Author: The Metrognome

Categories
Beauty

Bad hair days, begone!

A bad hair day is a girl’s worst nightmare, but before you hit the panic button, try out these solutions.
by Deepa Mistry

A bad hair day rarely happens when we decide to stay home, but will mostly occur on that ‘very important’ day, like the first interview or a first date or a special day in college when you want to look your best but your hair decided not to. Bad hair days are like bad moods, they come and they go. Even men do have bad hair days, but luckily enough for them, their short hair saves them from the distress that women face.

But don’t let your traunting hair get you down. Try these tips:

Oily hair: The worst of all problems. You were supposed to wake up early and wash your hair and style it, but the alarm didn’t go off, leaving you with barely a few minutes to get your mane ready. Don’t worry, get a tin of baby powder.

Back flip your hair and just dust it lightly with some powder. The powder absorbs the oil and makes your hair look fresh. If you don’t have powder, you’ll be glad to know that oily, crimped ponytailunwashed hair makes a perfect base for one of the most popular runway looks – crimped ponytail (see pic on right). The style is most suitable if you have long and thick hair. Though crimping is little time-consuming, if you can spare a few minutes it is worth the try.

Hair colour gone wrong: Raise your hand if you think you spent a bomb on your hair colour this month at a salon or decided to go low-budget and ended up with a terrible hair colour. There’s a solution for this, too: wrap and fold a scarf on the top part of your head and let the bottom section show just like JLo did in one of her music videos. Another option would be braid your hair or use a simple black hair band or clips.

Split ends: Some girls have trouble saying goodbye to those long locks and so they avoid even trimming them off, leaving them with split ends. Unfortunately, by the time you realise the damage is severe, it’s quite late and you’re headed to an event, split ends in place. The answer is pretty simple – opt for a chic, perfectly polished bun, a hairstyle that looks best with the ends tucked in! But since the trouble continues and split ends make hair weaker, an advisable move is to trim hair every six months.

shampooFlat and lifeless hair: If you have flat and lifeless hair, the only solution is to change your shampoo. A lot of times we opt for certain brands because they’re the most popular, or are suggested by a friend or the advertisement for the product has a favourite actor. Don’t fall prey to such branding. Choose a shampoo that suits your hair best, and which is light and can be used on regular basis. Humid weather makes hair sweaty and frizzy all the time. Shampoo your hair on alternate days and try to mix one drop of tea tree oil and wash your hair with this mix. Tea tree oil will help absorb excess oil, sweat and dust and thus, make your hair look healthier.

Tangled troubles: If your hair tangles more than normal try this: after washing your hair, apply a hair mask or conditioner and instead of five minutes, let it sit on your hair for 15 to 30 minutes, then rinse. You will notice a tremendous difference in the way your hair looks and shines. Of course, you will experience less tangles, too.

Dry and rough hair: Due to cold conditions, hair tends to lose moisture making it look dry and lifeless. Don’t let the season ruin youroil massage hair. Styling products also leave your hair looking frizzy and dry.  Warm a little coconut oil and gently massage from the roots of your hair and leave it on for just one hour and wash with a gentle shampoo. Many people believe you should oil hair before going to bed and wash them the next morning, but the truth is, an hour is just enough for oil to work on your hair. You could use any other oil also as per your choice.

Shapeless and breaking easily: You’ve perfectly set and styled your hair, but by the time you reach your workplace, it’s gone haywire. Don’t panic; take a pea-sized drop of hair serum and rub it over your hair. With a thick padded brush, just brush them through and you’re set for the day. Blow drying on high heat for too long causes breakage. When hair is sopping wet, don’t blow dry it – wait for a while, lightly pat dry with a towel and then blow dry without keeping the dryer too long on one section.

Unruly curls: If you’ve gone to bed with a gorgeous hairstyle, it doesn’t mean you are going to wake up with the same the next morning. Yes that’s right, curls invite frizz and tangles and a whole world of other hair troubles. Comb the frizzy, poorly-defined parts to remove tangles, then run wet hands through them a few times to get them to be damp but not dripping wet. Apply a curl enhancing serum or leave-in conditioner for around 15 to 20 minutes and let your curls dry while you dress up and you’re ready to go!

Hope you find these tips useful and with that, give the bad hair days an off!

 (Pictures courtesy sheknows.com, inhabitat.com, makeup.com, www.stylecraze.com)

Categories
Event

Palestine, in a lecture

When was the last time you pondered over Palestine’s ground realities and when the violence would stop? Do it today.

