No Rules Apply

http://www.hindu.com/lr/2005/12/04/stories/2005120400110200.htm

We will know who the winner is tomorrow. A month since I cast my vote. I was chastised for my choice of parliamentary candidate by the younger one. She was voting for the first time. They ( the party she voted for ) had a good track record, she said . She had a valid point there. I guess it is time to let the youth decide. They seem wiser ....

However, it is time some new amendments are brought in to apply for those who contest the elections.

Sukumar Ranganathan in The Mint writes that there seem to be rules for the ordinary citizen almost from the time one begins schooling. For instance , minimum attendance is compulsory whether one is a student or an employee, falling short of attendance can debar a student from writing the examination or result in a loss of a job. Educational institutions, work places all require you to stick to expected norms of behaviour. And disciplinary action is taken against an errant child or a misbehaving employee. And expulsion in extreme cases is observed. Educational /Professional qualification is absolute for a job. Retirement age is applicable for most employees. And under normal circumstances one is not allowed to pursue more than one degree at a time, and hold only a single job .

All this applies to most of us. With the exception of the Indian politician.

Consider this ..... no educational qualification is required. Criminal record is overlooked. Our elected members do not even attend the sessions of parliament, while some of them only put in a 'guest appearance'. Some have not raised a single question in the House. They are more concerned about the success of their 'other' professions. Ministers are given portfolios more to please the allies than jobs that suit their qualifications. And retirement age? The older the merrier. It can only happen in Indian Politics.

Though the poll figures have not shown a marked increase in those who exercised their franchise, I do think at least there were many first time voters. And this hopefully is just the beginning. The awareness factor is definitely on the rise and we may not witness the change tomorrow, but it seems the move in the direction has begun. At least I hope so.

The Postcard

I found this postcard dated 2 December 1935 addressed to my grandfather.

It has been years since I sent anything by snail mail. I check the India Post site and find that the postcard is now priced at 50 paise but yet it costs the Postal Department more than Rs 6-00 to deliver it to the destination! There is also another one priced at 25 paise, but with an advertisement on the reverse, which means that there is just one side to write on.

This would have upset my grandfather a great deal.

Postcards and inland letters were very much the way by which we kept in touch . I can remember the postcard being priced at 10 paise . It seems strange to think that it did not really matter that the information communicated was there for everyone to read. No user name, no password!

One person who really used the postcard and got value for money was my maternal grandfather. No inch of space would be left unused on the card. He had learnt the art of writing in legible but what could be described as a 4 point font size!! At times the space above the address was used for a hasty post script despite strict instructions that said 'address only'. The addresse (quite a few times it was us) paid the penalty of 20 ps - twice the cost of the postcard.

My grandpa (Ajja) as we addressed him, would set off each day in the morning by 9. An umbrella in hand serving as protection from sun or rain. He was a popular figure in the little town. Always involved in either trying to get a youth a job in the bank or indulge in some match-making. He would trudge back home at lunch time armed with goodies that he would have picked up. After the meal he would retire to his room with the pet dog - Moti, close the door and sit at his old writing desk. At least 4-5 postcards would be written in the tiny scrawl he had mastered so well. During the course of letter writing, both he and Moti would devour some forbidden sweets and fruits behind closed doors ( he was a diabetic). After a short nap, he would set off to drop the letters in the red post-box, in time for the last clearance.

Almost every third day, this little yellow card would be delivered at our doorstep by the postman. My mother would get an update of all the news in the family and neighbourhood. His letters always started with .. I received your letter dated .....and in case you did not date the letter, the opening line would then be ... I received your undated letter. He was very particular about letter-writing etiquette.

I guess the popularity of emails has sounded the death knell for the snail mail. I wonder if Ajja would have been upset. Maybe he would have adapted to this as well. He could have started a matrimonial site, a job portal, a travel blog ( there were times he set off in the morning only to return after 10 days as he would have been roped in as a guide by some tour operator, and this at the age of 70!)

I can well imagine how popular he would have been on a social network site of our times!

A Place in the Sun - hardly!

It is a blistering 43 C out here. And every time I go out of the cool confines of the inner rooms to the balcony, I squint and hurry back indoors. In the neighbourhood where construction activity on a commercial complex is going on , I spot these two workers atop the building ( which should be some 7 storeys or so), who have been there all morning. And I guess that is where they would be till the end of the day for their paltry daily wages.

A hard life they have, yet these are people who would not give a second thought about wasting resources which are a luxury for them. I have seen them queueing outside waiting near a water tap. And despite all the effort that they take to fill a precious bucket of water, they do not think twice before emptying it . Probably they live for the moment and are hardly bothered about saving or conserving the precious resource for the future.

Can you blame them?

Sleeping like a baby!!

Whoever coined the term 'sleeping like a baby', probably never had a baby, or was definitely not a woman. Maybe there is no real reason for this post. After all my babies are grown up , but I read about the Ferber Method, and wished Dr Ferber and not Dr Spock was the 'bringing up baby doctor' of our times.

The wide awake baby for me, was the younger one. At least with the elder one, I could hope for a couple of hours of rest whenever she fell asleep. But as for the younger one...... I think she is now making up on her lost sleep as a baby! She rarely slept over an hour. Sometimes it was only 20 minutes. I had to rush to complete whatever job I had, leaving me a very tired mother. And I was adept ( I do not recommend this for any mother) at cutting vegetables and cooking while holding a baby! If she was active during the day, one would hope she would tire herself by night. But no! She would wake up sometime in the night and I had to pick her up and put her to sleep and by which time I was wide awake. This continued until the man took matters in his hand and threatened the little baby. My heart bled..... but it worked wonders, and after that at least, I managed some sleep at night.

The Ferber Method is to prepare the baby to sleep . It says at bedtime leave the child in bed and leave the room. Return at progressively increasing intervals to comfort the baby (without picking him up). The first night, return after three minutes, then after five minutes, and thereafter each ten minutes, until the baby is asleep. Each subsequent night, return at intervals longer than the night before. It stops you from handling or feeding the baby to make him fall asleep, but allows you to reassure him of your presence at pre-prescribed intervals.

I wish I had known, but babies do have this uncanny knack of making you feel guilty about being an inadequate mother. It always helps being a little stone hearted.

When the baby is 'controllable' or so you think, you try and return to the life you enjoyed. We realised that we had not seen a movie for almost two years after the first born had arrived. There was this movie everybody was raving about. The paternal grandfather had seen it 4 times and it was agreed that we would all go for the movie and in the event that the little one felt claustrophobic, he would take her out . The movie began. The 'baby' enjoyed the popcorn and the advertisements. We relaxed. But it was short lived. By the time the actual movie started, she was restless. The grandpa by now was totally engrossed in the film for the 5th time. And so the father went out. In no time I was outside too. It was only after the movie was over that we were joined by grand dad.

We watched the movie much later when they showed it on the small screen. We never attempted the exercise with the younger one. And over a period of time have lost interest in watching movies at the theatre!

That Darn Crow

I am slightly hazy about where I heard it first - that the cawing of crows heralds the arrival of visitors.

