love birds at home

Between my first post about them arriving at home and now, I can tell you they are feeling very much at home and are thriving.We are looking at them and having fun at their games and leisure activities. You see they are in the idyllic stage where they dont have to forage for their food. They need not look out for possible predators also. Only job in life is to be spoilt brats and peck at the food supplied, shout, scream and make all possible noises at a very high pitch.They gossip endlessly with each other, jabber jabber jabber goes on for hours an end.They take turns on the swing and hiding in the small pot that we have kept for them to lay their eggs, whenever that happens.
K spoils them no end. He enjoys watching them play, so gives them innnovative play things. He leaves some coriander or greens stems on the roof.They immediately are up on the ceiling and turn themselves upside down and nibble at it and try and drag it down.Two of them pull in two different directions and a tug of war goes on.But they dont give up, this game goes on for a while. Yesterday he tried cabbage and made them into small circular pieces and left them on the roof of their cage. They were at it with full gusto.Two of them are aggressive, the third one is happy to nibble at it when these two are taking a break from hectic activity.Live and let live philosophy.
Last few days they have started tearing the newspaper that is spread on the floor. They used to do this trick only when their morning meal was delayed but now that they have become typical brats, they have started messing up the paper by evening.
They quieten down by evening and sit demurely on the small rod.They invariably sit sticking to each other.I have watched them sometimes in the middle of the night.They are sitting right there.I guess they are having a shut eye sitting.
It definitely is like having small kiddos at home; without the nappie changing!

ranbaxy daiichi deal

Can Indian entrepreneurs take the companies they passionately built to be No 1 company in the world?Passion and enterprise seem to guide the first generation; but for a successful venture the second and third generation do not have the passion and emotional intelligence and mental maturity to take it to the next level .
This is the view expressed by a freelance professional in a leading daily today.It led me thinking about corporate culture in today's India.Ranbaxy deal is the proximate cause for this blog. I have also been quite intrigued by the entire takeover news. India is upbeat on pharmaceutical companies and of late even when the market was volatile and showing steep declines, it was the pharma stocks which were holding firm. Ranbaxy has been giving always positive news and is seen as professionally managed with very good reputation. Medical practitioners swear by their drugs for their efficacy and consistency.
But then why did they sell out? The owner is only 36 years old and that makes it more intriguing. Is it the love of money and no responsibilities that was the driving force?Or as the author in this daily says Indian entrepreneurs dont have the mental stamina and vision to take it to a global level. He also compares it to Indians not having the killer instinct in sport.
Institution builders are not lured by money.The passion and the vision is what drives them and keeps them going. We seem to settle for average growth and manageable scale.Colonial mindset or spiritual stagnation, what is it?
Perhaps I only want news of Indian companies acquiring global brands; the reverse is unpalatable. This itself is a good sign.

It is pogo time

J is gripped by pogo fever. She eagerly waits for the newspaper and asks for a priority viewing of The hindu metroplus. She zooms in on pogo and notes down her favourite programmes.Summer holiday has really made her a discerning viewer. She operates within the parameters set by her mommy and optimises her enjoyment!
So it happens that I also get a liberal dose of pogo. She is an avid conversationalist, so not only do i get to view them but also get her views, news and reviews in good measure.Pink panther and chhota bheem are her hot favourites ( for now that is!).Sunday mornings are 'sunaina' and Ramayana she told me. She wanted to know whether sunaina is my favourite programme also. She said all her close friends watch it without fail on Sunday morning at 10 am.Of course it goes without saying that she has watched every episode of Mr Bean and will give a running commentary just like an avid Rajnikant fan watching his favourite star for the 20th time, and repeating loudly his punch dialogues and spoiling the fun for others.But here my enjoyment is heightened and not curtailed by her eager comments.
Things were going smoothly and we were settling down cosily, when I was rudely shaken by a commercial. It was about a perfume. We have seen this ad on other adult channels and it ends with " it is very sexy". I was shocked that they are airing the same ad in a children's channel , the only concession being the models are small kids and not adults and the punch line is " it is naughty".For the uninitiated, it is about girls falling head over heels in love with boys who wear this perfume.Is this what we want to tell small kids? What is the advertisement council doing?
That we are making the kids consumerists is bad enough, but adult themes unobstrusively thrust into kiddos minds?The company and the artist need life imprisonment, nothing less.
To indicate how powerful the medium is, I can tell you one example. There was an ad about popcorn and immediately J went inside and pulled out a packet of popcorn which was left over. There was another ad about chocolate and J immediately went in and pulled out two chocolates for the two of us. This is the effect, immediate and strong and compelling them to use the product.
Exploitation of children, need not only be by making them work or making them models for these ads.It is also distorting their worldview.

