Food for Healthy Body, Mind and Thoughts too !

Blame it to recent several trips to doctor for me, my wife or the kid, we the family purchased, stored and consumed several medicines of late. So I decided to take a break from the medicines and instead have been trying hard to live a healthy life for a change. My discoveries of my own lifestyle surprises me that all these technological advances in all walks of life have taken us away from where we belonged originally and ultimately. We have to intentionally try, that too hard with great grit and determination to stay healthy.

They say- Health is Wealth ! When I asked for whom  they never responded back. I think either this phrase was first coined by somebody in the business of Medicine, Sports or Entertainment. For rest of us, Health is much more then wealth, infact I think good/ great Health is everything. Its much more then just piece of mind, emotions

Some of us luckily are genetically engineered to easily combat disease and other forms of attack from any foreign organisms. Such people rarely get sick in their entire lifetime. Definitely I am not one of them. Then there are some anti-Healthy people on the other end of the spectrum. They appear healthy but actually are not. They consume enormous amount of medicine on daily basis for most part of their lives. Consuming pills, powders and injections, weekly/monthly visits to Doctors become a way of life for them. Coincidentally I am not one of them either and if you happen to fall in this category, don't blame yourself, trust me its a sheer coincidence. Our body is such a complicated machine that with all our technological advances for Thousands of years, still we are learning about it. Any small, seemingly innocent event happened with you before you were born (but were a part of this world) or in the first few years of your upbringing can insanely affect your hormones, and so rest of the life.

Perhaps we cant control such unforeseen events, but for a major part of our lives, we have full control over health.We can decide what to eat, where to sleep, what to drink and what not to smoke. We should not feel jealous by seeing some of our friends insanely healthy friends who can drink barrels of alcohol, hog on to big cheese burger and finger chips everyday, without ever going to the doctors. 

Below are some of the commonly available Vegetarian items available almost everywhere across the globe, which if we eat on regular basis can not only boost our immune system, but will save us from many dangerous diseases, lights up the head and body and so helps in keeping the stress, blood pressure and hence our emotions and reactions controlled, uncluttered. Technically speaking the below widely known food items are rich in unsaturated/ mono-saturated fats, fibers, proteins, water and omega 3 which can reduce LDL (bad) and increase HDL (good) cholesterol. Usually all the fruits and vegetables also contain carbohydrates sufficient for our daily requirement. But our 

1. Water - in a previous post, we discussed the amazing benefits of drinking plenty of water in different forms and colors possible. Irrespective of the age, Food affinities and phases in our lives, we should not forget drinking 2-3 Liters of water everyday.

2. Fresh Fruits- go for fresh fruits such Apple ( to keep the doc away), Berries, Orange, Avocado. Berries are expensive and not easily available in small towns of India, so instead go for Lemons, Oranges, Pomegranates and Grapes. All these fruits are a great stress busters, rich in Vitamins and importantly Minerals and Fiber. Go for packaged juices and frozen fruits, only if you cant access those raw fruits easily, otherwise no matter what the companies propagate about their packaged/ frozen products, go for fresh fruits.

3. Legumes - several types of beans are easily available at a low cost in India and throughout the world.  Red, Black, Green lentils are anyways commonly consumed all over India, however the trick is not to overcook or over fry to preserve the vitamins and nutrients present in lentils. Legumes are rich in Protein and can possibly prevent cancer. Beans and Lentils must also be consumed after sprouting them up at least once in 2-3 days. Sprouting increases the fiber content and develops some enzymes which helps in detoxification of the body. For best results, consume sprouts raw. Boiling, cooking significantly reduces the nutritional content of sprouts. Consuming raw sprouts also increases the pH thus reducing acidity of the body.So without doubt, go for sprouts !

4. Nuts - nuts are usually high in calorie, so should be consumed with precaution. Fast food culture has popularized consumption of roasted, deep fried, flavored nuts, which actually is a double whammy. While some Nuts are expensive such as Cashew and Pistachio, but some are not so expensive such as Peanut, Almond, Coconut. Its good to add some seeds such as Pumpkin, Flax or Sunflower seeds along with nuts. Once again its recommended to consume nuts in raw form or mildly roasted, but in moderation. But the moot point is not to ignore Nuts altogether. For Vegetarians these Nuts are important source of Omega 3, Oleic acids which helps in reduction of cholesterol, improves blood flow and skin texture.

