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The Hindu : y>Here are two tour itineraries women can look forward to with WOW this year; kids included on one!

Photo: AFPWITNESS HISTORY At the Acropolis

Women On Wanderlust opens the new year with a bang. The women’s travel group is abuzz with tours, all chalked out. Here’s a look at what you might end up doing with your girlfriends this year.

Let your kids sprout travel legs along with you. WOW is organizing a six-day Ma N Me tour of Hong Kong and Macau with Disneyland. Mothers and daughters, and sons (below 12) can travel to Hong Kong’s theme parks like Disneyland and Ocean Park and also enjoy shopping. A WOW Buddy will accompany the group so there is a helping hand for mothers. The tour includes visits to Victoria Peak, Nong Ping 360, Giant Buddha, and Ocean Park, night markets, Disney attractions, ferry ride and exploring Macau.

There’s also a Greece with Istanbul tour from April 24 to May 1, 2010 that takes you to Istanbul’s Basilica of Saint Sophia which boasts a massive dome. Go to the Topkapi Palace, where the Ottoman sultans lived and ruled their empire, now a museum complex. The Museum of Islamic and Turkish Arts, Turkish dinner, belly dancing on the cards. Visit the Spice Market, enjoy a relaxing Bosphorus Cruise, sailing on the strait that divides Europe from Asia. Visit Athens, take a ferry to Santorini, the volcano island with its town perched above the ocean. Climb the Caldera volcano, stroll through the Greek village. The Athens tour includes a visit to the Acropolis, Olympic Stadium, the Archaeological Museum, Hadrian’s Arch, the National Garden, The Presidential Palace, The Tomb of Unknown Soldier, and the Parliament with the changing of the guard. On twin share the cost is Rs.1,30,000. The single occupancy surcharge is Rs. 18,500. You pay Rs. 5,000 less in case you send the full package amount latest…More

The Hindu : y>Feasting on the meat and wolfing down desserts is best done at this multi-speciality food outpost, Radha Regent

YUMMY! Mouth-watering lamb shashlik, fresh mutton and an assortment of veggies

It is quite a ride from the city, but one would feel that the food may just be worth the long ride through an avalanche of traffic on a busy weekday evening.

We start the dinner at the Radha Regent in Electronics City with cream of corn and vegetable soup. The restaurant is located on the ground floor of the hotel complex and serves continental, Mughlai and south Indian delicacies.

Coming back to the soup, it is moderately spiced, and proves to be a great starter, especially on a rather cold winter evening. We move on to sample some pieces of the blackened chicken, with a sprinkling of black pepper. The pepper provides a light smoky flavour to the preparation. The dish is not high on oil and serves as a perfect starter to the meal.

We also bite into the lamb shashlik, which tastes great with a combination of fresh mutton and an assortment of veggies. We also sample the superb Caesar’s salad, with parmesan cheese and chicken toppings. The golden fried fish is done well and provides a nice crunchy feeling. It goes well as a standalone preparation and also blends well with rice.

A sampling of the Bolognese pasta, freshly ground lamb stewed with herbs, vegetables and Italian tomato sauce leaves one impressed, as all the ingredients are mixed well and yet manage to stand out, adding to the taste in the process.

We also sample some north Indian delicacies such as ga hara piaz, prawns marinated with fresh herbs and the Travancore fish curry, a south Indian fish delicacy that works wonderfully for the palate, when served with a huge helping of rice.

Vegetarians need not lose heart and can dig into the excellent kai kari…More

The Hindu : y>From edgy rock to trance, 2009 had something for everyone

SOUND GARDEN Youngsters had a lot to choose from in 2009 (from top) Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Black Eyed Peas and U2

There’s something to suit every mood and moment. Hip-hop and techno for nights on the town, reggae for lazy Sundays, classic rock and happy pop for road trips, the fiery licks of heavy metal for those days when you just want to vent. From being the food of love to the language of the masses, music can break barriers and hearts with one solitary chord.

From soft rock to party tracks, 2009 had it all. Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift and Adam Lambert may not be your average metalhead’s dream team, but the music charts spoke otherwise. “There’s something about music like that,” says 23-year-old forensic trainee Samira Kuhn. “Like Lady Gaga. She just sings the same thing a hundred times over but it’s catchy. You might hate ‘Poker Face’ but you’ll still find yourself singing it.”

Just dance

Dance music definitely had the edge this year. Clubs might still have a soft spot for Akon, but the tracks were shifting. The first few bars of Black Eyed Peas’ “I’ve Gotta Feeling” only have to play to get a crowd moving. Flo Rida’s “Right Round” and everyone’s favourite chub Sean Kingston fall into the same category. “I usually try to mix the tracks up with a little Katy Perry and Rihanna just to get a party started,” says college student Arjun Narain, who deejays in his free time. “But that usually works in private parties, not commercially. Michael Jackson is also being revived for obvious reasons.”

