FWD Life April 2015

T H E

P R E M I U M

L I F E S T Y L E

M A G A Z I N E

www.fwdlife.in ISSUE 05 VOL 04 APRIL 2015

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A Couple of Cliches People are different but at 1LeapingFrog they share a common view on architecture.

Down by the Sea Visit the edible landscape of Marari Pearl.

Company of Women Maxims, ideologies, views, from famous women around the world.

Allure in her Eyes Beyond the unseen with Lena

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• Thiruvananthapuram: East Fort, 0471-2472922 | Pazhavangadi, 0471-2572117 | Pattom, 0471-2543611 • Nedumangadu: Market Junction, 0472-2803505 • Kollam: Chinnakada, 0474-2752005 • Pathanamthitta: K.P. Road, 0468-2270555 • Thiruvalla: Near KSRTC, 0469-2604060 • Kottayam: Rajiv Gandhi Complex, 0481-2303555 • Thodupuzha: 04862-226699 • Kochi: M.G. Road, 0484-2353295 | Lulu Mall, 0484-2728777 • Chavakkad: Bypass Junction, 0487-2500000 • Thrissur: Palace Road, 0487-2323971 | High Road, 0487-2420011, 2440460 • Palakkad: G.B. Road, 0491-2524500 |T.B. Road, 0491-2500101 • Coimbatore: Cross Cut Road, 0422-2482222 • Bengaluru: Jayanagar, 080-41666842 | Kasturba Road Tel: 080-45343333 Shop online: www.joscogroup.com | office@joscogroup.com | /JoscoGroup 2

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LIFESTYLE TRAVEL LEISURE ENTERTAINMENT LOUNGE

Chief Mentor Padma Shri Mammootty Director Sony Joy Director & CEO Arun Balachandran* Editor Abraham Tharakan Vice President Sameer Hamsa Legal Advisor Adv. Aginov Mathappan Assitant Editor Atheena Wilson Features Writers Maria John

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Aabha Muralidharan Contributors Ronnie Kuriokose

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editor’s note

alking with DEATH

hand -in -hand Sir Terry Pratchett 1948 – 2015

Write to THE Editor and

win a montegrappa pen!

I am deviating from my usual editorial about the magazine to pay tribute to Terry Pratchett , who at the turn of the century, was Britain’s second most-read author, beaten only by JK Rowling.

The author was best known for his satirical fantasy novels set in Discworld, a flat planet resting on the back of four elephants, themselves perched on the back of a vast turtle moving through space. Pratchett’s whimsical writings endeared him to millions of avid fans across the world; more than 85 million books worldwide in 37 languages. Having grown up in the post world war era, in a house with electricity and running water, his fondest memory was about playing in the local woods and fields. An avid astronomer and technology fan, he started writing his earlier novels on an Amstrad word processor before switching to a PC, as the technology improved. In 1984, The Colour of Magic, the first in what would become the Discworld series of books was published and he went on to write about 40 books in the same canon. He also wrote two pure science fiction novels and children’s stories under the pen name Uncle Jim. His style of writing was nothing if not eccentric. He avoided chapters where ever possible, on the basis that they broke up the narrative, and peppered his text with footnotes.

Pratchett also used punctuation as a source of humour. His character Death always conversed in capital letters while the auditors of reality eschewed quotation marks. He drew heavily on real people for many of his characters.

Leonardo da Vinci, for example, became the painter and engineer Leonard of Quirm.

His death was announced akin to his signature style with his character Death speaking in all caps.

I hope you enjoy reading this month’s magazine. Write your views in our new Letter to the Editor section and stand a chance to win a Montegrappa pen.

Abraham Tharakan

My Pick

Editor

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C

ONTENTS

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Allure in her Eyes

S

tories

25 Allure in her Eyes

Her roles are diverse, Lena shares her mottos in life.

41 42 54 8

Right on Target As she embraces victory, Elizabeth Koshy shares her regime and her secret of success.

Pumped up Kicks Meet Maya Nassar who kicks off any challenge and worked her way to become Lebanon’s bikini athlete.

Dancing on the Edge of Glory Shakti Mohan dances as fast as the wind, catch up with her in her fast paced world.

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F

ashion

B

eauty and Wellness

18 The Fresh Start

36 Rules of Power Dressing

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72 The Face Workout

Spring is here, fashion trends are blooming.

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By the Rivers of Bauble-on Fresh from the crystal world, jewels are in vogue.

Skirt Around It’s not always about the black pencil skirt!

Sports Illustrated Get recharged with prints and your workout wear.

Sinin Sathar shares the rules on how to run the corporate world.

Easy ideas to keep your face fresh during the working hours.

74 Let Your Hair Do the Talking

We look at famous power women who don their famous hairstyles.

76 The Skin Regime

Tips to keep in your kit, while you are taking care of your skin.

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78

a tete a tete with nature

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50

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63 On the Same Page

106 FWD’s Power Dinner

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110 When Lulu went Gaga Lulu celebrates yet another event full of

ifestyle

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Mona Lisa Smile The Biennale is winding up, but there are art pieces close to our heart.

Down by the Sea Visit the edible landscape of Marari Pearl.

Magnetic Masai Mara Travel to the heart of Kenya.

102 Meet A Couple of Cliches a couple who are quite opposite but share a common view on architecture.

Q

uickies

You are a Fighter Get a grip when you are under attack

Our books and quotes of the month.

Put your Records On Groove to the tunes of your taste.

114 No need for an Excuse to Laze Why settle for achievement, when mediocrity seems good.

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vents

Snippets Check out the events around the world.

We celebrated the launch of the magazine with a power dinner, welcoming Catherine Carlton.

frolic.

112 Any Opening Hearts with Music time is Boney M time.

FWD LifeTakes no responsibility for unsolicited photographs or material. All photographs, unless otherwise indicated are used for illustrative purposes only. Views and opinions expressed in the articles are of the authors subjects and do not necesserally reflect those of the editors or publishers. While the editors do their utmost to verify information published, they do not accept responcibility for its absolute accuracy. In matters which may be sub judice, FWD Media takes no legal stand. FWD Life cannot be held responsible for products, product information, pictures, illustrations etc Any information received by us through responses by users / subscribers to the short messaging services (SMS) key codes or such other subscription service of ours will be used in whole or part, in our publications (other than contact information), for our research, individual marketing, strategic client analysis and for other internal purposes and all copyrights in such information will vest with us. Your contact information shall not be sold, traded, rented or in any way divulged to any third party unless we are legally bound to do the same.

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FWD

News

T

A Taste of Luxury Their eyes opened in wonder as they stepped into the glass enlcosed showroom with the streamlined BMWs displayed. Thirty Five children from Santhwanam Charitable Trust got a taste of luxury at the Platino Classic BMW dealership on the bypass. Under the guidance of Radha Menon of the trust, the children were welcomed by the director of Platino Classic, P P Ashik along with his family and the employees of the dealership. Their day of fun was not just restricted to getting know the top end BMW cars but also to activities including a magic show.

here’s so much of effort taken when it comes to crafting shoes, Crocs as a brand stood out in design. Known for being light hearted, and one of the firsts with its ventilated top,and its standard heel strap, Crocs has no boundaries. Their previous designs included a fur lining, hunter ones that go unseen in the wood and even Crocs that double as loafer. As they have no limits, they have walked into whimsical lane and introduced the Hamburger Crocs. It has the basic hamburger ingredients: lettuce, tomato, burger and and bun.

Perhaps it’s time to pull up some funky socks now.

What’s Up Croc?

Seematti in the Limca Book of Records again With a view to initiate children into the election process during the general elections 2014, Beena Kannan of Seematti, Kochi organized ‘Vote for your Dream Heroes’; a voting activity for kids with popular cartoon characters as candidates. Of the 13,000 children who had registered for voter’s ID, 6,024 turned up to cast their votes, making it the largest ballot conducted in a single day at a single venue. The winner of the election was Dora the explorer, who topped the chart including Chota Bheem, Soothran, Mayavi, Angry Birds, Ben 10 etc

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May the Fins Be with You They say there are many fishes in the sea, here’s the newly discovered species of sucker mouth armored catfish, Peckoltia greedoi. Found in the Gurupí River drainage of Brazil, it measure 45 to 78 mm in standard length.

They are reddish brown in color with three saddle shaped patches of a lighter brown on the dorsal surface. From Auburn University of Museum of Natural History, Jonathan Ambruster, biological science professor’s colleague, Chris Hamilton said it looked like a character from Star Wars. “After thinking for a while, they did draw a slight semblance to the bounty hunter killed by Han Solo in “Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope.” Though the fishes are far away from the fictional galaxy, it’s amazing how some features are identical and realistic.

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fwd snippets Four men that used the F word Patrick Stewart

Which woman says beauty to YOU? Mihaela Noroc is a 29-year-old Romanian photographer behind ‘The Atlas of Beauty’. She travels the globe to prove that appearance is all in the eye of the beholder.

Her aim is to show that beauty can be found anywhere.

Noroc visited 37 different countries where she photographed women. She often met women simply walking down the street and took their portraits. At times spending only 30 seconds with each subject and traveling only with her camera and a backpack, Noroc tried to take pictures of young women all in their twenties

He says men can be just as involved as women in ensuring quality as he admitted of being a feminist.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt

When Ellen DeGeneres asked him if he was a feminist, he said, “I call myself a feminist.

Absolutely!”

John Legend While raising money for Chime for Change, a charity fund raiser for women, he said that all men should be feminists.

Dustin Hoffman

After doing a movie such as “Tootsie,” where he dresses in drag—it was just obvious that he would announce himself as a feminist.

The oneway trip to Mars

103 Years World’s oldest identical twins World’s oldest identical twins who have shared 103 years together and lived through two world wars credit their great age to a ‘nice, quiet life’. Florence Davies and Glenys Thomas have been inseparable for 103 years.

The pair were born in 1912.They’ve never left the small mining village of Abertridwr, Caerphilly, UK. They have five children, 12 grandchildren and 19 great grandchildren. They are the oldest identical twins in the world.

The great-great-grandmothers have a family photo album bursting with memories from the 103 years they have shared together.

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Maggie Lieu, 24, is hoping she will be sent to Mars in 2024. She wants to be part of the first permanent human colony. The PhD student from Coventry would never return to Earth.

This has to be the ultimate leap into the unknown. This is literally a one way trip and never will she come back.

200,000 space enthusiasts applied for it. The £4 billion Mars One project, being filmed for a reality programme, has whittled that list down to 100, including five Britons.

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fwd snippets

What’s for Brinner?

No, we did not make a spelling mistake. Brinner is the hottest food trend for 2015. Having a breakfast dish for dinner might seem like a shortcut to cooking but it is fast becoming a trend according to BBC. We just dont have enough weekends to enjoy delicious brunches so now Brinner is here to stay. Anything from a full fledged English breakfast to frittatas and hollandaise is bound to show up on your dinner table. We guess the leftovers will sort out your Monday mornings then.

Witness the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) For the second time after a two-year break, this March will witness the world’s most powerful particle accelerator. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN will restart for a three year period. A senior researcher at the LHC says that a new particle could be detected this year that is even more exciting than the Higgs Boson. The detection of this new particle can help understanding many hidden mysteries of the universe as the particle would give some much-needed insights to the “dark matter”.

Towering Textscape When we look back into the history of moveable types, the origins go back to China. Block prints were official on paper toward the end of the Tang Dynasty. Hongtao Zhou, was very much inspired by the typographers of the past and launched his project, Textscapes. He used a 3d printer to craft his art. His work involved bringing text to life.

Textscape displays an amazing skill of transforming singular letters into landscapes and cities. Its beauty lies on the fact that it narrates an architectural story. He gives credit to the Imperial times that introduced the concept of carved blocks. Word can be powerful they say, and take your breath away especially when it stands tall like sculptures.

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2015 MTV Movie Awards 2015 MTV Movie Awards, setting the stage for an epic battle at the only awards show where Guardians of the Galaxy will go head-to-head with American Sniper and fierce females, Jennifer Lawrence, Emma Stone, Shailene Woodley, Reese Witherspoon and Scarlett Johansson will face off for the coveted golden popcorn. Hosted by none other than Amy Schumer, the 2015 MTV Movie Awards will air from the Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE in Los Angeles on Monday, April 13th.

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2015 FEBRUARY FWDVIVAH LIFE APRIL 2015 FWD

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FWD

trends

The Fresh

all aboard

Start It’s time to enjoy a breath of fresh trends.

Balmain

Off-the-shoulder jacquard top

Victoria Beckham Leather-trimmed stretch-ponte mini dress

Aurélie Bidermann

18-karat gold multi-stone shell charm bracelet

Tod’s

Stella McCartney

Gommino leather loafers

Fendi

Embellished cat eye acetate mirrored sunglasses

Zanda silk crepe de chine shorts

S

pring is here, look effortlessly chic in casual nudes. Walk tall in Gianvito Rossi nude patent leather pumps from the collection Under my Skin. Enjoy the sun-kissed soirees as you get on board with the All Aboard collection. We recommend the Stella McCartney silk crepe de chine shorts.

If you are in the mood for wearing something slightly more flamboyant and on the colorful side, check out the collection from Karma Chameleon, bag the Proenza Schouler bag. But if you are off for the nights and you want something dainty, you’re cut out for the Oscar De Le Renta lace and faille dress from the Amazing Lace collection.

the amazing lace J.crew

+ Sophia Webster Nicole patent-leather and calf hair sandals

Dolce & Gabbana

Square-frame acetate sunglasses

Lela Rose

Lace-jacquard peplum top

Oscar De La Renta

Embroidered lace and faille dress

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Diane Von Furstenberg lace and crepe clutch

Disclaimer: Price and features are subject to change.

Buyers are advised to act on data after cross-checking

FWD

trends

Karma Chameleon Issa

Bibi Van Der Velden

Debi printed plissé-georgette maxi skirt

18-karat gold, scarab and diamond earrings

Ryan Storer

Rose gold-plated Swarovski crystal ring

Peter Pilotto Vapor printed stretchcrepe dress

Charlotte Olympia Photo Credits: Suneesh Suresh

Mariachi leather and suede pumps

Proenza Schouler

The PS11 Classic color-block ayers and leather shoulder bag

under my skin Alexander Mcqueen

Cropped jacquard-knit top

Burberry

Theory

Zeyn pleated leather skirt

Gianvito Rossi

Patent-leather pumps

Disclaimer: Price and features are subject to change.

Buyers are advised to act on data after cross-checking

Philosophy

Cutout crepe gown

Photo Credits: Jinson Abraham APRIL 2015

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FWD

trends

By the Rivers of Bauble-On We’ve got a few accessories freshly streaming in from the crystal clear world.

MiuMiu

Silver-plated Swarovski crystal necklace

Fred Leighton

Collection 18-karat white gold, lapis and diamond earrings

AurĂŠlieBidermann Fine Jewelry Munnu

22-karat gold spinel necklace

18-karat gold multi-stone earrings

Holly Dyment

Evil Eye 18-karat gold multi-stone ring

Holly Dyment

14-karat gold multi-stone earrings

Ippolita

Rock Candy Lollipop Constellation 18-karat gold, topaz and diamond ring

Melissa Joy Manning

14-karat gold, sterling silver and turquoise cuff Disclaimer: Price and features are subject to change.

Buyers are advised to act on data after cross-checking

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WHISPERs IN BLACK

maKEOVER Model: Lena Photos: Arshals Photography Make Up And Hairstyling : Shoshank Costume Designer And Stylist : Haan Tom Male Models : Shashikanth Sharma, Shiyaz Kareem and Amman Asst and Retouch: Riyas, Nikhil, Ajay, Anish

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maKEOVER

Red Diva She’s wearing a red dress with a golden belt.

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Cover Story

LENA

Allure in her Eyes Though Lena’s film characters had different shades, one thing that was common was her portrayal of strong female characters.

Text: AabhaMuralidharan Photos: Arshals Photography n a red dress, she stood to get her last touch ups. She looked ravishing.

I stepped in to see what exactly was happening and Lena gave me a smile.

The smile had a lot of warmth and love.

The photo shoot was indeed a makeover. For a second I just could’t recognise her.

They say a woman is synonymous to extreme emotional balance and maturity. From Comrade Anita Roy in Left Right Left to Fathima in Alif and in her role in Vikramadityan, Lena’s characters profusely radiated maturity and sensibility. As I started talking to her, not for once I felt that it was with a Kerala State Award and Filmfare Awards South winner. Though I did see Comdrade Anita Roy and Ancy from Kanyaka Talkies standing in front of me, it was unreal. I had to pull up my socks and bring myself back to my senses and remind myself that it was Lena who was sitting in front of me. The conversation I had with Lena made me realise that there was so much more in her which reflected the characters she chose to play. In a talk with FWD Life, Lena reveals her views on what she feels about women,the

characters she portrayed and much more.

Your roles are overwhelming and inspiring.How do you delve into the characters? Is there any particular philosophy that goes behind it?

It is based on the idea that everyone and everything are within each one of us. So whenever a new character comes up, even though it may have nothing to do with your personal life, you’ll still find the character within you, as you contemplate on the script.

This is exactly what I do. I delve into the character and start becoming that character. At times, it feels weird to oneself because you are mostly watching yourself acting. Acting is not something you do. It just happens and you also happen to be a witness to it.

