Momma, there's a book in my closet

I was sitting in a clinic last month waiting to see the doctor. On the phone next to me was a lady who was speaking to someone about her book. She was also furiously writing in a dairy all the time she wasn't on this call. Book on the way.

I take these evening classes on Sunday and it's all high tech as our professors are beamed from another city on our computers. In my class in front of me is a young girl and she wasn't paying attention to the professor talking about balance sheets. She was browsing a page instead on how to get a book contract.

I visit a bookstore and there are at least 5 new titles from Indian writers that I had never read of.

The lady from the waiting room. The girl from the class. The bookstore. The message is clear - there is a revolution in the making and it's been written into a book across generations.


Nnot just any book. A sweet love story or a tragic account of life as it is. Both good subjects in themselves that could be made into Bollywood (3 Idiots) or Hollywood (aka Slumdog Millionaire) movies. But there's a fat chance of that!! Then what are all these writers hoping to achieve?

As someone who works in the publishing (ok not books but publishing nevertheless) industry I can surely say that money can and should not be the main motive. There's hardly any royalty to be made and distributions costs big time and sucks not to mention.

Perhaps they are misguided by the success of one Chetan Bhagat - he of the ordinary writing, extraordinary connection with the masses. But one Chetan Bhagat does not make a revolution or inspiration. So maybe it's Arundhati Roy. Or Vikram Seth. Salman Rushie could it be? Hmm suddenly it dawns on me that we have quite a few literary celebrities.

Not so many Indian scientists or sportspersons are internationally known but between AR, VS, SR there some formidable reputation and talent we can boast of.  I'm not sure the case can be rested but it is some sort of an answer. Do you have a better one? Comment please - you are allowed to anonymously if you please. It will be nice to know.

What's your retirement plan?

It's that time of the year again....when every cubicle dweller in India and perhaps elsewhere too has to get his or her investment proofs in order and deposit them with the finance department lest for the rest two months of the fiscal the take home is smaller than the tax witheld.

While we all do diligantly what needs to be done to avoid an immediate loss I wonder how many of us are doing what should be done to secure our future.

Let's face it - we do not have the cushy (once you factor in the never ending dearness allowance linked pensions) govt jobs our parents had. And we are unlikely to have the kind of children who provided for their ageing parents (like our mom and dad did). For those who have grand delusions about ageing in an egalitarian society I would like to remind you that the Indian govt says that 32 Rs a day is all you need to be above the poverty line (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-15542957) So don't expect much from the state of India given the numbers it is dealing with.

The bottomline is that if you don't plan wisely for retirement early enough you just might not be able to afford it when you get to the right age.

From all the reading I've done on the topic here is some distilled wisdom to get you started:

a) Take a go at retirement calculators - they can make a good starting point and help find out how much money you need to save so that you can maintain your current standard of living in the twilight years. Remember it's just an estimation. Don't get depressed and log off when you see the crores and crores you need to save. All said and done it's good enough if you start saving some more and definitely better than not saving at all!

b) Start early - the power of compounding should never be underestimated.....EVER...specially by the young who stand to benefit from it the most. Have a go at the various compounding calculators floating on the Internet and get dazzled and inspired. And don't fool yourself by saying you'd rather wait for the time when you have reached your peak earning potential to save. There is a peak to earning but for most of us that's also the peak for spending. Yes, you can.

c) Public Provident Fund Please -- If you stay in India and have access to PPF - open an account now!! In all the 13+ years I've been working my only consistent savings have been in the PPF. The PF - you will withdraw or forget about, the NSCs and stuff you will take as a mini lottery or reinvestment kitty, the money from insurance, infrastructure bonds etc will seem like a blip in your savings account - the one thing that's locked and hence stays stocked is the PPF. So whether you have excess cash to spare or not - max the now one lakh PPF limit every year - save every month for god's sake. Don't be swayed by people who say you can earn much more elsewhere - in reality you may or you may not -- but where ever you put the money as an alternative it's unlikely to stay put there in time for the cause that needs you the most. Yourself, 21 years down the line.

d) Stock up -  focused bit by bit. Unless you have the time and balls for day trading, zero in on a few select stocks and buy them month after month -  it's best if you have a demat accont and set up your savings accont so that some amount automatically gets transferred to this demat a/c every month like a SIP...this is your trading kitty. Your advisers are on TV and on the web (take everything but PE with a pinch of salt..maybe even PE) or you can simply turn the SIP in the favour of a trusted Mutual Fund. Personally I love tuning into TV expert shows but the best is the web with sites  like www.moneycontrol.com because you have all the tools you need to do  proper research -- from company notices to trends etc. Top up your chosen stocks or MFs when they are down and stay put in the market. In the long run if the fundas are right the stock and your net value is bound to soar. I have stocks in 3 companies - believe me on some days when they are going in opp directions on the bourses I feel 3 is too many. But overall there is a nice story building on the returns side. It takes a while in the kind of irrational years we've seen but it does happen.


