All year long children sweat it out in their schools; most stay buried in their books, some manage to hit an extracurricular activity or two, but often there is no relaxation from their chores and activities. Summer vacations come as a blessing and a reprieve from the dreary schedule for not just kids but mothers too. However, vacations for most mothers are not a time to be wasted, and they arm themselves with a bundle of brochures of camps and summer schools where they can send their young ones off to. I remember a time when such things were a nuisance for kids but these days they're more of a welcome change.

There are a number of reasons that make these summer affairs extremely attractive.

Most vacations are more than two months long; that's an ample time to fall of one's routine and become lazy and sluggish. You can take a perfectly healthy child and place him under house arrest for two months and turn him into a big ball of mush. Camps and summer schools not only keep them active, they ensure that kids do not lose their routine completely. "If you spend more than two months doing absolutely nothing and then are told to go into a life that's completely full... an adult cannot deal with that kind of pressure, why do parents expect their kids to? Kids are kids. They need to have some kind of stability you can't just throw them from one life to another and expect them to adjust. Going back to school and the long routine is exceptionally harder for children that spend their days off doing nothing but lying around watching TV, than those that were busy with swimming classes or a language course for example," says Reba, housewife in Karachi.

The summer break is also a very good time for kids to pick up skills that they normally do not have time for. It isn't uncommon to find a child dragging himself through school, only to return home for a small nap before he is sent off to his tuition centre for further work on what he learnt in school. Most of the time after they return home sometime in the evening, kids do not want to learn anything else even if they themselves love the activity at hand. Girls will tell you that they would love to learn glass painting, silk painting, fabric painting etcetera, but how many of them would be willing to sit though a lesson after a long mind enslaving day? Shahana, doctor and mother from Lahore, says, "Most of the time even if I would suggest something like a weekend class my kids would hear none of it. They wanted to have their fun, at least on the weekends if nothing else, and quite literally do nothing more. I have two girls and they both have wanted to learn how to glass-paint for an eternity, but the only time they could actually do this was during the vacations, when they could attend their little candle making and painting courses. These classes don't last more than 3 hours; they don't have to wake up early in the wee hours of the morning to attend them. Right now they can easily go, but otherwise there is no such hope!"

For the young ones their holidays are more of an escape from their lives, however, the lives of their parents will be no different than they were before the vacations started. Some parents find it absurdly hard to deal with their children during the vacations; if both the mother and the father have jobs then having their offspring forced on them all day can get impossible to manage. Father of two from Karachi, Adeeb tells us about his job and his children, "Both my wife and myself work all year along. Just because the bacha party gets off for their vacations does not mean we can just take off from work. A week or two at the most is manageable, but after that it's back to work for us and back to an empty house for the kids, which is not acceptable. I think parents should start sending their kids to these camps ever since they're seven or eight. It's because of these camps that my wife doesn't have to rush home and I don't have to take time off. It's easy for the kids too; they stay in their school routine but they're doing things which are fun for them and make them happy. And there's no tedious homework, that's never a bad thing for my kids!" he laughs.

Of course there are a few parents that don't view summer schools with such reverence. Summer break is a break for a reason for these parents and they don't want to put their kids in any kind of summer schools whatsoever. Raima, housewife from Karachi, says, "Vacations are their (kids) time off, my children always have homework from their school to keep them occupied, I see no need to send them off to further boggle their brain during the times. I rather let them spend time at their cousins' houses and they too can have sleepovers, they just get this small amount of time to relax, I won't take it away from them," she asserts. So, some children just get to stay home and run through all the video games, cartoons and movies that they can find. In some cases the homework from school piles up so high that parents can't help but leave their kids be and ignore all summer camps and schools.