2009 saw music by Miley Cyrus, Kelly Clarkson, Kanye West, Kings of Leon and U2, with their latest “No Line on the Horizon”, but when it comes to club music, Bollywood can never be left behind in this battle to…More

The Hindu : y>Some last-minute advice for healthy holiday eating

A round the Internet, various websites are offering some last-minute advice for more healthful holiday eating and celebrating.

“Cooking Light” offers healthful recipes and advice about the dos and don’ts of holiday foods. Their advice: say yes to sweet potatoes, green beans, hot cocoa, cranberries and turkey, but skip holiday dips, creamy soups, mashed potatoes, eggnog and pecan pie.

In its “Eat This, Not That” series, Men’s Health offers its own list of “Best and Worst Holiday Foods”. The site also takes eggnog to task (350 calories in a small serving), as well as crab cakes, gin and tonics, and a popular choice for a holiday buffet, hot spinach and artichoke dip. Better foods include light beers, champagne, melon balls wrapped in prosciutto and shrimp cocktail.

Spark People has tips for the seemingly impossible task of losing weight over the holidays. Among the suggestions: when someone gives you a gift of chocolate or another treat, re-gift it, preferably to someone who isn’t struggling with their weight. The site’s Christmas Survival Guide advises bringing healthful foods you like to eat to holiday parties and suggests embracing winter activities that burn lots of extra calories in a short time.

Weight Watchers also offers a holiday survival guide, recommending that women become “holiday divas,” indulging in luxury and pampering rather than food. Among the suggestions are champagne bubble baths, spa treatments such as facials and pedicures and bold, high-gloss red lipstick.

Chow offers an interview with the “Clean Food” author Terry Walters, who notes that the sweetness of winter squash can often satisfy a holiday sweet tooth with fewer calories and more nutrition.

And The Atlantic shifts the emphasis away from a decadent dinnertime and focuses on an elegant Christmas breakfast. The writer Regina Charboneau sets the morning table the night before with china, silverware, champagne flutes, flowers and tiny wrapped gifts.

Breakfast includes easy…More

The Hindu : y>Avoid consuming alcohol if you want to lose weight

I have known many clients who drink alcohol on a regular basis coming out with a plan to lose weight when the fancy strikes them. But the fact is that if you’re planning to lose weight you better watch your alcohol intake. Alcohol is basically calories without any nutrient content, but this is not the only reason you need to give up alcohol; you tend to gorge on food when you consume alcohol, because alcohol and the sugar added to many alcoholic beverages increase your blood sugar levels. Your body then releases insulin to control the rise in blood sugar. This makes you hypoglycaemic (without blood sugar). Hypoglycaemia causes hunger pangs, and if you eat quite a lot at one go it’s not going to help you lose weight.

Leaky gut is a syndrome which refers to the damaging of the lining of the stomach and small intestine and disrupting the liver’s ability to produce energy. This is also a result of alcohol consumption. If you must drink alcohol, keep the following in mind: Drink in moderation and without sugar sources. Eat protein and fat with alcohol. And remember: no alcohol is healthy for the body.

S. Basu

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The Hindu : y>

Kaati Zone has launched a range of appetising Combo meal options. The varieties of combo meals include Paratha meals, Kaati rice meals and the Roll combos. The paratha meal combo offers various of paratha fillings with salads, dal makhni and pickle.The Kaati rice meals combo consists of pulao with a choice of gravy , along with a mini roll. The Kaati Roll Combo is a meal that includes a choice of any Kaati Roll, along with a side dish and a beverage.

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The Hindu : y>

A hugely popular salad of Mexican origin, served in fine restaurants around the world. The salad is a mix of romaine lettuce, croutons, raw egg, lemon juice, crushed garlic, olive oil and Worcestershire sauce at its most basic. Because of concerns over salmonella poisoning, it is today made with coddled (lightly cooked) or pasteurised eggs. The dish is the creation of the Mexican chef Caesar Cardini at his restaurant in Tijuana, when he reportedly cobbled up the salad in a hurry. The salad is tossed together at the table in good restaurants from freshly prepared ingredients. Mustard and anchovies are also commonly used in whipping up the salad.

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The Hindu : y>Ethiopian Huda Ahmed sees Bangalore as a growing student city. So she hopes the 11.30 p.m. nightlife deadline is ditched

Having no nightlife is a bane for a growing metropolis like Bangalore

When she visited Bangalore for the first time in 2004, she was on the lookout for a good college. Five years later, she is happily settled in the city and is already pursuing her second degree here.

