5 nutritious habits of the planet's healthiest countries

http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/diet.fitness/08/31/cl.worldly.advice/index.html

Take note of the healthy habits of the countries listed. India figures in the healthy spices list.

I like the following points,

- Try one new type of fruit from your local market each week.

- "hara hachi bu," which in Japanese translates to "eight parts out of 10" and means stop eating when 80 percent full. (Very difficult for me ;)

- Skip the prepared food aisles at the market and choose fresh, whole foods.

Free and fast filing of IT returns

A follow up from my previous post Filing income tax returns Protect your privacy and save the cost of a CA by filing your IT returns online. A colleague of mine recently sent this:

1. Go to www.incometaxindia.gov.in
2. Register yourself with your PAN number as your login ID.
3. Download the software listed(its nothing but a PDF file). (You require adobe acrobat reader 7 and above. Filling the form can be done offline also. Only the xml file is required for filing the returns.)
4. Fill it. Have your Form 16 along side you. It has all the information required. And have your check book also because you will need your bank details.
5. At the bottom of the PDF there are 4 buttons Print, Check Form, Generate Bar Code, and Export to xml . After filling, click on Check form and then click on Generate bar code. Finally click on Export to xml.
6. This will generate an xml file. Save it. (Ensure the file name has no special characters or space).
7. Now login to the site and go to the option “Submit returns”.
8. Upload the xml file. You will get an acknowledgment form link “ITR-V”. Download this and save it for reference.
9. That’s it!

More to credit cards in India

HSBC claim to have strong security and privacy measures. They provide a hardware device that generates a one time password. You use that along with a pin number and a username to log into their online banking site. Now here starts my timeline. I apply for a HSBC credit card April 2006 and I promply get one by June 2006. They are one of the most blatant solicitors and have call centers spread across the country calling randomly generated numbers. They keep calling me 5-6 times a week soliciting credit cards even after I received one is a different story altogether. So I did get my card and waited for their security device to arrive after requesting one. After many a calls, I did finally get one after almost 9 months only to be able to log into somebody elses account!

SBI solicits cards not only through the phone but also has agents spread across planet earth. You are somehow drawn into their net and apply for one. Now they need to verify your background. What do they need? Your credit card statements from other banks. They have resigned themselves into believing that they are late starters and every individual has already hooked onto some credit card or the other.

End crib.

Credit cards in India

Some of the major banks that provide credit cards in India are Citibank, HSBC, HDFC, ICICI, SBI and recently Barclays. They operate very differently from their American counterparts. In America, there are credit bureaus that maintain credit history of individuals. The credit history is verified before issuing credit cards. There are concerns of privacy but it is located at some central entities and this information is disbursed to selected organizations. It is a lot more haphazard in India. Credit card companies employ third party call centers to solicit and collect information of individuals. They employ third party background verification agencies who call you and/or send their representatives to verfiy your residence/office.

There was one such individual who had come from ICICI to verify our residence. When asked for an Identification, he retorts that he does not have one and walks away. Three weeks later there is a letter from ICICI saying that they have rejected the application for credit card and do not state any reason.

I had applied for a Barclay's card recently. They promply send their representative who collects your relevant financial documents and you fill their application form. Now the verification starts. First they send their representative to your residence who asks you a bunch of questions. Then they call your cell phone and repeat the process. It does not end here. They send someone to your office. Then call your office phone. It could get worse if you are living in a rented accommodation. They may also call and physically verify your permanent residence! And I thought applying for a passport was tough!!

To be continued....

Filing income tax returns

Painful as it seems but it is that time of the year when you need to submit Form 16(Tax Deducted at Source salary) and Form 12BA(Perquisites) to the government. But the good thing is that there are Chartered Accountants available in aplenty to file the returns for you. They charge anywhere between Rs.100 - Rs.200 for each return filed. They collect your forms, PAN card copy, bank details and fill up the relevant forms before they file it and bring you an acknowledgment receipt from the government. You save the trouble of doing all these yourself and standing in the line during government working hours.

