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Party like a Star NEW Year Eve celebrations are going global in 2007. For, Russian pole dancers and reed-thin celebs of the fashion world, sashaying down the celebrated ramps of revelry in intercontinental shows, are all set to throw disc jockeys from Delhi out of rhythm. Folks, they are jazzed up in dancing shoes to make you trip the light fantastic to their tunes in the New Year eve bashes, along with tribal dancers, in environs that replicate the wild, if not Oscar nights. And if you do not know, they are doing exactly what the DJs from the national capital of celebration did till 2005; and Chandni did in the 90s — pull crowds. That’s right fellows, city hoteliers this time have tuned the DJs out of the celebration charts and have come up with the magnetic phenomena of bringing in tribal and Russian dancers, along with FTV models, for drawing the revelers into “out-of-the-ordinary” celebrations on New Year’s eve. You can cut the rug to the tunes of Russian dancers by calling up the Terrace Hall of the Taj. It’s Hollywood all the way there. Leave behind your semi-limousine at the gates only to have lensmen on either side of the red carpet trying to capture memories for you. You even have bouncers making faux attempts to keep them away, giving celeb-like feel. Inside, it’s all international — right from the women bartenders to Russian dancers. You can even catch Russian pole dancers take a swing at North Park’s Element Night Club. At the Dhillon Six Miles Resort models and Russian belly dancers promise to set the evening on fire. You even have a gal DJ to set the pace of the celebrations. If Russian dancers do not excite you, get ready for a hot couture night with sizzling FTV models at Antidote-Chimney Heights on December 31 at the Royal Challenge-Fashion TV Hot Couture Night. It will begin with a scintillating one-hour fashion show featuring top-notch names of the glamour world. Guys, you too have a chance of becoming a mini-celebrity. For, the “fashion night” will be aired by FTV. Haute, isn’t it! You may find it incredible if you have not been following the trend of New Year eve celebrations in Chandigarh, but this is not the first time city hoteliers are offering “something different”. Rather, they have always been coming up with surprises on the last day of the old year. Sample this: Looking for a bizarre idea to lure the crowd on December 31, hoteliers were scratching their heads in the 90s. Well, the concept of dance ‘n’ dine parties with blazing bonfires by then was too cold to ignite the sparks of excitement in the party crowd. It was then someone thought of recreating Chandni — the Bollywood blockbuster. “Almost everyone was talking about the movie,” recalls Anant Dhupar, associated with the hospitality industry for over a decade. “A local hotelier thought of getting Chandni to the city. Actually calling Sridevi to Chandigarh would have been expensive and near impossible. So the hotelier simply called a singer from Delhi and gave her the name Chandni! And, the strategy worked,” he recalls, flashing a mischievous smile. You may find it incredible, but the gimmick was an instant hit. Soon after, advertisements in city newspapers announced Chandni’s presence in the city! The hotelier’s phone wouldn’t stop ringing and his hotel bagged almost the entire business that New Year eve. All that was over a decade ago. In 2007, hoteliers and others in the entertainment business are breaking free from routine celebrations to give you “out-of-the-ordinary” on a platter by inviting you to savour the catwalk of your life, or dance that will bring out in the wild party animal hibernating deep inside you. “Pick up any newspaper and you will find advertisements broadcasting the presence of dancers splashed all over the pages,” Dhupar asserts. Well folks, a rendezvous with Russian dances doesn’t sound like a bad idea! saurabh@tribunemail.com |
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Come, be a
A heady concoction of strapless sequined tops and mini skirts is fit to set the spirits soaring in cocktail bashes on the New Year’s eve. It may hit you with a bang. Like a strong drink that explodes in the head if tossed down hurriedly. But more and more city’s fashion connoisseurs are set to jive into the New Year after saying bottoms up to teeny-weeny backless, and halter, dresses! Oh yes, fellows! It’s going to be more of less in the bashes with party dolls resolving to say cheers to the coming year in not just micro-minis, but also shiny strapless tops and
blouses. Just in case you are staggering with doubts about the stuff, just hop into the bandwagon of merriment and drive down the road meandering its way through revelry for reaching the fashion malls and superstores across the city.
