‘Must-have’ for girls

Your dressing sense is a mirror of your personality and your wardrobe. You may not have the money to support a full-fledged wardrobe but here are a few essentials that could make you self-sufficient and you could look ‘dressed right’ for every occasion.

A Black Hand bag

A classic, black handbag is an absolute requirement for a wardrobe. Simplicity is in, so avoid any kind of decoration. It should be enough to carry your essentials.

Basic blue jeans

Blue jeans is a ‘must-have’ for girls, an all-time essential. Wear anything on top and you will surely  will look great. Blue jeans are always in vogue.

A georgette or silk saree

A plain coloured basic silk saree is a necessity as it could make any woman look beautiful and slim. Your saree — be it silk or georgette— can be worn anywhere depending on the occasion. If it is a party, wear the saree with a mirror work blouse to add panache.

A black dress

It goes well for an evening out. Black dresses never go out of style as long as the cut is fashionable. One could also have embellishments like  sequins or beads to give it a party look.

A white shirt/top

A white shirt is one of life’s great essentials. Crisp, clean and fresh it goes well with any kind of complexion and occasion. It can be worn casually with jeans or more formally with a skirt or trousers.

A dressy watch

The watch need not be an expensive one. Just a plain classy one that goes with everything will be enough. Slim black straps are much ‘in’ nowadays and Roman numerals always look elegant. Go for a plain round dial with a white background.

A salwar kameez

A salwar kameez is a cool, comfortable and hassle-free Indian outfit. It looks elegant and feminine.

Black strappy sandals

Black strappy sandals go well with Western and Indian outfits. They make your feet pretty and delicate.

Fitness advice you should ignore

‘Lose WEIGHT IN 30 DAYS’, ‘Do this exercise!’ and so on… sounds familiar, right!

Everywhere you turn for advice, experts offer the ‘secret’ to quick weight loss.

You can make a difference in your fitness efforts by drawing a line between good and bad health information.

Here are some claims that could lead you down the wrong path.

Exercise at low intensity to burn more fat: This is a misleading half-truth as exercising at low intensity does burn more fat for fuel but fewer calories overall.Dieticians say that higher intensity exercise burns more sugar. It maximises calorie expenditure which leads to a larger calorie deficit and consequently greater weight loss.Team this with reduced calorie intake and results will be much better.

Fitness in five minutes a day: Fitness experts recommend at least 30 minutes of exercise and preferably all days of the week.Therefore five minutes qualify as warm-ups but not a complete workout.

Hitting the spot:  Exercise reduces stored fat from all over the body and not just specific problem areas. Reduce your calorie intake and do aerobic exercises for results.

Natural herbal supplements are safe and effective for weight loss: This seems a clichéd line as health does not come in pill form. On the contrary, if you are not aware of what exactly you are doing, herbal supplements might be potentially harmful to you.

At the end of the day, work-out and proper diet management remains the safest and most  effective means of losing fat and keeping it off.

Indus Creed: They are back and how

The video of ‘Fireflies’ is being shown on the popular music channel, VH1 under the theme, ‘India Rules’. The song is part of the new album by Indus Creed called ‘Evolve’.  The band is one of the most popular Indian rock bands of all time. Formed in 1993, it  came out with an independent album after a gap of 17 years. The first album was ‘Indus Creed’.

The band was named ‘Rock Machine’ earlier, was formed in 1984 and was one of the few Indian rock bands to perform at college and rock festivals throughout the country. It was a cover band which played the songs of ‘Van Halen’, ‘Who’, ‘Thin Lizzy’, ‘UFO’, ‘Deep Purple’ and ‘Rush’. In 1988, the band released its first album, ‘Rock n’ Roll Renegade’. 

It was hailed as India’s first all-original rock album. In states like Assam, Nagaland and Manipur, where distribution was scarce, piracy was rampant. This was a sign of success in the north-eastern part of the country, where rock n’ roll has always been appreciated.

The band came out with its second album aptly named, ‘Second Coming’ in 1990. One of the songs from the album, ‘Pretty Child’ catapulted the band to international fame. The video of the song was placed in ninth position by MTV in 1993. It competed with the likes of Michael Jackson and Madonna.