Dharma yuddham; Nizhal nijamagiradu

Simran has made a come back through TV serials.Simranin's chinna thirai is the programme being aired on jaya tv every week day. I was quite curious to see her though I have never been much of a fan. Her best performance was in kannathil muthamittal and it was an all time great performance.
Thankfully this teleserial has a new format. It is not a megaserial. It is a monthly serial, so it starts and gets over in 20 episodes flat. I understand they are based on popular novels of famous authors in Tamil. The first one was based on Sujatha's novel , pattampoochi. I watched it out of curiosity and stood glued to the Tv for subsequent stories also.
The latest is about the drug mafia. It is also topical.The human tragedy during the recent immunisation process in Chennai is the backdrop of the serial for the month of June. It is gripping, though so far Simran does not have much scope.Nobody else in fact; the real hero is the story and the tragedy of the situation.
The deaths of some children during an immunisation drive is not due to contaminated needles; not unhygenic surroundings; nor is it due to vaccines which have not been kept in the required cold chain.It is due to the unsatiable greed of drug companies who want to profit by selling drugs to sick children.They do not want immunisation to stop illnesses among children.
Hence when a new vaccine is discovered, they want to abort the entire immunisation process by sneaking a carton of a spurious drug which effectively kill the children who are administered from that carton.
Every episode is gripping but leaves you drained at the end of it. But then you have to see the next.With all the tragedies you want the just and right to triumph in the end.
Of course it is so good that there are no viewers of the right kind and hence no advertisements. How long does one have to tolerate the idhayam oil pulling advertisement umpteen times during the serial?

New health insurance policy for tamil nadu govt employees

Very rarely do I stir myself to comment on insurance sector. But today's news report and photo captions were crying out for a blogspost.
For the last few days the new health insurance scheme for all employees of tamil Nadu government has been making news. It was following a predictable pattern; A perfunctory news about a new health insurance scheme; A few days later news that a new private sector insurance company is offering this product; Additional news that none of the public sector general insurance companies could match the quotation from this new player; and that Tamil nadu government was enticed to finalise the deal with them.
Predictably one section of employees said, that they will not accept this scheme as it is not offered by state owned companies. Nothing was heard of them later.The spokesman of the government came out with information that the premium is so low and the benefits so large, that it is in the interest of the employees, and who offers them is incidental.
Today the scheme is introduced and the first policy handed over to a beneficiary. The irony is all the four public sector general insurance companies were also represented, as they are coinsurers to the scheme.
They don't get the goodwill and publicity but they will be booked for a proportion of the claims that would arise. Heads somebody else wins, but tails these companies lose.

Rasoda

This is amma's favourite recipe and as kiddos we used to love it. If you thought that you have heard the last of potato based indian recipes, think again. This one is tangy and has unique flavour and goes excellently with crisp pooris. I remember we used to be amazed at the number of pooris we used to consume with this tasty sidedish.
Now for a peepview into the recipe:
Potatoes to be cut in fairly large cubes, washed and put aside. Take a kadai and add a little cooking oil.When hot, add jeera and curry leaves and let it splutter. Then add the potatos and saute it in slow flame. Keep it covered.
Cut tomatos into small pieces and add to the potatos.Let it simmer for a while.
Take dhania, red chillies, cloves, pattais and fry them on a dry kadai. Allow them to cool and then powder them dry.
When the potatoes are half done, add some water to cover them and also add this dry powder. Add salt and turmeric powder. Keep the dish closed and cook on slow flame.
When a pleasant aroma wafts all around the house and there is a steady stream of curious visitors to your kitchen, remove from fire. Add coriander leaves, cut and washed.
PS: you can cut onions to this dish if you wish as a variation. Cut onions into small pieces and fry them lightly and grind them in the mixie. Add them alongwith tomatos to the half cooked potato.
Rasoda is ready for serving.
Actually it goes very well with dosa, idli and also idiyappam.
I made this dish after a long time when J was at home. It was a great moment for all of us as J does not touch anything spicy. But she enjoyed this dish so much, that it made my day. I guessed she loved the tangy taste.
It was also an incentive to pen this blog.

