t2 turns 4 today. For 1,248 days (yes, that’s what four years of t2 adds up to!), we have tried our best to marry style with substance and bring you the best from the world of entertainment and lifestyle. From January 1, t2 went 24 pages to bring you more of your favourite morning read.
Today, on the 4th birthday of t2, we bring you an edition celebrating the power of four. People, places, fashion, films — so many good things seem to come in packs of four!
Here’s hoping that you keep reading, keep enjoying and keep writing in to us. Thank you.
4 tech
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iphone 4 Phone fantastic 4.0
Multi-touch magic marries processor power in iPhone 4. A display four times sharper than before, HD video recording, face-to-face calling, supermodel slim body — Apple took what made iPhone the best phone ever and made it even better. iPhone 4 is the friendly face of technology. A phone that sets the ease-of-use benchmark for gadgets to come.
4 things
Elements
Earth and fire and water and air. The constituent of everything — big and small — on the planet. Everything that has substance has earth in it; everything that has energy has fire in it; everything that flows and/or has feelings has water in it; and everything that involves sound, thinking or communication has air in it. Each of these four elements symbolises a particular character trait and astrological personality. To us, they represent life.
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Seasons
Each season ushers in a change in weather, ecology and hours of daylight. Every season also heralds new hope and the promise of new life. Autumn and winter, summer and spring, everyone has a favourite season.
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clover
The four-leaf clover is a lucky charm. Legend has it that each leaf is symbolic: the first is for hope, the second for faith, the third for love and the fourth for luck. Rare and laden with mystique, the four-leaf clover has found its way into pop culture — from sought-after tattoo designs to the much-sung number I’m Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover. Have you found yours yet?
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Directions
The basis of geography. The backbone of topography. Countries and continents were discovered relying on them. The four cardinal directions — North, South, East and West — form the foundation of life. Weathercock to Feng Shui, religious rituals to highway navigation, it is the power of the four directions at work.
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Cards
Four suits of cards make up a deck of 52. If a 15th century European pack had five suits, today it is Spades, Hearts, Diamonds and Clubs (originally cups, swords, coins and batons) that define a pack of playing cards. Chaar patti, anyone?
4 trophies
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world cup
For football fanatics and cricket-crazy fans, it’s a bonanza that arrives every four years. The soccer and cricket World Cups are watched for a month every four years and spoken about for ages before and after. Some say they should be held every two years.
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grand slam
The four-in-one mecca of every tennis player and every tennis lover. From the lush greens of Wimbledon to the dusty clay courts of Roland Garros and the acrylic top of Melbourne Park to the hard floor of Flushing Meadows, the four Slams — Wimbledon, French Open, Australian Open and US Open — define the game of tennis.
4 people
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The four musketeers
Alexandre Dumas’s novel might have been called The Three Musketeers but who are Athos, Aramis and Porthos without D’Artagnan? From pages to stage to screen, the story of the four musketeers has been told and retold but it has never lost its romance. So much so that Paul W.S. Anderson is adapting the tale of the flamboyant, sword-fighting musketeers for a new film (see picture left) in 3D, to release this October.
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The Fab Four: The Beatles
John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. The greatest rock band that ever was. From small Liverpool clubs to the world as their stage, The Beatles changed the ethos of pop culture in the 1960s. They started out as a five-piece line-up but The Beatles became The Beatles as a four-man team with Lennon on the rhythm guitar, McCartney on the bass, Harrison on the lead guitar and Starr on the drums. Half a century later, Beatlemania continues to inspire and influence art and artistes all over the world.
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Four Generations: The Kapoors
From the man who helped start the Indian movie industry to the current heartthrob of Bollywood, one family has been synonymous with popular entertainment for... ever. Between Prithviraj Kapoor and Ranbir Kapoor there has been Raj Kapoor the showman (who created RK Studios and RK Films), Shammi Kapoor the box-office favourite, Shashi Kapoor the charmer and Rishi Kapoor the romantic hero. Plus, Karisma the hit machine and Kareena the hottie.
