Her secret
Manpriya Khurana

Jaishree Misra dedicates her latest book to all her female friends

It isn’t easy—capturing complex characters, individuals, emotions, situations within the constraints of twenty-six alphabets—it isn’t easy. The story of a helpless, hopeless mother, affectionate dutiful daughter, compassionate but guilty lover; with Ancient Promises, her debut bestseller, Jaishree Misra herself emerged the biggest promise in literary circles. In the city on Sunday, for the launch of latest from hers and Harper Collins’ stable, the author talks Secrets and Lies!

This one’s about Anita, Zeba, Bubbles and Sam; largely the uptown butterflies from a girl’s school in Delhi and borders around a reunion and murder long time back to deal with. Says Jaishree, "When we’re in our twenties and thirties, the focus is more on finding the right life partner and gradually as we move towards later years in life, your gal pals and you come together and are their for each other." That’s where the inspiration came from and this one’s dedicated to all her female friends. She adds, "I think for all my other books I had to work a little harder. Accidentally this was not the case with this one and Ancient Promises." Her other books being Rani, Accidents Like Love and Marriage, Afterwards, The Little Book of Romance.

Memory lane

As a child, school girl, college-goer? “I’ve been this social gregarious outgoing girl. And for now, I love meeting my readers.” And? “I wrote my first story when I was thirteen, I don’t even remember what it was but it ended in ‘and the world marched on…It was an unhappy story of a girl. But yes I grew up with the usual Enid Blytons, Secret Seven, Famous Five and all the conventional, typical school girl reading.” But for now, it’s Vikram Seth. “I think he’s a towering talent. He’s done a wonderful job of anything he’s produced so far and he’s someone I’m envious of.” Hope he’s reading this! 

It’s a world of human, relationships, love, marriage, friendship, death, lies, accidents, romance`85 "For me, it’s about characterization. For example, even this was supposed to be a murder mystery but eventually I found myself getting bored and shifted." It’s been one year of working on the title. "I write fast, I think I would’ve taken less time, but since I have a full-time job and a husband and a daughter and family to balance with, so it took me an year," says the London-based author. So, what is she; Anita, Zeba, Bubbles or Sam? "I think I have peaky bits of me on them. There’s this class monitor, little bit of me, then there’s one faces early marriage, the other one’s Prima Dona, etc. but I think Bubbles is my heroine."

Did she say heroine? That reminds, how would she receive any of her books hitting the silver screen? "So far, they purchased the rights for two of my books, but I haven’t seen anything yet. But I don’t care or really mind what they do to it because it’s largely their interpretation. For example, people who bought the rights for Rani told me they’d like to make certain changes. Rather I’d be fascinated to see what filmmakers do to it."

For the time being, it’s another book in the summer of 2010. "It’ll be about two sisters, marriage but in a way and angle I’ve not explored before." As of now, let a few secrets be secrets? "I won’t tell you the whole the story, there was this journalist once asking me what happens in the end. I said for that you’ll have to read." Who committed the murder, what happens at the reunion? We won’t ask. That’s right, for that you’ll have to read!

manpriya@tribunemail.com

Under cover
Jasmine Singh

A peep into the lives of city-based Sherlock Holmes

Marriage does not come with a warranty card,’ says T.T.P. Singh, practicing criminal lawyer, who handles divorce cases also.

And if you think it does, well, then the time span is very less! Why would you then have an increase in the number of divorce cases? Statistics has it that in Chandigarh district courts, the number of divorce cases filed in the first four months of the year has gone up three times as compared to previous years.

