My current employer presented me with an opportunity to move to London pretty recently. Having been there several times and spent a fair amount of time, this was something that I said yes to without a thought.

People who have been through the motions will tell you how the process is slow – the selection to the decision making and then the eternal wait for your paperwork. As frustrating it can get, I waited for what now seems like an eternity to get it all wrapped up. Jumping to catch the first available plane out, I showed up here with bag and baggage.

My first realization was the fact that I was on my own – a business trip where you can’t care less about anything material is very different to the fact that you need to fend for yourself for the word go when you are on your own.

Coming from home, we tend to take a lot of things for granted – A vehicle to commute on your own, often 4 wheels, large spacious houses, the value of which we hardly seem to realize back home, Family – how many times have we stopped to think about them when living with them?, last not least, the domestic help that we consider a given – from washing clothes to cleaning dishes, needless to mention, the houses too!

I started missing home in no time – I think it was less than 24 hours. Walking into work, you are in the midst of a place where you are met with “what are you doing here” kind of looks and conversations that go no longer than a “hello” however hard you try. If you have a new role to boot, welcome to the party!!

I can tell you that this concoction really hits you! I was hit and hit pretty hard too. There’s never been a time in my life when I’ve missed home ever so badly. Initial thoughts were pretty simple – which headhunter can I call to get back home now? Who are the old bosses that are hiring that I can reach out to? F@#$ this, I can get back home and find a job., 3 months – worse case, 6 months!

The search to find a place to live in is pretty interesting too! I’ve had pretty much every corner of London recommended as a place to live in and in literally 60 seconds being critiqued as a horrible place to live in too! Wow!! Is this a city that people live in?? With confusing views and conflicting opinions, you are left wondering why the hell did I move!!

Speaking to friends who have done this before, I realized that I was not alone in feeling this way. It’s that age old thing of grass being greener on the other side and being uprooted from your comfort zone that make you feel queasy. Every one that I have spoken to thinks this is just a phase, a phase where I draw a line on the sand to say here is what I felt only to change things around in 6 months time. Whilst time will tell if this in indeed true, here are my top 5 tips for those that plan to move overseas.

1. We never spend time preparing for a move overseas mentally – while the excitement gets the better of everything else, please spend time preparing mentally. Overseas moves are pretty stressful
2. Speak to friends about places to live in. Remember, every area is safe and equally unsafe. Doing some ground work ahead of time saves you a lot of stress
3. Overseas moves are not for the faint hearted and pampered ones – Washing clothes despite using a washing machine and pressing clothes are pains that a two rupee coin can ease back home.
4. I don’t know if feelings would have been different had I been single. If you are married, never ever move without your family. It’s cute to say I will move and my family will join me later, but on the ground, they can provide you tremendous support when you attempt to win small battles on your own and alone.
5. While we all know that “ change” is difficult and the only constant in life, going through that change is a lot more harder than what you think.

Cheers and happy moving! I’ll tell you if I feel any differently after 6 months!

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It was a beautiful Sunday morning. The cab came at the right time at 0530 hrs. Not used to such early rising, especially on a Sunday. Somehow, jumped out of the bed, dressed up and got ready. Is it drizzling?? No, wonderful !!! Some respite from the monsoon showers. One of our companions had a problem and missed the trip, later on regretted for missing it, but the team of ten was enough to have good fun on the trip.

Faces tensed up by constant work pressure, eased up and soon we were playing games in the cab. Antakshari with songs from Hindi, Tamil, and Malayalam did rounds and I thought I was the only one who knew so many songs. After a nice breakfast we continued travelling. The place of our resort was confusing and we were seen searching for the place ending up everywhere else. At last we had to depend on a guide to take us to the resort.

