04/10/2025

LYFE SATURDAY | OCT 4, 2025

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More Paris romantic escapism E MILY is no longer the only doe-eyed American in Paris: Isabel “Belly” Conklin, lead character in global TV the dramatic core of the series. Belly leaves her o The Summer I Turned Pretty takes Belly to ‘City of Light’ to escape imploding love triangle In the last three instalments, Paris provides the picturesque background in classic style, with its stereotypically rude waitstaff, sweet pastries and photogenic streets. Even though most fans thought that Belly’s journey had come to an end with the last episode on Sept 17, Han has announced a film is in the works with Amazon that will be the “final chapter”.

ex-fiance Jeremiah Fisher (Gavin Casalegno) to embark on a journey of self-discovery – following in the footsteps of numerous American on-screen heroines in search of love in France. Jenny Han, author of the original romance novels, suggested moving the final run to Paris, having dropped clues such as Belly’s French classes to referencing 1960s cinema classics earlier in the series. “Audrey Hepburn in Paris, coming into her own and becoming a young woman there, is so iconic I thought it would be so lovely if Belly could have that too,” Han told the Los Angeles Times , referring to the 1950s and 1960s screen icon’s long association with the city.

phenomenon The Summer I Turned Pretty , has also moved to the French capital, burnishing its reputation for romance and escapism. The third series of the show ranked first in 120 countries on Amazon Prime when it kicked off in July – rivalling the success of Netflix phenomenon Emily in Paris , which did wonders for the city’s image while provoking a backlash from some Parisians. The most recent episodes of The Summer I Turned Pretty took protagonist Belly (played by Lola Tung) to the “City of Light” to escape an imploding love triangle that forms

Long tradition Paris has provided the backdrop to numerous American classics, including Vincente Minelli’s 1951 An American in Paris – which Belly and leading man Conrad Fisher mirror as they dance along the Seine river in the final episode. “Paris is sort of about love beyond the ordinary world. It’s total transcendence outside of space and time,” said Waddick Doyle, global communications professor at the American University of Paris. Other commentators such as Lindsey Tramuta, a Paris-based writer whose book New Paris tackles stereotypes about France, said the series risks perpetuating some of the myths. “When the foreign media lend their take on Paris, it becomes this sort of flattened caricature. It is in a long tradition that keeps Paris cast in this role, that it can’t really get out of,” she said. Most scenes in The Summer I Turned Pretty were shot in affluent neighbourhoods in Saint Germain des Pres, the Latin Quarter, near the Canal Saint-Martin and Montmartre – where the heroine settles into a spacious apartment with a view of the Sacre-Coeur basilica. “There are moments where this becomes pretty problematic, when what they’re showing is a very whitewashed, almost sterile version of the place that doesn’t reflect reality,” Tramuta added.

The cast of The Summer I Turned Pretty . – PICS FROM INSTAGRAM @THESUMMERITURNEDPRETTY

the capital. As a similar wave of tourists could follow Belly, some hope that future depictions of the city become more nuanced and diverse. “Why can’t we show the real Paris and have it also fulfil that fantasy?” asked Tramuta.

That is unlikely to put off foreign visitors seeking to explore Belly’s path. One of the main restaurants used in the first series of Emily in Paris, Terra Nera, was swamped with selfie-snapping tourists and is now included in popular tours of

Tung plays Belly (left) and Rain Spencer plays her friend Taylor Jewel in the series.

Kashmir’s santoor maker keeps centuries-old craft alive IN a modest workshop filled with the fragrance of seasoned wood, 78-year-old Ghulam Mohammad Zaz continues a craft his family has preserved for eight generations – the making of the Kashmiri santoor . some wood – one needs to find the right kind of wood.”

classical music. “Due to that, this became popularised in the classical circles throughout India,” Bhat said. Suddenly, the santoor was no longer confined to Kashmiri sufiana gatherings – it had become a celebrated voice in Indian classical music. Yet tradition faced challenges as Western instruments and global music trends began to overshadow local sounds. “A lot of our traditional Kashmiri instruments became sidelined,” said Bhat. For craftsmen such as Zaz, this meant fewer patrons, fewer students and the slow decline of a centuries-old family profession. Zaz sells his instruments in Kashmir, but also receives orders from Europe and the Middle East. But there is hope. A revival, however modest, is taking root. “Since the last few years, a new trend has started,“ Bhat said. “Our youngsters have started to learn our traditional instruments,” he said. – AFP

The santoor , a hundred-stringed zither-like instrument played with hammers, has long been central to Kashmir’s musical identity, giving the Muslim-majority region its cultural distinctiveness. The contested Himalayan territory has been divided between India and Pakistan since independence from Britain in 1947. Militants have fought Indian rule, demanding independence or a merger with Pakistan. Tensions remain high between New Delhi and Islamabad. In May, clashes between the nuclear-armed rivals sparked the worst fighting since 1999, killing more than 70 people in missile, drone and artillery exchanges. Mystical music Historically, the santoor formed the backbone of “ sufiana musiqi ”, Kashmir’s mystical music tradition, with its hypnotic and reverberating sound bringing tranquillity. “Musicians used to come from Iran to Kashmir, they used to play

Surrounded by tools that have outlived artisans, he works slowly, each strike and polish echoing centuries of tradition crafting the musical instrument. “Seven generations have worked and I am the eighth: I have no guarantee anyone after me will do this work,” Zaz said softly, speaking in Kashmiri. Once, several of his family members shared this craft in the heart of Kashmir’s main city Srinagar, in the Indian-administered part of the Himalayan territory. Today, he is the last in the city to make the instruments by hand. “If I tell anyone to make something, they won’t know what to do or how to make it,” said Zaz, who produces around eight to 10 instruments every year, selling for around 50,000 rupees (RM2,379) each. “It is not as simple as just picking

Zaz making the santoor instrument at his home in Srinagar. – AFPPIC santoor and other instruments. They used to sing in Persian... we adapted the santoor from them and assimilated it into our music,” said Muzaffar Bhat, a music professor at a government college in Anantnag.

The instrument received a new life in the 20th century. In the 1950s, celebrated Indian musician Shivkumar Sharma – born in Jammu and Kashmir in 1938 – used the santoor to play