Mega stars, mega bucks
Louis Vuitton bag, Vaio laptop, Versace dress and swanky cars - our stars would settle for nothing less when it comes to Diwali shopping
Remember the essay we used to write on Diwali when we were kids? And the line, which would inevitably pop up in the essay was (in the simplest terms) 'people wear new clothes and decorate their houses on this day'. Well, we still abide by the same self-made rule and follow one theme quite avidly, 'shop till you drop'. From clothes to fashion accessories to home décor trimmings to anything and everything, we go out 'just to shop'. And what do you expect when it comes to celebrities? They too do the same but probably with much more fervour. So, here we peep into their shopping list to find out what these celebs from the region are spending their money on.

Joy of giving
It’s time to give. And here are some people who are spreading happiness among the slum children
What could be better than celebrating Diwali with people who are underprivileged and lack the comforts of life, unlike most of us who celebrate the day with loads of goodies, new clothes to wear and gifts to flaunt? Believing in the happiness of all, there are some benevolent people and groups who make it sure that smiles run on all faces-rich or poor.

Revealing Fashion
When haute couture is making inroads into middle-class homes, Madhur Bhandarkar's Fashion takes a sneak into the wild-wild world of fashion and glamour
A new Bollywood film takes a long hard look at India's fashion industry, putting the spotlight on its underbelly of drug abuse, depression and politics at a time. Fashion, which opens in cinemas on Wednesday, comes close on the heels of three high-profile fashion expos in New Delhi and Mumbai, in a fortnight that has seen the country's media obsessed over post-show parties hosted by India's top designers.

Comic relief
The super hot and bold actress Celina Jaitley needs no introduction. After Money Hai to Honey Hai she is back with a bang with Rohit Shetty's directed Golmaal Returns, which stars Ajay Devgan, Kareena Kapoor, Shreyas Talpade, Arshad Warsi, Amrita Arora and Tusshar Kapoor. In a comedy of errors, Celina Jaitley plays a non-glamorous role of Meera Nair. Celina plays a south Indian character in the movie. Here is the bombshell telling all about Golmaal Returns, which releases on Wednesday.

Politically correct
Actor-activist Rahul Bose says there is an urgent need to make secularism "active" by reaching out to different communities in small, everyday gestures like offering a lift to someone from another community or encouraging children to share lunch. "It is the expression in small ways - like offering a lift on way to office to a person from another community, which makes a difference." "We can, for example, encourage our children to share their lunch with everybody. When there are festivals we can reach out to celebrate them with the other communities - the Muslims reaching out to celebrate Diwali and the Hindus to celebrate Eid. It is the simplest way of building bridges," Rahul said.

Going places
The Indian Film Festival will be held in Abu Dhabi, the UAE capital, from November 2 in which Yash Chopra's cross-border love saga Veer Zaara and Ashutosh Gowarikar's epic movie Jodha Akbar will be screened. "The 10-day festival is aimed to engage Emirate nationals to share the Indian culture and traditions and thus help in cementing ties between the two countries," Indian Ambassador to the UAE, Talmiz Ahmad, said yesterday.

‘Stole’ the show
Scarves, one fashion accessory that can add style and bling to your look are in vogue this season too. So why not grab some?
You have it. Your mother too used to wear it. Your grandmother wore it too. Of course, you can call it a part of ethnic wear but here you love to flaunt it with a pair of denims and sweaters. You need another hint? All right,, remember Shah Rukh Khan in Kabhi Alvida Na Kahena? He knotted it so stylishly around his neck and made all the fashion frenzy people follow him. It is stoles we are talking about. So what’s new about it? Well, actually a lot.

Razzle dazzle

A group of women from Pakistan add colour to the green at the Golf Club-Panchkula. Lifestyle photo: Himanshu Mahajan

Touch wood
Add zing to your home decor this Diwali with a glass console or a jharokha. Read on to know how to go about it
It’s customary to say that interiors of the house reflect on the personality and taste of the homemaker. It’s the lady of the house who takes the charge and decides the colour of the wall and patterns in the upholstery. In the nutshell its her decision entirely as what furniture would suit the decor. So, it’s natural that, there are women in the city who design furniture for others and indeed their choice wins some compliments for the ownerers.

Two’s company

Bollywood actors Anupam Kher and Shahid Kapoor during the shooting of a film at the Attari-Wagah border, about 30 kms from Amritsar. PTI Photo

Speaking Art
Another admirer of Indian art, Renee van de Vall likes miniature folk art here
"Critical art in Europe has a fear of beauty, but Indian art doesn't show that fear." It's a statement of sorts but in the words of Renee van de Vall, an art conservationist from Netherland. In city, for interactive workshop on conservation of contemporary art forms at the Government College of Art-10, she feels that in India, art is a balance of traditional ideas and contemporary visualisation.

Tech trawl
Do we need technology bordering on the lines of weird or funny?
A cell phone installed in a watch. Cool! Navigation system on your mobile. Ultimate! Megapixel camera in your pen. Mind blowing! Technology, it seems is enough to drive us crazy. But what about things like, 'A pendrive at the back of your shoe,' 'chopsticks that have an MP3 player in them', or better still, 'a computer that doubles up as an espresso machine!' What else?

Screen presence
Appearances are certainly deceiving when it comes to LCD and Plasma televisions. Although both types of televisions are flat and thin, they make use of different technology to deliver similar results.

Million-dollar fun
How much are you ready to pay for a video game? Addicted ones do not mind paying as much as Rs 40,000 for a Playstation
Don't we all love the luxuries of this world? And while we live, eat and drink technology and are smitten by the virtual world, luxury has got altogether a different meaning. Luxury comes in form of technology. We don't think twice before spending a fortune on the latest mobile or the newest gizmo.