Monday, October 8, 2012

Interesting Facts


1 The word "queue" is the only word in the English language that is still pronounced the same way when the last four letters are removed.

2 Beetles taste like apples, wasps like pine nuts, and worms like fried bacon.

3 Of all the words in the English language, the word 'set' has the most definitions!

4 Camel can spit.

5 "Almost" is the longest word in the English language with all the letters in alphabetical order.

6 "Rhythm" is the longest English word without a vowel.

7 In 1386, a pig in France was executed by public hanging for the murder of a child

8 A cockroach can live several weeks with its head cut off!

9 Human thigh bones are stronger than concrete.

10 You can't kill yourself by holding your breath

11 There is a city called Rome on every continent.

12 It's against the law to have a pet dog in Iceland!

13 Your heart beats over 100,000 times a day!

14 Horatio Nelson, one of England's most illustrious admirals was throughout his life, never able to find a cure for his sea-sickness.

15 The skeleton of Jeremy Bentham is present at all important meetings of the University of London

16 Right handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left-handed people

17 Your ribs move about 5 million times a year, everytime you breathe!

18 The elephant is the only mammal that can't jump!

19 One quarter of the bones in your body, are in your feet!

20 Like fingerprints, everyone's tongue print is different!

21 The first known transfusion of blood was performed as early as 1667, when Jean-Baptiste, transfused two pints of blood from a sheep to a young man

22 Fingernails grow nearly 4 times faster than toenails! Most dust particles in your house are made from dead skin!

23 The present population of 5 billion plus people of the world is predicted to become 15 billion by 2080.

24 Women blink nearly twice as much as men.

25 Adolf Hitler was a vegetarian, and had only ONE testicle.

26 Honey is the only food that does not spoil. Honey found in the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs has been tasted by archaeologists and found edible.

27 Months that begin on a Sunday will always have a "Friday the 13th."

28 Coca-Cola would be green if colouring weren’t added to it.

29 On average a hedgehog's heart beats 300 times a minute.

30 More people are killed each year from bees than from snakes.

31 The average lead pencil will draw a line 35 miles long or write approximately 50,000 English words.

32 More people are allergic to cow's milk than any other food.

33 Camels have three eyelids to protect themselves from blowing sand.

34 The placement of a donkey's eyes in its' heads enables it to see all four feet at all times!

35The six official languages of the United Nations are: English, French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian and Spanish.

36 Earth is the only planet not named after a god.

37 It's against the law to burp, or sneeze in a church in Nebraska, USA.

38 You're born with 300 bones, but by the time you become an adult, you only have 206.

39 Some worms will eat themselves if they can't find any food!

40 Dolphins sleep with one eye open!

41 It is impossible to sneeze with your eyes open

42 The worlds oldest piece of chewing gum is 9000 years old!

43 The longest recorded flight of a chicken is 13 seconds

44 Queen Elizabeth I regarded herself as a paragon of cleanliness. She declared that she bathed once every three months, whether she needed it or not

45 Slugs have 4 noses.

46 Owls are the only birds who can see the colour blue.

47 A man named Charles Osborne had the hiccups for 69 years!

48 A giraffe can clean its ears with its 21-inch tongue!

49 The average person laughs 10 times a day!

50 An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain

Source: Various
Compiled by: Aparna RamMohan Sridhar
Disclaimer: The above list has been compiled from different encyclopedia and other knowledge sources. Neither the compiler nor the blog owner takes any responsibility for the authenticity of the above mentioned information.

Friday, October 5, 2012

Spectacular Three Saturdays

Top of FormThreeThree Saturday Packages + Energized Wealth and Health Protection Yantras
2nd Saturday: Destroy Enemies & Fulfill Dreams Rituals on 29th September
3rd Saturday: Vishnu & Lakshmi Wealth Rituals on 6th October
4th Saturday: Vishnu & Shiva in Full Power Rituals on 13th October

Vishnu, the God of Wealth has a unique power on these Saturdays and is particularly effective in minimizing negative effects from Saturn.  Unique Astrological Configuration for Wealth CreationThese 4 Spectacular Saturdays are infused with Vishnu Power:Sun is in Virgo (which is Ruled by Vishnu)Exalted Mercury is in Virgo for the first two weeksExalted Saturn is in LibraMoon is in a Fixed sign on each of the 4-Saturdays Gaja Kesari Yoga formed on each Saturday (A Powerful Elephant-Lion Yoga). This is a particularly significant and powerful Vishnu Purattasi -- At Sunrise on each of the 4 Saturdays, the Moon falls in a fixed sign and forms a powerful Gaja Kesari Yoga with Jupiter, which brings increased wealth.13th October : Sani PradoshamKarmic debt does not permit us to go beyond our limited consciousness.

