LEISURE

Bangalore Book festival, in its eighth edition, the second largest in the country, after Kolkata, kicked off last weekend at Palace Grounds. The festival is on till November 21st. As usual there are stalls of major book stores and publishers like Sapna, Navneet, and Higginbothams.  British library, Britannica encyclopedia, and Times Group too have their stalls. Engineering, medical, photography, architecture or interior designing, there is something for everyone. Bangalore Book Fair 2010. Pic: Usha Hariprasad. There are a few unusual stalls - take a look at some of these offbeat attractions. For lovers of history and philosophy The Center for…

 We had taken some schoolchildren to Shivansamudra Falls, (about 120 km from Bangalore)  and were in a hired bus. At both the entrance from the main road, and at the Shivansamudra Police Station, we were asked to pay up money. When we refused to pay money without a receipt being issued for the amount, and we said that we were a school group, we were allowed to go without being charged. What a greasy culture we have! Tourists are always people to be fleeced as much as possible. I wonder how many people give in to the pressure and pay?⊕

Jackie (Kannada) Jackie has been amongst Kannada cinema's eagerly awaited films of October, if for no other reason than the coming together of director Suri (Duniya fame) and Puneet Rajkumar. Yet before the film is half complete it quickly becomes clear that if all the problems of the Indian film-making could be highlighted in one film, it would be Jackie. The film that is reminiscent of an 80s Hindi cinema potboiler seems confused on whether its intention is to be an entertainer or a film with a socially relevant message. In the end it winds up between the devil and…

Many in India watched with curiosity as Julia Roberts filmed for Eat, Pray, Love in India. Now, many months later, the film directed by Ryan Murphy and filmed by Brad Pitt is finally here. Eat, Pray, Love, based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Elizabeth Gilbert, tells the story of Elizabeth's (Julia Roberts) journey around the world to find herself after a painful divorce. As the story unfolds on celluloid, the traveler in you can't help responding to moments in the film with a sense of deja vu. For her part, Julia Roberts brings alive the role…

The much-awaited Endhiran, the most expensive film ever made in Asia, hit cinema halls in Bangalore last weekend. The film that has superstar Rajinikanth in a dual role tells the story of Professor Dr Vasigaran's (Rajinikanth) creation of  a super-intelligent android robot Chitti (also played by Rajinikanth). Complications ensue when Chitti discovers his human side. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan takes on the role of Sana, the professor's lady love and Danny Denzongpa is the evil mind all set to steal his idea. Like all Rajini films, this one relies on dialogues and punch lines delivered in the way that he tells…

Bangalore has a small group of poetry enthusiasts with the numbers slowly growing. But with the rise of the internet, there are more avenues for poets to reach out, share their work and get feedback. According to Mohammed Fakhruddin, the founder of Poets International, a 27-year old poetry appreciation society, poetry is a form of wisdom. Fakhruddin, a well-accomplished poet and writer himself, believes that poetry is a form of lifestyle. Most poetry has its origin in topics of daily life - love, life, death or nature. "Poetry can be taken up at any age. What matters is the inspiration…

With most cinema houses postponing their big releases to later this week and the next, new films in Bangalore came from Hollywood and Malayalam cinema. Almost two decades after he made a film in a similar setting, director Oliver Stone returns with Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. In this sequel, Jake Moore tries to save his crumbling professional and personal life amidst the intrigue, corruption and huge egos of Wall Street. Only the agility of his mind can pull him through. In the aftermath of the recent global recession, the theme is topical and hard-hitting. As in films like JFK…

Anyone who dismisses director Abhinav Kashyap's debut film Dabangg as mindless entertainment has not understood the heart of the Hindi film blockbuster. It is fast-paced, action-packed, loud, colourful, lustily melodious, emotional, romantic, reverential of family and held together by the charisma of a single star who towers head and shoulders above the chaotic concoction. It may not always have sequential logic, but it inevitably invites loud cat calls and whistles. It seldom makes you think, but it always leaves you entertained. That is the heart of Dabangg - an entertainer for the masses, easily shrugging off the aspirations of the…

The recently concluded two-day national seminar on Organic Terrace Gardening at the University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS) Alumni Association Convention Centre, Hebbal was in all respects a great meeting point and a good start to a process that seeks to become a nation-wide movement. One of the primary objectives of organising such a seminar was to ensure that organic terrace gardening spreads as a movement across the country, rather than merely as a hobby or passion for a select few. There was also a need felt to bring together like-minded practitioners, individuals and institutions on a common platform and use…

It's been a happening fortnight at the movies in Bangalore. The fourth Indo-German Film Festival ran between August 20th and 26th at Lavanya Theatre in Ulsoor, drawing a niche audience from across the city. Amongst the top German films screened were  A Year Ago in Winter, Jerichow, Storm, John Rabe, Soul Kitchen, Whisky with Vodka and Lila Lila. The Indian films in the festival panorama included Kanasembo Kudureyaneri, Vimukti, Kanchivaram, Bioscope, Paltadacho Munis, Gabhricha Paus, Harishchandrache Factory and Ek Cup Chya. Next in line were a couple of much-awaited new releases at the cinemas over the weekend. Bollywood had the…