Posts

Showing posts from 2008

Is There Plastic In Kurkure?

Is there plastic in kurkure? Kurkure is a highly popular Indian snack liked by young and old alike. In fact its got a pretty heavily devoted following amongst the children. Its a Pepsico product. Lately there has been an email circulating that there is plastic in kurkure and if you burn kurkure you can see the plastic melting. For mothers with an addicted brood of kurkure eaters and followers thats tough news (or welcome news, if thats your cue to start the kurkure de-addiction process, whichever way you tend to look into it). Kurkure of course has responded with an ad "No Plastic in Kurkure," which means the allegation has found a response amongst kurkure users and maybe also has affected sales. We have known for long that Pepsi and Coca Cola and maybe other MNCs take the lives of Indians lightly and dont really follow the same stringent rules they follow in Europe, USA and Australia when they manufacture their products here. There are enough loopholes in our processes to en...

Barack The Magic Negro

Here is the "Barack The Magic Negro" song from youtube. The song was first aired at a Rush Limbaugh talk show in 2007. A Republican Party major operative and a Republican National Committee member, Chip Saltsman, has distributed the song in a CD to colleagues in what is being described as a "joke". The song is to the tune of a song "Puff the Magic Dragon".

Dostana Hindi Movie Review

Main gay hoon, Main gay nahin hun, Main gay hun kya? Kya tum gay ho? This sums up the story of Dostana – a story of two young men over confused about their sexuality. Well the plot is thin – So thin in fact it loses itself many a times in the tangle of legs and hormones - of Priyanka Cho. and John Abe. And the cute one day stubble of Abe babe. What was Bobby Deol doing with those three? The Deol Baba was such a let-down. I was really thankful to Bobby for providing some relief in Jhoom Barabar Jhoom (The worst ever movie I have ever watched) – I guess the Director too thought of Bobby’s role in a similar way – to provide plenty of back-up to the Bachchan Baba. But here’s news for you – Abhisekh Bachchan was outstanding – Bobby Deol was a dead bore. Dostana really has brought the term gay out of the closet, in India amongst the masses. There are some thoughts that the movie would throw the fragile gay rights movement in this country decades behind. I tend to disagree – bringing such a t...

Santa Claus Story

Here is the Santa Claus story. A story made by poems, love, hope, benevolence and moreover a story which has possibly brought smiles and cheers to more children than anything else combined. St. Nicholas lived in what is South of Turkey now. He was a benevolent cleric, a patron of the poor, with some noble deeds which made him a "Saint" in the eyes of the common people. He even withstood Roman persecution as did many clerics of those times. However nothing would have prepared even him to be the Santa Claus of today, driving his sleigh loaded with gifts!!! The elvish twinkle eyed and twinkle toed Santa with his "Ho Ho Ho" can truly be attributed to cinema, literature, folklore and largely a poem by Clement Clark Moore "Twas The Night Before Christmas" . In the poem "Twas The Night Before Christmas", Clement Clark Moore first gave the names to the reindeers which drove Santa's Sleigh and made an image of a twinkle-eyed, pot bellied jovial gift g...

How To Make Pasta

I guess how I made Pasta would be a more appropriate title for this post! Anyways, here it goes... I was having a small get-together, a kind of mini kitty party a few days back and I decided to make pasta (with sauce and all of course). For some unknown reason (after all I had never tried to make pasta before), I decided it was the easiest thing to prepare. So, I went about shopping the evening before. Ingredients I picked up the best-looking packet of macaroni, a can of baked beans, a tinned mushroom, a tin of tomato puree. Then I looked at the cheese available and found just the right thing, a packet of grated cheese. See, I had done my research on the net. I had found a dozen recipe of pasta. Its another matter that none of them advised putting all these stuff together. I also picked up bottles of garlic salt and white pepper. Just as I was leaving, I was suddenly assailed by doubts (a rare thing, but there…) I got a packet of noodles and some perfectly cut frozen vegetables as well...

Weight Loss Through Wuyi Tea - A Magic Diet!

