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This week we bring you The Log on to hindustantimes.com/brunch Fashion Dictators. A bunch of irreverent style critics whose fashion blogs can make grown designers cry! If a war was to be fought for fashion, front-row seats at the fashion week would be the hidden WMD. No unknown face can dare be there!
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Race The Wind 8
S.Ajitkumar Pillai This week’s Brunch issue was really mesmerising with ‘eco-friendly’ people and their houses. The lovely tips were really worthy.
The greatest motorsport spectacle on the planet is coming to India! How exactly did Formula One get here? And why did it take so long?
Sumedh Shah Lucky Ali's Interview was Superb... Binoy Dass Uneasy romatics by Veenu Singh adds extra spice which makes Brunch more tasty this week. Joanna Isaac Each issue is like wine – getting better and better every week. Small, compact and full of relevant topics and knowledge. Thanks. Rasika Chavan Got d brunch quarterly yest! Its 2 gud! Thankx :) Shilpi GuptaDis week's cover story.....damn inspiring Suman Girotra Seema Goswami's articles are amazing !! I just love all her articles !! Mahesh Adiani Brunch is like snacks for Sunday. i read it regularly
Calling All Tweeple twitter.com/HTBrunch @senjam Cover story on eco warriors features a ‘green jungle’ home in Chennai that uses tubelights not CFL. Interesting photograph!.
INDULGE EAT BRAT PACK
Doctor, My Child Is Sick!
A child’s illness can often be the signal for parents to panic. Don’t give in to your fears! PERSONAL AGENDA
@iamlaksmi I never miss Bade Achche Lagte Hain& Iss Pyaar Ko Naam Doon which makes happy watching!wonderful chemistry in both the serials! @adityasdiary I really like this week’s cover story "GREEN CARD HOLDERS" and i'm going to implement my green ideas to the world.
Don’t Stop Eating
Brunches in Asia are extravagant affairs and India is no different PLAY
Are We Entering The Dark Age Of Technology?
Three small events could alter tech’s future LISTEN
The actress on why pink reminds her of her daughter and the sexy secrets behind her workout!
Check Out Chuck
Because without him, The Rolling Stones wouldn’t have been the Stones LIVE
Work In Progress
A quick look at the various life forms that flourish in every office
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RAVEENA TANDON
@Punkster101 Let’s read today’s Brunch and make the sunday awesome. Yep. @aniperamit Personal Agenda featuring Lucky Ali is appreciative. Conversation is real/natural and good to knw sme unknwn facts (to me) abt him
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EDITORIAL: Poonam Saxena (Editor), Kushalrani Gulab (Deputy Editor); Tavishi Paitandy Rastogi, Mignonne Dsouza, Veenu Singh, Parul Khanna Tewari, Pranav Dixit, Yashica Dutt, Amrah Ashraf
,a Across India handful of are eco warriors weeding out pollution. Their e: choic of tools and firm resolve yles radical lifest
Green revolution
THE COVER story Green Card Holders (11 September) offered a tip that neem paste could be used to drive away mosquitoes. There is also a rechargeable electronic mosquito bat available in the market, which costs only `100 and which effectively traps insects. Also, when one plants a tree, the job does not end there – it begins. One has to take care of the trees one plants. But our celebrities seem more interested in just planting trees and gaining publicity. Taking care of the trees that have been planted is forgotten. I also wish that the cover story had highlighted the ill-effects of noise pollution on our health. Our major festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi and Navratri, among others, generate noise at very high decibels. Even if you visit a shopping mall you’ll find high noise pollution. I pity the employees working in these malls as they are constantly exposed to noise at such high levels. We play multiple speakers at high sound levels at the drop of a hat, without any concern about how this noise will affect fellow citizens. On a more positive note, even though the use of solar energy might not be popular in urban areas, it has gained ground in rural areas, where it’s used for recharging mobile phones, watching television and even generating power for villages. We can use solar power in cities for street lighting. And I think that we should give a little more thought to green funerals. During funeral processions, we create noise just by chanting, ‘Ram naam satya hai.’ Can we not say a quiet little prayer instead? We should also think about using electric crematoriums instead of the traditional wood burning method. I understand that it is a sensitive issue but people need to be educated about it. Maybe we should begin by discarding our petrol-guzzling vehicles and using electric cars/bicycles instead. — DEENDAYAL M LULLA, Mumbai THE LAST issue of HT Brunch (Green Card Holders) carried a much-needed message that unless we observe each day as ‘Earth Day’, we will never be able to generate a pollution-free environment. Simply observing the annual ritual of Earth Day will not do. Ergo, awake and raise an eco-friendly atmosphere to ensure healthy living! The writer of the story, Abhijit Patnaik, truly opened our eyes to the reality of the matter. — R L PATHAK, New Delhi
DESIGN: Ashutosh Sapru (National Editor Design), Swati Chakrabarti, Rakesh Kumar, Ashish Singh, Saket Misra
HINDUSTAN TIMES WEEKLY MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 18, 2011
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Cover design: Ashutosh Sapru Photo: Getty Images
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Doctor, my child is sick!
A child’s illness can often be the signal for parents to panic. Don’t give in to your fears by Mignonne Dsouza
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NY PARENT will agree that kids fall sick a lot more often than adults. From common colds and fevers to classic childhood ailments like the measles and chicken pox, many parents feel that they spend a large proportion of their child’s early years either wondering if they are sick or rushing them to a doctor’s waiting room. However, there are times when some parents’ genuine anxiety about their child’s health can become obsessive. Experts agree that while there’s every reason to monitor your child’s health on an ongoing basis, there’s no reason to press the panic button every time he or she complains of being ill.
ALL IN THE FAMILY
Dr RK Anand, medical director and head of the paediatric department at Mumbai’s Jaslok Hospital, says parents are more confused these days because very few of them, unlike earlier, have a reliable family physician who would minister to all members of a family. “Ideally, we should encourage people to choose a good general practitioner (GP),” he explains. “You should only go to a specialist when your family doctor recommends you do so.” That’s because it’s important to keep a patient’s case history. “This will clearly show you that the child has gained height and weight,” says Dr Anand. He adds, “These days, there are parents who actually shop for doctors – they keep on trying new ones. What you need to do is to find a medical practitioner that you trust and stick with her or him.”
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PHOTO: THINKSTOCK
Brat Pack
THESE DAYS
PARENTS DO NOT HAVE A RELIABLE GP TO ADVISE THEM BITE INTO THIS
According to Dr Sonu Udani, consultant paediatrician and head of paediatrics, Hinduja Hospital, Mumbai, 25 per cent of parents who come in to see her do so regarding ‘trivial’ issues. “They will complain that their child refuses to eat or that the child tires easily,” she explains. “I even have parents tell me their child refuses to eat rice, as though that is a medical issue. I have to tell them there’s no tablet to make a child eat vegetables or rice.” According to Dr Udani, a refusal to eat or drink is not always a medical problem. “It can be due to force-feeding or because the mother is constantly after the child to eat,” she explains. “The child then begins to perceive eating as an unpleasant task.” Dr Udani’s advice in such situations? “Leave the child alone, and gradually the child will get hungry and ask for food. Don’t chase your child, don’t always distract him or her with TV, try and schedule the child’s meal times with the family instead of getting the child to eat alone.” Also, she adds, don’t get fixated on whether the child is eating this or that food. “How many mothers ate palak willingly when they were kids?” asks Dr Udani. “Remember that children will also have likes and dislikes.”
