Another such visitor who enjoyed her day out was Simardeep Aulakh from Ludhiana. "It's my first visit to the show and I am floored by so many beautiful flowers around. It's wonderful to see so many varieties, artistically designing them to bonsai, topiary, hanging baskets etc," she says. While the prominent visitor's list had people form outside the city, Chandigarh gave a damp welcome to the show. "Maybe because of the swine flu scare. But since it's a weekday, the footfall might be more on the weekend," said Madhu Sharma form the city.

Winners circle

Sharing the admiration were the proud owners or let's say, the cultivators of some of the most striking varieties of chrysanthemum. This year had 350 entries and 25 added categories. And, when it comes to the Chrysanthemum show, Virinder Sharma, by default becomes the highlight. Carrying on his winning run for the 15th consecutive year, Virinder's two new variety, Anemon and White Spoon, both won the King and Queen of the show, while also winning artistic arrangement in amateurs category too. "This has been quite a good show though the weather didn't exactly played support this time," were the winner's words.

The Regional Director, Regional Insitute of Co-op Management-32 received the top honours in the institutions category.

Flash in the sun

As much as they were soaking in the sun and beauty around, the youngsters who dared to come out defying the examination stress and well the swine flu scare, seem to enjoy a Kodak moment a bit too much, posing alongside two things - a monkey statue wearing glasses, holding a book and the chrysanthemum.

nehawalia@tribunemail.com

On the ever-shifting pitch of transient affection for a pretty long time, she hurls a strategic smile at him effortlessly.

His heart leaps, as he catches the first sign of liking at the boundary of excitement, graciously yet recklessly.

As they move on fast in love and life, the onlookers realise the little game of chance is in full swing.

But the inning of love comes to an end faster then you think. He discovers himself on a slippery wicket. A momentary loss in concentration; and he finds himself bowled out of the game, with another match waiting to played on the same pitch with another team.

Back in the pavilion - out of the field - he realises he was always at the 'silly' position; and watches with indifferent amusement as she pads up to play, and win the trophy of love, all over again.

That's right folks! The T-20 championship of love is on in the city! It begins on a note of exhilaration, and anticipation, keeps you on your toes, leaves you breathless and craving for more, as you play all your shots in the right direction; and is over even before the expected timeout, only to begin with a new love-rival, once again.

Having doubts? Ask Kabir. The 30-something has just been dumped after three months of 'lifelong love' promises. Oh yes, he is heartbroken, but was all along expecting his being dropped out of the game.

Heaving a sigh of painful relief, handsome Kabir passes his tired fingers through his scruffy hair before uttering in a voice chocked with emotion: "Love's hardly different from the T-20's".

Pulling himself together, he says: "Just like the craze of five-day cricket matches gave way to one-days, only to be replaced by 20-20s, the `three-year itch' in love affairs has just been reduced to three months".

Kabir says the phoenix riddle now has a greater meaning. It's all about the lovers being ruthlessly reduced to ashes, only to rise again and play for their respective egos and self-esteem.

Well, there's just one difference. The game of love is played clandestinely. For constant changing of rival teams is still considered a symbol of inconsistency.

Guys, the reason behind fast love is hard to analyze. Lightning fast India has little time to waste on slower internet connections, shopping and even emotionless love. Are you reading Deepika Padukone? Come on, you can add `fondness' to the list in the `lightening fast' ad.

So, what's the lesson to learn, once you are out of the game and sitting on the fence? Antoine De Saint-Exupery has an answer to this. He says in his classic The Little Prince: "One should never listen to flowers. One must admire them and breathe their fragrance. Mine perfumed all my planet, but I did not know how to enjoy her…. Flowers are so inconsistent". Just in case you have missed the point, flower here is the `object of your affection'; enjoy it. Happy gaming, folks! Have a cheerful, but not long innings!

Our attention kept drifting between the subject and the observer. Just when the interesting subject began to engross us, intriguing observation by the observer used to grasp our concentration. The subject is a 50-year-old visually impaired artist, whose works find apt space at the various national art galleries and the observer is a filmmaker, professional qualified from the University of California. The observer, Chaitanya S Nagarkatti, who was in the city on Friday to deliver a lecture at Government's Arts College, aims to make art lovers perceive the world from his subject, Tuka's point of view, which is, "We see everything around us in a practical and tangible form but for Tuka, who has lost 90 per cent of his eyesight, everything appears in motion and is put on canvas after a sensual experience." The subject's catches our attention again as we see a picture of his work in a brochure that Chaitanya explains, "The work is his perception of an elevator and people standing in it." The elevator is in real form and the rest in abstract form, "As that is how he sees most of the world around, in abstract form."

