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Tuesday, Apr 08, 2008
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New Delhi

Inside delhi

Music or cacophony?

Distinguished orthopaedics at a convention in the Capital this past weekend were in for a shock. After the requisite motions of exchanging niceties, public speaking and collective back-slapping were over and done with, the dignitaries were subjected to an ear-shattering performance by the Indian band “Bandish” which, in a thoughtful modification of the evening’s play list, restricted itself to Westernised adaptations of popular Bollywood numbers.

With most of the audience well into their forties and several more way past, it was amusing to note their reactions on being pummelled by what was essentially an energised, vigorous gig more suited to a campus rock show or a private farmhouse party.

While some senior bone specialists were seen cringing at the first note and heading straight for the lounge area, others chose to stick around to sample some more of the throbbing bass and jarring guitar. The lounge brigade, however, made a sheepish return to their seats moments later, after they detected that the organisers had, in a remarkable display of foresight, ordered the bar closed till such time that the “cultural” extravaganza was over. Later, once the sluice-gates of dinner and drinks were officially declared open, “Bandish” front man Chris Powell mused over the Indian music scene and how most contemporary bands found themselves imprisoned by popular tastes that were largely confined to Hindi film music or its rehashed and remixed versions. “We have to submit to public demand in lining up tracks for an album because that is what determines sales. You and me might listen to the Ramones and The Clash, but for sure no one else does,” he added.

Kunal Diwan

Undeterred satyagrahis

The searing summer sun, a constant clamour from the machines and an unresponsive government, none of these has failed to deter or discourage the “Yamuna satyagrahis”. With support for their cause trickling in from across socio-economic sections, they are showing more resilience in their efforts to save the Yamuna and its flood plains.

Under a colourful canopy on the banks of the dying river, where clouds of dust have blurred the greens, the Yamuna satyagrahis have begun a relay hunger strike. Their protest, which completed 250 days this past weekend, remains impervious to the State Government’s refusal to stop construction of the Commonwealth Games Village on the Yamuna flood plains. Unperturbed by the vagaries of the weather and occasional browbeating by the authorities, these activists have been camping behind the sprawling Akshardham Temple complex on the flood plains, pressurising the Government to shift the venue of the Games Village.

Joining the volunteers on the first day of the relay fast were farmers, students, professionals and even some onlookers. While bright, colourful posers, pleading for survival of the river and its flood plains greeted the onlookers, the site resonated with specially chosen songs that the volunteers sang to keep their morale high.

The relay hunger strike will continue till the judgment of the Delhi High Court, which has been reserved since February 23, is pronounced.

Smriti Kak Ramachandran

Bilingual lexicon

More and more Hindi-speaking people are now eager to master English, just as an increasing number of Indians and foreigners are keen to learn Hindi through the medium of English. To meet the needs of such readers, an English-Hindi/Hindi-English thesaurus and dictionary was released in the Capital this past week.

Described as a landmark in bilingual lexicography, the three-volume Penguin English-Hindi/Hindi-English dictionary and thesaurus by Arvind Kumar and Kusum Kumar has been arranged thematically with two bilingual dictionaries and indexes.

Divided into 988 headings or word groups, the book has been further sub-divided into 25,562 sub-headings or sub-categories. It contains 548,330 expressions in all, of which 257,853 are in English and 290,477 in Hindi with cross-references to similar or opposite concepts.

Besides containing a vast repository of synonyms and antonyms in both languages, the dictionary-cum-thesaurus is a resourceful cross-cultural handbook that provides numerous references to help comprehend the concept in either language. It provides short indicative definitions, examples, samples and references to similar and opposite concepts to further help absorb the import behind a word.

The book has been designed to serve the needs of all Indians living anywhere in the world, who use or want to use either or both the languages, as well as all non-Indians who have anything to do with South Asia, who want to learn Hindi, increase their vocabulary and diction, and need to communicate fluently.

Madhur Tankha

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