LIFESTYLE & FASHION BIMONTHLY JULY-AUGUST 2012 `70
www.gladrags.in
Punjab Little Miss & Master India & The Mrs. India
woman pretty
Love Lessons
The Car Special A New Way of Life
www.gladrags.in
EDITOR’S PAGE Charmed by
R
Chandigarh
ecently I’ve spent quite a lot of time in Chandigarh for my beauty pageants. It’s a city of extraordinary friendliness and hospitality. No wonder, we’ll call them lionhearted ! I was shown such large-hearted hospitality and affection from total strangers, something one rarely witnesses in Mumbai. Of course, I do know that Punjabis are more extroverted than the people of other states but there were some changes that struck me as being far far over the top and certainly to be controlled. For the Gladrags Little Miss & Master India selections I held there I was shocked to see little 3- and 4-year old girls in thick artificial-looking make-up (badly applied in most cases!) tottering in high heels and of course dressed to the hilt. I literally had to write to all parents and tell them that I wanted ‘natural’ children and no make-up was to be applied ! Of course, it had no effect as they still turned up like 25-year old Page-3 wannabes! But the cool composure and the dancing talent of these children has to be seen to be believed! In fact, Chandigarh toddlers and youngsters can dance before they walk I feel! It’s a mini Bollywood that can knock the socks off Mumbai’s Bollywood. Every second child can act as Chul Bul Pandey or Katrina Kaif. The Punjab Mrs. India Pageant was quite a revelation too ! The women–and the men–flaunt their designer labels... just like the Delhi and Mumbai Page-3 wallas. I met one woman who had every designer label on in the afternoon. However, in this land of milk and honey this generation needs to be careful–because a tractor and a farm yesterday and a Rolls Royce and a villa today are fine but in these days of instability, moderation and hard work is the key to future success. Mrs. Maureen N. Wadia Editor-in-Chief & President, Gladrags Beauty Pageants
GLADRAGS 1
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The Gladrags Little Miss & Master India Page 18 The Gladrags Mrs. India Contest Page 30 www.gladrags.in
CONTENTS
July-August 2012
The Gladrags Megamodel Manhunt Page 32
34. Fast Boy Toys The best of these mean machines
84. Who’s Stronger? ... in illness, men or women? The debate continues
40. Hacking Smart Phones
88. The Body The cult of the cleanse
How vulnerable are you
44. Dress Mess Celebrity fashion disasters
46. Looking Back 1996 & 1997 changed lives
48. The 10 Commandments Love comes first...in a successful marriage
50. Punjab Little Miss & Master India
92. Your Lovely Bones How to prevent osteoporosis
102.Tasty Chinese Some all-time favourites
104. Abode of Clouds India’s most picturesque State
106. Best Vacation Breaks 12 great holiday countries
Punjab’s cutest kids competed
54. Punjab Mrs. India All about the Punjab finale
60. Pretty Woman Meet Chahat Khanna
64. Crimson Tide Red-hot and sassy
72. The Car Special A new way of life 82. Love Lessons Learn from a broken heart 12 GLADRAGS
On the Cover: Sakshi Chaudhary winner of Gladrags Megamodel 2011 Pageant; This page: Supriya Shailja 2nd Runner-up Gladrags Megamodel 2010 Make-up and Hairstyling: Mahendra Gupta Photography: Dilip Yande
a GLADRAGS INTERNATIONAL FASHION BIMONTHLY
www.gladrags.in
RESORT WEAR Perfect Holiday Buys
MAY-JUNE 2012
SCARLET WOMEN THEY’RE RED-HOT & HAPPENING
THE
TURN-ONS
VOLUME XX NO. 4
h
LIFESTYLE & FASHION BIMONTHLY MAY-JUNE 2012 `70
`70
i in .com ed . s l m ag vsn gs_ r a ad gl ags@ ladr . w r /g ww glad com il: ter. a t Em /twi :/ ttp
SUBTLE WAYS TO CHARM A WOMAN
YOUR HOLIDAY GUIDE THE TOP 10 SUMMER DESTINATIONS TO VISIT
cover dummy.indd 3
5/9/12 10:40 PM
GLADRAGS IS A UNISEX BI-MONTHLY MAGAZINE AND THE INFLIGHT MAGAZINE OF GO AIR
ADVERTISE WITH US AND ALSO BE A PART OF OUR BEAUTY PAGEANTS
Gladrags is a Lifestyle, Fashion and Travel bimonthly magazine. Gladrags also organises Beauty Pageants which are filmed and telecast as reality TV programmes. Gladrags also runs a Modelling and Career Academy. When you advertise with us you’ll hit your target through Gladrags.
Gladrags is a magazine for men and women and is designed for multiple pick-ups. It adds unbelievable high OTS to your ads. Gladrags is also the inflight magazine of GoAir. Our clientele are business groups, families, tourists and college students. Gladrags is read by at least 5 members of a family.
M ss OUR TV SERIES
Our pageants are highly prestigious ground events & TV series. Telecast on prime TV channels that have a viewership of over 50 million viewers in India, South East Asia, UK, USA, UAE, South Africa and Mauritius. By sponsoring or co-sponsoring our Beauty Pageants you get 360�of publicity.
THE MRS. INDIA CONTEST: INDIA’S ONLY CONTEST FOR MARRIED WOMEN
The Contest attracts married women from homes across India and overseas. From children to husbands to in-laws and parents, the family involvement in the Contest is unsurpassable. The Mrs. India Contest reality series is a highly prestigious TV series running on TV for over 3 months and culminating in the final contest, on TV. Selections are held all over India. Log on to www.gladrags.in for selection dates.
MR & MISS TOURISM: A PAGEANT TO PROMOTE TOURISM AND TRAVEL
The Mr & Miss Tourism is a state-wide contest and the winners of each state will compete against each other in the final contest. The winners will then represent India at the International Contest.
THE UNISEX MEGAMODEL & MANHUNT CONTEST: INDIA’S ONLY UNISEX PAGEANT AND TV REALITY SERIES The contest is a unique and highly prestigious unisex pageant which has, on popular demand, now become India’s most successful TV reality series. This is the Contest where stars are born and model legends are made. Selections are held all over India. Log on to www.gladrags.in for selection dates.
LITTLE MISS AND MASTER INDIA CONTEST: INDIA’S UNIQUE PAGEANT FOR CHILDREN.
The first contest to promote the budding talent of children in two age groups: under 8 years and 9 to 16 years. The Miss & Master India is a zone-wide contest and the winners of each zone will compete against each other in the final contest.
THE GLADRAGS CAREER ACADEMY
Looking for a Career or just Sophisticated Grooming? We conduct grooming and training classes for models, cabin crew, hospitality services, retail staff, executives, brides and grooms and housewives. Enrolment forms are available in Gladrags magazine and also available on www.gladrags.in. We also conduct five-day, 3 hrs-an-evening Fast Track Grooming Courses in Delhi and Mumbai.
FOR AD AND SPONSORSHIP ENQUIRIES
E-mail: gladrags@vsnl.com, Website: www.gladrags.in, Twitter: http://twitter.com/gladrags_media Gladrags Marketing Department, Mumbai. Candy Brar – Email – candy@gladrags.in
C-1, Wadia International Center (Bombay Dyeing), Pandurang Budhkar Marg, Worli, Mumbai – 400025. INDIA Tel.: 66628855/8877 Fax:2430 2385 The opinions/views expressed by individual authors, photographs accompanying the articles published in Gladrags are not necessarily those of the Managing Editor. Gladrags does not accept responsibility for returning unsolicited manuscripts and photographs. Processed at Rachna Images, Mumbai. Editor, Publisher, Printer: Mr. Felix Dias on behalf of Gladrags Media Limited. Printed at Repro India Limited, Plot No. 50/2, T.T.C. MIDC Industrial Area, Mahape, Navi Mumbai - 400 709 and published at Neville House, J. N. Heredia Marg, Ballard Estate, Mumbai 400 038. No articles or photographs may be reproduced without prior written permission of the Managing Editor : Maureen Wadia.
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16 GLADRAGS
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Can your
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India's first unisex pageant for children
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`70 GLADRAGS INTER
Letters
FASHION BIMO NTHLY MAY-JUNE 2012 `70
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NATIONAL FASH ION
RESORT WEAR Pe
BIMONTHLY
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LIFESTYLE &
rfect Holiday Buys
MAY-JUNE 2012
SCARLET WOMEN
VOLUME XX NO.
THEY’RE RED-HOT & HAPPENING
THE
TURN-ONS
4
SUBTLE WAYS TO CHARM A WOMAN
YOUR HOLIDA Y GUIDE THE TOP 10 SUMM ER DEST
www.gladrags.in
INATIONS TO VIS
IT
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ndd 3
5/9/12 10:40 PM
Punjab Mrs. India
Thank you for the lovely Mrs. India Pageant in Chandigarh. I was privileged to be a part of it. You would’nt remember I was the ‘walk-in’ entry and was given No.20, the tall lady in blue lehenga. You and your team had put in a great effort. I was extremely delighted to be a part of your top 5. But not making it to top 3 was heart breaking. I would be grateful and feel honoured if you could advice me on my shortcomings. I do not want to give up and want to strive for betterment. Hoping for your valuable advice. Sugandha Dhillan-Meerut
Little Miss & Master India Chandigarh – Punjab
I was one of the few fathers who brought their child to your Little Miss & Master India selections in Chandigarh. Imagine my stress standing in front of Mrs. Maureen Wadia. But you made me and my child feel so comfortable, happy and special. You have a God-given talent for handling people. Thank you. V. Singh – Chandigarh
Little Miss and Master India Punjab
My family and I travelled for three days from Kashmir to Chandigarh to meet you. My son was determined to be in the Little Master India Pageant. All our friends and family in Kashmir thought it was the best introduction to the world for our son. It was such an honour to meet a great lady like you. K. Dhar – Srinagar
Little Miss & Master India – South India
We recently met at the Little Miss & Master India selections in Bengaluru. Though we were very nervous about our child entering the Pageant – you immediately put us at ease and made us feel so special. Thanks to you. O. Balaswamy – Bengaluru
Looking Back
John Abraham is one lucky guy! To think in 1999 he won your famous Gladrags Manhunt Contest and today in 12 years he’s one of Bollywood’s top actors! You really know how to pick them ! I didn’t know that Sonu Sood is also your discovery. What a platform of success you are for all these models. J. Srivastava – Panipat
The Turn-ons
I spend hours in the gym working out and always believed women admired me in my tight body-revealing T-shirts. Your article taught me a hell of a lot! No more skintight T-shirts, stubble, sneakers, shaven chest for me on dates and guess what, the first time I followed your guidelines, I was really admired by more girls than I could handle. Of course, my good looks help. V. Sabharwal – Delhi
The Vacation Challenge
I recently planned a romantic holiday with my new girlfriend who I was mad about. Two days into the holiday proved to be the opposite of romance: it was sheer
suffering. I thought she was a natural beauty, but on the first morning when we woke up together I was in for a shock. It took her two hours to look like my dream girl ! I was shattered. Worst still, she didn’t want to go out anywhere during the day and only wanted to go to expensive restaurants at night. So my dreams of an adventure-packed vacation never got past the hotel. Ironically, on our flight back. I picked up Gladrags Magazine on GoAir and read your article on the Vacation challenge. I agree with every word in the article and have passed it on to my best friend for him to learn from. A. Udwadia – Mumbai
How to Look Rich
As a working woman with two young children your article on how to look rich was an eye-opener. I’ve always longed to own a couple of little black dresses for special occasions, but they’ve all looked so expensive in the shop. After reading the prices in your fashion spread I made a beeline to the shops and I picked up not one but two little black dresses for under `2,000/-. Thank you for this gift. V. Mehta – Mumbai
Water Babes
Your new line-up of fab-bodied Megamodel discoveries are perfect for any pool. After seeing 8 of them I’m first covering up with a kaftan and then I’m going to hit the gym. I’m a 24-year old Punjabi girl who loves Punjabi mithai. After looking at your Gladrags Cover and the water babes, I’m on a strict diet. M. Mehra – Chandigarh
Send your letters to : C-1, Wadia International Center (Bombay Dyeing), Pandurang Budhkar Marg, Worli, Mumbai – 400025 or email us: gladrags@vsnl.com
Best Seller
Book Reviews
22 GLADRAGS
EL James’ Fifty Shades of Grey, is the hottest book on the bestseller list. Written by a former TV executive and mum of two, its sold over 100,000 copies in its first week and has shocked and delighted readers with its erotically charged content. The story initially reads like a Mills & Boon: A good-looking, 21-year-old student, Anastasia Steele, embarks on a mysterious affair with a handsome, older billionaire named Christian Grey. That is, until we learn about Christian’s darker needs in his “red room of pain”— his love for sadomasochism. Soon we are witness to what could well be a Marquis de Sade house party—scenes that feature handcuffs, whips, clamps and other paraphernalia that aid the delights of kinky sex. And as Anastasia gets sucked into this sexually-charged vortex, the singular thought that niggles at the back of her mind is whether Christian is slowly falling in love with her.
This is Miriam Batliwala’s story of her life, an inspiring journey of a girl who slowly started losing her eyesight at the young age of 12. This captivating book takes us through the journey of how a young girl and her family dealt with and overcame her visual impairment, to lead a full interesting life.
In this book, the distinguished general and former US secretary of state and national security adviser distils the ideas and anecdotes that he has honed before audiences of well-fed listeners who work for organizations like the Bradford White Water Heater company, Safelite AutoGlass and International House Wares Association.
This is the 12th of Allan Furst’s enormously successful historical spy novels, and one of the best. Its protagonist, the Austrian-born American actor Fredric Stahl, is, like most of Furst’s heroes, in his early 40s, stoic, resourceful, quietly sympathetic. In his films Stahl plays “a warm man in a cold world.” And Stahl has come to Paris in 1938 not on a mission but simply to make a movie.
In the middle of the Indian Ocean, a NUMA research vessel is taking water samples at sunset, when a crew member spots a sheen of black oil ahead of them. But it is not oil. Filled with the boundless invention unique to Clive Cussler, this is one of his most thrilling novels.
With his bashing of private equity, Barack Obama has given Mitt Romney a huge opening. Edward Conard, Romney’s friend and former partner at Bain Capital, is eagerly seizing that opportunity with his manifesto for private investment.
I Have A Dream by Rashmi Bansal is the story of 20 idealists who think and act like entrepreneurs. All committed to different causes, they have one thing in common: a belief that principles of management can and must be used to achieve greater common good.
M
onsoon
agic
A clean fresh look is what women prefer for the monsoons. Heavy make-up during the rainy season is asking for trouble as your foundation, mascara and liner might run all over your face. Nude or minimum make-up is the best for this time of the year with minimal kajal, liner and mascara (waterproof of course!). Start by cleaning, toning and moisturising and if required you can apply a sunscreen all over your face and neck. After fifteen minutes, apply a base of liquid foundation to even out your skin tone. Dab minimum concealer on your problem areas only.
Made to Measure
Translucent Powder
Guerlain translucent powder can be applied lightly on your face to set our foundation. If you have oily skin, use compact powder instead to get a matte look.
Nude or Gloss?
Translucent lipgloss or nude lipstick by Chambor are available in a wide variety of shades.
24 GLADRAGS
True Match Made-toMeasure foundation by L’OrÊal gives you a smooth, finished texture and is easy to apply. It makes your skin appear flawless so much so that you will not need a concealer.
Rain Proof
Bourjois have a waterproof kajal and liner and mascara that are all perfect for the rainy season or when taking a dip.
C-1, Wadia International Center (Bombay Dyeing), Pandurang Budhkar Marg, Worli, Mumbai – 400025. INDIA Tel.: 66628855/8877 Fax:2430 2385 Website: www.gladrags.in 26 GLADRAGS
teri meri kahaani
madagascar 3
This is the comedic adventure of Alex the Lion, Marty the Zebra, Gloria the Hippo, and Melman the Giraffe all fighting to get home to their beloved Big Apple and of course, King Julien, Maurice and the Penguins are all along for the comedic adventure. Their journey takes them through Europe where they find the perfect cover: a travelling circus, which they reinvent Madagascar style.
r a d g a s l G
Runaway brides are common but this film is about a runaway groom, stretching across the years from 1910 to the present day starring Shahid Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra. Sajid-Wajid do a good job composing tracks that moves through ten decades (almost) with Prasoon Joshi making every word count with his artistic skills.
maximum
Directed and written by Kabeer Kaushik, the movie, “Maximum� is a thriller film. That revolves around four main characters, Naseeruddin Shah, Sonu Sood, Neha Dhupia and Vinay Pathak. The Drama, the journey of two Super Cops and their struggle for power. Maximum power. But they are not alone in this game. There are other players. The conspirators. Moving at every level. Taking the narrative through layers of emotions. Betrayals. And intense politics. To an unpredictable climax.
cocktail
Directed by Homi Adajania under Saif Ali Khan`s banner, Deepika & Saif share screen space for the third time in “Cocktail”. The film is a triangular love story with debutante Diana Penty also starring in the film Every other producer is envious to the hilt because anyone listening to “Cocktail” will be blown away by at least one of the songs let alone the multiple winners it boasts… The film is likely to be a hit just based on the soundtrack alone! It’s fresh, varied, fun, joyous and will bring a smile to your face every single time you take a listen.
reviews
linkin park living things
Linkin Park showed up to the rap-rock mixer late, but they were the first band with a DJ to sound so utterly alienated, hitching Chester Bennington’s existential wail to the suburban swagger of Mike Shinoda’s rhymes. Five LPs in, they’ve traded turntable scratches for dub-step flourishes, but still lean on Bennington’s harrowing hooks, including the one on “Burn It Down,” one of their best singles yet. But while they’ve spiffed up their sound for the dance floor, the band found some of its greatest inspiration in pop-wise hip-hop – “Lies Greed Misery,” a sweetand-sour gem. Who needs rock?
bol bachchan
Directed by Rohit Shetty, ‘Bol Bachchan’ boasts of a cast that has Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor, Asin Thottumkal, Prachi Desai and Abhishek Bachchan. The film was originally supposed to release on Diwali, in 2011 itself, but since the dates were clashing with Shah Rukh Khan’ s “Ra.One” the date was shifted to 2012.
