
The Pune Quartet
While political and economic alliances play their part in bringing two countries together, interaction between its people is perhaps the best way to increase mutual understanding. The Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Pedagogical Exchange Service, Bonn, are sponsoring eight students from India, four from Pune and four from Delhi, to travel to Germany in June.
During their month-long stay, the students will be given an opportunity to take part in teaching programmes at local schools, travel through the country and stay with a German family.
The four students from the city are Dhanashree Mundhe Symbiosis College of Arts of Commerce, Siddharth Mantri Fergusson College, Suhasini Rao Symbiosis Secondary School and Arundhati Kogekar Abhinav High School. The lucky four were selected after a German letter-writing competition wherein the students were asked to write to a friend in Germany, describing trends in fashion among young Indians and their comments on that of young Germans. The competition was open only to students of Std. X and XI from schools in Pune.
A prize distribution was held on March 27 at the Max Mueller Bhavan MMB, where the 12 best entries were given token prizes and a play was put up by Studio Puna, a theatre group of teachers and students of the MMB and the Ranade Institute.
Rock on a roll!
They are back! With Airwave hitting Jaws for their edition of the Thums Up Friday Nite Live, the grandpas of rock were back. And they were better than ever. Sudheer Gaikwad, long absent from the rock scene, must have spent his time well, because this was a man who had really put a lot more range into his vocals. So out came wonders from the Eric Clapton and Dire Straits stables, belted out with consummate justice. And the pyrotechnics from Derek Julien were also on show, this time with some added arsenal. The shaven-headed Roger Dragonette was his sturdy best on bass and was all gusto with a gung-ho Walk of Life.
And no Airwave show is complete without the Sting and Clapton hit, It8217;s Probably Me, ably aided by Sanjay Joseph and Dragonbass,8217; which was good fun. Other Clapton classics such as I Shot the Sheriff, Cocaine, and Dire Straits regulars like Down to the Waterline, Money For Nothing and Once upon a Time in the West were also part of the offering. A brief appearance from band Teerth that is, Airwave minus Gaikwad and Joseph, plus Seema and Nishant had a competent Jeffersonian Need Somebody To Love8217; Airplane taking off. All in all, a good walk into the Jaws8217; of rock n8217; roll.