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Luxury On Your Wrist

It was one of those innocuous invites that drop into your inbox. Billed as a landmark event for the luxury connoisseur in India, The Circle of Time was positioned as an international haute horology show, a seven-day exposition put together by Mumbai-based retailer Rose: The Watch Bar. Among the brands that would be on display were Bulgari, Hublot, Jaeger-LeCoultre (JLC), Parmigiani and Ulysse Nardin. One colleague suggested, “We could do a feature on watches to die for.” Another one chipped in, “Watch out (pun unintended) for brands above Rs 25 lakh.” After a visit to the exposition I came back with a view that neither of these demands could be met — in a positive way, that is. First, the “watches to die for” line could change to “these are watches one could kill for”. Second, the price benchmark of Rs 25 lakh suddenly seemed too low. Some of the watches on display were as expensive as an M.F. Husain or Tyeb Mehta painting. So it was apt that the location for the “circle of time” was an art gallery in posh South Mumbai. For those who prefer art in platinum, Swiss watchmaker Ulysse Nardin had showcased the Royal Blue Tourbillon Haute Joaillerie that has, among other things, a flying tourbillon movement. The ‘limited edition’ of the watch is restricted to only 30 pieces in platinum at a price of Rs 2.31 crore. Those who believe watches to be technical works of art could look at the Ulysee Nardin Freak Blue Phantom. The watch can be yours for the taking at Rs 56 lakh. The Swiss watch maker also showcased the Safari Minute Repeater and the Triple Jack Minute Repeater. ULYSSE NARDIN: The Classico Lady has a diamond- and jewel-encrusted exotic bird; HUBLOT: The prized Baguette is a fusion between the traditional and futuristicBulgari Saphir by specialist watchmaker Gerald Genta has a crystal domed sapphire and an 18-carat rose gold crown. The watch, with full sapphire case — front, back and even the sides — and super luminova barrels to mark each hour, comes for Rs 1.23 crore; a potential buyer will be one of only 25 people across the world to be seen with one. Some of the watches could open doors for you; literally so, if you own an Aston Martin: the JLC’s AMVOX Transponder at Rs 19.79 lakh can actually open and close the doors of an Aston Martin. If your loyalties lie with Bugatti Veyron Super Sport, then there is a watch that’s styled to match the contours of your sports car from the house of Parmigiani. Bugatti Super Sport, as the watch is called, is designed in two planes to match the contours of the case, and to orient the dial in the “driver’s watch” position. If the watch is laid flat, the movement is at a 30° angle. Parmigiani flips all the mechanical components of the new Calibre PF 372 onto a vertical axis, while retaining a lateral time display for the driver. The Calibre PF 372 inside the Super Sport is entirely bespoke: every part is crafted to the exact size and shape needed not only to do the job, but to create a whole design for the timepiece. You buy the car for Rs 17 crore, and the watch costs around one-tenth of it. If you are keen about Formula One racing, you could try the Tourbillon F1 by Hublot that comes with a price tag of Rs 1.04 crore. For soccer fans, there is a piece of Manchester United in the form of a limited edition Hublot at Rs 21.4 lakh that has real grass from the Old Trafford football field cast into the dial. And no, you don’t have to buy a lawn mower as an accessory! Hublot, the masters of fusion between the traditional and futuristic through design, knowledge and materials, showcased an array of watches including Hublot Big Bang Vendome Tourbillon and Vendome Gold Tourbillon. JLC displayed the Master Compressor Extreme LAB 2 that’s best suited to extreme conditions and is the preferred companion of adventure seekers. Priced at Rs 31.42 lakh, it was worn by climber Stefan Schafter to the summit of an unconquered Himalayan peak, subsequently named Mount Antoine-LeCoultre. The JLC Ultra Thin Reverso Tribute 1931 is, as the name suggests, a tribute to polo players from the days of the British Raj. Legend has it that to avoid cracking or even scratching the case of their watches during a tough game of polo, the players could simply reverse the case of the watch. Talk about protection from the vagaries of time.(This story was published in Businessworld Issue Dated 05-11-2012)

