World's biggest bus depot opens in New Delhi

Chief minister Sheila Dikshit inaugurated a bus depot spread over 60 acres near Indraprastha Park in east Delhi, claimed to be the biggest such facility in the world.

 

The bus depot, built at a cost of `61 crores, has parking space for around 1,000 low-floor buses besides facilities including five workshop-cum scanning centres, a logistic centre and two CNG filling stations.

The depot has been built to park the buses to be used during the Commonwealth Games. It has a baggage checking centre where sophisticated equipment will scan the luggage. "It is a wonderful peace of infrastructure which will help properly maintain our low floor bus fleet," said Ms Dikshit.

Transport minister Arvinder Singh Lovely said commissioning of the "biggest-ever public transport bus depot" will help in providing better transportation.

"It is the biggest ever bus depot in the world. Earlier, Israel had the distinction of having the biggest bus depot," he said.

The depot has a control room which will monitor movement of buses, fitted with GPS system, during the Commonwealth Games and ensure proper movement of the fleet.

Mr Lovely said that designer uniforms are being provided to all DTC conductors and drivers.

The city also became the first city in the country to introduce environment-friendly low-floor CNG-electric hybrid buses having almost zero pollution level.

Currently four such buses, each costing `1.5 crores, will be introduced in the DTC bus fleet.

A hybrid electric bus combines a conventional internal combustion engine propulsion system with an electric propulsion system.

 

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AT & T Advertisements using hands !

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Mukeshbhai's new house hassles (Joke)

Mukesh Ambani in his 27 storeyed House

Mukeshbhai gets up from his bed room on 15th floor, takes a swim in the swimming pool on 17th floor, has breakfast on the 19th floor, dresses up for office on 14th floor, collects his files and office bag from his personal office on 21st floor, wishes Bye to Nitabhabhi on 16th floor, says 'See You' to his children on 13th floor, and goes down on 3rd floor to self drive his 2.5 Crore Mercedes to office, but than he finds out that he has forgotten the car keys upstairs. But on which floor? 15th, 17th,19th,14th,21st,16th or 13th ?

He phones to all his servants, cooks,maids, secretaries, pool attendants, gym trainers, etc. on all the floors. There is a hectic search and lot of running about on all the floors, but the key is not traceable. Fed up, after half an hour, Mukeshbhai leaves in a chauffeur driven ordinary Ikon car.

At 3.30 P.M. late in the afternoon it is discovered that 4 days back, a temporary replacement maid had washed Mukeshbhai's pant and hung it to dry on a string in the balcony of 16th floor, with car keys in the pant pocket. The had blown away somewhere in the high winds at 16^thfloor level and was never found. This was found out because of Nitabhabhi's habit of checking clothes given for ironing personally. After 3 days Nitabhabhi complained to Mukeshbhai that where was he roaming till 3 A.M. last night ? Mukeshbhai said the he was at home all night.

Then why did the helicopter land in the terrace at 3 A.M. I was so much worried. I could not sleep whole night, said Nitabhabhi. Oh That helicopter? That helicopter came from Germany, sent by Mercedes to deliver the duplicate car key.

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10 Financial Advices

1. Earnings- Never depend on single income. Atleast have your income from 2 sources

2. Spending- If you BUY things u do not need , soon you will SELL things u need.

3. Savings- Don't save what is left after spending, Spend what is left after Saving....

4. Risk - Never test the depth of the river with both feet.....

5. Investment - Don't put all Eggs in 1 basket.....

6. Auditing - Beware of little expenses, A small leak can sink a large ship......

7. Borrowings - The Borrower becomes the lender's slave.........

8. Hardwork - All hard work bring a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.

9. Accounting - Umbrella is of no use if your shoes are leaking

10. Laziness - A sleeping Lobster is engulfed by water current.

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What Ratan Tata did for the Mumbai victims

All of us know that its been two years now Mumbai Terror attack had happened. All the media were very busy on covering Kasab (The Terrorist) and the trials that were happening. I don't think any of the news channels covered what Ratan Tata did for the Mumbai Victims. Here it goes.
Ratan Tata is the chairman of Indian Hotels who own the Taj Mahal Hotel Mumbai, which was the target of the terrorists on 26/11/08.

Hotel President a 5 star property also belongs to Indian Hotels.

