TIMES CITYTHE TIMES OF INDIA, KOLKATA | TUESDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2013

IIT KHARAGPUR TO HOLD PRELIMINARY ROUNDSOF FEMINA MISS INDIA 2014 | 4

BAIDYABATI IN CELEBRATORY MOOD AS‘LAKSHMAN-DA’ TAKES OVER AS IAF CHIEF | 5

Kolkata: If you missed out onthat Christmas dinner at ParkStreet with your family becauseyou had no clue where to parkyour car, this is your chance tomake up for it.

Fresh from their experienceon Christmas Day when a partof south and central Kolkatatraffic collapsed trying to ac-commodate 60,000 revellers onPark Street, Kolkata Police hasdecided against shutting downthe party zone on Tuesday eve-ning. However, there might becertain restrictions till earlyWednesday morning.

Top officers in Lalbazar saidsecurity hazards have “forced”them to keep a few restrictionsin place. Park Street and Ho ChiMinh Sarani will be one wayfrom west to east and Shakes-peare Sarani from east to west.Russel Street and Little RusselStreet will be one way fromsouth to north. MiddletonStreet will be one way from eastto west between Camac Streetand JL Nehru Road.

No vehicles will be allowedto be parked on Park Street be-tween JL Nehru Road and WoodStreet. No vehicles will be al-lowed to go towards Free SchoolStreet from Royd Street up toPark Street. All this will comeinto effect from 4pm on Tuesdayand continue till 4am on thefirst day of 2014.

Parking will be allowed onRussel Street, Free SchoolSchool Street (between Roydand Marquis streets), WoodStreet and RA Kidwai Road (be-tween Royd Street and Shakes-peare Sarani).

Besides Park Street, copshave warned of vehicular regu-lation any time on January 1 atvarious places including the In-dian Museum, Victoria Memo-rial, Birla Planetarium, Aliporezoo, Kali Temple, Thantania Ka-libari, New Market area andMillennium Park.

For the first time, police willbe deployed through the nighton at least 100 crossings. Specialspeed-bike checking camps willcome up in areas around ParkStreet. Besides the 20 City

Watch police bikes, 51 RFS (16more than usual) and 12 HRFSvehicles will be on the road.Around 1,000 cops in plain-clothes will merge into thecrowd to spot mischief-makers.The stand-down this year willbe extended to 6am instead ofthe usual 2am. A total 5,000 copswill man important zones likePark Street-Shakespeare Sara-ni, Science City, Ballygunge andTollygunge. There will be spe-cial watch at leading clubs andselect bars.

“The UAV Durdanto will beused this year. We are puttingspecial emphasis on securingareas adjoining Park Street, likeRafi Ahmed Kidwai Road, Ca-mac Street and Shakespeare Sa-rani. We will also set up 15 as-sistance booths at strategiclocations,” said Rajeev Mishra,joint CP (headquarters).

On Tuesday, four deputycommissioners will be incharge of security under the su-pervision of a joint CP. Theywill lead over 350 policewomenand quick response teams havebeen stationed for emergencies.

Park Street To Remain Open To Traffic

Traffic across central Kolkata came to a halt on Christmas as Park Street was taken over by revellers

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Kolkata: It’s was an uphill task for themakers of ‘Chander Pahar’ right from thebeginning. There were challenges ofshooting in the forests of Africa, thenthere was speculation over the possibilityof producers being able to recover the costand finally, will the film be able to competewith big-budget Bolly flick, ‘Dhoom 3’. Butbarely 10 days after it hit the screen,‘Chander Pahar’ has already become arage among cinema-goers. Not only has itgrossed Rs 4.5 crore in the first week, it’ssmashing records at theatres across metro cities.

As on Monday, the Rs 15-crore moviewas running successfully at 23 multiplex-es outside Bengal, including eight inMumbai, six in Bangalore, two in Delhiand Pune and one each in Baroda, Indore,Jamshedpur, Hyderabad and Bhubanes-war. In Bangalore, multiplexes have in-creased number of screens after a week’srun.

PVR Cinemas, one of the largest mul-tiplex chains in India, is screening ‘Chan-der Pahar’ in eight theaters outside Ben-gal. “In places like Delhi, Mumbai andBangalore, we have seen more than 90%occupancy last weekend. In fact, it was ahouseful in Mumbai last Sunday. Signifi-cantly, many non-Bengali audiences arecoming to watch the movie as sub-titledversions were being screened at theseplaces,” said Shiladitya Bora, head of PVR

Tara’ outside Bengal, but the response hasnever been so overwhelming,” said Sub-hasis Ganguli, regional director of Inox.‘Chander Pahar’ is also being screened ateight Inox theatres outside Bengal.