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The Goa In Macau

Off Coloane Square, Macau’s old centre, we’ve been wandering for an hour now through quiet tree-lined lanes with old Portuguese homes, churches and bakeries, so dramatically different from the regular red-lantern-festooned busy streets. With just some vague directions, our destination seems almost impossible to attain. But just as we are about to give up — content to have taken in the sights and smells of an older town; and marvel at the elegance of its peeling, brightly-painted European facades — we finally stumble upon it! San Lazaro is a quiet neighbourhood, distinctly Portuguese. It reminds us just a little of old Goa. A winding road leads us to Albergue 1601, one of  the city’s best-kept secrets: a Portuguese restaurant and a quaint store selling handmade sabonete (soap; note the similarity with sabun), pottery and bric-a-brac made in Lisbon. The campus has a big camphor tree, with a Magic Faraway Tree air, branches reaching out to other worlds. It may be just that: the portal to this different dimension, so close, yet so far from a Macau of glitz and bling, nightclubs, and blackjack tables where gamblers-at-heart can while away their holidays. Macau’s portuguese past still hides in its old and quiet neighbourhoods away from the flash of the casinosAt the Cotai strip where I am staying, the glitzy Macau is very much in evidence. This is Asia’s Vegas; and you can choose your gambling tables at any of the resorts competing for attention. But if bling is not your style, there are other hangout options too. At the new Sheraton Macao, everything spells scale, including the 3,800-plus rooms and 15,000 sq. m of banqueting space. Still, this is a quieter work-cum-leisure retreat on the strip. I begin my food tour at Xing, their Chinese restaurant, with a hotpot meal, choosing fresh seafood to go into a bubbling soup pot on the table. And at Bene, the all-day diner, where desserts (including custom-made lollies) are to die for, I discover the famous egg tarts, treats that also show up a fusion of two cultures — Portuguese and Chinese — at their best. If you have been to Hong Kong or indeed any authentic dim sum place anywhere, you would have come across the Guangdong egg tart, supposedly inspired by English custard tarts in Hong Kong, a former British colony. In Macau, these take on a different form, approximating the pasties de nata of the Portuguese, wonderfully caramelised on top and different from the Hong Kong/English versions. Your most interesting discovery in Macau could be Macanese and Portuguese cuisines rather than a talent for gambling! Whether it is Albergue 1601 that we have hunted for so dedicatedly or Fernando’s in Taipa (the smaller of the two islands that also make up Macau) or A Lorcha (‘The Sailboat’, on the main peninsula, close to the A-Ma temple), restaurants serving these dishes are often hidden in quieter neighbourhoods. But they all serve up a similar menu. Bacalhau (salted codfish, with hundreds of recipes, a Portuguese staple) is done in different ways in each of these restaurants, sometimes with a localised Macanese twist, with more spice and seasoning and smaller (Chinese-inspired?) cuts. If you want to draw some more colonial connections, they are aplenty here: this indeed is the original balchao, the Goan special we all swear by. The Goan dish today is immediately recognisable with its tangy tomato-chilli sauce but balchao is actually a method of pickling introduced by the Portuguese — a take on the bacalhau. Many Macanese menus will also serve you Porco Balichao Tamarino, pork cooked in tarmind paste, shrimp paste, chillies and topped off with a dash of sugar — totally reminiscent of balchao! I also find echoes of another Goan dish, chicken cafreal, on Macau menus. Galinha à africana is a popular dish — whole chicken baked with chillies, garlic and coconut milk. It’s a fusion recipe with a long lineage: arriving with the Portuguese via Africa, where it was a grilled bush dish. In the Goan version, the chicken is fried, not baked, and imbued with tones of coriander, garlic and lime. And then, there is bread. Like India, China did not have a tradition of baking. In Macau, as in Goa, it was introduced by the Portuguese. And if we got pao as a result, Macau has its polo buns, crispy outside, soft inside, perfect to mop up all those seafood curries with. Like in Goa, Portugal is alive in many ways in this former colony: in restored churches, old facades of homes and, above all, in fusion recipes that form part of a living culture. invogue(at)bworldmail(dot)com(This story was published in Businessworld Issue Dated 05-11-2012) 

