A former professional swimmer and water polo player, Shivoham has trained many Bollywood actors who swear by his diet and workout regime. One of India’s foremost functional fitness trainers, Shivoham in his book, The Shivfit Way: A Comprehensive Functional Fitness Programme, outlines the eight basic movements of all exercises that will help you achieve a strong body and ensures you meet all your fitness goals.
Here are a few lesser known facts about this phenomenal trainer.
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5 Ways in which The Skull of Alum Bheg made us rethink History
Kim A. Wagner is senior lecturer in British Imperial History, Queen Mary, University of London. He has written three previous books on Thuggees and on the 1857 Uprising. In his latest, The Skull of Alum Bheg: The Life and Death of a Rebel of 1857, he presents an intimate and vivid account of life and death in British India in the throes of the largest rebellion of the nineteenth century. Examining the colonial practice of collecting and exhibiting human remains, this book offers a critical assessment of British imperialism that speaks to contemporary debates about the legacies of Empire and the myth of the ‘Mutiny’.
Let’s go through these 5 facts about Alum Bheg that make us rethink history.
Demystifying the Spirited Queen of Chittor, Padmini
At the beginning of the fourteenth century, Ala-ud-Din Khilji became infatuated with the famed beauty of Rani Padmini. He arrives at her doorstep in Chittor and lays siege to her fort. Despite putting up a brave fight, when defeat came to her doorstep, she chose jauhar over dishonour.
Mridula Behari in ‘Padmini’ gives a voice to the famed queen and brings to life the atmosphere and intrigue of medieval Rajput courts.
Here are a few facts about the legendary queen.
“Once an eminent astrologer had visited Tamragarh…Mother had invited the acharya to her chambers. On his arrival, she had asked him to carefully study the stars of the daughter of the Pratihar Pawar king and foretell her future. Upon hearing about the prophecy, little Padma had watched her mother beam as though her heart had turned into a heaven-kissing tower of joy and a vast ocean of love at the same time . . .”
“There were already murmurs about her beauty, of the poetry that spun out of the lips of those who had seen her. There were those eager to see her and those who waited to scoff at the beauty they had only heard about. Yet, when the ghunghat was gently raised, it rendered everyone speechless.”
“Veerbhan had thought that he could sweet talk Padmini into accepting the decision… What he saw of her was beyond his wildest imagination. Her eyes, her cheeks, her forehead turned red with indignation. Affronted by his brazen retort, she felt aggressive and resolute in her conviction.”
“Her eyes were fixed on the tip of her nose. She stopped breathing. She appeared to be taking the agni samadhi, meditating in the lap of the leaping flames. More firewood was thrown in. With the ghee being poured in, the flames rose higher and higher, and her delicate, beautiful body became one with the fire.”
Aren’t these facts fascinating?
Know Lord Meghnad Desai
Meghnad Desai was born in Vadodara, Gujarat and is now an active member of the British Labour Party since 1971. He was made Lord Desai of St Clement Danes in 1991 and awarded the Bharatiya Pravasi Puraskar in 2004 and the Padma Bhushan in 2008.
His latest book, ‘The Raisina Model: Indian Democracy at 70’ reflects on Indian democracy as it completes seventy years of colourful, eventful and energetic parliamentary existence.
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5 lines from literature that go beyond ‘I love you’
Since time immemorial, the most famed couples of literature have used the three magical words, “I Love You” to express their deepest sentiments. However, there are some that have found a way beyond.
Here, we look at five such quotes which expresses love in an equally beautiful way.
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A Piece of Cake; An Excerpt
An alumna of Lady Shri Ram College, New Delhi, and an MBA from IIM Calcutta, Swati Kaushal is the bestselling author of five highly acclaimed novels. Her book, Piece of Cake, is a romantic comedy set in the corridors of corporate intrigue with a heroine and a plot sparkling with mischief and a ton of attitude
Here’s an excerpt from this ‘desi Bridget Jones’ novel.
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TGIwasF.
I’m not really your manicure-pedicure-facial kind of girl, but the past few days of sun and sand had been rather hard on the epidermis, and my face was ready to give up on me.
God bless the folks at Femina and their compulsive sampling; the ‘Mud spa treatment five-minute masque’ (with natural papaya, grapefruit and cucumber) that came with last month’s issue seemed just the thing. I smothered the pistachio green paste all over my face and neck and waited for ‘new and improved’ ancient science to work its wonders. An encouraging coolness spread across my features, followed by a promising firmness. No wonder women swore by the stuff; it sure beat sticking your head in the fridge and pulling at your cheeks, besides being a lot cheaper than a visit to a spa too! (I remember going to one of those beauty boutiques a couple of months ago with Radha; she’d paid five hundred rupees for one hour with the ‘special thermal pack’; a lava-like substance that had solidified in many crusty layers on her face and had come off whole, like a hollow Egyptian mummy.)
