Sightings

FOR a city that is fast becoming used to brutality, Delhi reacted sharply to the gunning down of the "Bandit Queen" Phoolan Devi.

The lady continues to fire the imagination even in death and has remained an enigma for most. However, the few people close to her maintain that she was clean-hearted and touched with a sense of innocence.

Mala Sen, her biographer, who detailed the grim aspects of Phoolan Devi's life, remains to date one of the few people that Phoolan Devi could be at ease with.

Stories of suggested rifts in their relationships are put to rest by Sen who said that she had been in touch with her all through.

Currently campaigning for her new book, Death By Fire, Sen reiterates what her first book did, that she (Sen) is a feminist.

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IT was a dream that he chugged along with through his growing years. Through school and college; but it was only much later, that Dileep Prakash, could finally capture part of his dream to photograph steam locomotives in India.

Prakash feels that these engines are relics of a heritage, an era of romance that seems to have died out with the more modern contraptions.

His recent exhibition of black and white photographs captures the mood of a time and the countryside. Not that it was an easy task. As Prakash reveals he had to spend over a year trying to find out where these steam locos were still being used. "Not only are they part of our heritage but they can be used to benefit our tourist industry as well," said this young man in an interview. Logically now, Prakash plans a book on steam engines.

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TWENTY-SIX films and two documentaries later the man who created a benchmark in Indian new wave cinema still feels that he is experimenting with his chosen medium.

For Mrinal Sen life is a large canvas on which he works in bursts of creativity and spontaneity.

In an interactive session Sen recalled that it was important for people to develop a taste for the kind of films he makes. "My films are popular with the minority, and if I could gather this spectrum around the world, I would be getting myself a wider audience."

Sen said that every director wanted to reach out to a wider audience and those who denied it were creating a mechanism of self-defence. Asked about his technique of film making, Sen said that very often he let himself get carried away by the spontaniety of his feelings. Sometimes he said he departed from approaching a film in a logical sequence. Conceding the fact that he was presently working on a new venture, Sen refused to divulge any details about it. Of his journey in Indian cinema over 30 years, he said that even today the concerns that haunt people remain the same.

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HE is in town to stir up the juices, tingle your tastebuds and bring to you the aroma of parathas and kebabs. As the anchor for BBC's programme Delhi Belly which is part of the food channel Ok Food, Mahammad Reza, currently owner of the Star of India restaurants, plans an extensive gastronomic journey. One that will include age-old recipies from the interiors of Delhi's old alleys. So Reza plans to take a walk through the famous parathe vali galli, the old cook houses near Jama Masjid known for their mouth-watering delectable kebabs and curries as well as the old Dilli food, minus the usual spices that food from the subcontinent is so famous for. Reza of course goes into raptures at this assignment and its possibilities but what really gets him going is a whiff of the genuine spices that we use.

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AS vice president, research and editorial, for a channel that has integrity as its insignia, Paul Durbin, of National Geographic has a balancing act to perform, ensuring that accuracy is well mixed with interest. Durbin said that while many programmes were telecast depending on the region and the local market forces, each one of them had to meet the main aim of the channel - spread of geographic knowledge. Durbin is convinced that all it takes to get a great story going is loads of enthusiasm, a sense of commitment and of course a camera. He said that over the year working, he had realised that a lot of things that people take for granted often did not work in that fashion. While National Geographic does have research bodies all over, every bit of information is finally processed in America. This, he said, was to give it the authenticity so necessary for the channel's functioning and to make sure that the film met the stringent requirements and guidelines laid down. He added that local experts were always consulted by the team is order to get all the facts right and to give the story its accuracy.

SUCHITRA BEHAL

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