Hindustantimes Brunch 9th october 2011

WEEKLY MAGAZINE, OCTOBER 9, 2011 Free with your copy of Hindustan Times

Shop but don’t drop. Grab the best deals. Snaffle the coolest gifts. Diwali shopping? It’s a blast!

This painting is by 16-year-old Afrin Ansari, a student of Sulabha Special School, Mumbai

2, 2011 , OCTOBER Times WEEKLY MAGAZINE copy of Hindustan

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All journeys BRUNCH QUARTERLY AND ALL NEW!! pale in comparion the Web! son when you travel Log on to hindustantimes.com/brunch the universe within yourself. Learn how some celebrities fared on their personal spiritual retreats

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OUR COVER: Cards With A Heart

Dream home

PHOTO: ANSHUMAN POYREKAR

Lalit Wadhwa A glimpse at unseen photographs of the father of nation thru the lens of Kanu depict the generosity and the true patriotism of the saint. Kudos to Brunch for making the memories alive on his birthday.

twitter.com/HTBrunch @Mittermaniac Wonderful cover story on @HTBrunch. Rare, old photographs of Gandhi taken by his grand nephew. I only wish there were more here! @bhavyapatla @RajivMakhni flat tvs are better thats bcoz projectors have less versatality for light conditions and r not clear. @drdeepakchawlaWay to go Rajiv. It's great to read written something with conviction rather than usual balancing stuff in tech columns!! @pradhan_sameer @RajivMakhni thanks for keeping us upclose with latest technology, very informative, keep up. @ram_kannur Very compulsive argument. But difficult to imagine watching news on a projected wall.

THE CIRCLE OF LOVE Students of the Sulabha Special School (clockwise from bottom) Afrin Ansari, Ganesh Kamble, Reshma Pootpack and Pramod Kamble display their artworks It’s not Diwali unless you receive (and send) greeting cards made by an NGO. So we asked the Sulabha Special School – located at Tilaknagar in Mumbai – to create exclusive greeting card designs for the Brunch cover. These have been created by students of the pre-vocational group, Afrin Ansari, Ganesh Kamble, Pramod Kamble and Reshma Poot-

BRUNCH ON THE WEB

pack. The Sulabha Special School works with 114 students with mental challenges and associated problems. According to Anuradha Jatar, headmistress, “We create greeting card designs for corporates on request.” Students also make folders, notepads, paper bags etc.

To find out more, go to www.sulabhaspecialschool.org

hindustantimes.com/brunch

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10 Best Tablet Computers of 2011: You could call the past two years the times of the Tablet computer. With more than 30 Tablets to choose from now, sample the best

The Net Sings A New Tune Star One’s longrunning show Geet Hui Sabse Parayi is very popular online.

But why are its TRPs so abysmal?

KSHAMA RAO tries to crack the mystery

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1941

— BHAGWAN THADANI, Mumbai

Ashish Bhatnagar Do you know today is Shashtri Jayanti as well? Jai Jawan Jai Kisan!

Calling All Tweeple

Pradesh, February,

AS A regular reader of Brunch I thoroughly enjoyed the cover story (Kanu’s Gandhi, 2 October). It was great to see rare photographs of Mahatma Gandhi taken by his grand nephew Kanu Gandhi. He took such pains to click these beautiful pictures which form such an outstanding collection. Kanu Gandhi will always be remembered for his valuable contribution. I hope that the authorities preserve more such important photos which can be an inspiration for the future.

Tanya Sharma i am a big fan of ur Brunch magazine ur magazine are very intresting i like your interviews specially.

Chhavi Arya Thanks for info-bytes on setting up a home theatre.

in Madhya

Priceless gems

Ram Kumar Garg Brunch is really becoming a full fledged weekly afer it had given a glimpse of rare photograph of Mahatama Gandhi last week end.

Yashvir Chawla This issue of Brunch will last for a long time on my shelf. :)

Rocks at Jabalpur

a glimps We bring youma, taken by his grand nephe of the Mahat

“Something in me snapped and I knew I needed to be alone, away from the world, and I couldn’t possibly go back to Delhi where I was living then,” says author Ira Trivedi

facebook.com/hindustantimesbrunch

At the Marble

G GANDHI photographs REMEMBERIN e of some rare personwalKanu Gandhi

EDITORIAL: Poonam Saxena (Editor), Kushalrani Gulab (Deputy Editor); Tavishi Paitandy Rastogi, Mignonne Dsouza, Veenu Singh, Parul Khanna Tewari, Pranav Dixit, Yashica Dutt, Amarah Ashraf

WITH REFERENCE to your cover story on green homes (Green Card Holders, 11 September), there are many things that can be implemented.

Solar panels on the roof should be laid.

Most of the building materials should be sourced locally to cut down on the carbon footprint and gas emissions.

Further, one should minimise unhealthy VOC paints, primers and finishes on fixtures and wood. Also, the floor tiles should be easy to clean and no carpets should be laid as the dust under the carpet is the cause of dust allergies. And one should make it a point to minimise the use of adhesives.

— JAYANTHY SUBRAMANIAM, Mumbai

INDULGE GO

Rajasthan Royals

Sometimes I long for the quiet, sleepy Rajasthan of the Sixties PLAY

Of $35 Tablets And More...

The Tablet revolution is well and truly on – and will change the rules of all we know LISTEN

The Harmonica Boys

I’m a great fan of the harmonica – heck, I even bought one that I cannot play anything on LIVE

Small vs Silver

TV stars abroad may qualify as A-listers; but in India they remain on the C-list

DESIGN: Ashutosh Sapru (National Editor Design), Swati Chakrabarti, Rakesh Kumar, Ashish Singh, Saket Misra, Suhas Kale, Shailendra Mirgal

HINDUSTAN TIMES WEEKLY MAGAZINE OCTOBER 9, 2011

Cover design: Swati Chakrabarti Painting: Afrin Ansari

THE GIFT GUIDE

HOT WATER Nothing works harder than your feet, so pamper them after a shopping trip

Affordable, pricey, desirable, useless, wacky: gift ideas for family, friends, colleagues

SPLASH OUT CHILL OUT

WATCH IT

PHOTO: THINKSTOCK

Wine cooler fitted with LED lights from Philips. Available at Go back in time Philips Light with this wall clock.

Lounges. ` 8,850 Available at Retro at Select Citywalk, Saket and Pacific Mall, Subhash Nagar, New Delhi. ` 1,600

How to shop without getting tired

and if you are looking for gifts, then make a rough Not every shopping spree estimate of what you want to buy and for how many needs to leave you exhausted, people, according to budgets. Organisation takes a good chunk of the stress. Stylist and personwith arms, feet and head aching away al shopper Rishi Raj advises surveying your wardrobe well before setting out. “Keep in mind all

by Yashica Dutt the parties you will be attending in the festive seaT’S THE best workout, anti-depressant, son and vaguely group the separates that you want to wear together. If you find something lacking, then detox and mood-lifter. And that’s a statement add it to your list,” he says. backed by surveys, research and testimoniShopping and partying don’t mix: A full night of als. While it might be damaging to your walpartying followed by a day of shopping will do you let’s health, it can be beneficial for your health. But no good. Ease off a bit on the days that you like any workout, it makes you never want to walk have set aside for shopping so you get a good again; like any detox, it tires the life out of you; and night’s rest. the mood-lifter can turn a downer when you Friend indeed: You might want to be realise how painfully the bag handles are gnawthe Universal Soldier, but if you decide ing into your hand. Shopping is fun – usually. to take a friend along, ensure you Sometimes, though, it’s not. Even the most have the same goals seasoned shopaholics agree. in mind and that So now that you’ll be buying he/she is willing to Diwali gifts by the ton for MAJOR SHOPPING accommodate your your mom-in-law, your boss SPREE MISTAKES needs. and his cat, you need to know 1. Filling up on food, thinking it will give Head over heels: more than ever... How to shop you extra energy. Or not eating at all to While you might without getting tired. feel light dress to impress at all 2. Wearing high heels or fussy clothes times, it would be a WARMING UP 3. Masquerading as the shopping coolie, wise idea to keep the Always be prepared, especially carrying all the shopping bags in your six-inch stilettos aside when you know you are in for a hands in favour of something big shopping day tomorrow.