We lived 6 years in a house that is right behind where we presently reside. Yes, there was a huge tree , right next to our window. I did spot a few birds. But crows? Hardly ever. Life was peaceful enough.

We moved a year ago to the present home. Possibly we have more trees. More birds, parrots, pigeons and now crows !! And the cawing of crows has brought the visitors to our humble abode. And how! We have had a steady stream of guests, fortunately not the unwelcome annoying kind. So I am not complaining. But is there a link between the cawing of the crows and the arrival of the visitor? From statistics ( of the imaginary guest register) I think there is sufficient proof.

And so I have begun to take a great deal of interest in the movement of the crow. Anyone beyond the age of two, would have heard of the story of the clever crow and the

pitcher.

.

http://www.blogger.com/www.geocities.com/petrud98/ptreasure/story08.html

It was all fine to read the story, and for most of us it remained an unimaginable tale with a moral to boot - Where there is a will, there is a way.... Little by little does it...... Necessity is the mother of invention..... And imagine to my surprise when last week, I found a crow swooping down to a tap to put its beak into the spout for the elusive drop of water! Aesop's fable would have to be rewritten ...

Now with the scorching summer sun, its time again for the cuckoo bird and her call for rain. I am reminded of my father and one of his favourite Sanskrit saying

काकः कृष्णः पिकः कृष्णः को भेदः पिककाकयोः /वसन्तकाले संप्रप्ते काकः काकः पिकः पिकः //

A crow is black. So is the cuckoo. What then is the difference between the two? When the two sing to herald the onset of spring, the difference will be known – a crow caws, while a cuckoo sings

Yes there is a difference. When the cuckoo sings it could well be the arrival of rain, but the crow...? For sure when I hear the crow caw next , I shall make a move - either to light the kitchen fire ... or leave home ..... depending on how quick I am on my feet.

Biyo

This is a story about a stuffed toy. A dog. That has been part of my home for 25 years now. We visited a friend one evening along with the elder one who was then about two years old. The friend's 7 year old daughter was playing with this huge yellow stuffed dog. She was asked to share the toy with the elder one and it helped keep her occupied. She called it Biyo ( she could not pronounce Bingo - which was a dog in her aunt's house). When we were leaving later on in the night, the elder one refused to leave the dog behind, and the host's daughter was so very nice ( amazing for a 7 year old) that she allowed her to take it home. And thus began the long association with Biyo.



Biyo was really lifelike and soon was known to all those who visited home as if it was a real live pup. One would think that the toy would have been forgotten as the elder one grew up. Maybe she stopped playing with it after a while but it had to be in her room! The bright yellow colour of the dog soon turned into a dull yellow brown as he (she?) got obviously soiled. I was sure the dog was a source of germs and one fine day put it into the washing machine. Who ever knew that the inside of the yellow dog was stuffed with pieces of red sponge. The water caused the colour of the sponge to seep and even though we had a clean toy, it was all a blotchy yellow red doggy. But the love for the dog (of the now close to teens daughter) did not wane. And the doggy moved with us from house to house ( six to be precise). I have attempted so many times to throw it out but each time there were protests. The dog was left behind when she got married and moved home, but we were sternly told not to throw it out. It now lies in a plastic bag with its head and limbs almost apart in the topmost storage unit.

I realise now, that it probably is a part of the junk that has over years accumulated in the house - the three steel cupboards, the old sofa set, the poster bed, an old radio.... the list could go on. I will attempt to get rid of some of these the next time I shift home. Atleast that is what I have promised myself. But Biyo? I think he will remain with us, maybe out of sight, but nevertheless with us for the rest of our lives.

It will be a while..

Yes, it will be a while before I see the elder one. I guess we had set the month of May to be the time for a family reunion. It has been postponed for a while. There is a deep sense of disappointment. But sometimes, everything does not happen the way it is planned. This is one of them.

Konkani Cuisine

This picture appeared in a magazine and set me off on a trip into the past. To be honest the dish 'Khotto/Khotte' was never my favourite . But it was a big hit with friends of my parents and whenever it was made at home, my dad had to make several trips to deliver it to them. Simply put, the Khotto is idli made in a jack fruit leaf container. It was made for specific festivals. A great deal of preparation went into the making of the Khotto. There were only few houses in our city that had these trees. Special requests had to be made in advance . The leaves had to be plucked carefully. After which they would be washed in water and wiped dry with a soft cloth. Then it would be knit together - 4 leaves - with clean sticks -carefully made from the coconut tree - it was really an art, for it had to be perfect so that the batter would not seep out. Once the containers were ready, the batter was poured into them and steamed. The leaves would then be pulled apart to reveal a perfect cone idli! The jackfruit leaf would impart a characteristic flavour to the khoto and this made it different from the ordinary idli. It could be eaten with just about anything under the sun. A channa/prawn gashi, or with coconut oil poured on it and accompanied with chutney.

The konkanis, it seems, are fond of using leaves in their cooking. Another special treat ( and this was a great favourite of mine) is the Patholi. And the leaf used for this delicious preparation is the turmeric leaf. The leaf would be smeared in the centre with a little amount of rice flour paste, over which a mixture of jaggery and coconut would be placed. The leaf would be folded and steamed. The leaf as in the case of Khotto is discarded, but the aroma of the turmeric leaf added to the taste and it was just divine.

Who ever thought I would miss the food of South Kanara. I must stop now..... sigh..

HR at home? - Food for Thought

The article by Alain de Bouton that appeared in The Hindu today, discusses various aspects of office culture. I particularly liked this remark of his - In the olden days, home used to be the place of kindness and refuge while the workplace was cruel and blunt. Now the equation is often reversed. How politely we tend to behave at work, next to the insults we throw at one another at home, where there is no human resource department to coax us into being more civilised.

It may seem amusing but there is a lot of truth in those words. We are on our best behaviour to those who probably matter the least in our lives and are rather harsh on those who matter most. It can be argued that we do not have to put up a false front for those close to us. And after all if it were not for a few minor squabbles, life could be dull and monotonous. And what about the joys of baseless arguments?!!

But do give it a thought - let it not come to a stage where we need an external source to counsel us in our personal lives.

My friend....and her pearls of wisdom

My friend spent a day with me.

She had these words of wisdom for all those like us, who were growing older, trying to make sense of our lives.

She said as we grow older there are four things we need :

1. Physical fitness and good health
2. Financial independence
3. The ability to perform household chores effectively
4. The ability to resist doling out unsolicited advice to children

The last one is the most difficult . And being welcome in their lives solely depends on it.

Well said....

If you want to be happy ....

An excerpt of an article that appeared in The Hindu , by Shyam. He has quoted Warren Buffet, in an informal Q&A session with MBA students at the Richard Ivy School of Business in Canada. :
I am also reproducing the quote as it appears in the article, makes good reading and good sense.

What can you possibly do with billions of dollars? The problem in life is not getting rich, but finding things you enjoy and living a normal life. The most important thing is finding the right spouse. If you make the wrong decision on that you will regret it, there is a lot of pain involved; but if you have the right spouse it is just wonderful. What qualities do you look for in a spouse? Humour, looks, character, brains, money or just someone who is simple with low expectations? The most important decision that you will make is that. If you make that one decision right I will guarantee you a good result in life.

