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Gabrus & glamour
Walking down the ramp in front of mediapersons, fashion gurus and Who's Who of the glam industry in designer creations makes the glamour world simply irresistible for so many youngsters. But, in all this enthusiasm, what should not be forgotten is the fact that catwalk is not mere cakewalk. Had a great height and physique been the only prerequisites, all those aspiring Punjab de gabru would have called the shots on the ramp. Behind the oh-so-stylish poses is a lot of hard work that the established models have put in. And the wannabes too are doing the same. Rohit Lakhanpal shifted from his hometown Malerkotla to Chandigarh three months back to take formal training in modelling. "The competition is tough and so being a thorough professional is the only way to be successful,”he says. Meet Sweetpal Singh, whose physical attributes may be enough to make him a supermodel. With a 6'4" height and a stout physique, he could not make it to the Gladrags finals only because he was short on confidence. He is taking no chances this year. He confides, "Participating in the modeling shows held in college has helped me to get over my inhibitions. I feel confident and I have got the right attitude.” Balmeet Gurm, a doctor by profession, has been trying his hand at modelling every now and then. After modeling at a couple of fashion shows, this time he is aiming big and looking forward to participate in the Mr India contest. He feels modelling is a huge responsibility. "It is certainly not a job that can be taken lightly. My body used to be stiff while turning around on the ramp and I practised a lot to get my moves right." He feels that male models generally have a misconception that modeling is not tough as unlike girls they don't have to wear high heels. "There is a particular style of walking that models have to adhere to when on ramp. Besides a fit body, one has to possess a groomed personality and the right attitude to carry clothes. "He doesn't forget to mention that even male models have to bear in mind that they are being closely observed by cameras and mistakes do get noticed. Manan Bhardwaj, another aspiring model from the tricity, says boys from a place like Chandigarh need to work holistically on their personality as the city offers limited exposure. "Your body language on the ramp is so important.” Nobody wants to be known as a dumb model and, of course, a perfect body is indispensable." The winner of the Mr Chandigarh title, 2007, he will be for the second time applying for Gladrags this year. "At present, I am just concentrating on my body build and confidence." ashima@tribunemail.com |
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Batting for beauty
Whom do you generally expect to talk on skin problems like acne, dark circles or pigmentation? Of course, a cosmetologist or a beautician, but this time it was a different scene altogether and quite an interesting one too, as the person who spoke to us about these does not initially belong to the field. Known for his medium pace bowling and doing the talking with his bat (though occasionally), Manoj Prabhakar on Tuesday had some other job on hand. In the city to launch the beauty products of his company, Naturence, he talked about cricket, (his 'first love', he claims), his venture in beauty products and much more.
The cricketer has been off the field for quite some time now and is now managing director of Naturence. Showing up a little late for the programme, the 'celebrity' cricketer spoke about how he got into the beauty business. "Thirteen years back, my wife and I thought of tapping the market of beauty products. We launched our company and provided the beauty parlours in the country with quality products." Managing business does not keep away the bowler from cricket completely. From time to time, he prefers to contribute to it as well. "I am coach of the Delhi team which will be shortly playing for the Ranji trophy." And his takes on ICL and IPL? "Both cricket leagues have a common primary goal of promoting cricket and cricketers. It is a win-win situation for audiences, who can now enjoy more cricket in an interesting form and players, who get to display their talent." He makes it a point to put forth his viewpoint that BCCI instead of sidelining the ICL players should also give the worthy ones a chance in international cricket. And while talking about ICL and IPL, how can we forget the nach-gaana part, especially after seeing cricketers swaying their body with small screen stars on Ek Khiladi, Ek Hasina. "Introduction of league cricket in India has brought the sport closer to glamour. I don't think there's anything is wrong with it as long as those cricketers are performing on the field. Glamour and fun are only secondary for players who are committed to the game." The cricketer who has shared the field with Sachin Tendulkar feels that 'fab four' of the team should be given their due. "They are senior players and have a worked hard for the success of the team and asking them to quit means dishonoring them. They are mature people and know what is best for their career and the team." |
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This is how creativity can be dressed in its best. But this is also how far removed catwalk couture can be from wearable street fashion. A sample of the 2009 autumn/winter ready-to-wear collection unveiled by the pasha of prêt, French designer Pierre Cardin
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Aussie pop star Dannii Minogue and Spice Girl Emma Bunton have been slammed by singing hopefuls at X Factor, for skipping most of their expected commitments. Minogue, who along with Baby Spice Bunton had to spend time mentoring with the group, was accused of snubbing them in favour of hanging out with gal pals in St Tropez. Dannii was to help the six young singers from her own singing contest show The X Factor during a three-day rehearsal in the south of France. However, Minogue has apparently ditched them and gave the crew just 45 minutes of her time. "We hardly saw them at all. Dannii spent less than an hour with us during the three days and Emma spent even less," aspiring singer Suzie Furlonger said. She claimed that she was looking forward to get expert coaching by the two singers, but instead got a raw deal.