e) Buy a house. Don't wait for a dream house, perfect location, mera wala blue, just go out and buy the first decent, ready to possess (preferably) house you can afford -- ideally somewhere habitable and close to commercial offices (like Gurgaon and Whitefield) so the value goes up faster. Somehow in India property is just going up, up and away from the reach of the common man. So buy your first house as soon as you can. You can always sell and trade up later. Waiting (beyond 2-3 years) may mean you are totally out of running for the property that was once within your reach and wringing your hands not to mention moaning your luck. In fact I would go a step further and advise - get debt free on the first house and go ahead and buy a second house or commercial property for a steady rental income while you are still earning a salary.

f) Get medical insurance and get the one that covers you life long or near the age you're planning to die. Because you will be between jobs sometimes. Because it's easier to when you are young. Because you are human and someday surely you will have to visit the hospital and that should be the day when your foresight makes you proud. Trust me!

g) Create a financial goals list for yourself with timelines and plan your spends and savings around it. If you're going ya ya someday dude I can only feel sad for you. From my sheet which I recently did  I know that I need to switch jobs in a year or get a handsome raise or write a bestseller or marry a millionar. That is to say I have a sense of purpose. 

Lifechanging, you can say. Quite like a good retirement plan!

A self help book that err..helps!

There is one thing about self help books you should know. If you find that you have been reading several, over a fairly decent number of years then you might have a case of short help syndrome wherein you keep saying you want to fix what you need to but never actually get around to doing it.

However the good news (coming from a person who has been there and er not done that for years) is that short help syndrome can be cured. Try "The Success Principles."

Yeah I know the title is feeble. You almost wish the author had not caricartured the whole industry by choosing a name like that. Infact I almost didn't pick up the book because of the title but then I am compulsive about wanting to improve and so....

As I casually browsed through (and I always casually browse through a book before I pick it up nowadays lest I buy and never open it post that one time when I decide it's useless) I got a feeling that what he is writing makes sense.

The "he" by the way is Jack Canfield. There is a co-author as well but I'm not sure what her role is as it seems to be entirely written in a male first person. I almost imagined a grandfatherly figure reading it out to me as a bed time activity. Yes Jack Canfield isn't quite Donald Trump but just as compelling.

If you read self-help books, Jack Canfied may ring a bell. Infact it's quite likely he may ring several bells in your head and some of them could be warning bells. He is the same guy who wrote 'Chicken Soup for the Soul' and there were so many in the series it covered practically half the developed world from teen moms to prom queens (ok I made that up but I'm sure the stories are somewhere there). The point is I wasn't quite a fan of the series so if you aren't one too....discount that.

The Success Principles is a different dip altogether. In fact I am not ashamed to admit this is the only self-help book I have re-read 2 times and plan to read yet again just to remind myself of things that need to be done.

As you leaft through the chapters you start with owning up responsiblity for your life, put your dreams together and get on an action path to achieve them one step at a time. On the way you can test out the little gems of advice and something is surely going to validate itself and have you saying "Wow, He's Right!!"

Taste "The Success Principles", it's a habit forming thing!

IPhone - To aye or not to aye?

Blame it on a moment of weakness but even though I so wanted to buy a Blackberry as my next phone for months I finally settled for an IPhone on my birthday last year.

The reasons to buy a BB were several- My de facto best friend has a BB and so wanted me to be on BB chat. Plus I could do my e-mail on the fly. And not to mention the BB Curve is a beauty to look at with the aluminium frame on the side. But my brother shrugged all of these aside with just a wave of the hand - a bit like a don dismissing the achievements of a corner peddler - and told me I just had to go for the iPhone.... I don't quite recollect the words but the promise somewhat sounded like a "life changing experience". Now how do you say no to that?


My last thoughts on the way to the decision were - Of course the BB is cool. But the IPhone in India is still a scare beast. So uber. And anyway, since my company policy doesn't really require me to check mails on my phone I can take the risk. Plus my brother's convert like passion has to count for something no. Then there was that little matter of the really good offer which sealed the deal.


Two months down the line here's what I think.


