Go Green Guyz

European Green Smart Phone 2011-2012 - Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini

2011-09-30T20:17:00.003+05:30

European Best Green Smart Phone 2011-2012 to win EISA Award - Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini

Energy consumption is a hot topic amongst users of smart phones and that’s where the Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini outperforms the direct competition, be it used as a mobile phone, music machine, mobile internet device or even photo camera. Recycling by SIMS Mirec Recycling Solutions, the world’s largest electrical and electronics recovery and recycling company, clearly shows that when it comes to chemical analyses, the Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini scores best also. Despite its compact size and weight, the Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini is a clear Green winner in the mobile phone market of today.

Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini - the green gadget:

Green Indoors

2011-09-30T14:43:00.000+05:30

Green Indoors

Not all of us can open our windows to a vast green garden each morning. But we can certainly bring a bit of green into our homes.

One only has to be smart, look for ideas and options to create your own patch of green indoors. If your house does not have a garden area, make use of the balcony area by hanging some light-weight pots or placing a step-style planter that can accommodate several pots.

Ensure some extra oxygen by bringing in plants like areca palm. The tree will purify the environment by removing carbon dioxide and toxins from the air. You can alternate it between the outdoors and indoors to ensure longevity. If space is a real problem, de-clutter a corner for the plant of your choice.

Bedroom side tables can be used for keeping a single colour flower stick or a colourful bunch in a vase. Bathrooms too can house a stem or two. Window edges or countertops can be used to add a distinct colour or warmth to the décor with plants and vases of choice. You could possibly have a temple tree (champa) and bottle brush branches extending into the balcony. Instead of chopping them off, trim them regularly and let them be a part of the balcony, with their flowers and fragrance. Study tables are another good place to place bamboo shoots or just a stick of flower. Total Environment, builders and designers from Bangalore introduced the concept of cantilevered terrace gardens with every apartment. Their gardens have just grown larger and include features like water bodies and wood decks, bringing the outdoors in and taking the indoors out. The projects are also noted for their creeper-covered pergolas and landscaping.

Plant types for indoor gardening

Choose carefully as many plants thrive when hung outside on the porch, but may very well die inside a living room. Fortunately, there is a variety of plants that do well indoors. Palms such as reed and areca are extremely versatile and do very well in low-light conditions, making them perfect for the living room.

Rubber plants are both aesthetically pleasing and resilient, and work nicely when placed in the corner of a room. Ivy is one of the most common types of indoor plants, and is perfect for hanging and stringing above windows. Snake plant (also called mother in law’s tongue) is an ideal bedroom plant. This plant is really hard to kill; it’s one of the easiest houseplants to grow.

Money plant removes formaldehydes and other volatile chemicals and can be a good addition to any room in the house. It blooms with lightly scented purple or white flowers which slowly transform into the money plant. It is also known as ‘honesty’, ‘satin flower’ and ‘moon wort’.

Indoor Plant Placement

When teaming up a room with plants, placement does matter. While it may be tempting to put a certain plant where you feel it will be most aesthetically pleasing, it is important to take into consideration its light requirements. Always check to see if the plant you are working with requires low, medium or high amounts of light, and distribute the plants accordingly. Plants are most noticeable when placed against simple backgrounds (such as a white wall), and when hung in front of or above windows.

Many people choose to create a veritable indoor garden in a specific corner of the living room, clustering plants on the ground and hanging them above. Some plants can be extremely beneficial to the quality of the air. In order to get the most air-cleaning benefits out of your plants, ensure that there is at least one plant positioned every eight to ten feet. This can help to maximise their effectiveness in cleaning the air. While there are a great many plants that are said to have air-purifying qualities, bamboo and English ivy are among the most common, and can easily be incorporated into the living room. I’ve seen some very interesting and colourful potted plantations hanging from the balconies in Italy. The pots are of shapes varying from tortoise to a bunny rabbit and the flowers are at their colourful best. Regardless of how you choose to place your plants, ensure that they are getting good light.

Match the indoor plants right

It is important to take into consideration the colours of your plants. If you choose to incorporate plants that have coloured budding flowers, ensure that the colours will not clash with other colours found within the living room.

Choose plants according to the colour scheme that you have already established in your living room, as it is far easier to replace a plant than an expensive piece of furniture. Anusuiya Bharadwaj from Bangalore loves to decorate her home with plants and flowers. “Each time I buy pots and plants I try to find the ideal location for them and see to it that they complement the accessories around them to make it look like a well-composed picture,” she says. Blue pottery can add a fresh dimension to a plain white wall.

Gifting
Plants are a wonderful way to celebrate a mission accomplished or a major milestone reached. With a beautiful house plant, you’ll be sending a lovely way-to-go message to your loved ones! They last long and leave fond memories.

Visit www.plantex.in, www.justplants.in for gifting plants. Minhaaz Sheriyar of The Bamboo Store, Delhi, explains, “bamboo is a very pleasing and aesthetic element. Bamboo pots hold well and can be hung or placed elsewhere depending on the usage,” she says.

Clay pots as containers for indoor garden:
Pros: They are widely available and the basic unglazed clay plant pots are not expensive. They are available in a variety of shapes and sizes to choose from. Unglazed clay pots are lovely for children to paint and add their personal touch to it. Give them as gifts or keep and show them off!

Cons: They are breakable, and the chards can have sharp edges, hence not necessarily a good idea for very young children. Because the clay is porous, more water is lost, and plants or flowers in clay pots need watering more frequently.

Plastic pots as containers for indoor garden:

Pros: They come in all shapes and sizes, last longer and are cheaper.

Cons: Sunlight can make them brittle and they don’t have the same heat insulation as clay. The very thin ones can split and break.

Stone containers for indoor garden
Pros: They look ornamental but can be expensive and heavy. Reconstructed stone containers are less expensive and quite widely available in different sizes and styles. They look nice in a garden or a patio regardless of what has been planted in them, as the container itself is usually ornamental. They have good heat insulation and last long.

Cons: They are heavy and usually huge in size.

Wooden gardening containers

Pros: They have good heat insulation and can be easy and cheap to make at home. Can be made to size.

Cons: They require maintenance and chemical treatment every year. Sometimes the wood can split, or the nails go rusty.

Junk and DIY pots and planters
Junk yards can offer a wealth of interesting containers. Old chimney pots are frequently seen trailing with beautiful flowers in the corner of gardens. Dublin sinks look lovely with bedding plants in them and even old bath tubs can find a new lease of life in the garden. Buckets which can no longer carry water due to holes in their base are perfectly designed as planters - the drainage holes are already there!

Also use yoghurt pots, mugs with handles broken off, plastic and metal containers – you can always paint and decorate them.

A funny Go Green picture

2011-09-29T11:30:00.000+05:30

Yin and Yang

2011-09-29T11:21:00.002+05:30

Recently, I saw my friend updating her wedding invitation in FB, which had a symbol that was circular. The first half of the circle was a shape filled in black with a white dot and the second half was the same shape vice versa - in shape in color. It was filled in white with a black dot. I remember seeing that on her profile picture too and thought that it was their logo. But later on an conversation, got to know that it was a Feng Shui symbols - Yin and Yang.

