Swine Flu - Home remedies

While this flu is increasing and sometime people are panicing due to its daily casualities, there are few things which one can start doing at home to avoid impact. And not only this, you will have a long term effect to increase your immunity which will help you getting ill from other diseases as well.

1. Tulsi (Basil in english) increases immunity. You can eat few leaves everyday, better in morning and wash it before eating. It works great for throat and lung problems which are main organs, first affected by cold.

2. A stick of Giloi (approx 12 inch long) can be blied with Tulsi for 15-20 minutes. Add black pepper and sendha rock or black salt, or Misri according to taste. Drink this while still warm. Giloi powder is also available under Hamdard company brand.

3. Take two pods of raw garlic in the morning. To be swallowed daily with lukewarm water. Garlic too strengthens immunity like the earlier measures mentioned.

4. Drink lukewarm milk mixed with one spoon turmeric every night.

5. Drink two spoon of Aloe Vera gel with water every morning.

6. Daily excercise for 30 min. Include some of Prayanam yoga postures to it.

7. Have citrus fruits, particularly Vitamin C rich Amla.

Swine Flu- Prevention and latest news

Punehas become biggest city hit by swine flu in India. As of now already 8 people are consumed by this virus while counter is still not stopped. This is a sensitive topic where prevention could mean saving a life as well. I got this from one of my friend and it seems like useful, though it bears no authentication but info here makes sense - http://www.multilinesolutions.com/swinefluindia/index.htm. Some other ongoing news and links are available at site - http://www.in.com/swineflu/?gclid=CPKXnL7fmJwCFSUSswodFGsvfA. And if you are interested in history of this flu, you can read wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swine_influenza.

Main care which one can take is -
1. Keep clean - regularly wash hands. Cover your mouth when sneezing. Use disinfectants to clear your work area and home, if possible two times a day.
2. Avoid crowd - Railway station, bus station, malls, market are few places you should avoid. Only go there if it is urgent and use mask when going. As this is a hot topic, people get together to discuss latest news. Please avoid it as it is another mean to spread it more.
3. Be healthy - Eat properly cooked and healthy food. avoid junk for some time. Do regular excercise. If you are not regular, your 30 min daily could increase your immunity which can save your life.
H1N1 Testing Procedure at the Hospital
1. First you will have to meet the Doctor informing him/her that you have come for H1N1 test.
2. After that you will have to register at the OPD of the Hospital
3. The Hospital guards will be your best friend while you are at the facility and will guide you through the registration and Lab Procedures
4. Typically the doctor will ask you to get a chest X Ray and Blood test done
5. When you go for the X Ray center make sure that you breathe in when the X Ray is performed, the technician may forget to tell you this and your X Ray may not be of any use and you will have to wait for another day.
6. Get your Chest X Ray done before 1:30 pm as the X Ray center closes after that
7. The Blood collection and testing center is adjacent to the OPD and you may have to go there and give your blood sample. Do not forget to ask the Technician the time when you can collect the report.
8. After you have given your blood sample and got you chest X Ray done, the doctor will advise you to go and wait in the Swine Flu Isolation Ward.
9. In the mean time if you are hungry, you are free to go and have food.
10. After you go back to the Swine Flu Isolation Ward, a Intern will take the details mentioned in the ‘Information that you need to keep handy’ from you, he/she will check your BP, Heart Beat, Weight and other relevant medical details.
11. In case your Blood report has not come to the Isolation Ward and the ward is under staffed, you will have to go and collect your report from the Lab, make sure you reach the Lab before 4 pm.
12. Around 3:30 pm the Doctor will come to the Isolation ward and check your reports and will examine you for the Flu Symptoms
13. In case you have some of the Flu Symptoms you will be given a mask immediately and your swab sample will be sent to National Institute for Communicable Diseases, New Delhi or the National Institute of Virology, Pune.
14. Depending on the severity of your symptoms you may be allowed to go home or you may be isolated at the Quarantine facility
15. If your tests are normal you will be allowed to go home and you can heave a sigh of relief that you did not contact the Virus.


As I am living in pune, below are map location of hospitals which you should check-in in case of infection -

Naidu Hospital Pune













NIV, Pune










I hope it will soon be over and everone will be safe again. Amen.