In another painting, Tuka has painted morning, which also is a depiction of his optimism. Dark colours all over the canvas surround the bright yellow colour filled in a small space that rather catches the attention. "It was this positive approach towards life that encouraged me to take Tuka'a work across India and even abroad." Tuka's collection of 2000 art works includes sketches, graphics, portraits, figurative and abstract work. Tuka tells more about his work, "The realistic and figurative art was done in mid 90's when I had 30 per cent eyesight. I then shifted to abstract art and started painting as I felt and saw around me." Chaitanya has already written a book on Tuka's work titled Parvah, (a constant flow) and will soon be making a movie on his life, Rangdhara, beginning from when he was ten years old to how he gradually lost his eyesight and about his present life. Worth mentioning is, Tuka has obtained five degrees from the JJ College of Arts, Mumbai and has worked as the Head of the Arts Department at the SNDT, University of Women.

The meeting of the subject and the observer was a sheer co-incidence. Chaitanya was assisting Dev Anand in the making of Mr.Prime Minister movie, "For which we went to the earthquake ruins of Bhuj and other cities in Gujarat. The whole experience was heart breaking, to overcome which I went to see artworks at the Jahangir Art Gallery." It was on this visit that he saw spectacular work by Tuka but wasn't aware of his lost eyesight. "I wanted to meet the artist and ask him what makes him see the world in such an unusual way, only to realise the ironical reason." The subject stuns the observer this time just as he stuns us more than the observer.

ashima@tribunemail.com

Actor Juhi Chawla feels that investing in talent and nurturing it is the only way to qualitatively improve cinema in the country.

"Film financing and funding is easier only for reputed film firms and not for genuine filmmakers with lot of passion but no monetary support," Juhi told reporters.

Art and passion of making movies has become a business, Juhi who is the chairperson of ASSOCHAM National Committee on Films said at an event to unveil the body's blueprint for attracting investment into the entertainment sector.

"Story telling is an art. Entertainment is not easy. The balance between money and art has been to maintained. Both should be respected," she said.

Expressing her happiness at Marathi film Harischandrachi Factory being selected as the country's official entry to the Oscars in the foreign film category, Juhi recalled how the film's director Paresh Mokashi had to struggle for funds.

"I was told by my husband to meet Paresh, whose parents were family friends, and help him out. Paresh appeared to be a genuine filmmaker who had his basics ready on paper. He wanted to make the film on Dadasaheb Phalke making India's first motion picture, only in Marathi," she said.

Paresh had a talented cast on board, but they were not stars. He said the budget of the film would be Rs three crore, Juhi said adding, Paresh was so passionate about the film that he was ready to mortgage his house to raise the funds. — PTI

Bollywood heartthrob Shahid Kapoor, who plays a struggling actor in the forthcoming film Chance Pe Dance, says despite some similarities, the movie bears no resemblance to his real life."There are some similarities in my personal life when compared to that of my character in the film.

However, that only pertains to my younger days when I was struggling and trying to make it big in the industry."Other than that, there isn't anything else about my personal life that would be seen in Chance Pe Dance. It isn't an autobiography by any means," Shahid said.The 27-year-old actor reunites with director Ken Ghosh after his debut hit Ishq Vishq in 2003 and Fida. — PTI

While dinning at a hotel or a restaurant do you come across people buried under the bulky and extensive menu card? Pretty often, we bet. Manish Bajaj of the newly-opened Crystal Bar at sector-26 places a sleek, compact and a different kind of menu in front of us- shrimp cocktail, greek shish kebab, marinated olives, nacho salsa Mexican, grilled jumbo prawns, grill lamb chops, penne Bolognese, chicken paprika, fettucccine alfredo, tiramisu, make for an interesting coastal assortment.

"It is a deliberate effort to keep the menu healthy and light. We offer a variety and also specialise in whatever we are offering, whether it is fried tortellini or shrimp crepe," says Manish, owner and the brain behind Crystal. No curries or gravy's at Crystal, but you can definitely dig into coastal stuff prepared by chefs roped in from Delhi especially. Adding a dazzle to the sumptuous treat are the sparkling swarovski crystals, glass and work mirror that make all the difference. The interiors shine and glare to live up to the name Crystal. Says Manish, "I was thinking about a place that would play host to a niche clientele, wherein customers would enjoy great food, soak up some nice music and feel comfortable under the light of crystals and glasses." He adds, "We have played with the colour theme of blue and metal with a combination of Swarovski lights and chandeliers with plush blue furniture."

