A fleeting glance at Fleet Street (and other alleys)

Molly Ivins, The Texas Observer columnist once famously said: “I don't so much mind that newspapers are dying --- it's watching them commit suicide that pisses me off.” Had she been alive to witness The News of the World’s (NoW) demise, the irreverent political commentator would have pulled out all stops in calling a hack a hack (given ‘hacking’ is the flavour of the season on Fleet Street).

Which brings us to another question. Would things have turned out different had NoW been headed by someone other than the marmalade-haired Rebekah Brooks? Had some bloke called Hack-neyed Storey helmed it, would it have toned down the criticism against this epic print version of The Devil Wears Prada?

I – someone who converts coffee into copy (another borrowed line) -- think not. And before this is taken to be a defence of the street where truth and veracity pay only a fleeting visit, let’s say it like it is. It would have. Because --- all talk of feminism and parity at the workplace notwithstanding --- for women in media, the glass ceiling only seems to be getting higher.

Shift the drama to India and media coverage of the lead players would put the hinterland’s ‘journals’ ---- Manohar Kahaniyan and Satya Kathayein ---- to shame. Case study one: A famous (not popular) tv journalist’s marital status and her interest in the affairs of her spouse’s disputed home state would come under heavy fire – both from right-wingers and from those afflicted with temporary sexual dysfunction at the sight of assertive females. Case study two: Then there would be sly, malicious hints dropped about a Maoist-sympathising editor having ‘compromised’ to become a name to reckon with at her feisty weekly.

Buried under the reams of newsprint rotting at the raddiwalla’s, of course, would be the years of hard work and late nights, the jibes, ribald jokes and innuendos spewing forth from colleagues, that female journalists resign themselves to.

That India has not had an Elizabeth Brenner (executive VP, Journal Communications, Associated Press) or a Katherine Weymouth (Publisher, Washington Post) speaks volumes – in banner headlines – about the country’s media. It also raises (uncomfortable) questions about the mindset – of both men and women -- that puts affiliation and networking before professionalism and merit.

Where, for every Homai Vyarawalla, Mrinal Pande or Prabha Dutt becoming a household name, 20 others give up the ‘fight’ midway. Leaving one to wonder if Paul E Schindler Jr was being cheeky or prophetic when he said, “Every word I wrote was ephemeral, as evanescent as baby's breath, and had the shelf life of fish.”

Gastronomic threat to Manali’s fragile ecosystem

Tourists in Manali are nibbling away at the environment, literally. With wood-fired ovens being all the rage at this popular tourist destination in Himachal Pradesh, the already-depleting forest cover here has been further endangered.

From upscale restaurants in New Manali to more affordable ones in Old Manali, every eating joint --- worth its olives and jalapenos --- has strategically placed a board announcing “wood-fired oven pizzas” at its entrance. It’s a surefire way to lure hordes of tourists on the lookout for newer experiences.

Yet, no one seems to be paying heed to this gastronomic threat to a fragile alpine ecosystem. Rough estimates suggest trees are being chopped daily (during the peak tourist season of April to June) to keep numerous wood fired ovens going in Manali and nearby areas like Vashisht, Solang Valley and Naggar.

“It’s what tourists want. We are forced to cater to this growing demand. It’s about market dynamics,” says a restaurant owner in Old Manali, refusing to be named. “We only use firewood from dead trees. We, too, care about the environment,” says the proprietor of one of the oldest eating joints here, popular with foreign tourists.

That tourists and their tastes --- in all senses of the word --- dictate trends in Manali is a given. So much so, that the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC)-owned Kunzam Café (on Mall Road) has fallen in line and offers tourists pizzas baked in wood-fired ovens.

This, despite the HPTDC website claiming to use only ‘dead, diseased and decaying trees’ for ‘bonafide requirements’ of locals. GS Thakur, District Forest Officer (DFO), Publicity, Himachal Pradesh says, “Only dead trees, not green trees, are cut for firewood. Also, fuel wood is sold only from registered sources, like the forest corporation depot.” Thakur adds, “If someone uses fuel wood from any other source, it’s illegal.”


