CHANDIGARH INDEX





YOU’RE PIERCED!
Gayatri Rajwade

Paris Hilton shows off her ‘armour’
PIERCED FOR SUCCESS: Paris Hilton shows off her ‘armour’

All of life’s experiences must mean something, so here’s a culture-vulture that is bound to leave an indelible mark, literally! Body art alias body piercing is the city’s next big thing and the young are turning out in droves to ‘mark’ their lives. Indeed your parents may think you have decided to turn tribal in rebellion but hey it is all about “self-expression” as the youngsters will tell you.

So leave the fuddy-duddies behind and get with ‘it’ says 20-year-old Natasha Kaur. For this student of engineering living in Mohali a stud-pin on the eyebrow and pink cross on the belly says it all. “It looks good because it is all about how you feel and what life is about for you,” she says philosophically. In fact, she feels “closer to life” having had the piercing done.

Different feel

For Aditi Oberoi (18) studying at the Institute of Engineering Technology, Ropar, the piercing experience happened at a mere 16 years of age. “I was a pale yellow, my lips blue when I went to get my navel pierced but now I have a hot belly,” she laughs. Sure her parents were not exactly thrilled but, “everyone I know wants to get this done,” and look at the confidence booster this ‘belly-button’ has proved to be! “It is fun when it is hidden. When you go out dancing and someone gets just an occasional peek at it, it makes me feel different,” she smiles.

So where are the ‘look different’ hot spots in the city? None here in the city, rues Natasha citing Goa as the Mecca for body-piercing in India, followed by Delhi which the city’s youngsters throng, so alas, are we far away from it all?

Positive energy

“No, you are not,” insist Subhash and Ashok Kataria from Delhi Jewellers, Sector 17, who claim they are famous in the whole of Northern India for their precise “art” of body piercing. “Not everyone has a flair for this because piercing is not just about making a hole; in our ancient texts body piercing is associated with positive energy flows for the body.”

Delhi Jewellers say they have astrologers sending people across, boys getting it done for ‘safety’ at the behest of their mothers and even instances of nose piercing to get rid of sinus problems! What is more their grandmother had more than 8 to 10 different earrings on each year, corresponding to pressure points!

Pin-prick

Be that as it may, most youngsters get it done for the fun of it all and Delhi Jewellers motley clientele includes a large number of wanna-be designers and college students who come with alarming alacrity to get a whole host of piercing done. The nose, ears, eyebrows, navel, even the lips and tongue are no longer spared and all this at a cool Rs 150 flat!

Says Gaurav Sood, a budding designer in the city who sports a stud on his tongue, “imagine looking unusual with just a pin-prick,” and with “inspiration” in the form of a hippie friend he made while visiting Dharamsala last summer (who incidentally had more than two dozen pierces done, some in places unmentionable!) the ‘art’ is here to stay.

Cool studs

As for the attendant paraphernalia “pop into Sins”, advises Aditi and no, this is no code word for a weasel of a wheeler-dealer, but a young funky outlet in Sector 10, which actually displays an interesting array of studs, pins and piercing accessories. Owner Karan Sharma is a nifty 22-year-old himself and boy does he have a pulse on his ‘audience’. “The stuff here is chosen by me with inputs from friends,” he tells us. So what you get are cool studs with leaves, rock band signs and cute designs like Loony Tunes, Yin and Yang that range from Rs 100 to 200.

As for Karan, he himself in next in line—three “shots” on his ears and one on his left eyebrow—his form of articulacy.

But don’t forget to go to someplace safe for your piercing and remember pure is sure, silver or gold! Ah to be young again.

4000 years ago

The Bible (Genesis 24:22) has the first recorded reference to nose piercing in the Middle East approximately 4000 years ago. Abraham, according to the text, requests his oldest servant to find a wife for his son Issac. When Rebekah is found, one of the gifts given to her is “a golden earring”—the original Hebrew word being used is Shanf, which also translates into a ‘nose-ring’. 