4 sportsmen
the pace quartet: Roberts, holding, garner, marshall
When this pace battery was firing, the best of batsmen had nowhere to hide. Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Joel Garner and (a little later) Malcolm Marshall were four of the most frightening fast bowlers ever to hurl the red cherry. And to think that for a few years, they did it together. After being mauled by Lillee and Thomson in 1976, Clive Lloyd vowed, in true Sholay style, “tum agar ek maroge toh hum chaar marenge” and decided that his fast bowlers would hunt in packs, not pairs. What was the best way to play these Windies pacers, a certain Mr Sunil Gavaskar was asked. From the non-striker’s end, replied the man with most runs against them.
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the four forwards: Jairzinho, PelE, Tostao, Rivelino
Between 1958 and 1970, Brazil could do little wrong in the world of football simply because they could score more goals than the opposition on any given day. Samba superstars were born left, right and centre and at the centre of it all was a man called Pele. He led the most complete forward line in 1970, his last World Cup, when he was joined by Jairzinho, Tostao and Rivelino. The free-flowing foursome dribbled and dodged, shot and headed their way to glory. A real treat.
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4 films
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Four weddings and a funeral
The first of the British feel-good rom coms dominated by dialogues rather than gags, this Mike Newell film starring Hugh Grant and Andie MacDowell was punctuated by, well, four weddings and a funeral. Witty, romantic and a tad melodramatic, this Richard Curtis script made Hugh a star and this brand of smile-a-lot-sniffle-a-little cinema a box-office darling.
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Fantastic four
The most successful superhero team to have come out of Marvel Comics and leapt onto celluloid, the Fantastic Four means Mr Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch and The Thing. In Tim Story’s 2005 film avatar, the characters were essayed by Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans and Michael Chiklis. It turned out to be the sexy Alba’s breakthrough role as Susan Storm aka Invisible Woman.
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Do Dooni ChaaR
The great Indian middle-class tale of a family trying to graduate from a two-wheeler to a four-wheeler was translated on screen with a lot of humour and compassion by debutant director Habib Faisal. Sparkling performances by the hot yesteryear jodi of Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh made this a little gem.
Franky four finger
In Guy Ritchie’s mad-mad-mad film Snatch, Benicio Del Toro played Franky Four Finger — he doesn’t have a ring finger, only the ring! Franky is asked to courier the 84-carat diamond, that kick-starts the labyrinthine chase. There were many bizarre characters in the movie but Franky Four Finger became unforgettable, so much so that the film’s poster had the logo of a hand without a finger.
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STAR Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
Isn’t it telling that one of the greatest movie franchises in history, if not the greatest, started out with a film they later called Number 4? Yes, George Lucas’s iconic franchise’s first part — where Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia and Han Solo were unveiled to the world — might have simply released as Star Wars but when the prequels started popping up, it was evident that the first one was actually the fourth in the series. So, it was a curious case of episode four coming to the fore!
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Rocky IV
The fourth and most potent (financially) punch in the Rocky franchise. The story revolves around the all-American hero’s one last battle with a Russian boxer after he kills Rocky’s foe-turned-friend Apollo Creed. Sylvester Stallone rocked it and the late funk legend James Brown made a cameo as The Godfather of Soul.
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Harry potter & the Goblet of fire
There was a lot of magical stuff in the fourth book and the special effects in the movie did not disappoint. It was the first time that a portkey (objects magically turn into modes of travelling) was used and the visual transition in the Mike Newell film was wow. The budding romance between Ron and Hermione and the schoolboy crush (Harry was fida on Cho Chang) were brought to life in a believable way with a nice touch of humour. It was also the first film in which Lord Voldemort appeared in full physical form and Ralph Fiennes seemed oh-so-chillingly-perfect.
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Rambo 4
Or just Rambo. The fourth film in the franchise hit home in 2008, a couple of decades after the third. Co-written and directed by Sly Stallone, this reprised his amar avatar of the Cold War/Vietnam veteran. Showing no signs of rust, Rambo 4 flexed its muscles and bayed for blood, ending with more kills than in any of the other films! Against all odds, the 62-year-old showed that he could still hit where it hurts.
