'For Real' | Film by Sona Jain

MIACC New York's Film Festival 2009

Written and Directed by Sona Jain.
India/US, 2009, 86 min. Sneak Preview.

November 11 - 15

Dhruv Dhawan | Documentary & Commercial Filmmaker

Directing Showreel - Dhruv Dhawan - Documentary & Commercial Films from Dhruv on Vimeo.

Dhruv dhavan nurtured his passion for documentary filmmaking, studying cultural anthropology at Duke University and film direction at the new york film academy.

Dhruv employs his skills as a documentary film maker to replicate a credible and emotive fabric in the advertising and corporate work. He has also harnessed the prowess of internet video to create interactive marketing and recruitment tools for his clients website.

His documentary work has garnered critical acclaim from the International Press, Human Rights Groups and the Film Festival Circuit. He is two time nominee for the best international documentary award in New York and Toronto and the recipient of the MIPDOC Co-Pro Challenge Award at the Cannes.

Kiran Ahuwalia | Songlines Music Award Winner

“This is the first time you’ve had the Songlines Music Awards, right?” asks Kiran Ahluwalia down the phone from the US.

She’s the winner in the Newcomer category, inevitably the one that’s going to throw up interesting new names. “Wow,” she gasps, “I’ve been part of history-making with Songlines.”

Sometimes a record turns up that just gets under your skin. There’s the warm, silky voice which twists and slips seductively around a yearning melody and the sweet tingling sound of Portuguese guitar and accordion. And that’s just the first song. Other numbers on Wanderlust are accompanied by more typical Indian instruments like tabla and sarangi, as the voice swoons and subtle harmonies slip one to another. Ahluwalia creates an intoxicating world of heightened emotions – something that ghazal singers in India have been doing for hundreds of years. But Wanderlust is different.

She was born in India, but moved around between Patna, the capital of India’s poorest state, Bihar, and New Delhi. Her family is Sikh, but she was educated in a Catholic school. “We listened to the radio and a lot of records at home – ghazals and Bollywood,” Ahluwalia recalls. “My mum would write down songs from the radio and I would try and memorise them. Some were quite erotic and my mother got embarrassed about the words.” At the same time she was singing Sikh hymns in the temple every Friday.

Courtesy: © Simon Broughton, originally published in the June 2009 #60 issue of Songlines

Abu Dhabi Art | (Nov 19-22)

Confirming Abu Dhabi’s emergence as a new hub of the art market, around 50 Galleries from the Middle East, Asia, Europe and the United States will present displays at Abu Dhabi Art, including some which will be exhibiting in the Middle East for the first time.

.Indian art on view at the following gallery booths: 1x1, Nature Morte, Pundole and Gallery Ske .

International Patron Committee includes:

Anupam Poddar, from India, is a leading contemporary art collector. Along with his mother Lekha Poddar, he has set up the non-profit Devi Art Foundation in New Delhi; which displays the family´s extensive contemporary art collection from the Indian Sub-continent. He has also been actively involved with the development of Devi Garh - a restored all suite boutique hotel within an 18th century fort place, located outside the city of Udaipur (Rajasthan) India.

Sudobh Gupta, from India, probably his country´s best known contemporary artist. He made his reputation building sculptures out of gleaming pots and pans, the most famous of which is A Very Hungry God, a one-tonne skull.

& H.E. Dr Anwar Gargash, H.E. Abdul Rahman Mohammed Al Owais, Jeff Koons, François Pinault, Norman Foster, Fabrice Bousteau, Hu Hanru, Peter Sloterdijk

PAA | Starring Amitabh Bachchan

Cabernet Sauvignon | By Priya Singh

Now that the darkness of winter doesn’t seem very far away, I have started drinking my red wines again. Usually over the summer, the choice seems to fall on clean whites and sparkling roses. But really.....nothing compares to a dense and complicated red next to the fireplace along with some finger food.

If you have a couple of friends over and want to prepare something a little bit more elaborate, then- cut a thick slice of dark lithuanian bread (available from any Russian grocery store), roast a leg of lamb, toss some arugula and then sit back and enjoy with a Cabernet Sauvignon. This is the perfect wine for the oncoming cold and chilly evenings...sip after sip warms the gut, kindles the taste buds and the evening is converted into a warm and romantic memory.

Cabernet Sauvignon along with Chardonnay and Merlot is one of the most widely-planted of the world's grape varietals. The principal grape in many wines from the Bordeaux region in France, particularly those from the Medoc, it is grown in most of the world's wine growing regions. Many of the finest red wines in the world are predominantly made from this grape.

Most Cabernet Sauvignon based wine is blended with varying quantities of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot or Malbec. Blending grape varietals lends a wine added structure, aromas and flavors along with muscularity and individuality. All this depends on the type of wine that is desired by the wine maker or the vineyard owner.

California Cabernet compared to French Bordeaux is mostly bigger, dark- with more blue and violet highlights. Alcohol levels are higher and flavors are inclined to be more fruit forward; jammy preserves, cassis, stewed plums, roasted meat, cherry and toasty oak. New world wines are also much more approachable and welcoming in their youth.

If you like trying something very different from the usual stuff in your wine shop, I recommend the Cab from Ceja Vineyards. With bright fruit, berries, leather, anise and some dark chocolate on the nose, it shows a toasty earthiness with a concentration of dark fruit, blackberry, plum and cherries on the palate. This wine can be enjoyed alone or with chicken, darker fish or meat dishes. And it goes beautifully with anything chocolate!

And if you crave a wine that is bolder, bigger, true to the spirit of California than go no further than the Cabernets from Phelan Vineyards. This is a boutique winery located in the Mt. George area in Napa Valley dedicated to producing premium Cabernet Sauvignon. The Phelan wines are characterized by their elegant texture and huge aromas of smoky wooden barrels with hints of coffee, earth and dark berries. And this one demands a juicy steak or roasted lamb with lots of sauce and gravy!

Please drink responsibly. Au Revoir...

By Priya Singh

For more adventures in the world of food and wine, go to Nourishment for the Senses