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What’s in a number?
Cellular services that are already grand in our country (in the US you still pay for an incoming call), mobile number portability (MNP) is another step in giving consumers the best bet for their money. "A phone today is the lifeline of any business. Number portability comes as a boon," says Ashita Sondhi, proprietor, Bling, NAC, Manimajra. "I have been stuck with this service provider that's been giving me huge bills by the month end. I couldn't change my number, as it's my connection with clients. MNP makes me much more flexible," she adds. Jaspreet Brar, a bachelor of arts student in DAV-10, who shares the last four digits of his cell number with his parents, says, "That makes numbers easier to remember. I am glad that these numbers are going to be ours forever." Most ecstatic is the student class. Ekakshra Mahajan, a class XI student, is relieved that now she will be able to change her services without compromising the number. "My friends always had such interesting packages, I am so happy that now I can switch over," says Ekakshra. People have already started applying for the service change. Ravi Jain from RV Enterprises-42 says that he got seven requests within the first four hours of the launch of MNP. "We have already processed one and waiting for the response. We have been assured that it will be done in a day," says Jain. And how is it going to impact service providers? "This is the highest stage of consumerism," says a highly placed official with a reputed telecom company. He identifies two groups of customers. One who don't care about numbers; change their number every so often, takes free SIM, use the talk time and hop onto another number. The other category is of the loyal ones, professionals or businessmen. "MNP comes as a bliss for the latter. Earlier, once a customer took a number he was held hostage by the company, as he just couldn't change, which will no longer be the case," says the official. mona@tribunemail.com
How to change your Service Provider? n
SMS PORT and after a space, write your existing mobile number and message to 1900 n
You will receive a unique porting code n
Take this to the service provider you want a number from n
Fill in the form, provide an identity proof and a photograph (it costs Rs 19) n
In all probability, you'll get the change in service in next five to seven days Shrink speak
Bond with numbers is not necessarily an illness. However, for some, numbers become such an obsession that their whole life revolves around them. "Some have numeric fixation. It's called Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Those who suffer do certain things to a fixed count like opening a door thrice or taking 10 steps at a time. When these people don't get the desired number they get depressed or distressed. This is, however, not connected to car or cell numbers," he adds. Number game
A particular number and a combination of numbers have the power to affect our lives. Many come to consult us when they opt for a new number, says numerologist Poonam Sharma.” |
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‘We wanted to sensitise
people’
The movie No One Killed Jessica was just a reminder of what happened in the infamous case. "The intention was not to preach morality. We just wanted to sensitise the public towards the injustice once again," comes from Samara Chopra, who played the character of Naina Sehgal, based on Malini Ramani, in the movie, No One Killed Jessica.
After playing a character role in her first outing in Bollywood, she hopes that her career graph will take off. "But even if Bollywood doesn't happen big time, there are a lot of things that I keep myself busy with." The count begins with her being a yoga practitioner. "I host regular yoga shows on the national TV channel. I have also anchored travel and photography shows." She's also a part of the Rockband, The Scavengers. "The need to foray into different fields is because I am never satisfied with whatever I do. I hope someday I'll be able to focus my energy on a particular subject," she says. While the career hopping continues from being an actor to a singer, she is sure what will remain constant is yoga. "Yoga is a longterm plan. With a number of contemporary yoga forms entering the scene, one has lot of options but one needs to be careful while choosing," says Samara. According to her, the complete form of yoga is, "The one that benefits the mind and body together; and follows the eight-fold path of Patanjali Yoga."