Each character takes over your body for a given period.

There’s a different take of representation of women in advertisements and films.What is your take on that?

I read somewhere that there is a polar shift happening in the earth, and all the opposite things are going to happen.

Maybe this is just a sign of that.

With the world going opposite, you seem to have a straight view of strong female characters. Does that reflect in your personal character?

I tend to be chosen for strong characters and at the same I am not being typecast. I take that a huge blessing. I am not a socially active person. I am not a person who goes out and makes bold statements and go do powerful things. But, of course, I rate freedom very high. I think I live my life according to my terms.

Not a social person, are you?

I am social when I am in social situations, but I do not seek out such situations.

The movie Left Right Left concluded with the statement, “We are brave, we are alone, and we fight.” How would you apply that to the present stage of the country and your life?

In the present stage of our country, we are just brave all the time. I think we are confused as a country right now and at the same we are optimistic.

Personally, I tend to shy away from problems. I wouldn’t want to get into controversies, and I do not air my opinions much in public because, generally I am someone who believes in a peaceful life above all other things. I don’t need to make my point or take a stand or prove myself. To me, it is more important to have a restful, peaceful night sleep and have a calm day ahead.

You majored in Psychology for your graduation. Has that subject helped you create a personality for yourself which is distinct? What did your academic life teach you?

My academic life helped me shape the person I am today. Having studied psychology, I developed deep roots into introspection, inner being and workings of the mind. These were already topics that interested me.

It was coupled with readings in spirituality, and all those things happened during my college days. This kind of created a foundation that is based on highest values being given to calmness, peaceful coexistence, etc.

Has psychology helped you interpret and get into the shoes of a character?

Definitely. I don’t think any other subject would influence your acting as much as psychology. Psychology

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maKEOVER

Bold and Beautiful A black dress with embellishments on shoulder and braided chords to accentuate the curves.

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Cover Story

being the study of the mind helps you get into the mental makeup of the character. It gave me a foundation about how human mind works. That is when I realised that I could apply this to everything.

In most of the characters that you have played, there is a final volcano burst? Is there any personal input in that?

Constant de-stressing is the most important mantra. When a character comes up, if that de-stressing is not evident in the script, you can add your version of your understanding of how the character will be. I think that is what is an actor’s main contributions.

So apart from your roles that make a statement, what’s your take on fashion?

It is difficult because a lot of fashion trends tend to be uncomfortable. To me, I have realised that heels look great, but I cannot see myself wearing heels for a whole day. My entire body aches; from my foot to my calves to my knees, back and my head.

Fashion is all about flattering your best assets. Showcasing yourself in the best way. For a personal life, I prefer loose clothing and flats. I believe that brands make a difference. Wearing branded wear is both comfortable and fashionable.

Bohemian is in this season, are you loving it?

I am not up to date with fashion. It is not that I watch fashion on TV and I look at all Vogue issues. For me, it is just not possible to keep up with the fashion trends.

If ever you were called to Cannes, what would you wear?

I think I’d wear something very Indian.

I would wear a saree or a great salwar suit. Saree is the most elegant outfit a lady can wear. It kind of does everything you need. It accentuates your figure, makes you look slimmer, can make you look simple or really grand and you can wear it in a hundred different ways. You cannot stand out

LENA

trying to wear their clothing because they carry their clothes much better than us. If you wear Indian dress, you are going to get more attention.

Is there any message that you’d want to give to all the women on this International Women’s Day? Women are much more powerful than they can ever begin to imagine. No matter what anyone tells you, never believe that you are in any way weak.

I truly believe in the concept that women are pure, subtle energy. We are extremely passive energy that is huge. We are like an ocean. The water in the ocean seems very light, but we all know how heavy water is. Ships can float on it. So, never underestimate yourself.

Quickies A person whom you admire the most.

My mother. She is my only hope when it comes to clothes, shopping or anything.

Any place that you’d want to go to?

I don’t get much time to travel these days. I’d want to go to Paris.

Favorite gadget?

Phone. One cannot live without a smartphone these days.

Favorite App? Candy and Soda Crush.

Favorite Food?

Rice and Prawn curry made by my mom. There is a particular prawn curry she makes. She makes it in a clay pot.

Any character you’d want to play?

I would want to do a psychological based character.

A thriller or anything related to psychology. I want to be a psycho in the film. I studied to be a therapist, but I don’t want to be that in real life or on-screen either.

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maKEOVER

Wild Beauty Going bold with an animal print dress and accessories.

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maKEOVER

Red Clad A deep red dress encapsulates the beauty.

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Maizie Williams

Dipika Pallikal

Alishah Abdullah

Nita Mehta

Anandana Kapur

Maya Souhail Nassa

Kalyanee Mulay

M D Pallavi

Company of Women

Chaka Khan croons, “ I am Woman.� What does it mean to be a woman?

Her strength is limitless and her abilities multifold. FWD talks to some of the incredible women who are making a difference.

Elizabeth Susan Koshy

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Radhika Vaz

ar- Maalouf

Beena Kannan

Sheela Kochouseph

Nishanthini R

Shalini james

f only we got together more often for the talks of life. This time we don’t have a round table, but all of the conversations are squared up in pages.

From Maya Nassar, who shares her thoughts on being a body builder, to Sneh Sharma, who decided to start a digital company that only employs women.

Dramatists like Radhika Vaz, who’s nonchalant to being ladylike, to the women of Tripunithura Kathakali Kendram, who said Kathakali was never only a man’s affair. Shakti Mohan dances with ferocity, while Anandana Kapur makes films with an intense cause. We’ve got the thoughts, philosophies and maxims from powerful women from all careers, to share what they abide by and defy to stand resolute in their thoughts.

Now you understand Just why my head’s not bowed.

I don’t shout or jump about Or have to talk real loud.

When you see me passing, It ought to make you proud.

I say, It’s in the click of my heels, The bend of my hair, the palm of my hand, The need for my care. ’Cause I’m a woman Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman, That’s me.

Shakti Mohan

Janice Pariat

Phenomenal Women, Maya Angelou

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Women today

BUSINESS

Business

As the women on top share their say with FWD, give a ‘big cheese’!

Shalini james Mantra “ I feel empowered because the Malayali society has evolved to permit me to transition from woman to human.

For this I would thank the tradition of education, which makes us what we are.”

Beena Kannan Seematti

Sheela Kochouseph V-Star

Parveen Hafeez “There are many talented women in our society who limit themselves to homemaking, looking after the kids and shopping etc. Most if it just becomes a routine to waste time. There was never a need, neither at home nor after marriage for an extra income, yet it was the guilt of wasting that made me try out new things. Generally, there is a misunderstanding that once the women become successful they have no time for the family. This mentality has to change among both sexes. A mutually helping hand will go a long way in accepting each other.

For women it also might be a lesson in the difficulty for earning an income, the stress and strain behind it. Being independent always brings out the better person inside you.”

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Sunrise Hospitals “There is much more in life than what we see. What is holding us back from doing what we want is fear, stress, failure. All these are just situations in our lives and rather than seeing it as a problem, try and handle it.”

Diwia Thomas Paper Trail “Women empowerment must begin with financial independence. “

“I could distinctly remember Mount Road Chennai. It had a different rush from Kerala. I noticed a lot of women working at the counters as cashier women. I used to ask other females, “How does it feel like to work?” That was my earliest recollection of a woman working and earning. I then used to constantly question, “Can women work?”

The very fact that women cannot work is an entrepreneur ‘funda’ I disagreed with. Earlier many doubted my capabilities. As I was seated in this position, it was a step taken seriously by showing people I am really serious about the game. Many of them did not expect me to be a professional. I take time seriously and work well under deadlines and prove to people the value of time. Bringing out the fearless nature and making women mentally ready was the greatest achievement.”

Women today

Nita Mehta

Ready, Steady, Cook

She’s India’s most celebrated cookbook author, not only founded the largest publishing house of cookbooks in India, but also is the force behind a successful chain of Cooking Academies. Meet Nita Mehta who tells us what’s cooking!

Text: Chetana Tarun Photos: Nita Mehta

and work?

Time management is the key to balancing family and work. I know my priorities well and plan my work, keeping in mind the family.

How far are you willing to go to succeed?

As far as I can go, but balancing my life and my people around me.

What is your greatest fear, and how do you manage that fear?

My fear is only anger. I know when things go wrong, it becomes difficult to keep calm. Controlling anger is important.

C

ook books are not easily stirred up like curries many would say. Nita Mehta had it the hard way when it came to publishing her cookbook. In the major market, cookbooks were dominated by their glossy pictures and printing. As she approached all the publishers, she never succeeded; it was then she decided she wanted to take charge. Her experience and finance were just a dollop, but she had her faith in her friend and published her first book, ‘Vegetarian Wonders. It fared at an average level in the market, but then it was ‘Paneer all the Way’ that stole the show. She has sold over five million books. She has won international awards and and the books are sold in USA, UK, Canada, South Africa. She has authored more than 300 books on various topics including more than 350 bestselling cookery books. Her book “Flavours of

Who has been your greatest inspiration?

My mother. She has taught me the basic values of being a good human being. Also, my family has been very supportive. My husband and children are always there for me.

Indian Cooking” won the Best Asian Cookbook Award at the Versailles (Paris) World Cookbook Fair. I was glad I could talk to her as she shared the recipe of her success.

You are a Gold Medallist in M.SC ( food and nutrition). What ignited the spark in you to start a new business venture?

I was happy with the appreciation I got from my readers. But as a business person, I always believed that diversification is important in life if you want to grow. So we diversified with food related things like opening a restaurant in Ludhiana. Now we are going into food products like spices, chocolates and some more to start with. The appreciation for my work motivates me. Travelling and meeting people helps me with new ideas.

I experiment with food when it comes to my kitchen. New recipes thus get created.

How can a woman find time for everything? How do you balance family

Five key elements for starting and running a successful business?

Persistence, hard work, time management, keep looking out for new things, keep your staff happy. It’s always a teamwork.

What has been your most satisfying moment in business?

When girls tell me that my cookbook makes their family happy. I feel I am contributing to happiness.

What do you feel is the major difference between entrepreneurs and those who work for someone else?

When you work for yourself, you can be more creative and follow your gut feeling.

Like adding garnish to your food, your last piece of advice to become an entrepreneur?

Follow your heart, enjoy your work and don’t run after success. Success follows later!

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WOMEN TODAY

Sneh Sharma

Run the World She decided that she wanted to take the digital world into her hands. Meet Sneh Shama, CEO of Ittisa, - an all women digital firm in Bangalore.

Text: : Chetana Tarun Photos: Sneh Sharma

or Sneh Sharma, an idea to start a company stirred from a predicament. Being nonchalant to comments and so many doubts, she decided that challenges and blunders are passé. It was after a few books, inspirations, and a very supportive family she decided that she wanted to take the step of starting Ittisa, a digital firm. Now the idea has clicked, and her business is certainly clicking!

You have mentioned that the book

by Sheryl Sandberg inspired you into being an entrepreneur. What changes brought by her in the corporate world

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struck you and helped you evolve?

Sheryl Sandberg continues to inspire me even today and helps me evolve.

I would say that her efforts to begin Lean In, a non-profit organisation that inspires and supports professional women in all their endeavours, is a great step towards empowering women. It inspires me a lot and reaffirms my faith in starting an all women agency.

It was Sheryl Sandberg’s book Lean In and her intriguing narration about new age women and professional side that sparked the thought in me.

It made me relive the seven years of my professional life, and I realised that women were not as active in the

professional world as men. I never could accept that women worked less or were less competent than men, as I recollect, the best performance from my school to organizations were always women. These musings urged me to begin Ittisa, an all women firm.

Setting a foundation for your business is quite a challenge. How did you mobilise the funds to start with?

We got a very good start to Ittisa with one of Africa’s largest conglomerate, the Mara Group, reaching out to us for their digital branding and marketing.

We worked with them to launch and sustain their products in Africa. It was a dream start that any start-up could

WOMEN TODAY

have, and we felt extremely fortunate that they picked us.

What are the principles you follow? If we do a reality check in the corporate world, how can the gender equality be evaluated now?

No matter what you do, do it with all your heart. You are your architect, not what others make you. So make sure you follow your passion and put your heart and soul into achieving whatever it is that you have set your mind upon.

Women have come a long way; from within the four walls of their home to being professionals and entrepreneurs, they are leaving their mark in every field. However, despite these remarkable changes, women are still plagued by innumerable challenges at the workplace and in the society. We still haven’t attained gender equality.

Gender equality is in the making; each and every one of us need to do his/her bit in making it a reality.

The business world is usually a male dominant emire. What is your reason for making it an all women office? How has the public responded to it?

From my past and present experiences, I have realized that women are extremely hard working and have it in them to even outperform men. Providing them with opportunities is all you need to do.

Our main focus while starting Ittisa was providing girls with equal opportunities of working.

Ittisa is only 10 months old and we have already done business with some of the major names in the industry.

It’s been a remarkable experience and will continue to be so. We work as a family, closely knit and each with her own bundle of talents.

What are the needs that Indian offices should incorporate for women?

We see many women who quit working once they have a kid to look after.

This is a huge loss not only to the firm but more so, for the woman concerned who is forced to sacrifice her professional life for her personal life. This gap could be bridged to a

Sneh Sharma

certain extent if firms provide crèche facilities. Companies will become more employee friendly this way and also put their women employees at ease.

What would you say, is your greatest professional accomplishment to date?

Starting Ittisa all on my own when there were many who discouraged me from taking this step. Ittisa is now one of the youngest and fastest growing digital media agencies, and I am constantly proved right in choosing an all girls space by my highly energetic and gritty team. They are my ‘Super Girls’ .

Advice you would like to share with young entrepreneurs...

Challenges and blunders are a given when it comes to entrepreneurs. I shall share some of my goof ups and what I learned from each one of these mistakes.

1) People don’t buy what you sell; they buy WHY you sell: So when I started out, I was very desperate about getting more traffic on our website. I wrote jingles, joined online forums, tried to make videos, joined almost every website where I could reach out to people. I used to bombard people with information about our product. But did it work? Of course NOT. Your marketing strategy should go in reverse. First answer these questions, Why are you selling? What are you selling? Why people should buy? Only then communicate. Don’t tell them about your product features but tell them about their problems and how you can help.

2) Trust people but not circumstances It is extremely important to put everything on paper. Entrepreneurs consider paperwork as a waste of their time, but it can be disruptive.

Quickies If you were to get a super power, what would you wish it to be?

I would want a power to control number of hours in a day. Many times I feel 24 hours in a day are not enough.

Your opinion on, fashion and lifestyle?

Comfort is the best fashion. I like to keep it simple and wear clothes that I feel comfortable in.

Your favourite gadget?

My MacBook Air. Cannot imagine my life without it.

Favourite movie and music?

Not a movie buff, I can watch anything under the sun. Music is an important part of my life; I like alternative rock, and Red Hot Chilli Peppers is one of my favorite bands.

Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers?

Opportunities pass you by repeatedly. So always keep an eye out.

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Women TODAY

Power Dressing

Rules of Power Dressing Always dress to impress clients, investors and customers, because, a winning sales pitch is not enough to seal the deal. Your professional appearance needs to support your professional accomplishments.

Text: Sinin Sathar Photos: Various Sources The bottom line is to create an illusion of a perfect body shape and needless to say that a perfect body shape is the neat hourglass figure, because it is the most scientifically and fashionably balanced in its proportion. Therefore, whether we like it or not, all the other body shapes follow this guideline to create body harmony in its entirety.

Grooming Tips for Business Women Perfumes, Scents, and Odors in the Workplace: Do not let the first impression you make about yourself be your personal scent preferences! Avoid wearing heavilyscented products in all business settings.

You might like them, but they have no place in a business environment. Never smell like tobacco (if you smoke in a car, your clothing will always extract the odor).

oco Chanel says,“Dress shabbily; people remember the clothes.

Dress impeccably; people remember the woman.” I believe that every woman is different and has her genetic style DNA. Therefore, it requires individual and personalized attention in creating visual balance. I have always been passionate about filling this vacuum by giving women the relevant grooming subtleties and the references of apt tools to dress themselves in the best way.

When dressing for a professional outlook, it is inevitable to ensure that it invites not only quick attention but also creates a ‘first’ but lasting impression – be it whether she dresses for a job interview, business or client meeting, social or community networking, public

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event or conference. The appearance should speak for itself by reflecting synonymously about her professional skills that could prompt the other end to judge the personality versus the profile.

These impressions drastically influence the spectators, the board members, the clients or the interview panel to directly relate you with their expectations and be more valuably understood when conducting business.

When it comes to the beauty and art of looking good, don’t be misled with a wrong notion that it’s your ‘size’ or ‘shape’ or the ‘posture’ that matters! It’s entirely the fit of the attire that speaks volumes!

But the fit doesn’t always equal suitability.

In other words, fashion and style will allow for flexibility and creativity. These rules apply to everyone - no matter what age, style, profession, play or budget.

How to Present Professional Looking Fingernails and Hands: Women often use their hands to define and communicate, so hands become a focal point. It is important to have hands and fingernails looking professional-not like you are heading out for a wild night at a disco. Nails should be clean and trimmed or sculpted. Avoid wearing unusual or shockingly vibrant nail colors. Nail art and nail jewels are not acceptable for business meetings.

