1. Art and Diseño

ARAB TIMES, SATURDAY, JANUARY 31, 2015
31
European Solidarity Centre exhibition a guide through life behind Iron Curtain
Gdansk trail offers peek to key historic events, personalities
GDANSK, Poland, Jan 30, (RTRS):
Gdansk, the biggest city in northern
Poland, seaside destination and party
zone, was once a key centre of opposition to Communist rule.
This momentous history has left its
mark on the city, and traces of key
events and personalities from that era
can still be seen if you follow the trail
of these main sights:
Lenin Shipyard
Birthplace of trade union
Solidarnosc (Solidarity) and the
workplace of its leader Lech Walesa,
the Lenin Shipyard used to employ
about 20,000 people. But the days
when its noisy industry echoed
around the city and cranes punctuated
its skyline are over. The shipyard
failed as capitalism took over and has
become a patchwork of workshops
and manufacturing sites.
Some buildings are now occupied
by music clubs, and the complex also
houses an art gallery and a yacht
shipyard known for its boats designed
for Gulf Arab sheikhs and eastern oligarchs.
Some Communist propaganda still
survives, with health and safety
posters and murals visible around the
shipyard.
Don’t fail to visit the recently
opened European Solidarity Centre,
where an exhibition will guide you
through life behind the Iron Curtain.
Among its interactive exhibits are a
riot police car from the 1980s and
printing machines from the
Solidarnosc underground workshop.
You may even run across Poland’s
most famous mustachioed electrician
himself, as Walesa’s institute is located on one of the floors.
Have lunch at Bufet u Kazia, the
former shipyard canteen at Doki
Street 3. Blue collar workers from
neighbouring workshops have their
meal here together alongside yuppies
and tourists. A typical lunch consists
of pickle soup (zupa og?rkowa), followed by minced pork cutlet (kotlet
mielony) with mashed potatoes and
vegetable salad (sur?wka).
Zaspa Monumental Murals
Gallery
Leave the city centre and visit
Zaspa, one of the first housing estates
built of concrete prefabricated units,
which has become an artspace and a
canvas for huge outdoor paintings.
Built in the 1970s close to the
shore and constantly buffeted by the
sea breeze, the estate was home to
Walesa and was the site of several
anti-communist demonstrations. It
also hosted a mass celebrated by the
Pope in 1987.
In the 1990s, the estate became
gray and gloomy until the
Monumental Art Festival was established in 2009. Each year an international group of street artists covers
successive Zaspa buildings with
gigantic paintings.
Not far away is the Przymorze district, famous for its “falowiec” apartments blocks with characteristic wavy
contours.
To visit these and other communist-era sites, you can book yourself a
guided “retro” tour in a genuine Nysa
van from the 1960s or an East
German Wartburg car.
Dairy treats
For dinner, choose one of the citycentre milk bars (bar mleczny), like
Turystyczny (Szeroka Street 8/10) or
Neptun (Dluga Street 33/34).
Popularised in post-war Poland in
response to meat shortages, they are
still famous for simple, tasty food, a
pleasant atmosphere and reasonable
prices thanks to public subsidies.
Here can you meet students and
pensioners sitting at common tables
with businessmen and workmen,
savouring tomato soup with rice
(zupa pomidorowa) or beetroot soup
with beans (barszcz ukrainski) followed by white cheese dumplings
(pierogi leniwe) or pasta with cabbage and mushrooms (lazanki) and a
glass of fruit compote (kompot).
To finish your day, check out one
of the “retro” shot bars, like No to
Cyk (Chlebnicka Street 2) or Zimne
Nozki (Swietego Ducha Street 2).
They have revived the tradition of
drinking vodka shots accompanied
with various traditional nibbles. You
can also go for a movie at Neptun
cinema (Dluga Street 57) and admire
its sgraffito wall decor of designs
scratched in plaster that was popular
in Polish socialist realism interiors.
Destinations
click
Continued from Page 30
Latest
Feb 8
Healing and meditation course:
Special healing and other meditation
courses by NYF Kuwait during a brief
visit of Dr N.A. Shetty to Kuwait from
Feb 8th to Feb 15. Dr N.A. Shetty gives
private consultation and private courses
on these days. On Feb 8th ‘Liberation
course’ from 6:30 pm-8:30 pm. On Feb
10th ‘Past Life Regression and Future
Life Progress’ in Salmiya and Bayan.
