Welcome to the India's No. 1 entertainment site, offering you a variety of information. Entertainment offers you Latest bollywood movies, music, actors, actresses, reviews, trailers, celebrities, interviews, entertainment related gossip, news, picture galleries and online videos. Apart from providing day to day happenings, it also provides an Entertainment jokes filled with humor, quality games at an exceptional value. Entertainment is they who make cricket such big business in India as sport.
Our skin needs time and care for it to regenerate and leave behind the
old and tired. Without this, improving our skin condition and color is
an absolute impossibility. This is why we need to ensure the below
basics to make time for the skin to heal itself.
Follow a good skin care routine.
Do not skip the exfoliation on a regular basis! For without this we
cannot get rid of dead and dry skin. You needn’t always buy a scrub.
Homemade scrubs are just as effective! Use oatmeal for an exfoliator instead of a packaged product. There are many options!
Remove your makeup before you sleep every night. Yes every night
without fail no matter how dead tired you are! With makeup on, our skin
cannot repair itself.
Dissolve 2 aspirins in any dandruff shampoo
and then wash your hair. Results are amazing dandruff.
Make Your Own Herbal Hair Oil
(For dandruff & strong hair)
Take a bunch of mehendi leaves along
with amla pieces (either fresh or dried ones
which have been soaked overnight).
Grind these coarsely together.
Now take about 150 ml of coconut oil in a cooking vessel (kadai) and add the paste to it.
Simmer on low flame till all moisture evaporates.
Cool and strain use regularly.
Keeps dandruff away and also makes hair roots strong.
For a Glowing Face
Make a paste of 2 table spoons of cream (malai), 1½ table spoons of Ata (wheat flour
) and few drops of lime juice. Daily apply this paste on your face for 5
minutes, then remove it and wash.
[Note : For oily
skin use besan (gram flour) instead of Ata.]
Try to think positive, take proper sleep
and drink lots of water certainly no one can look more charming.
For Chicken Pox Marks
Kachhadoodh with chiraunji(bheegihui) mix it well and make
a paste, apply it on chicken pox marks, they will disappear in few days.
For Best Hair
Massage hair with warm coconut oil an hour
before washing. Take some petals of hibiscus and grind it in the mixer. Apply
this paste to your hair and then rinse it. For better result you can boil a few
hibiscus flowers in coconut oil. Filter this oil and use it to control hair
loss and thinning, you can also use Jaborandi oil which is again an extract of
hibiscus flower.
Tomato Wrap
Make a puree of 4 tomatoes. Soak some rice
for 30 minutes and grind it coarsely. Add this to the pureed tomatoes. Apply
this mixture all over the body and leave it on for about 15 minutes. Bathe with
warm water; this is a good scrub recipe for oily skin.
Hair Care
Problem:
Excessive hair loss or getting early grey hairs.
Remedy: Soak some methi
seeds in night and in the morning make the paste of the seeds and apply it to
your scalp. After 1½ - 2 hrs rinse it with plane water. This will strengthen
your hair and make them dark and shiny.
Skin care
Problem:
If your face is dry and rough.
Remedy: Take equal amount each of Melon, Pumpkin,
Cucumber and Watermelon and make a paste of these. Then blend it with milk
cream and apply it on your. After 1 hr rinse your face with plane water.
Problem:
Sunburn.
Remedy:
Mix 1 teaspoon of Besan with 2 teaspoon of curd and
apply it on your face. Let it remain on the face for ½ hrs. Rinse with plane
water. Helps in curing sunburns.
Skin Tips
Improve
your complexion
Mix
equal amounts of Cucumber juice and Lime juice and apply them to your face
before taking bath; wait for at least 10 mins.Your complexion will improve.
Household Tips for your skins–
Using Tomatoes
Tomatoes are Anti-Oxidant hence including tomatoes
in your daily diet will make your skin Wrinkle Free. And using the paste of one
day old curd with a tomato and applying it to your skin soft. Also, if you skin
is oily then applying the its pulp on your face for 15
min. then rinse your face with warm water. This will absorb extra oil from your
skin and improve your complexion.
Beauty Tips
a.After the Mehendi dries,
remove it and apply some Vicks Rub on your hands, let it be there for 5-6
hours. The color of your Mehendi will darken.
b.Remedy: Mix 1 teaspoon of Besan
with 2 teaspoon of curd and apply it on your face. Let it remain on the face
for ½ hrs. Rinse with plane water. Helps us during sunburns.
c.After removing the skin of the Cucumber and making
a paste of the cucumber with raw milk and applying it on your skin will improve
your complexion.
Environmentalists say the disaster in Uttarakhand was inevitable due to
rampant construction, felling of trees and building of dams in the name
of development. They warn it will continue if the state doesn't change
tack.
