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The jolly-good season of gifting and celebrating is continuing right up to the Christmas, and even beyond. So slip into your stilettos and rock the party, says Saurabh Malik
Drive down the roads meandering all the way through merriment and you realise celebrations this time haven’t exploded out of the scene with the fading away of Divali revelry. The jolly-good season of gifting and celebrating is continuing right up to the Christmas, and even beyond. “Attribute the trend to satellite channels beaming excitement right into the living rooms of so many youngsters, or globalisation brought about by the Internet; Christmas nowadays is as much a festival of masses as Holi or Divali,” says ex-Capt Rajneesh Talwar, running a card and gift shop on the Panjab University campus. “No wonder, you do not get the impression of ‘something missing’ with the end of Divali festivities. No, not anymore!” Corroborating, his assertion are malls, superstores and even kiosks in the city. Go to Sector 15, or even 20, and you will find special discounts and festive offers on not just garments and gifts, but also on computers and jewellery, giving the residents another reason to celebrate an occasion called life. You may find it incredible, but a spa-cum-fitness centre in Sector 9 is giving you a good reason to celebrate Christmas with them. The health zone is offering a special festive cash discount of Rs 1,600 on yearly packages. Even the ‘Time Factory’ in Sector 17 has come out with ‘Timex-Time to Fly for free’ offer to commemorate the occasion. Pick up a watch costing Rs 2,495 or above, and get a chance to fly for free to over 80 exotic destinations across the country. You can also get heavy discounts on the other International brands. The offer is ticking till year-end. Not to be left behind, even schools and banks are celebrating the big day like never before. If Carmel Convent teachers are playing fun games with the students to usher in excitement, ‘Yes Bank’ is holding a Christmas Carnival.
Zindagi rocks Offering interest of enthusiasm on investments in relationships, the bank is giving young innocents, visiting the institution, X’mas tree complete with decorations. Folks, if you are still not saying ho, ho, ho with happiness, you never will. In case you haven’t pulled out your Christmas plans from Santa’s bag, do not worry. You still have time. Just slip into your dancing shoes and let your hair down for boogieing the night away. Depending upon your mood, the kind of music you savour and the budget, chill out in full winter swing. Go to the ‘Antidote’ or ‘Aerizzona’. Or else, drive away from the madding crowd for reaching ‘Warehouse’ near Zirakpur. All are organising X’mas bashes. Otherwise enjoy the company of friends, and good old beer, with some classic rock after finding your way into a bar. The choice is yours entirely. If your celebrations are incomplete without gorging on a scrumptious dessert, don’t deny yourself the luxury of eating your heart’s fill. For, city bakers have come out with cakes and stuff that do not wreak havoc on your diet.
Baked wonder “You need not guzzle a dessert that’s buttery, creamy or floating in thick sugar syrup,” says Jagdish Seth of Kandy ’s Pastry Parlour in Sector 32. “Go for whipped cream cakes specially baked for the occasion. Otherwise also take small servings while feasting socially and make a wise selection”. Yummy indeed! In gifts, glittering mistletoes with glowing tips are dazzling the on-lookers like never before. Brought all the way from China via Mumbai and Delhi, the electric replica of magical, mysterious and sacred plants of the European folklore are in fact promising to add a sparkle to your shimmering Christmas celebrations. “Mistletoes were there earlier also, but they were never so popular or dazzling,” says Chetan Kumar of a gift and jewellery shop in Sector 11. “But now things are fast changing. You can pick up ones with nice little berries and gleaming ends made of tiny bulbs.”
You can also pick up golden bells, glittery boxes, tempting red stockings and Santa masks for hanging on the Christmas trees. Or else, you can pick up Santa caps to make you look like a reveller straight from the North Pole. Special wine hampers are also waiting to be picked. “Christmas decorations etched out of stone are new this time,” says Ankur Jindal of Friends Gallery in Sector 15. “You can take home Father Christmas and even Christ on the Cross by pulling out something like Rs 200 from your wallet”. So guys and gals, get out and get going. Have a nice time.
