Self Improvement

Tips for Weightreduction and Good Health !!!!!

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source:::saidevotees_ worldnet

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Few tips to bring about weight loss as well as ensuring good health:

Eat plenty of vegetables, fruits, and grain products like wheat.
Increase the consumption of complex carbohydrates like whole wheat, millet (jowar) and barley (bajra)
Restrict refined products such as flour (maida) and its products such as bread, noodles, macaronis and pastas in regular diet
Restrict fat and cholesterol rich foods. Only non-vegetarian foods (like eggs and dairy products) are good sources of cholesterol, however saturated fatty acids present in butter, ghee, vanaspati and coconut get metabolised to cholesterol in our body
Reduce the amount of sugars consumed
Consume raw fruits and vegetables in form of salads and raitas in every meal. These provide adequate vitamins, minerals and fibre. Fibre is essential as it aids in digestion, has an effective role in managing obesity and cardiovascular problems
Limit salt intake
Have small portions of food at a time
Do not skip meals
Have regular meal timings
Do not eat while cooking and watching television
Drink plenty of water (6-8 glasses) in a day
Exercise regularly. Do brisk walking at least for 20-40 minutes in a day

Road to Happiness!!!!!

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source:::
An excerpt from Book
“The Road to Happiness”
by Mac Anderson and BJ Gallagher

When I travel on business, I like to talk to the taxi drivers who take me from the airport to my hotel, or to a convention center, or to a restaurant. Taxi drivers are often immigrants with interesting personal histories and unusual cultural backgrounds. I ask them how long they’ve been in America, how they chose which city to live in, and what they like best about where they live. Of course, I also ask them for advice on good local restaurants and any special attractions they’d recommend to a visitor. I’ve had some great experiences on my travels, thanks to the advice of taxi drivers!

On one trip about ten years ago, I was making conversation with the taxi driver, asking him my usual questions about how he came to live where he lived. Then I asked him a hypothetical question: “If you could live anywhere in the world-and if money was no object-where would you live?”

Without hesitating even for a second, he replied, “I live in my heart. So it really doesn’t matter where my body lives. If I am happy inside, then I live in paradise, no matter where my residence is.”

I felt humbled and a little foolish for my question. Of course he was right-happiness is an inside job. He had reminded me of something I already knew, but had forgotten. If you can’t find happiness inside yourself, you’ll never find it in the outside world, no matter where you move. Wherever you go, there you are. You take yourself with you.

I am grateful for the wisdom of that taxi driver. And I’m grateful for all the wisdom others have shared with me about how to be happy.

Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.”Learn how to be happy with what you have while you pursue all that you want.”

Natarajan

Think Big and Differently ….Yes Our Children Do It !!!!

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source:::::siliconindia net..  amazing innovative ideas from young children make  us proud ….pl read the story and share …

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“Innovations” from young minds took India by storm; the innovations were pragmatic, sensible and can find wide prevalence in India and across the globe. Though these innovations were just in “idea” form, the young Indians are hopeful of striving to bring them to existence, may be in the future.
The National Innovation Foundation India (NIF), Ahmedabad has announced the names of the 29 award winners of the IGNITE 2012, an annual competition organized by the NIF in association with Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), Society for Research and Initiatives in Sustainable Technologies and Institutions (SRISTI), various State Education Boards and other partners.
The competition became a platform where the school students shared innovative ideas and offered solutions on issues local and global. It was held between 11 September 2011 and 31 August 2012 and had received over 14,889 submissions from students who participated from 282 districts in the country.
Read on to know 24 such amazing innovations that impressed the NIF panel, as compiled by rediff.com.
 Spray on gloves and socks
Aditya Joshi
Class 8, Bal Shikshan Mandir, Pune, Maharashtra
Aditya’s innovative spray is water-proof and self-sealing; it provides excellent protection for anyone working with their hands and feet. So it can be used by a factory worker handling dangerous chemicals, or a farmer standing bare-foot in water-filled paddy fields, and so on.
“I had noticed people like garbage collectors, or even farmers, work in unhygienic conditions that made them vulnerable to diseases. It made me think of this idea that gives protection and could be made easily available at an affordable cost,” replied Aditya when asked how he came up with the idea.
 Smart card that drives a car
G Krishna Kumar
Class 12, Govt Boys Higher Sec School, Thiruvarur, Tamil Nadu
Krishna suggests using a smart card that contains electronically all the documentation required to drive a vehicle and to start a vehicle this card has to be inserted into electronic identifier, and it also makes easy to trace missing cars.
This idea struck him during discussions at school on traffic regulations.
He feels, “Many people forget the license at home. So there should be some system to make it mandatory that without license, the vehicle will not start.”
 Headphones with sensors to detect external soundsLakshya Kaura, Naman Jain, Manav Mitra, Utkarsh Hora, Amrit Dang and Sehaj Kataria
Class 8, Vasant Valley School, New Delhi

