Postcards From Failaka

I found these pictures while I was moving through some files while looking for some old documents which I needed badly. These have been lying in a corner in one of my external storage devices. A few years back when I was in Kuwait, I had visited Failaka Islands while we were in the process of designing a Resort. Returning back I had send off some postcards from Failaka to my friends. These were from the good old times when we still used to send letters via emails and have not migrated to the social networking sites. Those were also the days when my camera used to consume film rolls and was yet to migrate to memory sticks.

Failaka is a tiny Island and part of the state of Kuwait. When Kuwait was occupied by Iraq, Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi army was stationed there in large numbers. We could still see the marks of their presence after one and half decades of their departure!

As the Koreas are planning for something big and ugly after the barrage on the tiny island of Yeonpyeong in the western waters near the Koreas' maritime border, I find these postcards very relevant.

A Place We Adopt

A strange question may it appear... But let me ask it anyways.

Did you ever happen to adopt any part of this universe or to be more realistic a particular place in the city that you live in as your own. I guess knowingly or unknowingly everyone has a special place like this all the time. As kids these spaces are very pronounced and visible to all. It may be the unused corner of the room where one takes refuge after getting a scolding or the shade in the garden that one rushes to after completing homework and the list is endless. As we grow older and older it gets split into separate segments for separate actions and some of them are very formal while some are relatively more private and personal. There are many such places and to name a few there could be a few locations to hang out with friends; places to hang out with a closer friend and sometimes a spot to sit and reflect. The last one in the list is the one that I was referring to at the beginning. Physically you may not anywhere close to own those particular spots or place and they may not always be public property either, but you can still adopt it spiritually.

The attached images are of my piece of sea and beach which I had adopted while I lived in Kuwait. This is a tiny section of the gulf road cornice where we used to go for walking and jogging. I had adopted that piece of sea with the tiny beach as mine. My tiny beach used to be covered fully under water at times and in its shiny sandy self at other. I used to feel very sad if someone else was occupying that place.

This is the place where I used to visit once in a while on and sit on the fence with my legs hanging to reflect on Life…the present .. the Future and sometimes on 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

Choose your partner with care

Last weekend we were at the beach and it was rather empty around. I guess most of the people were either at home as this is the holy month of fasting or did not think it was a good idea to be at the beach on this hot summer afternoon.
While our daughter was reluctantly getting introduced to the Majestic Sea under the mother’s supervision, not at all amused by its vastness, I decided to take a lone stroll along the water.

I spotted a dead fish on the sand I remembered two stories that keep having a significant impact on our lives. These are the fish story and the scorpion stories of life. I thought of sharing these with you as both of these are worth sharing.

The Fish Story
A small boy was once walking in the beach along the water and he noticed that as waves were crashing into the sand they were throwing hundreds of small fishes out of the water. Those little creatures had no hope of surviving. Then he saw a man who was picking a hand full of those fishes and letting them back in the water. A little boy who was amused and asked,

“Sir there are hundreds of fish that are been thrown out with each wave. You are rescuing only a few while most of them are dying anyways. What difference does it make?”
The next wave swept in and he picked one fish and while he returned it back to the water, he said
” It did make huge a difference to this fish. It is alive.“

It also made a big difference to the boy!

The Scorpion
The other story that crossed my thoughts was that of the scorpion who used to live by the side of a pond along with other creatures. It was raining heavily one day and water started to overflow and flood the surrounding areas. As land was getting submerged, the only way for the creatures to survive was to swim across to the other side. The scorpion did not know how to swim and approached a frog with a request for a ride across to the shore.

“I won’t do that as you will sting me” said the frog said.
“Now you are my partner. If I will do that my I will sink with you” said the scorpion.
Reassured the frog let the scorpion ride on his back as it swam across. Half way through the scorpion stung on the back.
The poison paralyzed the frog’s limbs and asked as they were sinking the frog asked,

“Why did you do it? Now you too are going to die.”

“What can do my friend” said the scorpion with tears rolling down.

“This is my nature.”

Choose your partner 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!