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Turkey adorns
desi avatar The beauty hunt begins Children of a lesser God? Not really!
Film & FASHION FILM REVIEW Bollywood heroines vying to be Indian Diva PAMMY’S BEAUTY TIPS MARKET PULSE
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This Christmas, turkey makes a grand entry, but mostly as the rich cousin of butter chicken and tandoori chicken, reports Parbina Rashid WHAT is Christmas without the turkey? At the backdrop of hot couture designers working day and night to come out with the ‘oh-so-perfect’ dress for the occasion and event managers outdoing one another to throw the most-memorable Christmas bash, the bird makes a grand entry in City Beautiful, all dressed for the occasion. Now, one can forget about the same boring butter chicken or tandoori chicken. If the delicacies displayed at the Banquet Hall of Hotel Mountview are anything to go by, turkey, popularly known as ‘American Kukad’, is all set to give the good old broiler a run for its money. Ready to make a permanent entry in the menu of the hotel, this turkey is different from what you are used to seeing. The bird is foreign no doubt, but is being bred in the local soil, at a farm near Dera Bassi, and the dishes are being prepared by the hotel’s experts chefs in such a way that your taste buds are tickled enough while still maintaining the sense of familiarity.
So what we get in hand are Turkey Cremier, which is not too different from the butter chicken with all the creams and garam masalas, tandoori turkey, which certainly does not need any explanation, turkey tikka, the big chunks of the bird cooked with Indian spices, grilled turkey and Turkey Imperial, cooked in white sauce with mushrooms and herbs, the version you are familiar with from your association with American films and serials. “We are going to introduce turkey in our menu on the regular basis. Today’s fare is going to give us the feedback on what type of preparations we should stick to,” says R.P. Singla, General Manager of the hotel. So the select group of 50 persons, including General S.F. Rodrigues (retd), media persons and city’s who-is-whos, got to sample this gastronomical fare. Turkey as a diversion for broiler or mutton is going to work out, says Singla. For it is less fatty, of high nutritional value, contains high protein and is low in fat and cholesterol than chicken and duck meat, he adds. His statement makes sense if one goes by the rush at the Cardiology Department at the PGI or any other heart institutes. If not that, the Punjabi penchant for trying out new things is sure going to make his venture a success! |
The NOMARKS Face of the Year—2005, a beauty pageant and talent hunt award function will be held in
Chandigarh on December 29. The event is being organised by Studio Model Creators and this is the sixth consecutive time that this popular event is being held in the
city.
THE
NOMARKS Face of the Year 2005 selection procedure will start from December 25 onwards. The preliminaries of the event will be held in Shimla, Ludhiana and Chandigarh where the sub-title of Miss Talent, Miss Best Costume, Miss Photogenic, Miss Cat-walk and Miss Best Personality will be awarded to the participants. The final selection for the sub-title award will be in Chandigarh where Miss Best Eyes, Miss Best Skin, Miss Best Hair and Miss Best Smile will be Chosen. The grand finale will be held at Silver City, Chandigarh. Bollywood star Jackie Shroff and Shahbaz Khan, Anu Verma (Ozone Ayurvedics) and Aditi Srivastava from NIFD are among the panel of judges. The comperes for the event will be Mehr Bhasin and Pallav Bose. The pageant covers all aspects of a contemporary woman’s persona—beauty, brains, fashion and glamour, and grooms them into leaders in different spheres of life. “Nomarks Face of the Year is the platform where we give a chances to aspirants and introduce new faces and talents in the industry every year. Our aim is to lay emphasis on hunting for a face to redefine fashion without vulgarity. Chandigarh as a city has always been open to new ideas and latest fashion, and we at Ozone are happy to be hosting this contest at the city.’ says P. S. Sandhu, CEO, Ozone Ayurvedics. Event Schedule Dec 25 Ms Body Beautiful & Ms Photogrenic At Thunder Zone, Chandigarh Dec 26 MsTalented & MsBest Costume At Ritz Cineplex, Shimla Dec 27 Ms Best Persolaity & MsBest Catwalk At Maharaja Regency, Ludhiana Dec 28 Ms Beautiful Skin & Ms Beautiful Hair At Habib’s, Sector 17-E, Chandigarh Dec 28 Ms Beautful Smile & Ms Beautiful Eyes At Glass Palace Complex, Chandgiarh Dec 29 Grand Finale At Hotel Marc Royale, Zirakpur-Kalka Highway |
