Over the years, FDCI has been doing marvelous job in providing a base to the Indian fashion internationally. Many Indian and aspiring models have auditioned for upcoming Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2009, but the quality which was required was good presence skill, face to be remembered and fit body.

This is what jury members are looking exactly in a new faces of 2009 for Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week Autumn/Winter.

Aparna Bahl, said, “The look on the ramp is very international these days, so a dusky Indian beauty with global appeal is what I would look out for along with good skin and a lot of individuality.”

Ashish Soni, said, “I’m looking for confidence, poise and something out of the ordinary, as the cliché goes “lots of attitude”… this one translated refers to not the usual qualities but something that a majority of the other girls don’t possess an interesting skin tone, body proportions, hairstyle and above all eye contact!”

Ayesha Thapar, said, “I’ll be looking for someone who has a complete package. It’s not important for a model to have only one outstanding feature, for instance, height alone does not make a model suitable for the ramp – but what important is how comfortable they are in their skin and how well coordinated they are in terms of their looks, attitude and poise on the ramp.”

Rahul Khanna, said, “I’m definitely looking for someone who makes a lasting impression on the ramp – someone who has an undeniable presence. The right attitude is also key for a model to have. I feel we have some great established models walking the runway, but we also need to look for new faces to introduce and launch.”

Tinu Verghese, said, “I’m looking for fresh faces, someone tall and slender with a great attitude and decidedly Indian features.”

Varun Bahl, said, “The look I’m going to be watching out for is one that is well divided and can carry and showcase Western as well as Indian wear. Additionally I’ll be looking for girls that are tall, young and have a lot of confidence on the ramp.”

Vidyun Singh, said, “The fashion week requires the models to be adaptive from one designers show to another and given that there is hardly any time to train them, there needs to be a basic understanding of ramp shows. I will try to choose the most versatile person who fits into the need of all designers, someone who can swing into the rhythm of Fashion Week with minimal intervention.”

• You should hang a mirror just outside the bathroom door, or you can also hang it just above it.
• The toilet lid should be always kept down when not in use.
• It is also important to keep the drains covered all the time, except when they are in use.
• The storey just above the toilet should be decorated with picture of a bird, tree. It may also be in the form of a statue.
• From the middle of the bathroom ceiling, just hang a faceted crystal.
• In each corner of the bathroom, do keep an earth related object.
• If your bathroom is in the centre of the house then get the walls of the bathroom painted in red.
• Always keep the door of the bathroom closed.
• If there is a mirror in the bathroom then it is good to place a growing bamboo plant in the bathroom, you can keep it otherwise also.
• In order to balance the water energy in the bathroom, you should make use of the earthy objects like pottery case, soap cases etc.
• Always have ventilators in the bathroom.
• Try to make use of only golden color towels, as it helps avoid any down-drain effect.
• Your bathroom after use should be kept dry always.

In the living room the corners do obstruct the flow of energy, and hence you should make sure that there are no dark corners in your living room. For this you can have enough lighting arrangements, so that such dark corners are also brightened.

Art and feng shui are good friends, so you should also place good piece of art as well in your living room. It may be a colorful painting, or a beautiful vase, these help the flow of fresh energy in the room.

Avoid placing plants that are straight and are with thorns, in the living room. If you have a living room that is not much spacious and is small, then in order to make it look spacious you can place mirror on the wide wall side. This mirror should reflect good views, like from that of window etc. you have to be careful if placing a mirror, because a wrong placement will iniate the flow of negative energy in the surroundings.

Also if the living room is small, then just do not overload with all furniture you love. Remember cluttered living room is not desired as per the feng shui guidelines. Better have less furniture, so that your room looks neat and arranged.  Also try not to keep electronics like the music system, television sets in your living room.

The decoration of the living room should be such that is able to balance the yin and yang, i.e; the male and female energy. So, place some soft cushions on the sofa, a bunch of flowers on the centre table is a good idea as well. Dried flowers have got no importance in feng shui, you may keep them as decorative pieces and nothing more, still it is better not to have them in such spaces.

The seating arrangements for the guests should be such that they could see the door. A fish pot, a plant with round leaves etc. is always desirable, just get them now.

A wind chime at the entrance always soothes the mind and body.

A garden energizes the environment, the natural bright colors, the wonderful fragrances relax your mind and let you at ease with peace. So, since garden is a very important and delicate area, you need to be careful for it according to the feng shui. Let us know how:

Before you actually begin with any kind of leveling and digging in your garden, you ought to know certain things about your home, in order to let the garden do what it’s meant for. Like first of all check which direction your house is facing, it is so because only then it is possible to determine with accuracy as to which areas in the garden will receive most of the sunlight.