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Lonesome Liz
"She hasn't been as heartbroken since her former boyfriend and fellow actor Rod Steiger died in 2002," her friend was quoted as saying. The friend said: "Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor had been friends for years. She liked his honesty and he her sense of humour." Actress Madeleine Sherwood said: "When Paul and Elizabeth walked on set, you could hear the intake of breath - they were that beautiful together." Another Taylor friend, Little Women co-star Margaret O'Brien, said: "Elizabeth is feeling sad that there aren't many of the greats left. Those who are hanging in there, such as Kirk Douglas and Dorothy Malone, are in some cases pretty frail." |
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Depp in wonderland
Hollywood actor Johnny Depp is so keen on being a part of the film Little Britain that he has begged its co-writer Matt Lucas for a role. The 45-year-old, who also played the guitar with Oasis in their Fade In-Out, is currently working with Lucas on Tim Burton's flick Alice in Wonderland.
"Johnny was laying it on thick saying how much he enjoyed the first episode of the series," an insider said. "He said he would do anything to have a part in the movie," the source added. The two are said to have bonded well, and Lucas playing Tweedledum and Tweedledee opposite Depp's Mad Hatter. "We thought it would be interesting to make a movie where we play lots of characters," he was quoted him as saying.
—ANI
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Festive festoon
IT'S time you snap some trendy trinkets to your jewellery box. Back with a bang it's the teeny, weeny, itsy bitsy vibrantly coloured stones and white and yellow gold that's in for this festive season. Spelling trend city designers give us an insight into the latest bauble drift.
While charm for traditional charms remains, people are slowly drifting from the very traditional looking ornaments. "People no more want that Jodha type jewellery. They are looking for pieces that are contemporary in look but have a tinge of traditionally crafted jewels," says Kanwal from Kanwals-8. Ask her about the jewellery trend and she says, "People are going in for gold plated gems but they have to be loaded with stones. It's the chunky stones embedded in gold that's in for this season." What about designs? "Extended pieces are in, and when I say extended it means danglers for earpieces, long chains for the neck and cocktail rings for the finger. Other than that we will be seeing a lot of Italian chains, leather jewellery and lot of coloured stones." "Traditional add to that a designers cut and this is what's going to be in for this festive season," says Reema Mehtani from Dazzle Jewels, Panchkula. Ask her about designs and she says, "Stones are a big time hit. Other than that we have cascading earrings and long neckpieces that will be in trend." "Yellow gold is in, courtesy sky high prices," says Anmol, jewellery designer from A-jewels-19. Ask her about the latest in trends and she says, "Chunky stones are in and for the festive season and for my festive range I have crafted some Silgiri jewellery. Delicate with very intricate work these trinkets have their roots in Kashmir." While colour is in for this festive season Anmol says, ". Emerald is the hottest and it will be extensively used in diamond and gold jewellery." jigyasachimra@tribunemail.com
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Women’s Lila
On Dussehra, apart from burning the three effigies, the committee will bring around 100 children together dressed as Rama, Ravan and Hanuman sena and enact the scenes from Sone ki Lanka and Ashok Vatika. The kids would also be doing a havan too to spread the message of peace and goodwill. "The idea is to educate children about our rich culture and heritage," said Nina Tiwari, president of the association. The festivities would start at around 4 pm in Sector 40B ground on Thursday. |
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Spice up
Divali is just around the corner. During such festivals, traditional Indian attire looks good. You can even bring out your saris with rich borders. Or, why not try a plain silk, crepe or chiffon sari with brocade blouses, or adorned with mirror work, sequins, or zardosi? Or, go for beads, stones and crystal trimmings. Or, perhaps, a churidar-kurta ensemble with a heavy sequined dupatta. One-colour outfits allow you to experiment with accessories. The same outfit looks different with different accessories. For the night, warm and richer colours can be worn, like shades of red, magenta, maroons, or orange. Purple can look really rich. Synthetic fabrics are absolutely out during a festival like Divali.