Children of a lesser God? Not really! Who says the dizzy heights of delights are not meant for the deprived? A Christmas celebration organised at a Government school by Durga Das Foundation lighted the dark lives of 160 slum-children. Anandita Gupta captures the mood
Chuckles, grins and soft murmurs filling the otherwise dingy rooms. Fun, frolic and fervour gleaming on innocent faces. Every heartbeat racing excitably, screaming with every single gush of blood it pumped — ‘Merry Christmas.’ No crib, beautifully done up Christmas trees, no stockings hanging on the mantelpieces, no ‘Jingle bells’ ringing and no candies, cakes and cookies to make most of the Christmas cheer. Still the ho-ho festive mood was very much there. For, 160 children, who’ve always learned to hold back their heartfelt desires, experienced something they never knew existed— the joy of receiving! The special occasion was a Christmas get-together organised by The Durga Das Foundation on December 23,2005. The venue—Government Primary School, Indira Colony, Manimajra. Donning the mantle of the philanthropic Santa Claus was Ms.Jean Rodrigues, wife of Punjab Governor and UT Administrator, Gen. S.F Rodrigues. And the special guests for the occasion were 160 slum children aged 4 to 16! Hailing from Hallo Majra, Indira Colony and Bapu Dham slums, these kids rolled in glee, as they tasted a slice of party platter that Christmas brings. Their houses might have been cramped and smelly, pockets torn and cash-strapped and lives dim with deprivation, but their faces seemed radiant. For some, the joy was all about gifts, for others it was just the fervour in the air. Beamed 14-year-old Neelam, a student of night school at Halomajra, “I’m very happy to be in the company of so many happy kids. Then there was a teeny-tiny five-year-old Sunil, “ Bahut maza aa raha hai (I’m enjoying a lot).” And as the other children affirmed his statement by bursting into a boisterous laughter, he smiled, showing off those not-so-pearly-whites shyly.
The whispers and murmurs got buried in hushed silence as Ms Rodrigues entered the classroom where these tiny-tots were seated. Everyone stood up but nobody wished. For, every child was desperate to wish the first lady personally. A warm good morning was wished to Ms Rodrigues by every child as he/she went to her to collect his/her gift. The lady was glowing with joy herself. She whispered, “These children are so deprived. Their state can almost drive one to tears.” And she was absolutely right. For, as soon as she gifted a blanket to a child, he soon tore open the packing and wrapped himself in it. So, was she drawn to tears? No, she rather stood there, braving her tears—smiling and upright, her sleek frame looking elegant in a silk saree and her face glowing with the ‘joy of giving’. And she gave much more than gifts— hugs, kisses and warm greetings, besides those encouraging pearls of wisdom. Seeing these 160 souls so cheerful, Lord Jesus, up there in the Heavens, must have been the happiest. For, Jesus lived and even sacrificed his life for bringing happiness to troubled souls. And what better time than His Birthday to celebrate it? |
Homecoming Santa brings gifts and puts them in stockings. Well, two years ago, the gift Santa brought was too big to fit into a stocking. He gave me a house of my own—my own dream house! On Christmas eve, two years ago, I moved into my own cosy flat. And waking up on that chilly Christmas morning in my own nest was a very special moment. As memorable as the time when my two little daughters were born. It was a cold morning, but my house exuded warmth. It was the warmth of the joy on my little girls’ radiant faces and the proud and very rare smile on my husband’s face. It’s said that a house turns into a home when it’s well-furnished but I deny that. My bare house with even more bare walls looked the most beautiful home on that Christmas. —
