Bua, aap Reporter mein anchor.

Tera Liyee Mein, Mere Liye Tu

Green World

Do DOST: Saksham & Bharat

Pls make way 4 here comes Junior RV

HOLLYWOOD HERE I COME

Main Ghar kee Bhau Hoon!

Visit to the Chappel-give us thy daily bread

Passing tips to new talents

Those were the days!

A visit to the ALMA MATER

St Mary's Allahabad

The fake frock that rocks

Indian fashion designers are not going to like this one bit. But, the truth of the matter is that fakes sell.

Here is a report from the UK’s Daily Mail newspaper, which says that the hottest selling item at a superstore chain in the UK this summer, is a summer dress which is an imitation of the original DKNY label.

The report states, that while the original dress is priced at £360 (approx. Rs 30,000), price-conscious lovers are flocking Asda (the store) in the hope of locating the designer inspired four-layer frock, priced at a mere £16 (approx. Rs 1,350).

The frock is tipped to become one of the best-selling garments of all time when it goes on sale in May.

There is a waiting list of around 3,000 and experts predict the dress sales will touch 10,000, breaking all records. The 70s style floaty sundress is made from cotton and has an imitation satin-finish bottom.

Mumbai may not have an Asda, but designers and imitators, it has aplenty. Fashion designer Ritu Kumar had created a stir when she had taken legal action against widespread plagiarism of her work.

Yet, to the despair of designers, fakes sell like hotcakes here, there and everywhere.

BUTT that's the way we celebrate?

We like to think of the celebratory chest butt as a Leander Paes-Mahesh Bhupathi speciality. The tennis superstars used to butt their chests after each winning shot, before they fell out as a doubles pair.

Here, Sri Lanka’s captain Mahela Jayawardene, and Tillekeratne Dilshan show that the chest butt is not just Paes-Bhupathi property as they celebrate the dismissal of New Zealand’s batsman Scott Styris in the semi-final.

HI-TECH CITY, LOW TECH TRANSPORT- NOIDA

MONEY! MONEY!MONEY !

Farmer Kartar Singh is a worried man. Not because he doesn't earn enough but because he doesn't know what do with his money!

A year ago, Singh sold off 20 acres of land to builders around Delhi and made more than Rs 10 crore in the process.

And though Kartar Singh has traded his bullock cart for a Honda City, it hasn't solved his problems. “I don't know how to spend the money and the most worrisome thing is the grown up kids who are going wayward,” he says.

But Singh is not alone, many nouveau riche farmers are worried about their children, especially their sons in their teens. “There is no need to work as we have enough money. Earlier, I used to take kuccha liquor and now it is exotic brands,” says another farmer, Mahendra.

“I am not worried that this money will be over, I am living in the present,” says Ram Pravesh.

There are more than 2,500 families of farmers around the National Capital Region who have sold off their land to builders.

But it's not just new money, it's a new life too: fast cars, playing fast and loose that seems to be the mantra of these young men whose fathers were once farmers.

“Planning should be in terms investment, counseling, government bonds,” said sociologist Dipankar Gupta.

But make no mistakes. It's only the men who are the privileged lot. Life hasn't changed much for the women in the families of these crorepati farmers.

“The land is not in the name of women folk,” say the women.

This kind of a behavioral pattern is prevalent across the country and it is a clear example of how urbanisation changes the dynamics of the society. Perhaps a bit of counseling would work wonders for the evolution of these rural families.

OF Rahul & Rahul

Nana Chudasama’s banner at ‘Talk of the Town’ in Marine Drive, proves to be a potent political-cricket cocktail. The banner, which talks about contemporary issues in the country, refers to Indian cricket captain Rahul Dravid and Congress politician Rahul Gandhi

A 34 Bat Salute

COURTESY MID-DAY PUBLICATIONS

Sachin Tendulkar will get a unique gift for his 34th birthday today: 34 miniature bats, which childhood pal Vinod Kambli will present him.

“When he got his 35th Test hundred, I sent him 35 vada pavs. It brought a smile to his face then. Now, this will cause a chuckle,” Kambli said.

Bleak timeThe batting maestro needs all the cheer considering it is a bleak time for him after a disastrous World Cup as well as experts questioning whether he should stay in the game.

It is a far cry from his 30th birthday, which he celebrated after he won the player of the tournament award in the 2003 World Cup in South Africa, where India reached the final.

Despite the gloom, Kambli does not believe it will be one of Tendulkar’s forgettable birthdays. “I don’t think he will be sad in any way because he is always positive,” he said.

On the reason for sending him 34 miniatures, Kambli laughed and said: “Firstly, I get a chance to give him my autograph, which I never have. And the 34 bats are to remind him that he WILL come back strongly and score a pile of runs in the Test series against Bangladesh."

Symbolic

Also, and very importantly, a bat is symbolic of Sachin’s love for the game. Hence, I am sending him not one, but 34.” Kambli does not agree with the decision to ‘rest’ Tendulkar from the one-day series in Bangladesh.

“Look, I have known Sachin since he was a kid. And I can vouch that all he wants is to play cricket. So, I don’t believe that he needed rest. He would rather be playing.”

