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The Hindu : y>A reality show based on fashion premieres today

Photo: Rajeev BhattLara’s theme The actor will welcome the participants

Noun and MTV’s “Making the Cut’ will premiere on October 17 at 6 p.m.

Cine actor, Lara Dutta welcomes the contestants on their first day in this reality show. “Making the Cut” will have eight designers and 16 models who run through the streets of Mumbai to create a fashion line inspired by the film “Blue”. The designs will be judged by an expert panel of style gurus – Narendra Kumar, Dipannita Sharma and Nonita Kalra.

The show promises fabulous models, eye-catching designs and tons of drama. Who will shine to impress the judges on their very first day?

Who has it in them to ‘Make the Cut’?

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The Hindu :

Chilled out fruit smoothies and juices to boost your energy

SIP AWAY On exotic fruits

Jus Booster Juice, a juice joint on M.G. Road’s Barton Centre, offers thick juice that is said to “boost your energy”.

“It’s not milkshake for there is no milk in it,” say the people at the joint.

Booster Juice is a North American smoothies and juice chain, which was founded by Dale Wishewan and Jon Amack, whose aim was to provide customers with fresh juices and smoothies to provide them with a healthy and convenient alternative to traditional fast food.

The drinks that are served here are said to come with 100 per cent natural ingredients. “We use frozen fruits. So you will get all kinds of fruits from across the world through the year,” they add.

The place is clean and transparent. You can see your drink being mixed and blended right in front of your eyes. And everything is served completely chilled. Frozen fruits (blueberries, strawberries, mangoes etc.), chilled yoghurt and fruit sorbets go into the drink. Sugar is not added; neither are preservatives.

We try the Tahiti Squeeze (orange, strawberry and apple extracts) and the Strawberry Storm (strawberry, cranberry, raspberry extracts with whey protein). While the former was a thin liquid drink the latter was really thick. They were so chilled that you could not taste any flavour except feel your insides freeze as the drink goes down your gullet.

Is it really healthy to have a drink like this, you ask. The reply is: “Yes, everything is natural and we also add in certain herbs if you want, which are supposed to boost your energy. It’s the latest trend in America. People substitute their one-time meal with a drink like this.”

The boosters that go into the drink come at Rs. 20 each.

So if you want to really chill out and freeze your interiors, Jus Booster Juice may just be…More

The Hindu :

Cricket figures high in Frenchman Nicholas Deplanche’s India experience

Appreciating The relaxed work atmosphere

Nicholas Deplanche, the communication head at the Seven Hotels has been in India for more than a year and is very fascinated by the game of cricket.

He says, “I am awed by the manner in which this game has managed to make a place in popular culture and thinking in India. It is very impressive.”

He adds, “I watched much of the Indian Premier League this season and have learnt many cricketing terms and have picked up many nuances about the format. I want to learn more about the game. I have been interested in sports a great deal and used to play basketball in France regularly. My work is fairly hectic and does not give me much time for playing sports. I am forced to follow all action on TV.”

Nicholas came to India on his first assignment outside France and was very nervous.

“I was apprehensive and not about India, but about how the job is going to be, about the team I am going to be part of and other such issues that you would associate with people who move to a new place.

“I have enjoyed the experience, in hindsight.” He contends, “The work atmosphere is very different in India. The youngsters are very eager to work and want to achieve goals rather quickly. They are also very friendly and helpful. Europe is great as far as efficiency is concerned, but most official relations are very formal and businesslike.”The best of everything

Like many others, Nicholas has been in love with the temperate climate that the city possesses.

“I love the weather. It is not gloomy and not too sunny. It gives you the best of all the worlds, as far as weather is concerned.”

A keen traveller, he has been on many trips to Goa, Kerala and Rajasthan….More

The Hindu : y>

Ethos Summit has an exhibition of 20 special-edition Rolex watches at the Rolex Boutique in UB City. On display are Rolex timepieces “seen for the first time in India”. Some of the watches that are on display are Oyster Perpetual GMT-Master II (with 18 sapphires, 18 rubies and 23 diamonds), Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytona (with 36 baguette cognac sapphires and lugs set with 48 diamonds) and Oyster Perpetual Datejust (with a bezel set with 60 brilliants, a diamond-paved dial with red enamel Arabic numerals and a red leather strap) to name a few. The exhibition is on till October 18.

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The Hindu :

No crackers this Deepavali ,advises Deepika Padukone

Photo: PTIVivacious Badminton is her passion

Her home state, Karnataka, is facing one of the worst floods and Deepika Padukone wants to lend a helping hand. “Nobody has approached me yet.” Deepika was in Delhi recently for the launch of new range of bathing bars from Fiama Di Wills.Though youngsters today treat film stars as icons, Deepika says badminton is her passion. “I have even played a friendly match with Aamir Khan to promote the sport. I really look forward to such events.”

Deepika says her journey in Bollywood has been really exciting. “It has been a dream come true for me. The respect you get, it really feels great.”

For her script is much more important than the banners. “As far as experiments are concerned if a good script demands it, I will be happy experimenting with the roles. For ‘Chandni Chowk To China’, I took training in martial arts and for ‘Om Shanti Om’ I learnt Kathak.” The former supermodel says she is not too much into fashion trends. “I wear what I feel comfortable in. I generally prefer jeans and top or jeans and kurtas.”What’s next?