Lakshya Kaura loved to listen music on his head phones and also wanted to take heed to road safety. He shared his thought with his friends and all six of them put their heads together to come up with an innovative solution: headphones fitted with sensors to pick up external sounds.
So, if a vehicle honks within 10 metres, the headphones automatically stop playing and sound an alert.
 Preventing mobile usage while driving and unique doorbell to identify visitors
Rajashree Choudhury
Class 5, Little Flower School, Jamshedpur, Jharkhand
A device with a place for inserting a mobile is fixed on the car dashboard or handle of a two-wheeler. The vehicle moves forward only if the mobile is inserted into this device.
Her next idea is to have personalized doorbell ringtones so you know who is at the door beforehand. The doorbell has unique codes assigned to different individuals. So when a guest presses their code, the doorbell rings with a specific sound.
 Wind-operated ceiling fan
Md. Usman Hanif Patel
Class 2, Tapti Public School, Jalgaon, Maharashtra.
Usman came up with novel and simple idea of ceiling fan in the house is mechanically powered by a wind-mill on the roof.
Once travelling towards Nandurbar, looking out the window of a moving train, 6-year-old Usman saw some windmills zipping by. His father later explained him that the wind moves blades of windmill which in turn moves the device placed beneath it.
And one day, staring at the ceiling fan during a power cut, an idea of using windmill on roof to mechanically power the fan struck him.
 Hand pumps that rise automatically in flood affected areas
Kripesh Swain and Kumar Biswajeet
Class 8, DAV Public School, Bhubaneshwar, Odisha
Kripesh and Biswajeet were very bothered that during monsoon flood, the hand pumps which provide clean water gets buried into the flood water which gush into it hence rendering the once fresh water unsuitable for drinking. To prevent this problem from recurring, they designed a hand pump such that it can go up with the rising water level, so that it remains usable.
“We couldn’t tolerate the extent of suffering in different parts of Odisha. Everybody deserves pure water,” they said.
#8 Multi-purpose tent and load-lifting device
Rishab Gupta, Jammu
Class 10, DPS, Jammu, Jammu & Kashmir
Rishab was truck with the idea of using a tent as a raft while mountaineering camp in Mussoorie.
His tent is creatively planned to be usable during both summer and winter with portable solar panels to provide light after sunset.
The base is proposed to be made of rubberized nylon that can be inflated and the border along the base can be blown up to turn it into a raft.
His next idea is a portable shifter to easily move heavy things by attaching a set of wheels to slide them from point to point.
 User-friendly pedal rickshaw
Mansi Priya
Class 11, DAV Kapil Dev, Ranchi, Jharkhand
Watching her grandmother struggle to get down from a pedal rickshaw, Mansi came up with the idea of small folding stair in the rickshaw, which will help old people to climb a rickshaw with a lot more ease.
 Modified cycle rickshaw
Arnab Chakraborty
Class 12, Future Foundation School, Kolkata, West Bengal
Arnab, who recently moved to Kolkata, was surprised seeing a large number of cyclerickshaws plying on the city roads, and some were thin and frail, moved by their plight he came up with the idea. Its about modified cycle rickshaw with extra pedals for passengers who may wish to share the burden and co-pedal the rickshaw.
 Preventing driving without a license/valid documents
In the wake of increased rate of accidents caused by those without licenses, or without proper training; these young minds have conceived novel ideas to prevent this.
Varsha Kumari
Class 10, Indra Prasad Singh Gangstahliya Balika Gyanpith
Patna, Bihar
Varsha’s innovation is about swiping the driving license, like on a credit card machine. The vehicle starts only if a pre-authorized license is swiped. This also protects the car against theft.
The idea came to her when a friend’s car was stolen and never found.
Durgesh Kumar
Class 10, DAV HFC Barauni
Begusarai, Bihar
Durgesh’s innovation has a mini scanner fixed on the steering wheel, only up on the drivers’ license matches with the authentic license stored in the scanner’s database, the steering wheel gets unlocked. A solution to tackle Illegal drivers

