Hindustantimes Brunch 15th January 2011

WEEKLY MAGAZINE, JANUARY 15, 2012 Free with your copy of Hindustan Times

THE OCCULT OBSESSION

Whether it’s palmistry or astrology, numerology or tarot readings, why does our fascination for the occult show no signs of abating?

8, 2012 , JANUARY Times WEEKLY MAGAZINE copy of Hindustan

Free with your

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T H I S

Obsessed With Janam-Patris, Tarot Readings And Palmistry?

SPEND

Namira Khan Seema Goswami...u always do wonders.....in fact,all the articles in Brunch r jst SO delightful to read...sundays r incmplete widout the fabulous copy of Brunch !

Rachita Arora An awsome read...would like to see more such pages on travel!

Aditi Ray The cover story was one story I’ve been waitin to come on Brunch fr lik ages!! I’m a management student..n I’ve always wanted to start my own cafe... somethin lik.

Thadi and Kunzum cafe.! I do enjoy splurging my tym at Oxford nd Crossword flipping pages! so I always wanted to do somethin like dat!!thnk u Brunch fr the cover story!!

Nancy Naina Arora I am a big fan of mr. Sanghvi... i’m really looking forward to his upcoming show Foodistan & i’m pretty sure that it’s gonna be a huge hit!

Calling All Tweeple twitter.com/HTBrunch @cablewala Madhuri Dixit’s personal agenda lacks of imaginativeness & is witless. She seem to have lost her sense of humour while aging.

The Blue Pod

You’ll be surprised by the number of new blues artistes you can discover on The Roadhouse LIVE

The Case Of The Missing Handbag

STYLE FILE

The Bulk Strikes Back!

PLAY Our favourite tech guru Rajiv Makhni is taking a well-deserved vacation.

But he’ll be back next week!

WELLNESS

Right The Wrongs Your new fad diet won’t magically work just because it’s a new year! Fix your bad food habits first PERSONAL AGENDA

Your Body Is All In Your Mind

Creative, upfront and full of chutzpah, Yana Gupta and Advaita Kala couldn’t care less what others think of them

BRUNCH ON THE WEB DABBOO RATNANI 2012 CALENDAR!

E X C L U S IV E S L ID E S H O W

Sanjeev Kapoor

The celebrity chef and TV host reveals the hilarious last line of his autobiography and the fact that he hates lungis!

HEAD TO HEAD

Can-do spirit

YOUR BODY IS ALL IN YOUR MIND - VIDEO

@sonyssomar Well, the article ‘What’s cooking’ in Brunch reminded me of my secret desire. Thank u! @harshadlagade Just read the cover story of Brunch . I knw bout @PaliVillageCafe bt d other eateries should try. @jsonm Loads to learn from the smart music columnist - @argus48 of HT Brunch:)

Write to brunchletters@hindustantimes.com For marketing and ad-related queries, contact suresh.tripathi@hindustantimes.com

E X C L U S IV

What’s better V ID E O ! than reading about former-model-turned-author Yana Gupta in a conversation with author Advaita Kala?

Watching them! Check out the whole video as the two discuss the battle of the bulge and how to win it. Our exclusive footage is available on the Brunch website.

Have you seen our Brunch Quarterly photoshoot with Vidya Balan yet? Log on for this and an all-access pass to your favourite stories from this and previous Brunch Quarterly issues.

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

INDIANS BEING very fond of good food and variety, food shows are already a favourite with the audience, as mentioned in Vir Sanghvi’s column last week (Dish It Out On TV, Rude Food, January 8). Master Chef India gives the common man an opportunity to showcase his/her talent. It’s amazing how common men with no professional degrees come in and show their culinary skills and even cook new and innovative dishes that no one could imagine. The judges come across as very helpful and humble but at the same time very clear about the kind of taste and perfection in cooking that they are looking for. It has now become a family entertainment show which members of all age groups can enjoy. Kids, youngsters and the elderly all enjoy the show together. NDTV Good Times also has some really well-made shows related to cooking like Chakle Academy, Lean is In and many others, which are already big hits with audiences. The new food show Foodistan will hopefully live up to the expectations we have from NDTV Good Times and offer some interesting recipes with a pinch of drama in form of the comments from the judges and reactions from the contestants. Food shows are here to stay!

— FATEMEH SEIFI, via email

hindustantimes.com/brunch

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The Dabboo Ratnani Annual Calendar is out! And we have all the months lined up for you.

Check out Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Priyanka Chopra, all posing for their favourite lensman! Log on to ogle!

@VenuSpeak I consider Sanjoy Narayan @argus48 along with Luke Kenny & Parag Trivedi Encyclopedia of Music. Thanks 4 printin.

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Food looks good

LISTEN

Margaret Thatcher and Hina Rabbani Khar may like them; but Indian women politicians are not fans

Is winter the excuse to wear your entire wardrobe at once? Too many clothes show more weight than they hide

Passkh, co-owner Pinky Ardahun Kitchen, Himalayan of Yeti The serves Tibetan, food in Delhi, which Bhutanese Nepalese and

Edge Of Glory

Why are artisans from India hired by leading global labels?

Ira Trivedi has written books such as The Great Indian Love Story and There’s No Love on Wall Street

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INDULGE

Author Ira Trivedi explores our urge to dabble with the occult

We’re Logged On

I S S U E

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SUNDAY MORNING became really special as I flipped through Brunch.

What’s Cooking (January 8) by Parul Khanna Tewari is perhaps my favourite cover story till date as I can relate to the kind of lives that Bhupender Singh and Viveta Relan lead. I am sailing in a similar boat and each morning I wake up with my creative juices all fired up to set up something of my own. I think the sheer satisfaction on the faces of all the people in the photographs speaks volumes for the decision that they have taken. This story made my determination to dabble with my ‘other side’ even stronger.

Thank you Brunch for bringing something of everyone’s interest closer to them with the help of such cover stories.

—ANU SINDHWANI, via email

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

HINDUSTAN TIMES WEEKLY MAGAZINE JANUARY 15, 2012

Cover photo: Thinkstock Cover design: Ashutosh Sapru

Style File

The Bulk

STRIKES BACK!

Is winter your excuse to wear your entire wardrobe at the same time? Too many clothes reveal more weight than they hide

by Yashica Dutt

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F PEOPLE are unable to recognise you without your uniform of long coats and snug boots, then there’s no doubt that winter fashion has you wrapped around its chilly finger. But before you dive into that stack of chic warmers every morning and layer yourself out like there’s no tomorrow, take a rain check. While those chunky cable knit pullovers might look ultra chic on the twiggy model, you (and we!) have higher chances of looking like decorated Christmas drums in them. And the luxurious widelegged pants that were all the rage on the Fall runways could end up giving you the ghastly toe of that desert animal that shall be unnamed. But before you start labelling us as anti-trend and unstylish, we’d like to lay our cards out. There’s no need to shun these trends, but it helps if you know what works on you and most other average sized, un-model like bodies.

So we got four super stylish, regular sized people to dish out advice on dressing in winter: Designers Anand Bhushan and Kallol Datta, blogger and stylist, Sonu Bohra and Marie Claire (India) fashion editor, Pearl Shah.

fabrics

IT’S ALL IN THE DRAPE!

Plastic kills. And not just the environment but your figure as well! “Avoid lycra, satin, synthetic and polyester.

They are curve killers and are snug at all the wrong areas,” says Sonu Bohra, fashion blogger from fashion-bombay.

Choosing thinner

fabrics that fall well on the body helps to hide the bulk. “A good trick

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SONU BOHRA Blogger & stylist, Fashion-Bombay.com

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trousers pants BAN THE EMBELLISHMENT

Go for a relaxed fit and don’t bother to fit into your clothes. Make your clothes fit you instead!

Take in the seat of your pants to avoid the bunching at your waist, bring in the seams and both you ladies and lads, don’t let the length fall below your shoes. There’s nothing more unflattering than tattered and dusty trouser ends.

