The Year That Was: 2010

As we come to the end of the year, I look back at the incidents in my life and those of my friends.

Feb 2010: Femmo said she will be gone for a week to improve her IQ up to 90. She has not yet returned.

Mar 2010: A friend went to her mayke (mother's place) for childbirth. She went a little early (before her pregnancy was confirmed). She is still there.

Apr 2010: A friend promised (by mistake) to walk in rain everyday for the rest of her life.

May 2010: A die hard communist friend told me that her child didn't resemble her. I said maybe her husband cheated and maybe she wasn't the real mother. She went and accused her husband. And... Well the rest of the incident was very ugly.

Jun 2010: Friend's mom returned to Calcutta from US. Her father, who in the mother's absence handled the kitchen portfolio, handed over custody and responsibility of the kitchen to her mother.

Jul 2010: A friend went to the beach to get tanned and came back whiter than before. She plans to sell this wonder cure called Albulgu to dark skinned people.

Aug 2010: A friend got her driver's license in Australia after a record 83^rd attempt. She is a shining example of how our perseverance can frustrate the Motor Vehicles Department.

Sep 2010: A friend went on serious dieting. She is writing a book on dieting which will find favor with people who want to gain weight.

Another friend started taking tennis lessons. I explained the importance of proper breathing while serving; whether we should breathe before or during or after serving. She has been double faulting ever since.

Oct 2010: I informed the Polish parliament of the consequences of the indiscriminate use of the letter Z. Even now, cities like SZSZSCZCZNIN show scorn towards the new Z reduction policy being promulgated. Embittered by this, Switzerland and Norway have refused to join the EU. Friends from Poland showed solidarity with me by actively avoiding the use of Z. Dieki.

Nov 2010: Juice paid $100 to an escort to get math lessons.

Dec 2010: A friend got a job as a photographer. Details of what she would pay her employer are being ironed out. I explained to her the theory of money. That in any transaction the person who enjoys the transaction always pays and the one who supposedly doesn't enjoy gets paid.

Blondie friend baked a cake for her best friend. Subsequently they are not on talking terms.

Bjubos explained to me that Julian calendar (followed by Orthodox Christians) lags Gregorian calendar (followed by most everyone) by 13 days. So orthodox people get Jan 1st on Jan 14th, if you know what I mean.
She told me her sons come and stay at her house every weekend. She visits her parents every weekend. She said she hasn't met her sons in a long time and wondered why.

Hmm. Just a normal year.

Dal Lake In Kashmir

Today I came across a photo (http://hindu.com/2010/12/28/stories/2010122852210300.htm) of a frozen lake in Chennai.

Incidentally this is a summer time picture of the same lake: http://www.kashmir-houseboats.com/s_dal_lake1.jpg.

Beautiful isn't it? Well actually the lake is not in Chennai. It's in Kashmir.

The Polyester Prince: The Rise of Dhirubhai Ambani

This is an interesting book by Hamish Mcdonald. As I understand the author didn't have much access to Ambani while writing this book. In that way it is similar to Ben Mezrich's biography "The Accidental Billionaires" on Mark Zuckerberg (of Facebook fame). The Ambanis are richer than Zuckerberg.

The Polyester Prince gives an interesting glimpse into the world of finance, industry and politics at the highest levels in India. Apparently the book is banned in India. 

Update (23 Oct 2011): http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Reliance-used-Swan-as-a-mask-Judge/articleshow/10458068.cms. 

Merry Christmas

http://ak.imgag.com/imgag/product/preview/flash/bws8Shell_fps24.swf?ihost=http://ak.imgag.com/imgag&brandldrPath=/product/full/el/&cardNum=/product/full/ap/3166187/graphic1

Multi Talking

Today I was watching a woman who was lying across on a bed with only her forehead, knees and toes touching the bed. A strange pose. She was on the phone (actually 2 phones). While she was listening on one, she was talking on the other and vice versa. Moving her face from left to right and then right to left like a pendulum. The forehead was like a fulcrum. I was astounded. How could one do that (I mean how could one talk like that on 2 phones)?

And after some time I figured it out. 

A feminine conversation has a certain grammar to it..

