Delhi with Avinash & Friends

Light at the top of the Tomb

2009-05-20T10:56:00.000+05:30

Light enters from a hole in Humayu tomb. Delhi.

The Ganesha

2009-05-16T06:07:00.000+05:30

Statues of Hindu God Ganesha at 'Dilli Haat', New Delhi, India

Hanging Faith

2009-05-14T06:01:00.001+05:30

A huge bel stands tall at Shakti Peeth Temple, Delhi

Ready for delivery

2009-05-12T13:57:00.000+05:30

Milk cans ready to travel some distance from Gurgaon to reach Delhi.

Electronic Delight

2009-05-09T13:50:00.000+05:30

A road side elecrtronic shop at Pahaarganj market, Delhi

Twisted to perfection

2009-05-06T13:54:00.001+05:30

Toys made of twisted metal wires at Meena Bazaar Delhi

Red Start

2009-05-04T13:36:00.000+05:30

A female Red start at Delhi Park.

Playing with fire

2009-05-01T17:03:00.000+05:30

Folk artists performing at Dilli Haat, New Delhi, India

Holy Courtyard

2009-04-29T14:11:00.000+05:30

Courtyard of Jama Masjid

Random Pics

2009-04-27T07:43:00.003+05:30

Cola vs Water-Branded crisis at JJ Colony.

Counting The cap...A cap vendor outside Jama Masjid

Do save Calcutta delight in Delhi

This one is Govt. authorised you see!!

Summer is here

2009-04-24T16:21:00.000+05:30

The power of Lassi: With mercury rising its business time for them.

Sky is the Limit

2009-04-23T07:36:00.001+05:30

Delhi sky on 14th April

Some chances of rain there?

Orange delight in the western sky ar Gurgaon(a Delhi's satelite town.)

Clouds some pattern at. Stephen's College, New Delhi

Beating the Heat

2009-04-22T12:44:00.002+05:30

Pair of Wood Ducks, male and female, swimming across the National Zoological Park , New Delhi.

Tracing Birds

2009-04-21T06:20:00.000+05:30

Tracing birds in concrete city like Delhi is always a tuf task which best suits some one like Avinash, but since he is busy with his work and troubled life, here what i have got for you all.
Red whisket bulbul,JNU Campus. Delhi: I realized that If I had to choose, I would rather have birds than airplanes.

Pigeon at Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi:I hope you love birds too. It is economical. It saves going to heaven.

Parrot at Turkman Gate Delhi, India:God loved the birds and invented trees. Man loved the birds and invented cages.

Common-Babbler, JNU Campus. Delhi:I value my garden more for being full of blackbirds than of cherries, and very frankly give them fruit for their songs.

Meena Bazaar

2009-04-19T11:31:00.002+05:30

Bazaars in 17th century India were normally in the open air. A covered bazaar although of a design common to West Asia, was an innovation in India. Shah Jahan had heard about the arcade in Isfahan, and it seems that the notion of a covered bazaar, stimulated to him by the one he saw in Peshawar in 1646

A Sari Shop at Meena Bazaar: He instructed Mukarmat Khan who was supervising the construction of the Red Fort, to build a similar covered market there. Shah Jahan was greatly impressed as its design was suitable for the hot climate of Delhi.

Chatta Chowk (Covered Bazaar). True to the name, this is a covered bazaar between the gate and the fort itself, now filled with souvenir hawkers.

The power of two

2009-04-17T10:59:00.003+05:30

Two to Tango: When the time comes, I hope we'll be able to meet. It takes two to tango. I am ready, the arena is ready

Two hands to greet: There is no friend like an old friend who has shared our morning days, no greeting like his welcome, no homage like his praise.

Two for Love: In the arithmetic of love, one plus one equals everything, and two minus one equals nothing. Two wings to fly: You cannot prevent the birds of sorrow from flying over your head, but you can prevent them from building nests in your hair.

Bird's Watch

2009-04-15T16:17:00.000+05:30

A male sparrow in Delhi park

Two to tango

2009-04-14T13:27:00.001+05:30

Dancers performing at a folk dance show at 'Dilli Haat', New Delhi

Random alphabets J for 'Jahaaz Mahal'

2009-04-12T15:54:00.000+05:30

Jahaz Mahal, Merauli, New Delhi , India The Jahaz Mahal is situated on the North-Eastern corner of Hauz-i-Shamsi, a tank built by Iltutmish, one of the rulers of the Slave Dynasty. The ‘mahal’ or palace dates back to the Lodi period and is said to have served the purpose of a ‘sarai’ or pilgrim's apartments at that time. It is called Jahaz (ship) Mahal because it is located on the banks of Hauz-i-Shamsi, and appears to be floating on the surface of the vast lake

Agrasen ki Baoli

2009-04-10T15:45:00.001+05:30

Agrasen ki Baoli is a 60 meter long and 15 meter wide, step well on Hailey Road near Connaught Place. It was constructed in 14th century, by Agrawal community which traces its origin to Maharaja Agrasen

Its among few of its kind in Delhi. Some parts of well are permanently immersed in water. The visible parts of step well consists of three levels. Each level is lined with arched niches on both sides. From architectural perspective it considered tughlaq period.

Kalan Masjid

2009-04-08T05:21:00.000+05:30

The Kalan Masjid was built in 1387 by the son of Khan-i-Jahan Junan Shah, Prime Minster of Feroz Shah Tughlaq (r.1351-88). The mosque was built in Ferozabad, the city built by Feroz Shah Tughlaq but was later included in Shahjahan's new city Shahjahanabad.]Inscribed: naqsha-i masjid kalan ‘urf kali.It is about 1 Km.from Turkman gate

Flying high

2009-03-22T02:56:00.000+05:30

Pigeons fly on over Jama Masjid (above & below), Old Delhi, Indi

"वादों के पुष्प"

2009-03-20T08:55:00.000+05:30

"वादों के पुष्प"

बिखेरता रहा वादों के पुष्प वो
मै आँचल यकीन का बिछाये
उन्हें समेटती रही....

अपने स्पर्श की नमी से वो
उन पुष्पों को जिलाता रहा
मै मासूम शिशु की तरह
उन्हें सहेजती रही......

हवाओं को रंगता रहा वो
इन्द्रधनुषी ख्वाबो की तुलिका से
मै बंद पलकों मे
उन्हें बिखेरती रही ....

आज सभी वादों का वजूद
अपना आस्तित्व खोने लगा .......
मै अवाक टूटते मिटते हुए
उन्हें देखती रही........

Going back home

2009-03-19T02:51:00.000+05:30

Birds on way back to their home as sun sets in New Delhi, India

Random Alphabets: 'L' for Lotus Temple

2009-03-15T00:11:00.001+05:30

Lotus Temple: Located in Kalkaji in the south of Delhi, it is lotus shaped and has rightly been given the name. It is made of marble, cement, dolomite and sand. It is open to all faiths and is an ideal place for meditation and obtaining peace and tranquility

It is a very recent architectural marvel of the Bahai faith. The Bahá'í Faith is the youngest of the world's independent religions.

Its founder, Bahá'u'lláh (1817-1892), is regarded by Bahá'ís as the most recent in the line of Messengers of God that stretches back beyond recorded time and that includes Abraham, Moses, Buddha, Zoroaster, Christ and Muhammad. The central theme of Bahá'u'lláh's message is that humanity is one single race and that the day has come for its unification in one global society. God, Bahá'u'lláh said, has set in motion historical forces that are breaking down traditional barriers of race, class, creed, and nation and that will, in time, give birth to a universal civilization. The principal challenge facing the peoples of the earth is to accept the fact of their oneness and to assist the processes of unification.

City Heritage: Safdarjung's Tomb

2009-03-13T00:05:00.001+05:30

Safdarjung's Tomb (Hindi: सफ़दरजंग का मक़बरा, Urdu: سفدر جنگ کا مقبره Safdarjang ka Maqbara) is a garden tomb in a marble mausoleum in Delhi, India. It was built in 1754 in the style of late Mughal architecture.

The top story of the edifice houses the Archaeological Survey of India. The garden, in the style evolved by the Mughal Empire that is now known as the Mughal gardens style known as a charbagh, is entered through an ornate gate. Its facade is decorated with elaborate plaster carvings.

The tomb was built for Safdarjung, the powerful prime minister of Muhammad Shah who was the weak Mughal emperor from 1719 to 1748.The central tomb has a huge dome. There are four water canals leading to four buildings. One has an ornately decorated gateway while the other three are pavilions, with living quarters built into the walls. Octagonal towers are in the corners. The canals are four oblong tanks, one on each side of the tomb

Let the colors of Holi spread the message of peace and happiness.

2009-03-09T20:01:00.007+05:30

Mohe Rang de:What’s the most unholy place to play Holi – kichad, mitti, bhang, the works? Campus

Holi re!: Some traditions can sure be weird. Whoever heard of a baraat minus an actual marriage ceremony, or a mud bath to celebrate the festival of colours? But it all happens in our very own Delhi, the occasion being Holi. And the proud keepers of the traditions are none other than the students of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and St Stephen’s College.

Holi hai!:The revelry at JNU kicks off the evening before Holi with a wedding baraat. In the two-decade-old custom, nobody actually gets married but that does not stop it from being a fun-filled affair. The celebration has a name — Chaat Sammelan — complete with a Chaat King.

Sprinkle of spring: May you have the most blessed holi festival than you ever had.The sammelan, attended by more than 1,000 students, faculty members and alumni, is one of the two main functions celebrated at JNU. ‘‘Preparations for this grand sammelan start a week in advance.

Lets change colors for a day : And it is like any other Hindu wedding. Taapti hostel is the groom’s side and Jhelum hostel is bride’s
side. The baraat starts from Taapti after a tilak ceremony by the warden’s wife and the groom, who is selected unanimously, is dressed in weird attire and rides a donkey till the wedding venue. A gulal shop in the heart of city :The previous year’s Chaat King officiates as his ‘‘father’’ and the one of the year before is the groom’s ‘‘grandfather’’. And they all reach the venue on their respective donkeys. The ‘‘baraatis’’ dance, sing and play with colour as the procession progresses towards the venue where the warden of Jhelum hostel greets the bridegroom. What follows is a series of dance performances, poetry sessions, etc

A kid checks his 'weapons' for the festival of colors.

Gujiya-A traditional Indian holi food being prepared in a road side hotel in Patel Nagar, west Delhi .

The most interesting part is the memorial awards, which are named after living people. For example, there is a Dr Karan Singh memorial award, named after the university’s very-muchalive chancellor. The idea is not to run down people, but to have some fun. At St Stephen’s College, the revelry takes the form of mayhem in a ‘‘mud bath’’. Students dig a pit and fill it with colours and water. And everybody has to take a dip in it. ‘‘From the principal to professors to students, everybody is pushed into this pit. Third year students organize it,’’ said Aarushi Bhargava, a final year student.

Sunday with Ghalib

2009-03-08T00:39:00.003+05:30

हैं और भी दुनिया में सुखनवर, बहुत अच्छे,
पर कहतें है की ग़ालिब का है अंदाज़े बयान और.

Inside of Ghalib's house at Gali Qasim Jaan, Ballimaran, one of alleys of the oldest street of Delhi, Chandni Chowk (Pic above)
Mirza Asadullah Baig Khan (Urdu/Persian: مرزا اسد اللہ بیگ خان ) was a great classical Urdu and Persian poet of India. Ghalib died in what are known as 'Gulabi Jadey' (rose-tinted mild winter) but this year's freak weather has made it as cold as mid-January and Mirza Nausha would have refrained from exclaiming: अब तो जी मे आता है के मर जाएँगे हम, मर के भी चैन ना पाया तो कहाँ जाएँगे हम(now it seems I'm going to die, but if I don't get rest even after death then were else would I go?). Certainly he wouldn't have liked to die in this sort of weather just as he bemoaned that his brother had passed away at the height of summer during the Mutiny when the British had retaken control of Delhi and a virtual curfew order was in force making it difficult to even bury the dead.

The great poet stayed here during 1865 to 1869 and spent last phase of his life
हमारी सादगी थी इल्तिफ़ाते नाज़ पर मरना,तेरा आना ना था ज़ालिम मगरतमशीद जाने की -ग़ालिब
(It was our simplicity to die for dignity of courtesy, Your coming was nothing but a preparation for your leaving.) The walk from Town Hall, past Ballimaran to Gali Mir Qasim Jan, was not as pleasant as it would have been had it not rained so hard the previous day. For one long familiar with the area, many old places and people were
missing. Mohammad Mian Akbar was not at his Boot House, chain smoking away.

मेहरबान हुए कह बुला लो मुझे. चाहो जिस वक़्त,
मे गया वक़्त नहीं हूँ कह फिर आ भी ना सकूँ -गा़लिब(As a favour call me any time
I am not time that cannot be recalled) Haji Hotel has vanished and so also Hafiz Hotel, where Dr. Zakir Husain used to eat before he became famous. The mianji who told tales of those days is also missing. Bhai Sadiq's shop is there but his grandson manages it.

ज़िंदगी अपनी जब इस शक्ल साए गुज़री ग़ालिब

हम भी क्या याद करेंगे कह खुदा रखते थे.-गा़लिब
(Life when passed in such phases oh GhalibWhat could I console myself as a creature of God.)
He is dead, so is his son and so too Akbar Bhai and the bearded owner of Hafiz Hotel. Bismillah Hotel is not what it used to be and the Kababwallah who sat at the gate of Basti Punjabian is also no more. Nobody else makes such delicious kababs. Uma Sharma, eminent Kathak dancer, who led the walk had to face some embarrassing moments at Ghalib's memorial (the poet would have certainly fallen in love with her) when a woman of the area got nasty. But things smoothened out by the time lunch was served after a Moghul times mushaira at the nearby Rabea Girls School, the erstwhile haveli of Ghalib's wife, Umrao Jan.

The Haveli has been since considerably renovated and was used lately as shops till December 1999 when Delhi Government acquired a portion of the Haveli and set up a memorial museum dedicated to the great poet. You will notice that the acquired portion of the Haveli has been restored to its original splendor. Originally the Haveli consisted of arched corridors on three sides enclosing an open courtyard. Now only the Northern part of the Haveli is open for the tourists. The ASI has put a lot of care and effort to make tourists relive and experience the nineteenth century grandeur. The special features of the Haveli were highlighted in order to give it a feel of 19th century. Mughal Lakhori bricks have been used on walls and the flooring is strictly done with the sandstone. Wooden entrance gate welcomes the visitor and so are the chhajja in the courtyard. Don't skip the museum inside the haveli. The museum houses various important things related to the great poet, which gives an insight into the life. It contains the letters of Ghalib written in his own hand. These are both in Urdu as well as English. There is also a photograph of the poet, which is considered as his last photograph. Besides you can also find chronology of events, selected couplets from his works (in Urdu Only), books and some personal belongings of the poet.

Weekend hangout: Damdama Lake

2009-03-06T18:00:00.001+05:30

Damdama Lake- Moody and withdrawn, the lake unites a haunting loveliness to a raw desolateness. Tired of crowded week-end malls? Pissed of queuing to buy a Mc’ Donald’s burger? Bored of another 'Devdas' type movie? Try this for a week end outing, its Damdama Lake, away from crowded city centers, it’s much peaceful and enjoyment for all. Get the village feeling in the walled city.So take a break from the noise and pollution of Delhi to refresh and rejuvenate.

Sun set at the lake: Often did I wonder why the setting sun Should look upon us with a blushing face: Is't not for shame of what he hath seen done, Whilst in our hemisphere he ran his race? Water Banks lakeside village style resort is an island in the Damdama Lake less then an hour's drive from Delhi and only 30 minutes from the airport. The Resort has 15 ethnically village style independent cottages with modern luxuries- all facing the beautiful environs of Damdama lake.

A small hut by the side of lake-Many miles away there's a shadow on the door of a cottage on the Shore of a dark beautiful lake. Only reached by boats, activities here include rowing, fishing, bird watching, nature walks in the nearby Aravalli mountain ranges, rock climbing and hot air ballooning. Ideal for conferences, training program, leisure retreat, bar-be-cue dinners and weekend breaks. You will love the swinging Burma bridge and the 30 feet tall private machans to enjoy the quite interiors of the lake and its bird life.

In quest of top: One does not climb to attain enlightenment, rather one climbs because he is enlightened. A smooth blend of comfort and nature where you naturally revel in its richness and relax in its serenity. Tune your body and free your spirit at Waterbanks. Peaceful and eco friendly, it encourages people to live in harmony with the environment. In the tranquil surroundings of the Damdama lake, framed by forests, wildlife, bird life and the Aravalli ranges, Waterbanks captivates the romantic and releases the adventurer in you.

Perhaps the truth depends on a walk around the lake. There is never a dull moment here, not even when the sun goes down. In fact, the real fun begins when dusk brings in a subtle change of mood around a bonfire and a barbecue at the lakeside. A perfect time for socializing perhaps with light and soothing music.See that flush back on your children's faces as they ride, boat, trek and breathe the clear fresh air or just climb up the exciting machaans for a view over the beautiful lake and its environs, only an hour away from Delhi. On the whole, have a whale of a time.

Spring & Mughal Garden: Double the Splendor

2009-03-05T00:42:00.002+05:30

Spring is nature's way of saying, "Let's party!"” Flowers in full bloom at Mughal garden, Rashtrapati Bhavan (President's House, New Delhi) Britishers and Mughals have left a common legacy in Delhi known as the Mughal Gardens. The garden was made and commissioned by Britishers but the design is totally Mughal / Persian. This striking 'mini-paradise' exalts the beauty of Rashtrapati Bhawan, the presidential home. The Mogul garden was originally commissioned by Lady Hardinge to beautify the Rashtrapati Bhawan to Sir Edwin Lutyens.

Spring is when you feel like whistling even with a shoe full of slush The garden occupies an area of 13 acres, divided into three sections, sporting a blend of Mughal Planning with British Design. The garden is open to public only in February-March every year.

