Naari-Magazine aug edition

Issue No. 1 | Aug-Sep 2019

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T H E L I F E S T Y L E M A G A Z I N E F O R W O M E N

TABLE OF

CONTENTS

04 Humour of Leaders

28

08

12

14

18

20

22

26

COVER FEATURE

Women of Valor

FEATURE

Entertain Women with purpose

WOT Prize Presentation Ball

NAARI SPECIAL

Yards of Elegance

SERIES

Saree Contest

CONTEST

Oh I See

BEAUTY & FASHION

Panic Attacks

HEALTH & WELLNESS

Immortal on Moon

LEGEND - CHINESE

32

34

36

39

40

43

46

Girls Grad Trip Destination Bali

TRAVEL

HK News Makers

EVENT FLASH

Caution! Festival Ahead

JUST KIDDING

Two must watch movies

for woman

NAARI RECOMMENDS

Emoji Contest

CONTEST

Heraean Games

SPORTS

Royal Spice Saffron

SPONSORED FEATURE

Profile – Tarini Mukherji

PROFILE

CONTENTS

Editor-in-chief

DR. CHITRA SIVAKUMAR

Director

TANYA SINGH

Administrator

DHANALAKSHMI

Design by

PRADHAP / KUMAR

Contributors

Rupak Chatterjee

Himani Aggrawal Panchal

Mona Shroff

Nivedita Rawal

Gayathri Sivakumar

Our Delhi Naari

Correspondent

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Prolific Company Limited

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THE LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE FOR WOMAN | 3

COVER FEATURE

Humour

of the

Leaders!

4 | NAARI - THE WOMAN

COVER FEATURE

How can one live without humour?

Even when during the freedom

movement in India, Mahatma

Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Pandit

Jawaharlal Nehru, Mualana Azad and other

leaders were in jail, they cracked jokes and

enjoyed laughing at each other or even at self. One

would hardly expect the serious personalities like

Gandhi and Patel having such lighter moments

but after all they were human beings and could

not resist laughing while enjoying jokes or

lighter comments. In his book, “The Elephant, the

Tiger & the Cell-phone: Reflections on India in

the 21 st Century”, Shashi Tharoor notes: “There

is, sadly, very little evidence today that Mahatma

Gandhi’s puckish sense of humour is inherited by

his political heirs. Asked once what he thought

of western civilization, the Mahatma replied,


COVER FEATURE

‘It is a good idea.’ Upbraided

for going to Buckingham Palace

in his loincloth for an audience

with the King-Emperor, Gandhi

retorted, ‘His Majesty had

enough clothes for two of us.’

Gandhiji was an exception:

the Indian nationalist leaders

and politicians who followed

them in general a pretty

humourless lot.” Of course, none

can match Nehru. He knew how

to laugh at himself. One may

come across, “Don’t Spare Me,

Shankar”, a compilation of about 400 of 1,500

cartoons Shankar, the renowned cartoonist of

1950s and 60s, drew of Nehru, most of them for

his magazine, Shankar’s Weekly. Nehru enjoyed

a hearty laugh- often at his own expense.

One would not be surprised if the medical

practitioners come up with a conclusion after

carrying out a survey of present-day Indian

politicians and Ministers that to

live longer one should be

lighter in life and enjoy

laughing. The most

HUMOUR AND WIT ARE

GRADUALLY FADING AWAY FROM

PARLIAMENTARY PROCEEDINGS AS

MEMBERS ARE APPREHENSIVE

AS TO WHAT COLOUR THE 24X7

(MEDIA) WOULD GIVE TO EVEN ONE

PROVERB THEY UTTER,

glaring example

has been Vajubhai

Vala, the Governor

of Karnataka,

who unlike other

colleagues in

Gujarat Ministry,

was known

for cracking

jokes and

m a k i n g

everybody

lighter. “Humour

and wit are

g r a d u a l l y

fading away from

Parliamentary

proceedings as

members

are apprehensive as to what colour the 24x7

(media) would give to even one proverb they

utter,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said. He

was speaking at a function at which Arun Jaitley,

Karan Singh and Sharad Yadav were presented

the outstanding Parliamentarian awards by the

then President Pranab Mukherjee in the presence

of the then Vice-President Hamid Ansari and

Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan in August

2014. Modi recalled a barb by Sushma Swaraj on

Sharad Pawar during a function in Parliament

some decades back dubbing him as Lalita

Pawar (veteran actress known for her negative

roles) and added while the Nationalist Congress

Party (NCP) leader thoroughly enjoyed the

remarks, there was no proper coverage of the

lighter banter. Even the Finance Minister of India,

Arun Jaitley, feels that humour and satire, which

had a place in most democracies, are losing

their space in the Indian political discourse.

“There was a lot of place for humour and satire

in Indian politics, which slowly has come to

an end.” Jaitley recollects the use of humour

and satire by former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee as

well as late parliamentarians, Piloo Mody and

Madhu Dandavate. But unfortunately, the phase

has come when Rahul Gandhi, the Congress

President and a Lok Sabha MP, tweets using

the spelling of Jaitley as “Jaitlie” sarcastically,

the ruling party moves a motion of Privilege

against the opposition MP in the Parliament

or a cartoonist is arrested by the Chief Minister,

Mamata Banerjee, in West Bengal!

Hilarious humour is recorded by Mahadev

Desai, the Mahatma’s secretary, in the Diaries

between Gandhi and Patel. Bina Rathva, a

tribal research scholar at Sardar Patel Research


Institute-CERLIP, brought out a book “Sardar

Patelno Vinod” (SPV) with such episodes which

may change the image of both Mahatma and

Patel as serious leaders. She was so impressed

by both the characters that even for her Doctoral

research preferred to take up “Humour of Gandhi

and Sardar”. As such right from the childhood

days, not only Barrister Vallbhbhai but his elder

brother, Barrister Vitthalbhai Patel, who became

the first Indian President of the Central Legislature

of India, was also known for enacting humourous

actions. Both the brothers used to enjoy

such innocent mischievous acts with malice

towards none. As Gopalkrishna Gandhi writes:

“Gandhi loved Nehru, trusted (Rajendra) Prasad,

admired Rajaji, esteemed (Maulana) Azad. But

Patel, he leaned on and laughed with. Patel

regarded Gandhi as his mentor, his leader.” On

11 June 1932 at Pune’s Yerwada Jail, when Bapu

said (in a somber mood, contemplating death):

“Someday or other one must mount the shoulders

of the bearers”, Patel was quick to convey: “Bring

the ship to shore first and then go anywhere you

like.” Of course, the Mahatma died on 30 January

1948 after India got Independence on 15 August

1947! As Vallbhbhai told Bapu in jail that he would

like to be a Sanyasi after independence, Patel

never aspired to be the Prime Minister or even

the Minister. Even as the Deputy Prime Minister, he

was so devoted to the nation that at the time of

his death, his bank balance was just Rs.262!

Sardar offered services

as a Principal!

Gandhiji was having a brainstorming on the

Nationalist Education system with various

scholars. He had thought of establishing

Gujarat Vidyapith(Established in 1920) at

Ahmedabad. Discussion was on who should be

appointed the Principal of the College. Everybody

was discussing and giving a thought on various

options but could not zeroed down a suitable

name. Vallabhbhai in a lighter way offered his

services as a Principal saying: “If you cannot get

any, make me the Principal. I am quite capable

of making the students forget what they have

learnt.” Everybody including Gandhiji laughed,

but the Mahatma could understand the pun

Sardar made about the educated Indians who

behave like Englishmen! (SPV)

Making Buffalos the Cows

Sardar Patel was the main organizer of the

Congress Convention at Haripura, Surat in 1938.

Subhash Chandra Bose was to preside over

and top leaders of Indian National Congress

including Mahatma Gandhi were to attend. The

Mahatma was keen that every delegate should

get cow milk. He conveyed it to Vallabhbhai. The

Sardar replied promptly, “Don’t worry. It will be

arranged. We have lot many buffalos in Kheda

district and will convert them into cows by

painting them white!” Gandhiji was taken aback.

He asked him again: “Do you get me? We have to

serve only cow milk.” Sardar Patel told him not

to worry and Gandhiji was relaxed. Patel used

to make fun of Gandhi. He not only arranged

the cows for providing milk to each delegate

but gifted those cows to the farmers after

the convention.

By Our Kolkata Correspondent

COVER FEATURE


FEATURE

Lionesses of

Indian

Independence

The price of our independence

cannot be accounted for,

Masses stood up, with and without arms,

thunderous their roar.

Must tell their stories to those who

we pass on our torch,

Their blood fell to pacify our land

that wild fires did scorch.

Blood seeped too from the drapes our

lionesses wore,

They led; challenged; fought; and fell

with grace galore.

Refused to sit back and watch

through the curtain!

The stories of these women of valor

are sure to hearten.

Rani Velu Nachchiyar, princess of Ramnad,

Sivagangai’s queen,

Master in martial arts, war weapons, archery,

language, best ever seen!

