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A photographer, who was also a confirmed athiest, decided to go into the woods to get photos of the fall foliage. It was a beautiful day: Fall colors, birds chirping, babbling brook, and a gentle breeze rustling the leaves.
While snapping shots, the photographer heard a noise behind him, and whirled around to see a huge bear coming through the bushes
 He dropped his camera and ran. And kept running and running… and looking behind him, he noticed the bear was gaining on him! He was so scared that tears came to his eyes. He ran faster, but the bear was closing in on him. He ran faster yet, and tripped over a root. Rolling over onto his back, the man saw the bear rise to his full height and raise a huge paw… and the athiest cried out, “Oh, God, no!”
And everything stopped. The birds stopped chirping. The brook stopped babbling. The gentle breeze stopped. And the bear froze with his paw in the air. And the man heard a booming voice say, “Young man. For years you’ve doubted my very existance, but now that your life is in peril you call my name to help you. Why should I do so?“
And the man thought for a moment, and said, “Yes, you are right. If you are God, then it would be hypocritical of me to become a Christian at this point in my life. But, do you think that you could at least make the bear a Christian for today?” And the booming voice was quiet for a moment and then said, “Done.”
And everything started again. The birds chirping, brook babbling, and gentle breeze rustling the leaves. And the bear slowly lowered his paw. Then the bear put his paws together, and bowed his massive head and said, “Dear Lord, please bless this food we are about to eat.“
Source….www.ba-bamail.com
Natarajan
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health wise
Message for the Day…” Place all Your burden on God…You will then be Care-free and Grief-free…”
You are not a despicable creature, born in slime or sin, to eke out a drab existence and be extinguished forever. You are immortal and eternal. So when the call comes, respond with your whole heart. The Principle of Divinity must be experienced, for it is beyond expressions and explanation. The richness, fullness and depth of that experience can never be communicated in words. You must feel that it is your highest destiny to attain that experience. You are a mixture of Deha and Deva – the mortal and the immortal. Liberation means stoppage of grief and acquisition of joy. All that you have to do is to place all your burdens on God. It makes you care-free and grief-free. Then you will take everything as a divine play of the Lord you love and live in bliss just as He is, when His plans are going through!
” Eat With it…and Then Eat it…” !!!
When Narayana Peesapati became aware of the harmful effects of plastic, not only to the environment but also to our health when used as cutlery, he was stunned. But he did not stop there. He came up with a solution that most of us wouldn’t have thought of, and actually made it happen!
“Whenever I travelled, I used to feel terribly guilty about using plastic cutlery because it created so much plastic waste. Why couldn’t we create an alternative?” asks 48-year-old Narayana Peesapati, the founder and Managing Director of Bakey’s Food Private Limited. Today, he has found a way to replace plastic cutlery with edible cutlery.
Ok, so plastic is bad for the environment. Everyone knows that. But what’s wrong with not washing plastic cutlery and putting it in one’s mouth? Narayana says it is because we “abuse and misuse plastic; plastic should not be applied to food.” He has said as much in this talk, where he gives many reasons as to why plastic, especially cutlery, should be taken out of our lives. Some of these reasons have to do with the manufacturing process for plastic cutlery (explained further down) and others with hygiene.
So does he have an alternative then? He does, and Narayana has been developing it since 2010. Bakey’s manufactures edible cutlery, including spoons in different shapes and chopsticks.
Edible spoons
Bakey’s edible cutlery is made from a mix of jowar (sorghum), rice and wheat flour. The spoons and chopsticks do not get soggy if placed in water and food. They only soften after some time (10-15 minutes), and thus can be eaten easily at the end of the meal. Even if discarded, they decompose within five to six days, if not eaten by insects or rodents.
The idea about how to make the cutlery struck Narayana during a flight from Ahmedabad to Hyderabad, when he saw a passenger using a piece of Gujarati khakra as a spoon to eat dessert.
Why is plastic bad for your health?
Narayana Peesapaty at a Bakey’s stall.
Plastic consists of many chemical components which are toxic and carcinogenic, and can leech into food. Narayana, who has been to several manufacturing units of plastic cutlery in the country, has observed that the way in which it is manufactured is not very safe for use with food.