Spring has returned. The Earth is like a child that knows poems The garden is basically divided into five parts, categorizing each with a theme. Lutyens combined the soft English borders, small flower beds and lawns to produce a virtual paradise. For this, horticulturist W R Mustoe was specially recruited in 1929 who converted the place into an oasis.

The day the Lord created hope was probably the same day he created Spring: The Main Garden has two water channels each running north to south and east to west with six lotus shaped fountains magnifying its splendor, reflecting the Rashtrapati Bhawan. The lawns have Doob Grass, Moulsri, Putranjiva Roxburgi, Cypress, Thuja Orientalis and China Orange trees overlooking the channels.

Almost all of our sorrows spring out of our relations with other people. The Circular Garden is also known as the sunken or butterfly garden. The centre of the attraction is the sunken pond with a fountain with circular rows of flowers around it. Since a large population of different butterflies can be seen fluttering, it was named butterfly garden.

Sitting quietly, doing nothing, spring comes, and the grass grows by itself The Herbal Garden is a very recent addition. It has medicinal herbs from different countries and is truly a sight to watch. It has herbs like Ashwagandha, Bhumy Amalaki, Bergamot Mint, Bramhi and Citronella.

In the Spring, I have counted 136 different kinds of weather inside of 24 hours.It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness . . . it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair . . . in short, the period was so far like the present period . . . . Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers today;

And give us not to think so far away

As the uncertain harvest;

keep us hereAll simply in the springing of the year

Crumbling Heritage: Tughlaqabad Fort

2009-03-03T00:05:00.002+05:30

Tughlaqabad Fort (Hindi: तुग़लक़ाबाद क़िला, Urdu: تغلق آباد قلعہ Tughlaqabad Qila) is a ruined fort in Delhi, strecthing across 6.5 km, built by Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq, the founder of Tughlaq dynasty, of the Delhi Sultanate of India in 1321, which was later abandoned in 1327. People of dharchula did not come here because it was cursed

The origin of the historic city of Tughlaqabad and the Tughlaqabad Fort goes to the period of the Delhi Sultanate (AD 1191–1526). The Tughlaqs (AD 1321–1414) who followed the Khiljis (AD 1290–1321) were great builders and the city of Tughlaqabad and Tughlaqabad Fort were their first major architectural achievement.

TOMB OF GHIYAS-UD-DIN TUGHLAQ : The story behind the foundation of Tughlaqabad is an interesting one. Ghazi Malik, the founder of the Tughlaq dynasty,was once a slave of Mubarak Khilji, the last Khilji sultan. One day, while walking by the area where the Tughlaqabad Fort is now located, Ghazi Malik suggested to his master that the rocky prominence would be an ideal site for building a fort.

The Khilji sultan laughed at his slave and suggested that the slave build a fort there when he became a sultan. When Ghazi Malik, as Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq, founded the Tughlaq Dynasty in 1321, he did just that—Tughlaqabad is Delhi’s most colossal and awesome fort, even in its ruined state.
The fort of Tughlaqabad was completed rapidly in a short span of four years (1321–25). The fort’s massive battlements and bastions (some as high as 15–30 m, built of enormous blocks of stone and walls 10 m thick in places) do not look as if they are the handiwork of mortals. Within its sky-touching walls, double-storied bastions, and gigantic towers were housed grand palaces, splendid mosques, and audience halls. The city lay on the eastern outskirts of the massive fort.
Tughlaqabad is a formidable reminder of Delhi’s embattled past and the terror and valor associated with that period. It was a period of political unrest and the Delhi Sultanate had to face a number of attacks from hoards of marauding Mongols, who descended on it in waves from the north. Ghiyas-ud-din, in order to counter the Mongol threat, repeatedly routed them and raised pyramids of enemy’s heads and used elephants to crush the captives to death. The massive fortifications of Tughlaqabad, with immense circular bastions, were raised by Ghiyas-ud-din to protect his subjects.

TOMB OF GHIYAS-UD-DIN TUGHLAQ On the southern side of the fort is a causeway that takes one across the (now) dry bed of a lake to the tomb of Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq. The tomb was built by the ruler himself and is enclosed in a private courtyard with fortified walls. The structure of this simple but elegant building reminds one of the Alai Darwaza—an elegant gateway built by the erstwhile Khilji ruler Ala-ud-din Khilji, near Qutab Minar, in his endeavor to beautify the Qutab complex. The style of the tomb conforms to the Indo-Islamic style of architecture, which was in vogue at that time and was the hallmark of the buildings belonging to the period of the Delhi Sultanate.

LEGENDS OF TUGHLAQABAD There are a number of legends associated with Tughlaqabad. It is often said that the skulls of the killed Mongol marauders were used in the construction material of this awesome fort. The demise of Tughlaqabad was not brought about by any foreign invasion, but to the curse of a Sufi Saint Nizam-ud-din.

The legendary quarrel between the two started when Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq did not allow his people to work for the saint on the construction of a baoli (step well). This angered the saint. A protracted tiff followed, which offended the saint and led to his famous prophecy “Hunuz Dilli dur ast” (Delhi is yet far away), for the sultan was then out in Bengal. He made another ominous reference to the sultan’s fort when he remarked “Ya rahe usar, ya basé Gujjar” (Either it remains deserted or be peopled by men of the Gujjar tribe). Both these prophecies proved true. Ghiyas-ud-din was killed at a place near Delhi when a shamiana (canopy, marquee) collapsed over him during a reception arranged by his son. The sultan could not reach Delhi alive. His successor chose to build his own fort and deserted Tughlaqabad. It soon became a haunt for the Gujjars tending their cattle within the abandoned fort of Ghiyas-ud-din.

It is generally believed that the death of Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq was engineered and plotted by his son. One story describes that Muhammad bin Tughlaq (Ghiyas-ud-din’s son and successor) killed his father by building a false wooden balcony, which collapsed and killed Ghiyas-ud-din. The son murdered and ascended the throne of Delhi, thus making the prophecies of Saint Nizam-ud-din come true.

"तुम चाहो तो"

2009-03-02T00:05:00.003+05:30

एक अधूरे गीत का
मुखडा मात्र हूँ,
तुम चाहो तो
छेड़ दो कोई तार सुर का
एक मधुर संगीत में
मै ढल जाऊंगा ......
खामोश लब पे
खुश्क मरुस्थल सा जमा हूँ
तुम चाहो तो
एक नाजुक स्पर्श का
बस दान दे दो
एक तरल धार बन
मै फिसल जाऊंगा......

भटक रहा बेजान
रूह की मनोकामना सा
तुम चाहो तो
हर्फ बन जाओ दुआ का
ईश्वर के आशीर्वाद सा

मै फल जाउंगा.....
राख बनके अस्थियों की
तिल तिल मिट रहा हूँ
तुम चाहो तो
थाम ऊँगली बस
एक दुलार दे दो
बन के शिशु
मातृत्व की ममता में
मै पल जाऊंगा .....

Oriental White-Eye

2009-03-01T00:40:00.000+05:30

Oriental White-Eye This tiny restless bird is a frequent visitor, sipping on the flowers. Even if you can't make out the white ring around the eye, you cannot mistake the yellow-orange colour, and the tiny size, as it jumps from branch to branch, sometimes in small groups. Getting a white-eye to sit long enough for you to photograph it is a rarity. This image is from the bottlebrush tree in October from a Delhi park.

Dentist off duty

2009-02-28T00:22:00.001+05:30

A dental clinic in Chandni Chowk area of Old Delhi dentist seems to be off duty

School Time

2009-02-27T09:07:00.002+05:30

School kids line up to get in the bus at Rajouri Garden, West Delhi, India

Guarding the Fort

2009-02-26T00:15:00.000+05:30

Machinegunner watching the entrance to the Red Fort, Delhi

Bangla Sahib

2009-02-25T23:07:00.000+05:30

Early morning prayer Gurudwara Bangla Sahib, New Delhi: Tired of hovering in crowded shopping malls of the city, I along with few of my friends decided to visit Gurudwara Bangla Sahib, Connaught place, Delhi.Iit was very peaceful experience, the whole place is very soothing and complete tonic to tired minds,
must visit if you get chance to visit this peace ful place.

Early Morning Bangla Sahib Gurudwara : Gurdwara Bangla Sahib, the biggest gurudwara in Delhi was at one time the bungalow of Raja Jai Singh Amber of Jaipur. In 1664, the eighth Sikh Guru Harkishan Dev resided here during his visit to Delhi. The Samovar situated in the compound is believed to be blessed by the guru and hence, it is held sacred by the sikhs. The gurudwara also has an art gallery and a hospital is situated in the building.

Corridor of Gurudwara early in the morning:

Religious relevance, One of the most auspicious religious places for Sikhs, Gurudwara Bangla Sahib is located along
Baba Khadag Singh Marg in Central Delhi area.This Gurdwara is associated with the Eighth Guru, Shri Guru Harkishan Sahib Ji. Guru Sahib was summoned by the Mughal Emperor, Aurangzeb, on the complaint of his elder brother, Ram Rai. After first refusing to come to Delhi, the young Guru decided on the visit when Raja Jai Singh offered to take care of his security.

The Legend The legend has it that the Guru blessed the water of a pond situated nearby as it received the virtues of curing people suffering from dreaded diseases like cholera and small pox. The tank exists even today, continues to be worshipped by the Sikhs. Also located within Gurudwara premises, is a magnificent museum-Baba Baghel Sing Museum.On reaching Delhi, the Guru stayed at the bungalow of Raja Jai Singh, the present site of the Gurdwara. However, he steadfastly refused to meet Aurangzeb. During this time, a cholera and smallpox epidemic swept Delhi. Without heed to his health, Guru Harkrishen went about serving the poor and the needy. As if he took over the sickness of the people of Delhi on himself, he contracted smallpox and breathed his last in March, 1664.

Reverence Hindus and Sikhs pay their respect to the memory of Guru Harkrishan, nominated as successor by the seventh Guru, Sri Har Rai. He passed away on October 6, 1661 A.D. When only a little over five year old, he had been tried and tested as a perfect fearless and fully illuminated soul.

About Gurudwara Management Committee Gurudwara Management Committee runs a hospital in the basement of the Gurudwara building. Besides, the Khalsa Girls School is located in the adjoining building. A tank 225 x 235 ft. with 18 ft. wide Parikarma and 12 ft wide varandah along its three sides has been constructed entirely with people's contribution and voluntary labour.

The Art Gallery The Art Gallery located in the basement of the Gurdwara is also very popular with visitors. They evince keen interest in the paintings depicting historical events connected with Sikh history. It is named after the Sikh General Sardar Bhagel Singh who supervised the construction of nine Sikh shrines in Delhi in 1783 during the time of Shah Alam II.

Spicy Delhi

2009-02-25T00:20:00.003+05:30

Spice Market, Kari Baoli Road, Old Delhi: I went to see the spice market on saturday and it was one of the most interesting experiences I had in Delhi. It was great to see how spices are traded and the vibrancy of the market.
Colors of Old Delhi: Spotted this coloful house in the heart of Old Delhi at Kari Baoli Road, I just loved the colors of it.

Jama Masjid

2009-02-25T00:05:00.000+05:30

Pigeons at the top of Jama Masjid: The Masjid-i Jahan-Namaa (Persian: مسجد جھان نما, the 'World-reflecting Mosque'), commonly known as the Jama Masjid of Delhi, is the principal mosque of Old Delhi in India and the largest mosque in Asia.. Commissioned by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, builder of the Taj Mahal, and completed in the year 1656 AD, it is one of the largest and best-known mosques in India. It lies at the origin of a very busy central street of Old Delhi, Chandni Chowk.

Capital heritage: Feroz Shah Kotla

2009-02-24T01:27:00.000+05:30

Feroz Shah Kotla: Located near the famous Feroz Shah Kotla Cricket Stadium, off Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, Firuzabad, the fifth city of Delhi, now known as Kotla Firuz Shah, is a large enclosure of high walls, which then lay along the Yamuna river.
With an entrance through a barb caned main gate on the west, it contained palaces, pillared halls, mosques, a pigeon-tower and a baoli (stepped well) some of which are still in good condition.
The main public mosque, Jami'-Masjid, has a spacious courtyard, the whole structure resting on a series of cells. It is, however, a pyramidal structure with a diminishing covered area in each successive storey, on the top of which, within a stone-railing, the Asokan column is planted, that strikes as a unique edifice

Ashoka pillar at Kotla: Features of Ashokan pillars in Delhi The four lions of the Ashokan Pillar in Delhi are the main features of the historic monument. There are also non-religious interpretations to the symbolism of the pillars, describing the four lions as the symbol of Ashoka's rule over the four directions.The wheels at Ashokan Pillar in Delhi are symbols of enlightened rule (Chakravartin), and the four animals as symbols of four surrounding territories of India: -

The Lion of the north. The Elephant of the east. The Bull of the south.The Horse of the west.

Award Time: Let's Be Friends

2009-02-24T01:06:00.021+05:30

Its Award time again Tripti Joshi gave us this award which is called "Let's be Friends Award". I am really honored as she is courageous lady, a good blogger and a very good human, if you are still to visit her blog, I will recommend to visit because then you will discern what factual valor,courage & fortitude is all about. You can visit Tripti's blogs at In Loving Memory of Mahendra &
Life is a Quest

This is what the "Let's Be Friends" Award represents:These blogs are remarkably charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers(or more) who must choose blogs of their choice and include this written text into the body of their award.

Here is roll of blogs & bloggers to whom I am passing this award, please accept my love and gratitude.

Deepak Acharya at Humanobserver. Deepak writes on several issues but he is master in writing on societal & global ones.
R.Ramesh at Global Madrasi. He writes short but very precise & always transmits imp message.
Jinsky at Napple Notes. Since I am a poetry lover, I love her blog. She writes brilliantly well, not only poetry but also true stories. A great inspiration for me as far as writing is concerned. She helped me a lot in improving my poetry composition.
Vinisha at Sanguine Life . Conveys important point from her life experiences.
Riya at Riya's Diary Contains some topics that can always be debated upon (specially on societal matters) and she does write very good.
Nitu at Nitu's Corner. A photo blog of Shillong and she has got some lovely captures in her blog.
Priyanka Khot at Delhi Photo Diary. Photo blog of walled city Delhi, I like the way she present her shots.
Gargi at Secretely MOI. A very nice blog and she writes well specially on social issues.
Gunmeen at Writer's Paradise. A beautiful blog contains some good poems & her random thoughts which always gives vital meaning & leaves me thinking.
Pratibha at Of somethin n everything. Well she writes outstanding poems, short & sweet.
Priya at Journal Recently discovered her blog and she writes excellent poems. I just like her compositions.

Friends are the angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly

Marriage & Money

2009-02-24T00:05:00.001+05:30

Waiting: With wedding season on & Delhites are known for show of its big business time for these members of band group. During this busy wedding season, band members wait for a ride outside the Red Fort, which was built by Emperor Shah Jahan in 1639.

"झील को दर्पण बना"

2009-02-23T11:06:00.007+05:30

रात के स्वर्णिम पहर में

झील को दर्पण बना
चाँद जब बादलो से निकल
श्रृंगार करता होगा
चांदनी का ओढ़ आँचल

धरा भी इतराती तो होगी...

मस्त पवन की अंगडाई

दरख्तों के झुरमुट में छिप कर
परिधान बदल बदल

मन को गुदगुदाती तो होगी.....

नदिया पुरे वेग मे बह

किनारों से टकरा टकरा
दीवाने दिल के धड़कने का

सबब सुनाती तो होगी .....

खामोशी की आगोश मे

रात जब पहरों में ढलती होगी
ओस की बूँदें दूब के बदन पे

फिसल लजाती तो होगी ......

दूर बजती किसी बंसी की धुन
पायल की रुनझुन और सरगम
अनजानी सी कोई आहट आकर
तुम्हे मेरी याद दिलाती तो होगी.....

City's One woman 'Army'

2009-02-21T00:04:00.003+05:30

And, they say teachers don’t work! In addition to taking her classes at school, Prem Lata also regulates the traffic at Dhaka Chowk. There are three government schools---- primary, middle and senior secondary, in the vicinity of Dhaka Chowk, barely half a kilometer from Kingsway Camp. When school hours are over at around 1 o’ clock, students from these schools would stream out of the gates where, there are no traffic police around to regulate traffic at this crucial hour.
Finally, somebody came forward to clean up the mess. Prem Lata, a teacher from the Government Girls Middle School, volunteers her help by regulating traffic at the busy road. She is the honorary traffic warden of
Dhaka chowk."I am doing it just for the safety of these school children. I feel really honored in doing this responsible job,’’ says she. Says Surinder Sharma, whose two daughters study in the school, "Previously, we used to remain edgy due to the traffic chaos on the main road, which was a cause for major concern. We felt relieved only when they reached home safe. But now this traffic warden has improved the condition."Regardless of the risks involved in manning the traffic at the chaotic chowk, this feisty traffic warden soldiers on. The only thing always at the back of her mind is the safety of school children and ensuring their safe return home".

Thanks to her efforts, the traffic has been streamlined to a large extent. Students now no longer feel jittery while crossing the road. Interestingly, even motorists and motorcyclists have fallen in line. Gone are the days of rash driving at the Dhaka stretch. Says Sohan Kapoor, who regularly passes by this stretch, "Things have improved tremendously over the last few years on this busy stretch and that too without the help of traffic police. It is really incredible. Even five years ago, Dhaka Chowk used to be considered one of the most dreadful traffic intersections of North Delhi."

It goes to Prem Lata’s credit that she manages to perform this role despite her teaching job and household duties and responsibilities. "I will continue to perform this job come what may. One has to strive always to improve things,’’ says the soft-spoken teacher cum traffic warden.