T20 World Cup 2009 Stats

After IPL, it’s T20 World Cup ‘09. Time to move on 

Total 12 teams India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Australia, South Africa, West Indies, New Zealand, England, Scotland, Ireland and Netherland will participate in 2009 twenty20 cup.
The ICC has also announced top two ranked teams in each group and given them a number 1 and 2 respectively. They will retain this number irrespective of whether they finish first or second in the group.
For example if Bangladesh top ranked Group A and India finished second in the same group; India will still remain as A1 and Bangladesh will remain as A2 in Super Eights stages. If Ireland knockout Bangladesh in Group A then Ireland will become A2.

Here are the four group’s scenarios:
Group A – India (A1), Bangladesh (A2) and Ireland
Group B – Pakistan (B1), England (B2) and Netherlands
Group C – Australia (C1), Sri Lanka (C2) and West Indies
Group D – New Zealand (D1), South Africa (D2) and Scotland
Super Eight Groups
Group E –A1, B2, C1 and D2
Group F – A2, B1, C2, and D1

Note
Zimbabwe: the team which has been playing International cricket for quite some time and although their test & ODI performance were not upto the mark - they had beaten Australia in the inaugural twenty20 world cup in south africa.. yet - they have opted out of this 2nd T20 World Cup. Reason : Zimbabwe cricket doesn't think UK Government will issue visas for their team members! strange but true..

Based on the performance in the first twenty20 World Cup - India have been awarded the easiest group along side Bangladesh and Ireland in this second Twenty20 world cup to be played in England in the month of June 2009.

12 teams are broken into group of 3 in first stage out of which - 2 teams will qualify for the second round where each team plays 3 more matches before qualifying for the semi-finals. .

World Cup twenty-twenty20 fixtures have a strange pattern where each qualifying team will play two teams which qualified at number 2 in their group whereas 1 match with winner of third group.. .

similarly - the team which qualifies 2nd in a group gets to play 2 matches against group winners & 1 match versus 2nd team of a group.

A 27 match tournament whose matches will be starting mainly at 2 different timings (5pm & 1.30pm according to UK timing) and to be played at only 3 stadiums across England.

Note that the final match will be played 2 hours earlier than usual night matches and Nottingham is the ground which is also known as Trent Bridge which is one of 3 venues in England hosting this cricket tournament.

India are the defending champions.

Warm-up games
1st June = Ireland vs Netherlands, Australia vs Bangladesh, India vs New Zealand and Pakistan vs South Africa
2nd June = Bangaldesh vs Sri Lanka, Ireland vs West Indies, England vs Scotland and Australia vs New Zealand
3rd June = Sri Lanka vs South Africa, Netherland vs Scotland, England vs West Indies and India vs Pakistan


Twenty20 World Cup 2009 : Match schedule and start timings
Dates Versus Venue Start Time
05 June England vs Netherlands Lords 5.30pm UK, 10pm India
06 June New Zealand vs Scotland The Oval 10am UK, 2.30pm India
06 June Australia vs West Indies The Oval 1.30pm UK, 6pm India
06 June India vs Bangladesh Trent Bridge 5.30pm UK, 10pm India
07 June South Africa vs Scotland The Oval 1.30pm UK, 6pm India
07 June England vs Pakistan The Oval 5.30pm UK, 10pm India
08 June Ireland vs Bangladesh Trent Bridge 1.30pm UK, 6pm India
08 June Australia vs Sri Lanka Trent Bridge 5.30pm UK, 10pm India
09 June Pakistan vs Netherlands Lords 1.30pm UK, 6pm India
09 June New Zealand vs South Africa Lords 5.30pm UK, 10pm India
10 June Sri Lanka vs West Indies Trent Bridge 1.30pm UK, 6pm India
10 June India vs Ireland Trent Bridge 5.30pm UK, 10pm India
11 June Group A2 vs Group D1 Trent Bridge 1.30pm UK, 6pm India
11 June Group B2 vs Group D2 Trent Bridge 5.30pm UK, 10pm India
12 June Group B1 vs Group C2 Lords 1.30pm UK, 6pm India
12 June Group A1 vs Group C1 Lords 5.30pm UK, 10pm India
13 June Group C1 vs Group D2 The Oval 1.30pm UK, 6pm India
13 June Group B1 vs Group D1 The Oval 5.30pm UK, 10pm India
14 June Group A2 vs Group C2 Lords 1.30pm UK, 6pm India
14 June Group A1 vs Group B2 Lords 5.30pm UK, 10pm India
15 June Group B2 vs Group C1 The Oval 1.30pm UK, 6pm India
15 June Group B1 vs Group A2 The Oval 5.30pm UK, 10pm India
16 June Group D1 vs Group C2 Trent Bridge 1.30pm UK, 6pm India
16 June Group D2 vs Group C2 Trent Bridge 5.30pm UK, 10pm India
18 June 1st Semi-final Trent Bridge 5.30pm UK, 10pm India
19 June 2nd Semi-final The Oval 5.30pm UK, 10pm India
21 June The Grand Final Lords 5.30pm UK, 10pm India