You will find femmes of the world getting ready to expose themselves to the passionate heat of the parties on cold December evening in little dresses that promises to send chill down your spine. If they are not raising a toast to sequined mini dresses with enticing backs, you will find them laying their hands on beautiful stretch metal cocktail dresses just perfect for any bash! “Hugging fit and playful length will turn heads,” says Radhu Sharma, a city girl ready for the bash. Well, they do face the perils of looking like human disco balls after sporting sequins. But ask them, and the dancing divas say they are just not ready to go in for anything else. After all, the night’s going to take another 365 days for a repeat. City-based fashion designer Rashmi Bindra suggests concealment of li’l skirts under life-size coats. “You can team it up with high-heel ankle boots ,” she asserts. You can also go in for adorable back skirts that rise well above the knees. Wear them under cheerful red silk tops with necklines plunging deep down perilously. Or else, go in for favourite denim skirts with twin tantalising cuts on either side. Net stockings are just not required as you trot around the blaze. Bindra is really in favour of your pulling out some crisp currency notes from your wallet for the parties. And, she has convincing reasons for it. “Folks, it’s the last night of the year, and you’re allowed to wear anything, just anything,” she says. “It’s the big day’s eve and actually time to say good-bye to the dying year, and compunctions. By the way, if you can wear the stuff subsequently to a couple of holiday parties, where you won’t bump into the same old familiar faces, you’ll really get your money’s worth.” Sounds sensible, guys! — Saurabh Malik
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Creating wonders on small screen
Just a fortnight more and we’ll switch off the surprises on telly and hope for bigger, better and brighter surprises the year ahead.
Indomitable Ekta Husbands hate her, wives love her and youngsters ignore her. That’s Ekta Kapoor for you. She continued to rule with more soaps, sobbing babies and clones of Parvati and Tulsi.
Real Talent? Phew...we saw a star
being born each day, courtesy reality and talent hunt shows that saw us
SMS day and night. Indian Idol started it, Fame Gurukul took
it forward and Bigg Boss got everybody interested. Sidhu’s
laughter potential saw Archana Puran Singh and Mandira Bedi copy his
trademark style. Telly Trailers Hotties like Mads, Bips, John, Deepika and Shah Rukh Khan all came calling, giving us exclusive insights and previews of their upcoming films. We, the viewers, couldn’t have asked for more. And joining the Bollywood brigade was our own saas, bahu, devars and patis who shook a leg in Jhalak Dikhla Ja, Nach Balliye and Jhoom India. There were singers like Karan Oberoi, Udit Narayan and Adnan Sami, bahus like Juhi Parmar and Mona Singh, stars like Jeetendra, SRK and Suniel Shetty, Isha Koppikar, Urmila, playing judges, guests or hosts. The bottomline be a part of a talent hunt, hook or crook. Unusual Acts Our stars amused and bugged us with their erratic behaviour. Javed Akhtar’s never ending fights with Ila Arun on Fame Gurukul bugged us. Alka Yagnik and Abhijeet’s friendly wrestle on Star Voice of India made us switch channels. And, well so did the walk out by a few other judges like Alisha on Indian Idol 3 and Ismail Darbar on Sa Re Ga Ma Pa. Well, who else caught our attention? Apni desi babe Shilpa Shetty who made headlines (not just in our country) with Big Brother. Basking in her newfound celeb status, she managed to walk out with big prize money and a heavily accented English. Next, we can’t wrap up the year without talking about Raakhi Sawant. She managed to create a niche for herself (don’t get judgmental about the means). She was there everywhere, talent hunts, TV channels, to even Koffee With Karan. Now, that’s commendable. Fresh Whiff Amidst all the tears, SMS and cosmetic surgeries, freshness did come in. Sony Sab lived up to its punch line Mera Bharat Jawan, and came up with good serials like Left Right Left and Jersey No. 10. Sony’s Amber Dhara, story of conjoint sisters too kick started with a bang. Star One joined in with Choona Hai Aasman Talk chat shows and we loved Ranvir Vinay Aur Kaun, where celebs spoke, had fun, practically did whatever they wished to. Save Us! One whole year Zee TV showed us the same eight flicks of Big B on Shanivaar Ki Raat Amitabh Ke Saath. Sony’s fave was Nayak — The Real Hero that was on air each day. Another torture was the lack of news on 24-hour news channels. They showed us everything accepts news — making of movies, star interviews and re-runs of talent hunts. lifestyletribune@gmail.com We predict n
Reel women will
step out of ghar and don career independent roles. (We too might dedicate a whole page to TV!) Thumbs up Rock Solid: Ekta Kapoor and FRIENDS. The former for surviving year aftre year. And, the latter,for we simply love it be it runs, re-runs or more. Brand New: Bunch of new channels— 9X, UTV’s Bindaas, NDTV Good Times Novel Concepts: Shows like Amber Dhara, Salaam Zindagi, Choona Hai Aasman Big Move: Smriti Irani walking out of Ekta’s shadow. and doing her own thing.