Lonely Delhi

2009-02-20T00:04:00.000+05:30

With so many lonely souls around us it 's inexcusably selfish to be lonely alone

Unless we love and are loved, each of us is alone, each of us is deeply lonely. Dreams have only one owner at a time. That's why dreamers are lonely.

I've sold my soul for freedom. It's lonely but it's sweet.The road had the lonely times, but I kept myself busy.

Sufi's Delhi: Nizamuddin Dargah

2009-02-19T00:25:00.001+05:30

Nizamuddin dargah(1562 AD), Delhi, India: How can one explain spiritual progress? What is it? What is it like? Spiritual progress is the changing of the point of view. Hazrat Khawaja Nizamuddin Auliya (1238 - 3 April 1325) (حضرت خواجة نظام الدّین اولیا), also known as Hazrat Nizamuddin, was a famous Sufi saint of the Chishti Order in South Asia, an order that believed in respect for religious traditions and renunciation of worldly powers. He believed that pious action should be favored over religious worship.

Inside of the dargah:He died on the morning of 3 April 1325. His shrine, Nizamuddin Dargah is located in Delhi and the present structure was built in 1562. The shrine is visited by people of all faiths, through the year, thoughout it becomes a place for special congregation during the death anniversaries, or Urs, of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya and Amir Khusro, who is also buried at the Nizamuddin Dargah.

Tour of the Dargah: The entry point to Nizamuddin area is marked by a traffic island with a blue-domed tomb known as Sabz Burj (sabz, green; burj, dome). The blue tiles
are reportedly a recent restoration effort, but some of the original green, yellow and blue tiles can still be seen on the walls.

Walls of the dargah: It has high recessed arches on all sides and a double dome covered with coloured tiles which gives it its name. Architecturally, the building probably belongs to the early Mughal period. Reportedly, the British used this building as a police station for many years till the beginning of the last century.

Sabz Burz : Even though it is right in the heart of Delhi, you can easily miss the little alley in the Nizamuddin area, closer to Humayun’s Tomb, where the mausoleums of Hazrat Nizammudin Auliya and his dearest disciple Amir Khusrau are located. We reached Mathura Road and headed for the street leading to the dargah On a working day, the usual throng of visitors was missing.I had arranged with a friend, Shamshad, who lives in the area, to use his contacts so that we could gather the maximum possible information about the shrines. We entered the street leading to the dargah area from New Delhi’s Mathura Road and found a distinctly medieval ambience: labyrinthine alleys, street-vendors, bazaars with cheap eateries, people selling caps, rosaries and religious posters.

The complex houses six important monuments:

1. The dargah of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya
2. The tomb of Ataga Khan
3. The tomb of Maham Anga, the wet Nurse of King Akbar
4. The tomb of Amir Khusrau
5. The tomb of Jahanara
6. The Jamaat Khana Mosque.

Hazrat Khawaja Nizamuddin Auliya was born in 1238, in Badayun, Uttar Pradesh (East of Delhi), though at age five, after the death of his father, Ahmad Badayuni, he came to Delhi with his mother Bibi Zulekha. His biography finds mention in Ain-i-Akbari, a 16th century document written by Mughal Emperor Akbar’s vizier, Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak..

At the age of 20, in the year 1269, Nizamuddin went to Ajodhan (the present Pakpattan in Pakistan) and became a disciple of the Sufi saint Fariduddin Ganj-i-Shakkar, commonly known as Baba Farid. Nizamuddin did not take up residence in Ajodhan but continued with his theological studies in Delhi while simultaneously starting the Sufi devotional practices and the prescribed litanies. He visited Ajodhan each year to spend the month of Ramadan in the presence of Baba Farid.

It was on his third visit to Ajodhan that Baba Farid made him his successor. Shortly after that, when Nizamuddin returned to Delhi, he received news that Baba Farid had expired.
Nizamuddin lived at various places in Delhi, before finally settling down in Ghyaspur, a neighborhood in Delhi undisturbed by the noise and hustle of city life. He built his Khanqah here, a place where people from all walks of life were fed, where he imparted spiritual education to others and he had his own quarters. Before long, the khanqah became a place thronged with all kinds of people, rich and poor alike.

Many of his disciples achieved spiritual height, including Shaikh Nasiruddin Muhammad Chirag-e-Delhi, and Amir Khusro, noted scholar/musician, and the royal poet of the Delhi Sultanate. He died on the morning of 3 April 1325. His shrine, Nizamuddin Dargah is located in Delhi , and the present structure was built in 1562. The shrine is visited by people of all faiths, through the year,

Besides believing in the traditional Sufi ideas of embracing God within this life (as opposed to the idea that such partial merger with God is possible only after death), by destroying the ego and cleansing the soul, and that this is possible through considerable efforts involving Sufi practices, Nizamuddin also expanded and practised the unique features introduced by past saints of the Chisti Sufi order in India.

These included:
Emphasis on renunciation and having complete trust in God.
The unity of mankind and shunning distinctions based on social, economic, religious status.
Helping the needy, feeding the hungry and being sympathetic to the oppressed.
Strong disapproval of mixing with the Sultans, the princes and the nobles.
Exhortation in making close contact with the poor and the downtrodden

Temple of Learning: St. Stephen

2009-02-18T00:56:00.006+05:30

St. Stephen's college, New Delhi, India: Here it’s all sparkling & emerald red bricked structure, with English speaking folks, supposed to be India’s best, established in 1881 by the Cambridge Mission in response to Government policy promoting education. St.Stephen college is one of the nation’s very best institute. Getting admittance into this college is some task
with cut-off percentage increasing every year.

Doorway to the chapel: Here you may assume you are in a century-old English garrison. Not factual, the construction is as new as New Delhi, constructed during the 40s. Don't be disillusioned. Continue hovering aimlessly. At St Stephen's, distinct to other Delhi colleges, anyone can go in, amble around, and lounge down on the grass. Yes, even stroll down the hallway. No predicament. But don't ogle at the classroom aperture. Harangue may be taking place. Studious & snobbish folks: Nonetheless, if nearby is a vacant hall, tread in. The unfilled bench and the portrayal of dead professors make the environs as hushed as a... well,
tomb If that's not spooky enough, try this: at the ground is an old well, now safe and sound inside a rounded construction. Gaze through the filthy casement and you will locate stairway going downstairs.

Corridor of wisdom: Having produced from Presidents (Fakhrudiin Al Ahmed, Zia-ul-Haq) to top journalists (Barkha Dutt, Sagarika Ghose), from sports person (Jaspal Rana, Kirti Azad) to writers (Khuswant Singh, Shashi Tharoor) it still continues to give gives India some of its best citizens. (See wikipedia LIST of famous Stephen’s alumni)Play time: I fully revere the stringent selection criteria employed by the college, which makes sure the high quality of our student intake

At the same time, I recognize that St. Stephen's has always understood that some of the most important elements of our edification occur in college outside the classroom, and that the remarkable young all-rounder with 92% marks is often a worthier Stephanian than the swat with 95 per cent. The Principal himself had authored an article titled `Marks Can't Be the Sole Indicator of Merit' on the St. Stephen's College web site (www.ststephens.edu). Someone St. Stephen's should be proud to admit; to turn him down over a few percentage points was folly indeed. At the same time St. Stephen's was, astoundingly for a college in Delhi, insulated to a extraordinary extent from the prejudices of middle-class Indian life. It mattered little where you were from, which Indian language you spoke at home, what version of religious faith you espoused. But at St. Stephen's, religion and region were not the distinctions that mattered: what counted was whether you were "in residence" or a "dayski" (day-scholar), a "science type" or a "ShakSoc type", a sportsman or a univ topper (or best of all, both). Caste and creed was no bar, but these other categories determined your share of the Stephanian knowledge.

Some fun : College's snobbery was still elitism in an Indian context, although one shaped, like so many Indian institutions, by a colonial legacy. There is no denying that the aim of founding St. Stephen's in 1881 was to produce more obedient subjects to serve Her Britannic Majesty; their idea of constructive missionary activity was to bring the intellectual and social atmosphere of Cam side to the dry dust plains of Delhi. Improbably enough, they succeeded, and the resultant hybrid outlasted the Raj.

The bright red brick structure: St. Stephen's in the early 1970s was an institution whose students sustained a Shakespeare Society and a Criterion Club, staged avant-garde plays and wrote execrable poetry, ran India's only faculty-sanctioned Practical Joke Competition (in memory of P.G. Warehouse’s irrepressible Lord Ickenham), invented the "Winter Festival" of collegiate cultural competition which was imitated at universities across the country

Harmony- college feast: Invariably reached the annual inter-college cricket final (and turned up in large numbers to cheer the Stephanian cricketers on to their accustomed victory), maintained a careful distinction between the Junior Common Room and the Senior Combination Room, and allowed the world's only non-Cantabridgian "gyps" to serve their meals and make their beds.

Fashion parade in Harmony: And if the punts never came to the Jamuna, the puns flowed on the pages of Kooler Talk and the cyclostyled Spice (whose typing mistakes, under the impish editorship of Ramu Damodaran, were deliberate, and deliberately hilarious.)

City Landmark: 'Gyarah Murti' sculpture

2009-02-16T00:07:00.003+05:30

Gyarah Murti: This massive black sculpture is sheer poetry in stone. You’ll spot it on the T-junction on Sardar Patel Marg from where roads lead to Willingdon Crescent and Teen Murti House. The sculpture, by Devi Prasad Roy Choudhary, depicts the famous Dandi March led by Mahatma Gandhi in 1931 against oppressive salt taxes imposed by the British regime.

Meaning of words women use

2009-02-15T01:11:00.008+05:30

Nine words women use and their real meanings:-
1.) Fine: This is the word women use to end an argument when they are Right and you need to shut up.
2.) Five Minutes: If she is getting dressed, this means a half an hour. Five minutes is only five minutes if you have just been given five more Minutes to watch the game before helping around the house
3.) Nothing: This is the calm before the storm. This means something, and you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with nothing usually end in fine.
4.) Whatever: Is a women’s way of saying Get lost.
5.) Go Ahead: This is a dare, not permission. Don’t Do It!
6.) Loud Sigh: This is actually a word, but is a non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men. A loud sigh means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you about nothing. (Refer back to #3 for the meaning of nothing.
7.) That’s Okay: This is one of the most dangerous statements a women can make to a man. That’s okay means she wants to think long and hard before deciding how and when.
8) Thanks: A woman is thanking you, do not question, or Faint. Just say you’re welcome.
9.) Don’t worry about it, I got it: Another dangerous statement, meaning this is something that a woman has told a man to do several times, but is now doing it herself. This will later result in a man asking ‘What’s wrong?’ For the woman’s response refer to #3..

Valentine's Day Love Birds

2009-02-14T00:05:00.009+05:30

Love conquers all things; let us surrender to Love

Love is always bestowed as a gift - freely, willingly, and without expectation - We don't love to be loved; we love to love.

All I really, really want our love to do is to bring out the best in me and in you too.

When you love someone, all your saved-up wishes start coming out

A lawful kiss is never worth a stolen one.

Gravitation is not responsible for any one falling in love

Bird's Delhi

2009-02-11T11:43:00.010+05:30

For all those who thought Delhi is walled city with 16 million people and ever increasing concrete jungle, there is other side of Delhi too, its birds Delhi. These are few captures I have taken in last 2 years here.Hoopoe The hoopoe is commonly seen even in urban areas across India. In IIT Delhi, JNU & Pusa agricultural institute they are seen but its very rare in city like Delhi. The fluffed up crest and the flip-flop flight makes it rather remarkable, and one remembers it. This one was photographed JNU campus Delhi.

Brahminy Myna Although this bird is quite common, and sports such brilliant colours, it is relatively less known, being often mistaken for the common myna. This species has been renamed "Brahminy Starling" officially - in fact, the entire Myna range was renamed "Starling", a fact lamented by J.C. Daniels in his preface to the Salim Ali Birth Centenary edition of "The book of Indian Birds".

White-Eye This tiny restless bird is a frequent visitor, sipping on the flowers. Even if you can't make out the white ring around the eye, you cannot mistake the yellow-orange colour, and the tiny size, as it jumps from branch to branch, sometimes in small groups. Getting a white-eye to sit long enough for you to photograph it is a rarity.

Indian Robin Saw this on my lawn a couple of times in Oct 2008, and then again in a Delhi park in April.

Cuckoo (Asian Koel) One can hear them calling mellifluously in April May, but finding them is harder. Murphy's Law: They never call when you are looking at them. Proof: You are so focused on looking through the lens that you can't hear. Female Cuckoo (above) The cuckoo gene apparently carries a marker that specializes the female to lay eggs that match the host
species that it parasitizes. So daughter cuckoos will also parasitize the same hosts.

Male Cuckoo It is only the male cuckoo who sings, the female is largely silent (lucky him!)One April morning the cuckoo to the left was sitting on a branch, serenading away to the world, when another male cuckoo quietly landed on the same branch to its right. There was a ritual sparring, after which the intruder flew off again.

White-breasted Kingfisher This is the bird that got me interested in bird photography - October 2005, Delhi. (with the blue tail visible) is from the banks of the Yamuna in Delhi. It is also called the White-Throated Kingfisher.

Delhi's Royal Beasts

2009-02-10T02:32:00.010+05:30

The road not taken: Delhi is packed of ‘unstable Uranium isotope’ adolescents ready to take on the world head on, its not only city of Nizams, Nomads, Wealthy & underprivileged but also full of young turks of richie-rich parents.

If you worried about falling off the bike, you’d never get on: You can love them or hate them, but you just can’t ignore them! Started on April 6, 2002, by two friends, Kartik Krishnan and Ajeet Hundal, with an ambition to form an exclusive club of Bullet enthusiasts, the Royal Beasts have today grown to a huge 202 members.

The Royals Beasts: In fact, so rapid has their growth been that within one-and-a-half years they have became the third largest group in India. Yes, Royal Beasts is part of a nationwide phenomenon of Enfield bikers coming together to enjoy their bikes. Similar Enfield bikers’ groups are running in cities like Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai and even Aizawl.

Why should boys have all the fun? Gautam Da (Inddie Thumpers) & Mahima Nijhowne (Royal Beasts):Talk to the youngest member of the group and you know that biking is no longer a male thing... 18-year-old Mahima Nijhowne, owns a Royal Enfield, and joined Royal Beasts the day she turned 18. Ask her about the reaction she gets from fellow motorists on roads, she says, “I get a lot of thumbs-up signs from people. Sometimes they clap or smile or just look at me in amazement.” Does she face uncomfortable moments? She says, “Not really. But then, who would mess with a girl riding on a Royal Enfield?”

I have miles to go before I sleep, Bally (Road Raiders - Doon), heading towards Rohtang: Sachin Chavan, an automobile journalist, “Last time we went to Ladakh, we had to cross this stretch which was very close to the China border. It was a dirt track and we had no map to help us navigate. That was a real tough one.” The group goes on two big rides every year, one to Ladakh in summers and to Goa in January. Besides, the group organises short trips to Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, etc. When in town, the group meets every Sunday evening at Qutab Institutional Area, opposite the Fore School of Management.

Man, Machine and Myth - Romancing the Roads, on way to Ladakh: Take a look at them and you know that this is a wide variety of people brought together by one passion, Royal Enfield. There are doctors, lawyers, students, marketing guys, journalists, entrepreneurs... and many others, who are part of this group. Says Sachin Chavan, “There’s this unbelievable camaraderie amongst us.

No commerce: The Royal Beasts members may adore the Royal Enfield bike but they would never like to promote it on a commercial basis. "Ours is an exclusive club of adventure. We don't want any kind of commerce to enter our club. It will ruin everything," says Kartik.
For this reason the club refuses any sponsorship for their cross-country bike expeditions.

You don't suffer, kill yourself and take the risks I take just for money. I love bike racing: It is a very free and independent group, and we do our own thing. If sponsorship comes in, one has to listen to the dictates of the sponsors. That goes against the spirit of our club. We encourage our members to save money and expect them to be enthusiastic enough to spend their own money for the expeditions," says Kartik.

I enjoy dirt bike riding, reading classic literature, impressionist art, traveling, and music: Therefore any Royal Enfield enthusiast who wants to join their club is thoroughly examined before being accepted as one of them. Tour operators are especially discouraged from joining the club. "It is not just love for the machine, the member should also share the passion for adventure and travel, says Mahima, 19, the only female member of the club.

A bike is only as bad as it's worst rider: She has her own Royal Enfield bike and rides it to her college everyday. The club was founded three years ago by Kartik and his friends. "We saw that most people who rode the Royal Enfield were different, so we decided to contact them," he says.

The mean machines: A lot of fun stuff happens when you go out on a bike compared to when you're in a car. You're more in the environment. It's enjoyable. Even when It's raining It's still fun. So, if you’ve always wanted to don your leather pants, leather jacket and leather shoes, and ride ‘peacefully’ into the sunset on your Royal Enfield... ride into the Royal Beasts. There’s no entry fee, no joining procedures... all you need is a ‘thumping’ love for the Royal Enfield! Happy cruising!

Dating with Nature

2009-02-10T01:14:00.003+05:30

Romancing with moon, Gurgaon: For a moment I conjecture with 'Chandrayaan' accomplishing moon some time in future that era will also come when duo will date on moon, candle lit, and earth to observe from moon, it would be majestic sensation, isn’t it?……how would that sensation be? Will that ever be feasible?

In love with flowers: Couple of months back I sowed some Cosmos
seeds in my garden! and Vola! I have sooo many beautiful flowers in my garden. and look... who came to visit them ;-)

Civilised Sunset at Gurgon:

Maybe not now

but someday soon,

We'll meet not under the sun

but beneath the moon.

The Brown Rock Chat (also called the Indian Chat) is a fairly common bird in our garden.I have seen the rock chat singing away in solitary splendour around April-May, which may be their mating season. They can often be seen on prominent roof corners of buildings, and are well-known for their ability to mimic the songs of several species.

