Lost at a Crossroads? No, not these friends!

Lost at a Crossroads!?

Where to go?

What to do?

Those must be your questions!

Not for these friends!

Wanderers!

Adventurers!

Successful in all their ventures!

GOD BLESS THEM!

-Mrs. N. Lalitha Raghu.

Mother’s Anxiety for Safety of Children.

Oh My God!

You are so bold,

And adventurous!

But it is so dangerous?

Is it a ride for fun?

Or a rescue mission?

You are in high spirits!

But I am in jitters.

Don’t ever repeat it,

Because I don’t like it.

– Mrs. N. Lalitha Raghu.

As Hyderabad sizzles at 44 degrees Celsius...

As Hyderabad sizzles at 44 degrees Celsius,

And heavy pollution is adding to the heat chaos,

I choose to postpone jobs to late evenings,

Or the next day early mornings.

I stay at home during peak heat wave timings,

Relaxing and keeping cool with cool cravings!

We love Nepali ‘Momos’ and Chinese ‘Dim Sums’!

Some exotic snacks,

Are so easy to prepare!

In the comfort of our homes!

These delicious Nepali ‘Momos’!

And the Chinese ‘Dim Sums’!

Are quick and healthy snacks!

With little or no spices and oil,

They taste wonderful!

Easy to make by a grandma!

For her grandchild Sudhiksha!

- Mrs. N. Lalitha Raghu.

Muffins and Coffee! For a sudden Celebration today!

Raisin Muffins,

And Date Muffins,

I made thirty-six units,

Under seventy-two minutes!

For a sudden celebration,

With family and friends,

And won their admiration!

Cheating, Cheating! ..... Everywhere!!

Yesterday, three cricketers and some bookies are arrested on charges of cheating and gambling in the ongoing IPL cricket matches. More bad news is expected as the ongoing investigation makes progress.

The original Cricket, a gentleman’s game has been mercilessly tampered and altered to convert it into different Limited Over versions - vulgar, noisy, commercial tamasha, with the sole aim of milking money from cricket crazy crowds and fill the coffers and pockets of the organizers and players. A decent game played between clubs, provinces and countries in white flannels is now played in Technicolor dresses befitting jokers in circuses, between unethically fabricated teams with frilly names. It has also become a source of big time auctions, player swapping, gambling and players getting involved in match fixing, spot fixing and what not for shameless earnings.

Education is not available for many in India. Water and electricity is not available round the clock, and at some places it is not at all available. But dishonesty, corruption, violence, misrule, hunger, poverty and  many more aspects of which we and our rulers should be ashamed of; can be found all over India round the clock. And talk of anything new, all these bad attributes will enter it from all angles and bring disglory to it.

When a great game like Cricket is not spared by these evil forces, I don’t think absolute good will ever prevail around us.

Now I can afford siesta!

Thank God! I get to enjoy napping in the afternoons for at least an hour on most days of a month. This blessing of enjoying a nap came to me 12 years ago after a very busy life of day long work for 25 years. This luxury came to me after I opted for Voluntary Retirement and started my own CNC Machines related consultancy in 2001. On most days I am free and on the days I have business, I try to finish my job by noon and reach home for lunch and a rejuvenating siesta and in case there is any  other assignment I take it up in the evenings.

In contrast my father and my brother enjoyed the luxury of taking a nap in the afternoons all their lives. It was the luxury of habitual napping. My father as a Senior Officer in the Company, worked from 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM and from 4:30 PM to 6:00 PM, he came home for lunch, went through newspapers or a book and took a long nap. And my brother, a Dental Surgeon with his own practice attached to the house stuck to the same timings of my father in the mornings and after a good nap; in the evening he practiced from 4:30 PM to 7:30 PM.

A nap is said to restore alertness, prevent burnout, heighten sensory perception and make one more productive. True to some extent, perhaps more true in the case of the weak and elderly persons and those who can’t get a good night’s sleep. As for me, after a nap I certainly feel a little relaxed, fresh and energetic for the evening activities.

I am not trying to say here that everyone should take a nap; it is only for the elderly and those who can afford it or need it. Normally for the majority of working class the day is divided into two distinct periods, one for sleep and one for wakefulness. If you are a busy man with lots of work and important things to do, don’t neglect your work and think of a nap, just have a well deserved good night’s sleep. That will do, it is good enough for your health and everything else. Otherwise you would be branded as a lazy and unambitious ever napping man and as a person of low standards! And of course you would not be successful in life. You can enjoy napping after your well deserved retirement!

Our Wedding Anniversary – 2013.

Today is our 34th Wedding Anniversary. With both our sons away from home, Srikanth in Bangalore and Srinath in Birmingham (UK), we had a simple and quiet celebration at home with the rest of the family.  The attached photographs are of the celebration we had this evening. My mother who is 93 years old does not figure in the photographs as she has gone to sleep early today.

According to a message from timeanddate.com, it is 12,420 days! since Lalitha and I got married...that is from 9th May 1979 to today – 9th May 2013, both days included. Though the figures - 34 years or 12,420 days may sound large; it is not so for us, we always have a feeling that we got married just a couple of years back!   

Hope “NFSB” will not go the way of “Garibi Hatao”.

“Garibi Hatao” – Abolish Poverty slogan and program of Indira Gandhi launched in 1971 and subsequently canvassed and followed by her son Rajiv Gandhi was a big success, it brought them electoral victories! But most surely and certainly it has neither helped the poor nor the poorest of poor, their population and miseries simply went up!

Now we seem to have realised that it is impossible to eradicate poverty in India. So we are talking of NFSB – National Food Security Bill that will ensure that the poor of India – 67 percent of our population will get all essential items for their families, at 90 percent subsidised rates! They will hopefully live comfortably on this life support scheme and be loyal to the introducers of this program and help them win election after election. Long live NFSB!

Very soon, hopefully within a month after the implementation of NFSB we will not see any more beggars on our streets and at places of worship and no more suicides due to hunger. It is a wonderful scheme! What if it devours the revenues of the Government and stalls the extraordinary development of our great country. It is a scheme to keep poor people happy and is a sure Mantra for the INC Party’s electoral victories in 2014.

However, subsequent to the 2014 elections or a little later, God forbid; if this scheme fails 67 percent of our population, perhaps more by then, WILL BECOME ORPHANS! May the over smart rulers of our country find better solutions at the earliest to let the people of our country lead dignified lives and not dependent lives.

Place and Names? Please!

Well intended photos,

Turned into interesting silhouettes!

Here are some fb friends of ours,

And our family members!

Enjoying the ritual!

Of holy dips and bathing,

In the sacred Godavari River,

At a town very popular,

For the Temple of Sri Rama.

Can you guess the Place?

And at least one friend’s Name!