Sunny Dua

Jammu Golf Course located amidserene beauty of Sidhra town andalso on the left bank of river Tawihosted some special guests otherthan politician, bureaucrats andentrepreneurs who had their weeklong firsthand experience at thecourse learning basics of Golf. Thelittle champs joined by some youthdrawn from different institutions hada wonderful experience handlingclubs only to learn putting and driveson fairways and greens.

Ever since this 18-Hole JammuGolf Course overlooking AmarMehal Museum, Mubarak MandiHeritage Complex and Old Jammucity on one side and MahamayaTemple, Bahu Fort and magnificent-ly designed rail track on other sidewas put to use by the professionals,this was for the first time that JK GolfAssociation (JKGA) brought anopportunity for the novice to learnhandling clubs and learn secrets ofthis superlative sport.

And to top it with thrill, the Asso-ciation members also organised afriendly match at the end of this weeklong coaching camp which was ablyconducted by PGTI coach SandeepVerma popularly known as Chimiwho was especially flown in fromNew Delhi to train the beginners. Thesport which is picking up with youthwas introduced to young in Jammumost painstakingly by the organis-ers. It would not be wrong to admitthat though it was short durationcourse, yet it gave the Golf an impe-tus.

The paramount part of this campwas that about fifty amateur Golfersof all age groups learnt fundamen-tals and other nitty-gritty of thesport from a professional golfcoach. To begin with these younggolfers were made to practice at amakeshift arrangement at thecourse only where they learnt ball

positioning, choosing and boldingof right clubs, gripping combina-tions, controlling the speed of putts,correct Tee height for fairwaywoods, hybrids and aiming.

Chipping and putting remainedan all time favourite amongst thebeginners who even had a firsthandexperience to play with profession-als and also had a real fun in notic-ing their strengths and weaknesses.How to hit from fairway rough, howto make proper practice swing, howto play half golf swing, postures and

correct distance from where to hit theball were all taught to the beginnerswho showed keen interest in thesport.

Tough this sport is quite expen-sive yet the organisers from JKGAdid their best in extending their moralsupport and also providing requiredinfrastructure and allied material tothe golfers which was highly appre-ciated by all. Caddies on the courseand trainers sweated themselves outto help beginners have a great timelearning Gold in Jammu. From thiscamp it was quite visible that thereis definitely a potential in the sportbut only if a consistency is main-tained.

The JKGA officials including itsVice President, S S Wazir(Retd.ADGP), executive members SanjayWahi, R S Bali besides K K Khosa,Vinod Sharma, D S Bali and Deep-ak Handa might have let the childrentaste the sport by making a goodbeginning but they will have to main-tain steadiness in caching them tofinally sieve out best of the talent andlaunch them in the sport to representJammu and Kashmir.

The beginners like Muskaan,Neha, Prerna, Vedant, Narbhay,Vijay, Ragini Siddharth Dhar, Aash-man Kapoor, Arsh Vimal, VikramKapoor, Dinesh Sharma. Divij Singh,Lavanaya, Raunak Gupta andMehak Dua did their best yet they

need consistency in their training toreach pinnacle of the sport and readtheir names amongst Jeev MilkhaSingh or for that matter Tiger Woods.JKGA for the moment if functioningunder the benefaction of its PatronDr Farooq Abdullah, union ministerfor renewable energy and it is hopedthat every effort would be put in togive Golfing in our state fillip.

For the moment Jammu GolfCourse is having none holes readyfor the play and work on remainingis also going on. The construction

work on the club building also hasbeen abandoned for paucity of fundsbut once it is completed, the state ofthe art infrastructure will come up inJammu only to become golfers’ par-adise. The state is having golf cours-es of international standards whereace golfers drawn from differentparts of the world arrive and displaytheir talent.

Once Jammu Golf Course is com-

pleted, it will also benefit many bud-

ding golfers and provide junior

golfers a lifetime opportunity to learn

incredible golf instructions from pro-

fessionals. The best part of this

coaching campo was that all the

Golfers were provided with certifi-

cates during a short graduation cer-

emony. These were followed by prize

distribution that encouraged begin-

ners.