They murdered her spouse;

she escaped with her daughter.

Vanquished the British in 1780,

and ruled for a decade after.

Bhima Bai Holkar, daughter of

Yashwant Rao, Maharaja of Indore,

Defeated Colonel Malcolm in 1817,

at Mahidpur war.

Led a brigade of 2,500 cavalry,

hands full of sword and lance,

In guerilla warfare against her,

no man ever stood a chance.

Kittur Chennamma, the famous

Rani of Kittur in Karnatak,

Marshaled an armed force in 1824,

defying the doctrine of lapse.

Defeated in the third war, died imprisoned;

would be worse

To be bowing to British in a palace

than in a battlefield to collapse.


Revolt of 1857 saw many more stalwart

maidens turn into legends,

Playful Manikarnika, queen Lakshmibai,

emerged a leader as Mutiny grew noisy.

Resolute warrior who challenged the

British rule with determination,

Fought alongside her battalion, martyred,

“I shall not surrender my Jhansi!”

The Nawab of Awadh exiled, Begum Hazrat

Mahal, Lucknow she seized,

Challenged temples’ mosques’ demolition,

and cartridges with animal grease.

Rani Avantibai of Ramgarh led her army,

conquered; they struck vengeance,

Mighty military could not touch her, death

by own sword her preference!

Mutiny of 1857 also saw Rani Tace Bai

in Madhya Pradesh leading revolt,

Disguised as Rani Lakshmi, Jhalkari Bai

fought, martyred, allowed Rani to bolt.

Unarmed rebellious Rani Jindan Kaur,

made British go head over heels.

Uda Devi, the sniper in the tree, solely

took down 30 British cogwheels!

Early nineteenth century saw the

freedom struggle flaming higher,

Fearless Indian women of all castes and

classes participated in full swing.

Sarojini Naidu, Nightingale of India,

prolific writer, President of Congress,

Led Civil Disobedience Movement and

Salt Satyagraha campaigning.

Exiled Madam Cama, hoisted our flag

in Germany with a speech strong.

Sister Nivedita bared Curzon’s lies;

he apologized for calling our morals wrong,

Introduced Vande Mataram as school

prayer, patriotic lectures inspired teens.

She supported Indian revolutionaries

through financial and tactical means.


FEATURE

Annie Besant, the reformer, launched the

Home Rule Movement,

Elected as Congress President, campaigned

for India’s freedom hell-bent.

Aruna Asaf Ali, in Bombay, hoisted Indian flag

to inaugurate ‘Quit India’,

Edited ‘Inquilab’, Congress’ journal,

called ‘Heroine of the 1942 movement’.

Kamala Nehru led ‘Non – Corporation’,

picketed shops of foreign good.

They arrested her husband ‘Jawaharlal’,

to deliver his speech, she stood!

Kasturba Gandhi led Civil Disobedience,

Quit India, Satyagrah protests,

Jailed ‘hard labour’ in bad health,

took Gandhi’s spot during his arrests.

Usha Mehta as child, ‘Simon Go Back’;

later did congress radio broadcast.

Kalpana Dutta, joined in Chittagong armory

raids, escaped, arrested at last.

“We are free people, white men should not

rule over us”, Rani Gaidinliu, 13 age.

Urged Manipur to boycott British; led many

attacks; at 16 was sent to a cage.

Basanti/Urmila/Sunita Devi, in Khilafat,

Civil Disobedience aloud.

Priti Lata torched, ‘Pahartali Club’ read,

“Dogs and Indians not allowed”!

Abadi Bano Begum’s speeches from behind

burqa, Khilafat flourished.

Kanaklata Barua led Quit India

march in Assam, shot at and perished.

Parbati Giri was at forefront of ‘Quit India’

in Odisha agitation,

Sucheta Kriplani, too came to the forefront

during Quit India action,

In 1940, she founded the All India Mahilla

Congress, and preside.

Revolvers for Kakori arms robbery,

sly Raj Kumari Gupta supplied.

Woman of grit, Matangini Hazra, at age 71,

led a procession of 6000,

To take over Tamluk Police Station as

part of ‘Quit India’ call.

Firing commenced, advanced alone,

all volunteers behind, shot thrice

Chanted ‘Vande Mataram’, Indian flag held

high, right till her fall.

Tara Rani Srivastava, with her husband,

led a procession,

At Siwan Police Station, he got shot,

she tore her saree, bandaged him.

And kept going forward, by the time

she returned, he had died,

Strong still, she continued to fight,

unaffected by occurrence grim.

Captain Lakshmi Sehgal formed an all

women’s Rani Jhansi regiment,

Bose’s Azad Hind Fauj, would have else been

incomplete.

Kamaladevi Chatopadhyay,

the social reformer, joined ‘Seva Dal’,

Trained women volunteers, was first women

to run for legislative seat.

Durgabai Deshmukhi led numerous

Satyagraha movements,

Avantikabai Gokhale participated in

Champaran Satyagrah as leader.

Bhogeswari Phukanani led in ‘Quit India’,

re-opened Congress office,

Guarded the respect of National Flag,

to death the bullets did bleed her.

The list of names is further long,

and then many more nameless,

United they stood; to the whole world,

history gives its rendition. Women can

make any sacrifice for their dear freedom,

Whether from infiltrators, oppressors

or backward tradition!

Himani Panchal

Himani Panchal is a mom to two beautiful

daughters, 6 and 1 years old. She lives and

works in Hong Kong. Other than family and

work, she likes to spend time dancing,

hiking, playing table tennis, watching

movies, travelling and writing.


Faith Enterprise

Our Faith: Our Exotic Food Lifestyle

My dream as the founder of Faith Enterprise is to provide

innovative and extraordinary food products to the Indian and

wider communities in Hong Kong.

From humble beginnings of a home based business selling pizza bases and pastries,

we have expanded and now have our office that carries a range of exotic products

that satisfy the palates of ancient food connoisseurs like grandparents to food

enthusiasts namely the bubbly teenagers!

Our mozzarella, jalapeno, olives, pickled jalapeno are made from the finest of

ingredient and can be used for all occasions. For quick snacks and food on the

go we have value for money packs of potato wedges, French fries and onion rings.

Your party would certainly come alive with our delicious entire range of cheese

and jalapeno lumpias! Our fine range of dairy products include cheddar cheese,

panneer and butter.

My gratitude goes to my family who have been my pillars of strength and

encouragement to help me realize my dream to service the local community

with excellent food choices with a difference!

NAARI SPECIAL

Entertain

women with

purpose

WOT PRIZE

PRESENTATION

BALL

Have you had the experience of

accompanying your husband to a grand

party organized by his friends? Have you

felt out of place as you see many new faces?

Do you remember your intimate kitty party with

your friends at that time? Have you thought of

having such a grand party and gatherings with

your own friends?

These were the questions raised to me when

I met Namrata Mirpuri, businesswoman and

President of Women of Today (WOT) group.

She could recap the day when seven women

felt the same that gave birth to WOT group in

Hong Kong.

It was a 40th Birthday Party. Wishes were

shared among the Indian women in the flight

from Shanghai to Hong Kong. They had great

fun travelling together, chit chatting. The team

wanted to enjoy the same togetherness even

after alighting the flight. They wanted to have

their own meetups and parties to have fun.

While discussing how

to do it, they came up

with the idea of forming a

group to entertain women

with purpose. This trip brought

out Women of Today (WOT)

group led by Mala Samtani,

Sarita Sadarangani and Namrata

Mirpuri as its founding members

on board deciding to form the

group that will bring together

women to discuss style, fashion,

health and entertainment. They

highlighted charity as one of the core

values of the group so that they have more

meaningful meetups.

Once the word spread, 60 women were

accepted to be members instantaneously

and WOT came into existence in the year

2012 with Namrata Mirpuri as its President.

Women in their mid-thirties and most

members in their forties came together to

have meaningful gatherings to improve health

and wellness through meetings and planned

trips abroad. Women with diversified skills

come together to empower each other and

give back to the community. Starting with 60

members on a closed Facebook group, it rose

to 103 members in the last seven years. These

Indian origin women of Hong Kong enjoy their

life with purpose.

Events and luncheons (during lunch or dinner)

once every month bonds them together. Charity

walks, hiking, yoga, classes on massaging and

health talks help the 103 members strive to live

a healthy life. Yearly once, an overseas trip binds

the group even more tightly that the relationship

continues intimately even after the trip. The

Diwali celebrations bring color to the group on

various aspects from dress, jewelry etc. Guests

from overseas bring much needed entertainment

and knowledge in the area of fashion.

Though high class lunches, dinners,

entertainment, fashion and health advices are

usual agenda of WOT, one of the main core

values of the group is to give back to the society.

Since WOT started, WOT has had different travel

destinations every year from the Macau Banyan

Tree to the Intercontinental Danang Vietnam,

St Regis Singapore, Intercontinental Koh Samui


and W Bali. The seven years of its existence has

helped multiple NGOs in Hong Kong and India.