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Mouth-watering treat! Global cuisine, exotic food festivals, city entrepreneurs & more. We’ve got you a wrap-up of the food-filled year
We, Punjabis, love to eat and this year we did just that. The gourmet in us was experimenting, dining, wining and yes of course shelling out huge bucks for all this. The city got palate-wise in many ways in 2007. Run through the year’s taste trail with us. Hot Million’s organised a Chettinand Food Festival. Dak
Bunglow-Zirakpur offered Goan food and Zinc’s-26 Italian, Portuguese, European and
Lahori. Our city food entrepreneur did quite a mouth-watering job, and the sectors in news were 26 and 35. Munish Bajaj’s offering for the year — Manor-26 kept buzzing with activities, be it the sizzler festival, the starters fare or expansion beyond the city — Manor Exclusive-Zirakpur road. Score-8, a restro bar continued with its stream of inviting stars and holding theme parties. Purple Rice-35 made us fall in love with South -East Asian cuisine. Chocolates, pies, cakes and cookies got synonymous with Nikhil Mittal’s Nik Bakers-9 and 35. Be it treating slum children or celebrating occasions, he made sure he was there and opened up two eateries this year. Reigning over our taste buds for a decade, Monica brought to the city Gelato Italino-8. South Indian food too got a punch with the opening of Ratnam-35. Chop Sticks-7 re-invented itself by introducing Mughlai dishes. Now, we also became a city that loved to lounge. There was just no stopping to the opening of lounges in Sector 26 — Zinc, Antidote,
Vodoo, Oven Fresh. In brand food chains, Pizza Corner made an entry and Subway opened another outlet. The trend of enjoying a brunch buffet on a lazy Sunday too caught up. Swagat-26 offering Indian,
Mughlai, Mangalorean and Chinese cuisine with unlimited wine and champagne. Taj’s buffet came with beer and champagne. Breakfast buffet at Aroma-22 with its spread of paranthas, cornflakes, fruit juices and more continued to be popular. Our love for coffee beans got a boost. Mocha-26 got the city not just addicted to coffee but hookahs too. The recently opened Java Dave’s-10 is delighting coffee lovers with the mild US coffee brand. See, didn’t we say it was a food-filled year! Well, here’s hoping that the coming year brings in more delectable options that satiates our heart and tummy! purva@tribunemail.com |
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Beauty Studio
Women are turning to anti-ageing creams packed with Retinoid and Alpha Hydroxy Acids that make huge promises. Most of the people associate Retin-A with pimply teens. The truth is that it happens to be the only secret to youthful and flawless skin. Vitamin A is very important for skin’s health and is the only way to combat fine lines and wrinkles. Natural form of Vitamin-A or Vitamin-A derivatives have proven to be skin beneficial for skin damaged by sun and also by natural ageing. They help produce a rosy glow and reduce fine and large wrinkles, surface roughness and also remove liver spots. However, it is not a miracle cure and does take three to six months to show results. It also increases the photo-sensitivity to the sun, a thin coat at bed time would be advisable. A sun block is a must and sun should be avoided at all costs. Alpha and Beta Hydroxy acids are better options for women who find the vitamin A products too drying. AHA’s are more moisturising, it helps shed off dead skin cells and even stimulate the production of collagen and elastin. They are naturally found in lactic acid (milk), glycolic acid (sugarcane) citric acid (found in oranges and lemons), tataric acid (grapes). Glycolic and lactic acid are most often found in commercial product. I am touching 30s soon and want to know the right skin care. Could you please guide me on daily skin care routine to keep wrinkles at bay? Shweta Khanna The secret to youthful and wrinkle-free skin is the daily preventive skin care. Collagen is must to keep your skin healthy and also for the skin to age gracefully. Be kind to your skin by paying