Playing lessons with PGTAcoach

Sundeep and senior professionals

like Raghav Wahi certainly helped

young golfers in learning the skills. It

is believed that the next camp sched-

uled for summers will also host more

young golfers who will be given on-

course lessons about Golfing under

varying conditions, reading greens,

greenside and fairway bunker play,

all aspects of the short game, and

most importantly head to head com-

petitions.

You are always seen wearing a chain braceleteven in movies. What's the story behind it?

Well, my father (veteran screenwriter Salim Khan)wears a similar bracelet and it looks so good on his wristthat one day I took it off his hand and wore it. Later, Imade one for myself and since then, I never take it offmy wrist.

Even in Jai Ho you are seen flaunting it duringyour entry.

It was Sohail's (Khan, producer-director) idea. But itwas not the first time I did that.

Why was the film's title changed from Mental toJai Ho?

Mental was a working title. Now there is one intelli-gent Khan (Aamir Khan), one Badshah Khan (Shah RukhKhan) and there is one Saif Ali Khan. There will be oneor two journalists who will start calling me as MentalKhan. I don't have a problem with that. But the otherKhans might have a problem. Also my father had a prob-lem with the title. And as you know, you must listen toyour father no matter what your age is. He thought of thepresent title which is way good than Mental.

Jai Ho comes with a tag - People's Man. How muchdo you consider yourself as a commoner?

I did not become a star due to my hard work. I wasborn in this industry and by luck got this platform. I didnot take training to become a star. By chance, SoorajBarjatya signed me for Maine Pyar Kiya (1989), the filmdid well and I came to be known as Prem (name of mycharacter in the film). So as you can see, I, in no way,contributed to my stardom. It was you people who mademe a star. In fact, I have often tried to destroy my image,which also people liked.

But you are a star.I don't have any addiction to be a star. I don't want to

be God. I love roaming around in rickshaws, I ride a cycle.Even when I am driving an AC car, I put the window glassdown. I try to lead a normal life. Stardom is happeningto me and I am enjoying it. The day there will be no star-dom, that day also, I will be enjoying myself. It will hard-ly make a difference to me.

In Jai Ho you are standing for the people, for jus-tice. Do you believe in protesting in real life?

If you feel something wrong is happening to you, you

must raise your voice. Because if you don't protest, then

you are to be blamed equally. If a girl is being harassed

in public and people are standing there as mute specta-

tors, first that crowd should be beaten up.

When was the last time you stood for justice?

Every single day of my life.

You are considered as the Rajinikanth of Bolly-

wood… you can make the unbelievable believable

on screen. Do you agree?I don't know about that. But if I can come anywhere

close to him, I will be happy. (TWF)

King Bharati

Gone are the days when glamourused to be the symbol of metro citiesand people from other states used toenvy them for being closer to the glam-our industry.

Jammu and Kashmir which hasearned a bad name due to violence forthe past 23 years has also earned aname in carving its niche in Bollywoodshunning its past of being only the hostof the movie biggies during their shootsupto early 90's

Now there are numerous examplesof talented people from this state mak-ing it big in Bollywood on the silverscreen and other stages of the worldin whatever way they can and yesJammu is not lagging far behind.

With Bollywood, the first thingthat comes to our mind is the larg-er than life film stars dancing tothe musical beats of Hindi songscreating euphoria among mass-es who crave to join their league.And when dance comes to themind of the Jammuites the namethat is synonymous with dance inJ&K is Master X who has the distinc-tion of having given the concept ofmodern dance schools to J&K wayback in 1990.

Master X or Ajit Singh or Happy Sirto his friends and fans who originallybelongs to Kashmir started it all just atthe age of six when his fascination toparticipate in school functions gavebirth to his inner talent and started tak-ing part in active dance and acting activ-ities in schools at the age of nine.

The turning point came at the age oftwelve when he received his first awardand since then there has been no look-ing back.

"What I needed was just music andmirror and this passion for dance cameto a point where I became the first per-son to introduce Gymnastics and West-ern Dance in Jammu and Kashmir in1990 and soon became popular asMaster X", says Ajit the Master X.

Dedicating all his success to his lateelder brother Lucky, Master X says thathe will never forget how dancing has agreat influence on his life and a hugelearning experience all these years.