Women TODAY

Attire Tips for business Women

Western wear:

a) After cleansing, apply your moisturizer mixed with a skin illuminator designed to make you glow and not sparkle. Then apply fluid foundation with your fingertips and blend around your jaw line.

NYFW : Elie Tahari Spring 2013

Avoiding big borders will be sensible as it makes you look shorter. Complexion of skin too has a lot to do in regard to suitability not only in case of sarees but also in case you prefer a churidar or a salwar. Women with dark skin complexion should choose light colors, and those who are fair can select darker colors.

You must also take into consideration the nature of the function you are attending; birthday party and official meetings will surely not anticipate the same dress code.

For official functions wear sarees with pleats and for parties and functions you will look awesome without pleats. For office use, cotton sarees are suitable, but they should be starched properly and ironed well before wearing.

Whenever you wear a saree with pleats, ensure that you fold and press it properly.

Select the ornaments and sandals that match with your saree.

The Makeup Math for office Most make-up products these days are also skin care products that actually work to look after our skin throughout the day. In addition to that, some make-up products help renew skin and reverse some damages. Even if you only have 20 minutes to spare, you can still transform yourself. Here’s how:

Indian Wear: Selection of sarees needs some sensible consideration. First of all you should be very well aware of your skin color, body type, and height. If you are fat, sarees in chiffon and georgette will be good for you.

Sporting a Mysore heavy silk saree may give you a beautiful and slimmer look. For thin women, cotton, tussar, organza, and tissue saree would be apt. Short women would look better in sarees with smaller borders, and it would be even better to wear sarees with no borders at all.

Abraham & Thakore

Power Dressing

A business casual event A tailored, polished dress with a blazer or a pantsuit. Whatever you wear, style it with appropriate heels. This is not the time for flats or super-high club shoes.

Your average brunch look A skirt (either long or short) and plain tee, nice jeans with a button-down blouse or a cotton sundress. Flats are fine.

b) Press powder into your skin with a powder puff, and brush off excess with a powder brush. Powder is essential for making your make-up last, particularly if exposed in a hot weather condition. c) Apply one coat of lash-plumping mascara. Brush your eyebrows into shape, and use a pencil to quickly define them if needed. d) Apply a sheer color of blusher with light reflecting particles to the apple of your cheek and very lightly extend the color towards your ear. Less is more when it comes to blush! e) Apply one coat of colored lip gloss for soft, natural lips with a healthy shine.

Dress Casual A dressy blouse with jeans and heels, a skirt and top set, a crisp pantsuit, or a dress. Flats are acceptable as long as they are not overtly casual (i.e., no sneakers).

Cocktail Attire As the name suggests, this is a dressy event that is still meant to be primarily social and enjoyable.

A cocktail dress (obviously), LBD (long black dress) or a short suit in more formal fabrications, plus a sleek pair of heels.

Flats are not recommended but can work in certain situations.

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Women TODAY

Dress to Define

Skirt Around

When you are in the business world, you must not only know how to dress appropriately, but also make a statement. Inspired by the power icons, remember it’s not always about a black pencil skirt!

Text: Atheena Wilson Photos: Various Sources tIPS

Printed Skirt Alexander McQueen

Carvela Kurt Geiger Wooden Knee Boots

Michelle Obama, Lawyer and First Lady of the United States “I wear what I love. That’s what women have to focus on: what makes them happy and what makes them feel comfortable and beautiful. I want women to feel good about themselves and have fun with fashion.”

Alexander McQueen Wool Peplum Sweater

Textured skirt Nina Ricci Tweed Skirt

• Keep the silhouette of the skirt the same as you would for solid work skirts. For example, a pencil, sharp a-line or fit-and- flare.

• Pair the skirts with more

professional, tailored and structured pieces.

• Choose professional colors. Look for skirts that have a navy ground, or bits of black in them and then use these neutrals to tone down what you wear with them.

• Accessorize well. When it comes to work, avoid casual sandals, overly ornate jewelry or inappropriate accessories that should not be seen in your conservative workplace.

This is not to gather so much of attention.

“When we get dressed in the morning that outfit has to work in the context of our various roles. I want to make women feel elegant, polished and chic and enable them to transition seamlessly between executive, mother, wife and more.”

tIPS • Stay in the same color family, settle for a complimenting solid hue.

• The second pattern should be only a small component, proportionally, of your outfit.

• Balance the size of the prints — this comes back to volume.

When two huge prints are worn together, it may be jarring— if one print is bigger (a wider floral, or a large swoopy abstract) it may be better paired with a smaller, tighter pattern.

Carven Lace and Gingham Skirt

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Giuseppe Zanotti Kenya Suede Court

Ivanka Trump, Executive Vice President of Development & Acquisitions at The Trump Organization,

Women TODAY

The Maxi Skirt

Dress to Define

tIPS

Queen Rania, Queen consort of Jordan “ As with every other woman, your clothes are an expression of yourself and of how you feel, and I have found that, over the years, I’ve gotten comfortable with a particular style. “

• Stick to neutral colored, preferably beige, ivory or light-brown, pleated or straighter tube-skirts.

• Stay away from floral and oversized print maxi skirts.

Also, avoid wearing black maxi skirt to work.

• Wear it with a blazer or crop jacket. A way to achieve a professional look out of your maxi skirt is to wear with it a dark blazer over a dark fitted top.

Tuck your top to emphasize your waist or wear a belt.

• Pair it with printed tops such as a cute polka dot, a smaller-scaled graphic or tiny Alexander McQueen floral.

Leaf Crepe Jacket

Lanvin Jersey Maxi Skirt

Emilio Pucci Farfalla Print Silk Maxi Skirt

the nude slate

Donna Karan tIPS Roll Sleeve • Pencil skirts already hug your Contrast Back curves, so keep the length at the Shirt knees to keep it office friendly.

• Darker color tones make your thighs look slimmer, this tone can be a little hard to pull off.

• Red can also be too sexy for the office, do not wear flamboyant colors.

• Be careful with the slits of your pencil skirts, thighrevealing slits are a no-no.

• Mixing and matching is fun for this palette, but stay away from jarring prints and color combination.

• Try going minimal with the accessories. Try rose gold chains with simple pendants or platinum bracelets. Invest in a good handbag too.

Alexander McQueen Cut Out Flower Jacquard Pencil Skirt

Saint Laurent Paris Pump Whistles Monica Raw Edge Skirt

Kathryn Bieglow, Oscar winner film director “I choose material instinctually - at the heart of it are characters that I feel are fresh and original, and allow for an opportunity to, I suppose, explore uncharted ground.”

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Women TODAY

Sport

SPORTS

They say go on be a sport, here’s what they had to say to FWD.

Dipika Pallikal Indian squash player “When I joined the senior ranks, rigorous training and hard work helped me mentally prepare for high-octane games such as the Commonwealth.

Training well gives me the confidence and hence mental strength to represent India at the highest level. I feel proud to be a female sportsperson in the country, and want to do my best, so as to encourage more women to take up sports as a viable career. The most empowering feeling was when I played my first WSA event at the age of 15 at the Qatar Airways Challenge.

It is empowering to represent the country every time I walk onto the court wearing the Indian badge. A lot has changed in the country towards women in every field, and sports are no exception.”

Maya Souhail Nassar -MaaLouf Lebanese Bikini Athlete “Fitness is a lifestyle. I think it all depends on the individual woman.

The way I see it, fitness is neither a task nor a motto. but rather who you become. It defines you and becomes incorporated into your daily routine as something that is important to you.”

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Alishah Abdullah India’s first female national racing champion

Anju Bobby George Indian Athlete “Talent must be cultivated regardless of what field it is. When you excel in a particular field, you will find the whole world opening up for you. I have been blessed and have never had to face any criticism or negative attitude. I think women athletes get more popularity here than male athletes (other than cricket of course).

There are more women than men in the Indian team for international events. Even when you look at the youth sports icons it is mostly women including PT Usha, Sania Mirza, Saina Nehwal. I grew up with the sport and it has given me so much exposure. I have traveled all around the world, sometimes even twice a month. I have had the luck to explore different cultures, cuisines and attitudes that have given me a broader outlook on life. Especially when you take part in the Olympics, its like seeing the whole world.”

“Being an Indian girl, I know there is a lot of sacrifice going into it. Let me put it this way. It was very difficult to get where I am today. I used to come last for every race and get bullied.

It was a constant struggle especially because people could not accept that I wanted to race. I hated every minute of training, but I remembered a quote from Mohammed Ali, “Don’t quit, suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion. Every time I cross a hurdle it instills confidence in me.”

Laila Ali Retired American Professional Boxer “Impossible is not a fact; it’s an opinion.”

women TODAY

Elizabeth Koshy

RIGHT ON TARGET Elizabeth Susan Koshy shone at the National Games 2015 as the first Malayali, also the youngest, to win at the shooting range. Her performance on national and international events is a result of hard work and determination.

Text: Maria John Photos: Stanislav Lapidus Delhi for the same.

What goes through your mind before each event?

I pray before every event. There is always a Bible in my bag. I stick to my schedule and similar food. Discipline is very important. Once I’m in position, then it’s only me, the weapon and the target.

lizabeth Susan Koshy is young, but wise beyond her years as her mother describes her. This ace shooter picked up the sport after watching a competition in her home town at the age of eleven. Supported by her loving family, Elizabeth won gold for 50m rifle 3 position and 50m rifle prone categories at the National Games 2015 that took place in Kerala.

Though her competitors were much senior and trained throughout the year, this small town girl made people sit up and take notice. She owes it all to God, whom she was heard to say pulled the trigger at the games. With her .22 Bleiker, she hopes to make her country proud at the 2016 Olympics at Rio if she is selected.

What does winning at the national level mean for you and the sport?

I have been representing my state and the country for the past four years.

After the win in Kerala, within four days, my sport and I were recognized.

People now understand the effort that goes behind each competition.

Many came to watch the matches and were extemely supportive. I am really happy especially as my sport is being talked about. There has been a lot of encouragement and acceptance. It is very difficult for us to get the support and funding required. I hope that will change.

You are currently pursuing your degree. How do you find time to train?

My studies are very important and my teachers and friends do help me out a lot. I train only on the weekends unlike my competitors who train throughout the year. Before international events, I attend camps which are conducted.

For the 2015 National Games, I started training a month and a half ago in Palakkad. All my coaches have been great. I wish we had better training centers with electronic ranges, because I have to travel to Pune and

As a girl in this field, what have you had to face?

I have never had any bad criticism because I am a girl. I believe in equality and that there is no difference between a boy and a girl. Nobody has questioned me and my choices negatively. I have had unconditional support from home and from my peers.

It is an honor to compete against such talented individuals and that brings meaning to my scores.

What has the sport meant for you?

I started at a very young age, where I was too small to understand certain things. Now I realize that the exposure the sport has given me, has taught me how to approach people. We have to recognize that there are different kinds of people in the world. Different characters deserve a different approach. You learn how and when to be careful. Shooting has made me very disciplined and focused. I have noticed a change in me over the past two years (now that I am old enough to understand) that I owe to sports.

You will be an inspiration for many now.

It is really great to know that my sport and I have been recognized. Hopefully, people will change their mind about the sport. There are lots of talented shooters in Kerala and I hope they will come forward.

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WOMEN TODAY

Maya Souhail Nassar- Maalouf

Pumped Up Kicks She does give a ‘squat’ about fitness, meet Maya Souhail Nassar – Maalouf, a personal trainer, sports and nutritionist and a bikini model competitor.

Text: Atheena Wilson Photos: Maya Souhail Nassar- Maalouf

ears ago, I attended a party at Maya’s house, ‘weight’ for it, her Dalmatian’s birthday party. Her childhood passion for animals never faded, and now she’s a board member of the NGO, Animals Lebanon. It’s her resolute nature and passion that has catapulted her into her successful stature. Last year, in May, she competed in Pure Elite UK Championships and won first place.

Handling a busy schedule, she’s now prepping for the next bikini modeling championship. She’s rising up to the challenge of trimming down; I was glad I could catch up with her for an uplifting interview.

A Listings Editor at Beirut Editor, and now you have become a bikini athlete, how did that journey happen?

Journalism was something I was passionate about my whole life, ever since I was a young child. I discovered

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fitness in my twenties after gaining a lot of weight and then changed my lifestyle around to lose weight and become healthier. My transition from writer to athlete came through when a friend of mine told me about a bodybuilding competition in London, and I decided to compete. I had always been curious about taking my fitness to the next level and pushing to my limits, and I discovered I am just as passionate about bodybuilding as I am about writing.

How does it feel like pursuing something out of the box and representing yourself as an athlete for Lebanon?

It is something I am really proud of!

There are very few women who do what I do here, so this can be quite challenging, especially if people do not understand why I do it. I also like to raise awareness about female bodybuilding because many women falsely believe weight lifting will make

them masculine or that it will make them lose their femininity.

Who are the few people who have inspired you to take such a big step in life?

My biggest inspiration in the fitness industry is a bodybuilder called Tom Venuto. He wrote a book that changed my life and made me believe in myself.

I have networked with him online, and my goal is to meet him in person one day. My husband also inspires me to keep on doing my best. He is always supporting me and encouraging me to never give up. If not for him, I might not have entered my last competition in the UK, where I ended up winning first place. I also have a supportive family and best friends, who bring out the best in me and inspire me to keep on doing my best every day.

Your challenges during the Pure Elite UK Championships were?

The biggest challenge mentally was

WOMEN TODAY

following through with my diet. No matter how hungry I felt, I could not indulge and had to keep it up for three months nonstop. I am someone who has an enormous appetite and loves to eat, so this was particularly difficult for me. My biggest challenge physically was to keep on training while following a strict diet. I did not always have a lot of energy and had many days where I did not feel like going to the gym.

I made it a point never to skip my workouts.

There must have been a few exercises you may have dreaded..

Definitely! I used to do high step ups on a box (above knee length) carrying a heavy barbell on my shoulders. It is one of the most amazing exercises for the lower body, but I absolutely hate it because of how difficult it is. I also dreaded doing squats because I used to lift heavy weights and found it really draining. Many people claim that they love squats, but I only like the results and hate the actual exercise.

How do you juggle such a busy lifestyle?

I juggle my lifestyle by prioritizing what is important and getting things done. I always train first thing in the morning to get my exercise out of the way and then to be more flexible for rest of the day. Exercising late in the afternoon means something might come up, and I might have to skip a workout. I also believe in doing something you are passionate about.

One of my favorite quotes is, “ If you enjoy what you do; you will never work a day in your life. “ “I believe that changing someone’s life or hearing that I inspired them is just as rewarding as achieving my own goals.” What’s your aim with your website, Start Living Right?

What started out as a hobby is turning out to be one of the greatest things I’ve done because people are telling me that I have changed their life or inspired them to become healthier.

My website offers tons of articles, downloadable guides, meal plans,

Maya Souhail Nassar- Maalouf

exercise programs, fat loss calculators and more. I have also recently created a free downloadable mobile version of my website. It includes everything found on my site but also has animated exercise illustrations with instructions.

You mentioned, “People think exercise and eating healthy is a punishment, what they do not realize it’s actually a reward.” A few tips we should incorporate into our lives?

My first tip is to think about how good you will feel from exercising and eating healthy. It might be difficult to get started, but if you follow through for the first three weeks then it will become much easier and will eventually become a part of your routine.

My second tip is that, anyone in this world can do it. There is nobody who is too old, too out of shape or too unfit to become a healthier version of themselves. Finally, remember fat loss is meant to be a very slow and gradual process. It can be frustrating to see someone lose weight much faster than you, but everyone is different, and no two people will ever be alike.

Being both a writer and sports nutritionist what are some things you learn from your readers and your clients?

I am constantly reminded of how difficult someone’s journey is and I feel like I am able to help them because I have been there myself.

I know just how challenging it is to change your life around. Other people teach me how to listen, how to guide them and to always do my best to be a good role model for them.

What would you have to say to all the women around the world?

I would tell other women to always stay strong and follow their dreams.

There will always be negative people and obstacles that hold you back, but overcoming difficulties and staying

Quickies An exercise that you love: Deadlifts Sports that you enjoy: Tennis, swimming, and horseriding A book on your bed stand: The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón A craving that’s impossible to resist: Chocolate cake Your current workout music track: Love Me Harder by Ariana Grande

positive is what will push you forward.

I really believe there is nothing a woman cannot achieve if she believes in herself and works hard towards her goals. I also believe it is important to encourage and support other women.

One of my favorite quotes is that ‘strong people do not put others down, they lift them up.’

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Sport Trends

Sports Illustrated Enjoy a workout that’s energetic in colors and cuts, after all you feel the best when you wear something that represents you!

Flagpole Swim Joellen cutout two-tone swimsuit

Hey Jo Cassini stretch-jersey leggings

Nike Pro Bolt printed Dri-FIT stretch-jersey shorts

Live The Process Printed stretch-jersey sports bra

Bodyism I Am Heavenly Lily printed stretch sports bra

Frends Layla leather and rose gold-tone headphones

Monreal London Canvas and PVC racket bag

Adidas Originals Mary Katrantzou Track ZX 5000 scuba-jersey sneakers

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Oakley FrogskinsÂŽ D-frame acetate sunglasses Disclaimer: Price and features are subject to change.

