The word love can refer to a variety of different feelings, states, and attitudes, ranging from generic pleasure to intense interpersonal attraction. Love can also refer specifically to the passionate desire and intimacy of romantic love, to the sexual love of eros, to the emotional closeness of familial love, or to the platonic love that defines friendship, to the profound oneness or devotion of religious love.
In philosophical context, love is a virtue representing all of human kindness, compassion, and affection.
Love is an emotion of strong affection and personal attachment.
Love in its various forms acts as a major facilitator of interpersonal relationships and, owing to its central psychological importance, is one of the most common themes in the creative arts.
"I tried different techniques during my career, but I especially fell in love with painting with oil and pallette-knife. Every artwork is the result of long painting process; every canvas is born during the creative search; every painting is full of my inner world. Each of my paintings brings different mood, colors and emotions. I love to express the beauty, harmony and spirit of this world in my paintings. My heart is completely open to art. Thus, I enjoy creating inspired and beautiful paintings from the bottom of my soul. Each of my artworks reflects my feelings, sensitivity, passion, and the music from my soul. True art is alive and inspired by humanity. I believe that art helps us to be free from aggression and depression."
~ Leonid Afremov
Leonid Afremov is a Belarus born, Israeli modern painter who creates unique landscapes, cityscapes and figures using a palette knife rather than a brush to paint. He witnessed the scorching southern sun filled with vibrant reflective colors which soon had a positive influence on his paintings.
Afremov’s artistic style is unique and easily recognized. He uses a palette-knife instead of regular paint brushes to put the paint onto the canvas. The palette-knife itself is intended to be used for cleaning old paint off of the canvas. It is very rare that any artist ventures to use it as an instrument in painting together with a brush and it is even more rare that any artist uses it as their only instrument.
Working with palette-knife gives fantastic possibilities, but it is also fantastically difficult to master. It took 10 years for Leonid Afremov to build up his palette-knife handling skill up to the level that it is now.
is not what we have, but the things that we share...
And if you don't have any romantic notions on this day when love is forced down your throat - treat yourself to some major chocolate intake. Chocolate never disappoints :)
I slowly stepped out into the freezing temperatures of winter and lit some candles in the hall near the entrance of the house. The black duvet shimmered in the light of the flames, and the soft music was flowing through the entire house. Here I was, heartbeat going off the charts, a million scenarios going through my mind.
The walk to my front door felt like it took forever and saw her standing on the other side, looking more beautiful than she ever had before. Her flowing vivid red hair was curling like wildfire down her back; her eyes were so amazing with their honey gold glow behind her thick lashes.
I pulled her over the threshold and kissed her feeling every lush curve of her body, heavy breasts, luscious thighs and lips. Her silky dress hugged every inch of her rubenesque form in absolute divinity. I once again tangled my hand in her curls teasing the matching studs. A soft moan escaped her bright pink lips. Her unbridled lust shot out from her golden eyes.
Back up over her lush thighs, hips, and waist and over her head, her hair falling back around her, she blushed wildly as she felt my breath on her most intimate parts and her tender folds. Smoothing a curl back from her forehead and, feeling her giggle under me was bliss. She felt absolutely divine
We moaned in unison, one hand at the top of her back and one on her hip, holding her there, making her wilder. Her hair fanned all around as I hugged her and slid up into her warmth over and again, her breasts sandwiched between her arms, cheeks flushed with colour, breathing heavily.
She looked down at me with those eyes of gold, and smiled a seductive smile; bit her bottom lip as I ran my hands up her body. She moved her legs to wrap them around me as I kissed her and tangled myself in those curls again. Moans escaped her lips all over again and I covered her mouth with mine, shielding them, muffling her sounds, drinking her in. She was grinding and keeping us close, crushing her milky globes to my chest.
I wanted to see her ultimate pleasure and ran it down to where we were joined. It was beautiful like she had just been released from a dark room into the sunshine for the first time in months.
She came down from her high, still moaning, which seemed to go for ages. She fell into me, snuggling in lovingly still running my hands around her lush body looking blissful and glowing. She never looked more beautiful than right then, in that moment. I slide myself back inside this nymphet goddess. From here driving us both wild, She balled the sheets up in her fist as we came together, breathless, moaning, touching everywhere.
She fell asleep snuggled into my chest; her hair still spilled everywhere, to dream of what wondrous things would follow a perfect night.
Goa, an endearing abode of scenic charm is a paradise, squeezed between the seas and the lush forested hills. Offering glistening sands, swaying coconut palms, and ultra fresh seafood explore sensuous beaches and historical forts that have kept the legacy of Portuguese alive.
Renowned for its beaches, places of worship and world heritage architecture, Goa also has rich flora and fauna owing to its location on the Western Ghats range.
Goa is much more than just beaches and sea. It has a soul which goes deep into unique history, rich culture and some of the prettiest natural scenery.
Legends from Hindu mythology credit Lord Parshuram, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu with the creation of Goa.
Having been the meeting point of races, religions and cultures of East and West over the centuries, Goa has a multi-hued and distinctive lifestyle.
The vast green expanse of the Sahyadri mountain range ensures that Goa has an abundance of water. The sea and rivers abound in seafood - prawns, mackerels, sardines, crabs and lobsters are the most popular with the locals and the visitors.
Besides the natural beauty, the fabulous beaches and sunshine, travellers to Goa love the laid-back, peaceful, warm and friendly nature of the Goan people. After all, more than anywhere else on planet earth, this is a place where people really know how to relax.
Travel to Goa, to explore the mystical charisma of the exotic abode. It is a promise that Goa will add some golden moments in your memorabilia.
Romans discovered the sweet cherry fruit in the Asia Minor in about 70 BC. They then introduced them in the first century AD to Britain. The German word Kirsch-the cherry liqueur comes from the word karshu. This is the name given to the cherries that were first cultivated in Mesopotamia in 8 BC.
Tart cherries, enjoyed as dried and frozen cherries and cherry juice, have among the highest levels of powerful antioxidants compared to other fruits. They also contain other important nutrients such as beta carotene, vitamin c, potassium and fiber.
Since the cherry fruit bruises easily, you need to handle them with care. When buying cherries, look for a bright color and those with a supple exterior. Cherries, which are plump and firm, are very good to taste. If you are looking for good quality cherries, try to go in for cherries with their green stems attached. Cherries are very easily perishable and they rarely ripen after harvest. Therefore, you need to refrigerate them soon after their purchase. These can remain fresh in the fridge for at least 2 days.
1. Combine cream, butter and sugar; bring to a boil over medium heat. Remove from heat.
2. Add chocolate. Stir until melted. Chill mixture until firm enough to handle for 3 to 4 hours.
3. Wrap each cherry in about 1 teaspoon truffle mixture. Chill Chocolate Coating.
4. Partially melt chocolate over hot water. Remove from heat and continue stirring until completely melted.
5. Dip cherries in melted chocolate; place on waxed paper lined tray. Chill to set chocolate.
Here is a recipe of Chocolate-Topped Bars Cake:
Ingredients:
# 500 gm refrigerated sugar cookies # 3 eggs # 250 gm cream cheese, softened # 1/2 litre sweetened condensed milk # 1/4 teaspoon almond extract # 3 drops red food colour # 20 fresh ripe cherries, finely chopped, drained on paper towels # 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips # 1/2 cup butter or margarine # 1/2 cup whipping cream
Method:
1. Heat oven to 350°F. In ungreased pan, break up cookie dough. With floured fingers, press dough evenly in bottom of pan to form crust. Bake 10 to 15 minutes or until light golden brown.