What is Yin and Yang?

Yin and Yang are the complimentary, yet opposing principles of Chinese philosophy. They are like two sides of a coin. Yin is dark, feminine and negative. Yang is bright, masculine and positive. These two forces continually interact with one another and this interaction is thought to maintain the harmony of the universe. When they blend and achieve balance, there is harmony.

Yin elements include houses, trees, all inanimate objects and darkness. Yang elements include people, animals, light and animate things.

Yin and Yang affect your home and the way you decorate it. Read about some common negative problems with houses, and the solutions for them.

The use of Yin and Yang here is to illustrate that your house does not become too dark. On the other hand, in a big garden, shrubs, rose arches and rockeries can have a pleasing effect on a flat landscape.

In Yin there is always a Yang - white spot
In Yang there is always a Yin - black spot

It is our endour to constantly keep a balance of Yin and Yang in our body, which results in good health.

YIN   YANG
---------------------------
FEMALE MALE
BLACK   WHITE
NIGHT   DAY
COLD    HOT
WINTER SUMMER
PASSIVE   ACTIVE
DEATH   LIFE

Mylapore Kapaleeswarar Temple - Chennai Sightseeing

2011-09-29T10:34:00.000+05:30

If you are planning to visit the temples in and around Chennai, the most prominent temples that would top your list will be -

Mylapore Kapaleeswarar Temple
Mangadu Sri Kamatchi Amman Temple
Thiruvanmiyur Sri Ashtalakshmi Temple
Vadapalani Murugan Temple

Of course there are so many other popular temples, but lets travel there later. We start with Mylapore Kapaleeswarar Temple seeking the blessings of Lord Shiv and Goddess Karpagambal.

Kapaleeswarar:

Lord Shiva in this temple is called Kapaleeswara because - Once Brahma did not pay respects to Shiva and Parvathi when he met them at Mount Kailash. Shiva got angry with the irrational behavior of Brahma and plucked off one of Brahma’s head to teach him a lesson. Brahma got frightened and repented for his act. He at once came to Mylapore installed a Siva lingam and started doing tapas propitiating lord Shiva.

As Shiva took away one of Brahma’s head- kapalam and Brahma installed a Siva lingam to atone for his sin. The Siva lingam here came to be called Kapaleeswarar.

Mylapore:
Once Parvathi was distracted on seeing a peacock dancing when she was with her consort Shiva. He got angry with her callousness and cursed her to become a pea hen. Parvathi came to Mylapore called Kapali Nagar then and did penance as advised by Shiva. After several years of tapas Parvathi was redeemed of her curse and rejoined Shiva. Since Parvathi came as a Mayil (pea hen) this place came to be called Mylapore.

Goddess Karpagambal:
The name Karpagambal gives the meaning that she is the "Goddess of Wish yielding Tree" .

Vedhapuri:
This sacred spot is also called Vedapuri. A demon Somuka wanted to learn Vedas and harassed the celestial beings. He snatched the Vedas and disappeared in the sea. Shiva directed Mahavishnu to restore the Vedas. Accordingly Mahavishnu killed the demon and restored the Vedas which was taken to Kapaleeswarar temple. Since the Vedas were brought to this place it is called Vedapuri.

Mylapore Kapaleeswarar Temple Miracles:
The life history of Poompavai is a great miracle. She was the daughter of a merchant called Sivanesan Chettiar. When she was gathering flowers in the garden, she was stung by a snake and she died. Sivanesan Chettiar kept her ashes in a pot with strong faith that Thirugnana Sambandar, a famous saint would resurrect her. Sambandar Came to Thiruvottiyur on his pilgrimage. He was invited to Mylapore temple with a spectacular welcome.

Sivanesan brought the urn containing the ashes of Poompavai and placed it before God at the outside. Hearing the pathetic story of Poompavai, Sambandar sang a hymn (a pathigam) in praise of Lord Kapaleeswar. When the tenth verse was sung, Poompavai emerged fully from the pot as witness to the glory of Lord Kapaleeswara.

The saint did not cast even a glance at the beautiful damsel he brought to life. He was so humble to realise that the miracle was not his power, but only the grace of God only. Sivanesam requested the saint to take his daughter in marriage but Sambandar gently declined and went away.

Mylapore Kapaleeswarar Temple Miracles:
Morning 6.00 am. to 1.00 p.m. Evening 4.00 p.m. to 8.00 p.m

Mylapore Kapaleeswarar Temple Route Map - How to reach
The best optimal way to reach the Kapaleeswarar temple is to use the Chennai MRTS public transport. It not saves time but lets you GO GREEN. Board the nearest MRTS from your place to the Thirumayilai MRTS. The temple is just a 5 minutes walk from there. Incase if you opt for Auto, pay not more than Rs. 30 (RS 30 is the unofficially accepted minimum charge by my fellow Chennai folks)

The Mylapore MRTS station

IRCTC Goes Green - No printed e-ticket(Railway Board Letter No.2008/TG-I/10/P/SMS dated 20.07.2011)

2011-09-27T15:21:00.007+05:30

Here is one more good thing that the Indian Railways has introduced to GO GREEN.

There is no need to take print-out of your e-ticket.

Instead it is sufficient to carry the ticket on electronic mode as - mobile, laptop and i-pad.

It is also mandatory to carry a valid ID. Else, it will be considered as travelling without ticket.

This way the IRCTC plans to save a lakh paper everyday.

Railway Board Letter No.2008/TG-I/10/P/SMS dated 20.07.2011

Electronic Reservation Slip (ERS) - The printout in standard specified Performa containing reservation particulars, and instructions for use which can be used by the passenger along with the relevant authorizedIdentification, as travel authority for performing the journey.

Virtual Reservation Message (VRM) - A screen-shot of the e-ticket displayed through laptops/palmtops/ Mobile phone is referred as Virtual Reservation Message (VRM).

ERS/VRM along with any one of the eight prescribed ID proofs in original and the indication of the passenger(s)' name(s) in the Reservation Chart will authorize the passenger to travel.

VRM combined with valid photo-id in original will be treated as an instrument on par with the ERS.

ERS/VRM along with one of the eight prescribed proofs of identity in original will also authorize the passenger to enter the platform on the day of journey and he/she will not be required to purchase platform ticket. ERS/VRM along with original id proof will be required to be produced on demand of Ticket Checking Staff on the platform.

Reference : Railway Board Letter No.2008/TG-I/10/P/SMS dated 20.07.2011

Kudos to the environment friendly initiative by IRCTC.

Vegetable Gardening - Mint in my balcony garden

2011-09-20T16:45:00.000+05:30

I always wanted to do some sort of vegetable gardening in my balcony. With the climate being favorable with frequent showers in Chennai, I decided mint would be a kick start.

After using the mint leaves for mint chutney :-) I have rooted the stems in a pot after cutting the bottom ends in a slanting ways.

This is going to be a trial and error method. Fingers crossed !!!