Buyers are advised to act on data after cross-checking

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Women TODAY

Society

Society

From being activists to police officers, here are their views, tackling challenges in our society.

Mallika Sarabhai Activist and Indian classical dancer

R. Sreelekha “I think my family would have considered me as an outcast, black sheep, had I been reserved and uptight like the rest of the world.”

Sunitha Krishnan Indian social activist and co-founder of Prajwala “We, as a society, have PhDs in victimizing a victim. I started seeing hundreds and thousands of women and children who are left in sexual slavery-like practices, but have absolutely no respite, because we don’t allow them to come in. My challenge has not been the traffickers who beat me up. I’ve been beaten up more than 14 times in my life. I can’t hear from my right ear. My biggest challenge is society. It’s you and me.

It’s very nice for discussion, discourse, making films and everything. But it is not nice to bring them to our homes.

It’s not nice to give them employment in our factories, our companies. It’s not nice for our children to study with their children. There it ends. That’s my biggest challenge.” ( Quoted from The Fight Against Slavery, TED talks)

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Indian Police Service “The challenges are all gender related. Women Police have changed the rude behavior of the erstwhile police. Earlier, men in uniform used to play cards and consume alcohol inside the station premises. Now since women constables are there in all police stations, the men are forced to maintain a minimum discipline at office. The usage of abusive words also stripped gradually. Thereby, the common public can expect a certain guaranteed decency from the cop.”

Anita Pratap Expatriate Indian writer and journalist “Women in Kerala were safe, strong and secure in the 60s, 70s, and 80s.

The fulcrum on which Kerala became a role model state was women’s empowerment. But over the last twenty years, I have seen values being wrecked. The commercialization of values has contributed to the danger, devaluation and degradation of women.

Women empowerment is when women feel safe, secure, and they have the freedom to make their own choices.

It’s when rivals and critics (both men and women) cannot resort to intimidation; character assassination to undermine women’s confidence, they can pursue their well-informed goals with dignity.”

Elizabeth Antony Artist, Lawyer, Social Worker.

President - Navoothan Charitable Foundation; NCF Legal Sakhi “Regarding women empowerment, educating a woman in the family is equal to educating the family. A woman is the pillar of the family. Many women will be the pillar of the family, and such pillars will make a good nation.”

Indira Gandhi Third Prime Minister of India “My grandfather once told me that there were two kinds of people: those who do the work and those who take the credit. He told me to try to be in the first group; there was much less competition.”

Women TODAY

Nishanthini R

All in Goodwill

Nishanthini R., the Deputy Police Commissioner of Thrissur shares her view on what it’s like donning all the roles as a police officer, a mother and daughter.

Text: : Atheena Wilson Photos: Various Sources

a perfect mechanism in my family so I don’t think there is a challenge.

My husband’s family and my family; everybody is supporting. My mother in law is taking care of my baby. So I don’t need to worry all that much.

Before you became a police commissioner what was the biggest obstacle you had to overcome?

There was a lot of dilemma and confusion. I was worried how things would pan out. I was worried what will happen if I failed the examination, then where I would stand. That is something which comes to my mind.

hen can be a mountain high enough?

Is it when you have to travel over 18km from your house to school, face marital pressure when you have a dream that was impossible for people to fathom or ace an exam that’s the toughest, or handle the law and order of the city? Nishanthini IPS, has an amiable personality. Despite such a busy schedule from numerous people and lots of phone calls, she epitomizes multi tasking and still had time to share a few words.

Gender discrimination is an atmosphere you grew up with. Notions that a woman was supposed to be the housewife and the man was supposed to be the breadwinner.

How did you move away from such an idea?

It’s because of my mother. She was a housewife, who supported me and believed in me. It is because of that I was able to come out of that notion.

Now that you are a mother and people are still discouraging women to pursue their dream, what message would you like to convey a mother and a daughter about gender equality if you had to?

It is not like if you have a child you can’t do anything. A lady is blessed with multiple personality. She is born with extra power. So there shouldn’t be a compromise. Work should be balanced. Take the power within you… have the courage to manage both.

There are many professional people around the world. They are balancing family and work. What according to you is the biggest challenge they face and how do you overcome that?

In my case I won’t say there is a challenge. My family is fully supportive. I have to manage my profession and private life. I have

In an interview you gave some time ago you said being a police commissioner was a childhood dream.

What is your fondest memory of this endeavor As a child, when I used to go out with my father, I used to get fascinated with all those vehicles which flashed this red light on top and went. You knew there was something different and privileged about this vehicle.

That was when this desire of being a commissioner shaped up.

We have been talking about women empowerment. Can you share a moment were you felt truly empowered?

When I was the ASP of Thodupuzha, we had this deaddcition centre. We were able to change the life of a lot many people. So many families and children benefitted from that program.

So when someone comes upto me and says that I have saved their life, that really feels something special. I feel very happy about that.

Any inspirational leaders you admire?

No, not really. Just my mother.

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Anandana Kapur

‘ Much Ado About

Anything.’

She’s an award-winning filmmaker and communications designer. Previously an executive producer for a TV network, meet Anandana Kapur, who lives by the word, limitless.

Text: Ronnie Kuriakose Photos: Various Sources ife is short, youth finite, but there exists limitless opportunities.

Where there is an open mind, there will always be a frontier. The ability to recognize opportunities and move in new – and sometimes unexpected – directions will benefit you no matter your interests or aspirations. And it is this ability to recognize such opportunities that made Anandana Kapur a leading voice in Delhi. I had a very interesting conversation with her the other day, and she walked me through some of her experiences and insights on how to find success and happiness: with persistence and preparation.

What made you choose this career path? I can see that you got actively engaged in a lot of projects, even when you were in college. When I was in college, my main priorities were to get back home and play video games.

What was your inspiration behind it all?

It is only now that I am trying to fashion a path. When you look back, you recognize some continuities, and that makes you want to take it to new places. I have always been a people’s person and recognized early on the important link between self-expression, self-esteem, and self-actualization. The decision to move away from Science to Literature created consternation for some, but I

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was convinced about the philosophical value it had for me. On campus, I was drawn to debates about self, structure of social thought and even discovered the passion for a DIY way of work. Then images seemed always to occur in my writing, references and presentations, so I was drawn to a cinema school. Thereafter, it’s been locating value in practice. Equating my work and visual grammar to critical thoughts about what I see around me lets me do the kind of work that I have done so far. Also, I always wanted to know why and why not! So, that bug has helped along with exploring issues of gender, livelihood and mobility.

Being a people’s person and being very expressive of your interests don’t necessarily get one much opportunities. One has to be constantly seeking them out. Even then, it is very slim, and the concept of internships and work experiences and have-ita-go sessions are fairly new in India.

Yet, you somehow managed to get it all right. How did you manage to get involved with projects such as UNICEF and others? Also, did being in Delhi have a lot to do with it?

‘Getting it right’ is not as important as making it right! So, I would disagree that being in Delhi granted me easy access. I am a rank outsider to the cultures of affiliation mentioned above, so I think it has to do with the people I have worked with. Our desire is to develop works that can transform and engage as well and find convergences in what we want to do with our lives.

Good ethics begets better perhaps?

Finding my feet in my practice has entailed learning to negotiate terms, dealing with projects that don’t take off and persisting with ideas long enough for them to bear fruition!

But Delhi did play a role in shaping your career, didn’t it?

Yes. Delhi is where I found my roots and its history has shaped mine.

Whether it is striving for equal space as a working woman or finding my feet in a city where the culture of affiliation very quickly. It becomes

Anandana Kapur

a culture of nepotism or discovering many wonderful people who have also anchored here and carry refreshing perspectives. Delhi also has a vibrant independent media practice, and that is encouraging too. Delhi is familiar but does not make me fall into a comfortable lull either.

I want to steer this away to your hobbies – you’ve got an awful plenty that it makes any average man weep Today, with all this competition around, even children at the age of six are forced into routines and classes so that they can boast of it in their soon-to-be-written resume. Do you think that level of (forced) commitment is necessary? Have you even felt that you have stopped enjoying something because of all the expectations – both yours and others?

You know, hobbies are a serious pursuit disguised as leisure! I do not agree with burdening your kid to be Picasso and Mozart and Pele rolled into one. I think society is unsparing, and it is even a struggle for parents to keep up. That culture just seems horribly unfair to me, it also surreptitiously positions someone’s pursuits as ‘better’ than the rest. In terms of expectations, I am my worst critic. So, I am geared to keeping at it for myself! Expectations of others are, in fact, the wind beneath one’s wings on difficult journeys. I think you need to give things time, be patient but inventive and playful. Have fun as and when you can. Smugness and seriousness can be afflictions.

What advice can you give to those wanting to tread the same path as yours – an adventure?

Seek people who care about the same things you do and recognize that sometimes opposition is confirmation that you have got the right hunch.

An intense engagement may not be for everyone but respecting time and consequences is a great way to proceed. Finally, update yourself by listening to people, learning new things and celebrating the small wins.

Profile Previously an executive producer for a TV network, she has also worked with information and video campaigns for UNICEF, India.

As visiting faculty she teaches courses on Communications Theory, Research Methods and Documentary Practices to post graduate students in premier institutions in Delhi. She also teaches programs on Gender and Voluntarism in a US led studyabroad program.

Anandana has been involved with Community Radio projects and her experience in communications training spans 13 years.

Her films ‘Much Ado About Knotting’, ‘The Great Indian Jugaad’, ‘Chamba Nede Aa ki Door’ (Is Chamba Near or Far?) and ‘Blood on My Hands’ have received critical acclaim in India and abroad.

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women TODAY

Self-defense

You are a Fighter!

When an attacker looms over you, the most powerful weapon is your intuition. Here are a few things to do when you have to fight back.

GRABS

BEAR HUGS

CHOKES

• When grabbed by your wrist, grab him back. Slap or strike his eyes, nose or throat with your free arm, if your life is in danger. If the attacker is tall, get to his side to avoid his head then knee. Kick him in the groin or legs to bring his head down to your level so you can slap him or strike to his eyes, nose or throat.

• If you’re in a rear bear hug with your arms pinned, react before he applies it by stepping to the side with your left foot. If you’re right- handed use your right foot and if you’re lefthanded, strike with your stronger arm.

As your foot lands, use a hammer fist or grab the attacker’s groin.

• Try to prevent the full application of the choke. You need to tense your throat and tuck your chin.

• If an attacker grabs both arms, get to one side to avoid his head. Then kick or knee him in the groin and or legs until he loosens his grip. After that, step in with a slap or strike to his eyes, nose or throat.

• If an attacker grabs you from the front of your shirt with one hand or both his hands, grab them with your weaker arm. Anchor your elbow, then step in with a slap or strike to his eyes, nose or throat with your stronger arm.

• If an attacker grabs your hair from the front with one hand or both hands, grab his hands with your weaker hand. Step in with a slap or strike to his eyes, nose or throat with your stronger arm. Self defense is not about strength but knowledge and intuition.

• If you’re attacked with your arms free in a rear bear hug, pin his arms to your side, then with your elbows. Drop your weight, deliver a head butt, then either stomp his foot or lean forward and lift your heel into his groin.

• If attacked from the front with your arms pinned, use thumb pokes into his groin or inner thighs. Make sure as you step back, you should drop your weight forcing the attacker back. When he backs up, deliver a slap or strike him in the eyes, nose and or throat.

This is the best thing to do when you are threatened for you life.

• If attacked with a front bear hug and your arms are free, you can box his ears. If you’re warning him, you can thumb poke him in the eyes.

Deliver a half fist to his throat or heel palm his nose.

• For a front two hand choke, tuck your chin and go between his arms with both your arms. It creates a wedge that may loosen his grip, while you step forward and strike his eyes, throat and or nose.

• For a rear two hand choke, grab his hands, tuck your chin then dip down, turn and strike just like you did for the hair grab. You can take a small step forward to your right side with your left foot. Lift your right arm up and over the attackers arms pinning them under your right arm, while you pivot to your right and strike the attacker with your left hand. Strike his eyes, nose and or throat.

• For a one arm choke from the rear, turn your head toward his elbow, tuck your chin, grab his hand with your arm furthest from him. Step toward him and strike to his groin. When he loosens his grip, step forward with your opposite foot and turn toward the hand. Then deliver strikes to his eyes, nose and or throat.

Information Courtesy : http://www.selfdefenseforgirls.com/fight_back.html

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Women TODAY

Culture

Culture Life is art they say, our women share their hearty arty says with us.

Maizie Williams Boney M Singer

Ambika Pillai Make- up artist “Putting down a woman’s confidence starts from home. If a small girl applied make-up and walked around the house for fun, elders would say.

‘Go wipe it, what have you done?’ It implies the child is beautifying for something not appreciable.”

Kalyanee Mulay Actor Are women really empowered in our country? The identity of a woman in our society has always been called into question.

Rima Kallingal Actor

Sumakshi Singh New Media Artist “I don’t define art. If you define it, you kill it. If I had to say it then I wouldn’t be making it. I make art for selfdiscovery.”

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“I feel actresses including me are very lucky that we are in a space where so many roles and scripts are written for us. I think it happened in the 80s and 90s and after a dry spell Mollywood is back with scripts that give prominence to women. I am very happy about that. The toughest part of being a bold actress is that people forget that we too are humans. We have a softer side to our personality.

But as far as I am concerned, I am okay being considered a bold and arrogant actress, rather than taken for granted.”

“There are a lot of women nowadays who are really strong. They find that inner strength. After all, it’s do or die, isn’t it. If you don’t find that inner strength and go for what you want to do in life,then it’s not a life. Your life is over really and truly. I tell women, be strong and believe in yourself.

Keep pushing on and let no one push you aside and make you think you shouldn’t ‘be’ because you are female.

God didn’t tell you that’s the way he wanted it for you, it is mankind telling you that. So put your faith in God, trust yourself and stay strong in what you believe in. Go for your goals and it will pay off in the end. There are many people who will support you and that’s important to know.”

Lana Del Ray American singer-songwriter “Whenever people bring up feminism, I’m like, God. I’m just not really that interested. My idea of a true feminist is a woman who feels free enough to do whatever she wants.”

Women TODAY

rADHIKA vaZ

Keeping it Rad She is funny. She is smart. She is older, angrier and hairier. Comedian Radhika Vaz is a force of humor.

Text: Maria John Photos: Various Sources

a hoot. She has recieved weird comments even on her haircut including that women who have cut off their hair have given up on life. No more nipple hair tweezing says Radhika. No more explaining to people why she doesn’t want babies. Why do we women have to burden ourselves with so many expectations? Her humor is spot on, and she doesn’t miss a beat when a baby (she is not a child hater but just finds them annoying) starts crying during a show. Meet the unladylike Radhika Vaz.

C

all me whatever you like, but don’t call me lady.”

Radhika Vaz is the epitome of cool.

The short-haired, enthusiastic, notso-much-of-alady has had it with tradition. What is all the fuss about? Radhika Vaz is not afraid to ask the ‘unaskable’ or speak the ‘unspeakable.’ I mean, she will probably name whom-that-shall-notbe-named before Mr.Potter. Radhika Vaz brings her life experience to the stage and isn’t afraid to talk about issues most of us would shy away from.

Getting older has changed a lot of thing in her life. Now she can tell people to mind their own business.

She maybe hairier, not because of age, but because she stopped giving

When did you know you were funny?

I think I always was funny.

I loved making people laugh and doing whatever it took.

My dad is also a very funny guy. (Her school friends testify to the fact).

How do people react to your show?

As a professional, I don’t focus on how the crowd is going to react, before the show. That is the beauty of a live show. In a crowd of 100, if ten people are enjoying the show, I will perform for them. I have had people reacting negatively to my shows. The point is that you have to go on with a lot of confidence. Your value should not go down.

What do you bring to the crowd?

Stand-up comedy is still young. A lot of people are new to the format. The aging process is something else that affects all of us. I bring these issues to light from my personal experiences.

Some may feel awkward at first. Some people are scared that if they laugh

too loud that they will bring attention on themselves. So your audience needs to be warmed up. Once a few people let themselves go, others will join in. Don’t worry; I don’t pick on people much. Don’t feel shy about sitting in the front row.

Who is the stereotypical Indian woman?

You really can’t stereotype her.

Though there is a general expectation that an Indian girl is a “good” girl. She doesn’t drink, she doesn’t smoke, she always crosses her legs when she is sitting, she doesn’t talk loudly; she doesn’t shout. I don’t think this is true anymore. We have such a diverse culture.

What do you think of the ‘mundu’?

Men should show off their legs too.

The mundu is interesting. My father wears a lungi to sleep, so I am used to it. When I landed in CIAL, Kochi, I got this cool picture of four men in mundu: two of them had folded it up.

So stand up, popularity... and then Bollywood?

I used to take Improv classes in NYC, and I have a lot of actor friends. As a performer, most of my work is acting related. I am definitely motivated to be involved in films. There are good movies being made like Finding Fanny, Queen, Mary Kom, etc. which show contemporary life. Well, I’m a writer; maybe I will write for movies. I could do an item number… in my own way.

Which comedians do you watch?

Jim Carr, Bill Hicks, Patrice O’Neal and most definitely Joan Rivers. I also watch what people recommend. It’s great to have Youtube where all the material is always accessible.