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Santas… Santa Claus is coming to town, eya, eya ooo…Well, with Christmas knocking on the door, the excitement can be felt all around. By this time of the year, the anticipation runs high in everyone’s mind, especially kids. For year’s, mums have been known to stuff the Christmas gifts in socks, under the beds and at all imaginable places when the kids would fall asleep. This Christmas its going to be different. Take a peek at what some of the preferred places in the city are doing for kids. At Ebony in Sector 9, the tradition of delivering gifts by Santa would of course be followed this year as well. But unlike the past 4-5 years, this year centralised teams from Delhi were engaged to create that perfect Christmas picture there. ‘Professional Santas’ have been called from Delhi to boast of ethnic yuletide. On the D-day, the team of Delhi Santas would swarm the entire stores with their bagful of candies, chocolates and sweets et al. Kids can buy stuff from there and take home with them encyclopaedias, books and goodies as gifts. There are plans to rope in tattoo makers for the grand day as well. “In fact, the celebrations at Ebony have been going on since a fortnight,” informs B. S. Bhinder, Assistant Business Manager. So, there were puppet shows, magicians and tattoo artistes exclusively for the kids. And on requests, Santa will also deliver gifts (like for kids) for others who want them in customary style. At Wonderland in Sector 8, Santa Claus is all set to go, sporting his traditional long-flowing snow-white beard, a fat paunch and a bagful of gifts on his shoulders would descend at your place (of course his sledge tied with the snow horses replaced by an ultra-modern swanky car!). Varun Juneja, owner of Wonderland in Sector 8, came out with the idea of gifting Christmas presents in its most traditional way for this Christmas. All that is required to be done is to pick up a gift from the jumbo treasure of kids stuff at the store and Santa would be delivering it to you. Far from the hype and hoopla, British Library also happens to have grand plans to celebrate yuletide in its own quiet way. With Christmas Carols playing at the back in a low volume, the Library is doused in Christmas spirit. A decorated Christmas tree stands tall with the presents nicely wrapped at its foot right in the middle of the library. Keeping in mind the spirit of Christmas that extends till the New Year, British Library has a Christmas bonanza for the kids. Next day after Christmas, a speech and drama workshop will be organised and a story telling session is underway on December 28 where in an illustrator and a writer would explain the age-old and forgotten story telling techniques. So folks, take your pick before Santa passes by your door, ringing the bells and saying, Ho Ho Ho! |
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WARMING UP TO Indians too are swept off their feet by the American Christmas, reports Rabia Tewari December in New York truly feels like the warmest month of the year! Celebrations galore all over town, buildings and streets decorated in festive bling, spirit of giving
surrounds everyone, gift boxes are heavy and hearts are light. City streets and stores are flooded with shoppers and tourists. Retail stores are sparkling with glitzy Christmas displays. With the pound rising high against the dollar, many European tourists are shopping here this year. Fifth avenue has become retail heaven for global and domestic shoppers. Desi New Yorkers too are busy shopping for the perfect gifts for family, friends and colleagues. For the first time ever, the most popular Christmas gift this year is gift cards. Besides relieving the stress from the gift purchaser who may not always know exactly what the recipient would want, gift cards also make post-holiday sales more valuable. The other top gift choice this year is, of course, Sony’s PlayStation 3. Hundreds of Christmas parties are being hosted all over Manhattan. One can belong to any belief and still enjoy the festivities of this magical season, especially in New York City - the cultural melting pot. Desi New Yorkers are partying hard and party-hopping too. Since Manhattan is home to many of the world’s best restaurants, they are the popular venue choice for most Christmas parties. Friends are hooking up at trendy restaurants, raising toasts to the beautiful year end and another wonderful new year ahead. Girlfriends are getting together for gift-giving galas, secret Santa’s and Yankee swaps. With the weather relatively warm for this time of the year, the ladies are enjoying the party season wearing their chic glam outfits with fabulous heels. The color black still dominates the fashion