FOR
1. Design - The number 1 reason to buy this phone is that it's still an eyeball catcher.
2. The apps - I have a mini dictionary, facebook, skype on mine and that's only the free stuff. The apps are good. And you will download and use them even if you're not the type. Just try once!
3. Touch screen and some thoughtful controls like when I press on a number in a message it selects it to dial. The UI is for most part - Nice.
4. Built in ipod - the speaker sucks but put the earphones on and you can rock on(e).
5. Wi-Fi, Internet and Mail - though the latter works well for Gmail and such light stuff. I couldn't get it to work for my official mail so I wouldn't know if it's as good for that but that could have been just me.


AGAINST
1. Go figure mentality - this is why I hated Apple to begin with. The oh we're so simple you won't need a manual. But guess what - it takes ages to figure out some things on your own if you are an apple novice. IPOD controls for one!!
2. You lose some - Take Call records for example. Once new ones replace them the old ones just disappear. Unlike the Nokia Communicator which I had two years ago for example where you can access them months afterwards via records history, once your call history doesn't have them your call records are gone. Or how to edit / delete things - it's a pain sometimes. There are several such things that don't work the way they do in Nokia or Samsung or Motorola. So while you'll be happy sliding photos like you can't do on the regular phones you will also miss the other comfort features you liked on your erstwhile phone. It's bound to happen.
3. Voice recording - You can't record decent voice on this phone - live conversation is completely impossible so if someone's giving you a phone number to jot down - well you better jot down even if you are driving. And normal voice recording sucks even with some applications I downloaded.
4. No video recording mode - like why? Even my piddly Samsung that cost 1/3rd had this
5. And last but also the most important reason - It really is delicate - The Samsung phone I last had was also a touchscreen on the top. I dropped it like a zillion times with no crack. In fact hardly a scratch - ok I guess a couple barely noticeable ones. The IPhone cracks after a few drops. To be fair it may take about 6-7 side falls but you keep dropping it chances are it will land head first and crack. Mine did. My worst fear about owning the iPhone came true in 2 months of owning one. And guess what - replacing the screen "officially" costs as much as a new Blackberry!! OOUCCH.


My brother still insists iPhone is the best. But for me I'd say that if the call to own one doesn't come naturally to you go ahead and settle for a more practical option. It's cool yes. But sorry bro it's really not as life changing as say, power steering.

An idea worth spreading

After nearly 2 years in hiatus - seriously time does fly!! - I am back on my blog. Would have been back sooner but it didn't seem like someone would miss hearing from me. Much has happened since then but then again a lot is still the same. So let me not waste your time on the trivial pursuit which my life has been. Instead I'd like to share with you something that's worth sharing. TED.com : Visit it, browse through, play the videos and be inspired.

Here are a few I liked:
Steve Jobs on How to Live Before you die (Of course we have all read the article. Now hear it live from the horse's mouth)
http://www.ted.com/talks/steve_jobs_how_to_live_before_you_die.html

Sean Carroll on the arrow of time (one of my favorite topics never mind that I hadn't heard of Mr Carroll before)
http://www.ted.com/talks/sean_carroll_on_the_arrow_of_time.html

David Blaine on how he held his breath for 17 minutes (just to answer the question for yourself - is it possible?)
http://www.ted.com/talks/david_blaine_how_i_held_my_breath_for_17_min.html

The only downside to this is the slow bandwidth in India. It takes forever to load and play anything. What I for do for You Tube feeds is just have the video download in the background in mute and once its done glide the play button to rewind to start. The trick is not to reload - just glide down the button back. Works pretty ok. Try it and help others do the same. Like TED it's an idea worth spreading :)

A treat for your computer screen

An important part of being a friend is to introduce your friends to experiences that will add instant delight to their life. It's not a stated rule but that's how friendship works (if it hasn't struck you so far well try noticing now). Hearing about a nice movie, restaurant, sale, new phone and so much more is best from a friend's mouth. Not to mention most believable. I've often been introduced to new concepts and things by friends, not necessarily only close buddies, and that has left me richer for the experience.

So as your suburban pal here's my little pouch of delight for you. An idea that hooks you instantly and for good - if you just go ahead and try it once.

A treat for your computer screen and you.

I'm talking about the pleasure of an awesome photograph as your desktop background.

My personal choice is

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/photo-contest/wallpaper

where pictures from some of the world's best photographs and interesting places come together. And there's a new batch to choose from every week.

I usually visit the site every couple of weeks when I'm beginning to get a little tired of the current masterpiece on my desktop. I know the new one will add a little bit of joy to my life every time I look at it.

And that's saying a lot in these troubled times isn't it?

Try it!

Change

I just had a name change operation.
For my blog.

From Single in the Suburbs to Suburban Pal.

