All of 10, Alisha Chauhan is dressed up in gown, flown in from Australia. And she's got her hair straightened too. The occasion - it's her birthday party. But this is not the only reason. She has to take part in the beauty pageant, which is a special item at her party and all her friends; nearly 40 will be vying for titles like Miss Beautiful Smile, Miss Best Catwalk. This means she has to look her best.

Yet another party recently saw 20 tiny tots, all girls sashaying the ramp for similar titles. Gyanvi Uppal, a fifth grader, too walks the ramp, looking stunning in her tunic top and jeans. But like a dignified host, she refrains from participating in the contest. The day belongs to her, so the titles can go to the others!

Believe it or not, this is a trend, which has hit city kids like never before. Birthday games like dumb-charades, musical chairs, do or dare are almost passé. So are theme-based parties with a coordinated dress code. For the generation which is living on rock music and television shows like Get Gorgeous, a beauty pageant at one's birthday party is nothing but an extension of how fast things change.

And if you belong to the category of an 'argumentative Indian,' then you want to express your views on whether parents should let the children be and not rob them of their innocence. According to Raveena Tandon, who spoke about the reality show that she was judging Chakde Bachche, when the bachche, who accompanied her, used the press conference as a platform to seek votes, it made us wonder what competition is doing to them and what 'external pressure' would do to them at this age. "Don't we do it all the time? Even when we cheer for our child at their annual sports day, don't we put them under pressure to win the race," said Raveena.

At the same time, she justified it by saying that the show was giving them a platform to nurture their talent, which wouldn't have been possible otherwise.

It's a large issue and we leave it to people to debate it. But coming back to the trend of holding beauty pageants at birthday parties? Are we making our pre-teen girls conscious of their looks?

"No, the pageant was meant to imbibe a certain degree of confidence amongst the girls," says Savina Chauhan, Alisha's mother, who teaches at Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh. "This is a global age wherein the kids are expected to match steps with the world. Personality development at a young helps them to face the competition outside. It was more of a grooming lesson for the kids without vulgarity involved. So, it is not something one should scorn at," she adds.

However, Panchkula-based child psychologist Zareen Malhotra does not agree. "Such pageants work as a double-edged sword. They work both ways - they boost the winners' ego and also give some kind of an inferiority complex to the losers, which might have serious repercussions. The kids can become narcissistic. They can also develop a fear of rejection at any stage in life." And, when it comes to children, it's important to make them realise that in life, it's a healthy mind that matters, not the body," she adds.

parbina@tribunemail.com

Wedding season? Oh my gawd! So much to do! Wedding trousseaus to be bought, detailing to be done, outfits to be selected for the bride's or the groom's father, mother, sister, relatives. Huh! This is just the introduction of the chaos, excitement and nervousness felt by those who are to get married or attend the function. There are umpteen queries and doubts in the mind of everyone. Pause. Where does that leave kids? After all, they are as much part of the function as any grown-up.

Not long ago, nobody would give much though about children's formal wardrobe for a wedding. Not any more! Fashion for children has come of age. So we take up the issue and throw light on what's new.

There's no kidding about kid's fashion. As Jyoti, the store in-charge at Kapkids-17 says, "We have an wide and varied wedding dressing options for kids. The boys can experiment with waistcoats, formal ties and blazers. Besides, they also have formal suits, shirts, with or without intricate embroidery. For traditional wear, there is sherwani for them." She adds, "The latest for girls is the Indo-western collection -- long skirts and kurtis." That is not all. The dresses are meant for kids from the age group of two to fourteen!

The children's wear is actually just the replica of what elders and youngsters are wearing. Roshan Sharma at Catwalk-17 says, "Whatever the ruling trend, it's actually the same for kids. The fashion immediately trickles down and follows." They have selection of achkan to formal suits for boys and pyjami suits to lehengas for girls. He says, "For girls though the popularity of shararas has dipped a bit over the years, but lehengas are certainly ruling. We have all these with various kinds of embroidery and in vibrant colour options." The size of the clothes might be small and tiny, but not the price. As any dress might cost you anything up to Rs 4,000, starting from Rs 1500.