How trustworthy are these people? I tend to trust them because so many others do. If there are issues, there are others to stand with you and fight for a common cause. We tend to feel safe if you have a crowd by your side. But how many times have a large group of small investors been cheated by fly-by-night finance companies. Digressing, I recently watched a programme on Discovery which showed about the London subway bombers. They showed how people, when in a group, tend to follow the group irrespective of how very different they are. This can lead to radicalization of individuals when otherwise would be leading a simple holistic life.

Coming back to filing IT returns. What is the worst that can happen? Privacy! Your entire financial portfolio can very well be compromised. It is back to the same argument. Would you forsake convenience/ease for security?

I do plan to file my own returns from next year.

Tennis rhetoric

Questions keeps popping up. Who is the greatest player of all time since the open era? Rod Laver who has achieved the Grand Slam twice, Bjorn Borg who has won the difficult double in French Open and Wimbledon the maximum number of times, Pete Sampras who has the maximum number of grand slam singles titles or is it Roger Federer who is fast catching up on Sampras's record. Here is another one. Will Nadal win a Wimbledon before Federer wins a French? Another. Did Serena Williams fake her injury during her Wimbledon fourth round match against Daniela Hantuchova?

I would call all these sensational media generated hype. The services of an astrolger or a mystic mind-reader with a clean track record are needed to get some of the answers. For others only God can tell.

Pink

"Pink is my new obsession" sings Aerosmith. Traditionally it has found more appeal with the fairer sex. But things have changed these days.

I used to shy away from having to do with anything pink. Pink and me, no way! It is only for gals or sissies.

I recently wore a pink shirt during one of my wedding related ceremonies which caught quite some attention, hopefully for the right reasons.

[Here is where my picture with a pink shirt should appear]*

If you are thinking that I have found style in the Ramarajan or Govinda school of fashion, maybe you are right. But sorry I just do not care. I enjoyed my limelight and dared to do the wildest of things.

Wearing the same pink shirt to office..ahem the world is never friendly nor forgiving everytime!


* Naaah..Making a fool of myself does have its limits!!

Trip to the US

I was recently at the US for a couple of weeks to attend an engineering summit. It was nostalgic to relive that lifestyle. Work on the weekdays and enjoy your weekends. There are a lot of options to explore over the weekends unlike here in India ranging from sky diving to a visit to the local aquarium. There is always stuff to do for all kinds of people to suit their respective interests.

However it does get very lonely out there. You have very few friends and other like minded people. So inspite of the number of things you could do, you may not find the buddies to accompany you.

Onto other things, I really enjoyed driving a Hyundai Elantra all over the place while there.


One of my bosses there told me that we should be driving on the right side and not wrong side of the road here in India ;)

Tale of two countries

I was just reading PH's post when I decided that I need to pen some of my own thoughts on this topic.

First a little bit of a background. I did my masters in the US and worked there for a year before deciding to move back to India. Now its been slightly over two years and I still keep getting this question once in a while "Why did I come back to India?" To put things in perspective there were many reasons of which I will delve into the most significant ones.

1) "I was fed up living there trying to get a relevant job": 2003/2004 were the years when recession was just starting to loose steam. But there was a big anti-India anti-H1B wave back then. There were many interview calls to fill limited positions. Foreign candidates were the last ones to be considered.

2) "Missing my loved ones back home": It had been almost 2 years since I last visited them and would have been another year had I secured a job just then.

3) "Hiring in India": It was shooting northward. Gone were the days when trivial jobs and backend office work were being done in India. Good companies were setting up their R&D labs in India aplenty. The scenario looked very rosy.

Here I am now happily married enjoying my work...touch wood! But once in a while I look back at the country I studied last, met a whole lot of great friends, my very nice colleagues at my former work place, the american way of life and realize how much I miss it!


PH says "Grass appears greener on the other side" and I completely agree with her.

I am alive

So I am finally posting after more than a year now. Sometimes you get very enthusiastic when its all new and then laziness creeps in. Thats exactly what happened to me!

