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The Hindu : y>Take your pick from the winter packages

Take a break At the Taj Hotels

Taj Holidays offers ‘Incredible Royal Escapes’ at special discounts for the winter. Guests can choose to relive the grand age of the Maharajas at India’s finest palaces such as the Rambagh Palace in Jaipur, Taj Lake Palace in Udaipur, The Taj Mahal Palace & Tower in Mumbai. The Incredible Royal Escapes offer for 6 nights start from Rs.1,16,900 for single occupancy and Rs.1,26,400 for double occupancy.Sail into a purple sunset from The Taj Lake Palace, Udaipur. Set against the backdrop of the majestic Aravalli Mountains on one side of the lake, and lofty palaces on the other, the Taj Lake Palace spreads across a four-acre island – an almost surreal vision in marble. Discover history and tradition at The Taj Mahal Palace & Tower, Mumbai. Offering panoramic views of the Arabian Sea and the Gateway of India, the hotel is a gracious landmark of the city of Mumbai, showcasing contemporary Indian influences along with beautiful vaulted alabaster ceilings, onyx columns, graceful archways, hand-woven silk carpets, crystal chandeliers, a magnificent art collection, an eclectic collection of furniture, and a dramatic cantilever stairway. Enjoy all of this and more with ‘Incredible Royal Escapes’ offer.

As part of the ‘Incredible Golden Triangle’ offer, guests can learn about the architecture of the great mughals in Agra, Jaipur and Delhi by staying at the Taj-View Hotel in Agra, Jai Mahal Palace in Jaipur and Taj Palace Hotel in Delhi. The offer for five nights begins from Rs. 52,900 for single occupancy and Rs.57,000 for double occupancy.In ‘Best of Kerala’ offer, you can stay at the Taj Green Cove Resort in Kovalam, Taj Garden Retreat in Kumarakom, Taj Garden Retreat in Thekkady and Taj Malabar in Kochi.

For five nights the cost is Rs.47,500 for category A hotels (which includes Taj Malabar, Cochin, Taj Garden Retreat, Kumarakom,…More

The Hindu :

Kareena Kapoor appears surprisingly honest as she chats about movies, masti and the man in her life

MY NAME WILL BE… Maybe Mrs Khan in some time

Kareena Kapoor has one rather distinctive quality. If you were thinking ravishing looks, then make that two. We’re talking about speaking from the heart. This Kapoor girl does not follow rules even while talking to the media; that’s something rare in Bollywood. When she wanted to work with SRK, she made no bones about it. When she thought of Aamir, it was out there for all to know.

So, when you ask her why she signed up for “3 Idiots” , pat comes the reply: “I so wanted to work with Raju Hirani and Aamir. Anyone would have been out of her senses to not sign this film. And, I’d really rather do a shorter role than those glamorous roles and flit in and out of scenes.”

Kareena has been very busy since the release of “3 Idiots”, with congratulatory messages pouring in, and a quick holiday with beau Saif Ali Khan to ring in the New Year. But from the beginning of this month, she’s been busy with star acts at award functions and stepping on the gas for Karan Johar’s Indian adaptation of “Stepmom” , where she stars with Kajol, Arjun Rampal. “I love my role in this film. It has a lot of shades. It’s more difficult than ‘Dev’, ‘Chameli’ and ‘Omkara’.” She will essay Julia Roberts’ part.En route to her shoot for Karan’s film, Kareena says she’s put on weight and is loving it. While she definitely does not resemble the controversial ‘size zero’, the actor cannot be called ‘well-fed’ by any stretch of imagination! “But it’s true. I am eating a lot these days. I have put on weight and love myself this way,” says the actor who drew a lot of…More

The Hindu :

The childhood home of Anne Hathaway is a wonderful reminder of the Bard’s love story

Photo: by authorThe Bard’s inspiration Anne Hathaway’s cottage

No sooner met but they looked;

No sooner looked but they loved;

No sooner loved but they sighed;

No sooner sighed but they asked one another the reason;

No sooner knew the reason but they sought the remedy;

And in these degrees have they made a pair of stairs to marriage…

William Shakespeare,

As You Like It

T hese words have been immortalised in literary history, and a visit to Anne Hathaway’s cottage can explain just what might have fired the Bard’s imagination. Famed as the family house of William Shakespeare’s wife, this quaint, thatched cottage attracts visitors all-year round.

