Raising to the occasion 
Fancy dinner parties, rock concerts, fashion shows — the act of fund raising gets glamourous 
It's a classic example of means to an end and if the end is noble and means are novel, nothing like it. With fund raising getting chic and innovative, it's about charity that sees the cause, not the channel. Raise a toast to the dinner party donating the proceeds for the welfare of girl child; to a rock concert, raising funds for slum children; a fashion show trying to save the environment.

Puneeta Singh with her Saathi team

Kalpana Ghai with her NGO members

Fruit-full days
The aroma of mango and litchi blossoms which filled the air in April has been replaced by the aroma of fruit in May. Rajnish Wattas gives us an account of the fruit-bearing trees of City Beautiful
April was described by TS Eliot as a month, "mixing memory and desire." I find summer landscapes of Chandigarh echoing the same, though in a different context. The air is redolent with the heady aroma of mango blossoms - manjheri - dotting the trees like a thick powder coating. Old mango orchards planted along the main avenue, separating the industrial area from the rest of the city, as well as the native trees existing in parks and gardens; and also in the backyards of larger residences are conspicuous - first with the aroma of blossoms, and later with the fruit. In any case the musical notes of koels perched on these trees, draw attention.

Actor Salma Hayek poses during a photocall after the award ceremony of  the 63rd Cannes Film Festival

Can(nes) do!

Angry young man

Women’s Day

Cheesy byte

Mail buddies

In the confession box

Tale piece
Theme for a dream 
Centered around the water theme, Khannas' seven-bedroom abode's piece de resistance is an exquisite water fall and pool
For me life is a celebration', says an accomplished architect of the region, Renu who received JK Indian Architect Award, 1999. No wonder her spacious house in Mansa Devi Complex celebrates elements of nature - air, water and earth. This two-storey bungalow spread over two kanals exudes style and serenity.

Material might

Spade work
Forbidden fruit
Summer is the time when almost all the fruits are available. This is the time when the gardener is waiting for the fruits of his labour. But the summer has its woes too. It is most disgusting for the gardener to get no fruit or whatever is available is unfit for consumption due to one or the other reason. One of the most dreaded cause being the splitting of fruit. This in fact gives splitting headache to the gardeners. What are the causes and is there any remedy to that. Let us discuss it.

Dress rehearsal
It's an endeavour to give colour, patterns, and prints to enliven even the most staid of fabrics. It's a systematic permutation of multiple printing, designing, creative weaving techniques. What follows is a complete range of home linen, some in traditional crafts.

Vernacular express
There is a spurt of blogs in Hindi and other regional languages
Thankfully, certain things cannot be held behind the barriers. A passing thought, a hard-hitting viewpoint or a subtle expression — everything needs a vent, through the edit columns of newspapers, live debates on television, social networking sites or blogs. And who says those heart-felt expression is heard only when it is penned in English?

Quality wise
Acer announces the launch of a new notebook, eME730, under its super value brand eMachines. Through its value-driven product offering from eMachines, Acer aims to address the void in the value PC segment.

Cut the clutter 
Microsoft introduces an all- new and cool Hotmail (www.hotmail.com) that helps you intergrate, share and cut the clutter in your inbox like never before. The innovative new Hotmail integrates Windows Live Messenger, other email accounts and updates from your social network all within a single intuitive interface that allow you to do so much more with your Hotmail bet it on the Web, mobile phone or a PC. 

Geek SPEAK
Auto safe
The all-new home automatic system allows you to monitor every activity in the house
As you must have noticed Chandigarh is going through a makeover. This struck me a few years back when I came back from a long holiday and couldn’t find KC theatre. Our City Beautiful is coming up with lots of malls, modern and stunning houses and mansions, which calls for the need to equip these houses with state-of-the art equipments. A new advance Home Automation system “X10” seems like an inevitable possibility.

Haute pick
Here is a perfect Camcorder for camera freaks as Sanyo Xacti High Definition SDHC Camcorder is as powerful as a telescope with a 30X Optical Zoom With a good option to record HD videos with high resolution.