Innholdsfortegnelse for March 19, 2018 i India Today

The world is going through a great churn, with France becoming the dominant nation in a Europe where Britian’s departure is imminent and a much-weakened Angela Merkel has begun a fourth term as German chancellor. The 40-year-old French president Emmanuel Macron, a surprise winner of the French presidential elections last year, is charismatic, ambitious and hungry for a bigger role for France in a world where America is retreating, Russia is belligerent and China is in an expansionist mode. India and its democracy suit France, and when Macron met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Paris for lunch on June 3 last year, they found an instant camaraderie. Added to this is the historic relationship between two great intellectual powers of the East and West. This has encompassed individual friendships as…

Since the Aam Aadmi Party so decisively returned to power in 2015, it has been on a war footing with both the central government and bureaucrats. Three weeks ago, what had been a long simmering broth of resentment and passive aggressive sniping boiled over into open hostility and physical confrontation. Delhi chief secretary Anshu Prakash alleged he had been assaulted by two AAP legislators at a midnight meeting in Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s home and in his presence. The next day, AAP minister Imran Hussain, and a senior party functionary, Ashish Khetan, vice-chairman of the Delhi Dialogue Commission, accused mobs of assaulting them in the Delhi Secretariat. Hussain alleged the attack was “revenge” for what had supposedly happened to Prakash. Two AAP MLAs were arrested a day after Prakash made…

Chinese president Xi Jingping had a photo-op on a traditional swing on the Sabarmati riverfront and Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu had one with Mahatma Gandhi’s spinning wheel at the Sabarmati Ashram, also on the riverfront. But it’s going to be a new state and a different waterfront—Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s constituency Varanasi—when Emmanuel Macron comes visiting on March 9. The French president will get a special boat cruise down the Ganga from the Dashashwamedh to the Assi ghat, accompanied by the prime minister and Uttar Pradesh chief minister, Yogi Adityanath. Varanasi’s historic ghats have been spruced up for the presidential visit and there will be stopovers at multiple cultural events en route. A nod perhaps to Jean Renoir’s 1951 filmontheGanga, Le Fleuve (TheRiver)? WATER MUSIC Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis…

THE AFFECTED FAMILIES WILL GET ALTERNATIVE INCOME OPTIONS, SUBSIDISED RICE AND HOMES Barely out of her teens, Shefali Haldar is the latest young bride to be widowed in Jharkhali village, Sundarbans. Like some 150 others in the village, her husband was killed in a tiger attack while foraging in the forest. Besides Jharkhali, at least 14 other villages in Gosaba block and six in Basanti are known as ‘Bidhobader Palli’ or village of widows. Most of the remaining village men must either seek work outside the South 24 Parganas district or risk encountering the big cat in the forest. For some 2,000 families that have lost members to tiger attacks in the past 10 years, it’s a life of abject penury. Like Minati Ray, who makes do with the Rs…

ON MARCH 11, the sun will shine a little brighter when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron, along with two dozen heads of states and governments, attend the inaugural conference of the International Solar Alliance (ISA). Modi has played a prime role in not only conceptualising but also rapidly bringing to fruition the ISA, an alliance of 121 countries among solar resource-rich countries lying fully or partially between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. That solar energy holds the key to solving not only the world’s energy crisis but also the threat of global warming has long been known. The key constraints were the costs (electricity for each unit from coal till recently was cheaper than solar), technology (how does one ensure 24x7 supply of solar energy…

Nearly six months before Tripura went to the polls, a senior leader of the Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura (IPFT) party was facing a personal crisis—his son was diagnosed with a heart ailment and he needed money for an operation. Assam finance minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who was travelling in the state preparing for the BJP’s poll campaign, got to know about the IPFT leader’s dilemma. Even though he did not know the leader personally, Sarma dialled renowned heart specialist Dr Devi Shetty and arranged for free treatment at the Narayana Hrudayalaya in Guwahati. The young boy was cured and Sarma earned a friend for life. In January, when Sarma was cobbling together an alliance between the BJP and the IPFT (despite opposition from senior leaders on both sides), his…

There are a lot of tank tops and pink in Ryan Murphy’s The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story (on Hotstar). It’s as if he wants to make sure the viewer never forgets this show is set in the 1990s and that it is fabulous, darling. To that end, objective achieved. Not for a second do you mistake the opulently colourful palette of The Assassination… to be from the present. Based on Maureen Orth’sbook Vulgar Favors, which recounts “the largest failed manhunt in US history”, Murphy’s show is a fictionalised portrait of serial killer Andrew Cunanan. The book seems well-researched but has a disapproving fascination with the gay community of the time. Fortunately, there’s none of that obvious homophobia in the show, though the gay scene does come across…

