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In The Line of Beauty
Don’t let the best time of the year be the worst time for your face. Keep your skin soft with this detailed guide. (Men: The leathery look only works for shoes, so this is for you too)
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Dubai Diary
The Cougar Effect
Why do older women get dumped by their much-younger spouses? PLAY
Dead: CDs, DVDs, Blu-Rays
Special 5 Part Series: Tales of The First Firangis
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When was the last time you used your DVD drive? Wait, your device doesn’t even have one? LISTEN
Neeraj Salvankar The KBC article is awesomly presented.. Great pics & articles make Brunch a huge success! We shud hav more often in a week!
Bands Of Brothers
One serves up blues music; the other dishes out psychedelic folk-rock
Raman Saini The cover story was an excellent presentation about KBC which brought some of the unknown facts about it to us. Short chats with the host and the winners were the plus points of the write up.
Wrap-id Fire
Jai Singh Though this KBC saga has been covered a lot by so many mags and channels, still this article was so refreshing. A whole new story has been presented by HT Brunch team..really its unique and interesting to read!.
PERSONAL AGENDA
Calling All Tweeple twitter.com/HTBrunch @nicky_5696 Huge fan of Arjun Rampal! New Personal Agenda's AWESOME! Also loved Rajiv Makhni & Seema Goswami's articles :) Yay HT Brunch :) @mjnidhi I am reading ur article Tales of the First Firangis is Amazing! I love it! It’s 3rd time when I’m reading it again !.
Not only did Father Thomas Stephens – an English Jesuit – spend his entire life in Goa, he also wrote the first Konkani grammar book Next Week: The story of Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, the Heera-Wallah of Golconda
BRUNCH ON THE WEB The Brunch Winter Gameplan As fog and mist set in and winter closets are revisited, we realised that this year can’t be a last season repeat. So we the Brunch team have decided to make our own game plan to make the most of this cooler weather. Eating out, travelling or just chilling, there’s nothing missing from our list. If you want to do as we Brunchers do, log in NOW – and don’t forget to leave your suggestions behind!
@marathonofhope Exams overhead! was about to give Brunch a miss.Good lord addictn saved me or else wud have missed d pretty freaking awesm edition. @Jyotijk2002 ohhh ....it's Friday when I get my Brunch issue. @ShamboGhosh The answer to the 5 crore qstn. option-C) @SrBachchan is a class act. Write to brunchletters@hindustantimes.com For marketing and ad-related queries, contact suresh.tripathi@hindustantimes.com
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The actress displays her wit as she calls herself Dhanno, and tells us that she has only 17 pairs of All New jeans! Questions!
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Nikhita Prabhakar I actually wake up early to read HT Brunch, before anyone else gets their hands on you!
Still living the winter nightmare of a boring scarf? Here are some unique styles to try
Part Three – Thomas Stevens The Marathi Poet of Goa
NEW SLIDESHOW
Did you know that some early websites actually reinvented how we play and interact online? The web wouldn’t have been the same if it weren’t for them. Log in to see our exclusive list of top ten websites that changed the world wide web forever!
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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
is a class act
B: Turns nobodie D: Real drama,
real stories,
real tears
THE COVER story (The Five Crore Question: What Makes KBC Work? 20 November) by Poonam Saxena was spellbinding and I fully agree with the views expressed by her. Please keep up the same high quality and excitement in your articles. The tagline of fifth season of KBC ‘Koi bhi insaan chhota nahin hota’ proved true, supported by the incredible acting skills of Amitabh Bachchan. The stories, the tears were real drama but they managed to touch the hearts of viewers only because he is a class actor, way ahead of of his competitors. That’s the key to the success of KBC! The last contestant, a woman from Madhya Pradesh was an ‘aam aurat’! When she came on the hot seat and recited her real story, I felt that she should win as much as possible and when she actually won `25 lakhs, I was very happy. It felt as if I personally benefited from her victory. I’m sure everybody who watched that show must have felt the same way! — MILIND PAVASKAR, Thane
Not to miss
I READ this article (Tales of the First Firangis: The Jeweller of Agra, 20 November) in Brunch and was fascinated by the fact that such a person existed and has almost no acknowledgement in the history books of our country. It is insightful to know about Augustin Hunarmand and I would like to compliment Mr Harris on such a well written article. I am not much of a reader and even on a short article such as this I had to spend over an hour! I would also like to say that HT is probably the saving grace for my reading abilities and it’s the one thing I do not miss in my day. Unless I am absolutely forced to. — BUBBLES, via email
Bitter pill
IN THE Medium Is The Mess (Spectator, 20 November) Seema’s advisory is so apt for tackling the media. We appreciate the fact that she being a journalist could accept criticism and help people know media dos and don’ts. — SHALINI KAUSHIK, Delhi
DESIGN: Ashutosh Sapru (National Editor Design), Swati Chakrabarti, Rakesh Kumar, Ashish Singh, Saket Misra, Suhas Kale, Shailendra Mirgal
HINDUSTAN TIMES WEEKLY MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 27, 2011
ants
the contest
Bachchan
Class act
It is recognisably a foreign city with tall buildings and broad highways. And yet, no Indian need ever feel out of place
We’re Logged On
tis
s into crorepa
along with
C: Amitabh
LIVE
Pankaj K Jha Being from Motihari I’m also very proud what Sushil did in KBC! Thnx Brunch for the spl article.
s KBC work? What make A: You play
Cover imaging: Ashutosh Sapru & Prashant Chaudhary Photo: Thinkstock
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A SPECIAL FIVE PART SERIES: Part Three – Thomas Stephens
THE MARATHI POET OF GOA
Not only did Father Thomas Stephens – an English Jesuit – spend his entire life in Goa, he also wrote the first Konkani grammar book and an epic 11,000-line Marathi poem, now regarded as a classic text and photos by Jonathan Gil Harris
UP, UP AND AWAY In a letter to his father, Thomas wrote that the tall coconut tress in Goa – the ones up which toddy-tappers haul themselves rapidly – were completely different from anything he had seen before
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HE INSCRIPTION at the altar of the Bom Jesus Cathedral in Old Goa reads “Hi Mho Jhi Kudd” – Konkani for “this is my body.” These are the words Jesus is said to have uttered at the Last Supper; they are ritually repeated during the Catholic Mass, when the wafer eaten by the faithful is translated into the body of Christ. But perhaps the Goan inscription hints at another, secular translation – the firangi body that has become Indian. I first encountered Thomas Stephens as a passing reference in a travel narrative by the English merchant Ralph Fitch. In 1585, Fitch and three other English merchants had journeyed to India to see if they could break into Portugal’s lucrative trade with the orient. On reaching Goa, they were arrested and imprisoned. But Fitch and his companions were freed after the intervention of one “Father Stephens,” a Goan Jesuit originally from England. Fitch tells us hardly anything about Stephens. But upon doing some cursory research, I learned a little more about him. Stephens came to Goa in 1579; he lived there until his death in 1619. During his four decades in India, he not only became fully conversant in Portuguese (he was known in Goa by a Portuguese version of his name, Thomas Estêvão), he also become so fluent in the local languages that he wrote the first Konkani grammar book and, even more impressively, penned an epic 11,000-line poem in Marathi called the Kristapurana, now regarded as one of the classics of Marathi literature. This was more than enough to prick my interest. I am a professor of sixteenth and seventeenth-century English literature, yet I had never heard of the poem. And I was keen to visit Goa. So I resolved to track down the footsteps of this large-
ly unsung firangi poet. My friends were amused that I was headed to Goa to do research. “Nobody goes to Goa to work,” they said. Admittedly, my “work” began in the stunning southern beach-resort town of Palolem. I had wanted to stay clear of the more built-up parts of northern Goa so I could better simulate what Stephens must have experienced upon his arrival in a land where the beaches were far less crowded, the palms more plentiful, and the population less Christianised than now. Shortly after reaching Goa in 1579, Stephens wrote a long letter to his father in England. He describes in detail what he experienced on his voyage: seeing flying fish in the Atlantic Ocean, succumbing to illness. Evidently in the grip of culture shock, however, he offers only the briefest description of his new home in India. All he says is that the natives do not look like Ethiopians, and that the plants – especially the coconut trees – are completely different from anything he has seen before. Perhaps those coconuts jolted Stephens in another way. The first thing I saw from my beachside hut in Palolem was a toddy-tapper, hauling himself rapidly up the palm tree next to me. I drank some of his brew the next morning; it had a zesty zing unlike anything I’d tasted before – nariyal paani with a punch. I also, for research purposes, sampled the coconut feni at a local restaurant. It was a leg-numbing tipple, but it tasted curiously good with my hot kishmur fish curry. Khana can’t get more desi than this, of course. Yet the spicy heat burning my mouth – an experience that Stephens probably knew well – was historically a firangi import. The Portuguese had brought