A big push in releasing Bengali filmsoutside Bengal came with Jeet-starrer‘Boss’. The movie was screened in theat-res in cities like Lucknow, Kanpur, Jaipur,Chandigarh, Indore, Nagpur, sBhopal,Ranchi and Jamshedpur apart from met-ro cities. “It was accepted well and ran foraround two weeks despite a delayed re-lease,” said Utpal Acharya, country head(distribution & acquisition) of RelianceEntertainment. Later, Prosenjit-starrer‘Mishar Rahasya’ and Rituparno Ghosh’s‘Satyanweshi’ was also screened at a num-ber of theatres outside Bengal.

“The response from outside Bengalhas been huge this time. Although it can-not be compared with the response thatwe get from audience in Bengal, it is open-ing a new area of revenue for the film in-dustry in the state,” said Srikant Mohta,founder of Shree Venkatesh Films. It is al-so planning to release ‘Chander Pahar’ in20 theatres in the US in January.

With responses from audience outsidethe state growing rapidly, Reliance enter-tainment is betting big on Prosenjit-star-rer ‘Jatiswar’. “We will launch it in citieslike Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai,Pune and Baroda. We will also launch themovie in North America, Singapore, Ma-layasia and Hong Kong,” said Acharya.

‘Chander Pahar’ scales new heightsRohit Khanna TNN

8 Mumbai

6 Bangalore

2 Delhi and Pune

1 Each in Baroda, Indore, Jamshedpur, Hyderabad and Bhubaneswar

GUNNING FOR MORE

BREAK UP

IN THEPIPELINE

20 THEATRES IN THE US

23Number

of multiplexes screening

‘Chander Pahar’ outsideBengal

Director’s Rare.Although multiplex chains have been

releasing Bengali films outside Bengalaimed at Bengali-speaking audience out-side the state, it was restricted to a veryfew screens in fewer cities. “We had earli-er screened movies like ‘Bhooter Bhobish-yat’, ‘Goynar Baksho’ and ‘Meghe Dhaka

Kolkata: If 2013 took AliporeZoological Gardens to newheights for its adoption scheme,the zoo is set to hit another highnote in the New Year with itscaptive breeding programmefor the tigers and lions.

While captive breeding of ti-gers in the zoo last happened al-most a decade back in 2005, thatof the lions took place even be-fore that. Some even claimedthat this will probably be thefirst time that two pure Asiaticlions will be bred in the zoo.

“The technical committeeof the state zoo authority has al-ready approved the proposal. Itwill be presented in its govern-ing body meeting next monthfor a final nod,” said zoo direc-tor K L Ghosh. However, mem-ber secretary of state zoo au-thority, TVN Rao, said thetechnical committee’s say is fi-nal here.

So, when will the zoo author-ities embark upon the project?As soon as the winter rush isover, said the zoo director. “Weare planning to start the projectwith the captive breeding of thetigers. But unless the year-endand New Year rush is over, we

can’t start working on it be-cause it needs a lot of planning.Besides, the mating pairs toowill need time and isolation,”Ghosh said.

According to Ghosh, theyhave a male tiger in the zoo thathas the bloodline of Sunder-bans big cats and is capable tomate. “We might consider it forthe programme so that the cubsget a new gene pool,” he said.However, he couldn’t recallwhether it was a rescued Sun-derbans tiger.

The zoo at the moment has

five Bengal tigers — three maleand two female. Besides, it has three white tigers as well.On the lions, the zoo directorcouldn’t confirm the date whenthey were bred in captivity forthe last time. At present, thezoo has a pair of Asiatic lion,brought from the Hyderabadzoo three years back, and threehybrid lions, two male and afemale.

Since the Central Zoo Au-thority of India (CZAI) hasstrongly recommended againstthe breeding of hybrids, the zoo

cannot breed the hybrid lionsand hence the Asiatic lions werebrought from its counterpart inHyderabad.

However, conservationistsraised question over such movesaying it won’t serve the pur-pose of conservation and willonly raise the footfall in the zoo.

“Zoos should take up captivebreeding programmes, but theidea is not to draw tourists only.We have to keep in mind that thetigers that we have now will notlive forever. The generationshould move on and this iswhere a zoo plays a crucialrole,” said Ghosh.