She also advises, “Don’t be too strict or too liberal, and feed your child a special diet. Right from one and a half years, your child should eat regular food being eaten by the family.”
THE PAINFUL TRUTH
Parents also use terms like ‘my child is weak or lazy’ very loosely, says Dr Udani. “Very often, a child is lazy because he or she wants to be lazy – there is no medical cause for it. The only thing a parent can do to prevent this is to keep the child mentally and physically active. Take the child down to play every day – that helps.” Another complaint is that the child suffers from aches and pains. “This is again very vague,” explains Dr Udani. “The child will say things like my arm, leg, etc, is paining, often over a long period. I sometimes get patients who have taken their child from doctor to doctor. But a thorough investigation will reveal nothing.” So parents, relax! mignonne.dsouza@hindustantimes.com
HOW TO ENTERTAIN A SICK CHILD Explain to the child what is wrong and what will happen if he / she isn’t taken care of. Explain that she or he is not being punished and that you have to do this because he or she is sick. ■ Pampering children when they are sick is not advisable. Give them some leeway, but remember it’s also okay to be a little firm about rules. ■
HINDUSTAN TIMES WEEKLY MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 18, 2011
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PHOTO: MCT
■ Play simple board games with them to keep them entertained. ■ Let them watch TV for some time, say half an hour. ■ Let them try painting with crayons or pencils; watercolours are okay too. ■ If they are not suffering from a contagious disease, invite friends home – but with rules.
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THE GRE INDIA! H ATEST MOTORSP OW EXAC ORT SPE CTACLE O C O V E R S T TLY DID I N T GET HE ORY RE? AND THE PL ANET IS COMING WHY DID TO IT TAKE S O LONG? BY ROH
RACE TH T
HE GREATEST motorsport circus is coming to the country and don’t we all know it! The airwaves are abuzz with the eardrum-splitting noise of revved-up 800bhp engines, the hunt is on – for tickets, grid girls, a walk with the stars. The last weekend of October will be one grand party as the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida near Delhi readies to host India’s first-ever Formula One race, and the 17th race of this season. India is embracing F1 with arms wide open and bags of cash in both hands. The irony isn’t lost on the man who first tried to take F1 to the Indian masses through the medium of television. In 1995, the present Federation of Motorsports Clubs of India president Vicky Chandhok’s career as a journeyman motorsport driver was all but over. However, in his travels he had built up good contacts and his production house held the rights to broadcast F1 in India.
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forward. The safest bet, and the one with the widest reach, was showing it on the national network, Doordarshan. But there was one tiny problem: the policy makers at Prasar Bharti weren’t too keen giving prime-time weekend air space to what they essentially perceived was cars going round a track. So much so, that Chandhok and his associates had to pay Doordarshan just to broadcast F1! “When we first went up with the proposal, they (Doordarshan) didn’t show any interest. In fact, the only way we got them to agree was by paying them a fee. Imagine! The broadcasting rights of one of the three biggest sporting spectacles in the world (alongside the
FIFA World Cup and the Summer Olympics) was not just given to them for free, they were actually paid for it,” reminisces Chandhok. But even this generous gesture fell by the wayside. A storm erupted when the logos of international cigarette biggies like Rothmans and Marlboro, adorning the livery of the F1 cars, were seen on the small
PAID-PER-VIEW
In a nation that was just warming up to cable television, Chandhok and his associates wondered if going pay-per-view was the right way to take things
PHOTOS: GETTY
WAH WAH VROOM! Come October and airwaves will be abuzz with the eardrum-splitting noise of revved-up 800bhp engines
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HINDUSTAN TIMES WEEKLY MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 18, 2011
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IT BHASK AR
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screen. Promptly, Parliament decided that promoting international tobacco companies on national television was just not on, and the tele-
WTF1 ?
F1 Grand Prix: A race run according to F1’s sporting and technical regulations as defined by the sport’s governing body, the International Automobile Federation (FIA). With the exception of Monaco, a race runs until 305 kilometres are completed. ■
■ Pole position: The term used to define the very first slot on the starting grid of an F1 race. A driver earns pole position if he sets the fastest time during the hour-long qualifying session held on the Saturday of a race weekend.
Fastest lap: The fastest lap recorded over the course of an F1 race.
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■ Points system: The top ten finishers of an F1 race are awarded points on a 25-18-15-12-10-8-64-2-1 basis. This points system has been in effect since the 2010 season.
HOME FRONT HERO ICS
ZIP ZAP ZOOM Sexy metal machines driving wheel-towheel at 300 kmph before braking into a corner – that’s fun!
Ther e’s n race o credibl e t eithe racks in t single se he en r. Til ater l Noid r a ma the cons tire coun acing se ries truct kes i try – in t thr ee, h ion of th two – is n India. T e Bu ere’s he n othi d who taking o dh Inter ng to wr umber of ite h na have u ome usable mad r hat off tional C abou e it t i t r o c uit tw t o For mula o Chenna in Great e i spe 1 r NARAIN edst ers
KARTHIKEYAN
DATE OF BIRTH: January 14, 1977 BORN: Chennai ACTIVE YEARS IN F1: 2005, 2011 TEAMS: Jordan Grand Prix, Hispania Racing F1 Team STARTS: 26 | POINTS: 5 | WINS: 0 | POLES: 0 FASTEST LAPS: 0 Narain Karthikeyan is the Indian circuit racing’s trailblazer in the truest sense of the word. The soft spoken ‘fastest Indian in the world’ became the first driver from India to win a race in Formula 3, one of the important stepping stones to F1. He even set the lap record for pole position at the prestigious Macau F3 race in 2000. By the time he made his F1 debut in 2005, however, the chance to drive for a good team had passed and Narain has struggled to prove to the higher-ups in F1 that he is worthy of being more than just a back-marker.
KARUN CHANDHOK DATE OF BIRTH: January 19, 1984 BORN: Chennai ACTIVE YEARS IN F1: 2010, 2011 TEAMS: Hispania Racing F1 Team, Team Lotus STARTS: 11 | POINTS: 0 | WINS: 0 | POLES: 0 FASTEST LAPS: 0 Chandhok doesn’t deny that having friends in the right places has helped. He is the son of Vicky Chandhok, the president of FMSCI, India’s motorsport governing body. Still, the 27-year-old, who is in F1 today for his two wins in the GP2 series, is eager to prove his worth for a decent team on the F1 grid.
HINDUSTAN TIMES WEEKLY MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 18, 2011
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COVER STORY
THE BEST OF THE BEST Every sport has its roll call of the very best people to have taken centre stage. Here are five F1 legends synonymous with greatness
JUAN MANUEL FANGIO (1950-51, 1953-58)
Well before his performance in the 1957 German Grand Prix that cemented his place in F1 history, this Argentine had earned his nickname: The Maestro. Winning 24 races from 51 starts and five world championships with four different teams had something to do with it too.
