Prevent Crime at Chennai

STOP CRIME - The do-it-yourself kit

Park your two wheelers as close as possible to your home. Perhaps, beside your window or a protected enclosure inside the flat. Ensure that your gate is closed even if it’s not locked. A psychological deterrent to any intruder is an extra lock, perhaps on the front wheel. It’s wiser to use a chain and lock.

Caution: Never leave without putting the fork lock. When you keep cash in the side box, lock it securely. And take the briefcase when you park the bike.

Tip: Follow No Parking and Tow Away Zone rules.

Chain Snatching
Organised gangs and planned attacks are on the rise. Most criminals keep a watch on potential targets, study movements and then strike. Chain-snatching usually occurs on dimly-lit streets and during late evenings or wee hours of the morning. Elderly women going for regular walks and working women returning home late are the prime targets. And those who flaunt their wealth expose themselves to greater risk.

Protecting yourself
Whenever possible, avoid dimly-lit lanes, even if it means a few minutes of extra walk. Cover your neck with the saree or dupatta. A chain he can’t see, he can’t snatch. Simple logic.

Look, who’s stalking
It’s not necessary to learn karate or carry a weapon. You can avoid attacks by being smart. Be alert when you walk. Do you feel someone’s following or watching you regularly? Discuss with family if you notice anyone stalking you. If you live in an isolated area get someone to drop you on the main road. But, don’t be scared to death while walking alone. When you are confident in your strides and can stare in the eye, no fool would dare to try snatching your chain or handbag.

Tip: If you feel someone’s stalking you turn back and have a good look. That would be enough to deter any chain-snatcher.

Burglary
Most intruders break in when inmates are away, usually for a few days. Unlocked windows, weak airconditioner fittings, small locks and unbolted terrace doors allow easy entry into the house.

Caution: Never discuss travel plans or about attending functions when servant maids are around. Its wise not to inform details of absence to neighbours (except the trustworthy) or even speak of it on your auto ride to Central Station or the Bus Stand.

Tip: There is a system to inform the local police station when you’re going to be away for sometime. It’s the duty of the police to patrol your street at night. Don’t be skeptical, because if your house is burgled despite this, the police will be swift in their follow-up since it’d bring adverse remarks from the higher-ups and the public.

Must do things
Request trusted neighbours to keep an eye on your home.
Use strong locks and bolt all windows and doors securely.
Keep all valuables in the locker. And lock all cupboards and drawers. This generally frustrates intruders who wouldn’t want to risk waking up neighbours by breaking every lock inside the house.

Burglar alarms
There are plenty of electronic gadgets in the market that can secure your home. Check them out, if you can afford it.
Pratap Verma

VLCC Vandana's Health Tips

Most people who live longer have an important thing in common. They don’t engage in behaviour that could jeopardize their health. Your lifestyle is the one determining factor of health and longevity over which you have total control. Lets take a close look at lifestyle choices you can make to promote good health and add years to your life.

Exercise away your risk of disease
Exercise is the lubricant that keeps our bodies and minds in working order. Exercise can be fun. Exercise makes your heart and lungs more efficient and your muscle stronger, as well as improves your figure and posture and enhances your sense of well being. You will also feel more relaxed, sleep better, and be able to deal more effectively with day-to-day stresses. By continuing to stay active throughout your life, you are likely to live longer and stay in good health. The habit of exercising regularly will help you fit for life.

Floss and brush to stay healthy
Some 75 percent of the over 55 years old population has some form of periodontal (gum) disease. And latest studies are now linking gum disease to an increased risk of heart disease and stroke. The relationship between gum disease and heart disease and stroke is not as fanciful as you might first think. Several mechanisms may be involved. When bacteria build up on the teeth, plaque is formed. The most common bacterium in dental plaque is streptococcus sanguis, which has been shown to foster blood clots. The pockets created when unhealthy gums pull away from the teeth are breeding grounds for bacteria. When these bacteria are not controlled by proper dental hygiene, they may trigger blood clots in the arteries, possibly due to the inflammation associated with infection. If the arteries are already clogged with artherosclerotic plaque, a heart attack or stroke may be the fatal result. So in order to keep your teeth and your body healthy, spend at least three minutes every night flossing and brushing. Also visit your dentist once in three months.

