a NOW! supplement14-20 August,2002

TIPS

iv

ii

THE

WEEK

AHEAD IN

CHINESE

ZODIAC

IS OUR DIET CARCINOGENIC

RITA’S TIP FOR SOFT

MANAGEABLE HAIR

An oil massage once a week isideal. Take a tsbp of castor oil,½ tbsp of almond oil, 1tbsp ofcoconut or olive oil. Mix andwarm. Massage into hair. Aftertwo hours give hot toweltreatment to the hair. Excellentfor all kinds of hair problems.

TSHERING ETHENPA’S

TIP FOR WRINKLE

PREVENTION

Keep skin very clean, drink lotsof water and follow a dailyregime of cleansing, toning andmoisturizing. Use a goodsuncreen lotion when you go outand never forget to removemake-up at night. Massage skinwith mashed ripe bananas for aglowing and soft look.

LHAMU’S TIP FOR OILY

SKIN CARE

Use a facial scrub once a week.At night avoid using any cream.Instead mix 2-3 drops of glycerinewith rosewater and use this. Thiswill keep your skin soft withoutmaking it oily. A good face maskfor oily skin is sandalwoodpowder mixed with rosewater anda little honey. Keep on face till itbecomes dry and then wash offwith cold water.

LATA’S TIP FOR FOOTCARE

Most of all take good care of ourface but neglect our feet. Forcare of cracked feet and deadcell removal, soak feet in warmwater in which a bit of dettol andpedicure shampoo has beenadded. Clean cuticles andmassage with a good footmassage cream. A paste madeof almonds, honey and milkcream is good for feet and alsohands.

from the experts

It was a rainy June morning in1984 when the first beautyparlour in Sikkim opened its

doors for the local ladies. Situatedat Paljor Stadium road, it wascalled Rita’s after its owner Ritawho came to Gangtok after hermarriage.

Having trained and worked inCalcutta, it seemed a naturalprogression for her. The clienteledeveloped slowly, mainly the wivesof army officers and Governmentservants. Business was slow butsteady, many clients still skepticalabout the benefits of facials andother beauty therapy.

Today, 18 years later, RitaWangdi still operates from hersmall premises refusing to expandor change. The young girls whowere her early clients are old nowand some still visit her. Outside theconfines of her parlour, howeverthere has been a sea change in theway people perceive beauty and theimportance of the parlour to helpfind the elixir of youth or atleastyouthful skin.

Beauty is today seriousbusiness. There are more than 30parlours in and around town, withmore promising to join the beautywagon soon. The business hasspread from Gangtok to thedistricts and you can find parloursin Jorethang, Mangan, Namchi,and Gayzing. In case you plan tovisit Yanggang and think you coulduse a facial or a haircut, you canfind one there too!

“Ladies are more aware of theneed to look good now. They knowthat beauty parlours play a crucialrole in helping you maintain yourlooks. This gives you confidence.It plays a vital role in keeping yourmental peace,” says TsheringEthenpa, owner, Looks BeautyParlour.

It is this notion of beautytranslating into happiness that seeswomen of all ages trouping into the

THE BEAUTY BOOM!

many parlours in town. But it wasnot always so. In the mid eighties,Rita’s was soon joined by Nowalesand Women’s World, but businesswas still irregular. By the timeAries opened in 1989, the trendstarted changing. “In the early dayswe had to convince the peopleabout the benefits of facials. Mostthought facials would give themwrinkles,” says Susong of Aries.Today the girls know exactly whatthey want. Exposure to foreignfilms, magazines and televisionmeans the look desired is moreglobal. Models on Fashion TV,TLC, J’Lo, and Britney Spears arethe new icons.

Adds Susong, “At one timegirls would come and ask forRekha’s look in Khoon BhariMaang but today they want MegRyan and Halle Berry.”

Hair colouring is big too. Arelatively cheap option for a quickmakeover, it constitutes a majorpart of the business now. “Earlierwomen would use henna but nowwith so many products available,you can choose any look you want,”says Lhamu, owner Cuts & Curls.

But for most women a visit toa beauty parlour means more thanjust a functional visit. It’s a placeyou can unwind, relax, talk and feelcompletely comfortable with

yourself. It’s a woman’s privateworld, a world away from the men,the children and other hassles ofday to day life.