MY FRIENDS
FOR POSTERITY Thomas Stephens is featured on one of the copies of the Kristapurana (the Marathi poem that he wrote), in the Thomas Stephens Konknni Kendr, Bardez, Goa
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WERE AMUSED THAT I WAS HEADED TO GOA. “NOBODY GOES TO GOA TO WORK,” THEY SAID
HINDUSTAN TIMES WEEKLY MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 27, 2011
RELICS OF THE PAST The altar of the Bom Jesus Cathedral (left) features the inscription “Hi Mho Jhi Kudd,” Konkani for “this is my body.” The Kristapurana was printed on a press at the Rachol seminary (above) in southern Goa, where Stephens was rector
FISHY FEAST I sampled coconut feni that tasted curiously good with my hot kishmur fish curry (above). Khana can’t get more desi than this
chili peppers with them to India from their colonies in South America, and these quickly became part of the local cuisine because of their preservative qualities as much as their piquant taste. The Portuguese also brought Catholicism with them. And so did Stephens. He was born in Wiltshire in 1549, in the midst of a wrenching period in English history. After the Protestant Reformation, when King Henry VIII broke with Rome because the Pope would not grant him a divorce, it was hard to be a Catholic in England. Some were burnt at the stake; others fled the country for the sanctuary of cities on the continent. Stephens was one of the latter. In 1575 he enrolled as a novitiate in Rome; by 1579, he had been granted permission to go to Goa to help the Jesuit mission there. The Jesuit presence in Goa begins in 1542 with St Francis Xavier, the Basque priest whose name is commemorated by a thousand schools and colleges in India. But Francis Xavier’s brand of Catholicism was different from Stephens’. Francis Xavier was horrified by what he regarded as the idolatrousness of the Indians. He took
little care to study their customs or learn their languages; his goal was simply to save souls. If Hindu temples needed to be destroyed to bring the word of God to the infidels, so be it. Perhaps because Stephens had himself been at the receiving end of religious oppression in England, he adopted a more moderate stand. Long before the second Vatican council of the 1960s finally permitted Catholic services to be conducted in vernacular languages and not just in Latin, Stephens also believed in translating Christian doctrine into local idioms. The extent of his openness to indigenous languages was impressed on me when I visited the parish of Bardez in northern Goa, where the Thomas Stephens Konknni Kendr is based. This research centre is devoted to the history of Konkani culture. It is a Jesuit institution, but it is interested – like the man for whom it is named – in cross-cultural conversation. Revealingly, as I entered it, I saw a Diwali lamp hanging above the front door. The centre’s tireless director, Father Pratap Naik, showed me some of the Stephensrelated treasures in its archives. These include a record of a letter Stephens wrote to his brother
Richard in 1583 praising local languages for the beauty of their linguistic structure, which to his ear was “allied to that of Greek and Latin.” Here I was also able to peruse copies of Stephens’ publications, including his masterpiece, the Kristapurana. After studying Marathi-language versions of the Hindu puranas – epic stories of creation, gods, and kings – Stephens decided to write his own, based on stories from the Old and New Testaments. He used indigenous forms, such as the ovi four-line stanza, and mixed poetic Marathi with some Konkani words and phrases. Most startlingly, he insisted his aim was not to “show that other scriptures are wrong and ours right,” but simply to add Christian stories to the repertoire of tales available to Goan Indians. But the Kristapurana did far more than bring Christianity to the locals. The poem also shows how much Stephens’ habits of thought were transformed by the new languages he spoke and composed in. He praises Marathi in memorable lines that evoke an Indian rather than a biblical landscape: “Zaissy puspa mazi puspa mogary/ Qui paramalla mazi casturi/ Taissy bhassa maizy saziry/ Marrathiya/ Paquiha madhe maioru/ Vriquiha madehe calpataru/ Bhasse madhe manu thoru/ Marrathiyessi (as the mogra among flowers, as musk among perfumes, so is the beauty of Marathi among languages; among birds the peacock, among trees the kalpa, so is Marathi among languages).” A passage like this suggests why the Kristapurana proved so enormously popular. Even after the Portuguese tried to ban nonEuropean languages in Goa, the poem was recited for centuries by Malabari Catholics. The Kristapurana was printed on a press at the Rachol seminary in southern Goa, where Stephens was rector from 1610. The press hasn’t survived. But the seminary has. I drove down to Rachol from Bardez, and was surprised to find it much as it was in Stephens’ time, though it is now administered by the Diocesan clergy. I asked the current rector, Father Dennis Fernandes, to show me parts of the seminary that Stephens would have known. Guiding me around cloisters decorated with old friezes and icons, he led me up a small staircase and flung open the doors. I wasn’t prepared for what I saw next: a beautiful seventeenth-century Catholic church, in which Stephens doubtless preached – and maybe even read portions of his Kristapurana. It’s tempting to dismiss Stephens as an agent of a European colonial power. After all, Christianity was often one of colonialism’s props. But a different perspective is suggested by the phrase I saw at the altar of the ancient Bom Jesus Cathedral in Old Goa: “Hi Mho Jhi Kudd,” a Konkani translation of the formula of the Catholic Mass, “this is my body.” The translation hints at Stephens’ legacy to Konkani-speaking Catholics. Yet it also captures something of his personal experience in Goa. For Stephens’ own firangi “kudd” (or self) was made Indian by his new environment – the coconut water he drank, the mogras he smelled, and the Marathi and Konkani in which he crafted his exquisite poetry. Next week: Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, the Heera-Wallah of Golconda Jonathan Gil Harris is Professor of English at George Washington University in Washington, DC. The author of five books on William Shakespeare’s plays and culture, he is currently spending a year in India researching a new book about European travellers to India in the time of Shakespeare
STEPHENS USED FORMS SUCH AS THE OVI FOUR-LINE STANZA AND MIXED POETIC MARATHI WITH SOME KONKANI WORDS
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HINDUSTAN TIMES WEEKLY MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 27, 2011
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winter special
MAKEUP TIPS FOR THE WEATHER
Don’t let the best time of the year be the worst time for your face. Keep your skin soft with this detailed guide. (Men: The leathery look only works for shoes, so this is for you too) by Kavita Devgan
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■ Use
mineral makeup as it is inherently nourishing ■ Use good quality products from brands like M.A.C and Chambor ■ Use an intense moisturiser before applying your makeup ■ Use a gentle makeup remover such as Bioderma Sensibio H2O, Cetaphil Sensitive Skin Cleanser or baby oil ■ Hydrate the skin after removing your makeup ■ Use products that are rich in humectant content
HE SKIN is the first organ to reflect imbalances and the last to respond to improvements. “So a change of season is bound to play havoc with it, particularly winter,” warns Dr Meenakshi Joshi, consultant, ayurveda and aromatherapy, Artemis Health Institute, Gurgaon. Dr Akhilesh, head, NeoVeda Spa, The Metropolitan Hotel, Delhi, explains why this happens. “When we are exposed to low temperature and cold and dry wind, it results in poor blood circulation to peripheral tissues and cells, particularly the skin of the face,” says Dr Akhilesh. He adds, “As a result the skin does not get enough nutrients and oxygen and all the healthy, regenerative processes slow down, leading to dull, pale and dry skin.” If you live in a particularly cold climate, such as the north, then indoor heating only makes things worse, adds Dr Akhilesh. The skin loses moisture because of the dry environment, and, when you switch between the cold of the outdoors and the heat indoors, it can really stress your skin. So what are you to do, given that there’s little you can do about the change of seasons? Well, says Dr Vinay Kumar, senior consultant dermatologist at Jaipur Golden Hospital, Delhi, you must anticipate the stressors. “The most important winter stressor is low temperature,” he explains. “This can be countered with warm clothes. Next, since humidity is low in this season, humidify your immediate
environment. Apply humectants and moisturisers like glycerine, almond oil, coconut oil, Cetaphil, Efaderm, or Cotaryl creams on your skin. And here’s an old-time dermatologic secret: cover the skin after applying a moisturiser or medicated cream. That will enhance the retention and penetration of moisture.” Even if it gets too cold, never use hot water to bathe in, as that strips away natural protective secretions. Bathe only in warm water. And add a few drops of almond oil or glycerine to your last rinse just before towelling to keep your skin soft. Finally, adds Dr Kumar, “Though sun exposure in winter is beneficial, it is imperative to wear a good sun block to preempt skin damage. Any sunscreen with an SPF of 25 or above will suffice.”