Use sunscreen
Sunrays directly make you prone to skin cancer and many other types of skin problems. But fortunately you can reduce the risk of all these problems by taking a few precautions.

Always wear sunscreen before you leave home.
Use the right kind of sunscreen, with the right sun protecting factors (SPF) i.e, at least 15. Apply it 15 minutes before you go to swim. Apply the sunscreen to all exposed areas of the skin, including the backs of the knees, lips, around the eyes, ears, feet and bare scalp. If you are going to be swimming, use a water proof sunblock. Avoid tanning beds.

Stop smoking
Cigarette smoking is the most common cause of illness and premature death, primarily cancer and heart attack. But most smokers continue their unhealthy habit despite the knowledge that giving up would immediately improve both their life expectancy and quality of life.
1. It is never too late to give up smoking. Try following these tips for the same.
2. Switch to a brand you find distasteful.
3. Cut down on the number of cigarettes you smoke.
3. Don’t empty your ashtrays.
4. Put your cigarette in a different pocket or location to break the automatic reach.
5. Buy cigarettes only one at a time.
6. Don’t carry cigarettes with you.

Drink only in a moderation, if at all
Over consumption of alcohol is a major health hazard, which adds to many of society’s problems, contributing to about one third of road traffic accidents, as well as to antisocial behaviour, crime, divorce and loss of productivity due to ill-health. Even light-to-moderate alcohol consumption has been linkedm, in some studies, to an increased risk of cirrhosis, hemorrhagic stroke and breast cancer. So try these tips to cut down you intake of alcohol and bring it to moderation.

Have two alcohol-free days a week.
1. Choose low alcohol or non-alcoholic drinks.
2. Cut down the pace of drinking and don’t eat more than you intended.
3. Start with a thirst quencher when you go out. Later, dilute your drinks to slow down your alcohol intake by adding soda water etc.
4. Slow down while drinking
5. Record your units per day. This will help you identify when and where most of your drinking takes place, and when to cut down.

Use self-efficacy techniques to modify unhealthy behaviour.
You rolled off the couch and started to take a daily walk to help lower your high blood pressure. Or you cut trips to the ice cream shop and lost five pounds in time for your high school reunion. How did you make these changes? You instinctively used a form of behaviour modification called self-efficacy. You changed your behaviour to serve personal needs that range from avoiding illness to improving your body image. But don’t stop now. You can use self-efficacy to change your behaviour to decrease other risky behaviourss.

Be specific. Sit down with a nutritionist and plan your diet according to your body requirement. In addition, plan those, which you eat out.
Handle your hot spots. Addicted to hot fudge? Keep it out of the freezer. Instead of buying prepackaged ice cream, limit yourself to a single scoop serving at your favourite icecream shop once or twice a month.

Practice, practice, practice. Regularly practice your behaviour. Each time you do, you reinforce behavioral change. If you backtrack, don’t lose heart. Just continue the new behaviour at the next opportunity.

Revel in rewards. When your new behaviour takes hold, reward yourself. At day at the office when you’ve controlled stress levels, it calls for a new CD or a relaxing night with the latest best seller.

So start following these and add years to your life
(Vandana Luthra is a well known health & beauty expert and president of VLCC. If you have any queries on health, beauty, fitness etc call 044- 4671918, 1966. 6210376\77)

Make your own candles

1. Calculate the amount of wax needed by filling the mould/container with water and measuring it. 3 ounces of wax are needed for every 3 1/2 ounces of water.

2. Put the wax into the top of the double boiler

3. Fill the bottom part of your double boiler about 1/3 full and heat on a medium low heat. If the water begins to boil rapidly, reduce heat to a gentle boil to prevent water from splashing into the container.

4. Melt the wax to the correct temperature (for general candle making this is between 1750-1850F. Different melt point waxes can be bought and some types of candles need a higher melt point, but for the moment, this is what you need to aim for).

