Author: The Metrognome

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5 tips to ace your cocktail party look

Fashion designer Monica Garg dishes out the secrets behind putting together a good look for every kind of cocktail party.
Monica Garg Director International Luxury Academy (2)
Monica Garg

One of the trickiest things is to choose the right dress for a cocktail party. Though there are no fixed dress codes for such events, you do not want to end up under- or over-dressed. Start by finding out the nature of the cocktail party – this will help you decide on the acceptable dress code.

1. Cocktail parties are normally formal. Conventionally, the appropriate dresses would be those which are mid-thigh to knee length. You can always try a little flirty cocktail frock, metallic embellishments, cropped jackets, embellished tops, slim black pants, and black party dress teamed with metallic pumps. Whatever you choose to wear for the night, do not forget to jazz it up with an eye catching handbag and statement jewellery to complete the look.

2. Do not hit cocktail parties in tailored outfits, or dull corporate clothes teamed with day bags. You might end up being out of sync with the rest of the crowd.

3. If you don’t have time to buy a new dress, mix ‘n’ match the dresses that you already have in your wardrobe. You can combine a skirt in a solid colour with an embellished top. If you have to go directly from office to the party, just nip in to the ladies’ room and exchange your suit for something more glam, such as a sequinned tank top.

4. If you are headed to a dinner party, you can choose from either Indian wear or Western clothes. You can choose harem pants, printed tank tops, or solid tops with ankle boots for your friends-only dinner party. You can also try a flowy dress with a leather jacket, dark skinny jeans, chiffon maxi dresses, pumps, chain bracelet, beaded sandals teamed with cocktail rings and chunky necklaces.

5. It is always a tricky balance between under-dressing and over-dressing at formal dinner parties. To be on the safer side, set aside a pair or two of funky earrings or scarves in your bag to change your look at the last moment, if need be.

Monica Garg is the Director, International Luxury Academy, Delhi.

(Picture courtesy creativefashionglee.com. Image is used for representational purpose only)

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Hum log

This man is God for many Borivali senior citizens

Mark D’Souza has been delivering free lunches to senior citizens in IC colony since 2012; numbers of lunches are steadily increasing.
by Ravi Shet

At the core of our struggle to make money and acquire status in life is the basic human need for daily food. Most of us are lucky to receive two square meals a day, but while we have enough to eat, we take our meals for granted. Not so the countless senior citizens who are either too poor or too ill to feed themselves. What happens to these people, who do not receive daily meals?

In the lives of some of these senior citizens comes an angel in the form of Mark D’Souza (57), a real estate agent based in IC colony, Borivali. With his silver moustache and warm smile, Mark gives off a welcoming aura at first sight. But when you realise that this affable gentleman has been providing free lunches to senior citizens in the IC colony-Kandarpada belt from the year 2012, your respect for him increases manifold!

“I started delivering free lunches to senior citizens from November 14, 2012. I have always been a good planner and I have a lot of energy, so I have never missed delivering a single lunch for even one day since I started,” he beams.

There are free lunches in the world

Mark was born in Mulki, Karnataka and lost his mother at an early age. Staying with relatives and then moving to Mumbai for further studies all came with their own challenges. “I worked in Libya for six years, then I shifted back to Mumbai and set up an estate agent firm,” he explains.

It was in 2012 that Mark pondered over the question of senior citizens who are incapable of cooking their own food. “That’s when I decided that I would start a free lunch service for elderly people in the area. I took Rs 5,000 from my wife Yvonne (a social activist) and she also helped me find suitable elderly people in the area,” he says.

Everything fell into place at the right time, and from an initial five lunches, Mark delivers free lunches to 30 people in the area. Hearing of his work, many friends and well wishers also came forward to donate money, or even steel lunch boxes to encourage his efforts.

What’s cooking?

