good place for stitching-Lucknow

Stitching is one thing, one always looks for a good tailor and in a new city it takes quite some time. And then starts the rounds of trials and some times wastage also. I know one Boutique in Lucknow---KALAKRITI in Narhi, where stitching is very good for anything-blouses, salwar kameez, they sell the materials also and very good bed covers,surely worth a visit once, i would recommend it.Their contact no is---0522-2237033

Lucknow

Lucknow has everything which can change it into s happening town except the will of politicians. I feel surprised that UP has so many good towns and still students and people from there have to shift to south and maharashtra. The biggest thing we need there is good infrastructure and then political will to invite industrialists and software companies.Once the employment opportunities are there education will find its feet on its own. Even if a few influential people come forward and bring a few BPO centres and soft ware solutions, the scenario will change. Its ironic to see that people are more interested in opening malls over there not industries, the reason being the politicians. UP has been given so much by nature but politicians and mahabalies have usurped everything. UP produces so much of fruits , and still why nobody thinks of installing any fruit juices or sauces, or any other food processing plant. Its really sad that there are not even many NGOS over there.

Arushi murder- Noida

This is one of the most shocking news recently. A ghastly murder, and father being accused ; nothing can be worse for a society. Though so far nobody knows the truth, but one thing is certain, in this race of going higher and higher, we are reaching the nadir in character.Sooner or later everybody must understand one thing that in the end, most important thing is people in your life ,not things.जीवन की इस आपाधापी मे हम अपने बच्चो को ही भूलते जा रहे हैं , our children need our presence in their life more than the expensive gifts, gifts and gadgets are the things which we make them habitual of, but for them and for us it will be better if we give them, Now there is this new name given----quality time------I never knew that time also has quality---. Today we bring the children in this new world and leave them to fend for them selves, Since joint families are no more, if the parents are busy, there is no one to share their fear, sorrows, happiness and most important their day to day experiences.. I still remember, when my daughter and son will come back from school, they will keep on chattering continuously while changing the dress, eating their lunch and while serving them lunch if they felt that I was not giving them attention, they will say-- mama suno na, they had so much to share.I really miss that.
Children need to be taught the values from the very beginning, guided through the maze of this intriguing world with a strong hand.

Victory of BJP in Karnataka

Now that BJP has got a resounding victory,Ex chief minister SMKrishna is saying that congress has to rethink STRATEGIES, so much like a politician, instead of thinking that they should do something for the people, for the better governance, they always think of strategies to win people.Strategies may work for sometime but good governance works for ever, when will they understand this.

Verandah--Taj Connemara-chennai

• It is a multicuisine restaurant and they have a special brunch on sundays from 12.30. Its a poolside restaurant with good ambience.
• For the drinks they have smoothies, fruit juices,wines,beer,martini etc.
• In the starters.......a lot of variety in different breads, cheese, kababs,momos and all in veg and non veg both plus a chat counter with usual items like-aloo tikkis,dahi papri,moong daal pakora, golguppas.
• In the main food---veg----chole,lehsuni spinach,aloo tamatar ( very ordinary), ma ki daal, paneer, gobhi tehri (very good), plain boiled rice, with many types of papad ,stuff paranthas and naan. I liked gobhi tehri and stuff paranthas and yes dahi bhalla.
• Desserts---here the variety is their forte, it has---indian sweets like-baalushahi, gajar halwa, rabri,firni, something like shahi tukda, all different smoothies, then in the bakery section a multitude of cakes and pastries and fresh fruits also and icecream. I liked gajar halwa best and then balushahi.
• yes they have different type of salads also and in the end one can opt for coffee.
• Damage to the purse----1210/net per person

It is on the binny road just besides Spencer plaza. Service is very good but I would prefer if the seating is more spacious .Chat counter is hopeless. Without coriander chatney chat is never complete and moong daal pakora taste better if server hot & crisp, but here they serve with chatney and all put together, so its soggy. Kababs are also very soft while they should be crisp.

desserts-serving in a different way

• Indian sweet gujhia ------- top it with Rabri ( milk made thick by boiling over and added with sugar, cardamom, dry fruits )---makes a delicious dessert. For choclate lovers, one can top it with choclate sauce.

