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Showing posts from 2014

Flawless

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It is any girl’s dream to be offered free make up lessons by beauty experts. Glam was invited to partake in a personal session with Bobbi Brown’s Regional make up artist, Diana Kohvtova. The Serbian make up magician as I nicknamed her, has been with the international brand for close to a decade. She offers make up lessons to customers and faithful clients who want to learn the art of wearing their make up correctly. Over the past month the brand has introduced highly customised complimentary makeup lessons to show women that makeup should be simple, real and accessible. At all Bobbi Brown counters, expertly trained artists are available to teach women how to find the right colours to accentuate the eyes with a “Classic Eyes” lesson or how to easily create standout eyes with a “Smokey Eyes” tutorial, using new Sheer Brights Eye Shadows. Every lesson concludes with the creation of a personalised face chart to help women recreate the look at home. In order to render the entire Bobbi Bro

Cover story - an interview with Kalki Koelchin

It is not every day that a celebrity from Bollywood responds positively to a request for an interview across the miles in Doha. Not when the actress is about to release a star cast film and on the heels of a myriad projects. I considered myself fortunate when Kalki Koechlin agreed to an exclusive interview for Community. Surprisingly, the voice on the other end of the line was friendly and totally unpretentious. “I’ve never been to Doha yet, unfortunately,” she said, “Of course, I’d love to visit. Who knows maybe we could come to promote a film there soon.” Kalki isn’t like other celebrities who sometimes let stardom get the better of them. Her story is one that sets her apart from the crowd. For starters, she doesn’t have family ties or connections that would make it easy to land the laudable roles she’s been acquiring on merit. Born to French parents, who have lived in Pondicherry, India, for more than 40 years, Kalki speaks Tamil as fluently as she does French. She says, “India has

Totally Taiwan

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When I first landed in Taiwan, I didn't realise I would be entering a world where the people are actually refreshingly pleasant. It has been a welcome change to meet people who aren't too shy to greet you with delight. A fellow traveller was embarassed when a Taiwanese acquaintance hugged her tightly and squealed with delight when she noticed a familiar face among the media present at an event. We are unaccustomed to wearing our feelings on our faces. The people here don't give a second thought and automatically offer a wide smile if you offer one in return. I've tested this more than once in the elevators and the streets of Taipei. A gentleman was counting down the floors with his young son and they grinned when I made small talk and offered to share names in broken English. Somewhere along the way, the rest of us have forgotten common compassion for fellow beings. It doesn't surprise me that Taiwanese people choose to live, for the most part, fairly s

Will get by with a little help from my friends.

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Creating a page at the behest of my dear friend who is getting, (to use his own words) forgetful. These are the times that seem like only a few moments ago. We were young (er), more carefree and somehow didn't have as many errands to run as we do now. Who can forget the times Satish took a one hour train ride from Charni Road to Borivali, just to sleep in the A.C. room at Betty Apartments. The time we had a party in the house and all the boys were keeping us locked out of the said A.C. room. Jean Saldanha had the ingenious idea to shut off the main electricity switch forcing everyone to come out of their pleasant cool room.Only to be locked outdoors when the lights were turned back on. I have a lot more stories to write but deadlines are pulling me in another directions. Do implore you to share your anecdotes here.

Act of violence

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A few weeks ago, my cousin suggested we watch Mardaani , the latest movie staring Rani Mukherji. Having viewed a few of the posters of the film, I presumed it would be all too violent. A woman trying to become a man to survive. Rather reluctantly I found myself buying tickets to the show and yes, I was right, the film was violent. But what I also saw on screen was a woman who was thankfully not trying to cut her hair and look more like a man (Rani has donned a role of a male in the past and flopped miserably) Won't blame you if you don't remember her role in Dil bole hadippa. This movie was different. A slick production, a relatively new cast. There were scenes in this new film that had me cringe in my seat. Some of the revenge was of course predictable as with most Hindi films. Apart from all the regular bits were moments of complete helplessness carried out with acute depth. I'm no Anupama Chopra but in my view, the film broached a lot of uncomfortable topics in a mo

Summer escapades

Most people try the detox route. They will flush out their negative toxins in their system by eating and drinking clean for a stipulated amount of time. To me, a holiday is the perfect escape from monotony. A way to recharge my batteries. Add a live concert of some of the leading music legends of all time, and the mix is a heady concoction that provides an adrenaline rush like no other. Seven year old Daniel, puts down his thoughts on what has made this Canada holiday memorable. I think I should follow suit. There are about a million wonderful emotions that cross my mind. Reading Daniel's progress report from his short swim course is one of them. Gathering the family and seniors and singing at Jackie and Ajit's house is another. Simply spending time with my sister and her wonderful family probably tops the list. I've enjoyed watching the young cousins get to know each other. The sound of their laughter, play and complaints fill our ears. It reminds me of my own childhood d