I want to break free!
Purva Grover

Missing the Patiala pegs, snooker sessions & Steven Segal stunts? It’s time for Gen-Y husbands & daddies to indulge & pamper themselves. Some help to get you started

You kickstart your day with the 6 a.m alarm, hit the gym, pick up milk packets and hurriedly drive back home to get the kids ready for school, have a quick breakfast, run through the headlines, and reach the workplace just in time to not bump into your boss. Meetings, assignments, achieving targets, and it’s time to pick up your li’l one from the dance class. Exhausted, you lay the table, take a shower and then place yourself in front of the idiot box, to unwind. Phew... what a day!

A health freak, an efficient employee, a responsible parent and a loving partner, you hardly get time for yourself. Isn’t this a story with most of the guys today? Yes, guys (not gals), you heard it right! Well, sporting the tag of a metro-sexual man is a lot more than fairness creams and pierced ears, it’s about being Superman, say Gen-Y husbands and daddies. Now, the super-syndrome and all the talk on super wives and super moms, who handle it all surely sounds familiar, but, today it’s the man who has sacrificed his bachelorhood who needs a break. To bring some relief in their newfound burden, we’ve put together a few ideas to help them break free.

It’s only your guy friends (and maybe a few girls) who can understand your addiction to speed. They don’t stiffen up when you accelerate from 0-100 kmph in a few seconds, rather, they bet if you can go still faster. So, what are you waiting for? Tighten your seat belt and hit the road.

You’ve sat on the husband chair (the chair where the man sits patiently while his wife shops for hours) n-number of times, now it’s you chance to shop or just window shop if you wish to. Decide upon a day and visit your ‘kind of stores’. Discuss for hours the knitty grittys of a V6 engine, collect innumerable leaflets of the latest in X-box, I-pod, palmtops or simply stare at the racer bike in the show window.

You take your kids for Hanuman and even cuddle them as you watch Noddy with them. You even sat through a Karan Johar saga for three hours for dear wifey. Well, so you deserve to park yourself on a beanbag for one whole day with some wafers and a crate of chilled beer watching action-packed flicks. Order DVDs of Top Gun, Matrix, Constantine, Die Another Day and more, and sit back.

Recreate the magic of your bachelor night party. Rather, indulge in the fave pastime of your bachelorhood days — get drunk. Call up your bumchums and get together at your local adda (we bet you are bored of the fancy pub where you go with your wife and family) or head to our very own Kaimbwala. Now, drink to your hearts’ content and not to your wife counting pegs!

Just when everybody, right from the lady who runs a saloon in the neighbourhood to SRK, who is promoting fairness creams, are on a mission to push you into a beauty regime. You might as well give in. Get yourself a spa appointment and let aromatic lotions and soothing candles pamper you. You never know, you may actually like this idea of an aromatic stress buster.

You confess to being a bad cook, but still miss the omeletes, noodles, boiled eggs, sandwiches you cooked for a lavish dinner with friends. How about wearing the chef cap again and inviting friends over for a three-course meal of bread, eggs, noodles and cola? It will not only recharge you, but also make you appreciate your wife’s culinary skills!

Enjoy a game of cricket with your friends or your children. And, if your kids are too young to play, then let them cheer as you play with your colony’s team of brat boys. Try meeting up your buddies for a game of snooker or pool. Simpler still, watch re-runs of cricket, soccer or wrestling matches.

And, if you can’t manage to take out time for any of the above, then just call up an ol’ friend and talk of the hostel pranks, bad marks, long forgotten crushes or lighten yourself by telling him how the burden of you share of household chores goes up each time the maid takes a chutti! Wouldn’t a heart-to-heart chit chat be fun?

Spicy Priyanka
Parbina Rashid

We had heard Priyanka Chopra has been busy learning the gatka for her forthcoming film, Drona. Our information was right. For, when the lady, in her small black-and-white dress, finally stepped on stage at Taj-Chandigarh after making us all wait for about an hour-and-half, she looked quite slim and toned up, living up to the title of Asia’s sexiest woman she won last year.

It was her three-year-long association with Spice that brought her to the city — to launch the telecom cos’ Smart Dial service.