WORK INSIDE OUT
More important than external skin care is internal hydration, says Dr Madhuri Agarwal, regional medical coordinator, West, Kaya Skin Clinic. She recommends eating fruit with high water content, such as apples, pomegranate, papaya and oranges, and drinking 8-10 glasses of water a day. “Flaxseed oil, available both as an oil and in capsules, can moisturise your body from the inside as it is rich in vital fatty acids. And primrose syrup and olive oil in your diet also help soften the skin,” advises Dr Akhilesh. “Also, augment your diet with essential oils contained in raw organic butter, cod liver oil, omega-3
M Y T H S & FA C T S Dry winter skin always needs heavy hydration
TRUTH: Not at all. The level of hydration your skin needs depends on the severity of the weather, your profession (do you work indoors or outdoors?), your skin type and your location
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You can use the same cream for your face and your body TRUTH: No. Different levels of oil are required for your face and your body, so the creams must also be different
■ Apply
a good moisturiser before putting on makeup or apply a face cream under your makeup, so it will last. Johnson’s baby cream works very well ■ Use silicone-based foundations or use powder foundation – these are more resistant to temperature changes. If it’s really cold, avoid liquid foundations altogether. They work very badly with temperature changes ■ Do not use loose powder as it dries the skin and gives the effect of cracked skin
■ Avoid
cream blushes on cold days. They contain petroleum jelly-derived substances, not recommended on cold days ■ When you choose your blush or eyeshadows, pick those in mousse form. Avoid eyeshadows that contain petroleum jelly ■ Use lipsticks that contain beeswax instead of lip gloss ■ Vibrant, strong colours in winter make the skin look more lively
In the line of
eggs, coconut oil, and fresh coldwater fish.” While it’s natural to crave hot beverages when it’s cold, herbal tea is best if you want a natural, healthy glow, shares Siddharth Shankar from Mystic Salon and Spa, Delhi. Megha Dinesh, director, spa, The Park, Delhi recommends amla (Indian gooseberry) highly. “It’s magical at taking care of your skin from the inside,” she says.
‘THOUGH SUN
EXPOSURE IS BENEFICIAL IN WINTER, IT IS IMPERATIVE TO WEAR SUN BLOCK’
OUT WITH THE DRY
Because soap tends to dry the skin, Dr Madhuri Agarwal suggests soap free cleansers with skin pH of 5.5, while Megha Dinesh recommends the use of aqueous or oil-based bath gels.
Dry skin just needs a good facial and scrub to be sorted
You should use steam to soften your skin
TRUTH: Choose your face treatments wisely. If these are not done properly, the problem will only be aggravated
TRUTH: Steam leads to the dissolution of essential oils from the skin’s surface, leaving it dry. So avoid steaming your face
HINDUSTAN TIMES WEEKLY MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 27, 2011
Use petroleum jelly as a balm for your lips TRUTH: Frequent application of petroleum jelly actually dries the lips. So use lip balms with natural oils like vitamin E, almond, chamomile and jojoba, that are fortified with sunscreens
Level crossing MILD WINTER
(As in cities like Mumbai and Chennai, and early and late winter in cities like Delhi) Do not over moisturise your skin as that will lead to blocked pores and acne breakouts. PRODUCT HOT LIST: Use light, water-based moisturisers like Seba Med Clear Face Care Gel or Body Shop vitamin C serum.
MODERATE WINTER
(As in places like Delhi and Punjab in December) Avoid alcoholic toners and harsh scrubs. These damage and irritate dry skin. PRODUCT HOT LIST: Use cream-based moisturisers with collagen building factors and inbuilt sunscreen with an SPF of 15. Try IDC day cream or Olay day cream with SPF 15. This will offset some of the dry damage caused by this kind of winter.
beauty Dr Akhilesh agrees. “Use oil-based moisturisers,” he advises. “Choose one that comes in an ointment form as it will contain 80 per cent oil.” Start your day with this ritual, suggests Dr Meenakshi Joshi. Take 15 drops each of avocado and apricot oil and mix with 10 drops of glycerine. Massage into your face with your fingertips for 15 minutes, then lightly clean your face with a warm wet cloth. Warm pads on your eyes will reduce puffiness, and rose water drops in your eyes will add shine. “After this, rub fresh tomato puree or juice into your face and wash… you are ready for the day,” says Dr Joshi. Even simpler is Dr Agarwal’s prescription – a five minute massage with almond and vitamin E oil or cream to alleviate redness and leave the skin soft and supple. “And to get immediate relief for chapped lips,” she adds, “Use a mild lip scrub followed by a steroid cream prescribed by your dermatologist.”
FOR EXTREME DRYNESS
If your skin resembles a patch of land in Rajasthan in summer, it’s time for drastic measures. “Use a urea-based moisturiser after your bath, like Uriative 20
cream,” says Dr Sachin Dhawan, director, department of clinical & aesthetic dermatology, Artemis Health Institute, Gurgaon. “Or apply baby oil regularly, or a mix of avocado oil and pure almond oil, or glycerine with rose water, or simply desi ghee. All are equally effective.” Scratching your skin is a no-no. “Apply shea butter or coconut oil several times a day and try to prevent water from splashing on irritated areas,” says Dr Akhilesh. “Dry skin is also prone to eczema and other uncomfortable skin conditions.” An avocado mask is a good cure, adds Dr Akhilesh. Mash the flesh of an avocado with a fork, add a touch of extra-virgin olive oil, and apply this on your face. “This will supply your skin with a whole range of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and softening agents to fight winter dryness,” he says. “For very dry skin I would recommend the application of rose oil mixed with wheat germ oil,” says Siddharth Shankar. “Rose is used clinically to treat damaged skin.” And Megha Dinesh of The Park recommends vitamin E-based creams and also suggests applying mustard or olive oil on the soles of the feet before going to bed.
HARSH WINTER
PHOTOS: THINKSTOCK
AYURVEDIC HELP
“Follow the rules of ayurveda,” advises Dr Meenakshi Joshi. “Use natural cleansers and scrub well as they pacify vata and kapha which are mainly responsible for dryness and congested skin. Don’t use a hot shower for long durations. Warm water is just perfect and don’t forget to put in a few drops of olive oil mixed with lavender and patchouli oil. Avoid strong winds and strong sun. Avoid coffee, cigarettes, pollution and alcohol as they cause dryness; drink warm soups and eat cooked vegetables and cereals. Raw salads and dry foods like toast and biscuits are not good for this season as these may increase vata which can cause dryness and ageing.” According to Dr Joshi, the simple home remedy of visarga kaal will take care of your skin and is anti-ageing in the long run: drink a glass of warm water with honey and 10 drops of fresh ginger juice. Then massage yourself for 10 minutes with sesame oil, which has heating properties. Then bathe, using oatmeal soaked in milk for a good scrub. “And keep your internal hydration good,” adds Dr Joshi.