One of the things I use with students is, I ask you to imagine that I am going to give you an hour and in that hour you have to pick one of your classmates to own 10 per cent of for the rest of your life, or even better someone whom you have to work with for the rest of your life and another person whom you would short-sell or disassociate yourself with. Now, on the buy-side you list the qualities of the person who you want to own a share of or partner with and on the sell-side you list the qualities of the person whom you want to disassociate yourself from. On the buy side, you won’t necessarily pick the person who is richest, first in your class or the one with the highest IQ; you will pick out the human being that is going to be effective, sincere, generous, humorous and forgiving. On the sell-side, you would pick the person whose qualities turn you off. It could be selfishness, hypocrisy, envy, short temper or any other negative attribute. It is such an elementary proposition.

Everybody, absent some terrible illness or tragic death, has a passion for happiness. A spouse is the most important thing.

It is important to have a job you love, it’s not so important how much you make at it.

PS:I do not find it necessary to give my take on this. Nothing more need be said.

A story about Saigal

Last week, we had been to a friend's house to celebrate the 80th birthday of his mother. A grand lady with a lot of guts. She has always been one who regaled us with stories of her time . Stories of her childhood, days at Nizam College and so on. Even the children found her company interesting .

Her children had organised an evening of music - of old Hindi songs. It was three hours of Mukesh, Hemant Kumar, Rafi, Talat Mahmood with everyone pitching in with the main singer. And specially for the mother he sang a song of K.L. Saigal, a singer of the 1940s. It feels nice to mention here that this era was much before my time!!

I probably would not have been exposed to Saigal's songs or appreciated them if it was not for my father. I always thought, my father sang the songs better than the original. For one, my father had a nice voice, and maybe the poor recording quality of the songs in that period of time did not do justice to the singer. To get my father started off , one had to just start a discussion about Saigal and sooner ( than later) we would have a full singing session till all songs were exhausted. Another time, you could be sure that he would burst into song would be during a power failure, when he would start singing the famous Diya Jalaao till the lights came on.

Back to the present - Auntie had a very nice story to relate about Saigal, which I shall share.

Saigal was an alcoholic. He was convinced that he could sing only after he had a drink, and all the music directors ensured that he had a glass in his hand during a recording. It was much later that Naushad came onto the Indian music scene. For his first recording with Saigal, he refused to allow him his drink. Saigal was vehement that he could not sing without it. Naushad refused to give in. Reluctantly he sang the song, and to his surprise he found that it was probably one of his best rendering ( for the movie Shah Jehan). Very sadly, he is said to have remarked to Naushad I wish you had come into my life earlier. It might have been a different story. It was too late by then.

PS: There was no alcohol served at the singing session either. And all sang very well .

The Old School

The Bar Council of India, has stated that those above 22 years cannot seek admission in law schools. Now, is that fair? Age should never be a restriction for those wishing to further their education. Anyone who has gone back to school, or even attempted to study after a break can vouch how difficult a task it is.

A 10+2 of school followed by three years of undergraduation and two years postgraduation is a natural sequence of studying for most of us. There are times a break might be necessary; it could be the finances, or the inability to clear the entrance test, limited seats and intense competition. Some land up with a good job immediately after undergraduation and thus postpone the studying for a while.

At home, the Man went back for his masters a few years ago after a break of 30 years. It was not easy. He had to appear for the entrance test. After having cleared the first hurdle, he had to ensure minimum attendance to appear for the final exam. The lecturers were many years his junior and some of them were intimidated by his presence and would not show up when he was around. However, he persevered and succeeded.

I went for a course in french ( three courses to be exact). My sole aim was to learn the correct pronunciation . I preferred the mid morning classes. The students were mostly part-time workers or those in night shifts and a few housewives . I was the oldest in the group. And since it was the basic course , we all had to introduce ourselves in french; state our name, age and date of birth. At my turn, I noticed, quite a few heads looked up from their books. I was very diligent and the family cooperated and ensured meals were cooked and served while I struggled with the assignments. I must admit, if not modestly, that my notes were in demand among students who missed their classes.

For anyone above 30, getting back to school is no cakewalk. All things being equal in terms of the requisite qualifying certificate degree and marks, age should not come in the way of higher education. An older student is more mature and comes with a more favourable attitude to class. They come with rich experiences and class discussions could be more meaningful. Lecturers as well as students could benefit from this interaction.

A couple of years ago an 80 year old grandmother earned a law degree from Syracuse University. She had some difficulty, she said, carrying the heavy books to class, otherwise she managed rather well taking down her notes in longhand as opposed to others who keyed in on their laptops. She submitted all her assignments on time and earned the respect of her fellow students as well as teachers.

It is only right that age restrictions be relaxed, and while ensuring that youngsters are not deprived of their seats, allow the aspiring older students to pursue their dream.

Jaago Re

After the success of Jai Ho, the next theme with elections coming up could well be Jaago Re. Two beautiful commercials made can be watched at this link on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5ECJrnqPcI and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXWdhB1xYic
Wake up!

The multiplex experience

Movie viewing, these days, is a different experience altogether .

Obviously in half a century there are bound to be changes!!!

But it was fun when I did go with our lady Friday in a cycle rickshaw to the theatre and watch a mythological movie. Later there were days when we kids bundled into our old Prefect Ford and drove off to watch a Laurel Hardy film. Or by bus to watch Jerry Lewis or Three Stooges. We stood for hours in the queue. The queue for the ladies was generally shorter and I was sent to buy the tickets. There was no air conditioning and the seats were hard, yet we never complained of the heat or the seating. It was all worth it for three hours of entertainment. There were bugs too for company.

The names of the theatres were also rather quaint - we had Regal, Embassy, Light House, Picture House, Minerva, Plaza, Tivoli and so on.

English movies arrived in India almost two years after they were released abroad. Some of them were even screened at the school. The auditorium would be darkened and a temporary screen set up or at times the large wall served the purpose. We would troop in and sit on the carpet that would be spread on the floor, no chairs, so that more numbers could be accommodated . Viewing movies at school was 1/10 the cost of going to the theatre. Parents were more than willing to let us go and watch these films. I remember Lassie was one of the movies I watched at school.

Once a year we all were packed into buses and taken to a theatre. If we were lucky, it would be a special screening only for the school. If the theatre was close by , we had to walk in twos and a teacher would bark if we moved out of line. We went for Sound of Music, Born Free and many more.

The show invariably started with a news documentary. Those were the days we had just the radio. So we watched the news in action. This was followed by two or three trailers of forthcoming movies. And then the actual movie. An audible gasp - when the censor certificate indicated the number of reels of the movie. And then we would settle down to watch. At times, there would be a pause between reels resulting in an unscheduled intermission . This occurred as there was only one print of the picture sent to each centre and therefore, the timings in different theatres were staggered to allow the transportation of the reel from one theatre to another. These unscheduled pauses were greeted with hooting and whistling.

