Cut-pest
If recent reports on organic food's nutritional value have aroused doubts in your mind, let these die-hard organic farmers assure you of their health benefits
All for the sake of posterity! Or, for Mother Nature! Their aim, however, is nowhere close to paganism. Just their sensibilities were humane, considerate, to realise how much the future generations will suffer, if the world went on as callously as it is now.

GREEN TEAM: Jaspal Singh (L), Darshan Singh Rudel (in green) with a fellow farmer

Open your eyes to blind date
Commitment and relationships are directly proportional to each other. If you commit, you land up in a relationship (pretty much automatically). If you are in a relationship, it is presumed that you are committed. Sounds alarming. Your take, boys! But before you get down to solving the most intriguing equation, here is what you could do. Take a detour to the 'no loss and no gain' path that is tagged with two simple words Blind Date.

Photo: Parvesh Chauhan

The heat is on
Precisely 10 minutes for Mehak’s school bus to arrive. Papa is busy arranging her bag, and mummy hurries with a sandwich for her tiffin box. “I am hungry,” the seven-year-old declares in the middle of the commotion. Poor mummy is left with no choice, but rustle up a delicacy for the brat, who will settle for nothing less. “Here you are darling. See mummy has baked corn and cheese for you.” ‘Uff! I managed. The mother gives one affectionate look to her microwave. ‘It saved me today like other days,’ is the immediate thought.

Bowled over
Mandira all praises for Akshay, post shooting of Khatron Ke Khiladi-Level 2
Popular actress and TV host Mandira Bedi says she got a chance to experience the huge aura around Akshay Kumar while shooting with the Bollywood superstar in South Africa for the forthcoming adventure reality show Khatron Ke Khiladi-Level 2. "He (Akshay) has a very huge aura about him. There used to be this deadly silence whenever he came in. Though he would joke and stuff with us, at the end of the day he was he and we were who we are," said Mandira.

In letter & spirit
Arun Soni is 58 books old and still growing...
Let’s set a couple of records straight. Arun Soni has authored eight more books after the record of 50 that placed him in the Limca Book of Records-2009. Now, the backgrounders — remember the dull and dreary dos days in computer? The black and white textbooks that spewed commands one after the other, minus illustrations? That’s where and that’s how it all began. “I was running a computer centre, providing consultancy to all the schools, during my regular interactions with schools and students, I used to feel something is missing in the books and the curriculum,” he says while flipping through a couple of them spread out in front. He adds, “In computer books, so far the theory and practical were separate. I designed the books keeping in mind the fact reading should be like sitting in front of computer.”

Portrait of a woman
What we know about our civilization, has comes to us through manuscripts, writings and translations of the creative works of foreign authors. The art of translation or trans- creation has assumed a significant role in the proliferation of literary arts,” observes acclaimed author critic Amia Kanwar. Credited with eight books of poetry, criticism and trans-creation of over 65 books from Punjabi to Hindi and English and vice-versa, Amia is a professor at Khalsa College, Delhi. She was in the city on Sunday for the release and discussion on her latest Punjabi book Dhammi Vela, held under the aegis of the Sahit Chintan Sabha at the Pracheen Kala Kendra.

Money over art
A diva in her own right, actor Sushmita Sen likes to live life on her terms but returning to the big screen after a considerable gap, the former beauty queen now wants to focus only on commercial films. "One of the key things in my life that has been far more important than any commercial success or being in the right banner or the right film is that I never compromised on me. I never take things for granted," Sushmita said The 33-year-old actress, who has been missing from silver screen for two years barring the release of Karma, Confessions and Holi this year, which she disowned, says she is focusing on delivering some hits this time.

Spice up
Grooming the groom
Looking good is not just a woman’s prerogative, especially on such the wedding day. It is true that all eyes are on the bride, but this is one time when the groom also shares a good part of the limelight. This is one occasion, when you are going to be photographed and filmed, you should look your best. Clothes are definitely a part of good grooming, but that is not all. Grooming involves a total “top-to-toe” effort.  It shows that attention has been paid to every detail and it certainly does not detract from masculinity at all. Since the wedding date has been set in advance, you should plan the outfits you will be wearing for the different occasions, in good time, so that you can give your suits to be tailored and have the time for trials and alterations. Last minute shopping only adds to mental stress and shows up on you.