C-1, Wadia International Center (Bombay Dyeing), Pandurang Budhkar Marg, Worli, Mumbai – 400025. INDIA Tel.: 66628855/8877 • Fax:2430 2385 • Website: www.gladrags.in
Calling All Housewives Enter India’s Only Beauty Pageant For Married Women
Mrs. Vaneeta Bhatia Winner Gladrags Mrs. India 2011 GLADRAGS 31
Tel: 66628855 / 66628877
www.gladrags.in
India’s Only Unisex Pageant Reality TV Series Auditions start in August Entry Form
Megamodel & Manhunt Reality Series Age Limit: 18-28 years
C-1, Wadia International Center (Bombay Dyeing), Pandurang Budhkar Marg, Worli, Mumbai – 400025. INDIA Tel.: 66628855/8877 • Fax:2430 2385 • Website: www.gladrags.in Please carry an age proof
Sam Kapoor
Sakshi Chaudhary winner megamodel 2011
winner Manhunt 2011
Where Stars are born and model legends are made
Could YOU BE NEXT ? Send in your entries
GLADRAGS 33
Tel: 66628855 / 66628877
www.gladrags.in
TOP-10 FAST BOY TOYS The breeze in your face, the steady hum of a mechanical masterpiece, the metallic shine of a sleek body and if you are lucky, a ‘wow’ pillion rider…what more can a guy want! A lot of youngsters prefer motorbikes to cars and, hard-core bike enthusiasts prefer high performance bikes. For many these objects of desire remain a distant dream. Here’s a low-down on the best of the mean machines. These superbikes are specially designed for those who have the zeal for a speedy drive… so vroom off and check out your fancy or just drool on! DODGE TOMAHAWK
1
Ranking 1st among the Top-10 fastest bikes in the world, The Dodge Tomahawk is a Viper V-10 based motorcycle – a 500 horsepower engine with four wheels. According to official specifications, 0-97 kmph has been estimated at 1.75 seconds, with a top speed of 563 kmph. But there are also reports that the top speed is 676 kmph (about 420 mph).
MTT TURBINE SUPERBIKE Y2K
3
Guinness World Records recognizes this bike as the “Most powerful production motorcycle” and the “Most expensive production motorcycle”. It has achieved the 3rd rank among the Top-10 fastest bikes. It is powered by Rolls-Royce 250-C20 turbo-shaft engine, 320 horsepower (239 kW) at 52000 rpm and a recorded top speed of 227 miles per hour (142 kmph). 34 GLADRAGS
SUZUKI HAYABUSA
2
Standing 2nd in the list of Top-10 fastest superbikes the name Hayabusa, in Japanese stands for pergerine falcon, the bird which flies at over 200 mph (322 kmph). Powered by a 1340cc (82 cu in), 4-stroke, four-cylinder, liquid-cooled, DOHC, 16-valve engine and 197 horsepower (147 kW) @ 6750 rpm 147 kW, its top speed is 248 mph (397 kmph).
HONDA CBR1100XX BLACKBIRD
4
Honda CBR1100XX Blackbird was the world’s fastest production motorcycle, after ripping the title away from the legendary Kawasaki ZX-11 and still keeps flying among the Top-10 fastest super bikes. Powered by a 1137cc liquid-cooled inline four-cylinder engine, 114kW (153 hp) at 10,000 rpm, it has a top-speed of 190 miles per hour (310 kmph).
YAMAHA YZF R1
5
The Yamaha YZF-R1 is the first significant motorcycle in the true liter class (1,000cc). Ranked 5th among the fastest Top-10 bikes, it is powered by liquid cooled Forward Inclined Parallel 4-cylinder, 20 valves, DOHC, 128.2 horsepower (95.6kW) @ 10,000 rpm and a top speed of 186 miles per hour (297kmph)
KAWASAKI NINJA ZX-11/ZZZ-R1100
7
Occupying 7th place, Kawasaki Ninja ZX-11/ZZ-R1100 held the crown of The World’s Fastest Production Bike for close to a decade with a record top speed of 283 kmph (176 mph). Powered by 1052cc 4-stroke, 4-cylinder, DOHC, liquid-cooled engine, 108 kW (147 PS) @ 10,000 rpm, it has a top speed of 176 miles per hour (283 kmph).
BMW K 1200 S
9
Ranked 9th among the Top-10 fastest production bikes, the K 1200 S hurls you from a dead stop to 60 mph in just 2.8 seconds. BMW globally launched a radically redesigned K Series motorcycle, the K 1200 S, powered by a liquid-cooled engine featuring 123 kW (165 hp). 36 GLADRAGS
MV AUGUSTA F4 1000 R
6
Ranked 6th, the F4 1000 R was used to set a record for the fastest production class 1000cc motorcycle of 185 mph (299 kmph) at Bonneville Salt Flats. Powered by a liquid cooled inline, 4-cylinder engine, 174 horsepower (128 kW), it has a top speed of 185 miles per hour (299 kmph).
APRILIA RSV 1000R MILLE
8
The RSV Mille and limited-edition RSV Mille Factory are high performance V-twin powered motorcycles made by Aprilia with a 141 HP 998cc engine. Ranked 8th among Top-10 fastest production bikes it is powered by 998cc 60 degree V-twin engine, 105.24 kW (143.09 PS, 141.13 horsepower at 10,000 rpm and has a top speed of 175 miles per hour (281 kmph).
DUCATI 1098s
10
Ranked 10th among the Top-10, the Ducati 1098 is a 1099cc L-twin sport bike making a manufacturer claim of 160 horsepower. Powered by L-twin cylinder, 4 valves per cylinder Desmodromic, liquid cooled engine, 119.3 kW (160.0 bhp) at 9750 rpm, it has a top speed of 169 miles per hour (271 kmph).
A round-up of the year’s best tablets Apple iPad 3 > iOS 5 > 5.0 MP Camera > WiFi, 4G > 9.7” Screen > 2048 x 1536 Resolution > 10 hrs Battery > 16/32/64 GB > `23,000
> Android 3.1 > 5.0 MP Camera > WiFi > 9.4” Screen > 1280 x 800 Resolution > 8 hrs Battery > 16/32 GB > `33,000
Asus
Eee Pad Transformer 38 GLADRAGS
Samsung
Galaxy Tab 10.1 > Android 3.1 > 3.0 MP Camera > WiFi, 3G, 4G > 10.1” Screen > 1280 x 800 Resolution > 10 hrs Battery > 16/32 GB > `32,000
Sony Tablet S
> Android 3.1 > 5.0 MP Camera > WiFi > 10.1” Screen > 1280 x 800 Resolution > 9.5 hrs Battery > 16/32 GB > `33,000
> Android 3.1 > 5.0 MP Camera > WiFi > 9.4” Screen > 1280 x 800 Resolution > 8 hrs Battery > 16/32 GB > `23,320
Motorola Xoom
> BlackBerry OS 2.0 > 5.0 MP Camera > WiFi > 7.0” Screen > 600 x 1024 Resolution > 10 hrs Battery > 16/32/64 GB > `22,000
HP Slate 500
> Android 2.2 > 5.0 MP Camera > WiFi, 3G, 4G > 7” Screen > 400 x 800 Resolution > 3 hrs Battery > 16 GB > `30,249
T-Mobile G-Slate
> Android 3.0 > 5.0 MP Camera > WiFi, 3G > 10.1” Screen > 800 x 1280 Resolution > 10 hrs Battery > 32 GB > `24,970
Blackberry Playbook
> Windows Professional 7 > 3.0 MP Camera > WiFi > 8.9” Screen > 600 x 1024 Resolution > 5 hrs Battery > 2 GB > `47,353
Dell Streak 7 GLADRAGS 39
*All prices are approximate and subject to change
Do you know how easy it is to hack into your smartphone?
C
hetan Seth would be terrifying if he were not such a nice guy. A jovial telecom senior engineer Mr. Seth can hack into your smartphone just by dialling the number. He can remotely listen to your calls, read your text messages, snap pictures with your phone’s camera and track your movements around town — not to mention gaining access to the password to your online bank account. And while Mr. Seth’s job is to expose security flaws in wireless devices, he said it is “trivial” to hack into a smartphone. Indeed, the instructions on how to do it are available online. “It’s actually quite frightening,” Mr. Seth said. “Most people have no idea how vulnerable they are when they use their smartphones.” Technology experts expect breached, infiltrated or otherwise compromised smart cellphones to be the scourge of 2012. Indeed, the smartphone security company Lookout estimates that more than a million phones of all kinds worldwide have already been affected. But there are ways to reduce the likelihood of getting hacked, or at least to minimize the damage, should you fall prey. Individuals can have a significant impact in protecting themselves from the kind of fraud and cybercrimes we’re starting to see in the mobile space. Cellphones can be hacked in several ways. A man-in-the-middle attack, Mr. Seth’s speciality, is hacking into a phone’s operating system and rerouting data through a snooping third party before sending it on to its destination. That means the hacker can listen to your calls, read your text messages, follow your Internet browsing activity and keystrokes and pinpoint your location. A sophisticated perpetrator of a man-in-themiddle attack can instruct your phone to transmit audio and video even when your phone is turned off. 40 GLADRAGS
Yanking out your phone’s battery is the only way to interrupt the flow of information if you suspect you are already under surveillance. As for prevention, a common ruse for making a man-in-the middle attack is to send the target a text message purporting to be from the cellphone service provider, asking for permission to reconfigure the phone’s settings because of a network failure or some such excuse. Do not click “O.K.” Call your carrier to see whether the message is legitimate. For added security, Mr. Seth uses a prepaid subscriber identity module, or SIM, card, which he throws away after using up the line of credit. A SIM card digitally identifies the cellphone’s user, not only to the cellphone provider but also to hackers. It can take several months for the cellphone registry to associate you with a new SIM. So regularly changing the SIM card, even if you have a contract with a service provider, makes you harder to attack. Another way hackers can tamper with your phone is by embedding malware, or malicious software, in an app. When you download the app, the malware gets to work corrupting the system and stealing data. Or the app might just be poorly designed so hackers can exploit a security deficiency and insert malware on your phone when you visit a dodgy Web site or click on nefarious attachments or links in e-mails. Treat your cellphone as you would a computer. If it is unlikely your aunt texted or e-mailed you a link to “GREAT DEALS ON VIAGRA!” don’t click on it. Since apps are a likely vector for a malware transmission on smartphones, only buy apps from a well-known vendor like Google or Apple, not some lonely developer. Apple’s apps are vetted, but that does not make them worry free. It is a good idea to read the “permissions” that apps require before downloading. Be sure the permissions request makes sense. Does it make sense for an alarm clock app to want permission to record audio? Probably not. Be especially wary of apps that want permission to make phone calls, connect to the Internet or disclose your identity and location. Google’s Android Market, Microsoft’s Windows Phone Marketplace, Research In Motion’s BlackBerry App World and Amazon’s Appstore for Android all disclose the permissions of apps they sell. Apple’s iTunes App Store
does not. Also avoid free unofficial versions of popular apps like Angry Birds or Fruit Ninja. They often have malware hidden in the code. Do download an anti-virus app like Lookout, Norton and AVG. Just know that security apps screen only for viruses, worms and Trojans that are already in circulation. The security firms are always playing catch-up with hackers who are continually developing new kinds of malware. That’s why it is important to download security updates promptly. As a general rule it is safer to use a 3G network rather than public Wi-Fi. Using public Wi-Fi leaves you open to hackers shooting the equivalent of “gossamer threads into your phone, which they use to reel in your data. If that creepy image tips you into the realm of paranoia, there are secure smartphones like the Sectera Edge from General Dynamics, which was commissioned by the U.S. Department of Defense for use by soldiers and spies. Today, they are available for ` 1,53,000 to those working for government sponsored entities, but there has been talk that the company is working to provide something similar to the general public in the near future. General Dynamics declined to comment.
Horoscope by Nirjarra C Dosshi Leo (July 22-Aug 21)
Virgo (Aug 22-Sep 21)
Libra (Sep 22-Oct 22)
Career: Expect the unexpected. Rapid progress towards desired goals will be brought about by bold, immediate and decisive action. Love: Don’t be too judgmental with your partner. Being a Leo, gifting is your style of romance. Don’t overdo anything. Health: Be careful with your health especially your sensory organs. Don’t overeat.
Career: Unforeseen catastrophe or abrupt changes can upset your existing career. Out of the blue things shall change for you. A financial crunch can be seen. Love: Not much will change in your existing love life. By and large avoid major commitments till third week of August. Health: Try to regain your health. Stress can wreck your life.
Career: Time for prosperity and profit. Power and influence can help you sail higher than ever. Love: Your past may catch up with you leading you to a better future. Singles may expect someone walking into their life. Health: Good recovery time from sickness. You shall be able to face and overcome all your issues with your strong sense of strength and inner power.
Lucky Colours/Nos.: Blue/5
Lucky Colours/Nos.: Red & White/2 & 3
Lucky Colours/Nos.: Red & Yellow/1 & 8
Scorpio (Oct 23-Nov 20)
Sagittarius (Nov 21-Dec 20)
Career: Don’t be content and sit on the couch. Reach out for more. Don’t give up the desire to reach for the stars. Satisfaction may be enough but not for a lifetime. Love: Time to take the leap of faith. Don’t be hesitant. Go ahead and propose. If single enjoy your solitude. Health: Cholesterol may be an issue. Heart-related issues can put your party mood down.
Career: Don’t make any bold moves. Watch your back. You may face betrayals. Love: You have the power to change your love life through bringing about changes in your life. Take the challenge to bring any sort of positive changes in life through force and discipline. Health: A time of tranquillity and intellectual repose in the midst of great struggle.
Career: An excellent time for meeting, summits, conventions etc. Meeting new and influential people shall help your career. Love: Beware, as probably you shall be cheated by your lover. Fot those in relationships it’s wake-up time, you are far from reality. Health: Health is good. No major worries or tensions. Just keep continuing your programme as always.
Lucky Colours/Nos.: Amethyst & Pink/1 & 5
Lucky Colours/Nos.: Violet/2
Lucky Colours/Nos.: Green/1 & 5
Aquarius (Jan 20-Feb 18)
Pisces (Feb 19-Mar 19)
Capricorn (Dec 21-Jan 19)
Aries (Mar 20-Apr 18)
Career: The commencement of business, commercial transactions or new employment may keep you busy. Probably time for name, fame and glory. Love: A rewarding partner or existing beloved can fill your life. Time to display your feelings and affection for each other. Health: Problems related to your nervous system can gain prominence.
Career: Gear up as you have to work hard this month as new projects or assignments shall keep you busy. Love: Don’t change any dynamics of your relationship till first week of September. Those who are single shouldn’t make any serious commitments till August first week. Health: Health in the superficial sense seems all right and healthy.
Career: Great recovery period. Have courage and trust your instincts. You can overcome delays and setbacks. Love: You may meet your romantic soulmate unexpectedly bringing freshness in your life. Those who are already in a relationship may feel spontaneity and zeal. Health: Digestion can be weak for Arians this season, so be careful in selecting your food.
Lucky Colours/Nos.: Black/3
Lucky Colours/Nos.: Orange/3
Lucky Colours/Nos.: Yellow/3 & 5
Taurus (Apr 19-May 19)
Gemini (May 20-Jun 20)
Cancer (Jun 21-July 21)
Career: Avoid any sort of conflict with anyone. Rather try working your magic and making impossible, possible. Love: Your relationships can come to jolt you due to your stubborn nature. Understand and appreciate your partner with logic and compassion. Health: Strict vigilance is needed to gain control of your health. Keep your intake of salt lesser than normal.
Career: Highly favourable for those who are in intellectual positions. No mighty decisions should be taken till end of August. Love: An abrupt change in your love life is seen. Think out of the box to save yourself from further disgrace. Health: Hearts, lungs, sexual issues or hormonal imbalance can take a toll on your health. Go vegan and detoxify yourself on an urgent basis.
Career: Expect broader horizons. Tough people last, tough times don’t. Good time is just ahead so keep walking. Love: Love seems to be blooming and heading the right way. Literally, Cupid is smiling on Cancerians. Work your way ahead but don’t be forceful. Health: Don’t be lazy at all. Take walks and exercise. Don’t break your routine. Drink lots of water.