At Meena Bazaar, Manimajra, the kiddos can choose from ethnic to western dresses. Prem Singh Negi, the store manager, says, "For girls there are pyjami suits and lehengas in various patterns and embroidery. This is apart from whole lot of western dresses." And boys too are spoilt for choice as they can have a combo of coat pants, formal shirts and trousers. He further adds, "Any child above five, it is the kids who have a say in what they want to wear." And the budget for kids wedding shopping has actually increased over the years. As Jyoti puts it, "Parents now come and spend double then what they would earlier, and this is true for any occasion, not just weddings."

Looks like the kids are growing in every way. And the next time you go shopping for a wedding, think of the kiddies at home first, for reasons more than imaginable.

lifestyle@tribunemail.com

The chain-smoking, booze-swilling, skirt-chasing advertising executives from MadMen are expected to make Emmy history when U.S. television's highest honors are handed out on Sunday. The AMC network's critically acclaimed period piece, set in the social cross-currents of New York's Madison Avenue in the early 1960s, is the overwhelming favorite to win this year's Emmy prize as best drama series.

If it prevails, Mad Men would become the first show from a cable network other than HBO to claim the prestigious best-drama title, marking a new turning point in the60-year-old Emmy competition and primetime television itself. But HBO remains a major Emmy force with its biographical portrait 'John Adams' poised to tie or surpass a record 11 wins for a miniseries, set in 2004 by HBO's adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play Angels in America.

Broadcast TV, meanwhile, still dominates sitcom territory, thanks to NBC's show-within-a-show 30 Rock, ranked as a virtual shoo-in to be named best comedy series for a second straight year, according to a poll of Emmy pundits and TV critics posted at the awards Web site TheEnvelope.com.

Although cable shows are attracting more attention this year, chief pollster Tom O'Neil said 30 Rock has proven 'irresistible' to Emmy voters precisely because 'it does abrilliant job of savaging the broadcast TV industry. 'Four other comedy nominees are considered relative longshots — the CBS hit Two and a Half Men, NBC's The Office," which won in 2006, and two HBO series — "Curb YourEnthusiasm and "Entourage."

On the drama side, two non-HBO cable shows broke ground with Mad Men in landing nominations for top series - the freshman legal hour Damages on FX and the serial killer saga Dexter from Showtime. Three broadcast series round out a rare six-way drama contest -- ABC's Boston Legal, the Fox medical hit House and the 2005 winner, ABC castaway thriller Lost. — Reuters

English actor Keira Knightley has signed on to star in Last Night. The film, which also stars Eva Mendes, Sam Worthington and Guillaume Canet, is the feature directing debut of Massy Tadjedin, who wrote the script, reports Variety. The story of the film centers around a married couple, apart for a night while the husband takes a business trip with a colleague to whom he's attracted. While he's resisting temptation, his wife encounters her past love.

Keira has also revealed that she has yet not been allotted the lead role for the remake of My Fair Lady, despite reports suggesting otherwise. She is being seen as the most likely candidate to take Audrey Hepburn's iconic role in the update of the 1964 musical, based on George Bernard Shaw's comedy of manners Pygmalion.

However, the Pirates of the Caribbean star insists that the final casting decision has not been made, and is keeping her fingers crossed for it.

She has also revealed that she will sing all the songs by herself if she gets the role.

"It's an interesting prospect, but there's nothing concrete. Fingers crossed on that one (landing the part)," the Daily Express quoted her as saying.— ANI 

Of late, my nails have gone rough and dry. I just had a baby, could this be the reason? How can I enhance the quality of my nails?

Savita Kumar
via e-mail

Seems like pregnancy has drained you off zinc and iron stores, it is the culprit of brittle and dry nails. Often after pregnancy body falls short of zinc and iron. Go for iron rich food and avoid having caffeine after food as it stops your body to absorb iron. This mineral can also be found in cheese, fish, eggs etc. If you wish your body to absorb iron, the trick is to increase the intake of Vitamin C rich food like berries, kiwi fruit and orange.

Further, condition your nails with cuticle oil, if you do not have cuticle oil take a Vitamin E oil capsule and pierce the end with a pin. Squeeze couple of drops on to your nails and massage it on to your nail and cuticle. You can also try massaging bit of lip balm on to your nails and cuticles.