(As in hilly areas and Delhi and Punjab in January) Use non soap cleansers. PRODUCT HOT LIST: Use oil-based cleansers like Seba Med Cleansing Shower Oil and Oilatum Emollient Cleanser, as they will moisturise the skin intensely. Also use a high SPF sunscreen like Bioderma Photoderm Max 50 Sunscreen or La Roche Posay SPF 50 sunscreen because you are likely to spend a lot of time in the sun for warmth. COURTESY: Dr Sachin Dhawan, director, department of clinical & aesthetic dermatology, Artemis Health Institute, Gurgaon
Intensive care
SOLES AND PALMS: Immerse in warm water for 10 minutes twice a day and seal the retained moisture with Vaseline or Moyzen or aloe vera. LIPS: Use homemade butter or milk cream repeatedly as a balm. Smoking is most damaging for lips and so are makeup preparations made from petrolatum or hydrocarbons. Skip shine inducers too. Moisten the lips adequately before applying lipstick. NAILS: Nails tend to get brittle in winter. Soak your hands and feet in warm water frequently, use protective nail enamel and maintain good blood circulation. Courtesy: Dr Vinay Kumar, senior consultant dermatologist, Jaipur Golden Hospital, Delhi
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HINDUSTAN TIMES WEEKLY MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 27, 2011
11
winter special
The 12 commandments for winter hair
“Hair is an extension of the skin, so imbalances in the body will show on the hair too,” says Dr Meenakshi Joshi, consultant, ayurveda and aromatherapy, Artemis Health Institute, Gurgaon. “Winter is the season of over-flowing kapha with an imbalance of vata which together cause dandruff and heavy hairfall. A dry and sebaceous congested scalp leads to fungal and bacterial infections, and sebum and clogged pores makes the hair very dull.” But you can beat these problems. Follow these 12 steps outlined by experts to ensure healthy, good looking hair all through these cold months.
FEED THE HAIR. Ensure a protein rich diet with nutrients like zinc, magnesium, iron and vitamin B. Eat walnuts and almonds and check with your dermatologist about supplements containing omega 3 and 6 fatty acids. Also take natural vitamin E supplements like flaxseed oil. LIGHTLY MASSAGE THE scalp with oils like nilibhringi, bhringraaj or simple sesame oil at least twice a week. The oil should be kept on the scalp for 3-4 hours or overnight. Avoid heavy oils like almond oil. USE SHAMPOO THAT contains vitamin E and natural ingredients such avocado oil, olive oil, lemon extract and soy protein. Or opt for a mild oil control shampoo to reduce scalp oil and dandruff. USE AN INTENSE hydrating conditioner like the DCL conditioner, and deep condition at least once a week. Warm a few tablespoons of olive oil in the microwave, then work it
into your hair as you would a regular conditioner. Leave for a few minutes, then wash. Or use curd-based hair packs at home or opt for a hair spa and deep conditioning treatment at the salon. Beer is also a very good conditioner. USE LUKEWARM OR normal water for your shampoo. Avoid very hot water as it leads to hair loss. AVOID TOO MUCH colour. Use herbal hair colours like Vegetal bio-colour. SHIELD YOUR HAIR with a hat, cap or scarf. Wear it loose enough to allow scalp circulation, but closely enough to protect your hair against chilly winds. DO NOT STEAM your hair as it leads to further drying. LET YOUR HAIR dry naturally, as blow-dried hair is more susceptible to damage, and exposure to extreme conditions such as wind and low temperatures can cause further damage. TO BEAT DANDRUFF, massage the scalp with coconut oil, leave it on for half an hour beneath a hot towel and then wash it with a mild shampoo. Do this regularly. You can also use a medicated leave-on cream or shampoo with antidandruff properties. Kaya Anti Dandruff Leave On Lotion with botanical extracts is a great solution for dandruff without drying the scalp. STATIC ENERGY IS very intense in cooler weather. So rub a dryer softener sheet over the brush before brushing. IF YOUR HAIR tends to become too dry in winter, go for a hair repair mask at a salon. PHOTOS: THINKSTOCK
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GO FOR THE GLOSS Using oil treated with lime juice will keep your hair glossy and healthy To add shine to your hair, apply henna and amla powder for one hour and wash it off without using shampoo and conditioner Running conditioned hair through a last rinse of cold water adds instant shine to your hair Use a leave-on serum to smoothen your hair Add a small amount of vinegar to the rinse water to add instant sheen
Out with frizz
Use a silicone-based serum like L’Oreal Lumi oil to settle frizzy hair post shampoo Apply conditioner for half an hour and then wash it off with lukewarm water Go for hair spas that are rich in protein Spray hairspray on a brush and brush it through your hair
DIY care
Mix 1 tbsp lime juice with 1 tbsp glycerine and 1 tbsp rose water. Apply half an hour before a bath, or apply at bedtime and wash in the morning before your bath. Make a paste of 1 cup of fresh rose petals with half a cup of milk, 1 tsp gram flour and some rose water. Apply on arms and legs before bathing to help the skin retain moisture and remain soft and supple. Make a paste of 2 tbsp oats, 1 tbsp lime juice and some milk. Apply on your body five minutes before your bath. After showering, smear your body with virgin coconut oil, cocoa butter or shea butter. These contain naturally occurring essential oils, skin-friendly vitamins A, C, D and E, and proteins.
Scrub up
SALT & SPICE SCRUB: The salt exfoliates and keeps the skin glowing and smooth. Combine 1 tsp sea salt, 1/2 tsp ginger paste, 1 cup vitamin E and 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder in a non metallic bowl. After a warm shower, apply the scrub and massage in circular motions. Rinse well after 20 minutes. CEREAL & SUGAR SCRUB: Oats are a wonderful natural skin polisher. Combine 1 tsp brown sugar, 1/2 cup oats, 1 tsp pure honey, 1 cup milk, drops of almond oil, a pinch of saffron, all in a metallic bowl and follow the same procedure as above. SALT & CITRUS SCRUB: Powder 1 tsp jaggery, add 3 tbsp lemon, 1 tsp rock salt and 1/2 cup jojoba oil. Mix and apply immediately. Scrub until the jaggery and salt crystals dissolve completely.
Face the weather
SOFT SKIN MASK: Mix fresh cream, almond oil and crushed green almonds. Apply and leave on for 30 min. GET GLOWING MASKS: Milk powder with a few drops of rose water and lemon juice; and soybean powder with few drops of honey and milk, make excellent nourishing face packs and scrubs. HYDRATING MASK: Mix 4 tbsp gram flour, 1 mashed ripe banana and 1 beaten egg, apply and leave on for 15 minutes, rinse with warm water, pat dry and moisturise. DRY SKIN MASK: Mix 2 tbsp honey,1 tbsp almond oil and 5 drops rose essential oil. Follow the same procedure as above. PINEAPPLE-OLIVE OIL MASK: Mix 1/2 cup pineapple of the consistency of apple sauce and 3 tbsp each of olive oil and lavender oil. Apply wherever necessary – face, arms, legs. Follow the same procedure as above. CULTURED MILK MASK: Apply dahi or buttermilk on your face, avoiding areas around the eyes. Relax for 10-15 minutes, then rinse with cool water.
