MONDAY 11 DECEMBER 2017

CAMPUS | 3 BOLLYWOOD | 11

Rajagiri Public School holds Annual KG Sports Meet

Been granted all my wishes in this

life: SRK

P | 4-5

Find ways of being a host/hostess entertaining and not exhausting this holiday.

GIVE YOURSELFA BREAK

CAMPUSMONDAY 11 DECEMBER 2017 03

The Little Kingdom of Rajagiri Public School conducted its Annual Sports Meet on Decem-

ber 7. It was an occasion for the tiny tots to have a fun filled competition. They took part with so much enthusi-asm and enjoyed it irrespective of winning or losing. The winners were honoured and others were encouraged.

The teachers helped them take vic-tory with humility and defeat with grace. The right spirit of competition kept them going and the day ended

with victory for everyone. The crowd applauded and the parents encouraged as the little ones set the track on fire. Kajal, HOD, Shalini the PE teacher and the staff worked as a team. Vimala Jacob, the management member inau-gurated the meet by cutting the ribbon and releasing balloons.

The principal and JInsuAju, the management representative were also present. The cheer girls’ dance, mass drill and ribbon dance, conducted by the little ones kept everyone entertained.

Rajagiri Public School holds Annual KG Sports Meet

ACS Doha, proudly celebrated their 6th Annual Interna-tional Day by hosting an

‘International Mindedness Fair’ bringing together families and numourous members of the school community including 900 students, over 100 parents and 150 teachers and school staff. ‘International Mindedness Fair’ took place on November 26th at the ACS Doha Campus, also marking 50 years of excellence for the ACS International Schools group.

Amongst the numourous activ-ities that took place around campus was a national anthem parade where students from different nationalities sang each others’ national anthems, as well as a food fest – the ‘International Café’ which was segmented into continents, fea-tured a variety of different cuisines from more than 70 countries.

Moreover, lower school students were assigned a “host country” per classroom for which they had to research the assigned country’s his-tory, cultures and traditions and pass on that knowledge onto their classmates through a variety of stimulating games and activities.

Additionally, the programme also featured multiple perform-ances organised and presented by the student body including a choir performance by the 5th grade, for-lklore and traditional routines inspired by a number of different cultures as well as a closing ‘Music on Steps’ band performance by middle and high-school students.

Head of School, Robert Cody said: “This day is always one of the best days of the year for us, it’s a day of pride and inclusion. We wanted to celebrate international mindedness this year as we’d like

to promote the different stages of being ‘internationally minded’. One is to appreciate your own culture, and a big part of today is that eve-ryone is celebrating themselves and are proud of their own cultures and traditions – holding on to that pride and celebrating it away from home is the type of environment we’d like to maintain. The second part is to get to know other cultures, learn more about them and celebrate them - which this day fully embodies.

He continued: “Qatar is one of the most diverse countries in the world, and no matter where you’re from you’ll always feel included and always feel at home – this is the type of environment that ACS Doha promises to uphold for generations to come.”

The Head of the Organisation Committee, Chantal Theron, added:

“The purpose of International Fair has always been a moment for us to celebrate all the cultural diver-sity in our school and give every single child a chance to celebrate their own heritage, as well as oth-ers. This year, we’re mainly focusing on ‘International Mindedness’ – particularly pertaining to how citizens of each country reach out to others across the world and share each others’ cultures and traditions. We’re very proud of this fair’s suc-cess in embodying ‘International Mindedness’ and we look forward to next year being an even greater one.”

The organisation of Interna-tional Mindedness Fair was a joint effort by the Parent-School Organ-isation (PSO), members of the school Organisation Committee, school staff as well as the student body.

ACS Doha brings families at Annual International Mindedness Fair

COVER STORY MONDAY 11 DECEMBER 201704

The Washington Post

Hosting a party can seri-ously drain your energy and budget, but it doesn’t have to. Why should guests

have all the fun?Just in time for holiday hosting

season, a lifestyle expert and a pro-fessional event planner share their tips for stress-free entertaining.

“Forget the idea that a holiday party needs to be an over-the-top affair,” says Brittany Pattner, a cre-ative director for the lifestyle brand Goop who designs the brand’s retail spaces and oversees its events. “At the end of the day, your guests are there for you. If you’re in the spirit, they’re in the spirit.”

New York event planner to the stars Bronson van Wyck agrees.

“The host’s energy is infectious,” he says. “People want to see you hav-ing a good time. They don’t want to

see you frazzled, and they don’t want to not see you because you’re stuck in the kitchen.”

Here are nine tips to lighten your load so you can really let loose.

1. Be realistic.Too often, hosts bite off more

than they can chew and spend the evening playing catch-up. So go easy on yourself. If a three-course dinner feels out of reach, plan something low-maintenance, such as a brunch before your local holi-day parade or a low-key after-party. That way, you can ride the adren-aline of a big event without having to carry it all yourself. Van Wyck’s holiday get-together is more of a late-night blowout. Usually held the Saturday before Christmas, he doesn’t get going until 9:30pm so that it feels less like an obligation and more like a destination for peo-ple. “It’s loud music and low lighting,” he says. “It’s a proper party. At this time of year, people

want to take the edge off.”2. Make a thoughtful guest

list.Van Wyck has thrown parties

for Madonna, major art museums and several presidents, and he always begins with the guest list:

“Great guests make a great party, full stop.” Invite a mix of close friends and outgoing acquaintances so all you need to do is make introduc-tions, and welcome guests to bring a friend so long as it isn’t a formal dinner. It’ll be easier on you in the end; nobody likes to babysit. And encourage folks to leave politics at the door. After a year of high ten-sions, most people just want to kick back and have fun. That’s how it was done when van Wyck was one of Washington’s go-to planners. In 2001, after serving as head of events for the Democratic National Con-vention, he planned George W. Bush’s inaugural ball. “Best-case scenario, a great party reminds us

how much we have in common and sends us back to work the next day with a little more compassion,” he says.