Jyoti Dhillon
Class 10, Shishu Shala School, Rewari, Haryana
Jyoti thinks of an automatic sensor inside the vehicle that prevents driving without a valid license.
Ranjan, Class 8 and Shiv Kumar, Class 6
Gandhi Madhya Vidyalaya, Patna, Bihar
Ravi and Shiv being troubled by daily cases of neighborhood vehicles thefts and accidents caused by people without valid licenses came up with an idea where there’s an electronic slot near the ignition which can identify the validity of the license upon inserting it. And only if the card is valid the engine starts.
 Movable road dividers
Sidharth Pal
Class 11, Sai Grace Academy
Dehradun, Uttarakhand
Most of times the traffic on either side of the road divider varies during different times of the day, particularly during peak hours.
Sidharth, while stuck in a traffic congestion had come up with the idea of movable road dividers to ease the traffic on the congested road.
 Solution for traffic congestion
S Charishma
Class 8, Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh
Being stuck in the traffic can be a very annoying situation. Charishma noticed patterns in movements of vehicles during such traffic jams.
One side of the road has more traffic in the morning, which shifts to the other side in the evening. So she proposed a simple, but very creative solution, the movable deviders.
Depending upon the incoming traffic from a particular direction, the dividers can be shifted to increase lane size.
Artificial assistance for blind people
B Survesh
Class 10, The Hindu Colony Chellammal Vidyalaya SSS, Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Survesh with his blind granduncle and grandaunt has seen first-hand problems faced by the blind.
So, he thought of creating sunglasses that could help them recognize people and objects independently. The sunglass has an inbuilt camera to record the image and the name of a person met for the first time.
Cushioned-helmets for labourers
G Jeevan Sidharth
Class 9, Shrishti Vidyashram, Vellore, Tamil Nadu
“While going to school, I often observed construction workers carrying bricks and cement on their head. I wanted something that would protect the head, reduce pressure and help to balance load. Just like how a helmet gives safety, while riding, why can’t a helmet protect these workers?”
He thus went on to design a helmet to provide safety to workers at construction sites. It is fitted inside with a cushion that gives protection while the outer surface has a slight inward curve for easy balancing.
 Device to monitor mental stress in students and others
Himanshu Jiteshbhai Parmar
Class 10, Pandit Nehru Vidya Vihar, Ahmedabad, Gujarat
“I remember reading a news paper story about students who committed suicide because of failure in their class 10 board exams,” he shares.
This made him to think of a system to measure tension/mental stress. It would tell the degree of stress and if found high, students can unwind before going back to their studies.
Ankita Arora
Class 10, Police DAV Public School, Jalandhar, Punjab
Ankita was distressed to see her mother struggling with acute back pain that confined her to bed for over a year. Her mother’s agony gave her the idea of creating a device for detecting and monitoring levels of mental stress in an individual.
 
 
 
 Mobile to mobile charging
Ravi Duhan, Sanjay Raghav and Manoj Kumar
Class 9, SD SSS, Rewari, Haryana
The group of three friends had files shared between mobiles throughBluetooth and extending this further they thought why not a mobile can be used to charge another mobile?
Then they came up with possibility of doing it in two ways — wired or wireless way of charge transfer from one mobile to another.
Retractable toilet pot with cleaning system
Shweta Verma
Class 9, Gyan Sthali Public School, Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh
Retractable toilet fitted with sensors — the pot can be pulled inside the wall after use and taken out when needed.
Shweta believes, “This will help people who have small homes with little space. It can also be used in other places where space is a constraint.”
 Modified painting brush
Ektapreet Kaur
Class 9, Police DAV School, Jalandhar, Punjab
“What a waste of money and how tiring to keep alternating from one brush to the other!” she thought.
This inspired her to think of a single paintbrush, which could accommodate varying sizes, just like a pen can have refills of many colours.