He took us through a place what appeared to be a footpath. Great …good natural feeling. Then came a vehicle ahead of us and we were stuck. Finally we decided to walk. After walking for fifteen minutes, we reached our destination. It was an exotic place perfectly blend with the surroundings. Initially I thought I was inside a ‘Nalu Kettu’ (a four layered ancestral house in Kerala) but the sight of a “Reception” confirmed that it was a resort indeed.

Traditional mouthwatering mango shake was the welcome drink and soon we knew we are at the right place to unwind. The ladies were more interested in photo shoots while the gents were busy playing games. Few landed in the swimming pool. After spending some ‘quality’ time in the games area we moved for lunch. Lunch was perfect. Last time I had ‘Karimeen Polichathu’ (fried fish) was about 11 years ago. Old memories fired up. Heavy lunch with traditional Keralite dishes made us feel sleepy. The best part was yet to come.

Very soon we got off to our boat trip. The hot afternoon made us go to the roof top .The cold breeze took the heat away, in fact we longed for a drizzle. Wow! Here we saw Kuttanad, the rice bowl of Kerala, alas no more. High wages and water logging has made farming non-profitable. Yet the determination in people to survive by dairy farming, small scale industries and fishing was very obvious.

We went through narrow stretches of water often crossing huge luxury boats. We saw boat stops akin to the bus stops. People were dependent on boating for all activities. Cars and bikes are foreign to them. A Church bell reminded me it was a Sunday. We took a halt in between. Tender coconut water acted as the coolant to the sumptuous lunch we had.

The return wasn’t all that exciting. We were thinking of our office duties the next day. Things eased as we stopped for a short break in between, at one of our colleague’s home for tea. The tiresome journey and the lunch made us decide against a dinner. By the time we reached home it was midnight. It was a day to remember, trying to recollect the days passed by.

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• The Fall From Grace!
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Consider this – At the time of writing this article, Susan Boyle-related videos have generated more than 100 million views in Youtube. As you are reading this, there must be thousands of viewers watching Susan Boyle’s videos. The video that I watched had 40 million views, 162,000 ratings (all 5 stars- can anything beat that?), 613 video responses, close to 200,000 text comments. Moments later when I went back to check these statistics, I was completely surprised. These numbers had gone up significantly. There cannot be a better example of an outrageously successful viral video.

So Who is Susan Boyle? What makes her a sensational figure? You will get the answers to these questions when you watch the video. It is so self-explanatory. I suggest that you watch the video before reading further.

Watch the video here

Susan is a 47 year old poor unemployed woman who took part in the UK reality show – “Britain’s Got Talent”. She had a not so pleasing personality and was quite awkward when she was put in front of camera. When she entered the stage, people looked at her mockingly and wanted her to get off the stage as soon as possible.In short, she was written off even before she performed on the stage. But when she started singing, the audience was stunned by her sweet voice. Within seconds, she became a sensation. The audience wildly cheered for her and gave here a standing ovation. The judges were equally stunned and awarded her the maximum possible points. With that, another rags-to-riches story was born. Another underdog, in this case Susan Boyle, fought against all odds and won.

The common thread between the successes of Danny and Susan Boyles’ underdog stories is that people are so tired of bad news and any feel- good story that is soothing is warmly embraced. There are stories in the internet about how audience felt exhilarated after watching “Slumdog Millionaire”(SDM) and about people watching Susan Boyle’s videos repeatedly and weeping with joy every time they saw it. There are also critics who slam both SDM and Susan Boyle’s videos as over-hyped and opine that both are mediocre at best. And these critics have a valid point.

However, the bottom-line is, in both the cases, the audience were not “thinking” and analysing critically. Instead, they were “feeling” and giving vent to their emotions. Looks like the heart continues to be more powerful than the head. Isn’t it?

PS: Here is an article about the Susan Boyle phenomenon that I found quite interesting

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The situation warranted a trip to old city, the much reviled yet treasured part of Hyderabad. The very mention of “old city” in the presence of outsiders (read non-Hyderabadis) conjures up technicolour visions of massively ornamented chandeliers, colorful bangles literally changing hands, seductive perfumes wafting from small, crazily stocked shops, piercing call of the Masjid muezzin to the faithful and the faithless alike.