Alright it's not a rebranding exercise on the scale of the Dhirubhai Ambani Group but this blog still has a religious following of one and to that fellowship I must explain this move.

Turns out there is BIG columnist called Sara Susannah Katz who has a column of the same name. And "Sara Susannah Katz is a divorced mother of two living in the Midwest. Read each installment of her dating diary below as she searches for love, online and off. " Yikes!!! Seems I was the last to know.

I only found out today as I was clicking Google trying to look if my blog showed up in any search (what's the technical term for it...Ego surf I think or to me more accurate it should be called Blogegoing - ok that's a 'maybe' though I'm tempted to add you heard it first from your Suburban Pal)

Anyway, on discovering Ma'am Katz's existence I decided I Kan't have a column of the same name (Sushmita Bose's Single in the City made me uncomfortable to start with and it wasn't even online) and instantly went in for a re-namkaran ceremony.

It took me less than 3 minutes - I lOVE BLOGSPOT! but the strange thing is --- post facto -- It does feel like CHANGE.
It's like some part of my online personality and the subject matter on this blog has been affected and will subsequently be molded by this new friendly name. A bit like naming your baby Happy Singh could destine him to spend a good part of his life chasing hens in a Punjab village....but then that's real life.. and this is virtual.

Even Superman didn't intrude into Clark Kent's life.

Is there a deeper reason why IBM (someone out there invented the working WWW no so they could put up scores from Olympic games!!) sounds like I be M?

Or is it just me whining about nothing?

Shopping highs and lows!

It's the silly sale season again and I'm having a blast shopping. Well at least on the days that I don't feel like blasting the sales staff.
But before the grouse, the glee factor - Van Huesen (oohhhh!!) has a fabulous 50% off on their women's range. Think wonderfully sexy office shirts, dresses, tops and even comfy spaghettis which are positively a steal at about INR 200 something. I would compete in a high heel race for it. Now why don't they have these prices on for most of the year is a mystery to me but never mind. For Van Huesen this 50% seems to be a first and I've already made three trips to their shop with much success. As they say for McDonald's "I'm lovin it!"
Wills Lifestyle has a sale too (does anyone shop with them when they don't have a sale?) but I didn't pick up something this time. There was nothing new to pick...strange!! Plus when I wen they had a stupid deal where you had to buy worth INR 3,500 to get the same amount of shopping free. And I only liked about 1 top. They have this typical knitted see through number (and keep adding more of it every season) but I'm kinda done with wearing that stuff to work.
Anyway at least the guy in the store gave me a nice smile and wished me good afternoon. Plus they have excellent customer service (one of the best in Indian retail) so I know I'll be back next time.
Talking of customer service WLS is definitely an exception the norm is more like Koutons in Mega Mall which is organised like some 60's saree shop. Anyway, they have a nice 50 +40 discount running on the women's range and I thought a couple of tops were kinda cool. But barely had I touched one of the t-shirts in the shelf then a man screamed from behind "Sabina!". The counter girl turned back and said "Ma'am all our products are on display"! It was a synonym for "Lay Off" and that's precisely what I did by walking out of the shop!!!
Why do Indian stores get it so wrong. You step into a shop and people run up to you (like you're Aishwarya Rai signing autographs). Always it is the same pesky question to the effect "What I'm looking for?" Do most people go into a store with a clear agenda to the effect "I want a yellow T-shirt with blue stripes, size 12 please". The behaviour of the sales staff often suggests so. In that case I can understand I am an exception. Still, I so feel like telling them "I'm looking for clothes!!! Are you selling music albums or what?!!!"
I wish they would just let the customer browse and pick at their own leisure. And some of us do take more time to decide if we like a certain pink. Your sales flunky piercing from the back does not add any momentum to this process.
I always ask for help when I need the smaller size and to me it's enough that someone is handy (best at an arm and leg's distance so I can call out). Believe me I do appreciate the support. And I am thanful you invested in helpful, cooperative staff (not the bored, flunkeys of the para above). So please can you get the little annoyances that you no doubt feel are courtesies out of the way!!
Gotta go now - for some more weekend retail therapy. The irritating attendant at Koutons put me off for yesterday but as they say you can't keep a true shopper down (not for long anyway!)...
Cheers to SALE, it's the one four letter word I LOVE.

Fuelling hypochondria and hyper awareness the Google way!

Recently I had the misfortune of contracting a rare urr emm...condition. I woke up one fine (pun intended) morning with my eyes all swollen and blisters over my face. I had no clue what the hell had happened to me. I tried squishing the blisters and went to off to work looking like somebody had boxed me the previous night!