Stratford-upon-Avon and Anne Hathaway’s cottage are the two cornerstones for anyone on a literary pilgrimage, as I was. Stratford-upon-Avon impressed me as having a Disney-esque quality, complete with vendors brandishing their wares under Shakespeare’s legacy (for example- As You Like It Cafe, Iago’s Treasures).

This cottage, on the other hand, is a well-preserved memorabilia from the olde English days gone by. The term ‘cottage’ hardly does justice to the Hathaway family home, which, by the standards of the day, was a substantial residence of a wealthy farmer.

Located in Shottery, a hamlet within the parish of Stratford, the property includes a pretty orchard and the Shakespeare Tree garden. The garden is special as it grows all the plants that have been mentioned in his writings. It was breezy and mellow the day we visited the property, though people around us were exclaiming about the ‘hot’ weather.

A charming cobbled pathway led to the cottage, where we met our guide Angus, a fellow boisterous enough to put any Shakespearean court jester to shame. Angus took us around the low-ceilinged rooms, taking special pains to point out a ‘love seat’.

It wasn’t difficult to imagine Shakespeare going down upon his knees to propose marriage…More

The Hindu : y>Is going to bed early, so that one is healthy, wealthy and wise, a thing of the past, wonders NEETI SARKAR

Photo: Mahesh HarilalHITTING THE SACK Freedom within a framework is the solution

If there is one thing parentswill probably never stopquibbling about, it wouldhave to be the time at whichtheir children go to bed! Goneare the days when dinner wasserved at 8 p.m. and adolescentshit the sack by 10. Today’s teenagercan be likened to the owl.But a recent survey suggeststhat inadequate sleep is a riskfactor for depression.The study, published in theJanuary issue of the journalSleep has found that adolescentswith early bedtimes set bytheir parents were less likely tosuffer from depression or tocontemplate suicide. Thosewith parental set bedtimes ofmidnight or later were found tobe 24 percent more likely to getdepressed and 20 percent morelikely to have ideas of suicide.Youngsters here stay up latefor different reasons. Eighteenyear-old Altrisha Rodricks contends:”I usually sit up late tostudy because I can concentratebetter at night. So it is only whenthe exams are approaching thatmy sleep timetable changes.”Her classmate Julian Pereiraopines: “We’re done with collegeonly at 4 p.m. We have tuitionsto attend, basketballpractice sessions to go to and ahost of other activities that giveus no time for ourselves to unwind.Thus, a lot of youngsterslike staying up late and doingtheir own things and thatdoesn’t necessarily imply we’redepressed and on the verge ofcommitting suicide.”The decreased sleep patternis a matter of concern especiallyfor parents. Sampada Prasad, amother of two teenage boyssays: “Apart from the fact thatmy sons like to stay out and partyon weekends, they seem to beaddicted to their mobile phones.They lose track of time when ona call and go to bed very late.This sleep pattern has certainlytaken a toll on their academicperformance.”Another parent, ShubhraNaik thinks, “Facebook is theroot of all evil! My kids are alwaysonline, either taking quizzes,uploading pictures orchatting with friends. This oftengoes on into the wee hours…More

The Hindu : y>

Peaceful Revolution Watch the Mahatma take on the British

UTV World Movies celebrates the spirit of the Republic with the ‘Freedom Express’. On January 26, a range of freedom-centric movies will be telecast starting with the Al-Pacino starrer “Revolution” at 9 a.m.

Movies such as “To End All Wars”, “Mountbatten”, “Buenos Aires”, “Darkness in Tallinn” and “Waltz with Bashir” will also be telecast. In “Revolution”, New York trapper Tom Dobb becomes an unwilling participant in the American Revolution after his son Ned is drafted into the army by the villainous Sergeant Major Peasy. Watch a documentary on Mountbatten – the last Indian viceroy that also takes a look at the trauma of the Partition.

Watch the Academy Award Winner “Gandhi” on Tuesday at 5.30 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Pix. Directed by Richard Attenborough, this 1982 movie starred Ben Kingsley as Gandhi, Alyque Padamsee as Mohammed Ali Jinnah and Roshan Seth as Jawaharlal Nehru. The film won eight Academy awards including for picture, director, actor and for Bhanu Athaiya for costume design. It is the biopic of a man who led the nonviolent resistance movement against British colonial rule in India during the first half of the 20th century.