ALL TREATMENTS COURTESY: Dr Meenakshi Joshi, consultant, ayurveda and aromatherapy, Artemis Health Institute, Gurgaon; Dr Sachin Dhawan, director, department of clinical & aesthetic dermatology, Artemis Health Institute, Gurgaon; Dr Madhuri Agarwal, regional medical coordinator, West, Kaya Skin Clinic; Siddharth Shankar, Mystic Salon and Spa, Delhi; Megha Dinesh, director – spa, The Park, Delhi
HINDUSTAN TIMES WEEKLY MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 27, 2011
indulge go
| live | play | listen FEEL GOOD CITY? In Dubai, everything seems to work. Life is easy. There are few urban problems (compared to the subcontinent or even South East Asia)
PHOTO: CC/LOVEROFDUBAI
rude food
Vir Sanghvi
PHOTO: REUTERS
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Dubai Diary
OST INDIANS love Dubai. It is near enough – just over three hours from Delhi and even less from Bombay – and flights are plentiful. Once you are there, you can mix the familiar with the unfamiliar. It is recognisably a foreign city with tall buildings, broad highways and no visible poverty at all. And yet, no Indian need ever feel out of place. It is packed with people from the subcontinent. You can get by with speaking Hindustani to your taxi driver and if you really want to fit in, it helps to know a little Malayalam. (The underbelly of Dubai is the secret capital of Kerala.) For some reason, I’ve never been a great Dubai fan. I first went there in the early Nineties – before today’s super-sleek Dubai was created – and thought it was dull. I’ve been back twice over the last six years, once for the opening of the Atlantis resort with its collection of restaurants by chefs who have earned Michelin stars in their own countries and then again, to shoot for my Asian Diary show on TLC. On both occasions I thought Dubai was fine – there was nothing to complain about or take exception to – but it was not a city that struck me as having much charm or even, soul. Perhaps it was just that my trips were so hit and run; that I went for work and didn’t have enough time to settle down and discover the real Dubai. Or perhaps the world is divided into those of us who
PHOTO: THINKSTOCK
An overwhelmingly international city, it is almost like an airport lounge, full of people of all nationalities. But nobody seems entirely at home
like the gloss of Western sophistication (which Dubai aspires to) and those (like me) who prefer the ethnic charms of East Asia (Hong Kong, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, the Philippines and even Singapore). Either way, I’ve always taken the line that if I want a four-day break in some nearby country, I’d rather go East than West. When I did go back to Dubai last week, it was again for one of those work-related, hit-and-run trips. I was shooting with Sania Mirza (who now lives in Dubai with her husband, the Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik) for my forthcoming Star World show and most of my time was spent on location in front of the cameras. Sill, nothing I saw on this quick trip caused me to dramatically alter my perception of Dubai. Yes, the city is overwhelmingly international. You go into a mall and the salespeople seem drawn from a UN peacekeeping force of shop assistants. Malaysians, Filipinas, Pakistanis, Indians, North Africans and the odd white person. Even the customers seem to be of no fixed nationality. There are European tourists (the Brits love Dubai for reasons I have never understood – perhaps they just like countries where it doesn’t rain all the time), Indians and the odd Arab. If you closed your eyes, forgot you were in Dubai and opened them again, you would be hardpressed to identify which country you were in. You could be anywhere in the world. In that sense, Dubai is like some giant international airport lounge. You are surrounded by people of all nationalities but none of them seem entirely at home. You have the sense that they are all waiting
SANIA MIRZA, WHO NOW LIVES IN DUBAI WITH HER HUSBAND, SAID SHE REALLY ENJOYS THE QUALITY OF LIFE IN DUBAI HINDUSTAN TIMES WEEKLY MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 27, 2011
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PHOTO: REUTERS
THE IBN
A SITE TO SEE If not shopping, you could go to Dubai for the hotels – places like The Atlantis are destinations in themselves
for their flights to be called – or, in the case of Dubai, waiting to go home once they’ve made enough money. On the plus side, Dubai is like a lounge at a good international airport. Everything seems to work. Life is easy. There are few urban problems (compared to the subcontinent or even to South East Asia). You feel safe. There is no sense of danger or criminality. And the people are helpful and friendly – you can hail a cab AVERAGE FARE without worrying about whether the driver is going to cheat you. The Park Hyatt was spectacular-looking but the food at its highly regarded I asked Sania Mirza about living in Dubai and she said she realFrench restaurant, Le Traiteur, was mediocre while service was inconsistent ly enjoyed the quality of life. Pakistan plays its home games in the UAE rather than in Pakistan (don’t ask…) so her husband needs to much of Dubai. The Park Hyatt, which I also went to, was specbe in Dubai. And given her hectic schedule, flying all over the world tacular-looking (like a resort hotel in the centre of town) but I to play in tennis tournaments, Dubai makes a perfect base, with thought that the food at its highly regarded French restaurant, Le flight connections to nearly every major city in the world. Traiteur, was mediocre while service was inconsistent (though the We shot at the Ibn Battuta Gate Hotel where the Pakistan team restaurant was less than a third full). The best meal I had in Dubai was staying for its series against Sri Lanka. Security was tight because was at the unlikeliest of venues: the Emporio Armani Café at the the Pakistanis had sealed off the floors on which their team was stayMall of the Emirates. There were a terrific hamburger and an exceling and nobody could get in without providing proof of identity. lent truffle pizza at prices well below those at the Ibn Battuta Gate’s For all that, Sania seemed cheerful and relaxed, working out for dire Italian restaurant. three to four hours a day to try and strengthen her knee which has But this was a work trip so I had hardly any time to visit Dubai’s been ravaged by an injury since the US Open. We filmed both husfamous restaurants. Though many of them seem to be East Asian band and wife working out though, as Sania, pointed out, Shoaib’s (Zuma, Nobu etc.) and I’d rather eat East Asian food in East Asia exercise regimen is nowhere as rigorous as a tennis player’s because than the Middle East. People were talking about the opening of the cricket does not require that level of athleticism. (In all fairness, I Dubai branch of London’s The Ivy (some months ago, Jeremy King have to record that Shoaib did not seem convinced by this claim who made The Ivy famous, before selling it, said – in this column – but was too polite to contradict his wife.) how he thought the idea of a Dubai Ivy was an abomination) but I Sania and I walked through a Dubai mall for the benefit of the chose to give the restaurant a miss. Star World cameras and it was interesting to see how much star I stayed at the Dubai Taj, a property that would probably be called power she commands in Dubai. A posse of security men had to be a Vivanta if it was located in India. The Taj group manages the hotel summoned to keep the crowds at bay and our director of photogfor an owner who doesn’t let it serve alcohol in its restaurants (which raphy went mad trying to keep the fans (they were clicking photos was fine with me as I didn’t go to any of the hotel’s restaurants) but on their mobiles) out of the frame. Sania seemed unfazed by the despite these limitations, I thought the hotel was fine. It had good attention, posed obligingly for photos and said that the good thing concierge service and an excellent laundry. Only the F&B and room about Dubai was that while she was usually recognised, people hardservice were a bit of a disgrace. Still, the Taj does ly ever bothered her if she asked to be left alone. have the largest rooms in Dubai which alone counts The Ibn Battuta Gate Hotel is one of those for something. large, anonymous international hotels that In the old days, Dubai was regarded as a shopcould be in any city of the world with a Dubaiper’s paradise. But these days, with nearly all of style international staff roster. The PR lady the world’s major brands flogging their wares who arranged the shoot was from Iran; my in our new malls, there’s no real reason for order at the hotel’s Italian restaurant was taken Indians to go to Dubai (or Singapore, for that by a West Indian and when the food arrived, matter) to shop. I did a quick price comparison it was served by an Indian. (Perhaps it was at one or two of the malls I went to and Dubai cooked by an Italian, though, judging by the did not seem to be significantly cheaper than quality of the food, it was hard to be sure.) Delhi or Bombay. Dubai is justly famous for its international So, if you don’t go to Dubai to shop, then what hotels which range from big to bigger to biggest do you do there? I guess you could go for the but few make it into lists of the world’s great hotels – places like The Atlantis are destinations hotels. On the whole, the hotel scene is a triin themselves – but apart from that, I can’t think umph of size over substance. (Perhaps this will of a lot to do. ROOM SERVICE change when Biki Oberoi opens a property Perhaps, I just don’t know Dubai well enough. The Taj has the largest rooms in Dubai there next year.) And I will try to set that right in the months ahead. which alone counts for something The Ibn Battuta Gate was as soulless as
HINDUSTAN TIMES WEEKLY MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 27, 2011
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BATTUTA GATE HOTEL WAS AS SOULLESS AS MUCH OF DUBAI
PHOTO: REUTERS
UNLIKELY STAR The best meal I had in Dubai was at the unlikeliest of venues: the Emporio Armani Café at the Mall of the Emirates
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The Cougar Effect
Why do older women always end up being dumped by their much younger spouses?