Nonetheless food is an addiction with many, and this is what binds the customers to a certain place. "If people like the food they develop a liking for the place and the ambience a well," shares the owner. Another thing that binds is music. Chakra: Vu's Sameer and Rohit will entertain with sounds of electronic, house, Asian underground, drum and base, techno, minimal and fusion act.

jasmine@tribunemail.com

At 28, he has the Asia's Best Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2008 to his credit. Meet Vivek Pahwa, who started his entrepreneurial journey by creating India's first social networking web portal Desimartini.com and now runs Accentium Web Pvt Ltd, which owns five web properties with a joint viewership of five lakh visitors every month. With his web properties ranging from secondshaddi.com to gari.com he even has a site called study.com where students can get to know about admissions. Ask him is Internet the next big business venture and he says, "Websites are preferred as they turn out to be one-stop-shop for all services available. Net has become a hot property for two reasons, first is convenience and other is efficiency."

Talk about secondshadi.com and he says, "This is one of our sites where people can find their match for their second marriage." That's a great initiative, but do we see people registering for second shadi and he says, "Absolutely, we have one and a half lakh members on the site." And what about holy matrimony? "Almost one or two weddings happen in a week's time," says Vivek. And, how do they confirm this fact? "Users delete their profile from the site and before they delete we ask them to fill a reason for deletion," says Vivek. Hmmm that's interesting.

Well, they have a site for car purchase also, where customers can buy and sell their cars. Ask about the concept and he says, "Gaadi.com is an automobile portal, this is a site where we offer customers new and old cars. Staying as a neutral party from financing to providing insurance we do it all." What about old cars? "For this service, we have a registration fees of Rs 750. Anyone who wants to buy or sell can register with this amount and then pick his car."

Well, with Internet users increasing everyday, how he sees the future, "By next year I see 8 to 10 per cent growth in Internet users and more online business modules."

jigyasachimra@tribunemail.com

For Aditya Sharma, it wasn't easy convincing his teachers that he was the age of his classmates. Most of the times, the reaction used to be, "Have you flunked a class or joined school late," recalls Aditya as he converses confidently with us after getting a facelift and neck lift at the age of just 17. Suffering from Cutis Laxa, a genetic skin disorder that loosens the skin, Aditya has been treated by Dr K.M.Kapoor, senior consultant, Department of Cosmetic and Plastic Surgery, Fortis Hospital.

"Usually people over 50 require a face and necklift. But in Aditya's case, the skin was so loose that he didn't look 17." The crowfeet and frown lines were treated using botox and fillers. Besides the injection of botox and fillers, Aditya will have to get a face and neck lift done every once in six years, which in normal cases is required after 10 years.

Aditya now feels life would change for him, "Even when I used to play with boys of my age group, they thought I am much older to them and address me as sir." Now, he finds the whole lot of difference between how his friends used to treat him before and now. "I am as confident as others are now. I don't feel conscious any more when people look at my face and talk as against earlier times, when I used to think that people are just noticing the wrinkles, deep lines and loose skin on my face." Aditya's treatment which otherwise would have cost Rs 40,000 has been sponsored by Allergan, a botox making company.

This rare genetic disease has affected not more than 40 families in the world. Dr Kapoor suggesting the other alternative treatments says, "The stem cell therapy is another effective measure to cure loose skin. Injecting stem cells in the affected area would provide the local treatment." The genetic therapy, he says, would permanently treat the person, "The gene transplant will require identifying gene responsible for the skin disorder and transplanting it with healthier gene, which would cure the cause of the disease for good."

— Ashima Sehajpal

Coromandel International, manufacturer of fertilisers and plant protection products (part of the Murugappa Group) received the 1st prize for its in-house magazine 'The VOICE' in the House Journal category at the 31st All India Public Relations Conference 2009 held at Chandigarh on December 11.

Coromandel International has received this National award for the 4th time in the last five years for the magazine's design, layout, content and special features. The magazine is an effective communication tool, which provides both learning & news for internal and external stakeholders. The readership comprises all employees at all locations across the country, business associates, domestic & global partners, select stakeholders, competitors, vendors, alumni. The company also uses this magazine to build brand at some of the top management institutes and premier agri-business institutes. The magazine is a quarterly and is theme-based. Some of the unique articles are the 'Guest Column' (authored by an eminent personality) and 'Book Review' which are linked to the cover story and the theme of the magazine, 'Unsung Hero' which focuses on the quiet heroes of the Company, 'Medically Speaking' which educates readers on the diseases inflicting people today, 'Young Achievers' which acknowledges the children of employees who have excelled. The Magazine constantly seeks to improve by inviting feedback in a printed feedback form which is a part of the magazine. Some of the Letters to the Editor are published.