Is Wuyi tea truly a magic diet weight loss formula? Looking for slimming plans (as I usually do at least once a month :-) I came across what is being claimed as a magic weight loss plan, the Wu Yi diet tea. The plan is simple. Just two cups of Wuyi tea a day, 30 minutes of walking, normal balanced diet. What exactly is Wuyi tea? It’s the tea grown in the volcanic Wuyi mountain region. Wuyi Mountain is located in Southeast China. It is a Unesco heritage site and the cradle of neoconfucianism. The setting of Wuyi mountains, the nutrient rich trapped soil, the high humidity and provide the perfect environment for tea from that region. Tea from the Wuyi Mountains is being exported for centuries. The Chinese take their tea seriously. Drinking tea is almost a spiritual act. The tea is savoured and taken in small clay thimbles with both hands in the traditional Chinese way. The ancient Chinese believed this tea to be a cure for many ailments. The most famous Wuyi Tea, Da Hong Pao is grown in ...

Weight Loss Through Wuyi Tea - A Magic Diet!

Is Wuyi tea truly a magic diet weight loss formula? Looking for slimming plans (as I usually do at least once a month :-) I came across what is being claimed as a magic weight loss plan, the Wu Yi diet tea. The plan is simple. Just two cups of Wuyi tea a day, 30 minutes of walking, normal balanced diet. What exactly is Wuyi tea? It’s the tea grown in the volcanic Wuyi mountain region. Wuyi Mountain is located in Southeast China. It is a Unesco heritage site and the cradle of neoconfucianism. The setting of Wuyi mountains, the nutrient rich trapped soil, the high humidity and provide the perfect environment for tea from that region. Tea from the Wuyi Mountains is being exported for centuries. The Chinese take their tea seriously. Drinking tea is almost a spiritual act. The tea is savoured and taken in small clay thimbles with both hands in the traditional Chinese way. The ancient Chinese believed this tea to be a cure for many ailments. The most famous Wuyi Tea, Da Hong Pao is grown in ...

Play Escape The Hotel Online

Here is a free online game Escape The Hotel. Play Escape the Hotel online and Enjoy! Play Games at AddictingGames

Mumbai Terror Attacks - Why And How and Its Effect

How devastating is the Mumbai Terror Attack to the Indian psyche? Mumbai terror attack is the culmination of a long year of terrorist strikes in India. Terrorists have struck at will from Bangalore to Jaipur to Guwahati, in fact all corners of India. Given the resilience of the Indian people, it has devastated some but the majority of Indian people have gone on with life as before. The Mumbai terror attack is different. Terror has struck at the soft underbelly of the Indian landscape – the moneyed, the powerful. A bank’s chairman captured and killed, the Hotel’s GM’s family murdered. A newspaper editor still missing. These are killings the press will remember. If the Press will remember, the country will remember. And with elections approaching – The Govt. will have to do something about it. The terrorists however have been kinder to their Muslim brethren in this country. I dread the type of retaliation that would have been fuelled and abetted by the ultra right politicians, if the ter...

Play Mario Online - Mario Widget

Here's a nice little Mario Game anyone will love! Get the Mario Time Trial widget and many other great free widgets at Widgetbox !

Ten Toys We CAn Make - Home Made Toys We Have Forgotten!

As I look at the toys being advertised, the shops being crowded, the rush for popular toys, I am reminded of the toys we had when we were younger. Toys were so simple then. Do children really play with all the toys they wish for? Why do they mess around with glue, clay and colours when the latest gizmo occupies pride of place on their table? Isn't it just part guilt, part affection, part "keeping up with the Joneses" that make us give them the latest and the best, year after year. How would you and by transference the child feel should a $100 Toy break in a day? Children love simple stuff. However they are hardly exposed to simple joys these days! I am listing here some toys every child will love. You would enjoy making them, getting your hands dirty or getting them from the store. They are replaceable but most of all they are FUN. Kids from 2-7 years will enjoy them. And sadly most of them have been forgotten. A Wireless Set - Just a piece of string with cardboard board...

Anil Kumble - India's Greatest Cricketer

The retirement of Jumbo comes as a shock to me (well not really, considering the way he has been hounded the past month). And my admiration for the man goes up by one more notch. Here's why. He is the captain of the team, in the midst of a winning series against the World's No. 1 team. The next team India would play is England at home. Tailor made for Anil Kumble, right? Jumbo doesn't think so. Without any dramatics, long farewells, emotional press conferences, he just says - thats it. That's Anil Kumble for you. That's Jumbo - a man with a jumbo sized heart and humility and very little ego or drama. He didnt play well, he quit since he wasn't getting any younger at 38. But he doesnt lack in emotion, he just doesn't care to wear it on the field. Look at the venue, where he decides to announce his retirement. Feroze Shah Kotla - the venue where he has taken 10 wickets in an innings. Many may not agree with me here, but I would rate Jumbo among the Top 5 bowle...