Vaishali Aggarwal Back-stage drama The Christmas of 2000 is the most memorable Christmas in my life. We performed a musical play at Tagore Theatre, depicting various events that took place at the birth of Jesus Christ. We practiced for about 13 days. Finally the day arrived and the auditorium was packed to its capacity. The programme was about to start when we realised the girl who was supposed to play the role of Mary was missing. After enquiring we came to know that she was hospitalised because of fever. This created panic as it was time to lift the curtain. Suddenly, I noticed my younger sister sitting among the audience. Without giving it a second thought, I ran and grabbed her and explained the situation. Other artistes were too willing to help her out. The next task was to dress her up for the role. We collected a few dupattas from friends back stage and just wrapped them around her and presented her on stage. She carried her role with grace and with a little guidance from Joseph managed to convince the audience that she was the original. With all the tension around, I forgot the right notes for the songs. But with God’s grace, we managed, even the difficult ones. It was well received and no one could make out the drama that went back-stage. I was so overwhelmed with joy that we could accomplish our mission of spreading the message of joy and peace to everyone present. In fact, our music director was so overjoyed that he later threw a pizza party for all of us. —
Annie Charles Santa’s identity revealed Christmas – the word conjures up the image of that roly-poly friend of all kids—Santa Claus. Writing letters to this out-of-the-world being who could give us any thing and then receiving presents in the middle of the night was a joy out of this world. I fondly remember the time when I would pull out my best stationery with cartoons on the border and write a long three-page letter in my best hand to Santa Claus telling him of all the good things I had done that year and asking him to leave Johnny quest skateboards and captain planet planeteer rings in the stockings I had hung up. There would always be a P.S. reminding Santa to finish of the biscuits I had left for him or else the rats would come and my mother would yell at the crumbs. We used to live in an old house complete with a real fireplace which we had meticulously kept intact. So every year, before Christmas, I would ask someone to clean it up so that Santa may not dirty his dress, and perhaps save him a yelling from his Mrs Claus. I even wanted to climb up to the roof of our single storeyed-house to leave something for Rudolph (the red-nosed reindeer) to eat. To decorate the house for Christmas and putting up buntings, stars, a synthetic Christmas tree, artificial snow etc was an experience of its own kind. And then on the morning of Jesus’ birthday, I found dozens of beautifully wrapped presents kept neatly under the Christmas tree. But as I grew up, I realised that my beloved Santa was not a real person, but my parents. I saw the letters I had written to Santa over the years in their safe possession and I also understood why Santa would never give me what I wanted, but always something different. My parents never knew what I wanted till I was asleep in my bed on Christmas eve and they got around to reading my letter. And instead of catching them invading my privacy by reading a letter that was not for them, I continued to pretend to sleep. A curious six-year-old cannot resist tiptoeing into the drawing room to see if Santa Claus had come with her presents, and I for one wanted to meet Santa and sit on his lap like in those English movies. —
Mahima Pushkarna |
Film & FASHION Courtney Love, troubled rocker and widow of Kurt Cobain, is so broke that she is selling her rights to her late husband’s song catalogue. According to pagesix, Love had to leave her apartment and is looking for $100 million. This is bound to upset Cobain’s former band-mates from Nirvana, Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic, who had fought with Love for years for the control of songs and royalties. Love has undergone a change by supposedly cleaning up her drug habit and slimming down but she is still not making enough money.
— IANS Chris reminds Gwyneth of dad
Oscar winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow married Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin because he reminded her of her late father Bruce. According to contactmusic.com, Paltrow says she was struck by the resemblance when she was having a chat with Madonna about love and loss. She says, “Madonna said to me that I once told her that I wasn’t ready to pick the right person because I wasn’t ready to replace my father as the main man in my life. It’s true. I feel, like I was never really with anybody who was a real contender.” But Paltrow knew she found her future husband when she met Martin because he was so similar to her father. She adds, “He’s got the same blue eyes and curly hair and the long, long muscles.”