We also had a friend of my father, who was probably one of the few people of that era to have had a home theatre. Primitive one by present standards. It was the same old projector with reels and a screen and speakers. It would be hauled to different locations in the house, and on a clear summers day, we would watch Elizabeth Taylor in National Velvet, seated in the open terrace of their home. The men had their drink, the women and kids had to make good with lime juice. We were also served delicious home made snacks.

The first real change came with the introduction of the 70 mm theatre and the first movie screened there was The Sound of Music. The theatre was air conditioned and had better sound systems. It belonged to a well known actor and he had his huge portraits all over the place, rather garish. But who cared.

Soon some of the old theatres were thus renovated and airconditioned, others gave way to malls, some were converted into what are called ‘function halls’, they made more money renting out the place for weddings.

And this went on till a few years ago, when the multiplex era started in India. Soon we had our very own with an Imax screen. The tickets were priced almost 3-4 times that of the other theatres and the initial reaction was that it wouldn't last. Who will pay close to 100/- Rs for a ticket?!! Initially out of curiosity people did go, but after that most felt it was a cool place to hang out. I mean, you also had places to shop, places to eat, never mind they were as expensive as the tickets. One multiplex led to another and each more expensive. The latest multiplex in our city has lazy boy type of seats to recline and watch in comfort.

We have an advantage, one of the multiplexes is situated close by. And it is a small walk. Tickets can be booked online for a price. Walking meant that one did not have to search for a place to park, and we could shop around, eat at the food court ,watch the movie and come back home. Nice plan. But as luck would have it, for the occasional movie-goer, it was a big let down when the movie did not meet our expectations and then you wondered whether all that expenditure was worth it!!

The younger one and her friends, last month, could not get tickets for a movie at the multiplex, and they rushed to one of the older theatres where they found tickets readily available. They watched the movie, ate the popcorn and had a coke and came back all happy. As one put it , they did not spend much and therefore did not feel cheated that the movie was not as good as the review.

Last week, she came home again and we planned a movie which did not get any rave reviews but had a good star cast. They decided that they would see it at the ‘new’ theatre they had discovered and roped me in. The theatre was just across the road from office, and I played hookey for three hours. The movie was worth the cheaper ticket. Yet, it was a long time since I had been to these theatres. The seats were hard. There was no leg space, (I am complaining !!)almost like travelling in the new low fare-no frills - aircraft . The crowd was noisy. They heckled and hooted for other reasons. And it was not digital, so we knew when each reel ended and the other started. And somewhere along we had just the audio without the video!!

So much for the experience.

I shall stick to the multiplex for the two movies that I watch annually. The rest of the movies, I shall watch on the small screen in the comfort of my home.

If you love the sub ... read on

The subway sandwich is a favourite of mine. And only one of them - the veggie delite . I learnt that it is best to leave our Indian items out of a sub – after all it is a western concept and paneer tikka is a definite NO- NO.

You should think it would be easy just walking into the sub outlet and ordering a veg sub. I had the most terrible experience . I managed the choice of the bread. Then came the veggies, and I wanted my money’s worth, I had all that was displayed, followed by the sauces. The experience almost put me off sandwiches for a year till the younger one took charge of my order . And I was happy once again.

We walked in a couple of days ago. There was a small group that just came in. And they were rather demanding and very sure of what they wanted. One said honey oats , another was emphatic about cold meat, her companion wanted exactly the opposite, please warm the sub for me, no olives, more jalapenos and so on. I was flummoxed. There I stood tongue tied, the daughter had just received a call and she kind of signalled me to go ahead. But no, I stepped back and allowed three others ahead of me, and waited till she finished and came along , and in seconds I was handed a delicious sub which I enjoyed with a chocolate cookie and iced tea.

I realise that I am not the only one feeling intimidated at a subway outlet. I found a whole wiki-how page devoted to ordering a sub, and they seemed to agree that it was a complicated process. I feel better already.

Some tips I picked up at http://www.wikihow.com/Order-a-Subway-Sandwich
Decide the bread, meat, veggies before approaching the counter.

Bread choices - Bread:
-Whole Wheat-Honey Oat-Garlic-Italian-Italian Herbs & Cheese.

Whole Wheat and Honey Oat are both made with wheat bread. Italian, Garlic, and Italian Herbs & Cheese are all made with white bread. "Italian" is they claim just a fancy word for "white bread." The bread is made by them. (I wonder if that is how it is in India too) And you can either have a six inch or footlong.

Be specific about the veggies you want – more lettuce please, or less olives, or go easy on the cucumber….
Vegetables
-Onions-Lettuce-Tomatoes-Pickles-Pepperonis-Jalapenos-Green Peppers-Cucumbers-Olives

Cheese:
-white American-cheddar-pepper jack

At our sub outlets I am told they ask you if you want extra cheese - be prepared to pay more if you have taken the extra. It may hold good for other ingredients too.

At this stage I think you need to tell them if you want to warm the sub. Warming of the sandwich is recommended if you have wet items like meatballs in them. The do say you can roast a teriyaki.

Sauce:
Go easy on the sauces. I had a terrible time. Mustard ma'am ?– sure ,why not? – I remember how I loved having mustard sauce with sausages when I was a kid ( way before I turned vegetarian), and sweet onion? or whatever – I love onions and figured it would be good too, – yes some more of that please, and so on, till I had a heavy sub handed over . Ugh!

Choice of sauces -
-Light mayonnaise-Regular mayonnaise-Mustard-Dijon mustard-Honey mustard-Ranch dressing-Sweet Onion Sauce-Chipotle Southwest Sauce-Barbecue Sauce

Meats for the carnivorous

Salami-Pepperoni-Ham-Turkey-Roast Beef-Bacon-Roasted Chicken Breast-Teriyaki Chicken-Steak

And of course if you wish the Salt, pepper, oil, vinegar

Phew! That is a lot, and I should think the term sandwich artist coined by them is quite appropriate for the guy at the counter. I guess a few visits and I would be all set to order my sub on my own.

Read this link too if you want to be a smart one at the subway, some of which has been quoted above http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/1019155

And you could find a clip on YouTube too.

India at the Oscars

A lot has been written about the Oscars. Like an India-Pakistan cricket match, the whole of India must have had their TV sets on to watch the ceremony live.

So much of India at the Kodak theater.

I was not particularly enamoured by Slumdog Millionaire , though I did appreciate it for the fine editing and piecing of different sequences, but otherwise I thought it was the same old story and more of a fantasy than the Hindi movies we are used to. .

I remember before the touted success of the movie, I had picked up the book at the library ( since the title Q&A appealed to me - and besides I am a quiz -show- fan) but having glanced at the brief description of the story on the jacket, thought it was not my kind of book. Ever since the movie was released, the book has disappeared off the rack and in circulation. I do want to find out how closely the script has adhered to the original.

The gory details that were part of the movie reminded me of a movie my parents had discussed when I was young. - younger than 10 I should think. The movie was 'Mondo Cane' It horrified my mother in particular, and some of it was shared with us. The movie showed the maiming of people to serve as beggars. And it had I believe, rather vivid pictures of blinding subjects, chaining the limbs in order to stunt and handicap the person.

I recollected this discussion after seeing Slumdog and found a few references on google.