Then you need to find out, the hindrances that may clutter or ruin your garden view and peace there in. They may in the form of the ugly views, noises from outside, front row seats in your neighbor’s room, etc. and the like. So, one common way to do away with such little hindrances is hedges, they are very effective in reducing the noise entering the garden, also they block outsiders view to maintain a certain level of privacy.

Whether you are new to the garden issue or the one looking for a renovation in the present state, the pre-assumption of landscaping is an advice. Garden layouts turn out to be the best only when they are open as they encourage the energy levels. Also it is important to note that your garden must cover the entire living space and should not be located in just a small corner. It should be such that you open windows in any room and you can have the beautiful view of your garden. And if you have a small space for the garden then better make it light and avoid making it too dense, else it will irritate you rather than doing what it is meant to.

Yoga, is a very wide therapy and can not be presented in water tight containers. Yet, to summarize it contains asanas, pranayama, all these help people to get back to their real selves, cope up the problems- physically as well as mentally, and most importantly emotionally.

Some of the very popular and effective techniques are:

Yoga poses
The different exercises and poses of yoga help you handle your body and mind in a balanced and beautiful way.

Breathing techniques: one can live without eating for few days, without water for few hours, without breathing….hardly a few minutes. Breathing techniques are the most effective way to combat many emotional as well as physical problems. It helps you live in the present and be focused.

Surya namaskar is the most respected and effective program of yoga.

Various Asanas
Standing poses
half moon pose, forehead to knee pose, toe to hand pose, mountain pose, palm tree pose, triangle pose.

Sitting poses
Cow face pose, forehead to single knee pose, forehead to both knees pose, lion pose, Wheel pose, fish pose, boat pose, wind relieving pose, cobra pose, bow pose, sarvangasana, eagle pose, tree pose.

Pranayamas (breathing exercises)

For skull cleansing, practice kapalbharti, bee breath, alternate nostril breathing.

Diet
So, these were only some of the yoga programs. But then apart from these practices and programs, it is also very much important to know the correct yoga diet. Your diet should be purely vegetarian only, called as sattvic. Eat plenty of fruits, green vegetables. Avoid fried, fatty foods, they adversely affect our mind. It is advised to walk in open air, listen to good music.

• First of all just check where is your bedroom placed in relation to the rest of your house according to the bagua map. This will let you manage your bedroom according to role it plays to the rest of the house.

• The placement of your bed is very important in your room. Make sure that the bed is not placed directly across the door, it is because the bad energies which may move in will go directly onto it.

• If there is no choice before to move your bed to the required place then better hang a wind chime at the door, this will help a lot.

• The color choice for your bedroom should be like those of pastel water and metal colors, as these color help you a great deal to relax and have a deep sleep.

• The choice of color is also affected according to the placement of the bedroom in the house, like if it located somewhere in the children’s area, or in the creativity area then it should be having different colors.

• If you want to have the bedroom harmony then it advised to keep the feng shui plants, but only the live ones and not dried. They should be placed somewhere in the middle of your bedroom, as this helps improve health.

• The mirror in the bedroom should not be placed in such a way that reflects the door, as it will drive away the fresh energy.

• Bedroom that has a low ceiling should have a mirror facing it would help to prevent you from the negative energies.

• Before adopting any fengshui design it is also very important to keep in mind the people for whom it is to be designed.

• Just have the bagua map, and look at the areas it indicates. Within that space itself the furniture should be kept.

• Make use of the feng shui elements in the furniture in right quantity, and these should be according to the indications in the map.

• Colors have an importance in every house, different colors symbolize different elements and different things. So the colors should be chosen and used very carefully.

• Always remember one thing that a good feng shui elemnt does not have the dark spots, as it reduces the free flow of energy.

• The shapes of the objects does matter a lot, as different shapes symbolize and balance differently. So, be very careful when choosing a particular object of any shape.

• The placement of the couches and chairs should be in a way that the ones sitting on them are easily able to look at the door.

• One very important thing about the feng shui design is that it should look very natural without giving an indication that it has been carefully thought of.

• Cold colors, like blue and grays should be strictly avoided as it would make them feel insecure.
• Do not go for too bright colors for children’s rooms.
• The bed position is very important in a child’s room as well. Make sure that the bed should be just right across the door. Place it in a position so that he is easily able to see the door. And try and keep the bed in the corner, as it would help him sleep better and feel secure.
• If your child has a problem in waking up then change his position of sleeping in such a way that while sleeping his head faces the south or east.
• While if your child has light sleep then his head should be towards the north or west.