Master X soon became a householdname for youngsters and schools whothronged him with requests to teach theirstudents in schools and prepare them forvarious dance shows. After participatingin many big shows in Jammu Master Xlike any other youngster aspired to joinBollywood and went to Mumbai at theage of 14 but due to lack of contacts,guidance and exposure he could notmake it there and returned to Jammu tostart his career as choreographer withmany big schools like APS, Model Acad-emy, Luthra Academy, Shastri MemorialSchool and many others.

To quote Master X, "there is no think-ing involved in my choreography, I don't

work through images or ideas, I workthrough my body. Dancer does notdance well when he uses so called the-ories about dancing or pushes him orherself to dance but when a dancer

dances he shows whathe is and just lets hisbody to flow in ecsta-sy because every-thing is there in

your body, youjust have to

explore it".Giv-ing

in to the stiff resistance and wishesof his parents, relatives, friends and wellwishers asking him to leave the profes-sion, Master X was forced to leave cho-reography and join the Governmentservices as an adhoc employee in Civ-il Secretariat but as they say one cannever suppress the intense passion ofa person for too long and he too left thejob soon.

Since destiny had thought some-thing else for this talented dancer, yetanother turning point came into hisdancing career in 1997, when he got anopportunity to go to United Arab Emi-

rates (UAE) where instead of a regularrun of the mill job he pursued his pas-sion with more vigour and enthusiasmby joining as choreographer in Blue Dia-mond Music Centre Dubai.

In Dubai he actually got the realexposure of international standards indancing and show business and partic-ipated in more than 300 shows andworked as a judge in more than 145schools besides sharing stage in UAEwith Bollywood biggies like ArbaazKhan, Raveena Tandon, ManishaKoirala, Mukesh Rishi, Javed Jafri,Malaika Arora, Anu Malik, Sonu Nigam,Harbajan Mann, Sukhwinder Singh,Parvez Khan etc.

He worked with reputed companiesof Dubai like Kala Kendra, Kala Shri,

Golden Talent Music Centre, BlueDiamond etc and with such an expe-rience at hand Master X finallyopened his first own dancingschool 'Gurukul' in Dubai in 2006.

With his school now in placehis hardwork saw him preparingtalent among children in Dubaiwhile his units worked in movieslike Naqaab, Jawar, Kaafir, Wel-

come etc besides venturing intoWedding Event Management. But

deep inside his mind there was aninclination and attraction towards hisown culture, city and people forcinghim to take another plunge to comeback to his roots to repay his coun-try, state and hometown back what hegot from it by establishing the firstever international standard dance

institute under the name and style'Legends Dance Studio' at Talab Tillo,Jammu, where he prepares childrenand adults both as dancers of interna-tional caliber.

"I want Bollywood to come to Jam-mu to search for talented dancersinstead of our youngsters having to gothere and with that mission I am teach-ing the children to make them competewith anybody in the world" says MasterX about his future plans.

Master X plans some topnotchdance shows in Jammu where top Bol-lywood stars will be participating andconducting workshops for Jammu kids.He adds that since he has struggledvery hard in life to achieve somethingand many times he was discouragedbut some energy within him kept himgoing and wants to share his rich expe-rience with Jammu kids so that they getwell prepared for future career andwon't have to struggle as hard as he did.

To conclude I again quote his expla-nation for dancing, "I get very excitedwhen I dance, as I love it with a deeppassion and we dance for laughter, wedance for tears, we dance for madness,we dance for fears, we dance for hopes,we dance for screams because we aredancers and we create dreams".

(The author is a senior journalist and social

activist)

Dr Juhi Gulati Amla

Flaxseeds (also called linseeds) area rich source of micronutrients, dietaryfiber, manganese, vitamin B1, and theessential fatty acid alpha-linolenic acid,also known as ALA or omega-3. Theseeds come from flax, one of the oldestfiber crops in the world - known to havebeen cultivated in ancient Egypt andChina. It is not only a source of healthyfat, antioxidants, and fiber; modernresearch has found evidence to suggestthat flaxseed can also help lower the riskof diabetes, cancer, and heart disease.