I am still thinking of what to write. Maybe it should be short and simple. I may need some motivation to continue posting or maybe the look of some of my words on the page would inspire me to carry on. So excuse me if you took the trouble of reading absolutely nothing.

I am back and would start bothering you to keep visiting my blog.

Chao!

Einstein's gravity theory improved?

Researchers says that they have found a simpler solution
explaining the forces of the universe. Einsteins laws might not
really hold true outside Earth is what they claim! They do not
believe in the dark matter theory.

I had earlier written my views on "Dark Matter" earlier.

Deep thoughts

Work: Physical or mental effort or activity directed toward the production or accomplishment of something.

Pressure: A compelling or constraining influence, such as a moral force, on the mind or will.

Stress: A mentally or emotionally disruptive or upsetting condition occurring in response to adverse external influences and capable of affecting physical health, usually characterized by increased heart rate, a rise in blood pressure, muscular tension, irritability, and depression.

Email: A system for sending and receiving messages electronically over a computer network, as between personal computers.

Flame: An insulting criticism or remark meant to incite anger, as on a computer network.

Disruption: To throw into confusion or disorder

Chaos: A state of extreme confusion and disorder

Work 1-> Pressure 2-> Stress 3-> Email 4-> Flame 5 -> Disruption 6-> Chaos

There are times when people at work are under extreme pressure. Nothing is working right for them. People around them are also under a lot of pressure. There is much work to be done in very little time. How grumpy and irritable can a person get. How much will that person's behavior affect other people? Now that email is the mode of constant communication in the work place. Is it right to vent your anger in this impersonal way?

Hey, you are hiding behind a screen and venting your frustration? Would you dare to scream by looking in the eye?

The written word is beautiful when used in poetry. It is up to the creative imagination of the reader to interpret it. There are a million meanings to anything written based on your culture, experiences, formal education and knowledge of the author. The downside is that it can also be misinterpretted real badly.

Communication is not all about words. There are other channels to it. I *think* all important conversations should take place with a few more of our other senses.

Here is an article to supplement my views
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,70179-0.html?tw=wn_index_2

The Great Goan Escape Ends - Day 6

I get up early this time and decide to explore the place on foot. I walk through Calangute and Baga route. Ate at this English breakfast joint that served nice toasts and eggs at "over the roof" prices. Considering my expertise with eggs, I thought about opening my own bread and egg joint here and try becoming a millionaire ;)

I keep walking for another hour till I get hungry again. So then I stop at Subway and have a delicious 6 inch tuna sub. I got replenished and then met up with Ray and Kates at cafe Coffee day. We decide to camp at Baga beach again. Some more friends join us there and we get ourselves a shack of chairs and umbrellas. We have some good food and just lazed on our chairs. Ray went jet skiing and Kates pulled his disappearing act again!

Finally it was time to call it a trip! Ray dropped me at the bus stand and I got a bus to Panjim. Then to my utter dismay, I found that I had been put on the last row of a rickety flat bus. I pleaded with the conductor to give me another seat but he refused saying other seats were for families!! This was ridiculous but had to bite my teeth and hope for the best :( Ultimately, it was a "highway to hell" ride all the way back to Pune! I was riding a camel which had a cryogenic rocket attached to it posterior. What an end to the trip!!!

Overall it was an adventurous and awesome trip! I got a nice tan and some fresh air onto my lungs. Apart from the entertainment, I also got to learn a bit of Konkani and history/culture of Goa. Keep Goa on your cards next time you think of a wholesome trip!!

The Great Goan Escape - Day 5

Day 5 was gonna be one of the most tiresome of days. We guys decided to get some bikes to travel around. Called up this guy I had met a couple of days back and drove to his garage. He had an assortment of bikes ranging from enfields to activas. We decided on an enfield 350cc. The bike had amazing power and made a sweeet sound! But unfortunately, its cluch plate was not good and it gave jerks at high speeds. So we returned it and compromised for a Yamaha Rx135.

Then did we zoom all over the place. We kept riding and riding like there was nothing more fun to do :) It was Ray and me on the bike and we took turns. Ray is a good rider and taught me some neat biking tricks like front wheeling! We also talked about back wheeling but you need a great bike and amazing brakes for that. Plan to try them on my honda sometime.