Reasons are many: misunderstandings, doubt or breach of trust. We take a detour from here, wha-t will happen will happen, nevertheless we can avoid certain misshapenness. So, here comes someone`85.someone who never takes his hat off. He can tell from where that ring on your middle figure was brought. He has a vast knowledge of poisons, criminals and medicine. He always comes to a conclusion through logical interpretation of scattered clues. He eats carrots to sharpen his grey cells (Karam Chand), or wears white dhotis (Byomkesh Bakshi) or smart tweed jackets like Sherlock Holmes. He is born to be smart. He is the detective, who has featured in numerous novels and on screen adaptations. Even after a change in the outward appearance (now, sans glasses, hat and long tweed glasses), he still owns the smartest brain that can crack any case. Tricity-based detectives allow us to spy on their functioning and draw a conclusion or two.

S.S Sidhu pulls out a magnifying glass to take a close look at the confidential documents. He then picks up his mobile, gives instructions to an investigating officer, and then goes back to the documents looking for that one clue. "To be a detective, you have to believe that you are one," says Sidhu, owner of Top Secret Detective Force-35. "Whatever you read about detectives in books or watch on television is different from reality. We don’t go about solving cases openly, flaunting leather caps or jackets. On the contrary, you can not make out that I am a detective, if you meet outside."

Meanwhile, Sidhu places a small (classy) briefcase, and shows us the instruments his and his team uses. A mini recorder, a mini camera, all kinds of lenses`85

"To you, it might look exciting, but this is a tough job. A case, whether criminal or divorce can take as long as six months to be solved or a mater of days. It depends on the nature of the case," he adds.

The nature of the case`85. now, we are curious. K.K. Singh from International Detective Agency-46 provides the percentage. "Almost 50 per cent are divorce cases, 20 per cent post-marital investigation, and other are either criminal in nature or regular investigations."

This retired SHO from Chandigarh Police can make out ‘what lies inside your heart’ within minutes of conversation with a person. "I know it from experience," he cuts short. "All cases are different — it could be a corporate investigation, shadowing pre or post divorce data. I have team that works accordingly on it."

Sounds shady? No? Then, hear it from Sidhu. "The client, who has explored all possibilities and hasn’t got a solution will call us. Then a meeting is fixed. Thereafter, I study the case, prepare a map pin pointing the negatives and positives." Sidhu wants to make it clear that a detective’s job is not just to find evidence. "If my findings can rectify the wrong done, then nothing like it."

Parents who are doubtful about their kids newly acquired laptops, hi-end phones, car, wife who is confused about her partner’s unusual timings, boy who wants to know the medical history about the girl he is about to marry, in-laws who want evidence of their son-in-law’s adultery, businessman who wants to know about his partners whereabouts`85.doubt looms everywhere.

What is the must-have in this profession? "Loads of patience," says C. Chail, a private detective. "

jasmine@tribunemail.com

Straight to the point

Actors, crew of Yeh Mera India get candid with media

Actors, crew of Yeh Mera India get candid with media
Actors, crew of Yeh Mera India get candid with media

Cast and crew of Bollywood film Yeh Mera India that brings to light several problems of the Indian society, got candid with media in Mumbai. All the leading star cast, including Anupam Kher, Rajpal Yadav, Smilee Suri, Perizaad Zorabian, along with the Produce-director of the film, N. Chandra were present.

Speaking to the media on the occasion, Chandra said the film highlighted a subject, which he felt was quite important.

"I felt that no film is made on this topic and this needs to be talked about," said N. Chandra.

The movie also stars Atul Kulkarni, Seema Biswas, Milind Gunaji, Rajit Kapoor, and Sarika among others.

Perizaad Zorabian also talked about her role in the movie.

"It is very interesting story. There are many interesting characters in the film. Beauty of the film is that it will make you think and it will make you wonder, that you can make a difference and there are so many stories that are involved in the film. I am playing the role of a television executive producer and my character is that of educated, successful person who has everything in life but she still she complains about everything," said Zorabian.

The film brings back the old memories of N. Chandra films like Tezab, Ankush, Kagaar, Tejaswini, Narsimha and Pratighaat.

The film is based on social elements that concern our daily life and problems of our society encounters such as caste, Hindu-Muslim issues and sexual harassment of the women at the work places.

