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The Hindu : Holiday packageGold Coast, in the state of Queensland, Australia, is a popular tourist destination. Now you can treat yourself to quite a few exciting rides at Dreamworld. Warner Bros. Movie World is another place that can be visited.This is said to be a place where action movies are brought to life on rides such as Lethal Weapon and Scooby – Doo Spooky Coaster. There are also performances by dolphins with a close up experience with polar bears and sharks at Sea World.Tangalooma Wild Dolphin Resort is another favourite destination where tourists can “hand feed wild dolphins” as well as sand tobogganing.The place that can be the home of tourists is the Palazzo Versace, said to be the first Versace hotel. The package is priced at Rs. 37, 545 onwards and Superior package is priced at Rs. 53, 395 onwards.The standard package includes four-night stay at Surfers Paradise and one night at Tangalooma resort with daily breakfasts, all transfers, Movieworld, Dreamworld and Seaworld, say the organisers of Mercury Travels, Infantry Road. The travels can be contacted on 25591641- 45 or SMS MERCURY to 58888 or emailoutbound@mercurytravels.in…More

The Hindu : She has the qualities of a star but none of the starriness. At 23, Katrina Kaif is young, not immature.Edging towards caution she avoids the sensational but escapes the boring too. As PepsiCo Slice’s first brand ambassador, Katrina who started as a model, feels that endorsing a product as an actor is different. She explains: “When you come in as an actor, you lend more than a face to a brand. You lend a personality.”Katrina’srecent movie “Race” is proving to be the first hit of the year. When people ask, “What next?”, she replies, “Let me rest for a while. I need a break for a bit!”But there’s no break. She has already been signed up for a romantic movie to be directed by Raj Kumar Santoshi with Ranbir Kapoor.Young gunsShe is excited as it is with a young team. The big banners of Yash Raj and Subhash Ghai are also knocking at her door. “Singh is Kinng” with Akshay Kumar to be released in August is a fun movie.She saysit was like shooting with friends.A success in comedies and light-hearted roles, Katrina says she chooses films that the audiences want, adding, “You should be secondary. The audiences should be first.” She selects her movies as an audience member. Only six movies old, she says, “Would I want to watch this movie I ask myself.”With Studio 18, reportedly, paying the young star three crore rupees per film, Katrina is one of Bollywood’s highest paid actresses with Kareena Kapoor.But she says that the monetary gap with male actors can never be bridged. While Bollywood might have madeher the star, Katrina started with Telugu and Malayalam movies.Surprisingly, she says, “My two Telugu movie (‘Malliswari’ and ‘Allari Pidugu’) experiences were my best. When I would leave those films, I would nearly cry!”Despite half a dozen Hindi films to her credit , Katrina is still diffident about Hindi. She…More

The Hindu : There is a story in every mile and a tale in every travelogue. We go past dusty towns, trek through forests, soak our feet in sea and come back to tell our story. If we look deeper, there is a hidden yarn behind the village, a myth regarding that towering mountain, a legend about the tall pillars. I am fascinated by these stories, for they make the destination what it is today.This saga is set in the 17th Century and a horse is the hero of the tale. I am in Arunachal Pradesh where the colours change with every curve in the mountains. Bright mustard fields merge with some brilliant orchids that suddenly morph into dense forests with rivers, to conifers kissed by snow flakes, to frozen lakes and a valley of clouds that wraps snow clad mountains.I heard this story in Tawang, which means “Chosen by horse”. Merag Lama was praying in a cave, seeking divine help to locate a site for a monastery, but his horse went missing. The search took him atop a hill where he found it peacefully grazing. He saw this as a celestial sign and gave the town and the monastery its name.Built with the approval of the 5th Dalai Lama, the Tawang Monastery is known as Galden Namgey Lhatse meaning “celestial paradise”. If there is a heaven on earth, this is it. It can house about 600 monks and apparently chocolates and biscuits are given as offerings here.Nestled at an altitude of 3,500 metres, Tawang is home to the Mompas. Ravaged by war, it is dotted with army bunkers and war memorials.As we were driving, clouds surrounded us, hiding everything from mountains to grasslands, flowers and birds and gently touching our cheeks as well. A glacier then led us to a gate guarded by dragons. Colourful flags were fluttering around. We were at Sella Pass, where war and…More