Mark’s four-compartment dabba comprises five to six chapatis, rice, sabzi and dal. On Wednesdays, there’s egg curry, while he includes chicken or fish curry on Sundays. “We cook the food in less oil, less salt and less spices. But we pack in loads of love and the food is prepared in a hygienic environment,” he explains.

The vegetables are bought daily by the husband and wife, and his cook handles the meal preparation. “I tell my cook, ‘God is watching our actions and we should not compromise on the quality of our work. When it is noon, I start my delivery schedule that goes on till 2.30 pm. It has become a part of my daily routine.” He adds that several security guards of the buildings he delivers in now know him personally and they take the dabbas off his hands and deliver them. “What do I get out of this? The smiles and blessings of the people who eat our food. And the blessings from my friends. These are priceless for me,” he smiles.

You can contact Mark D’Souza at Crrystal Care Service, K 3, Vershi Villa, Opposite IC Bakery, Near IC Post Office, IC Colony, Borivali West. His mobile number is +91 98338 53523.

(Picture courtesy Ravi Shet)

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Do

How to make a dog-friendly home

If you have a dog, you’ll have to make changes to your home for your furry little friend’s overall comfort.
by Reyna Mathur

It has become a trend to have a dog or a cat in the home these days, especially in the cities. Our four-legged friends bring joy and comfort to our lives, and take away the loneliness and despair we may feel in our interactions with other humans. Whatever the kind of person you are, what your failings are in life, or how much money you make, your dog will not care about any of these things and still love you unconditionally.

Which is why you should reciprocate this love by making your home as friendly and comfortable for your dog as possible. It will surprise you to know how little we think of this aspect getting a dog home – apart from feeding them regularly and keeping them in good health, we also have to increase their feelings of wellbeing by making some adjustments to the home.

Change your floor tiles. The first adjustment you will have to make is to change the tiles or flooring of your house. Dogs need slightly rough surfaces to walk and run on, and shiny, glossy Italian marble or granamite tiled floors will make them clench their feet with every step to avoid slipping. This causes their claws to grow improperly, and in the long term, can give the pet leg and spinal issues. Invest in rough-hewn, matte finish flooring and if you have a separate room for the pet, lay thick linoleum on the floors. Linoleum allows the dog to dig in its claws if necessary – of course, you will have to replace it periodically once it discovers it can pull out entire swathes of the material!

Change the toilet to an Indian-style one. The first thing you must do on bringing the pet home is to toilet train it so it doesn’t urinate or defecate on the floor or furniture. Most dogs don’t adapt well to the toilet training routine, not because they are incapable of learning, but because they are not comfortable with the toilet. A sufficiently well-trained dog will head to the toilet every time it wants to urinate or defecate, and will only do its business on the floor. Since dogs cannot climb on to the commode, it is better to have an Indian-style toilet for the pet’s use. Anything that is at floor level will be gladly welcomed by the dog.

Let windows be accessible. Dogs love to sit at the window, especially the ones that are alone at home while their owners go to work. Your dog will pick a favourite window in the house and claim it. A good idea is to create a comfortable seat with a rubber padding on the top for the dog to sit on. Most windows in Mumbai are not at floor level, so if your building allows, you can elongate the window your dog prefers. Alternately, create a wide seat for your dog to climb over and sit, or even snooze on after meals. The seat should also accommodate the dog’s eating bowl and a utensil for water.

Restrict the use of fresheners and harsh cleaners. We use air fresheners in spray or tablet form in the bathrooms and toilets. While the fragrance of these is acceptable to us, most dogs recoil from the smell because their olfactory senses are much more refined than ours. What is a fragrance for you might be a disturbing irritant for your dog, so if you see the dog sneezing more often or resisting attempts to go where you have used an air freshener, remove the offending item at once. Some dogs are allergic to the chemicals in these substances, so it is better to avoid them altogether.