"मै डरती हूँ "

2009-02-09T09:45:00.002+05:30

मै जानती हूँ .........
मेरे खत का उसे इंतजार नही
मेरे दुख से उसे सरोकार नही ,

मेरे मासूम लफ्ज उसे नही बहलाते

मेरी कोई बात भी उसे याद नही.
मेरे ख्वाबों से उसकी नींद नही उचटती
मेरी यादो मे उसके पल बर्बाद नही
मेरा कोई आंसू उसे नही रुलाता
उसे मुझसे जरा भी प्यार नही
कोई आहट उसे नही चौंकाती
क्योंकि उसे मेरा इन्तजार नही
मगर मै डरती हूँ उस पल से
जब वो चेतना में लौटेगा और
पश्चाताप के तूफानी सैलाब से
गुजर नही पायेगा ...जड हो जाएगा
मै डरती हूँ ....बस उस एक पल से

City's Vintage Craze

2009-02-09T00:53:00.012+05:30

Naval Chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta flagged-off the 43rd Statesman Vintage & Classic Car Rally 2009 on Sunday, February 8th at the majestic building of Statesman House in New Delhi.Record 140 entries have been received for this year,s rally which is truly India,s biggest and most popular vintage rallies. These rare beauties will travel between Delhi and Greater Noida before returning to Modern School Barakhamba Road for prize distribution.
This Statesman Vintage Rally is seen as the Mecca of all vintage rallies in the Indian sub-continent and this year the legendary event has grown even bigger with the maximum number of vintage, classic and post war car entries ever.

The clean and fantastically restored Ambassador Mk-I: The car as we know it is on the way out. To a large extent, I deplore its passing, for as a basically old-fashioned machine, it enshrines a basically old-fashioned idea: freedom.

Another superbly restored Chevy, a 1959 Belair: “They're dressing like in the 50's when they come out to the shows, and many of them have vintage cars.”

1947 built Buick: Today's corporate race cars go real fast and real straight, and they're awe-inspiring, but they're kind of predictable. Vintage drag racing is grass roots, it's not what I'd call professional, and it's very unpredictable.

A 1932 Ford: I put a new engine in my car, but forgot to take the old one out. Now my car goes 500 miles per hour. The harmonica sounds amazing.

Admiral Suresh Mehta stans next to 1942 model Lincoln: He looked entirely too comfortable. That's what all that fishing and working on old cars will do for you.

A 1922 Graham Paige: You know, somebody actually complimented me on my driving today. They left a little note on the windscreen, it said 'Parking Fine.

1935 Buik: There are two things no man will admit he cannot do well: drive and make love.

A 1935 Rolls Royce: If your wife wants to learn to drive, don't stand in her way.

Visitor look at 1938 model: A careful driver is one who honks his horn when he goes through a red light

A 1927 Chevrolet: Never drive faster than your Guardian Angel can fly.

Yoyos

2009-02-09T00:17:00.003+05:30

Kids play with lighted yoyos around India Gate, New Delh, India

Capital Samurai: Laxman Rao

2009-02-08T00:13:00.002+05:30

Laxman at his tea stall at ITO in Delhi

At first look he is like any other tea vendor pouring infinite cups of tea for clientele, Laxman Rao appears to be one of numerous tea vendors we see in our everyday life on any busy road of the capital. But looks can be deceptive and Rao proves that. He is not just any other tea vendor in the national capital. He is different from many.

Meet Laxman Rao, the tea vendor turned book writer. Born to a family of farmers in Amravti district in Maharashtra,
Rao's fondness for Hindi literature saw him complete his graduation in Hindi medium from the Mumbai University in 1973. Reminiscing the bygone days, Rao said he was an avid reader and got addicted to Gulshan Nanda's novels early on.

This tea vendor has authored 18 books till date! The reading inclination he is carrying from his school days way back in early 70s and love for Hindi literature made him devoted to first with reading and then writing novels. He writes at the night, when the world sleeps, he finishes of his work and starts writing. The writing sometime continues while working when there are not enough customers. His writing often has his own experiences and hardship which he confronted in the capital. Sitting on a low down chair at his tea stall near ITO in Delhi, 53-year-old Rao spoke of how he came to run his own publishing house, Bharatiya Sahitya Kala Prakashan.

"I have been writing short stories, plays and books for 28 or 29 years," Rao smiled and said, as he poured tea into one of the small glasses to a customer. "In my first book, titled Nayi Duniya Ki Nayi Kahani I poured out my heart. I narrated all the hardships that I had faced and the challenges that I fought to rise to a decent life. That was back in 1979," Rao told. He went on to write a play, Pradhan Mantri in 1984, which was about his meeting with the then prime minister, the late Indira Gandhi. The play was woven around Gandhi in a social set-up and how her subordinates were responsible for corruption. 'Ramdas and Parampara Se Judi Bharatiya Rajniti' are some of his other publications.

Capital Affair- 'Suraj Kund' Fair

2009-02-07T00:01:00.003+05:30

Folk dancers at the fair: The Surajkund Crafts is an annual event that highlight some of the finest handloom and handicraft traditions of the country. From 1st to 15th February rural India basks in the warmth of admiration at Surajkund mela village that lies some 8 km from South Delhi. The Mela also celebrates the rhythms of folk theatre- and a theme State that makes each visitor marvel

Rest wait for thier turn: The Mela is organised under the aegis of the Suraj Kund Mela Authority. This comprises of the Department of Tourism Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Governement of India in collaboration with Haryana Tourism,
Development Commissioner for Handlooms, Commissioner Development (Handicrafts)

A foreign national at Suraj Kund 'Mela': The objectives

To create a rural ambience for the foreign and domestic tourist to see.
To educate patrons both from abroad, urban centres and educational institutes about the fascinating technique and skills involved in craft creation.
To introduce crafts and craftspersons directly to the buyers and help them find their patrons.
To Identify, nurture and preserve languishing crafts of the country and save it for posterity.

Suraj Kund is a beautiful tourist location of Haryana Tourism and in its lovely setting, folk painters, metal workers, stone and wood carvers, tie dye craftspersons, embroiders, lace makers, textiles printers, carpet and loom weavers, producers of silk fabrics, jewellers and sculptors- execute and display their skills. The entrance to fair: The fortnight long celebrations also come as a food festival. Some of the popular food traditions from Punjab come at the Punjabi 'Rasoi'. South Indian delicacies come in from South Indian Section. Popular Chinese and snack foods also arrive for the event along with a special stalls where patrons are introduced to the traditional foods and sweet meats of the selected theme State. A woman tries the art of heena artist: The Surajkund Crafts Mela has grown equally famous for the rhythms of folk theatre: It resonates with the formal notes of the classical genre: The heady rhythms of percussion instruments: The ballads of singing minstrels: The clebration of the simple joys of rural life and reverence of epic traditions all mingle well. All these colourful events are also presented before the audience in the open-air-theatre named Natyashala. Folk dancers performing at the fair: Some of the most deligtful crafts collections of the Mela arrive from practically all over the country. In wood and cane come inlay work, rose wood carving, sandal wood from Punjab and South India. Chiki wood craft of Kashmir and some very fine cane craft come from West Bengal and North Eastern States. One more: Delcate sholapith and shital patti work come from Assam and West Bengal. The phulkari of Punjab, the Banjara and Banni embroidery of Gujarat and Rajasthan, the Kantha traditions from West Bengal and Tripura, lace and crochet from Goa, the Suzni of Kashmir and Mirror encasing work along with the traditional chikan work of Lucknow delight.Oxidized jewellery, sea shell decorations and agate stone work delight as also do delicate gold work and chunky silver jewellery. Toys in wood and cane, ply and mud make the young thrill with joy. Some of the fine phad paintings of Rajasthan, the kalamkari of Andhra and Karnataka, temple paintings of Orissa, madhubani of Bihar, fascinate. In the metal section tribal dhora work, classical south Indian metal work, glittering brass ware, bell metal and iron craft delight collectors. In the field of woven textiles some of the finest silk work of Orissa, Patola, Bandhini of Gujarat and Rajasthan, Ikat, Kanjeevaram, Dharmavaram and temple silks of South India vie for attention with the most simple cottons of West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and tribal textiles of North East India as also do the handloom of Haryana. The Various Crafts particpated in the Mela every year. The Introduction of some of the Crafts are as follows:
Cane & Bamboo
Embroidery
Metalware
Pottery

THE SURAJKUND Crafts Mela 2009 was unusually vibrant and lively with the ambience full of drumbeats and folk music spreading the festivity all over. The display of exquisite handicrafts and handlooms further added the colour to the mela making it a perfect getaway for the visitors away from the hustle bustle of city life. Varieties of cuisines from all parts of India and foreign countries were relished by the crowd.

The Mela is a paradise for the shoppers’ and one could see an entire spectrum of buyers, with their hands laden with bags.

Among the crafts this year, woodcraft garnered special attention and praise. There has been a tremendous increase in the number of stalls of this craft this year. The craftsmen of this art find the platform of the Surajkund Crafts Mela extremely beneficial, as they get immense publicity and recognition. It also helps them to add to their income, which supports for almost the whole year. The mela provides them an elevated stage, with large number of buyers, wherein they get an opportunity to popularise their age old craft in addition to reaping the benefits of selling their products directly to the consumers.

These craftsmen, to say the least, have emerged as the flag bearers of the dying art of wooden carving. Due to the advent of variety of machines, handmade wood carvings find it difficult to sustain in the present day market but a platform like Surajkund Crafts Mela provides unique opportunity for them to sell these products to those buyers who understand the artistic value of these handicraft. Surajkund Crafts Mela mainly has the craftsmen, who have been the recipients of national or state awards. These master craftsmen are the real ambassadors of India for the foreign tourists, who throng the mela, in large numbers, every year. The craft can easily be seen gaining popularity in foreign countries, especially the Arabian countries, where woodcraft has a special place in the hearts of the people.

Abdul Rehman Siddiqui is one such craftsperson, who hails from Saharanpur, UP, and has been in this business for the past 50 years. He learnt his art and skill from his forefathers. He and his nephew Shahid Siddiqui have already helped more than 150 other youngsters to learn the tricks of this trade. Recipient of national award for his woodcarving, Siddiqui had a chance to hone up his skills in wood carvings by visiting Germany. This exposure to a foreign land has provided him an edge over other craftsmen in this trade. This is for the second time that he has got an opportunity to exhibit his craft at the Surajkund Crafts Mela and he finds it extremely profitable, he confessed.

Basher Ahmed, one of the other craftsmen, also hails from UP. He makes an exclusive use of brass on wood carvings. He makes variety of walking sticks, jewellery boxes, coaster sets and even hair clips with this art. His entire family is devoted to this craft for more than 100 years. He also holds a national award for the year 1984.

Sardar Hussein makes use of block printing art on wooden boxes. From mirror frames to candle stands, one can find beautiful wooden artifacts with intricate designing. He has been bestowed with Shilp Guru Award, in 2006, for his special creations.

The mela provides a perfect blend of cultural heritage of various states of India. The cultural events showcase the various aspects like with ethnicity, environment and prosperity of various regions of our country. Khalil Mohammed Kalwal, a craftsman from Kashmir, was demonstrating the art of walnut wood carving in the Surajkund Mela, grounds at stall No.281. He has already exhibited his craft in various countries like Dubai and Romania. The beauty of his art lies in the fact that walnut wood is exclusively used for his creations. He finds this platform very lucrative for his business where he earned name, fame and his livelihood.

This mela is a perfect platform for direct sales as the chances of traders and middlemen to reap benefits out of the creations of the craftsmen is completely shelved, commented Kahlil Kalwal. It also gives them a chance to provide authentic handmade wood craft to their customers as per their own choice. Surajkund Crafts Mela has craftsmen participating from far flung areas like Leh and Ladakh also, who have caught the attention of the buyers. Tsering Namgyar makes use of special wood of Leh and Ladakh region and carves them out to make beautiful tables and boxes. These are matchless, commented one of the foreigners visiting the mela.
Nafisa Begum, a recipient of national award makes sure that she employs economically poor so that they can learn the art of wood carving and become self dependent. Women from extremely poor households, widows and young girls, are also taught the art of woodcraft to alleviate the problem of poverty to some extent. It was heartening to see that these struggling crafts-persons play an active role in the society as a whole.

The Surajkund Crafts Mela authority this year decided to promote this almost dying craft to make it self-sustainable. Fifteen work huts were offered to various craftsmen, belonging to this field, and the response at theses stalls was overwhelming

Color for festival

2009-02-06T00:01:00.000+05:30

Two young boys mix colors at a dye-making business in Delhi, India. The blood-red brew is blended with corn flour then spread on a roof for drying. The resulting powder is then ready to be tossed by celebrants of India's colorful Holi festival.

City Secrets: Life of prostitutes in Delhi

2009-02-04T18:48:00.018+05:30

PIC: Avinash; Text: Gayatri Pradhan & Avinash
I wanted to post this for almost 3 months now but I was reluctant to do, after consulting the team members I decided to go in front with this post (even though all were not in errand of it). I anticipate I am not offending any one by writing about prostitute in Delhi and their life. The sole motive is to reflect their life and misery, as they are also part of the social order. They subsist because of the ‘civilized society’. Feel free to articulate your judgment even if it’s critical. AIDS awareness campaign organised by sex workers at GB Road, Delhi
It was Sunday morning, some 4 months back and I met one of old school friends- Gayatri Pradhan, who is with times group functioning as a journalist, she was about to wrap a report on GB road, so I on her request decided to join. This is what was made out of that visit to the red light area of Delhi.
Long History: There were five red-light areas in Delhi during the Mughal era. But the British closed all except the one at GB Road, named after a British collector. In 1965, the name was officially changed to Swami Shradhanand Marg. But people prefer to call this area as GB Road. This place has 20 buildings. Besides prostitution, this area is famous for renowned hardware materials. It is a place where prostitutes are available for all classes of customers. . Surprisingly, people from all strata of society come to this place for their carnal pleasures.

How they got into this work? All have different story to tell.
“I left home and came to Delhi, one man told me that he will give me some work and I was sold at Rs8000/-“says Moly

“I left home and wanted to do something for my ailing father and poor family but landed here, not forcefully, but I had no choice” says Rupali

“I was born here to a prostitute as my mother was doing same work for years, I tried to get into civilized society but discovered that I wasn’t accepted any where, I had to get into flesh trade” says Pushpa.

RABEYA, MOLY, Pushpa, Sabina and many more like them cannot memorize when they last lived a normal life. Generally, their day’s routine begins little later than that of others. Unlike other professionals, they don’t have to get up early in the morning and prepare for office. They are not concerned about the traffic jam that keeps almost every Delhitie tense during peak hours of the day. For obvious reasons, they don’t prefer to come out in broad daylight.Only after the dusk enters in, does their day begin. Their service hours commence from the evening up to almost the wee hours of the next morning.

They work without any leave. Unlike others, holidays make their work schedule even more hectic. These people work like anyone else but they do not have any reporting boss, month and date is no criterion for their salaries, its all instant for these women . All these girls are not as high-salaried as the call centre employees, who also work throughout the night in air-conditioned office and serve for their foreign clients. But girls like Moly, Pushpa, Sabina serve for both the Indian and foreign nationals. They say that they can’t remember who initiated them into this profession.

Different work all together:
Every night, they toil hard to please their customers so that they can get good tips after the service. They have only one identity – the civilized society refers to them as ’prostitutes’. These ’kothewalis’ have no fancy designations. As the evening enters in, these ’kothewalis’ doll up in attractive saris, salwar suits or western dresses.
After being bedecked, they come out on roads or wait in the balcony to attract their clients. They prefer to wait in such places where traffic is not too thick. The clients, they say, come on their own and pick them up. After that either they are brought to a hotel, farm house or to a small ’kothas’ (rooms) in Garstin Bastion Road, commonly known as ’GB Road’, the largest red light area in Delhi.

Some of the ’kothewalis’ do not have to go outside as they have their own ’dalals’ (pimps). These pimps bring clients after proper bargaining. Even, the payments are dealt by these men.

What they have to say:
Moly, a 22-year-old girl, can’t remember from when she has been here. When asked, she said, “I was brought here by one uncle. He promised me a job. But now, I am a brand prostitute.”
How does she carry on her life now? “I generally prefer to be picked up by my clients. Actually, I share a single room with Pushpa. As she gets busy during night, I have to vacate her room,” Moly laughed with a wink.
While asked whether she enjoys every night outside, she replied, “It depends upon the client, as to where he takes me. Generally, the Paharganj hotels are available for one or two nights. There are few good and nice clients with whom I have stayed for even two consecutive nights.”

Perhaps, Moly enjoys better in air-conditioned hotels rather than staying in GB Road ’kothas’.

When asked whether she gets a client every night,
She answered, “It matters upon seasons. Generally, I get clients for 18 days at least in a month. If I do not get anyone by 9 pm, I come back to my kotha."

Where does she stay then?
“For those nights, I share rooms with my friends, who also do not get clients on that day. Sometimes, Pushpa also goes vacant. I stay with her then,” Moly giggled again.Pushpa seems to be more professional than Moly.

She has been in this business for the last 10 years. Born and brought up in Muzaffarpur district of Bihar, Pushpa chose this profession to earn her livelihood. Once she reached GB Road, she never visited her house again. Pushpa’s parents are still alive; whom she sends money every month. But, her parent neither calls her nor visit her GB Road apartment, she said with a sad glint in her eyes.Pushpa has her pimp, named Pappu. “Pappu is very believable, he never cheats me”, said Pushpa, “He gets his share regularly. But he brings good clients.”

What is the definition of good clients to them?
Those, who do not bargain too much, pay properly before and after the service, remain gentle throughout the service-hours are referred to them as ’good clients’.

Who are the worst clients?
“Army”, was the collective answer.