 Charging mobile while talking
Gautam Kumar
Class 7, Rajkiya Madhya Vidyalaya, Patna, Bihar
Gautam living in an area with frequent power cuts wondered why our voice, a sound energy, cannot be used to charge the mobile.
 Machine to suggest what to eat and How to Cook It
Sharvay Harish Tiwari
Class 5, Shri Shri Ravishankar School, Pune, Maharashtra
Standing indecisive in the kitchen? Sharvay’s idea does away with these problems. In his machine, you simply select a particular vegetable, and the monitor displays a list of different ways it can be cooked along with the ingredients required and their quantity.
Device to relocate clouds
Shweta Sharma
Class 10, Police DAV School, Jalandhar, Punjab
The Poor rainfall in Punjab gave Shweta the first-hand experience of the problems caused by water shortage. And she came across news of floods in Assam. The two situations got amalgamated and an idea struck her, that if the clouds over Assam could somehow be sent to Punjab, it would be a ‘win-win situation’ for both states.
She was first hesitant to share this idea as she thought that it might be laughed upon. But her mother’s story of the great musician Tansen whose raag Megh Malhar was said to have the power to bring down rain encouraged her to send her idea reasoning that “if a sweet melodious voice can bring rain, then this is also possible, maybe not today, but tomorrow.”
 Glove with in-built mobile phone
Rohan Jolly
Class 7, Angel School, Delhi
Rohan’s grandparents live in Kashmir and he visits them during vacations, the cold weather made gloves indispensable, but Rohan found it difficult to hold the phone while wearing gloves.”The mobile sometimes get covered with snow and water entered inside, damaging it,” he explains.

He thought of solving these problems by fixing the phone within the gloves, so you can talk comfortably while remaining warm.
Shirt that wakes you up
Jatin Kumar Bhoi
Class 9, KK High School, Sundergarh, Odisha
Jatin found it difficult to remain awake while studying, and it landed him in problems especially during exams.
He came up with the idea of a special shirt with a mechanism for making sure that the person wearing it remains awake and also it is to have buttons that can tell time.
When asked about this idea, he replied, “I don’t know right now but will think of something once I grow up.”

What do You do For Others is More Important than What you Do for Yourself!!!!

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source:::unknown….input from one of my contacts…

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A voyaging ship was wrecked during a storm at sea and only two of the men on it were able to swim to a small, desert like island. The two survivors, not knowing what else to do, agree that they had no other recourse but to pray to God. However, to find out whose prayer was more powerful, they agreed to divide the territory between them and stay on
opposite sides of the island.

The first thing they prayed for was food. The next morning, the first man saw a fruit-bearing tree on his side of the land and he was able to eat it’s fruit. The other man’s parcel of land remained barren!

After a week, the first man was lonely and he decided to pray for a wife. The next day, there was a woman who swam to his side of the land. On the other side of the island, again there was nothing!

Soon the first man prayed for a house, clothes, more food. The next day, like magic, all of these were given to him. However, the second man still had nothing!

Finally, the first man prayed for a ship, so that he and his wife could leave the island. In the morning, he found a ship docked at his side of the island. The first man boarded the ship with his wife and decided to leave the second man on the island. He considered the other man unworthy to receive God’s blessings, since none of his prayers had been answered.

As the ship was about to leave, the first man heard a voice from heaven booming, “Why are you leaving your companion on the island?”
“My blessings are mine alone, since I was the one who prayed for them,” the first man answered. “His prayers were all unanswered and so he does not deserve anything.”

“You are mistaken!” the voice rebuked him. “He had only one prayer, which I answered. If not for that, you would not have received any of my blessings.”

“Tell me, O God,” the first man asked the voice, “What did he pray for that I should owe him anything?”

“He prayed that all your prayers be answered.”

For all we know, our blessings are not the fruits of our prayers alone, but those of another praying for us.

This is too good not to share…

My prayer for you today is that all your prayers are answered. Be blessed.

“What you do for others is more important than what you do for yourself”

This was shared with me by a friend, I hope you will share with your friends!

Natarajan

A to Z Tips for an Achiever !!!

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TO Achieve your dreams , remember A to Z TIPS …..

Avoid negative thoughts, sources, people, places, things and habits.

Believe in yourself

Consider things from all angles

Don”t give up and don”t give in so easily

Enjoy life today…yesterday is gone…tomorrow may never come.

Family and friends are hidden treasures…seek them and enjoy their riches.

Give more than you planned to do

Hang on to your dreams

Ignore those who try to discourage you

Just do it !

Keep trying…no matter how hard it seems…it will get easier

Love yourself!

Make it happen

Never lie, cheat or steal…always strike a fair deal

Open your eyes and see things as they really are.

Practice makes you perfect

Quitters never win….and winners never quit

Read , study, and learn about everything important in your life

Stop gossiping

Take control of your own destiny

Understand yourself to understand others better

Visualise a goal or target

Want it more than anything.