Since I work for an IT company where there are no doctors in the workforce for friendly advise I turned to Google for a free diagnosis. I searched for swollen eyes which led to all kinds of posts describing how people suffered theirs for weeks and months till they found out it was a food allergy or till they found out how it could get better (using Nizoral shampoo on lashes for e.g.) without any idea of what caused it in the first place.

I read that strange rashes on skin can be caused by all kinds of things from hard to diagnose food allergies to hard to treat conditions like herpes.

Worse they could take months to heal!!!

I was ready to drown in self pity and remorse when a little bright idea struck me...why not go to the doctor even if I had a fat chance of being diagnosed correctly given all the testimonials that Google threw up.

I tried calling up the most famous dermatologist in town but her secretary told me I couldn't get an appointment till next week. Not only that she slammed the phone on me. So much for customer service!! I couldn' t even get in my angry "And what if I were to die off by then.." remark.

Next stop was trying to find an offshoot of a respectable chain of hospitals or a standalone clinic where they had speciality doctors like dermatologists. Thankfully I found one soon enough and booked my appointment for the very same evening.

Turns out I'd been bitten or rather touched by a distant relative of the Spanish fly. A blister beetle! The doctor told me rather non-chalantly that it was common enough in this season. Oooh how much I loved her for saving me from food allergies, herpes and not to mention AIDS (why at the slightest threat of a disease I start thinking AIDS is beyond me but it's almost become like a 10 on the scale of the things you can contract that I just can't seem to stop triggering this this stupid response even when I'm only sitting on 3. Of course the thought that you can get AIDS in all kinds of ways - dentist etc etc adds to my paranoia)!!

Anyway post diagnosis I came back home and did a whole lot of Googling on my condition "Blister Beetle Dermatitis". I think I know more about it now than even my doctor who suggested the beetle bit me when post my research I know the beetle doesn't bite but releasing a kind of poison when you crush it. Anyway I looked up images of the beetle, killed off any insect in sight that looked like it (and there were many at home) started bolting my doors in the evening (the beetles get attracted to fluorescent light) and heaved a slight of relief as the medicine worked and the non blisters started healing in a short time. I went from looking like I had been smacked by a helmet to scratched while played basketball in a matter of days...just as those medical papers revealed in Google searches said I would.

Moral of the story: Once you know what's bugging you Googling can help...but the best way to deal with a condition is still to go to the doctor not the Internet!!

Tragedy of modern love

I wish we could only love the worthy but the tragedy is we are more inclined to go for the mysterious and the scarce. This poem is a comment or rather lament on that state of existance.

I love you every day
Even if you are never there
And when doing so I must conclude
that my life's comfortable enough
that I can think of you and your love
and carry on missing you when you are never there
without giving up or giving in to dispair
or being cynical for that matter

The best music for your money's worth

Well, well, well, after my best chai story here I am with another scoop in yet another edition of my rather irregular blog. This time it's going to be music for your ears especially if they are rather partial to quality sound.

After listening to the Sony's, Onkyo's and Bose's of the world get ready to be introduced to the best value for money sound being manufactured right here in apna Delhi.

Handcrafted under the personal supervision of Mr Nakra, whom me and my partner fondly refer to as the Bose-Einstien condensate (he seems a bit of a genius to us) Enbee systems do not have jewels or cubes to boast of but they deliver on one place where it matters most - bang for your buck.

Till date everyone's who's been to a party at our house says a good word about the music system (and ours is 1984 old). Guess how many times has it been serviced in all these years - 0.

Anyway the reason why I am writing this now is the happy conversion of one of my good friends from Mass Comm (who spends half his life in a sound studio so clearly knows what it ought to be) who has just picked up an Enbee for himself. It's not that Bose is not good he said but this quality at this price is simply amazing. That leaves me personally thrilled for some reason.

If you'd like to contact Mr Nakra, visit him or buy an Enbee system of your own leave a comment on this Blog and I'll pass on the details. But hurry, he's in semi-retirement mode and may soon stop making these glorious beauties after all. And that will be one big loss for music-kind!

Does shaadi.com really work for 30+ or the second time?

Given that arranged marriages are the de facto way people get married (and it doesn't work quite as well when you're 30+ or trying the second time around) finding a way to connect the once bitten or marriage shy is both a challenge and an opportunity.

One would think the age new mate engines (sites like shaadi.com) would work well but one look at the 30+ profiles and I quickly logged off for a good couple of months (err I might have to go back though).

It's not the websites fault - it's us.