WINDS OF CHANGE
JIM CLARK (1960-68)
The quiet Scotsman dominated F1 in the ’60s until his demise at a Formula 2 race in 1968. Blindingly fast, mechanically adept and free of controversy, his untimely death meant that he was unable to improve upon his already impressive tally of 25 victories and two world championships.
ALAIN PROST (1980-91, 1993)
‘The professor’, as he is known, was famous for a cerebral approach to F1 racing. One could always count on the Frenchman to plan a win and beat drivers who were naturally faster than him. Four world championships and 51 wins testify to the effectiveness of his approach.
AYRTON SENNA (1984-1994)
Everything about the Brazilian, who believed that no one was his equal on the track, exuded speed – from his surname to raw statistics. Sixty five pole positions from 162 races is a monumental record. Three world championships and 41 wins are pretty darnn impressive too.
MICHAEL SCHUMACHER (1991-2006, 2010-2011)
PHOTOS: AP
A record seven world championships and 91 race wins, but that’s not all! Stunning wins against faster cars, near misses and plenty of controversy, Schumi is the complete F1 driver in more ways than one.
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cast of the races was cut. By 1997 the FIA (Federation Internationale de l’Automobile, the world motorsport governing body), under pressure from European Union policymakers, anyway began putting an end to tobacco sponsorships and by 2000, Williams became the first tobacco sponsor-free F1 team. At present there is a ban on tobacco sponsorships in F1, and barring Marlboro’s muted association with Ferrari, no tobacco majors are involved with the sport. “I think they (Doordarshan) must know what a big opportunity they let slip. If they don’t know already, they’ll know after the inaugural Indian Grand Prix (GP) in October this year. That race will be the greatest sporting spectacle in the history of the nation,” says Chandhok. In the mid Nineties, just as F1 was slowly breaking into our consciousness, an Indian was charting his route to the upper echelons of motorsport. Narain Karthikeyan was well into his teens before he could see F1 live on Indian television. The first time he saw a live F1 race, he was not your average motorsport fan. He was a driver who was competing in the support race that weekend. “I drove the Formula Ford support race during the 1994 Portuguese GP in Estoril. That was the first time I saw and heard the thrill of F1 live,” remembers 34-yearold Karthikeyan. In his pre-teen years, with cable television not yet in the country, he was as dependent on his postman as the motorsport buff of today is on his DTH operator. “In those days I subscribed to some international racing magazines to keep abreast of the happenings in F1. They always arrived almost a month late in the mail, but that was the only option I had back then,” he says. Pretty soon, his interest in the sport grew and watching races (albeit recorded ones), was the next jump. “In 1989 I got my hands on a tape of the FIA official season review. This was the first time I saw F1. From then onwards, I used to get recordings of races from America.” Ironically, by the time F1 races started beaming live across television sets in the country, the Coimbatore racer no longer had the time to sit and watch. He was already travelling far and wide in his quest to become the first Indian to make it to the pinnacle of motorsport, a dream which he would fulfill in 2005 with Jordan GP. “Before getting there, I had to chart a route that most European drivers follow – starting with the British F3 championship (1998).
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Back then there was no definite progression ladder to F1 like there is today, with a feeder series like GP2. I had to go around quite a bit, from Formula Nippon in Japan to the Nissan World Series before I got a chance to test an F1 car in 2001. But it wasn’t until 2005 that things fell in place, including the funding required to compete in a full season of Formula 1,” he says. While Karthikeyan was going about his pioneering efforts, Indian interest in F1 grew, as did F1’s interest in India. Even in 2003, talks of an Indian GP were already doing the rounds, with Hyderabad the early favourite to host the event. The then Andhra Pradesh chief minister, Chandrababu Naidu, even earmarked a location before it came to naught. However, when a consortium led by liquor baron Vijay Mallaya bought the Spyker F1 team in late 2007 and re-christened them Force India, it was only a matter of a time before an Indian GP was a reality. As the Buddh International Circuit gears up to host the grand spectacle, not only is there an assured presence of an Indian driver (Karthikeyan) and team (Force India), but by all accounts, it could be a double bill with Karun Chandhok likely to get the nod to race in front of his home fans for Team Lotus – owned by Malaysian aviator Tony Fernandes, whose family tree has its roots in Goa and Kerala.
AS GOOD AS IT GETS
While Indian drivers have now broken into F1, with the advent of the Indian GP, will we soon see an Indian fighting for podiums and championships? You might just want to hold your guns on that. “The new generation of racers in the country definitely have it easier than I did. There are many options to build a systematic racing career leading all the way to Formula 1 that didn’t exist when I was starting out. But having more options doesn’t guarantee a career in top-flight racing unless you have the speed. We must also remember that our counterparts from other countries in Europe and Asia are still ahead of us in terms of motorsport development,” Karthikeyan says ominously. The caveat aside, Indian motorsport is riding the crest of a high and beautiful wave, and the Indian GP is the high-water mark. “You don’t need to delve deep into each car’s technical specifications to enjoy the racing. Two cars driving wheel-to-wheel at 300 kmph before braking into a corner – I don’t think you need any technical insight to enjoy that!” says Karthikeyan. Nope. None, at all. rohit.bhaskar@hindustantimes.com
‘It’s much tougher than you think!’ F KARUN CHANDHOK
Being a professional motorsport driver is a physically demanding task and requires rigorous training, says ITNESS IN motorsport is a fairly underestimated, misunderstood and generally ignored subject. People, even in my own family, very often ask me: “Why on earth do you train for so long? You’re just sitting in a car driving round and round!” That statement, while being vaguely true, doesn’t even begin to describe the amount of effort it takes to drive a serious racing car. The fitness required is quite comprehensive in that you need strong cardio-vascular endurance combined with strength, particularly in the upper body. Most importantly, you need strong neck muscles. I was never an athletic kid and in fact when I was 16, I peaked at 96 kg. So I was very much the fatso in class! I soon realised that racing needed a huge commitment from the driver to perform at the highest level and have slogged away for the last few years to achieve that. My weekly schedule generally has five or six cardio sessions which are mainly cycling combined with some swimming and indoor sessions on the cross trainer. I have a knee problem that limits my running, but I still have an occasional run as it’s the simplest way to train when travelling. My swim sessions are generally between 2,000-2,500 metres and the cycle rides are anywhere between 60 km to 120 km depending on the day and the route (obviously a hilly route means less distance). I really enjoy my cycling and have now got a good group together to ride with. I also cycle at the race weekends where I ride a lap of the track with Jarno Trulli, Bruno Senna or Team Lotus CEO, Riad Asmat. During the off season, the weight training gets a bit more intense, but once we get to the end of February, it’s more circuit and resistance training for the rest of the season. The circuit training is really intense with about 20 different weight-training exercises with lower weights and more repetitions to build muscle endurance. Core and back strengthening exercises are also very important as they are
the key to having stability in the car while going round corners at over 250 kmph. People often underestimate the importance of core training, but it’s amazing how strong core and back muscles can make a difference. The neck muscles are very specialised in motor racing. There is no other sport in the world where your neck muscles are subjected to such high loads for such a long period of time. To be honest, I’ve seen pretty much every type of exercise to build up neck muscles, but there is nothing in the world that compares with driving the car. It’s amazing how much stronger my neck gets during the season and also how quickly it weakens during the winter despite all the training in the gym. To give you an idea, just try lying on your back, supported up to your shoulders, with your neck and head hanging off the end of your bed. Now try lifting your head up and down slowly 30 times,
then look left and right 30 times and then hold it flat for 60 seconds – that will give you an idea of what just a few laps in an F1 car does to your neck! Food and hydration is also really important on a race weekend. While it’s mainly a protein-based diet during the week, you need carbohydrates during a race weekend to keep you going. It’s amazing how much nervous energy gets burnt off when you’re at a race weekend! On race day, I eat breakfast at about 8 am and an early lunch at 11.30 am but already by 1.30 pm, before the start of a race, I’m absolutely starving! My physio normally carries some energy bars to the grid for me to snack on just before the start. Fluid intake is very important, especially in the hotter races like Malaysia (Sepang) and Budapest (Hungaroring).