Xcelllerate your efforts

You are unique of all God “s creations…nothing can replace you !

Zero in on your target and go for it !!!

This is not the end!!!!…Let this one be a good beginning for you!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NATARAJAN

Principles for Peace of Mind

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source::::input from one of my friends… great one to share with all…

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Life is long and full of challenges. Most of those challenges are internal, and depends on how WE choose to accept and interpet them. Our lives can go on very different paths, depending on what we do and how we look at what happens to us along the way. Here are 10 points of advice that if followed, will guarantee a better life, one that brings with it true peace of mind.

1. Do Not Interfere In Others’ Business Unless Asked.
Most of us create our own problems by interfering too often in others’affairs. We do so because somehow we have convinced ourselves that our way is the best way, our logic is the perfect logic and those who do not conform to our thinking must be criticized and steered to the right direction, our direction. No two human beings can think or act inexactly the same way. Mind your own business and you will keep your peace.

2. Forgive And Forget.
This is the most powerful aid to peace of mind. We often develop ill feelings inside our heart for the person who insults us or harms us. We nurture grievances. This in turn results in loss of sleep, development of stomach ulcers, and high blood pressure. This insult or injury was done once, but nourishing of grievance goes on forever by constantly remembering it. Get over this bad habit. Life is too short to waste on such trifles. Forgive, forget, and march on. Love flourishes with giving and forgiving.

3. Do Not Crave Recognition.
This world is full of selfish people. They seldom praise anybody without selfish motives. They may praise you today because you are in power, but no sooner than you are powerless, they will forget your achievement and will start finding faults in you. Their recognition is not worth the aggravation. Do your duties ethically and sincerely.

4. Do Not succumb to envy and jealousy.
We all have experienced how envy can disturb our peace of mind. You know that you work harder than your colleagues in the office, but sometimes they get promotions; you do not. You started a business several years ago, but you are not as successful as your neighbor whose business is only one year old. There are several examples like these in everyday life. Should you envy?
No. Remember everybody’s life is shaped by his/her destiny, which has now become his/her reality. Nothing will be gained by blaming others for your misfortune. Jealousy will not get you anywhere, it will only take away your peace of mind.

5. Change Yourself According To The Environment.
If you try to change the environment single-handedly, chances are you will fail. Instead, change yourself to suit your environment. As you do this, even the environment, which has been unfriendly to you, will mysteriously change and seem more congenial and harmonious with your goals.

6. Endure What Cannot Be Cured.
This is the best way to turn a disadvantage into an advantage. Every day we face numerous inconveniences, ailments, irritations, and accidents that are beyond our control. If we cannot control them or change them, we must learn to put up with these things. We must learn to endure them cheerfully. Believe in yourself and you will gain in terms of patience, inner strength and will power.

7. Do Not Bite Off More Than You Can Chew.
This maxim needs to be remembered constantly. We often tend to take more responsibilities than we are capable of carrying out. This is done to satisfy our ego. Know your limitations. Why take on additional loads that may create more worries? You cannot gain peace of mind by expanding your external activities. Reduce your material engagements and spend time in prayer, introspection and meditation. This will reduce those thoughts in your mind that make you restless. An uncluttered mind will produce greater feelings of peace.

8. Meditate Regularly.
Meditation calms the mind and gets rid of disturbing thoughts. This is the highest state of peace of mind. Try and experience it yourself. If you meditate earnestly for half an hour everyday, your mind will tend to become peaceful during the remaining twenty three and a half hours. Your mind will not be as easily disturbed as it was before. You would benefit by gradually increasing the period of daily meditation. You may think that this will interfere with your daily work. On the contrary, this will increase your efficiency and you will be able to produce better results in less time.

9. Never Leave The Mind Vacant.
An empty mind is the devil’s workshop. All evil actions start in the vacant mind. Keep your mind occupied in something positive, something worthwhile. Actively follow a hobby. Do something that holds your interest. You must decide what you value more: money or peace of mind. Your hobby, like social work or charity work, may not always earn you more money, but you will have a sense of fulfillment and achievement.

10. Do Not Procrastinate And Never Regret.
Do not waste time in protracted wondering �Should I or shouldn’t I?� Days, weeks, months, and years may be wasted in that futile mental debating. You can never plan enough because you can never anticipate all future happenings. Value your time and do the things that need to be done. It does not matter if you fail the first time. You can learn from your mistakes and succeed the next time. Sitting back and worrying will lead to nothing. Learn from your mistakes, but do not brood over the past.
DO NOT REGRET.
Whatever happened was destined to happen only that way. Why cry over spilled milk?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Message For the Day…Your Body Is A Temple !!!!

