Father and sons

Music for the cause of non-violence has a certain ring to it. And that is why, when Sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan and his two sons, Amaan and Ayaan, played together in tribute to M.K. Gandhi in the capital the other day, the sound of music merged harmoniously with the deep notes of peace. The occasion was the release of a CD by Saregama in which the three Khans play some of the Mahatma’s most loved songs, including Vaishnava jan to and Raghupati Raghav. Launches — of books, music and what have you — are usually cheese-and-wine dos in luxury hotels. This one, however, was at the Gandhi Smriti. And the music wafted in no doubt like it did when Gandhi sat down to hear his favourite bhajans.

Booked!

There’s more on Gandhi. And this time, the homage comes from his grandson, West Bengal governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi. “‘Not another book of Gandhi sayings, please!’ I can hear a bookstore browser,” writes the former envoy about OUP’s new book — The Oxford India Gandhi: Essential Writings — which he has edited. The book, however, promises to be different. It covers the last 20 years of Gandhi’s life, which did not figure in his own autobiography. The story is related in the form of a memoir. Not surprisingly, the book has already stirred up interest in academic circles. “On many points there would doubtless be room for one to disagree with Gandhiji, and one merit of Shri Gopalkrishna’s selection is that he does not brush under the carpet what one could still (respectfully) hold to be the eccentricities of a very great man,” says historian Irfan Habib. The grandson can rest assured — ‘not another book’ is not going to be this one’s epitaph.

Paradise gained

What’s making pretty actress Preity Zinta smile? She has found heaven on earth, that’s what. Yes, after signing to play the lead in Deepa Mehta’s next film, Heaven on Earth, Preity is so thrilled that she feels like she’s just been reborn. Apparently, the two met at the IIFA festival this summer, and the director was floored when she saw the lady with the dimples in The Last Lear. Preity, who says she has always wanted to work with Deepa, read the script and exclaimed, “This is it!” And Deepa, now in Toronto preparing for the shoot, says she, in turn, was stuck by Preity’s “positivity”. If there be a heaven on earth, is this it, is this it, is this it?

Title tattle

What’s in a name, the bard enquired. Quite a lot, it seems, when the name is something that excites Hindi readers and writers. The grand old dame of Hindi literature, Krishna Sobti, was at a function held in Delhi earlier this week by publishers Katha, who have just translated two of her works into English. The books — Tohellwithyou, Mitro (Mitro marajani) and Memory’s daughter (daar se bichhudi) — have got the litterateurs engaged in a debate, on whether or not Mitro marajani — something that can be roughly translated into ‘Damn you, Mitro’ — can have a derogatory English title. Sobti herself is not greatly alarmed, but the debate continues. Meanwhile the new English title has got a thumbs up from Delhi’s young women students. Katha,which organised readings at women’s colleges, was surprised at the way youngsters endorsed the new name. Hell, clearly, is no more a four-letter word.

Old is young

Old melodies never die — and clearly neither does Kishore Kumar. Calcutta’s Amit Kumar Fan Club is doing its bit to ensure that the legend lives on with an exhibition in the city from October 1 to 5. “This is an attempt to showcase the paraphernalia of Kishore Kumar through the ages. The exhibition will include handwritten documents, posters and booklets and will also witness the release of a Kishore Kumar CD,” says Sudipto Chanda, moderator of the club. The exhibition, at the Calcutta Youth Choir Cultural Centre, will also highlight some of Kishore Kumar’s unreleased songs. Among those expected to be there are his biographer, Vishwas Nerurkar, film-maker Goutam Ghosh and transport minister Subhash Chakraborty. Once a fan, always a fan.