To establish a new identity and to give it a more professional appeal, the name of the band was changed to ‘Indus Creed’ in 1993. Disillusioned by the changing face of the Indian music Industry, two members, Uday Benegal and Jayesh Gandhi moved to New York, where they formed a band named, ‘Alms for Shanti’ in 1997. 

They played at colleges and concerts and even came out with a Hindi album called, ‘Kashmakash’. The band was dormant in the late Nineties. In 2010, the members of the band regrouped and re-formed ‘Indus Creed’.

The new album of the band is fresh and different. It has been mixed by Tim Palmer, the Oscar nominated mixing engineer. The current members of the band are Uday Benegal (vocals, guitars, programming), Mahesh Tinaikar (guitars, vocals), Zubin Balaporia (keyboard, vocals), Rushad Mistry (bass, vocals) and Jai Row Kavi (drums, vocals). 

Does Internet affect your life?

Internet has become a part of our day-to-day life and it is difficult to think of life without it; at least for Internet addicts and those who are dependent on it for communication, shopping, booking tickets, paying bills and several other kinds of work. Most of us are addicted to Internet and cannot spent even a few hours without checking what our friends on Facebook or Twitter have updated or how many comments or likes our recent update has received.

This week I bring to you the results of some research done on Internet users to know its impact on them. Some results suggest that excessive usage of Internet makes people lazy; some research claims that it causes sleeping disorders and other health problems while  some others say that it makes us anxious and insecure. Some research even say that users’ pattern of Internet use says something about them.

Tony Dokoupil, who is the co-writer of the Research Report column in the Columbia Journalism Review, says, “The current incarnation of the Internet—portable, social, accelerated, and all-pervasive—may be making us not just dumber or lonelier but more depressed and anxious, prone to obsessive-compulsive and attention-deficit disorders, even outright psychotic.”

There are plentiful of outcomes. But all these research studies are done on a handful of people who are picked randomly. I provide you with the outcomes of some of this research. Most of these studies have been carried out by foreign universities. Find out how far they are correct and see if you can relate yourself or any of your friends with these outcomes.

A recent study by Leeds University found that excessive internet usage is associated with depression but the research fails to explain whether depressed people are drawn to Internet or its excessive usage causes depression.

A study by the University of Salford says that two-thirds of the people who participated in the survey said that they suffer from sleeping problems after using Internet for a long time. More than 50 per cent of the respondents said that their life has changed for worse and several others said they feel uncomfortable and anxious when they don’t use the Internet.

An UK-based non-profit organisation Anxiety states that 45 per cent of the people surveyed feel uncomfortable when they cannot access their Facebook or e-mail accounts and about 65 per cent of the respondents said that they need to switch off their computers and Smart phones to completely break off from them 

Another study by Ohio State University and Open University of The Netherlands states that college students who spend 93 minutes or more time on Facebook daily get 20 per cent lower grades than  students who have not signed up on the website.

Most of these studies show different results but the truth remains the same; Internet does affect our life and its impact depends on how much time does one spend online.

Gearge Bernard Shaw, at his best

"Breakages Limited, the biggest industrial corporation in the country".

"When a stupid man is doing something he is ashamed of, he always declares that it is his duty".

"I never expect a soldier to think".

"All professions are conspiracies against the laity".

"When our relatives are at home, we have to think of all their good points, or else, it would be impossible to endure them. But, when they are away we console ourselves, for their absence, by dwelling on their vices".

"What really flatters a man is that you think him worth flattering".

"There are only two qualities in the world: efficiency and inefficiency; and only two sorts of people: the efficient and the inefficient".

"He is always breaking the law. He broke the law when he was born: his parents were not married".

"A lifetime of happiness! No man alive could bear it: it would be hell on earth".

"The more things a man is ashamed of, the more respectable he is".

Move in style this monsoon

Soaked denims, boots becoming water containers, dampened makeup, messed-up hair and washed out state is a common sight every monsoon. No wonder people complain, “I hate this season!”

Here  are some helpful hints to guide you

Denims are out. Wear cottons and light fabrics, bring out those capris and three fourths.

Go savvy with dazzling umbrellas and rain coats. It will keep your gloomy mood at bay! Choose from a range available at stores and roadside vendors.

Steer clear from leather boots and high-heeled sandals. Sneakers and flat sandals are the best bet.

Avoid whites and other light colours, unless you want muddy patches as designs.

Do not oil or gel your hair during this season.

