Arlington Road - A review

"Arlington Road" is one helluva movie and I would count it as one of the best thrillers that I have seen until now. The plot-line kept me absolutely hooked to my seat and just as I was thinking about its probable ending, the filmmaker pulled the rug right from under my feet with an incredible twist in the climax.

The story revolves around the character of Michael Faraday (played by Jeff Bridges) who happens to be a college professor of terrorism. He is still smarting from the loss of his wife, he had lost her a few years back to an accident, she used to be an FBI agent who got shot and died in a botched up raid. That unfortunate incident made Michael somewhat paranoid about terrorism and he believes that most terrorist attacks were the handiwork of a group of people and not of some isolated loners.
Well, one day while he was going back home, he sees an injured kid wandering in his colony street. Stopping his car as he runs across to the boy, he finds that his hands were badly wounded. So he races him to the hospital. There he meets the boy's parents and discovers that they were his neighbours across the street - Oliver and Cheryl Lang - who had newly moved in to the area. In no time do Michael and his new girlfriend Brooke grow friendly with the Langs. But one day while they had gone to the Lang's house for dinner, Michael comes across some blueprints that were lying around in the Lang's house, Oliver happens to be an architect. Looking at the blueprints, Michael gets a feeling that the Langs were hiding something and that things weren't what they seemed to be. Unable to calm his suspicious mind, he starts investigating about Lang's background. He suspects that his neighbour might be a terrorist. However his obsessive investigation into the neighbour's activities actually puts the lives of his dear ones in danger.

Though it's a terrific movie but sadly most people found it to be implausible (yes, there were certain moments in the movie when it did look implausible). But actually movie was ahead of its time, it had got released in 1999. Had it come sometime after 9/11, I am sure things would have been a bit different. But it's the strong performances by the actors which have pulled together this movie. Otherwise there were times when I felt like the story was drifting off its path. Jeff Bridges is brilliant throughout and so are Tim Robbins and Joan Cusack who play the characters of Oliver and Cheryl Lang respectively. Director Mark Pellington could have made the movie a bit crisper but never mind, the movie still looks good.

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Double Jeopardy - A review

Usually I watch family entertainers during the weekends while keeping the thrillers and action movies for the weekdays but this time around, I did the opposite. This Sunday I thought I would rather watch a good suspense thriller and so searched vigorously on the internet. But whatever suspense thriller of the recent times that I came across (that is, reading their synopsis), not one really exited me. It was then that I stumbled across "Double Jeopardy" starring Ashley Judd and Tommy Lee Jones and directed by Bruce Beresford. It is actually a revenge story of a wife played by Ashley judd. It's an old movie from 1999 and though it's not an out-of-the-world movie but it is surely good enough.

Judd playes the character of Libby Parsons who has got a happy family, with a loving husband (played by Bruce Greenwood) and a four year old son whom she dotes on. Then one day her husband and she set out into the lake on a sail boat that he had bought, to spend some romantic time together. After they made love, Ashley falls asleep as she had had some wine too. But upon waking up, she doesn't find her husband around, he was missing but there were blood marks on her night-gown, on the floor of the boat and a knife too. Later she is herself convicted for her husband's murder and is put in the jail, for she had picked up the knife with bare hands and so had left her finger-prints on them. She hands over her son to her sister and asks her to take care of him till she gets released. Unfortunately Judd's lawyer fails to get her released through bail and so she is forced to spend six years in the jail. Her sister does visit her once with Libby's son but after a few months, her friend as well as her son disappear and Libby gets restless on not finding any news about her son.

Then one day she succeeds in finding out the new address of her sister and just while taking to her son, she overhears her husband's voice in the background. Her husband Nick was actually having an affair with her young sister and he hadn't died, that was all part of a plan to earn the insurance money. Six years is a long time to spend in the jail but what keeps Libby going is her burning desire to find her son and also to take revenge from her ex-husband. In the jail, she had come across two other jail inmates whom she eventually becomes friends with, and one of them who used to be a lawyer at one point in time, tells her about a provision in the US law called "Double jeopardy". By Double Jeopardy, she meant since Libby had already been convicted for her husband's murder, she could now walk up to her very much alive husband and may kill him in broad daylight and yet she wouldn't be punished! Libby even succeeds in getting parole and sets out on her plan. However what stood on her way was her cynical parole officer played by Tommy Lee Jones. What then follows is a cat-and-mouse game.

As expected, both Ashley judd and Tommy Lee Jones put up strong performances and it was for them that the movie didn't seem that boring, even though it had nothing new to offer. It could have been a far better movie had it got some suspense. Sadly there is very little suspense in the movie and so one would be knowing about the outcome much before it was to happen.

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Wonderful Magical Stories with Colgate

#colgatemagicalstories
Story time with kids is a special time both for the parents as well as the children because not only do they bond with each other but also because stories help the children in knowing about the world while enjoying them. Parents can teach their kids about newer things around them by associating them with stories. When stories are interesting, the children are drawn into them, they listen to them with raft attention. Thus it helps in developing their listening as well as attentive skills. Plus they would be gaining knowledge. I have so many fond memories of my childhood when maa used to tell me stories every night before going to sleep. Those stories are still etched on my memory because she would make them so interesting that I would remain spellbound. She would also take that opportunity to teach me lessons from my text books, which originally I was not interested in. That is how she taught me about animals, about kings and queens, about Gods and demons, about famous personalities, about numbers, about colours, about important places and so many other things. 

But the biggest advantage of story telling is that it helps in developing a child's imaginative powers. As we all know, a child's imagination can be very vivid and if encouraged, there is no limit to where their imagination can go. As parents, it is our duty to nurture and foster imagination in our kids. Stories are one of the easiest ways of doing that.

My daughter loves listening to stories and every night me and my wife take turns to tell her a new story. However at times, my wife lets her to tell us a story. Though she is only six years old but she really comes up with some wonderfully thought stories that she would have formed using her imagination. So we always encourage her to imagine and tell us a story. Most parents remain concerned about developing the physical strength in their child but developing the mental strength is equally necessary. Doing that is not that easy as improving one's physical ability. However story telling sessions can really help in developing the mental strength and imagination of the kids. Being at a young age, her mind is blank and thus this is the best time to learn about beautiful things of the world and store in her mind. Thus story telling sessions will only sharpen her imagination and brain.

Almost all kids are fond of animal characters especially in pictorial forms in various colours. What if they were given something to play with, like paper cut-outs of pictures of animal characters and sea world creatures? That is exactly what we found in the packs of Colgate toothpaste. Colgate Toothpaste has come up with four different packs that have several pictures of seaworld animals, treasures, and pirates on the insides. When I gave the packs to my daughter, she was very happy and 

at once sat down to cut the pictures along the dotted lines. Thus she had several characters - many sea creatures, pirates, mermaid, sharks, whales, dolphins, tiger fish, octopus and so many others. Being a very imaginative and creative child, it didn't take much time for her to come up with an interesting story about how a young pirate comes to the deep sea in search of a treasure that his father lost in a sea storm years ago and how a mermaid and her friends help him in finding it out. 

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Book review - The Story of a Suicide

Suicides among teenagers and young adults continue to remain a serious issue. Every other day we come to hear or read about a teenager or a young adult committing suicide. The causes for suicides could be many - psychological, environmental or social factors. Youngsters remain stressed most of the time, they find it difficult to deal with their confusions, doubts, uncertainties about their career and future, and several other fears while growing up. But what is indeed very sad is that youngsters consider suicide as an easy solution to all their problems instead of fighting them out. They do not think about those who would be left behind - their families and close ones.