Mondo Cane (A Dog's World; also a mild Italian curse) is a 1962 documentary film by Italian film makers that was made about cultural practices in the East and was mainly intended to shock or surprise the audiences in the West. The movie was a huge success. It seemed to have been dubbed a shockumentary in those times. It was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 1962 Cannes Film Festival. The movie's theme song, "More," was in 1964, nominated for Best Song. The film's video packaging states it won an Oscar, although it was only nominated. The film started a fad known as "Mondo film".

There seem to be few similarities between Slumdog and Mondo Cane.

For whatever shortcomings the movie had for me, I guess they were forgotten and it was a great moment when two Indians received Oscars. A R Rahman has produced better music, and so it was not really a great song that got an Oscar, but he truly deserved it for the music he is known for. In my opinion, Illaya Raja and A R Rahman are two music composers who deserve international acclaim.

The Oscars, The Booker. The Indian media will talk about it for some time and understandably too. Until now, we took pride when an NRI scientist won a Nobel, but this is a different story altogether.

If it was not for political interferences we could have duplicated this feat in the sports arena too. Maybe we will soon, despite that ....

All the world's a ....

All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts

I shall dwell on that later.

I went to the concert where sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan played along with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra . It was a nice evening.

My ears are not attuned to Western Classical music. And personally, I cannot listen to Western classical music over the radio, the music is soft at parts and then suddenly very loud ... yet I have realised that I like watching the musicians play live and that is when I truly appreciate the effort that goes into the performance. The coordination of many instruments on stage has me enthralled.

Since it was a music fusion of sorts there was also a striking difference in the two styles. The Indian duo of sarod and tabla players came to the stage with just their music instruments and tuning tools. The sarod maestro faced the stage and respectfully covered his foot that faced the audience with a shawl. The westerners sat in a semi circle while the conductor had his back to the audience. Their music sheets all kept ready. Western Classical music, I learn, has a very disciplined structure while Indian classical music involves more improvisations done spontaneously during the performance.

The conductor has always fascinated me. What did he actually do? The Western musicians at any rate had their sheets which they dutifully turned as they played along. At previous performances, I had observed that the musicians frequently looked up from their notes at the conductor. In this performance however, they did not seem to do that at all. They required no cue from the conductor and played to perfection.

Soon after the concert I logged online to have a better understanding of the role the conductor had in the orchestra. And from what I read, it seems that he was not just there to wave his hands about. Conductors communicated the directions to performers. They set the tempo and get the act together. They choose the compositons. They need to have a deep understanding of the basic elements of musical expression, and the music instruments that make up the orchestra. The wave and smaller movements, the flow of the hands all have something to convey to the musician. The conductor has to learn the entire score while the individual musicians need to master just their pieces. He would have to know precisely when each instrument would join in or fade out. Besides he was the public face of the group .

A very important role indeed.

In the larger picture ... in a philosophical vein .... Is the world a concert ( apologies to Shakespeare) and are we the players . And the conductor ?

I have edited this part here. The younger one who read the post in my presence felt that it was just not me - and I kind of agreed with her. Abrupt as it may be..

Are you turning into a 'bonsai'

The man is reading the book 'The Case of the Bonsai Manager' by R Gopalkrishnan. I have attempted to read some of these books on Management, and generally do not go beyond the first chapter. Most of them are so theoretical and also, I believe that I have no managerial skills. But out of curiosity I did pick up this book and read the first couple of pages - I still have not gone beyond them - as I have paused to write this post!!

For one, I have never been a great fan of Bonsai. Creating a bonsai is an art and an difficult one at that requiring a great deal of patience and care. But I have always held that stunting the natural growth of a plant to create a miniature is a cruel practice.

The author, in the introduction to this book warns managers not to be like the stunted plants and writes that in the absence of intuition or its adequate use, one turns into a constricted manager.

An interesting thought, that makes me feel that this might be a book that is different from the 'Who Moved My Cheese' kinds. And even if it fails to hold my interest, it has made an impact. It has made me think that the term 'Bonsai Manager' can be applied to my life. Or even yours.

Just don't be a 'bonsai'. It may be a work of art. But it would mean that your growth is restricted and stunted. Do not allow anyone to restrict your growth and nor should you allow your thinking to be narrow. Allow yourself to branch out. Grow like the California Redwood or the lovely Banyan Tree.

TYPTW

Does this seem like a Bollywood movie? Remember DDLJ? Well, TYPTW is Take Your Parents to Work . Some of the interesting concepts that HR groups in companies come up with. And of course, like a Hindi movie, I did go into flashback mode.

I remember the first day of school for the kids. It is always a very significant day for most parents - when the elder one went to school, surprisingly she shed no tears - Actually, I think our eyes were misty . The younger one, it was easier, we always had this feeling that the sister was there to take care, and she lived up to her role very well.


So, it began, all the trips to school, for the parent-teacher meet, the sports day, the annual day. And somehow the school had this uncanny knack of holding an important event on a day most inconvenient for the parents. But since we felt responsible, we put aside our work and made sure we were there to cheer them as they took part in the sack race, the spoon or lemon race, or their march past. The annual day used to be the worst. It was also unfortunate that their act was always towards the end and we faithfully went for all these till one such day, as we sat sweating and squirming in the uncomfortable seating that was provided, we realised, that our elder one's role in the particular play was that of a tree and with all the heavy makeup we could really not identify which tree she was! Slowly our interest in these programmes began to wane, and we did attended fewer of them, much to the disappointment of the younger one.


Well, anyway we did our best to be a part of their growing up years. Then came the time when the elder one completed her education and took up a job. And in a well known MNC. We were proud to watch the professionalism creep in. We were fortunate that company she worked at, organised a Family Day. Once again, we ensured that we finished work as soon as we could ( this time the scene was a little different, we had our own enterprise, there was no application for leave!!), and we set off to her workplace. The office was nothing like the places we had worked at! The ambiance so totally different. And like us there were so many families that went around. Our daughter sat at her desk, and enacted a bit of her daily role, while we gazed so proudly, just like all the other parents that day. And we went around with her as she showed us the breakout area , the canteen, the gym and so on... she had come a long way from the time my father had prepared her for the admission test for the school, all his efforts as he went on hhhh, hhhh, hhhh to make her get her to pronounce the letter 'h' and all she could muster was 'orse' instead of horse.

I do think the TYPTW programme is an interesting concept. A little peek into their adult lives, when we realise happily how they have developed into responsible adults. Our concern for them would never end. But it also signifies the time for us to get on with our lives as we had before they were born!

PS: And I had a double bonus too, when I saw the son-in-law at his place of work. He showed the wife and me around in his inimitable style!

The weight of recession

I am not talking about the economic impact of recession. I am hardly the expert on such serious matters. The focus of this post is what is being refered to as the 'recession pounds'. Weight watching - now that is my subject. On second thoughts, who said I am not an expert on serious matters, such a 'weighty issue'?

