Yoga to ease pregnancy woes
Practising yoga is one of the best ways of exercising in pregnancy. Yoga not only keeps the body healthy, but it also prepares for the upcoming labour
Actress Kareena Kapoor’s images of her baby bump showing through a sculpted body, as she demonstrated some yoga poses, took the Internet by storm. Actress Anushka Sharma had us gaping as she practiced the shirsaasana (inverted head stand) while husband Virat Kohli assisted her.
Besides Bollywood celebs, Hollywood stars have taken a strong liking to yoga over the years with renowned names such as Kate Hudson, Jessica Alba, Miranda Kerr and Drew Barrymore often highlighting the benefits of yoga during pregnancy. All this under the strict supervision and guidance of their yoga experts, of course.
Renowned yoga expert Nishtha Bijlani highlights the importance of yoga during pregnancy. She says, “Pregnancy is a very special time in every mother’s life. But this period also brings about physical, mental and emotional changes. For a smooth journey and an even smoother delivery, it becomes important to incorporate yoga in one’s daily life as it greatly helps in dealing with the physical discomforts and emotional fluctuations associated with the demanding period.”
Given below are a few asanas Nishtha Bijlani suggests pregnant women can practice. These asanas are safe and effective provided they are done with great care. Additionally, they provide much-needed movement, lubrication and blood circulation during this sensitive period.
Contrary to popular belief, India was not always about cricket and football. The country has a long legacy in tennis too. Through his latest offering, Advantage India: The Story of Indian Tennis, banker-turned-author Anindya Dutta has chronicled the history of Indian tennis. The book revolves around pre-Independence tennis and early players like Ramanathan Krishnan and Vijay Amritraj.
Talking about his inspiration behind the book, the author who had written a book on cricket earlier, says, “I have written articles on both cricket and tennis for many years, but this is the first book on tennis. I have always felt that there is far more to Indian Tennis than the period we generally talk about — Ramanathan Krishnan onwards. What is even sadder is that recent generations only know about our prowess in doubles. So this book is an attempt to fill that void in our sports history.”
A book of this kind involves a lot of research, and Anindya spent hundreds of hours going through archives and reading several rare and out-ofprint books, trawling the internet and interviewing past players. The process took about a year. Explaining his choice of title, Anindya said “The inspiration was a conversation I had with Nandan Bal. He was talking about the first time he played a Davis Cup match for India and on deuce when he got the next point, the umpire said ‘Advantage India’, instead of ‘Advantage Mr Bal.’ And that was when the pride of playing for one’s country hit him for the first time. The pride of playing for India is a theme that came up often with players I interviewed, so it seemed appropriate to give that title to the book.”
The author takes pride in the evolution of the game in India and he believes one day India will produce singles Grand Slam winners. “Given that it’s a sport that has largely developed despite the lack of support from a central body and the complete absence of public courts, we have had remarkable results.”
Stressing that the country has a rich history in tennis, Anindya says “Historically speaking, Ramanathan Krishnan for men’s singles, Leander Paes for doubles and Sania Mirza in the women’s game are the best players in both men’s and women’s category.”. So, what projects is he planning for the future? “After six books in the last few years, I am taking a short break,” shares the author. But he signs off saying “Always open to interesting offers and ideas!”
A book of this kind involves a lot of research, and Anindya spent hundreds of hours going through archives and reading several rare and out-of-print books, trawling the internet and interviewing past players. The process took about a year.
Across
1. Manacles (9)
6. Flying (5)
7. Appearance (5)
9. Fashion (4)
10.Picturesque (6)
12.Small wave (6)
14.Impulse (4)
17.Wilt (5)
18.Saltpetre (5)
19.Forthright statement (9)
Down
2. Shun (5)
3. Obligation (4)
4. Open (6)
5. Scowl (5)
6. Thought highly of
(7)
8. Hide (7)
11.Tick by (6)
13.Stage accessories
(5)
15.Proportion (5)
16.Tangle (4)
Jacqueline Fernandez, who has started shooting with Akshay Kumar for his film Bachchan Pandey after Kriti Sanon finished her portions in Jaisalmer with the actor, will also be back for another outing with Kumar in his next ambitious project, Ram Setu.
Ram Setu is inspired by the tale of the bridge between India and Sri Lanka built by Lord Ram’s army. “Akshay was keen to have a Sri Lankan girl in the film which is being directed by Abhishek Sharma of Tere Bin Laden fame. The idea was conceived by Dr Chandraprakash Dwivedi who is directing Akshay in Prithviraj and the decision was taken to cast Jacqueline in an interesting cameo in the film as she has Sri Lankan roots. Jacqueline has acted in an AngloSinhalese film called According to Mathew as well,” says our source.
“Let us endeavour to keep the ideals of Ram alive in the consciousness of all Bharatiyas by building a bridge (setu) that will connect generations to come,” Akshay
had said.
Sudheer Babu
The team of Soda Center recently completed the first schedule of shooting in Amalapuram in East Godavari district. Director Karuna Kumar shot an intense boat race action episode in the schedule. “We shot the famous Valakattu boat race at the Balusutippa backwaters. I think this is the first time a boat race action episode has been shot in the sea on such a lavish scale in Indian cinema,” shares Karuna Kumar.
The filmmakers reportedly used around 40 boats with 200 artistes and shot the episode for 15 days. “These boats are not the usual fishing boats; we customised them for the purpose of the race. The infrastructure, engines
and the metal body were tweaked to suit the setting,” says the director, adding that all necessary permissions were obtained. “A lot of hard work went into filming this action episode, including meticulously planning the shot division to capture the emotions. It will be a major highlight in the film,” explains Karuna Kumar, adding that Sudheer Babu’s character design will surprise the audience.