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Scent of Spring
Ever experienced that first blush of spring? Felt the free-flowing breeze softly against your face? Whistled sweet songs of love? Followed, or even touched a fluttering butterfly? Or celebrated the vibrancy in colours or the beauty of blossoming flowers? Well, if you haven’t done it before, now is the time to get drenched in everything from verdant blooms, rainbow-hued butterflies and peppermint colours to fluttering fabrics and windy romance. For, after experiencing winter to our heart’s content, we are finally stepping into spring – the season of romance and rejuvenation.
Delicate and ethereal may be the first associations that one
makes with For homemakers, it’s all about a fanatic cleaning up of the house. For décor lovers, it’s time to redo interiors. And well, for jilted lovers, it could be about starting afresh. However, spring’s all about revelling in everything lush — glossy leaves, grassy patches, smiling-dancing flowers, fluttering gossamer drapes (think Yash Chopra and Karan Johar) and breezy-lazy afternoons. So breathe in a lungful of that flower-scented air, curl up on your courtyard jhoola, eye and envy those fluttering butterflies and bright blooms, renew your house (and let the house renew your spirits!), air-out your shopping bags to stuff them again with spring-summer apparel, hop on your bicycle and ride down the street, stargaze, enflame your sensuality by putting on bolder make-up, get a tattoo on your arm and play with colours like never before. After all, isn’t spring nature’s way of saying let’s party?
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Fresh n’ Fab
AS the city wakes up from the slumber of biting-chilly winters to mellower afternoons, we tell you how to experience this thrill of a new beginning. This spring get drenched in lush tints and fashion that’s fresh and fab. It’s time to wrap yourselves in peppermint colours and fluttering fabrics. And for all our fashionholics who’d like to get high on spring-time trends, here’s a peak-a-boo at the spring-time ‘must-grabs’ on city-shelves. Riding the rainbow SPRING’S indeed about eying butterflies and solving jigsaws of rainbow-like colours. So this season get drenched in sunshine yellows, buttery crèmes, electric blues, lush greens, neon wines, and bubblegum pinks. Stash those charcoals and grays and get yourself the season’s best bet — tints of sunshine yellow, fiery orange and peppy purple. Our Pick: Madame’s Spring Summer Collection 08/09 (The Cool Blaze), flaunting soft girly lines in peacock greens, mauves, aquas and neon reds. Satya Paul’s printed saris (Rs 2,600-8,000) flaunting abstracts and spirals in bold
colours. Gone with the wind CAPTURE the drama in the breeze by slipping into flowing and lightweight sheer fabrics. The gentle feminine folds of the fabric indeed feel very romantic as they flutter in the soft breeze. Forget silks, tweeds and velvets, and get wrapped in chiffons, georgettes, cottons, mulmuls, lehriyas, crepes, viscose and even nylons. And well, satins, if you like!