“The irony is that there are very stringent food safety norms in India. But there are no norms when it comes to manufacturing the utensils in which we consume food,” he says.
In this very competitive market, he says, hygiene has become the first casualty of cost cutting. The process of cleaning the cutlery by manufacturing units in India that he visited, involved just a rag of cloth being used to wipe the final products that came out of the mould in which molten plastic was injected.
This, he feels, leaves consumers at the risk of plastic intake.
“Even after scraping the extra plastic, there are chances that some micro-granules of plastic get dislodged and can enter the body with our food if a spoon is not washed,” he says.
A thought even scarier than this struck Narayana when he noticed that in spite of such a huge consumption of plastic spoons, they are nowhere to be seen in the same numbers after disposal. This, he found, was because they were being reused, which makes plastic cutlery a source of bacterial contamination as well.
Why edible cutlery could be good for you
The spoons do not get soggy in food.
Prior to becoming a manufacturer of edible cutlery, Narayana was a researcher at the International Crop Research Institute for Semi Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Hyderabad. Here, he undertook research on groundwater management, studying why groundwater levels were reducing. He concluded that producing less rice and more dryland crops like jowar would help stabilize the levels of groundwater. It was soon after this that he started thinking about creating a huge market for jowar, and this is one of the main reasons why jowar is the chief ingredients in edible cutlery.
With the product being widely acclaimed, Narayana has been able to communicate the ill effects of plastic to a wide audience.
Bakey’s cutlery has made a mark in the international market as well, with orders coming in from the US and UK.
Being a new concept, working on the idea was a challenge initially, as there was no established technology. Everything had to be developed with learning and research. According to this report, it cost Narayana more than Rs. 60 lakhs to develop the prototype machines and moulds and get started (he had to sell two homes he owned to raise the money). But one of the bigger challenges now is to create an awareness about the harmful health effects of plastic. The use of plastic is also a behavioural issue according to Narayana—people accustomed to using plastic products will not find it easy to switch to edible cutlery.
Other than selling the cutlery directly from their website, Bakey’s also sets up stalls at places like organic bazaars and exhibitions. The company is only breaking even as of now and has not started making a profit, says Narayana.
Once it does, he hopes to develop an automatic machine for manufacturing the cutlery.
Based out of Hyderabad, the manufacturing unit is an all-women enterprise, which Narayana’s wife, who is currently working as a director in the company, will soon be taking over.
To know more about this initiative, you can write to Narayana at info@bakeys.com or visit their website here.
– See more at: http://www.thebetterindia.com/30465/edible-cutlery-in-india/#sthash.i0VEdVb7.dpuf
Source….www.thebetterindia.com
Natarajan
Simple Ways You Can Test Common Food Items For Dangerous Adulterants….
With the alarming rate at which adulteration of food is increasing in India, it is not an exaggeration to say that almost nothing that we eat/drink daily is safe for our health. And what is further astonishing is that all the food items that I am referring to, make an essential part of our daily balanced diet.
Now while we cannot be really sure of when this flourishing business of food adulteration will reach its dead-end, it falls upon us to keep the safety of our health intact. And one of the most potential ways we can do so is by performing simple tests to see whether or not the food item is fit for consumption.
1. Milk
Test for your safety
- Put a drop of milk on a slanted surface. If the drop leaves a white trail, it’s a sign of pure milk. But, if it fails to leave the trail, it is adulterated.
- If the milk turns yellow when heated, and leaves a bitter and soapy kind of after taste, take it as a sure shot sign that it has synthetic substances added to it.
2. Coffee powder
Test for your safety
Sprinkle a small amount of coffee powder on the surface of water contained in a glass. The coffee will remain afloat whereas the chicory in it will sink to the bottom leaving behind a coloured trail.
3. Chilli powder
Test for your safety
Mix a spoonful of chilli powder in a glass full of water. If you spot a formation of coloured water extract, it is because the chilli powder is adulterated.
4. Turmeric powder
Test for your safety
Add a few drops of concentrated HCL in a test tube containing turmeric powder. Appearance of pink, purple, or violet hues in the mixture confirms adulteration.