Any suggestions and tips on propagating, rooting and growing mint is welcome!

Agartala to go green with CNG for vehicles

2011-09-19T16:29:00.000+05:30

Deciding to "go green", the Tripura capital will now issue permits only to compressed natural gas (CNG) run vehicles to ply on its streets, an official said Wednesday.

Already the "green fuel" is planned to be supplied across the city: CNG to units that use electricity, petrol and diesel to run machineries, and petroleum natural gas (PNG) or piped gas to households, hospitals, schools and colleges, and crematoria.

The measures, the official said, would make Agartala "India's first green city".

"From now onwards, all passenger vehicles and autorickshaws in Agartala and its outskirts would be given permit with only CNG-run system," Tripura Natural Gas Company Ltd (TNGCL) chairman Pabitra Kar told reporters at the inauguration of a CNG station at Abhoynagar on the outskirts of the capital city.

State Industries and Commerce Minister Jitendra Choudhury inaugurated the station.

Currently, 2,800 vehicles here, including autorickshaws, are being run on CNG instead of petrol and diesel, said Kar.

CNG will also be available to those using electricity, petrol and diesel to run various machineries, he said.

TNGCL, a joint venture of the GAIL (India) Limited and the Tripura and Assam governments, has been supplying petroleum natural gas (PNG) or piped gas to around 9,000 households. TNGCL has the caption "WE WORK FOR FUTURE"

PNG is also supplied to 205 commercial establishments and industrial units in Agartala and its outskirts besides to hospitals, educational institutions and crematorium.

"The number of PNG domestic consumers would be increased to around 20,000 by the next five years," Kar said.

To develop necessary infrastructure for CNG and PNG, the TNGCL is all set to execute a Rs.57 crore business plan within the next five years, said the company managing director M.C. Deogam.

TNGCL transports, sells and distributes natural gas as PNG and CNG through underground pipeline network in Agartala and its outskirts.

THE CNG STATION AT AGARTALA

The 1st CNG Station in Eastern India Created at Arundhuti Nagar, Agartala, Tripura by TNGCL.
Commissioned on 21st November, 2006.
Commercial operation started on 17th March 2007.

CNG at Agartala
CNG is low in pollutants, high in calorific value & heat yield, very economical and safe to use as an automotive fuel.
Natural gas is received from the existing PNG network of TNGCL at a pressure of 4 Kg / cm2 and is compressed to 250 Kg / cm2 with the help of reciprocating Compressor installed at On-line CNG station at A.D.Nagar.
CNG is dispensed to vehicles at 200 Kg/cm2 pressure.
At present TNGCL has one On-line CNG station at A. D. Nagar.
Presently CNG is dispensed to 1918 Autos, 119 LMVs & 30 Buses.
CNG is priced at Rs. 28 Per Kg at Agartala.

CNG Station at Agartala

The capacity of the Station:
Compressor :: 2 nos 5 Stage reciprocating compressor having capacity of 330 SCMH &
1 no 4 Stage Compressor of 550 SCMH Capacity
Cascade :: 2 nos 3000 water Liters.
Dispensers :: 4 Nos. with double arms &
1 no bus dispenser.

Top 5 Eco friendly Go Green Vehicles - Hybrid Trucks of 2011

2011-09-16T22:34:00.004+05:30

Eco friendly hybrid trucksHybrid Truck for greener hauling

It's not just the small ones that are going hybrid, but the biggies too are adopting a greener way. Many Companies like Ford and Volvo are making sure that not just the cars but the trucks, too, become eco friendly. Better so, because after the world has become increasingly aware and sensitive to the carbon emission, and strict standards been laid for controlling the same, these hybrid trucks would prove to be nothing less called upon than a boon.

Rise in temperatures and fuel prices have stressed the need for having hybrid trucks. Such vehicles not only reduce CO2 emissions but also cause less noise pollution and give a relief to the remaining reserves of non renewable sources of energy such as oil. Our beloved mother Earth can only be saved with such kinds of initiatives. Given below are five such trucks that promise to be environment friendly.

1. Ford F-Series Plug-in hybrid truck

Hybrid powertrain Ford F-Series

The F-Series Super Duty Truck uses a plug-in hybrid technology to power itself. Azure Dynamics and the Ford Motor Company have allianced together to come up with such trucks in 2013.

It has been a joint call of both these companies that Azure will provide the plug-in hybrid power train technology for both F-350 and F-550 trucks and would also be entitled to sell these trucks via the Ford's dealership in North America. However, in the beginning, this technology would be limited to F-550 trucks.

According to Azure, as much as two-third of the plug-in hybrid technology will be used in the super duty trucks, whereas the balance will explicitly have to be powertrain.

2. Volvo FE Hybrid Truck

Volvo FEVolvo FE Hybrid Truck

This hybrid truck from Volvo claims to reduce CO2 emissions by staggering 20 percent. Now, such vehicles are actually an important step towards a sustainable future. Not only so, the vehicle also promises to reduce the fuel consumption by as much as 30 percent.

The FE hybrid truck is powered by 600V lithium - ion batteries and a 120KW electric motor of 3 phases. Its seven litre diesel engine is used in case batteries get dried up, or when a driver accelerates the speed. These trucks from Volvo were expected to hit the European markets this June.

3. Canter eco hybrid light duty truck

Canter eco hybrid light duty truck

The light duty truck running on the roads in Japan promises to be the finest examples of an environment friendly truck. It claims to release as much as forty one percent less nitrogen oxide and also reduces the fuel usage by twenty percent.

The Canter, claimed to be earth's cleanest truck, has been built by Mitsubishi Fuso which happens to be an arm of the Daimler Chrysler's Truck Group. This truck, too, similar to the Volvo's FE hybrid has a diesel engine, lithium ion batteries and an electric motor.

4. Miller diesel-electric hybrid truck

Flat-bed truck powered by hybrid engine.

This hybrid truck from Miller Industries uses Eaton's diesel - electric system to power itself. Named as International DuraStar 4300, this flat bed truck has an excellent automated clutch. In order to maximize efficiency the clutch first feeds the electric motor and then the automated transmission.

However, at present the system is made available exclusively for the Daytona 500 track. And guess what? Miller plans to haul its hybrid container straight to the NASCAR races along with its fleet of already available race vehicles.

Everything has its pros and cons. This truck, too, has its downside. The DuraStar is meant mainly for NASCAR races and so has been designed accordingly. In case someone wants to use it for carrying garbage or something else, it might not prove to be that efficient.

5. Hino Dutro Hybrid Truck

Dutro Hybrid Truck by Hino

This hybrid model from Toyota's subsidiary, Hino, is a class apart. It is powered by a 100 KW diesel engine, 36VKw 350 Nm electric motor and 288V NiMH batteries. The Dutro consumes about 10 liters of fuel for every 100 km. Its four liter diesel engine generates 353 Nm of torque.

My balcony garden - Hibiscus Update II

2011-09-15T22:06:00.000+05:30

The Hibiscus in my balcony garden has fully bloomed and has made my day! It is a multi layered deep pink Hibiscus.