4. Joining the weekend rush more staircase and List, List, List: Write down 5. Pretending it can be done in ONE day baggage friendly. everything you need beforehand

MIND YOUR WORDS

Alphabet book ends. Available at Paraphernalia, Hauz Khas Village, New Delhi. ` 3,000 a pair.

BE BLESSED

Ganesh Bhalchandra, made of granite, resin wood and embellished with sterling silver. From Frazer and Haws, Shop No. 11, Lodhi Colony, Delhi & Landmark Building, Pali Naka, Mumbai. ` 14,000

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HINDUSTAN TIMES WEEKLY MAGAZINE OCTOBER 9, 2011

BEJEWELLED

For storing baubles: handcrafted, teakwood jewellery box from The First Leaf. `1,250.

Order at contact@thefirstleaf.com

BAG IT

Stuff goodies in bright katran potlis. Available at ‘U’ at Select Citywalk, Saket, New Delhi and Highstreet Palladium, Lower Parel (W), Mumbai. ` 870

EAT IT TO BEAT IT Just like a war or exam, the food you eat before you shop decides how you perform. So, don’t overeat but don’t starve either. Dr Simran Saini, nutritionist and weight loss consultant associated with Fortis Group of Hospitals, suggests healthy snacks like dhokla, steamed momos or corn, paneer tikka or bhelpuri.

HAVE FUN

“These are mini meals that fill the stomach and give you energy,” she says. And do we even need to add that you must keep hydrated with water, energy drinks or lemon water?

But don’t go sipping it every 15 minutes. If you do, you’ll spend all your time in the restroom queue rather than the shopping floor!

BLOW HOT

Funky hairdryer from Pylones@Taabir in Select Citywalk, Saket, New Delhi and Grand Galleria Mall, Mumbai. `3,100

PHOTO: THINKSTOCK

FACE OFF

Stylist Vijayeta Kumar advises wearing something comfortable which allows ease of movement. “If you’re going to be trying on a lot of clothes at stores, wear something simple that doesn’t take ages to take off and put back on. Jeans and T-shirt work just fine,” she says.

Prep up: But the final leg of warming up doesn’t end until you take a realistic estimate of how much you want to shop, and from how many places.

Natasha Chopra, head of styling services for Select Citywalk mall, Delhi, says that it’s better if you try and not do it all at once. “It would be helpful if you don’t go out blank but do a bit of research about what you want to buy and from where. Taking an approximation beforehand via a short visit, asking friends or surfing online could really help, as you then know exactly where you will be headed. A little research can go a long way,” she says.

Keep it real: Personal shopper Rishi Raj advises shoppers not to try doing it at all at once. “It’s important to understand that the shopping cannot be completed in a single day alone. A lot of stress builds up with last-minute purchases as it’s not just you but everyone around you also, trying to get things done.” We suggest you break it up and start much in advance, so that you at least manage to avoid both the Sunday strollers who somehow deliberately walk slowly in front of you and the enthusiastic pushers who shove past at you at any cost.

WALKING THE DISTANCE

Now, chill: You’re at the mall, just relax. If you think it will be a fun experience then it certainly will be. Natasha Chopra of Select Citywalk mall says it’s important to enjoy the experience. “There is so much buzz around, the colours and sights are really worth soaking in. If you keep making a monster out of it in your head, it will become one. Also, be open to some experimentation and trying out the latest products,” she says.

Put it down: But no matter what you do, don’t make the rookie mistake of thinking you’ll be able to

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carry the tonnage on your own shoulders, unless you are indeed a professional bodybuilder. Look for one of those trolley bags that most malls these days tend to have, or if you are going street shopping, carry one along. Harpeet Suri, a PR professional and a self-confessed shopaholic, never shops without one and also uses it to stack her umbrella, water bottle, energy bars and sunglasses (if they aren’t already perched on her head). “My trick is to never be on my feet for too long, so whenever I visit a store or a shop, I immediately pull up a stool and sit down, whether they offer one or not,” she confesses, adding that she never misses a foot massage when she gets a chance to relax while shopping. “It is so energising that I am back on my feet, right in time for a second round.”

Baby’s day out: For those who like to shop plus one, the one being the baby in the stroller, there are certain things you’d like to keep in mind. Don’t get him/her along for the long hours of shopping, as babies and toddlers find it very tedious and you often see them screaming and throwing tantrums at any given market place. If you must, ensure they are in a good mood. Entice them with the wonders of the market, the play area of the malls or a treat.

But whatever you do, don’t let them go hungry or thirsty. Dr Simran Saini says that hunger is the biggest reason why kids become irritable in markets. “Mothers must try and limit their shopping time when they are with kids and they should always carry some sandwiches or snacks to feed them every now and then. Entertaining them with a packet of chips or something equally unhealthy is not advised,” she says.

Flip, turn, check: There is nothing worse than reaching home after a tiring shopping outing to realise there is a gaping hole in your brand new jeans or a missing string in your bandhanwar once you’ve gone through your purchases. So, amidst all the shopping madness, do check for defects. And keep all the receipts safely, in case you need to replace something later.

yashica.dutt@hindustantimes.com

HINDUSTAN TIMES WEEKLY MAGAZINE OCTOBER 9, 2011

Hand-painted Che Guevera whisky flask.

Available at Rohit Kant’s store, Hauz Khas Village, New Delhi. `1500 approx.

Website coming soon http://www.byrohitkant.in

PLAY HARD

Lanvin playing cards. For `5,040, available at Kitsch, Emporio, New Delhi

GET DRUNK

Ludo with shot glasses as tokens. Available at Maximum Store, Shahpur Jat Village, Delhi, for `2,025. www.maximumstore.com

GOLD RUSH

Blinged out gota cushion, available at O! Layla, Hauz Khas Village, New Delhi. `990

BIRD WATCH

Peacock shaped silver mirror. `40,000, from the Design Temple store, Colaba, Mumbai

BOL BABY

Hindi Bol clutch makes a statement.

From Maati, Hauz Khas Village, New Delhi. `2,200 http://www.maati.co.in

GOOD CAUSES

How to

HANG IT

Bright traditional handcrafted silk jhola from Kashmir for just `450.

