THE POWER OF ONE

It is not everyday that one hears about someone marring himself in a wedding ceremony. But Kevin Nadal, a New Yorker, did just last year. He invited 32 of his close friends and got married to himself in a loft (which incidentally has been used as the location for one of the characters apartment in the well-known TV series, Sex and the City). What was Nadal thinking when he decided to publicly marry himself? The point the 27-year-old was trying to make is simple. He has been quoted as saying,"We always celebrate married life, why not single life? Single people are marginalised in our culture. People think you don't have the commitment to be in a relationship or you're too picky. Women have it tough. Heterosexual men, they get a free pass and are congratulated for being a 'player'. But for gay men and single women, there's a stigma because we don't have a partner." Singles across the world would agree wholeheartedly with Nadal. Infact, the success of Bridget Jones's Diary and its sequel and the spawning of the entire chick-lit genre in publishing comes from the fact that this "marginalised" section of modern society had found a 'voice'.

In a country like India, where getting married is de rigeur irrespective of gender, class, caste or religion, being single is considered to be a deadly malady, not to be contracted at any cost. Maybe a couple of Nadal-style weddings in India could help change a bit of that outdated mindset. After all we as a country have worshipped Ardhnarishwar, the half-man, half-woman avatar of Shiva for centuries now. There are other hidden and not so hidden benefits of this catching on as a trend. Apart from highlighting how singletons are being ignored as 'non-people' by the 'smug-marrieds', marrying oneself may solve a number of other issues like divorce, prewedding jitters, cheating spouses, interfering in-laws, dowry, forgotten birth and wedding anniversaries and such like. The world will also be able to get rid of complaining and nagging spouses forever, which can only be a good thing. Next time you are insensitive or boorish as spouses can often be to each other, remember that you will only have yourself to blame.

COLOUR MY WORLD

Spiderman needn't worry about birthday presents. His lifelong costume, comprising blue tights and a torsohugging blue and red jumper, could have betrayed his birth date to excited fans the world over. The only hitch is that these may be his favourite colours, but they aren't his birth colour. A wardrobe overhaul with a generous splash of the right colour may shield villains from getting too close to his skin. This time it's chic colour therapists to the rescue. The procedure is based on a combination of star signs, numerological vibrations of one's birth date and earth or element signs, an ingenious method that takes forward the quest for the ideal personality and inclinations. A birth colour is a personal colour, corresponding to the real you, to recognise, celebrate and honour the same. Everyone's been taught to recognise colours, but the knowledge of a particularly favourable colour needs tweaking. Along with reading toes, knuckles, thumbs, wearing coloured stones and armlets, this method seems equally scientific. When you're blue, don't you need a fiery orange to charge up or a peachy pink to soothe those nerves?Colour is vital to moods. Only now, you may have to suffice with revolting baked clay. The Green Goblin, Spiderman's arch enemy, has an underhand agreement with colour therapists. His colour corresponds to personality traits that are unassertive, prosperous and kind. Didn't he almost kill Spidey?

Broadly, everyone born on the same day shares a birth colour. I share my birthday with Sonu Nigam. Our birth colour is canyon rose. He is sexy, musical and grand, bang on target as per the description. I quit singing class after two months when I heard my voice filling the room. Birth colour indicates where there may be imbalances of colour, which point to a potential problem; whether emotional, physical, mental or spiritual and even personality issues, which need to be addressed. So whatever is missing from one's personality and lifestyle can be filled by the description in one's birth colour chart. Is it, therefore, time to give Spidey some new spicy orange tights?

VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY

Space probes Voyager 1 and 2 which were launched in 1977 to study the four giant outer planets during a five-year-long mission were not only spectacularly successful in their undertaking but are still functioning perfectly well in what is their 30th continuous year in space. Between them they've studied Jupiter's Great Red Spot and its many moons, returned photographs and information about Saturn's rings and provided the first close-up look at Uranus and Neptune. Subsequently, both probes managed to cross the orbit of the outermost planet Pluto and Voyager 1 has now reached the final frontier of our solar system after having traversed through a region known as termination shock, some 14 billion kilometres from the sun. Outside it lies the vastness of interstellar space. Once the spacecraft crosses this boundary, it will truly have gone where no spacecraft has gone before and its faint signals travelling even at the speed of light will take more than 11 hours to reach earth. Scientists say both Voyagers are capable of returning scientific data from a full range of instruments, with adequate electrical power and attitude control propellant to keep operating until 2020.