It consists of the following phrases

1. I hate you

2. Its chooo chweeet (baby language for "so sweet")

3. I know it because I know it.

4. Didn't you know? She is pregnant. 

5. Isn't she an angel?

6. Oh her dress. Ugghhh

7. I want a chocolate. NOW
8. I want to die.
9. Giggle and/or whisper and/or squeal.

and so on. These may be uttered in response to any question, be it on weather or politics or any other subject.

This loose coupling between a question and its answer is what makes this multi tas(l)king possible. 

I am happy I have found the solution.

Laptops and India

I saw a couple of posts which were really funny.

Usage of Laptops

About India - a good collection of FAQ.

And about Hell.

Old Home Made Remedies for Ailments

I read this article (http://www.sukravathanee.org/forum1/viewtopic.php?f=138&t=14291&p=74756#p74756) on home made remedies. I liked it, though I do not know whether each remedy is effective, but certainly worth trying. 

A Cool Tablet Cum Phone

I had earlier mentioned about the changes in way we search and how we communicate. How Google and mobile phone have radically modified our lives. http://vbala99.blogspot.com/2010/10/google-search-and-mobiles-how-our-lives.html.

I have been reading about tablets and smartphones etc. But none of them has the features that I would love.

I expect this device (is it a tablet or a phone?) to have the features of a phone, have a good camera, it should be portable like a paperback book. It should be rugged like a phone. You just pick up a phone and go out, you don't pick up a laptop and walk out, not without a carrying case. Not especially if it's raining. And you would be worried about dust when you take a laptop to the park. You don't worry about using a phone in the park. 

So I want this device to be rugged like a phone. Have a battery charge that lasts 4 days comfortably, giving a talk time of 4 hours. 

And of course I should be able to edit MS Office documents in it, apart from watching videos/movies. Editing should be easy, note that the device may not have a keyboard. And it should be 8"-10" (20mm to 25mm) in size. 

Basically I want a tablet which I can use to work (edit) extensively with MS office documents, watch videos, have access to the net and also use as a telephone. It should be rugged enough that I can put it in my pocket take it to the park and work for a few hours without any strain. And it should have LONG battery life.

Whew, I think those are what I want. Not one of the phones /tablets seemed to cover what I wanted. Until I read about the Olive tablet today http://www.olivetelecom.in/laptop/olivepad/features.html. Some reviews are given in http://www.olivetelecom.in/laptop/olivepad/reviews.html

Some reviews have compared this favorably with the Samsung Galaxy Tab and the Apple IPAD. The latter two are far more expensive and apparently more stylish. Apple IPAD doesn't support flash nor MS Office documents.

Now this one tablet (based on the specifications seems to have all that I want). Sure the battery is not adequate, the RAM and hard disk and processor are inadequate. While it talks about a Doc Whiz for editing MS documents, I don't know how easy it is to use that.

Having said that, the Olive tablet seems to have all the features that I want. In another couple of years, they (Olive or someone else) will get the specs right. And my dream tablophone will be out there in the market. Yipeeee.

About Chennai

I was reading an article in the newspaper today

(http://www.hindu.com/fr/2010/12/10/stories/2010121050420100.htm) about women from Europe living in Chennai learning Indian dancing (an art that is more than 1000 years old).

It then struck me. How many Koreans, Europeans live here in Chennai. How often I have seen people with blonde hair shopping near my house or going for a walk. How many times I have seen a European woman bicycling with her child sitting in a baby seat in the back of the cycle.

In the last 15 years, Chennai (Nee Madras) has seen so many changes. I remember Elliots Beach which was far less crowded than it is now.

There used to be a time 40 years back when people from Madras went to Bombay, Delhi, Calcutta or to UK/USA etc in search of a living. Now I find so many people from north India living here. Especially the ones in the mid to late 30s who would hate to go back to their native places in north India.

And now we have people from outside India living here in Chennai and loving it here. Though I don't know any foreigner living in Chennai, I understand that they enjoy being here. 

Chennai has come a long way.

And what about India. Last month Mr Obama visited India and went back with $10 billion in business from India which apparently will create 55,000 jobs in the USA. Last week Mr Sarkozy visited India with his wife (whose hair color varied with occasion, I thought) and he went back to France with quite a few deals (aircrafts etc). (And he gave a speech in French which I was not quite able to follow; probably he doesn't speak French well.)

Of course India also would have benefited from these visits. Again I can't help but think that India too has come a long way. From that day in early 1990's when there was no foreign exchange left and India had to hock a couple of tons of gold to UK in order to get "working foreign exchange capital".