However Saturn's lessons give opportunity. It is by understanding and working with Saturn that we can find balance with past karma and can go forward consciously to a more refined way of self-expression as an individual and collectively.  Rice Flour Lamp to Appease VishnuDuring every Saturday in in the month of Kanya, which falls between September and October, the devotees of Vishnu visit His temples for worship. For those who cannot travel at length, it is through the rice flour lamp (Mavilakku) that He manifests Himself to the devotees. Hence, this practice is being followed on Saturdays.Did You KnowMuhurta refers to astrological influences prevalent at a specific moment in time. Muhurta is the study of time and it is used to ensure success in life by selecting the best date and time for performing any activity (marraige, house warming, legal affairs, car purchase, haircut…).

This astrological tool, allows you to counteract obstructions that exists in your natal birth chart.“Time is Everything, Time Controls Everything, Time is Destiny, Time is Karma.”  The planets are the agents that deliver the karma you are due, at the precise time that the karma is due. The 12 houses indicate the area of your life (health, wealth, career, relationships,...) where the Karmas will unfold and if the Karmas will help or harm that area.

Original Source: Unknown
Compiled by: Aparna RamMohan Sridhar

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Palakkad Recipe - Moru Kuttan

Mother in Law’s Palakkad recipes
Palakkad Morukuttan recipe
Ingredients: 100 gm Vegetable, 1/4 Tspn fenugreek (Vendiyam), 50gm scrapped coconut (thenga turuval), salt, 4-5 green chilli (vettal milagai), 2 ladles (30 gm) churned buttermilk (morru / salt less lassi), 1/2 ladle coconut oil (edible), mustard, curry leaves and ural dal (ulutham paruppu) for garnishing
Procedures:
  1. Cook vegetable (vegetables to be cut in 1 inch cube size) in cooker till soft.
  2. Remove the cooked vegetable and put it in a vessel (in which you can cook the morukuttan).
  3. Grind finely vendhiyam, salt, scrapped coconut and green chilli together in a mixie. It should be smooth enough to get mixed with the morukuttan and should not stand out as separate particle.
  4. Add the ground paste to the vegetable in the vessel and mix them all together. Boil the mixture till the bubbles come up.
  5. When fully boiled, add the churned buttermilk or morru to the mixture. Mix well for 1 minute and switch off the gas.
  6. Sprout mustard and urad dal in coconut oil and add to the mixture.
Choice:
a.       Add additional plain coconut oil to the vegetable (choice). This enhances the smell and flavor of the dish.
b.      If the mixture is thick, it will serve the purpose as a side dish and if you would like to mix it with rice , then add required water and boil it with the mixture to reduce the thickness.
Note: Vegetable used for morukuttan could be White / Red Pumpkin (Pushnikkai / Ellavan / Matthan / Kaddu), Ladyfinger (Bindi / Vendakai), Yam (Sennai Kizhangu), Raw Banana (Vazahakai / Kacha Kella)
Receipe by: Kamala Swaminathan
Compiled by: Aparna RamMohan Sridhar

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Healthy food - Tender Coconut

Benefits of Tender Coconut Water
  1. Good for feeding infants suffering from intestinal disturbances. 
  2. Oral rehydration medium
  3. Contains organic compounds possessing growth promoting properties
  4. Keeps the body cool
  5. Application on the body prevents prickly heat and summer boils and subsides the rashes caused by small pox, chicken pox, measles, etc.
  6. Kills intestinal worms
  7. Presence of saline and albumen makes it a good drink in cholera cases
  8. Checks urinary infections. 
  9. Excellent tonic for the old and sick
  10. Cures malnourishment.
  11. Diuretic
  12. Effective in the treatment of kidney and urethral stones
  13. Can be injected intravenously in emergency case.
  14. Found as blood plasma substitute because it is sterile, does not produce heat, does not destroy red blood cells and is readily accepted by the body.
  15. Aids the quick absorption of the drugs and makes their peak concentration in the blood easier by its electrolytic effect.
  16. Urinary antiseptic and eliminates poisons in case of mineral poisoning.
 Source: Coconut Board of India
Sugars
Sugars in the forms of glucose and fructose form an important constituent of the tender nut water. The concentration of sugars in the nut water steadily increases from about 1.5 per cent to about 5 - 5.5 per cent in the early months of maturation and then slowly falls reaching about 2 per cent at the stage of the full maturity of the nut. In the early stages of maturity sugars are in the form of glucose and fructose (reducing sugars) and sucrose (non-reducing sugar) appears only in later stages which increases with the maturity while the reducing sugars fall. In the fully mature nut approximately 90 per cent of the total sugars is sucrose.