5. Mustard seeds and oil
Test for your safety
Take a few seeds and crush them. The argemone seeds on being crushed will reveal a whitish structure on the inside. Mustard seeds, on the other hand, have a yellow inner surface.
6. Ice cream
Test for your safety
If the ice cream starts to froth on adding a few drops of lemon juice to it, it indicates the presence of washing powder in it.
7. Green chillies
Test for your safety
Soak a small cotton piece in paraffin and rub it against a small portion of the outer surface of green chilli or any other green vegetable for that matter. If the cotton turns green, it means that the vegetable is artificially coloured.
8. Ghee
Test for your safety
Add 1 ml of water to a test tube containing about 0.5 g of ghee and bring the mixture to boil. Once it cools, add a drop of iodine (or iodine tincture solution) to it. If the final output is blue in colour, then it is adulterated with starchy substances.
9. Sugar
Test for your safety
Unadulterated sugar, when added to a glass of water, will sink directly to the bottom. But if it has chalk powder in it, the adulterants will remain at the surface of the water.
10. Black pepper
Test for your safety
Add a few corns of pepper to alcohol. The pure corns will stay afloat whereas the pappaya seeds will sink.
11. Tea
Test for your safety
Sprinkle some tea powder on a damp blotting paper. Change in the colour of the blotting paper to something similar to yellow, orange, or red proves the presence of artificial colour in it.
One of the most common reasons behind food adulteration is to deceit the buyer of their money by luring them into buying a ‘good-looking’ food item. However, whatever maybe the reason behind this, it goes unsaid that an act of deliberately adding toxic substances to food items is an act of POISONING.
Source….ananta sharma….www.storypick.com
Natarajan
How an Artist is Changing Bengaluru Streets, One Pothole at a Time….
Baadal Nanjundaswamy’s art work is incredible and delivers results. Image Courtesy: Facebook/Baadal Nanjundaswamy
As Bengaluru preps for the upcoming civic body polls on Saturday, it will be interesting to see how the scary crocodiles and gigantic anacondas that have appeared on the city’s water-logged and pothole-ridden roads recently will affect voters.
The city has been struggling with polluted lakes, garbage crisis, bad roads and crippling traffic management for a while now. Fed up with the state of affairs, local artists took it upon themselves to make sure the problems spoke for themselves, using imagination and art as their tools.
The charge has been led by Baadal Nanjundaswamy who shook up social media and local authorities (into making amends) by creating a life-size crocodile and swamp as an installation to highlight a pothole that hadn’t been fixed for days.
The crocodile did the trick and the pothole was filled. Since then, Mr Nanjundaswamy has been changing the face of Bengaluru pot holes, one brush stroke after another.
From transforming broken dividers into sutli bombs in one place and wrapped gifts in another, to painting huge faces around uncovered man holes, his art work is incredible and delivers results.
Check out some of his work below:
A little Diwali gift – major social media explosion in 3-2-1:
Photo Credit: Facebook/Baadal Nanjundaswamy
Bengaluru’s Secret Santa leaving them colorfully wrapped gifts for Christmas:
Photo Credit: Facebook/Baadal Nanjundaswamy
How about this Valentine’s Day proposal to civic body Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP)?
Photo Credit: Facebook/Baadal Nanjundaswamy
Or these fearsome faces with gaping mouths?
Photo Credit: Facebook/Baadal Nanjundaswamy
They needed a zebra-crossing, so that’s what they got – a zebra crossing the road:
Photo Credit: Facebook/Baadal Nanjundaswamy
Would you like a game of Hopscotch on one of Bengaluru’s streets? It could be fun but also might be the only thing you do for a while:
Photo Credit: Facebook/Baadal Nanjundaswamy
source…..www.ndtv.com
natarajan
6 Weird Facts About Gravity…
Credit..NASA
Gravity: You don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone
Here on Earth, we take gravity so for granted that it took an apple falling from a tree to trigger Isaac Newton’s theory of gravitation. But gravity, which draws objects together in proportion to their mass, is about much more than fallen fruit. Read on for some of the strangest facts about this universal force.