3. Set the mood, simply.Forget spending a fortune on

extravagant decorations, and keep your focus to lighting and music. Simple string lights can transform a dull space, making it glow with warmth and charm. A little back-ground music does wonders to put guests at ease, so make an invit-ing playlist and position your speakers so the sounds fill the room. This way you’ll have con-trol over the mood, whether you need to turn it up or tone it down. For a festive touch, Pattner scat-ters white faux gourds and pumpkins and clusters of cream-colored taper candles around the room. “They’re neutral and ele-gant,” she says, and, unlike fresh flowers, she doesn’t have to worry about them dying.

Entertaining doesn’t have to be exhausting

COVER STORYMONDAY 11 DECEMBER 2017 05

4. O u t s o u r c e y o u r tabletop.

New start-ups such as Table + Teaspoon and Borrowed Blu make it easy to rent and return prear-ranged tablescapes so you can throw a stylish dinner party with-out stressing over your dishware. Choose from a menu of dinner party themes with coordinating flatware, linens, candles and more, starting at $24 per setting. It’s remarkably easy: Place your order a week in advance and mail the supplies back when you’re done. If you need only a few pieces, such as extra chairs or a buffet table, try a local event vendor. Basic folding chairs typically cost as little as $1 each; fancier chairs can cost $6 to $8 each. Although it’s perfectly acceptable to mix and match decor, try not to go overboard. Pattner hosted 20 guests for Thanksgiving dinner and opted for black chairs with white cushions. “If you mix and match everything, it feels like a hodgepodge,” she said. “Vary the

dishware or the furniture, but not both.”

5. Delegate.If a full menu is over your head,

consider catering your party or del-egating dishes to friends for a potluck. A potluck is a nice way to make people feel involved in a more casual evening. Make it com-petitive by asking a few of your most culinarily inclined friends to bring one of the same dish, such as eggnog or Christmas pudding, and then vote on a winning recipe. Pat-tner orders pies from a bakery in her neighbourhood. “As much as I’d love to be a good baker, I’m not going to attempt four pies for one party,” she says. “I make the dishes

I love to make and then order the rest.”

6. Prepare the room.You’ll never enjoy your party if

you’re on high alert, watching for spills or fragile items breaking, so clear the general area where you’ll be entertaining. Stow away pre-cious pieces such as glasses or vases, and protect fabric furniture with a blanket or slipcover.

7. Serve the classics.If you aren’t going to hire help

in the kitchen, choose dishes you can prepare ahead of time and serve at room temperature. And don’t feel pressured to drum up a creative menu. Around the holi-days, people tend to expect classic,

somewhat sentimental dishes such as mashed potatoes and stuffing.

“Most of us aren’t eating these dishes regularly, so I make them the old-fashioned way, with whole milk and real butter,” Pattner says.

“There’s nostalgia in those tastes and smells.”

8. Hire cleaners.They might feel like a splurge,

but cleaners can be worth every penny even if you’ve got a tight budget. Most professional compa-nies will charge $90 to $150 to clean a 1,000-square-foot apartment or the equivalent. “Nothing takes away hosting stress more than knowing you’ll have a clean house the next morning,” van Wyck says.

A potluck is a nice way to make people feel involved in a more casual evening.

COMMUNITY MONDAY 11 DECEMBER 201706

Division ‘J Toastmasters in Qatar recently conducted an educational workshop

“Get out of your Comfort Zone”. Division J Toastmasters in Qatar has strength of over 330 members spread over 13 Clubs grouped in 4 areas, and boasts of a multicultural mix of members.

The educational workshop centred on preparing for Toast-masters Speech Contests, Speech Evaluation, Table Topics Speech, Humorous Speech and the Inter-national Speech Contests. These modules were delivered by TM Singaraju KS, TM Abhishek Chat-topadhyay and TM Vinod Pisharom, all of whom are senior Toastmas-ters with a reputed experience in winning Speech Contests and mentoring.

Division J Director, TM Venkatesan Kulandaivelu men-tioned that this Educational Workshop would motivate most Toastmasters in preparing for the forthcoming Speech Contests, eventually leading to the Toast-masters International World Championship of Public Speaking

which will be held in Chicago in 2018. Asst. Division J Director (Pro-gram Quality) TM Sudhir Gujar mentioned that Division J hoped to see a World Champion repre-senting Qatar in the coming years as there was lot of potential among Toastmasters in Qatar.

The workshop was graced by District 20 Program Quality Direc-tor DTM Rajeswar Sundaresan, who was delighted to see the par-ticipation and mentioned that the workshop was uniquely presented, for the benefit of all Toastmasters.

Toastmasters International is a non-profit, educational organ-isation. Since 1924, it has been recognised as the leading organ-i s a t i o n d e d i c a t e d t o communication and leadership skill development. Through its worldwide network of clubs, each week Toastmasters helps more than a quarter million people of every ethnicity, education level and profession build their com-petence in communication so they can gain the confidence to lead others.

Division J Toastmasters conducts Educational Workshop

The 28th Doha International Book Fair con-

cluded on December 5 with the participa-tion of local and international publish-ers. More than 300 publishing houses were represented in the Fair that displayed books from many lan-guages, apart from Arabic. Book lovers including Qataris and the expatriates visited the Fair in large numbers even on the concluding day. An impressive collection of Malayalam books of eminent writers includ-ing novels, story books, poetry and other were available at the Fair.

Kendran, a novel in Malayalam, written by Dr Sabu KC was also on display at the Fair. “The book has won the attention of Malayalees in Qatar,” observed the author who visited the book

fair. “The feedback on the book from the read-ers from different walks of life has been very encouraging. Simplicity of the language and style of presentation are aspects recognised by many readers who enjoyed reading Kendran. People other than Malayalees also have shown interest in knowing about this book after reading and

listening to the reviews and news reports from the media including radio and newspapers. Some of them, residing in Qatar, even went one step further, asking whether the book was available in English as well,” he added.