Groups:

Group A = India, Bangladesh, Ireland
Group B = England, Pakistan, Netherlands
Group C = Australia, Srilanka, West Indies
Group D = New Zealand, South Africa, Scotland

Leaving the city

It is Saturday night. Restaurant was full of people, ordering food/drink, chatting with friends, a bunch of guys were eyeing every girl entering the restaurant with a dream to get close. He was also sipping his drink, sitting alone on a chair at a corner table.

He was approached by a lady. She asked “Hi! Are you alone? Can I sit here? I am just waiting for a friend and there is no free place here.”

He spoke “That’s fine. Please have a seat.” Inside he was just cursing himself that he should have told her not to and he want to be alone in the crowd. But, that was he, could not say much in his whole life when a lot could have been said.

“I am Smita.”

“What?” He was not expecting any conversation.

“I said, my name is Smita. And you are?”

What the heck you care? “I am James”

“James Bond?” She giggled “Sorry, I was just kidding. Are you also waiting for someone?”

“No”

“You look sad. Anything you want to talk”

Now why does she want to get personal? “No”

“Ok. By the way I am Smita. You remember? 10,Lok Sagar Colony?

Now it struck to him like a thunder bolt. She was living two houses away on same street of his house, when he was 14. He secretly had a crush on her but could never tell. He suspected that she was also attracted to him but could never dare due to society.

He still used to dream that if he will meet her now, he will approach her and will not do the same mistake of hiding his feelings for her. May be she will accept and he will get the reason to live life with happiness.

“I.. I was just happen to see you here.” There was hesitation in her voice, but he was a little drunk to notice. “I have a date.”

Last sentence was enough to bring his senses in control. A date was enough to hint that you are engaged. He felt like his dream shattering to pieces. “Nice to meet you Smita. Long time.”

“Where are you living? I will come with my parents to visit sometime. They will be happy to know.”

“I just changed my job. I am leaving city tomorrow. Sorry to disappoint you.”

She was disappointed.

Next day, He resigned from his job as it was too much for him to stay in city anymore. He had just gone through a divorce after his 3 month marriage. After marriage he tried to forget about his first love and decided that his wife was only one love in his life. It soon turned out to be bitter truth as she could not stand his emotions toward parents and his house. She asked for a divorce. He is living away from parents now to hide his feelings but now today he found that living in city itself is painful. At least he had a dream before.

She also took an offer of job which was waiting for her and went away from city. It was difficult to live in city anymore for her also. She had heard about James that he didn’t have a good marriage life and his wife divorced him. It just lasted 3 months. Though sad time, she was just hoping that she could give a support to him because she loved him secretly. She wanted to talk to her parents that she want to marry James and could send her parents for proposal if she knew where he is living now.

It broke her heart that he is leaving city now and might never meet her. She might need to settle with someone else as pressure was increasing from parents to get her married.

Sometime it is just luck or your fate that you can get everything but don’t get it.

Holi in SA

We celebrated our holi in Johannesburg SA. Though we were not sure if it was good, it was a working day and being in a society you cannot make much noise... cannot jump around, splash water and so so..but...it turned out to be a full fun..

checkout slide show below and you will get a good idea what I am talking about.



or else you can click here to directly see pictures you like.