As feared the recession has sent costs of products spiralling upwards. Prices of food seems to have touched a new high. It is therefore inevitable that citizens are reaching out for products that suit their wallets, and in most cases, the highly refined energy dense foods, those with the unhealthy cholesterol levels are lower priced as compared to the healthy but relatively expensive foods such as fresh fish, fruit, vegetables and whole grains. It has already been seen that the fast food giant McDonalds is showing a 'healthy' growth by sales of their not so healthy food.

This will probably reflect in weight gain and higher proportion of obese people. Adam Drewnowski, the director of the Nutrition Sciences Program at the University of Washington in Seattle suggests the following which makes good sense. He says, "The answer lies in affordable but nutrient-rich foods such as ground beef, beans, milk, nuts, cheese, carrots, potatoes, canned tomatoes, soups, and rice," calling it "a diet for a new Depression." Of course, coupled with healthy cooking methods.

Eat healthy. It has long term benefits. A feel good factor when you look at your reflection and lower medical bills.

PS: Under the guise of this post I hope to pass off what is generally termed 'nagging' as good advice!! Or am I the only one who thinks so?

Present Tense

I read this article in the Business Line supplement today by TT Srinath, of new approaches to personal growth. And what actually held my interest is the Zen story that the writer quoted which has always been a favourite of ours. It is being reproduced here - Two monks, an older and younger man were once walking down a road. They chanced on a pretty lady who was attempting to cross a puddle. The senior monk carried her over the puddle and put her down. The monks continued their journey and for over an hour the young monk did not speak to his senior. An hour later the young monk admonished the elder monk chastising him for having carried a woman. The elder monk replied, “I dropped her one hour ago but you still seem to be carrying her.” The burden of the past had trapped the young monk.

In this article, the writer exhorts us to live in the present. He says one should live only for the moment, without carrying any baggage from the past or thinking about the future. In this manner the person is responding to his/her feelings and experiences a sense of freedom. Not burdened with the past and no demands of the future. Living in the present keeps one focused on what is happening right then. He says even in the most difficult situation focus on the right of the moment, think of the positive side even if the present is not exactly encouraging. This way, you get the needed confidence and end up appreciating the situation. He says Living in the present has the potential to be a satisfying growing experience, one that flows naturally from moment to moment. The more we succeed in this task, the more human we become

Sounds very encouraging and makes sense as you read. But does not work all the time. It is said that only the sages could meditate keeping the mind blank. It is a task so humanly impossible. I have tried my hand at meditating. It has never worked. For me, a blank wall is my time machine. It can transport me back in time to being a 5 year old ( I don't think I can go beyond that!!) and then fast-forward to playing with my grandchildren. But living for the moment, when all I probably have to do is walk into the kitchen to make a meal, is simply not my cup of tea. At least to make mundane tasks more interesting, one has to let the mind wander.

It is of course, sane advice, but not really practical. Good to read, appreciate, interesting article to relate if you want to seem wise. Living for the moment works when the going is good. But I doubt if any human has a tight rein over the mind . We learn from the mistakes of the past, and also perhaps by dreaming of the future, work to make the dreams happen, and that makes us what we are.

It would perhaps make more sense to say that we should be grounded to the present, even when we retrace our steps into the past, or wander into the future.It is only then that we can enjoy life in total.

Going Native

We joke with the elder one that she has not picked up an accent even after 9 months of being in London, unlike some who speak with a drawl even after a short vacation.

We Indians are an adaptable lot and pick up ways of the West in a jiffy. To think that the term 'going native' was an expression during the colonial period and referred to the people who forgot the ways of their home country and started to behave like the natives - ‘going native' was understandably considered a derogatory term in those times.

People have to adapt when they move and live amidst different cultures. I do not fall in the category. In fact, so deeply rooted am I, that I have been in the city for half a century, but alas, cannot boast of speaking the local language or my native tongue well enough. Which is a shame.

It all began when we were started school. The Christian missionaries were considered the best in imparting education, and the Convents the best schools to attend .And so we ( my brothers and I) found ourselves admitted to these schools. I was in class 2 and did speak a smattering of English. The teacher advised my parents to speak to us in English at home so that we could improve our spoken language.It soon got to be a habit that was difficult to break . In time I think my father noticed that we were not too comfortable in our mother tongue and there was a time when he refused to answer us if we spoke to him in English. Sadly, this was a rule that was not strictly enforced and at vacations when the extended family would meet, we did manage to communicate speaking the native tongue haltingly but with long pauses to gather our thoughts and grope for the right word . In the process, not just with the mother tongue, but with other Indian languages as well, we realised that one was thinking in English and translating as we conversed. This was quite disastrous and led to a great deal of amusement ( since syntax greatly differs in other languages!) I regret now that I did not simultaneously learn languages other than English, which was sad considering that my dad was a polyglot and could speak and write several languages.

I miss speaking my mother tongue, for I have none to talk to. It would have helped me connect to my childhood.

I do think, even if it is not to connect to our roots, that we should make an extra effort to speak the mother tongue at home with the hope that the children pick up the language.

Do 'go native', it is essential to survive in the country you have chosen to live, but it would probably make you a complete person if you can occasionally connect with the country where you were born.

Hello 2009

Another year. Somehow the posts here were few and far between the last few months . Hopefully that is a thing of the past.

We hope to see the elder one this year, something to look forward to .

However, this year the younger one will move farther away where her new job will take her, not really something to look forward to.

But it means one step in the journey as she takes off to lead her life independently. Someone remarked that you have to let them go. One would think that the severing of the umbilical cord occurred when the baby is born. But a mother ( and the father too!) would know it never really took place. It is foolish to think it did!

With these profound thoughts, we move into the new year. Hello 2009!

Thumb-Indexing ?

Published in The Hindu.

From the window

Was taking this picture of the flowers on the tree just outside the bedroom, and got a bonus when the bird perched on one of them for just a few seconds!

Yet another attack...

What is there to be said over and over again, when we are faced with a situation that is becoming so frequent? It is so disturbing. So many innocent people killed in a senseless attack. Is there any solution. When will our politicians stop bickering and take some constructive action? Do we tackle terrorism or the corrupt politicians? Who is worse?

A Purpose to Life

I am reading this book –The Hungry Tide by Amitava Ghosh – have just finished 140 pages of it. But I like what I have read. The author has this beautiful style of writing and even brings detailed descriptions to life. One of the characters in the book realises that in the Sunderbans of Bengal, she has gathered enough material to pursue her research which would probably keep her going for many years. Not any kind of earth shattering breakthrough, but data that would be significant enough to give her something to carry on with a purpose ‘It would be enough; as an alibi for a life. It would do; she would not need to apologise for how she had spent her time on this earth.’

So beautifully put. I like that. Having a meaningful existence. An alibi for a life.

It is good to forget sometimes!!

I forgot!!

Don't be upset with that .... unless the person has forgotten it is your birthday or anniversary!!

An article in Mint states that neuroscientists say forgetting is crucial to the efficient functioning of the mind, to learning, adapting and recalling more significant things!!

I guess you could liken the brain to the computer. If one is to keep all the files, pictures, songs, movies... and continue to add more without deleting what is not required, the system will definitely slow down. Here, one could back up on a CD or add more memory but alas, this is not the case with the human brain. It is thought that if one has to remember all that has happened and store it , it could possibly drown you in a sea of inefficiency.