NYF offers ‘Reiki Level I’ on Feb 13th
from 10:30 am-12:30 pm in Salmiya.
Private consultations are available for one
hour based on pendulum dowsing, Reiki
different levels, healing techniques,
Chakra activation course, astrology etc.
NYF also conducts regular yoga. For registration and more details contact:
99315825/99838117. Visit our website www.nityayoga.in
Feb 11
YMCA ecumenical bible quiz:
YMCA Kuwait is conducting the 3rd
Annual Bible Quiz for members from all
the churches in Kuwait on Feb 11, 2015
at Light House, NECK from 6:30pm
onwards. The section of the Bible based
on which the quiz is going to be held is,
all Chapters from the Judges,
Deuteronomy, St Mathew and Acts of
Apostles. The first three winners will be
presented with ever rolling trophies and
Certificates. Last date of Registration is
1st February, 2015. For registration and
more enquiries please contact: Joseph
M.A. (Convener) Mob # 66843917,
Parimanam Manoj (General Secretary)
Mob # 97542985.
Feb 20
ICS presents Mohit Chauhan:
Indian Cultural Society (ICS) proudly
presents “Mohit Chauhan The Rockstar”
on Friday 20th February at Daiya Indoor
stadium.
Pioneers of live entertainment and producer of regular hit shows, ICS proudly
presents On Friday 20th February India’s
leading playback singer Mohit Chauhan.
After the grand success of “Aashiq
Banaya Aapne”, Indian Cultural Society
will present King of comedy, film and television living legend Umar Sharif live on
stage in Kuwait. ICS always tries to
bridge cultures and to keep the community happy by bringing together renowned
artists on one stage. On Feb 20, ICS will
also present unique acrobats Diwakar
Nayal, Sonia Mathur & Ankita who will
perform astonishing trio act. The show
will also feature Kuwait’s own talents —
Dreamers, Dancing Divas, Shrishti Dance
Academy and Safa Khan. Dreamers will
present first time Acro-Dance Workshop
on 21st Feb at SIMS.
Mohit Chauhan: The Rockstar Mohit
Chauhan is an Indian pop & playback
singer, most known for his romantic ballads. He started his career singing Indian
pop songs with the band Silk Route,
which released two albums, Boondein
(1998) and Pehchan. The song “Dooba
Dooba” became a rave in the Indi pop
music scene. Chauhan is recipient of several Film fare as well as several other
awards as Best playback singer & Best
male singer awards for songs( Masakali),
(Jo Bhi Main), ( Ye Dooriyan), (Pee
Loon), (Phir Se udd Chala), (Sadda Haq),
(Naadan Parinde) etc.
He has series of hit songs as playback
singer in films like: Dhoom3 Karish 3,
Marycom, The Xpose,Jannat 2, Jab Tak
Hai Jaan, Matru Ki Bijli Ka Man Dola,
RockStar, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara,Tum
Mile, New York, Kismat Connection, Jab
We Met, Rang De Basanti, & Road etc.
Diwakar Nayal, Sonia Mathur & Ankita
are famous acrobats from bollywood &
reality shows like “India’s Got Talent,
Jhalak Dikhla Ja with Madhuri Dixit,
Entertainment Ke Liye Kuchh Bhi
Karega, and Sharukh Khan Live Show for
New Year. Diwakar & team have performed worldwide with new concept of
Tri act. They will do workshop for new
talents in Kuwait on the 2nd day.
ICS has invited some of the most iconic
Indian musicians and stars including
Himesh Reshammiya, Daler Mehndi,
Javed Akhtar, Alka Yagnik, Kumar Sanu,
Shreya Ghoshal, Bappi Lahiri, Shabana
Azmi, Raveena Tandon, Abhijeet
Bhattacharya, Talat Aziz, Vinod Rathod,
Udit Narayan, Bali, Munawwar Rana,
Tom Alter, Javed Ali, Shibani,
A.Sivamani, Raju Srivastav, Jaswinder
Singh, Bhagyashree, Haricharan, Suchitra,
Bharti Singh, Akshay Anand, Anjaan
Srivastav, Kader Khan, Ramesh Talwar,
Himani Shivpuri, Mika Singh etc.