Pravaham, a girls’ school in India got a block

built with the fund generated by WOT last year.

Sadhu Vaswani Center Orphanage for children

gets a day out at the Discovery Bay playground.

Another offshoot of such gatherings is that

they help their businesses mutually to take their

enterprises to next level.

All that glitters is gold – a 2019 WOT event

not only showed off the virtue of women, but

initiated a new funding scheme to help buy

needed equipment for the Ebenezer School &

Home for the Visually Impaired in Hong Kong.

WOT has support for their balls from the

Honorable Purviz Shroff to achieve their goals

every year. She attends their events every year

with Mrs. Ranoo Wasan and both of them give

great support to WOT.

Being a business woman herself, President

of WOT for 2019-20, Namarata Mirpuri, with

support from Sarita Sadarangani as Vice

President and Minal Belani and Anmol Makhija

as Treasurers and Amisha Hira as Secretary

has lot of ideas to make WOT an organization

empowering women and community in all

means. The members of WOT contribute their

time and talents to planning various activities

throughout the year. Saloni Melwani, Sunita

Muki, Karina Samtani and Mala Samtani take

care of Entertainment while Kiran Mirchandani,

Karina Aswani led the Food & Beverage and

Palavi Harjani and Rohini Chotirmal specialise in

Decoration & Themes.

We are glad to have met such an inspiring group

of professional women travelling the world while

simultaneously looking after their businesses. We

are looking forward to the great support from

WOT for our NAARI the Woman Magazine.

NAARI SPECIAL

President 2019

2019 Committee

Namrata Mirpuri, Mala Samtani, Purviz Shroff and

Pallavi Harjani

Sponsors of 2019 at “All that Glitters is Gold

Ball” at the Murray Hotel on June 7: Purviz

Shroff (left) and Karina Buxani (right), a famous

jeweller of Tempt me by Temptations with the

President Namrata Mirpuri.

(from left to right) President Namrata Mirpuri

with members, Reema Buxani, a famous

jeweler of Bux Diamanterie, Saloni Melwani of

Sam’s The Tailor, Sarita Sadarangani, a fashion

stylist and Vice President 2019

(from left to right)

Komal Mirchandani

owner of Sanskrit

Boutique, Rajesh

Sadhwani, President of

Yeg Men’s group and

Deepak Mirchandani,

owner of Royal

Jewellers.

Ranoo Wasan and

Mala Samtani

Prominent

husbands: Kishore

Samtani, founding

member Mala

Samtani’s husband.

Roshan Melwani,

Sam’s The Tailor

owner and sponsor

of WOT Ball 2019


SERIES

Yards of

Elegance

How many of you remember the day when

you touched a saree?

I think my first acquaintance would have

been with my mom’s saree when she fed me as

soon as I was born.

If I brood over my lifeline, I can extend these

saree acquaintances one after the other. First,

it would be sleeping and playing on my mom’s

lap twisting and turning the saree ends while

drinking milk. Then comes playing on the mom’s

saree cradle. Next would be hiding behind the

pallu of my mom’s saree when anybody comes

home and so on. A Saree is something that is

very personal to me. Isn’t it with you too?

100sareepact, the saree sisters of Hong Kong

encouraged us to write about saree as a fashion

feature in our inaugural issue of NAARI – The

woman and thereafter. Every woman who has

ever worn a saree would have many interesting

stories. However, how many of us actually know

the story of the saree? So, I thought that I would

start with the history of saree briefly.

While doing the research to write about sarees,

I cannot stop myself going deeper and deeper

into the hunt on facts about sarees. It took weeks

of homework before writing this article.

Try to bring the scene from Epic Mahabaratha

into your mind.

With the raised hands up, “Hey Krishna… save

me from this humiliation” shouted Dhraupadi

when Dushasan was pulling her saree to

humiliate her in the court of Duryodana.

Krishna, the savior God saves her by extending

the saree to the extent that Dushasan got tired

pulling the saree.

This episode of Vastraharan is a true proof

of our Indian women wearing sarees from 4th

Century BC. Historians say that it there should

have been well developed garments in the

period of oldest civilizations of earth starting

from Indus Valley, Harappan, Greek, Greeks,

Egyptian, Assyrian and Sumerian. We could see

that men and women both wore only a waist

cloth for a long time. The upper garment is

a recent addition. It is difficult to say when it

started. However, we could see in the Ajanta

caves of 2nd century that, a helper wearing the

upper garment.

Many sculptures of India depict women

wearing waist cloth with the upper part of the

body adorned with a variety of jewellery.

Bhurhut Stupa

Didarganj Yakshini Belur Sirpur


SERIES

Ajantha Painting

Brahadeeswara

Hampi


SERIES

Halebidu

Ellora

East or west, north or south, all scriptures

show that women wore waist garment with

lot of ornaments on the upper part. From

Brahadeeswara and Hampi temple sculptures,

we can see that the saree style that we have now

has started from 9th century itself.

With this history established, we will try to

learn more about the saree wearing style from

time immemorial. An unstitched garment made

of variety of fabrics starting from cotton, loin to

silk is worn in the kachcha style, meaning that

after draping it around the waist, the wearer

passed one end of the cloth or the center pleat

Sanchi Stupa

between the legs and tucked it up behind to

facilitate freer movement of the lower body and

the legs. The cloth itself came to be known as

neevi. A piece of cloth worn across the breasts

by women was called kanchuki (earliest form of

Choli). Then came the shawl-like Uttariyas that

were worn to cover the kanchuki.

The saree fabric and designs evolved so well

that we have now so many varieties of fabric and

designs. Similarly the colors were made from

vegetable dyes and many natural ingredients for

many centuries in India. We can see them from

the temple wall paintings.

In India, every state has its own special mark

in the saree. To apprehend and boast, a list of

saree types are tablulated.

Saree discussion cannot end in just one simple

article. So we will dive deeper in the coming

issues.


STATES

Andhra Pradesh

Arunachal

Pradesh

Assam

Bihar

Chattisgarh

Goa

Gujarat

Haryana

Himachal Pradesh

Jammu & Kashmir

Jharkand

Karnataka

Kerala

Madhya Pradesh

Maharashtra

Manipur

Meghalaya

Mizoram

Nagaland

Odisha

Punjab

Rajasthan

Sikkim

Tamil Nadu

Telangana

Tripura

Uttar Pradesh

Uthrakhand

West Bengal

TYPES OF SAREES

Guntur, Gadwal, Kalamkari, Mangalkari, Uppada, Venkatagiri

Apatani

Eri, Mekhla, Muga, Patt

Bhagalpuri

Kosa

Kunbi

Asavali, Bandhani, Bhandhej, Gharchola, Patola, Tanchoi

Panja Durries

Kullu

Kashmiri Silk, Aari work, Kashida

Tussar, Kosa, Kuchai

Ikkal, Kasuti, Mysore

Kasavu

Chanderi, Maheshwari, Dhokra

Paithani, Lugade

Moirang Phi, Manipuri Tant, Phanek

Zardozi, Chikankari, ari, gota, eri

Cotton, Puans (loin cloth)

Cotton, naga shawls

Bomkai, Kotki, Sambalpuri, Pasapali, Koraput, Kotpad

Pulkhari

Bandhani, Kota, Lehariya, Bagru, Shisha

Lepcha

Dharmavaram, Kancheewaram, Sungudi

Narayanpet, Pochampally

Pachra

Banarasi, Kathka, Konrad, Shalu, Chikankari, Tanchoi

Panchachuli

Baluchari, Batik, Dhakai, Garad Corial, Tant, Tashore,

Murshidabadi

SERIES


CONTEST

Ethnica

Saree

Contest

What is the earliest form of choli called?

Winner will get a Saree from Ethnica.

Name of the lucky winner will be announced in our next

Diwali issue. Naari will inform the winner by email.

Why Wait? Rush in your entries with answer to

become a lucky winner before September 20, 2019

to tanya@pclnaari.com or chitra@naari.com.hk.

BEAUTY &

FASHION

OH I SEE…

50+ MAKE UP

Are you 50+? Have you thought about

changing your make-up style after

reaching 50? Official stylist and Jewellery

Designer for Mrs Hongkong World 2018/2019,

is here to advice to make you more young and

energetic.

Most common mistakes made by us as

unconsciously we do not realise that we are aging

and our bodies and skin also go through a lot

of transition. Main mistake that we make is not

change our foundation, eye concealer and our

style of make-up, which we are habituated over

the years. Our hand automatically starts moving,

as it has become a routine without realising that

the foundation is not matching the skin, which is

the most important base of makeup.


These are a few tips to rectify the mistakes we

make and learn to adopt a more natural, fresh

and softer style of makeup.

