Indholdsfortegnelse for September 5, 2016 i India Today

Ever since Partition, the India-Pakistan relationship has been like a rollercoaster ride with more downs than ups. Like sworn enemies, we have fought four wars against each other, and like ‘scar’-crossed lovers, our heads of state have embraced at peace summits that eventually came to naught. Over the decades, there has been great confusion in India about how to deal with Pakistan, a trait that has also marked the Narendra Modi regime. Soon after coming to power in May 2014, Modi surprised the world by inviting his Pakistani counterpart, Nawaz Sharif, for his swearing-in ceremony. But foreign secretary talks between the two countries were called off after Pakistan’s High Commissioner to India, Abdul Basit, met Kashmiri separatist leaders, before bridges were built again on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation…

NO BRICS UNTURNED The Indian government has been left somewhat surprised by a request from China for its foreign minister Wang Yi to visit Goa before his talks in New Delhi in August. Wang used the visit to personally inspect arrangements ahead of President Xi Jinping’s October visit to the state for the BRICS summit. While such a task is usually left to embassy officials, the fact that no one less than the foreign minister was doing so is being seen as yet another sign of Xi’s unrivalled stature as China’s most powerful, most imperious leader in decades. AKHILESH’S MUGHAL GARDEN Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav’s home district Etawah is all set to develop a theme park based on the epic 1960 film, Mughal-e-Azam. The state’s tourism secretary Navneet…

The Indian education sector is in a most exciting phase. New-age terms like digitisation, open access, skills education, machine learning, customised programmes and delivery, integrated learning have given the sector an unmistakable buzz that makes it exciting for learners, educators, policymakers and other stakeholders. The biggest beneficiary of this phenomenon is unquestionably the learner who is at the centre of the education ecosystem. Their needs and preferences today influence and determine teaching pedagogies, curricula and delivery methods. But the single biggest transformation for the learners is in the career choices they can make today. Gone are the days of predetermined career options and fixation with traditional streams— the booming Indian economy combined with greater access to global information, peer influence and evolving parental mindsets has given rise to several new…

Do you find it impossibly hard to keep track of your income and expenses? Don’t despair, a range of personal finance apps can now handle the chore for you. Here’s a list of some of the popular ones: MONEY VIEW Categorises expenses and helps keep a monthly budget; tracks bank balance, credit card dues and loan EMIs; sends reminders on pending bills, displays them all in one place and allows you to make singleclick payments Ratings: Android: 4.3 SPLIT WISE One of the best group expense calculators; keeps tabs on overall expenses, splits them between flatmates or friends, with a list of who is owed what Ratings: Android: 4.6; iOS: 4+ WALNUT SMS analysis feature helps track money in your accounts and credit card spend. Also charts your spending on…

THE POAC HER WHO DOES THE KILLING GETS ABOUT Rs 4,000 A KG FOR THE SCALES. BY THE TIME THE CONTRABAND CROSS ES THE BORDER, IT HAS BEEN THROUGH 8-10 MIDDLEMEN AND COSTS ABOUT Rs 80,000 A KG IN NOVEMBER 2015, CUSTOMS OFFICIALS IN SOUTHERN GUANGDONG PROVINCE, CHINA, SEIZED THEIR BIGGEST HAUL— A FISHING BOAT WITH 2,674 DEAD PANGOLINS For a little over a year now, wildlife sleuths in Madhya Pradesh have noticed that the chatter in the poaching world revolves around an innocuous animal whose conservation numbers no one really saw earlier as a cause for concern. But the male obsession with aphrodisiacs and applications in traditional Chinese and Tibetan medicine have ensured that the Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata), a largely nocturnal mammal that measures 3-5 feet and weighs…