Apply non-transferable lipstick, water-proof mascara and eyeliner. Go only for branded cosmetics.

Some useful tips

Powder: Dab it on your nose to avoid the oiliness. Powder on naked skin. Avoid excess use as it gives the skin a chalky look.

Foundation: Avoid using it. Use face powder instead. Otherwise you will have a streaky face in the rain.

Mascara and eyeliner: Forget eyeliners this season. Try using a kajal pencil. Apply a darker eye shadow on your eyelids. Use only waterproof mascara.

Eye shadow and blush: Sheer and pastel shades steal the show this season. Choose light pink, nude or sheer green and light purple for your eyes,

For cheeks, stick to the colour that your cheeks get, when in the sun, say bronze or pretty rose. Apply blush lightly. Never go for rouges, it looks a mess.

Eyebrows: Overlook the eyebrow pencil. Keep up with your threading/tweezing. Add a little hair gel onto a brow brush to keep your eyebrows shapely. Clear mascara works well too.

Lips:  Use long-stay, water-resistant lipstick. Avoid liquid lipcolours. 

Through the glasses darkly

Every season, sunglasses manufacturers add new designs to cater to the needs of people, the sales charts also go up. But is it sufficient for us to make a dash for the glares? The main feature i.e. —filtering of ultraviolet rays or UV is as important as the style.

UV exposure can lead to cataract which means clouding of the natural lens. If UV radiation is not checked then it can easily damage the retina—major cause for blindness.

How glare can inhibit UV rays, you may ask. The surface of the lens is chemically coated which filters out harmful UV rays.

The best way to check for UV protection is to go in for branded glares. They are value for money.

      Apart from UV filters, one should also check the lenses for:

Close fitting and wide enough to cover the eye and its surrounding area.

Light coloured lenses are equally safe to prevent UV rays as the darker ones.

If you are an outdoors person— always driving, boating or fishing, then try polarised lenses.  These are useful in minimising the sun’s reflection from smooth surfaces like pavement and water.

Clarity. Often people go in for cheap glares which might have slight power and are distorted. This can fatigue the eyes. You can check for distortion by turning your head looking at a pole/tree. If the pole wavers, it means there is a slight distortion.

A thin metallic coating reduces the light entering your eyes but it cannot protect fully against UV rays.

Children are the most vulnerable group where UV rays are the strongest.

Copyright (Amendment) Act 2012 - A welcome change

India has a rich musical heritage, be it classical, devotional or popular music. The popular music industry is influential to such an extent that it sometimes determines the success of a film or a label. Traditionally, singers and musicians are hired by record companies, film producers and the music director for a fixed amount. Even if a song is a hit, the singer had to be content with whatever had been agreed to. The  music business, unlike the large Hindi film industry does not share its  profits with actors, directors or producers.

Hence, there was a need for amending the existing copyright law, which was different from other countries. The amended act provides more avenues and the prospect of profit sharing to singers and musicians of all genres, primarily popular ones. This has been done to ensure that those who are responsible for generating revenues from hit songs are paid their due. The series of amendments which aim at updating existing laws on line with the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) can have widespread  implications on how royalty rates are decided, shared and distributed among producers and singers.

The Copyright (Amendment) Act, 2012 awaits the sanction of the President of India to become law. It has already been passed by the lower house of the Parliament. It also specifies that any work of a producer of a radio or TV programme will be subject to royalty  if it is broadcast. Robin Gibb, the co-founder of the band, ‘Bee Gees’, who died recently had recommended a change in the existing copyright laws as they were different and discriminatory from the laws prevalent in the rest of the world. He was the president of the International Confederation of Societies of Composers and Singers. Union HRD Minister  Kapil Sibal also was in favour of the amendment and played an important role in the passing of the bill in the Lok Sabha.

Eminent lyricist, Javed Akhtar, singer Lata Mangeshkar, Kailash Kher and others welcomed the amended act. There are others who feel that the payment to singers and musicians will now depend on the revenue generated by their creations. So, it has actually become a gamble. But, the fact is, the act will protect those artists who had to face poverty at the end of their career.  

Showcase your works online

Creating a visually-captivating portfolio is a tough task and it becomes tougher when you don’t have any technical expertise to make it. Many a time, a job applicant does not know how to design, what to write in the portfolios and what appearance will suit it.