It’s all in your head
Credit: © Paul Simcock | Dreamstime.com
Gravity may be pretty consistent on Earth, but our perception of it isn’t. According to research published in April 2011 in the journal PLoS ONE, people are better at judging how objects fall when they’re sitting upright versus lying on their sides.
The finding means that our perception of gravity may be less based on visual cues of gravity’s real direction and more rooted in the orientation of the body. The findings may lead to new strategies to help astronauts deal with microgravity in space.
Coming down to Earth is tough
Credit: NASA Kennedy Space Center
Speaking of astronauts, their experience has shown that a switch to weightlessness and back can be tough on the body. In the absence of gravity, muscles atrophy and bones likewise lose bone mass. According to NASA, astronauts can lose 1 percent of their bone mass per month in space.
When astronauts come back to Earth, their bodies and minds need time to recover. Blood pressure, which has equalized throughout the body in space, has to return to an Earthly pattern in which the heart must work hard to keep the brain nourished with blood. Occasionally, astronauts struggle with that adjustment. In 2006, astronaut Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper collapsed at a welcome-home ceremony the day after returning from a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station.
The mental readjustment can be just as tricky. In 1973, Skylab 2 astronaut Jack Lousma told Time magazine that he’d accidentally smashed a bottle of aftershave in his first days back from a month-long sojourn in space. He’d let go of the bottle in mid-air, forgetting that it would crash to the ground rather than just float there.
For weight loss, try Pluto
Credit: nullPluto may no longer be a planet, but it’s still a good bet for lightening up. A 150-pound (68 kilogram) person would weigh no more than 10 pounds (4.5 kg) on the dwarf planet. The planet with the most crushing gravity, on the other hand, is Jupiter, where the same person would weigh more than 354 pounds (160.5 kg).
The planet humans are most likely to visit, Mars, would also leave explorers feeling light-footed. Mars’ gravitational pull is only 38 percent that of Earth’s, meaning a 150-pound person would feel like they weigh about 57 pounds (26 kg).
Gravity is lumpy
Credit: Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFCEven on Earth, gravity isn’t entirely even. Because the globe isn’t a perfect sphere, its mass is distributed unevenly. And uneven mass means slightly uneven gravity.
One mysterious gravitational anomaly is in the Hudson Bay of Canada (shown above). This area has lower gravity than other regions, and a 2007 study finds that now-melted glaciers are to blame.
The ice that once cloaked the area during the last ice age has long since melted, but the Earth hasn’t entirely snapped back from the burden. Since gravity over an area is proportional to the mass atop that region, and the glacier’s imprint pushed aside some of the Earth’s mass, gravity is a bit less strong in the ice sheet’s imprint. The slight deformation of the crust explains 25 percent to 45 percent of the unusually low gravity; the rest may be explained by a downward drag caused the motion of magma in Earth’s mantle (the layer just beneath the crust), researchers reported in the journal Science.
Without gravity, some bugs get tougher
Credit: CDC/Janice Haney Carr
Bad news for space cadets: Some bacteria become nastier in space. A 2007 study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that salmonella, the bacteria that commonlycauses food poisoning, becomes three times more virulent in microgravity. Something about the lack of gravity changed the activity of at least 167 salmonella genes and 73 of its proteins. Mice fed the gravity-free salmonella got sick faster after consuming less of the bacteria.
In other words, Michael Crichton’s “The Andromeda Strain” had it wrong: The danger of infection in space may not come from space bugs. It’s more likely our own bugs grown stronger would strike us.
Black holes at the center of galaxies
Credit: April Hobart, NASA, Chandra X-Ray ObservatoryNamed because nothing, not even light, can escape their gravitational clutches, black holes are some of the most destructive objects in the universe. At the center of our galaxy is a massive black hole with the mass of 3 million suns. Scarier thought? It might be “just resting,” according Kyoto University scientist Tatsuya Inui.
The black hole isn’t really a danger to us Earthlings — it’s both far away and it’s remarkably calm. But sometimes it does put on a show: Inui and colleagues reported in 2008 that the black hole sent out a flare of energy 300 years ago. Another study, released in 2007, found that several thousand years ago, a galactic hiccup sent a small amount of matter the size of Mercury falling into the black hole, leading to another outburst.
The black hole, named Sagittarius A*, is dim compared with other black holes.