Seems no one in India splits until they were somehow trapped into marrying the nightmare of their dreams. Every second profile screams "Innocent divorcee" almost like it's some kind of desirable educational qualification. Really?? I wonder. Is there anyone out there who could be kinda repentent but better for the experience. I mean to me that sounds much more acceptable, don't you think! "Innocent..." is probably an invention of the same people who brought you descriptions like "wheatish girl, convent educated from respectable family, BA pass... " the first time around. Well the latter I could use to describe myself partially but never would (you know what I mean?)..so"innocent divorcee"...no way (even if you were taken for a ride)

But till then do people like me have much choice but to browse the likes of Shaadi: I mean one can't expect to run into prospects in a bar in Delhi, or does it happen all the time (and I'm the dummy)?

30 + singles / divorcees out there - your comments please!!!

Rudali and other movies below poverty line

Why do they make movies like Rudali? Is rural India really so violent and inhuman as they portray it to be?

After a late night TV session these questions come to my mind.

It's just maddenning how Dimple Kapadia is treated by her fellow villagers. You never see any man being sympathetic to her throughout her life which the movie revolves around. And abuses are showered on her left, right and centre as if her life depends on them.

Disgusting!

Reminds me of Lajja, the movie where just about any violent crime you could do against a woman was committed ending with the brutal murder of Rekha for a fault of her sons (falling in love with a woman above his social standing).

I know parts of rural India are dangerous but surely this is not the universal picture.

And so I hate such exaggerated versions of real India, despite all the great acting and stuff.

Besides leaving me all sad for the night, these movies do make me wonder if I am being unfair in being as demanding as I am from my life?

Is my living in this corporate suburb of Delhi an act quite sinfully luxurious for the other India? And more important - is there going to be a pay day - my own personal 9/11?

I shudder with fear. And tell myself to focus on happy things. Like the weather which is getting increasingly pleasant.

What else can I do - the time to donate my vast personal fortune to a "developmental" cause is yet to come.

The best tea in the world that doesn't cost a bomb!

Thanks to modern dispensing machines, most corporate offices do a shitty job of tea even as the coffee is great. If you like drinking tea, home is the best place to indulge but here too conditions vary and the outcome is well not always as great as it could be.

When I started living on my own, making tea seemed such a time consuming task that I thought I'd give up my long time favorite beverage for life.

To make things simpler, I tried a popular brand of tea bags named after the monument that is now a new wonder of the world but to no avail. It was barely drinkable, and to my solitary self not worth even the little effort putting it together entailed.

So my tea less days started, till I figured how to make the perfect cup that cheers, that too in a rather simple way. Here's the recipe for you:

Step 1. Start with the best tea in the world. Now "best" is of course a relative term but so far my favorite from experience is a brand called simply Lopchu (why did they name it Lopchu? I have no clue!). It's not exactly a mainstream brand even in India where tea lovers abound. But it is widely available nevertheless.

(Just in case you're wondering - Lopchu is not one of those luxury teas that come in a wooden box that you pay a bomb for and then are completely let down by - you know the stuff you can't even add milk to coz it's so light!)

I use the Lopchu blue box which is INR 100 (approx 2.25 USD) for 250 grams.

Step 2. Boil a cuppa water on a gas stove. Add a tablespoon of Lopchu. You can add ginger or cardamom too at this stage if you like. Switch off the gas, cover the utensil with a lid and let it stand for about 4-5 minutes.

Step 3. Heat 1/8th glass of milk in a microwave (should be done in 45 seconds or less).

Step 4. Pour the tea in a cup, followed by milk (the less the better).

Step5. Add sugar to taste and enjoy a sip of heaven!

Blogger's Manifesto

After the initial euphoria of just being able to blog (and publish one's raves and rants for the world to see) I must start to give this affair some direction. Specially if I hope to attract a regular readership (which I do).

So here is my Blogger's Manifesto:

A specter is haunting the Internet. A specter of a world where no one's lonely for everyone has at least one friend - in this blog.

A virtual companion who shares experiences, opinions, tips, tricks and whatever else that such companions do, this blog may be described as a Tamagotchi for the connected.

You could be cold or hot, geeky or squeaky (excuse my rhyme), old or young, famous or unsung - the idea is to form a connection with you and the 365,893,994 other English speaking internet users out there.

If the writing in this blog touches a chord somewhere, encourages you to react, helps you feel connected, reinforces something you felt and makes you come back for more then the purpose is served.

Sunday Pleasures

I love reading the newspaper on Sunday.

