It’s what we call lunch-hour activism. For those working, one hour of office break is just as precious as it’s personal. Nothing should stop you from making the most of it. Start by running away from the desk, leaving the desktop alone.

There’s a lot one can pack into the break apart from the lunch. Opines Pallavi Sharma, former UBS student, “First of all, I move away from my computer, relax for a while and take a stroll.” She adds, “I also feel you should utilise your break by talking to loved ones. Since the entire day you are busy, this time ought to be spared for your near and dear ones.”

Some would even prefer a working lunch and utilise the break to sort out chores. Arunpreet Sidhu, student Visa Consultancy-17, feels, “We hardly have formal lunch breaks but yes whenever possible, I just sleep on the chair. I also feel that going out for lunch with friends would be a nice break from routine.”

Most of the glossies, would guide you on the lunch-hour quick buys. Adds Arunpreet, “I really am not sure if shopping would be a good idea because such a leisurely activity should be avoided when you have less time.”

Laughs Ankit Gupta, manager, ICICI, “We never tidy our desk. We don’t have very formal lunch breaks but yes, after lunch my friends and I take a stroll in the Sector 9 market. We certainly don’t like to remain in the office.”

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Be it Bollywood music or the imported forms like Rock and Jazz, nothing can drive qawwali into oblivion. It’s for the simple fact that the music form has originated from Sufi shrines, which will be there till the world exists. “It’s important to understand the correlation between qawwali and spiritually, and even between qawwali and its popularity. Qawwali celebrates spirituality and with growing stress, people will resort to spiritually for relief. Thus, the music form will get popular,” explains Qadir Niazi.

To popularise a music genre is also the responsibility of the artiste and Qadir fulfils it by choosing lyrics for his qawwalis that are simpler for people to understand. “Art and audience should be equally important for an artist. If an artist isn’t flexible with his form, he will never be able to reach out to his audience.”

So, he picks those ‘bandishein’ and Sufi lyrics, which his audience will be able to enjoy. “I do sing Khawaja mere Khawaja from the movie, Jodhaa Akbar everytime I perform because I know people would enjoy it.” He admires Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan for the connect they enjoy with their audience. “They took the art form to the masses when it was difficult to produce anything that was different from the mainstream music.”

Her creations are flaunted by the likes of Anushka Sharma, Madhuri Dixit, Chitrangada Singh, Jacqueline Fernandez, but it’s for the first time that her hometown will get to see them. Roopa Vohra, revivalist couture jewellery designer, is in the city with her assorted collection.

On at Capital Hall, Taj-17, Roopa’s jewellery line has some of the finest pieces that are a reflection of traditional art forms. “I draw inspiration from our rich past. Rare craft of thewa (a dying Moghul art form) and innovative naqaashi makes our pieces one of their kinds,” shares Roopa. With some 15 years of experience in the field of jewellery designing, Roopa has worked closely with few living artisans practicing thewa.

Starting with a modest capital, Roopa set out to master the fusion of glass and gold and present it to the world.  “It takes months of relentless efforts and experimentation that finally results in a perfect piece of thewa creation,” says Roopa.

The success of thewa paved the way for the launch of naqaashi, “The challenge lay in making concise this Moghul architectural art form used in doors and windows into modern pieces of jewellery,” says Roopa. 

Her creations adorn Madhuri Dixit in Jhalak Dikhla Ja, Anushka is sporting some in Patiala House while Jacqueline wears her jewellery on most red carpet events.

Quiz her on the USP of the collection that she has flown into Chandigarh and she says, “They are unique pieces having vibrant colours. You will be spoilt for choice.”

The pieces start from Rs 50,000 onwards.

(On till February 9 from 11.00 am onwards)

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Bollywood singer Sunidhi Chauhan, known for her versatility, has gone global and recorded a track with Spanish singer Enrique Iglesias. She termed the experience “great” but felt there is not much difference in song recording in India and abroad.

“The experience was great. I have already recorded the song. Unfortunately, I can’t talk much about it. But it’s in the process and will be out very soon,” Sunidhi said.

She and Enrique sang I Can Feel You, which has both Hindi and English lyrics. Sunidhi has also shot for a video with the Spanish singer for the song that is slated to be out this month.

The 27-year-old Indian singer has belted out chartbuster songs like Ruki ruki (Mast), Dhoom machale (Dhoom), Deedar de (Dus), Beedi (Omkara), Sajnaji vari vari (Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd.), Chor bazari (Love Aaj Kal) and most recently Sheila Ki Jawani (Tees Maar Khan).

Asked if she found any difference while recording a song internationally and when in India, Sunidhi, who wants to collaborate with singer Mariah Carey someday, said: “There is not much difference.”