Published by National Book Stall, the novel Kendran portrays the changes over the years in the lives of the people due to technological inno-vations, advent of industries, trade and commerce, in the historical and legendary vil-lage Thrikkakara in Kanayannur Taluk of Ernakulam district in the Indian State of Kerala.

Kendran won the Kanam Foundation Novel award for the Best Pravasi novel in 2015. The book is available in the malls of Qatar. The author Dr Sabu KC, son of KV Chakkapan and Mariamma Chakkappan, hails from Kangara-pady near Thirkkakara, Ernakulam in the Indian State of Kerala. He is currently working with Gulf Times in Doha, Qatar. His family includes wife Lipsy Sabu, a teacher at Ideal Indian School, daughters Arunima, Ananya and Arya.

Encouraging feedback on novel ‘Kendran’ at Book Fair

CAMPUSMONDAY 11 DECEMBER 2017 07

All four campuses of Olive Inter-national School (OIS) zeroed in at the sprawling Umm Salal

Ali campus on December 8 and 9 to celebrate “Olivenite” – the school’s 4th Annual Day with significant dig-nitaries and over 4,000 people which included 2,170 students of this fastest growing school in Qatar. The large, supportive and enthusiastic audience was treated with an impres-sive line-up of events. On December 8, along with our dynamic Board Members; the first day of “Olivenite” was graced by dignitaries that included Sheikh Abdullah bin Ahmed Al Thani, Director, Um Salal Munic-ipality as the Chief Guest, CK Krishnan, Chief of Wholesale Bank-ing, Doha Bank as the Guest of Honor and Lt Muteb Ali Al Qahtani, Hussain Qassim, Faisal Al Hudawi, from Juve-nile Dept, Ministry of Interior as the special guests.

On December 9, the second day was graced by our esteemed Chief

Guest of the day, His Excellency P Kumaran, Ambassador of India to Qatar. Capt Fazal Saleh Ahmed, MOI as Guest of Honor, TV Saeed Hudawi

– Head, Dept of Islamic Studies, YobeState University, Lt Mubarak Shareedah Al Mutlaq and Dr Baha-hudeen from MOI as the special guests.

“Olivenite” commenced with

humble prayers offered to the Lord Almighty for His perpetual blessings and compassion; traditional ‘lighting of the lamp’ parallel with the School Choir rendering a devotional melody to invoke the choicest sanctifications of the ever-present Almighty.

As part of the formal agenda, Vice-Principal, Geetha Somasheka-ran, welcomed the gathering and OIS

Principal, Jacob KM articulately pre-senting the school Annual Report. Additionally, inspirational speeches were delivered by the Chief Guest HH Sheikh Abdullah bin Ahmed Al Thani and Guest of Honour CK Krishnan on December 8 and His Excellency P Kumaran on December 9; OIS Board Member Juttas Paul led the felicitation ceremony of the Chief Guests on Day one and two.

The Chief Guest, His Excellency in his speech congratulated the efforts of the management, staff and students that has been put in,as he was astonished to see such a tremen-dous growth of OIS in such a short span of time. “Education is a key to open a child’s future” he quoted and said overall challenge for any insti-tution is to make a child feel enjoyable while learning than while playing. In conclusion, he advised the gathering to urge children to work hard to lead a balanced life, not too much play not too much hard work.

At least 99 students from var-ious Indian schools attended the Differential

Aptitude Test (DAT) conducted by Centre for Information and Guid-ance India (CIGI) Doha Chapter in association with MES off Campus Centre at MES Indian School, Abu Hamour. The session was con-ducted during two days in three segments which included the moti-vational talk on career planning, aptitude test and individual coun-selling led by career counseling experts Adv. Issuddin K K and

Jamaluddin. The motivational talk on career planning by Mohammed Faisal Career Coordinator of CIGI Doha it helped the parents and stu-dents understand the different aspects in choosing right career path that suits the aptitude, skills and passion of children as they are planning for future life. He observed that most people land in wrong career in their profession life due to lack of scientific career planning. During his inaugural speech CIGI International Chair-man Mohammed Firoz stressed the

importance of reading habits among the students and requested parents to become role models for their children. In his presidential address CIGI Doha Vice Chairman Hammad Abdul Rahiman reminded students to look around for opportunities ahead and moti-vated students to take up challenges in life.

Students of 9-12 grades from MES Indian School (40 Nos), Ideal Indian School (21), Birla Public School (18), DPS-Modern Indian School (9), Doha Modern Indian School (6),

Shantiniketan Indian School (4) Noble International School (1) attended the test.

MES Managing Committee Sen-ior Vice President and CIGI Doha Senior Visionary K Abdul Kareem and MES Off Campus Administrator Manmadan Mampally made felici-tation remarks during the event. Yoosaf Vannarath, CIGI HR Coordi-nator of CIGI Doha introduced the career counselors. DAT Coordinator Faizal A K welcomed the gathering and CIGI –Doha Treasurer Ruknu-din Abdulla proposed vote of thanks.

OIS celebrates ‘Olivenite’ - 4th Annual Day

CIGI aptitude test motivates students to choose right career path

HEALTH / BEAUTY MONDAY 11 DECEMBER 201708

Most people associate win-ter with dry skin. To counter the flaking skin,

exfoliate your lips, face and body once a week, and don’t forget your sunscreen, suggest experts.

Pallavi Mehra, Marketing Manager at VanityCask, and Arzoo Shah, make-up artist at MyGlamm, have shared how:

Exfoliate lips: Treat your une-ven dry and chapped lips with luxurious lip scrub pertaining feed for one’s lips with essential plant extracts. Fuse ground cof-fee with brown sugar and macadamia oil to get a pout as soft as velvet.

Cream-based blushes: To bring back that healthy flush and imperceptible glow this winter, cream blush is the need of the hour. A hint of both colour and moisture formula giving cheeks

a three dimensional look bring the contours of the cheeks forward.

Hydrating primer: A light-weight, serum-like textured primer provides a great canvas for make-up. An illuminating primer mattifies skin for that extra dose of radiance.