For your night make-up, use more intense colour because of bright lighting. So, you will need extra touches to counteract the effect of bright lights, otherwise your face will look pale and drained of colour. Go in for heavy eye make-up. Deepen the shadowing in the crease of the eyelid. This adds more depth to the eyes. For a more dramatic effect, use a dark brown, or dark grey eye-shadow on the eyelids close to the lashes. Then use an eye pencil, or eyeliner to define the eyelids. Use a pearly shadow to highlight the eyelid, just below the outer side of the brow bone. You can even add a touch of gloss under the brow bone, with a lip-gloss. The current trend is to focus on the eyes too for a smoky look. This can be achieved by smudging the eyeliner slightly with a sponge-tipped applicator. Mascara will help to add brightness to the eyes and thickness to the lashes. It lends glamour to the make-up. Apply two coats of mascara for the night, but remember to comb out the lashes, so that they do not stick together. A pearly shimmer, or a glossy look on the lips is in. Use a bright lip colour and add the shimmer. Red has made a comeback in lipsticks. Metallic colours are also popular for lipsticks and bright and warm colours like coral, burgundy (dark wine), dark mauve, bronze, along with shimmer. Avoid very dark colours like dark brown or dark maroon. Line the lips first with a lip-liner, as this helps to define the shape of the lips. Fill in colour with a lip brush. This helps to 'set' the colour. Remember to use a blusher as this helps to add colour, blending it well. Add a slight touch of your lip-gloss or glitter on the top of the cheekbones. Since the occasion is a traditional one, add the final touch to your make-up with a decorative bindi, matching it with the colour of your clothes. A decorative bindi with tiny stones or even with two colours make for a festival look. Quick fix
w f your hair is looking dull, give it a quick conditioning treatment before shampooing. Mix one teaspoon vinegar and honey with one egg. Beat them together well. Massage the mixture lightly into the scalp. Then wrap with a hot towel for 20 minutes before washing the hair. wA pick-me-up facemask can leave your skin clean and glowing. Mix honey with egg white and apply it on the face. Wash off with water after 20 minutes. If you have no time to mix ingredients or have run out of them, a peel-off mask can add that touch of brightness to the skin. wAfter applying the facemask, soak two cotton wool pads in rose water and use them as eye pads. Lie down and relax. Rose water actually has a calming effect, helps to fatigue and brighten the eyes.
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Step out
To this day, the extent of Bachendri’s fame among people not even remotely connected with the world of adventure never ceases to amaze me. Nine years after she became the first Indian woman to climb Everest in 1984, seven other Indian women also climbed it – on the 1993 Indo-Nepal women’s expedition led by none other than her! The seven summiteers were Dicky Dolma, Radha Devi, Deepu Sharma, Suman Kutiyal, Savita Martolia, Kunga Bhutia and Santosh Yadav. The previous year, Santosh had become the second Indian woman atop Everest on an Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) expedition. The 1993 ascent made her the first woman in the world to climb the highest peak twice. In 2005, the Indian Army women officers team put four women on Everest – Capt Shipra Mazumdar, Capt Ashwini Pawar, Cadet Tshering Ladol and trainee Dechin Lhamo. The next glorious year for Indian women mountaineers has been 2008 – three stood atop Everest this May: Phulmaya Tamang, Dechen Lhamo and Kalpana Dash. Yet, none of them has become a household name like Bachendri. But Bachendri considers her life’s greatest achievement not her actual ascent but the fact that it opened the floodgates for Indian women to enter the world of adventure sport. “In our country, parents are over-protective of daughters but my climbing Everest changed that. Parents now want daughters to do adventure activities so that, by learning to overcome hardship and obstacles in the outdoors, they will learn to do the same in life,” she says. Despite this attitudinal change, there are still many people who worry about how ‘damaging’ the rigours of adventure sport are for women. According to medical experts, anything that does not overstrain your individual capacity is perfectly safe. Even pregnancy does not prevent you from indulging in easy adventure activity like hiking. Provided you do not carry a heavy rucksack, hiking and trekking are safe during the first and third trimesters of pregnancy. At the same time, every pregnancy is an individual condition so always seek