Anokhi Fashion Lifestyle Entertaiment

There are a handful of women who have inspired me throughout my life. In the west, there’s Madonna, Princess Diana, Oprah and Angelina Jolie (in that order). In the east, there’s Indira Gandhi, Benazir Bhutto, Mother Teresa and Kajol (also in that order). Of all these women, I have only had the pleasure of interviewing one of them—Kajol, who graces our Annual Beauty Issue cover (Open Chest on page 82). Although I found her to be exactly who I envisioned her to be—a super ANOKHI talent—I was pleasantly surprised when she turned out to be so much more than I had anticipated during our one-on-one. She was frank, concise, matter-of-fact, robust, inspirational, motivational, amusing and unapologetic about who she is and what she believes in. And although she had many nuggets of wisdom to profess, one statement resonated so loud that I can still feel the reverberation. When asked what advice she would give to women who are challenged to conform to society’s notion of peripheral beauty with all its trappings, without hesitation, she slapped me with quite a poignant answer: “I always say, the best accessory is a smile. It’s not Louis Vuitton or Gucci—it’s just your own smile!” I must admit, I wouldn’t pass over the offer of the newest Louis Vuitton or Gucci accessory but I also wouldn’t let it legitimize my self-worth. In our world of plastic beauty, Kajol, still supporting her trademark unibrow, is the perfect example of a woman who dances to the beat of her own drum. It is this impenitent demeanour which makes her form of beauty so alluring, and topped off with a witty intellect, there’s no doubt as to why we clamour in front of the big screen on the rare occasion that she decides to make a film nowadays.

Her latest instalment, as you all know, is My Name Is Khan in which she stars with long-time co-star and Bollywood heavyweight Shah Rukh Khan and the producer/director of many of their collaborations, Karan Johar. A much anticipated,must-see movie for 2010—if you haven’t already seen it, I urge you to do so, if only to watch the return of Bollywood’s Three Musketeers! I’d also like to announce the introduction of a new initiative here at ANOKHI. Some of you will have noticed through our website and social media that we have just recently launched our Exclusive Women’s Club. For those of you who don’t know what this is, it’s our give back to all those women who have supported ANOKHI over the years, and for those of you who have just joined our family, to get better acquainted with us. Our goal with this club is two fold:

One: to nurture a platform through which we can all readily and confidently communicate with each other, share our stories of struggle and inspiration and garner positive reinforcement for our respective life’s journeys; a sisterhood so to speak.

Two: for ANOKHI to offer all members with special and exclusive offers not available through any other mechanism, like first dibs on tickets to our events before they go public, reduced ticket prices only available to members, free product/service giveaways, private seminars and workshops with industry professionals, sofa sessions with celebrities where you get to interact with them in an intimate Q&A session, and so much more.

To join this club, just visit our website and click on the Exclusive Women’s Club banner, and do this fast because our first session starts in April and its all about ‘Getting Your Beauty On’. You’ll get to meet some of ANOKHI’s in-house beauty professionals and some industry experts to give you ‘how to’ tips. There will be product sampling opportunities and giveaways, as well as a Q&A session so you leave feeling ready to hit the summer season rejuvenated.

Until the sun shines brighter and the trees bloom greener, and another issue of ANOKHI hits the newsstands and lands on your doorstep, stay connected with us online at www.AnokhiMagazine.com and through Facebook and Twitter.

See you all soon!

Raj Girn
Publisher
ANOKHI MAGAZINE
Be UNIQUE. Be ANOKHI.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY PROJECTED LIFE PHOTOGRAPHY /WWW.PROJECTEDLIFE.COM