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Weddings that wow
PACESETTERS Jass Buttar
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Beat the heat with thirst quenchers These are not just a great protection against heat but also guard against a host of summer-related ailments. So, this summer forget bottled drinks. Have a fruity affair that will leave you contented in body and mind. Most fruit and vegetable drinks contain Vitamin A, C and E which are vital for the body. These delicious juices, sherbets and coolants make excellent dietary supplements. These give a natural glow to the skin and are beneficial for eyes, heart, liver and kidney. These have traditionally been a part of the Indian summer.
Because of its natural cooling qualities, cucumber is a great juice to beat the heat with. It has diuretic properties and acts as a natural blood cleanser. It is a storehouse of essential elements like folate, magnesium, potassium, sulphur and Vitamin C, K and B6 and great for lungs, stomach, chest problems and arthritis. It also reduces hair loss.
Tangy tomato
Tomato, too is a superstar among juices. It is a rich source of lycopene, which is known for its cancer-fighting qualities and protects the heart from a host of diseases. It keeps blood pressure in check. Tomato juice also contains Vitamin C, phosphorous, calcium, potassium, magnesium and oxalic acid — all essential nutrients for good health. Those with gall bladder or kidney problems should consult the doctor before consuming the juice.
Amazing apple
The king of all fruits and also the king of all fruit juices, a glass of fresh and chilled apple juice indeed keeps the doctor away. That’s because apple juice packs a punch with Vitamins A and C and has both soluble and insoluble fibres. Soluble fibre banishes bad cholesterol while insoluble fibre keeps the intestinal track clean and also prevents heart disease. The antioxidants in the juice help in weight loss and detoxify the entire body. It helps to improve memory as it increases production of neurotransmitters in the brain.
One & only orange
One of the most popular and widely consumed fruits, orange has a global appeal. But it is orange juice that is a star the world over. Besides making excellent cocktails and mocktails, orange juice can be consumed straight as a great refreshing drink. Its health benefits are immense. The abundance of Vitamin C in it helps fight flu and other common viruses. It protects from prostrate and breast cancer and improves circulation of blood and makes the skin glow.
Wonderful watermelon
The juice of the watermelon is nature’s fat-free gift to humans. Since it is low in calories, it is considered an ideal diet food which gives a power-packed energy punch. Besides, it is very low in sodium and high in lycopene that reduces the risk of asthma, arthritis, heart disease and some forms of cancer. Since it contains over 90 per cent water, the juice greatly aids the urinary tract by helping prevent kidney diseases and age-related bone corrosion and muscular degeneration.
Piquant pomegranate
Pomegranate juice is receiving a great deal of medical attention which is putting it on top of the list of healthiest fruit juices. It packs a bigger health advantage than any other natural fruit or vegetable. It is a rich source of antioxidants, which protect the body against the free-radical damage. The juice slows down the ageing process and lowers bad cholesterol. It fights and even prevents some forms of cancer. It gives relief from rheumatism and is a natural blood thinner.
Chilled carrot
Carrot juice is packed with minerals and calcium which strengthens bones and teeth. It is also an excellent source of Vitamin C and Vitamin A as also iron, potassium, phosphorus, and sodium. Soothing for the intestinal walls, it is mmensely beneficial for the eyes and the skin. It helps cell regeneration and medical experts say it protects against cancer.
