Indian models out of fashion overseas

For top Indian model Apoorva Vishwanathan, the difference between
success on the catwalks of her own country and an international
modelling career can be measured in inches -- two of them.

"I wish I had endless legs. I could be cat-walking with the Heidi
Klums of the world," said the Bangalore-based Vishwanathan who stands
five feet nine inches (175cm) in her bare feet.

"But you've got to be at least 5'11" for any international fashion
house to come near you," she told AFP during the recent New Delhi
Fashion Week.

Compared to the West, career modelling is still in its infancy in
India, although it has made huge strides on the back of rapid economic
growth and the growing profile of Indian fashion designers.

Only a handful of Indian models have tasted success abroad, with the
likes of Lakshmi Menon and Ujjwala Raut modelling for Gucci and Yves
Saint-Laurent.

Menon walked for Jean Paul Gaultier shows in Paris and went on to
become the face of French luxury goods maker Hermes, replacing
Ukrainian Daria Werbowy.

The financial pay-off for those who do break out of the relatively
low-paid domestic scene can be enormous, and Raut is quite frank about
why she is no longer seen working the Indian fashion shows.

"They can't afford me," she told the Times of India in an interview last week.

Whispered allegations of racism have been made by some who tried and
failed overseas, but Vishwanathan believes the main barrier is the
natural body shape of Indian women.

"We are genetically more voluptuous and curvaceous," Vishwanathan
said, adjusting her tight mini-skirt as she sat down during a break in
her daily round of make-up sessions, hair-dos and fittings.

"Agencies abroad want girls who are really thin, almost skinny. It is
tough for us to fit into their requirements.

"I have been around on the Indian fashion scene for 10 years and would
have absolutely loved to make it big internationally. But even if you
have a little body to you, you're out of the race," she said.

Another factor is that Indian models tend to start their careers much
later than their Western counterparts, with parental pressure often
keeping them in college until their early 20s.

"In the international context it means they are already over the
hill," said Anjana Sharma, fashion director at IMG Reliance.

"Gisele Bundchen started modelling at 14, Kate Moss was discovered at
14 and by 16 she was a known face," she said.

Once frowned upon in conservative India as an immodest career choice,
modelling grew in popularity -- and acceptability -- in 1994, the year
former Indian models Sushmita Sen and Aishwarya Rai took the Miss
Universe and Miss World titles respectively.

Both went on to successful and lucrative film careers, fuelling the
aspirations of millions along the way.

More recently, the launch of Vogue India in 2007 heralded the start of
a new fashion era and an overhaul of wardrobes of the nouveau riche.

"You name any international magazine and they are now in India," said
popular dress designer Samant Chauhan.

"It has opened the outside world to India. Models in India are now
more aware, assured and ambitious."

Rikee Chatterjee, a 24-year-old up-and-coming model said her family
fully supported her decision to take up modelling even before she
finished her college degree.

"They understood and backed my choice," she said. "A lot of parents
now are happy enough to see their kids in the limelight."

But there are some limits.

Indian models generally hesitate to do lingerie work, or other shows
that involve baring a lot of skin, and most lingerie ads in Indian
fashion magazines use foreign models.

"The question is not so much of modesty -- but of negative public
opinion," said Nonita Kalra, editor-in-chief of the Indian version of
Elle fashion magazine.

There are also complaints of a bias against darker-skinned models in
India where a light complexion is widely considered synonymous with
beauty and skin-lightening creams rack up annual sales of 500 million
dollars.

Top Indian model Dipannita Sharma ruffled feathers earlier this year
when she accused not just the fashion industry but the country as a
whole of being "obsessed" witn fairness.

"We will take another hundred years to completely get over it," she said

Source : Yahoo.com.sg

Deepavali – The Sweets, The Snacks and the Substantial

Makansutra – Mon, Oct 24, 2011 3:20 PM SGT
Text and images by Lorraine Koh @ Makansutra (yahoo.com.sg)

Nothing quite lights up one face, like good food. With Deepavali,
otherwise known as the Festival of Lights around the corner, our
Indian friends can look forward to precious moments with good food and
good company. "Deepavali is one of the most pleasant periods of the
year. There is a lot of celebration and the season where you can
expect prosperity!" says Chef Milind Sovani , head chef at The Song
of India. So what are the munchies involved in Deepavali? In essence,
there are the sweets, snacks and more substantial dishes.