Hmmm.

Blonde Hair

I have been fascinated by blonde (well actually red more than yellow) hair for decades now. While I tend to stare stupidly at a blonde person, I don't like it when people dye their hair blonde or red or whatever. And I was irritated with myself that I couldn't find out whether the hair color was natural or dyed.

A friend explained the secret to me. Look at the eyebrows. Eyebrow color (in the case of men look at the hair in the hand or legs), should match the color of hair. 

The other day I was talking to a friend who had sent me a lovely video of 2 children performing. But I saw too many women having blonde hair and it seemed unnatural to me. 

Then I started to dig deeper into blonde hair. Of course we all know Scandinavians usually (apparently more than three fourths) have blonde hair. Blonde hair also seems very common in the northern parts of England. France, Spain, Portugal, Italy while the Balkan nations have a much lower incidence (less than 20%) of blonde hair. Between 20 and 50% people in the rest of Europe have blonde hair. The friend, who sent me the video, explained this to me though not with the percentage figures. 

Here is a very good visual picture of prevalence of blonde hair in Europe. http://bigthink.com/ideas/21266. What is surprising is that people in North Africa, Asia and the Kalash tribe in Pakistan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blond - see picture of blonde Berber man from North Africa and of Kurdish children,
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rashidctl/3474061080/in/faves-45816934@N07/, http://s720.photobucket.com/albums/ww205/haas_bucket/?action=view&current=448517003_aaec024435_b.jpg the last two pictures show children from Kalash tribe I think) and apparently some Kashmiris (Indian) also have blonde hair though in smaller proportions.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1917348/posts - see the Kashmiri blonde kid. Never knew this! 

Today I read an article about Russian (and Ukrainian) women resorting to selling their blonde hair due to economic conditions there. There seems to be a big market for blonde hair. Apparently a 16 inch (40cm) length of blonde hair fetches $50.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/22/business/global/22blond.html?_r=1. 

White people are normally referred to as Caucasians. And the Caucasus region is in Russia, Georgia to be more precise. And these mountains are apparently at the border of Europe and Asia. Wonder why the term Caucasian has been used to denote people with white skin.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caucasus_Mountains
And all that I knew till now was that you could either be naturally blonde or bright. Whew.

Real Men - My Take

A friend passed this to me. I liked the "real man" so much that I am reproducing it here.

"

10 Reasons why men are so lovable!

On International Men's Day let us women raise a toast to all the men who have touched our lives in some way, big or small.

Reasons why women must celebrate the men who love us - be it our fathers, teachers, grandfathers, brothers, boyfriends, husbands, sons or friends.

1. They always keep us on a pedestal by having great expectations from us - of understanding football, cricket , going out clubbing yet being the demure petite 'bahu' (daughter in law) at all the family dos and being absolute devils in bed! 

2. Once they love us they cannot delete us from their systems although our loyalties might keep switching between our fathers, boyfriends, husbands and sons all our lives!

3. He tries his best to surprise us although his surprise might put us in an absolute state of shock!

4. Though most of us feel that men can very rarely be as sensitive as us, it's just we on the contrary who need to understand that their ways of being sensitive are manly else they'd be just like us and oh wouldn't that make the world so boring?

5. They can really hold secrets and even forget them conveniently! Don't expect him to remember the colleague you bitched about the other day to him!

6. He might never be our 'best friend' but in spite of being impatient and short tempered with the world around he really tries to be a patient listener.

7. He might not be the 'knight in shining armor' out of our dreams but he can pamper us with all his love.

8. They are babies at heart, they respect us, can't do without us but will never admit it or praise women!

9. They are born loyal- ever heard a man who forgets his ma-ke-haath-ka-khaana?

10. They always want to be heroic, no matter where they are in spite of all their flaws just to impress us women!

"

wowowow. Very nice if possibly exaggerated!

Another nice one which caught my fancy was http://www.funtoosh.com/jokes/men/366. It made my day.

Simple Geometry

A friend sent me this powerpoint yesterday. It was very interesting and I liked it a lot. It has questions on simple geometry. https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B1xQDlpMnLKxMzQ5NmFkMWEtMzMyMy00NTI1LTkzZGEtNWI2ZDBmMDk5Mzdl&authkey=CM-OmsAP&hl=en

Another friend sent me this about the amount that is spent by a family each week on food in different parts of the world. Though I suspect that the data in one slide could be wrong, overall its a very interesting slide deck. Kudos to the man who made the deck. (The text in the first couple of slides is in a European language. Dont worry if you can't understand. Click on to the next slides. They are interesting and you will understand.)