Very few names come to mind when one thinks of truly Indian expressions of modernism in art. One of the definitive ones is that of Sayed Haider Raza, whose signature geometrical forms were improvisations on an essential theme—mapping out a metaphorical space in the mind. In the 1980s, the circle or bindu became Raza’s central motif. Sacred in its symbolism, it placed his work in an Indian context and put him on the global art map. Hidden from public view for years, Ville Provençale is one of the greatest and largest works by Raza to ever appear on the market. This painting was made in 1956 while Raza was living in France—a formative period for the artist. Distinguished by its vivid colours, this seminal work displays a semi-abstracted view of…

What’s in a name, they say, but Hollywood like no other name, invokes a dash of drama, dollops of glamour and everything laquered with luxury. True to its name, West Hollywood is stylish, hedonistic and as famous for its all-night entertainment as it is for it’s youthful culture and beautiful people. Smacked right between Beverly Hills and East Hollywood, it is located in the heart of Los Angeles County and lies at the foot of the Hollywood Hills. With palm-lined boulevards, a huge array of bars, clubs and restaurants, celebrity-favorited health trends and breathtaking views, West Hollywood is the must-visit zone for the in-the-know traveller. Just a short trip from Tinseltown, it’s the perfect base from which to explore the best in Californian lifestyle. Here is an insider’s guide to…

When the CBI officials sat Karti Chidamabaram, son of former finance minister P. Chidambaram, face to face with former INX Media head Indrani Mukerjea in Mumbai’s Byculla Jail, he reportedly had a broad smile on his face. He maintained it as Mukerjeaheld in judicial custody since 2015, charged with her daughter’s murder—repeated her claim, made in front of a magistrate, that she and her husband Peter had bribed Karti to the tune of a million dollars to help nullify a probe against the Mukerjeas’ company INX Media. “She is narrating fiction,” the still smiling Karti supposedly said once Mukerjea had finished her account. The CBI arrested Karti on February 28 on the charge of accepting a payment from INX Media in order to persuade finance ministry officials to bury an…

THE INDO-FRENCH STRATEGIC partnership that concluded 20 years ago, soon after India’s nuclear tests in May 1998, stands on a triad—cooperation in the defence, space and civil-nuclear fields. Over the years, however, defence cooperation has largely been confined to regular military exercises between the armies, navies and air forces of the two countries and off-the-shelf purchases of military hardware. From Mirage fighters in the 1980s to, more recently, Rafale fighter jets and the licenced manufacture of French Scorpene class submarines, a deal for which was signed in 2005, things have never looked as good for defence ties. As President Emmanuel Macron heads to New Delhi on a historic first visit, he will note that Dassault’s production line in Bordeaux has started assembling the first Indian Rafale fighter jets, part of…

ALL ART HAS POLITICS, WHETHER it is acknowledged or not. There are numerous examples across societies, countries and artistic genres that illustrate how art and artists have intervened in the socio-political arena—not only with their works but also with their words. A walk through recent shows around the country and one has a list of artistic expressions engaging with politics: A figure eating books is both an act of fear of censorship and a protest against it, Mahatma Gandhi taking a selfie with a cow is both a comment on intolerance and a society’s obsession with technology, a visual where the faces of Gandhi and B.R. Ambedkar get merged and morphed is an indication of the times to come. This is not art for art’s sake; art here is a…

Wine on the Go Lorenzi Milano’s travel set will satisfy even the most seasoned wine connoisseur. It contains two tasting glasses, two watertight caps for freshness, a thermometer to ensure the perfect temperature and two open spots for bottles. The dark-brown leather case is stylish and an easy carry. Price £2,170 Availability lorenzimilano.com Tag It Personalise your luggage with the Globe Trotter+John Booth leather luggage tag. Painted with artist and ceramicist John Booth’s signature brush strokes, this tag been expertly made in England from multicoloured vegetable-tanned leather. Price £164 Availability mrporter.com On a Roll Mimicking an artist’s brush case, Ground’s Bandito leather lifestyle roll is crafted for the creative traveller. The case can store pencils, pens, brushes in transit and also has a spacious zipper pouch…

For most people travel has the power to evoke strong emotions that are sometimes linked to their past memory of the place, tinged with nostalgia for a time when both they and the city were different. India Today Spice speaks to eight individuals who are creative powerhouses in their chosen areas of work; individuals who thrive on being perfectionists and reflecting their experiences through their art and craft. All of them are avid travellers who have been inspired by the journeys they have undertaken. From Michelin star chef Vineet Bhatia, who travels at least four times a year, hoping to bring a fresh perspective to his plates; to filmmaker Imtiaz Ali whose biggest muse is Kashmir; writer Preti Taneja who likes losing herself in New York; dancer Arushi Mudgal who…