“Heavily flared pants are very in for women this season and those with a heavier bottom should try them in darker shades of wine, brown and burgundy,” advises Sonu Bohra of fashion-bombay.com.

“Girls, channel the gentlemen’s club look with beautifully tailored trousers in soft tweeds and a matching jacket,” says Pearl Shah of Marie Claire. When buying denim, always opt for unadorned, unembellished jeans as tags, diamante, crystals and motifs on the back pocket (a favourite with some men!) will add bulk and are also, by

COMFY CLAIMS

A tee that falls gently over your figure instead of squeezing you, flatters any body shape

FROM THE RAMP Krishna Mehta: Men’s Fashion Week

ILLUSION ZONE

Vertical stripes are the quickest remedy for weight loss. Pair them with neutrals for maximum effect

OH POP!

A burst of colour always draws positive attention to your body and reflects your personality too

is to choose fine wool like cashmere. You could layer cashmere cardigans under your winter coats to skip the bulk,” says Pearl Shah of Marie Claire magazine.

Flat materials like cotton, denim, silk, wool and jersey that don’t skim the curves yet embrace them lightly are best suited for fuller figures. Materials like brocade, suede, velvet, leather, taffeta act the other way. And guys, ditch that corduroy, fast.

This FCUK tunic dress with V-neck flatters a broad shape

MUFFLED UP

Crinkled fabrics have been very popular this winter; they’re a chic layering tool for both men and women

NO BOUNDARY

Bandhgalas are not just a traditional staple but a stylish addition to Western ensembles as well

DARK KNIGHT

Dark solid colours bring a slimming effect to the lower body and are winter friendly

HINDUSTAN TIMES WEEKLY MAGAZINE JANUARY 15, 2012

Opt for straight cut jeans like these from Wrangler the way, horribly out of style.

Low-rise jeans are not the best friends of a curvy Indian bottom. Run as far as you can from them and an unsightly underwear band. Boot cuts for women and straight fits for men are more form flattering. With uniquely shaped bodies, Indian women often tend to go wrong with trousers, says Kallol Datta. “You should ensure they have the right crotch fit or else you’ll spoil a good looking pair of pants,” he says.

We’d say ditto for all guys too!

cardigans THEY ARE BACK THIS SEASON!

If all you ladies are thinking of the archaic, bygone variety that wouldn’t even be granny chic at the moment, then you’re wrong. Give up the maternal tighties and embrace the new asymmetrical cardigans that are all the rage now.

Invest in ones that come in a stretch fabric. “They are shorter in the front and longer in the back, effectively hiding those bulges without making you look dowdy. You can also opt for a cosy wrap which is popular these days,” says Sonu Bohra.

Show off them arms, says Kallol Dat-

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boots shoes

GLIDE, DON’T SQUEEZE

When buying boots, especially the trendy above-the-knee-ones, don’t squeeze your calves. Find ones that give you enough room. Guys, stick to the calf length.

Avoid chunky heels or those with broad square toes as they could make your legs look short and stubby. Try slim stilettos with a wide-based heel that would add the right length to your calves and give you ease of

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Cardigans like this from Calvin Klein hide bulges ta. “Make sure the cardis don’t cling all over your torso but onto your most flattering part, which for a lot of Indian women is their arms. That draws the attention away from other areas to your best parts,” adds Kallol.

You can nip in the waist of the cardigan with a slim or a thick belt, or even a colourful scarf. “Adding a belt instantly gives the illusion of a slim body with the bulges reined in,” says designer Anand Bhushan.

Add a vertical, long scarf (paisley is massive this winter) to your cardigan, jeans combination to add length to your figure. movement. Men, avoid heels as far as possible.

Take the monotone trick further and pair black tights with black heels that make your legs look so long, they’d last for days. Guys, try the same with black trousers and gently pointed shoes.

Girls, if you want to show off your shapely calves, opt for pointy booties. Men, try and avoid the too-pointy route, as it hardly suits anyone.

Roomy boots from Yell are great for comfort

jackets coats

GO LONG FOR A CHIC LOOK

When looking for a coat for curvy silhouettes, look for designs that are single breasted, without shoulder padding and with linear lines.

Avoid styles with too many pockets, lapels or a tight fit.

“It’s never a good idea to draw too much attention to the hips if you have a relatively heavier backside. Use jackets and coats with belts and ensure they end around mid thigh or mid waist,” says designer Kallol Datta.

Try getting custom fits that flatter your size and figure. “Anything offthe-rack will not fit someone with a 8 or 10 US size. So it’s always better to get the waist nipped and trim the sleeves so they fit perfectly on the wrists,” adds Kallol. Guys, when you look for a blazer or a coat, opt for V-necked ones with a single breasted style and no shoulder padding. Also, stay away from oversized buttons or tuggable strings.

Layering can be a great weapon for women when used well, says Mumbai based stylist Sonu Bohra of the duo Sonu and Jasleen.

“Clinch a belt over a blazer and

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flaunt your upper waist, an area which is naturally flat for most women. One can also go for overcoats with inbuilt belts, which can be tightened from within,” says Sonu.

A long T-shirt under a cropped jacket or a bolero can also help knock off those pounds. “A fabulously well-cut coat which has a structure like a trench or comes in an A-line silhouette, close on the heels on the ’60s trend, works really well for a curvy figure or a thick middle,” says Pearl Shah, fashion editor, Marie Claire India.

FRONT ROW VIEW Shantanu & Nikhil: Men’s Fashion Week

HINDUSTAN TIMES WEEKLY MAGAZINE

FINE TONED

Wearing clothes in the same colour tone is the sneakiest styling trick in the book

JASLEEN KAUR Stylist & blogger, Fashion-Bombay.com

SKIRT THAT

Forget cropped tops and slip into a tunic doubling as a top for an easy-breezy look

KEEP ’EM CLOSE

Cropped trousers have a great slimming effect, especially if you get them tailored

SHAPELY CURVE

Slip in a pair of shoes that elongate the foot with pointed toes

&

skirts dresses WORK THAT FLOUNCE

Reveal some skin this

season with a stylish colourful scarf as an accessory and an appropriate V-neckline as it balances broad hips and thighs. The inverted triangle takes the attention away from the midsection, providing an illusion for a thinner upper body.

Do not ignore the importance of right innerwear. “Most women wear innerwear that is either the wrong shape or the wrong fit.

It not only shrinks their bosom but also makes them seem heavier than they are,” says designer Anand Bhushan.

Something that leaves marks or has the clinching strap riding upwards is probably wrong.

You can also invest in quality shape wear

MINIMALIST

Keep the look neat by pairing a luxurious shawl with a lean silhouette. Besides, it adds that appealing old world charm!

BREAK THE CODE

Keep your shirt/kurta hanging out of your trousers to display that devil-may-care attitude and earn those extra points

CROP CIRCLES

Men, you know girls are big fans of the ankle-length trend in trousers. Show that unexpected skin for a gasp effect

JANUARY 15, 2012

A heavy fabric like wool will skim the curves or spanx which are a high waist and lowlegged form of knickers and bring a certain sense of shape to the wobbly bits. Even Kim Kardashian swears by them.

Mid-length hemlines

are the hottest silhouette this winter and a blessing for those with big legs. “Indian women can elongate their legs by showing off their calves since most have a great knee to ankle ratio. Mid-length skirts/ dresses do that very well,” says Kallol Datta. Try an A-line silhouette in a skirt if you are bottom heavy.

Avoid high necklines or pairing turtle necks with a low scooped dress. “I think polo neck sweaters are the biggest disgrace to fashion and should be strictly avoided. You could wrap a stylish muffler instead of making yourself appear stunted without a visible neck,” says stylist Sonu Bohra of fashionbombay.com.

accessories

DRAW THE RIGHT ATTENTION

Girls try out the latest turbans and men, go for hats in felt. They will add drama to your look.

Choose chunky cuffs and a stack of several bangles that create the illusion of a slim wrist.

Experiment with lots of beads in a longer length and mid-chest bib jewellry that will instantly take the eyes away from the waist and midsection.