Jab We met

I saw Jab we met once more yesterday. I saw it about a month back and fell for the feel good factor in the movie. I was quite open to seeing it once more. I was pleasantly surprised that Sony max was playing it yesterday. I had made enough bookings to watch it in our home tv. Yes, bookings are necessary these days what with French open and cricket matches blocking all tv viewing.I had told amma that she should watch and give notice to appa that it is her tv time from 8 pm.Normally appa is in charge of remote as you would have guessed.
How could Kareena and Shahid split after this movie, is the question which kept popping up in my mind.It is such a good movie and both of them are such eye candy material and they obviously shared a chemistry, how could they split?Strange are the ways of the tinselworld.
Anyways, the songs and the easy tune and beautiful scenery captivated me completely. Dont remember seeing such a clean, fun movie for quite sometime. Nathula pass scene was just superb. The story and script writer has done a fantastic job. Is it in someway reminding me of dil chahta hai? I wonder. Fantastic locations, cryptic and youthful dialogues, easy storyline, a sliver of 'life'. I read that the t shirt, pyjama combination has become quite a hit with the college girls!
Did not feel bored even for a minute.
Are you convinced or should I keep talking some more, says Kareena to the ticket checker;it says it all about her chatterbox image. Her sister has a 'recall' one liner... Am i a consolation prize?
This movie is going to be dubbed in Tamil (or remade) with dhanush and shriya. Who will play the sister?
Does Santhosham subramaniam ring a bell; a feel good movie I mean.There does seem to be plenty of space for such clean fun filled good movies.
Give me Jab we met, dch and SS anytime, anyplace.

It is sheer Magic

Summer holidays in Chennai has become quite enjoyable for kids. No, the famous chennai heat has not done the vanishing act. It is just that it has been accepted as given and then carry on from there.When parents are through with scanning the pages of dailies for summer courses for kiddos and putting them through a few, they are left with time and money on their hands. Enter the movie moghuls.There seems to be a plethora of children movies doing the rounds. Nowadays the movies for children are actively marketed as fun filled for the entire family.Children's movies are scheduled to be released in May and they are doing much better than the regular movies.
This year we noticed the magic shows are being actively promoted. Wide publicity and screaming billboards made us want to try them out.

Jadugar Anand was holding his shows in Kalaivanar arangam.The entire family landed up there, as every one said, that it is ages since they went to a magic show and amma particularly said she is always an ardent fan of magic shows.J all of 8 years said she has never seen a magic show and always wanted to go for one!
This show was a spectacle in the true sense. It was a SHOW. The stage was jazzy with dancing light beams of all colours adding a mystic feeling.It was golden and purple colour curtains in satin smoothly taking off to give us a peep into what is in store for us this evening. The band picked up a racy beat and the crescendo was reached in a few minutes.Petite girls and young boys particularly small made came on stage and made a nice dance parade of sorts.
The actual magic show began and unrolled one wonder after another. Anand used to finish a piece and then stand there with his hands stretched wide with a demure expression; that was the cue that the piece is over and he is not unwelcome to a grand applause!My hands went red with applauding after every show.
A huge elephant suddenly appeared on the stage practically from nowhere and then made a leisurely exit.Liberty statue was shown and bit by bit it was shown to disappear into thin air.
There were boxes and boxes all the way. The boys and girls used to be put into one box or the other and knives and daggers used to be inserted right into them and they will come back unscathed.Hypnotism and levitation were very captivating. A girl from the audience was made to lie down on a bench and slowly the bench was removed and she was hanging in mid air.I have been trying to find out the magic, science and hypnosis of this levitation from the net. But while it explains some, it leaves much unsaid.
Of course, flower vases from thin air, rabbits and white pigeons from a hat are a must in any magic show and this one was no exception.
This show was unique in that other magicians who routinely perform on the Tv were also present in the audience and they were duly brought on stage and honoured.
Comedian vivek had come with his family and J had good fun going up and shaking hands with him and his kids at the end of the show. She also went to the green room and greeted Jadugar Anand and said he does appear quite old!
I have not been to a magic show since my school days in Tambaram and I enjoyed the magic, spectacle and drama that Jadugar Anand displayed on stage that day.