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Monday, 29 October 2012 07:36 |
bpb waves at cute Mumbai boys who surf and they help us put together this guide to everything surfing – how to begin, where to learn, buying equipment, Indian surf clubs and more. Plus, free blue tarp surfing in Bombay today!
Contributors:
Raffael Kably, 23, filmmaker and musician, started surfing two years ago: “Prepare to be beaten, battered and smiling from ear to ear even after that. Once you’ve been bitten by the surf bug, there's no way out.”
Sandeep Gonsalves, 26, entrepreneur and owner SS Homme, started surfing two weeks ago: “I expected it to be a lot more intimidating, but it’s not. Can’t wait to go back to Manipal in December when you get to surf with dolphins!”
Cabir Maira, 29, actor and sound engineer, started surfing four years ago: “Flow with it. Have fun!”
Arif Futehally, 38, business owner, surfing since 13 years: “It’s great to see more people in India take up surfing.”
Quick Guide for Beginners
Learn
Surfing lessons cost approximately between Rs 700 to Rs 1,500 a day (including equipment) and usually range from single sessions (not recommended) to six day and up courses.
Shaka Surf Club, Manipal
A Surfing Federation of India (SFI) accredited surf school, Shaka is run by two cute instructors – Tushar and Ishita – who’ll teach you how to surf and also ensure you get a yum fish and mussels lunch after. At the Shaka Beach Shack you can relax in between lessons, catch a surfing movie or hang with other surfers. Manipal, view their Facebook group here or call 09986742710.
Ashram Surf Retreat, Mulki
This guest house and teaching school doesn’t allow meat, cigarettes and alcohol, and advocates celibacy, but surfers tell us the teachers are great and super patient with beginners. They’ll have you living on the banks of a river that flows into the ocean, so you can paddle out from the ashram itself. View more information here.
Kallialay Surf School, Auroville
“Amazing place, amazing guys,” is the review we got for this Pondicherry surf school run by two Spanish instructors. Call 94429 92874/ 9789306376 or view more information here.
Cocopelli Surf School, Gokarna
This one’s a great option for beginners considering the gentle waves at Gokarna beach. Courses range from two hours to six days. View more information here.
Soul & Surf, Varkala
This pretty Kerala hotel and surf school also comes with rooftop rooms and sunset yoga sessions. Our contributor Raffael Kably is actually “moving here to work as a manager and of course, to surf!” Go say hi. See more information here.
Quest Adventures, Alibaug
Our surfers turn their noses up at Mandwa, but it’s still a nearby option for Bombay beginners. Call 09820367412 or view the Facebook page here
Buy
Surfing-india.com
This online surf store sells boards, stand up paddleboards, bodyboards, fins, leashes, wax and some pretty cool shorts. Visit surfing-india.com, boards start at Rs 28,000.
Quiksilver and Roxy
For tricked out surf boards, board shorts and bikinis. Shop no 6, ground floor, Courtyard, High Street Phoenix, Lower Parel, call 66345011, Rs 1,295 for flipflops, boards start at Rs 13,000.
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Monday, 29 October 2012 06:54 |
In this weekly column, filmmaker Danish Aslam will be your purveyor of the finest quality random facts, useless trivia and other esoterica from the world wide web. He lives mostly behind a keyboard and may or may not be a wizened old green man who speaks in grammatically incorrect aphorisms. You can find more on his home page http://pictually.me/dontpanic TED
Okay, so I've just come back from my first TEDx talk in Mangalore (where my wife was one of the speakers!) and I'm ODing on all things TED right now. And very tired. Which is by way of explaining what this first piece is about. And why all my intros are going to be on the shorter side today. Although I prefer pithy. So, here's a nice piece from a while back by Virginia Heffernan called 'Confessions Of A TED Addict'. Apart from being an obvious paean to the beauty of this concept (it includes lines like "once you start watching TED talks, ordinary life falls away."), it's a nice way to understand how they work and what to look for if you're preparing to dive headfirst into the very large sea of material that is available. And once you've got the hang of it, here's a handy list of 10 talks that everybody should see.
PS: Bonus material: 'Weird, or just different?', a really interesting two-minute talk that was recommended at the TEDx I attended.