Slip your fingers into cocktail rings in bold and bright colours.

This unisex felt hat from Paul Smith is right for winter

COVER STORY

OF ASTROLOGY AND PALMISTRY... ...TAROT AND SPIRIT READINGS ETC ETC Author IRA TRIVEDI explores our obsession with the occult

M

Y BRUSH with the occult began when my best friend’s birth chart, or janam-patri, was matched with that of her fiancé’s upon the insistence of her parents. The unfortunate alignment of her partner’s stars made him a “maanglik,” an astrological leper, and a battle ensued in the family. She finally convinced her parents of her husband-to-be’s merits and they reluctantly agreed to bless the star-(un)crossed lovers. I was utterly fascinated.

Could a mere alignment of the stars at the time of our birth dictate our future? What made my best friend’s parents – two of the most intelligent, scientific people that I know, both professors at top universities – take this astrology mumbojumbo seriously? It all seemed desperately retrograde. Human beings have literally touched the stars, how could we then let the inter-galactic universe be the arbitrator of our destinies?

Thus began my journey into the occult. Magic and myth constitute the firmament of every Indian household. From the tulsi plants found in courtyards designed as per the dictates of vaastu, to the black threads tied tightly around the wrists and ankles of babies to mitigate the influences of the evil eye, the occult has been part of our cultural foundation.

In recent times, there has been a robust growth of occult and mystical movements in India, and there seems something for everyone. For the traditional there is astrology, for the creative there is tarot card reading, for the mathematical there is numerology, for the sensitive there is reiki. Drawing hasty connections between various divinatory arts such as vaastu, feng shui, tarot,

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Ira Trivedi has written books such as The Great Indian Love Story and There’s No Love on Wall Street

crystal and magnet healing, several occultists offer services that combine all of the above. As the occult invades urban India, there has been a significant change in the occultists themselves. No longer are the teachers and purveyors of the occult wandering minstrels or bogey babas. The occultists of today are fashionable spiritualists who speak earnestly and intelligently, have often spent a significant amount of time in the west, and at the end of the session will gently ask you if you prefer to pay by cash or card. ver the past few weeks I interO viewed and met with occultists of various varieties – Vedic astrologers, palm

readers, tarot card, foot readers, coffee bean readers, crystal readers and many others. Several were con artists and charlatans – society tarot card readers, quack reiki therapists, disgruntled astrologers – and I sat through many faulty, nagging incorrect readings. There were some particularly disturbing experiences – the foot reader with the foot fetish, the numerologist who insisted that I change my name to Iravati, and the garrulous tarot card reader, who after a 30-minute session (which cost R2,500) told me that she must conduct a puja (at R20,000) to rid my household of the evil eye.

Then there were the others. The occultists whose teaching was rooted in spirituality and deep knowledge, with whom I had informed and delightful conversations. These individuals gave me an insight into the meaning of the occult and the myth that surrounds it. Through these meetings I began to (apprehensively at first) understand the meaning behind these mystical techniques.

HINDUSTAN TIMES WEEKLY MAGAZINE JANUARY 15, 2012

PHOTO: ARJUN NIRULA

The Spirit Reader

RENOO NIRULA Is it possible to heal your ‘karmic blocks’ and get a shortcut to ‘heaven’?

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call up the Delhi offices of Renoo Nirula, where I am told that the earliest appointment available is in July 2012. Delhi being Delhi, I am able to elbow in an appointment using a connection.

My meeting with Renoo Nirula was a touch eerie. Especially and mostly because she can read minds.

She knows about the new book that I have been grappling with and the non-apparent spinal injury that I

am suffering from before I utter a word. She smiles knowingly. “Most people get frightened or alarmed that I know their problems before they even walk through my door.

Every soul has an aura, and the most blatant problems are projected outwards.”

“So can you read my future?” I ask hesitantly. She has already broken my initial scepticism by reading my mind. She laughs. “I merely read from everyone’s book of karma and connect to the energies in the body. Everything that happens in our lives – all diseases and problems – are karmic. Before we were born, each one of us was taken to a house of records where our karmic records are stored and here we were told how to take shortcuts to human evolution.

Most souls who walk through my

door are very tired, I try to help them on their journey. Our life is like a highway, I can tell you the exit and entry points, but I can’t tell you what will happen. That decisions is always yours,” pontificates Nirula.

Renoo Nirula’s spiritual practices are an amalgamation of various teachings, including those of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Chaitanya Pradupad and the Dalai Lama. She has been teaching for the past 30 years, propagating her Karma Quotient (KQ) theory all over the word. According to the magnanimous Nirula, the KQ Force aims to heal karmic blocks and show people a path to enlightenment. For her students, she says, it is simply a shortcut to heaven.

Nirula uses a variety of over 200 techniques – which include

crystal healing, magnet healing, vaastu, feng shui, and even astrology – to heal individuals, companies and the planet. Over the years Nirula and her students have made expeditions to various parts of India and the world, placing “healing capsules” made of gold, silver and gemstones at specific high energy points to promote healing. Recently a “maha yagya” was performed at Kurukshetra, the location of the epic Mahabharata battle, using waters collected from 1008 rivers of the world.

Her phone is constantly ringing as we speak, though she hardly seems distracted by it. At one point a disgruntled secretary runs in, “Ma’am Shah Rukh Khan Sir on the line!” “Tell him to call back later,” she says coolly.

“Everything that happens in our lives – all diseases and problems – are karmic” HINDUSTAN TIMES WEEKLY MAGAZINE JANUARY 15, 2012

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COVER STORY PHOTO: JASJEET PLAHA

The Tarot Card Reader

SWAMI CHAND KRRISH Is tarot a practical solution? Does it help you go to the root of your problem?

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The Astrologer

PAVAN MISHRA Is astrology a 360 degree mirror of the self, and not a tool to predict the future?

B

efore I make an appointment to meet Pavan Mishra in his Noida office, he has asked me for the exact time, and location of my birthplace. I am rendered speechless as Mishra expounds with alarming erudition and verity on my past and the characteristics of my personality.

He brings up incidents from my childhood that neither he, nor anyone else, could have known. He then begins to tell me about my future – about my impending marriage and birth of my children.

Astrology, the sister science of astronomy, is the study of planetary vibrations and how they affect human life. According to Mishra, astrology has as much to offer us now as when it was first practiced 5,000 years ago.

Astrology is both a science of observation and an art of interpretation. The study of astrology helps us understand ourselves better by helping us interpret our actions. When we can interpret the reasons behind our reaction, then we can fix them.

I ask Mishra about how much of our actual lives are dictated by our birth charts. “The dynamics of karma are complex,” he says. “Life is a mix of destiny and free will.

Who you meet is destined but what you decide to do with that meeting is free will.”

Replying to my ill-disguised look of incredulity, he adds, “Life is like a quadratic equation – there are two solutions, both are correct. Astrology can help you solve that equation in the most efficient way.”

“So can you really predict the future accurately?” I ask him quizzically. “Yes,” he says. But that is not the purpose. “Most of today’s half-baked pandits abuse astrology. Using astrology to predict the future is like using currency notes as toilet paper.

Astrology is a 360 degree mirror of the self, and it is meant to help

us achieve self-realisation,” says the seer.

Mishra speaks about the holistic solutions that he prescribes to his clients. “I don't believe in lengthy, expensive pujas. If my client has shanni (the most severe of astrological ailments) or Saturn-related problems, I encourage them to do service. The planet Saturn governs humility, and by being humble, they can lower negative planetary energies.

The sound energy of mantras are powerful shields for negative energy. I also prescribe certain stones and yantras (esoteric motifs) to escalate energy.

“These days astrology is a great solution to all ages and all parts of society. My clients range from criminals to saints. I not only read the chart, but I also act as spiritual counsellor to my clients. They come to me with all their problems, and based on their personalities that I gauge from their charts, I can show them the best life path.”

Mishra’s services may provide holistic solutions, but they certainly do not come cheap at R3,100 a session.