The useful part i.e. sans classifieds (which I suspect is more than half the weight on weekends). Living in in Delhi / NCR, Hindustan Times and Times of India are my subscriptions of choice. The Times of India is very readable, entertaining and light hearted. The Hindustan Times I require for a balanced diet. In any case this is the staple brain candy I grew up on and so am habituated to.

(PS: For the record my all time favorite newspaper is The Guardian which I read infrequently - when traveling abroad).

On Sundays, HT packs a punch with Brunch and Vir Sanghvi. Both are entirely edible (I mean readable). This week's Brunch was about using the Internet to do the sort of thing I'm doing - creative self expression (blogging, posting videos etc). I must say it's still a relatively new concept in India and hardly any of my regular friends have a blog though they all have their Facebook and Orkut scraps.

I didn't read the article - who wants to read old news - but I did read Vir Sanghvi's gourmet musings as usual. By now reading Vir's Sunday ruminations on his favorite food, chefs and restaurants ("XYZ does a mean..."BXR has the finest blah blah in India) peppered with tales from boarding school, son, Gujarati food, meals at fancy European restaurants and my favorite (which happens once in six months) -- two full pages on wines followed by something to the equivalent of 'I suspect one can't tell the difference and it doesn't really matter' is well entrenched in my Sunday routine!!!

Vir is undoubtedly the most readable Indian mainstream journalist around and nobody does edits quite like him. I've been following his writing since his days as the editor of the Sunday magazine and his approach is always the "common sense" view - if you're liberal, centrist, forward thinking, middle/upper middle class you are bound to find everything he says entirely agreeable. Plus he has a sense of humor which makes it fun to pursue.

Today he spoke about Mother Teresa's religious bulimia (my words) which was again very well written though why he woke up weeks after everyone else has done this issue to death is beyond me. Perhaps he was on vacation!

Vacation reminds of Shashi Tharoor, who I thought was on vacation in India post his UN non assignment but is nowadays permanently stationed here and trying to do a one up on Vir I suspect with his TOI Sunday column (TOI's attempt not Shashi's). Now Shashi is one of my favorite writers (I just love the craft of his Great Indian Novel) but he should really stay away from writing columns for he has little talent in this domain. I suspect he's realized this himself that's why after a few non starts he now almost every week brings us his definition series of all things India. I never read more than the blurb. Someone should soon appoint him ambassador of Inberia or SAARC head some other happening Post (outside of India) before he reaches the letter Z and puts us all to sleep.

Talking of columnists I must put in a good word for Poonam Saxena who absolutely entertains and delights with her weekly take on entertainment and non delights of the television world. On weeks when I've been out of the country I just have to read Poonam to put the fun back in TV. Way to go girl!

Well enough talking on people who write about the news (!!!). I'm off to take a nap now.

I must add (for the benefit of Vir and Shashi's fans) that the opinions expressed in this column are entirely mine and not a part of any sting operation.

Musings on an extended weekend

Tuesday is Rakhi - the Indian festival of expression of love between brothers and sisters. I have decided to skip all celebrations (helps that my brothers are out of the country), take the Monday off and have a nice extended weekend doing absolutely li'l things.

I'm consciously trying not to call up anyone and do only the minimal requisite follow-up for office. I have a couple of appointments that are unavoidable but other than that this break is just about taking time out for me. And it's been a pleasure so far, considering I'm only a day and a half down as of now.

Even within this short span of time I notice a few strange developments already. The fact that I'm not talking or chatting to the usual suspects means that I have more free time on my hands to think. This is an obvious outcome but you can never be prepared for the sheer volume of time just limiting your talk time seems to make in your life. Imagine if I actually switched my mobile off.

Thoughts about organizing my closets, reading up some of the books I bought a couple of weeks back and even thinking what I want to do with my life leap out of the shadows.

I wonder what my regular days have come to -- a routine that revolves around maid minding, office grinding, compulsory (read grocery) shopping, chatting, browsing and (weekend) partying. Among all the "ings" are a lot of things that keep me busy but the positive zing is missing.

Perhaps I'm missing a boyfriend or a recent whirl of success or the high of major change. The kind of days you have to pinch yourself to believe you're living. The days I know from experience and which have only raised the bar for the rest of my life.

Well, I'm no Yelena Isinbayeva but I must try and improve my life till the point I can experience the contentment of an existence I'm largely satisfied. And while one would usually call on God at such moments I decide to excuse him for not focusing on me this weekend with all the poverty, war and (excuse me for saying this) celebrity jailbirds of this world.

I decide to improve my life myself @ one magic moment a day! Starting with a Mango feast for today. Considering we're in end-August the fact that I still have mangoes in the fridge is decidedly a pinch-worthy experience.