“Clients come not just forbeauty treatment but also to relax,to de-stress. That is why it isimportant not to hurry but give eachclient enough time,” says TsheringEthenpa. The need to make parloursa place where women would wantto spend more time is the reasonmany parlours are contemplatingmakeovers for themselves.

“It is not enough to just providethe service. The whole package hasto be attractive,” declares Lata ofLata’s Beauty Parlour. And sheshould know. The undisputedQueen of the Beauty Business inSikkim, she has no problem callingher chain of parlours Lata’s 1,Lata’s 2, and Lata’s 3!

Ask her why so many and sheclaims there was no space to handleher ever increasing clientele. Lata’ssuccess story has also been theinspiration for the large number ofgirls who turn up for training forbeauty therapy and haircutting inthe many parlours in town. Withprices ranging between Rs. 5,000to Rs. 8,000 for a six month course,it seems the price to pay is not toomuch. Even the Government seemsto have got into the act andsponsors batches of girls every yearfor training in these parlours.

Being service oriented thebusiness has a near 100% profitmargin. All it demands is hard workand to focus on client relations.Most of the beauticians claim theirrole is varied. From free beautyconsultations to advising the clienton which products to buy, tosometimes playing the confidant.This symbiotic relationshipbetween the women and thebeautician is playing its part inensuring that the beauty businessgrows from strength to strength.May the tribe increase.

a NOW! feature on the two-decade-old

business of beauty in Sikkim...

Rita’s Beauty Parlour which trigerred off theBeauty Boom in Sikkim in 1984

WOMENNOW

ii14-20 August, 2002

SSSSSusongusongusongusongusongSAYS

BETTER GROOMING

DEEDEAR

NOW!can be reached at 70949 & emailed at sikkimnow@rediffmail.com

Dear Dee,Civilized life is full of strange adventures. Some people explorethe jungles, others work in laboratories with deadly germs, somego cruising in tiny boats while others climb mountains ‘becauseit’s there’. But the biggest adventure of all is to find yourself lockedin a bedroom with a person of the opposite sex with whom youare required to go to bed and get up for thousands and thousandsof nights. This is called marriage. Now if you’re wondering what’sgot into me, I’m just mad at you know who. He calls up the otherday and says it’s time I got my act together. Says I’m not the onlywoman he knows with children. Ya and I bet they are all his! I tellyou his mother should have thrown him away and kept the stork.He dares talk. Here is a guy who can’t get the basics right forhimself. Even something as simple as changing clothes. Hedoesn’t undress so much as come to pieces. The sight of heapsof male clothing on the bedroom floor never caused a tremor oflove in my sensitive bosom. His favourite feat was the drop-kick,y’know letting the sub-waist clothing slide down the legs, liftingone foot out of the resulting mess and propelling the entire massat the nearest chair with the toe. If the average ignorant bird shouldhurl his feathers around the nest each night in imitation of thatman, there would be no more eggs!Talking of eggs, I had just started weaning the baby when theywent and declared the whole of last week as ‘Breastfeeding week’.Which meant everytime I took the baby to town he would point atthe banners and go boo boo. I tell you everything is in the timing.Love,Mia

The rainy season brings with it itsown share of problems. Oily skin,open pores, boils, postules andprickly heat.

To combat greasy skin and openpores, wash face with a mild soapthree times daily. Rinse off everytrace of soap with warm water andthen with cold water. Use anastringent.

Even if your skin is wellbalanced or slightly dry, it may bea good idea to change yourmoisturizer for a very light oneformulated for oily skin which feelsless cloying.

For frequent appearance ofinfected pimples on the face, washface with warm water in whichneem leaves have been heated.Grated onion mixed withsandalwood powder and applied tothe face helps clean septic pustulesand makes skin soft and smooth.

Every night drink a glass ofwater with a crystal of salt and halfof lemon juice. Use the other halfof the lemon in your face mask,mixed with teaspoon of honey andegg. Do it everyday for 6-8 weeksand see the remarkableimprovement in your skin.

TOP 10 REASONS COMPUTERS

ARE MALE

10. They have a lot of data but are still clueless.9. A better model is always just around the corner.

8. They look nice and shiny until you bring them home.7. It is always necessary to have a backup.

6. They’ll do whatever you say if you push the right buttons.5. The best part of having either one is the games you can play.

