Barodians go glam all the way

Barodian girls head for beauty treatments ahead of Navratri

Devanshi Joshi.Vadodara/DNA
Monday, September 22, 2008

An occasion as big as a wedding ceremony most certainly calls for a bridal package for grabbing attention on the D-day. But would you go that far to get a ravishing look for Navratri? Well! Ask Barodian girls - go glam all the way - is the answer theyll have to dish out.Most of them have already started taking beauty treatments for the upcoming festive days. As such, beauty salons in the city are offering an array of hair and skin therapies under their special navratri grooming packages. From highlighting and back polishing to regular beauty treatments like facial, clean-up and heena, the navratri grooming package offers all it takes to acquire that absolutely outstanding look.The package starts with Rs800 and can go as high as Rs5,000 depending on the type of treatment availed and the cosmetics used. “Were already booked with navratri grooming packages since its recommended to start at least two weeks in advance for these sessions. Customers are provided with packages that best suits their skin and hair type and prices also varies accordingly. Apart from the regular beauty treatments, back polishing are also a lot in demand for doing justice to the backless cholis in vogue this navratri”, says Kalpana Jhadav, a beautician at Krelibag.There are special packages that promise to preserve the fresh look throughout navratri. Girls visiting parlors can opt for having a different hair-do, make-up and eye catching tattoos for all the nine nights.Neha Shah, a 22 year old classical dancer and financial management student is one of those enthusiastic Barodians to have started taking beauty sessions at a salon in Alkapuri. She asserts, “Navratri is not just about playing garba but also about having a distinctive style that adds glamour to the festive season. Since a scheduled life makes it impossible to take care of skin and hair at home, I prefer going to the parlor regularly. But this time I came across this special navratri packages which provides full grooming beauty treatments before as well as during the gay nights. With only a few days to go for Navratri, I have already started with these special navratri packages.”Surprisingly, young girls are not the only ones to be heading for these special grooming packages, middle-aged women are also making the most of the offer, says Namita Sharma a beauty salon owner at Alkapuri. Niharika Mehta a 40 year old professional says, “I have been playing garba since my teens and the craze is undying even at 40. One needs to be more conscious after a certain age and if these grooming sessions can help bring the lost charm, why not go for them. It was my daughter who suggested me to give it a try and here we are, making a head-start for navratri”.

Temporary tattoos are in vogue

Tuli Banerjee & Devanshi Joshi.Ahmedabad/Vadodara.DNA

Monday, September 22, 2008

Navratri is a festival when revellers are often laden with jewelleries and other accessories. In the last few years, however, many young people can be seen having temporary tattoos during these nine nights. “My business doubles up during Navratri. These days, I do more that 20 tattoos every day,” says Sonal Patel, a tattooist who is in the business for last 10 years. It is mostly people in the age group of 18-24 who go for tattoos. “In fact, men prefer tattoos over other accessories,” says Sonal who charges Rs250 per tattoo, be it a big or a small tattoo. “Temporary tattoos are also preferred by working women and school-going kids as they are easily removable and save time,” says Raja Solanki, a tattooist at Law Garden. Temporary tattoos are made of fabric paints mixed with a lot of fevicol. At times, glitters are also added to make them look sparkling. “They are easily washable and thus I can have a new tattoo every night that matches the colour of my chaniya choli,” says Reema Shah. In Vadodara, enthusiasts this year are going for coloured shimmer along with tattoos. The girls are also in a mood to experiment with the placing of tattoos on the deep lower part of the back.Sharma, a tattoo artist at Sayajigunj, said, “Tattoos in the lower back project sexuality. A tattoo at the bottom of the spine, just above the buttocks, can look stunning.”Archana Verma, a Navratri lover, says “I like to have a tattoo on the back designed as a flower, a freehand motif or sun. Everyone notice it.” Verma said she either paints them or gets stickers of tattoos now available in plenty at most outlets.”“The charm of the temporary tattoos is that you dont have to worry about needles and other devices. Besides, they are temporary and washable,” said Darshana Shah a tattoo artists at Karelibag.

