chummachumma

THE WANDERING FALCON-A BOOK REVIEW

2011-08-15T17:08:00.000-07:00

THE WANDERING FALCON : JAMIL AHMAD: PENGUIN: PAGES 180: PRICE: RS 399

It is a stunning debut novel by the author Jamil Ahmad, a septuagenarian and a retired member of the Civil Service of Pakistan and a gifted storyteller whose hallmarks are restraint and brevity. He takes us to the tribal areas where Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran seem to converge. These inhospitable areas are today hotbeds of conflicts and conspiracies. Mahsouds and Wazirs are two among many nomadic tribes who often clash with each other. It is the survival of the fittest. The protagonist is a young boy called Tor Baz (black falcon). He is the hunting falcon. He mingles with people of three different nationalities. Men who are fighting for their countries and women who have to honour their society’s code of conduct if they wish to survive. Who is Tor Baz.? From where did he come? And where shall fate take him? Is he a device or a metaphor than a character? It is a tightly plotted and engaging novel, superbly crafted by a writer who brings a high degree of tenderness and sensitivity in dealing with a complex subject of which he shows extraordinary knowledge and understanding.

Varalakshmi Vratam

2011-08-14T04:15:00.001-07:00

This is a very important and sacred observance (Vratha) followed by pious Hindu married women seeking the blessings of Goddess Mahalakshmi (Varalakshmi-boon granting Goddess) for longevity for their husbands and wealth and happiness for the family. It is observed in the month of July/August in the Tamil month of Aadi on the Friday before the full moon. This year it fell on 12th August. It is a very common observance among married women in the Southern states and to some extent in Maharashtra and Orissa. According to Skanda Purana, Lord Shiva recommended to his wife Parvathi to observe the vratham to obtain wealth and prosperity.

Starting with cleaning of the house in the early hours of the morning, women decorate the entrance of their homes with mango leaf festoons and beautiful garlands. New clothes are worn on this occasion and women deck themselves with their best jewellery. The ceremony begins with Kalasha puja. A sacred pot (Kalasha) is worshipped,filled with water and kept on a mount of rice placed on a plaintain leaf. A thread is tied around the the kalasha. Sacred symbols are made on the kalasha by the purohit using vermillion paste. A coconut is placed in the centre of the sacred pot surrounded by mango leaves.Then the puja commences by worshipping Vishwaksena or Ganesha as the case may be. After completing the Vishwaksena Aaradhana or Ganesha Puja, holy water from the kalasha is sprinkled on all those present. After that, Mahalakshmi stotram, Laksmi Sahasranamam and Sri Suktham are chanted.Various food and fruit offerings are made to Mahalakshmi. Then an aarathi is performed.In the evening women are invited to get Mahalakshmi's blessings and partake of the prasadam.

Mahalakshmi is the consort of Lord Vishnu. Vishnu means pervading everywhere. And Mahalakshmi is symbolic of the forces pervading everywhere.There are eight forces of Mahalakshmi (Ashtalakshmi). These are known as Bhuh (earth), Sri (wealth), Saraswati (Learning), Keerthi (Fame), Shaanthi (Peace), Tushti (Pleasure), Preeti (Love) and Pushti (Strength). By worshipping Lakshmi we obtain good health, wealth and happiness which depend on these forces.

We were invited last Friday to a Varalakshmi Vratam evening by a good friend of ours.Her mother( her name was Lakshmi) observed this ritual every year from the time she was married till she passed away a few years back. Her daughter has picked up the mantle and has been continuing this tradition.

MEMORIES OF AKBAR THE GREAT BY DIRK COLLIER-A BOOK REVIEW

2011-07-18T16:45:00.000-07:00

THE EMPEROR’S WRITINGS-MEMORIES OF AKBAR THE GREAT : DIRK COLLIER : AMARYLLIS PRESS : PAGES : 629 : PRICE : RS 695/-

The author researched for seven years while simultaneously writing his in-depth debut novel on Akbar who was considered to be the best of the Mughal Emperors. While researching the Spanish Inquisition, Dirk Collier, a Belgian historian and writer, first came across references to Akbar who had invited Jesuit priests to his court to learn about Christianity. Written in the form of a long letter from Akbar to Jehangir, the book is a compilation of all that he wanted to convey to his dear son who was a rebel. Well-known for his secular outlook which led him to attempt a fusion of three religions- Hinduism, Christianity and Islam which he named Din-e-Illahi which unfortunately failed, Akbar held a modern vision of a prosperous and tolerant country with rich diversity and unity. He conquered the strife and intrigues in the palace and rose spectacularly to absolute power. He had a harem of 5000 women out of which 300 were his real companions. Dirk Collier refers to Akbar as basically “an eclectic, a rationalist as well as a mystic”. His Hindu queen Jodha amassed huge wealth derived from her commercial skills of trading in silk and pepper about which Akbar often discussed with her. Akbar ruled for 49 years till his death in 1605. Jehangir valued his father more when dead than when alive. The conflict between father and son was bitter and never fully resolved. Akbar’s favourite wife Salima personally travelled to Allahabad and brought about the official reconciliation between father and son. Jehangir who held his father with the highest respect often visited his father’s tomb, dismounted, knelt down and rubbed his forehead on the doorstep of the mausoleum. The book is well written and a compelling read. It relates the true story of Akbar’s life and times and can be considered to be an authentic genre in historical fiction.

"BATTLE FOR BITTORA " BY ANUJA CHAVAN -A BOOK REVIEW

2011-07-18T16:32:00.000-07:00

"BATTLE FOR BITTORA": ANUJA CHAVAN : HARPER COLLINS : Rs 299.

Only two years back Anuja Chavan’s debut novel “The Zoya Factor” was a runaway success. She has done an encore with her new book, a romantic comedy. She has mastered the right mix of ingredients that go to make a novel a hit. Bittora is a constituency in the state of Pavit Pradesh caught in an election frenzy. Jinny and Zain are childhood friends who contest with each other in the Lok Sabha elections. Jinny(Sarojini Pande) is from a political family but has very little interest in politics. She works in Mumbai in an animation studio. Her opponent is the handsome Zain Altaf Khan. The opponents belong to BJP and Congress in disguise which are named IJP and Pragati Party respectively. Drawing inspiration from her mother-in-law Margaret Alva, the author’s characters and incidents are very real which give the book a touch of reality. Anuja Chavan carries this chicklit book beyond the parameters of a love story. Her message is that there is place for youth and idealism in politics. And she conveys all this in a breezy and humorous style.

A WOMAN ON WALL STREET- A BOOK REVIEW

2011-07-17T18:19:00.000-07:00

SUITS: A WOMAN ON WALL STREET : NINA GODIWALLA : ATLAS & CO : PAGES 352 : PRICE : $ 24/:

It is a memoir on the author’s two years’ stint at one of the topmost investment banks in the world - Morgan Stanley. It is a saga of the trials and tribulations of a young woman interning in Wall Street. Equipped with four cheap suits and two pairs of Payless shoes, she makes her beginning and by sheer hard work and performance she gets an offer in the coveted Corporate Finance Division on the completion of her internship. It is an insider account of the masochist culture in the world of investment banking and the extreme biases against women.

A decade earlier, Michael Lewis had written a similar book on the goings-on at Salmon Brothers and how their cigar smoking, high-flying executives fraternized among themselves forming an exclusive club and bullied the others. After interning with J P Morgan for a short period, the author joined Morgan Stanley on a two-year scholarship programme. It was a high-stress and male-dominated work ambience.

Nina is one of three children of Zorastrian immigrants from India (Parsis) who settled in Houston, Texas. She was driven by a burning ambition to succeed and prove her worth and win the respect of her father. This book gives an alternate view of children growing up in a Parsi household while the debate over “Tiger Mother” is still raging. She describes her grandmother’s cooking in delicious and mouthwatering detail. A brilliant student who walked into the world of high finance so to say, found the office atmosphere stifling and disgusting due to overtones of gender bias and class consciousness. Unable to accept such an environment, she walked away from her job to pursue her dream. Not that she did not know of what lay in store for her when she accepted the Morgan Stanley offer. She had heard and read all the horror stories from middle-aged women who bitterly complained on how they were sexually harassed; even ordered to wear short skirts. But things were changing as it was not easy anymore to get away with harassing co-workers. However, inappropriate behavior still prevailed and to add salt to the wounds, these high-falutin bankers were callous as well.

Though brought up by parents who insisted on hard work, long hours of study and holding the Parsi culture, the author did not exactly fit the mould. She was in a way a rebel. She dated and even brought a blind date home during her New York days. She drank but now she has reduced it as she has a baby. The irony is that she is married to an investment banker but he understands the fat-boy culture. Nina has started her own company which offers stress-reduction courses to professionals. Her rich experience of dealing with the stress in the almost all-male culture in Morgan Stanley must be holding her in good stead. The book is a gripping read. It is funny and heartwarming. There is a strong message. Ask yourself what are you working for. Is it worth it? Money is not the only goal.

GOD'S OWN TEMPLE-II

2011-07-16T18:07:00.000-07:00

Nammaazhwaar, the 9th century Vaishnavite mystic saint had composed in
Anthaadi style, eleven paasurams which are part of the Thiruvaaimozhi, on the
Lord of Thiruvananthapuram.

Starting from

kedum idar aaya ellam, kesava enna, naalum
koduvinai sheiyyum, kootrin tamargalum kurukakillaar
vidam udai aravil palli, virumbinaan shurumbu allattrum,
tadam udai vayal, ananthapuranagar pugudam inre. 10-2-1

and ending as

andam il pugazh, ananthapuranagar aadi tannaik,
kondu alar pozhil,kurugoor maaran shol, aayiratthul:
aindinodum aindum vallar, anaivar poy amar ulagil,
paintodi madantaiyar-tam, vai maru tol inaiye. 10-2-11

All our difficulties will disappear when we chant the name Kesava. The
dreaded Yama's messengers too will come nowhere near us.
Let us, therefore, all go to Thiruvnanthapuranagar, surrounded by
fertile fields, where the Lord reclines on his poisonous serpent
couch. 10-2-1

This composition of thousand songs composed by Kurugur Satagopan
on the Lord of eternal glory will ensure the embrace of well-
bede,cked women in the celestial world. 10-2-11

In 10-2-7, Nammaazhwaar says that even sweeping the yard there will
undo all the karmas. In 10-2-9, he urges everyone to worship Vaamana's
feet as that would end the seeker's woes. And in 10-2-10, Nammazhwaar says
that those who worship Him with sandalpaste,lamp,incense and fresh
lotus petals will attain eternal glory.

The Aazhwaar says that the Nityasuris living in Paramapadam come to
Thiruvananthapuram for service. 'Sarveshwaran' is sleeping here. Thiruvanantha
Himself is praapya. The Lord has made HIs 'Nitya Sannidhi' here and therefore
whatever kainkaryam I would like to do when I reach Paramapadam after leaving
this mortal coil, I can do it here says Nammaazhwaar.

It doesn't matter if you have been a sinner. It is better to repent now than never.
Without hesitation take his name. Not necessarily only the name Kesava.
Take any one of His thousand names. Before you leave this body hasten to
Thiruvananthapuram; the Lord who has Vamanatva and Madhavatva will remove your 'samsaarabandhanam' (worldly attachment) and make you a Nityasuri
(a permanent resident in Paramapadam)
says Nammaazhwaar.

Rush to Thiruvananthapuram and chant one of His thousand names. You
will attain Moksha.

GOD'S OWN TEMPLE-I

2011-07-15T17:30:00.000-07:00

Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram is literally in the eye of a storm with the discovery of an estimated Rs 1 lakh crores (Rs 1 trillion) in the temple's treasure trove on June 30th. The discovery consists of gold, silver, gems and precious coins from the vaults of the 9th century temple. As per temple records, the temple was built around the 10th century by the Ay dynasty who ruled prior to the Travancore royal family. There is a raging nationwide debate on what should be done with the treasure which has got accumulated over thousands of years. The Kerala Government insists that the assets belong to the temple and that it should not be relocated outside the temple premises. It has also beefed up security to protect the temple's wealth. The treasures have immense heritage value and under constitutional obligation these objects have to be preserved.

The costliest of the treasure found is perhaps a multi-gem studded golden icon of the deity Lord Vishnu. The kallaras are the six chambers around the sanctum sanctorum. Out of these four are routinely opened and shut while two have not been opened for centuries. Most of the treasure found was offered by the Travancore kings and their family members to their family deity Sree Padmanabhaswamy which is substantiated by the temple records which is preserved in the Kerala Archives Department. Marthanda Verma (1729-58) is known as the founder of modern Travancore. He was a dedicated devotee of the Lord unto whom he surrendered his kingdom and sovereignty making the Lord the sovereign Head of Travancore. Thereafter the rulers were called Padmanabha Dasas who ruled the kingdom on His behalf. Marthanda Verma, Swati Thirunal Rama Varma and the last king Sri Chitira Thirunal Bala Rama Varma continued to gift the Lord with precious gems and gold . Situated in the southwestern tip of the country, the temple was safeguarded from marauding invaders.

Why this sudden flurry now? After all, the residents of this holy city and particularly the Lord's ardent devotees have been aware of the wealth lying in the temple's vaults (Thiru-Aras) for hundreds of years. It is one T P Sundararajan,70, a retired IPS officer living just 100 feet away from the temple,and an advocate who literally set the ball rolling. He filed a petition in the High Court alleging mismanagement of the temple's funds by the Trustees and asked for an inventorisation of the wealth lying in the vaults. The High Court issued an order to the State asking it to take over the temple, its assets and management. Uthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma, the 89 year-old king who is fighting a battle in court and is striving to hold on to the last vestige of his empire, the Padmanabhaswamy temple,moved the Supreme Court which stayed the High Court order and asked for a detailed inventory to be listed of all the valuables in the six vaults of the temple. On June 27 when the vaults were opened for stocktaking, the treasures saw the light of the day. Sundararajan was one of the seven member panel formed by the Supreme Court that inspected the six vaults.Sundararajan, a bachelor, who takes his father to the temple every day and prays in the temple thrice a day, has indicated that there is a subterranean vault full of copper pots containing gold coins.His motive for taking the matter to the court was to prevent the royal family from siphoning off the huge treasure.The head of the erstwhile royal family said that he nor any of his family members were not making any claim to the temple wealth.

One vault, the kallara B, has not yet been opened.There is a sign of 'serpent' visible at the entrance and it is felt that it is inauspicious to open it as it may invite the wrath of the Lord. A 'deva prashnam' which is an age-old religious custom and practice may have to be conducted so as not to incur the displeasure of the Lord.

The questions that crop up are:- a) who owns the treasure, b) who will manage it, c) what will the apex court say, d) why is the government unsure of taking over the temple and e) how are the enormous treasures going to be secured and preserved for posterity? And simultaneously there are many who have offered various suggestions for utilising the staggering wealth for the benefit of the temple, the poor and the State.

The eighteen feet long idol of Lord Padmanabha, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu cannot be viewed in one glance. He is shown as reclining on the five-hooded serpent Adisesha, whose body is coiled thrice. The idol is made of a special material and there are about 12,000 saligramas collected from the bed of River Gandaki in Nepal which have been placed inside the idol. Some say that the the idol is made of gold and that it has been covered with soot. Nammaazhvar, a Vaishanavite mystic saint has sung eleven paasurams (verses) on the Lord which is part of the Thiruvaaimozhi section of the Naalayira Divya Prabandham.The temple architecture is a fusion of the Kerala style with the Dravidian style. Before the reorganisation of States after India attained independence, the Travancore kingdom consisted of the modern day southern Kerala and Kanyakumari district and the southernmost parts of Tamil Nadu.

continued in part II

URLAI ROAST

2011-05-22T18:16:00.000-07:00

During my latest visit to Bhubaneswar last week, I stayed at the Trident. I usually stay here because I love the ambience around. It gives one a calm and serene feeling. Trident has a large swimming pool, gym with masseurs and a 900m jogging track. Two rounds early in the morning gives you a one-mile walk which prepares you for the day.The breakfast spread is huge but the southy stuff is my preference. Hot steaming idlis and vadas. And of course, I start with fruits supposed to drive away the toxicity in the body. I top up my breakfast with a large cup of yoghurt. I have a very light lunch and a light dinner too. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a commoner and dinner like a pauper is my motto.

This time though I couldn't stave off my hunger pangs at around 3pm when I was back in the hotel after my morning meetings. I decided to try a mulagutanny soup, urli roast with two chapatis and a bowl of yoghurt. I must admit it was a very satisfying lunch. The urli (urlakazhangu in Tamil and potatoes in English) roast was a big dish with plenty of baby potatoes with their skin, nicely tossed in a spicy curry-leaf masala. It was delicious. For those interested in cooking it at home, here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

Baby Potatoes with skin
Chilli Powder 1 tsp
Coriander Powder 2 tsp
Turmeric Powder ½ tsp
Mustard Seeds 1 tsp
Urad Dal 1 tbsp
Oil 2 tbsp

How to make it: KISS (KEEP IT SIMPLE SILLY)

Heat oil in a pan add mustard seeds and allow to splutter.
Add urad dal and fry until light brown.
Add chilli powder,coriander powder and turmeric powder.Stir it for 3 minutes.
Add baby potatoes and salt.Mix it well.
Cover and roast on a medium flame.
Keep stirring in between.
When they turn brownish and crispy, remove from stove.

Easy to make, urli roast goes well with chapatis.

WE ARE A NATION OF GEEKS

2011-05-16T18:04:00.000-07:00

NOT ONLY THAT WE ARE ALSO SWOTS,NERDS,DWEEBS,BOFFINS AND DORKS. READ "GEEK NATION" BY ANGELA SAINI TO KNOW MORE ABOUT OUR SCIENTIFIC TEMPERAMENT.

GEEK NATION : HOW INDIAN SCIENCE IS TAKING OVER THE WORLD : ANGELA SAINI : HACHETTE : PAGES : 280 : PRICE : RS 499/-

The British author is 31years old, of Indian origin, an award winning science journalist and daughter of a chemical engineer. She is also an engineer by training. She is a self-professed geek. The svelte woman with a chic haircut calls herself a “pretty girlie geek.” She argues passionately that the nation of her ancestors is geared to become a scientific superpower. Her book is a journey through the colleges and laboratories of India to discover the scientific capability of the students and researchers and the changing scientific landscape.

She considers Indians and people of Indian origin as swots, nerds, dweebs, boffins and dorks. Words many of us had not heard before. Neither did Narayana Murthy of Infosys. Nor the legendary U R Rao of ISRO. She refers to Jawaharlal Nehru as the other important geek after Vikram Sarabhai. They pushed us into frontiers that were held earlier by the likes of Aryabhatta and Bhaskara. Though not equipped with the best of hardware for their research, the Indian scientists are using their mental software (read creativity) to compensate for the lack of quality equipment and they are developing cheap technologies for day to day applications. This is bringing about a scientific revolution. Indian science is according to Angela definitely riding a crest.

There are many who do not agree with her line of thinking. Her critics say that she is being carried away by the large presence of Indian engineers, doctors, technologists and forensic experts and IT professionals to jump to such conclusions. Undeniably, her book is an interesting travelogue. She visits ISRO, BARC and the IT corridor in Bangalore. Her interactions with Dr Manish Gupta who heads research at IBM India are very interesting. IBM is working on a new technology called the Spoken Web which put simply is a voice-based web which lets people use spoken words to surf spoken information on their mobile phones. With a large mobile subscription base coupled with large illiteracy this invention could create a large number of internet users through the mobile phone. She praises our TB research at Chennai and the work on mind-reading machines. She is excited with superstition and scientific temper in the same mindset of Indians.

After her visits to these centres of excellence, Saini’s optimism takes a hit. She is disappointed as she does not find them the hothouses of intellectual curiosity and innovation. The flip-flop of high praise and disenchantment goes on almost continuously. She calls Lavasa the hi-tech new township in the Western Ghats and as a Geek’s paradise lost to the poor. She is very impressed with our competence and achievements in international chess tournaments and physics Olympiads. She even visits the Vaishnavite stronghold in Karnataka where Ramanujacharya lived for many years to observe how scholars are interpreting ancient Sanskrit esoteric texts in the Academy of Sanskrit Research to show to the world that our rishis knew a lot of what we term as modern science. There is no doubt that India is emerging as a scientific superpower. But Angela Saini, a part of a group called Girl Geek Dinners, a kitty party kind of group where science is the common interest, needs more clarity in what she is looking for in the New India. It is a fascinating, weird and wacky world allright for this science journo who thinks she has the best job in the world. She is making her own little bit contribution to science writing in a domain of masculine imagery where women are very under-represented. She must know that people being in the thrall of science does not make their nation very scientific .

LOVELY LYCHEES

2011-05-15T04:15:00.000-07:00

In July 2008, I had posted in this blog on the wonderful fruit Lychee also spelt Litchi. It is one of my favourite fruits. I am happy to post again on this great fruit because this year there has been a record production. Nearly 300,000 tonnes against last year's 225,000 tonnes. Lychees are grown mostly in Bihar and that too near Muzzafarpur. 80% of the country's production is concentrated in Bihar. The flowering in lychee trees was good this year and showers in March and April helped in their growth and ripening.

Lychee has a firm and rough skin which is bright pink-red in colour. Lychees are grown abundantly in China. The fruit grows in bunches of 5 to 30 pieces in trees. The trees are very tall and in the range of 30 to 60 feet. The inside consists of a layer of sweet, translucent white flesh. The texture is somewhat similar to that of a grape. The centre contains a single glossy brown nut-like seed.The fruit is commonly eaten out of hand. Lychee is also put in salads, pie and made into jams and jellies. Furthermore lychee is used to make tea. The seed can be eaten after roasting it. Lychee is also called ‘Chinese Strawberry’. In China, lychee is a symbol of romance and love.

Good production is a double-edged sword for the poor farmer. Shelf life of lychees after ripening is only a couple of days. They have to be despatched to the markets immeditaely after plucking. If smooth and fast transportation is not available, the advantages of a bumper crop are lost. If there are lychee-processing factories near the fruit plantations, it solves the dilemma of the farmers. Also Shahi lychees are the best among lychees. There is a huge demand in the export markets for this variety. Why can't Bihar produce more of these high value lychees?

Nitish Kumar's government must seriously look into increasing lychee production, in particular the Shahi variety, reduce tranportation bottlenecks and establish processing facilites in the vicinity of the lychee producing areas which the Government has been promising for many years now.

RETURN OF THE AMAZON OR CAN SHE BECOME A GANGA NOW?

2011-05-13T17:29:00.000-07:00

JJ (J.Jayalaitha) is back in power after a long hiatus.The people of Tamil Nadu fed up with the Himalayan corruption of the DMK patriarch and his family had to choose between the devil and the deep sea.They have chosen to give another chance to JJ hoping that she would have put her bad ways behind her and that this long Vanavas would have chastened her and that she would be a true leader for the people,by the people and of the people. This is the last chance that JJ is getting. If she can capitalize on this unique opportunity provided by a combination of her own popularity and the negative votes cast in her favour due to a groundswell of public opinion against Kalaignar and his family, she could get elected and reelected for many more terms. Whether she will grasp this moment or squander the chance away is difficult to say. She was ferocious,revengeful,diabolic and untrustworthy in the past. For the sake of Tamil Nadu and her people, if she is a transformed person now, it will be a great blessing. But if she lives up to her past performance, it will indeed be a sad day for Tamil Nadu.

I am reproducing below from the web, a reaction of a youngster to her recent success. I think it reflects the mood of her fans very well.