So join ICS for a memorable & mesmerizing evening “Mohit Chauhan The
Rockstar” on Friday 20th February 2015
at 6.30 pm at
Fahad Al Hamad Handball Indoor
Stadium, Kuwait Fencing Association,
2nd Ring Road, Block 2, Daiya Kuwait.
This undated image released by Disney Cruise Line shows a scenic view of Norwegian Fjords. (AP)
Snow rooms, better Wi-Fi some of new trends for cruising
Cruise industry comes up with wow factor
NEW YORK, Jan 30, (AP): Snow
rooms, better Wi-Fi and a continued
emphasis on specialty food and drink
are some of the trends for cruising in
the next year or two.
Here are some details.
THE WOW FACTOR
The industry that put skating rinks
and waterslides on ships keeps “coming
up with funky, cool things — that wow
factor,” said Fran Golden, who writes
for Porthole.com and USA Today’s
Experience Cruise site.
Royal Caribbean’s Anthem of the
Seas debuts in April with the same
innovations that made a splash at last
year’s launch of its sister ship,
Quantum of the Seas: robot bartenders,
simulated skydiving, bumper cars and
an observation capsule rising high
above the sea.
Norwegian Escape arrives in Miami
in November with a snow room offering freezing temperatures for postsauna invigoration. The ship’s showcase
food and drink includes a
Margaritaville, Mondavi-brand wine
bar, craft beer from Miami’s Wynwood
Brewing and restaurants offering tapas
and Latin seafood from celebrity chef
Jose Garces.
Viking, the company known for river
cruises, is introducing an oceangoing
vessel, Viking Star. With a capacity of
928, it’s small compared with megaships carrying 4,000, but Viking says it
will be destination-oriented, with more
time in port around the Mediterranean,
Western Europe and Nordic region. Allinclusive prices will cover shore excursions, Wi-Fi, self-service laundry, wine,
beer and specialty restaurants.
Looking ahead to 2016, Carnival will
launch its first new ship in four years,
Carnival Vista, with the first IMAX theater at sea and two new thrill attractions: a 455-foot-long (139 meters)
multicolored tube slide called a Kaleido-Slide and SkyRide, a cycling ride suspended from a track. A Family Harbor
area offers more family accommodation
options and a lounge hangout with
large-screen TVs, games and concierge
desk.
Regent Seven Seas’ new Explorer
ship, also debuting in 2016, will have
one of the largest and priciest suites
ever offered at sea. The $5,000-a-night,
per person, Regent Suite will be 3,875
square feet, with grand piano and private spa.
ITINERARIES AND EVENTS
Disney Cruise Line brings “Frozen”
to sea next summer with themed deck
parties, character meet-and-greets,
menus and performances on select sailings. Disney Magic itineraries include
the Norwegian fjords that inspired the
hit movie.
Cunard marks 175 years since its
first ship Britannia crossed from
England to North America. Cunard’s
Queen Mary 2 departs Liverpool on the
same route July 4, the date Britannia
departed in 1840. All 2015 Cunard sailings will host anniversary events like
themed balls. In May, all three Cunard
ships — Queen Mary 2, Queen
Elizabeth and Queen Victoria — will
rendezvous for celebrations in
Southampton and Liverpool.
EXPEDITION CRUISING
An emerging trend identified by
CruiseCritic.com editor Carolyn
Spencer Brown is expedition cruising or
soft-adventure cruising to places like the
Amazon. Land-based tour companies
like Lindblad have long offered voyages
to exotic destinations like Antarctica and
the Galapagos, but now luxury cruise
companies like Silversea and Seabourn
are getting into the business.
“That means the comfort level and
Contacts: 97262993 - 66263986 69603970 - 97428028 - 94913930.
Whats App: 99709495, 66615050,
97984603
email: [email protected] or [email protected]
Feb 25
TMCA’s blood donation camp:
Donating blood is an active way of helping others and the whole of society. One
can almost say that blood is that magic
potion which gives life to another person.