5. Green vegetables - Needless to say, Vegetarians must eat lot of vegetables :) ! At the cost of being repetitive, once again I would say that deep fried, over cooked, over boiled, salt and oil laden vegetables as are usually popular in Northern India are no good. Vegetables are the most cost effective source of Vitamin A, B, K, minerals such as Iron, Calcium, Magnesium, Phosphorous and of course Fiber. Co-incidentally Non-vegetarians eat lot of raw, unprocessed green vegetables with their non-veg food items, however we the veggies love them deep, dark, stir fried. Thanks to the heavy usage of Turmeric, Cloves, Cinnamon , Pepper and several herbs in our daily food, we still manage to get some nutritional value out of that Dal Tadka and Shahi Paneer .  

6. Grass- the power of Sun. Yes you read it correctly, I said Grass. Wheat Grass, Aloe Vera, Dog Grass, Barley Grass, Spirulina are some of the most amazing source of all the Vitamins and Minerals. Just consume any of these few grams in a day and stay healthy.  Need not buy those expensive tablets or designer packets, instead go for raw or in powder form from any reliable local supplier. Back to basics guys, that's where the age old wisdom lies. All these chlorophyll rich green stuff is highly alkalizing as well. We can hope to get relief from internal inflammations, aches and acidity to certain extent. So now we know why Cows don't burp, or do they ?

Some trivia for fun - An average Male needs 1800-2100 Calories per day and average Female need 1600-1900 Calories per day. 1 Can (330 ml) of carbonated beverage contains 140 calories and 1 portion of French Fries (170 gms) contain 500-600 calories, 1 Can of Beer (330 ml) contains between 100-150 calories depending on brand and % of alcohol, 1 Burger contains 300-500 calories, 1 serving of ice cream (150 gms) usually contains 150-500 calories. Interesting point is all these items contain almost zero Proteins, dietary fiber, Vitamins but are loaded with LDL (bad cholesterol).

Sometimes I tend to believe we become What We Eat ! So, what are you eating this week ?

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Disclaimer - these are general guidelines based on my experience, analysis and research. Please do your own research and consult your medical advisor to customize your diet based on your body and specific needs.

Image Source - Google.

Bollywood's top 10 Super Hero flicks !

Let me accept my ignorance for I have not seen some of the most fabulous sci-fi, action packed South Indian thrillers. But please don't call me racist for not doing that, no, not at all. I sincerely respect all the industries which generate employment, income, entertainment and provide sense of fulfillment to millions of deprived and self assumedly fulfilled souls.

Most of the Indian mythological books, scriptures are pre loaded with millions of stories, powerful, awesome characters but somehow the responsibility of showcasing all of them has been to the small screen. So I will list some of my favorite Super Hero flicks which depicted the common mango man who acquired extra-ordinary powers, skills and thus entertained us to death !

Long before Under (wear) taker was born and the dogs used the Rock for refreshing purposes, a yamla pagla Jaat knew that there isn't much difference between wrestling and acting. Innocent looks, personality worth 240 lbs and hiccuppulla dialogue delivery, a perfect recipe for Herculean Samsonish stardom.


Tarzan. No, we are not talking about the wonder car here. Unfortunately I never got to watch this movie because I was a reasonably tiny kid to comprehend the difference between curves of Tarzan and his wonder girl. But yes, I bleakly remember this movie became a talk of the town, for some stupid reasons. But I am pretty sure that whatever money this super jungle hero 1986 epic movie made in those times, other Hemant Birje movies would have made all put together.

Hey look, over there, its Shekhar with red blanket flying in the sky. No, its Superman.Yes, you read it correctly. The Duryodhan fame Puneet Issar dared to play the most popular comic super hero of recent times, the Indian version of Clark Kent aka Shekhar in and as Superman. Blame it to conspiracy of the universe or destiny, that none other than Dharam paa ji played the Kryptonic father of Super Shekhar Issar Man ! Quiet interestingly the often forgotten Kimi Katkar played an  instrumental role in two of the top 10 super hero chick flicks of Bollywood.