Today, November 29, Jnanapravaha gives Mumbai the chance to engage with the realities of life in occupied Palestine through the work of well know Palestinian conservation architect and writer Saud Amiry.

Saud AmirySuad Amiry has lived most of her life between Amman, Damascus, Beirut and Cairo and now lives in Ramallah, Palestine. Amiry is the founder of Palestinian NGO RIWAQ, a winner of the 2013 Aga Khan award for Architecture. Riwaq documents, conserves and rehabilitates historic buildings and centers in rural Palestine. She is also the author of Sharon and My Mother in Law, which won the prestigious Premeo Viareggio award.

“Reality or non-fictional life in Occupied Palestine is the biggest fiction and hunting fantasy,” Amiry says. In this visual presentation, she will share with the audience her two worlds: the architectural world of her organization RIWAQ and the private and very personal world of her writings. Using “black and white” humour, Amiry brings to life the absurdity of everyday life in Occupied Palestine. Amiry’s talk co-incides with the launch of her new book, Golda Slept Here, published by Women Unlimited in India.

The presentation will be followed by a conversation between Saud Amiry and Anil Dharker, Founder, Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest.

Head to Jnanapravah, Queen’s Mansion, G Talwatkar Marg, Fort. Tea will be served at 6.30 pm, followed by the lecture at 7.00 pm. Seating is limited and entry is on first come first serve basis, so be there on time if you don’t want to miss it.

Compiled by Medha Kulkarni

(Pictures courtesy www.facebook.com/JnanapravahaAtMumbai and www.umbriajournal.com)

Categories
Hum log

One year of Disobedience

Art collective Visual Disobedience has enjoyed a good run since its 2012 beginning, by firmly planting the ‘inclusive art’ idea.
by Medha Kulkarni

A little over a year ago, on September 22, 2012, an idea was born in the form of a small initiative. The idea was humble but ambitious: have a space dedicated to young and upcoming artists, one that challenged the notions of ‘established’ art, and make it accessible to all. Since its inception, Visual Disobedience (VD), an initiative of Mumbai-based social media agency Flarepath, has already fulfilled this primary aim and is steadily growing with one of the widest range of artists working in several media. It also boasts of having completed numerous projects and been part of some interesting collaborations.

Jasjyot Singh Hans - Adorn“Art can and should be consumed by everybody. Art is not just meant for the gallery space, it’s an important part of culture, like music or film, and it’s unfair to restrict it to fancy galleries and auction houses. That’s the premise we work from. We want to challenge the notions of ‘high’ and ‘low’ and create an environment where Art is accessible to all,” says Suprateek Chatterjee (27), Editor at VD.

“Also for young artists, there is very little institutional support, it is difficult for them to get their work out there and again that’s where VD comes in. We want to be a platform for artists to be able to showcase their work with a wide audience,” says Suprateek.

Visual Disobedience has worked with numerous artists and has collaborated with NH7, Godrej India Culture Labs, Miko Kuro and Queer Ink, among others.

“Things are changing fast. Thanks to the Internet, we’ve managed to grow into one of the biggest artist collectives in the country and all this visibility is leading towards very interesting collaborations and ideas,” explains Suprateek. “We get so many emails every day, from artists based in various places and doing all kinds of interesting work. Our team sifts through each of these and we select the works to be featured on the website.”

Visual Disobedience also works with their artists to create custom pieces for clients, Sulafest and NH7, Pune (2012) being some of them. The initiative also recently collaborated with Sachin muralRanjit Dahiya, known for the ‘Bollywood Art Project’, to create the stunning Sachin Tendulkar mural at MIG Cricket Club, Bandra. ”It was born out of the desire to create a permanent tribute to one of our greatest sports icons,” says Suprateek when asked how the project came about. “It’s definitely the tallest, if not the largest, mural in Mumbai,” he adds proudly.

Collaborative public art projects, which take art out of the traditional gallery setting and puts in the public sphere, are how VD aims at engaging the public with Art. It helps to chip away at the notion that art is reserved for the ‘high-brow’ society and creates a culture of art in a city. Keeping this agenda in mind, Visual Disobedience is also planning a series of pop-up markets in the coming few months. ”Again, it’s all about making art accessible. Our aim is to present as diverse a range of works, in terms of artists and media, and ensure that nothing is priced above Rs 5,000,” explains Suprateek.

