Rashtrapathi or Rashtra Pity?

India now has its First Woman president and the entire country needs to be impressed because a powerful politician pulled off a history of sorts by throwing in the gender card.

The irony is that the same day that Pratibha Patil was sworn in as President, the first Indian woman to join the Indian Police Service was denied the post of Police Commissioner of Delhi.
I am referring to Kiran Bedi an IPS officer who passed out in 1972.

Kiran Bedi was denied the post because she apparently does not have enough active policing experience – and the entire country needs to be convinced, because Kiran Bedi has duly performed the duties and has in the past called for controversy and admiration for discharging her duties.

Kiran Bedi has proved herself repeatedly in outsider-unfriendly Mizoram where she made insurgents surrender, in reforming Asia's largest prison – the Tihar Jail and as the chief of the Narcotics Bureau she has always ensured she left her mark.

However let us continue to feel happy about having a woman as a President during our 60th Independence Day; because Pratibha Patil is a complete nobody, has had no strong opinions, and has never added any great value during her career. She is also only responsible for making minuscule appointments, such as:

• Governors of States.
• The Chief Justice.
• Judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts.
• The Attorney General.
• The Comptroller and Auditor General.
• The Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners.
• The Chairman and other Members of the Union Public Service Commission.
• Ambassadors and High Commissioners to other countries.

This President has a strong sense of history because she thinks that subjugation of Indian women began with the Mughal invaders, she is also contemporary and is a classic example of Modern India because she wears a full-sleeved blouse and keeps her head covered under her pallu.

This Independence day when the nation hears the Presidents speech it cannot be called an address by the Rashtrapathi an abvious alternative to this fiasco would be to call it ‘Rashtra Pity’.

Elaneer……Elaneer

This is probably a group of people who are fast disappearing in urban India; with every passing day the number of people selling Tender coconut on cycles is soon becoming a thing of the past and Supermarkets are making a quick buck by removing the outer green husk and repackaging it with plastic wraps.

This particular vendor had a tip in choosing the best variety; he mentioned that “Tender coconuts should be young and green. While there are various preferences for the taste of coconut water, generally a green coconut with some age spots tastes good.
Coconuts from various parts of the world also differ in taste. For example, Indian coconuts tend to be salty and Brazilian coconuts have sweeter water.”

Today, Coconut water is commonly found in regular cans or tetra packs and is marketed as a sports drink because of its high potassium and mineral content which helps the body recover from rigorous exercise.
Depending on the size a tender coconut, it could contain liquid in the range of 300 to 1000ml and is popularly known as 'Elaneer' in Tamil/Malayalam/Kannada.

Smiley Dictionary

After my post about the acronym dictionary here is a quick reference to the smiley dictionary.

So don't get left behind in the smiley revolution. Pick the smiley from the Smiley dictionary that best suits your mood.

Smiley	Meaning	Meandering Thoughts
:-)	Smiling	Duh.
:-(	Frowning	Seriously, duh.
;-)	Winking	Just in case they want you to explain that joke.
:-P	Sticking-out-tongue	Zing your friends. Then add some salt to the wound.
=-O	Surprised	Wow.
:-*	Kissing	Our most unsettling smiley.
>:o	Yelling	WHO NEEDS ANGER MANAGEMENT?!?
:-D	Ecstatic	Again, duh.
:-$	Money-mouth	We're not sure what this one is for.
:-!	Foot-in-mouth	Say something wrong? Tisk, tisk.
:-[	Embarrassed	It happens to everyone, right?
O:-)	Innocent	If your buddy has no evidence that you did anything wrong...
:-\	Undecided	Meh. We haven't decided.
:'(	Crying	Boo-hoo.
:-X	Lips-are-sealed	We'll never tell you what we really think about this one.
8-)	Cool	Giggidy, giggidy goo.

Thought, the origin of the smiley is not completely straightened out; the smiley has become an essential of Internet culture, with animated images and representations, as well text-based emoticons.