4. In order to get their attention, you have to turn them on.3. The lights are on but nobody’s home.

2. Big power surges knock them out for the night.1. Size does matter

A man I know, faced with theeccentricities of operating asoftware-hardware system,

declared that women would haveless trouble with it because ‘they’reso good at multi-tasking’.Where to begin with that?

Let me try and draw you apicture of an average femalemind (late 20s onward) at anygiven moment in the day. Boys,this one’s for you. Five basiccompartments.

HOME — food, dishes,laundry, dust. Throw in the bi-weekly cleaning of thewindows. Ignore the cleaning ofthe fridge until small peoplestart knocking at the chillerasking to be released from theancient burial ground of thecapsicums.

CHILD — food, bathing,gastric out tray, nap times,school, occasional illness andminor injuries.

MAN — his work, he hatesaubergines, he sometimes wantsto watch cricket and you think it’sa girl’s game (and not in a goodway).

WORK — are you spendingenough time there, are you doing agood job, is the infant going to missher mum, is the commuting going

to kill you.SELF — uhhh, let’s pop a

couple of Spirulinas and worryabout washing your hair tomorrow.

And then there’s the driving.I’m going to get lynched for sayingthis, but 90 per cent of all womendon’t really drive that well. What’sscary is that at least 80 per cent ofthose believe they do. I like tothink, on a good day, I’m anaverage driver. But throw me a fewserious traffic jams and the oddrash posse of male teenagesuburbanites in a van and I’mblubbering like Oprah at a pie-tasting contest. Blame the roads,blame the ambling taxis skirting thesidewalk, blame the chauvinism ofthe average SNT TATA, fact is, this

girl no can do.Multi-tasking for me peaks at

changing gears and listening to theradio simultaneously. Cannot alsoweave in and out of snarls, will tryhard to avoid stragglingpedestrians.

When it rains, metaphorically,it pours. Amidst the chaossurrounding my return to work(elaborately part-time, for detailsrefer to the bottom of this column),it’s ‘muluk’ going season. SpecialK, our chauffeur extraordinaire hasdecamped, to sip tongba at theneighbourhood joint. DJ Crush,Satan’s little housekeeper, hasacquired a mysterious tropicalillness. The search for a baby-sittercontinues. As does life at the schoolof hard knocks.

I give you these sordid detailsof my sundry life as a plea to a fewof you working mums who’vewritten in occasionally, or whomight yet be moved to write in now.I have only one question. How?

In the attempt tokeep the dust bunnies

at bay, in the headand under thecupboards, I’vecurdled fromsuper-mum tosuper-shrew andmy social

environment isshowing the wear

and tear. Myfamily laughs

nervously at all mybad jokes to keep me

happy, the beleaguered,permanent roommate

dives for cover the minutehe sees my eyebrows merge

and Baby A, just short of herfirst birthday has begun to bite.

Even as you read this, I amslouching towards my 28th

birthday. Fourteen years ago, Ibelieved at that wizened age, I’dhave worked my way up to aPorsche or down to a 24-inch waist.Just worked myself into a badmood. Didn’t take into account thedarned multi-tasking.

MULTI-TASKINGAND WOMEN

A working mother is a

common sight. What

is hidden, however, is

the impossible that

she achieves

everyday (with

decreasing

efficiency,

one might add)