<FONT …More

The Hindu :

Did you know that many cosmetics use animal ingredients or are tested on animals to ensure they are safe for you? Here is the inside story about those fragrant creams and shampoos

PHOTO: AFPPRESENT YOUR BEST FACE But not with cosmetics that have been tested on animals

Checking your make-up before stepping out? Must look great after contact with the high-end soap, shampoo, foundation, moisturiser, lipstick and the mascara. That whiff of perfume was just the right touch. And men, guess you sloshed a blob of the latest after-shave. Mmm. Maybe you need to have a conversation with people at Beauty without Cruelty (BWC). They’ll tell you the inside stories behind those heavenly-smelling creams and gels. Tales of horror.

Before being packed off to supermarket shelves, the chemical formulations you use go through tests for eye/skin irritation, allergic reactions, skin absorption, photo sensitisation/toxicity and intolerance to inhalation. Manufacturers want lipsticks, mouthwashes, toothpastes, shampoos, eyeliners, mascaras, eye/hair care products, hair dye, aftershave, sunscreen lotions, deodorants, air fresheners and insect repellents to be completely safe for you. A responsible thought.

Unspeakable torture

Except for the fact cosmetics companies test them on animals (AT). According to BWC, monkeys, mice, hamsters, guinea pigs, rabbits and rats put up with unspeakable torture so the products get “harmless for humans” labelling. Testers administer the creams and lotions to the hapless creatures orally, through injection or externally and watch for reactions. For instance, formulations for eyeliners, mascara, shampoo, and hair coloursare poured into rabbits’ eyes to check for swelling, blinding and other reactions. In what is called a ‘Draize test’, the preparation is applied on the shaved skin of the test animal — lipstick on monkeys — to see if it breaks out in a rash or suffers peeling, burning or an allergic eruption. In an absorption test, the liquid is injected and the animal is watched for swelling, blisters, redness. In…More

The Hindu :

Peter Henley, CEO of Amari, on the changing profile of the Indian traveller and the group’s plans for the Asia-Pacific

HOSPITALITY GURU Peter Henley, CEO, Amari

“The profile of the Indian traveller has changed,” observes Peter Henley. “It has changed from big groups, where you saw one gentleman waving a flag, to FITs (frequent and independent travellers). Now we increasingly see professional couples, with one or two children, who book through the Internet.” A sort of transition from large packed-itinerary groups to smaller and more intimate groups looking for a weekend or slightly longer getaway.

The president and CEO of Amari, which at present operates 11 hotels in Thailand, was in town recently to speak about the group’s expansion plans for the Asia-Pacific region, India included in a major way.

Peter Henley is a hospitality industry veteran. His role in it has kept changing, though. Prior to Amari, Henley was with Morgan Stanley Properties U.K., where he was overseeing operations in Europe, the Asia-Pacific and America. Previous notable stints include those with Raffles Holdings and Holiday Inn Worldwide. Everything totalling up to an industry experience of over two decades.

While management is something Henley has been doing for a while, it was Law that he started his career with, having gotten his Law degree from University College, London, and following it up with an MBA. Stints in the legal field include working with Bowater Industries and Greensted & Winch, to name a few. How did he end up running hotels instead of waging courtroom battles?

“It was an accident more than anything else. I joined Holiday Inn as their in-house lawyer. Later, a whole bunch of management people left, and I moved from law to management,” recalls Henley.

“Nowadays people just want a hotel they can relax in and settle down during their stay, probably enjoy the spa,” says Henley.

Recession years have taken a toll on most…More

The Hindu : y>

India is a country with diverse social groups and communities. It has learnt the task of balancing the interests of all. I think that the country will remain strong and stay united, unlike Pakistan, where civil strife seems to have become a norm.

AbbySoftware Engineer

We are facing too many problems. I feel that this could be the beginning of the disintegration of this country. We need a strong leadership to ensure that all issues are resolved and the country remains united. The divisive forces must not be allowed to win.

ShankerBanker

As we celebrate 60 years of turning a Republic, India faces many issues that threaten the very concept of this country, ranging from insurgency movements in the North East and Kashmir, the seemingly never ending impasse over the Telengana issue, to terror strikes and regional chauvinism as exemplified by Raj Thackeray and his bunch of goons.