The Uttarakhand government’s failure to check indiscriminate
construction in the ecologically sensitive upper Himalayas is to blame
for the widespread devastation in the state, say environmentalists. And
if things continue, there will be worse to come.
Over 505 dams, part of 244 hydroelectric projects, have been proposed
or are being built on the Ganga and its tributaries — Mandakini,
Bhagirathi and Alaknanda — in Uttarakhand. A further 45 are already
running. The Char Dham area (the pilgrimage circuit of Kedarnath,
Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri), that’s the most affected by the
recent floods and landslides alone has around 70 dams.
“Uttarakhand gets high intensity rainfall and is prone to landslides.
It also falls in a zone of high seismic activity. Against this backdrop,
large hydroelectric projects increase the risk of disaster manifold as
they involve the construction of dams, long tunnels, and roads, all of
which require the blasting of hills,” Himanshu Thakkar, of the South
Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People, told dna.
Activists say that 95 per cent of the dams were built after 2000, when
Uttarakhand was formed. They rue that the state’s political leaders
think that tourism and dams are the only way to development.
Untreated sewage flowing into the river is another problem. It pollutes
the river, causing the riverbed to rise, leading to floods upstream and
flash floods downstream.
Illegal mining of stones from the riverbed using excavators is rampant.
On paper, excavators aren’t allowed. Only chugaan or manual picking is
permitted. But government data itself says there are around 4,640 cases
of illegal mining in the state and over Rs 100 crore has been collected
in fines from illegal miners. “This will continue if the central and state governments don’t stop the
rush to clear projects,” noted environmentalist GD Agrawal told dna.
Since 2008, this octogenarian has undertaken many fasts to draw
attention to the plight of the Ganga. One such fast was instrumental in
the scrapping of three major hydropower projects. Last week, Agarwal
embarked on another indefinite fast in Hardwar to demand the scrapping
of over 60 proposed and under construction hydropower projects. “Teerthyatra has become tourism and has had a devastating effect on the
ecology. Due to rapid deforestation, trees can no longer absorb
rainfall,” says Rajinder Singh, well-known environmentalist and member
of the Inter Ministerial Group on Upper Ganga basin hydropower projects.
Construction on rivers in the area spells doom, said Singh. Last year,
Uttarakhand banned Singh from entering the state after he protested
against under-construction dams.
Singh alleges the central government is also to blame for its silence.
In the last four years, the National Ganga River Basin Authority
(NGRBA), headed by the prime minister, has only met thrice. The last
meeting was in April 2012.
The rapid increase in tourism, especially between April and November,
is another cause for alarm (see box). The construction of lodges and
other tourism infrastructure is completely unregulated. During this
recent disaster many of these lodges and other buildings were heavily
damaged or washed away.
Activists say despite the many floods, landslides and cloudbursts in
recent years, nobody has learnt any lessons. “After the Uttarkashi flash
floods of 2012, the local administration prepared a report that
recommended the removal of illegally constructed structures on the
riverbed and flood plains. But the report did not see the light of day,”
Thakkar said.
Mallika Bhanot of Ganga Ahvaan, a local NGO, made the same point.
“Rampant construction in the upper reaches of the Ganga is not in line
with the topography of the region. There’ve been many instances in the
past pointing to the dangers of such construction,” said Bhanot.
The worst natural disaster in the country this year has reached its
tenth day and looks like the worst is not over yet. Uttarakhand still
lies wounded from the devastating floods and landslides that took
several lives and left thousands stranded.
Adding to the calamity, an IAF chopper crashes in Dehradun taking 19
lives. There were 20 people on board the MI-17 V-5 helicopter, including
nine National Disaster Response Force personnel and six Indo-Tibetan
Border Police Force jawans.
According to the IAF, the helicopter made a stop at Gauchar while
returning from Kedarnath. It took off from Gauchar at 2.30pm, but went
missing for three hours thereafter. Around 6pm, it was discovered that
the helicopter had crashed north of Gaurikund. This is the second such
incident in a week in Uttarakhand after a private helicopter carrying
relief material in Rudraprayag crashed near Gaurikund on Sunday, leaving
the pilot injured.
The entire country suffered a huge loss as pilgrims from all over were
visiting the worst affected Badrinath and Kedarnath areas
Many organisational bodies have travelled to Uttarakhand to evacuate
and help the victims. Their courageous and brave efforts are commendable
and applauded.
The Indian Armed Forces (IAF) has put to use some of the best military
skill-sets to great effect in the flash-flood affected zones of
Uttarakhand and rescued hundreds of fatigued and exhausted stranded
tourists almost seven days after the tragedy struck the Kedar Valley.