WHEELIN’ AROUND Karun Chandhok’s training includes cardio sessions such as cycling
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At these places, five to six litres of water, combined with isotonic drinks that are high in mineral salts, potassium and magnesium, are a must. Even during the race, we carry about half a litre of fluid in the car to drink to stay hydrated. This year, I’ve actually started using karting as a way to stay fit. I bought myself a proper racing Rotax Max go-kart and have been out once or twice a week. This workout is hard on its own but also a great way to keep the reflexes and race craft sharp. Overall, fitness in motorsport has become a very serious subject now and team bosses and engineers study the drivers’ fitness levels very seriously before hiring them. At the end of the day, it’s our job to make sure that we can do the last lap with as much commitment as the first – so it’s time for me to get back on the bike !
COVER STORY
CURRENT F1
SUPERSTARS
Remembering Ayrton Senna
A stunning new docu by an Indian filmmaker recreates the life and times of an F1 legend, says VIVEK MUKHERJI
SEBASTIAN VETTEL (2007-2011)
The 24-year-old German became the youngest driver to win an F1 race in 2008. Since then, he has been the youngest driver to finish second in the F1 championship (2009) and the youngest to win a world championship (2010).
LEWIS HAMILTON
(2007-2011)
The McLaren team has supported its golden boy since his days in karting and fittingly, he has driven for no one else since his F1 debut in 2007. Since then, the 26year-old been known more for his on-track altercations than his natural speed and aggression
JENSON BUTTON
(2000-2011)
Already a ‘veteran’ at 31, this talented Briton had to transform from a notorious playboy to a mature racer in order to become a serious contender. This patience paid off with an F1 title in 2009.
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NCE IN a lifetime there comes a sportsperson who continues to cast his shadow on the sport long after departing from the scene. These sportspeople go on to become the 24-carat standards of excellence because they perform so high above the existing levels. In Formula 1, Ayrton Senna da Silva was one such character. Even 17 years after his tragic death on May 1, 1994 at the Autodrome Dino Ferrari in the San Marino GP, Imola, at the wheels of Williams FW 16B, the Brazilian continues to inspire racing drivers, writers, filmmakers and fans in equal measure. Senna, the movie directed by British filmmaker of Indian origin, Asif Kapadia, scripted by Manish Pandey and produced by James Gay-Rees, is a product of that inspiration. The haunting docu-drama brings to life the legend who many believe was the greatest F1 driver ever. Before Senna, 33 drivers lost their lives on race weekends, but he was the first driver to meet his maker when Formula 1 had become a globally televised sport. Millions across
the world watched Senna inexplicably veer off the track and plough into the concrete wall at the infamous Tamburello corner at over 217 kmph. In a few fleeting seconds, the triple world champion sat lifeless in the car. The live images on TV of doctors trying to revive Senna beside the car’s wreckage left a searing impact on racing fans. For the first time, millions understood that beyond the glamour, fast cars, pink champagne, pretty women and glitter lurks the hand of death. Senna’s death tormented Gay-Rees and Pandey for a decade. In 2004, GayRees, a producer with Working Title Films, started working on an idea to make a film on the death of Senna. He casually discussed his latest project with Pandey’s wife, who asked him to discuss the film with her husband, a hopeless Senna fan. Shimla-born Pandey, an orthopaedic surgeon from Cambridge, had written four unproduced scripts earlier. He convinced Gay-Rees that a full-length feature capturing the life and times of Senna would be a better tribute to the racing driver. “For me, Senna was the greatest sportsperson. And being an immigrant, I could identify with the kind of alienation he had to deal with when he came to England from Brazil,” Pandey says. After working on the script, the producer and the scriptwriter settled on the highly talented Kapadia, who had by then already acquired fame in the British film industry with his movie The Warrior, for which he won the BAFTA. “This was my first documentary and we didn’t want to use the conventional format where the voice-over and talking heads link the narrative,” says Kapadia, a Royal College of Art graduate. “We wanted to use real characters who THE TERRIFIC TRIO Asif Kapadia, Manish Pandey and James GayRees, makers of the awardwinning tribute film Senna
INPUTS BY VINAYAK PANDEY
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knew Senna.” And that turned out to be biggest challenge for the filmmakers. The production team dug through over 5,000 hours of archival material, including thousands of hours of race feed, drivers’ briefing and home movies made by the Senna family. It took more than 450 hours for the filmmakers to cull the relevant bits from the footage vaults of Formula One Management. “We didn’t want to show Senna just as a racing driver. We wanted to bring to screen the complete man that he was,” says Pandey. Over two years, the film was pieced together at four locations – UK, Brazil, Japan and France. Senna unfolds in three acts – his arrival in Europe and his early years of struggle, his entry into Formula 1 in 1984, his ascent to three world championships and ultimately his death. At the core of the film lies the Brazilian’s fearsome rivalry with French driver Alain Prost. Their skirmishes on the track, and off it, are well-documented in Formula 1 folklore. Seena was able to acquire all the material comforts – a private jet, powerboats and houses in Monaco, Portugal and Brazil. Yet he was acutely aware of the back-breaking poverty in Brazil, his native country. “Life can be very difficult in Brazil. You have all the extremes. You have fantastic nature; you have all the good material things that money can buy,” he philosophises in a sequence taken from a home movie. “But at the same time, you have lots of problems, social problems. You have poverty, some violence as a consequence.” Senna grossed $1 million in the first weekend in the US markets, where F1 is hardly a widely watched sport. It picked up the World Cinema Audience award for the best documentary at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival and gushing reviews around the world. If all goes well, Indian fans will be able see the movie during the F1 race weekend. It’s the kind of film that leaves you craving for more. brunchletters@hindustantimes.com
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indulge eat
rude food
Vir Sanghvi
MIDDAY FEAST Brunch at Zest is buzzy, packed, lavish, grand and value for money
| play | listen |
Don’t Stop Eating
Brunches in Asia are extravagant affairs, offering the best and most luxurious foods. India is no different, so yes, Sundays can be beautiful
PERFECT MIX The buffet at the Raj Pavilion at the Windsor Manor (left) in Bangalore combined ITC’s traditional strengths in the Indian food area with astonishingly faithful recreations of Anglo-Indian cuisine
W