4 family
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The bachchans: Amitabh, Jaya, Abhishek, Aishwarya
Bollywood’s first family has four actors who can walk into any film, any time. The Big B, of course, is the screen legend of our times. Jaya had made her mark as one of the most sensitive actresses in Indian cinema before becoming the Bachchan bahu. Today, she picks and chooses her roles with care. Son Abhishek had a rough start but found his feet with Mani Ratnam’s Yuva, showed a flair for comedy in Dostana and now commands his place among Bollywood’s boys. As if three wasn’t company enough, enter Aishwarya Rai in the ‘Bachchan’ family album! And unlike ma-in-law Jaya, Ash has not said no to movies — only to kissing on screen, perhaps — post-marriage. Between them, the Bachchans of Prateeksha can sure pack a punch or four. And as Amitabh has blog-boasted, there are three Padma Shris and one Padma Bhushan at home. Kya family hai!
4 books
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| If Sherlock Holmes is our favourite detective, Robert Downey Jr is our favourite Holmes (sorry, Jeremy Brett) and Jude Law our favourite Dr Watson. They are seen here in a still from the 2009 film Sherlock Holmes. We can’t wait for the next one |
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Sign of Four the secret pact
The Sign of Four, the second Sherlock Holmes novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1890), is set in 1887 but the plot goes back 30 years to the 1857 “rebellion in India” and the complex web within the East India Company. There’s stolen treasure, corrupt prison guards and a secret pact among four convicts (hence the name). We learn that our favourite detective (after Feluda, for some) has a drug addiction and are introduced to Dr Watson’s future wife, Mary Mortsan. The novel didn’t do well in its debut — much like the first one, A Study in Scarlet. It was only a year later that the short stories started appearing in Strand Magazine and Sherlock Holmes became a household hero.
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| Rituparna Sengupta as Damini in the 2008 cinematic adaptation of Chaturanga |
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chaturanga the quartet
Set in colonial Bengal, this 1916 novella by Rabindranath Tagore has four parts: Uncle, Sachish, Damini and Sribilash.
Sachish is consumed by the strict atheism of his uncle and renounces family life to serve society. He is also torn by his feelings for Nanibala, the rejected mistress of his elder brother. The death of his uncle shakes the very foundations of his beliefs and Sachish loses himself in his devotion to a swami. As Sachish turns religious, he is caught between conflicting emotions towards a young widow, Damini. Then there is Sribilash, the narrator and friend of Sachish, who at the end of the novel, emerges, some would say, as the true hero of the tale.
In 2008, Suman Mukhopadhyay adapted Chaturanga for the silver screen, casting Rituparna Sengupta, Subrat Dutta, Dhritiman Chaterji, Joy Sengupta and Kabir Suman. Remember a bare-back Rituparna as Damini? Of course you do!
4 volumes
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| A pictorial depiction of the Vedic tenets |
vedas: four tomes of wisdom
All the wisdom of the world is said to be contained in these four ancient Hindu compilations or Samhitas. That we know next to nothing about them speaks volumes about our wisdom, though! Dating back to 1,500 to 1,000 BC, the four canonical texts are:
Rigveda — The oldest of Indo-Aryan texts, this is a collection of over 1,000 hymns and 10,000 verses dedicated to the gods.
Yajurveda — More practical in its contents, each mantra in this text contains directions for an accompanying sacrificial rite. Psst: Some of its verses are borrowed from the Rigveda.
Samaveda — Over 1,500 stanzas in this text are directed to performing the Somayagna, to be uttered by singing priests. Psst: Numerous stanzas are lifted from the Rigveda; some are repeated more than once!
Atharvaveda — Authored by sages Atharvan and Angiras, the text has over 700 hymns to ward off evil, protect from disease, achieve one’s aims, and also on matters more philosophical and speculative.
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| The Resurrection of Christ by Peter Paul Rubens |
Gospels four stories of christ
We often say “gospel” when we mean “truth”, but why are there four of them? Multiple truths? Biblical experts say each evangelist or Christian preacher had a distinct purpose behind his gospel and thus each emphasised different aspects of Christ, giving a more complete picture of “the son of God”.
A gospel is a written account of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Of the many written, only four became part of the New Testament and thus canonical:
Matthew — The first book of the New Testament and the only one that talks of Christ’s infancy. Rhythmic and poetical, the most popular at church readings.
Mark — The second book, based on the words of Saint Peter. Dwells at length on the last week of Christ’s life and on his messages, given in parables.