My Grandparent's House - A Ghost Story

(This is purely a work of fiction - any resemblance to any story, place or person is maybe intentional, maybe not!) This incident happened to my father’s friend, Chandu Da. He had been to our ancestral home at Puri, a popular destination for Bengalis. Father had suggested he stay at our empty place during his trip there. The house had been occupied by my uncle (father’s cousin) until his death, recently. My father, his four brothers and their family always went there on holidays and special occasions like Rath-Yatra. Let me just describe the house. Its on the outskirts of Puri. Having been built some centuries ago, it stood, a grand house amidst a huge coconut grove . It must have been the only property of its kind in the locality not having fallen prey to real-estate developers. The caretaker stayed with his family in a small out-house. The house itself was built traditionally with rooms around a central courtyard and an encircling verandah. My uncle’s room was the one occupying the c...

Barack Obama Will Be 44th USA President - Here Is His Victory Speech

Obama has won the Presidential Elections to be the 44th President of USA, the first Black President, after a gruelling two year campaign where he first fought a hard bitter battle to beat Hilary Clinton to the Democratic Party nomination. Starting as an outsider (he was initially almost 30 percentage points behind Clinton in polls), he fought a hard, steady often acrimonious battle to wrestle the Democratic Party nomination against the powerful Clintons. Then followed a battle against McCain which he won with a better grass root level mobilisation of workers, efficient and often record breaking fund raising helped by a general disillusion of President Bush's policies and a staggering economy. In the final months of the race, McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as VP seemed to have helped him too. The victory speech of Obama has been like his campaign - gracious, with a moderate tone and inclusive. Hats off to America "where all things are possible!" Here's the link to ...

Sarah Palin Rap Video And Lyrics

Here is the Palin Rap Video in SNL, It is enjoyable and has become a massive hit too! Amy Poehler rapped while Palin looked on and enjoyed the show. Here is Palin Rap lyrics too. one two three my name is sarah palin you all know me vice president nominee of the gop gonna need your vote in the next election can i get a ‘what what’ from the senior section mccain got experience, mccain got style but don’t let him freak you out when he tries to smile cause that smile be creepy but when i be vp all the leaders in the world gonna finally meet me how’s it go eskimo eskimos tell me what you know eskimo eskimos how you feel eskimo ice cold tell me tell me what you feel eskimo super cold i’m jeremiah wright cause tonight i’m the preacher i got a bookish look and you’re all hot for teacher todd lookin fine on his snow machine so hot boy gonna need a go between in wasilla we just chill baby chilla but when i see oil lets drill baby drill my country tis of thee from my porch i can see russia and su...

Play Sudoku Online

Many of you out there would be Sudoku addicts. In fact before i took to online writing, I too was a keen sudoku player. Sudoku originated from US but the version that we are all familiar with came, recycled, from Japan (hey, I didnt know that, wikepedia says so). Sudoku's a way to place just 9 numbers (from 1-9) on a 9X9 square grid. Sounds easy, doesnt it? But the hitch lies here, you can have only one solution, you cannot repeat a number in a horizontal line, vertical line on in a square! Not so easy, you see. Why should you play sudoku? I played it when I was pregnant and had left my job and didnt have anything to do...You cant get pregnant but well you may have a lot of time to waste:-) I also played it because I never have been able to solve a crossword in a morning paper, and this was the first crossword like stuff that I could actually manage to finish! I also played it because it was about numbers and it made me feel good solving them (believe me the solution has nothing to...

A Musical Tribute To Asha Bhosle - 75 Years

Asha Bhosle completed 75 years on 8th September. She first recorded a song in 1943, 65 years back. What a journey it has been since then for this grand lady of Indian music! Still lends her voice to actors young enough be her grand daughters! Here’s a musical tribute to Asha Bhosle. Nanhe Munne Bacche Teri from the movie Boot Polish (1954) was one of her earliest songs as she made the transition from B-Grade movies playback to the top directors. Raj Kapoor gave her the break here. Uden Jab jab Zulfein from Naya Daur (1957). Naya Daur was Asha's first break which vaulted her to stardom. The pair of Asha-Nayyar went on to create tremendous music later and were also involved emotionally. BR Chopra was the producer of the movie. Her partnership with Pancham da was legendary and lasted till RD Burman's death. Asha discovered herself many times over with RD Burman's compositions. She became well known as the voice of Helen with Piya tu... She did songs ranging from the racy Carav...

