News Flash

'Spa' it up

On The 12 October, 2009 Innova Hospitality flawlessly organised a conference with spa enthusiasts, spa owners from around the city and Annie Simpson, the director of a leading global spa consulting and training services company in Canada. Simpson has 10 solid years of international spa management experience within Canada, the UK, Australia and the Maldives. Furthermore she has combined natural health food and cosmetic retailing along with a focus in naturopathy.

The daylong conference, held at Bengal Inn, hosted a constructive de-construction of the spa industry including but not limited to, the business plans to the how the treatments are appropriately conducted. With the sudden rise in popularity in the field of spa within the country, this informative conference was to urge installations of brand new spas or to renovate the existing ones, both in terms of forms and functions.

The increase in demand for spa treatments over the decade requires proper development and transformations within the industry. The booming spa industry in Bangladesh requires proper guidance if it is to nourish. The shortcomings of the spas around the city were discussed so the common malfunctions can be rectified or be avoided on a whole.

Spa is a derivation of the Latin root Salus per Aquum which translates to health through water. Spa spiritually combines the mind, the body and the soul to cure illnesses and the origination of this practice can be teleported into the civilisations of the Egyptians, Romans, Indians and Chinese. There are various spas around the city that have no water treatments yet they refer to themselves as spas failing to comprehend the underlying layers of spa.

Spas in Dhaka can cater to the various therapies from Aromatherapy to Balinese Massage, Indian Marma Massage to Shell Massage, Reflexology to Ayurvedic therapies to fertility treatments because of the available comparatively low costs of resources and labour. As a customer one is faced to the dilemma as to which one of the available choices fits the shoes. Pamper yourselves but it is of vital importance that you discuss your options, likes and dislikes, requirements with a professional beforehand.

Ensure that your every penny is worth indulging with at the spa and that your satisfaction comes guaranteed with the price tag. This tip goes out to all the spa owners, time effectiveness, trained staff and customer satisfaction should make it to the top priorities on you list.

Simpson bravely put forth having said it all, “Mix and match. Simply relax and have fun!”

By Sanjana Rahman

LS Shuffle

Weekly buzz

Every foodie worth his or her salt would tell you that a boiled egg with a sprinkle of salt mixed with pepper is divine! It's a delicacy really; a half-boiled egg with a runny yolk. Yum!

Some may find it despicable and downright yucky, but only a true connoisseur can vouch for the taste associated with it. Well, if raw fish can be a delicacy and I am a big fan of sushi too so can half-boiled eggs. Just give it a try; you most certainty will not regret it!

If you are in the vicinity of Ananda Cinema Hall at Farm Gate in the evening, you will find two peddlers with a basket full of boiled eggs. Ask for a duck's egg (because it tastes better) and savour the delight! It will tax your wallet by Tk 10 only.

So, this week's Our Pick #1. Boiled eggs.

On a more serious note, the country is witnessing the proceedings of what may justly be termed as the single most important court proceeding in the history of this nation- the Bangabandhu murder case.

The Daily Star is running a first page, day-by-day coverage, as are other newspapers. This case is significant in more ways than one. Not only does it involve the brutal murder of the Father of the Nation, it also involves the killing of many other innocents and the trial being filed almost two decades after the crime has brought in a lot of legal issues, complicated further by what the defendants claim 'discrepancies' in testimonies put forward before the court.

Revisiting history and supporting 'justice for all'- that, conscious citizens, is Our Pick #2.

Switching back to a lighter note, it was while googling info on the case, one thing led to another and I found myself searching for Bangabandhu videos on YouTube! Yes there are Bangabandhu videos on YouTube but that is not the startling fact. YouTube is now claiming “over a billion hits per day”!

That is, one in every six person in this world logs onto YouTube every day!

BBC quotes: Chad Hurley's blog marks the third anniversary of YouTube's controversial acquisition by Google. The site was bought by Google in 2006 for $1.65bn - a price it later described as "a premium". YouTube now gets over a billion hits a day, according to a new video blog post by the founder of the website.

This dear readers, is the SURPRISE of the week.

Our recommendation #3 is an Israeli film- “Or (my treasure)”. This poignant tale puts forward a complex mother-daughter relationship. Or shoulders a lot: she's 17 or 18, a student, works evenings at a restaurant, recycles cans and bottles for cash, and tries to keep her mother Ruthie from returning to streetwalking in Tel Aviv. Dana Ivgy gives an exceptional performance as a teenager burdened with the harsh, thorny realities of life. This simplistic portrayal of a greyer side of Israeli society, something that we know little of is definitely worth a watch, despite the fact that it had received mixed reviews from critics. The film is rated “Restricted” because of explicit subject matter and some content.

To wind up the shuffle for this week, Pick #4 is “Red Rackham's Treasure”, the twelfth instalment of Tintin comic books. This however is the sequel to “Secret of the Unicorn”, so to understand the book better, you also need to read the prequel. This hilarious pair of books introduces the character of the zany Professor Cuthbert Calculus who accompanies Tintin, Haddock and the gang on a search for treasure! These two classic comic reads certainly will add a little laughter to weekly routine, which is the sole purpose of our weekly shuffle.

Until next week. Ciao!

By Mannan Mashhur Zarif

Ideas

Colours, textures and contrasts

The autumn and winter 2009 fashion season is one full of attractive jewel colours, opulent fabrics, contrasting knit textures and exciting prints.

This season's clothing colours are deep and intense. If you choose the garments carefully to suit your skin tone, they create a shot of complexion enhancing colour. For instance, blues and purple lift the eyes; reds add a natural warm blush, whilst gold reflects highlights onto hair. Iris purple is one of the few colours that look good on every skin tone from the palest to raven haired women.

Needless to say fiery tomato red and iris purple are two of the hottest colour trends of autumn. These two colours also merge to form rich cranberry tones that blush with the colours of crushed berries. Add sea green, old dusty rose, taupe, burnt orange, peridot green, yellow ochre and the result is a rich palette- the starting point for a whole host of jewel coloured clothes.

Winter white and black add the perfect contrast. Black and inky navy are used as a base for Folk Boho prints, which often feature red and golden tones. Remember red is one of the main autumn colours this year.

Each year and each season within a year has distinctive nuances of colour. The autumn and winter 2009 fashion colour palette contains lots of berry tones that run through to inkier shades and includes crushed damson, dusty pink, rose petal, claret, maroon, rich aubergine, cranberry, blackberry and midnight sapphire. Look out for coloured clothes in the blue-green range, also slate blue, iris and deepest kingfisher teal see return to the blues of the sea. Others such as olive, cardamom, pistachio, winter white, gunmetal grey continue in strength and any of them will enrich your fashion wardrobe.

Fabrics for autumn have substantial textural or surface print interest. Golden and silver cloth is usual for brocade, but look out too for brocade in jewel colours and there are fine dresses in sea and emerald greens.

Print fabrics with riotous designs, and painterly effects, compete with folkloric and border print designs. Expect to see clothes with roses, flowers, paisley, small neat patterns or hound's-tooth checks in coloured silks and chiffons competing with rich heavy plain satins, velvet and silk.

-LS Desk