2. Meanwhile, in small bowl, beat 1 egg white until frothy. Brush egg white over crust. Bake 3 minutes longer or until egg white is set.
3. Meanwhile, in large bowl, beat cream cheese with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add egg yolk, 2 eggs, the condensed milk, almond extract and food colour; beat until well blended. Stir in chopped cherries.
4. Pour cherry mixture evenly over crust. Bake 16 to 20 minutes longer or until set. Cool completely, about 45 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, in medium saucepan, heat chocolate chips and butter over low heat, stirring frequently, until melted and smooth. Remove from heat. Cool 20 minutes.
6. Stir whipping cream into chocolate mixture until well blended. Spread over cooled bars. Refrigerate about 30 minutes or until chocolate is set.
7. For bars, cut into 8 rows by 6 rows. Store in refrigerator.
Cherries are very versatile fruits and can be a part of any meal or dessert. From breakfast to soups and salads, these find their way into any food item easily! Being delicious, these can be frozen and devoured whenever you wish.
Tere Naal Love Hogaya is an upcoming Bollywood romance film directed by Mandeep Kumar, and produced by Kumar Taurani. The film stars soon to be married Ritesh Deshmukh opposite Genelia D'Souza in lead roles. The soundtrack is be composed by Sachin-Jigar and is scheduled to be released in February 2012.
Welcome to the sexiest, wildest ride you'll take. Meet Brea Harper, she is the next Carrie Bradshaw only transplanted in Los Angeles. Funny, witty, beautiful, and very sexy, Brea takes readers on a wild ride into her outrageous romantic and professional life. Demoralized and forced to work in what she calls bikini hell just to make ends meet, Brea pursues her career to become a screenwriter only to be continuously distracted by hot men. Delightfully misguided, Brea makes poor choices many women of all ages will find highly relatable. She is one of those unforgettable characters readers love to love.
â€California Girl Chronicles: Brea and The City of Plastic’ by Michelle Gamble-Risley is an erotic and beguiling prose that will catalyze an ineffaceable case of sleeplessness as she seizes you on a roller-coaster tryst with Brea, whose contemptible feral escapades quixotically and proficiently twang your sensitivity threads rooting you to yelp with enchantment, whimper with sympathy, and chortle until you cave in.
In this sequence, you will meet the incredibly sexy 22 year old archetypal California lass Brea Harper, flaxen and gorgeous, but chic than the rest, who is a lot into what she desires out of verve and whose droll amusing splendorous luster and appalling craving for sex sling her into a multitude of intricate affairs as she in chorus endeavor to accomplish her ideas by chasing her calling to grow to be a screenwriter.
She shifts to Los Angeles after losing her work as an editor at a local magazine, just to be incessantly abstracted by assorted yet in sum charming exciting searing chaps multi-dimensional as her, and in due course getting sucked into a string of quixotic disasters with three guys, who you will adore to odium and detest to worship, and what tags on is a sequence of exploits awaiting her than just a kick to rupture into the trade.
There’s the run of the mill yet secure Lance, with whom she shacks up with until she can get her own consign as she endeavors to embark on her fledging career and gets intimate at just about every time. Then, there is the persecuted ostensibly ethereal band boy Drew, whom she shares intense chemistry after meeting one night in a club, but for some raison d'être, can by no means get any sort of rapport off the ground. Drew attests to catalyze a terrific sum of excitement for the complete cast of characters implicated in this frisky antic.
Lastly, we have the dreamboat film maker, Kale, who flounces her off feet in seventh heaven with nights of continual lust-making. She fixes on she needs to get him to be her boyfriend so that he will aid her in the show industry. He finally concurs to provide her the big break that she has been looking for but, Brea can't defy her pull to Drew and she at last gets intimate with him also. But it comes at a worth she did not take in she would have to shell out.
Brea’s feminine associates include a go-getting, good-looking, reliable lesbian Latina, Maya, who endow with support, shield and guidance to her. Conversely, Maya become flabbergasted and detest over a selection Brea makes at the culmination leaving her in an existential predicament. As you would expect, the blend of these characters is a cataclysm in the offing to ensue and whilst her sagas ram, existence truly gets knotty.
Akin to a lot of anecdotes, the plot is loaded with passionate meetings where Brea without stinting divulges to amorous passion with a few sizzling and clammy encounters. In her hunt for adore and accomplishment in the writing trade, Brea risibly and lusciously sheds ethical charade yet as we gather she is not fully devoid of ethics. Her work in a costume store presents a fine covenant of wit flouting up equally the sexy and more somber elements of the stratagem with simplicity and let the author’s sense of humor to stand out.
Not only does the characters network well with one another, which the author attests through masterful character development while impelling us into the capricious world of convolutions of zealous eminence, vocation, cavernous adore and at times fully dysfunctional associations with witty discourses and vistas of sex and relationship that brings the characters right in abut of the readers which you can't help but find it all entertaining and teasing.
One way the author hooks the readers with her dialogue is by being straight and using ambler lingo. The flamboyant metaphors bring the characters to life while not taking herself so fatally. She has fun with Brea, and does a super job of letting the reader to trip along with Brea as she jig into verve whilst getting slightly muddled along the way and budges the readers at a nippy cadence from one affair to a new, from one notion to one more and from one snappy chat to a different.
Women all over can relate to her on some level and see and experience things that most women think but rarely admit. She is true, capricious, altruistic, at times picky and well sentient of her blemishes, which makes her all the more amiable. There are instants where she is susceptible and other minutes where she is burly.
The commentary is lighthearted, amusing, addictive, teasing, sardonic, and very invigorating and one can effortlessly feel Brea’s clashes and impasses at the exact instants. The discourse is beguiling yet true, which the author uses to bring more intensity to her characters than at first meets the eye.
On the whole, the order captures Brea's tests and troubles in a manly subjugated planet, while making fine use of her good looks and elegance. Triumph arrives at a cost, but Brea's candour in discourse lets slip her inexorable craving to thrive and uncover bliss in Hollywood's illusive globe that needs to be restrained by a dogged lass like her. In today's age of reading it is all about the characters and plot, and this volume has what it takes to charm the reader into the world of Brea.
Everyone adores an engaging break away from for a while tale and that is closely what the narrative is. In a planet where trade and expert positions are fuzzy, this narrative is more than aptly posh, and there’s by no means a dreary minute. This tome is amusing and pleasant and is intriguing to comprehend the incidents of this character, and there is a great deal to adore.
Not only is this infinitely entertaining escapade worthy of rapt attention, it is also worthy of tremendous praise. Michelle’s opening work of fiction is delectably candid and has transfigured quixotic writing and taken it to fresh pinnacles with this gripping character cram.
Rumbling the impudent eroticism and the amusement part, the novel is an exertion of modern legend to be laudable of gripped interest and tenders a titillating indulgence which is histrionically ordained for conventional demand.
Title: California Girl Chronicles: Brea and the City of Plastic | Author: Michelle Gamble-Risley | Edition: Paperback | Pages: 182 | Publisher: 3L Publishing | Published: November 2011 | Language: English | ISBN: 9780615538174
Facebook, the world's most popular social networking site with an estimated 845 million active subscribers, has turned eight. Since its launch on February 4, 2004 at Harvard University in Mark Zuckerberg's dormitory room, the social networking giant that has changed our lives over the years has witnessed massive growth and is most likely to have one billion users soon. Millions of people will reflect on the impact Facebook has had on their lives, however big or small that impact may be.