Autumn Theatre
Nirupama Dutt

A scene from Third War
MAKING A POINT: A scene from Third War

October marks summer’s end and offers a brief respite before the onslaught of winter. It is a month of many festivities. Close home it is the month this time of Dasehra, Diwali, Karva Chauth and Id. Away in the West it is the month of Mop Fairs on Old Michaelmas Day, St. Luke’s Day, Punky Nite when pumpkins are carved into Jack O’ Lanterns and of course the famous Halloween Night and the English Pudding Day. It is also the month for sipping apple cider and Perry, a fermented drink made of pears.

At home in the urban Indian ‘monthscape’ it is also the month of the beginning of the arty season and a spurt of cultural activity, after having sweated it out for long months. It may not be Autumn Sonata in the city the coming month but it certainly is a windfall of Autumn Theatre. The first day of the month begins on a comic note with the Chitkara educational empire bringing a bedroom comedy, for reasons best known to them they delight in sponsoring plays of the kind. Called Perfect Wedding, it has a model-TV star cast of Vivaan Bhatena, Karishma Tanna, Nasir Khan, Kavita Sharma and Vandana Sajnani.
The cast of Perfect Wedding
PLAY TIME: The cast of Perfect Wedding

Foreplay over and it is time for some serious theatre, of course in Indian idiom with Adakar Manch, Mohali, organising a weeklong festival plays. Sahib Singh, the spirit behind Adakar, says: “It was not easy doing a festival of people’s theatre but we have succeeded with help from like-minded groups sans corporate sponsorship. The highlight of the festival (October 3 to 8) is Dukh Dariya, a cross-border play with an Indo-Pakistan cast, directed by Madeeha Gauhar of Ajoka, Lahore. The play will be staged on October 7 and 8. Based on true-life tragedies of the past and present, the play features Uzra Bhutt, who along with her sister Zohra Saigal had done Ek Thhi Naani. The two veterans of pre-Independence IPTA fame had been separated by the Partition and had come together to share their stories in this play.

The festival opens with Kolkata’s Alternative Living Theatre’s presentation of Third War, directed by Probir Guha. There is no language barrier for gibberish is used to convey the message. Devendra Raj Ankur of the National School of Drama, New Delhi. brings Khanabadosh, a play based on Punjabi writer Ajeet Cour’s autobiography.

The other plays are Becket’s End Game directed by Suresh Pandit of Manch Rang Manch, Amritsar, and Andhe Hain Ham, directed by Sahib Singh of Adakar fame. So it is time for natak chalo!

Art of abstraction
Gayatri Rajwade

There is tremendous joy in Madan Lal’s art and that vitality is infectious. While his works illustrate life, weaving a single thread of thought across a particular series, not necessarily joyous, the sense becomes clear and he achieves what he wants to say with a passion that is unmistakable in his very unique style of painting.

For Madal Lal is an artist whose eloquence is unambiguous. From ‘Abstractions from Life’ in 1996 to the ‘Journey towards other Planets’, currently on show in the city, Madan Lal has become, if possible, more prolific and more persuasive.

“This series takes humanity far away from violence, boredom and the other ills that are afflicting our society. We have far to travel and we must start our journey towards the other place,” he explains.

Forms in motion, movement and activity depict people on the road to the ‘other planets’ taking with them elements of their lives. From birds to ladders, an apple, musical instruments like the flute and bugle, kites, even a roll of dor for the kite to seeds illustrate the rejuvenation of life.

Birds have always played an abundant role in Madan Lal’s work and here too they mingle with butterflies and the bounties of nature, all indicative of the spirit of hope which nature represents.

As for the musical instruments Madan Lal believes music and song are God-given treasures to man which he is wasting away. Associating it with the “rhythm of life” Madan Lal hopes that his people on canvas will find that music within.

This series, 33 paintings in all, sparkle with the artist’s trademark bright colours where the vivid peacock blues, grassy greens, flaming orange, yellow, pinks and reds come together beautifully as if in a piece of music.