Seinfeld on

Dating, Sex & The

RelationshipON DATING:Dating is pressure and tension. Whatis a date, really, but a job interviewthat lasts all night? The onlydifference between a date anda job interview is that innot many job interviewsis there a chance you’llend up naked at theend of it.“Well, Bill, the bossthinks you’re the man for the job.Why don’t you strip down and meetsome of the people you’ll beworking with?”What would the world be like ifpeople said whatever they werethinking, all the time, whenever it came to them? How long would ablind date last? About 13 seconds, I think...“Oh, sorry, your rear end is too big .”“That’s ok, your breath stinks anyway. See you later.”ON SEX:Seems to me the basic conflict between men and women, sexually, isthat men are like firemen. To men, sex is an emergency, and no matterwhat we’re doing we can be ready in two minutes. Women, on the otherhand, are like fire. They’re very exciting, but the conditions have to beexactly right for it to occur.Men and women all in all, behave just like our basic sexual elements. Ifyou watch single men on a weekend night they really act very much likesperm - all disorganized, bumping into their friends, swimming in thewrong direction. “I was first.” “Let me through.” “You’re on my tail.”“That’s my spot.” They’re like the Three Billion Stooges.But the egg is very cool: “Well, who’s it going to be? I can divide. I canwait a month. I’m not swimming anywhere.”THE RELATIONSHIP:Why is commitment such a big problem for a man? I think that for somereason when a man is driving down that freeway of love, the woman he’swith is like an exit, but he doesn’t want to get off there. He wants to keepdriving.And the woman is like, “Look, gas, food, lodging , that’s our exit, that’severything we need to be happy...Get off here, now !”But the man is focusing on sign underneath that says, “Next exit 27miles ,” and he thinks, “I can make it.” Sometimes he can, sometimes hecan’t. Sometimes, the car ends up on the side of the road, hood up andsmoke pouring out of the engine. He’s sitting on the curb all alone, “Iguess I didn’t realize how many miles I was racking up.”

j e r r y S E I N F E L D

WOMENNOW

iii14-20 August, 2002HEALTH&FITNESS

GANGTOK: Sikkim has a highoccurrence of the cancer of thestomach. This was revealed by Dr.Yogesh Verma, consultant,Department of Pathology at theSTNM Hospital here. The cancerof the oesophagus and the cervicaland breast cancer closely follow thecancer of the stomach.

These findings are based on ayear-long study conducted by theHospital in 2001. The studyinvolved 1,878 patients who weretested through biopsies. Out ofthese, 201 patients were detectedwith malignant cells.

The study revealed that thecancer of the stomach was mostcommon, 10.4 percent of the totalscreened, followed by oesophaguscancer, 9.5 per cent, breast andcervical cancer in women, 8.6 and8 percent, respectively. The studyalso found that the cancer of theoral cavity was high, about 4.5percent of the total screened.

“Of the common cancersprevalent in the State, stomach andoesophagus cancer is closelyfollowed by breast and cervicalcancers in women,” Dr Verma said.Also, the occurrence of primarycancer of the liver was found to bequite high in the study at about 6percent.

Dr. Verma attributes the highinstances of stomach canceramongst the local population tobasically the dietary habits of thelocal people. “In Sikkim, especiallyin the tribal societies, the use ofsmoked, cured and salted foods,

especially meat, is very common.Such food items have shown thepresence of carcinogens. Also,smoking, infection by H. pylori,chronic gastritis and mostimportantly, family historycontribute to this disease,” says Dr.Verma, who conducted the study.

Dietary habits andenvironmental factors also play amajor role in oesophagus cancer.“Again, the practice of eatingfermented foods, betel chewing,tobacco use, fungal infection offood, alcohol consumption arecontributing factors in the cancerof the oesophagus. We have alsoseen that racial disposition plays animportant role in this type ofcancer. There is a high rate ofoesophageal cancer amongst thetribal Lepchas and Bhutiapopulation in the State. Such typeof cancer is common in theMongoloid population,” says Dr.Verma.

“The same goes for cancer ofthe liver, which has been found tobe common amongst theMongoloid race. Liver cancer isalso strongly linked to the HepatitisB virus infection and of course,alcoholism that leads to alcoholiccirrhosis and that may lead to thecancer of the liver, although furtherstudies are needed,” Dr. Vermasaid.

The Health Department isemphasizing on a population-basedcancer registry (PBCR) for theState, which “would be a uniquereferral system” because cancertreatment is still not available inSikkim. According to the HealthSecretary, Dr. TR Gyatso, “Out ofthe total number of cases referredoutside of the State for treatment,about 70 percent are for cancertreatment. In our limited capacity,we have done quite a lot for theprevention of cancer by banningthe sale of gutka and smoking in

all government and public placesin the State. Sikkim was perhapsthe first State to ban the sale ofgutka.”

Dr. Gyatso further revealed thatthe government started the freeHepatitis B vaccinationprogramme for children of 0-1 yearin August last year. “Thisprogramme is being totallyfinanced by the State Government.We are also trying to start anoncology department at theManipal Central Referral Hospitaland Medical college here. We areawaiting clearance from the centralgovernment,” he said.

