Author Archive

Author:
• Tuesday, March 25th, 2008
Parenting is an art involving tough act every moment.

I am sure many of you(parents) will agree to me 100%. Many of you know my Junior, Master Ashwin from previous blogs (Trick or Treat,PEEK-A-BOO:My Son, Me and Fun things…) He is closing in on his 2 year mark(3 more months). He is a busy Toddler and experimenting various tanturms upon us from his valise everyday. He is been handful especially to my wife. From the time he wakes up till he sleeps at night(except small nap in the afternoon), he is a busy bee keeping us in our toes all the time.

It made me to wonder how come our past generations (grandpa & grandma’s) manage to give birth to 7-8 kids and that too in a row and able to handle them. Just take my parents, I have 4 uncles & 2 aunts in my father side and 5 aunt & 3 uncle in mother side. Thats reasonably good example for a biggie size family.
That to most of uncle and aunts are pretty well settlement in their life. Thats a big accompliment by their parents.

It’s amazing and I salute my grandpa’s and grandma’s anytime. I know there are lot of reasons it could have been possible those days but still as a parent its a tough tackle both mentally and financially. Take the current similar example in America. Americans are either this extreme or the other extreme. Some couples don’t even kids till they die but some have 3-4 kids(one parent not talking about 2 parent). They just never bother to care about number of kids. Once its start, its just kept on coming. It doesn’t matter whether they are wealthy enough or not. Somehow they manage to make it work.

Being a parent for just one kid itself is like too much to ask. I know some might come with an argument that kids these days are pretty smarter then old generation(including our generation) in all aspects which obviously makes things worse. I would have to agree to that.
I guess its the gene.

As a parent (at works), we are learning everyday. Everyday something new pops up. I learnt that being a parent is a balance between being good, bad and ugly sometimes. You can’t always be good because they tend to take you for granted after sometime and try to test our testrones going beyond their limits.

With my son, we are seeing a big change for the past 6-8 months? He started walking when we were just worrying about it. After that, he never stops for second and we are now thinking when will he stop running. He picks up things like Parrot and catch us off guard all the time repeating some words we accidently quote.
He just tried to prounce his first word "THAQU" 3 months ago when I told him "Thank you" for bringing me back a ball. That was so cute and he just caught on it. Now he can speak lot more words pretty clear and everytime it makes us sparkle a smile. Thats all really good and cute until he take us to our extremes.

He now wants try playing my drums, work in my laptop like me, walk like me and talk like me. He is just a COPY CAT. Check out the video which I took like a month ago. He is the first to claim stairs before me and stands first to play drums everytime I go to do my practice. I have to wait until he is done for my turn. Otherwise there will be big tug of war starts. How is that?!


There is no more freedom of talk for us. I always have to think twice before I do anything or say anything. I am learning tips every day from the magazine "PARENTS" I subscribed just for this purpose to educate myself. I learnt that this is the age brain starts to develop and grasp things which will last untill they die. It’s between 2-4, what they learn things stick with them has habit sticks for longtime to come. So I want to be very careful in implanting any bad things.Lets say for example "Fear factor". I don’t want to teach him the fear of darkness by scaring or booing him to death. Thats what happened to me when I was kid and I still couldn’t get over it.

Also at this time when the memory is developing, they have very shortterm memory. You need to keep repeating things which will finally get into their brain and stay. They just grow as a person who need to be repeated constantly which is sometimes irritating but we got to do it to get to their head.

Blogger Ranjini, one of my best blog friend is also my best advocate on this parenting topic.Whatever you learn from books and friends, praticals is always tough than theory right?! When he starts crying by throwing his tantrums for silly things that where he frustrates especially in the public place. I really don’t know what to do. I understood, its might seem silly for us but for them its the way of getting things they wanted and desire to have as they can’t talk to express their feelings. I tried to use the Mantra I learn by deviating his attention to something else. Some works but not always.

At times no Mantra will work other than the hand work if it goes beyong my limit. I can’t stop other than hitting him which I don’t want to make it has an habit. Thats bad for me and him. I feel bad what else is the option. My wife really don’t like me spanking but she also don’t know any other way at these situations.