The first original Indian super hero, the simple guy with a heart of gold, who accidentially discovered his uncle's gadget which could make him disappear, backed by one of the most innovative villainous dil Khush Hua performance of Bollywood ! Mr.India was a true typical masala movie with lot of never seen before Hawa Hawai twists and turns. By 1987 Sridevi was already at her peak and Mr.India gave the Indian film audience a new classy, cheesy, cheeky, lovely and memorable couple on the silver screen. The couple gave several blockbusters in the years to come.


If we the people ever wanted someone to play a super hero avatar it is/was Amitabh Bachhan. He made the middle class angry young man, a new icon of silver screen. Unfortunately Ketan Desai couldn't recreate the magic like his father did in the preceding years. I was a bit confused between Shehenshah and Toofan. The costume and the wig which Amitabh B used in Shehnshah became the talk of the nation. I chose Toofan over Shehenshah because of some reason, I myself am not sure about :)

Nobody except the Big B at the helm of his career would have dared to do it again and again, come whatever may. And that's what sets him apart. In this 1991 multi-starer, big budget, sci-fi, fantasy Mr.Bachhan played the character of Ajooba, the wonder, produced, directed by Kapoor's stable. This flick was co-directed by a Soviet filmaker and hence was dubbed in Russian language as Vozvrashcheniye Bagdadskogo Vora. 

Not everybody was lucky enough to watch the once famous credit card ad, which famously said- there are few things which money can't buy ! UnFortunately not many lesser humans were lucky enough to  watch this movie which simply cant be classified in any one category. Whatever and whoever was available at that point in time was made to available for this suuupperr natural, scii-fii, horror, drama, romantic-comedy - Ek Anokhi Kahani, truly it was on all the parameters. I simply cant afford to disrespect the love of a dad for his son. If  you want to have a bit different kind of ball of an afternoon, do dare to watch this flick, but don't forget to arrange abundant supply of  beverages and company of few good old friends, who share your sense of humor, at least till the movie is being played.

A rare hit sequel of hit prequel. Another classic tale of love, romance and action, without any superficial attempts to delve into any kind of deep rooted philosophy, Krrish, starring Hritik Roshan was an instant hit. The father son magic did work at least with the kids though I sometimes wonder if the movie was made this intention. Call it the magic of K or hard work of Hritik Roshan, this movie established the brand Hritik Roshan and pushed him in the unique ivy league of Bollywood super stars. The rumor had it that after the first K block buster with the son, daddy Roshan planned both the K flicks well in advance. Now that's some planning !!

If daddy, can, why cant I ? But some questions are better left unanswered. Neither the former Miss World Priyanka Chopara nor KK Menon could save Drona, released in 2008. The most expensive movie of his life had it all the special effects, the really wicked crooks and the confusing attire in the middle of desert. Frankly I watched only some parts of Drona randomly, in bits and pieces and I never felt like laughing or having some mild amount of fun. A far too serious movie for my taste, but nevertheless I respect the friendship and love between Goldie Behl and the Jr.B. Goldie Behl was last found hissing around with    

Thank Goodness said the God after watching the latest biggest movie ever made on Indian soil, Robot. Well if Akshay Kumar and Aamir Khan can play college boys at 40+ and if they cant, no-one can even question Rajinikant and can prevent him from romancing with the once poster girl and now queen of Bollywood Aishwarya Rai and Bachhan.  Rajnikanth's next project is the Jurassic Park in Tamil. However, Rajni has twisted the climax. Rajni turns the earth upside down to dust off all the Dinosaurs from the earth and ships them safely in his private jet to Jupiter ....




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Images source - via Google

Second hand revolution

After spending a year working in Qatar, I returned to India in May this year (No...no dont take me for the stereotyped NRI holding bottles of mineral water in hand and cursing government as the Auto Rikshaw drove passed the crowded lanes and maneuvering past the stray animals and potholes !!) and I found a sea of change in almost everything. Though I get a daily dose of Indian soap operas and entertaining news channels back in Qatar, but still I couldn't envisage the volume of changes which I was seeing for myself.

Skeptics declared they are done, its saturated. And then it comes back and hit the roads again. This time its slightly different perhaps little less creative but still effective and serving the bottom, middle and even the top of the pyramid to varying extent. A glance over Hindi and English newspaper the first day and I couldn't stop wondering about how can they afford this..within 5 minutes of surfing through channels...I was taken by surprise and really started wondering how can they really afford this...who are they and from where do they came and started conquering THE 'customers'. What I am talking about ? I hope thats not a question in your mind ! Isn't pretty clear, out n' loud !!