Our Pick: Anarkalis in flowing cottons and crepes by Mini Singh, georgettes by Deepika Gehani and chiffon tunics by Rohit Bal. Straight-cut and flowing georgette dresses by Monisha Jaisingh-Samsaara-17. Dancing with the butterflies SPLASH some more freshets of colour with the right kind of accessories and embellishments. Adding flourish to your spring-wear could be lace-trimmings, ribbons, sequins, nets, pleats (with crushed and crinkled effects) and ruffles! And as far as the prints go, its polkas, spirals, paisleys, vichy checks, floating abstracts, graphics, photo prints and florals, of course. Our Pick: Monisha Jaisingh’s tunics and indo-western kurtas with Swarovskies, ruffles and pleats. Nidhi Bajaj Sangha’s English-feel spring-summer skirts and flowing dresses. Esprit’s sporty block stripes, fun prints, girly Vichy checks, dots,and oriental paisley patterns. Ballooned on an island YOU are no Robinson Crusoe to be marooned on one, agreed. But how about getting ballooned this spring? Fluff is the flavour of the season, get it right by sporting balloon-sleeved dresses and blouses. Ideal for a romantic, super-girlie feel! Team these up with short, cropped shrugs and skinny denims or flowing A-line skirts. Our Pick: Balloon sleeve blouses, voluminous A-line dresses by Esprit in animal and tribal prints Fit as a fiddle WHERE there’s fashion, can the right fit be far behind? Get gorgeous by going for spaghetti straps, halters, and baby-doll cuts in narrow tops. Tunics are still in, so take out the ones you bought last year and jazz them up with chiffon scarves and broad belts. Retro is still doing the rounds, so don’t forget to team up polka-dots hair band (courtesy Deepika Padukone) with A-line tunics and dresses. Our Pick: Esprit’s EDC World collection and Varsha Khanna’s Spring-summer collection, both with excellent cuts. Esprit’s parkasor hem skirts and Fab India’s fitted, A-line and straight-cut skirts. Spring in your step STEP on that soft, springy, velvety soft patch of emerald grass in super-girlie ballerinas and peep-toes. Though brighter shades are available too, soft pastels help you steal the show. Our Pick: Cute, girly ballerinas in soft blues, beiges and powder pinks at Zeox-Panchkula, Drishti-17,
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Looking ahead
HAVE you been lately tempted to add an extra ‘a’ or slash down the additional ‘e’ in your name? Is the astro column the first thing that you set your sleepy eyes on each morning? Do you often wish for a genie who could solve the problems of your loved ones? And lastly, do you want a future that you can see, plan, and monitor?
Well, all you need to do is not rush to a soothsayer or an expert, but become one! Yes, that’s what the Gen Y is doing.
Curiosity, fantasy, desire for better Twenty-five-year-old Arjun Singh Grewal spends an hour every day solving imaginary problems of imaginary individuals. He has finished a 45-days advanced course in tarot reading in January this year, and is now practicing the art. He says, “I am good, but I need to get better.” The youngster is also a master in reiki. He says, “It’s universal energy that you first give to yourself and then heal others with it.” And he dreams of becoming a professional healer. He says, “Such forms of science can work only when the practitioner and the subject believe in it.” So do his parents believe in his career choice too? “Now they have started too,” he says. Chips in his teacher Renu Mathur, “Awareness and willingness to experiment with anything that’s new is drawing many youngsters to these fields. Plus, every action in these fields have an easy to understand logic.” Renu has been running Bhagyae, an academy of tarot and sciences of divination in Panchkula, for five years now. Renu has an experience of 22 years in the field and practices and teaches tarot, I-ching, numerology, wicca and reiki. Now, while Arjun’s parents are still not very sure of their son’s career choice, 22-year-old Punpreet Kaur’s parents are both sure and excited about it. And why not? Punpreet’s predictions and solutions helped her ailing mother cure and boosted her father’s business activities. She has just completed the beginners’ course in tarot reading and is now set to study it as a career choice. Heena Khokha, a die-hard movie buff, was introduced to the world of stars, crystals and tarots via Hollywood flicks. “Remember the girls spinning the wheel of fortune in Mean Girls?” she asks. Well, that encouraged the 16-year-old to pull a card and the accurate results made her enroll in for a three-month basic course in tarot reading. “Astrology is old fashioned. Tarot is new, natural and simpler,” she says. So what else is new? “Wicca is new and fun, I’ll be learning it next. It’s beautiful with all the herbs, oils, and candles,” she says, adding that a must-watch flick on wicca is Practical Magic. Madan Gupta Spatu, an astrologer and vastu expert, attributes the interest of the youth in the fields to the reliability and accuracy. He says, ”It’s scientific and has further become easy with the aid of technology.” But it’s not so easy. Ask Manan Sharma, a third-year student from P.U, and he will tell you what one requires to excel, “I feel astrology is a gifted thing, only 60 per cent of it is calculation.” Manan has been learning numerology and astrology from P. K. Khurrana for the past four months now. So what triggered his interest? “A couple of instances when certain things I predicted came true made me realise that I have intuitive power,” he says. So what’s next? “I’m finding it tough right now, but would like to help others after I’ve learnt it properly,” says the beginner. So has he made any predictions yet? “No. I will not till I am confident,” he says. Well, that is the very rule of these fields — the results will show only if you are systematic, organised and ethical about it. |
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Little Interview
He crooned Bheege Honth Tere with a passion that left the entire nation hopelessly in love with his voice. Among the top playback singers in Bollywood today, with peppy songs such as O Humdum Suniyo Re in Saathiya and the hit numbers of Saawariya to his credit (besides cutting a few albums and winning some prestigious awards), Kunal Ganjawala surely has youngsters dancing to his stylised tunes. We chat up the Gen-Y singer, presently busy judging the talent hunt Chhote Ustaad on Star Plus.