We’ve changed our relationship statuses, sometimes more than we can remember. We’ve flipped through our tagged photos, every once in awhile untagging the ones we now deem unfavorable. We’ve seen friends’ last names change, with their marriages followed by offspring. We’ve said goodbye to fellow Facebook users, our friends whose Walls and now Timelines have become digital memorials. We cried. We smiled. We tell our stories.
Here's a timeline of the most notable events of this social networking wonder:
2004-05: Facebook was only for college students.
2006: Facebook unveiled Notes to have a first crack at blogging. Notes ignited content sharing on Facebook so much — and so early on — that media organizations began opening their eyes to the site’s potential to bring more readers to their stories.
2007: Early signs of Facebook trumping MySpace as the go-to social network surfaced. Facebook pounced on this opportunity to dethrone MySpace as social king with a redesign, which involved ditching its trademark “Facebook Guy” logo.
2008: Facebook unleashed its Chat feature, expanded its global reach by adding more languages, and overtook MySpace based on monthly unique visitors. A major redesign then merged user Walls and Mini-Feeds.
2009: Facebook rolled out Usernames allowing users to sign up for custom URLs.
2010: A new Feature called Facebook Messages let users create an @Facebook.com email address. Facebook Messages integrated email, IM and text messages into one inbox.
2011: Facebook Chat gave voice-calling capabilities and Skype-powered video chat. Then, the new Subscribe feature, which allowed anybody to subscribe to personal profiles and see anything others share publicly. And most notably, some of the user profiles evolved into Timelines.
2012: Politicians more than ever are using Facebook and other tools to grab user attention and sway votes.
In its latest move to colonize areas of the web currently outside its orbit, Facebook is planning to roll out a “Subscribe” button for websites allowing users to subscribe websites beyond the social networking site. Facebook began offering the option to subscribe people in September.
Meanwhile, Facebook has started rolling out its much-talked about Timeline feature. The feature is presently rolling out for New Zealand users. The Timeline feature replaces your conventional profile pages with a Facebook history chart, including their recent updates and first friends on the social networking site.
Facebook’s music service, expected to be launched soon, will be the key to the social network’s success moving forward, taking it from a communications platform to a content site with Spotify, MOG and Rdio as three of the company’s launch partners. It will allow users to listen to music from within Facebook.com and to easily share their favorite music, television shows, and movies, effectively turning your profile into an entertainment hub. Facebook will not directly host or stream any music or media. Instead, it will rely on partners to provide the content. Facebook’s plan is to become a platform for media content in the same way it is a platform for applications and games.
It is a facebooked world and why not! almost the major part of the world is hooked to Facebook after a few years of its inception. It has taken the world of communication by storm and made get-togethers, formal meetings history when in real time now friends, colleagues or any user can interact with their counterpart in real time. And the facebook tsunami is such that the popular joke going around facebook at this time is- Why do we love FACEBOOK but hate to FACE the BOOK.
And for those still scratching their heads, facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004 with around 600 million active users at the beginning of 2011, when the world population stood at roughly 3600 million who were above 13, since facebook didn't permit users below 13 to have accounts and thats roughly 1 in 6 people using the facebook service and if we go a lit more deeply considering the number of 1200 million internet users over 13 then it roughly translates to 1 in 2 internet subscribers using the facebook service.
In all its popularity Facebook also owes a lot to the online farming game Farmville which took the world by storm which was exclusive only to facebook and this game attracted a surge of users with farmville having around 80 million active users by the end of 2010.
So its almost safe to say its a facebooked world. And the domination of facebook also led to obituaries for other social networking services like Orkut, Myspace and Hi5. Facebook also let to rest whatever little was left to the letters and Postal services as sending message through facebook was secure, instant and feedback could be obtained in minutes if not seconds.
You can figure out the popularity of facebook from the fact that everytime the layout of facebook page changes, which is quite frequent, there turns out tout to be a huge uproar all over the world to bring back the last layout back. But it just keeps on re-laying itself.
Facebook was founded by a 20 year old Mark Zuckerberg while attending Harvard as a sophomore who used photos compiled from the online facebooks of nine houses, placing two next to each other at a time and asking users to choose the 'hotter' person" which attracted 450 visitors and 22,000 photo-views in its first four hours online and on the way also made him one of the youngest billionaires in the world with personal wealth estimated to be $13.5 billion at the end of 2010.
And the surge of facebook also gave an opportunity for small and big companies as an extra cost cutting measure especially in the marketing and promotion space because in the flash of a second it could reach to millions of users and that too completely free and also getting higher quality feedback from the target group. Companies took to designing of their logos, framing catch-lines and advertising through facebook and it got a better response through 1000's of creative minds rather than a few minds of an advertising company which it used to hire earlier and also was a cost-saving exercise.
After Email was introduced in the nineties, facebook changed the communication medium forever.
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Farmville has introduced the new Anti-cupid party quest. Here is a complete Master Guide:
FarmVille Anti Cupid Party Quest 1: Love Is Within the Air Requirements: Get 4 Black Rose Bouquets, Harvest the Cow Pasture & Harvest 50 Flowers Rewards: 125 XP, Cupid’s Stinky Pig & 2,500 Farm Coins
FarmVille Anti Cupid Party Quest 2: Sours for the Sweet Requirements: Get 6 Boxes of Sour Candy, Harvest the Stinky Pig & Harvest 75 Aloe Vera Rewards: 150 XP, Puckered Porcupine, & 3,000 Farm Coins
FarmVille Anti Cupid Party Quest 3: Anti-Anti Requirements: Get Anti Valentine’s Day Cards, Harvest the Puckered Porcupine & Harvest 100 Corn Rewards: 175 XP, 3x Farm Hands, & 3,500 Farm Coins
FarmVille Anti Cupid Party Quest 4: It’s a Trap Requirements: Get 8 Party Invitations, Harvest Stinky Pig Twice & Harvest 125 Jalapeno Rewards: 200 XP, Anti Love Giraffe, & 4,000 Farm Coins
FarmVille Anti Cupid Party Quest 5: Cupid Cakes Requirements: Get 8 Cupid Party Cakes, Harvest the Love Giraffe & Harvest 125 Pineapples Rewards: 225 XP, Black Heart Gnome, & 4,500 Farm Coins
FarmVille Anti Cupid Party Quest 6: Decorated for Detriment Requirements: Get 8 Cupid Party Decorations, Harvest Puckered Porcupine Twice & Harvest 150 Fruit Crops Rewards: 250 XP, 3x Arborists, & 5,000 Farm Coins
FarmVille Anti Cupid Party Quest 7: Like Fish In a Barrel Requirements: Get 9 Party Games, Harvest Love Giraffe Twice & Harvest 150 Cranberries Rewards: 275 XP, Anti Cupid, & 5,500 Farm Coins
FarmVille Anti Cupid Party Quest 8: Like Arrows Requirements: Get 10 Like Arrows, Master Stinky Pig to Level 1 & Harvest 150 Red Tulips Rewards: 300 XP, Turbo Charger, 5,000 Farm Coins
FarmVille Anti Cupid Party Quest 9: Cupid Love Requirements: Get 12 Cupid Candies, Master Puckered Porcupine to Level 1 & Harvest 200 Soybean Rewards: 325 XP, Mr. & Mrs. Cupid, & 6,500 Farm Coins