• Gulabjamun------cut them into two halves-----put some cream on the flat surface and half a cherry in the centre-----looks as yummy as it tastes.
  White rasogullas------ take small size of rasogullas and put them in rabri and heat a little, then chill and serve them .

• Rabri------Cut the fruits ( like cheekoo, oranges, banana, mango , apple ,grapes ) and serve them in rabri------its a very tasty dessert.

filmy sons of Akshay and Shahrukh

The new mantra to gain popularity seems to be or pretend to be a completely devoted husband and father.First shahrukh khan said that he got six packs because his son wanted him to be slim and he cant disappoint him. Good for him and his son. Now Akshay states that his son is his inspiration and he follows his suggestions with all sincerity and works towards that goal. Phew----lofty words.It will be interesting to know how old his son is, I am not sure but he must be 5-6 years.Filmy sons for filmy people. They are just trying to cash on their popularity for enhancing their image, they know that indian viewers are emotional suckers for a good family man,but they are forgetting that Saif is also popular popular without all this drama ( its different that he is into another drama )

shahrukh khan

Amir Khan and Amitabh bacchan both taking pot shots at Shahrukh khan makes one thing very clear sure----shahrukh has grown in stature and today is the no. 1 personality in bollywood. And the way he has conducted himself among all the controversies is really praise worthy. He has shown himself worthy of title----king khan, he is truly a king.
Wile Amir khan has belittled himself and shown a very petty side of him, surprising are the blogging of Amitabh bacchan. When he ruled the industry, he never bothered about anything written about him, for a long time he even banned the media,though it was heard even then that he never forgot anything and never forgave anybody.But the way he is today reacting to every line written about him from the crease on Aishwarya's dress to Yamini's write up.shows that he is down from his pedestal and come to the level of lesser mortals and trying to gain popularity through sympathy. Now he should retire from Bollywood grace fully and not spoil his image in the viewers mind

Natural Fibre Sarees

There is a weaver in Chennai who weaves sarees in all the natural fibres possible-linen,banana fibre and jute. Even the colours he uses are natural. Sarees can be washed and handled the same way as cotton sarees are used and the sarees are not very expensive even. While linen sarees range from Rs 750/ to Rs 2ooo/ cotton and silk sarees are priced anywhere between Rs550 to 1200.Jute material is Rs 75/ meter and banana fibre sarees start from 550 and go upto Rs 1200.
Today in the market well publicised and hyped boutiques are making a killing in the name of being environment friendly, and this simple man who is so genuinely doing something so environment friendly is not getting much encouragement. So I would like to urge all you people there, if you are interested in buying something natural, you may contact him at:
Sekar - 9842541883 in Chennai
P.S. I read this info in Indian Express.

10 paisa Dosas

10 paisa Dosas, quite surprising but its true.it was in today's Indian Express. In kadapa Minu reddy is selling dosas from 5am to 11 am at 10paisa each. They are two brothers, one looks after the supplies and other cooks, their wives do the cleaning and children make chutneys.Their dosas are very tasty and popular. Some customers are regularly coming for last 20 years.
It has a story behind it. Long back their mother came to the city with her two sons and started selling dosas for 6 paisa as a source of livelihood. After 25 years she had to reluctantly increase the price to 10 p due to the inflation. now his mother is no more and in her memory the brothers have taken up her job. Their children are well educated and settled now.
Minu Reddy says----We are not interested in developing the business or increasing the profit, as this is our way of serving people---What a noble thought -----he can teach a lesson to many of our in dustrialists and people with abundance who are never satisfied, always keep increasing the profitability even it makes the commodities not affordable for common man.
Just wish we had more of his tribe and may god bless him with everything !

jaipur blasts

again there is a terrorist strike, killing many and destroying many more families in the long run.But what happens whenever there is n incident, everybody makes a noise,politicians make tall promises and grant money, but there is no long term policy and stringent measures to tackle terrorism. And there cant be any, because our leaders are more concerned with their vote bank politics then about country or public.Everyday one can read the news of antisocial elements being given the tickets in elections and being elected, if that is the face of modern politics, we cant expect anything better. Once we clean the politics, if we are ever able to do that, terrorism then cant stay here. We lack nothing except the will to fight to finish, specially the political will.

