By Chandan Das

You are cutting your Life , by cutting a Tree Just plant one and get air absolutely Free !

Just save a Tree, its your best Friend People have lot of issues, hug a tree..they are God-Sent !!

Take care of the trees, they are the roots of all Living In return they will take care of you , will make you feel like a King !

Save Paper , if you want to sit down under the shade Recycle it , else this world will soon fade !!

Mother Nature will be happy , if you keep the Environment clean Already our planet is crying as the snow melts, go Eco-Friendly.. don’t be so mean !

Our Green Earth isn’t disposable, it’s the only one we have and that’s not a Lie Ever thought where which side would you live, if the Abused Earth happens to Die??

Don’t waste clean water ..its priceless so conserve & care You will not get a drop to drink later, although there will be “WATER” everywhere !!

Heal our planet, embrace the eco-friendly revolution Turn this World into a better place to Live, and arrest the Pollution ! Don’t throw your future away, show appreciation for the next generation So Go Green , else your life will always be in a perpetual ” commotion ” !!

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• Seven Ways to Turn your Office Green (greenliving4live.com)

राकेश कायस्थ की कलम से 

गिरो मगर वैसे नहीं जैसे रुपया गिरता है
चढ़ो तो वैसे जैसे प्याज चढ़ता है

कहो मगर वैसे नहीं जैसे दिग्गी कहता है
चुप रहो तो वैसे जैसे पीएम रहता है

डरो मगर वैसे नहीं जैसे यूपीए डरता है
अड़ो तो वैसे जैसे खेमका अड़ता है

हांको मगर वैसे नहीं जैसे मोदी हांकता है
जागो तो वैसे जैसे एक मुल्क जागता है

By Tahira

I have always been a gourmet. Good food turns me on and wait! Let me be more precise – it has to be a non-vegetarian delicacy – either chicken or sea food. However, at times I do prefer indulging in other activities that makes life much more happening for a young woman – like fashion, shopping for the latest Prada handbag or a Giovanni Dress or a pair of stilettos from Jimmy Choo — what more to make life exciting? Hmm… well you guessed it right… MEN!!!

So three things… food, fashion and flirt (with Men obviously!) that can make a life much better! What say?

Sitting idle on a Saturday, I was flipping through a women’s magazine. Though am not much the kinds who would spend hours over the latest issue of Vogue or discussing the latest pair of lingerie launched – but such occasional deviations were definitely welcoming. My eyes suddenly fell on a perfume ad. It goes without saying that it featured a male model with the perfect six pack abs on which possibly every woman would dream of.

The uber-cool model posing shirtless (or should I say topless) staring seductively at the camera made me drool for a fraction of a second. How I wish my boyfriend would at least smell like (if not look like) the fragrance; exuding masculinity and passion at its best from every nook and corner. I must confess, the charm of the ad was too irresistible to ignore!

So, all you ladies out there, how would you like your boyfriends to be?

Who’s your kind of man???

Come up with all your ideas, opinions, fantasies

By Shwetha Kalyanasundaram

Phew! I’ve finally touched the halfway mark. And another 20 weeks to go. Time does fly!! The serious rounding of my tummy finally makes the pregnancy feel more like a reality.

Week 16 to week 20 has been interesting, yet again. The little orange (no more a peanut folks!) is growing nicely (touchwood) and is busy practicing its twists, rolls, kicks and punches. Definitely no WWE Dear Husband, if it’s a boy! I’ve had and still going to have enough action inside to last a lifetime. As the baby doll keeps itself busy performing acrobatics inside, there is no better proof that a brand new and remarkably spirited life is evolving within me.

It’s around this time the little one gets to taste whatever I eat. So out goes the green chili sauces (yea, I developed a taste for it over the course of my pregnancy) and in comes everything that’s sweet. Sugar, I’d definitely watch out for you!!!

And hurray, my little one has its own unique fingerprints. Biometrics, we’ll meet you soon!

There’s something about an obvious bulging mid-section that attracts gratuitous advice-givers and you can’t even turn a deaf ear to. I call ‘em old wives’ tales! As much as these tales do have a strong base in facts and some have been scientifically proved, how accurate they are in every child born is still unclear.

One such is providing the baby a head-start by conducting classes in the womb! You heard me right – providing an utero concert and reading great epics and/or classics is going to turn my child into Mozart and a soon-to-be Booker prize winner!!! My my aren’t we being pushy parents even before the baby comes out?!?

Nevertheless, I see no harm providing a uterine environment rich in music and literature; it helps me bond with the little one, much before its first momma cuddle! And it helps having an astounding singer in the family – my Dear Husband! His YouTube music videos do make up for his absence every day and my kid’s jus loving it (and me too, as the baby kicks to the tunes of its father!). And out comes the dusty classics (now dust-free) which I read away to my belly every day.

Boy! This is definitely turning out to be a lot of fun!

Will meet you all soon with updates on the 6^th month chronicles.

Au revoir for the moment!!!

Disclaimer: As much as the above experiences are my own, I have definitely referred to my pregnancy bible “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” by Heidi Murkoff and other pregnancy blogs easily available on Google for certain details and reasoning.

Related articles

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• Chronicles Of A Mom – To – Be!! Woo Ho!! Part – 2 (missionsharingknowledge.wordpress.com)
• Chronicles Of A Mom – To – Be!! Woo Ho!! Part – 3 (missionsharingknowledge.wordpress.com)
• Chronicles Of A Mom – To – Be!! Woo Ho!! Part 4 (missionsharingknowledge.wordpress.com)
• Chronicles Of A Mom – To – Be!! Woo Ho!! Part 5 (missionsharingknowledge.wordpress.com)

Antara Roy introduces a new style of bread making, which is simple, quick as well as tasty! Read on.

Recently I got a flurry of requests to bake breads. While the health conscious non-kitchen folk wanted me to supply them steadily with home baked, 100% whole wheat bread, the kitchen-loving folk wanted to learn how to make these at home!! While all its frenzy lasts, I thought to introduce my readers to a completely new kind of bread making, which is fast, simple and delicious. This kind of baked bread uses baking powder instead of the traditional yeast and still, tastes and feels completely alike! This is my version of soda bread which is quite flavourful and rich, thanks to the incredible Go cheese (Gouda).

Go cheese is the closest I have got to a proper imported cheese, in Indian markets. Though I am eagerly waiting for them to start a range of hard cheese, in the likes of Parmigiano Reggiano, but the assortment of soft cheese (Montery Jack, Cheddar mild & strong, Gouda) that they offer now, are incredibly tasty and wholesome. Please readers and fellow bloggers, stop buying the synthetically made, chemically laden processed cheese, and go towards these healthier alternate options. These have a more wholesome flavour of dairy and are best to cook with as pizza topping, on toast, on lasagne, in white sauce and the list goes on…

I used Gouda for this recipe but feel free to try the same recipe in the flavour of cheese u like to eat. Let me know in a comment below how it turned out to be!!

Ingredients:

• 2 cup whole wheat flour
• 3 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup grated Go cheese Gouda
• Dried Oregano to taste
• Dried Parsley to taste
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 cup milk
• Couple tbsp water (as per need)

For topping after 15 minutes of cooking:

• 2 tbsp butter
• ½ tsp fresh garlic paste
• Dried Oregano to taste
• More cheese to top (optional)

Method

Mix all dry ingredients (first 6 in the list) together with the flour and whisk vigorously to combine evenly.

