It's a classic example of means to an end and if the end is noble and means are novel, nothing like it. With fund raising getting chic and innovative, it's about charity that sees the cause, not the channel. Raise a toast to the dinner party donating the proceeds for the welfare of girl child; to a rock concert, raising funds for slum children; a fashion show trying to save the environment.

The fund raising idea bank keeps getting innovative. "We'll be doing an event in the beginning of July, wherein we'll be calling onto people to be part of a fund raising and public awareness movement on HIV aids, save the girl child and breast cancer through a full day camp and a fashion show," says Shekhar Gharu of Blue Sky Society, a social research, development and educational society. Shekhar is already working on a couple of ideas. He adds, "So far, we were using our own investments but now we are looking for charity." Therein steps the need to innovate and reinvent, explore just about any platform possible.

Perhaps it's a matter with social activism the world over, with Internet being abuzz with fundraiser ideas from product sale, online auctions, and raffles to entertainment events.

Meanwhile Saathi, yet another youth-based NGO, is considering combining a rock concert and a fundraiser. Shares Punita Singh, president, Saathi, a week in advance of the preparations, "This NGO itself came into being as a platform for youngsters to channelise their energy. We formed this NGO last December and adopted around 310 slum children. This event is a fund raiser for them." She adds, "The event is actually supposed to serve double purpose. Since the music scene in Chandigarh is as it is not very happening, we thought of giving a platform to all the Chandigarh- based bands on one hand and accumulate funds on the other. We also plan to turn it into a yearly event."

With art auctions and stage plays being already explored-enough phenomenon, there's a graduation to entertainment or performing arts. Adds Shekhar, "That's because any organization or cause needs finances to survive. That comes only if there's an awareness and hype about the event." He adds, "Things like fashion show generate much more interest and attention and at the end of the day, we want to raise as much of awareness as possible and also rope in the elite class because it's they who have the funds."

With justifications running just as long, there's no dearth of ideas either. "We've already used a fusion music concert, a classical opera, an instrumental German concert in various collaborations, as some of the platforms to raise funds," Kalpana Ghai, vice- president, Balsadan, lists one after the other. She adds, "I'm involved with three NGOs and currently planning to collect donations for the wedding of one of the girls at Kalyani Maa Sewa Trust which was founded by a German friend of mine Ute Mayr. Some of my friends are on Facebook and they'll be raising money even from Germany."

The list is yet not exhaustive, as shrugs Shekhar, "We have many more ideas too, but we don't want to share them right away." Like it's said, the good thing about charity is, you do anything, and in the end it's still a charity.

manpriya@tribunemail.com

Thai film Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, a spooky tale of reincarnation by 39-year-old Apichatpong Weerasethakul, won the Best Picture Palm d'Or honour at the 63rd Cannes Film Festival.

The win is being considered a real upset by the critics as the jury ignored strong favourite Xavier Beauvois' Of Gods and Men, which details the massacre of Christian monks in a remote Algerian village by Islamic extremists in the 1990s.

With Franco-Algerian ties forever on tenterhooks, the movie provoked protests but managed to win festival's second most important award, Grand Prize.

A special jury award went to a third film, Chadian director Mahamat-Saleh Haroun's Un homme qui crie (A Screaming Man), a tragedy of parental betrayal.

Weerasethakul, who has been earlier lauded at Cannes with the Un Certain Regard prize in 2002 for his Blissfully Yours and the Jury award in 2004 for Tropical Malady, tells the story of a dying man seeing ghosts from his past lives.

Giddy with his win, Weerasethakul said, "I would like to kiss all of you, the jury members - especially Mr Burton. I like your hair style! I would also like to thank all the spirits and all the ghosts in Thailand. They made it possible for me to be here," said the first time winner.

The Best Actor Palme was shared by Spain's Javier Bardem in Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's Biutiful, and Italy's Elio Germano in Our Life by Daniele Luchetti. — PTI 

Bollywood heartthrob Hrithik Roshan was left fuming after his security was breached during the post-release promotional tour of his recently released international love story Kites in Noida on Sunday afternoon.

The actor was at the Great India Place mall, along with his co-star Barbara Mori and father Rakesh Roshan, who has produced the movie, and was miffed at the visible chaos created by the immense crowd at the event.

