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 JUST
laugh it away
Chetna Keer Banerjee
The
turbaned jokes have been as
much a staple of Punjabi culture as the sarson-ka-saag and makki-ki-roti.
In fact, the Santa Banta jokes are to Indian humour what the Pathan gags
are to the Pakistanis or Hebrew jokes to the Jews. Not
only do such cracklers enjoy a cult status in light literature, but they
have quite a fan following in the SMS and Net circuit too. But
suddenly, a booklet has been spotted depicting these cult characters as
Sikhs — Santa in a pink turban and Banta in a blue one — and the joke
hasn’t go down too well with the cultural conscience-keepers of the
community.
Laugh and the world will
laugh
A
single sentence was all it
took to disable the BBC commentary box. The cricketer Ian Botham fell over
his stumps in a freak dismissal, prompting the commentator Jonathan Agnew
to exclaim: “He couldn’t quite get his leg over.”
 Unravelling the Vedas
Priya Gill
Komilla
Sutton, an NRI, is helping the
western world unravel the mysteries of the universe. She is based in the
UK, and is an internationally renowned Vedic, consultant, teacher and
lecturer.
“I tend to be very philosophical in the way I teach.
Whatever our birth chart is, we have to make the most of it. Nothing is
good and bad. We have to understand our charts and make the best out of it
to be successful materially and spiritually. It is like a bird with two
wings. I think that’s why my students are attracted to my kind of
teaching.” Komilla was born in Jalandhar and when in the country, calls
Chandigarh her home. She studied astrology in Mumbai under Ajit Sinha, a
philosopher and Sanskrit scholar. She is also the co-founder of the
British Association for Vedic Astrology Chair, is on the faculty of the
American College of Vedic Astrology and is a council member of the
Astrological Association of Great Britain.
 Meeta Vashisht
uncut
You may hate her for the negative
roles she plays, but you cannot ignore her
Smriti Sharma
We
hated her for being the second
woman with so much aplomb for DD’s Swabhimaan back in the 90’s. Even
now she is playing a negative role with a dash of humour in the
never-ending Saas Bahu saga—Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki. But then of course in
her pivotal role of a lawyer in Ghulam and Tejo in Kasba, she presents an
intense picture of force and versatility. Well that’s Meeta Vashisht,
uncut. In town to receive an award on International Women’s Day, Meeta
talks about herself and her future plans. Hailing from a sleepy village,
Jataal in Panipat, she graduated from the local MCM DAV College.
Meeta Vashisht
 On the Vijay-path
Home-grown film personality Vijay
Tandon pins his hopes on Sarhad Paar
For
actor-writer-director Vijay
Tandon, his heaviness proved to be a deciding factor in his chosen career.
Bollywood was out, but not entirely.
Beginning as a hero in Maa da Laadla, a Punjabi film way
back in 1971 to playing a villain in more than a dozen films to bagging
the National award for the film Kachahri in 1994, life has come a full
circle for Tandon. After putting more than three decades into acting, he
is now deriving creative satisfaction in penning down scripts.
 It’s all about the
accent
Sometimes
all it takes to become famous
is the knowledge of one’s place and cultural heritage and this is
precisely what worked for Parminder. A Sangeet Visharad in tabla, not even
in his wildest dreams had Parminder thought of being a radio jockey but as
luck would have it, beginning his career from anchoring live shows all
over Punjab and Chandigarh with Surjit Bindrakhiya, Mohni, Surinder Ladi
and others, he is the chosen one among 45 contenders to be a radio jockey
for Dubai’s Al Khaleel radio channel. Interestingly, Parminder, who was
earlier working with Sunrise Radio channel in London, got selected for his
Punjabi accent and knowledge of Punjabi culture.
FILM
Wildest of them all
Guitarist
Jimi Hendrix has been voted
the “wildest guitar hero” of all-time, in a poll conducted by Classic
Rock magazine. The late music legend of the 60s beat competition from
Rolling Stones’ member Keith Richards, who came second, and Stevie Ray
Vaughan made it to the third position. Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page was
rated at the fourth position and Dimebag Darrell rounded off the fifth
position, in the survey conducted for music lovers.
 PASSION FOR GREEN
This couple believes in planting
flowers even in candlelight...
Smriti Sharma
As
we enter the house of Dr
Arunanashu Behera and Surria Rajpoot in the PGI campus, Sector 12, it’s
the sight of colourful flowerbeds and meticulously crafted lush green lawn
that greet us. One look at the garden and you know why it’s the most
prized possession for the couple. After all everyone’s hobby doesn’t
fetch him or her great compliments and for the past eight years their
garden has been bagging the best garden award in small garden category at
Rose Festival. What started as a hobby, now has become a full-time passion
for the couple. They look after their plants like their own kids.
For the love of health
Priya Gill
The
verdict is in: white is out
and brown is in. Brown is the new shade of the season and locals just
can’t seem to get enough of its natural goodness. So, why do more
Chandigarhians prefer brown? Simply, because it is healthy, wholesome, and
easier to digest. Shops all around the city are succumbing to the trend
and meeting the demand for whole wheat by stocking a range of products.
Whole wheat bread loaves, kulchas, dinner rolls, burger buns, pizza bases,
and biscuits are flying off the shelves!
BON APPETIT
The good old gobhi
Kandla Nijhowne
In the words of Mark Twain: “The Cauliflower is nothing
but a cabbage with a college degree”!
Not a surprising remark, considering cauliflower does
trace its ancestry to the wild cabbage though it went through many
transformations to reach its present avatar. Broccoli, cabbage,
cauliflower, brussels sprouts and even turnip, all hang in together,
belonging to the same family.
A–one Avon
Avon proudly
introduces a fabulous new range of colour cosmetics in India called Avon
Simply Pretty. The exclusive colour palette and formulation has been
specially researched and developed for Indian women, keeping in mind their
skin tones, weather conditions and the latest world colour trends. All
products are dermatologically tested and proven hypoallergenic.
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