Living Movie Stills
From one life-altering blog to another not-so-revolutionary-but-still-pretty cool one. A Tumblr created by Gustaf Mantel, 'If We Don't, Remember Me' is a collection of stills from movies that have just one part of the image animated. The results are alternately beautiful and funny, but always fascinating. Mr. Mantel calls them "living movie stills" and if you possess an iPhone (why wouldn't you?) and would like to try your hand at creating one yourself, try out an app called Cinemagram. It's quite funky if you get it right.
Extremely Silly Photos of Extremely Serious Historical Figures
This is the last blog-related piece in this….blog. Which is kind of meta, when you think about it. Shut up. Okay, so some of you may remember a link I'd put up in the early days of this blog about another blog (so many blogs!) called 'Awesome People Hanging Out Together'. If you weren't one of the wise few who had latched onto this weekly dispensation of inutile minutiae (which is a fancy way of saying…..well, you figure it out), you should definitely check it out. I discovered another link this week that reminded me of this: Flavorwire put together a list of 'Extremely Silly Photos Of Extremely Serious Historical Figures', and while this may seem frivolous, once you see Nancy Reagan sitting on Santa Mr. T's lap, you may just change your mind.
PS: Blog. Blog, blogblog. Fine, I'll put on the straightjacket.
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Thursday, 25 October 2012 19:30 |
 Because we get that you love Bollywood music at house parties, but you don’t want to be the guy that cued up an Akshay Kumar song. Let new website Ghati Party do your dirty work for you: choose a playlist that matches your level of “ghatiness” and sit back and pretend you had nothing to do with the track list.
We picked Ghatipan Heaven and got music like Jaati Hoon Main from Karan Arjun, Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein from Baazigar and that classic of all time: Choli Ke Peechche Kya Hai from Khal Nayak. Little too ghetto? Scale it down with Ghatipan In Control or I’m Too Cool For This List (although, there are better websites for you) with, um, What Is Love and Sex Bomb thrown in there with Jay Z and Rihanna.
Yes end-of-year revellers and wedding dancers, your party just got pretty CD.
Getting there: Ghati Party, a new music website, view at www.ghatiparty.com, free.
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Thursday, 25 October 2012 11:05 |
 What: Full text book posters by The Narrators, call 9820427444, visit www.the-narrators.com/posters, start at Rs 15,000 with the frame, shipped across India.
Why: You know how you’ve always wanted to wear a monocle? Here’s one reason: newly launched company The Narrator sources classic book posters from Europe that have the entire novel text written on a single satin paper canvas to form a design. Journalist Reshma Jain, who got the idea when a friend from Berlin gifted her the Pride and Prejudice version, plans to start designing them in-house soon, which should lead to a drop in price. See Trainspotting, The Picture of Dorian Gray, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and more. Without these, the monocle you’re wearing looks a little pretentious. Just saying.
When: You want to go Where the Wilde Things Are.
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Tuesday, 23 October 2012 08:57 |
When Shirley Abraham and Amit Madheshiya take a road trip, it usually involves loads of drama and bright lights and many, many pairs of wondrous eyes.
Mumbai-based filmmaker/researcher and photographer respectively, Shirley and Amit have been taking trips to rural Maharashtra for almost four years now, following travelling tent cinemas, nomadic talkies that set up make-shift theatres in villages after crop gathering season in October. Bumper opening!
While Amit has had several exhibits, Shirley is now working on a film that captures this unique form of entertainment that has survived despite household television and digital entertainment. “The film explores how we live on through the images, memories, landscapes we create, which, however transient, remain abiding,” says Shirley, adding that the movie is currently in post production and should be ready by early next year. After the film, they will begin work on the book that is still in concept stage and has explored ideas like biographies from the travelling cinemas, a photo book of patron portraits and more.
Gold Rush
Since there wasn’t too much academic research on the travelling cinemas of Maharashtra, Shirley and Amit relied on oral narratives, conversations, folklore, legends, archives, a few collection records from the community, Amit’s images and participatory observation across three seasons of the tent cinemas. During this time, they found that it wasn’t just regional and Bollywood films, but also dubbed Hollywood flicks that were showcased in the villages.
