Happy Virodhi Varusham

Happy Tamil New Year!  May this Virodhi varusham bring all happiness and prosperity to you. 

Well I just wanted to know how this new year is being celebrated by Tamils in other parts of the world. 

I came across this website which published its newsletter on the internet with almost all the details required to start a great new year!  I think this is the first one that I have seen to have the newsletter published on time and it carries enough details.  It is from Singapore and click here to access their newsletter.

I wish they publish this newsletter every month.  This has very interesting information.  It starts with a sacred utterance, calendar of events for the month, significance of the month with dates and the festivals in the month. 

Sivane Potri!

Kovakkai

After I came to India, today is the first time I happened to taste Kovakkai (a vegetable called ivy gourd).  But this has been classified as a fruit!  This vegetable(fruit) is famous especially in Chennai (perhaps I have not seen it anywhere in India).  I really like it and it goes well with any type of rice or chapathi.  It is sliced into small discs and deep fried in oil with spices and salt.  It resembles a Jalapeno in shape and it is red inside with tiny and soft seeds.  But it is not very hot and spicy like a Jalapeno.

I am not surprised when the poets in India compare it to the color of women’s lips.  Well atleast women ought to have lips in that color!

It has some medicinal uses also.  It is used in treating diabetes, skin eruptions among many others.  It is used as a herb in Thailand.  May be you can refer to wikipedia to know more.

Pets resemble their owners

A scientific research has concluded that most pets resemble their owners.  I could not believe until I could see these pictures.  See it to believe it.  Here you go…        

Picture courtesy: Google images

Keep Green. Keep Clean.

When I visited my hometown (nearly 350 Kms from Chennai), myself and my wife went out for an evening walk on the banks of river Cauvery.   We saw a guy selling Pani poori (a famous snack from the northern part of India).  We were quite impressed by the banner that he put near his roadside shop.

We had a samosa channa, another snack which is a combination of chick peas and samosa.  It was not bad and the level of hygiene was decent enough.  He makes it hot and spicy on the spot and serves in a “use and throw” plate.  In summary, what the banner said is, “Keep the place clean by throwing the used plates in the dust bin.  Do not litter” and strangely it was polite enough!

He sets up his shop in the evening and serves hot snacks.  He carries a commercial gas cylinder with him to heat and serve the food.  All said and done, he has his own problems staying in business and he said operational costs are high!!  Are we not talking the same thing in our daily corporate lives?  But I would appreciate his consciousness to have a litter free zone around him.  The whole world will be a better place if everyone of us think of keeping our surroundings clean.

Litter free or free litter…. it is up to you!

P.S: If you want to know about the dishes I have mentioned here.  Please go to google and find it out yourself.

Hiatus

Helooow, I am back again after a hiatus.  I have travelled to Chennai, India and it is not unbearably hot and humid.   In fact I found the sea breeze cooling down the city in the evenings.  Perhaps it is just the beginning of Indian summer. 

I have been meeting up with friends and relatives.  I also did quite a lot of travel in this 1 month after I arrived.  I had real good Indian food from some of my favorite restaurants.

I have been catching up with my personal chores and this hiatus has been really good for me!

Ranganathan Street

A Colombian asked me what is the difference between Bogota and Chennai.  I was tempted to elaborate on that (ofcourse good and bad!).  But the main difference I told him was the weather and then the population.  Size of Chennai is nearly the same as Bogota, but the population is twice as much!

I told him, wherever you go you will see people... people... people...  There will be a lengthy queue for everything and anything.  Just to make him understand, I wanted to show the picture of our Ranganathan street in Chennai.  I would say it is a shopper's paradise.  You get everything that you need (The same goods sometimes at a low price, sometimes at a higher price!!).

The problem is, it is difficult to get into the street and come out unscathed.  Once you get in, you do not need to make an effort to walk, you will be pushed by the people around you and when you find the shop you want to get in, you can push yourself towards it.  But start doing it a few yards before the shop otherwise you may get into the next shop.

Especially during festive seasons, it is too much crowded.  If it rains and after you get out of Ranganathan street, you would like to cut your legs than to clean it!

It may sound exaggerating, but it is *almost* true.  If you take a daylight picture of Ranganathan street from top, you will find it pitch black in colour because you will see only heads... heads... heads...  If you drop something from top, it does not reach the ground.  Just take a look at the picture below to believe it.

 

Photo Courtesy: Google Images

What wives say...

I came across this image while I was surfing the Internet. 

It is funny (for those who have not thought of marriage yet), it is unbelievable (for those who have decided to get married) and I leave it to the imagination of those who are married, to decide what it could mean to them!