In times when people search for jobs on the Internet and apply for them online, there are many options available on the Web to help them make an attractive portfolio.

Whether you are an artist, an engineer, a photographer, a model or a journalist you can showcase your works on an online shelf provided by these sites. Such sites come with loaded features which are different for different professionals. Here are some websites on which applicants can make their portfolios online.

Foliohd is a website where one can create his/her portfolio and upload work in the form of text, picture and video. One can upload up to 36 images in the free account and for utilising other features one has to upgrade the account to a premium one.

Carbonmade.com is another website that has several layouts to suit the needs of photographers, writers, designers, models etc.

Viewbook and Pixpa are websites that are specially designed for photographers, visual artists and architects. They can add their work in several galleries. The charges range from 200 to 1,600 a month depending on the services users chose. However one can try the site for one month for free. 

These sites also provide options to change the layout and designs of web portfolios and users can connect these portfolios to their own domain name. These sites give special discounts to students.

Cuttings.me and pressfolios.com are websites that are exclusively designed for journalists and writers. They can not only create portfolios but also manage the clippings and online links of their articles. At present, pressfolios is in its beta stage and one can use the site only when invited by the website administrator.

There are sites such as flavors.me to unify one’s web presence. Users can link their work and social presence on many sites onto one web page. 

Aspiring for love

 It’s human nature to aspire for someone’s love and attention. We all want to be loved and so  always look forward to other people’s approval before doing anything. Given below are some ways to help make someone love you.

Be independent… it is hard enough to take care of one’s ownself, let alone be  responsible for someone else.

Be attentive to others.  It feels good if we have a person who listens to us, someone who  cares about what you are saying. Don’t let anyone know exactly how you feel about them. Keep them guessing and this in turn will keep them on their toes and you will not be taken for granted.

Do not tell everything about yourself to others in the beginning. If they know everything about you, you will become boring to them. Let it be a mystery.

Never tell them about your faults or shortcomings. If you have any faults they will come to know about it later on. Don’t begin a relationship with your negative points but let people think of you as a strong and well-adjusted person and let them be proud of what you are.

Always be thrilled to hear from people you know. Show excitement in your voice when they call you. When you see them let your face light up with pleasure. This will please   them and they will call you more often and talk highly of you.

Style your hair to your face

Hair style is a great asset of one’s personality and if one wears it in a proper way, according to the geometry of the face, it makes a difference. To know how, check out this article.

Know the shape of your face

To know the shape of your face stand in front of the mirror and draw a line along with your face line that will give the shape of your face.

Oval: If you have an oval shape, you are lucky. This shape can wear any style. Bobbed, layered, close/full/long or short, just about any style will suit this balanced shape. However, you must take your facial features into consideration. Hair off the forehead can balance your nose in profile view. Your hair type will also determine the best style. If naturally curly, wavy or straight, make it part of your style.

Round: The aim is to create an oval appearance and lift the face. Bring the sides close to the face and increase height at the crown. For a classic modern style, layered is the perfect shape for a round face. If you do not want long hair, close sideburn wisps soften and flatter the face. Avoid a neat bob with a fringe. If making a topknot, get a lot of elongated tendrils out; this will balance your face. A lot of volume to the hair give it a flat look. Avoid tied back style; it makes the face look rounder. However, you must take your facial features into consideration.

Square: Soften the edges of a square-shaped face by directing soft wavy bangs down over your temples. A style with the hair 2.5cm or so below the chin sits pretty on a square face. Long hair should fall to, or past shoulders. Blunt-clipped bangs are also not recommended because they would emphasize the squareness of your face. All a square face needs is a little softening if the jawline is too heavy. Draw attention away from the jaw with a diagonal fringe forward from the hairline and around the ears. However, you must take your facial features into consideration.

Heart: A heart-shaped face needs a softer, curlier style. A chin length look is perfect; try to create width around your narrow chin. All you need to do is avoid a heavy slab offering that will make your face into a triangle. Side slanted bangs draw attention away from the jaw line. Your hair will make best either piled to the top and to the back of your head, to balance the chin, or hanging loose to hide it. A large nose needs a short fluffy style— anything sleek or straight will only over-emphasize it. However, you must take your facial features into consideration.