"Almost all of them complained that the armed forces a personnel’s come in groups, get service and leave them unpaid. “We are also workers, our brand is that of a ’sex-worker’, but they do not pay us,” complained Moly.
Even, the dalals also don’t dare to take on these people as they are ’powerful’.

"We keep these pimps to control our clients,” said Rabeya, another friend of Pushpa. She is also in the same profession. According to Rabeya, there are some clients who are very rude and ruthless.

"They take the service, but do not pay after that. Instead of getting paid, Rabeya was once beaten up brutally. She lost became unconscious after that. She did not dare to file a complaint with the police, as the client was socially powerful and threatened to kill her, all this for a paltry sum.Rabeya has a two-year-old baby, named Raju. “

"Who’ll feed him if I am not alive?” Rabeya’s voice broke as her eyes were moist with tears.
When asked about Raju’s father, Rabeya laughed innocently.

“Perhaps he is somewhere in ’Hindustan’, I don’t know the location.” The touts act as local guardians of 4500 sex-workers in the GB Road.

Back up:
These dalals maintain good relations with the local political leaders, send ’hafta’ (regular bribes) to police stations and take care of their ’sisters’ when need arises.

“They are our tarzans,” said Rabeya., while expressing gratitude to her guardian.

How much do they earn?
"On an average, from their client, asked this scribe? “It varies”, replied Rabeya, “sometimes when dhanda is not well, we have to sell ourselves for as low as Rs 200. But during festivals, the ’bazaar’ (market) is good. We easily earn at least Rs 1000 per night. This is because not a single client wants to return with empty hand during the festive eves.”

Who comes here?
“Almost everyone, you’ll find here people from different strata of society From auto-rickshaw pullers to white-collared professionals - they enjoy us”, Rabeya replied without batting an eyelid

“We have some permanent clients”, said Moly.

Do the Delhities visit GB Road only?
“People from different cities come here. Even the foreign nationals visit this place,” said Sabina.

What are their plans for Diwali?
“Nothing special, obviously, there will be heavy rush of clients during Diwali. Some of us have already been booked in advance. Some others are still waiting for good offers”, said Rabeya.

Do they decorate their house with candles during Diwali? Do their children enjoy crackers? Do they wear new dresses?

“Yes, we do, we light up candles, buy crackers for our children and we also wear new garments. We also distribute sweets. But after everything, we take a strong peg of whiskey and plunge into our routine life – to please men,” said Rabeya.

Rabeya, Moly, Sabina, Pushpa and many others like them are actually trapped between a ’yesterday’ that would never come again and a ’tomorrow’ that they may never see!

CONCLUSION
Let’s face it, prostitution will never go away. It has been called the oldest profession in the world and for good reason. People will throw down money to have their desires fulfilled and you must admit that sex is a pretty potent desire. Most folks don’t become prostitutes because they see it as a good opportunity for employment. In fact most, especially concerning street level and low end prostitutes, find their path to this through nothing more than terrible desperation. Yet typically this is only the beginning.

The problems included are
• Abuse
• the spread of STD’s
• chemical dependency
• rape
• human trafficking,
• and a situation that is little more than blatant slavery.

Yet as I pointed out, it would be unrealistic to expect prostitution to dissapear.

How does this all effect us?
We aren’t involved in the acts themselves. In fact, I seriously doubt that too many folks who are reading this essay have engaged the services of a prostitute. Then again, current statistics state as reported by the Associated Content, that nearly 50% of men have engaged in these very same services. It seems that a great deal of INDIA may not be talking the talk but definitely walking the walk. And when it comes to violence against women, that affects all of us, whether we choose to walk in blissful apathy or are willing to take the hard look.

In examining the problems that prostitutes face, the statistical evidence speaks for itself. Let’s take a look at the spread of STD’s. Only 3-5% of STDs are prostitution-related. Initially this may seem like a very small number. Yet when you examine the number of prostitutes versus the number of ordinary folks, this statistic is alarming.

So what is the solution?
I propose legalization. Patty Kelly, an anthropology professor at George Washington University, authored an article for the LA Times entitled simply, “

One more time, no matter how much we choose to ignore it, prostitution exists. There is a reason as to why it is called the oldest profession in the world. People desire sex, it’s as simple as that. And people will pay for it. Why not make it safe for all those concerned?

In the context of countries like India where I’ve written about sex trafficking, that would be a bad mistake.

Let me explain why.
There may be a sound argument for legalization and sex worker unions in Brazil and South Africa, perhaps even China. My sense is that in those countries many women genuinely choose to be prostitutes because of economic pressures or opportunities. But in

It’s Different in India:
India, I have yet to find a single woman who made that choice – every single one of them first entered after being forced by a trafficker, her parents, or her husband. Later, after they had been prostituted, some continued to sell their bodies voluntarily. But the initial entry into prostitution was invariably coercive.

That means that if you validate the red light districts, then the new entrants will continue to be trafficked into it. And in India we have had something of an experiment, in which the legalization model has failed.

In the effort to combat AIDS, a union was established of prostitutes in Shonagachi, a red light district in Calcutta . The union, DMSC, purports to represent prostitutes and to dignify sex work, and it argues that it’s important to empower the women by offering them respect and acknowledging their choice of occupations.

A DMSC brochure, for example, states: “Like other entertainment workers of the
world we use our brain, ideas, emotion and sex organs, in short, our entire body and our mind to make people happy. As entertainment workers, we seek governmental recognition and fulfillment of our just professional demands.”

Among liberals in the U.S. and India alike, that model has been treated respectfully. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and CARE have both shown support for that approach as a way to fight AIDS. I have lots of respect for both the Gates Foundation and for Care, and they do fantastic work around the globe – but in this case I think they’ve made a mistake.

The argument in favor is “harm reduction” – a sex worker union makes it easier to hand out condoms and educate women about AIDS. That’s true to some extent, but the latest data we have actually show a rising degree of HIV among young prostitutes in Shonagachi. The data aren’t good, but they don’t demonstrate to me that the model works.

In contrast, there is a health outreach model in Cambodia that really does reduce HIV and STD, through regular check-ups, without legitimizing the brothels and protecting them from raids.

That’s the direction to go in.
More broadly, many of the prostitutes from Shonagachi have told me that DMSC is just a front for the brothel-owners, a way of protecting them from raids and harassment. Likewise, the trafficking of young girls and forced prostitution seems as flagrant as ever in Shonagachi. That’s also the judgment of two people whose anti-trafficking work I admire: Ruchira Gupta and Urmi Basu. Both live in Calcutta and see Shonagachi up close, and both oppose the legalization model. So even if DMSC achieved a mild reduction in HIV infection levels – which it apparently hasn’t – it comes at the expense of legitimating trafficking and modern slavery.

I’m particularly swayed by an argument of Ruchira’s, based on the contrast with Bombay. Traditionally, the red light districts of Bombay and Calcutta have both been enormous, and Calcutta has DMSC while Bombay has in recent years seen more raids and harassment of brothels. The upshot is that Shonagachi is as big as ever and seems to have as much trafficking and more HIV than ever, while Bombay’s red light district has shrunk dramatically. There still are some brothels in Bombay’s red light district, but only a fraction of the number there used to be.

Some skeptics say that the raids have only pushed prostitution out of Bombay’s red light district and hidden it among neighborhoods throughout the city, making it more difficult to control trafficking and AIDS. There may be some of that. But if NGO’s have trouble finding the brothels than customers do as well. And most estimates are that total prostitution in Bombay has come down a great deal because of the harassment.

In contrast, DMSC seems to legitimate a red-light district that is completely enmeshed with criminal gangs, trafficking and forced prostitution. The validation from DMSC probably makes it easier for police to take bribes from brothels to look the other way, and harder to order up raids and aggressive police coverage. So, quite apart from morality, it seems to me that Bombay’s record comes out better than Calcutta’s. Maybe legalization and sex worker unions can reduce HIV in Africa and Brazil where forced prostitution is less of a problem, but it doesn’t work in India.

The model in the West that seems to have worked best is Sweden’s, which involves decriminalization for prostitutes themselves, but seeks to crack down on pimping and on the demand side. By arresting customers, the Swedish model undermines the economics of prostitution, and it seems to have reduced the trafficking that one sees in the Netherlands and Germany.

Fundamentally, I think these kinds of disputes about legalization are a distraction in countries like India. Both left and right in the States do good work on trafficking, but the two sides can’t even agree on what to call the issue. The left tends to refer to sex work and sex workers, to avoid stigmatizing people they want to work with. The right tends to use terms like prostitution and prostitutes, to avoid euphemisms that validate such work.

One reason more hasn’t been accomplished in the campaign against human trafficking is that the issue has become so polarized in the U.S. There’s immense distrust and much less cooperation than one might expect. But the one thing everybody should be able to agree on is that whether or not prostitution should be legal for 18-year-olds who are on their own, it is appalling for 13-year-olds to be imprisoned in brothels and forced to sleep with customers. And that is what is going on in countries like India.

"एहसास"

2009-02-04T14:22:00.003+05:30

हर साँस मे जर्रा जर्रा
पलता है कुछ,
यूँ लगे साथ मेरे
चलता है कुछ.
सोच की गागर से
निकल शब्द बन
अधरों पे खामोशी से
मचलता है कुछ.
ये एहसास क्या ...
तुम्हारा है प्रिये ???
जो मोम बनके मुझमे ,
बर्फ़ मानिंद .....
पिघलता है कुछ

City's changing trend: The 'Sari' culture

2009-02-04T00:32:00.001+05:30

The 6-yard drape, in or out?: THE INDIAN sari is apparently 5000 years old! Dress patterns keep changing almost everyday, but the sari has somehow managed to stay, in one form or the other, because most women in rural India remain unaffected by the changing fashion trends, or for that matter don't even go by what is comfortable for them. Jyotsna Kamat, in her essay on the sari, calls it versatile "because it could be worn as shorts, trousers, flowing gown-like or convenient skirt-wise — all without a single stitch!" And so, the seamless sari has survived, even when there is a large group that argues that the sari is on its way out.

Changing trends: With a woman having to juggle between two worlds, sometimes even more, there is hardly any time left for a woman to painstakingly drape a sari. So, a salwar suit is any day a better bet, just slip into it, and you're ready in two minutes. Nevertheless, sari shops make a strong case for the good old saris, and insist that women are still in love with this six-yard wonder. It is just that now they want textures that are easy to handle and hassle free.

The New Avtars: Some even think that the New Age jobs are a reason for the unpopularity of the sari. With IT companies, call centres, and medical transcription centres taking over the job market, they have not only brought a dramatic change in the job culture, but they have also brought in a change in the traditional dress code. Probably, when one works in an educational institution or a hospital, they are probably governed by a dress code,

"but there is no such binding in the New Age jobs. And therefore, a woman's wardrobe is now full of the more comfy counterparts of the sari — salwar, jeans, trousers, and skirts. Saris are for occasional wear," says Gayathri S.R., who works for a multinational bank.

Some jobs demand saris. For instance, hotels, travel desk in airlines, and some management and marketing organisations insist on saris as it gives the women a more formal look.

The salwar is suitable for those who have a desk job, says Janaki Rameshwaran, employed in a private bus booking office where she has no interaction with customers.

"The moment we are asked to attend to customers, saris are preferred. Women in saris are somehow looked upon with more respectability, even when it comes to difficult customers."

Men at work prefer women in saris because they feel it is a blend of modernity, modesty, and femininity. Salwars are more a casual wear, however expensive the attire is. Even an inexpensive sari draped in elegance looks charming, say a section of officers in a private bank.
The banking and insurance sector has a lot of women in saris. According to them, saris are for office wear and salwars are more of home and casual wear. In hospitals and private health clinics, doctors prefer to wear a sari so as to instil confidence in patients. However, there are young doctors who are seen in salwars as they feel saris are cumbersome.

In a salwar, body flab is concealed. Even when a salwar is crumpled, it can pass off as casual wear. But saris keep women conscious of their figure, according to models. While salwars are popular with working women, they wear saris on formal occasions, says Revathi H.R., who works for aeronautical agency. But in terms of affordability, the saris come in a range of prices, from as reasonable as Rs. 50 to the exorbitantly priced ones. Of course, one cannot get a salwar for Rs. 50! There is a section of women who favour the salwar strongly and say that it is easier to maintain them. The argument does not stop here, there are women who oppose this and give 100 marks to the cotton sari, even though it requires tough maintenance.

As an afterthought, maybe the sari is not so unpopular after all. Didn't Mandira Bedi (and her non-blouses!) get so many viewers glued to the television?

Random Pics: A day in life of Delhi

2009-02-03T02:06:00.000+05:30

Day starts : Sunrise at Red Fort as another day in life of Delhi initiates.

She didnt wanted any day to start: Her fate scripted by Hindu law, an Untouchable girl can imagine little else than working along the Yamuna River in Delhi as a Dhobi. Members of this clothes-washing caste handle items 'polluted' by blood or human waste."

Its work time: A porter carries a load of goods through the crowded market area of Old Delhi, a labyrinth of lanes flanked by mostly 17th-century homes.

Time to look for some food in walled city

Another day comes to an end: silhouetted vivid tower sunset Gurgaon

Night Time: Everybody home on a cold foggy Delhi Night

Cool Campus: New age 'guru-shishya' relationship

2009-02-03T01:39:00.008+05:30

DU’s kewl gurus...…is how Novy Kapadia of Khalsa College and NK Jain of Hansraj College are known among students, for they connect with students beyond classrooms On a spree to locate a few unconventionally cool teachers of the campus, , and there were quite a few lecturers comprising the cool gang of teachers.
To select a few of them, Novy Kapadia and Naveen Kr Jain from Sri Teg Bahadur Khalsa College and Hansraj College respectively came across as the coolest teachers. They are the ones who are known for their flexi hours, playing on the ground, allowing mobiles, watching movies and sharing their hobbies with the students.
So if you thought all that goes in to making some of the best lecturers in the University is just their diverse knowledge of the subject and their ability to convey it well, then you need to rethink, revalue and review. .Teachers like Novy Kapadia and NK Jain just set an entirely diverse benchmark for other lecturers. It’s not just about how well they conduct their classroom lectures and studies; it’s their easy going attitude that brings about the connect factor with the students. They make the students remember them not just for the classroom lectures but the lessons outside class too.
Talk to the Khalsa College students about the most approachable teacher, one name that comes out in unison is that of Deputy Proctor, Novy Kapadia. So what is it that makes him so popular among the students across various courses in the college?
“Well it’s the way he shows trust in us and makes us do work without even making us realise it,” says Megha Makhija from Khalsa College.
When the lecturer was asked about the same, he had a very different view to offer. “I have never done anything to gain students’ faith; I have tried to make sure that students feel comfortable here, especially the outstation students. I understand the capital’s traffic and hence let the students enter my class even after five to 10 minutes,” says Kapadia.
So is that it! Nopes, this cool teacher prefers to catch up with the latest flicks with his students too.Makhija says, “Whenever sir asks us to do something, he gives us a deadline and till that time he never asks us for the same. This makes us feel responsible.”Equally favourite on the popularity chart is Naveen Kr Jain from the Commerce Department. For him learning doesn’t stop in the classrooms; he prefers to take his students to the playground as well. Ask the mentor and he says,
“It all starts from the classroom. If I don’t take my classes seriously and do not make my students understand the situation then how will my students share their interests with me. And playing cricket is, I guess, the best connecting factor.” Well this is not all! Till sometime back, Jain had even conducted some wild life photography expeditions.
“There I used to take the students to a place where they could watch the birds and practice their interest. Though I am no more into photography, but cricket continues to be a common ground where we meet,” shares Jain.
And in order to connect with his group of students, Jain prefers to keep himself updated and not just rely on the age-old knowledge of the text books. When asked about what is that one thing that he has learnt from his students, he quips, “It’s their ability to live with multiple risks in life. They aren’t afraid to experiment and believe in their potential. They are open to move out for better options with no feeling of insecurity. The mutual learning process bridges the student-teacher gap,” opines Jain.
Cheers to this new age guru-shishya relationship! Hoping this spirit never dies

Women Pride: Lady Shri Ram College

2009-02-02T04:00:00.001+05:30

Birds eye view of LSR: Here's no noise, no dust. Just trees, hedged pathways, redbrick structures and English-speaking kids, rumored to be some of the country's brightest. These girls are slecet few who get chance to study in one of India's best women college. Established in 1956 in New Delhi by the late Sir Shri Ram in memory of his wife, the college had its modest beginnings in a school building in Daryaganj, Central Delhi, with 243 students, 9 faculty, 4 support staff and 3 distinct courses of study. The aim of the institution was to provide access to higher education of quality to women. LSR is a testimony to the farsighted vision of its founder and his indefatigable enthusiasm to actualize his dream.

Beautiful Lawns at LSR: Today, the college is located in a beautiful 15 acre campus in South Delhi, has approximately 2000 students, over 150 faculty, administrative and support staff and 16 courses of study. Guided by an enlightened and supportive Board of Governors, drawn from the fields of industry, law, journalism, academics and the bureaucracy, under the inspiring Chairmanship of industrialist and philanthropist, Dr. Bharat Ram, the College has become a byword for academic and extra curricular achievement.

Why should boys have all the fun?,Dramsoc Actors of Lady Shriram College for Women:The vision of creating a centre of academic and extra curricular achievement for women, of providing a context that emancipates the intellect and the spirit, of zealously guarding a space that develops critical thinking and rescues the imagination, has been actualized. The journey well begun, has infinite potential to evolve further setting newer standards of excellence.

COLLEGE SPORTS UNION (2008-09):When it comes to food, there are few who would not have heard of the LSR Café. Along with being ranked as one of the top colleges of Delhi University, LSR girls have an added advantage in the form of their quaint café.

LSR Cafe - popular hangout!: Tucked away in a separate corner, it has a unique charm of its own, with stained glass windows and stone and marble interiors. It captures the heart even before one reaches the menu billboard. However, one must keep in mind never to refer to the LSR ‘Café’ as a ‘Canteen’, particularly before an LSRite.