I studied my face in the mirror as I waited for the masque to do its stuff. A guy in Class 11 had once told me I was beautiful. I’m assuming it was hormones, or my Chemistry notes.
It’s not that I’m ugly; in fact I like most of the way I look. It’s just that I wish I didn’t have a big forehead, long nose and extra wide lips in that slightly non-Julia Roberts kind of way. And also my sideburns. I could definitely do without them. I turned my head sideways to check their current length, winced, and turned my head back around again.
At least I had good eyes. On the bigger side like everything else, but intelligent; and they looked especially arresting popping out from the green icing around them. And my eyebrows, and the way they never need threading; I especially like that. In fact not bad, all told, if only there were something I could do with the ears. I squeezed out the last of the green paste from the sample sachet and quickly covered them with it.
My ears are a social embarrassment and cause for deep personal anguish. I have no lobes.
I remember a visit to an ear-piercing salon, many years ago, when the entire staff had buzzed excitedly about my ears, in the manner of scientists around a rare specimen measuring and marking with special finely calibrated rulers to find a spot to pierce. In the end they’d recommended I forget the whole idea.
I’m assuming God used up so much material super-sizing the rest of me that he ran out of stuff to throw on the ears, so he just sort of wrapped up the job with comical miniatures, tucked them behind manly sideburns and hoped no one would notice. Of course, it didn’t work. People notice all the time; my ears are bigger draws than cleavage.
It wouldn’t be so bad if it were just a case of size and appearance. What really distresses me is that I am also tone-deaf. I love music, but my ears just don’t get it. Ever noticed how musicians tend to have nice, big ears with extra-large ear lobes that hang and quiver delicately at the ends, like they were specially designed to pick up variations on even a hundredth of a note? Well, mine have yet to acknowledge the differences between a do, re and mi and I have watched The Sound of Music a thousand times. And I’m sure things would have worked out with Rajiv, back in Class 12, if it hadn’t been for the time I got carried away and tried to sing ‘With a little help from my friends’ in his ear..
Meet the characters from Fear is the Key
In Juggi Bhasin’s new title, Fear is the Key, Simone, fiancée-to-be to Rahul, founder of a digital infotainment site, goes missing. As all investigations come to naught, Rahul takes matters into his own hands and soon uncovers the twisted, bizarre and utterly unbelievable truth.
Let’s meet the three main characters of Juggi Bhasin’s gripping new thriller, Fear is the Key.
Rahul Abhyankar
Suhel Bagga
Simone
Atypical characters and a fast-paced, mind numbing plot; Fear is the Key has to be your must read thriller this month!
5 Facts you should know about India’s top legal expert, Indu Bhan
Indu Bhan is one of India’s top legal reporters with over a decade of experience writing about the Indian legal system. Her latest book, The Dramatic Decade, deals with the landmark cases of Modern India gives the reader a ringside view of what happened both inside and outside the courts.
Here we look at 5 lesser known facets of this well-known legal personality.
We bet you didn’t know all of these!
Listicle: 6 exercises to get you warmed up for functional fitness
Shivoham is the trainer behind Aamir Khan’s muscular look in Dhoom 3, Sonakshi Sinha’s bodacious curves in Dabangg, Jacqueline Fernandez’s lean physique and Abhishek Bachchan’s fitness. His book, The Shivfit Way will ensure that you won’t just get back in shape, you’ll also look forward to working out. The book is co authored by Shrenik Avlani, who is a newsroom veteran with nearly two decades of work experience as a leading writer in the field of endurance sport and fitness.
Here are 6 warming up exercises from the book that get you warmed up for functional fitness.
Do these seem helpful?
Get your copy of The Shivfit Way: A Comprehensive Functional Fitness Programme and start working on your fitness goals.
5 Facts about the Landmark Cases of Modern India that will Blow Your Mind
The Dramatic Decade: Landmark Cases of Modern India, is a collection of some of the landmark cases of Modern India that have impacted the collective conscious of the entire nation.The book gives the reader a ringside view of what happened both inside and outside the courts.
Let’s take a look at these facts.
1. The Parliament Attack – 13 December 2001
2. Nirbhaya – 16 December 2012
3. The 26/11 Mumbai Attacks – 26 November 2008
4. The Babri Masjid Demolition – 6 December 1992
5. The Uphaar Tragedy – 13 June 1997
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