SPF: Applying sunscreen to your face and hands every morn-ing is essential. If you are anxious about the chemicals in sun-screens with high SPF, you can opt for children’s sunscreen as it’s just as effective and extra gen-tle on your skin.

Exfoliate: Between the cold, damp air outside and the dry indoor heating, your skin cells are majorly dehydrated, which can lead to a build-up of dead skin that can eventually clog your pores.

Researchers have found a new drug that reduces fibrosis (scar-

ring) and prevents loss of muscle function in an ani-mal model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).

The researchers from Saint Louis University (SLU) in the US, in a paper pub-lished in the Nature journal Scientific Reports, said this could provide a promising approach in designing new medications for those suffer-ing from DMD.

DMD is a fatal form of a muscle wasting disorder that is caused by mutations in a gene on the X chromosome.

With treatment, those with DMD have an average lifespan of around 25 years. Boys with the illness typi-cally need to use a wheelchair by age 12 and require mechanical ventila-tion to help with breathing.

Thomas Burris and Colin Flaveny from Saint Louis University aim to develop synthetic compounds to tar-get these receptors in order to create drugs to treat dis-eases by understanding how the body’s natural hormones operate. REV-ERB regulates key processes in the body, from sleep to cholesterol, and, most recently, muscle regeneration.

The team showed that REV-ERB is a regulator of muscle differentiation and that a drug that inhibits this receptor, called SR8278, stimulates muscle regener-ation after acute injury.

The research team also discovered that SR8278 increased lean mass and muscle function and decreased muscle fibrosis and muscle protein degra-dation in mice.

New drug prevents loss of muscle function

Exfoliate & apply sunscreen to get rid of dry skin

Older mothers may up risk of infertility in daughtersIANS

Women who delay motherhood are likely to increase the risk of damaging the fertility of their

daughters, a study has warned.The findings showed that female fer-

tility declines with age because genetic damage accumulates in a woman’s eggs. This genetic damage that builds up in older eggs gets passed on to daughters, reduc-ing the quality of their own egg, reports the Guardian.

Importantly, the age of the women’s fathers had no significant effect.

“A mother’s reproductive age is impor-tant not only for herself, but it will determine to a certain extent the chances of her daughter or daughters being infer-tile,” Peter Nagy, from Reproductive Biology Associates in Atlanta, was quoted as saying. The age of menopause varies, but is typically around 50. The nearer a woman is to menopause when she gives birth, the higher the chance her daughter

will have impaired fertility The research-ers, presenting the results at the American Society of Reproductive Medicine in New Orleans, said it was too early to predict the impact of the effect.

However, they fear the trend for cou-ples to put off starting families until their mid-30s and beyond will see increasing numbers of young women needing fer-tility treatment simply because they were born to older mothers. In the study, women who had on average slightly younger parents, with fathers aged 28.2 and mothers aged 25.7 became pregnant, while women, whose parents were on average 31.9 and 28.2, failed to get pregnant

Further, women who failed to con-ceive were born to mothers who were on average five years closer to the menopause. They were born when their mothers were an average of 19.6 years away from the menopause, compared with 24.7 years for women who did get pregnant.

FOODMONDAY 11 DECEMBER 2017 09

Charlotte DruckmanThe Washington Post

This is a quintessential slow-cooked, cold-weather comfort dish; Once you’ve assembled all the ingredients and

quickly seared off your meat, there’s little left to do. It practi-cally cooks itself.

6 servings

Ingredients4 pounds boneless beef short

ribs, cut into 2-inch lengths (can use bone-in)

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more as needed

5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

8 cloves garlic1 1/2 cups canned Italian plum

tomatoes, with their juices, pref-erably no-salt-added or low-sodium

2 medium-to-large carrots, cut crosswise into very thin coins (2 cups)

2 large yellow onions, thinly sliced (3 cups)

8 whole cloves1/2 packed cup chopped flat-

leaf parsley3/4 cup balsamic vinegar3 tablespoons tomato paste2 tablespoons light brown

sugar2 teaspoons salt, or more as

needed1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne

pepper3 to 6 cups low-sodium beef

broth

StepsSeason the short ribs gener-

ously with black pepper. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or heavy pot with a lid over medium heat. Once the oil shim-mers, add the short ribs and brown them, 3 or 4 at a time, on all sides. Transfer them to a paper-towel-lined platter to drain as you work.

Return half of the ribs to the pot (off the heat). Scatter with half the garlic cloves, then layer half of each vegetable (the tomatoes and their juices, carrots and onions), in order, over the meat. Add 4 whole cloves and sprinkle with half the parsley. Repeat with remaining meat and other ingre-dients, ending with a layer of chopped parsley.

Stir together the vinegar, tomato paste, brown sugar, salt, the 1 teaspoon of black pepper and the cayenne pepper in a liq-uid measuring cup. Pour over the meat and vegetables and then add enough of the broth to cover.

Place over medium heat. Once the liquid starts to bubble, cover with the lid and transfer to the oven. Bake/cook (middle rack) for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until meat is very tender.

Taste; add salt and/or pepper, as needed. Serve warm.

Nutrition: Per serving (using no-salt-added tomatoes): 680 cal-ories, 66 g protein, 20 g carbohydrates, 39 g fat, 14 g sat-urated fat, 240 mg cholesterol, 1,180 mg sodium, 4 g dietary fiber, 12 g sugar.

Braised beef short ribs

HOLLYWOOD MONDAY 11 DECEMBER 201710The Washington Post

While television offered more than enough escape from the anxie-

ties and outrages of life in 2017, it also found plenty of contextual and thematic relevance to kick around

- sometimes intentional, sometimes just coincidental.

All I know is I’ve never had a better time doing my job, or a harder time picking my yearly favorites. Here they are:

1. “Twin Peaks: The Return” (Showtime) I couldn’t have been more skeptical about

letting David Lynch (and his co-cre-ator Mark Frost) run wild for an 18-hour sequel to their ground-breaking yet befuddlingly complex 1990 series. Now I’m a believer. Some say this crazy and exquisitely realized work counts as Lynch’s best film, but I claim it as a triumph for TV - surprisingly linear in its serialised plot, yet mind-blowingly spot-on in its rumination on such subjects as evil, atomic weaponry and the very nature of existence. Years from now, museums will show it on a continuous loop.