Available at Crafts Museum, Pragati Maidan, New Delhi

spend it

GET YOUR FILL

Banana fibre tray with glasses from Eco-Corner, Mumbai for `385, 550, 650 and 950 (four different sizes)

PHOTOS: THINKSTOCK

When you walk into a store, do you want to buy everything you see? If your answer is yes, here’s a crash course in budgeting

by Parul Khanna Tewari

H

OW MANY of us have had our budgets spiral out of control during the festive season? How many of us haven’t been able to avail of even lucrative deals simply because we don’t know if we can afford to splurge?

Haven’t we cursed ourselves and our lack of financial planning then?

The festive season (October to December-end) is when people across the world shop maniacally.

And we’re Indian. We shop harder than anyone else.

But the mistake most of us make is that we ignore the “shop” part when we do our annual home budgets. We budget for groceries, vacations, we save for our children’s education or for weddings but we forget to budget for festival-time shopping. There’s a method to spending money during this period. Here’s how to maximise benefits and minimise waste.

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GET READY TO SHOP Follow the rules

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Be patient: If you want to take advantage of the most profitable deals during the festive season, you have to be patient for the rest of the year. By shopping during this season as opposed to any other time of the year, you can save money. Try and postpone purchases till the period before Diwali, because that’s when the good deals happen.

Almost all manufacturers and retailers come up with attractive discounts and great combo deals.

Avoid impulsive shopping: It’s quite likely that the coffee machine you bought during last season’s ‘festive bonanza sale’ is still in its packing box, unused. That could be because you didn’t really need it but bought it only because of the tempting deal. To avoid this, first ascertain if you are an impulsive shopper or not. Check your credit card bills and ask yourself these questions: Did I really need those products? Wouldn’t I be happier saving money instead of spending it?

Do your research: It is very important to get the best of Diwali deals. Read up on the deals in newspapers, magazines and the Internet to zero in on the genuinely good bargains. Then pick something that most suits your budget.

POO-TASTIC

Adorably recycled elephant poop notebooks by Haathi Chaap.

At O! Layla, Hauz Khas Village, Delhi and 109, Powai Plaza, Mumbai.

For `240

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HINDUSTAN TIMES WEEKLY MAGAZINE OCTOBER 9, 2011

RICH & BRIGHT CUSHION UP Cute dog pillow. From the NGO, Welfare of Stray Dogs. `220.

Website: http://wsdindia.org

A series of utility items made of river grass and mangalgiri cotton by NGOs Rainbow and Vismaya promoted by Mother Earth.

At Rajiv Gandhi Handicrafts Bhavan, Connaught Place and Sobo Central, Tardeo, Mumbai. `1,968 whole set

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Prioritise: Yes, there are lots of deals in every category – clothes, electronics, jewellery etc.

You are going to get confused. So you need to get your priorities right before you buy. If there’s a great offer on a particular product but you don’t need that product in the first place, don’t buy it.

For example, if shopping for your house, decide which of these you need most urgently: a bed, or a fridge or a TV. Buy one of these things. Similarly, choose between buying clothing and accessories.

You can’t avoid a list: Make a list before venturing out for your Diwali shopping. You could also make envelopes for your budgeted items, carrying just enough cash for the shopping list. If you see a ‘one-plus-one free’ or ‘up to 50 per cent off’ deal, remember that there are no free lunches.

Check if there is a catch. And do you actually need any of the stuff on offer?

Gift wisely: Make a list of the people you would like to give gifts to. Go over the list to make sure that it’s the final one. Pick gifts within your budget.

Think smart: Try to remember that your need for the latest gadget or those sexy shoes may be satiated with the purchase, but with every such purchase you are moving away from your long-term goal of wealth creation. Do not make your next impulse purchase at the cost of meeting your financial goals.

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THINK BEFORE YOU SHOP How to budget your money throughout the year

POWER GIFTS

per cent of your total annual income 1tureTwenty-five should be kept aside for the shopping expendithat comes up throughout the year. For exam-

ple, if the total income of the house is R1 lakh then 50 per cent (R50,000) of it should be kept aside for daily and monthly expenditure (food, bills, electricity, etc), 25 per cent (R25,000) should go into savings (fixed deposits, retirement and mutual funds) and the remaining 25 per cent (R25,000) should be kept aside for shopping.

Segregate your income under various expenditure heads. Further divide the shopping expenditure into four segments: a) Keep aside 25 per cent of the money to buy clothes and accessories and for women, cosmetics. b) Keep 30 per cent aside for home expenditure – changing the upholstery (every four years and usually during Diwali), cleaning (whitewashing) and changing the furniture, buying refrigerators, TVs, upgrading appliances. c) Keep 10 to 15 per cent to buy jewellery (silver during Diwali or for weddings). This is also the time when the wedding season starts. d) Keep 30 per cent aside for travel (holidays that most people plan during this time), eating out, gifting and socialising.

SPEED UP

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SMART BUYING TIPS Small tricks to save big bucks

Razor thin, ultra-light, super-fast – the Acer Aspire S3 Ultrabook is here. But it’s an expensive gift at R49,999

TUNE IN

For your music-loving buddies, the HD 25 Originals, the cool new electric blue over-theear headphones from Sennheiser R16,990

FIND IT This is a useful gift, the TomTom Via 125 GPS navigator. Now with the ability to pinpoint even local landmarks. R15,000

PLAY ON

Who loves gaming?

Give him/her the Sony PlayStation Portable, R7,990. They’ll thank you for a long time

This is the time when many credit card compa1interest nies tie up with stores and offer 0 per cent if you shop from those stores. shopping with credit cards is not to 2ButThough be encouraged, use the tie-ups to your benefit. make sure you spend only the amount that

you have allotted to a particular product or category, no more. And you should have that amount in the bank. Don’t shop on credit.

You can now scatter the payment (from the 3purpose) money you have saved in the bank for this over two-three months (interest free).

Plus you will get interest on that money from the bank. So you don’t overspend and you also manage to get interest this way.

READ IT

The brand new Kindle from Amazon is now thinner, lighter and keyboard-free! R4,905

Another plus point of using credit cards dur4a hurry ing this time is that you may end up buying in (because of all the attractive deals).

What you buy may turn out to be faulty. Even if you have lost the cash memo but have your credit card receipt, you can go to the store and claim an exchange. And if you end up in consumer court, a credit card receipt will help. in bulk during festive season, for example: 5 Buy buy three sets of sheets and get one set free. avail of membership discounts. While 6shipAlso, shopping through the year, collect membercards from the stores you visit most often.

They generally offer five to ten per cent discounts. If you add that up, you will save a sizeable amount.

parul.khanna@hindustantimes.com Courtesy: Jai Kumar Tejwani, chartered accountant and partner JKT & Co, and financial consultant Radhika Mehtani

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HINDUSTAN TIMES WEEKLY MAGAZINE OCTOBER 9, 2011

CHAT UP

The stylish BlackBerry Bold Touch comes with the BlackBerry 7 OS. R31,500. Who wouldn’t want this as a gift?

indulge go

indulge

| play | listen | live |

Rajasthan Royals

TOP NOTCH Vanyavilas (below) and Udaivilas have both topped lists of the world’s best hotels

I marvel at the transformation of the state, but sometimes find myself secretly longing for the quiet, sleepy Sixties Rajasthan I so loved as a boy

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T SOUNDS funny to say this now, but when I was at school in Ajmer most Indians did not think of Rajasthan as a tourist destination. In those days, Indians went to hill stations on vacation (and very pleasant places those hill stations were too, until they were destroyed by ugly over-development) and the very rich went abroad. In any case, most people went on holiday during the summer and Rajasthan is essentially a winter destination because the heat can be unbearable in July.