National Highways

Driving back from Chennai a week ago I was pleasantly surprised by the handiwork of NHAI.

It is over a year since I traveled to Chennai by road and what welcomed me as soon as I got off the Chennai city limits was a 4 lane road that continued uninterrupted; if there was anything that had to do with a stretch without a 4 lane road then it was a 6 lane road.

It would be amiss if I do not mention the excellent work by NHAI in constructing the roads; when one drives on this road we are left wondering if we are using a highway in India or are on a freeway in another nation.

The authorities have ensured- the existence of well tarred roads, with adequate support in the form of ambulance on call, regular police patrol, no hawkers, no unauthorized vendors, boards with speed limit mentioned and prominent boards that have numbers listed in case you would need support of police or medical support.

There is a ‘toll fee’ one needs to pay to use the road – but one can def pay a small fee for the excellent service rendered.

Will the other states take a note of this and be quick in learning and implementing similar stretches of world class roads rather than giving the public, excuses about land acquisition, tenders, monsoon, etc.

Kaval Deivam - Guardian angel

During a recent trip I happened to capture a picture of Ayyanar (Kaval Deivam-guardian angel). The statue of Ayyanar with his whip and Karuppusami,(his most important companion with a moustache and an aruval-a large sickle) - are eternally vigilant and stand guard on the outskirts of most villages in Tamil Nadu.

Ayyanar shrines are usually located at the peripheries or boundaries of rural villages and the deity is seen riding a horse with a sword. Weapons such as a trident or a lance are also associated with the shrine.

Ayyanar temples are not architecturally elaborate but are signs of continuing traditions — of craft, myths, rituals and caste politics.

Ayyanar is a regional Tamil male deity who is popular among the rural social groups of South India, specifically Tamil Nadu. In the old Tamil literature he is mentioned as Sathanar and in Vedic stories, Ayyanar is considered as one of the several local manifestations of Sastha.
The deity is also popular among vast majority of South Indian & Sri Lankan (read Dravidian) Hindus and some Buddhists in Sri Lanka. He, along with his two female consort deities, is the central deity surrounded by 21 associate folk deities identified as the Kaval Deivam (guardian angel).

Acronym Dictionary

Let's be honest (LBH) - easy (EZ) is better. Get your message across quickly. Find listed the most common abbreviations that you (U) might come across while IMing with your friends. Good luck (GL) and have a nice day (HAND).

Acronyms and initialisms are abbreviations that are formed using the initial letters of words or word parts in a phrase or name. Acronyms and initialisms are usually pronounced in a way that is distinct from that of the full forms for which they stand.

This will make you familiar and help you graduate from a Newbie (Noob) to Been there, done that, got the t-shirt and wore(BTDTGTTSAWIO)