How would you rate the experience of judging a reality show? Well, I’d like to rate it 10 on 10. It’s indeed a fabulous experience, with all those talented bunch of kids around and a very happy-fun-atmosphere. I know, it’ll sound very much tailor-made for the media, but my heart actually goes out to reach all these wonderful kids, singing so well. The show’s a huge learning process and has left me enriched. But don’t you feel that with so much emphasis on the sms business, most of these reality shows are a sham? Of course, yes. In fact, initially I was hesitant about judging the show. Along with fellow judges Shreya and Pritam, I told Star and producer Gajendra Singh that we’d judge the show only when we are given some power. The producers agreed and have given us a 50 per cent say. We’re certain we’ll pull back any deserving kid out of the danger zone and will make sure that the two finalists are the best of the lot. So tell us something about your foray in the profession. I’m a singer by chance, not choice. Guess what, I am a product of positive ragging. I began singing only when I was ragged by my seniors in Mumbai’s Elphinstone College. I was passing by whistling a tune, when a few of them caught hold of me and asked me to sing a song. I was shocked and told them I had never sung in my entire life. But they argued that if I could whistle tunes so well, I could sing too! With great difficulty I sang Nazar Ke Samne from the movie Aashiqui and Ek Din Bik Jayega from Dharam Karam. College functions followed and slowly singing became a choice. Something about your journey to the film industry? Many summers back I participated in Sa Re Ga Ma. I got eliminated and after 12 years of struggle have reached this stage. Similarly, Shreya Ghoshal was rejected twice before winning the show in her third attempt. Sunidhi Chauhan got her first hit Mast, five years after she won Meri Awaaz Suno. I don’t want everybody to struggle, but at least value the success. Is it true that you are Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s cousin? Few people know that I’m Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s cousin. It was Ismail, who leaked the information, not me. I don’t want to use this identity professionally, neither does Sanjay. In fact, Sanjay didn’t give me an opportunity to sing in his earlier films. It is only when I became one among the best that he used my voice. So you agree there’s a lot of sangharsh in tinsel town? When I came 14 years ago, they were looking for clones. Even though I had grown up listening to Lataji, Ashaji and Mukesh and Kishore Kumar, I wanted to sing only original songs. Today, with God’s grace, I’ve made it big and I want to sing 500 or maximum 1,000 songs but they all must be super hits. Then only the artiste in me will be fully satisfied. I don’t want to end up my career with 50, 000 songs.
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SUMMER is here and so are exhibitions of cool cotton fabrics. The recent one is of chikan fabrics by Mumbai-based Neelam’s Creations at Aroma-22. Neelam Popli, the Chandigarh franchise of the designing house, knows the city pulse. So what you get to see here is a wide range in pastel shades, with white dominating the scene. Intricate work done on rubia and cotton, starts at Rs 95 a metre, and goes up to Rs 1,300 a
metre.
You can either mix-n-match or go in for readymade suits with dupatta priced between Rs 400 and Rs 16,500. Keeping the rage for Pakistani salwars in mind she has got selective pieces with embroidered borders in white. The price reads something between Rs 120 and Rs 180 per
metre. — TNS On till March 9
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Spring-like freshness
COME spring and we are found sniffing the musky aromas of wet earth, the metallic pitch of melting ice, the pungency of last year’s decaying leaves, the brilliant verdancy of first grasses, and the luminous freshness of spring air. Such are the scents of spring — fascinating, alluring, and difficult to resist.