After the success of “Love Aaj Kal’, now she is working with Farhan Akhtar in “Karthik Calling Karthik”, a romantic thriller. “Then there is Sajid Khan’s comedy, “Houseful” where I am cast opposite Akshay Kumar.” She has been working with stars much older than herself, but Deepika feels casting is about chemistry and not age. Talking about her Deepavali plans, Deepika says she would love spending time with her family this Deepavali . “I wish my fans a happy, safe and a prosperous Deepavali. Avoid burning crackers and do not pollute the environment.”

ESHAN ARORA

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The Hindu : y>A theatre and art appreciation course

Photo: V. Sreenivasa MurthyART’S ABODE Ranga Shankara

Ranga Shankara will host the third edition of its Theatre and Arts Appreciation Course from November 6 to 8 and November 13 to 15 (six-day course over two sessions of the Ranga Shankara Theatre Festival ’09).

The course provides an opportunity to learn the essence of art appreciation by developing new ways of “seeing and listening”.

Renowned culture critic Sadanand Menon will spearhead the course. A well-known writer on critical issues of politics and culture, Sadanand Menon is also a photographer and stage light designer. He has served as the Arts Editor for The Economic Times.

The course will examine and discuss theatre, cinema, dance, photography and music through lectures, film screenings, plays, as well as interaction with directors and actors. The course will thus look at, and analyse the formal structures of various works of art as well as consider them in the context of the historical period and cultural framework in which they were produced. The course fee is Rs. 4,000. Students get a special offer — only Rs.500. The venues will be in and around Ranga Shankara.

The medium of instruction is English. Applications are available at Ranga Shankara. Call 26493982 or write torstheatre@gmail.com.

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The Hindu : y>

This Deepavali, Pizza Corner launches Rollies — baked pizza dough rolled, sliced and topped with exotic mouth-watering toppings. The rollies are priced at Rs. 49 (vegetarian) and Rs. 69 (non-vegetarian). Available at Pizza Corner dine-in outlets

Deepavali gifts

The Nilgiri’s has introduced colourful festive gifting packs for Deepavali. The goodies in the pack include chocolates, cookies and dry fruits, bar cakes and walnut brownies The gift packs will be available across the Nilgiri’s chain of supermarkets in Bangalore, Chennai, Coimbatore, Hyderabad and Cochin among other cities in South India. The chocolate boxes are priced at Rs. 80 and Rs.100, dry fruit packs at Rs.140 and Rs. 175, cookies box at Rs.110, walnut brownies box at Rs.100 and assorted cake bar boxes at Rs.60. Call: 9632511033 or e-mail:ashish.khera@nilgiris1905.com

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The Hindu : y>

Danse e-Toile: Nataraja et le Cosmos is an interactive dance performance which will take place at Cite de L’Espace (Space City) Toulouse, and the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, CREST, Hoskote, simultaneously. Sharada Srinivasan, Bangalore-based archaeological scientist and Bharatanatya exponent, will dance in Bangalore to the live-streamed image of Anusha Emrith, France and Reunion-based contemporary dancer, performing in Toulouse. The project is a unique art-science Indo-French collaboration. The event will be live web cast.

Venue:http://www.x-reseau.fr/e-toile/

Time: 6 p.m. (Indian time) and 2.30 p.m. (French time)

Date: October 17

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The Hindu :

A master chocolatier reveals some bitter-sweet truths

CHURNING OUT CHOCOLATE To suit every tongue

The best chocolate in the world is the one that melts at room temperature very quickly, as chocolate is a very sensitive ingredient. It must be produced in a controlled environment for getting the best taste and flavour,” says Master Chocolatier, Jean-Marc Bernelin from France.

In the city for the Forum Fest at Koramangala, he talked about the origins of chocolate and demonstrated the process where delicious chocolate is created from cocoa beans.

“In tasting chocolates, it is very important to ensure that you start from the sweet chocolates and move on to the bitter chocolates towards the end. If you start with the bitter ones first, you will ruin the taste and probably your appetite as well.”

Bernelin is not against the use of technological advances and feels that the use of machines helps produce better chocolate.

“The machine helps reduce the workload on the people. However, the use of ingredients, its mixture in the correct quantities and other such modalities are worked out by people operating these machines.”

As mentioned earlier, he quips, “It is very important that the chocolate is treated with care. If the people controlling the machines are not equipped to deal with the correct addition of sugar and other such ingredients, it will be very difficult to produce good chocolate.”

Chocolates are a product universally adored and also boasts a large number of varieties. Picking up favourites among chocolates is a fairly difficult task for the master chocolatier.

“A lot depends on my mood and the climatic conditions also. I like to start the day with a small bite of a white chocolate and would probably grab a dark chocolate in the afternoon and have a bitter chocolate at the end of the day.” Individual tastes are paramount as far as chocolate is concerned, Bernelin says. “I can…More

The Hindu : y>

There will be an art workshop by professional artists featuring sketching, painting (using various media), madhubani, warli and clay modelling and so on.

Venue: Maya Gallery for contemporary, Nandidurg Road

Date: October 17 to 25

Contact: 9844662546 ormayaartgallery@gmail.com

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