sutta and hookah

 Well in our country ie india the legal smoking age is 18 actually theres no legal smoking age but you should be 18 if you have to purchase ciggarettes,not that anyone checks your id.i honestly feel its just for the heck of it.My daughters school friends were smoking already when they were in class 10th that mean around the age of 15 they could easily manage to purchase cigarettes from any vendor without a problem.
Last night i had gone to a karaoke bar in up market south delhi select citiwalk mall with some friends and was surprise to see kids from around 15years of age or maybe below were puffing away with a bottle of beer in their hands and some hookah.Hookah has been in the news lately for being more dangerous than cigarettes itself i was reading 1hour of smoking hookah is equal to having 100ciggarettes in an hours time yet no one seemed to care even.I realised that even cigarette packs have a big warning on it saying cigarette smoking is injurious to health along with a picture of badly effected lungs(by smoking)yet those who have to smoke kids or adults go to the vendor purchase cigarettes ignore the warning and continue smoking.I wonder if the laws made by our govt.are actually effective?or is it just that they haven't been implemented well?or is it us who don't give a damn to the warnings and continue smoking?why make laws that will be flouted?For example in Gujarat alcohol is banned yet those who want to drink manage to smuggle alcohol in the state.I honestly think rather than setting an age that is permissible to purchase cigarettes and the warning signs on cigarette packs if the govt.really wants cigarette consumption by youngsters and everyone else to go down they should simply raise the price of smokes to 100 rupees(around 2dollars) per cigarette now that might help a bit.

gif credit http://www.mobileapples.com/

10 wierd names from around the world

I have been cracking up on this and wonder what was going through the minds of these parents while naming there kids?what made them decide on these names,we often as per tradition or due to social reasons or our own personal choiceand normally dont  name are kids tubelight or banana and am glad that my parents named me alka Presenting 10funniest names in the world rounded up from the internet(yes i have been googling too much lately)

1. Batman Bin Suparman

www.flickr.com

21 year old man from singapore

2.Dick Assman

http://www.brianstockton.com/

3.Joker Arroyo

4. GoldenPalaceDotCom Silverman

http://www.casinoadvisor.com/

The golden palace casino wanted some publicity for that they paid some parents to name goldenpalacedotcomsilverman i wonder what the kid feels about it.

5. Rocket

http://www.dailyfill.com/

name of movie director  robert rodrigues kid

6. Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116

http://www.flickr.com/

a swedish boy i wonder how they pronounce the name i cant figure it out.

7.Sage Moonblood
name of sylvestor stallones child










8.Audio Science

Child Of: Actress Shannyn Sossamon








9.Moxie Crimefighter

Child Of: Penn Jillett







10.Diva Thin Muffin

Child Of: Frank Zappa

am i dead or alive cotards syndrome

I was sitting idle today with absoulutely no way to kill time so i went to my best friend google and by chance came across this rare disease called cotards syndrome also known as the walking corpse disease.
I got thinking  how would it feel leading my enitire life thinking that i am dead and in rare case immortal,leading a delusional life smelling rotten flesh and being certain that its my own.I shudder at the thought of leading a life like death,and my sympathies with those who are suffering from this syndrome.i had never heard of this disorder my entire life and was shocked to read about it,researched some more from wikepedia and this is the information i got thought of sharing it.

The Cotard delusion or Cotard's syndrome or Walking Corpse Syndrome^[1] is a rare neuropsychiatric disorder in which people hold a delusional belief that they are dead (either figuratively or literally), do not exist, are putrefying, or have lost their blood or internal organs. In rare instances, it can include delusions of immortality.^[2]
Young and Leafhead describe a modern-day case of Cotard delusion in a patient who suffered brain injury after a motorcycle accident:^[6]