But to me, old city means Adaab, and my destination Shadab, the Biryani Mecca of the faithful! It is where I get my plateful. It is where I satisfy the hunger in my soul. It is where I slake my thirst with cool and colorful Faluda or Lassi if that’s what my taste buds scream for. No matter how far, it is home 10km away from home. Stepping into Shadab is like getting a visa to the old world.

It welcomes me with open arms and insanely crowded tables. Its uniformed waiters greet me like an old friend does. Once in, I can’t wait to be ushered to a table. Soon, I am at a table with a dingy, chequered table cloth that hath seen the spillage of countless dishes and withstood the test of time. And I thought chequered cloths belonged to Formula 1!

I don’t care. I don’t want to care. I am too hungry to care. Get me my plate of heaven I say.

Lo and behold, in a matter of minutes I am staring at a rust coloured copper vessel holding my precious, the heavenly melange of chicken, spices and rice. I dig in with relish. The first feeling is that of relief; the taste hasn’t changed at all. Next is the warm feeling that flows through you when you see a beautiful woman. You know what I am talking about.

I let the fragrance and the atmosphere in Shadab transport me to a different world. The world of the old Nizams creating their histories in the majestic Falaknuma Palace. Around them are the hushed movements of the liveried waiters serving deliciously fragrant biryanis from copper vessels onto silver plates. Oh, I feel like the old Nizams, I feel like I am king. My 60 min of fame, and that too for mere Rs.120/-

Ladies and Gentlemen, my humble stomach is now the proud recipient of a plateful of Shadab’s delectably delightful biryani. Go eat!

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Soon after watching a movie, one of my friends recently called upon me and exclaimed, ‘Are medical services free in the UK?!’ Affirmative was the answer from me. The next comment from him, ‘Then why do you want to come back to India, what else do you need if you receive reliable health services free.’ Not that this had not dawned to me previously but it only elevated it’s significance. Engrossing was the issue, and it compelled me to contemplate on how making health services free and accessible to all, by the government, establishes an all around development and prosperity of the society.

India has made rapid improvements in the health scenario of it’s people, what with it’s geographical challenges and at times adverse climatic conditions; nonetheless greater part of Indian population is still deprived of primary health care. A World Health Report gives communicable diseases, 42% as the cause of mortality and the rest to other diseases or injuries. It goes on to add that life expectancy at birth, in India, is 64 years as compared to 80 years in Australia.

Making health services free and centralized: Where-by the government provides free consultation to the citizens with the General practitioner (Dr.), free maternity services, Children care, subsidized drugs etc. With this the government would be duty-bound in the critical areas leading to health issues, vis-à-vis:

Food:

Availability food and it’s quality, in public places, groceries, food joints etc. Following a whip from the government, food inspectors would be forced to layout stringent quality standards and compliance, and safeguarding against food associated health predicaments.

Environment:

Local bodies ensuring cleaner surroundings with better waste management, helping to reduce viral and other infections.

Drugs & Medicines:

Improvement of drugs supply and quality, there by increasing it’s control on the Pharmaceutical establishments for sub-standard medicines.

Immunisations:

Increase in adherence to maintaining a record of births and hence leading to greater spectrum of coverage of the infant immunizations for eradication of diseases.

Failure to keep these in control could lead to deterioration in health and increase in government spending towards this. An election agenda, may be, for our political representatives?

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Found everywhere, every nook and corner, from MG Road to Charminar, Nagaram to Shamshabad, Hi-Tec City to Singapore City – ah!  Thankfully a cuppa chai is never really far away. From Mass to Class these guys serve everyone. And no true Hyderabadi really minds getting into these joints and sharing his cup of chai with friends… Old saying – “Do rupiye ki chai aur do karod ke baatan” explains it all – the true fursat of a Hyderabadi.