Cross breeding of tigers andlions brought the zoo in the eyeof storm earlier. A cross be-tween a Bengal tiger and anAfrican lion, Rudrani — a ‘ti-gon’ born in 1970 — produced alitter of seven ‘litigon’ cubs aftermating with an Asiatic lion in1976. One of these ‘litigons’ weremarketed by the zoo authoritiesas the largest living big cat in theworld. It died at the age of 15 in1991. The zoo stopped its hybridprogramme in 1985, after therewas criticism from the scientif-ic community which claimedthat such hybrids suffer from‘genetic abnormalities’.

Tiger breeding to restart at zooKrishnendu Mukherjee TNN

CARE IN CAPTIVITY

WHEN WILL THE PROJECT START?

The zoo authorities will initiate the programme as soon as the winter rush is over. They will start with the captive breeding of tigers

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME THAT TIGERS WEREBRED IN CAPTIVITY?In 2005. Two cubs were born then

� Cross breeding of tigers and lions brought the zoo in the eye of the storm earlier and it stopped the practice in 1985

� At present, the zoo has five tigers, three male and two female, and a pair of Asiatic lion. It also has three white tigers

Kolkata: The year-long wait has cometo an end. The New Year is finallyround the corner. So what are you wait-ing for? Put on your dance shoes andmake the night special.

According nightclubs and partyhotspots in the city, the craze for ring-ing in the New Year has increasedmanifold this time around. Most party-goers have planned their night-out much earlier and made their book-ings in advance. Clubs, too, are leavingno stone unturned to cash in on the fes-tive fever.

“Apart from regular clients, we areexpecting a rush of people who partyon occasions. Hence we have dividedour nightclub into two zones,” said Ritesh Shrivastava, head of oper-ations at ‘Shisha’. While the nightclubwill have a regular party zone, it willhave a ‘theme zone’ that will take theguests through the journey from 2013 to 2014. With an offer for unlimitedfood and beverage, ‘Passport to 2014’will have special visuals that will makethe guests feel that they are transitinginto 2014. The nightclub on CamacStreet is expecting a footfall of about800 in total.

“We get a footfall of about 150 to 200during a regular party. But going by thebookings, we expect the number tocross 300 on the New Year eve,” said Su-mitro Basu, manager of ‘Plush’. Thenightclub on Theatre Road will have itsin-house DJs Deva and Rohan churn-ing out foot tapping music that woulddrag even non-dancers to the floor. Theparty hotspot has two kinds of charges–Rs 4000 and Rs 6000 per couple. Major-ity of the second package has alreadybeen booked.

“We are flooded with calls for en-quiry and advance bookings. ‘Shim-

mers’ at Sector V can easily hold about500 guests, but we expect the footfall toshoot up and hence made arrange-ments to accommodate an additionalcrowd,” said Vishal Shaw, spokeper-son of ‘Shimmers’ and ‘Basement’.While the former will have exotic danc-ers flown in from abroad, ‘Basement’on Sarat Bose Road will have in-house

spinmasters at the console.“We are gearing up to make the 31st

night party very special for our guests.We have an array of events and charg-es depend on the venue and the inclu-sion,” said a spokesperson at The Park.

The Park will have its guests spoiltfor a choice. The secret affair at the‘Roxy’ is sure to make it a special night

while live entertainment and music atthe ‘Galaxy’ will be crowd-pullers.‘Someplace Else’ will have The Satur-day Night Blues playing live and in-house DJs spinning magic at ‘Tantra’.A Secret Affair at ‘Roxy’ is sure tomake the night very special.

Private party organizers are also having a tough time to meet the last-minute rush. Be it be the one atAxis Mall rooftop, Wet-O-Wild at NiccoPark or the Backstage Banquets at Sec-tor V, all are expecting a houseful attheir respective New Year eve party.

“All our passes are sold out. Sincewe can not accommodate more people,I am not taking calls from unknownpeople. We are expecting a footfall ofabout 500 couples,” said Akshay Jaipu-ria, a team member of the event at PCChandra Garden.

With casinos as the theme at theSwabhumi Heritage Plaza, people willget to party the night Vegas style. AndUkrainian dancers, dazzling beam la-ser show and continental, Indian andoriental cuisine adding to the zing, theheritage plaza is expecting a huge turnout on the big night.

Party places like ‘The Chrome’ onAJC Bose Road has planed different of-fers like fashion show where Tolly-wood actors will walk the ramp withcity models. Hitting up the ambiencewill be cabaret dance performance bysome Tollywood actress.

Preparation for the big night is onat war-footing by various clubs as well.Mumbai-based singer and dancetroupe at CC&FC, ball room dance atDalhousie Institute, mid-night showon horse jumping and tent peggingwhile grooving to music by DJ JazzyJoe and band Moon Wind at The Tollyare only few of the parties lined up.Kolkata surely is set to party hardthrough the night as 2014 ushers in.