"Hrithik was left upset after the crowd present in the mall misbehaved with Barbara Mori... The unmanageable crowd even left Barbara with scratched knees and a ripped nail on the foot," said a source, who was present at the event. — IANS

Women-centric themes seem to have caught Bollywood's fancy yet again, whether it is Priyanka Chopra's Saat Khoon Maaf, Sonam Kapoor's Aisha, Kareena Kapoor-Kajol's Stepmom remake or Rani Mukerji-Vidya Balan-starrer No One Killed Jessica. But the big question is will these movies go on to become hits.Directed by Vishal Bharadwaj, Priyanka's Saat Khoon Maaf is based on Ruskin Bond's story Susanna's Seven Husbands, about a woman who bumps off her seven spouses."It's too early to speak about Saat Khoon Maaf but it will be a very unique film for sure," said Priyanka. "One of the toughest characters of my life...so scared...Don't know how I'll pull it off." And Sonam's Aisha, an adaptation of Jane Austen's novel Emma about the perils of misconstrued romance, too revolves around the female protagonist's life.Then there is Karan Johar's remake of Hollywood movie Stepmom, a heart-warming tale of two women. 

The Hindi remake stars Kareena, Kajol and Arjun Rampal in the lead and is being directed by Siddharth Malhotra.Mani Ratnam's much awaited film Raavan stars two men — Abhishek Bachchan and southern star Vikram. But it is Aishwarya Rai who is being described by her co-stars as the ‘hero’ of the film."Aishwarya is the hero in Raavan," said Abhishek. Vikram too had the same words for the former Miss World.One-film old Rajkumar Gupta's No One Killed Jessica has also hogged the media limelight. Starring Vidya and Rani, it is inspired by the 1999 murder of model Jessica Lall.Apart from these so-called biggies, debutant Tarun Dhanrajgir is making Dia on the issue of date rape and he has teamed up with newcomer Shital Shah in it.But until now, films with women-centric themes were not too many and most of them failed at the box office."Women are so under-represented, particularly three-dimensional women. As a female director, I always take female protagonists that are very strong, vibrant and ultimately very truthful," Britain-based Indian filmmaker Gurinder Chadha said.She is known for movies like Bend It Like Beckham, Bride And Prejudice and It's A Wonderful Afterlife— all of them showed one or the other aspects of a woman's life.The portrayal of a female character of substance had its fair share in movies like Dor (2006), Silsilay (2005), Tehzeeb (2003), Pinjar (2003), Chameli (2003), Satta (2003), Filhaal (2002), Zubeidaa (2001) Lajja (2001), Chandni Bar (2001) and Fiza (2000).But all these films were not commercially successful."Our society has its own limitations. Certain ideas will be unacceptable to our audience.... We don't see women as powerful entities. Even today, most heroes will tell you 'I want a homely wife who will take care of my kids and look after the house'. Only when women progress will the scripts progress too," superstar Shah Rukh Khan had once said.The list of women-driven films that wrote a success story at the box office is not very long. One of the few such films is Madhur Bhandarkar's 2008 release Fashion.Narrating the story of the rise and fall of two models, Fashion not only got rave reviews, it also set the cash registers ringing. Both the female leads - Priyanka Chopra and Kangana Ranaut - won their first National Award for convincingly portraying the dilemma of fashion icons. — IANS

He achieved heartthrob status with his debut in the hit romcom Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Naa and Imran Khan is returning to the genre with I Hate Luv Storys (IHLS), which he says is a parody of all things Bollywood.

Though Imran's new film pokes fun at the ‘cheesy’ treatment given to love stories in Hindi cinema, the actor says that the film does not take a condescending look at Bollywood, instead the laughters come from the fact that everyone loves the much derided cliches.

"IHLS is a self parody and we are not shying away from admitting that. See, the fact is that there is a tendency amongst a lot of people in the industry to say that the song and dance routine is passe. It is something that I have never understood," the actor said.

The Karan Johar production, directed by debutante Punit Malhotra sees Imran pair up with Sonam Kapoor, who plays a die-hard 'filmi' romantic. If promos are any indication, the film makes an unabashed statement about the song, dance, mush and romance in Bollywood. But he is all for more song and dance in films, said the 27-year-old actor. Infact, Imran is of the opinion that Bollywood does not need to be apologetic about it's song and dance routines and stick to it's entertainment value.

"We are making films for the Indian industry so why not just make it the way everyone loves them? If we are making Hindi films with all the songs and dances then why be apologetic? We should be proud of what we are doing and only aspire to do something better. Let's work further on getting some more amazing music and amazing dance numbers but let's not do away with them please," he said. — PTI

Troubled over his son's conviction in a drug pedalling case, Michael Douglas has found comfort in letters of support written by fellow parents. The actor's son Cameron was awarded a five-year prison sentence last month after the 31-year-old pleaded guilty to charges of methamphetamine possession with the intent to distribute and one count of cocaine possession.

