25092024-LSTC-01.qxd 9/24/2024 11:49 PM Page 1 c m y b TRIBUNE On board Life Hollywood star Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi will headline Oscar-winning filmmaker Emerald Fennell’s adaptation of classic novel Wuthering Heights. CHANDIGARH | WEDNESDAY | 25 SEPTEMBER 2024 Bebe’sboy! Mona PHOTO: VICKY When not cooking, Gurkirat loves to paint and watch horror films. Due to his busy schedules painting has taken a backseat, but his love for horror films stays. “I watch every Hindi, English and Spanish film in the horror genre.” Gym is another passion or call it necessity! A sweet tooth and baking being his passion, he has to really balance it out to stay fit. “I eat sweet, workout and then I am ready to eat sweet again the next day,” he smiles. Candid and honest, Gurkirat talks of the days when he practiced as a lawyer and struggled. “I completed law due to my father’s wish, who is a lawyer and also practiced but I couldn’t adjust to the pressure.” He also took therapy to normalise things. “When one is physically sick, nobody minds going to a doctor. But mental health issues go unnoticed.” With a generation hooked on to devices, the situation is grim, “We must normalise the fact that seeking support is fine.” Happy that he found his calling rather soon, Gurkirat is looking forward to his show. “You must have your bebe, but in our show we have many bebes. They have something special — authentic recipes and a link to tradition, which you wouldn’t find on social media. Catch us soon.” MasterChef finalist Gurkirat Singh, who is set to launch his show Bebe Da Kitchen, promises authentic recipes and a link to tradition via grandmothers’ kitchens A lawyer by training and a cook by passion, MasterChef finalist Gurkirat Singh is putting both the talents to good use. As he announced his upcoming show Bebe Da Kitchen in the tricity on Tuesday, he shared, “I draft all my contracts myself.” He is putting his knowledge of law to good use, but it was his preparation for the MasterChef kitchen for years that made him reach the final of the mostwatched cooking shows ever. “I was eight when the first season of MasterChef India was launched. I knew then and there that I had to be here,” said Gurkirat. In love with sweets and baking, he did wonderfully well when it came to desserts in the reality show. His experience in Bebe Da Kitchen has made Gurkirat see ghiya (gourd) in new light. “This is one sabji that I ran away from, but once Bebe made such sumptuous ghiya wali daal that it is now my favourite.” The show that’s due to air on Zee Punjabi, has bebe–pota (grandmothergrandson) cook together. “You will discover recipes that are not just lip-smacking, but also healthy. Why a particular masala goes in a particular dal and more, the knowledge our grandmothers have is truly mind-boggling.” Enjoying the limelight that has come his way and love for his YouTube channel, Gurkirat is sure turning into an entrepreneur. He is naming his first restaurant in his hometown Sirsa, Haryana, after his favourite movie 1920. “We are going to create the 1920s vibe with mud walls. Some dishes from the past, I am really looking forward to the venture.” Beauty on the ramp Alia Bhatt dazzles in a Gaurav Gupta outfit at Paris Fashion Week debut Bollywood star Alia Bhatt looked drop-dead-gorgeous as she made her Paris Fashion Week debut in a creation by ace couturier Gaurav Gupta. The actress sauntered on the ramp along with American star Andie MacDowell during the show Walk Your Worth at Palais Garnier. She wore a metal-cast silver breastplate paired with black velvet flared pants from the designer’s 2024 couture collection, Arunodaya. Gupta, who has styled renowned global headturners, took to Instagram and wrote, “@aliaabhatt in custom Gaurav Gupta Couture for her runway debut at the L’Oréal Paris — Le Defilé show.” Gupta’s list of celebrities, who have sported his creations, include names such as Beyonce, Paris Hilton, Mindy Kaling, Angela Bassett, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Kriti Sanon, Janhvi Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Shakira, Jenna Ortega, Jr Ntr. Bebe Rexha, Sharon Stone, Jeena Ortega, Sharon Stone, Ashanti, Luis Fonsi, Lizzo, Kylie Minogue, Megan Thee Stallion and Saweetie. — IANS KNOW HIM BETTER FAVOURITE MASTERCHEF: Nayanjyoti Saikia, the winner of Season 7, which I was a part of. He was also my roommate for the show. He is so reticent, I learnt so much from him. COMFORT FOOD: Maa aur bebe ke hath ka khana. I have tried different cuisines at