Once upon a time, Sadia Sayeed, then 17, got married to businessman Sayeed Hashim who owned Toyzone on MG Road and was also modelling on the side for such biggies as Binny’s and IBM. Today, Sayeed, 33, is the mother of two children, but her … Continue readingSadia’s life is a Rumour
I respect women and consider them superior to the male species, says master lensman Prabuddha Das Gupta (45), when you ask him how he gets women to shed their inhibitions (remember his best-selling book on nudes in 1996?). “Women are more rooted and therefore more … Continue readingDas capital
They are fresh. And they are blossoming. If one is not getting into a pair of cups from Victoria’s Secrets to showcase the lingerie leader, another is learning all the tricks of the trade to vie for the Femina Miss India crown. If one is … Continue readingWeapons of mass distraction
Variety rules Sonal Ramrakhiani’s life. She’s got a Gujarati name, but both her parents are Sindhi. And she was named after Odissi danseuse Sonal Mansingh. When she is not in the Titan Industries office at Golden Enclave on Airport Road holding fort as brand manager, … Continue readingSonal’s Solo
It’s all things New York for Sasha Castelino, 28, MD, Phoenixx Apparel Services and Attic, the clothes store on Lavelle Road. Castelino is the buying agent for AXIS, NY. As an intern with Winona, NY, she designed mood boards and sourced fabrics and trims. With … Continue readingThe woman in the Attic
Shobha Sehgal’s first pay was Rs 1,000 for working three hours at a beauty salon. “And I gave all the money to my mom,” she says. “Four months before I finished my beauty course, I opened a salon of my own.” That was in 1985. … Continue readingThe Lakme girl
Opposites attract. Ask Royce Pappachan (23) and Ekta Hoora (21). If he trips on rock, she sashays to old Hindi classics. If he’s skilled in computers, she’s a trained fashion designer. “We are always arguing and correcting each other,’” says Hoora. But ask Pappachan what … Continue readingStanding Ovation
She may not defy gravity. But her lifestyle store, Levitate, does defy the conventional shopping experience. Swing past the doors of 93 Residency, take up the flight of stairs leading to the first floor and you reach a cul de sac. Before long, you realise … Continue readingLevitating Meghna
Spread over 3,885 square kilometers, Dubai that’s 10.655 metres above sea level indeed rises above the ordinary with its mother of all festivals, the Dubai Shopping Festival. It’s four weeks of unadulterated fun on the run, with over 220,000 Indians making it to Dubai every … Continue readingFly Buy Dubai
Sonia V Narayanan, 32, has always looked at things from close quarters. Whether it’s ‘early morning traffic choking Delhi’s broad-necked roads’ or ‘two well-respected families whose reputation begged her silence’, her pen has captured it all. “All the characters are inspired from life but none … Continue readingSonia at close quarters
Designations change all the time, because everybody is doing everything. And Saugatha Chatterjee aka Soggy (36) is no exception. From a management trainee with Coats Viyella in 1993 to business head for their international retail and sourcing consulting division, Intrad, Soggy has come up the … Continue readingChatting up Chatterjee
Welcome to the edge, says the denim jacket of her scrapbook. Danger: extremely flammable, cautions her ad campaign on an apparel line. Welcome to 34-year-old Suparna Mitra’s life. Her job is to make Lee part of every young adult’s wardrobe whose age is between 17 … Continue readingTo Lee or not to Lee
It happened over dinner at an apartment on Cunningham Road. Housewives Vandana Virwani and Michelle Suri, both 37, thought of ways to get their professional lives back on track. “After marriage and children, we wanted to do something with our lives. One thing led to … Continue readingLife is Bella Bella
It’s not very often that I consult an online name reader to get a perspective about the people I’m going to interview. It’s not even something I deeply believe in. But I turned to an online name reader a few days back, before I stepped … Continue readingA bit of Chari
Her bio runs into three pages. Her sense of design is ever changing (‘I changed my frame from a round one last year to a rectangular one this year’). She morphs into something else just as easily (after several years in garment design, she started … Continue readingPot Puri