Using acrylics and water-drawings, his paintings abound with lush richness in form, style and spirit and his figures, despite the long journey ahead, do not give way to grief. Instead there is buoyancy in the works with the person holding onto all that is dear in life, not material but allegorical.

From light to maya to rangleela, slices of life have come forward in series down the years “because one canvas is not enough to convey all that I want to say,” says Madan Lal.

Indeed, there is a deeper sense to life that he wishes to convey and one that comes to him when he begins his riyaz at dawn. “I have been getting up at 4:00 am everyday now for the last 15 to 16 years because sandhya kaal is the when the mind is in that sweet state of amrit vela—neither asleep nor awake—when you are not tied to this earth but are in a realm far away from this material world,” explains Madan Lal.

It is this moment of ‘awakening’ that brings in the positive flow of colours and life force into his moving works of art. “A celebration of life” is what he calls it, where the birds and nature welcome the sunrise and the start of another day full of colour, promise, welcome and above all hope.

Madal Lal’s ‘Journey towards other planets’ can be viewed at Art Folio, # 351, Sector 9-D, Chandigarh from 11:00 am to 7:00 pm till October 4.

Escaping the Net
Sheeba Chandhoke

The global community has worked its way into our lives and we continue to be affected, in the comfort of our homes by what occurs in other corners of the world and not just our own communities. Our window to the world the cyberspace has come to offer us more than what we bargained for. Talking about the internet, which many of us have made it as a part of our lifestyle and routine, the World Wide Web, has affected us adversely.

Cyber crimes

You send your kids even to the playground and school and warning them about strangers, to come home before dark. You worry about the company they keep. Hearing stories about child molesters and predators in the media keep you worried sick. The same reasons must also worry you when your child sits on the computer. All crimes have shifted their way into the cyber world and where it was once possible to trace such horrendous criminals in the physical world, it has become a task, next to impossible, over the internet.

“A 53-year-old Burbank man was sentenced to six and a half years in federal prison for trading child pornography over the Internet, prosecutors said Friday”, reported Canadian Broadcasting Service (CBS). “Berry embarked on his sordid journey into the world of pedophilia and drugs when at 13, living in Bakersfield, California; he acquired a web camera as part of a deal with an Internet service provider. A lonely kid of divorced parents without many friends, Berry hoped to use the device to make friends his own age. Instead, a pedophile sent him an instant message within minutes of Berry’s image landing on a Web site called Spotlife.com. More followed; then men worked to earn his trust.” it said.

Child porn

These are just two of the millions of stories sprawled all over by the media. “The internet is a sordid playground for people who are interested in accessing, sharing and selling child pornography; it’s estimated that there are more than 100,000 child porn web sites,” the CBS said.

At the same time, if you concentrate only on the harms of the Internet, it blocks you from all that it has to offer. The physical world, just as much as the cyber world, account for crimes, but this does not mean we stop going out of our homes.

The internet has become the biggest library in our homes, a source for us to educate ourselves, read literature, communicate with our loved ones and browse encyclopedias free of cost, at any time. This should be just the reason for us to learn about what it is going on over the internet through the internet itself. However, such advancement needs to be approached with precautions. The government of Canada, on its website, has introduced a checklist for parents or guardians to follow when both young children and the internet. This can be found at http://www.safecanada.ca/link_e.asp?category=3 and topic=94. Even if small steps were taken towards creating a safer future for your child and you, an educated lot can do a lot to put an end to illegal use of the Internet.

“Child pornography has become a multi-billion dollar commercial enterprise and is among the fastest growing businesses on the Internet. Currently the laws around the world are alarmingly insufficient to fight this epidemic,” CBS said.

Danger zone

“More than half of the 184 Interpol countries have no laws addressing child pornography. Just five countries have laws considered comprehensive enough to make a significant impact on the crime. They are: Australia, Belgium, France, South Africa and the United States, “revealed CBS.

This just goes show that India; both the government and the comprising individuals need to take necessary action to put an end to practices like these. With a vast population within Indian territory itself and being connected to the millions and billions from across the globe, many dangers are upon, not only the young, but also the older crowd.