"Kowsik 14 hours ago
Madam JJ

Dedicate this victory to the People of Tamil Nadu
Make your swearing in Ceremony as a grant Public Function
Make common people close to you.
Put in your head that YOU ARE A PEOPLE'S LEADER

Make one poor old elderly person come to the dias and garlend you with a blessing for you.

These are the thing people like Madam, always do not forget that the one vote that one person put in favour of you only made you the CM here now.

Remember this always and make always your public appearance with a poor person, let it be a elderly lady, elderly man, small child etc.

People really love it and like it, be a MGR hereafter madam JJ, you will see the love overwhlem you all around and all the while.

When in office you are a CM, but when you come out to the Public function, you put yourselves as MGR to people, they love and like it from you.

People wave to you, you also wave, do not site quite, it may be paining but they are your supporters

receive garlands from them, mingle with them, they want to see you close and affectionately

We write all these because, we know all the section of the People really love and like you to be their leader and CM

Do not fail us, Do not fail them, Do not fail Tamil people.
You are really a gift of God to this good Tamil People
Be a good gift to them always for many more years to come.
Good Luck Madam JJ"

40 SUFI COMICS

2011-05-11T18:34:00.000-07:00

40 SUFI COMICS : MOHAMMED ALI VAKIL AND MOHAMMED ARIF VAKIL : CREATESPACE : PAGES : 96 : PRICE : RS 256/-

It is a very noble attempt by two brothers to teach spiritual/Islamic life lessons through the medium of comics. It is an amazing collection of comic strips, forty in all, each on a single page, illustrating key spiritual concepts and teachings. Relevant excerpts from the Koran are shown on the page facing each comic. The age of the reading audience could be anywhere from six to sixty of any religion. It is likely to appeal to them all. Life’s lessons are taught in a perceptive, subtle and humorous way. A short comic is a preferable medium these days for many to read and assimilate new subjects. One can go back to it as often as one wants because they are not boring, They convey esoteric philosophy in simple language and cartoons without compromising on content or quality.

The Vakil brothers work together with their father in the family business of developing residential properties in Bangalore. They started with an e-newsletter called “our monthly dose of inspiration”. Then it became their company blog named the “Arif and Ali blog”. The Sufi Comics is a project which they started in 2009.

Sufism focuses on the spiritual dimension of Islam such as faith, respect, piety, love and truth. The brothers learnt to draw cartoons from the bare basics after they started this venture but they learnt the techniques of drawing very fast from some Youtube videos and books. To speed up the process, they used a Tablet PC. They were aware that their project had started off around the time there was such an uproar over the Danish cartoon of the Prophet. Islamic art does not draw the faces of revered personalities. They have respected that tradition.

The book has been published by opening it through the “ Creative Commons” license. This allows anyone to make copies and distribute them. There is one caveat though. No changes are permitted. The print version of the book was published using CreateSpace.com which is an Amazon.com company. The book can be bought online from Amazon.com & Flipkart.com. The good news is that the Vakil brothers will be soon working on Volume 2 of 40 Sufi Comics.

Sufi music has been popularized among the youth by Bollywood, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and A R Rehman. I hope these comics will generate the interest among the youth to know and learn more about Sufism, a subject of great interest to me.

BOOK REVIEWS

2011-05-11T18:25:00.000-07:00

Dear Readers
I have decided to post on my blog the reviews of books that I do for a monthly magazine called Dignity Dialogue meant for senior citizens.
I have been doing book reviews for a couple of years or more now. The first of this series will be on '40 Sufi Comics'. Look forward to your comments.
I will of course continue on other topics of interest to me as well.
Best regards.
Gopal

KONIGSGEMUSE (ROYAL VEGETABLE)

2011-04-23T19:38:00.000-07:00

The simple, delicate, delicious plant asparagus is referred to in Germany as the Royal vegetable. Grown initially extensively around the now Stuttgart area around the 16th century,this vegetable was meant for the royals. The whole of Deutschland has caught on to it and it is the favourite vegetable of every person high or low. And now is the season till end June. I used to visit Koenigse, a small town in the East of Germany for many years. Coinicidentally, I would be in Germany every year during the "Spargel saison" (Asparagus season). My hosts knowing my vegetarian food habit would stuff me with asparagus- either in the form of a freshly cooked vegetable or as puree or soup. It was Spargel for lunch and Spargel for dinner. In India, it is called Shatavari and is also a seasonal vegetable.

I decided to post a blog on this subject when I received an email from my daughter's mom-in-law on the medicinal properties of asparagus. During the Renaissance, asparagus was valued for its many medicinal qualities against a variety of ailments. It is also considered to be an aphrodisiac. Asparagus is an excellent source of vitamin A, vitamin C and folate, and the stalks are high in fibre. People who have consumed it have sworn by its efficacy in curing fully-blown cancer and also in dissolving kidney stones. If you don't take butter sauce along with it, asparagus can be considered to be a low-calorie food.

'Asparagus officinalis' is a leafy plant whose young shoots are known to us as the vegetable asparagus. In Europe, it is one of the first vegetables of spring. There are two varieties of asparagus, the green and the white. The green one is more common in USA. The Germans prefer it white. German farmers keep the sun away so that they don't turn green with the growth of chlorophyll. Germans consume about 70,000 tonnes of this vegetable every year. Most of it is grown in Germany.

Passionate consumers of asparagus make this a passionate vegetable too!

INDIA WINNING THE WORLD CUP? TELL DHONI HE'S DREAMING"

2011-04-23T17:58:00.000-07:00

This was the comment an expert foreign player had made before start of the World Cup. He had to eat humble pie when Mahinder Singh Dhoni proved his detractors wrong.No doubt, Captain Cool had his fair share of luck. He was in poor batting form till the last match,the team fielding was sloppy almost throughout the entire tournament and the bowlers never posed a serious threat to the opposition. With all these apparent weaknesses, how did the players in blue win? That is a natural and interesting question.

The answer lies in self-belief, good coaching by Gary Kirsten and excellent leadership by the Captain and of course the backing of the home crowd.Under pressure,the team performed well.Though backed by punters for winning the championship their performance in the initial matches gave no scope for such optimism. But then all the abovementioned factors helped them to neutralise their weaknesses and win the coveted World Cup.

A good lesson for everyone who wants to achieve. Believe that you can do it. Work towards your goal and you will succeed.

In the recently published list of 100 most influential people in the world for the year 2010 by Time magazine, our captain fantastic was placed higher than global football icon Lionel Messi and US President Barack Obama. At world ranking 52, Dhoni is 9 notches above billionaire Mukesh Ambani. Hats off to Captain Hope.

Jo jeeta wo hai Sikandar, Jo haara wo hai Bandar.

Vamos (come on or get going)

2011-02-05T00:40:00.000-08:00

Vamos is a Spanish word.It means ''come on' or 'get going'. Bhupathi while playing the quarter-finals alongwith Paes in the Australian Open recently used this word against his opponents, one of them being Spanish. This upset the Spaniard. But the Spanish fans were more upset. Bhupathi got hundreds of 'tweets' riling him for using bad words. It is like sledging in cricket when you make faces and curse your opponents and look aggressive to put your opponent psychologically on the defensive. It works many times and it backfires sometimes as well. Like in the case of Andrew Symonds and Bhajji. Our cricketers have learned this art very well. The Australians really started all this. Srisanth,Bhajji and a few others now do it well. While Srisanth will be missed at the World Cup, let us hope our cricketers show their prowess with bat and ball and with face and mouth to win against our opponents. Let them give the Australians a taste of their own medicine.

BEST PATRIOTIC SONG FOR REPUBLIC DAY

2011-01-26T03:38:00.000-08:00

Vande Mataram is the national song of India and is sung on Republic Day. It was written by legendary Bengali author Bankim Chandra Chatterjee in a mixture of Bengali and Sanskrit in his novel 'Anandamatha' published in 1882. It was a hymnal tribute to our imprisoned mother India. Vande Mataram was first sung by Nobel laureate, Rabindranath Tagore in 1896 at a political session of the Indian National Congress. Vande Mataram gave the much-required fillip to the struggle for independence. From Kashmir to Kanyakumari,men, women and children sang this hymn with patriotic fervour and courted arrest. After India gained independence, the first two verses of Vande Mataram were adopted as the national song to be held at par with the national anthem.

Muslims however are not happy with the song as it is in praise of Durgamata.T hey refuse to sing it as they consider it to be against the tenets of Islam. Ironically, Oscar-winning music composer, A. R. Rahman, a Muslim, rendered another touching version of Vande Mataram that is regarded as the second most famous song in the world.

vande mātaram
sujalāṃ suphalāṃ
malayajaśītalām
śasya śyāmalāṃ
mātaram
vande mātaram

I bow to thee, Mother,
richly-watered, richly-fruited,
cool with the winds of the south,
dark with the crops of the harvests,
i bow to thee, Mother!

śubhra jyotsnā
pulakita yāminīm
phulla kusumita
drumadalaśobhinīm
suhāsinīṃ
sumadhura bhāṣiṇīm
sukhadāṃ varadāṃ
mātaram
vande mātaram.

Her nights rejoicing
in the glory of the moonlight,
her lands clothed beautifully
with her trees in flowering bloom,
sweet of laughter,
sweet of speech,
The Mother,
giver of boons, giver of bliss!
I bow to thee,Mother!

Let us all sing this hymn in praise of our Motherland every morning!

The Sabarimala Tragedy-It Could Have Been Avoided

2011-01-22T16:41:00.000-08:00

The tragic stampede at Sabarimala on Makara Sankranti day this year when 102 people were killed and 55 people injured caused by a jeep which crashed into them could have been avoided. It has once again brought to centre stage the phenomenon of the flash of light that appears three times every year without fail on this auspicious day. Every year thousands of devotees throng Sabarimala to witness the flashing light across the eastern skies off the shrine. It is generally held by devotees that it is a divine phenomenon, whereas rationalists see it as a hoax on the gullible people committed by the Devaswom Board authorities. Even the Kerala High Court has asked the TDB to clarify the cause of this happening- whether there is a human hand behind it or whether it is a divine dispensation. Undoubtedly, this whole subject cannot be settled legally as it falls under the zone of belief and traditions. People often confuse between Makara Jyothi and Makara Vilakku.Makara Jyothi is supposed to be natural.It is the appearance of a star in the evening of Makara Sankranti day, while Makara Vilakku is admittedly man made.It is a fire which is lit in a hill neighbouring the Sabarimala Hill. It is an unnnecessary controversy hiding the real issue. Why did this stampede take place? It was not because of Vilakku or Jyothi but because of lack of proper facilities for pilgrims.

Interestingly, eminent architect late Laurie Baker had prepared a report about fifteen years back on how without damaging the environment basic amenities could be provided for the pilgrims.He travelled from Pampu to Sabarimala Hill through the thick rainforests when he was 79, no mean a task at that age.In a 36 page report full of illustrations and drawings in his own hands,he had warned that if the roads leading to Pampa ,the base camp, is not made into a fourlane walkway,we would be waiting for a disaster to happen.His prophecy has come true. He emphasised on drinking water,sanitation and cool and shady trees on both sides which would provide relief to the pilgrims who undertake this steep climb to the temple atop. All this was to be done with minimum disturbance to the environment. About 50 million pilgrims visit Sabarimala every year and about 1.5 million pilgrims watch the Makara Jyothi. The Devasom Board and the Kerala Government earn huge revenues from this massive inflow of people. The least that they could do is to follow Laurie Baker's recommendations.

Let them learn from this Makara Sankranti's tragedy and create the basic infrastructure and facilities required for safely enduring an arduous journey by the Ayyappa devotees.

Hopefully the Travancore Devasom Board will wake up and follow what Laurie Baker in his brilliant report has recommended so that another tragedy of this magnitude can be prevented in future.

Sharanam Ayyappa.

OUT OF THE OSCAR RACE

2011-01-20T16:55:00.000-08:00

Aamir Khan has been three times unlucky in the Oscar so far. It was 'Lagaan' first,then 'Tare Zameen Par' and now it is 'Peepli LIve' which is this year's India's official entry to the Oscars. It has failed to appear in the final nine list.There were 66 films vying for the Oscar in the Best Foreign Language film category. The list will be pruned down further to five nominees by the Academy voters for January 25 Oscar nominations.The 83rd Academy Awards will take place on February 27, 2011, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood.

Peepli LIVE is a telling satire on how the media trivialises the suicide of farmers.It was directed by first-timer Anusha Rizvi.
It focusses on politicians, bureaucrats, television reporters and the local people. PEEPLI LIVE makes a scathing attack on the functioning of media in India and how they would go to any extent to improve their TRP ratings.
Natha (Omkar Das Manikpuri), is a poor farmer from Peepli village in the heart of rural India. He is about to lose his plot of land as he has defaulted in paying back a government loan. Natha chooses to commit suicide so that his family may benefit from government's aid to farmers who commit suicide. His brother (Raghubur Yadav) is glad to push him towards this objective.

Local elections are around the corner and what might have been another tragic but innocuous incident turns into a big tamasha, with everyone wanting a piece of the cake.All descend upon poor sleepy Peepli to push their agenda. Natha's mother (Farrukh Jaffer]) and his wife [Shalini Vatsa] are perenially quarelling,while his young son urges his father to go through with the suicide so he can use the money to become a policeman. One TV journalist, in a desperate search for a new angle, tries to examine Natha's faeces to determine his emotional state. Nobody seems to care how Natha really feels.

It's a well written and well executed film that deals with a serious issue in a humorous manner. It keeps your attention on the screen all the time. Anusha Rizvi does a great job as a director and handles the subject in a very mature manner.Music is ethnic and cinematography excellent. Manikpuri is brilliant as Natha. Raghubir Yadav as the opportunist brother does well. Malaika Shenoy,as the television reporter, is refreshing. Shalini Vatsa, as Natha's wife puts up a great performance. So does Farrukh Jaffer,Natha's bed-ridden mother.The constant bickering between the two adds humour to the plot. Naseeruddin Shah as the shrewd politician is exceptional. Others in the cast put in good performances.

This brilliant film produced and directed by Aamir Khan,I thought, was a sure winner in the Oscars this year for its original story and outstanding acting by Natha. Hope Aamir is lucky the next time.

Jumbo Onions

2011-01-16T16:39:00.000-08:00

Onions are dangerous vegetables for politicians.They have caused collapse of governments in the past.They threaten to do so today.They also bring lots of tears to the common man.

For more than a month onions have ruled the roost.At Rs 70 and Rs 80 per kg,unheard of and unimaginable.But then as they say who cares.A sensitive government should have anticipated the bad crop in Maharashtra which produces 80% of the country's onions and taken positive action.Exports of onions were allowed to go on when an imminent shortage of onions in the domestic market was expected.As usual,the bureaucrats slept and caused lots of pain to the aam aadmi.

Knee jerk reactions like importing from Pakistan were taken. That also did not last long.Then we rushed to China and imported some quantitites. Meanwhile what arrived from Pakistan were rotting in the port. Now, people may like the Chinese onions.They are twice the size of our normal onions and weigh about 250 to 300 gms each.The Chinese believe in big sizes.Whatever they do is huge.But will the imports continue? And stop the tears. Or will the stapled visa controversy stop the Chinese imports?

Union Minister Sharad Pawar was blamed. Rahul Gandhi had a subtle dig. And NCP reacted by saying that they can go alone.BJP accused the PM of being a bad economist as he allowed the prices of onions and other vegetables to shoot up to dizzy heights.

Meanwhile,the crop this time around seems to be good. The prices have fallen and might reach normalcy in another month.Let us hope the Government learns a lesson.Luckily for them the elections are not around.Otherwise,they would have got a solid thrashing.Onions may not remain in centre stage anymore.

Just a thought. Why can't we think of jumbo onions? Has it got something to do with GM vegetables? Then Jairam Ramesh may jump into the fray and not allow it to be grown like he did with brinjals.

A 'Marathon' Walk

2011-01-15T19:15:00.000-08:00

For the last few months, I have been suffering from intense pain on my right leg. Right from the hip upto the calf. After lot of medical investigations,including MRI et al, I was told that I was suffering from LSS (lumber spinal stenosis). It is a narrowing of the spinal canal carrying nerves down to the feet. This causes the nerves to touch the wall of the spinal canal causing pain and inability to walk. I was advised surgery to enlarge the passage in the canal. I was given drugs for reducing pain. I took them for a week and then stopped them. I went surfing wildly on the internet to know all about LSS. I visited many ayurvedic sites and acupressure sites.They claim that they can cure my problem. I read books on Yogasanas and even bought a DVD on spinal health presented beautifully by Yogacharya Dr Ananda Bhavnani. I haven't yet decided what to do.

I decided to take an half-hour morning walk with my two dogs and my Ipod every morning before starting on a disciplined regimen. Management experts would call this multitasking.The dogs are happy to relieve themselves, I listen to some spiritual music on my Ipod and get a bit of exercise by walking. The results so far have been short of miraculous. The pain has considerably subsided,I am confident of walking long distances once again and I am seriously considering restarting my tennis. What has helped me in this remarkable change? Right posture? The morning walk? Some basic exercises? I don't know. I am not saying that the diagnosis was incorrect. After all Xrays and MRIs don't lie. Maybe this is only a temporary relief and the pain may resurface soon. Well the jury is still out.

This morning I decided to take a long walk right upto Nariman Point to watch the Mumbai Marathon runners. My s-i-l and his brother were also running.That was an added attraction.The excitement in the Marathon seems to have died down. Unlike in the past there were very few people who had come to watch the Marathon runners and cheer them up.The policce had made huge bandobust but frankly lt it was quite unnecessary.There were lot of foreigners particularly from Africa who were participating.

Walking the distance to NP and back home was a breeze.Totally about 4 KM. But it was a marathon walk for me. I felt no pain and I enjoyed it. So,it is going to be more of walks for the next one month before I start on probably a planned Yogic regimen for strengthening my hip and leg muscles.

Visiting the "Fairy Land"-Bali

2010-12-18T08:56:00.000-08:00

Visiting Bali was an exceptionally happy experience for me and my wife.We had a three day holiday package with the Ramada Inn Hotel in the weekend of the first week of August. From the time we entered the hotel we felt "at home". Different people have expressed their pleasure after visiting Bali in different ways. For some it is the "fairy land", for others the "happy island" and for some the "last paradise" and for others "the isle of beauty and romance". For us it was the 'eat,pray and love' island.

A lot also has already been written on this beautiful island. Yet I must also record what impressed me most.When we landed at Den Pasar,intuition told me that we were going to have a good time visiting the numerous temples,countryside,forests and beaches in this small island which nourishes a population of several million,80% of whom are Hindus and where life is harmonious and happy. Bali is situated a few degrees south of the Equator and is blessed with a tropical climate.While there is lot of forest area, there are many rice fields in the lowlands and on the sides of mountains. The Balinese are a race who have preserved their original culture and at the same time happily blended it with modernism. They have a very positive attitude towarsds life. They are hardworking and charming. The women are exceptionally beautiful. It is a feast for the eyes to see them carrying baskets of bananas on their heads and flowers in their hands to be offered to their Gods.There is no life without religion for the Balinese.Their temples are dedicated to the spirits of Hindu Gods and to the mountains,lakes and springs.The temples have a distinct architectural style. Their open gates lead to several courtyards. Here one finds pagoda type towers called meru. The Balinese are god-fearing,respectful and celebrate life like happy youngsters hoping for the next day to be still better than the current day.

Our three days were packed with activities.We visited numerous temples.We saw the small village of Batur,which was destroyed in 1926 by a volcano.The stream of lava is supposed to have stopped just in front of the temple doors. We went to a home where the family specialises in wood engravings,then a metal shop and later several shops selling bathik paintings. We watched a lovely cultural programme. It was a short version of the Ramayana. On our last day we went for the traditional Indonesian body massage and face scrub. Ramada Inn had arranged a programme of dance and drama that evening. The dances were classic pieces from Bali's rich dance repertoire. Bali has a wonderful dance heritage. Dance is an integral part of Indonesian culture.Indonesians are literally born, raised and die with art.

We met people of different nationalities and even made some friends. On the last day of our stay,we took an early morning walk on the clean beach. We picked up some seashells for our grandchildren. Sunrise and beauty go hand in hand. As the morning sun's rays embraces the earth, people see the darkness coming to an end. And with that, the beginning of new hope. Once small fishing villages, many of them have been transformed into modern, upscale resort villages. They have boutique hotels,luxurious eateries and avantgarde galleries. Many of these people worship the Sun every morning; what they call Surya Sewana. There are Brahmin priests who conduct the Puja.These mantras wish the well-being of all people and creatures and pray for happiness in the whole universe.

From Benoa to Jimbaran,Tuban,Kuta,Batubulan,Ubud,Waterspring temple in Tampaksiring,volcano,mother temple in Besaki,and then on our return keckak and firedance-it was an exciting holiday. Kecak is a very unique Balinese dance.There is no orchestra but only a choir of hundred men. Then there is the horse(jaran) ritual dance and the dancer is the medium through which the deities and ancestors convey their wishes.There is another dance called Sanghyang Jaran where a boy dances like a horse around a bonfire made from coconut husks. He then enters the fire and dances on the fire.

There are countless Hindu temples in Bali. As per customary law, each village is required to construct and maintain at least three temples.Then there are the nine directional temples located at strategic points across Bali.They are designed in a manner to protect the people from dark and invisible forces.The mother temple of Basakih on the slopes of Mount Agung is the most important of all. Balinese temples dedicated to Hindu Gods and Goddesses have shrines and have a padmasana -the throne of the Supreme Deity.There is a large pavilion which is always left empty to allow the Gods to visit during the ceremonies.You have to be dressed in a sarong and sash to enter the temples.

Three days is a very short period to see and marvel at this wonderful eat pray and love island. Tourism in Ubud revolves around scenic rice-fields, small villages, art and craft communities, ancient temples, palaces and rivers. You see a cornucopia of colours. We will have to come again to Bali to soak in the Balinese warmth while seeing many beautiful spots which we missed during this short holiday.

Who is this Sparrow man?

2010-12-08T07:40:00.000-08:00

Have you heard of Mohammed Dilawar? I had not.Till I read about him recently. He is a young birdwatcher from Nashik. He is a friend of the sparrows. One of Time's Hero of Environment 2008 awardees, he is critical about the way urbanisation is taking place in our country leaving hardly any room for trees and birds. According to Dilawar, sparrows are the best bio-indicators of urban life and environment. If we can't take care of these humble creatures, we are doomed says Dilawar.

In his opinion, sparrows are disappearing fast. There are a host of reasons. Cities are becoming concrete jungles.Tress are being felled. Cellphone towers are emitting radiation. All these and many more reasons have contributed to the steep fall in the sparrow population. Our conservation policy pays too much attention to the "fat cats" in the jungles and ignores the humble birds and other species, says Dilawar. Sparrows have been put on the Red List category by IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature).

Is it possible to reverse the trend? Dilawar feels that it can be done. Plant hedges, protect trees, ban catapults and ensure availability of grains. They will be back. He has launched an NGO called Nature Forever Society. He is creating awareness among bird lovers through his website.He is also distributing nest boxes for the sparrows. Environment must become central to our lives, says Dilawar. Then we can save our cities and our country.

Good to know that someone is taking cudgels on behalf of the poor,silent and hapless sparrows. They are charming,cheerful and gregarious.While surfing the internet yesterday about house sparrows, I came across a beautiful poem by the famous American poet, William Carlos Williams which I quote below:

"At that, his small size, keen eyes, serviceable beak and general truculence assure his survival –

to say nothing of his innumerable brood. Even the Japanese know him and have painted him

sympathetically, with profound insight into his minor characteristics.