The novel "The Story of a Suicide" by Sriram Ayer is an attempt by the author to draw our attention to one of the most serious problems seen these days - the suicidal tendency among teenagers and young adults and resulting deaths that could have been prevented by proper guidance and assistance. It tells an engrossing story about four youngsters - Hari, Mani, Charu and Sam, studying in the same college in Chennai whose lives get intertwined in a mess of love, friendship, betrayal and revenge. They are like other normal youngsters of their age, however each one of them is shown carrying a baggage from their past. Hari, when he was still a small child, was continuously abused by his own uncle over the years and that left a very severe impact on his spirit and psyche. the worst part was that he couldn't share his misery with anyone. He did try to tell his mother about it but she ignored them all. Mani belonged to a poverty-wracked community, his mother worked in the brick kiln and was the prime bread-earner of the family as his father had left her for another woman. However he would often come back to them and harassed them for money. He would often see his mother being beaten up by his father but being so small, was helpless to help her. His father had even tried to kill him by drowning him in the well to force her wife to give him money. Charu though was a confident and free-spirited girl but she too was fighting with her own inner demons. Sam had recently broken up with his long-time girlfriend Priya and so he too was disturbed. But fate brings them all together when Sam and Hari take admission in the same college where Charu and Mani were studying. From the very first time that they meet, Sam gets smitten by Charu and eventually also falls in love with her when he feels like she too was reciprocating his feelings. But Charu being a free-spirited girl also wanted her own space while Sam was being a bit too clingy. So one day when Charu doesn't pick up his calls, Sam feels like she was ignoring him and thus ensues a misunderstanding and a fight. Sam is left heartbroken when Charu after the argument with Sam, in the heat of the moment, decides to write about it on her social media profile. 

Youngsters these days have this strange fascination for sharing even their intimate details on the social media. Are they seeking approval from the society by doing this? 

It creates a lot of ripples in the college and leaves Sam very disturbed. He decides to take revenge on her and being a tech geek, he succeeds in planting a trojan in Charu's cell phone by which he could take her photos too. He could also record videos from her cell phone.

On the other hand, Hari at once finds a connection with Mani and could share his past with Mani. Eventually they fall in love with each other as they both were gay. However one day Hari's trust on Mani gets broken when he forces himself on him, just the way his uncle used to do. Unfortunately the act gets recorded in the Charu's cell phone and gets uploaded on the internet by the trojan installed in Charu phone by Sam. The video gets viral and so Hari's family gets to know about it. 

Hari feels betrayed both by Mani whom he loved very much as well as his own family who refuses to accept his sexual leaning and so he decides to commit suicide by taking sleeping pills mixed with vodka. 

Youngsters often find it difficult to deal with depression resulting from failures, heart-breaks, fights in relationships and friendships, bullying, and low self esteem. However suicide can never be the solution to any problem. 

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The Island of Emotion - Mauritius

Last week we went to Mauritius one a vacation. My wife has been complaining since some time that we had not traveled to any new place since some time and she was true. It had been a while since we went on a vacation. I had myself felt a strong urge to go to some new destination on a holiday but owing to the work pressures at my office, we could never go. Adult life can be very stressful at times - we all have got some obligations to meet, be it related to our professional career or to our personal lives. However we must keep in mind that we can't let stress get the better of us. Working without a break isn't good for our health. When we get stressed out, we are more likely to falter in decision making and also in our performance. Chances are also high that we may even fall sick. Stress can affect a human body so much that even sleep and digestive system get affected. 

A person becomes depressed, irritable and remains in a bad mood most of the time. The best way to beat that is to take a break from the routine activities and go on a vacation. That is why, when I noticed that our irritability was affecting our relationship, I thought it better to go somewhere and spend some good time there with each other. 

It took us some time to choose Mauritius as the place for our vacation as my wife initially wanted to go to Singapore. But when I showed her the pictures of Mauritius, she at once changed her mind. Anyone would have, after all Mauritius is such an amazing island to visit. Be it to enjoy nature or to indulge in adventure sports or for the food options it offers, I am sure that one won't be disappointed by Mauritius. 

As always, I used Yatra's International Flights to look for the flight options to fly from Bengaluru to Mauritius. After carefully comparing their timings of departure and the costs, I settled for Emirates Airlines. It took us almost twenty five hours to reach Mauritius from Bengaluru with a stopover at Dubai but the flight journey was smooth and problem-free.

I had googled all about Mauritius before booking our tickets. The period from the month of May to December is considered the best time to visit Mauritius because it would have got a pleasant weather. So it would make a perfect time to enjoy the beautiful beaches, the islands and the wildlife there.

Mauritius is famous for the white sand beaches. Even if you do not go far from your hotel, you will still feel extremely happy to just walk along the beach and enjoy the mesmerizing view.

Chamarel
taken from: www.triphobo.com

Among the various places that we visited, our most favourite one was Chamarel. it is a small but beautiful village in Mauritius, Its uniqueness lies in that there you will find seven coloured layers of sand! Yes, purple, green, red, yellow, blue - we couldn't stop marvelling at all the lively colors. We also visited the Chamarel waterfalls.

Chamarel Waterfall
taken from: www.go4travelblog.com

We also went to Tamarin Bay to try the dolphin cruise. We were taken to the open sea just before sunrise where we could spot several dolphins. My wife enjoyed watching them play.

Tamarin Bay
taken from: www.abritandasoutherner.com

We indulged in scuba diving, quad biking and some other water sports as well. We also went on nature walk in the National Park where one can spot several rare birds.

Among other places, we also went to Grand Bassin or Ganga Talao. It is actually an extinct volcano crater which has now turned into a natural lake. It is believed that the water in Grand Bassin is actually water from the Ganga river in India. So it is considered auspicious to take a dip in this lake during Shivratri.

Grand Bassin
taken from: www.internship-maurice.com

On the third day, we visited Ile Aux Aigrettes, a secluded island where we saw some amazing species of fauna. We also saw the famous giant tortoise over there.

Ile-aux-Aigrettes
taken from: www.elite-voyage.com

Port Louis
taken from: www.elite-voyage.com

We spent two days in Port Louis, the capital city of Mauritius. My wife had a great time there as the place offers some really exciting shopping options.

The Mauritius trip really worked out well and when we returned back, both me and my wife felt so good, especially my wife. I had not seen her so happy in the last few months.

If one is looking to visit a holiday destination that could offer some breath-taking natural beauty, serene beaches, crystal clear water and plenty of options for water-based fun activities as well as for bird watching, then there can't be a better place than Mauritius.

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Catch up on Growth with Horlicks Growth+

Their child's health and growth is of utmost importance for all parents. Ever since a child is born, parents take all care and pains to feed their children with nutritious diet so that they grow up to be healthy. But in some cases, despite taking all measures, their child's growth remains slow as compared to other kids of her age. Naturally the parents will be worried. 

Several reasons can impact a child's growth - be it genetic problems (it has often been seen that children coming from families who were comparatively short in height, will also end up being short although there have been exceptions); or continuous illness (a chronic illness especially during childhood can severely hamper a child's growth because then she would be falling short on the essential nutrients). Hormonal problems too can adversely affect a child's growth and so parents should seek a doctor's help in such cases.

But the primary reason for slow growth in children remains malnutrition i.e. the lack of adequate nutrition that is essential during the age of three to nine years. This age period is considered to be a crucial growth phase in children because it has been noticed that children grow their best during these years. Therefore parents should make sure that their child is eating well and that his body is being provided with all the essential nutrients that are required by a child's body for an optimal growth.

But what if the child is not growing as fast as other children of her age? Although different children grow at different pace - some grow fast and some grow somewhat slower and so parents need not worry excessively about their child's growth unless her growth is drastically slower for her age. There have been many cases when some children fail to meet their nutritional requirements - may be due to wrong eating habits. Kids are usually very fussy about eating certain foods during their childhood years and parents have a hard time in making them to eat. 