This cozy café has a little something for everyone. One of the few canteens…I mean, Café’s around to serve a tempting Seekh-kebab Roll and Chicken Kathi Roll for a reasonable Rs 25 and 30 respectively. There are equally tempting items for the vegetarian palate.

One plate Masala Dosa costs around Rs15 and an equally delicious plate of Cheese macaroni (Rs 22), are a must try. Have a sweet tooth? The scrumptious Apple Pie (Rs15) and Chocolate Tart (Rs14) will definitely take care of that. It does not stop here. One can even expect to find a change in the menu with a change of season! Soups, both chicken (Rs18) and vegetarian (Rs15) and doughnuts are specially served during winter months! With the hot sun sapping ones energy out, the Lime Soda (Rs10) is truly a refreshing drink. For a change, there are other options available as well. Right outside the college gates stands a culinary adventurewala, so famous among the students that they claim not to enjoy it from any other place! A mouth-watering plate of sevpuri is available for a reasonable Rs15. For those addicted to culinary adventure can catch the Momo wala in the same area.

Length of Sweet

2009-02-01T12:33:00.000+05:30

In the busy commercial center of Old Delhi, a worker outside a shop twists a length of syrup that will be used to make sweets

Capital's Book Romance

2009-02-01T01:30:00.005+05:30

Delhi is not only city of Nijams, nomads, politicians (read as dull), moneyed (read as money but no time), labors but also of book lovers. The intellectual class of society has lot in this city when it comes to books.

Books & Music, Pavement stall, Paharganj: With India's paramount educational institutes & nucleus of coaching centers, city has lot to offer for everyone. The capital's love for books is apparent in a variety of pavement book shops and weekly bazaars, which are crammed full by people looking for some 'new' book to romance with.

Fact and Fiction, Basant Lok: For book worms (read as Avinash), there is Sunday market at Daryaganj, PVR Priya and PVR Saket offering used books at pocket friendly cost, one can sale of their old/read books and magazine and buy more at these stores thus making reading much more pocket friendly. There are good probabilities that books which you couldn't come across at best of book shops, you may discover them in these pavement stalls at pocket friendly price.

Sunday Market, Daryaganj: From novels to engineering books & from magazines to management you name one, you find many. Bargaining here is key factor, one must know the art of bargain and thus shop with a lady with him so that the art of bargain is executed to perfection. Anyone who says they have only one life to live must not know how to read a book.

Maktaba Jamia, Urdu Bazar: During our engineering entrance preparation days, I along with Avinash, Rohit and lots of comrade used to hunt for books and study resources at these marketplaces as its very pocket affable and also during college days at IIT Roorkee me with Avinash, Rohit & others used to come Delhi at times on holiday and ramble out and look for books at Sunday Daryaganj market & PVR Priya (obviously glancing at girls also). It was by this time when we got inclined towards novel and Avinash's romance with Sheldon started.

Full Circle, Khan Market: These are not books, lumps of lifeless paper, but minds alive on the shelves. From each of them goes out its own voice... and just as the touch of a button on our set will fill the room with music, so by taking down one of these volumes and opening it, one can call into range the voice of a man far distant in time and space, and hear him speaking to us, mind to mind, heart to heart.

Jackson's, Paharganj: The collection is maddening. From Julia Child's recipes to Mozart's letters, from Princess Diana's extra-marital flings to Monika Lewinski's scandal. A lucky day could get you the first edition of a William Styron or a Salman Rushdie. Hindi is not ignored. I got my copy of Arundhati Roy's Mamooli Cheezon ka Devta (aka The God of Small Things) from here.Bargain-basement prices are another incentive. Alexander Solzhenitsyn's The Gulag Archipelago is available in paperback in 'first-hand' bookshops for Rs 700. Here, the handsomer, seemingly untouched hardbound copy of the same book cost Rs 100, after bargaining, of course. That copy is in my library now!. I often derive a peculiar satisfaction in conversing with the ancient and modern dead, - who yet live and speak excellently in their works. My neighbors think me often alone, - and yet at such times I am in company with more than five hundred mutes - each of whom, at my pleasure, communicates his ideas to me by dumb signs - quite as intelligently as any person living can do by uttering of words.

Capital Wastage: VIP Security

2009-01-31T06:00:00.006+05:30

With mounted escorted, a limousine carrying the President of India, New Delhi, India.
Around 15,000 Delhi Police personnel out of its strength of 60,000 guard the VIPs, who include ministers, politicians, bureaucrats, judges, religious leaders, lawyers and a few journalists.There is an estimate that approximately Rs.6 billion of taxpayers' money is spent annually on the salary of the security staff involved in such duties.

Fleet of VIP ambassadors throng to 10 Janpath, after another day ends at New Delhi, India.
The SPG has seen its 2008-09 budget go up from Rs.1.17 billion to Rs.1.80 billion, while the NSG had its budget marginally reduced from Rs.1.59 billion to Rs.1.58 billion. After P. Chidambaram was appointed home minister, security cover to at least 50 VIPs has reportedly been scaled down as the intelligence agencies made fresh assessments of security threats to ministers and other politicians.

Delhi Random Pics

2009-01-30T06:21:00.004+05:30

Any Buyers?

Swaping the role (above & below)

Hit the middle stump (s)

No milk for kids, its beer now ...CHEERS!!

Human rights activists, take note of this.

Dil, dosti...Etc

During Surgery

2009-01-30T05:30:00.003+05:30

Things You Don't Want to Hear from Doctor During Surgery: -

Oops! Has anyone seen my watch?
That was some party last night. I can't remember when I've been that drunk.
Damn! Page 47 of the manual is missing!Well this book doesn't say that...
This is truly a freak of nature.Better save that. We'll need it for the autopsy.
Come back with that! Bad Dog!
Wait a minute, if this is his spleen, then what's that?
Hey, has anyone ever survived 500ml of this stuff before?
Damn, there go the lights again...
Ya know, there's big money in kidneys.
Hell, the guy's got two of 'em.
Everybody stand back! I lost my contact lens!
Could you stop that thing from beating; it's throwing my concentration off.
I wish I hadn't forgotten my glasses.
Well folks, this will be an experiment for all of us.

Delhi Belly: 'Paranthe wali Gali'

2009-01-29T08:20:00.003+05:30

In the heart of old Delhi's commercial hub, Chandini Chowk, lays a historical landmark since the time of the Mughals - the "Paranthe wali Gali." A very famous street, "Paranthe wali Gali" (‘gali' means street that sells ‘paranthas' - an Indian food delicacy, sort of chapatti) has seen almost three passed centuries. It houses descendants of the royal chefs of yore who make Paranthas that taste heavenly. So much so, that the Parantha is perhaps the only food in the world to have an entire street named after it!

The first impression of the gali is that of a bustling narrow by lane, crowds walking, bikes, cyclists' driving past, people browsing through the sari and jewellery shops! But as one strolls deeper into the street there begins an irresistible tingling sensation in the nostrils.

And one looks around sniffing the air for more of it and then you know for sure that you're in the right place. Sizzling hot paranthas are being fried here! Each day the dexterous hands of these chefs toss out the most amazing concoctions of a parantha.
Plain paranthas, salted or sweet paranthas, dal (pulses) ka parantha, gobhi ka parantha minced cauliflower), radish parantha, pudina parantha (mint), popadom parantha, cashew nut parantha - the variety is endless. You name it and they have it! All one is required to do is to knead some dough into small balls, roll it on a wooden base, addfillings ranging from cottage cheese, potatoes sprinkled with chopped ginger, and exotic Indian spices, fry it in ghee or butter and viola, it's the perfect recipe for a lip-smacking parantha.

At the moment there are about 40 varieties of paranthas and these chefs plan to add another 50 varieties in the coming years. The Paranthe wali gali caters only for the pure vegetarian - even no onion and no garlic!

What's different about the paranthas of Chandini Chowk is that they are fried in a kadhai, which is a griddle of sorts but very deep almost like an iron bowl. So the paranthas are doused in ghee or butter. The more oil used for frying the parantha the tastier it gets. It definitely is a satiating experience.

Earlier in the 1980s the gali had thirteen eateries cooking these sumptuous paranthas. But as more and more families are diversifying into other business ventures, only three families of Chandini Chowk are left in the field of parantha-making. It is their sixth generation that has taken on the endeavor to preserve the gali's name and offer the flavor of the past to the present.

City Satellite : Dancing Queen of Gurgaon

2009-01-29T06:06:00.000+05:30

Biological sciences is where she shows her academic prowess. But when it comes to living life, she lives Bharatnatyam. Meet Neeta Bala, a resident of Gurgaon’s Sector 30, she recently rendered a Bharatanatyam recital at the Shri Siddhi Ganesh Mandir in DLF Phase IV. In town now to visit her family, Neeta is not new to the art. She has been learning this art since 1995. "Ever since I got into dancing there has been no looking back. I have always tried to strike a balance between dance and whatever I am doing," she says.

Bala She has given several solo performances and has been a part of various group performances by Nrityaranjani in India and abroad. She has also accompanied her Guru for lecture demonstrations. Neeta is also an empanelled artiste of Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR). An alumnus of Modern School, Barakhamba Road, New Delhi, Neeta also played an active role in the dance department of her school. She was awarded the Rudra award for the best all round student in her school. Neeta is presently in the final year of BSc in biological sciences at St Johns University, USA.

Having begun early in the pursuance of her passion, Neeta has been following her sister’s footsteps. "I am a big fan of my elder sister and I have always followed her example. Among other things I picked p dance as she was into dancing when she was a child. At that point I did not realise the value of dancing. The first time that I knew I wanted to be a serious dancer was when I won a classical dancing competition at my school when I was in standard 5. The next turning point in my dancing career was my debut show or my arengetram. It was then that I decided this was to be my life. Despite being a science student, I danced avidly. Being away from India and thus away from regular training, I practice on my own and make it a point to perform every time I am in town."A disciple of a guru Kanaka Srinivasan, Bala feels that Srinivasan has been a wonderful, flawless mentor. "She makes sure that I stay connected to Bharatnatyam and tirelessly works with me in order for me to improve and learn more," shares Bala, "I know that wherever I am and whatever I am doing, I will surely also be dancing."Bala is also a great admirer of the city and strongly feels that Gurgaon is home to great intellect, great culture and budding leaders. Especially with people from different backgrounds and cultures coming together at one place, makes Gurgaon a very rich place indeed. She asserts, "Gurgaon is always buzzing with activity. The new highway is a real blessing and the view of Gurgaon while driving into the city is fabulous. I strongly believe that the city is on its way to becoming better with the Metro."Ask her about the lack of cultural scene in Gurgaon and the absence of such centres that would promote these activities, she strongly denies it. "Gurgaon is blessed with some great institutes and the children are making most of these opportunities," she offers.

City Fashion: Winter 'Hot' Wear

2009-01-28T14:13:00.002+05:30

Jackets, gloves and scarves are all what we associate with the winters. But miniskirts? Well, fashion freaks actually say it’s arctic cool...
Skirts are for summers and Uggs for winters and they mix like oil and water - is it what you believe in? Do you take it for granted that being a Delhiite your winter wardrobe can include everything from fuzzy sweaters to bulky jackets, but definitely not minis, whatsoever? Then it’s time to look around and whip your wardrobe into shape. With mercury keeping low, Delhi is getting ’hotter’ in fashion than never before. Thought this is the effect of roasted beans available in coffee shops cordoning the city?

Phew…it’s all because of Delhi damsels dressed to kill in mini skirts, long boots and leather jackets. The icy weather has in fact fuelled their flaunt-it fashion. It is not only to make a few heads turn at them whenever they walk in but more to feel sexy whatever be the season.

"A mini in winter is more than a style statement - it’s a declaration of youth and independence," says Payal, a central Delhi based airhostess. Tweeds and checks are the top choices in fabric and the skirt length averages about 40 centimeters.
At a leading store, in the South Extension II market, the assortment of skirts sold to young women (between the late teens and early twenties) this fall season turned out to be mostly minis. "In addition to tweed and checked skirts that give a traditional British feel, also popular are pleated skirts and skirts that come with belts and other accessories," says Lehar Grover, a designer, adding that since September, miniskirt sales throughout the stores have indeed grown compared to the previous years.
"Length of the skirts vary from long to midis to minis (with length 45 cm or shorter), and popular fabrics include denim, wool, and tweed," says Poonam Bajaj, designer.

If you are still wandering how these haute babes are managing their minis without getting frozen into ice cubes then we have one word for you: leggings! To complete your overall look, pull on the fall’s hottest boots and some super comfy jackets. As your stylish mercury hits the peak, you’ll step out in the cold with confidence! "Hand crafted Italian boots, leather boots and boots made from python skin in blacks, browns are indeed gorgeous," says Deepika Govind, designer based at Khan Market.

Whatever be your style, the rule of thumb is to be comfortable and happy in your style. "Remember you are wearing the skirt and the skirt is not wearing you," came a chorus from the fashion pundits unanimously.

Capital Trend: Tea Lounges

2009-01-28T09:46:00.000+05:30

The Tea Lounge, Lajpat Nagar: If you are meeting up with old friends partying late into the night is inevitable. Before the gang returned to their respective permanent addas in Maharashtra, we did some partying here in Delhi. A lot was cooked but only a little was photographed. I was too rushed at times, and the fact that my ‘food photography’ was the source of some amusement to the lot was not lost on me. All in good humor, of course.

Masala Chai, Kidwai Nagar: It may seem to some, who don’t live to eat, that tender ginger, giant cucumbers, and cups of tea, are not the best subjects for photography. Obviously they have forgotten all the art appreciation classes we had as undergraduates students of architecture. Food and drink are very suitable still-life subjects.

Cha Bar, Oxford Book Store: (Cha Bar, Oxford Bookstore, Statesman House, 148 Barakhamba Road, 011-23766084). Most Delhi wallas are tea lovers but only within home. Outside, they talk like coffee connoisseurs. That may be changing. No longer is this humble drink confined to grimy dhabas and JNU addas, or locked behind the counters of 5-star hotel lounges. Chai is becoming cool. Tea bars are the new hotspots. The brewed beverage has started infusing into the milky layer of the Delhi social scene.

App ki Pasand, Daryaganj: Most Delhi wallas are tea lovers but only within home. Outside, they talk like coffee connoisseurs. That may be changing. No longer is this humble drink confined to grimy dhabas and JNU addas, or locked behind the counters of 5-star hotel lounges. Chai is becoming cool. Tea bars are the new hotspots. The brewed beverage has started infusing into the milky layer of the Delhi social scene.

Everest Tea (Everest Bakery Café, G. No. 4591, Dal Mandi, Main Bazar, Paharganj) I sit down on the cane sofa, beside a samovar. Staring wide-eyed at the giant tea caddies, as a Japanese-speaking attendant serves Jasmine in a moderately large glass bowl. He insisted on iced tea but I wanted it warm. Though the chai's heady fragrance is soothing, its faint fruity sweetness playful, I continue to feel lethargic. It is eventually the zesty Neelgiri that lifts me from my afternoon languor.

Crafts House (Craft House, Metropolitan Hotel Nikko, Banglasahib Road (011-42500200)While the Craft House at the nearby Metropolitan Hotel oozes the same character as that of Premier's, here it's not only about the tea. The bar-counter with its cookie tray, and the wooden shelves with their Orange Pekoe and Organic Makabari share the showroom space with spices and silk, perfumes and pashmina. It helps that the place employs two knowledgeable attendants. Try visiting during noon when their work-shift timing clash. As the lady from Imphal prepares the chai, the other explains the art of tea-tasting.

Top 10 Health Benefits of Drinking Tea
There are lots of reasons why I enjoy a hot cup of tea: I love the aroma of various flavors of tea; holding onto a hot tea mug warms my hands on a cold winter morning; sipping tea in front of the fireplace is a great way to relax. And those are just the feel-good reasons. If you're not drinking tea yet, read up on these 10 ways tea does your body good and then see if you're ready to change your Starbucks order!

1. Tea contains antioxidants. Like the Rust-Oleum paint that keeps your outdoor furniture from rusting, tea's antioxidants protect your body from the ravages of aging and the effects of pollution.

2. Tea has less caffeine than coffee. Coffee usually has two to three times the caffeine of tea (unless you're a fan of Morning Thunder, which combines caffeine with mate, an herb that acts like caffeine in our body). An eight-ounce cup of coffee contains around 135 mg caffeine; tea contains only 30 to 40 mg per cup. If drinking coffee gives you the jitters, causes indigestion or headaches or interferes with sleep -- switch to tea.

3. Tea may reduce your risk of heart attack and stroke. Unwanted blood clots formed from cholesterol and blood platelets cause heart attack and stroke. Drinking tea may help keep your arteries smooth and clog-free, the same way a drain keeps your bathroom pipes clear. A 5.6-year study from the Netherlands found a 70 percent lower risk of fatal heart attack in people who drank at least two to three cups of black tea daily compared to non-tea drinkers.

4. Tea protects your bones. It's not just the milk added to tea that builds strong bones. One study that compared tea drinkers with non-drinkers, found that people who drank tea for 10 or more years had the strongest bones, even after adjusting for age, body weight, exercise, smoking and other risk factors. The authors suggest that this may be the work of tea's many beneficial phytochemicals.

5. Tea gives you a sweet smile. One look at the grimy grin of Austin Powers and you may not think drinking tea is good for your teeth, but think again. It's the sugar added to it that's likely to blame for England's bad dental record. Tea itself actually contains fluoride and tannins that may keep plaque at bay. So add unsweetened tea drinking to your daily dental routine of brushing and flossing for healthier teeth and gums.

6. Tea bolsters your immune defenses. Drinking tea may help your body's immune system fight off infection. When 21 volunteers drank either five cups of tea or coffee each day for four weeks, researchers saw higher immune system activity in the blood of the tea drinkers.

7. Tea protects against cancer. Thank the polyphenols, the antioxidants found in tea, once again for their cancer-fighting effects. While the overall research is inconclusive, there are enough studies that show the potential protective effects of drinking tea to make adding tea to your list of daily beverages.

8. Tea helps keep you hydrated. Caffeinated beverages, including tea, used to be on the list of beverages that didn't contribute to our daily fluid needs. Since caffeine is a diuretic and makes us pee more, the thought was that caffeinated beverages couldn't contribute to our overall fluid requirement. However, recent research has shown that the caffeine really doesn't matter -- tea and other caffeinated beverages definitely contribute to our fluid needs. The only time the caffeine becomes a problem as far as fluid is concerned is when you drink more than five or six cups of a caffeinated beverage at one time.

9. Tea is calorie-free. Tea doesn't have any calories, unless you add sweetener or milk. Consuming even 250 fewer calories per day can result in losing one pound per week. If you're looking for a satisfying, calorie-free beverage, tea is a top choice.

10. Tea increases your metabolism. Lots of people complain about a slow metabolic rate and their inability to lose weight. Green tea has been shown to actually increase metabolic rate so that you can burn 70 to 80 additional calories by drinking just five cups of green tea per day. Over a year's time you could lose eight pounds just by drinking green tea. Of course, taking a 15-minute walk every day will also burn calories.

"फर्ज निभाने को"

2009-01-28T08:44:00.005+05:30

तन्हाइयों ने फ़िर
बीज तेरी यादो के रोपे
मन के बंजर खलिहानों मे
घावो की पनीरी अंकुरित हुई
बीते लम्हों की फसल उगाने को
तिल तिल जल के राख़ हुए
अरमान उर्वरक बन बिखर गये
दिल दरिया अश्रु बह निकले
सींच उन्हें अपना "फर्ज निभाने को

City Nightmare: Eve Teasing

2009-01-27T10:22:00.000+05:30

It can be office & anywhere else: There is a motley group of people at a bus stop. Two boys on a motorbike pull up and start needling a couple of girls. Sleazy remarks are passed and one of the boys even grabs a girl’s hands. The enraged girls start fighting back, a few bystanders get involved and the boys are taken to task. The situation slowly cools down, the boys are let off the hook with a few threats and the girls board their bus, vindicated.

The dressing has lot to do with eve-teasing : With intrusion of western culture, the dessing of delhi woman has changed drastically in last decade or so, it might not be the sole reason but yes it does attrcts eve teasers. This scene could be an everyday occurrence in Delhi. Except for one detail—the harassers, the harassed and a couple of the bystanders are actors who have just enacted a skit that their ‘audience’ is unaware of, as a part of something known as ‘Invisible Theatre’.In invisible theatre, a previously rehearsed skit addressing a social theme is performed in a public space without the people’s knowing that it is a play.

Defend youself: Girls are motivated to learn at leats basic defensing tactics, and knowing few martial arts kicks and punches can help them. Often, the actors will not just consist of the oppressors and the oppressed, but also those pretending to be passers-by who voice strong opinions, as a means of encouraging the ‘real’ passers-by to do the same. The concept is part of the Theatre of the Oppressed, developed by Brazilian director Augusto Boal in the 1970s. “This was during the time of the military junta, when there was heavy censorship.

Kick them down: In Delhi, invisible theatre is being used as a means to provoke discussion. Like the series of skits done in March 2007 by Jamghat, a Delhibased NGO that rehabilitates street children. The group has done 40 performances in buses on the theme of sexual harassment.

Beware of strangers: “The idea is that the impact will be more. If people see something unfolding in front of them they will react and take action,” says Amit Sinha, director of Jamghat. Iyer clarifies: “Invisible theatre is not about making someone a ‘bakra’, it’s not condescending. It’s about responsibility, humility and learning.”For most actors, this is a new genre and there are some things to keep in mind. “The group needs to come together and understand why they are doing this. They have to trust each other and know when to stop,” says Iyer. “The actors have to follow certain guidelines. They have to know how to involve people and control the situation, making sure it doesn’t get violent,” adds Sinha.The theme and response depends on the location. In rural areas, Iyer has had teams cover issues of panchayat voting and women’s reservation. In Delhi, the issues have been smoking and harassment.“People were far more responsive in outer Delhi compared to those in the city. Apathy is an urban phenomenon. It’s different in rural areas, there’s more involvement,” she says. But it’s not easy to get a reaction. Sinha talks with frustration of the indifference his team encountered on the buses. “People in Delhi are not bothered. Sometimes, other women in the bus even told our girls to not make a big deal,” he says. Iyer is more charitable: “A few of the boys who were part of the bus performances understood by the end of the project how harassment affects girls.That was the high point. There is so much possible. The ultimate aim is to get people to change.”

Offenses against Women in India
Acid Attacks on women
Molestation in empty train compartments
Outraging of Modesty in Offices
Sexual Harassment
Eve Teasing in Buses, etc
Sexual Assaults in Discotheques, Pubs, Public places
Humiliation of Women
Jayabala Asher was pushed out of the running train by Drug addicts in Mumbai.
Stalking & Following
Alcoholic Offenses

Republic Day India

2009-01-26T17:27:00.001+05:30

India's Honourable President Pratibha Devi Singh Patil with armed forces before guard of honour, New Delhi, India

A Rajasthan Tabloid at Republic Day Function, New Delhi, India. Although India obtained its independence on August 15, 1947, the Constitution of India came into effect only on January 26, 1950. During the transition period from 1947 to 1950, King George VI was the head of country. C. Rajagopalachari served as the Governor-General of India during this period. Following January 26, 1950, Rajendra Prasad was elected as the president of India.

Marking the 60th Republic Day: To mark the importance of this occasion, every year a grand parade is held in the capital, New Delhi, from the Raisina Hill near the Rashtrapati Bhavan (President's Palace), along the Rajpath, past India Gate and on to the historic Red Fort. The different regiments of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force march past in all their finery and official decorations.

The President of India who is the Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Armed Forces, takes the salute. Parades demonstrating the cultures of the various states and regions of India are also held and broadcast nationwide on television. The parade also includes vibrant displays and floats and traditionally ends with a flypast by Indian Air Force jets.

The power called India: Celebrations are also held in state capitals, where the governor of the state unfurls the national flag. If the Governor of the state is unwell, or is unavailable for some reason, the Chief Minister of the state assumes the honor of unfurling the National Flag of India.

Making India Proud: The Republic day of India commenced from 26 January, 1950 signifies the transition of India from a British dominion to a Republic and in the present days is considered as a national holiday. The day also signifies the adoption of the Constitution of India. It is regarded in the present days as one of the three national holidays in India.

Disciplined :It is also the day when the entire country realized the dream of Mahatma Gandhi and the numerous freedom fighters who, fought for and sacrificed their lives for the Independence of their country. To mark the importance of the occasion the Republic Day is celebrated with a lot of enthusiasm all over the country and especially in the capital New Delhi, where the celebrations are initiated with the Presidential to the nation.

The National Flag at India Gate: But this is also followed by the solemn reminder of the role and sacrifice of the martyrs who died for the sake of the country in the freedom movement and also in the succeeding wars for the defense of sovereignty of their country.

Make no mistake about it: In addition, a grand parade is held in all the state capitals along with the capital to commemorate the incident. The different regiments of the Army, the Navy and the Air force participate in the march past in all their finery and official decorations at best. There are also displays representing the different states of the country. The poignant exhibits are found becoming emblem of the activities of the people of the very state along with the efficient presentation of music and songs. It is found that each display brings out with it the multiplicity and richness of the culture of India and the whole show lends a festive air to the occasion. At the same time the patriotic fervor of the people on this day is specially felt and brings the whole country together even in her indispensable miscellany. From the Kashmir in the north to Tamil Nadu in the south, Maharashtra to Manipur, each and every part of the country is represented in occasion. It makes the people proud of their country and also reminds them of the conviction of the slained martyrs in the battlefields of the freedom struggle and wars.

City's working woman: SILENT REVOLUTION

2009-01-26T06:51:00.003+05:30

Tuff but Independent life:They don't look glamorous. They don't have the best paying jobs. Their employers are not listed in stock exchanges. There is nothing enviable about them. They are the working women of Delhi.

Together we can : A silent revolution is in process in this conservative capital of a conservative country. The women have started coming out from their homes. They commute in tightly packed buses, with shoulders touching the arms of men who are not their relatives. At work they spend a major part of the day with men who have never met their husbands or fathers. With these men, strangers to their families, they distribute their workload, crack jokes, and share midday meals.

Law & order: The women of Delhi have started coming into their own. They earn their own salaries and operate their own bank accounts. They do not have to ask for shopping money from their husbands. If something tragic happens--the death of a husband or a father, for instance--they don't have to look to others for support. They now stand on their own feet.

Come what may: But concerns remain. Although in urban India, a growing number of households have started discovering the advantages of working women and appreciate the consequent increase in monthly income, life for them is tough. The husbands do not yet share work in the household management, a domain still considered a woman's job. These women essentially are obliged to do straight double shifts(!)

Whatever it takes: For their bosses at work though, these women are treated simply as employees, not as mothers, wives, and daughters-in-law. Once back home after an exhausting day, there is no time to rest. Dinner needs to be cooked, children to be assisted with homework, and husband to be given time.

No matter what:Making inroads into a sector long established by statistics as a men's bastion, Paromita and Nivedita are but two ends of a wide spectrum in the Indian IT arena. If one is at the entry level of an IT-enabled company, the other has already climbed a few steps in an international IT firm. To paint the full picture, take a look at these figures: In the Indian IT industry, women now account for close to 30 per cent of the total workforce and this is expected to go up to 45 per cent by 2010. What is noteworthy is the steady rise of the figures. The figure, according to the Registrar General of India, as in 1981 was 19.7 per cent, which rose to 22.7 per cent in 1991, further rising to 25.7 per cent in 2001.

City hangout : PVR Priya

2009-01-25T14:16:00.001+05:30

Lets go for movie: One of the most famous hang outs in South Delhi is PVR Priyas, which is usually full of young turks from near by colleges like IIT Delhi, Jesus & Mary , Lady Shri Ram college & also from diplomatic enclave in Chankyapuri. Its crowded on weekends, full of young guns and dating couples.

Unstable Isotopes :Apart from a cinema complex, here you can find all major global brands and second hand book store right at the entry point, its must visit for book lovers. Across India, the way we watch movies today has changed completely, thanks to Ajay Bijli who came up with India’s first multiplex at Saket in New Delhi in 1997. Today, his company PVR is not just a film exhibitor but also a producer and distributor under the PVR Pictures banner.

Why should boys have all the fun? There are some good eating joints like 'Khaaza chowk' , Mcc Donalds, Nirulas, Pizza hut and many other restra offering Indian, chinese, thai, mughlai and other diffrent cusines, making it a good visit for food lovers & also dating couples and college/school bunkers. Beautiful girl can make you dizzy here , like you been drinking jack and coke all morning, they can make you feel high, for the single greatest comodity known to man - promise. promise of a better day, promise of a greater hope, promise of a new tomorrow. this particular aura, can be found in the gait of a beautiful girl, in her smile, in her soul, and the way she makes every rotten little thing about life seem like its gonna be ok.

Show what you have: The youngster here can be seen flaunting the latest bollywood fashion, hair style and wandering with most on window shopping. Smokers have thier own place, at the rear end of the complex. It has a disco and a famous bar.

Beware of night: Crowded by richie-rich kids, the bar here is place to show off money, power and lot more.

Young & restless : Celebrate the happiness that friends are always giving, make every day a holiday and celebrate just living!

Active...Fast Delhi

2009-01-25T06:11:00.001+05:30

At India Gate, Leuyton's Delhi: What I like about cities is that everything is king size, the beauty and the ugliness.

What if i missed school bus?:If you start soon enough, you won't have to run to catch up.

No I dont wanna miss this bus, I am allready late: City life is millions of people being lonesome together.

The bus has allready left: As a remedy to life in society I would suggest the big city. Nowadays, it is the only desert within our means.

No one wanna loose: Losers live in the past. Winners learn from the past and enjoy working in the present toward the future.

Sleepy...Lazy Delhi

2009-01-24T05:59:00.001+05:30

A foreign national at Old Fort: Laugh and the world laughs with you, snore and you sleep alone.

A taxi driver takes a nap: Early to bed and early to rise probably indicates unskilled labor

Jumbo too: Jumbo has many excellent qualities, but once she goes to sleep, it takes a minor nuclear explosion to wake her up.

Insomania, now whats that?: Life is something that happens when you can't get to sleep, so sleep if something unexpected is expected

Death not to be proud of: How many of you have ever started dating because you were too lazy to commit suicide?

Lodi Garden : Mecca of Lovers

2009-01-23T05:52:00.000+05:30

The Mecca of all the lovers, without places to go and extra money to spend in Delhi, is the beautiful and serene Lodi Garden. Its original purpose was hardly that however. It was designed over two dynasties – the Sayyids and Lodis (15-16 th century) – to be a sort of everyone-take-one graveyard for their families.

During the British times the garden went under the moniker of Lady Willingdon Park, all that stopped with the Independence when they reverted back to being good old Lodi garden. In 1968, the gardens were spruced and relandscaped by JA Stein and Garrett Eckbo.

There are several tombs in this area. You can climb to the top of some of them. However the steps are very steep and dark so it's strictly not recommended. Apart from breaking your neck, you might end up being bitten by a snake or something ('nuff said!). There is no remedy for love but to love more - Henry David Thoreau
Lovers are careless. They are not bothered with the demands of the world. All the cares dissolve down into the substance of the lover. The entire universe gets secreted into the being of that person. Nothing seems important other than the lover. The hustle-bustle of the larger life ceases. All other significant relations - parents, siblings, friends, colleagues - are silenced; their existence reduced down to the melodious hum of the surrounding traffic that whirrs dreamily around the circumference of the garden. Everyone and everything is forgotten. Oh yes, lovers are careless people. A life without love is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead – Oscar Wilde

Lovers are boring. There is nothing new about them. They are occupied in doing exactly the things that millions of people have already done before them. These lovers have no eagerness to the surrounding world. Their eyes do not see beauty in the flowers. Their skins do not tremble under the cool shade of the thick trees. Their hands do not feel the fresh wetness of the evening grass. Their ears do not hear the chirping of the birds. Their sensibilities do not get invigorated by the sight of decaying monuments. Their nerves do not get nervous as the blue sky gradually shuts down to the darkness of the dusk. The lovers are immune to the worldly senses. They have no interest in anything that does not add up to their lover. Oh yes, lovers are boring people.

Romantic love is an illusion – Thomas Moore
Lovers are dreaming fools. Their world is false. The lovers are stupid to fall in love with people who do not belong to their caste. Sometimes, even their religions are different. Occasionally, their families speak different languages and cook different cuisines at home. The lovers forget, momentarily, that they have the aspirations of their parents and the legacies of their families to preserve. That their life is not just their life. In one person lie dreams of many people. The lovers overlook that the world does not consist of just the lovers. They carry on with their romance. They continue seeking dark corners in secret gardens to knit the dreams of a future in which they fancy to live the rest of their live together. Fools! Oh yes, lovers are dreamy, foolish people.

Fitness Mantra

2009-01-22T07:53:00.005+05:30

STRESSED OUT: They have businesses to run, deadlines to meet and power-packed meetings to attend. Four career women straddled the sometimes uneven balance between their hectic work and an equally busy home life that left them with little time for themselves. But the need to not just look but also feel good about themselves saw them carving out some me-time.
Each had their own special fitness mantra. Like 31-year-old Avisha Goswamy who hits the road in her running shoes every day or 34-year-old Neha Lidder Ganju who turns to Pilates.

Follow a portable diet when hard-pressed for time “Spending long hours at work and neglecting meals is a sign of trouble. I munch on fruits and drink a lot of juice at regular intervals when I am travelling. It’s important to keep the body fuelled at all times,” says Goswami.Pick an exercise that works for you

TIP: It’s very easy to have a rum and coke or smoke to ease the stress. But following a regular regime instead is beneficial.“I am used to being on my toes 24X7 and being hyperactive is second nature to me. An exercise that gives an instant adrenaline rush keeps me going, whereas forms like yoga, personally don’t work for me, as opposed to others,” adds Goswami, who believes that one shouldn’t forcefully take up a regime. Passion for wellness should be the key.

Following a regulated diet and regime became inherent,” adds Ganju, who does Pilates and strength-building exercises at a gym, four times a week for two hours. “I don’t depend on a trainer. I pick up moves from different forms of exercise and add it my routine to make things interesting,” she adds. She isn’t one to hit the treadmill only after putting on weight, “I think strength and stamina are built over the years,”

Know your stress points “Everyone has different stress points like the lower back and shoulders. Don’t strain them to the level that they give away,” says Ganju, who concentrates on exercises like stretches, shoulder rotations to release the pressure.

Go the Arnold way “My husband and I treat Arnold Schwarzenegger’s book on body building like the Bible. It explains everything one needs to know about fitness. I pick out exercises that I find suitable for my body type and create a regime for myself,” says Ganju, who doesn’t believe in following a trainer blindly. “It’s imperative to understand the importance and focus of each exercise, and change is good to kill the monotony,” she adds.

