Monday, December 30, 2013

Craft works with pine

pine arts

pine arts
Traditional craft works with pine in the markets of Nainital, Uttarakhand, India..................
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Friday, December 27, 2013

Parenting from the heart: The five gifts for my child’s secured future

When you are thinking of giving your child the perfect gift for the festive season, it is naturally difficult to decide on the right option. The responsibility increases when it deals with their secured future. When I first saw the contest page (What are the 5 things that you would want to gift your child for their secure future and why?) in Blogadda I was really thrilled to find such an interesting topic to write about, which will eventually help us to take the right decision in life while giving away the secured future as gifts to our children.
Gifts are always valuable no doubt whatever it is. We still longed for gifts at this grown up stage and feel really happy when someone extends one to us. So naturally children love to receive gifts at every stage of life. Moreover gifts cannot be and should not be judged on materialistic values. Every gift whatever small it may be is special. It bornes the memory of being a gift and carries the eternal love of the person giving it. Gifts are always precious. So the right gift may not be always very expensive but should deliver the perfect balance between the expression of emotions and responsibility.
The future of our children is of paramount interest and one should not take any risk and chance with it. So choosing the five best gifts to secure our children’s future is no way an easy task at hand.

To make my child feel competent

The most important gift to my child would be the right words of praise and encouragement to boost my child’s confidence when needed most. It is always a tricky yet very important situation to stand by him and see him tackling little challenges (childish challenges of course) in life successfully. This is essential to make him grow up as an efficient problem solver who loves to take challenges and try out new things. He will then never retreat when stuck by obstacles in future life.
 

Sharing my values

Sharing and giving my child the values of life is extremely essential. How I want to see my child develop? A person is incomplete without the vital moral values of life like honesty, responsibility, tolerance, persistence and kindness. This is my duty to gift them to my child to secure his future.


Healthy relationship

One of the best things I can give to my child is a strong and healthy relationship. A happy family will give my child the sense of comfort and security that nothing else can provide.



Stress free environment and a kiss

Giving my child a stable, predictable and safe home environment is really priceless. I will like to manage my own stress and anger efficiently to create the perfect harmony at home. My child will learn from myself only and will always try to imitate me. I want to present him with the right stress free environment and of course the kiss of love for him to cherish so that he becomes more self confident and feel secure.



The right insurance policy (Money matters)

Last but not the least I will like to give my child a monetary secured future as money matters. Money is not everything in life and should not be the main focus of life. But still we cannot survive without it. To live happily we need it in substantial amount to remain stress and tension free. Definitely I will like to secure my child’s future with the proper insurance plan to cover his future essential expenditures. His expenses will only increase with growing age and inflation and it will be impossible to meet them without the right insurance policy (definitely no one will like to curtail them). This will be the most valuable gift that I can give to my children.



So I will like to give my child the above five gifts to secure my child’s future which I consider best at this moment to make my child feel safe, secure and assured in future life. May this become an unforgettable and precious moment in my child’s life?


This post is a part of the 1001 Gifts Activity by HDFC Life in association with BlogAdda
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Thursday, December 26, 2013

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Great Eastern

Great Eastern

Great Eastern
Wish you all Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year 2014....... Showing the queue in front of bakery section of Great Eastern Hotel in Kolkata......

Join iWriter for a growing career as an article writer. Also you can have high quality articles written by professionals for your every need for minimal charges. Great opportunity as a blogger/writer.
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Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Snowy Ride

snow and train
The snowy train ride between Banihal and Baramulla of Jammu and Kashmir...... Saw this photo in todays Bengali News Paper Anandabazar and could not resist sharing it...... Photo courtesy: http://www.anandabazar.com
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Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Me and my tablet: the better way

Everybody knows that you have endless possibilities with your Lenovo Yoga Tablet. Irrespective of your interests or profession, a tablet is the perfect friend you have always longed for. My tablet is a great companion. It is the ideal platform for expressing my creativeness in creative art, helps me go through the daily news or e-books and even helps me in my research works. Off-course I can also do some social media and pass time by playing some quick yet interesting games. If I think back and take a peek at my previous life without my tablet it definitely look grim. It appears that life is quite impossible without my Tablet. Now exactly how my tablet shapes up my daily life and helps to make it better and more convenient.

Online Shopping
Online shopping has made my life really cool and it goes perfectly with a tablet. Now I can order my necessity from the convenience of my tablet anytime. Opening hours and locations are no longer constrains. The 3G connection/Wi-Fi made it more convenient. It also saves me from other hassles of shopping and lastly no more forgetting, I can shop just before heading for the bed.

Information, research, hobbies and news
Never before browsing the internet for gathering my favourite news, information on my research topics or hobbies had been so easier. It is fun as well. I can just sit back and relax on my sofa with my tablet in my lap. Flicking through the important news and information with simple touches really make life super cool.