It comes upon you suddenly; a white structure standing out against the backdrop of the muddy, brown Aravallis. The JW Marriott Resort & Spa, Jaipur, is the brand’s newest baby and one that needs some hand holding given its new-born status. The structure is impressive, bold, palace-like, much in the style of hotels that dot Rajasthan and draw on its historic, royal past. There’s an elephant with a dazzling, brocade cloth thrown over his bare back at the entrance and expansive notes can be heard as a pair of drummers flanks the entrance columns, beating the drums much like was the norm in palaces in Rajasthan when the king was entering. The final act is a camel in full finery; you know you could be nowhere but Rajasthan. Design Inspiration…

Teetering on the brink of the forties, years of living and acquired savoir faire, cast their shadow in discreet, subliminal ways. You can sense, for example, that something strange is afoot when you feel, genuinely, like taking a road trip with the girlfriend. Your ride for the trip, the new Audi Q5, seems perfectly content with that decision. The SUV, when you set eyes on it for the first time, doesn’t set your heart racing. None of those familiar stirrings of instant infatuation that so many men—pardon the gender, since this writer can’t claim spokesmanship for women—make an appearance. It’s a good-looking car, but not drop-dead gorgeous; on the road it does your bidding with reasonable urgency but not in a manic fashion; its flamboyance isn’t avant garde, but classy…

A strong personality is a style statement in itself. But it does not hurt one bit to compliment that personality with the captivating Jaeger-LeCoultre Rendez-Vous Tourbillon. This marvellous piece brings together Jaeger-LeCoultre’s mastery over the marriage of a timepiece and jewellery, creating a piece that is timeless yet on-trend. At 6 o’clock the midnight blue dial of the Rendez-Vous Tourbillon reveals a glimpse of one of the most sophisticated watch complications—the tourbillon. This mechanism cancels out the negative effects of gravity on the movement in any position, granting the watch optimal accuracy. A row of brilliant-cut diamonds encircles the heart of the Rendez-Vous Tourbillon’s dial. This ring is then intersected by another precious circle to showcase the tourbillon. When combined with the gem-set bezel, they form a perfectly proportioned design.…

Nirav Modi’s grand swindle of Indian public sector banks, now estimated at Rs 12,622 crore and counting, has needled the government into a sort of nervous regulatory overdrive. Possibly the most dramatic of these new measures is the newly minted Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill. But there’s also an attempt to talk tough to PSU banks complicit in the fraud as well as those who have been inefficient in managing their bad loans. The ministry of corporate affairs has moved the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to attach assets belonging to Modi, his uncle and Gitanjali Gems chairman Mehul Choksi, Modi’s wife Ami and brother Nishal. The Centre is reportedly looking to attach all assets of around 11 companies owned or controlled by Modi and Choksi, including Gitanjali Gems’ Rs 1,200…

Six people were killed by the Indian army in Shopian district, south Kashmir last week, two of them suspected militants. The other men were civilians, though in its initial report of the deaths the army referred to them as OGWs, overground workers, army-speak for those who aid and abet militants without being combatants themselves. Both militants were Lashkar-e-Taiba men, “Class B terrorists”, according to an army commandant. One was slain alongside three civilians in what the army describes as “retaliatory fire”, while a fourth civilian was found in a car a short distance from the location of the shootout. The second militant’s body was also found some kilometres away, with the authorities claiming he had been injured in the gunfight before dying where his body was found. Despite measures taken…

GRANTING OFFICIAL RECOGNITION TO ETHNIC DIALECTS WILL DISTURB PEACE, SAY LEADERS IN THE OPPOSITION In a bid to woo north Bengal’s 10 million Rajbongshis, who voted for the BJP in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), on February 28, pledged to recognise the Rajbongshi dialect, alongside Kamtapuri and Kurmali, as an official language. Rajbongshis are a subaltern ethnic group inhabiting West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar and Alipurduar districts, besides parts of lower Assam. Their main demand, first articulated in the early 1990s, is the creation of Kamtapur, a separate state that includes their home districts. They also want their native language to be included in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution. The movement gained momentum with the formation of the Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO), a militant…

WHO CAN forget the power handshake between France’s newly elected president Emmanuel Macron and America’s president Donald Trump during their first meeting at the NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) Summit in Brussels on May 25, 2017? The 39-year-old French president, barely 10 days into his job, avoided Trump’s eye, aiming a cherubic smile at television cameras, as the burly septuagenarian, an adept at the tug, pull and overpower variety of handshake, struggled to extricate his hand. “That was not innocent,” Macron later told journalists with a wicked grin. Barely a week went by before Macron took another dig at Trump. “Make our planet great again,” he said in perfect English, mocking the American’s signature slogan in a widely publicised social media video, after the US president announced on June 1…

