WHAT YOU KNOW CAN SAVE YOUR LIFE

CELEB-WATCH

DEAR DEEON pg (ii)

Sept 04-10,2002 a NOW! supplement

Cervical cancer is the biggest killer of women. It is the fifth leadingcause of death from cancer in women. In Sikkim too, the ratio of

cervical cancer among women is relatively quite high. In fact, in an effortto prevent the occurrence of cervical cancer and achieve early detection,the Department of Health and Family Welfare had organized a 3 day can-cer detection camp in the month of August. The good news is that cervi-cal cancer can be prevented. In most cases, if detected early, it can also becured 90 percent of the time. Dr. Sharmila Bhandari, leading Gynae-cologist, tells how a simple test can save your life.� What does cervical cancer mean?Cervical cancer strikes the cervix, the lower narrow end of the uterus thatforms a canal between the uterus and the vagina. A pap test can detectthis form of cancer early and prevent its spread.� What is a Pap examination?

CHECKING ON CERVICAL CANCER

A Pap smear test is a screening test for cervical cancer. It detects thecancer young and predicts whether you are in a pre – cancerous stage. Anabnormal pap smear is not good. It could mean that you are in the stagebefore cancer. If left untreated this could lead to cervical cancer.� How effective is it?The Pap exam is considered one of the grand success stories of preventivemedicine. Developed over 50 years ago by the now famous pathologist,Dr. Papanicolaou, no cancer screening test in medical history is as effec-tive for early detection of cancer as the Pap examination. Not doing a Papsmear doesn’t cause cervical cancer, however, you are at a greater risk ifyou have never had a Pap examination. Cervical cancer is curable ifdetected early. Left untreated, this cancer invades adjacent organs orspreads elsewhere in the body, rendering it difficult to control.� Who needs a Pap exam?Every woman. Cervical cancer is slow to develop. The best way to pre-vent it is to have an annual gynaecological examination with a Pap smear.It cannot be stressed enough : Regular annual Pap smears are yourbest protection against cervical cancer.� How is it done?It is a simple procedure in which your physician painlessly obtains cellsfrom the surface of your cervix, using a special brush or spatula to samplethe area where most cancers begin to develop. The cells are placed on aglass slide, which is sent to a laboratory. If cancerous or pre-cancerouscells are found, the next step is a more thorough examination of the cer-vix. A Pap test may also detect infections, such as bacteria, yeast or vi-ruses.� Where in Gangtok can you get one done?You can do a Pap smear examination at STNM Hospital or at CentralReferral Hospital, Tadong or at any private gynaecological clinic. It’s asimple test and quite affordable. It costs around Rs. 200-250.Dr. Sharmila Bhandari can be contacted at her clinic at Lall Bazaar,TP Dorjee Building. Time – 10:30 am – 1:00 pm. Also at her clinicat Baluakhani, Time – 8:00 am – 10:00 am and 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm.

DANCING TO HER TUNES

She is young, pretty, smart and she makes you dance to her tunes. It’s all for yourown good as you force yourself to keep up with her swift moves, wriggling allthat lazy flab and work according to her expert instructions. The result (hope-

fully): a well-toned and healthy body, without those extra tyres around your midriff,topped with a glowing skin!

Meet Phurpu Gyarong, the new aerobics instructor at Gold Gym in Gangtok. Thetwenty-something fitness expert with a ready smile has her sights on you, to make you“not only lose weight and tone up, but also lead a healthy and active life.”

Phurpu joined the Gold Gym about two weeks ago and already has a faithful batchof ladies following her step by step in aspirations of that dream bod.

For Phurpu, the interest in fitness goes back to the time she was in school. A prod-uct of Saptashri Gyan Peeth in Kalimpong, Phurpu, joined the Darjeeling GovernmentCollege to pursue a degree in BSc. Talking to NOW! after a rigorous aerobics work-out,she says, “I was very interested in fitness and working out from the time I was in school.I used to go for jogs and follow fitness programmes on TV.” Back in her hometown andwhile getting ready for the rigours of a college life, Phurpu heard of a health club intown run by a lady fitness expert. She joined the Body Zone Health Club in Darj andbegan taking aerobics classes from this lady, who happened to be Reebok CertifiedInstructor. “Under the expert guidance of Ms. Wuying Kwon, I was soon training inaerobics and general fitness and the next thing I know, I wanted to become an instructormyself,” she explains.

