THEATREA Restaurant At The End Of TheUniverse: Ever gone out for dinnerand wondered why the lonely girl inthe corner was trying to eat soupwith a fork? Or wanted to eavesdropon the lesbian couple who seem tobe tripping over a marriageproposal? Have you ever suspectedthat the over-friendly waiter couldreally be a cannibal in disguise? Andwhat about those men who areslipping red and blue pills across thetable? Or the girl who is trying to seeher reflection in her cup of chai?This act echoes these thoughts, TheHabitat, Khar, 8 pm.Naha Le Re Bhai: A satire on longwinding court procedures andtardiness of the Indian judicialsystem, this comical play is inspiredby a real-life scenario, where a

woman harrowed by her husbandwho refuses to have a bathe, files adivorce petition against him, PrithviHouse, Juhu, 7 pm.SCREENINGTout Est Pardonné: Victor falls inlove and moves in with a youngwoman who supplies him withdrugs, while Annette leaves him anddisappears with their daughter.Twelve years later, Pamela discoversthat her father still lives in Paris anddecides to go to see him, AllianceFrançaise Auditorium, Marine Lines,6.30 pm.

STAND-UP COMEDYOpen Mic: As an audience member,watch new talents take their firstdaunting steps into the spotlight withstand-up comedian Govind Menon,Canvas Laugh Club, Lower Parel,8.30 pm.NALANDANalanda@HELP (Health EducationLibrary for People) is organising afree talk ‘Understanding Depression& Mood Disorders’ by NileshMandlecha, Help, Ashish, Fifth Floor,Tardeo, 3.30 pm, 6595 2393/ 6595 2394.

IF IT ISN’T HERE, IT ISN’T HAPPENINGAll you have to do to get your event listed here is write to us two daysin advance with the details, preferably with a photograph, to Events,

Bombay Times, The Times of India Bldg,Dr DN Road, Mumbai 400 001.

Email: bombay.times@timesgroup.com

MONDAY 6 NOVEMBER 2017 BOMBAY TIMES, THE TIMES OF INDIA 5

HALLOWEEN CELEBRATIONS FOR A GOOD CAUSE

Tara Sharmawith kids

Severe back pain? Here’show you can avoid surgeryT he spine is a very

complex structuremade up of bones,

discs, nerves and soft tissuelike muscle. Studies showthat in 85 per cent of backpain cases, the primarycause originates in these softtissues. The soft tissue inyour spine should carry 70per cent of the body’s weightand only 30 per cent shouldfall on your bones and otherstructures. With age andpoor lifestyle choices, thesesoft tissues can becomeweak and fail to carry theweight they need to. Thisweight is then transferred tothe bones and that’s whenback pain starts.

Imaging tests like MRIs orX-rays tell an incompletestory — they do not show ushow well the soft tissues arefunctioning. In the case ofyour heart, a stress test orECG checks cardiac func-tion, and only after a func-tion test are you treated. Inthe case of back pain, apatient should also undergoa spine function test beforeundergoing an MRI or X-ray.

QI Spine Clinic was one ofthe the first clinics in Indiato offer Digital SpineAnalysis (DSA) — a compre-hensive spine function test.The results of the diagnosiscan identify the weak tissuethat can be treated and thishas helped prevent over 5160surgeries. Sophisticatednew isolation technologyfrom Germany tests spinefunction. In the same timeand manner it takes to heal abroken bone (fracture), yourbody can rebuild these weaktissues in four to six weeks.You can’t put your spine in acast like you can to your armor leg. Isolation with the

help of devices and precisetargeted treatment hasproved to result in betteroutcomes than surgery.

Shalini Sharma (namechanged), 45, a resident ofCanada, was suffering fromlower back pain for 10 years.MRI and X-Ray detected L5-S1 disc protrusion anddegeneration. She wasunable to sit, stand or walkfor more than 10 minutes.The pain confined hermovements to such anextent that she had to quither job. She tried conven-tional physiotherapy andpainkillers, which providedtemporary relief but no per-manent cure.

She was advised to go for asurgery. On her father’s sug-gestion, she flew to India andvisited the QI Spine Clinic,where doctors were able toaccurately diagnose her con-dition. Six weeks later shecan walk, sit and stand with-out any pain and now lives apain-free life. “Not only hasmy pain reduced but I havealso regained my confidenceand energy,” says Shalini.

Recent research showsthat conservative treatment

has the best results for amajority of cases withmechanical back pain, andsurgery is required in lessthan five per cent cases.Though there are specificconditions where spinal sur-gery is indicated, standardhealthcare guidelines sug-gest that in patients withpredominant back pain com-ing from degenerated discs,surgery should only be pre-scribed after spine rehabili-tation has been explored. QISpine Clinic is one of India’sfirst clinics dedicated torehabilitation by an expertteam of specialised spinephysiotherapists.

Where: QI Spine Clinicsare located at Andheri,Borivali, Churchgate,

Ghatkopar, Kandivali,Linking Road, Powai, VileParle, Worli, Thane, Navi

Mumbai and multiple loca-tions in Pune, Delhi NCR

and Bengaluru.Call: 9320204833

www.qispine.com(*Procedures given are

based on the expert’sunderstanding of the said

field)

P opular luxury destina-tion, Palladium, pre-sented their annual

Halloween Bash on October 27,which was hosted by GayatriRuia and Payal Kilachand.Like every year, this year’sbash was hosted as a fundrais-er for the Light of Life Trust,an NGO whose main objectiveis to empower Indian womenand children.