Rectangle: Go for width and volume. Short styles including the wedge design, while long manes in a full style that falls at, or above the shoulder are suitable for a rectangular shaped face. Bangs look great when just touching the brows and help to shorten a long-shaped face. However, you must take your facial features into consideration.

Oblong: A long, thin face with a narrow chin is oblong. A short, perky bob will go  nicely with your kind of looks. It should be short at the back and the angled chin length in the front. Wearing it with a side parting, with bangs brushed to the side, rounds out an oblong face. A longer bob about five-cm below the chin, will also look good on this kind of face. Layered hair will not suit you at all. Long hair, too, makes the face seem longer.

Diamond: To balance a narrow chin, your best look is to have a round shape with fullness at the bottom. Wide wispy bangs help to create an oval look. The classic look for diamonds is a graduated bob that falls to the chin. Try a wispy design to soften the edges.

Pear: Focus on a full crown at top to create symmetry with the wide jaw. Layered looks, like the classic Shag, flatter a pear-shaped face. Tuck hair behind your ear so as to not draw attention to your cheeks. Short hair should not pass the neckline. While long looks should be kept tight at the nape.

Let us see which styles go well with your type of hair.

Thin and fine: If your hair is thin and fine, keep it short and fluffy.

Medium or coarse: This hair can handle most styles

Heavy or thick: If your hair is heavy or thick, keep it at a medium length or it will not hang well.

Modelling in the limelight

You could be a model and someday, be a supermodel as well.

Are you waiting for someone to tell you where to begin, whom to approach and how to avoid the pitfalls? Someone to explain the theories and the strategies?  What is really expected of you in the highly competitive and glamourous world of modelling?

Good things take their time coming, and every career has its own demands and unique sacrifices. Most aspiring models do not realize that there is a lot of hard work involved and get frustrated when things do not move quickly. But you should know better—do not give up, because you have chosen this as your career and you cannot rely on others to put in the effort required. 

You need to be physically, mentally and emotionally strong to make it and to survive here. It is critical to understand the industry in order to learn to separate the emotional aspect of yourself from the ‘product’ aspect.

Types of modelling

There are several areas of modelling, each with its specific requirements.

·        High Fashion

·       Children and Teen Modelling

·       Editorial Print Modelling

High Fashion

Beginning with fashion modelling, it is quite limited  in avenue as of now, but gaining in momentum. It encompasses everything from fashion shoots for glossies to mail-order catalogues; from live shows for haute couture houses to rag trade promotions.

The term ‘fashion’ in this context, refers to clothing and accessories.

What is essential for both the sexes is a clear healthy skin, good teeth, a great smile, expressive eyes and healthy hair. Also, you should be an extrovert by nature and uninhibited, even inspired, by crowds.

Children and Teen Modelling

Children and teens can find work in many different types of modelling including fashion shows and commercials. Teen models are generally called junior models.

Editorial Print Modelling

This refers to photography for magazines, including covers. This work is very eagerly sought after by models because of the exposure it provides. For this reason you can expect to work long and hard but you will get tear sheets for your portfolio that will help you get work.

Indian Ocean- Pure, earthy, unadulterated music

The song ‘Maa Rewa’ captured the imagination of youngsters, especially college students. It is a perfect combination of traditional lyric and music composed with traditional and Western musical instruments. Indian Ocean, the band that composed the song was started in the early 90’s and is one of the best Indian fusion bands.

The band has a unique style of composition and the lyrics of the songs, range from conventional to shlokas and traditional ones. ‘Hille Le’, a song from the album ‘Kandisa’ has lyrics that are traditional and were written by Gorakh Pande, a renowned poet. Other songs of the album include ‘Maa Rewa’, ‘Kandisa’ (a song in Aramaic, a language spoken by the Jews),’ Leaving Home’, ‘Khajuraho’ and others. 

There are few albums composed by Indian bands with such a variety in terms of lyrics and style of music. Jhini, another album whose title song was based on Kabir’s verses, was similar in terms of experimentation. The band also released a live album called Desert Rain, which was moderately successful.

The band has composed a few tracks and the background score for the controversial film, ‘Black Friday’. The song ‘Bandeh’ from the album was a huge hit. They have also composed a couple of songs for the highly acclaimed film, ‘Peepli Live’. Remember, ‘Desh Mera Rangrezia Babu’.  

