Winners of Berlin Film Festival

The 2011 Berlin film festival ended with the prize ceremony on Saturday. Following are the main award winners on the night: BEST FILM (Golden Bear) - "Nader and Simin: A Separation" directed by Asghar Farhadi JURY GRAND PRIX runner-up prize (Silver Bear) - "The Turin Horse" directed by Bela Tarr BEST DIRECTOR (Silver Bear) - Ulrich Koehler for "Sleeping Sickness" BEST ACTRESS (Silver Bear) - Female ensemble in "Nader and Simin: A Separation" BEST ACTOR (Silver Bear) - Male ensemble in "Nader and Simin: A Separation" OUTSTANDING ARTISTIC CONTRIBUTION (Silver Bear) - "The Prize" cinematographer Wojciech Staron - "The Prize" production designer Barbara Enriquez BEST SCRIPT (Silver Bear) - "The Forgiveness of Blood" written by Joshua Marston and Andamion Murataj ALFRED-BAUER PRIZE (for innovation) - "If Not Us, Who" directed by Andres Veiel BEST FIRST FEATURE - "On the Ice" directed by Andrew Okpeaha MacLean

Anandi To Reach Jagya's College

A source says, "Anandi will reach at Jagdish's college to pay a surprise visit to him on his birthday. Anandi thinks Jagya will be happy to see her. But it would be a difficult situation for Jagdish once he comes face to face with Anandi. She in turn will spot him with Gauri and will feel odd about Jagdish's attitude. Jagdish manages to cover up the situation by introducing them to each other as his friends; both of them will interact with each other nicely.
"Jagdish then expresses his displeasure over Anandi calling him Jagdish instead of Jagat in front of his friends. Anandi and Gauri's conversation goes smoothly without either of them getting to know about Jagdish's secret. However, his friends will play spoilsport as they unknowingly inform Anandi about Jagdish and Gauri's relationship. It will be a huge blow for her. We are yet to decide whether Anandi will bear this pain and trust Jagya's friends or not."
Shashank says, "Yes, Jagdish is going to celebrate his birthday and Anandi suddenly arrives in his college. He will be able to hide the truth from Anandi and Gauri for some time, but not for long."

