Saturday, July 15, 2017

Get Set Shine!

As I told you guys, we will be talking about hair care soon...it is here! First thing men notice after obviously the assets is your hair so it is extremely important that you take good care of your tresses. 

I have start with suggesting you all to do oiling before head bath, it may sound old fashioned but take my word, your hair will benefit the most, it is simple and inexpensive. Your frizzy hair will become history. Let's see what oil options you got coconut oil is my favorite, you can apply it around the year. It has no bad smell and is easily available in every household for various purposes. Mustard oil is another option though it is not so bad an idea in summers, because it is too sticky to wash away. If you plan to spend a little money on the hair oil then go for Hamdard's Sweet Almond oil. It is the miracle oil, it leaves your hair smooth ans soft. If you got hair problems and you are ready a pay some more money 😦 then go for Kama Ayurveda Bringadi Hair oil. It is specially for hair treatment and you will find less hair fall and better texture of your hair. And if you want to go with my Nani's advice apply Desi Ghee! Just to tell you she is 72 and has almost no grays! My mom followed her advice and guess what, she is 50 and has no grays! I hate the smell and all so you see I might have grays in years to come 😬

I have no advice on using shampoo for washing your hair. The only thing you should see before you buy any of those fancy bottles is that they are not too harsh as in doesn't have too many chemicals and doesn't leave your hair dry and dull. Most of the anti dandruff shampoos that I have tried do that to my hair, so I have stopped using them. If you have dandruff put then you can add lime juice or curd to coconut oil and apply before head bath. Try buying herbal shampoo which are mild and don't leave your hair dry and limp.  

We need to discuss about hair styling tools. Don't use hair dry to blow dry your wet hair without using a hair serum which protects your hair from the hot air and doesn't make your tresses frizzy. Don't forget to towel dry your hair before you use the hair dryer! And if you don't need to style or dry your hair urgently then avoid using it. Sundays are best days to take a head bath and wait for your hair to dry naturally and in between the week you have no option but to use the dryer! 

Before you use hair straightener, make sure your hair are completely dry, it will ruin your hair forever trust me on that! No amount of oil and spas will fix it. Moreover hair fall would increase in case you straighten before drying your locks. 

Always start to comb.brush your hair from the ends so that while you untangle your tresses, you don't break them. Gradually move towards the crown area, it will help you have less hair breakage. The popular wide tooth comb is also a good option but the movement has to be from hair ends towards the crown. 

You got the save your hair from the Sun as well. Covering your head will do the trick. 

Make sure you are washing your hair regularly and whenever required. Don't delay taking a head bath. It will lead to hair fall. 

Don't forget to comb your hair before you sleep. It is relaxing and helps in hair growth (my aunt told me that) 

Happy Hair! 

P.S: Not that it is important here, but I have nice hair. 

Friday, July 14, 2017

Let the Prima donna in YOU emerge

Since there are two weddings lined up in my family, I have all the reasons to talk about the beauty regime for brides to be. Though family members getting married are men (My kid brother and my husband's kid brother...both of them are named Karan! Extra information doesn't hurt 😇) but being a woman I have better advice for the brides. 

To start with, the most important thing is to avoid stress. You may have time for shopping and preparing for your big day or you may not, but you shouldn't stress. Ask me why? Because it is going to make things worse! 

Secondly, bride to be needs to sleep for eight hours on a stretch and eat well. Stay away from oily food and drink lots of water (6-7 litre) and fluids to avoid skin eruptions. If you ain't getting enough sleep because of your work schedule (one of them works for a media house 🙋) then check if your eyes have dark circles, use tea bags for under eye treatment (a home remedy) instead of fancy stuff available for the same. This is not the time to experiment and use products on your skin which you haven't used ever. 

Talking further about eating right, increase your Vitamin C intake as it helps flush toxins and makes your skin glow. Remember internal healing of the skin would do better job than applying creams over it. You may use Google for finding fruits and veggies that are rich in Vitamin C, Oranges are one! 

Be it Summer or Winter, don'y ever forget to use sun-block for face and arms, preferably SPF-30 something! We (Girls) all know about the problems exposure to Sun can bring upon us. Avoid unnecessary clean-ups and facials, once a month is just fine. Your beautician might tell you to have minimum of a week's gap between a clean up and facial. Clean up is done first! 