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All In The Experience

I don’t think I’ve seen quite so many super-gadgets launched in so short a span. It’s been quite a festival of smartphones, tablets, ultrabooks and in-betweens. There was the Note II, not so long ago, a whole set of smartphones from HTC including a signature Windows Phone 8 handset and the ramped up One X+ Android phone. Nokia’s Lumia 920 and 820 are on the coming-any-moment list and Google launched more Nexus devices, including the big Nexus 4 made by LG. Then there was the iPad Mini, which hasn’t arrived here yet, and of course the iPhone 5 which arrived and went out of stock instantly. And some powers that be decided India must do something hi-tech, so they launched the Aakash 2 — again. I hope we hear about it next only once it’s done changing the lives of millions of Indian students. In two and a half months, if luck is on RIM’s side, BlackBerry 10 will launch, bringing another re-imagined OS, apps and new smartphones. What a surfeit of choice. If only the heating competition would cool the prices down… With this spate of new top-of-the-line gadgets coming in when shopping is on our minds, it’s only natural for consumers to look for the ‘best’ among smartphones and tablets. But there really is no best. I’ve seen technology divide users as if it were a religion, with iPhone users treating their favourite device like a ‘godphone’ and evangelising it to anyone considering buying a smartphone. I’ve also seen the Android camp unleash its most vitriolic sarcasm at the ‘fanbois’. Windows diehards are also becoming active and pretty soon we may have ‘BlackBerry people’ with a thing or two to say. Much the same is happening with form factors.  But, stop to consider how boring a world we would have if there were but one option — which would soon wither from lack of challenge. We need variety and choice, and thankfully, we’re getting them. I’ve said this before though, and now one can explore the idea with more examples, but in looking at the newest, fastest gadget with the most powerful specs, don’t forget to explore the potential experience — in relation to you and your own way of using devices. It sounds obvious but all too often I get asked whether one should buy a phone because it’s “supposed to be the best”. Recently, for instance, someone asked me to pit the iPhone5 against the Galaxy Note II. As soon as the discussion began it quickly moved away from which had a faster processor and more RAM. After all, the devices couldn’t be more different from one another as far as the experience goes.  The iPhone5, with its clean cut design and a look that spells perfection even before you touch it, is fantastic for those who instantly love the way it looks, especially for those who are already Apple fans. It’s all about an ecosystem that is in many ways ahead of everyone else, no matter what the activity. The apps in the App Store, which some believe will reach a figure of one million before the year ends, ensure that there’s a lot to choose from for different types of users. The Note II, which may not look as satisfyingly designed and doesn’t have that many apps to draw from on the Google Play Store, has a different advantage. It’s all about the stylus meeting that 5.5 inch screen, which it does with silky smoothness and high speed. The Note II is productivity-oriented; more of a lean-forward phone-tablet than say an iPad or Mini and less personal than the iPhone. The size of the Note, which I often see listed as a drawback in reviews, is precisely what its users want: some extra real estate without going into the 7+ inch territory. So the two devices suit different types of people.  As for the iPhone5 vs Android phones, the ecosystem evolving from Google offers a different sort of experience. Google puts to use what it knows about users — and it knows a lot because it’s got your search habits, your location, your Gmail and more. Travelling with a device that has Google Now (on the Jelly Bean version of Android) is an interesting way to experience this information push. The Play Store may not have as many apps as Apple’s and of the same quality, but the direction it takes in knowing what you want is going to be valuable to some.  Windows Phone 8 enters this landscape with a refreshingly different approach. It’s still evolving and doesn’t have anywhere near the number of apps that established ecosystems do but if it gives users specific applications that really fit into their lives (such as the Kid’s Corner that so many appreciate already), it will also appeal to a certain kind of user.  The hardware, no matter how attractive, has to fit into the ecosystem of applications and a form factor to match and then be able to deliver a compelling experience. That will make it the ‘best’ for someone. mala(at)pobox(dot)com, (at)malabhargava on Twitter (This story was published in Businessworld Issue Dated 26-11-2012) 

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Be Money Smart

 A wealth manager in your pocket — handy apps help you track expenses, investments and manage budgets.Click Here To View(This story was published in Businessworld Issue Dated 26-11-2012) 