2. “The Handmaid’s Tale” (Hulu) This unforgettably chilling adaptation of Mar-

garet Atwood’s novel arrived with disturbing resonance in an Ameri-can culture contending with baby-faced nationalists, presiden-tial propaganda and threats to women’s rights. In any other head space, it would simply be a terrific TV show - with a career-defining lead performance from Elisabeth Moss. In 2017, however, it was

something more vital, as it seeded the story with added hints of a resistance afoot in Gilead, the the-ocratically fascist country once known as the USA.

3. “The Vietnam War” (PBS) Years in the making, Ken Burns and Lynn Novick’s

10-part documentary series took viewers back through the many decades of diplomatic blunders that led to America’s misguided war in Vietnam. Aided by innovative approaches to music and tone, the filmmakers displayed their master-ful melding of history and humanity, presenting the story in a calmly fac-tual and thoroughly absorbing manner that is increasingly rare. Some quibbled with it, but, in the era of “fake news,” it was reassur-ing to see a project so thoroughly devoted to sticking to the facts.

4. “Big Little Lies” (HBO) With a touch of feminist resil-ience for viewers who can’t

quite stomach “The Handmaid’s Tale,” this seven-episode miniseries features an unlikely assembly of

heroines (played by Reese Wither-spoon, Nicole Kidman, Shailene Woodley, Laura Dern and Zoe Krav-itz) who are swept up in a backward-spun murder mystery (based on Liane Moriarty’s novel) that takes place in a well-off coastal community. It’s a moody and addic-tive deep-dive on relationships, class and envy.

5. “Better Things” (FX) The ignominy of co-creator Louis C.K.’s sexual-miscon-

duct revelations shouldn’t mar Pamela Adlon’s brilliantly self-assured and refreshingly surly dramedy about a single mom, based loosely on her own experiences. (FX feels likewise; C.K. is no longer associated with any of the net-work’s shows.) Like “Insecure,”

“Better Things” went from being a fine show to a truly excellent (and fearless) one, achieving that rare quality of making a viewer feel like part of the family. This season also gave us one of the year’s funniest scenes, as Adlon’s Sam fends off advances from a good friend’s

ex-husband (Greg Cromer) with the ultimate no-means-no reproach.

6. “GLOW” (Netflix) Another show about women dis-covering their own

strength? Absolutely. Created by Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch (and executive produced by “Orange Is the New Black’s” Jenji Kohan), this semi-fictional take on the mid-1980s dawn of the “Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling” circuit could be viewed as a direct blow to the misogynistic tendencies of then and now. But mostly it’s just a hoot to watch, thanks to a superb ensem-ble cast headed by Alison Brie as Ruth, an out-of-work actress try-ing too hard to please Sam (Marc Maron), a sleazoid movie director.

“GLOW” has a nice fighting spirit about it and an ample supply of characters to root for - even the heels.

7. “The Young Pope” (HBO) Eleven months after it aired, I remain awestruck by Ital-

ian filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino’s beautiful (if confounding) 10-part series about a dilettante American cardinal, Lenny Belardo (Jude Law, in a wickedly disciplined perform-ance), who becomes a surprise pick for pope. With his radical reorder-ing of protocol, Lenny, now Pope Pius XIII, alienates some and gal-vanizes others. Silvio Orlando is especially good as Cardinal Voiello, the Vatican’s secretary of state, who belatedly sees divinity in Lenny’s capricious rule. As the series builds, a sense of spiritual calm takes over, unlike anything else I watched this year (except maybe that “Leftovers” finale).

Best TV shows of 2017

BOLLYWOODMONDAY 11 DECEMBER 2017 11

IANS

Punjab Chief Minister Ama-rinder Singh made it clear that he would not stop the

screening of the controversial film “Padmavati” in the state.

He also reiterated his com-mitment to provide a level playing field to all media organ-isations in the state.

In his inaugural address at the two-day national meet of journalists being organised by The Tribune Employees Union, Chandigarh in coordination with the Confederation of News-paper and the News Agency Employees Organisation, the Chief Minister categorically

rejected the threats against the makers of “Padmavati” as wrong.

He said the state govern-ments concerned should have acted against those issuing such threats. “Such people should have been locked up,” he stressed. “It’s a free country, with free business opportunity for all,” he said, adding it was the responsibility of the produc-ers to ensure that history “is projected in its correct perspec-tive”. “While different historical perspectives can be there, any attempt to completely falsify historical facts cannot be toler-ated,” he added.

This, said the Chief Minister,

becomes even more necessary in the current age when children acquire knowledge through the audio-visual medium rather than by reading.

As far as Punjab was con-cerned, there would be no bar on the release of “Padmavati” as anything can be shown here as long as it does not hurt religious sentiments, he said.

Referring to the restrictions imposed on the media by the previous government in Punjab, Amarinder Singh said his gov-ernment did not believe in such censorship and would immedi-ately clear the formalities for any media organisation wish-ing to operate in the state.

Actor Shahrukh Khan (pic-tured) has nothing to ask for from life as he says all

his wishes have been granted to him.

During an ‘AskSRK’ session on Twitter, a fan asked the actor:

“If you met a genie, what three wishes would you ask for?”

Shah Rukh responded: “I think I have already met the genie and it has granted all my wishes in this life.”

The actor enjoys superstar status in the Hindi film industry, and is one of the most popular faces from Bollywood around the world. When one user asked him,

“If you had all the money in the world but still had to have some kind of job, what would you choose to do?”, the 52-year-old actor replied: “Babysit”.

A doting father, Shahrukh is often seen with his youngest son Abram at various galas. He said he enjoys “kid parties”.