Visual Disobedience is steadily and rather rapidly challenging the notion that art is only for the rich. It is also helping to propel several artists, who otherwise would have had to struggle harder to become visible, into the Art orbit, and simultaneously creating spaces where people can engage with Art in various ways. The collective’s rapidly increasing popularity is proof that these notions are outdated and that urban India is increasingly art savvy.

 

If you want to know more about VD, check out their website. 

(Pictures courtesy Visual Disobedience)

Categories
Swaad 'Anu'saar

Dil cheese kya hai…

It is universally known for being yummy, but it is also possible to create fantastic dishes using a little cheese.
anurita guptaby Anurita Gupta

‘Dil ‘cheese’ kya hai, aap thoda kha hi lijiye!’ is a line inspired by the famous Umrao Jaan song, where the courtesan offers her heart (and later her life!) on a platter. But I like the parody better, especially to satiate the permanent ‘cheesy cravings’ I have.

I am truly mad about cheese. My dear friend Anvita is famous for saying ‘Cheese is the perfect food!’  Combined with wine, fruit and salad, it is the perfect nutrition package.  It is, in fact, a very high quality of protein that consists of the correct quantities of amino acids and calcium, Vitamin A and folic acid. It also has one most dreaded ingredient – Fat. That’s why the weight-conscious steer clear of it. Honestly, a little bit of cheese does of a lot of good – but only a little bit!

On that note, let’s take a look at some delicious cheesy starters:

Cheese platter: Putting lots of cheese together for a party is a good idea. While you can experiment with various kinds of cheese, the safest bet is to put together the known ones like aged cheddar, some Brie, blue cheese and the regular processed milk cheese with flavours. But if you love cheese, like me, then you can experiment with many varieties – be it aged, soft, firm or blue.

Whatever you choose, make sure you have some accompaniments that go very well with the cheeses. For instance, nicely cut green apples, black grapes, cut tangerines, lavash sticks, wheat crackers, pitted black and green olives, some caramelised nuts, a berry jam and may be nice Swiss mini chocolates as well are good ideas. I have been keeping these platters on a special tray that has black board paint on it, where I can write the cheeses’ names and description. It’s a lot of fun putting this one together!peach and blue cheese salad

Blue cheese and peach salad: One of the most controversial, but also a much loved, crumbly member of the cheese family, blue cheese is the main ingredient of this salad (in pic on right). Complimented with peaches, it makes for a dieter’s delight. All you need is 1 tbsp each of Dijon mustard, maple syrup, 2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar, ½ a cup of canola oil, 2 hearts of fresh Romaine lettuce, 2 peaches cut in wedges, ½ cup of crumbled good quality blue cheese and some nicely chopped chives.

To make the vinaigrette, whisk together the maple syrup, balsamic vinegar and mustard and then slowly keep drizzling canola oil while whisking regularly. Then season the vinaigrette with salt and pepper to taste. Keep aside. In a bowl, put together peaches, lettuce and extra virgin olive oil. Add a bit of salt and pepper. Drizzle the vinaigrette and then finally add the crumbled blue cheese and chives. The non-veg option is to add 4 slices of good quality bacon to the salad. Yummy!

cheese sticksMozzarella cheese sticks: Perfect for any party, these ‘sticks of heaven’ (in pic on left) are the best starting points for any conversation. After all, it couldn’t get cheesier J. All you need is Mozzarella cheese (cut into sticks), vegetable oil for deep frying, 1 cup of all purpose flour, 1 tsp of paprika, ½ cup milk, 1 egg, pinch of baking soda, and salt and pepper to taste.

Freeze the cheese sticks for an hour so that when you start frying them, the cheese doesn’t melt and make a mess. Beat the remaining ingredients together until a smooth batter is ready. Now all you have to do is dunk the cheese sticks in the batter and fry immediately. Serve with a nice salsa sauce. Crunch crunch!

Apple goat cheese bruschetta: This one’s dedicated to my recent trip to Paris with my bestie. The French are truly in love with goat cheese that goes exceptionally well with a firm French loaf and fresh green salad leaves. This bread starter is a good precursor to the main meal. You will need: 1/4th cup crumbled goat cheese, 1 peeled and chopped apple, a little fresh thyme, fresh oregano, some ground pepper and thin slices of French bread.

Toss together all the ingredients except for the bread, and keep aside. On an oven tray, place the French bread slices, drizzle some olive oil and toast for 3-4 minutes until they become golden brown.  Now put the goat cheese mixture on top and place it in the oven for a minute or until the cheese is soft.