“We witnessed the sheer intoxication that cinema has come to mean, for many of those who run companies despite the pervasive, slick digital media. I once met a cinema owner who had been stealing gold from his family to be able to run his theatre,” Shirley recalls. "There was also a story about a woman delivering a baby in one of the tents during a film screening. Of course this is part of community folklore, but it surely points to the patronage that the cinemas enjoy.”
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Monday, 22 October 2012 22:28 |
When a fitness regime makes you think of labour and assembly lines, drawing comparisons between well-oiled machines and your body, you know it’s going to be overtime and exploitation at the gym. Revision of the Factories Act?
This is Strength Factory, the newest fitness brand to hit Mumbai. Brought here by LA trainer Manoj Pathak, the Factory advocates a fitness program called Metabolic Hyperdrive Workout. This is designed to work on more than one body part at a time, and helps improve your metabolism, burn fat, lose excess pounds and tone your body. Not relying on gym equipment, Strength Factory lets you work with fun gear like ropes, balls and tyres.
Classes (twice a week, morning or evening) for the Metabolic Hyperdrive Workout start officially on November 5 at Chowpatty and Matunga, but you can book your spot now. They also offer personal and corporate training options, having recently trained employees at Puma and Dale Carnegie. You can also ask them about their free seminar, which will be announced soon, as well as trial sessions.
Different from CrossFit
The Metabolic Hyperdrive program is based on the principles of functional training, which uses everyday, familiar movements like lifting, cycling, running and makes sure you’re working a combination of muscles and sections at the same time, whether it’s stomach and leg muscles during modified push-ups, or arms and thigh muscles while doing tyre flips.
Intense? Yes, it’s the kind of workout where you work and sweat your way through the entire 45-minute session. “But it’s not like CrossFit, where the training is effective, but super grueling and more suited for those who need a high level of athletic training. Our program is comparatively lighter and great for people who want to be fit but don’t necessarily want to join the army.”
Looks like your petition for more humane work(out) conditions at the Factory has finally been passed.
Getting there: Strength Factory at Studio Balance in Krishna Kunj CHS, 29/30 KM Munshi Marg, Chowpatty and Don Bosco High School, 19, Nathalal Parekh Marg, opposite Khalsa College, King Circle, Matunga (East), call 9323609165, Rs 4,500 for one month (introductory offer).
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Monday, 22 October 2012 09:07 |
 In this weekly column, filmmaker Danish Aslam will be your purveyor of the finest quality random facts, useless trivia and other esoterica from the world wide web. He lives mostly behind a keyboard and may or may not be a wizened old green man who speaks in grammatically incorrect aphorisms. You can find more on his home page http://pictually.me/dontpanic
The History Of Bombay
Maximum City by Suketu Mehta remains, for me, one of the definitive books on Bombay that I've ever read and what also made me realise that despite having lived here for six years at the time, I still didn't really know anything about this brilliantly conflicted, vibrant, reverberating, teeming behemoth of a city at all. The closest I've come to reading a similarly interesting bit is this article by Vir Sanghvi. Written from the perspective of someone who has seen the evolution of this city since he was a child, it's chock-full of anecdotes including the real reason why it was called Bombay, the origin of Udipi restaurants, the rise of the Shiv Sena and other such esoterica. If you're one of the millions locked in a love-hate relationship with this adopted city of mine, then you'll want to read this.
How To Play A Video Game With Your Dad
There's something addictive and immersive about an open-world video game. And the 'addiction' part only comes to light three months after you've started when you look wonderingly at the callouses on your fingers through bleary sleep-deprived eyes at 6 am on the fifth straight night that you've been up exploring the new level that you've just unlocked. Having said that, the level of detailing that goes into these things is nothing short of staggering. And Rockstar Games is the company that leads the pack by miles. Apart from their most famous creation yet - The Grand Theft Auto series - they've also expanded into other worlds with series like Red Dead Redemption (another excellent game) and, more recently, their most accomplished work yet in terms of detailing, LA Noire. Just how authentic this game where you play a detective in 1940s LA will be obvious once you read this piece by Christian Dolan on how he played this game with his father who spent almost all his time driving around the city that he remembered as a child instead of actually playing anything. Now all we need is someone to try and map Bombay like that - the only problem being that with this highly amorphous city, the moment you're done you need to start all over again. Ah well, one can always hope…
The History Of Times Square
New York is the capital of the world. And Times Square is the….presidential palace? Galactic HQ? The latter's not too far off the mark and if you've ever had the privilege of seeing it lit up at night, you'll know what I'm talking about. But it wasn't always like this. And Snejana Farberov has compiled a few photographs that detail the evolution of perhaps the most famous piece of real estate in the world, right from construction of the New York Times office (hence the name) till the post-Giuliani makeover that transformed it into the sound-and-light show that it is now. Worth a dekko.
