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| Affordable leisure: India's only multi-level
indoor golf course at Kolkata's Ocio complex (top); manager
Jiten Khanna relaxes by its heated swimming pool |
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The
membership waiting lists at Kolkata's tony Tollygunge Club and the
Royal Calcutta Golf Club are several years long. Then comes the
screening, the interviews and then, if one gets through, comes the
membership, which guarantees entry into the world of the rich and
the genteel. Rather a long and arduous wait for a game of golf,
don't you think?
Lots of Kolkatans seem to think so. That's
why many of them are flocking to Ocio, a new five-level "leisureplex",
which claims to have India's only multi-level, indoor putting green.
Sarah Stilgoe, wife of a diplomat with the British Deputy High Commission
in Kolkata, is a regular here. "My sons, Mathew (6) and Samuel
(3), learn the rudiments of golf here while I relax in the café
adjoining the course," she says.
It's affordable too. You can play two rounds
in the air-conditioned, 9-hole course (par 21) for Rs 25. Ocio provides
the clubs and the balls. "Our biggest USP is that you don't
have to be a member to play," says Jiten Khanna, Manager of
the complex. The game attracts about 100 players a day. This number
almost doubles on weekends.
The course itself has been thoughtfully designed-some
of the angles are quite difficult and the small water features and
other hurdles make a round fairly challenging for most. Ocio plans
to hold regular inter-corporate putting tournaments here. Khanna
feels more people will flock in once it gets a bar licence by the
end of the month. "The café by the course will be converted
into a pub," he informs, adding: "We expect lots of young
executives to stop by for a round of golf and a drink on their way
back from work."
Ocio, which means leisure in Spanish, also
has other tricks in its bag to attract the whole family. It claims
to have the city's only heated swimming pool. The complex's discotheque
and a restaurant are expected to open their doors by next month.
Ocio also has a kids' play zone that is equipped with the latest
interactive video games, toddlers' toys and pool. And it claims
that its gym and spa have the best equipment in the city.
"The idea is to become a one-stop leisure
shop for the entire family, seven days a week," Khanna signs
off.
-Arnab Mitra
TREADMILL
ONE FOR THE TWO
 The
year was 1974. I was bright-eyed, impressionable and 15. to me and
most other male teenagers that I knew then, fitness meant bulging
biceps, the sort you saw in advertisements for an icon of that era-the
Bullworker. My idol was an older guy in the Calcutta (now Kolkata)
neighbourhood where we lived. He was 20 and had both, the Bullworker
and bulging biceps. He was an inspiration to many of us younger
kids around the block and, when he deigned to have some time for
us, we rallied around him for tips on exercising. That was my first
(and soon to be aborted) foray into exercising. Freehand squats,
push-ups and stretching were all we did at that time, lacking adequate
funds to buy weights or a Bullworker. It was also my first brush
with what was popularly referred to in Calcutta as "Bikes".
Not the two-wheeled variety that you rode but a kind of undergarment
that was worn by men during sports activity. It was the jockstrap-an
elastic waistband with a support pouch in front to protect or shield
your, well, cojones, and two straps that extended from the bottom
of the pouch across the buttocks (see illustration) to hold the
garment snugly in place. It took me many years to realise why jockstraps
or athletic supporters were referred to as "Bikes". "Always
wear your Bike when you're exercising," our muscle guru idol
would caution us, adding a sufficiently horrific description of
torsion and twisting that could happen sans a Bike. His warning
conjured up such a sense of pain that all of us kids begged, borrowed
or stole to get money to buy jockstraps for each of ourselves. As
for the etymological aspect of "Bikes", the jockstrap
was first developed by the bike Athletic Company for bicycle delivery
boys in the late 1800s.
Should you or should you not wear an athletic
supporter while exercising? There are some who believe you should.
Athletic supporters, they argue, protect your privates, especially
when you're lifting weights in exercises like squats, lunges, dead-lifts
and even other weight-training exercises that are done in a standing
position. A good jockstrap helps avoid strain on delicate muscles
and ligaments in the groin during exercise or sport, and can even
be an insurance against developing hernia in the lower abdomen.
Still, there are others who dispense with a JS, arguing that well-fitted
briefs (not boxers, please) can do the job as well. My take on this:
If you're seriously into exercise or sport, don't do without your
trusty Bike. Sadly though, it can be tough trying to lay your hands
on one. Snazzy sports clothing stores don't usually stock them.
Try the dying breed of old-fashioned sports goods stores. And remember,
a good jockstrap should be comfortable and not too tight, and its
waistband shouldn't cut into your waist yet fit snugly.
-Muscles
Mani
write to musclesmani@intoday.com
ALL
ABOUT ACROMEGALY
Acromegaly?
Sounds Greek to you? It is, actually, and it means great extremity.
In medical parlance, though, it refers to a condition commonly referred
to as gigantism, where bones and tissues get uncommonly enlarged.
Here's a primer.
What it is: A hormonal disorder that
results when the pituitary gland, located at the base of the brain,
produces excessive growth hormone (GH) leading to abnormal enlargement
of facial bones and body tissues. End result? Diabetes, BP, cardiovascular
disease, spinal cord compression and premature death. It could affect
anyone, with an estimated six out of every 100,000 adults liable
to contract it. More ominous, it has no known risk factors, and
isn't hereditary either.
Symptoms: Widening of teeth, thickening
of lips, tongue and nose, increasing hand and feet size, thick and
oily skin, fatigue and weakness, excessive sweating, pain in the
joints, decreased mobility and weight gain.
Treatment: The primary cause behind
the increased GH secretion being a pituitary tumour, surgery is
the only option. "It's a simple surgery," says Dr. (Col.)
Surendra Kumar, Senior Consultant and HoD, Department of Endocrinology
and Metabolism at New Delhi's Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, "and
though the bone changes don't reverse, improvement in skin and subcutaneous
changes can be seen within hours." A hormonal assessment follows
(because the pituitary is the master gland that controls the functions
of other endocrine glands), and deficiencies taken care of.
So, before you relate your recent happy growth
to an increased appetite, be warned. And get a check-up done.
-Payal Sethi
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