scene in New York and Santa hats are the favorite accessory of this season. The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, the brightest magnet for praise every holiday season, is as usual a favorite destination for families and friends. As every year, people are flocking to the area to watch the giant bejewelled tree and take pictures for the family album. Many Indians are traveling all across the country to be with their loved ones for the holiday season. With the big day almost here, Santa is also busy putting the finishing touches to his official Naughty or Nice list. Early messages to him can be heard in the air – “Santa baby! I’ve been an awful good girl.....so hurry down the chimney tonight!” The enthusiasm with which most Indians in America celebrate Christmas, even though they are not Christians, is a marvellous example of the secular nation we represent, where festivals of all beliefs are joyously celebrated. |
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Christmas Spirits! Snakebite and Black
This is typically a drink that one can only come across in a students’ union bar anywhere in England. A beer drinker’s delight, the cocktail is immensely popular amongst students. Not really a Christmas drink, but its appearance makes it perfect to serve on a sunny Christmas afternoon because if made in a large martini or cocktail glass it looks exactly like Santa’s hat (the Santa’s hat, however, is really a more elaborate cocktail. Its ingredients will be a little hard to get by in Chandigarh, hence this version). Ingredients Preparation Pour some blackcurrant syrup (as per taste) into the bottom of a large martini glass. Pour cider till half the glass is full. Top it off with lager, ensuring that a head of foam about an inch thick forms on top. The drink looks exactly like Santa’s hat. Serve chilled. Chocolate Kiss
Bahadur Singh Thakur from Whispers Bar at Hotel ShivalikView has concocted a delicious cocktail for this festive season. Creating a perfectly alcoholic blend of vodka with a lingering aftertaste of chocolate. Ingredients Smirnoff vodka 45ml Preparation Take a champagne saucer and rub the lemon slice on the rim of the glass. Put the drinking chocolate powder on a plate and rub the rim onto the powder so that a rim of chocolate forms on the glass. Now, put some crushed ice into the glass. Pour in the vodka and top it off with the chocolate liqueur. Garnish with three cherries on a toothpick and a few mint leaves and serve. Family concotions
Ms Isa Dass, wife of a prominent city-based property dealer, celebrates Christmas in a big way every year. The entire family comes around and of course the drinks flow freely. She offered a couple of recipes ideal for Christmas parties. Christmas Fruit Punch
An old family recipe, that Isa reveals is ideal to serve as an alcoholic and non-alcoholic drink, the fruit punch is a sweet and spicy drink that was traditionally topped off with vodka for an extra kick. Ingredients 4 Oranges Preparation Chop the fruits (with the peels) and remove the seeds. Blend the fruits and the cranberry juice together in a mixi. Strain the juice from the pulp and set to one side. Boil the tea leaves and strain the liquid into a bowl. Mix the juice and the tea water into a punchbowl and add sugar as per taste. Let the mixture cool. Before serving add the bottle of vodka and add cold water or soda (depending on whether or not you want a fizzy drink). Fruit Bouquet
A sangria-like drink that is very easy to make and can be made and kept away to serve whenever a guest comes over. Ingredients Red wine Preparation Pour the wine into a pitcher and add the fruits and cinnamon (and the sugar if you like). Leave the mixture overnight for the fruity flavours to blend into the wine. Strain the fruit before serving the wine. Serve neat. — Photos by the writer |
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BON APPETIT Merrymaking at Christmas is actually quite a serious business. In England, I found it amusing watching my classmates, waltzing down High-street on a shopping expedition, returning with bags full of yuletide gifts. This is the time for an annual feeding frenzy with everyone getting het up over the traditional family dinners. It used to be enthusiasm bordering on madness, jingling all the way! The only peace and solitude I detected was in the rendering of “Silent Night…”! Traditional Rich-Fruit Cake