Huda Ahmed, an Ethiopian, born and bred in Dubai, affirms that home is where the heart is and this is reason enough to consider Bangalore her second home.

“When I came here for the first time, I remember seeing a different Bangalore. It was truly a green city. The traffic situation wasn’t as bad as it is now and the pollution levels have risen drastically,” points out Huda.

Huda finds Bangaloreans very friendly and helpful, and thinks this is a good place for expats to make their home. However, she says: “The auto drivers here are very badly behaved. I wish this situation would change, considering a lot of people depend on auto rickshaws everyday.”

This young expat also wishes for the 11.30 p.m. deadline for nightlife to be extended. She thinks, “Bangalore is a vibrant city. The student population is growing each year and people are looking for places to unwind at the end of a busy day. Having no nightlife is a bane for a growing metropolis like Bangalore.”

Huda enjoys shopping and partying apart from meeting people and making friends. She has completed her B.Sc. in Information Technology and is currently pursuing her first year MBA. Huda plans to go back to Dubai when her course is done to look for a job.

NEETI SARKAR

Having no nightlife is a bane for a growing metropolis like Bangalore

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The Hindu : y>On how to keep your cool and enjoy your holidays to the fullest

Between hurrying to score the last parking spot at the mall and preparing your home for out-of-town guests, the holiday season can be mentally exhausting. For women especially, emotions tend to run high as they put pressure on themselves to create picture-perfect gatherings, while holding down jobs and taking care of children.

“During the holidays, our lives become even more stressful as we try to juggle our usual responsibilities with extra holiday preparation and complicated family dynamics,” says Dr. Eric Marcus, a psychiatrist at New York.If your household resembles the idealised 1950s’ television-version of a family, all of the craziness will culminate in your clan gathered at the hearth, merrily singing Christmas carols. If your family is closer to normal, some tension and conflict will arise during all that family togetherness.

To minimise stress, Dr. Margaret Altemus, a psychiatrist, suggests making some time for yourself during the holidays. Being alone, even for a half hour or so, can help you feel calmer. If your in-laws have parked themselves on your sofa and show no signs of leaving until after New Year’s, go out by yourself. Take a walk or get some exercise. Physical activity helps alleviate stress and the sunlight can help lift your mood, Altemus says.

Time for yourself may also mean taking time to be with your friends, who may not push those buttons in the same way your relatives can. The holidays can also be difficult on those who feel isolated. If you are feeling alone, seek out the support of your community, religious or social services. Getting involved with volunteering can help you feel needed and connected.

When it comes to preparing for the holidays, lower your expectations and remember you will not be able to do all you’d like to do if you had unlimited time, energy and…More

The Hindu : ARVIND MANI

Black Sabbath

Paranoid

It is said that this song was completed in 10 minutes. No joke considering the fact that this song makes it to most lists of ‘The Greatest Metal Songs’. In fact this song would have never been made if the producer hadn’t told the band to increase the length of the album by about three-four minutes when they had submitted to him the final draft. An unforgettable metal song from an album which laid the foundation for the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal.

Rainbow

Stargazer

An eight-minute epic from Rainbow’s second studio album ‘Rising’, with breathtaking vocals from Ronnie James Dio interspersed with amazing guitaring by ex-Deep Purple lead guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, this track is arguably the underrated Rainbow’s best, and one of the greatest hard rock songs of all time.

Metallica

For Whom The Bell Tolls

Based on Ernest Hemingway’s novel of the same name, this song from Metallica’s second studio album ‘Ride The Lightning’ showcases bassist Cliff Lee Burton’s skill with the bass guitar. The instrumental intro, widely mistaken to be a rhythm guitar tune, is actually Burton playing with heavy distortion. A metal classic.

Led Zeppelin

Kashmir

This song from the album ‘Physical Graffiti’ took nearly three years to finish. Although fans regard ‘Stairway to Heaven’ as the best Zeppelin song, the band members said this was “the definitive Led Zeppelin masterpiece”. The lyrics came from a long journey across the Sahara where the “road went on and on”, thus the lines ‘Oh, let the sun beat down upon my face/Stars to fill my dreams’.

The Who

Baba O’Riley

The opening song of The Who’s 1971 album titled ‘Who’s Next’, it was fortuitously released at a time when great advancements had been made in sound engineering over the previous decade, and shortly after music synthesisers had been made commercially available. The title is a tribute to Indian mystic Meher Baba and minimalist music composer Terry…More