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“Deho Devalaya” – Body is the temple, scriptures teach us. Realize that the human body is not just a mass of flesh and bone. The human body is a sacred instrument equipped with reason and emotion, capable of being used for deliverance from grief and evil; you have earned it after long ages of struggle. Honour it as such, keep it in good condition, so that it might serve that high purpose. Maintain it even more carefully than your brick homes and never let go of the conviction that it is an instrument and nothing more. Use it justly, for the purpose for which it has been designed and given. Install the Lord in the altar of your heart and invite Him into it. God loves to reside in a pure and aspiring heart.
–

source ::::: Swami Satya Sai in His DISCOURSE…

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Think Differently… Organic Washing Detergent!!!

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source:::::EONOMIC TIMES..

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Meet Chennai-based spouses-turned-business partners, who opted out of the corporate rat race one sure idea: to work on an environment-related concept.

Meet Chennai-based spouses-turned-business partners, who opted out of the corporate rat race one sure idea: to work on an environment-related concept.
There’s nothing new about people leaving lucrative MNC jobs to start their own ventures, but how many are enterprising enough to quit without knowing what they want to do or how to go about it? Meet Chennai-based Preethi Sukumaran and Srinivas Krishnaswamy, spouses-turned-business partners, who opted out of the corporate rat race on the same day, 31 January 2009, with one sure idea: to work on an environment-related concept.

“After graduating from IIM in 2001, we both worked in various FMCG MNCs for eight years. So, we were confident about brand building, marketing and handling the venture, but weren’t sure about the product itself,” says Krishnaswamy, who graduated from IIM-Bangalore, while his wife is from IIM-Calcutta. So, the couple, who got married in 2003, decided to see the world while waiting for inspiration to strike. Indeed, it was during their year-long travel across India and Europe that they figured out how to integrate their personal quest of sustainable urban living with a business venture. The solution was to create a basket of sustainable, organic goodies. On returning home in 2010, the duo researched the market for organic products, and zeroed in on organic washing detergent as their first product. “In 2009, we had started using soapberries for washing our clothes and realised that not only were theyenvironment-friendly compared with the usual detergents, but were equally, if not more, effective,” says Sukumaran.

Within the organic product universe, the humble detergent had remained on the sidelines despite contributing heavily to soil and water pollution. “Till that time, the players in this market were small and unorganised, so we decided to launch organic washing detergent,” she adds. In May 2010, they finally figured on a name, Krya, meaning mindful action, and by October 2010, the company had been registered.

The couple did not set up the venture in the traditional way, that is, first launching and then promoting it. In fact, they did the reverse. “After registering our company, while we were looking at sourcing our product, working on the website design and other back-end issues, we started a Facebook page and a blog. Over the next six months, we interacted online with a lot of people, telling them what we were planning to do and how we were going about it,” says Sukumaran.

Before long, the couple got an active Net community. They also finalised the soapberries they wanted to use and struck a deal with an organic farm near Guntur, Andhra Pradesh. “The latter would process and manufacture the product and send it to our office in Chennai,” she adds. By the time the product was launched in May 2011, Krya had built a potential customer base without spending much—Rs 6 lakh for the entire process, from idea inception and registering the company to renting a 250-sq-ft office space at Mylapore, Chennai, and launching the product.

Honest to the Core !!!!

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There are some inviolable principles and values that we need to follow in our lives. Some do not bother about them, but a few do care. Prasanta da (Prasanta Bose) was one of those who cared.

We had formed a tight-knit group of early morning walkers, of which Prasanta da was the initiator. He was a retired bank manager, and had served the industry for almost 30 years. The high point of our morning walk was that at the end of it, we would sit at a roadside stall sipping tea and listen to Prasanta’s wonderful anecdotes from his long and interesting professional life.

Of all the different stories he told us, one still sticks in the mind. The incident happened just a week after Prasanta got a job as probationary officer. His father, a retired post-master, had asked him to bring two dot pen refills on his way back from office. The old gentleman was in the habit of writing letters to the editor.

After receiving refill packets, Prasanta’s father was absolutely delighted. “Why did you purchase two packets, when just two pieces would have sufficed?” he asked in spite of his evident happiness.