— Ashima Sehajpal
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A different tune
His first performance in India lasted for a mere 20 minutes. "That's how you get punished for not playing the usual Bollywood music. The owner of the club asked me to step down from the stage and let the in-house DJ take over," this is how Maarten Klein, a DJ from London, learnt his first music lesson in India. "The lesson learnt was no matter what, experimental music is second to Bollywood music." It was only after Maarten formed a band with Taru Dalmia that he once again took to the new music form. "We named the band, Bass Foundation, as a part of which I made the music and Taru aka Delhi Sultanate rapped alongside," informs Maarten, who's in the city with Taru and Samara to perform at the Peddlers, Sector-35. Explaining further, Taru says, "We work on the Jamaican sound system, which produces music as a derivative of Reggae music. After doing a number of shows across India, we realised that there are enough followers of underground music." The number, however, he says, will multiply only if the clubs take the initiative. "Only commercial music is offered to people, since it's a safer option." Maarten takes over from him to add, "We thought that people go to clubs only for music but the fact is it scores low on their priority list. On the top of the list are drinks, crowd, food and ambience." After witnessing the success of Indian Ocean's collaboration with Aamir Khan's production house for the movie Peepli Live, the duo isn't averse to making Bollywood music. "Only if we are given freedom to make our kind of music," adds Maarten. They feel happy about the fact that a lot of youngsters are taking to the new form of music and forming rock bands, but what bothers them at the same time is senseless imitation. "Just the way the movie Rock On did. Only the name has the word Rock and other than that, it had the regular Bollywood tunes. Rapping and rock music seldom see any original creations." They are thus for adaptation of music. "I do rap in English but the lyrics are based on the scene in India." They sign off by saying, "We make music that is for India and of India. Imitation can't be considered as music revolution." Don't forget to mix originality and adaptation. ashima@tribunemail.com
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MAGGI MOMENTS
The market today is flooded with a variety of options in addition to Maggi. With brands like Horlicks and Knor in competition, it actually spells the success story of instant food, especially noodles. And when talking of this variety, in some of the remotest corners of the country, where one may not get even basic stuff like dal or roti, a variety of instant noodles are available! From a dhabawala to a roadside restaurant, the menu in most would boast of the plain as well as vegetable variety of Maggi. A packet otherwise would cost a mere Rs 10, but the cooked one can go up to Rs 35. A restaurant in Dharampur (HP) serves a humble packet of Maggi for this price. Whatsoever, who minds piping hot noodles in this cold weather! Going back in time, Maggi was an instant hit and so was Wai Wai (a variety of pre-cooked noodles that can be munched without cooking. And if you have the time, then 2-3 minutes is all that you need for cooking them). Though Top Ramen came into the market with innovative advertisements to lure customers, the popularity of Maggi remains to date. Cup Noodles was another variety that was launched with the goodness of vegetables. And this one was a hit with the hostel crowd; all needed to make it was of a cup of boiling water. In all these years many brands have come and gone in the instant noodles variety, but Maggi remains the veritable 'king' of instant noodles. This despite the advent of Horlicks Foodles and Knor's Soupy noodles, among other options. As for Maggi, it is competing with its own flavours like Chicken, Cheese, Atta, Rice, Masala and Tomato, which though popular, do not compete with the original flavour. In fact, in India 'Maggi noodles' is recognised as a genre of products known as instant noodles. So much is the popularity of instant noodles, that with growing health consciousness among people, Maggi recently introduced the 'Atta Noodles' made of wheat flour, instead of refined flour used in other noodle products. Recently, 'rice noodles' were introduced, but they have to still grab the attention of people. Maggi or other varieties of instant noodles are not just a food product; they are more than that - a concept, a lifestyle. It is a food habit that is integral to our lives now! jigyasachimra@tribunemail.com Maggi point n
Stop 'n' stare in Sector 10 (Leisure Valley) serves Maggi in a most humble way (read as the packet dictates). But here, you can relish the piping hot noodles in a serene environment. n
PU's Sarojini Hall serves Maggi in two varieties — plain and vegetable. Must try their vegetable
Maggi. n The mess of Govt Home Science College in Sector 11 too serves a delicious plate of
Maggi. n If you are travelling to Shimla then on your drive uphill try Maggi at Modern dhaba in
Dharampur. n A weekend getaway, Renuka ji near Nahan is another place where you can try Maggi. Nothing unusual about this Maggi, but its just the feel of eating Maggi from a hot stove that tickles the palate. n
Indian Institute of AdvanceD Study canteen in Shimla too serves a wonderful plate of
Maggi. n The original Maggi company came into existence in 1872 in Switzerland, when Julius Maggi took over his father's mill. It quickly became a pioneer of industrial food production, aiming at improving the nutritional intake of worker families. It was the first to bring protein-rich legume meal to the market, which was followed by readymade soup based on legume meal in 1886. n
Maggi noodles is a brand of instant noodles manufactured by Nestlé. The brand is popular in Australia, India, South Africa, Brazil, Nepal, New Zealand, Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan and the Philippines. In several countries, it is also known as "maggi mee" (mee is Indonesian/Malay for noodles). |
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No onion tears
If rising prices of onion, tomato and garlic are your concern, and you have no time for lengthy process of chopping and cooking, Homelike has brought cooked masala for you. Simran Foods has launched bhuna masala that can be used in practically any kind of dish - vegetarian or non-vegetarian. "The idea was to get the same taste as home-cooked food, that's why our brand name is also Homelike," says JP Singh, partner Simran Foods. Right now at a cottage industry level, a fully automated unit at Mullanpur, Ludhiana, is churning out bhuna masala, tomato puree, preserved cherries (without any chemicals) and also kadi pakora. "We are simple farmers; ours is an endeavour to make the taste of Punjab available to as many people as we can," says Inderjit Singh, partner. The products are available in 425 gms, 830 gms and three kg tin packing. The smallest one is for Rs 65. Presently, they are also available at Mohali and select stores at Chandigarh and Panchkula. Convenient for students, bachelors as well as working women, to know more or to book order, you can log on to www.simranfoods.com.