different places, but at regular intervals I have to have ghar ki daal roti. FAVOURITE FILM: 1920, a supernatural horror film. I love horror films in English, Hindi and Spanish. Holiday destination: I have forever been trying to go to London. Last year, I missed it by a whisker. I am set to ring in Christmas and my birthday, which falls a day later, in London. AISHWARYA DELIGHTS With her captivating appearance at Paris Fashion Week, Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai Bachchan once again proved why she is called Queen of Ramps. Dressed in a balloon hem-red dress, the Jodhaa Akbar star let her hair down and added a pop of colour to her look with a bold red lip shade. She walked the runway with utmost confidence and grace, representing L’Oreal Paris. Her walk became more special when she greeted the French audience with a namaste. ANI To mark the birth centenary of Bharatnatyam exponent Mohan Khokar, his son Ashish launches a book PHOTO: SUNIL KUMAR Neha Saini In 1940, the son of an Army man, a young Punjabi Sikh guy boarded a train to Chennai (Madras at the time), to learn Bharatnatyam as he had heard there was a lady, who taught it under a famous tree. That lady was the legendary Bharatnatyam exponent Rukmini Devi Arundale and the young Punjabi guy was Mohan Khokar, eminent dancer, archivist, writer and academician, who created India’s largest collection of dance archives containing rare photographs, books, hand-written documents, letters, notes, articles and more. Khokar was the first North Indian student of Bharatnatyam, later married the Bharatnatyam doyenne, Padam Shri artist MK Saroja. Celebrating his birth centenary, as he was born in Quetta (now in Pakistan), in 1924, Majha House and Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts presented an event, The Mohan Khokar Saga, with Ashish Khokar, Mohan’s son and an archivist, and also launched a book, Mohan Khokar — The Father of Indian Dance History, dedicated to his father’s life and work as an documentarian. “September 2024 will also mark his 25th death anniversary and it is time to celebrate his life’s mission to not just pursue the art form but also archive it for generations,” said Ashish. The Mohan Khokar Dance Collection, currently displayed at Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts, New Delhi, is massive, quite like the artist who created it. A treasure trove of Indian classical, folk and ritual dance forms and artists, the collection, which a UNESCO audit estimate put somewhere close to Rs 7 crore, is now being maintained and amplified by Ashish. “I believe Mohan’s madness has been passed on to me,” he makes an honest confession. “As a father, Mohan Khokar was a mysterious man, who believed that dance was a fragile art form, just like life. When he was 10, he survived the Tribute to a legend ASHISH KHOKAR Quetta earthquake that killed over 2,000 people and it was a turning point in his life. As he grew up, he saw the great Ram Gopal perform Bharatnatyam in Lahore, which was the cultural capital before Partition. It was then he decided to learn the art form and despite his father’s opposition, travelled to Madras,” shared Ashish. The Mohan Khokar Dance Collection gives you a peek into the 150-year-old journey of Indian classical dance, with archives of Sitara Devi, American dance legend Ted Shawn, who performed Bharatnatyam in India during the 1940s, another Bharatnatyam legend Bal- c m y b asaraswati, Kathak greats Uday Shankar and Ram Gopal, documented notes on the Devdasi traditions and much more. For Mohan, the academics of the art form was as important as the art itself, so he founded the Department of Dance at the Baroda University, designing a course which is still taught in dance schools. Ashish, who also finds delight in reconstructing Indian classical dance forms, an attribute he generously inherited from his father, said the Khokar collection was a medium to revive the lost dance forms. “My father, through concerted efforts, ensured that Odissi, Mohiniattam and Koodiyattam, which were not recognised as classical dance forms, were recognised. He also archived extensively some folk art and ritual dance forms. Many would not know that there was a Punjab Gharana of Kathak, which had patronage of Pandit Pyare Lal, Tara Chaudhary, Aashiq Hussain…Such greats. A lot of our contemporary classical dance forms have been reconstructed and so, it’s my desire that Punjab should revive its lost art form. Universities must initiate research and revive the gharana,” said Ashish.