Nothing's Gonna Change My Love for You

If I had to live my life without you near me The days would all be empty The nights would seem so long With you I see forever oh so clearly I might have been in love before But it never felt this strong How many youthful love ballads have commenced here! This beautiful melody originally written by Gerry Goffin and Michael Masser and sung by George Benson, was given a whole new makeover by Glenn Mederios. Its the original love song, sung for the truly wholesome first love. Tell me, which young lover wouldnt have presented a recording of this song to his lover, fifteen years back! Mederios, a Hawaaian singer, recorded this at sixteen. It went to the States and became extremely popular just by word of mouth, no extensive trailer release, no pre release hype! It has even been used by the US Army at one point! Here's a video of this song and the complete lyrics If I had to live my life without you near me The days would all be empty The nights would seem so long With you I see forever ...

Mummy Woes

I have recently shifted to a new place leaving behind the comfort of my home state, Mom, Dad, in-laws, aunts, uncles, etc, etc. You get the drift. With all the attendant heartache (or relief!), I have also left behind the comfort of a domestic help. It’s a novel experience for me caring for my children all alone and all day. Before this, I always had people to cook and care for the child. So much for the advantages of working out! Working seems so very simple compared to this! You just need to take care of the target and the rest falls into place. Like a fat cheque at the end of the month! You come home at 8 in the evening, cuddle the child, before handing him over to be fed. In the meantime you catch the news and then some cartoon with the toddler. Now look where I am. It seems my entire life is just planning the next meal and then ensuring that that meal goes where it's intended and not into the dustbin! Just when breakfast is over, lunch needs to be cooked. After running around ...

How To Clean Your PC

PC users these days start off with the internet unlike in ancient times when PCs were mostly standalone. However with constant use of the Web a lot of junk files tend to get accumulated in the PC and unless cleaned regularly, they really slow down the system. Here are some basic maintainence steps that have worked very well for me in the last decade for my PC/laptop. You can try them before calling in the experts. The steps are for Windows users Clean Temporary Internet Files Go to Internet Explorer/Tools/Internet Options At Temporary Internet Files Delete Cookies and delete temp. internet files Reduce the No. of Days to keep in History to 3. The default option is 20 Clean Temporary Files Go to Run at the Start Menu Type %temp% and click ok Select all the temporary files that appear and send to Recycle Bin Empty the Recycle Bin Empty the recycle bin at periodic intervals as it tends to slow up the PC. Here's another way to clean those temporary internet files and the recycle bin. U...

Indian Ads and Symbols Review | 5 Classic Indian Ads

Here's a review of five classic Indian Ads and their enduring symbols that we have grown up with. Of course others may qualify too, but these 5 are still going strong and continue with their original theme since colour television made an appearance in India in the early eighties. I have chosen these symbols also for the impact they have made on their product as also the attention they have generated. Surf and Lalita Ji One of the earliest classic advertisements, it showcased the middle income Indian housewife’s frugality and as well as her no nonsense attitude, principles and her continuous striving to get the best VFM. All these in a remarkably well made 60 sec spot! It even spawned a TV serial Rajni as well as made Kavita Chowdhury playing Lalita ji famous. She later starred in a successful TV serial Udaan. Tagline - Surf Ki Kharidari Main Hi Samajhdari Hai! Onida Devil Who doesn’t remember “Neighbour’s envy, Owners pride”? The Onida devil became a symbol of ownership and onus ...

How To Get Rid Of The Insurance Agent!

The Insurance Industry promises many things. All those delightful, costly, lengthy insurance commercials promise you the best of education, terrific pensions that takes care of the world tour, lovely sea-front mansions, huge cars, etc etc. And they all make you believe just taking an insurance would get you those! You know where the money for all these ads come from? Of course your auto insurance quote, your life insurance quote and all the terrific insurance quotes you get and the many policies you have taken! Know what, you may not really need more insurance (i mean risk coverage by that, not investments, though insurance companies tend to mix both and absolutely misconfuddle you!). But would your agent take that. No. You will be convinced and then convinced some more that you absolutely need that policy. So how do you get rid of these pesky perseverent species? Here are some surefire ways to keep them away. - Tell them you are at the hospital, and could they please come over with th...

