A DERELICT VILLA

Villa it was!

But now “a derelict one”.

The cobwebs have burnt the fireplace

where once we all had our place to rest.

The taste of a plum-cake,

The stuffiness of the kitchen place.

Vessels all broken and abandoned

To left for the rats to rest on.

Here, is where the soul pants

for the long- long spans of

summers, autumns and springs we had.

The mourning of the running old waterfall

Is all we can hear now; where the chatter- batter

Of the kids used to put the house on alert.

Villa it was, villa it was

What a villa it was!

It seems like a crematorium of

Memories to cherish upon,

The hay days of our life are gone.

Reminiscent of innocence,

Now- a- haunted house,

To taunt our lovely past.

Then came the fiery night,

bombed with an explosion,

robbed off the glory of the villa.

Villa it is, villa it is now,

“a derelict villa”!

Beauty tips for daily care

1. Dry skin is common during a rough weather. If you have dry skin apply fresh aloe vera gel. This will leave your skin soft and supple and relieve the skin from dryness.


2. Always air dry your hair first and then blow dry. Blow drying the wet hair will cause damage so avoid doing so.


3. Avoid using conditioner on your scalp because this will give your scalp a flat look.


4.To have a no smudge look, use a nude eye pencil as close as possible to your lash line and then cover it with an eye liner. But remember to keep your eyes as simple and natural as possible.


5. If your hair are taking too long to grow include high protein food to your diet like eggs, soy products, meat, pulses, seeds and dairy products.

6. To give a natural look to your blush use liquid gel based blush instead of powder blush. The cream based blush gives a warm look instead of that artificial blush.


7. Here is a way out if you want well groomed pair of  eye brows. Just pluck those extras under the ridge and keep them bushy towards the starting of the brows.


8. Make it a practise to use sunscreen and now all the more as summers are approaching.


9.  Roll back to those rollers after gently drying with towel. The Velcro rollers will make the hair less frizzy and help you get those curls and add volume to your stresses.


10. If you are using hair color make sure to give variant shades instead of using the same shade for roots and tips. Using variants will give a natural look to the hair color.

Aakash tablet

The upgraded Aakash II will be launched in April with no increase in price. The cheapest  tablet in the world will be distributed by Datawind with better screen and high speed with a longer battery backup.

The Aakash II will have a high capacity touchscreen, 3200m HZ battery back up with three hour long usage time. Other specifications include 700 MHz Cortex A8 processor.


One lakh tablets were targeted for higher technical institutions for better technical feedback and some tablets are being  proposed for school students too.


Aakash II is being proposed for empowerment of students once the production requirements are met the same would be finalised too.

National Science Day

National Science Day is celebrated on 28th February to commemorate the discovery of Raman effect by Dr. C.V Raman on 28th February, 1928. He was awarded a Nobel prize for his discovery in 1930. Since, then this day is marked to honour the scientists for their remarkable contributions and dedication. Science has played a very important role in transforming society there by accelerating the pace of development. The advancement in science and technology is an inspiration for many to study and excel in the field of science and technology.

The theme for National Science Day 2012 is "Clean Energy Options and Nuclear Safety". Every year a theme is decided for National Science Day in order to focus on issues related to science. The activities organized on this occasion brings in the issues of great concern.

Your suggestions concerning the theme ''Clean Energy Options and Nuclear Safety'' for National Science Day 2012 are welcome and can be posted on the blog fodder page.

10 things to do before New Year 2012

Check your 2011 to do list ... if you have one or just kick the idea out if you don't have one.  Let's start a fresh  for 2012 :

New Year 2012

• Shop shop shop - Check out for new year gifts for your girlfriend or wife.  
• Hit the road with your wheels ... go out of town with friends or family or your beloved. 
• Arrange a romantic candle light dinner for your one and only.
• Plan a night out with friends or a best pal.
• Take a day off from work, relax and laze around.
• Get a new dress for the New year party.
• Oh! those heels are a passe. Get your self a new pair of stilettos.
• Pamper your self with a spa.
• Let those tresses give him a run of a lifetime.
• Celebrate the New year with a bang.

Have a warm & prosperous New Year!

'Kolaveri di' in a cute way

It has been two weeks now that I am down with Kolaveri fever & don't want to get over it. Ever since I saw it trending on almost all the social networks I couldn't get enough of it. 


The lyrics and the music got me in on a relaxing weekend two weeks ago and to add to it I saw this cute version of  Kolaveri di by Neevan Nigam, Sonu Nigam's son.

Oh! Kolaveri can't get better than this for sure. 