But all the things that attract tourists to Rajasthan were around even then. And, in my view at least, they were cleaner, a lot less crowded and better-maintained in the Sixties and early Seventies than they are today. Chittorgarh was beautiful in those days. So were Amber and Jaigarh. The Maharajas were not fully stripped of their titles, privileges and privy purses till 1971, so Royal Rajputana, so beloved of modern tourists, was a real, vibrant experience. The water in the lakes sparkled. Pushkar had not become a pit-stop for French tourists with nasty little joints selling ‘milkshakes and fruit pancakes.’ Jodhpur was a sleepy little town. Nobody outside of Rajasthan had heard of Jaisalmer. The locals still dressed in the vibrant colours that are the signature of Rajasthan and not in illfitting jeans and T-shirts which read ‘Ralph Lauren Polo’ or ‘Gucci.’

By the mid-Seventies, a decline had set in. The Rajput boys I met at school reunions seemed to have nothing to do. Most had retired to their havelis to live in sin with monks.

(Well, Old Monk, anyway.) Money was tight.

When you asked them what they did for a living, they all said “farming.” And even the gods seemed to have turned their attention elsewhere. In 1976, I came to Udaipur to stay at the Lake Palace only to find that the lake was completely dry – they drove me to the hotel in a jeep on the caked mud of the lakebed.

It is politically incorrect to say this but the truth is that tourism saved Rajasthan. And it was private sector tourism that did this in the face of political and bureaucratic obstacles.

When you go to Rajasthan today, the state is booming. New deluxe hotels keep opening.

Private airlines schedule more flights. And the Old Monk-lovers I remember from school are all rich. They have turned their havelis and castles into heritage hotels and are raking it in.

Though assorted tourism ministers, both at the state and centre, take the credit for this turnaround, the truth is that only one central minister did anything for tourism in Rajasthan (Madhavrao Scindia changed the rules to allow for the growth of heritage hotels; as a former maharaja, he understood the potential for family-run palace properties).

It was the Indian hotel industry that revived Rajasthan.

Much of the credit must go to the Taj Group. In the early 1970s, when the Taj was still a tiny company, two maharajas, Sawai Man Singh of Jaipur (the husband

IN THE LAP OF LUXURY When I stay at Udaivilas – which must be the single most luxurious property in India – I marvel at the transformation of Rajasthan

of Gayatri Devi) and Bhagwat Singh of Udaipur (father of both the current maharaja and Arvind Singh, whom he left his properties to), went to see Ajit Kerkar who then ran the Taj Group. They had turned their palaces (the Rambagh in Jaipur and the Lake Palace in Udaipur) into hotels with disastrous consequences, they said.

They had both independently concluded that they needed professional management. Kerkar struck a deal with them. They would retain ownership of the properties but the Taj would manage and market both palace hotels.

Thanks largely to the Taj’s Camellia Panjabi’s legendary marketing skills, both hotels soon became regarded as the two muststay properties in India by European and American travel agents and journalists. By the 1980s, the Lake Palace was one of the world’s most famous hotels (its mystique deepened by its appearance in the James Bond movie Octopussy), the French had fallen in love with Rajasthan (perhaps it reminded them of Algeria, Morocco and other parts of their former North African empire) and Rajasthan’s hotels were full.

In the Nineties came two further momentous changes. The government’s nod to heritage hotels meant that scores of little properties (from 25 to 50 rooms usually) opened all over Rajasthan. These were family-run hotels located either in the palaces of erstwhile thakurs or in massive castles that the thakurs had not previously found a use for.

This led to another wave of tourists. Because the hotels were real palaces and castles, because they lacked the commercial gloss of chain hotels and retained a slightly rough edge, and because they were usually less than half the cost of say, the Rambagh or the Lake Palace, the heritage properties attracted a different kind of tourist: one who cared about Rajput history and architecture and wanted a unique experience.

By the late 1990s, Rajasthan had been transformed. The tourist dollars had changed the fortunes of the state (and of my old school mates who gave up on ancient monks and looked for new Western friends with such names as Johnnie Walker). Historical Rajputana,

BY THE LATE 1990S,

RAJASTHAN HAD BEEN TRANSFORMED. THE TOURIST DOLLARS HAD CHANGED THE FORTUNES OF THE STATE

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HINDUSTAN TIMES WEEKLY MAGAZINE OCTOBER 9, 2011

BEYOND COMPARE By the 1980s, the Lake Palace was one of the world’s most famous hotels GOOD OLD DAYS Chittorgarh was beautiful in the Sixties and early Seventies

PHOTOS: THINKSTOCK

rude travel

Vir Sanghvi

A STATE OVERLOOKED Before 1971, nobody outside of Rajasthan had heard of Jaisalmer (above), and Pushkar (below) had not become a pit-stop for French tourists

PROMOTING RAJASTHAN Madhavrao Scindia changed the rules to allow for the growth of heritage hotels

once in decline and frowned upon in the socialist dispensation of the Seventies, had suddenly become the state’s ticket to global fame.

By then, of course, another change had occurred – outside of India’s borders. Because the Indian government had made such a hash of tourism (sector-unfriendly policies, punitive taxation, poor infrastructure, miserly bilaterals which restricted the number of flights into India, cretinous tourism ministers in many states, etc.), South-East Asia developed as a vibrant tourist hub. Visitors began overflying India to go to Phuket, Bali, Singapore or wherever.

Fortunately, many of those who did come to India still went to Rajasthan. The bad news was that well-heeled tourists still preferred Jimbaran Bay to Jaipur, and spent their money outside of India.

At the very end of the 20th century came the next wave. It is now universally accepted that the Oberoi chain’s Vilas properties transformed the Indian hotel industry. Three hotels opened in the five years after 1997 and changed Indian tourism forever. All three were in Rajasthan: Jaipur’s Rajvilas, Udaipur’s Udaivilas and Ranthambore’s Vanyavilas.

Of the three, Vanyavilas and Udaivilas have both topped lists of the world’s best hotels (earlier, no Indian hotels would make the top 20) and, in some years, they have been joined by Rajvilas in lists of the top ten hotels in the world. These lists are voted by readers (usually, rich readers) of travel magazines so that should give you some idea of how successful the Vilas properties were in luring to India those tourists who usually went to Ubud or beyond.

While the success of the Vilases has pitch-forked the Oberoi into the front rank of the world’s hotel companies, it has also ensured that Rajasthan now offers visitors tourist experiences at all price levels, from real luxury (the Vilases) to palaces (the Lake Palace etc) to heritage (the family-run hotels) to basic five star (say, the new Sheraton in Udaipur) to lots of three star (hundreds of properties scattered all over the state).

Two years ago, when I last went to Udaipur, I wrote that even though global travel magazines rated it as the world’s greatest destination, Indians tended to ignore its charms, leaving it to foreigners to fill the hotels. That is now changing. Udaipur has become a great wedding location and as more hotels open, rooms are available at all price ranges.