The following is really touching.

What Ratan Tata did for the Mumbai victims.... Don't miss!!!!!!

SALUTE TO MR. RATAN TATA

A. The Tata Gesture

1. All category of employees including those who had completed even 1 day as casuals were treated on duty during the time the hotel was closed.

2. Relief and assistance to all those who were injured and killed

3. The relief and assistance was extended to all those who died at the railway station, surroundings including the “Pav- Bha ji” vendor and the pan shop owners.

4. During the time the hotel was closed, the salaries were sent by money order.

5. A psychiatric cell was established in collaboration with Tata Institute of Social Sciences to counsel those who needed such help.

6. The thoughts and anxieties going on people’s mind was constantly tracked and where needed psychological help provided.

7. Employee outreach centers were opened where all help, food, water, sanitation, first aid and counseling was provided. 1600 employees were covered by this facility.

8. Every employee was assigned to one mentor and it was that person’s responsibility to act as a “single window” clearance for any help that the person required.

9. Ratan Tata personally visited the families of all the 80 employees who in some manner – either through injury or getting killed – were affected.

10. The dependents of the employees were flown from outside Mumbai to Mumbai and taken care off in terms of ensuring mental assurance and peace. They were all accommodated in Hotel President for 3 weeks.

11. Ratan Tata himself asked the families and dependents – as to what they wanted him to do.

12. In a record time of 20 days, a new trust was created by the Tatas for the purpose of relief of employees.

13. What is unique is that even the other people, the railway employees, the police staff, the pedestrians who had nothing to do with Tatas were covered by compensation. Each one of them was provided subsistence allowance of Rs. 10K per month for all these people for 6 months.

14. A 4 year old granddaughter of a vendor got 4 bullets in her and only one was removed in the Government hospital. She was taken to Bombay hospital and several lacs were spent by the Tatas on her to fully recover her.

15. New hand carts were provided to several vendors who lost their carts.

16. Tata will take responsibility of life education of 46 children of the victims of the terror.

17. This was the most trying period in the life of the organization. Senior managers including Ratan Tata were visiting funeral to funeral over the 3 days that were most horrible.

18. The settlement for every deceased member ranged from Rs. 36 to 85 lacs [One lakh rupees tranlates to approx 2200 US $ ] in addition to the following benefits:

a. Full last salary for life for the family and dependents;

b. Complete responsibility of education of children and dependents – anywhere in the world.

c. Full Medical facility for the whole family and dependents for rest of their life.

d. All loans and advances were waived off – irrespective of the amount.

e. Counselor for life for each person

B. Epilogue

1. How was such passion created among the employees? How and why did they behave the way they did?

2. The organization is clear that it is not something that someone can take credit for. It is not some training and development that created such behaviour. If someone suggests that – everyone laughs

3. It has to do with the DNA of the organization, with the way Tata culture exists and above all with the situation that prevailed that time. The organization has always been telling that customers and guests are #1 priority

4. The hotel business was started by Jamshedji Tata when he was insulted in one of the British hotels and not allowed to stay there.

5. He created several institutions which later became icons of progress, culture and modernity. IISc is one such institute. He was told by the rulers that time that he can acquire land for IISc to the extent he could fence the same. He could afford fencing only 400 acres.

6. When the HR function hesitatingly made a very rich proposal to Ratan – he said – do you think we are doing enough?

7. The whole approach was that the organization would spend several hundred crore in re-building the property – why not spend equally on the employees who gave their life?

This is NOT COVERED BY Any NEWS CHANNELS !

I Salute Mr. Ratan Tata..Viewers do give your salutes to the Great Man.

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An Education

Coming of age is that part of our life ,that part of our life where there is just only a thin line that separates the right from the wrong & the wrong from the right.

There is also this argument of GIRLS being discriminated & being sidelined while BOYS enjoy all the liberties ,well that is a point well said & that is very agreeable.

Alas ,its human nature to commit mistakes especially during the twilight period in our lives called "Coming of Age" but what happens then ???

BOYS : "Well, BOYS will always be BOYS, they will charm, mesmerize, seduce & there are many who UTILIZE(Hope you GIRLS understand the meaning of utilize)"

GIRLS : "Well, GIRLS never LEARN, they get charmed, mesmerized, seduced & in many cases are USED"

PLOT : " A coming of age story of a school going girl."