Now pour in the oil & milk and incorporate it well with the help of a spatula or spoon. The batter should resemble a cake batter and should be dropping easily from a spoon. If your batter is thick, add a few tbsp of extra water and mix it well to incorporate evenly.

Spread the batter evenly in a loaf tin and bake it for 15 minutes at 200 to 220 degrees c, preheated oven. 15 minutes is enough for the bread to rise and form a light brown crust on top, but not to cook these cheese bites fully.

While the bread is cooking, melt the butter, and whisk in the spices and garlic to combine. Let the flavours rest in the hot butter for a while.

After 15 minutes remove the pan from the oven and generously spread on the Butter and spice mixture on top of the light brown crust. Be as fast as possible so that the bread doesn’t flop down loose the puff it gained in the past 15 minutes.  Put it back in the oven for another 15-20 minutes, till a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean and the crust is nicely browned!!

These are delicious hot out of oven. If you have a party to cater for, then bake it in the night and reheat it once before serving. Its soft supple texture is great and it can be paired with a nice dollop of garlic aoli, cheese spread or simply mayonnaise. The stale pieces can be packed and stored in refrigerator for days and toasted in the morning for a delicious breakfast treat. It’s such wonderfully adaptable dish, made the express way!!

Cheers!!

By Ganesh Subramanian

Warning: If you are one of those who agree with one of the many mind-numbing facebook posts which say that maturity does not depend on age, then read this article no further. Try telling that to your mom or dad – “You know what mom/dad. I don’t think you are mature enough to understand me”.

This post is based on a request from one of my classmates who got pissed off with his project teammates as to how much immature can they be and asked me to write an article on immaturity.As I have also been and continue to be at the receiving end of this generational disorder, I decided to pen down by thoughts. Immaturity levels, as it stands today, have been the bane of the current and mostly the next generation. It is a well known fact that as one ages more, the wiser he/she becomes. The simple theory behind this is that as a person ages, he starts to understand things in a multitude of perspectives and his comprehension of issues, his logic in his arguments all move to the next level. He/She does not react to situations but responds to them.

The current working population and those in their 30s can reflect back on their days when they were raw and young in their 20s. They can surely find that they were much more mature and responsible in their early 20s between 18 and 25 years of age, in comparison with their contemporary counterparts who are in their 20s now. The state of immaturity in today’s younger generation, especially those in their early 20s, is appalling.

Let us look at some characteristics of this immature group:

• Talking unnecessarily for everything and anything even if it’s uncalled for
• Failure in understanding how to maintain decorum in offices and other public places
• Blunt on the face replies if they do not like something. Politeness, apparently, is a forgotten word in their dictionary, if ever there existed one.
• It’s either my way or the highway attitude!
• They don’t care about hurting others, but if they are hurt by others then they want to bring the world down
• Absolutely scant regard/respect for elders! (Remember, by elders I am not referring to parents and relatives. Respect for them should come by birth and is considered a default quality in all of us)
• Quarrelling with others and straining relationships for petty issues
• Reacting to everything and an irresistible urge to keep defending themselves even if they are wrong

Immaturity amongst school students and undergraduates is understandable. But when you see it existing even among postgraduates and working professionals, you begin to wonder, how they got admission to a post-graduate programme or how they got their jobs in the first place.

The simple mantra to not announce to the world that you are immature is to KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT. One can learn a lot in academic institutions and in corporate offices just by remaining silent and observing superiors.

Let us hope that the immature morons in the current generation wake up and they do not fall prey to this mental disorder, else they would invariably banish not only their lives but also the lives of their future generation into deep pits of obscurity.

A couple of interesting quotes on Immaturity:

“You have attained maturity; display it for us, if you please.”
― Mary Janice Davidson, Swimming Without a Net

“It’s my opinion, with some people, just knowing they are alone, living inside of their own miserable, self hating, dysfunctional mind, with their own immature, insecure, self pitying self is its own revenge. Their existence is their karma.”
― Colleen Truscott Fry

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By Joybrato Dutta

Note – Had written a play long back. This is the edited version of it. 

Zindagi jhand hai phir bhi ghamand hai, charo aur ladkiya hai phir bhi haatho mein …….. Sheher mein rehta to ghamand ko kayi baar thes pahunchta. Yehi soch kar mai wapas apne gaon Chamiyatown chala aaya. Socha koi dhanda shuru kar lunga. Sheher ne do cheezey sikhayi thi –  ghodo par betting aur doosro ki setting. Betting ke paise abb setting se doogna karne ke vichar se mai gaon mein ek pyaar ka consultant ban gaya.

Abb gaon mein TVC, radio spot, print ad, poster, dangler, loha lasoon prakaar ki advertising to hoti nahin. To main bhopu lekar shuru ho gaya

Deviyo aur sajjano

Suniye suniye aur sunte jaiyye

Intezar ki ghadi hui khatam

Mohabbat ki kaksha mein abb aap aayenge pratham

Ameer ho ya gareeb

Hamesha hoga koi na koi kareeb

So kholiye dil ka darwaza

Kyunki aa gaya Ishaq da dhaaba

By the way this has nothing to do with Ramdev Baba

Iske saath hi maine bajaya gaon ka most romantic gaana “Khulla hai mera pinjra aa meri maina, chura na aise ankhiyaan ladne de naina, Haaaaaaaaaaan”

Pehle grahak ne kadam rakkha. Yeh the Humraaz gang ke leader Abbas Gwaala.

Abbas – aur hero dhanda kaise chal raha hai

Me – Bas bhaai dua hai aapki

Abbas –  Bhaai se dua hi lega ki kuch dega bhi

Me – hukum kijiye bhaai

Abbas Bhaai mere table par padey kuch ex and y Miss Chamiyatown ke photos dekhne lagey.

Abbas – yeh laundiya jawan lagti hai, kitne ki hai

Me – ji pachhis ki

Abbas – sau ya hazar

Me – ji matlab

Abbas – abbey pachhis sau ki ya pachhis hazar ki

Me – ji yeh pachhis saal ki hai

“Abbey rate bata”

Me(clearing my throat) – Bhaai mai date set karta hun rate nahin

Abbas – abbey kamaal karta hai. Naam hai dhaaba aur jab khaane ka daam poocha to mana karta hai

Me – ji aapko galat faimi hui, mai yahan ladkiyo ke saath setting karwaata hun. Aggar aapko kisi se pyaar hai to mai aapki setting karwa sakta hun.

Abbas (disappointed) – Abbey pyaar to humko har doosre din hota hai. Aur setting ka kya hai ladki ke ghar 2000 bhej deta hun. Maani to theek, nahin to uthwa leta hun.

Me (in a very phati huyi condition) – Bhaai aap rockstar ho. Par kar kisi ke paas aap aapke jitney suvidhayein uplabdh  nahin. To unki madad karne ke liye maine yeh dukaan khola hai.

Abbas bhaai left with dejection. Pehla grahak disappointed. Bad omen. But himmat nahin haari maine.

Doosra grahak tha gaon sabse coolest playboy. Naam tha Abhi Dey

Aate hi bole Abhi dey

Me – Kya dun?

Abhi – Abbey naam hai mera Abhi Dey

Me – Maaf karna par kaafi raub jama kar bheekh maangte ho aap

Abhi – yo man. English talk to me. Hindi is below aukaat.

Me – Ok. So do you like anyone?

Abhi – Girl name Rita, sister name Sita, mother name Sangeeta, and babuji sells pheeta. Aur usi ne my heart jeeta

Me (after cracking the riddle) – Babuji ne?

Abhi – Ritaaaaaaaaaaaa Rita  you fool

Me – So do you love her?

Abhi – No no no. Her body big. Backside bigger. I want the girl. Ma babuji want bachha. Total mamla sex mein nipta.

Me – Sorry but I don’t deal in sex. I will help you only if you are in love.

Abhi – Don’t panga with me. I see gory filmein all day and I watch 60′s ka porn. Mera setting karwa else I’ll tell everyone that you sell such cheap stuff.

Yeh keh ke Abhi Dey ne humaari le li aur nikal liye.

Sar phat chukka tha aur pichwada chipak chukka tha. Itne mein ek bewde ne kadam rakha. Andar aaye aur bade pyaar se apne tashreef ko kursi par rakh diya.

Me – Ji mai kaise aapki seva kar sakta hun

Bewda – ek chicken tandoori, ek kaleji fry aur paanch naan. Aur thande mein kya hai?

Me – Abbey mere ko dhaabe ka waiter samjha hai kya?

Bewde – Abbey maal maara hai kya. Baahar itne bade board mein Dhaaba likha hai.

Me – ji yeh Ishaq ka dhaaba hai

Bewda – Ishaq? Veg hai ya non-veg

Kisi tarah apne gusse ko shaant karke maine uss bewde ko baahar nikaala. Thaka hara mai wapas apni kursi par baitha ki woh balkhaate huye aa gayi. Chamiyatown ka official speaker Miss Bhookhi Sawant.

Bhookhi – Ji mai Bhooki

Me – Kamaal karti hai aap, itno ko khaa chuki hai aap, phir bhi….…

Bhookhi – Ji mai Jejus par bahut trust karti hun. Jejus ne hamesha mera saath diya. Jesus har dukh mein mere saath rehte hai. Jejus nahin hotey to main nahin hoti. Kal raat Jejus mere sapne mein aaye, boley aapki dukan mein mujhe Jejus jaisa ladka milega. To mai  Jejus jaisa ladka dhundne aayi hun.

Me – ji yeh to thoda tough hai

Bhookhi – dekjhiye aagar aap meri help nahin karenge to Jejus bahut naraaz honge.

Me (dharam sankat mein) – dekhiye waise to ek ladka hai. Aaj ke yug mein wahi Jejus hai.

Bhookhi – kya naam hai?

Me – TRP

Bhookhi – ji?

Me – Aaj ke date mein TRP hi Jejus hai, wahi decide karta hai kaun jeeta kaun haara, kaun hit hai kaun flop hai. Aapke liye TRP hi sabse apt hoga. Main jald hi aapki setting karwaata hun.

Bhookhi Sawant khush ho gayi apni cleavage ki ek jhalak dikhakar chali gayi.W0h dekh kar mere dil mein dhande ko aage badhane ka jazba utpann huwa.

Aa gaye agle grahak. Pyaar mein harey huye ek bhookhe sher. Naam tha inka Sheikh Baval.

Me – to Baval ji, kya karte hai aap

Baval – Ji mai photographer hun

Me – waah lajawab. To kahiye aapko kissey pyaar hai

Baval – Apne chitro se

Baval Ji ne kuch dus ladkiyo ki tasveero ko mere saamne rakh diya.

Me – Ji aapka collection to mere se bhi zyaada hai. Do chaar tasveere mai bhi rakh sakta hun kya?

Baval – haath mat lagaana mere tasveero ko. Mai yeh tasveere sirf apne paas rakhta hun. Na kisi ko deta hun, na Facebook par upload karta hun.

Me – Magar aapko inme se pyaar kissey hai?

Baval – Jo mere se sabse pehle pategi, mujhe usi se pyaar hai. Waise inme se paanch ki shaadi ho chuki hai, aur baaki paanch ki honey waali hai.

Me (dumbfounded) – Ji yeh to kaafi kathin aur beimaani waala kaam hai.

Baval – Agar tumne mera yeh kaam kiya to mai tumhaare tasveero ko itna raunchy bana dunga ki agle 5 janmo tak tumhe apne facebook ki profile pic change karne ki zaroorat nahin padhegi.

Abb aise deal se kaun inkaar kare. Baval ji jhush huye aur nikal liye.

Shaam ho gayi thi. Dukaan bandh karne ka waqt ho gaya tha. Mai bas nikalne ki taiyyari kar hi raha tha ki, aa gaye ek aur grahak. Naam tha inka Toy Toota.

Toy – Ji hum Toy hai

Me – To kahiye Toy Ji kisne aapko chaabi ki

Toy – Ek Punjaaban ne. Naam hai Darupikar Hawan

Me – Waah kya madhosh naam hai. Koi tasveer hai aapke paas

Toy – Ji mere blog pe hai. Aapke yahan net connection hai?

Me – Ji hai. Link bataiye

Toy – bakchodi.slogspot.com

Me – waah kya naam hai

Toy – achha jab aapne blog khola hi hai to mere do chaar posts padh ke phatafat comment kijiye na

Me – ji zaroor padhunga, pehle aap apni kahani to bataiyye

Toy – arey main kahan bhaaga jaa raha hun. Padhiye comment kijiye phir baat karte hai

Cut to 4 posts par comment karne ke baad

Me (pareshan ho kar) – Toy ji abb to bataiyye. Koi tasveer hai aapke paas

Toy Ji ne tasveer nikaal ke saamne rakh di

Me – Toy Ji daru ki nahin Darupikar ki tasveer dikhaiye

Finally Toy Ji ne apne album mein kaafi ladkiyo ki tasveero mein se ek tasveer nikal ke diya.

Allah kasam ladki to Allah taala ki nayamat lag rahi thi. Shakal soorat aur size se lagg raha tha ki kaafi raes ghar ki ladki hogi. Toy Ji jaise jaise uske bare bolne lage, humara charitra waise waise phisalta gaya.

Kahani ke anth tak humey Darupikar se pyaar ho gaya. Phir humara imaan jaag utha. Humey laga ki yeh dukaan humne doosro ki bhalai ke liye kholi hai. Lekin phir humne socha ki agar dhande mein munafa na ho to dhande ka fayda kya. To humne Toy Ji ko bhatkaana shuru kiya.

Me – Toy ji, bura mat maniye par humko laundiya theek nahin lagi

Toy – kaisi baatey kar rahe ho, ladki to achhi hai. Hrisht-pusht bhi hai

Me – Kahan Toy Ji? Ladki kitni peeti hai, peene ke baad kitni ulti karti hogi. Abb aap to samjhenge, kal ko gharwaalo par ulti kar di to, phir mohalle waalo par. Aisi ladki ke saath……..

Toy – bakwas kar rahein hai aap. Uske bare bura mat kahiye. Woh meri maal hai.

Me – Toy Ji, zara apne hunar ko pehchaniye. Aap itne jaane mane blogwriter hai, aapke dil mein hi nahin album mein bhi ladkiyo ki bheed hai. Aap chahe to kya kuch nahin kar sakte. Arey aap jis par ungli rakhenge wahi pategi. In fact aapke liye mere nazar mein ek bahut hi khoobsoorat ladki hai.

Tasveer dekhte hi Toy Ji ke totey udd gaye. Hawaon ne rukh moda. Pyaar ki raah se digress hokar Toy Ji abb Hawas ki raah par chal pade.

Toy – yehi yehi chahiye mujhe. Aap bhagwaan ho. Item ki dukaan ho, nahane ka saaman ho. Mujhe isi ladki ke saath setting karni hai.

Toy Ji ko maine kiya setting ka vaada. Toy Ji khush hokar chale gaye. Humne bhi apni dukaaan ki shutter down kari. Dil khush tha, kyunki mujhe iss dhande ki taakt samajh aa chuki thi.

Mujhe yakeen tha

Gaon mein Ishaq da dhaaba aisi aag lagayegi

Ki Hawas ke pujariyo ki band bajj jaayegi

Dhaaba closed for the day!!!

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By Tahira

Consumption of tea originated in China nearly 4000 years ago and as far as Green Tea is concerned, it was first brewed in 2737 BC, during the reign of the Chinese Emperor Chen Nung. Over the ages, Green Tea has been known and extensively used for its medicinal purpose long years together. But what makes Green Tea so popular and endearing. Lets take a look.

Green Tea and Weight Loss
Wondering that consumption of a liquid can actually do such a wonder? Well, yes it does. Regular consumption of green tea increases the rate of metabolism. The substance named polyphone present in green tea works towards intensifying the levels of fat oxidation. It also intensifies the rate at which our body burns calories.

Green Tea and Cancer
Consumption of Green Tea is known to reduce the risk of oesophagus and breast cancer. However, the cancer fighting abilities of green tea is not only limited to these two. Flavinoids present in green tea helps reducing cancer risk. The antioxidant in green tea has been proved to be 100 times more effective than Vitamin C and nearly 25 times better than Vitamin E.

Moreover, Catechins found in green tea help deactivate certain carcinogens, prevent cell mutation and reduce the formation of tumors. Drinking as many as four cups of green tea in a day can help reap the benefits.

Green Tea and Cardiovascular Diseases
The lowering risks of heart diseases and stroke has long been associated with Green Tea. According to Harvard Health Publications, regular Green Tea consumers develop lower risks for heart diseases. The presence of the strong antioxidants in green tea, blocks the oxidation of bad cholesterol and increases good cholesterol thereby improving arterial functions. A Chinese study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine showed nearly 50% reduction in hypertension risks in those who consumed Green Tea on a regular basis.

Green Tea and, Oral and Bone Health
Presence of flavinoids, natural fluorides, catechins and polyphenols are known to kill bacteria that are responsible for causing tooth decay, gum problems and bad breath. A study published by the European Journal of Nutrition, found that those who consumed at least two cups of Green Tea everyday, developed less risk of tooth decay. However, it is advisable that you consume Green Tea without sugar or honey.

Though researches are still being undertaken about the Green Tea’s association of promoting bone health, but some studies have found that routine consumption of Green Tea for more than five years can help in reducing the risk of diseases such as osteoporotic fractures. Green Tea is also thought to reduce bone loss through antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. It is believed that Green Tea also helps in bone building cells.

How to Reap the Benefits
In a cup of  hot boiled water, add one or two teaspoons of green tea leaves. Keep for five minutes and strain. You can add ice if you want to have this beverage cold. But, always remember to be able to reap the benefits of Green Tea to the fullest, have it plain, without sugar or honey.

By Ankit Chandra

Thank you God for the world so sweet,

Thank you God for the food we eat,

Thank you God for the birds that sing,

Thank you God for everything!

psst: God thank you the most for (hopefully) saving me from today’s near (touch wood) debacle

Boy!

Sometimes u just thank God ( well touch wood and fingers crossed) for the many times he saves you from almost inevitable disaster… and having said that, once an engineer, always an engineer! even if u r doing a management course now!

There was this seemingly unscrupulous MS Excel course in my program. There was a full proper announcement about it and everything, and our instructor was very strict and the features he was teaching looked pretty ‘weird’ to learn… In fact so much so, that people in my class actually started to stay up late to work the problems and make sure that they did their assignments in time and did them well. otherwise it was almost impossible for anyone to remember the stuff. Add to it that the instructor was gradually turning into a monster, and increasing our work load, making the problems in the assignment ever tougher to work.

This was the first time I saw my other wise cool roomy actually sweating it out in nights to finish the assignments, talking to many people over the phone to understand the problems and tediously working towards a probable solution. Classes began to remain fully occupied with students with peeled eyes glued to the screen in the class and ears cocking open to absorb all the stuff the instructor spewed out ( including his very special way of saying awwwigghh (allright))…

Nobody was sure as to how would they face the test due next week. Wait! what? there is a test next week? oh Wait, is there a test for this course? and thats next week??? umm where is it written! Why didn’t anyone tell me! ….

Yah… that’s what my first reaction was when I was told last week about this test. Already taken by surprise on this, I had no idea as to how I should react to this …. ambush!!! Yah! it’s NOT fair and enough to just email everyone in the class about the test and talk about it in the class at least 3 times! PEOPLE DON’T PAY ATTENTION!!!!

Anyways… the world IS a sick place… everyone knows that. And I have been dealing with it ever since I was born. But now that I have to live with that, I thought i might as well think about preparing for the test. I planned. well, thats a rare thing anyhow, but I did… and planned to prepare the night before the test (goto: line no. 8 abt engineers).

Cut back to yesternight. With all the true intentions I start preparing for the test. Just to get all the variables initialized I asked my roomy “What if we flunk”? He replied that due to some weird credit score logic, what we score in the test wdn’t make a dent in our overall scores.

Now believe me, even after hearing that I wanted to prepare whole heartedly for the test. By the time I was in my room with the laptop in my laps, the rational side of began to speak up and said : “You wdn’t get a score anyhow for this test, and u wdnt flunk. So why don’t u utilize this time better and go to sleep!” . Hmm.. I thought… there is a point! After all logical analysis of an argument is what I learn day in and day out!. Rest is as they say, His Story….

Day : Today. Time 940 am ( 4 hours and 2 classes before the test). My classmate tells me that we need to score at least 80% in the test to pass, or we wd have to re take the test. shit.

Time 1 pm ( one hour before the test) in the lunch room, discussing the excel problems with my roomys and the Omen inducing classmate ( the one who told me the 80% thingy), I realized that now its a futile exercise. The rationale was that since I don’t have enough time before the test to prepare, I should concentrate on the final thread. The Help function in Excel. I plan an elaborate strategy based on the information I retrieved from these fellows around me.

Test: After looking at the question paper, I knew one thing for sure. I knew nothing. Then from somewhere God comes in the picture. And I look at the help function. Question One, search for it on the help. Got the method. Question Two, back to help. Q3,4… Rest as they say is…

I think ( hope, pray and everything) that I pass. But, thank u God

By Rimpi Goyal

Today is Rakshabhandhan and it is really a wonderful feeling all around. The chaste bond of love between a brother and a sister is one of the deepest and noblest of human emotions. But suddenly I found whom I should tie my Rakhi though he is no more in this world. This gives me courage to share my feelings for him through this blog.

It happened in Chandigarh on Diwali 2011. Everybody was happy because we were planning to celebrate Diwali at our new house. My brother and I spoke on the phone. He was convincing me to come to Chandigarh and celebrate Diwali with all of them but I could not because of official commitments.

And then something happened.

My father called me and asked me to reach home immediately. I knew something was wrong. Yes, I lost him and my father his son. My beloved brother had died in a road accident and my father had just received a call from police. We stood in disbelief, pain and anguish. Both of us lost everything.

To be strong…..

When my brother was alive, I used to hang around with him a lot. We thought we were so cool! A bossy sister that I was, he never asked anything for himself…he was the one jo hameasha daant khata tha just to see a smile on my face.

A feeling that I cannot explain today had surpassed me then. Feeling of loneliness, feeling the irreparable loss of only brother, feeling of utter pain.

I remember someone saying at the funeral “You must be strong for your parents” Yes, I must be, but I’m not feeling strong for myself.

I felt sorry for my dad. People kept telling him to be a man and be strong for his wife and daughter.

Pain in their eyes

I was angry with God. I just couldn’t understand why something so terrible had to happen to us.

The most difficult part was not being able to talk to my parents. There was so much pain in their eyes. If they would bring up his topic, I would cringe because even though I wanted to keep his memory alive, I wanted my connection to be private. As I got older, I began talking about my brother to my parents more often.

The whole experience changed my life. I know I’m a completely different person than I would otherwise have been. When people ask how many siblings do I have, I always say, “One.” After all, at what point in a relationship or friendship do you bring it up? Anybody who is close to me knows. It’s a big part of who I am, and people have been so good about it.

I wrote this for my brother…He will be missed every day. Love you little bro….

You’re still here in my heart and mind,
still making me laugh ‘cause your stories live on.
I hold you in my thoughts and I can feel you.
I feel you and this gives me strength and courage.
The tears I have cried for you could flood the earth
and I know you have wiped each one away.
For you Brother, I promise you this,
I will go on with my life and make you proud. I will always hold you in my heart.
I promise you I will be missing you everyday till the end of time,
but this is not my end and I can’t hold my head underwater….I need to breathe.

I need to love and miss you…I might cry or smile,
but at the end of the day I am one day closer to you…

Love you a Lot..!!!! Happy Rakshabhandhan…

Related articles

• Celebrating the bond (thehindu.com)

By Tahira

I love garlic. I love Chicken. So, this time I thought why not make a delectable delicacy out of the two.

A friend of mine had just shifted base to NCR after spending a decade in the Silicon Valley of India (Bangalore). Somewhat morose and trying to adjust to the idiosyncrasies of the Jat Land (Gurgaon), Amrita would often call me up. So, one fine day I just dropped in at her place impromptu to give her a surprise.

Well, indeed she was. We both ended up chatting for long when suddenly she came up with the idea, “ lets concoct up something in my kitchen.” So instead of placing an order for lunch, we immediately donned the chef’s hat. Amrita’s kitchen had almost everything. So, we dint have to worry much to make Garlic Chicken along with soy bean rice.

I must say that we enjoyed the sumptuous lunch of Garlic Chicken and Soybean Rice accompanied by some red wine. Yes, though the latter part may sound a little westernized for Indian homes, nonetheless, since we both are gourmets, it goes without saying that the wine goblets exuded the essence of the entire activity – the grand lunch that we had. Here’s the recipe.

Ingredients

• ŸChicken 500 grams
• ŸGarlic  15-17 cloves
• ŸGinger  grated, 1 tea spoon
• ŸGreen Chillies 2-3 (you can add more if you want)
• ŸJulienned Onion 1 large
• ŸYogurt ¼ cup
• ŸLemon Juice 1 teaspoon
• ŸWhole cloves 6-8
• ŸWhole Cardamoms 5-7
• ŸPinch of turmeric (optional)
• ŸOlive Oil 3 tablespoons
• ŸSalt to Taste

Method

Make a paste with ginger, 10 cloves of garlic, lemon juice, yogurt and a pinch of salt. Marinate the chicken in this paste for at least four hours. Now take a heavy-bottomed pan and heat olive oil in it. Keep the flame low. Smash the remaining garlic pods and throw in the oil along with cloves and cardamoms. Sauté for a few minutes. Believe me the aroma released from the spices were absolutely to die for.

Now add the onions and fry till they become translucent. Add the marinated chicken along with cloves and cardamoms and turmeric. Sprinkle some salt according to your taste. Add a little water and cover with a lid. Cook slowly on a low flame while stirring constantly for around 20 minutes. Remove from stove, garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with rice.

By Ankit Chandra

First the disclaimer: Any family member should read this only at his/her own risk, and always pretend that they never did. 

Man I so wish I was born at the times of Khajuraho Temples. The reason is either too obvious or it will most definitely be in the due course of this post.

All this while I was struggling to find the right way to sum up my Vegas trip. But intoxicated as I was, it was only now that I could re-gather my senses ( it took 2 days of day long business meetings to get me out of that) to come up and gather my thoughts.

The best way the whole Vegas trip can be summed up in two words is “confused dilemma”. At least for me. No let me correct that. I can safely say that for a good number of people from India. Dilemma of what? You see, there is this historic side of India all Indians so proudly brandish and brag about. Well at least we think that out past was glorious (if not the present) and that we proudly follow those traditions in our daily present day lives. In one of my first blogs, I had talked about the great Indian divide. That exists between us the eligible guys and them the eligible-yet-no-where-to-be-seen girls in India, coz their fathers keep them away from us. A very well made documentary film on this by a musician called Ishq Bector is here. (go to the link only if u wanna know how Indian parents ‘mind’ their kids )

So how does this all link to each other? I mean the topic is Vegas, and I’ve talked about Khajuraho temples, Indian culture, contemporary Indian parents, and then the acclaimed (eh?) new age Indian musician? hehe so at least the ‘confused’ part of the problem is clear.

So now the other ‘dilemma part’. Despite the assurance by the Americans : “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas”, poor Indian graduate students, who haven’t even ever been to a dance bar in India ( trust me!) are left to the mercy of, shall we say ‘ladies’ in ‘non-indian’ dresses.

Have you ever observed your tongue become so long that it blasts it way out of your mouth? have you ever felt your neck crane over 180 degrees trying to help your eyes dig deep into certain things that are usually never to be seen? Have you ever had anatomy lessons in the middle of a casino? Have you ever had guys on the roads selling phone numbers of the other sex, instead of T-shirts? Have you ever sooo wanted to be behind a certain curtain, or behind a certain door that the only way you could take your mind off it is by concentrating on another similar curtain and door? How many times the truck in front of you carries a larger than life ad of something that you would want to give your right hand for? and that too at 50 Dollars an hour?

If all this happens in Vegas, how can a poor Indian graduate student forget it all in Vegas… But thats exactly where the dilemma starts. The point is, despite all that happening to me, I couldn’t do anything but stay/stand/walk on… Call it a culture shock, or sheer cowardice, but anytime such opportunity arose, I couldn’t take the dive. For better or for worse. Be it a girl asking me to merely stick my tongue out for a picture, or a guy on the road asking me to just look at the card and the picture on it, I couldn’t stand up to the moment. Why? coz we as Indians aren’t supposed to do that stuff!!. Damn! now I am confused.

In one of the pubs there, I was standing upright and uptight (God knows why) and just then someone brushed beside me. Her hand came into mine and she held it tight for a split second. In that moment, that split second, I sooo wished it was in Madhya Pradesh at the time of Khajuraho. Just so that I could follow my traditions and glorious past

By Devjani Bodepudi

“When love beckons to you follow him, Though his ways are hard and steep. And when his wings enfold you yield to him, Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you. And when he speaks to you believe in him, Though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste the garden. For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you. Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning. Even as he ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun, So shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth……

But if in your fear you would seek only love’s peace and love’s pleasure, Then it is better for you that you cover your nakedness and pass out of love’s threshing-floor, Into the seasonless world where you shall laugh, but not all of your laughter, and weep, but not all of your tears. Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself.

Love possesses not nor would it be possessed; For love is sufficient unto love. And think not you can direct the course of love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course. Love has no other desire but to fulfil itself.”

But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires: To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night. To know the pain of too much tenderness. To be wounded by your own understanding of love; And to bleed willingly and joyfully.”

Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet

When I was about thirteen, I came across these beautiful lines in a poetry anthology I was given at school to study. I was in love then, so I memorised the lines then, not knowing what they meant. I only knew they were beautiful and talked of love being vast and holier than anything that I had known before.

There is so much love inside us all. The love in me is destructive sometimes. It comes out with a fierce desire to protect and as a result it may destroy. I’m thwarted at every turn because the ones I love will make the choices that they must. I describe it as shouting at a soap character on screen, willing them to make the right choice but they can’t hear me. The script must play out, the show will go on, and in the end, the hero will be heartbroken. There is simply nothing I can do.

The love here, in Calcutta seems magnified. Everyone loves to extremes. It’s like watching a strip of magnesium burn brighter than the sun only to be left with the remnants of a memory. It is a starburst in the darkness and clinical correctness of a laboratory.  I think everyone here is chasing that starburst, that momentary elusiveness of wonder and lust.

I’ve heard stories of couples who have been married for years, have children, respectable positions in society, just let it all fall away because they’ve ‘fallen in love’. It happens everywhere, I suppose, perhaps more so in the West. People get divorced all the time. But somehow, it feels like it’s been sought out here, deliberately. It’s necessary because the poets have written about it for centuries. We’ve taken Romeo and Juliet to heart and Tagore’s heroes and heroines must befall heartache and tragedy, as it is the only way to love. Despair is a prerequisite to happiness and truth, it seems.

Growing up and in my teens we were exposed to the story of Sarat Chandra’s Devdas, in all his cinematic glory. That tragic drunk, inebriated with his own sorrow, the courtesan, made transcendent through her grief, the simple girl next door, within reach but tainted through poverty. As Indians, I think we’ve come to worship such love, but I was able to move on thankfully. I think it’s like dancing in the rain; there is pure joy in drowning in the tears of the gods. To fully experience love, one must drown in it first. One must first be left bereft of hope until an angel appears and lifts you up and whispers in your ear, “you will love again and this time it will be for an eternity.”

But what is Love? I did not know what it was until it filled me up with contentedness and content. It is that which stopped still the longing and searching and swallowed the void until light poured forth from every pore. Every droplet of self was wrung from my being until there was only elation.

Love asks of nothing. It is whole. It will be you, who will give, willingly, as you are nourished with its enduring strength and its midday warmth.

I suppose we must all learn the ways of heartbreak and rejection first, like rights of passage. Perhaps our hearts need to be broken and set in the form of the perfect vessel to allow Love to enter. I wish I knew.

All I know is that I am blessed with Love. I pray that those whom I love, will find it too, that many-coloured bird that sings of joy and strength and patience and peace.

By Tahira

Books have always been regarded as an important source for the development and promotion of human values. They not only record new ideas but also impart values and work towards the overall development of the individual.

Counted among the top ten industries in the world, the publishing industry of India has an estimated market value of INR 10000 crores; and India ranks third in the English Language publishing right after UK and USA.

Though with the advent of the Internet and most importantly the Digital Media becoming stronger than ever before, the traditional publishing industry has undergone several changes. However, the printed book is still sought after by many Indians. The ever-increasing book clubs, book stores in swanky shopping malls and new generation Indian writers becoming a hit – makes the publishing industry still ongoing.

Moreover, the industry saw a boom with more and more international names foraying into the Indian market. From school books to Higher Education – medical publishers and so on – the Indian publishing industry has undergone several changes – more so with the integration of New Media/ Digital Media.

Despite threats from other forms of digital media and the international publishing industry bearing the heat – the Indian segment of the same seem to be enjoying a new height. According to experts, the millennium old Indian mindset (in most cases) event-based promotion of the reading culture and a sudden spurt in the national and regional level literary festivals (Jaipur Literature Festival, Kolkata Literary Festival and others) have bolstered the growth of the industry. It continues to draw a new segment of readers. This was evident form the footfall recorded at the 2013 World Book Fair (New Delhi); the World Book Fair also transacted several international deals.

A recent study by the Frankfurt Book Fair, revealed that the Indian publishing industry is already registering an annual growth of 15% which is estimated at nearly $2 billion.

With a proliferation of international publishing houses, the publishing industry is in a good shape in India. The country today has some of the best international players in the market with some Indian publishing houses reaching international standards in production and design quality.

Since the 1950s, book publishing in India has undergone a metamorphosis. Today, with the amalgamation of digital media (social networking/ Facebook pages/blogs of publishing houses) the Indian publishing industry is experiencing a new high. Interestingly, India presents an interesting scenario where the old (traditional printed books) and the new (e-books) co-exist.

Though e-books are more lucrative, but going by the market trends, it can be said that the Indian publishing industry is here to stay in the coming future.

Related articles

• Moneyball and the Publishing Industry (writingishardwork.com)
• Indian readers digest the most (dnaindia.com)

By Shwetha Kalyanasundaram

For a very long time now, the day a girl comes to this world, she’s born not with a silver spoon in her mouth, rather a silver ladle in her hand!! And would I be far from it?!?

I grew up watching my mother conjure up delicious and mouth-watering dishes in the kitchen. I did notice that the man of the house (my father, that is) stayed away from the kitchen. The curiosity in me was piqued as I wondered why men basked in blissful ignorance and weren’t as kitchen savvy as the women. At school, my sexist idea of “Women Only” in the kitchen changed, when my male classmates proudly displayed their kitchen cuts and bruises. In today’s age, the cooking profession is dominated by that category of homo-sapiens who bear the Y chromosome.

When I was in college, being a “bad cook” would have been princely. Growing up, I didn’t have to worry about peeling potatoes or playing with oil. I had my mother to do it all. I couldn’t cook anything—I even burnt water!! Then my mother sat me down and reasoned with me that to be a wonder girl of sorts, I should learn to cook.

Here’s why!

They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Attracting men through your culinary skills have proven to have a success rate greater than that through your intellect. Cooking is art and science rolled into one. It helps you build skills, be imaginative, and is a stress buster. At a marriageable age, spurred on by her advice, I decided to explore the art of cooking.

And here’s my first date in the kitchen, rather with the kitchen!!!

Our day usually kick starts with a cup of coffee. An engineer that I am, my mother handed me the “procedure” to prepare coffee. Boil milk – check; Measure exact amount of decoction into cup – check; Add sugar – err?!? And that’s my first goof up and it’s an obvious guess. Sugar and salt should never be kept together – NEVER! The expression on my parents face in the morning as they sipped coffee laced with salt – priceless!

A three course meal that maketh a typical Indian meal involves using a variety of pulses. Phew! It’s easier identifying a salt in the chemistry lab rather than identifying the right pulse for the right meal!!! What a harrowing time I had!! The number of times I had to abandon ship and start over again, I used up the entire ration in the kitchen.

And the Indian bread! Gosh, to get the rotis in a perfect circle can be a humungous task. Mine resembled the continents on the world map!!! Who cares about the shape as long as they were edible!

You know what happens to vegetables when they’ve cooked too much? They turn to mush. And that’s exactly what happened to my ladies finger curry! Here’s a small piece of advice – wash the ladies finger before cutting them rather than washing them after the cut!

You may have heard it a million times, but do you practice it? Do you taste your food as you cook it? If you don’t, you really should start. Recipes aren’t always accurate and can often times lead you astray. Tasting your food as you cook means the difference of a mediocre meal or a delicious one.

In the latter half of the day, my mother asked me to curdle the milk. While I knew that adding curds  to milk will  result in fermentation, I did not know the proportion and hence added the whole lot of curds to the milk and when I innocently asked my mother what I should do with the balance curds as the vessel was filled to the brim , my mother’s temper rose sky high!!!

Every cook, being human, errs, bungles, botches, and screws up in the kitchen once in a while, but in my case, the whole date was a disaster! For your day to go alright, guess it helps waking up on the right side of the bed *chuckle*.

And years down the lane, with a sizeable portion of hours spent inside the kitchen, I’m definitely making great inroads to the heart of my man through his stomach!

By Ankit Chandra

It might be a late night with no action in Las Vegas that has prompted me to write this, but, I wanted to put this up for many reasons..

1) Frustration
2) Information
3) Education
4) Entertainment

Like our Marketing professor taught us, I am trying to segment, and then target different audiences of this blog: prospective students for MS Tech Program, bored internet blog visitors, and fellow people looking for jobs

So first the history: I was working rather well at naukri.com (India’s biggest jobsite), when my boss kinda motivated me to quit my job. Alongside, I was very enamored by the product team at naukri, for it seemed they had the best of both the worlds. There was also a person called Sujith Nair. He was a dynamic project manager at naukri, who was someone I usually looked up to. But being the Taurean that I am, I didn’t wanna take that much time (which was anyhow short) to get to where Sujith Nair was. Simultaneously, there were these new chaps recruited from ISB into naukri at seemingly ridiculous salaries… (grrr) and above all, I wanted a change!!!

So came into picture Technology Management.  My research on the internet for Technology Management (on  edulix.com, etc ) showed me a bunch of options, including MBA in Technology Management at Berkeley, MIT, EPFL Lausanne, and MS – Technology Management at UIUC (with one year course duration). I liked MS Tech at UIUC because the College of Business was ranked at 38 in the world (financial times), the program was at UIUC (a campus which has GREAT reputation), and this was a quick one year program (so I could get to earning money sooner). At that time ISB wasn’t ranked in the global rankings (now in 2012 it’s somewhere around 11 in the world), and IIMs were somewhere in the 100s… (plus I flunked CAT more than once )

I applied, kinda after the deadline, and made it in. I was very ecstatic about it!  And then the program started… The fact that MS Technology Management was a one year program made it a very intensive course work. And before we had even unpacked our bags, we ran into our first and most critical Fall career job fair. I did my part of selling, and got interviews from many great companies like Yahoo, Microsoft, Facebook (which I couldn’t attend, and it turns out to be a VERY expensive mistake ), Expedia, Cashnet USA, Capital IQ, ZS Associates etc, and got great feedback from all of them. It seemed they were very interested in the Technology Management program and what it had to offer…But there were 3 things which stood out after this:

1) They weren’t sure about what this Technology Management program was all about, and consequently there was a confusion about what profile they wanted me for.Some even asked me ‘So where do we place you’!. So some companies interviewed me for a software engineer position and some did for pure marketing… a major mismatch.

2) I wasn’t prepared enough with the MBA (which is what Technology Management is wrapped around) training to handle the interviews as yet. After all, it was just 4 weeks since we had come in, and were thrown in to compete with the one year MBAs… I was given a case interview when I didn’t even know what that was…

3) I wasn’t prepared even for the interviews where I thought I had a good chance. It takes at least 6 months ( in my opinion) to crack interviews at top companies, and I had only 1-2 months of clueless preparation effort. What I learned from this was that you MUST find out the ‘what to dos’, and ‘how to dos’ of interview preparation. Use career services, including engineering and business, your contacts and alumni to find that out.

As the program progressed into Spring semester, the whole course started to make sense. It is a great program in terms of what it teaches us… The bigger picture of technology and its management became clearer. I could now see the business value in the code I wrote, which till now I evaluated only on how smart it was and what cool things it could do… The holistic picture of Technology from Innovation, Supply chain, Process Management or financial perspective (like how should we value a dotcom) started appear clearly.

But sadly, there were more things happening in the ‘happening’ world, and the problem was multi-pronged:

1) some greedy people borrowed too much money and built houses with it, and caused the sub-prime crisis. (why does it always rain on me!!)
2) The fall semester job fair was gone and spring was mostly for internships (which we don’t have scope for, unless one goes out of the way and extends the program)
3) The career services department seemed as clueless about this program as the companies were :p

so ‘long story short’ as a speaker in marketing class said, we have to search for companies, educate the companies about the MS Technology management program, fight the recession (by praying to God) and keep looking for jobs everywhere… The final thing I realized was that this is NOT an easy job.

But with all that said, we went to HP Labs for a visit and made a presentation about commercializing a technology they had developed. They were really impressed with the multidimensional analysis of the technology we presented. So I think we are on the right track… what we need is a lil bit of hard (harder) work, and a lil bit of luck…

For all the people who want to come in to technology management stream, ( from anywhere in the world) please make sure that you have a good amount (around 5 years) of technical experience, so that u have the technology in ur head before coming here to see how to manage it. It also depends on what u wanna be after you graduate from the program (don’t join this program to ‘enter’ the management line). Also ensure that you understand what you want from the program, coz this is NOT a regular MBA and if you want to get into finance, accounting, marketing etc, this is NOT the program for you. this is simple and pure general management with a ‘technology’ focus (especially at MS Technology management- UIUC). So ur expertise will still be the technology u came from. Next, use UIUC’s brand image and network. Make sure u make great contacts in fall semester, coz I m not sure how many would land great jobs then. Use these contacts later when u r ready to take the technology management interviews. Job hunting is mostly going to be a year long exercise, and u must start as soon as u get here. You will get better with time, but start making those contacts as soon as possible.

Good luck. (pray the recession gets over soon)

PS: I did land a job by the end of the may I joined this company after my OPT was processed, rather dramatically (But that needs a blog post of its own )

Related articles

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By Shwetha Kalyanasundaram

As customary it is in India, for girls to get married as soon as you enter the 20′s, I was no exception. A few days after I turned 21, my parents sat me down for an “adult ” talk. (The last time that happened was before I entered my engineering college where I got a discourse on the do’s and don’ts at college). My parents bogged me down with questions pertaining to my social life, more directed towards my “preferences” to the opposite sex. When my parents were convinced that I wasn’t seeing anybody, out popped their question – “Are you ready to get married?”

Boy that did set me to think. I set my grey cells in action and tried to introspect if I indeed was ready for marriage. After days of pondering, I decided that the answer was a “yes”!! When I told my pals’ bout my decision, I received a variety of emotions – some rolled their eyes, some laughed it off, some cried (honestly!!) but most of them were shocked. My girl pals bombarded me with a lot of (silly) questions like:

What happens to your career?

Why do you want to settle down so early on in your life?

What happens to your identity?

and many more!! Does this drive me to another state of confusion?!? No!! I was sure that my decision was spot on. Here’s why.

I’m blessed to have wonderful parents, who belong to a small group of people who have evolved with the times and they have always been very liberal with me. They have been very supportive in whatever I have done till date and have always ensured that I carve a niche for myself in whatever I do. Till date, I have been able to do just that and I know for a fact that people recognise me for who I am and what I stand for. They have made sure that my head is held high all the time and that has indeed made me a better person. And I am sure that my partner would respect my ideals and give me the same encouragement that my parents have showered and I am absolutely sure that he would support me in my every step towards success. So, getting married is definitely not going to stop me from achieving my goals.

The entire concept of an arranged marriage, these days can be compared to an online dating process with parental control! My parents, who are very liberal, did give me an option of finding my partner while I pursued my masters, within their reasonable expectations and by far, the only expectation they set forth was that the guy had to be a Tam – Brahm!! But with my studies occupying most of the time, I just found it to be a humungous task and removed it off my list of things – to – do.

I find the whole concept of arranged marriage very appealing. I like the fact that there is commitment before there is love – there is a strange allure to that. In arranged marriages, two people make a commitment to each other and then embark upon the voyage of really getting to know each other – trust before anything else. This is what drove me to ask my parents to hunt down a groom for me.

That’s when the whole fun started! Stay tuned for the fun ride J

By Tahira

Being born and brought up in Bengal, my interaction with the other Indian communities had been quite limited. However, once I shifted to Delhi, my first roommates were an Assameese and a Punjabi. That was my first major stint with communities belonging to other parts of India. I was quite perplexed and excited at the same time. Wondering how would I gel with them and also looking forward to a newly learning experience – getting to know people from various cultures and regions.

So, it was from Sanchayita (S) that I got to know a lot about not only Assameese culture but also their food habits. Being a hardcore non-vegetarian she enjoyed almost every delicacy – from fish to chicken – and from pork to pigeons. Every time I wanted to have  non-veg she would be my partner-in-crime (the PG accommodation offered vegan food). So, one fine day she took me to Mukherjee Nagar where I tasted Assameese cuisine for the first time. Geographical closeness definitely has its impact on the cuisine. It reminded of my home especially the tangy taste of Masor Tenga.

Since then I have tasted many a dish peculiar to the north-eastern part of our country. But, the simple tangy Masor Tenga score above all.  This post is definitely dedicated to S and my other friends from Assam

PS: Natives from Assam, you may put in your signature touch to this recipe as most of it have been collected from memory.

Here’s the recipe.

Ingredients

• Fish (rohu/carp) 500 grams cut into medium-sized pieces
• ŸTomatoes 2 large, sliced
• ŸMustard seeds, a handful
• ŸGreen Chillies, 2-3 slit lengthwise
• ŸLemon (juice of half or 1 full lemon)
• ŸTurmeric
• ŸSalt to taste
• ŸMustard Oil, 4 tablespoons

Method

Marinate fish pieces with salt and turmeric for at least 30 minutes. In a wok heat 3 tablespoons of mustard oil and fry the marinated pieces. Keep aside. In the same wok, add the rest of the oil and throw in the mustard seeds. Once they began to splutter, add green chillies and the tomatoes. Stir for two-three minutes and then sprinkle some salt. Adding salt after the tomatoes will help the tomatoes to become tender thus enabling you to make a pulp. Add turmeric, stir for a minute and then add some water. You can add some salt at this stage depending upon your taste. Keep stirring for a few minutes and then add the pieces of fried fish. Cook for some time on low flame. Drizzle the required amount of lemon juice (depends how tangy you want it to be), bring to a boil.

The gravy should be a runny curry or jool as Assameese call it. So make sure the quantity of water you add. Remove from gas. Serve hot with boiled rice.

By Ankit Chandra

28 f 54
54 f 56
72 f 36
10 m 33
25 m 48
13 m 24 ….

it is not tough for a guy to decode the above series… this happens with all us middle class males so bereft of quality companionship in trains… the series above is a testimony of what I call the great divide of India…

If u still havent understood what the above thing is, well, lemme elaborate on the plight that eats on us like an earthworm feeding on a leaf. It is a very slow and painful slaughter of our hope to spend some ‘quality’ time with members of the opposite sex at a place where there are no parents or relatives…

The series above is what we see when we gaze at the reservation chart of the train that the station guy puts up so nonchalantly… Seat no. 28 F 54 years, Seat no. 54 F 56 (pfff),Seat no. 72 F 36(oh c’mon!),Seat no. 10 M 33(what the hell!), Seat no. 25 M 48(whatever.. it’s always this way..),Seat no. 13 M 24 (Yeah that’s me …)

You see, India is a huge country and when u have to travel to the other side of it, u end up spending close to 20 hrs in the train… U see so much in the journey and are so overwhelmed with it that u have to have someone to share ur feelings with (umm did i actually write what i just wrote?) .

Coming back to the series. I am right there at the end with the unlucky seat no. And it is called the great Indian divide ‘coz all the pretty faces and beautiful bodies travel in the AC coaches! for somehow the fathers of hot and attractive young women are always wealthy enough to keep their daughters away from their potential mates! and we are left with 28 f 54 ‘s, 72 f 36′s to learn about their nephews (mostly) and sons (irritatingly) working in great MNCs and almost always a pass out of II(Ts/Ms) … phew…

I am taking a Deccan airways next time. I am told the the great Indian divide narrows there. Long live liberalization.

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By Ankush Kumar

The purists hate the idea of sledging; it apparently spoils the crease of their suits. The broadcasters love the banter amongst the players as it fills their coffers a little more, than expected. Cricket as they say is played between two teams of eleven players each, every era has seen domination by one team, but the winners of sledging still remain undecided.

Here are a few from trip down memory lane, enjoy and savor the one liners, and don’t forget ‘cricket still remains a man’s game, gentle though is passé’.

Rod Marsh to Ian Botham, when the England star took guard: So, hows your wife and my kids?

Merv Hughes to Robin Smith, after the batsman repeatedly played and missed ‘ you fucking cant bat. The next bowl was dispatched to the boundary and Smith said ‘Hey Merv we make a nice pair I fucking cant bat and you fucking can’t bowl’.

Michael Atherton during his first tour of Australia stood his ground during an appeal. At the end of the over Ian Healy said ‘Fucking cheat’ he replied ‘When in Rome, dear boy’.

James Ormond while playing his first Test match for England, Mark Waugh quipped ‘what are you doing here mate, you aint good enough to play for England’ He replied saying ‘atleast I am the best player of my family’.

After going past a couple of deliveries Shaun Pollock told Ponting ‘its red and round and weighs about five ounces’. The following ball was dispatched to the boundary and Ponting said ‘You know how it looks like, go find it’.

Glenn McGrath once asked Eddo Brandes ‘Hey man why are you so fat’? The Zimbabwean replied ‘because every time I sleep with your wife she gives me a biscuit’!

A young batsman was clean bowled by the great Fred Trueman and he said ‘that was a great ball Fred’ the great shot back saying ‘ Yeah! And it was wasted on you’.

PS: Hoping you enjoyed it and though you might consider yourself a purist, deep down if you are a man am sure these would have brought back a few youthful memories. 

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