Speaking for myself, I have slightly mixed feelings. When I stay somewhere like Udaivilas – which must be the single most luxurious property in India – I marvel at the transformation of Rajasthan and I am delighted to see the new wave of properties. Some of them get even better with time. For instance, under its current general manager, Jan B Tibaldi, Udaivilas is easily India’s finest resort, and the one gap in its offering – the quality of the food – has been filled by the new executive chef, Deep Mohan Singh Arneja, who has moved from Vanyavilas where he used to turn out amazing meals day after day.

But, stick-in-the-mud that I am, I sometimes find myself secretly longing for that quiet, sleepy Sixties Rajasthan that I so loved as a small boy. ******************************************************** On a different note, two apologies, both to do with wine. Many stand-alone restaurateurs have pointed out that even though they pay import duty on wine (hotels pay zero import duty), they price their wines lower than deluxe hotels. For instance, the Mouton Rothschild that cost `1.2 lakh at Delhi’s Leela Palace was only around `20,000 at Diva. So, I’m sorry guys, I should have pointed this out.

Also, in a risotto recipe I wrote that you could use any crap wine, even Sula, while cooking the rice. Many people on Twitter and elsewhere have risen up in protest. One guy has said that Sula got him through college; a few have argued that no matter what anyone says, they like to even drink Sula, not just cook with it. So, apologies to all concerned. I’m against all wine snobbery. If you like a wine then that’s all that matters. You shouldn’t care that neither I nor anybody else I know would ever drink it. Wine is subjective. Your own opinion is the one that counts – not mine.

OCTOBER 9, 2011

15

SINGAPORE

SOUTH EAST ASIA

DEVELOPED AS A VIBRANT TOURIST HUB IN THE ’90S. VISITORS BEGAN OVERFLYING INDIA TO GO TO PHUKET, BALI, SINGAPORE PHOTOS: THINKSTOCK

BALI

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techilicious

Rajiv Makhni

JUST OUT Amazon’s Kindle Fire delivers where it matters – price and content

| listen | live

Of $35 Tablets And More...

The Tablet revolution is well and truly on – and will change the rules of all we know

S

CRATCH THAT, of $22 Tablets and more. Insane as it may sound, this is what India has pulled off. For about what you would spend on a meal at a restaurant, you can now get a full fledged seven-inch screen, rubberised back, WiFi-enabled, Android-based tablet with a video processor that can play 1080P video. That, for those that are foreign exchange conversion challenged, comes to about R1,100. Yup, for the price of two books, for the price of a pair of jeans, for the price of 1/30th of an iPad – you can be the proud owner of an actual working Tablet. There’s a story to tell and as always I am getting ahead of myself.

It was about a year back that Mr Kapil Sibal sat down with us and made a startling announcement. He and his ministry would be able to develop, produce and supply a $35 Tablet to the education sector – that is colleges, schools and other institutes. Students would be able to see full HD video lessons, have all their course books in e-book format, browse the Net for information – as well as watch a few HD movies if time permitted. He held in his hands a device that looked like it was held together with band-aid and Fevicol, was fat and heavy and wasn’t able to do much.

That was a prototype and we were quite forgiving as Mr Sibal had his heart in the right place even if the Tablet wasn’t.

The reaction was instantaneous. From Twitter to emails and from every person we met – we were ridiculed for falling for this grand plan of nothingness. Impossible, said everyone, that we could even think that a Tablet could be made for $35, just a screen costs more said most e-mailers, @rajivmakhni has lost it as he now has started believing in government propaganda said the Twitterati.

And for a while it all seemed true. Months passed, no Tablet, no answers to our queries and no response to a follow-up story.

It all seemed like a great idea on paper that was just not executable.

Then came the call that it was ready. The $35 Tablet was all set and it was even cheaper. And it wasn’t a prototype but a ready to ship device. Could I come across to take a look, as it was now only a few days away from launch? With great trepidation and hesitation I arrived at Shastri Bhavan. It wasn’t an auspicious start at all. The guards, despite advance notice and a VIP pass, weren’t happy to let me through, a walk from one gate to another to a third and finally a reception that made me fill in extraordinary details in a register and gave me another small piece of paper that finally allowed me entry. So far – so not good.

BRAND NEW The Aakash Tablet is an exceptional device

Then it all changed and how. Mr Sibal appeared, the Tablet was pulled out of a box, I hit the power button and lo and behold – it sprang to life. Lightweight, resistive screen, took a little time to boot, instantly connected to WiFi – it all worked well. We were watching a 1080P video clip in about two minutes. Here’s how this remarkable device has come about and what the gameplan is.

It’s made in India, it’s for the education sector, will first be given out to colleges, costs about $38 dollars to make, will be subsidised by the government to the tune of 50 per cent, colleges may issue them out to their students like library books (thus costing them nothing), it’s part of a grand plan to make education accessible and interesting to all, will have almost all courses in the form of videos available to play on it, each college will be outfitted with a high speed broadband connection, text and course books will eventually make it to the Tablet, special apps and services will come soon – and the government will easily manage to subsidise eight million of these in this financial year.

What we’ve pulled off in India has been the dream of every country for the last 10 years. A low-cost, massproduced device that imparts education, services, information and entertainment to each and every student in the country. Each country has tried and each country has failed. And it seems that this one will not – and thus bring about an educational revolution. Move over Mr Negroponte – we have a new rock star.

Let me answer the other two burning questions. How good is it as a Tablet and can you get one for yourself? Well, as compared to the big guns and their Tablets, this is an average device. But for what they want it to do – it’s an exceptional device. And yes, it will come out in the retail market but with no subsidies – and you should be able to pick it up for about R2,700.

Simultaneously, two other big things happened. Amazon’s Kindle Fire got announced and I got my hands on a Samsung Galaxy Note.

Why is that significant? The Amazon Kindle Fire ($199) finally gets what the others haven’t till now. That an Android Tablet shouldn’t be competing on features but on price and content. On the other hand, the Note is the first true hybrid (it’s a phone and it’s a Tablet as it has a huge 5.3 inch screen, a mind-boggling resolution of 1280x800, super slim, slips easily into a pocket) that negates the need for a separate phone and a Tablet and may well be a sign of things to come.

The Tablet market is on fire. Its usage and diversity is startling, its price points and abilities are jaw dropping. The Tablet revolution has truly kicked off and will changes the rules of all we know. As Mr Sibal proclaimed – they’ll upgrade this Tablet soon to a capacitative touchscreen, double the battery life and add 3G capabilities, yet maintain the same price of R1,100. Now, I believe him!

SAMSUNG’S NOTE PHONE

(SEEN WITH A TABLET) NEGATES THE NEED FOR TWO DEVICES

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Rajiv Makhni is managing editor, Technology, NDTV and the anchor of Gadget Guru, Cell Guru and Newsnet 3. Follow Rajiv on Twitter at twitter.com/RajivMakhni

HINDUSTAN TIMES WEEKLY MAGAZINE OCTOBER 9, 2011

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s y o B a c i n o m r a H e Th

download central

Sanjoy Narayan

ONE LUCKY BUSKER Sugar Blue, who was discovered

by The Rolling Stones while he was busking in Paris, is dizzyingly good at playing the harmonica

I’m a great fan of the harmonica – heck, I even bought one that I cannot play anything on. No matter. I’m still a sucker for it

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HERE ARE some musicians that you want to kick yourself for not discovering earlier. And the desire to plant the sole of your shoe firmly on your own behind is intensified if the musician happened to have been right under your nose and yet you didn’t notice. Sugar Blue is one such musician that I wish I’d discovered much earlier than I did, which happened to be just a couple of weeks back. Sugar Blue plays the harmonica. In fact, he is dizzyingly good at it. But more about him in just a minute.