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Breaking The Sound Barrier

Ah, music… whether it be the strains of an old film song or the raw atmosphere of a live concert, music has the ability to break down barriers of culture and geography like little else. Isn't it ironic that for something that's meant to be so liberating, most of our music stays locked away in your computer on gathers dust on your CD racks and is rarely at hand with us in other rooms? Thankfully, there are several ways of freeing your music and enjoying it around your home - take your pick! But first, ensure your wireless network is up to scratch. If you're currently using a wireless A or B standard router, it can end up being your network's primary bottleneck. What happens is that a router working only on the old standards slows your network's ability to move content from one device to another. Make sure that your router is at least an N-standard model (that is, a dual-band router based on the IEEE 802.11n standard that supports speeds of 300 mbps on both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz channels). If it isn't, buy a new one that is. Why a dual-band router, you ask? It's really very simple - you can use the more crowded 2.4GHz frequency channel to do your everyday work like web browsing, email etc, and reserve the less crowded 5GHz band for music and video, applications that have fast transfer speed requirements. AirPlay: It's the latest buzz in home entertainment — what AirPlay lets you do is stream music from any iPhone, iPad or PC/Mac running iTunes to one or more AirPlay-compatible speakers, AV receivers or stereo systems. If you're running your tunes off your computer, you can even use the Remote app installed on an iPhone or iPod Touch to control that music from anywhere in the house as well. AirPlay compatible systems have recently started launching in India, such as the Philips DS9800W (Rs. 65990/-) and the Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Air (Rs. 40,000) among others, but they're still on the pricey end of things. Airport Express/Logitech UE Smart Radio: A cheaper and more hassle-free solution — it still involves iTunes, though - is the Apple Airport Express (Rs. 7,140) gets you going in no time — just setup the device on your network, plug it into a power socket in the other room and connect it to your speakers or your home-theater amp. You will need one for each room you want to pipe your tunes to, though. A built-in speaker solution is offered by Logitech with its UE Smart Radio ($180), which connects to your Wi-Fi network and lets you stream Internet radio, plus all the tunes stored on your PC. And since it packs in a rechargeable battery, it can go anyplace in your house where you have a Wi-Fi signal. Sonos: If you want to go all out and look at a professional multi-room solution, Sonos is the one for you. Sonos offers a complete range of devices, including speakers, network bridges and amplifiers that talk to each other and to a central console, and let you stream the same (or different) tracks to different rooms. You can start small with a 1-speaker setup, and add rooms as you go along. Only caveat - no sales/support in India.  The Sonos Range Of Sound DevicesDLNA: Do you have a Galaxy Tab, a Sony Blu-ray player, a PS3 or an X-Box 360 already? If you do, you already have a home streaming solution courtesy a standard called DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) which allows any PC running a DLNA software to broadcast music to your device (Windows 7 has this functionality bundled). What's more, a growing range of LCD/LED TVs (and most Android phones) now support DLNA out of the box, so if you already have a compatible device, the connections are a cinch, and this could work out to be very cost effective indeed! Apple TV/Xbox360: If your TV is the center of your entertainment world, an Apple TV will let couch potatoes access all of their PC-based media through iTunes. Granted, this device has severely restricted functionality in India - you can't rent or purchase high-definition flicks from the iTunes store - but it will happily stream music, podcasts, audio books, photos, movies and TV shows. Xbox 360 owners can pick up a wireless network adapter which allows Windows 7 and Vista PCs to stream media over to your console. Bluetooth Speakers: While they're technically not a streaming solution since they operate under the range limits of Bluetooth devices (instead of using Wi-Fi), you could pick up one if all you need is a no-wires connection between your iPod/PC and your speaker. The Jawbone Jambox and the Bose Soundlink Wireless Mobile speakers come highly recommended. Home Sharing: Looking for a quick and dirty solution? Turn on Home Sharing in your iTunes library and you can stream your music to any iPad, iPod or iPhone on your home network. Connect them to any speakers and you're set! In For A RideGot a love for adventure and an iPhone at hand? Pick up the Mophie OUTRIDE ruggedised case, which not only protects your device but also serves as a helmet or bicycle mount to record all your zany rides, climbs or bungee jumps. The integrated wide-angle lens with a 170 degree viewing angle ensures that you capture all of that heart-stopping action and epic outdoor moments!URL: http://bit.ly/OMWW4dPrice: $129 Clean Sweep If you're sloppy around the computer (or have kids, for that matter), Logitech's Washable Keyboard K310 makes it easy to clean up all those spills. Simply submerge it into up to 11 inches of water and give it a good scrubbing! It clearly isn't the cheapest or the prettiest keyboard out there, but I can imagine a fair number of folks can see a need for this device!URL: http://bit.ly/PvOaqltechnocool at kanwar dot nettwitter@2shar 

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Akai Launches Smart Box For Rs 6,950