Lucky Colours/Nos.: White & Aqua Blue/6 & 7
Lucky Colours/Nos.: Yellow/2 & 6
Lucky Colours/Nos.: Brown & Golden Yellow/1
For your horoscope visit Nirjarra C Dosshi @ www.nirjaradoshi.in / Call : 9322644990 An occultist Nirjarra C Dosshi has been in the field of esoteric and enigmatic knowledge for many years. She has written a book on tarot readings. She blogs, writes articles and short stories and is currently writing a novel. 42 GLADRAGS
Dress Mess!
Parmeshwar Godrej, is India’s torchbearer for the Olympics!
Spooked! Isabelle Adjani looks like a glam halloween witch. A hat on a dupatta?!
Sonali Bendre in Apache Indian suede shoes, is all set to star in Main Apache Hoon!
Extra fair Kalki Koechlin should’nt wear white gowns – they make her look ghostly.
This boring satin and lace number doesn’t do a thing for Sonakshi Sinha or anyone.
Even if Shabana Azmi was in a mad rush, her mad hatter’s combo is inexcusable!
Tamanna Bhatia, in a satin bomber suit looks like an AirForce pilot gone silky.
Big Bird Anushka Dandekar is all set to fly off to Barbie Land.
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Even the biggest celebrities can end up as fashion disasters. Here’s a round-up of a few of them which left us amused. What were they thinking when they stepped out?
Sushmita Sen, looks like she borrowed her satin sheet as a last minute SOS.
Sussanne Roshan looks pretty as a picture till you see the New York-style sneakers.
Aishwarya looks perfect for a government do, but for Cannes it was drab!
Sad Sack! To be used for grain storage only. Neha Bhasin beware!
Shweta Pandit could be a chandelier on a movie set! Ease up on the embroidery please.
Dressed as Lady Macbeth, Sonam Kapoor is off to meet Count Dracula!
Rani Mukherjee should know that house lounge wear is not worn on the red carpet!
Sofia Hayat may be oomphy! but does she have to pop them out! GLADRAGS 45
Looking Back
Name : Aditi Gowitrikar
Discovered : At the Gladrags Megamodel Contest 1996
DOB : 21st May, 1976
Winner Mrs. World 2001
I
n 1996 a slim, fair, shy Maharashtrian skinny girl turned up at the Mumbai Megamodel Manhunt selections. She was just another face in the line-up of hopefuls. What set her apart were her eyes. Everyone assumed she wore contacts, but it turned out they were real. She was a young medical student about to give up medicine for modelling because studying medicine bored her. After her tough model training at Gladrags she began to look like a very confident and pretty model. On the night of the pageant finale she happily introduced everyone to her handsome Doctor boyfriend Muffy Lakdawala. She not only won the contest but also won Muffy’s heart and got married shortly after and had her first pretty little daughter. Her baby was barely a year old when Mrs. Maureen Wadia chose her to represent India at the Mrs. World pageant in the U.S.A. She soon got into shape and helped by a very supportive husband this newly wed mother went on to win the very prestigious Mrs. World in 2001 crown truly a modern Cindrella story.ď Ł 46 GLADRAGS
Looking Back
Name : Zulfi Syed
Discovered : At the Gladrags Manhunt Contest 1997
DOB : 26th August, 1976
I
Hometown : Bengaluru
n early 1997 when Zulfi Syed first met Mrs. Maureen Wadia he was just another young guy looking for an opportunity to make it big in the world of modelling. After winning the title Zulfi Syed doubly established himself as one of India’s best and most loved ramp and photographic model. He made his acting debut in 2002 in a Bollywood film Pyaasa. Zulfi Syed is the face that can be seen in countless music videos. His wistful, sensuous eyes and his ramp walk have made him a hot favourite. His famous ad campaigns are Raymond’s, Fiesta condoms, Trevi jeans, Warehouse, Levis etc. He has also acted in music videos like ‘Chahat Desh Se Anewale’, ‘Buleyaa’, ‘Dhuwa Dhuwa Ho Raha Hai Sama’, ‘Tere Khayalon Mein’ etc. His film Pyaasa unfortunately flopped but showed some of his acting potential. He also acted in the mega budget film Taj Mahal (2005). In 2008 he appeared in the second Bigg Boss. Till now Zulfi remains India's top ramp model which is quite an achievement. GLADRAGS 47
Commandments
for a successful
married Immature love says: “I love you because I need you.” Mature love says: “I need you because I love you.” ~ Erich Fromm lmost every marriage starts out as a huge celebration. Together with their family and friends, each couple is full of hopes and dreams for their future life together. But the road to a happy marriage is far from easy. And as today’s divorce statistics demonstrate all too well, many couples opt not to complete the journey. It would be easy to blame our rising rate of marital failure on things like not spending enough quality time together, allowing bitterness and resentment to build in our hearts and failing to keep communication lines open. There’s no end to books, articles and seminars that tell you how to improve these and many other aspects of your relationship. But while quality time, forgiveness and communication are vitally important to creating a happy marriage, if such things aren’t happening, it’s usually a sign of a much deeper problem. And until this problem is addressed, no amount of external behaviour modification will work. A relationship can lose its intensity over the years. Apart from interpersonal communication, money has also come to play an increasingly important part in keeping that intensity alive after cupid first strikes. You think that you are on top of the world, you start paying extra wages or making extravagant gestures, you feel great. But the day you settle to something that is distinctly less passionate life than you had thought of, you start getting tired and feeling the work pressure. Always remember that “Nothing worth having ever comes free”. Keeping your relationship a priority and working at it will mean a healthier and happier home. So do concentrate on some of the following tips in your daily life for a smooth love life: 1. Love Comes First: Physical love is good, but there has to be genuine spiritual love also in your heart. Your immediate neighbour is your own spouse. So let charity begin at home and
A
48 GLADRAGS
life
set an example by loving your spouse first and foremost. Follow the scripture: “Love thy neighbour as thyself”. Just the two of you: weekend breaks and holidays are a perfect way to indulge in a bit of your time, just remember to turn your mobile off. Try to express your heart notes and listen to your partner’s aspirations, jokes, worries or just the day’s event. Share your thoughts. Words may be absent but volumes can still be spoken. 2. Narrow the Gulf: Whether it is a love marriage, arranged marriage or forced marriage, differences are bound to arise. Both of you, possibly, come from different backgrounds, upbringings and environments. You must be ready to overlook the sharp differences, lapses or shortcomings. Share problems. Asking for help doesn’t mean that your relationship has failed. It just means that you are ready to make it better. Create some space: if you had your own interests before you met your partner, don’t give them up now. Don’t let go of your individuality and identity. Be upfront about what you like and if you are up to a bit of experimenting, say so. 3. Forgive & Forget: Remember, to forgive is divine, and keep doing it, even if you have to repeat this process for infinite times. Clear the environment. There’s nothing worse than bearing a grudge, it’s ugly and boring. If you find a good release for frustration, use it. Never go to sleep on an argument. 4. Begin the Day Cool: Early in the morning, both spouses should try to remain calm and cool. No discussions or arguments in the early morning hours. 5. Silence Can Save: When you leave home for work in the morning, be at your best behaviour. If one of you is provoked or complains, silence is the best answer. Conversely, you can say, “We will discuss it in the evening.” 6. Money is the Object: If you find that money is the root of all evils, work out a budget and stick to it. 7. Inquire & Appreciate:
After you return home, inquire and take interest in one another’s activity during the day: “How was your day?” You must show your genuine appreciation and sympathy. Top it with a pleasant smile. Make use of “Thank you”, “Well done”, “You have done a good job”, and “I am sorry”, as frequently as is necessary. Don’t forget to compliment. Be generous in your praise and compliments. 8. Listen & Sympathize: Do listen to your spouse attentively and sympathetically. Never ignore him/ her. Even at your place of work, if you get a telephone call from your partner, be polite and courteous, in spite of your busy schedule. The unexpected: try to do something different, for example:- sending a bunch of flowers. Negotiate differences so that you both end up getting a fair deal – after all a relationship is not a pointscoring exercise. 9. Don’t Compare: Do not enter into comparisons. No one is 100% perfect or 100% imperfect. We all have flaws and shortcomings. Always look at the good qualities of your spouse. 10. Keep Smiling: Be cheerful and smile away your problems. Give a smile as often as you can. Only a human person is endowed with this blessing. Animals do not have this rare faculty. Did you know you use only 20 muscles for a smile but 70 muscles for a frown? So, keep smiling! As you begin to do these things, you’ll notice that your focus automatically starts to shift away from you and your desires and over to your partner. As a result, communication problems begin to improve, anger and resentment fade away and you naturally want to spend more time together. Of course, you can’t expect such changes to happen overnight. Your relationship is also bound to face financial pressures, child rearing issues and other problems that are beyond your control. But if you spiritually commit to your relationship and make a conscious decision each day to your partner first, your marriage will be able to weather any storm. Not only that, you’ll also have plenty of fun together along the way! o
Gladrags Punjab Little Miss & Master India Contest 2012 On 13th June 2012 at the lovely Icon Hotel, Chandigarh the final selections for the Gladrags Punjab Little Miss & Master India 2012 Pageant was held. It was a day of high excitement for all the participants. After that it was three days of rehearsals, choreography and dance classes conducted by Ashish Ajit, the young choreographer from Mumbai and express training by Mrs. Maureen Wadia to the children on how to walk, talk and compete in a pageant.
2012
The Punjab Gladrags Little Miss & Master India finale was held on 16th June at the prestigious St. Stephen’s School in Chandigarh. It was a night filled with cute and talented children all competing for the prestigious crown.
Mrs. Maureen Wadia and Dr. Gary Sandhu, one of the judges at the Selections
The Press Conference at the Icon Hotel
50 GLADRAGS
Final Selections at the Icon Hotel, Chandigarh
Gladrags Punjab Little Miss & Master India – Fancy Dress Round:
Seniors – Deliya Kaur: Nurse, Arjoon Arora: Rock Star
Some of the Junior contestants on stage in fancy dress
Juniors – Garv Girdhar: Mahatma Gandhi, Saira Sabharwal: Goddess Venus
Some of the little Junior contestants with their parents
The Gladrags Punjab Little Miss & Master India – Training sessions:
Mrs. Wadia addressing the parents at the Icon Hotel, Chandigarh
Gureet Gill and Choreographer Ashish Ajit with the contestants
GLADRAGS 51
Punjab Finale
Special Guest Dr. Ikreet Gill and the Judges – Punjab Kings XI Batsman Gurkeerat Mann, Punjab Kings XI Bowler Harmeet Singh, Mrs. Maureen Wadia & Mr. Gerald Jacob-Headmaster St. Stephen’s School, Chandigarh
THE WINNERS: Punjab Little Miss India 2012 Juniors Winner: Saira Sabharwal 1st Runner-up: Grace Girdhar 2nd Runner-up: Sia Sethi Punjab Little Master India 2012 Juniors Winner: Aariv Goel 1st Runner-up: Aryan Duggal 2nd Runner-up: Garv Girdhar Punjab Little Miss India 2012 Seniors Winner: Karuna Singh 1st Runner-up: Nikita Rawat 2nd Runner-up: Ananya Bandlish Special Award: Sanskriti Agarwal Punjab Little Master India 2012 Seniors Winner: Madhav Banati 1st Runner-up: Angad Duggal 2nd Runner-up: Varenium Asija
Audition Location Courtesy: Icon Hotel, Chandigarh Contest Venue Courtesy: St. Stephen’s School, Chandigarh 52 GLADRAGS
Photography: Baljit
The Gladrags Punjab Little Miss & Master India 2012 Winners:
Saira Sabharwal
Little Miss India (Juniors)
Aariv Goel
Little Master India (Juniors)
Karuna Singh
Little Miss India (Seniors)
Madhav Banati
Little Master India (Seniors)
Judges Mr. Gerald Jacob, Mrs. Maureen Wadia, Gurkeerat Mann and Harmeet Singh on stage with all the winners
Sanskriti Agarwal
Special Award winner
Gladrags Punjab Mrs. India Contest 2012
The final auditions of the Punjab Mrs. India contestants were simultaneously held on the same day as the Little Miss & Master India Selections at the Icon Hotel, Chandigarh. In the next two days the selected Top 20 contestants were given express choreography and ramp-walking training in order to participate in the Finals of the Gladrags Punjab Mrs. India.
Judges Mr. Gerald Jacob, Mrs. Maureen Wadia, Mrs. Raima Prashar (1st Runner-up), Mrs. Gargi Duggal (Winner), Mrs. Diksha Lothra (2nd Runner-up), Gurkeerat Mann and Harmeet Singh
Mrs. Gargi Duggal – Gladrags Punjab Mrs. India – with her sons Angad and Aryan
Mrs. Maureen Wadia sashing the Punjab Mrs. India winner Mrs.Gargi Duggal.
Gladrags Punjab Mrs. India Top 3: The glamorous winner of the Gladrags Punjab Mrs. India was Mrs. Gargi Duggal of Panchkula. She is a 37-year old postgraduate who’s been married for 14 years and has two highly gifted and highly spirited young sons. Mrs. Raima Prashar – 1st Runnerup – is a 30-year old businesswoman from Chandigarh, who has been married for 4 years and has a 2-year old baby girl. She’s an ex-air hostess from Air India. She has done some fashion shows and competed in a beauty pageant previously. Mrs. Diksha Luthra – 2nd Runnerup – is a 25-year old event manager from Chandigarh. She’s been married for 2 years and has a 1-year old child. She’s also done some fashion shows.
Gladrags Punjab Mrs. India Winner Gagi Duggal (centre), 1st Runner-up Mrs. Raima Prashar (No. 12) and 2nd Runner-up Mrs. Diksha Luthra (No. 9)
Winners of Gladrags Punjab Mrs. India 2012
Winners: Gladrags Punjab Little Miss & Master India 2012
Saira Sabharwal
Aariv Goel
Winner of the Little Miss India (Juniors)
Winner of the Little Master India (Juniors)
Seven-year old Aariv from Chandigarh, is a lively and extremely loveable boy. He’s cute, smart and full of mischief.
Karuna Singh
Madhav Banati
Winner of the Little Miss India (Seniors)
Winner of the Little Master India (Seniors)
Karuna from Mohali is a tall and very pretty 15-year old. She is a fantastic dancer and is multi-talented. 56 GLADRAGS
Madhav from Chandigarh, is a 11-year old excellent dancer who was in the final auditions of Dance India Dance.
Photography: Vicky
Two-year old Saira from Jalandhar is the youngest girl to win this title. Her baby-doll serenity charmed all.
1st Runners-up: Gladrags Punjab Little Miss & Master India 2012
Grace Girdhar
Aryan Duggal
1st Runner-up of Little Miss India (Juniors)
1st Runner-up of the Little Master India (Juniors)
Aryan from Panchkula is a 7-year old who loves fast cars and gadgets. He was in the final auditions of Dance India Dance.
Nikita Rawat
Angad Duggal
1st Runner-up of the Little Miss India (Seniors)
1st Runner-up of the Little Master India (Seniors)
Nikita from Chandigarh, is a super confident 14-year old who is well poised and pretty and also a national level football player.
Angad from Panchkula, is a 10-year old who dances like a pro with his younger brother Aryan Duggal.
Photography: Vicky
Grace from Mohali, is 3 years old and one of the younger girls in her group. She’s confident, friendly and a natural charmer.
GLADRAGS 57
2nd Runners-up: Gladrags PUNJAB Little Miss & Master India 2012
Sia Sethi
Garv Girdhar
2nd Runner-up of the Little Miss India (Juniors)
2nd Runner-up of the Little Master India (Juniors)
Ananya Bandlish 2nd Runner-up of the Little Miss India (Seniors)
Ananya from Chandigarh, is a pretty 13-year old who has acted in several ads and films. She is a delight for any cameraman’s lens. 58 GLADRAGS
Garv from Mohali, is 8 years old, who is confident and very cool in temperament.
Varenium Asija 2nd Runner-up of the Little Master India (Seniors) Varenium from Chandigarh, is a talented and composed 13-year old boy. He is a good singer.
Photography: Vicky
Sia from Chandigarh is a 7-year old cutie who is energetic and playful. She’s a natural poser with a very cute smile.
Be a fit kid
There’s a lot of discussion these days about fit kids. Parents, doctors, teachers, guardians, all want to know how to help kids be more healthy.