PS: That last word just jumped out from some hidden recess of my brain straight onto the page. And then I got to wondering about the etymology. And, much to my delight, I have discovered that, like much colonial English, it is derived from the closest-sounding Hindi word that jumps to mind: dekho. There you go, useless trivia for the day quota: met.
The 99 Steps Of Progress
Everybody's seen 'The March Of Progress' illustration. And hopefully not just on a T-shirt. Now, science's favourite illustration is getting a remix. Called 'The 99 Steps Of Progress', this is a visual project being curated by Paris-based Maentis.com and involves, you guessed it, 99 reinterpretations of the iconic image. Ironically, limited edition T-shirts are also available.
The Six Most Hilariously Creative Acts Of Revenge
I love Cracked.com and the lists they keep coming up with. I did have some initial apprehension about them running out of list-friendly material eventually, but so far they seem to be going strong. And for proof, here's one of their newer compilations, 'The 6 Most Hilariously Creative Acts Of Revenge'. I don't think I could be clearer than that about the topic of this post.
The Greatest Flying Machine Ever Invented
Today's post seems to be a little heavy on the long-reads, but I can't help tipping the balance askew a little more. If you're a plane or military enthusiast, or just a red-blooded male with a predilection to taking off your shirt and howling at the sky whenever a fighter jet passes overhead (apologies to Rakesh Mehra), then you'll probably want to read this article. Gizmodo has posted an excerpt from Sled Driver, a book written by Major Brian Shul, one of the lucky few people in the world who got to fly that pinnacle of human technology: the Lockheed Martin SR-71Blackbird, fondly (and incorrectly) known to most people as the Stealth Bomber. The excerpt intersperses the history of the plane with Major Shul's personal experiences taming the beast, but my favourite excerpt is the story of one-upmanship on the radio when he taught a Navy F-18 who the real boss of the skies was. Fair warning: excessively high testosterone levels may be encountered during the perusal of this piece.
The Best Of Felix Baumgartner
I'm going to leave you with a little addition to last week's piece on Felix Baumgartner. Apart from being the man who, quite literally, fell to earth, he's made a career out of jumping from all kinds of crazy places. And the best of them have been compiled by The Daily Mail so that you can have your mind blown all at once. To say that he has a death-wish would perhaps be a mild understatement, but man would I love to do half the stuff he's done!
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Friday, 19 October 2012 09:57 |
 What: Mr. Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan, Rs 1,136 on Flipkart, or free e-book download on Tuebl.com.
Why: This is a two-for-the-price-of-one recommendation, a book we love and a website we have grown scarily dependent on. Mr Penumbra’s 24-Hour-Bookstore is the coolest book of the year, so good that we want to stop strangers on the street and tell them about it - or at least urge you, dear reader, to partake of its manifold Google-meets-books, New York-meets-San Francisco, Dan Brown-meets-Jaron Lanier pleasures. We bought our copy on Flipkart (it has a glow in the dark cover!), but pirates, you can get the Kindle edition for free at www.tuebl.com.
When: You want to kill two words with one stone.
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Friday, 19 October 2012 09:22 |
 What: Crude Area, online graphic art marketplace, visit www.crudearea.com, visit the Facebook page here.
Why: The content on this website will be graphic in nature and we can’t wait to browse its e-walls for sexy, affordable illustrative art. Jollies good! Conceptualised by Bindu Nair Maitra, ex-editor of Kyoorius design magazine, and Shweta Bhandari from Webchutney, this online marketplace will sell art according to themes like superheroes, fashion, typography, humour, film and more. You have the option of choosing frame sizes, paper/canvas and gift certificates.
When: Brush Hour strikes at the end of October.
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