Practical to the end it is the poem of his existence that triumphed finally; a wisp of feathers

flattened to the pavement, wings spread symetrically as if in flight, the head gone,

the black escutcheon of the breast undecipherable,

the effigy of sparrow, a dried wafer only, left to say and it says it without offense, beautifully;

This was I, a sparrow. I did my best; farewell."

Couldn't have been a better epitaph to the humble house sparrow.

May there be more Dilawars to save and bring back more sparrows to our cities. After all don't they like to live around human habitations?

AN ITALIAN CULINARY EXPERIENCE

2010-11-28T17:06:00.000-08:00

I don't visit restaurants very often. When I do, I am very choosy. Recently I visited the same restaurant twice in quick succession. Last Friday night, I took my cousin from the US out for dinner to an Italian restaurant in the heart of busy Mumbai. Called 'Bellagio Bistro', after a famous district in North Italy, the restaurant provides authentic Italian food. Located in Boatawala Building which is a heritage structure near the Asiatic Library in Fort area, the external facade of the restaurant is impressive.There is a ground and a mezzanine floor too. The internal decor is simplistic. Where it scores is its food and service. It has a transparent kitchen where you can see the cooks stirring up your dishes in very neat and hygienic conditions. What you get is fresh,fragrant and fulfilling stuff. Basil leaves dominate many of the dishes.The wine repertoire is quite wide ranging.On Friday, we chose to have French Bordeaux wine while on Sunday when I took my wife,I had a glass of red wine distilled by Sula. Pastas,Pizzas,Risottos,Ravioli-you name it and they have it all. We tried their three-grain rissotto and loved it. The rates are on the higher side but the best thing to do is to order three or four dishes and split it into two or three as the case may be.They have there own bakery too.You get fresh bread literally out of the oven. I loved the clear vegetable soup with lemon grass.They have a good variety of desserts and coffee. We had the crunchy chocolate cake and coffee latte which we enjoyed.

Run by a Jain family,the waiters attended to details when we placed the order. We said we were ok with onions but garlic was a no-no.The chef complied with our request and gave us some delectable stuff. I strongly recommend this place for those who want to taste genuine Italian food.The best time would be in the night when the traffic is less on the road.During daytime,presumably,there would be a rush from the senior executives working in the vicinity. They have a special lunch pack too for office-goers. We took a window seat on the ground floor on Sunday afternoon while we sat on the mezzanine floor on my earlier visit.The view was perfect and the experience pleasing.

HEELS OVER HEAD-BEWARE OF SLIPPERY STILETTOS

2010-11-22T06:08:00.000-08:00

There is a popular expression to describe the mad love between a boy and a girl.It is said that "they are head over heels in love".
But this post is about heels over head. Today's youngsters particularly the young women take to wearing high heels basically for two reasons. First to appear ultra fashionable and second to look taller than what they really are.Everyone knows that wearing high heels can wrought havoc to one's spine besides the constant danger of tripping and falling while walking and hurting one's bones.Yet, the young lasses and also some older ones too insist on making this style statement.The high heels dominate over their heads in these cases.

A recent study done in the US by a Master's student of the University of Iowa State has found that prolonged usage of high heels is one of the factors contributing to degeneration of joints and osteoarthritis of the knees. Assisted by her Professor Phil Martin, Danielle Barkema studied the effects of walking with high heeled shoes on the lower joints in the body. Barkema selected heels of three different height. Flat, two inches, and three and half inches. She had each of the 15 women in her study complete walking trials. Using a wide range of sophisticated instruments, she was able to measure and quantify the shockwaves that travel up the body. She concluded that over time, continued usage of high heeled shoes contributes to joint degeneration and knee osteoarthiritis. Greater the heel, greater the risk.

Oh, Young women! Why wait till your back and knees break. See the writing on the wall and be your natural self. It will do you tons of good in the long run. And it will also give you peace of mind.

Panda- An Endangered Species Too

2010-11-20T19:24:00.000-08:00

The population of pandas in the whole wide world is supposed to be less than 1000; most of them live at an altitude of about 11,000 feet in the cold forests of the eastern rim of the Tibetan plateau. Pandas are China's national treasure. Pandas are large mammals and are almost the same size as that of a black bear.Their numbers are decreasing and they might soon become extinct. WWF has put pandas on the endangered list. The bamboo-eating pandas are also intelligent. After Paul the octopus who shot to fame rightly predicting outcomes in the last World Cup soccer matches,pandas are now predicting the results of events in the Asian Games at Guangzhou.And most of the times,they are right!

In the devastating earthquake that hit Sichuan province in Southwest China in 2008,pandas living in the Wolong Nature Reserve which is the world's largest and well-known conservation area for pandas narrowly escaped though lot of buildings were destroyed and many people lost their lives. Pandas are extremely lonely animals and breed only a few times in a year. That is another reason why their population is not growing.Their average age expectancy is only 20-25. Also they are being poached for their soft fur, driven out of their habitat by the ever-increasing human population and deforestation leaving hardly any bamboos for their sustenance.

China will have to take up the challenge of saving the pandas on a war-footing. Else, one more species will disappear from planet earth soon.

Olive Ridley Turtles - Another Endangered Species

2010-11-11T17:02:00.000-08:00

Thanks to our callousness, yet another world-famous species is gradually facing extinction. A massive deep water port is being constructed at the mouth of Dhamra river, north of the world famous Gahirmatha marine sanctuary in Orissa. Every year, Olive Ridley turtles come in heaps to the sandy beaches of Rushikulya river mouth off Orissa's Ganjam coast at the mouth of Dhamra rivercoast. There is a spread of about 3 km from Purunabandh to Gokharakuda which is the second biggest rookery in the world. The wellknown Gahirmatha is the biggest rookery in the world to lay eggs. Thousands of turtles wait in the sea for their turn for nesting in the sandy beaches.

This year for some unknown reason the mass nesting has started much earlier. About 2 lakhs Olive Ridleys had nested in the first fortnight of March last year. Some guess that it could be due to the sudden increase in temperature accompanied by wind from the southern direction. Wildlife officials are doing their bit by clearing the beach to help the turtles in their annual ritual.Olive Ridley turtles also lay their eggs in the west coast of India.

The turtles come every year and mate on the calm ocean waters. The females thereafter make it alone to the beach and scoop a big hole in the sand to accomodate 50 to 100 eggs.Once the eggs have been laid,they cover them with sand with their legs and return to the sea.It takes about a month for the eggs to hatch. The little ones then emerge out of the nest. They then start their lonely journey into the sea without their mothers. Nature's miracles are inexplicable.

The construction of the deep water port will add to the woes of the turtles who already suffer from illegal netting.Movement of ships,probable oil spills and other environmental factors pose a severe challenge to their existence. Wonder whether Jairam Ramesh,our Minister for Environment, is aware of the imminent danger to the turtles.

The local villagers at Rushikulya treat the turtles as God's incarnation.Neither do they eat their eggs nor their meat. On the contrary they go all out to protect them. Wildlife officials have set transmitters on some of the turtles to record their movements.

We owe it to our future generations to protect these turtles from extinction. In the scale of conservation status, these turtles are currently ranked in the vulnerable category. Do visit the website www.wild.org and look for Olive Ridley turtles. Do your bit to save these turtles.

Owls-the endangered species

2010-11-09T07:32:00.000-08:00

I am blogging again after a long hiatus.In the interegnum. I learnt a foreign language. German. For four months almost every Saturday and Sunday,I was in MMI(Max Mueller Institute) learning Deutsch. Our teachers gave us a lot of hausaufgabe (homework). There was just no time to blog. But now I am happy that I can read, write and speak a foreign language.My German friends will be thrilled.

Those who read these lines might wonder as to why I chose this topic. Not an auspicious way to restart,they would say. Aren't owls associated with bad luck,many would wonder. Indeed now they are having a bad patch. Bad luck has fallen on these very birds once considered to be wise. Somewhere along time they lost that reputation. And they became associated with doom and destruction. And today their numbers are dwindling. Our Minister for Environment is concerned. He has accused the Harry Potter fans for capturing owls to tickle their fancies. They are being bought by parents as pets for their children who read Harry Potter books. Also thousands of them are being caught to be eventually used for black magic and rural medicine and for village performances. What a fall! From being considered as a wise bird by the Greeks, they have now fallen on bad times and are fighting for survival.

So is human life.Men too have their ups and downs.History is littered with examples of the powerful and famous who have fallen and collapsed like a house of cards.What is the moral in this? Everything is transient. Nothing is permanent.Be balanced in life.You never know when good or bad times will befall you.Develop equanimity. You will then be a happy person.

VUVUZELA and WAKA WAKA

2010-08-21T19:06:00.000-07:00

the world cup soccer which was over last month did keep me glued to the tv during several matches.normally, i avoid the tv. i don't watch any serial because they are all trash. i occasionally watch the news and sometimes one-day cricket matches. but the fifa football event was one of a kind. which i certainly did not want to miss.

hats off to the organisers who seem to have made the event a great success.south africa is notorious for its crime rate. and the continent is infamous for its poverty and AIDS. but there was hardly any crime during the event. the entire africa, proud of the event being held in their continent behaved in the most responsible and dignified manner. the people deserve full kudos for their exemplary behaviour. they wildly cheered their 'bafana bafana' and were disappointed that the team did not go far ahead.

what fascinated me besides the football matches was the vuvuzela, a trumpet like instrument about one meter long. you blow into it and you can blow off somebody's ears with its high decibel noise. and imagine thousands of spectators blowing into them continuously. what a cacophony it must have created. though many teams complained about the distraction the vuvuzelas caused and their teams' consequent failure to concentrate, fifa did not stop its usage as it was considered to be a part of 'african culture'. wonder what our fans will blow during the forthcoming CWG. and just compare how we are going about the CWG and how a fledgling democracy embroiled in bitter and racially tinged ethnic violence did a spectacular job of managing this megaevent. the UAE issued a 'fatwa' that they are 'haraam'. that did not deter the vuvuzela fans.manufacturers of vuvuzelas did roaring business.they sold earplugs too.that was a marketing coup.

three cheers to vuvuzela and 'waka waka' performed by columbian singer shakira and alongwith south african band 'freshly ground' who created a sensation.

a friend of mine showed me a vuvuzela which his friend had brought from capetown.i blew it and felt transported to africa. and the hummable 'waka waka',i downloaded into my ipod hoping that we will also put up a good show.'chak de india'.

a 'britannic' lunch - berry berry good

2010-08-13T17:13:00.000-07:00

"he may live without books-what is knowledge but grieving?
he may live without hope- what is hope by deceiving?
he may live without love-what is passion but pinning?
but where is the man that can live without dining?"
owen meredith.

this blog is about mouth watering food and service par excellence from a simple restaurant. hence the above quotation.

"you can call me bemoom or boman or bomi or behuvan or benaan. these are the names by which i am called." thus spoke the octogenarian owner of a south mumbai iconic restaurant when i walked in for the first time early this year with my british customer. i am referring to 'britannia' restaurant situated on the ground floor of wakefield house, ballard estate. my office is on the top floor. the restaurant is always packed at lunch time. and there are always people sitting outside eagerly awaiting for their turn to arrive.

the old man,his brother,the second generation all understand one thing. courtesy. the moment you arrive,they make you feel comfortable. they are all cheerful and enquire what you would like to have. 'britannia' is famous for its berry pulao and the parsee dhansak. when boman irani came to us and asked what we wanted to have,i answered the obvious.i wanted my british friend to have their signature dish. "but you must beat the heat sir first with a cold drink ", he said with a broad smile on his face and then went about taking the order. he was delighted to meet my english customer. boman has a great partiality for the british as the name of his restaurant suggests. he enquired about the queen of england and added "may she live long". i told him that i am a vegetarian. he said he would serve me the "best veg biriyani i would have ever eaten". true to his word,the biryani was delectable.

the iranis as the name suggests are from iran. they still have connections out there. after migrating to india they have become iraninan parsis (zorastrians). they speak in gujerati. they are modest and a bit self-effacing. 'britannia' is neat and clean. furniture is minimal with the old-fashioned square table placed in an angle with four chairs. the table cloth is british gingham. the servers are liveried and speak good english and hindi and are well-mannered.when you are there you feel good.they close shop around 4pm.

when we were about to leave, i asked the old man the secret of his success. i told him that i knew that he imported some ingredients like the berry from iran. "sorry sir, i can't disclose that. that is our trade secret", he said with a chuckle. then he asked my friend to convey his best wishes to the queen. when the cheque arrived and i settled the bill he said "do come again, sir". a friendly person,very affectionate and in peace with himself and his surroundings. a petite cat rests on the reception counter. he encourages children to pet the cat. and they laugh and he laughs with them too.

"there is no love greater than the love of eating". this is the 'britannia' tagline alongwith a hen as their logo.

next time you have some work in fort area, drop in at 'britannia' and enjoy the food and service.

panruti selvam (wealth of panruti)

2010-08-10T09:01:00.000-07:00

i was born in a village not very far off from panruti. the only thing i knew about this small town was that one of my mother's cousins lived there for many years.i was astonished to read recently that it is now referred to as the 'jackfruit paradise'. i love jackfruits and therefore i read this article running into many pages without dropping the magazine even for a second. the fruit is available in panruti throughout the year and it is supposed to be the best of its kind in the country. in bali island last week,i had tasted its jackfruits and heard about its durians. indian jackfruits are fatter and sweeter.

known as kathal (bihar/up), palaa pazham (tamil nadu), chekka (kerala),halsu (karnataka),panasa (telugu) and phansi (maharashtra), this delectable fruit when sliced and taken with honey gives you an ecstasy beyond words. while in kerala and karnataka growing jackfruits is infradig,it is clearly not so in this sleepy town. people are proud to grow jackfruits and prouder that they are making a big profit in doing so.

why are panruti jackfruits so sweet? it is perhaps the soil condition and climate. panruti has a long stretch of dry weather and it is a low rainfall area. the biggest pala pazham from panruti recently weighed as much as 70 kgs and has gained a probable place in the 'guiness book of world records'.

kerala state has taken the initiataive to spread the awareness of jackfruit and it organised the first jackfruit festival about four years ago.more and more fairs are being held and its awareness as a terrific fruit is on the increase. it also pays to grow jackfruit. estimated to earn the farmer Rs 60,000 an acre, it is clearly a money spinner. it is resistant to drought.it helps in recharging groundwater.it is very nutritious and its leaves are eaten by goats and used to wrap steamed idlis.the tree after about 25 years has a good saleable value. the soft wood is used for making musical instruments like veena and mridangam and furniture as well. what more can you ask for from this kalpataru?

jackfruit is a great energizer. it has vitamin A,beta-carotene and lutein,vitamin B complex,vitamin C,potassium,magnesium, manganese and iron. its flesh has dietary fibre. a variety of sweet dishes can be made and there is tremendous scope for the entrepreneur for value added jackfruit products like jackfruit jam, papad etc. for me palaa pazham paysam with jaggery and coconut milk is something to die for. its seeds can be boiled like beans and added to sambhar and make it tastier!

what more versatality can you ask for in this humble fruit? mango,banana and jackfruits are the three fruits considered to be sacred by hindus.

i just now realized that in june 2007 i had posted three articles in series on this jack of all fruits. if you are interested, please go to my archives.

MANI VS PAUL

2010-07-11T18:31:00.000-07:00

Mani, the Singaporean parakeet and a celebrity in Singapore's Little India, predicted a victory for the Netherlands in the 2010 FIFA finals. Paul the Octopus, forecasted a Spanish victory. In my last blog, I had mentioned that should the soothsayer octopus's prediction come true,he will go up in my estimation. Surely, he now has gone up several notches with a clean record of correct forecasts. I hope that German fans will now cool down and not threaten the poor Paul with dire consequences. After all sometimes truth is bitter.

But South African President Jacob Zuma laughed away at the octopus's prediction and said that in South Africa they listen to the scattered bones of dead animals. Witch doctors do that to foretell the future. Obviously, he wished to remain neutral and did not want to provoke either side. What he said was interesting. That opens up a Pandora's box.

Watch out human soothsayers. There is hot competition. At this rate,you may run out of business.

THE MIGHTY OCTOPUS-PAUL

2010-07-08T17:27:00.000-07:00

I hadn't thought much of octopuses till the recent 2010 FIFA World Cup football matches started. They are innocuous invertebrates to me. Yes,in a way they are special. They have eight legs, three hearts and they are supposed to be very intelligent and sadly both sexes have very short life span.

But suddenly like the inanimate Vuvuzela, Paul the octopus has shot into the limelight. Thanks to its accurate predictions on the match results involving Germany, Paul,the octopus, has become the most loved and hatred invertebrate of those who have won or lost their matches. So far all the psychic mussel eater's six predictions have come true. Cent percent as they say. Paul's total track record is awesome. 11 out of 12. It is higher than the 'flipping coin' probability. Something that will put our astrologers to shame.

The Argentinians are seething with anger when it predicted their loss to Germany and recently Germany's unexpected defeat to Spain has left the Germans shell-shocked and boiling with rage. Some want to kill it, some want to fry its brains in hot oil. Some want it to be fried in garlic butter or barbecued or turned into a seafood salad. Will the sensational fortune-teller and global superstar forecast the correct World Cup winner?

Its psychic powers will surely be put into severe test as world-wide expectaions on its forecasting abilities have gone up beyond imagination. Paul has also become every bookie's envy.If Paul predicts the World Cup winner correctly, in my esteem surely he would go up many notches. Because, here is one field where the octopus has outsmarted us human beings.

The two year-old cephalopod was born in England and lives in Oberhaussen in Germany. It chooses a mussel from a glass tank marked with the opposing country's flags. Before the Germany-Spain clash,it ignored the tank with the colour of the German flag and it chose the Spanish flag.The number of anti-'oktopus' songs is increasing day by day in Germany.Paul has achieved an amazing 2.6million hiits on Google so far and he is one of the "Top Ten" trends in Twitter. The famous mollusk has to better watch out. For the first time, he will be predicting the result of a non-German match.He will have to swim away fast to the FIFA winner's shores and seek asylum before the death threats materialise and the famous German knives are out.

jai maharashtra !

2010-05-25T05:51:00.000-07:00

i have been wanting to blog on the 50th anniversary of the state of maharashtra for quite sometime. other preoccupations came in the way. finally,i decided to put my thoughts down.

in may 1960, i first set my foot in bombay ( mumbai). i had finished my school final examination in calcutta (kolkata). my late father who was working for an insurance company was transferred and we all siblings eagerly looked forward to our stay in bombay.i must stay i was absolutely fascinated.i enjoyed the monsoon seasons-it would rain continuously for days together.something i had never experienced before.my college was st xavier's which was just 15 minutes' walk from our home.i liked the crispy masala dosas at the udipi restaurants and me and my classmates would walk all the way to a hotel near metro cinema for some tongue tickling puri bhaaji.the occasional movies that i saw were in 'capitol' cinema which has now been shut down. i would go with my mom to the byculla vegetable market which i very much enjoyed.phanaswadi temple and matunga were our other favourite visiting places.we used to see some marathi and gujerati dramas and watch some dance performances occasionally.my mother used to wear a nine-yard saree. and i liked the way maharashtrian women wrapped the navvari around themselves. drama and classical sangeet was at its zenith then.

it is difficult to believe that 50 years have passed since then, lot of changes have taken place in this city, besides bombay being rechristened mumbai. from what was a beautiful city with cleanliness,organised traffic,beautiful buildings and unpolluted air all around, the maximum city has now become overcrowded,dirty and very polluted. and a concrete jungle.

there are many problems that the state of maharashtra now faces. a power surplus state has become power deficit. farmers are committing suicide unable to repay the loans that they have taken. lot of workers have been thrown out of there jobs and many now live in penury. divisive forces are trying to split the state further.i wonder what the average maharashtrian feels. is he happy about the economic growth that has taken place or does he feel that people from other states have taken the lion's share of jobs and left the crumbs to the local populace.economic growth must be balanced and reforms must percolate down to the masses. if that doesn't happen,tensions are bound to take place.economic prosperity cannot be the privilege of a few. prosperity has to be distributed. no doubt there will always be the rich and poor; but the gap in incomes should not be huge. everone deserves a good living.

if all of us can put our acts together and learn living with others in peace and harmony, maharashtra can again become the No 1 state. it lost its prime position some fifteen years ago. dabbawallahs, dalal street, ganesh utsav and bollywood are now known internationally. that makes every mumbaikar and marathi manoos proud. though dharavi is the world's largest slum, the enterprise over there is unbelievable.

traditional maharashtrian delicacies have now become hugely popular.be it puran poli or ukadiche modak.zunka-bhakar,wada-paav,thalipeeth,misal paav or usal. and last but not the least, the mouth watering shrikand.restaurants offering maharashtrian cuisine have become a preferred destination for many. i am sure these ethnic dishes will find their place in menu cards in restaurants abroad soon.

in sum,great achievements have been made in the last fifty years.outstanding sportsmen and artists have brought fame and prestige to maharashtra. just like great farmers,entrepreneurs and industrialists who have put mumbai and maharashtra on the international map. but we must remember that mumbai is not maharashtra. it is only a part of maharashtra. let us just not look at what is happening in mumbai alone. significant improvements in the standard of living,health care and education must take place all over this great state.politicians will have to learn to serve the people and ensure that roti kapda aur makan spreads to all sections of people across the state.every child must be provided with free education and health benefits must be extended to one and all. the fruits of economic growth must each every nook and corner of maharashtra. only then the sacrifices of those who laid down their lives for separate statehood would not have gone in vain.

i love mumbai. i can speak the lingo and i am proud to be a mumbai manoos.i am sure maharashtra will recapture the number 1 state position soon.

jai shivaji maharaj!.jai maharashtra!!

how sweeeeeeeeeet!

2010-04-22T17:39:00.000-07:00

a recent on-line survey conducted by UNESCO has revealed that Bengali is the world's sweetest language.Spanish and Dutch languages take the second and third positions respectively. having lived continuously in kolkata for fourteen years after my birth and continuing to visit kolkata eight to ten times a year, i consider it like almost my second home. i speak the language and enjoy the companionship of bengalis.i was therefore thrilled to read on the net about this well-deserved recognition.
not only is the language the sweetest in the world,the sweets like rosogolla,sandesh and mishti-doi can be considered the best sweets in the world. three cheers to kolkata and kolkattans!
aami tomake bhalo bhashi!( i like/love you!)

palladium-will it be mumbai's ultimate luxury mall?