— IANS Cast of the award winning show “Lost” has been named the Entertainer of the Year by Entertainment Weekly. According to contactmusic.com, they beat out the likes of Steve Carell, Naomi Watts, Kanye West and George Clooney.
— IANS Sienna Miller says no to Bond
Actress Sienna Miller has pulled her name out of the list of possible Bond girls for the upcoming film. According to contactmusic.com, Miller was supposedly considered for a role in the latest Bond movie. She said, “I don’t think it’s the right time for me to be a Bond girl. It may undo the hard work I have been doing this year.”
— IANS Johansson calls British press dumb
Actress Scarlett Johansson has called the British press “dumb” after she attended the London premiere of her new movie “Match Point”. According to Internet Movie Database, Johansson was smiling as she posed for photographs and interviews. But a microphone picked up a private conversation the actress had with her co-star Matthew Goode where she said, “Oh my God, I didn’t see you at all last night. What did you think? I thought the whole thing was awful. None of the British journalists had seen the movie and they were all asking me the dumbest questions.” Speaking about the after-screening party she said, “It was so stiff, I left really early.”
— IANS Janet searched most on Google
Rumours about a secret daughter and a new album keep Janet Jackson hot among netizens even a year after her wardrobe malfunction at the 2004 Super Bowl, with the singer emerging as the most searched item in Google News for 2005. In Yahoo’s list of top internet searches, which was published last week, pop diva Britney Spears topped the list, but in the Google’s list, the ‘Toxic’ singer lost the competition to Janet, who beat celebrities like Hollywood star Brad Pitt, her brother Michael Jackson and stunning actress Angelina Jolie to the top spot, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.
— ANI Pamela Anderson’s dance edited out
Former Baywatch star Pamela Anderson is upset with NBC TV bosses for editing her pole dance out of a broadcast of Sir Elton John’s Las Vegas stage extravaganza. The Caesars Palace show was aired recently without the segment in which John sang ‘The Bitch Is Back’ while an oversized screen behind him displayed a scantily clad Anderson. “This really bothers me. Elton cut me out. I was in the previews,” she was quoted by Femalefirst, as saying. The actress moves provocatively in the video which was included in preview copies sent out to critics, but after an assessment by its standards and practices department, the network decided the material did not suit the prime time
slot. — ANI |
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FILM REVIEW Wah, Life Ho To Aaisi Kudos to Mahesh Manjrekar, the maker of ‘Viruddh’ who has chosen a subject that is inspired by two Hollywood films ‘Bruce Almighty” and “Bedazzled”. It is different ball game this time as the package comes out as funky roller-coaster entertainer. The successful pairing of Shahid Kapoor and Amrita Rao hits the mark in this film. A light-hearted fun packed film “Wah, Life Ho To Aaisi” with its emotional moments and good music is made for children and urban audiences. This sci-fi thriller has loads of special effects in which Sanjay Dutt is a surprise package. He, as the god of death, breathes life into the film and makes it interesting. Shahid Kapoor tries hard to give a good performance and succeeds to a large extent. Amrita Rao makes most of the few scenes that she has and brings a grace to her part. Arshad Warsi is excellent in comedy scenes. Himesh Reshamniya compositions are trendy and upbeat.