Marriage Anniversary Gifts

Wedding anniversary gifts started with the idea of putting a value on each year of marriage completed. So if it is a challenge for you to come up with a wedding anniversary gift every year, the work is already cut out for you by tradition! What's really interesting is that there is a specific gift associated with each marriage anniversary. While each of us know the traditional anniversaries, silver, golden, diamond, etc, each of these commodity is actually the gift that the man bestows on his wife. A silver garland for 25 years, a gold ornament for 50 years is the idea. At the lower end of the wedding spectrum, one year of marriage deserves a gift of paper and five years qualifies for wood. Its older the better, like wine! Traditional wedding anniversaries gifting started in Central Europe anound mid 19th century. There was a specific gift associated upto fifth anniversary and then every five years. The American National Retail Jeweller Association in all its smartness issued a...

Socially Responsible Mutual Funds

Socially Responsible, "Green" Mutual Funds or simply "Do Good" Mutual Funds seem to have caught the popular imagination. With everyone from Al Gore to top companies "doing good" to save the World, Md. Yunus winning the nobel prize for his work in micro-credit, being ""socially reponsible" while catering to investment needs has gone mainstream. While previously preferred only by a few, they have entered the social consciousness of an average investor. So what is a "socially responsible" fund? In a nutshell, its a scheme of a mutual fund that invests only in companies based on their social ethics, the environment policies followed by them, their corporate governance and business ethics. These schemes are researched and rated on the above basis and then their balance sheet and market performance is taken into account. Maybe the investor will get 5% or so lower return than the best diversified fund but the satisfaction will be there t...

What Is A Gormagon?

A Gormagon according to Francis Grose is a six eyed monster with three mouths, four arms, eight legs, five on one side and three on the other. Does it remind you of any one? ...just remove the word monster...then with six eyes, four arms, eight legs....what does Indian mythology have? Indian mythology is full of such Gormagons...Only one of them has been likened to a monster (Ravana)...but he too was a "bidwan" (highly educated) and a Super King. Most Gormagons in Hindu mythology have been Gods. Ravana had 10 heads and twenty arms (5 parasitic twins???) No wonder he could think ten times better and was revered and feared in equal measure. And who conquered him? Rama, the lord with ten avataars... who originally is the four armed Vishnu! The for arms holding the "sankha" (conch), chakra (a revolving wheel made to measure), gada (mace), padma (lotus). Then there is the three headed Brahma too (with six eyes)...and Durga with ten hands and three eyes. Shiva as Natraj h...

Pattaya - The Place To Be!

Pattaya is the original "city of sin" though the Thai Govt. is trying hard to conceal the fact behind crocodile parks, elephant villages, coral islands and Ripleys museums! I mean in which other city would you find "working girls" openly accosting and soliciting single males at every roadside, beach side stall, pub, beach chairs, benches! The most amazing thing about Thailand holidays and Pattaya hotels is how they have made tourism work so efficiently with minimal knowledge of English! I just returned from a few days trip to Thailand, and Pattaya obviously was part of the itinerary. Every travel agent during holidays in Thailand suggests Pattaya because its cheap, it has the sea and it has attractions of such exotic and erotic variety. The trip to Pattaya was an eye opener to say the least. One couldn't help but enjoy the unprohibited show and the accompanying joie de vivre! Go-go bars on the street with open entrances (you can watch those svelte pole dance...

The Ideal Diet!

This article's not for you if are serious about losing weight! This is for all out there like me who know all about the weight loss diets, who find out all they can about losing weight, low carb diets, check out all diet programs, participate in all diet plans, with absolutely no hope or intention to minimize those pounds! For us its not really extra weight, its "the ideal weight!" I am going to talk about what people are looking for in a diet...not what they really need to lose those ungainly bulges! These two things are as different as apples and oranges as you will see! What you really need - a strict diet! have a look a the flat belly diet and all the other diet plans out there... - a strict diet- no impulse icecream, pastries, patties, burgers, lards, fried chicken, fried anything, restaurant food, creams, mid morning, mid evening, mid day snacks - a strict diet - refuse that extra drink, dessert at your friend's... you might have noticed those trimmed figures al...

The Ideal Diet!