Fashion lumbers into your consciousness at least twice a year, the way the world views beauty and even if you are not particularly fashion forward. The transition from Spring/ Summer to Autumn/Winter is a classic time to shed nostalgia and gear up for the winter months when partying is a religion and looking good the norm. In this issue, as we prepare for that fashionable transition, we invite scepticism into the mix as we debate what works and what doesn’t. There are the tried and tested fashion designers and then there is the new lot; made up of people who are distinctive, edgy, ambitious and international. In the cover story, we profile five such designers who are being dubbed the new superstars of Indian fashion. What makes them so special?…

1 ROKSANDA ‘SONIA’ TOP It’s all about having fun with sleeves this season. The multicoloured cotton blend Sonia top from Roksanda brings back eccentricity to sleeves. The colours, fine lines and structure is a must-have for your wardrobe. Price $997 Buy from www.farfetch.com 2 MARTHA MEDEIROS HIGH-WAISTED LACE SHORTS Romance comes back with the lace this season. These blue cotton high-waisted lace shorts from Martha Medeiros works well with off-shoulder tops or minimal corsets. They are comfortable, classy and very much in style. Price $355 Buy from www.lyst.com 3 ANYA HINDMARCH CROSS-BODY BAG Bringing luxury, art and craft together with a dash of humour, the Anya Hindmarch Bathurst cross-body bag with the Space Invaders lock, is handcrafted in Italy. This everyday companion is a real keeper. Price £1,995 Buy from www.anyahindmarch.com 4 TOM…

TOP TECH BURCH X FITBIT Fitness, gold plated MISFIT SHINE Sleep tracker, attach to jewellery or jammies MICA by OPENING CEREMONY OLED screen inside, snakeskin outside MIRA Jewel-toned smartness BELLABEAT LEAF Stress and sleep tracker In the modern woman’s lexicon, diamonds aren’t a girl’s best friend. A pompous diamond ring, irrespective of an astronomical price tag, doesn’t hold a candle to a chunky cocktail ring that’s labelled ‘smart’. This is for the sort of woman who chucks her heels for leopard print pumps and pencil skirts for palazzos. The things she owns are picked out with a lack of ceremony, but more often than not are from brands particular about employing responsible practices down the supply chain. In a market swamped with glitz, she has an uncanny ability of honing…

The great scholar, traveller and explorer, Ibn Battuta once wrote—“travelling leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.” Battuta’s words couldn’t have resonated with us more. For, the two of us got a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be part of the Indo-Italian trade meet in Italy organised by the Bengal Chamber of Commerce in association with the Embassy of India, Rome. We were truly speechless with the enchanting country, and despite spending days of planning, reading up and doing research on the country, we found ourselves not sticking to the plan at all. Instead, we celebrated every bit of the Italian sojourn by taking things slow. We stuck to walking, finding our way through the labyrinth of each city, exploring it in the best way one can do—on foot. Aware…

Celebrating the freedom warriors who have fought tirelessly for our rights “The fascinating stories of grit and perseverance in the special issue made for a heart-warming read. The exceptional people who have helped the nation move towards a more inclusive India deserve a salute.” KRISHAN KALRA, via e-mail Between the Patidars and a Throne The appointment of Vijay Rupani as Gujarat chief minister reaffirms the obvious: that after Prime Minister Modi, it’s Amit Shah whose writ runs in the state (The Predicament of Vijay Rupani). Rupani pipped frontrunner Nitin Patel, who had apparently been assured that the mantle was his. Patel, incidentally, hails from the dominant Patidar community. The decision was a momentous one, given that a victory in Gujarat in 2017 will give BJP the boost it needs for…

Offensive defence. The phrase is an oxymoron that originates from the adage, “the best defence is a good offence”. The principle behind it is to be proactive rather than passive when attacked, thereby regaining the strategic advantage and cramping an opponent’s ability to launch a counter-offensive. Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu was a key advocate of this idea, as was Italian philosopher and diplomat Niccolo Machiavelli. George Washington had employed it to good effect more than 200 years ago when he fought America’s War of Independence. Mao Zedong, too, was a firm believer of the tactic while leading the 1949 Chinese Revolution. Now, Prime Minister Narendra Modi joins the long list of leaders who have sought to employ this curiously phrased approach to their advantage. In his Independence Day address…