I know there is always school of thoughts. one "Adi othavramathri annan thambi othavamathan" (Hitting helps better than siblings" and other one, "Pat the back and get the work done". You know the 2nd rule doesn’t work all the time.

Here is another video with his act just taken lastweek. Trying to help me when I was working on my front garden.


As first time parent, we are experiencing this parenthood in a really mixed feeling. I am sure having lot of fun with my son but at the same whenever I get pushed to an extent by testing the patience and streching our nerves, its really hard to control our anger. We are trying out different methods like Time out (famous in US) by asking him sit alone and try to stop crying. He picked that up pretty quick and starts to obey it.

We know this is a stage and it has to pass on until that time we have to struggle as a parent and at the same time enjoy cute things without worrying much about the Tantrums but keep abrust with our Mantras which might come handy.

I always welcome any constructive critisium on this topic and happy to take any new techniques(mantras).

Author:
• Wednesday, November 07th, 2007

        
Note: Don’t panic to see my new webpage look. You are still in Sulekha, Don’t leave.  I am a Select Beta tester helping Sulekha by testing their new interface.

I heard lot of crazy stories about westeners especially Americans. They do crazy things to have fun of any kind. I only get to see and experience when I got here. Especially, its true during the Halloween time.  Halloween is celebrated on the last day of Oct.  If you google it, you will be able to find out different versions of its history and how Halloween came into practice.
I am going to stay away from the history part of it. 

Basically, Halloween, or Hallowe’en, is a holiday celebrated on the night of October 31. Its the time of the year that spookiness gets out of hand and people are licensed get to act and show their scary behaviors. Traditional activities include trick-or-treating, Halloween festivals, bonfires, costume parties, visiting "haunted houses", carving jack-o-lanterns, and viewing horror films.

At end of Fall season around october time, fun of Halloween starts. Many residents decorate their lawn and entry ways in a spooky way like pics below,

Kids who came to my home for Trick or Treat.
Isn’t the Pooh looks so cute ?! I just boo’ed them and treat them with lot of candies.

After the trick or treat, kids just thrilled to research on different types of candies they got during the trick or treat. My son is getting trained here by his mommy,

Check out my Halloween album for some more pictures. I enjoy these kinda fun activites. Its always fun. My wife is one step up ahead. She already shopped for the next year costume in Halloween after sale.

Did you have fun reading this blog?
         

 

 

Trick or Treat

This is been a traditional activity during the Halloween night(Oct 31st). Kids and even adults dress up in costumes of various horror characters like vampires, ghosts, skeletons, witches, and devils. Recently some costumes are also based on themes other than traditional horror, such as those of characters from movies and other pop culture icons. Many people just take it to extremes with their imagination and dress up so wild to look so realistic spooky characters. I even dressed up like scare crow character from the all time famous family movie Wizard of Oz.  

After the dress up, kids with adults supervision go in groups door to door inside their neighboorhood asking for Trick or Treat. They are suppose to go to the house only that has have patio lights switched on welcoming trick or treaters. OK! What does it mean Trick or Treat? If the House owner has a horror trick, they can show and BOO the kids. If not, they have to treat them with chunks of candies. otherwise, they can expect some horror stuff happen to them.

My little boy started his first Halloween lastyear when he was just 4 months dressed up as little elephant(dumbo) and now his 16 months and can walk too. So why miss the fun ?! 

Here he goes dressed up in Pumpkin costume ready for his Trick or Treat, cute huh!!

Walking with his mommy for his Trick or Treat

 

Author:
• Monday, October 08th, 2007

I love vegetables, thanks to my mom who made that habit on me. Especially I like to eat green vegis like Beans, Avaraikai, spinach, herbs which are very rich chlorophyll good for you. Going Green is good for health. Going green can help reduce your risk of cancer, protect your heart, trim your waistline, and even make you happier.

Bean Poriyal

Crisp green beans make for a great side dish. Bean’s Poriyaal is one of my all time favorite. Easy to cook, doesn’t take a lot of time at all. You can see beans poriyaal served in most of authentic wedding lunch. Here is my quick Bean Poriyal recipe for you to try it out.

Ingredients:

Fresh green beans 2 cups, chopped finely

Mustard Seeds (as needed)

Half cut Onion

Urad Dal 1/4 tsp

Dried Red Chilli 1 or 2 halved

Fresh grated coconut 1 tbsp , for garnishing

Oil 1/2 tsp, Salt to taste

Method:

– Heat oil in a pan. Pop mustard seeds.

– When they start to splutter add urad dal and Red chilli.
– Add onion to it. Let it fry until light redish color.
– After that add the beans, sprinkle little water and Mix well.
– Cover and cook for 8 – 10 minutes or until the beans are cooked.
– Add salt as needed and Finally garnish with coconut and serve hot with any meal.
I also like to try out some recipes from American Cancer Institute. They suggest really neat items good for our heart.


Green Beans with Tomatoes and Herbs

This recipe incorporates delicious sautéed tomatoes and aromatic herbs, adding lots of flavor without additional fat. The onion provides sweetness and, combined with garlic, add a variety of phytochemicals to this colorful dish.
green beans with tomatoes and herbs
Tasty Green Bean Saute

Ingredients

1 tsp. extra virgin olive oil

1 small onion, minced

2 garlic cloves, finely minced

1 large ripe tomato, diced, or 1/2 can (7 oz.), diced tomatoes, drained

1 tsp. minced fresh basil (or 1/2 tsp. dried)

1 tsp. minced fresh oregano (or 1/2 tsp. dried)

3/4 lb. fresh green beans, trimmed, or 1 package (10 oz.) frozen green beans,

thawed Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Preparation:

In a nonstick skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the garlic, tomato, basil and oregano. Cook for 2 minutes. Add the green beans, cover and cook for 6 minutes, until the beans are crisp but tender. Add salt and pepper, to taste.

Makes 4 servings.

Per serving: 54 calories, 2 g fat (<1 g saturated fat), 10 g carbohydrates,

2 g protein, 3 g dietary fiber, 7 mg sodium.

I always like to sprinkle my blogs with foodie ones, now and then especially with dishes I liked the most. Because I am fond lover of great healthy food. Hope you can try and let me know how you like it.

Sources: American Cancer Insitutue email. Photos from web.

Category: Cooking  | Leave a Comment
Author:
• Tuesday, June 26th, 2007

My Son, my sweet little son who turned one last week brightens up my morning everyday with his cute little smile. A smile which shows all of his 4 teeth’s on top and 2 teeth’s on bottom like a squirrel which is so adorable. He is no more a baby, he is a growing boy. Here in US they say, he is not a infant anymore. He is a toddler now. 

 
 
Toddler meaning a person who toddles, esp. a young child learning to walk. We are yet to see him walk. But he crawls so fast, we couldn’t catch him at times. He didn’t want to walk. We figured out from his laziness to put this steps forward when we tried to make him walk.

This is the right time to start walking doctors say but every kid is different. So we are just going to wait and watch to catch that moment. We did buy him a walker, hoping it will help him to use his legs and eventually he will try to walk. He enjoys his new ride in the walker which helps him to reach the untouchables and takes him to places.

 
 
As soon as he gets up in the morning, he unleashes himself and get ready for a big search like an archaeologist. He starts wandering all around the house from hall to kitchen to bedroom, making tireless trips back and forth to find every little things he can see thru his eyes and tries to pull him out and do a research on them like a scientist.

He has hordes of toys to play with but seldom touches it anymore. His interest are now diverted to search the house like a CBI to find something new every time, to poke around and play with it. He is such a Rat!!

 
 
 
Especially, when my wife is working at kitchen he just want to work with her like a another chef. He wants to know what she is doing. He also opens up all the cabinets and throws out the utensils from inside and tries to make his orchestra party playing and banging the spoons on the vessels. I spent my whole weekend putting up locks for the cabinets. He can no longer open it now, but he just waits for the nick of moment to get in as soon we open it to get something. He is that fast.
 
 
If he finds us going to the bedroom, he immediately follows like a security guard, opens up the dress chests and throws all clothes out. He then opens up drawer which he can reach and take out one thing at time to discover them slowly. He will try to open bottle lid if it has a lid with his strong teeth’s. 

If his eye notices anything under the bed, he immediately crawls inside squatting slowly entering at one end and coming out at the other. We didn’t even know that there was enough space under the bed to crawl. He does it with so much care without getting hurt on his head and gets out with the item like a soldier.

 
 
His most favorite things were electronic items especially he is crazy about my Laptop. He takes the cordless phone, TV remotes, calculator and tries to hit the buttons and also bang them real hard in the floor. They are still surviving so far including my laptop. As soon he find me opening my laptop, he just drops everything to get close to it. He slowly peeks his hand to get the feel of the keyboard and bangs on it. He tries out to see and looks at the monitor to see anything come up. I have to beg almost every time to take away the laptop from him to get some work done.
 
 
To stop all the mess, we put him on the Sofa or bed hoping he won’t be able to get down yet. He cries for a bit and then we won’t hear a sound. When we check him out after a few, we see him trying to get down carefully to start his act again. He knows to get down with ease from sofa and bed now.
 
 
He picks up every small thing on the floor like paper or thread and try to put them in his mouth. He does it without any sound. If we don’t hear his sound, we can immediately guess he is doing some wrong.

So when my wife just calls him "ASHWIN, Where are you?!" to find where he is now. 

He immediately throws everything in his hand and crawls away so fast, after hearing her voice. He somehow knows and remembers that we told him its wrong. He is so sharp.

 
 
Kids at this stage are like Parrots and my son is no different. They just try to repeat whatever we teach them. Right now he blabbers a lot and tries to call "AMMA", "MMMA", "THATA THATA", "No" "Nooooo". We are trying to teach him different words everyday so he can pick it up atleast few.

He is so crazy about watching the ad’s in the TV especially kids type ads because of their rhymes songs and colorful scenes. We have SUNTV and he is also an addict to some of the serial theme songs. He is so finicky and has his own favorite ones. He immediately gets infront of the TV as soon he hears them. He won’t even blink an eye while he watches them.

 
 
We found out that he likes to listen to music from his 2nd month. May be it the gene thing, since we both love music a lot. We use to put some good tamil songs and he sleeps without an hunch. His favorite was lastyear hit song from the Kamal movie " Vettaiyadu Vilaiyadu ", "Paartha muthal naale". Its like a magic song for us to put him to sleep.

It still continues today with the recent new songs including new release "Shivaji". I also try to put him to sleep with a bed time song which my mom always sang to us. My fav. being "Kannan varuvan kadai solluvaan, vannamara thotil kati thalathuvan…"

 
 
I try to play with him whenever I get a chance, almost all the time. As soon I get home from work and he hears my voice, he just wants me to pick him up and hold. It makes me feel that he is been waiting for me but not yet exactly at this stage. I know they just long for attention thats all.
 
 
I play Peek-A-Boo, Hide and Seek, Catch me if you can, Swing, Horse ride and more. His favorite being the Catch me if you can. He will be sitting on the floor on one end of the Kitchen and I just go close to him to catch him, he crawls fast smiling and laughing and goes to other end of it. I then try to go to the other end of the Kitchen to catch him, he immediately turns around goes the other end of the Kitchen and game continues.
 
 
We play a smaller version of Peek-A-Boo in our bed. I try to hide myself inside the bedsheet and keep shouting at him "Ashwin, where his Appa(dad)?" and he keep searching for the voice and before he finds I just surprise him saying "Peek-A-Boo". He smiles and . It is so much fun to play all these games with him.
 
Kids are God’s precious gift. Its tough to imagine a life without them. They are so innocent at this stage, same time sharp enough to grasp things faster. They make your worries fly away far enough with their cute smile and make your heart feel lighter.
 
 
I already hear somebody murmuring, "Wait till they grow older". Whatever it may be, they are wonderful.

These things are just a few sample of all he got going these days. My wife couldn’t able to handle during the day. So except many more to come… 

Category: Personal  | Leave a Comment
Author:
• Monday, June 25th, 2007
There is always first for everything in our life. Riding the bicycle first time, first instance of feeling love in our heart, first job, first time getting on the flight, first time getting married(I hope its the only time) and the list never ends. Adding to it, becoming a Father first time is also yet another memorable moment for most men.  

 
 

In the past, I used to agree with my friends that Father’s day is yet another day like Valentine’s day, Mother’s Day created by somebody for unknown reasons which got turned into a big business by Hallmark and other companies. I also felt that its not the only day we celebrate those people. Being said all that in the past which still holds good. I myself felt important to be celebrated after being a father now. I love to be treated special for a day. There is nothing wrong in it right 🙂

Like every women, Men also transforms himself to different characters in each stage of his life. But we don’t talk loud enough about it to be heard by everybody. Because of that, there is a rumor floats around the town that MEN don’t care much for changes in their life. I won’t agree with that statement. True fact is, we do care for the changes but we don’t show a lot to the outside world. So I feel thrilled in sharing my fatherhood experience.
 
 
I got upgraded(software sense, being software engineer) or promoted as a father approximately a year ago. My Son took his avatar in this world last year making me a proud father. That finest moment took me to the heights of happiness. Being a part of bringing a life to this world can’t be compared to anything else in this world. Its a blessing from GOD and not many are blessed and get to experience it.
 
 We ourselves were worried and longed to be parents one time. After marriage, we decided to wait for atleast 3 years before having a baby. Once we decided to have baby after that period, we aren’t blessed soon enough. 

 Meanwhile, we been getting hit by the rumors all around. Every time we call our parents, they kept asking whether there is any special news. They start giving lectures for hours over the phone about being a parent. We have to some how convince them by telling to hold on a little while. We felt the pressure all over us and frustrated at times. We thought we made a bad decision to postpone for 3years. We just kept praying and hoping someday we will be blessed.  

 
 
Our prayers were finally answered and we are blessed with a beautiful boy. I didn’t believe when my wife said she was pregnant. I had to wait for 2 months until we get to scan and see it in our naked eyes. 10 months might be a long wait but its worth it. He was so tiny and precious when I took him in my hand as soon he came out crying. 
 

 

 

 (A Happy Father hold Ashwin – 4th Month)

Time flies fast nowadays. He is going to be a year next Wednesday(Jun 20). This last one year was so much fun watching him grow slowly from being a tiny baby to an infant who can sit steadily to a toddler who can crawl and walk with support. We tried to take pictures whenever we get to see his cute smile and video taped memorable moments like when he start to rollover, when he sits up straight without falling and when he started crawling. We also started a scrap book to save all wonderful pics of him. Its a great treasure to have and hope to continue for years to come. Here is some of them.

 
Ashwin’s First Halloween Costume  

Ashwin in Sunglasses

  

We already celebrated his Ist birthday when we were in India last month inviting all our closed relatives and friends. It was great experience to arrange this first big event in my life all myself. Its the first time lot of my relatives get to see him and he gets to play all the kids in my family. It was blast and joyous occasion.  
 
 

My Cute little son Ashwin on his Birthday Celebration 
 
 

  
 
 

 
Ashwin and his Happy Parents cutting his Cake    
 
 

  

He will soon be a 5 years old boy in a blink of an eye, running out from home to go to school and one day he will be a big boy. Nothing can stop that so taking it in as much as I can and saving it in my heart and my computer harddisk.   
 
 

I think being a father is a true blessing. So I like to spend my valuable time with him and not let go of any precious moments. Every day is worth celebrating!!!  

But I still wait to celebrate my First Father’s day with my son this Sunday.  I also hope to be a good father by supporting him in all wonderful endeavors in his life journey as our son.   
 
 

Happy Father’s Day to All FATHER’S – Jun 17th!!!  

 
 
 

PS: I been wanting to post this blog. Just found the right time to post it .  

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Category: Personal  | Leave a Comment
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
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
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.

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• 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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• 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 🙂
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