“Life is a mix of destiny and free will. Who you meet is destined but what you decide to do is free will” 12

HINDUSTAN TIMES WEEKLY MAGAZINE JANUARY 15, 2012

have always been very spiritually inclined,” says 42-year-old Swami Chand Krrish, a Goabased tarot card reader. “I went to an elite Indian boarding school and then to college abroad. After I graduated, I began having mystical experiences, which eventually led me to reading.”

I feel as if I am talking to a friend, rather than to a holy man.

Swami Krrish certainly isn’t the saffron-clad swami that I had in mind. He speaks English in the lilting style of the city, in the manner of those who have spent considerable time in the west. Swamiji continues his story and tells me how his meeting with Ma Shona at the Osho ashram changed his life.

“Ma Shona introduced the tarot to Osho, and she is also the one who taught it to me. She was an amazing woman, a gypsy who saw a photo of Osho and felt drawn to him so set sail to India.”

Swamiji has been practicing the tarot for close to 20 years, but only got into it fulltime in 2003 after selling the hotel business he had set up in Goa. This coincided with him taking full sanyas, and donning the robes of a swami. Today he makes his living through his tarot practice.

He charges R1,500 for a session.

“Tarot is part of my body,” he says. “I have my own personal connection with the deck. You have to have a certain intuition which comes through spiritual practice, to go into this. Tarot helps pick up the root of your problem. Once you focus on the problem, tarot helps you see the cause. People are drawn to certain cards, and through a combination of tarot cards and my intuition, usually in the ratio of 50:50, I can diagnose a problem.

“Tarot is a practical solution,” Swamiji says. He adds, wistfully, “Tarot has helped me connect with the planet, and I want to help others connect too.”

PHOTO:THINKSTOCK

PHOTO: RAJ K RAJ

The Palm Reader

SHIV SHANKAR SHASTRI Can palmistry reveal the future? And can it decipher trends in behaviour?

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BBM Astrologer

NAMITA VADHERA

Can questions be answered based on the time of their asking?

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or Namita Vadhera, time is of the essence, for she derives her answers based on the positioning of the planets at the precise time you ask her a question. For this reason, Vadhera’s preferred mode of communication with her clients is through BlackBerry Messenger, on which she has 107 clients from all over the world. “In today’s day and age people want instantaneous answers, and being on BBM allows me to do this,” says 40-year-old Delhi-based Vadhera.

Life predictions on health, wealth and marriage on BBM seemed to me at first very dubious. That is, until I met Namita and our 30-

minute conversation extended into three insightful hours on the link between astrology, spirituality and life, during which she explained to me the science behind her practice.

Vadhera practices horary astrology, or prashan shastra, an ancient branch of Vedic astrology by which the astrologer answers specific questions by constructing a horoscope for the exact time at which the question was received.

Vadhera, who has been practicing various forms of astrology over the past 20 years, claims that horary astrology is the most accurate form of the science, and that her answers are correct 99 per cent of the time.

Vadhera, in her fashionable garb, and gamine demeanour is a far cry from the dhoti-clad Vedic astrologer that I had expected. To me she seemed very much like the girl next door, but Vadhera is anything but.

“Growing up, astrology played a critical role in my family’s life, it was

the guiding light, and it helped me put myself on the right life track. I realised I had the gift of intuition when I was very young, and over the years I have evolved this gift into my current practice. I often say things despite my planetary calculations that are uncannily true. I also strongly believe in nature as an omen,” says Vadhera.

When asked what she does for her clients, Vadhera pauses for a second, and then pulls out her BlackBerry, flaunting a message.

“Sush,” she says, referring to the actress Sushmita Sen, “is a longtime client of mine. She calls me hope, and that says it all. I counsel my clients on everything from investments to relationships, and more than anything else I give them faith in the play of the universe.”

On her way out, we exchange BBM pins, and Namita winks at me telling me that the lord of luck is visiting my house of love soon, so I should brace myself for an interesting few months ahead.

“In today’s day and age, people want instantaneous answers and being on BBM allows me to do this”

A SPIRITUAL TIDE

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he teachers and purveyors of Indian occult are certainly a colourful, audacious lot. They shattered every stereotype that I had after my friend’s unfortunate maanglik experience.

Previously, I had believed that those who searched out the occult craved quick and often frivolous solutions, but as I engaged with these eclectic ideas, I began to understand these practices act as a launching pad for therapeutic

and alternative spirituality. Most occultists are highly perceptive and intelligent, and for many clients they act as counsellors or therapists. In a country where psychiatric help is seen as a social taboo, and most shrinks handle problems through heavy doses of medicine, occultists do perhaps help fill a void.

I am left with a variety of interpretations, permutations and combinations of events in my life.

I have re-organised my room as per the tenets of vaastu. And I am wearing several coloured stones on my fingers. Even if they do not divert any positive planetary energy to me, I figure they serve as a spiritual fashion-statement.

Let the past go, be at ease, allow the future to arrive at its own pace HINDUSTAN TIMES WEEKLY MAGAZINE JANUARY 15, 2012

hiv Shankar Shastri has been practicing palmistry, astrology and face reading for 60 years. “Palmistry is one of the finest sciences in the world,” says Shastri.

“As opposed to Vedic astrology where predictions are based on a fixed time of birth, in palmistry, palm lines change as per our personal evolutions. Palmistry is more accurate than astrology, but good palm-readers are very rare.”

Shastri stresses that a good palmreader will not merely predict the future. By learning to understand the significance of the lines on our palms, we can decipher trends in our behaviour. Thus we can nurture strengths and fight weakness. A good palmist will be able to guide his client to a positive path of change.

Initially, I was sceptical of the old man peering into my hands, but his on-the-mark personality assessment surprised me. What does he do when he sees negative things in someone’s future – like death or injury, I ask. “It is the palm-reader’s job to gently warn the client in a way that doesn’t alarm them but brings the impending problem to their attention,” says Shastri.

At the end of the session, I can safely say that though I hadn’t had any drastic revelations about life, I did feel pretty upbeat after all the positive things he told me. The one thing I appreciated, after many heavy-on-the-pocket readings, was that Shastri’s services were free.

I have been given clues about my health, my mother’s health, and that of my children-to-be, and of my future finances. I am a living laboratory of occultism. I promise to keep all my readers informed about the veracity of these predictions and the salubrious effects of my new practices.

Till then, this is my personal suggestion. Let the past go, be at ease, and allow the future to arrive at its own pace, unfurling its glorious secrets.

13

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Edge of Glory

PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

rude luxury

Vir Sanghvi

PRICE NO BAR I still buy quality no matter what the label is. Chanel, for example, makes the best fragrances in the world

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Craftsmanship in the West can be ruinously expensive. But with outstanding artisans often employed by even leading global labels, India tells another story

I

HAVE BEEN writing – off and on – about the luxury business for over a decade now. I started long before the designer boom reached India (I guess we can date the start of the Indian obsession with brands to the opening of the first Louis Vuitton store at the Delhi Oberoi in 2003) and though I am less interested in the subject now, this is a little ironic because the rest of India seems to be going label-crazy.

This Christmas day I found myself at the Emporio Mall in Delhi’s Vasant Kunj and was startled to discover how jam-packed it was.

Crowds thronged the lobby, cars were backed up for a full mile and at some shops, they were denying people entry saying that they were already filled to capacity. At the nearby Promenade Mall, the story was the same. Even the Ambience Mall, the least upmarket of the malls in the area (redeemed only by The Collective and the movie and dining options) was bursting with shoppers.

At first I thought these were window shoppers whose idea of a day out was to visit the malls. But no. Everywhere I looked people were carrying shopping bags. At some of the stores, the sales people told me that products had flown off the shelves faster that day than on any other day of the year.

A label-hungry mob in Delhi on Christmas day? Higher sales than Diwali?

Who would have expected that?