Benefits of yoga

Austrian-born Hedwig Muellner started doing Yoga after she slipped a disc in her back. Muellner credits Yoga for getting her back on the road to recovery. At 78, she still does Yoga every morning despite having had a pacemaker for the last ten years. 'Namaste', let's begin our Yoga class. Since bygone days when many Indians wandered in the mountains to meditate for days on end, people have been practicing Yoga, with the goal of attaining inner happiness and reaching a higher level of consciousness. The technique of attaining and experiencing the higher states of consciousness via mediation subsequently became known as Yoga. To this day the writings and teachings of the 'Father of Yoga', Pathanjali, can be found in ancient Sanskrit texts and religious works. "Indian people would go into the mountains and meditate for days sitting in the one posture," said Dr Anju Varghese, instructor of Yoga at Pilates and More Women's Health Club in Kuwait. After attaining this higher level of consciousness they would be able to leave their body. They believed that they needed to find happiness and this was the way to do it," said Varghese. "They finally realized that happiness is found within ourselves. Once a person finds their inner happiness then everything will come to them". Varghese explained that once Pathanjali had reached this realization for himself he wanted to be able to teach others to find their own inner happiness and set about developing the physical movements and postures which are now collectively known as Yoga. Varghese says that it is rare these days to find someone who will sit for days on end in the one posture. For people to attain the things they want in life, she says, people have to live in the 'here and now.' Yoga is a union between the body, mind and soul," said Varghese. "Today too many people only think of the physical wants such as money and power, never thinking of anything more. World Yoga Day January 30th is World Yoga Day where millions of people around the world will join in a one hour yoga session devoted to human rights. "The purpose of World Yoga Day is to have everyone thinking and meditating on something that serves a higher purpose than themselves," said Varghese. Project 2011 focuses on bringing water and sanitation to the people of Ethiopia. The aim of World Yoga Day is that as many nations as possible will come together to participate in a 24-hour yoga marathon where donations of tuition fees will go towards Project 2011. Benefits of yoga Dr Femi William, who is also a Yoga instructor at Pilates and More, says the benefits of Yoga are experienced on three levels: physical, mental and spiritual. "On the physical side your muscles, joints and ligaments all benefit from yoga," explains William, adding, "Everything will be stretched to become flexible and strong". William also claims that internal systems such as the nervous system and internal organs will also benefit from the stimulation provided by Yoga exercises. "Yoga helps the body to enhance the positive things in your body to remain inside while the negative toxins and energies will be expelled," said William. "It is a complete detoxification routine. On the mental level the instructors agree that Yoga enhances general wellbeing, inducing a positive mood, increasing concentration levels and enhancing one's powers of understanding. They say that when a person begins to experience a rise in these positive aspects it leads to their being a happier person. Yoga versus other exercise regimes William says that while yoga encompasses the body, mind, and soul many other forms of exercise don't. "As an example, Pilates is very good for the physical side or the body," she says. "While it has many moves similar to yoga they are also very different." Yoga is a 'parasympathetic' exercise that works to increase relaxation, she explains, while Pilates is solely 'sympathetic,' working only to stimulate the body. In Pilates you perform the exertion of the exercise while breathing out, as with many other forms of exercise, using the mouth and nose," said William. "However, with yoga you inhale during the exertion and only through the nose". She also claims that with Yoga there is less strain during a session which leads to greater positive Karma. An exercise for all Anyone can do yoga, regardless of age, sex, race or levels of fitness. Even pregnant women can perform yoga postures, albeit in a modified form. William, who is currently six months pregnant, revealed that she still practices yoga every day. In the first trimester you have to modify any kind of exercise, including yoga," she told the Kuwait Times. "However, in the second trimester you can go back to regular sessions. As you get bigger the postures are modified to accommodate the growing stomach. In the last month of pregnancy we concentrate more on the meditation side rather than performing postures in order to get ready for the birth". In everyday life people perform yoga, whether they realize it or not. From the very young to the elderly yoga is practiced the world over. "I started yoga classes in 1975 with a Filipino Yogi here in Kuwait," said Muellner. "I would attend his classes two or three times per week. After a while he left Kuwait saying he'd return, but he didn't". For the next two years Muellner continued practicing Yoga by herself and learning new postures. Some of my friends who also did yoga suggested I start teaching it myself," explains Muellner. "I spoke with the Recreation Manager at the Hilton Hotel where we used to do our classes and he said, 'What a good idea.' So I started teaching". Muellner taught yoga classes from 1977 to 1987 in Kuwait during which time she travelled to India attending many Ashrams. Traditionally, an Ashram is a religious setting in which to practice yoga. Ashrams are usually located far from heavily populated areas, in forest or mountain regions. They take advantage of the refreshing natural surroundings, which are conducive to spiritual instruction and meditation. In 1984 Muellner gained her Siddha Yoga Course certification. She attributes her continuing good health to her dedication to practicing yoga. Although she now wears a pacemaker, Muellner says she believes that a brief break from yoga could have been behind a decline in her health. "Since I got the first pacemaker I have returned to Yoga and I haven't had any major problems," she added. "Every day I practice yoga before breakfast and take a one-hour walk in the afternoon". Muellner says that Yoga has benefitted her in keeping very physically flexible, increasing her blood circulation and helping to keep her joints supple, especially in her back. She explains that suffering a slipped disc years ago whilst playing tennis first started her off with Yoga. "Since I started yoga my back problem has disappeared," said Muellner. "I also do meditation as well for good mental health". Muellner says her age has not stopped her from performing all yoga positions, although she adds she's had to give up doing headstands for a while because of a small problem in her neck. Once this has cleared up, she asserts, she'll be back to doing headstands again. Yoga in Kuwait Varghese and William say that whilst awareness of yoga is very high in Kuwait, the awareness of its full benefits have yet to be realized. "We have a high demand for yoga classes not only in the gym but also private sessions in the home," said William. In support of World Yoga Day, Pilates and More are holding a comprehensive yoga workshop to rejuvenate the body, cleanse the mind, and awaken the soul. There are many forms of yoga classes available, including Vedic Yoga, Ashtanga Yoga, various meditation practices and even Laughing Therapy. Laughing therapy involves various postures and facial expressions. To begin with the laugh is often forced. As the class progresses the laugh becomes a natural reaction relaxing the muscles and, its proponents claim, causing the brain to emit Alpha waves, leading to a happier mood. As the classes come to a conclusion participants are sent off with a prayer of peace, Om Shanti.

Make secure payments for shopping online

Plastic money is possibly the best way to pay for your purchases, especially if you're a prudent user. Credit/ debit cards help you dispense with wads of cash, while reward points add to their attraction.

What detracts from their appeal, however, is the increasing incidence of fraud, which makes people wary. To prevent this from being a deterrent, here are two little- known alternatives, which are as convenient and safer than the regular cards.

VIRTUAL DEBIT CARD

As the name suggests, this is a virtual card without any physical form and is aimed at the e- shopper.

It is generated online and is for one- time usage. Each time you buy a product, you'll have to generate a new card, which makes the transaction safe as the card details can be used only once. Also, virtual cards are not linked to your bank account, which protects you from identity theft.

While most major banks issue such cards for free, you need to have a Net banking account and a physical credit or debit card. Some cards, such as the HDFC NetSafe Card, are to be used within 24 hours, while others, like the Axis Bank eShop Card and Kotak Mahindra Bank's Gold Netc@ rd, can be used for up to 48 hours.

ou can apply for a virtual card by logging in to your bank's Website and filling in basic, personal information and details of your primary card. You will be assigned a unique user ID and password. When you log in again, you will be able to access your virtual card and set the cash limit.

This is restricted to the amount on your primary card. There is also a plug- in that can be downloaded and pops up when you make an online purchase. The transaction will reflect in the primary card's account statement. However, you will need to ensure that the exact amount you need is loaded as you cannot add money or redeem unused funds.

GIFT CARD

If you don't have a bank account, but need to use a debit card for a short period or want to present money to somebody, a gift card will come in handy.

These are prepaid cards that can be bought at major banks and are available in denominations ranging from 500- 50,000. These include the ICICI Bank Gift Card, Kotak Mahindra Bank's Best Compliments Card and Central Bank of India's MasterCard Gift Card. Some banks charge an issuance fee of up to one per cent of the amount being loaded.

Most gift cards come with an ATM and telebanking PIN, which enable you to check the balance and access transaction history at the bank's ATM or through customer care. However, these cannot be used to withdraw cash. Others can be linked to your mobile phone to help you get alerts.