5. Prime your wick. This is done by placing the required length of wick into the melted wax until it starts to release bubbles. This means that it has absorbed sufficient wax. Carefully remove it (not using your fingers - the wax is hot! I use an old knitting needle) and pull it tight. Then place it to dry flat.

6. When the wick is hard (only takes a couple of minutes) insert it through the small hole at the top of the mould and pull it through. Secure it around a pencil or wick support at the open end and be sure to plug up the small hole with mould seal.

7. When you have reached the desired temperature, add wax additives (optional) plus your colour dye and if you are making a fragranced candle add the scent last. You should use 1 weighed ounce of fragrance oil for every pound of wax.

8. Pour into your choice of mould.

9. Before wax sets, tap the sides of the mould several times. This is done to release the trapped air bubbles that will marr the surface of your finished candle.

10. When wax has set to a tacky consistency, poke small holes in the candle around the wick. This will help to reduce the natural shrinkage that occurs with candles.

11. Leave to set for a few hours. You can place the candle in a water bath to cool quicker, but if you do this, make sure that the water is deep enough to go all the way up the mould or you will find a water line around your candle. Also ensure not to get any water in the setting wax.

12. Your candle will probably need topping up as the wax retracts and shrinks as it cools. Melt your left over wax if you have any, otherwise melt and colour some more and top up your mould.

13. That’s it! When it is set, remove it from the mould.

14. You may want to level off the bottom of your candle to make it smooth and even. This is easily done by heating the top part of your double boiler or your top saucepan and carefully placing the candle in it. Move it around a few times so that the bottom is nice and even and then carefully remove. Be careful of the steam from the boiling water as you can easily be burned doing this.

15. Leave for at least one hour before lighting. Then get started and make another!!

Candle Shapes
Container: Any candle that is poured into a container and intended to be burned in the container is a container candle. These candles are often made of soft wax and would not be able to stand on their own outside their enclosures. The container also prevents soft wax from dripping. Since these candles are safely contained in a vessel, they are often used in restaurants and in religious rituals that require long-burning candles.

Pillar: A thick candle with a geometrical cross section such as a circle, oval, or hexagon is called a pillar. It is usually referred to by its diameter followed by its height. For example, a 3-by 6-inch pillar would be 3 inches in diameter and 6 inches high. Some pillars come in standard sizes for commercial and religious use but you can make many variations of pillars by using moulds.

Novelty: These are irregularly shaped candles made by moulding, sculpting and/or pouring.

Taper: These are the long cylindrical candles that kindle memories of historic candle-dipping. Tapers can be made by dipping wicks into melted wax, by pouring wax into a mould, and by rolling wax around a wick. No matter the method, the result is always candles made to fit into a holder. Tapers are generally made 1/2 inch or 7/8 inch in diameter at the base because most holders are designed to fit these two sizes. There are, of course, exceptions, such as birthday candles (3/16 inch) and Danish tapers (1/4 inch). Some specialty candleholders are designed to hold a taper larger than 7/8 inch.

Votive and Tea Lights: Although these candles originated in the church, the term now refers to small plug-type candles that are 1 1/2 inches in diameter by 2 to 3 inches high. This shape has become popular for scented candles because their small size allows them to fit easily into small rooms, such as bathrooms. As votives melt and become liquid in their containers, the wick uses up all the liquid fuel. If you burn a votive on a plate, the burn time will be shorter because the wax will drip and the wick will be unable to use it.

Tea lights are small votives used to warm pots of potpourri and to heat food. They fit in smaller-than-standard votive cups.

CANDLE SAFETY

1.NEVER LEAVE A BURNING CANDLE UNATTENDED!

2.Always burn candles on a heat resistant surface. Candle holders may become hot and damage furniture. A good heat resistant surface can be made from a ceramic tile (cover bottom with felt to protect furniture).

3.Keep all burning candles away from children and pets.

4.Position candles away from flammable objects.

5.Place freestanding candles in a shallow dish or bowl to catch the wax in case of a blowout.