*Sheeba Chandhoke is a student of Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada.

Rang De Basanti Salaam

What does Rang De Basanti mean to you? Has it affected you in any way on a personal level?

We got together to make a movie but the story is such that it touched each one of us and changed our lives in some way or the other. We used to get into discussions, which used to make us think. We all changed a bit while making this movie, it led us to question a lot of things that we see around us and take for granted. I think it has affected the audiences in the same way. Rang De Basanti – The color- Basanti or Yellow stands for sacrifice and the title implies that one is ready to be washed in the colors of sacrifice.

Rang De Basanti Salaam - is it an extension of Rang De Basanti?

Star came to me with this concept and I really felt nice that they are taking the effort to bring forth the using heroes of our country…and readily accepted the offer to be a part of this. The entire cast of Rang De Basanti was very impressed with the thought that went behind putting this program together.

Believe it or not there are several such people in our country who stand up for their beliefs every day. This initiative is not about being a hero for one day or one heroic act but someone who has spent their time, energy and dedicated their lives to bringing about a change in society and are living the sacrifice everyday. These people face hardships and roadblocks every day and have to make sacrifices to get around them but are committed to making their initiatives a success… Salaam to all these heroes! Rang De Basanti Salaam salutes these real life heroes. Each story is special and I have no favorites. But Manjunath’s story really touched me and saddened me because he is now not there amongst us today.

What is the message of the movie? Don’t you think it will affect the youth when you restore to killing to get the final message out?

No, that is not the message that we leave the audience with. The fact is that the movie does not end at killing the defense minister. The protagonists realize that they have not achieved anything by killing the person as the truth is still further suppressed and the purpose is defeated.

Colouring the Oscars

UTV’s Rang De Basanti has been chosen as India’s official entry for the Academy Awards. The film made a place for itself in the hearts and minds of millions of people all around the world and is now claiming its rightful place.

“Such movies come along only once in a generation and we shall make every effort to ensure that it is seen by as wide an audience as possible internationally too. We are already planning a mainline release in the United States in association with two major studios. Following the rousing reception the film received at the Golden Globes jury screening, we are confident it stands a strong chance with the Academy,” says film’s producer Ronnie Screwala.

What has your reaction been to the selection of this film as India’s entry to the Oscar Awards?

Ronnie Screwala: “Firstly this has been an outstanding year for the Indian film fraternity with different genres making it big at the box office. As for Rang De Basanti being selected, it is like climbing the first ladder of success. This film has touched peoples’ lives. It’s success with the audiences itself is a big achievement for us. If it wins the award it would be like an icing on the cake.”

— D.P.

Co(s)mic success
Anuradha Shukla

Rammit Walia has a fixed gaze. Many thoughts race in his mind as he keeps tapping his foot. Is he another newcomer trying to make it big on the silver screen? All doubts rest as the firmness in his voice surprises you. He is no novice but a well-grounded and intense actor. All this comes from his fourteen years of training in the live theatre medium in Delhi. Waiting for the release of his first Punjabi film Mannat this week this true blue Dilliwala is ready to take on the Mumbai filmdom.

Life for him is ‘on the move’ says Rammit as his eyes give away the passion he has for acting. Ready to move to Mumbai, Rammit says, “Films do not mean a goodbye to theatre.” “ I will be bringing Chunav Ek Murga Beeti, a play directed by me and based on a short story by Sharad Joshi, to the city in the midst of the election fever this year.” The ease in juggling these roles comes from desire to do good work. Rammit is an actor with a conscience. “An actor cannot survive in a amoral vacuum. Acting with a message of hope gives it a meaning.”

He has been a part of a theatre group cum NGO called Sakha, which stands for Society for Advancement of Knowledge for Human Awakening”. Acting for him is all about honesty and being real and he appreciates films with the same approach.

Making audiences smile and laugh is what Rammit loves. Mannat already getting rave reviews has him in the role of a Haryanavi in all-Punjabi characters. “All Punjabi means we have incorporated variety of Punjabi dialects including Punjabi dialects from as far away as Peshawar for the entire Punjabi Diaspora.” 