“The difference is in the song and the atmosphere. It’s a nice experience. But when it comes to singing, it’s all the same,” she added. Sunidhi has been in Bollywood for more than a decade now, but the entry of new singers in the industry doesn’t scare her. She believes that being good at work is the survival tactic. “It’s not tough to survive in the industry. You just have to sing better than everyone else and you survive. It’s a simple equation. You give your 100 percent time and discipline, and work so hard that people see and appreciate,” she said.

“As long as you know that working hard is the mantra, you will not find it hard to survive in the industry,” she added.

The singer made her debut as a reality show judge in Indian Idol last year. So, any plans of taking up acting like Sonu Nigam and Himesh Reshammiya?

“I did TV, I’ve done a couple of videos and I’m quite happy with that. When it comes to acting, I believe that unless I’m sure of what I want to do, I don’t get into it,” Sunidhi said.

“For acting, I still haven’t got that inner voice. So I wouldn’t like to go ahead with it now. But as soon as I feel I’m ready, I wont mind doing it,” she added.

“I believe in instincts, whatever my instinct says, I do that,” Sunidhi said.

And how does she feel when she looks back at her journey till now?

She is Hollywood star Jennifer Lopez's cousin and is all set to make a splash in Bollywood with an item number. Caterina Lopez loves being in Mumbai, is a Shah Rukh Khan fan, wants to learn Hindi and says she just might make India her second home.

This is Caterina's second trip to Mumbai and loves the idea of making a career in the Hindi film industry.

"I'm loving being in Mumbai. The weather is perfect right now. It's neither too hot nor too cold. This is my second trip to India and on this trip I did get a chance to know Mumbai better. That's exciting," Caterina said in an interview.

"I came last year around summer time for the first time. That time I had come to shoot for the item song. I couldn't go around Mumbai that time and didn't even have the time to shop because I was very busy. But this time I did get the opportunity to go around and I loved it," said the leggy beauty, who admits that she doesn't have her sister's singing genes.

Caterina will be seen dancing in a sari in the film Bhindi Bazaar Inc and to the words Taan ke seena hoja Kameena. The movie by debutant director Ankush Bhatt stars critically acclaimed actors Deepti Naval, Kaykay Menon and Pawan Malhotra among others.

The Latin beauty feels that the song was a good opportunity for her to try her luck in Bollywood. "I did know about Bollywood. It is pretty known in America; so I did have a good idea about the industry.

"The director approached me for this song and I thought this would be a great platform for my Bollywood introduction. I also quite liked the song, and really connected with it and thought that this is the perfect thing for me. So I came to India and we shot it and I had an amazing time," Caterina said. — IANS

Hollywood beauty Keira Knightley has banned TV in her house as she does not want to get addicted to reality shows.

The Pirates of the Caribbean star prefers to read or sketch in her free time and is even considering to cut off her internet connection to make best use of her free time.

"Do you know what it is? It's that I'm the laziest in the entire world. It's true. And stagnation is always really, really imminent. I can literally just sit and not do anything for hours and hours and hours and if there is something completely mind-numbing to do, like surfing the internet or watching TV, I'll do it and then I'll feel bad about myself.

So I try and get rid of it," Knightley said.

The 25-year-old actor considers TV as a guilty pleasure and is said to be fascinated by popular dance reality show Strictly Come Dancing.

"A lot of my friends don't have TVs either. It might be spreading. But what's nice is that when I do see it, it's such a treat. I did a photoshoot in Cornwall recently and a friend of mine was on the shoot and we literally just sat in my room watching Strictly Come Dancing. We were like, 'This is amazing.' We were talking about that for weeks afterwards," she added. — PTI

Bollywood biggies like Shah Rukh Khan, Hrithik Roshan and Aiswarya Rai are competing for the worst actor trophy at the 3rd annual Golden Kela awards, a spin off on Hollywood's Razzies.

The awards, to be given on March 12, recognise and honour the best of the worst in Hindi cinema by audience vote.Shah Rukh, who won the Filmfare Best Actor for his role in My Name is Khan, is leading the nominations for the worst actor for the same movie. My Name Is Khan, is also in the race for the worst film of the year.

The others, who have made to the list of the worst actor (male) category are: Imraan Khan for I Hate Luv Storys and Break Ke Baad, Neil Nitin Mukesh for Lafangey Parindey, John Abraham for Jhoota Hi Sahi, Vivek Oberoi for Prince. Hrithik for his role of a paraplegic in Guzaarish. Abhishek Bachchan, who surprised everyone by accepting his Kela award last year, is missing from the list this year but wife Aishwarya Rai more than makes it up for him. She is competing with the likes of Kareena Kapoor and Kajol for the worst actor trophy for her role in Raavan.The other Bollywood beauties who feature in the list are: Sonam Kapoor for her role of a confused fashionista in Aisha, Deepika Padukone for Housefull, Break Ke Baad, Priyanka Chopra for Anjaana Anjaani, Pakhi Tyrewala for Jhootha Hi Sahi and Kareena-Kajol for We Are Family.