Minerals
Tender coconut water contains most of the minerals such as potassium, sodium, calcium, phosphorous, iron, copper, sulphur and chlorides. Among the minerals more than half is potassium the concentration of which is markedly influenced by potash manuring. Tender coconut water being rich in potassium and other minerals plays a major role to increase the urinary output.
Protein
Coconut water contains small amounts of protein. The percentage of arginine, alanine, cystine and serene in the protein of tender coconut water are higher than those in cow’s milk. Since it does not contain any complex protein the danger of producing shock to the patients is minimised.
Vitamins
Tender coconut water contains both ascorbic acid and vitamins of B group. The concentration of ascorbic acid ranges from 2.2 to 3.7mg per ml, which gradually diminishes as the kernel surrounding the water begins to harden.
Source: The Wealth of India (1950)
Article compiled by: Aparna RamMohan Sridhar

Sunday, September 30, 2012

RELIGIOUS CONSERVATISM

An insight into the immediate past regarding the nation’s religious heritage, disregards its conservatism that the nation so boasts about. A matter looked into any angle makes the infamous phenomenon into a
fact- CORRUPTION. All around the world people strongly condemn the act of terrorism but territorially people are ignorant of the true facts that actually flank the reality. None of us are really sure about how
much of window dressing is done by the media. But once the personalities’ loop holes are identified they get completely destroyed once for all. This approach is actually required for many persons in
the current status of affairs. Reviewing the religious approach of our Indian people its rather a distressing sight that there are still followers for the so called fraud idols. While some of the religious leaders were cornered with sex allegations, many others were accused in a murder trial. With a basic knowledge in religious matters I can confidently vouch that the purity that men of god carry must be truly immense but with such allegations its completely killed. Now who voices this out?

We still find news where you have got innumerable female followers behind such religious followers. One may tease him with the absence of men. The word devotees now cease to exist. It’s skillfully replaced in terms of gender where a line is drawn. A flash news suddenly crops up- The god man is a murderer. All values wander around the basic value “that never hate anyone”. Murder is beyond any questioning. But still we pay homage and loyalty is unshaken.

Ok, now this is one sect. The other sect of absolute crime is money laundering. The state of Kerala now boasts about the richness that’s shortly going to be attached to its government- the wealth of
Padmanabhaswamy temple. How did the wealth accumulate? This is not the question that’s seriously addressed but who is going to claim its ownership is the hot meat baking. Society cannot be blamed for this tendency because everyone requires money to fight the growing inflationary concerns. Post the death of one of the leading religious leaders of our times, the value of his property has come under extreme scanner. Any lay man will post the question as to why this issue didn’t crop up during the regime of this god man? Was the man himself involved in corruption or was it the lower hierarchy taking care of the management? The CBI of our country will try to crack this case within the next decade. This has been the specialty of our judicial system. Any crime will be redressed only during its longest crime period.

Finally one can conclude that no matter what happens, no matter how many crimes twine with itself, there will be always a section of our society who will still expand their operations in the long run. It
sounds like some commando operation but it’s not going to be long before they get into the popularity spree. However there is always a hope of a radical change in the society as far as this issue is
concerned. Where money can be invested in many charitable ways it is mostly spent as a fee for such people. Currency has completely wiped away the thought of spending for others but only the one way traffic of earning it from other others.
Political leaders have their own worries. But their cabinet ministers must be interested with high powered money involved. Let’s hope no aerobics takes place in the near future.
Written By: Sudha Sankar
Disclaimer : The views in the article are solely that of the writer and blog owner holds no responsibility or opinion of the same.

