Food Vendors wanted for Ottawa’s Carnival of Cultures- June 2013

I was sent an inquiry letter from the marketplace organizers of the upcoming 20th Anniversary Carnival of Cultures, taking place June 7, 8, 9, 2013.

Here is the relevant excerpt for any food vendors out there , especially of south asian cuisine who might be interested!:

This year, Carnival of Cultures will be presented outdoors on June 7, 8 and 9, 2013 at Marion Dewar Plaza (in front of Ottawa City Hall) at the corner of Laurier Avenue and Elgin Street.  This year’s event will celebrate over 400 artists representing over 25 different countries from afar.  

 

For its 20^th anniversary, we are planning a special international food fair! To ensure that we represent Canada’s true culinary diversity, we would appreciate your help, as you are uniquely qualified as a representative within the Indian community and cultural scene. We would be grateful if you would so kindly refer us to the following:

1. Any restaurant or food vendors within the Indian community
2. Any food merchants selling Indian food products
3. Anyone who could coordinate a cooking demonstration of Indian cuisine

Please reply to this letter no later than Thursday, April 25^th. Don’t hesitate to contact us by email at marketplace@carnivalofcultures.com or by phone at (613) 742-6952 for further information or clarification.  You may also visit our website at http://www.carnivalofcultures.com. 

Respectfully Yours,   

Tony Yazbek

Executive Director 

Carnival of Cultures / Carnaval des cultures

P.O. Box 7238 Station Vanier, Ottawa, Ontario. K1L 8E3

marketplace@carnivalofcultures.com     (613)742-6952

 

March 19, 2013: Ottawa’s Official 4 Shanbeh Soori

 

Ottawa’s Official 4 Shanbeh Soori. Tuesday March 19, 8PM Sala San Marco Banquet Hall.  Asheh Reshteh, Atish Bazi, Dj Music and Much more.  Tickets available at the door for 10$ Children under 6 Free. Info: 613-292-6181 or bia2ottawa.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/251503268319446/

March 23: BACA-NCR- Holi Celebration

 

BACA PRESENTING LIVE ORCHESTRA FLAVOURED WITH BOLLYWOOD DANCE.

 

Bihar Association of Canada-NCR presents the annual festival ‘ HOLI 2013″

ON March 23, 2013

 

Date: March 23, 2013

Time: 6.00 p.m to 10.00 p.m

Venue: Ron Kolbus Centre, Britania Park

Tickets:  Family (2 Adult+2 Kid)= 40 dollar

                Additional member 15 dollar.

                Single Ticket 15 dollar.

FOOD AND FUN(live orchestra) INCLUDED IN THE TICKET PRICE.

FOR TICKETS PLEASE CONTACT:

Shahid: 613-440-0014    Umesh: 613-276-8076      Namita: 613-266-8624

Email: neetusaxena@yahoo.com

 

MARCH 16, 2013: MYSTICAL JOURNEY- Concert in Ottawa

Hello everyone!

We are very pleased to announce Mushfiq Ensemble’s next concert, which will be held onSaturday March 16 at the Centrepointe Theatre (see the Poster attached)

For the first time, we will be taking our audience on a journey through the powerful poetry of Mawlana Rumi, sung in its original language of Farsi. While many translations have been generated in recent times, the subtleties and cultural references from the original language do get lost. This production seeks to bring a narrative that will bring these subtleties to light, given the cultural and historical contexts of the time.

Performed by Ustad Mushfiq Hashimi and Moheb Hashimy as principal artists, whose mother tongue is Farsi, we invite you to come and experience Rumi’s poetry as you have not experienced it before. Other sufi poetry as well as favourite Qawwalis will also be performed as part of this unique production.

TICKETS go on sale Friday, February 8

Ticket Price: $20

Student/child: $15

VIP tickets also available

 TO PURCHASE, CONTACT: mushfiq@mushfiq.ca or call 613-862-8856

Let the Spark touch your Heart

 Mushfiq Arts Company

 

 

“Kai Po Che” Review

Don’t walk to the theatre to see the new Hindi film “Kai Po Che” – run! Without a doubt, the best South Asian film of the year, and possibly one of the best films in the world this year, has been released and it should not be missed.

A ‘small’ film that, according to reports, major ‘Bollywood’ stars wanted nothing to do with, this Abhishek Kapoor-directed masterwork is a study in storytelling that is, unfortunately, all too rare.