MetroPlus asks city residents whether India will be able to deal with such crisis and protect itself from political instability and violence that has sadly become part and parcel of life.

Most people expressed hope and were confident that India would remain as stable as ever.

They felt that our country has the will and the attitude that is required to survive in this volatile neighbourhood and handle any crisis easily. Some felt that the country will eventually face major issues and felt that the rise of the naxal threat could result in the division of the country.

We sample some responses

We have been able to deal with strife and terror acts, most of it instigated from across the border.

We shall become even more successful and will emerge as a superpower soon. It is only a matter of time.

ShashidarEngineer

The need of the hour is to ensure that social conflicts are avoided. As a country, I feel that we are at the crossroads and need to choose our path from…More

The Hindu :

Amar Sona, a full-length Hindi animation feature film made in Kerala, is proof yet again of the ample talent and potential that the country’s animation industry has

New characters A grab from the film Amar Sona

Even though the animation industry in India, with an estimated size of Rs. 17.4 billion, is still in a nascent stage, it is attempts like Amar Sona that call attention to the talent pool and potential in the country..

Kochi- based Bijaybawa Productions, headed by two youngsters, Biju Kuriakose and Jayadeep Kothamangalam, have completed the production of a brilliant full-length Hindi animation feature film titled “Amar Sona”.

Almost complete

“The film is almost ready for release. A little work on the songs, dubbing and audio has to be completed. We have, in fact, had discussions with a few interested groups regarding the marketing of the film. The final product needs the confirmation of the group that finally decides to take it,” says Jayadeep who has worked tirelessly for months on this film.

“Amar Sona” has an arresting plot and compelling sequences. The central characters are Amar, a poor but smart and intelligent young boy and Sona, the daughter of a highly reputed scientist, leading a scientific research team that will take India to its shining best. But he has powerful enemies.

3-D animation

The story has all the elements of suspense, adventure, kidnap and rescue, action, comedy, pathos, nature, and music. It also has a moral, and promotes social and ethical values.

The use of 3-D animation and digital sound are highpoints of the film.

Biju and Jayadeep had earlier created “Kattile Kannan”, the first ever indigenously produced animation serial on Indian television. The serial ran for 104 half-an-hour episodes. The central character, Kannan, the amiable and affable elephant, was a household name for long in every Malayali home.

Grabbing children’s attention

It bagged several State awards including the best serial for children, the best director,…More

The Hindu :

Every island in the Andamans has something of interest… from white sands, barefoot resorts and marine life, to indigenous tribes, parakeets, pearls and remnants of colonial establishment

PHOTOS: by authorBLISS Ross Island near Port Blair, the natural limestone caves in Baratang Island (top right), and the ravaged Baludera beach in Baratang Island (below right)

If claims of a local cabbie-cum-guide are anything to go by, the scenery depicted on a 20-rupee Indian currency note is actually the natural landscape of one of the most picturesque spots at Mount Harriet near Port Blair.

No official confirmation on this, but this is how the 21-year-old lad sells Mount Harriet — the second highest peak in the Andaman Islands and our first destination of the trip..

Standing tall at about 365 metres, Mount Harriet, which offers a splendid bird’s-eye view of Port Blair’s adjoining islands, is barely 10 minutes from the Chatham harbour of the Capital city to Bamboo flat aboard a ferry, followed by a five-minute vehicle ride.

Located in the southern part of the Andamans, Mount Harriet also has a natural trek to Madhuban Beach. However, thanks to the intermittent rain the last two days coupled with a more-than-fleeting appearance of some wild snakes moments before our arrival, our unofficial guide dissuaded us.

Talking about rain, the cabbie, who calls himself a “local” (his great grandfather was apparently one of the erstwhile Cellular Jail convicts who, like several other inmates, decided to settle down in Port Blair itself after they were set free), says that since the 2004 tsunami, the rain in the entire belt of Andamans has become rather “unpredictable”, unlike earlier when there were specific rainy months in a year.

The next day was reserved for Havelock Islands, arguably one of the most popular islands in Andamans.

Havelock Island, which is over 55 kilometres from Port Blair, focuses on eco-tourism, what with eco-friendly bamboo huts as…More