Business information
Successful modern business depends heavily on correct information at the right moment and also on the speed at which you can acquire it. My lightweight slim tablet with the right internet connectivity just provides me that. I can put and store huge amounts of data in my tablet along with various useful softwares and applications. Unlike my laptop I can use it conveniently at difficult situations.

Movies and Videos
The best thing my tablet provides me is the crystal clear touchscreen which gives me the best viewing pleasure when I opt to watch my favourite movies and videos. Now I can watch them on the go as well. A good tablet is never completed without a flawless screen and audio sensation.

Music
Tablets with high end technology can produce really exceptional sound quality to give you ultimate music sensation.

Live streaming of my favourite shows and sports
Now with my tablet along I never miss my favourite TV shows and more importantly the live sports (cricket in particular).
The unlimited Apps
My tablet is packed with various Apps and hundreds to thousands Apps are there free to download as per wish to live simple and exciting. Life has really changed.

The ideal vacation companion
Apart from being the best tool for my daily life, my tablet is an ideal vacation companion especially when I have to travel all alone. With all the application, sleek design and long-lasting battery backup, it is the ideal vacation companion indeed.

The new Lenovo Yoga Tablet with hold, tilt and stand usage mode and marathon battery life will deliver these needs a far better way no doubt. It has everything a good tablet should have (Processor: MTK 8125 Quad-core ARM Cortex-A7 (1.20GHz 533MHz 1MB); Operating system: Android 4.2; great display; 1 GB Memory and 16-32 GB hard drive are just ideal).


This Post is for the Yoga Tablet A #Betterway is here Contest Hosted by Lenovo on IndiBlogger.
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Tuesday, December 17, 2013

My evening with Bacardi Breezer Orange: had a gala time

Though I am not a regular drinker, I am still passionate about my drink and tend to be very choosy. Bacardi is definitely among the brands I like most and again not many guys have the experience of sharing his thoughts about his alcohol in writing, that too with the opportunity to win some more of it. So when Bacardi came up with this really idea of conducting a contest on sharing about one's experience of having Bacardi Breezer, I just could not resist taking part in it.  Though I am an occasional drinker, still I always prefer a stronger drink. I still really wanted to go with Bacardi Breezer to have a feel of it. It is also not getting heavy on my pocket @ Rs. 70/- per bottle. Moreover it is also available in my favorite orange flavor (I always have the fascination for the orange flavor started with the orange candy in my childhood days) to give the additional boost. Apart from the flavor and taste I also like the bright shade of orange which always enlightens my mood and gives a lot of positive energy. So I stacked my fridge with some of them i.e. Bacardi Breezer Orange (six to be particular) before heading for my office.
Bacardi Breezer
Bacardi Breezer Orange
I really found it hard to pass the office hours due to the excitement of having them in the evening. Even the dullest assignments in the office seemed to be so exciting. I preferred to have it all alone as I wanted to relish the flavor properly that may help me with the write up later. I also chose the day when I will be alone at home with my wife in her mother’s place.
So I literally rushed back home to savor my Bacardi Breezer.  On the way back I did not forget to take some snacks (chicken and some Bengali bhujia) to spice up the matter. Soon came that auspicious moment for which I was waiting eagerly. The first gulp had really rekindled my energy and soaked my day long tiredness. I was feeling amazingly refreshed. The orange flavor gone so well with Bacardi! People usually associate sweetness with orange flavor, but with Bacardi Breezer orange I got a nice tangy taste with a hint of sweetness which goes perfectly with the drink and its purpose. It really has the bite. Bacardi Breezer is no doubt a classy drink and I completely got hooked to its seductive aroma and flavor. I got totally engrossed in it and when the last bottle ended, I was cursing myself for not buying. May be it is a blessing in disguise and now I made it a point to buy limited Bacardi Breezer. This is my suggestion to my readers also, as it is almost impossible to resist the taste of Bacardi Breezer. As I am not a regular drinker I got a little tipsy and decided to have a light dinner and then got into a deep slumber.
Bacardi Breezer
 The best thing is that when I wake up in the next morning I felt so relaxed and full of energy. I was feeling amazing while taking my shower with my favorite tangy taste of the orange flavor still fresh in my mind. It felt so refreshing. The best and surprising part is the fact that there was nothing like a hangover or anything. This only emphasizes the quality of the drink and there is no question about it.

Bacardi Breezer

As a result I immediately planned my next session the very next day and this time I bought two more bottles to satisfy my quench for Bacardi Breezer Orange (forgetting my previous night thought of buying limited numbers). We men never get satisfied with the quantity of drinks and as long it is not harming anybody, it is fine. So I really had a great boozing time with my Bacardi Breezer orange. Opening a bottle of Bacardi Breezer Orange is like plunging into the warmth of nature after spending a hard day in the concrete jungle. Bacardi Breezer Orange, you rock.