Acting calls but Chetan Bhagat refuses to say Hello

The author declined an invitation to act in a Salman-Katrina starrer based on one of his novels

Devanshi Joshi. Vadodara/DNA
Monday, September 22, 2008
The novelist, Chetan Bhagat, seems married to the printed word for he let go of an opportunity to interpret one of his characters on the silver screen. The author said on Saturday that he was offered a role in the film, Hello, which is based on his book, One Night at the Call Centre. He, however, declined the offer. Bhagat made this disclosure during an interaction with students at Paramarsh-2008, the ongoing three-day festival of MSUs faculty of engineering and technology. Hello is scheduled for release on October 10. “I was invited to play the role of Ganesh in Hello but I declined the offer,” said Bhagat. “I dont think I would have been any good as an actor.” He is, nevertheless, very excited about the movie which is directed by Atul Agnihotri, and has Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, and some other well-known actors in the significant roles of the film. “I saw the unedited version of Hello a few days back and was delighted by what I saw,” Bhagat said. He, however, added that, while he liked movies, he found the written word a more rewarding medium because reading stimulates the imagination. “When you read a book, the mind is forced to imagine the situations, characters and incidents portrayed in it. This does not happen with a movie,” he said. Bhagat lamented the fact that reading had become less popular among youth, and said that authors must do more to reach out and connect with the young generation. “Todays youth are not particularly keen on reading. They read only those books with which they can relate immediately. It is, therefore, important for writers now to have something in their books that resonates with the experience of the young generation,” said Bhagat. “Thick literary tomes are unlikely to click with young readers today. For them, books must have a bearing on their lifestyle.” Bhagat is currently working on a new book, a romantic comedy. Both his earlier books — Five Point Someone and One Night at the Call Centre — have already been translated and published in Hindi, while their Gujarati versions are in the pipeline. When asked which of his books was his favourite, he said, “I have a soft corner for Five Point Someone.” Talking about One Night at the Call Centre, he said he had been criticised for making God a caller in the book. “But for that bit of negative criticism, the book has been praised by readers and critics alike. I am happy with the reception given the book.”

Art of cartooning will never die out

Sudhir Tailang, well-known cartoonist, talks about his career spanning over 25 yrs

Devanshi Joshi. Vadodara/DNA

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Not everyone can become a cartoonist. Only those who have a blend of creativity, a personal opinion of the world and can present this vision with humor can succeed. One need the combined skills of humor, drawing, journalistic sense and craziness to become a cartoonist,” said prominent caricaturist Sudhir Tailang who was in Vadodara on Saturday. He will be launching a book of his more than 150 cartoons next month.Tailang has been a cartoonist for more than 25 years and has drawn more than 15,000 cartoons during this span. He first made a mark with his daily Here and Now pocket cartoons in the Hindustan Times in the 1980s. Drawing his first cartoon at the age of 10, he began his career with the Illustrated Weekly of India and now draws a daily caricature for the edit page of the Asian Age - under the Here and Now label.According to Tailang, “Cartoons will always get exclusive space in a newspaper. Proof of this can be found in the fact that almost every leading and even middle-level newspaper carries at least a pocket cartoon on its front page every day. India, USA, France and UK are the countries where political cartoons have their own charm but now, the importance of political cartoons in the newspaper is decreasing due to more emphasis on cinema and other masala news.”“Earlier I used to find Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi a difficult faces to make cartoon but now I feel it easy as I started observing them closely,” said Tailang.Like every cartoonist, Tailang has his share of favorite politicians and in his case, it is former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao. “Raos entire personality was made to order for a cartoonist. His nostrils and pout gave him an edge over his counterparts. I think he was invented for cartoonists,” Tailang contended.Despite the lack of youngsters in the profession, Tailang was confident that the art of cartooning would never die out. “Students rarely take up cartooning as a career option because they dont know how to become a cartoonist. There are no professional institutes available which can nurture this talent,” he said.

Hacking misused to plan terror attacks

Expert shares his knowledge about ethical hacking with MSU students

Devanshi Joshi. Vadodara/DNA
Saturday, September 20, 2008

Well-known ethical hacker Ankit Fadia was in the city on Friday for Paramarsh 2008, a three-day festival at Faculty of Engineering and Technology of MS University here.Fadia shared his knowledge about ethical hacking with students of the university. He also showed students how hacking can be misused especially by terrorists who might have used it as a tool to carry out terrorist attacks in the country. “Terrorists hacked different computer IPs and sent threatening mails before bomb blasts. It is perfect example of how hacking is misused to spread terror. Unfortunately, the police force and intelligence bureaus are not equipped to break into the system. Government needs to form a team which is well informed of the new advancements to fight cyber crime.” said Fadia.Fadia further expressed concerns over how Wi-Fi and Wimax which will be the next advancement in technology can be misused for crimes.He said, “After Wi-Fi, Wimax network will be the next advancement and security agencies in the country need to take measures against misuse of Wimax.