2010-03-25T09:30:00.000-07:00

palladium is a rare and lustrous silvery white metal and is very precious.it is an element belonging to the platinum group of metals and has extensive and varied applications. the new super luxury mall at the phoenix mill compound at lower parel has been quite appropriately named.

two lakhs square feet of floor space covered with italian marble and a sheer delight to watch for its magnificence is the palladium mall. covered on top with a lovely glass domed atrium, it has four levels housing shops of international power brands like the 'body shop', 'zara'(yet to arrive).' the fashion store'. 'movenpick' the famous swiss icecream chain. 'the manchester united cafe bar','burberry','emperio armani','hugo boss','estee lauder','tommy hilfiger' and a host of other international brands with a foodcourt at every level. and for the desi food lovers there is 'rajdhani' and the 'punjab grill' too.london's very popular 'comedy store' is likely to open soon.

we took our grandkids the other day to have a look at this awesome upscale shopping centre and to dine at the 'punjab grill' about which we had heard a lot. it was a fantastic experience. very importantly,it was children-friendly.

on the whole it was a wonderful and entertaining experience. i guess that at least for many years the 'palladium' mall will remain mumbai's ultimate luxury mall. if you have an itch for phoren shopping, you don't have have to go to dubai or singapore. lower parel is nearer home.

karthik calling karthik

2010-03-17T23:10:00.000-07:00

it's not a run of the mill movie. it's diferent. it's about a schizoprhenic guy (farhan akthar) who suffers from hallucination. the death of an imaginary brother keeps coming to his mind. in the imaginary scenario the overzealous brother tries to push him in to a well. but the protogonist escapes and the bad brother trips and falls into the well and dies. this picture keeps coming to karthik (farhan akthar) as he is over-ridden with guilt for an incident which did not occur in reality but only in the mind.

karthik is a hardworking fellow in a builder's office. because he can never say no, work is thrust on him by everyone. there is a charming woman (deepika padukone) who has not had any interaction with karthik ever since she joined this builder's office. he is besotted with her and secretlly loves her. he writes emails to her everyday which he saves as he is too scared to send it to her.he can see her in her office-room from his office and is pretty mesmerised by her looks and panache. but then sonali (deepika padukone) has a lover in a colleague who is married with a kid but has not disclosed that to her. karthik's boss (ram kapoor) is overbearing and one day thrusts a hugeworkload on him. he demands that he goes through all the contracts and have them ready by next morning. karthik works throughout the night, completes his job and keeps it on the boss's table. the boss on seeing the incomplete output is livid. karthik has missed checking some other important contracts. an altercation follows and karthik is fired.

karthik is totally dejected and is about to committ suicide when the phone in his room rings.it is then that he starts getting a mysterious call every morning at 5. the caller calls himself karthik and advises him how to get along in office and in his private life. it is a motivational pep talk. karthik follows the caller's advice. he becomes self-confident, ticks off his boss, gets a huge salary hike and a great cabin and even sonali falls for him. the one proviso the caller has laid down is that karthik should not tell anyone about the caller lest they think that kartik is insane.he promises not to divulge the secret. but as he and sonali decide to keep no secrets between them he discloses to her about the caller.

then all hell breaks loose. the caller is very angry and decides to finish him. sonali is upset with karthik's strange behaviour and walks out of his life. karthik's boss reprimand's him for letting out some company secrets and fires him again. karthik,unable to bear the loss of his sweetheart and his job leaves his room and city and just decides to go somewhere. he lands in cochin, takes up a room and lives all by himself. he works for a law company and his new boss is happy with his performance. the boss insists that he keeps a landline and a mobile phone so that they can remain connected .he was in a state of mental peace all theese days without the phone. now once he gets a new landline, the early morning call restarts.the caller vows to finish karthik as he has broken his promise. sonali meanwhile leaves mumbai and comes to cochin in search of karthik. she takes him back to mumbai and they consult a psychologist (shefali shah). there is an improvement .

greatly talented farhan akthar does a brilliant job in a role suited to his personality.he puts in an award-winning performance. deepika is sizzling and does a good job too.ram kapoor as the overbearing boss puts in some fine piece of acting.first time director vijay lalwani treads an unbeaten path but falls short of covering his tracks well.the movie gets lost before reaching its finale. music is just ok. the song 'uff teri ada' is very hummable,though. the magic of farhan akthar is there all the way. see it for that and nothing more.

Dial 'G' For God

2010-03-07T21:07:00.000-08:00

i am a very strong theist. i believe in the omnipresence and omnipotence of God.i think i know what needs to be done to attain salvation. but there are many who question His existence. they are the doubters and naysayers. the agnostics and atheists. unlike my generation, the younger generation is sceptical about religion. this is more true in europe than in our country.

a recent survey in france has come out with the startling statistics that less than 2% of those in the 18-29 age group of catholics make it to the church every sunday. the young do not find time to go to church, busy as they are in their virtual world of video games, internet and cellphones. social,moral and religious values have taken a backseat.

we are now in an age of the 'instant God'.technology is now at the service of those spiritually inclined-a simple phone call.a group of catholics in france have found an ingenious way of communicating with Him.the name of the company is 'aabas interactive'.mr hautier and his wife camille thought of this service keeping in mind those people who are not able to confess because of immmobility due to age or illness or disabilities. just dial a number. 0 892 46 GOD. it is a pay telephone line called 'le fil du seigneur' which means the line of the Lord. the caller can directly confess his sins to God. the service providers are a bit cautious and circumspect. they say it is only for minor sins. the answerer asks you to press 1,2 or 3. 1 is for advice on confessing,2 to confes and 3 to listen to others' confessions. there is no priest and there is no absolution. it is only a service to help you take the burden of sins off your chest and an aid to prayer and meditation.the cost of the phonecall is quite stiff. 0.34euro/min (rs 22/min), 40% of which would be donated to charity.you could also leave your confession and also decide to grant its replay to other users.

the church of france has understandably denounced it. according to the church, the actual presence of the priest is required at the time of confession. confessions cannot be done by phone or internet,they say. on the other hand 'aabas interactive' say that "confession is not the exclusive exercise of a priest. we may confess by meditation and prayer and receive God's grace".

'aabas interactive' are clever marketeers. they have chosen the period of "lent" (the period of fasting and confessions before easter) for this initiative. for a start, they are expected to make money. but in the long run whether it is a viable business model, time and faith alone will tell.

HOLI HAI!

2010-03-05T17:52:00.000-08:00

after a gap of many years,i played holi this year with my daughter and grandchildren. we were invited to my daughter's sister-in-law's home for a holi bash. it was colours all the way. from the time we stepped into the heritage house till the time we reluctantly left, either we were smearing one other with colour or throwing pichkaris and buckets of coloured water.

there were children,youngsters and adults as well. the grown-ups and grandparents who brought their own supplies of paint and colours started pelting one and all with it. some were known persons and some strangers. yet all got together in this great bonhomie. that is the beauty of our country and culture.

our hosts were careful in the selection of colours and paints and had kept many buckets of water and pumps ready for the fun and frolic.the colours were all organic. some threw coloured water right on the face and some like l's b-i-l shot me with a water spray from his pump. he even had his own supply of water on his back and looked llike a scuba diver. the teenagers were all excited though my grandaughters r1 and r2 were a bit subdued understandably as this was their first holi experience.

the eats were terrific. punjabi samosas, jalebi,fafdas and green chillies. and plenty of beer.i had had lots of fun when i was young playing holi. this was like reliving those days. sadly the bhaang was missing. it would have been an unforgettable and inebriating experience had the element of bhaang been there..

m and n! are you listening?

papayas aplenty!

2010-03-01T22:37:00.000-08:00

these days we have papayas galore at home.my wife who runs a home for senior citizens at neral has a passion for floriculture and horticulture.she likes to grow vegetables,fruits and flowers.papaya is one of our favorite fruits.everytime she visits neral,which is atleast once a week,she returns with a carload of papayas after distributing them to the inmates and staff there.this time she brought some real jumbo papayas. they weighed about 2.5 kgs on an average. we shared these with our neighbours and friends and we all so to say had a papaya feast!

a favourite breakfast food in india is a boat of fresh papaya served with a sliced fresh lemon. you are supposed to squeeze the lemon over the papaya and sprinkle the juice all over. papaya is generally eaten as a fruit but one can cook papaya like any other vegetable too. when cooked, green papayas become soft and and sweet.

papaya has a low calorific value but rich in vitamins b and c and it is rich in carotene. it contains lot of water. it is an amazingly rich source of enzymes. enzymes are chemicals that enable the digestion of proteins. papain is the most important of these enzymes. papaya has the property of rejuvenation and helps in controlling premature ageing. unfortunately, papaya loses some of its enzymes when it ripens, so eating them green is ideal. papaya contains arginine which is good for the male fertitlity and carpain which is an enzyme good for the heart. as a juice it is a popular thirst quencher. you can make a good and tasty papaya soup too. even the skin of the papaya is used for external treatment of skin wounds.
when buying papayas select those that have smooth and taut skins.if you cut them, keep them in a fridge.don't buy papayas having wrinkled skins.

eat papayas and be happy! i must recall an incident some twenty years ago when i was returning from bangalore carrying a few papayas from our garden tree. at mumbai airport, my boss had just arrived from new delhi and he called out to me across the baggage conveyer.i went to wish him and on my return found that my papayas were stolen.i lodged a complaint with the indian airlines authorities .they couldn't find it.after a fortnight i received a cheque. they paid me a handsome compensation. you can be sometimes happy when you have lost your papayas !

year of the tiger

2010-02-28T16:51:00.000-08:00

the chinese year of the tiger started a fortnight on february 14th as per their lunar calendar.ironically, instead of celebrating such a beautiful animal, we have to fight for their survival as they they have become the most endangered species in the world. tigers reflect the health of our forests. if they survive our forests will survive too.

we all know how our tiger population is fast vanishing.we are left with 1411 tigers only as per official reports issued by the NCTA (national tiger conservation authority). jairam ramesh,environment and forest minister thinks the figure is much less and that they are diminishing day by day.one of the mangroves where the tigers live is in sunderbans in West Bengal.there is a disturbing report that in another 60 years the entire sunderbans will get completely submerged.it is a frightening thought.according to a former director of Project Tiger,the tiger population in most reserves has diminished excepting in Corbett Park in Uttarkhand.because of the high density of tigers there,there is a concerted attempt to kill them.

what a sad state of affairs. from about 44,000 tigers at the turn of the century,we are now looking at a figure of about 1000.time is running out.let us join kiran bedi and others in contributing our mite for their preservation.

join the roar and save the tigers.

one lemon,seven green chillies and a piece of charcoal.

2010-02-27T18:02:00.000-08:00

yes,this combination can keep the evil away. if you are superstitious and think that evil eyes are being cast on you and your loved ones by some petty and jealous people, you can do what many in mumbai do. tie a lemon chilli charcoal combo and tie it up to your vehicle or the main door of your home. you will find the negative energies generated by your enemies diminishing.

rahul gandhi says it is not a bad idea when it was suggested that along the indo- china border we should tie the lemon-chilli-charcoal combo to prevent the chinese from trying to capture our territory. this is one instance where bjp also supports the congress party.

we are a superstitious lot, whether we like it or not. we run cars over lemons, we apply colyrium to our babies' eyes to ward off evil. we burn camphor in front of the gods so that no'drishti' befalls them. we also burn camphor and circambulate the camphor stand three times in front of our children so that no "bura nazar" falls on them."chashme bud dur"-kisi ki nagar na lage!

i bought this combo some time back and have kept it safely in my room. i think it is working.i might one day soon even get a german-silver vaastu/ fengshui compliant limboo- mirchi- charcoal to add to the numerous other 'totkas"(charm) that i keep, to bring me good luck. i even keep a "e-limboo" as dhrishti pariharam.

as the north indian would say "tere mukh kalo ho buri nazar waale" (oh man with evil eyes let your face be black)

backbiters

2010-02-23T16:56:00.000-08:00

a recent on-line survey of 2000 people in the UK revealed an interesting side of a woman's personality.according to this survey,female co-workers are twice more likely to be involved in backbiting than male colleagues.two in five women admitted to sending nasty messages to their co-workers against one in five men.it seems that a typical female employeee spends about 20 minutes a day foulmouthing someone they work with. either they text or email to convey their negative feelings.25% of the workers said that they moan about their colleagues even after office hours.

"on-poll", an online market research company that carried out the survey also said that women disliked their colleagues because they were jealous or saw them as a threat. on the other hand men envied their colleagues either for laziness or for having ideas above their station.oftentimes the problem was the boss.people in positions of authority are victims of backbiting. in the survey, senior management came out as the least liked group of all.

my name is khan

2010-02-23T02:59:00.000-08:00

i tried to see this movie on the first show on the first day at inox,nariman point.it was house full for all the shows. the whole area looked like a battlefield with the police in every nook and corner to prevent any untoward incidents courtesy shiv sen/mns. the security arrangements had to be good. after all 'congress sarkar ka izzat ka savaal tha'.

then, after a long wait we went to see it to last saturday. i liked the film. a great tear-jerker; but then it also helps to unwind like that once in a while. shar rukh khan as rizvan and kajol as mandira make an awesome pair.having met kajol recently in a function,i was pretty excited to see her in her latest movie. she did not let the audience down. her acting was superb particularly in the highly emotional scene when she cries over the dead body of her son who was killed in his school's soccer ground after the 9/11 tragedy. shah rukh does a great job as an autist affected person. actually rizvan suffers from asperger's syndrome which is a mild form of autism. albert einstein suffered from this and even bill gates is supposed to be a victim of this form of autism.

the story is pretty simple and straightforward. rizvan and his brother are brought up by their mother(zareena wahab) after the premature death of their father.rizvan's mom is particularly fond of her autist son much to the envy of his younger brother who is good in academics and goes to the usa for further studies.she teaches him that there are only two types of people in this world. good persons and bad persons.their mother dies suddenly leaving rizvan all alone in the world.the brother sponsors rizvan's visit to usa and gets him a job to sell cosmetic products in san fransisco.the asperger affected rizwan walks and talks in a different manner.he gets nervous on hearing loud noises and is terribly scared of the yellow colour.all these things bring him one day close to death. he is saved by mandira (kajol) who works in a beauty parlour. she is a single mother and has a son to whom she is very attached.

mandira is struck by rizwan's simplicity and honesty.and his intelligence.rizwan tells mandira again and again "marry me".they fall in love and get married.the son likes the new father and it is one happy family till tragedy strikes.in the 9/11 aftermath,while playing soccer the son has an altercation with some american boys.there is a fight and the killer shoots the football right in the middle of the son's stomach. his spleen is badly damaged and the boy dies.mandira feels strongly that had he not taken the name khan,the boy would have survived.she is shattered and asks rizwan to get out of her life.

he leaves and wanders from place to place.during these movements he meets an afro-american family in willamina,georgia and becomes friendly with them.later when he hears that willamina is devastated by a cyclone with many people killed,he rushes to find out whether they are alive. he does a fantastic job of helping the victims.after all his claim while travelling in the american countryside is that "i can repair anything".he has a strong mechanical aptitude and can fix any mechanical contrivance.

"my name is khan and i am not a terrorist" arouses suspicion among the fbi authorities. his passion to meet george bush,the president of usa costs him dear.he is arrested,tortured and thrown into prison.he informs the fbi about the whereabouts of the fanatic muslim rabblerouser and as a reward he gets freed.his acts of heroism in willamina gets wide tv coverage and when the newly elected president of usa obama comes to georgia,rizvan gets the opportunity of directly meeting him. later the friend of the extremist stabs him in a public gathering and rizvan fights for his life. he survives and mandira and he are back together.

produced and directed by karan johar,the movie's message is that let us all love each other.let there be no artificial walls between us.there should be no mutual hatred but only love. the music is outstanding.shankar mahadevan,ihsaan and loy mendonca have done a wonderful job.with heavy sufi flavor,the songs sung by rashid,adnan sani,shankar,shreya ghosal,ruchi sharma and others are soul-stirring. sajda,noor-e-khuda,tere naina,allah hi raham,rang de and my name is khan sung by a paksitani troupe are all melodious.cinematography is of a high order.

it is a movie worth watching.

what's life's greatest little pleasure?

2010-02-13T01:12:00.000-08:00

"god bless the inventor of sleep,the cloak that covers all men's thoughts".-cervantes

a recent survey conducted in britain on about 3000 people by 'batchelor's cup-a-soup' puts a good night's sleep on top of the greatest little pleasures of life. can you put a price tag on these pleasures? maybe we should check with paul frijters,an australian economist who has recently worked out the value of various milestones in life.frijters has discoveered a formula to determine the cost of happiness. declared as the best economist under age 40,he says,"money has a greater effect on happiness than previously thought". if you have any suggestions on the greatest little pleasures of life, submit it to www.cupasoupmomnets.co.uk.

the top 50 greatest little pleasures as per the survey are:

1.a good night's sleep
2.finding a forgotten tenner in your pocket
3.cuddling up with a partner in bed
4.crying with laughter
5.having a lie-in
6.sleeping in newly laundered bedding
7.getting a bargain
8.making someone smile
9.catching up with an old friend
10.laughing at things that have happened in the past
11.eating a Sunday roast with your family
12.someone saying you look nice
13.curling up on the sofa with a good book and a hot drink or soup
14.discovering you've lost a few pounds
15.breakfast in bed
16.waking up thinking it's a work day and then realising it's the weekend
17.a random person smiling at you in the street
18.looking through old photo albums
19.eating a takeaway
20.first snow fall of the year
21.Singing your heart out to your favourite song in car
22.having lunch with friends
23.listening to a baby laughing
24.having a massage
25.reading a book or listening to your iPod on holiday by the pool
26.playing in snow
27.finding a pair of jeans that fit perfectly
28.being chatted up
29.a girly-night in
30.a pampering session at home
31.the smell of freshly cut grass
32.sitting in the pub with your friends
33.looking at a baby asleep in a cot
34.waking up in a room with an amazing view
35.clothes shopping
36.receiving a letter from a friend
37.fitting into an old pair of jeans again after losing some weight
38.staying up all night getting to know someone special
39.your mum's cooking
40.getting dressed up for a night out
41.watching a live band
42.drinking a cold beer after work
43.browsing in a secondhand book shop
44.going to the cinema
45.getting a new hairstyle
46.your queue being the quickest in the supermarket
47.the cold side of the pillow
48.watching a DVD
49.getting tipsy
50.popping bubble wrap. (ANI)

have a good night's sleep!

the french loaf

2010-02-12T07:03:00.000-08:00

recently i have been visiting chennai quite frequently. twice on business and once on a personal visit in the last one month. on the business trips, i decided to try out some restaurants that i have not visited so far.my colleague and i had lunch at an ayurvedic joint. i will come to that in my next blog. during another visit,we decided to have a light lunch and after some research,we zeroed in on 'the french loaf' at harrington road chetpet. run by chennai based oriental cuisines private limited,french loaf has some 18 outlets in the country,with their dominant presence in chennai of 7 of these restaurants.their tag line is appropriately worded-"we personify the art of baking".

the ambience here is cozy with an informal atmosphere all around.one can choose to sit on stylish chairs or opt for the bar with high stools.pictures depicting various french images including the eiffel tower adorn one side-wall near the bar.the service is excellent and personal.you get a wide array of breads,pastries,cakes,baguettes and croissants all in one place. the rye bread appears to be their speciality.it has good nutritive value and fibre content. and there are quite a few variety of european cheeses too,including my favourite gouda cheese. a one stop shoppe for bread and bread products. we had a sandwich made out of whole wheat bread with mexican vegetables as filling and we topped it up with some creamy cappucino.we enjoyed it and came out feeling light but fully satiated.

the icing on the cake was a chance encounter with south indian tv star khushboo when we were leaving. a sweet end to a pleasant dining experience.

sabudana( tapioca pearl) khichdi

2010-02-07T05:02:00.000-08:00

our cook gb is a maharashtrian. when asked to prepare poha or sabudana khichdi, she is in her elements.i must say she prepares both these dishes exceedingly well. gb also makes excellent javirisi paayasam( one of my favourite desserts). not that she is weak in preparing our favourite tambrahm dishes.having worked for over a decade with us she has attained almost perfection in preparing iyengar cuisine. yet when it is the local stuff her face lights up.

sabaudana khichdi usually prepared by maharashtrians on fasting days is light on the stomach. at the same time gives the required energy to carry on with your tasks.the success of making this depends on the soaking period of the sabudana. too little soaking time or too long soaking time can ruin your efforts. the right soaking time is learnt out of experience and varies depending on the quality of the sabudana.hence soaking is the key.

roasted peanuts ground to powder,cumin seeds,sugar,grated coconut,coriander leaves with a dash of lemon,some salt and green chillies,small cubes of boiled potatoes all together make one helluva combination. to be taken hot with a cup of yogurt and hot pickles is what the doctor recommends for lifting your spirits.

raw materials:
1 cup sabudana
1/2 tsp sugar
2 green chillies finely chopped
1/2 cup crushed groundnuts(coarse)
1 boiled & peeled potato
2 tsp oil
1/4 tsp rai (mustard seeds)
1 pinch hing (asfoetida)
2 tbsp grated fresh coconut
salt to taste
some coriander leaves and or some curry Leaves

how to make it :
Wash and soak sabudana in water. for minimum 2 hrs.
chop the potatoes into small cubes. mix crushed groundnuts,sugar and salt and keep aside.
heat the oil/ghee in a pan and add mustard seeds. when the mustard seed crackle(tadka). add cumin seeds, green chillies and curry leaves.
add potatoes and stir well. mix sabudana mixture gently.
mix the grated coconut and garnish with coriander leaves.
sprinkle some lemon juice over it and serve hot.
pickles and yogurt go well as accompaniments.

i will try sabudana vadi soon. that is also something to die for.

"patra"-curried taro leaves

2010-01-30T17:36:00.000-08:00

patra is a gujarati specialty,an icon of gujerati cuisine. flavourfull, smokey and spicy. the chief ingredient for the recipe and the way the dish is prepared is extremely interesting to watch. when I was young and had gujerati neighbours, I used to believe that the colocassia leaves were actually lotus pads. they were humongous. i surfed and tried to find an easy recipe. here it goes for those who are learners like me:

preparation time: 20 mins
cooking ime: 60 mins
serves 4

ingredients
for the patra
6 black stemmed colocassia leaves(any other big edible leaf will also do)
60 g besan
1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tbps jaggery
4 green chillies
1 tsp sesame seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 inch piece ginger, grated
3 tsp tamarind paste
2 tsp oil
salt to taste
handful of chopped coriander leaves
for The Garnish
1 tsp grated coconut.

now the hard part:
wash and dry the leaves.grind the green chillies and ginger. sieve the besan. make a pulp with the tamarind paste and jaggery. make a thick batter with the gram flour and the pulp. add the spices and baking soda. take one leaf and place on the wrong side. spread the batter evenly over the leaf and place another smaller leaf on top of the spread batter. place yet another leaf and more batter. now roll over from the base to the tip of the leaf. repeat for other leaves. Steam for an hour in a steamer or a water bath. leave until it cools down. slice the rolls into half- inch thick slices. temper mustard seeds in oil and sprinkle these on the patra slices and saute for thirty seconds.
garnish with coconut and coriander.

have a good time making the patras.