Overall the weekend promises to be quite fruitful (don't squirm - the pun was intended)

Impressed and annoyed - all in a week's time!

It's been a week since I declared my good intentions to start blogging and a nice guy called Ravan (no pun intended) actually honoured me with a comment which proves this publication has a readership figure of more than one.

I haven't blogged in since then but it seems no ones missed me much.

And life has been busy. Some really interesting experiences like meeting an uncle who's decidely psychic (not pyscho) and left me totally speechless by recalling the gist of a conversation I was having the previous night! I just love these kind of things. I mean who cares about seeing little green men in their SUVs when you have family friends who can look at your palm or do a bit of mathemagic in their head and tell you that you're going to make a profit on your next car deal.

Give me supernatural stuff any day. Or scientific gaspaggorbilia (stuff that arouses gasps - you heard it first from your suburban pal!).

Like the dude who's come up with this theory that there's a 20% chance we are living in a computer simulation (he's called Nick Bostrom and he teaches at the Oxford University lest you start thinking he's a product of my imagination). I mean I actually used to wonder if I was part of a "UNIVERSE" game long before I ever saw Matrix but always thought that was my private bathroom theory. To think that someone actually built on it and even gave it a % figure. Awesome!

So the God watching all of us could just be a nose digging teenager feasting on his bar of Mars when he's not glued to the screen in front. Suddenly my respect for certain sections of society has shot up.

I just hope it's not the same guy living upstairs who my cable guy claims wants to steal my bandwidth by accessing my Wi Fi network. You wouldn't think but it's ostensbly the biggest threat in my life right now -- the enemy within (my otherwise secure apartment block)! I mean why in the name of VSNL would someone want to steal anybody's bandwidth when Internet costs the pittance that it does nowadays is beyond my imagination. But I guess it's the same people who think nothing of downloading a 3 GB oldish hindi movie on their office line when the damn thing is now available for 49 bucks in the neighborhood store.

We're not in the nineties anymore when people had to call multiple contacts to fine one measly password they could use to dial-up over a sorry li'l connection that would break every five minutes. And that kind of thing was acceptable even because Internet access cost a bomb and was monopolised by the govt. But breaking into someone's home wi-fi network in 2007. Dude get a reality check. Or is it that once a freeloader always a freeloader!

Starting up!

After much pondering I am finally at it - blogging what else! Yes, it does feel a bit funny sharing your life with a zillion others (like going topless on a beach for the first time) but I have the time and the inclination so what the hell. Of course, what I don't have is much of an idea about how this works, and if there are actually some people out there who read these things written by total strangers and (holy smoke) even care enough to send back their comments which are not swear words but perfectly legible phrases just like you and I speak.

Well you can log in to my blog and I will keep you posted on what really happens online.

Independent Leadership

Actually I meant to set this Blog thingie on the 15th of August. I even wrote the post below but as luck would have it my cable connection had a glitch and well the nice person I am I didn't want to bother my friendly neighbourhood service provider on a National Holiday (although the National Holiday never stopped me from hoping my maid would turn up which she thankfully did). Since I wrote the blog on the 15th it's going to be posted for the 15th. So here it is....

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Today is 15th August. Which means the Independence Day spiel is all over the networks. I’ve seen at least 6 publications that are carrying the cover story of India at 60. And this was till yesterday.

Today’s Times of India newspaper, one of the leading Indian English dailies has come up with an interesting campaign. A print version of Indian Idol, only this time the search is for a national leader. Has some historic cool to it I must say. I have no clue what the selection criteria is but the application form does ask for prior leadership experience though bars people who’ve held a govt office. Thinking of giving it a shot. I love giving speeches and getting importance. I can debate about India's nuclear power status intelligently. And I was class monitor for two years in succession at school. Wonder if that would qualify.

Although one has to be careful when making assumptions I suspect they are looking for people with Social Work experience. The committed NGO types.

Personally I would love to see someone like me make it. The kind of person who's really bothered about how things are messed up in the country but wouldn’t actually do anything to set even a minor roadblock right. Till leadership is kind of thrust upon himer (short for him/her for I'm so fed up of this gender correctness stuff).

It's not that I haven't done anything for society. I did pitch in for one of our company's charitable project. Even contributed in a big way to its success which felt good. But it was part of my job I guess.

What I do for our great democracy is vote but even here in my first two elections participation was restricted to destroying the ballot paper and scribbling “The choices aren’t good enough”. My own little personal protest. So charmingly futile.

So why would I like to see someone like me being the chosen? The answer is simple. Mix good intentions and total conviction on a base of absolute inexperience. I think it would make for some excellent entertainment!