FarmVille Jackpot Quests Master Guide
FarmVille Jackpot Quest 1: Gimme a Lift? Requirements: Get 4 Ducky Lift Shoes, Harvest the Cow Pasture & Harvest 50 Spinach Rewards: 125 XP, Kissing Booth & 2,500 Farm Coins
FarmVille Jackpot Quest 2: Hair in the Duck Requirements: Get 6 Bottles of Feather Gel, Harvest the Aviary & Harvest 75 Strawberries Rewards: 125 XP, Vegas Duck, & 3,000 Farm Coins
FarmVille Jackpot Quest 3: One Spiffy Duck! Requirements: Get 8 Bowties, Harvest the Vegas Duck & Harvest 100 Cranberries Rewards: 175 XP, Tuxedo Bear, & 3,500 Farm Coins
FarmVille Jackpot Quest 4: if It Smells Like a Duck… Requirements: Get 8 “Eau Du Duck”, Harvest Tuxedo Bear & Harvest 125 Lilac Rewards: 200 XP, Purple Skunk, & 4,000 Farm Coins
FarmVille Jackpot Quest 6: A Lucky Duck Requirements: Get 8 Rose Bouquets, Master Vegas Duck to 1-Star & Harvest 400 Red Tulips Rewards: 250 XP, Mirror Mirror, & 5,000 Farm Coins
FarmVille Jackpot Quest 7: Laying the Foundation Requirements: Get 9 Twigs and Sticks, Harvest Ms. Ugly Duckling & Harvest 400 Grain Crops Rewards: 275 XP, 1 Arborist, & 5,500 Farm Coins
FarmVille Jackpot Quest 8: Tie Everything Together Requirements: Get 10 Strings of Yarn, Master Purple Skunk to Level 1, & Harvest 500 Vegetables of the choice. Rewards: 250 XP, 3 Turbo Chargers, 5,000 Farm Coins
FarmVille Jackpot Quest 9: Homecoming Requirements: Get 12 Cotton Balls, Harvest Ms. Ugly Duckling Twice & Harvest 550 Fruit Crops Rewards: 275 XP, Book of XP, & 5,500 Farm Coins
FarmVille Quest Request Links (Click Item to Request):
FarmVille Ducky Lift Shoes (Quest 1)
FarmVille Bottles of Feather Gel (Quest 2)
FarmVille Bowtie (Quest 3)
FarmVille "Eau Du Duck" (Quest 4)
FarmVille Bags of Bread Crumbs (Quest 5)
FarmVille Rose Bouquets (Quest 6)
FarmVille Twigs & Sticks (Quest 7)
FarmVille String of Yarn (Quest 8)
FarmVille Cotton Balls (Quest 9)
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A few yards from where Tina was sunbathing amidst the cool blue seas with her friends, stood a group of guys playing football, and one of them noticed Tina while others were immersed in their game. True, Tina was not the girl with the dream body. Nevertheless, she had long brown hair and bright green eyes that gave a charm to her face.
Abhik, a muscular guy, about two years older than her was of shy nature who would think twice before speaking to a girl, not that Abhik would fell in love easily or give his heart to anyone but for him, Tina had something special and did not want let go without talking to her.
They continued with their girly chats, When Tina’s eyes fell on Abhik. She also spotted something in Abhik’s looks and started getting lost in the radiance of his face. The time passed and it was getting closer to leave the spot. However, they wanted to take a final plunge but were not sure about the outcome.
- Auuuuuuu! - Shouted Tina.
- Sorry, hope it was not bad. - Abhik answered, blushing.
Tina had just been hit by a ball, but when she looked up, in order to deliver the ball to the boy, she froze for a moment.
Here you go. And see if you care to play, screamed Tina.
- Yes I will. I do not want to hurt a girl like you. - Abhik was afraid to be exaggerating, but he could not miss the chance to talk a bit more with her.
Tina did not know what to answer. Meanwhile, her friends laughed, grabbed her and told the boy - now we would be going for a dive. Nice to meet you!
Abhik had nodded his head, but would not give up. While they were in the water, he went to Tina's backpack and left her a note and went away with the hope that something good happen. His friends were enjoying their game, but he did not care. He was especially keeping a watch on her, and was willing to do everything just so she would speak even if it was a simple "Hello."
As he was leaving, he could not stop thinking about what her friends told her about. He needed to know.
Tina came back from the water with friends, dried up and decided to return. She could not listen more from her friends mouths, about this guy, whose name even no-one knows.
She returned home and was nervous, trying to make up her mind whether to fall in love or not and she was getting more certain that they would never again see each other, still she decided to open her backpack and her heart started beating faster than ever before.
Calcutta embodies the Bengali love of culture; the triumph of intellectualism over greed; the complete transparency of all emotions, the disdain with which hypocrisy and insincerity are treated; the warmth of genuine humanity; and the supremacy of emotion over all other aspects of human existence.
Most modern Indian cities strive to rise above ethnicity. Tell anybody who lives in Bombay that he lives in a Maharashtrian city and (unless of course, you are speaking to Bal Thackeray) he will take immediate offence. We are cosmopolitan, he will say indigenously.
Tell a Delhiwalla that his is a Punjabi city (which, in many ways, it is) and he will respond with much self-righteous nonsense about being the nation’s capital, about the international composition of the city’s elite etc. And tell a Bangalorean that he lives in a Kannadiga city and you’ll get lots of techno-gaff about the internet revolution and about how Bangalore is even more cosmopolitan than Bombay.
But, the only way to understand what Calcutta is about, is to recognize that the city is essentially Bengali. What’s more, no Bengali minds you saying that. Rather, he is proud of the fact. Calcutta’s strengths and weaknesses mirror those of the Bengali character.
It has the drawbacks: the sudden passions, the cheerful chaos, the utter contempt for mere commerce, the fiery response to the smallest provocation. And it has the strengths (actually, I think of the drawbacks as strengths in their own way).
Calcutta embodies the Bengali love of culture; the triumph of intellectualism over greed; the complete transparency of all emotions, the disdain with which hypocrisy and insincerity are treated; the warmth of genuine humanity; and the supremacy of emotion over all other aspects of human existence.
That’s why Calcutta is not for everyone. You want your cities clean and green; stick to Delhi. You want your cities, rich and impersonal, go to Bombay. You want them high-tech and full of draught beer, Bangalore’s your place. But if you want a city with a soul, come to Calcutta.
When I look back on the years I’ve spent in Calcutta - and I come back so many times each year that I often feel I’ve never been away - I don’t remember the things that people remember about cities. When I think of London, I think of the vast open spaces of Hyde Park. When I think of New York, I think of the frenzy of Times Square. When I think of Tokyo, I think of the bright lights of Shinjiku. And when I think of Paris, I think of the Champs Elysee.
But when I think of Calcutta, I never think of any one place. I don’t focus on the greenery of the maidan, the beauty of the Victoria Memorial, the bustle of Burra Bazar or the splendour of the new Howrah â€Bridge’. I think of people. Because, finally, a city is more than bricks and mortars, street lights and tarred roads. A city is the sum of its people. And who can ever forget -or replicate - the people of Calcutta?
When I first came to live here, I was told that the city would grow on me. What nobody told me was that the city would change my life. It was in Calcutta that I learnt about true warmth; about simple human decency; about love and friendship; about emotions and caring; about truth and honesty. I learnt other things too.
Coming from Bombay as I did, it was a revelation to live in a city where people judged each other on the things that really mattered; where they recognized that being rich did not make you a better person - in fact, it might have the opposite effect. I learnt also that if life is about more than just money, it is about the things that other cities ignore; about culture, about ideas, about art, and about passion.