Don't you forget to protect your lips, yeah that's important. There are number of lip balms which have sun protection factors built in. If they are very dry and often so, then apply cream (malai) before going to bed and if you don't like the smell or taste of it, then you can use glycerin mixed with rose water to do the trick for you.   

Instead of dieting, go for a 30 minutes walk and moreover it will leave your skin glowing. Sweating will remove toxins yet again. If possible, go for yoga sessions, it will keep you calm, toned and radiant! 

Don't ignore the back of your neck, elbows and heels! Take good care of these too. Use coconut oil to make them soft and lime juice to lighten them. 

Hair care will require another blog. Keep reading.  

Thursday, July 13, 2017

Diamond is forever!

As the popular saying goes, diamonds are girl's best friend, most of us would agree.
The million dollar question is, Are you taking good care of your diamonds?

The thing is I'm on long leave and have ample amount of time to do stuff like these...thought I should revive my blog and talk about things I'm doing. To start with I choose diamonds. (yea, perfect choice..wink wink)

Since you have spent your hard earned money (I'm a University Professor...it is hard earned 😬) to buy this precious stone, you obviously don't want it to lose the look and lustre.
Firstly you should always store your diamonds in fabric-lined case or wrap it in cotton wool.

Secondly you should always remove your diamond ring while you do your household chores, even while you wash your hands, keep it away from cleaning agents!
Picture Courtesy: Karan Mahajan and Apeksha Padukone

Once in three months, dip the ring in lukewarm water with a drop of mild liquid cleanser, you can use a mild shampoo! Avoid using anti-dandruff shampoo for this purpose.

And, finally you must keep visiting your jeweler for getting it professionally clean, though make sure your diamond is secure 😉 

Sunday, April 19, 2015

ASCO Batch of 2015



Goodbyes are always sad but this one was much more than that. I'll miss the Batch of 2015 and reasons are endless. To start with: 

There would be no jumping and shouting around in the corridor of 4th floor by one and only Angad Singh. He is the most straight forward person I have ever met. And he knows everything about sports! (Vidhanshu knows that too and is good at analysis but then he has been in sports journalism long enough to know all that) He is also the most misunderstood student but then people who may matter to you know you well.

No one would say 'Hey ma'am' or 'What's up' and all other cool stuff in the corridor every time you see him. That's Shantam. He is passionate about dancing, that's how I know him being the dance mentor. And he was with his shades on last evening, though there was almost no sunlight he was like: it’s so sunny!
That reminds me of our Action Jackson, the dancing star Sunny. I knew him before I taught him, obviously because of dance and he never wished me ‘Good Morning ma’am’ and was always ‘hello ma’am, kaise ho?’ But, then he is one of the best dancers ASCO had.

These were few of the people I knew before I taught class of 2015. 

And when I started teaching, I was mesmerized by a Chandigarh girl, yes you all guessed it right Saba Sodhi. The title bestowed on her yesterday was so apt (The Walking Enclypoedia). She is one super cool girl who can talk about everything and anything under the Sun. Everyone who knows you, knows that you are gonna make us all proud. And remember our talk on Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, it was real fun.

Next in the list is my favorite student, yea I'm announcing it, Sounak Majumder. First time I took attendance in class and mispronounced his name, he was like ma'am...it's shhh ou nak. :P . I always thought I'm good with names. He is the rock star of ASCO. He attends all classes, plays football, mails well-written assignments (pun intended), sings well, directs romantic college flicks, actually an all rounder and is omnipresent. Be it class, seminars, guest lectures, sangathan, AYF, Radio amity, ASCO reel, and yes he was the first BJ&MC student to walk in E-2 Audi yesterday. You can discuss politics, sports, global issues and even equity deals with him.

Then, there's Jaspreet, our very own JaSS. :P No offences. She was the CR of the class but never in class. Though she knew all answers if questioned and her class mates don't even let you express your shock! Before I expressed my astonishment at her correct answer, someone said "Yeh toh topper hai" I was like okay fine, take it easy man! Then I saw her performing for Aaghaz and I knew she is one great actor. I could also generalize here students who are good, are good at everything! (Yes, I plan to write on that too)

Now, it's time I start talking about Section C, whose promotions were done by the mentor Pritha Chakraborty. (Tagline: It's the best class) 

Whom should I start with?