After that, of course, Voyager 1, followed by Voyager 2 a little later, will become more of drifter cruising through the emptiness of the space between the stars which is much vaster in scale than that found between the planets of our solar system. For instance, according to some calculations it could be 40,ooo years before either of them comes anywhere near another star's planetary system again. Their drifting, however, will not be altogether purposeless, for wherever they go, each of the Voyagers carries a golden phonograph record bearing messages from earth which include natural sounds of surf, wind, thunder and animals. There are also musical selections, spoken greetings in 55 languages, along with instructions and equipment on how to play the record. Interestingly, the probes also carry a kind of galactic route map describing their point of origin in the Milky Way galaxy. If these ever fall into intelligent alien hands and are deciphered by sentient entities it would mean they would know where to find us. Is that a good thing? Depends entirely on ET's intentions.

THE TICKET: MUSSOORIE MUSINGS

There are two Mussoories. One is the quickie Mussoorie, with the the usual suspects-the Mall, Gun Hill, the mandatory trolley ride in the cable car, the overcrowded and overrated Kempty Falls.... I take the road less travelled.

My first stop at the end of the picturesque climb from Dehradun is the Surya Hotel in Mussoorie. A 10-minute drive from the Mall, it nevertheless seems a world away, affording spectacular views in Landour and of the Mall. The sunset point is ideal for romance. At Captain Young's bar, named after town's founder, regulars include Tom Alter and Ruskin Bond.

Settled in, i decide to give Kempty Falls a miss, and drive instead to the quaintly-named Jharipani Falls. The denselywooded path the leads to the falls makes for an easy 1.8 km trek. Only bird calls break the soothing sounds of silence, till you hear the roar of the water. The best time to trek is morning to noon; this is leopard country after dusk!

In the late afternoon sun, i drove down a gravel road to Everest House, home of Sir George Everest, the first surveyor general of India, after whom the mountain is named. Although the house has been in ruins for many a year, it was here that great mountains like the Everest and rivers like the Brahmaputra were mapped out for the world. On the way to Everest House, i stop at what the locals call a wishing well, frequented by local newlyweds and politicians.I too, toss in a couple of coins and advance a wish list of my own. The well's location, amidst teak and deodar trees, makes it a must-visit.

As evening falls, i decide to make a concession to the mundane and stroll down to the Mall. What the Mall in Mussoorie lacks in style as compared with say, the Shimla Mall, it more than makes up for in simplicity. piping hot coffee is available at the Garhwal Terrace Restaurant, which offers a great view of the pine forests and hills. If you must shop, the Tibetan Bazaar offers smuggled goods, perfumes and clothing.

One Day Two, i visit picturesque, quiet Landour, the first residence in Mussoorie of the East India Company when Captain Young set it up in the early 1830s. A half-hour taxi ride (at Rs 100) takes you deep into the deodars. Ruskin Bond has penned many a story against this background. A 30-minute walk to Lal Tibba affords you a great view of the snowcapped Trishul range of the Himalayas on a clear day. Deodar Woods, a 75-year-old English cottage, is a great vantage point for the snow peaks and boasts an incredible bakery, where the pizza chef Raju is known all over Mussoorie for his cheese sausage pizzas.

Then on to Mussoorie's most exquisite destination-Clouds End. A little lower than Landour, and built in 1838, clouds End is one of Mussoorie's four original buildings which is still standing. The wooden main hall is imposing and has some of the oldest photographs of the Mall and surroundings areas, the establishment also boasts trophy heads of local game and an 80-year-old tiger skin inside. Clouds End is located on a hill top and offers a great bonus for visitor-Echo Point-in its compound.