In Bombay, a man with a relatively low income will salt some of it away for the day when he gets a stock market tip. In Calcutta, a man with exactly the same income will not know the difference between a debenture and a dividend. But he will spend his money on the things that matter. Each morning, he will read at least two newspapers and develop sharply etched views on the state of the world.
Each evening, there will be fresh (ideally, fresh-water or river) fish on his table. His children will be encouraged to learn to dance or sing. His family will appreciate the power of poetry. And for him, religion and culture will be in inextricably bound together.
Ah religion! Tell outsiders about the importance of Puja in Calcutta and they’ll scoff. Don’t be silly, they’ll say. Puja is a religious festival. And Bengal has voted for the CPM since 1977. How can godless Bengal be so hung up on a religious festival? I never know how to explain them that to a Bengali, religion consists of much more than shouting Jai Shri Ram or pulling down somebody’s mosque.
It has little to do with meaningless ritual orsinister political activity.The essence of Puja is that all the passions of Bengal converge: emotion, culture, the love of life, the warmth of being together, the joy of celebration, the pride inartistic ex-pression and yes, the cult of the goddess.
It may be about religion. But is about much more than just worship. In which other part of India would small, not particularly well-off localities, vie with each other to produce the best pandals? Where else could puja pandals go beyond religion to draw inspiration from everything else? In the years I lived in Calcutta, the pandals featured Amitabh Bachchan, Princes Diana and even Saddam Hussain!
Where else would children cry with the sheer emotional power of Dashimi, upset that the Goddess had left their homes? Where else would the whole city gooseflesh when the dhakis first begin to beat their drums? Which other Indian festival - in any part of the country - is so much about food, about going from one roadside stall to another, following your nose as it trails the smells of cooking?
To understand Puja, you must understand Calcutta. And to understand Calcutta , you must understand the Bengali. It’s not easy. Certainly, you can’t do it till you come and live here, till you let Calcutta suffuse your being, invade your bloodstream and steal your soul. But once you have, you’ll love Calcutta forever.
Wherever you go,a bit of Calcutta will go with you. I know, because it’s happened to me. And every Puja, I am overcome by the magic of Bengal. It’s a feeling that’ll never go away.
The peaks of snow mountains on bright mornings part the dense clouds and soar into the skies and beneath the skies like a world submerged, lies a lost kingdom, Ladakh, the roof of the world. At an awesome altitude, this highland is the bridge between the earth and the sky!
Part fantasy, part reality, Ladakh, meaning "land of high passes" is where, the forces of nature conspired to render a magical unrealistic landscape, a landscape of extremes, desert and blue waters, burning sun and freezing winds, glaciers and sand dunes, a primeval battleground of the titanic forces which gave birth to the Himalayas.
Lying at an altitude from 9000 ft to 25170 feet, Ladakh is a land like no other. Bounded by two of the world's mightiest mountain ranges, the Great Himalayas and the Karakoram, it lies athwart two other, the Ladakh range and the Zanskar range.
Leh, the capital of Ladakh is a fascinating destination. Age-old monasteries, quaint lanes, colorful markets and stunning views of the Himalayas make Leh an exotic destination. Leh is where your adventure in Ladakh begins. You can go for trekking through the mountainous terrain of Ladakh, enjoy a game of polo in a high altitude arena or watch an archery contest where local residents compete in a contest that remains unchanged by time.
As the first rays of the sun hit the mountains, the monks blow the large copper trumpets from the rooftops of the monasteries. Below the monasteries, ritual articles are laid out, as monks in vestments and masks get ready for dancing in front of a gathering. As events build up, the music gets louder, incense is brought out and a group of monks in ceremonial dress come out to unfurl the large painted scroll. The night is alive with the illumination of shrines and buildings.
Ladakh's landscape has more in common with the lunar landscape than any other place on earth. It is a cold high altitude desert where the wind, water from the winter snows have carved a fantastic, sometimes grotesque, landscape. Though the weather can be freezing cold, the smiles on the faces of the Ladakhi people are sure to warm your hearts.
An authentic land, it is faithful to ancestral customs where life is characterized by intense spirituality. Rich traditions of Mahayana Buddhism still flourish in the purest form in this region, which has often been referred to as Little Tibet.
Pangong Tso or Pangong Lake is an endorheic lake in the Himalayas situated at a height of about 14,270 ft. This mountainous region has exemplary beauty of the landscape and holidays here could be like being cut off from an entire civilization.
It is common in Ladakh to come across villages carved out of veritable mountainside, stupas reaching the sky, monasteries virtually hanging from the cliffs and crags. Their interiors are filled with priceless antiques and art.
As the highest inhabited land in the world, it holds a fascination for many, while for some there is an enchantment of seeing the mountains, which had been under the sea for millions of years. Ladakh is like a forgotten moment in time.
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It was a harsh cold dark winter in Shimla. All around the landscape was just covered with white snow and a rare glimpse of a brown pine tree stooping its head with the weight of snowfall and showcasing the loneliness of not just the season but of an expectant lover. Tina was standing cold on the platform of the station that day in December amidst a whistling chilly wind blowing around with a shawl neatly draped around her body.
She was moving around trying to protect herself from the wind, with her mind deeply craving for a cuppa of hot chocolate while waiting for the man whom she would meet and talk after a long time. Coming from a small town of Agra, she could have never imagined her body would get so restive that she would be standing in a lonely station, unable to withstand male cravings, whom she had only imagined in her mind all through her life right from they met in a sea beach.
…
I did not know hardly anyone here and couldn’t even think if he would be the one who would delight my life.
And then I saw this man with green eyes that moved slowly, wearing an orange cardigan and the blue neck drape flying by.
Green eyes, it could be him...
Since I can not help thinking that there's magic in our love, I dream to meet him, and now he’s here.
I suddenly had the brief impression that time was passing slowly, and as he came closer everything resumed to its normal rhythm.
I still can not explain why, but without any suspicion, I was getting home. And tonight I will be in his arms. I had planned most meticulously since the last four days to have a perfect night in my lover’s arms with the red and blue jewels twinkling around the bed.
In my heart, it could not be otherwise, everything would be fine, I was convinced and everything went well, as if everything was already written.
It was immediately we felt comfortable in each others laps, as if we already knew for a long time.
In his words, by his mere surreal presence, he erases all my troubles, all my pain.
And when he is near me with all his sweetness, he lights up my life and fills it with colours, when his eyes are in mine.
Calcutta Book Fair is a very queer phenomenon. In times of receding book culture, this fair has brought multitudes to the milieu of books, and smiles to the faces of writers and publishers. One is surprised at how popular this annual event has become. One needs no statistics that outside the serious student who customarily visits the book shops and the rare casual book reader who buys one or two, books hardly receive any patronage.
And yet come the annual mega-event, and the Maidan air is thick with dust and smell of books. One of the principal attractions of the fair is being able to physically leaf through the books, an experience we seem to be gradually losing. And the books that are ideal for leafing through are those lavishly photographed expensive picture books which you would never see anywhere else - from encyclopedias to numerous magazine et al.
Held generally in early spring, it is a unique book fair in the sense of not being a trade fair - the book fair is primarily for the general public rather than whole-sale distributors. It is the world's largest non-trade book fair, Asia's largest book fair and the most attended book fair in the world. It is the world's third largest annual conglomeration of books after the Frankfurt Book Fair and the London Book Fair. Many Calcuttans consider the book fair an inherent part of Calcutta and instances of people visiting the fair every day during its duration is not uncommon.