3i

2010-01-26T06:26:00.000-08:00

last saturday we watched '3 idiots', a comedy film, stylishly referred to as 3i. directed by raj kumar hirani,produced by vidhu vinod chopra and starring aamir khan (rancho), r madhavan. sharman joshi, kareena kapoor(pia) and boman irani(v.sahasrabudhe nicknamed virus). it is a thoroughly entertaining movie. i have not read chetan bhagat's 'five point someone'; hence,i am not able to either fuel the controversy or snuff it. the movie appeals to young and old alike. it has all the ingredients for a box-office hit combined in the right proportions.

the three musketeers do a great job. aamir khan's acting versatality is awesome. three engineering students who share a room in the hostel have joined the 'imperial college of engineering' for different reasons.one (madhavan) is fond of wild life photography but due to the insistence of his father accepts admission to the engineering college. another idiot(aamir khan) is actually extremely talented while working with any machine/contraption. engineering is in his veins but he is unconventional and is against the system of roting. the third one (sherman joshi) like the first idiot pursues engineering studies so that he will be able to pull his family out of the morass of poverty.

there is lot of fun in the competition that rancho has with the USA returned classmate (chatur ramalingam nicknamed 'silencer') who always comes second but wants to be the topper at any cost. the story is compelling and there is no dull moment. though there are no great songs,music is good. choreography is excellent and hirani's direction is outstanding. he continues in the same standard set by himself in the munnabhai series.boman irani(virus) as the autocratic head of the engineering college puts in an extraordinary performance. kareena kapoor does not have much of a role as the daughter of the principal who eventually falls in love with rancho (aamir khan)- the achilees heel of the principal.the scene where kareena uses the webcam to instruct rancho to help in the delivery of her elder sister's baby and the vaccum cleaner brought in to create a vaccum for the delivery of the child though very funny is quite original and creative.the child is stillborn but rancho breathes into the baby's mouth and resuscitates it.virus reconciles with the three idiots,allows them to take their exams and they all graduate.rancho is the topper and virus gifts him his coveted pen which he has been keeping for years only to hand over to a worthy match.raju rastogi (sherman joshi) and farhan (madhavan) share the booby prize between themselves.

the movie starts as a flashback when 'silencer' who had challenged rancho to meet exactly after ten years after their graduation to exchange notes to see who has been more succesful in their careers sees no sign of rancho at the pre-decided place of meeting. the other two idiots are summoned by text messages by the 'silencer' to jointly go in search of rancho who supposedly is in simla.the chase ends in ladakh where the genius rancho has settled down. he teaches the local school children while continuing his profession as a scientist.he has won many awards and has numerous patents to his credit.'silencer' is humbled when he realises that rancho is none other than the famous scientist(phunsukh wangdu) with whom he had drawn up an agreement to jointly start a business. he accepts defeat finally.

in sum, a great entertainer which deserves all the smashing records in the box office.as rancho says in the movie,"if you really want to do something to become someone in the world,don't run after money.create ideas that change the world. money will follow. well said aamir. tussi great hai.

if you haven't seen it yet, just drop everything and make a beeline to your nearest multiplex.you will not regret it.

walking cherrymango is good for health

2009-12-03T04:07:00.000-08:00

the british government recommends half an hour of cardio-vascular exercise three to five times a week to stay fit as a fiddle. they have now come out with a surprising finding that most of the british dog owners take their pets for a walk twice a day on normal weekdays for about an average of 24 minutes each totalling 5 hours and 38 minutes.also that there are three longer outings every week that add another 2 hours and 33 minutes to the grand total.that places them in a better position than those who do their rigorous exercises . walking mango & cherry is good for me and my better half. many prefer to take their dogs for a walk over gym workouts. the moral of the story is that pets are good for health besides being friendly and helpful companions.

arbi (colocasia) fry

2009-11-27T17:50:00.000-08:00

known as seppaankizhangu in tamil and arbi in hindi, it is a delectable root vegetable. in kerala it is an extremely popular vegetable and used as even a main staple food. in gujerat,the leaves of arbi are used to prepare a dish called "patra" which consists of tamarind and other spices. used in morekuzhambu (buttermilk kuzhambu) and in plain kozhambu as a vegetable,it is perhaps most liked as a deepfried curry in tamil nadu and known as seppankizhangu vadhakkal.

the skin of arbi is not edible. therefore, after pressure cooking without any water,the skin has to be peeled off. it is very simple to make but needs a bit of caution so that the vegetable does not get overheated.

take 1/2 kg oil,4 tsp salt 1/2 teaspoon of red chilli powder and a bunch of curry leaves. boil the arbi in a pressure cooker.it has to become very soft. then allow it to cool and peel the skin.heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan and add mustard seeds and green chilli.add urad dal when it splutters.when urad dal is roasted you can add the arbi taking care that you add them slowly and also mix them gradually so that they get an even coat of oil. then add chillipowder,salt,turmeric powder,sambar powder (you can even add 2 tsp of besan), a pinch of asfoetida and fry until it takes a golden brown colour.add curry leaves and stir.

what you have cooked is truly heavenly stuff.though it goes well with chapati,it is normally eaten alongwith sambhar or rasam.

a fine dining experience-'the dome' and the 'corleone'

2009-11-21T07:17:00.000-08:00

my cousin from the us was on a business trip to india. i missed him the previous week when he arrived as i was travelling to chennai for my niece's wedding.while returning to the us,he stopped by at mumbai for a day which gave us an opportunity to meet. we planned for drinks at my place and a quiet meal in some good restaurant. we had a few things to discuss in privacy and i thought "the intercontinental" which is near home would be an apt choice. we first went to the "dome" which is at the rooftop to quench our thirst. the "dome" offers a fantastic view of the arabian sea. the ambience is superb and from the bar one gets a breathtaking view of the queen's necklace. post drinks, we decided to have dinner at the 'kabab korner' situated on the first floor."kabab corner" is one of my regular haunts. their service and food are excellent. my favourite steward is jaspal singh who does his best to keep a vegetarian like me happy and well-fed in a restaurant where most of the guests are eating nonvegetarian stuff.he makes it a point to get me hot and mouth-watering vegetarian kababs. as the decision to go to intercontinental was impromptu,i didn't book in advance and when we reached there from the "dome" we found the place was full. though there were a few empty tables they were all reserved. regretably,we left the place and went over to 'corleone' situated next to "kabab corner".

'corleone' is intercontinental's signature italian restaurant. i had never visited this place earlier. i thought i was taking a big risk. but my maiden experience proved otherwise. the ambience in 'corleone' is awesome,the sicilian food truly delectable and the service excellent. there were very few guests in the restaurant which meant that we could have our conversation peacefully. we ordered a plate of risotto and penne arrabbiata which we both liked. in italian, arrabbiata means angry.the arrabbiatta we ate was a roman sauce of tomatoes,garlic,red chili and basil cooked in olive oil.it was served with wheat tubular pasta and some fresh parsley sprinkled on top. the taste was hot and fiery and i liked it. the arrabbiata made me very calm. my cousin enjoyed the food as well though he might have liked it less spicy and less hot.

the restaurant is named after a small sicilian town which has the ignominy of being the birthplace of most of the 'mafiosi'. why this name was chosen is anybody's guess.

the carbon billionaire

2009-11-19T07:29:00.000-08:00

you might think that i am hung up on billionaires after two recent postings on this subject and yet another one now. actually,for the first time,i came across the words carbon billionaire.i was intrigued and wanted to know what it meant. a tag which has been given to al gore, ex vp of usa and one who almost became president. he has taken up the cause of saving the planet.he has been relentlessly pursuing this cause and has travelled extensively all over the world to spread the awareness of climate change and the impact it can have on people and their lives.

he has also invested heavily in green companies. those companies that work for reducing pollution and making the planet greener and a safer place to live in for future generations.the projects these companies have taken up are solar power,biofuels,sustainable fish farming,waterless lavatories.his fortune has already risen from 1.2 million pounds to about 60 million pounds. these companies are all likely to become extremely profitable over time and that would give al gore excellent returns. in anticipation of this windfall al gore is likely to get,the us press is now referring to him as the first carbon billionaire. he very recently hit back at global warming sceptics who are labelling him the first "carbon billionaire" from his earnings as an investor in green technology. he dismissed them as "global-warming deniers". if all the carbon trading mandates go through in the next five years al gor they say would have multiplied his money multifold.

for the last eight years al gore has been a powerful advocate of government policies to limit carbon dioxide emissions. his latest book, 'our choice: a plan to solve the climate crisis' and a sequel to his earlier work, which was also a successful film, entitled 'an inconvenient truth' is being released very soon. his new book which expected to become a new york best seller,emphasises the need for political will if anything is to be effectively done on climate change. he covers a wide range of subjects like forest management,nuclear energy for generating power,geo thermal energy etc. these subjects were discussed and debated by him with likeminded experts which he refers to as "solution summits".

with the approaching copenhagen talks on climate change al gore's stock is likely to rise further.some of his critics ask whether his advocacy for reducing pollution has anything to do with swelling his own coffers. he is also a partner in a venture capital firm which has heavily invested in companies that are developing alternative energy sources and technologies which are energy-efficient.

al gore lobbies powerfully with members of the us congress for passing strict emission laws. sceptics who believe that this whole earth warming is all highly exaggerated, wonder whether he is doing all this for piling up a huge fortune.there is no altruism they say. recently al gore reacted to a critic by saying that if she thought greed was at play she didn't know him.

we need some al gores in india. i would like to see some carbon crorepatis in india who like al gore will push relentlessly the cause of climate change. our country would be a better place to live in.

extreme billionaires

2009-11-14T15:28:00.000-08:00

i had not heard of this expression ever before.my interest aroused,i researched a bit on the net to find out who are these people and why are they called extreme billionaires.they have money pouring out of their ears;but,they are bored with the hobbies of daily life.they are looking for major adventures and risky endeavours.things that give them a kick,a rush of adrenalin in their blood so to say.

one such guy is guy laliberte.he is the billionaire founder of a psychedelic entertainment group.he blasted into space on a russian rocket at a cost of us$ 35 million (rs170 crores).his trip lasted 12 days which included a nine-day stay at the international space station.he put on a 2 hour web show featuring himself in space and featuring some celebrities on earth.laliberte worked rigorously to pursue this hobby.he learnt russian,underwent intense cardiovascular training to get into space shape,mastered the use of instruments on the space vessel.

maverick ceo richard branson is another example of an extreme billionaire. he is creating his own private space agency.his travel company virgin galactic will start carrying passengers out of the the earth's atmosphere in 2011. cost of ticket? 200,000US$.(rs 1 crore). total flight time will be 2.5 hours like from mumbai to kolkata. branson has broken many records on sea and in air.

there are others in this extreme billionaires' gallery. roger penske the mughal of auto racing,larry ellison the founder of oracle and ernesto bertarelli who do extremes just to get the thrill.

beyond money, it is self-actualisation that these people seem to crave for.

the indian curry is 'world's healthiest meal'

2009-11-14T02:15:00.000-08:00

gurpareet bains is a 32 year-old anglo-indian chef and a british nutritional therapist who has created the 'world's healthiest meal'. the meal consists of a chicken and blueberry curry with goji berry(the himalayan superfood) and pulao rice. it is claimed that it is a superfood that can help fight cancer.while the spicy chicken meal does the job of fighting the cancerous cells,others like ginger,chili,turmeric and garlic which are known for their antibacterial and antiviral properies do their respective jobs and in aggregate the meal can take on diseases like dementia,alzheimer's and cancer. each serving is supposed to contain the nutritional equivalent of 49 helpings of spinach,23 bunches of grapes or nine proportions of brocolli.it is according to experts 20 times more nutritious than any specially formulated healthy meal.the winning factor appears to be the combination of two genres of food stuffs-spices and fruits, both known for their exceptional health benefits.it took the indian "superfood" pioneer almost two years to make the meal perfect.

the scientific measurement of antioxidant in foods is done on a ORAC scale(oxygen radical absorbance capacity).this superfood contains 25,000 ORAC units.salads which come under the healthy foods umbrella have less than 5000 ORAC units. and do you know that a single teaspoon of cinnamon is the equivalent of two portions of grapes or a glass of fresh pomegranate juice? gurpreet has carefully chosen all the ingredients. for example,chicken has low fat.chilli helps relieve pain.turmeric keeps the heart,brain and joints healthy.

bye bye to greasy curry. welcome the new superfood.and await the best development chef's indian superfood cookery book showcasing the best in our superfoods and superspices. gurpreet bains is currently chef at 'indian superfood' and lives in bedford,uk.

the curry and rice according to food critics tastes pretty good.and costs only about rs 200 per portion.

millionaires,billionaires and trillionaires

2009-11-11T08:34:00.000-08:00

lakhpati and crorepatis are terms used for the rich in india.the former is for those whose wealth is more than a lakh of indian rupees. and the latter for those whose wealth runs into crores (one crore is equal to 100 lakhs).in the old days you could count on your fingers the number of crorepatis in india. today there are a dime a dozen.some have earned their riches using their entrepreneurial skills and with a lot of hard work,determination and luck.while others have made it on the fast lane by crookish means.the recent revelation of madhu koda,ex chief minister of jharkhand state is a case in point. rs 2500 cr scam says the cbi. it is surely much more than all that.he has swiss bank accounts,mines in liberia,companies in thailand and vietnem. that a tribal who started life as a porter could reach such dazzling heights of fortune in a very short period shows that there is something radically wrong in our system which is not able to detect such cases of fraud much earlier.

like these indian terms for the super rich,the english and americans have coined the words millionaire and billionaire.i thought till recently that the word trillionaire did not exist. when i googled to check whether i was right, i found a list of trillionaires too! (100 billion dollars). that is what is called mindboggling wealth.in the us and europe too some have earned their money rightfully while others have illgotten wealth. after all, greed like many other human qualities is universal.

kela kofta curry(fried raw banana dumplings in a thick gravy)

2009-11-05T17:09:00.000-08:00

kofta is a vegetarian alternative to meatballs.a few days ago,i asked my cook whether he can prepare some kaccha kela(raw banana) kofta curry.i had read about it in some magazine and desired to taste a well cooked kela kofta curry. our guest house cook,rao,is a quick learner and quite a talented guy and is able to spin out some remarkable stuff. this latest desire of mine was met with great success. i found it tasty and it went well with the chappatis and basmati rice that i ate alongwith.

here is a recipe which i picked up on the internet and passed it on to rao. if you are interested in whipping one up, you may try it.. it is not difficult to make.only you have to be careful while making the kofta.

ingredients for kofta

raw bananas- 500 gm
besan- 2 tablespoons
green chillies-2 to 3 cut into small pieces
ginger-1 inch long
green coriander-i table spoon
paneer-100 gm
salt to taste
oil-to fry the koftas

ingredients for the curry:

tomatoes--250 gm
green chillies-2 to 3
ginger-1 inch long
cashew 25(soak in water for i hour)
cream- 2 tablespoons
asfoetida-1 pinch
jeera-half teaspoon
turmeric powder-half teaspoon
dhaniya powder-1 teaspoon
red chilli powder-quarter teaspoon
salt to taste
garam masala-quarter teaspoon
green dhaniya-1 table spoon

method for the kofta:
boil the raw bananas in a pressure cooker. mash the bananas after they are well boiled.add besan,green mirchi,ginger,green dhaniya,paneer and salt.mix it up well. pour oil in a frying pan and heat.put the balls in the frying pan and keep on turning them till they turn brown.your kofta is now ready.

method for the curry:
grind finely the tomatoes,green chilli and ginger in your mixy.keep this paste separately in a bowl.
grind the cashews fine in the mixy.add cream and grind again. add oil into the frying pan and heat it up.add asfoetida and jeera and then add add turmeric poder and dhaniya powder after the jeer starts bursting. add the tomato paste kept in the bowl. add cashew cream paste and red mirchi powder and keep on mixing till the oil is fully exhausted. add 1 glass water in the masala and boil add salt and garam masala and mix well.now add the kofta in the mixture and allow to cook. in five minutes the koftas will become soft.

now the kela kofta curry is ready. dress with green coriander and voila! have fun.

in praise of idleness

2009-11-02T20:00:00.000-08:00

idleness has its virtues. i have found that from practical experience. and not knowing what to do sometimes is very relaxing and destressing.i, therefore, recommend to every one to develop the habit of being lazy. but please don't go overboard on this recommendation. indulge in this luxury only at times. i am not espousing the cause of permanent laziness.

like getting up quite late on certain days,having coffee in bed,skipping your shave, enjoying a few mugs of chilled beer before lunch,having a siesta in the afternoon,listening to some soothing classical music and spending time in a spa in the evening.and playing with your children/grandchildren before going to bed.

and thanks to the latest gadget which prepares breakfast automatically you are in for some pampering for being lazy.
an omlette,toast,freshly squeezed orange juice and a cup of hot coffee-all by just pressing a button.design teacher 26 year old yuri suzuki and masa kimura of japan have designed and developed a fully automated 45 feet long real life breakfast machine.it is targetted at lazy people.the project cost suzuki only about 900 pounds sterling which is equivalent to about Rs 63,000.

suzuki,who studied in the royal school of arts,london says that he was inspired by hollywood films to create this cracking machine. almost eight decades ago,writer-philosopher bertrand russell in his eponymous essay,"in praise of idleness",provided all lazy guys a quote to justify their indulgence. he had a deeper meaning to convey though. he felt that the very purpose of the industrial revolution was getting negated. instead of lightning our burden and taking off our load of mundane activities,the new machines were only increasing our workload. instead of sitting and relaxing,man was working 24 x 7.

the creation of suzuki and kimura perhaps will to some extent ease our lives and may sooth bertrand russell in his grave.
the breakfast machine is fine.but how many have the space to put such a long machine in their homes? can not the design team of suzki and kimura condense it to a much smaller size?

perhaps,it may be a winner then.

a chinese deepavali

2009-10-17T06:52:00.001-07:00

the title is an oxymoron.how can there be a chinese deepavali one would ask. after all,isn't deepavali a hindu festival? but then can you imagine a deepavali without chinese firecrackers. you cannot. 90% of the world's firecrackers are made in china. in liuyang city. and 80% of fircrackers made in india are manufactured in a small,dirty town south of temple town madurai called sivakasi,and some biggies have chinese consultants to help them improve their product profile and productivity. sivakasi entrepreneurs are a smart lot. they are now tieing up with chinese firms like jin yi fireworks,hangzhou international and zhezhang fireworks to obtain technology transfer and make firecrackers at low cost,higher volumes and of good quality.

the chinese have a long history of crackermaking.some sivakasi manufacturers have setup shop in china and from there they export the world over. exports from india are banned. like during ganesha or durga puja many of the idols are chinese made,crackers made for deepavali have a chinese stamp on them.

the birthplace of fireworks is generally recognized as china. the first explosive mixture- black powder was found when the sungs ruled china ( 960-1279 ). the story goes that a cook in ancient china found that a mixture of sulfur, saltpeter, and charcoal was very flammable and would explode if enclosed in a small space. the first application of this formula was for entertainment. as they say there was no looking back after this invention for the chinese.the chinese are the undisputed leaders in the production of fireworks. once the recipe for black powder was perfected, they found that it was easily used as rocket fuel, and they made hand carved wooden rockets in the shape of a dragon. these rockets shot rocket powered arrows from their mouth, and were used against the Mongol invaders of 1279. the principle behind these rockets is still used in rocket powered fireworks today.until the 19th century, fireworks lacked a major aesthetically essential characteristic: color. pyrotechnicians began to use a combination of potassium chlorate and various metallic salts to make brilliant colors. the salts of these metals produce the different colors: strontium burns red; copper makes blue; barium glows green; and sodium, yellow. magnesium, aluminum, and titanium were found to give off white sparkles or a flash.the science of pyrotechnics has now advanced greatly in germany and italy.

besides causing us sleepless nights by their claims in arunachal pradesh,buiding a dam across brahmaputra and intrusions along our borders,the chinese have also seeped into our religious and social events by providing modern and cheap idols and crackers for our religious festivals.new delhi has many feng shui stores scattered over the city selling idols of goddess lakshmi and ganesha.feng shui which symbolises channelising positive energy has another popular item-the shri yantra which is supposed to bring prosperity to the family. and the chinese have also adopted some of our food habits.consultants(there are about 50 of them in sivakasi) like wong chong liu love their idlis,vadas and dosas.

we better beware of the chinese dragon or sumo wrestler.it is an untrustworthy cracker.we might end up burning our fingers.

the princes of orissa

2009-10-06T03:45:00.001-07:00

22nd august is a day which orissans will not easily forget. a dance troupe from berhampur,a sleepy little town in east orissa,created a sensation,by winning the first prize in the 'india has got talent'reality show conducted by the colors channel.'yes,we can' was the mental power that drove the 26-member troupe of students,daily wage earners,small-time traders and two polio-affected children.the leader of the group is krishna mohan reddy under whom the group displayed mindboggling synchronization and dazzling choreography.

without any formal training in dance or theatre they put up an awesome performance with their presentation of 'dashavatara'-the ten incarnations of lord vishnu.and they won a cash award of rs 50 lakhs and a car.

earlier, a huge sms campaign was unleashed by bureaucrats,film stars,corporate houses and the general public in orissa to send favourable votes. even the chief minister openly campaigned for this group's success in the finals.
shekhar kapur,sonali bendre and kiron kher were in tears and spellbound to see the performance of these troupe members mostly from the lower sections of society.

nothing succeeds like success.the orissa government has decided to send them to london and new york in order to enable them "to gain more ideas about dance art."
the expenses will be borne by the orissa mining corporation.
the prince troupe has plans to set up a dance school with part of the rs 50 lakhs that it has won.well done princes,keep it up.

the 'joy of giving'

2009-10-03T18:11:00.000-07:00

"we make a living out of what we get,but we make a life of what we give"-winston churchill.

throughout india, the festival of 'joy of giving' was celebrated from 27th sep to 3rd oct. it was a great opportunity for people to loosen their purses and to give away their books, clothes,furniture ,utensils,old cycles etc for those not so lucky. i was very impressed by the statement that nandita das made who launched this event from bhubaneswar in orissa that the joy of giving cannot be described in words. nandita, the award-winning contemporary and graceful indian actor and film maker, is one of those in the film industry who has her head firmly in place and one who wears her heart so to say in her sleeves.

this event has been conceptualised by GiveIndia,a NGO. several other organisations joined hands with a private tv channel in orissa to give the event wide publicity. the whole idea behind this promotion is to encourage giving.anything can be given.the very act of giving encourages and motivates others to do the same and spreads the spirit of volunteerism.many individuals,schools,groups of people,clubs etc participated. it was a good feeling to see altruism spreading among the people.

people from all walks of life cutting across the country-stars,superstars,celebrities have all pitched in to do their bit in this philanthropic movement.ambika soni,of the congress party, aptly said that the joy of giving is more than the joy of taking.i too in my own modest manner sent money to a relation who was undergoing a major surgery. and i did a few other things like giving some old clothes to the needy. truly,the joy of giving has to be experienced.

"people who give more of their time,money,kindness,love and ideas have more of these things because that's the balance.and balance is the natural law of life."-masami sato.

what is the colour of your tea?