What intrigued me about the shoppers at Emporio was that most did not fit the profile of fashion-conscious sophisticates. Many spoke very little English. At least half seemed to have come to Delhi from out of town. (Ludhiana? Patiala? It was hard to be sure.) These were the sort of people you expected to find in a JJ Valaya store. But now, here they were, crowding into Tom Ford (where it is impossible to look at a price tag without giggling at the ludicrousness of

I HAVE SUITS MADE BY A DELHI TAILOR WHICH OFTEN EVOKE

NEARLY AS MANY COMPLIMENTS AS SAVILE ROW BESPOKE SUITS 14

HINDUSTAN TIMES WEEKLY MAGAZINE JANUARY 15, 2012

indulge the rates), Dior, Fendi, Jimmy Choo, Salvatore Ferragamo, Hugo Boss, Versace and Gucci. And they were buying, buying, buying – usually with wads of cash.

For years and years I have been telling the heads of global fashion houses not to confuse India with China. In China, the cult of branded luxury has reached the stage where a receptionist will save up to buy a Louis Vuitton monogrammed bag that she can’t really afford.

In India, I always say, we look for value. We spend money on quality, on things that have an intrinsic value, not on a bag that costs R2,000 to make but sells for R50,000 because of its monogram or label.

To a large extent I think I am still correct. Brands that came into India hoping to repeat the China story have either retired hurt or have scaled down their expectations. Louis Vuitton is probably the only brand that makes serious money in India (though many others are now profitable) but its presence in our country is tiny compared to its near ubiquity in China.

But I suspect that things may finally be changing. Two factors seem to have made the difference. The first is the rise in incomes in what used to be called Tier Two cities or ‘B Class’ centres. People have made so much money (from real estate, business, trading, etc.) that their buying power has boosted the fortunes of brands. The second is the attitude of the young. This is the most designerconscious generation in India’s history. They don’t really give a damn about Indian designers (unless they are getting married) but they are fascinated by global brands, all the way from Oakley and Diesel to Burberry.

If these factors persist – and there is no real reason why they shouldn’t – then we could be looking at a full-fledged designer explosion within a decade or so.

In a sense, this is ironic. When you talk to people at the top fashion houses abroad (at the level of say, Chanel or Hermès), they seem fascinated by the skills of Indian craftsmen. The problem with the West, they will tell you, is that everything is now mass-produced and industrially manufactured. As global demand for so-called luxury brands has grown, companies have increased margins by shifting production to cheaper industrial hubs in Taiwan, China, Korea or Thailand.

The notion of craftsmanship – which was at the heart of the idea of luxury – has been lost. So has any sense of distinctiveness. If you buy a designer bag that you like, be warned: there are probably a million identical pieces in that batch. Rather than buying into luxury, you are just becoming like everyone else, paying far too much for a mass manufactured, industrial product only because it has a logo on it.

The old rich, who have watched the growth of brand consciousness with mounting disdain have pulled back. Very few people can afford haute couture (which prices start at around $30,000 for a dress) but those in the know go for craftsmanship over industrial manufacture. An Hermès bag, which is made by hand by an artisan in an atelier in France has acquired a new desirability. Made to measure suits from such labels as Zegna, Armani, and the like have grown in popularity.

The problem with all this craftsmanship stuff is that – in the West, certainly – it can be ruinously expensive. Few of us can ever find the money to pay for artisanal goods.

Which is where India has the edge. Foreign brands know that Indian craftsman can be outstanding. Hermès still has a bag in its range that is made in Ahmedabad. All designers send garments to India for embroidery and other artisanal touches. Many famous labels make their shoes in India.

It has always stuck me as odd that at a time when discerning people in the West are seeking out craftsmanship we, in India, are turning our backs on our native skills.

Two years ago, I did a TV series MASS OFFERING If you buy a designer bag, be warned that there are probably millions more like it. A Hermès bag, however, is still made by hand in an atelier in France

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE MONEY, HONEY At Delhi’s Emporio Mall, people were crowding into Dior, Fendi, Jimmy Choo and were buying, buying, buying – usually with wads of cash

dedicated to the assumption that you could get the best things, made especially for you in India without having to pay anything like the ridiculous prices foreign labels charge for mass-produced industrial goods. That Custom Made should be the most remembered of my shows says something about how Indians want to appreciate the skills of our craftsmen and artisans but do not know where to find the right things.

Speaking for myself, I have embraced Indian craftsmanship with a passion. Most of my shirts are made for me in Delhi. I have suits made by a Delhi tailor which often evoke nearly as many compliments as Savile Row bespoke suits. I no longer buy shoes off the rack. They are made for me in Bombay. My leather travel carry-on was made to my specifications by a shop in Colaba. I am working on getting an Indian perfumer to make me a nice agarwood fragrance. My cufflinks are made by a craftsman in Delhi.

The best part of all this is that I actually spend much less money on clothes and accessories than I used to.

A bespoke suit made in Delhi with exactly the same fabric from the same Italian mill is at least one-fourth the cost of a similar bespoke Savile Row suit. My hand-made shoes are less than a third of the prices of Gucci or Ferragamo. (And they fit better). My leather carry-on is one-fourth the price of some nasty monogrammed canvas bag made in some Chinese factory by a famous French label.

None of this is to say that I have turned anti-label. I still buy quality no matter what the label is, provided I think it represents value for money. My last few Armani and Canali purchases were great. I swear by Hermès though I can never afford it. Chanel makes the best fragrances in the world. Some Indian labels are terrific: Abraham and Thakore, for instance, make clothes that combine the finest Indian fabrics with the best designs. And so on.

My point is more limited: why go crazy over labels where the quality is second-rate and the prices are ridiculous when we have such a wide range of options in India? Why fall victim to the wiles of global luxury marketers when real quality is available at our doorsteps for much less money?

That Christmas day it took an hour for my car to fetch me from Emporio, such was the backlog. So I sat and drank a coffee at the lobby café and watched the impatient hordes buy their way into Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Dior.

And I thought to myself: I hope we never become a society like China which worships brands and values marketing more than quality.

Especially when the rest of the world recognises what we do not: India is the last great centre of craftsmanship.

HINDUSTAN TIMES WEEKLY MAGAZINE JANUARY 15, 2012

15

ABRAHAM AND THAKORE

MAKE CLOTHES THAT COMBINE THE FINEST INDIAN FABRICS WITH THE BEST DESIGNS

ON THE JOB Joel DaSilva learnt his stuff as an equipment hand at a blues bar

Sanjoy Narayan

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The Blue Pod

Even if you’re a hard-core blues fan, you are likely to be surprised by the number of new artistes you can discover on The Roadhouse

O

NE OF my favourite podcasts – a free one to boot – is called The Roadhouse. It’s a weekly blues podcast that is into its 360th episode and, for the past five or six years that I’ve been a subscriber, a great way to discover blues music.

Run by Tony Steidler-Dennison who calls his podcast a “true labour of love”, The Roadhouse is described as a podcast that gets you “the finest blues that you never heard.” That’s true. Listen to any of the hour-long episodes of The Roadhouse and, even if you’re a hardcore blues fan, you are likely to be surprised by the number of new artistes that you can discover.

To many people, blues music is all the same: a basic 12-bar framework in 4/4 time. That may be true but the range of styles within the genre is vast. And The Roadhouse is what showcases this week after week. A couple of weeks back, on the 358th episode, I discovered a bunch of artists I’d never heard of. It was an episode that comprised smooth blues tunes – no roughness or rawness but well-crafted soulful songs that wafted over you easily. One of the new bluesmen that the episode introduced me to was Joel DaSilva. A Chicago native, DaSilva learnt his stuff as an equipment hand at a blues bar, picking up lessons from Chicago’s leading blues musicians while working there.

He and his band, Joel DaSilva & The Midnight Howl, have performed with star blues musicians – B B King, A C Reed and Reverend Horton Heat – and opened for bands such as The White Stripes, The Black Keys and Jimmie Vaughan. You can hear influences of Buddy Guy, Stevie Ray Vaughan and even Red Hot Chili Peppers in DaSilva’s easily accessible music. On the same episode, I discovered Little Hurricane, barely a year-old blues duo from San Diego in California, whose dirty blues style is inflected with generous helpings of rock.