Having understood this problem of slow growth in children as well as their causes, Horlicks thought of inventing a health product that children would find to their liking and at the same time, help them in growing up faster. Thus after extensive research by International health experts, they have successfully developed Horlicks Growth+ - an advanced health drink to help those children who are lagging behind others of their age in height and weight. Containing high quality whey proteins, vitamins and amino acids, Horlicks Growth+ will surely help children to grow fast and catch up on their lost growth. It has been clinically proven that this health supplement indeed increases a child's height and weight appreciably within six months without causing any side-effects like obesity etc.

Horlicks Growth+ has come as a boon for most parents who were anxious and worried about their child's slow growth and feared that they would end up becoming short and weak. Horlicks Growth+ provides a child with all the nutrition that she needs for an optimal growth and development - both physically as well as mentally. This health drink is available in two flavours - creamy Chocolate and smooth Vanilla flavours and can be enjoyed both hot and cold. One can buy it from any of the top pharmaceutical shops as well as from all the leading e-commerce websites.

Courtesy: www.twitter.com

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Redi-Go: The perfect Urban Crossover car

If a middle-class man living in a city wants to buy a car, which one would he prefer - an SUV or a compact car? Perhaps if not for the traffic blues and not so smooth condition of the Indian roads, one would imagine that he will go for an SUV for the sheer value of his money. An SUV promises reliability, strength, durability and comfort. Nothing compares to that feeling of driving a beast on the road. But sadly he is often forced to settle with a compact car for practical reasons. For one, a compact car is relatively easy to drive through a busy road congested with traffic. Secondly, they are often quite fuel-efficient as compared to the SUVs. Thirdly since they do not take that much road space, so parking won't be much of a problem (given the space constraints in a city). Fourthly and perhaps the most important factor going in its favour, the cost factor - the compact cars usually come easy on the pockets. Now what if a car manufacturer promises us a car that is as strong and manly as an SUV and yet is a compact car? The Japanese car manufacturer Nissan Datsun is going to launch in India, their new baby - Redi-GO. With the Redi-GO, one will be able to enjoy the features of a hatchback in a compact crossover car. Although it's a budget car but the manufacturer has not compromised with the quality. In fact it has been given quite a few high-end features those that one would normally find in a luxury car.

Based on Common Module Family (CMF-A) platform, the Redi-GO has got a 0.8L (800cc), three-cylinder engine and so also a five-speed manual transmission, that would result in great fuel efficiency. It is expected to give a mileage of at least 25km per litre, which is a considerable figure. Fuel efficiency is one of the major deciding factors for a potential car buyer in India.

The designers of Redi-GO have done a tremendous job with its styling. Redi-GO's innovative ultra-modern styling along with its elegant features i.e. the D-cut grille, the stylish headlamps as well as the first in class  LED DRLs (Daytime Running Light) make it a head-turner. These striking features will definitely appeal to the younger lot. Given its sleek and beautiful interiors as well as fairly roomy space to go with several best-in-class features, Datsun's Redi-GO certainly looks like a winner in the mini car segment and will surely be a cause for worry to its competitors.

The Datsun redi-Go has a ground clearance of 185mm and thus is significantly taller as compared to most other compact cars. That results in a high driving position in the Redi-GO and consequently the best in class visibility. So the driver of the car will have a smooth driving experience and will feel confident sitting behind the wheel.

Redi-GO certainly looks very promising, has got a lot of exciting features and so has already created a positive impression on me and my family. However like I had said earlier, before deciding to buy it, I would want to test whether it meets my practical requirements - whether it's easy to maneuver it through congested lanes or through traffic or not. I would love to take a test drive of it in Bangalore. The city of late has earned a bad name for the poor state of its roads; driving on them riddled with bumps and potholes is a nightmare. So I would want to see whether Redi-GO would be able to handle the rough roads of Bangalore. Not just on the rough terrains but also through the narrow lanes of my city. If it passes my test, I will surely buy this car for my family.

Fun. Freedom. Confidence. The ultimate Urban Cross - Datsun redi-GO - the capability of a crossover with the convenience of a hatchback.

(From - Datsun India)

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Wake up to a Gold morning

#Colgate360GoldMornings
Honestly, I was never a morning type of person during my growing up years. I would stay up late into the night studying and so would wake up late in the morning. The alarm clock would ring but I would often drift back to sleep for a little more time. Thankfully I had my mother to wake me up on days when I had morning classes. However I would feel very groggy. Also I would always be in a hurry. So my mornings were far from being "good mornings"!

The transformation of being a night owl to becoming an early riser came about when I entered my college life and started living in a PG, away from my family. So I was on my own, there was no one to wake me up if I was getting late for my class. That's when I cultivated waking up early as a habit and its benefits followed. I realised that I had been following a faulty routine all the while. As I started waking up early, I got enough time for doing exercises or to enjoy the peaceful, quiet time during dawn, or to enjoy my breakfast instead of hurrying through it.

Since then I have been following the same routine. So my mantra to turn good mornings into gold mornings is quite simple:
1. I go to bed early after having a light dinner so that I get a good eight hours of sleep and wake up feeling fresh in the morning.
2. I make sure that I am feeling relaxed and am not stressed about any work-related problems or otherwise, before hitting the bed at night, so that I sleep well.
3. Upon waking up, the first thing that I do is to drink a glass of lukewarm water. It helps in clearing the toxins from the body. So upon coming out of the washroom, I feel light and fresh.
4. The next most important step involves brushing my teeth and cleaning the tongue before having my breakfast. Not only does it minimises the odds of developing gum diseases like cavities or tooth decay but also makes me feel fresh. Both my toothpaste as well as my brush (Colgate 360 Charcoal Gold toothbrush) come from Colgate; me and my family have trusted Colgate products since the time we were small kids.

[caption id="attachment_492" align="alignnone" width="569"] Colgate 360 Charcoal Gold Toothbrush[/caption]

5. Then I go for a light jog in the nearby park followed by some stretching exercises, I feel energised. Upon returning home, I have a nutritious breakfast accompanied by a cup of green tea. Then I get myself readied up for my office. By then I would be feeling super active.

Thus my good mornings turn into gold mornings :)

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My Favourite city - Hyderabad aka Cyberabad

Yesterday I came to know about this contest organised by Tata Motors where one had to write about his favourite Indian city as per design, drive and connectivity of the place. Since the last four years, ever since I was transferred from Hyderabad, I have been living here Bangalore. Having lived in both the cities for a fair amount of time, it didn't take me much time to decide which city I loved more. Both cities are quite similar in many ways and would fare very well in my opinion if a survey was done about most liveable cities in India. Some people would have probably chosen Bangalore over Hyderabad for its climate, because the two cities are otherwise similar in various aspects. But for me, Hyderabad fares a bit better if these three parameters are the sole criteria - design, drive and connectivity.

What I like most about Hyderabad is the harmonious existence of the old traditions and modernity and its cosmopolitan way of life. The city is quite old, almost 400 years old and has a rich cultural heritage. Both the old city and the new city co-exist side by side. Even in the old times, the city used to be an important centre for trade and commerce in India. During the period when the Nizams ruled it, Hyderabad used to be the largest state in India. But after India's Independence when Andhra Pradesh was created on linguistic basis, Hyderabad was made its capital. Like Chandigarh, today Hyderabad is the joint capital of the two states simultaneously - that of Telangana as well as of Andhra Pradesh.