This year the 'The VOICE' has also won the Award of Distinction from the International Academy for Visual Arts, New York.

What a waste of time! Don't you have anything else to do! You've become an addict! Get up and study…that's it. The command comes after the earlier expressions of disgust fail to threaten kids to turn off the TV. For parents who consider TV as their biggest enemy, this might lessen the hatred. Adhiraj Singh, class IV student of St. Johns has made over 200 sketches of Dragonball alone and a few other sketches as well. "I was in KG when I began sketching and have gradually improved in all these years".

The sketches as we usually expect is not done on proper sheets but on loose papers and a spiral notebook. "From a few minutes to a couple of days, I take as much time till I don't feel I have sketched the expressions I wanted to." Thus, we have different expressions of dragon ball just to depict his anger.

Inspiration further comes from his friends, for whom on demand he makes different sketches. "It feels nice to see my sketches on my friends study tables. I have got a lot of friends just because I can sketch well," says Adhiraj with sheer innocence. He has also made a sketch of Mona Lisa, perfectly copies for his age and a comic book, with text hand written in it and illustrations made.

— Ashima Sehajpal

The name is quite popular and the place a hit with the foodies, especially the one's who like to take away their stuff or munch it in the cozy comfort of their car. Pick & Move, a joint in Sector 8, better known for its non-veg variety and cheese momos is a place to must visit. Established some 30 years back, in 1970 this joint has grown over the years despite the mushrooming of American fast food joints that churn out their monotonous fare of burgers and French fries and insipid coffees. In a way, good news that say's dhabas will always be there and Indian flavours the more liked.

Back to the joint, well all you Pick & Move faithfuls you would be surprised to know that this place started as a shop that would only sell raw poultry goods. Says S.S Sibia, from Pick & Move, "I have a poultry farm in Sangrur and in the city too and I started this joint as a shop that would only sell raw poultry goods, but then on demand of the customers we started it as a food joint and would only serve select items." And it was in 1978 that S.S Sibia converted this into a food joint. Ask him was the menu elaborate and he says, "No, we started with 3 soups—sweet corn, chicken and tomatoe soup. Other than that we had keema naan, tandori chicken, seekh kebab, biryani and fish tikka." Well, taking the menu further now they have a variety to choose from, though Sibia says, "We have number of customers from that time and they still order the same dishes." But for now, you can choose from a variety of soups, cheese chilly, tandoori chicken, fish tikkas, dal makhani, mushroom chilly, panner naan, keema naan, butter chicken, momos and lot more. And talking about the much-liked cheese momos we ask him, when was it that he introduced this variety and to our disbelieve he says, "It was some 8 years back that we started momos." And were they a hit instantly, "No, people took time to like it." And take our word, people might have taken time to like them, but now they are definitely a hit with the customers, especially the cheese and chicken momo.

Having come so far we ask, does he plan to extend since he's got a very small space to sit and he says, "This is enough for me. My business is doing well and I am contended with whatever I have." That's a gentleman's parting words.

jigyasachimra@tribunemail.com

A leading professor has claimed that 'superdiets' like drinking large amounts of grapefruit juice or eating only raw fruit and vegetables are based on just food myths. Professor Chris Hawkey, president of the British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG), said some people developed a "quasi-religious" attitude towards what was the best thing to eat, based on little or no scientific evidence.

He highlighted more than a dozen famous diets including rawism, which argues that cooking food makes it less nutritious.

The grapefruit diet, based on the idea that an enzyme in the juice breaks down fat, and the alkaline diet, which seeks to maintain the slightly alkaline nature of the blood by eating certain foods.

"Food has been shrouded in myths and fairy tales since time immemorial," the Telegraph quoted Professor Hawkey as saying at the Gastro 2009 conference, which is being held in London until November 25.

"But what's important is to recognise that, despite the popularity of fad diets, we are losing a grip on the fight with obesity," he said.

He said the grapefruit diet, which Kylie Minogue has reportedly used, was unlikely to have an effect because the enzyme would probably be broken down in the gut before being able to get at body fat.

Professor Hawkey also flagged up the lack of evidence for the 'chewing movement', which dates back to the 19th century and counsels chewing 32 times to aid digestion.

"[Former Prime Minister] Gladstone was apparently very eccentrically in favour of this diet. The idea is that salivary enzymes start digestion," he said, adding that it was based more on "theory than evidence".

However he had mixed feelings about the controversial Atkins diet, which says people should avoid carbohydrate and eat protein.

"It is not terribly healthy in the sense that you are going to have a lot of fat, but if you lose weight then it is a good thing," Professor Hawkey said.

"The theory is that it resets the metabolic rate and there is some science to back that up," he added. —ANI