After a long and hard day at work &mdash; where half the time is spent thinking, &ldquo;when will this day end?&rdquo; &mdash; don&rsquo;t we all yearn for a long and relaxing massage? And what could be better than getting that massage without even stepping out of your home? Well, just fork out Rs 3-4 lakh and get yourself a chair that will do exactly that for you. In fact, the latest range of massage chairs will do even more for you.

Hands-free relief

Business Standard

As vice president of the Hyatt group of hotels, Ratnesh Verma spends most of his time travelling around the world and living at some of the finest hotels. Associated with the Hyatt for the last 17 years, and responsible for several hotels across South-east Asia, Verma has a fair idea about what the plushest hotels and rooms should offer. We suss out his idea of a perfect hotel room (and not necessarily at the Hyatt), which, when missing, makes him lose his temper, and what exactly he likes or dislikes in his hotel room.

No room for error

THE Ivanchuk drug scandal at the Dresden Olympiad has ended with Fide showing commonsense. The enquiry concluded: &ldquo;A lack of personnel led to procedural error: there was not a designated Doping Control Officer present. The procedural error allied with Mr Ivanchuk&rsquo;s distraught state of mind led him unintentionally to miss the test. The Hearing Panel therefore concludes unanimously that there should be no penalty.

CHESS #573

I&rsquo;ve hacked and coughed and sniffled and snorted my way through this past week, which has made me realise that it&rsquo;s been quite a while since I was last ill, which I attribute to simple living, high thinking. It has also made me realise that while I was once a fairly stoic patient, I am now an accomplished whiner, which I attribute to my personality.

Cold comfort

Anoothi Vishal meets Ashfaque and Irfan Quereshi, who, despite the legacy of their famous family, are determined to experiment with Indian cuisine.

Brothers in arms

Abhilasha Ojha meets Kyn Pham Singh Nongkynrih, a well-known Khasi poet and writer, at the DSC Jaipur Literature Festival.

&#39;Vernacular writers need support&#39;

Regardless of what actor Sanjay Dutt may have to say on the subject, I get on fairly well with my brother&rsquo;s wife, thank you. So do many of you, I hope. Had Dutt been feasting on too many of Ekta Kapoor&rsquo;s soaps before he said that &mdash; even though they are deemed distinctly unfashionable now? What else is one to make of a statement such as &ldquo;all sisters have a problem with their brother&rsquo;s wife&rdquo;? As a grossly sexist remark, it comes close to, &ldquo;women don&rsquo;t like each other&rdquo; that cavemen-who-didn&rsquo;t-go extinct still believe in, and the other Indian favourite about MILs and DILs (though in the West, it is the men who usually have a problem with their mothers-in-law).

Bole toh, what&#39;s in a name?

Many will find Sam Miller's book full of wry observations, but Kishore Singh suggests they should read it for the insights about the many-layered Delhis that he writes about, and that they're likely unaware of.

The many-layered Delhis in Sam Miller's book

To rule the colonies effectively, European colonialists needed to know what they were ruling &mdash; land as well as people. This was the root motive for the explosion of European research and exploration of India, Africa and other parts of the colonised world during the 19th century.

Adam&#39;s pique

Qurratulain Hyder was a pioneer of Urdu literature. If she didn&rsquo;t actually introduce the literary form of the novel to writers and readers of this language, long devoted to poetry, then at least she was instrumental in setting it on a sound footing. She wrote five novels herself, along with several novellas and four collections of short stories &mdash; of which this is one. Hyder, who worked for the BBC as a journalist, also translated much of her own work into English to reach a wider audience.

City lives

The eyes have way too much to take in at this old Jor Bagh residence in New Delhi. The walls are a dull cream colour, the sort you&rsquo;d find in most homes across the country. But what lends colour, vibrancy and so much energy to this cosy home is the artwork: sculptures, silver memorabilia and what have you. &ldquo;Look,&rdquo; I whisper, delighted, to the photographer as we climb up to the second floor, pointing out a series of eight Husain paintings. The photographer, in the meantime, is busy ogling at a Tyeb Mehta on another wall. Like we said, the home is an open invitation to soak in the pleasures afforded by art. There are works by renowned and upcoming Indian artists and the house is almost like a private gallery where we are let loose to enjoy the colours and brush strokes.

A home like a gallery...

The all-suite hotel in Select City Walk turns the notion of mall hotels on its head.

Svelte, but generously so

Detroit was in a sombre mood this year. Fresh from multi-billion dollar bailouts, two of the big three had rather subdued debuts. Ford, by virtue of declining the helping hand had a bit more flair, but still lower than previous years. Several manufacturers like Nissan, Suzuki, Porsche etc gave Detroit the miss. Stalls were smaller, some stayed empty while others just kept things to a bare minimum.

Final countdown

The year has at least begun on a note of humour, with 12 artists in a calendar art show curated by Himanshu Verma for Red Earth and Apparo Galleries, at Delhi&rsquo;s Triveni Kala Sangam till the end of the month. Watchable, and laughable, with artists such as Alexis Kersey, Farhan Mujib, Pushpamala N, Rajendra Kapse, the Singh twins, Thukral and Tagra, and Waswo X Waswo.

Laugh a little more this year...

I&rsquo;m in the construction business and I travel to my sites once in a while. I currently own a Tata Sumo and I plan to upgrade to an SUV or MUV. I have a budget of Rs 8 to 12 lakh and I&rsquo;ve narrowed down my choices to the Tata Safari, the Mahindra Scorpio and Mahindra Xylo. Apart from sites which have some amount of off-roading, I also do a lot of highway driving. Comfort and economy are important, as is the ability to handle some off-roading.

Xylo or not

At virtually every forum we speak at or interact with clients, there is a lot of interest and concerns around salaries and rewards in the current scenario. The challenge most companies face stems from increasing pressures to manage costs with very little corresponding alleviation of the need to engage and retain people because top talent can always find a place to go, downturn or not. Companies also realise that their &ldquo;solid citizens&rdquo;, too, feel insecure and anxious and that they have to be engaged to give their best during these times, rather than being overwhelmed by despair and pessimism.

Does your reward system measure up?

Directors will be expected to provide greater scrutiny to assertions made by executives.

What&#39;s a director to do?

Being at the forefront of a raging debate in India is no mean feat. Top it with the responsibility of being the conscience keeper of an industry or fraternity and one realises why Indian gods must possess multiple arms and heads.

&#39;We need to have board nomination committees&#39;

Strategic tools for the practising manager.

KIT: The hospitality industry in India

    India&rsquo;s largest ecommerce company is a joint venture between two existing brick and mortar companies. Name the ecommerce company and its founders.

The Strategist Quiz (#083)

    The words sparking, incredible, a different light, uniquely and amazing appear in the advertisements for a certain category in APAC countries. Name the category.

Answers to last week's quiz (#082)

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