Foundation - select the right colour which

matches your CURRENT skin tone, as with age

the elasticity, texture and shade changes. Please

throw your old foundations and buy new ones and

make sure that it is not lighter but matches your

EXACT skin colour to make it look natural.

to day matte shadow is perfect. Softer the

eye shadow your eyes will look young and

give freshness to your face as Eyes are the

most expressive part of our face.

• The Blush has to be subtle and not like 2

rosy round balls on the cheeks. It makes the

cheeks droopy . Blend the blush with a thick

brush and dust off extra powder.

BEAUTY &

FASHION

• Application of the foundation is the most

important. As once you have the right

colour then Blending is the key to avoid

the foundation settling on the wringles

and creases of your skin. Use a foundation

brush or sponge for a smooth application.

Make sure that it is extended till your neck

so that it looks even.

• Do not apply powder right away, as it

presses the foundation and covers it with

powder which stands out in the photograph

and makes you look older. You can wait for

the foundation to mix with your skin oils so

that it settles evenly and then lastly you can

dust light powder.

• Lipstick please apply lip linear to draw

the outline and shape your lips so that the

lipstick stays within and does not bleed

or smudge. The lip linear has to match

your lipstick shade and not be darker or

lighter as it will make a border of your lips

prominent.

• If your outfit is a dark colour like Plum,

Burgundy, Purple, Green etc then Nude

lipsticks are perfect with smoky eyes as it

will make your face look young, softer and

the colour will not clash with your outfit.

• One has to take all these points into

consideration as these small tips will

complete your look.

• My Brand Mantra is - LESS IS MORE ! and I

follow in everything I do.

• Eyeshadow - Please DO NOT put multi

colour shades, which looks like rainbows

over your eyelids. Single colour shadow

with shimmer if going for a party or for day

Mona Shroff

Jewellery Designer from Hongkong

who launched her Brand in January 2011

and have been a Designer for 18 years

floating In-house labels for Selfridges

(London) , Gallerie Lafayette (Paris) and

runs 28 department stores in UAE with

production lines in Italy and Brazil.


HEALTH &

WELLNESS

PANIC

ATTACKS

All descriptions, names and narratives

have been changed to ensure that

confidentiality is strictly observed.

The word Panic Attack can be quite misleading

for those who conceptualise it as being in a

state of a crisis and freaking out! As the situation

abates, the feeling of panic is likely to recede

as well. Context is important here as you may

well have an intense panic attack if your car is

on fire. However, that does not constitute for

panic disorder or a panic attack in the clinical

sense. Many of these panic attacks occur out of

the blue, perhaps even during ordinary activities

such as shopping at the mall, watching a movie,

sleeping, driving or having a meal.

From the standpoint of a psychological

condition, a panic attack is characterised by at

least 4 of any of the listed 14 symptoms, that

must be unexpected, not due to any illness,

medication or psychiatric condition. These

symptoms include:

A pounding and racing heart

Fear of going crazy

Trembling

Chest pain and discomfort

Feeling detached from oneself

Feelings of unreality

Fear of doing something uncontrolled

Fear of dying

Dizziness and light-headedness

Numbing or tingling sensations in the

extremities

Chills or breaking into profuse sweat

Abdominal distress

Shortness of breath

If a combination of any of the above four

have persisted for over a period of at least one

month, and there are no other psychiatric or

physiological conditions such as hypothyroidism,

mitral valve prolapse, inner ear issues or the use

of other medications, then the person may have

panic disorder.

Evidently, it is quite a different condition from

the “common perception” of the terminology.

Kim was a 30 year old mother of two toddlers.

She had experienced a terrifying panic attack out

of the blue while she was at a movie theatre with

her two children. She felt overcome by a gripping

fear accompanied by deep anxiety. She wanted

to run out of the theatre but felt trapped knowing

she had to manoeuvre through the aisles, steps

and passages to the exit. Her heart was pounding

heavily. She felt her hands and feet going numb;

trembling and with a choking sensation, she froze.

Her stomach felt uncomfortable and she felt she

was losing control.


She turned towards her husband and revealed

she had to leave right away as she had a pounding

heart and was in desperate need of fresh air.

Soon after, she found herself at A&E. An ECG was

conducted on her and results came back normal.

Kim was at her wits end as the experience was

frightening. She felt her heart racing as a sense

of doom descended on her. She felt the urge to

scream out loud. Her stomach, legs and hands just

‘gave out’ as she put it.

Over the next few weeks, Kim found herself

frequently checking her pulse and avoiding

crowded places. She felt very anxious that she

would experience a panic attack out of the blue

again and started curtailing her outdoor activities.

The first thing I started off with Kim was

emotional stabilization before we embarked on

symptomatic management. Thereafter, I proceeded

to tackle her cognitive and behavioural issues with

regards to her panic attacks.

Kim had overactivated her sympathetic system,

which is a part of the autonomic nervous system.

Its function is to regulate the body’s unconscious

actions. When the sympathetic system is in a

hyper-aroused state as in Kim’s case, it becomes

hypervigilant – on constant lookout for any signs

of potential threat. Moreover, the heart begins

racing and priming the body to flee or fight.

In preparation for the fight or flight, the

sympathetic system will activate sweat secretion,

dilate the pupils, increase the rate and force of the

heart contractions, constrict the gastrointestinal

muscles and more. Hence leading to the symptoms

we explained earlier. In effect, the sympathetic

system has gone on autopilot. The aim of therapy

is to turn off this autopilot that triggers all these

deeply uncomfortable symptoms.

Kim’s panic attacks impacted her in many ways.

Soon she started to avoid driving, visiting malls and

found herself quick tempered as she was constantly

anxious about the next unpredictable attack.

Treatment of her panic attacks involved ‘resetting’

her sympathetic button. In order to do this, I needed

to help shift her stress threshold as she was in a

constant hyper-aroused anxious state.

Kim was taught various bio-feedback techniques

and breathing re-training to induce deep relaxation.

Once she mastered these, we moved on to

management of her disturbing symptoms.

During therapy, I induced her panic attacks

using two methods. Firstly by spinning her until

she started experiencing rapid heartbeats and

secondly, by exposing her to triggering situations.

She was then taught how to stabilize her rapid

heartbeats using a number of techniques,

namely the Valsalva modified as well as other

techniques that would quickly bring down her

rapid heart rate, normalize her breathing and

return her to a calm position.

Step by step, she was taught how to deal

with her vertigo, tingling of the extremities,

feelings of unreality through a combination of

cognitive behavioural therapy as well as body

scanning techniques.

Once Kim gained a fair level of control over

her symptoms and in turn confidence, we

embarked on psychological therapy to unravel

her unconscious triggers.

We began EMDR (Eye movement desensitization

and reprocessing) therapy to address her

subconscious fears about her children’s safety

while she travelled to work.

Although we do not understand the

neurobiological underpinnings of how EMDR works,

it was originally devised to help earthquake and

tsunami victims. The technique was later further

developed to help individuals facing traumas

such as loss of a loved one or the memories of a

crippling accident. Ultimately, EMDR decouples

memories or thoughts from pain.

Finally, I commenced exposure desensitization

work with Kim where she was taught coping

skills to face her fears of going outdoors and her

anticipatory anxiety of the next panic attack.

Kim’s panic attacks were completely resolved by

the 7th session. However, some individuals require

longer time to resolve and reset their condition.

This article may not be produced in part or

whole without Nivedita Ramanujam’s express

written consent.

Nivedita Ramanujam

Nivedita is a clinical psychotherapist,

hypnotherapist, founder and CEO of Inner

Compass and has over 22 years of clinical

experience with anxiety, panic attacks,

couples issues, behavioural change issues,

critical incident and helps use beliefs to

shift biology through PNI techniques.

www.zen-compass.com

HEALTH &

WELLNESS


LEGEND -

CHINESE

Legend says that in the distant past, there

were 10 suns in the sky. People were at

death’s door due to scorching heat. Hou

Yi with his extraordinary power, pulled his

supernatural bow and shot 9 needless suns

down from the peak of Mount Kunlun. People

celebrated him as a hero and embraced him

as their teacher. Peng Meng, a cunning selfish

learner was one amongst the flockers.

Hou Yi got married to a beautiful and virtuous

girl named Chang’e. They loved each other and

led their life happily. One day, Hou Yi encountered

the Queen of Heaven in Mount Kunlun. She

presented him the elixir of life. Hou Yi was

unwilling to leave his wife so he gave the elixir

of life to Chang’e for safekeeping. Peng Meng

saw Chang’e put the elixir of life into a case.

When Hou Yi went out for hunting, Peng Meng

met Chang’e and threatened her to hand over the

elixir of life. Chang’e tricked him and swallowed

it. Immediately, Chang’e started to float away

from the ground, drifted out of the window and

flew towards the sky. She became an immortal

and stayed on the moon that was the closest to

Earth.

Hou Yi became extremely distressed when he

came to know about the incident and shouted

to the sky and at that time he surprisingly

discovered the moon with a swaying figure that

was exactly looking like Chang’e.

