Sightings

* DESPITE his high-flying media-built image, Bill Gates walked into India, recently, in the most unobtrusive manner. There were no high security exercises at Delhi Airport nor at the hotel where he was scheduled to stay. For Gates, India has become something of the first outpost to be able to source quality IT professionals. He said that he believed some of the best software people came from here. And since he is so upbeat on India's IT role he announced that Microsoft would invest $50 million towards expanding a development centre at Hyderabad.

* AT the same time, GE chief, Jack Welch did some tough, no- nonsense talking with his people here. The chief of the $112 billion GE whose one interest is in the power sector told his audience: "I beg and pray for the Indian government to improve efficiency in infrastructure." Stressing on the need for power to drive information technology, Welch said: "You (India) don't stand a chance to play in the 21st century without generating lots and lots of power." Clearly something that both Microsoft and the government should take a long and hard look at.

* IN this cyber crazy world even dreamy romantic characters like artists have realised that the time has come to marry art to technology. The result - www.Indianartcircle.com - the latest Delhi based B to C portal catering for those who love art. The portal offers to educate people on art, apart from setting up what many artists hope is a commercially viable site for them. Brainchild of Gargi Seth an amateur artist herself, but a nutrition expert by profession, the portal will not only sell works of noted painters like Anjolie Ela Menon, Sanjay Bhattacharya and others, but will also help those who remain ignorant about aesthetic matters, brush up their ps and qs. Meanwhile most of the artists are keeping their fingers crossed and hoping that the mighty mouse will keep the notes rolling in.

* THE name's Bond. James Bond. Pierce Brosnan of the James Bond fame, made a quick and quiet stopover at Delhi enroute from Dharamsala where he stayed for a week listening to the Dalai Lama. Brosnan, who is a recent convert to Buddhism said that he found the Dalai Lama "the most profound and wonderful person on the planet." He added that he was in Dharamsala for the Tibetan people more specifically the children, for whom he now plans to raise funds for a vocational school back in Kathmandu. Brosnan joins the growing list of western celebrities who have joined the Dalai Lama's tribe.

* IT isn't a film that gets you talking instantly but one that grows on you as frame after frame unfolds. "Chadar" is an unusual documentary made by two unusual young men - Prashant Sareen and A. Sekhri. Having heard about the sub zero temperatures of Leh specially over the Zanskar river that winds through the valley, the duo decided to take the plunge. The end result is a starkly beautiful film on the frozen river which is the only link between Leh and the valley. While audiences might balk at the idea of wading knee deep in icy waters, the two obviously haven't had their fill. "We plan to go back and make a film on the famous winter festival that takes place here," they said.

* REMEMBER "Greed"? It's not quite what you're going to get on your TV sets but then Kerry Packer's Channel Nine has other aces tucked up its sleeve as it launches its show on prime time with DD Metro. There are two Hindi adaptations of the hugely successful "The Talent Hunt Show" and "The Right Price". For the Australian media baron, choosing DD Metro over other satellite channels was more a sense of astute business acumen than anything else. Imaging with three hours of prime time and 350 million viewers all set to tune in, Packer's company couldn't have asked for more.

* THE latest in a series of literary scandals all set to rock the world is the startling revelation that Sherlock Holmes is not the creation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. A British writer and researcher, Rodger Garrick Steele, after 11 years of research into letters and documents, said that Doyle stole the idea from his friend Bertram Fletcher Robinson from his book The House of Baskervilles which Doyle changed to The Hound of the Baskervilles. Steele has said that not only did Doyle steal the idea but also slowly poisoned to death his friend with the help of Robinson's wife with regular doses of laundanum.

SUCHITRA BEHAL

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