Seema Goswami
spectator
go |
C
AST YOUR mind back, if you will, to the televised proceedings of the British House of Commons committee that was grilling Rupert and James Murdoch about the phone-hacking carried out by their newspapers. Remember the most compelling image that emerged from that meeting? Yes, it was the moment when Rupert, the ageing patriarch of the Murdoch clan, was attacked by a man who pushed a ‘foam pie’ into his face. But it wasn’t the sight of a powerful media mogul subjected to public ridicule on international television that enthralled us. It was the image of his young wife, Wendi Deng, seated behind her husband, leaping to his defence like a protective tigress and hitting his attacker flush in the face. The look of murderous intent in her eyes said it all: she would kill, if that’s what it took, to protect her man. In an instant, all those who had scoffed at their December-May pairing when they wed in 1999 – Rupert, 37 years older than Wendy, is now a sprightly 80 to her youthful 43 – were forced to eat their words; or should that be humble (foam) pie? This was no gold digger out to make her fortune by marrying a rich old man. This was a woman who loved her husband and would do anything to defend him – yes, even use her powerful right hook. Now contrast this with another portrait of a marriage. Demi Moore was 41 when she fell in love with the 25-year-old Ashton Kutcher. They married a couple of years later despite their 15odd years age difference. Predictably, the sceptics scoffed and prophesied that the union would not last. But Demi and Ashton seemed determined to prove them wrong, with their endless public displays of affection, and avowals of eternal love. Demi went by Mrskutcher on twitter and Mr Kutcher did such playful things as snap her white-bikinied bottom as she ironed his shirt (ah, the joys of domesticity!) and post the picture on Twitter as if to prove what a fit wife he had. Fast forward to their sixth wedding anniversary and what do we see? Demi’s husband is far away in San Diego, cavorting in a hot tub with a bunch of 20-something, near-naked girls, one of whom he ends up in bed with (apparently, after having failed to persuade her friend to join them for a threesome). Not surprisingly, Demi announced that she was filing for divorce soon after. Not that Demi is the first older TRUE LOVE woman – or cougar as we are told Joan Collins (78) is the only to call them these days – to be celebrity older woman publicly humiliated by her much whose marriage with a younger husband. Even the agemuch younger Percy Gibson less Madonna had to suffer the (46) has remained on track same ignominy when Guy Ritchie
PHOTOS: REUTERS
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celebrated his impending divorce by LOVE LOST! telling his friends that his wife was so Demi Moore (above left) isn’t the skinny that sleeping with her was like first older woman to be publicly ‘cuddling a piece of gristle’ (charming humiliated by her much younger man, right?). And then he did one bethusband, Ashton Kutcher. Even ter by running off with a much younger the ageless Madonna (above) model and having a baby with her had to suffer the same ignominy (that’s one in the face for the muchwith her husband Guy Ritchie menopausal Madonna, then). Courtney Cox hasn’t had much joy out of her marriage to a younger man, David Arquette, either (though she did manage to have a daughter, Coco, after years of trying). Arquette has been in and out of rehab throughout their 11-year marriage. And no sooner had they separated than he was calling in at shock jock Howard Stern’s radio show to announce that he had sex with a bartender/actress while still married and how Courtney (sob!) just didn’t fancy him anymore. And then, like most men fresh out of a relationship he moved on to another girlfriend with the speed of light (or should that be neutrino?). Perhaps the only celebrity older woman whose marriage with a much-younger man seems to have remained on track is Joan Collins who is now 78 to her husband Percy Gibson’s 46 (yes, you read that right). The pair still appear devoted to one another and when asked about the huge age gap between them, Collins famously declared: “Well, if he dies, he dies.” Other than Collins, I can’t think of a single famous woman who has managed to live happily ever after with a much younger man. Sooner or later, she ends up being cheated on, publicly humiliated, and then traded in for a younger model. Rich men, on the other hand, have no problem holding on to much younger wives. And some of them, like Murdoch, are lucky enough to inspire absolute devotion in their much younger spouses. Why should this be so? Why is it that older men are more successful at this younger spouse gig than older women? Well, if you ask me, it all comes down to these ladies choosing to marry little boys – and here I am referring to their mental as well as their chronological age – perhaps in an attempt to re-capture their own youth. But then these boys refuse to grow up – and the problems begin. As Courtney Cox famously declared to David on their 11th anniversary: “I don’t want to be your mother any more.” Well, in that case, Courtney, you should not have married a child. In fact, that’s probably a salutary lesson for all older women out there. If you don’t want to play Mummy, ladies, then don’t marry little boys – or men who behave like little boys. Pick someone your own age instead. You’ll probably be much happier in the long run.
WENDI DENG PROVED SHE WAS NO GOLD DIGGER OUT TO MAKE A FORTUNE BY MARRYING A RICH OLD MAN
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seema_ht@rediffmail.com. Follow Seema on Twitter at twitter.com/seemagoswami
HINDUSTAN TIMES WEEKLY MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 27, 2011
indulge play Dead: CDs, DVDs, Blu-Rays go | live |
| listen
When was the last time you used your DVD-drive? Wait, your device doesn’t even have one? There you go
techilicious
Rajiv Makhni
M
OST TECH pundits will have you believe that the brutal kill started some time back. There are a lot of statistics thrown around (CD sales are falling every year, DVDs aren’t selling at the same pace, Blu-Ray never really took off). Apple Fanboys already performed the last rites as soon as the MacBook Air came without a optical drive (plus, the new Air packaging doesn’t even have a CD in the box – everything is on a USB stick). The hot ticket item of the year, the Tablet, completely shuns all optical media and there isn’t a single Tablet that comes with a builtin drive. Most people don’t remember the last time they used the drive that comes on their laptop: gigantic USB and network drives have made sure that back-ups and photos that needed (multiple) CDs and lots of effort are now automated background tasks that we never have to think about. File-sharing services have made sure that music, movies and games are all transferred and saved without a shiny disc ever coming into play. But the real death of the optical media starts from now – and it is all because of the Obsolete Maker.
THE SERIAL KILLER
This is a fairly unique cause and effect syndrome in technology that comes into play every few years. When one momentous technology or device gets a tremendous boost from the industry and consumers, it unwittingly kills off another piece of technology that had been around and reigning for a long time. It’s what mobile phones did to all of you that had pagers hanging from your belt (that nerdy look was apparently quite a power dressing feature); it’s what the CD did to the super romantic idea of a mix audio tape made for your girlfriend (somehow a mix CD was never quite the same); and it’s what the digital camera did to all of us standing in line and waiting a few days to get our photos developed (slightly uncomfortable to have your local photo shop guy salivating over some of your more private pictures). The final salvo for optical media will come due to a very hot and happening new category.
months can change things so dramatically: right now, the big news is how many companies will get out of the Tablet market. HP is already out and it seems Acer, Asus and Dell may soon stage a walkaway too. For the year 2012, there’s just one new category that every single company seems to be geared up for. Products are being announced at the speed of light, new releases are arriving one after the other, startling price points and barriers are tumbling and sleek form factors and fantastic features are the order of the day. This hot-as-molten-lava category is the Ultrabook and it is the reason why optical media is going to die a pretty gruesome death.