It is true that unless an event has made a lasting impression on the brain it probably would not remain in the memory. Trying to remember something that has been forgotten may revive some impressions and like a jigsaw puzzle may have the pieces, but in the wrong places!!

Most people fail to register all information at a time. In an experimental process when respondents were asked to focus on a particular activity, other happenings in the same sphere went unnoticed - a phenomenon labeled as “change blindness”.

Forgetting, strangely is a very active process, although subconscious. As the brain stores a small piece of information, it is at the same time erasing large amounts of irrelevant matter so that it can free brain power for more important issues. Mundane, every day matters are not considered important to be stored.

So, if there is an event you want to remember, ensure that you keep a journal with atleast some tab to associate it with. Photographs are also memory jogs.

If you have to appreciate why it is important to forget, I would need to quote James McGaugh one of the world's leading experts on how the human memory system works, who says Remember that forgetting can be very useful, : “If you used to go out with Bob and now you’re married to Bill, you want to be able to say, ‘I love you, Bill.’ That’s why forgetting is important.”

Moral: Remember to forget and do not forget to remember. And you have to remember what to forget and at the same time not forget what you should remember. Good luck!

Two is an odd number!!

Ah.... it is just the two of us at home and it is odd that even when 1+1 is two, life is not that simple. It did not seem so 27 years ago . The local kirana store supplied even 50 gms of whatever you wanted to buy. And shopping bags were lighter to carry. Now, one is drawn to the big supermarkets that have sprung up in each neighbourhood. All fine, considering the ambience, the variety on offer, the bargains and discounts. But shopping for two suddenly has become difficult. With the buy one get one free offers, another pack that screams 33% more , buy super pack and save and so on... we find ourselves stocked with food that lasts and lasts and getting stale with storage. But on the flip side, one discovers in the process you can overlook the use within 5 days of opening the pack which is probably the only hope for the manufacturers to push their sales and these opened packs last for upto a fortnight!!

I look longingly at the freshly baked bread loaf, draw in the flavours and walk on. When at times I succumb, I regret soon enough when the bread no longer is fresh as it languishes in the refrigerator.



Till I find a solution ....

Those school girl days...

Now, that is a long, long journey back in time. It all started when a classmate of mine tracked me down last week, after she found my brother on Facebook. It helps to have had an unusual surname. And I dashed off a mail to another classmate - RG - from class 2. ( strange to think that she is probably among the very few who have known me now, for over 45 years!!). And we started off on this nostalgic trip. She accused (:-) ) me of being the teacher's pet (Class 2 again) while she was harassed about her curly hair!! I had forgotten all about it. Teacher's pet? I am not too sure about that, but now that she brought it up, I do recollect that I was often asked to come and stand before the class and turn around so that the group would see how neatly dressed I came to school!! If only she saw me now! And strangely, all of a sudden I remember the class room so well.

We also had this so called secret group that we formed. Why 'secret' is something which baffles me. I guess it was the influence of the Enid Blyton books that we read. We scraped our forehead and had a nice gash (just the 6 of us who belonged to this 'secret group') which smarted for days. That was about all we did as our secret activity. And I remember the horrible sports teacher who slapped me. And the needlework teacher who cut my sample after getting the stitches wrong . I hated that class.

Ah well, those were the days. I am glad they are over. I still shudder when I think of some of the teachers. But for the few friends who keep in touch ... I am grateful. And I hope we have many, many occasions to meet.

I'll Huff and I'll Puff.....

Each morning I have vowed to huff and puff and get in shape. Our exerbike cum elliptical is the newest addition to the clutter in the house. After years of cajoling I finally got a serious piece of exercising equipment in the house if you discount the skipping rope, the weights and the hoop. So to ensure that the activity is carried out in real earnest I am ready in ( almost total) exercise gear , timer, mp3 player. Well, so far so good. It has been a month. The first day on the bike seemed quite a disaster. Aching knees and creaking bones ( from total inactivity for more than a couple of months) seemed to have taken a toll on the stamina factor and I could not get beyond two minutes of easy cycling and elliptical. And well, slowly and at a steady pace it has been brought upto 15 minutes. Hopefully the enthusiasm will continue. Hopefully I will get into shape. And I have to ensure that the bike will not finally end up as a clothes stand!! I could do with some encouragement too.

Gangireddula Vadu

The rather jarring music and the barking of the neighbour's dog had me scurrying for the camera and I managed to capture the brightly dressed rather emaciated ox from the window of our 3rd floor home. That accounts for the criss-crossing of wires which I could not avoid. The gangireddula is the ox that is supposed to be trained to bow and move ( I could not see all that unfortunately). And one is supposed to feed the ox with the hand so that it licks the food and thereby change the lines on your palm and your destiny. So it is said.

Interesting. Wonder how long these folk arts will last. And how many would support them.

Exam time once again

The tone and irritation that creeps into the younger one's conversation is an inkling that she is burdened with some assignment or the exams are approaching. And with appropriate comments about how badly life is treating her.
I read this little poem in Young World ( and you may ask, why do I read the Young World!! - I generally glance through it!) by Chintan Girish Modi

Off the Mark (title)

I always wonder
why this report card
looks like a long math sum

It tells you nothing

about the games I missed
to finish homework

the pictures at the back of my notebook

and the poems I wrote to stay awake.

( I found this little poem very realistic!! I wonder how many of you feel that way too!) Whenever I pack my daughter's books each semester for safe keeping, I find little doodles, poems, messages scrawled all over the pages). In years to come, when she glances through the books, each page will have a story to tell!

It's been some time...

It has been some time since my last post. I am surprised too. It's not as if there is nothing to write about.

There has been some excitement too in this sleepy city of ours. We had a big bird that made an appearance. The huge A 380 which flew low over the city and parked itself for less than a day at the Aviation Expo. We have this vantage view from the huge glass window of our office. For an aircraft that big, it hardly made any sound.

Also. considering the fact that in the span of 17 days, I have been on two trips out of the city, attended three weddings and an engagement ceremony, met a number of friends and relatives, read some interesting books, visited some new malls and played umpteen games of online scrabble. So much happening and no post?

A brief lull. I'll be back.....

Cleanliness is ....

How many times have we been exposed to that saying Cleanliness is next to Godliness. I was surprised to find what used to be displayed in the corridors of school or scribbled on the blackboard as 'thought for the day' has its origin in Hebrew writings!

And why have I brought it up today? I am back from a short trip to the temple town of Srisailam. And the lack of cleanliness in the temple and its surroundings strikes you the minute you enter the town.

Most trusts that maintain the temples are flooded with funds. Why can't a small part of the funds go towards maintaining the town. The trusts manage educational institutions and hospitals and that is very commendable. But the basic aspects of hygiene and sanitation in the town is overlooked. When other places of worship like churches, gurudwaras, mosques can be kept neat and clean, why do temples lag behind in this aspect?

When we have so many people going on pilgrimages, it is time that this aspect be taken care of. It has been thought that the slippery floors in the Jodhpur temple led to the stampede that took the lives of so many. One would only hope that the unfortunate incident has made authorities sit up and take note of the sad state of our temples. And action towards cleaner temples should begin NOW.