Let’s begin with the CRs of the class.
I know Pawandeep from one of my invigilation duties; he wrote and wrote and wrote. I would not talk about his writing skills which are well known since he started working with India Today. But I should talk about his editing skills. He is ascetically great and can give amazing background score. (In the Mist) I would miss our discussions on gadgets, music, movies, sitcoms, books, food I mean chicken, mutton and of course coffee!

Vishal Darse saved me from slipping on the staircase last summer and I was more than thankful to him. Then on he never missed to greet me with a smile. When I started teaching 3C, he was the one with loads of doubts but for change his doubts were real and logical ones, just in case you don’t know the kinds of questions students ask only to waste time of the class or to irritate their faculty! But it was amazing, discussing the ethical standards of Indian media with Mr. Darcy... I mean Mr. Darse.  And I was pleasantly surprised at the knowledge he had. Though he always saw me praising Sounak, he was still clam and composed about it.  Vishal is one of the coolest guys in ASCO without doubt with a nice accent and the obvious swag. I will cherish our discussion sessions and I’m sure Pritha is also going to miss you guys.

And now, it’s going to be about two sweetest students of the class. Kritika and Anubhuti. They are both extremely attentive in class and intelligent. Ready with right answers, not just right answers but good answers (let me define a good answer: correct answer which is supported with correct examples). I doubt I would get any good answers in class anymore. They were also good at playing handball and I hope they ODs for it, since certificates are pending. Anyway, they are too cute to be forgotten. Yesterday, both of you looked beautiful. And I was so touched looking at all of you together as one happy family of friends. God bless!

How shall I miss to write about Miss Super Duper Cool? She has her own rules and she lives life to the fullest. She plays football in corridor and uses her cell phone in class but knows her stuff too. That’s what makes her the coolest one. She is Phalak Anjum.

BJ&MC 3C was one of a kind class without doubt. I have not interacted much with lot of students but I noticed how hard working Salina and Shailvi are, how adorable Salina looks, how naughty Maaz can be, how innocent Ashima is, how talkative and passionate Sumesh is, how intelligent Riya Kapoor is, how silly Sahil can be, how creative Aayushi is, how stylish Karnika is, how busy Abhay is, how pink Herman (Yea, he actually spells is with ‘E’) is? I may be missing a lot of people but you all are special in your own unique way.
Let me take this opportunity to tell you that you have been the best batch. Wish you all the best for future. I hope and pray all of you achieve great success in both professional and personal. J

Your Proud Professor


Monday, October 13, 2014

Avoid Footwear disasters

I am literally forced to write this today, after looking at young girls in the university looking like footwear disasters. Though I am NO fashion guru but shoes is the part of the dress I can’t avoid to ignore whenever I see any someone specifically when I have nothing on my mind. There are three things you should totally avoid:
Causal 
1. Socks with Sandals, seriously! It’s a big No for socks with sandals no matter how fancy, cute or colorful they are. Socks are not to be seen outside your shoes. Let your feet breathe when your wear sandals or wear shoes. Avoid



2. Shine, shine everywhere, surely footwear with rhinestones of all sorts is such a fad but then wearing shiny stuff in morning hours and to be more precise in college is again a big NO. The immoderate amount of shine and sparkle is very unattractive and in bad taste. Avoid
Partying 









3. Heels have an occasion, I guess Marilyn Monroe was right in saying that all women owe a lot to the one who invented heels but then we should not be misusing the invention. If you already was gifted with good height (5.7 or above) clearly you don’t need to wear heels in office, college or in the market let the short women have to pain and pleasure to wear them in routine and you may keep them for occasions. And if you are living in India, you will have plenty of occasions to flaunt your heels and your height. I won’t get into the details of the harms of wearing high heels though I would like to warn you about it.  
On wedding day
Nothing personal
No intention to hurt anyone’s sentiments.





Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Cheat the Heat

Vacations are really refreshing but then in India, we have summer vacations when it’s scorching hot and it’s almost impossible to move out in daytime. After spending around twenty days as a summer vacation I guess I can write about how to cheat the heat this summer.
Generally in summers we prefer light colors, to cheat the heat, its best to wear no color! White is your cheat sheet for summers. Wearing white shirts with denim jeans is always the in thing. You may find numerous stars wearing this combination on different occasions and day parties they attend. (Hrithik , Farhan , Ranveer and Kareena, Deepika, Parineeti to name a few) Men can team up with khaki trousers or shorts according to the event. Girls may dress up their white shirt with ethic maxi skirts, pencil skirts, ripped jeans, chic skirts or shorts! 
We have been using sunglasses to beat the heat for years now and it’s a known fact that one should wear glasses while stepping out in the Sun. But this summer go buy circular glasses more popular as teashades! Remember Beatle John Lennon, yes you got that right. (Others may Google him) And yes no gender bias herein. All of you can make it yours. Find the appropriate color of glasses with contrasting thick outline.
We like wearing cotton in summers which is cool enough but then why carry huge tote bags in leather! Ladies avoid carrying your expensive bags in this heat go for colorful floral printed cotton handbags. And don’t just avoid the huge bags but also the unnecessary heavy accessories and jewels. Keep it light. This goes for make up too; in summer the less is more for sure. Stop using your extra shine lip gloss and milk based moisturizer instead use compact powder.
Personally I hate sunscreen lotions; they smell good no doubt but make you glow a little too much (Women glow, men perspire and horses sweat!) so it’s better to wear a hat than applying a sunscreen. A hat would keep you cool and also protect your eyes moreover hats are attractive and fun. Girls may go for wide brimmed hats (3 inch or more), tie back caps, straw hats and sun hats. Men may try wide brimmed, bucket hat or even a sun hat! I know most of you will buy the super stylish golf hats! Try in front of the mirror and see how the hat goes with your body structure or built.
In summers, we desire to drink more than eat. We have been listening to this now since long enough to know that you should drink plenty of water and keep ourselves hydrated. I would suggest you to have frozen treats like ice creams and popsicles. You may eat fresh seasonal fruits, have juices and yoghurt. And cool your tea and coffee as well. Try Ice tea and go for frappes!
And do take a shower whenever possible.
Keep it cool.



Friday, April 25, 2014

Exam Mein Kabhi Kabhi

Usually people think that teaching is boring job, and I had a similar viewpoint until I started teaching in 2008! LONG TIME
Anyhow, it’s not that boring at all. As a teacher to get to interact with youngsters who are so much different from you and many a time learn a lot from them. As far as the interaction part is concerned, I have always loved talking to people and interaction with students is really good. When I was working with a University in Punjab, the interaction was very different from what it is here, in a university located in NCR. But then the student – teacher relationship has changed and so has the interaction. I have been a witness to that change as a student when my teachers started giving that friendly vibes and I could go to them for all sorts of discussions on a career choice to a new found love interest.
While studying in MJMC, I was approached by my HOD to do her favor and teach my super juniors two subjects whose faculty had gone for a long leave. One was film studies and the other was Public Relations! I was more than happy that she trusted my knowledge so much and I was extremely grateful when I was told that I would be paid for it. True story! (No worries HIMYM is over but you will see, view, read and few may write phrases we all loved)
I had great beginning, and made great friends with all my students actually my juniors and they still have place in my Facebook account. :P
Teaching is one thing and invigilation is another. Yeah! It all started in January 2009 and goes on and on. In my first invigilation duty I was so surprised that I called my momsy and kept on chattering about students’ faces in examination for one and half hour. Yes, my mother has lot of patience.
And these days since examinations are on and I have like 6 hour invigilation duty per day, I have made few observations and would like share them with my readers. (thoda formal ho gaya. I hope you are still interested to read further! Never mind)
There are around 20 different categories of students, you can see in an examination hall. Let’s begin…
As soon as a faculty distributes the answer books the first category is of students can be identified, they are the ones who have not brought their own writing supplies and keep on asking for it from nearby student or sometimes the faculty as well.
After distribution of question papers, the second type is visible, the questioning type, who start turning around and asking for word meaning and definitions from their class mates.
Once they are all settled and writing the paper and the faculty is done with the major task of starting an exam, other categories starting surfacing.
The most interesting one is of ‘Head banging’ students. They are music lovers I don’t know, they are trying to move their head and think I can’t say or probably trying to keep their cool after realizing that they don’t remember a word said in class by the teacher or can’t recall what their friend told them just before entering the examination hall.
 The most boring ones are who keep on chewing gum all the while they write their exam! I can’t stand looking at them and shout at them to go outside and spit it.
Then there are ones who keep looking around and smile at everyone and anyone. They are not cute but they try to seem so by smiling fake smiles!
Another set of students are there in an exam hall who can be called as time checkers, since they keep a keen eye on their watch or the wall clock as if waiting for the clock to tick for half time they can go or pay a visit to the washroom. Some of them run out to class after signing the movement sheet. It’s funny to see them do that run!
Every examination hall has four to six thinking pots. They keep on looking at the fans posing as if they are thinking. They keep on staring at the floor as if they are thinking. They keep observing hair and back of the student sitting in front of them as if they are thinking. (The pun intended.)
Then there are students who keep on playing with their hair, most of the times these students are girls but that doesn’t mean boys are any less. I guess after this Tattad tattad song boys have got some special affection towards their hair falling back on their necks and doing various versions of the original move. :D
With the image of Ranveer Singh flashing in my mind, I recall the category of students, who doing nothing but gaze at the beautiful girl or the good looking guy who sits in their room.
There’s another related category that knows either the beautiful or the good looking and try to impress them by trying telling them answers. Even if they get zero success they are able to impress I guess. But seriously what a cheap and unethical way to impress the opposite sex, I would actually like to know if this act of theirs was fruitful ever…ever!
(Share your story sonam.mahajan524@gmail.com)