After that, there was no looking back for this energetic lady, who soon qualified toconduct aerobics classes of her own. “I then started to work in the same gym I hadjoined as a client earlier. After working there for a couple of months, I heard about theGold Gym here and that they needed an aerobics instructor. I thought, why not give it atry and here I am,” Phurpu says with a broad smile. turn to pg (iii)

Dreaming of that dream body. Meet Phurpu Gyarong, the new

aerobics instructor at Gold Gym who will have you work that fat

away. SARIKAH ATREYA catches up with the one who has

Gangtok’s fitness buffs dancing to her tunes...

Cervical Cancer has claimed more lives than we can

fathom. NOW! on what it is and how it can be detected...

‘Celebrity Justice’

for Winona RyderLOS ANGELES: Do celebri-ties get more favorable treatmentthan ordinary people when theyhave a brush with the law, or arethey handled more harshly byprosecutors looking to set an ex-ample? The case of actressWinona Ryder, charged withstealing about $4,800 worth ofclothes and accessories during aBeverly Hills shopping spree,suggests the latter, according toa new TV show about celebri-ties and the courts.

Among defendants in 16other Beverly Hills shopliftingcases last year involving mer-chandise valued at $1,000 ormore, none were hit with asmany charges as Ryder, the syn-dicated program, “Celebrity Jus-tice,” reported in its debut epi-sode.

Ryder was charged withgrand theft, second-degree bur-glary and vandalism for alleg-edly cutting security tags offmerchandise in a Saks Fifth Av-enue store last December andwalking out the door withoutpaying for them.

Of the accused shoplifters in16 other cases examined by “Ce-lebrity Justice” stemming from in-cidents in high-end Beverly Hillsstores, none had a grand theftcharge paired with both burglaryand vandalism charges, as Ryderdid. The same was true of abouttwo dozen other Beverly Hillsshoplifting cases that involvedmerchandise worth between$1,000 and $400, the minimalamount for felony grand theft.

“None of them had the bookthrown at them like Winona,”said Ross McLaughlin, the re-porter who conducted the “Ce-lebrity Justice” probe. “I hon-estly thought I wouldn’t findanything like this, and I was sur-prised by it.”

DEAR DEE

WOMENNOW

iiSeptember 04-10, 2002

SSSSSusongusongusongusongusongSAYS

BETTER GROOMINGWhen your skin is exposed totoo much sun, the pigment in

the skin comes up to the surface toprotect the skin against burning. Inthe process the skin gets a darkershade and becomes rough and hardas well. Sitting in the sun duringwinters and also going out in the sunduring the hot summer months tansyour skin. This mild skin tan fromsports or outdoor work can be eas-ily cured by taking lots of VitaminC and Vitamin B.TIPS FOR CURING SUNBURNCucumber is great for protectionagainst the sun. Peel and grate acucumber, take out the juice andmix half a tsp of glycerine and halfa tsp of rose water. Pat this mixtureon sunburns for a mild bleachingand soothing effect. Another way touse cucumber is to soak some piecesof it in a cup of milk for a few hoursand then apply the milk on

I shall give you the perfect companion, Adam,” said God to hisfirst human creation, “but it will

cost you an arm and a leg.”“Oh no Lord, that’s too much.

What can I get for just a rib?”This is one among many of the

cracks made against thefairer sex, or to quoteWodehouse, the deli-cately matured species.Yet, little has beenknown about the un-fathomable depths ofthe feminine mind.“She” has been wor-shipped, loved,hated, condemned,leered at, but sel-dom understood.Much has beentalked about, both inflattering and de-rogatory termsabout the Indianwoman.

Interestingly, thebharatiya naree asshe is today, is a re-sult of a temporalmetamorphosis, agradual, inevitableevolution.

