Enigma of the enamelled door
I wonder how many of Chandigarh's younger generation are familiar with the great works of art visible all around the city. Though we are more familiar with the grand architectural works of the city's famous architect planner Le Corbusier, his art as a painter is lesser known. In fact, Corbusier was much more than just an architect or urban planner - he was a multi-faceted genius; a writer, a painter par excellence, sculptor and a visionary philosopher. Almost a latter day Leonardo Di Vinci - a Renaissance man!

Once in a year
Winter Solstice means different thing to different people
Please don’t take us for accomplices but the poor little impish mind is at it again. The night of 21 December can be significant for all the thieves in the tricity. After all, it is Winter Solstice, the longest night of the year, which means long hours of darkness, which means more houselocks, carlocks and other locks breaking, which means better oppurtunities for thieves to strike, which means their good luck (by the way their luck is good all 365 days a year, numerous Panchkula thefts support our claim) and your bad luck.

Mono-logue
City-bred Raj Rahi captures people’s struggle and survival in his latest directoral venture Mono-The Winner Stands Alone
Now that Hollywood and Bollywood have more in common than Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, we have really made the most of this Slumdog entry to the international cinema. From Oscars to Golden Globes to Cannes, nothing seems to sound complete without the ‘Indian’ mention.

Home again
Gul Panag is in the city to help you speak English
Gul Panag? Again! Excuse us, but wasn’t she here at Diwali for some Tata Sky application launch? Looks like the brand and the lady are in repeat, replay and rehearse mode. Any case, doesn’t Tata Sky lets you record and not miss anything!

Fun intended
“I don’t spend endless hours sitting in some lonely room thinking about topics to tickle the funny bones of the masses,” shares comedian Sudesh Lehri, ready with a bagful of humour to sprinkle on the sets of a new show on Star One, Laughter ke Phatkey. “Unlike other shows, this one is not a competition. It is a daily soap to be telecasted Monday to Friday at 10 pm with a segment on me, Sada Sudesh. It is fun in its own way.”

Spade work Berry useful We talk about flowers, vegetables and about their upkeep. Let us give a thought to fruits. Needless to say, they have a heavy bearing on our health. We normally give them a back seat when it comes to garden planning. May be, the space is constraint. But those who can plant them should do so. Moreover, there are other ways to do so. See the accompanying picture. Amla is one of the best sources of vitamin C.

How we talked and WALKED!
Year 2009 belonged to the ultra slim and ultra chic gizmos
Abhishek Bachchan advocates talktime = walktime that has caught the nation's fancy. Idea did it. The cellular company made everybody sit up, sacrifice the cosy corners and walk, as the company garnered molaah. The 2009's most creative telecom baton was passed on to the man who leaves nothing to chance, the man who suffered a short-term memory crisis to regain control and even acquire a degree.

Tweet’s the way Will anyone in advertising be sorry to see the back of 2009? No one at the sharp end of commercial media. If your business relied on advertising for revenue ... well, you know the story: down, down, down. Newspapers, magazines, TV, radio, posters, the web: content has been trimmed, jobs have been lost, quality has suffered.

Standing tall

Bollywood actor Jacqueline Fernandez displays the creation of designer Satya Paul on the last day of Chennai International Fashion Week on Sunday. PTI photo: R Senthil Kumar

Transcend unveils new black slim portable CD/DVD writer
Chandigarh, December 21, 2009: Riding on the success of its 8X slim portable CD/DVD writer, Transcend Information, Ins. (Transcend ), a worldwide leader in storage and multimedia products, today announced a black version to join the current white edition. With a brand new gloss black casing, compact dimension and versatile functions, the CD/DVD writer is perfect for thin-and-light laptops-or even netbooks-for diverse entertainment and enhanced productivity.

GEEK SPEAK
Charged up
Follow simple steps to compact power loss of batteries and enjoy unhindered talking on phone
And there it goes again, just when you wanted to say something really important, your phone dies. When it comes to batteries it looks like we are at the same point where we were years ago. Batteries don't last longer than a few days. But to be fair to the battery designers we have to admit that nowadays' smart phones require much more energy than phones back in the old days.

Fun fare 3 Idiots is about friendship, fun and college days Aamir Khan is returning to the big screen exactly after a year with 3 Idiots and the film has created the right buzz thanks to the innovative ways he has been promoting it. Revolving around three friends and their college days, the movie releases Friday. Loosely based on Chetan Bhagat's bestseller Five Point Someone, the film has been produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra, who has invested around Rs.35 crore in it.

Calendar girl Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone Sunday unveiled the 2010 edition of Kingfisher's swimsuit special calendar. "In the beginning of my career, I was a part of the calendar and it's becoming better every year. Girls in this calendar have done a fantastic job," said Deepika, who figured in the 2006 calendar. "It's of international standards and it's one of the best calendars in the world," she added.

Sen and sensibilities
Former Miss Universe-turned-Bollywood actor Sushmita Sen heralded her I Am She an academy that will function under a foundation to groom aspiring models. At a gala event held here, she launched her academy I Am She. Sen recently unveiled her new brand, I Am of which I Am She is its beauty pageant wing to train aspiring and budding models.

Santa's own
Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty who is back from her honeymoon from the Bahamas with London-based businessman husband Raj Kundra is still on holiday mode. She is preparing to celebrate Christmas in London and New Year on a cruise in the Mediterranean.

Plain c(l)ause Bollywood actress Sonam Kapoor gave out gifts and interacted with poor kids as part of Christmas celebrations on Saturday. The event was organised by an NGO in an effort to make this festive season special for the kids. Sonam expressed happiness at being part of the festivities. "It is a very selfish thing when you give something to someone, you feel good about it. So, it's a very selfish thing for me to do, to come here and feel good about myself," said Sonam. — ANI