“This faintness implies that stars and gas rarely get close enough to the black hole to be in any danger,” Frederick Baganoff, a researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who was involved with the 2007 study, told LiveScience’s sister site SPACE.com. “The huge appetite is there, but it’s not being satisfied.”
Source…www. livescience.com
Natarajan
Gifts Everybody Deserves to Receive…
| Everybody loves receiving gifts – For their birthday, for Christmas or randomly. There’s nothing more thrilling, but deep down the real treasured gifts are intangible. These gifts are priceless and everybody deserves receiving them at some point in their lives.
Source…www.ba-bamail.com Natarajan |
Message for the Day…” Every Single Unselfish Act is a Righteous Act…”
Sacrifice ignorance (ajnana) and ego (ahamkara) at the altar of wisdom (Jnana), and install righteousness(Dharma) therein” – this is the message of the scriptures. Every single unselfish act, which prepares the ground for the merging of the Soul with the Over-Soul, which broadens the vision towards the Divinity immanent everywhere, is a righteous act. Each such act is a tiny stream that swells the river of holiness rushing towards the sea of knowledge of Divinity. Your acts and activities are all rituals in the worship of the Paramatmathat pervades the Universe. Whatever is done in an attitude of dedication and surrender is a component of the Dharma, which leads to Realisation. The strategy of the ancient Bharathiya (Indian) way of life is directed towards the sanctification of every moment and every word, thought and deed as a step towards realising the Divine.
Health Benefits of Guava Fruit…
Guavas are found in the tropics, and invoke images of vacations, summer parties and island life, but this tasty fruit is more than a celebratory food. This fruit is bursting with healthy vitamins and minerals and can be used to treat many serious ailments. You can recognize guavas by their yellow, green or maroon skins and creamy white or pink pulp.
| Weight loss and gain
Guava is a winning fruit for its many great benefits. If you’re trying to lose weight, guavas are not a fruit you need to give up. In fact, this snack-sized fruit can satisfy your appetite while adding few calories, low amounts of carbohydrates and no cholesterol to your diet. And, compared to other fruit, adds a low dose of sugar. Guavas also offer a great source of vitamins, proteins, roughage, fibers and minerals. For lean people trying to gain weight, this fruit is also beneficial as it promotes the healthy absorption of nutrients and its substantial nutrients regulate one’s metabolism. Blood pressure and Diabetes Guavas are hypoglycemic and rich in fiber, which helps reduce blood pressure. Dietary fibers maintain the blood’s fluidity and prevent it from thickening, which can worsen blood pressure. Foods lacking in fiber (for example refined flour) increase blood pressure because they convert to sugar more quickly. This can help fight or even prevent diabetes. The fiber regulates the sugar being absorbed by the body and the risk of both high spikes and drops in the body’s insulin and glucose levels is reduced. Diarrhea, dysentery, and gastroenteritis
The abundant astringent (substances that contract body tissue) makeup of raw guava and guava leaves helps loosen the bowels and can reduce the symptoms of diarrhea and gastroenteritis. Being highly alkaline, the guavas act as a disinfectant, removing excess mucus from the intestines and inhibiting microbial growth. For these reasons, guavas can also be used to treat dysentery. The guavas’ plentiful supply of vitamin C, carotenoids and potassium can also boost your digestive system. Thyroid health A good substance for regulating the thyroid’s metabolism is copper, which guavas have plenty of. The thyroid glands regulate important hormones and organ system functions, which helps maintain a healthy balance in your body. Healthy brains Also present in guavas are high amounts of vitamins B3 and B6. These both have benefits for the health of your brain. B3, which is also called niacin, is known to help increase blood flow and stimulate cognitive function, while B6 helps preserve normal nerve function. Scurvy Guava is your best source for vitamin C. In fact it has four times the amount of Vitamin C found in oranges, which are regarded as the go-to food for this vitamin. The concentration of vitamin C can prevent scurvy, a disease caused by a deficiency of this vitamin. Constipation The seeds of guavas, either ingested whole or chewed, are excellent laxatives. In addition to the fruits’ substantial amount of dietary fiber, guavas are advantageous for treating constipation. These two sources cleanse your intestines and excretory system and help your body retain water, helping you achieve healthy bowel movements. Frequently snacking on guavas, then, can be beneficial for proper digestion. Colds and coughs Drinking the juice of guavas and fresh guava fruit helps in fighting colds and coughs. The astringent quality can lessen mucus, disinfect the respiratory tract, throat, and lungs and reduce microbial activity. The substantial amounts of iron and vitamin C in guavas also help treat viral infections. It’s advised to avoid eating overly ripe guavas when you have a cold or cough as they can actually aggravate them. Eyesight The considerable quantities of vitamin A in guavas are extremely beneficial for the health of your vision. This helps slow down macular degeneration, the growth of cataracts and even improve one’s eyesight degradation once it has begun.
