CURD RICE – Poor Man’s Rich Meal!!
Author:
• Tuesday, June 05th, 2007
I was just finishing up with my lunch which is the simple and most satisfying meal of all time ever, THE CURD RICE. A question suddenly popped in my mind. Why didn’t I ever thought of writing about it at all these days and started punching my keyboard.

  Nothing can beat or replace the cool refreshing fulfilment feel this simple and easy meal can provide to one. Its the all time favorite meal for almost all south Indians especially around the Brahmin’s community since its a pure veg. meal. I can’t recollect a single soul in my life I know off who Deny’s to eat the Curd Rice.  

 
Its served as a full meal in poor man’s hut whereas has the last part meal in rich man’s bungalow. It is there in every occasion. It served at last meal in the marriage feast as well as last part in the funeral meal. Without curd rice, no occasion meal ends. In feasts, Curd Rice is taken after Rasam Rice which helps in digestion and also tries to give the Curd rice better essence with more stronger appeal and cools down the stomach after a spicy meal.Curd rice also prepared and distributed in temples are so gracious to have as prasadam.

 

 
One wonders how come just the Curd rice can be a full meal?! I can assure you, its been full satisfying meal for years for many mainly for school going kids and office going adults.

 

 
I can still remember those days when my mom just fills my school tiffin carrier with fresh made curd rice for my lunch with my favorite pickle. It still follows with my wife now filling my lunch box with same refreshing curd rice no different in taste than my moms. There is no age bar for this meal. Some might not like chapati and some might not like idlis but nobody can so “NO” to Curd Rice.

 

 
Its the only meal which doesn’t need a big chef to prepare it and one doesn’t even have to know anything about cooking. Its totally no brainier to make this meal. Its so easy to make this meal which makes you feel good especially in the hot summer days, there is debate about it.

 

 
Curd Rice can be prepared in freshly cooked Rice(not warm) or one day old rice by simply mixing it to the Curd with some salt or no salt for a plain taste. I prefer to take it without salt to get the sweet taste of curd. It can be made rich by adding nuts, friuts like grapes, pineapple and spices like mustard to have little more taste added to it. It can also be prepared in vermicelli(samiya) which gives a different taste and feel.

 

 
This meal is the only one that can go with any kinda of side dish whether its simple pickle or heavy curry. Simple mavadu pickle(mango pickle) or lemon pickel goes well with it. Its the meal which certainly won’t upset your stomach anywhere, anytime unless its tainted. Its the no hassle meal which can be found all around the globe.

 

 
CURD RICE et all is the only simple meal which can satisfy anybody without any bar. Its not a mouth watering meal but mouth wowing meal!!!
 
 
I strongly feel that Curd Rice might have a long history going beyond the South Indians favorite idlis, vada, sambar and dosas. For idlis and vada, you need lot of preparation but for Curd Rice no preparation needed. Also idli and sambar can’t go places where Curd Rice can go all over. Its there in all places whether its hut or palace.

 

Category: Food  | Leave a Comment
Houston–Favorite Places to visit
Author:
• Wednesday, April 11th, 2007
 This blog post comes out as an attempt to answer some questions about good places to visit and places to eat in my previous TOUR OF SPACECITY HOUSTON . I like to first, Thank you for all bloggers who stopped by to check outpictures and left comments.
 
 
As I mentioned in my previous post, Houston is the 4th largest city in USA. That means its big and better. The city runs about 50 miles in radius. Beyond the misconception Houston doesn’t offer any excitment for visitors, it does have variety of places for every age limit to explore and have fun.
 
 
I will try to cover most of the places in such a way that you can plan your trip easily. I am going to talk about places I liked and ventured, also some places I plan to check it out.
 
 
I am going use the below convention which might be a great help.
1day – Places you can quickly visit in a short period
2days – Places you can visit in a weekend trip
3days – Places you can visit during long weekends
 
 
$$$ Pricy or $Cheap
 
 
S – Strongly Recommend
FR – Fairly Recommend
NR – Not recommended
 
 
Reach Houston
 
By Car – To Houston Downtown(Central Point)
Coming from AUSTIN, it takes 3 hrs
Coming from DALLAS, it takes 5 hrs
Coming from SAN ANTONIO, it takes 3 1/2 hrs
 
 
By flight
Get to International Bush Airport or Hobby Airport. Try to stay away from Downtown and away from Airport area.
 