Hou Yi hastily arranged an altar with incense

sticks, fresh fruits and moon cakes that were

favorite food of Chang’e on the table and prayed

for her while looking at the distant moon. When

the local people heard that Chang’e flew to the

sky and became an immortal on the moon, they

all arranged incense tables below the moon for

the worship of the Goddess Chang’e, praying

for happiness and safety. This worshipping and

appreciating the moon continued on and people

now celebrate this as Mid-Autumn Festival on

every 15th day of the 8th month.


LEGEND -

CHINESE

嫦娥

相传 , 远古时候有一年 , 天上出现了十个太阳 , 直烤得大地冒烟 , 海水枯干 , 老百姓眼看无

法再生活去。

这件事惊动了一个名叫后羿的英雄 , 他登上昆仑山顶 , 运足神力 , 拉开神弓 , 一气射下九个

多余的太阳。后羿立下盖世神功 , 受到百姓的尊敬和爱戴 , 不少志士慕名前来投师学艺。奸

诈刁钻、心术不正的蓬蒙也混了进来。不久 , 后羿娶了个美丽善良的妻子 , 名叫嫦娥。后羿

除传艺狩猎外 , 终日和妻子在一起 , 人们都羡慕这对郎才女貌的恩爱夫妻。

一天 , 后羿到昆仑山访友求道 , 巧遇由此经过的王母娘娘 , 便向王母求得一包不死药。据

说 , 服下此药 , 能即刻升天成仙。然而 , 后羿舍不得撇下妻子 , 只好暂时把不死药交给嫦娥

珍藏。嫦娥将药藏进梳妆台的百宝匣里 , 不料被蓬蒙看到了。三天后 , 后羿率众徒外出狩

猎 , 心怀鬼胎的蓬蒙假装生病 , 留了下来。待后羿率众人走后不久 , 蓬蒙手持宝剑闯入内宅

后院 , 威逼嫦娥交出不死药。

嫦娥知道自己不是蓬蒙的对手 , 危急之时她当机立断 , 转身打开百宝匣 , 拿出不死药一口吞

了下去。嫦娥吞下药 , 身子立时飘离地面、冲出窗口 , 向天上飞去。由于嫦娥牵挂着丈夫 ,

便飞落到离人间最近的月亮上成了仙。

傍晚 , 后羿回到家 , 侍女们哭诉了白天发生的事。后羿既惊又怒 , 抽剑去杀恶徒 , 蓬蒙早逃

走了。气得后羿捶胸顿足哇哇大叫。悲痛欲绝的后羿 , 仰望着夜空呼唤爱妻的名字。这时他

惊奇地发现 , 今天的月亮格外皎洁明亮 , 而且有个晃动的身影酷似嫦娥。

后羿急忙派人到嫦娥喜爱的后花园里 , 摆上香案 , 放上她平时最爱吃的蜜食鲜果 , 遥祭在月

宫里眷恋着自己的嫦娥。

百姓们闻知嫦娥奔月成仙的消息后 , 纷纷在月下摆设香案 , 向善良的嫦娥祈求吉祥平安。从

此 , 中秋节拜月的风俗在民间传开了


TRAVEL

GIRLS GRAD TRIP

DESTINATION

Destination: BALI, INDONESIA | Duration of Trip: 7 days

Starting Point: HONG KONG | Travel Time: 4 hours

Bali, the land of a thousand temples or even

the land with natural grandeur or some

may say a millennial haven for graduation

trips for which me and my friends fell straight

in, like a bunch of crows flocking to their summer

nest. Just scrolling through our Instagram feeds,

we realized we weren’t the only ones with this

brilliant idea to escape the city. But did we

actually escape the city as we planned? That is

still up in the air.

The planning stages of our one week girls trip

to Bali had a very slow progression. You usually

have a catalyst that will shape how and what

type of vacation it would be. (Would it be a

relaxing retreat to the hills of Ubud or would it

be a dance around the beach and beach clubs

along the coast of Bali?)

For fresh graduates, the flight tickets were

the biggest hurdle, and it was where we lost

a few of our friends. I personally was on the

fence myself. After a few weeks of hunting we

stumbled upon a too good round trip offer, we

booked it immediately and the trip was A-GO.

Pro-Tip 1: Take your time on finding

flights and try to find discounts on

third party websites, they usually

have better rates that the airline

websites itself.

AFTER LANDING AT BALI, we realized we

weren’t the only ones with this idea. There were

honeymooners, backpackers, wealthy resorters,

people from different walks of life in that

one immigration line.

From the airport we made a rapid beeline to

our hotel, Ohana Hotel @ Kuta, which was just

a 5 minute walk from the main Kuta Beach.

Since we were just students, we didn’t have to

finances to opt for a beach side resort so this

was the next best thing.

The Kuta Beach (one of the main beaches in

Bali) area is constantly bustling at all times of

the day as it is a prime tourist location. It has

a rich mix of local and international outlets

(Quicksilver, rebranded Mannings, Yoshinoya

etc), bars and pubs, multi cuisine family

restaurants, massage parlors (our favorite

place) and thriving souvenir stores. So, once we

dropped off our bags, we headed straight to

the beach to catch some waves and watch the

beautiful sunset. Kuta is popular with surfers,

both beginner and professional, who want to try

catching the thrilling big waves before sunset.

A small disclaimer: This trip was one of the

more spontaneously planned trips we have ever

taken since every night we used to gather to plan

for the next day primarily based on the weather

and places we wanted to visit. This seemed like

the smartest option since we travelled during

monsoon season and it allowed us to have more

flexibility to explore things that really interested us.

In the coming days, we tried out as many

adrenaline pumping sports as we could afford.

We Quad Biked around the rice fields of Ubud

(that was a half day trip with a company that

drove us from the hotel to the site and back for

700k IDR (HKD380), we jetskiied and parasailed

at Tanjung Benoa Beach for a total of around


it is quite dangerous with the slippery slopes of

the muddy rice fields that we had to climb). As

true Gen Z-ers, we wanted to maximize on the

Instagram spots so we stated off by heading up

to the famous Bali Swing. (it is a tall swing at the

peaks of the rice fields so you swing out to the

green chasm below)

TRAVEL

400k IDR (HKD200) per person for both (we had

to haggle to get a good price) and surfed for

half a day at Kuta for 100k IDR (HKD50) with an

instructor for the first hour. Each beach has its

own specialty sports with the most competitive

prices so if you want to do any activity with a

speed boat, Tanjung Benoa is your best bet and

if you want to do anything with a board, Kuta is

the winner.

Pro Tip 2: Doing your own research

about activities will guarantee you

get the best prices on the different

beaches. And don’t be afraid to haggle.

We took days off in between our adrenaline

pumping days to relax and explore the islands of

Bali. One of the perfect days of the trip was the

day trip to Tegalalang and Ubud. It has to be one

of the most serene places in Bali and I have to say,

it feels and looks much better in the rain (though

One word of advice, I personally would not

recommend paying for swing packages in

these swing specialty companies since you

can get similar swings for much cheaper at

the Tegalalang Rice Terraces. It is a booming

business so you can find deals for the swings

with the restaurants and stores on the street next

to the terraces. It is often recommended to visit

during sunrise as there is less crowds and the

light rays gracefully slice through the tall palm

trees. But it is more of a personal decision.

Visiting Ubud in one day is quite hectic so we

had to be quick on our feet to maximize our

experience there (most people stay back a few

days to experience the serenity; also since it was

where Eat, Pray Love was shot). Next up was

the Monkey Sanctuary. This was a beautifully

conserved temple complex were monkeys

roamed free but be warned they can get too

friendly as they did with my friend and her

dress. It is not more than a hour stroll to cover

the whole complex. It is ridden with beautifully

maintained ruins and small waterfalls and

abandoned temples so it is basically a photo op

location for many.

Then we headed out to the nearby the Saraswati

Temple but sadly was closed before we reached.

(it closes at 5 as do many religious sites) But we

did manage to get a photo of the beautiful lotus


TRAVEL

pond outside. As the temple is located at the heart

of the town, adjacent to the Ubud Palace (it is

more of a temple with live traditional Indonesian

hyms.) It is cramped between rows of restaurants,

bistros and the Ubud market. The market closes

by 7PM so don’t make the same mistakes we did

and plan ahead to enjoy your time shopping there

(it is a good place to get a variety reasonably

priced souvenirs for your family).

a scooter for at least an hour to get from one

beach to another. So realistically, you can choose

to snorkel for a day at Crystal Beach or to visit

the Underwater Buddhas or travel around and

try to hit up as many of the beaches as you can.

We chose to do the latter.

Pro Tip 3: Plan ahead for visiting the

temples since closing time for many

are by 5pm. The Ubud has a stunning

variety of hotels nearby so you can

stay there for a few days to enjoy the

pristine surroundings.