Little Hurricane use vintage equipment and like their music to sound down and dirty. Their first album, I learnt, was out last DOWN WITH IT year and going by the Little Hurricane song that I heard, use vintage Trouble Ahead, it equipment to could be worth play their dirty exploring. blues It’s not as if The

PHOTO: REUTERS

MAGIC MAN Gov’t Mule’s frontman – Warren Haynes – is a wizard on the guitar PHOTO: CREATIVE COMMONS

Roadhouse showcases only new blues artists. On a typical episode you can hear some of the old masters and heavy hitters as well. On episode 358, there was an appearance too by Etta James, the 73-yearold blues and R&B queen, who released her latest album, The Dreamer, last year. Joe Bonamassa, the exceptionally talented young blues guitarist, makes an appearance as well, in a duet with Beth Hart, the blues singer with whom he collaborated for their 2011 album, Don’t Explain. Many readers may have heard Bonamassa and his fine blues-rock licks but may not be as familiar with Hart, a Los Angeles singer whose rock-infused blues singing seems perfectly matched to the guitarist’s style.

The Roadhouse is always on my weekly playlist but recently I discovered an iPad app (there’s an Android version as well, I am told) that makes it even more convenient to check out the episodes. At less than $2, the app is cheap and every week, episodes download automatically for you. I made the app a New Year’s gift to myself.

The other New Year’s gift I got myself was a 35song New Year’s Eve 2011 live concert by Gov’t Mule.

They’re a band that readers may have encountered several times in this column – not surprising because they’re among my all-time favourite bands – and their tireless frontman, Warren Haynes, is a wizard on the guitar. Haynes plays with so many bands and on so many gigs through the year that it is a wonder how the 51-year-old manages to keep going. On the 35-song, nearly four-hour-long concert, the Mule play everything: their own standards, such as Railroad Boy, Thorazine Shuffle and Sco-Mule; covers of other bands’ famous songs, such as Rolling Stones’ Honky Tonk Women, The Beatles’ She Came In Through The Bathroom Window; and even Bob Dylan’s I Shall Be Released. But what versions of all of these they played at their annual NYE’s concert last year!

Most of the Mule performances are available online (links in the web version of DC) and usually they’re put on within a few days of the live concert. It’s a trove worth visiting to stock up on a great band’s gigs.

ETTA JAMES IS A 73-YEAR-OLD BLUES AND R&B QUEEN

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

WEEKLY MAGAZINE JANUARY 15, 2012

indulge live The Case Of The Missing Handbag spend | listen |

Margaret Thatcher and Hina Rabbani Khar may have made them famous; but Indian women politicians are not fans

Y

OU’VE GOT to hand it to

Meryl Streep. After bringing the glacial fashion editor based on Anna Wintour to life in The Devil Wears Prada, she’s now appearing on our screens as the redoubtable Mrs Thatcher, the Iron Lady, who is as far removed from Wintour’s Ice Queen as anyone could possibly be. And yet, such is Streep’s ability to morph herself into any life form that rave reviews have already starting pouring in for her portrayal of the former British Prime Minister.

What’s truly uncanny, though, is how much Meryl actually looks like Margaret in the film. There are the tweedy twin-sets, the blouses with a prim bow at the neck, the sturdy shoes, the impossibly bouffant hair. And then, of course, there’s the handbag.

Aha, the handbag. The accessory that was such a part of Thatcher’s look that it became the stuff of legend. Some speculated that the Prime Minister always carried a handbag in an effort to evoke a subliminal association with the Queen. Elizabeth II is never seen in public without a handbag dangling off her arm even though she famously carries no money (she has been known to refresh her lipstick at the dinner table though, so maybe the bag is for an emergency stash of makeup). And there seemed to be something to this theory as Thatcher started becoming more and more Queen-like as her reign wore on, even using the royal ‘we’ to refer to herself (as in “We have just become a grandmother”).

But, more pertinently, the handbag perennially hanging off her arm – ready to be wielded as an offensive weapon if the need ever arose – became something of a metaphor for Thatcher’s bullying style of politics. And those ministers and partymen who became victims of her iron-fist-in-an-iron-glove were described as having being ‘handbagged’, as in clouted about the head by her well-structured Asprey bag.

Such was the power of that image that even now, many decades after the event, we find it hard to picture Margaret Thatcher without her trademark handbag, swinging ominously by her side. It’s as much a part of her image as the poshed-up vowels, the helmetlike hair, and the slash of red lipstick. It signaled a certain purposefulness; it showed everyone that she meant business.

Yes, a handbag can say a lot simply by hanging off someone’s arm – and sometimes it says just as much by being conspicuously absent.

Look around you in our own political sphere. What do you see? I’ll tell you what you don’t: expensive handbags on the arms of our women politicians (with the exception of Mayawati, but more on her later).

Sonia Gandhi, the most powerful women politician in India by a long way, is never seen in public carrying a handbag. Sometimes when she

HINA RABBANI KHAR’S BIRKIN

TOOK ON A LIFE OF ITS OWN, TAKING PRIDE OF PLACE AT EVERY PHOTO-OP PHOTO: ARVIND YADAV

18

BECOMING MARGARET Meryl Streep (left) in the movie The Iron Lady manages to look just like Margaret Thatcher (right), from the clothes to the handbag

attends AICC meetings or Congress plenary sessions, she carries a mannish briefcase bulging with papers and folders.

But otherwise, her arms stay empty, swinging silently by her side, no matter where she is: speaking at an election rally, taking part in a political function, making an appearance at a wedding, or even attending Parliament.

Or take Jayalalitha, the chief minister of Tamil Nadu. She is always impeccably turned out like the nicely broughtup, convent school girl that she is. Perfectly groomed hair, flawless complexion, beautifully draped saris (sometimes with capes to match) – but no handbag. In Delhi, chief minister Sheila Dikshit shows a similar disdain for arm candy of any sort.

And then, there’s the fiery Mamata Banerjee, chief minister of Paschim Bongo, who also refuses to carry a handbag (which is just as well, because she is the most likely to use it to clobber some hapless soul senseless when in one of her famous fits of temper).

All these ladies have very differing styles of politicking. But the one thing that unites them is that the handbag is always missing. It’s almost as if they see it as an emblem of frivolity which would work against their being taken seriously in the public sphere.

Given this background, it’s perhaps easy to understand why we reacted with such outrage when the Pakistan foreign minister, Hina Rabbani Khar, came to visit us with an enormous Birkin bringing up the rear. The bag took on a life of its own, occupying pride of place in every photo-op and effortlessly eclipsing poor old SM Krishna. And before you could say Hermès, a Birkin backlash was in full force. Khar’s judgement – carrying an uber-expensive handbag on a state visit when she was representing a less-than-prosperous Pakistan – was called into question. And she herself came perilously close to being dismissed as a piece of fluff as a consequence, with her handbag doubling up as a badge of shame.

But strangely enough, the only Indian woman politician who makes a fetish of carrying a handbag has escaped that fate. Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati is seldom seen without a designer bag hanging off her arm. In fact, one of her many statues had to be redone because the artist had omitted to graft a handbag on to her arm. But unlike Khar who had to deal with such derision because of her fondness for expensive leather goods, Mayawati has managed to sell her designer bags as a symbol of Dalit empowerment, a sign that she’s come a long way, baby.

Yes, as far as political messaging goes, it’s all in the bag – both when it’s hanging off someone’s arm or missing in action.

PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

spectator

Seema Goswami

seema_ht@rediffmail.com. Follow Seema on Twitter at twitter.com/seemagoswami

HINDUSTAN TIMES WEEKLY MAGAZINE JANUARY 15, 2012

Wellness

MIND BODY SOUL SHIKHA SHARMA

RIGHT THE WRONGS

Dump the bad eating habits and really lose weight

by Kavita Devgan

F

AD DIETS have never given anyone lasting weight loss and never will. So now that the new year has begun and you’re filled with the burning desire to change your life, we suggest you identify and rectify your wrong food habits. Here’s a check list of bad food habits that most of us tend to build up over the years. If you find yourself nodding yes to any, make the change.