HY YOU like Sunday brunch (the meal, not this magazine, silly!) says a lot about who you are. If you are a hotelier or a restaurateur, you like Sunday brunch because it represents a great opportunity for profit. You construct the meal around low cost ingredients such as eggs and bakery products (muffins, waffles etc.) and then charge a huge amount, throwing in champagne or sparkling wine which you have procured at enormous discount from some wine importer. If, on the other hand, you are not a restaurateur but just a lazy sort of fellow, you like the idea of brunch because it allows you to get up late, linger over the Sunday papers with steaming cups of coffee or tea and to then move directly to lunch without the intervening inconvenience of breakfast. And if you are a high-energy sort of person who misses the excitement of weekdays, then brunch gets you out of the house, into a crowded restaurant and allows you to indulge in the warmth of human contact. In my experience, people who love brunch are much better off in Asia than they are in Europe or America. In France, they don’t believe in brunch. French people demand a full-fledged Sunday lunch. In Britain, restaurants couldn’t be bothered to turn out a good brunch. In America, brunch is a popular option but it is usually a rip-off. The chef takes the weekend off so one of his minions is put in charge of the brunch service. The minion is told to work on a low food cost basis, so he looks for ways to make eggs seem more interesting (variations on Eggs Benedict, fancy omelettes etc.), offers a limited menu of four not-very-exciting
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options and then sits back while the bartenders whip up Bloody Marys or Mimosas (made with packaged orange juice and sparkling wine). This kind of brunch is popular at some New York restaurants because a) it allows the restaurant to say that it is open on Sunday even though all the good chefs have taken a holiday; b) it allows guests to say that they have visited fancy restaurants (Sunday brunch is usually cheaper and it is much easier to get a table for brunch than it would be for dinner any other day); and c) it appeals to the lazy guys who like the idea of a peaceful, quiet Sunday. Asian brunches, however, tend to be over-the-top, high-energy, extravagant affairs. They are nearly always buffets (which is not the case in America or Europe). They offer a range of cuisines. The top chefs are usually present in person at the buffet counters to make sure that everything is perfect. And hotels and restaurants vie with each other in providing the best and most luxurious foods. Years and years ago, at the late, lamented Compass Rose on top of the Westin Stamford (as it was then; it is called MUSICAL SPREAD The Humble House has great dim sum and the two Naga sisters Ase Kenn (left) and Sede Kenn sing beautifully
GRAND AFFAIR At the Bombay Taj, the Sunday buffet in the Ballroom (above left), was an institution in the Sixties. These days, the Taj makes more money from letting the Ballroom (above right) out for banquets than it ever did from the buffet
something else now) in Singapore, I marvelled at the lavishness of the brunch: as much Sevruga caviar as you wanted, gallons of Veuve Clicquot champagne, live foie gras stations and nearly every cuisine you could think of. In Bangkok, all the top hotels do lavish brunches. My favourite (though I have not been for years) used to be at the Intercontinental on Ploenchit (the hotel used to be called the Royal Meridien when the Sunday brunch began) with its chocolate fountain and its acres and acres of buffet tables laden with food from India, China, France, Thailand, Germany, Japan etc. Even in Delhi, the Sunday brunch is an excuse for restaurants to go over the top with their offerings. On most days, Machan at the Taj Man Singh is a perfectly nice coffee shop. But on Sundays, it suddenly ups its game with all-you-can-eat caviar, fresh oysters, whole lobsters and cases of champagne. Likewise, 361 at the Gurgaon Oberoi offers you a choice of champagne at its all-inclusive Sunday brunch. My guess is that in India at least (I don’t know about the rest of Asia), the restaurant Sunday brunch is not a brunch at all even though we may call it that. It has its origins in the tradition of a very big Sunday buffet lunch, a special meal when you ate a lot because you knew you could sleep the afternoon off. I remember being taken, as a child, to such clubs as the Delhi
indulge Gymkhana where an elaborate Sunday buffet would be laid out and the crème de la crème of Delhi’s military and bureaucratic elite would gather to swap stories. None of those people thought of their meal as a mere brunch. In many cases, it was their biggest meal of the week. Perhaps this was a Raj tradition. In the days when Spencers’ ran the grand old Connemara Hotel in Madras, a large banqueting room would be given over to Sunday lunch and old Spencers’ cooks would produce an elaborate buffet of South Indian dishes combined with the food of the Raj. (When the Taj group took the Connemara over in the 1980s, it committed the criminal act of shutting down the buffet and operating a disgusting American-style coffee shop instead. The Connemara is still Madras’s best hotel but it ain’t what it used to be.) At the Bombay Taj, the Sunday buffet in the Ballroom, overlooking the Gateway of India and the Arabian Sea was such an institution in the Sixties that you would find the great and good of Bombay helping themselves to Salad Currimbhoy, Roast Lamb, Dhansak and Bread and Butter Pudding while Goody Seervai and his orchestra played. Sadly, that buffet died a natural death and though I recall an attempt to revive it in the early Nineties with modern Hemant Oberoi touches (six kinds of olives in the salad section etc), it never quite caught on and, these days, the Taj makes more money from letting the Ballroom out for banquets than it ever did from the buffet. If you see the so-called Sunday brunch as a revival of the Raj tradition of the big Sunday lunch – which is how I see it – then its most successful recent avatar was the buffet at the Raj Pavilion at the Windsor Manor in Bangalore which combined ITC’s traditional strengths in the Indian food area with astonishingly faithful recreations of the Anglo-Indian cuisine which Bangalore was once known for. I haven’t been back recently but no doubt, it has gone the way of all other Sunday buffets and become hipper and more modern. Speaking personally, I have nothing against modern buffets but it is worth shopping around because, while all hotels charge the roughly the same amount, you can get considerably more for the same price from some hotels than you can from others. Apart from the basics (good food, service, ambience etc.), here are some things you should look for: high value items (good quality meat, seafood), champagne or premium spirits and last, but not least, good music. I used to regularly praise the Machan brunch because it had lots of expensive foods (I think the Taj actually lost money on some items but kept them on for reasons of prestige), good champagne (LaurentPerrier NV) and an amazing singer in Stella Pinto. Its rival in the value-for-money stakes is the brunch at Zest which is buzzy, packed, lavish and grand. Last Sunday, I found that Machan now had a new rival. The Maurya has had the bright idea of combining its two rooftop restaurants, My Humble House and West View, and offering a brunch that allows you to travel between both places and eat what you like. I thought the Humble House food was better (great dim sum) but the West View buffet had lots of caviar, lobster, foie gras, free-range corn-fed chicken, Wagyu and other luxury items. But what swung it for me was the music. At West View, old faithful Peter Mehta has been joined by Becky and they make a great duo. At Humble House, two Naga sisters, Sede Kenn and Ase Kenn, sing beautifully. On a nice day, as the golden sun pours through the glass windows at Humble House, and as the music gets going and the champagne rushes to your head, it is easy to believe that all is well with the world and that it is going to be a beautiful Sunday.