SPIN CONTROL
Following the safety rules above should minimize the chances of needing the following instructions.
I.Wax on Carpet - this procedure may cause stains, if in doubt call in a professional carpet cleaner.
1.Let harden, then break up and remove as much wax as possible.
2.Place paper towels on area.
3.Apply a hot steam iron to wick wax into the paper towels. Protect iron with tin foil.
4.Repeat as needed.
5.Check iron for wax residue before using for clothing again.
2.Wax on Clothing - may cause stains, if in doubt consult a professional.
1.Remove Garment.
2.Let harden, then remove as much wax as possible.
3.Pour boiling water through affected area.
4.Repeat as necessary.
5.Do not use carpet method on clothes as it could set the candle dye in the fabric.
S. Kanchana
Designer- Seventh Sense
Designer Candles
15, 4th Main Road, Gandhi Nagar, Adyar, Ph : 4412476

Montessori School at Annanagar

“Child is the father of man” – the adage is true in all its manifestations. Development is a continuous process and nature has endowed every human being with the intelligence to understand and make progress. Initiating the understanding, for children, and optimizing their potential by preparing them for life, is the fundamental objective of this institute.

“Vatsalya – Montessori House”, created and run by Visharda Charitable Trust is dedicated to early education through the Montessori method. Dr. Maria Montessori, a pioneer in early education through her close observation of children, fashioned a system that is contemporary, scientific, and child centered. The method accords freedom and instills cosmic discipline in a well structured, graded environment and lets the children learn, suiting their needs and age.

The Montessori apparatus is set up, to take the child from known to unknown, concrete to abstract, simple to complex and to understand reality. The child learns by experience and manipulation of devices. This method, believes in drawing on the child’s optimum capacity to learn, facilitates in personality development, and gears it to face life confidently.

This school offers:
Exercises of Practical Life to gain logical thinking, orderliness, co-ordination of hand and mind, concentration, self esteem and self respect. As a result the child becomes independent.

Sensorial Equipments are scientifically designed for sense training programs. A self-teaching process, for learning to correct one’s own errors through auto education.
Mathematics is abstract in concept. The method makes children understand the fundamental concepts in a concrete way. The tasks are offered through various activities in a graded fashion with in-built practices.

Language is by phonetic method in early stages. The child travels through the experience of language development without any pressure.

The school’s curriculum also includes areas of environmental studies, cultural subjects, arts and crafts, drama, music and movement, yoga, field trips, outdoor and structured play.

Ah 151, 3rd Street, Shanti Colony, Anna Nagar, Chennai - 600 040 Ph.: 6223102/ 6223446/6203862

Indians in the Guinness Book

The birth of the idea of a book of world records started in the most unlikeliest of places, the pub. The debate whether the Golden Plover is faster than the Grouse, over a mug of beer in an Irish Pub, led Sir Hugh Beaver of the Guinness Brewing Company to assign the task of compiling records to the twins, Norris and Ross McWhirther. Aug 27, 1955 saw the first edition of the The Guinness Book of Records hit the stands. Small wonder that it was an instant best seller in the UK. Today, the same is available in 23 languages and sales are closing in on 100 million copies. The Guinness world records.com is a site well visited and the Guinness World Records television show has an audience of 100 million spread over 35 countries.

Chennai Watch decided to check out interesting Indian entries which fascinate, stimulate, amaze, amuse, revolt and inspire. And the results are worth the search. Go on and feed your curiosity.

We can’t restrain ourselves from starting with Chennai’s own entry. You guessed it. Amma’s lavish banquet for over 1,50,000 guests at the much publicized wedding of her foster son, V N Sudhakaran, to the granddaughter of the late tamil cine legend, Chevalier Sivaji Ganeshan. Hosted at the sprawling palace garden near foreshore estate, each plantain leaf on which food was served was large enough for three. Experts said that this was reminiscent of royal weddings of yore.

In the sports section, Kapil Dev finds an entry as the best allrounder with 5,248 runs at an average of 31.05, 64 catches in 131 matches in a career spanning 16 years. He inspired a breed of fast bowlers among whom is Javagal Srinath, the current spearhead.