Another reason why some parents avoid camps is because vacations for them too are a time to relax and go away somewhere. Even if it's just the outskirts of the city for a week, parents need a break from their routine and they rarely ever want to go for a comforting holiday without their offspring. Sadiq, father of four from Karachi, says, "During the year my wife would kill me if I tried to take the kids somewhere for even three days because they miss out on so much work from school and it becomes torture for them to catch up. There's always some test that they will miss, it doesn't matter when I plan things, there's always a test! Summers are one time where I can take them whenever I want, be it inside the country or even outside it. A camp means the same thing; work that they will miss that they need to catch up on, I'm against all camps during the summer, I just want to take my family away!" he says enthusiastically.

No outfit is complete without the perfect selection of accessories. Sunglasses are now as important an accessory as handbags. Not only do they protect your eyes, they are the perfect disguise on a not-so-social day. In fact, sunglasses are one of the essential accessories for making a statement about who you are.

It's also challenging to pick the perfect pair of designer sunglasses for your face, but don't forget to consider your hairstyle too. The focus should be how well the entire package works together; that is, the hair, face and the glasses. Complicated curls and fussy accessories give a cluttered look to the face, so if you have unruly hair, keep the sunglasses more minimalist. Round or oval frames look beautiful, while square frames on the other hand, are too much of a contrast. Since even short curly hair has movement, choose frames that don't have a lot of detail. Soft and curly hairstyles are best complemented by rimless frames and translucent colours.

Every year marks the launch of new sunglass designs from various fashion houses. The latest designs are based on the feedback from the sunglasses' connoisseurs as well as the designer's own imagination. When it comes to the form of sunglasses, in all fashion collections, absolute winner is retro style - large frames in the style of '50s and '60s. Frames with way-out patterns, such as spider webs, peace signs or skulls are very popular. Since today's styles are more fun than anything else, everyone is able to show off their unique personality. However, the colour in sunglasses collections became a little bit conservative. Following the fashion, this season designers have almost abandoned the 'acid' colours. The most popular colours are classic - brown, black and gray. Aside from the shapes and colours of the frames, the colour of the lenses can also vary. Especially popular are tint-in-tint lenses. Brown-to-grey tints are suited especially well for the street Red, violet and green lenses are also found in this year's array of sunglasses.

What all new styles have in common is the extra large format. Especially large, striking sunglasses are setting the tone. The large lenses are combined with new materials, colours and design. All types of adornments and precious optical characteristics are a must for sunglasses in the glamorous look category.

Elaborate design elements turn the frame into a proper piece of jewellery, observes fashionistas. Gucci, for example, has adorned its current models with flowering rivets and coat-of-arm details. Dior has lavishly decorated its wide-framed sunglasses with Swarovski-Strass elements. And fashion designer Christian Audigier has come up with shrill colours in his Ed Hardy label.

But not everyone likes to wear sunglasses that are as valuable as a small car or glittering piece of jewellery. Those with simpler tastes can choose aviator sunglasses for the coming season. There are many interpretations of the classic style on the market. Aviator sunglasses are becoming a basic in the classic-sporty area. Their advantage: They have a style that is irrespective of age, gender and class. Ray Ban developed the original aviator in 1937. Hollywood celebrities popularised the aviator in the 1960s. However, the aviators hit their all time peak of popularity in 1980s following the movie, "Top Gun". Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer wore these shades beautifully. The aviator is now seen on many current celebrities such as Kayne West, Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie, Jennifer Aniston, Lindsay Lohan and Rachel Bilson. There are sunglasses with full frames, half-frames and rimless. It is actually better to have two pairs of sunglasses for the winter and summer time: metal - for the summer and plastic - for the winter. If you are wearing the metal frame when it's cold outside you may have a feeling of discomfort. Plastic is not cooled and is ideal for the winter.

The second place of this season is a vintage sunglasses style with natural and harmless materials. Remember - no fakes, because your eye is a precious and very fragile instrument!

Credits:

- Compilation: Shaza Khalid

- Coordination :

Thomas Fernandes

(0300-2206791)

- Photography: Nabeel Butt

- Make Up & hair :Rizwan' Salon

- Models: Diya, Kiran & Zaria

- Labels :Gucci, Parada &

I am a little bumblebee,

Who lives in a cherry tree,

On top of a hill,

Next to a waterfall and a windmill,

I see the world from way up high,

When I fly around the sky.

