Ex-wife Padma Lakshmi slams Rushdie in memoir, calls him sexually needy
 NEW YORK, March 8: Top model-turned-Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi, in her new memoir Love, Loss, and What We Ate, serves up a hot, steaming dish about her ex-husband author Salman Rushdie.
In a New York Daily News report, she recalls her years with the author as “a once beautiful meal that ultimately left her with mood poisoning.”
Lakshmi was 28, single and a struggling model-actress when she met Rushdie in 1999 at a party, who at the time was 51 and married to his third wife, according to the New York Daily News, which obtained an early copy of her memoir.
They were wed in 2004, and divorced three years later.
She has recounted the details of her marriage with the novelist, who she said once denounced her as a ‘bad investment’ after she rejected his sexual advances.
 The ever-demanding Rushdie needed constant care and feeding — not to mention frequent sex, according to the book. In her memoir about food, family, survival and triumph, the 45-year-old recalls how Rushdie was even insensitive to a medical condition that made intercourse painful for her.
When her undiagnosed endometriosis diminished Lakshmi’s sex drive, the unsympathetic Rushdie became furious that she was unavailable for the fevered, urgent intimacy they’d once enjoyed, according to the book.
After Rushdie left his wife, their next few years were idyllic. The couple lived half the year in London to be close to his two sons. In Manhattan, they restored his townhouse to Gilded Age glory. Their romance began when Rushdie was already a global symbol of free speech after the Muslim backlash against his 1988 novel The Satanic Verses.
According to the book, when Lakshmi said no to sex because of her endometriosis pain, the author would reply, “How convenient.” Their arguments escalated, with Rushdie as “lethally eloquent” in battle as in print.
For one thing, her career was taking off. She had already appeared in two TV shows. Newsweek then put her on the cover illustrating a story about the New India.
“The only time Newsweek put me on their cover was when someone was trying to put a bullet in my head,” came Rushdie’s less-than-enthusiastic reaction.
Lakshmi became comfortable with his friends, “literary giants” like Susan Sontag and Don DeLillo, by preparing feasts for them. At parties, people would breathlessly ask what it was like to live with a man so brilliant. I was blissful, she writes. And then it wasn’t.
The book spoke about how each year when the Nobel Prize went to another writer, Rushdie took it hard. Lakshmi would console him. Then came her medical condition, which took too long to properly diagnose. Eventually, Lakshmi would undergo more than one surgery to treat her severe ailment.
According to Lakshmi, Rushdie appeared more worried about himself. Rushdie was often away. After one five-hour surgery, Lakshmi came home with stitches in four major organs and stents in both kidneys. Rushdie left the next day for a trip.
“The show must go on, after all,” he said on this way out the door, according to Lakshmi. Lakshmi’s first post-op trip out of the house was to a divorce lawyer.
Here are some of the other highlights from the book:
On being a super-taster..
From my earliest childhood memories I can remember being in the kitchen, and my grandmother and my aunts and my older cousins, and my mother, certainly, all taught me about food. I only found out recently from a scientist in Seattle at the Science Museum that I am a supertaster, and I never knew that was actually a thing ... I bring it up because from a very early age, I was always very curious about eating foods that normally toddlers don’t eat. Very sour things like mango and tamarind, very bitter things like fermented foods or certain Asian vegetables. And you know, you don’t really give a bowl of fiery indian pickles to a 2-year-old! And yet I was climbing up on my grandmother’s shelves in the kitchen like a monkey, sort of like a temple monkey, to try and get at the pickle jars ... I think my young palate needed that stimulation.
On coming to America at the age of 4 and eating nothing but rice... I was very used to a lacto-vegetarian Hindu Brahmin diet, and so I found it hard to eat American foods. So we would have to seek out restaurants that had rice — whether it was a Chinese restaurant or a Mexican restaurant, or whatever. And luckily we lived in New York City, and I experienced the city through my palate, and it was an exciting place to grow up as a child. It gave me great independence, but it also allowed me to really experience a lot of the world in a much less sheltered way than I would if I was living anywhere else.
