The music of peace

ldquoThis is the first time that we will be performing at the Nobel Prize ceremony and the Nobel Peace Prize concertrdquo said Sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan when we contacted him in Oslo where along with his sons Amaan and Ayaan he has gone for the prestigious assignmentldquoI am happy that Kailash Satyarthi and Malala Yousafzai will be receiving the Peace Prize I want to thank them for the kind of work they have been doing in order to safeguard childrenrsquos rightsrdquo says the 68yearold Padma Vibhushan awardee admired as much for his music as he is for the harmony and graciousness exuded by him and his familyldquoThis year the presenters have invited artistes from very diverse genres to present a special blend of traditional and modern music sensibilities of the two countries of the prize winners and pay tribute to the laureates homelandrdquo adds Amaan Ali KhanAmjad Ali Khan centre with his sons Ayaan left and AmaanldquoWe are extremely thrilled to perform alongside Queen Latifah Steven Tyler Bolly Flex and Laura Mvulardquo says brother AyaanNobel Peace Prize winners Kailash Satyarthi and Malala YousafzaiAs for what they will be playing ldquoWe will be presenting lsquoRaga for Peacersquo on this momentous occasionrdquo says Amjad Ali KhanNiceGiving it back in styleCan there be anything more dignified selfactualised and kickass than Shweta Basu Prasadrsquos lsquoOpen Letter to the Mediarsquo Readers will recall how the award winning actress was wrongly accused of being involved in a sex racket a few months ago an allegation which she has been completely cleared off by the Metropolitan Sessions Court Nampally Hyderabad this weekShweta Basu Prasad PicTwitterDebunking the fictitious statement that was given blanket coverage that she was supposed to have issued after her arrest not only for its maudlin nature but for its bad grammar she says lsquoSeriously Whoever you are who imagined this statement were you smoking funny cigarettes at work Who talks like that This sounds like a dialogue from some 80s Bollywood filmrsquolsquoThe problem with our society is as long as I was given sympathy and everyone went lsquoawwwwrsquo lsquopoor girlrsquo and lsquoso sadrsquo and so on everybody was supporting mersquo says the young woman who could have so easily milked her situation for sympathyInstead shersquos all set to move on lsquoEnough said enough heard I have completely gone past the whole incident hellipthis episode does not deserve any more attentionrsquoRESPECTBetween the LinesTaking their cue from the migratory pattern of foreign dignitaries of exotic plumage from far and near some of the countryrsquos leading and most groovy litthinkcultural shebangs have either wound down are in a state of indolent fabulousness or revving upRecently Mumbai Goa and soon Jaipur have been in a state of suspended self congratulation as cultural and intellectual gladiators from near and far schmoosed over seminars sound bytes and Sauvignon Blanc And when you have so many dishy authors and authoresses rubbing their Hidesign rucksacks and Bombay Electric scarves with equally dishy publishers playwrights and poets whatrsquos a bit of flirtation between the seminarsA lot can happen between the sheets of manuscripts and other things and it doesKeeping this in mind the wry morning after meme posted on Facebook by a sultry flamehaired authoress kind of summed up the sexy vibe in the airlsquoAlways go to bed with a good book or someone whorsquos written onersquo she postedIndeedDesigned in IndiaTherersquos a lot of optimism and good cheer surrounding todayrsquos meeting between the countryrsquos leading designers and Minister of State independent charge for Textiles Santosh Gangwar scheduled to take place this morning at the Taj Landrsquos End Initiated by BJP leader Shaina NC who also happens to be a designer itrsquos a result of the PMrsquos lsquoMake in Indiarsquo impetus according to its organisersAnita Dongre and Rina DhakaldquoThis is a platform where I have requested prominent designers like Ritu Kumar Sandeep Khosla Wendell Rodricks Rina Dhaka Anita Dongre Manish Malhotra and Vikram Phadnis to create the best textiles and take them to the international market as part of Modijirsquos vision It will be a collaborative between Govt of India and the fashion fraternityrdquo said ShainaSandeep Khosla and Manish MalhotraAnd whereas Rodricks had begged off due to a prior commitment others who we spoke to last evening like Manish Malhotra and Sandeep Khosla were enthused about the meetingldquoSince the last three years I have worked a lot in Kashmir and with Mijwan the NGO run by Shabana Azmi in Azamgarh where from 40 women to now 150 we have witnessed a blossoming of chikankari craft in a younger newer wayrdquo said MalhotraldquoI am looking forward to working with Banaras weavers In this sea of design and social media I think its important to revive Indiarsquos textileembroideries and present them in a language of todayrdquo he said ldquoWe are really looking forward to this meeting and we would be stressing on getting back to make the best chiffons georgettes organzas in pure silk and also a khadi road map for weaving more and more handspun fine khadi cottons and silksrdquo said KhoslaldquoWe would love to revive classic Benaras weaves with a modern twist We totally believe in made in India and that is a part of Abu and my design philosophyrdquo he saidWill this be the muchawaited breakthrough for Indian fashionrsquos debut internationally Fingers crossed