Ok, it's still April, so we can say it. APRIL FOOL!

We fooled you, didn’t we? In the last issue when we said we were banning men from the magazine, forever and ever and ever and a day? We did? Doesn't matter. It was just a joke.

You know and we know and the men around you and me and us know that we need one another, us women and them men, and the point is to remember that we are we and they are them and celebrate the differences.

But, you say, we were not fooled. Err, not reeaaally... well, doesn't matter. Sometimes it's good to try and have a bit of fun, and think on the slant. And we had our laughs wondering how our magazine would look without the men we put onto the pages.

So, here we are. Kissing and making up to all the men who took umbrage, and all those who did not even know (if they are gorgeous, that is), and dedicating an entire four pages to.... MEN!

Drooly men, men who have what it takes to find the prime slot in a women's mag, men with guts and gumption to not be afraid of going where few men have been before. Where countless critical female eyes and sharp womanly psyches will appraise and analyse them and probably decide which ones make the grade for them and which ones don't.

Men in all their glorious still-single status, Femina's List of Desirable Men with the Most...
Never let it be said that April is the cruellest month...

Bhaichung Bhutia
He's the man who makes Indian football look hot and inviting. A make-'em-weak-in-the-knees combo of Oriental charm and rooted earthiness, this lithe-limbed, sexy football star is a complete natural - on and off the field. We're talking football and modelling, of course. His boyish yet rough good looks, wiry toned muscles and straight-from-the-heart smile can floor anyone. Small wonder then, that he is a man of many firsts on the desi football scene! The Sikkimese star was the first Indian footballer to sign a professional contract with an European club; the first Asia-born player to score a goal in an English professional league; the first Indian footballer to bring in endorsement to the game... Phew!

We hear the guy is taken. So what? All's fair in love and eye-candy lust.

Rahul Sharma
One look at this dreamy-eyed musician and you think old-fashioned romance, waterfalls, candlelight dinners and satin sheets. Soft- spoken Rahul's the sexiest thing to have happened to the 'santoor'. Quite the trendsetter (and we aren't just talking looks here) he's recorded for Peter Gabriel's international labels and even tried out a 'santoor'-piano combination with Richard Clayderman. His curly locks, sexy grin and aristocratic style mark him out as a man to melt for. Hear him play and watch him tease the 'santoor' with his magic fingers... we'd gladly exchange places with it any day!

Rahul Bose
This one's as short (5' 6'') and handsome as they come! But then we love an intelligent, sensitive face any time and to hell with those few more inches! It's not just the face. We believe there's got to be character and achievement to go with it too. And Bose has that in abundance. He's been an advertising copywriter, a radio performer, an actor, a scriptwriter and a director. Not to mention that he's an active champion of human rights. Hey, and he's a rugby player too. Now how cool is that!

So where does romance fit it with this hunk? "Romance changes my life from time to time. Sometimes, it's the way a girl smiles. Sometimes the most romantic moment can be at a conference and can even make you fall in love. In fact, my head is always halfway up in the clouds." We knew it. He IS too good to be true.

And who (hold your breath) would be his ideal partner? "Someone who grows as much as you do, someone you can laugh with, someone you can intellectually engage with and you are constantly, flamingly attracted to at all times." Sigh! Must the guy be sooo demanding? Wouldn't just a lot of adoration and worship do?

Abbas Tyrewala
If we'd love to dig into anything these days, it would have to be Abbas Tyrewala's cryptic mind. Any guy who can swing from 'Munnabhai' to 'Maqbool' without missing a beat is a brainy turn-on. When it comes to getting the pulse of Mumbai right, Abbas Tyrewala's wacky dialogues for 'Munnabhai MBBS' are on everyone's lips. Which girl can resist a man who can make her laugh? Add to that hot looks that scream 'sahi hai!', straight-talking charm and being the smartest thing Bollywood has come up with in years. Shekhar Kapur, Sandeep Chowta, Farah Khan and even Ram Gopal Varma are queuing up for a piece of his mind. We want a share... and more!