HINDUSTAN TIMES WEEKLY MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 18, 2011
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PHOTO: THINKSTOCK
WHAT A SPREAD On Sundays, Machan at Taj Man Singh suddenly ups its game with allyou-can-eat caviar, fresh oysters, whole lobsters and cases of champagne
IF YOU ARE A
LAZY SORT OF FELLOW, YOU LIKE THE IDEA OF BRUNCH BECAUSE IT ALLOWS YOU TO LINGER OVER THE SUNDAY PAPERS WITH STEAMING CUPS OF COFFEE OR TEA
PHOTOS: THINKSTOCK
RIGHT PRICE A hotelier or a restaurateur likes Sunday brunch as it represents a great opportunity for profit. You construct the meal around low cost ingredients such as eggs and bakery products
indulge play eat |
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GIVEN THE CHOP The HP Touchpad was recently axed
Are We Entering The Dark Age Of Technology?
techilicious
Rajiv Makhni
NEW ALLIANCE Part of the new army for Motorola-Google to take over the world?
Three small events in the world of tech could very well alter its future
new technologies, innovation will die out and no radical new devices or technologies will be seen.
SMALL EVENT 2
I
T IS said that we live in the golden era of the technology world. We have seen advances and innovations in the last 10 years that we haven’t seen in the last 1,000 years. And the next 10 years are supposed to surpass all technologies, inventions and discoveries since the advent of mankind. Thus, these should be happy times for all the companies and people involved in this field. Yet, there seems to be trouble in paradise, in fact large scale trouble brewing from all BITE-SIZE FUTURE directions. Three recent happenings have The iPhone 5 may come out, set off a chain of events that will have a tsunabut will the Apple magic mi ripple effect across the globe. still remain?
SMALL EVENT 1
HP KILLS OFF THE TOUCHPAD TABLET AND PREPHONES
Kills off the WebOS completely. Talks of palming it off to another company, but that seems unlikely considering the kind of money (most say foolishly) that HP paid when it acquired Palm. LARGER TSUNAMI: HP ALL SET TO SELL THEIR ENTIRE PERSONAL
SYSTEM GROUP
This isn’t some random rumour or speculation. Even top HP officials have spoken about it. While many now say it was just to get a valuation, that sounds like complete hogwash. The HP PSG division is world number one in the categories they deal with and the revenues they make are astronomical. The question being asked is why any company that large, that well-established, with a plethora of devices and a number one position, would ever want to sell. The answer isn’t simple and yet it has been staring us in the face for a very long time. THE REAL STORY: Hardware manufacturing isn’t a very lucrative market any more. Competition is cut-throat, profits are low, margins are almost non-existent, risks are very high, entry barriers are very low for even a small player to come in, you need to innovate at a blistering pace and failure rates in even a single category have a deadly effect on the entire company. IBM got out, HP wants to, and many other will follow. Everybody wants to get into the high profit business of software and services and nobody wants to make the hardware to run it all. RIPPLE EFFECT: Most of the big names will be bought out by marketing and sales companies and not technology companies. These companies will outsource device manufacturing to contract manufacturing companies in China. For a while, this A JOBLESS WORLD will lead to great new Most tech experts agree that devices at amazing prices. Apple will be severely hit by But without R&D and the exit of Steve Jobs investments in developing
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APPLE SUES MULTIPLE COMPANIES FOR TECHNOLOGY INFRINGEMENT, DESIGN PLAGIARISM AND PATENTS
Legal counterattacks from many companies – and it’s a free for all out there right now. New battles start over trying to acquire companies that hold important patents, cartels are formed and companies that wouldn’t even talk to each other suddenly become best friends. An old word is born again – ‘Frenemies’! LARGER TSUNAMI: GOOGLE BUYS OUT MOTOROLA This was explained as a move mainly to get proper patents to make sure that the Android Mobile OS doesn’t get into any more legal wrangles. All Android partners have been assured that this will have no effect on their business and the relationship will continue just like before. THE REAL STORY: It’s impossible to ignore future implications. The kind of money paid by Google for Motorola has to be justified. Google will have to make Motorola work and be super profitable. After all, Google has shareholders to answer to. For this to happen, Google will need to give Motorola preferential treatment, first OS rights, and new exclusive features. Google has done that before with its Nexus phone. This is obviously making all its Android partners pretty nervous. Many may drop off the Android system if Motorola becomes the blue-eyed boy for Google’s world domination plan. RIPPLE EFFECT: The worst thing that can happen to the mobile phone world is any one OS dominating and killing off all others. Competition is what keeps everyone on their toes and makes them come up with fantastic new products. If the mobile business becomes a one-horse race, we’ll all be flogging a dead horse very soon.
SMALL EVENT 3 STEVE JOBS RESIGNS
LARGER TSUNAMI: STEVE JOBS RESIGNS THE REAL STORY: Steve Jobs resigns. RIPPLE EFFECT: Apple will survive but... While new iterations of the entire existent line-up (iPhone 5, iPad 3, New MacBook Air etc) will come out with frightening regularity, the real question is – will the magic continue? Will Apple still be able to pull new rabbits out of an old hat minus the Stevie magic? To most of us not smoking drugs or not under the Jobs reality distortion field, the one word answer is NO! Apple needs magic. That’s what the company was built on. These are turbulent times for tech. Turbulent and disturbing. One hopes and wishes that the current events are small bumps in a perfectly paved road. If they are not, then the golden era may well change into the beginning of the dark age of technology. 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 SEPTEMBER 18, 2011
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indulge
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C H E C K OU T C H U C K
download central
Sanjoy Narayan
Because without him, The Rolling Stones wouldn’t have been The Rolling Stones (by their own admission)
S
OME MUSICIANS are so low profile that you hardly ever realise their influence. They rarely hog the limelight and, in fact, are most often overshadowed by their band mates who are way more famous. How many of us know of Chuck Leavell? Even if someone told us that Leavell, 59, is an American pianist and keyboardist who has played with THE GREAT UNKNOWN the likes of Eric Clapton, The Chuck Leavell is a 59-year-old American pianist and keyboardist. He has played with the likes of Eric Clapton, Rolling Stones and The Allman had a stint with the Allman Brothers and has been part of The Rolling Stones (above) for years. Believe it Brothers, we’d probably go, “Oh, yet another sessions musician; there are so many.” But if I were to show, which has many of the frenetically touring band’s famous tell you that Chuck Leavell is actually a part of The Rolling Stones tunes (Climb to Safety, Arleen, Space Wrangler, Mercy, Barstools and has been touring with the band for years, would that make him and Dreamers…) is excellent and a lot of credit for that goes to two any more familiar? guests that Panic decided to invite to the party – besides Leavell Probably no. Leavell joined the Stones in the early 1980s, after on the keyboard, there is Derek Trucks, the guitar genius. Needless a stint with The Allman Brothers, as a touring member and a to state, my commute through Delhi’s rain-choked roads went down second keyboardist to the main man, Ian Stewart. After Stewart considerably better than it could have. I’d recommend downloaddied, Leavell became the primary guy who tweaks the keyboards ing that entire podcast (link in the web version of DC) and keeping when the Stones go on tour and, indeed, he’s also been credited it handy. Just in case. with being the band’s musical director, planning and drawing up Spurred by Leavell’s appearance in that great Panic gig, I went (with Mick Jagger), the nightly playlists for the famous band’s gigs. about listening to the man’s other appearances. First, I tried to find On Leavell’s website, Stones’ guitarist Keith Richards is quoted as some of his solo work – he has four albums, including a solo piano saying: “Without the continuity that Chuck brings to us, the Stones work from 2001 called Forever Blue. But although Leavell’s roots would not be the Stones.” are that of a blues pianist, it is his rock collaborations that I find Yet, it’s not the stuff that Leavell plays with the Stones that makes myself drawn to. And, strangely enough, you may discover that you him a great musician. It’s the other stuff that he does that makes always had him in your record or CD collection but you probably him one of