Yogart
Yoga is no longer tying yourself up in knots and relaxing. New forms like dynamic yoga, Iyengar yoga and Bikram yoga are full of energetic movements
So, yoga has found another fan in Rani Mukerjee. The actor has lost 8 kg to support a new svelte look for her upcoming flick Dil Bole Hadiappa. Shilpa Shetty and Kareena Kapoor swear by it for their toned body and so does 55-year-old Madonna, Jennifer Lopez, Rita Wilson and Halle Berry. With yoga gaining immense popularity, it seems gyms will soon be a thing of the past. Agrees most of the yoga instructors in the city too. Here they update us on the most popular forms of yoga and their benefits.

In the fitness of things
Naked truth
After power yoga, it is now nude yoga. Do you think these fancy nomenclatures are just a gimmick?
Nude yoga is the worse thing anyone can do to yoga. It's a gimmick used by the people who wish to earn cheap publicity through it. Yoga shouldn't be experimented with, not to the extent that it ends up being just a fad. Nude yoga is a mindless conversion of yoga that wouldn't serve any purpose and should be discouraged.

BODY wise
Jumping Jacks
Everyone knows trampolines are fun, but not everyone knows that there are many benefits of jumping on a trampoline. Jumping on a trampoline is a great workout. It provides exercise that is easy on the joints, very low in stress, and great for the body. This easy and fun form of exercise takes no special skill and can be performed by anyone. Both adults and children can benefit from regular exercise on a trampoline. Trampolines are small enough to fit in most homes and are light enough to be handled. They are easily available and can be used both indoors and outdoors. The fitness benefits of trampoline exercise can be felt with just a few minutes of use per day.

Play with care
High school football players and wrestling athletes suffer the highest rate of severe injuries, according to a new US study. The study conducted by researchers in the Centre for Injury Research and Policy (CIRP) of The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital showed that these injuries accounted for 15 percent of all high school sport-related injuries. Moreover, males were the most likely to experience severe injuries. In directly comparable sports, such as soccer, basketball and baseball, females sustained a higher severe injury rate.

On record
Bollywood actor Priyanka Chopra, who is on cloud nine after the success of Kaminey, is now looking forward to her next venture Anjaana Anjaani where she will be sharing screen space with Ranbir Kapoor for the first time. "Anjaana Anjaani is directed by Siddharth Anand, produced by Sajid Nadiadwala and stars Ranbir Kapoor and me. I will begin shooting for it by October," the 27-year-old actress wrote on her Twitter page.

Out of circuit
Actor Arshad Warsi, best known for his portrayal as the lovable goon Circuit in Munnabhai movies, feels he is typecast in a particular bracket and there is little he can do about it. "Once a particular character becomes a hit, a slew of similar ones are offered to the actor. I do not have a choice. At times, actors do not really get what they want to do. Most of them are not in a position to pick and choose," the 43-year-old actor said. "They have to choose from what is being offered to them and generally it is akin to their image in audience minds. It is not only me, but many other actors too who face this problem. Hence, I accord more importance to the script and not the genre of the movie," he said.

Going places
Benegal’s film to be screened at Montreal film festival
National Award-winning director Shyam Benegal’s upcoming film Well Done Abba is all set to be screened at the ongoing Montreal World Film Festival. The 74-year-old director, who has a Dada Saheb Phalke award to his credit, is one among three Indian directors whose films will be shown at the festival. Rituparno Ghosh’s Abohamaan and Shaji Karun’s Kutty Srank are the two other films from Big pictures to have found a place in the festival, which ends on September 7. The three films have been selected for the World Greats section. Benegal’s film will be screened on September 5, 6 and 7, said a press statement.

Mumbai Meri Jaan
Her debut movie Luck bombed at the box office, but the film’s failure hasn’t deterred Shruti Haasan from making Mumbai her home and trying hard to get a foothold in the Hindi film industry. “I actually wanted my debut film to be a Tamil movie, but it wasn’t to be. Whatever might have been the response to Luck, I feel that I should settle down in Mumbai to seek greener pastures in Bollywood,” Shruti, who is planning to buy an apartment in central Mumbai.