SALVATION FOR ALL
The Ultrabook is now the go-to ‘bread and butter’ area for most brands. It’s a Tablet with a keyboard, it’s the instant-start Netbook, it’s the thin and sleek laptop and it’s the economy Notebook with premium luxury features. And not one has an optical drive included! When a complete category that prided itself in always including a drive suddenly turns on a dime and ignores it in absolute terms, the demise of that technology is imminent. Do remember that the last real computing tool today is still the laptop. It’s what we all use to create content (Tablets continue to be media consumption devices) and it is what 99 per cent of the corporate world still uses. Once this billion dollar market goes optical media-less, it’s a huge and paradigm shifting turnaround! Coupled with the fact that mobile phones and Tablets do not need any kind of optical media, this means that almost one hundred per cent of people who will own a new portable gadget in the next one year will neither have nor need an optical drive at all!
WHEN AN ENTIRE
CATEGORY OF DEVICES SUDDENLY TURNS ITS BACK ON SOMETHING, ITS DEMISE IS IMMINENT
THE 2012 ROCKSTAR
In 2011, all we heard about was which company would come out with what Tablet and how many variations there would be and how each would be an Apple iPad killer. Funny how a few
BYE BYE, BLU-RAY Granted that the movie business will need a high capacity medium like BluRay to see HD movies. But time and bandwidth will eventually kill Blu-Ray as well
NO WAY?
There are naysayers, those who throw out improving sales numbers of DVD movies and Blu-Ray picking up some momentum. Granted that the movie business will need a high capacity medium to sell an HD movie and Blu-Ray is a great choice. But HD movie streaming, renting and downloading is now a reality, another future story that will kill off many other technologies. It will happen – it is but a matter of time and bandwidth. And with that will end the very short reign of Blu-Ray. It’s always a slightly melancholy and sad time to see life slowly ebb away from a great technology. The CD and all its avatars has been one of the greatest technological breakthroughs of all times. Keep the ones you have in a safe, secure place. You’re not going to see them after a while :( 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
TOO THIN FOR MY DRIVE Ultrabooks – thin and sleek laptops with premium luxury features – don’t even include optical drives
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HINDUSTAN TIMES WEEKLY MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 27, 2011
indulge
go | live | play |
listen
PHOTO: SARA PADGETT
HIGH FIVE The five-member Family Style band plays what can be classified as the Chicago blues but there’s a fair amount of Louisiana funk in their songs
download central
Sanjoy Narayan
SLOW AND STEADY Megafaun’s eponymous album is full of songs that are not in a hurry: they open gradually and then meander, replete with harmonies, solo riffs and easy-going lyrics
BANDS OF BROTHERS
One serves up true blues music from the land of gorgonzola cheese; the other digs deep into Americana and dishes out psychedelic folk-rock. Both are equally delicious
T
HERE ARE some things that immediately come to mind when you think of Milan. Fashion is one – everyone appears to be better dressed than you. Everyone. Food is another – if you’ve eaten Milanese risotto cooked with saffron and beef marrow or the cotoletta alla Milanese or just tasted the gorgeous gorgonzola cheese that the city boasts of, you’ll know what I mean. There are some things that probably never come to mind when you think of Milan. A blues band would be one of them. So when, while listening to a recent episode of the Bandana Blues podcast, put out weekly by a maverick duo, Beardo and Spinner, I heard a great blues song that was attributed to Family Style, an Italian blues band based near Milan, I was surprised. I could have sworn that the song I heard was by a band from somewhere near the Mississippi, probably even New Orleans. Or Chicago. Or any other hot blues town in the US. Intrigued by this Italian blues band, I searched around to see what else I could get on them. Family Style, it turned out, are really a family band, made up of two brothers – Marco (guitar) and Franco Limido (vocals and harmonica), a cousin, Davide Bianchi (bass), and Stefania Avenali (drums). Then, I managed to get hold of the mp3 version of a live album by them, not very imaginatively called Live Style! But the 12 tracks on the album, including covers of old blues songs such as Big Boss Man (written by Luther Dixon and Al Smith) and Back to the Chicken Shack, were a great listen. Performed live somewhere in Italy, I would imagine (because the band members speak to the crowd in Italian between songs), Family Style could well have been a dyed-in-the-wool American blues outfit. New Orleans features in many of their own compositions and one song, Rollin’ Over New Orleans, stands out. Family Style’s members play what can be classified as the Chicago blues but there’s a fair amount of Louisiana funk in their songs. The two Limido brothers play the guitar and harmonica in true blues style and the vocals are pretty good too. If I hadn’t been told that Family Style hail from Milan or if their live album wasn’t punctuated with “Grazies”
between songs, I’d never have believed that these guys were Italian and based in Milan. I believe Family Style have several studio albums out but sadly I have not been able to lay my hands on them yet – I’m still trying.
I
F YOU hear the opening bars of Megafaun’s Real Slow off their eponymous album and it instantly reminds you of the Grateful Dead standard, He’s Gone, you are not to blame. Megafaun are a band from Wisconsin and, like Family Style, have two brothers at their helm, Brad and Phil Cook. They and other band members share a pedigree with the now well-known Justin Vernon (whose band Bon Iver shot into fame after he composed and recorded For Emma, Forever Ago, isolated in a remote Wisconsin log cabin, three years ago): they all used to play together in a now-defunct band, DeYarmond Edison. But yes, Megafaun, as I was saying, appear to have a strand from the musical DNA of the Grateful Dead. Like that storied band, which, 16 years after its frontman died and the band broke up, still manages to recruit young fans, Megafaun digs deep into Americana to serve up psychedelic folk-rock that is laid-back and unpretentious. Megafaun’s eponymous album is full of songs that are not in a hurry: they open gradually and then meander, replete with harmonies, solo riffs and easy-going lyrics. It’s a good Sunday afternoon, lazy hour-long listen to music that has just the right influence of the Grateful Dead – not of the genuflecting variety but as one reviewer described it, post-Grateful Dead rock. Megafaun’s eponymous album is actually their fourth. And I have a good mind to explore their earlier ones. If those too have the wispy, form-changing, easy-going kind of songs – you know, the kind that Jerry Garcia would have approved of – then it may be a good idea to acquire them.
THERE ARE
SOME THINGS THAT PROBABLY NEVER COME TO MIND WHEN YOU THINK OF MILAN. A BLUES BAND IS ONE OF THEM
To give feedback, stream or download the music mentioned in this column, go to http://blogs.hindustantimes.com/download-central, follow argus48 on Twitter or visit our website: www.hindustantimes.com/brunch
HINDUSTAN TIMES WEEKLY MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 27, 2011
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winter special
Wrap-id Fire
Don’t be a cliché. Use the cooler temperatures to snuggle with chic scarves that pledge to pull you out of your style coma by Yashica Dutt
M
OHABBATEIN – POSSIBLY the first film to be released this millennium – has gone down in history as initiator of many ill-fated firsts. Uday Chopra and Shamita Shetty’s careers notwithstanding, it was responsible for igniting a mass frenzy of scarves and mufflers that refuses to die down even 12 years later. And if you too are planning to copy that same
scarf style of both ends through the loop that Shah Rukh Khan sported in every winter movie subsequently, then you are on the right page. These brilliantly simple and unique scarf styles will help you break out of your style ennui. This bow tie style is as easy as it seems complex. Just place equal ends around your neck, tie a big shoelace knot and leave the small ends hanging. Voila!