attention to these steps: n Don’t wash face too often with tap water. Chlorinated water at high temperatures, poses risk for wrinkles.n Use soap with moisturisers only.n After face wash, pat the skin dry and immediately apply water-based moisturiser or spray with an alcohol free toner.n Avoid alcohol three hours before bedtime as it increases the risk for leaks in the capillaries.n Apart from these remedies it will be helpful for best long-term prevention for wrinkled skin is a healthy lifestyle with diet full of whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables. Include the use of olive oil in your diet, which will protect your skin against oxidative stress in the skin.Pammy Kaul is a UK-based beauty therapist. E-mail queries to lifestyletribune@gmail.com or write to The Tribune, Sector 29, Chandigarh
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STEP OUT You may bump, you may fall but mastering the ski is just a matter of time. Head to Manali for your first lesson Apart from Goa, the other favourite New Year holiday destination for most people here is Manali. So, if you are heading there do try to get in a spot of skiing among all your other activities. Now, if you are getting acquainted with skis for the first time in your life, don’t blame me every time you end up sprawled on the slope on your back or face down in the snow! You cannot learn to ski without taking falls. Until you learn to balance on the skis (you need half-an-hour for this), you will keep falling. The good news is that it takes only about three or four days to learn skiing properly and it’s a skill you acquire for life. Once you have learned to ski, even if there is a gap of several years before you have a chance to ski again you will be able to do it. You might be a little rusty but you won’t be a complete novice. So take the opportunity to learn skiing at the Solang slope, 13 km above Manali town. You need no special gear because the skis, boots and ski poles will be provided to you. There are a host of adventure tour operators in Manali, Vashisht and Burua (nearby villages) who teach tourists to ski. Solang is the nursery of Indian skiing, and girls and boys from this region regularly represent India in skiing competitions abroad. The locals are expert skiers and it is worthwhile and enjoyable for the casual tourist to learn from them in one-on-one coaching. However, if you have the time and inclination to do a full course, enrol for the Basic Skiing Course run by the Directorate of Mountaineering and Allied Sports in Manali. The course lasts about a fortnight and is taught on the Solang slope. What you do need to take are thin woollen socks. Many novices make the mistake of setting out to ski with thick woollen socks because they think it will be cold in the snow. You don’t need very warm socks because ski boots are insulated against cold. Most important, you need to be able to ‘feel’ with your feet to use the edges of the skis. Thick socks hamper this. When we ski, the feet sweat a bit and socks get damp. Carry along more than one pair so that you can change during the lunch break. You will also need extra pairs of woollen gloves because they will get sopping wet with melted snow! A good pair of dark glasses is a must. If it is very sunny, you will be screwing your eyes while skiing because sun reflecting off the snow has a very harsh glare. If it is snowing lightly, the crystals will be driving into your eyes as you swish down the slope. Either way, you need the protection of dark glasses. Never buy cheap ones as they don’t have the coating that protects against ultra-violet rays. Cheap dark glasses are damaging because the darkened environment makes the pupil of the eye widen, allowing UV rays to enter. It is better not to wear dark glasses at all than to wear cheap ones because the pupils narrow in bright sunlight and prevent UV rays entering. This is a natural defence mechanism. You must also have a snugly-fitting woollen cap. Wear nylon fleece pants (available in Manali bazaar) instead of jeans, which get wet and take forever to dry. Happy skiing and a Happy New Year! (This column appears fortnightly) Whom to contact: The writer has authored India’s first handbook of adventure sports and is available at y.bey@excite.com