So what’s happening in her life? "Films, films and more films." Well, we know that! But then the lady is not just acting but watching them too. "Which is her favourite — Om Shanti Om or Saawariya?"

"A tough call," she laughs. "I liked OSO because I am in it and I like Saawariya because it is beautifully shot." Spoken like a true diplomat, Priyanka!

And what about Spice? "I have had a four-year stint with films and a three-year one with Spice. I am nostalgic about the brand," she says. Looking at her life-size pictures staring from almost all CTU buses and billboards, one can understand her feelings. She justifies, "In the begining of my career, I did not want to endorse too many brands. But I am glad I did with Spice. They are the pioneers in innovation."

Though we leave the pioneer bit to our readers to debate upon, going by the launch of their latest service we can safely say that Spice knows how to do things in style. Before Priyanka and CEO Navin Kaul arrived, we had models like Amanpreet Wahi and Manasi showing off Suneet Verma’s fall-winter collection. How relevant the dresses — mostly tunics with spaghettis and halter necks teamed with churidaars in bright gold — would actually be in the harsh north winter is a different story. Maybe, Verma thought if the material failed to radiate warmth, at least the colour would!

Telly Tales
To be continued...
Purva Grover

A knock on the door, a phone call at midnight, a deafening scream, falling of the pooja thali... the climax in telly soaps is unchanged

Okie, you don’t like watching soaps. Scheming women, revengeful men, grand weddings, memory loss, loud mourning and unexplainable rebirths, are not just your cup of tea. You often wondered and smiled to yourself thinking what would you do if you got a chance to meet the creators and cast of these unreal parivaars that are supposed to be a reflection of your kahani.

Well, we too hope and pray that you get a chance to settle your scores with them. But, as of now what we are wondering is how come you don’t watch these duh-soaps yet you know what exactly is the latest in the lives of bhabhis, bhaiyas, bahus and devars. Hmm... We assume you are one of those viewers who switch on the TV either after the climax shot or just before the rolling of the cast. And, incase you’ve forgotten deducing the climaxes, run through five oh-so-common climaxes on Indian TV.

Climax One

The table is set for a candlelight dinner. The room is filled with the aroma of fresh flowers and a woman dressed in her best outfit is ready to give an anniversary surprise to her husband. She stands by the big window with her eyes on the driveway, when, her mouth suddenly opens up in a big O and her hands automatically cover her cheeks.

Experienced viewers know it’s time to divorce.

Next episode: The waterworks begin, the man has been caught red-handed with another woman.

Climax Two

A woman draped in pure red or blood red (whichever of the two is more red!) sari, a big mangalsutra standing out amidst her other garish gold trinkets and she is involved in her pious duty, when, a strong breeze spoils the religious setting and the pooja ki thali falls on the ground. Experienced viewers know it’s an abshagun.

Next episode: The newly-wed bahu is face to face with the body of her husband.

Climax Three

The ever-excited family has gathered for a special occasion and is dining, singing, and dancing, when, suddenly the heads of each of the family members turns, and then stay put in the same angle. Experienced viewers know it’s Karz revived.

Next episode: The family moves in a motion, slower than the usual slow, and chance-by-chance hug the lost member who has re-appeared after a very very long time.

Climax Four

It’s party time in the big family. The members are sporting outfits as per the theme. There is song and drama, and then, a loud scream... Or another instance, when amidst all the celebration, noise of soft footsteps are heard.

Experienced viewers know it is either suicide or the return of an enemy (not a ghost).

Next episode: Crying over the bereaved or open challenge by the family’s enemy.

Climax Five

It’s unusually quiet in the house. Mom is cooking, dad is reading the newspaper, kids are playing, when, there is either a knock on the door, or the doorbell, or a phone ring.

Experienced viewers know it’s an uninvited scary man/ woman at the door or on the phone.

Next episode: The person in question could be the ex-boyfriend/ girlfriend of the character or the brother/sister of the man the protagonist had murdered and buried a long time ago...

Tasteful Experience

It was a dream come true for 55 kids from Ashiana, a school for the underprivileged run by Airtel. A chance for them to not just marvel at the wonders of the bakery but also bite into them. An invite to visit Nik Bakers-35 to eat and play on Friday turned out to be a yummy delightful experience for these kids in the age group of 10-12 years.