It would be incor-rect to say that the In-dian woman, in oldentimes, lacked indi-viduality. It was al-ways there, but it wasreflected in her family, her sur-roundings. Recognition was abun-dant for the woman – as a daugh-

Guess where I’m writing to you from? Thakurbari! No, I haven’tfinally turned to religion, just that the kids wanted an outing andI didn’t know where to take them. I know all you city folks thinkthat we’re always rolling in green grass, drinking water straightfrom springs that run alongside our little storybook cottages, notto forget the panorama of snow mountains which greet us everymorning. That’s fine for the tourist brochures but the reality formost of us here is quite different. There really is no open spacenearby for kids and this is the only place I could think of withoutworrying about them being run over by taxis in a bad off-seasonmood. So as they run around bothering other people for achange, I’m parked in front of my favourite God askingforgiveness for the silly theories you always come up with. Nothanks for suggesting that shopping is the great bondingexperience for women and that’s how I should go about makingfriends. Men, you say, hunt, drink, tell dirty jokes and observefootballs being moved about in order to cement masculine bonds.So I should consider shopping to achieve the same end withwomen. You’ve overlooked one tiny detail. I am unable fully toparticipate in the shopping rite because (a) I haven’t got themoney (b) I haven’t got the money. A fact that makes my momgive me the ‘look’. My lack of readies merely proves to her thatI have led my disgustingly promiscuous (in her view) life in vainsince the only justification for promiscuity or marriage or men ingeneral is that women who go in for them come out clutchingenough lolly to well, go shopping whenever they want to. Whatkind of loser am I!Love, Mia

sunburns.Cod liver oil has a soothing and

healing effect on sunburns. Evenpotato juice and ordinary tea solu-tion has a healing effect.

A face mask of one egg-whitemixed with a little honey is alsoanother remedy for sunburns.

ter, a wife, a daughter-in-law, amother. How well-kept a house is,how well-fed the inhabitants, howmuch happiness prevails and howmuch peace – all of these were as-pects of the individual portrait ofthe “Lady of the house”. She was

also a personified blend of Lakshmi,Saraswati and Annapoorna.

Those, of course, were timeswhen the village or the kingdomwas the world. Gradually, versionschanged, horizons expanded. Theterm patriotism was stretched to theentire nation, not just the kingdom.Womanhood, while preserving itspurity and serenity, accommodatedthe changes and exuded bravery andstrength.

Now is the world of globaliza-tion, posing no limits, no boundaries.The modern Indian woman hasgracefully accepted the invasion ofconcepts like – working woman, sin-gle parenthood and women’s rights.The same individuality which wasconfined to the four walls of thehome is now sputtered all over.

The

From behind the scenes organi-sation to outright glamour womenhave taken over and shine brightand radiant. Class and financial sta-tus hold no barriers for her. Thesame womanhood manifests itselfin the sari-clad woman, as in the

mini-skirted stilletoed one.She has been prompt on

reacting to whateverchange was hurledat her. Womanhoodhas always con-fronted time. Timethrew in the strug-gle for freedom, outcame RaniLaksmibai.

Time broughtout glamour and wehad Madhubala.Corruption attackedand Kiran Bedi re-sponded. Suppres-sion was imposedand we had DeepaMehta in action.

Consider theexplosive phenom-enon called“Helen” now popu-larly known as“Mrs. Khan”. Theepitome of glamourand westernisation.She embellishedHindi cinema by hergraceful gyrationsand charismatic

persona. Today she carries herselfequally well and extremely el-egantly as a wife and as a mother.

It is undeniable that times havechanged so much that we havewomen as bus conductors and filmdirectors; but it is equally undeni-able that these very women are alsohomemakers.

However, much time mayprogress and generations maychange, the concept of love andmotherhood is all-prevailing and isthere to stay.

Over the years, superadded withstrength and resplendence.

Thus a woman somewherecracked back, “Of course God mademan first, wouldn’t one make therough draft before making the fin-ished product ?”