B
eing fit is another way of saying a person eats well, gets a lot of physical activity and maintains a healthy weight. If you’re fit, your body works well, feels good, and can do all the things you want to do, like run around with your friends. Some steps only parents can take — such as serving healthy meals or deciding to take the family on a nature hike. But kids can take charge, too, when it comes to health. Here are five rules to live by, if you’re a kid who wants to be fit. The trick is to follow these rules most of the time, knowing that some days (like your birthday) might call for cake and ice cream. Eat a Variety of Foods, Especially Fruits and Vegetables You may have a favourite food, but the best choice is to eat a variety. If you eat different foods, you’re more likely to get the nutrients your body needs. Taste new foods and old ones you haven’t tried for a while. Some foods, such as green veggies, are more pleasing the older you get. Other children should aim for at least five servings of fruits and vegetables a day — two fruits and three vegetables. Here’s one combination that might work for you: • at breakfast: half cup (about four large) strawberries or a banana on your cereal • with lunch: six baby carrots • for a snack: an apple • with dinner: half cup broccoli (about two big spears) and one cup of salad Drink Water and Milk Most Often When you’re really thirsty, water is the No. 1 thirst-quencher. And there’s a reason your parents want you to drink more milk. Kids need calcium to build strong bones, and milk is a great source of this mineral. How much do kids need? If you are younger than nine years old, drink at least two cups of milk a day, or its equivalent. Older children should aim for three cups of milk per day, or its equivalent. You can mix it up by having milk and some other calcium-rich dairy
foods. Here’s one combination: • two cups (about half a litre) of low-fat or nonfat milk • one slice cheddar cheese • half cup (small container) of yogurt You probably will want something other than milk or water once in a while, so it’s OK to have 100% juice, too. But try to limit sugary drinks, like sodas, juice cocktails, and fruit punches. They contain a lot of added sugar. Sugar just adds calories and unimportant nutrients.
dad says it’s time to stop watching TV or playing computer games! Speaking of parents, they can be a big help if you want to be a fit kid. For instance, they can stock the house with healthy foods and plan physical activities for the family. Tell your parents about these five steps you want to take and maybe you can teach them a thing or two. If you’re a fit kid, why shouldn’t you have a fit Mom and Dad! ¨
Listen to Your Body What does it feel like to be full? When you’re eating, notice how your body feels and when your stomach feels comfortably full. Sometimes, people eat too much because they don’t notice when they need to stop eating. Eating too much can make you feel uncomfortable and, over a period of time, can lead to unhealthy weight gain. Limit Screen Time What’s screen time? It’s the amount of time you spend watching TV or DVDs, playing video games (console systems or handheld games), and using the computer. The more time you spend on these sitting-down activities, the less time you have for active stuff, like football, bike riding, and swimming. Try to spend no more than two hours a day on screen time, not counting computer use related to schoolwork. Be Active One job you have as a kid — and it’s a fun one — is that you get to figure out which activities you like best. Not everyone loves cricket or football. Maybe your passion is karate, or tennis, or dancing. Ask your parents to help you do your favourite activities regularly. Find ways to be active every day. You might even write down a list of fun stuff to do, so you can refer to it when your mom or
GLADRAGS 59
woman pretty
She’s a top TV actress in Mumbai who’s a softspoken, simple Punjabi girl at heart. Chahat Khanna up-close and personal Make-up and Hairstyling: Mahendra Gupta Photography: Dilip Yande
C
hahat first acted in an ad for Cadburys, with Pradeep Sarkar in 2002. Her first TV series, called “Sachi Baat Sabhi Jag Jane” followed. She later acted in another popular TV series called “Kajjal” on Sony TV. After that she acted in the TV series “Ek Main Ek Tum”. Later she very successfully played the part of a squad leader on MTV Show “Stuntmania”. Tall and pretty Chahat Khanna made her film debut in the dark comedy “7½ Phere” in 2005. The film was about how a family wedding is aired on television without the knowledge of the family members. In that same year she was cast in another thriller “The Film”. The film revolved around the lives of struggling film artistes.
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woman pretty
Chahat is currently acting in the TV serial “Badhe Achche Lagte Hain” on Sony TV. At the age of 20 she got married; but the marriage ended shortly in divorce. Though she was born in Mumbai she comes from a Punjabi family. Not one to believe in the caste system or dharam in its narrow sense, she is, however, a hard-core believer of karma. She’s also fun loving, vibrant, polite, soft-spoken and versatile. But at the same time she is emotionally very strong. As a kid she was a tomboy. Even today she says she is the same, but now she says she is mentally courageous and brave...
Opposite Page: Black Gown by Vizyon This Page: Jacket by Zara: `7,390 Bangle by Chemistry: `599 Shoes by Tresmode: `5,990 Blouse by Mango: `1,990 Skirt by Mango: `4,990
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The colours which define her are rainbow colours! She is a shopaholic and a strong, emotional, typical girl who believes in angels and good deeds
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Since her childhood she’s been very liberal, upfront and honest. But she feels being honest and upfront gets her into trouble quite often but she’s sure she won’t change as she knows it’s a good quality. Chahat believes in strong ethics and feels this era is wrong for her… She doesn’t have many friends because she has learnt some bitter lessons quite early in her life. Today she’s a very positive and a very hardworking girl. She believes in angels and in good deeds! Ever since she can remember she’s been creative, be it writing, cooking, painting, make-up, interior decoration, music or handicrafts. She also loves to cook. She was a writer much before she could act, she says. If that’s not enough it turns out that she is also very patriotic at heart! She wants to improve her Motherland and help needy people, so she says she may end up doing social service in her late 30s. She also loves kids and it’s one of the reasons she wants to get married again…
Jacket by Lecoanet & Hemant Shorts by Free Culture: `1,299 Top by Zara: `2,390 Sunglasses by Mango: `1,150
Chahat says she is a family person, and that she doesn’t party much; for her going to a party is feeling good which she says she feels when she’s at home or at a spa or if she’s out dining / wining with either her girlfriends or beau Kanan. Animals and nature are her passion. She has two pet dogs at home. She’s also an animal welfare officer of Karuna Pariwar and wants to keep a kitten but feels her dogs won’t let the kitten live peacefully. Having a pet tiger cub…. is her dream. The colours which define her are rainbow colours! A shopaholic, when she isn’t shooting she is at home or shopping or watching TV or at the spa. She also goes to the gym but not regularly. She does yoga and meditates to connect to the Supreme Soul, God...She loves the rains...She loves to travel, loves coffee, fragrances, music, wine, flowers and most of all, she loves nature and herself for sure.
Bangle by Aldo: `1,100 Neck piece by Zara: `1,990 Bag by High Design Top by Chemistry: `1,999 Pants by Zara: `3,790 Shoes by Tresmode: `7,490 Jacket by Zara: `3,790 Top by Lecoanet & Hemant Shoes by Zara: `5,390 Trousers by Zara: `3,790 Bracelet by Aldo: `1,100 GLADRAGS 63
Crimson
Tide
Bright red always draws attention and makes its own statement. It’s sassy and hot Make-up and Hairstyling: Mahendra Gupta Photography: Dilip Yande
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1. Dress and bag, both from DKNY: `15,900 and `15,250 2. Dress from Ogaan: `15,150 3. Dress from Si Branche: `3,950 4. Jumpsuit from Masaba: `5,500
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Florals & Checks
For fashion forward girls the playsuit is the perfect trend to be seen in. They’re cute, girly and practical
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1. Shorts and boots, both from Attic: `3,650 and `8,250 2. Playsuit from Attic: `2,850 3. Playsuit from Attic: `7,320 4. Top from Attic: `6,430
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Neutrally
Yours
Neutral dressing has always been every woman’s staple wear. Throw in any colour & you will always look smart
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1. Dress and bag, both from DKNY: `31,800 and `9,750 2. Skirt and cape, both from Bombay Electric: `8,400 and `8,000; Bustier from Aartivijay Gupta: `5,500 3. Dress from Rohit Bal: `34,990 4. Dress from Bombay Electric: `14,000
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Burst of Colours Shoppers Guide Aartivijay Gupta
Neel Kamal, Bandra (W), Mumbai. Tel: 09892 068818
Attic
Bir Sagar, 396/20 Flat No. 1, Santa Cruz (W), Mumbai. Tel: 32169292
Bombay Electric
Reay Building, BEST Marg, Colaba, Mumbai. Tel: 22876276
DKNY
Palladium, Lower Parel, Mumbai. Tel: 40043686
Masaba
8, New Sujata Co-operative Housing Society, Juhu Tara Rd., Santa Cruz (West), Mumbai Phone No.65298694
Rohit Bal
Palladium, Lower Parel, Mumbai. Tel: 30723828
Si Branche
Kenwood Apts., Dr. Ambedkar Rd. Bandra (W), Mumbai. Tel: 26046714
Ogaan
Vaswani House, 7 BEST Marg, Colaba, Mumbai. Tel: 22833576 70 GLADRAGS
1.
This year, women are going overboard on bright, bold citrus colours. 1. Corset from Si Branche: `3,950; Dhoti from Masaba: `3,500 2. Dress from Pia Pauro: `5,800 3. Dress from Si Branche: `3,950
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Dream Machines There are a staggering array of cars out there for each and every prospective car owner. Our models road-tested them and did they feel the heat! As they say the only difference between men and boys is the price of their toys! Photography: Dilip Yande
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Sporty Excess Featured here The Lamborghini Aventador HP= 700 @ 8.250 RPM CC= V12 Petrol / Two Seats Speed= 350 km/hr Price: `4 Cr. Men Suits by Kavita Sonchatra
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Way of Life Maruti Suzuki Ertiga HP= 90@4000 RPM CC= 1298 Diesel / Four Seats Speed=220 km/hr Price: `8.88 Lacs
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Cruise Control The Chevrolet Cruze HP= 150@4000 RPM CC= 1991 Petrol / Four Seats Speed=215 km/hr Price: `15.78 Lacs
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King of the Road
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Rolls Royce Ghost HP= 780@1500 RPM CC= V12 White Petrol / Four Seats Speed= 250 km/hr Price: `4.65 Cr. Casuals from AND : `4,500
Super Smart Volkswagen Jetta HP= 140@4200 RPM CC= 1968 Petrol / Four Seats Speed=210 km/hr Price: `17.5 Lacs Dress from Si Branche: `3,950 Make-up and Hairstyling: Mahendra Gupta
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Colour Play Skoda Superb HP= 118@4500 RPM CC= V / 12 Petrol / Four Seats Speed= 235 km/hr Price: `28.74 Lacs Tunic from Rohit Bal: `12,990
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Speed Queen Mercedes Benz AMG HP= 386@6800 RPM CC= 6208 Petrol / Two Seats Speed= 250km/hr Price: `2 Cr. Dress from Si Branche: `11,950
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The Road Test
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Sonata Hybrid HP= 166@6000 RPM CC= 2359 Petrol / Four Seats Speed= 230 km/hr Price: `21.61 Lacs Dress from Aartivijay Gupta: `7,500
Car Showrooms
Auto Hangar (India) Pvt. Ltd. Electric Mansion, Appasaheb Marathe Marg, Prabhadevi, Mumbai. Tel: 6743 4360 / 64
Autobahn Enterprises Pvt. Ltd.
Marathe Udyog Bhavan, Appasaheb Marathe Marg, Prabhadevi, Mumbai. Tel: 6662 8800
Curves Ahead!
Navnit Motors (Rolls Royce)
48, Atria Mall, Dr. Annie Besant Rd., Worli, Mumbai. Tel: 2481 3326 / 35
Volkswagen Downtown Mumbai
Shaman Cars Pvt. Ltd., Sumer Apts., Shankar Ghanekar Marg, Prabhadevi, Tel: 6604 4444
Vitesse Pvt. Ltd. (Maruti Suzuki)
Turf View, Seth Motilal G. Sanghi Marg, Worli, Mumbai. Tel: 2494 5464
Designers Guide
Nikhil Motors (Chevrolet)
Aartivijay Gupta 13 Neel Mahal Apartments, 25th Rd., Bandra (W), Mumbai. Tel: 09892 068818
Pramukh Hyundai
AND & Rohit Bal Palladium, High Street Phoenix Lower Parel, Mumbai. Tel: 65231234 & 3072 3828/29/30
Vaswani Chambers,Dr. Annie Besant Rd., Prabhadevi, Mumbai. Tel: 09594 989923
Appasaheb Marathe Marg, Prabhadevi, Mumbai. Tel: 2421 2783 / 2436 8153
Si Branche Kenwood Apartments, Dr. Ambedkar Rd., Bandra (W), Mumbai. Tel: 26046714
Mercedes Benz AMG HP= 386@6800 RPM CC= 6208 Petrol / Two Seats / Speed=250 km/hr / Price: `2 Cr. Dress from Si Branche: `8,950
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Love Lessons
A
It’s a heartache / Nothing but a... Oh, be quiet, we know already. But do you know what you can learn from your dashed romances? Yashu Birla offers up a three-part tutorial
h, the exquisite agony of heartbreak. We who have experienced it know that romantic love is a fall-in, crawl-out proposition: When you’re bonding with that special someone, everything is wondrously effortless; when the relationship hits the skids, getting through an ordinary day feels like climbing Everest without supplemental oxygen. But every instance of heartbreak can teach us powerful lessons about creating the kind of love we really want. Mind you, just having your heart broken won’t get you a degree in love-ology. If you learn nothing from heartbreak, you’ll keep repeating the same old painful subject matter in one bad relationship after another. If you refuse to love at all, you will guarantee isolation and pain, rather than preventing them. The only way to graduate from Heartbreak Academy is to really master the material, and that means absorbing crucial lessons about your true self, your true needs, and the nature of true love. COURSE OFFERINGS FROM THE HEARTBREAK ACADEMY OF INTENSE EMOTIONAL PAIN There are many ways to get your heart broken, all of them highly educational. Breakup 101 will teach you all about the 82 GLADRAGS
discouragement and guilt that set in when you end a relationship that just isn’t working. In Situational Heartbreak 165, you’ll learn about the pain that occurs when you and your loved one are separated by circumstances such as geographic distance or (God forbid) death. Then there’s Advanced Conflict 206, a combat-training course you enter when you and your significant other become locked in a war of wills. Most unpleasant of all, in my opinion, is Unilateral Torture 262. This class starts when you’re deeply in love, investing full trust and openness in a relationship, and suddenly your partner calls the whole thing off or simply stops calling at all. It’s like getting hit by a truck, only way slower and more humiliating. STUDY GUIDE: HOW TO MAKE IT THROUGH HEARTBREAK ACADEMY I was in my first semester of Unilateral Torture 262, a class I’d taken three or four times already, when I stumbled across a concept in a psychology textbook that finally allowed me to learn my lesson and move on. I don’t remember anything else about that book, but I recall one crucial sentence perfectly. “Some patients,” it said, “mistakenly believe that their loneliness is a product of another person’s absence.” I stopped and reread this maybe ten times, but it still baffled me. I could have sworn
that my loneliness was a product of my ex-significant other’s absence. If not, then what on earth was it? Finally, slowly, over the next several days, weeks, years, the light dawned: My loneliness, and the antidote to it, did not come from the significant others I’d loved and lost. I’d been emotionally isolated before I ever fell in love.Something about certain people helped me lower the drawbridge over the moat that separated me from the world, but in the final analysis I was the one who’d actually done the trick. The power to bring me out of solitude – or to push me back into it – had never belonged to any other person. It was mine and only mine. This realization is the most important thing you need to get through Heartbreak Academy with minimum effort and maximum positive effect. Realizing that your heartbreak is not a product of the other person’s absence brings the pain into an arena where you can work with it, instead of riveting your attention on some missing lover you may never see again and could never really control. Each time you find yourself longing for the love that was, asking yourself the following studyguide questions will help you learn the lessons of heartbreak and move on to a relationship that works. STUDY QUESTION #1: HOW OLD DO I FEEL? Most often, heartbroken people are unknowingly grieving a loss or trauma rooted in childhood or adolescence. That’s because we tend to fall in love with people who remind us of those who cared for us–even badly–when we were young and totally vulnerable. We become childlike when we feel securely adored, letting go of all inhibition. The failure of adult relationships is often caused by the dysfunctions we internalized as children, and the devastation we endure when we’re rejected almost always opens ancient wounds, making us feel as bereft as an abandoned little kid. If you ask yourself how old you feel when you’re in the worst throes of heartbreak, you’ll probably find that a surprisingly low number pops into your head. Whatever the age of your grieving inner child, it’s your job to comfort her, as you would help a toddler or a teen who had lost a parent. Do small, practical, caring things for yourself: Listen to a song that helps you grieve, schedule a coffee date with your best friend, wrap a soft blanket around yourself and let the tears come. Most important of all, give your childish self the chance to talk. Open your journal or
visit a good friend, and let yourself express your anger and anguish in all its irrational, immature glory. As you do this, you will almost certainly find yourself grieving losses you suffered way back, as well as the one you’ve just endured. This is good: It means that you are finally progressing beyond ways of thinking and acting that didn’t work for you early in your life and still aren’t working today. Acknowledging and comforting that younger self is absolutely essential to easing your pain, recovering from your wounds, and finding new sources of healthy love.