I have always been a sucker for good harmonica players. Actually, I’ve been a sucker for most harmonica players. My early introduction to the harmonica was courtesy Bob Dylan’s acoustic phase where he’d play a harmonica fixed on a stand around his neck while he strummed his guitar. One of my friends, a budding songwriter and folk music junkie, fashioned a similar harmonica holder by bending a wire coat hanger and put up informal faux Dylan shows for us, usually doing covers of Dylan songs but also using us as guinea pigs to test some of his own compositions. He wasn’t very good but that’s another matter.

The harmonica was a key instrument for many musicians in the 1960s and ’70s, particularly those whose rock oeuvre came with hues of the blues. Harmonica players such as Paul Butterfield and Jack Bruce (of Cream) and John Sebastian (Lovin’ Spoonful) put the instrument on the map in rock. Even guitar players such as Dylan and Bruce Springsteen and multi-instrumentalists such as John Mayall complemented their performances and recordings by also playing the harmonica. But it was the blues harmonica players who really elevated the instrument as a dominant sound in their music.

My list of favourite blues harmonica exponents includes Charlie Musselwhite, Junior Wells and Taj Mahal. And, of course, The Grateful Dead’s Ron “Pigpen” McKernan who died prematurely at 27. Much, much later, I discovered the amped-up harmonica of John Popper whose electrifying sound combined with his singular vocal style made me an instant fan of his band, Blues Traveler. Popper’s harmoniTRI-UMPH ca solos, particularly on the Blues Traveler My favourite harmonica albums, are unforgettable: they are long players include Charlie and impossibly fast and furious, so much Musselwhite (top), John so that the band has often faced criticism Popper (centre) and for too much harmonica. In recent years, Paul Butterfield (above) Popper has mellowed but his talent is still

evident: check out The John Popper Project featuring DJ Logic where he collaborates with the legendary turntablist to turn out an album that makes for compulsive listening.

As I said, although I’m a great fan of the harmonica (I even went and bought a Hohner that I cannot play anything on), I had completely missed out on Sugar Blue. I had heard him, of course, unknowingly, as most fans of The Rolling Stones must have. Remember Some Girls? That 1978 album by the Stones had a song called Miss You. The harmonica soloist on the track was Sugar Blue. Blue, according to some reports, was discovered by the band while he was busking in Paris. I’ve heard Some Girls and have it on a cassette somewhere but I didn’t know Sugar Blue had played on it.

Then, years later, a few weeks ago, I heard a version of Back Door Man on a podcast ( The Bandana Blues podcast). It was a seven-minute plus version and had a harmonica solo that seared and soared and pierced through everything. It was Sugar Blue. It was superb. Exploring further, I learnt that Blue was an atypical blues musician. He didn’t come from Chicago or Texas or Mississippi.

He was a New Yorker – from Harlem actually – and his blues are very different. His blues have a sleek, urban feel to them, his harmonica is electronically amplified and he has a voice to complement its sound. It’s the harmonica, though, that makes Sugar Blue’s (he was born James Whiting and is in his early 60s) music stand out. He’s been called “the Jimi Hendrix of the harmonica” and compared to the legendary saxophonist, Charlie Parker.

I managed to lay my hands on a couple of Sugar Blue albums – Code Blue (2007) and Blue Blazes (1994) – both worth seeking out.

Last year, Sugar Blue released his latest album, Threshold, which has got good reviews and a quick listen via a website stream shows that he hasn’t lost even a bit of his virtuosity. I’m going to buy it.

To give feedback, stream or download the music mentioned in this column, go to http://blogs.hindustantimes.com/download-central, follow argus48 on Twitter or visit our website: www.hindustantimes.com/brunch

HINDUSTAN TIMES WEEKLY MAGAZINE OCTOBER 9, 2011

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Small VS Silver

live

TV stars abroad may qualify as A-listers; but in India they remain on the C-list

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PHOTOS: REUTERS

spectator

Seema Goswami

VER THE last couple of years I’ve become a fan of Glee, the US television series set in an all-American high school.

And my favourite character is the cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester. So, imagine my joy when Jane Lynch – who plays crazy, driven Sue with a delightfully demented gleam in her eye – was THE PERFECT HOST chosen to host this year’s Emmy awards. And whatever the fashion Glee star Jane Lynch – who plays crazy, driven Sue Sylvester with a delightfully fascistas may have thought of Jane’s frocks – cue shock and horror – demented gleam in her eye – was chosen to host this year’s Emmy awards I thought she did a bang-up job. (And that’s the way Seema sees it!)

But what struck me much more forcibly at the Emmys was the like sports stars and film actors are. wealth of A-grade stars lined up on the red carpet. In fact, such was Contrast this to the kind of stardom that TV actors achieve in the glut of celebrity in the presentation hall that you searched in vain America and Britain. The stars of Friends are still considered to be to see an unfamiliar face. There was Gwyneth Paltrow, who won a speA-listers. Celebrity magazines are still obsessed with the love lives of cial award for her guest star turn on Glee. There was Kate Winslet, Jennifer Aniston and Courtney Cox. Matt LeBlanc may have flopped looking absolutely ecstatic at winning for Mildred Pierce. spectacularly with Joey, but he still has enough star There was Christina Hendricks of Mad Men fame, her value for a new show – Episodes – to be created around legendary curves poured into a shimmering dress that his real-life persona. More recently, the actors of could barely contain them. It was easy to see that this Desperate Housewives and Mad Men have become was an A-list gathering – because almost every lady in bonafide stars. In fact, Eva Longoria’s wedding and subthe room could pass the litmus test of celebrity, with sequent divorce was accorded the same treatment as her cellulite and cleavage under the daily scrutiny of Tom Cruise’s nuptials with Katie Holmes. the tabloid press.

In the UK, the stars of Downton Abbey are forever That’s what set me thinking. If I tuned in to see an being written up in the press. The British show, The equivalent awards show for Indian entertainment telOnly Way is Essex – better known as TOWIE – has evision – and yes, you’re right, I wouldn’t really – I would attained near cult-status. And it’s not for nothing that be hard-pressed to recognise a single star. Yes, there the legendary British actor Alec Guinness followed up would be some faces which would look vaguely familhis role in Star Wars with the TV mini-series, Tinker, iar. Was that Anandi what’s-her-name from Balika Tailor, Soldier, Spy. SPECIAL APPEARANCES Vadhu? Is that the actress who plays the eternal Savitri Across the Atlantic, such is the power of television While Amitabh Bachchan is that even big Hollywood stars think nothing of working Bhabhi (not to be confused with the other, muchhappy to front Kaun Banega in TV shows. At the height of her fame, Meryl Streep maligned Savita Bhabhi)? starred in a TV series, Angels in America; Glenn Close The only faces I could place with some degree of cerCrorepati and Akshay Kumar tainty would be the stars of reality television – Rakhi will do his usual dare-devilry did a magnificent job in Damages and The Shield; Robert Sawant, Dolly Bindra – but only because the news chanfor Khatron Ke Khiladi, no Downey Jr dazzled in Ally McBeal; and Alec Baldwin nels play them up every day in their entertainment A-list film actor will ever deign continues to sparkle in 30 Rock alongside Tina Fey. shows. And even then I would be hard pressed to tell to act in a TV series One measure of the power of these TV shows is how Veena Malik from Payal Rohatgi or Ashmit Patel from many A-listers they can pull in as guest stars. Gwyneth Sameer Soni.