PerfectCompanion

Perfect

MALE EVOLUTION MADE EASY

TRUTH BE TOLD

OLD MOBILES LINKED WITH BRAIN TUMOUR RISK

WOMENNOW

iiiSeptember 04-10, 2002HEALTH&FITNESS

a NOW! guide to pet-care

Part III - DENTAL CARE

Dogs seldom have dentalproblems other than those

caused by disease or old age.They very rarely get cavities. Themain trouble is decay caused bythe feeding of soft food. A soft diet,consisting mainly of cooked food,such as rice and vegetables andbread does not keep the teeth freeof tartar and as this builds up, itworks down into the gums, oftencausing infection and soreness. Afew hard dog biscuits or largebones to gnaw often help preventthis problem, as will keeping thedog on a diet of dry dog food.

What about her plans for a BScdegree now, you ask her. “I wouldbe pursuing my studies as well. Ihave just completed my part I andwill be finishing part II through cor-respondence,” says the spunkyyoung lady.

That her parents and family sup-port her in this is an added bonus.“My family are very supportive andhave encouraged and given me thefreedom to pursue my dreams,” saysPhurpu.

Obviously, she is enjoying whatshe is doing. And she not only helpsher women clients with typicalproblems of weight gain and extrafat around the parts you don’t wantthem in, she is ever ready with heruseful tips on how to stay motivatedand healthy. “Every woman feelsshe is the only one with typicalproblems associated with ageing,weight gain and everyday stress. Weall have basically the same prob-lems-after all it’s a woman’s body,”she reasons.

So what are her mantras for ahealthy and a fit body? “Joining agym should not just be for losing orgaining weight. It should mean fol-lowing a strict regime of proper diet,regular exercise and achieving ahealthy body and mind.”

She explains: “When you do

However, periodical cleaning ofthe dog’s teeth is advisable. Amixture of one part of cold milk tothree parts peroxide is suitable,as the milk cleans the enamel andkeeps the teeth white, while theperoxide eradicates any decayingparticles, which may have workeddown into the gums. Clean theteeth using swabs of absorbentcotton or a baby’s toothbrush.Tartar deposits can be scraped offgently with a dental scaler, avail-able with any veterinary shop.Press the scaler gently down justbelow the edge of the gum until itis below the tartar, then scrapingit off by pressing firmly against thetooth. It will help to swab with themilk and peroxide solution after-wards. Heavy tartar deposits,however, are best removed by avet, who should also examine thedog for any foul odour or rednessin the mouth.

Next Week: The Ears

aerobic exercises, you not only burncalories, you also increase yourheart rate, which means you arepumping more blood and increas-ing circulation. You are also jump-starting your sluggish metabolismand pushing your muscles to toneup.” That explains the healthy glowon your face and the surge of en-ergy after just twenty minutes ofaerobics work-out.

Phurpu feels that more andmore women are interested in fit-ness these days and that’s a healthytrend. “Thanks to satellite TV, fash-ion glossies and the increased lev-els of awareness, today’s woman istaking more care of herself. But itwould be unhealthy if you set im-practical goals of achieving a dreambody. It is unwise to want to looklike a reed-thin anorexic model.One should set goals according toone’s body type. In any case, hered-ity and genes and dietary habits doplay a vital role in determining bodytypes,” she says.

The pretty instructor is alsoopen to the idea of men joining herclasses. “Why not? Aerobics isequally beneficial to them too,” shesays. And as if on a cue, a youngman working out with weights joinsthe conversation wanting to knowwhether he can do aerobics exer-cises and sweat it out as well.

“Sure!” is the prompt answer.

LONG-TERM USERS OFsome first generation mobilephones are almost twice aslikely as non-users to developbrain tumours, according to arecent study.

Microwaveexposure from the

use of cellular tel-ephones has beendiscussed in recent

years as a potentialrisk factor forbrain tumours.The study was

carried out by re-searchers at the Na-

tional Institute for Work-ing Life in Stockholm of

1,617 Swedish patientsaged 20–80 years of both

sexes diagnosed with braintumours between 1997 and

2000. The Swedish patients allused analogue mobile phones,which were replaced in the late

A recent call from a NIH phy-sician member got methinking. He was concerned

whether breathing too much oxygencould be harmful. I do not believethis possible unless artificial meanssuch as hyperbaric chambers areemployed (hyperbaric chamber re-cipients are given antioxidants tooffset this) .

Oxidation often gets confusedin the good guy - bad guy scenario.