Nutritional profile for FlaxseedThere are two main types of

flaxseed: golden flaxseed and brownflaxseed. Their nutritional profiles arevery similar and both contain the samenumber of short-chain omega-3 fattyacids. The American Nutrition Associa-tion highlighted the importance of this"neglected food", stating that flaxseed isnot only "an excellent source of two fat-ty acids that are essential for humanhealth - linoleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid," but also "an excellentsource of fiber and a good source ofminerals and vitamins."Flaxseed isvery low in Cholesterol and Sodium

Flaxseeds are rich in:* Lignans - They are estrogens-like

chemical compounds with antioxidantqualities, able to scavenge free rad-icals in the body.

* Fiber - flaxseed is rich in both sol-uble fiber (which dissolves in water)and insoluble fiber (which does notdissolve in water).

* Omega-3 fatty acids - these areconsidered to be "good fats" that arebeneficial for the heart. These essen-tial acids are only obtainable by eat-ing the right foods.

Health benefits of FlaxseedThe therapeutic and beneficial

properties of consuming flaxseed arenot yet completely understood, andmany claims still lack "high-quality"studies to back them up.

Cardiovascular DiseaseEating flaxseed daily may also

help your cholesterol levels. The lev-el of LDL or "bad" cholesterol in the

bloodstream has been linked to anincreased risk of heart disease, obe-sity, diabetes, and metabolic syn-drome.

InflammationTwo components in flaxseed, ALA

and lignans, may reduce the inflam-mation that accompanies certain ill-nesses, Reducing inflammation asso-ciated with plaque buildup in the arter-ies may be another way flaxseedhelps prevent heart attack andstrokes.

CancerRecent studies have suggested

that flaxseed may have a protectiveeffect against breast cancer, prostatecancer, and colon cancer. The lignansin flaxseed may provide some protec-tion against cancers that are sensitiveto hormones without interfering withthe breast cancer drug tamoxifen. Lig-nans may help protect against cancerby blocking enzymes that are involvedin hormone metabolism and interfer-ing with the growth and spread oftumor cells.

Tips for Using Flaxseed* Buy it ground or grind it yourself.

Flaxseed, when eaten whole, is morelikely to pass through the intestinaltract undigested, which means yourbody doesn't get all the healthful com-ponents. If you want to grind flaxseed

yourself, those little electric coffeegrinders seem to work best.

* Buy either brown or goldenflaxseed. Golden flaxseed is easier onthe eyes, but brown flaxseed is easi-er to find in most supermarkets. Thereis very little difference nutritionallybetween the two, so the choice is upto you.

* Add flaxseed to a food you habit-ually eat. Every time you have a cer-tain food, like oatmeal, smoothies,soup, or yogurt, stir in a couple table-spoons of ground flaxseed. Soon it willbe a habit and you won't have to thinkabout it, you'll just do it.

* Keep it in the freezer. The best place

to store ground flaxseed is the freezer.

Freeze pre-ground flaxseed in the bag

you bought it in or in a plastic sealable

bag if you ground it yourself. The freez-

er will keep the ground flax from oxidiz-

ing and losing its nutritional potency.

* Whole flaxseed keeps longer. The

outside shell in whole flaxseed appears

to keep the fatty acids inside well protect-

ed. It's a good idea to keep your whole

flaxseed in a dark, cool place until you

grind it. But as long as it is dry and of good

quality, whole flaxseed can be stored at

room temperature for up to a year.(The author is Consultant Dietitian/Nutritionist)

SUNDAY, JANUARY 26, 2014 (PAGE-4)

Flax seeds in food

SPORTS

BOLLYWOOD-BUZZ

Golf in Jammu

Let's DancePERSONALITY

HEALTHLINES

'People made me a star'

Tough this sport isquite expensive yetthe organisers from

JKGA did their best inextending their moral

support and also providing requiredinfrastructure and

allied material to thegolfers which was

highly appreciated by all.

I want Bollywood to come to

Jammu to search for talented

dancers instead of our

youngsters having to go there

and with that mission I am

teaching the children to make

them compete with anybody in

the world says Master X about

his future plans.

Salman Khan is back with

his action hero avatar.

He promises Jai Ho to be

an out-and-out entertainer.

Sreya Basu in conversation

with the actor in Mumbai