Lit feast

Things are hotting up across the border. And no, we are not talking about the impending elections in Pakistan, but a spate of books that you’ll soon be flooded with. Mohsin Hamid is out with How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia; H.M. Naqvi, who won the first DSC Prize for south Asian literature for Home Boy in 2011, is working on the manuscript of a new book. And that’s not all. Daniyal Mueenuddin — the critically acclaimed writer of In Other Rooms, Other Wonders — is also finishing a new tome, cocooned in his farm in south Punjab, Pakistan. The Telegraph sought his views about the May elections, but Mueenuddin stressed he kept away from politics. “I merely try to keep from being trampled when the elephants fight!” he replied. Tusk, tusk.

Backlash

The male backlash against Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code seems to be growing. P. Suresh, an engineer by profession, is on a crusade against the law that seeks to protect women from dowry demands and abuse in her matrimonial home. He has written a novel, Just Married: Have You Applied For Bail? “This is a true story of a bright, talented and ambitious software engineer and his parents in Bangalore who are victims of the matrimonial laws of this country which are totally biased in the favour of women,” says Suresh. The book has a foreword by Suhaib Ilyasi, who used to host India’s Most Wanted on television. Ilyasi, who was charged with the section a few years ago, speaks on the issue of 498A at workshops and seminars to create awareness about its misuse. Seems like the law is becoming more and more controversial.

Ban wagon

The Kannada film industry is on a vacation. No, not because of a strike. It’s because several Sandalwood actors — including Pooja Gandhi, Ambarish and Rakshita — are expected to be contesting the Assembly elections in the state this year. So the Election Commission has ruled that no film featuring any of these movie stars should be released in theatres or on television as that would give them a publicity edge. The ban lasts till Election Day on May 5. Looks like it doesn’t always pay to mix entertainment with politics.

Forever Shankar

Ravi Shankar may have breathed his last in December, but his music lingers on. Earlier this month, his family — including daughters Norah and Anoushka — organised a musical get-together in a sprawling public park in New Delhi in his memory. And now, a business group — LNJ Bhilwara — will hold the Bhilwara Sur Sangam festival in the capital to coincide with his birth anniversary. Today, Shankar would have turned 93. But then, as he’d scrawled on his website, age has little to do with years. “Don’t grow up, but if you do, don’t lose those qualities you have,” he wrote, signing off as “Yours in music, Ravi Shankar”. No wonder, he is still everybody’s Robu.

Set piece

Talent, like truth, will out. Take Lalgudi N. Ilaiyaraja, the art director of Kamal Haasan’s film Vishwaroopam. The 29-year-old was not too surprised to receive the national award for best production design this year. “Everyone had raved about the realistic sets and predicted we would get the award,” admits Ilaiyaraja. Indeed, from the lead pair’s swank pad in New York to the Afghanistan village, the sets in the film were truly awesome. Ilaiyaraja, who shared the award with his Taiwanese co-art director Boontawee Thor Taweepasas, says working with Haasan was a fantastic learning experience. “He would advise us on how bodies shot down by terrorists should be positioned, for example. I saw him as a teacher,” he says. Guess the teacher is as pleased with his student.