As i was watching this film a lot of questions went through my mind whilst watching this film, "An Education".Lone Scherfig has directed this beautifully film ,she has raised enough issues such that even after watching it you will be left pondering.

The movie is based on British journalist Lynn Barber's memoir of the same name ,Nick Hornby has adapted this into a well focused screenplay that moves along effectively with a well directed message being shared.

The cast was simply amazing, Carey Mulligan was nominated for an oscar for best actress for her role, well after watching her performance i full endorse the nomination she received.Her role of a school going girl was very very very believable ,she looked so young & vulnerable ,i was shocked when i looked up her real age.

The rest of the cast includes Peter Sarsgaard, Dominic Cooper, Rosamund Pike, Emma Thompson ,Olivia Williams, Alfred Molina & Cara Seymour.All of them had their roles well defined, some characters had just minutes of screen space which was very well characterized ,this is a testament to the role of a writer.

Cinematography by John de Borman provides the look of 1960s London in a very authentic manner ,editing by Barney Pilling also adds strength to the movie.

The progression of the film is simple & at the same time very compelling, the way how a school girl reacts to the situations like in the film is so relatable to the issues of today ,the role & importance of parents also comes into scrutiny.

Overall this film works on many levels like the importance of education, coming of age, value of parental guidance & the like.Even though films like these have been part and parcel of cinema, the journey of the school going girl in this film stands stall & will surely serve an enlightening message across.

"EVE WAS CHARMED BY THE SNAKE TO EAT THE APPLE, WHOSE FAULT WAS IT,

WAS IT THE FAULT OF THE SNAKE THAT BEWITCHED EVE ???

OR

WAS IT THE FAULT OF EVE IN ALLOWING HERSELF TO BE BEWITCHED BY THE SNAKE ???"

• Director : Lone Scherfig

• Writer : Lynn Barber (memoir), Nick Hornby (screenplay)

• Cast : Carey Mulligan , Peter Sarsgaard , Alfred Molina , Cara Seymour , Dominic Cooper Rosamund Pike , Olivia Williams , Emma Thompson

• Rating : "PG" for underage smoking & some sexual content.

P.S : " The creative team were initially worried about casting the 24 year old Carey Mulligan in the role of a 16 year old, but were convinced by her screen test. Rosamund Pike reportedly really wanted the small part of Helen, because "no one ever lets me be funny "

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TOMATO THOKKU / THAKKALI THOKKU

TOMATO THOKKU / THAKKALI THOKKU
I had bought a kilo of tomatoes accidentally not knowing that there was huge bag of tomatoes lying in my fridge already. Since I had so many tomatoes and I knew that they surely would spoil. I sorted them and picked out the red ripe tomatoes and decided to make this awesome Thokku. (Read all about thokku in this link).
Thakkali thokku tastes awesome with curd rice, bread, dosas, chappatis or absolutely anything
The cooking of the tomatoes takes time but the thokku has a shelf life of weeks and you can enjoy it everyday. I have used to 10-12 tomatoes which gives me about 300gms of thokku. If you want more use more tomatoes.

Ingredients
Tomato – 10 - 12
Tamarind paste – 1 tbsp
Fenugreek powder – 1 tsp
Asafoetida - a pinch
Red chilly powder – 1½ tbsp
Mustard seeds for seasoning – 2 tsps
Sesame (Til) oil – 8-10 tbsps
Method
Wash and wipe the tomatoes. Chop them and grind them in a blender along with 1 tablespoon of the tamarind paste. Blend into a puree.
Now in a wok heat 8-10 tablespoons of oil, Add in the mustard seeds and when it crackles, add in the fenugreek powder, red chilly powder, asafetida(referred to as masala hereon) and salt and fry for a few seconds. Be careful and don’t let it get black.
Now, add the Tomato puree and cook until the water evaporates. Check for salt. If required you can add some more at this point.
Cook covered as the water in the tomato starts to splutter.
Cook until you see the tomato puree starts to leave the sides of the pan and the oil starts separating from the mixture.
This indicates that the thokku is done. Turn off the heat and let the thokku come to room temperature, after which you can store it in an air tight container and enjoy as a condiment with any of the dishes mentioned above.
Yo(my husband) was eating it with bread and saying that it tastes great and my mom has it with her curd rice. You can even add some to plain hot rice, mix well, add some oil if you want and eat it plain with papad. "Thokkun chaadam"(Thokku rice)
This can be stored in the refrigerator for many weeks like any other pickle.