Friday, September 28, 2012

A BATTLE THAT NEVER ENDS


History has marked some of the best battles fought between the greatest emperors of all times. To cite few examples we can mention the battles of Panipat, Buxar, Waterloo, Plassey, all fought to affix their name and power in the new territory earned in the name of war. A battle once started has a definite ending which comprehends the dire consequences that will follow. These battles are most remembered for the thumping victory that re-writes history, an army filled with braveness, massive bloodshed, tearful eyes over corpses etc. As the generations pass-by, the closed bottle of reality that ancestors faced during war time, opens to drain itself of its horrors so much so that the lives are lead in a free and comfortable zone.

But the only battle that hasn't ceased to exist right from the stone age till date, has been the record breaking forms of violence inflicted upon a woman between the four walls of her room. In every walk of her life she is left to battle the horrendous forms of violence as in "female genital mutilation, rape, domestic violence, honor killings, breast ironing, acid throwing, sexual violence, women trafficking" and many more to continue.

Female genital mutilation or in crude words called female circumcision is a tradition that is followed in many families wherein the female genitalia is removed to reduce the sexual feelings which saves one from pre-marriage pregnancy. This procedure is done by the family members themselves using indigenous tools. Lack of an experienced hand in doing the procedure harms the sexual interests of the women even after marriage since it becomes a painful and bloody intercourse and also it leads to complications during pregnancy. In spite of so many limitations and concerns this practice is still followed in many middle east countries. Also many of us wouldn't have come across the practice called breast ironing wherein the girls breasts are ironed using hot objects to reduce its maturity which is claimed to reduce the incidence of teenage pregnancy. This happens in many African countries with the highest proportion in Cameroon. Women trafficking is the most condemned act of violence where women are traded for either domestic or sexual slavery. A woman who comes under this network of trafficking finds it difficult to escape its clutches where she is not even given the freedom to commit suicide to save her sanctity. One may think that its only the physical being of a woman targeted but this has a direct impact on her psychological feelings such that it results in depression and escapades like drugs, alcohol etc. Now there cant be any turn around for a woman and has to necessarily end her life within this circle.

Many acts are mostly committed by men for just fulfilling their sexual desire that doesn't even hold up to a night but holds the remaining life of the women. Its the most disgraceful form of act committed with absolutely no remorse on their part. As far as love marriages are concerned the couple turn to their parents for the greatest support ever, but they in turn reward them by either burning them alive or mental torture for the rest of their life by not accepting their chosen partner. Hence the name honor killings emerge. Anywhere and everywhere its the women that have to face all problems. Time and again the only factor that one can realize is that in spite of undergoing all these hardships they will be the first person to stand for support if anything happens to their loved ones. They still live till the end to protect their loved ones. Just because of this u find that cases of domestic violence never come out in light. If it was the other way round where the men were left to battle out all these, they wouldn't survive the day to face the world the next day. As it is, the sex ratio is alarming as girls are not welcomed for many reasons. The problems in the grass root levels can be wiped away only if a messiah is born in every household. Only then can we proudly say that women are really becoming empowered. 

Written By: Sudha Sankar

Disclaimer: Article is purely the view of the writer and the blog owner shares no opinion in support or against the same.

Thursday, September 27, 2012

THE TITANIC THAT RESURFACED THE OCEAN


Indian colonization when phenomenally traced, gives a beautiful depiction of a nonchalant nation showing the highest percentage of ignorance towards the British sketch of “prisoner in one’s own homeland”. The revolutionary image of freedom fired by M.K. GANDHI and his associates transformed the struggle of one person to a nation’s struggle.  The thirst for freedom won us the much needed independence. 

The game of cricket that was gifted to the world by the British became yet another event of mass support bringing the 28 states into one. THE WORLD CUP that takes its stage every four years became a relishing dish when the cup was first lifted by KAPIL DEV during 1983. The dream of lifting yet another world cup was shaped very professionally by SAURAV GANGULY who took the home side to finals. The country had its chance to once again feel alive when M.S. DHONI finally lifted the 2011 world cup after 28 years of wait.

The game was a true highlighter to the fact that people from all walks of life whether knowledgeable about cricket or not, disregarding their social status were found cheering and praying for their  country’s victory especially for the MASTER BLASTER SACHIN TENDULKAR. The love for the nation was truly felt by everyone while the government was let to rejuvenate their energy for defending themselves from corruption charges. 

It’s a rarity in sight where a nation divided by multiple factors of religion, language etc. stood undivided over the magical cricket cup.

LET THE YEAR BRING COLLECTIVE HAPPINESS AND SUCCES TO ALL. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

Article Written by Sudha Sankar