A Place We Adopt

I share this post from the past in response to this week's prompt for Friday Writings #235: Water Water Everywhere

A strange question it may appear... but let me ask it anyway.

Have you ever adopted a tiny part of this universe—or, to be more realistic, a particular place in the city where you live—as your own? I guess, knowingly or unknowingly, everyone has a special place like this at some point in life.

As children, these spaces are very pronounced and visible to all. It may be the unused corner of a room where one takes refuge after being scolded, or the shade of a tree in the garden where one rushes after finishing homework. The list is endless. As we grow older, these places become divided into different spaces for different moments. Some are public and formal, while others remain deeply private and personal.

There are many such places. They may be the café where friends meet, a quiet corner shared with someone special, or simply a spot where one goes to sit and reflect.

The last one is what I was referring to at the beginning. Physically, you may not own that particular place. It may not even be public property. Yet, in some quiet way, you can still adopt it spiritually.

The attached images are of my piece of sea and beach that I had adopted while I lived in Kuwait. It is a tiny stretch along the Gulf Road corniche where we used to go for walks and jogs. I had adopted that little piece of sea, along with its tiny beach, as my own. Sometimes it would disappear completely beneath the water; at other times it would reveal its glistening sandy shore. Oddly enough, I used to feel disappointed whenever someone else occupied my little place.

This is where I would go from time to time and sit on the fence with my legs hanging over the water, reflecting on life... the present... the future... and sometimes the past... 

Giving credit where it is due

How does one define the Credit Cards? Are they the basic necessity of life or a necessary evil or do you call it an ally who have the potential to ruin your life if let loose! The card companies are very aggressive in promoting their products and it is true that these companies are striving to enhance their services to further promote customer satisfaction. To entice customers, banks have introduced cards that boast a wide range of benefits.

Benefits

There are a wide variety of benefits starting with introductory gifts and following that up with offers of the like of cash-back, Air miles, free holidays. As you can take your pick of the offers, it means you can make the most of your credit cards and if you do your research well it will definitely be to your credit.

Cash Back Credit Card is the perfect solution for those who need a little more savings to stretch their monthly budgets. Cash Back Cardholders get a fixed portion of their daily expenses refunded in the form of hard cash. While most cash back cards usually offer cash back benefits on transaction made at select retailers or based on spending slabs, the card that I use offers flat 5% cash back for all purchases.

Loyalty cards

Loyalty card schemes are increasing in popularity. Super markets, bookshops, hotel, shopping centers and even spas are offering incentives to keep customers visiting then regularly. Research says that loyalty cards can influence customers spending decisions. These programs see high returns and works as a clever marketing tool that is beneficial to both parties. We feed sad that we could not redeem our last set of incentive points of our supermarket loyalty card in Dubai.

Avoid Debts

The principle prerequisite of using a card is to avoid the debt trap. To get it right one need to follow some fundamental rules. Here are a few from the experts:

•  Stick with one card (It is difficult and I myself have quite a few)
• Learn the difference between ’need’ and ‘want’ for each purchase you consider making.
• Charge your card only that much which you can pay off in full each month. Never carry a balance. Do not max out your cards or charge up to the limit, even if you intend to pay off the balance in full at the end of the month.
• Ignore additional credit card offers.

 Safety matters

 One has to take extreme measures to secure the cards so that these are not misplaced or stolen. Follow these simple tips to keep your credit card safe.

• Ensure cards are stored safely
• Keep sight of the card at all times – don’t let a merchant swipe it through multiple readers or keep it to run up a tab
• Never disclose your pin to anyone
• Encourage the use of new, more secure technologies whenever you shop, if they don’t use it already.

The morning after

What to do if your credit card is used fraudulently. The following procedure could be very useful as advised by the expert.

• Notify the bank immediately to cancel your card
• Keep the card in your possession so you can show your bank you still have it, in case the transaction was made elsewhere.
• Remember you last transaction so you can identify all fraudulent use.
• Complete a dispute form or follow your bank’s procedure to confirm you did not make the fraudulent transactions. 

Your bank will then instigate an investigation.

Islamic Credit cards

Banks in the Middle East are looking at Islamic credit cards as a sector with potential for huge growth. While they operate in a similar way to conventional credit cards but these niche products are governed by Shariah law which requires them to be interest-free. Following this principle most of these products are based on Shariah complaint interest-free Üjrah” concept whereby only a fixed monthly maintenance fee is charged against the outstanding balance.

A few interesting fact about Credit cards:

• While the Credit Cards are made of plastic these days the first t credit cards were made of metal.
• The first bank credit card “Charge It” was invented by John Biggins in 1946.
• The first Credit card company was Diner’s Club and it was founded in 1950 by 3 individuals: Frank Mc Namara, Bloomingdale and Sneider.
• The American Express Company was formed from the merger of 3 express transport companies in the USA.
• In 1958 American Express issued its first credit card to coincide with its 108th anniversary.
• The original name of the now popular VISA card was “Bank Americard” and it was issued by Bank of America.
• The original name of “Master card” was “Master Charge Card”.

