Future design
Student designers of INIFD are set to showcase their garments at the Lakme Fashion Week in Mumbai
Looking at the number of fashion shows the country hosts, the day isn't far when we would have them earmarked on the calendar! As the designers work towards achieving this target, we wonder what good are these shows. Yes, they bring back a lot of 'out-of-work' celebrities back into limelight; they showcase some strange combos, leaving a lady sitting in front of the TV wondering what and where of the garment! But this isn't all grey as it sounds, these fashions shows do serve a purpose.

To kill a Non-Mocking bird!
There is a startling shower of burgundy bougainvillea just off the second hole tee at the Chandigarh Golf Club (CGC) — a mammoth growth of two interlocked bushes, dark as night underneath, and which can virtually stash away a platoon of pythons! Club golfers' mis-cueing drives often lose their balls in its cavernous depths but since I was reporting a professional championship, it was something else that I noticed from the corner of my eye.

A reason to smile
Now, you can get a designer smile
Visit to a dentist is no more painful," says Dr Gary Sandhu, vice-president, Beyond Smile, the official dental and smile partner of just concluded Gladrags Mega Model and Manhunt Contest 2010. This model-cum-doctor from the city is a postgraduate in orthodontics and dentofacial orthopaedics and has walked the ramp for designers like Arjun Khanna, Rohit Verma and Manish Malhotra. A 'smile doctor', Dr Gary joined the fashion world to know the specifics. "There are lots of options available today, we had to be different. So, I walked the ramp, experienced and interacted with models as well as judges to know what is it that is actually looked for at the ramp," says Dr Gary.

Spade work
Down to earth
In gardening there is lot of scope for improvisation and to that we call using imagination. That is done to give your garden a new look, different from others. But there are certain things that you must keep in mind and when you still do that I call it a mistake or horticultural blunder. One essential ingredient of any garden is privacy and for that we plant some screening trees. That tree has to be a columnar tree as small space cannot accommodate large or spreading trees. It should be understood for all times that if you do not want to clip a tree, then it should never be Ashok (pendula), the straight up growing tree. This tree is sure to bend after attaining some height. It changes its characteristic growth pattern and starts bending on one side.

Get animated
Here is yet another addition to almost a dozen animation institutes in the city that offer the usual animation courses. The only exception in case of National School of Media (NSM) is that it will offer courses in mass communication as well! Now, don't go by the name, NSM is city-based, with only one centre at present, only in Chandigarh. If Baljinder S Mahant, co-founder, is to be believed, "In the next few years, we are planning to have a centre in Delhi and Patiala." He along with Manjit Hans, co-founder and Vivek Atray, senior advisor, KPMG, announced a two-day free seminar and workshop on 3D animation, VFX and stop-motion, beginning this Wednesday.

Winter style
ITC's Wills Lifestyle announces the launch of their Autumn-Winter 2010 Collection. The nationwide chain of specialty stores offers a complete fashion wardrobe comprising Wills Signature Designer wear, Wills Classic formal wear, Wills Sport relaxed wear, Wills Clublife evening wear and fashion accessories for both men and women.

Dimension-wise!
The 3D home entertainment solutions are set to spice up the idiot box
If you consider sitting in front of the idiot box as the last option of the day, maybe this little piece of information can change the way you look at television. The new buzz word is 3D home entertainment solutions and the idiot box, with this new technology, sounds a little more intelligent and enticing. Now, enjoy 3D movies, (Though there aren't many, Avatar or House of Wax is something to watch out on a 3D TV), and jump on the whole experinece of characters moving left, right and centre with heightened effects!

Bits about Bytes
KEYED in!
Not all of us are proficient at the keyboard. Since my initiation into the world of computers was on a Mac and not a DoS machine, the most painful things about learning how to use the computer was to learn how to type. I had no formal training, and had to learn from Tarsem Singh, who was a trained steno-typist. He could not find work similar to what he had done in India before he migrated to New York. He thus changed his job and was a building superintendent when I met him. It was under his tutelage that I practiced my 'Quick Brown Fox…', and to him I owe my ability to type at a reasonable speed.