Should the Oncologydepartment come up at the referralhospital it will go a long way inproviding for even earlier detectionof cancer among the locals and savemany more lives apart from makingcancer treatment cheaper and moreconvenient.

A campaign has been launched in Yorkshire schools to encouragechildren to drink more water to increase their concentration.

Studies have found that children who are dehydrated do not work aswell in the classroom as those who have drunk the recommended eightglasses of water a day.

Yorkshire Water has run a pilot project in Leeds in which water coolerswere put in three schools.

There was a significant increase in the amount of water the childrendrank and the company now plans to put the coolers in every primaryschool in Yorkshire over the next three years (anybody listening inSikkim).

All brain activity is neurological and is a chemical activity whichdoesn’t function without water.

Dr Martin Schweiger, a consultant at Leeds Health Protection Unit,said dehydration in childhood can cause serious health problems in adults.

“If children don’t drink enough water, the delicate enzyme systemstheir bodies depend on start to get out of kilter.

“And long-term problems of infection, kidney disease and high bloodpressure are the price many people pay for drinking too little as a child.”

Kevin White, managing director of Yorkshire Water, says: “Thestandard of sanitation and provision of drinking water in some schoolshasn’t improved since schools were built back in Victorian times.

“The time has come to take the tap water out of the toilets.”The project was welcomed by the National Kidney Research Fund.“It is another way to get across the important message that everyone

should drink more water,” said spokeswoman Louise Cox.

THE CLONED and geneticallyengineered calves carry not just

a single human gene, but a sectionof genes that control the productionof many different antibodies, ateam at privately owned Hematech,LLC, reported.

Jim Robl, a researcher whohelped found South Dakota-basedHematech, said he believed it wasthe largest chunk of genes ever

IS OUR DIET CARCINOGENIC?STUDY FINDS HIGH INCIDENCE OF

STOMACH CANCER IN SIKKIM

Sikkim to have an

Oncology Department

for cancer detection

and cure soon. Focus

also on population

based cancer registry

for better data on

prevalance of the big

“C” in Sikkim...

a NOW REPORT

GIVE THEM WATER, GET

THEM THINKINGImprove the

concentration of

kids by making

them drink more

water, suggest

latest studies

Improve the

concentration of

kids by making

them drink more

water, suggest

latest studies

A For Professionalbeauty therapy and haircutting

classes, contact Susong atAries Beauty Parlour,

Nam Nang

riesABEAUTY

PARLOUR

transferred from one species intoanother at once.

“What we were excited aboutwas the fact that we got a live calfout of it,” Robl said in a telephoneinterview.

So far the calves produce lowlevels of human antibodies, butRobl thinks he can find ways tosuppress their native immunesystems to produce more of the

human product.Then each cloned calf could be

an antibody factory, he said,producing a variety of products.

His team first created anartificial piece of humanchromosome that carries the genesinvolved in making antibodies. Theyspliced this into skin cells fromcattle, then cloned calves from thesegenetically engineered cells.

Calves to be antibody factories for humans?

A MESSAGE IN PUBLIC INTEREST FROM NOW!

NOWWOMENiv

14-20 August, 2002

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

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

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

email us at sikkimnow@rediffmail.com

CBEST TIPS

Contest

urtina

the

SONAM SARITA, Upper Sichey� To give your hair a natural reddish dye, boil onion

peels in 1/2 a cup of water. Add a teaspoon of glycer-ine and apply the decoction to your hair. Wash off af-ter 30 minutes.

� Ball or felt pen ink stains can be removed from whiteclothes by soaking the stained area in milk or sourcurd and then rubbing vigorously before washing.

� Add a little turmeric powder & garlic to the dog food.This will keep ticks away and aid digestion too.

WINNERS ARE REQUESTED TO COLLECT

THEIR COUPONS FROM NOW! OFFICE AT

GAIRI GAON, TADONG

NEW YORK: Work on a bridge willbe delayed because it is not allowedduring turtle mating season. Countyofficials planned to replace theCherry Hill Bridge in the fall, butstate law prevents them from disturb-ing the area during mating season.They have not decided when thework will begin at the MontgomeryTownship site. While it was not im-mediately known what species wasfound in the area, environmentalistssay they likely are wood turtles,which are protected by the state.They say the work could stir up silt,which could kill the turtles.