The Sweets

The sweets include Jalebi, Bal Mithai and Bondi Laddu. Word of
caution: Indians really like their desserts super sweet, and this may
not sit well with those of us without a natural sweet tooth.

"In the Indian culture, Indian sweets symbolise either the spreading
of good news or an event of celebration such as Deepavali. The Hindus
believe that sweets are the best way of expressing happiness and
goodness," says Chef Sheikh Asabulla, head chef at Zaffron Kitchen.

"We have a saying 'make our friends' palette sweet' which translates
to sharing our joy with friends," adds Sovani.

The Snacks

Savoury snacks include different varieties of Murukku. This crunchy
snack is made from urad and rice flour with various flavourings like
chilli or cumin added. Although murukku is available throughout the
year, it's still a must-have item at the Indian household.

"Deepavali sweets and snacks are usually prepared a week in advance
and compared to other Indian snacks, they can be stored for a longer
period of time," says Sovani. The reason for this is because Deepavali
is typically celebrated over a period of five days. These snacks can
only be bought during Deepavali. He adds, "Due to the fast pace of
city life, few families make these sweets and savouries from scratch.
There are now many Indian companies who are able to courier these
snacks anywhere in the world, during Deepavali. I have to say, the
taste is also authentic."

The Substantial

"Deepavali is essentially the celebration of bringing light into the
world and the triumph of good over evil and therefore, Hindus come
together to have family meals after sunset as the coming together
symbolises the harmony present amongst loved ones. Thus, bringing
light and hope to everyone around during this festive period," says
Asabulla. There are many homecooked dishes Indian families can look
forward to like Mutton Mysore, Dum Chicken Briyani and Chicken
Chettinad.

The Indians also observe some religious rituals which involve food
during this occasion. Sovani says, "During Deepavali, the lady of the
house will get up early, bathe and offer her worship to the gods
before preparing food for the family." Asabulla adds that Hindus make
it a point to present offerings such as fresh fruit and home-made
desserts when they visit the temple during this festive season.

Asabulla, who hails from North India, remarks, "In India, it is
priority to spend Deepavali at home with loved ones and to enjoy a
hearty home-cooked meal with great music, laughter and happiness.
Although this is common for Singaporeans, the factor of spending more
and going out of the house to commemorate the festivities of Deepavali
is also observed."

From Makansutra and Makanation, we wish all our Hindu friends a happy Deepavali!

Singapore Food – from street to sleek

Makansutra – Sat, Oct 15, 2011 12:59 AM SGT
Text by Sheere Ng @ Makansutra

Singaporean food culture is rojak – not as in the Asian salad but its
urban meaning of "mixture". We add southeast Asian spices such as
garlic, ginger and chilli to the sedated chicken rice from the Hainan
Island; we combine noodles, a Chinese staple, with Malay spices and
rempah culinary techniques to create a repertoire of "mee" soup; and
we add minced mutton, egg and Indian spices to western baguette and
invented a new dish for the British, or John, and named it after them.

So Singaporean food is born out of cross-cultural exchanges, will this
fact make us more accepting towards attempts to alter it? What would
you say if the tourism authorities and relevant agencies here
Singapore Tourism Board (STB) wants to publicise Singapore food, but
in a different way from how we have always known them?

Last week, 21 chefs from 15 different cities were in town for the
Singapore International Culinary Exchange organised by Singapore
Tourism Board (STB), IE Singapore and SPRING Singapore. During the
event, the chefs came up with their own interpretation of
Singapore-inspired dishes, which they may feature in their own
restaurants.

Amongst them was Chef Alvin Leung from Bo Innovation, Hong Kong, who
is well-known for his modern interpretation of Chinese cuisine. He
made a poached egg in laksa stock, with cockles on the side and
deep-fried rice noodles as garnish – turning the main ingredient into
a side ingredient and vice versa.

Chef Leung said he retained what he liked about the original laksa,
but changed what he didn't fancy. "I didn't like the hardboiled egg so
I made it into a poached egg under 63 degree heat," he said. He kept
the cockles rather than the prawns (he used them to make the stock
instead) because it has a softer texture and blends well with the egg
when chewed together.