[The patient's] symptoms occurred in the context of more general feelings of unreality and being dead. In January 1990, after his discharge from hospital in Edinburgh, his mother took him to South Africa. He was convinced that he had been taken to hell (which was confirmed by the heat), and that he had died of septicaemia (which had been a risk early in his recovery), or perhaps from AIDS (he had read a story in The Scotsman about someone with AIDS who died from septicaemia), or from an overdose of a yellow fever injection. He thought he had "borrowed my mother's spirit to show me round hell", and that she was asleep in Scotland

In certain cases the person suffering this order can smell rotten flesh and sees worms and maggots devouring there body where as none of this is actually happening.
Reading this i felt greatful for all that i have in life less or more but i consider myself blessed,i cant think of a suffering worse than leading your life as dead.

image credit http://wickedmonkeys.com/

my low fat gaajar halwa (dessert)

Well,this is a recipe my daughter invented as shes quite health conscious but  has a sweet tooth,i was scared to taste it at first but when i did as i had no other option and i was hooked..here goes

you will need
4 carrots(grated)
1betroot(grated)
4tbsphoney
1/2 litre milk
1tsp ghee (or oil)
2cardamoms
6gooseberrys
5almonds blanched

In a thick pan(kadhai) heat the ghee add the betroots and carrots cook on a low flame till the water dries(the carrots and betroot will release some water),now add the milk,gooseberrys,cardamoms and almonds.cook on a medium flame until the milk comes down to half .Then add the honey and cook on a low flame till the milk completely dries off..

serve hot and enjoy the healthy halwa :)

your kid your friend

my daughter
Raising a child as a parent is not easy and raising a child as a single parent is even tougher,one needs to be protective yet not overbearing.
I would often go to a night club or a bar and be shocked to see girls from 19-29age group standing around the bar and accepting the offer of some random guy to buy them a drink followed by dance and sometimes exchange of numbers or leaving together.The thought of my daughter leaving a night club with some stranger as a a return gift for the free drinks was scary so when my daughter reached the age where clubbing was permissible i made sure everytime  she ventured out she had enough cash to spend on herself.i always gave her freedom to do whatever she wants from short dresses,to drinking to late nights with her friends after she turned 18 (before that there was a curfew) I gave her so much freedom that she wouldnt need to hide anything from me more than a mother i became a friend ,my friends always advised me against it and said you will spoil the girl she will start taking drugs and will be out of your hands,i never listened,as a result of this freedom and this bond i formed with her today shes 25,her friends come home at night as well boys and girls alike and i sit with them all and chat or play a game of ludo, she doesnt drink(she did till the age of 22)but quit on her own completely,she doesnt smoke,parties once a week and at times once a month only with her friends or her boyfriend i know they are all safe because i have interacted enough with them over the years,she is the most loving daughter one can have and if shes ever in any kind of trouble i am the first one she calls.She told me of a friend in college who hooked a guy just so she could be driven around i thanked my good thinking that i gifted her a car when she turned 18 so that she wouldnt need to be dependent or be obligated to some one because he drives her around.
A very close friend of my daughters once had a car accident he wasnt at fault someone was jumping a light at 2am her friend went to the police station to lodge a complain and but harrased by the cops till 7am as the law breaker was an influential person so the tables were turned on my daughters friend.He could not call his parents for help because they had been extremely strict with him and he feared that if he would call his parents for help they will bail him out of the situation but will not believe that he was not at fault.
In todays times with these independent kids and the kind of lifestyle thats offered in metropolitans,the kind of crowd you have in schools,the exposure these kids get it is not possible to control either the kids or the exposure and lifestyle but i believe if you are too strict with your kids they will do things behind your back and theres nothing you can do about it nor can you advise them when they go wrong in life.i am a proud mother and nothing feels better than hearing shes a very well groomed child,even the friends who advised against the freedom i gave my daughter today admire her for the girl she has turned out to be.Everyone has the right to disagree but i am proud of the girl i have raised.