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Weddings that wow Jodiyan
to uparwala banata hai’. That is a centuries-old saying and we don’t disagree with it. But the current saying from all over the world is, “It is one helluva a Big Fat Indian Wedding!” And we don’t disagree with this, too. Indian weddings seem to be getting bigger and bigger. Estimated to be a whopping Rs 2,00,000-crore industry, weddings are no more coming together of two families but announcing to the world: Hum bhi kisise kum nahin. At the last count, this industry had a 20 per cent annual growth! Just dream the kind of nuptials that you want to have and the wedding industry will bend backwards to make your wishes come true. People working within this industry — all first-generation entrepreneurs —have made India the new wedding tourist destination of NRIs, foreign celebrities and Hollywood stars. And joining this jamboree are of course our own desi crowd, who are trying to go one above the other. “A wedding today means declaring to the world your family connections and your status ,” says Aniiket Raaj, owner of a over a decade-old event and wedding management company, Maruti Universal, from Surat, Gujarat. Raaj’s clients include businessmen, politicians and film stars. You name the place, the type of décor, variety of cuisine, clothes, gifts, photography, choreography of sangeet, sourcing paid guests like film stars or Bollywood singers, the wedding designers will deliver it all. “We even suggest dress designers and jewellery designers if our clients want it,” explains Raaj. “Once the job is entrusted to us, the marriage party can just relax and enjoy the event,” says Mumbai-based Nilaabh Kapoor of Nilaabh Studio who, along with wife Aditi, also plans weddings, television award ceremonies and other events. Planners get two types of clients — one who have a fixed budget and give a general idea of the expected number of guests, what they are looking out for and the other who know exactly what they want, have a pre-decided theme and are open to discussing the feasibility of their plans. “When we arranged Rietesh Deshmukh and Genelia’s wedding, we had to plan for two religious weddings — a Hindu wedding as well as a church wedding ,” says Nilaabh. For his sangeet ceremony Rietesh wanted to have a Wisteria look which he had seen in a tavern café in New York. So it was western décor for the room and Wisteria flowers to decorate it. Though most clients prefer an elegant-looking wedding there are some who are willing to experiment and open to ideas. “Most of our foreign clients, who want an Indian wedding, prefer the ceremony to take place in Agra, facing the Taj Mahal. A popular wedding site is the royal palace, preferably the Udaipur Palace. Including the food, waiters and other paraphernalia everything is created to suit the background of a palace décor. A beach wedding is another popular theme which we conduct on beaches of Goa,” explains Delhi-based Neha Chauhan of back2culture. Neha, along with her husband Vineet, has been arranging weddings mostly for NRIs and foreigners. “We even get a priest who can translate the mantras in English so that the foreigner couple can follow them,” said Neha. And then there are zara-hatke couples who are willing to try something new and unusual – like getting married while flying in a hot air balloon; wanting the bride to descend from the sky like an apsara or emerging from a lotus. Nilaabh recalls how they had arranged a wedding where the bride came down from a helicopter on a dais constructed on Nalban Lake in Kolkata, while young girls attired in fairy dresses awaited her. Raaj had got the bride and groom exchange garlands on a hydraulics stage, taking the stage at a higher level. Weddingwallahs are catering to a new trend; it’s called the multi-destination wedding. In which you have sangeet in Jaipur, mehendi in Delhi, shaadi in Ludhiana and the reception in Chandigarh or another lot who want to have similar ceremonies in Singapore, Malaysia, Rome etc. Delhi-based Swati Pandiya-Sood of Bollywood Secrets, an event and wedding management company, specialises in destination weddings. Says Swati, who has organised events and marriages for clients like Sahara group, Shah Rukh Khan, Unitech etc., “Not only in India, but if our clients prefer to get married in Europe, Australia, South Africa or anywhere else, we can do it.” The skills of a wedding photographer are of much importance. These are not individuals who put the pictures in your wedding album but go beyond, says Mriganka Dadwal of Mumbai-based Wedding Stories. A wedding may cost anything between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 15 crore. The cost varies according to the set and size of the design, the number of food items and the types of food, the number of meals, the number of guests. a five-star hotel accommodation escalates the cost as do the type of cars to transport the guests. A fashion designer will cost extra, as will special guests like film stars, singers for merely a 10-minute appearance or performance. A separate musical programme, apart from the sangeet ceremony, where foreign dancers perform, adds to the cost.” No more, the chat mangni aur pat biah. Give the wedding designers some time and provide them the password to your ATM and sit back and relax while your guests exclaim, “Shaadi ho to aisi ho!”