Fun Places

NASA – Space Center, Houston – 30 mins from Downtown ( S, $$, 2day)
Moody Gardens, Galveston – 1 hr from Downtown (NR, $$$,2day)
Galveston Beach – 1hr from Downtown (FR, $, 1day)
Schlitterbahn Galveston Island Waterpark – 1 hr from Downtown (S, $$$, 3days)
Splashtown Water Park – 1 1/2 hr from downtown (FR, $$$, 3 days)
 

Free Rides (I know we all love free stuffs)
Sam Houston Boat Ride – http://www.portofhouston.com/ – (FR, Free,1days)

 
Note: Need reservation 2-3 weeks ahead and all needs your ID to board.
 
Galveston Boat Ride to an Island – (FR, Free,2days)
Note: During summer, there is a long line for the boat.
 
 
 
Historical Places
San Jacinto Monument, La Porte – http://www.sanjacinto-museum.org/ (S, $$, 2days)
BattleShip Texas, La Porte – (FR, $$, 2days)
Forbidden Gardens, Katy – http://www.forbidden-gardens.com/ (FR, $$, 3days)
 
 
 
 
Religious Places
Meenakshi Temple – Pearland (S, Free,1day)
SwamiNarayana Temple – Stafford (S, Free,1day)
ISKCON – Houston (S, Free, 1day)
 
 
 
TimePass Places
Downtown – Train Ride
Sam Houston Race Park – Horse Race (FR, $, 3days or more)
Gulf Greyhound Park – Dog Race – (FR, $$, 3days or more)
Downtown Aquarium – http://www.downtownaquarium.com/ (NR, $$$, 3days)
Museum District – http://www.houstonmuseumdistrict.org/default.asp?id=1 (Price vary, 3days) – Lots of museum including children’s, Natural Science, Holocaust Museum
Houston Z00 – (FR, $$, 3days)
 
 
Parks
Buffalo Bayou Park (FR, Free, 2days)
Sesquicentennial Park – Near Aquarium (S, Free, 2days)
Places to Eat
Houston offers good eats from different ethnicity. I would recommend you to try Sea food and Mexican restaurants like Las Cuocus.
Hillcroft Area – Cheap restaurants all over the street
Mayuri – Westheimer Galleria Area (S, $$)
Dakshin & IndianWok – 249/FM1960 Area (FR, $$)
Check out the site, http://www.b4-u-eat.com/ for others
 
 
Places to Shop
Hilcroft Road off Hwy 59 South – Lots of grocery stores including 110/220 shops
Galleria Mall (offers Ice Skating)
Katy Mills Outlet Mall
Conroe Outlet Mall
 
 
Deals
Visit this Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau site and go to special offer for discount coupons for lots of places.. http://www.visithoustontexas.com/
 
 
I covered most of the things which our people(desi’s) like to do. There are other places which you can find out from the Houston Visitors center site.
Category: Travel  | Leave a Comment
TOUR OF SPACE CITY HOUSTON
Author:
• Tuesday, April 10th, 2007
My proud parents visited us for a month long vacation(Apr 2007). I dreamt for this day since I got to America like any other desi. I wanted them to show everything possible and give them an experience of lifetime during this short period.
I took them to some good historic and important places in and around Houston city which I am about share with you via pics.
Houston Downtown Sky raisers -( a nice decent view from the park)

Houston Sesquicentennial Park

The main deities at the temple are Meenakshi, Sundareswara and Lakshmi, the companion of Vishnu. Its located apx. 50 miles from my place. It take atleast 1 hour drive in car during the off-peak hours.

Stafford Swami Narayana Temple

It was the first traditional Hindu Mandir (temple) of stone and marble to be constructed in the United States.The 25,620 sq.ft Mandir is constructed entirely of marble from Italy and limestone from Turkey. There is no iron or steel anywhere in the structure.

The stone that makes up the temple was shipped to India where it was hand-carved with traditional Vedicdeities and motifs. Approximately 33,000 individually marked pieces were then shipped to Houston and assembled like a giant three dimensional jigsaw.

Houston, the city, was the first word spoken from the surface of the moon and the first to build an air-conditioned sports stadium.Houston received the official nickname of “Space City” in 1967 because it is home to NASA’s Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center.

Space vehicle used in the Moon

Kalpana Chawla’s with her crew on the Wall of fame.

Inside the Rocket Cockpit

Design of the International Space Station which is rotating about the earth.


Future Unmanned Space Shuttle

Port of Houston (Boat Tour)



San Jacinto Monument

A bit history – On April 21, 1836, Mexican rule over Texas came to a dramatic close. The climax of the Texas Revolution, the Battle of San Jacinto eventually moved Americas western border to the Pacific Ocean. This worlds tallest 570 feet monument tower was built in memory of this great battle fought by the Texans.