It is almost two months and the Hibiscus is doing good with two times watering and kitchen waste manuring.

Top Go Green Slogans and Recycling Slogans - Part II

2011-09-09T01:14:00.000+05:30

Top Go Green Slogans and Recycling Slogans - Part II

Everyone wants to park their vehicles in shade but noone wants to grow trees.! :(

Smells like green spirit.

There is no Planet B.

Think globally. Act locally.

Be green or you’re mean.

Eat. Sleep. Recycle.

To sit in the shade, you have to save paper first.

Go green! It’s clean!

Act like you live here.

Join the green side.. We have cookies!

Only after the last tree has fallen
Only after the last river has been poisoned
Only after the last fish has been caught
Only then will we realize that money cannot be eaten.

Top Go Green Slogans and Recycling Slogans

2011-09-08T21:03:00.002+05:30

Top Go Green Slogans

You shouldn’t be mean.Go eco-friendly.

Air is certainly nothing but existence, if polluted exactly how should we survive.

Earth needs YOU.

It is Simpler saving paper than planting trees.

Eat, Sleep, Recycle

Embrace the eco-friendly revolution.

Every single day is Earth Day.

Each time history repeats itself the cost rises.

Log off your ass and save money on gas!

Provide a hoot. Don’t pollute.

Go Eco-friendly.

Go eco-friendly or go back home.

Bikes not tanks.

America is filled with selfish gasholes!

Clean the environment, live happily.

Don’t waste clean water.

Earth enables you to definitely stand. Allow it to stand the actual way it is.

Earth Day Every Single Day.

Earth is not disposable.

Eco-friendly doings brings eco-friendly rewards

Eco-friendly is my personal favorite color

Eco-friendly Full

Eco-friendly revolution the very best means to fix arrest pollution

A culture is just as healthy since it’s forest.

Behave like you reside here.

Eco-friendly our planet.

Heal our planet! Turn it into a better place!

What about you?

It is not difficult being Eco-friendly.

Join the eco-friendly revolution.

I’m a friend of character

I brake for environment

I hear the Eco

I heart trees

Go eco-friendly! It’s clean!

Garbage segregation answer to a neat and beautiful nation.

Respect your Elders (and Trees, Pines and Hickorys too)

Reuse yesteryear, recycle the current, save the near future

Save a tree, hug me rather!

Make trees not stumps

Make trees not trucks

Character saves us so we must save them!

Nurture Character For The Future!

One raindrop boosts the ocean.

Plant a tree for your environment

Plants and Creatures Died To Create Room For The Body fat A$$!

Pollution, pollution eco-friendly may be the solution.

Safeguard our atmosphere, ensure that it stays safe tomorrow, we’ll be saved!

Reduce reuse environment.

Present day wastage is tomorrows shortage so begin right now saving our planet for tomorrow might be past too far.

Reuse yesteryear,reuse the current,conserve our planet and go eco-friendly.

Character is beauty, don’t allow it to be junk!

If you do not clean your planet, Mother Nature’s not destined to be happy.

Save water drink beer

And More Environmental Slogans !!!!!
Save water, shower having a friend

Save Your Valuable Mother!

Snow is melting our planet is crying!

Stop, Drop, Recycle

Have a train, not really a plane!

Take proper care of earth and she or he will require proper care of you

Go ahead and take bus don’t fuss!

Occupy the spade of justice.

Keep our forests eco-friendly

Keep our oceans blue

Make conservation a habit.

Get by and save environment

Make tea not war

Save our world think eco-friendly.

Save Paper, Save Trees, Save the earth!

Save our planet or die!

Save our planet, plant a tree!

Save Our Planet, Win The Existence

Think… before you decide to print.

To print or otherwise to print

To sit down within the shade, you need to save paper first

Present day wastage is tomorrow’s shortage

Power it down in the wall

We’re Greenagers

We now have an atmosphere?

We have just one World

How about you?

An amount Character do?

When It Is vibrant, switch off the sunshine

Once the Earth dies, which side you reside?

There’s no Planet B.

Save the earth Save the trees and save environment

The less you burn, the greater you get

The one thing that burns never returns

You have to function as the change you want to determine on the planet

Your planet needs you.

You’ve only got one planet. Don’t trash it.

Better earth, better existence, better tomorrow…

love our planet cause earth loves us

save our planet ..yes!!save it cause earth also save us..

Our planet is the mother

Think eco-friendly and live eco-friendly

Think eco-friendly.

Once the honeybees disappear, it’s only dependent on time.

No child left inside

Act mature, act for character.

Nurture Character For The Future!

There is no bowl of soup large enough for Mother Earth’s Soul

Be Clean. Go Eco-friendly.

Once the last tree is cut lower, the final river poisoned, and also the last seafood caught, can we understand that we can not eat money?

Where do you consider the Environment is?

Why yes, I eat granola

Is useful for Trees

You consume your fried potatoes, I’ll make my biodiesel

Say not climatic change… All Of The Awesome Children Are Doing The Work

Eco-friendly is really the brand new black.

Avoid climatic change one iceberg at any given time.

Go eco-friendly or go back home.

Reuse yesteryear, Recycle the current, Save the near future!

Crotans Indoor Plant - Gardening Guide

2011-09-03T21:46:00.003+05:30

Common Name: Croton
Scientific Name: Codieaum species

The best interior decoration material in any season can be the indoor plants. One of the indoor plants that require less maintenance is Crotons. Croton plants are known for their bright tropical foliage, which is multi-colored and exotic in appearance. Though these plants are generally non-flowering, their bright green and yellow color leaves create a very refreshing indoor.

I've added a new Croton plant to my balcony garden. Its been a month since I have planted it and the plant is growing pretty well. It is unable to withstand the direct rising sun(8 AM to 1 PM) and hence I have placed it in the corner after adding curtains to the balcony grill.
Watering should be done twice a day.
The soil is a normal mix of sand, red soil and clay with manures as dried cow dung.
Haven't added the any chemical fertilizer to it in the last month and the kitchen wastes are to be added on regular basis as manuring. Onion peel and the water drained after cleaning the lentils and rice seem to do good to the Croton.

My take on growing Crotons indoor:
No big maintenance apart from watering.
No chemical fertilizing required.

Cost involved in growing Crotons
Pot : Rs 40 (heavy bargaining :P)
Soil : Rs 20
Croton Plant : Rs 10

Total Cost : Rs. 70

Grow trees! More and More Trees!!

Ganesh(Vinayak) Chathurthi Celebration and Pooja

2011-09-03T12:54:00.001+05:30

Ganesh Chathurthi:

Ganesh Chathurthi, the biggest festival for Lord Ganesh is celebrated as the birthday of Lord Ganesh. It is observed during the Hindu month of Bhadra (mid-August to mid-September) for 10 days, ending on the day of 'Ananta Chaturdashi'.

The Grand Ganesh Chathurthi Celebration at home:

Buy a clay model of Lord Ganesha is made 2-3 months prior to the day of Ganesh Chaturthi. The size of this idol may vary from 3/4th of an inch to over 25 feet. Better go for smaller idols to be eco friendly.