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B1xQDlpMnLKxOGM5YTJlODktNmEyNi00ZDg2LWI4ODktYTE0YTdhMDk5MjY2&authkey=CMeDi6gE&hl=en

(I am not sure if the cost in California could be half the cost in the Carolinas)

In countries where the weekly expense is lower, people eat more food that don't go through a  manufacturing process. The processing (if any) is done at home.

Matrimonial Advertisement

I came across this blog today, written 6 years back. http://reshmi.sulekha.com/blog/post/2004/01/wanted-hindu-green-card-bride.htm. It is about a male doctor who is looking for a bride with a green card in the US. The author of the blog finds this advt. strange and wonders whether it is for real. 

I have come across more cases of women (or the parents) in Tamil Nadu looking for grooms settled in the US than you could shake a stick at. One of the comments in that blog mentions the same.

In Tamils there is a custom; you give your girl (girl means daughter and not wife) in marriage to a family which is better off than yours. And you pick a girl from a family which is not as well off as yours. Perhaps with this as a backdrop, it is kinda surprising that a groom played the role of Cinderalla waiting for a prince(ess) to carry him off.

It does remind me of an incident 25 years back when I was in college. I went to a college where many students would go abroad for further studies. Students in their final year of undergraduate program would apply from September-December for admission to graduate programs in universities in the USA starting the next fall. January-February months were nail biting time. Students would anxiously wait for the admission and schols (abbreviation for scholarships that covered tuition fees and provided stipend for living expenses) from the universities in Jan and Feb. When we  heard a riotous cheer, we would understand that some student had made it. 

While the class toppers were still waiting to plan their trip to US in a few months, the rank bottomer in a senior batch got there first. It turned out that his marriage was fixed with a girl who had a green card. His trip to the US was the first that was finalized in his batch. He was the butt of no end of jokes.

Had he been female, there would have been no jokes about the incident.

Vada Pav In Madras

I have been a fan of vada Pav from my Bombay days. I remember the spicy and crisp vada at the Sri Krishna shop at Dadar West outside the station. I had been searching for a similar shop in Chennai and I came across an article http://www.hindu.com/rp/2008/06/29/stories/2008062950050200.htm which mentioned a shop called Mehta's in Mint Street (which is in Sowcarpet, a predominantly Marwari area). 

Once I read the article, I was waiting for the right occasion to go to Sowcarpet and gulp down a few vadas. And that day came

The persons who cook and serve customers in the shop (note that this is a shop which is about 3' by 3' and all customers stand outside on the road and eat there) wear ear studs, they are from Rajasthan.

If you love driving, like good roads without traffic, then you might just want to forego the idea of going to Mint street. But if you are like me and would take any risk in life to get some good (read unhealthy) food, then a trip to that shop is worth it. The vada is good. I ate it without chutney, but with a lot of chili powder spread on the pav. I would have loved to have fried green chilies served along with the vada. But that was not to be. The shop does not serve fried green chilies. But until I find another place which serves good vada (with or without pav), I will keep coming to Mint Street. 

Additional reading: http://m.thehindu.com/arts/magazine/article3657300.ece/

Lovely Photographs Of India

I came across a post today with some lovely photos. Here it is.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/yahooindia/galleries/72157625227336283/.

And isn't it nice to see American President Obama leave India with a lot of jobs secured in US as a result of purchases of American goods/services by India? 
See http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/6904295.cms.

Another nice article comparing India and Africa:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/columnists/swaminathan-s-a-aiyar/Why-India-has-fared-better-than-Africa/articleshow/6898594.cms?curpg=2.

Today, an incident astounded me. The profile of the new Chief Minister of Maharashtra who has an engineering degree from BITS Pilani and a Masters from Berkeley, California. Wow.
http://news.rediff.com/special/2010/nov/10/special-prithviraj-chavan-maharashtra-chief-minister-unusual-indian-politician.htm. 
Indian politicians are now educated.

Being A White (Causasian) Indian Housewife

While browsing, I came across a website describing the perspectives of a white woman married to an Indian and living in India. Here is the link: http://www.whiteindianhousewife.com. Its easy and nice reading.