Dosti - Friends Forever “Dosti - Friends Forever” is a film by producer-director Suneel Darshan who is specialist of sorts when it comes to emotional films. This time he has tackled the emotional drama with the required depth. As for the performances Akshay Kumar and Bobby Deol have put in sincere performances. Kareena Kapoor is attractive. Laara Dutta, Juhi Chawla and Aman Verma are okay. Here is a case of relatively good plot not getting translated effectively on screen. Nadeem-Shravan’s compositions are average. —
Dharam Pal |
Bollywood heroines vying to be Indian Diva
YOU won’t get off the couch once you start watching the scintillating performances of Kareena Kapoor, Bipasha Basu, Katrina Kaif, Shamita Shetty, Udita Goswami, Rimii Sen, Parmita Kakkar and Koena Mitra. They all come together on this Sunday on SaharaOne Television in the Grand Finale of Indian Diva 2005 at 7.30 pm. There is more—you have the opportunity to make your favourite actress win in this title and in return, five lucky couples who voted for the winning diva will get a three-nights all expense paid trip to Bangkok. Voting through SMS is open Monday morning. Over the past few weeks, the programme has brought the most vivacious divas from the film industry to perform on the hottest music tracks. The competition also supports children from Vatsalya Trust,
Sanpada, wherein a part of the proceedings would go towards funding the trust’s
activities. — TNS |
PAMMY’S BEAUTY TIPS HAIR expresses one personality and makes a statement—perhaps our most distinctive feature. Any sudden change in colour or style, it gives a startling effect. In the hands of an expert, it is soft, shining and full of life. Strange though, the truth is that hair is dead! The most obvious aspect of healthy hair is its shine — its ability to reflect light. This property depends mainly on the cuticle of the hair shaft, and how intact it is and that only happens if the cortex has not been affected by heat or chemicals, then the hair will probably have reasonable shine and body. Remember care and attention based on good hair ‘science’ ensures beautiful, lustrous hair. I am going to bring some facts about the lifting of colour (bleaching) with hydrogen peroxide when you opt for colouring services. Every time I visit India I am appalled to see a high percentage of people with over-processed hair. Having worked in the west, I’ve seen the difference that it can make to the quality of hair. Your quality of hair can improve making a real difference to the colouring results, if you stick to the scientific facts and colour responsibly. Overbleached hair It is important to understand the bleaching process and how it effects your hair. A scientific understanding of bleaching process can help you to read the record of hair. In order to obtain a lighter hue the process involves hydrogen peroxide to remove most of the natural pigment/colour. After bleaching, a toner is applied to the hair to achieve the desired shade. This method is also called a ‘double process’ and can be damaging to the hair. How to keep the damage to a minimum, and above all what will be the final effect of the programme on the quality of the hair. In bleach formulation, the scales of the cuticle are raised and the bleach chemicals can then penetrate the cortex. Raising the scales of the cuticle for penetration by the bleach is in itself a potentially risky process. Repeated bleaching can leave permanently raised scales and upset the moisture content. It increases the porosity of the hair, and this makes further bleaching more difficult, porous hair bleaches badly, with uneven shading. Repeated bleaching leaves weak, brittle hair, which has little shine or lustre, and which weather rapidly. Additional cosmetic procedures such as perming simply make things worse. Hair can become brittle as a result of a bleach being used too often or a perm solution being used on bleached hair. The damage is all too obvious—bleaching is not the only effect of treating hair with oxidising agents. Side-reactions often happen, such as breakage of some of the strong disulphide bonds of the hair. Re-bleaching, which means treating the whole length of the hair rather than just the roots, is certain to break more of these. Bleached hair, being porous, swells more readily when it is wet, and its wet strength is reduced still further. As a result it becomes extremely easy to strip it away from the cortex, even during routine hair care. Eventually the hair protein may become so weakened that it separates and the hair breaks. Steps in colouring process Next time you go for the colouring services, keep the volume in mind. The colouring process starts by stripping the hair of all melanin that gives it its natural colour. Hydrogen peroxide is mixed with both permanent colours and hair bleaches. Once mixed with these it releases oxygen—it is therefore known as a oxidising agent. 