And now Michael is flooded with mail from parents who've gone through similar experiences. "I have to say, the letters of support from the numbers of parents out there who have basically already lost sons or daughters, and really encouraging me about the second chance that Cameron has, has made some difference," Michael said. — ANI

Hollywood actor Ashton Kutcher has confessed that he used to abuse women before meeting wife Demi Moore, who is 15 years older to him.

"I was very abusive with women but like every girl they always think, 'I will be the one to change him'. I seduced women. That was my move. I was a womaniser. I wasn't  marriage material," he said.

The 32-year-old actor, who wed Moore, 47, in 2005 said even she thought he was a douche bag because of his attitude towards ladies.  "She thought I was a douche bag. I had just got out of the shower and walked in the room with no shirt on. I had to prove to her that I was serious. I hung in there telling myself this is the woman I want to be with. I knew I wanted to be with this person," he said. — IANS

For me life is a celebration', says an accomplished architect of the region, Renu who received JK Indian Architect Award, 1999. No wonder her spacious house in Mansa Devi Complex celebrates elements of nature - air, water and earth. This two-storey bungalow spread over two kanals exudes style and serenity.

The videophone bell at the gate takes you amidst a green lawn with lots of potted plants and a birdhouse. A path detailed with pebbles, water and natural stone takes you up a tall door that opens up into a paradise home.

A sprawling pool with a waterfall mesmerises you with its magical sound. Serene Buddha, Egyptian queen Nifertiti, Indian kings and Langkawi, Brahma's saffron hans, line the glass façade behind the fall. A few trees, pebbles, textured wall in off white and alcove lights create a unique assemble for the interior of the house. It takes a moment or two before one can gather the beauty this place offers.

"I always create socialinteractive spaces in all my designs for people to interact," the words of Renu Khanna, the creator of this awesome house breaks your reverie. "This lobby is a modern replay of the traditional courtyard of Kashmiri Gate haveli in Delhi where I grew up. Family meets here every evening," she shares.

A jhula by the trees is favourite of Sandeep, chartered accountant, who loves to read the morning paper by the poolside. Though one does not want to move away from the lobby for all the beautiful sights and sounds it offers, one enters the living room towards the right.

An elegant space donned in lilac is exuberant. Seated on the comfortable sofa, one can't help notice the beautiful view that the larger than life window offers. "Seven hills are visible from here," says Renu. A temple behind carved wooden panel forms front part of the house. "This floating temple stands on single pillar that symbolises Advaita," shares Renu.

An Egyptian Papyrus painting decorates the wall. Before one gets over the lilac magic of the formal space, the beauty of red in dining and kitchen area takes one to the Chinese land. "It was on one of our travels to China that inspired me to create this," says Renu. Table runner in red, collected from a trip to Hong Kong goes well with one of the walls that merges into the ceiling. Kitchen is vibrant in red and black. The full glass door opens into front lawns.

The master bedroom is centered around the water theme. A glass unit separates the bedroom from the pool. "I was in my tenth standard when I dreamt of a home wherein I would feel the water as I stepped down from bed, with a view of hills afar," shares dreamy-eyed Renu. Marble steps with steel staircase takes you to the first floor. As one looks down at the pool one notices samudar manthan form that the crystal clear water offers. A lobby done in turquoise blue matches the cool waters. Water is the central theme of the house. The sprawling pool is visible from each room of the house.

Elder son Sakul's room revolves around theme earth. While the colours of the walls are neutral, the ceiling is painted red. A beautiful chandelier in silver and scarlet adds to the charm. "I had to take a trip to Delhi each time to find a designer light for each room," shares Renu. Full wall sliding door opens to the terrace garden. This lush green lawn has varieties of palm lined up. "It's our Kasauli in mornings - the best possible place for a stretch or two and couple of breathing exercises," offers Renu.

Sakul's artistic works embellish the house further. "It's such a coincidence. First, man makes the building and later it's the house that makes a man. Sakul has become so creative ever since we moved in this house around a year back," beams the proud mum.

Nakul's room is done in blue and green. "One must play with contrasting colours to break monotony," says the expert. A view of hills up there and a pool downwards, it almost feels as if one's in the air. "Nakul makes most of the pool, a splash is a must before he settles down for lunch after school," says Renu.

The three guestrooms are almost always booked at this place. "It gives me immense pleasure that even if an acquaintance comes on a fleeting visit, makes up the mind to spend at least a night," laughs Renu, the gracious, hospitable host.