AUNTY INTERRUPTED

We were all having tea when Myra came up with the idea of going for a movie. "Today! But....It's Valentine's Day", I said. "What is the problem in going for movie today?"asked Myra. Tina, who was a quiet spectator to this debate, replied sternly, "You boys are useless. When we girls don't have a problem, why the hell are you scared". "But, it's risky today. No matter what it may be, a boy and a girl together are branded as a couple", replied Anil. "Forget it, if they don't want to come it's their wish",replied a dejected Tina. Her words made us change our minds. We reached the theatre just in time. Myra and I sat in one row while Anil and Tina were in the row behind us. As we surveyed the hall, Myra whispered to me, "My aunt is sitting in the row behind us". This was the only aunt to her's we knew well. She was nicknamed Khadoos by Tina as we found her to be orthodox and narrow-minded. Girls talking to boys or befriending them was a big no-no for her.

I strained my neck slowly to get a glimpse of the aunt but couldn't. I grabbed a tissue from Myra and scribbled on it that Myra's Khadoos aunt was sitting in the same row as them and passed it to Anil and Tina. "A Valentine Day's experience" was Anil's reply. During the course of the movie I had a good look at the aunt. Myra sat comfortably in the confines of the dark hall but was swift to lean forward whenever the screen brightened. During intermission, we had to sit stiffly like statues with our palms partially covering our faces. Anil tapped Myra on her shoulder. He was offering us popcorn. I said in a stern whisper,"Can't you sit quietly? If I turn around aunty will see us". "You can turn. It's aunty who has sponsored the popcorn. The ice-cream is on its way". We turned around in tandem and saw Myra's khadoos aunt waving at us with a bright smile.

NET DEFICITS

The Internet no doubt challenges ignorance, but it is also a purvey0r of false information. It is decentralised and anarchic, since nobody controls or owns it. To borrow a phrase from al Biruni, it is a mixture of pearls, pebbles and dung. Yet, many people utterly believe what is posted on the Net. Newspapers tap the Net for background information. Hence, noted astronomer-mathematician Brahmagupta is placed in 628 BCE instead of CE 628. The Jantar Mantar observatory is said to have been employed for predicting eclipses. Not true. Predictions require mathematics not instruments. A newspaper described Aryabhata as "a scholar at the Nalanda university" and credited him with authoring the so-called "heliocentric theory of gravitation". We know very little about ancient astronomers, our only source being stray comments in tersely worded scientific shlokas by them or in those of their commentators. Some speculate that Aryabhata was head of Nalanda university. Even if this were true, it does not necessarily mean that he was a student there. A website even displays a picture of Aryabhata standing in front of his university! As for the heliocentric theory, this is illiteracy of the highest order. A mathematical theory is constructed so that it can have wide application. It can't be centred on the sun or anything else.

The Internet has 11,800 entries on Aryabhata. How does one decide which ones to reject? The Net also throws up problems of rigour. M.K. Gandhi is widely quoted as saying the earth has enough for everyone's need but not greed. Many versions of this statement are doing the rounds. Which are correct? Some Hindus in North America were the first Indians to use the Net. They have constructed an Indian past that would help them cope with their real or imagined problems in an alien setting. With dependence on the Net as a primary source of information growing, it is necessary to create an authentic web resource from an Indian perspective. Indian newspapers should form a consortium to set up an online Indipaedia or encyclopaedia Inica. A committed band of editors and contributors should prepare entries. This might seem like an ambitious and lone-drawn affair but may be worth the effort.

STAYING ALIVE

They say with advancement and development in society, life expectancy is getting longer. Even so, in this day and age it is rare to come across a centenarian, and rarer still is a super-centenarian who has crossed 110. Unlike the time when my elder brother grew up, there were many among them Garhwali who could then boast of more than one member in the family who had crossed a hundred. Documented in history are around 800 super-centenarians, doubtless a fraction of the number who have really lived, but the majority of claims to this age do not normally have sufficient documentary support to be regarded as valid. Three different types of documentation are used to verify age-birth or baptismal certificate, marriage certificate and census data.