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women TODAY

Shakti Mohan

dancing on the Edge of Glory Shakti Mohan is one of those dancers who has proved to the world that people can breathe with their feet. FWD Life gets into a conversation with her and here is what she had to say.

Text: Aabha Muralidharan Photos: Shakti Mohan

W

e live day to day, routines and schedules serving as our navigators.

Are we really living or are we just existing?

She saw with her eyes, wrote with her mind and dreamt with her feet. Shakti Mohan, one of the country’s most talented and hottest dancers, has already set a benchmark in the field of dancing.

She started training in bharatnatyam and continued for 8 years, along with her studies. For someone who’s got dance in her genes, intelligence takes a stride like her dance moves. She topped Mumbai University, St. Xaviers College in the year 2006, which gave her a boost to pursue IAS as a career.

The Terence Lewis Dance Foundation Scholarship Trust offered Shakti a three year scholarship in dance. With

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her dance training she balanced her masters in political science. Shakti took her dance to the national level by auditioning for the most watched dance reality show “Dance India Dance” season 2. From being a winner of Dance India Dance to getting featured on a BBC show-world Collaboration Culture series, Shakti Mohan has unquestionably become an inspiration to millions.

How did dancing happen in your life?

As a hobby, it happened when I saw Neeti, my elder sister dancing and performing at every family gathering possible. It came very naturally to me, and I loved performing. It turned into a career option with my interest getting developed over the years participating in dance competitions. A point came in my life when I was confused between Dance and IAS, and I am glad I made the right choice.

How did the transition from classical

dance to contemporary happen?

I fell in love with the contemporary dance form when I saw Terence Lewis Contemporary Dance Company perform in Mumbai. I was so much in awe of it, and I never thought that moment would make me join the institute and succeed in this profession.

As a mentor how has Terence Lewis changed you?

Completely, as a mentor, dance teacher, therapist, counsellor, I can call him a friend who I respect a lot. He is always there and giving me the most practical and realistic advice. He made me grow, he pushed me, challenged me, made me cry, made me win. I owe everything to him. I am so blessed to have him in my life.

The audience rave when you and Kunwar Amar perform together. How has the journey been so far with him as the perfect dancing partner?

women TODAY

Shakti Mohan

“You can make your decisions; god has made us all equal then why do men get to decide. If you don’t do it now, it will never happen for you.”

It happens very rarely when we see some people perform together, and we feel the love, passion and the unending chemistry.

It’s a gift, and I feel so fortunate to have a dance partner and a friend like Kunwar. We just know how much to give and take when we are dancing, I know when our lifts are getting shaky and I know and trust that he will not let me fall. So I guess, partly Terence sir is responsible for creating this magical dancing couple.

Do you think that Dil Dosti Dance has changed the general perception of dance in India? At least in the urban areas?

Yes, it has, DID, D3 with these shows on TV, people are more confident calling them dancers or considering dance as a serious profession. When I thought of being a dancer, I had no clue what I would be one day. I felt so loved and blessed by God that the

audience has appreciated me and created a place for a dancer like me in the industry.

tance, love from all the world. Contemporary being my dance language, I feel very powerful and free dancing it.

You were selected for the BBC World Collaboration Culture series, how did “Cultural Collaboration” happen in your life? How has the experience been?

It just happened when I was planning to go to NYC for training that I got a call from BBC, London. I thought someone’s joking with me, but then I realised it’s happening for real. The experience was great at every level, performing in Manhattan School of music with the most talented composers and musicians in the world. It was overwhelming.

What is your message to all the women who want to chase their dreams and mark their names?

As women, we are told what we are, who we are, what our role in the society is, etc. etc.... Break all the traditional norms made to restrict a woman and to confine her to household chores till eternity and make your world filled with ‘YOU’. You can make a change; you can be strong, responsible, independent and powerful. You can make your decisions; god has made us all equal, then why do men get to decide.

If you don’t do it now, it will never happen for you. Never give up. Don’t let anyone tell you what your limitations are, because you are limitless. If you choose to work hard every single day of your life, there is no way you will not succeed.

Which is that one dance form that makes you feel empowered when you perform?

I feel empowered as a woman dancing and receiving appreciation, accep-

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Kathakali Troupe

Playing a Man’s Art FWD life gets in touch with the world’s first and one of its kind all women’s Kathakali troupe.

Text: Aabha Muralidharan Photos: Ramesh Varma and Aabha Muralidharan

An act from Prahladacharitham. trolling through the veranda, I was led to the Tripunithura Temple Ootupura. The chimes of pancharimelam rang in my ears. As I walked into the green room, I could hear those feminine laughs and titters. I saw a few many women getting ready for their enactment of Duryodhanavadham. If an experience could be a transformation then what I witnessed sufficed. There they sat patiently, as their faces slowly got masked. Ironically it was to reveal another story. The lashes flickered in intensity, I could sense the excitement.

They were getting ready for their role reversals. From the initial makeup to the final positioning of

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A Kathakali artist inserts Chundapoovu or Solanum pubesscuce.

Kireedam(crown), I was lucky enough to capture all these moments with my eyes and write stories in my mind Grandeur Of Kathakali It is true to say that Kathakali, a highly complex and stylized temple art form is where Gods and Demons come to play. Probably the only art form where the audience can see the emotions ascend and reach its impeccable best. For instance, in the Duryodhanavadham, one gets to see a vengeful Bhima dancing in fury clashing with Dushasana on the battlefield. The pinnacle of the play is the convergence of conflicted emotions. Bhima dances his hunger for avenge; Dushasana his defiance. The fighting takes the form of a duet with

clattering drums and crashing cymbals that are overwhelmingly energetic.

Hands interlinked, the combatants spree on the stage each propelling the other into a new level of spleen. Good triumphs over Evil, as the proverb inevitably goes. Bhima knocks down Dushasana onto the ground with his mace. An out of control Bhima rips out his foe’s entrails and drinks his blood.

In utter oblivion of what is going on, Bhima reaches a point of vengeful ecstasy. As Lord Krishna enters, he begins to return to his senses; realising what he has done, Bhima falls on his face in front of Lord Krishna and begs for pardon. As he receives the lord’s benediction, Bhima’s mannerisms completely change. One can see the anger drain from his body

women TODAY

Kathakali Troupe

Arjuna (Aarcha Gowri Varma) express his worries just before the battle.

An act from Duryodhanavadham.

to be replaced by the tender mood of poignancy, and this is the moment when the audience gets to experience trance. It is probably at these moments when people talk about the divine manifestation through human bodies; Kathakali fulfills that.

Skimming Through The History For more than three centuries, Kathakali, belonged to the upper-class men. Later when the caste system was officially abolished, boys from all the backgrounds were permitted to get themselves trained and perform. It was in 1975, which was coincidentally the International Year of Women, when a group of immensely talented young women formed an all women-troupe.

It was a period when youth festivals

Lord Krishna (Subhadra Varma) advices Arjuna (Aarcha Gowri Varma) just before the battle at Kurukshetra in Duryodhanavadham.

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Kathakali Troupe

Roudra Bhiman from Duryodhanavadham played by Geetha Varma. were gaining momentum among the students, and there was a section for Kathakali. During one such lot, few girls performed, beat the boys and won the prize. And few judges quipped, “Had we knew that they were girls, we wouldn’t have given them the prize.”

Padmasri Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair, the doyen of Kathakali, was then residing in Tripunithura. He took the initiative to give solo performances with girls in it. He called Radhika Varma, Shylaja Varma and few others who perform Kathakali, two women from Palakkad who sing, a woman from Kollam who plays the chenda and formed a group. That’s how the world’s first all-women Kathakali troupe took its first breath - The Tripunithura Kathakali Kendram Ladies Troupe.

Although the troupe had made their presence felt in the field of Kathakali, it was only in 1999, that Kalamandalam recognized this troupe and invited them to perform. “Earlier, people came to watch our performance, not because they felt we were good; because they were curious. Let us see what these

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girls can do! So was their attitude,” says Geetha Varma, one of the senior most members of the troupe.

It was in the year 2002 that the troupe made its international debut.

Three months and 19 shows. During one of these shows, Radhika Varma, the first woman of the troupe did a demonstration about 9/11 at Washington. “When asked the audience whether they understood anything, what we received was utter silence. We heard whispers and then the audience started shouting ‘It is 9/11!’.” quipped Radhika Varma. The demonstration culminated with a thumping applause. The misconception of Kathakali not being understood by common men stood as a contradiction to this event.

Being a woman is not easy. Being a woman artist is all the more difficult.

One of the major drawbacks of the troupes now is that there are no female chenda artists. The troupe mourns the fact that many talented women who were part of the group before marriage had to leave soon after their wedding. When asked about

the changing audience for Kathakali over the years, Parvathy Menon, also a senior artist in the troupe said, “the number of youngsters who come to watch Kathakali has definitely gone over the years. But for the performance which lasts through the night, which also is very rare now, we find very little audience.”

When asked about what the biggest achievement of the troupe is, Geetha Varma says, “We started performing when we were not even allowed to think of performing. We started from there. It has been nearly 30 years since we have been performing. We have done about 1500 performances.

The biggest achievement that we feel proud about is that today girls and young women are coming up and performing with male artists. We could probably say that we are a reason for this.”

I realize that walking into a man’s world might be difficult but is certainly not impossible. The group stands as strong pillars, not just reflecting the past, but as living examples who’d inspire the generations to come.

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wOMEN TODAY

Drama

My Unfair Lady

Meet Seema Biswas, Teejan Bai, Kalyanee Mulay and M D Pallavi – four women who have engraved their names in the area of performing arts and aren’t afraid to depict women’s injustice.

Text: Aabha Muralidharan Photos: Ramesh Varma Kalyani Mulay in unSeen

stirred bafflement in me was when the curtain fell at Ekharya, India’s first solo drama performance festival.

All the performances opened up to new perspectives, especially Indian plays. They are more open-ended than reductive. One may think plays are passive, but it stimulates interaction and institutes a dialogue. It may not be interpersonal or even a critique. It could mean, intra-personal. That’s the deepest, just when you’re immersed in introspection.

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The Soaring Lioness I saw her as one; she had a guttural voice, as she talked about a scene called “Dushasana Vadh” from the war of Kurukshetra. That ferocity was portrayed in her bright red sari with a dot of vermilion on her forehead. She walked with a swagger of gadadhaari Bhim.

Dr.Teejan Bai, the first woman from the Pardhi community, is known to perform a form called Pandavani. This time it opened it with an iconic story from the Mahabharatha. Her ballad resonated with the phrase “Tohe sharam laaj na aaye Nakul” (Don’t you feel a little bit

of shyness?). Her indelible Draupadi Cheerharan from the lore Mahabharat made her exemplary, but also infamous.

Ostracized by her community, she took the bold decision to sing the Pandavani professionally. When asked about the barbarity done on women, she said, “The atrocities have fairly reduced compared to our times. These days, girls are well educated and soaring to better heights.”

Sharpness, truths and bluntness As long as we live in a society that is reigned over by male heterosexual norms, female bodies will continue to be “user-

wOMEN TODAY

friendly” and “saleable”. In the play, C Sharp C Blunt, the concept was based on a plight only going in circles: a loop.

A question on gender construction, how folkways frame boys and girls.

It narrated stories of three women: a germinal singer who’s forced by a lady director to sing songs that are equivocal.

It’s worse when her parents cannot embrace her independence and society nags her about marriage. Then an actress who was coerced to expose herself in a rape scene. In life, she’s pestered by the society’s questions about her husband’s opinion, her late working hours and higher salary. Finally a software (an app named Shilpa) which becomes self-aware and starts utilizing data about human perverted preferences for its advantage.

Singer MD Pallavi has calibrated the moods and situations with the looping, pitch-shifting, overlaying and processing voices. Her humor was a lesson that laughter could only ease the pain. All of the characters shared problems that could not break out from the loop.

Eyes beyond the unSeen One may despise the truth, but it is an inevitable fact of life. When girls breathe for the first time, it isn’t just the oxygen but fumbled words of “must do”. unSeen starts with a 10-minute stream that gushes forth hysterical self-suspicion.

How should she carry herself so that she does not provoke a man to paw her or how she shouldn’t get caught in a man’s eye? The play probes Rabindranath Tagore’s misconstrued notion of womanhood (women are intellectually and physically weaker than men). Kalyanee Mulay bluntly depicts a woman’s quotidian rituals: menstruation, depilation, dressing up. Donned in a necklace draped with clunky kitchen utensils, she shook her hips in a skirt cut from a plastic washbasin. Her handbag was made from a bent frying pan, and she essayed a women’s journey in an astounding way.

Mesmerized by Monologues One of the final performances took me to a blank state of mind, as symbolic as the body adorned in white cloth. She lay on a wooden base in a crematorium with a fierce smell of incense. Seema Biswas, the

Drama

Padmabhushan Dr. Teejan Bai recites her ballad.

Seema Biswas in Jeevit ya Mrit.

National Award winner was a cynosure among the audience. Jeevit ya Mrit directed by Anuradha Kapoor is the story of a widow, Kadambini. Taken by her relatives and left to be burnt, Kadambini gains consciousness.

The rest of the play is about the monologues that set foot in the dominion of dreams, desires, sights and interior landscapes inhabited by memory. The dramatic lighting and thumping music enhanced the soliloquies. They were narrated not only with superb modulation, but also a surreal navigation through different deaths in many widows’ lives.

When asked about feminist theatre to Anuradha Kapoor she quipped, “ There is

MD Pallavi in C sharp C Blunt

no border to distinguish something called feminist theatre. It could be remarked as a different way to tell a story.”

I was overwhelmed by the fact that theatre and artists have the prowess to move you; deeply, which probably even cinema may not be able to do so. I could feel my nerve wrench as I saw artists venting out on stage. From raising certain questions on democracy, basic existence of women, how human lives have become like a circus to introducing a completely new genre called object theatre, the topics were divergent, but what stayed along with me was the energy on stage they had displayed. Even after the wrap up, it was unfathomable. Unreal.

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Women TODAY

Janice Pariat

Under the Sea Meet, Janice Pariat, who tells stories in a different light and her new book Seahorse. She astounds us with her accolades such as The Sahitya Academy Young Writer Award and the Crossword Book Award as she writes away.

Text: Ronnie Kuriakose Photos: Various Sources

ust when I was about to categorically conclude that all novels set in India are deep cold wells, and their authors are glorified well-diggers who lead their readers down a spiral staircase etched to the well-walls into a sullen heart of Indian poverty, with promises of untold treasures and redemption, my eyes fell on the bright blue colors of the book Boats on Land by Janice Pariat. And after I had devoured the book, I realized how very wrong I was.

Boats on Land, Janice Pariat’s collection of short stories, reinvent the art of storytelling. If it is not the lyrical, folklore-ish writing that grips you, it is then the serene landscape of North East,

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the subtle elements of fantasy that crops up at the fringes of these stories that do.

Every story begins with an absence.

In SEAHORSE, Janice Pariat’s new novel, it starts in medias res, with the sudden disappearance of Nicholas, an art professor with whom Neremiah, the protagonist, had fallen in love with.

Neremiah or Nem, is a student of English literature at Delhi University.

Between classes, weed-hazy parties, and the amorous complexities of campus life, he was also immersing himself in a world of pleasure and artistic discovery that Nicholas had conjured.

One day, without warning, Nicholas disappears. And Janice seems to have found the right words to describe this.

“When I tried the door, it opened easily. The bungalow lay still and silent, everything in its place. The dining table set, as though for ghosts, with plates and cutlery, the drawing room tidy with cushions, neatly brushed carpets, an arrangement of dried flowers.

I headed straight to the bedroom.

The bed was made in neat, geometric precision. His things – an extra pair of glasses, a fountain pen, a comb – missing from the bedside table. I walked down the corridor to the study; in all my months at the bungalow I had not seen it so uncluttered, loose papers swept off the floor, the table relieved of tottering piles of books.

In the corner, the aquarium, that bright and complete universe, was empty.

Nicholas did not disappear. He had simply left.”

In the years that followed, Nem cocoons himself in South Delhi, writing for a chic

cultural journal until he is awarded a fellowship to London. There, a cryptic note finds him and plunges him into a search for the art historian. Lives, then like passing ships, are re-illuminated, and his search turns into a reckoning with his past life, love, and sexuality.

A modern retelling of the classic myth of Poseidon and his youthful male devotee Pelops, Seahorse, transforms a simple coming-of-the-age story into an epic drama of loss, love, and healing.

Profile She was awarded the Yuva Puraskar (Young Writer Award) by the Sahitya Akademi (Indian National Academy of Letters) and the Crossword Book Award for fiction in 2013. Her first novel Seahorse was published by Vintage Books, Random House India in November 2014. She studied English Literature at St Stephen’s College, Delhi and History of Art at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London. Her work—including art reviews, cultural features, book reviews, fiction, and poetry—has featured in a wide selection of national magazines & newspapers.

She writes a monthly literary column “Paperwallah” for The Hindu BL Ink. In 2014, she was the Charles Wallace Creative Writing Fellow at the University of Kent, Canterbury.

