HANDCRAFTED SOAPS

Recently, my dearmost friend presented a bunch of customized natural handcrafted soaps (sandalwood, neem, lavender, pear and anise). Made with olive, coconut and palm oils and cocoa butter. I also love the mesmerizing scents of patchouli and vetiver. I have a competitor - our little one - has been bathing using natural soaps since he was 10 months old.

FACEBOOK VACATION

It has been just three weeks since I took a 90-day facebook vacation. Learnt from the news today that I am not the only one! Yes, more than 60% of the users have taken a break in 2013. This makes me feel good :)

Read article here:'Facebook vacations'.

The article has provided the reasons behind the facebook break on a statistical basis. Those are: too busy, general lack of interest, lack of compelling content, excessive gossip or drama, preferred other ways to communicate and privacy concerns. Of course, the reason behind my facebook vacation is one of these.

INTER CASTE MARRIAGE

Caste system

Varna structure

I suggest you to read the above two blog posts of my brother's about caste system.

Most of us know that the inter caste marriage play an immense role in eliminating the caste system among Hindus. Knowing this fact, majority of the current generation do not work towards it. Young men and women in the current generation fall into one of the following category:

1) secretly supports the caste system AND says that they marry within the same caste to make their parents happier.

2) honestly support the inter caste marriage BUT marries within the same caste to make their parents happier.

3) support the inter caste marriage AND marry a man/woman from a different caste even when their parents are not happy with it.

4) support the inter caste marriage AND marry a man/woman from a different caste AND their broad-minded parents are happy with it.

The current generation under category (4) and (3) have already started the revolution with this aspect. Category (2) will make a change in the next generation. Category (1)...please THINK.

By the way, love marriages are not the only route to inter caste marriages. There are people who put "caste-no bar" in their matrimonial advertisements!

IS KANSAS REALLY FLAT?

Is Kansas really flat from the point of a human eye?

"Kansas is flat". "Kansas is flatter than a pancake". You might have heard these couple of phrases. However, the native Kansans whom I have talked to do not believe on these phrases. I agree with the Kansans out there that parts of Kansas are extremely hilly with lots of trees. KU campus and Bob Billings Parkway in Lawrence; K10 highway from Lawrence to Overland Park; US40 from Lawrence to Topeka, west of SW Huntoon St from SW Arvonia in Topeka; I-435S from I70 are some of the places that I know that are not flat! The huge rocks on these areas are more visible in the presence of light snow.

There are some Kansas residents (not natives) who just stick to these phrases that they have in turn heard from someone else and propagate it. It is true that there are no huge mountains as it is in the state of CA or CO. But at the same time there are inclining areas in KS that are not really flat. Kansas actually surprises some of my friends who have visited us. For example, our friends (frequent road travelers) who drove from Boston to Lawrence told us that they expected Kansas to be flat and that they were surprised.

By the way, Lee Allison, head of the Kansas Geological Survey says “Everything on Earth is flatter than the pancake as they measured it,”...including the Rocky Mountains, the Marianas Trench, Mt. Everest and the Tibetan Plateau.

My point is that, geologically speaking, Kansas "may" be is flat BUT to a human eye it is "not".

CAR-DEER COLLISION

Yesterday, we left our workplace at 7 pm. I wanted to go to Kohl's and Sears. Whereas Mahesh wanted to get some soup and go home. After the dilemma of which way to go, we decided to go to the stores. We went only to Kohls. I wanted to go to Sears just to exchange a t-shirt for a different size but Mahesh rejected the idea. Instead of our routine work to home city route, we took the K10 highway (from West to East) which is closer to the stores and a faster route. The speed limit is 65 mph and we were driving at 60 mph at around 8 pm. We were nowhere closer to the Clinton lake, soon a huge deer that wanted to cross the road (from North to South) jumped in front of our car! Mahesh pushed the brake but not too hard since we were driving at 60 mph. Also, he did not swerve the car. I was hoping that the deer does not touch our car but it did. I did not realize the impact since it was directly in front of the driver's side. I heard the crash as well as Mahesh's scream but did not see the crash directly since it all happened in a fraction of a second. We pulled over the car and were shocked to find the damage done by the dear deer. We immediately called 911 to record the crash. We learnt from the cop that by law we are supposed to immediately report the nearest law enforcement agency if a deer crash resulted in personal injury or property damage of $1,000 or more. GEICO estimated the damage to be $3200! We are glad that: the deer escaped its death with some injury, the deer did not jump onto our windshield and that we three are safe!

The same night, I learned more facts after reading the report in the dodgeglobe.com. It seems November being the mating season for deers, is the month with highest number of deer-vehicle crashes. According to the Kansas Department of Transportation, there were 9,628 deer-vehicle collisions in 2009! Can you believe it?

Just search for deer vehicle collision images on the internet. You will be shocked. Here is one - click me.