To sleep or not To sleep

Weekends are part of everyday life and they keep coming without much control. The effort however gets consumed between the weekends and most of the time wishing that there were a couple of days less before the next weekend arrives. On a few rare occasions one does hope that there were a little bit of more time before the week actually ends but that’s definitely not normal.

What is that one big decision that one has to take for the Sunday morning and in our case Friday morning? The Saturday night is usually dictated by the social circles while the more active socialites spend partying the lesser mortals have some quality family time. But challenge is on the morning of the holiday. Do you wake up early because this is your day and you want to enjoy and actively utilize every moment of the day or you want wake up late and use the opportunity to give your body and mind a well deserved rest.

On a working day morning there isn’t much that I can do before rushing off to work. I sleep till the last moment during weekdays using the snooze to squeeze out the last bit of available time and stretching up to the limit. I prefer to wake up early on the weekend to devour the early hours and let it seamlessly flow into my rest of the day. A nap in the afternoon goes a long way to compensate for much required rest for the body and soul. I had slept till late in the morning a few times and invariably got depressed upon waking up that my holiday was almost over and guilt that I have wasted it.

Everybody has their own priorities for the holidays but sleeping in the morning is not on that list of mine!

Images from the Internet.

How does a frozen Chicken Expire?

Coming from an Indian Town and growing up in the seventies, we never used frozen foods. As a matter of fact frozen food was simply not available. The man of the family used to go to the bazaar every morning and the lady of the family used to prepare fresh foods twice a day.

So when I got introduced to frozen foods and packed foods there were a few questions that started to pop up. One thing that I could never understand is how could a chicken have a expiry date while it was already slaughtered and frozen and packed quite some time back….. Well I am still looking for that answer.

I read this article in the Yahoo webpage and found it quite interesting and thought of sharing it here…..


Food expiration dates: What do they really mean?
By Ann Pietrangelo
Posted Mon Aug 16, 2010 4:30pm PDT

Are you one of those people who pour the milk down the drain on the expiration date?

Expiration dates on food products can protect consumer health, but those dates are really more about quality than safety, and if not properly understood, they can also encourage consumers to discard food that is perfectly safe to eat.

A recent poll of more than 2,000 adults showed that most of us discard food we believe is unsafe to eat, which is a good thing, of course, but it is important that we understand what food expiration dates mean before we dump our food -- and our money -- down the drain or into the garbage. On average, in the U.S. we waste about 14% of the food we buy each year. The average American family of four throws out around $600 worth of groceries every year.

Which five foods are most often feared as being unsafe after the printed date? According to ShelfLifeAdvice.com, we are most wary of milk, cottage cheese, mayonnaise, yogurt, and eggs, and the site offers these helpful explanations:

• Milk: If properly refrigerated, milk will remain safe, nutritious, and tasty for about a week after the sell-by date and will probably be safe to drink longer than that, though there’s a decline in nutritional value and taste.
• Cottage cheese: Pasteurized cottage cheese lasts for 10-14 days after the date on the carton.
• Mayonnaise: Unopened, refrigerated Kraft mayonnaise can be kept for 30 days after its expiration date or 3-4 months after opening, the company told ShelfLifeAdvice.
• Yogurt: Yogurt will remain good 7-10 days after its sell-by date.
• Eggs: Properly refrigerated eggs should last at least 3-5 weeks after the sell-by date, according to Professor Joe Regenstein, a food scientist at Cornell University. Note: Use of either a sell-by or expiration (EXP) date is not federally required, but may be state required, as defined by the egg laws in the state where the eggs are marketed.

The “Use-By” Date

The “use-by” or “best if used-by” date indicates the last day that the item is at its best quality as far as taste, texture, appearance, odor, and nutritional value. The decline after that is gradual. The use-by date refers to product that has not yet been opened.

The “Sell By” Date

The “sell by” date is not really a matter of food safety, but a notice to stores that the product should be taken off the shelf because it will begin to decline in quality after that date.

The Law

From the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA): “Product dating is not generally required by federal regulations. However, if a calendar date is used, it must express both the month and day of the month (and the year, in the case of shelf-stable and frozen products). If a calendar date is shown, immediately adjacent to the date must be a phrase explaining the meaning of that date such as "sell-by" or "use before."

There is no uniform or universally accepted system used for food dating in the United States. Although dating of some foods is required by more than 20 states, there are areas of the country where much of the food supply has some type of open date and other areas where almost no food is dated.”

Food-Borne Illness

Cross-contamination and unsanitary conditions are a primary cause of food-related illnesses, whether it occurs in the home or in a restaurant, and this is independent of any expiration date. The leading culprits are:

• Improper hand-washing prior to food preparation.
• Storing food at the wrong temperature.
• Cooking food to an inadequate temperature.
• Cross-contamination (raw meats that come into contact with salads, for instance).
• Improper washing of fresh produce.

The Yuck Factor: Common Sense Approach to Food Safety

Aside from any expiration date or lack thereof, if a food item is moldy or if it smells and looks spoiled, err on the side of caution. If it makes you say, “yuck,” throw it away.


http://green.yahoo.com/blog/care2/54/food-expiration-dates-what-do-they-really-mean.html

The Fish, the Scorpion, and Our Everyday Choices

The prompt by Poets and Storytellers for this week is “Why Bother?”