Rhino

One of my friends recently told me that I had about as much sensitivity and feelings as a rhino. That set of a train of thoughts. I pondered about that statement for a while and then searched furiously in the internet. My efforts were rewarded and here is an excellent photo of a rhyno. http://www.wildlifetourpackages.com/images/rino-running.jpg.

Super Cyclone Jal To Hit Chennai Later Today

I have been looking forward to some heavy rains. And I saw some news that Jay will cross the Indian coast later tonight. I had been following this cyclone news item for 2 days now. Let's see how it shapes up. 

Apparently 25cm of rainfall expected in this area (north Tamil Nadu and south Andhra). If we receive that, Chennai rainfall since June 2010 would exceed 1000mm. I see from one the article above that cyclone might hit Burma as well.

World War 2

For a long time I have been very interested in WW2. I love the book "Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" by Shirer. Today I came across couple of videos of the war. I am providing the links to the same here. 

The Battle for Berlin 1945, http://eastgermany.info/battleforberlinvid.htm.

Video Of Berlin after WW2 http://eastgermany.info/berlin1945vid.htm.

A Bet With a Friend

I had a bet with a friend today. We were talking about a recent movie. She is a fan of the hero Hrithik. I said the movie would be awful and she said it would be nice. She even dared me to watch it with her. 

As she is a frequent bet loser with me we decided that if the movie were to turn out good I will have to buy her pizza. And if it's awful, she will walk in rain (she hates it).

Incidentally, I have cornered the lucrative bet market with her. She has a signed a non-comBETe clause with me, so she can't have bets with anyone else. She is my retirement plan. We have agreed that anytime I am hungry, I can call her and have a bet with her. And she will lose and buy me a pizza. 

As I understand, the movie Guzaarish (the bet was about this movie) is due to release in 20 days. Is there anyone out there who can do some last minute edits and nail the movie for good?

Travelogs That I Liked

I came across a travelog http://www.sadanandsafar.blogspot.com/. The author has been to a lot of places in India (Mostly north and a little of south India as well), US and a couple of places in Europe (France, Switzerland) too. I was googling for some scenic places in India when I came this link and I went through a few.

About his travels, the author mentions the itinerary, describes the places, provides interesting titbits, costs of stay/hiring a car etc. It isn't written like a tourist book. There is a personal touch, it's about his travel. It's an interesting read with lovely photographs.

I read another good article about a scenic trip in South India (I don't have the link to it). The author talks about traveling from Kollam on the west coast by Tinnevely (Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu) passenger in a second class compartment. He recommends second class for the leisure traveler.

A nice site for people planning to travel in India is http://www.incredibleindia.org/.

Another site which is lovely is http://usandeep.com/trekking/nilambur.html. The formatting and page layout is very pleasing. This site is mainly about treks in Kerala.

This could be another nice site: http://www.goseekandhide.com/

Modest Women's Dressing

Women's dress used to interest me a lot, primarily because I found it lacking in any kind of sense, rationality. The sole objective of the dress was to wear too much (or too little) of it, make it obsolete faster than a new piece of software and create many different variants from a basic style. 

For example, you have the pants and a shirt, then you have the pants (which reach till the knee or calves and a shirt and a skirt), then you have the bikini. All of these (and hundreds of other variants of these) are formed from the same basic design with some pieces of dress made 1. shorter 2. longer 3. slightly different 4. eliminated. And there is a hoopla around this industry from New York to Paris to Milan to Mumbai referring to a few words (I guess they are French) "avant le Garde" and "Haute Le Couture". I can only silently tap my forefinger against my temple and shake my head sadly when I hear about women's dress.

Many colleges in Chennai have a dress code imposed on women in the city. And guess what, women (in their teens and early 20's at the maximum) have been up in arms against the establishment crying foul. Women believe that it's their constitutional right to wear (or not) what they please. Now these are the same women who complain of eve teasing. They believe it's a fair expectation to be not teased. Sure, just as it's a fair expectation to not have your house stolen. But would you keep your house open when you go on a vacation? Right, try explaining this to women.

Having said that, today I came across on article about what (woman's) modest dressing is all about. I liked it a lot but for the fact that it keeps dragging Christianity into it. I wonder what religion has to do with dressing. (When do we understand that good sense is religion agnostic?)