This article's not for you if are serious about losing weight! This is for all out there like me who know all about the weight loss diets, who find out all they can about losing weight, low carb diets, check out all diet programs, participate in all diet plans, with absolutely no hope or intention to minimize those pounds! For us its not really extra weight, its "the ideal weight!" I am going to talk about what people are looking for in a diet...not what they really need to lose those ungainly bulges! These two things are as different as apples and oranges as you will see! What you really need - a strict diet! have a look a the flat belly diet and all the other diet plans out there - a strict diet- no impulse icecream, pastries, patties, burgers, lards, fried chicken, fried anything, restaurant food, creams, mid morning, mid evening, mid day snacks - a strict diet - refuse that extra drink, dessert at your friend's... you might have noticed those trimmed figures...

Race - Hindi Movie Review

I dont really watch too many movies, but when i do I like to share my feelings about the movie! Here's my review of Race, a recent Hindi movie. hether you like it or not, I am going to subject you to a few more movie reviews after this! Infact i am giving a link where you can watch the movie - free! Race the movie is aptly named. Do you remember "Naqab" by Abbas Mustan? How the plots and subplots and the twist in the tail had you gripping the edge of the seat throughout the movie. Well Race doesnt have Abbas Mustan favourite Bobby Deol, but it has a more than capable Saif Ali Khan. And of course Akshaye Khanna has to be there! He excels himself in movies of this genre. But having seen him in all these similar kinds of Abbas Mustan thrillers, I feel he should start experimenting. Saif (Ranvir) and Akshaye (Rajiv) are brothers. Saif runs a stud farm (the biggest and best in Durban) and Akshaye drinks and makes merry. Saif is the over-achiever, a Richard Branson like charact...

Mutual Funds And SIPs - Basics

You dont need to have a lot of money to start investing. Thats a pretty erronous belief. The answer I often come across on investment queries is "I dont have money" to invest. This answer often is the start of your investment needs. You dont have money - so you need to make whatever you have work. Take for example you save Rs 100 every month. That makes it 1200 every year. Lets say, you are putting it in an instrument/bank/deposit that gives 5% annually. At the end of 5 years you are getting something like Rs 6830. Suppose there was an instrument that gave you 15%? You know the amount you will make? Rs 8970! A cool disposable income of Rs 2000!!! The next question is - who will give that kind of money/return. Mutual Funds, well researched stocks have given that kind of return and more. Do you know that markets in Brazil, India, China have given returns in excess of 40% (conservative) in the last year. And its not a single year episode. These kind of returns have been seen for...

Word Of The Day - Horology

Horology is the science of study of clocks and watches. This study has a fascination for many people (who isnt fascinated by watches?). At the turn of the nineteenth century during the "industrial revolution", when many of the things we take for granted like electricity, mechanical transportation, flying, telecommnunication to name a few, evolved enough to be useful, horology was a study pursued by many for its intricacy and relevance. Now i guess its left to the watchmakers to work it out and that too with more relevance on design than time-keeping!

The Writing Experience

Why does one Write? Is it just to Make Money? Can everyone write a Book? Creative writing is a uniquely selfish process. The writer gives her heart and soul into those few written words and the involved author doesnt really look at the sentiments of the audience! Writing is a cathartic process. Very few genuine writers do it for money, at least to begin with. An authentic work of art can never be produced if economic gains were the only motivation. So we have wannabe writers churning out reams of words...How many of them are ultimately successful? But everyone lives for a masterpiece, that one product where the world will realise the true value of the writer. Where will anyone who wants to write, start from? There is, I believe, a writer in every one of us (maybe not an editor, though!), for doesn't each of us see the world uniquely? To start writing one just needs to follow these basic principles W - Write whatever one feels...just jot it down. R - Read everything...anything inter...

Easy Tea And Coffee Recipe

Being a tea and/or coffee addict, I have learnt to experiment a lot with these two beverages. While my south Indian friends have taught me the best way to make coffee (both filter and instant), i have also had ample opportunity to taste the strong masala north Indian tea, just right for a heavy winter morning. And then there's the Bengali Tea. The flavour just kisses your palate and you are left wishing it would linger all day with you..and for many cups more. I thought I will just share my way of making tea...which I have 12-15 times a day! How to Make Indian Tea A bit more than 3/4 cups water - Bring to Boil in a saucepan A bit less than 1/4 cups milk - add and bring to further boil. Add sugar to taste. Add Tea Granules (1 to 1-1/2 tsp depending on the size of your cup) after water and milk has boiled properly. Bring to boil twice (dont boil too much, just enough for the granules to mix in with the liquid). Switch off the stove. Add One spoon green leaf Darjeeling Tea. Cover and ...