The local hangout of most college goers, salesmen, collection agents, businessmen and the daily wage earners… The local cafe never disappoints anyone. Its ok to squeeze into a table with 6 people, 5 of whom you may not even know, order for a plate of osmania biscuits and pay only for what you eat (the rest is taken back and not billed), ask for the naram lukmi for breakfast, or the mirchi and samosa for the eveneing snack… The cafe has evolved over time to provide much more than just just a hot cup of tea. And yes, how can I miss the cream bun? The staple food of the many who cannot afford much. Any so many of these places serve basic dal chawal meals at just about Rs.10-12 .

Rio, Blue Sea, Bahar, Shadab, Bawarchi, Astoria, Alpha, Turning Point, Tea Den, Lovely Tea Den, Red Rose, Alpha, Nimra, President Cafe, Moghul Darbar, Madina, Embassy Cafe, Garden Restaurant and Paradise just just a few of the popular ones… Of course there are some interesting names like Arose cafe, Sheraton and Palace Light as well! But names apart, all of them definitely reek in the paisa and run a steady business, not to mention their immaculate part in keeping tradition alive.

Today, its probably a bit expensive to pay 4.50 for that favourite cup of chai… But then its a small price to pay to sit and spend some of the best times of your life with some great friends… all in fursat!

Chote, do chai la – Ek Empty!

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You can call me fat or chubby or roly or whatever that it is the world likes to title people who are round!!! Someone rightly said round is a shape and also has measures in case you forgot!! So what is it that makes us god gifted mass people different from the rest not so loved by god…

Do you hear sarcasm or phony funniness in my statement ?. None intended. That’s just how I feel. I’ve never let anyone make me feel guilty about the way I look or have ever let anyone tell me if a dress doesn’t look good on me because I’m not shapely….

Hello, in case you haven’t noticed I’m curvy!!!!

So this protagonist in the book, who is an assistant director in a dorm, finds her knight in shining armour. So have I, a little later than I like but a knight he is. We girls find them always if we really want to. And then life is a happy fairy tale with a happy ending and forever and ever living.

Is it really?

For someone who is size 12 it’s not such a fairy tale. Oh man they make sick in my tummy showing me these carb diets, fruit diets, veggie diets, chicken diets, salad diets and diets and diets and diets.

Sometimes I wish the egg I ate was from a chicken who was on a grain diet!!!! I’ve tried them all, I mean it, ALL! Believe me and they just don’t seem to work well with me. I’ve tried the no rice diet, no oil diet the no happiness in food diet. It all seems to work the first week and then I seem to look the same way week after week after week.

I’ve been healthy all my life with the exception of a few colds and fevers and sometimes the back aches due to the nature of my work now. So someone who is not round also suffers from this ? I love to call myself fit and healthy because that’s what I am. I work out, daily, okay let me not lie , I work out thrice a week. I do those weights too sometimes. So if I can do that and eat well don’t tell me I should worry about shapes. I’m in a beautiful shape!!!

Something for all my size 12 and plus sisters!!!

Hey Sister, Go Sister, Soul Sister, Go Sister
Hey Sister, Go Sister, Soul Sister, Go Sister
Hey Sister, Go Sister, Soul Sister, Go Sister
Hey Sister, Go Sister, Soul Sister, Go Sister

Do you fancy, ah, hitting the sack?
That’s my kitty cat, is all that
And then son, you are the one
Gotta represent, gotta go the whole run

By the way, did I add the HOT word ?

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There was a time (about 6 years ago) when four or five of us would congregate three times a week at Anna University at around 4.30 am or earlier, to run about 21 kilometers each time. Our inspiration was a fitness freak called Sunita. In those days, I had not much of a choice about getting up so early and traveling about 10 kilometers to meet my tormentor.