Then in the late nineties and early 2000s, during the tenure of Chandrababu Naidu, who had envisioned Hyderabad becoming the Silicon Valley of India, the city gallopped its way towards realising that dream. During that period, several global IT firms set up their branches in Hyderabad. Since then, along with Bangalore, Hyderabad has come to be dubbed as the IT capitals of India. Not just the IT companies, but today Hyderabad is home to many international MNCs like Dell, IBM, Microsoft, Facebook, Google, Oracle and Deloitte, research and development institutes and defense establishments. The city has seen unprecedented growth and developments in the areas of IT, Biotechnology, Construction, Pharmaceuticals and Tourism in the recent times. Thus Hyderabad is seen as a promising first tier city with immense business opportunities. It is one of the primary destinations in India for FDI (foreign direct investments). Thus the city that was once known for its minarets and domes and as a pearl and diamond trading centre, is now an important IT destination in India and is called "Cyberabad".

If we look at the city's design, one will find several mesmerising heritage structures that were constructed during the period of Qutb Shahi and Nizam rulers which showcase Indo-Islamic architecture (a style influenced by the Indian medieval architectural style, that of the Mughals and also of the Europeans). The new city has been very well-planned and several parks, upscale residential and commercial buildings like shopping malls, and recreational centres like multiplexes or Ramoji Film city dot its landscape. The industrial areas are located in the northern end. Then there is the "Cyberabad" area that is spread across a sprawling area housing many IT and bio-pharmaceutical companies.

Hyderabad is nicely connected to all parts of the country by railways, roadways and airways too. Several domestic airlines fly from the city to other places in the country and one will easily get a domestic flight to travel to any major city in India from Hyderabad. The city is also well connected to all neighbouring towns and cites by many express trains. One will also find regular bus services available to nearby major cities like Mumbai, Bangalore, Nagpur or Chennai. Additionally it also boasts of a well-maintained intercity bus service. Bus services as well as motor rickshaws and taxis are available to all corners of the city from Hyderabad.

(This has been written for “Made of Great zonal wars” sponsored by Tata Motors. Visit the website http://madeofgreat.tatamotors.com/ if you wish to know what it is all about)

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Besan Ka Halwa (Gram Flour Halwa)

Today happens to be my mother's birthday and I wanted to make her day extra-special. To be honest, I am an introvert and I'm not that good with expressing feelings. So even though I love mummy very much but I hadn't really gone out of the way to express my affection for her before. But the last few days, I don't know why, I was feeling really emotional about my mother and today I wanted to surprise her by preparing the breakfast myself, that too a dessert because she has got a sweet tooth. Though I am not that good a cook and except for the occasional noodles or egg omelettes or tea and coffee, I have seldom spent much time in the kitchen (unless of course when mummy needs some help) but today being such a special occasion, I wanted to give her a sweet beginning to the day. I wanted to make her feel special.

Since the last week or so, I had been planning for this day, how I would wake up early and finish up all the kitchen chores like washing up the previous night's utensils and also cleaning up the kitchen counter-top before she woke up. That is exactly what I did this morning. I wanted to give her a break from the morning chores. But the real surprise for her was going to be the dessert that I was planning to make for her. I took the help of internet and browsed through quite a few delectable dessert recipes. Some of them looked really good and enticing but I feared about whether I would be able to make them successfully. Being a total novice, I didn't want to take a chance with a complicated recipe, had my attempt failed, it would have spoiled the occasion. So after much brain-storming and going through several you-tube tutorials and recipes, I finally settled on preparing Besan Ka Halwa for the day and for that I followed Masterchef Sanjeev Kapoor's recipe. Not only is the dessert fairly easy to cook but it also tastes wonderfully well, and on top of that, it brings back my childhood memories -- how I used to relish eating the sweet dish whenever mummy prepared it. I knew that I wouldn't be able to replicate the same taste of the halwa like mummy used to make, but I wanted to give a good try. So I got down to work.

But since mummy has diabetes, so I couldn't have used the normal sugar. Therefore I decided to substitute it with Sugar Free Natura. Sugar Free Natura contains Sucralose - a sugar derivative that gives the same sweetness of sugar but without that many calories. Thus it is an ideal sugar substitute for the diabetics and all those who are conscious about their weight and fitness. 

Additionally I also made a little modification to the original halwa recipe -- since mummy used to love eating chocolates before diabetes, so I added a little cocoa powder too to the halwa to give a chocolaty taste. This is how I prepared Besan Ka Halwa, the recipe is very simple.

Ingredients that are needed:
Gram flour (or Besan) 2 cups
Desi Ghee (clarified butter) 1/2 cup
Sugar Free Natura 1/2 cup (had it been normal sugar, 1 cup would have been used)
Cocoa Powder 2 tbps
Milk 2 cups
Raisins about 2 tbspns
Cashewnuts about 10-12, chopped
Almonds about 8-10, chopped
Green cardamom powder 1/2 tsp

How to prepare Besan Ka Halwa:

My mother tells me that halwas are best cooked in thick bottommed pans. I used a kadhai (or wok) for the purpose. After heating it up for a minute or so, I added the gram flour and dry roasted it on low flame for about eight to ten minutes, stirring continuously. A distinct smell starts coming out as you dry roast the gram flour.

Then I added the desi ghee to the roasted gram flour and mixing them nicely, I continued to stir. This needs to be done for another four to five minutes until the gram flour turns slightly golden brown.

Now was the turn to add milk to the mixture. Even as I was adding the milk slowly, I was also simultaneously stirring the gram flour mixture so that no lumps were formed.

After a few minutes, when the milk almost got absorbed, I added 1 cup of Sugar Free Natura, the cocoa powder and also the green cardamon powder and mixed them up nicely. I also added the raisins, the crushed cashewnuts and three-fourths of the chopped almonds. Turning the mixture up and down with the spatula, I let the halwa mixture to cook for a couple of more minutes.

Now it was ready to be served. By this time, mummy had woken up and was taken by surprise on finding me cooking in the kitchen, that too so early in the morning. Adding the remain of the crushed almonds over the halwa, I took the bowl to her and wished her Happy Birthday. She had tears in her eyes and hugged me tightly and blessed me so much. When I told her that since I had used Sugar Free Natura, so she could eat the halwa as much as she wanted to, she was so happy. 

The icing on the cake was that the taste had actually come out really well. For a moment, I couldn't believe that it was me who had prepared it. Mummy loved every bit of the Besan Ka Halwa and that made my day. :)

 

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Rahasya - A review

After a long time, I came across a murder mystery that gripped me for the better part of the movie. It was certainly helped by some superb acting performances by the starcast, especially Kay Kay Menon who plays the role of a CBI officer to perfection (notwithstanding his walnut munching mannerisms), and the taut screenplay. With a starcast comprising of some brilliant and seasoned actors like Kay Kay Menon, Tisca Chopra, Ashish Vidyarthi, Mita Vashisht, Ashwini Kalsekar, one could expect that. But the climax sort of botched up everything and the edn result became only a better version of a CID episode.

The first time that I saw the trailers of "Rahasya", I had thought it to be inspired by the Aarushi murder case because one could co-relate so many similarities - a teenager girl getting murdered who has doctor parents and the case getting handed over to the CBI. But actually this movie is no where close to that murder case, the director for some reason has steered clear of that incident.

The story is about the Mahajan family and starts with a murder - that of the teenaged daughter of Dr. Sachin Mahajan (played by Ashish Vidyarthi) who gets killed in her own house. The case is handed over to the CBI and as they try to trail the murder, they keep coming across newer and newer suspects. But even as they are busy solving the case, assuming it to be a revenge murder by a jilted lover, another murder takes place in the same house and thus their assumptions go awry. It could be someone from the family itself, so they think.

For me, the two standout performers were Kay Kay Menon and Ashish Vidyarthi, who I thought, was admirably good as Dr. Mahajan. But sadly though being such a talented actress, Tisca Chopra, I felt was disappointing as the doctor's wife, she seemed too meek.

