Looking Ahead

Festive Fervor: The Chandigarh Sahitya Akademi will begin the year with the second Chandigarh Festival of Letters that will be held in January. Organised in collaboration with Panjab University,the three-day event will have seminars,lectures,readings and panel discussions. Creative writing competitions for students,and Oldies Goldies,a mushaira for senior citizens,is planned in March. Around the same period,the city will also host the European film festival. Meanwhile,the Rose Festival will feature three musical nights.

On stage: The theatre enthusiasts can look forward to Mask Theatre’s Katha Manchan,a theatre festival based on short stories. To be held from February 2 to 6,this year all plays in the festival will be directed by women from Chandigarh and Amritsar. While the productions seem exciting,the procedure of gardering funds for the festival is also unique. “We make our theatre festival possible by collecting and selling raddi from 35 houses in Chandigarh and during the show we give envelopes to people to donate money — then we won’t need any outside support,” share Vijay,Munna,Ravi,Kamini and Chakresh of Mask Theatre.

Design Wise: When it comes to interiors,minimalism is in,says interior designer Aradhana Kakkar,who points out that this year the de-cluttered look will be popular. “Rather than small pieces of art,accent pieces will dominate the decor,” says she. It is advisable to shop for one bright piece that will add a dramatic touch to an otherwise calm room. “These should be in contrast with the muted colours of the wall. When it comes to the furniture,the darker shade of wenge (deep timber colour) will be prominent,”says Kakkar. Sangeet Sharma,partner architect,SD Sharma and Associates,adds,“Building material will range from synthetic to fungus-proof paints and high density block boards. There will be emphasis on becoming eco-friendly.”

What’s Cooking: The year 2010 was a treat,with a range of fine-dining restaurants opening in the city. This year will be equally busy with the likes of Smoke House Grill scouting for the space in Chandigarh. When it comes to the cuisines,Ramanpreet Ahluwalia,executive chef at The Lobby in Sector 26,says,“Modern world cuisine and molecular gastronomy will be the buzzword. I hope to see fresh permutations of traditional recipes and Vedic influences in recipes.”