Holi Aai re Aai re.. Aai re

Holi (also called Holaka or Phagwa) is an annual festival celebrated on the day after the full moon in the Hindu month of Phalguna (early March). It celebrates spring, commemorates various events in Hindu mythology and is time of disregarding social norms and indulging in general merrymaking.
Holi is a festival of colour, masti and obviously we cannot skip various sweet and namkeen dishes.Celebrated all over India since ancient times, Holi's precise form and purpose display great variety. Originally, Holi was an agricultural festival celebrating the arrival of spring.
Holi Purnima is also celebrated as the birthday of Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (A.D. 1486-1533), mostly in Bengal, and also in the coastal city of Puri, Orissa, and the holy cities of Mathura and Vrindavan, in the state of Uttar Pradesh.

Holi-Day 1
The day of the full moon (Holi Purnima) is the first day of Holi. A platter ('thali') is arranged with colored powders, and colored water is placed in a small brass pot ('lota'). The eldest male member of the family begins the festivities by sprinkling colors on each member of the family, and the youngsters follow.
Holi-Day 2
On the second day of the festival called 'Puno', images of Holika are burnt in keeping with the legend of Prahlad and his devotion to lord Vishnu. In rural India, the evening is celebrated by lighting huge bonfires as part of the community celebration when people gather near the fire to fill the air with folk songs and dances. Mothers often carry their babies five times in a clockwise direction around the fire, so that her children are blessed by Agni, the god of fire.

Holi-Day 3
The most boisterous and the final day of the festival is called 'Parva', when children, youth, men and women visit each other's homes and colored powders called 'aabir' and 'gulal' are thrown into the air and smeared on each other's faces and bodies. 'Pichkaris' and water balloons are filled with colors and spurted onto people - while young people pay their respects to elders by sprinkling some colors on their feet, some powder is also smeared on the faces of the deities, especially Krishna and Radha.

"Don't Mind, It's Holi!"
During Holi, practices, which at other times could be offensive, are allowed. Squirting colored water on passers-by, dunking friends in mud pool amidst teasing and laughter, getting intoxicated on bhaang and reveling with companions is perfectly acceptable. In fact, on the days of Holi, you can get away with almost anything by saying, "Don't mind, it's Holi!" (Hindi = Bura na mano, Holi hai.)







History - There are many sayings about this festival -
I-
The legend commemorated by the festival of Holi involves an evil king named Hiranyakashipu. He forbade his son Prahlad from worshipping Vishnu, but Radhu continued to do offer prayers to the god. Getting angry with his son, Hiranyakashipu challenged Prahlad to sit on a pyre with his wicked aunt Holika who was believed to be immune to fire. (In an alternate version, Holika put herself and Prahlad on the fire on orders from her brother.)
Prahlad accepted the challenge and prayed to Vishnu to keep him safe. When the fire started, everyone watched in amazement as Holika was burnt to death, while Prahlad survived without a scar to show for it. The burning of Holika is celebrated as Holi. According to some accounts, Holika begged Prahlad for forgiveness before her demise, and he decreed that she would be remembered every year at Holi.

II-
An alternative account of the basis of the holiday is associated with a legend involving Lord Shiva, one of the major Hindu gods. Shiva is known for his meditative nature and his many hours spent in solitude and deep meditation. Madana, the God of love, decided to test his resolve and appeared to Shiva in the form of a beautiful nymph. But Shiva recognized Madana and became very angry. In a fit of rage he shot fire out of his third eye and reduced her to ashes. This is sometimes given as the basis of Holi's bonfire.
It is often believed that it was on this day that Lord Shiva opened his third eye and incinerated Kamadeva, the god of love, to death. So, many people worship Kamadeva on Holi-day, with the simple offering of a mixture of mango blossoms and sandalwood paste.

IV-
Holi is also celebrated in memory of the immortal love of Lord Krishna and Radha. The young Krishna would complain to his mother Yashoda about why Radha was so fair and he so dark. Yashoda advised him to apply colour on Radha's face and see how her complexion would change. In the legends of Krishna as a youth he is depicted playing all sorts of pranks with the gopis or cowgirls. One prank was to throw colored powder all over them. So at Holi, images of Krishna and his consort Radha are often carried through the streets. Holi is celebrated with eclat in the villages around Mathura, the birth-place of Krishna.