The Hindu : BeatstreetTashanYRF Music, CD, Rs. 160Somehow this album is thankfully not what I expected, considering the visuals I’d been seeing on the CD cover. And still recovering from the hangover of Vishal-Shekhar’s disastrous music for “Cash”. This one’s more in the league of their “Bluffmaster”, “Dus” and “Om Shanti Om”.This is one album you will enjoy if you don’t take it seriously. When the tagline for the movie says: “The ishtyle, the goodluck, the pharmoola” you kind of get a hint about what you are in for.One must hand it to Vishal-Shekhar. The real gem of the album is “Dil dance maare”. They’ve got it all right. This is one number you can enjoy because it’s outright ridiculous, but has no pretensions of being otherwise. It’s priceless for its mix of Bhojpuri, English and Hindi. “White-white face dekhe dilwa beating fast sasura chance mare re, O very happy in my heart, dil dance maare re”. The use of English is straight out of the Hindi heartland, with the tremendous effort made to “show-off” knowledge of English, really showing. (Two of the film’s characters are called Bachchan Pande and Bhaiyyaji…) So the lyrics don’t sound pseudo. There’s a good goulash of the harmonium, beats. Don’t miss out the killer lyrics throughout: “Sky ke jaise blue-blue ye tohra nain sarabi” “ye dhadkan hogayi very loud”. Sukhwinder, Udit Narayan and Sunidhi Chauhan have enjoyed themselves as much singing it, you believe. Vishal has penned the lyrics and has got it’s feel spot on.The songs are interspersed by each actor’s dialogue, where they present a declaration of what their “tashan” or style is. So it makes for only five crisp tracks, which is ideal.The album actually opens with Sukhwinder all in his element singing “Dil haara”. Though reminiscent of the title track of “Omkara”, the song really has you latched on with unusual use of phrases like “Taabad tod naachloo”…More

The Hindu : The National Geographic Channel is screening “Trapped – Alive in the Andes” – the survival story of 16 passengers where the rescue team arrives 72 days after the plane crash. A plane carrying a group of forty-five passengers crashes deep in the Andes. Two of them survive the 72 days ordeal when they had no food no water, and inadequate clothing. The two strong-willed men forced themselves to eat the flesh of the dead to stay alive…desperate conditions with no hopes yet the will to survive stayed strong. Watch the remarkable survival story which is a testament to the strength of human will in Nat Geo’s Trapped on April 14 at 10 p.m.“Naked Science – Death of the Sun” will let you find out if the entire solar system will be taken away with the shining star. In one way or another, all life on earth relies on the sun. Yet the sun is not eternal. “Naked Science” investigates the sun’s formation, how it powers itself, and how, eventually, the shining star will die one day. Will it take with it all life in our solar system? Find out on April 15 at 9 p.m….More

The Hindu : Wild shotsWin a chance to become a wildlife filmmakerIs your burning ambition to get up close and personal with the world’s most amazing animals? Do you dream of capturing nature’s raw beauty on film? In a unique television project, Animal Planet sets out to find the next great wildlife filmmaker.The eight-part reality series “Unearthed: Film School Wild” will follow four contestants on an intensive training course as they learn the essential skills and realities of creating a natural history documentary. Industry experts and renowned wildlife filmmakers Lyndal Davies and Andrew Barron will guide the contestants through their tasks on the course.The budding filmmakers and animal enthusiasts will carry out their challenges at the award-winning Shamwari Game Reserve in South Africa in July, competing to ultimately have their film chosen the winner.An international panel of experts will judge the final documentaries at a gala dinner in South Africa, and the winner will have his or her film broadcast on Animal Planet in 160 countries throughout Europe, Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. Entries will be accepted from April 14 to May 19.Applicants will be required to shoot a three-minute personal profile, which must be produced, shot and edited by the applicant with no outside assistance, delivered in a DVD format with your application form toUnearthed, C/o Animal Planet, 9/1B, Qutab Institutional Area, Aruna Asaf Ali Marg, New Delhi 110067.You must be 18 years or older at the time of application, in possession of a passport valid until at least February 2009, responsible for their own entry visas into South Africa, willing to travel and be available for filming during July and August 2008 (or as otherwise scheduled by the producers)….More

The Hindu : Regardless of whether you’re a newbie or a veteran traveller, odds are you’ll find everything you’re looking for at an ocean called bootsnall.com.While the members of this all-encompassing, multi-purpose travel website (pronounced boots ‘n’ all) have had every imaginable adventure.The creators have organised this information impeccably, making it easy to browse through various sections and effortlessly discover hundreds of fascinating tourist destinations. Handpicked brochures for exotic locales are classified according to continents and show you what your options are depending on the type of trip you’re planning, ranging from safaris and snow sports to volunteering and culture tours.The featured articles in the travel writing section are from travellers from every part of the world and are written in painstaking detail with photographs that look like professionally shot picture postcards.Their search engine is quite the miracle worker: it asks you to pick a duration, continent, trip type and price after which it displays results in seconds, giving you a day-wise itinerary, available dates and even lists several links to similar trips in case you want to look around before making a decision.You can also flip through the free listings of the best deals in airfare and accommodation or ask questions in the “Insiders” section where experts answer specific questions based on their own past experience in that region.The message boards are alive with chatter, featuring discussions about everything from living abroad to people’s favourite superheroes.Membership is free and entitles you to share photos on Flickr, browse through members-only forums and share feedback on your travels.SRIYA NARAYANAN…More