The movie could have been a superb thriller had there been a better climax. Because the script had definitely managed to grip my attention. The screenplay too was crisp and the background music added to the charm. But the editing could have been done better because at certain points I felt the scenes ended abruptly. Though it was an average story but still with some better editing and direction, it could have been executed in a better way.

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The Next Three Days - A review

This jailbreak movie, “The Next Three Days”, is a taut thriller and is apparently inspired by a little known French movie, “Anything for Her”, that had got released in 2008. I wonder how I had never come across this movie earlier! I must thank my good friend Niraj who suggested me this movie a few days back, while I was looking for a good thriller. Well, being a Paul Haggis directed movie, one could expect some class. Didn't he give us a classic in "Crash" a few years back? The lead actor, Russell Crowe, who plays the role of the desperate husband, too puts up a really solid performance and keeps the viewers hooked.

He plays the role of John Brennan, a junior college teacher (English) in the movie and has a happy family comprising of his wife and their young son. But their life suddenly takes a serious turn when after returning home from a dinner party with friends, the next morning the police storms into their house and arrests his wife (played by Elizabeth Banks). She gets convicted of murdering her boss in a parking garage! Though she keeps pleading that she didn't kill her boss and her husband, Crowe too believes in her wife's innocence but the police have some compelling evidence - she had a terrible argument with her boss and thus she had a motive and most importantly, the blood stains that were found on her Bank's coat matches that of her boss.

John now has the responsibility of not only managing the house all by himself but also has to raise up his young son. So he continues with his teaching job but doesn't give up hopes of seeing her wife getting freed from the jail-sentence. So he keeps appealing in the higher courts against the jail sentence but fails each time. At last even their attorney gives up. But determined to bring his wife out of the jail, he plans to break her out of it where she is held. He even gets ready to sell off his belongings so that he could arrange enough money to buy things that he would need for the jail-break mission. The internet helps him in plotting about the jail-escape plan. He keeps searching through the net for valuable tricks, he even meets a former convict (Liam Neeson) and solicits advice from him because he had broken out of a lot of prisons. John doesn't even hesitate to contact the drug dealers to obtain a gun. Meanwhile with each passing day spent in the jail, his wife, Elizabeth Banks, begins to despair and almost gives up all hopes that she would ever come out of the jail or her husband would ever be able to make her a free person. Thus she remains in depression. But her husband eventually succeeds in carrying out the jail escape plan and together with his wife and their kid, they manage to fly away out of the country. Speaking of performances, Russell Crowe with his terrific acting, kept me involved in the story all throughout. Elizabeth Banks too played her part quite convincingly, but she had not much of a role actually. Direction too is top-class, though the movie, I felt, could have been shortened up a bit in length.

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Perfect Stranger - A review

"Perfect Stranger" could have been a perfect thriller had the loose ends been taken care of and the story had been better executed. Using the Internet and the ugly side of human nature as the backdrop and thus weaving the elements of media-spying, hacking, obsessive stalking, blackmail and murder into the story, the scriptwriter though has written a nice intriguing plot wherein every character is a devious go-getter and has got some dark secrets to hide. But there were too many loopholes in the story. The director James Foley surely surprises the viewers when a very dark secret is revealed about the lead character, right at the end of the movie. But still it fails to strike the chords.

Halle Berry plays the lead character in the movie and is Rowena Price, an investigative journalist working for The New York Courier. Using a male pseudonym, she keeps on investigating the backgrounds of the high and mighty and making sensational exposes of their dark secrets. Thus she always remains in pursuit of dirt and dark secrets of the corporate honchos. The movie opens with her visit to the office of a married politician who was standing in the next election for mayorship. But things become awkward for him when Rowena confronts him with photo evidences of his sexual relationships with some of his male interns. Scared of getting his image tarnished, the politician tries to buy her silence but she refuses. Instead taking the help of his colleague Miles Haley, she records his voice while he was offering her money and was about to publish the news in her next article. That's when the politician pulls the strings with Rowena's superiors, using his sources and succeeds in burying the sensational revelation that was about to come. This angers Rowena and she quits her job.

But an accidental meeting with her childhood friend, Grace, in the subway gives her the next assignment, when she hands over to Rowena a file that contained all chat records of their intimate conversations that Garce had with a certain Harrison Hill (Bruce Willis). He was the owner of a famous advertising company but was also a womaniser, inspite of being married. According to Grace, she had an affair with Hill for a few weeks but then he abruptly ended the affair and suddenly stopped responding to her calls or messages. Grace felt cheated and being used, and so she started to blackmail him and threatened hime that she would go and tell his wife all about their affair. Grace wanted Rowena to follow the lead and publish an article about their affair. But within days of their meeting, Grace is found dead. She had been poisoned and her body is recovered from a lake. Rowena suspects that it is Harrison Hill who had killed her childhood friend Grace.

So taking the help of Miles, her colleague, who also happens to be an expert hacker, she takes two identities, that of Katherine Pogue and takes up a temporary job at Harrison’s ad agency and also as Veronica, who tempts Harrison into an online sexual affair in the chat room. Even as Katherine, she at once manages to catch Harrison's attention and thus starts a dangerous game of flirtation. Though the cover of Rowena gets blown away when Harrison comes across a message on her phone, but she still gets him arrested on the charges of murder of his friend Grace. However from a viewer's point of view, the evidences that Rowena collects against Harrison were hardly convincing enough. The movie ends when another secret of Rowena is revealed by her friend Miles and so to silence him forever, she murders him as well. I felt the characters , especially that of Mr. Bruce Willis, could have been written better.

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Experience Super Fast Internet with Airtel 4G

The world has changed a lot in the past two decades and so has the Internet! It has evolved so much now. There was a time when all we had as an option for connecting to the Internet was a dial-up connection (and even that would get disconnected every second minute or so). When I was in College, I too had taken a dial-up connection for accessing internet at my PG hostel but I could not continue with it even for a full month, I got completely fed up with it because of its connectivity issues. It used to be such a hard struggle for me trying to connect through the dialer, it was very frustrating and I would lose my cool every time I would try to login. If that was not enough, even if when I managed to connect (those days used to be very rare), the download speed used to be pathetically slow. I remember how I used to regret and would kick myself for having chosen a dial-up connection instead of going for a broadband connection. Having said that, those days broadband internet connections weren't any cheap either. Most of us could only opt for the "night only" packages.

I too surrendered my dial-up connection and instead took a "night only" package of Broadband connection from a local cable service provider a month later, because that was all I could afford. Thus I would often stay awake all night long to browse through the net, for emailing or downloading books, movies or music files. Or else I would add the movie links onto a download manager before going to sleep. Such were the internet speeds those days that even after waking up the next morning, I would still find the movie downloading and not complete. With download speeds of 20-30 kbps, it used to take more than 20 hours to complete a download of a movie of 700 MB size.

Gradually as years passed on, with the technological advancements, the internet packages (with faster speeds) too started becoming cheaper. First came 2G (I thought that was fast. What a fool I was!) and a couple of years back came 3G. 3G is however still in use and gives a net user really fast download and upload speeds. With a 3G connection, even a website containing high resolution photos opens up in seconds. Large video files too get downloaded in a matter of few minutes.

Now imagine, since 4G is a step ahead of 3G, how much more faster and powerful will this 4G connection be? Ah, we have come a long way now, the days of 2G and even 3G are almost over, now that Airtel has rolled out its 4G services in 296 cities across India. Browsing through the web pages will be super fast and an enjoyable experience. With the lightning speeds that it promises to give, we will now be able to download even huge files in seconds. As the largest and the leading telecom firm in India, Airtel has always been on the forefront in providing innovative and better services, and has made a name for itself by delivering quality services and as a satisfied customer since 2006, I can vouch for their efficiency and reliability. Also given its extensive network coverage, one can always trust Airtel for delivering the fastest 4G experience one could have ever imagined.