Don’t let the fruit-flour ratio of this recipe alarm you. The flour’s bit-role is only to bind the fruit together! Ingredients 450 gm currants Method Chop all dried fruit and peel and soak in the brandy for at least 12 hours. Grease and line with brown paper, either an 8 inch round or a 7 inch square tin. Sift together the flour, salt, nutmeg and spices. Sprinkle a little of the flour into the drained and dried fruit and toss together till evenly coated. Beat the butter and sugar together till light and fluffy and add the pre-beaten eggs, a little at a time with the beater still on. Now add vanilla and gently fold in the flour and spices. Stir in the dried fruit, peel and the grated rind, swirling in the milk, only if the batter is too stiff. Tie a band of brown paper round the outside of the cake-tin to protect the peripheral area of cake from being overcooked. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin, spreading out evenly so there are no air pockets. Bake in the lower shelf of a pre-heated oven at 140? C / 275?F for 2 ½ hours. At the end of this period, check the cake with a skewer. If the centre seems uncooked, return to the oven for a further ½ hour. The top of the cake may be quite brown already so, cover the cake with doubled grease-proof paper before returning it to the oven for the last ½ hour. This will prevent the cake surface from getting scorched. Note: If you care for a variation, you may add chopped dates, dried apricots, figs or prunes to the cake but reduce the quantity of currants or raisins. Finally, the total weight of fruit used should remain the same. |
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Holiday heaven When the earth rose to kiss the sky, mountains were formed. The mystique, grandeur and beauty of these glorious monuments of mother nature has forever lured the romantic at heart. What better way to rejuvenate the spirit than in the lap of these hills! Hope of finding that perfect heaven is within reach now with a new hill resort opening at Mangothi village, near Dharampur. As we set out to find the same, the road takes us higher and higher into the hills, leaving behind the hustle-bustle of the city. Passing through Kalka and then Dharampur to Mangothi in Solan district to reach the resort, we come across the sunny building, which is now aptly called Surya’s Rock Rose Resorts. The sheer ambience of the place eases out the frown lines, which you might have acquired while meandering through the road that leads to the resort. A small restaurant for those who just want to grab a quick bite greets at the entrance. A stone underneath a tree here says something about the original restaurant, which was called Rock Rose (it was built in June 1991) in Bengali. The road leads further up to the resort promising to be your safe heaven for as many days you want. One can see the small railway track of carries the famous heritage train from Kalka to Shimla and also the Monkey Point of Kasauli as well as the Gurkha Fort of Jablee. If you think that you will miss the city, think again. You are not going to be deprived of comforts you are used to as the resort has a heated swimming pool, sauna, steam bath, jacuzzi, massage parlour and even a discotheque. “Indoor games, ayurvedic centre, travel desk, satellite music, outdoor play pen, beauty parlour, cable television, all included in the tariffs,” says Kamaljit Singh, the owner of the resort, who also happens to own the Fun City amusement park. “The resort now has 22 rooms. And we are adding two-room cottages soon,” says Kamaljit. With tariff starting from Rs 1600 to Rs 4500, the resort has the holiday experience ready for you. |
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Saag for the Sahibs Of late Chandigarh has seen an influx of restaurants serving exotic cuisine. Patronised by the urban elite, these restaurants do booming business. What you have is always nice, but the real fun is in getting what is not ordinarily available. How about makki ki roti and saag! Once a year, the urban elite goes back to their rural roots at Robin and Amrita Nakai’s annual saag party. Bright sunshine, dappled light as it filtered through lovingly-tended trees, marked the annual event at the Nakais’ residence in Sector 8 on a lazy Saturday afternoon recently. No wonder, it attracted much of the city’s who’s who, licking their fingers and digging into the traditional food. “It started a few years back, at our factory when we started making some saag from the fields behind our premises. I wanted the saag to be made in the way it is in rural Punjab, with certain ingredients that are never added to the saag we find in cities. After we sent the saag to a few friends, who really enjoyed it, we decided to have a saag party,” says Robin Nakai, who is the man behind this event. “The first party was just a bit of a fad where we had it at the factory in a rural setting and served only saag and makki ki roti’s cooked on traditional wood fires. From there on it just took off and we’ve been throwing it annually ever since,” explains Robin. Featuring a simple menu of saag makki ki roti’s, shakkar, mounds of white butter, lassi and a free flowing bar, the party has found it’s way onto the social calendar as an annual event that takes people back to their rustic roots. The bash is traditionally held at the end of the saag season at Robin’s factory in Derabassi, which is in the midst of beautiful fields of sarson and provides a scenic setting for such an event. The venue and time for this year, however, changed because of the bridge to Derabassi being closed and the demand for the party starting early. Which means that there is the possibility of their being more than one saag party this year! — Photo by the writer |