Even though there may have been many more who lived beyond, it is widely believed that Jeanne-Louise Calment was the oldest human being having lived till the age of 122 years and 164 days and died in 1997. The oldest living man recognised by the Guinness Book is Shigechiyo Izumi who lived between 1865 to 1986. And the oldest human alive today is Hendrikie Van Andel of Netherlands who was born on June 29, 1890. A social visit to Sterling, Scotland for my friend Peter has assumed special significance on learning that his great-grand-aunt Lucy D' Abreu lives there. She just happens to be the oldest living human being today in the UK, who turned 113 on May 24. Of ethnic Indian origin and a Dehradun born in India in 1892, I know of her in the family as the widow of Abundius. And Peter's maternal grandmother Joyce who lives in Morpeth, Northemberland is Lucy's niece, her late mother Josephine being Lucy's first cousin. Lucy's age has been authenticated by the Guinness Book of World Records. There are only 11 other people around the world older to her, as per the records maintained by the Gerontology Group, affiliated with the UCLA School of Medicine, of the oldest people alive.

ROAD LESS TRAVELLED

Imagine a road dedicated to walkers. Imagine no blaring horns, runaway buses or trucks, no speeding cars, no cycles even. Further imagine this avenue linked with gnarled old tamarind and neem trees and the occasional flowering gulmohar or flaming dhak. Imagine charming little giraffe and elephant faces holding aloft dustbins at every few hundred metres. Imagine gentle, soulful piped music playing from speakers along the stretch of the road- morning ragas, classical symphonies, instrumental beats. Imagine the road measured and marked for the dedicated jogger or walker to keep track of how much she has done, imagine pretty roadside shelters with benches for the tired ones to rest and chat a bit or do a spot of pranayam. Imagine all this in the heart of Uttar Pradesh.

Impossible to imagine yet it exists. Lucknow, erstwhile city of nawabs and now better known for its dirty politics and dead poetesses, is home to just such a road. About four or so years ago the cantonment board in Lucknow put in place this unique experiment, and each year it only grows better. A 2.5 km stretch of the Kasturba road in Lucknow Cantt is simply shut to all vehicular traffic for two-three hours every morning and evening, and reserved for the pleasure of walkers. To me, this road is poetry in concrete, an ode to the fine pursuit of walking. It is equally an ode to democracy, for walking is a form of exercise all can avail.

The Waling Plaza, as the stretch is known, is a simple and great idea, and it would be simply wonderful if more cities were to emulate it. For only a fraction of the cost of creating new parks, our bustling, overcrowded cities can have green lungs for citizens to breathe fresh air in.

INSPIRING RIDE

It was a sweltering hot day and there was not a rickshaw in sight. Then from nowhere a ricksha-puller, wearing kutra-pajama, came and asked, "Were you looking for a rickshaw?" With a definite nod I hopped on. I have become accustomed to bumpy and rash rides-a trademark of rickshaw-pullers. But this ride was turning out to be as smooth as silk. I was impressed with his skill of driving the rickshaw and could not hold back my questions: Where was he originally from? How come he pulled the rickshaw so differently from others? He told me he was from Bihar but did not answer any more questions. It was then that I noticed that the left pedal was empty and that he kept pulling the pajama up from the left side. My heart was suddenly full of gratitude for the man.

I decided to ask more questions. This time I got some answers. A farmer by profession, he had met with an accident in Bihar. He had been left with a stump in place of his left leg. Not wishing to be a burden on his family, he had decided to move to Dehradun along with his wife. While his wife started working as a housemaid he did not want to sit idle. He managed to convince a rickshaw owner to loan him one on a nominal monthly charge. "I wanted to learn carpentry. Until I can find a good teacher, I might as well do this", he said. "My wife is pregnant. I want to be able to earn enough for my child to study and become a responsible human being." He had an opinion on many issues including begging. He was sad that people, despite being physically fit, took to begging. "If you are willing to pull out your hand for money why not find a way to be self-reliant?" My journey was enriched with his pearls of wisdom which he shared right through the ride. He insisted on dropping me right outside my friend's house even though the last stretch was cobbled. I let him and smiled at his sense of fulfilment and achievement.

BRAND BADSHAH

First it was Chote Miyan Govinda who drew our attention to it, now it's Bade Miyan Amitabh Bachchan's turn to extol the soothing effects of Navratna hair oil. In the ad, the superstar is shown in various situations of stress from his famous films all of which we are told can be banished by the wonder oil. This is but one of the megastar's endorsements. Amitabh's track record gives an altogether new meaning to multitasking. Witness the ease with which he sells a plethora of brands and convincingly at that. If electronics is your passion, buy BPL,says Amitabh, and never be caught in anything less than Reid &Taylor suits. The famous Amitabh autograph is always signed using Parker pens, he moves around in a Maruti Versa derives his boundless energy from Dabur Chyavanprash, would live in a Sahara city home if he didn't have to be located in the heart of Mumbai to fulfill his shooting and endorsement commitments. Among them are Emami Boroplus, Hajomla digestives, Nerolac paint and Tide detergent.

