Roving Eye 8212; Pune

Leaning over
She8217;s been on talk shows and, of course, food shows but on the night of December 6, Puneite and foodist Karen Anand was on Star News. The topic, naturally, was food, particularly the trend towards healthy eating that seems to be spreading all over the country. And Karen was there commenting on her latest offerings of lean curries.

Explaining how traditional Indian curries are basically meant to be lean, she revealed that people have, in fact, distorted the original recipes today with unneccessary frying of onions and garlic. However, even Karen had to concede that is is difficult to imagine a lean butter chicken curry. But then it8217;s never too late to innovate and attempt to trim down the fat 8211; in the food and in self.

Sales pitch
December 6 and it was time for the annual Poona Women8217;s Council sale that once again was thronged by avid buyers, despite the somewhat-difficult-to-locate venue near the Sub-area canteen. From hand-crafted linen to stoneware crockery to pearl jewellery and chic outfits, each stall had something different to entice Puneites.

More than anything, it was the market ambience pervading the air that made ambling around a pleasure. With Christmas around the corner, candles and Yuletide decorations were an added attraction as were the food stalls of sumptuous biryani and bhels. All in all, the afternoon that happens just once a year was quite a success this time too, with most of the creative stall-owners bagging bagsful of compliments and, of course, orders.

Shaping up
The brand new smart location for the successful8217; is the Pyramids Club at Koregaon Park, which took off on December 1. Spread over 2.5 acres of prime land, it has a specially designed gym with elaborate facilities, an open-air jacuzzi, swimming pool and a unique pyramid meditation hall, from where the club probably gets its name. And there8217;s a leisure entertainment section in the future. So if you were waiting for the right place to pamper yourself, this is it! You can avail the services of a personal trainer too. Of course, it comes at a fancy price. The rate card does suggest a hefty inaugural discount, though. So the sensible ones should enrol now, for a healthy and fit life!

Wings of expression
It was an evening where the strands of dance, music and poetry were woven together at the Osho Commune International8217;s Meera Barn on December 4. Delhi-based Bharatnatyam and Odissi dancer Radhika Rajpal presented her spontaneous interpretation of Ma Jivan Mary8217;s poetic compositions, called On Love8217;s Wings, as she read them out.

8220;My poems are an expression of my devotion to the master,8221; declares Mary, the theatre director from New Zealand. American pianist Ma Anuprada presented her piano compositions. The almost hour-long programme held the audience spellbound with its unique blend of music, dance and poetry.

Glossy venture
It was a whole lot of glitter and sheen. Not just of gold, but diamonds, too, at the jewellery show on December 6, exhibiting designs by Vanguard, a well-known name in the field. Organised at the Poona Club by Prashant and Shekhar Sable8217;s Ventures Entertainment, it presented a whole new range of innovative designs 8211; a fusion of ethnic, classic and contemporary 8211; in the realm of diamond jewellery. While the jewellers claimed that this was not stuff that made you run to the safety vault, the prices nonetheless made you check your pockets! And just when you managed to get your eyes accustomed to the dimness after the radiance, a fashion show in the evening caught your eye yet again. With well-known faces like Bikram Saluja, Helen Brodie, Bipasha Basu, Aditi Govitrikar walking down the ramp, it was glitter again. Though the show lacked meticulous organisation, the clothes and sartorial designs more than made up for it. Too much of style and sparkle for a day, we say!

The actor goes on8230; and on
He8217;s an actor on the move. Anand Ingale has been associated with theatre since his early teens. This 27-year-old has acted in all the major GRIPS productions, including Nakore Baba, Pahile Paan and Pan Amhala Khelaychay under the banner of Theatre Academy and the Maharashtra Cultural Centre. With the best actor Sawai Abhineta prize at the Sawai competition in Mumbai for the play Pashankar Tumcha Kay Challay? under his belt, Ingale also found a place in professional Marathi plays like Amhi Jagato Befani, All The Best, Kusum Manohar Lele. Ingale has also acted in television serials like Chutki Bajake, Paulkhuna and Akashdeep. His forthcoming projects include a serial called The Show Must Go On and Apradh, the pilot episodes of which he has already completed.