Yesterday night, Shahrukh made his small screen comeback as host of “TED Talks India Nayi Soch”, which brings ingenious and a diverse mix of speakers who shared inspiring ideas.

Shahrukh hopes the show gets a wide reach and said: “If there is a second season, we will cover a lot more topics. Let’s hope this season is accepted and we can build on it.”

Being a part of the show has been enriching for Shahrukh.

“I realised that an idea is not big or small. It’s actually how it changes people’s life for better that makes it big,” he said.

A fan asked him how it feels to be coming back on television. Shahrukh said: “To me, to par-ticipate in what makes me happy is important. TV, stage, films all same for me.

Bollywood actor Salman Khan (pictured), who is here with other actors—Sonakshi

Sinha, Prabhu Deva and Kriti Sanon—for “Dabangg-The Tour”, says he never thought veteran actors like Vinod Khanna and Shashi Kapoor, will “ever leave us alone”.

In the light of “Dabangg 3” releasing in March next year, which also had Vinod Khanna essaying the role of his father in the earlier instalments of

“Dabangg”, his passing away this

year and Shashi Kapoor breathing his last earlier this week, Salman expressed his sadness here on Sat-urday at a press conference.

Salman said: “It is really sad. When VK (Vinod Khanna) sir’s health became bad and we lost him... It is a great loss to the film industry and to his family and now Shashi uncle too is gone. Which is really sad, we never thought that the heroes we worshipped, could ever leave us alone.”

“But still when we see their films and photographs, they are still there between us and I believe they are immortal. I still can’t fathom the fact that VK sir is gone. I believe he is still there amongst us,” Salman said. Speaking on the challenges the tour which has till now travelled to foreign shores like Auckland, London, Australia and Hong Kong faced as it has a number of Bollywood stars on board, Salman says it’s the task of

“organising the dates from every-one” which is “a huge challenge”.

“Everyone is really busy so, bringing everyone together on a particular date is a huge task.” he said.

Been granted all my wishes in this life: SRK

Punjab not to ban screening of ‘Padmavati’: Amarinder

Never thought heroes we worshipped would ever leave us: Salman Khan

GARDENING MONDAY 11 DECEMBER 201712

The Washington Post

In the weeks leading up to festive season, one plant seems to come out of the woodwork to redefine

the whole festive landscape.The red and green poinsettia is

as timeless as Bing Crosby croon-ing “White Christmas,” though the appearance of more than 30 mil-lion plants is anything but automatic. Since the spring, skilled but nerv-ous growers across the land have been raising one of their most eco-nomically important, and finicky, crops.

This is only one aspect of poin-settia dynamics. Since a canny California cut-flower grower named Paul Ecke Sr came up with the idea of the poinsettia as a pot-ted plant for the holidays, breeders have been trying to perfect it.

Some of the shifts have been aesthetic: decorator poinsettias in lime green, ivory or burgundy, poinsettias whose petal-like bracts are flecked, marbled, splashed and otherwise turned into something that will spur your Aunt Mabel to wonder what they will think of next.

Other breeding improvements are not obvious to consumers but critical to growers and retailers in the way the plant can be grown and shipped and hold up outside the greenhouse.

As recently as 20 years ago or so, poinsettias were seen as the plant you hoped would not break apart or drop most of its leaves before Santa arrived.

But over the past two to three years, consumers have seen a con-spicuous shift in the look of the

poinsettia. The classic ebullient poinsettias still predominate, espe-cially the reds, but you may notice some curiously different plants. They are smaller and more com-pact but effervescent with spear-shaped petals that appear in whorls layered one on top of the other. (Poinsettia “flowers” are botanically bracts that surround the true flowers.) The range of varie-ties is still limited—more are in the works—but already they are avail-able in both soft and vivid pinks, the latter with a neon glow. They’re so hot, they’re cool.

The smaller and floriferous new varieties are hybrids between this species and another, a summer bloomer named the dogwood poin-settia (Euphorbia cornastra). Rarely seen, either in the wild or in culti-vation, specimens were collected from Mexico in the early 1990s by graduate students at the University of Texas. One of them was Alice Le Duc, who saw the potential value

of the clear white flowers in cross-breeding with the Christmas poinsettia, and she passed some of her stock to the breeders at the Ecke Ranch. (The company has since been sold to a European breeder, Dümmen Orange, but maintains its own breeding program.) The new hybrids are now reaching consum-ers in three separate brands: Princettia, from Suntory Flowers; Luv U Pink, from the Paul Ecke Ranch; and J’Adore, from Dümmen

Orange.John Dole, who coordinates

North Carolina State University’s poinsettia trials program, sees the hybrids as a milestone in the his-tory of the poinsettia. “It’s pretty major, and it could be on a par with some of the other breakthroughs,” he said. These include poinsettias that hold their leaves and grow bushy without having to pinch stems.

A dogwood poinsettia that McLaughlin grew from seed he received from Le Duc is central to the exhibit, though it looks pretty pro-saic—a lanky vase-shaped shrub with small white bract clusters. Ironically, it is the rarest plant in the room. There are far fewer specimens of this in botanic gardens than the much-hyped corpse flower, which always draws TV cameras and crowds.

Le Duc, who now teaches at Texas State University, said a well-grown plant in the house could keep bloom-ing until April. It is this stamina and the strong pink colors that prompted Dümmen Orange to pitch the hybrids in Europe as a plant for the Valentine’s Day and Easter markets. This hasn’t been successful to date.

It seems breeders will have to work on more red varieties if the hybrids are to reach their Yuletide potential. Gardening Tip: Once fresh Christmas trees are brought indoors, they should have an uninterrupted column of water to prevent them from drying out and becoming a fire haz-ard. Before setting up and decorating, make a fresh cut at the base and check water levels daily. Trees take in a lot of water in their first 24 hours.

Once fresh festive season trees are brought indoors, they should have an uninterrupted column of water to prevent them from drying out and becoming a fire hazard.

Dreaming of a white (or pink) poinsettia?