On the day of the Ganesh chathurthi, place it on the raised platforms in homes.

Decorate the Ganesh idol with flowers, clothes and ornaments.

Offer sweets and fruits to God. The offerings could include modhakas, coconut, mangoes(must), oranges, apples, bananas(must), one sundal variety, milk and water.

Light as many as diyas as you can.

Chant holy songs and mantras in praise of Lord Ganesha, the remover of all obstacles.

Pray with soul devotion and light the lamps twice a day all through the 10 days of the celebration.

For 10 days, from Bhadrapad Shudh Chaturthi to the Ananta Chaturdashi, Ganesha is worshipped. On the 11th day, the image is taken through the streets in a procession accompanied with dancing, singing, to be immersed in a river or the sea symbolizing a ritual see-off of the Lord in his journey towards his abode in Kailash while taking away with him the misfortunes of all man. All join in this final procession shouting "Ganapathi Bappa Morya, Purchya Varshi Laukariya" (O father Ganesha, come again early next year). After the final offering of coconuts, flowers and camphor is made, people carry the idol to the river to immerse it.

Somethings to be avoided during Ganesh chathurthi

Avoid very big Ganesh idols so that it doesn't cause any environmental issues.
Avoid idols made of POP.(Plaster of Paris).
Avoid loud music.
Avoid immersing the idols in lakes and ponds. The idols should be immersed in flowing water.

My Ganesh Chathurthi Celebration:

The Modhakas(Kolakattai) I prepared:

My balcony garden - Hibiscus Update

2011-09-02T17:28:00.001+05:30

Gardening --- something that my soul truly loves to do!

The Hibiscus in my balcony garden has given its first bud and has filled my heart with immense joy. I believe its a single petal red color Hibiscus. Lets see :)

Australian Camels shot to reduce Methane

2011-08-11T14:20:00.000+05:30

The camels which once helped in the transportation and construction in Australia are now forced to be endangered. Guess why..... The methane gas they release seems to be causing a lot of green house gas emission in Australia. Read More

Kill a camel, earn cash for cutting greenhouse gases: That offer may be coming soon in Australia, where vast numbers of the non-native, methane-belching animals have been trampling the Outback for more than a century.

The government has proposed that killing camels be officially registered as a means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Australia has the world's largest population of wild camels - an estimated 1.2 million - and considers them to be a growing environmental problem.

The proposal, released for public comment this week, would allow sharpshooters to earn so-called carbon credits for slaughtering camels. Industrial polluters around the world could buy the credits to offset their own carbon emissions.

Each camel belches an estimated 100 pounds (45 kilograms) of methane a year, which is equivalent to a metric ton (1.1 U.S. ton) of carbon dioxide in its impact on global warming. That's roughly one-sixth the amount of CO2 that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says an average car produces annually.

A bill to create a carbon credit regime will go to a vote in the House of Representatives on Wednesday and is expected to become law within weeks.

A government registry will be set up to determine what actions will qualify for carbon credits, and bureaucrats are expected to decide by the end of the year whether killing camels will be among them.

Mark Dreyfus, the government's parliamentary secretary for climate change, said he hopes the proposal wipes out camels from the Australian wild.

"Potentially it has tremendous merit, because feral camels are a dreadful menace across the whole of arid Australia," Dreyfus told The Associated Press on Thursday.

First introduced in the 1840s to help explorers and pioneers travel through Australia's arid interior, camels now cover vast tracts of the continent's parched and sparsely populated center and west.

Camels compete with sheep and cattle for food, trample vegetation and invade remote settlements in search of water, scaring residents as they tear apart bathrooms and rip up water pipes.

The government estimates camel numbers double every nine years, despite recent government-funded culls and a small export meat trade with the Middle East.

"It's not well understood because they're in remote areas of Australia what extraordinary damage this very, very large wild camel population is doing in an economic, environmental and social sense," Dreyfus said.

Under the new environmental law, Dreyfus said, the camels could be slaughtered for their meat as well as carbon credits - adding to the financial return to those who currently herd and kill camels for human and pet food. Shooters in helicopters could also claim carbon credits if they proved that they had humanely killed a camel and abandoned its carcass.

Garry Dan, a central Australian cattle rancher who also catches camels for their meat, described the added carbon credit value for carcasses as "ideal."

He said while camels were freely available in the wild, they are expensive to truck to abattoirs because they are too big for standard cattle trailers.

The carbon trading business Northwest Carbon first pitched carbon credits for camels to the government. Its managing director, Tim Moore, said it was too early to place a dollar value on each dead animal.

"Obviously the higher the value, the faster we're going to be able to eradicate the problem of the feral camel pest in Australia," Moore said.

Killing camels is one of three proposals currently being considered by the government for carbon credits under the new law. The others would extract methane from landfills and change how Aborigines manage fire in savannah grasslands.

Australia plans to make its worst industrial polluters pay a tax on every ton of carbon gas they produce from July 1, 2012. The government aims to slash Australia's greenhouse emissions to 5 percent below 2000 levels by 2020.

Paper Recycling Process

2011-07-30T01:49:00.003+05:30

Paper:
Paper... Its a common thing that different people use it for various activities but I bet everyone uses paper in some form. Paper is a very versatile material - you use it in schools, office, packaging and in toilets even! Paper derives it name from the plant "Papyrus" from which paper was initially made.

How is paper made? - Handmade Paper Making Process

Why recycle paper?
Paper is a biodegradable material; this means that when it goes to landfill it will rot; bacteria will form and produce methane. This is a powerful greenhouse gas that is 23 times more potent than CO2 (carbon dioxide) and contributes to climate change. We currently recycle 66% of the paper we use.

Manufacturing virgin (brand new) paper uses more energy than making recycled paper, but varies dependent on the grade or type of paper being made. Lower quality paper, such as newsprint and packaging paper, require less energy to manufacture than office paper.

By simply recycling our paper we can:
Reduce the consumption of energy
Reduce the consumption of rainforest
Reduce the amount of paper waste going to landfill
Reduce the emission of gasses like methane into the atmosphere

Paper Recycling Process

Paper is one of the easiest materials to recycle. Paper is collected from our kerbside or recycling banks by local authorities and waste management companies.

Once the paper is collected it is then:

sorted, graded and delivered to a paper mill.
Once at the paper mill it is added to water and then turned into pulp.
The paper is then screened, cleaned and de-inked through a number of processes until it is suitable for papermaking.
It is then ready to be made into new paper products such as newsprint, cardboard, packaging, tissue and office items.

How many times can paper be recycling again and again?
You can recycle paper again and again upto 7 times.

The Pizza Box Recycling

The main issue faced by the paper re-processors is the lack of high quality material available. Paper is often collected from your home with other recyclable items and although they are separated at a Materials Recycling Facility, these other items sometimes affect the quality of the paper. The main problem is when glass and paper are collected together because if shards of glass get into the paper mills it could cause extensive damage to the machinery.

