1981: Clash Of The Titans
Epic big-budget thriller produced by Ray Harryhausen based on the myth of Perseus and his quest to battle both Medusa and the Kraken to save the Princess Andromeda.
Culture Vulture
Beastly Tales from Here and There by Vikram Seth
Beastly what? Witty, enchanting animal fables from China, India, Greece, Ukraine and the Land of Gup.
Highlights? Retellings, in flawless rhyme, of the tales of the Hare and the Tortoise, the Crocodile and the Monkey.
Fables have morals, right? Depends. Teddy Tortoise wins the race, but the hare walks away with accolades, movie deals.
Could have been called The Versatility of Vonderful Vikram.
So you thought you knew all about
Amitav Ghosh
He’s delighted critics worldwide with new novel, Hungry Tide, set in the Sundarbans.
A. Born Calcutta 1956, studied in St Stephens, Delhi, Alexandria. Did his doctorate at Oxford. Now lives in New York.
B. First novel, The Circle of Reason, won a prestigious French literary award, the Prix Medici Estranger
C. In 1980, he went to Egypt to do field work in the fellaheen village of Lataifa. Result: In An Antique Land (1992)
D. Won UK’s top science fiction prize, the Nebula, in ’97 for The Calcutta Chromosome.
E. Satyajit Ray fan. The Shadow Lines, he says, shows Ray’s influence.
Answer D. Britain's top SF prize is the Arthur C. Clarke Award, which he won.
what is
Dolly Grip
Not quite the way the baddie gets to grope the heroine. ‘Grip’ is filmspeak for people who work on the sets in production, construction and administration. A dolly grip sets up and moves the tracked crane (or dolly) used for moving camera shots.