Started on a small scale in 1976 by the Calcutta Publishers' and Booksellers' Guild, Footfall has steadily increased over the years, and is now well in excess of a million. The book fair was started to meet the growing public demand for books, but a relative lack of bookshops in Calcutta. Even though Calcutta now has several large bookshops, beside the book shop district of College Street, the tradition persists and Calcutta Book Fair is growing every year.
Such a fair is befitting in this metropolis, which glows with a rich cultural heritage. It has always been regarded with high esteem for its academic tradition and as a paradise for the connoisseurs of books. The annual book fair has intensified this obsession of Calcuttans and given birth to a 'book fair culture' in the entire state. The fair is multi-faceted and yields positive results. The visitors in the fair get the opportunity to learn and form a notion about the society, culture, economy and heritage of diverse nations and even different states of our own country, of whom, we are otherwise so ignorant and indifferent.
With more than 500 book stalls participating in the fair, single day sales ranges from a lakh to as much as twice a million. The fair also has a typical fairground experience with a book flavour - with the presence of picnickers, singer-songwriters, and candy floss vendors on the fair premises. The book fair has been celebrated in theatre, literature, songs and limericks in Calcutta.
One of the salient features of the fair is the huge ocean of people who come from all corners of the city and even from outside. A million people poring over books in half a thousand stalls in an area of a few hectares, is a sight indeed. Come rain or shine, he/she will pay the annul pilgrimage to the Maidan at least once. Some to it many times. Some visit the fair everyday that it lasts.
From book signings and releases with first edition distributions which are held in conjunction with the fair, due to the high visibility of the fair to series of seminars and talks by literati and competitive events for school children like essay writing and trivia sessions, everything is there in the book fair. However what is unique at the book fair is the little stalls.
They are the lifeblood of the event, totally bereft of commercialization, selling books no one could possibly sell in an economically viable way. Newspapers and Periodicals, intent to publicize their entire range and features, find a suitable opening in the book fair. In the center of the fairground is the 'Foreign Complex', which is actually a cluster of all the foreign participants. It definitely adds a new dimension to the book-fair.
The fair brings together many people. People selling books, little magazines handicraft wares, people doing small road skits, singing in a group and what not. And not to forget the “Little Magazines” printed versions of all sold at bargain basement prices.
A large number of people visit the fair grounds just for the experience- taking a look at books from all over India and the world, meeting acquaintances by chance, getting to ogle at celebrities who pay token visits, eating at the various stalls, and just hanging around with friends. Sometimes the magic of the bookfair lay in sitting down on the ground and just observing people.
It is the place to be on a mildly sunny spring afternoon, with your friends, with your parents or with your love. The Calcutta book fair, is more than just an event.
Without pride you can't have a great capital and Delhi just clings on to its callous, heartless city tag who has no time for those with no money or power and judges you by where you live and what car you drive. Good Samaritans do exist in minority but at large it still is a very crude, insensitive and prideless city, where one can see literally thousands bearing the agony, highlighting the absence of its cultural history.
It’s not talent that counts and it is a fashion in Delhi to attend art and other exhibitions, with attendance in functions directly proportional to the connections the performer has. Maybe because of this lack of diversity and plurality, there's a lot less tolerance in Delhi and that extends to social and cultural tolerance. Delhi audiences always have this attitude of been there, seen that and done that. Audiences in other cities for that matter are much more receptive. The cultural czars and czarinas living in Delhi do not look beyond their city.
Delhi is all about power. There's an underlying sense of power play there, about who's in and who's at the top. Power wielded by individuals at will and for their own exclusive benefit. Power flows from where you live and who you work for. Such is the spectrum of the power network that it tends to be used for the smallest of things, in a most irresponsible manner.
There is a void at the moral core of Dehi that is frightening. Scratch a Delhiwallah and god only knows what one would find, from MDs to their loudmouthed underlings, boorish mannerisms seems to be the order of the day and, perhaps, works too. It is not just the dodgy politicians but also that psychotic army of thin-faced, broad-belted, terylene-attired, bell-bottomed bad actors all over Central Delhi and visibly up to no good.
These day-time migrants prefer anonymous larceny in the big city perhaps because they do not have the clout or the nerve to play the game at home. From here to the very top, there is collective reinforcement of a nihilist spirit, of moral bankruptcy. Even more than its fearful aspect, its brutalising effect is all-pervasive. In office buildings, before people can come out of the lift, you see a group pushing to get in symbolic of the Delhi ethos. Their abysmal ignorance of the rest of the country confounds the situation.
It has a very inhuman and arrogant look to it where you feel very insecure when you walk on the deserted streets of Delhi where your roadside enquiries on the streets result in scratching of the balls and being shown the wrong way. Civility is sadly missing, rudeness, the armour and aggression the primary form of engagement. The indifference of the place rubs on you where nothing registers. It is a strange place that does not create a visual memory in mind.
Today, Delhi is engaged in an obsessive and 'un-self-critical' quest for power and it’s not just political power, with the most disturbing thing being the so-called liberal and secular class there is deeply hierarchical and non-egalitarian. The liberal, thinking elite of Delhi is embedded in a self-perpetuating culture that does not encourage either debate or introspection.
It has two distinct classes of people, a cultured and refined minority and the vast, vocal majority which is brash, crass and vulgar with the latter class made up almost entirely of migrants that are not really known for their high cultural, social or academic standards. An auto driver or bus conductor will refer to a passenger as 'tu' instead of 'aap'. It'll take Delhi another 50 years to become a Mumbai or Kolkata.
Maybe history also has something to do with the fact that the people of Delhi are so loud, superficial and flashy. Even the city's young people are imbibing this unfortunate culture. They’re brash, money-minded, materialistic and vulgar while swearing in “phat behenc**d” religiously.
Ghalib is a metaphor for the great culture of Delhi, but we wonder with sadness, is this the same Ghalib's city that we grew up reading in history books!
Shimla still retains its colonial charm and creates an unique ambiance with the lofty snow-clad Himalayan ranges, surrounded by lakes and lush green pastures look as though an artist has painted them. It is charming in summer, fascinating in autumn when the fields and the forests are covered with a cloak of russet and gold and, of course, in winter it is nothing less than paradise. Everything about this place is as perfect as perfection can possibly be. The air here is crisp, invigorating and there is some kind of warmth in the snow.
Located in the north-west Himalayas at an average altitude of 2,205 metres, the city of Shimla, draped in forests of pine, rhododendron, and oak, experiences pleasant summers and cold, snowy winters.
At a height of 8000 feet, Jakhu Hill is the highest peak and offers a beautiful view of the town and of the snow-covered Himalayas. At the top of the Hill, is an old temple of Lord Hanuman, which is also the home of countless playful monkeys waiting to be fed by all visitors.
The city is named after the goddess Shyamala Devi, an incarnation of the Hindu Goddess Kali.
The Hadimba Temple with a finely wrought four - tiered pagoda roof, dating back to 1553, is built around a natural cave, which enshrines the footprints of the goddess Hadimba.
Travellers Info:
By Road
Shimla is well connected by road to all the major towns of state and other major cities of country.
By Train
Kalka, at the distance of 96 km, forms the nearest railhead from Shimla. The duration of journey from Kalka to Shimla, in the toy train, is around six hrs. Frequency of trains between these two cities is regular. You can take Kalka Mail from Delhi that takes you to Kalka early in the morning and from there, one can catch connecting train, on the splendid narrow-gauge track, to Shimla.