Shivraj Singh
His family invented Jodhpurs and few can carry them off better than Shivraj Singh, prince charming with those bedroom eyes. From playing polo to perfecting the gracious host-cum-heritage hotelier act, Shivraj straddles two very different worlds - a royal life in Jodhpur and a page three party one in Delhi - with practised ease. Right now, this mocha-toned stud is also the synonym for an eligible bachelor. Do you have the glass slippers to match?

Samar Jodha
He's the erudite woman's Brad Pitt. Salt-and-pepper mussed hair, the grin, and the wicked eyes - everything about the guy is irresistibly sexy. Sensitive and incredibly perceptive, this photographer is passionate about his subjects (so we're sure he's passionate in other ways too). Samar loves cars and unfortunately, his bachelor status, too!

Here's a man if you know one. His photography is impartially divided between commercial, art, documentary and editorial work. He's studied at some of the world's best schools and studios, and he has a few books to his credit. Samar barely spends three months in India, so girls, you'll have to really turn on the seduction full steam, if you want this man. The rest of the year, he could be anywhere - Afghanistan, Mongolia, France... A romantic traveller... Ooooh!

Rishi Rich
We love a cool guy and boy, does Rishi Rich hit the groove! The gelled hair, that suave goatee, the attitude - we'd probably be blown away even without the music. But, girls, let's not forget that we're not just going for the gasps, so it's great that the 26-year-old music producer from London has packed some Punjabi punch on tracks with Ricky Martin, Westlife, Madonna and Britney Spears! We're kicked that his own Bhangra fusion project, 'Dance With You (Nachna Tere Naal)', has infiltrated the charts, and when his next project, with our very own A R Rahman, hits the discs, we're going to be standing in line... for the signed pics as well.

Ajay & Vijay Balhara
Go with catcalls, hysterical screams and mystic smiles - you have all the reasons to be mad about the twins as they take the ramp and rule! Except for a few cm difference in their hip size and lip width, you cannot easily tell one from the other (they have their secrets though!). Ajay (Gladrags Manhunt 1999 second runner-up) is an extrovert, while Vijay (a soon-to-be lawyer) likes to be discreet and withdraw into his ruggedly handsome shell. Walking the ramp is their way of life. And they have even swapped places to save each other's skin in difficult situations! Their care-a-damn attitude is drool-worthy and so is their height of six-feet something. Catch them breaking into sinful smiles, pretty sure of their worth as they slide closer to each other at the end of every show they do together. Think you can find space in between?

Raghav Mathur
He's got the take-me-home-to-mama look, and he'll probably charm his way into her heart too! Canadian-born Raghav, who's being hailed as the new hottie from India, also has other great things going for him. He learnt the throaty stuff at Paul McCartney's LIPA school of the performing arts in the UK; his voice coach is Seth Riggs, the man behind Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder in LA; his 'So Confused' rocketed him into the limelight, and 'Can't get enough' - his plea to a girl who didn't return his phone calls over a two-week period (we like the idea!) - is all set to do great things for his creative ego. For the record(s), a Bollywood career is a possibility... and his name is pronounced 'Ragg-iv'!

Siddharth Shanghvi
At 26, being dubbed the next big thing by 'The Sunday Times' in the UK is quite a big deal. But then not everybody bunks college to think about a book. Mumbai-boy Siddharth Sanghvi studied international journalism in London but found his calling in storytelling. With his book, 'The Last Song of Dusk', the fresh-faced Shanghvi says he'll never play to the gallery and is glad that he's finally found space to tell his stories. And we are glad, listening to them. And who would the love of his life be? "As a writer, you learn to develop a lifelong love for solitude. Now there's a paramour if there was one: solitude..." Hmm, about that, we shall see!

Abhishek Bachchan
One of our staffers had once the great fortune of seeing Abhishek's hip bone - you know that sexy little dip that happens where the torso ends and the leg starts? Ever since then, we haven't heard the end of him! But we must agree, that the Big B's son is getting more adorable every day! If only he didn't have such bad film karma! The guy's voice is genetically to-die-for - deep, husky and downright designed to make you moan. The lean and lanky actor has been recently called quite the Casanova, and although he denies it, we'd be just fine with that tag - means more of us can be with him!