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PACESETTERS Jass Buttar It
seems a familiar story of a small-town boy with big dreams. Jass Buttar, 28, grew up in Nathowal and picked up the right tips from the internet and used it as a medium of research. Today, thanks to his hard work, this self-taught lensman is one of the most bankable names in the world of fashion photography. We trace his journey from the mustard fields of Punjab to the world of cameras, flashbulbs and portfolios. Being in a particular profession will always end up bringing one face-to-face with its flaws. This is pretty much how photography happened to Jass. His father, who is in the Punjab Police, said he had no intention of letting his son join the profession. Feedback and appreciation from friends and family for his effort at capturing images convinced Jass that photography was the best career option. "I was not a very studious person and felt there was no point in wasting time and energy in studying," he recollects. His research, with the humble internet connection, which was a rarity in his village at that time, gave him details of various photographers and an insight into their world. It started out as just extending favours to friends for shoots and it was basic photography that took this young lad to Delhi. "Since Delhi is the hub of the fashion industry, I knew the move would help my growth," he says. Today, Jass does not meet people and only works with those who are willing put their faith in him. Travelling from Punjab to Delhi has had bitter-sweet experiences for him. He is irked by blatant money-mindedness but this gives Jass a reason enough to come back home soon. "At several points, I came across people who wanted commission from me for getting portfolios of their friends clicked, thus making it a business. That's just not my way of working," says he. His Punjabi accent comes out loud and clear. Designing his website too was an achievement because without much formal knowledge, Jass designed and created it himself and it showcases some of his precious shoots. "Through the website, many models and youngsters got in touch with me. Fortunately, some of them managed to make it to films, TV serials/commercials, print advertisements and reality shows," he shares with a sense of understated pride. He has a tough time keeping track of who is where. Jass likes to maintain a balance between personal and professional life. He is clear that he will never relocate to Mumbai. "I have not grown up in an environment that is conducive to showing off. As long as I have sufficient money, I am good,” he says. This trueblue Punjabi might have ventured into a glamorous and vibrant career but Punjab
is close to his heart and always will be.
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TEARFULLY SALTY Price: $48 for a set of five bottles
(Rs 2,400)
CHECKMATE THIS!
Price: $30
(Rs 1,500)
DIAMONDS ARE A DOLL’S BEST FRIENDS
Price: $935,000
(Rs 4.7 crore)
Are you perpetually tearing your hair over the poor quality of camera fitted in your mobile? Well, fret no more. Now you can take excellent photos of faraway objects with the new 8X Optical Zoom Telescope Camera Lens that fits snugly onto the Apple iPhone 4G. The lens successfully overcomes the shortcoming of the iPhone camera, which, some say can only take good pictures from close quarters. The manual focus lens which comes with a tripod magnifies a faraway object eight times resulting in high-quality professional pictures. Price: $16
(Rs 800)
DEEP SEA DRINKNG
Beer sure can drag you down. And proof of that is the Deep Sea Bar commissioned for Guinness beer’s 250th anniversary. A 118-square-foot submarine has been
Price: $100 onward per person
(Rs 5,000)
Are you one of those wine aficionados who zealously guard his bubbly? If yes, then you would also be fretting and fuming over how best to store the precious wines. The London-based Antique Wine Company has solved your dilemma with a stunning antique-looking exquisitely crafted cabinet that holds a prize collection of 18 bottles of great vintage sparkling wine from the Chateaux region in Bordeaux in France. The collection includes some of the best wines ever produced spanning over three centuries between 1868 and 2005. The cabinet containing the wine will certainly burn a big hole in your pocket but it will send your social stock soaring! Price: $1 million
(Rs 5 crore)
WRITING IS DIGITAL
Converting handwritten notes into a digital format can be frustrating. But here’s good news for students and professionals, who are prone to taking copious notes but hate the time wasted in manually typing these onto a computer. OMR India Outsources has introduced IRISNotes, a special pen which converts handwritten notes as editable text onto a
computer. Price:
Rs 7,425 for basic version and Rs 11,175 for executive version
Take to the skies with the Super Sky Cycle. An American company called The Butterfly, is offering the first of its kind flying mobike. Powered by a 100-horsepower engine, the cycle-geared gyroplane with a folding rotor can reach the speed of up to 155-km/ph in the air and 90-km/ph on the road. So, all you have to do is to simply assemble the kit and your flying machine is ready to take off! Price: Between $30,000 and $50,000
(Rs 15 lakh to Rs 25 lakh)
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Indian weddings seem to be getting bigger and bigger. An event with a capital E. Estimated to be a whopping
Rs 2,00,000-crore industry, weddings are no more just coming together of two families
Vasudha Gupta
Cool cucumber
On a swing
For the floral theme, truckloads of flowers were brought in from different parts of the world. Ganesha heads were used to decorate the four pillars of the
mandap. These idols can be replaced with any other depending on the demand. For an English wedding, the red roses can be replaced with white, cream roses or lilies and orchids.