The state's disaster management and mitigation minister Yashpal Arya
Uttarakhand denied reports that quoted him as saying that he feared the
toll was nearly 5,000. “The enormity of disaster is so big that the toll
could be more than the present figure. However, the picture is likely
to be more clear in the coming days” he said.
* According to reports,
an estimated 4000 people are still stranded at Badrinath where there is
no road connectivity due to recent landslides. Nearly 1000 people need
to be evacuated in Harsil. The security personnel involved in the rescue
mission aim to airlift all those stranded in these two towns to safer
places so that they can be given proper medical care, food and water.
* An overcast sky and low visibility at places today did not come in
the way of air rescue operations, even though a thin veil of early
morning fog briefly delayed flight of choppers from Sahasradhara helipad
and Jollygrant airport. A Pawan Hans pilot engaged in relief and rescue
operations in Gauchar said the weather is okay in Uttarkashi with no
major hindrance to air rescue operations.
* As cremation of decaying bodies recovered from Kedarnath could not be
done yesterday due to bad weather, police are trying to ensure that the
process begins today in view of threat of outbreak of an epidemic
looming large, officials said.
* Air Chief Marshal Browne, who was speaking to media after visiting
the site of yesterday's IAF chopper crash, said: " I think 3 to 4 days
more till the weather clears out and the operation is complete.
* IAF Chief NAK Browne who visited the site of a chopper crash said
that most of the evacuation work has been completed, adding that they
would continue with rescue work once the weather allowed them a window
of opportunity. Speaking about the chopper crash that took place on
Tuesday evening Browne said, “What exactly happened we will know only
once we recover MI17 voice data recorder. We have sent commandos to the
crash site. We have recovered recording devices and only analysis will
reveal the cause of the crash.” However Browne was also quick to say
that the IAF was not going anywhere. “Morale is still very high…Our
rotors will not stop churning”, he said. The Air Chief also said that 20
people had been killed in the crash.
* Rescue operations continue to be severely affected by bad weather as
torrential rains show no sign of letting up. Air rescue operations have
been grounded in most areas and while ground operations are continuing.
* “There are so many bodies across the Kedarnath valley that it is not
surprising that their decay is causing contamination of water. It needs
to be contained now or we could have a bigger problem at hand,” an ITBP
official said told a leading newspaper.
* Floods affected areas in Uttarakhand are facing the threat of a
spreading epidemic. According to a report, the past 3 days more than 300
villagers from villages of Rampur, Sitapur and Sonprayag have reported
sick with similar symptoms such diarrhoea, fever, dysentery etc.
* According to Captain Ajay Srivastava, another pilot flying on the
same route, the MI17 that crashed had flown from dehradun with their
helicopter in the morning. He told CNN-IBN, “The incident happened at 1 or 2 pm around Guptkashi, and got confirmed at 4 pm. The weather is very bad.”
* The IAF lost one Mi-17 V5 helicopter in a crash during the rescue
operations in Gaurikund in which 19 persons, including officers of the
Air Force, were feared killed.
* Rescuers on Tuesday evacuated 2,403 pilgrims stranded in the
mountainous regions of flood-hit Uttarakhand even as 19 persons,
including IAF and paramilitary personnel, were feared killed in a
chopper crash near Gaurikund.
Cloth is given as a motivation, with dignity, to people working on
their own community issues. We turn age old charitable cloth into a
resource for much needed development work in Indian villages [Read more..]
By providing a small piece of clean cloth to a village woman, to be
used as a sanitary napkin, we can prevent a multitude of hygiene
problems.[Read more ..]
In the last few years Goonj.. has annually been initiating
‘RAHAT-FLOODS’ to collect relief material for the lakhs of victims in
Assam, Bihar & West Bengal during floods. [more]
Before every winter GOONJ actively initiates RAHAT Winters, its
winter campaign, as a response to a recurrent but often ignored problem
for the underprivileged. [more]
‘GOONJ’s mission is to make clothing a matter of concern. All our
products are made from the last strands and shreds of the cloth, paper
and other household material we get after sorting out the wearable,
usable stuff. This product is made out of torn cloth/jeans, audio tapes
etc. people discard in droves. There are no designer minds at work; it’s
largely the ingenuity of our own minds.’
One of the major festivals of India, Holi is celebrated with
enthusiasm and gaiety on the full moon day in the month of Phalgun
which is the month of March as per the Gregorian calendar.
Holi festival may be celebrated with various names and people of different
states might be following different traditions. But, what makes Holi so
unique and special is the spirit of it which remains the same throughout the
country and even across the globe, wherever it is celebrated. Preparations
Entire country wears a festive look when it is time for Holi celebration.