"It may encourage some of them to dream of becoming a chef," said Nikhil Mittal, the owner, as he showed around the bakery to the kids. The children, many of whom saw a pizza and a burger for the first time, were amazed to see a gelato being prepared.

A visibly excited Parmod, a student of Class 8, said: "I learnt how to prepare a pizza but it did not come out as well as the pizza made by the Chef who showed me how to do it. I want to come here again and really understand how to make it look as good and taste as delicious as the pizzas made here." Later, a delectable treat of sandwiches, doughnuts and a variety of cakes awaited them after a game of musical chairs. —TNS

Road to success

After Orkut, there has been no dearth of similar sites, trying to connect friends and make a little money of their own. In the same league was Zillr.com, launched by Ravish Kumar, an engineer. Since its launch he has not looked back.

The advanced site today enjoys a membership of 50,000 users and has many remarkable features such as you can optimise the site to activate according to the connection in use – broadband or dial-up, it has advanced features like privacy and a conversational view, that even Orkut fails to provide, to name a few. The site that entered the top 500 sites of UAE in a record 45 days has 40,000 active users in India alone. If speaking in terms of revenue the site gets a six million-page view per month (higher than desimartini.com and similar sites).

The site that has come till here sans advertisement now feels the need of the same. For starters Ravish plans to sponsor the ‘Mr. and Miss. Chandigarh’, to be held in January next year, to gain popularity amongst the youth of the city. Next step will be to advertise on TV and find sponsors. Ravish, who is naturally a happy man, is working towards launching an e-mail and chat service by next year. — TNS

Cool Stuff

Watches: No Hands

Inspired by night clubbing Fastrack has launched its Neon Disk range. The technology of electro-luminescence has been given an interesting twist making it the first Indian analog watch collection sans hands to show the time! Instead, two concentric aluminum discs, representing the hour and the minute, show the time with the help of markers cut out on the discs. Time telling is aided with a neon (electro – luminescent) sheet that lights up through the cutouts, on the push of a button. The collection, featuring exciting options for both guys and girls, has over 20 styles. Prices start from Rs 1,195 to Rs 2,195.

Bath accessory: Dazzle

Lux has launched the latest lux crystal shine with the shine of crystals and drops of moisturiser. Endorsed by Priyanka Chopra, it promises to transform women from ordinary damsels to mind-numbing beauties. It even offers an exciting range of soaps with unique ingredients like almond oil, orchid extracts, jojoba oil, milk cream, fruit extracts, saffron, sandalwood oil and honey. In step with changing trends and evolving beauty needs of consumers, it also offers a range of body washes. One can choose from a range of skincare benefits like firming, fairness and moisturising.

Fashion: Holiday Mood

Nautica’s holiday 2007 collection for men has wide options from classic vintage to aspen. Trimmed in khaki twill, it introduces traditional plaids with a twist. The dress blues collection has of luxury sweaters, refined wovens and double mercerised knits, in unexpected colour combinations. The aspen collection has combos of nordic sweaters, wool bottoms and flannel over shirts with lightweight twills, suede jerseys and milano sweaters. Replete with holiday colours it creates a collection of active knits including suede, corduroy and sweater details based on a color palette of earth tones – plum, evergreen, mocha, slate, almond ideal for formal lunch or dinner.

Bags: Wild by Nature

Kipling presents Gorilla Girlz, a collection that’s lets your personality come out combining elements of steamy orange on satin; multicoloured print discoteca on a black velvet. A crazy monkey print shouts out loud on the flawless nylon. Reflect your mood with the ingenious gorilla monkey clip and nifty signature print on the inside. The medium shoulder Harajuku style bag is perfect for every day use with a zipped main compartment and three front pockets, one zipped and two open. Bounce, a shoulder bag with a divider panel, is for organising and stashing all your small necessities. Jive is a flirtatious purse with a removable shoulder strap.