Currently, she lives in Italy and India.

women TODAY

Books

On the Same Page Like Dr.Seuss says,“Be awesome, be a book nut.” Get carried away with FWD’s selection of books that will take you from the Victorian days to the modern times.

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BOOK LIST 1) The Color Purple Alice Walker “A grown child is a dangerous thing.”

Virginia Wolfe “Women and fiction remain, so far as I am concerned, unsolved problems.”

2) The Second Sex Simone De Beauvoir “If the feminine issue is so absurd, is because the male’s arrogance made it a discussion”

6) Lean In Sheryl Sandberg “In the future, there will be no female leaders. There will just be leaders.”

3) Half of a Yellow Sun Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie “You must never behave as if your life belongs to a man, your life belongs to you and you alone.”

4) Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen “A lady’s imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony in a moment.”

5) A Room of One’s Own

7) Little Woman Louisa May Alcott “I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship.”

8) The Help Kathryn Stockket “I always thought insanity would be a dark, bitter feeling, but it is drenching and delicious if you really roll around in it.”

9) Persepolis Marjane Sartrapi

“We can only feel sorry for ourselves when our misfortunes are still supportable. Once this limit is crossed, the only way to bear the unbearable is to laugh at it.”

10) The Glass Castle Jeannette Walls “Life is a drama full of tragedy and comedy. You should learn to enjoy the comic episodes a little more.”

11) Diary of Anne Frank Anne Frank “People can tell you to keep your mouth shut, but that doesn’t stop you from having your own opinion.”

12) Bossy Pants Tina Fey “When choosing sexual partners, remember: Talent is not sexually transmittable.”

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Women TODAY

Maizie Williams

The Magic of Boney M

In conversation with Boney M’s own Maizie Williams.

Text: : Maria John Photo: Jinson Abraham Location: Le Meridien did they inspire you?

They are so lovely. The billboards were between them and us. It is like, ‘oh, here they are again.’ (Maizie laughs).The first time we met, it was like we already knew each other and started off with big bear hugs.

A song close to your heart and artists you love?

I love Rivers of Babylon. I love many artists including Adele, Jesse J , Will.I.Am, Beyonce, Madonna, Lady Gaga, Sam Smith, etc. I grew up listening to Jackson 5, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Sinatra etc.

aizie Williams is an exceptional personality.

Her energy and charisma is something that is infectious as she is ready with a smile and her openness makes it easy for me to forget that I am interviewing a global phenomenon. She is delighted to be in Kochi and is soaking in the warmth of the sun and the people.

Boney M is not just a music band but a global phenomenon. What has this success meant for you?

It is a feeling that you can’t explain. At the beginning you just want to do things.

You don’t imagine this success. Then you go ahead and have fun. Boney M did that.

We did a lot of gigs and worked really hard. We were young and full of energy.

We were always on the road touring. It is wonderful and a blessing that this is the 20th century and I’m still hard at it.

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You have always mentioned that Boney M was family.

We motivated each other and got the best out of each other. That’s how we lasted for so long. When Bobby was asked about the girls, he said that we looked after him. I was his little sister, making sure he always ate and kept healthy. Marcie was the mother. Liz always motivated us to pray and read the Bible.

The name Boney M came from an Aussie detective series. Have you seen it?

Yes. Boney was a native Australian detective, who had a skeleton painted on his body with chalk. He used to have a characteristic dance. Coincidently when we found Bobby, he was exactly like Boney, even the dancing. The M added a finishing touch to the name. We later realized that the M was drawn with four strokes, representing four members.

Boney means to penetrate to the bone.

So let’s just say that Boney M is the penetrating 4!

ABBA was your biggest competition. How

Boney M was about bling, shine, and big hair.

Image and styling are very important.

We had two designers then. One of them styled the music videos and took care that it related to the music and was original.

The other traveled with us and knew each of us so well that she would always pick out the right clothes even if we were not there. Boney M has always carried a strong image and it will be wrong not to continue that. We have the hairstyles, the costumes and the same energy for the show here.

Where do you find the energy, even today?

I try take to care of myself and lead a healthy life. My inspiration was my grandmother who never had any serious illness and lived to be 97! I eat only natural food and do kick boxing. I have done an exercise video and have come out with a book on natural food and habit.

The joke was that what everyone eats, Maizie would put in the bath or on her face. During the heydays, the band tried to pace ourselves so that we didn’t burn out. We had a lot of work coming at us.

So whenever we got time we relaxed and got rejuvenated for the next session. You have to make the time. Don’t think too much, just do it.

WOMEN TODAY

MUSIC

Put Your Records On

The rhythm will get you, and yes we’ve got a playlist tuned to your taste.

ick off with music this month! Get jazzed up and kick some heels or laze in the lyrics of your favorite song.

In the Soul Play collection, recline in your tub and relax to those songs that make you feel special. From the classics of Nina Simone to the powerful voice of Alicia Keys and Christina Aguilera, be inspired by their lyrics. If you are in the mood for some ‘Girl Power’, put on a mean face and jam with the Fierce Face playlist.

When the evening sets in, and you’re in the mood to croon, enjoy breaking into a little dance with the Crank up the Karaoke playlist. As the night sets in, jive and feel alive with our dance playlist, take a dance chance! Wherever and whatever you do, you’ve got a tune for that perfect moment!

Soul Play

Fierce Face

Crank up the Karaoke

Take a Dance Chance

Fast forward, rewind, or just pause and listen to songs that are soothing.

Did you know Christina Aguilera won a Grammy for her powerful song, Beautiful?

• Feeling Good- Nina Simone • Alanis Morissette – You Oughta Know • A Woman’s Worth- Alicia Keys • Put Your Records on – Corrine Bailey Rae • Same Love –

Macklemore with Ryan Lewis featuring Mary Lamb • Beautiful – Christina Aguilera • Unwritten – Natasha Beddingfield

Up for some feminist anthems? Did you know Bikini Kill’s was one of the most iconic feminist anthems? It was recorded three times by the band.

• Bad Reputation - Joan Jett • So What- Pink • Hot Topic - Le Tigre

There are some songs that never loses its rhythm. I will Survive; it’s a double platinum hit by the RIAA and the most popular disco anthem.

You may have two left feet, but when you hear these tunes you can’t help and shake it off. Shake your booty with the current favorite.

• None of Your

Business Salt-N-Pepa • No Scrubs - TLC • Rebel Girl - Bikini Kill • Suggestion-Fugazi • Maneater – Nelly Furtado • Rolling in the Deep- Adele

• I Will Survive- Gloria Gaynor • Respect- Aretha

Franklin • Girl on Fire – Alicia Keys • All About That Bass - Meghan Trainor • I’m Every Woman — Chaka Khan • Shania Twain – Man! I Feel Like A Woman • Girls Wanna have Fun- Cyndi Lauper

• Wannabe - Spice Girls • Born this Way – Lady Gaga • Chandelier – Sia • Run the World _

Beyonce • Independent Women- Destiny’s Child • Primadonna- Marina and the Diamonds • Fergalicious – Fergie • Shake your Pom Pom - Missy Elliot

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women TODAY

biennale

Mona Lisa Smile The Kochi Muziris Biennale has brought artists from different genres and heritage together. FWD looks at some of the women artists and their works that form a part of the whorled explorations.

Text: Maria John Photos: Suneesh Suresh, Binu Avarachan

Through her art, Mani makes a tapestry of history, experiences and craftsmanship. She is interested in the world of textiles and text like ‘spin a yarn’, and ‘to fabricate.’ Her artworks are multi-layered and have been exhibited around the country.

LAVANYA MANI Vadodara Born 1977 in Hyderabad The artist weaves tales, literally.

Lavanya Mani explores the world of textiles through traditions and techniques of textile painting, printing and embroidery in the country.

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Travellers Tales – Blueprints Cotton fabric with natural dyes and cyanotype.

Aspinwall They hang like the sails of a ship, catching wind in careless abandon.

The bold symbols and the earthy colors of the natural dyes capture your eye. Through the traditional technique of ‘Kalamkari,’ she depicts the role

of textiles in the colonialism of India.

According to her, Kalamkari was so popular in Europe in the 17th century that French and British governments banned it. The blue color of the cyanotype, a photographic medium when applied to cloth and exposed to light represents the ocean and Indigo- a dye that changed history.

The painting also includes texts from travelers in those days.

women TODAY

Parvathi Nayar Chennai Born 1964 in Delhi Parvathi Nayar uses the power of black and white to make abstract portraits of the world. She plays with scale and perspective to create images of the world from microscopes and satellite cameras. It all starts with a point, according to her, that gives rise to the world of art.

The Fluidity of Horizons Drawings on wooden panels Aspinwall hanging

biennale

The astrolabe- a device used years ago by astronomers and navigators to mark the time and position of celestial bodies. The instrument is depicted as the base of the drawing with maps and geographical reference to the intricate layouts of cells merged. Maps of the world and our lives intertwined with references to the Malabar Coast and its rich trade history. A large peppercorn looms over a turbulent Arabian Sea. Intricate pathways of subatomic particles. Parvathi Nayar asks you to look at the world from different perspectives with various references.

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women TODAY

biennale

Navjot Altaf Mumbai Born 1949 in Meerut Her work with communities and indigenous artists has garnered a lot of attention. Her pieces are interactive and seek to include art within the fabric of community life. An early encounter with Marxism led to her interest in feminism and has been a part of shaping the artist’s perceptions and work.

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Mary Wants to Read a Book Wood, paper, audio and video Aspinwall A tall library shelf with a rainbow of books. More than 2,000 books with recycled paper, each with a text from the artist’s research signify the literacy of the state and its recent developments. The books and the shelf also are the 3D documentation of the

continental temperature rise over the last 2000 years. The work creates a conversation between development and environmental changes. It implores you to look at progress and our experiences that could result in ecological disasters. The multiple significances of the various elements are interesting and during the last two weeks of the Biennale, one can take away the books.

women TODAY

biennale

Undercurrent Light bulbs and cables Aspinwall

Mona Hatoum Germany and UK Born 1952 in Lebanon Objects acquire different identities in the hands of Mona Hatoum. She turns mundane objects into pieces that question identities, references, and multiple meanings. The experiences she creates are uncanny and rather poetic.

A square mat woven of cables unravel outwards to bloom into light bulbs.

The meandering lines of the cables never touch away from the rigid source they arise from. The light of the bulbs fluctuate a warm yellow, either a sign of warning or the rhythm of breathing. They never stop, just like the world that ebbs and flows with danger and happiness. The pulse of the light will hold you entranced as people swarm about looking at the various exhibits.

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women TODAY

biennale

Hamra Abbas Pakistan and the USA Born 1976 in Kuwait Hamra Abbas works extensively with photography, performance and multimedia art. She is known for her pieces that re-address iconic images and other symbols of historical, religious, and cultural importance.

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Kaaba Pop-ups Printed paper CSI Bungalow Rows of origami are what you notice as you walk into the dimly lit room at CSI Bungalow. The 24 handmade paper sculptures in various shades of blue are folded into intricate Islamic stalactite patterns. Enclosed in acrylic boxes, the paper folds into

a three dimension cube in the center.

This is modeled on the ‘Kaaba’, the cuboid structure in the center of the mosque in Mecca. The ‘Kaaba’ is an integral part of the faith and is a recurring image in Muslim homes. The fragile nature of paper contrasts the monument and its significance. It also serves as the representation of nature, faith, sky and the seas. A modern take on the traditional symbol.

women TODAY

biennale

In, Between the Pages Multimedia installation Pepper House

Sumakshi Singh New Delhi Born 1980 in New Delhi The world is an illusion. Sumakshi Singh is known for her interactive installations that allow the viewer to inhabit and alter the moment with their involvement. Her constant conversations with the external and internal serve as a locus and reference to space, time, culture, history and ourselves.

The pages of a book have moving images of everyday things projected onto it. Behind lays a maze of hanging paper scrolls. You are surrounded by familiar images of birds, animals, coconut trees and the like. The images cross planes and boundaries while you walk among them. The cosmology of Surya Siddantha; a Sanskrit text on astronomy, Hortus Malabaricus; a 17th-century study of Kerala’s flora and the landing of Vasco da Gama form the narratives. At another end, a projection ties the maze together where the viewers find themselves as part of the image and the telling of the story.

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FWD Beauty

make-up

The Face Work Out You have a very busy schedule in your hands and it seems impossible to look refreshed. Get a natural face lift with these simple make-up techniques.

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Layer Skincare Work on skin care formulas, use a wet and hydrating cream with a rich more dense balm. It gives your face a fuller appearance.

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Lighten Up If you want your face to immediately radiate, use a peach-toned corrector and then try a yellow- concealer under the eyes.

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Lush and Creamy The first step is to avoid oil-free and matte foundation. They tend to emphasize on lines and wrinkles. Stick to creamy and moisture rich foundations. Moisturizing balms also help settle into creases.

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Go and Glow For a fresh glow, layer two blushes. Apply a natural shade on the apples of the cheeks; blend up toward the hairline, then back downward to soften the color. Finish with a brighter shade just on the apples of the cheeks.

Define your Eyes While you want to accentuate your eyes, you could start with your eyebrows with a shadow that’s color coordinated with your hair.

Fine details can be done with an eye brow brush and an eye definer brush.

If you have scanty eye brows, apply the brow shadow.

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Lash it Out Make sure your upper and lower lashes are lined with a suitable eyeliner. One mistake that is normally made is when the upper line is not visible, when your eyes are open.

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Lips are Moving You can create the look of fuller lips when you use creamy lipsticks or high shine glosses. Make sure the colors are not too dark and at the same time not too pale.

Line Up Common mistake made while applying lipstick, feathering. It’s when there is an overly harsh looking line with your lips. This happens when it’s done with a blunt lip pencil.

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Sinin Sathar | Make Up artist tIPS Tips on how to move from day to night with make-up?

Get radiant and healthy complexion with tinted moisturizer, cream blush on the apples of your cheeks and sheer pink gloss on your lips.

With all the sheer textures, bronze shadow and mascara make eyes glam, not makeup-heavy. To amp up your workday look, just add pressed powder, gunmetal-colored metallic shadow and nude lipstick for a sultry, smoky finish.

How not to get overboard with makeup and still stay away from the regular like kohl and lip gloss?

• Wear foundation or a tinted moisturizer. That’ll help diffuse the light more evenly, and blemishes won’t pop out.

• Wear blush on your cheeks. I can’t stress this one enough.

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A little black eyeliner on the inner lash line of your top lid will help define them without looking too Amy winehouse.

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Wear a flattering, natural lip color.

I recommend wearing a rosy pink lipstick with a dab of gloss on the middle of your bottom lip.

• Groom your brows. It takes five seconds, but you’ll be glad you did.

(The opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect those of FWD MEDIA PVT Limited.)

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FWD Beauty

HAIR

Let your Hair do the Talking You can create volumes with your hair, but your hairstyle says a lot about you too.

Text: Chetana Tarun Photos: Various Sources Based on a study of ‘hair and first impressions’, its proven, people begin forming a first impression about the type of person you are. It’s not your face that gives you away; it’s your

hairstyle. Let us look out for the signature hairstyles that has been pulled off by powerful and influential personalities around the world.

Anna Wintour: Editor-in-chief of the US magazine Vogue and certainly an important and powerful leader in the fashion industry.

Over many years, her smooth chinlong bob with the straight fringes to her eyebrows has become part of her signature style. She blow-dries her accurately cut hair to a smooth shine.

The ends of her hair are brushed inward. Her hairstyle expresses perfection and discipline. It can be softened by a smile and be deepened by an expression of cool distance.

Michelle Obama: Mrs. Obama is now 48 years old. A graduate of Harvard Law School and now taken charge of her role as the US First Lady. She wears her hair in soft inward curling waves. Some ends of her full hair naturally turn outward.

She sometimes wears side-swept fringes. Her style puts her on top of her game, yet she still appears soft and feminine. Her hairstyle defines herself as a tough and natural woman.

She shows that a simple hairstyle is enough to make waves.

Nikki | Stylist

Ellen DeGeneres: A woman of many talents. She made a name for herself as a comedian, talk show host, an author and as an actor.

Her platinum blonde boy cut is razor short on the sides. The top hair is just a trace longer. Her look and her style are one: lively, bold and just a little on the naughty side. Ellen DeGeneres wears the hairstyle, which fits her fresh, appealing approach to life and her profession.

tIPS For a day at work, what should you keep in mind if you blow dry and straighten your tresses?

Try not to blow-dry your hair immediately after shampooing or without a heat protectant. Use a wide tooth comb to detangle your hair. Keep the hairdryer nozzle two inches away from your hair and avoid applying too much heat in a single spot.

Travelling and harsh weather is a major issue, a few ways to tackle to it?

Your hair will always need special care for a day out. After shampooing, conditioning or blow dry, use a silicon serum to make sure the cuticle stays smooth, and does not frizz up. Finish it up with a hairspray. Use a small scarf to cover up to protect your hair from sun and dust.

Oprah Winfrey The richest African American woman in the United States of America today. She has become the forerunner of countless successful African American woman entrepreneurs today.

Her hairstyles show the glow and vibrancy on which she built her highly successful career. She rocks a larger than life, curly afro that is fit for any red carpet and beyond.

When you maintain a consistent hairstyle how can you still look different?

Put your hair up in a regular bun.

It’s classic, easy, and looks good on pretty much everyone.

