DIFFERENT SOUNDS: The Senator and the cover of his album

Everywhere I go all I ever seem to hear is ... Senator; No matter where I go all I ever seem to see is ... Senator." The opening lines of his album sound pompous but they also herald the success of a young talented British Asian DJ who has created ripples in the Asian music industry. The success of his sensational debut album, Nothing to Lose, which went straight to Number 1 for eight weeks, pioneered the blending of Garage Beats with bhangra. The Senator has now introduced a sequel, No Way Out-a ninetrack album that fuses fine vocalists and classic bhangra anthems. The Senator's search for a new, fresh and vibrant sound brought together Sonia, who sings the lead vocals on Naina and Kulli, and Sanjay of the 1990s bhangra band Bombay Talkie from bonny Scotland. The Senator says: "No Way Out is a move away from the typical sounds created by many DJ-based albums. It was an honour to work with Sanjay ... as also with new vocalists like Sonia, and my MCs, Sniper and partner in crime, Magic, has taken me to a different level." With the influence of his mentors- Amit and San-J-Sanj of Badd Company and X-Zecutive-he developed his own unique individual style that has brought him fame and well-deserved success.

In the Name of God

SOULFUL RENDITIONS: Hari Kirtan

For those tired to their bones after a hard day's work in the bustling city of London, Sona Rupa, a Leicester-based label, has recently released Hari Kirtan, a collection of classical kirtans. Says Hemant Mattani, who produced the soothing album. "The kirtans for prabhu smaran can be heard for daily meditation."

Adding to the value-both in terms of money and experience-is the fact that the kirtans have been rendered by some highly acclaimed vocalists such as Anup Jalota, Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty, Shankar Mahadevan, Chandu Mattani, Sanjeev Abhyankar, Ashit and Hema Desai and Purshottam Upadhyay. The lyrics and the soothing voices make for a meditative, entrancing experience.

Visual Delights

BOUNTIFUL CHOICE: K3G and Monsoon Wedding (left)

SOHO, the most vibrant, colourful, multicultural part of London, is celebrating the release of two wonderful Indian film delights. Mira Nair's Monsoon Wedding and Karan Johar's Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (K3G) are being screened at Curzon Soho, famous for bringing artistic masterpieces like Jafar Panahi's The Circle and David Lynch's Blue Velvet to London. It is interesting to note that a threeand-half-hour Bollywood flick like K3G has managed to warm its way into Soho. The kind of crowd that Curzon Soho attracts is the cultural elitist who looks for something exotic, yet real-make-belief but perfect. Nair's Monsoon Wedding will be a real treat for Britain, which is obsessed with forced marriages and paedophiles.

It will at least educate the masses that there is a big difference between arranged and forced marriage-mainstream media often uses the two terms interchangeably. An arranged marriage is usually associated with young girls being hijacked to India or Pakistan and being forced into marriage with some distant cousin in an ancient village. To see that an Indian girl-as well as a boy-has the option to walk away from an arranged marriage will definitely come as a surprise to some. Add to it the fact that there are paedophile uncles in Indian families. Explosive! Definitely meets the Curzon Soho standards. And the fact that paedophilia is not a British-alone problem might also cheer up some.

Old Novelty

GOOD FORTUNE: The centre's model

After yoga and ayurveda, it's vastushastra's turn to make an impression in Britain. The public building in Lancashire, the first to be built according to vedic architecture based on natural law for the health, happiness and good fortune of the occupants is Maharishi School Woodley Park Sports and Arts Centre. The building has aroused considerable interest in the construction world. It features the use of natural materials, including a roof of laminated timber beams and pine boarding, and a sprung floor of maple. The infill walls of the main hall are rammed earth-a traditional "breathing wall" technology -and are rendered on the inside with clay plaster. The Centre has received nearly £200,000 in sponsorship, including a Sportsmatch grant of £70,000 from the Government's Institute for Sports Sponsorship.

Portal Couture

STYLE ONLINE: Asian fashion giants are now a click away

The British Asian fashion industry is growing at breakneck speed. To cater to the growing demands of this young market, fashion houses have come together to launch Fasian.com, a multimedia content provider that provides an online platform for offline market leaders in the Asian fashion industry. For a market that is becoming increasingly aware of changing fashion trends and has an insatiable desire to keep the appetite of fashion victims whetted, the portal comes handy as it offers the latest in clothes, jewellery and beauty advice. The portal is formed by five of the UK's top Asian fashion houses and beauty advises on the site are given by UK's leading make-up artist, Zaynab. To exploit its full potential, a section of the portal is devoted to Asian weddings wherein users can get information required to organise a memorable wedding. In times when half of the marriages in the UK are ending up in divorces at least people can have a loving memory of colourful, well-organised weddings. To capitalise on the increasing demands of fashion conscious British Asians and to lure them to visit the site some attractive discounts and promotions are also on offer.