2009-09-28T23:36:00.000-07:00

of late,there has been a plethora of articles in newspapers and magazines on the benefits of drinking tea.companies engaged in processing and selling tea have a huge budget for advertising their products.some of them take even a fullpage in newspapers to advertise their products and the good effects of drinking their tea.unlike in the old days when tea was always taken with milk and sugar,health-conscious people have switched over to tea without milk or without sugar.and those who are prepared to go further in their quest for the elixir of life start drinking green tea.

after all isn't everyone going green these days? bollywood stars,ceos,cricketers and other sports and finearts celebrities say they love green tea.we all know that the chinese drink plenty of green tea. and one of the factors responsible for their longevity is supposed to be green tea.

what is it that green tea has which makes it such an attractive proposition? true,it has antioxidants in abundance.these are called catechins.they fight the free radicals and try to keep your body free of toxins.it was used especially against the headaches and depression.green tea is also supposed to have lot of skin benefits.because of their anti inflammatory and antioxidant properties they are likely to slow down the ageing process.

the chinese have been using green tea for thousands of years as a traditional medicine for wellbeing in general and in particular for severe skin conditions like acne and carcinoma of the skin.it fights successfully the harmful effects of the sun's ultraviolet radaition.and for those who are bothered by that white speck on their scalp,the hated dandruff,green tea is supposed to be a perfect medicine.

it is produced from the leaves of camellia sinensis. unlike black tea, it has a small amount of caffeine. caffeine causes insomnia, nausea and frequent urination.here is list of benefits of green tea which has been claimed by a researcher:
1) used to treat multiple sclerosis.
2) used for treatment and prevention of cancer.
3) used to stop Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.
4) used to raise the metabolism and increase fat oxidation.
5) reduces the risk of heart diseases and heart attacks by reducing the risk of trombosis.
6) reduces the risk of esophageal cancer.
7) inhibits the growth of certain cancer cells, reduces the level of cholesterol in blood, improves the ratio of good cholesterol to bad cholesterol.
8) used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and cardiovascular diseases
9) used to treat impaired immune function. .
10) drinking green tea regularly may help prevent tooth decay by killing the bacteria which causes the dental plaque.

no wonder that with so much going for it everone is jumping on to the bandwagon.it is no more the preferred drink of the celebrities and superduper models only.longtime users claim higher energy levels,better skin,better hair,better digestion.and the best part of it is that you can have this endlessly. more the merrier.

i too have been struck by this blitzkreig.i have succumbed to the thought of becoming immortal. at least to live upto eighty,ninety, hundred. i drink green tea of different flavours-mint,citrus,jasmine with hot water and i don't waste the green leaves. i use it as an exfoliant for my skin. will i glow? maybe six months down the line,i could provide some answer.

as big as the beatles

2009-09-28T05:01:00.000-07:00

swami ramdev baba is a controversial wellness guru in india. he has shot to fame in the last several years by aggressively marketing himself, pranayama and ayurvedic medicine which he claims is a near cure-all for every conceivable disease including aids and cancer.his detractors which includes brinda karat and a few mncs tried to put him in the docks by allegations of use of human skull powder in his ayurvedic medicines,child labour etc etc.his followers at the top saw that he remained un scathed. his programme on yogasanas broadcast daily on the tv network has an enviable viewership.his disciples and followers certify that they have got themselves rid of their diseases which afflicted them by simply following ramdev baba's advice.

the latest to certify his efficacy is sunita poddar of scotland.she and her husband sam have bought a 1.75 sq km island in scotland,wee cumbrae, for nearly rs 17 crores to set up a ramdev baba wellness centre.the island has been rechristened 'shanti dwipam'. sunita claims that after following ramdev baba's pranayam exercises she has got rid of her fourteen tablets per day medication.recently a havan was performed on the inauguration of this setup- an extension of the patanjali yogpeeth, where 350 indians and many curious locals participated to watch the person who is 'as big as the beatles' in action.

ramdev baba it seems is spreading his wings.he is going global.the baba who has a cult following in india is trying what mahesh yogi and rajneesh did successfully. whether he will be a winner is something to be seen.the baba's followers who had chartered a yacht a year ago for a three week programme of 'yoga on the boat' (vedic cruise) probably were not on high seas; with the baba seamlessly conducting the programmes in turbulent waters of the indo-china sea outside. the conchshaped scottish island of course is a different kettle of fish. quiet,rocky and with hardly any tree,ramdevbaba expects the place to generate a lot of peace.

om shanti:,shanti:,shanti:.

mahalaya amavasya

2009-09-23T08:59:00.001-07:00

mahalaya amavasya is the day of the moonless night before navarathri. during the krishna paksha(the fortnight of the waning moon),hindus propitiate three generations of ancestors from both their parents' sides.the departed souls are believed to be living in pitruloka,a region between earth and heaven.it is ruled by yama,the god of death.during this period the ancestors leave their abode and descend to earth to live in the homes of their descendants.

water added with sesame seeds is offered to the deceased who are represented by 'bhugnas' made of dharba grass.normally darbha grass is collected on amavasya day in the month of 'simha' at the fag end of the monsoon from nearby lakes and tanks where they grow wildly. the grass collected on this day can be used for a complete year. these rites are done accompanied by the chanting of mantras.the sound vibration makes the effort more beneficial than otherwise.it is called tarpanam(tharpanam).it means to satisfy,to please.

in tarpanam,pitrus are installed on a five strand dharba(bhugna). the five strands represent the the five life elements.dharba is considered to have come to earth from the hair of the creator (parama purusha) in the process of creation.if one does this act with sincerity and devotion,one immediately feels very contended.in the 'manusmriti',tarpanam has been described as pitruyagyam.it is a sacrifice dedicated to the memory of the forefathers.it is said that forefathers look forward to the offerings.in the 'yamapuranam' it is said that yama frees all souls in the dark fortnight of the month of 'kanya'(september-october),to enable them to visit their children and accept the food that they offer.the risk of not performing tarpanam can be huge. they may invite the wrath of the forefathers and if cursed by them suffer the consequences." vricchika darsanaat yanti nirasa pitaro gatah". doing tarpanam properly ensures happiness and contentment. "dine dine gaya tulyam"-the ceremonies honouring the pitrus performed during this fortnight are considered to be equal to the ceremonies performed in the sacred city of gaya.every devout hindu is careful not to annoy his pitrus. otherwise,the old women at home will not give him a peaceful time!

there is an interesting legend highlighting the importance of donating food. 'karna' of the epic mahabharatha was a great donor of wealth.but he never donated food.after his death,he received plenty of gold and silver in heaven for his charitable deeds.but his soul was hungry and yearned for food. when he was alive, he never did tarpanam in memory of his ancestors.realising his mistake of not donating food and not doing tarpanam for his ancestors,karna pleaded with yama to send him back to earth so that he could make up for this shortcoming.yama agreed to karna's request. he breathed life back to him. karna returned to earth and this time fed the poor and offered tarpanam.when he returned to the nether region after expiry of 14 days he had food to his heart's content.these 14 days are celebrated as 'mahalaya paksha'.donating food on the amavasya day is considered to be the most important ritual!the easiest way to access to God’s grace is by feeding a famished human being starving for food, and donating clothes to him. donating food(annadaanam) is considered to be the greatest charity among all the charities.it is believed that the person who donates food would attain an elevated status in life!

the ancestors are happy alright but not the shopkeepers.their sales dramatically drop during this period.in fact, no important activity is carried out during this inauspicious period of 'pitrupaksha'.no new cars are bought,no new flats are purchased and no new films are released. everyone awaits the departure of the souls of the ancestors after they have been fully satisfied with the tarpanam offerings to commence their auspicious activities.

oh sunday!

2009-09-04T00:33:00.000-07:00

sunday is my happiest day of the week. i am under no pressure to get up early,i take my dogs for a long walk
and do not keep looking at the wallclock every now and then as i do on other days.i work on the home treadmill for half an hour and try to burn some calories.i remind myself that after all i need to lose atleast 10 kgs to remain fit. i have a leisurely and late breakfast,catch up with the latest news and film and book reviews from newspapers and magazines which i have not read during the week.lunch on sundays is usually bisibelebhath prepared very tastefully by gb.an afternoon siesta is not a must unless i am suffering from the previous night's hangover which is seldom the case.after lunch, i look into all my personal paperwork-investments,payment of bills,etc etc and normally ensure that there is no backlog.

it is time for the babies to come home.our two grandchildren arrive around 5 pm and fully engage us till about 7.30 when they leave. i sit with them and do some coloring,painting and even some puzzles.then i take our older grandaughter for fun and entertainment at the cooperage bandstand. incidentally,this garden dedicated to rajiv gandhi,has been nicely spruced up.she is uberexcited when she rides a horse. she makes 5 to 6 rounds on horseback and is never satisfied at the end of it.dil maange mor.then she sprints to the farther end and takes a few chakkars sitting on a wooden duckback and later climbs up the slide and comes down crashing. something that she enjoys. then when it is all over and the sun has set and it's time to go home she bids farewell: bye bye duck,bye bye swing,bye bye slide. carrying baloons in her hand and a bubble bottle she marches out triumphnatly watched by her doting little sister who watches her sister's antics with awe and wishfully waits for the day when her turn will come.

i am now ready to freshen up myself and do some blogging before it's time for dinner.now,wouldn't you envy me? i know i have had a great time.i have detoxified,destressed and recharged my battery for the full week ahead. i am not alone in this comfort zone on a sunday.

researchers at the University of vermont analysed 2.4 million blogs and internet messages to find out which days of the week we love the most by counting the number of positive and negative words used. sunday won the first prize as our most favourite day while wednesday got the booby prize.

confess to your mistakes and seek forgiveness

2009-09-03T19:03:00.000-07:00

devotees of jainism observe an annual ritual of fifteen days called 'paryushan parva' culminating in 'kshama parva' when they confess to their mistakes during the year and ask all their family,friends and partners in trade for forgiveness. on august 24 they sought kshama(pardon) from one another. during these fifteen days,they live a life of purity and simplicity. between noon and 1pm they take a meal and live on that till the next day. a day after 'kshama parva' they live throughout the day on boiled water only.i have a jain business friend who sent me an sms on 'kshama parva' day seeking my forgiveness for whatever faults he might have committted during the year in his dealings with me.he ended with the words "micchami dukkhadam"(please forgive me for all the mistakes committed).i was quite surprised at the humility of my friend.

sometimes some people carry this noble practice to excess. a two and half year old jain boy inspired by his elder sister did 'paryushan' for the first time.it lasted 40 hours.he lived during this period only on boiled water.his father,a diamond merchant was proud and happy about what his son had done.this family has been doing 'paryushan' for the last 26 years.it is an old jain ritual and started some 1000 years ago.jains believe that fasting purifies the soul,kills greed and allows one to attain spirituality.

fasting and forgiveness are great virtues and almsot all religions have this practice in different variants. in the yajur veda there is a mantra which seeks the forgiveness of the supreme lord for all the sins committed in thought word or deed so that the body and self of the seeker become pure and that one can realise oneself as the light divine.

"to forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you".

"kaminey"- a film review

2009-08-25T05:20:00.000-07:00

our daughter l recently expressed a desire to see a good hindi movie.when she asked for my suggestion, i recommended 'love aaj kal' or 'kaminey'.she opted for the latter.she is a shahid fan and i wasn't surprised.after all he is the chocolate hero.we landed up at 'inox' well ahead of start time. i was forewarned that if i missed the beginning,it would be very difficult for me to understand the story.'inox' is near home and has a genteel ambience.though i booked the tickets in the morning as soon as the counters opened,i didn't get the best of seats.when we were waiting for the doors to open,we quickly had some lovely icecream.she chose cookies with cream and i went for the guava which i thought was heavenly.and that was helpful. it saw me through the first half by keeping me cool.i just didn't know what the hell was going on.the movie was at a frentic pace,more than a dozen characters,each doing his own thing,leaving audiences like me in utter confusion. i had half a mind to walk out but then l insisted that i should be patient and that in the second half the plots will unravel and clear my confused mind.had she read any review or not i did not check with her,but as she predicted the haze got cleared and i did not repent having stayed back.

'kamina' in hindi means a crooked person.someone greedy.a rogue or a scoundrel.the film begins with a 'voice over'.charlie and guddie are morally incompatible twin brothers.played by shahid kapur.both hate each other and have speech impediments.charlie lisps endearingly and guddu stammers.charlie is a small time gangster.guddu works in a ngo.born and brought up in dharavi,asia's largest slum,the brothers lose their doting father while they are young.he gets involved in some petty theft and commits suicide.the brothers are devastated.guddu is a thinking person.he plans out his life till 2014 and displays it in a chart form in his room.enters sweety(priyanka chopra) on the scene who his head over heels in love with guddu. she wrecks his plan.she is the sister of a maharashtrian gangster politician bhope(amol gupte of 'taare zameem par' fame),who cannot live without his vadapav and his 'jai maharashtra' slogan which he belches out every now and then.sweety mothers guddu's child.hence the urgency to get married.the gangster cum politician brother comes to know about it and is furious and wants to stop the impending marriage.then there are three bengali brothers who fix the races in the mahalakshmi race course and charlie's alliance with them to make quick money.charlie gets doublecrossed by the jockey and furious to take revenge he chases him to a posh hotel to kill him.then there is the druglord tashi, two corrupt cops who kill three drugdealers and collect a guitar case supposedly having rs 10cr worth of cocaine.there is continous crossfiring between the cops and the gangsters in the hotel and charlie boots off in the police van which has the guitar case. charlie now thinks that his life is made. the crooked cops and bhope strike a deal.the bengali brothers on finding that their brother mikhail has been shot go on a killing spree and kill all of bhope's men.the police get hold of guddu and try to extract information from him thinking that he is charlie. they realise their folly. an exchange of captives takes place.the brothers meet and there is a huge clash.finally charlie saves guddu and gets shot. but he survives. he starts his offcial booking counter in the racecourse and settles down with his ex girlfriend. guddu becomes the father of twins! it is happy ending after a phenomenal show of gangsterism and stunning violence.

vishal bharadwaj of omkar fame and the new maverick of bollywood has writen and directed this film.another story on slum barons,police and politician nexus in the maximum city.the urge to get away from his wretched life to become prosperous and dignified drives charlie to lead a dangerous life.shahid kapur has come out with his best performance so far and gets into the A-list.priyanka chopra as the marathi mulgi acts below her normal standard.bhope is good in his characteristic style.some of the songs are very hummable."dhan tan tan" is the best of the lot.the cinematography is great.producer ronnie screwala has shown guts in introducing new age cinema to the indian audience.this movie also is having its share of controversy. a ngo has filed a defamation suit for hurting the sentiments of lord jagannath devotees for a scene iin which a semiclad model's picture is fixed on the toilet wall with the caption 'apna hath jagannath' running below it.

when we were coming out of the cinemahall, i overheard some young viewers saying it was "cool". one humorous guy said it was "fimply fuperb".song composer gulzar in an interview suggested that kaminey actually is a 'term of endearment'.when two persons have a healthy relationship they do address each other sometimes as kaminey with love and no malice.but to call someone 'kaminey kuttey' is really bad language.

to sum up, it is an edgy and cult film soaking in violence.it is a dark comedy. it is different,it's plot is complicated,it runs at a very fast pace and keeps you to the edge of your seat.if you want an adrenaline rush in your system you will enjoy it.'kaminey' is a box-office hit.i was told by a friend to take my brains along with me and not to leave it behind which one does for a run of the mill hindi film. for me one experience was sufficient. i wouldn't like to see it again. thank god my brain is in tact.

a taste of rajasthani food with a view of the see-through kitchen

2009-08-25T01:23:00.000-07:00

i arrived in raipur yesterday for a stay of two nights.i am doing some senior management staff hiring for my company and i decided to stay at the babylon international.it is an excellent hotel with all amenities including wifi.the restaurant serves very tasty north indian food and the buffet breakfast has a wide spread(never knew that conjeevaram idlis share honours with paranthas and other stuff).there is the coffeeshop which is mandatory for all 5 star hotels.there is also another all-vegetarian restaurant called 'rangoli' which i went to last night with a business colleague for dinner.

we were welcomed by a lady in traditional rajasthani dress.she applied the tilakmark on our foreheads.she suggested we order a thali as they were serving special rajasthani 'khana' that evening.we thoroughly enjoyed the delectable rajasthani cuisine.mildly spiced and no overload of ghee. butte ke putali was the starter. followed by aloo baigan ki sabzi,bhindi peanut poukra fried,ker sangari,special panneer,dal tadka,baati/choorma(rajasthani food is incomplete without this) and gulab jamun to tickle the sweet tooth. all simple marwari fare.but the presentation was elegant,service very courteous,items tasty and the ambience just the right one for the rajasthan theme for the night.

the transparent glass-enclosed kitchen gave a feeling of comfort to the diner as one could see the high standard of cleanliness and hygiene . we saw everything being cooked by the chefs who wore traditional rajasthani headgears.as we were seated right in front of the kitchen, we got the puffed-up phulkas at the right temperature too. see,smell and eat.that was the message. and we liked it.the papads helped us to digest all that we ate and the thin paans left a pleasant feeling in the mouth.

though i am not like my daughter l a true blue foodie,i think we got a bite of the desert.the rajasthani ambience was there all over with nicely decorated mewari glasswork hanging at different places adding to the colour and true rajasthani flavour.one thing was sadly missing though.the rajasthani folk music. the soothing and sonorous notes would have added greatly to the ethnic feeling that we experienced.

mallipoo(jasmine flower)

2009-08-25T00:06:00.000-07:00

me and my wife are extremely fond of mallipoo.in her case it is but natural.as she hails from the citadel of this absolutely enchanting flower-madurai.the fragrant smell is so unique that it leaves a deep impression in your mind.i crave for these mallipoos-white in colour and full of aroma to adorn my gods-photos and images for my puja. and to give it to my better half which immediately soars her spirits.

i was saddened to read an article recently in the 'outlook' magazine that thanks to the younger generation of south indian girls who have discarded the traditional dresses and have become hep in their attire and hairstyles that mallipoo is no more a 'hot cake' it used to be. in fact it has become 'infra dig' for them to wear mallipoo on their tresses.i never imagined that this famed flower will have such a dramatic fall in the eyes of the youngsters of today.

with an annual production of more than 70,000 tonnes the lower demand has made the producers look for alternate markets.besides exports of the flower to the middle east having a large south indian diaspora large quatities are being diverted to the perfumery industry.

i get my requirements from matunga.priced by the mozham(about 9 inches in length), about three mozhams can make your purse lighter by about rs 20 on a normal day.if it is special pooja day or a festive occasion or if the madurai malli special train has not arrived, then the prices skyrocket.some compare its price volatality to the fluctuation in prices of shares in the stock market.

mallipoo is also an accepted aphrodisiac. one of the reasons why many women adorn their tresses with malli is that it attracts the opposite sex(married women do for their husbands only) and always the bed on a wedding night is adorned with mallipoo.

we had a pet dog named mallipoo. my wife is fond of oxymorons. our dog was jet black and had the peculiar cocker spaniel smell. she couldn't think of a more appropriate name for her pet.and till i married off my daughter i never knew that men could be allergic to flowers and to mallipoo. flowers are taboo in my daughter l's house. so we make do with artificial flowers and garlands when the occasion demands.and that is no substitute.

here is help; that is if you want to lose weight.

2009-08-18T09:51:00.000-07:00

some months back, my daughter l gifted me with a book.she thought her dad needed to lose some weight.she reminded me several times to read the book.one fine morning i started reading and finished it pretty soon.i also started losing weight.whether the credit goes to rujuta or me, i will leave it to the reader to guess. but i must say her theory works.no,no fears.i have no ambition to reach size zero. i need to lose another 10 kgs. phir to paisa vasool.and i'll buy my loving daughter something terrific as thanksgiving. read my review below. i'll urge you to buy the book.it will motivate you to eat all the lovely things and still lose weight. wishing you happy reading and happy weight loss.

A Book Review: “Don’t Lose Your Mind, Lose your Weight” By Rujuta Diwekar. Publisher: Random House: Year 2009: Pages 279: Price Rs 199/-

The present generation is obsessed with good looks and wellness. And why not? The fever is spreading to the older generation as well. Also many do not have the time to meet specialists for checking out their day to day health problems. The result is a plethora of books in the market with captivating titles to lure the wannabes with alternative therapies,special exercise regimen and DIY(Do it yourself) books. Whether it be yoga or reiki or ayurveda or weight-loss or nutrition. Besides the usual selfhelp books, there are autobiographies and memoirs from those who have done it. One such book by India’s top celebrity fitness guru and top-class dietician and written mostly in Costa Coffee,Oshiwara is the one under review. The entertaining and informative book has sold record numbers; for isn’t the author also behind Bollywood beauty Kareena’s size zero figure? Rujuta Diwekar’s Unique Selling Proposition ( USP ) is that she offers the reader a diet plan that allows eating your favourite foods at the right time and yet losing weight. Just follow her four simple principles. You can continue to eat your favourite paranthas and jalebis and still shed kilos. And she has a forward by the captivating Kareena(“Rujuta has not only changed my body but also my mind and soul”),to endorse her unique eating recommendations enough to get the cash registers ringing. Arguably,it is one of the best books on something that many of us neglect. Just grab a copy, keep eating your favourite snack and read the book page to page.You will love it. And you will also start loving yourself and become more beautiful. Losing weight has never looked so simple!

"Marrying Anita" by Anita Jain-A Book Review

2009-08-17T18:14:00.000-07:00

MARRYING ANITA: A QUEST FOR LOVE IN THE NEW INDIA By Anita Jain.Publisher: Bloomsbury: Year 2008: Pages 307: Price Rs 299/-

It is a memoir by an Indian journalist who has worked in top international cities after graduating from Harvard. She is in her 30s and modern as she has been raised in America though her parents are conservative. She has done the works- latenight parties,barhopping,internet dating et al.Yet she hasn’t found a soulmate. Marriage by dating appears to be an illusion and a shattering of her expectations. Realisation dawns that after all marriage by the ancient Hindu tradition of arrangment may not be so bad.Her search for love and marriage brings her back to her parents’ roots. She discovers a whole new world.

Early on in the book Anita Jain quite familiar with American style dating describes a series of missed opportunities and disappointments. Her parents are overtly worried about her single status..Upon returning to the U.S. to live in New York City after a prolonged stint abroad as a journalist, Anita Jain finds herself under more pressure than before to change her single status and starts to question the unchallenged merits of the way Americans chose their mates. She describes the New York dating scene in alternately humorous and despairing terms and, ultimately, decides to travel to India in order to live and work and look for a romantic “broadminded” partner.

She writes in a honest, straightforward, courageous, engaging and humorous style. You don’t feel like dropping the book whatever maybe the distraction. Some of her escapades make delightful reading though one feels sorry that at the end she is a loser. She is in awe of her parents who seem to be made for each other. Her father who takes up the onerous task of managing her online dating profiles is hilarious. Her dates end up with shock and surprise seeing her drinking and food habits. Will Anita find a husband? I won’t let the cat out of the bag. But I promise that you will enjoy the journey with her. The book addresses a major and complex feminist issue. The concept of “choice” in marriage. How it pans out for the women of the current generation. And how conventional wisdom on love, marriage and happiness could be turned upside down. Anita also writes about the new urban India, the changes that have taken place in the last ten years or so.

"IDLI,ORCHID AND WILLPOWER" BY V V KAMAT-A REVIEW

2009-08-16T16:49:00.000-07:00

English Version By Sanjit Narwekar: Orchid Books: Year 2008: Pages 246: Price Rs 150/-

It took me nearly four hours to finish reading this book. Almost twice the time I would have normally taken. Because I read and reread many words, sentences and chapters. I must confess that many times there were tears in my eyes while reading some of the heartbreaking incidents that the author so vividly describes. It is a book right from the heart with no pretensions.Vithal Kamat,an engineer by education and hotelier by profession has achieved success the hard way. And he is justifiably proud of it.

His father started as a small time restaurateur. Vithal, as an obedient and devoted son grew under his father’s tutelage. And enjoyed a deep and abiding relationship with his parents. He applied unwaveringly the Upanishadic sayings ”matru devo bhava,pitru deva bhava,athithi devo bhava” in his daily life. His parents were like God for him. At every step that he took in his business, he obtained their consent for his unconventional and daring actions. He did it before or after the decision but their stamp of approval was always there.

He dreamt big,very big.To become India’s biggest hotelier and overtake the Oberoi Group.Which he expressed with some chutzpa to Rai Bahadur Oberoi himself in a chance meeting. And he fulfilled his dream by building the world’s best environmentally sensitive hotel -‘The Orchid’ which has won innumerable accolades.