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MATKA CHOWK In the US, a new Indo-American verb has emerged – ‘Bangalored’. Now, when Silicon Valley software engineers say –“Accounts in our office has been Bangalored” – the others fully comprehend. I have heard a lot of people tell me that their R & D has been Bangalored, their son-in-law’s job has been Bangalored, their entire loan verification department has been Bangalored – in various tones of misgivings, betrayal, wonder and trepidation. I too fully understood. I was thinking along those lines about the growing phenomena of getting ‘Hydrebaded’, ‘Puned’ and then ‘Chandigarhed.’ Much as we hear about the BPOs springing up in every odd corner of our city, it is not only about American jobs coming here, but, also about the entire socio-economic revolution that is in full blossom in Chandigarh now. In a 1960s Hindi movie, I saw Manoj Kumar, Mr Bharat, remonstrating about the decadent and wealthy West, that looked down upon the Indians with their arms outstretched for “help.” The West that was depicted in the movies is something we can look out of the window and see now – all around us in Chandigarh. Just go to Sector 17 any winter evening. People are rushing into stores and buying brand names – jackets with hoods (as popularised by our Shah Rukh Khan – who wears nothing but American brand names), jeans that look semi-destroyed and cost destructive amounts of money, plastic flowers that cost more than a table lamp, liquid soap dispensers decorated with crystal ducklings, humongous pillows in the shape of pigs, glowing metallic glue pens and music cds that have universal release dates. The list can go on and on. When we first went to a US style mall in Calcutta, my daughter was amazed and stated that the mall does not only look like an American mall but smells like one too. When I go to sector 17 now, I see bright neons glowing and shop after shop full of people readily spending on things that merely look pretty. They look happy and confident. Some of them work for companies that have been ‘Chandigarhed.’ Some of them now are true citizens of the global village. Some of them are buying Indian gifts for non-Indian people. My American friends are almost always bowled over by the gifts that I buy them from Chandigarh. They have been here and raved over the Mughlai food they ate. They went to a wedding and were spellbound by the opulence and grandeur. They buy Tata tea and footpath jewellery in plentiful. They go to Kasauli and buy Himachali marmalade. The last time I was in Austin, one of my dearest friends, wore her Chandigarhi Pashmina shawl for the grand occasion of her Christmas bash. If Mr. Bharat was around today, he would have little to make movies about. |
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WRITE TO RENEE I’m a 27-year-old guy on a visit from the us to my grandparents As I am caught between two cultures, my birth culture and the one that I have adopted, I feel I have very mixed reactions towards girls. I find my neighbour over here extremely attractive. She is about 24 years of age very Indian in her outlook and seems like a pleasant person. Back in America I have a girlfriend who is American. Marriage has never really crossed my mind but I would like to know this one here better and then see how we both feel about it. I like traditional girls but I wonder how they feel about life in the western world. Tell me how to deal with this. Sumeet Walia I do appreciate that with your kind of upbringing i.e. some of the Indian world and some of the western world around you, you have managed to have a very objective perspective of your life and situation. It is indeed a predicament to figure out what is the kind of woman who would really be able to gel with your type. No hard and fast rules really. Of course you should ask the young woman in your neighbourhood out on a date, and of course your could start out by chatting her up once in a while across the wall or invite her over for a cup of coffee and exchange of ideas. It might blossom into a