The film is slated to be released on August 28. — ANI

Boy meets girl
Jasmine Singh

Shaadi.com plans to transform matchmaking into exciting and interactive experience through its Var Vadhu Parichay Sandhya event

This is how a marriage would be solemnised in older times. It was the barber or the cook who would suggest profiles of a suitable bride or a groom. A tradition that was followed up with the pandits, and later on with the distant relatives. In the process, the baton was passed to the immediate family, mother and father to find a suitable match for their kids. Today, the 'prospective' girl and boy have taken upon themselves to find their life partners. And, when it comes to youngsters, the first thing that they heavily fall back on is technology.

Look, they have online matrimonial sites doing the 'pick and choose' job for them.

Now, it's time to move a step ahead or need we say time to move back in the timemachine. For, shaadi.com has planned to do something that falls on the line of age-old tradition - Savamybar. However, they would want to call it Var Vadhu Parichay Sandhya. First, time in Chandigarh, with 70 marriageable boys and girls will find their partners at the Bride N Beauty Exhibition at Aroma Hotel-22.

Now, how does this happen? Gunjan Sinha, group manager, corporate communications, elaborates. "At shaadi.com, we say, 'arrange you own love marriage'. Here at the Var Vadhu Parichay Sandhya on Sunday, we will see marriageable boys and girls, exclusively of Punjabi community, meet each other along with their folks, talking about themselves, and everything under one roof. The idea is to offer choices," she adds.

Further more, participants of Var Vadhu Parichay Sandhya will have the choice of meeting the best bride and groom from the large database of Shaadi.com. According to Gunjan, "We are expecting a great response. In addition to the online services, here is a chance to meet each other in person along with the families, because they play an equally important part in the marriages. In the end of the event, they can mark their preferences, and would take it from there thereafter. An event like this is a blend of tradition and modernity, acceptable with everyone these days." Shaadi.com also announced the launch of its first centre in Chandigarh at Sector-8. This is the company's fourth centre in Punjab.

jasmine@tribunemail.com

Luck shines

Luck By Chance at Engendered Film Festival in New York

Hrithik Roshan, Farhan Akhtar starrer Luck by Chance will be screened at the Engendered Film Festival in New York.

The directorial debut of lyricist Javed Akhtar's daughter Zoya, will be the closing film at the festival which concludes on the August 31.

The screening will be attended by the brother-sister duo Farhan and Zoya, said a release from film's production house Excel Entertainment.

"I am really excited to have Luck By Chance screened at the Engendered Film Festival at New York. The festival is a platform for Indian cinema in New York and it's great to be represented and featured with such gusto," Zoya said.

Engendered is an annual, transnational arts and human rights festival that brings together the best in contemporary South Asian cinema, visual arts and performance to explore the complex realities of gender and sexuality, the release said.

Films screened at the festival range from Bollywood to independent Hollywood to eclectic shorts and documentaries from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, as well as the diaspora in the US and Australia. — PTI

Skating on thin ice
Ashima Sehajpal

There is a very thin line between being slim and anorexic

Anything to lose weight! Hours of strenuous workouts, fast-paced aerobics, exhausting power yoga and to complement it all, crash dieting. But what you might get as the result wouldn't be slim, well-toned body, but anorexia. Probably Kareena Kapoor realised it too. She soon recovered from size-zero fever and now supports a fuller, curvaceous body. And, those still obsessed with the idea of losing weight; need to get some urgent lessons as what can be the repercussions of shedding weight when it isn't required at all.

"There is a very thin line between being slim and suffering from anorexia nervosa. The problem is more apparent is girls, who in order to have a slim body, starve themselves to that extent that they become anorexic," informs Dr Madhu Arora, senior dietician, GMCH-32.