YOU ARE A SPEEDY EATER

Do you get through your meal in less than 10 minutes? That’s not good. When you gulp down food, you take in excess air, leading to bloating.

Plus, you end up eating in excess. Speed eating doesn’t give the brain time to catch up with the stomach. Your brain needs at least 20 minutes to get the message that your stomach is full.

Failure is success T

You bingureboodyftaehunmongous amount If you give yo it’ll just store st at one time, of food to dige nge eating t. That’s why bi most of it as fa ip a meal or sk t n’ So you ca doesn’t work. at a party. ly eat gluttonous two and then

YOU DON’T EAT ENOUGH FRUIT

Fruit is packed not only with nutrients but also with a lot of fibre (a satiety booster). If you do nothing more than just double your current intake of fruit and vegetables, you’ll be on your way to a good weight control plan.

YOU RELY TOO HEAVILY ON PROCESSED FOODS

If most of your meals come from cans, bags or boxes you are feeding yourself a diet loaded with unhealthy fats, sugar, salt – and excess calories. Take a crash course in reading labels.

YOU FALL IN WITH OTHERS’ WHIMS

YOU DEMONISE FOODS

YOU ARE A SERIOUS SNACKER

YOU BELIEVE STARVING WORKS

You love veggies but your boss digs meat and potatoes. So you order the same. If this is how it pans out for you most of the time, it’s time to start taking food decisions independently.

A healthy snack or two between meals is fine to keep your blood sugar steady, but when you snack all the time, you lose track of how much you’re eating. Allow yourself only two snacks a day of 100 to 200 calories each.

YOU FEED YOUR MOODS

Feeding your fears and frustrations instead of confronting them can lead to a cycle of more bad moods – and steady weight gain. Make sure you steer clear of this damaging cycle.

There is no harm in enjoying a sweet treat occasionally if you watch the portion size. If you have a sweet tooth, plan for a small sweet snack daily (like just a piece of chocolate).

When you don’t eat for a long duration, the body kicks into its defence mode and begins to store food as fat. And instead of losing weight you might just end up gaining some.

YOU DON’T DRINK ENOUGH WATER

Our metabolism needs water to burn fat. Plus, often, when we think we are hungry, we could in fact be thirsty. So not drinking enough water may lead to overeating. Drink six to eight glasses of water a day, even during the colder months. brunchletters@hindustantimes.com

HE HEADLINE to this piece may seem a little strange considering that we are programmed to avoid failure and aim for success. But before we understand why failures are so important to achieving success, it is essential to define success and failure.

SUCCESS: We all understand success as something that leads to material wealth, beautiful mansions, luxurious cars, lots of jewellery, fame, friends, happy marriages and so on.

While all of the above are wonderful experiences (at no point am I against them), they are not really the truth of life and its beauty. Sure, they give us a lot of pleasure. But the pleasure we get out of all of this is at best temporary. In management jargon, these are carrots, while the absence or denial of these pleasures is painful, which makes them a stick.

While pleasures keep us in our comfort zone, it is really failures that push us towards moving in the direction of inner success. To explain better, let me borrow a few lines from author J K Rowling’s commencement address at Harvard and her interview on The Oprah Winfrey Show: “It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default.”

FAILURE is the best teacher because it removes all bondages, fears, inhibitions, the what-willmy-neighbour-think kind of thoughts. It removes all erroneous notions of what the world thinks we should do, what is considered J K ROWLING the “street smart” thing to do.

Failures remove the chains that hold us back. They reveal the important and essential parts of our core strengths and values. They open us to our inner voice, which is the true guru living within all of us.

Several real people failed for several years and while failing, actually discovered their true selves. J K Rowling (right) is one of them. Others include Oprah Winfrey and Steve Jobs.

The journey from the outer world of pleasures to the inner world of bliss begins only with failure. ask@drshikha.com

“IT IS IMPOSSIBLE to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default”

PHOTOS: THINKSTOCK

Head To Head

YOUR BODY IS ALL IN YOUR MIND Creative, upfront and full of chutzpah, Yana Gupta and Advaita Kala couldn’t care less what others think of them

by Parul Khanna Tewari

YANA: I am hoping to write a script.

I attended a workshop on scriptwriting in Mumbai. Once you get creative, you don’t want to stop at one thing. You want to learn newer things. I attend a lot of workshops.

yana

BRUNCH: On what?

YANA: Anything on health, healing, creative and spiritual stuff.

Recently, I did a five-day workshop in Portugal held by an American artist who makes new things look old, and other workshops on healing in London and Berlin.

ADVAITA: I can’t attend workshops. I am very lazy. I hardly attended classes in college. And I don’t think I can teach either. Also, writing is very organic and germane to what I do. It is not something that can be taught. There are skills that can be shared and learned, but beyond that

a writer just has to write.

BRUNCH: Yana, was writing the book a lot of work?

YANA: I had to first understand how to work with myself. The research was simpler as I have been interested in and have been studying diet and nutrition since I was 15. Not that I knew what was correct, but I kept learning and unlearning. Most of what I have written is my life and experience.

ADVAITA: I’ve read your book. It doesn’t talk down at you.

BRUNCH: Even thin women are never happy with their bodies.

YANA: If you have negative ideas about your body, it doesn’t matter how fat or thin you are, you will always be unhappy. Look at me, most people think I am in good shape. But I always thought I wasn’t thin enough and skipped meals.

Then I’d overeat. One should be at peace with one’s body. And think, as long as I love myself, who cares? Do I care what the stranger in the room is thinking about my body? Why should I go through crazy diets so I can appeal to the world, look more successful and like someone who has it all together? Once you reach that space and start feeling peaceful about yourself and start to love yourself, things start getting easier.

BRUNCH: You wanted cheekbones like Christy Turlington...

YANA: It’s about looking at somebody else and thinking on a subconscious level – that person in the magazine looks so glamorous, has fans, so

PHOTOS: RAJ K RAJ

Y

ANA, MEET Advaita – she is the author of the successful chick lit book, Almost Single, and has also written the script for the film Anjaana Anjaani.

Advaita, meet Yana. The Babuji zara dheere chalo girl has appeared in many item numbers, done reality television and has recently written the book How To Love Your Body And Get The Body You Love.

At Delhi’s Shangri-La Hotel, Brunch introduces the two women to each other over green tea (for Yana) and coffee (for Advaita). Both have written books, are from the same industry, and have strong opinions on body image. This means they have a lot to discuss.

?

Crazy diets, extreme exercise regimens and a lot of stress.

Women nowadays are willing to do anything to fit a certain body image...

CRACKING UP Yana Gupta (right) and Advaita Kala (left) are all laughs at Delhi’s Shangri-La hotel

he/she must have an amazing life. It is not true. Believe me, I am in the industry and I am one of them. We have the same issues as everyone else. In fact, we have more.

ADVAITA: You are constantly being judged on the way you look. In a glamour-driven profession, your entity is based on your looks. Once, I went to a wedding and a beautiful actress walked in with me. Two men said, “Oh my god, she is so ugly.” It was cruel. You wouldn’t do that to anyone but because this actress is known for looking beautiful, you go and point out that fact. Some people say it is a tradeoff. You put your beauty up for trade and so are bound to be judged. But that argument doesn’t hold true as even normal women are judged on their looks. It is just the way the world is – we judge men by their achievements and women on their looks.

Advaita: Nothing works like moderation and being happy with who you are and how you look. I hate to say it, but the older you get the more comfortable you become with the way you look. I am more at peace

HINDUSTAN TIMES WEEKLY MAGAZINE JANUARY 15, 2012

YANA: There was always a certain

body image women were supposed to conform to – looking white in a certain historical period was imperative. If you looked dark, you lacked social status and money. Women had to wear tight corsets that caused early deaths due to punctured bones. But now it is harder for women. Then, women were at least accepted with their curves.

Now there is only one way to be – stick thin. That’s the message popular culture bombards you with.