The busy lanes near Charni Road station in South Mumbai still have an old-world charm, bustling with eateries with names such as ‘Hira Mahal’ or ‘Blue Diamond’ and serving ‘pure vegetarian’ fare. This was once the hub of the diamond trade in India, home to over 5,000 offices of diamond merchants, mostly from the Palanpuri Jain community, before much of the activity moved to the Bharat Diamond Bourse (BDB) in the suburban Bandra Kurla Complex, and to Surat in Gujarat. Seated inside his tiny office near the Central Plaza Cinema is Hardik Hundiya, who has been running a few publications on the diamond trade for the past 25 years—a good source therefore for an inside view. Days after the over Rs 12,000 crore Nirav Modi scam broke out, Hundiya is…

THREE DAYS TO THE SHOW, the sternest figure to be seen in Central Prison Mysuru is theatre director Hulugappa Kattimani. Rehearsals are on in a corner of the jail compound under the shade of peepal trees. An actor saunters in before his cue, and Kattimani storms the set with his arm raised in fury. “Who sent you here early?” he demands to know. The rehearsal is for Jategiruvanu Chandira, Jayant Kaikini’s Kannada adaptation of Fiddler on the Roof, set in a South Indian coastal village at the time of Partition. Barring the five woman actors, the rest of the 30-strong cast are all current or former prisoners. In two decades of working with prisoners, Kattimani has staged around 150 performances of 20 plays. The idea came to him in 1997,…

Under My Umbrella Keep sun, wind and rain at bay with this chic Missoni shell umbrella. This multi-hued umbrella is printed with the brand’s signature zigzags, has a leather wristlet strap and matching sheath to protect the other items in your tote. Price On request Availability farfetch.com Little Black Bag What’s black and white and can hold all your makeup tight? This Lulu Guinness pouch that is spacious enough for your lotions and potions and looks great while doing this all-important task. Price $105 Availability netaporter.com Blown Away The Dyson Supersonic hair dryer is superlative, given its intelligent design and form. The unique shape ensures you have a tangle-free session and the slick engine is placed in the handle to ensure it is ergonomic. With air…

“It’s an Education Money Can’t Buy” ALFONSO CUARON IS ONE OF THE WORLD’S greatest filmmakers currently, with complete command over almost every department of filmmaking, whether it is sound or editing. At 56, he has already won two Oscars, made seven movies, and along with his other two Amigos, Guillermo del Toro and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, provides hope to any Third World filmmaker, that if you have the talent, the world can conspire to find you an audience. On the face of it, he doesn’t seem to have much in common with Chaitanya Tamhane, enormously gifted filmmaker whose 2014 Marathi film Court was a powerful satire on the state of our caste-ridden society, the judiciary, and freedom of speech that is as timeless as it is quietly incendiary. Having been chosen…

Under-stated luxury The world of fine dining is becoming more and more casual. Rather than opulence, under-stated luxury is now the way to go. Earlier, if you dropped a fork in a fine dining restaurant, everyone would turn around and stare at you, questioning your manners. That’s all gone now. Even loud music seems acceptable now. And I’ve noticed several Michelin-starred restaurants now accept diners in sneakers and shorts, especially in the United States. I suppose it stems from the fact that everyone is much more casual about life in general. Diners expect great food, but want to be able to have some fun too. Creative plates In the kitchen, this translates to more fun on the plates. Greater creativity is expected. We’ve also gone slightly easy on the traditionally…

There’s luxury in the small and big as you step in Noir at The Chanakya. The upscale salon is not sprawling but the interiors have been well-laid out. Bright yellow counters, gilt-edged mirrors and comfortable leather chairs that make the experience gold standard as do the small details like being served a bottle of Perrier, having a wide choice of herbal teas, and above all else, an expert at hand to allay your salon fears. The focus here is on providing hair and nail solutions. True luxury lies in the detail and the hair wash section has you seated on a massage chair that makes the process of tilting your head back at an awkward angle infinitely more pleasurable. This brand has been launched by Looks, one of the largest…

“Women are more empathetic towards their employees” DRAMATIC TOUCH FARAH AGARWAL, 32 Chief Designer/Founder, Chestnut Storeys Interior designer Farah Agarwal began her career as a freelancer. She soon discovered that though the city had a lot of pretty things on offer, there was lack of bold choices. “A lot of drama could be added to homes,” she says. This is how Chestnut Storeys was born in 2014 and Agarwal's company today provides bespoke interior services such as customised furniture. Her style is an eclectic mix of textures, prints and materials. The Benefit While it is hard for a woman to be an entrepreneur because of the family being dependent on her, Agarwal believes it has several advantages too. “Women can plan very well. They are also more sensitive and empathetic…