Another day trip we made was to Nusa Penida

Island (around 30 mins on speed boat from Sanur

Pier), also known as the island of photogenic

beaches. The island is a whole ordeal to get

to and since it doesn’t have a very developed

road network, we weren’t brave enough to take

scooters around the island. But to be honest, a

car is your best bet since you will need to ride

Pro Tip 4: Don’t forget to pack

motion sickness pills as the boat and

car ride are both very bumpy.

Every person has a different experience in

Bali and that’s what makes this island such an

attraction. No two people have had the exact

same trip and I hope this overview inspired your

next vacation location to be Bali.

Some must see mentions for girl’s

trip locations are:

• Sacred Buddha Statue under the sea,

Nusa Penida

Background Information: A half day snorkelling

trip to sea the 8ft Buddha statue and stupas

submerged in the water off Crystal Beach. You

can swim with the fishes around the Atlantis-


esq ruins. It is operated under independent

snorkelling companies on the island.

• Uluwatu Temple – temple on the edge of a

cliff (remember to go during the sunset)

Location: South Kuta (30 mins from Kuta Beach)

Background Information: Ulu’ means the ‘top’

or the ‘tip’ and ‘watu’ means a ‘stone’ or a ‘rock’ in

Balinese. Several archaeological remains found

here prove the temple to be of megalithic origin,

dating back to around the 10th century

• Potato Head / Finns Beach Club (if you fancy

a drink and a cheeky swim)

Location: Seminyak / Canggu

Background Information: Beach Clubs are

known to have stunning pools and private views

of the beach. It’s an escape from the crowded

beaches and simply a place to wind down while

relaxing on a sun bed with a drink in your hand.

The two beach clubs mentioned above are the

most popular ones in Bali and are known for

their good music, ambience and their pool bars.

• Seminyak

Background Information: Bali’s most stylish

and upscale beach resort area. It’s home to

among the island’s most luxurious resorts. It also

hosts a number of fine restaurants and boutiques.

Fashion stores line Seminyak’s streets. You can

also find some of Bali’s top dining spots where

international chefs cook up world-class cuisine.

• La Favella or Motel Mexicana (for some light

partying)

Location: Seminyak

Background Information: These are popular

clubs in Seminyak and are known for their

bumping music and scrumptious food (during

the day). It is a must go for youngsters who want

to enjoy the upscale Bali nightlife.

• Nusa Dua Beach (where all the five star

beach resorts are located so the beaches are

beautifully maintained)

TRAVEL

Gayathri Sivakumar

Travelling, wandering and exploring

keeps me sane. You learn, you grow and

you become cultured. Basically a winwin

situation, in my opinion.


EVENT FLASH

Hong Kong

News Makers

352kg Ladoo

distribution in Hong

Kong to celebrate

BJP Victory

Manushya Milan

Sadhana Shivir

Mr. Raju Sabnani, owner of Namo Avant Thai

invited his friends to a unique event of 352kg

motichoor ladoo distribution to celebrate BJP’s

victory to form the Government for the second

time. Taste of victory through the taste of ladoo.

Many BJP supporters attended this event to make

it a memorable event of their lifetime.

Hong Kong City is still, but people living here are

always running. Where are they running? What

for? Do they think about themselves? Do they

take care of their health? Do they check what

they are eating?

If the answers are No for any one of these, it is

right time you attend the camp from 4th to 8th

September at India Club, Jordan. It is organized

by Sun To Human Enliven Association to think

about yourself. No advices. Do it yourself, eat

served food and experience it. Demo session

organized by Gargi, Maitreyi and Janak Anand

reached out to many Hong Kong residents living

all over Hong Kong in the month of June and July.


IndiaTech HK Pitching Event

Linking Indian businesses

to Hong Kong and China

through pitching events.

This event saw 6 Innovative

Indian Tech start up

finalists from 150+ quality

applicants, pitching their

ideas before a panel of

investors from Hong Kong

and India at Metta, Central,

Hong Kong. IndiaTech HK

aims to increase awareness

of the Indian Startup

ecosystem in Greater China

region while connecting

the community of Indian

Technology Startups and

Founders based in Hong

Kong and greater China.

Sangam (with app to help

hearing impaired people)

won 8K Hong Kong dollars in university graduates Hackathalon conducted in University of Hong Kong.

The team Sattva MedTech who pitched virtually won the 15K prize money with lot of other benefits to

launch their business in Hong Kong.

EVENT FLASH

Tree Planting event to commemorate 150 Birth

Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi

Tree planting event at Tung

Hang Mei area of Lantau

Island is the second event in

Hong Kong to commemorate

the 150th Birth anniversary

of the environmentalist

Mahatma Gandhi. Organised

by Indian Consulate with

Chinmaya Mission, Shrimad

Raj Chandra Mission,

Dharampur (Hong Kong)

saw 70+ participants of

all age groups and various

nationalities with lot of

enthusiasm to save our

environment.


JUST KIDDING

Bad times, sad times, maddening times.

Name it, and we can claim it: terror

attacks, truant or overzealous monsoon,

metro collapses, swine flu, and all that! But now

the season of celebrations is right upon us. The

drought or floods may still try to play spoilsport,

but nothing can really wash out the giant,

fattening Indian festival. These are going to

descend on us with the exuberant determination

of a dance show contestant… you like it or not.

Am I complaining? Crush the thought like a

kilo of pista, and serve it up in a barfi. It’s about

time we had something to be joyous about.

We propitiated the universal festive trilogy:

we prayed, we feasted, and we schmoozed

endlessly with the larger clan. The name is

Bonding. Brook Bonding.

There was dahi-handi, Gokul Ashtami and

for those who send out Independence Day

sms greetings, that as well. However, patriotic

versions are no patch on the parochial brand of

celebration. It’s not tough to flag the reasons.

One, I-Day is a wannabe newbie. Two,

it is artificially created instead of having

naturally evolved deep in the bowels of time.

Three, while it may have developed a ritual,

this does not include a must-have dish, which

is the mark of a true symbol ethnic or religious

occasion. Sorry, but a tri-coloured khichdi is

simply not the real thing.

Buck -up for an undeterred, if not unmasked

Maharashtra will celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi.

This is after all the unrelated calamities,

which crushed us under their wheels at will.


However, more than the god of auspicious

beginnings, we need the guy who presides over

the end of an inauspicious cycle. Our multitasking

‘Ganpati bappa’ is also the remover

of obstacles, Vighneshvara, so he should be

able to do that too without missing a beat or a

modak. Fortunately, he does not subscribe to the

exclusivist agenda of the saffron marg darshaks.

In fact, he is as secular as a Mumbai local.

The political Ganeshotsav’s counterpart,

the Sarbojonik Pujo will arrive along with Ma

Durga a month later, culminating in Dussehra.

Again, there has seldom been such pressing

need for the triumph of good treatment over

swine flu and assorted evils. Ramzan Eid will

be ushered in around the same time as the

mother goddess, riding on its own shakti of a

month of ritual fasting.

In fact it’s serial celebration from August to

December, and beyond. There is Diwali to lighten

the darkness, the peace-on-earth promise

of Christmas, and the obligatory, if not unreal,

cheer of New Year’s eve. No doubt, ringing in the

era of growth without employment will give us

more reason to say ‘Why to care?’ as we overdose

on the bubby and lunge to embrace the nearest

bunch of balloons.

Grudge us not our festive excesses. We need

them as surely as a TV show needs TRPs and

Dhoni doesn’t need to hurry. A sociologist once

predicted that if there was no mass celebration

of Durga Puja, there would be mass suicides in

Bengal. True, the old pattern of flood and famine

there has ended, but we all still want festivals to

unshackle us momentarily from the unrelenting

cycle of dearth and re dearth.

They are the safety valve of pressured times. We

need insane celebration to preserve our sanity.

We need the gorging on mithai and the forging

of community bonds. The first because we know

we’ll be back to the treadmill soon after; the

second to nurture the hope that brothers must,

at some point, stop being enemies.

Rupak Chatterjee

Rupak Chatterjee teaches English to

the fresh corporate recruits. He is a

satirist, dramatist and humourist.

JUST KIDDING


NAARI

RECOMMENDS

for The Woman In You

The impact of a well-crafted movie on

the daily life of a woman can never be

understated. A tough day at the office

where one was forced to bear the taunts of a

superior, can take a turn for the better by turning

on a light-hearted comedy or drama. Watching

a lovely movie along with your loved ones can

create priceless memories to look back upon

with nostalgia down the years.

However, one of the most important aspects of

cinema on the lives of women is in helping them

rediscover themselves. Movies like Julia Robertsstarrer

Erin Brockovich have been known to

inspire women to battle it out at every stage and

continue striving for what they believe in.

This assumes even greater importance in

the current capitalist economy where one is

expected to devote the majority of the day to

official work, with the remaining time spent

tending to domestic responsibilities.

