Sightings

* IT'S definitely boom time for the fashion industry in India. The Bridal Asia exhibition held in New Delhi recently, presented some stunning outfits designed specially for the bride-to-be. The accent of course was on regional flavours, but going hand-in-hand with the special outfits were accessories that were equally exquisite. Interestingly, most of the Asian bridal colours had similar tones, and embroidery and zardosi dominated. Needless to say, among the already established fashion divas like Ritu Kumar and Pakistan's Sehyr Saigal, were some lesser-known faces whose work was showcased.

* AS disasters go, this too, will be forgotten. But if one is to see director Ajay Kanchan's documentary on the Orissa calamity, these are images that will remain to haunt. "The calamity that was... or was it a man made disaster" tells the story of the lives of the survivors of the Orissa super cyclone. The images are stark, disturbing and at times downright revolting. They leave the viewer with a raw, wounded scar that cuts into their consciousness. It tells the story of a woman forced into prostitution, of an old man with no family left to look after him. It also tells the story of the immense scale of human bungling and ineptness, of government apathy that left people in the lurch. Voiced over by radical film maker, Mahesh Bhatt, "The calamity that was..." takes the viewer through a dister ridden scene. "My visit was very traumatic", said Bhatt. "I fear that uncomfortable news about the real India will be lost in this age of entertainment."

* WHEN Dr. Atul Joshi, a geologist, discovered these huge eggs, he couldn't believe his eyes or his luck. Traced back to some 65 million years ago these two giant scropod eggs were recently found in the Bagh Village in Madhya Pradesh. A rare find, they confirmed once again the presence of dinosaurs hundreds of years ago. And even while Joshi has been exulting in his rare find, Discovery Channel took the opportunity to unveil the four eggs while announcing the beginning of a mini series co-produced with the BBC called "Walking with Dinosaurs". Unlike the Hollywood versions where even the life and times of these animals has been romanticised, this series hopes to bring to screen what actually their life and routine was like. Efforts have been made to reproduce their habitat as it was. According to Tim Haines, producer of the series, though a lot of it is an extension of the imagination, there has been extensive research and meticulous planning in the series. The project took over two years to make at a cost of $6.1 million. Haines hopes that it will encourage people to look at dinosaurs differently and ask a whole new set of questions.

* FOR Michael Dell, CEO and chairman, Dell Computers, all the world's a market where his company promises to revolutionise the way computers are being sold. Having proved his point in 170 countries, Dell has finally hit Indian shores and is all set to sell computers without any fuss thereby cutting down buyer costs. While at a lunch organised in his honour in Delhi, Dell choose to be brief and to-the-point to all invitees, telling them that his company was not here to stay.

* YET another first ever - the National Children's Theatre Festival - the first ever privately held theatre festival for kids, had some 600 of them running the show. Organised by a local Delhi school, the festival opened with two productions and hopes to become a major yearly feature. If the present performances and sets were anything to go by, then there definitely is a storehouse of talent just waiting in the wings.

SUCHITRA BEHAL

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