She says the effects of under-eating and insensible dieting can be grave. "Generally people don't realise that not eating enough is a psychological disorder. There have been cases when people who enjoy starving themselves have been admitted to the psychiatric ward as anorexia nervosa leads to bulimia, an eating disorder in which the patient intentionally vomits out after eating anything."

Peer pressure and trends that youngsters pick from the celebrities are the major cause for girls to turn anorexic. Sudha Khurana, consultant dietetics, PGI defines the term for us, "It's a condition when a person bears malnourished looks, a pale face and body has a deficiency of nutrients". She, however, adds that there is nothing wrong in losing weight through exercises and dieting right as long as the face is bright, energy levels are optimum and no nutritional paucity. "While dieting, it's vital to consult a dietician. One should have take the prescribed amount of vitamins, carbohydrates, proteins and minerals that are must for the healthy working of the body." In order to lose weight, it is important for one to figure out the difference between healthy and unhealthy food.

"If one isn't having a balanced diet, the immune system is sure to suffer. The person then might catch infections easily and suffer from weakness. It can also affect the various organ systems due to their undernourishment," adds Dr Madhu. For the same reasons, Jasbir Kaur, a fitness expert and owner of Oceanic gym, make every trainee test fat in their body, "A healthy body should have at least 20-25 per cent body weight as fat." She feels it is an obsession to have the perfect body that girls go for insensible dieting, "Even if they are fit and have just a few inches more than required, they would go in for hard core workout sessions without bothering to take healthy diet to help them restore energy." Her suggestion to those looking forward to lose weight is, adhere to the diet chart to keep fit and healthy. Anything to keep fit!

In the fitness of things
Catch'm young? Nah!

What is driving youngsters these days to join gyms at an early age?

Friendly talk

Amrit Pal SinghYoungsters easily get influenced by what their style icons do. They copy Shah Rukh Khan's six-packs, Aamir Khan's eight packs just to look as stylish as them. Besides, don't start working out in the gym not because they are health conscious but because it is a place where they socialise and make friends.

Amrit Pal Singh, artist

Looks matter

MehakI don't think there is anything wrong in youngsters joining the gym. Working out will help them have fit bodies, which might give a boost to their confidence. Physical looks cast the first impression on people and children are well aware if it.Peer pressure is another reason.

Mehak, interior designer

Carried away

SawanChildren get swayed by what they see in films. If girls see Kareena Kapoor in size zero, they would join gyms to lose weight and for boys style icons are Salman and Shah Rukh Khan. I don't think anybody should join gyms before 18, till we are mentally and physically mature.

Sawan, photographer

Lifestyle invites responses from readers on the following issue:

After power yoga, it is now nude yoga! Do you think these fancy nomenclatures are just a gimmick?

Please email your response along with a photograph to lifestyletribune@gmail.com or mail it to In the Fitness of Things, Lifestyle, The Tribune, Sec-29, Chandigarh.

Clinically speaking
'Hear' is the news
Anuja Jaiswal

Plugging onto play list may not be all that good for your ears

Back, menu, shuffle, play, repeat mode-and it's 'Please don't stop the music', literally. So you're hooked onto your I-pod, shuffle, music series cell phone, whatever! As long as Akon sounds mesmerising. Look around, and it's 'have ears, will put ear phones' attitude abound.

It might make youngsters blissfully oblivious of their surroundings, but doctors aren't terming the whole scenario as that 'cool'. Take off your ear-plugs and read further.

There is no study at least in this city so far but Australian study revealed that 70 percent of young adults are loosing their hearing power due to prolonged use of I-pods and partying for extended hours in discs with high wattage music. The survey led by Australian Hearing Institute also revealed that two thirds of people listened to music through headphones and of those, 60 per cent played music at dangerously loud levels, which could take just weeks for hearing loss to begin.

