BUY BUY
Don’t let the showers dampen your style. t2 shows you how to get gorgeous on a rainy day
HAIR & SKIN CARE
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Hair fall is common in the rainy season. So, take extra care to oil, shampoo and condition. Replace your hair serum and conditioner with a deep cleansing shampoo as the former may leave a residue on the scalp, causing dandruff.
Use only a wide-tooth comb for your hair when it’s wet.
Be extra hygienic to prevent fungal skin infections. Use separate towels and avoid sharing beauty tools like blackhead removers.
Oily skin tends to act up due to the humidity, so use cucumber or fuller’s earth packs once a week. For normal or dry skin, a mild moisturiser will do.
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MAKE-UP MANTRA
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Use bright colours to cheer up the dull, grey days. Ditch the the smoky eye for a happy shade like turquoise, purple or even pink if you are in the mood for fun. Instead of your regular kajal, try coloured eye pencils in deep green or cobalt blue.
Needless to say, invest in waterproof make-up, especially the base and the mascara. Trade your powder blush for a cream one.
Apply a mix of matte and shine foundation. Keep the base as light as possible, or else it may look blotchy.
Have fun with colour on your cheeks. Avoid the bronzer as the sun-kissed look works best on brighter days. Brush the apple of your cheeks with a bit of peachy orange or rosy pink.
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party
Tips from the party experts on how to make a splash
Winter may be the best time for outdoor get-togethers but don’t deny yourself your share of party fun in the rains. A t2 guide…
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Spot on
Choosing the right spot for your rain party is crucial. The location can turn it hot or not. Be it the garden or the terrace, make sure that a portion of the party area is covered for those who’d prefer to sit out the rain and enjoy watching instead. If you don’t have a covered area, arrange for a make-shift waterproof shamiana.
A handy requirement that people often forget to provide is body wipes. “Make sure your spot is within easy distance of a washroom, with lots of dry towels. Having changing rooms with fresh clothes for people to dry up after the party is very important,” says Leander D’Souza of event management company Showhouse. Better still, set the dress code in your invites. Tell your guests to turn up in quick-dry tees with shorts or three-quarters and simple flip-flops or — even better — swimming gear!
Fun & food
Just chatting and lounging around can get a tad boring on a dull day, so spice things up with trusted board games. Go traditional with Pictionary and Monopoly or trendy with poker — anything that sets the mood for more merriment.
If games are tame too, crank up the stereo and do some rain dance, filmi-style. Those who can afford a pool, head for a splash with friends in the drizzle. Toss zorbs (floating balls) into the water for a chill thrill.
Keep the food dry. Good ol’ greasy fritters usually work best when teamed with steaming masala chai . Don’t forget to keep a mound of piping hot jalebis for those with a sweet tooth. A swim usually brings on giant hunger pangs, so do some serious planning before the bash.
But what’s a party without the tipple, really? Keep the spirits flowing and make sure to have the food and drink counters away from all the splashing. If the head count is too high, it might be a good idea to hire a caterer. It will keep you hassle-free and happy if nothing else.
P.S.: Arrange for a night stay so that your tipsy friends don’t have to drive back home!
Music
Where would Gene Kelly’s Singin’ in the rain sequence be without music? Stuck in a drought, we think. Queue up all your rainy day songs, be it Ek ladki bheegi bhaagi si or Zoobie Doobie.
“The trick to having a groovy bash is knowing the musical taste of your friends,” says Shisha’s DJ Girish. “Try remixed versions of rain-themed songs like Tip tip barsa paani if your guests like Bolly beats,” he adds. Else, ad-lib with trance, house and rock ’’ roll to get people head-banging on the floor. “Tracks like Say Yeah by Chris Brown and Give Me Everything by Pitbull are a rage on the floors right now. But what really works is a mix of the top five Bolly tracks and international tracks reigning the charts right now, coupled with a few all-time favourites,” says Girish. Hiring a professional DJ with a full-fledged sound system, lights, console, sprinklers and an equipped dance floor would cost you anywhere between Rs 1.75 lakh and Rs 2.5 lakh, he adds.
Also, ensure you have first-aid handy for the accidental slip and slide. Insulate your sound; exposed wires and electrical points need to be waterproofed or kept at a proper distance from the water source.
The back-up plan
Blame it on the weatherman if it doesn’t rain. However, if your pocket permits, install artificial sprinklers. “Having loads of fresh water supply is crucial. You don’t want to run out of water. Also, it is not just about hiring a few sprinklers, what you need is a whole set-up including water pumps needed to maintain the right pressure for a full rain effect. This can cost you Rs 20,000-Rs 25,000,” says D’Souza.
If all else fails, keep a water hose handy and make a splash, old-school style!