A
AAK	Asleep at the keyboard
AAR8	At any rate
ADAD	Another day, another dollar
AFAIC	As far as I'm concerned
AFK	Away from computer keyboard
AIM	AOL Instant Messenger
ASAP	As soon as possible
A/S/L	Age/Sex/Location
ATM	At the moment
ATW	Around the web
B
B	Back
B4N	Bye for now
BBS	Be back soon
BC	Because
BCNU	Be seein' you
BFN	Boyfriend
BFN/B4N	Bye for now
BG	Big grin
BIL	Boss is listening
BITD	Back in the day
BMG	Be my guest
BOTOH	But on the other hand
BRB	Be right back
BTDT	Been there, done that
BTDTGTTSAWIO	Been there, done that, got the t-shirt and wore it out
BTW	By the way
BYKT	But you knew that
C
CD9	Code 9: Parents nearby
CID	Consider it done
CSL	Can't stop laughing
COZ	Because
CU	See you
CUL or CUL8R	See you later
D
DQMOT	Don't quote me on this
E
EOM	End of message
EZ	Easy
EG	Evil Grin
F
F2F	Face to face
F2T	Free to talk
FAQ	Frequently asked questions
FWIW	For what it's worth
FYI	For your information
G
G2G	Got to go
GAL	Get a life
GF	Girlfriend
GGN	Gotta go now
GJ	Good job
GL	Good luck
GOL	Giggle out loud
GR8	Great
GRT	Great
GTG	Got to go
GW	Good work
H
H8	Hate
HAK	Hugs and kisses
HAND	Have a nice day
I
IAC	In any case
IAE	In any event
IC	I see
IDC	I don't care
IDK	I don't know
ILY	I love you
IM	Instant Message
IMHO	In my humble opinion
IMNERHO	In my never even remotely humble opinion
IMNSHO	In my not so humble opinion
IMO	In my opinion
IMPOV	In my point of view
IOW	In other words
IRL	In real life
J
JIC	Just in case
JK	Just kidding
JTLYK	Just to let you know
K
K	Okay
KIS	Keep it simple
KIT	Keep in touch
L
L8	Late
L8R	Later
LBH	Let's be honest
LOL	Laughing out loud
M
MIRL	Meet in real life
MorF	Male or Female
MOS	Mom over shoulder
MTFBWU	May the force be with you
N
NE	Any
NBD	No big deal
NMU	Not much, you?
NP	No problem
NRN	No response necessary
Noob	"Newbie" -- someone who is a novice
O
OIC	Oh, I see
OMG	Oh my god
OTP	On the phone
OWTTE	Or words to that effect
P
P911	Parent emergency
PAW	Parents are watching
PCM	Please call me
PIR	Parent in room
PLS	Please
PLZ	Please
POC	Point of contact
POS	Parent over shoulder
POV	Point of view
PRW	Parents are watching
Q
Q	Question
R
ROTFL	Rolling on the floor laughing
RL	Real life
RSN	Real soon now
RUOK?	Are you okay?
S
SFETE	Smiling from ear to ear
SIT	Stay in touch
SOZ	Sorry
SYS	See you soon
S2R	Send to receive
T
TAFN	That's all for now
TBA	To be announced
TBH	To be honest
THX	Thanks
TIA	Thanks in advance
TMB	Text me back
TOY	Thinking of you
TTFN	Ta ta for now
TTYL	Talk to you later
TY	Thank you
U
U	You
U2	You too
W
WB	Welcome back
W/E	Whatever
WFM	Works for me
WTG	Way to go
WTH	What the hell?
WU	What's up?
WYGOWM	Will you go out with me?
X
XOXO	Hugs and kisses
Y
Y	Why
YT?	You there?
YW	You are welcome
Z
ZZZ	Tired or bored

The changing face of the 'Public Transport' system

On roads of Bangalore now air-conditioned Volvo buses are plying, introduced by the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC)- a first in the country. Despite transportation and traffic woes increasing by the day, Bangalore is the first city to have Volvo buses as part of public transport.

These buses operate with conductors, like the present buses. They are pleasantly coloured with spic 'n' span interiors, low-floor, disabled-friendly, senior citizen-friendly, cushioned seats, disc brakes that ensure passengers are not jerked forward, electronic system that provides vehicle data to drivers, these are just some of the features a Volvo offers presently.

Sleek, red coaches, fully air-conditioned and compliant with Euro-III environment norms, other special features include kneeling mechanism for the benefit of the aged and the physically challenged; wide, pneumatically operated doors to enable easy boarding and disembarking of passengers. All for a price though. Like an autorickshaw, the minimum fare on a Volvo bus is Rs 10.

With only limited buses it gets difficult to track a bus coming to your area & this is when an interesting service called 'Yelli Iddira' comes to your aid. To know the current location of the buses, send an SMS message to 99456-34666 reading ‘Yi V356C U', where 'Yi' stands for ‘Yelli Iddira?'‘V356c' is the route number ‘U' stands for ‘up' (buses heading out of the 'starting station' are designated to as ‘up', and buses heading towards the 'starting station' are designated as ‘down'). Now this is sure to evoke a 'cool' from most of us.

The minimum fare is Rs.10 and maximum being Rs.45, though a little on the higher end BMTC's argument is "All good things come at a price".