the most influential musicians of his times. On a recent never realised that. Heard The Black Crowes 1990 gem, Shake Your day of uncharacteristically heavy rains in Delhi, stuck in traffic for Money Maker? (I’ll never forget how I picked up that CD from a hours, I reached out for what you might say was the musical equivdiscount bin in Bombay in the mid-1990s!). Well, the chap playing alent of comfort food – a podcast of a more than three-hour-long the piano on it is none other than Leavell. concert by one of my all-time favourite bands, Widespread Panic. Look through your collection, and you’ll find Leavell. Got Clapton’s It was not a recent concert. It dated back to 2003 and was record1992 album, Unplugged? Heard the piano? Yes, it’s Leavell. He’s on ed over two sets at Atlanta in the American band’s native state of many more albums by other bands: The Allman Brothers’ Brothers Georgia. and Sisters, Gov’t Mule’s Live With a Little Help From Our Friends That year was not one of the best for the band. Widespread Panic and so on. And, if you don’t have any of these, you’ll surely have had lost their lead guitarist with superlative skills, Michael Houser, heard him on Voodoo Lounge, Stripped, No Security, Live Licks, the year before and were still to get back their groove in the lead A Bigger Band, or 2008’s Shine A Light. Yes, you guessed right, department but as soon as I began hearing the familiar opening they’re all Rolling Stones albums. notes of the first set’s first song, Pickin’ Up the Pieces, I knew To give feedback, stream or download the music mentioned in this column, go to something was going on: there was someone big on the piano. I http://blogs.hindustantimes.com/download-central, follow argus48 on Twitter or checked the shownotes and, sure enough, it was Leavell. That 2003 visit our website: www.hindustantimes.com/brunch
HINDUSTAN TIMES WEEKLY MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 18, 2011
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Work In Progress
LOVE TO HATE The Flirt whose annual raise is inversely proportional to the size of her dress
A quick look at the various life forms that flourish in every office
L
ET ME guess. Even as you settle down to reading the papers on a lazy Sunday, a part of you is already dreading the return to office come Monday morning. And who can blame you? There is something soul-destroying about being thrown into close proximity with a bunch of people for days and months, even years, on end – especially if you didn’t like them very much to begin with. The daily irritants just pile on until you’re ready to scream blue murder – or commit one with your own bare hands. Every office has its irritants – and none is more annoying than an irritating colleague. These come in all shapes and sizes and have their own particular quirks. But odds are that there is one of the following types in every office across the world. The Whinger: No matter how well things are going, this guy (or gal) will find something to complain about. His raise wasn’t good enough; she didn’t get to go to the company off-site in that swanky location; the air-conditioning is too cold/not working; parking is such a bitch when you don’t have your own spot; the folks at head office are such idiots; and who on earth made that bozo their boss? The Lothario: This one is almost exclusively male – and a pretty unreconstructed male at that. He is convinced that he is God’s gift to womankind; and nothing, not even a kick in the groin, will convince him otherwise. Say no all you want, he will still believe that you actually mean yes – it’s just that you are too coy to say it out loud. Nothing deters him: not the presence of an all-too-visible boyfriend; not the threat of an irate husband; not the derision of the entire office staff. The only way to stop him is to report him for sexual harassment – though he’s likely to misinterpret even that for some sort of perverse come-on. The Flirt: It’s probably very politically incorrect to say this, but this one is almost always female. She’s the girl we all love to hate. The one who teeters into work on impossibly high heels and has the entire male staff lining up to open the door. The one who can get out of pulling night shifts by the simple expedient of batting her eyelashes at the supervisor. The one whose annual raise is inversely proportional to the size of her dress. The one who gets the best assignments by charming the boss – and then
KNOW IT ALL The Gossip knows exactly what is going on in every department BABY, BE MINE The Lothario (right and top right) is convinced that he is God’s gift to womankind
TOO MUCH WORK? The Slacker appears mysteriously busy all the time but could be playing Solitaire on his computer
PHOTOS: THINKSTOCK
spectator
Seema Goswami
live
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gets one of her deluded (male, of course) admirers to do the work for her. Yes, say it out loud, we hate her. The Gossip: This one is the best friend you can have in office because by some mysterious process he or she knows exactly what is going on in every department. The Gossip knows who gets paid more than you for considerably less work; who is sleeping with who; who has broken up with who; whose marriage seems to be in trouble; who is the boss’ blue-eyed boy/girl this month; which posting will be up for grabs at the end of the year; and much, much more. The only downside is that he or she will also gossip about you with the same cheery viciousness when talking to other people. But hey, that’s a small price to pay for being so well-informed. The Tell-Tale: This one has got the flow of information down pat. It’s in one ear and out in another person’s ear. But once you’ve got his or her measure, it’s relatively easy to deal with this type. You can put the Tell-Tale to good use when you want to get a rumour started on the office grapevine: just drop a word in that ever-ready ear and swear him or her to confidence. The next thing you know, the story will be buzzing up the office email and getting them all into a huddle at the water cooler. Mission accomplished. The Martyr: True to the name, this one always looks as if he or she has the cares of the world on their slender shoulders. But how can you blame them? Clearly, the office would cease to function if they did not come in early to work; pick up the slack of less efficient (not to mention less conscientious) staff members; stay in for lunch to catch up on outstanding projects; stay back after the boss to clear up the mess he has created; and then trudge in early to perform the same routine all over again. Honestly, it’s enough to give anyone a halo of incipient sainthood. The Suck-Up: This one never met an authority figure he didn’t want to sidle up to with an insincere compliment. He’s made a career out of cosying up to those in power, be it his boss or his boss’s boss. But he doesn’t stop at that. He also finds a way to worm his way into the affections of the boss’s wife, he makes friends with the boss’s kids, remembers all their birthdays and makes it a point to mark the occasion with a thoughtful little gift. His pay-off is the opportunity to baby-sit on weekends and a glowing confidential report at the end of the year. The Slacker: He never works at anything that he can palm off to someone else – and yet, he appears mysteriously busy all the time. You may have a sneaking suspicion that he’s playing Solitaire on his computer but when you sneak up on him you’ll find him studying a pie chart. Honestly, it’s enough to drive anyone up the wall. seema_ht@rediffmail.com. Follow Seema on Twitter at twitter.com/seemagoswami
HINDUSTAN TIMES WEEKLY MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 18, 2011
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Wellness
PHOTOS: THINKSTOCK
Yes,
you can There’s no reason to stress over stress. Be patient and all will be well by Deanne Panday
E
VERY DAY my clients come to the gym with a whole lot of things on their shoulders. Everything is all about work. If it’s not about that, it’s about domestic situations. I used to be like that myself – always upset about something. Then, years ago, I made a choice. Either I’d let these small things upset me or I’d ignore them. Many things in my life are still annoying, but I don’t let them bother me. It takes time and patience to reach this state of mind. But I’ve been working in fitness for around 18 years now, and I’ve learned that stress affects everything. If you’re unwell, it aggravates the problem. If you’re healthy, it can make you unwell. You can deal with stress. It takes time, but it can be done. Here are four steps to a stress-free state:
# 1 MAKE A CHOICE
Many things are too small to get upset about, yet we let them get to us. This is about how you perceive things, so you can choose to get upset about something or choose to ignore it. It isn’t easy. You have to train your mind to get stronger and that doesn’t happen easily
“WE ARE NOT BUILT TO COPE WITH THIS PACE OF LIFE” — Deanne Panday
because we don’t have patience. But the decision is yours. Develop patience or choose to be a sick person.