Oxygen has at least four majorbyproducts.1. Aiding cellular function oftenwith an oxidized waste byproduct2. Killing germs, viruses and para-sites (which are transformed intoanother type of oxidized waste (see“soot” below)3. To stabilize unstable moleculesthat have only one electron as with03 - ozone that gives off an extraelectron to a single electron “toxic”molecule to stabilize it into a twomolecule entity. So this reduceswaste and allows for constructiveuse of what might have been a freeradical4. Being transformed into “soot,smoke or ash” like from your fire-place in the normal process of logsbeing burned up.BREATHING TOO MUCH?Some people worry about breathingtoo much because of the oxidationprocess and the formation of freeradicals. Oxidation is a naturalevent. Nothing much in biochem-istry occurs without it. It happensbecause that is a primary purposefor oxygen. To give fire (life) and

Popping of spinach may helpnot only Popeye, but the car-toon character’s fans too.

Nutrition experts have found thatthe lack of concentration in mostchildren may be caused due to thedeficiency of iron in their diet.

Anaemia is already known to bethe cause of tiredness and fatigue.This study conducted by research-ers at the University of Queenslandin Brisbane suggests that iron defi-ciency also has severe effects on thechild’s behavioural development.There is also evidence that the in-tellectual and psychological impair-ment caused by iron deficiency dur-ing the first two years of life maynot be reversible on later supple-mentation.

The cause of iron deficiency inchildren is most likely due to a lackof dietary iron along with an in-creased need of iron for growth.Children should be given iron richfoods like lean meats, fish, eggs andchicken.

A latest survey estimates thatmore than 50% children in Asiancountries are deficient in iron. Thestudy stated that previous studieshave found difference between theintellectual abilities of children de-ficient in iron and those who are not.Children with a better iron statushave had better academic recordsthan their peers with a low status.When iron deficient children andadolescents were given dietary ironsupplements, they reported im-proved mood and ability to concen-trate.

The main nutritionist associatedwith the study said that with theright mix of cereals, meats, pulsesand spinach, “your kid should gethome an impressive report card!”

Contd from pg (i)

DANCING TO HER TUNES

1990s by digital handsets. Exposurewas assessed by a questionnairethat was answered by 1429 (88%)cases and 1470 (91%) controls.

It was found that those whoused first generation analogue mo-bile phones had a third higher riskof developing brain tumours thanthose who had not used cellphones. The risk of a tumour wasparticularly high on the side of thebrain close to where the phone wasusually held. Use of a telephoneon the opposite side of the brainwas not associated with an in-creased risk. The report alsowarned that for people who usedthe analogue cell phones for morethan 10 years the risk was 80 percent greater. The study found anincreased risk for brain tumoursamong users of analogue cellulartelephones, but no clear associa-tion was found for digital or cord-less telephones, those sold nowa-days.NOW YOU KNOW WHY YOUR HEAD SPINS EVERYTIME THAT MOBILE RINGS

a NOW! pic

IRON

Concentration

booster

Maybe I ambreathing too

muchto burn and to make whole (as inthe ozone example).

So the more you breathe themore soot you produce and the moreyou have to clean the fireplace. Butoxygen is necessary for millions oflife functions. Even if soot produc-tion were the only oxidative func-tion which it clearly is not, wouldyou not use the fireplace if you werevery cold just because you knew thefireplace would get dirty? What youWOULD do is clean the fireplace.That is what high anti oxidant raworganic foods do. They supply thenatural fireplace cleaners.ANTIOXIDANTSPeople take antioxidants like vita-min E, germanium, selenium, andCOQ10 in supplements and this isgood if they are eating poorly,breathing a lot and or are in a toxicenvironment. But if they are doingthat instead of eating raw livingfoods, they are deluding themselvesbecause the enzymes in the rawfoods are much more efficient atdoing a lot of the work that the oxy-gen will have to be sidetracked totry to do. The oxygen that shouldhave gone to other NORMAL func-tions gets used up with a lot of thefunctions that the enzymes couldhave done, and much better.