I could have sworn that my loneliness was a product of my ex’s absence. If not, then what on earth was it? STUDY QUESTION #2: WHAT DID MY LOST LOVE HELP ME BELIEVE ABOUT MYSELF? Look back on the time when you were falling in love, and you’ll realize that though much (or some) of your time with your lover was fabulous, the relationship made you happy even when the two of you were physically apart. The really potent part of love is that it allows you to carry around beliefs about yourself that make you feel special, desirable, precious, innately good. To graduate from Heartbreak Academy, you have to learn that neither your ex-beloved nor the fact of being in love invested you with these qualities. Your lover couldn’t have seen them in you, even temporarily if they weren’t part of your essential being. Make a list of all the things you let yourself believe when you saw yourself mirrored in loving eyes. Write them as facts: I’m fascinating. I’m beautiful. I’m funny. I’m important. Realize that you chose to believe these things in the context of your relationship, and now that the relationship is over, you have another choice: either to reject a loving view of yourself or to believe the truth. But, you may say, what if these positive things aren’t really true at all? What if the truth is that I’m hopelessly unlovable? Well, let me remind you that when you believe you’re an insignificant bird dropping on the sooty grey pavement of life, you feel unspeakably horrible. On the other hand, when you opt for believing what love once taught you about yourself, the core of your
despair is replaced by sweetness, however bitter your subsequent loss. I say, use what works. Self-concept is a self-fulfilling prophecy: When we let ourselves believe that we’re wonderfully attractive, we act wonderfully attractive. By letting yourself believe the most loving things your ex ever said about you, you can get rid of the bathwater but keep the baby, honouring and preserving what was precious in your relationship, while letting go of the pain. STUDY QUESTION #3: WHAT DID MY RELATIONSHIP GIVE ME PERMISSION TO DO? Being in love is so intoxicating, that special person so compelling, that lovers often drop some of the obligations and rules that dominated their lives before they met. When you’re in love, you may forget that you don’t usually allow yourself to splurge on perfume, or write poetry, or be wildly sexual, or say no to invitations you’d rather not accept. When your relationship is over, the bleak prospect of going back to the rules can drive you to the brink of despair, making you pine obsessively for your lost love to return and free you again. Eliminate the middleman. Free yourself. You can start by making another list. This time write down all the forbidden things you allowed yourself to do when you were madly in love with someone who was madly in love with you. Now give yourself permission to do all those things anyway. Nothing can make your trip through Heartbreak Academy easy or painless. Grieving will always hurt, but it is not mindless torture. It’s more like panning for gold. Recurrent floods of sadness and anger gradually wash away the rubble of the defunct relationship, leaving only the bits of treasure: the remembered moments of real communion, a new understanding of your own mistakes, a clear picture of the dysfunctions you will never tolerate again. Letting these precious things emerge naturally means that you will retain the real love you’ve received, even as you let go of your former lover. And realizing that you hold the keys to your own healing will keep sadness from becoming despair and help you master the lessons a broken heart can teach. It means the relationships you create after that will be more trustworthy, the unavoidable losses less devastating. “The world breaks everyone,” Hemingway once wrote, “and afterward many are strong at the broken places.” A broken heart is simply a heart that has a chance to become stronger. It’s a heart that is more self-sufficient, more open to the truth, and more capable of lasting love. ¨ GLADRAGS 83
WHO’S STRONGER? Q: Why do women think that all men are crybabies and they themselves are patients of saintliness? A: Because by seeing illness as a test of character, they're all sick in the head, says Mahesh Deshpande Men and women are sick. Frequently. It’s one of the things we have in common. And so, of course, it is one of the fronts on which gender war is waged, one of the more obscure fronts where women try to gain a few inches of no-man’s-land, even though men (clumsy louts that we are) thought the war had ended 20 years ago. We’re out the back playing cards and the harmonica, dreaming of home, while the tabloid women writers, like some WWII mercenary soldiers, are still fighting away their tiny wars decades after hostilities have ended. One of the staple subjects of tired old female columnists (feel free to adopt a na-nya-na-na-nya voice) is: “Why are men such babies whenever they get a cold?” When sickness descends, we are told that women just carry on regardless, juggling their many responsibilities (like shopping and working), while men take to their beds and make out they’ve got the plague. This is surely a further example, if one were ever needed, of how we are truly two completely different species brought together by a mutual desire for sex. “Sticks and stones,” I hear you say. That’s all it is... just women having a little dig after millennia of raising babies and never getting to play with the spears. Na-nya-nana-nya. But when men and women live together and one of them is sick it can, for this reason, place a real strain on a relationship in a matter of days. And once again, the fault lies fairly and squarely at the feet of the perpetrators of lazy post-feminist myths. 84 GLADRAGS
In fact, men and women are both pretty similar when it comes to getting the sniffles – we both bitch and moan. We have not lived through the World War II Blitz and we did not know rationing on that scale but, on the other hand, what we do know is how to whine like a puppy with its nose in its own ordure. This myth that when men have a cold or an ingrowing toenail they make out like they’ve just had their leg blown off in armed combat (when, in fact, it is men who generally suffer that fate) is rubbish. One of the reasons men die, on average, seven years earlier than women is because when a man shows symptoms of something bad, he is more likely to say, “Oh, I expect it’s nothing,” and not go to the doctor until something actually drops off or stops working. Women, on the other hand, take some curious pride in the health-giving properties of all those papaya face rubs and eating things that taste disgusting “because they’re good for you”. When you first go out with a woman she will declare: “I never get sick.” She’s lying. What she’s saying is: “Because I ingest such vast quantities of salad every week while you prefer non-veg monstrosities, my body is a temple while yours more closely resembles a scrapyard.” It’s a fair point about the non-veg craze, but the fact is women do get sick – all the time. When they do, they make a huge fuss about it and then point-blank refuse to take the drugs that have been researched and produced, at the cost of billions of dollars, in pharmaceutical labs high up in the Swiss alps by egghead professors of chemistry tempted away from Cambridge by the thought of the profits gained from inventing the next get well soon remedy. A small cup of fruit juice with a drop of Echinacea in it is simply not enough. Wheatgrass, anyone? Hello, have you tasted that shit? Why do you think evolution gave you taste buds? “No...” women say, after moaning all evening about their cold until you just want to scream so you offer them relief in a capsule. “No. I don’t like taking those.” When a man is ill he’ll take anything, regardless of whether it comes from Swiss alpine laboratories or is entirely untested and from the Amazon rainforest. In my experience, most men would quite like to be left alone when they are ill, not fussed over. A simple stack of newspapers, a book maybe, a TV remote and a duvet are all we need to wallow
in self-pity. And of course, several types of state-of-the-art medicine. I share my domicile with another man and when I get ill he cheerfully ignores me and I him; it works fine. Girlfriends, on the other hand, have had me minicabbing across our city at midnight so I can go shopping for them at their local corner store and bring then fresh supplies of honey, lemons and celebrity magazines. It’s not queues of old men I hear of blocking up the OPD’s at governmentrun hospitals, it’s lonely old women who, neglected by society and mourning their husbands (who died because they didn’t think that nasty looking growth was anything to worry about), just fancy a chat and bit of sympathy. So why do so many women like to trot out the old, “Oh, you know what men are like when they’re ill” crap? I used to go out with someone who was often strategically “sick” – usually at exactly the same time as some onerous, or just mildly inconvenient, social event. She was clearly faking it to avoid doing something she didn’t want to. This is fair enough – which one of us hasn’t thrown the occasional sickie to coincide with a girlfriend’s friend’s baby shower? But – and this is what used to get me – she would never, ever admit that this was strategic illness. She always maintained that despite all outward signs to the contrary, she was not faking it. And so, like a Victorian novelist, she would “take
to her bed”, sometimes for days at a time. No one likes to cry “fake” in this situation. So what do you do? Try to tempt your sick chick out of her pit with little nuggets of good stuff. A walk in the park, perhaps? No. A little light shopping, my sweet? Maybe. A night out abusing your body with alcohol and chemicals that will wreck your body for days to come? You don’t want to do that do you, darling? Ooh, yes please, and there she goes: off into the night like Speedy Gonzalez after a week on Red Bull. Would she take two Crocin? Would she heck. Would she, however, in a night-out situation happily ingest some tablet or powder which had probably been assembled by some junkie from floor sweepings in his smack squat in Amsterdam? By Jiminy, yes she would. Munchausen’s syndrome – the desire to seek attention through faking or amplifying medical symptoms – is a serious subject. With a name like that it would have to be. Which is what, in some form, we’re being accused of here. So why won’t women take medicine off some little guy in Switzerland with a string of scientific qualifications after his name but they will take Amazonian tree bark in capsule form and then say we men are the ones with a twisted relationship with illness? It beats me. I guess they’re sicker than we thought. ¨
When they’re ill, men like to be left alone. A TV remote control and a duvet are all we need
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7
Crime Detectives Reveal...
Did you know that your iPod could kill you?That tailgating could get you car-jacked? Or that rapists and murderers know exactly how to get your address? Three detectives divulge secrets of self-preservation to memorize today.
H
ow safe are you, really? Probably not as safe as you think–or as safe as you could be. In fact, 7 simple actions could make the difference between your life and death, according to crime detectives. The detectives spoke from the heart–and from experience: Between them, they have 51 years of expertise in all areas of law enforcement, from homicide and narcotics to auto theft and gang squads. “If you go out on a Friday night, you plan your movie, your dinner, and you dress a certain way,” explains one of the detectives. “If you’re at work, you gauge what kind of mood the boss is in and plan accordingly. So why not plan for scenarios that have to do with your personal safety? Just by being aware of the possible dangers, you help avoid disaster. Why? Because you gain a huge advantage over a potential attacker, who thinks you’re not aware. If the bad guy sees you taking precautions, he’ll back
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off because–believe me–there are easier fish out there.” Here, then, 7 Dos and Don’ts that may well save your life.
Do make sure your phone number is unlisted. “This is an obvious piece of advice, maybe–but it’s one that an astonishing number of single women simply don’t follow.” Don’t make a big purchase on payday. Salaries are paid at the first week of the month. Those are the days that criminals are out in force because they know you have money. Crooks love to zero in on women walking fast to the bank. You go inside to get cash, and when you come out, you have the word victim written all over you–so boom! They jump you. Or they look
for women making a big purchase– like a big-screen TV–a tip-off that you have money to spend. (“Buy your big purchases on an off day–meaning not a payday,” a detective warns.) But the most dangerous places, according to the detectives are ATM’s where women, strangely enough, often count their cash on the street. “People hang out outside those joints on payday, just waiting for women to emerge. If you absolutely have to go to an ATM or bank, count your money in a hidden place or at the counter–who cares if everyone in line behind you gets mad?–and be extra careful when you leave.” Also, when you go shopping: • IF YOU FEEL THREATENED, LEAVE THE STORE WITH YOUR CAR KEYS IN YOUR HAND–especially if you’re at a mall, if it’s dark or if you’re parked far from an entrance. Slip one key between each finger so you can slash attackers. Better yet, carry a can of Mace.
• LOOK IN THE BACK SEAT of your car before you open the door, and always lock all doors as soon as you get inside. • HOLD YOUR HEAD HIGH WHEN YOU’RE LOADING YOUR TRUNK “Goons will push you into the trunk if you’re looking down,” notes a detective, adding that any time you leave the keys in your ignition and walk away from the car–even for a minute–you’re inviting trouble. “I once arrested a guy who stole a car after a woman had stopped for two seconds to buy a newspaper. She got out of the car and left it running with a child in the rear seat while she walked to the news-stand. The guy jumped into the car–and when he discovered the kid in the back, he pulled over, dropped the baby on the side of the road and took off again. The baby was recovered and returned to his mother, but imagine what could have happened.”
Don’t lower your head
when you unlock the front door of your house or apartment. “Look around you as you’re putting the key in the lock, because someone may be watching you, and once your head goes down and you unlock the door, they push you inside– and then you’re trapped.” Remember these three other cautionary measures: • TAKE YOUR KEYS OUT OF YOUR POCKET and hold them in your hand before you arrive home. “That way, you don’t spend any time in a dark doorway fumbling for your keys. The more tentative and slow you seem, the bigger a target you are.” • MAKE SURE ALL YOUR KEYS ARE FACING IN THE SAME DIRECTION. “That way, you don’t have to flip them around constantly and search for the right direction so that you can open your
“If I can follow you for four or five metres and you don’t notice me, I can definitely rob you.”
door.” • KEEP YOUR HOUSE KEYS AND CAR KEYS ON SEPARATE CHAINS. This makes it easier to find the exact key you’re looking for–so that you avoid looking down. Never look down. It’s something to always keep in mind. Women looking down and looking out of touch are what rapists are hunting for– and what other perpetrators look for too.
Do program 100 as the first auto-dial on your cellphone. That way, if you’re attacked, you don’t have to think about which buttons to push. Even if your attacker knocks your cell away, as long as you’ve hit that insta-dial, the emergency operator will be listening; operators are trained to respond to whatever they hear, even if it’s incidental. Besides, you can scream out information–your location, your attacker’s description and what he’s doing to you. The operator will hear you, and the call is taped; officials can rewind that tape and listen to your information as often as they need to. “There was a recent case where the major evidence against the perpetrator in a trial was the conversation the victim had with him while her cellphone was on the floor,” says our source. “She dialled the emergency operator, the call was taped, and that conversation put the guy behind bars.” Don’t pull up close to the rear bumper of the car in front of you when you stop at a traffic light Many car-jackings happen when people are parked at lights, and if you’re too close to the car ahead of you, you can’t pull away–which is exactly what car-jackers look for. “A guy I worked with–a police officer on his way home from work–once stopped at a light right behind a car,” notes one detective. “A suspicious-looking guy walked up to his car, and when the cop reached for his gun, the guy pulled out his own gun and fired. The cop survived, but it just goes to show you that you can’t be too careful.” Two other pieces of driving advice: • HIDE YOUR WALLET IN THE GLOVE COMPARTMENT OR UNDER THE SEAT If your purse is visible on your lap, the dashboard or the seat beside or behind you, you’re much more
vulnerable to a car-jacking. • ALWAYS PARK UNDER A STREETLIGHT. Rapists and muggers deliberately target women who park in the dark.
Do make a scene when you’re leaving the scene. When you’re out at a bar or a club, introduce any guy you might go home with to all your friends. If, for some reason, you’re at a bar alone, call a friend and leave a message saying who you’re going home with–what he looks like, what he says his name is, where he says he lives. (Get his business card, if you can.) Or call your own answering machine and leave a message. If you turn up missing, the first thing your family will do is search your home, and the information will be waiting for them. Also: • TIP BIG. The bartender will definitely notice you, which means he or she will be more likely to watch out for you– and will probably remember if you’re suddenly missing. He or she will also be better able to describe you to cops. • DONT TAKE YOUR EYES OFF YOUR DRINK. Avoid becoming a date-rapedrug target! If you go to the bathroom, ask the bartender to put your drink behind the bar, or take the drink to the ladies room, finish your drink or throw it away. Never drink from a glass you’ve left unattended even if you just went to dance. Don’t obey someone
who points a gun at you and tells you to get into his car. You might think you’re saving your life because you’re following the direction of someone who’s threatening to shoot you, but your risk actually goes up if you get into the car. When you run, you become a much more difficult target to hit. Not only that, the perpetrator probably wouldn’t shoot anyway because it would attract attention. Instead, he’s likely to find a more compliant victim. Whatever he wants from you is something he can’t do in public–it doesn’t serve his purpose to shoot you there, or he wouldn’t be telling you to get in the car to begin with. And if someone wants to take you from a public place to a private place, you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know that whatever they want to do to you is something really, really bad. o
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THE BODY THE CULT OF THE CLEANSE WHY PEOPLE ARE OBSESSED WITH PURIFYING THEMSELVES, ONE JUICE AT A TIME.
Alec Baldwin had been working 70-hour weeks for months straight and badly needed a break. But instead of hopping on the next plane to the Seychelles, the star of a TV serial gave up solid food for three days and put himself on the LOVEdeep Cleanse from Organic Avenue, a regimen of chlorophyll shots, grapefruit juices, and pressed-vegetable drinks. “I thought it would be a nice indulgence for my body to recuperate and reset,” he says. “I don’t know that it’s for everyone.”
88 GLADRAGS JULY-AUG 2012
M
deprivation make them feel healthier, aybe not, but cleansing, which more relaxed, clearer-headed. “I felt once attracted only anorexics almost high,” says Krishna Kumar, 26, a and wheatgrass zealots, is the fashion coordinator in Delhi, of his first new American national dietary cleanse. “My body was running like a obsession. According to a research well-oiled machine.” Now he detoxes firm, the number of food and drink twice a year. Navin Singal, 35, who works products that claim to detoxify the body at a bank, repeats his Cooler Cleanse, a has grown nearly fourfold in 10 years. three-day regimen of greens-and-ginger Most cleanses are liquid fasts (liquids of and carrot-and-beet drinks, three or four choice vary from cashew milk to pressed times a year. “I like the concept of giving vegetables to the Master Cleanse’s mix your body a break from food,” he says. of maple syrup, lemon, and cayenne But the high from low-calorie cleanses pepper) and typically run from three can also leave users feeling lightto five days. Detoxing isn’t limited to headed and absentminded, and Kumar liquid fasts, though; some solid-food admits, “My favourite excuse for minor diets—like the CambiatiCleanse—call for mistakes at work is, ‘I’m sorry, I’m doing 28-day stretches without dairy, gluten, a cleanse.’” and sugar. And while it may be difficult In this organic-obsessed era, when for adherents to verify post-cleanse that we demand that even our chocolate toxins have been eliminated from their be manufactured locally, it’s easy to be bodies, the resulting weight loss is easier seduced by a seemingly simple solution to measure. It’s no surprise, then, that to what ails us (the fact in major cities there that most of the plans are are about as many delivered to your doorstep places to stock up doesn’t hurt, either). “We on cleansing kits as have a sense that our there are places to environment is toxic,” buy skinny jeans. And NO. 1: MEAT STAYS IN YOUR says a researcher at the we’re not just talking SYSTEM LONGER THAN University of California juice bars. VEGETABLES. at Davis and a detox Cooler Cleanse, the Whether it’s steak, bacon, devotee, “The idea that New York City-based salads, fruits, dairy—it all exits there may be a way of raw-juice programme your system at roughly the cleansing the body of same time. cofounded by the these toxins is incredibly actress Salma Hayek, NO. 2: FIBRE IS THE ONIY appealing.” is sold in many gyms COMPONENT OF FOOD For his part, Baldwin and restaurants and THAT SPEEDS DIGESTION. was so enamoured of Starbucks is also Fat is a key lubricant too. his cleanse that he often offering a line of NO. 3: RAW FOOD IS DIGESTED arrives at the TV serial cleansing pressedMORE EFFICIENTLY THAN set in New York laden vegetable juices. COOKED FOOD. with bright-orange bags But is the detox Cooking food breaks down from the Organic Avenue obsession a good proteins and plant fibre, making store in the West Village, thing? Doctors most foods easier to digest. where Jennifer Aniston generally agree that and Justin Theroux were cleanses won’t improve recently photographed together. “My your health. The body detoxifies itself crew makes fun of me when I roll up with (that’s what the liver and kidneys are them,” Baldwin says, “but I’ve noticed for), and trying to accelerate that process more and more of the orange bags is pointless—and potentially harmful. popping up on set.” According to the American Dietetic Although the cleansing boom has Association, cleanses can give you flulike attracted its share of evangelizing symptoms, atrophy muscle, and deplete fanatics, Baldwin is not one of them. your body of nutrients. Some nutritionists He tries not to be self-righteous about are less critical. The hard-core cleanses, what he’s swigging, especially since like the Master Cleanse or the ones that sometimes it’s a beer that’s washing are just teas, are never necessary, say down a burger—the kind of casual binge dietitians. But if you’re just focused on his juice-purge regimen lets him indulge fruits and vegetables for a few days, it’s in. “I believe in everything in moderation,” fine. the actor says. “You’ve got to live.” Many cleansers say their days of
THREE MYTHS ABOUT DIGESTION
DESTINATION CLEANSE FOR A CLEAN GETAWAY, VISIT ONE OF THESE LUXE PURIFICATION RETREATS.