5easy breakfast recipes

Well once again its recipe time but these are some easy breakfast recipes some are the well known common recipes and some are my own creations.Ever been in a situation when you are short on time and your kids are creating a fuss over what they want to eat for breakfast well these will bail you out of the sticky situation..

RECIPE ONE
cheese toast

you will need

4cheese cubes shredded
half an onion chopped
half a tomato chopped
1green chilli chopped
toasted bread
milk
ketchup

Take a cup of milk in a pan and add the cheese to it cook on medium flame till the cheese melts,the cheeese milk paste should not be too watery nor too thick so if required you can add some more milk accordingly,once done switch off the burner and add the tomato, green chilli and onion to the paste now spread it on toasted bread apply a line of ketchup on top and its ready to serve.

RECIPE TWO

eggless pancakes

you will need

1 cup maida (all-purpose flour)
1 teaspoon ground sugar
1 teaspoon  cinnamon grounded
2 teaspoon baking powder

2tablespoon butter
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

In a bowl add maida,sugar,cinnamon,and baking powder mix it slightly, now add milk,water oil and vanilla mix it but not too much the texture should be lumpy,keep it aside for 5minutes. Put a flat pan on flame and add the butter to it once the butter melts pour the melted butter into the batter and mix,in the same flat pan pour 1/4th cup of batter for each pancake and cook until bubbles are formed flip side and continue cooking till both sides are golden brown.

serve hot with honey,or nutella choclate,or fruits and maple syrup as a topping.

RECIPE THREE

Cheese rolls

serves-2
you will need

125gms cottage cheese
3slices of bread
coriander leaves chopped finely
green chillis(to taste)
salt to taste
2pinches of red chilli powder
vegetable oil

Soak the bread slices in water for 2seconds and then squeeze the water completely. In a bowl add the cheese,the damp bread,coriander,salt,green chilli and red chilli powder  mash well,now make small about 2 and a half inches in length rolls from the batter and fry them in steaming hot oil,do not turn the rolls until light gold else they might break..Once light gold you can flip sides and fry till golden brown.wipe out the excess oil with a paper napkin and serve hot with ketchup and green chutney.

RECIPE FOUR

potato omlette

makes 1

you will need

half potato peeled and sliced in thin round pieces
2eggs well beaten
2pinches red chilli powder
1green chilli chopped
half tomato chopped
4tbsp green coriander chopped
salt to taste
3tbsp vegetable oil


In a bowl take the beaten eggs add salt and red chilli to it and keep aside,take 1tbsp vegetable oil in a flat nonstick pan,spread out the potatoes on it and cook on low flame till one side of the potatoes in golden brown,now flip the potatoes and pour 1tbsp oil in the pan follow it by pouring the beaten egg on the potatoes, add the chopped tomatoes,green chilli,coriander and cover the pan with a steel plate let it cook on low flame,keep checking the omlette once the omlette looses its watery consistancy remove the lid flip the side of the omlette pour 1tbsp oil  onto the pan while doing so cook for another 2mins on low flame.
serve hot with plain or toasted bread and ketchup

RECIPE FIVE
cheese cabbage sandwich

you will need

3cubes cheese shredded
1/2cup milk
1cup finely sliced cabbage
bread slices cut into halves(corneres removed )

Pour the milk in a pan and add the cheese to it cook on low flame until the cheese melts,once done add  spread thick hot cheese paste on a sliced  bread and add sliced cabbage on top ,place the other half of bread slice  on top,serve it with hat and sweet tomato chilli ketchup .