Loaded with Swarovski crystal, chic looks and (hold your breath, if your head is still reeling in an in vain attempt to guess what it is !!) 2 MP camera, weighs less than 100 gms and price Rs.5000/- (approximately $110) !! Its the new mobile from Micromax and let me tell you that I am no mobile expert and this post is not about the review of Q 55, bling from Micromax, which by the way 'Twinkles'

The Indian consumer over past 6 months or lets say 1 year has been pampered by OEM's which otherwise used to sell the hardware to the big guys. Micromax, Spice mobile, Lava, Videocon, Onida and so many more companies launching new handsets almost every week. You think your Black/Blue Berry with QWERTY keypad is cool..beat this
"Presenting Lava B5 handset with world's first ABCD keypad" funny,bizarre,innovative..Surprisingly nobody thought about it before (including me- can you believe it :)) But ya I think the guy is right...finally we can't use more than 2 fingers (anybody already using the 3rd finger yet must meet me ASAP) on the mobile phone keypad so...is the logic behind having QWERTY keypad in mobile handsets relevant? I would recommend carrying out some trials on mouse or cats perhaps and see how do they react to ABCD keypad !!

Surprisingly folks at Gartner agree with me, I swear I read this article only after typing the last paragraph !! Gosh...I should have written this blog the day I came back from India, which for the record was June the 6th 2010.

A Brief History of Education Systems in India.

Gone are the days when considering education as business was unethical/incorrect. In the ancient to medieval Indian society, education was a prerogative of the highies and almighties of the society! Education was customized inline with the Varna Vyavastha of then Indian society. The rise and demise of the Bhakti Movement did infused a new line of thinking in the highly aristocratic Indian society. The Bhakti Movement though was short lived and often condemned by the gatekeepers of education of those times. But I think it was very significant movement for several reasons. One the teachings were in the form or short poems and bhajans in the local language. In the language spoken by masses in their day to day lives. The movement was for sure not about formal or scientific education, but perhaps it is/was the world's first (and may be the only) movement which emphasized on Common Sense and Rational thinking. Both these attributes made the Bhakti Movement an eternal movement which still has relevance in the 21st century Modern India.

Between now and the era of Bhakti Movement was the period of rise and fall of the British empire. Under the British regime schools and colleges imparting formal and scientific education were created but with the primary intent of catering to the administrative requirements of British empire. Whatever the intent might have been, in my opinion these schools and colleges made the formal, technical and scientific education available to the masses.The penetration was very low due to several reasons - lack of intent, lack of resources, the common mass was involved either in the independence movement and cared less about getting higher education.

Post independence Pandit Nehru accurately gauged the need of hour and the stress was rightly placed on three critical fronts - Primary education to create a broader base of people who can read and write; Higher education - institutes for higher education, technical education and management education were formed (such as the IITs, IIMs); Practical Education - several institutions imparting job oriented education (such as ITIs) were created in parallel to make the masses employable. For the next 30 years the results of these three pronged approach were complacently satisfactory. Slowly however since the overall education system was still not very dynamic and so lost the relevance and efficacy. On the one hand we faced the problem of brain drain of the highly skilled labors, engineers and doctors while on the other the practical and job oriented education system failed to cater the need of new industries.A deeper analysis revealed that at primary level we were still following the curriculum and text books which were designed in the pre-independence era.

One thing is very clear from the above analysis that the time frame for which a particular system and a curriculum and overall education ecosystem remained relevant shortened. We followed a Varna Vyavastha for thousands of years, followed by a couple of years of religious-socio-education centric Bhakti movement which lasted for couple of hundreds of years, then under the British empire we perhaps developed for the the first formal, more wide reaching and scientific education system and then a Nehruvian education system, which is what we are still following to a very large extent. Guided by some political motives and desire to get media footage the curriculum has been mildly revised in past 30 years at primary level and with the rapid emergence of private colleges backed by the political support and desire to make quick money overnight more than 500 colleges have mushroomed out of nowhere in the past 10 years.