An illusion on what the world around me was & is at present and thoughts on how often we are left gaping at the wonders of life that remains truly unknown before our eyes.
My all time favorite wine to date. It is red wine made of grape juice, malt extracts, herbs and spices along with a small amount of alcohol. A small drink after dinner every night helps in digestion and a good sleep. Here is more of its priceless value that I dug up:
• Strengthens the immune system, restores health after sickness, improves blood circulation and rejuvenates skin and complexion. • Contains energy-giving vitamin B complex. • Calms the nerves down.
Try this wine or the Wincarnis Ginger wine with ice and enjoy.
• Pour a little of the wine into your wine glass. The rim of the glass should be bend inwards.
• Notice the colour of the wine by holding the glass up to light or against a white napkin. This is to ensure that the wine is fresh. White wine generally gain colour or turn cloudy as they age. Red wine tends to show a hint of brownness around the rim.
• Next swirl the wine in circular motion a couple of times by holding the stem of the glass to aerate the wine vapors for you to smell.
• Then put your nose to the rim of the glass and breathe in. Strong aromatic flavors with hints of vanilla, peaches, and berries will fill you. The smell of wine is more important than its taste.
• Now take a sip (not a gulp) and fill your mouth slightly through halfway. Before you swallow, let the wine slide across your tongue and feel all the sensations. You can recognize how sweet the wine is or how acidic it is or how strong the alcohol content is.
• Finally swallow the sip of wine and enjoy the lingering taste and pleasure. Happy drinking!
For the bollywood die-hard fans, this title may be quite familiar and personally I think its going to be another Askshy-Katerina blockbuster with a really lame and pathetic script. Surprisingly and fortunately, this movie comes along exactly when our country’s most prestigious politicians have a reason to smile. Oh yeah! I am talking about the two Singhs of India – brave, fearless and yet two-faced - AMAR and MANMOHAN dadas! And as per tradition that no movie (at least in bollywood) is made without a lead female, we have one here too, none other than from ‘the first family of India’ – SONIAji. Sigh!
With a craze for petite things like super cars and gold plated Rolex watches, Amar Singh has the UPA as a new entity to his list of ‘rich best friends’ the rest being the glamour honored Bachchans and Ambanis. A peep back into his history, it was this tiny man who influenced Mulayam Singh Yadav to kill Sonia’s prime ministerial dream years ago. Thumbs-up man!
As for Manmohan Singh, who has been mauled over enough, is a meek puppet playing along well to the music. And it surprises me that he still holds the chair of PM. And bravely he fought all the odds (with a big push from the strings attached) and came out smiling at the end of the day. It is a weird feeling of pity that falls over me when I see him on television. God Bless him!
The week kicked off big time with a thrilling and spiteful ‘thamasha’ live from within the Lok Sabha and I truly enjoyed watching the showbiz whenever I could. From the high-impact speech by Omar Abdullah, romantic filmy dialogues and comical talk by Lalu Prasad Yadav (as expected), tongue-in-cheek extempore from Rahul Gandhi, the raw and power packed dialogues by PM (surprise!), to the melodrama of greed and prestige in digging up a bag full of hot cash; it was a joy to watch these people desperately struggle, fight and beg to make their points heard. I bet they have never worked this hard to date.
Mix sugar & apples and heat for about 5 minutes. Blend the softened mixture in a blender. Again heat the blended mix for 7-8 minutes. Stir in between. Add lemon juice and let it cool.
Mix all the dry ingredients along with water and mix thoroughly.
Heat the mix and stir for 2-3 minutes. Add butter, stir and blend thoroughly. Finally add vanilla essence and mix.Cool and serve with cakes or ice creams.
This is my 2nd version of the post ‘Spirit of India’. I had made a reference then that I was inspired and stimulated by articles that I read through from a monthly magazine. So for those who haven’t read it, here are a few people who are the true pioneers of change.
Deepak Kumar, Bihar
A murder convict who served 14 years in prison came back to his village to provide help for the deprived children through setting up a school. Initially, the post-graduate was rejected by the villagers and his requests for loans were cancelled due his iniquitous past. But within five months, a few of his relatives and friends who had faith in him rose to extend their help and his dream was fulfilled. Today, the English-medium school has up to class 7 with more than 365 students, most of them poor, paying a fee of just Rs 75/month.
Veena Devi, Mukhiya (panchayat chief), Bihar
35-year old Veena serves her 2nd term as mukhiya in her panchayat situated in rural Bihar. Her mission is to promote women’s empowerment in the caste-polarized and crime-ridden district. Born into a poor family, married at the age of 14, a mother at 15 and a widow at 16, she has seen and gone through the hardships of rural Bihar. She realized she had to prevent the trauma from passing on to next generation only through fearless commitment. When she decided to contest for elections in 2000, the men mocked and shunned her away and also had her indicted into a false murder case.Fortunately the cases were proved wrong and the elections turned into her favour. Recently, she had launched a campaign to make widows self-reliant in the village and has been a success to date.
Abhyanand, Additional DGP, Bihar
This IPS officer tutors hundreds of unprivileged young IIT aspirants helping their dreams come true. The programme called Super30 offers free IIT entrance coaching for 30 selected youngsters from unprivileged families in rural Bihar. They are brought to Patna, provided with accommodation, food and exhausting coaching for seven months-all for free. In 2003, the first batch saw 18 out of the 30 enter into the prestigious institution. Each year the numbers increased and in 2007, 28 students had their dreams come true.
N. Krishnan, Founder of Akshaya Trust, Madurai
A catering technology graduate quit his job at a 5-star hotel in Bangalore to serve food to the hungry on the streets of Madurai. What provoked the 27-year old was the sight of an old man on the street eating his own faeces. He took the man to a nearby hotel and bought him food. The man ate and drank without pausing and after finishing he walked away with tears in his eyes. This deeply moved Krishnan and proceeded to set up the Akshaya Trust in six months after quitting his job with his life’s savings. Today, he along with his three friends delivers breakfast, lunch and dinner to around 300 people daily. The funds come in from a few local companies and individuals. Other than feeding the poor, he cuts the hair of the mentally-ill on the streets, which led him to give up being a Brahmin.