So learn to breathe better. Noone thing is the all to be all butbreathing and oxygen sure are onthe top of MY want list. You canlearn to breathe so you get all theoxygen you most often will everneed.

courtesy Breathing.com

rajdhaniIN

FRIENDS

IN DEED

FRIENDS

IN DEED

ATTENTION ALL IN THE TOURISM INDUSTRY! NOW! is bringing out a travel booklet , theNOW! Travelmate, which will be a special guide and tourist companion covering all aspects of Tourism in Sikkim.Wholly conceptualised, designed and written in-house by the NOW! Marketing and Creative Department, it isslated for an early October release. While we at NOW! are making superlative efforts to classify and update allpertinent information, we request all those who would like to be featured in the Travelmate to call in or e-mail us atthe earliest. The NOW! Marketing team has already started on their rounds of East District and will shortly bevisiting Ravangla, Pelling and Mangan in their quest for a comprehensive tourist friendly booklet, the likes ofwhich have not been seen in Sikkim so far. The Travelmate has a cover price of Rs.10 and a proposed print run of10,000 copies. All Government Departments /Hotels/ Travel Agents/News-agents who are interested in purchas-ing Travelmate may kindly contact the NOW! Marketing & Creative Department and avail discounts for bulk orders.Contact person (s): Marketing Manager/ Marketing Executive, Phone: 70949, E-mail: sikkimnow@rediffmail.com

NOWWOMENiv

September 04-10, 2002

Home remedies, kitchen tips, beauty makeovers, recycling advice..... just about anything that makes life easier for the

housewife... Send in your tips and if adjudged the most useful tip of the week, you will win a Gift coupon worth Rs. 250/-

sponsored by Curtina, MG Marg.Send in your entries to: NOW! Near Ayurvedic Clinic, Gairi Gaon, Tadong, East Sikkim. Or

email us at sikkimnow@rediffmail.com

CBEST TIPS

Contest

urtina

the ALKA, Sichey

� Keep this in mind, a full freezer stays colder

longer. This is good to remember in case theelectricity goes out for any length of time.

� Remove odors from many small items,(books, plastic bowls, etc.) by leaving themover night in a frost free freezer.

WINNERS ARE REQUESTED TO COLLECT

THEIR COUPONS FROM NOW! OFFICE AT

GAIRI GAON, TADONG

DRAGON Don’t force the pace oryou can lose out badly onThursday and Saturday, butyou are sort after on Mon-day, with a chance to widen

your horizons and get theglory. News about travel or the

foreign element comes on Friday.SNAKE You gain the upper handsometimes unexpectedly on Tues-day and Thursday, and can enjoy

sudden favoritism and respect,but be careful that a past

problem can be most upset-ting on Saturday, thereby

bringing gloominess to whatshould have been a happy occa-sion. Treat the week as if the groundis slippery so carry your responsi-bility cautiously.HORSE You are easily overpow-ered and should retreat rather thanremain stubborn or in the mood to

fight your ground, becauseany expansion or desire to

dominate will be met withforce, and this is seen to bringupsets on Sunday, Monday,Wednesday and Friday, as ifmiscommunications or quar-

rels bring despair. Don’t depend onanyone.SHEEP It is best to become activeand to experience how the unex-pected can deliver opportunities,and you get status, and can negoti-

ate very well with thechance to plan travel orto negotiate with foreign-ers and foreign coun-

tries, and this is shown for the en-tire week except for Saturday whenemotional issues or possessionscan turn the picture gloomy.MONKEY Be ready for uncertaintyor reversals that can be punishing,and although the possibility of ex-pansion or receiving power can en-

hance your position on Mon-day thus making you to besort after on Monday, yetmost of the week can turn

with uncertainty especially onSunday, Tuesday and Thursday

showing a danger of sudden re-versals. You can be disappointed onSaturday in the emotional sense.ROOSTER What you say andwhat you mean must be clearly de-

fined on Friday, becausemiscommunication canarise quickly, so you must

look behind the scenes andbe cautious of deception. Anunexpected reversal can take

place on Thursday, more so in theemotional sense, so be clear of yourintentions. You can gain favor onWednesday but need to be cautiousthat Saturday can get you into along-term complication.DOG Except for Monday when youcan have a bitter opposition with

others who wish to domi-nate you and you should

also be careful of the com-pany you keep, the remain-der of the week is full ofunexpected opportunities

that lead you to be well rewardedon Saturday. Thursday is also verylucky with making sudden contactsor getting good surprises.PIG Whatever has been plannedmay not materialize as you wish, be-

cause on Tuesday, Thursdayand Saturday the unex-pected takes over, andwhile you receive opportu-nities yet the result is de-spair or disappointment.