Yet, the threat to forest cover in the area is immediate. “In May 2009, per capita fuel wood consumption at Kohlibher village near Kullu was 31.24 kg,” says Dr JC Kuniyal, a senior scientist at the Kullu-based GB Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development. With an estimated 16 lakh tourists frequenting Kullu-Manali annually, the already-strained green cover here is groaning under stress.

Add to it vehicular emissions and the problem grows manifold. Dr Kuniyal points out, “A 2005 study ---- Trend of atmospheric aerosols over the north-western Himalayan region ---- shows that the level of air pollution over the sensitive area of north-western Himalayas (under which Kullu-Manali falls) is increasing due to high anthropogenic (caused or produced by humans) activities.”

Shalini Rai

Delhi's Alter-nate reality

In a new film, Tom Alter plays a historian-with-a-gun, giving a crash course in the history of the city of djinns and in life itself

Teacher, sports journalist, author, film and theatre actor. Tom Alter has donned several hats in a career spanning about 40 years, with effortless élan. So, whether it was essaying the role of Lord Mountbatten in Ketan Mehta’s critically-acclaimed Sardar or bringing alive Maulana Azad in an eponymous play or even playing the firang characters that the man on the street best knows him for, the actor who does not carry a mobile phone has a wide canvas that he splashes with the brilliant hues of his talent.

In his latest outing on the creativity boulevard, Alter does his bit to alter the way people view the Capital of India, by playing a historian-with-a-gun. “I grew up in north India, so Delhi has been my favourite city,” says Alter, who plays historian Anil in the forthcoming film With Love, Delhi.

“The historical monuments of Delhi have been preserved very well. It achieves two objectives. One, it makes people think about history. Two, it makes more open spaces available in the teeming metropolis,” says Alter, whose character Anil is out to avenge a historic wrong in the film, that also stars other veterans like Kiran Kumar and Seema Biswas.

In the movie, Anil kidnaps builder Karan Khanna (Kiran Kumar) and sends clues related to the cultural heritage and monuments of Delhi to Khanna’s daughter Priyanka (Pariva Pranati), who is helped by her history student friend Ashish (Ashish Lal).

“The film has a lot of historical background weaved into the story. It is a very different film,” says Seema Biswas, who plays the mother of Ashish.

Made by two IIT-Delhi students – Ashish Lal and Ashutosh Matela – and a chartered accountant – Manav Vigg – the film has been directed by Nikhil Singh and edited by Namrata Rao (of Band Bajaa Baraat and Ishqiya fame).

“We thought of integrating the rich legacy of Delhi with an engaging plot and then approached Tom Alter, Kiran Kumar and Seema Biswas,” says Ashish Lal, a 2005 IIT-Delhi graduate. “The film covers several well-known monuments like Bangla Sahib Gurudwara, Khooni Darwaza and Iron Pillar, while racing towards an engrossing end,” he adds.
Adds Alter, who received a Padma Shri in 2008, “The film has an interesting storyline. All of us (including Biswas, Kumar) decided to be part of it to give a chance to these youngsters, who have done a very good job with the film.”


The Thomas Alter Affair

Clues that lead to Delhi’s famous monuments:
A well in a pond, a ruler once called it home
Serving the poor and the sick, departed the 8th one – Bangla Saheb Gurudwara, built in the memory of Guru Har Kishan, the 8th Sikh guru

The sunset of the last Empire was bloody red
I have seen the cheering crowds and a hanging head -- Khooni Darwaza, that stood witness to the end of the Mughal Empire, with the killing of Bahadur Shah Zafar’s two sons and a grandson

The ‘H’openhagen summit

Environmentalists feel the climate change conference at Copenhagen will carry weight only if participating nations reach a conscientious agreement to arrest global warming

Twelve years after the Kyoto Protocol, touted as the definitive international agreement to arrest global warming, was adopted by world nations in Kyoto, Japan, under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC), global warming remains as pressing a problem as it was prior to 1997. So, as the Copenhagen Summit gets underway from today and continues till December 18, the need for a seminal climate change agreement has never been more urgently felt. However, going by past reluctance of developed countries to commit to legally-binding carbon emission cuts and disinclination of developing nations to agree to discriminatory carbon burden-sharing, the outcome of the Copenhagen Summit is anybody’s guess.