With its 4G connection that promises to give a user speeds of up to 100Mbps, watching HD Videos streaming on popular video websites like Youtube or Daily Motion will be a smooth affair now. There will be no buffering anymore. Downloads too will complete in a flash. What's more, one won't have to shell out more money for upgrading from 3G to 4G! Yeah, you read it correctly, Airtel's 4G can be availed at an unbelievable price of 3G packages.

Airtel is also providing 4G SIM for free. We just have to send a tweet to @airtelindia asking for a 4G SIM using the hashtag #GetAirtel4G. A new Airtel 4G SIM will be delivered at our doorstep for free.

Well done Airtel. Way to go.

P.S. - Photo Source - www.tricksworldzz.in

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpHZ3sXY6B8]

(This has been written for “Airtel 4G". With Airtel 4G, one can now download heavy files in seconds and can also watch videos without any lag. Visit the Airtel website http://www.airtel.in/4g/ to know more about various 4G plans)

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Honey Diet - A balanced healthy diet

Though no one in my family had ever worked in the police force before nor had I ever got a chance to interact with a police officer and get to know about their lives from close, but for some reason, I had always been in awe of them. So right from my childhood, I had always aspired to become one. All the movies and TV programs that centred around the police force would fascinate me. Whenever I would come across any article talking about the bravery of a police officer while dealing with a case, I would feel so elated as if I had won a medal myself. Getting to wear the police uniform everyday, in itself would have been a great privilege, I believed. The uniform never fails to evoke admiration and respect. Someone who protects the citizens in a locality by enforcing laws and maintaining order must be a hero, I believed. Thus this childhood passion of mine coupled with the ever growing law and order challenges faced by our people further emboldened my desire to go for the IPS exam.

So after graduating from college, I started preparing for the written test (IPS Exam) and appeared in the exam as well. Just as I was expecting, I cleared the written test with good marks. However to get into the Police force, one also has to pass a physical agility test to qualify for becoming a police officer and that's where my problem lay. To join the police force, one needs to meet certain physical fitness requirements — not only does he have to meet specific height and body weight limits but also has to pass the physical activity test which is often very strenuous and tough. For example, one has to do a three kilometres run in under 30 minutes, he also has to do at least 10 pull-ups in a row and so also at least 80 crunches within two minutes. Even more strenuous tests follow but as clearly evident, one needs to be absolutely physically fit to clear these tests. Obviously a police officer needs to have quick reflexes.

Though I was always good in studies and wanted to get into the Police force but I had never taken my physical health seriously. Though I always participated in sports and other physical activities but I had never followed a healthy and balanced diet, I would eat anything I could lay my hands on and my food portions also used to be huge. To be frank, I was in fact very heavy and over-weight, I weighed almost 88 kgs at that point in time. I knew if I had to clear the physical test, I had to get into better shape, that I needed to slim down so that I could run faster, so that I could perform the drills in the best way possible. So almost a month prior to my appearing for the physical test, I joined a gym and started lifting weights so that I could lose my excess weight. I would spend hours sweating out in the gym and exercising myself strenuously but still I could burn no more than 2 kilos only in about two weeks. Indeed I was very late in joining the gym, I should have started getting into a lean shape much much earlier. But now I didn't have much time at hand to ponder over it.

That's when a friend suggested me to go for a crash diet - essentially a very restrictive diet practice where in one has to cut down heavily on his calorie intake on a daily basis. I gave up eating rice, rotis, sweets, all milk products, meat, chicken, fish etc. In their place, I ate only soups and salads -- e.g. for breakfast I used to have only one fruit (an apple or an orange or a few bananas) and some nuts, my lunch comprised of cucumber salad mixed with little curd and a bowl of dal and my dinner used to be a small bowl of vegetable soup, that was all. Though folowing this crash diet plan, I managed to bring down my weight drastically to about 65 kilos in the two weeks that I had in hand, but such crash diets also have side-effects. Like you start feeling very weak. That only failed me in the physical test, I was very low on energy and felt so weak and tired that I almost fell unconscious midway when I was asked to take a sprint around the playground. I almost felt breathless and fell down on the ground. I was rejected. That was a huge heartbreak for me and it took me quite some time to get over the disappointment.

However it had taught me a lesson as well -- that crash diets are not only ineffective in the long run for losing weight but are also unsafe and unhealthy. The right way is to go for a diet plan that helps in losing weight gradually and steadily, without making you lose on the important nutrients.

Because when we suddenly and drastically cut down the amount of food we eat, our body uses up the energy stored in our muscles. As a result, our metabolism slows down, and instead of burning off calories, our body starts storing fat. Thus those who follow crash dieting by heavily cutting down on their daily calories, actually end up putting weight back in quick time. Also since the body would be missing out on the essential nutrients needed for the proper functioning of the organs, it can be harmful. One may face serious health problems.

Honey diet instead is very effective in making one lose weight because it not only controls one's cravings but also improves his metabolic rate. Though I could never become a Police officer as I went into the IT (Information Technology) field thereafter, but since then I became very serious and particular about my diet, I started paying attention to what I was eating. I had already stopped eating sugar altogether but now I substituted it with honey. Honey is believed to help immensely in losing weight, while at the same time provides energy as well. I also started including more fiber in my meals. I would have oatmeal mixed with milk, mashed bananas and honey for breakfast and salad for lunch or dinner. I also made sure to eat enough protein and carbohydrates.

In addition to that, I started to take a spoonful of honey with a glass of warm water before going to bed, because it has been scientifically proved that honey mixed with warm water improves one's metabolic rate and as a result, more fat is burned off. It also improved ones's digestion. Thus with the Honey diet, no starvation is involved. On top of that, I could lose a few kilos more without feeling weak at all. In fact I felt very energized. I have followed this dietary plan ever since. Thus Dabur Honey Diet really works.

P.S. - Photo Source - www.dreamstime.com

(This has been written for “Dabur Honey Diet“. With the Dabur Honey Diet, one can eat well and yet lose excess weight effortlessly. Visit the Dabur Honey website http://www.daburhoney.com/ to know more about the diet plan)

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Come Closer to Radiant Skin

Of all other things that I can recall from my teenage years, the memories of my battles with one particular skin problem remain etched deep within my psyche -- pimples! Yes, just like women, men too face skin problems like acne, pimples, dark spots etc. I too had been troubled by pimples during my adolescent years. They had given me so many sleepless nights. In fact at one point in time, the situation had turned so worse that it seemed as if pimples and I were inseparable. For far too long, I remained so depressed about it.

Though pimples are a common problem faced by almost everyone during their teenage time due to the production of the growth hormones but in my case, there was another major factor too that was causing their regular outbreak -- my oily skin. The accumulation of excess oil on the face can cause several skin infections. I have always had an oily skin and it used to become worse during the summers. Add to that, since I also used to spend quite a lot of time on the cricket field during the day time for my practice sessions, my skin used to get bombarded with dust, dirt and other airborne pollutants all day long. They would get trapped on my oily skin, contributing to clogging of the skin pores and thus caused the pimples and acne to breakout. Also the oilier the skin, the dirtier the skin looks.

I can recall vividly how I used to make rounds of the skin doctors every other week and had tried all sorts of medical treatments, creams and potions that I could get my hands on. But the pimples were so stubborn that nothing seemed to work on them. However much I tried to get rid of them, they would simply not go away. Instead they would come back on the face at some other place! That used to be so demoralizing. I was losing my self-confidence bit by bit every single day. I would want to hide and not go out of my house and meet anyone.