(Above picture - A closer look at the tomato thokku)
Tips
• I had readymade fenugreek powder, for those who don’t have it. Dry roast a tablespoon of fenugreek seeds and powder it to use in the thokku. Make it fresh, it tastes better.

• Once the mustard splutters, the temperature of the oil will be very high, so reduce the flame of the gas to sim and add in the powders and when you see them froth just wait for about 10-12 seconds, be careful don’t let the masala get black. Frying the masala imparts great taste to the thokku. If you are not confident, then you can add the masalas later to the puree.

• For those who like garlic, you can add 4-5 pods of garlic (4-5 for Indian garlic which is small in size), if using the bigger sized ones that we get abroad, make it half of the said quantity. Fry the garlic well after the mustard splutters and then add in the masala. If you want you can use garlic paste as well, but ensure to fry it well else the thokku won’t be aromatic.

• You can add chinna vengayam(madras vengayam/shallots/ mini onions), but always fry them once the mustard splutters.

• My mom usually adds green chillies . If you are using green chillies reduce the amount of red chilly powder, else your thokku will be very spicy.

• My grandmom used to add a bit of ginger. When you are adding ginger, make a paste and fry well after the mustard splutters.
You can try any variation that you desire and enjoy this awesome finger licking thokku.

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The Social Network

There is always a stage in life where we reach the crossroads in relationships ,whatever it may be ,friendship or love.

Sometimes or should i say that most times these crossroads change the entire course of our life ,what does happen to us during this transition ??

Our careers might shape up better or vice versa !
Get into a beautiful relationship or vice versa !
Or
We might end up losing our friends or worse is that when these friends become foes !!!

PLOT : " A story about the founders of the social-networking website, Facebook. "



The hype surrounding this movie "The Social Network"was very justifiable ,recently all the hype surrounding a movie ends up inversely proportional to the film's reception but i'm so glad that for once the hype was worth it.

I was always in doubt as to how could the story of Facebook be conceived into a movie & my curiosity even more increased after watching the rave reviews this film got.So with a bit of hesitation i watched this film.

This film blew me away right from the very first scene ,never for once during its runtime of 12o odd mins the audience felt restless.Thats some commendable work ,i still can't get this movie out of my head.

Directed by David Fincher of Fight Club (1999) fame ,the film stands tall among all the movies released this year.The director has utilized the fame of Facebook to the film's advantage and boy it worked out perfectly !!

Of late there are lot of movies adapted from books ,Aaron Sorkin adapted the screenplay from Ben Mezrich's nonfiction book The Accidental Billionaires.

Its easier to read a book but to adapt it to a screenplay is a different matter altogether ,here the adaptation has worked really well ,an oscar for this would be well deserved.

Casting of the lead actors too worked out really well ,Jesse Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg gave a stellar performance ,he was very believable as a computer nerd ,a drunkard ,a Harvard University dropout & a hotshot young billionaire.

Taking no credits away ,the supporting cast of Andrew Garfield & Justin Timberlake were on par.The former we know as as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the franchise's 2012 reboot & the latter is a international pop star.

The other cast of Rooney Mara ,Armie Hammer ,Max Minghella were also equally impressive ,it was an all round team effort that has given the film the critical acclaim it has achieved.

The nonlinear narrative pattern adapted for the screenplay was well put together by editor Kirk Baxter & Angus Wall ,the pace of the film never had a dull moment.

The film effectively brought out the foundation stages of Facebook ,the numerous law suits & its background.But for me this movie not only brought out the rise of a internet giant but also excellently demonstrated the crossroads of life where one is forced to take certain decisions.

Friendship ,its value ,its capability ,its downfall & its hardships are persistent throughout the film ,this film also brings to my mind a famous quote ,
“Your closest friend can be your weakness, power, or, in some cases, your worst enemy.”

• Director : David Fincher

• Writers : Aaron Sorkin (screenplay), Ben Mezrich (book)

• Cast : Jesse Eisenberg , Andrew Garfield , Justin Timberlake , Rooney Mara , Armie Hammer , Max Minghella

• Rating : "PG" for brief sexual content & drug use.