The evening saw yummymummies Tara Sharma,Tanya Khubchandani Vatsa,Mona Dalal and others attendthe event with their little onesdressed like little monsters.Games, tattoos, magic shows,slime making, stone painting,Origami, treasure hunt, trick-o-treats, balloons, photobooths,art counters and face paintingensured children had a memo-rable Halloween. The specially-sculpted haunted house was afavourite with kids, who lovedthe spooky set-up.

A monstrous evening was instore for all, as the young tykesdressed up as witches, ghouls,wizards and devils, and triedtheir best to scare the wits outof everyone. Palladium, a luxu-ry destination, is always trying

to push the envelope to createunique engagement activitiesfor its patrons. It hosts multiplefestive activities like Easter,Halloween and ChristmasParties for moms and kidsthroughout the year.

The luxury destination isalso known to create a comfort-able experience for visitors. Tomake it even better, Palladiumhas teamed up with India’sfirst personal shopping service— Metodo Chic — this festiveseason to solve all your stylingand shopping woes under theirIP, Palladium Stylista.Tanushree Rao (Owner,Metodo Chic) will assistpatrons to shop as per theirtaste, budget and lifestyle,ensuring that you look yourbest at every occasion.

The décor at Palladium isknown for its larger-than-lifefeel. The Diwali décor at the

Atrium received a lot of appre-ciation, raising the anticipa-tion and excitement levels forthe Christmas décor as well.There are very few destina-tions that offer such a largemix of leading fashion labelsunder one roof. Here, you’realways spoilt for choice. Thisholiday season bid adieu toyour gifting worries withPhoenix Gift Cards, which willbe only exclusively available atall Phoenix destinations acrossthe country. The aim is toenhance the gifting experiencefor its customers across all lux-ury brands, food and beverageoutlets, gourmet stores, appar-el brands, movies, entertain-ment zones, cosmetics, salons,spas, electronics, jewellery andhome décor. Phoenix Gift Cardis valid for a minimum periodof one year and can be loadedfrom `1,000 onwards.

Palladium Tanya KhubchandaniVatsa with her son

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Bhumi Pednekar

E V E N T S

Mona Dalal

Ever thought of a mechanism that canprevent you from those ruminatingtraumatic events of the past?

Researchers from the University ofCambridge have identified a key chemicalwithin the ‘memory’ region of the brain thatallows us to suppress unwanted thoughts andexplained why people suffer from anxiety,Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD),depression and schizophrenia.

Professor Michael Anderson said the abili-ty to control one’s thought is fundamental totheir well-being. “When this capacity breaksdown, it causes debilitating symptoms of psy-chiatric diseases — intrusive memories,images, hallucinations, ruminations, andpathological and persistent worries,” he says.

The findings revealed that the ability toinhibit unwanted thoughts relies on a neuro-transmitter — a chemical within the brainthat allows messages to pass between nervecells — known as GABA. This is the main‘inhibitory’ neurotransmitter in the brain

and its release by one nerve cell can suppressactivity in other cells to which it is connected.A region in the front side of the brain, knownas the prefrontal cortex, plays a key role incontrolling our actions. It has now beenshown to play an important role in stoppingour thoughts.

Researchers used a task known as the‘Think/No-Think’ procedure to identify anew brain process that enables the prefrontalcortex to successfully inhibit our thoughts.Using a combination of functional magneticresonance imaging (fMRI) and magnetic reso-nance spectroscopy, researchers were able toobserve what was happening within the keyregions of the brain as the participants triedto inhibit their thoughts.

The team discovered that GABA concen-trations within the hippocampus — a keyarea of the brain involved in memory — pre-dict people’s ability to block the retrievalprocess and prevent thoughts and memoriesfrom returning. — ANI

Thinkstock

Now, a simple mechanism to help you

get rid of bad memories

Guestsat thebash

Guests atthe bash

I t was a Sunday morning with a dif-ference. The city woke up to a spe-cial petathon that was conducted at

MMRDA, Bandra, which saw enthusi-astic participation of pets (mostlycanines) and their owners. The event,which took off at 7:30 am, had twice asmany onlookers merrily cheering ‘par-ents’ as they flaunted their pets. Theseincluded Gul Panag, who came with hertwo beagles and Tiger Shroff, whoattended the felicitation ceremony. SaidGul, “I flagged off the petathon. Andsuch events, which have pets and their

masters participating, are fantastic communi-ty events. I have two beagles — Vegas and Gina,and they enjoyed their time out.”

The mile-long race route was filled with dogs(of all imaginable breeds) and their ownerswalking and running with them, after whichthey headed to a carnival that was set up closeby. With a flea market, food stalls, gaming zonereplete with hula hoops, play pools and even agrooming zone, pets were seen having a com-plete blast. While a special photo booth for self-ies was also set up, a pet bakery was doling outdoggy treats. At the end of the race, every par-ticipant received a medal and goodie bag.

Pets and their ‘parents’ turned out in large numbersto participate in a petathon in Bandra

Gul Panag withher beagles,Vegas and Gina

TigerShroff

Pet marathon in progress

The petathon hadparticipants of allbreeds and sizes

A paws perfect Sunday in MumbaiNow, a simple

mechanism to help you get rid of bad memories

Pics: Prathamesh Bandekar