“Kai Po Che”, originally a Gujurati phrase meaning “I have cut the kite” with regards to competitive kite fighting, tells the story of three friends who have “known each other since they were sperm”, as a sister relates. Set in Ahmedabad in the years just before and during the earthquake and riots of the new millenium, unsure what to do with their lives but knowing it must involve their beloved cricket, the film follows their efforts to make something of themselves.

As their lives play out, with a reality, honesty and truthfulness that is so often missing in films these days, this story soars with passion, joy and heartbreak that is simply stunning.

With the three young leads, the Hindi film industry has found three new stars – Sushant Singh Rajput, Amit Sadh and Raj Kumar Yadav. Rajput is “Ishaan”, the cricketer, the dreamer, the emotional anchor; Sadh is “Omi”, the deep thinker, the loyal nephew to his politician uncle, the realist; and Yadav is “Govind”, the repressed romantic, the practical businessman, the pragmatist.

Based on Chetan Bhagat’s novel “The 3 Mistakes of My Life”, and adapted for the screen by Bhagat, Pubali Chaudhari, Supratik Sen and Kapoor, “Kai Po Che’s” characters stay true and real throughout, and as the narrative continues to grow and deepen, never once is there a false note.

Walking the fine political line (Ishaan and Govind are Hindu, Omi is Muslim), “Kai Po Che” manages to show both sides of the Gujurati riots in a fair and just light – there are no bad guys here, just people misunderstanding each other with tragic consequences. It is a fine balancing act that Kapoor gets just right.

Amit Trivedi’s music, wisely and sparsely used, enhances rather than slows down the narrative – there are no splashy dance numbers here. Anay Goswamy’s cinematography is lush and innovative and never boring. Shot entirely in India, a refreshing change, amongst the ‘middle class’, this is a film that everyone can understand – this is not NRI’s in London or Dubai; these are the ‘common people’ living everyday lives, caught up in situations beyond their control.

Amrita Puri, as “Ishaan’s” sister and “Govind’s” love interest, is sweet and sincere and totally believable. Digvijay Deshmukh is a wonderful junior artiste – his “Ali”, a young Muslim cricket phenom who would rather play marbles, is a complex character, an innocent who accidentally becomes the linchpin to the larger story of the film.

Ronnie Screwvala and Siddarth Roy Kapur, without a doubt the most savvy producers in the Hindi film industry today, have backed a winner in this one.

Director Abhishek Kapoor waited five years to gift us with another film after his beautifully rendered “Rock On!” in 2008. If he takes five years to give us another film like this one, I can wait. He is not just a film-maker, he is a craftsman.

I jotted down only two things in my notebook while watching “Kai Po Che”. The first was “WOW!” The second – “A film that halfway through – your are in love and don’t want it to end.” Even now, almost 24 hours later, I still feel that way.

　

“Race 2″ Review

A sequel, like it’s rare cousin the ‘prequel’, is a delicate beast. It has to live up to the original, yet offer something new, different and, above all, better. Few sequels measure up – even rarer are the ones that surpass (for example, “The Godfather Part 2″ and “Lage Raho Munnabhai”).

The long list of unfortunate sequels adds another name to it’s roster with Abbas-Mustan’s “Race 2″. This big budget extravaganza offers a lot of eye candy for both men and women, with gorgeous sculpted bodies, sleek cars and boats, exotic and tantalizing locations and, at times, fast-paced action. But what it offers in style, it lacks in substance.

Saif Ali Khan is back as “Ranveer Singh”, the scheming ‘hero’ of the first “Race”, released in 2008. Anil Kapoor reprises his comedic role of “Singh’s” ‘partner-in-crime’, the fruit-eating ex-cop “Robert D’Costa”. But other than a cameo from Bipasha Basu as “Singh’s” wife, the rest of the cast is new. (To be fair, Akshaye Khanna and Katrina Kaif’s characters died in the original so bringing them back could have been a problem.)

Joining Khan and Kapoor in this new adventure are John Abraham as the antagonist, Deepika Padukone as his half-sister and Jacqueline Fernandez as his financee. Ameesha Patel replaces Sameera Reddy as Kapoor’s new ditzy assistant.

But whereas the original was a romp, that relied on a tight, fun, twisty script, “Race 2″ offers much of the same old stuff, only more twists and turns than one cares to follow after awhile. And the basis for the sequel seems to be MMA-style violence rather than intelligent gamesmanship. Even the sexy banter between “D’Costa” and his assistant, “Cherry”, is cruder and not as playfully innocent.