Big-ticket parties are a sell-outSumati Yengkhom TNN

CC&FC

� Mumbai-based singers and dance troupe

Dalhousie Institute

� Ball room dance

The Tolly

� Mid-night show on horse jumping and tent pegging

� Music by DJ Jazzy Joe and band Moon Wind

Shisha� Two party zone, one of them ‘theme-based’� Unlimited food and beverage

Plush� In-house DJs

Shimmers� Exotic dancers

The Park� Live entertainment and music shows

Swabhumi Heritage Plaza� Casino theme� Ukrainian dancers� Beam laser show

THE CLUB STYLE

DANCE FLOOR

ON FIRE

Sumati Yengkhom | TNN

The passion to give some-thing back to her com-munity drives this young tribal woman to

venture into an un-known terrain. Ruby

Hembrom gave up a well paid job in the IT sector in Delhi five years ago and re-turned to Kolkata to preserve the dying

Santhal language.

With single-minded devotion, this 35-year Santhali is making the Adivasi voice heard the world over by turning the oral tradition of millennia into books and music Cds in English and taking them

beyond the community barrier.“I quit my job as a learning and devel-

opment professional with IBM to do something for my community. I was clue-less to what I exactly I wanted to do until I attended a course in publishing in Kolk-ata,” recalls Hembrom. The permanence

of the written word hit her like a brain-wave. Would the stories she heard from

her grandma be lost for ever? Will anyone else ever hear it?

Hembrom started collecting and col-lating folklore of the Santhals that have

been orally passed down generations and which are in danger of being lost. Her first two books — ‘We Came From Geese’

and ‘Earth Rests On A Tortoise’ — were mythical stories about the origin of San-thals. They were written and illustrated to make them interesting.

Ruby roped in like minded friends Joy Tudu and Luis A Gomez, who has

worked with various indigenous publi-cations in Latin America, to found a publishing house, Adivaani (Voice of the

Adivasi), about a year ago. Adivaani’s publications include ‘Whose Country is

it Anyway’ by Gladson Dungdung, an activist from Jhakhand, and ‘The Santal and Biblical Creation Traditions: An-thropological and Theological Reflec-

tion’ by Timotheas Hembrom.“It is important to write in English so

as to make the larger society know about

the tribals, their culture and life. Being a Santhal myself, it was easy to start writ-ing or translating works of the Santhal tribe. But we want to so the same for other tribes too,” said Hembrom.

In fact, an organization that works in tribal areas has sought Hembrom’s help in developing an English language skill programme for tribal children. Hembrom

will be involved in a project in learning

centres for tribal children in Birbum. Her illustrated book on Santhal creation will be used as a resource for such classes.

“Thrusting tales of alien culture on

these children won’t be very effective. With Santhali books, they will find and

immediate connect,” says Hembrom. Next on Adivaani’s list is a book on Adi-vasi freedom fighters who she says have

been deprived their rightful place in mod-ern Indian history. She is creating a bank

of stories on living unsung Adivasi he-roes — sports stars, social crusaders.

“Books are the best platforms to an-nounce Adivasi presence and to have our voices heard,” said Hembrom, a law grad-uate from Calcutta University. Surely the

voice of the quite girl who kept a quiet profile in class during her school days at La Martiniere School for Girls has al-

ready started reaching to at least the youths of her community to begin with. Many look up to her to address different issues including education and social problems.

“I still remember schoolmates making

fun of me for my looks and dark complex-ion. Someone asked me why I didn’t

polish my face when I polished my shoes in the morning. Looking back, I realize how ignorant they were. I would be very happy if the books we are working on help them enrich their knowledge about Adi-vasis,” said Ruby.

“As kids we used hear tales of Santhal creation during tribal story-telling ses-sions. But these days many us have moved

to the cities for work and such lore, which

is an integral part of the community, is losing significance. Reproducing them in

written from and music CDs will not only benefit children of the community but all over the world,” said Joy Tudu, a St Xavi-er’s College Kolkata graduate.

This IT professional gave up a cushy

job to keep Adivasi folklore alive

RUBY HEMBROM VOICE OF THE SANTHALS

CHRONICLER: Ruby Hembrom wants to preserve Santhal lore in books and CDs

Pix: Sukanta Mukherjee

BOOKS ARE THE BEST PLATFORM TO

GET ADIVASIS VOICES HEARD

KNOW A HERO?Log on to kolkataheroes.com to send in your suggestion about a hero you think deserves to be on our list

Road cleared for all-night revelry