"Hearing loss is a hidden disability," says Dr Rajesh Dheer, Medical Officer in ENT department, GMSH-16. Dr Dheer says, "Most often; it starts with a mild hearing impairment which gradually increases over time. People notice it only when it has reached a moderate level and spoken words become difficult to understand." In medical term, it's called, Noise-induced Hearing Loss (NIHL), which takes place gradually and is often unnoticed until it reaches a certain level. It results from damage to the outer hair cells of the cochlea.

Symptoms

Tinnitus is marked by a ringing, buzzing, or humming in the ears. It can be permanent, or intermittent. Often the victim complains the ringing is very loud, although no one else can hear it.

Causes

Today, loud noise has become a part of life. From the sound of car horns or loud speakers, our eardrums are subject to a lot of torture. Listening to music on full volume on an MP3 player or at the local disco just adds to the problem.

Highlighting the reason for the adverse affects of hi-tech music systems , ENT specialist Dr Dheer says, "Prolonged exposure to high f re q u e n cy sound damages the stria cells that form the inner lining of the ear. In case of iPods or hi-tech music systems, the digital sounds do not get distorted even when the volume is increased, so there is a temptation to listen to music at very high decibels."

He says, "With the increase of every three decibels of sound, the risk of hearing loss doubles. Even at their softest, hi-tech sound systems play very loud music? Moreover, everyone has a different capacity to bear different levels of sound. I would recommend that one must undergo an Audiometric test before using any kind of sound system to get an idea of what decibel limit your ear can cope with."

However, all hearing loss is not caused due to loud noise. Says Dr Dheer, Congenital factors such as inherited genetic deafness, Rh incompatibility, frequent colds, wax, trauma, and infections of the middle ear are some other common causes of hearing loss in children, adults and the elderly."

Treatment

"In case of ear infections leading to hearing loss, medical or surgical treatment is required, for which it is advisable to visit an ENT surgeon," says Dr Dheer. "If it is gradual in nature, then a hearing aid, or a cochlear implant is the solution, for which you need to visit an audiologist," elaborates Dheer. Hearing impairment can be avoided to a certain degree if proper precautions are followed.

The most obvious are avoiding places of loud noise and music. On the medical front, precautions include treating infections immediately. There is also not enough awareness regarding hearing loss, especially among parents. He advises an annual hearing check up once over 40 years of age.

anujaj@tribinemail.com

Power play
Tribune News Service

City girl honoured with Ghar Ka Chirag scholarship

Luminous Power Technologies Pvt. Ltd awarded 16 years old girl Priya, a local student of Chandigarh with the Luminous Ghar Ka Chirag scholarship with an amount of Rs 30,000. Priya has been rewarded for her proven exceptional talent in social work.

Priya, a student of Govt. Model Sr. Sec. School, Sector-41 in Chandigarh has been actively participated in various social activities. She is accrediting writer, environmentalist, youth leader and a role model of the youth of the country. Having won many state, national and international awards in social work, she has written 450 articles since childhood on burning issues like environment, pollution, female foeticide, dowry, and empowerment. As an environmentalist her project "Increasing Underground Water Resources" has been accepted and recognised by the Govt of India. She was awarded nationally and internationally for her world-wide contribution in the field of social work.

"It was the most enchanted moment of my life to receive a scholarship like this when I believe the Ghar ka Chirag award will encourage everybody to do more contributions for the betterment of our country. This award feels like a dream come true for me," said Priya.

Under the initiative of Ghar Ka Chirag for exceptionally talented children in the field of sports, academics, Art & Culture, social work, and bravery are being awarded with scholarships worth Rs 5 Lakh all through India. Luminous also awarded three more students from Punjab and Haryana. Kapil Bansal and Manish Bansal from Jind for Bravery and Neeharika Sexena from Ludhiana for academics.

Ghar Ka Chirag scholarship is a pan India programme and announced through the different channels of communication. There were five categories- sports, academics, art & culture, social welfare and bravery for the scholarship. The main objective of this programme was to nurture and reward talent, which would otherwise lost and remained untapped.