Don’t be trapped in a comprise whichincludes emotions. Sunday is goodas it gives your control and helps youmeet someone important.RAT The basic requirement can-not be met on Wednesday and Fri-day, although all opportunity comesyour way, and the responsibility youwant is given to you, and this is be-

cause there ismiscommunication which ul-

timately brings about somedanger of breakdown innegotiations. Monday re-

DRAGON: 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000.

SNAKE: 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001.

HORSE: 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002.

SHEEP: 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003.

MONKEY: 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004.

ROOSTER: 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005.

DOG: 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006. BOAR:

1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007. RAT: 1960,

1972, 1984, 1996. OX: 1949, 1961, 1973,

1985, 1997. TIGER: 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986,

1998. RABBIT: 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999

THE WEEK AHEADfor the animal signs

etc.

SamsaraTHE

Recipebar & restaurant

CONTEST

Recipes are not easily parted with,but share one with us and if it is themost exciting one for the week, youshall win a free dinner for two atSamsara Bar & Restaurant at NamNang. Send in your entries to:NOW! Near Ayurvedic Clinic, GairiGaon, Tadong, East Sikkim. Entriescan also be dropped off at Oberois,MG Marg

mains clear to get the responsibil-ity you want, but be sure in whatyou are asking. You get an unex-pected invitation on Sunday.OX All things turn upside down thisweek, and although the chancesyou seek come your way, yet pastproblems, emotional difficul-ties, legal issues, and fam-ily trouble comes your wayon Sunday, Monday, Tues-day and Wednesday, sodon’t remain stubborn orshow your temper, but learn to actdiplomatically and ready to retreat.It is only on Saturday that you gainsome kind of control, and this canbe due to unexpected opportunitieson Thursday.TIGER It would be sad that youmake strong enemies on Mondaydue to being very possessiveand dominating, and also be-cause you are lured into com-pany that is not good, be-cause if you don’t check thesituation you will get newsof being deceived or playedout on Friday. You can buildyou a strong relationship on Satur-day, while Sunday brings an unex-pected meeting with someone whohas authority.RABBIT It is a week when the pos-sibility of success is very high, butdue to your callousness, hastiness,or stubbornness,miscommunications arebeing created which canlead to trouble in partner-ships of any kind, and thisis shown to happen on Wednesdayand Friday when quarrels can alsoturn a good situation into a bad one.You can gain good contacts on Sun-day and Monday, that can enhanceyour reputation, while Thursday canbring an unexpected opportunity inthe personal area of your life, butone that is not secured.

SPICY FRIED

ONION RINGSINGREDIENTS:1-cup flour: 1/2 tsp. salt: 1/4 tsp.black pepper: 1 tsp. driedoregano flakes: 4 large onions:oil for frying : saltMETHOD:Cut onions into very thin slicesand separate into rings. Soakonions in ice water for one hour.Set aside. Combine rest of theingredient in a large bowl. Heatoil. Remove onions from icewater and dry thoroughly withpaper towels. Coat the onionrings with the prepared batter,then fry until brown. Drain onpaper towels. Season with saltand serve.Note: The oil temperature willdrop when the onions are added,then rise as the onions cook;regulate the heat accordingly.

Rekha, Deorali

After HarshvardhanNawathe became the firstcrorepati on Kaun Banega

Crorepati (KBC), letters to him hadthe address: ‘To, KBC’s firstcrorepati, Mumbai’. And they weredelivered to him. KBC had madehim a national celebrity overnight.

For Indian television, it becamelife pre-KBC and post-KBC. Thequiz show not only pushed the chan-nel, Star Plus, to the highestviewership firmament but alsomade its host, the fading superstarAmitabh Bachchan shine brightlyagain.