Little wonder then, that though every season many new fragrances hit the market, its during spring that one loves to splurge on scents. Wondering which are the ones worth the bucks this season? We scour the city’s perfume hubs, sniff the perfumes, and voila, bring to you the hottest picks. Talk spring scents and one cannot ignore flowers. A must-pick this season are fragrances that are intoxicating, opulent, sweet, and green, all at once. Check out Nina Ricci’s Love in Paris (30ml-Rs 1.950), which is a strongly floral fragrance. Midnight Fantasy (30ml-Rs 1,760) and Mediterranean (30ml-Rs 1,730) by Elizabeth Arden are the other fruity, citrus fragrances filled with spring-like freshness. Red Door’s Revealed is yet another spicy fragrance that enchants with its tenderness, fragility and intensity. Burberry’s Tender Touch (30ml-Rs 2,250) is a truly Jasmine scent and hence ideal for the season of blooms. And well, if you’re planning to gift a perfume, then don’t miss Escada’s Sunset Heat (100ml-Rs 2,850). Not only does it come in a flaming orange bottle (remember, orange is the season’s
colour), but looks quite like the fruity orange candy. If you have a fondness for heavier oriental perfumes, then you can spritz Azzaro’s latest offering Azzaro Now that comes in a bottle shaped like a PC’s cute mouse. And, even if its top notes speak of winter chills and final accords evoke gilded autumn, the heart of this seductive woody fragrance (30 ml-Rs1, 100) belongs to spring. Other woody perfumes worth some good money are Azzaro’s Visit (both EDP and EDT available), Elizabeth Arden’s Velvet (30
ml-Rs 1,360), Escada’s Magnetism (50 ml-Rs 2,250) and Burberry’s London (50
ml-Rs 2,750).
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A Refreshing Shower
SPRING’S the season, which makes all of us dreamy, if not romantic. It’s the time when one longs for lazy showers and relaxing-hours in a bathtub. And well, as we soak in the luxury of refreshing showers and scrubbing-sessions, how about accomplishing this mission rejuvenation with cheerful colours? Ideal springtime celebration, isn’t it?
And here’s a cue to make this happen minus the hassle of practically turning your entire washroom upside down. Simply change the towel in your washroom and see it get an instant facelift, and all this, without blowing big bucks. And with all the major furnishing brands having brought their bath linen to town, you can’t help but get spoilt for choice. Read on for exciting towel options available in town. A jigsaw of colours, textures, prints – towels indeed have undergone a Cinderella-like transformation. So, forget the rugged, pastel-coloured tauliya, carelessly strewn on the bed (courtesy the men in the house). Instead, think lush colours, happy prints and fun textures (though cotton still remains the best bet when it comes to wiping) and biggie brands (read Tommy Hilfiger, Benetton, Esprit and Fab India). And let your eyes conjure up an extra-large (the larger, the better), soft n’ shaggy, fluffy towel in a hot pink or flaming orange. Too jarring? Well, you can even pick the peacock one in mauve spirals or electric blue in bubblegum and beige polkas. Here are some hot picks for the spring season. Walk into Fab India-9 and what tumbles before the eyes is a torrent of feisty colours. Stacked in the front racks of the store are hand (Rs 80-90), face (Rs 60), medium (Rs 300) and large towels (Rs 350-400) along with coordinated bath mats (Rs 200-300). Colours range from wines, reds, hot pinks and passionate purples to electric blues, blacks, lime greens, flaming yellows and oranges, prints include peacocks, abstracts, spirals, polkas, stripes, checks and of course florals. While all these towels are in pure cotton, the store houses honeycomb towels as well. Lightweight checkered towels in thinner cotton are ideal for travelling (Rs 235). The brand conscious can check out Esprit-17 (Rs 595- 1,000), Benetton-17 (Rs 1,400-3,000), Bombay Dying (Rs 600- 800), and Tommy Hilfiger-17 for towels in a zany burst of hues. Tommy has towels in various sizes — face (Rs 145), hand (Rs 295), medium (Rs 795), and large (Rs 1,095). There are towels in bright hues like reds, navy blues, khaki greens and yellows, plus there are lighter colours like whites, beiges, powder pinks, baby