Rahul Ram, the vocalist, is a dynamic personality and has a degree in Environmental Toxicology from Cornell University, USA. He is also an ornithologist. As a social activist, he is actively involved in the ‘Narmada Bachao Andolan’. His diverse experience reflects on the style of music of the band. He, along with Asheem Chakravarty, composed a song, ‘Yaara Maula’ for Anurag Kashyap’s film ‘Gulaal’, which is a satire on regional and caste-based politics. Asheem died in 2009 after a heart attack.

The band released ‘16/330 Khajoor Road’ recently. It is a free online album. The band members were frustrated with label contracts and as a sign of protest released it in this unusual format. ‘The Best of Indian Ocean’, as the name suggests, is a compilation album comprising their greatest hits. 

Learn English on the web

English is the most used language on the Web. According to Internet World stats, English rules the roost on Internet with over 536 million people using English while Chinese comes second in the list with over 444 million people using the language online.  Internet is not only awash with websites in English but also with websites for teaching English.

There are websites where people can learn English online and improve their writing and speaking skills. British Council is running a website http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org that is dedicated to teaching English to non-native speakers of English. It is one of the few websites that provides with text, audio and video content for users to improve language skills.

It has several grammar exercises which provide learners to understand online lessons well. The website also has regular podcast soaps in which learners can learn right usage and pronunciation of English words. Such shows include Word on the Street, Big City Small World, The Great Britain, etc.

You must have heard people speaking the same English words differently and it happens when English is not their mother tongue. The Chinese will not speak the way Indians speak and Africans will pronounce words differently from the Spaniards.

There is a Speech Accent Archive http://www.accent.gmu.edu/ that provides over 1500 recordings. The speakers in these recordings come from countries where English is the primary language—USA, Australia and Britain; and also from countries where it is not such as India, China, Iraq, etc.  Steven Weinberger, a Linguistics professor at George Mason University, has developed this archive for users to know how people from different parts of the world pronounce similar words differently. 

Several other websites teaching English serve different purposes. Talkenglish.com teaches speaking basics and teaches users what to say and how to say in different situations.  Phrases.org.uk provides users with thousands of English phrases with their meanings and origins. Vocabsushi is a website to improve vocabulary and teach learners the right usage of words used in the day-to-day world. Elllo.com focuses on listening skills.

Examenglish.com trains people for TOEFL, IELTS and other similar exams. British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has a website for teaching English and the website also teaches how to teach English. The most popular programme of the website is ‘6 Minute English’ and the shows can be downloaded as a pdf or mp3 file.

Circus - slipping into oblivion

Circus is something that we now generally see in movies. At one time it was a popular form of entertainment and a circus in town meant lots of crowds. But how and where did it all start?

The circus probably started in Rome, (though some historians feel that it began in Greece), in the gigantic Circus Maximus.

This was a stadium that was more oval than circular, though the latter is the shape to which the word ‘circus’ refers.


It was used mainly for chariot races, and it was very different from the circus that we know it today.

The modern circus came into being when in 1768, an English trick rider called Philip Astley discovered that because of centrifugal force, it was quite easy to stand on his horse’s back while it galloped around a ring. He began to travel widely in Europe, spreading the idea of a circus and building many himself.


But though circuses began to appear in many countries, they were mainly restricted for over 60 years to equestrian acts. Skill in horsemanship still continues to be the main feature of a circus.

It was not till the early part of the 19th century that Isaac A. Van Amburg introduced wild animal acts into the circus. He is believed to be the first man to put his head in a lion’s mouth. In 1859, Jules Leotard invented the familiar flying trapeze.

Gradually the circus began to include acrobats, sword swallowers, fat ladies, giant dwarfs and, of course, clowns.

Clowns

Thick white paint all over the face, nose like a large red cherry, bright blue eyelids that climb half-way up to the forehead, green, or purple or orange fuzzy hair standing out from the sides… clearly this is the face of a clown.

But did you know that no two clowns can look completely alike!

This is because each clown owns a distinct ‘face’ and no other clown in the world is supposed to copy it!

Tights

All circus performers wear tights, but they came to do so only by accident!

In 1828, Nelson Hower, a bareback rider in a circus, was dressed, as was customary then, in a short jacket, stockings and knee breeches.

One evening, however, Hower’s costume for the performance failed to arrive in time and he was forced to go on with the show wearing only his long underpants.