Paltrow in Glee is perhaps the most famous one. But the Not because I am some sort of sad snob, but because last season of 30 Rock had Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, our entertainment channels don’t really produce A-list Bono, Condoleezza Rice, Michael Keaton and Alan Alda stars. Our TV actors may have their 15 minutes of fame come on as guest stars. while their shows are doing well. But they soon fade Contrast this with India when Bollywood actors only away, never to be heard of again. Who remembers condescend to work in TV serials if their careers have Gracy Singh, for instance? Or Jassi of Jassi Jaisi completely collapsed. Otherwise, the only way you can tempt them on to television is to give them several crores Koi Nahin? Or even Dakshaben from Kyunki Saas to host a quiz show or a reality TV programme. So while Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi? In fact, the only cast memAmitabh Bachchan is happy to front Kaun Banega ber of that iconic show who survives in our consciousness is Smriti ‘Tulsi’ Irani – and then only Crorepati and Salman Khan and Sanjay Dutt will do the because she has since recast herself as a BJP honours for Bigg Boss, and Akshay Kumar will do his politician and turns up on news channels reguusual dare-devilry for Khatron Ke Khiladi, no A-list film larly to give us the benefit of her wisdom. actor will ever deign to act in a TV series.

The truth is that no matter how much transient fame our TV In India, at least, it seems that television is doomed to remain the stars achieve during their all-too-brief careers, they never really ‘small’ screen forever, while the biggies strut their stuff on the ‘silver’ graduate to the A-list. They never rate a glossy magazine cover, for one. And more’s the pity. instance. Nor are they ever signed up to endorse top-end products seema_ht@rediffmail.com. Follow Seema on Twitter at twitter.com/seemagoswami

THE STARS OF FRIENDS ARE STILL CONSIDERED TO BE A-LISTERS. CELEBRITY MAGAZINES ARE STILL OBSESSED WITH THE LOVE LIFE OF JENNIFER ANISTON

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HINDUSTAN TIMES WEEKLY MAGAZINE OCTOBER 9, 2011

Get caught in the Net When you shop online, you can beat the crowds, shop at any hour, get good deals, find an endless variety of items – and not leave the comfort of your home

by Pranav Dixit

STUFF FLOWER POWER

Stainless steel and brass gerberas fitted with LED lights from Namo.

Available at Namo Kiosk, DLF Place, Saket and Tranceforme Designs, Laxmi Mills Estate, Mumbai. ` 9,495

FOUR WEBSITES THAT ARE WORTH CLICKING ON TO

ELEGANT

BOOKS

BEAUTY & APPAREL

GADGETS

GENERAL INTEREST

Flipkart.com

Fashionand You.com

Gadgets.in

Indiaplaza. com

First Impression

Neat, clean, organised.

Doesn’t look shady. And wait, there’s more than just books here...

Goopy, unintelligible mess. Is that a banner ad? A sale? A discount promo?

Somebody help!

Fresh, user-friendly and a tad simplistic. Claims to sell the most ‘unique’ gadgets online.

Huge, unending webpage strewn with items that seem to have nothing to do with each other.

Variety/ Collection

Pretty much any book you can think of. Trying to be an everythingyou-want marketplace. Trying.

Great collection of perfumes, some designerwear.

Disappointing lack of high-street fashion. Sorry Zara.

Everything you would expect is here... MP3 players, cell phones, hard disks and, er, cellphone jammers.

Art, accessories, mithai, watches, furnishings, ready-to-eat meals, condoms.

Yes, condoms.

Navigation/ Ease of use

Perhaps the bestdesigned Indian shopping site.

Swift, simple and will swap anything within 30 days.

Give it some time and you’ll find your way around. Stay out of the ‘Luxury Lounge’ that leads nowhere.

Easy, straightforward, simple. And if you run into problems, you can chat live with customer care. Nice.

Easy enough once you get over feeling like a kid in a candy store. Great deals on the latest cellphones. Yay!

Speed of delivery

Near damn instant! We’ve had stuff delivered in less than 24 hours – we’re blown away.

Bad. Our fairlylarge order (hey, it’s the festive season after all!) arrived in about three weeks.

Both the orders we placed in a span of a month took over a week to arrive. Buck up, slow pokes!

Fast. Almost as fast as Flipkart.

Almost.

GRAB THIS

CHEAP & BEST

One thing on the site we’d like to be gifted

The Complete Davidoff Calvin and Hobbes Cool (Hardcover) R4,019 Water perfume R2,016

Philips Fidelio docking speaker R5,299

Beatles poster R229

ALSO VISIT

infibeam.com uread.com abebooks.com

gadgetsguru.com 20north.com

shoppersstop.com landmarkonthenet.com

VIRTUAL GIFTS What do you give the tech geek who already has every gadget possible? Here are a few tips

20

Extra storage space for Gmail: $5 a year for 20GB, all the way up to $4,000 a year for – hold your breath – 16 TB. Yes, that’s a T.

yepme.com 99labels.com myntra.com

Twitter followers: For $29, boosttwitterfollowers.com will add 500 followers to your Twitter. Don’t ask us how.

Personalised domain name: www.YourFirstNameLastName.com.

Now that would be a smashing gift!

Flickr Pro subscription: $25 a year for unlimited uploads, unlimited storage and no ads. Make that photographer friend happy.

HINDUSTAN TIMES WEEKLY MAGAZINE OCTOBER 9, 2011

Bottle vases made of wood and metal from Renovation Factory, 44-A, Khan Market, New Delhi. ` 1,800-3,000 kmstore@renovationfactory.co.in

MALE POLISH

Grooming kit for men. From The Body Shop.

Available at all Body Shop stores. `2,495 onwards

BOXED LOVE

Chocolates in gold, silver and bespoke platters from Patchi.

At Select Citywalk, New Delhi, and Atria Mall, Mumbai. `1,000 onwards

80 years of Hindi film music, from the 1930s to 2010 in an exciting 10-CD set Available at saregama.com for `1,499

CUFF POINT

Vintage wrist cuff from AmarExports, Paharganj, Delhi. ` 75

TURN AROUND

Hand painted door/drawer knobs from Khushboo Exports, Paharganj. ` 20 each

Wellness

MIND BODY SOUL PHOTO: MCT

SUPER BOWL Five reasons why a good, strong soup is your secret weapon against the diet devastation of the party season

by Kavita Devgan

F

OR MOST of us, the best part of 3. IT’S LOW-FAT, LOW-CAL TOO any year has arrived. October to Unless you drink cream or cheese-based December is party time, and everysoups, they fill you up without a lot of calories. thing in our environment reflects Most soups are low in fat, saturated fat and that. Festival follows festival, the weather is cholesterol; almost all are easily digestible; and they help restore the balance of water in cooler, and there’s a party every night. All of your diet, which keeps blood pressure under which leads to a not-so-little diet dilemma. control (just go easy on the salt shaker). This Party food, as we all know, dumps diets into makes them perfect for this quarter of the dustbins. And cool weather leads to raging year. We all know that our diets should appetites. In this scenario, you need a secret include as much nutrient dense and fibre weapon. And it’s very easy to come by. It’s heavy foods as possible – it is easy soup. Here’s why it’s better for sneak all this into a soup. Also you than you ever imagined.

