The city - sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce
Khandaani values
Salman, Salim and Arbaaz Khan see off Malaika Arora after a pre-Diwali bash at Arpita Khan's Khar residence last afternoon. Pic/Shadab Khan
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Karadi Tales takes the write step
We are all for inculcating the habit of reading in children. That's exactly the purpose behind Karadi Tales, a Chennai-based publishing house that specialises in picture and audio books. It was started in 1996 by a motley crew of writers, educators and musicians. Now, the firm is stepping into the next phase of its evolution, with HarperCollins India having recently acquired representation and exclusive retail rights for it. Karadi Tales seeks to create a space for Indian culture in the world of children's publishing. So, you'll find its audio books set to ragas performed by trained instrumentalists. Sounds like music to our ears.
A fitting tribute to Tom Alter Saab
For the man who celebrated and nurtured Urdu all his life, what could be a better tribute than a festival of plays in the language within a month of his passing? The five-day Urdu Drama Festival, which begins on Wednesday, is dedicated to the memory of Tom Alter and actor Farooque Shaikh, who passed away in 2013. Presented by Maharashtra Rajya Urdu Sahitya Academy, it features 27 award-winning productions from Mumbai, Pune, Sholapur and Malegaon, and will be inaugurated by writer-filmmaker Sagar Sarhadi. The festival's coordinator is veteran theatre director Iqbal Niyazi (in pic), who has worked closely with Alter.
The line-up includes Manto Ismat Dushman Dost (about the intriguing relation the two stalwarts shared), and Dastaan-e-Nazeer, on the life of poet Nazeer Akbarabadi.
A green Diwali
Designer Amit Aggarwal (in pic) has been known to push the boundaries when it comes to sustainable fashion, by going beyond the organic cotton route and even using upcycled plastic. This Diwali, he decided to add an eco-friendly touch to the festivities at his headquarters by asking his team to create rangolis using waste material from his workshop. These include leftover fabric, polymer strips, sequin waste and plastic flowers.
The rather avant-garde results are on his Instagram stories for you to check out.
Here's why Gutta's a true patakha
Badminton doubles ace Jwala Gutta is used to her image being splashed on social media, in newspapers and on television. But she recently came across a picture of hers in the most unlikely of places — on the packaging of a firecracker brand (in pic). Gutta, though, seems like a sport (no pun intended), because instead of making a brouhaha about it, she posted a picture of the packaging on Twitter. The caption read, "Now I have achieved everything," followed by a string of laughter emoticons. So, kudos to her because when people take things in the right spirit, it lights our day up, and not just when it's Diwali.
Narrating lost fashion stories
Imagine the scene. It's 1958. The British have packed their bags and left a while ago, but the country is still forming its own post-Independence identity. A ship touted to be as grand as the Titanic docks off the coast in Bombay. A retail mogul, Shori Lal Kapur, who has recently launched Burlington's, his flagship departmental store, decides to host a fashion show on board the ship. The QES thus turned into the first venue where an event of this nature was held in the country, long before places like St Regis became regular haunts for models and designers. This is what Shori Lal's grandson, Rudhra Kapur (in pic), informed this diarist during a recent chat, taking us back to a time when life was simpler, but still as glamorous. Kapur also told us that Shori Lal had started the first ever departmental store in what was then undivided India, in Lahore. But the family lost that property after Partition and Shori Lal then went back to the drawing board and built another one, which is how Burlington's was born.
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