blues, and mauves. For those who wish to flaunt Tommy’s red n’ blue label, there are towels with the brand’s logo embossed on the borders. Other interesting options include beach terry towels, handloom hakka back towels in fluorescent colours, and bold prints and borders at Krishna International (Rs 850-1,500). However, if a towel’s just a bathing-scrubbing accessory in your dictionary and you don’t intend blowing big bucks on it, check out reasonable options at Handloom House-17 and Design World-Swastik Vihar. These stores have face (Rs 80), hand (Rs 123), medium (Rs 150) and large-sized (Rs 185) towels in turquoise, purples, pinks, fuchsias and oranges. The prints again are more towards spirals, polkas and abstracts. With so much on offer, who won’t love getting wrapped in these feisty, fluffy wraps?
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Adrenaline on the track-5
For a very long time, the hills have belonged to him. It’s never been about geography but terrain. For a very long time, Kullu-based Suresh Rana has been media shy.This man, who impressed all in the 2007 Indian National Rally Championship (INRC), happens to be the first and only rallyist ever to win the Raid-de-Himalaya three consecutive times. Be it the Desert Storm or any rally in the hills of Arunachal, the speed freak has never let himself and his supporters down. “Being born in the Himalayas definitely imparted me an edge. The foresight helps you know how a particular road in the hilly terrain will treat you.”
Suresh, who was noticed by a Raid de Himalaya official in the year 2000, recalls how a simple Himachali lad experienced a near metamorphosis as he hit headlines on sports pages across the country. “I didn’t have any rally experience that
time. But yes, that meeting with that Raid official and subsequent participation in one of the toughest raids in the world (Raid de Himalaya) ascertained new roads,” smiles Suresh, who participated in his first major rally with only a single tool. At a time when several of his contemporaries are shifting to faster cars, he is going steady with the Gypsy. “Bad terrain is my forte. That vehicle’s never ditched me. Preferring the hard rally terrain to a relatively smoother racing track, he insists, “It’s tough for me to compare but rallying is where I belong. It has no set parameters and you do as much as your vehicle.” For someone who is fast emerging as a great talent to hit international rally circuits, lack of sponsorship can definitely make him lose his temper. “If you’re talking of any government help, I expect nothing. Do you think I haven’t tried enough to procure at least partial sponsorships?” Even as more and more corporates have shown ‘interest’ in some rising Indian motorsports stars, Suresh is not really optimistic. “Even the corporates are obsessed with cricket. Why don’t they realise that other games can also bring them the kind of advertising they strive for.” Ask him the way out, and he says,“Genuine motorsports enthusiasts will take this sport forward. People, for whom, money and short-term gains is not a priority . As far as finding them is concerned—- well, you will have to be as optimistic as I am.” (Series concluded)
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Kylie’s retreat on sale
Kylie Minogue is selling the French Island retreat where she spent time recovering after her breast cancer scare. The 39-year-old star’s island hideaway is up for sale, while the locals claim that their star neighbour was certainly a terrific resident.
The pop princess and her family has transformed the 100 hectare of prime real estate on private French Island in Western Port Bay, into a luxury getaway. The property, where Kylie and ex-beau Oliver Martinez found safe haven after her cancer treatment three years ago, is listed by tender, costing a whopping $1.8-2 million dollars range. — ANI
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Matka chowk
INDIANS with English education somehow feel superior to the ones without it. We were indoctrinated by the British to think that knowledge of English is a privilege and a passport to an ‘upper class.’ We hold the language dear to our so called ‘culture’ and use it
to distinguish ourselves from the aam admi that makes up most of this vast nation numerically.
At international airports French mothers speak freely in their language to their children in the bathrooms. The ‘cultured’ Indian mothers hesitate to do that. My corporate women friends proclaim that orders are executed much more speedily if they are given in English. Some claim hotel services are offered with more alacrity if English was the only medium. Even food in restaurant is served with more care if you place the order in English! However, English as in Wren and Martin is in great peril. I have been listening to the non-English junta and they are making amazing strides into the English world. Hinglish is already taking over the country. Interview candidates now send resumes written in SMS language and talk to you in the course of interview in Hinglish. One even asked me – why was it necessary to speak in English during the interview? After all his technical skills have nothing to do with his English skills! True. He set me thinking. I overheard two vegetable vendors having a heated discussion over the ghar ghar ka budget lately. They were using terms like budgetary deficit and bank credit – with an Indian twist. My carpenter asked me the other day if the Internet was available on his mobile. He wanted to know how he could send ‘emales’ to his son. The cleaning woman in our office told me a long story about her ailments that contained words like ‘tablet-goli’, ‘ulta-sound’ and ‘acid-dhikars.’ The new generation that is fluent in spoken English or rather Hinglish are often stumped when you ask them to define a preposition. But then how does it matter anymore? The language is ours now in our new world. We can use it just the way we like. We can have movies called Jab We Met. We can popularise ‘time pass’ and ‘pukka’ in chat rooms. After all, with so many Indians in computer software, Hinglish can grow in cyberspace limitlessly. Then we can fully enjoy songs like these from a not so old Hindi movie: You are my chicken fry The software engineers I know in Chandigarh are already using the Queen’s language to suit their technical needs. They maro enter on the keyboard and do safai of their PC with anti-virus. The language bar is crumbling. (This column appears weekly)
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I am a 32-year-old civil engineer working in Delhi. I have been dating a girl for the past five years and hoping she would marry me. But she doesn’t seem to have that intention. Each time I bring up the subject, she gives me some excuse. Maybe she feels I am a small-town guy and I am not good enough for her. I love her very much and she also says that she loves me. What should I do to make her agree to marry me?
Amita Rathore, Delhi First I must recommend you a dose of self-esteem. A smart intelligent man like you should not be feeling so low. Being born and bought up in a small town is not a negative criteria. Do not underestimate yourself and show her that you are a man to be reckoned with. May be she wants a man with more courage and
pizzaz. Give her the feel of being one. Send her some positive vibes and reach out with love. As you change for the better, your relationship will change for the better too. I am 23-year-old girl, looking for a job. I have a degree in media studies but have not specialised in any specific area. I am interested in photography, but making it a career seems a little uncertain. I wonder if there is enough money in photography to make a comfortable living out of it. I feel insecure about getting into a profession which is not a standard
professional. Shireen Makhija, Chandigarh It’s great to know that you have a creative and questioning mind. You must be clear about what you want to do in life. And life is all about living your passion. So, if you feel strongly about expressing yourself creatively through photography and you have training in that field, just go for it. Of course media studies open many avenues in your life on the career front, but you try and go for one that also interests you apart from just generating money. I am a 26-year-old civil engineer. My girlfriend, who is a fashion designer, has just got a job in a different city. She wants that after marriage I should move with her and we should set up a fashion business together. I have been pondering over this idea and my friends seem to think I am being influenced by my girlfriend to switch professions. Is it wise to do this?
Rishab Malhotra, Panchkula If you feel comfortable about changing careers, just go ahead and do it. Each person is unique and responds to life differently. It is important to take other people’s opinions, but you must arrive at your own conclusions. So trust in God and just go for it. lifestyletribune@gmail.com
or Life Style, The Tribune, Sector 29-C, Chd |
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Ideal shoes, which when placed besides each other, the inner sides touch each other from heel to toe. Toes should not be pointed or curve away to avoid cramping.
—Dr Ravinder Chadha
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