Sportswear: Spirit Of America

Tommy Hilfiger’s sportswear fall/winter 2007 collection comprises of three groups – forest ivy, ocean mist and forest charm. The rugged yet playful forest ivy combines autumnal colours and textures like high-density cottons to wools and coated fabrics. The coats are sporty, sophisticated, and elegant. Ocean mist is characterised by subtle blacks, grays and whites. Forest charm is dominated by red, brown, dark green and topaz yellow. Sweaters for women are in a sexier fit. Ocean mist includes trench coats in black and silk tie cardigans in light gray leather. Forest Charm is made from merino and lambs wool, cotton dehair, angora wool. — TNS

Oomph Unlimited

The Kingfisher 2008 calendar is out. As always, it’s steamy and lot more than just a calendar

Exotic destinations, gorgeous faces, designer shots... What is it going to be this year? It’s that time of the year again when the countdown for the much-awaited Kingfisher calendar begins. And well, this year the calendar, in its sixth edition, has gone bigger, more glamorous, bolder and definitely more desirable. We flipped through the leaves month by month to get you a glimpse of the beauty, fashion and lifestyle that will delight you through 2008.

600 kilos of equipment and luggage, 170 gigabytes of data, 22 flights to different destinations, Bactrian camels, models posing in sub-zero temperatures, a crew travelling tirelessly for thousands of kilometers and 22 days of non-stop shooting — that’s what went into the making of Kingfisher Swimsuit Special Calendar 2008.

Promising a year of glitz and glamour, it is a beautiful and exotic tribute to the magnificent heritage of our country. (And, the beauty of the Indian women too!) After having been shot in France, South Africa and Mauritius, this time its locales range from Shey Palace, Spituk Bridge, Nubra Valley and Ranbirpura at the Chang La Lake in Ladakh to the Kingfisher Villa & the Calizz Museum in Goa; the beautiful Shiv Niwas Palace and the City Palace in Udaipur and Havelock Island and Elephant Island in the exotic Andamans.

And, encapsulating the breathtaking vistas is Atul Kasbekar. His lens captures not just exotic locales but seven gorgeous models — Deepti Gujral, Sheetal Menon, Monikangana Dutta, Shruti Agrawal, Preeti Desai, Melissa Mehra and Tamara Moss. A launch pad for models, there are some faces one will see for a second time in the calendar including Deepti and Sheetal. Sporting luxurious brands that include swimwear by La Perla from their India-inspired line, shoes by Jimmy Choo and accessories and sunglasses by Christian Dior, the calendar is synonymous with all that is premium. As United Breweries chairperson Dr Vijay Mallya puts it, "The calendar is sure to be the cynosure of cognoscenti and evoke pangs of envy."

So, if you appreciate finer things in life then this edition is something that you’ll want to keep for much longer than 365 days. But, sadly only select few in the 56 Kingfisher Countries across the world receive a copy of it! — TNS

Eye catching!
Aneesha Sareen

Make your style statement in that hot pair of glasses

There was a time when spectacles were associated with bookworms. And you hated wearing them because it gave the studious tag among your friends while you aspired to be called a ‘cool dude’. It marred your looks like it did to Jassi in Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin.

Not anymore. The once boring and bulky glasses have now become a fashion accessory. With a majority of film stars now donning glasses for that distinctive persona, spectacles are the latest rage with youngsters and children alike.

While children are going for that Harry Potter look with round-shaped glasses, the choices for the youngsters are far too many.

If Shahid Kapoor has popularised the rimless rectangular frames in his latest flick Jab We Met, so has Bipasha with her new look in her forthcoming film Goal. John Abraham had earlier sent girls into a frenzy with his specy look in Saaya. Black rimmed frames flaunted by Sania Mirza are still going strong.

And how can one forget Shah Rukh Khan’s rimless spectacles in Mohabbatein and K3G or even Hrithik in Kaho Naa Pyar Hain? And with the market giving you enough choices, aping your favourite star is not all that difficult. In fact, the market is brimming with trendiest styles and designs — from rimless to frameless to half-framed and half-rimless spectacles.

Others that dominate the scene are metal frames, plastic and even a combination of both. Bright vibrant colours are the ones to look out for. Red is quite popular with the young these days, says Gurpreet Singh of Weldon-17. "Customers do ask for spectacles worn by their favourite star. Girls match the colour of the rims with their costumes. Sleek frames are in," he adds. Besides bright coloured ones, frames in black and gunmetal colours are also in vogue.