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In need of more pubs?
For the rest of the evening, they moved around with a 'what!' look on their faces. Then in the commercial sector -35 they found the newly opened, only, English pub, Peddlers. The duo smiled. "This seems like it." Let us admit, we drop in scraps, posts and tweets for the world about how happening Chandigarh is — Nightlife is getting better. Oh! We have so many lounges with a casual ambience. And you know, I saw some girls guzzling down beer.' Is this all we have as substitutes for pubs? You mind if we tell you, we do not have a pub culture here! C'mon make some noise. After all we are a happening city. Aren't we? You cannot possibly fly down to Bangalore or Mumbai to enjoy a beer mug, you might just walk into a mix of lounge, bar and pub, dressed a degree better than casual dressing and guzzle down the cool frothy drink. "This is all you can do," Ashish Manchanda, managing director The Lobby Sector-26, says with a puckish grin. If you are caught up in finding differences between pub, club and lounge, here is a quickie. Commonly used shorthand for Public House, a pub is a casual hangout serving beer. Do you know of any place? Peddlers, the only English pub, has all it takes to be an original pub - yellow lights and a lot of wooden furniture. Says Vipul Dua from Peddlers, "There has been a conscious effort to recreate the ambience of old English pubs. Raw performances, lot of soccer, and a good flow of beer, Peddlers is all about the ruggish aesthetic pub culture." Nevertheless, Vipul feels we definitely need pubs in the city, if pubbing culture is what we want to develop. Beer is the word here, but extreme weather condition is one reason for non-existence of pub culture in the city and around. "The youngsters are still open to trying different kinds of beer, but most people going to lounges or bars like single malts," says Manish Goyal, director, S Lounge. Hang on; if not the entire pubbing culture feel, lounges carry traces of pubs in the form of casual ambience. "We have in a way consciously added a casual touch to the lounge ambience to get in some feel of the pub," adds Manish, who will be rolling out some activities in the near future to promote a pubbing culture in the city. Drinking a yard of beer, one followed by the other, none of those second looks, no taking note of who is wearing what, no monitoring the voice decibels…sad we don't have anything like this in Chandigarh that claims to be high on life. Ashish Manchanda cannot ignore the lack of pubs and no traces of 'pubbing' culture. "The coming year will be good for the beverage industry with new foreign drink brands likely to follow after some reforms in the taxation policy. Till that time, we make-do with semi-formal lounge culture. But there is definitely a scope for pubs here." While someone rakes up grey cells and comes up with exciting ideas, people don't mind trying foreign brands of beer. "Corona, Stella, Budweiser, Kingfisher Ultra and Blue are popular beer brands," says Ankit Gupta, director, Himani's Vertigo Lounge. By the way, this place sells maximum Kingfisher Beer. "Pub in its real form does not exist. A place where you can hangout with friends, walk in casually, drink beer is not on the floor now. However, the culture is beginning to grow in lounges, which have the same casualness about them." So, no look-alikes of Irish pubs. "Well no," Ankit smiles. "As I said, pubbing in a initial stage is catching up. Women drinkers no longer create 'uh-aahs' and beer is quite a favourite drink throughout the season. There are enough dedicated beer drinkers in the city." What good is that in the absence of a good pub! jasmine@tribunemail.com
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Beer does reduce stress to some extent. So having beer in little quantities won't do much harm. Interestingly, it has been found that risks of strokes, vascular and cardio vascular diseases are also lowered by consuming beer. n Having beer after a long hectic day also helps relax and soothes your stress which helps you sleep better at night.n Some studies have shown that it is also good for kidney stones.n It is both fat free and cholesterol free.n Beer is rich in silicon which strengthens the bones and prevents fractures in the later life.n Beer makes our skin glow. It has a few antioxidants that help fight the free radicals that damage our skin. Beer nourishes the skin and makes it look healthy.n Did you know that drinking beer can give you shiny and soft hair? Consuming beer provides a great nutritional value to your hair and also acts like a conditioner. Dilute half a can of beer and pour it on our hair. Mix together half can of beer (undiluted) and an egg, massage it on your hair and then rinse it off thoroughly. It works.n You'll be amazed at this, but beer also provides great nutritional value to your plants. The yeast present in beer nourishes them and helps give you a blooming garden. So instead of throwing the left over beer in your sink, get your plants drunk!