We met up with Ray's relatives and then had food at Dominos pizza. This is my favorite pizza joint and the last time I was there was back in uncle sam's land!! Then we headed towards South Anjuna beach. Boy, was there a crowd there! We found out that today was the famous wednesday flea market and there was hordes of people and traffic jams. We somehow made it to Ray's friends place there and then walked through the market. It was a makeshift setup and found some interesting things. After a while we met up with Kates at Anjuna beach. This kates bugger always pulls a disappearing act. We see him a moment and the next moment hez gone somewhere. We guys then decide to ditch him and bike of to meet more of Ray's relatives. I had dinner at the hotel they were staying and helped myself to 3 helpings of an amazing honey nut ice cream from Baskin@31 Robbins.

I decided to call it a day again while my friends decided to club, this time at club cabana, the disc on a hill with a lighthouse!

The Great Goan Escape - Day 4

I woke up at around 9 AM as I had to checkout of this temporary accomodation by 10 AM. Got myself a cold quick shower and a shave. Then of I went towards Baga beach with a bag and my broad straw hat protecting me from the scorching sun. This time I was alone waiting for my engg friends to arrive in the evening. Time was moving at a snails pace :(

On my way to the beach, I stopped at a browsing center just to kill time. I managed to stay there for an hour blogging one of my earlier posts. Then at the beach I got a laid back chair and an umbrella to rest. I got lucky too and had some company speaking to this firangi babe, atleast till her boyfriend arrived ;) Had a dip in the sea and took some panoramic photos and videos. I was too lazy to go to the restaurant and so ordered food to be brought to my chair.

After a while, I went back to the Internet cafe and killed some more time. Finally, my friends landed in Goa from Hyd and asked me to come to their hotel. I then met up with my engg buddies Ray and Kates. Ray had come with his family and friends. We guys then walked along baga beach enjoying the dusk and the cool breeze. I moved to Rays place and spent the nite there while all others partied at club Titos. I just wanted to sleep peacefully and was not interested in clubbing anymore!

The Great Goan Escape - Day 3

Another bright sunny day and we decide to go to Anjuna beach. The South part of it is most secluded and we reach there after asking a 100 people directions and following some firangis who were on bikes. Biking is a very popular means of transport as the roads are extremely narrow. But do people drive crazy and fast there! We saw a Maruti omni do a 180 flip into a stream just in front of us. Luckily, no one was seriously hurt as the van was perched between two boulders and did not fall into the bed.

So the beach was colourful and calm. We debated if we wanted to play some sport there. The gals who were with us wanted to go to Baga, the more crowded beach and so of we went. While at Anjuna, I couldnot resist buying a drum. Ive decided to learn some tap tap beats that I can showcase next time ;)

At baga, me and pk went and purchased a volleyball while others were at the beach. My muscles were so flexed and tired that I got myself a nice massage done. It was so very relaxing and rejuvenating. By the time we were all done, we had to get a shower. My friends were all leaving back to Pune while I decided to stay back to meet up with my engg. friends. Its been long since I saw them and we really wanted to catch up. We all had a shower in a open area with a pipe. It was comical as the guy owning it did not want us to use any water than was required. So he was watching us shower and kept controlling the water flow. It was chaotic as there was soap all over us and water came according to his discretion!

We then had one of the finest candle light dinners by the beach. We were facing the sea with the high tide waves splashing meters away from us. I had a toast of seafood and the famous Goan pheni. There was some nice fireworks and tightrope walking just as we finished our dinner. I finally bid adieu to my office friends and found a place to stay with a Goan family as a paying guest.

The Great Goan Escape - Day 2

Day 2 started of with us waking late again. This time we went shopping to the Calangute market. As Raj had put it we'd become true Page 3 celebs. We wake up late, do shopping till night and then party at the club till early morning. I would hate to do this every day or every week, but its fun to live it up once in a while. We went looking around for mementos and clothes. It was a long walk up and down the stretch of shops. While we returned to our starting point, we could not find our qualis. So of we went, me and pk, in search for it. Finally, much to my relief, I found it parked near some mela not too far from us.

