Lalu Prasad Yadav - Birsa Munda Jail Inmate

You can love Lalu, you can hate him - but you cannot ignore him.

For those who don't or cant delve deep into the murky world of Bihar politics, Lalu was a fascinating figure. The ultimate kingmaker.

Many in the nation held an aversion to Lalu during the scam days, his belligerent ways, his "I am above all laws in Bihar" attitude - and similarly many more had more or less replaced those images of him with those of a "successful minister", a kindly outspoken avuncular person, someone who understood the grassroots, family values. Especially when it became known he was not becoming the PM in the near future.

Lalu playing holi in dhoti, Lalu cooking for his family, Lalu in HBR and Lalu spouting truly secular values somehow managed to outweigh in the public's mind the very audacity and volume of the fodder scam. Of course in recent times the audacity of the multi thousand crore mining and 2G scams have somehow dwarfed the few crores Lalu apparently pocketed. But Lalu can be said to be the original Godfather who didnt care about how far and how deep he looted the nation without remorse or shame. A fact which he tried to mute later with a change of image and an able bureaucratic backup.


As the shutters come down on the fifteen year old fodder scam - we the hoi polloi wonder - will we see more justice and get better deliverence from the rabid politicians who rule us? It took a revengeful Deve Gowda who wanted to squash his king maker to ensure CBI registered the scam. So will this very system of unholy democracy ensure the politicians biting each other and giving each other up - to ensure deliverance for the common people? Maybe this venal politics will serve a better purpose than a squib of a jan lokpal bill! Again that means - a different party has to come to power every few years to trip up the corrupt in the previous regime.

Anything...to help us poor countrymen.

Even though Lalu is still the most fascinating and loved of all.

A Healthy Run - That Was Not Healthy!

A 5 km run is just going to be a stroll in the park, right?

Wrong. If it has been organised by Apollo Hospital, if the runners are made to wait for an hour after the schedule of the run for the numerous guests, chief guests to stroll in, if there is no line marking the starting area - that the DJ co-ordinating the run has to shout herself hoarse, threaten, cajole, plead to get the runners into a supposed starting line which had already been changed twice, if there is absolutely no water along the way, if... the list goes on.

I am talking about the Run for a Healthy heart Run organised by Apollo Hospital Bhubaneswar on 29th September to mark a Healthy Heart day.  If "organised" is a word that can be used for the event.

The saddest part was there were many young children and older people who had come with such enthusiasm. It was touted as an everyman run. But apparently they forgot to provide water. I completed the near 5 km distance in 35 minutes, my son in 30 minutes - and if as claimed by the organisers the water was finished on the way - was it only provided for the professional athletes? For God's sake - we are not talking about fancy stuff that runners need - just water.

It was okay for me - but what about the 1000 odd casual people who had strolled in for such a run seeing the delightful ads? How can dehydration help a heart? Or did Apollo spend all the money for the event on the ads?

I guess it is a mistake being lured into such events by the general noise.

The only heartening thing about the run was the participation and general discipline and enthusiasm of the runners - despite everything.

And of course it didnt rain!

Weight Loss - Working Tricks and Tips - FREE

Let me be clear. Running one marathon doesnt ensure weight loss (other than temporarily). Weight Loss is a function of just one thing...well two actually.

• Proper diet
• Consistent exercise

Nothing earthbreaking about it - is it?

Proper diet could be a 1600 cal diet per day. If one is above 70 kgs and leads a moderately active life, the body expends near about 1800 - 2000 calories. So following a 1600 calories diet per day regularly should ensure that one loses weight.

Another factor that I have discovered that ensures weight loss is consistent exercise. I have discovered (yes it is a discovery because otherwise there wont be so many health fads) that people who regularly walk in the park while chatting are healthy and lose weight eventually. I include chatting because that gives the right impetus to walk. And consistent walking for one hour daily ensures weight loss.

The above is versus people who go on sporadic diets, take on gym membership and go may once a week for some hardcore training and change and follow various fitness fads. Result - for every kg of weight loss they put on weight.

Another thing going for the walk in the park is that it is an activity that can be done daily right onto old age or the eighties. It will be very difficult to walk on the incline or run backwards on a treadmill during the sixties unless one is abysmally fit.

A Simple Diet Plan

WHAT is a proper diet? A proper diet means eating a good breakfast, a regular everyday lunch with colours, less oil with loads of vegetable and a gluten free dinner before 8 in the evening. Simple, right?

A 1600 calorie diet  could be divided up into four 400 cals diets in a day. Or it could be measured        (1600 * 7) in a week. If you decide to fast on a single day or just take maybe 400-500 one day of the week - you can have a bit of fun other days!

So if you have like me tried all weight loss tricks and your weight goes up and down like a yoyo, you are well into your forties - STOP EXPERIMENTING and just take a stroll in the park.