That was when my aunt came to know about my problem and suggested me to try a home-remedy. My aunt has always believed in the power of Ayurveda and naturopathy and she was sure that her suggested method of apple, mint leaves, yogurt and lemon juice face pack would help me in combating greasy skin and that would in turn help me in preventing any further acne flare-ups. Initially I wasn't too eager about her "desi" method but then since I had already tried out almost all allopathic treatments without any positive result, I thought of giving her face pack a try. As per her method, I needed to take a few tablespoons of grated apple and mix them with thick plain curd, a paste of mint leaves and a teaspoon of lemon juice to form a smooth face pack. Then that paste was to be applied all over my face gently and after the face pack had dried up, I could wash it off with lukewarm water after fifteen to twenty minutes. Oh, boy, did it not work? I couldn't believe my eyes after seeing the results. Just after the first wash, my skin felt so clean and fresh. The grated apple in the paste worked as a great exfoliator, not only would it remove all the dead skin cells from my face but also absorbed all excess oil from my skin. Thus my skin would feel very clean. Mint contains sallicylic acid and so is very effective in curing the pimple problem and preventing its recurrence. The curd in the paste worked as a moisturizer whereas the lemon juice helped in restoring the skin’s pH balance. Thus as I started applying this face pack regularly, gradually the pimple outbreaks became lesser and lesser until a day came when I had no pimple on my face!

However the scars remained, though the pimples were no longer there to trouble me but they had left behind dark spots which were an eye sore. My aunt had an answer for that too. She suggested me another face pack for removing the dark spots and scars - the honey and cornstarch face pack. About a teaspoon of honey and an equal amount of corn starch were to be taken and mixed together to form a smooth paste and that was to be applied on the face and then washed off. Honey is known to be very effective in getting rid of the pimple marks quite fast and it repairs the skin tone as well. The face pack worked in my case as well. Within three months, my skin became blemish free and spotless!

But since I continued to spend half of my day time on the cricket field and so was exposed to the pollutants every day, I had to continue with the face packs to keep my skin clean and clear and to prevent any further breakout of pimples. However with the hectic routine that I followed, it was not easy to prepare and apply those face packs every day. My aunt then suggested me to use Vicco turmeric cream and said that it would be as effective in fighting my pimple problem as the face packs that I was using earlier. She was so true. Vicco turmeric cream has been prepared using an Ayurvedic formula and the microbicidal properties of turmeric in it is very effective in preventing and curing pimples, blackheads and oily skin. Since then I have been using it and it has helped me in keeping my face pimple-free. It is also extremely useful in curing other skin infections, in healing cuts and wounds, and can also be applied for treating minor burns as well. Applying it regularly will result in a healthier and glowing skin!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bSd88MNWz8]

P.S. - Photo Source - www.teens.webmd.com

(This has been written for “Vicco Turmeric Cream“. Visit the Vicco Labs website http://www.viccolabs.com/product-turmeric-cream-with-foam-base.php to know more about the natural skin care products)

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My Airtel App

With the advent of smartphones and mobile apps, life has become really easy and worry-free. Otherwise even something as simple as recharging my cell phone or my internet connection or my TV's DTH package used to be such bothersome tasks at one point in time. I had to visit a mobile store for doing that. There used to be scratch coupons (made up of paper) for recharging the pre-paid cell phone connections. Thankfully I have now got My Airtel app for fulfilling those tasks. I do not need to go anywhere, I can now pay the bills, recharge my DTH connection with just my smartphone, sitting at home by using My Airtel app. Of course, prior to the coming of this app, we already had online payment option on the Airtel website but a mobile app is much more convenient than the web version in that we don't have to wade through various navigational menus on the app. On top of that, Airtel app gives us so many exciting offers on every recharge, as a bonus, every time we use the airtel app for paying our bills. We can find the offers and coupons available under the The Special Offer tab. One also gets 'Airtel Surprises' coupons with every recharge that he does, which he can redeem across categories like shopping, food, wellness, entertainment. Thus these coupons can be redeemed at popular brands like PVR Cinemas, Café Coffee Day, Flipkart.com. amazon.in, Ebay.in, Myntra.com, Archies, VLCC, among others.

It's not just about the offers though. I have always been a big fan of Airtel for the quality services that they have always provided. It is for their impeccable track record of their services that today they are counted not just as one of the largest mobile operators in the world but are also trusted as the most reliable network operators in India. What I love about the Airtel company is that inspite of being the market leaders in the Telecom sector in India for quite some time now, they still continue to evolve and are striving hard to provide their customers with innovative services to make our lives easier. Right from the time I started using a cell phone (i.e. from my college days), I have been using their services - be it for my mobile connection or their Broadband internet service or their DTH service. So when I came to know about their new "My Airtel app", I didn't need a second invitation for downloading it on my smartphone. My app experience has been buttery smooth ever since.

My Airtel app comes with a provision by which I can now save my often repeated tasks under "I want to" - Your Favourite actions - tab. With the Airtel money also integrated with the app, I am virtually carrying my bank account on my smartphone. Recharging a cellphone or DTH package or paying our postpaid or fixed line bills has now become more trustworthy with PCIDSS certification. In fact, paying my mobile or DTH bils was never this easy before. With my Airtel app, it is not only safe and secure but also fast and convenient. We can also save our payment modes; as a result, our subsequent payments would take even lesser time and effort.

Not only does it notify us when our balance (mobile or DTH or internet data package) becomes low but it also alerts us about the bill payments and the due dates. Thus with this app, our extremely specific needs are being served. I had always wanted an app that came with an easy interface and one that could solve my simple problems regarding the bill payments.

It has got a very friendly and intuitive user interface through which we can not only pay the bills but also can start or stop a service (say for example, Hello Tunes). It also helps us in keeping records of our previous bills as well as our unpaid ones.

This app also lets me keep a detailed track on my data usage. Thus managing my airtel services is just a click away!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6gRfPTe5Lk]

P.S. - Photo sources - Airtel website

(This has been written for "My Airtel App". Visit the Airtel website http://www.airtel.in/myairtelapp/ to download the My Airtel app and enjoy the wonderful offers and services)

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A new show - Ek Nayi League

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc2c3fphtrs]

A few days back Kapil Dev joined twitter and started promoting "Ek Nayi League" with some videos, just as the one given above. He talks to some famous celebrities and goes onto hint about this new league which if someone played with heart, they were going to lose. Is it going to be a talk show? Or will it be a game-based programme? Some people have even predicted it to be some dance-based reality show in which Kapil Dev would be one of the judges (though I hardly agree with their prediction). I still have no idea what it is going to be but like others I too have made some guesses. Kapil Dev is also seen pointing towards his head (meaning brains), so in all probability, this show is going to be some game show in which one would be required to use his brain more than playing it only with his heart.

Nothing has been disclosed about this league, what it is all about. The theme, the format, everything is still being kept under wraps, may be to build a buzz (and they have indeed succeeded in doing that because like me, many others are also excited and looking forward to this new league). Moreover when a legend like Kapil Dev talks about something (read "the Nayi League"), it must be something truly exceptional. Because the man himself was an exceptional cricketer.