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ROSETTE TURBAN KNOT: Perfect for that early evening rendezvous or a midnight gypsy ride, this will charm them all – floral fans or not. 1,2. Take a square scarf folded in a triangle and wrap it around your head. Bring the loose ends to one side and tie them in a double knot as the vertex of the triangle hangs loose. 3. Tuck the hanging vertex of the triangle neatly under the wrap. 4. Grab both ends of the double knot on the side and start twisting it from the end. 5,6. Rotate the twist into a spiral, similar to a rosette and tuck it well. 1
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DOUBLE ASCOT KNOT: Typically a tie style, it looks great as a scarf too. Go, spread the style! 1. Place the scarf around your neck so that one end (A) lies longer than the other (B) on your shoulders. 2,3. Wrap (A) around your neck once, bringing both ends in the same frontal position. 4,5. Cross the ends so that (A) lies on top of the other (B) and bring (A) from under (B) so it comes out forming a loop. 6. Adjust the length between the neck and the loop depending on the look you want. (Mantastic – just as fantastic for men as for women!)
HINDUSTAN TIMES WEEKLY MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 27, 2011
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THE FAKE (K)NOT: If you have followed the age old ‘Fake it till you make it’ rule, then this is the style for you! 1. Place both ends equally around the neck. 2. Tie a loose single knot on one end of the scarf. 3,4,5. Insert the other end into the knot. (Mantastic) Illustration: PRASHANT CHAUDHARY
winter special
HERE’S HOW TO GET GOING...
Keeping
it trim
PHOTO: THINKSTOCK
ADD TO YOUR GRAINS: Several grains such as barley, oats, bajra and jowar are good for weight loss. That’s because they have a low glycemic index. If you don’t eat these regularly, they will surprise your system and induce your body to lose weight. To get maximum fibre from these grains, eat them as a vegetable dalia. But you can also eat them as rotis, mixed with 50 per cent wheat flour. JUNK THE JUNK FOOD: Stop eating foods with extra sugar and lots of butter, drop the fizzy drinks and packaged foods.
This season is as good a time as any to kickstart a weight loss plan by Dr Shikha Sharma
W
HEN IT comes to weight loss, winter is usually a bad time. For one thing, the weather is so good that the appetite tends to increase, and for another, because it’s so much cooler than the rest of the year, the tendency is to stay at home rather than hit the gym or the park. Add to this the fact that this is the best time to party, and you’ve got a situation where you pile on the pounds, which means that your party clothes don’t fit and you’re just wracked with frustration. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be done. In fact, cooler weather can be the most motivating factor when it comes to exercise, and as for your diet, this is the season to crave nutritious soups. Provided you really want to lose weight, here’s how you can go about it.
COMMIT TO A PROMISE
Frequently weight loss is just a nebulous dream. You plan to start a diet and exercise regime, but you never get around to
doing it. So the first step is to commit to a promise made to your own self. Weight loss for your own self is a much better motivator than weight loss for a significant other or event. Tell yourself that a slimmer you will be a new year’s gift for yourself. So the time to start is now. Making a promise to someone else is also a good motivator, but ensure that such a promise does not entail drastic or impractical goals.
ASK A FRIEND TO HELP
Motivation is the key to weight loss. If you can find an efficient motivator, such as a friend who cares for you, weight loss will become a lot of fun. Even a professional coach or a counsellor would help.
WORK OUT A PLAN
The best way to effectively plan your weight loss is to create and keep a weight loss diary. This should include your diet plan and – this is important – the deviations from the diet that you will invariably make. Nobody can follow a weight loss diet perfectly all the time. A series of well-planned daily diet menus will help you to buy groceries on time, and also include deviations on birthdays, anniversaries and other special occasions without making you feel guilty. Also, writing down your plan will help you achieve it. It will make your plan
SPROUT IT UP: Sprouts of different dals are great for weight loss as they not only have a low glycemic index, but are also a great source of vitamins and minerals. Mung, channa, moth, etc., can be sprouted and eaten as a chaat. DRINK HOT WATER: This is an easy way to detoxify the system and lose some weight. Detoxification helps the kidneys and liver, resulting in clear skin. Aim for six cups of hot water a day. VEGETABLES RULE… In this sea-
son, you can practically live on vegetables. Aside from the usual sabzis, eat them as soups, sautéed, stuffed in rotis and also as vegetable juices.
…AND SO DOES FRUIT: Fruit provides vitamins that aid the liver during weight loss. PLUNGE INTO SOUPS: Soups provide satiating low-calorie nutrition. Use vegetables like spinach, onion, mushroom, tomato, lauki, potato, boiled corn, baby corn, peas, carrots, potatoes and green vegetables. Add ginger, galangal, thyme and basil as herbs and for flavour. Spice your soups with white pepper, black pepper, mild red chillis, etc. EXERCISE IN THE CRISP AIR: Winter is the best time to work up a healthy sweat without collapsing with exhaustion. So get outdoors and moving. GET THE MASSAGE: Body massages with til or olive oil are invigorating and also good for muscles and tissues. GET STEAMED: A steam after a massage gets the skin invigorated and helps weight loss.
seem real and measurable without causing you anxiety. According to one management theory, whatever is measurable is achievable. brunchletters@hindustantimes.com
WEIGHT LOSS PLANS
PLAN A BREAKFAST: Boiled egg and a cup of skimmed milk LUNCH: Sautéed vegetables and oat roti, plus a bowl of salad EVENING: Herbal tea and roasted channa DINNER: Grilled chicken or steamed fish with sautéed vegetables
PLAN B Vegetable juice and sprouts Vegetable dalia with bajra or dalia and salad Steamed dhokla and tea Two bowls of soup with sautéed vegetables
PERSONALAGENDA AGENDA PERSONAL Sun sign Libra
Birthday October 4
Hometown
Mumbai
Low point of your life Losing
Occupation Actor
my father
School/college High point of your life
British School, New Delhi; Oxford University; London School of Economics
SOHA ALI KHAN Which character from Sholay do you most resemble and why?
Dhanno. We’re both fair with soulful eyes and I was born in the year of the horse.
You would turn gay for... No man!
If you were given a chance to remake Kites, the movie, what would you do?
Getting into Oxford. My first great shot in front of the camera
What are you doing currently? Shooting for
Chemistry and Midnight’s Children. Also working on a Bengali film
heard?
‘You can’t always be right.’ What if I am?
The one place you would never get yourself tattooed? I would never get a tattoo. I am too fickle.
If a spaceship landed in your backyard, what would you do?
Umm, watch it first.
Backyard in Mumbai? That’s the unbelievable part.
The last line of your autobiography would read?
The most clichéd answer you’ve ever given in an interview?
‘No, you can’t get a refund.’
One song that describes your current state of mind? Jo bhi mein kehna chahun, barbaad kare alfaaz mere… What would we find in your fridge right now?
Leftovers from... I wouldn’t go there without a biohazard suit.
How would you explain Twitter to your grandmother?
It’s a new age kitty party where everyone bitches about everyone and you’re too scared to use the loo because they’ll bitch about you.
You wouldn’t be caught dead wearing… …Who cares! I’ve got bigger problems, I’m dead.
The stupidest thing you’ve ever
THE MOST OVERRATED MOVIE / BOOK?
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
It’s a very different role, we’re just good friends, I’m so happy that the film I’m not in has done so well.
Your most irrational fear…
…Premature and violent death.
If you could peep into anyone’s house, whose house would it be?
My own when I’m not there. Where do all the teaspoons disappear and why’s the TV set to Vijaya TV?
How many pairs of blue jeans do you have?
Four dark blue skinny fits, seven light blue skinny and straight cuts, three baggy blues and three ripped.
What’s the biggest surprise you’ve ever given your date?
Not showing up! Oh, did you mean a good surprise?
WHERE DID YOU SPEND YOUR LAST SUMMER?
A TRIP TO THE MALDIVES AND A HOLIDAY IN THAILAND – BOTH WERE BLISSFUL
— Interviewed by Amrah Ashraf
IF YOU WERE AN ICE CREAM, WHAT WOULD YOU BE?
A SOFTY CONE – A HARD CASING FOR A SOFT INTERIOR PHOTO: THINKSTOCK
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HINDUSTAN TIMES WEEKLY MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 27, 2011