Fairy tales had sleeping beauties and modern examination centers have sleeping students, who start the exam with wide yawn and after an hour or so they sleep. Since I am all bored and have nothing much to do, I call out, “XYZ, Are you sleeping?” Sometimes they thank me for waking them, and sometimes they stare at me with questioning eyes. Either asking, why hell do you know my name? or why are you so loud?

This category has been fascinating me, CRAMMERS! They mug up the entire syllabus or the notes or whatever they have and while writing in exam they repeat the whole thing after writing each sentence. (Word by word) This category is more prevalent in first year students but nonetheless.  If you ask them to repeat in their heart, they nod and continue what they were doing. :/
I find them amusing, these are the students who bring color box with them literally crayons or pencil colors and even sketch pens! They are suppose to write a media paper with obvious zero usage of color but they bring in decorate their answers. Dear students, you can highlight the key terms with a pencil. Why you need neon orange?
Some students take their photography class too seriously and try zooming in and zooming out for peeking at other student’s answer sheet. Their success rate is almost zero but they can’t stop trying.
This category is new to me, as in I had not seen something like this happening earlier. Neither when I was student (but then I was hardly paying attention to this detail), nor when I working in the previous university. The show stoppers are the one who remove all their accessories and jewelry while they write their exam and believe it or not there’s pile of things lying on the left side of their table. It usually includes a watch, rings, bracelet or a bangle, bands, sunglasses, wallet, card holders, cap, hair pins, hair bands and the like. With the category your good ten to fifteen minutes can pass.
Then there are students who have come to write an exam, the good types who start writing as soon as you hand over the answer booklet to the end of the three hour duration. And the best part is that if it’s an easy paper, they complete early and leave.
Finally we talk about the bad ones too, who had a plan to cheat and write the exam. The category is named as trouble makers, who keep on moving their head all around and keep murmuring all the time which not just angers the faculty but also disturbs all others who are writing the exam.
P.S: There’s category for social media influencers, who send friend request on Facebook on the very day you invigilated in their class, start to follow on twitter as well.



Friday, August 16, 2013

A girl in a metro!