The nomination list for the worst films has been extended to eight to accommodate the bad films that were made last year, which include Sajid Khan's Housefull, I Hate Luv Storys, Salman Khan's Veer, My Name Is Khan, Akshay Kumar-Farah Khan's production Tees Maar Khan, Aisha, Anjaana Anjaani and Action Replayy The worst director list includes Farah Khan (Tees Maar Khan), Anil Sharma (Veer), Ashutosh Gowariker (Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Se) Abbas Tyrewala (Jhoota Hi Sahi) and Rohit Shetty for (Golmaal 3). —PTI

After a disappointing last year when most of his films saw a bearish turn at the box-office, Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar is hoping that his first release of the year, cricket based family-drama Patiala House, witnesses a bullish trend in the movie business. The film is releasing on Friday.

Directed by Nikhil Advani and jointly produced and distributed by Hari Om Productions, T-series and People Tree Films Credence Motion Pictures, Patiala House shows how difficult it is for a Sikh boy, played by Akshay, in a patriarchal set up to fulfil his dreams.

Rishi Kapoor, Dimple Kapadia, Indian rapper and hip hop singer Hard Kaur and Prem Chopra completes Akshay’s family in the movie.

Mercedes-Benz celebrates its 125th anniversary and invention of the first automobile by its founders Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler by raising the bar of luxury motoring yet again. The iconic “Maybach” brand is launched in two top of the line variants - Maybach 57 S & Maybach 62. The Maybach – symbolised by the double M in the curved triangle is considered to be the pinnacle of automotive engineering, technical excellence and timeless elegance and is a culmination of the company’s expertise in automotive development spanning 125 years.

Designed with meticulous attention to detail, built in a state-of-the-art manufacturing factory and kitted out with 21st-century automotive technology, the Maybach 62 and Maybach 57 S are writing the next chapter in the history. These, along with Mercedes-Benz models make some of the finest examples of automotive excellence, worldwide. — TNS

A team of doctors have written software that creates dynamic, real-time, three-dimensional colour movies of the brain. “We usually think of cameras as looking out at the world. This is a new kind of camera. It gives you a window on your mind,” the Globe and Mail quoted Mark Doidge, from Toronto, as saying.

The “camera” adapts an algorithm known as eLORETA, amplifies EEG signals from 32 electrodes attached to the cerebral cortex, and converts them into colour-coded movies of neuronal activity.

The algorithm infers and maps where electrical events are occurring. The movie can then be watched in real time, recorded and played back on computer screens.
Another advantage of the software, co-created by Joseph Mocanu, is speed. Dubbed dynamic electrical cortical imaging (DECI), it takes visual impressions less than 1/1,000 of a second apart - in virtual real-time.If its functionality is proven by studies, the software could have far-reaching implications for diagnosis and treatment of pain, sleep and other behavioural disorders, as well as neurological diseases and dementias.

“Certainly we need clinical studies. But I do think we have advanced the science. And it’s only going to get better,” said Doidge. — Agency

Darling….aankho se aakhan char karne do…Exactly what Sheila did for Tees Maar Khan and Munni did for Dabangg, Darling is doing for Saat Khoon Maaf. It's a fresh tune with undertones of Goan music and mischievous enough to build our curiosity in Vishal Bhardwaj's next flick. Youngsters who already have the number on their I-pods and cell phones give their ratings. The second on their list is favourite list this week is Patiala House track, Long ka Lashkara.

— Ashima Sehajpal, 

Aseem, student

If remixed well, it's a perfect dance number, different yet fun. I already have it on my I-phone. The lyrics are fantastic, which compliments the music. I would rate it eight on ten. Even the video is kind of a prelude to the film. The song will make youngsters curious enough to watch the film.

Rajni Chauhan, student

The song reminds me of O Maria, a hit number of my parents' time, yet it feels fresh, everytime I tune into the number. It's quite a bold number minus the raunchiness. Seems like the next big number after Sheila… The song has an unusual rhythm, but I am sure people have already started liking the song. I would go for 8.5 on a score of 10.

Ajit Batheja, student

The fast beats of the song make it a perfect dance number. It's already a huge hit. Music is different, a typical characteristic of Vishal Bhardwaj's flicks. We saw that in Kaminey and Ishqiya. In fact, the song is already doing well in the party circuit. An easy 8 out of ten. Lyrics get a thumbs-up too. The way it begins with the word Darling, makes it a catchy number. It's time all Bollywood fans had it updated in their favourites list. 

Life in a designer's lane is always fashion forward and layered with multiple hues. City-based designer and event manager Rashmi Bindra is one such designer who has to her credit some 20-odd exhibitions. Adding another feather to her cap, she is now coming up with an all-women products exhibition on March 6 and 7 at Hotel Mountview.