Another interesting fact, in the 57 hours that the foundation was poured, the builders consumed 3,800 sandwiches and 5,700 cups of coffee.

Top view from the observation deck


Hope you enjoyed the short tour of the Space city of USA. Please don’t feel shy to leave your feedback as comments. I would appreciate it..

Check out my new post as per some bloggers request on Houston, Favorite Places to visit and see…

Houston Johnson Space Center – NASA

Pearland Meenakshi Temple (never missmy big temple back home)

Buffalo Bayou Sesquicentennial Park has become an urban oasis in the heart of Houstons downtown Theater District. The George Bush Monument, a tribute to the 41st American president, was unveiled to the public in December of 2004, as a new addition to Sesquicentennial Park.

Houston is the nations fourth largest city, home to 2 million people and a hub of international businesses. It is a vibrant international city that heartily enjoys its tradition of being a place of firsts. General Sam Houston, the citys heroic namesake, was the first president of the Republic of Texas.

Category: Travel  | Tags: ,  | Leave a Comment
Daylight Saving Time – a real teaser
Author:
• Monday, March 05th, 2007

watch a movie at the dollar theatre. We were planning to go to 3.30pm show so we went to the pizza buffet place for late lunch before the movie and we headed to the theatre around 3pm after some window shopping. We got our tickets and waited for the the previous show to get over so we can go inside.

It was almost 3:25pm in my watch and we thought may the ticket counter guy didn’t know we are waiting so we headed inside the theatre. The movie is already running. I got frustrated and went to the ticket counter and asked. We been waiting for almost 20mins and you didn’t tell us that movie started. He said the previous show is still running and its only 2:30pm and you have another one hour for the next show. What ?!! Yep, its 2:30pm and time change today. I was really embarrassed. Anyway, we went for another round of window shopping for 45 more mins and got back for the show on time.

I came to know about this Daylight saving time when I first landed in Boston during Feb month. After a month, I was told to change my time ahead and I was totally confused inspite of the already confusing different time zones in USA. A Guy who landed from a country which follows on time zone all around and one time all year around. Its definitely damn confusing.It gets more worse when you are traveling around the world and hitting different part of the world who follows different day light saving schedules.

I was like what the heck they are doing?! They have different time zones to start with and they change the time every year which I never done in my life time. I felt like these guys are stupid to change the time without me realizing the total benefit. Its a real teaser sometimes if you are not up to-date on the local happenings. It took me a while to get it researched and get it synched in.

It was the second time it was happening to me. It happened to me once in 2001 when I went to the dance program 1hr late thinking its still 8pm but it was actually 9pm DST. Is this Daylight saving time really useful or just confuses people make them feel embarrassed aat times?!!

Looks like the main purpose of Daylight Saving Time (called “Summer Time” in many places in the world) is to make better use of daylight. We change our clocks during the summer months to move an hour of daylight from the morning to the evening. Daylight Saving Time gives us the opportunity to enjoy sunny summer evenings by moving our clocks an hour forward in the spring. Just as sunflowers turn their heads to catch every sunbeam, so too have we discovered a simple way to get more from our sun.

OK!! Then why was it not practised in india?! It seems that if you live near the equator, day and night are nearly the same length (12 hours). But elsewhere on Earth, there is much more daylight in the summer than in the winter. The closer you live to the North or South Pole, the longer the period of daylight in the summer. Thus, Daylight Saving Time (Summer Time) is usually not helpful in the tropics, and countries near the equator generally do not change their clocks. That seems to be logical.

The idea of daylight saving was first conceived by Benjamin Franklin (portrait at right) during his sojourn as an American delegate in Paris in 1784, in an essay, “An Economical Project.” But they actually started following in the World War I all over the world. There were lots of confusions on when to set the time ahead and how to set for a state which has different time zones. There were lots of acts passed during the period 1966 to 1972. Finally, In 1972, Congress revised the law to provide that, if a state was in two or more time zones, the state could exempt the part of the state that was in one time zone while providing that the part of the state in a different time zone would observe Daylight Saving Time.

The Federal law was amended in 1986 to begin Daylight Saving Time on the first Sunday in April. Under legislation enacted in 1986, Daylight Saving Time in the U.S. began at 2:00 a.m. on the first Sunday of April and ended at 2:00 a.m. on the last Sunday of October.

On August 8, 2005, President George W. Bush signed the Energy Policy Act of 2005. This Act changed the time change dates for Daylight Saving Time in the U.S. Beginning in 2007, DST will begin on the second Sunday in March and end the first Sunday in November.

So beginning in 2007, most of the United States begins Daylight Saving Time at 2:00 a.m. on the second Sunday in March and reverts to standard time on the first Sunday in November. In the U.S., each time zone switches at a different time. In the European Union, Summer Time begins and ends at 1:00 a.m. Universal Time (Greenwich Mean Time). It begins the last Sunday in March and ends the last Sunday in October. In the EU, all time zones change at the same moment.

I think Daylight Saving time has its own advantages in regard to more sunlight, energy savings and much more. But it is confusing at times until you get used to the routine life and keep updated with local happenings to avoid any embarrassment.

Do we ever had an embarrassing moment because of daylight saving time change ?!

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A Tough Sport: Running – Unrevealed
Author:
• Thursday, March 01st, 2007
It may be easy to be a cricketer as you are one among 11 players in the game. You either contribute as batsmen or bowler and very rarely an all-rounder. You are only the part of the team success. Similarly, any team sport is not too difficult to be part of as every individual is just the part of the success.

Let’s take some individual sports like swimming, weight lifting, boxing or tennis. It may be little tough as you are playing in the play field alone by yourself, putting everything you have to win the competition or game. It is tough at times depending on the opponent and field you are playing. I am not under-estimating any sport so don’t go defensive on me. I know every sport has its own tough times. But speaking from my experience, out of all these sports there is one sport which takes a toll out of a person both physically and mentally.

It takes one extraordinary person to run a marathon (Triathlons are extreme) which is the one of the toughest sport in the earth today. Every marathoner has to battle blisters and blistering heat or freezing cold, extreme altitudes and draining humidity. This sport needs every bit of a person to be fully dedicated and committed in order your to accomplish success.
If you are still not convinced, let’s analyze some facts and do a comparison.
 

Sport – Time Played – Breaks -Effort

Cricket -3hrs -One session every 17overs(1 1/2 hrs) – Team Effort

Soccer- 45mins -one session every(45 mins) – Team Effort

Tennis- 2to3 hrs max – every 5 games(15-30mins)- Full Effort

Swimming- 10to30mins max – no break – Full Effort

200 meters Run – 4-5mins -no break – Full Effort

Marathon – 2to3hrs – no break- Full Effort

Above all Marathon stands out as the sole sport which doesn’t have any break and need your full effort for minimum 2-3 hrs if you are an average runner. If you take a break, you can’t win. You can take a break but you won’t be there on the finish line on time.

 
 
Rosalynn Carter once said, You have to have confidence in your ability, and then be tough enough to follow through.”This quotes suits well for this sport. Without your confidence throughout the run, it’s tough to run a marathon. You have to battle against your mind and heart. Mind will say "why are you running too long and hard, your legs are already hurting so just stop it". You heart will say, "You are going to achieve something good so just keep running. Only think about the finish line". It’s a constant struggle and the person has to divert the mind all the way to the finish line since you are on your own. It’s not a game to be entertained; it’s a lonely sport to be conquered.

To Run a marathon which is a distance of 26.2 miles = 34.5 km with a clean and steady phase, it needs total commitment, vigorous practice, Persistence and Perseverance. Without all to these, it’s hard to imagine running one. Because this sport needs total unprecedented amount of effort from a person, not many people seems to be interested and not very popular among ordinary people in India.
 

When I searched Google or any search engine for "Marathons India", I can easily count them in figures. First, it all seems to have started only few years (5-7 years) ago. Secondly it only happens in metro cities like Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, and Kolkata & Delhi for more advertisement and sponsorships to make money. Finally, only 20% of them finish them. Let’s look at the Mumbai marathon which just completed last Jan 21st, 2007. If you look closely at Indian finishers, they are either from Indian Army or Navy or national Olympic runners.

If you search "Marathon USA", you will see every other city hosts the Marathons as per their weather conditions. Also the finishers are way more than 75% out of more than 15,000 participants. Among them a very good percentage 60-70% are ordinary individuals.

Our people are immediately ready to defend us saying that we don’t have proper coaches, no good training facilities like USA and try to cover-up the actual fact that there are no volunteers strong enough to take up the challenge offered by this tough sport.

I like to tell a naked truth. Atleast 1 out of 3 top finishers in all marathons taking place all over the world are either from Kenya or Ethiopia. These people are from real poor countries which doesn’t even have enough everyday food and shelter. I don’t think they have facilities to train and actually most of the people are under poverty line. How come they can do it? Because of their poverty level, they don’t have transportation facilities and have to run or walk at least 7-10 miles every day to go to their schools from the child age. Since they been running barefoot every day under hot sun, their body is tuned to take on tough sport. Once they get sponsorships, they train well and participate in big marathons and take away big prizes like $15,000 to their home.

It’s good that marathons are slowly getting popular in India but the fact is not many finishers and they are giving up in the middle. There are committing themselves to run full one. If there is not many finishers, then the marathon is a total failure. There are many reasons to it. The important reason being awareness among people about marathons. They just run for the sake of it. Also people have wrong perception that Marathons can’t be run easily and it’s tough to do it. That may be true but if a person train him properly either from the teen age or from 20’s it’s really possible to win. If you don’t have to run to win, you can at least complete reasonably which is a great accomplishment. It’s also doesn’t need special facilities or special equipment. It only needs you and your commitment and will power with some good pair of shoes. That all it needs.

I believe that nothing is impossible under the sun and above the earth. The word impossible itself says I’M POSSIBLE.
 

I am not just a critic like some newspaper Journalist who can just write about anything. I am just a optimistic and practical person. I also want to do justice to my readers. For my part I have done couple of half marathons and a marathon. I am going to talk more about how to run marathons and also revealing a most astonishing story about a 4year who ran long runs and marathons. If he can do it, you can do it too 🙂
Category: Running, Sports  | Leave a Comment
Mother Language Day!!
Author:
• Thursday, February 22nd, 2007
Wow!! I was really taken back when I saw the awareness processions and meetings in some parts of TN in connection with the Mother Tongue Day or Mother Language Day while I was watching the SUNTV(Tamil TV Network) news today. Is there a really a day to honor and celebrate our mother tongue? Looks like there is one.

I heard about Mothers Day, Fathers Day, Heart Day, AIDS Day, Teachers Day, Childrens day and never to forget the most well know Valentines Day. But I never heard one to celebrate and honor our Mother language/Tongue.

I am really happy to see people actually observing that day because I am lover of my mother tongue. Obviously everybody loves their mother tongue which needs to be honored and celebrated. It might not have any special effect in the western world because they really speak one and only language which is English. I guess thats the reason I don’t see any special cards from Hallmark which always try to make buck of it.

It really matters for people in those countries which has lots of different languages spoken and used. Especially in India, it really matters and makes a lot of sense. As per my knowledge, we have around 800 different languages with around 2000 dialects. We have 23 official languages in our country. Too many languages but each of them has their own heritage which needs to celebrated and remembered by their own people.

As usual, my buzzing brain wants to know how exactly this day start to be commenrated as Mother language Day ?

I found some interesting facts as below:

Feb21 – International Mother Language Day was proclaimed by UNESCO’s General Conference in November 1999. The International Day has been observed every year since February 2000 to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism.
Languages are the most powerful instruments of preserving and developing our tangible and intangible heritage. Half of the world’s 6000 to 7000 languages are in danger of extinction.- International Mother Language Day, celebrated annually aims to promote the recognition and practice of the world’s mother tongues, particularly minority ones.
The main objective is by “Favouring the promotion of linguistic diversity and the development of multilingual education from an early age helps preserve cultural diversity and the conditions for international understanding, tolerance and mutual respect.”
Check out this site for more info: UNESCO.ORG
Language is the root of any culture and by showing the pride towards honoring it seems to be wonderful way. I think it makes real sense to honor and celebrate our mother tongue while there are other nonsense unimportant days celebrated in the world. It also gives the opportunity to talk about it to our kids and increase their awarness.
At this time, atleast start saying out loud that “I AM PROUD TO SPEAK MY Mother language {Hindi, Kannada, Telugu or any of you language}”.
 
 
I am saying it loud, “I AM PROUD TO SPEAK MY MOTHER LANGUAGE TAMIL”.
 
Also try to have a habit to speak only in your mother language whenever you talk to your friends who know your mother language instead of using some other language. Like for example, (Translation – Speak to Tamilians in Tamil to increase Tamil awareness)

Category: India, Others  | Leave a Comment
An Interesting Conversation
Author:
• Thursday, February 15th, 2007
I came across this nice email which I never seen before about the existence of God in connection with science. I thought it will be good to share it. Read along..
 
 
AN INTERESTING CONVERSATION.

An atheist professor of philosophy speaks to his class
on the problem science has with God, The Almighty. He
asks one of his new students to stand and…..

Prof      : So you believe in God?
Student : Absolutely, sir.

Prof      : Is God good?
Student : Sure.

Prof      : Is God all-powerful?
Student : Yes.

Prof      : My brother died of cancer even though he
prayed to God to heal him. Most of us would attempt to
help others who are ill. But God didn’t. How is this
God good then? Hmm?
(Student is silent.)

Prof       : You can’t answer, can you? Let’s start
again, young fellow. Is God good?
Student : Yes.

Prof      : Is Satan good?
Student : No.

Prof       : Where does Satan come from?
Student : From…God.. .

Prof      : That’s right. Tell me son, is there evil
in this world?
Student : Yes.

Prof      : Evil is everywhere, isn’t it? And God did
make everything. Correct?
Student : Yes.

Prof       : So who created evil?
Student does not answer.

Prof      : Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred?
Ugliness? All these terrible things exist in the
world, don’t they?
Student : Yes, sir.

Prof       : So, who created them?
Student has no answer.

Prof      : Science says you have 5 senses you use to
identify and observe the world around you. Tell me,
son…Have you ever seen God?
Student : No, sir.

Prof       : Tell us if you have ever heard your God?
Student : No, sir.

Prof       : Have you ever felt your God, tasted your
God, smelt your God? Have you ever had any sensory
perception of God for that matter?
Student : No, sir. I’m afraid I haven’t.

Prof      : Yet you still believe in Him?
Student : Yes.

Prof      : According to empirical, testable,
demonstrable protocol, science says your GOD doesn’t
exist. What do you say to that, son?
Student : Nothing. I only have my faith.

Prof      : Yes. Faith. And that is the problem
science has.
Student : Professor, is there such a thing as heat?
Prof       : Yes.

Student: And is there such a thing as cold?
Prof      : Yes.

Student : No sir. There isn’t.
(The lecture theatre becomes very quiet with this turn
of events.)

Student : Sir, you can have lots of heat, even more
heat, superheat, mega heat, white heat, a little heat
or no heat. But we don’t have anything called cold. We
can hit 458 degrees below zero which is no heat, but
we can’t go any further after that. There is no such
thing as cold. Cold is only a word we use to describe
the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat is
energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just
the absence of it.
(There is pin-drop silence in the lecture theatre.)

Student : What about darkness, Professor? Is there
such a thing as darkness?
Prof       : Yes. What is night if there isn’t
darkness?

Student : You’re wrong again, sir. Darkness is the
absence of something. You can have low light, normal
light, bright light, flashing light….But if you have
no light constantly, you have nothing and it’s called
darkness, isn’t it? In reality, darkness isn’t. If it
were you would be able to make darkness darker,
wouldn’t you?

Prof      : So what is the point you are making, young
man?
Student : Sir, my point is your philosophical premise
is flawed.

Prof      : Flawed? Can you explain how?

Student : Sir, you are working on the premise of
duality. You argue there is life and then there is
death, a good God and a bad God. You are viewing the
concept of God as something finite, something we can
measure. Sir, science can’t even explain a thought. It
uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen,
much less fully understood either one.  To view death
as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact
that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death
is not the opposite of life: just the absence of it.
Now tell me, Professor. Do you teach your students
that they evolved from a monkey?

Prof      : If you are referring to the natural
evolutionary process, yes, of course, I do.
Student : Have you ever observed evolution with your
own eyes, sir?

(The Professor shakes his head with a smile, beginning
to realize where the argument is going.)

Student : Since no one has ever observed the process
of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this
process is an on-going endeavor, are you not teaching
your opinion, sir? Are you not a scientist but a
preacher?
(The class is in uproar.)

Student : Is there anyone in the class who has ever
seen the Professor’s brain?
(The class breaks out into laughter.)

Student : Is there anyone here who has ever heard the
Professor’s brain, felt it, touched or smelt it? No
one appears to have done so. So, according to the
established rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable
protocol, science says that you have no brain, sir.
With all due respect, sir, how do we then trust your
lectures, sir?
(The room is silent. The professor stares at the
student, his face unfathomable. )

Prof      : I guess you’ll have to take them on faith,
son.
Student : That is it sir… The link between man & god
is FAITH. That is all that keeps things moving &
alive.

Category: Philosopphy, Story  | 2 Comments
VOIP Phones in India
Author:
• Thursday, February 15th, 2007
VOIP – Voice over IP technology is been widely used for various purpose including local phone connections in USA. After VOIP phone/Internet phones came to the market, traditional phone companies faced a huge challenge and set back in their business. VOIP Phone companies offered all or most of the features for a small or cheaper flat rate compared to the traditional companies which charged seperate rate for each features.
 
I been using VOIP Phone(Vonage) since 2003. It makes it easier to get connected if you already have the Internet connection at home. Otherwise you have to the internet cable connection to have the VOIP phones. It saved me lot of money. For a flat rate of $14.99, I am getting all the features any phone company can offer including 500 free long distance minutes not to mention in-network mins are free. If you think, you speak a lot then you can always select unlimited mins plan for just $24.99 comparing to $50-60 with tradition phone companies like att or verizon.
 
There were some hesitation when VOIP Phones came to the market but with very high marketing campaign by different VOIP phone companies, it really changed the perpective of people to have phone from Internet. Recently, lot of friends subscribed for additional phone line and they sent to India for their parents to get connected. If their parents have broadband internet connection, you just plug in the modem sent by the company and you are connected. They can just make a local call to any USA phone numbers. Its so simple and works almost all the time. There are few VOIP phone companies already provide international portable phone numbers which can be used in different countries. Also many small call centers in India make use of this VOIP phones to reduce their cost of calling abroad.
 
VOIP really changed the way the phone works comparing to the olden days. You have to wait in line for submitting the application and then wait for your landline to get approved. Now its all done faster and it can get faster with VOIP. Around 10-15 years ago, you end up paying 100 rupees for a min of call to USA. Now its all free if you have VOIP phone in India.
 
Why don’t we see many companies coming up in India to use this VOIP technology to revolutionlize the phone industry. Telecommunication is booming like anything and the charges are way below the average call charge from 2-3 years ago. If VOIP comes into picture, then it will really bring down the landline charges and no need for wire running around all over our streets and potholes to be digged everytime they run wireline to the streets. Also it will make the phone available to any villages in the country. We just need a satellite internet connection and we have the phone working in that village.
 
Don’t you all think VOIP is the way to go to have all over villages connected to the main stream people with VOIP phones?!
Category: India, Technology  | Leave a Comment
NRI(Never Ready Indian) Friends…
Author:
• Monday, January 22nd, 2007
Approximately 4 years ago, I was on top of my happy moments enjoying my bachelorhood in Boston with lots of fun activities like learning swing dancing, going out for dancing and making friends, Running Marathons, participating in all type of volunteering activities and having blast and never felt I was away from home. It was really unforgettable days of my life. Then there comes the pressure from my parents to get married and unexpected legal bottleneck in my green card processing.

For those who are not aware of GC processing facts, if you want your spouse to be added to the GC processing. You should have got married and add her in the I485 application(3rd stage). If you get married after applying, you won’t be able to add her and she can’t come in and stay with you after you received your GC. Because you become a permanent resident and her dependent visa validation becomes void.

So I was in deadlock situation to make a decision whether to go ahead with my GC processing without getting married and adding the spouse or get married quickly and add her in for a smooth GC processing. First of all, I was not in ready mental state to get married. If I do, I always want to get married loving the person first. But I was successfully talked out all of it when I visited my parents in India to get arrange married. And the current GC situation, pushed me hard to make a decision. If I opt for the first one, you would have to wait for 7-10years until you receive your Citizenship. Then only you can sponsor anybody to bring into US. I don’t think my parents will ever want to wait so long since I am the only Son for them. I ended up getting married in 6months time like any other Desi guy.

But my friends who were in the same boat, didn’t want to take that chance. They went ahead without getting married and got their GC approved. They are still not married at this point of time. Whenever I call them, they either sitting with their gal friends and putting kadalai(chit chatting) or touring somewhere in the world. As I said before, my PARENTS play a important role. My parents either they just want to finish their responsibilities or want to see get settled down, they pushed me hard enough to get married. Because of that, they did all the hard work finding a bride suitable for me. I just need to filter out from their list. That’s not the case for my friends. Their parents didn’t actually get more concerned except talking about it.

After my marriage, I used to ask them when are you guys getting married. They either say “We are not ready yet” or “We are not finding a suitable person” or “My parents are finding any suitable person”. But the fact is, they can’t get married now easily because they are permanent resident and they need to wait at least 3-5 years to become citizens and then try to get married. “WILL THEY BE AT LEAST READY BY THAT TIME OR THEY WILL BE NEVER READY”. Who knows ? But it will be too late to realise at that time and they will try to find some other excuse to bully themselves.

I did wonder sometimes, Did I make a mistake of getting married and spoiled my life without much fun getting stuck with all the responsibilities or Did they make the mistake of not getting married and missing the joy and afraid of the commitments ?!! Is it all happened for good or bad ?!

After thinking thru lots of things happened before and after marriage and especially after seeing them having trouble find a good companion, I convinced myself that its all happened for best and its all part of GODS PLAN. I did regret on missing out some fun but my wife always try to fill me in and give me company whenever needed like going out with for dancing and other activities.

I learnt a very valuable lesson. I did lose my fun life but I gained lot more than that. No gain without pain right !! And its well worth when you see the smile on your baby. Yeap, I been blessed to see the smile from my 7month old son. I totally felt that my NRI(Never Ready Indian) friends will never realize until they experience it. They are missing out the great fun of all !!!!
TAKE A RIGHT AND WISE DECISION TO GET MARRIED WHENEVER YOU FEEL RIGHT FOR YOU BUT DON’T POSTPONE UNTIL ITS TOO LATE.
Category: Personal  | Leave a Comment
Flying Cheaper to India
Author:
• Friday, January 12th, 2007

Fly Cheap to anywhere around the world !! That’s the airline mantra you hear it all over recent days. You might think that you would find a good cheap price whenever you want to go, but that’s not case. There is always a hook to all the cheap and free stuff. Nothing comes cheap !?!

Let me take you back to the year 1998, when I first boarded my first flight ever to fly out of India. I took the Lufthansa flight from Chennai to Boston via Frankfurt. I still can remember the way I felt uneasy and don’t know exactly how to handle the travel. I was sitting way back in a big flight with 250 passengers. I never couldn’t imagine that that flight can carry these may people. Nobody can tell from looking it outside.

I was travelling to Boston as a Business trip. All expenses paid by the company. I didn’t even bothered to find out how much was the flight ticket. I was just happy and lucky to go to US beating others in the list. I travelled again in 1999 for the long term assignment, in the same airline. This time too, I didn’t know the price of the air ticket. But I guessed it might be around $1500 for a round trip. I really got to know the price, when I had to come back for a visit in 2001. I paid around $2000 for a round trip during the Christmas time. I book it almost 3 months ahead and still got this heavy rate. So I ended up doing a research on my next trip on how to get cheaper tickets and I would like to share it.

Flying Cheaper not always depends on just selecting a right airline offering a cheaper fare. Its way beyond that. There are a few ingredients that can help you get the fare or atleast understand why your fare ends up being slightly higher. Its better to take a right decision before booking the tickets by considering these lists of important ingredients:

1. Season – Low & High Season or Peak & Off-Peak Season
2. Visiting Place
3. Different Routes
4. Understanding Seat Structure of the Plane
5. Booking Tickets

Season
In a year, we have 2 seasons which can be either called as high and low season or Peak or Off-peak season. The high and low season mainly vary depending on the destination location and number of flights available to reach the location. For example, from USA to Chennai Feb, Mar, Apr,Sept,Oct months are low season. May, Jun, July, Aug, Nov, Dec & Jan months are Peak/High season.

Visiting Place

Destination place also decides how big the air fare you need to pay. If you are travelling to Chennai from NY, NJ, Chicago & SF which has only few flights flying in and out by different airlines, you can expect a high air fare in the high season too. But if you travel to Delhi from these places, you have lots of flights flying in and out and can the fare is really reasonable.

Different Routes
En-Routing of the airlines also makes difference in the airfare. If you are ok having 2 or more stopping, you can expect a cheaper fare. But if you want to have only one stop during the high season, better ready to pay a high fare. For example, if you want to fly to Chennai from Houston during July / Aug high season times, you might end up paying $1700 per person thru Lufthansa one stop in Frankfurt. But if you decide to fly via Delta or Air India, stopping Chicago, London, Mumbai & finally to chennai, the air fare might come out cheaper.

Understanding Seat Structure

For instance, if a plane has 300 coach seats the seats are divided as so. This is an approximation. 150 seats sell for full fare
100 seats sell for a lower fare
50 seats sell for the absolute lowest fare

Booking Tickets

Once you are ready with your dates, you have to find a good agent to book your tickets. There are 2 sources as per my knowledge from whom you can buy tickets other than the airline.
1. Consolidators & 2. Agents

Consolidators are like a big agency which sells tickets in bulk from the lot alloted to them by the airlines for a wholesale price without any added commisions. Agents are sub agencies which sell tickets or try to get tickets from the alloted tickets by the consolidators adding commisions. If you can find a consolidator near you, buy tickets from them not from the agent. You will save quite a lot of money.

How to get the absolute lowest fares
In conclusion,
Try to go on dates which doesn’t fall under too high season
Plan in advance **2-3 months for low season. **4-5 months for high season
Avoid flying on weekends (for some airlines)
Be flexible about dates of travel. Some dates get filled up but the next day may be available.
Check different options of flying out like flight options, enrouting options
Call different agency and consolidators to get price for the same dates and compare them
None of the above guarantees the lowest fare but this will improve your chances immensely.

Category: Tips and Tricks, Travel  | Leave a Comment
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