A lot of us did not like the music that was played at Titos yesterday. So we decided to try La Calypso, a disc with the famous DJ Aqeel from Mumbai on the roll. We also found out that there would be some good hindi music. I was not all that excited after the tiresome two days but decided to give it a try. It was fun and everyone enjoyed it. The crowd was all desi considering the genre of music being played. I was kinda hungry, so slipped through the crowd to enjoy a stomach filling buffet :) Only when my stomach is happy, am I happy. After that, I was so full that I could move no more and so went to the park to sleep on a makeshift bed made of three chairs!

DJ Aqeel played some good new hindi remixes. He was involving the crowd well and kept talking through the songs. After he went DJ Piyush came and was boring. So we decided to call it a night and went to the hotel to have a peaceful well deserved sleep!

The Great Goan Escape - Day 1

We reached Vagator, Goa and checked into our Hotel Palm Grove early at around 9 AM. We did have a temporary confusion trying to make the hotel owner understand how long we had booked to stay.The middle-man quack we had contacted in Pune had been playing games with us. But all was sorted and we got 2 rooms for the guys n gals. Then did we sleep like a log till early afternoon. We were dead tired from the journey.

We then went to Baga beach, the most crowded and happening beach in North Goa. This place and all the other fun spots had been the capital of Goa during the Portugese rule till 1961 after which Panjim became the center of Indian Goa. So of we went swimming in the Arabian sea and banana boat riding. Later at night we went to the best trance/techno disc in goa called Titos. We partied till late 4 am. The music was not of my type nor my friends but the crowd was amazing. I did have a good time there with the highlight being a fire dance by a Czech couple.

The Great Goan Escape - Takeoff

Goa has always been in my mind as a "must do" holiday. So when we got a week long holiday for Xmas and New Year, this was it! My office colleagues planned a 3 day trip till the day after Xmas while my engineering friends a 5 day trip till New Year. Fortunately for me, they were two disparate sets. I just had to spent a nite by myself.

So of we went, the seven of us, on a qualis. The ride was bumpy initially a precursor to what was to come. We went on as to how the Pune-Bangalore highway should be good and top priority for development. Then voila, the toll booths appeared and the road got real smooth. The downside was that the booths appeared every 45 mins and they did shell quite some money out of us.
We stopped for dinner at a roadside dhaba and had some of the worst cooked chicken and mutton. On top of all he took 1.5 hrs to just prepare them. Talk about time to cook burned food and how they would have tasted better! Ofcourse my stomach agreed with me a 100 percent on the quality of food I ate. The road conspired too and became circular and windy. After a lot of restrain I had to stop the qualis to try puke out the crap I ate. But for my friend's saunf, I would have turned back and spared you the pain of reading my blog.

Love, war and peace

Joy and festiveness shattered,
By a single moment of outrage.
Is it even necessary to express,
anger and emotion through violence?

The pretty six year old had a long life ahead.
Grandma wanted to just be with the little ones.
Shopkeepers were looking to go home sweet home
Urchins and homeless were just enjoying the lights.
Everybody out there was in a festive mood,
All of them happy in their own very way!

Then came the sharp stinging blow that shook all,
The devil himself had set foot upon earth.
It was loud, gruesome and painful.
And it took away everything small and big!
Dreams were broken, love was lost,
future disappeared and darkness descended.

So there is a reason for everything in this world.
What can be the reason for this carnage?
Somebody wanted to make a statement, fine!
Now that they have, what have they achieved, seriously!
Will they get what they want by doing this,
or keep doing this till mankind is all wiped out!

People have forgotten Mahatma Gandhi,
Be it a Pakistani, Indian or Bangladeshi.
The very pillar of non-violence had liberated us
from the crutches of slavery in our own land.
He needs to descend upon the hearts of all people again
Dispelling the omnipresent hatred and vengeance.

Please heal the world o'mighty bappuji!