Women hardly have the time or an opportunity

to rediscover the fire in them. Bearing this in

mind, let us take a look at two movies which

should certainly be watched to bring alive the

spirit in you:

1) Isn’t It Romantic (2019)

Director: Todd Straus-Schulson

The movie begins

with Natalie,

a healthy child

watching cult

rom-com Pretty

Woman (1990)

with a gleam

in her eyes,

expecting to find

love just like Julia

Roberts. However,

she is chided

by her mother

who attempts to

discourage her,

drawing attention to the brute realities of the

world while bringing her looks into focus. “Love’s

not a fairy tale. There are no happy endings,”

she said. 25 years later, Natalie (Rebel Wilson)

is an architect struggling with her weight,

confidence, further battling shabby treatment

from her co-workers. Not only this, she is now


a fierce critic of romantic comedies. Her close

friend Whitney (Betty Gilpin) and colleague

Josh (Adam DeVine) who secretly has feelings,

attempt to dissuade her but to no avail.

However, Natalie’s life takes a 360-degree turn

after being mugged by a man at the subway,

resulting in an injury to her head following a

collision while escaping. Her life now resembles

the perfect plotline for the heroine of a romantic

comedy, with Blake (Liam Hemsworth) a rich,

handsome client now madly in love with her.

Natalie’s journey from here on as she

struggles to recognise what she really needs

in life to feel fulfilled sets up the storyline for

a grand finish. Is it the companionship of Josh

for whom she realises feelings or something

deeper to be realised for her life to go back

to normal Natalie’s journey further gets all the

more interesting following the introduction

of Isabelle (Priyanka Chopra), a swimsuit model

and yoga ambassador who falls in love with

Josh, much to her dismay.

Rebel Wilson makes her presence felt with

a standout performance, alongside the likes of

Priyanka Chopra and Liam Hemsworth. Priyanka

is equally effective in her role, giving the

audience another glimpse into her capabilities

as an actor. Hemsworth further delivers an

interesting portrayal despite limited screen time.

Director Todd Strauss-Schulson ensures the

complete package with the perfect blend of

humour and satire, delivering a movie which

needed to be told. The cinematography, editing

by Simon Duggan and Andrew Marcus is certainly

excellent as well.

One is certainly guaranteed an enriching

experience with a worthy message to top it all,

making ‘Isn’t It Romantic’ a tempting choice on a

lazy weekend.

2) Queen of Katwe (2016):

Director: Mira Nair

Hollywood is replete with movies indicating

the harsh humanitarian conditions, chaos and

sorrow which have been prevalent in Africa

over the years. However, Director Mira Nair

who is known for movies like ‘The Reluctant

Fundamentalist’ (2012) brings a story of hope

and determination despite intense poverty.

Queen of Katwe is

based on the life of

Phiona Mutesi who

is considered one of

the greatest chess

players to emerge

from Uganda, despite

battling lack of

education and dire

paucity of finances.

The plot begins with

the portrayal of

10-year-old Phiona’s

(Madina Lalwanga)

life focussed only on helping her family comprising

of mother Nakku Harriet (Lupita Nyong’o), an

elder sister and two youngsters afford two square

meals a day, by selling maize in the market.

However, a chance meeting with Robert

Katende (David Oyelowo) who teaches chess

at a local missionary program transforms

her life, as she soon discovers her talent for

the game, emerging as a top player under

Katende’s guidance.

Madina Lalwanga delivers a fine performance

bringing the helplessness, despair into the fore

with a maturity beyond the years. Kenyan-

Mexican actor Lupita Nyong’o who featured in

the Oscar-winning historical drama ‘12 years a

slave’, stands out yet again with a praiseworthy

display. Lupita’s portrayal of a mother who is

overburdened by the responsibility of supporting

the whole family singlehandedly but nurses a

strong desire to watch her children achieve their

dreams certainly strikes a chord.

David Oyelowo further makes his presence felt

as a coach who aspires to motivate his wards and

guide them in the right direction, through thick

and thin. Oyelowo’s interactions with Lalwanga

as the latter struggles to maintain confidence in

her capabilities following setbacks is one of the

key highlights of the movie.

Mira Nira’s astute direction, backed by astute

cinematography from Sean Bobbitt makes

‘Queen of Katwe’ a must-watch for every woman

out there.

By

Our NAARI Delhi Correspondent

MOVIE Banners

NAARI

RECOMMENDS


VIEWS

What does

independence

mean to you

Priya Aravind

In my opinion, independence

for a woman means that her

thinking, communication

and actions should all be in

harmony with each other. For

all women, housewives or

working, independence could

better be measured not just

in terms of finances but in relation to judicious

decision making. Her being independent

doesn't only mean that she lives life on her own

terms, but her ability to make decisions for the

furtherance of her and her family which in turn

aids the overall society.

Nirmala Nagarajan

Independence to me

is freedom of thought

and freedom of action.

Independence is getting

personal space to execute

one’s thought and action. To

be unafraid to be an individual

and to live life on one’s own

terms. To aspire, to dream big and eventually

follow and fulfil life’s dreams. With freedom,

obviously, comes responsibility: responsibility

towards the family as well as society. Hence, I

would like to set a good example and add value

to the world I am living in.

Arpita Basak

Twenty first century Woman

needs to be independent for

the meaningful progress of

our society. Being independent

is being able to take care of

your own needs and to assume

responsibilities for your own

decisions while considering

both the people around you and your society.

Education perhaps, is the key to independence,

because one book, one pen can change the

world. In order to be independent, the modern

woman needs to be educated, sensitive and

above all independent financially. I believe in

Brigham Young’s words “You educate a man,

you educate a man only, You educate a woman,

you educate a generation.”

Anthea L M Fernandes

Independence is the ability

to BE and the freedom to make

that choice. Most women are

expected to take on multiple

roles a care-giver, a leader, a

dutiful wife and a successful

career-driven person too. To

be independent is to choose

what or whom you want to be

for yourself, free of obligation and judgement.


EMOJI

CONTEST

Can you identify these things used at home?

CONTEST

SPORTS

The

Heraean

Games

When the women of Greece

wrestled back control

The arrival of the upcoming Tokyo

2020 Olympics is being awaited with

bated breath by fans and athletes

around the world.

While the fans are abuzz with excitement at the

prospect of witnessing enthralling performances

from some of the best sportsmen ever, the

tournament also presents an opportunity to

men and women who have devoted years of

practice to make their presence felt on arguably

the biggest stage in the world of sports. Any

sportsperson irrespective of their race, sex,

gender, caste and creed enjoys an opportunity

to make a mark on an elite platform without any

form of discrimination.

However, the Olympics were certainly

not as unbiased during the early days. The

tournament was restricted to participation

and viewership solely by men with severe

restrictions on women eager to witness the

games or even compete in them. The sole

exception to this highly unfair ruling was the

priestess of Demeter Chamayne, who held her

own seat of honour at the Games. Any woman

who was caught watching the Olympic Games

was punishable by death from drowning, as

stated by Greek travel writer Pausanias. The

oppression further extended to other sections

of the society and culture like religious rites

and political decision-making.

Greek Philosopher Aristotle even described

women as “utterly useless and capable of

causing more confusion than the enemy” in his

book Politics.

However, the oppressive regime and

suppressive mentality towards women failed

to dim their fire and desire to be a part of the

revolution in the world of sports. The women in

Greece decided to start their own competition

called ‘The Heraean Games’, which was

dedicated to the Greek goddess Hera with an

eye on providing a platform for showcasing

their skills.

The tournament said to be held in the 6th

century BC at the Olympic Stadium is considered

as the first-ever official women’s athletic

competition, as well as arguably the first major

tournament involving women. The games

were organised in the Olympic year itself, prior

to the men’s games. The festival comprised

of athletes dressed in special tunics that cut

above the knee competing in a track-and-field


competition called the stadion. The

participants were divided into different

age-groups which was further followed

by the competition being divided into

three races based on age.

‘The Heraean Games’ held every

four years were organised by a group

of sixteen women who were further

responsible for weaving a peplos, a

garment for Goddess Hera. According

to researchers, there are two stories,

which are associated over the origin of these

women. The first is based on the sixteen

women being selected by Hippodamia, the

queen of Pisa to compete in the games as a

sign of respect to Goddess Hera following her

marriage to Pelops who was the son of King

Tantalus of Lydia. The second theory suggested

that sixteen wise, elderly women were selected

to weave a robe for Hera every four years as a

sign of peace, to resolve a clash between the

cities of Pisa and Elis.

While it is believed that the women who

participated in the races were young and

unmarried, it will be incorrect to rule out the

possibility of married women being involved,

according to researchers. The races were

shortened for women by about one-sixth of the

length in comparison to men, resulting in the

stadion being 160 yards long in comparison to

the men’s race, which was about 200 yards long.

GREEK PHILOSOPHER ARISTOTLE

EVEN DESCRIBED WOMEN AS

“UTTERLY USELESS AND CAPABLE

OF CAUSING MORE CONFUSION

THAN THE ENEMY”

The races were said to be dominated by Spartan

girls because of the close proximity of the city,

with the winners gifted a crown of olive leaves

akin to that given to men at the ancient Olympic

Games. Not only this, they were also offered

a portion of the meat which was sacrificed to

the goddess Hera along with an opportunity to

inscribe their names on the pillars of the famous

temple of Hera.