She made it a point to wake me up around 4 am and order me to the ground. For friendship’s sake I gamely braved the early morning jogs for about 3 years. Those were the days when I even attempted running three marathons which I gave up after reaching the threshold of 32-35 km.

Looking back, those were heady days, when we cherished the long runs, the company of friends, the unpolluted air of the big university campus and the chatter of the birds. We chatted more than the birds did – ceaselessly talking about politics, movies, business and cracking jokes so often.

The days of instant gratification

And then, Sunita got transferred to Bangalore and I heaved a huge sigh of relief. For the next two years I indulged and pampered my body going back to my old, comfortable routine of getting up well after the sun woke up. Our group also stopped going to Anna University.

However, one of them, Suresh, did not stop. He made it a point to raise the bar constantly and ran a mind boggling 31 km every day for several months. He ran so much he tore his ligaments, had it repaired in US and came back with a vengeance to run even more with strengthened muscles.

On my part, I found it convenient to amble across to the park nearby my home and run whatever pleased me. Most of the times, it used to be 5 km or less and there were a few exceptional days I would run a maximum of 10 km. Meanwhile, the protuberance in the front part of my body grew in stature, girth and weight, giving even pregnant women a complex.

Then, about a month back, Suresh and another friend of mine Subba, spoke about reviving the runs at Anna University and I agreed. We now run about 12 kilometers thrice a week, starting the run at a more earthly hour, ranging from 5.30 am to 6 am. Then, one day we decided to run, for old times’ sake, the nearly forgotten half marathon.

Today, 26^th January was the day we had chosen for our 21 km run.

Fighting the cold

I hadn’t however reckoned with the nasty cold and mild fever that I developed all of a sudden, two days back. I decided to run anyway, unmindful of the sore throat and running nose. Getting up at 4.45 am, I reported at Anna University at 5.25 am. I told myself over and over again that I could conquer the discomfort of my body by thinking positive thoughts. And, it was indeed true till we completed about 15 km and decided to stop for water and refreshments.

The ordeal

After the 15 km mark, the run was an ordeal for me. Whatever positive suggestions I gave to my mind, was not accepted by my knees. They began to wobble. After running two more kilometers, I wished my friends would bail me out and save my honour. My subtle hints that I had a nasty cold fell on those cruel, deaf ears. They started running even faster, covering about 18.5 km in all. Then, I decided discretion was the better part of valour and was on the verge of calling it quits.

Just at that point of time, one security guard at the university accosted us and told us not to run along our regular route as Republic Day parade was going on with the Vice Chancellor being the chief guest.

Divine Intervention

I conned my friends into thinking that it was God taking the form of a security man to stop our run. At my suggestion of divine intervention, they stopped, albeit with a nagging thought that we had completed just about 18.5 km. The next half marathon is scheduled on Saturday, 31^st January. I hope to acquit myself better, the next time around.

About Cliff Young

Speaking about how crazy some people can get about running, I recently read about Cliff Young who in 1983, at the age of 61, completed the long arduous run of 543 miles (875 km) from Melbourne to Sydney running non-stop, without sleeping, for 5 continuous days.

This is an awesomely inspiring story about the awesome power of the human endurance. My effort today was pathetic and woefully inadequate compared to the Herculean effort of the 61 year old man.

I end my story of today’s run, very humbled and wishing I had managed to run all of 21 km this morning.

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While a lot of people are puzzled with the magic of curd rice ( it’s a damn simple thing to make right – just mix rice and curd! ), it’s something that is considered as an essential part of any meal except breakfast in the south. The grannies in their hay days would sit kids down and give them a lecture on the “health” benefits of curd rice. The grannies are being replaced with moms these days. While the discourse is still the same, it’s just the voice over that seems to have changed!

A Bangalorean will give you the name of a few Sagars and Darshinis (these are famous food chains in Bangalore), a Tamilian will smilingly say Saravana Bhavan or Adayar Ananda Bhavan, but for me, the best curd rice is made at home!

