Oye lucky, lucky oye!
It couldn't get bigger than this. The lucky few who bought tickets well in time for the World Cup semifinals couldn't have asked for more. For, the excitement is unparalleled when it comes to an India-Pakistan tie…
Wish we could give each one a ticket who wanted one... Wish just every cricket fan could afford a ticket that's now selling at 10 times the actual cost. Wish that the Cricket World Cup too had employed an octopus to predict the mega semi-final. 

Calculated move Immediately after India defeated Australia, status update of Aditi Mann, a homemaker on Facebook read, "Get ready to envy me coz I have already have tickets for the biggest match of the tournament." What followed were the expected unending comments and phone calls. As Aditi adds, "A few were regretting why they didn't buy tickets in time, others said they would buy tickets, even if it costs them a bomb and then there were the 'smarter' friends who wanted to buy tickets from me." She gives the credit to her husband's intuition, "He was pretty sure that either India or Pakistan will be one the teams playing in the semi-finals at Mohali."

Catch the match Nobody in Abhinav Saini's friend circle knows that he has ten tickets for the semifinal match. "Still, I get around 20 calls a day from my friends to know if I have any because they know I am a die hard fan of cricket." The reason he didn't tell anyone is because he knows that the number of calls would multiply, "My friends would pester me to arrange tickets for them or if I can lend them one or two." A true cricket fan that he is, he hasn't missed a single match at the PCA Stadium. "I got lucky!" Confirm it from people who still are scrambling to get tickets.

Stitch in time  So, when Harjeev Singh, a Class X student of Strawberry Fields Public School says he is the biggest fan of the game, we don't doubt him. He bought the tickets just when the ticket counter had opened for the semi-finals 20 days back. "I couldn't have missed a World Cup semifinal even if India wasn't one of the teams. You get this chance only once in four years." He knows it well that he just got lucky, "No World Cup match is bigger than the India-Pakistan match. My friends who know that I bought the ticket a long time back are trying to bribe me with 40 times the cost of the ticket but I refuse to part with it."

Think…on a Feverish pitch
A last minute sincere, dedicated attempt on Internet for a ticket for the Wednesday match leads us to another interesting find. Nothing about tickets being auctioned at various sites, neither scandalising revelation of a minister showing a suitcase full of VIP tickets! Every single status message on Gmail, every tweet and every Wall on the social networking site is crying for one thing-'Declare March 30 a national holiday, otherwise people have to work overtime to come up with all kinds of excuses to take an off on The D day'.

Of rhythm and poise
Stamina, experience and looks, the three basic qualities of a dancer stay together for a short span. Stamina goes by the time experience is gained. But Vani Ganpathy, the famed Bharatanatyam danseuse, seems to possess all three.

chatter box
On comeback trail, Preity finds TV exciting
Preity Zinta comes back from sabbatical who has been away from the entertainment industry for a long time now is back with her debut TV show Guinness World Records-Ab India Todega on Colors. The dimpled beauty will co-host the reality show with Fear Factor Khatron Ke Khiladi 3 winner Shabbir Ahluwalia. The show will have regular people display their talent and trying to make a place for themselves in the Guinness World Records. The records being attempted are — most over the shoulder cocktail flairs in a minute, most dance spins in a minute, most omelette flips in a minute and many more. Find out what Preity has to say about the show.

Casual talk
Men love wearing casual clothes and they do not have much choice! We take a look at Bollywood celebrities in casual clothes. Some look good while the others look like jokers

The man who breathes music…
One of the forerunners of classical vocal music, Ustad Rashid Khan humbly credits his success to his god-gifted voice and family that noticed his talent and trained him. "Under my nana saheb, Ustad Nissar Hussain Khan, I got an opportunity to learn music in an environment that had 'ragas' all around," shares Khan, who was in Chandigarh to be part of the Chandigarh Art and Heritage Festival.

Pun‘jab’ Sandeep Joshi

ticket hunt: Finally, tell me, have you arranged tickets or not?

chatter box
Fun on the sets
Working in a daily soap is serious business with tight schedules and long working hours. However, there are also some funny incidents that occur on the sets that are unforgettable. We get TV stars to share some of the hilarious incidents that have occurred on the sets of their shows.

Brand it like Bachchan 
Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan, who has endorsed a couple of international brands, says that he is not brand-conscious, and would prefer to wear what suits him even if it is an unbranded product.

Akshay admires Gurjit
Punjabi singer Gurjit Rahal has a new fan in Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar, who has decided to back his latest album Take Ova, a collaboration with the UK-based group RDB. The Canada-bred singer who was born in Punjab, met the Khiladi while he was shooting for his upcoming film Thank You in the country. "Akshay and the producers of Thank You really liked the song Aish Karogi and wanted it to be a part of the film. But at the last minute it did not work out but Akshay promised that he will help promote the album," said Rahal.

Judith comes to Bollywood
For years now a growing numbers of Germans have been fascinated by Bollywood. Now, German actress Judith Doeker wants to take the Germans' love affair to Bollywood to a whole new level by scoring herself a role in a big Bollywood blockbuster and giving Germans an inside taste of Mumbai's tinsel-town.

Trend Setter
Go for the glam look
Style makes the man and a distinctive style sets him apart. This week we interacted with Harman Singh who has combined a B Tech in Industrial engineering with fashion designing. He won titles like I Hunk by IBIBO.com and Mr Fresher. Harman votes for the classic look…
Your sense of style is…
For me the classic look is ultimate, something, which sits easy on my persona and not because I want to look like the hunk next door. Out of 10 of my outfits, only two would be loud and asking for attention!

TROUBLE SHOOTER
Break the vicious circle
I am studying in college. I live alone with my mother as I lost my father when I was a child. My mother does not interact with many people. I love playing the guitar. I feel very negative about life and even get thoughts of dying at times. I do not have many friends. I want to be happy. How can I achieve that? Many a times losing one parent when a child, being socially isolated and having few friends can all predispose to or worsen negative thinking. It becomes like a vicious cycle of negative thoughts- leading to feeling sad-social isolation leading to more negative thoughts and so on.

Spicy treat
It’s time for Ludhianvis to relax and savour an elaborate spread of mouth-watering flavours of Hyderabadi cuisine at Itminaan Se, a Hyderabadi food festival on at Hotel Fortune Klassik.

• Beat it
• The year ahead
• Astro turf