By Air
Jubbarhatti Airport of Shimla, located at the distance of 23 kms from downtown, is the one that connects it with the rest of the country by air. Shimla has regular flights to all the key cities in and around Himachal, like Chandigarh, Kullu, and Delhi. In fact, it has daily flights to Delhi and Kullu. Jagson Airlines also operates a bi-weekly flight on Delhi-Shimla-Kullu-Gaggal route.
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It was a despondent English and Aussie summer for the Indian cricket team and will just hope to salvage their lost pride in the turnies of the sub-continent. Once again they have been bitten by the infamous swing bug. The last time the Indian cricket team faced a major drubbing was the England tour in 2011 facing against the English bouncers and once again just after the world cup triumph few months back, it has been a complete whitewash in the English and the Aussie green fields, with England and Australia having the upper-hand in all formats of the game in this series.
When seen in tandem with the humiliation in England, the thrashing the Indians have got at the hands of an Australian team that is full of newcomers can only lead to one conclusion: the era of Indian cricket which saw its formidable batting line-up take on the world's best in their own backyard has drawn to a close.
At the start of the summer, there had been rich anticipation for a titanic showdown between two of Test cricket’s leading forces. Titanic showdowns, however, as early 20th century maritime historians will vociferously testify, can end with something that was widely lauded as indestructible and magnificent sinking rapidly and disastrously.
The good ship India rammed repeatedly into Iceberg England and Australia, and the rest is now statistically alarming history that will be sifted over by curious students in decades to come. (If there are any curious students of Test cricket in decades to come).
After the Indian cricket team's debacle (4-0) in England last summer, it had been tempting to think of its showing as an 'anomaly'. The team was suffering from match fatigue, it was said. They had a hectic schedule ahead of the England tour and the World Cup that they won had taken its toll. It didn't help that the team bore the brunt of a series of injuries during the tour, with its best bowler, Zaheer Khan, walking off the ground on the very first day of the first Test at Lord's. If any gaps remained in this explanation, they were filled by citing the awesome credentials of the English team.
England didn't just outplay India, they out-planned them. Embarking on the tour as World Champions of One-day cricket and the No. 1 Test nation, slowly but surely they lost all their pride and dominance and surrendered meekly before the might of a rejuvenated England team. The quick crash from the peak of glory clearly revealed that remaining on top is tougher than getting there. India's response to their misfortunes is unlikely to have the world’s poets wielding their quills in excitement, ready to poet out some stirring tales of steadfast heroism in the face of adversity.
The cricketers in a race to get richer as quickly as possible, ignored every signal from the body that had been pleading for rest continued with their IPL dream just days after the world cup, when English players were roaming on green fields of Hampshire or Surrey and then the Aussies on Adelaide and Perth. The board, which controls cricket in India, too, is out to extract every penny out of the game, showcasing their star cricketers and filling their coffers to remain as the richest cricketing body in the world.
England tour was a movie with a tragic end. Most of their World Cup heroes returned home one by one injured and crestfallen even before even the series concluded, leaving newbies to carry on the mission of a team that was once dreaded by all and as was expected as soon as dates for the Champions League, another tournament meant to fill the players pockets, was announced, some of the star players, who returned injured, have claimed to have recovered from their injuries. What remained unexplained about the Indian performance, however, was the abject manner in which Mahendra Singh Dhoni's team had gone down against the English.
A Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) that prioritised the performance of its team over everything else would have taken care to examine why its eleven gave such a poor account of itself in England. But it did nothing of the sort. In a reflection of how the razzmatazz around cricket has come to matter to it more than the game itself, a crucial BCCI meeting after the series did not care to take up the issue at all.
In hindsight it appears that the disaster that India's trip Down Under has so far been had been waiting to happen. Only this time there were no legitimate excuses to come up with. It was a full strength team that had landed in Australia, being pitted against an eleven that was a far cry from the invincible bunch of Australians that had dominated cricket in recent years.
At the same time, blaming the team's aging superstars - VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar - for India's humiliation glosses over some vital statistics concerning the first three Test matches of the Border-Gavaskar series. While the fact that these three great batsmen of yore have failed to deliver is undeniable, let us not overlook the poor showing of the other four batsmen who are far younger in years.
Whether it is Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, or Mahendra Singh Dhoni - if one were to exclude newcomer Virat Kohli for his brave effort in Perth - they have all been found wanting in this series. In fact, the only batsman who has not consistently failed in the England and Australia series is Sachin Tendulkar, who will be 39 this April. Rahul Dravid's heroics in England, with three centuries to show in the four match series, was the only positive coming out of that tour. This makes VVS Laxman the only aging superstar who deserves the flak he has got.
Focus on the aging superstars ends up underplaying the general vulnerability of Indian batsmen on pitches outside the subcontinent. In their heyday, Messrs Dravid, Laxman, Tendulkar and the since retired Ganguly - along with the younger Virender Sehwag-were able to cover up this basic shortcoming of Indian batsmen, with a couple of them getting into the rescue act in nearly every match. In the series in England and the present one Down Under, they have failed to don their traditional role, resulting in the team's inherent weakness being exposed like never before.
For want of a better explanation, it is plausible to hold that advancing age is why our batting superstars have failed to bail us out of late. In any case, they are all past the age when they can think of a significant future ahead. But if the diagnosis that Indian cricket needs an infusion of fresh blood is right, finding names that can replace our greats is a challenge whose magnitude is yet to be acknowledged.
It is all very well to say that the days of Dravid, Laxman and Tendulkar are over but there are not many names that come to mind as their potential replacements. The problem is best highlighted by the failure to find a proper replacement for the number 6 position in the three years since Sourav Ganguly quit the game.
What the debacles in England and Australia have done is to fully bring home the BCCI's lack of vision regarding a succession policy. A BCCI that thought in the long term would have groomed youngsters as replacements while the seniors were still performing, especially in matches in the subcontinent which favour our style of play. The selectors' myopia on this front means youngsters will now have to be blooded at the international level at a time when the stock of the team is at an all time low.
Without being alarmist, there is reason to consider what this could entail. We may be staring at a scenario where India joins the ranks of the second rate sides in the world like the West Indies and Pakistan. That quality teams can slip into mediocrity over a not so long period of time is best evident from the example of these two countries which were cricketing powerhouses in the past.
If that happens with the Indian team, the cricket industry that has come up around the game in this country - endorsements, IPL, cricket commentating on TV et al-could be in for a huge hit. That India is the mecca of cricket today and the BCCI the richest and most powerful cricket body in the world has a lot to do with the commendable performance of its cricketing eleven in recent years. For, at the foundations of India's cricket industry lies the fascination of the average cricket lover with the team and its heroes. In a nation with few heroes, cricket has been a source of national pride, granting players the status of demi- gods.
But the intelligence of the average cricket lover has grown over the years. The sight of his national team being humiliated on foreign shores can put him off the game to an extent where he stops taking the wins of the Indian team on slow subcontinental pitches very seriously. Once that happens, the game will no longer be the win-win proposition it is for all stakeholders at present.
This means that it may be in the BCCI's own interest to get into a serious repair job once the Australian series is over. Unfortunately, the noises being made by its officials about India teaching Australia and England a lesson when they tour the country indicate that they are yet to read the writing on the wall.