Zero per cent attitude. 100 per cent work. That’s the first thing you notice on the white board when you enter Sharan Shetty’s cubicle. “It’s zero per cent negative attitude that I am talking about,” clarifies Shetty. And we sit down for a chat that … Continue readingShetty’s Stop
He watches one Hollywood movie a day. Well, almost. He collects crystals of all shapes and sizes. Well, almost (his mother has done most of it and he is carrying on the legacy). He loves cooking. Well, almost (his culinary skills don’t go beyond making … Continue readingOn I Gear
Both met at a children’s school and two months later, Akiva (which means, shelter) was born. Businesswomen Roopa Ravichandra (37) and Neetu Gupta (37) now have a partner in progress. They have shared their expertise with designer Raj Kumar Shroff of Arachne to introduce Ravage … Continue readingFood, clothing and Akiva
Suresh Singaravelu (51), CEO, Prestige Estates, who is building India’s largest multiplex, The Forum on Hosur Road, should have read James Redfield’s Celestine Prophecy and all the coincidences it dwells on. Because his life has had its share of coincidences. There he was in the … Continue readingForum’s friend
Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue. The hallmarks of a home today are trendy, earthy and global. From parquet to pottery, Bangaloreans are not just buying homes; they are putting themselves into every wall. We went out into the market to discover what … Continue readingHoming in
The 2G spectrum allocation controversy shows no signs of abating. But what the heck, we already have cellular operators offering 3G internet. There is Tata Docomo offering mobile speeds of over 21mbps, something unheard of earlier. But that’s nothing compared to what’s next: 4G. So … Continue reading4G and how it will change the way we communicate
Nothing succeeds like excess, and future tech provides you a glimpse of that. You take off today and arrive yesterday. That’s the power of technology. With prototypes being developed all the time, these give glimpses of a future that could well be possible. Like the … Continue readingTechnology top 10: Future concepts to watch out for
OLEDs, Google TV, holographic displays, UDTVs and more will change the way we watch television Television has long been the preserve of the masses and the classes for the last several decades. But only now is it coming into its own. The promise of watching … Continue readingTV3.0
With March still staring in our face, here are ways to trim your finances and look forward to managing comfort for the next financial year. Don’t buy second best. Sooner or later, you will end up spending more and inconveniencing yourself further. Buying the latest … Continue readingPersonal finance
Do you find your smartphone restarting on its own or freezing? Here are some of the reasons why… 1. Delete the most recent apps you downloaded. Some apps, particularly the ones from getjar.com have apps that contain bugs which crash your phone. 2. Update your … Continue readingSmartphone crashes
I was suffering from a ‘ network connection timed out’ error everytime I tried to update my iPod Touch software. I went online looking for an answer and finally found one that worked. If any of your are having similar problems with your iphones, ipods … Continue readingApple devices and their ‘network connection timeout’ error
The new iPod Touch 4G is the perfect way to kill time. And sometimes, you need such a thing. However, addiction to it isn’t such a good idea. But that’s how I found myself when I bought the iPod a few months ago. Here are … Continue readingiPod Touch kills time like no other
Mind Blogs 1.0, my first published book with two other author friends, has sold over 200 copies in just 50 days. That’s a good sign. What is even better is that distributors feel it’s got a national feel and can go international because India is … Continue readingMind Blogs 1.0 going great guns
Mind Blogs 1.0 is my first published book of anecdotes that features serendipitous moments and revelations that could interest readers of Astro Freak. Some of the subjects include Betty Shine’s healing technique, dream analysis, aura reading and tips on how to heal your life. Read … Continue readingMind Blogs 1.0 features alternative healing techniques
Did you know that I met Shah Rukh Khan and alerted him on two threats to his life? Well, read more about it in the new book, Mind Blogs 1.0. Mind Blogs 1.0 is a non fictional book of anecdotes and essays brought out by … Continue readingShah Rukh Khan in Mind Blogs 1.0