Your kitchen should be off-limits. As beloved as your dog is to you, you will have to keep him or her out of the kitchen. This is where you cook and keep the wet garbage, both of which are very attractive to your dog. However, most pets have a tendency to shed hair on a daily basis, and if you allow your dog to enter and exit the kitchen at will, there will be dog hair all over the counters and cooking tops, not to mention in your food itself. Dogs are also immediately attracted to garbage pails, so you will have to keep the pail out of reach and difficult to knock over. Apart from training your dog to wait outside the kitchen and never to follow you inside, you can install door guards at the kitchen entrance so that the dog can’t get in. Install a lockable door for your kitchen as well, which should be locked when the kitchen is not in use.

Categories
Achieve

Mumbai police beat Pune cops

…in a game of rugby. Greater Mumbai Police and Maharashtra State Police bagged the top honours in Bombay Cup 2015.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

It was a keenly contested match between the police forces. In the end, Greater Mumbai Police and Maharashtra State Police defeated Pune Police and Mumbai Magicians by 27-7 and 23 -13  respectively, in the first round of the ‘Bombay Cup 2015’, WIRFU’s premier 15-a-side Rugby Championship held at Bombay Gymkhana grounds.

A total of 6 teams across the state participated in the championship. The participant teams are Bombay Gymkhana, Maharashtra state Police (MSP), Pune Police, Pune District Rugby Team, Greater Mumbai Police (GMP) and Mumbai Magicians Rugby team.

The opening game between Greater Mumbai Police and Pune Police was keenly contested. Pune Police’s Sagar Babare scored the first try and secured the conversions in the first 25 minutes and built pressure on Greater Mumbai Police in the first half of the game. At the end of the first half, GMP Captain Vitthal Pawar scored the try and led the concluding score to 7 – 5.

But, in the second half, GMP came back very aggressively. Beginning of the second half, Sangappa Shinge scored the second try for GMP. And Rajaram Mote, Sanket Dhumal and Vipul Mokal continued the momentum by scoring one Try each for GMP. Pradeep Londhe successfully booted the last conversion. And the final score was 27-7.

The second game between Maharashtra State Police and Mumbai Magicians was tightly contested. The Mumbai Magicians Rugby team started off strong. In the first 15 minutes, the Magicians’ Ajinkya scored the first try and 10 minutes later Shankar Rathod scored the second try. At the end of the first half, Pappu Todkar scored the try for MSP and Sunil Chauhan booted the penalty conversion  for Magicians at the led the concluding score to 13-5.

In the second half of the game Mumbai Magicians couldn’t hold the opponent’s attack. Maharashtra Police came back and thrashed the Magicians defence. In the second half Sandeep Kamble scored in the 50th minute and two minutes later, Pankaj Khopde scored another try for MSP and Pappu Todakar successfully booted the conversion. In the last phase of the game, MSP Skipper Ranjit Jambhale sneaked out from opponent winger and scored the last try. In the second half, MSP did not let Mumbai Magicians score single try against them. The final score was 23-13.

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Film

Vaajlaach Paahije – Game Ki Shinema

A story that tries to highlight the sleazy side of the film world, the film fails spectacularly at every level.
by Ravi Shet

Rating: 2 out of 5

As stories go, this one had the potential to be both a laugh fest and a thought-provoking critique on the ills of the movie world. However, this film does neither and is merely an excruciating watch for the audience.

Vaajlaach Paahije – Game Ki Shinema (directed by R Viraj) starts with struggling director Makarand Thokare aka Yash (Rajesh Bhosale) auditioning actors for an upcoming film. Sitting in on the auditions is Raj (Chinmay Udgirkar), a struggling actor himself. Yash and Raj are desperately looking for a producer who can finance their film. During their hunt for a producer, they meet moneybags producer Bhau Damdar (Bhalchandra Kadam), who is in the business only to get intimate with pretty girls.

Bhau agrees to finance the duo’s film on the condition that they get a beautiful heroine for it. He also hands over an advance payment to the duo so that the heroine can be brought in quickly.