V-
It was also on this day that an ogress called Dhundhi, who was troubling the children in the kingdom of Prthu was chased away by the shouts and pranks of village youngsters. Although this female monster had secured several boons that made her almost invincible, shouts, abuses and pranks of boys was a chink in the armor for Dhundi, owing to a curse from Lord Shiva.

Courtesy - (http://hinduism.about.com/ and http://www.religionfacts.com/)

Vote Earth - Your light Switch is your vote

I came to know about this movement in my company through their corporate newsletter. I really appreciate Nedbank on its part to regularly contribute to a greener earth and saving environment. Some time before they started an initiative in which

Earth Hour - Earth Hour began in Sydney in 2007, when 2.2 million homes and businesses switched off their lights for one hour. In 2008 the message had grown into a global sustainability movement, with 50 million people switching off their lights. Global landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Rome’s Colosseum, the Sydney Opera House and the Coca Cola billboard in Times Square all stood in darkness.
In 2009, Earth Hour is being taken to the next level, with the goal of 1 billion people switching off their lights as part of a global vote. Unlike any election in history, it is not about what country you’re from, but instead, what planet you’re from. VOTE EARTH is a global call to action for every individual, every business, and every community. A call to stand up and take control over the future of our planet. Over 74 countries and territories have pledged their support to VOTE EARTH during Earth Hour 2009, and this number is growing everyday.
VOTE EARTH by simply switching off your lights for one hour, and join the world for Earth Hour.Saturday, March 28, 8:30-9:30pm.

You can pledge by signing up in this movement on this site - http://www.earthhour.org
Watch below video on earth hour -

Nanhua Temple and Carnival city

Few weeks earlier we went to Nan Hua Temple and on the way we covered Carnival city as well. Trip to Nan Hua Temple was not random and it was on a special occasion, It was Chinese New year on next day and being a weekend, it was being celebrated in Nan Hua temple. For us it was a double purpose - participating in celebration with Chinese people for their new year occasion and getting some peace in a Buddhism environment (not that we were restless and in need of some peace, but it is always good :)).

5 of us, Sudhish, Chandan, Sumit, Shashi and myself, were really amazed by magnificent view of temple. I have put slide show at end of this post which you can view at your leisure time, but few of view i would like to share directly without any disruption. I will take you from gate till some Chinese traditional moments we enjoyed there.

When we reached at temple, we were 100% impressed by first scene we saw - its Gate.It is an ideal representation of Chinese culture and though I have not seen Forbidden city in real, I think it will look like something similar.

From Chinese Temple - SA

Next it was the entrance to main temple which is equally marvelous.

From Chinese Temple - SA

Slide Show for Nan Hua Temple


Slide Show for Carnival City

Watched 3 movies in a day in theater - Hurray

this sunday I watched 3 movies one after other in a single day. It was a fun 8 hour from 12:00 noon till night 8:00 PM:). I liked it and it ended with -
I like to move it, move it.
You like to move it, move it.
you like to move it, move it....we like to move it...

Yes it was Madagascar 2 - Escape 2 Afreica :)....

1 More month for Xdrive Data

Though it is an offtrack post for this blog, I wanted to help people to not loose their data.

I was using Xdrive for years and suddenly it gave me a heart attack that it is closing down. I was not using AOL email much and they have sent mail only on their network, so I came to know about it late. Now it is only few days left for downloading my data and it was not sufficient.

Here is the solution for it. Go to https://www.elephantdrive.com/online_backup/xdrive_elephantdrive_migration.aspx. You can provide your Xdrive user details and your email. They will transfer your data to ElephantDrive and you will get free 1 month trail activated. Download your data in that month as per your time convenience.

Their service is also good, in competitive price to Xdrive, so if you want to continue with them, you will have option to do so after one month. They will notify you on email for purchasing online storage.

Good thing - if your data is less than 1 GB, you can enjoy their free 1 GB storage feature. you won't have to pay anything.. so it is a win win :).

I hope this will give you some peace of mind. Please leave comment to let me know you experience with this and if there are more solutions for Xdrive closing issue.