DRAGON Be warned that secretactions of the past cantrouble you on Sundayand Monday, bringingabout a conflict that brings

bitterness. You can get verylucky on Tuesday and

Wednesday. Keep your lines ofcommunications open on Saturdayfor an unexpected surprise.SNAKE Your existence is madedifficult on Monday and Tuesdaydue to past issues, and you can be

insulted or lose face as well. Itis better to retreat rather than

seem brave. Also, there areunexpected or sudden

difficulties that arise onSaturday. It is better to take the softapproach. You can succeed in yourattempts on Wednesday andThursday.HORSE All that you attempt thisweek will only provide a solution or

reward on Saturday, sokeep the effort especially

on Monday and Tuesday, asyou get assistance from thoseolder than you or superiors.You may be forced to think ofa change on Wednesday and

Thursday or you may be left unsurewith a decision, but rather thanlooking for instant solutions, letSaturday provide the answer.SHEEP Severe stress anddifficulty can make you the loser in

many ways on Monday.Recognize signals thatwill be provided for you

on Sunday. The severity of whathappens on Monday will show onTuesday, tread carefully. Thursdayis especially good and luck in manyways, and you are provided anearly signal on Wednesday itself.Friday remains positive.MONKEY A shaky start on

Sunday can make mattersworse on Monday. Fridayand Saturday can make

matters worse, and can breakdown partnerships orrelationships. You can be

rewarded on Tuesday, so contactthose who can help you while goodnews about a change can comeabout on Wednesday.ROOSTER It is only Sunday that

you have to be cautiousabout and stay away fromall things of a secret

nature, or an invitation torestart what has happened inthe past. Monday gives you a

solution, while Saturday brings areward. The remainder of the weekallows for changes to be made butsome emotional stress is seen onThursday.DOG You begin the working weekwith danger signals showing onMonday, and problems mount

quickly to make Tuesdayextremely difficult, with a

break down in relationshipsor partnerships. The

trouble continues onWednesday, and so yourweek seems to be full of

burden until Saturday, when thereis unexpected good news to cheeryou up.PIG You get very lucky on Mondayand Saturday, so take on invitationsor contact those who can help you.

At the same time you get thesupport of those in chargeon Friday, while Tuesdayputs you in the limelight,for a promotion orrecognition. However, be

cautious that Wednesday can putyou in odds with someoneimportant, while Thursdayhandicaps you in terms ofexpansion.RAT It is only Saturday that canbring unexpected anxiety, but alsolosses that comes suddenly or

unexpectedly, and also becareful of theft robbery or

accidents. Most of thedifficulty can becontrolled if you stick to

a timetable. Thursdayprovides a great opportunity while

DRAGON: 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000.SNAKE: 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001.HORSE: 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002.SHEEP: 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003.MONKEY: 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004.ROOSTER: 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005.DOG: 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006. BOAR:

1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007. RAT: 1960,1972, 1984, 1996. OX: 1949, 1961, 1973,1985, 1997. TIGER: 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986,1998. RABBIT: 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999

THE WEEK AHEADfor the animal signs

etc.