Luke — The third and longest, lays special emphasis on prayer, the Holy Spirit, women and joyfulness.
John — Starts with the story of John The Baptist (not to be confused with the author) and concludes with the death, burial, resurrection and post-resurrection appearances of Christ.
4 places
four seasons: hotel for all seasons
A byword for luxury living, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts is the place to see and be seen at, the world over. Ranked high by magazines like Travel + Leisure and Conde Nast Traveller, this Toronto-based chain of luxury lairs has 84 properties in 34 countries.
Four Seasons set up its first Indian property in Mumbai in 2008. Located in Worli, Four Seasons Hotel Mumbai houses the country’s highest rooftop bar, Aer, perched on the 34th floor.
The hotel chain introduced spa facilities in the 1980s and since then, pamper and rejuvenation are synonymous with a stay at Four Seasons.
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| Four Seasons Hotel, Mumbai | Four Seasons Hotel, Budapest |
Charminar: mosque of the four minarets
If Victoria Memorial is Calcutta and Lal Qila Delhi, Charminar is Hyderabad. Built by Sultan Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah in 1591, the mosque gets its name from its four exquisitely carved minarets. History says the sultan built the granite-and-lime structure to thank the Almighty for ridding his people of a deadly plague. Today, it marks the bustling centre of the old city and a must-stop for any visitor to the Andhra capital. The area holds an added attraction for women, the nearby Laad Bazaar being a haven for bangles of every kind.
Psst: Of course, for the Bengali, Charminar first evokes the image of a strapping young sleuth, aka Feluda, with a cigarette dangling from his lips. We hate the tobacco, but we love the man who smoked Charminar!
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4 food
Masala musts for essential cuisine
Chinese
Chef Rajesh Dubey, director of food production, Speciality Restaurants, names four essential spices for Chinese cooking
Szechuan Pepper
The master spice of Szechuan cuisine, it adds a sort of “numbness” to the dish and a distinct flavour.
Chinese Black Beans
Used for enhancing the flavour, fermented Chinese black beans add a strong character to the dish.
Five Spice Powder
This is the garam masala equivalent in Chinese cooking. Consisting of fennel, star anise, cinnamon, Szechuan pepper and clove, this is the must-add spice to enhance the flavour and the aroma of a dish.
Soya Sauce
Since the Chinese normally steer clear of salt, the soya adds the much-needed flavour for the palate. One more reason to shove away that bottle of sodium (chloride).
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| Szechuan Pepper | Chinese Black Beans | Five Spice Powder | Soya Sauce |
Indian
Chef Sujan Mukherjee, executive chef, Taj Bengal, lists four spices that make the Indian platter
Red Chilli Powder
Crushed and powdered, this is indeed the mistress of spices. Think curry and lal mirch flashes in your mind’s eye. Burning bright in its flamboyance and intense in its flavour, lal mirch plays the dual role of making your dish visually appealing and hot!
Coriander
From maachher jhol to sambhar dal, or your favourite pulao, add a dash of dhania powder for that heady Indian aroma. But that’s just the dry seed powder; a bunch of the fragrant green leaves of dhoney pata/dhania patta makes Indian cooking as aromatic as it can get.
Cumin
Used in cuisines of many countries, cumin, or jeera as we know it, is one of the commonest spices across the world. In India, almost all regional cuisines use jeera in some form or the other — whole seeds or roasted and crushed. No wonder desi khana has Jeera Aloo, Jeera Rice, Jeera Paratha….
Turmeric
The rich yellow spice has a romance of its own. From the haldi ceremony during weddings to skincare, turmeric’s role in our lives extends way beyond the kitchen. And no Indian curry is complete without several generous pinches of it.
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| Red Chilli Powder | Coriander | Cumin | Turmeric |
4 fashion
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Sabyasachi Mukherjee lists four wardrobe musts for...
...HIM
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| A classic white shirt | A great watch | Nice moccasins or brogues in either a classic or a quirky colour | A Well-fitted pair of well-worn denims |
& her
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| A classic handbag who can be your next best friend | Great shoes in flat and heels | A perfect lipstick which can give a free ride to NYC! | Good traditional saris in silk and cotton |