It's the little detailing that only a professional's eye can catch that creates the charisma," reveals Renu. And this one can notice throughout the house - the flushed door looks elegant, normal glass table turns designer with a deep glass corne. Normal wall cabinets look interesting with a few books, pictures and crystals.

mona@tribunemail.com

"With range of materials available today, one can create absolute magic," says Renu. Today glass is not just glass. "Towards the west side I have Cool Light, high performance glass, that lets the light in but reflects heat,' avers Renu. While the lobby has blurred glass to give privacy, its clear glass in bedrooms for unobstructed view of the pool. Designer glass tiles add charm to pool, while bamboo etchings on the door make it stylish. "Not only glass brings light, it also adds depth," she adds.

It's an endeavour to give colour, patterns, and prints to enliven even the most staid of fabrics. It's a systematic permutation of multiple printing, designing, creative weaving techniques. What follows is a complete range of home linen, some in traditional crafts.

Students of University Institute of Fashion Technology showcased their textile design collections. "All these designs have been prepared by us in one semester," says Shikha Dhir, while taking you along various works. There's phulkari, kashida, chikankari, kantha and chamba showcased through the multiple motifs in paisleys, flowers, butterflies, leaves…Moving on, there's a range of bedspreads, kurtis, dupattas, folders, cushions, T-shirts, etc using a range of printing (block, screen and textile) and dyeing techniques. "What am wearing has also been prepared by us only," Alpa Sharma, a student, flaunts a tie and die dupatta.

"These folders in patchwork have not just been designed but also stitched by us," adds another student. A mannequin in the corner sports two tie and die scarves, there're bed spreads in block printing, a bag hanging by the side done in appliqué work.

"We've been working on it for quite some time now and our best works have been selected to be showcased here," shares yet another student. A corner showcasing sample works bears remarks, good, very good, etc. "It's all part of their curriculum only. First, they prepare samples to show the effect, of mix match and other techniques before the final work is ready. Some of them are block printing samples," apprises Preeti Alagh, faculty member.

"Next semester, these students will be taught testing of fibre and fabric using different equipments. They'll be testing the strength, colour fastness of the fabric against sunlight, water etc," shares Preeti. She adds, "They'll be learning the count of yarn and yarn numbering system."

— Manpriya Khurana 

Thankfully, certain things cannot be held behind the barriers. A passing thought, a hard-hitting viewpoint or a subtle expression — everything needs a vent, through the edit columns of newspapers, live debates on television, social networking sites or blogs. And who says those heart-felt expression is heard only when it is penned in English?

‘Say it the way you feel it’ is the new mantra, and blogs in regional languages are lapping it up in a big way. The spurt of blogs in Hindi, Bangla, Urdu and Marathi languages show that writing is all about expression that needn’t be packed only in English language.

Vivek, a city-based journalist, agrees, “Initially blogs in Hindi started as a platform for writing and sharing poetry, short stories with people who didn’t have any place to write. This trend later picked up with many serious writers sharing their views in their mother tongue through blogs. The idea was to express in a language that was comfortable.”

Alok Kumar is known as the first Hindi blogger, who coined the term Chittha for blog, which was later quickly adopted by other bloggers. It is now the standard Hindi term for it. Adds Vivek, “One, not many people type in Hindi, and two even if bloggers wanted to write something in Hindi there weren’t enough Hindi typing tools available.”

Well, these problems have been done away with now specialised softwares like Google Indic and Transliteration facilitate in setting up a blog in any language.

Siddharth Sikri, an avid blogger and stock analyst, shares, “There has been a considerable increase in blogs written in Indian languages. Naari, Aawaz, Nukad, Gyan Darpan, Kalam Ke Sipahi, Rat Jaga Tara, Sushanta are pretty popular forums.” Didn’t we say thoughts needn’t be layered and structured in a particular language! According to Siddharth, “You don’t just have writers in English, regional writers and their writings are getting global recognition. This can also be seen as another milestone for blogs in regional languages. Besides, it is no longer about sharing stories or poetry, these blogs are based on defined themes like cinema, literature and politics.”

According to PK Khurana, editor of Samachar4media.com, “The awareness for regional languages is growing and Hindi language is being promoted on Internet.

Exchange4media.com was initially available in English, but looking at the growing demand of people for Hindi websites and blogs, it decided to launch the Hindi chapter called Samachar4media.com.”