MONDAY 11 DECEMBER 2017 13SCIENCE / TECHNOLOGY

Britain will set the mini-mum standards for the content for younger users

that social media giants, includ-ing Facebook and Twitter have on their platform. According to a report by The Telegraph, Face-book and Twitter will have to adapt their websites for younger users after ministers caved in to a campaign by peers and chil-dren’s charities.

The government will legis-late for a code of practice setting out minimum standards for the

“age-appropriate design” of sites, with companies failing to abide by the rules facing the possibil-ity of large fines, the report said.

The move comes three days after British Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt warned a social media giant to stay away from his children. He was speaking against Messenger Kids for under-13 children to video chat

and message with family and friends launched by Facebook last week.

“Facebook told me they would come back with ideas to prevent underage use of their product, but instead they are actively targeting younger children.

“Stay away from my kids please Facebook and act respon-sibly!” Hunt tweeted. The report said that people who support the move of introducing a code of practice said the safeguards would include applying the high-est possible privacy settings to children’s accounts by default so their information is not automat-ically made public.

The move would also ensure terms and conditions are written

“in a language children will under-stand” so they will know what will happen to content they post and how they can get it removed.

The annual Geminid meteor shower has arrived and it will put on a dazzling show for skywatchers when it peaks overnight on December 13-14, Nasa has said.

Meteor showers are named after the location of the radiant, usually a star or constellation close to where they appear in the night sky. The Geminid radiant is in the constellation Gemini.

The Geminids can be seen with the naked eye under clear, dark skies over most of the world, though the best view is from the Northern Hem-isphere. The shower will peak overnight on December 13-14 with rates around one per minute under good conditions, according to Cooke.

Geminids can be seen on nights before and after the December 14 peak, although they will appear less frequently.

The Geminids are active every December, when Earth passes through a massive trail of dusty debris shed by a weird, rocky object named 3200 Phaethon. The dust and grit burn up when they run into Earth’s atmos-phere in a flurry of “shooting stars.”“Skywatching is easy. Just get away from bright lights and look up in any direction! Give your eyes time to adjust to the dark. Meteors appear all over the sky,” Nasa said.

IANS

Clay minerals on Mars could have formed dur-ing the creation of the Martian crust itself, long before any water flowed on the planet, sug-

gests new research that could rewrite the early history of the Red Planet.

“One of the complications that comes up in Mars evolution is that we can’t create a scenario where surface weathering had the capacity to produce the extent of mineral alteration that we see,” said Jack Mustard, Professor at Brown University in the

US and study co-author. Scientists have found evidence of ancient phyl-

losilicates, or clays, on the Martian surface. Phyllosilicates are generally formed by the

interaction of water with volcanic rock, leading many scientists to conclude that there must have been sustained surface water, groundwater or active hydrothermal systems at some point in Martian history.

But the new scenario, presented in the journal Nature, offers a means of creating widespread clay deposits that does not require a warm and wet

climate or a sustained hydrothermal system on early Mars.

In the very early solar system, Mars and other rocky planets are thought to have been covered by oceans of molten magma.

As the Mars magma ocean began to cool and solidify, water and other dissolved volatiles would be outgassed to the surface, forming a thick, steamy atmosphere surrounding the planet.

The moisture and heat from that high-pressure steam bath would have converted vast swathes of the newly solidified surface to clay.

As the planet then evolved over billions of years, volcanic activity and asteroid bombardments would have covered the clays in some places and exca-vated them in others, leading to the widespread but patchy distribution seen on the surface today.

To demonstrate that the mechanism they pro-pose is plausible, the researchers synthesized rock samples matching the composition of Martian basalt.

They then used a high-pressure device to rec-reate temperature and pressure conditions that may have been present amid the steam atmosphere cre-ated by a magma ocean.

After cooking samples for two weeks, the team checked to see if they had been altered and to what extent. The steam atmosphere associated with a magma ocean could have survived for as long as 10 million years or more, the researchers said.

New codes to make Facebook, Twitter safe for kids in Britain

Skywatchers can see this year’s best meteor showers next week

Clay on Red Planet due to Martian crust, not water: Study

BABY BLUES

HAGAR THE HORRIBLE

A group of friends join a guide for a trek into the Bolivian jungle,

searching for an Indian village. The men soon realise that the

jungle is a difficult place to be.Note: Programme is subject to change without prior notice.

VILLAGGIO & CITY CENTER

MONDAY 11 DECEMBER 2017CINEMA PLUS14NOVO — Pearl

Paddington 2 (2D/Animation) 10:20am, 12:30, 2:40, 4:50, 7:00, 9:10 & 11:20pm Daddy’s Home 2 (2D/Comedy) 10:00, 11:45am, 12:00noon, 2:00, 4:00, 4:40, 6:00, 8:00, 9:30, 10:00pm & 12:00midnight Marrowbone (2D/Horror) 10:00am, 2:20, 6:40 & 11:00pm Brad’s Status (2D/Comedy) 12:10, 4:30 & 8:50pmCoco (2D/Animation) 10:00am, 12:30, 3:00 & 5:30pmJustice League (2D/Action) 8:00 & 10:45pmThe Osiris Child (2D/Action) 10:30am, 2:40, 6:50 & 11:00pm Christmas All Over Again (2D/Comedy) 12:30, 4:40 & 8:50pmJungle (2D/Action) 11:00am, 4:00 & 9:00pmThor: Ragnarok (2D/Action) 1:30, 6:30 & 11:00pmActs of Vengeance (2D/Action) 10:00am, 2:00, 6:00 & 10:00pmSheikh Jackson (2D/Arabic) 12:00noon, 4:00, 8:00pm & 12:00midnightThe Mountain Between Us (2D/Action) 10:00am, 2:00, 3:00, 6:50, 8:00 & 11:45pm Wonder (2D/Drama) 12:30, 5:30 & 10:30pmPaddington 2(2DIMAX/Animation) 10:00am, 12:10, 2:20, 4:30, 6:40, 8:50 & 11:00pm