This Friday, at 8 pm, KBC willbe back on the small screen. Thefirst 12-14 episodes of this showwill have reruns titled The Best ofKBC, with the new season startingfrom December-January. Star’sCOO, Sameer Nair, wants to whetthe appetite of the audience beforethe actual show begins again.

Will it, however, still interestthe viewer?

You don’t have to askcomputerji for an answer. In truemarketing strategy, the channel hasan add-on for the viewers this timearound. Now KBC comes withSMS. To make the show interactive,viewers will be able to SMS theiranswers to the questions at the sametime the participant answers. Thetotal cash prize at stake is Rs. 10lakh. Viewers will have to put theirfastest finger forward on their cellphones to SMS the answers beforecomputerji flashes the sahi jawaab.

Moreover, in the new season,too, viewers can SMS their answersand win 10 per cent of whatever theparticipant on the show earns. Theexcitement will be two-fold. Not

AATH BAJ GAYE KYA?

only will the viewer want to answerthe questions right but would wantthe participant to go for it right too.Higher the participant’s earnings,the higher will be his/her prizemoney.

For most, or rather all, cashprizes prove to be a bigger incen-tive than in any other form. KBC iscashing in on this sentiment. Itwants the viewer (who probablynever got through the jammedphone lines to participate on theshow) to be part of the programmeand win from the confines of his liv-ing room. Reason enough to watch,send a SMS and wait with batedbreath.

When KBC went off the air af-ter over 300 episodes in January thisyear, there were nearly 3,000 con-testants, over 500 people on thehotseat, more than 60,000 studioaudience, over 90 million phonecalls and more than Rs. 260 milliongiven away as prize money. Over-

whelming logistics. KBC also gavea new lingo to the nation whowanted to brush up on their Hindialong with their GK.

Moreover the Big B made thesmall screen no longer an area toavoid for the film folk. Suddenlyeveryone wanted to do television.There was a big screen exodus tothe tube. The rest of the channelsroped in other stars and devisedtheir own quiz shows only to bedwarfed by the KBC giant.

Even shows which began afterKBC with stars have failed to makea dent in viewership ratings. Maybethe stars were just right for Star,maybe it was Bachchan and hisbaritone, or maybe IT was becauseof computerji and his configura-tions. Whatever the reasons, KBCbecame the talking point of the na-tion. ‘Nau baj gaye kya?’ becameStar TV’s programming mantra. Inits second innings will it be ‘Aathbaj gaye kya?’

OSLO, Norway: Keiko, the killerwhale who became famous as thestar of the “Free Willy” movies, hasturned up in a Norwegian fjord, sixweeks after he was returned to thewild from his pen in Iceland.

Keiko is arguably the world’sbest-known whale, given his starringrole in the three “Free Willy” filmsthat were released in the 1990s. Hav-ing spent most of his life in captivity,volunteers spent years training himfor life in the wild. He was releasedfrom his pen in Iceland in July.

The orca surprised and delighted

Norwegians, who petted and swamwith him, and climbed on his back ashe splashed in the Skaalvik Fjord,about 250 miles northwest of the capi-tal, Oslo. Local newspapers expressedtongue-in-cheek surprise over thewhale coming to Norway, since theoil-rich Scandinavian nation is theonly country that commercially huntswhales despite a global whaling ban.

Keiko, which means “LuckyOne” in Japanese, was capturednear Iceland in 1979 when he wastwo and spent most of his life incaptivity in Canada and Mexico.

KEIKO FROLICKING IN FJORDSEMINEM

MOVIE TO

PREMIERE IN

TORONTODETROIT: Eminem’s cinematicdebut will showcase not only therapper but also his hometown.

“8 Mile,” filmed entirely in theDetroit area, will premiere at theToronto International Film Festivalas a work in progress, with Eminemand director Curtis Hansen ex-pected to attend.

“Detroit is an art director’sdream,” Los Angeles-based PhilMessina told The Detroit News dur-ing the shooting. “There’s so muchgreat stuff to shoot herearchitecturally — hand-paintedsigns and great colors. You coulddo a coffee-table book just on De-troit architecture alone.”

Eminem plays a rapper caughtbetween ambition and anger. Thefestival begins Thursday, and thefilm opens Nov. 8. Oscar-winningactress Kim Basinger also stars.