Market places get abuzz with activity as frenzied shoppers start making
preparations for the festival. Heaps of various hues of gulal and abeer can
be seen on the roadside days before the festival. Pichkaris in
innovative and modern design too come up every year to lure the children who
wish to collect them as Holi memorabilia and of course, to drench everybody
in the town.
Womenfolk too start making early preparations for the holi festival as they
cook loads of gujiya, mathri and papri for the family and also for
the relatives. At some places specially in the north women also make papads
and potato chips at this time.
Season of Bloom
Everybody gets delighted at the arrival of Holi as the season itself is so
gay. Holi is also called the Spring Festival - as it marks the
arrival of spring the season of hope and joy. The gloom of the winter goes
as Holi promises of bright summer days. Nature too, it seems rejoices at the
arrival of Holi and wears its best clothes. Fields get filled with crops
promising a good harvest to the farmers and flowers bloom colouring the
surroundings and filling fragrance in the air.
Legends
A Hindu festival, Holi has various legends associated with it. The foremost
is the legend of demon King Hiranyakashyap who demanded everybody in
his kingdom to worship him but his pious son, Prahlad became a
devotee of Lord Vishnu. Hiranyakashyap wanted his son to be killed. He asked
his sister Holika to enter a blazing fire with Prahlad in her lap as Holika
had a boon which made he immune to fire. Story goes that Prahlad was saved
by lord himself for his extreme devotion and evil minded Holika was burnt to
ashes, for her boon worked only when she entered the fire alone.
Since that time, people light a bonfire, called Holika on the eve of Holi
festival and celebrate the victory of good over evil and also the triumph of
devotion to god. Children take special delight in the tradition and this has
another legend attached to it. It says that there was once an ogress Dhundhi
who used to trouble children in the kingdom of Prithu. She was chased away
by children on the day of Holi. Therefore, children are allowed to play
pranks at the time of 'Holika Dahan'.
Some also celebrate the death of evil minded Pootana. The ogress
tried to Lord Krishna as an infant by feeding it poisonous milk while
executing the plan of Kansa, Krishna's devil uncle. However, Krishna sucked
her blood and brought her end. Some who view the origin of festivals from
seasonal cycles believe that Pootana represents winter and her death the
cessation and end of winter.
In South India, people worship Kaamadeva- the god of love
and passion for his extreme sacrifice. According to a legend, Kaamadeva shot
his powerful love arrow on Lord Shiva to revoke his interest in the worldly
affairs in the interest of the earth. However, Lord Shiva was enraged as he
was in deep mediation and opened his third eye which reduced Kaamadeva to
ashes. Though, later on the request of Rati, Kaamadeva's wife, Shiva was
pleased to restore him back.
Holika Dahan
On the eve of Holi, called Chhoti or Small Holi people gather at important
crossroads and light huge bonfires, the ceremony is called Holika Dahan.
This tradition is also followed in Gujarat and Orissa. To render
greatfulness to Agni, god of Fire, gram and stalks from the harvest are also
offered to Agni with all humility. Ash left from this bonfire is also
considered sacred and people apply it on their foreheads. People believe
that the ash protects them from evil forces.
Play of Colors Great
excitement can be seen in people on the next day when it is actually the
time for the play of colours. Shops and offices remain closed for the day
and people get all the time to get crazy and whacky. Bright colours of gulal
and abeer fill the air and people take turns in pouring colour water over
each other. Children take special delight in spraying colours on one another
with their pichkaris and throwing water balloons and passers by. Women and
senior citizen form groups called tolis and move in colonies -
applying colours and exchanging greetings. Songs, dance on the rhythm of
dholak and mouthwatering Holi delicacies are the other highlights of
the day.
Expression of Love
Lovers too long to apply colours on their beloved. This has a popular
legend behind it. It is said that the naughty and mischievous Lord Krishna
started the trend of playing colours. He applied colour on her beloved Radha
to make her one like him. The trend soon gained popularity amongst the
masses. No wonder, there is no match to the Holi of Mathura, Vrindavan and
Barsana - the places associated with the birth and childhood of Radha and
Krishna.
Ecstasy of Bhang
There is also a tradition of consuming the very intoxicating bhang on this
day to further enhance the spirit of Holi. It is so much fun to watch the
otherwise sober people making a clown of themselves in full public display.
Some, however, take bhang in excess and spoil the spirit. Caution should
therefore be taken while consuming bhang delicacies.
Sober Evening
After a funfilled and exciting day, the evenings the spent in sobriety when
people meet friends and relatives and exchange sweets and festive greetings.
It is said the spirit of Holi encourages the feeling of brotherhood in
society and even the enemies turn friend on this day. People of all
communities and even religions participate in this joyous and colouful
festival and strenthen the secular fabric of the nation.