Khurana too cites a reason for the growth of Indian languages on Internet. “Many commercial hubs have come out with their Hindi versions, Microsoft launched Microsoft Yuva. This is what encourages people to express themselves in the language they are comfortable with.” English is still ‘the language’, but now expression means write the way you feel!

jasmine@tribunemail.com

Acer announces the launch of a new notebook, eME730, under its super value brand eMachines. Through its value-driven product offering from eMachines, Acer aims to address the void in the value PC segment.

 eMachines, from the house of Acer, is bringing to the market the most aggressive mobile computing solution that exists in the market today. It enables to make the dream of owning a laptop a reality for the average Indian consumer. This Notebook from eMachines, is one of the most economical Core i3 based laptops available in the market today. eMachines730, with its dual tone refreshing design, is the best option in terms of price-performance ratio, as it offers the most competitive prices in the market for the specifications incorporated.

 eMachines as a brand focuses on catering to the core value consumer and making computing more accessible by offering great quality products at the best value. Introduced in India with an initial line up comprising of value level notebooks and the sleek, ultra value ‘Xtra’ small form factor Nettop, eMachines’ suite has now come a full circle with the introduction of Netbooks, PDC and Core i.

According to S. Rajendran, CMO Acer India. “The response to eMachines, our entry level brand, targeted at the pure value consumer, has been more than encouraging over the last 6 - 8 months. Customer’s looking for practicality and good functionality are the target audience here. There is enormous potential at the bottom of the pyramid for an affordable computing solution. A key point to note is that while the brand is positioned at the value segment, it does not compromise in any way the quality of its offering.” — TNS

As you must have noticed Chandigarh is going through a makeover. This struck me a few years back when I came back from a long holiday and couldn’t find KC theatre. Our City Beautiful is coming up with lots of malls, modern and stunning houses and mansions, which calls for the need to equip these houses with state-of-the art equipments. A new advance Home Automation system “X10” seems like an inevitable possibility.

Do you ever see a movie where the guy flipped a switch and some contraption came down from the ceiling? Or, maybe a large screen TV came out of the wall or dropped down from the ceiling? Well that may not be a too farfetched idea. And now, there are homes where all this is possible. Home automation is convenient and also offers safety and security to the homeowner. Home automation is designed to control and monitor many different things in the home.

X10 is a powerful, flexible technology. With X10 technology and a little creativity, you can accomplish captain Kirks seat of Star Wars

Home automation is the new way of making our homes practically run themselves. There are so many things you can set up to run automatically and the benefits are great as well. Automated security can give you peace of mind when it comes to your family and home. It has alarms that will activate when an intruder tries to breach your home.

The same alarms can turn on all the lights, make the front lighting of your home flash, turn off the air and heating system in case of fire. Surveillance cameras can keep track of the property inside and out. There are cameras that can be set up to monitor every angle of your home so the windows as well as the doors can be covered.

Using your telephone or Internet from another location as well can control the alarm system. There are many new ways of setting you home automatically. What if your home was equipped with touch pads, PDA or even your smart phone that would allow you to? Turn lights on and off in your home, turn on your favorite programme, check on the children, adjust the lighting, scan your outside security cameras, turn your security system on or off, adjust the temperature of your home, turn sprinklers on or off and turn your water pump off after a refill.

In the near future, homes will have all this and lot more. Technology is catching up to the point where we will know everything and everyone that enters home, no matter where we are.

Automated system such as X10 the existing wiring in your home is utilised as a communications channel to send messages between X10 devices, these devices can be plugged in to a wall outlet or they can be installed in ceiling accessories. X10 has the advantage that no additional cables need to be run however some locations dependent on how the wiring was installed are not suited to it and X10 may be unreliable, When looking for a home automation system there are various different types on the market therefore you should carefully consider your options when making a purchase.

amitpalsinghgrewal@gmail.com

Here is a perfect Camcorder for camera freaks as Sanyo Xacti High Definition SDHC Camcorder is as powerful as a telescope with a 30X Optical Zoom With a good option to record HD videos with high resolution.

It has a 3-inch TFT LCD display and can record videos at 1280 x 720 resolutions at 30 fps in several popular formats like H.264 / MPEG-4 AVC, it clicks a 2MP still images shooting, and customizing modes like Monochrome, Sepia, and Cosmetic.  At the same time, the camera can store the snaps directly on the 1GB SD card. Micro SD card support of up to 32GB memory, The Camcorder has a good battery life that stands at 9.5 hours of playback. About 3 and half hours of videos can also be recorded with the device. The Camcorder comes with Case, HDMI cable, 1GB SD card, two Rechargeable Li-Ion Batteries, two zoom options like 50x digital zoom and 30x optical zoom, digital image stabilizer, face detection, face chaser, 8-scene mode, mini HDMI port and integrated stereo speaker.