freedom from everything

कभी कभी लगता की कैसी होगी वह जिंदगी जहा कोई बंधन नहो,जब मर्जी हो उठो ,जो चाहे खाओ,जो जी चाहे बोलो,एक आजाद पंछी की तरह, यह भी कोई जीना हा,हर समय सब कध्यान रखो,ऐसे मत बोलो, यह मत करो, किसी को आप बर्दाश्त नही कर सकते फ़िर भी मिलो,बोलो,खातिर करो , कितना अच्छा हो अगर सब कुछ दिल से हो,सिर्फ़ उन लोगो को ही अपने आस पास देखो और रखो जो आप से प्यार करते हैं या आप उन से। कहीं कोई मिलावट नही, कभी आपको बोलने से पहले १० बार सोचना नही पड़ेगा की कहीं इसे बुरा न लग जाए,कोई आयु टू जरूर ऐसी होनी चाहिए या जीवन के कुछ लम्हे,दिन या साल जहाँ कोई पाबन्दी न हो,अगर साल मी १० दिन भी ऐसे मिले टू जीवन मी एक नई शक्ति का संचार करेंगे

Restaurants in Hyderabad

Hyderabad is a delight for a foodie, it has all types of cuisine and available everywhere and most of the time easy on the pocket also.

For North Indian vegetarian food we have:

• Tadka: on road no 10 banjara hills--on the same road where apollo hospital is there in jubliambience is typically hyderabadi and good and preparation is also very good.
• Ohri's outlets: at Hyderabad central and big bazar ameerpet--here even combo meals are very good, we have tried ma ki daal, stuff parantha, raj kachori etc.
• Olive Garden: Its in madhapur, a small restaurant with tasty dishes,and Ok sitting
• Sahib Singh Sultan-at Citi centre

For South Indian food:

• Best is Malgudi: it is in Kukatpally and begumpet, here the ambience is very good and so is the food and service.
• Another good one is Amravati in madhapur, both these place serve authentic south indian fare, their thali is specially good but available only for lunch and no Idli dosas in usual style (only kara dosa and all )
• For Idli dosa and other south indian snacks the best one is Chutney in panjagutta, here idli is best. Rates are medium and ambience is OK
• There is one Udupi at Charminar, and the restaurant at Yaatri Niwas Paradise,then Swagat in Ameerpet, Ruchira at madhapur, they are all good.

Misc:

• I didnt like the food at Taj krishna , but Taj banjara is better,its veg. biryani was best i have tasted
• Mcdonald at Chennai city centre is not much to talk about, they have no life, no variety, but their outlet at Abids is good
• Hyderabad House-I heard so much about it, but for a vegetarian their layout is not apealing and the same can be said about their vegetarian food.

How to get rid of cockroaches

cockraches are quite a menace and to tackle ,one has to work on all the levels.Avoid moisture, keep it clean, then in the shelves bfore lining them put a line from Krazy lines or Hit chalk on the boundaries, then put naphthalene balls on all the drain nets. Then take boric powder and flour in equal measure and make small balls and put them in all the shelves.It is sure to get rid of cocraches.

Gold Quest Scam-

Time and again people have been duped of their hard earned money. Earlier the targeted victims were either housewives or unemployed youth, but now the standard of scams has gone up and many educated people are also getting cheated . The government must have some supervision over these mushrooming companies whether MLM or otherwise.In 90s there was this CRB, and here even tax rebate was offered if one invested in the bonds, now what a common man is supposed to do in this scenario. When govt is offering tax rebate on a issue,its understood that its a genuine company,but they ran away with all the money. Then there was this Hometrade which was endorsed by most famous bollywood stars. And now this Gold quest....here also in the promos they showed a famous kannada star's son making huge money through this. And common public respects these stars a lot and gives them a lot of credibility. Poor public, they dont know that stars will endorse anything if they are getting paid handsomely. They are least bothered about public or its money. So now the onus is on government to check and put some restrain on endorsements also, anybody endorsing scamsters must be considered an accomplice and treated as such. They cant take refuge in ignorance, for once they will have to take responsibility for their actions

Balaji Soaps need to learn from smarter serials

Printed in DC-16 june-2007-got me best letter prize
K serials have completely lost their credibility and entertainment value,being just repetitive.Virudh is far better in its storyline,presentation and aesthetic value. It has a very different story line augmented by strong characters playing different roles. It has all the emotions without being melodramatic.I also like Durgesh nandini. Its protagonist Durgesh behaves in a sane manner,not taking cudgels on everybody's behalf, the way all other heroines do.Its both funny and pathetic to see Prerna, Tulsi and Parwati, doing everything in their families despite having a big 'pariwar'. And in the bargain they end up destroying their own marriages !If they cant manage their own husbands and children,how they can look after others? This remains a puzzle to me.