Here’s a simple way to make curd rice – Come on, I’m not gonna say mix rice and curd!

This is a recipe for 2:

Ingredients:

1 cup rice

250 ml curd / plain yoghurt

1 finely chopped onion

1 tea spoon mustard seeds

1 tea spoon Methi seeds (Fenugreek)

1 tea spoon Chana Dhal (Split Chickpeas)

1 tea spoon Urad Dhal (Black Gram)

2 green Chillies (yes, if you are from Andhra, read that as 20!)

Some freshly shopped coriander

A few pieces of cashew nut & raisins

Pressure cook the rice using the standard 1:2, rice is to water. Once you get the standard 3 whistles on your cooker, switch off the cooker. Wait for about 5 minutes. The pressure would not have settled and that’s the fun part. Place the cooker under a stream on running tap water. Enjoy the sound of water hitting hit mettle and the pressure goes down real quick. Once this is done, you will be able to open the cooker!

On a pan, sauté the onions along with the mustard, methi and dhals – The onions go last. Sauté till golden brown. Add the nuts and raisins and sauté for another minute or so. Empty the sautéed contents onto the open cooker which has the rice still hot!

To the rice, add about a quarter glass of water, pour in the curds and add the chillies and coriander and mix them up nicely. The fact that you are looking at hot rice that has been cooled real quickly facilitates the mashing process. Add a little bit of salt to taste. Mix them up nicely and your curd rice is ready to go!

The curd and the water ensure that your rice cools real quickly too. I think the taste comes from this heating and cooling business! Who cares about science when I can get curd rice?

Enjoy with a pickle of your choice – you’ll invariably not need the pickle in this case!

PS: The onions are optional. You may add a dash of asafetida in case you like. Feel free to add a lil more curd in case you want your curd rice to be a little more fluid. Have it within 15 minutes of your making this and I can guarantee you that the vessels will clean themselves up!

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The story goes something like this:

Tommy Hilfiger said to Oprah that he would have never created such a popular clothing line if he knew that Black, Hispanic and Asians would have bought and wore the apparel made by him. He also said that his clothes were meant for high-class white and not for all. Oprah, on hearing this, at once asked Tommy to leave his show. This show was never aired due to this event.

Reality:

This was apparently a rumour which was on for about a decade. This story could have caused considerable damage to Tommy’s business in India and other countries. Oprah, being her usual self, wanted to set the record right. She ran an episode this time with Tommy and clarified to the World that this was nothing more than a rumour.

Believe it or not even one of my friend was very fond of Tommy’s line of apparel and he gave up buying those on hearing this rumour. Unfortunately we did not have a platform like Youtube to verify the facts.

But now you know! Watch the Oprah episode with Tommy here.

And please let Tommy make a living, apparently it was a rumour.

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In what is seen as India’s answer to the Pirelli calendar (maybe this is not India’s answer – One Indian’s maybe?), Mallya has taken it to a different league.

I would have been more than thrilled and happy to attend the launch party – but I’ve got to stop dreaming and learn to get real. This is a “by invitation only” launch and who get’s invited? – Bollywood stars, honcho’s from the business world and a ton of men who are working for Mallya!!!

News reports that I read have declared that this year’s edition is hotter and better than the previous one. The report also suggested that Mallya has been raising the bar year on year. Some skill this is eh! We’ll come back to this in just a second!

Where does the ordinary Indian get his entire scoop from??

Thanks to the internet – there are these links on MSN offering sneak peeks of the making of the KF calendar and of course, the website for the KF calendar, which most offices have gone and blocked access to from work! You’ll invariably see these links in the “most emailed” category as a result…In a matter of days, these pictures will get splashed over the world and me one of the most forwarded email chains ever!