Brand loyalty plays a major role here and the most popular ones include Police, Armani, Versace, Guess, Essilor, Luxotica, Diesel, Tommy Hillfiger and Callera, to name a few. The prices start from Rs 3,000 and go up to Rs 50,000.

Colour and brand apart, it’s the shape that comes next as the decisive factor for the youngsters. The rectangular ones are the most popular, followed by oval. Also, combinations of bright coloured high temples with rectangular or oval are other options you can experiment with.

Exhi Watch
Old is gold
Aneesha Sareen

Antique Kashmiri Kani shawls are in town

Exquisite craftsmanship, breathtaking beauty and a symbol of royalty — that’s what summarise Kashmiri shawls, whose popularity has withstood the test of time. So, can you think of facing the winter chill without wrapping one around your shoulders?

An exhibition-cum-sale of Kashmiri Kani shawls is on at Fabindia-9. The collection, presented by Aditi Desai, comprises a variety of designs and traditional Kashmiri embroidery in multiple hues.

The USP of the exhibition is antique shawls from the early 19th century. These shawls have been preserved by Desai after she procured them from abroad.

There is this Kashmir Kani Rumal, from the year 1865, in black and white patchwork with embroidered harlequin borders. This pashmina shawl belonged to the Sikh-Dogra transition period. Another attraction is the Kashmir Kani Long shawl made in the year 1840 in multi-coloured embroidery.

Next in line is the French Moon Shawl, which was weaved in the year 1825. Sikh motifs of dagger can be seen on the border — a European influence.

While these antique shawls are not for sale, the pashmina shawls that have been put on sale are based on the designs and work of the antique shawls, with a little bit of improvisation said Desai. The prices of these shawls range from Rs 1,000 to Rs 1 lakh.

"The antique shawls were earlier woven in sections and later joined. Only natural designs were used and the designs were mainly inspired by Kashmiri landscape," said Desai, who admits of having slogged for years to buy these antique shawls from abroad in order to give vent to her passion for pashmina shawls.

"Earlier men used to wear them. But now women are more passionate about them. The crafting of Kani work requires skill. The magic of these shawls cannot be compared to the modern ones," she added.

On till November 25

Little Interview
Aiming it right

Bipasha on Goal, relationships & acting

She has won our applause right from her debut performance in Ajnabee to the recent No Smoking. The dusky Bengali beauty, Bipasha Basu, will now be seen in Dhan Dhana Dan Goal. And, as for her ultimate goal, it’s more success, fame and money! Here’s what the glamourous diva has to say about her much-awaited flick.

What made you play a deglam role in Goal?

The storyline appealed to me, it is about the struggle of a football club in Southall that is facing closure. And, I have full faith in the director Vivek Agnihotri.

All my co-stars John Abraham, Arshad Warsi and Boman Irani treated me like one of them. I was like a guy on the sets.

I never judge a flick before its release. All I can do is hope that it does well, for it’s packed with a lot of visual delight.

Yes, definitely. And, why just me, I think every woman enjoys being in a relationship. It’s important for everybody to find his or her true love.

Acting, of course. It gives me a real high.

FILM & FASHION
Britney has a new boyfriend

Pop star Britney Spears has a new boyfriend - a waiter named Michael Marchand. An eyewitness spotted the couple together at Mirabelle restaurant, where Michael works, in Los Angeles.

"Michael came in a little after midnight, and she came in right after. They were being discreet. Forty-five minutes later, they left the restaurant together. He was charming - he made Britney laugh and looked at her with this secret smile. They left in separate cars," news reports quoted an eyewitness as saying.

An insider revealed that the singer instantly fell for Marchand at Mirabella when she first ate there in early November.

Since the first meeting, the two have been on at least one date at Spears mansion. However, Marchand remained mum about his relationship when asked. "I cannot talk about that right now," Marchand said. — ANI

Health Tip

For immediate relief of low back pain do lumbar spine stretch. Starting on hands and knees like a four legged animal, move back on the heels as far as possible

— Dr Ravinder Chadha