TV soaps shouldnt focus only on negatives

printed in DC-26 may-2007
Kasamh Se on Zee TV has lost its charm.Manno bhabhi has left and Jigyasa has been replaced. Jeete Hain Jiske Liye was a good serial but has become monotonous with the focus on Shalini threatening everybody.There are pleasant memories in life that these serials could capture, but they focus only on negativity.I would prefer to see serials that also teach us something-how to decorate homes on low budget,nurture relationships or maintain health.

Media power

printed in Filmfare-june-2000 -got me a prize
It is generally accepted that media can make or break a star.And that gossip affects a star's status and market value. The media too gleefully endorses the view.
But two of the biggest stars of our industry have defied the norm and how. First Big B shunned the media and still ruled showbiz for years,infact when his fall came, the media couldnt save him at all. So much for media power.
The second star is Salman Khan. There are stories galore in the press about his so called haughtiness,misbehaviour ,rudeness and what not.He is never praised for his stunning looks,personality or his talent.
He has to his credit more hits than any other star.The point is that he is immensely popular despite a terrible image in the media. So please, give the credit where it's long overdue.
A star is a star,no matter what is written about him

the important side of relation ship

Printed in woman's era-Nov I
This refers to How To Survive (sep II) , the writer has taken a very important side of relationships and anaysed it in a very realistoc way. Kudos to hiom! In families not only DIL even sons are differntiated> I myself being the elder DIL faced lots of problems and rules and regulations in all the spheres of life, whether important or even trivial things like where to sit,where to go, when to sleep, when to talk. Same happens for the elder son also,he is supposed to have all the duties and no rights,and even after devoting his whole life to his siblings and parents, he is not given the satisfaction of being or brother,still lacking in their eyes.Its like more you do, more you are asked,but with the younger ones, family tends to be on the pampering side and they are lucky to have only rights,no duties.In " the dangers....." writer has written a very6 poignant line--the society which insulates itself...so true,it touched heart, what type of decadent life we are living, without any values,feelings,sensitivity with just the materialistic pleasure at the top of our mind. I hope these type of writeups make people sit up and think.

Parenting

There are three types of parents in this world.

1. This type was more prevalent in earlier generations. Here the most emphasis is on discipline and hierarchy. Parents decide everything about the children from the day they are born, from their name to their hobbies(if at all they are required), their carrier choices( sometimes the choice is their own longing for a carrier which they could not do for any reason and now they want their offspring's to fulfil) to the selection of their life partner and after that their life style. Parent's word is the god's command, and if someone dares to air his opinion even,he/she is persona nongrata, in other words ungrateful child. For them individuality,personal identity are all alien terms.

consequences---- here the children, though they are intelligent but they grow into mostly introverts, with their perceptions quite mixed without any clarity of thoughts, they are principled outwardly as they are brought up with an iron hand, but suspectible to vices,live a life with a medium rate of success and satisfaction, never explore their full potential,always need security in life and they wouldnt make many people happy with their passive and melancholy demeanour.

2----Second type parents are those who bring up their children with a little democracy. Here children are taught the value of money, ethics and discipline from the beginning by the parents by way of their own behaviour and children are given choices with the knowledge of pros and cons of every situation.When they are young they must listen to the parents but be told the reas oning of everything, as they grow, they are given the choices and right to selection, but they must be prepared to face the consequences of their decisions. In the childhood parents are strict regarding their studies, health and character,but lenient where it involves their hobbies and free time.They give them the roots of unstinted support and freedom to their wings to fly higher and higher.

--These are the ideal parents( do they exist? ), and their progeny is well grounded,principled,respecting and caring for their parents and in general quite successful in their personal and professional lives. They will never turn to any vices whatever the temptation as their values will always save them, they are good human beings and a blessing to everyone.