The first winner of the Heraean Games

is believed to be Chloris who was the

granddaughter of Greek God Zeus and a niece of

Pelops, according to historians.

This valiant initiative by the women in

Greece despite being threatened by death

is certainly a tribute to the various sporting

achievements, which have been achieved by

women in the Olympics over the years.

By Our NAARI Delhi Correspondent

SPORTS


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for Ethnic Minorities

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Write to us at tanya@naari.com.hk if you want

us to place the magazine at your premises.

Location will be featured

in this page.

SPONSORED

FEATURE

Royal Spice

SAFFRON

Legend says that Cleopatra bathe in

saffron-infused mare’s milk before seeing

a suitor. “Saffron was used to dye the

woolen bolero jackets worn by Minoan women;

also in cosmetics, where it was mixed with red

ochre, tallow, and beeswax to make lipstick,”

says John O’Connell in The Book of Spice: From

Anise to Zedoary. It is evident that saffron is

being used for more than 5000 years.

Many women suffer from digestive issues

from nausea and heartburn to bloating

and constipation. Additionally, pressure

on stomach and intestines from growing

uterus can exacerbate these issues. Saffron

helps reduce these symptoms by improving

circulation and coating the stomach to soothe

gastrointestinal acidity. Taken in small doses,

saffron does give plethora of medical benefits

to pregnant women.

Royal Spice “Saffron” derived from the Arabic

word Za’farān taken from the flower of Crocus

sativus is most expensive spice, retail price

of more than USD $500 an ounce. The main

components of saffron are crocin, picrocrocin

and safranal. It was not just meant to be

consumed as an edible or flavour enhancer but

also for medicinal purposes. Saffron is used in

fabric dyes and perfumes as well. No wonder

they believed it’s worth the long and hard labour

involved in its picking and processing - making it

by far the world’s most valuable spice.

The saffron harvest takes place between late

October and early November, depending on the

weather in the countries - including Spain, Italy,

Iran, Morocco, and India - where it is produced.

Wonder herb

Saffron has been used as extensively as a medicinal

herb over the years to treat everything from

heartache to hemorrhoids. Egyptian healers

used it as a cure for gastrointestinal

ailments, In Ancient Rome, saffron

was prescribed for wounds, cough,

colic, and scabies. It was even

prescribed as an antidote for

the bubonic plague. The 5000

years old Indian health practice

- Ayurveda, has traditionally

used saffron as a sedative,

expectorant, anti-asthma, to

promote menstrual flow and as an

adaptogenic agent. Traditional Chinese Medicine

has been using saffron for thousands of years to

treat depression. In traditional Persian medicine,

saffron was used for depression, fear, confusion,

menstrual difficulties and abdominal pain.


SPONSORED

FEATURE

Saffron has been suggested

to be effective in the treatment

of a wide range of health issues

such as asthma, cough, insomnia,

baldness, coronary artery diseases,

hypertension, stomach disorders,

dysmenorrhea, nervous system

disorders, withdrawal syndrome,

moderate depression and learning

and memory impairments. Saffron

has anti-inflammatory, anti-atherosclerotic,

antigenotoxic, anticonvulsant, anti-Alzheimer,

Antitussive and cytotoxic activities.

Selection and Storage

Saffron is the most expensive of all the spices.

Hence, proper selection is vital in order to get

your money’s worth. This is available in three

forms - saffron threads or stigmas, saffron

tips, and saffron powder.

When purchasing saffron threads, ensure

that they are dark red in colour. The redder the

colour, the better is the quality. These should

have orange tips. Saffron threads should be

hard and brittle to touch. Saffron should have

a strong and fresh aroma giving a sweet nonmusty

aroma.

Saffron should not have any colour variation.

There should be no traces of yellow as they

have no utility except adding dead weight. If the

tips are not orange, it means that the saffron is

of inferior quality and has been dyed. White

spotted saffron threads and yellow stamens

attached saffron should be avoided.

As for powdered saffron, it can be selected

based on its aroma, which should be strong,

fresh and non-musty.

Usage in Cooking/Eating

Saffron evokes affluence and elegance in

any dish. Used widely in the culinary world

it works wonders and helps enhance savoury

and desserts (kheer, gujiya and sevaiyan),

pulao, confectioneries and liquors.

Where can this valued spice be

bought?

It takes more than 450,000 flowers to select a

single kilo of high-grade Saffron. The expense

and efforts may be well worth considering the

possible health benefits the spice offers.

Saffron should be purchased from a reputed

source and distributor. BLS take pride in offering

a quality second to none. BLS Trade Linkers is

a global conglomerate of multiple businesses

headquartered in Hong Kong for over three

decades now. Amongst the several product

categories that BLS is known for one of them

is spices. In fact, they have been involved in

the exports of high-grade premium Saffron

since 2012. BLS Saffron in Hong Kong has been

committed to sourcing the finest handpicked

grade of Saffron. Premium variety of Saffron

is carefully curated and sourced from several

saffron-growing regions and then exported

globally.

BLS Saffron has been a popular choice for

gifting in festivals and auspicious occasions such

as weddings, celebrations, prayers etc. Packed

in attractive paper boxes BLS can vouch for the

finest handpicked grade of Saffron in the world.

This is further reaffirmed by clients’ testimony,

who claim that BLS supplies the finest quality of

Saffron in Hong Kong.

BLS Saffron is there to take care of your health and order for quality Saffron

by sending email to info@blshk.com or call 6532 8877.

Myth: South Indian pregnant women were advised to have Saffron to get

a child of fair complexion. This is scientifically not true. However, Saffron gives

benefits in proper blood circulation to mother and child within.


PROFILE

Tarini Mukherji

I

am more than a daughter to my mother, a wife to my devoted husband, a mother of two

beautiful children aged 2 and 4 or a career woman with a big developer firm as an architect.

My name is Tarini Mukherji. As a professional architect I know the significance of building up

brick by brick into a tower of significance. My humble foundations hold me up strong just like the

kids I teach on the street and my life experiences rise up upon them like the skyscrapers I

build.

I am a devoted mother to my daughter and son and a girlfriend to my husband as I

believe in living it in all spheres. I am a maiden- a mother and a mystic.

Q. What’s your USP?

A. I think my USP in this women’s empowerment

era today is “realism”.

No longer prescribing to the wonder woman

ideal of the 1940s of #hasitall. I represent a

woman who wants it all.

The pursuit of happiness in a transitional

patriarchal culture. My identity separate

from those who define me -the struggle,

flaws, and life lessons that represents my

journey, my values and my ideals.

Q. What is the wackiest comment you have

ever received from a fan or friend?

A. OMG I just now got this comment on my

Instagram page and it fits the bill. This fan

wrote “ Tarini, your eyes are so talkative - if

you were in school, the teacher would have

hushed you for it ..!!! I can hear the poetry your

eyes recite. But shy to tell you what I hear ”

Q. Are you a jeans person or a formal wear?

A. I am the mother of two in jeans and sneakers

fast-tracking her kids wholesome growth in

culture, education and sports.

I am also the lady professional in formals

and stilettos who leads a team with dignity,

wisdom and patience while I tower well

over 6 feet over them. :-)

To add am also the fun Indian family member

dancing the night away in a sari when I let

my hair loose.

Q. Are you an early riser or a late bloomer?

A. Although I was Ms Shimla when I was a

teenager I now consider myself a better

representation in the Mrs. Haut Monde

competition, so I don’t mind the late bloomer

tag as it represents my reinvention at every

step of my life.

Q. What has been your most expensive

indulgence so far?

A. My children. (Ha ha)

But in all honesty I think we all know that

there is no price to a good education. On a

more serious note I think the home I bought

for my mother, so she may be independent

and resilient, while being fully confident that

I am always there with her. A small “Ma you

made me who I am” gesture.

Q. Name one beauty product that you always

carry in your handbag?

A. My Kajal. My eyes are my windows to my soul

and I like framing them...... Always!

Q. What would your epitaph read as?

A. the maiden-mother-mystic. The trifecta of

my life’s journey and it’s wondrous lessons.

Q. What will be the first thing you will do if

you win the title?

A. Let my daughter try on my crown. And teach

herself belief and self respect. Also let my son

know that there are no age, gender, and other

stereotypes either of them have to live upto.

Q. What advice would you give for the

wannabes out there?

A. This is your chance to give the world the

wonder women its desperately needs-

1. Learn critical thinking and ditch over

thinking and self doubt.

2. Respect others, but not at the cost of

yourself respect.

3. Be brave - We teach our girls to be perfect

and our boys to be brave. So gals it’s okay to

take risks and embrace failure with bravery

and strive on

4. Patience turns talent into achievement.

5. You can BE, DO or HAVE anything


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