Poonch
Fort-a Symbol of the heritage
K.D. Maini
Poonch Fort is a symbol of the
heritage of Poonch district. This 248 year old
building had seen number of ups and downs, still
it remains intact. However during the earthquake
of 2005, Poonch Fort was badly damaged its
northern and western part constructed during
Muslim rule (1760-1787 AD) and Sikh rule (
1819-1845 AD) in Poonch was totally collapsed.
The frontal portion had also developed cracks in
such a way that it had not remained habitable and
out of 21 offices located in the Fort building 19
were shifted from the Fort. This building stands
on a mound which is 100 mt distance from South
Western Corner of the city. It has been built at
such place from where we can gauge and overlook
the whole valley of Poonch From Pir Pass (Panchal
range) in the east to Toli Pir in the west. The
Fort complex has been constructed on 21 kanal
piece of land. The Fort building is comprises of
69 rooms, these include four big halls, one
varanda, Tosha Khana, Goal Ghar ( office chambers
of Poonchi Raja’s) Temple, Mosque and
Gurdwara. There are four entrances in the Fort. . .....more
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Tiny Tots
Fashion shows
Aditi Singh
 "Chin
up, chin up, and walk fast. If you don't
walk fast, the show will be over before
you reach the end of the ramp" These
were the tips given to Omana Brooah
Pisharoty when she was walking the ramp
for the first time. Though Omana did well
at the show it will be at least another
15-year before she can make it as a
model. Omana is four and the show was
held at her play school.Walk down any
aisle at a high end department store and
you will find younger and younger
fashinoistas. The kids' section at
Shopper's Stop in Delhi is a labyrinth of
aisles spilling with pink sequins, satin
ribbons, trendy logos, strappy dresses
and even accessories. It is almost like
stumbling into a twilight zone of adult
and kiddy sizes.
If you thought your 13-year old was the
only fashion victim in town, think again
because the average age of such victim
has just gone lower. Five-year-old Siya
surprised her mother recently when she
asked for a pair of large and gaudy
hair-clips to take with her to school.
"Your teacher doesn't allow you to
wear those," the mother demurred.
"No, but I am going to wear them as
earrings and play 'fashion-fashion' with
my friends in the schools bus," Siya
replied
Fashion shows on television are taking
their toll on tots, aided and abetted by
a booming and aggressive children's
apparel market. Not surprisingly, boys
and girls in the 4-8 age groups are not
just deciding ... ....more
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Taking over as
director
it has changed my life in many ways:
aamir
 People sat up to take
notice when they discovered an Aamir Khan they
never knew - the director of Taare Zameen Par who
could pick up the directorial gauntlet to make a
film on the delicate and little-known problem of
dyslexia among children. Some felt he might go
back to where he began - acting in very few,
carefully chosen films, one at a time, in
characters as different from Mangal Pandey in The
Rising to the determined Bhuvan in Lagaan to the
cynical lover-boy in Dil Chahta Hai. Sorry, wrong
number. He has gone back to acting of course, but
he is now armed with the confidence of producing
a film without either directing or acting in it,
and all for the family - namely, to launch nephew
Imran Khan as hero. Shoma A. Chatterji pins down
the elusive actor for a few questions about his
new project Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na co-produced with
Mansoor Khan.
Has life changed after Taare Zameen Par?
Yes. Taking over as director of Taare Zamin Par
has changed my life in many ways. One of the
immediate ramifications was that I was no longer
available to Jaane Tu as sole producer. Jaane Tu
is important to me for more reasons than one. The
obvious reason is Imran. But the more delicate
one is that this would be the first film from
Aamir Khan Productions I would not be acting in.
As a production house, we intend to produce many
films where I will not be a part of the acting
cast. These films are as important . . ......more
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Dreams in motion
Sonali Srivastav
 Animated films have started
with their tryst with the Indian markets. Quite a
number of animated movies are being released
every year along with the staple number of
Bollywood releases. Last weeks release
Ghatotkoch, was again an animated film. The time
to release it was right as the vacations are on;
children budge their parents regularly for
outings, picnics and trips to the nearest mall.
Thus, Ghatotkoch might have a chance at the box
office window. It is an animated movie about a
mythological character from Mahabharata;
Ghatotkoch was Bhim's son from the giantess
Hidimba. Thus, being half giant and half human,
Ghatotkoch had magical powers.
Animation films don't have a mile stoned history
in India. The Japanese filmmaker Yugo Sako came
up with an animated version of the great Indian
mythological epic Ramayana in 1992 by the name
'Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama' which got a
lukewarm response in India. Later on many film
makers inculcated animation as an ingredient in
the films. Main Prem Ki Diwani Hu, Raju Chacha,
Hum Tum etc were the few . ........more
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Potato The
food for the future
Dr. Pragya Khanna
 The United Nations
has declared the year 2008 as the
International Year of Potato.