Anything for passion
Sukant Deepak

Till date I don’t consider myself a rallyist. Five minutes behind the wheel and there is an absolute metamorphosis. I drive, not for some vague competition but sheer pleasure and absolute bliss.” smiles Delhi-based rallyist Divya Miglani, in Town on Thursday to be a part of the Raid-de- Himalaya rally, one of the toughest in its class in the world.

For someone who’s burnt tyres in several rallies across the country, including prestigious ones like Desert Storm in Rajasthan, Divya insists that more than speed, rallying is all about mental-make up. “You have to maintain your calm under all circumstances. Lose it even once and you have had it,” stresses Divya, whose vehicle turned turtle in the last Raid de Himalaya. But, needless, to add it did not deter her and she went on to participate in several events immediately after the mishap.

Racing may enjoy more popularity on this side of the globe but rallying it what gets this lady’s adrenaline going. “It is not just speed, but even the sense of adventure in encountering a virgin terrain that gives an unbeatable high, which racing cannot replicate.”

Divya, who will be participating in her Honda CRV, defends her vehicle when we mention its not-so-great ground clearance. “I know, I’ve encountered some problems because of this especially at higher reaches but overall this vehicle offers a great deal, the whole feel of this SUV is different,” she assures us.

Talk about women in motor sports and her eyes light up, “Surprisingly, it’s not ‘supposed’ to be a passion for women in this country. Even my parents were a little apprehensive, but they have surrendered now and just want me to do well.”

Going professional in motor sports is no mean task, she elaborates, “There are so many people who don’t take motor sports seriously, enthusiasts included. Then there are sponsorship blues that just refuse to go away. And yes, where are specialized driving schools, coaches, managers and government assistance?”

The young rallyist feels that the kind of money involved in seeking participation and modifying the vehicle also keeps many people away. “This holds true, but I personally believe that once corporate and government agencies pitch in, things would definitely change for the better.”

All set to participate in the forthcoming Indian National Rally Championship (INRC), Divya wants to drive for as long as she can. “I don’t say that winning doesn’t offer any charm but yes, the sheer adventure of cheating death at every corner, the thrill of stretching your limits, the wonderful sense of achievement after faring decently in an event is more fascinating for me than anything else. Tell me, aren’t we ready to do just anything for our passion?”

Let me love again…
Akanksha Bhalla

Please release me, let me go
For I don’t love you anymore
And to live with your love will be a sin
So release me and let me love again

— Engel Bert’s lyrics

Karan Johar’s latest flick may have sent shock waves and led middle-class, urban Indians to believe infidelity as yet another fallout of our morally corrupting times, but the truth has more to it. Even if they live in a deeply traditional society, the nature of beings rarely changes. Infidelity has always been around; it is as old as mating. And science has supported that human beings are many-partner animals.

Denial mode

Kanika Sood
Kanika Sood

Garima Pal
Garima Pal

Sufi saint Hazrat Inayat Khan says, “To permit polygamy is simply to recognise a natural human tendency with frankness.” However, he says, to permit polygamy does not in any way mean the same as to enjoin polygamy. Though he advised to marry only one woman, he acknowledged that infidelity could happen nonetheless. Take the opinion of the young in the city and one finds many interesting observations. Kanika Sood (20) says: “ We may not be willing to accept infidelity but we can not ignore it. Ideally, it shouldn’t happen but it does. Shutting your eyes won’t make a thing go away.” The ancient Indian society in fact had a liberal sexual outlook at par with many modern European and East Asian countries.”

Ancient India gave the world the first literature that treated sexual intercourse as a science and which in modern times became the source of free love movements in the West. Kama Sutra was intended to be a philosophical work on the exploration of human desire, including seduction and infidelity. Garima Pal (21) says : “There is no use lingering on once your love and loyalty changes direction. It is the most practical thing to split. Else, you will make yourself miserable by not being with the one you want and your partner will suffer from your betrayal.”