friendship or more. Relationships have nothing to do with cultures or countries and you have to interact with each other on a spiritual and soul level. These things are beyond society and culture. When you bond it all works out, so just be yourself. I have had compulsive behaviour problem since I was a kid. I would check the alarm clock 5 times or switch off the light 10 times or even turn the tap on and off 5 times just to feel even or kind of comfortable. I do not seem to remember as to how I developed this habit but I do know that it has been with me for years and somehow become part of my life. If I do not observe my little rituals, I feel extremely uncomfortable and not at peace. I have to observe them to keep my mind at rest. Suchita Verma You are suffering unnecessarily. Remember this condition of yours stems from fear. Fear is a lack of trust in ourselves because we feel lost in life. Look into your childhood. Deep within, you are still that child who feels unsafe and insecure and has developed this round of rituals in order to create a safe haven of activity. Make a list of the rules from your childhood that will allow you to see more clarity in your situation. May be you were so insecure and fearful that you developed these patterns to feel secure and powerful. Fear is a limitation of the mind. Once you learn to love yourself and trust life all your problems will phase out. Love is the opposite of fear and it stems out of trust. Just learn to relate to the invisible flow of love and power within you, your dependency on your rituals will naturally disappear. They are just a defense mechanism and have no power over you but the one you give them. Once you have the strength and courage to see this, life will become beautiful and free once more for you. I am 28 years of age, married for 3 years and have a 2 years old daughter. My problem is that I cannot tolerate my husband. Although by all standards on the outside he is a very fine man with no quality whatsoever which could be criticized. He loves me and my daughter very much spends more than enough of time with us and buys us whatever we desire. We take two or 3 holidays in the year and have what is called a good upper middle class life. But I find everything about him irritating. Even a holiday with him is a chore I have to get rid of the irritation to enjoy myself. I feel completely rebellious and want to walk out as this whole situation suffocates me. He wants me to do things his way as compensation for the love and care we get from him. I always wanted the material life I have now, but that I feel emotionally cheated on life. Help. Parul Mehta The answer to your questions lies within you. Being rebellions in a situation is definitely no answer at all as it is only a reaction. The road to happiness lies in changing your attitude and perception. Mould yourself into a person you find interesting. Become a fully rounded human being and not somebody who is relying upon life’s accessories to define you. Yes material things are very necessary but sometimes too much materialism brings in boredom. Life has to feel meaningful. This can only happen if you keep yourself focused on a goal, which is beyond the frivolous pleasures which money can buy. You are using your husband as an excuse for hiding an inner level of unhappiness. Take a peep into yourself and see what it is that is bothering you. You need to find a world outside your marriage where you feel in control of yourself and your environment, and the issues with your husband will iron out on it’s own. Rush in your queries to Renee at lifestyle@tribunemail.com or care of Lifestyle, The Tribune, Sector 29-C, Chandigarh |
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Health tip of the day
Ideally one should not do more than one-hour exercise per day. Resting for a day in a week helps reduce fatigue, muscle soreness etc. On experiencing muscle soreness, sleep disturbance, increase in heart rate one should stop and take rest.
— Dr Ravinder Chadha |
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Dancing feet in glitzy stilettos, eager to trip the light fantastic all the way into the X’mas night in bashes rocking with excitement! Rum, resin and low-fat cakes oozing with yuletide spirit! Arcades garlanded with psychedelic lights adding dazzle to the festivities! And cute little Santas carved out of polished stones for giving you a taste of faith, religiously — it’s Christmas time in the city.
IT’s the season to be jolly lalalalala..’ as the song goes. Christmas in Chandigarh may not be as big a deal as Divali is, but it’s an excellent excuse to party! So here are a few concoctions people in town are brewing up this yuletide to make the season all the merrier!
Beer (lager)