CHIVA-SOM HUA HIN, THAILAND This favourite of the Beckhams employs the traditional Ayurveda method of detoxing, but lounging on the beach is also an activity option. chivasom.com
THE ASHRAM MALLORCA, SPAIN Limited to 14 guests during each weeklong session. The day starts at 5:30 A.M. with yoga, followed by an intense four-to-six-hour guided hike. theashram.com
THE RANCH AT LIVE OAK MALIBU MALIBU, CALIFORNIA A typical day begins with a 12-mile trek, followed by small-group yoga, Pilates classes, and massages. theranchmalibu.com
GLADRAGS 89
THE MOST POPULAR CLEANSE PROGRAMMES, AT A GLANCE ORGANIC AVENUE LOVE CLEANSE
JUICES
COOLER CLEANSE BLUEPRINT FOUNDATION CLEANSE
MEAL PLANS
SUPPLEMENTS
PRESSED JUICERY BE WELL BY DR. FRANK LIPMAN CLEANSE THE CLEAN CLEANSE DAVID KRISCH 5-DAY DETOX JOULEBODY KICKSTART CLEANSE PALETA MIND & BODY CLEANSE
INGREDIENTS Combinations of pressed veggie and fruit juices, nut milk, chlorophyll. Pressed veggie and fruit juices, nut milk. Pressed veggie and fruit juices, agave syrup, cashew milk. Pressed veggie and fruit juices, almond milk. Protein shakes, herbal supplements, probiotics, and some food. A regimen of protein shakes, digestive enzymes, and probiotics. Protein shakes plus grape-seed extract and supplements for detoxing.
CELEBRITY USERS Gwyneth Paltrow
PERKS COST/DURATION $350/five Tasty concoctions like days* mint chocolate and ginger lemonade. Salma Hayek The bottles are numbered, $290/five days* and you drink one every two hours. Sarah Jessica Daily delivery; offers $325/five Parker, Jason Wu discount spa and fitness days* programs with Exhale Spa. Nicole Richie, Delicious juices like the $350/five Emma Roberts days* Alkalizer (apple, lemon, extra ginger, cayenne). Maggie Approved foods include Gyllenhaal, free-range organic chicken Gwyneth Paltrow and grass-fed lamb. Demi Moore, You can eat food from an Donna Karan approved list created by Dr. Alejandro Junger. Heidi Klum, Includes caffeinated drinks to Anne Hathawav power you through the day— and tasty shakes.
Rachel Zoe Supplements and full A mix of low-cal vegan and meals are delivered; gluten-free meals, protein (a little) coffee is allowed. shakes and bars. Shakes plus chef-prepared Justin Timberlake, Involves more gourmet Kate Hudson meals than detox shakes. “clean food” meals.
$200/14 days $250/21 days $95/five days $425/five days* $645/10 days
† Reviews excerpted from assorted websites and blogs.
COLONICS: INSIDE THE URGE TO PURGE Colonics, designed to flush waste and toxins from the large intestine using up to 95 litres of water, are recommended by most juice brands. The practice has been around for centuries— Hippocrates prescribed them, and Lewis and Clark tried them to combat fevers. The American Medical Association, however, maintains that the practice has no health benefits, and a study published recently in the Journal of Family Practice warned that colonics may increase the risks of bloating, electrolyte imbalance, and kidney failure. No matter— avid followers believe they’re the key to good health and a slim physique. “It’s like getting a massage,” they claim. “It leaves you with this general sense of lightness that’s phenomenal.”
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FASTING: THE ORIGINAL CLEANSE MAKES A COMEBACK
The centuries-old practice of fasting remains one of the safest ways to detox your system and stay lean. It takes 24 to 36 hours (water is allowed) to reap the benefits. Fasting burns your body’s fat stores, which not only hide your abs but also harbour toxins like pesticides. Many who fast describe a greater level of concentration and energy during fasting, and research shows the process may promote longevity. (Hilary Swank and Heidi Klum are devotees.) The health benefits might be due to the fact that our bodies were designed to occasionally go without food–how else could our ancestors have endured a hunt that might last several days?
RANT† “The Coconut Mylk tastes sinful because it IS... it has 700 calories.” “Their green juice and almond milk were completely unpalatable.” “I was STARVING with a massive headache.”
RAVE† “My skin looked glowing, and I ended up losing four pounds!” “I suffer from acne and ... haven’t had a breakout since the cleanse.” “I think it has greatly improved my allergies.”
“I had explosive diarrhoea at the end of every day.”
“Yearning, actually yearning, for my next juice.”
“I had low energy, and I was starting to get a killer headache.” “I was so hungry I could barely think.”
“My sugar cravings were gone…A great thing to do to reset your system.” “It is like I am aging backwards.”
“I’m on Day 2 of the five-day “I lost nine pounds, but the detox and I’m STARVING best result was feeling recharged and energized.” and very lethargic.” “I feel woozy. I haven’t moved from the sofa since breakfast.” “I will not do this cleanse again. The food was one step above bad.”
“I cannot BELIEVE how much energy I have!!” “I just wish I could afford to do this longer than the two months I planned.”
* Cleanses of varying durations are available.
NATURALLY
SWEET
TAMARIND This sandy brown coloured vegetable, is found in great abundance in most countries. It is a central cooking ingredient which is relished mostly for its distinctive sweet and sour flavour.
5 4 THE MILD ACIDITY OF THE FLESH MEANS IT’S PERFECT FOR POLISHING BRASS, COPPER AND OTHER METALS.
1
THE RIPENED PULP IS USED IN COOKING AND LOVED FOR ITS SWEET AND SOUR TASTE, PERFECT FOR FLAVOURING CURRY OR TOM YUM DISHES.
2
When boiled, the steam from tamarind leaves is said to help reduce a fever.
A RIPENED POD CAN BE USED AS A BODY SCRUB WITH THE OUTER COVERING USED AS A LOOFAH.
3
TAMARIND JUICE IS BELIEVED TO SOOTHE A SORE THROAT.
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You think there’s nothing you can do to prevent osteoporosis. But the truth is, no matter what your age, chances are you can stop the disease in its tracks. Beneta Anand reports.
Your Lovely Bones Three glasses of milk per day provide most of the calcium you need.
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W
omen today are worried about osteopenia. That’s why so many of us want a glimpse into our skeletal futures and jump at free check-ups for osteopenia,the latest fad in elite circles. To be diagnosed with osteopenia means your bones are thinner than average and you may well be headed for osteoporosis. A recent survey of 202 women ages 21 to 50 found that nearly one in four has it. Another study reported that 40 per cent of the 2,00,160 postmenopausal American women they tested, ages 50 and older, did, too. Their study also found that the women they continued to follow with
osteopenia were almost twice as likely to break a bone in the next year—usually in the wrist, rib, hip, or forearm, or in the spine, where, with time, a series of often painless fractures caused by compression will eventually result in the classic dowager’s hump. Of course, for those of us who have been counting on hormone replacement therapy to save our bones from such a fate, the recent news that HRT increases the risk of breast cancer, heart disease, and stroke is more than a little rattling. And some women should be more worried than others. In my case, I’m small-framed and I hate milk and love
pinot noir—all of which puts me in a higher risk category for both osteopenia and osteoporosis. Researchers say Caucasian and Asian women tend to have thinner bones than Hispanics and African-Americans. Small-framed women and those who don’t get enough calcium or exercise are also more vulnerable, as are smokers. And some studies show an increased risk for women who often indulge in more than one drink a day. That would be me. Women obsesively throw titbits about the disease known as the silent killer among the elderly. The skeletal crumbling, for example, is so debilitating that it interferes with one’s ability to eat, not to mention getting around, compounding other health problems and precipitating an often fatal decline. According to various statistics, between 16 and 18 per cent of women over 50 have osteoporosis; half the people who break a hip will never walk again unaided; of those over 50, a quarter will die within a year. At the very least, the thought of progressively stooping is enough to send anyone running to her doctor for a bone density scan—which I did, only to be informed that since I’m 43, my insurance won’t pay, and my doctor doesn’t think I need it anyway. “As long as you’re still menstruating, there’s no reason to think you’re losing bone,” she said. And she’s right: Scientists know that the skeleton is constantly breaking down and building itself back up (although the building side of the equation begins to slow in your 30s). But it’s only when oestrogen levels take a nosedive at menopause that tiny bone destroyers called osteoclasts get aggressive and start gnawing away at bone like a dog with a lamb chop. Once that starts, you could lose up to 20 per cent of your bone mass in five to seven years. So you need to do a bone scan as you get older. The more definitive dual energy X-ray absorptiometry, known as DXA or DEXA scan measures the spine, hip, and/ or limbs, and runs quite expensive. So I take my turn in a chair and a technician swabs my heel with a gooey gel before placing my foot in an ultrasound machine that looks like it’s designed to measure shoe size. The test shows I’m a 0.6. That’s my T score, a measurement based on how my bone mineral density compares with the peak density of a young adult woman. The technician says any score over
THE BARE BONES ¨ OSTEOPENIA DIAGNOSIS: it means you have thinner-than-average bones and are at higher risk for osteoporosis. If you haven’t reached menopause, there’s nothing to do except what you should already be doing—exercising, not smoking, and getting enough calcium, if you’re postmenopausal and are diagnosed with osteopenia, you should get tested in a year and may want to consider taking drugs. ¨ OSTEOPOROSIS: Loss of bone tissue leads to bones that can break under the slightest strain. You can reduce your risk by making sure you get enough calcium and exercise. ¨ CALCIUM: Every woman under 51 should consume 1,000 milligrams a day; after menopause, 1,200 milligrams a day. If you don’t get enough from your diet, take a supplement. ¨ EXERCISE: Aim for doing 30 to 60 minutes of weight-bearing exercise (walking, jogging, racket sports, swimming, dancing, etc.) four times a week, along with two resistance-training sessions per week. ¨ SCREENING: Official recommendations suggest initial bone density screenings at age 65, unless you have risk factors for osteoporosis, in which case you should be tested at menopause. But many experts advise all women to get baseline screenings at menopause. The risk factors include having a small frame, a fracture after age 50, a family history of osteoporosis, and being a smoker, if the test is normal, then screenings should be repeated at least every two years.
zero means a woman is at low risk, and I’m instantly reassured. Still, I feel a twinge of bone envy when, on the way out, an African-American woman says she scored a 1.6. A slender white woman in her late 40s looks a bit shaken and avoids eye contact. Later she tells me she got -1.5 on her test (-2.5 indicates osteoporosis) and probably has osteopenia. She needn’t panic, as it turns out. Osteopenia is a non-disease, say endocrinologists. Lots of women in their 30s and 40s will be diagnosed with osteopenia, he explains, but that doesn’t mean they’re destined for osteoporosis. The bone density test results are being misunderstood. Even though studies find that women with osteopenia were almost twice as likely to fracture a
bone in the following year, these were solely postmenopausal women—and, in any case, their absolute risk could be relatively small. In younger women, unless they’ve stopped menstruating because of extreme exercise, anorexia, or a metabolic disorder, an osteopenia diagnosis doesn’t mean they’re losing bone. Most of these women may never have had high bone density, simply because they’re not big people. If you’re five feet two and 47 kg, your bone density might well be lower than average. The only real advantage of finding out you’re osteopenic before menopause is in knowing that you’ll need to be even more vigilant about doing what we all should be doing anyway to prevent osteoporosis: getting plenty of exercise and calcium. Most women who exercise and eat a calcium-rich diet, and then use appropriate medicines if they start losing bone after menopause, can prevent osteoporosis. We know we can stop bone loss. FRACTURE-PROOF YOUR BODY Just as muscle grows stronger the more you use it, a bone becomes denser when you place demands on it—certainly until your early 30s. The best bone-building exercise is resistance training—lifting free weights, using the resistance machines at the gym, even Pilates and yoga. But any kind of weight-bearing exercise—where your legs support your body—helps prevent osteoporosis (jogging and dancing count; swimming and stationary bicycling are not weight bearing and therefore are less helpful). And it’s never too late to start, according to several studies. In one, postmenopausal women who lifted weights for 45 minutes twice a week for a year increased their bone mass by 1 per cent, while the control group, which did no resistance training, lost 2 to 2.5 per cent. Experts recommend doing weight-bearing exercise at least four times a week. o
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Muscle N
ot only is it illegal, it’s also dangerous and has been linked to serious side effects including paralysis, blood clots and heart failure. To make matters worse, research suggests it’s probably not a very effective way to build muscles anyway. The surge in the drug’s popularity may be partly due to the fact that it’s become a favourite of Hollywood actors wanting to quickly pile on muscles for a movie role. In 2007, Sly Stallone was fined NATURAL WAY: by a court in Australia for possession of HGH. Regular exercise Now cheap internet supplies of a version which users self-inject have made the drug easier to get and it’s become commonplace in gyms around the UK. Earlier this year a gym in Bristol was forced to install needle bins to deal with growing numbers of used syringes its members were leaving lying around.
The bigger the better...
Certain groups of men have always strived to look big-muscled – a sort of personal quest to become Mr Universe – and it can become addictive. One of my sons went through a muscle-building phase in his early 20s when
Dicing with danger
Injecting HGH interferes with the pituitary gland in the brain – which orchestrates all our hormones – and so can wreak havoc with your whole hormone system and all your metabolic processes. Studies show that high levels of HGH can lead to swelling of the soft tissues in the body, abnormal growth of the hands, feet and face, high blood pressure, blood clots, diabetes, an increased tendency to sweat, and excessive hair growth. Organs including the heart, liver and kidneys, may also undergo excessive growth, leading to potentially life-threatening problems such as cardiomyopathy, a disease of the heart muscle. Researchers have also linked HGH to an increased risk of cancer, and a risk of overloading the adrenal glands, which can result in infection and illness.
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Drugs
he was boxing regularly to keep fit. I went to see him train once and I looked around at some of the bicep-bound men with arms like tree trunks. I wondered how they could possibly fit into normal clothes. Thankfully my son stopped before reaching mega-muscle status but even then, 15 years ago, he told me there were always illegal drugs around for those who wanted them.
Dying to be muscular?
HGH is the latest in a long line of drugs abused by the muscle-mad with little regard for their safety. Anabolic steroids were common for many years, despite potential side effects including impotence, liver damage and an increased risk of cancer and heart attack. But I’m astonished that so many men are prepared to take HGH which, in my opinion, is even more dangerous than anabolic steroids. I can only assume they must be doing so out of ignorance about what the drug is and how it could affect their body.
Why men take it to boost muscles...
They believe that using synthetic HGH will bolster muscle mass, raising energy levels and boosting libido. It also shortens muscle
It’s terrifying that human growth hormone (HGH) is replacing anabolic steroids as the drug of choice for men desperate to show off a muscular body.
recovery time, which means you can push yourself to work out harder and more often.
Does it even work?
The latest research has raised questions about whether HGH drugs really do have the powerful effect on the body that some believe. Australian researchers recently reported the first scientific evidence that HGH can boost athletic performance. But they found that the improvement it caused was modest, and only worked for sprinting – it didn’t increase overall strength or fitness. The study volunteers who took HGH found they lost body fat and gained lean body mass but this was mostly the result of water retention, not bulking up muscle.
The suppliers
The only legal way to obtain HGH in the UK is by prescription for a severe growth disorder. However, some private doctors get round this law for a fee as they are allowed to prescribe it privately to people they deem to have a deficiency. There’s a multitude of websites selling HGH but these are useless as most are selling it in pill or spray form and HGH only works when injected. Also, who’s to say what you are buying is really synthetic HGH? It could be counterfeit, or worse it could be pituitary HGH, extracted from corpses – a practice banned by the NHS in 1985 due to the risk of transmitting diseases, including HIV.