If I overlook the religious stuff in the article it makes good reading and explains nicely what modest dressing is all about http://www.therebelution.com/blog/2007/02/the-responsibility-of-modesty-part-two/. (In a lighter vein: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=311971462163479&set=a.190990430928250.52403.130067003687260&type=1&theater)

I never thought I would like to read anything written by a feminist until I read this: http://fearlesslyfeminine.blogspot.com/2006_08_01_archive.html. Thanks BLBLBLBL.

BLBLBLBL refers to a close relative of hers who insists that my friend not wear cheap dress. And that a dress should be "heavy" meaning it should have lots of embroidery, made in silk and be heavy. That got me thinking. How would I look in shorts tailored that way?

Oh To Be 12 Again

My Friend Jalani (29-1) sent me this. I loved it..

http://prince.org/msg/100/315157

The moral of the story: Even when a man is listening, he is gonna get it wrong.

Predicting Labor - The Layman's Way

A friend sent me this https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiryaGlIQYyhG-qb_-x4MojetiLgNH5k0RK_18gCo1ShOaUlNU37Y8qIummPqtqobhhBgiH6gXuul5fvsp2eXgQjVapXczbi21b6LmJCbn7206VWF_WfMsH0FvN0L3M2NIT3I1O4C6nrEQ/s1600/0.0.PNG to explain to laymen (husbands) how to know that the time has arrived. Hope it's useful to all the menfolk.

Picking The Right Person

I found this when I was browsing. I thought it would be very useful for a few of my friends. http://www.funtoosh.com/jokes/men_women/596. Hope you like it.

Description Of People Across India

I came across this link which explains the differences in culture/accent/behavior of people from different states of India. I thought it was fairly comprehensive and hence is a good reference. http://www.funtoosh.com/jokes/indian_jokes/490.

Pictures Of Atom Bomb / Nuclear Explosions

I came across a link with some fantastic pictures of nuclear explosions. Here is the link

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/09/14/science/20100914_atom.html?ref=science. One of my friends is an ardent fan of this topic (especially about nuclear rectors, the fast breeder ones and about Plutonium, Thorium and Uranium and its many isotopes). I hope he sees the pictures.

Trusting Relationship

I used to think that women these days don't trust their husbands much. But an incident today made me rethink.

I have a friend who copies my song lists, copies the way I travel, copies whatever I do. She, needless to say, is a snob. She comes from a wealthy family and  has never seen the interior of a 2nd class sleeper compartment. I think I am exaggerating a little here, I think she has  been inside of one in the year 1983. And then of course she has seen it in movies or on TV.

Today she said she had booked the return ticket by sleeper class from her home town (she was going to visit her parents). And I was reminded of an old dialog from the movie "Dilwale Dulhaniya Leh Jayenge". This is when Kajol (the heroine) leaves London for Punjab (India) and Shah Rukh Khan aka SRK (the hero) follows her and meets her there. He asks her "Do you trust me?" and she replies coyly "khud se zyada" ("more than I trust myself").

I realized this friend and her husband shared such a special relationship. And she had implicit trust in him that he would force her to cancel the second sleeper class tickets. So she went ahead and booked 2nd class, trying to prove a point. I explained to her that I am envious of her beautiful relationship with her husband. I thought she would blush sweetly.

I was dumbstruck to see her being furious at me. I still don't understand her reaction. Nevertheless it's nice to see such a trusting relationship.

Mysore Palace

A friend sent me this link of Mysore palace.. Its a must watch.. http://www.mysorepalace.tv/360_Eng/index.html.

And these are couple of pictures of Brindavan Gardens that I picked from the net.

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTBubUU8BXy5J5b1ykXbqCSIxGUDeJTovADWRuxo6a521Qi5zY&t=1&usg=__WRmp_UFjEpt7YpuHMKIEzpb_tE0=

http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTWhL2szfPW2Csfv3kP3q8gfi_6SVx7bqdS7GSjOoqByPHq-_E&t=1&usg=__s7OLLy3SFTyC2MTxycWicHxP8Mc=

The Gardens are a must see place. You should visit it in the evening.

Nice Dress

This is a picture of a dress that I liked.

http://www.hindu.com/mp/2010/10/12/stories/2010101250140600.htm. 30 years back, this was called pavadai chattai I think. Now perhaps since its sold in Khadar Nawaz Khan Road which is upmarket and sells only avant garde/ethnic stuff this dress is probably called bottomings. 

Shopping Behavior - Men and Women

I found couple of interesting links on shopping behavior. http://news.discovery.com/human/men-women-shopping-evolution.html.

http://www.wharton.universia.net/index.cfm?fa=viewArticle&id=1446&language=english

Enjoy.

Commonwealth Games

Isnt this nice? http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/matthewpinsent/2010/10/can_home_nations_overhaul_indi.html

http://www.smh.com.au/commonwealth-games-2010/comm-games-news/athletes-embrace-taj-trip-20101011-16g10.html

Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony 2010: Pictures

After all the issues in the month before the start of the Games (http://vbala99.blogspot.com/2010/09/what-can-go-wrong-in-commonwealth-games.html)

I saw a blog now with some stunning pictures of the opening ceremony.

http://blogs.sacbee.com/photos/2010/10/commonwealth-games-opening-cer.html. 

Here are some videos of the Opening Ceremony: http://www.stichtingmilieunet.nl/andersbekekenblog/agenda/the-xix-commonwealth-games-2010-delhi-india-the-green-games-october-3-14.html#comment-22774 (don't miss the AR Rehman video. AR Rehman incidentally won Oscar last year for Slumdog Millionaire).

And here is the coverage from Times of India on the Opening ceremony: http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOICH/2010/10/04&PageLabel=1&EntityId=Ar00100&ViewMode=HTML&GZ=T

Here is a picture of AR Rehman at the Ceremony http://www.hindu.com/2010/10/04/images/2010100461731501.jpg

And this is a picture of a 7 year old boy playing the tabla. Amazing isn't it? http://www.hindu.com/2010/10/04/images/2010100461731501.jpg

Baby Videos

Friends of mine gave me couple of baby videos which were just too good.. Here they are.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYt31nQabYA&feature=related: This one shows a baby enjoying his food.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B9NO0uIJ3rs/: Baby in pram

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cd8PSH6gC9k/: Doll like baby with blue eyes

A baby replying to questions http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cSudpyEU9w&feature=player_embedded#!

And this one shows many babies dancing to an arabic song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MIHpf3_TzE&NR=1.

A baby playing billiards: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjYiJsSjWIM

Boy getting a kiss: https://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=178244018892310

A definant baby: https://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=123797101015105

Guitar Seniors: https://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=169772946407702

This is another video of a baby (very funny).
https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B1xQDlpMnLKxZTc1YTg4MDQtZTJlNi00MzViLWJjZmMtOWY2NWU4ODMxNDQ1&hl=en. While the baby in this video reminds me of the way some of my friends behave when their mom goes out of town and the baby in the 1st video reminds me of my friends' children. These videos were not shot by me and I don't know any of the characters in the videos.

These are a couple of nice photos, the links to which were given by a friend.
http://j3.tagstat.com/image04/b/be1f/009P052yXUv.gif
http://i3.tagstat.com/image05/b/4acb/002x054CQHb.gif

Arunachal Pradesh

For a long time I have been thinking of visiting the north east (of India) and especially Arunachal Pradesh where the altitude goes above 4000m. I found a very nice travelogue: http://vishal1967.blogspot.com/2008/05/tawang-travelogue.html. I hope you find it nice.

Indian Foods That Are Good for Health

There was an article in a newspaper today on indian foods that are good for health. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/diet/12-Indian-foods-that-cut-fat/articleshow/6559721.cms.

Many of the items mentioned are easy to get. I don't know whether chilies refers to red or green chilies. Cabbage, honey, cabbage are readily available everywhere. Mustard oil is the primary medium of cooking in West Bengal. It has a nasty smell but as per the article it seems to be very good for health. 

Moong dal (Payatham paruppu in Tamil), garlic, turmeric, clove, cardamom may be primarily available in India or in Indian shops. Turmeric is considered especially good for a sore throat (to be mixed in hot milk).

Hopefully we can change our diet a little in line with the article above, so that we live longer and healthier.

Bus Stops Around The World !!!

A friend sent me this and I loved it.. So here it is.. (Apologies if this is copyrighted material)

USA 

Italy

Holland 

Dubai 

France 

China

Malaysia 

South Africa 

Greece 

Switzerland 

Bangkok 

AND Finally India (after heavy rain in Bombay)