Do poems need to rhyme?

The younger one said that in her opinion, poetry that does not rhyme may very well be classified as text.

she may be right
it may be prose
not poetry ....
but would you agree
that what may
not sound good
to the ear
'tis definitely
easier on the eye!!

Anyway, I stumbled upon this The Famous Pig Song(Clarke Van Ness) and will quote a portion of it -

It was an evening in November
As I very well remember,
I was strolling down the street in drunken pride,
But my knees were all a-flutter,
And I landed in the gutter
And a pig came up and lay down by my side.

Yes, I lay there in the gutter
Thinking thoughts I could not utter,
When a colleen passing by did softly say
‘You can tell a man who boozes
By the company he chooses’ —
And the pig got up and slowly walked away.

A day in your life..

It has been found that people are spending more time commuting to work. Possibly due to worsening traffic conditions or living in suburbs to enjoy a better quality of life. If you spend 45 minutes one way traveling to work, then on an average that would work out to 24 hours spent commuting in a month. A whole day in your life!! So what do you do in that time? In Mumbai trains there are women who cut vegetables! A tough task for sure. If you are at the wheel there is nothing much you can do beside concentrating on the road. However if you are lucky enough to be the passenger, there is a whole lot you can do. Consider the possibilities or just ensure that you rest your aching limbs.

But make sure you just do not let the day go by....

Add the dash of colour to your food

An article in the newspaper today suggests that the curcumin present in the turmeric powder (Curcuma longa), known for the antioxidant and anti inflammatory properties may serve both as a preventive and treatment for Alzheimer's Disease. A WHO regional article points out that this could be the reason for lower incidence of the disease in India.

That is good news. There can never be a kitchen in India without this ingredient.

The turmeric powder has always been part of so many of our traditional practices. No baby soaps for the little one. A mixture of chick pea powder (besan) and turmeric with a little milk cream is applied liberally and washed off with warm water. As they grew and played in the sun, turmeric would be the solution for the sunburn. Sore throat? A home made remedy of milk and turmeric.

It is always a mystery to me, just like most other things, that men in ancient times discovered the miracles the world had to offer. And left it to the modern day human, with the sophisticated equipment to find out that they were indeed right in their findings.

Why on earth would they have dug out a rhizome, dried and ground it to make a powder that would have the world use it extensively and for some to fight over its patent .

That's beside the point. So cut out that extra oil, the salt, the sugar in your cooking and add the dash of colour.

Does it need to end like this?

photo credit: The Hindu images

I made a similar post last year voicing my thoughts about the Ganesh puja and the festivities that go along with it. It is sad that the idol that is brought with a lot of fanfare and the pujas that follow for 10 days has to end like this. Is this devotion of any sort?

Another blast !

Yet another blast in India, this time in New Delhi. Of course there were indications, they say, of blasts in major cities. And for the bombs to be placed in prime areas of the Capital, where I presume security would be very tight is frightening!

I often feel that it must be a tough task to nab terrorists and detect bombs. But with media coverage that is present these days there are certain issues that are brought to light. For instance, why are our emergency services so poor. The manner the injured are handled is appalling. No proper stretchers and lack of ambulances is a sad state of affairs. At least there should be proper training for para medical forces and ensuring these units be kept in ready to act in emergencies. With the vast human resources that we have, we can train persons and in turn provide livelihood to some.

And what about the handling of vital clues? Less said the better. The police are seen trampling over evidence, handling objects with bare hands!

Terror attacks may not be under our control, but factors under our control should be given total priority. Atleast let the government ensure its people that in case of disasters it can at least offer the best resources and care to those affected.

Happy Birthday /premier anniversaire

139 posts. My blog is a year old. Happy Birthday. First anniversary

Beep Beep Beep Beep yeah...

That is part of a Beatles song and could very well be what you would hear when the man is driving . Constant sound of the horn. He would whole heartedly with George Carlin, who said 'I know that everyone going slower than me is an idiot and everyone going faster is a maniac' .

Till I get my hands on the book - Traffic: Why We Drive The Way We Do (And What It Says About Us) by Tom Vanderbilt, I will be content with the reviews. I have for long ( seated at the back ) tried analysing the drivers on the road. Who would have thought that it is matter worthy of a book and a succesful one at that. The book has been written after great thought, research and surveys of traffic in the west. If only the author had spent a week in our city, he could have probably written several volumes on the lines of the Britannica Encylopedia. There would have been no end to his research.

The author says that each time a safety device is added to the vehicle, drivers get more confident to drive at greater speeds and cause more problems. It is indeed true, not just the car design , but in our city, we have most vehicles with a small idol of their favourite god, a lucky charm or signs that say Jesus Saves and vroom there he goes speeding with not a care in the world.

Quote -Researchers have estimated there are anywhere from 1500 to 2500 discrete skills and activities undertaken while driving. At any moment, as one is navigating through terrain, scanning environment for hazards and information, maintaining position on the road, judging speed, making decisions (about twenty per mile, one study found), evaluating risk, adjusting instruments, anticipating the future actions of others -- he may be sipping a latte, thinking about last night's episode of American Idol, quieting a toddler, or checking voice mail' . One should realise that at the wheel he is operating heavy machinery, not driving a big phone booth or a make-up mirror. Every glance away from the road, every phone call, every fumbling for your last McNugget, not only disrupts traffic flow, it boosts the risk for an accident .Unquote.

I have always believed that the manner in which a person drives and parks his car not just reflects his driving capabilities but also is a reflection of his personality. Those who are in total control of their temper, drive at a consistent speed, no speeding or squealing of brakes, are those most likely to be well organised at their jobs as well.

But when it comes collectively to the city drivers, I am left searching for an answer. My theory just does not fit in here. For a city, known for the laid back attitude, I cannot understand why most drivers are in a tearing hurry. They cut across, weave through the traffic as if there is an emergency, only to pull up at the side of the road within minutes, for a roadside purchase.

A reviewer states that reading the book may give some insights of traffic do's and dont's and one may just be a better driver and more alert on the road. And where does that leave me. Since I don't drive, I could probably avoid reading the book. As it is I am nervous and back seat driving has probably resulted in the receding hairline of the man.

I should continue with my attempts to solve the crossword and leave the driver alone.

Discovery of India from the West

I read an article in The Hindu that Joshua McGuire a double Olympian in fencing, former World Under-17 champion and the gold medalist at the last Commonwealth championship came straight from Beijing to learn the art of Kalari Payatu in Kerala.

He believes that it could teach him better hand eye coordination and agility which are important in his sport of fencing.

I am sure there are researchers in India who have studied some of our traditional sports like Kalari Payatu, the Mal Khamb, the Aranmula Boat Race, who could propagate some of the skills that are imparted so that we could produce some world class fencers, gymnasts and rowers . With yoga thrown in during the training we could improve their mental prowess as well.

It is strange that a foreigner had realised , just from a demonstration in Canada, that there was something in this art that could help him improve his game!!

It seems that it was not just Vasco da Gama who discovered India....