While the first dish still has much resemblance to its traditional
form, Chef Leung's other creation stretches your imagination. In his
rendition of Rojak, which he said was made to suit a kid's palate, he
replaced turnip with Chinese pear, prawn paste with black soy sauce,
peanuts with pine nuts and added rose apples and vanilla ice-cream.

"The DNA of Rojak is found in its textures. My creation has similar
bite to the original ingredients, but I think children will prefer my
version," he said. The taste, as you would have guessed by now, is
entirely different.

Most of the other chefs picked out a sauce or an ingredient to create
something entirely new. Chef Josean Martinez Alija from Nerua, Spain,
for example, made a soup out of banana flowers and the plant's stem
after discovering the ingredient at a Peranakan restaurant here. "I
like to look out for new things, it could be a new dish or an
ingredient, and then play with it and experiment with it in my
cooking," he said.

Most of these chefs have turned local street food into haute cuisine.
These, or other similarly high-toned dishes, will be introduced into
their restaurants' menus for at least six months as part of STB's
effort to promote Singapore to the rest of the world. "The chefs are
free to exercise their creativity in presenting their own
interpretation of Singapore food, reflecting our position as a capital
for culinary innovation," said Ms Ranita Sundramoorthy, STB's Director
of Attractions, Dining & Retail.

What we are curious about is whether these are how Singaporeans want
their food to be introduced to the rest of the world. Are you the one
who will laud the creativity and audaciousness of these chefs or do
you belong o the opposite camp that says, "No, we don't want the
essences of our traditional dishes to be tainted!"?

Tell us your thoughts!

Hyo-min Clarifies T-ara's "Attitude Problem"

..18 Oct – Current leader of Korean girl group T-ara, Hyo-min, has
decided to clarify the controversy surrounding the group's
disrespectful attitude that arose while performing at an event,
according to allkpop.

For the uninitiated, earlier on 14 October, a netizen on an online
community board had written about her disappointment with T-ara, "They
came to perform at a festival in Woori, and all they did was laugh and
chat on their own while lip-syncing. Their mouths didn't match up to
the words at all and they really didn't care for the performance."

The netizen continued, saying that the youngest member, Ji-yeon, was
merely staring at the floor while Qri was looking disinterested with
the MC's speech. This was not the first time for Ji-yeon as she also
faced criticism earlier for her performance in the KBS '7080 Concert'.

In her Twitter, Hyo-min clarified, "For our "Why Are You Like This"
performance, there are gestures we'll make where it looks like we're
talking to each other. That is a part of the choreography. For "Roly
Poly", we tried to make the stage look as fun as possible by laughing
and playing jokes on each other. It's a part of the performance. I
think those things have caused such a misunderstanding."

She continued by expressing the group's gratitude towards their fans,
and promised to work hard to live up to their expectations. Hyo-min
finishes with, "Please don't misunderstand us."

Source : Yahoo.com.sg

Jang Geun-suk annoys "Love Rain" production

..28 Oct – Jang Geun-suk's international schedule may not hurt him,
but it sure hurts others involved in his projects - especially the
shooting of KBS' highly anticipated drama "Love Rain".

According to allkpop website, insiders from the production claimed
that shooting for the drama was ground to a halt for two weeks due to
Jang Geun-suk's busy schedule.

The anonymous source stated, "Director Yoon Suk-ho recently brought
all the managers together to go over schedules. Because Jang Geun-suk
paid attention only to his foreign schedules, the director had to step
up to the plate. It's a rare case for the director to personally meet
with the managers."

He added, "The shooting schedule is considerably backed up. We were
supposed to have completed five episodes by now, but only got through
one. Jang Geun-suk keeps leaving in the middle of this situation, so
the directors and the other cast members are having a hard time."

Jang Geun-suk recently kicked off his Japanese Arena Tour, and also
had his first Chinese album to promote as well.

"Love Rain", which also stars SNSD's YoonA as the female lead, is
scheduled to be broadcast in early 2012. It is highly anticipated as
the drama would be a comeback for famous director Yoon Suk-ho who
directed the four season dramas, including "Winter Sonata" (2002) and
"Autumn in My Heart" (2000).

Source : Yahoo.sg