CHECK IT OUT

Special offer for Christmas & New Year Party Makeup

Get Farzana Shakils signature eye makeup with a dashing blow-dry setting, specially designed for a dazzling look for Christmas & New Year parties. Under the expert guidance of Farzana Shakil, give your eyes the makeover they need. With numerous strokes designed to accentuate the beauty of your eyes, leave it to the experts to determine what look suits you the best and then see the result. Go and get yourself ready to dazzle! Conditions apply. Call 9116057, 01713451776(Dhanmondi). 8812215, 01926153010(Gulshan).

Le Reve Winter Collection 2012

Le Reve introduces its winter collection 2012. There are various categories of products to choose from. Denim pants, casual jackets, sweat shirts, blazers, and even suits. Le Reve always sees to the fact that their female clients are equally served by their extensive range on the shelves -- blazers, hoodies, tunics, shawls and colourful denim pants. All products are available in outlets.

Rush to the nearest Le Reve outlets; stocks limited.

Kay Kraft

Winter is in full swing; the New Year is around the corner -- reasons to rejoice! And to add to the festivity of the season, Kay Kraft, the renowned fashion house of the country, has a lot to offer.

Shawls, scarves, jackets -- winter essentials -- will compliment the usual range of products: the elegant saris, the dazzling shalwar kameez sets and others, perfect for the season.

The fabric has been carefully chosen to highlight the glam of the occasion, with due considerations to the need for warmth and comfort.

The brilliant Winter Collection of Kay Kraft, now available at all their outlets, is definitely worth checking out.

Christmas @ Shadakalo

Exchanging gifts among family and friends is an integral part of Christmas celebrations. To cater to this need of the season, Shadakalo has brought out a new line of Christmas mugs. Apart from this, the boutique has its usual assortment of goodies -- panjabis, shalwar kameez sets, fatuas and Tees.

Be sure to check their extensive line of products.

Tie the Knot Ethereal style!

Wedding seasons are something that we eagerly await the entire year. The glistening jewellery, the designer clothes and the foods are absolutely hard to resist. Being in love with the wedding rush, Ethereal is back in the limelight with its very first collection of wedding purses.

This collection comprises of all the traditional fabrics like Katan, Benarasi and Opara. To elevate the royal look some of the purses have been adorned with velvet. As usual Ethereal is open to customisation, but with an exception this time. To make the bride (and the bridesmaids) feel special, the designers at Ethereal has decided to use unique embellishments which won't be replicated.

The price ranges from Tk.900 up to Tk.2050. But it might vary according to personalisation.

In this wedding season, when all the community centres are glittering with festive lights, make the statement of absolute panache by carrying an Ethereal. For more information log onto their Facebook page facebook.com/ethereal.bd

MUSINGS

The day 'NOTHING' happened

19 December, 2012
Is this going to be my second last journal entry? Tomorrow is my birthday, and according to my harebrained buddies, I will be living a precisely complete 24 years of life: the day after, 21 December that is, is the day we meet apocalypse. “Better celebrate this one with a blast,” they say.

I, for one, am not convinced, because I know what's going to happen on that fateful day. In my head, it resembles a hilarious scene from the movie, Forrest Gump. You know, the one where Gump, played by Tom Hanks, one day began running non-stop for apparently no reason. But people's adventurous minds got into play. Soon he had a crowd following him, perceiving him as a saint or the like, someone who had it all figured out.

He ran across America; and they followed him curiously, with a lot of expectations and suspense, waiting for something miraculous to happen as an air of mystery and hype revolved around this uncomplicated, down-to-earth man.

Suddenly, one day, a bearded Gump stopped. The crowd stared with great anticipation, expecting a revelation or something similar. And all an awkward Gump said, in a matter-of-fact manner, was, “I'm pretty tired. I think I'll go home now.”

Something similar will happen the day after tomorrow. But who can win an argument against the believers?

Nobody, not even NASA or a Russian politician. The panic has hit pretty hard. So much so, that an institution as serious as NASA had to respond to childlike questions such as whether the world will end this year to whether gravity will stop working. It has made official briefings and also has a webpage dedicated to this subject matter. What a disgrace. I almost feel sad for the people working there -- no pride left in them. On the other hand, Russia's minister of emergencies assured citizens that he was confident that nothing is going to happen on 21 December.

Meanwhile, businesses across the world are having a good laugh. Stores have come up with survival kits that allow victims to cope with any kind of catastrophe. These kits contain a wide variety of things, even vodka. You may call them frauds; I call them smart marketers, because visionaries they are. In fact, statistics shows that the sales of candles, guns, et al have gone up, as people are preparing for any kind of disaster ahead.

If you think that is all, you're sadly mistaken. Many people had been fleeing to Pic de Bugarach, a mountain in France, which, according to legend, is likely to be a safe place in 21 December, when, in that fateful time, a spaceship will emerge bursting the mountain open and saving the people nearby. Even a Tamil sci-fi movie can't be this unrealistic. The French government responded by banning access to this mountain. Job well done!

Many experts and officials in the world fear suicides and panic attacks -- the only valid fear of that day, I presume.

One calendar constructed hundreds of years ago has made people go crazy. So what the calendar is coming to an end; what has that to do with the world coming to an end? A cartoon poured into my inbox the other day. The man who constructed the calendar says, “I only had enough room to go up to 2012.” To which a jolly Mayan king replies, “Ha! That'll freak somebody out someday.”

Another poster reads, “How can the world end on 21 December, 2012? I have a jar full of jam on which the expiry date is March 2014.”

Yes, no matter what, we will have a flood -- a flood of status updates and “tweets”, saying goodbyes or (hopefully) making fun of the whole matter. Friends will say how much they love each or will (again, hopefully) hold bets on whether anything will happen on that day.