 

Raj goes out to look for ‘suitable’ faces and finalises Supriya (Girija Joshi) – but Supriya has an ulterior motive up her sleeve. Pretending that she needs the role because she is poor, she also accepts that Raj is infatuated with her. Meanwhile, Yash is at his wits’ end because Bhau rejects each script he brings, before saying that he wants the film to be made on a truly terrible script, ‘Nal Damayanti – The Intimate Love Story’.

Bhau is excited about meeting the girl for the film, but there is a shock in store when Yash and Supriya turn out to be siblings. By this time, Yash has decided to make a film on the sly without their producer knowing about it, and also to save his sister from Bhau’s clutches.

R Viraj has tried hard to bring Dada Kondke’s style of cinema back with this film, however he fails miserably at the attempt. Bhalchandra Kadam delivers a good performance as a filthy producer. Apart from some funny moments, the film falls flat in every possible way. Also, the innuendo in the dialogues is forced and completely unfunny.

(Picture courtesy starblockbuster.com)

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grey space

Why I refused to take care of my grandkids

Mandakini Mashelkar refused to become a full time babysitter for her grandchildren. What caused this refusal? This is her story.
As told to Reyna Mathur

Everyone says that as parents, we must do everything to protect our children. In India, we go to extreme lengths to ensure that our children are happy. Even when they grow up, we run to assist them and make their life easier. I was one of those parents, too.

My husband and I ran a garment business together in Pune, and we shifted to Mumbai in 1996. Since then, we settled into our life in the city fairly quickly. Ever since we had our two children – my sons Sangram and Sanket – we had been focussed on giving them the best life ever. And we did. Our sons grew up to become engineers, and both of them got jobs in US-based companies. It was just a matter of time before they went to work abroad. Five years ago, my younger son went to the UK with his wife, and a year later, Sangram went to Germany with his fiancee.

Two years ago, my husband and I went to Germany when Sangram’s wife, Maitri, gave birth to their son. We stayed there for four months to assist them while they took care of their baby. We had just returned home after this visit that Sanket asked us to come to the UK because his wife, Sonali was pregnant. On hearing this, my husband became silent.

A few days later, I asked him, “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t want to go,” he said.

“But they need our help!” I protested.

“I don’t want to go,” he repeated stubbornly.

A little digging revealed that he was uncomfortable doing ‘babysitting duties’ for our sons. As he spoke, I realised that what he was saying was true. Our trip to Germany had exhausted us. At our age, it was very difficult to care for an infant. While we were there, Sangram’s mother-in-law had also dropped in and she was to stay for six months. We were to go at the end of this period. “We can’t keep doing this,” my husband reasoned. “First Sangram’s baby, then Sanket’s baby. We can’t keep shuttling between countries like this.”

The mother in me protested against the wife in me – my sons needed our help while they took care of their young children and their jobs. But then my husband said the most important thing: “Whom did we call when we had our sons? You were managing our business with young sons in your lap. We did it. Our children will, too.”

When I told Sanket that we would not be coming, he was furious. He demanded to know why we could not help him after helping his brother. I explained gently that we would visit occasionally, but only for a few days. Staying at their homes, with nothing to do apart from taking care of the baby, came with its own problems: we did not have a car at our disposal, so we had to wait for our sons to come home and take us out. There was ample free time but nothing to do.

Both my sons were upset for a while. But my husband and I remained resolute. We will visit them both next year and stay for only a couple of weeks. In the meantime, we have travelled to five places in India and both of us have joined a gym. You could say that in our retirement years, my husband and I have a greater bonding and we are rediscovering our love for each other. Keeping active and living within our means has given us a good quality of life in our senior years.

My friends and our relatives think we are being selfish in not helping our children. I think we have already done enough for them. It is now our time to enjoy our retirement years.

Mandakini Mashelkar loves to cook, read and play chess. She lives in Thane with her husband, Anant. 

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(Picture courtesy www.sereneretirement.com. Image used for representational purpose only)

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