My best friends a caterpillar,

who is sleeping in his cocoon,

He will become a beautiful butterfly very soon,

I will teach him to fly,

And to hide from the human eye,

So he can explore this lovely place,

Without losing his innocence and grace.

Then he'll leave his tree home and fly away,

In search of wider horizons

which are up for display,

I'll wait for him while he journeys

across the globe,

I'll give him all the reasons to leave but I'll keep the hope,

That he'll come back to this cherry tree,

When his memory reminds him of me.

I'll tell him that he'll find other friends,

And I'll pray that he stays safe and sound,

Because there will be people,

who will want to imprison him,

And tie him to the ground.

I'll invite the fireflies to dinner every night,

And my tree will be shining will lots of light,

So if he loses his way and it's too dark to see,

He will be led back to my beautiful cherry tree.

The one of a kind musical journey is back this summer for unparalleled performances straight from the heart of the live recording studio.

The show will feature electrifying musical and vocal collaborat-ions, to produce some of the most magical improvised melodies and singing, with an all star artist line up. The Coke Studio voyage, initially announced at the Pakistan day press conference, will debut on 14 June with sessions culminating in an Independence Day special.

This year, the show looks to reignite Pakistani passion and pride by chronicling a journey through a series of episodes, each of which is based specifically, on distinct philosophies showcasing a multi faceted Pakistani identity: Individuality, Harmony, Equality, Spirit and Unity. Each of these different themes will be highlighted separately in the various episodes through a selection and combination of artists, collaborations, music and melody. Thus individual artists will combine and feature over several different thematic episodes; a testament to their creativity, range and musical versatility.

Witness the versatile Ali Zafar back on the set in a folk fusion avatar with flautist Baqir Abbas and Ali Hamza on the Banjo as well as the return of Strings for one collaborative song with the Coke Studio house band. This season also heralds an appearance by acclaimed artist Arieb Azhar; a solo performance by musician Gurpreet Chana; classical maestro Riaz Ali Khan fusing with music icon Atif Aslam; the pairing of Javed Bashir's vocal prowess with Zeb & Haniya's soul and Saddiq Sameer's Rabab; the sublime spirituality of Saieen Zahoor in harmony with Noori's raw energy along with Rakae Jamil's sitar; Gul Mohammad's Sarangi with Shafqat Amanat Ali's scintillating sargarms, ultimately blending with JoSH and Gurpreet Chana's dhol and tabla beats.

As announced earlier this year, the new season also encompasses the show's power-house band with a broader and exciting range of talent with the likes of Babar Khanna on dholak, Kamran "Mannu" Zafar on Bass, Louis "Gumby" Pinto on Drums, Omran "Momo" Shafique on guitar, Saba Shabbir on backing vocals and Zulfiq "Shazee" Ahmed Khan on multi percussions. New to your screens this year are house band members Assad Ahmed, also on guitar, Jaffer Zaidi on the keyboard, Javed Iqbal on Violin, Natasha De Sousa as backing vocalist, Sikander on dholak and Waris Baloo on multi percussions.

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Last year, the concept of backing vocals was introduced with two smashing ladies who sang behind the likes of Ali Azmat, Rahat Fateh Ai Khan, Strings and Ali Zafar. This year, Coke Studio returns with two talented singers, Natasha De Sousa and Saba Shabbir, who will be heard and seen across televisions all summer, starting June 14 at season two!

A blue blooded Karachiite, Natasha joined the Coke Studio team last year as assistant video director and returns to the studio in 2009 as backing vocalist. Armed with a wardrobe of skill and talent, the girl is an actor, producer and voice over artist by profession and has also had much singing experience throughout her schooling years at both her school and church choirs. In 2001, this singing sensation staged solo opening acts for popular band Stereo Nation and bhangra bandmaster Sukbhir.