Skincare Guavas are also fantastic at improving skin texture and keeping your skin looking fresh. Guavas are full of astringents, particularly in fresh fruit and the leaves of the plant. If you rinse your skin with a guava decoction, the fruit can tone and tighten areas of loose skin. Eating the fruit also provides a rich source of vitamins A, B, C, as well as potassium, which are excellent antioxidants and detoxifiers. They can keep your skin glowing, prevent premature aging and wrinkles, and can speed up the healing process of wounds. Source….www.organicfacts.net and http://www.ba-bamail.com Natarajan
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Dashrath Manjhi Aka Mountain Man’s Story Is The Most Inspiring Thing You’ll Read Today…
Dashrath Manjhi, a poor landless labor moved a mountain in his lifetime, quiet literally! It took him 22 years but Manjhi shortened the travel between the Atri and Wazirganj of Gaya town from 55 km to 15 km. Not many are aware of this man’s greatness but thanks to Bollywood for converting his life story into a film. The film by Ketan Mehta is called Manjhi- The Mountain Man and is slated to release this Friday starring ace actors like Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Radhika Apte in lead roles. The story of a brave man who took the challenge of gifting accessibility to his remote village will inspire you beyond limit.
If you still haven’t heard of the man who fought with a mountain for more than two decades, his real story will move you!
1. Gehlour Ganj, Atri: A 300-foot tall mountain loomed between Atri block of Gaya, Bihar civilization in Wazirganj made commuting a difficult task for the locals
2. Manjhi, a landless labourer worked in the fields on the other side of the mountain and lived with his wife, Falguni.
Manjhi belonged to a cast which was regarded the lowest of the low in a caste-ridden society. They were kept aloof from basic necessities like- water supply, electricity, a school and a medical centre.
3. Like everyday, Manjhi eagerly waited for his beloved wife Falguni who would bring lunch for him. She did come to him that one eventful day, but her body had bruises and blood all over.
The treacherous trek up and around the mountain took hours. This led to frequent accidents and death of locals who lost their lives purely because reaching for medical facilities took hours. The nearest doctor was at Wazirganj, which was more than 70 kilometers over the mountain. Locals of the area cursed the inaccessibility but no one ever bothered to do anything about it. However, one man could wait no longer but that too alerted him after a tragedy. However, one day, Falguni tripped on loose rock, shattering her water pot. Not only she slid down several feet, she injured her leg. Manjhi could not save his wife and then he took a pledge.
4. “Jab Tak todenge nahi, tab tak chodenge nahi”- After losing his wife in 1959, Manjhi took up a challenge against the mountain and sold his goats to buy a hammer, chisel and crowbar.
“That mountain had shattered so many pots; claimed lives. I could not bear that it hurt my wife. If it took all my life now, I would carve us a road through the mountain.”- He said.
5. People called him a ‘lunatic’ but that did not deter him from his journey. After a struggle of 22 years (1960-1982), a tiny cleft across a rock wall opened up one day!
He then went on to widen the cleft. Some several years later, he managed to carve out a passage 360 feet long and 30 feet wide.
Even though he lost his battle of life to cancer in 2007, thanks to Bollywood for converting his life into a film. Even when he was alive, people were totally awed by his will power and determination. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar agreed that once he had stood up and vacated his chair when Manjhi visited him in Janata Durbar in Patna.
Source…..Isha Sharma… http://www.indiatimes.com
Natarajan
Take off with Natarajan 