CALORIES IN A to most cooking methods remove BOWL OF SOUP… nutrients from vegetables, but 1. IT’S EASY TO MAKE Clear soup (vegetable, that doesn’t happen with soup.

Soups are quick to think up and chicken, lamb, even quicker to put together. Get seafood) hold of leftovers – vegetables, 4. IT’S COMFORTING 20-40 CAL grains, chicken, use your imaginaWhile soups don’t release moodPacket soup: tion, add some basic herbs – and a boosting endorphins like chocolate 100 -150 CAL sustaining meal in a bowl is ready does, they are still a perfect remefor your stomach. Just about any- Cream of (mushroom, dy for bad moods. There’s nothing chicken, tomato) soup: like soup to warm you, and that thing can be added to a soup, 200-220 CAL which is why it is such a great fit leads to a sense of comfort. for everyone. Hot or cold, spicy or mild, thick or clear, meaty or vegetarian, 5. IT KEEPS YOU WELL there is a soup for every taste.

Plus, soups help keep seasonal illnesses away.

Just make sure you add at least one of these ingredients – garlic, onion, or ginger. Garlic 2. YOU CAN STORE IT FOR A WEEK and onions are natural antibiotics and ginger You can make quantities of soup and freeze it is a great digestive with super antiviral propfor later. It can be kept for a week at least. In erties. Add some mushrooms too. These profact, soup often tastes better after it’s settled mote the growth of white blood cells that in the fridge for a while. And contrary to popmake your body fighting fit. ular belief, soups travel well. You just need a container with a top that seals well. brunchletters@hindustantimes.com

SHIKHA SHARMA

Season to taste

T

HIS IS the season of indulgence, and that, for most people, means a rise in weight and a fall in good health. But it needn’t be that way if you keep a few things in mind.

INCREASE YOUR INTAKE OF FIBRE. Fibre, both soluble and insoluble, is one of the most important aspects of cleansing, detoxifying and weight management strategies. In almost all diseases, nutrition therapy includes fibre as part of the treatment. It can control weight and control diseases like cancers, arthritis and colonic illnesses.

Take one tsp each of wheat bran and oat bran a day; eat four cups of vegetables a day for plant fiPHOTO: THINKSTOCK bre and three fruits a day for INCREASE YOUR fruit fibre.

INTAKE OF WATER DRINK TWO GLASSES OF VEGWater is one of the best body ETABLE JUICES every day to fuldetoxifiers ever. If you drink fill your antioxidant, enzyme at least two-three bottles a and vitamin requirements. day, it will help your system.

Vegetable juices are detoxifyAs naturopathy and ayuring and are also capable of vedic treatments show us, several cures. Vegetables like water flushes out intestines, bottle gourd, pumpkin, tomaliver and kidneys and cleansto, cucumber, amla and aloe es and balances our systems. vera are wonderful cleansers.

Water also contains many FOR ACIDITY, drink two tsp of minerals, which makes it an cabbage juice a day. It is rich important part of your diet. in elements that protect the Several diseases, including intestinal lining and promote heart diseases, are due to the healing of gastric ulcers. mineral deficiencies.

STRETCH YOUR MUSCLES through yoga, pilates, or any form of isotonic exercises.

WOMEN OVER THE AGE OF 35 and men who consume alcohol regularly should take capsules of vitamins B1, B12 and C to protect the nerves and liver.

THIRTY-FIVE PER CENT OF YOUR DIET should comprise raw and fresh foods. Try fresh water chestnuts (singhara), barley grass, wheat grass juice and spirulina juice mixed with curry patta, rose petals and tulsi leaves.

ONCE A WEEK, use natural oils rather than refined oils. Natural oils are found in nuts, peanuts and olives. So eat salads such as boiled potato and corn salad with nuts, boiled white channa salad with olives, steamed sprout chaat with anar and almonds, and potato and walnut salad. ask@drshikha.com

PERSONAL AGENDA MODEL/ACTRESS

PIA TRIVEDI

She could have been an interior designer or a pilot. But Pia Trivedi was seduced by the glamour of the fashion industry and became a model.

She then went on to host TV shows and also featured in the Kingfisher Calendar. Pia, who loves ice cream and splurges on sunglasses, recently made her Bollywood debut with Hum Tum Shabana

One word that describes you best?

Passionate.

Bought myself a cocker spaniel puppy whom I call ‘Skypoo’.

Different kinds of insects and worms on Fear Factor (Khatron Ke Khiladi).

I love my name – it means “the lover”!

If a traffic constable hauled you up, what would you do?

The one law you would break if you could get away with it.

Share a secret with us… you can trust us, we’ll only print it!

Comforting.

If a traffic cop hauled me up, then I must have done something wrong. I would apologise and pay the fine for it!

Your first kiss was…

After I was legally old enough to kiss!

What makes you feel sexy?

Talking on the cellphone while driving.

Choose: Air India or Indian Railways.

I’m not a fussy person; whatever is the easiest and most convenient way to get to a destination suits me. It should be safe and sound!

Do you love Luv Storys?

A good hair day.

Yes! I am a complete romantic and love Luv Storys.

You get high on…

Life!

A tune you can’t get out of your head?

Rolling in the Deep, Adele.

What did you do with your first pay cheque?

WHAT MAKES YOUR DAY?

The last time you rode on a bus?

Was at the airport to get from the terminal to the airplane!

What is the weirdest thing that ever went into your mouth?

A NICE BIG GLASS OF COLD COFFEE

I am super paranoid about electrical appliances.

You are late for work and all the roads are jammed. Choose a mode of transport: a cycle, a horse or a skateboard. Why?

If you could have a star perform at your wedding, who would it be?

I would want only me to be the star at my wedding.

What screws your day?

Early morning flights.

A cycle for sure. Great exercise and I’ll do my little bit to save the environment.

Your favourite freedom fighter?

Earth’s crowded and full of trash.

Choose another planet.

Love is…

Pluto. Sounds cute, like the cartoon character.

If you could have chosen your own name, what would you have chosen?

THE LAST MOVIE THAT MADE YOU CRY?

TAARE ZAMEEN PAR... IT REALLY TOUCHED A CHORD IN MY HEART

PHOTO: THINKSTOCK

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The colour ‘pink’ for you is...

HINDUSTAN TIMES WEEKLY MAGAZINE OCTOBER 9, 2011

Mahatma Gandhi.

Unconditional.

If you were the last person left on earth, what would you do?

I would be scared!

— Interviewed by Veenu Singh

LIFE IN THE FAST FOOD LANE: CHOOSE YOUR MENU.

MASALA PAV FROM CAMPS AT BANDRA BANDSTAND, MUMBAI. YUMMY!