What is human growth hormone?
Human growth hormone is made naturally in our pituitary gland. It is a microscopic protein substance that is secreted in short pulses during the first hours of sleep and after exercise. It’s needed for childhood growth and the development of muscle, bone and cartilage. But the older we get, the less we produce, which is why it’s often called the “youth hormone”. HGH drugs are usually a synthetic version of the hormone, which must be injected, not taken in pill form, because stomach acid dissolves it.
Does it have any medical purposes?
Human growth hormone is licensed to treat only serious medical conditions in children and adults, including stunted growth and muscle wasting due to AIDS.
Natural ways to boost your body
Human growth hormone is produced naturally by your body, so it may be possible to boost your levels without resorting to dangerous drugs. You can try some of the following... • Exercising regularly but moderately – moderate exercise stimulates HGH production, but excessive exercise has the opposite effect. • Getting eight hours sleep at night. • Avoiding sugar and alcohol. • Eating healthy lean protein such as red meat, chicken or fish. They contain lysine, an amino acid that stimulates HGH production. • Keeping calm. Stress uses up HGH.
The pool training session By Diana Rana, master trainer and health & fitness consultant.
WARM-UP
Spend five minutes walking in the water building up into a jog – this will reduce injury risk. Then do 25 to 30 repetitions of each exercise.
ALWAYS REMEMBER... • Cool down after exercise by slowly reducing your pace at the end of the routine. • Do this routine in a pool with cool water (24oC). Aqua exercise is not advisable in very warm pools because you’ll become dehydrated without even realizing it. • Keep moving throughout the session to avoid muscles tightening and to generate resistance. • Increase the intensity by wearing thick socks on your hands to act as webs. This increases the resistance, and thus the benefits. • Stand in water that reaches your upper chest, so your arms always work under the water.
FLY/ROW Stand with your feet hipwidth apart, knees slightly bent, butt tucked under, abs pulled in tight. Extend your arms to the sides at chest level, palms facing forwards. Keeping your arms almost straight, bring them in to meet at the central axis of your body, palms together in front of your chest. Now flick the wrists over so your palms face outwards, with the back of your hands together and push outward, returning your arms to the start position.
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AB TUCK Lean with your back against the side of the pool, arms up on the poolside for support. Keeping your lower back in contact with the pool wall, lift both knees up to your chest. Make sure your hips don’t float away from the wall.
LATERAL RAISE/ PULL-DOWN
Stand with your feet hip-width apart, knees slightly bent. Your arms should be at your sides, palms facing outwards. Keeping your trunk still, lift your arms up in front of you just to chest level, your elbows only slightly flexed. Turn your wrists over, palms now facing downwards, push down and return your arms to your sides.
FRONT LEG RAISE Stand with feet together, knees loose, abs slightly tensed, backside pulled under – this is the start position. Lift your right leg in front of you, keeping it nearly straight up to hip level, then return to the start position and repeat with your left leg. If you can’t keep your upper body still on this exercise then either hold on to the side for support or actually lean back against the pool wall.
REAR LEG RAISE Get into the same start position as for the front leg raise. Now lean your upper body forward 30 degrees. Lift your right leg to the rear, keeping your hips, chest and shoulders facing forward. You
should feel a squeeze in your buttocks. Return to the start position and switch legs.
CURL/PUSH-DOWN
Place your feet in a short split lunge position, one foot in front of the other, knees slightly bent. With your arms down by your side, palms facing forwards and your elbows pinned to your ribs, lift your palms up to your shoulders – only your forearm should move. Turn your palms over and press down to return to the start position, again keeping your elbows pinned to your ribs.
SIDE LEG RAISE With feet together, knees loose, abs slightly tensed and backside pulled under, lift your right leg out to the side without your hips tilting – you should feel a squeeze on the rear-outer right hip. Return to the start position, and then repeat with your left leg. If you find this difficult, face the poolside and hold on to the side.o
Exfoliation The secret of a glowing skin
The beauty-conscious ancient Egyptians were the first to practise exfoliation while in the Middle Ages, wine was used as a chemical exfoliate. Today, exfoliation is done by new techniques involving mechanical as well as chemical means. Harini Dixit explores some of the popular processes.
E
ach time you have a facial, your skin feels soft and smooth. This is due to exfoliation, the process that removes old and dead skin cells from the outermost surface of the skin. Exfoliation can also be done by microdermabrasion or by chemical peels by skin specialists. New skin cells are created in the skin’s lower layer, the dermis. Over time, cells migrate to the surface of the skin and become acidic. During their 30-day journey they die and become saturated with keratin. Keratin is important because it protects the skin from outside elements. Through the ageing process, and after menopause for women, the natural process of skin erosion becomes uneven, which makes the skin dry and rough.
Exfoliation removes the outer layer to allow the newer skin to emerge. This shedding of the outer layer unclogs pores, keeps skin clean, and helps reduce acne breakouts. Exfoliation should always be done after cleansing the skin. Exfoliation is important for men as it exposes the hair follicles, allowing a better shave. However, over exfoliation dries and irritates the skin. The face is the part of the body most sensitive to exfoliation. Hence it is very important to moisturize the face, because dry skin can lead to wrinkles. The processes The mechanical process of exfoliation involves physically scrubbing the skin with an abrasive. Mechanical exfoliates include microfibre cloth, adhesive exfoliation sheets, microbead facial scrubs, crushed apricot kernel or almond shells, sugar or salt crystals, pumice, sponges, loofahs and brushes. Various scrubs are also available. Pumice is considered a good material to exfoliate the skin of the feet but should not be used on the face. Dermabrasion is another mechanical process of exfoliation. Chemical exfoliates include scrubs containing salicylic acid, glycolic acid, fruit enzymes and citric acid which may be applied in high concentrations by a medical professional. Chemical exfoliation may involve the use of products that contain alpha-hydroxy acids (AHAs) or beta-hydroxy acids (BHAs), or enzymes that act to loosen the gluelike substance that holds the cells together, allowing them to ease away. In beauty spa treatment the chemical properties of wine producing grapes are exploited in the
practice of vinotherapy which is becoming increasingly popular. Other exfoliates Exfoliating mask: This is a plaster-like concoction that goes on your face as a liquid goop, hardens, and then peels off to remove dead skin cells, dirt, whiteheads, etc. It can be pricey (not to mention girlie), but its thoroughness more than makes up for it. Pumice soap: This is an inexpensive exfoliation classic – it’s a bar soap that includes granulated volcanic ash that really scrubs hard. The only disadvantage is that pumice soaps require a fair amount of scrubbing to get a good lather going and therefore cannot be used on the face. For men: Wet-shaving is recommended for exfoliation. The action of moving a shaving brush vigorously across the face washes the face and removes dead skin cells at the same time. After applying the lather with a brush, the use of a doubleedged safety razor or straight razor removes dead skin cells simply by the fact that these razors are dragged much closer across the skin and remove dead skin cells more effectively than a cartridge or electric razor. Exfoliation also specifically helps men in another way: it exposes the face’s hair follicles, allowing for a better shave. And we all know that a smoother shave is practically sacred in a man’s morning routine. Caution: • Exfoliation will lead to some initial redness to the skin. Near the end of chemical peels, the skin will frost, with colours varying from a bright white to grey on the skin’s surface. • However you choose to exfoliate, don’t forget to moisturize. Exfoliating can dry out already dry skin, but a moisturizer will help stabilize your skin and “feed” the new, young skin you’ve exposed. • Exfoliating too often can damage the skin; exfoliating too little may let your skin’s oils run wild. Whichever schedule you settle on, recognize that while exfoliating takes some extra effort, by doing it, you’ll ultimately have to worry less about wrinkles, flaky skin and acne. • Plastic beads often used as exfoliates do not biodegrade and are washed into the drainage system, to rivers, and then the oceans, where they remain for a very long time. While superficially pretty they will kill any animal that ingests enough to block its digestive tract. ¨
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RAMGARH-A UNIT OF CASTLE RESORTS LIMITED
Fearless Pizza Don’t be afraid of the dough
T
he key to making pizza in your own kitchen is to act like you don’t care. You should not be fussy or nervous. It is not an art form for sticklers (those of us who are sticklers should practise pizzamaking if only to learn how to let the flour of life fall where it may). Remember, you’re basically preparing a fancy cheese melt. One night I saw a chef-owner, slinging pizza dough on TV. He wasn’t careful with it. It was as if he owned that dough. That dough was his bitch. A good pizza, it seems, is a fearless pizza. Do not be afraid of heat: put the oven on as high as it can go. Do not be afraid of time: everyone takes his pizza out too soon. And the most important principle: don’t be afraid of wet dough. It’s a little harder to handle, but it makes for a chewier, crispier, lighter crust. It actually bubbles and steams while it bakes. Dough, after all, is what separates the fearless pizza from the Boboli. Eventually, you’ll be able to make dough by eyeballing it, mixing the ingredients until it feels right. But until then, use the following recipe. MAKES FOUR PIZZAS
Dough
1 packet dried yeast 2 cups lukewarm water 2 teaspoons sugar 3½ cups all-purpose flour ¼ cup whole-wheat flour 3 teaspoons salt 3 teaspoons olive oil
Toppings (for one pizza)
Olive oil Handful Parmesan cheese Handful cooking cheese Freshly ground pepper & chilli flakes Lettuce leaves dressed with olive oil, lemon and balsamic vinegar Any chopped vegetable(s) of your choice.
Special equipment (available at most kitchen stores) Pizza stone Pizza peel (a large paddle used to slide the pizza in and out of the oven)
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1) Place the pizza stone in the oven and turn the heat on as high as it will go (but not on broil). 2) To make the dough, combine the yeast, water and sugar in a small bowl and let sit for a few minutes. 3) Then, in a larger bowl, combine the yeast mixture with the rest of the dough ingredients. Mix with a whisk or your hands for five minutes. Put the dough (it should be sticky) on a floured board and cut it into four parts, making each into a ball. Cover the dough with a damp hand towel and let it rise while you prepare the toppings.
4) When the dough has risen, coat it in a bit of flour, then lift and stretch it quickly in your hands (which should also be floured), rotating it until it’s relatively circular. 5) Throw some coarse cornmeal onto the pizza peel (or, in a pinch, on a piece of cardboard). Lay your pizza on the peel, drizzle some of the olive oil on it, then add the cheeses, chilli flakes and pepper. 6) Quickly slip the pizza from the peel onto the stone and let it bake at least ten minutes, until nicely browned. Remove it, add the dressed letuce leaves, and top with more chilli flakes if you want. Slice it as you like, devour and make another one. ¨
tasty Chinese
This cuisine has mass international appeal. We share some all-time favourites with you by Jesse Chang.
Sesame Chicken YOU WILL NEED: 3 whole chicken breasts water ½ tsp salt ½ tsp five-spice powder (typically fennel seeds, cinnamon, cloves, star anise and peppercorns)
2 tsp soya sauce 3 sticks celery pepper ¼ tsp ground ginger 1 tbsp sesame oil 1 tbsp soya sauce extra 1 tbsp oil 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds 1. To toast sesame seeds spread them on shallow tray, bake in moderate oven five minutes, or until golden brown. 2. Put chicken breasts in pan, cover with water. Add salt, five-spice powder and soya sauce. Bring slowly to boil, reduce heat, simmer gently, covered, until chicken is cooked. Allow to cool in stock; drain, reserve chicken stock. Remove chicken meat from bones, cut into medium-sized slices. 3. Slice celery diagonally. Bring reserved chicken stock to boil. Add celery, boil one minute, remove celery from pan. Place in clean tea towel, squeeze gently to remove all excess moisture. Combine celery, pepper, ginger, sesame oil, extra soya sauce and oil, mix well. Add sliced chicken. Toss lightly. Place salad in serving bowl, sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.
honey chilli chicken Serves 4 to 6. YOU WILL NEED: 1.5kg chicken flour salt oil for deep-frying 2.5-cm piece green ginger 2 tbsp honey 2 tsp cornflour ⅓ cup water 1 tbsp Chinese chilli sauce
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sesame chicken ⅓ cup lemon juice 2 tsp soya sauce 6 shallots 1. Cut chicken into serving-size pieces. Coat chicken pieces lightly with flour, which has been seasoned with salt. 2. Fry half the chicken in deep hot oil until golden brown. Reduce heat, cook approximately five minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Remove from oil, drain on absorbent paper. Repeat with
remaining chicken. Pour off excess oil, leaving one tablespoon of oil in pan. 3. Add peeled and grated green ginger to pan, saute gently one minute. Add honey, stir for one minute. Add combined cornflour, water, chilli sauce, lemon juice and soya sauce. Stir until sauce boils and thickens. 4. Add chicken, toss in sauce for three minutes or until chicken is heated through. Add sliced shallots, cook for a further minute.
CHICKEN chow mein Serves 6. YOU WILL NEED: 250g egg noodles 2 cups oil 1.75 kg chicken 500g green king prawns 2 medium onions 1 red pepper 2 sticks celery ¼ cabbage 8 shallots 2 tsp soya sauce 2 tsp dry sherry 1 tsp cornflour 4 tbsp oil, extra 1 clove garlic 2.5-cm piece green ginger salt ½ cup water 2 tsp cornflour, extra 1 tbsp soya sauce, extra 2 chicken stock cubes 1 tbsp dry sherry, extra 1. Add noodles to large saucepan of boiling salted water, boil uncovered for four minutes, drain; rinse noodles well under hot water. Place a clean tea towel or two layers of absorbent paper on wire rack, spread noodles out on towel. Allow to stand at room temperature for three hours, or until noodles are almost dry. 2. Heat approximately two cups oil in wok or frying pan, add quarter of the noodles, fry until golden brown, turning frequently. Drain on absorbent paper. Repeat with remaining noodles in batches. Drain oil from pan. 3. Remove skin and bones from chicken, cut meat into 2.5cm cubes. Shell prawns, remove back vein, leaving tail intact. Peel and roughly chop onions, seed and slice pepper, slice celery diagonally, slice cabbage, chop shallots, peel and finely chop ginger. Place chicken into bowl, add soya sauce, sherry and cornflour; mix well. Stand for one hour. 4. Heat extra oil in wok, add ginger and crushed garlic, saute gently for one minute. Increase heat to high, add chicken, toss constantly over heat five minutes or until meat is cooked. Add prawns, toss three minutes more. Add prepared vegetables, toss two minutes. Add combined salt, water, extra cornflour, extra soya sauce, crumbled stock cubes and extra sherry. Toss until
hoi sin chicken sauce boils and thickens. Continue tossing for one minute. Place fried noodles around edge of large serving plate, spoon chicken and vegetables into the centre.