On how Top Chef has changed the way she cooks and eats... Getting to rub shoulders with all of these great chefs, from Thomas Keller to Daniel Boulud to Jacques Pepin and on and on, it does inform my thinking about food — I mean, how could it not? But our show is really about professional chefs who command a kitchen that puts out 200 plates of food that are all different, and hot, and come out at the same time. But, you know, it has informed me immensely. I would consider myself a culinary spelunker, and I love nothing more than to go to a new town or city, and discover that city through its food.
Anshuman Jha to play Jhumroo at Kingdom of Dreams
By Deepak Arora
 GURGAON, Feb 18: Delhi Boy and Bollywood Actor Anshuman Jha, after winning hearts around the globe with performances, will be back on stage in Delhi NCR as "Jhumroo" at the Kingdom of Dreams starting February 26 and 27.
He has performed in films like Ekta kapoor's "Love, Sex Aur Dhokha-LSD" (London Film festival), "Yeh hai bakrapur" (MAMI & Goteborg Film festival Sweden), "X:Past Is Present" (South Asian International Film festival New York), "Chauranga" (Dubai International Film festival & MAMI) and having performed in plays under Barry John, Q Padamsee, joy Fernandes, amongst others over the past decade in India and abroad, will be back on stage in NCR as "Jhumroo" at the Kingdom of Dreams starting February 26.
Jha who represented India with his play "Dirty Talk" at Contact-World Theatre Festival in UK 2010 - has won praise as an actor in the past 15 years for his many
plays on stage. And has followed it up with a spate of memorable performances in
cinema with LSD, KLPD, X, & Chauranga. His advertisement work boasts of endorsements dealing with some of the major Indian Brands like TataSky, Vicks, etc.
Jha will be doing 6-8 shows of Jhumroo every month after his opening two shows in the last weekend of February.
"It all began in Delhi with Barry john while I was in School. I have been coming to the National Theatre Festival at NSD to perform in 2011 & 2013, but this is my gift to NCR for all that it has taught me. I was destined to play Jhumroo. It could not happen in 2011 because of my other commitments but it had to happen now. A musical in India was missing on my CV as an actor, this completes that. I'm an Actor, not a mannequin so I will keep pushing the envelope in Cinema and on stage"
Jha's last release was Chauranga which won him a lot of critical acclaim and has
"Robinhood ke Pote" and "Andher manch" lined up for release later this year.
Underprivileged children experience joy, happiness at Kingdom of Dreams
By Noyanika Arora
 GURGAON, Jan 27: Kingdom of Dreams invited underprivileged children from an NGO “Khwahishein Foundation” to watch the show “Jhumroo- A Musical Comedy On Stage”.
The excited children were welcomed with traditional dances of India performed by a group of folk artistes. The beautifully attired dancers and their graceful moves enchanted the children who could not stop taking pictures of themselves with the dancers.
After the charming welcome the children from the NGO were ushered in to the Nautanki Mahal to experience biggest dance spectacle on stage “Jhumroo - A Musical Comedy On Stage”. The stunning visuals and grand sets and props of Jhumroo, left the group awestruck! The costumes, lilting and foot-tapping music, the energy of the dancers and the stars spun a web of magic around them and held them spellbound!
In the words of Shagun , the group co-coordinator, “The children are simply bowled over! For them this visit to Kingdom of Dreams is something that they could only dream about. Today it has become a reality for them and they are just so thrilled and happy with the whole experience.”
Kingdom of Dreams, the mystical, magical leisure destination once again cast a spell on its visitors.
1,441 exhibitors from 59 nations to present their products at DOMOTEX 2016
By Sushma Arora
 HANNOVER, Jan 12: Stage is set for four-day DOMOTEX 2016, the world’s leading trade show for carpets and floor coverings, from January 16 at Hannover in Germany. This year it starts on a high note with an exceptionally strong and international exhibitor lineup. This year it features 1,441 exhibitors from 59 nations – the biggest exhibitor lineup the show has seen in years. An impressive 85 percent of these exhibitors will come from outside Germany.