Victorian still

The curtailment of sexual latitude in India was the effect of the Victorian era, in which other countries were seen as primitive if they did not conform to the ideas of European culture. Though, Victorian sensibilities were abandoned decades ago in their own country of origin, as a result of the sexual revolution in the West during the 1960s and 1970s, but conservative views of sexuality are the norm in modern republic of India. Our middle class morality celebrates its high moral order even if what it deems as voluntary morality may only be forced. However, with globalisation and breaking down of trade barriers, hitherto stigmatised issues are being brought into the public domain.

Art & life

Art, for one, has always been unrestricted and articulated sensibilities out of sync with standard behaviours of the society. So if someone thought Kabhi Alvida na Kehna and Rani’s walking out of her marriage is a new-age phenomenon, Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina did the same in 1870, more than a century ago. Our own parallel cinema has explored the subject of love gone astray. Silsila’ and Arth were films with close-to-life depictions of the dark side of human relationships. But both these films sent a message against impulsive and rash decisions so the cine-goers found them acceptable. Come from art to life and we find Chandigarhian Mohammad Nazim saying: “Rashness can never be the way in life. Weighing the nature of your feelings may get you to the solution. You may get infatuated but if your wife has been your greatest love, it is only wise to stick on.”

Campus Cafe
Saving grace

Young exhibitors, getting the hang of style on the college and varsity grounds, are burning mid-morning calories in cramming more than just the works of great scholars. Fresh out of schools and colleges, the younglings are learning their p’s and q’s, besides the “History of English Literature” and so many other subjects in finishing schools across the city.

Guys, you have guessed it right. Instead of just concentrating on social and emotional distractions after sitting on the hard wooden benches in the classrooms, the young scholars are fast memorizing social graces and codes of conduct by enrolling themselves in these schools.

Right, so many of them are smartly consuming their free hours in the schools that offer training in etiquettes! And after going through the delicately designed course with complete tenderness and elegance, they strut down the corridors of life with just the right kind of attitude and confidence.

Having doubts? Ask Asha, pursuing graduation from a local government college. Coming from interior Punjab, the aspiring model knew very little about party and cocktail manners, even washroom and telephone etiquettes. After dialing up style by getting connected to a finishing school, she now knows something about everything.

“Until a few years ago eager youngsters like Asha were forced to go to places like Delhi for turning over the leaves of their lives, charmingly,” says city-based etiquette and grooming “expert” Harleen Sekhon. “But now more than a few are attending the courses right here in the city of the beautiful.”

Running her own school in Sector 8 under the banner of “Grace finishing classes”, she says: “The learners are not just the would-be brides eager to know more about in-laws management and using family as support system, but also youngsters eyeing the greener pastures across the seas”.

In fact, a substantial number of young scholars are the ones attending seminars and looking for scholarships to study abroad. Before trying their luck in alien lands, they want to acquaint themselves with restaurant etiquettes, besides knowing something more about mocktails and appetizers.  

Well, Sekhon says just anyone can come and talk to the grooming experts for learning the art of conversation and complete personality development. So folks, like so many other students you too get in the swim.

— Saurabh Malik

Health tip of the day

While shaking hands repeatedly the stress can be reduced while offering the hand with the palm up and slightly extended to avoid the other person squeezing tightly or gracefully alternate left and right hands between guests.