To be fair to him, Amitabh does his share for the greater public good, pitching in for Pulse Polio, Unicef and people for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Is the Badshah of Brands stretching himself too thin? Sure, Amitabh can still draw them in. But, today he is in danger of diluting his brand equity. Amitabh has always been known for being credible and infinitely charming. Do we really want to see him prancing about peddling an unknown oil brand or do a cover-up job for chocolates which came under a cloud for possible contamination? Or a detergent a la Surf's famous Lalitaji? No, Amitabh is all about exclusivity, class and comportment. That is what he was best known for and admired all these years. Unlike other kiss-and-tell stars, he stayed away from media speculation. Whenever he did speak to the media, he rarely gave anything away. This is precisely what kept the public fascinated by his persona. He is the biggest brand Bollywood has ever produced. Don't lend it indiscriminately to the highest bidder. The Shahenshah can't behave like any old Amar, Akbar or Anthony.

PRESENT EVERYWHERE

In the first original Star Wars film, princess Leia famously appealed for help to Obiwan Kenobi by appearing in front of the Jedi Knight as a small, see-through projected form of her physical self. Meanwhile, elsewhere, R2D2 and Chewbacca were shown playing chess with artificially imaged pieces floating in front of them. In the last Episode III movie too, absent members take part in meetings by having their facsimiles broadcast directly among the real people in attendance, much like an enhanced version of present-day videoconferencing. Even though it's tacitly assumed all these are three-dimensional holographic representations of reality, such stuff is still way in the future- in a galaxy far, far away-because right now all we have is a method of producing a partial 3D image of an object which, in any case, needs a solid backing medium to be expressed on such as paper, plastic or metal. Producing lifelike holograms which could be free floated into mid-air to form a hovering image visible from all sides remains for the time being at least in the realm of science fiction. But perhaps not for long.

A technique for projecting holographic images to make both still and moving three-dimensional displays is currently undergoing development in the United States at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. This technique, unlike older ones based on stereoscopy, would not involve the use of polarising goggles, specialised eyewear or other visual aids. Also, unlike in holographic displays as practised until now, visibility of the image would not be restricted to a narrow range of directions;instead, it would be observable from any side. In other words, the display could be viewed as though it were an ordinary three-dimensional object. The technique has obvious potential value for the entertainment industry as in video games and home theatre, and for military uses like displaying battlefield scenes overlaid on terrain maps. It could also be used as store displays, for exhibiting rare museum artefacts and in operating theatres where a patient's vital signs could hover above the chest during open heart surgery. As for princess Leia, she could be projected straight to our living rooms in future.

REALITY CHECK TIME

Last month was truly a cracker season for the economy. Almost everyone who had something to sell had boom stories to tell. Two-wheeler makers, for instance, sold over eight lakh motorbikes with market leader Hero Honda accounting for more than half of it. Companies are reporting healthy profits for the fifth consecutive year. Exports are growing at over 20 per cent this year. The RBI expects that GDP growth would be between 7 and 7.5 per cent. What's more, the Singh parivar at the core of the country's economic management-Manmohan Singh, Montek Singh Ahluwalia and P. Chidambaram-believes that the good crop is yet to deliver dividends.

Such is the force of good news that you could understandably be blown off your rational two feet and wonder if the Government matters. After all, this 20-party coalition has made more news for the wrong reasons than right ones. It is, however, critical to remember that the momentum for progress is coming from exogenous drivers like global growth and the impact of endogenous factors, including tax reforms and a huge liquidity overhang that makes borrowing affordable. Very simply, people are taking loans and buying homes, using credit to furnish their homes and borrowing money to buy cars and mobikes to get to work and back.

