singer.” Why does he do it, we ask? “I really enjoy it. I started off as a karaoke singer myself, so I know how it feels when one is trying it out for the first time. Now, as a host, the whole vibe and atmosphere just makes me extremely happy,” he says. Apart from the playlist, the success of such an evening also depends on who’s conducting it. According to D’Souza, some of the best hosts in the city are, “Carlton Braganza, Sabrina Price, Sheridan Brass and Kamal”. Incidentally, all these hosts have their own fan following as well. One cannot think karaoke without the mention of Opus, a mecca for most of Bangalore’s music enthusiasts. Carlton Braganza, who, with KroakNights, changed the way people looked at karaoke, says, “When we started, we thought we will take it slow and make it just a fun event. But over the years, it has become popular because of its credibility. We had people who wanted to sing, and wanted an audience to hear them, coming in and the whole thing adapted itself into a rock show format than just a karaoke room. And one of the main reasons why it is so popular is because it’s a great social do that allows you to have fun with friends and relive your rockstar dream. Everybody wants to be heard and wants to bring out the singer in them.” Braganza knows about the other karaoke nights that are held in the city. “I know venues such as Love Shack, Hard Rock Café, and Take Five host karaoke nights which are quite popular, but I haven’t really been to them. Our Opus boys Martin and Sheridan Brass are good hosts and are taking the trend forward well. And if you ask me about my favourite singers, I’d say Sheridan, Mark Lazaro, Benny Dayal and Avril Quadros are very good. Sometimes, we have actors such as Rajshri and Vinay Rai dropping by to sing, and they do it quite well,” he says. mybangalore@dnaindia.net

Published Date:  May 16, 2014

Smock It Up!

This is what I wrote for the DNA newspaper....

 Smock It Up!

If you are looking for something you will never outgrow, something that will always be a fashion statement then take a another minute to change your mind about going to the closest store and picking up for yourself those most unique pieces of clothing.

Hand smocked and embroidered dresses have a history which goes back to the 18^th and 19^th centuries where people of those eras used to literally only live and breathe in them. But now it is meant for only "little girls" which was such a huge trend for all ages back then.

Smocking is derived from the word "smock" which means a farmer's work shirt. Hence it was the most basic form of clothing and something everyone took to wear.

 
It is said that “True Smocking” is always stitched by hand.

There are two types of smocking: English and Traditional.

English is usually preferred over by most people as it requires less of human labour. A pleater is usually used which makes life much easier too.
On the other hand, traditional smocking is basically pleats added to the fabric as it is stitched. It is very strenuous but is more appealing to the eye.

 

Smocking is done not only for little princesses but on pillows, bed linen and you'll be surprised what great night gowns they can make too.
Everyone can take to this. Just needs a little time and effort.
It is a great pass time especially for stay at home moms. There are so many of them who are extremely passionate about this skill.

“It started out as a hobby stitching clothes for my family and slowly in time the business grew. Currently, I produce around 400 dresses a month and take mainly on orders. The prices of my dresses are quite reasonable depending on the amount of work done on them. The demand is very high today but because it is labour intensive the production is much lower. I have trained school dropouts and the underprivileged to work for me. All I try to do with all my heart is to revive this dying art.” says Mrs Ramona Patel, owner of a workshop which specializes in this art in Benson Town.

These dresses are simple yet look so elegant to wear. They could be worn at a birthday party or just a regular day at school.

Those who feel shy to wear them can opt for smocked tops and maxis.

The other good thing is that there are dresses for every season. They could be worn in Spring using some great ready pastel colours, at Summer with the brightest of bright and in Winter with knitted stockings.

Today, there are so many exhibitions held all over the city to showcase these dresses which have so much of creativity in them such as the Handmade Collective.

There is a lot of enthusiasm among young children admiring the rusticity of their dresses and a hell a lot of them love to show off too.

It is definitely something which will never die out. So get back the old school look. You will not be in for a disappointment.

All the CET madness....

This was my first assignment with DNA
Had to go to one of the CET centres and ask the students how their papers went.

The papers were fairly good but Physics was my best. I was able to answer almost all questions. There were no questions asked out of the syllabus and no mistakes in the question paper. I felt that we could have got more time to write as I couldn't really complete the paper. The coaching classes sort of helped me answer most of the questions. I definitely learned how to manage time while writing this exam. I want to become an engineer.

          -Harsha,

           Narayana College

 

The papers were okay but I did extremely well in Biology. There was a few questions asked out of syllabus and hence I was a bit lost. I don't think there were any mistakes in the paper. I felt the papers were too lengthy so could not complete it. The coaching classes did help me and build confidence too. I want to pursue Architecture. 

       

                                - Swetha,

                                 Seshadripuram College

 

 

I found all the papers to be excellent with Math being my best.There were not many mistakes or questions asked out of syllabus in the papers. I was able to finish all the papers much before time. The coaching classes helped me as I was very confident about the papers. My aspiration is to do Medicine.

 

                              -Shama,

                               Corporation College

 

 

The best papers were Math and Physics. I was able to answer almost every question so I'm very pleased about these two papers. There were a few questions asked out of the syllabus in the Chemistry paper otherwise no other issues. The Chemistry paper was too long otherwise the other papers were good. After writing this exam, I've learnt to be ready for anything much in advance. All these days of preparation really helped me. I would like to study Engineering.

 

                              - Sachin,

                               KLE College

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I felt all the papers were quite easy but I did exceptionally well in Physics. I did not find any mistakes in the paper nor were there any questions asked out of syllabus. But I felt they should give us more time to write. It is not possible to finish 60 questions in just 80 minutes. There is nothing I can really think of right now that has helped me learn anything from this exam.

I also want to become an engineer like most of the people I'm guessing you have asked.

 

                              -Ahad,

                               VVI College

 

 

The exams were average and Math was the paper I liked the most. I was able to answer all questions. I did not find any mistakes in the paper neither were any questions asked out of syllabus. The time given to write the paper was okay by me. I did not feel the coaching classes helped me much as I felot the books I referred to helped me more.I have learnt to be more confident and I am satisfied with how I have done. I aspire to be an engineer.

 

                                    -Yogesh,

                                     Shri Gayatri Junior College,             

                                      Andhra Pradesh

 

 

Chemistry and Biology was very confusing for me but Physics was great. There were a few questions asked out of syllabus in the Physics paper but it wasn't that bad. I could not find any mistakes in any of the papers.The coaching classes definitely helped me. If I didn't go for them, I'm not sure if I would be able to clear any of the exams. I've wanted to become a doctor all my life now.

 

                                    -Omika,

                                     K.V 1 College, Gandinagar

 

 

 

The papers were fine. Physics was brilliant. There were lots of questions that they did not tell us about in Chemistry so I was disappointed. There were a few mistakes in the question papers. The time given for Math was too little. I was not able to complete. The coaching classes did help me a lot. Time management is something I have learnt from these exams. I want to study Architecture.

 

                               -Anmol,

                                K V NAL College