Speaking about her involvement in a production on the scale of the show, Natasha mentioned, "I've been singing since I was a child in Church and School Choirs, so music isn't exactly new to me. Acting is a passion turned profession, and production I've learnt is the root of the creative tree... Exposure to Choir training helps to an extent, to understand the dynamics of harmonizing for lead vocalist. This of course is a whole different ball game, so it's excitingly challenging. I grew up in a household where I was not allowed to listen to anything but gospel music till I was well into my twenties. So later in life, when I realised I had a lot of catching up to do I listened to just about anything I could get my hands on from the Carpenters to modern day Qawalli."

Our second singer Saba, was born in Britain, raised in Islamabad and has also lived in Lahore! Saba Shabbir brings her distinct flavour back to the show's recording platform for another season after her success last year.

Time-consuming loquacious learning sessions are yesteryears saga! Today's fast paced world demands quick, fun and interactive yet effective learning sessions. Yes, you heard me! Learning with a tinge of fun and frolic has become the novel mantra of the new era and is gradually gaining momentum.

Adopting the same philosophy, the Pakistan Hairdressers and Beauticians' Association (PHABA) in collaboration with P&G, producers of leading hair care and beauty brand- Pantene organized a fun-filled, informative training session for all its members. The session was reflective of the ideologies accepted across the globe and practices prevalent amongst the best in class. The training was conducted by the PHABA Training Committee and President and founder of PHABA, Ruhana Iqbal (popularly known as Bhabi), who is also one of the pioneers of the beauty industry.

The session kicked off with an inspiring speech by Bhabi who whilst advocating the importance of keeping abreast with the latest developments in the Hair care industry remarked "Hairdressers and beauticians have a professional responsibility towards their clients and as such need to be a master in their respective areas of expertise. After all, people look up to us for all kinds of suggestions, fashion advice and Hair & beauty tips. Needless to say we need to be updated with the latest in hair care and styling techniques, Beauty & fashion trends as well as new and improved (research driven) products that will best serve our clients' needs."

Realising the ever-growing requirements of quick fix hair care solutions and the incessant search of clients for convenience coupled with quality results leading hair and beauty artists Salman Akhund and Sehrina Salman demonstrated some impressive 3-minute styling techniques with minimalist use of products as well as hair damaging tools like hair dryers and straightening irons. Salman's techniques became the talk of the hall and his pleasant persona added an extra zest to the already vivacious show. Salman's chant "Waqt kam, muqabla sakht" seemed to become the mantra of the show. His hair cuts and contemporary styles coupled with Sehrina's makeup techniques left the audience begging for more.

The audiences' desire for more was satiated with Nusrat Bokhari's awe-inspiring hair dos including doughnuts to give the illusion of volume as well as trendy looks for the more conservative clients. Her techniques were simple, innovative and speedy. She has been in the industry for over 15 years now and is a part of PHABA's education committee as well as the General Secretary of the Association. The organizers truly outdid themselves, bringing specialists, aspiring beauticians and models as well as professional hair and beauty artists under one roof. Present amongst the audience were some renowned personalities like Mrs. General Yousuf who was the chief guest at the event and Akram Khushal, a renowned Hair professional acknowledged for his unique capability of working 11 scissors simultaneously to give a stylish haircut in just seconds.

The training session concluded with the local hairstylists showcasing their models with creative hair dos, contemporary makeup and funky outfits. The platform helped to increase their knowledge and boost their confidence as well as gave them a sense of belonging through the recognition they received from their participation.

Making a difference

The ninth largest country in the world, Kazakhstan situated in Central Asia is the key to an adventurous holiday with an abundance of terrain: flatlands, steppes, taigas, rock-canyons, hills, deltas, mountains, snow-capped mountains and deserts.

Kazakh national cuisine reflects the nature of its people - its history, customs and traditions. Since old times hospitality has been the most distinctive feature of the Kazakh people.