Try a casual, messy bun too or a trendy hair bow or try different styles of braiding. Set it up with hairspray, it will give you a different look.

(The opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect those of FWD MEDIA PVT Limited.)

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Wanna make someone Jealous ?

HAIRDRESSING

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FWD Beauty

Skin

The Skin Regime Skin care is always the one that you miss out. However, with minimal effort and time, you can have healthy skin! It is just all about paying attention to what is important.

Text: Chetana Tarun Photos: Various Sources You may be a mom or a working person, or an avid traveler, or maybe even just tired. In any case, you may realize you are constantly juggling your priorities. With too many things in the air, you are likely to drop one and as soon as one hits the ground, the rest will likely come tumbling down.

When you have tons of different skin care products staring at you, it can all start to feel too overwhelming. Instead of feeling bogged down or suffocated by so many options, pare down your routine. Despite what commercials might be telling you, you only need a few key items to keep your skin healthy. You do not need any twelvestep program.

Dr.Cuckoo Mathai|MBBS, DD Consultant Dermatologist Nedumchalil Trust Hospital tIPS

A.M. Skin Care Routine Get ready to face your day in a jiff and select the routine you can stick to.

Cleanse with a non-soap cleanser (try Cataphyll Daily Facial Cleanser) Gently exfoliate (try Lancer Dermatology Polish) Prevent or correct with vitamin C and antioxidants (try Skin Ceuticals C E Ferulic) UVA/UVB protection (try Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunblock SPF 70) P.M. Skin Care Routine

Photo Credits: Suneesh Suresh

Your night time routine can be extremely simple and could include the following: Cleanse Correct/Repair with a retinoid (try Retin-A from your dermatologist or RoC Retinol Correxion Deep Wrinkle Night Cream)

How does food with low glycemic index help the skin?

Food with low glycemic index suppresses our appetite, and it helps us to eat better. It indirectly affects the skin because you are eating healthy. Some examples of food with low glycemic index are oats, soya proteins, soya milk, whole wheat and leafy vegetables.

What are some of the food that we eat that contribute the most to salt reduction in our skin?

Mainly all fruits. Vegetables, natural fruit juices, home cooked meals and water too reduce salt content. Avoid food with additives like MSG, preservatives, etc Makeup clogs our skin. Any home remedies to help avoid this?

Always remove all traces of makeup before going to bed. Mix milk with green gram powder to make a coarse paste and use as a scrub. Do not use this exfoliant more than three times a week.

Another remedy is a scrub made of coarsely ground oats, curd and lime.

(The opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect those of FWD MEDIA PVT Limited.)

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Relax… it’s that easy

S48, Second Floor, LULU Mall Edappally Kochi. 682024 For Booking

0484 4021111- 8111977777

2015 FEBRUARY FWD VIVAH 17 APRIL 2015 FWD LIFE 77

A tete a tete with nature Model : Sajitha. K Photography / Editing : Jackson James Makeup : La Femme Costume Courtesy : Sajitha. K

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Marigold Bloom She’s wearing a tangerine salwar kameez with a complimenting dupatta.

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Walk to Remember With her defined eyes and a well cut dress, she looks classy.

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Rock on the rocks She looks effortlessly elegant in a purple sleeveless frock teamed with a pair of black boots.

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PROMOTION

Weaving your

Masterpieces

Lulu Celebrate is that one stop destination where dreams of every bride comes true. With a well efficient team of master weavers, they truly make masterpieces.

Text: Aabha Muralidharan Photos: Manish M & Lulu Celebrate

eddings are a huge affair and such massive events have to be special. With mannequins draped in bridal saris and exotic lachas that look out of this world, a walk inside Lulu Celebrate is like a fairytale journey. Lulu Celebrate is probably the only bridal boutique that has a modern boutique atmosphere with a personalized approach by its staff. The store is a one of a kind bridal wedding destination in Kerala which showcases three floors of exclusive ethnic

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bridal collection with an array of traditional and contemporary designs.

Lulu Celebrate has some of the most beautifully crafted tissue brocade Kanchipuram sarees, Kanchipuram tissue brocade with bawanchi border and Kanchipuram tissue brocade with golden and silver zeri. The sarees exhibited are the artistry of weavers who have added to the weft and waft of saree weaving.

Lulu Masterpiece is a unique section by the group which has the finest and meticulously chosen dresses, exclusively woven by the traditional weaving artists spread across the country. The masterpieces among

the saree collections include fusion sarees, designer sarees, traditional Kancheepuram pure silk with pure zeri, Ikath and Uppada silk which are exclusively woven and transported from Andhra Pradesh, Zardosi designer collection and few others.

The materials used for making the Masterpiece Collection are velvet, jute, net, silk, imported lace fabric and raw silk.The works done on these are Kundan, Zardosi, velvet patch, mirror work, cut work, gota, Resham (with and without Swarovski stones) and antique work.

Under Salwars, there are floor lengths, straight cuts, palazzos and Karachi

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promotion

style dresses. The works done are Resham (thread), beads, pearl and stones. In addition to these, the Masterpiece Collection also includes wedding lacha, wedding gown, lacha materials, lacha materials and Arabic lacha. When asked about the speciality of Lulu Celebrate, Mohammed Ameen, Director Operations - Lulu Celebrate said, “The uniqueness of Lulu Masterpiece is that there will be just one piece of that particular design. Everyone is looking out for a change. They are all limited pieces but are exclusive. These works come from Kancheepuram, Delhi, Calcutta, Mumbai etc. We have also employed a fashion designing team who are master weavers. What they do is Zardosi work, hand embroidery, stone and kundan work, etc.”

Have you ever heard of Jalabiya? It is an exclusive edition of bridal wear, similar to a lacha worn by Arabic brides.The only difference is that, it is heavily embroidered and has a knee-length top that falls below the knee, covering three fourth of the skirt, exposing the flares at the bottom lavishly worked with embellishments.

The signature designs at ‘Celebrate’ exude panache that is synonymous to the enigmatic appearance of a Mughal bride. Most of the designer sarees

come in net, chiffon or crepe silk fabric with Zardosi work, embroidery or embellishments, with pearl or high quality sequences. The pretty bridal lacha stitched in raw silk and net fabrics, designed with perfect fitted fish cut skirts heavy with zardosi work, coloured stones and French knot designs are perfect for your big day.

Mr. Ameen adds, “Brides dream and we make them come true.”

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pROMOTION

Chikankari collection

from Fabindia Intricate detailing, elegant patterns, gossamer feel. Fabindia recreates the royal splendor of chikankari in contemporary styles, with their new collection of garments and accessories in serene whites and soothing colors for the season.

unique amalgam of craft and trend, this collection offers you an exciting, summer-fresh range of Indian and western wear extending from tunics, tops, dresses, short kurtas to skirts,

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dupattas, stoles and kurtas.

The garments have flattering silhouettes and interesting details such as bell sleeves, gathers, necklines, cross over empire lines, short yokes, multi paneled patterns, anarkali cuts, mukaish work and more.

The craft of ‘Chikankari’, one of the most popular traditional embroidery techniques in India, is beautifully highlighted on classic whites as well as trendy colors. Explore the range of sprinkled floral motifs, jaals to diagonal patterns and layouts in different chikankari stitches such as tepchi, murri, jaal, phanda and zanzeera.

Complete the look with dupattas and stoles highlighting fine chikankarijaals and placement motifs in colours which perfectly complement the garments collection. Offering choices for the whole family, besides the extensive range for women, the collection

has kurtas for men, with intricate chikankari patterns which make it ideal for evening wear and formal occasions.

Fabindia’s product range extends from a large variety of garments for men, women, teens and children to home furnishing, floor covering, furniture, gift-ware, jewellery, organic food and personal care products. Fabindia’s success as a retailer, its business model, distinctive identity as a brand and the company’s journey as a committed social entrepreneur have turned it into a case-study at business schools like Harvard Business School and Indian Institute of Management (Bangalore): the case is taught and regularly discussed across the globe.

What makes this an exciting case is the distance it spans – the seemingly insurmountable chasm between Bharat and India, with the company acting as a bridge that links the urban consumer and the rural producer, translating urban demand for rural producers, and giving a traditional product a contemporary context.

Presently the company has 186 stores in 75 cities across the country, with eight stores abroad, and an online presence. In 2012, Fabindia increased its stake in EAST, the UK based mainstream women’s wear retailer, to become the majority stakeholder. In 2013, Fabindia entered into a strategic partnership with Organic India, a global manufacturer of organic, herbal and ayurvedic health products and acquired a stake in Bandhej. Fabindia also provides online B2C shopping facilities to support customers across 33 countries, including India.

TECH IT OUT Figuratively, there is a new gadget out everyday. There is an awesome app to choose from millions. There are also more than a billion people shopping online right this moment. Know what to purchase, which app to download and what precautions to take while shopping online.

That and much more to look forward to.

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Gadgets

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Prynt Smartphone picture printer case Not only will you be able to pass around your snaps in physical form, the Polaroid-type prints will also support augmented reality video playback. So what you waiting for?

HP Stream 8 With a fast pace performance and responsiveness that reminds you of lightning, HP Stream 8 is a rocking tab. The razor-sharp resolution and sparkling picture quality will surely captivate you.

Oneboard Pro+ This is not a keyboard. It’s actually a computer smartly hidden in a keyboard. The device connects to a power cord, with a slot for mouse, and can be connected to any display using an HDMI cable.

Livescribe Echo Smartpen The Livescribe Echo Smartpen allows you to record audio while you’re taking notes, and then play them back later. You can save and share interactive notes to your computer, iPad or iPhone via a micro-USB connector that also allows you to recharge your pen. The memory storage holds 400 or 800 hours of recorded audio, depending on the model, and includes an OLED display that makes it easy to navigate smartpen apps.

Apple watch The Apple watch works with iOS 8. It makes communication easier than ever before allowing you to get incoming message alerts. It also keeps track of your routine, keeping you on the road to fitness. You can customize your apple watch face according to your needs.

Apple MacBook Air 2015 Apple’s newest MacBook, a super-thin and light device which is 24 percent thinner than an 11 inches MacBook Air laptop, previously the company’s thinnest laptop. It’s 2 pounds and 0.52 inches thick, compared to the 2.38 pound 0.68 inches thick, older model. A 67 percent smaller logic board allows for more room for the battery, which now offers up to nine hours for wireless Web browsing.

Flir One SDK Thermal imager for iphones Flir One SDK will let programmers write apps which access absolute temperature data for all pixels and control the camera’s shutter mode, in both manual and automatic mode.

HP Sprout It comes with the Sprout illuminator- a collective term for a 14.6-megapixel camera and integrated Intel RealSense 3D Sensor that allows it to capture 2D and 3D objects.

The Sprout illuminator is combined with a scanner, depth sensor and digital camera.

Information Courtesy :http://www.itbusinessedge.com/slideshows/show.aspx?c=86885&slide=5

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Authorized Reseller

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for a brand new Mac Kickstart 2015 with the best of gadgets

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iMac 27 - inch Retina 5K Quad Core i5 3.5Ghz 8GB RAM. 1TB Fusion Drive AMD M290X Graphics Wireless Mouse & Keyboard

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Gadgets

The iZZi Remix Premium iPhone case and lens solution The iZZi Slim comes fully loaded with Peripheral Motion Lock Technology. Translation: you get four interchangeable lenses that easily attach to your phone’s camera for professional-style images on the go.

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HP 3545 Wireless printer With laser-sharp document printing that you can get for a lowcost... HP yet again proves why they are the no. 1 producers of printers in the world.

ASUS ET 2040 The Asus All-in-One PC also bears 500GB of inbuilt storage (5400 RPM) and a 1-megaixel webcam for video chats and gesture recognition. The proven reliability of Asus desktop PCs for a truly remarkable computing experience is vindicated again.

WRT 1900 AC Linksys Engineered to be the best-in-class networking performance, the Linksys WRT1900AC Dual Band Gigabit Wi-Fi Router gives the ultimate experience and Wi-Fi coverage for your home.

Nest Learning Thermostat Nest Learning Thermostat is a smart innovation. The gadget learns what is your most comfortable temperature and then adjusts the room temperature to that temperature. It is Wi-Fi enabled and helps to conserve energy

Amazon Kindle Voyager Amazon has made the Voyager clearer, brighter and faster to interact with. If you love reading on a commute and want to save the load of carrying books with you, this is the stuff to buy!

ASUS Padfone Mini The unique ASUS design innovation allows you to easily transform your smartphone into a tablet . With a 2560 processor for best performance and power efficiency, ASUS Padfone Mini offers you the best browsing experience for your smartphone - all without compromising on battery life.

Information Courtesy :http://www.itbusinessedge.com/slideshows/show.aspx?c=86885&slide=5

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Authorized Reseller

Shot on iPhone 6 iPhone 6 gives you the most unique

Photo and video capturing experience.

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online shopping

Precautions Like everything online shopping too has its downfall. It is not always the most economical way of purchase and one needs to be aware.

here are almost 400 crore onlineshoppers today in the world.

Before you, your family, or friends (e.g. Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn) spend another rupee online, please take a moment to safeguard yourself from the perils of online shopping.

1) Fake Online Reviews Most of the reviews you read online aren’t true. Sellers usually have someone paid to write a briefing.

Many reviewers have actually confessed to writing a dishonest review for which they are paid. This helps in boosting the sales, more profit for the companies ffrom a mediocre product. So next time you are paying for something just on the basis of online reviews, think twice.

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2) Lack Of Full Cost Disclosure There is always a hidden cost for the product you ordered. Additional fees like shipping charges might actually cost more than that you planned to pay for and there is a chance you actually end up paying more than what you could get the same product for in a retail store near you.

When you buy a laptop or desktop online, they don’t always come with the software installed.

3) Counterfeit Goods Many e-commerce companies are having difficulty keeping counterfeits off their site. Research should be done if you are looking to buy from second hand sales sites as pictures don’t always speak the truth.

Don’t feel shy to ask as many questions to the person you are buying from.

4) Order Never Arriving Not everybody’s order gets delivered on time. Sometimes there are even instances where your order gets lost or even stolen while shipment. The chances of you not getting the product increases when you are purchasing from third parties sellers 5) Identity Theft If someone steals your card numbers and accounting details your entire account is exposed. Within minutes, identity thieves can drain your account and leave you bankrupt. Yes, they are that good these days. Be very sure before making a transaction. Nobody likes to be bankrupt. Would they?

Post sale service could always be tricky for online products. Most brands do not provide warrenty, service for products which are not bought from authorised resellers.

Introducing the tablets that bring friends together.

Venue 7

Venue 8

Powerful IntelŽ Atom™ Processor

HD screen with IPS display

Battery Life upto 7.9 hours

Faster web browsing

HD Display with wide viewing angle

All day productivity

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Gadgets

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Gotta have that !

There is no question that apps make life easier. A present app usually gets upgraded and a new app comes over and steals the show in a fortnight. Blink and you miss something really cool. Not anymore. Here are some cool suggestions for apps that you got to have.

Hotstar The Hotstar App from Star India lets you watch the latest movies, TV shows and live sports free of charge, and is available on Android and iOS. Though they don’t have a huge collection on their library, there is some blockbuster movies that you can watch. One feels a few more modifications to user interface and stability could make it better.

Evernote Evernote helps you complete anything from short lists to lengthy research, no matter what form your writing takes. The app helps you easily gather everything that matters. Clip web articles, capture handwritten notes, and snap photos to keep the physical and digital details of your projects with you at all times.

With this app, your words, images, and documents are always close at hand, making it incredibly easy.

Instagram Facebook-owned Instagram has updated its Android and iOS app with automatic video loop feature, somewhat like Twitter-owned micro-video sharing service Vine. Instagram has already surpassed more downloads than twitter.

If you still don’t have it, you are probably living under a rock.

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Drop Box If you are looking to edit your docs, automatically add photos, and show off videos from anywhere then you need to have Drop Box. It enables to share photos with your friends and work with your team lwhile using your smartphone. Even if your phone is destroyed, all your stuff is safe in Drop Box. Dropbox secures your files with 256-bit AES encryption and two-step verification.

Charge 2 Portable Bluetooth speaker with massive battery for covenient portability and extended playback play.

Flip 2 Portable wireless speaker with 5-hour battery and speakerphone technology

Clip Ultra portable rechargeable Bluetooth speaker with carabiner

Onbeat Rumble Powerful, Bluetooth-enabled loudspeaker dock for iPhone 5 and iPad mini

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Uber Uber is your private driver in more than 50 countries. You can request a ride using the Uber app and get picked up within minutes. On-demand service means no reservations required and no waiting in taxi lines. One can compare rates for different Uber options and get fare quotes in the app. Pay with Google Wallet or PayPal, or add a credit card to your secure Uber account so you never need cash on hand.

Microsoft OneNote Microsoft updated its OneNote for iPad note-taking app with handwriting ability and optical character recognition (OCR) for images. With the Microsoft OneNote for iPad version 2.9 (can be downloaded via App Store), users can now write and draw directly into notes. According to Microsoft Office blog, this was the top requested feature

Pocket The app allows the user to save an article or web page to read later. The article is then sent to the user’s Pocket list for offline reading. Pocket removes clutter from articles and allows the user to adjust text settings for easier reading. More than 12 million users currently uses it with over 1 billion saves made on the app.