— Dr. Ravinder Chadha

TAROT TALK
What the cards say today...
P. KHURRANA

ARIES: Your pessimistic feelings and emotions interfere and cloud your vision on Monday. Guarding your body of work, your name, reputation and financial well-being is important on Thursday. A great time for love, and you could find happiness and good fortune. A balance in all areas of life is recommended. Lucky colour: Crimson. TIP OF THE WEEK: Boost your confidence with positive thinking.  LIBRA: ‘The Moon’ brings a karmic situation to the fore as you face a difficult emotional choice on Sunday and Monday. You are generous and giving in personal relationships and command respect from family and friends. Mastery of your skills or craft brings appreciation and fresh opportunity. Love, celebration and romance are on the cards! Plan carefully. Lucky colour: saffron. TIP OF THE WEEK: Take one step at a time and avoid being anxious.
TAURUS: “The Princes of Cups” brings you your truth, hopes and desires. Values, priorities and attitudes are likely to be transformed. Face opposition and competition. As you are strong and forthright. Endings and new beginnings are on the cards. You are blessed with divine wisdom and endurance. Lucky colour: Green. TIP OF THE WEEK: Do not swing away from the course you have charted so far. SCORPIO: “The Queen of Cups” infuses trust and friendship. A romantic and dreamy time gives you the break. Don’t allow pride and tradition to get in the way of collaboration. You guide others and impart understanding about refined skills and professional aspects. Meditation and introspection lead you to the root cause of your pain and it is best to experience it. Lucky colour: Royal Blue. TIP OF THE WEEK: Don’t be bullied.
GEMINI: “The Ace of Pentacles” sends a remarkable indication that now is the moment to achieve family happiness. You face truths and facts in personal and professional situations to gain clarity and understanding. Youthful energy allows you to look at options and new beginnings. Listen to your intuition for right answers. Lucky colour: Pink. TIP OF THE WEEK: Don’t be too certain about obtain a clearance. SAGITTARIUS: The Card “The Devil” reveals that you will be running late on everything you do. Go around people blocks and go beyond them. Legalities and regulations need to be attended to. On Wednesday you can feel hopeless, worried and oppressed for a short period of time till you become aware of your own projections and gain a balanced perspective. Lucky colour: Royal blue. TIP OF THE WEEK: Take limited risks and don’t jeopardise your long-term capitals.
CANCER: “Strength” gives you taste of freedom and release you from emotional restrictions. Beware of an insolent and proud person who is destructive and selfish. Its best to accept challenges life offers you and keep going through ups and downs realizing that ‘this too shall pass’. Enjoy every moment, whatever it brings the peak and the valley without getting addicted to it. Lucky colour: Grey. TIP OF THE WEEK: Try not to get carried away by your initial success. CAPRICORN: “Nine of Pentacles” reveal family pressure and responsibilities. Good fortune in business changes the quality of your life and brings some luxury and ease. Family and friends gather around to share hospitality and memorable times. You play a pivotal role to resolve an important matter on Wednesday. Women should not trust strangers. Good health brings clarity of thoughts. Lucky colour: Silver. TIP OF THE WEEK: Balance and perspective will lead you out of trouble.
LEO: “The Nine of Cups” brings you to your truths hopes and desires that you mask with a calm surface. A journey is therapeutic. You need to view defeat or failure in a certain aspect from a higher perspective. Learn from past experience and get on with your life rather than repeat old patterns. Lucky colour: Crimson. TIP OF THE WEEK: Be articulate to prevent people from making their own conclusions. AQUARIUS: “The Empress “ takes you towards the fast and protective lane. Love and romance lead to promise and commitment. You are sensitive and vulnerable as you handle two situations at the same time maintaining inner and outer balance. You make adjustments in personal relationships, as they are a bit fragile in the moment. Lucky colour: Peacock blue. TIP OF THE WEEK: Plan your life to avoid the in build delays.
VIRGO: “The Prince of Wands” rides in his flaming chariot of gold to instigate dynamic changes at work place. You make progressive professional and personal commitments with sincerity and honour. This is an auspicious time for important events, or to tackle difficult tasks. Venus is excellent so love stars twinkle. Lucky Colour : Pink. TIP OF THE WEEK: Do not let opposition faze you when you decide to walk the path you wanted to. PISCES: Interesting personal encounters and positive professional changes are on the cards. Fluctuation before you achieve a fine inner and outer balance of energies. Steady progress and smooth movement after a few ups and downs takes you easily forward in professional or business ventures. Your relationship may be heading for a temporary separation. Lucky colour: sea green. TIP OF THE WEEK: Make a deciding choice.
 

 




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