3---The third type of parents are total freedom freaks, they also love their children a lot and give them full freedom from the time they are born, without any firm guidance.They fulfil the needs of te children, for the rest they believe in everybody living his/her own life.neither they are themselves disciplined, nor they teach it to their children, each to his own.They forget that freedom with itlf brings a lot of responsibilities without which we cant have a cohesive society

Consequences---here a lot depends on the children, they may be good or bad, successful or unsuccessful, but they are bohemian in their lifestyle,non conforming to the traditions or conforming when it suits them,indisciplined life brings them lot of dissatisfaction in regard to their health and relationships.Their lifestyle cant bring happiness to others also.

I believe, as somebody has said---children come from you but they are not your property, give them life,not ur thoughts

and man is the arch in the hand of god ( the archer ) , and children are the arrows, the more the arch bends, the faster and far away the arrow goes.

The ideal situation is to ---teach the children values in their childhood and make them follow them with a discipline, and then give them freedom with a guidance when they grow-up, nurture their individuality and then sit back and enjoy -watching them fly-soaring heights.

north indian versus maharshtrians

Mumbai is facing the worst form of vote bank politics. In Mumbai most of the influential persons are non maharashtrians (if you call it by caste, though in my opinion anybody living in Maharashtra for a long time is Maharashtrian), and none of the big people are taking any stand or bothered about it. The reason being that neither any if these vitriolic comments or attacks affect them, nor they are bothered about anything except their riches. So what it boils down to; is that it is only the common people who are deprived of their livilihood and their lives are being put in danger, the way it happened to a small boy travelling in train at Manmad, he is in coma,he and his family is suffering for no fault of theirs. In all these conflicts only the common man is the sufferer, whose custodian these politicians claim themselves to be.And for them nobody comes forward, neither any social workers,NGOS or government.Its time people look inside and wake up their conscience, if the rulers cant defend public, they have no right to rule. Now the public should strengthen itself, and come forward united to fight these demons.

Restaurants in Hyderabad

hyderabad is the centre for many good restaurants appeasing to all tastes.For south indian fare, the best are Chutney in panjagutta--slightly expensive but good in ambience and food. Ruchira in madhapur----food is good, ambiance is Ok and quite easy on the pocket, then there is Swagat in Ameerpet---here food is very, ambience is Ok and prices are reasonable.

For north Indian Best are Ohri's, their Tadka in Banjaaraq hills is very good in all respects. It has hyderabadi ambiance and very good preparations all of them. Rates are medium, but worth every penny, their outlet at hydersbad central is also very good, and has got all cuisines, lots of varieties, mini menu and all. In madhapur Olive garden is also Ok

मन्दिर और aastha

I have seen that many people visit religious places and then crib almost everything about them,like its very dirty, there is no system, pandas are very arrogant and many more complaints like this.One thing must be kept in the mind that we are vising religious place and for what- to see god, meet god, its not a vacation or tourism only. भगवन सिर्फ़ भावना से मिलते हैं और अगर हम मी वह समर्पण और भावना ही नही टू हम वहाँ क्यों जाते हैं देखने के लिए टू दुनिया मी बहुत कुछ हा, कहीं भी जा सकते हैं, और यह जो सब समस्या हा उसका कारन भी इश्वर नही हम इंसान हा,वही लोग जो सब से ज्यादा शिकायत करते हैं, वही सब से कम नियम का पालन करते हैं,अगर हम सब ध्यान रखे और अपनी सुविधा न देख कर सब जगह सफाई रखे टू सब ठीक हो jaaye , और इश्वर के दुराबार मी जा कर अपनी सामुर्थ के अनुसार अगर हम कुछ देते हैं टू क्या हा, यह भी daan की तरह जीवन का एक कर्म ha

Rathna Cafe

This is one of the oldest chains of restaurants in Chennai and has many branches in the city.Here the idlis are so soft that it just melts in the mouth, but never try north Indian food here. We ordered stuff kulcha, and we had to search the stuffing, plus no paneer dish in summers, on top of that Koftas were so hard that we couldnt share it without a knife.The rates are medium here.One more thing I have found here in the restaurants that sharing the table among the diners is a norm over here, nobody minds it, no privacy issues and even the seating arrangements and ambiance in most of the places is quite basic type, in comparison Hyderabad fares much better in all these things including the rates.