MALL

LANDMARK

ROYAL PLAZA

ROXY

ASIAN TOWNPunyalan (Malayalam) 6:00, 6:30, 8:45 & 9:15pmRichie (Tamil) 5:00, 7:15, 8:45, 9:30, 11:00 & 11:45am Kodiveeran (Tamil) 6:00pm

AL KHORRichie (Tamil) 11:15am, 1:45, 4:15, 6:45, 9:15 & 11:45pm Punyalan (Malayalam) 12:30, 3:15, 6:00, 8:45 & 11:30pm Just Getting Started 10:30am, 3:00, 7:30pm & 12:00midnightJungle (Tamil) 12:30, 5:00 & 9:30pm

JUNGLE

Paddington 2 (Adventure) 2:30pm Olaf And Coco (2D/Animation) 4:30pm Punyalan Private Limited (2D/Malayalam) 2:30 & 11:30pm Anna Durai (2D/Tamil) 2:30pm Brad’s Status (2D/Comedy) 7:00 & 9:30pmChristmas All Over Again (2D/Comedy) 5:00pm Marrowbone (2D/Horror) 7:00pm Jungle (2D/Action) 9:00 & 11:15pmFurkey Returns (2D/Hindi) 5:00 & 9:00pm The Osiris Child (2D/Action) 7:30pm Kodiveeran (2D/Tamil) 11:15pm

Paddington 2 (Animation) 11:00am & 1:15pm Richie (Tamil) 1:20, 6:10 & 8:40pm Jungle 3:00, 5:30 & 11:50pm Furkey Returns (Hindi) 4:20, 7:10 & 10:10pm Coco 3:30 & 6:10pm Marrowbone 11:00am, 3:50 & 11:10pm Brad Status 11:00am, 1:00, 10:30pm & 12:30am Punyalan (Malayalam) 11:00 & 1:40pm

Anna Durai (2D/Tamil) 2:30pm Brad’s Status (2D/Comedy) 5:00 & 9:30pm Paddington 2 (Adventure) 2:30pm Marrowbone (2D/Horror) 7:15pmPunyalan Private Limited (2D/Malayalam) 2:15 & 9:00pm Olaf And Coco (2D/Animation) 4:30pm Jungle (2D/Action) 7:00 & 11:30pmRichie (2D/Tamil) 5:00pm Furkey Returns (2D/Hindi) 7:00 & 11:30pm The Osiris Child (2D/Action) 9:15pmKodiveeran (2D/Tamil) 11:15pm

Punyalan Private Limited (2D/Malayalam) 2:30 & 11:00pm Kodiveeran (2D/Tamil) 2:30pm Jungle (2D/Action) 7:30 & 11:30pmOlaf And Coco (2D/Animation) 3:00 & 5:30pmBrad’s Status (2D/Comedy) 5:00 & 9:30pm Christmas All Over Again (2D/Comedy) 5:15pm Anna Durai (2D/Tamil) 7:00pm Marrowbone (2D/Horror) 7:00 & 9:30pmThe Osiris Child (2D/Action) 9:15pm Richie (2D/Tamil) 11:30pm

CROSSWORD CONCEPTIS SUDOKU

ALL IN THE MIND

08:00 News08:30 101 East 09:00 Once Upon

a Time in Punchbowl

10:30 The Nobel Interview

11:30 UpFront12:00 News12:30 Witness13:00 NEWSHOUR14:00 News14:30 Inside Story15:00 Debt Machine16:00 NEWSHOUR17:30 Talk to Al Jazeera18:00 Newsgrid19:30 Counting the

Cost20:30 Inside Story21:00 NEWSHOUR22:00 News22:30 The Stream23:00 The Coming War

On China

13:00 Bunk’d 14:40 K.C. Undercover

15:05 Miraculous Tales Of Ladybug And Cat Noir

16:20 Stuck In The Middle

17:00 Tangled: The Series

19:10 Disney Mickey Mouse

20:05 Star Wars Forces Of Destiny

20:35 Disney The Lodge

21:00 Alex & Co. 22:15 Lolirock 22:40 Evermoor

Chronicles

13:50 River Monsters

14:45 Cats 10116:35 Untamed &

Uncut17:30 Treehouse

Masters18:25 North

Woods Law19:20 Australia

Doesn’t Just Want To Kill You

20:15 Cats 10121:10 Shamwari:

A Wild Life22:05 North

Woods Law23:00 Australia

Doesn’t Just Want To Kill You

23:55 Deadly Islands

13:10 Alaska: The Last Frontier

13:55 Deadliest Catch

14:40 Gold Divers: Under The Ice

15:25 Diesel Brothers

16:10 Street Outlaws

17:50 Storage Hunters UK

18:50 Deadliest Catch

20:35 How Do They Do It?

21:00 Gold Rush21:50 Gold Divers22:40 Cooper’s

Treasure: The Hunt For A Secret Fortune

King Features Syndicate, Inc.

BRAIN TEASERSMONDAY 11 DECEMBER 2017 15

Yesterday’s answer

Conceptis Sudoku: Conceptis Sudoku

is a number-placing puzzle based on a

9×9 grid. The object is to place the

numbers 1 to 9 in the empty squares so

that each row, each column and each

3×3 box contains the same number

only once.

BLIZZARD, BREEZE, CHINOOK,

CIRROCUMULUS, CIRROSTRATUS,

CIRRUS, CLOUDY, COLD,

CUMULONIMBUS, CUMULUS,

CYCLONE, DOLDRUMS, DRIZZLE,

DRY, FAIR, FOG, FREEZING,

FROST, HAIL, HARMATTAN,

HEATWAVE, HOT, HUMID,

HURRICANE, LIGHTNING,

MILD, MIST, MISTRAL, MONSOON,

NIMBUS, OVERCAST,

PRECIPITATION, RAIN, SHOWER,

SIROCCO, SLEET, SLUSH,

SNOW, STORM, STRATUS,

SUNSHINE, THUNDER, TORNADO,

TYPHOON, WIND, ZEPHYR.