NPR One NPR One is an audio app that helps you listen to selected news and stories from the public radio. The app gives you constant feed on the latest updates from around the globe at any time. You can also share your favorite stories with your friends and loved ones with the app.

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Airbnb Airbnb is an app exclusively for travelers.

The app allows you to discover places to visit. It has in store for you more than 34,000 cities. With the app one can make hotel bookings and find rooms for rent. It allows the user to make even last minute bookings. You can also share your favorite travel destinations with your friends. It is also the easiest way to find long-term sublets across thousands of cities.

PhotoMath PhotoMath reads and solves mathematical problems by using the camera of your mobile. Now that is what one calls a real lifesaver. Math will no longer have a mystery unsolved.

Inkflow Inkflow is a drawing, note-taking, doodling app that has many applications.

The pen tool in it can be used at different scales by zooming in, meaning you can fine tune drawing detail like more advanced apps. You can also upload images from your photo library, so the tool can be used to annotate images.

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Down by the Sea

On the sunny side up of Marari, we talk to Chef Aravindan Mahalingam, the Corporate Chef of RAXA Collective at Marari Pearl.

Text : Atheena Wilson Photos: Suneesh Suresh Assisted By: Allen Antony

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FWD FOOD

mARARI PEARL

Sambal marinated chicken skewers with date emulsion

Peking duck Spring Rolls ingerbread houses were always a place I wanted to eat, mainly because it could be munched away. It was a long time ago, of course; now it’s a utopia. Until a few days ago, things took a turn when we drove to Marari Pearl. At first I assumed, seafood will be the highlight of the menu, but the catch of the day was not the main catch of this story.

Amie Inman, the design director of RAXA Collective, gave us a tour.

She mentioned that the aim was to create an ‘edible landscape’. (The gingerbread house just crumbled) The farm to table concept was a breath of fresh air. She visualized in a few years; visitors could have a basket and pick their organic produce fresh from the garden. Passing through the herb and vegetable gardens, rice paddy field and a vast land of banana and other fruit trees, I realized the magic of seeing ingredients growing, before it s

plated.

Chef Aravindan Mahalingam said, “Planting to the menu is the concept.

Going for a healthy option, fused with international flavors.” At Marari Pearl, unlike roses being the centerpiece of the table, fresh herbs are. There your garnish is at the center of your attention, not just an afterthought!

Turning away from tables, we decided to experiment with forms and structure of the resort’s architecture, ambiance and food. The chef sliced the sweet potatoes meticulously, on which the crunchy coiled calamari was placed.

They looked like the intricately woven thatched roofs of the resort.

The fresh lime pastel green walls in the restaurant complemented the tone of the food. While shooting the soy glazed shrimps, the hand carved oars added to its color. The details of wild jackfruit on the beef tenderloin looked simple, but I saw the raw jungle jackfruit. It was so prickly, something one would dread to slice!

On our hunt for locations, we stumbled

upon a verandah that was filled with sea shells, coincidentally the crockery was perfectly shell shaped too. As the sun slowly settled, the shadow cast its reflection on the pool. Crossing lines with the lamb’s racks, the shadows brought a Bresson moment to the photograph. While planning the menu, Chef Aravindan Mahaligam mentioned, “The idea is to use the ingredient you have.” From his experience in Dubai to Ooty, he loved the challenge of incorporating indigenous ingredients.

Fresh from the garden, he poached the cashew fruits that brightened the taste of the sweet potato dessert.

By the poolside were the burst of tangerine chicken skewers, he infused it with a date emulsion. Being used to umpteen types of puttu, it was my first yellow one, that too a saffron one in a bamboo casing. As the day wrapped up, it was clear that the pleasure of the food wasn’t just in taste, but in the melange of moods and colors.

Elements blended, an edible landscape was defined.

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Marari Pearl

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mARARI PEARL

ON THIS PAGE: (CLOCKWISE) Green curry brushed lamb, malted lentil mash & caramel jus. Cocum and soy glazed Malabar coast shrimps with wild jack cake. Sweet potato pie with red wine poached cashew fruit and vanilla bean ice cream and Lemon grass and spiced cheese cake. Steamed sea food on Bamboo Bridge with a pond of shrimp broth.

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FWD Travel

Kenya

Zebras: They are

migrants as well as residents to the reserve.

Magnetic Masai Mara Into the wild cat hunt and stories spread on the vast grasslands, here’s a safari story in Kenya.

Text: Laila George Photos: Various Sources

S

omeone called me a ‘wander woman’. I feel we only need confidence and courage to travel. I took it as a compliment, because in the roots of my genes is an insatiable desire to travel. Years ago, I was working for this travel agency as an executive. Then later went on to start a tour company called Travelogic, I never thought I would travel to the same country Kenya, where I was born.

I had just returned from Istanbul and was still in that hangover. A few of my friends wanted me to join them for a wildlife tour and that too in Kenya… my native land. I didn’t have to think twice. After some research, I organized a 4-day tour and booked a budget safari through our tour operator in Nairobi. Our team of 10

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eventually were off to Kenya. Within few minutes after coming out of the airport, we whizzed off to the camp that was pre-booked and paid, by a friendly driver come guide, Sean.

Wild Cat Hunt Told by many of our friends, I was asked to keep our fingers crossed to see exclusive breeds of animals including lions. It was just my luck that day; we were slap bang in front of a frisky male lion biting his partner’s neck in the peak of frenzied passion. Shortly afterward, and in-between a herd of Zebras, we spotted one of the rarest breeds of all wild cats. We had not only spotted the most beautiful and elusive cats of Africa but we realized we were the only vehicle around for miles. Sean pulled up close and turned off the engine, and we just

watched as the gorgeous creature played in the long grass. As we were moving forward, we could see the petite and categorically cuddly looking Cervil with its ballooned shaped ears. It was nearly twice the size of its head. That was some start before even reaching, our tents. The ten of us were greeted by the camp people who made us settle down comfortably with a four-course feat. In our short time, we were treated with a veritable smorgasbord of wildlife. My fate, I was to see more animals than our friends who travelled before us.

The next day, Sean made the call on the radio and the other jeeps pulled up… the big, muscular male cat hang out for a few minutes before retreating slowly into the jungle, as if he was saying “Okay that’s enough, nothing more to see here”.

The leopard is the celebrity of anyone’s

FWD Travel

Kenya

Giraffe: The Mara’s vast plains are home to Masai giraffe and the common giraffe.

Leopard: Their spots and rosettes can be either round or square to make the very best use of the camouflage available.

Lion:The Masai Mara Ecosystem holds one of the highest lion densities in world.

African safari, and as he left the great stage of the Masai Mara, we all had the feeling he knew where he stood in the hearts of his fans. He only ever shows up long enough for a quick sighting.

Tall Tales The early morning drives were the most rewarding ones as we parked a few meters away from four cheetahs (just one year old or so) waiting for their mom to return with a kill. We were lucky to watch the tall giraffes so close to our vehicle and the herds of buffaloes and elephants crossing the lakes. The third day evening was a day of dancing with the Masais, around a camp fire. It was fascinating to see them jump up in the air with the spears in their hands. Their feet movements were fast, and brisk. They were wearing dark red colored outfits draped in a particular way and head gears along with the broad beaded ornamental earrings and necklaces. We were told that they would drink milk mixed with urine and blood of the cows for longevity.

The men are warriors and they too adorn

themselves with beads of all colors. Like them, I was much in tune with the nature and the wild animals. It was the last night in the wilderness. I never felt homesick as there was never a dull moment. We enjoyed every second we spent there and the next year called out for another visit.

Getting There The nearest airport is Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi (280 km away from the Masai Mara National Reserve). To reach Masai Mara from the airport, you need to take connecting

flights- Air Kenya or Safarilink to the reserve’s landing strips. You’ll have to board from the Wilson Airport located 12.5 Km away from the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. Via road, you need to take the services of a number of safaris from Nairobi that ends at Sekenani entry point of the Masai Mara National Reserve.

You can also hire a chauffeur driven car or a taxi. The ride is six hours. For getting around Masai Mara, you have the option of modified mini-buses or you can hire 4WD vehicles.

Safari ya salama!

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FWD

Architecture

A ‘Couple’ of Clichés They met at architecture school, worlds apart, pursued a secret romance, had two weddings on the same day - one in a church and one in a temple. Set up a home in Bangalore, and quite predictably, a studio together.

Text: Aatira L Zacharias & Bhyrav Gowda Photos: Gareth Hoover

s soon as 1LEAPINGFROG was born, the clichés ended. We soon realised, as in life and love, the practice of architecture as a couple is riddled by complexities of the mind, heart and the ego. In all these endeavours, we must take great risks if we are to fall and remain in love with each other and our work.

At times the risk can seem too great, almost insurmountable, but the joy of overcoming them only fortifies our bond.

On our very first project, our own

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home, we were caught in the strange situations that deign decisions and site throw at you. Only this time we dealt with them collectively.

Theoretically that should be easier... not at all. It was anything but that. As our collective ideas, experience or the lack of, and insecurities collided, it became abundantly clear that the dynamics of a personal relationship and a professional one are very different. By the time we finished our home, we had more heated debates, negotiations, decisions, internal turmoil and doubts than life had thrown at us in our few years of togetherness –and we absolutely loved it. The outcome was a home that was truly us, a space

that encompassed our desires and demons, our joys and despair. The young frog had grown through leaps and bounds. We were so much more aware of each other, so much more sensitive. As the line between the personal and professional blurred we learnt to respect each others’ creative territory.

‘Space’ remains a magical notion for us. We try to treat it without bias, giving each idea a chance to evolve into something larger than who we are.

We bring to each project our collective consciousness – poetry, music, food, movies, art, travel, love, loss, memories, friendships and life itself.

These have been our inspirations,

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Architecture

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Architecture

especially in those moments of turmoil that haunt any designer, young and old alike.

We would like to be known as people who come up with good ideas and then oversee execution to perfection, be it for a building or a city, a living room or the backyard, or just about anything. That is after all, the underlying thread that connects us all – the seduction of a good idea!

We only hope we don’t stop making mistakes, taking risks and living with doubt.

In the few projects that we have finished we have tried to be brave, bold, young and most of all, honest. Of course, the burden of practice is upon us all, but we have tried to shed this weight.

Our latest project reiterates these intentions and beliefs. Our Client, CV India, was aspiring to establish a software development centre, in Bangalore. They presented us with a complex brief that had both functional and open-ended requirements to house over 30 employees involved in

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ideation and software development.

We re-interpreted this with the intention of creating an open work culture that reinforced creativity while responding to a highly technical environment. Visualised with honest materials and exposed services, the space is intended to create an atmospheric setting that would enhance the experience of those within it, as well as their work.

The office is set around the idea of the city in miniature . It was our deliberate attempt to create a sense of arrival while entering the space. Once across the threshold, one left Bangalore behind, entering a microcosm where various built forms such as the ‘office’, the ‘cafe’, the ‘library’ and the ‘bar’, were interspersed within an urban landscape all connected by a notional ‘street’. At the centre of it all, is the grand object, a digital portal, through which the office connects with their international team across the rest of the globe.

It acts as an urban marker, visually connecting all the components around

through its sculptural energy.

The design process was firmly grounded as well as intuitive. We had to balance the functional aspects of the brief with the intangible. Though we enjoyed the support of an extremely liberal patron, we had to work with a conscious restraint since we didn’t want to go overboard, thereby making our ideas too literal. A deliberate attempt was made to work with varying levels of abstractness and ambiguity. With a lot of our brainstorming happening on site, the design process itself was very organic and we had to improvise as the space kept evolving in front of our eyes.

Working with very passionate carpenters and contractors, the space finally achieved its atmosphere through their level of commitment and dedication. Our discourse with the client was also integral in negotiating both the brief and the site. As a rule we allow as many inputs as possible to enrich the design experience. After all, you never know where the next big idea may come from.

fwd

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APRIL 2015

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FWD

EVENTS

FWD’s Power Dinner The night was a showecase of power as some of the biggest names of our town and as far as the United States, sat together on a round table and enjoyed the dinner arranged by FWD Life Magazine.

Text: Firdouz Hameed Photos: Suneesh Suresh, Binu Avarachan

POWER DINNER powered by

with

Ms. Catherine Carlton (Worshipful Mayor of the City of Menlo Park, USA)

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rowne Plaza was where the elite of Kochi came to life on the night of Feb 7th. With the most powerful guest list seen by the town— FWD’s Power Dinner had some serious sting to it. The chief guest of the night was Ms. Catherine Carlton, Mayor of the City of Menlo Park, America— who was here to sign the ‘sister city agreement’, an initiative to facilitate mutually beneficial educational, cultural, social and economic exchanges. Menlo Park is home to global technology companies that our startups and young entrepreneurs look up to, as well as venture capitalists that can mentor and support them.

FWD’s power night was to unveil the latest magazine edition along with the special feature on the tycoons of the jewelry industry, the Alukkas brothers, on the cover. The Alukkas brothers were also present at the event and looked their jovial best. There were also renowned faces from the entertainment industry that included

the veteran director Major Ravi, Vijay Yesudas, etc.

The function was heightened by the presence of people like, Mr. Bose Krishnamachari, Director - Kochi Biennale Foundation and Riyas Komu, Director of Programmes - Kochi Biennale Foundation. The night was overall a glitzy, glossy, and extravagant one that marked the arriving and appraisal of the magazine as the best English premium magazine of our state. It was truly a step forward in the right direction.

FWD

Shibu Philips (Lulu mall)

EVENTS

Major Ravi

Prema Shankar

Mahesh Kumar, Renganadhan (TVS-Renault)

  John Alukka (Jos Alukkas)

Jose Pattara, Riyas Komu

Bose Krishnamachari

Major Ravi, John Alukkas, RD Mueller

Jayasankar (HDFC Bank)

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FWD

EVENTS

Dileep (Crowne Plaza)

Krishnakumar (Greenpepper)

Sanjay Kaushik (Crowne Plaza)

Sunil (Asset Homes), Anup

Shibu Philips (Lulu Mall)

Riyas Komu

Wg Cdr Chandrashekar (TiE)

Shaji A John

Vijay Yesudas

Major Ravi, Sebastian, Prakash (Time Ads)

Shamsudheen, Reji Bhaskar

Abraham, Mukul Agarwal , Prema,Sanjay (Startup Village), Arun

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FWD LIFE 109

FWD

EVENTS

When lulu went gaga Marking the two year anniversary of Lulu, their employees had a blast by showcasing their talent on the event which marked their celebrations.

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FWD

APRIL 2015

EVENTS

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EVENTS

Opening hearts with music Boney M were in Kochi on Feb 14, 2015 as part of their tour, which they began last year. Presenting Maizie Williams and her band members to the audience, was India’s own pop singer Usha Uthup. She honored the 63-year-old model-turned-singer Maizie with a shawl. What followed was the real show. Maizie had the entry, along with her two girls, Samantha Scott and Rosemary Martin, and the boy, Kelly Martin. Maizie was inspired by the rush of the crowd; she said, “Kochi is an experience. We got wonderful support from here.”

Photographs: Suneesh Suresh

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APRIL 2015

FWD LIFE 113

FWD

Satire

No Need for an Excuse to Laze You’re in denial, if you think laziness is the key to life, maybe not.

Text: Ronnie Kuriakose Photos: Various Sources

e all have those days when life seems to drag, when everything demands an effort far more than you could afford to give. The thought of tackling anything more strenuous than a Youtube marathon of the old cartoon show, Top Cat, seems impossible.

And just as you were getting ready to spend the day lazing, there comes your old friend, who is now concerned about your inactivity. A good sleep, she says, will cure you of your lack of energy. She then ushers you to your bed and times the alarm clock.

20 minutes later there is a scream.

Not hers. The alarm clock. It was set for twenty minutes. You had only closed your eyes, but apparently research says that you need to only lie down for twenty minutes to recoup lost energy and enthusiasm,

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and your friend is a big advocate of this. It is the modern law, she says, the new way of living. Productivity and creativity are the new factors by which one is judged, whether he is successful of not. And what it has led to is a generation of over-achievers who are constantly upgrading their skills, seeking out internships, building their resumes. To simply achieve means to fail and under-achievers are those who have lost their way. Not really.

Our media is saturated with admiring stories of people who take single-mindedness to the point of obsession and often about things – climbing mountains, running marathons, volunteering weekends – that do not, in the end, matter very much. Our world is so full of unrelenting messages about being the best you can be that it may not have occurred to you to try for anything less. How many careers are thereby

coupled with disastrous marriages?

How many talented, hardworking people smoke too much and exercise too little? How many fitness crazed people tear up their knees running marathons? Underachievement then seems less like an appealing option for the lazy minded and more like a path to a superior kind of achievement, doesn’t it? The happiest people I know are those who accept their limitations and have a balance in their life.

Taoism teaches us that knowing not to reach too far might be the essence of freedom. Fill your bowl to the brim, and it will spill. Keep sharpening your blade, and it will blunt. We have known this all along and yet we are forced to perform, to contest and compete, move and tread and jog to please someone else, to meet someone else’s deadline.

About time, we stop this incessant need to find excuses to laze. Don’t you think so? Wait, don’t think too much.

Just Laze.

APRIL 2015

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