# 2 SLOW DOWN
Everything is too fast paced these days. And our bodies are not built to cope with this pace. During a beauty pageant a few years ago, I realised that some of the girls I worked with had osteoporosis – weak bones. These girls were 18-19 years old. Osteoporosis usually strikes when you’re much older. But that’s what happens when you don’t have the patience to look after yourself properly, or when you want to lose seven or eight kilos in a month. No wonder even young people are having heart attacks these days. These are signs that the body cannot cope.
# 3 READ UP
We are intelligent, but fitness-wise, we’re like guinea pigs, always experimenting with fad diets and exercise plans. We need to know what we’re doing to ourselves, to our health.
# 4 BREATHE
That’s the simplest way to achieve patience. Breathe. When you’re hyper, you tend to stop breathing. What does that mean? It means that oxygen is not reaching your brain. When you send oxygen to your brain, you feel calmer. That’s why a rest period is called ‘a breather’. So when you’re stressed, concentrate on your breathing. Get oxygen to your brain. Taking the time to do that will help you build up patience. You won’t be stressed. — As told to Kushalrani Gulab (Deanne Panday is a celebrity fitness expert and the author of I’m Not Stressed: Secrets for a Calm Mind and a Healthy Body)
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MIND BODY SOUL SHIKHA SHARMA
How to lose it all
M
ost women on a weight loss plan have come across what is called the plateau – that frustrating point when, no matter how healthy they eat and how much effort they put into their workouts, they just cannot lose any more weight. After talking to several thousand of my patients, I think these are the reasons why women hit that plateau. Eating too much food that is sugar-free and fat-free: Sugar-free foods tend to have a lot of salt and, possibly, hidden oils, and fat-free products usually contain preservatives and chemicals that interfere with weight loss. Lack of fibre: Fibre absorbs toxins lining the intestine, and it also creates bulk when you eat, which gives you the feeling Ratio of food and of satiety. If you hit the plateau nutrition v/s exercise: during weight loss, add wheat For women, the ratio of bran and oat bran to your diet. the impact on weight loss Low water intake: Our bodies are of nutrition v/s exercise is made of 2/3rds water. Many peo- 7:3. This means that 70 ple have concentrated toxins in per cent of weight loss their systems, which prevent depends on diet and 30 weight loss. Drinking two or three per cent on exercise. This bottles of water a day ensures that means that exercising the toxins are properly flushed out. more when you hit the Pre-menstrual period: During the plateau doesn’t work at pre-menstrual period, it is difficult all. You need to watch to lose weight due to water rewhat you eat. Don’t diet, tention and preferential fat abbut eat foods that actually sorption. So eat a lot of fibre and aid in weight loss. a low fat diet a week before the menstrual cycle begins. Avoid salt and sugar at night. Body water: Body water plays games, so one day you can show weight loss but, if your body retains water overnight, your weight can go up by 1.5 kilos. To ensure that this fluctuation doesn’t happen frequently, avoid all sour foods and salt at night. Drink jasmine and chamomile tea. Go to a sauna regularly – the sweat releases excess body water. Keep in mind that NO laxatives or diuretics must be taken. These have side effects like nausea, low blood pressure, dizziness and blackouts. Kind of exercise: Over-exercising does not enhance weight loss. The correct exercise is consistent brisk walking combined with pilates or yoga. By overdoing weights and other exercise, you don’t lose weight faster or better. ask@drshikha.com
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PERSONAL AGENDA
ACTRESS
ACTOR
RAVEENA
When she is not playing mother to her kids or looking good for the camera, Raveena Tandon is supporting causes close to her heart. After a sizzling turn in Main Chandigarh Di Star, the actress launched a social media campaign, Mothers Against Flu (www.facebook.com/ MothersAgainstFlu) to prevent flu by giving an annual vaccine to kids over six months. The Mast Mast girl also supports the Spina Bifida Association as well as the White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood.
TANDON
One word that describes you best?
the weirdest thing that ever went into your mouth?
What makes you feel sexy?
Earth’s crowded and chock full of trash. Choose another planet.
Real.
A good workout that leaves me soaked to the bones.
If a traffic constable hauled you up, what would you do?
Your first kiss was...
Choose: Air India or Indian Railways?
Love is…
A sweet and beautiful feeling.
The colour ‘pink’ for you is…
My daughter. Everything in her room, from her clothes to her shoes and the walls, is pink.
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!
What did you do with your first pay cheque? I bought a tape recorder for my mom.
A place where you would like to be lost for a month? Switzerland.
What is
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WHICH SUPERHERO WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE?
WONDER WOMAN… AND THERE ARE DAYS I FEEL THAT WAY TOO
HINDUSTAN TIMES WEEKLY MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 18, 2011
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If you could have chosen your own name, what would you have chosen?
It would still be Raveena because my name is a combination of my dad’s and mum’s names – Ravi and Veena.
I would love to gorge on chocolate and all the things that I am not supposed to be eating.
PHOTO: MCT
It was some time ago in London, for the promotion of one of my films.
What makes your day?
Every night, when I tuck my kids in their blankets and say “I love you” and they reply, “I love you to God.”
DIMSUMS – THEY ARE DELICIOUS
Indian Railways any day.
The last time you rode on a bus?
Happiness.
TITANIC – I JUST LOVED LEONARDO DI CAPRIO
Do you love Luv Storys?
Of course I do… I’m an incurable romantic.
You get high on…
LIFE IN THE FAST FOOD LANE: CHOOSE YOUR MENU
Venus.
I would sincerely admit my mistake and apologise. Completely magical.
THE LAST MOVIE THAT MADE YOU CRY?
Octopus wafers, in Bangkok.
I used to bite my nails.
You are late for work and all the roads are jammed. Choose a mode of transport: a cycle, a horse or a skateboard. Why? A horse… it sounds adventurous.
If you could be born either rich or intelligent, which would you choose? You can’t say ‘both’.
Intelligent… you never know – it could be your ticket to getting rich
A TUNE YOU CAN’T GET OUT OF YOUR HEAD?
BHAG BHAG DK BOSE
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