And lo! Can there be a Book of Records without the Little Master Sachin Tendulkar, a sporting icon in the country. The biggest partnership (331 runs) in an ODI is held by Sachin (186 not out) and Rahul Dravid (153) in a match versus New Zealand in Hyderabad in 1999. It is interesting to note that Rajiv Nayyar batted for 16 hours and 55 minutes scoring 271 for Himachal Pradesh in 1999. The batting lasted over three days.

Ravi Shastri finds mention for scoring 36 runs in a 6-ball over at Mumbai in 1985. The bowler who’d like to forget that over was Tilak Raj Sharma. The youngest cricketer was Eshmail Ahmed who was blooded at Ahmedabad in 1951 at 11 years 261 days. While the oldest was Raja Maharaja Singh, a former Mumbai Governor, who was 72 years and 192 days while playing a Commonwealth XI in 1950. And who can forget Kumble’s Grand Ten against traditional rivals, Pakistan, with figures of 10 for 74. He sits proudly besides Jim Laker who took 10 for 53 versus Australia.

Rajkumar Chakrabory of Rourkela stamped his class in a back-breaking effort sitting unsupported against a wall for 11 hour 5 mins, while fellow Indian, Swami Maujgiri Maharaj stood for 17 years continuously while doing a penance between 1955 and 1973. While it was time to sleep, he just leaned against a wooden plank. Tamilian V Jeyaraman has done us proud by clapping continuously for 58 hour 9 min at an average of 160 claps per minute.

Running backwards may seem a cowardly act, but not for Arvind Pandya who ran backwards from Los Angeles to New York in 107 days. People can do the weirdest things to gain public attention and break records. Amusing among them is the sight of Shridhar Chillal of Poona whose nails on the left hand stretch to 20 ft 2.25 in, which had women audience shrieking during the Guinness Book of Records TV Show.

Putting to shame the forest brigand, Veerappan, is Kalyan Ramji Sain whose moustache stretches to 3.39 m long enough to sweep the floor. It took 17 years to grow this and Kalyan keeps it rolled in a coil on his cheek.

With over 4.9 million cassettes and CDs, Malkit Singh is the most successful bhangra artist belting out hits tuned to native Punjabi beat. One-man shows may not be popular these days but to Laxman Deshpande’s credit, he has performed Varhad Nighalay Londoonla, 1930 times since 1976. Like our own T Rajender he has produced, directed and acted in all his shows.

Florsheim Shoe Stores Chennai

Unico Leather Products Private Limited, part of the Rs. 350 crore KAR Group, introduced ‘Florsheim’ shoes in India in 1996.

Florsheim, which is more than a 100 year old brand in the US, since its launch in India, has successfully projected itself and achieved major share in the Men’s Premium Formal category, with a steady growth rate of nearly 30%.

Florsheim with a reputation for incomparable craftsmanship and comfort – delivered in precisely the styles that men prize most – has endured for decades. Presenting fashion that is cut, stitched and tailored to fit the full range of contemporary office attitudes. Florsheim offers distinctive business and casual shoes that meet the diverse needs of today’s successful businessman, no matter where in the world he works and plays. For dress and casual footwear that defines quality and style for distinguished men the world over.

Shoes made from the finest hand picked leather with fine stitching, lightweight materials, advanced flexibility and shock absorbing technology that cushion the feet make Florsheim the industry leader in comfort, which is the number one selling point.

In India, shoes are priced between Rs. 2000 to Rs. 5000 plus and are available in more than 100 styles. Florsheim in future will continue to emphasize on comfort and with the trend towards semi-formal and casual shoes increasing, Florsheim is keenly looking at extending this range.

Florsheim which has its exclusive showroom at Spencer Plaza, has opened its second outlet at ISPAHANI CENTRE.

Florsheim is also available in Chennai through Metro stores at Wallajah Road & T. Nagar, Koblerr at Cathedral Road & Khal’s Foot World at Nelson Manickam Road.

Florsheim is currently retailed in India through 60 stores with Metro & Regal being its largest retailers.