THERE were several ways to watch the Rio Olympics. You could wake up early in the mornings to marvel at the two greatest athletes in history, Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt, as they pushed the boundaries of human excellence in the winter of their careers. You could follow the medals table and wonder how the United States won across 25 disciplines, and how Britain managed to pip China in a photo-finish for second place. Or you could assiduously follow the fortunes of India’s largest-ever contingent and rue how another Games had gone by without the national anthem being played and the tricolour hoisted only on two occasions. These ways of following the Olympics were not mutually exclusive, and any superficial analysis would leave Indian fans bemoaning a series of lost…

President Barack Obama defined the India-US relationship as a transformative and defining partnership of the 21st century. As his two-term presidency draws to a close, Group Editorial Director Raj Chengappa, in an exclusive interview with US Ambassador to India Richard Rahul Verma, 47, assesses just how far relations with India progressed under Obama’s tenure and what more needs to be done. Excerpts: Do you think, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, that India and the US have finally overcome the hesitations of history? Yes. We both had what he calls the hesitations of history. I refer to it as a gravitational pull, and we are trying to break out of its orbit. Because there were forces holding us back. And many of those were in the past. And I think it’s…

Number of Malayalees in the Gulf, based on the Kerala Migration Survey, 2013 Malayalee El Dorado Migrant Malayalees remit upward of Rs 1 lakh crore a year (mostly from the Gulf) to Kerala banks, becoming a prime driver of the state’s economy. The vast majority of the 2.6 million Gulf Malayalees are blue-collar workers. And more than half are in the UAE and Saudi Arabia For 57yearold Kunju panicker Vijayan, Jeddah is a more fam iliar place than his native Elavumthitta village in the Pathanamthitta district of Kerala. He has lived in this Saudi Ara bian city for most of the past 35 years, working initially as a cook, one of the many jobs he’s tried in his time here. He’s currently a security guard with Electro Industries Company, a…

Laid in India is Dave Besseling’s book-length profile of Sid Malhotra, who scours the streets of Bandra for women to pick up. Malhotra (not his real name) is a self-styled PUA, a pickup artiste, capable of chatting up any woman, anytime, anywhere and securing a digit-close, a kiss-close, or an F-close. A digit-close is persuading the object of one’s desire to part with her number, a kissclose is inveigling a kiss and an F-close you can work out for yourself. Malhotra takes much of his method and his jargon from a bestselling 2005 book called The Game by erstwhile music journalist Neil Strauss. Before The Game, in 1999, Tom Cruise played Frank T.J. Mackey in Magnolia, a character loosely based on Ross Jeffries, who in the early ’90s offered men…

Neeraj Pandey’s refurbished office in Lokhandwala in Mumbai can look strangely deceptive to those who follow his movies. The bookshelf boasts of action figurines of Iron Man, Ant-Man and Deadpool, graphic novels by Craig Thompson and Osamu Tezuka’s eight-volume manga series on Buddha, among other things. It’s in stark contrast to his film aesthetic. “The stories that excite me are set in the world that I belong to,” he says. “I get driven by something that’s about everyday, common people.” In his nine-year-long film career, Pandey has directed three films for his production house, Friday Filmworks. In 2008, there was A Wednesday, for which he wrote the famous outburst, articulated by Naseeruddin Shah, expressing the frustrations of the common man with government apathy and state of affairs. He made audiences…

NISHAT FATIMA Fashion Writer Nishat Fatima is an author, journalist and photographer currently based in Hyderabad. She was editor of Harper’s Bazaar India before moving to Paris to study photography. Her work has appeared in India’s top fashion magazines including Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue and Elle. She is the author of a book on Suneet Varma and the rom com Seriously, Sitara? Her loves include cats, croissants and coffee. ANTONIO DE MATTEIS CEO, Kiton Born in Naples in 1964, Antonio De Matteis started his career as an agent for his uncle, Ciro Paone, founder of Kiton, in 1986. In 1990, he was appointed as sales director for the company and promoted to global sales manager in 2000. In 2007 he was nominated Chief Executive Officer of the group by Ciro Paone.…