"More providers, more innovations, more inspiration – the scene is set for a successful DOMOTEX 2016," commented Dr Jochen Köckler, a member of the Managing Board at Deutsche Messe, the official organizer of DOMOTEX.
"As the number one meeting place for the entire carpet and floor coverings industry, DOMOTEX will get the year off to a strong start with a shot of new ideas and business leads, and provide an excellent overview of all the new season's trends and innovations."
This year's DOMOTEX features 12 halls with the world’s biggest display of carpets and floor coverings. Trade visitors from the flooring wholesale and retail sectors, architecture, interior design, the skilled flooring trades and the furniture and interior furnishing retail and wholesale sectors can expect a rich and diverse array of innovative materials, creative solutions and stunning designs spanning the entire floor covering spectrum, from carpets, parquet and laminate flooring right through to luxury vinyl tiles.
"DOMOTEX is where trends are set and radiate across the marketplace. If you want a preview of the products and materials that will be on floors and in shops in the coming season, attending DOMOTEX is a must," remarked Köckler.
Top Architects to hold Dialogue at DOMOTEX
By Noyanika Arora
 HANNOVER, Jan 15: The Innovations@DOMOTEX areas will not only feature attractive exhibitors, but also provide the backdrop for a series of presentations and panel discussions (the Innovations@DOMOTEX Dialogues) in which renowned architects and designers will explore architectural trends and developments where floors and flooring play an important role.
The speaker lineup includes star creatives from Lissoni Associati (Milan), Coop Himmelb(l)au (Vienna), Alexander Brenner Architects (Stuttgart), BBP - Blocher Blocher Partners (Stuttgart), Bogevischs Buero Architekten & Stadtplaner (Munich), Kinzo (Berlin), D’art Design Gruppe (Neuss), and JOI Design (Hamburg). The presentations and panel talks will focus on design for hotels, restaurants, offices, healthcare facilities, shops and residential settings.
Each Dialogue session will be followed by tours tailored to the subjects covered in that session. The tour program is aimed primarily at creatives from the architecture, interior architecture and interior design scenes who are at DOMOTEX scouting for new ideas on floor covering applications.
The Innovations@DOMOTEX format also includes Guided Tours of selected exhibits, led by big-name architects and designers. The Guided Tours will run twice daily.
Designers of Exquisite modern hand-made carpets to be honored at the Carpet Design Awards during DOMOTEX
By Sushma Arora
 HANNOVER, Jan 12: The big stars in Hall 17 at DOMOTEX 2016 include exquisite hand-made carpet and rug creations by some of the world’s most innovative designers, such as Reuber Henning, Hossein Rezvani, Rug Star, Tufenkian, Wool & Silk Rugs and Zollanvari.
These and other members of international carpet avant-garde are enjoying considerable success with their fusion of traditional craftsmanship with modern production techniques and iconic design.
The best of their designer creations will be honored at the Carpet Design Awards during DOMOTEX. The Carpet Design Awards are the world’s most prestigious competition for exclusive hand-made carpets and rugs.
This year's 24 finalists have been selected in eight categories by a jury headed by British Designer Michael Sodeau, and the winners will be presented with their prizes on Sunday, 17 January, at the Innovations@DOMOTEX area in Hall 6.
DOMOTEX 2016 also has plenty to offer beyond the Innovations@DOMOTEX showcase.
Lovers of classic Oriental rugs, for example, will find plenty to amaze and inspire them in halls 15 and 16. Further along the classic spectrum, Hall 14 will house a special display for antique carpets. Halls 2 to 4 are home to an extensive selection of machine-woven carpets and rugs, while halls 5 and 6 are where visitors will find resilient floor coverings and the show’s lineup of textile floor coverings for the residential and commercial sectors.
Next door in Hall 7, there's the "Treffpunkt Handwerk" skilled trades hub with its extensive exhibits and presentations for the benefit of parquet installers, floor layers, interior furnishers and painters. And last, but by no means least, visitors can go to halls 8 and 9 to learn all about the latest trends and innovations in solid wood parquet and laminate flooring and outdoor floor coverings.