Khan is appropriately intense and sexy as the hero, and Abraham is at times surprisingly good at treading the fine line between menacing and teddy-bearish. Both show off their impossibly sculpted bodies at the drop of a hat – but then the men have a lot to look at with Padukone. She continues to prove she is one of the most interesting actresses in Hindi films today – right up there with Priyanka Chopra in terms of learning and honing her craft. She is definitely setting herself up to be a force to be reckoned with for many years to come.

Fernandez is okay but I don`t find her all that sexy (then again, I am a woman), and Ameesha Patel was okay at the clueless assistant. Kapoor makes the most of his double entendre lines but really hasn`t got much to do otherwise.

The twists and turns in “Race 2″ actually become tiresome after awhile, and predictable, which is death to this type of film.

Even the music doesn’t live up to the original. Pritam has recycled the title track from the original “Race Is On My Mind” and rechristened it “Party On My Mind”. It is a catchy little number and actually fun to watch, but the other tracks just don’t work, especially the remix of “Allah Duhai HaI”, which is such an anachronism it’s actually jaw-dropping. It should have been put under the end credits instead of the middle of the second half. Very poor decision-making there.

“Race 2″ actually has some good things going for it. The locales, especially in Turkey, are gorgeously used, and the parkour sequence between Khan and a sniper is wonderfully James Bondian (and shows what the parkour in last year’s disappointment, “Tezz` could have been like if properly edited).

And considering the budget, the special effects are almost laughable. The exploding Maserati (or whatever Khan is driving at the beginning of the film) is cheesy – you can tell they did not blow it up, as is the `flying` car used towards the end.

`Race 2` is good for a one-time only viewing, but doesn`t deserve a second look, unlike it predecessor.

“Talaash” Review

After the television success of “Satyamev Jayate”, his award-winning Oprah Winfrey-styled issue-oriented ‘talk show’, Aamir Khan has come roaring back to the big screen with the thriller “Talaash – The Answer Lies Within”.

From a story and screenplay by Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti (who also directs), with dialogues by Farhan Akhtar and Anurag Kashyap, the high profile talent behind the camera is a film buffs dream. And for the most part, they don’t disappoint.

“Talaash” begins quickly, with the death of a popular actor in a mysterious and very realistic car accident, and though the film does have is slow moments, the story precedes at a good clip from there, slyly and intelligently doling out clues that become obvious only in retrospect.

Khan plays a smart and highly effective police officer burdened with a heart-wrenching personal agony, the drowning death of his only child. The agony has alienated him from his wife (the superb Rani Mukerji), as she tries to come to grips with her own grief by finding solace in letters from her dead son she receives from a helpful “medium”.

Khan investigation into the death of the actor leads him into the seamy underworld of Mumbai’s prostitution rings, and the parallel worlds of extortion and survival. It is in this world that he encounters Kareena Kapoor as a highly popular ‘working girl’ who begs him to investigate the disappearance, three years earlier, of a hooker about whom no one seems to care.

Recalling, if only slightly, nuances from such thrillers as “The Sixth Sense” and Farhan Akhtar’s own “Karthik Calling Karthik”, “Talaash” carves out its own niche in the genre, with style and class. Cleverly written, intelligent, with finely etched performances, it is another feather-in-the-cap for producer Khan, as well as the Akhtar sibling team.

Aamir Khan is understated as the haunted police officer who will stop at nothing to get to the bottom of the mystery, while Mukerji adds heartbreak and soul to a woman trying to come to terms with unfathomable loss and trying to keep hold of the tenuous, disintegrating threads of her once enviable marriage.

Kareena Kapoor has a finer line to walk with her pivotal character – but under the astute direction of Reema Kagti, she pulls off the complicated character with poise and assuredness. It is one of her finer performances.

“Talaash” is a well-paced, beautifully shot, finely edited film that scores high in all the technical elements. Even the music, usually a pace-killer in a movie of this sort, is non-intrusive and appropriate.

What is most impressive about this film, however, is the women-power behind the camera. Hindi film is beginning to lead the way with the numbers of women in high profile positions. In addition of Kapoor and Mukerji in front of the camera, “Talaash” can boast of two other strong female influences – Reema Kagti, who has co-written and directed this intriguing and intelligent film, and Zoya Ahktar, the other co-writer, who was also responsible for the highly successful award-winner “Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara”.

Just a footnote – when I saw the film, as is my habit, I stayed through to the end, watching the entire credit crawl (everyone works hard on a film and even though every name cannot be read, I believe people deserve to have their credits watched – but that’s just me). Imagine my delight when, in a now empty theatre, I was treated to the film’s “coda”, a tiny little shot that, while it added nothing to the plot of the film, brought a smile – as a addendum to the film and as a reward to me for staying to the end.