Thursday, February 28, 2008

Tagged by Ramya

A - Available?
To freak around with my friends.

B – Best Friend:
Shamli.

C – Cake or Pie?
Cake.

D – Drink of Choice:
Orange juice.

E – Essential thing used every day:
My mind :-)

F – Favourite Colour:
Black and white.

G – Gummi Bears or Worms:
Gummi Bears.

H – Hometown:
Nashik

I – Indulgence:
To love my wife till the oceans dry out.

J – January or February:
January as i was married in this month.

K – Kids and Names:
One - Shvant. He is a miracle in my life. With him i see my second childhood.

L – Life:
Life is beautiful. Live it to the fullest. Be happy and always make others happy.

M – Marriage Day:
16th Jan - Was lucky to marry the girl, i loved. Dont know how lucky it is for my wife ;-)

N – Number of siblings:
Two. My elder brother is the foundation of my life and sister is my motivation.

O – Oranges or Apples:
Apples.

P – Phobia:
Ghosts.

Q – Quote:
The world belongs to them who believe in their beauty of their dreams.

R - Reason to Smile:
When i see my wife is happy and contented. Her smile is what i live for.

S – Season:
Spring - Love the sun and little chillness in the wind.

T – Tag three people:
Anantha, Raghavendra, Amal

U – Unknown fact about me:
I think a lot about the future.

V – Vegetable you do not like:
Bitter gourd

W – Worst Habit:
Take follow up for any activities given to others.

X-rays you have had:
A few.

Y – Your favourite food:
Any dishes cooked by my MOM because more than the food its the affection with which she cooks.

Z – Zodiac
Pisces.

Sunday, February 17, 2008

An evening with Germans


Yesterday, we had invited around 11 German office friends for dinner. These colleagues were very much interested in knowing the food from an another culture. Some of them had already visited India and hence wanted to refresh their memory of the food tasted in India.

So, we thought of making some of the typical Indian dishes for the evening. We had been preparing for past one week as Germans are known to be so perfect and hence everything was planned so that there is no scope for any embarrassment.

As my wife loves to cook hence it was easier to have the option of having variety of dishes. Following menu was finalized.

Starters
  1. Snacks consisting of Masala chana
  2. Samosa
  3. Salad
Main course
  1. Palak Paneer
  2. Rajma
  3. Pulao
  4. Green Peas rice
  5. Baked potatoes
  6. Dal Tadka
Sweet dishes
  1. Gajar ka halwa
Drinks
  1. Juices
  2. Cola, Pepsi
  3. Wine
The most lengthy process was to cook Gajar ka halwa which took around 3 hours to make it ready. But by the time everyone came home, the dishes were all ready.

We had a very good evening, with lots of other kids. We shared our inter cultural experiences about the street roads, driving rules, closely family relations, kids etc...

We had tried not to make the food spicy but the kids who were tasting Indian food the first time had a difficult time. Some of them were even crying. We felt so bad, but later on they ate the non-spicy food like the lentils with the Green Peas rice and bread. Shvant was as useful very playful and active as always. One of our colleagues who also had a 10 months old daughter were sharing the same experiences, the story of every mother looks to be the same.

We bid good bye to each other with Indian tea. This was the only thing made by me and fortunately they liked it.

We had a great time together and thanks to Shamli, my wife for being such a good cook. She was asked about the recipes for most of the food items that she cooked. On a earlier occasion also she was asked about the recipe when our deparment German colleagues has been to our place. Hats off to her for being able to manage the show all alone as i was managing only Shvant.

Pics of the moments spend together:

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Mera Bharat Mahan

India ....a place which is best known for its culture, faith in God, diversity, warmth ...etc..the list is never ending. Yes i love my country INDIA. Inspite of all its population, pollution, poverty,crime, bribery, politics, i feel being in India as being at home. The place where i can identify myself. The place where i can feel as a bird, the place where i call it as HOME. I am not trying to be over patriotic but as to what makes me so deeply connected to this country, sometimes astonishes me.

When i ponder more i tend to realize the deep roots in our culture, the care and concern for everyone. The place where people worship natural resources like water, fire and Sun. The place where a stone is also a GOD. The faith, trust and the reliability on others makes us stand out of the crowd. We have now been also reckoned as an economic hub and with the astonishing economic growth in the past few years we have proved to the world what we are capable of.

Ofcourse we sometimes overdo on religious aspects, on non-critical issues like Richard Gere kissing Shilpa or other filmi scoops. But we as the young generation have a responsibility towards our motherland. In recent times the younger generation is playing an important role. Our young leaders like Rahul Gandhi, Farooq Abdullah with the young enterpreneurs like the Bajaj's and the Ambanis it seems that time is changing.

I also want to play a small role in letting people know more about India and create little awareness with the little information i have about various aspects of India. Our major drawback is our patience which is sometimes termed as cowardness, inadequate information about our rights and the government system, inaccurate information about basic facts like Tax structure, economy etc. I have tried to put all the bits and pieces of information in one place so that it is available all the time. For detailed information please visit the website - Jago India Jago .

Mera Bharat Mahan.

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Useful information about Germany

Dear Friends,
This post is for all those who want some information about basic necessities in Germany and Europe. I had always thought of some getting some ready information about Europe when i first visited Germany in 2005.
Hence i am putting down all the experiences, information and interesting facts about Germany.
In case of any suggestion, improvements to this POST, please do send me a short mail at sandeep050379@gmail.com
Good luck and best wishes,
Sandeep Das

Important information for new comers in Deutschland

1. Pre-check

2. Intial days

3. Useful information:

4. Important links:

5. Intresting stuff: