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Vanity
Insanity Ladies, how many times have you felt really angry about being a woman? Fought the Almighty with ‘all your might’? For, isn’t it sheer injustice, for us abla naris (remember the Kit Kat ad?) to get ourselves waxed and bleached, deliver babies, get ogled at for wearing a fave halter, workout feverishly for a size zero and even get cosmetic implants, while men ‘rest in peace!’ But women, it’s time for us distressed souls to exclaim WOAH… YIPPEE (and jump as we do!). For, looks like the ‘boys-will-be-boys’ phrase is soon going to get redundant. After rubbing Fair n’ Lovely on their bleached cheeks, babysitting, wearing pinks and crying in public, metro-sexual men have passionately stepped into another girly domain – getting cosmetic implants and surgical figure corrections. We walk into the city’s cosmetic clinics to check out the trend… Call them shortcuts to a perfect bod or makeovers minus the effort, but city men are lapping up surgical implants like never before. Informs Dr KM Kapoor, cosmetic surgeon, Fortis, Mohali, “Talking about body-builders, breast or calf implants are popular. Liposuction for the enlargement or reduction of abdomen or chest, besides reshaping of the nose, chin and lips are also popular. Then, men are also asking for botox injections. Here, for about Rs 25,000, multiple pricks are given in one go and the effect lasts for 5-6 months.” And these pricks worth for? “A wrinkle-less face, no fine-lines under eyes or even non-smelly under-arms!” smiles the doc. Any side effects? Informs businessman Sanjay Kumar Jain, “My disproportionately blown tummy wasn’t tucking in despite an year of exercise. So I went in for liposuction. Though the surgery took seven hours and cost me around Rs 60,000, I’m very happy with the results. There have been no side effects.” If surgery and botox still sound scary, our cosmetic gurus are offering non-surgical filler injections for Rs 25,000. “These help to treat sagging skin of the face and neck. Besides, city’s corporate professionals are going in for facelifts and eye-hog correction,” informs Kapoor. And guess what, men are also vying for glowing flawless skin. Informs clinic manager Meenakshi Thapa, Kaya-8, “Men are asking for radio-frequency skin tightening, skin renewal processes and chemical peels. Micro derma-abrasion involving peeling off the top layers of the skin for glow is also popular.” Our boy brigade is opting for hair reduction and complexion enhancement. Informs Rahul Sarkar (name changed on request), “I always envied a bare-chested Salman Khan on TV, but now even I can flaunt a hair-less chest, thanks to laser hair removal.” Though Sarkar spent Rs 10,000, doing it for the complete body could cost you somewhere around Rs 2 lakh and 6 to 7 sessions. Smiles model Prashant, “I recently went for skin lightning peel. Besides the 3-session-treatment, we’ll have to get maintenance sessions done thrice a year. But we don’t mind. By spending Rs 6,300, we’ve got complexion two degrees lighter.” But what’s drawing men towards these procedures in the first place? “Economy,” informs Kapoor. “A liposuction, costing Rs 1 lakh a year back, is now done for Rs 45,000. Also, these procedures require one or a few sittings, with each sitting lasting for two hours.” Agrees model coordinator Gagreen Saini, “We are living in the fast-lane and want everything, including a great body, in a jiffy. As a choreographer, I’d say that a body chiseled out through workouts is any day better than a surgically acquired one, but for very busy people, surgical implants are godsends.” That brings us to another query, “Who is undergoing these procedures? “Not youngsters,” Dr Kapoor surprises us, adding, “It’s mostly middle-aged, corporate honchos keen to shed 10-12 years of their age. Most want liposuction to get rid of their paunch or flabby breasts. Of late, we’ve had youngsters asking for six-packs.” SRK-like, we can’t help get curious? “Yes. And it’s simple too. We surgically etch abdominal muscles.” All you need is one sitting and Rs 50,000 in your wallet!
anandita@tribunemail.com |
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Neck-deep in fashion ATTENTION ladies! It’s not you, but the men, taking a cakewalk in the desire-lane. And well, this isn’t about tinselville’s hunks turning absolute eye-candy (we know, you’re already thinking of beefy-bodied Saif in Race). It’s rather about our very own city dudes, in flesh-and-blood, going gaga over flaunting their perfectly sculpted bodies in plunging, oops, deep necklines. After all, why should women in plunging neckies and riding hemlines grab all the attention? Racing ahead on the style road are these guys, fast slipping into SRK’s recent fashion fodder — scooped neckline tees. We catch up with a few of these fashionistas. Filmi Chakkar HELLO style, whispers city youngster Ravi Saini as he looks into the mirror. The 22-year-old businessman has his tees scattered in front of him and he tries them one by one. Bubblegum pink, candy orange, forest green, mud brown, all scoop-necked delights. “Earlier, these tees were only for gymming but now, they are more of a style statement. Casual and chic, they are great options for hanging around or going for gehris.” Chips in his buddy Rahul, “Earlier it was only Akshay and Salman, more recently, John and SRK have been flaunting their well-built bodies in these deep-neckline tees. It is natural for us boys, to follow these stars.” COMFORT is another reason that is making men run after these necklines. Like for Sushen Puri, studying at the Army Institute of Law, Mohali, “Collared shirts are a big no-no. They are so stuffy in the kind of summers and humidity we have in this part of the country. Sleeveless and scoop-necked tees are airy, button-free and comfy, and hence ideal to beat the sweltering heat.” Chic Style AS far as making a style statement is concerned, advises Manish Sharma, working as a system administrator, “The trend is to go in for bright coloured scoop-neck tees. However, if you choose white or black, team it up with blue denims. For the cool dude look, accessorise with funky chains, oversized shades and wacky tattoos!” Lastly, if you’re wondering where are these guys getting such tees from, here’s spilling the beans, “These are easily available in Delhi and Mumbai. Locally, you can grab them at stores like Style Check, Lee, Wrangler, Kapsons and even rehri markets,” says city-based Ashok Saini, running his own real estate business. And now, let’s get these boys to talk about the most important point – the ideal structure needed to carry off these neckies. Reasons Vikram Kapoor, Gym Instructor at Ozone-9, “Today, films and stars dictate trends in a big way. Like SRK made these scooped-necked tees a hot fashion fodder, by flaunting them post his six-pack look. Even local boys are working out for six-packs and flaunting them in these tees!” Well women, you aren’t the only species that is neck-deep in fashion! |
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Absorbing Cricket THE first thing that bowls us over about him is the fact that he has his fundas straight, both on and off field. It might be his debut as an anchor and also his first close encounter with the game of cricket, but that is not stopping him from chasing his dreams. Meet Shiv Pandit, actor, model, RJ and now anchor, courtesy Extra Innings T20 on Max. The cricket buff shares the innings of his life with us. An English Literature student at Hindu College, Delhi, he was picked up by Radio Mirchi soon after he completed graduation. Default, is how he described his moves in 2002 till he found his calling. “My interest lies solely in feature films. So, I don’t wish to dilute my profile. I chase dreams not money,” he says. His feature film debut Let’s Enjoy happened in 2004. What next? ”Well, I was on a roll, and one thing lead to another,” he says. Yes, he is the sugary boy of Tera Mera Pyaar in the DJ Amit remix video and the lovable grandson making chess moves on an Airtel connection. From gulping down Sprite to endorsing white teeth for Colgate to holidaying courtesy Travel Guru, Shiv has been part of a Pakistani commercial too. So how did IPL happen? “They were not looking for a cricket expert and wanted somebody who didn’t have a baggage of priorities. Perhaps that worked for me,” he laughs. On a serious note, Shiv is taking his new role excitedly. He says, “Cricket in India is a sensitive topic so one can’t mess around with it,” he explains. So, he is learning on the job and says his initial shaky days are over. “I had to learn it all, beginning with getting used to the earpiece,” he says, humbly. Well, but now things are cheering up, for he is interacting with legends, absorbing the religion called cricket, and of course adding warmth and spunk to the show. And how? “By being myself,” he says. And how much of a cricketer or a fanatic fan of the game is he? “I am becoming a bigger fan for sure,” he smiles. His post-cricket plans include a Tamil flick Leelai where he will make his debut as the main lead. Till then, he is enjoying the ‘cool fantastic experience’, as he likes to call
IPL!
purva@tribunemail.com |
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STEP OUT LET’S now take a look at hardcore adventure sports for those of you keen to take them up. Skydiving is one such sport. Truly experiencing the element – perhaps no other adventure sport lets you do that as completely as skydiving. A handbook of skydiving comments, with perceptive sarcasm: “If travelling in an airplane is flying then travelling in a boat is swimming.”
A skydive combines strength, conquest of fear, mastery of technique, and presence of mind with the unique experience of feeling and seeing like a bird as the exit from the aircraft (involving standing on a step below the door and holding the strut propping the wing with the hands while the wind tries to blow one away) is followed by the rush and blur of freefall and then by a sudden calm and silence after the parachute unfurls. Jumping out of an aircraft and parachuting to the ground began as a warfare tactic to enable soldiers to land behind enemy lines. Parajumping (used by the military) involves jumping with a 2-metre tape attached to one’s parachute container. The other end of the tape is attached to a rod inside the aircraft. Once one leaves the aircraft, the tape unfolds to its full length and then detaches from the container – after pulling the pin that releases the parachute. This is also called a Static Line Jump (SLJ) and is convenient for soldiers who are jumping with heavy loads of weapons, ammunition, explosives, rations, and other wartime gear. The freefall is very brief, lasting only the two or three seconds that it takes for the tape to unfold. The military also uses other, extremely advanced, jumps but those are mainly reserved for commando operations. Parajumping evolved into recreational or sport parachuting, which was further refined into five disciplines – Style & Accuracy, Relative Work or Formation Skydiving, Canopy Related Work, Freestyle, and Surfboard. In Style competitions, jumps are made from 6,500 ft and the skydiver performs turns and loops that are recorded by a video camera on the ground. Points are awarded for clean as well as fast execution. In Accuracy competitions, jumps are made from 3,000 ft and the landing has to be extremely precise – the skydiver has to touch a coin-sized electronic pad with one heel. Relative Work is what most skydiving films are about – those fantastic formations made by people linking up while hurtling down spreadeagled in the sky. Canopy Related Work involves stuff like “stacking” – two or more skydivers stacking their parachutes vertically one above the other. Freestyle and Surfboard, the ultimate in extreme sport, are the most spectacular. Freestylers perform spins, loops, cartwheels et al, while Surfboarding is freestyling wearing a skateboard. Sport parachuting courses generally start off with Static Line Jumps and then students graduate to freefall jumps. Some courses offer Accelerated Free Fall jumps, in which two instructors accompany the student during the freefall. Tourists, who just want to experience freefall, opt for tandem jumps in which the tourist is strapped to the front of the harness of a skydiver who has earned a tandem licence after thousands of jumps. Is skydiving terribly dangerous? As with all adventure sports, it has its own technique and safety rules. Once you have learned technique and follow the safety rules, you are relatively safe. And, if and when things go wrong, there are emergency procedures. (This column appears fortnightly) Next time: Simulated skydiving The writer has authored India’s first handbook of adventure sports and is available at y.bey@excite.com
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beauty studio
WHEN it comes to skin care most women tend to focus on their faces and don’t pay attention to the much required eye area. Little do they know that it’s the skin around the eyes that first lets out the tales of ageing. Sadly, most women are not educated about the need to look after this tender area of the face. Damage done to this delicate area can haunt one forever. Though a small area on the face the skin around the eyes does gets its share of wrinkles. These wrinkles can be split into two categories — Crows feet and under eye wrinkles. It is quite impossible to control the lines that form below and around the eyes, for any kind of facial expression tends to cause creasing of the zone. What you can possibly do is control the deep and static wrinkles that are apparent when your face is still. The skin around the eyes is the thinnest on our face, perhaps just a millimeter, and it can get thinner due to sun damage and exposure. As the sun damages our collagen and elastin proteins, we can see the development of wrinkles around the eyes and thinning of the skin. Almost nobody knows this but the human eye cannot see a wrinkle. What the eye sees is actually the shadow made by the wrinkle. Equip yourself with these weapons in your battle against wrinkles. n Invest in a good pair of sunglasses. It will not only protect your eyes from the sun’s damaging rays but also help you to not squint your eyes. A very well known cause for eye wrinkles. n
Use a sunscreen that blocks both UVA and UVB radiation. It should have an SPF of at least 15 and contain avobenzone, titanium dioxide, or zinc oxide. Extreme conditions such as sunlight and wind hasten the collagen breakdown. n
Say no to smoking, for it encourages wrinkles. n
Habitual facial expressions cause the skin to wrinkle, as the tiny muscles in those areas permanently contract. Avoid frowning. Wrinkles can be controlled only to the extent that you can prevent them from going bad to worse. Don’t expect a magical trick to de-age your appearance overnight. And, remember now matter whatever your age is, it is never too late to start taking care of your wrinkles. (This column appears fortnightly)
I am 33-year-old and have recently noticed wrinkles near my eye rounds. Are wrinkle control creams effective or should I consult a doctor? Advice. The cure will depend on your skin type, the kind of products you have been using and more. Sagging skin and wrinkles around the eyes often start appearing in the twenties or thirties. Eye wrinkles happen to be determined both by genetics and environment. In some people, the collagen begins to lose its elasticity earlier. This is something that is genetic and can’t be changed. Though, you can’t reverse the damage done, you can slow down the process. Feed your eyes with ultra rich cream. B5 helps repair premature ageing and anti-oxidant Vitamin A, C and E plus grape seed extracts keeps the skin away from free radicals. Ideally you should see a skin expert for a treatment suited to your particular case. 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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HOW often have you felt like trading off that shimmi-shimmi halter for the cool, comfy khadi kurti? Chances are, quite often, especially in a heat like this. But then, didn’t that ill fitted, baggy-like garment make you cry in frustration? For, khadi comfort’s always been associated with boring clothes in limited colours. However, not any more. Gandhi ji’s muse is finally getting set to drape, not just politicians but fashionistas too. In collaboration with the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) city designers Param and Poonam Thakur launched Khadi Plus – at its newly renovated store-17 this Friday. So, what’s special about the brand? We cue you in… Taking on newer hues (read pinks, onions, pistas and off-whites), khadi fabrics by the brand include salwars, churidars, duppattas, kurtas and spagettes! “And that’s not all,” confirms Thakur, “Within a month, we’ll be getting both long and short skirts, besides office-wear collared shirts for women.” And it’s no longer about plain khadi, for, these creations flaunt khari prints, block prints, sequins, cutwork, stitch-work, crochet, patch work. The base is khadi, blended with cotton, shifley, net and ribbons. Salwars and churidars with beads or a touch of lace are priced at Rs 475, while kurtis are priced at Rs 875 for ladies as an introductory offer.
— TNS |
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Bon apetit IN Indian cuisine, we tuck into a meal in all its totality — dal, sabzi, chicken or paneer, getting eaten with roti or rice with an occasional baton of cucumber, a ring of onion or a spoonful of raita being shoveled in every now and then. The concept of soup, starters, entrees or main course is pretty much alien to our food culture. In fact, there are no “courses” per say in our khana. The French word entrée (pronounced ‘on-tray’) is a light dish, eaten before the main meal. Though it sounds very unimportant, they may even be called a side dish. Here are a few such entrees to give your appetite a really good gallop! Southwest Hot Beans 1 cup kidney beans (small variety) 1 medium onion, chopped 1½ tbsp oil Tabasco sauce to taste ½ - ¾ cup grated cheese ½ cup cilantro leaves, ¾ tsp cumin powder ½ cup orange juice 1 cup sour cream Cinnamon powder, salt and pepper to taste Method Soak the beans overnight and boil in salted water till tender. To prepare sour cream, stir a spoonful of yoghurt into one cup of cream and keep away for 3-4 hours, like you would to make dahi at home. Lightly fry the onions in hot oil. Then add the beans along with cumin, cilantro, orange juice, cheese, salt and pepper. Heat through till the cheese loses its identity and blends with the beans. Add sour cream and serve immediately. Mango Salsa 1 mango, diced 1 red bell pepper, diced 2 tbsp basil leaves, shredded 1½ tbsp balsamic vinegar 1 green chilly, sliced 2 tsp lemon juice 1 tsp powdered sugar Method Combine all the ingredients with salt and pepper to taste and serve chilled. (Tex-Mex series concluded) Texan Stuffed Tomatoes 6 medium sized, plump tomatoes 1½ tsp oil 100 gm corn kernels 1 onion, chopped 150 gm cheddar cheese, diced ½ cup basil leaves, shredded 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar 1 tsp cumin powder ½ tsp cinnamon powder Salt, pepper, chilly powder to taste Lettuce leaves Method Cut the tomatoes open, removing a quarter of the tops (the size of a lid). Scoop out the pulp, chop and keep aside. Heat the oil and lightly sauté the onions and tomato pulp. Scatter the corn in and stir briefly. Add the cumin, cinnamon, chilly, salt and pepper and turn off the heat. Cool and mix with the diced cheese and basil, adding a splash of vinegar. Brush the tomato shells with oil and pack the mixture into them. Top with the “lid”, and bake in a pre-heated oven at 180?C (350?F) for 20-25 minutes. When the cheese begins to melt, that’s the sign that they are ready! Serve them on a bed of lettuce leaves.
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Health Peg Researchers in Australia reveal that a tiny protein found in sunflower seeds may help halt the spread of prostrate cancer. The boffins found that the sunflower mini-protein was able to block enzymes called proteases which break down the connective tissue around tumours, allowing the cancer cells to migrate.
The mini-protein has now been named the protease inhibitor, and has proved itself in test tube-based trial. Researchers were also able to re-engineer the molecule so it blocks only the proteases, and leave other ‘good’ proteases unharmed. “We are extremely happy because now we can carry out trials in mouse-models of prostate cancer, and if we have positive results we could get a pharmaceutical industry partner interested in the work,” said study leader Dr Jonathan Harris, of the Queensland University of Technology. The boffins said that if current trials on mice are successful, a new human therapy would be available targeting prostate cancer spread.
— ANI
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Symptoms: Pain aggravated by prolonged sitting,instability, locking of the knee, swelling and joint effusion. Treatment: Knee brace may give some relief. Also cane in the opposite hand decreases stress. Glucosamine and Chondroitin Sulphate medicines for cartilage. Three to five Hyaluronic acid injections a week decreases pain and helps joint surface to glide. Walk with good sports shoes. Exercises: Knee flexion, clasp the shin with both hands and pull heel towards buttock. Repeat 10 times. Raise the involved leg to six inches, stay for five seconds, and return. Repeat 10 times. Place a small pillow below the knee. Press it and relax. Repeat 20 times.
— Dr Ravinder Chadha
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