• Often we see footwear lying just outside the main door of the home, but this should be strictly avoided. The space outside the main door should be allowed to remain clean and free.

• It is advised to keep an aquarium or water fountains in the house, because the energy comes through the wind inside the house and if it does not find any water to stay then it goes back by the wind.

• Avoid keeping television sets inside your bedroom, and still is that’s not possible then at-least keep it covered with a plastic cover and not the ordinary cloth cover.

• There should not be any mirror by your bed side or opposite your bed. This attracts a third party to your relationship.

• An indoor water fountain in a favorable position will attract whatever you want in your life.

• Also it is very important that if you have a fish tank in your home then be very careful with its right placement, else it will do the reverse of what it is meant to.

• Make sure that in your kitchen, opposite your stove there are not any refrigerator, sink, toilet or washing machine. Else the fire and water crash will cause disagreements in family members.

• Do not allow your children to sleep on mattresses lying on the floor, this will make them fall sick frequently.

• Make sure that your children’s back is faced towards the wall when they study.

• Try not having the double bunk beds in your home. This does not allow the fresh energy to flow around both your children. And if that’s not possible because of space constraints then better hang a metal 6 rods wind chime in the room.

• Make sure that you have solid wall behind your bed. This helps your to have a deeper sleep and also allows you to concentrate better on your work.

• Do not have beam just top of your bed, this increases pressures in your life.

• Just check if you have a marble table in your dining room, and if the answer is yes, better remove that table and replace it with a wooden one. Or else you ,ay end up choosing to live a life with work pressures.

• Red color represents fire and so according to feng shui there are some places in our home that should not have the color red. Like it is better not to have a red sofa set in your home, it increases the work pressure, and obstacles.

• It is important to keep your room’s windows open for at-least 20 minutes a day, to let the fresh energy flow in.

Agra Fort, Agra
Built in- 1565 and 1571 AD
Constructed by-Emperor Akbar, was completed by his grandson Shah Jahan.
Speciality-The magnificent towers, bastions, ramparts, and gateways of the Agra Fort 

Umaid Bhavan Palace, Rajasthan
Built by-Maharaja Umaid Singh
Speciaity-The Umaid Bhavan Palace of Rajasthan also houses a museum. On display, in the museum, are an array of weapons.The Palace was constructed in -1943 and has served as the principal residence of Jodhpur’s Royal Family since.

Red Fort, Delhi

Constructed by- Emperor Shah Jahan in 1639 A.D
The construction of the Red Fort began in 1638 and was completed by 1648.

Speciality-The art work in the Fort is a synthesis of Persian, European and Indian art which resulted in the development of unique Shahjahani style which is very rich in form, expression and colour.

Lake Palace, Udaipur
Built in- 1746 by Maharana Jagat Singh II, 62nd successor to the royal dynasty of Mewar – believed to be descendants of the Sun God.

Speciaity-The Taj Lake Palace, located in the middle of Lake Pichola is a dream of white marble and mosaic glistening in the moonlight, very reminiscent of the most beautiful tourist cliché in the world.

Golconda Fort, Hydrabad
Constructed by-It was earlier established by the Kakatiya’s in the 13th century and the existing structure was constructed by the Qutub Shahi kings. It was renovated by the first three Qutub Shahi kings, over a span of 62 years.

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Speciaity-Fort of Golconda is known for its magical acoustic system

Jal mahal, jaipur

Built in- 1799
Constructed by-Sawai Pratap Singh
Speciaity-Constructed in between the shimmering green waters of Man Sagar Lake

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Amber Fort, Rajasthan

 Located in- Amber, 11 km from Jaipur, Rajasthan state, India
 Constructed by- the Meenas in the town they consecrated to Amba, the Mother Goddess

City Palace, Jaipur
Constructed by-The beautiful palace was built by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh during his reign.
Located in- the capital of Rajasthan, the City Palace of Jaipur or the main palace is an imposing blend of traditional Rajasthan and Mughal architecture

Mysore Palace, Karnataka
Speciaity-The Mysore Palace followed the Indo-Saracenic style of architecture.

Built in-The Mysore palace was first built in the 14th century. After being ravaged by fire and lightning twice, the present structure came up in 1912 courtesy the design of British architect Henry Irwin.