I Am An Online Games Addict

I am an online games addict. Free online games, Card Games, especially Spades, are my favorites. Yahoo Games website is the most incredible online gaming site I have come across. My earliest introduction to the internet was of course through Hotmail. It was amazing to be able to send a message across the seven seas in a few seconds and get a reply too, esp. when phone calls were so damn expensive. Then I happened to stumble upon Yahoo. And as there was not really much to do at college other than studying (in a residential b-school being the only married person in class, keeps you kind of lonely) I came across online games. Yahoo Games then was not the hyper cool version it is now. And there were not really many people online. I started with Literatti (as that was the least hedonistic way of wasting time!) and made some of my closest friends online at Yahoo Games. After I left college I was busy for a couple of years. Then I had to leave my job. That was the time I really became a Yahoo...

Easter Bunny

Easter Bunny and Other Easter Words I never realized there would be so many Easter Words in our vocabulary. While one can go on an Easter Parade on Easter Sunday obviously wearing an Easter Bonnet (Irving Berlin's song "Easter Parade," written in 1933), its more common to wear an easter hat to church on Easter Sunday again. Easter actually is associated with spring and rabbits are the symbol of spring, of abundance, gaiety and fertility too. So do you wonder where Easter Bunny comes from? But one has to wonder how this bunny, a mammal, can lay those multicoloured Easter Eggs! The easter egg has many significance, which maybe the little kids striving to make the best one, wouldn't be aware of. The biggest significance is that it's a sign of immortality and fertility. It signifies the beginning of life too, for its supposed to be a symbol of re-emergence of Jesus from his tomb. The biggest significance of Easter is that it falls in spring. Its the time most spring f...

How To Attract Women With Your Online Dating Profile!

What Women Look For In Online Dating Sites! If you are a serious player in the online dating space you better watch out! Women are growing more discering with a proliferation of these sites and can smell a scam well from a distance (at least the net savvy ones can!) Here's what you should do to attract the right kind of attention Profile Picture Women get turned off by the obvious fake photos. Put something of yours that is recent. You can put on a cap or maybe the glares, in case you feel you are ordinary looking. But never don both. And if you are balding, then shave it all off and pose! That will be just sooo cool. Remember a good profile picture will be ninety percent of the job done. The comments and your views come much much later. Education Emphasis your education, always. If you are from a top college dont hesitate to mention it. Girls dont mind nerds irrespective of what you may have heard. maybe you can mention the freelance project you did while at college that got a pat...

An Oasis In Sahara

The year was 1985. US had just carried out air strikes in Tripoli, the capital of Libya. Gaddafi had survived but there were rumours that one of his infant child had been killed. Gaddafi moved from one tent house to another in the desert in the dead of the night. It was the time we had to go to Libya. My father was a surgeon in one of the provices there. The southern province, the capital of which is Sebha, is deep in the Libyan desert. Sebha is an Oasis. The first view of Sebha from the aeroplane is something that has remained etched in my memory till date. An oasis of green in the midst of miles and miles of desert. I remember getting the impression that if the desert so decided, it could engulf the small city in one massive gust of sandy swirl. The city was encircled by rings of date palms which kept out the desert. But more surprises were in store for us when we landed. Nothing had prepared me for the sheer modern-ness of the city. Clean wide expressways, with scores of new cars of...

An Oasis In Sahara

The year was 1985. US had just carried out air strikes in Tripoli, the capital of Libya. Gaddafi had survived but there were rumours that one of his infant child had been killed. Gaddafi moved from one tent house to another in the desert in the dead of the night. It was the time we had to go to Libya. My father was a surgeon in one of the provices there. The southern province, the capital of which is Sebha, is deep in the Libyan desert. Sebha is an Oasis. The first view of Sebha from the aeroplane is something that has remained etched in my memory till date. An oasis of green in the midst of miles and miles of desert. I remember getting the impression that if the desert so decided, it could engulf the small city in one massive gust of sandy swirl. The city was encircled by rings of date palms which kept out the desert. But more surprises were in store for us when we landed. Nothing had prepared me for the sheer modern-ness of the city. Clean wide expressways, with scores of new cars of...