Guest appearance
Bollywood's light-eyed boy Aditya Pancholi makes a brief visit to the city. Jasmine Singh catches him running on a treadmill at a local gym
What can add spice to an evening dinner with friends? Good, and really good, food of course, somewhat tolerable ambience (with friends it really doesn't matter whether you are at the Taj or at a roadside dhaba). Now, what if you had a film star join you? Divine! Okay. Now, let imagination meet reality. What if in the middle of your dinner, someone pointed at a good-looking, apple-cheeked guy, who resembled a star who once swept you off your feet with his grey eyes and silky flowing hair? And boy! He was 'the' one.
                                                          Photo: Vinay Malik

Merry pop-ins? Nah!
Exam stress has many students turning to memory pills, tonics and tablets. Do these really help? Mona checks out…
Exams are here and hassled parents and their wards are leaving no stone unturned to give it their best shot. From sleepless nights to cutting down their social commitments, their desperate measures are reaching chemist shelves to look for any pills that boost memory. Putting in long hours at a stretch, these pills and tonics provide students psychological support that they will remember what they read. However, doctors and dieticians warn against the trend.

High 5
It takes much more than passion to be a perfect classical dancer. And this group called Articulate proves it
There comes a time when you face the harsh reality of life and at that point muscles weaken, spirit droops and a lump forms in your throat. And, you thank God for what you have. When we were told to meet these dancers who came to perform at the Fort Ramgarh on Monday, we thought what's so special about them? Then got to know they are visually challenged and perform intricate dance forms like Bharatnatyam and Kathak. Couldn't believe it until met the Famous five- Buse Gowda, Tharak Ramudu, Satish Rao, Shiva Swami and Guru Prasad who form the group ‘Articulate’ along with their two teachers, Mysore B. Nagaraj and Suparna Venkatesh from Bangalore.
                                               Photo: Pradeep Tewari

Heeling touch

Twinkle toes prefers to tread barefoot than subject her alta-adorned feet to a pair of punishing high heels. Lifestyle photo: Pradeep Tewari

Glad to be there
A place at the Gladrags finals has opened a door for Govind Chaudhary to enter his dream world
Instead of celebrating his making it to the Gladrags finals, Govind Chaudhari is doing something else and calls it 'really important'.

Playful mood
NZCC National Theatre Fest to bring meaningful entertainment to the city
Yet another five-day theatrical bonanza awaits the art aficionados. Brought to the city by the North-Zone Cultural Centre, Patiala (NZCC) and the Adakar Manch, Mohali in collaboration with the Punjab Arts Council and Punjabi Akedemi, Delhi, the fest will stage five Punjabi plays by eminent theatre ensembles from Punjab.

Lawn Rangers
Path breaker
Gulshan prast hoon, mujhe gul hi nahin ajeez, kaanto se bhi nibhah kiye ja raha hoon mein.
The essence of poet Jigar Muradabadi's couplet finds its true illustration in the personal studio of landscapist B.P. Singh, who has created an aesthetic getaway in the cradle of nature, near Zirakpur.

Flow of feeling

Kareena Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan during their recent visit to the Balaclava Beach, North Coast, Mauritius. PTI Photo

Star signs
Age no bar
The zest to learn never dies in some. For they also believe that technology and catching up on it has nothing to with age. One such actor, who is still going strong on his on screen reel life, validates this with his own example. Raza Murad, the villain of Hindi film industry is one such person who has never let ‘age’ hinder his desire to know everything that is new in technology. Be, it learning to send SMSes from his kids or operating anew Blackberry or buying state-of-the art DVD players, he does it all. But as this wasn’t easy, as Murad puts it.

Site seeing
Now our politicians are trying to develop a rapport with their voters through Internet
Lacuna in the Indian democracy. Is this news? You must be kidding! We have known this for ages. However, it took the gruesome Mumbai blasts and some equally heinous incidents, which have shook youngsters from the slumber. And it’s now that they have decided to put their foot down. No more nonsense. No one can fool them, certainly not the politicians. No sweet talk. No fooling with a good for nothing agenda. The youth has decided to handle the reins of democracy to the ‘right’ people.

Real war of worlds
The war between traditions and modernity is not just restricted to the real world, it has gone virtual too. Online, interactive gaming communities are now so massive that they mirror traditional communities, says a new study. The findings by a University of Minnesota computer scientist and colleagues from across the country are creating a new evolution of social science research where researchers are able to study human behavior using the game Everquest 2. The data tracked every action performed in one of the world’s most popular massively multiplayer online (MMO) games. Everquest 2 has more than 300,000 players who average 26 hours per week playing the game.

Geek Speak
Sound of music
Let’s make one thing clear. The best car audio system is not necessarily the loudest one, or the most expensive one. It’s the one that best meets your needs. So, the first step is to figure out what your needs are. First let’s have a look at components of a car audio system.

Haute pick
Pocket projector
The latest mobile pocket projector called the AAXAP1. It uses an LCOS chip. The chip enables the device to project a 60-inch image at 640 x 480 with 12 lumens brightness. The device weighs about 170 to 200 gm and is no larger than normal PDA.

Whirl wind
Whirlpool Corporation has recently launched their second exclusive showroom Whirlpool Magic Home at Sector 40.

Sing along

Bollywood actors Bipasha Basu and Neil Nitin Mukesh at the music band launch of their forthcoming film Aa Dekhen Zara. PTI photo

Jo Jeeta Wahi Sikandar
The country gets its first female Indian Idol
After four years of its running, popular music reality show Indian Idol finally got its first female winner in the form of Sourabhee Debbarma, who won the grand finale of the fourth season of the TV programme on Sunday night.

Stardom, Freida way
Just one film old, Pinto is already the brightest Bollywood star on the Hollywood sky
She’s been catapulted straight to Hollywood. Freida Pinto, the poised, smiling beauty from the Oscar winning Slumdog Millionaire, has done what few Indian actors have managed to do before her. From Om Puri to Naseeruddin Shah, Irrfan Khan to Ayesha Dharkar - everyone has worked in Hollywood films but none has tasted instant, mainstream fame like Freida.

Rahman rave
Ash says she has always admired music maestro A.R. Rahman
Bollywood actor and former beauty queen Aishwarya Rai Bachchan said on Thursday that she has always been a fan of double-Oscar winner A. R. Rahman, and feels fortunate that maximum of her films featured maestro’s music. “Working with Rahman has been an absolute pleasure. It’s not just from Taal to Guru, but it’s from Iruvar till Ravana. In fact, maximum of my films have enjoyed the music of Rahman and as a music lover and fan, I have always admired his music,” Rai said.

Weight & watch
Hard Kaur sheds weight, thanks to Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa
Indian rapper Hard Kaur has put on her dancing shoes for reality show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa and she is overjoyed that the rigorous dance rehearsals have helped her shed those extra kilos without visits to the gym.