Pirouetting gems craft a delightful dance of colour, lustre and finery that is meticulously tailored by the finest jewellers from Chopard for their Precious Chopard collection. The new haute joaillerie collection sets the stage for a dream ballet of blooming petals and the joyful flurry of a whirling tutu finely wrought with a lacework of creativity and craftsmanship. The watches are set with pear-shaped and brilliant-cut diamonds, sapphires, emeralds and rubies. The dials that match the baguette-cut gems surround a dainty corolla to evoke a floral motif using the snow-setting technique. The timepieces are fitted with bracelets that use a lacework theme or brightly coloured brushed fabric straps. This watch (above) is crafted from 18-carat white gold and set with pear-shaped emeralds (6 carats), brilliant-cut emeralds (1.9 carats), tapered baguette-cut…

Last year, fashion’s ultimate editor Anna Wintour said she thought trend was a dirty word. Yet you can believe that her magazine will, for the next few months, be all about what the new trends are for Fall 2016. The one constant in fashion is change, and what Wintour probably meant is that following a trend does not make you fashionable. The days of being able to sum up a season with one look, or one word are over, thankfully. Fashion is finally celebrating personal style so that grunge and glamour can co-exist in one season; what is stylish is adapting trends to suit you. Which is why now fashion celebrates many different trends each season, for instance, this season while there is a return to old style glamour, there…

It’s no secret that Marais is one of the coolest areas in Paris. Its charms have been extolled often enough; from Place des Vosges to Musee Picasso and Rue des Rosiers. The paths to its myriad boutiques and vintage stores are well trod. Haut-Marais, the northern portion of the Marais, on the other hand is still relatively unexplored, not yet the tourist drag. That’s perhaps why its offerings, the coolest in the area, are still not common knowledge. LE CARREAU DU TEMPLE My first visits to this covered market were during Paris Fashion Week for Hedi Slimane’s fast paced Saint Laurent shows. But during the rest of the year the Carreau, which reopened in 2014, plays host to a plethora of events—literary, cultural, gastronomic, home, and fashion. Watch out for…

MICHAEL KORS 1 PORTIA Be on trend with the Portia in Serenity—the Pantone colour of the year. A polished top handle and adjustable straps make it functional yet modish. Price Rs 36,000 2 KIRBY A classic signature bag by Kors, the Kirby can be carried over the shoulder or on the elbow. like a statement accessory. Price Rs 31,500 3 BRIDGETTE Its understated elegance makes this versatile tote a class apart. Made with Saffiano leather, the bag has a dual carriage option making it convenient for everyday use. Price Rs 34,000 JIMMY CHOO 1 RILEY AMBER This suede tote is all class and elegance for the perfect day-to-night look. Its formal yet casual appeal works with almost everything in your wardrobe. Price Rs 93,000 2 CARA BLACK What makes this…

It was the UPA that created unprecedented opportunity for extended patronage, but the NDA government has embraced the tradition willingly What is it that makes the Modi government so singularly inept and insensitive in the matter of high-level appointments that it seems to stagger from one controversy to another? The reported appointment of a retired administrator with no track record in the world of scholarship and historical research as the director of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library is the latest in the series of ham-handed appointments the government has bullied through, provoking one of the few leading public intellectuals who have been largely sympathetic to it— Pratap Bhanu Mehta—to tender his resignation from the executive committee of the institution. What is shocking is not just the crass way in…

MAY 26, 2014 Modi invites Nawaz Sharif along with other heads of South Asian states for his swearing-in ceremony AUGUST 19, 2014 India calls off foreign secretary-level talks after Pakistani envoy meets Kashmiri separatists JULY 10, 2015 Modi and Sharif meet in the Russian city of Ufa and issue a joint statement condemning all forms of terror; Pakistan’s NSA cancels his Delhi visit a month later after being asked for an assurance that talks will be confined to the issue of terrorism DECEMBER 25, 2015 Narendra Modi makes an unscheduled visit to Lahore to attend Sharif’s granddaughter Mehr-un-Nisa’s wedding; a week earlier, India and Pakistan agree to a Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue JANUARY 2, 2016 Barely a week later, the IAF base in Pathankot, Punjab, is attacked by four suspected Pak…