ADVAITA: Earlier, you could stay slim till you got married and then you could balloon post kids. Now, it is all about celebrity mothers getting back in shape within two weeks of having babies. Even the natural process of a mother’s body that went through gruelling childbearing and birth is glamourised. Women are not even allowed to recover.

now when I am 30-plus than when I was skinny and 16. I am more satisfied now when I weigh more and am ageing.

Yana: It is connected to sexual interaction with men. When you’re growing

BRUNCH: How did you start to love your body?

ADVAITA: (Laughs) Who says I love it?

I don’t care anymore (laughs). There is so much else in life that consumes me, so worrying about how I look versus XYZ or in a new outfit is not high on my agenda.

YANA: (Laughs) That’s what ageing does to you. Thank god for it.

BRUNCH: Let’s not say ageing.

YANA: Maturing.

ADVAITA: Evolving... hahahhaa.

YANA: People are not allowing me to

grow older. My makeup person recently told me to get my laugh lines fixed. I was thinking, ‘give me a break, I am 32, I will grow older.’ I will have lots of lines.

YANA: It is like, ‘you just delivered, now get over it and look like this.’

You cannot go on diets immediately as your body needs certain nutrients while you are feeding the child.

ADVAITA: Bulimia and anorexia are old-fashioned now. There are worse disorders doing the rounds. In urban India, 16 and 17-year-olds are going for botox. There is a race to fight the first wrinkle on the skin. Young girls are under so much pressure – because of the bar set by movie stars and models. And men are also silent sufferers of eating disorders.

This is what Yana says in her book – your whole attitude to food can be disabling. It is about how you interact with food.

YANA: For the longest time, I didn’t know I had an eating disorder. It wasn’t like bulimia or anorexia in which the symptoms are clear. It was silent – I ate little and some-

times too much. I once lived only on vegetable juice for 30 days. I have realised one needs to listen to what the body says and not the mind. All the years that I followed my mind, my body suffered.

ADVAITA: When I was with a hotel in Bangalore, all the women working there had different diets on their chain mails. We would bump into each other in the cafeteria and someone would say, ‘what did you do?’ and then jump into that diet. It is scary how women adopt new diets without thinking them through.

older, you don’t need to seek sexual energy from men as much as you did when you were in your 20s. Post 30, the one thing that changed about me was that I stopped wearing tiny, tight clothes. I am now comfortable with

baggy clothes. I don’t need men to stare at me because I know and am confident with the person I am. You don’t need anyone telling you how amazing you are because of how amazing you look. I don’t care if these men don’t

BRUNCH: People in the glamour industry do crazy things to lose weight, such as survive on lauki juice and do acupuncture.

YANA: Acupuncture is very good. I do it myself.

ADVAITA: Are there needles in your handbag?

BRUNCH: Advaita, you wrote the script for Kahaani (Vidya Balan’s next release). Vidya has been a pathbreaker. In The Dirty Picture, she carried off fat with aplomb.

ADVAITA: I am so proud of her. I am glad she did the movie.

YANA: We are responsible for creating a bad image. That’s why I am moving away from my glamorous image. I am a woman, I have issues and it is okay to not look perfect.

BRUNCH: So will you stop doing item numbers?

YANA: It is so difficult to change my image. They still want me to do the same thing. I think I will have to wait 10 years. When I am really old, they will stop giving me such roles.

BRUNCH: What next for you two?

ADVAITA: I have done the story for the film Kahaani, which is releasing in March. There are a couple of other things in the pipeline. I don’t want to talk about them yet.

YANA: Things get stuck and people call and say ‘what are you doing?

You haven’t done anything for three

admire me anymore.

Advaita: Usually when you look your best you think you look the worst. And then you look back at those pictures and say, ‘I don’t look that bad. Why did I beat myself then?’

HINDUSTAN TIMES WEEKLY MAGAZINE JANUARY 15, 2012

or four years!’ I am writing, travelling and doing my music. It takes time for projects to work out.

ADVAITA: Especially films. They take time to materialise. I am writing my next novel now.

BRUNCH: Where do you get your stories from?

ADVAITA: From here and there. I have lived in a lot of different places, done numerous jobs. I have put myself out there in situations. A lived life is a good seed for any sort of creative expression. Once you start writing, things take on a character of their own.

YANA: I am writing my second book.

I will not tell you what it is about.

There are famous people in my life. I don’t want to expose anyone but I still have to use what they have said because it is so brilliantly stupid. I am keen to direct but might get into documentaries. I enjoy writing and music. My music album should be out in a few months.

ADVAITA: I want to do an Almost Single series. Other than that, let’s see. I am not the kind who wants to see my books being made into films.

Sometimes books are best left as books. Also, If someone can translate the humour of what it means to be a modern Indian woman and represent it correctly without a sleazy touch, then I am comfortable.

Probably a female director.

BRUNCH: Why a woman?

ADVAITA: Hard to enunciate. I ride the metro and sometimes I cannot make it to the ladies’ compartment so I get into the general one. Once I saw another woman get on. She looked around, saw only men around her, and then saw me. Then she headed towards me. We didn’t exchange a word or a smile. It was like we were drawing strength from each other. There was an unstated connection because we were both women in this situation.

YANA: There is a certain kind of sensitivity that women have towards each other. If I had a book being made into films, I too would prefer a woman director.

ADVAITA: Real women shouldn’t be presented in certain stereotypes.

As a woman writer, I have a certain responsibility. parul.khanna@hindustantimes.com

advaita

YANA: Yes, and I can poke them into anyone. Acupuncture triggers your energy points for healing. I also know a technique that flattens the stomach. But it takes time. You have to insert 16 needles in your stomach.

But yes, people in the industry are willing to undergo any torture. Last night on TV, they were showing a cream that aids weight loss and I was like, ‘why are you lying?’

PHOTO: KARTIKEY SHIVA

PERSONALAGENDA AGENDA PERSONAL

SANJEEV KAPOOR Hometown

Sun sign

Birthday

School/ college

Occupation First break

Aries

Mumbai

April 10

Celebrity chef, TV host and Changed about 20 schools/Pusa Institute entrepreneur of Hotel Management

The TV show Khana Khazana

High point of Low point your life of your life

What are you doing currently?Just

The birth of my daughters

When I lost my dad

Which character from Sholay do you most resemble and why?

I think Gabbar, as for some strange reason everyone in my office is scared of me.

The last line of your autobiography would read… ...I ate myself!

How would you explain Twitter to your grandmother?

I’ll say ‘Let’s play a game – twitter, twitter.’

The one place where you would never get yourself tattooed?

Nowhere. After having worked with knives all my life, I don’t think I want needles now.

One song that describes your current state of mind?

Tum itna jo muskara rahe ho.

What would we find in your fridge right now?

I have multiple fridges that actually contain the whole world in them.

If you were an ice-cream, what flavour would you be?

A mix of rum and raisin and butterscotch.

you do?

I’d ask them if they were carrying some food which would be out of this world.

The most clichéd answer you’ve ever given in an interview?

Instead of an answer, it is the question, “So, who cooks at home?” which I find really clichéd.

Your most irrational fear… ...If tomorrow doesn’t come!

You wouldn’t be caught dead wearing…

A lungi.

The one lie you got away with?

I actually get away with everything because of my smile.

Where did you spend last summer?

In New Zealand and Spain.

How many pairs of blue jeans do you have?

They are in scores, not even dozens.

What’s the biggest surprise you’ve ever given your wife?

Our second daughter!

If a spaceship landed in your backyard, what would

WHAT IS THE LAST THING THAT YOU BOUGHT FOR UNDER `10?

CHEWING GUM

22

opened Sura Vie – a casual eclectic lounge in New Delhi, also the channel Food Food

— Interviewed by Veenu Singh

THE MOST OVERRATED MOVIE/BOOK?

I FEEL IT’S THE MOVIE INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

HINDUSTAN TIMES WEEKLY MAGAZINE JANUARY 15, 2012

YOUR DARKEST FANTASY?

TO TAKE ANNA HAZARE’S POSITION!