The Hindu : Look aheadGet on with the modern way of choosing your glasses at Titan Eye +For all those who are looking for a faster and effective way to shop for sunglasses, spectacles or contact lenses, Titan Eye + store in Indiranagar promises to deliver all those eye-care needs instantly. The prescription eyewear chain of stores fromTitan Industries, Titan Eye + caters to women, men and children, stocking designs and styles for all ages.There are three types of eyewear — the “Eye +” is economically priced with frames ranging from Rs. 395 to Rs. 895 of all sizes and shapes.The main focus of the store is definitely its open display. Bright light ensures visibility and accessibility so that you don’t have to depend on sunlight to choose the right frame.The second type is Titan frames, ranging from Rs. 950 to Rs. 4,500. The women and men sections are on either side of the ground floor, so you can choose the right pair of glasses.Fashion brands range from Rs. 3,000 to Rs. 35,000. Another highlight of the store is their style consultancy section which will offer customers suggestions in choosing the frame that suits their face type and personality best.And, for everyone who has bought spectacles peering half-blindly at the mirror, only to regret it later, then there’s hope.With the new LCD screen, you can narrow down your frames, put each one of them on, and click. And so you can compare the pictures of you wearing the different frames (with your glasses!) and then make the right decision. And there’s no time wasted, for it’s all instant, as it happens right in front of you. Not only that, you can also put different colour tinted lenses in place of the frames.There is the kids section upstairs with a lot of cute, colourful and fun frames for children to choose from, in the range of Rs. 350 to…More

The Hindu : Every morning when I slip on the helmet, kick start my Yamaha RX 135, rev up the engine and hit the roads, eyeballs dance, stare, gape, jeer and ogle, heads turn, cameras are taken out, families grin, men discuss. They look at me – a salwar-clad woman – kick-starting, manoeuvring in bumper-to-bumper traffic, changing gears and speeding on a ‘man’s machine’.If I don’t let a bike cut lanes, it could turn out to be violent. The biker caught up with me, tried to edge me off, and in the process I acquired few minor scratches and bruises. If my bike stalls in the middle of traffic, mechanics on a bike have told me that I’ve run out of petrol. Meghna Khanna who started on her father’s Bajaj scooter, learned how to ride a Bullet 350 cc when she was 15-years-old. She says there is slightly more respect because of the size of the bike. “I guess a lot of men haven’t ridden the bullet, but you get the usual hassling once in a while – mainly overtaking and racing.”She, like many other women motorcyclists, including Deepa Akhoury feel: “The best way to deal with them is to let them pass – I try not to deal with male egos as it is not worth it. Handling a bullet by a woman is as challenging as it is for a man.”When they were in college, Deepa and Preethi Jayapati felt they were missing out on long rides and started riding by taking equal turns.Coming to good Samaritans, Meghna recalls: “Once an auto-driver turned out to be an ex-Enfield mechanic and fixed my broken clutch cable when I was stranded.” Both Deepa and Meghna insist that one has to believe in the general goodness of people. Meghna states: “Some women ride bikes because they love them and some learn to do it out of necessity – so…More

The Hindu : Siddharth is a 20-year-old news junkie. Back when he was in school, he would go through newspapers for not just for general knowledge but also ‘for the feel of newspapers.’ But as the democracy thing, global warming, poverty impinge on his consciousness, which makes him turn in to a slab of sensitivity, he ‘goes online to find out what’s happening around the world.’“We youth, at least some of us, are interested in news. But, it’s not the way the newspapers present it.” For some, the text on the page feels so remote. Often, they feel, it isn’t engaging enough and certainly cannot relate to what is dished up on the page.Alternatives“I just don’t like on-the-one-hand, on-the–other-hand mush in newspapers.” Well, on the other hand, there are five fingers.News in the YouTube era engages rather talks down to the audience. Youth find news streaming in at them in various formats. Cool and on the button. Added to this is their felicity with technology.“Newspapers have that top-down orientation, a few people sitting and spouting, aloof from real world,” says Srinivas, a media watcher. But, the web is slam-dunk, straight-up, people-driven, with multimedia contextualising the text. Friendly, informal feel about the online media captures many. The no-holds-barred blogs are craze among the youth. Youngsters don’t go for straight news anyway, like, the minister champions this or that cause. “We know the government makes policies, but how does that affect the people, the story,” he wonders.As if our politics is not thrilling enough, 24-year-old Satya K. a guy itching to weigh in on any topic logs into YouTube. “I like to watch Obamicans ramping up the pitch for Barack Obama. “It’s the video, audio, and the blogs that rivet him. I like our electioneering go on YouTube,” he says. Taking a cue from the fans of Obama, he adds: “I will be ready with a blog for our next…More