“It’s been a pattern with developed nations; all these years, they have been breaking all the rules that they expect developing nations to follow,” says Ramachandran of Kalpavriksh, a Pune-based environment action group. “For sustainable development, it’s imperative that developed nations, the biggest polluters, start by conserving energy and human resources, before dictating terms to others,” he adds.

With the early effects of global warming now being increasingly felt, it can no longer be pushed under the carpet, as has been done in the years since the Kyoto Protocol was approved. And hence, the Copenhagen (also dubbed Hope-nhagen by environmentalists) summit assumes much significance. “We can no longer afford to postpone a decision on global warming. All development till date has been uneven and lopsided, in favour of developed countries. To top it, these nations create environmental mess and then want developing countries to clean it up. This has to stop,” asserts Dharmaraj Patil of Centre for Environment Education (CEE), Pune.

With Prime Minister Manmohan Singh recently announcing his decision to be present at Copenhagen, Denmark on December 17, just days after India (the world’s fourth biggest emitter) announced its aim to cut carbon intensity by 20-25 percent (by 2020 compared to 2005 levels), the consensus reached at Copenhagen is bound to have long-term implications for both our planet and the future of humanity. However, as Patil puts it, “Developed nations must make common cause with developing ones to save our planet; otherwise it will be too little, too late.” Continuing in the same vein, Ramachandran says rich nations are digging their own graves by refusing to accept the gaping reality of climate change. “The time for decisive action has arrived. There can be no further procrastination on this issue and everyone should realize this once and for all,” he adds on a sombre note.


Warming Up

· In 2012, the Kyoto Protocol to prevent climate changes and global warming runs out and there’s an urgent need for a new climate protocol. Hence, the Copenhagen Summit
· Government representatives from 170 countries expected to be present at the 11-day-long summit, from Dec 7 to 18, along with NGOs, journalists and others
· ‘Burden-sharing’ to be the point of contention at the summit. Climate scientists say by 2050, the world must cut emissions by 80 per cent compared with 1990 levels to limit global warming
· A Guardian poll reveals almost nine out of 10 climate scientists doubt political efforts to restrict global warming to an additional two degree centigrade average rise — the level the European Union defines as ‘dangerous’ — will succeed

The fountainhead

Speaking at the first Architect Achyut Kanvinde Memorial Lecture, Balkrishna Doshi hailed him as the pioneer of modern architecture in India




“Although he came from an art deco architecture background, there was an aspiration in him, an aspiration to do something different in a country where things were changing at a fast pace, everyday,” said renowned architect Balkrishna Doshi, while delivering the keynote address at the first Architect Achyut Kanvinde Memorial Lecture at the Chandrashekhar Auditorium at the Inter-university Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) on November 21. “I believe as an architect, you cannot create what you are not, and going by this diktat, Kanvinde came across as a humane, sensitive individual. His buildings spoke volumes about his humanity and also indicated that he was searching for his own self, through his works,” Joshi added.

With his signature buildings, including the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur, National Science Centre, Delhi, National Institute of Immunology (NII), Pune, numerous dairy buildings under National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) and several other works, Kanvinde left his mark on the modern school of architecture, in fact, being one of the pioneers of the movement. “It was a time when everyday something new was being created and India was just coming to terms with its newly-acquired independent status. Kanvinde gave full rein to his innate creativity in such a charged environment,” said Doshi, speaking of the period (1950-60) in which Kanvinde created masterpieces in stone and concrete.

“In each of his buildings, whether residential, commercial or government complexes, one can see an attempt to break away from traditional architectural design and yet, design them keeping in mind all the aspects conducive to a great building (such as climate, use of space, orientation and aesthetics),” revealed Doshi to a packed auditorium on a chilly Saturday evening. “His ultimate concern was for his profession and for society and that came through quite effortlessly in all his works. Kanvinde traveled extensively across the country and always made it a point to carry books and magazines along. He used to say the long travels gave him time to read, reflect and introspect. Kanvinde’s stellar contribution can be summed up succinctly as that depicting plasticity, humility and humanity,” he added.