‘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.