All in all, there is a lot of cheese to go around in the world and if you are still looking for ‘low fat cheese’ then it’s about time you look for ‘meatless mutton’!

Anurita Gupta is a media professional who is passionate about two things – food and radio. Her love for all things food makes her a foodie with a cause.

(Pictures courtesy www.abeautifulmess.com, www.abeautifulmess.com, www.abeautifulmess.com)

Categories
Tech

HTC’s One Max comes to India

HTC’s newest phone is priced at Rs 56,490; the phone’s high price could be accounted for by fluctuating rupee-dollar rates.
by Manik Kakra

HTC has just officially launched its One Max in India. This phone boasts a 5.9-inch 1080p LCD 3 touchscreen, and is touted as the One’s big brother. Under the hood, there is Snapragon 600 (.17 GHz quad-core Krait 300) SoC, along with 2 GB of RAM. On the back, there is a 4 MP ‘Ultrapixel’ camera as well as a fingerprint scanner mainly for unlocking the screen and launching three apps with a finger swipe (three fingers pre-assigned by the user). The front side sports a 2.1 MP wide-angle camera and dual speakers. It runs on Android 4.3 Jelly Bean with HTC’s Sense 5.5 UI on top.

Weighing 217g, the One Max features Bluetooth 4.0, WiFi a/b/g/n/ac, NFC, a microUSB 2.0 port and 3.5 mm headset jack. The phone is powered by 3,300 mAh battery, and is available in 16 GB and 32 GB storage options, expandable up to 64 GB via microSD card.

First showcased back in October, HTC has priced the phone at a whopping (MRP) Rs. 61,490, and it’s now available in the market for Rs. 56,490. Users also get 50 GB of free Google Drive storage space for two years. The company also unveiled the official Power Flip Case accessory for the One Max, which aims to provide 1,200 mAh of juice while providing for protection to the device as a shell.

It is evident that the rupee-dollar exchange rate has really made phones prices rocket in the last couple of months or so, and it’s hurting. It’s hard to imagine people going for this phone for over Rs. 55K, maybe once the price goes under the 50k mark, it may well attract a lot of user looking for a large-screen phone.

Categories
Kharcha paani

Only 50,000 security guards for country’s ATMs?

After shocking incident of woman being attacked inside a Bangalore ATM, a survey finds that most ATMs are woefully under-protected.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

A few years ago, there was a spate of bank robberies across the country’s top banks. Now, a more pressing issue has made us all sit up and take notice. Last week’s shocking, violent assault on a woman inside an ATM by a man who downed the shutters and assaulted her for money, has sent shock waves across India.

The immediate question asked was: where was the security guard who is mandatorily supposed to be stationed outside each bank’s ATM? If there had been a guard present, the unfortunate incident would not have occurred. The woman in question is said to have suffered a temporary paralysis on her right side, after the attack.

Taking a cue from the public’s shock and outrage over the brazen assault, ASSOCHAM (Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry in India) commissioned a survey to check the security preparedness of bank ATMs across the country. The results were startling: there is a shortfall of nearly 1.5 lakh security guards across the country for ATM operations.

ATM“Of about 1,25,000 ATMs in the country, only 50,000 are guarded while only 1.15 lakh are covered by CCTVs. The shocking incident at Bangalore underscores the need for recruitment of security guards at expeditious speed to ensure that all the ATMs are properly guarded and equipped with security gadgets, other than CCTVs,” said DS Rawat, Secretary General, ASSOCHAM, while releasing the survey paper. “While recruitment of guards and manning all the ATMs 24/7 may be time consuming and costly, the quick answers lie in using hi-tech security gadgets like automatic alarms, improvement of camera footage and even setting up central monitoring rooms from city-to- city requiring a perfect coordination between the banks and the police authorities,” said the paper.

“At least in big cities, banks should encourage and promote use of credit cards and more and more merchandise outlets should be covered by plastic money so that the use of hard cash is reduced. This would not only help reduce security risks, but also help the economy capture the transactions and thus, reduce unaccounted money,” said Rawat.

The direct spin-offs would also be felt on the increasing demand for the private security industry which has been growing at the rate of 25 per cent in the past five to seven years, showing the significance of security installations in most manufacturing hubs. In the major installations of petroleum, petrochemicals, power (including nuclear power, steel, cement), railways, airport and seaports, the public-private-partnership is required. But the costs of securing people and vital installations are going to increase, because things cannot be left to chance any more, Rawat added.

 (Pictures courtesy www.ndtv.com, news.in.msn.com)

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