This global commemoration is
intended at increasing the
knowledge and understanding of
the importance of potato in
concentrating on issues of global
concern, including hunger,
poverty and threats to the
environment.
Today, the food prices are rising
globally, being compelled by
severe competition due to reduced
international supplies of wheat,
maize, rice, and other
agricultural commodities. As
concern grows over the risk of
food shortages and instability in
dozens of low-income countries,
global attention is turning to an
age-old crop that could help ease
the strain of food price
inflation. The compliant crop of
potato is potentially very useful
as it can be grown easily in many
parts of the world and is a rich
source of nutritious food. The
nutritional value of potato along
with its taste and ease of
cooking has made it the most
popular crop in the entire world.
Potato is a good source of
calories, hence people with low
income in many developing
countries, . . ......more
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Second Hand Smoke
K S Parthasarathy
Recently, Mrs and Mr Sebin, a lawyer
couple sued their fourth-floor neighbour,
claiming that smoke from her flat, entering the
common hallway was adversely affecting the health
of their young son. The affair ended when the
neighbor agreed to take steps to minimize the
spread of smoke.
The New York Times reported that hearing the news
of the suit, Aerus, former Electrolux company,
the manufacturer of an air-cleaning svstem came
forward to offer free equipment (air filters and
smokeless ashtray) to both the plaintiff and the
defendant ( The NYT, April 8, 2008).
Since 1986, specialists have published hundreds
of peer-reviewed studies and several additional
reports on the health effects of secondhand smoke
and the scientific evidence on these health
effects has become even stronger.
The report concluded that smoking is the single
greatest avoidable cause of disease and death.
Nonsmokers who are exposed to second had smoke at
home or work increase their heart disease risk by
25-30 percent and their lung cancer risk by 20-30
percent. Secondhand smoke exposure has immediate
adverse effects on the cardiovascular system. ........more
BABY Corn: A
Diversified Delicacy
Som Dutt
 Baby corn has
revolutionised our food habits by providing
diversified food items the world over. It comes
as a delicacy when used as salad and its
dressings, in soup, pickles, pakora, kofta,
tikki,burfi, laddoo, halwa, kheer, deeply fried
with meat, rice and other vegetables, and various
Chinese mouth-watering foods. Besides, baby corn
is an organic food since its edible portion is
protected byrevearal layers of husk. It is free
from any insecticide because itdoes not require
any frequent use of chemicals.
Baby corn is a young finger like unfertilized
cobeau of maizewith one to three centimeter long
emerged silk. The cobs 6-10 cm in length and
1.0-1.5 cm in diameter with regur rows are ideal
forconsumption. The cobs of creamish to very
light yellow coloured are preferred by both
domestic consumers and exporters and aprocessors.
The cobs or ears are harvested at silk emergence
stage. After dehusking the cobs are ready for
consumption either as fresh or canned vegetable.
The history of eating young cobs of maize is very
old. It has been eaten in Thailand, Taiwan, China
and Japan. In India, its addition as a food is
very new than other countries. Thailand, Taiwan,
Gautemala, . ......more
Remember me
at all times and fight
Lt Col R K Langar
 Message
of Gita is for all persons and for all
situations. That is why it is accepted by
saints and seers that even a single verse
of Bhagavad Gita acts on man like a
preceptor or a Guru, what to talk about
Gita as a whole scripture whose influence
on man is unbelievable. There are certain
verses in the Gita which are so potent
that even a portion out of them tell us
how to elevate ourselves while living in
the world. Take for example verse 7 of
chapter 8 whose opening line reads
“Remember me at all times and
fight” which is the subject matter
of this write up. The complete verse
reads like this “Therefore remember
me at all times and fight with your mind
and intellect devoted to me, shall attain
me alone, there is no doubt about
this.”
There are two distinct things in opening
of line of this verse . One is Remember
me (God) at all times and two is fight,
which need to be elucidated. That does
Remember Me at all times mean. Can you
put your mind on work if you are
remembering God at all times. Is it
possible for a man living in the world to
remember God at all times and at the same
times perform his day to day work. There
are some of . .
...more
Real Estate
Mutual Funds
Ram Anand
 New chapter of real
estate funds under Mutual Funds banner is
expected with big bang by virtue of new
regulations framed by SEBI (Stock
Exchange Board Of India).
Which states " real estate mutual
fund scheme" means a mutual fund
scheme that invests directly or
indirectly in real estate assets or other
permissible assets in accordance with
regulation. Which means an identifiable
immovable property which is located
within India in such city as may be
specified by the board from time to time
or in a special economic zone on which
construction is complete and which is
usable, which is evidenced by valid title
documents, legally transferable, free
from all encumbrances and not subject
matter of any litigation.
SEBI does not allow the projects under
construction or vacant land, deserted
property, land specified for agricultural
use, property which is reserved or
attached by any government or other
authority or pursuant orders of a court
of law or the acquisition of which is
otherwise prohibited ........more
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