Beat the heat, the Yahoo! way

Phew, I am wiping the sweat off my palm as I struggle to type this bit in. The air-con is set at 23 degrees, which should've been modestly comfy. But no, there is a desperate want for the environment being to be cooler still. Alright, temperature down to 16 degrees. Set. Good, now let's get going again.

This article is strictly for girls. Well, sort of. Okay, mostly. But for blokes who'll read this, please don't write in with hate mails saying the article was chiefly centred around the fairer sex.

This year has been declared as the hottest year of the decade. And crazy people that there are, say that there is a certain pleasure in enjoying hot places, in all the heat. Yeah, right! But you surely cannot just rest your bum all day long on your couch, with the AC working its guts out, watching those romantic flicks on HBO. You ought to go out there and indulge in your usual girly affairs. Shop around pointlessly in the street-side markets on Bandra or Janpath, or just go to Colaba or Connaught Place to enjoy the place itself, if nothing else.

But while you're doing all this, what is it that keeps you cool?

Nimbu-pani, ice golas, aam panna, sun screen lotion, an umbrella, and whatnot ' you do all it takes to beat the heat. And if you go the ultra desperate way and take to one of those handheld battery operated tiny fans, it becomes quite evident that you've run out of ideas to enjoy the hilariously evil summer that we're faced with. But you still end up having that hopeless drenched-in-sweat look on self which kills the fashionista look of yours. Hot pants, funky tees, cool pair of shades, a nice hat ' all starts going wrong.

Well, Yahoo!, however, thinks it has a solution. Though there is nothing on earth, or in the medical spectrum, that can stop you completely from sweating and keep your body at 18 degree temperature, there sure are ways to fight some of the ills effects off. It's quite simple really. Since you're reading this sitting in front of your PC, all you need to do is ' after reading the article completely, mind you ' open this link in another browser window. It has a lot of tips and information about a whole lot of things that you could do when the Sun is at its torturing best.

Girls will like it for obvious reasons ' there's lots of beauty and makeover related articles and also what food should you eat and what all out there makes for the latest trend.

Guys will like it, well, for obvious reasons. There are a lot of pretty girls in there in pictorial form (damn!) to ogle upon!

There are a bunch of things you could do on this summer special offering from Yahoo! There is a Fitness section wherein you'll learn about Yoga, healthy eating, physical activity and lots more. There is also a section called Beauty, which, frankly speaking, we could not understand quite completely. You see, for us chaps, beauty is words like Monica and Bellucci and Uma and Thruman and Angelina and Jolie. We don't quite understand words like Mascara or lip-gloss or foundation, for crying out loud!

I'd gone shopping with three girls a few days back ' each one crazier than the other. The entire time, and I am talking about a good four hours here, they were in one store. And all they did was get more confused as the clock ticked. They drove me up the wall with their questions like "Should I take this shade of brown, or this one? What do you think?" It is just a colour ' brown. And it isn't that the shades were a galaxy apart too. To be honest, I couldn't see the difference. But then that is my point ' if only Yahoo! had launched this a few days sooner, it would have saved me from the one of the most tormenting four hours of my life. There is a section that talks of all the happening shopping spots in Delhi. A sure way to keep girls busy, and entertained, while we sweat it out during our Football matches.

All of us here are quite fond of anything that is even remotely close to being eaten or gulping down. So the only section that we spent the most time on was in the "Recipes' section. From Kiwi Kooler to milkshakes to delicious ice creams ' it's all there. Nice! And then to round things up on this site, there are contests and polls to keep you hooked.

We're off to the kitchen after this, to try our hands at blending a few drinks together. You, meanwhile, take a note of the address of this Yahoo! summer special site again (in.specials.yahoo.com/summerspecial). Go, check it out and discover more ways of beating the heat! Go Yahoo!