The best part in Dhanush's & Neevan's Kolaveri - you don't have to find any meaning all you need to do is to relax and enjoy every bit irrespective of the language.

Photography tips

How to make the most out of photography?

1. The saying ‘Practice makes a man perfect’, is tailor made for photography. The more you capture the better you will get at it. So, capture a series of shots; this will not only make you explore the different horizons of photography but also help you understand and develop a personalised style.
   
   
2. There is no hard line as to how to go about taking a photograph. Nevertheless, it is always good to keep it focused, crisp and clear. It is as simple a fact that if you choose and focus on a particular feature of your subject the desired result can be attained.
   
   
   
   
   
3.  Use of tripod or hard surface is a must to avoid camera shake for a clear and crisp photograph. Camera shake destroys the clarity and the sharpness of a photo making it soft. Softening of a photo altogether defeats the purpose when displayed at 100 percent resolution. 

Photography tips

Photography is the best medium to document precious moments in life. With the availability of inbuilt cameras in mobile phones, the entire approach towards photography has undergone a tremendous change. It just takes a click to explore the unlimited options photography offers.

So, here are some simple ways with which one can approach photography to start with:

How to choose a camera?

1. Firstly, you need to choose a camera according to your need as well as interest. For a simple and fast click, opt for a point and shoot camera. Just go for a camera which is easy to handle to capture your family moments. For extra clarity go for a point and shoot camera with an optical zoom.
2. If you want to go into the modalities of photography like composition etc then a prosumer or bridge camera that is a digital camera, a hybrid of professional and consumer camera would be ideal. When looking for a digital camera don’t miss out on the variants it offers with regard to the modes.
3. For professional photography a DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) is a perfect choice. A digital SLR not only enables to take high resolution pictures but also has a feature to manually choose from a wide range of settings such as shutter speed, aperture size, ISO speed. In addition to this, SLRs with interchangeable lenses gives you an option to upgrade the lens as compared to the fixed lens SLRs.

More updates on photography tips coming soon. Till then go and explore the wide range of cameras available in the market and choose the one made for you.

Dying Star

Dying it is sinking

to fall on mother earth

As I make a wish

unaware of the reality

There’s a question ringing around

How How How ?

How can a “DYING STAR” make my wish true.

True! Isn’t it?                                                                                 

But I remember how sitting on the terrace I used

to count the uncountable stars waiting one to fall

onto my lap. 
But time has elapsed and so has the outlook towards old granny’s secret beliefs.

Oh! heavenly stars come down to me as my wish to meet

my eyes glittering under this grey sky,

twinkling to make a wish.

A dying star to gift me a new life,

a messenger from the heaven to bless me with a new life,

life of a twinkling star.

Year after year

again the same hearth

with the old tattered terrace;                                                       

up as I see a full moon. 

But oh! 

where are the stars?

I see the street light

I feel the breeze

I can hear the halla-balloo

of the marriage procession,

firecrackers booming up in the sky.

But where is my “DYING STAR” in the

“dead sky” above; I see none.

And I make a wish to

the dead sky to return

my dying star so that

I can ask for my grandmother

back from heaven.

WHERE ARE YOU MY “dying star”?

Janmashtami 2011

Janmashtami also known as Krishnashtami, Gokulashtami and Srijayanti will be celebrated on August 22, 2011 as the birth anniversary of Lord Krishna the eighth incarnation of Lord Vishnu. According to the Hindu calendar Janmashtami is celebrated in the month of August/September on the ashtami of Krishna Paksh; the eighth day of bhadon.

Janmashtami is celebrated with great enthusiasm at Mathura and Vrindavan where Lord Krishna is said to have spent his childhood. Devotees from all over the world come to these places to celebrate the birth of the most famous Hindu God Lord Krishna.

It is believed that Lord Krishna was born under the Rohini Nakshatram on a dark and stormy night to end the evil rule of his maternal uncle ‘Kansa’.   

Janmashtami is a 48 hour celebration. The first day goes in the preparation for the arrival of the deity Lord Krishna. The actual festivities start at around midnight by welcoming Lord Krishna amidst prayers and arti. The deity is bathed with a holy mixture of milk, ghee, oil, honey and Gangajal called Panchamrit. The Panchamrit is later distributed among devotees as Prasad. Some devotees fast on the first day and end it with the arrival of their lord at midnight while others continue to fast till the second day.

It is estimated that there will be around 5000 devotees this year on Janmashtami. A two day Janmashtami celebration will take place on August 22 at Kukatpally and in Secunderabad on August 23 by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.