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For the modern woman who likes to keep her style chic and elegnat Beyu, the German colour cosmetics brand from Elder Health Care Limited has for the first time introduced a new shimmer lipstick - Catwalk Glamour Lipstick. The ultimate shimmer will make one's glamour occasions just perfect. Catwalk glamour lipstick is available in four sensational shades. The gorgeous combination of glitter particles and the shimmer effect let your lips shine and leaves you with an elegantly rich feel. Catwalk glamour lipstick dazzles one's lips with those sensual and seductive lips. With its enhancing creamy texture and caring waxes, lips remain soft and smooth for long. The long-lasting effect helps in the nourishment of your lips with a dazzling velvety feel. The lipstick is available at Rs 900. — TNS
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They don’t need sale!
"Ours is an international luxury brand, the word sale doesn't gel with our image. No wonder, we don't put out our products on sale," declares Anjali Dhiman, senior sale executive, Mont Blanc Boutique. She adds, "The word sale has a different feel to it than the word promotion. At the most, we have a promotion only for our elite customers whom we invite for a cup of coffee by first mailing them and then calling them up personally." Even then, it's a promotion on select products, writing instruments and watches. Did anybody ever hear of Rolex going on sale? The city studios housing the brand would perhaps vouch for that. Even if the likes of Omega came at a slightly lower price that would be advertised. Talk of exclusive ownership rights, there are certain limited editions that would never even be retailed. Some of the high-end promotions include family and friends, a wine and cheese event where the patronisers are invited over to have a look at what's on offer. Lacoste in the city has never put out its merchandise on "off." Shares Ashwani Kumar, store manager, Lacoste-17, "Our Chandigarh store has never ever gone on sale because we only have that kind of clientele and accordingly get the merchandise." The likes of those that do go out on mark down, the first two days are reserved for exclusive preview of cardholders, when the madness and hustle of reduced bargains has not yet taken off. For tags that sell, worth for money rather than value for money is important. Ashwani adds, "Admit it or not, even a ten per cent off somewhere does bring down a brand's image." manpriya@tribunemail.com
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One's cell number today is one's identification, status symbol, a connect to the world and even a 'lucky charm'. That's why the recent 'number portability' is being hailed by all and sundry - you can now retain your number and change the service provider!
“People are connected to some numbers due to astrological reasons. Also VIP numbers, be it cars, mobiles or houses, are a status symbols. People flaunt them like other flashy gadgets," says Dr Parmod Kumar, consultant psychiatrist, Silver Oaks, Mohali. 
“Each number has its own vibration and is linked to a particular planet. The common man might not have the knowledge about it, but many people, due to some incidents in their life, consider some numbers as lucky.
Maggi has been a true friend. Each one of us has had a Maggi moment in life - a moment when mommy was not around; midnight snack, bunking classes at the college canteen, dating at a hill station, sharing half a packet with little brother and fighting over a spoonful! There are memories galore and people still continue to relish Maggi.
After two hours of scouting, covering the length and breadth of the city, a few friends who had flown down from Mississauga could not find a single pub! "If people in Chandigarh drink, why ain't there a single pub here," the perplexed look on the faces of the two said it all.
It's a street word - the one that conjures up images of hawkers selling their wares. It's a philosophy of psychology. For some, to sale or not to sale, is not even a question. The reasons are elitist.