Geek SPEAK
Net BOOKed
The E-book reader is a gadget invented for only one purpose - Reading. As the name suggests, this is a device for saving and displaying books and magazines in a digital format. Now, E-book readers have several advantages over netbooks or portable computers, as some devices will easily fit into a pocket or handbag. E-book devices have screens that are very reader-friendly, even when there is sun on the screen! With a very long battery life, these can be taken on a trip without having to bear the weight of the standard printed volumes. You can choose from a comprehensive list of titles and get a new book quickly, while still on the road!

Haute pick
MOUSEtrap!
The 3D optical ring mouse with USB port is perfect for on-the-move user. It is ergonomically designed to reduce user fatigue and can be used for long hours. It does not need a mouse pad, so you can slide it from corner to corner on any flat surface. It comes with a scroll wheel that completely supports the wheel operating functions of Windows OS as well as Mac OS.

No action replay
Actor Raima Sen has dismissed rumours that she is slated to play her grandmother Suchitra Sen's role in an upcoming film by Rituparno Ghosh, insisting she is against stepping into the shoes of the legendary star. "I do not want to play her role on screen. She is a legend and her memories are still alive in everybody's minds. It makes no sense to do that," Raima said.

It's a boy
Bollywood actors Kajol and Ajay Devgn on Monday became proud parents of a baby boy. The actor delivered her second child this morning at the Lilavati Hospital here. Sources close to the couple said the mother and the baby were doing fine. Nysa, the couple's elder child is seven years old. Good wishes poured in from B-town for the star couple on the arrival of their second child. Director Madhur Bhandarkar who is directing Ajay in the Dil To Baccha Hai Ji tweeted, "Congratulations Ajay and Kajol on the birth of your baby boy. Ganpati baapa moraya..." Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol's good friend and co-star in many hit movies, wrote, "Bringing life on earth is the most beautiful gift of God. Allah bless Ajay and Kajol with happiness & health...Son of a Devgn... Wow masha allah." Priyanka Chopra too congratulated the couple, "It's amazing when a new life comes into the world.

Beauty in black: Bollywood actor Bipasha Basu walks the ramp during a fashion show in New Delhi on Saturday night. — PTI

Soar high
You seem to think your iPad is pretty cool? Wait for a new chip that will help make even more advanced generation of 'super smartphones'. ARM Holdings, the UK microchip unit behind the success of Apple's mobile devices, said its new chip, code-named Eagle, would allow Apple and other mobile phone makers, to create phones with five times the brain power of current models. Ian Drew, ARM's marketing director, said the new chip would help develop phones with "five times better content and five times better performance" by 2013.

Is she, isn't she?
Hollywood beauty Penelope Cruz has sparked pregnancy rumours after she was photographed with what looked like a baby bump on the sets of the latest Pirates Of The Caribbean movie. The actor who married fellow Oscar winner Javier Bardem in July, was resting in between filming scenes with co-star Johnny Depp in the West Indies.

Back to business
After a stint in jail and rehab, Hollywood beauty Lindsay Lohan will step back into the spotlight at the MTV Video Music Awards. The extravaganza will be attended by film and music A-listers and Lohan has been roped in as a presenter. The 25-year-old was spotted at the venue yesterday during rehearsals for the show, which is due to include performances by Kanye West, Mary J Blige and Justin Bieber.

Love scene
Bollywood actor Manoj Bajpai will be seen playing the role of a goldsmith in quirky new comedy Dus Tola, inspired by folk tales. Dus Tola tells the story of a quaint little town Sonapur where Shankar (Manoj), the local goldsmith, is head-over-heels in love with his neighbour's daughter Suvarnalata (Aarti Chhabria) much to the chagrin of her father Daya Shastri (Dilip Prabahvalkar).

Just friends!
Actor Josh Hopkins has laughed off reports that he is dating actress Jennifer Aniston insisting they are just friends. "No, no, we're just friends - just friends having dinner," he said. Rumours started off after the two were spotted enjoying dinner together at Madeo in Beverly Hills.

In the hot list
Actor Colin Firth has been voted as Britain's best-looking man in a new poll.In the poll conducted by Wizard Jeans, the Mamma Mia! star topped the list, beating actors Rupert Everett and Clive Owen.While 51-year-old Everett came second, Duplicity star Owen, 45, came third, and comic star Russell Brand fourth. Bond star Daniel Craig rounded up the top five. — IANS