Before I go to Mallya, I also saw something very interesting on MSN. A group of Indians have tried to rival Mallya. These boys for sure don’t have the financial muscle that our good friend has – but oh boy, have they caught some fish!? The so called DesiClub Bikini Babes calendar certainly gives Mallya a run for his money – the only difference being that this is 100% Indian when compared to the KF’s multinational one.

I don’t mean to suggest that the jury is out to decide between the two – folks who have seen / heard of the KF calendar will say that it will win hands down.

Getting back to Mallya, he’s for one got class and certainly does believe in living it up. Proof of this is the location of the shoots – With a modest beginning at his famous Kingfisher villa in Goa, Mallya has taken this global – from the French Rivera to the islands of Koi samui, he’s been around the world pretty much year on year.

With location frozen, let’s talk models. He takes it upon himself to ensure that the best and brightest are picked! In a recent interview, he said, he personally picks the models that have to shoot for a year’s edition. He apparently makes a choice from around 120 models that appear in front of him!

Some job this one is, eh!

If his job was tough (seemingly), spare a thought for his superstar, the man behind these pictures, the photographer – Atul. Together, they have seen it all. From the Deepika Padukone in her early days to Yana Gupta, from Deepti Gujral to Monikangana Dutta -they are all in there! The output – Fabulous to say the least!!!

This get’s so much press and net coverage year on year!!!

I’m not the one to decide right or wrong for I think some eye candy is ok. The question that comes up of course is of India and the much hype about moral police!!

Where are they when all of this is happening? I can tell you that these guys are all clued on to this – much more than me! If they can live with this sleaze and silently appreciate this within their minds, why won’t they let young couples holding hands on the beaches of Mumbai or couples walking around cozily in the parks of Bangalore on their own? An expression of affection is perfectly acceptable in this world and we need to get real about this.

What our folks do in public is certainly more acceptable that seeing couples smooch each other on the tubes of London or New York and do stuff (that I can’t put up here) in public in the street of cities around the world.

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Take for example the soap. The last part of which would never be thrown away – it would be ‘attached’ to the next bar of soap to ensure full use, or even miraculously dissolved in water to make ‘liquid soap’. Then Eureka! One of the wiser ones came up with soap saving devices… strange shapes of steel and plastic that would stick to the bottom of the soap so that it would stay ‘dry’ and last longer.

Manufacturers got wiser and created soaps with a U curve that would no longer use these miraculous devices. Then an amazing thing happened – one of the dish-wash soaps decided to ‘dissolve’ less even when it was in contact with water…

The world was fuelled by invention. And we for conservation! It was well known that completely dead batteries when kept in the sunlight would ‘recharge’ and give some extra life. A cycle tube could easily run another year even if it had just 20 punctures. Your old clothes could be exchanged for new ‘Aluminum’ vessels. Your old vessels could be made new and shining thanks to men with ‘kalai’ (I always thought they were alchemists).

A bus was meant to carry as many passengers as could be stuffed inside and loaded over the roof too. Milk packets could be cleaned and saved to be sold to the ‘raddi-wala’ for some money along with the old newspapers. You could repair your umbrella every year thanks to the ‘chatri-repairwala’, who surprisingly never seems to carry his own umbrella. Chappals and shoes had typical lives of several hundred kilometers thanks to your cobbler, who could almost refit a new part from somewhere everytime (and finally finally use your footwear for spare parts for someone else). Cow dung and coconut had a thousand uses.

Televisions would be draped in the finest of cloth to prevent it from dust, not to mention the intricate wooden shutter boxes for the more privileged ones. The rare Mixer-Grinders would be kept in their boxes under lock and key when not in use. Almost everything could be ‘repaired’ and reused… glassware, furniture, shoes, clothes, used tyres, rope, wires, broken switches, fans, buckets. The list sure seems endless…

Today we are perhaps surrounded by plenty. Many of us don’t even think before we throw away tons of garbage including electronic and on bio-degradable waste. Think of the countless plastic covers each of us would have thrown over the years. Don’t get me wrong here – it’s not about being stingy.