SamsaraTHE

Recipebar & restaurant

CONTEST

Recipes are not easily parted with, but share

one with us and if it is the most exciting one

for the week, you shall win a free dinner for

two at Samsara Bar & Restaurant at Nam

Nang. Send in your entries to: NOW! Near

Ayurvedic Clinic, Gairi Gaon, Tadong, East

Sikkim. Entries can also be dropped off at

Oberois, MG Marg

Friday an unexpected reward. Apast issue can frustrate you onSunday and Monday, but if youremain transparent, you canminimize this effect.OX Be very careful that yourattempts, negotiations,transactions, and effortscan be reduced to failure onThursday and you canminimize this effect bybeing alert for signals onWednesday, when aclash must be averted. Fridayremains stressful and makes youanxious, but must be handledcarefully. Monday and Tuesday areextremely lucky for you but youshould take the soft approach whennegotiating.TIGER Stay away from all that isoffered with undercurrents orsecrecy on Sunday, while a contactof the past may invite you into whatcan develop into anotherlong-tern problem. Tuesdayand Wednesday are alsoespecially bad becauseconflict, outburst anddifferences can bringrelationships orpartnerships to a breakingpoint. You must be carefuland become tolerant. Some rewardawaits you on Saturday.RABBIT Most of the week canbring profit good contacts and alsowin you recognition, but you mayhave to cope with past issues thatcan be a dampener on Sunday andMonday. You can look towardswinning recognition onTuesday and Wednesday,while Thursday and Fridayputs you in the drivers seatand allows for expansionof opportunity. It is onlySaturday that makes you stressfuland anxious, so stick to a timetablerather than making last minutechanges.

Not so ‘Model’ NaomiHopes for a kinder, gentler

Naomi Campbell are fadingFAST! Accused of beating up anassistant and CHOKING a maid,the volatile supermodel, votedBritain’s “Most Hated Celebrity,”took anger management classesAND drug rehab, but she’s just hada nasty near-brawl with BijouPhillips at a NY club!

Now here’s the latest: Naomimay be wearing a lawsuit becauseshe stormed out of a big-buck$$fashion shoot just because thefemale designer touched her!Naomi was booked by undies giantSplendour, whose lingerie is wornby such stars as J.Lo and SarahJessica Parker, but company repssay she turned it into the photoshoot from hell! Arriving an hourlate, boiling with some inner rage,Naomi refused to speak toSplendour reps.

Marveled CEO MarkPilkington, “She didn’t say ‘hello.’In fact, she didn’t talk to me!” Hesays Naomi got cranky with herhandpicked hair and makeup team,angrily refused to model a thongshe’d agreed on beforehand . . . thenwent NUTS when the femmedesigner attempted to fit her undies!

Said Pilkington: “Naomiwouldn’t let our designer touchher!” She stalked off to her dressingroom, refused pleas not to ruin theproject, then SPLIT! Thecompany’s holding her $75,000 feeand lawyers are mulling legalaction against Naomi for kickingSplendour in the . . . (rhymes with“glass!”).

The name is Diesel, Vin Diesel,and where ’60s icon James

Bond was a suave secret agent,Diesel is an X-citing, X-treme spyfor the new millennium in theaction thriller XXX.

Diesel is poised to blow awaythe action-hero competition as

SOBERING NEWS

One of the most star-studdedspots in Hollywood has

become a chapter of AlcoholicsAnonymous held at Cedars-SinaiMedical Center in L.A. MatthewPerry, Robert Downey Jr. andNaomi Campbell - who have allbeen clean and sober more than30 days - were at a recentmeeting of the group. Way to go,guys!

Vin Diesel - America’s new

action heroXander Cage, a tattooed

athlete who is tapped to savethe free world.

“Vin Diesel has got what ittakes to be the next ArnoldSchwarzenegger or Sly Stallone,”says a veteran Hollywood observer.

MATING TURTLES DELAY BRIDGE WORK

rajdhaniIN

MARUTI FLATLINED

CHICKEN WITH LEMON HONEYSAUCE

Ingredients: 2 large breasts ofchicken (cut in strips)Batter: 3 tbsp cornflour, 2 tbspflour, 1 beaten egg white, Mix theabove items together, add chickenpieces, salt and white pepper totaste and leave aside.Lemon honey sauce: 2 tbsp oil, 1tsp each of garlic and ginger paste,1 ½ cup chicken stock, 1 ½ tbspcornflour blended with 3 tbsp ofwater and 2 tbsp of honey, 1 ½ tbsplemon juice, 1 small onion(thinlysliced), ½ small carrot(thinlysliced), ½ small capsicum(thinlysliced), Salt and pepper to tasteMethod: Deep fry the chickenpieces on moderate heat(theyshould remain whitish). Drain andkeep aside.Sauce: Heat the oil in a pan overhigh heat, add ginger and garlicpaste and sliced onion. Stir fry fora while, add stock, salt, pepper,lemon juice and honey. Bring it toa boil. Add the cornflour mixture.Keep stirring.Add juliennes of carrot andcapsicum. Cook till sauce thickens.Add fried chicken pieces. Servewith steamed rice.

- P Bhutia, Gangtok