DONT TAKE PAIN FOR GRANTED

Watching television the other day a show called my wierd disease or something like that, i realised how fortunate we are to feel pain.We take the pain we feel for granted and never realise how important is feeling pain in our life and i mean physical pain the pain that we feel when we are pricked by a needle or the pain we feel when we fall off the stairs and have our arm or leg fractured.The show i am talking about was bringing to light the story of a little girl 6years of age suffering from a rare disorder called congenital insensitivity to pain .For some reason in this disorder the connection between the nerves that sense pain and the brains recognition of pain is not there,the little girl when she was 3years of age poked her eyes with her finger so much that her eyes got partially damaged she now wears specially made glasses which are taped on to her by her parents so that she doesnt poke her eyes again,the reason she poked was because she couldnt feel any pain while doing so and it was like a normal activity for her like rubbing our palms together may be for us.once she suffered a fracture and it went un-noticed for a week because she didnt feel the pain and her parents coudnt tell until the fractured limb started to swell.
"We decided to pull her teeth because she was mutilating her fingers," her father said
 By the time she was 2½, she had been injured and hospitalized multiple times. At age 2, she broke her jaw and didn't know it until infection caused a fever. To treat the infection, she had to be on  medication for six weeks.
"You'd look away for one second, you'd look back and she'd have her fingers in her eye You're watching your child go blind right in front of you." her mothers words
Its a curse to not feel pain,because pain teaches us alot in life.god forbid if someone suffering from this disorder gets an electric shock they wont even understand whats going on.To not feel pain may seem like a boon to many of us but in reality  for those suffering from it its nothing more than a curse.
i am not taking the name of the little girl in the post and the interview of the parents is courtesy http://www.abcnews.go.com/

AM I FAT?

   
kareenas pic  courtesy http://bollywoodcelebden.com/

In the times of size zero and six pack abs the pressure to remain fit and maintain a good physique for both men and women is quite high,i am a fairly sized woman a uk size 8figure yet i go to gym 5days a week and slog away,its more of a habbit for me now more than anything the fact that it allows me to eat everything and remain a size 8 apart from the great health benefits that comes with exercise..I get amazed watching girls who are probably a size zero running on the treadmill for an hour and above and then making their way to the weights section followed by a rigourous abdominal workout and when you talk to them you realise that these girls weighing not more than 45-53kilos are actually trying to loose weight. Often in the locker room i have heard them asking each other after dressing up am i looking fat?it makes me wonder whats wrong with this world and the youngsters today.My neighbour who i know since she was in class 11th in a delhi school a sweet bubbly teenager weighing around 90kgs would often tell me after coming back from school that while walking home some guy on a bike shouted out to her moti (fat)i wonder is being fat a crime?i understand that it leads to health problems but does that give any stranger a right to call a person fat?I know of people who jokingly call their friend a chubby girl with a beautiful face moti(fat)or how much will you eat look at your size all in good fun but do these people passing such remarks even in good fun realise what they may be doing to someones self esteem or confidence for that matter?My niece who delivered a baby 5days back is already asking the doctor when can i hit the gym again and is constantly fussing over her weight gain, is this size zero which seems to have become a social disease stopping her from enjoying her first few months with the newly born?My daughter weighed around 80kgs during her school days i was of course concerned but i never pushed her after hours at the gym she lost some 22kilos and still shes constantly trying to diet along with her workout routine and questions me everyday mom am i fat?Am i over reacting or is this really a big problem?

lemon/orange cake

Well here is one more recipe but this one is not low fat or healthy..though you can substitute the sugar with honey but i think in this case using honey as a substitute would be as good as having a cheese burger with diet coke instead of normal coke..but then again drops of water make an ocean..

you will need

2eggs
rind of 1orange or rind of 2lemons
100gms custard powder
100gms ground  sugar
100 gms butter
125gms maida(all purpose flour)
1tsp baking powder

beat the eggs,orange rind or lemon rind,ground sugar and custard powder with an electric beater,and keep it aside.now melt the butter and once the melted butter cools down a bit add it to the already beaten mixture.add the maida and baking powder to this and mix well.
put some butter paper in a pan or you can take some oil or melted butter and spread it all over the pan you plan to bake the cake in and pour the cake mixture in the pan and bake in a pre heated oven.

once baked you can enjoy this cake with tea..and if you want to add some icing on it please let me know it will be my pleasure to guide you on it..my cakes waiting for me..