Any student of physics would tell you that momentum is mass into velocity and unless there is a next wave of reforms, the economy could well be stalled at the next traffic light-rather the next red light as they say in Delhi. Also, given the buoyant picture, this coalition's non-contractual beneficiary-the left brigade-could come up with yet another populist freebie to spend hard-earned monies on. So it is essential for those popping the bubbly lo pause before they say cheers. The pro-reforms brigade needs to seize the moment and force the issue on reforms-from opening up retail and unlocking the potential of agriculture to reforming the sinking public sector, pushing investment in infrastructure and fixing the tax-GDP ratio. Boom time optics might suggest that the Government doesn't matter but the reality is that it can definitely mar the next Holi. Unless it is forced to act on reforms. Now.

BLOOD ON OUR HANDS-II

I have been to Sariska National Park at least couple of times but have never seen a tiger in the wild. I thought it was just my bad luck. Unfortunately, it appears that this was not the case. I read, much to my dismay, that the tigers in Sariska have actually vanished.

According to experts, 750 tiger skins have been seized in the past 10 years. If we assume that for every skin seized, at least one poacher got away this means India's forests have lost at least 1,500 tigers in the past decade. Even official figures reflect a drop from a peak population of 4,300 in 1989 to 3,500. Meanwhile, the demand for products made from the body parts of the tiger has only risen. The market value of a tiger is reckoned to be Rs 60 lakh.

As tiger numbers have fallen elsewhere in the past 10 years, poachers have turned to India, which has the world's largest tiger population. After initial success with Project Tiger, negligence has set in. Recruitment of guards has fallen, the forest service is badly equipped, there is little political initiative and industrialisation has fragmented the buffer areas around the Zones meant for tigers. In contrast, the poacher is now better equipped and well connected.

A survey reveals how one-third of the Project Tigers reserves have kept losing their tigers. In Manas National Park, for example, the numbers have fallen from 125 tigers in 1997 to 65. This brings the credibility of the annual tiger census and the efficiency of the Indian Forest Service into question.

A friend of mine told me that no one ever forgets his first sight of a tiger in the wild. If we don't turn back the tide that threatens this magnificent animal, future generations will never even get that chance. Letting a species lapse into extinction is not just a conservationist's nightmare. It is a national shame.

POWER GODDESSS

Today we find more and more women in familiar and surprising places. As heads of giant conglomerates and in police stations, in Parliament and in the trenches. By tradition and through history, Indian women were expected to fulfill roles that defined them only in relation to others-their parents, their spouse, their children. But increasingly women around us now define independent identities beyond those of daughter, mother and wife.

The reason they have changed is because we all have. The dynamics of economic reform begun in the last decade has transformed India and its women.

The new Indian women has much to celebrate. For more than two decades, the women's movement in our country has a long and a distinguished history, bringing to national notice issues like dowry, female foeticide, infanticide and illiteracy, violence against women and gender discrimination. Not that all these ills have vanished but I believe that one of the most positive developments in the past two decades of our national life have been the growing power and status of women. I also believe that the coming decade will see an even swifter change in the role Indian women play in all spheres and this will transform the face of our country.

SEX CRIMES

The World Health Organisation says that a woman is raped in India every 54 minutes. It is a horrifying and depressing statistic because it tells an uncomfortable truth: that no matter how we measure progress, India remains medieval in the way it treats its women.

In villages, the threat of rape is a constant; the act is used to settle scores in caste and power tussles. Women have, therefore, generally felt safer in the anonymity of our towns and cities.

This seems to be changing. Around Holy festival, three rape cases were reported-two in the capital and other in Mumbai. If this could happen in the most cosmopolitan and westernised of Indian cities, the feudal north or the conservative south could hardly be any safer for women.

They aren't. Women are increasingly vulnerable in our cities. They are being picked off the street and raped inside moving cars, assaults are more common inside campuses, date rape is on the increase and merely travelling alone leaves a woman open to risk.

In the last decade, the growing number of women in the workforce has given them greater economic and personal freedom. With it has come greater vulnerability and greater risk. While women have adjusted to the demands of working in male spaces, the reverse adjustment has not been as smooth. Women may have changed the way they see themselves but men, it is clear, have not.

Today the battle being fought is against the male psyche which seeks to exercise control over women through abuse.