India has always had a bevy of cricket superstars but Kapil Dev was unarguably the first one to capture the nation's imagination after captaining the side to its first cricket world cup title back in 1983. No one had given his team a chance, not even his own countrymen (and understandably so, with their poor performances in the matches that preceded the world cup) and yet the way he galvanised his team and led them from the front, it was nothing short of inspiring. Kapil Dev holding the Prudential Cup on the balcony of Lords cricket ground still remains one of the most loved memories on the minds of an Indian cricket fan. He belonged to an era when cricketers didn't earn much money. Nor were there any huge endorsement deals like cricketers get these days. Yet he never bothered about the money or the fame, he always played his game with passion and heart and played as hard as anyone would have, for his country. He was a match winner in his own right. I have always admired his all-round cricketing abilities, because not just with the ball but he could also change the course of a match singlehandedly through his swashbuckling batting. Not without good reason is he considered to be one of the greatest all rounders in the history of the game. He was also a tremendous athlete and remained fit all through his cricketing career.

It's no mean feat to capture more than 400 wickets in Test matches and moreso when the Indian pitches hardly ever suited fast bowling. Though he was not really a tearaway fast bowler but he was undoubtedly a very skilled and street-smart medium pace bowler who could trouble even the best of batsmen with his outswingers and cutters. He was dead accurate too. In fact most of the Indian cricketers who took up fast bowling were inspired by Kapil Dev.

Thus even though he has mostly kept a low profile after he retired some two decades back, but he is still admired and remains one of the most loved cricketers not just in India but also around the world. So when he says something, everyone sit up and take note.

This new league is going to be unveiled on 7th of May (i.e. today) and if my guess is right (that this league would be a game show on TV), then Kapil Dev would be making his debut as a TV host! What could be more exciting than watching Kapil Dev as the host on a TV show?

(This has been written for "Ek Nayi League". Visit their website www.eknayileague.com to know more about them)

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He Finally Became Responsible

Manav was the youngest among his three brothers and as it often happens, he continued to be babied by everyone even when he had reached adulthood. He was pampered and adored by his parents and siblings so much that he grew up to be casual about life. He had got used to being treated as a prince so much that he believed he didn't have to do anything ever to earn a living and that his father and his brothers earned enough to meet everyone's needs. His father Seth Dhanpath Rai was a wealthy businessman but he had wanted all of his sons to carve their own futures, to stand on their own feet, to be independent. While he was happy with the progress that his sons had made in their lives, he wasn't too happy with Manav's attitude towards life and his career. He realised what a blunder he had committed by never giving any responsibility to Manav while he was still young. All of his other brothers had chosen their own ways and were already earning whereas Manav spent all his time at home doing nothing. He was never really interested in studies anyway but somehow managed to complete his graduation. However he didn't like the idea of doing a job - working for someone else. He would always find one excuse or the other for not attending a job interview that his father would have arranged for him.

However things slowly began to change when his brother got married and their wives came into the family. Since Manav didn't do any work, no body took him seriously. They would often overlook and ignore him. He did feel hurt at times but never enough to start doing something. He needed a hard blow from life and he got that when his father suffered a heart-stroke and his body got partially paralysed. Thus he remained bedridden and the people whom Dhanpath Rai had always trusted, cheated him. Taking advantage of the situation, they usurped his entire business. If that was not enough, suddenly even the attitude of his own sons (barring Manav) and his daughter-in-laws changed over-night. Instead of staying together during the time of crisis, they decided to divide their father's wealth among themselves so that after taking their share, they could go and live separately. However they left no share for Manav as they felt he had never worked or earned anything to deserve a share in the property. They weren't ready to take the responsibility of their ailing father either and assigned that duty to Manav. Thus Manav and his parents were left with only the house that his father had built for them.

His father's illness coupled with his brother's selfishness shook him up badly. He felt cheated by his brothers's attitude, not because they didn't give him a share in the property but because he could never imagine that his own brothers would turn out to be so selfish as to leave their ailing father on his own! But instead of dwelling over it, he took it upon himself to look after his parents. He chose to become responsible for them as well for himself. Immediately he started looking for a job but without much luck. Since he was totally inexperienced, he always met with disappointment. No one even gave him a chance to prove himself. Still he didn't give up and continued searching for a job. The first job that he got was that of a helper at a cloth factory. Though his work entailed menial tasks for which he was given quite a low pay, but he didn't complain. He worked hard at it anyway but he was still looking for a permanent job. Finally after much struggle, he landed up with a fairly good job, that of a store-keeper at a bookshop. The salary that was promised to him was only decent enough but more than the money, he was happy to have a fresh start. He worked there sincerely for about five years but then he decided that it was time for him to start his own business. While working at the book-shop, he had learned quite a bit about the business and he had also managed to save some money from his salary every month in all those years. So using his savings and taking a loan from the bank, he rented an office space and started his own book cafe - a bookshop-cum-coffee shop! He continued to work hard and it didn't take long for the cafe to become a huge success. His parents too were very happy to see their son become so responsible.

Thus it's never too late to start from scratch. If one really works hard at it, success is bound to come.

Image used - www.pixshark.com

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FXdCjk505w]
(This has been written for "Start a new life" for Housing.com. Visit their website www.housing.com to know more about them)

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Honest hearts produce honest actions

Ever since I came over to Bangalore some ten months back to take up the new job, I haven't been able to visit my parents. Work has kept me really busy. My parents were feeling very troubled as to whether their only son was happy in his new dwelling or not. They were eager to see through their own eyeshow the city was treating me, especially Maa. She was concerned about my food and my health more than anything else. I would often have a hard time in convincing her about the quality of the hotel food that the caterer delivers to me, during our telephone chats. She always had the same questions to ask - whether their food tasted good enough and whether they prepared the meals in hygenic conditions. And then she would raise the marriage topic, how my life would change for the better and I wouldn't have to suffer eating from outside if I brought a wife into my life while I would try hard to evade the topic. Our arguments would continue until she would finally end the call.

But then her worst fears came true when I fell ill with severe food poisoning after eating the dhaba's food. My parents got worried when they came to learn about my illness, as there was no one to look after me. So both Maa and Baba set out for Bangalore immediately, the next morning. I have to admit that news about their scheduled arrival did bring some succour to my heart as ever since I got bed-ridden with my illness, I was not only feeling very lonely but actually was also finding it difficult to take care of myself, although some friends used to visit me every now and then. But I was also worried about my parents travelling so far away. They hadn't travelled long distances for quite some years owing to their knee problems and they were coming to Bangalore for the first time.

Thankfully their train wasn't late by much as Baba called me up to inform me. I insisted on going to the station to bring them home but they outrightly turned me down, saying that they could hire a taxi and that I need not worry. After an hour or so, I heard my door bell ring and as I opened the door, they were there before me, safe and sound. My sickness suddenly vanished away the moment I hugged them. We were meeting after ten months and so we had a lot to say to each other. But they were dead tired too after the two day long train journey. So while Baba went to take a shower, Maa immediately got busy in preparing a meal for all of us. None of us had realised until then that they had absent-mindedly left one of their suitcases in the taxi. It was only after Baba came out of the bathroom and started looking for that suitcase to take out his clothes did we realise that it had got left behind in the cab. Baba was distraught because along with the clothes, it also contained our ancestral property papers that he brought along.

Just then the door bell rang once again. When I opened it, I found a smiling man standing before me who was holding the suitcase.
"Uncle, you had left your suitcase by mistake and I only saw it when I opened the dicky of my cab. Though I remembered that i had dropped you off at this apartment but I had no idea about your flat number. Luckily I also found the small piece of paper on the back seat, the one that you were holding and I found your address written on it", said the cab driver.

My parents felt really grateful to him and so was I. We tried to persuade him to accept some cash as the fare for his trip that he took the second time around but he politely refused, saying that helping others is priceless and that he was happy that the luggage finally found its rightful owner.

This simple incident goes on to show that there are still decent men living in this world, who are so honest that they go out of their way to doggedly track down the owner of a misplaced article and hand it over to him.

Image used - www.smartambala.com

(This has been written for "Look up story" for Housing.com. Visit their website www.housing.com to know more about them)

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