Dieting is emotionally starving “Constantly stopping yourself from eating or mentally debating the kilo and calorie ratio will leave you exhausted. Rather than punishing yourself, eat everything in moderation,” says Ganju.TIP: Can’t get yourself to eat green vegetables all the time? Just pick up a carton of juice instead. It’s healthy and refreshing during summer.With two businesses to run, clients to meet and battling Delhi's traffic, Bhavna Jasra’s day is tightly packed. But despite the demands of her work, she chalks out time, thrice a week, to stay in shape. “I’ve always been on the slim side, but after my pregnancy, I put on seven kilos. I thought I’d lose the weight, but I got comfortable with it,” says the mother of six-yearold Tia. But it was while flipping through old photographs that Jasra decided she wanted to get back in shape. This was also the time when her business was getting off the ground and pressures were high. Jasra started going to the gym, but the monotony saw her switching first to swimming and later, Pilates. When the business began to franchise out of Mumbai, her stress levels hit a high and she decided to try Tai Chi. “Its holistic approach to well-being helped put my mind and body in sync and did wonders for my concentration,” she says. And it’s helped her go beyond just getting the right muscle tone to feeling good. She shares her tips on staying fit.Tuck into a big breakfast “A healthy breakfast that’s high on the nutrition count keeps energy levels running high,” says Jasra, who keeps it interesting with an omelette made of egg white, sprouts, cereal or a whole grain sandwich.Don’t deny a hunger pang, just keep it healthy “A fruit goes a long way in tackling a hunger pang and is low on the calorie count,” says Jasra, who carries fruit to work. She also warns against exercising on an empty stomach, suggesting a glass of juice or milk.Don’t do anything you’re forced to but not comfortable with “A sure fire way to feel let-down is on a diet that has you craving for that square of chocolate,” she says. Jasra allows herself the occasional indulgence, but keeps a mental track of what she’s eating without being obsessive.TIP: Take breaks from work for a long weekend or to spend time with the family. It’s the best way to rejuvenate and will reflect on your productivity.Nandini Sawhny has always been conscious of her weight. “I’ve been on the heavy side all my life and it’s made me keep tabs on the weighing scale,” she says. After her pregnancy, it became more of a challenge, when she put on 12 kg and was bordering on being overweight. Choosing yoga to shed the wobbly bits, she avoided the usual gym routines that she felt were hard on the knees and back. “I lost five inches and it’s also helped my sinusitis, allowing me to go off medication completely,” says Sawhny, who does yoga five times a week, for an hour every morning.She is also particular about what is cooked at home, additionally so because her father-in-law is a heart patient and her elder son is a few kilos too heavy. “I am a foodie but while I don’t obsess over what I eat, I know I have to work at staying a certain size and it helps me stay disciplined,” she says.Focus on the internal as much as surface good looks “Being able to cut off from everyday pressures and clear my head is more valuable than losing inches,” says Sawhny, who does a combination of breathing exercises and cardio to stay on her toes. And there’s the additional psychological boost of being able to fit into clothes she couldn’t earlier.Eat healthy and you don’t need to crash diet Sawhny doesn’t frequent dieticians or deny herself the odd cookie or ice cream. “I’ve swapped white rice for brown, rotis are made of bajra or jowar and fried foods are a treat for the children when we go the movies, but not lying around at home,” says the mother of Advaye, 10, and Arush, 8.

MAN HEALTH TIPS

Yet it’s obviously important that men of all ages become more proactive about their health. And an easy way to start is to follow these 10 basic steps to maintaining health and vitality.

1. Eliminate "White Foods" from Your Diet. White flour, white sugar and other processed foods are not only devoid of vitamins and minerals, but they’ve also been stripped of their natural fibre. As a result, they rapidly drive up blood sugar levels, which contributes to weight gain, diabetes and a host of other health problems. Avoid breads and baked goods made with white flour, sugar-laden sodas and snack foods. Instead, focus on eating fibre-rich fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains.

2. Stay Away from Dangerous Trans Fats. While it’s important to reduce your overall fat intake, it’s even more important to watch the types of fat you eat. Deep-fried foods and anything made with hydrogenated oils (margarine, peanut butter, shortening, store-bought pastries and cookies) contain trans fats that raise your risk of heart disease. Eat only healthful fats, such as olive oil and the omega-3 oils found in salmon and other cold-water fish, which actually protect against heart disease.

3. Take a Potent Daily Multivitamin and Mineral Supplement. Although there is no substitute for a good diet, I am convinced that for optimal nutrition, you need to take a high-potency multivitamin and mineral supplement. Even if you are eating right, it’s unlikely that your food contains all the nutrients you need. Poor soil quality, storage, processing and cooking deplete our food of vitamins and minerals. Taking a high quality daily supplement is "health insurance" against possible deficiencies.

4. Include Weight Training in Your Exercise Routine. Aerobic exercise is great for cardiovascular conditioning, but it’s vastly inferior to weight training in attacking the "flab factor." Recent research has shown that as little as once-weekly resistance exercise can improve muscle strength. Even the busiest or laziest among us can find the time and energy for that. Join a gym, consult a personal trainer or ask an experienced friend to show you the ropes.

5. Maintain Your Optimal Weight. Current statistics suggest that half of us are losing the battle of the bulge, but maintaining a healthy weight is one of the best things you can do for yourself. You’ll look better, feel better and reduce your risk of heart disease, diabetes, hypertension and other major killers. I know this is easier said than done, but if you just follow the four steps above, you’ll be well on your way.

6. Drink Alcohol Only in Moderation. You’ve probably heard of the "French Paradox," and that drinking wine protects against heart disease. Repeated studies have shown that drinking moderate amounts of alcohol (all kinds) protects not only against heart disease, but also lowers risk of death from all causes. Remember that moderation is key. While one to two drinks a day are protective, excess alcohol consumption is devastating to health. And for some, one drink is too many.

7. Protect Your Prostate. Around the age of 40, the prostate gland begins a growth spurt that results in symptoms such as frequent nighttime urination. The good news is that this condition, known as benign prostatic hyperplasia, can be prevented or reversed by taking extracts of two herbs: saw palmetto (Serenoa repens) and pygeum (Pygeum africanum). Dozens of studies have shown that these herbs work in improving urinary flow without adverse side-effects. Suggested doses are 160 to 320 milligrams of saw palmetto and 40 to 80 mg of pygeum daily.

8. Reduce Your Risk of Prostate Cancer. Experts estimate that 80 per cent of all cancers can be prevented by making healthy lifestyle choices. Avoid saturated and trans fats, which may fuel prostate cancer growth, and incorporate protective foods, such as soy, green tea and tomatoes, into your diet. Soy contains isoflavones with specific anti-cancer activity. Green tea is rich in polyphenols that inhibit the formation of cancer-causing compounds and block the growth of prostate cancer cells. And tomatoes, particularly cooked tomato products, are an excellent source of lycopene, which is linked to a reduced risk of prostate cancer. In addition, make sure your daily nutritional supplement contains high doses of the antioxidant selenium (200 micrograms) and vitamin E (800 IU), which have been shown to dramatically lower the risk of prostate cancer.

9. Maintain Vigorous Sexual Function. Most cases of erectile dysfunction (impotence) have a physical cause: You’re just not getting enough blood to the area in question. To improve overall circulation, follow the diet, exercise and supplement recommendations above. If you’re taking drugs, review them with your doctor, as many can worsen erectile function and impair libido. Smoking also significantly impairs erectile function. Several herbs have been shown to improve sexual function. Ginkgo biloba increases blood flow to the penis, and Panax ginseng, oats, horny goat weed, maca and seroctin improve libido.

10. Maintain Close Relationships. Another thing women seem to do better than men is maintain close relationships. Make a point to strengthen ties with your family and friends. Volunteer work, religious ties, even pets–anything that keeps you involved with others–reduces stress and enhances health. Take charge of your health by incorporating these 10 steps into your life. The rewards of optimal health and well-being will be well worth your efforts.

FOR WOMAN

When you are eating well and exercising daily, one of the last things you want to do is feel as though you are depriving yourself of some of your favorite treats. So, be sure to treat yourself. You may wish to have a small indulgence each day if you wish or a slice of cake as a reward once a week as an example. A small piece of chocolate has about 50 calories. If you choose dark chocolate, it is rich in flavonoids (just like red wine) and they are actually good for you! Cadbury has a 100 calorie thin chocolate bar that is also great. If you choose a once a week treat, then adjust your calories accordingly throughout the day and you should be just fine. Even if you eat more in one sitting such as at a restaurant on Saturday night, this can actually work to your benefit.

When your body is kept guessing each day on the amount of calories you are consuming, it actually tends to burn more fat over the course of the week.I know organic produce, dairy and meat is generally more expensive and harder to find in many cases, however the sooner you start budgeting for this, the better. There are a lot of toxins in our food chain that are making us progressively sicker as a society.

Do a little research and you'll see that this is indeed true. In addition, the moment you try some of the produce for example, you'll start to notice a real difference in quality. Standards vary, so be sure to read labels and become a more educated consumer. The whole foods industry is growing and we will soon see decreases in pricing as demand for these wonderful products increases.Eat berries and more berries. Berries are rich in antioxidants, high in fiber and low in calories. Foods that are rich in antioxidants are highly recommended.

According to Wikipedia.com: "an antioxidant is a molecule capable of slowing or preventing the oxidation of other molecules. Oxidation is a chemical reaction that transfers electrons from a substance to an oxidizing agent. Oxidation reactions can produce free radicals, which start chain reactions that damage cells". Free radicals can lead to cancer.

Try putting those berries in your oatmeal, and not only are you helping ward off cancer but you are also lowering your blood cholesterol levels too!Meditate for the sake of your heart and circulatory system, as well as your overall sense of well-being. Meditation in its simplest form involves closing your eyes and focusing on your breath. When a distraction enters your mind, you simply re-focus on your breath. After a few sessions, you'll find that you are able to go longer and longer without interference. The benefits of meditation have been documented over the past 25 years in leading research studies.

In a nutshell, meditation can: reduce stress, increase energy, increase creativity and intelligence, increase inner calm, promote a younger biological age, improve memory and learning ability, reduce anxiety and depression, reduce insomnia, and increase happiness and self-esteem.

One More Award

2009-01-22T00:33:00.010+05:30

We (The team of Delhi with Avinash & Friends) received this award from Tripti Joshi at Life is a Quest it’s a very motivating blog of Tripti who has tremndous courage, determination and will power to take the world head on. This blog is about the life of a lady who survives the death of her beloved and despite of pain she moves forward in life with her one young son and a positive attitude. It’s really an honour to receive an award from her so thanks a lot to her.
Thanks Tripti mam , We are really honoured!!

The rules for the Friendship Award are simple:-
*Copy the badge and put it on your blog.
*Link back to the one who passed this tag to you.
*Spread this tag to at least 4 bloggers or more who you think you are friends with.
Now to pass on these awards...
Since these are the friendship awards, i would like to pass on to the blogs of my choice:
1. Priyanka Khot at Delhi Photo Diary
2. Lady Lincoln at Old Lady Lincoln

3. R.Ramesh at Global Madrasi

4. Deepak Barua at Time of my Life

I really like to read all of your blogs, so thanks to all of you for good writing.

keep it up!!

"बस यूँही ......"

2009-01-21T10:09:00.002+05:30

है बडा दिलनशी प्यार का सिलसिला ,

मेरे दिल को है तेरे दिल से मिला .
तुम मुझे बस यूँही प्यार करते रहो ,
बस यूँही , बस यूँही ,बस यूँही ......

दिन गुज़र जाने पर रात होती है यूँ ,
दिल से तेरे मेरी बात होती है यूँ ,
मुझसे तुम बस यूँही बात करते रहो

बस यूँही , बस यूँही ,बस यूँही ......

दिल में मेरे जला कर मोहब्बत के दीप ,
तुम ने उम्मीद को कर दिया है समीप ,
इनको बुझने ना देना जलाते रहो ,

बस यूँही , बस यूँही ,बस यूँही ......

मेरी दुनिया को था बस तेरा इंतज़ार ,
इसको महका दिया तुने जाने बहार ,
इस चमन में खड़े मुस्कुराते रहो ,

बस यूँही , बस यूँही ,बस यूँही

Random Alphabets 'S' for Style check

2009-01-21T06:30:00.004+05:30

Generation X:
Remember "Ye Hai Reshmi Zulfon Ka Andhera Na Ghabraiye Jahan Tak Mahak Hai Mere Kesuon Ki Chale Aiye" - Mumtaz using her dark hair to devastating effect. Or Biswajeet teasing Waheeda Rehman in Bees Saal Baad with "Dekhiye Woh Kaali Kaali Badliyan Zulf Ki Ghata Chura Na Le Kahin." Those were the times when beauty meant black hair or vice-versa. Not any more, the `Zulfon Ki Ghata' has literally been stolen.

Next is what? The only thing is, instead of badliyan, hair colour is the culprit. Gold, copper, iridium are no longer limited to the periodic table of chemistry class, youngsters are learning about them from the shade cards of hairdressers. It's destination India for all the cosmetics majors - L'Oreal, Schwarzkopf, Wella or Keune all are making their presence felt in the Indian hair care industry which stands at around Rs.1,500 crores. "It is a natural progression. India has become a global business brand," says Jawed Habib, the star hair stylist who has recently come up with a book, "Hair Care for All Seasons." Jawed says colouring is not something limited to the elite, it has percolated down to the masses. The Brylcream, V John generation is waning.
"With so much exposure to fashion, people are ready to experiment. And after trying out different hairstyles they move on to hair colour. I have clients who want a change every couple of months. Even kids know what exactly they want."

Who is beautiful of them all? A contestant at Fashion show in the Capital: Delhi is moving from Janpath to Jimmy Choo. No longer do we need to send for a Louis Vuitton bag and wait impatiently for the cousin from California to bring it on her next visit to India. Or jealously watch a Ludhiana aunt flaunting a Bottega Veneta bag from ‘abroad’.

Bring them on, another contestant at a fashion show in FICCI house, Delhi.

Delhi denizens have easy access to the biggest brands and their best lineup and they are making the most of it.Says Delhite Ruchita Sharma Bhardwaj, deputy director, head of luxury and lifestyle at FICCI, “Louis Vuitton and Chanel were here a year ago. But last October the advent of super luxury brands such as Gucci, Hermes, Jimmy Choo, Judith Leiber and Kenzo in Delhi have changed the scenario. Let’s say, around 60 per cent of the international brands have opened shop here. And the market potential is great.

I have and i will flaunt it: ”With the world becoming a global village and travelling becoming a favourite preoccupation of the well-heeled, everyone wants to look uber chic. “The Delhi male’s interest ranges from salons to shoes, the woman understands the value of spending on the crème-de-la-crème (even though they could do with a little more elegance and chic, and less bling),” says Bhardwaj.
The consumer, she says, has a more discerning eye. We are not satisfied with a cheap knock-off of a Judith Leiber clutch from Hong Kong. We would rather splurge on the original from the flagship outlet in Delhi.The message is clear. The next time you feel like laying your hands on that must-have Chanel mini skirt, there’s no need to ask your NRI cousin to ship you one. Go shopping in Delhi, it’s all available right here.

Delhi Random pics

2009-01-20T04:58:00.009+05:30

Balancing act

Yamuna as seen from a train

Samosa, one of favourite Delhi street food, getting ready.

This one does'nt require Driving License

Foreign Nationals at India Gate

Honest sales man !!

Well Protected: She also feels the chill!!

Brave Kids

2009-01-20T04:12:00.000+05:30

Bravery award group photo New Delhi. The national awards for bravery was started in 1957 by the Indian Council for Child Welfare. The award was to recognise and honour children who performed outstanding deeds of bravery and selfless sacrifice. The first award was given in 1957, when two children -- a boy and a girl -- were rewarded for their presence of mind and courage.Since then the ICCW has conferred awards on children below the age of 16, every year. Applications for the awards are received from various sources such as the central/state government departments, panchayats, zilla parishads, school authorities as well as state and Union territory councils for child welfare.

Random Alphabets: C for Cigar dinners

2009-01-19T13:05:00.000+05:30

There is a perception of success and that you have ‘arrived’ in life,” says young a Delhite. The cohiba company has organised polo events and four-course cigar dinners—a different cigar, wine and food dish for every course.

There is also a Cingari club being planned, which will gather cigar connoisseurs over dinners. “We also plan to open signature retail stores, Casa del Habanos, where you can sit and smoke and even have your own lockers.”While many of the newer converts are youngsters, Ameeta says the customers vary from city to city. Delhi sees a lot of businesspeople smoking, while younger professionals are taking to it in Mumbai and Bangalore.

Delhiites prefer established names such as Montecristo and Cohiba; limited edition cigars are also popular. “More people now prefer short, robust cigars like Churchill as they don’t have the time to smoke a cigar for two hours,” she adds. For the novice, one member has some advice: “Start with a small, mild cigar, buy it at a reputed place and don’t be embarrassed to ask questions. Don’t inhale and don’t light up with a gas lighter. Don’t stub out the cigar; let it die with dignity.” But it is also about creating and selling an image: picture a sophisticated evening with close friends at a plush farmhouse. “Cigars are aspirational; they speak of world travel, single malts and international food.

WARNING: SMOKING IS INJURIOUS TO HEALTH

Start the week with a SMILE :-)

2009-01-19T06:16:00.005+05:30

Some stupid qustions and their answers. Happy Reading :- )

When you see a friend/colleague with evidently shorter hair.
Stupid Question: Hey have you had a haircut?
Answer: No, its autumn and I'm shedding.

At a restaurant: When you ask the waiter...
Stupid Question: Is the "blah blah blah" dish good?
Answer: No, its terrible and made of adulterated cement.

In the bus: A fat girl wearing pointed high-heeled shoes steps on your feet...
Stupid Question: Sorry, did that hurt?
Answer: No, not at all, I'm on local anesthesia.

At a funeral: One of the teary-eyed people ask.
Stupid Question: Why, why him, of all people.
Answer: Why? Should it rather have been you?

When a friend announces her wedding, and you ask.
Stupid Question: Is the guy you're marrying good?
Answer: No, he's a miserable wife-beating, insensitive lout...it's just his money.

When you get woken up at midnight by a phone call.
Stupid Question: Sorry, were you sleeping?
Answer: No. I was playing cricket.

You are smoking a cigarette and a cute woman asks.
Stupid Question: Oh, so you smoke
Answer: No, it's a miracle ...it was a chalk and now it's in flames!!!