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Khyber restaurant’s pub and bar — Wild West has kicked off a unique American liqueur coffee festival. The bar card is slated with some heavenly varieties of coffee which can be had with or without alcohol. The exotic mocha mocktails are laced with the best liqueur from around the world. A must try is a specially brewed apple flavoured coffee with a dash of brandy . For cold coffee lovers, there is Catherine of Sheridan, a mint flavored coffee with a base of chocolate liqueur. Alcohol abstainers choose from Safe Peachy Pleasure, Nut Cracker, Apple Delight, Lemon Nightmare and more! On till January 7 — TNS |
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The top four jodis will sizzle in the Bye Bye 2007 episode of Jhoom India on Saturday. The final jodis in the contest are Sachin-Madhushree, Varun-Akriti, Roshni-Vinod and Shekhar-Sanjeevani. The special guest on the show Bye Bye 2007 will be My Name is Anthony Gonsalves’s cast Amrita Rao and Nikhil Dwivedi. The episode will have two rounds. The first round will see the jodis sing some of the best numbers of 2007 and next the actors will go solo without their mentors. — TNS
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Sobbing soaps, talent hunts, bahus
making big sacrifices, Bollywood stars on small screen, fresh bouquet of
new faces and channels, 2007 telly gave us all this and more. So, before
we bid goodbye to the year, let’s take a trip down the tellydom in 2007.
Kashish’s search
for a hubby failed miserably with Kahiin To Hoga coming to an
abrupt end. Reason, a rift between Ekta and Rajeev Khandelwal aka Sujal.
Another not-to-be missed tiff was between Ekta and Smriti Irani. Hmm...
But hats off to the lady for her never-say-die attitude, for if her one
serial goes off air she is ready with three more on the same theme.
Star Voice of India, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa and Little
Champs turned boys and girls from big and small cities into celebs.
Vote begging, over the top publicity and lots of action and drama, at
times it did test our patience. But one wonders what will these mega
celebs do once the drama dies down.
Talk delicacies and we got a chance to bite into the best of the global cuisine. Be it food festivals or new joints, we relished it all. Mediterranean, Mexican, Lebanese, Portuguese, Italian, Lahori and more. The pizza treat at Whispering Willows-Zirakpur with yummy options like Pizza
Glika, Nepoli, Scarmoze, Zante and more was an awesome Italian experience. Eleven’s-35 Mediterranean food festival brought with it Gazpacho (cold soup), Insalata (salad) and Mezze platter. 
They were upbeat the year round introducing hot-cold desserts, Navratri and seafood festival. The Hot Millions too joined in with AB’s. A few other new eateries on the taste trail were Blu Cheez-47and Mirchi Kum-35. 
Nobody appreciates
wrinkles and skin care companies are churning huge revenue shouting that
anti-ageing creams possess age defying properties. Do you ever stop to
think if the scientific claims on your creams add up? Do the creams
actually live up to their promises? If you are not in the business of
beauty and skin care it does become extremely difficult to choose the
right product.
Wrinkles happen when
collagen breaks down deep in your dermal layer of skin, which happens to
be far below skin’s top layer. Your best bet to improve your skin and to
keep wrinkles at bay is to stimulate collagen (skin’s elasticity)
production while keeping free radicals like stress, sun and pollution away
that cause more damage to your skin. Collagen being your skins structural
fiber needs attention as when we get old it breaks down creating lines and
large pores. There are number of options available that can help you have
wrinkle-free skin and save yourselves from going under the knife! Well, to
find your best options read on: