Life

Life

Is

An interesting journey

Highs & lows; lights & shadows

At times prickly cliffs and at times green pastures

Are to be taken in one’s stride

Journey to the last gate

Is

Life

Written For Mag 284

collegedunia.com - A Boon for Students

The elder son of one of my relatives is a pro in technology and takes to it like fish takes to water. Still in his teens, he shows a deep inclination towards this field. During one of our casual conversations he expressed his confusion and doubts concerning a plethora of engineering colleges and a deep set desire to join an IIT. This is a dilemma common to all the young students who are still in school and are going to enter the world of higher education in a year or two. For them, collegedunia.com  is a boon and I advised the young man to visit this wonderful site that is a mine of information for every college aspirant. Here one can find detailed and relevant info on more than 10,000 colleges in the country and other things like their maps, pictures, events and even festivals. Students can take appropriate decision and choose a college that matches with their expectations, scores and budget structure.

(IIT  Bombay Academic Building)

The boy was bent towards joining his dream college IIT Bombay so we explored its page on the collegedunia.com and came to know regarding the 12 courses the institute offers along with facts like facilities, faculties and placement structure. I told him that he could also try getting into Top10 Universities in India and fulfill his dream to be an engineer. After all there are 725 Universities including Deemed, State, Central, Open and Autonomous ones that offer world class education.

Students can also download the full brochure from the page. Apart from that, one can join communities and discuss their queries as well as experiences with others on the website. Hence, it gives an immense psychological support to a student confused and lost in the jungle of information, and he can take a considered decision. Even those who are looking for further options for Post-Graduation courses and research can explore this site and make their choices.

After all, isn’t a good life a string of wise decisions? And as we all know, education is its nucleus.

Shivers

Clinched fists defy that smile of yours

And your cheer veils a certain wrath

Behind those eyes, those sparkling ones

I can read some hushed up words

Unspoken but not unfathomed

They perch as grim clouds black,

Sending shivers down my back

The Squirrel And The Bird!

On one huge tree, lush and wide

With leaves green, flowers white

And branches dancing in breeze

A tiny squirrel was at slight unease

As this was the third time this week

When she had peanuts for snack

Too bored, she ran to her shack

High upon the tree, on a bough

Next to the office of Mr. Crow

Who was also the Chairman

Of company ‘Jet Black Aviation’

He looked at her and gave a grin

To which she said a hello to him

And knocked at her round gate

Made totally out of walnut case

She went in and asked her mother

“Why peanuts for snack and supper?”

But momma squirrel was a bit busy

And that made the little one edgy

She again rushed outside in a jiffy

Before momma could solve her query

There she saw her buddy, the bird

Who was of the same age as her

Eating quietly her butter-popcorn

At her glanced the squirrel little

Both had fought over a matter trifle

Birdie teased one popcorn at her

And she threw her peanuts in anger

Old Rev. Sir Parrot when saw all that

Slowly flew down putting on his hat

He called both, squirrel and the bird

Adjusting his red necktie, said-

‘To share is friendship

A thing most precious

Have snacks together

To stay buddies forever!

A friend is a lovely thing

And is God’s blessing!’

He smiled at the squirrel and bird

And then went back to his work

The little squirrel and her friend

That day had their soreness end

After that they shared the meals

And always stayed best buddies!

Images from- here and here

Capsicorn Craving!

My Pasta Story

Most of the foods carry a certain image that can be difficult to shed off sometimes. For example, most people consider the South Indian cuisine as very spicy. Similarly, Chinese food is often perceived to be full of cabbage and carrots. Pasta too carried such a notion for my cousin who had always discarded it as ‘junk’ and in the category of shunned foods. “You see, this pasta-wasta does not appeal to me,” he would say, till I prepared a dish with some of my own improvisations that he liked immensely. Del Monte Pasta is made up of high quality Durum wheat (also known as Macroni Wheat) and is nutritious. The sauce also contains veggies and tomato and hence nutrition is not lost like in other western foods. So here I gladly present the dish that helped me change the perception of my cousin and now he does not stop his kids from enjoying this wonderful Italian snack.

Pasta-Points  

I have Farfalle Pasta that looks like a bow-tie. The ‘Farfalle’ is an Italian word for ‘butterfly’ as it also resembles a butterfly’s wings.

However, before we begin, I would like to present some info regarding Pasta:

•          Pasta is eaten as a staple food in Italy.
•          It dates back to the year 1154 AD.
•          Pasta comes in more than 300 specific forms and shapes.
•          The word ‘Pasta’ comes from the Greek word ‘Pestos’ that means ‘salted’.
•          Pasta comes in two major varieties- fresh (fresca) and dried (secca).

So let’s go!

These were some interesting tidbits and now presented is the dish I have named ‘Pasta Capsicorn ’ for I just love corns! This makes Pasta not only different but healthy as well.

  This preparation of Pasta Capsicorn -

1.      Serves three
2.      Preparation time is around 10 minutes
3.      Cooking time is around 15 minutes
4.      Utensils (main) needed are a non-stick heating pan, a boiling pan, a strainer and a serving dish.

Ingredients	Quantity
Del Monte Pasta Water (for boiling) Finely chopped onions Tomatoes Garlic cloves Finely chopped Green chilies Boiled Corns Chopped Capsicum Chili powder Processed Cheese Corn flour Olive/ groundnut Oil Salt Lemon and Coriander Garlic butter /Plain butter	150 gms 3-4 cups 1 or 2 3 5 2 2 Tablespoons 1 Half Teaspoon/2.5 gms 1 or 2 slices/cubes 1 small teaspoon/4 gms 1 tablespoon As per taste For garnishing Half a teaspoon

Method

1.  Boil pasta for around 15 minutes on a high flame. Add a few oil drops to keep pasta flakes from sticking together.  Also add half of teaspoonful of salt. When soft, drain and keep aside. 

2.   Heat oil in a pan and sauté chopped garlic, onions and green chilies along with salt (to taste).

3.  When the onions are translucent, add chopped capsicum and salt to taste and sauté some more till the capsicum is free of its ‘rawness’.

4.  Meanwhile, put tomatoes in boiling water for a few minutes, cool them and peel off the skins and mash them finely.

5.   Add chili powder and tomatoes to the mixture in the pan.

6.   After a few minutes, add boiled corns and mix well.

7.   Now add corn flour (mixed with very little water) to hold or bind the sauce together.

8.   Heat the mixture over the flame for some more time while stirring continuously. Add some water if the mixture is thick.

9.   Finally, add boiled pasta and mix well and stir for a minute or two.

10.   Remove from flame and mix lemon juice and processed cheese. Garnish with coriander and a dash of garlic butter.

‘Pasta Capsicorn ’ is ready to be served and enjoyed!

After I prepared this dish, my cousin who is quite stingy with compliments, showered many upon me and his delusion that Pasta was unhealthy was also broken. Pasta is an immensely enjoyable dish and comes in many varieties. If you are too busy to prepare the sauce, Del Monte ready-made sauces can also be used. My favorite of all the sauces is ‘Arrabbiata’ which is a slightly tangy tomato-onion Pasta sauce.

I hope you will enjoy the dish as well. Thank you and all the best!

Cheers!

For more do visit- www.facebook.com/DelMonteIndia

Entry for indiblogger.in

Poseidon

Poseidon is one of the twelve Olympian deities of the pantheon in Greek mythology. His main domain is the ocean, and he is called the "God of the Sea". Additionally, he is referred to as "Earth-Shaker" due to his role in causing earthquakes, and has been called the "tamer of horses". He is usually depicted as an older male with curly hair and beard. Poseidon was a major civic god of several cities and in Athens, he was second only to Athena in importance, while in Corinth and many cities of Magna Graecia he was the chief god of the Polis.

Read more@ Wikpedia

Medium- Pencil

Bits & Pieces 5

The Name Game

I have quite often come across children with strange names that look as if taken out of some ancient or pagan language. This trend, I feel, is on a steady rise- more and more parents, esp in the younger generation are naming their kids with all sorts of unique names that seem Greek to most of the people. An acquaintance of mine named her daughter ‘Aneiya’ just because she thought it looked different. Even though she was clueless about the meaning of this word, she was happy as it sounded ‘you know very mod types’, she told me with a grin. I have come across strange sounding names like ‘Czarina’, ‘Imariya’, ‘Kieryna’, ‘Amieria’ and the like. The desire to stand out of the crowd and to look different has led us to focus only on the style factor and ignore the meaning of the name that a child will carry all his/her life. Someone named his son ‘Shankit’ that means ‘always in doubt’ (shanka- doubt) and another one ‘Gorky’ after the famous Russian writer Maxim Gorky (of ‘Mother’ fame). This word ‘Gorky’ literally means ‘bitter’ in Russian and it was a pen name the author had adopted to support the Labor Movement in Russia. To make the matters worse, some celebs have given strange name to their children that are often copied by the public. Such names like ‘Apple’, ‘Majesty’ and many more rather can make you feel lucky and thankful to your parents! My name is a Sanskrit word that means ‘inscribed’. Thank you mummy!

Image-babypicpoint.com

***

Data Display!

The worst display can be, I think, the display of knowledge. Nothing can be more annoying than a self-boisterous gadfly hell bent on making you feel like an illiterate fool. Then there are certain people whose personal life is entirely detached from all the spiritual things they keep talking about. They are, in their very hearts, deeply envious, greedy and insecure and are often in a ‘defensive mode’ that is not letting the other person point out any flaw in whatever they state. Always ready to argue over things as petty as a spelling, a name or anything and always pouring out whatever they know at any available instant, they end up making complete fools of themselves and gathering contempt of others. Also, in most of the cases, their ‘knowledge’ that is always on display (often out of context), is merely a collection of facts and figures crammed from newspaper and magazines with little thought and novelty of perspective. Socrates rightly said ‘the biggest knowledge is to know that you know nothing’ How true!

 ***

A Pattern Surfaces

There is a chain that links a few things together and creates a pattern that is rather worrisome and ugly. Trends like-

• Steep rise in road rage incidents and
• In animal cruelty
• In sales of violent video games
• In sale of cheap and erotic literature
• In soft-pornish dating shows on TV
• In high divorce rates and
• In porn search on internet

Taken in a totality, it points out that we are achieving freedom but at the cost of mental stress and loneliness. Animal tendencies are rising and people now openly fight for paltry properties and gold, openly abuse teachers and elders and display their desperate urges as if flaunting a medal. This entire scenario cries out that we need to go back to our roots, spirituality and nature to balance technology with socialization and brotherhood. I think everything that goes up and reaches its peak is often destroyed of its own excess.

***

Versatile Blogger Award and Tag

I have been awarded the 'Versatile Blogger Award' by Geetika (geetika-gupta.blogspot.in). 

Thanks a lot dear Geetika! This award comes along with a tag wherein I have to state seven facts about myself. So, here are the seven facts-

1.     I am a cleanliness freak and dislike people with a low personal hygiene factor.

2.     I hate getting up early in winters.

3.     I want to plant as many trees as possible in this lifetime.

4.     I want to spend the rest of my life in a natural area, deep inside the hills.

5.     It is my dream to spend some years of my life in a Buddhist Monastery.

6.     I love vegetarian food and I am proud to say that I am a pure vegetarian.

7.     I can’t have enough of golgappas!!

I am not tagging anyone.

Stay Balanced!

An acquaintance of mine is often mistaken to be pregnant and it has, much to her embarrassment, happened so often that people have actually got up to give their seat to her because of this. The belly fat can make one look unattractive and in some cases, when gone too far, it can make you feel awful about yourself, just like the girl whose experience I shared. Not every one of us is free or energetic enough at the beginning and/or end of the day to carry out a complete yoga session or a rigorous workout. However, little changes here and there along with some important tweaking in diet plan can make us slim. The key to a good health and beautiful body is a balanced diet. It not only boosts immunity but does a lot of good in the long run. We can maintain an appropriate BMI (Body Mass Index) and adequate weight only by adhering to a balanced diet.

In summers, ice-creams, desserts and snacks become, as if, inevitable.  It therefore becomes very important to stick to a balanced diet. Most people go for crash diets and lose health instead of weight. When the aim is fitness and weight loss, crash diets are utterly useless as they are deficient in nutrients and can make one weak. Hence, a balanced diet with a little fat and many nutrients is the right solution. Crash diet also makes us cut our favorite dishes, thus taking away all the enjoyment of meals. You can include fruits, vegetables and pulses in a balanced diet but one thing that should never be left out is honey. It has innumerable benefits as it is packed with minerals and anti-oxidants that make us immune towards various health problems. Those desirous of losing kilos should take it as the first thing in the morning with warm water. It is a proved remedy for weight loss. In case of sore throat, it can be taken with ginger and the relief is instantaneous. Honey is especially useful for pregnant women and those under convalescence, for it is so healthy!

For this, we can opt for ‘Honey Diet’. Honey does not need any introduction. In fact, honey was found even in the deep caves and coffins of Mummies in Egypt and was found to be edible even after thousands of years! Pure honey never decays. It is also said that the Greek God Zeus was fed on goat milk and honey only and grew to be so strong that he became the king of all the Gods and beings. Such is the power of honey!

Honey is a nice substitute for table sugar; the latter uses calcium from our bones for its metabolic activity thus making bones weak if taken over a long period. Therefore, in long term, honey maintains our strength and vigor like anything! It is indeed a food of the heaven. Even in ancient Indian texts where it has been referred as ‘madhu’ it has been considered in high regard. Our health and happiness are in our own hands and we must never forget that prevention is always better than cure!

Check out- http://www.daburhoney.com/

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