When I came to Delhi after marriage, it seemed as if it’s the coolest place to live! But after eight months have gone by I’m back to my earlier opinion that Chandigarh is the coolest place to live. Many of my friends have been asking to write about my previous employer and my experience with them, some have been asking to write on life in Delhi. Today, since I have got some spare time, as the students have not reported for classes because of rains and a sandwich working day, I’m about to write on the Metros in Delhi.
My first journey on metro was from Chatarpur station to Rajiv chowk. I was to meet my husband at CP. No assumptions please! I was not working so was bored at home, though DLF promenade and Ambience was at walking distance from our place but it’s no fun without him :P
I’m skipping the ugly details of how I entered!
Once the metro doors closed behind me, I could see all sorts of people! The first sort consisted of ‘Gazers’, their eyes followed me. I can’t guess it was the chura I was wearing which made them think I just got married and the rest vulgar thoughts or they were just wanting my seat or simply checking my Vero moda blazer! I ignored a few and stared back at some.
The second kind is of ‘Chatterboxes’, they kept on talking about something or the other. Someone had a terrible fight with her boyfriend so she was narrating the whole story to a friend. Someone else was complaining about juice cartons not delivered yet. I plugged in my ear phone and heard to “Rise up”
The third type is of ‘Gourmandizers’, they were the ones who looked around and then with a sweep popped chips or grapes or unfinished lunch. I hated the smell of that half finished lunch and tried looking for something from my own bag! And I found a chocolate; a girl sitting exact opposite to me took out momos out of her bag and started to much. Believe me silk was not at all smooth or silky!
The fourth category is of ‘Liars’, they lied all the way. A man in tie lied on phone that he has reached Central secretariat while we were crossing Jor Bagh and when we were at Central Secretariat, he lied he has reached Rajiv Chowk! A college student lied too in a similar fashion.
The fifth variety is of ‘Bookies’, they entered by pushing people aside and rush for a seat as soon as they enter metro without looking that it’s a for old and physically challenged. Interestingly a guy seemingly gay rushed inside and got a seat, before he could relax himself rather even remove his satchel and elderly woman came and started to shout at him to get up and show some respect to his elders. It was scene! He changed the compartment within few seconds of getting up.
Before I could notice any more people Rajiv Chowk came and before I could look at any faces I saw Vivek pulling me out of the crowd.

    

Monday, February 4, 2013

Read before you buy! (for husbands)


Around 4pm a wife called her husband in office, “Hey hubby, Do buy a bottle of shampoo before you come home.”
Husband replied, “Sure, anything else”
On his way back home, he stopped by a shopping mall and got confused when he saw various brands of shampoos.
He called his wife and asked, “Honey, which brand would you prefer?”
She replied, “Ahhh, Dove…”
“I’ll reach home in ten minutes, see you”, he disconnected.
Next day around 11:30am, he received his wife’s call at office
“COME HOME RIGHT NOW WITH A SHAMPOO BOTTLE, YOU MORON” his wife shouted from the other side of the phone.
“Hey honey, I brought you shampoo yesterday evening. Is everything all right? Why are you shouting?” he inquired
“Mr. BLIND, YOU BROUGHT HOME DOVE CONDITIONER, YOU JUST COME HOME NOW…” she shouted
“But right now, I’m in office and its 11:30…how am I suppose come home now”, he explained
“I have applied heena to my head and when I tried washing it off, there wasn’t any froth and then I read that its conditioner and not a shampoo… am I to stay this way till your office is over” she demanded.
The husband took the day off and stopped by the shopping mall again and read the label on the shampoo bottle bought it and went home. She was angry at him so he had to take her to movies and later nice restaurant for dinner.
Moral: Shopping is not picking up products, read before you buy!


   

Purify your heart & soul


The Sun rises
The Sun sets
Days are passing
Time is fleeing
Neither the sky nor the dark clouds are changing.

I seek the sparkling clarity
But what I see is inky blackness
This reality of world is full of dirt and darkness
Moon and the stars are the witnesses of impending vagueness.

Would they ever help the World?
Or would they just stand silent watching all goodness depart the planet Earth?
Suddenly I recall the words of my Grandmother who had immovable faith in God
“Surrender your heart and soul to God and He will purify and strengthen them, to save all.”
I wish her words come true and every Indian gets his heart and soul purified so as to serve the society
Then, all prevailing darkness will be swallowed by the bright ruby sky rising like a diamond in the East
People will no more be beasts
There we will have a new beginning and a new dawn!