Let’s Ban Diesel Vehicles In And Around The Himalayan Region

However, if there are reports of soot posing a threat to Himalayan glaciers, then the same cannot be completely ignored. And I feel that the government of India can take at least one step in that regard, which is banning of one soot producing practice in and around the Himalayan region. And the soot producing practice that I am referring to is the use of diesel vehicles. More

A Warning to Those Buying Land in Kerala

The incident narrated here happened late last month but I came to know about it only yesterday. I am blogging this so that those who stay outside Kerala would be aware of some of the problems involved in land transactions in God’s Own Country....

Honey, it is just money

It was not very long ago that Amazon.com upheld the right of their customers or their right to choose within the world's largest democracy by the following statement:

Let me assure you that Amazon.com does not support or promote hatred or criminal acts; we do support the right of every individual to make their own purchasing decisions,"

The Cook: Part 1

Shankari Mani had been married for 31 years. Most of those years had been lived in an independent house on a tree-lined street that overlooked a park in Sivaganga Colony. At the time of her marriage, she was a qualified chartered accountant, an accomplished Bharatanatyam dancer, a decent club-level tennis player, a barely tolerable singer and a terrible cook.

This is part one of the story. Parts 2 and 3 are also up.
Read more....

Congrats To India For Showing The Guts To Attend Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony

However, the government of India has remained committed to the age old ethics and values that India stands for, and has decided to attend the award ceremony in full defiance of China’s veiled threats. More

Lobbyist Radia and her obliging media

My take is Rajdeep erred, not so much in saying what he did, but in saying it at New Delhi’s Press Club meet called to discuss the media fallout of publication of the Niira Radia tapes. And Rajdeep, if I may say so, hasn’t said anything new or untrue...More...

Handmade products for sale

Shalika Lakshmi is a platform to provide unique handmade products.

Available in more than 50 different designs are bookmarks, greeting cards and gift tags. Each design is made freehand, and so no single piece will be exactly the same. Use of handmade paper and colourful tassels adds to the beauty of Shalika Lakshmi products.

I have made Christmas cards, and cards with floral designs etched freehand, cut and paste on a paper of an appealing colour.





Gift tags have floral / freehand / geometric designs cut and pasted on papers of complementary colours. Single sided with enough space for name and message. Ideal for those people who want their gifts perfect in every way..



For price and more info, please visit Life Rules or mail gauri(dot)gharpure(at)gmail(dot)com

Assange – The Information Warrior With A Cause

Words fail me to hail you. All I can say is that you are simply great

You will always remain a darling for the global civil society, I assure you mate. More

Giving Due Space To Each Other – A Key Constituent Of A Successful Married Life

Must a person force his/her spouse to take interest in something simply because he/she takes interest in it? No. Never.

A husband must not force his wife to take interest in software, simply because he himself is interested about it. Yes, he may try to generate relevant interest in her, but should appreciate it if she keeps showing her lack of interest. More

Dear Facebook, I Am So Indebted To You

You help me to find out all my long lost good friends

The people who many years back used to occupy in my life such a prominent place. More

Supper Theatre

Chennai had a successful supper theatre on November 21 at Le Royal Meridien. Perhaps the Chennai socialites are asking around, ‘Where you there?’ You know, a place to be seen at....

On 'Phone-o-grams'

I continue to prefer 'phone-o-grams' (telegrams booked and conveyed over the telephone from the sender's end) for conveying sentiments on special / unusual occasions, and find the public-sector Indian telephones' related services great for the purpose. You can probably see it as a connection to older, better worlds, apart from being a convenience at effort-saving... More

Orchestra pollution

Noise and music, both are poles apart. Yet, Orchestra Parties produce the former in the name of the latter.  More the decibels, grander they think it is. They appear to be tuned to...more

Deepavali at Rishi Valley

15 of us MNSites set out for the Rishi Valley School, which was our base camp. I was jerked awake and zombied my way to the car, which would carry me, my mother, Pritam uncle, Vijay uncle, Tara aunty and Shashank to Madanapalle. Amid discussions of where the Pitta had been spotted in Chennai, I zoned out to the sound of Iron Maiden.

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A Trained Eye

When we were children, every time we went on a train journey, we would look out of the window at level crossings and feel sorry for the poor people who lived in the middle of nowhere between the big railway stations.

After I married my tea planter husband almost 25 years ago, I've lived in that world of unimportant level crossings. Our tea garden is just one of the sights that can be seen on the train line between Delhi and Guwahati.

An Appeal To The Delhi Metro Rail Authority

Dear Sir,

I am a regular commuter of the Delhi Metro Rail services, and I must say that I find it to be a manna from the heaven for the Delhites. Every person from Delhi (and other parts of NCR) will unhesitatingly admit how his or her life has become significantly easier with the introduction of Delhi Metro service. The commencement of Delhi Metro service simply marks a golden chapter in the public transport infrastructure of the National Capital Region.

However, certain issues have already started raising their heads. And while these issues are not that serious in nature, nevertheless I will love you to take not of them and address the same, lest they turn serious in the future. More

Anjili, a tree of many uses

Which is the most used tree that is endemic to the Western Ghats of India? The answer is ‘anjili’. Other common names of this wood include ayini and Hebbalasu in Karnataka. In English it is called ‘wild jack’ or ‘jungle jack’. The botanical name is Artocarpus hirsutus Lam (Moraceae). More

The Key To Language Preservation - Speak It In A Liberal Way

The rapid globalization has resulted in an all-pervasive spread (or intrusion) of the English language. And it is a common knowledge that it has threatened the survival of a number of languages in the world. (However, the languages that are getting extinct or are on the verge of extinction are actually victims of inadequate speakers, and not of the “invasion” of the English language).

So how to address this situation? More

Of human-animal bondage!

Where ever we are posted, stray animals find their way home, so much so - that "dogs and cats are fond of him" better describes my life partner rather than "yes, he's fond of all non-humans."
In an earlier location, a cat adopted the house, and we were simply co-habitants that she happily put up with. More ....

Gender imbalance of a different kind

I watched a program on Asianet recently. The subject was very interesting and I wanted to see what the modern Malayalee thought of the same. The subject in question was that women felt unsafe in buses in Kerala.

The panel consisted of a few educated, articulate young ladies one of whom was a very well spoken actress. On the opposite side were not people who opposed the view, but men, mostly middle aged (and a few young guys too) who I observed were present only to oppose the view. Instead of this show being a discussion that concerns the entire society, it turned out to be a man vs women kind of a fight with the men opposing the view only for the sake of opposing. They had no concrete facts to support their argument and instead tried to dismiss the whole issue by trivializing it. It was almost as if, they opposed the ladies having a view point and more importantly a platform for airing it...more

"The Story of Electronics"

Here's the next story in this series - "The Story of Electronics".

Make 'em safe, Make 'em last, Take 'em back is a catchy enough jingle, but WHO is listening? More...

A slice of life

I like Art movies. I like art movies for its deliciously stark portrayal of real life. It’s a relief from commercial cinema that has no resemblance to real life. I find Art movies refreshing. The more stark the reality the better. It is like a purge, a purge from the one sided vista, commercial cinema brainwashes you with, whether it is patriotism, family relations, poverty, love, and relationships… anything and everything and the way it is shown.

For people like us, who live in concrete cages, Art movies are like a bite of real life...more.

Dasara Festival Doll Show

The festival of Dasara in our part of India is a very traditional one.  It is a time when all the toys and dolls go on show in our homes.  The festival usually comes in the end of September or early October. 

read on....

UID enrolment in Mysore

The UID enrolment process, far from being people-friendly appeared indifferent to them. One can’t understand why the enrolment agency can’t start work earlier than 11 a m. Railway reservation counters open 8 a m. So do some banks. Considering that UID enrolment in Mysore is time-bound (till end of December) wouldn’t you expect the enrolment centre to be more time-conscious ?...More...

Obama Visit: Sense and Nonsense

The naïve US policy, starting from the time of John Foster Dulles (Secretary of State 1953-1959) of ‘Brinkmanship’ fame, has placed that country in a peculiar situation. The American funding ($ 2billion even recently) is used by the Pakistan Army to fight effectively or not the extremists on the Afghan side and carry out terrorism against India....

White lilies of our balcony

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India Should Take Up “Roots Tourism” Seriously

As everybody knows, there is hardly any country without at least a moderate population of PIOs (People of Indian Origin). They are present in the USA, Canada, Europe, Caribbean Island countries (notably Trinidad &Tobago and Guyana), South East Asia (such as Singapore and Malaysia), African nations (like Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, South Africa, etc), Mauritius in the Indian Ocean region, Fiji in the South West Pacific region, and so on. And many of them have been staying there for various generations. This wide-spanning Diaspora provides India with a strong potential tourism market, and the Union Tourism Ministry may chalk out a specialized campaign to tap the same. More

Look who came calling?

A peahen lays eggs on our terrace or in the vicinity of our house each year. We have a lot of excitement when the eggs hatch and chicks jump down*. Thus begins the first adventure of their life: to jump across our boundary wall and into the fields. This time, we saw three chicks.



For more photos and the complete post, read here

Walking with Nizhal in Anna University

I went armed with my iPad. Why? Loaded on it was the Nizhal Siemens Gandhinagar Tree Guide, with more than 40 common trees of Chennai (all present in Gandhinagar, Adyar) identified via their fruit, flower, leaf or pod!

There were about 20 students of the college from the Youth Red Cross who came along with me. There were two other resource persons Latha and Yamini, who went to other parts of the large and green campus. These were the trees seen and talked about, along the western driveway just inside the main gate. This is the path I took.

Read On.

Because I love you, Papa

But then as she spoke of our simplicity, of how below all the complex chaos I create.... there was this intact love, and it stirred in me. Below the layered excuses of too many relationships to manage, too many hands to hold, too many friends to talk to, too many midterms to write, too many miles to walk, too many busses to take, it had always been there....More