HELP ME SACHIN!

COURTESY MID-DAY PUBLICATIONS

Duplicate, who earned Rs 30,000 a month, is jobless after India’s World Cup horror.

On March 23, Balvir Chand (37) earned Rs 5,000 just sitting at a pub, watching TV and cheering Team India play Sri Lanka.

After all, it wasn’t often that customers could watch two Sachins at one go — the real one on TV, the look-alike a few tables away.

The next day, the world as he knew it, crashed around him — India had been booted out of the World Cup. The impact was devastating. Chand’s demand for appearances at events, road shows, inaugurations ended.

The man who earned between Rs 30,000 and Rs 2 lakh a month, thanks to his resemblance with Tendulkar has been not earned a single paisa since then.

“I had signed up for a 20-day event across India for the World Cup, which would have earned me Rs 3 lakh. But Team India’s elimination from the Cup and Tendulkar’s performance shattered my dreams.”

He added, “Sachin allowed me to lead a respectable life, but today I am jobless and homeless. I was planning to buy a small apartment in Mira Road for Rs 5.5 lakh, but I can’t afford it any more.”

He had applied for a housing loan, but after the contract got cancelled he withdrew the application. He also has no money to pay the rent for his flat at Mira Road.

But Chand bears Tendulkar no grudges. “Sachin is a kindhearted man and if he knows that his lookalike is in distress, he will surely help me.” In fact, he says, Tendulkar has given him the courage to pick himself up despite the odds.

“I was thinking of packing my bags and going back to Punjab, but after I read a piece from Sachin’s interview where he says he will never give up, that he will work hard to come back in form, I decided to stay on in Mumbai,” he said, adding that his prayers were with Tendulkar, that he would once again play well so that he could ride on his success.

On the occasion of Tendulkar’s birthday 34th birthday on April 24, Chand has penned a poem. It goes: ‘Tujhko jo bhi mila hai muqaddar se mila hai… mujhko toh muqaddar bhi tere chehere se mila hai’.

Balvir came into the limelight in 1999 after he was called to England for the World Cup and was made to share the seat at the commentary box with the Sunil Gavaskar.

Chand has three children and worked as a ward boy in Ludhiana and apart from his family has to burden the responsibility of his mentally ill elder brother, who has four children.

Tendulkar is familiar with Chand, but it has been over a year since they met.

ASH-ABHI DHOOM : CHAL MERI CHANDANI

She was gorgeous. Dressed in silver finery specially ordered from Jaipur, Chandni did what she was meant to — deliver a resplendent Abhishek to his fiancé, Aishwarya.

The mare had three handlers — one had to hold the umbrella, the other had to make her wear the silver jewellery, while a third walked by her side.

The Bachchans chose Chandni, as she has been used in many weddings, real and reel.After all, she belongs to action master Tinu Verma, a friend of the Bachchans. The mare was transported from her farmhouse in Filmcity, Goregaon at Amitabh’s request.

Accompanying her on her journey was Tinu’s brother Jitu who, with the three handlers, reached Jalsa at 2 pm. With Abhishek astride Chandni, the signing, dancing baaratis reached Jalsa from Prateeksha.

Deed done, Chandni had an early pack up and went back home at 7 pm.

SPIDER MAN IN TULIP LAND

TULIPS

OPEN HOUSE

ODD COLOURS OF TULIPS

HOUSE AMONGST FLOWERS

EVERYONE'S OUT TO SEE THE BLOOM

COLOUR OF PEACE

CENTRE OF ATTRACTION

BLUE MEETS RED

TULIP FETIVAL - SKAGIT VALLEY

PICX: KULDEEP CHACHA

Skagit Valley is an area about 90 miles north of Seattle and the same distance south of Vancouver. As we all know Holland in Europe is home to Tulips.

Tulip were brought to Skagit Valley by one Mary Brown Stewart. She started growing Tulip bulbs, in 1906. In 1926 her son Sam Stewart started the Tulip Grange Bulb Farm near LaConner.

The farm was in business until 2002. Other bulb growers joined them after 1945. By 1997, 700 acres were used for bulb farming with a value of $42 million.

Tulips are in bloom only for a short period, in April. It attracts millions of tourist every year.Tulips were introduced in Europe in the 16th century from Ottoman Empire. Its popularity

in the Netherlands was boosted by competition between members of the upper classes for possession of the rarest tulips.

In 1623, a single bulb of a famous tulip variety could cost as much as a thousand Dutch florins (the average yearly income at the time was 150 florins). Tulips were also exchanged for land, valuable livestock, and houses. Allegedly, a good trader could earn six thousand florins a month.

My friends visited the Tulip Festival. It was just awesome. Like everyone else, they went crazy with the cameras. The pictures posted here are out of more than 300 pictures taken by them.

Needless to say, it was very difficult to reject the others! Enjoy the nature’s bounty.

OCA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

INDIA TRIED HARD BUT FAILED

SHERATON HOTELKUWAIT HOST TO OCA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

KOREA's BID FOR 2014