They are first treated to kumys (fermented mare's milk), shubat (fermented camel's milk) or airan (fermented cow's milk), then to tea with milk or cream, baursaks (fried dough balls), raisins, irimshik (dried cheese balls), kurt (dried cheese and whey). Appetizers of horse or mutton meat follow. Kazakhs eat at a low table called 'dastarkhan' and the most popular dish has always been the national meat dish 'beshkarmak' (five fingers because of the manner in which it is eaten). It is made of large chunks of boiled meat which the host cuts and serves to each guest according to their importance: the pelvic bones and shin to the elderly guests of honour, the brisket to the son or daughter-in-law, the cervical vertebra to girls and so on. The highest ranking guest is served a sheep's head cooked in a special way and distributes it to other guests according to local tradition (old men, children, close and distant relatives).

Traditionally Kazakh cuisine was mostly based on meat and milk products. But more recently vegetables, fruits, fish, seafood, baked dishes and sweets have been added to the list of delights Kazakhs offer to their guests.

The delicacy of Kazakh cuisine however lies in 'horse meat'. Horse meat, somewhat like beef and venison, is slightly sweet, tender, low in fat, and high in protein and an indispensable part of culinary traditions here. In Kazakhstan, different horses are meant for different purposes like racing, riding and work. A breeding horse, for instance, cannot be served on the dining table!

A house is made of walls and beams; a home is built with love and dreams. Nusrat and Roomi's home clearly reflects this philosophy. As soon as you step through the front door of their nine-bedroom home you are engulfed with an aura of warmth. The entrance is bright and welcoming.

The house delicately balances on the fine lines between classic and modern. As Nusrat puts it, "I would describe the design of our home as contemporary, elegant and warm."

"This is actually owned and built by my in-laws. They have been living here since 1971. Around that time very few people chose to build houses in Defence. So in our vicinity my father-in-law's house was among the first few houses. Well, I joined the clan after I got married to Roomi in 2001. This is actually like our family house where we live with our three little kids. Only last year we did the renovations and now the home has a completely different look," narrates Nusrat.

The living room has a rich feel with distinctive upholstery and soft furnishing. A sumptuous range of artifacts, textured walls and fine floors capture a sense of elegance. "The place is filled with accessories that we have picked up from all our trips abroad - some from London, some from Dubai and some from Far East. We spend a lot of time choosing objects d art for our home." However, most of their furniture is locally sourced. The couple used local artisans and craftsmen to make the majority of their custom-designed furniture. "I strive for the furniture to have symmetry and the walls to have loads of texture and colour. I love flowing curtains and lots of white furniture. This effect is easy to achieve and quite striking. We have also bought some pieces of art and furniture from local designer shops like Solo, Objects and Index." tells Nusrat.

They have a spacious dining area. "It can seat eight to 10 people. We've enjoyed some fabulous family meals around the table." The chandeliers in the living and dining rooms are couple's favourite items because of their uniqueness. They exude elegance and lend a sense of understated style to the living and dining area.

She admits that she is always on the lookout for accessories and artwork for her home. "My husband and I love shopping for design items and we are always on the lookout for new, exciting pieces, paintings and furniture."

Nusrat's favourite room is her bedroom. "It's my sanctuary away from the crazy hectic world outside. Each and every item in my personal room is special to me as I selected everything myself. It's the only room where I can be myself completely and relax," she smiles.

As far as colours are concerned, Nusrat believes in using subtle colours. "Colours can enhance or destroy the atmosphere of a room. So choose very carefully. Use the right colours in the right places. Make sure you do not use too many colours when decorating a room. If you can theme it with one or two colours in mind it will create the best effect," she suggests.

The couple likes to entertain a lot. They try to create an atmosphere conducive to her guests having a great time. "When we entertain, we open the doors to the garden area so the place looks more spacious and the guest can also enjoy fresh breeze," says Nusrat.