In what our earlier generation did, there was a message. A message to conserve and reuse – in ways they thought best. Something they perhaps unknowingly did. Or maybe out of need. Either way they seem to have led a more environmentally aware and mature life.

Fortunately, some of these funny practices still exist. I don’t know for how long… but I sure hope we all find newer and better methods to get environmentally friendly, even if it means crude, but effective ways Share your whacky ideas in the comments…

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Ingredients

• Toor Dal/Kandi Pappu/Yellow Lentils – 150 gms
• Chilli Powder – 1 tsp
• Cooking oil – 1 tsp
• Secret Ingredient (Read on, you will know what it is) – 1 tsp
• Green Chillies – 3 nos
• Curry leaves – a few
• Tamarind – 2tsp – soaked in 2 cups of water
• Onion – 1 (if desired)
• Salt to taste

Additionally For Tadka/Popu/Tempering

• Cumin Seeds – 1 tsp
• Mustard Seeds – 1 tsp
• Dry Red Chillies – 2 nos
• Cooking Oil – 1tbsp

Preparation

• Take washed 150 gms of Dal in a pressure cooker, add 450 ml of water, add a tea spoonful oil and mix.
• Let the Dal be cooked for 3 whistles in the pressure cooker. Once cooked mash the Dal properly so that it is a even.
• Squeeze the soaked tamarind well and add the 2 cups of tamarind juice to the mashed Dal and add another cup of water.
• Put the mixture on stove to boil and add chilly powder and mix well.
• Add oil to a frying pan and heat it. Once heated, add cumin seeds, mustard seeds, dry Red Chillies, cut green chillies and mix well.
• Once mustard starts splitting, transfer the contents to the cooker where Dal is boiling.
• Let the whole mixture boil for a few min and now add the secret ingredient Sugar!
• Add 1 tsp sugar and mix well.
• Finally add salt to taste.

Serve hot with rice. If you prefer add ghee and I promise you will love it.

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Digital Cameras changed the scenario and triggered and explosive increase the number of pictures taken.

Online Photo Printing made it easier to print these off. While people living abroad are not new to the concept of online printing, few sites now are bringing this closer to folks in India.

Generally online photo printing sites offer a variety of options including printing photos, calendars with your photos, Gifts with your memories on them etc. A few sites providing these facilities for customers in India are listed below.

http://www.picsquare.com

http://www.snapfish.in (A Hewlett Packard Service)

http://www.snapgalaxy.com

http://www.fotokraze.com

All of these sites offer competitive pricing and have a very good delivery network. Folks living in India can make use of these anyway, but this is definitely a good news for all NRIs, who often struggle to send pics home.

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Ingredients:

1. Chicken – 1kg
2. Onion – 4 big ones
3. 1 tsp – Red Chili Powder
4. 1 tsp – Powdered Coriander
5. 3 tbsp – Sunflower Oil
6. 2 tsp – Cumin Seeds
7. 200 gms – Chopped Tomatoes
8. 2 tsp – Salt
9. Half cup – Curd

 Method:

1. Cut Chicken into sizeable cubes, wash if required.
2. Add chili powder, coriander powder, salt, curd to the Chicken and mix well.
3. Add a half table spoon oil to the mix, mix thoroughly and keep aside.
4. Finely chop the onions and keep them aside.
5. Add two table spoons of oil in a pan, heat it.
6. Once heated, add 2 tea spoons of Cumin seeds.
7. Add the chopped onions to the oil and fry for a few min. Once the onion turns brown, transfer the contents of the pan to the Chicken container..
8. Cook the contents of the vessel on a low flame for about 15 – 20 min.
9. Do not forget to cover the vessel.
10. Garnish if required with some fresh coriander.

Your Chicken Whatever is ready to serve! Yeah I know the picture look pretty much like any other Chicken curry, therefore this curry is called Chicken Whatever.

Enjoy!

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