Other items often mistakenly put in the recycling are:
Pizza boxes – often contaminated with food residue
Cartonboard trays and ovenable boards – these are often laminated with plastic liner materials
Drink cartons - these are not made from paper alone but comprise of about 75% paper, 20% plastic (polyethylene) and 5% aluminium foil (for long-life products). As they are an amalgam of materials, they are sometimes collected separately to ordinary paper. Click here to find out how you can recycle your cartons.

Funny SMS on Paper
Save Paper.... Say NO to examination

Read more on PET plastic recycling at http://www.gogreenguyz.com/2011/07/pet-plastic-bottlescaps-recycling.html

Go green!! Grow trees... More and more trees

Gayatri Mantra - Lyrics,Meaning, Medical Significance and Anuradha Paduwalmp3

2011-07-27T08:11:00.000+05:30

Gayatri Mantra:
The Hindu religion has its roots deep and a big proof of it is the Vedas meaning "knowledge" . The Vedas are large books of knowledge containing ancient Sanskrit mantras. The four Vedas are - Rig, Yajur, Sama and Atharvana Veda. The Gaytri Mantra is found in the Rig Veda.

Gayatri Mantra Significance:
The Gayatri Mantra is considered one of the most powerful mantras and does not align to any specific God. In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna had proclaimed to Arjuna - "Among all the mantras, I am the Gayatri". It is a prayer to the Creator of the Universe to bestow happiness and remove all the sufferings and ignorance from the one who recites it.

Ideal time to recite Gayatri Mantra:
The ideal time to recite Gayatri mantra is at morning, day and at dusk. Chanting the Gayatri mantra 108 times daily gives the maximum power. however you can chant it as many times as you can with soul devotion.

The Gayatri Mantra Lyrics in English

AUM BHOOR BHUWAH SWAHA,
TAT SAVITUR VARENYAM
BHARGO DEVASAYA DHEEMAHI
DHIYO YO NAHA PRACHODAYAT.

Gayatri Mantra meaning in English:

Oh God! Thou art the Giver of Life,
Remover of pain and sorrow,
The Bestower of happiness,
Oh! Creator of the Universe,
May we receive thy supreme sin-destroying light,
May Thou guide our intellect in the right direction.

Gayatri Mantra Medical Significance
It is scientifically proved that the Gayatri Mantra has immense healing effect of the chanter. All the syllables in the mantra when flawlessly pronounced, creates a sort of vibration in the body and stimulates all the nerve points creating an healing effect. So it is necessary to chant the Gayatri Mantra flawlessly.

The Gayatri Yantra

The Gayatri Yantra

A yantra is a diagram that transmits subtle information of mystical significance to the one who looks at it. Like a mantra, each yantra embodies a very particular meaning, opening inner awareness and receptivity to the information that the yantra expresses. It is said that a yantra is most potent when the bij (Sanskrit letters or syllables) are in their rightful positions and less potent when the bij are absent from the diagram.
The Gayatri Yantra is a sacred diagram that transmits a subtle language encoded in the Gayatri’s potential. Geometric yantras may be so precise that each line is drawn in a certain direction and in a certain progression. Every curve, every line and even the number of lines convey meaning. Some yantras are not as precise in structure, but are as precise in the meaning that they convey.
The exact message that a yantra embodies is nearly never, if ever, explained or spoken in words.

The Gayatri Mantra Video

The Gayatri Mantra mp3 by Anuradha Paduwal:

Illuminating a room with bleaching powder solution - One of the top 2011 Go Green Ideas

2011-07-22T15:58:00.003+05:30

Data Centers in Ocean, Cloud Computing, iPads and Volkswagen Ventos... The rich world gets to use these and enjoy these expensive pleasure when there is another the darker side of the world - where there is still no electric power. Poor nations on one side and the slums on the other side - Devoid of electricity.

Here comes one of the top Go Green invention of 2011 to generate light at a economically low rate and requires less maintenance.

The Top 2011 Go Green Idea - Generating light with bleaching powder solution:

The hazards of plastic and the method of recycling the plastic or using it in container gardening has been bragged several times in 3G(Go Green Guyz).

Now comes one more useful thing that can be done with these junk bottles.

The waste PET plastic bottles are filled with bleaching powder and water as a solution. The cap is then tightly sealed. It is now supported by corrugated iron sheets and is planted in the roofs on the homes. The sunlight then enters waters in the bottle, gets defracted in all the 360 degrees thus illuminating the room. An invention worth!!

One good thing is that the bleach powder keeps the water away from algae and hence it lasts long. Also, since this invention requires only sunlight to illuminate, it can work perfectly fine for almost 10 months of the year expect the core winter season.

I wish this invention eradicates darkness from the darkest home in any slum. Lets try spreading the message which could benefit someone in the world.

Any person visiting this blog from an NGO. please reach us on FB and we shall be happy to help.

More Go Green Ideas!!!

A Beach in Panaiyur, ECR, Chennai

2011-07-20T11:32:00.014+05:30

Chennai - one of the hottest metropolitan cities, humidity is very high, traffic is worse than the worst, autowalas demand in extremes, the rent of smallest of the smallest house is a five digit number, water scarcity at its pinnacle........

Every common man in Chennai will have these grudges.... But.... There is one thing is Chennai, you could die for... THE BEACHES....... :)

Though there are numerous beaches in chennai, a few would top the list..

Marina Beach: Second longest beach in the world. Highly commercialized and crowded on all days with all sorts of people.
Santhome Beach: Located at the southern part of Marina Beach. Religiously happening place with the Santhome Church nearby.
Besant Nagar Beach: An awesome beach highly commercialized.
Thiruvanmiyur Beach: A considerably unpolluted beach. The major portion of the visitors are from the IT industry. Not as commercialized as the above stated beaches.
Palavakkam Beach: The seaside ride along this beach can mesmerize any nature adorer.

It was a fine Monday afternoon with the clouds perfectly in their position letting any biker for a long road trip. Thus started our bike trip on the ECR after a movie(HP7 P2 3D :-)) at the AGS Cinemas, Navalur. Our road map was quiet blank and we decided to ride straight as long as we felt like. We reached Panaiyur, where we sighted a board saying a Bay View ahead. I wanted to check it out and we inquired two guys over there who were posing with bikes and digi-cams(May be, they wanted some good profile pics :P). From their words, - parallel road behind the one where we stood would lead to a beach. When asked about the name of the beach, they were clueless and so are we. We took that road with the following sign boards -

The left here took us to a lovely long beach. It resembled the Thiruvanmiyur beach but is so clean and much better than that. Just no words. Pity that we didn't carry on digi-cam as the trip was quite unplanned and here we go with the pics from our mobile.

The sign boards where you need to cut through to reach the beach --

The Panaiyur Beach in the ECR:

Our sand art :) Art with footprints :)

The Sun Set in the beach

The water is just so clean....

I love collecting shells and the beach is literally devoid of shells and that was a bit disappointing. The ideal time to visit this beach would be in the late afternoons and early evenings around 4 PM to 6 PM. There are no lights and it will be a not so wise decision to stay there at dark as the place seems to vulnerable to anti-social incidents.