Mayans are simply going to get a new calendar. And there is no huge asteroid or an imaginary planet for that matter - coming at us. And gravity will also work just about fine; if you don't believe me, you can always try the rooftop.

Going back to the movie, as Forrest Gump resigned from his marathon, one of his “followers” shouted in dismay, “Now what are we supposed to do?” This is the very question the lunatics are going to ask on 22 December.

One thing is for sure, 21 December 2012 will be a day to remember. It will be the day nothing happened.

By M H Haider

NEWS FLASH

Jamdani exhibition @ Anjan's

The heritage weave Jamdani is one of the timeless fashion statements of our culture. It is because of this heritage that the Jamdani weave is now put to varied use in saris, panjabis, shalwar kameez sets, and even jewellery, curtains and cushions. To pay respect to the exalted place the weave occupies in our fashion, boutique Anjan's has organised an exhibition to be held in their Banani, Baily Road and Wari showrooms from 25 December 2012 to 12 January 2013.

The exhibition features cotton and half-silk saris designed by weavers in Rupganj in red, pink, white, black, golden, silver, magenta, yellow, green, olive, brown, etc. Apart from saris there will also be panjabis, fatuas, shalwar kameez sets, curtains, cushion covers and jewellery designed in the Jamdani motif. Depending on the designs, the saris range in price from Tk.4,000-70,000.

Address - Banani: House 3G, Road 11, #9872341; Baily Road: 1/C New Baily Road, #9354722; Wari: 18 Rankin Street, #01678644181.

FOR THE LOVE OF FOOD

When East met West

By Kaniska Chakraborty

My in-laws were in Calcutta for a visit. And my mom-in-law is a fabulous cook. All in all, we had a great time eating at home, enjoying the various goodies churned out by her much to the chagrin of Padma Di.

The average katla maach tasted divine. The mundane vegetables sang to a different tune. While all this was too good to resist, we decided to take them out for a lunch that will showcase Calcutta Bengali cuisine.

For my money, if you want comfort Calcutta Bengali, 6 Ballygunge is where you should head to. We did just that. On a pleasant Sunday afternoon, the in-laws, the mother, the wife and yours truly landed up at 6 Ballygunge, early and hungry. The in-laws were very amused with the menu card where there are mocktails named after Calcutta institutions -- 4 Bishop Lefroy Road (Satyajit Ray's home), etc. After browsing all of that, we settled on ghol, the sweet lassi of Bengal which is spiked with king lime juice. A timeless cooler, this. I was a little surprised to find black salt in the ghol. Guess that reflects the choice of the cosmopolitan crowd that seemed to throng the place.

Went on to one of my all time favourites, mourola mach bhaja with peyaji. Batter fried whitebait with onion fritters.

How do they keep the fish so succulent even after deep frying coated in a chick pea flour batter is beyond me. But let me tell you, this is one of the best examples of fried fish ever. Crunchy yet soft. Salty yet sweet thanks to the fresh fish and the onion. A perfect opening act.

Our next order was inspired by my friend Kalyan's order from his visit.

Hasher dimer devil. Hard boiled duck egg, halved, coated with ground meat and fried on the coated side. Shades of Nargisikofta. While the egg was lovely with bright orange yolk, the coating was fried a bit much and hence had become a little brittle. They did not have their famed baked crab. For the mains, again, they did not have ilish. Two strikes and I was on the edge. I let the others order.

Ma was at her vegetarian best. Dhokardalna and luchi. Chick pea cakes simmered in a spicy gravy.

Wife and her parents collectively went for pomfret. You can take a person out of Dhaka but you can't take Dhaka out of the person. Pomfret, the great favourite of every Dhakaite, was duly ordered.

There was a small problem when the fish arrived, immersed in an onion-rich gravy. The Dhakaites are used to pomfret deep fried. Not the lightly fried version of this side of the border.

We also ordered bhetki paturi. After all, what's a Calcutta meal without bhetki? My pet peeve, if you ask me, is the fact that except for bhetki, we really have not showcased any other fish. No, ilish is not strictly and exclusively our domain. Dhaka is way ahead on that.

Excellent paturi it was. Nice fillets of fish, smothered in mustard paste, gently steamed. Redolent of green chilies, the double whammy of mustard and mustard oil really wakes you up.

I resisted kosha mangsho and ordered a chitol (feathered humpback).

And we also ordered a chitol macher mutha. Akin to gefilte fillet, these are soft, succulent steamed boneless fish shaped in sausages and cooked in a light yet spicy gravy. A classic of this side of border. On that side, it is commonly called chitol macher kofta and are flat fish fritters, like Thai fish cakes. Needless to say, the meal was very comforting for Ma, wife and I since we are denizens. What was good to see was the gusto with which the in-laws polished off their plates. East and West did meet.

POP UP

Wheels

Cycling is a great way to shed the few extra pounds you have gained. Research shows that steady cycling burns about 300 calories per hour. And long after you have finished your ride, the work still goes on, as cycling boosts your metabolic rate.

And getting rid of calories is not the only health benefit -- other advantages include improving strength and muscle tone, stamina and cardiovascular fitness.

Also, don't forget that cycling cures your problems of heavy traffic -- steering your way through the jam, congestion becomes virtually non-existent. And, if not anything else, cycling is a very enjoyable experience -- what can be a bigger reason than that?

In keeping with our motto to continually reinvent ourselves, we have recently launched our very own Facebook page. Take the time to browse through our content, unseen pictures and much more. Be sure to leave your comments and suggestions.

We hope that our dear readers will not only be part of this change but lead us in new directions by expressing themselves and letting their views and preferences be known.
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