your doctor’s advice first. I have dealt with personal hygiene for women in an ea lier column (http://www.tribune india.com /2007/2007092 9/ttlife1.htm#10) so here is a tip for physiological care. Anaemia is virtually routine in our part of the world, especially for young women, so one should guard against it. A German doctor-mountaineer once told me that he thought it advisable for Third World women mountaineers to take iron supplements for six months before an expedition to top up on haemoglobin. If you do this, you must take the supplement for three weeks and then give a gap for a week – otherwise it increases monthly loss of blood. Lastly, I would like to share with you my dilemma over a piece of advice from a woman who was a music-lover but not a medical person. Strenuous physical activity can make a woman’s voice crack. So, talented singers should stay away from such sport, she warned. Now, I know Yehudi Menuhin was barred from rough
games in childhood because if he hurt his hands he would not be able to play the violin. But does this theory about vocal cords make sense? I leave it to you to find medical corroboration. |
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This is no rubbish
Gathering rubbish may help you earn a beautiful honeymoon trip, for that is what happened with a couple who spent three months hunting for more than 60,000 pieces for recycling in order to make air miles for their honeymoon. John and Ann Till trawled the streets near their home in London gathering cans, bottles and containers to put in the recycling centre at their local supermarket.
The couple had calculated that for every four recycled items they posted into the machine, they would receive a reward point that could be converted into air miles. They thus finally gathered enough points to earn 36,000 miles, which they used to fly back from their trip to the US on business class. "We wanted to make our honeymoon special and were trying to think of ways to raise money for it," said they "I saw on a machine that you got a Tesco club card point for every four items you put in. For every 250-club card points you get a 2.50 pounds voucher that equals 600 British Airways miles. We worked out that it would be possible to turn rubbish into our flights - as long as we had enough. Sometimes we were posting 600 items a time into the machine. We would be there for hours putting stuff through the slot," added Ann Till, 24, a merchant navy navigation officer. a: "I remember it was snowing one evening and was freezing cold and there we were chucking stuff into the machine. It's funny how you do get interested and excited about rubbish after a while." The couple had converted enough points by May and got married in August and after that sailed to New York on the Queen Mary 2 and travelled to Denver, Colorado and Nashville, Tennessee before flying home from Atlanta. —ANI |
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If boys from the city are known for their striking looks and physical attributes, what keeps them from making it big in the glamour world is the lack of confidence and the right attitude. Some boys from the tricity have overcome their shortcomings and are now inspiring others to follow suit.
Elizabeth Taylor has been 'heartbroken' ever since her close pal and legendary actor Paul Newman passed away. The duo, who were nominated for Oscars and Baftas for their performance in Cat On A Hat Tin Roof, admired each other for their distinct qualities.
"Festive season sees a lot of new trends and this time it's the polki and diamond jewellery in kundan settings that will be a hit," says Karanvir Singh Gosai, Chief executive, Anaha. Informing us about Anaha's festive range he adds: "Ultra light in weight and easy on pocket this festive season we have launched some very light weight kundan jewellery. In this range neckpieces would price below Rs 10,000 and rings would start at Rs 1,000." 
The Nari Shakti Dussehra Committee is all set to celebrate the festival. This is the initiative of the women group under the Nari Jagriti Manch, which aims at bringing children closer to their roots.
If you have been working hard just before festival night, a few 'pick me up' tips can help to make you look good. 
In the days when I travelled regularly by train from Kolkata to New Delhi to meet up with other members of a mountaineering expedition and set off for our chosen peak, I would often be aware of fellow passengers eyeing my rucksack with an ice axe alongside – its pick peeping out willy-nilly through the funnel of newspapers in which I had wrapped it. Eventually, after several hours of proximity in a coupe, someone would venture to ask if I was a mountaineer. The next question would be: “And do you know Bachendri Pal?”