The book is divided into 35 chapters and filled with sparkling anecdotes that makes his autobiography most lively and interesting. The young formative years when the six siblings and parents lived cramped in an one room apartment, the family feuds, his affection for his youngest brother(the black sheep of the family) though misplaced and betrayal by friends and relatives which brought him to the brink of self-extinction. Perhaps his past karma saved him from near suicide and put him back on life’s journey with hope and courage to fight the many battles which lay ahead of him. He acknowledges with gratitude that the blessings of his parents and support he received from his wife and children and a few friends were what really helped him to maintain his sanity and reach the zenith of his profession.

Vithal Kamat is a shining example for young people to emulate.Sincerity,hard work,honesty,simplicity,self-confidence,a friendly and helping attitude,an open mind,creativity and an ability to face the toughest situations and most importantly the ability to dream big and to achieve the dreams is what this honest book is all about. Don’t take the book’s title lightly. The metaphor in the title of the book is very apt. His life is like an idli. Difficult to make but soft,tasty,white,clean and enjoyable. His creation of a fivestar ecotel-‘The Orchid’ was an unparalleled success against the heaviest odds. And what saw him through was his willpower. The modest and godfearing family man has proved right the French commander Napolean Bonaparte’s saying that “Nothing is impossible”.

“Veni,Vidi,Vici”- He came, he saw, he conquered.

balaji@tirumala

2009-08-15T04:06:00.000-07:00

in june, alongwith my wife i did a pilgramage to tirupati. earlier in march i had worshipped lord varadaraja and lord yahtokthakaari at kancheepuram. i normally have no difficulty in getting the lord's darshan at kancheepuram.it does not have the type of rush as in tirumala and as my father hailed from kancheepuram,i have my contacts to ensure a hassle-free darshan. but in tirupati,i do not have such contacts. one can plan well in advance,book on the internet and have a reasonably peaceful darshan.in our case,we are unable to do such long-term planning which the net booking calls for.hence, i have to use 'influence' to get darshan. for the last twenty years or so,i have been managing in this manner. i wonder when my luck is going to run out.

the sacred abode of lord vishnu is nestled amidst the peaks of seven hills(representing the seven hoods of adisesha).this most venerated and richest temple of the world situated at a height of about 3000 ft above sealevel is more than 2000 years old and is a twenty minute uphill car ride from the base tirupathi. as per our family tradition,we chanted the vishnu sahasranamam and completed it just when we reached the top.also it has been the family practice to visit the padmavathi(wife of lord srinivasa) shrine at tirucchanur(6 kms from tirupathi) and obtain her permission and blessings and then embark on the steep climb and on return visit the sri govindarajan(lord srinivasa's elder brother) temple at tirupathi. lord venkateshwara(srinivasa) is the reigning deity of tirumala.services are offered to him round-the-clock excepting for about two hours after the 'ekanta seva' around midnight when he takes some rest. about one lakh piligrims visit the temple everyday and on special occasions the crowd could go to a staggering seven lakhs. the arrangements for accomodation though are satisfactory,it is a herculean task for the ttd authorities to manage such a huge gathering.many of those who seek the free darshan have to stand in serpentine queues sometimes for fortyeight hours!

so we feel guilty when we go for the break-darshan causing inconvenience to the regular devotees.reports keep on coming that ttd authorities are going to scrap this preferential treatment.break- darshan is a facility for vips enabling them to jump the lengthy queue for a darshan of the lord. from six hours in a day which were kept for break-darshan,it has now been reduced to one hour.even break-darshan worshippers have to stand in queue for some four hours at times. the final decision on scrapping now rests with the cm of andhra pradesh.the break darshan regulars include l k advani,bigB,s m krishna,anil ambani, jeetendra and his daughter ekta,anand mahindra,vijay mallya,sachin tendulkar,shilpa shetty(recently kissed by a priest but not in tirumala) and last but not the least janardhan reddy,minister for mines(gold?) who donated a crown for a staggering rs 40 crores.made out of 34 kg of pure gold it has an emerald of 880 carat and about 70,000 diamonds.

but that has set off a controversy of sorts.it is said that heavy lies the head that wears many crowns.the priests have a headache. they are worried that the lord's head is getting overburdened.they are afraid that this may cause a crack in the lord's moolavigraha(the main idol).lord balaji's jewellery kitty has already seven magnificent crowns plus eleven tonnes of gold,ornaments and many other precious jewels.on an average at any point in time the gold ornaments on the 'moola vigrha' weigh about 6o kg of gold.several years ago my wife's cousin,a professional expert in gemmology, was given the contract to clean all off lord srinivasa's jewels.she did it happily and in record time and which was well appreciated by ttd officials.

a closely guarded secret for centuries is likely to be revealed soon.the andhra pradesh high court has asked ttd to submit an inventory of properties and ornaments owned by lord srinivasa on the basis of a public interest litigation recently filed alleging certain irregularities by ttd officials.

the lord's(frequently called "govinda" by his devotees) pull is magnetic and his grace offers his worshipper the much needed solace." venkataadri samam sthaanam brahmaande naasti kinchana; venkatesha samo devo na bhooto na bhavishyati" ( there is no place equal to venkataadri in the whole universe; a god equal to venkatesha has never been nor will be). all pujas for lord srinivasa commence with"idam bhagawan" (this is god). if you want to know all about tirumala and lord srinivasa, i would recommend to you "Tirumala tirupati the legends and beyond" by sarita reddy and biraj yajnik.it is a beautifully illustrated coffetable book priced at rs 3600.there is another informative book on balaji by nanditha krishna priced at rs 295.early this year,i attended an exhibition of tanjore paintings from the personal collections of late sir c p ramaswamy iyer(dewan of travancore) at cymroza art gallery in mumbai.i took permission from nanditha krishna and took pictures of some very beautiful paintings.one that i liked very much and wanted to buy(the price was unaffordable) is the last picture shown above.now,i regret not having bought it.

i love loveasa(lavasa)

2009-08-04T17:33:00.000-07:00

i took a short holiday after a long time.it was to a place which i might like to visit more often.a four and half hour drive from mumbai,it is the new free india hill city.i had heard about it from our daughter l and read about it in newspaper ads but came to see it for the first time.it is astonishing.it is awe-inspiring.it is amazing.the vision and the execution of the developers of this beautiful and nicely ensconsed hill city. at 2000 feet above sea level,this 25,000 acre land,lakes and hills terrain is the closest to a worldclass hill station you could get to. it is called lavasa.

based on the principles of new urbanism,lavasa(2500 feet above mean sea level) is about 200kms from Mumbai.we took the mumbai-pune expressway which covers about 140 kms of the total distance.the major portion of the remaining distance is on an excellent road built by hindustan construction company(HCC) who have developed this beautiful hill station. set amongst seven hills like sheffield in uk and tirumala in andhra pradesh,lavasa covers 25,000 acres of lakes(60 kms of lake front) and hills out of which HCC plan to develop 12,500 acres.lavasa is one fourth the size of mumbai and equivalent to the size of paris.it is being designed on the lines of a worldclass hill station by an american company.tieups with premier national and international institutes are being planned.ITC have set up a four star hotel.when completed around 2020 lavasa is expected to have a population of about 2 lakhs.by 2010,davase,the town in the the first phase of the project would be ready.

l had booked four rooms at the "ekaant" which has a capacity of 20 rooms.it has elegant and spacious accomodation,a well-equipped garden for children to play,a conference hall and restaurant with a breathtaking view. it was drizzling most of the time but we did get the breaks at the right time to explore the place and do some motorboat riding.there are many watersporting options like jetskiing,kayake,etc.we went to their hightech 'introduction' room housed in a huge building where we were shown 3D visuals of lavasa followed by a visual presentation of the upcoming hillcity. later we took a busride around downtown to see the new villas and apartments which were in various stages of construction.we also had a look at a sample flat out of many apartments available for booking(about 25,000 are expected to come up).perched as it was at a height of nearly six storeys, l must have wondered whether her old man would really make it to the sample flat.running alongside the waterfront, a beautiful promenade is being built with stylish cafes,boutiques,fancy eateries etc.you feel as if you are in some posh european resort.

on the whole,it was a calming,tranquil,soothing and refreshing experience. with no noise and no air pollution.of course, the whole stay was not hunky dory. we had a fair share of hassles. like our grandchildren falling a bit sick on the second day and yours truly suffering from a heartburn triggered by hyperacidity and followed by a stomach upset.all of us took it in our stride and did not allow it to dampen our enthusiasm. had our stay been longer we would have had the time to explore more of the flora and fauna that lavasa is supposed to have.it seems there are many rare birds which visit this place during winter.there is, as they say, always a next time.perhaps this coming winter.we will do it again.

2009-year of eclipses

2009-07-22T18:21:00.001-07:00

we had a lunar eclipse on 7th july followed by a solar eclipse yesterday and there will be another lunar eclipse on 6th august this year. three in a row. how should we view this natural and interesting phenomenon? one cannot ignore the fact that throughout history cataclysmic events have occured after such manifestations.

as per hindu mythology, during 'churning of the ocean'(smudra manthanam) episode in the puranas,the amritam that was stolen cunningly by the asuras was taken back by mohini(lord vishnu's form) by enticing and enamouring them by her beauty.not so easily undone, rahu an asura took the form of a deva and sat between chandra and surya when mohini started distributing the amrita to the devas. when mohini came near rahu,chandra and surya realised that the person next to them was an impostor.mohini cut the head of rahu which flew into the sky.rahu lived as as severed head and decided to avenge surya and chandra. thus from time to time rahus gobbles up the moon and sun (lunar eclipse and solar eclipse) who fight to free themselves.

this rare celestial phenomenon ,astrologers say could be a percursor of natural disasters.the mahabharatha yuddha, world war II and indira gandhi's assasination all these events followed solar eclipses.one explanation is that eclipses charge the atmosphere with negativity. hence to neutralise it poojas and yagnas are performed.yesterday's solar eclipse was the longest of this century,lasting 6 minutes and 39 seconds.it also coincides with the international year of astronomy.scientists dismiss the views expressed by the astrologers as myths based on superstitions and that it is just a plain and simple natural phenomenon. a solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the sun and the earth.thus the sun is blocked and its rays do not reach the earth. that's it. period.

dk hari and hema hari who are founders of 'bharath gyan' have written a book entitled "will history repeat itself?". the first recorded eclipse took place in 3067 bce when the 18 day kurukshetra war took place. in 3031 bce,36 years later,the ancient city of dwaraka went under and between 1910 and 1945 during which a series of triple eclipses took place,according to the authors,world war I and II,hitler's holocaust and the the hiroshima bombings took place. six sets of triple eclipses will be taking place till 2020 following the current triple eclipses.the authors are not doomsday predictors but are raising questions based on actual events.the authors have used planetarium software which precisely dates the movements of various astral bodies for thousands of years in the past and also the future.they have juxtaposed the earliest observations of eclipses found in ancient texts with the actual events.they have tried to see the correlation between the events in the sky and happenings on earth.

the discussions and debates will go on.the astronomers and the astrologers will slug it out. there is no perfect explanation to this natural celestial occurence and the effects therof.one need not ridicule what the astrologers say. but view it with a scientific temper like what the 'hari' couple have done.

the friendly 'hotelwallah'

2009-07-18T06:24:00.000-07:00

kamats are well known in mumbai.for their restaurants which serve idlis,dosas,vadas and other delectable south indian snacks at moderate prices.their cafes are neat and clean and very functional.when i first came to mumbai fifty years ago upon my father's transfer,my first visit to a udipi joint was near sir p m road in fort area where we lived.i liked the taste of the masala dosa and filter coffee and spent many memorable hours there during my first year in mumbai then called bombay.

in those days,television had not arrived.we followed the cricket test matches on the radio.after returning from st.xavier's college,i would rush to the 'udipi',order some vadas and idlis and hot south indian coffee and listen to the cricket commentary.there was always a huge crowd outside;they were the cricket fans who preferred to stand out and cheer loudly when some indian cricketer scored a boundary or a six.there would also be a deafening silence when team india lost a wicket. later we moved to backbay reclamation near churchgate. this time my favourite was 'satkar', another udipi restaurant.like mcdonalds in usa, kamats and other udipi restaurants have built a loyal clientale around them thanks to their quick and efficient service,neat and functional ambience and consistently good food and importantly reasonble rates.the udipiites are an intelligent and industrious lot.my father was very close to the tma pai family,the founders of the syndicate bank.i realised quite early in age that they are very shrewd businessmen and no wonder that they have excelled in banking and finance and in the hospitality industry too.

last monday when i was on a flight to bhubaneshwar,i happened to meet v v kamat,the pioneer of ecotel hotels in india. i had met him earlier once in a similar situation.we recognised each other and exchanged some pleasantries.we also exchanged our business cards and expressed our desire to remain in touch.at the back of his card in a small pouch lay some tulsi(holy basil) seeds.that conveys his care for the environment. kamat is a very modest,self-effacing,kind and helpful man. he is proud of his creation of the 'orchid' chain of hotels and rightly so.one who had the chutzpah to tell the chairman of the oberoi group of hotels that one day he would excel them.that needs tremendous self-confidence,courage and an ability to lead,motivate and see things through.

when i returned to mumbai,there was a pleasant surprise awaiting me in my office.it was a nice letter from v v kamat's office enclosing the book(seventh edition) he has written which i am currently reading. the book is titled-'idli,orchid and will-power!', translated from the original by sanjit narwekar. it's a book by a self-made man,his trials and tribulations,the support from his parents and his better half,the sibling rivalry that took him very close to committing suicide. surely i'll come across many more such anecdotes in his interesting book written in a simple and breezy style.

we see environmental degradation all around.we need many more kamats to make people sensitive to nature and not to treat it with disrespect.what you give you will get back.if you preserve and protect the environment,the globe will be a better place to live in. then the efforts of people like v v kamat and his ilk will not go in vain. we owe this to the coming generations.

the bandra-worli sea link (rajiv gandhi setu)

2009-07-14T19:02:00.000-07:00

last sunday when i was returning from the airport my driver had a good suggestion. why not drive over the new bridge he asked. and there is no toll to be paid,he added. that was enough motivation for me to ask him to go ahead and go straight from the point where one normally takes a left turn to go to south mumbai via mahim. after all,i had read so much about this new bridge(5.6 kms long) that i wanted to experience the feel of cruising along this one of its kind sea link which has cost the exchequer Rs 1600 crores and which took ten years to make as it was mired in controversy almost from day 1.the bridge weighs a staggering 250,000 tonnes! i must say that it was an exhilarating experience.the fantastic view of the skyscrapers and the sea around you gives you a feeling as if you were on a cruise.

firstly, it is an engineering marvel.hats off to our engineers and hcc for having done such a good job.secondly,it is very functional and aesthetically pleasing to the eyes.only four lanes have come up now another four are to be added and then the worli-haji ali link has to be completed.once all this is finished,it will cut driving time very substantially from bandra to mumbai downtown. a speed limit of 50 km/hour has been enforced on the sea link.the whole distance takes about 8 minutes in normal traffic and four minutes if the traffic is less as i experienced it on monday when i was heading for the airport to take a flight to bhubaneshwar.the inlet and outlet points become bottlenecks as the traffic slows down substantially while approaching and exiting.

i have experienced the difference in kolkata when the vidyasagar setu was commissioned. earlier we had to cross the howrah bridge every day while going to work at andul road in howrah and even take the ferry many times to cross the hooghly river due to perennial traffic jam on the bridge. now,going over to howrah is a breeze. the rajiv gandhi setu is also likely to provide similar relief to harried motorists coming in to the fort area from the western suburbs.

there is considerable scope to reduce the pressure on the roads and local railways by using the waterways for transportation.though such ideas have been discussed many times in various fora,no proper feasibility study seems to have been done for making it economically viable. or is it caught in the usual bureaucratic red tape? i only hope that this idea too sees the light of the day soon.we must explore this option before rushing to construct an underground railway system.

let us hope that the second half of the sea link with connector to worli gets ready soon.estimates are that it might take 18 months for the 1.6 km connector to be fully operational.

akkaaravadisal (rice and bengal dal dessert)

2009-07-11T09:40:00.000-07:00

now this may be a tonguetwister for those who are not familiar with the tamil language.but for those who are,it is the sweetest delicacy on earth.a close sibling of chakkarapongal(sakkarai pongal),only experts can tell you the difference.a friend of mine referred to akkaaravadisal as the vaishnavite chakkarapongal.he was probably close to the truth.it is a typical iyengar(vaishnavite) sweet dish.last month when i was in chennai,i visited my cousin sis j's home and what awesome food she had prepared! and to top it all it was akkaaravadisal that took the cake.

my mom used to make fantastic akkaaravadisal.hence, i was not surprised that her niece and my cousin sis even excelled her.i did some research on this supersweet from the south. i googled to know more about it,read some blogs on it,referred to books by authorities on south indian veg cooking- viji varadarajan,chitra padmanabhan and andal rangaswamy for the right combination of ingredients that make a perfect pudding.i consulted my wife,sis,co-brother's wife and even my cousin-sis who had prepared this sweet specially for me with her own hands, to understand the finer points of difference and the best way of preparing this wonderful dessert in the authentic iyengar way.

having armed myself with all the theoretical knowledge required to cook this lord vishnu's favourite sweet,i ventured into our kitchen to soil my hands and try it out myself.i have cooked sakkaraipongal before,so it was not, therefore, going to be some very difficult job.and i also decided to offer this as naivedyam before the family consumed it. the mystic srivaishnavite saint andal who was in love with lord krishna had vowed to offer him 1000 vessels of akkaaravadisal with tons of clarified butter if only he would appear before her:

"naru narum pozhil maalirumsolai nambikku
naan nooru tadavil vennai vaay nehzhndu paraavi vaitthen
nooru tada nirainda akkaaravadisal shonnen,yeru tiruvudaiyan
ivai vandu kollumgolo?"

this is what she sang to lord vishnu at the kalazhagar temple in srivilliputtur.and many hundred years later sri ramanujacharya fulfilled that vow at the same temple.andal moved by ramnujacharya's fulfilment of her vow came out of her garbhagriha and addressed him as "anna"(elder brother).in a tamilian wedding the "seer" (offering from the girl's side) is made by the bride's elder brother.because ramanujacharyar did it by offering 1000 vessels of akkaravadisal, andal the would be bride of lord krishna addressed him as elder brother.

and for those who would like to try it out ,here we go:

take 1 cup of rice,4 cups of whole milk,1/4 cup of chana dal,2 cups of jaggery,i tbsp of grated coconut,ghee 1/2 cup, cashewnut -100 gms,raisins- 50 gms ,saffron strings -10 nos and cardamom powder-1 tsp.

lightly wash chana dal and rice and drain the water.add saffron strings to this.place the above in a cooker for pressure cooking after adding about 5 cups of milk.no water.remove from cooker and mash it up nicely(in the form of a soft pulp). add jaggery and keep on adding ghee. stir continuously until the mixture solidifies.add cardamom powder and mix well. fry cashewnuts and raisins in ghee and also fry the grated coconut till golden brown. add to the soft pulp.serve it really hot with oodles of ghee.and don't forget to offer it to your lord krishna and seek his blessings.

so how does it differ from sakkarai pongal? only some difference in the ingredients.instead of chana dal you use moong dal. and skip the grated coconut.don't make it into a pulp.cook it a little more thicker.you have now learnt to cook both chakkara pongal(sakkarai pongal) and akkaaravadisal. what a melange of taste, flavour and fragrance!

forget the weight that you will be adding to your waist. you can knock it off next morning on your treadmill.
gb who helped me to translate my theoretical inputs into practical reality was herself very thrilled with the endproduct."cchaan hai",she said in marathi. which when translated into english means "super". and that was what it turned out to be.three cheers!

birthday night at the ' the intercontinental'

2009-06-28T02:12:00.000-07:00

our daughter l decided to give me a treat on my sixtyfifth birthday. as my better-half and my s-i-l were travelling, it was just the two of us. we had to pick a place where we could go without much hassle and just chill out. we looked at several options. and then zeroed in on 'the intercontinental' at marine drive which is at walking distance from our home.

'the dome' at the intercontinental is a very interesting restaurant located on the eighth floor of the hotel and on the rooftop. one gets a kaleidoscopic view of the arabian sea and the marine drive promenade with a breathtaking look at the glittering 'queen's necklace'. with a stunning view that it has to offer and the comfortable lounging swish white sofas,you can have a very relaxing evening with your friend and choose from a varied selection of drinks and cigar.there is a private glass enclosed bar as well in the centre of the restaurant. a white tent was already provided in anticipation of the monoon.i ordered a mojita with plenty of ice which was excellent and very satisfying. it is a great place to unwind.we chatted for a while and i caught up on a lot of things that i had missed out.both of us travel a lot on work.we found the drinks a bit overpriced though; but then one rationalises it by saying to oneself that you are also paying for the ambience and the style statement.

when we dine at the 'intercontinental', we prefer to go to the 'dome' first for a drink and later descend to the 'kabab corner' on the first floor for a north indian meal. the sardarji steward is a friendly guy who makes our stay as pleasant as possible with his quick and witty service and wonderful manners. the 'kabab corner' is spacious,guest-friendly and the waiters dressed in black coats bend over backwards attending to every request that you make.the kebabs are to die for,even the vegetarian stuff.they just melt in your mouth.after all isn't it the top kebab place in town? we ordered a variety of indian bread,dal makhani and some baingan curry. the kebabs,the ambience and the service compensated to a large extent for the lack of real flavour in the food.

when the cheque arrived,i offered to pay up. l would have nothing of it and she graciously signed the cheque with heavy tips to the waiters.it was a wonderful treat from a loving daughter to a doting father.

'vepampoo'(neemflower) rasam

2009-06-26T18:22:00.000-07:00

this is not a very popular rasam as it has a bitter tinge because of the flower of the neem leaves. the taste has to be cultivated.but neem has some great healing properties.it is an excellent deworming agent.also by regular consumption the digestive system can be strengthened. and if cooked well it can be a very stimulating and satisfying rasam.

when we lived in chembur in the mid-seventies, we had a large neem tree in our garden.it was the first tree that my mom had planted. during season,i enjoyed picking up the flowers.they have a good smell though when you consume the cooked rasam it tastes a bit bitter.

if what i have said above doesn't put you off, try this method with the following ingredients:

3 tsp ghee,one and half table spoonful dried neem flowers,one small ball of tamarind,1/2 tsp rasam powder,one tablespoon jaggery.i small tomato cut into four parts and add 1 tsp salt for taste. make a spice paste of 1 tsp ghee,1 tsp pigeeon pea,3 red chilies.1/2 tsp methi seeds.1/2 tsp hing.

take tamarind, make a small ball of it and soak it in about one cups of water.after some time squeeze the tamarind to the fullest.keep the water plus tamarind solution.put the tamarind water on the stove and add salt and asfoetida to the solution.boil this combination.take a pan,add some oil and red chillies.wait for the chillies to turn black.then add 'vepampoo'.once the 'vepampoo' also turns quite black for a good flavour add the chillies and 'vepampoo' to the boiling solution.add another cup of water,bring to boil and remove from stove.tadkafy with seasoned mustards.
dress it up with coriander leaves and curry leaves also.

serve it hot with plain rice or it can be taken separately as a soup.

a simple recipe for a delectable 'sundal'

2009-06-21T09:04:00.000-07:00

sunday is a good day to have 'sundal'. as an evening tiffin when you are looking for a snack that can keep you going till dinner time. on normal working days,i return home rather late and there is just time to shower and head straight for the 'sappadu'(meals). our cook gb who is a maharashtrain makes delicious 'sundal'.since the main ingredient is dried beans,the protein in the beans makes it an energetic food and it is very easy to make. during navarathri, in traditional south indian homes,women are invited to participate in the golu festival-a festival of dolls. every evening a different type of sundal is prepared.

during my childhood days,i would visit my grandma who lived in a village about 100 miles south of chennai during the summer holidays. without fail, we would be treated to a cup of 'sundal' either made at home or taken as a 'prasad' from the village temple.old habits die hard, they say. i still have my sundal at least once a week.

here is the recipe for what gb made today:

what are the ingredients?