ABHISHEK BACHCHAN: Bollywood's PRINCE

This is a story of a remarkable turnaround of Abhishek Bachchan who after five years with 17 flops has become the new darling of the Bollywood box office and one of the hottest male stars around.

The success of Bunty Aur Babli, Sarkar, Dus, Dhoom and Guru has pushed him to the front of Bollywood's Generation Next and showed, finally, that he has the acting and dancing skills to sustain his elevation as a vehicle for box-office success.

Despite being Amitabh Bachchan's son, it has not been easy for him to find his place in the Bollywood sun. The true master in this business is the box office. In some ways, it was more of a handicap than an advantage because of the weight of expectation. The failures got to a point where he began to question whether he had chosen the right profession. There were no real reference points either. In India, dynasties exist not only in politics and business. The movie industry has seen the Kapoors, the Khans, the Roshans, the Deol. They launched their progeny into films, some made it, some flopped, while others are limping along.

What sets Abhishek apart is his blend of western sophistication and home-grown values. He is the first hip hop Hindi film star.

ABOLISH AGE

The story of an 88 year-old Indian fathering twins is revealing. As is a 67-year-old Romanian who became the oldest mother when she gave birth to a girl. Then there is Madona who at 48 is dancing and singing live with the energy levels of a 20-year-old. And she doesn't look a day over 25. The point is that there isn't any place for obsessively keeping tab on chronological age.Old paradigm and landmarks no longer hold. For instance, 40 is no longer middle age. Notice a 40-year-old Janet Jackson who matter-of-factly poses nude on the cover of a magazine. And her body looks no different in terms of fitness and youthfulness than Britney Spears who is about half of Jackson's age and who also recently posed nude for a magazine cover. French president Chirac's possible successor Segolene Royal was snapped by a photographer in a bikini while on holiday at a sea resort. And Royal, though 53-year-old, could give Hollywood stars a run for their money as far as having a trim and cellulite-free body is concerned. People are dressing, feeling and doing things that have no correlation to their stated age. That's why an 88-year-old can dream of having more children without taking a hard look at his so-called advancing years.

Those on the cusp of retirement feel that they have the ability to work for at least another 10 to 15 years without a problem. Those having children in their 30s and 40s think nothing of it. Keeping a rigid timetable of age may have served a purpose in a different era. Now the word young can be used as easily for a 20-year-old as for a 40-year-old. Marketers have cottoned on to this change and talk about targeting those with youthful spirit rather than those who strictly fall within the golden demographic of 18 to 34. People's age now should be judged by how young they look and feel and their achievements. Madona would be hard-pressed to fit into a bunch of 48-year-olds as she has nothing in common with them. And neither does the 67-year-old new mother who probably has more in common with other new parents rather than with geriatrics. Age then should finally be no bar to the way we live, work and play.

LAWLESS INDIANS

Let's face it we are an undisciplined nation and this is manifest in all walks of life, on our roads, in public buildings, in parks, everywhere. Go anywhere in the world, to the smallest country in the Far East, they may be poor, underdeveloped but they are spotlessly clean. You don't have to be a high-tech wizard to realise that litter has no place on roads, that ancient monuments, which we are so lucky to have are to be cherished and preserved.

A foreigner is a guest, and in true Indian tradition a guest is the equivalent of God: Atithi Devo Bhavah goes the adage. But how do we treat our guests? From the moment they land to the bedlam that we call airports, with endless queues at customs and emigration, to the pushing and shoving that is needed to obtain a trolley, the very first experience in our country is a big turn-off. Then there is the dishonest cabbie who takes his guest all over town, on a tampered meter. When halting at traffic lights, they are harangued by beggars, maimed and disfigured, little infants, bare-bodied mewling in an emaciated woman's arms. Is this the Amazing India that our tourism industry tom-toms about? Where is the glorious civilisation, dating back to Harappa and Mohenjodaro, the visitors had come to experience? Is this the capital of an India, emerging from the shackles of imperialism, riding on the brave back of the IT, ITES industry, all ready to take its place as a colossus of the emerging decade? Of course, the glistening glass facade buildings, housing the new knowledge industry, swanky malls, world-class hotels, are also a side of our Janus-headed city. But till the mismatch between the two faces remains as stark, the sobriquet of a world-class city will remain a chimera.