This turned out to be so comfortable and easy to perform in, that he adopted the tights as part of his circus costume. Soon, he was followed by other circus performers

Love, a great benediction

There are two types of love. One, where no effort is needed, not even rationality.  Second, where you think and think again, know whom you want to love and why. Both may look alike in the beginning.

The first one has to vanish one day, sooner or later, by any reason mostly due to lack of flexibility in partner’s attitudes.

The other aspect of love is permanent. It’s a hard exercise, needs a high order of discipline, sacrifice and with no expectations, no need to talk about it. It needs to just keep loving.

Love is so much an integral part of life that we cannot do without it. But we cannot see it. We cannot see our emotions as well. It is our competence to handle these two essentials of our life, without any suffering, as the offspring of love.

Music in China: It is changing – slowly

Almost everything, including music ,in China is controlled by the government. However, after the liberalisation of the economy, the country has seen a surge in hip-hip and other such Western genres. However, the change is limited to big cities like Shanghai, Beijing and Chengdu.

According to Chinese mythology, the founder of music in the country was Ling Lun, who made bamboo pipes tuned to the sounds of birds. During the new culture movement of the 1910 and 1920, several musicians and music enthusiasts travelled to Western countries. They learnt Western classical music and experimented by merging it with traditional music.

Symphony orchestras became popular in major cities. The influence of Jazz was notable and instruments like saxophones, xylophones and violins were used widely. Some renowned musicians of this era were Lu Wen Cheng, Li Jinhui, Zhou Xuan, Qui Hechou and others. However, after the successful overthrow of the Kuomintang government under Chiang Kai Shek by Mao Tse Tung, Western music was more or less banned. 

The Maoists considered pop music as a denigrator of  traditional music. The Maoists, during the historic Cultural Revolution, emphasised revolutionary music, which were songs set to the tunes of traditional music and the praise of the Communist movement and Chairman Mao.

After the infamous Tiananmen Square massacre, this form was somewhat changed and the tempo of the songs was  increased. This saw a remarkable change in the type of songs, which were fast paced and were meant to instil a sense of patriotism and loyalty towards the Communist movement.

The death of Chairman Mao opened new avenues in the field of music. The Chinese  began  interacting with the West due to limited liberalisation of  the economy. Genres like rock, black metal, death metal, hip-hop and others became popular among youngsters. Cui Jian is considered the father of Chinese rock. 

China has changed and is growing at an amazing pace. The choice of music has also widened, yet, performers are not allowed to sing against the government or, in some cases, on love and other such popular issues.  

Arrange flowers well

Flower arrangements should be simple and look natural. It is not necessary to see symbols in the arrangement of a few twigs and flowers. Regard  flowers as flowers, twigs as twigs and buds as buds.

         The flat arrangements, flowers stuck on corks and plastic cushions and placed in saucers look unpleasant to the sensitive eye, especially if they are put below the eye-level. The best idea for a lovely flower arrangement is to choose a tall vase of a colour that can accentuate the prettiness of the flowers. 

        Black would be the best. If a dozen long stalks of roses are put in a black lacquered vase and placed against a blank wall, the room would take on a loveliness difficult to describe. In a cream vase, place two long branches of mauve bougainvilla with their leaves removed. Avoid the mixing of varieties of flowers as the crowded bazaar look that results would only be vulgar.

            Do not keep the flowers where they receive strong winds or sun. The corner near the window side of a room is usually a good spot for flowers. The number of vases depends on the size of the room. The eye must fall on the flowers and rest there. 

            The table or the high stool on which the flower vase is kept should have simple lines. Do not keep flowers in a room that holds a cluster of paintings, printed draperies and works of art, for against a cluttered up or gaudy background the flowers lose their dignity and their character.

            Treat the flowers with respect. The part of the stalk that sinks in water should be stripped of leaves, or else the leaves rot and give off an odour. Some flowers stay alive and fresh for about a week, but the lower flowers on the stalks wilt, and hard chlorinated water can be softened by adding a teaspoon of flour or oats.

        Avoid keeping over-fragrant flowers and those with heavy pollen in the bedrooms, if you are susceptible to allergic troubles. Bougainvilla is the best for a pale-pink bedroom, because this sturdy bloom creates a youthful atmosphere. Roses in silver bowls or crystal vases look good on dining tables.