P.S : " Jesse Eisenberg's cousin works for Facebook, apparently near the real Mark Zuckerberg. "

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Rang De - Knock out Poverty in India!

I came across this interesting page(http://rangde.org/rangde.htm) on RangDe.Org and thought I would blog about it.

Rang De is an innovative approach to helping people who do no need charity. They need an opportunity to become self reliant and are looking for small loans to run their businesses. Listed on www.rangde.org are such low income entrepreneurs - mostly women from rural India who are looking for microloans.

You can invest as little as Rs.100 in their business and track the progress of your investment online. They call it social investing as your investments will bring about a social change.

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Mynaa Movie Review

Director Prabhu Solomon's earlier films like "King" and "Lee" were of mediocre quality and it failed to create any impact amongst the audience and at the box-office. However, his latest film "Mynaa" differs from his previous movies as the film which joins the bandwagon of off-beat films does create an impact amongst the audience and is sure to hit the bull's eye at the box-office.

The movie rides itself on the strength of its screenplay and the director has rightly chosen new comers to play the lead role thereby the sanctity of the story doesn't get overshadowed by star value or power. Kamal Hassan after watching the movie said "I have become a fan of this movie". Producer Udayanithi Stalin commented " I lost sleep for three days after watching Mynaa". Whether the movie is so powerful? The answer is that the movie does make the audience feel pity on the characters which makes it obvious that it has achieved what it aspired to.

Suruli (Vidharth) is a village lad who with his rustic looks helps Mynaa (Amala) when he was a child as she along with her mother gets thrown out of their house. Suruli grows up and so does the love between them. Things seem to go smoothly for the pair until Mynaa's mother comes to know of their affair and decides to get her married to another person. Suruli in a fit of rage does something which lands him behind bars. One fine day he makes good his escape and in pursuit of him follows Jail officer Bhaskar (Sethu) and Constable Ramaiyya (Thambi Ramaiyya).

Whether the love bug stuck pair join together or does Suruli goes back to jail is what the rest of "Mynaa" is all about. The defining moment of this film is its climax. The climax is so powerful that it gets applause from the audience and after the movie gets over there is another round of applause from the viewers to the makers for providing such an emotional film.

In terms of acting all actors have acted with maturity. The new comers have justified their selection in this movie. Music by Imman touches the soul while the Cinematography is splendid.

Director Prabhu Solomon has captivated the viewers with his "Mynaa".

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Va Quarter Cutting Movie Review

The movie which was initially titled as "Quarter Cutting" was later changed to "Va Quarter Cutting" is presently known only as "Va". Looks like censor board has given a clear instruction to the makers that the promos of the movie should contain only "Va" and the words Quarter Cutting should not be used even if its a tag-line. The title actually doesn't matter much for the movie which nowhere qualifies to be an entertainer irrespective of its target audience.

Directors Pushkar & Gayathri who made a mediocre "Oram Po" should have concentrated more on the screenplay in this film as they openly admitted that there isn't a great story in the film. The plot which the directors have taken has lot of scope in it but all that has been totally wasted courtesy a lackluster screenplay which leave the movie limping mid-way.

Sundarajan a.k.a Sura (Shiva) lands in Chennai to fly to Dubai for work and accompanying him is Marthandam (S P Charan) who is to marry Sura's sister. When Sura comes to know that things in Dubai are different from what it is here, he sets out on a mission i.e to have a Quarter Cutting liquor before he boards the flight.

Sura and Marthandam then go around the city to buy the liquor but ill-luck stares them in their face as all the liquor shops in the city are closed. In the midst of all this confusion they come across Saroja a.k.a Saro (Lekha Washington) who is contemplating suicide as she has flunked in her exams.

What happens when all three join together and what are the hardships they face during one night and whether Sura's desire for liquor gets satisfied or not is told in the remaining part of the movie. The movie runs for 2hrs and 20 minutes and its a pain to sit through it.

Music by G V Prakash Kumar falls flat except for a couple of songs. Acting by the lead actors is nothing worthy of mention and also the script doesn't require anyone to pull a rabbit out of their hats. The slow-pace of the movie also means that its fate at the box-office is more or less sealed.

"Va Quarter Cutting" is a boring comedy film.

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