Of late, beach weddings have caught the fancy of many people. Especially Goa beaches are the most sought after by
NRIs, foreigners and North Indians. The entire mandap, shamiana to seat guests and separate ones for food are erected on the beach. Even changing 'rooms' (tents) are installed so that after the wedding ceremony, if guests like to enjoy a swim, they can do so.
Another most popular theme is the royal or Rajawada theme. Even if it is for one day, the couple likes to feel like the Royalty, dress like them, get surrounded by a palace-like ambience. Including the guards at the gate, everything resembles a palace. The pillars of the set and the 'walls' are made of plaster of Paris with embossed designs and painted to suit the general decor of the set.
Colour was the theme at this wedding. Even the goddess’ idol, blessing the wedding, was painted red to match the set. Red, orange and yellow marigold garlands forming the background added more colour. Furniture upholstery was chosen in tune with the entire set. To enhance the feel, swathes of long, shiny and delicate net fabric were hung. As the breeze blew, they swayed making the place look ethereally colourful.
Sound of happiness
The set at at Surat was constructed in the open on 15,000 sq ft. It took nearly 25 days to erect it. Well-known Bollywood playback singers were invited for the wedding. They performed on one dais and on the other guests blessed the bride and groom. A variety
of cuisines was offered in different stalls.
Wisteria moments
Want
There is no denying that chess is a bewildering game for most of us. But if you are one of those who has mastered the moves of kings, queens, knights, bishops, rooks and pawns here’s a bigger challenge. The ‘Three Man Chess’ made popular by British chess wizard` David Brine Pritchard opens up a whole new world of possible moves and strategies and makes it into one of the most complex board games in the world. Try your hand at this new format and make your moves against two opponents instead of one. 
The iconic Barbie now has a contender. And a serious one at that. The Japanese toy giant Tomy is planning to go global with its Licca-Chan dolls. These dolls that are a rage in Japan range from a few dollars to those that sell for nearly a million. Yes, you read that right. A million. At an exhibition in Tokyo recently, the company put on display its latest Licca-Chan doll studded with 881 diamonds of a total of 51.43 carats. It is evident that only real little princesses can afford this doll! 
MOBILE TELESCOPE
converted to make the world’s first and only deep sea bar in the Baltic Sea near Stockholm in Sweden. The interior shell has an out-of-this-world design, inspired by the magical air bubbles-like underwater world of unique psychedelic colours and textures. Some of these bubbles have lights while others can be used for holding your Guinness beer. So next time you want a night out with friends go take a plunge into the icy waters of the Baltic and get high on beer. 
SPARKLING CABINET
The battery?A powered pen transmits hand movements to a receiver clipped at the top of the sheet of paper on which notes are being written. The receiver converts the handwriting into electronic text that can be saved and edited. The basic version is compatible with Windows while the executive version is compatible with both Windows and Mac.
FLYING MOBIKE