Bacardi Breezer

This Post was written for the Catch The Flavor Contest Hosted by Bacardi on IndiBlogger

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Saturday, December 14, 2013

Mids of Nature

Nature
Back in the mids of nature........ This is what I am longing for........................
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Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Once Upon the Tracks of Mumbai by Rishi Vohra – Book Review

When you are going through a debut novel, you tend to be a bit tentative and surely there will be always some difference with a veteran writer. Well all of them have to start at a point and that too from zero only.  So before beginning my review at first I want to congratulate the author Rishi Vohra for his debut novel "Once Upon the Tracks of Mumbai" and thank a lot for portraying such a nice and interesting storyline. I got this little novel from the author itself and loved to get the opportunity to go through it and make a review. At this point I want to declare that all I want to do is to share my feelings after reading the book and it is totally an unbiased opinion purely based on my feelings after reading the book. Mumbai is a city of dream for almost every Indian for its glamour and activity, and I was no exception. Above all, from my childhood days I heard so much about Mumbai (Bombay that time) local trains that in the deep of my heart I have some special feeling for it. The Mumbai local train is indeed the life-line of the city (though I never got the opportunity to visit the city till now) and the book cover picture (as shown in the featured image) created a lot of additional excitement in me. The storyline is quite different and truly exciting from what one may guess by looking at the cover. It is a romantic novel but not about a love story between two daily passengers. The plot revolves in a railway colony near the Bandra railway station, Mumbai. The central character of the story is Babloo, a young man suffering from behavioral disorder (autism). He is deeply in love with Vandana, a self-dependent, sensible and responsible woman, but could not express the feelings due to his psychological problem. He tries hard to get recognition from his family and society but everybody is ignorant about him. Vandana is the only one who accepts Babloo as he is. The other notable characters of the novel are Babloo's brother Raghu (with whom Vandana's marriage was arranged by their parents), Sikander (an opportunistic man who wants Vandana for material pleasure), Manjit Singh (a taxi driver who has helped Babloo on many occasions) and The Rail Man (a mysterious man serving justice at night on rail tracks). Babloo will eventually win against all odds and readers will have a good feeling at the end. Overall this is an interesting novel suitable for every age group and gender. I do not want to give too much detail of the plot as that may spoil the fun and suspense of reading the novel itself. The language is simple and the reading experience is smooth. The story is quite acceptable with no superhuman stance and the middle class colony life is very well portrayed. Considering that it is a debut novel, I must say that the author done a fantastic job. I again congratulate the author and looking forward for his coming novels. Book: Once Upon the Tracks of MumbaiAuthor: Rishi VohraPages: 266 pagesCost: Rs.175Publisher: Jaico Books (2012) You may contact the author for any sort of feedback or suggestion through his personal website (rishivoracom).
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Friday, December 6, 2013

Who is Arvind Kejriwal?

Who is Arvind Kejriwal?

Now every Indian might be knowing who, Arvind Kejriwal is and all about his Aam Aadmi Party. Still many may not follow Indian politics that seriously, or have less interest. For them the name Arvind Kejriwal may seem not so familiar. With Delhi voted in record numbers on Wednesday (67%), there may be resurgence in knowing about Arvind Kejriwal. This article may serve them to know him better.

Personal life

Arvind Kejriwal is now a well known Indian politician and social activist. He was born in Hisar, Haryana on 16th August, 1968 in a well educated, financially strong family and is a highly qualified person. He is the son of Gobind Ran Kejriwal (an electrical engineer by profession) and Gita Devi. He spent in school days in Campus School , Hisar and did his graduation from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur (IIT KGP) in Mechanical Engineering. He first worked in Tata Steel (1989) and came to Kolkata to prepare for civil service examinations. After qualifying in the civil service exam he joined as an officer in IRS (Indian Revenue System) in 1995 and resigned as a joint commissioner of Income Tax Department in 2006.

His wife, Sunita is an IRS officer and the couple has two children (a daughter and a son). He is a vivid follower and performer of Vipassana Meditation and is a complete vegetarian.

Parivartan movement

Arvind Kejriwal started a movement called “Parivartan” i.e. “Change” in 1999 to assist citizens in income tax, electricity and food ration matters in various parts of Delhi, which revealed the massive ration card scams in Delhi. His belief that change comes through small matters came to reality.