Nurseries in Panaiyur, ECR:
If you are a Go Green fellow and love raising gardens, Panaiyur could be perfect place for plant shopping. There are so many nurseries on the road sides through the stretch of Panaiyur.Nice big plants are sold at nominal rates from Rs. 10 to Rs 100. However the cost of pots and sand was quite expensive. The big pot costed around Rs. 60. After heavy bargain, the guy came down to Rs. 50. It is still costly. You can grab bid mud pots for Rs. 40 at the Madipakkam-Velachery junction roadside shop.

I grabbed a red hibiscus plant for Rs. 10 there. Will update the status of the plant and the care to be given, pruning tips later.

The Panaiyur beach, ECR Video:

Tried capturing the sand carried by wind:

My suggestions:
An awesome place to visit with family or friends on a weekend.
Play safe - Stay only till early evenings.
The perfect area to buy plants.
The best beach I had ever seen in Chennai.
Soooo clean and lets preserve it. Incase you turn up there, please do not litter the eatables cover and plastic bottles.

Birla Mandir - Hyderabad Sight Seeing

2011-07-15T17:02:00.000+05:30

Birla Mandir, Hyderabad
Birla Mandir in Hyderabad is a temple dedicated to Lord Venkateshwara/Lord Balaji. Build by the Birla Group in 1976 , it is a temple built completely in white marble. This must see place is Hyderabad stands majestic on Naubath Pahad.

The granite stone, out of which the idol of Lord Venkateswara has been carved, is about 11 feet tall. A Lotus shaped canopy at the top of the idol is again done in marble and looks stunning. Along the winding path that leads to the main worship place, are many marble statues of Gods and Goddesses of Hindu mythology that look almost real. There are shrines of Sai Baba, Ganapathy, Lakshmi in the temple.

There are so many street side shops - bangle shops, Pani Puris, chaat, Pooja and Archana itmes etc on the way up the hillock before you actually reach the temple. Inside the temple, Mobiles and cameras are strictly restricted and there is a small office room at the entrance to leave our belongings. It is a free service and the boards there say , they don't entertain tips.

In case you visit the temple in the early hours of the day, you can hear some very melodious South Indian music in the praise of the Lord. The Birla Mandir of Hyderabad becomes a spectacular sight in the evening when it is illuminated with hundreds of bright lights.It is a wonderful feeling to stand in the open space and look at the Hussain Sagar Lake brightly lit with lights.

On the way down, there is a shop within the temple premises offering various posters and idols of Gods and some gift items. Nothing special about it but may be you can buy one to mark remembrance.

Reaching Birla Mandir:
Autos in Hyderabad run on meter and the drivers generally don't demand. When when they do, they do it decently. However, you can go green by taking a public bus to Lakadika Pool and then take an auto from there.

Birla Mandir Timings:
Open all seven days a week
7.00 A.M. to 12.00 Noon and 3.00 P.M. to 9.00 PM

Top 10 Go Green Ideas

2011-07-14T23:40:00.003+05:30

THESE INVENTIONS ARE REALLY AWESOME.

Hotel offers free meal to guests who are willing to generate electricity

The Crown Plaza Hotel in Copenhagen , Denmark , is offering a free meal to any guest who is able to produce electricity for the hotel on an exercise bike attached to a generator. Guests will have to produce at least 10 watt hours of electricity - roughly 15 minutes of cycling for someone of average fitness. They will then be given meal vouchers worth $36 (26 euros).

Disco pub gets electricity produced by people dancing at specially modified dance floor

All the flashing strobes and pounding speakers at the dance club are massive consumers of electrical power. So Bar Surya, in London, re-outfitted its floor with springs that, when compressed by dancers, could produce electrical current that would be stored in batteries and used to offset some of the club's electrical burden. The club's owner, Andrew Charalambous, said the dance floor can now power 60 percent of the club's energy needs.
Company creates a desktop printer that doesn't use ink nor paper

Who says printers only use paper to print documents? It's time for you to meet the PrePeat Printer then. Different from conventional printers, PrePeat adopts a thermal head to print on specially-made plastic sheets. These plastic sheets are not merely water-proof, but could be easily erased, just feed the sheets through the printer again, and a different temperature will erase everything or just write over it. Also claimed by the manufacturer, such one sheet could be used up to 1,000 times so that you'll reduce your expenses on paper for sure.

University constructs a green roof as a gathering place

Green design is an enormously popular trend in modern architecture, just take a look at this amazing green roof at the School of Art , Design and Media at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore . This 5-story facility sweeps a wooded corner of the campus with an organic, vegetated form that blends landscape and structure, nature and high-tech and symbolizes the creativity it houses. The roofs serve as informal gathering spaces challenging linear ideas and stirring perception. The roofs create open space, insulate the building, cool the surrounding air and harvest rainwater for landscaping irrigation. Planted grasses mix with native greenery to colonize the building and bond it to the setting.
Designer creates a sink that uses wasted water to grow a plant

Made of polished stained concrete, the Zen Garden Sink has a channel that allows the water used while washing your hands to water a plant. Created by young Montreal designer Jean-Michel Gauvreau the sink comes in single or double basin model. The sink is designed in a way you won't get your plants all soapy. There is a main drain at the bottom of the basin for soapy grime. Your little plant friend just gets whatever you choose to dole out.

Designer creates a shower that forces you to leave when you've wasted too much water

20% of our total domestic energy usage is from hot water for showering and bathing. That's over 6 times the energy usage of domestic lighting. So designer Tommaso Colia came up with his eco-friendly shower design that will force you to get out when you take too long and waste much water. The eco_drop shower features beautiful concentric circles that will rise to force you to stop showering when you take too long, and accordingly save water.

Designer creates light-switch that changes colors to teach children how to save energy

Teaching the importance of energy conservation is the goal of this design from Tim Holley. He calls it Tio, and it's a ghost-shaped light switch that gives kids a visual reminder of how much energy they've used by leaving lights on. Tio starts out green and smiling. If the light is left on for more than four hours, he turns yellow and looks shocked. And if you dare to leave that light on for more than eight hours, sweet little Tio turns into a raging red hulk, complete with frowny mouth and angry eyes. But he won't just visually remind your kids about their energy habits; information from the light switch is sent to Tio's computer program so the entire family can see how they're doing. In a brilliant piece of visual positive reinforcement, Holley's program lets kids grow a â€œvirtual treeâ€ which gets bigger and healthier the more energy they save.

Environmental company creates a staple-free stapler to avoid staple pollution

Staples are supposed to be so bad to the environment that a company decided to create a staple-free stapler. This product promises to make collation eco-friendly. Instead of using those thin metal planet-killers, the staple-free stapler "cuts out tiny strips of paper and uses the strips to stitch up to five pieces of paper together." You can even order them customized with your corporate logo so you can, you know, brag about what your company is doing to stop the staple epidemic.

Designer creates an iPhone charger powered by a hand grip

A green idea that gives you a great hand workout as well. Charge your iPhone by a hand grip! This concept is called You can work it out, designed by Mac Funamizu.