Year's best new products to be showcased at DOMOTEX
By Noyanika Arora
 HANNOVER, Jan 12: The Innovations@DOMOTEX will give visitors a quick, concentrated overview of the year's best and most exciting innovations and trends in flooring.
It revolves around three special displays (the Innovations@DOMOTEX areas), where the 84 best innovations at DOMOTEX will be given artistic staging and extra prominence.
The innovations themselves have been selected in the lead-up to DOMOTEX by an expert jury headed by the internationally renowned industrial designer Stefan Diez. The Innovations@DOMOTEX areas are as follows: Resilient and Textile Floor Coverings, Fibers and Yarns (Hall 6); Parquet and Laminate Flooring and Application and Installation Technology (Hall 9), and Modern Hand-Made Carpets (Hall 17).
The wide variety of innovations submitted for Innovations@DOMOTEX reveal a number of interesting trends. In luxury vinyl tiles and planks (LVT), for example, authentic-looking surface textures are very much in style, thanks to their deceptively close mimicry of the look and feel of the natural materials that inspired them. In the case of textile floor coverings, there is a marked trend towards high-end products, and the use of carpet tiles and planks is on the rise.
In these areas and others, Innovations@DOMOTEX will unveil a number of totally new product types.
Meanwhile in the carpets and rugs segment, there is a trend toward high-quality products which are at once very rugged and still soft under foot. Warm, earthy tones are in, as are traditional ornamental motifs. Rugs, of course, go beautifully with hard flooring – an area where there is strong demand for solid-wood planks, not to mention multi-layer parquet and laminate products that combine natural wood with added color, textures and shapes for a wide variety of visual effects. Many of the latest parquet and laminate products feature innovative technologies and click-lock systems for quick and easy installation. Sustainably produced products are also a growing trend in this segment.
LVT tiles and planks will definitely be among the big attractions at the show, where they will feature more extensively than ever before. Yet another major visitor magnet will be the Wood Flooring Summit in Hall 9. Staged at DOMOTEX every two years, it will feature around 200 exhibitors from the parquet and laminate flooring industry.
Spotlight on 'Carpet Tiles' at Domotex
By Sushma Arora
 HANNOVER, Jan 7: The fact that the spotlight is again falling on carpets has, among other things, to do with the successes of "carpet tiles". Until recently they were simply considered a pragmatic solution, whereas now they are increasingly emerging as a design variant in their own right. Interior designers are using carpet tiles to create veritable worlds of floor patterns, and thus breathing fresh air into otherwise forlorn office spaces.
Carpet tiles in all shapes and sizes and with imaginative designs into the bargain will likewise be on show at the forthcoming DOMOTEX. One especially innovative example: "Zigzag-Tiles" by Fletco, which with their zigzag edges accentuated by color conjure up an appealing playful pattern on floors.
Another eye-catcher: the freshly launched "Traction Avenue Collection" by Mannington Mills – the color gradations possible and the optionally textured pattern will certainly cause a stir.
Much is also happening in terms of the qualities on offer, with a clear trend toward high-grade yarns from regenerative sources. Edel Tapijt has created not just one, but two of the carpets chosen for Innovations@DOMOTEX – relying on endless viscose yarn (Tencel) derived from regenerative, natural raw materials: "Poetry" consists of a 65% polyamide and 35% Tencel mixture, making it especially soft. Yet not quite as soft as "Eternity", a loop-pile product that boasts not just Tencel but also New Zealand wool.
"Myrana", which rounds out Vorwerk's existing "Fascination" collection, which has been carefully revised by Italian designer Giulio Ridolfo, is also very soft, shimmers gently and comes in marvelous colors such as sunny or golden yellow, red nuances through to pearly white, aqueous blue and misty gray. Moreover, Myrana reduces fine dust particles in rooms and is therefore also well-suited for rooms for people with allergies.
Another topic that is becoming ever more relevant is the additional functions that make textiles more resistant or "interactive". For example, Swiss manufacturer Tisca Tiara is fielding "T-Pure", an additional textile mechanism available with most of the products in its collection. If the product comes into contact with moisture, silver ions are activated that serve to counteract bacteria harmful to health and reduce malodorous side effects.
|
