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?