Japanese consumer electronics firm Akai on October 4 launched a 'Smart Box', which allows users to surf Internet on their television sets, and all at a price of Rs 6,590. The company, which is targeting revenues of Rs 250 crore this fiscal, expects sales of one lakh devices in the next 3-4 months.  "Our Smart box is set to change the way people watch television in India. TVs, irrespective of whether it's a colour TV or LCDs and LEDs, are compatible with the device and using Smart Box can be converted into a smart television," Akai Managing Director Pranay Dhabhai said.  The Android-based device, powered by a 1.25-Ghz processor, comes with a wireless mouse for navigation. It is equipped with 4GB internal memory, expandable upto 32GB through SD card slot. It allows users to surf the internet, read e-books, check e-mails, weather and market updates, play games, book travel tickets, play music, videos on YouTube and of course log on to Facebook, Twitter or Skype accounts. Customers can also shop from TV by logging onto any of the shopping portals.- Internet Browsing-1.25 GHz CPU Processor -Creates Wi-Fi Hotspot -3G Dongle and 2G Network support  -HDMI port for Full HD video playback -AV port -Android Operating System -Wireless mouse -SD/MMC card slot (Supports upto 32 GB) -4GB Internal Memory -In-built IM (Google Talk, Skype, Yahoo) & Social Networking Sites (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Youtube) -Calendar and Calculator function -DLNA Support -Games-Built-in Wi-Fi and Ethernet port  “Customers can upgrade their existing TV to a Smart TV which gives Full HD viewing experience without changing their existing TV” says Pranay Dhabhai, MD, Akai India. Originating in Japan, Akai’s Indian product portfolio includes consumer electronics, appliances, home entertainment, telecom, IT & digital products. The company has recently launched two new models of LED TVs and 1 new model for LCD TV. Global Brands Enterprise Solutions Pvt. Ltd. (GBES) is a multi-brand, multi-product-sale, distribution, logistics and after sales service company established in 2009 for business in India and neighbouring Countries. GBES is exclusive licensee for AKAI brand for India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal.   Similar to Apple TV, Smart Box is a digital media device which allows users to access content like videos, games and websites using WiFi and broadband connection. Google, which operates the Android platform, also plans to launch its set-top box 'Google TV'. 

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Tyeb Mehta Sets Rs 9.63-Crore Auction Record

Modernist painter Tyeb Mehta notched up another record when his oil painting fetched Rs 9.63 crore ($1.8 million) at the recent online Saffronart Autumn art auction, becoming the most expensive artwork to be sold this season.The 1988 oil on canvas "Falling figure with Bird" is the fourth highest price achieved amongst Mehta's other paintings sold across the world.The late master's work was among 53 sold works out of a total of 75 works in Saffronart's annual online Autumn auction that featured 35 modern and contemporary Indian artists and raked up a total sales of Rs 21.04 crore ($3.9 million).Said to be one of the most important ones from Mehta's suite of falling figures, the painting draws on both Indian and Western myths and legends depicting an androgynous human figure entangled with that of a bird.The figures, locked together in endless free fall, convey not only the anxiety and disquiet that the Mumbai -born Mehta carried with him following his experiences of the horrors of Partition and war, but also his engagement with modernist concepts like existentialism and "Universal Man".Before the sale Saffronart had said they expected the work to fetch between Rs 8.1 crore-Rs 10.8 crore.Mehta who died in 2009 was the first Indian artist to break the Rs 1 crore barrier. In the year 2002 at a Christie's auction Mehta's "Celebration" fetched Rs 1.5 crore. In the year 2005 his work "Mahishasura" again crossed the $1 million mark. In 2008 one of his paintings sold for $2 million.In December 2005, Mehta's painting "Gesture" was sold for 3.1 crore at the Osian's auction.Previously, in the 2011 Saffronart Autumn Art auction, Tyeb Mehta's "Untitled" was the top lot and sold for Rs 7.19 crore.Another top attraction in the recently concluded Saffronart auction was a rare work by Amrita Sher Gill.The rare 1931 painting "Untitled (Zebegeny Landscape)" fetched Rs 3.24 crore falling within the estimated Rs 3.24 -Rs 4.32 crore. The canvas was one of only five paintings by the artist to have ever come up for public auction.The landscape portrays a grassy path meandering along a thatched wall. While the light in the foreground is dappled, passing through a stand of tall trees on the right, the sky beyond them is a bright, clear blue.Meanwhile acclaimed modernist painter M F Husain's "That Obscure Object of Desire Eight" fetched Rs 1.17 crores. One untitled work of his went under the hammer for Rs 71.64 lakhs while another was sold at Rs 31.59 lakh.Francis Newton Souza's "Figure on Red & Green Background fetched Rs 65.19 lakh, N S Bendre's "Untitled" won the bid at Rs 51.6 lakhs.An untitled Ramkumar work fetched Rs 48.72 lakhs while another of his untitled works went for Rs 27.03 lakh.Contemporary artist Bharti Kher Bharti Kher's "Indra's Net(6)" fetched Rs 47.7 lakh.(PTI)

