Mahalakshmi Iyer is not tired of receiving the congratulatory phone calls. In fact, the 'Jai ho' singer is more than thrilled these days to talk about Slumdog… and the Oscars.

In the city on Wednesday to perform at Dainik Bhaskar's event Jalsa 2009, she is more than happy to hold forth on the wonder of it all. But she accepts very modestly that she has sung only a few lines and the credit mostly goes to Sukhvinder. “You see, the song is about the victory of the boy hero Jamaal,” she says.

Having made her debut with AR Rahman in Mani Ratnam's Dil Se in 1998, Mahalakshmi has since then sung over a thousand songs in films, jingles and original albums.

Brahma Kumaris, a charitable organisation, is conducting a series of life counselling sesions, says ASHISH VIRMANI

The Brahma Kumaris are holding a series of life counseling sessions — Rajayoga meditation, as well as techniques on achieving stress-free living, relationship management, achieving happiness and overcoming anger — for the public on three days: February 27, 28 and March 1.

Conducted by Shivani, a leading teacher among the Brahma Kumaris, the Rajayoga sessions teach meditation for healthier living and for greater effectiveness in daily life.

India arrives in a big way with the Java Jazz Festival in Jakarta

Most people feel that jazz music is complicated and difficult to appreciate. But over years jazz has visibly evolved, becoming more of a free expression and an amalgamation of various cultures as it continues to change.

FALGUNI and SHANE PEACOCK on running into Sarah Brown and Erin O'Connor at the London Fashion Week

When Falguni and Shane Peacock decided to go ahead with their participation in the London Fashion Week (LFW), they didn't expect a great response. "We showed there as we didn't want to break the continuity; we had, after all, shown there last season," explains Falguni on the phone from London. So after their show on February 22, while the media responses were positive enough, the buyers too have come calling. "The orders may be less than the last time around, but more than we anticipated," enthuses Shane.

Theatre person Cyrus Dastur is content this time to just slip into the actor's shoes, with his new play, . Directed by Shomshukla, this play dwells on topics like love, understanding, friendship and homosexuality. Shomshukla says, "It is a story of a man and a woman who were lovers in their teens, but drifted apart only to find each other and their queer preferences later in their lives."

British actress JASMINE HYDE opens up to After Hrs during her visit to the city

The pretty 29-year-old actor Jasmine Hyde who has worked extensively in theatre including the Royal Shakespeare Company, has done shows for BBC TV and has also been seen in a film called Runt. She says, "I'm missing him," about her 10-month-old son Louis whom she has left back home in UK while she was recently in the country for a week to promote her upcoming movie A Distant Mirage.

Besides her budding acting career, Hyde has a secret that is causing her to burst with excitement, "I'm getting married in June, 2009 to Jonathan Tafler (a British actor). I asked him to marry me on February 29th last year (It was a leap year) and he agreed."