And indeed, with everything happening around us, it is tempting to ask—why do we even bother? What difference can an individual like me, you, or anyone else really make to this world?

This question took me back to an old reflection of mine, and I thought I would share it here in response to this week’s prompt. [ Friday Writings #223: Why Bother?] 

Last weekend, we were at the beach. It was rather empty. Perhaps most people chose to stay home during the holy month of fasting, or simply felt it was too harsh an afternoon to step out.

While our daughter was being gently introduced to the majestic sea—watchful, hesitant, and not entirely amused by its vastness—I decided to take a solitary walk along the shore.

As I walked, I noticed a dead fish lying on the sand. And suddenly, I was reminded of two stories that have stayed with me over the years—the fish and the scorpion. Both, in their own way, have shaped how I look at life.

The Fish Story

A young boy was walking along the beach when he noticed something unsettling. With every crashing wave, hundreds of small fish were being thrown onto the sand—left there, gasping, with little chance of survival.

A little further ahead, he saw a man. Calmly, almost rhythmically, the man would bend down, pick up a hand full of those fishes, and toss back into the sea.

Puzzled, the boy walked up to him and asked,

“Sir, there are hundreds of fish being washed ashore. You’re saving only a few. Most of them will die anyway. What difference does it make?”

The man didn’t answer immediately. He picked up another fish, held it for a moment, and threw it back into the water.

Then he looked at the boy and said,

“It made a difference to this one. It is alive.”

And something about that stayed with the boy-made a big difference.

The Scorpion

The second story is about a scorpion who lived by a pond.

One day, heavy rains caused the water to overflow, flooding the surrounding land. The animals needed to get across to higher ground. The scorpion, unable to swim, approached a frog.

“Please carry me across,” it said.
“I can’t,” replied the frog. “You’ll sting me.”
“If I sting you, I will drown too,” the scorpion reasoned.

Reassured, the frog agreed.
Midway across, the scorpion stung the frog.
As the poison spread and they both began to sink, the frog asked,

“Why did you do this? Now we will both die.”
The scorpion replied,
“What can I do, my friend… it is my nature.”

Two simple stories. Two very different reflections.

One reminds us that even the smallest act can matter—perhaps not to the world, but deeply to someone.
The other reminds us that not everyone we help will act against their nature.

So why bother?

Because the choice to act is ours.
Because even if it changes just one moment, one outcome, one life—it matters.
And because, in the end, what defines us is not how the world responds, but how we choose to show up.

But yes—choose your partners with care, my friends.

Kolkata - The City Of Joy

Someone once told me that a camera does not lie (Photoshop does though). If I click a photograph today and another one after a year, it will show me difference in Black and White (may be in color). The point here is that the differences shows up without any emotional bias as opposed to human eyes.

Calcutta, now known as Kolkata has been very unlucky with the publicity she received in the recent past. It has been mostly bricks and seldom praises, in spite of being the City of Joy.
Today I am posting a series of pictures that I have received by an email from a friend. It will change your perception. These are photographs and they are not supposed to lie! (Kudus to the photographer)

Kolkata is in the heart of every Bengali with all its pluses and minuses. We all dream of settling back there one day.

We too say... next Durga Puja, we will be in Kolkata!

Kolkata is in the heart of every Bengali with all its pluses and minuses. We all dream of settling there one day! We too say... Come next Durga Puja and we will be in Kolkata!

The Barber Theory Of Our Life

My brother has a way of elevating stories to the level of life defining theories. A few of those are so popular between us that these have become part of our life. I would like to share a few of those in the coming weeks will start with the Barber Theory.

Barber Theory: One can do lots of things if he does not have complete knowledge.

Once upon a time there was a barber in a village. He was also the de-facto local surgeon who took care of all the surgical needs of the village. Operating seamlessly through any boils, tumors any other ailment that came across and his hand never trembled. So cheap and efficient was his service that professionally trained surgeon of the area started to get affected as no patients went to see him. He was sad and complained to his peers and friends. One of his doctor friends told him, “Don’t you worry! I will fix it for you tomorrow.”

The very next day the physician went and witnessed the barber in action. Once ther surgery was completed, he asked the barber” how could you perform with so much confidence?”

The barber said “what is the big deal. I do this regularly!”

The Physician explained “if you had cut a little bit extra on the right it would have severed the vein that supplies blood to the right side of the brain. The blood circulation to the brain would have stopped leaving the patient paralyzed.” And he went on to explain exactly where each vein and nerve and tissues and muscles and all the other body components were. He also described in detail what the risks and consequences were if something gone a little wrong.

When the barber went to perform the next surgery, his hand was trembling and he was not sure anymore where to cut and how much to cut. He was worried about the consequences as he was aware of the possibilities and the dangers.

Knowledge makes a big difference! (May be at times, if not always!)

This is in response to Shekhar Kapur’s blog post “A Blackberry addict discovers grassroots enterprise in India” (http://shekharkapur.com/blog/2010/07/a-blackberry-addict-discovers-grassroots-enterprise-in-india/)