MONSOON marriage do & don’t
Vinod Bhandari of Wedding Xtraordinaire shares tips on hosting a monsoon wedding:
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Opt for a hotel’s banquet hall (Swissotel has the largest pillar-free banquet hall at 7,064sq ft) over open-air grounds (PC Chandra is the most spacious at 15,000sq ft) since hotels will have the necessary infrastructure. But if you must take your vows under the skies, ensure that the entire ground is waterproofed. Provide a shade to the path leading to the gazebo. Keep umbrellas handy for guests.
Since most hotels have restrictions on height (maximum 17ft), people are now investing in the new concept of marquees (tents) from Germany. These come with aluminum hangers and can be turned into an AC banquet hall within 32 hours. The ceiling can be of glass, giving you a sense of openness.
Though flowers last longer in the rains, be careful while ferrying them. They may wither if water seeps in. For imported flowers, it is better to have a cold storage regulated at 18°C to keep them fresh.
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Keep plenty of juices and fruits to fight the humidity. Mangosteen, varieties of guavas and cherries are pop picks these days. Canned and chilled bhutta or corn imported from Thailand has many takers, too. The rain often brings with it water-borne diseases, so stick to bottled water.
Choose slip-free footwear. Avoid heels that may get stuck in the muck on open grounds. Also, save the floor-sweeping drapes for the winter. Coax family members to carry colourful umbrellas.
Finally, be it a drizzle or a downpour, make the most of it!
Food
Nondon Bagchi DISHES OUT three mix ’N’ match menus for the monsoon months
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| CALL FOR CELEBRATION: A Hilsa dish |
Once upon a time, even in an urban milieu, where one could dine out at so many restaurants offering an array of different cuisines all through the year, the excitement that came with seasonal changes and the culinary possibilities they brought with them was palpable.
Especially the monsoons. They would set in just when the summer holidays ended; during these holidays people may have travelled far and wide, but once they came back home, they would be grounded for at least two to three months. In Bengal, till Durga Puja.
I loved it and still do. Especially because in Bengal, even in 2011, there are dozens of vegetables and varieties of shaak (our name for plants with edible leaves and stem) which still follow a strictly seasonal calendar when it comes to availability. Many of them are not even known or eaten elsewhere, so there’s no question of bulk production and export. The late RP Gupta, one of the most knowledgeable authorities in matters relating to Bengali cuisine, who also wrote so interestingly and humourously on the subject, categorised as many as 32 varieties of shaak!
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| DRIZZLE DESSERT: Mangoes |
A normal, healthy monsoon can last up to three months — mid-June to mid-September. There is a choice I have come up with — three menus, for approximately the beginning, middle and end of this wonderful season for foodies in this part of the world. These menus depend partly on seasonally available products, but not wholly. There’s no harm in taking advantage of the fact that a good many things are available all year.
I must make two important points before beginning. One is that the item selections are very homely and day-to-day. No special occasion or celebration dishes here. So, no traditionally orchestrated, politically correct course-by-course sequence here; just an instinctive mix-and-match that might happen in any home, according to the situation on a given day. The other is that we must hope that it really is raining cats and dogs, because the icing on the cake after meals like these is a solid, two-hour post-lunch siesta!
Meal One: Sometime in late June. Starting point, Pui Shaaker Ghonto. Pui is one of the very few shaaks that has an English name — climbing spinach. This ghonto (vegetable mishmash) is made along with red pumpkin, potatoes and ridge gourd (jhinge). Only paanch phoron is used to temper the oil and other ingredients are green chillies, turmeric, sugar and salt. Mustard paste is optional and the dish becomes a true monsoon humdinger if hilsa fish head is used, though pui is at its best after Durga Puja.
Next up, something light and subtle, like a jhol of wax gourd (potol) and potatoes, along with masoor dal. And then Parshe Maachher Jhal. Such a simple but delicious dish. Onion seeds (kalo jeere), sliced onion, green chilli, turmeric and red chilli paste. Again, purists may say the time for parshe (mullet) is another time of the year, but this very year I have bought excellent parshe twice or thrice in the last month. And dessert? Langra mangoes of course.
Meal Two: Monsoon at its height. Khichuri for sure. There are so many varieties. Basically, it’s a meal-in-a-dish made by cooking rice and dal together on days when the rains have marooned people at home and marketing can’t be done. A family can get by because rice and dal and potatoes at least are always there. But such a hit is khichuri that it has become a gourmet subject in its own right.
My favourite is a combination of moong and masoor dal and rice. Without vegetables but with all the fried accompaniments — potatoes, aubergine, potol, definitely lots of hilsa well-fried and if you get into chutneys and pickles the sky is the limit. Dessert? Jadab Das’s Mishti Doi.
Meal Three. Month of Bhadro (mid-August to mid-September). Starting point, Mochar Ghonto. The famed banana blossom of Bengal. The preparation is painstaking, involves picking out and discarding parts that we need and we don’t, soaking things overnight and stuff, but is well worth it and at some point in every single home the effort has been made.
Not the best time for vegetables in general but course two could be with a dal and snake gourd (chichinge).
And then a serious celebration of hilsa, any of the famous preparations with mustard, but my favourite is Kancha Ilisher Tel Jhol. Simplest of all, but heavenly. Lots of mustard oil tempered with paanch phoron. Turmeric powder, chilli powder and salt mixed in water and added. When boiling, hilsa-not-fried added. Simmered till cooked. Slit green chillies added before serving. No dessert needed.
Every item of every meal served with fresh steaming rice. Except the khichuri of course.
other picks for when it pours
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Celebspace
How do you like to spend a rainy day?
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Timepass
We pick five things to get you going WHEN THE SKIES OPEN UP
books
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Wuthering Heights — Emily Bronte
This dark and delightful tale of all-consuming passion between the brooding Heathcliff and the lovely Catherine is best read sitting by the window on a stormy night, with a steaming mug of coffee for company. Guess what, ‘wuthering’ in Yorkshire means ‘turbulent weather’!
Rain in the Mountains: Notes From the Himalayas — Ruskin Bond
If you love nature, spend a rain-washed afternoon in the mountains reading RB’s medley of short stories, poems, journal jottings, essays and even stray thoughts. The simple yet eloquent language is as soothing as the gentle pitter-patter and Bond’s delight in the little wonders of nature is a joy for urban hearts trapped in a virtual world.
Daddy Long Legs — Jean Webster
Through Judy Abbot’s letters to her unknown benefactor Mr John Smith, we discover her world, her dreams, her desires, her little pleasures and, of course, the heady rush of first love. A sweet romance, this book is best read (or re-read) on a cosy monsoon afternoon, tucked in bed.
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The Hungry Tide — Amitav Ghosh
If the flooded streets of Calcutta remind you of tide country, pick up The Hungry Tide and get transported to the little islands of the Sunderbans. This book is as much a travel tale as a love story, as much a historical novel as a story of human endurance — all the different strands woven together by Ghosh’s poetic prose.
And Then There Were None — Agatha Christie
When a mean wind is howling outside, what can be better than a murder mystery? Imagine a grand mansion on a deserted island. Ten people, each with something to hide, are tricked into coming there. Then one by one they begin to die, each murder bearing a chilling resemblance to the nursery rhyme that ends with ‘And then there were none’.
Music
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Tip tip barsa paani
No one has quite managed to turn on the heat like a ravishing Raveena Tandon, yellow sari clinging to her body, in Rajiv Rai’s Mohra. Her crackling real, er... reel, life chemistry with Akshay Kumar made this song one smouldering rage.
Pyaar hua ikraar hua hai
This Shree 420 number captured romance at its best, marked by a strong undercurrent of sensuality. Raj Kapoor and Nargis under the umbrella with rain pelting down became an iconic black-and-white image on celluloid.
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Ek ladki bheegi bhaagi si
This endearing Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi track uses rain to create a backdrop for the protagonists — Manu and Renu — to meet for the first time. A playful Kishore Kumar teams up with a sensuous Madhubala to make this an all-time ‘wet’ classic.
Aaj rapat jaaye
Smita Patil showed she could sizzle, and how! In this rain song from Prakash Mehra’s Namak Halaal, she set the screen on fire along with Amitabh Bachchan as they danced on the streets without a worry in the world.
Saawan barse tarse dil
This soulful song from Dahek has a coy Sonali Bendre waiting for her lover Akshaye Khanna, as he braves the rains to reach her.
Films
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The Blue Umbrella
You will need it if it starts pouring outside. Adapted from a Ruskin Bond story, this is Vishal Bhardwaj’s most underrated work, a modern-day fairy tale involving a young girl and a dushtu lok.
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Casablanca
Pull up your blanket, micro some popcorn and dive into the black-and-white magic of Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. Yes, you have watched it a zillion times before. So what, play it again, Sam!
Charulata
Get hold of the opera glasses and zoom into Satyajit Ray’s masterpiece. In this 150th anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore, relive this great celluloid tribute as you swing to and fro in time in this Nashtanir adaptation.
American Pie
Too many of these yuppie campus flicks around from Bollywood. Why not return to the original series and attend Stifler’s party one more time? The webcam is still on and that apple pie is still as tasty!
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Dil Chahta Hai
Just days away from 10 years of this Farhan Akhtar cult classic, his sister Zoya’s Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, another buddy movie starring Farhan, arrives this Friday. What better time to bring back Akash, Sameer and Sid in your lives?