10 volume (three per cent) or 20 volume (6 per cent) for adding colour is used for most tinting purposes. In Japan it is illegal to use hydrogen peroxide more than 20 per cent. 30 volume (9 per cent) or 40 volume (12 per cent) solution is one of the harshest of all procedures used on hair, because the bleach destroys hair keratin. The hair can look lifeless when bleaching is complete, and another chemical process follows, the use of a new colour. Quick and easy tips Severely damaged hair can benefit from a good hot oil treatment. For that you can use- one tablespoon of olive oil and two drops of Rosemary Essential oil. Regular use would improve your hair texture tremendously. When shampooing after hair colouring, or indeed after any chemical processing of hair, use a shampoo with an acid balance as this will help the cuticle scales to close up and lie smooth again. Wash your hair only as often as is necessary. A deep-conditioning treatment once a week is a must to increase elasticity, strength and shine. Treat your hair gently, especially when it’s wet – that’s when it’s at its weakest point and keep heat-styling tools, hair dryers on a low heat setting. A thermal protector must be sprayed to coat the cuticles to protect from cuticle damage. Use a small quantity to prevent any build-up. Minimise the number of times you bleach your hair. If the ends are really dry, rinse out your normal conditioner in the usual way and follow with a leave—in conditioning spray where you need it to help soften and seal the ends. Always point your hairdryer down the hair shaft to keep the cuticles lying flat and try to keep your hair out of the rain. Sun can be pretty tough on hair that is chemically processed. Overexposure to wind can roughen up hair cuticles as well Spray-on shine products work well, but remember, less is more. |
MARKET PULSE THE fourth edition of the much-awaited Kingfisher calendar—‘The Kingfisher Swimsuit special Australia 2006’ is to premiere soon. Shot in Australia across the modern tropical city of Cairns, the magnificent Great Barrier Reef, Sydney and Kangaroo Island, this calendar features 22 new upcoming designers. Their designs are being showcased by six fresh faces shot by ace photographer Atul Kasbekar. Winter
collection 2005 Influenced by themes like sports series and vintage, Numero Uno begins the winter season with snug sweaters available in cotton, acro wool and lambs wool. Embracing winter, the earthy color tones, varying from burnt orange to antique bronze and biking reds. The sweaters are priced between Rs 749 and 1299 for men, while girls can pick them up them for anything between Rs 699 and 999. This year Numero Uno has introduced leather jackets in cords , soft washed canvas, cotton, nylon and of course denim. The men’s jackets range is between Rs 1299 to 2499 and the range for girls is priced between Rs 999 to Rs 1899. Fevistik pocket Pidilite Industries Ltd has recently introduced an attractive new pack for its hot –selling Fevistik , in response to consumers’ demand. Fevistik Pocket, as its name implies, is a light (5gm) pocket size glue stick, convenient to carry and, priced at Rs10 only. Fevistik was the first branded glue to be launched in India, and all its SKUs have been well received. This latest , sized SKU is available at all existing stationery and Fevistik outlets across the country. Fevicryl 3D
outliners Pidilite has launched stunning new shimmery shades of Fevicryl 3D outlines. The shades are shimmer Ice, Shimmer Mint Green, Shimmer Lime and Shimmer Apricot
.These three dimensional outliners are ideally suited for production attractive enhanced effects on light coloured fabric surfaces like earthen pots, ceramic and wood and even paper First remove all traces of starch from the fabric then use the Fevicryl 3D outline any design and then iron the reverse side after 24 hours and then gently wash the fabric after 6 days and do not scrub. No marks
soap pack Ozone Ayurvedics, one of India’s leading Ayurvedic skincare companies, has launched the triple economy pack of NOMARKS scrub soap priced affordably at Rs 55/. The economy pack will be available nationally at all leading outlets. The pack comprises of three NOMARKS scrub soaps and the customer saves up to Rs 23/- with every purchase. Gentle enough for everyday use, natural ingredients used in NOMARKS scrub soap protect your skin from drying. |
Eat Chocolate to live longer: People who eat chocolates one to three times a month cut the risk of early death by one-third. The possible longevity link may be due to phenols (a type of antioxidant) found in it. They are known to inhibit cancer and cholesterol build-up. — Dr Rashmi Garg is senior consultant, Fortis, Mohali. |
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