hoi sin Chicken Serves 4 to 6. YOU WILL NEED: 1.5kg chicken 2 tsp cornflour oil for deep-frying 3 tbsp oil, extra 2.5-cm piece green ginger 2 onions 250g broccoli 1 red pepper 425g can straw mushrooms (or champignons) 2 tbsp dry sherry 1 tbsp soya sauce 2 tbsp brown vinegar salt 1 cup water 2 chicken stock cubes
½ tsp sesame oil 3 tsp cornflour, extra 1. Cut peppers in half, remove seeds, cut into 1cm cubes. Peel and roughly chop onions. Cut broccoli into small flowerets. Drain mushrooms; peel and grate green ginger. Cut chicken into small serving-size pieces; coat lightly with cornflour. Heat oil in frying pan or wok. Fry a few pieces of chicken at a time until golden brown and cooked through, approximately five minutes; drain well. 2. Drain off all oil from pan. Add extra oil and ginger to pan, heat gently for one minute. Add onion to pan, cook over high heat for one minute. Add broccoli, pepper, and mushrooms, toss well for two minutes. 3. Add sherry, soya sauce, vinegar, salt, water, crumbled stock cubes, sesame oil and extra cornflour. 4. Add chicken to vegetables and sauce, toss over high heat until sauce boils and thickens. Continue to toss for two minutes. o
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Abode of Clouds Meghalaya is where you can fall in love with clouds and a trove of cultural and artistic treasures. It is one of India’s most picturesque regions
M
eghalaya means the ‘abode of clouds’. A peep through the clouds reveals natural, cultural and artistic treasures. Meghalaya is Home to some of India’s oldest tribes and their traditions. The most exotic species of flora and fauna known to mankind are in its rich forests. The idyllic beauty of the rolling Himalayan terrain, coupled with pleasant weather around the year (expect heavy rains in the monsoon, though), make travelling through the state a most enjoyable experience. Although the anthropological history of the region dates back several centuries, the political identity of Meghalaya goes back only to 1972, when it was marked out as a separate state with the Khasi Hills, Jaintia Hills and the Garo Hills, bordered by Assam to the north and Bangladesh to the south. Meghalaya’s population is largely an agglomeration of the Garo, Khasi and Jaintia tribes, most of whom have converted to Christianity over time (although animism and a tribal way of life is still followed in many remote parts
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of the state). This confluence of religious and cultural ideas has led to a mosaic of customs, traditions and heritage. Shillong In terms of urban development, Meghalaya’s metropolitan hub is Shillong, a colonial vestige that once served as the capital of the erstwhile Assam province during the Raj. A quaint, cheerful town, multilingual Shillong has a lively buzz to it, with a friendly and peace-loving people finding solace in hearty food and the invigorating strains of rock ’n’ roll. The town also has all the modern conveniences a wellheeled traveller needs. As you drive into the rural but breathtakingly beautiful Meghalayan hinterland, urbanity steadily falls away. Soon, you will find yourself looking down an emerald valley, ambling through a silent forest, or dipping your toes in a brook. Shillong sits pretty in the lush folds of the eastern Himalayas, beckoning travellers to come and lose themselves
in its restful environs. It was in 1972 that Shillong was made the capital of the newly-formed state of Meghalaya. Ever since it became the capital of Meghalaya, Shillong has rediscovered itself. Shillong is a beautiful mix of oldworld charm and the contemporary, a town where you can be as relaxed or as active as you want. With bustling markets, trendy cafes and restaurants, shopping complexes and a pulsating nightlife, Shillong is in a league of its own. Also, this town could be the base for many a memorable North-eastern odyssey. Connected by a national highway to Guwahati, the nearest major airport, Shillong is located in the East Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya. It’s a scenic three-hour drive, with the highpoint of the journey coming about 16 km short of Shillong. As the road swerves around a giant hill to begin its final ascent towards the capital, you come across the breathtaking sight of Umiam Lake—an expansive reservoir with beauty to match
the Scottish lochs—sprawled out to your right. Once in the town, you’ll find the action concentrated mostly in and around Police Bazaar, also a business hub. It’s a lively place, bustling with tourists and locals round the clock. Here, you will find youngsters catching up with friends over a cup of coffee and also tourists on a shopping spree. Police Bazaar is also peppered with cafes, restaurants and eateries. Many of them serve delicious Khasi fare such as ja doh (rice cooked in pig broth) and spicy curried pork. So be it any time of the day or night, this is where Shillong likes to come for a hearty meal. The Shillong Golf Club has an 18-hole course that’s also the second oldest in India. An out-of-town excursion to the village of Smit, about 15 km away is where you can see the unique palace of the Khyrim tribal kings of the region. This royal complex is thrown open to visitors every November, when the Nongkrem Dance Festival—one of the biggest Khasi extravaganzas—takes place in the courtyard in front of the palace. If you’re interested in sampling local fare, your next destination should be lew Duh (also called Bara Bazaar), a market to the north-west of the town brimming over with sundry local produce. For an extensive array of indigenous culture, head to the Don Bosco Centre for Indigenous Culture in the Mawlai area of the town, where you can acquaint yourself with the heritage of the region. About 12 km out of the town are the pristine Elephant Falls, where a cascading waterfall tumbles down the hillside and plunges into the still waters of a clear lake, creating a stunning spectacle. Next, it’s a steep car ride through a military cantonment to Shillong Peak, a viewpoint from where you can get sweeping views of Shillong stretched out over the rolling hills below. Once you’re done with the sights, it’s time to spend the evening hours away at a cafe or a pub, knocking back a sundowner. Alternatively, roam the pavements of the city centre, and hustle a deal on souvenirs such as wicker baskets, cane handicrafts, beaded necklaces and traditional Khasi weaves. If you’re really lucky, one of Shillong’s numerous popular music festivals might be on when you visit—the best of the galas happen on May 24 (Bob Dylan’s birthday) and February 6 (Bob Marley’s birthday). Just buy yourself a ticket and dance the night away. o
The breathtaking Nohkalikai Falls
A view of the stunning Umiam Lake
FACTFILE
HOW TO REACH: Apart from a solitary Indian Airlines flight that homes in every morning from Kolkata, all other flight connections to Shillong terminate in Guwahati, about 125 km away. Guwahati is also the nearest railhead, in case you plan to take a train such as the Rajdhani Express from New Delhi, or the Kanchanjanga Express from Kolkata. Share taxis shuttle from dawn to dusk between Guwahati and Shillong, charging `300 per passenger. A fully reserved taxi is about `1,200, though prices may vary according to demand. WHERE TO STAY: For a truly old-world experience, consider checking into Pinewood Hotel, a Heritage Hotel on Rita Road (0364 222 3116, 222 3146; `1,800 onwards per room) that has preserved Shillong’s bygone charm within its dated but elegant (and excellently maintained) portals. While there’s no dearth of budget options, a decent mid-range address in Shillong is Hotel Centre Point in Police Bazaar (0364 222 0480, 222 5210; www.shillongcentrepoint. com; `2,100 onwards per room), with well-appointed and comfortable rooms offering lovely views of town and the hills in the distance.
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12
OF THE BEST VACATION BREAKS
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Whether you like crowded or quiet breaks we have a host of getaway suggestions for you
VENICE ITALY
Stay The 16th-century Palazzina Grassi on the Grand Canal is now a glossy hide
away thanks to Philippe Starck. Wander in this romantic city, especially lovely at this misty, tourist-sparse time, then retreat to the sultry, flamboyant hotel. A superior room costs `24,510.
Don’t miss...a ristretto at II Caffe Florian in Piazza San Marco, one of the city’s
first coffee houses and a spot that has hosted Byron, Casanova and Dickens. A joy off-season when the madding crowds are absent and the buskers seem to play for pleasure rather than profit.
Bring back...a carnival mask. Head to the Dorsoduro district for Ca´Macana on
Calle delle Botteghe. You may recognise its gilded confections from the Stanley Kubrick film Eyes Wide Shut.
GERS FRANCE
Stay Gers, in the unspoilt southwest Mid-Pyrenees is a sleepy foodie alternative
to Provence thanks to its Armagnac, foie gras and wild mushroom stocks. At the mother-and-daughter-run Hotel Lous Grits, sit down for family-style dinners by the fire. The Balaguero room costs `48,450.
Don’t miss...the gastronomy. Hunting is popular here, but animal-friendly
epicureans may prefer to focus on the vines. In these parts, producers prize a late vintage and don’t harvest their grapes until October or November to create some of France’s most distinguished sweet aperitif and dessert wines.
Bring back...brocante foraged from antique markets. Head to Toulouse for the first weekend of any month except in October, when there’s a fair.
BERLIN GERMANY
Stay Soho House in Mitte exudes the best of this zeitgeisty district. Once a Bau-
haus-era department store, then a Communist Party headquarters, its 40 rooms are finessed with 1940s flourishes and crowned by a panoramic, great-value brasserie and rooftop pool bar. Plus there’s a Cowshed spa and private cinema. Doubles are available from `9,288.
Don’t miss...Made, an art space in the Alexanderplatz high-rise that hosts the
buzzing bar and club Week End. In October 2011, artist and writer Lukas Feireiss curates a show called Dirty Baroque – expect the unexpected. Get in touch via madeblog.com to arrange a visit, and you’ll be hot on the heels of Moby, Pharrell Williams and Talib Kweli.
Bring back...a unisexy ‘soBERLIN’ T-shirt from Soto, a concept store on Tor-
strasse renowned for its under-the-radar menswear labels you won’t find elsewhere in the city.
EDINBURGH SCOTLAND
Stay One Royal Circus is a B&B renowned for its homemade granola and just-right
eggs. It is big on personality and promises all-weather city-break kicks at your fingertips. Cosy up over a dram in a Cockburn Street pub, gaze at masterpieces in the National Gallery of Scotland or browse one of the city’s bounty of bookshops, all of which are in easy walking distance. Doubles from `15,300.
Don’t miss...The Jazz Bar on Chamber Street on Saturdays. For less than `430,
you can treat your ears to a fine five-piece band (thejazzbar.co.uk). Next morning, stroll along the Water of Leith and play a round of ‘spot the Antony Gormley sculpture’. Then pause for Loch Fyne oysters and Guinness at The Shore.
Bring back...whisky from a distillery. Trace the barley-to-barrel journey at Glenkinchie Distillery (discovering-distilleries.com), then get some Edinburgh malt to go.
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PRAGUE CZECH REPUBLIC
Stay Amid Prague’s fairy-tale-evoking steeples and turrets,
manicured gardens and Art Nouveau elegance, The Augustine Hotel is one of Rocce Forte’s most charming establishments. Soak up 800 years of history care of the Augustinian Order of Bohemia and follow a friar on a tour of St Thomas’s church, monastery and ancient library, which is, in fact, part of this 101-room hotel. Toast the monk’s original brewery in the cellar or in award-winning Tom’s Bar in the barrel-vaulted hall. Then soothe any parts the Czech beer can’t reach with some pampering in the spa. Doubles from `36,421.
ISTANBUL TURKEY
Stay Straddling the East and West, Istanbul offers Ottoman and
Byzantine treasures as well as having its finger on the pulse of modern design. Check out cheap-chic bolt hole The House Hotel Galatasaray, an 18th-century mansion in Beyoglu (where higgledypiggledy streets are lined with bric-a-brac peddlers), or city-slicker House Hotel Nisantasi in the upscale shopping quarter–nowhere better celebrates city life old and new. A mini suite costs from `11,000.
Don’t miss...Topkapi Palace and Hagia Sophia in Sultanah-
met, then spy emerging talent at Istanbul Modern. Debrief in its minimalist cafe right on the banks of the Bosphorus (istanbulmodern.org). Treat yourself to a scrub and steam in a centuries-old marble hammam, such as Cagaloglu near the bustling Grand Bazaar.
Bring back...a Nest Lounge Chair from Autoban, the award-
winning contemporary furniture design agency behind the House Hotel’s designs. Head to its gallery/shop on Sinanpasa, and if you can’t fit one of their statement pieces in your suitcase, settle for a solid oak breadboard.
Don’t miss... a jazz, classical or world music concert during
the Strings of Autumn Festival (prague.net), which runs during 26 September-10 November.
Bring back...a classy, glassy Bohemian souvenir from Antonin Manto-Mrnka’s studio in a Baroque house in Prague’s Old Town.
MATERA ITALY
Stay The Grotte della Civita hotel spent ten years creating its 18
bedrooms from the ancient tufa-rock caverns of this Unesco World Heritage Site. Add to the mix centuries-old fixtures and furnishings and you’re in for a soul-stirring stay. A classic cave room costs `21,242.
Don’t miss...a stroll around Matera’s Sassi, which translates as
‘old stones’. This Palaeolithic habitat has appeared on the big screen as ancient Jerusalem on many occasions. What makes Matera all the more beguiling is its split personality. At aperitivo hour, skip up the steps from bygone Byzantine abodes onto an elegant 18th-century promenade to join locals on their passeggiata.
Bring back...a bottle of inky Aglianico red wine. The grapes from
BARCELONA SPAIN
Stay The 1920s facade of the low-key-luxe Grand Hotel
Central conceals 147 mod-conned bedrooms. Feast on soulstirring city views with your toes dipped in the rooftop infinity pool, then immerse yourself in some of the city’s best cooking. In Actual by Avalon, award-winning alchemizing chef Ramon Freixa takes traditional Catalan cuisine and seasonal produce and creates adventurous contemporary flavours. Book a window seat for the best people watching. Doubles from `9,000 including tax.
Don’t miss...the El Born district, which exemplifies Barcelona’s twin themes of style and all things edgy. Its boutiques and bars stay alive late into the night even off-season. Bring back...Catalan foodie souvenirs from the famed St Joseph Boqueria market on La Rambla.
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nearby Mount Vulture are some of the last to be harvested in October and November.
COPENHAGEN DENMARK Stay A hip and hi-tech hub, Copenhagen Island Hotel feels like it’s floating thanks to its waterside perch.
Don’t miss... a Michelin star meal – this city has more
restaurants with this accolade than any other Scandinavian city. Noma (noma.dk) is flavour du jour for its spin on seasonal Nordic ingredients. Nyhavns Faergekro is great for a beer and a snack.
Bring back...something from the Danish Design Centre (ddc.dk) on HC Andersen Boulevard.
PALMA MALLORCA Stay Convent de la Missio is a short stroll from La Seu, the
city’s dramatic Gothic cathedral. This gallery-like hip hotel will find its way to your heart not just for its monochrome chic, but also through Mark Fosh’s five-course tasting menu in restaurant Simply Fosh. Doubles from `16,600.
Don’t miss...Gaudi’s quirky embellishments. And for even more visual thrills, Es Baluard museum (esbaluard.org) on Placa Porta de Santa Catalina has eye-popping pieces by Picasso, Miro and Dali.
Bring back...plenty of pretty accessories. The ancient alleys are lined with boutiques and galleries. For cultured pearls go to Perlas Majorica in Avenida Jaume III, then rifle for retro treasures at Rastrillo on Avenida Gabriel Alomar I Villalonga on Saturday mornings.
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ALGARVE PORTUGAL
Stay Gird yourself against the torpor of winter with a health-
promoting whirl at Vilalara Thalassa Resort. This Atlantic Ocean-side spa hotel offers sea, salty air and marine-inspired treatments, as well as low-calorie cuisine. Two- to sevennight packages on a private swathe of Portugal’s Algarve coast are geared to helping you heal or get in shape. A junior suite garden view costs from `19,350.
Don’t miss... the thalassotherapy health centre – its world-
class water jets, steam baths and algae wraps are credited with easing joint pains, boosting circulation and busting cellulite. Golf lovers can take a swing on one of the many nearby courses.
Bring back...a trimmer, less stressed and more energised you.
ATHENS GREECE
Stay The Hotel Grande Bretagne is the grande dame of
Greece’s luxury hotels. Sidestepping the scorching summer heat is smart – it’s best to amble through this ancient city’s relics when the mercury has dropped a bit. Parthenon views don’t get better than from the hotel’s roof terrace, where you can dine alfresco until November.
Don’t miss...the changing of the high-stepping pompom-
footed guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Syntagma Square, every Sunday at 11am. Then hit the ruin-strewn southern slopes of the Acropolis.
Bring back...Korres toiletries, available at most chemists
here at a fraction of what these natural lotions cost internationally. For designer threads hit Pindarou Street.☐
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Something to Think About
Becoming Fearless
W
hether you are afraid of asking for a raise, disappointing your family or flying, fear is a sign of self-deception. When you allow your attention to be absorbed in fear, you’ve taken it off what is actually going on. But only one thing can really threaten you, and
that is doubt of your own power and lovability. When you trust and accept that you have these innate qualities, your fears —of personal inadequacies, of other people, of things you can’t control— will dissolve, unable to coexist with them. Fearlessness requires attention
and receptivity—it takes focus to stand in the still eye of a storm and not be swept away by it. But once you’ve found a way to face down your worries, you’ll find fear’s opposite: the ability to remain open and mindful under all circumstances. Here are some exercises that will help you on your way.
AT TIMES WE ALL FEAR WE’RE NOT GOOD ENOUGH. Before you can convince yourself otherwise, you have to simply admit to yourself— and no one else—what you want. Then tell yourself, I am good enough. Say it until you believe it. Now, without stopping to think, begin to list things that deep down you suspect are true about yourself or your life but are too afraid to admit. Do it quickly. Begin with the phrase “I know that...,” and write down the first thing that comes to mind. You might write “I know that my friendship with Sunita needs to end,” “I know that I am a writer,” or “I know that there is a God.” Write a list below. Now ask yourself, What would life be if I lived as if these things were true? Who or what would remain in my life? Who or what wouldn’t? The answers to these questions are the starting point for reaching your goals. You don’t have to act on them. Just the conscious acknowledgment of your truths will create acceptance and set in motion positive change. ▶
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WHEN FEAR CAN’T BE AVOIDED, HOW YOU REACT IS WHAT COUNTS. Think of something or someone that scares you, and just let yourself be afraid. Let fear show itself to you. Instead of trying to think of how you got into this mess and what will get you out, just feel. What does fear feel like in your body? Does it land in your stomach, your palms, behind your eyeballs? Write down three or more physical attributes of fear.
FEAR CAN FEEL LIKE A CHOKE HOLD. No emotion grips more tightly and anything you can wedge in there really helps. For some, play is the best way to create some space between you and what’s scaring you. (And why not play? You can always go back to freaking out if it doesn’t work.) Use this question as an experiment. Just for a few moments, pretend that the object of your fear is actually a blessing in disguise. For example, if you fear your family’s disapproval, imagine that receiving it would be good for you. Ask yourself, If this experience were given for my benefit, what could that benefit be? Would I have to learn to find approval within? Would it give me a better sense of who I am and what I want, independent of them? How might this situation turn out to help rather than hinder me? Write the answers down and give details.
NOW, WHAT ABOUT THE EMOTIONAL ASPECT? How does your “self-talk” change? Do you start to feel depressed or angry, or are you looking for someone to blame? Write down three or more mental attributes of fear. Just as you might pay attention to the potholes on the drive to the office—so that next time you’ll know where to avoid a jolt—if you learn how fear shows up within you, you can manoeuvre around old habits and respond in a healthier way.
HERE IS AN EXERCISE YOU CAN DO ON THE SPOT TO CALM REAL FEAR IN REAL TIME. Before you attempt something scary (confronting a friend, starting a new job, asking someone out on a date), imagine someone who would be proud or grateful if you took this particular risk. It can be a relative, a mentor, or even a historical or fictional character. Before you step into your scary situation, visualize this person by your side, holding your hand, or in your arms. Let yourself feel their presence—and take them in with you. You’re not alone, and there is strength in numbers. ¨
112 GLADRAGS
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