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Catching 40 Winks, Or More

If you have difficulty sleeping peacefully at night, raise your hand. Actually, it’s 2 in the morning and I just saw your updated Facebook status, so you can let it fall listlessly by your side. Sleep, which should come naturally without making much of an effort, is fast becoming a precious commodity. Most of us spend hours either tossing or turning in bed or going online to kill time. The phrase sleeping like a baby is only literal now. If you too are a compulsive nightbird but wish you could sleep more, read on: To Eat Or Not To Eat: Most of us know that coffee, cocoa, cola drinks, dark chocolates and other foods with high levels of caffeine are great if you are planning to burn the midnight oil but if you are proposing to visit dreamland, then they should be avoided 3-4 hours before bedtime. However, how many of us know that there are foods that could help us sleep better? Foods high in tryptophan, a sleep-inducing amino acid, help us relax and sleep peacefully. These include bananas, spinach, dates, fish and dairy products such as milk, cheese and curd. A warm glass of milk seems to do the trick for many. Milk not only contains high levels of tryptophan but also increases the serotonin levels, allowing us to sleep comfortably. “A cup of chamomile tea just before bed helps relax you,” says Shikha Sharma, a Delhi-based wellness consultant. Switch Off: How many times do you stay up at night because you can see the tiny red light indicating that the laptop, phone or iPad is charging? What about the illuminated numbers on the air conditioner or the red and green dots on the TV, the DVD player or set-top box? They all distract you and prevent you from sleeping. Switch off all electronic gadgets in the room when you go to bed. The darker the room, the easier it is going for your body to realise that it is time to sleep. This is because the production of melatonin, a hormone that helps regulate your sleep-wake cycle, is controlled by light exposure. Ideally, your brain should secrete more in the evening, when it’s dark, to make you sleepy, and less during the day when you want to stay awake and alert. But our disruptive habits play havoc with our body’s natural production of melatonin, sending our sleep-wake cycle for a toss. For instance, bright lights at night, especially from TV or laptop, can suppress production of melatonin, making it harder to sleep. Reading on an iPad or other back-lit devices have a similar effect. Change The Position Of Your Bed: Are you a believer in vastu? If so, you may want to change the direction of your bed. According to vastu shastra, you should sleep with your head in any direction except north. Says R. Ravishankar, a vastu consultant, “Our body is like a magnet with our head being the north pole and our legs the south. When our head is in the north direction, the north pole of our body repels the north pole of the earth’s magnetic field. This repulsion causes a bad magnetic stir in our brain and our subconscious mind struggles for peace.” Create A Routine: Creating a night-time ritual sends a signal to your body that it is time to sleep. So have a warm shower, brush your teeth, read a little, listen to some music and lie in bed. You should soon be asleep. Your routine should be relaxing and not involve anything too strenuous that could keep you from falling asleep. For instance, don’t start reading a particularly interesting book as you would stay up wanting to finish it. Read something you have already read. Also if you are unable to sleep, don’t just lie in bed. Your body needs to associate your bed with sleep, so never lie in bed tossing and turning for more than 30 minutes, get up instead. Odour Of The Night: Try aromatherapy. Put a few drops of lavender on your pillow or add a few drops of valerian, chamomile or catnip to your bath. These oils relax your senses, helping you sleep better. Says Vivek Sahni, director at Kama Ayurveda: “Lavender aids sleep as it removes any obstructions, and strengthens the nervous system.”  Oh, and if everything else fails, go back to the basics. Count sheep. Good night. smita(dot)tripathi(at)bworld(dot)in(This story was published in Businessworld Issue Dated 19-11-2012) 

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