BODY wise
Weight and watch
Sachin Kalra

What is weight cycling?

How many times have you successfully lost weight, only to watch in dismay the numbers on the scale go back to where they were to begin from, or even higher? Almost everyone who struggles with weight loss has been there. The percentage of people who regain weight is well above 90 per cent! And the numbers who sustain a substantial weight loss for more than five years is really small.

This continual pattern of gaining and losing weight is called "weight cycling". And when weight cycling is the result of dieting or rather crash dieting, it is called "yo-yo" dieting. A weight cycle can range from small weight losses and gains (5-10 lbs per cycle) to large changes in weight (50 lbs. or more per cycle).

What are the health concerns?

No matter what your size is, any sudden weight gain or loss may be hard on your health. The main health concerns regarding weight cycling are:

  • The amount of fat stored in the body increases with each cycle of up-and-down dieting. When a person loses weight, both fat and muscle tissues are shed. When the weight is put back, however, it tends to be made up of a greater proportion of fat and less muscle, leaving the person "fatter" than ever.

  • Yo-yo dieting has a definite affect on food preferences, increasing the craving for fat.

  • Long-term crash dieting can result in serious nutritional deficiencies, as a result of eating a poor variety of foods.

  • Repeated cycles of loss and gain take a psychological toll. Many dieters perceive each unsuccessful attempt to keep weight off as a personal failure. The result, over time, is erosion of self-esteem coupled with depression and even guilt.

  • People who repeatedly lose and regain weight are weakening their immune systems.

  • Fluctuations in weight also seem to increase the risk of gallstones.

  • Repeated dieting drives the "natural weight range" higher for some people.

What causes the yo-yo effect?

Crash diets are linked to the yo-yo diet effect because of the impact that this type of starvation diet has on your body's metabolism. During crash diets, your body eventually clues in to the fact that it is receiving a very low number of calories. As a result, your body adjusts its metabolism, so that it burns fewer calories in order to perform all of its necessary bodily functions. This means that it takes fewer calories for you to gain weight, making it more and more likely that you will put on weight by the end of the day. Your body can maintain this decreased metabolism for a number of months, or even years, after a serious low-calorie diet.

Also, as you age, another factor comes into play. Weight can build up or quickly return because your metabolism slows down. However, that is preventable. You just need to cut calories or increase your activity.

How to avoid weight cycling?

Experts recommend different strategies for different people. The goal for everyone is to achieve a healthy weight. This can help prevent the health problems linked to weight cycling.

People who are not overweight or obese, and have no health problems related to weight, should maintain a stable weight.

People who are overweight or obese should try to achieve and maintain a modest weight loss. An initial goal of losing 10 per cent of your body weight can help in your efforts to improve overall health.

If you need to lose weight, be ready to make lifelong changes. A healthy diet and physical activity are the keys to your efforts. Focus on making healthful food choices, such as eating more high-fiber foods like fruits and vegetables and cutting down on foods that are high in saturated or trans fats. Walking, jogging, or other activities can help keep you active and feeling good.

Tips

  • Aim for modest weight loss.

  • If lowering calories, do it slowly (don't suddenly drop 1000 calories per day).

  • Think of your diet as a healthy eating plan.

  • Look to change your lifestyle (activity levels and what and when and why you eat).

  • To break the weight loss plateau you need to give your metabolism a boost. Aim to increase your levels of physical activity. And if you are missing meals or eating too few calories you need to take a serious look at your diet and aim to eat more often (every three hours).

  • Don't skip breakfast.

  • Can you imagine still being on your "current" diet one year from now? If not, change your diet.

If you have a history of yo-yo dieting, it's time to rethink your approach to weight loss. Remember, permanent changes in your weight require permanent changes in your life. By getting plenty of exercise and eating only the number of calories you need to maintain or lose weight, you can reach a healthy weight.

kalrasachin@hotmail.com




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