Jan Lokpal Bill and Right to Information (RTI)

When Government of India constituted the committee to draft the Jan Lokpal Bill, Arvind Kejriwal was chosen as a representative of civil society. This came after the campaign (also featuring famous Anna Hazare) demanding such bill. He was also arrested for supporting the campaign. He came into the instant limelight for his role in drafting the famous Jan Lokpal Bill and also for his tireless effort in implementing the RTI (Right to Information) in all levels of Government sectors like Income Tax Department, Public Distribution System, Delhi Electricity Boards, Municipal Corporation etc. starting from the grassroots level. He also worked hard to bring life to the poorest Indian citizens. As a result he has been awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Emergent leadership in 2006. He donated the award money to form an NGO (Public Cause Research Foundation) after resigning from the IRS. He also got several other awards including Ashoka Fellow for Civic Engagement in 2004, 'Satyendra K Dubey Memorial Award' from IIT Kanpur in 2005 (for his efforts at transparency in Government sectors), CNN-IBN, 'Indian of the Year' in Public Service (2006), Distinguished Alumnus Award, IIT Kharagpur for Eminent Leadership in 2009 and the Policy Change Agent of the Year from The Economic Times Awards for Corporate Excellence (2010). He also received a grant and fellowship from Awarded a grant and fellowship Association for India's Development and in 2011 received along with Anna Hazare the NDTV Indian of the Year award.

The launch of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)

The Aam Aadmi Party represents the “common man” was established by Arvind Kejriwal in November 2012. The party has the sole goal of representing the common man. The recent Delhi assembly election is the first test for this party and the results will come on Sunday (8th December, 2013) where he has given his nomination paper against three times Chief Minister of Delhi, Sheila Dikshit. He is heavily present in popular social networking sites and also published a book entitled “Swaraj” in 2012.

Feature image photo courtesy: Wikipedia



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Wednesday, December 4, 2013

How to enjoy and be safe in sun

It feels great to be outside in a nice sunny day with our loved ones. We all love to enjoy the sun and spend some quality time outside. Many of us have outdoor work as well. But sun fun is not always safe as it has harmful ultraviolet rays. Prolonged sun exposure can cause health hazards including sunburn, skin cancer (melanoma), eye irritation, premature ageing, immune suppression etc. Whether we are working, playing or exercising in sun, we must consider protecting ourselves from the harmful ultraviolet radiation....... Read more
The post How to enjoy and be safe in sun appeared first on KenFolios.

safe in sun

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Sunday, December 1, 2013

Modern Healthcare scenario in India

Health and healthcare are two separate issues which has not so direct relationship. Good health not only means the absence of disease, but a feeling of well-being or freedom from illness. The health of a given population is judged by their view of proper understanding, illness and healthy living; socioeconomic distinction; health services’ reach and finally the quality and cost associated with care.
On the other hand healthcare covers both medical and preventive care given by various government and private sectors to overcome ill-health. In our country, the healthcare sector is dominated by private companies creating a regressive effect. This is because healthcare is a system solely aimed for public good, which should not be regulated by market demand and utilization. And this cannot be ensured by private companies, but should be taken care by the Government only.
An ideal health care system should have:-

  • Universal access (The health system should be equally accessible to every individual of the society)

  • Sufficient access (Adequate number of hospitals/health centers for all)

  • Inexpensive (fair distribution of cost to serve patients from every socioeconomic group)

  • Competent and quality support staffs (one of the most important but neglected part of the health care system)

  • Extra and specific attention to vulnerable patients (women, children, aged or disabled)

When we consider the above points our health care industry scenario is really disappointing. We do have many best technologies available. Our doctors are also among the best. But our infrastructure of paramedics, clinics and diagnostic centers are still lacking. We are way behind first world countries in this respect and need significant improvement. The major challenge is to build infrastructure to support patients with different socioeconomic backgrounds. We need a strong pool of paramedic staff and an environment which supports innovation. It is impossible to build a strong healthcare system base without enough research and in-depth study. So there is a need for more research grants in medical research from both government and private sectors.
Expensive and less effective ways of treatments are consuming the majority of healthcare expenditure in India. One third of household expenditure is going through medicines and surprisingly Indians are paying more for minor diseases compared to serious illness. Moreover, Indians are heavily overmedicated. Even in the extreme rural environment, the average visit of a person to a doctor is twice that of a U.S. citizen. Imagine the scenario of urban population! At least the educated people of India should come forward and reverse this situation. We should take out some time from everyday life and start educating people and more importantly, himself about health care and medication.
How does modern healthcare touch lives?
Even after 65 years of Independence the touch of the modern healthcare system is inaccessible to the general public as they have to bear up to 70% of the costs associated if not all. This expense is often beyond capacity even to the middle-income group. With growing health related issues in young Indians, affordable healthcare is the urgent need of India. The Herculean task of improving the health care system is a goal we have to reach and modern healthcare will then touch lives all over India. This is a dream we have to make real.
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