IT’S the same old story every four years. The frenzy begins at the Opening Ceremony. People from across our nation start baying for medals as if it’s our birthright. There are celebrations, there are felicitations. There is criticism of the athletes who fail to win. There is an uproar against our self-serving officials. There are sarcastic references to how a nation of one billion hardly wins any medals. Then, by the time the Closing Ceremony comes along, this frenzy peters out. It is sent into hibernation to be reawakened before the next Olympics. We, in India, are suffering from a strange syndrome. We think we ought to be among the top sporting nations in the world, but in reality, we are confused about what kind of sporting nation we are,…

4 WAYS TO BREAK DOWN DIABETES OVER 422 MILLION PEOPLE LIVE WITH DIABETES across the world, 69.1 million in India—the diabetes hub of the world. It’s a chronic disease with serious consequences, unless managed well with lifestyle and medicine TYPE-1, 5-10% OF ALL CASES, USUALLY OCCURS in children and young adults. Here, the body does not produce insulin (the hormone that carries glucose from blood to cells) but breaks down sugar and starch from food OVER 90-95% ADULTS SUFFER FROM Type-2 diabetes, a lifelong disease in which there is a high level of sugar in the blood. Here insulin is produced, but the body becomes resistant to it HORMONAL CHANGES DURING PREGNANCY— around the 24th week— often develop into Gestational Diabetes. It doesn’t mean diabetes lies latent or that it…

Islamic Exceptionalism: How the Struggle over Islam is Reshaping the World by Shadi Hamid Macmillan US Pages 320 Price Rs 374 ISLAM’S POSITION IN SOUTH ASIA WAS ARGUABLY THE QUESTION OF THE 20TH CENTURY, AND IT MAY BE THAT OF THE 21ST TOO You may not care about Islam, but Islam cares about you. I say this not because Islam is a religion of universal salvation but because there are 57 member states in the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and over 1.5 billion Muslims. Islam is the fastest growing of the major world religions. Whether you accept the religion of Islam as true or not, the sheer number of Muslims in the world means that Islam will impact you. Islam’s position within South Asia was arguably the question of…

RUEFUL REPRISAL Anupam Kher adds yet another international project to his 450-plus filmography. The actor is heading to Adelaide for Hotel Mumbai, a film based on the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, also starring Dev Patel and Jason Isaacs. SWAP FEST It seems that Akshay Kumar and Arshad Warsi have a give-and-take relationship. Kumar replaced Warsi in the sequel to National Awardwinning Jolly LLB. And now, Warsi is co-star to Amitabh Bachchan in Aankhen 2. NAWAZ CAN DANCE SAALA Such is Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s acting prowess that we do not see him in songand-dance sequences. That’s set to change, as he shakes a leg alongside Tiger Shroff in Sabbir Khan’s Munna Michael. ON THE MOVE Katrina Kaif’s break-up blues are long over. The newly social-media friendly actor is having a ball in…

Master of Quirk Abin Chaudhuri, 41 Architect, Abin Design Studio Winning the illustrious International Architecture Award from the Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and being regularly featured in Architectural Digest India’s list of top 50 architects is no mean feat for even the most seasoned architects. But Abin Chaudhari wears his laurels with an unassuming air. Chaudhuri’s love for mathematics helped him crack the entrance test for the architecture course at Jadavpur University. After brief stints at architectural firms, he studied industrial design in Domus Academy in Milan and came back to start the Abin Design Studio. One of his firm’s biggest turning points turned out to be getting a chance to design the building to house International Management Institute (IMI), Kolkata. Bigger projects swiftly came along after…