Our body has 5.5 ltr of blood of which
only 350 ml — 450 ml of blood is taken
depending upon weight of donor. Majority
of healthy adults can tolerate withdrawal
of one unit of blood. The withdrawn
This June 23, 2014 photo shows the new 930-passenger cruise ship Viking
Star as it was floated out in a ceremony at a shipyard outside Venice, Italy. (AP)
blood volume is restored within 24 hours
and the hemoglobin and cell components
are restored in 2 months. Therefore it is
safe to donate blood every three months.
After donating, you should have a snack
and something to drink in the refreshments area. You can leave the site after
10-15 minutes and continue with your
sophistication level is going to rise,
with more food options, cabins with
balconies and suite accommodations,”
said Spencer Brown, who recently
cruised the Peruvian Amazon. “You
won’t have to give up the comforts of
home to do these trips.”
PRICES
Cruise Market Watch says per-person, per-day expenditures on 2015
cruises will average $222, including
ticket price and onboard spending.
That’s a 3.5 percent increase over 2014.
But there are still bargains.
CruiseCompete.com has a webpage
devoted to cruises under $300, including three-night trips on Golden Princess
and Carnival Imagination starting in
California with stops in Mexico.
Bob Levinstein, CEO of
CruiseCompete.com, advises “the
absolute best deals are going to be lastminute.” That doesn’t mean the week
before the cruise, but six or seven
weeks out, after final payments are due
for advance bookings. Last-minute
deals work best for folks with flexible
schedules who can drive to ports so
they don’t need plane tickets,
Levinstein said.
Bargain cruises are especially prevalent in the Caribbean and Mexico due
to an oversupply in the region, especially among “older and less attractive
ships,” according to Rich Skinner, coowner of Cruise Holidays of
Woodinville, a Vacations.com brand.
normal daily activities.
The purpose to organize a blood donation camp is to motivate people to donate
blood and social works. In view of this
important humanitarian activity,
Tamilnadu Muslim Cultural Association
(TMCA), Kuwait, a non-profit and one of
the oldest Indian Associations registered
with the Embassy of India since 1995, is
organizing Blood Donation Drive every
year on Feb 25, commemorating resident
Kuwait’s National and Liberation Days
celebrations.
In its 20th year (1995-2015) of existence and service, we have great pleasure
to conduct our 10th year of Blood
Donation Drive this year also on
Wednesday, Feb 25 between 8:00 am till
But Skinner also sees “significant
increases to both Europe and Alaska
prices.” And some cruises now have
“value-added” prices where you pay
more but get more included, like alcohol, gratuities or Wi-Fi.
FOOD AND FITNESS
Many cruise lines have partnered
with famous chefs to appeal “to a foodie audience,” said Golden, of
Porthole.com. Often the name-brand
venues onboard are specialty restaurants, so you pay extra, but still less
than what it costs to eat at the chef’s
land-based restaurant. (An exception,
Golden notes: Guy Fieri’s burgers are
free on Carnival ships.)
Cruises are also offering more
intense fitness options, said Levinstein,
like Norwegian Fight Klub, a cardio
boxing program. People who are into
fitness are wary of cruising “because
you eat all the time on a ship,”
Levinstein said. Cruise lines can overcome those concerns with innovative
ways to spend time at sea getting in
shape instead of putting on weight.
WI-FI
Wi-Fi on cruises has been expensive
and slow, but “there’s definitely a big
push to improve,” Levinstein said,
especially on Royal Caribbean and
Carnival. Carnival is piloting a social
media package, with access to sites like
Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, for $5
daily or $25 per voyage. You pay more
for email, Web-surfing or Skype.
1.00 p.m at Jabriya Central Blood Bank.
Inviting prominent personalities from
all walks of life, say, Diplomats, medical
professionals, government officials, social
activists etc, to the event is also on the top
of our agenda with an aim to promote this
humanitarian effort to set an example in
the community services.
April 15
DAI trip to Iran: We are pleased to
announce that this season we will be taking A Journey Through Persia. The trip
will take place 15-25 April and is being
organised with the help of the Iranian
Embassy in Kuwait. The programme will
Continued on Page 32