The son’s heart leapt with joy and he smiled back, “No Baba, I have brought these from my office inventory. You see, I have been given such a huge stock of stationery that I will not be able to exhaust even half of it in one whole year.”

The smile immediately vanished from the old man’s face. In a pained voice, he said, “Prasanta, I cannot accept this, as it is your office property. Please put it back from where you had taken it for me.”

This irritated Prasanta a little. “Do you mean to say that I have stolen these two mere refill packets from my own office stocks?” he asked.

“That is precisely what I mean,” his father answered.

“But these are just refill packets. Most of my colleagues take it without hesitation,” Prasanta tried to explain.

“But it is meant for your office use only, is it not? I did not expect all such arguments from you, Prasanta. This is most unfortunate. Whatever be your arguments, I am not ready to accept either the refills or your reasons,” said the old man.

Prasanta da stopped for a while, and he was trying to check his tears. After a few more moments of silence, he spoke: “After my getting a job, all that my father wanted from me was to buy him two refills as a treat …… But I could not fulfil his wish. He passed away a few days later.” And Prasanta burst into tears after recalling his father’s words.

One feels strange to observe in a country, where corruption seems to be the driving force of society, a man like Prasanta da’s father, and the son himself who never veered from the path his father followed, however anachronistic it seemed with the changing times.

Prasanta’s father left behind for his son a philosophy for a way of life, which he followed till the last day of his life.

(The writer’s email is debiarup@yahoo.co.in)
source:::: Arup Banerjee…THE HINDU….
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Keywords: human interest, corruption

Beach Walk…A Luxury Money Can”t Buy !!!!

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source:::: article by Bishwanath Ghosh…The Hindu.

Natarajan

Many of us don’t consider exercise beneficial unless we shell out a lot of money.

Boat Club Road is one of the posh neighbourhoods in Chennai, if not the most posh; and such is its snob value that many people who don’t live there drive all the way to Boat Club Road for their morning walks — either in the hope of rubbing shoulders with the who’s-who of the city (when they are alone and without the trappings of their exalted status) or just for the kicks. Morning walk on Boat Club Road: it can’t get any more fashionable.

I don’t know if the story, about people driving all the way to Boat Club Road just to walk, is entirely true, but I would like to believe there is some substance to it. I have a friend who once upon a time went there for morning walks and who, at the drop of a hat, still likes to quote her “Boat Club Road friends.”

Sadly, even though I will soon complete 12 years in Chennai, I’ve been to that road only twice, perhaps thrice, that too in the evenings. I have no idea how it looks early in the morning, though I would like to know.

I walk in a much humbler location called Jeeva Park, a stone’s throw from my flat in T. Nagar. I’ve known Jeeva Park longer than any other place in Chennai: in its lap I find sweet memories of younger days (I’ve been walking there since I was 30) and also the assurance of good health even as I touch middle-age. The park, like most parks in the city, is well-maintained and extremely user-friendly.

One has to hand it to them: Chennai’s administrators, even though they often lack planning and imagination when it comes to basic infrastructure, they understand the importance of parks in a city dweller’s life. If only more people flocked these pretty neighbourhood parks: that way there would be less people flocking hospitals. But many of us don’t consider exercise beneficial unless we shell out a lot of money. In fact, people often sign up with expensive gyms or fancy yoga classes only so they stick to their regimen, the rationale being: “Since I’ve paid through my nose, I might as well be regular.”

What they don’t realise is that the best gyms, where birds sing for you from the trees and where you see greenery instead of mirrors, come free. And recently, I discovered a gym where they have the sea! A few years ago, I heard about the Marina being beautified and even noticed some cosmetic changes on the beach from a distance, but considering it was a government initiative, one didn’t expect a fantastic transformation. After all, you tend to take all government promises with a sack of salt.

But one lovely evening a few weeks ago, I happened to be at the Marina and I was amazed by what I saw: a broad jogging track, flanked by places to sit and skate, running for a length of 2 km northwards from Gandhi statue. Which means, to and fro, you cover 4 km — more than sufficient for your heart to be happy. All you will need is a pair of decent shoes and an iPod.

Needless to say, I have been hitting the Marina at least thrice a week ever since. On one side, you have the sea running with you, and on the other, the rich heritage of Madras. And the fresh breeze. It’s a luxury money can’t buy.

Keywords: morning walks, Chennai walkers, Bishwanath Ghosh column