• 2 cups chana dal
• 6 green chilies
• some curry leaves
• 1/4 cup shredded coconut and 1 red chilli
• 1&1/2 tsp mustard Seeds and a dash of asfoetida
• 1 table spoon iodised salt
• oil for seasoning

and what is the method to be followed?

• wash and soak chana dal for 12 hours preferably overnight
• cook it in the pressure cooker with some salt.
• take the frying pan and pour oil,heat the oil and add mustard seeds to the heated oil.
• when it splutters add the chilies and fry for two to three minutes.
• add pressure cooked channa dal, curry leaves, shredded coconut, and salt and mix well.

quite easy to make and tasty to eat,it is nutritious as well. what are you waiting for? put on the apron and just do it.

parupppu urandai(balls) kozhambu

2009-06-07T06:40:00.000-07:00

i have a great partiality for this kozhambu. on a first look, a north indian might think it is kofta curry. but a deeper look will reveal the truth and he will wonder how he was completely deceived. he wouldn’t have bargained for tur daal balls soaking in hot gravy. it is not easy to make. if the tur daal balls are too hard, your teeth could get into some trouble or if it is too soft, it will just crumble in the mouth and you have lost the taste and the fun.it should be just hard enough to breakdown when you bite into it and give you that lovely tangy feeling of tamarind and dal. when mixed with rice and eaten you don’t really need a vegetable accompaniment.

what are the ingredients that go into this explosive kozhambu?

for the kuzhambu- one small lemon size tamarind,one teaspoon sambhar powder,very little turmeric powder,one-half teaspoon mustard seeds, a dash of hing powder,two red chillis, two tablespoons of oil, some curry leaves and coriander leaves.

for the paruppu urandai- half cup tur daal,one red chilli,onehalf teaspoon of salt and a bit of hing powder..

and here is how you prepare the paruppu urandai:

1) soak the tur daal for an hour or so.
2) add red chilli,hing powder,and salt. grind into a thick batter with water.
3) take a kadai,pour one table spoon of oil add the daal batter and stir till it is cooked well and leaves the walls of the kadai.remove it and place it in a plate and allow to cool.then roll into small size balls . place it on a idli plate and steam cook.
4) it is not really necessary to steam it. if the paruppu urandais are not well cooked it may dissolve in the water.

and how about the kuzhambu?

1) soak the tamarind in a cup of warm water.extract the juice after some time.repeat and add salt and turmeric powder.
2) heat one table spoon oil in a kadai.allow the mustard seeds to splutter and then add the sambhar powder,hing powder.stir,add the curry leaves and add to tamarind water.
3) boil the tamarind water.add the paruppu urandais carefully.again boil in average heat.
4) add chopped coriander leaves and serve with rice.

our cook gb has been preparing it for the last so many years from time time to time.yet she has not mastered it.those of you who haven't tried cooking this delectable stuff,don't hesitate to try it. i have heavily borrowed the recipe from andu patti's cookbook.she can't be wrong! and there is paruppu urandai rasam too! wait for some hot rasams. they are coming.with the monsoon.

rest your head on the teddy bear and listen to the singing rabbit

2009-06-06T20:25:00.000-07:00

about a fortnight back when i was in kolkata i visited the crossword book store.i like the place for its quiet and simple ambience. i spent a couple of hours browsing through the latest books,had some hot chai and picked up a few books in the process.i also went to the toys section as i coudn't imagine myself returning home emptyhanded without any gifts for our dear grandchildren-r1 and r2.

r1 will be completing 2 years early next week while r2 is 6 months young.both are lovely little girls.r1 is a puzzle guzzler.so,a puzzle is a must must gift. and she loves to play with colours.therefore, a colourbook is also 'de riguer' when i go outstation. r2 watches all the hungama her elder sister makes with absolute mirth in her eyes almost saying "hey sis,what's all this fuss about? in addition to the compulsory gifts,this time i got a teddy bear chair for r1 and a musical rabbit for r2. they are fond of our two cockerspaniels mango and cherry.i decided to bring in two more animals to provide them with a virtual zoo at home.

the bear chair is a cute bear headrest made out of vinyl and very portable(inflatable) hopefully durable and comfortable.the rabbit sings when a button is pressed and even taps with one leg and shakes the others.it's fun watching the rabbit in action.these toys are made in china and they are pretty inexpensive.one has to be careful with toys from china because of the toxicity in some of their products. sadly,our toys don't match up to the china standards.though i have bought wooden choppus from chennapatna and other toys in mumbai toy shops they fall far short of the ingenuity of the chinese. the toy market in india is huge.unlike when we were young and hardly played with toys,the present generation of parents literally dump their children with all sorts of toys.it is high time we start excelling in this industry and give the chinese a run for their money.

"nungu, nungu"

2009-06-04T09:00:00.000-07:00

nungu is a very unique fruit.it is the kernel of the palmyra tree.the nungus are cream coloured and are heart shaped. each fruit has one or two kernels in it. whether it is mumbai or kolkata or titilagarh in orissa,i found roadside vendors stacking up these almost black looking fruits during this hot summer season. and they were getting sold like hot cakes.
.
though many eat the nungu with the fibre, most peel off the skin and eat it with relish without biting it into pieces but by putting the whole nungu in the mouth and gradually sucking it . you get a lovely feeling when it travels down your mouth.it tastes like sweet white jelly. some like to add some chaat masala while others prefer to put a dash of sugar and cardamom powder on it. I like it plain.

from a nutrition point of view,the fruit is terrific. it has a high content of phosphorous and calcium and hardly any fat.

when we were young we would visit our grandma(paatti) living in a village near villupuram every year during the summer vacation. every afternoon during our stay which would be for about a month,she would select soft nungus from the seller who used to enter the village shouting “nungu,nungu” at the top of his voice. we would rush to our paatti and inform her that the nungu vendor had arrived. she would then tie up small change in her sari and come out of the main entrance door and bargain with the nunguwalla and get us the best nungus for the best price.my brothers,sister and myself woud rejoice once the purchase was made.paatt would then place them in a plate and gradually skn off the top creamy coloured layer. voila,the fruit was then ready to be gobbled up!

the shelf life of nungus is very poor.the taste is best when it is just taken out, have nungus in plenty and beat the heat.don't postpone your buying decision as the monsson is around the corner.

if you have any suggestions of how this delicious fruit can be used to prepare something very tasty,do send me your comments.

pearls of wisdom

2009-05-26T17:57:00.000-07:00

recently a supreme court bench passed down some nuggets of wisdom. and it came from their personal experiences as the honourable judges claimed. we have to seriously give a thought to what they said. to the effect that if your wife says that the sun rises in the west, say yes and buy peace. the wife is always right.

it is happiness rule no 1 for all married people. when a divorce case was being heard in the apex court, the judges observed that the only path to happiness lay in agreeing to whatever the wife says.

how many of us married folks will agree to the hon'ble bench's advice, i do not know. there is a hindi saying that "hum sab joru ka gulam hain"(we are all subservient to our wives). perhaps the judges both from the north had this in their minds.when the supreme court judges have given a stamp to this maxim,is there any point in trying to breach it?

obey your wife and rule the world.

the omnipresent mango

2009-05-25T17:09:00.000-07:00

this is the season of mangoes.whether you are in mumbai or kolkata or even titilagarh in orissa, the versatile mango appears to be omnipresent. the king of fruits is dominating the fruits markets with its handsome appearance,delectable aroma and warm feel. when i was in kolkata last month there was a full blown campaign on the new pepsico mango drink called 'slice' with their brand ambassador,the lovely katrina kaif making you drop everything and go for the mango drink.

how blessed we are that we get so many varieties of mangoes in our country. maharashtra,goa,bihar,gujerat,karnataka,madhyapradesh,kerala,orissa,tamilnadu, west bengal,andhra pradesh are all mango producing states.alphonso grown in maharashtra and goa of course is the king of kings.but then there are so many other varieties too which unfortunately get overshadowed by the mighty aapus.i just got a list made of thirty-five varieties of mangoes that we grow. i am sure that there are many more.

bombaiya,malda,pairi,safdarpasand,suvarnarekha,langda,rajapuri,alampur,baneshaan,alphonso,
banglora,baiganpalli,dasahari,gulab khaas,jardaalu,roomani,samar bahisht,vanraaj,fazli,safeda
lucknow,neelam,imam pasand,malgoa,chousa,cherukuraasam,himayuddin,himsaagar,kishan
bhog,sukul,bathua,totapari,kesar sirki,aamrapaali,mallika.etc. frankly,i have lost count.they are
all different but great in taste.no wonder mango is so extensively used in chutney,papad,pickles,
daal,biryaani,icecream,kulfi etc.

of all the varieties above my favourites are alphonso,dasheri,imam pasand and beganpalli.interestingly,imam pasand comes from a very close relation's family stable.the tatachari's of srirangam.my cousin's father,a great horticulturist, had won a gold medal from the president of india in the early seventies for having developed such a tasty variety in his mango orchards at srirangam near trichy.thanks to them we used to get a regular quota of this delicious imam pasand.

the mutipurpose mango(all the parts of the tree are used for various health and medicinal requirements) is also used in pakistan by enemies when they want to make peace with each other.but then the mangoes have to be from your own farm if you are sending it to your enemy.only then the gesture gets accepted as a genuine attempt to break the ice.recently after the general election results were out,the pmk party which was routed were at the receiving end from their dmk brothers who squeezed mangoes and beat these mangoes with chappals to vent their anger at the pmk traitors who deserted them before the elections and joined the aiadmk. and in far off peru in latin america peasants refused to give up their mango farms even under intense pressure from powerful vested interests who wanted to mine for gold in the same place.love for mangoes know no barriers.

the great poet kalidas,the urdu poet amir khusro and mirza ghalib have all heaped praise over the mango fruit in their compositions. mango finds a place in indian culture and history from time immmemorial. even in the aapastamba sutra,valmiki ramayana and tulsidas's ramcharitmaanas and mahabharata mango has received unequivocal praise.

there is an hindi saying that there are two things that can never be replaced.the mango of hindustan and the taj mahal.
"do woh cheejain hain,jinka nahin hain badal
hind ka aam aur tajmahal."

the glittering golden day

2009-05-02T21:23:00.000-07:00

this year akshaya tritiya was on monday 27th april.it is a very auspicious day.you don't have to see muhurtams or rahukalams.any time during this day is good time.whatever you do will be a success.akshaya means that it does not diminish. lord krishna in the mahbharata gives the famous akshaya patra to his cousins the pandavas who have no shortage of food in the forest because of lord krishna's unique gift. this is also the day when one of the avatars of lord vishnu,parashurama was born.

for the last few years i have been buying some gold on this auspicious day. on my own,i might not as i am not all that fascinated by the yellow metal.i don't wear a chain or a ring or anything in gold. gold for me is to be kept for a rainy day. with alternate investment opportunities having dried up due to the economic meltdown,i bought some gold driven more by emotion than any prudent investment decision.

kotak and icici are two banks who aggressively push the sales of gold during akshaya tritiya and deepavali. as a regular patron,i get some discount. the prices are also special to encourage potential buyers.a friend of mine tracks gold prices on a regular basis.he recommended that i buy and he also gave me a rosy forecast.some don't share his optimism.they say that as an investment it has more negatives than positives.they think it is a long term underperformer. they opine that once equity is back with a bang,gold will go on the backburner. i don't take any of these extreme views. in balance it is not a bad investment.i buy gold which is easily marketable, in the form of swiss made biscuits. i ended up the day with a big hole in my purse. the redeemimg feature was that it had found its way in a different form to my bank locker.

hona toh sona!

the zoozoos

2009-05-02T20:07:00.000-07:00

my last post was on the mumbai jijamata zoo.this one goes one step further. this post is on zoozoos. what are zoozoos? they are human beings and nothing to do with animals or birds.they look as if they have arrived from an alien planet. they are the talk of the town.brilliantly conceived by o&m marketing agency,they appear in the vodafone ads.they are fun to watch and provide comic relief.

zoozoos are not animation,but small-bodied thin women under layers of white fabric.while watching the ipl matches, i came across these ads during the commercial breaks.the lovable big-headed creatures have already a huge fan following(thirtyfive thousand) in facebook and viewed 13,000 times last week on youtube.more fans than advani and manmohan singh.the girls shriek,"they are so cute'! unlike animation looking like real,this is the opposite. real people looking animated. stick-bodied creatures with egg like heads, they are a delight to watch. like the hutch dog ads this one too is a smashing success.

trick photography makes them look smaller than they really are.facial expressions were made out of rubber and pasted on the actors.their fast movements are made intentionally to make it look comical.the voices are also fast in gibberish multiplied several times.29 different zoozoo ads have been created especially for the ipl.merchandise like keychains,t-shirts and mugs and mobilephone stands are in huge demand.look at the zoozoos and enjoy the fun.more zoozoos and less cricket.o&m have achieved a bloodless coup for vodafone..

back in the news-jijamata udyan zoo garden -mumbai

2009-04-19T01:17:00.000-07:00

established in 1861 and located at byculla and earlier known as victoria gardens,the jijamata udyan zoo popularly called rani bagh is spread over about 50 acres of land. with an imposing clocktower at the main entrance,the garden has trees some of them very old and it also has a museum called the bhau daji lad museum earlier known as albert museum which has a lot of local archaeological finds including an elephant which was brought from the elephanta caves.

the zoo which once boasted of a wide collection of wild animals like lions, tigers,elephants and bears has now been reduced to a zoo with very few rare species of animals and birds.upkeep of the animals has come under the scanner due to periodic deaths of the animals due to staff negligence. also the living conditions are appalling. the elephants are kept in small caged enclosures with their legs tied by chains.sometime back about a dozen antelopes died under suspicious circumstances.

in the last two months, i did what i hadn't done for ages. visit the zoo at byculla. thanks to my grandaughter whose school organised the trip. having viisted the zoo recently,i read with a profound sense of shock about the death of the six year old hippopotamus shakthi.we had seen the hippo family and taken some close pictures too.there are different versions of the cause of shakthi's death. while the authorities claim that he died because of respiratory failure, PETA( people for ethical treatment of animals) thinks that it could be the apathetic treatment which has caused the death. the water at the pond where the hippos are kept are not changed regularly. in fact it is downright dirty..there are five hippos in the zoo living like one happy family. the average life span of a hippo is between 35 and 40 years.there was an earlier bombay high court order in 2005 to relocate the five hippos. three were relocated but two remained. many animals in the zoo suffer from skin infection due to pathetic living conditions.in 2006 a large number of blackbucks had died.

the bmc has a rs 430 crores zoo revamp plan and exotic animals and birds are expected to be brought in.the zoo is expected to be redesigned in line with zoos abroad like in singapore.moats are planned to be constructed to create natural surroundings for the animals.the plan has already met with lot of opposition mainly for trying to concretise the lush gardens in the zoo complex. there are hundreds of beautiful rare trees and plants in the zoo which must be preserved .the flora and fauna is outstanding and a great treasure which we must maintain at all costs.

'jamavar' at leela kempinski

2009-04-05T05:29:00.000-07:00

my young niece from chennai is in mumbai on official work and stays at the company guest house at vileparle. as her 'mama', i have a role to perform. to see that she is at home in an alien city.she is very smart and surely does not need any help but i keep in touch with her so that she knows that there is someone she can turn to if required.she visited us twice,the second time with her handsome fiance.and both of them endeared themselves to all of us.

last week, i had some official work in the western suburbs and i had a high tea meeting with a customer from overseas. i realised that my niece was not staying very far off from the hotel and asked her whether she would like to join me for dinner.though she is a busy person and works quite late into the night, she readily agreed. i decided to take her to a restaurant that would be an unforgettable experience for both of us. i chose the 'jamavar' at leela near the international airport.

it was a very enjoyable evening.when i asked the steward the meaning of jamavar,he explained that it is a very special type of shawl made in kashmir.made entirely by hand it took many years to complete and hence it is very exclusive and pricey.the patterns on the shawl are done with such exquisiteness and craft that the front of the shawl cannot be distinguished from the back.taking a cue from this ancient art,leela chose to name their speciality restaurants as 'jamavar'.in every leela hotel you will surely find a 'jamavar'.

we ordered mullagatanny soup and tomato shorba with basil and panner tikka as starters.both the soups were excellent. the tikka just melted in the mouth like kebabs. the hyderabadi mirchi ka salan was delectable when we ate it with the crunchy naans and the finale was 'sliced alphonso mangoes with vanilla icecream'. the bespoke silver cutlery gave us a royal feeling. the food was excellent,the ambience great,the service though a tad slow was very warm. we just didn't know how time flew as we kept chatting all the time.it is always educative to get a young person's perspective on many subjects. which is what i did. my niece enjoyed the dinner and so did i. but i was richer with what i learnt from the younger generation.

on a mission

2009-04-04T17:27:00.000-07:00

when i first heard that a ceo from the corporate world had taken a sabbatical to fight the elections,i was quite sceptical of her chances of winning.i though that the odds would be heavily stacked against her.but when i attended a core group meeting last evening,i realised that she really has a chance and that all of us who love mumbai should solidly rally behind her.i certainly will do my best to see that she wins the elections from south mumbai.the late jai prakash narayan has left behind a deep impact on her. she is not aligned to any party(though lok satta is supporting her candidature). she is a clearheaded,articulate and charming person, passionately committed to the improvement of mumbai. what more can we ask for? she is meera sanyal.get more information on meera sanyal from her website http://www.meerahsanyal.in.

the trigger was 26/11. when that happened,it really gave momentum to her thoughts on improving mumbai city where she has lived for a major part of her life.she decided to fight in the national elections as an independent candidate.she has her own blogsite and is connected to thousands through facebook.her major priorites are a) right and better infrastructure for mumbai,b) improved public transport,c) better security(nothing concrete has been done after 26/11 and we are still unprepared for a similar attack says meera),d) affordable housing for the poor and systemic reforms through the nagar raj bill.

we need a change in our political system. you have to get into it to fight it and cleanse it.for that you need brains,energy,passion,charisma and committment.she has it all.she can win.and she must. to save mumbai and set the trend for the younger generation to devote themselves to the cause of our nation.the youth did it when gandhiji called the people to join him if they wanted independence from british rule.here meera sanyal is calling you to vote for her for a better future for all of us.she deserves our full support.for more info on meera please log on to http://www.meerahsanyal.in

ansaa

2009-04-04T08:28:00.000-07:00

this only vegetarian restaurant is a stone's throw away from mantralaya (amantralaya?) and two stones' throw away from our home.located at dalamal towers,nariman point on the ground floor it was earlier known as 'only paranthas" and now rechristened as 'ansaa', it is a modern, comfortably airconditioned, clean,with a hygienic kitchen and only vegetarian punjabi parantha speciality restaurant, right in the epicentre of mumbai. the place where the political power rests.

many times in the past i have had packed food sent home from the erstwhile 'o p' and thoroughly enjoyed the stuffed paranthas. the steward claims that they have more than hundred different varieties.could be an exaggeration but nevertheless they do have many varieties. paranthas stuffed with alu matar and pudina matar and muli gobi are a few of our favourites. accompanied by chhole,tasty piclkles and papad.7.30pm is a good time to go there because no one really has arrived by then and the entire staff is at your beck and call. the last time we visited 'ansaa' was at a peak hour. it took some time to get a place and though our orders were taken quite fast,it took ages for the food to arrive.

this time i ordered some pudina paranthas for my better half and i settled down for a punjabi thali. the black dal,the paneer gravy, the mixed vegetables and the raita were all absolutely tasty.i had a large glass of cold lassi with salt and pepper which was most welcome in the very warm mumbai that we are all currently experiencing. for rs 170 the thali was not only wholesome, it was both delicious and nutritious.

we like the place for its quiet ambience and efficiency and its very genial staff. with a large flat screen tv showing the news channel, you are also constantly updated on the national and international news.there is plenty of carparking space which makes the visit to 'ansaa' totally hassle-free. i love taking my family and friends to ansaa. everyone likes it and it is not very heavy on the pocket either.

earth hour and candle night dinner

2009-03-28T18:49:00.001-07:00

my wife is a greenie. what i mean is that she is a great believer in the new green movement. protecting the environment. saving the earth from climatic change caused by depletion of the ozone layer by our indiscriminate lifestyles resulting in degradation of the environment. so,when she asked me to observe one hour of lights out last night in response to a global call to highlight climate change,i readily agreed.

the timing was 8.45pm to 9.45pm.after all,i was also looking forward to a quiet candle light dinner free from burning lights and the sound of music and the glare of tv.i must say,i enjoyed the delicious food that our rajasthani maharaj had prepared.when you are just the two of you and there is darkness around,you feel a sense of tranquility and security with each other. then we retired to the living room and chatted up till it was time to put on the lights again.we discussed many issues which we tend to postpone to another day in our anxiety to keep up with the rat race.it was back to harsh reality once again.

but that escape for an hour soothened my nerves. and i presume that it did the same to hers as well.a small action like this one gives you a feeling of having contributed to a very critical cause and it makes life more interesting and meaningful.i only hope that policymakers throughout the world make 'saving the planet',their topmost priority.

the 'new market'

2009-03-27T18:37:00.000-07:00

not very uncommon in kolkata.suddenly you find lot of smoke bellowing out in the landscape.you hear the sound of fire engines rushing to the spot and coming to a screeching halt.to put down a fire caused by some careless and irresponsible individual or greedy shopkeepers who do not follow basic safety precautions.the new market fire,the burra bazar fire,the haldiram fire(s) and yet another new market fire.the list goes on.

on wednesday 25th afternoon,i had landed in kolkata and drove down to my office at shakespeare sarani.a couple of hours later,i learnt that there was a fire in the new market.luckily it was put off before much damage could have been caused.the new market in its old avatar was badly gutted in december 1985,111 years after its beginning.the new market in its new avatar maintains the old british charm. the indian contribution to this classic marketplace is the country's first automated underground parking bay, inaugurated in april 2007.

the prize preserve of calcutta's british citizens and a contemporary of mumbai's crawford market,it was inaugurated on 1st january 1874 and named after sir stuart hogg who was the then calcutta corporation chairman.fondly referred to by the locals as 'hogg sahaber bajjar"(the market of hogg saheb),the architecture of the market done in gothic style is impressive.

as a youngster who grew up in kolkata,i have fond memories of this market which i used to visit so often with my mother.also pre divali it was a must to buy all the new clothing for the entire household. though a strict vegetarian,i remember having bought in the early hours of the morning fresh chingdi maach(favourite prawns for bengalis) for my bong boss at bangalore when i was working there some twenty five years ago.i carried it all the way to mumbai,kept it ovenight in my neighbour's fridge and carried it next morning to bangalore.to what extent do some of us go to please our bosses! he is no more but i am sure he appreciated the effort.so much so that he invited us to a party very soon thereafter and unknowingly i enjoyed the maacher jhal!

the underground car park which is 30 feet below the ground level is supposed to be an engineering marvel.it has a shopping mall at minus one level and a gantry system car parking at minus two level.the project engineers claim that it takes only 90 seconds to recover your car.my driver is not too enthused though.he claims it is a bit of a mess out there.to put my doubts to rest,i must try it out and convince myself whether the claims are true or not.