Five Rivers and a Sand Dune
Navdeep Suri will be reading extracts from his translation work The Watchmaker, based on Nanak Singh’s novel Pavitar Paapi, at the Jaipur Literature Festival
We have ‘good’ news and we have ‘better’ news. The good news is that for the first time the Five Rivers of Punjab are to meet the sands of Rajasthan in a presentation of the literature and ethos of Punjab for the Jaipur Literature Festival. The ‘better’ news is that leading the team will be Navdeep Suri, Consul General of India in Johannesburg. An impressive enough designation, but what impresses us the most is that this grandson of Nanak Singh, the pioneering Punjabi novelist, has just translated Pavitar Paapi into English, The Watchmaker.

Desi Delight
Punjabi dubbed Hollywood flicks are an absolute laugh riot, writes Mona
With great power comes great responsibility, this is my gift and my curse. Who am I? I am Spiderman. That was Toby Maguire in the climax of the cult-hit Spiderman. Cut. Now, airlift this entire setting to a Punjabi hinterland. As Toby turns Tobby or perhaps Murli, ever wondered how he would go about his dialogue responsibility. Sample this: Menu jo takat mili hai meri bahut bari jimmevari hai jinhon main dukhi insananan di khidmad karke nibhavangan. Kyunki maineu yakin ho gaya hai ki main Spiderman haan.

Pout perfect
Katie Holmes managed to strike an almost exact pout made famous by her pal Victoria Beckham as she posed for fashion giant Miu Miu. The actress was said to have picked up style advice from the former Spice Girl while she featured in the line's Spring/Summer 2009 campaign.

Spiderman snubbed
Late Hollywood actor Heath Ledger was the first choice for Spiderman role, according to the star's longtime agent. In a US magazine tribute to mark the first death anniversary of Ledger, CAA agent Steve Alexander reveals Ledger was among those considered for the blockbuster role before Tobey Maguire stepped up to play the comic book web slinger.

Lollipop lad
English football player David Beckham was seen popping a lollipop into his mouth during a tour of the Emporio Armani store in Milan with Giorgio Armani's niece Roberta. Becks was seen greeting his friend with a hug before they wandered off together to do a round of the store, reports says. As the footie star took stock of the shop's stash, he was seen slyly popping the sugary treat into his mouth. The sports icon was wearing his staple tea cosy hat and showing off much of his underwear courtesy of intentionally ill-fitting jeans. — ANI

Tourism's boon
Amy Winehouse, who has reportedly been wreaking havoc ever since she arrived at a St. Lucia hotel, has received gratitude from tourism bosses for boosting the island's image. The Rehab hit maker, who has apparently been infuriating staff and other guests at the posh Le Sport hotel with her drunken cavorting and crazy antics, received lavish presents for drawing the attention as she holidayed in the Caribbean.

We shall overcome
American actor Robert Redford, who was at the opening of the 25th annual Sundance Film Festival, laid stress on the fact that people should be optimistic even during the ongoing economic crisis. Referring to the upcoming US presidential inauguration, he told the audience that they needed to be optimistic about the future no matter what came next. "All right. Nerves. Angst. Worries. Pain. Panic. Fear. I'm not talking about the festival, although you might think I was. I'm talking about what's going to be exiting the national stage on Tuesday," he was quoted as saying.

Singer Whitney Houston at the BET Honors Awards in Washington DC recently. Photo: Reuters

Solace in cyber world
A survey says most of the people spend their leisure time online
Leisure. The word itself adds life to our very existence. How nice would it be if we had some time for ourselves, time to do things that we like, apart from the chores that we do out of compulsion or to earn our bread. But, we wonder how many people these days have time for themselves or for that matter free time and a question bigger than this is what do they do in free time - chat, mail, blog or check Orkut account. Well, a survey has shown that more than 27,000 web users in 16 countries spend the largest share of their leisure time online. The average respondent in China spends 44 per cent of their leisure time online, UK housewives spend even more than others average - 47percent.

Semi success
Sanjana Bamrara is all of eight, studies in third standard in a city school and dreams of being Miss Universe one day. Not only is she dreaming but also trying her level best to achieve her goal. Right now she is in Mumbai competing in Boogie Woogie, semi finals. How are you, we ask and a childish voice answers the call, "I am very well, enjoying myself here."

VIBGYOR

An artisan captures all the colours of the rainbowin his pottery collection. Photo: S. Chandan

Launch Pad
Colour me bright
Color Essence offers a new range of party wear lipsticks. The company has also introduced this range in 20 other countries, which includes 9 Gulf countries. According to R.K. Nanda, managing director of parent company Natures's Essence, "the range is available in different shades and colours and can go easily with any skin type. These lipsticks are enriched with almond oil and honey wax."

Direct Dil se
Matrimony sites sometimes can prove to be a good source of entertainment
The contents of this article can have delirious affects on the reader. But first, the numerous possibilities that can take over a balanced mind and leave you awestruck for times to come. PS: please do not underestimate the strength of the following messages. Every word comes direct dil se and have been written by people in real and flesh and blood, who have an exceptional know how of English. You might need a dictionary. So, keep one near. You might have to jump any minute to look and search for some real hard words.

For a million dollar smile 
Dr Sanjay Kalra, orthodentist speaks about the perfect smile
The perfect smile is the secret behind a vibrant and a youthful personality. Even minor flaws in a persons smile such as crooked, chipped, stained, spaced or flaring teeth are almost always noticed and can negatively effect one's self-confidence and personality. We ask Dr Sanjay Kalra who how to get an enchanting smile.

BODY wise
Grey matter(s)
For years many exercise enthusiasts have believed that exercise not just positively affects the body, also brain. But all this while there was no scientific evidence to prove that an active lifestyle helps the brain. But now, a new research suggests that working out does benefit the brain. Physical exercise encourages a normal brain to function at its optimum level.