BOARD GAMES

Around the age of five I started playing board games, of course, initially played without reading the instructions or following the rules. My brothers brought their favorite board games along with them when they came to India from the US while I came with funny little toys and cute dolls. My little friends & cousins were all attracted to the games which we had at home, therefore I always had someone to play with. I used to enjoy playing checkers, ludo, mastermind, monopoly, pit, scrabble...etc,. Rarely with ancient games such as chess and mancala.

As I wished to get back such a relaxation, so I started playing board games again, not the ones which I have mentioned above but more complex ones, in other words the ones which involves strategic thoughts. For some reason, I am not attracted to the Black & White game - Chess. I like German-style board games, they are more interesting ones than American-style games. One of the most popular German-style games is "Settlers of Catan". I have played this particular game in three different friend's home in three different countries...Canada, Germany & in the US. This year, we bought yet another German game - "Thurn & Taxis", its really a cool game, especially for the ones who have lived in Bavaria/Germany/Austria. In general, it is always lot more fun to play with more than one person. So, Mahesh, myself and my colleague...a board game geek - Kyle played board games regularly this winter which is just getting over. Whether we are 3, 4 or 5 players, does not matter, instead of competing with every other player, Mahesh & myself always concentrate on competing within ourselves, trying to get at least one point more than the other. Kiddish? Yeh...while playing games.











FYI, I often refer boardgamegeek.com, Deutscher Spiele Preis (German Game Prize) and Spiel des Jahres (Game of the Year) to find an interesting board game.

VICTIMIZED TWICE BY HIT-AND-RUN

2008 was a fortunate year for our car. Unfortunately, in 2009 it was victimized by hit-and-run damaging the rear bumper. 2010 has just begun and already our car is a victim of hit-and-run misdemeanor, this time it is on the driver's door. Both incidences happened in Lawrence, while last year was in a shopping center parking lot, this time is in our workplace parking lot! It has happened within 3 hours since we parked it this morning. The only sign that was left behind on our car was the green paint from the culprit's vehicle, we suspect the vehicle to be the green colored KU service trucks. We called the KU police and filed a case which is of no use. Last year, it was tough for us to digest the fact that we had to spend $500 deductible from our pocket just because of an unknown misdemeanant. This year, though we felt bad, we came over it quite fast. Our car is our pet and always treat its minor/major injuries immediately. By the way, just last month, our car touched its first 100,000 miles and is still in great condition!...because of the maintenance by my husband and previously by my brother.

In 2009...



In 2010...

DOODLE 4 GOOGLE

Are you a person who curiously wait for the next google logo or google doodles? Well, I am. The doodle 4 google competition has unveiled that there are many more emerging Dennis Hwang, the google webmaster and the designer of the google doodles. The winner of 2009 competition held in the US is 12 year old Christin Engelberth whereas 9 year old Puru Singh is the winner in India. The designs are really wonderful.“A New Beginning” and “My India” are the two themes that were given in the US and India respectively.



Christin gave the title "What I Wish for the World" and wrote:
My doodle, "A new beginning," expresses my wish that in the current crisis discoveries will be made. That in these discoveries solutions will be found to help the Earth prosper once more. That those solutions will help the world get back on its feet, and create a better place for everyone.



Puru Singh gave the title “My India - full of life” and wrote:
India is a country which has a blend of thousands of traditions and all religions like Hinduism, Christianity, Sikhism and Islam. It has developed a lot in the past few years. The discovery of water on the moon by the Indian scientists is a proof to this fact. The Indian culture is as vibrant as the colours of the peacock. Kashmir, the crown of India, is as serene as the peace bird and as pure as the lotus. We, the Indian citizens are also trying to fulfill Mahatma Gandhi’s dream of educating each and every Indian child.



I was also impressed with one more piece of art. It was drawn by 5 yr old Miriam Lowery.

Miriam gave the title “Friendship Around the World” and wrote:
My wish for the world is that everyone would get along and treat one another in a nice and loving way. We could all be friends!

MIDNIGHT MONSTERS

Last winter, nights were disturbing for me and my husband because of the midnight monsters. We heard scratching, digging, fighting, playing ...all kind of disturbing noises from the roof/wall in the middle of our sleep. We were becoming more irascible, once we ended up banging the wall and screaming back asking them to be quiet. One evening, I observed foot prints (larger than a dog's) on the snow close to the 30-40 yrs old huge tree that stand beside our entrance. Then, I googled and made a short-list of nocturnal pest animals and I was trying to get a glance of it. We had sweet dreams during summer, no noise.

Now, the weather is getting colder and evenings getting darker soon, so the monsters are back! Finally! I saw the little monster on the branch of our tree. The little monster is no one else but “Raccoon”! We hope our apartment management take care of this problem, we don't want to hurt them but want to have a good night sleep.

MACHINE GROUND FRESH WHEAT FLOUR

I have tried several brands of chappathi flour or atta but most of them are mixed with maida (all-purpose flour). One day, I bumped into a wheat grinding machine at the grocery store – HyVee. Nowadays I regularly grind chemical Free, GMO Free, 100% whole-wheat (Wheat Montana) to get fresh flour to make healthy chappathis & puris!



While many nations including the EU and Canada have banned the use of rBST in their cattle, US have not. However, several industries in the US are producing milk without artificial hormones. Similar my search for 100% wheat flour, I was trying to find a good yogurt/curd. In the same store, I found good tasting, good textured, rBST free organic yogurt (mountain yogurt).

SLUM DOG MILLIONAIRE - does not deserve an Oscar

I saw "Slum dog millionaire" as soon as it got released, actually watched it just for the music composer - AR Rehman. Did not hear the story nor read the reviews before seeing it. Just within the first few minutes of the movie I knew that I'm not going to like this movie and of course I was right. The so-called comedies/jokes on 'shit' makes the Americans laugh, leaving me in puzzled state. Couple of days back I received this pdf file that explains a lot.

INDIAN CULTURAL PROGRAM

When I was a student in Heidelberg, Germany, I used to enjoy the cultural programs which were organized at least twice a year by the Heidelberg Indian Students Association (HISA). I thought I am going to miss those nice evenings. Fortunately, here in Kansas, there is this: “Kansas University Cultural India Club”. Last month, Mahesh and myself attended their “Diya 2008” event. It was a fabulous one. We enjoyed well. For us, specifically, the “Mujra” dance by two girls towards the end of the event was the most stunning performance. Below is the video of Diya 2008.

INDIAN PAYLOAD REACHED LUNAR SURFACE !

After a series of orbit reduction manoeuvres, Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft reached its intended operational orbit, about 100 km from the lunar surface. Today, India successfully sent its first probe to the moon’s surface from its spacecraft orbiting the moon. Moon Impact Probe (MIP) was the first payload that hit the lunar surface successfully. The Indian flag was painted on the the sides of MIP. It placed the Indian tricolor on Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s (India's first prime minister) birthday.

This incident reminds me the painting/drawing competition which I participated when I was in 5th grade and won the first prize. I drew a spaceman on the moon holding an Indian flag!

picture found from google images

CHANDRAYAAN 1

Today, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched Chandraayan 1, India's first mission to the moon. The Chandraayan 1 was launched using the spacecraft PSLV C11. It carried 11 payloads/Scientific instruments of which six belongs to India, three from European Space Agency (ESA), two from National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and one from Bulgaria.

The Scientists believe that the simultaneous photo geological, mineralogical and chemical mapping through Chandrayaan-1 mission would enable identification of different geological units to infer the early evolutionary history of the Moon.

Mr. Mylswamy Annadurai (from Kothawady, a small village in Tamil Nadu, India) served as the director of this moon mission project.

pictures found from google images

"COLLECTION" HOBBY

Collecting stuff is one of many hobbies which I started as early as when I was 5 years old. I started with pebbles as any other kid does. As I grew up, the collection went like this: stickers, flower petals, red beads, baby pictures, dog pictures, shells, stamps, coins...etc,. I treated my collectibles as if they were very sacred. As an adult, did the mania of collecting things disappear? No, it did not. I started collecting the souvenir spoons from different countries I visited. And couple of weeks ago when myself and my husband went to the Sanibel island, we spent hours on the shore collecting conches (see our collection in the picture below). Later, after our trip, we came across a bag full of conches for $10 in Michael's and Hobby Lobby craft stores ! However, the moment of collecting the conches on the shore between the waves was really interesting.



I have traces of my old collectibles except the red beads. This red bead bearing tree was in the Madurai Kamaraj University residential quarters for the professors where we lived for sometime. Myself & my kid friends used to compete with each other to collect these beads which were scattered under the tree, sometimes we even used stones and sticks to get the beads to the ground. It also gave great fun for my cousins who visited us for vacation from far away places. The bead collection augmented day by day ending up with 15 - 20 lbs of these beads! When we were moving to our new home, my parents threw them away without my knowledge. The red bead tree is also called the Saga tree (Scientific name: Adenanthera pavonina). I just read online that it is an ancient Indian medicine, the ground seeds are used to treat boils and inflammations! Below is a picture of the red beads which I found on flickr.

Originally uploaded by dinesh_valke

MOST EXPENSIVE SAREE

When I was shopping for my wedding in Chennai Silks store, I came across this beautiful and most expensive saree. I was stunned to hear that it costs Rs. 40 lakhs ! (about $85,000 !!). The famous 20th century artist Ravi Verma's painting – “Lady Musicians” has been woven into it with 12 different precious stones and metals (gold, diamond, platinum, silver, ruby, emerald, yellow sapphire, sapphire, cat’s eye, topaz, pearl and corals). I was told that it took about 7 months for 30 weavers to make this saree. This record breaking saree is expected to enter into the Guiness Book.