The former greats of this country who exercise influence on the way the cricket establishment is run in India must highlight the BCCI's folly. The Indians don't travel outside the subcontinent for the next nearly two years and this would be the time to build a young side, playing at least some of the matches on pitches that are similar to those abroad. What must not be allowed at any cost is for any victory in home series in the near future to be seen as reason to persist with the status quo or compensation for the humiliation abroad. To do so would to be expose us to more ignominy when the team travels to South Africa in 2013 end.
A very popular festival here in Bengal among the youngsters is the Saraswati Puja. Goddess Saraswati is represented as a graceful woman in white, a symbol of purity and peace. She is the Goddess who signifies knowledge, learning, arts and culture. She is seen as the serene Goddess wearing a crescent moon on her brow riding a swan and seated on a lotus flower. Saraswati Puja is performed to pay allegiance to the Goddess of learning.
The festival is celebrated every year on the fifth day of the bright fortnight of February (magha) on the day called 'Basant Panchami'. The most significant aspect of this day is that children are taught reading and writing their first words on this day as it is considered an auspicious day to begin a child's education. Educational institutions organize special prayers for Saraswati on this day.
Children, especially students celebrate this festival with much fanfare in their homes as well as in communities. They offer their text books in the feet of the goddess idol during the puja so that they can score good marks and pass in the exams by reading those books, which is believed to have been specially blessed by the goddess.
The children wake up very early in this day and bath in the cold water, which they get so scared in the other days and then decorate the goddess and the surroundings. They offer pushpanjali (offering of flowers along with mantras) or a special prayer to the goddess in an empty stomach, without eating anything till the puspanjali is offered. They also invite their friends to participate in it. The Goddess of knowledge is revered among the students and learned who strictly follow all the rituals to worship her.
Adults also participate in this festival, though with a lesser zeal for better professional improvement and getting better opportunities in the workplace. There are various rituals that are followed in the worshipping of goddess Saraswati. Families gather together before the idol of Saraswati and pray for the blessing of knowledge.
Flowers and wild berries are offered to the goddess and students place their books before the deity and do not do any reading or writing that day. An elaborate puja, with sandalwood, ghee, joss sticks, and incense is done to the sound of shlokas, conch shells, and drums. On this day, people eat vegetarian food and initiate children into the world of the written word.
A special kind of fruit available during this time is the narkeli kul (ziziphus), a kind of Date fruit, which is very delicious and available just for a few days during this time. Parents generally don’t allow their children to eat this fruit before the saraswati puja day as they believe it will lead to poor performance in studies.
The ones common to all those worshipping Saraswati are that the idol of the goddess is clothed in white, the other predominant colour in the celebrations is yellow, to indicate the onset of spring after a long and cold winter and the blossoming of mustard flowers. It is the colour of the energy-giving Sun, of the mustard fields in bloom which are bright yellow. Therefore, the radiance is associated with knowledge- symbolised by Goddess Saraswati.
The festivities that accompany Saraswati puja is a part of the social celebrations. Young girls are seen in yellow saries. Bright palash flowers, an ink-pot and wheat grain beads are offered that are a part of the worship. Young people enjoy the day with each other. Cultural programmes are staged at night. The Goddess who is the patron of music, culture and learning is revered by singers and musicians with great devotion.
The children dressed up in bright clothes visit their schools, colleges and their friend’s houses where the puja is being done with great enthusiasm. The boys generally wear the punjabi & churidar and the girls generally wear the yellow coloured saree and flowers in their hair which are traditional costumes to wear during the puja. Parents generally give a bit of freedom in this day to their children to stay outside home even without their permission.
Bengalis always have their own valentine's day and that is Saraswati Puja. This is the day for which many love-struck youngsters in school and college wait for months. Many of them finally succeed in expressing themselves to their loved ones- verbally or by letter, while others fail to make it for lack of confidence or other reasons.
The boys get easily attracted to the girls in the beautiful costumes and the girls also try to lure the boys by dressing up beautifully and they get to meet and spend time with each other for a few hours as they get the extra freedom from their homes. Young couples (many in their schools) spend the day in gay abandon in parks, streets, theatres and other places.
After the festival the idols are immersed in water after one or two days and some also keep it in their homes till the next year when a new idol is worshipped and the old one immersed. Children eagerly wait for this festival throughout the year especially for the freedom that they get during that day and some also perhaps to choose their life partners.
Aloo Dum is a preparation of baby sized potatoes in a rich spicy gravy which is popular all over the world as an integral part of Indian cuisine. The making of aloo dum is in fact a culinary art. Its not the recipe, but the execution of the recipe that makes a difference.
There are some hundreds of ways to make aloo dum. In Bengal it is a must served dish for a traditional Bengali breakfast on Sundays and on special occasions like festivals, birthdays and weddings with Luchi or Radhaballavi (lentil stuffed puri), which bears a slight & subtle sweet taste. During winter, when there would be small new baby potatoes aloo dum with the bite size potatoes would be prepared.
Here is a recipe of the Kashmiri Dum Aloo: Ingredients:
# 15 small russet potatoes # 1 tbsp gram flour (besan) # 100 gms ricotta/cottage cheese (khoya) # 3 tbsp fresh cream # 4 cups water # 2 tbsp ghee or oil for deep-frying # 2 large onions (finely chopped) # 4 tbsp tomato puree # 1/4 cup yogurt # 1/2 tsp of sugar # 4 tbsp hot water # 1 green pepper (seeds removed and sliced) # 1 tsp garam masala powder # 4 cloves # 4 bay leaves # 6 black peppercorns # 4 green cardamoms # 1 brown cardamom # 2 piece cinnamon stick # 12 flakes garlic # 2 tbsp ginger # 6 black peppercorns # 1 tsp poppy seeds # 1 tbsp coriander seeds (dhania) # 1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera) # 1 tbsp sesame seeds # 2 tsp red chillies powder # 1 tsp funnel seed powder (saunf) # 1/8 teaspoon asafoetida (hing) # 1 tsp turmeric powder (haldi) # 1/2 teaspoon paprika (dagi or kashmiri mirch) # 4 chopped cashewnuts # 6 chopped raisins # A pinch of ground mace/nutmeg # 2 tbsp chopped cilantro/coriander for garnishing # Salt to Taste
Method:
1. Peel and cut the potatoes into big cubes. Scrape them, prick all over with a fork and soak in the water with little salt for 2 hours. Dry the potatoes on a cloth.
2. Heat the ghee or oil in a frying pan over medium high heat. Deep fry the potatoes until golden brown. Turn the potatoes few times while frying. Drain with a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel. Keep aside.
3. In a small bowl blend yogurt, coconut, ginger, green chilli, coriander powder, funnels seed powder, paprika, mace, red chili powder, and turmeric to a fairly smooth paste. Use water as needed to blend into paste. Keep aside.
4. Heat the measured ghee in a flameproof pan on medium heat and stir-fry the sesame seeds, cumin seeds, cloves, cinnamon, poppy seeds, cardamoms and asafoetida for about a minute until seeds lightly change colour. After the cumin seeds crack, add gram flour. Stir-fry for about half a minute until the gram flour is golden-brown.
5. Add the spice paste and stir-fry for about 2 minutes on medium heat until the spices starts to separate from the oil. Stir in the tomato puree, cream, cheese, cashew, raisins, sugar and salt.
6. Add the potatoes, mix it well and add about 1 cup hot water and stir over a low heat. After the gravy boils, let it cook on low-medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes. Adjust the water in gravy to your liking.
7. Garnish using cilantro, pepper and garam masala cover the pan and turn off the heat. Let it sit for few minutes before taking of the cover.
Serve with any bread/puri.
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