World Famous Environmentalists and their last words

2011-07-12T19:31:00.000+05:30

World Famous Environmentalists :

Chico Mendes

Francisco Alves Mendes Filho, better known as Chico Mendes (December 15, 1944 – December 22, 1988), was a Brazilian rubber tapper, trade union leader and environmentalist. He fought to preserve the Amazon rainforest and advocated for the human rights of Brazilian peasants and indigenous peoples. He was assassinated by a rancher on December 22, 1988.
At first I thought I was fighting to save rubber trees, then I thought I was fighting to save the Amazon rainforest. Now I realise I am fighting for humanity.
—Chico Mendes

Ken SaroWiwa:

Kenule "Ken" Beeson Saro Wiwa (October 10, 1941 – November 10, 1995) was a Nigerian author, television producer, environmental activist, and winner of the Right Livelihood Award and the Goldman Environmental Prize. Saro-Wiwa was a member of the Ogoni people, an ethnic minority in Nigeria whose homeland, Ogoniland, in the Niger Delta has been targeted for crude oil extraction since the 1950s and which has suffered extreme and unremediated environmental damage from decades of indiscriminate petroleum waste dumping. Initially as spokesperson, and then as President, of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), Saro-Wiwa led a nonviolent campaign against environmental degradation of the land and waters of Ogoniland by the operations of the multinational petroleum industry, especially Shell. He was also an outspoken critic of the Nigerian government, which he viewed as reluctant to enforce environmental regulations on the foreign petroleum companies operating in the area.
At the peak of his non-violent campaign, Saro-Wiwa was arrested, hastily tried by a special military tribunal, and hanged in 1995 by the military government of General Sani Abacha, all on charges widely viewed as entirely politically motivated and completely unfounded. His execution provoked international outrage and resulted in Nigeria's suspension from the Commonwealth of Nations for over three years.

Ken Sarowiwa's Last Words:
"Lord take my soul but the struggle continues." ...

Dian Fossey:

Dian Fossey was an American zoologist who undertook an extensive study of gorilla groups over a period of 18 years. She studied them daily in the mountain forests of Rwanda, initially encouraged to work there by famous anthropologist Louis Leakey. She was murdered in 1985; the case remains open.
Called one of the foremost primatologists in the world while she was alive, Fossey, along with Jane Goodall and Birutė Galdikas, was part of the so-called Leakey's Angels, a group of three prominent researchers on primates (Fossey on gorillas; Goodall on chimpanzees; and Galdikas on orangutans) sent by archaeologist Louis Leakey to study great apes in their natural environments

Dian Fossey's Last Words:

Fossey was found murdered in the bedroom of her cabin in Virunga Mountains, Rwanda on December 26, 1985.The last entry in her diary read:

“When you realize the value of all life, you dwell less on what is past and concentrate more on the preservation of the future"

Joan Root

The Roots introduced Diane Fossey to the gorillas she would later die trying to save, took Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis over Kenya in their balloon, and covered much of Africa in their famous single-engine Cessna, their amphibious car, and their balloon, at one time equipped with a raft for water landings.On 13 January 2006, five days before her 70th birthday, Joan Root was murdered at her home in Lake Naivasha by four men who came to her door carrying AK-47s. There were many suspects such as disgruntled former employees, criminal gangs, organized crime rackets, poachers, those whose economic interests were threatened by her activism and even Task Force members. The four men who were arrested and charged with her murder pleaded not guilty and were acquitted in August 2007. Some involved in the case believe it was a contract killing, but the question of who paid for it remains unanswered.

Joan Root's Last Will
Joan Root had directed in her last will and testament that her land be turned into an admission-free and unfettered wildlife preserve.

P.D.Mahji:

Most trusted staff at Pakke Wildlife Santuary and Tiger Reserve, Arunachal Pradesh.He received the 4th GREEN GUARD AWARD for Exceptional Individual Performance. He was killed by one of the poachers during one of the brave encounters with them.

Amit Jethwa

Amit Jethwa (also Amit Jethava) (1975 – 20 July 2010) was an Indian environmentalist and social worker, active in the Gir Forest area near Junagadh, Gujarat. He had filed several court cases against illegal mining in the protected area, naming Bharatiya Janata Party member of parliament, Dinu Solanki as one of the respondents. On 20 July 2010 he was shot dead by two assailants on a motorbike near the Gujarat High Court.

PET Plastic Bottles/Caps Recycling Process Video

2011-07-09T19:41:00.003+05:30

PET Plastics:

PET stands for Poly Ethylene Terephthalate Plastics. PET Plastic is widely used for storing beverages - Coke, Pepsi, mineral water bottles etc. PET containers and bottles carry the symbol <1> on them. These silent killers have proven hazardous health effects to human beings. These used non-degradable PET plastic is flooded these days all around the streets.Though the Government has enforced several bans and laws against plastic, all stand useless because these PET bottles have formed an integral part of everyone's everyday life. It will be hard to stop manufacturing these junk plastic because of the versatility it has in capturing the packing industry from detergent to beverages. However we can reuse and maintain the manufacturing limit.

Yes- The Best habit on Earth - RECYCLE - RECYCLE PET PLASTICS

PET Plastic Bottles/Caps Recycling Process Video

The next time you drink Pepsi / Coke, do not let the bottle in the roadside. Ensure it reaches the PET recycling collection agent. Do atleast this bit of favor for our Mother Earth. Also, you always have an option of transforming these junk PET plastics bottles into containers for Container Gardening.

Read about Paper Recycling
Grow Trees, More and More Trees!!!

Vythiri Resorts... Live Green - Video

2011-07-08T01:08:00.006+05:30

Vythiri Resort in Vythiri viilage, Wayanad District is a perfect destination for honeymoon or a family occasion. This 10 minute video speaks more than just words do. Read more about the Vythiri Resorts review at -

http://gogreenguyz.blogspot.com/2011/07/vythiri-resorts-wayanad-kerala.html

Vythiri Resorts, Wayanad, Kerala

2011-07-07T15:16:00.001+05:30

If you are planning for a vacation or honeymoon trip, forget the same old - Kulu, Manali, Goa, Munar, Darjeling, Ooty and Kodai.

A vacation free from laptops, mobiles, amidst the woods, a stream by the room, a rejuvenation spa session, food at luxurious buffets, a perfect coffee in the evenings, a natural pool to plunge, indoor and outdoor games to spend with your family, a naturally cool place -- If you are looking for a place with all these facilities, then the Vythiri Resorts in Vythiri, Wayanad District could be the most perfect choice. (Read it again, it is Vythiri in Wayanad District) and not Wayanad.

Vythiri is a hill station village in the Wayanad District.

How to Reach Vythiri:

Vythiri is a little more than 60 kms from Calicut and Calicut is well connected by air, and road with the rest of the world. You can reach Calicut and take a cab to the Vythiri Resorts. It takes around one and a half hours to reach the Vythiri Resorts. The last one hour of the journey is through the Western Ghats with a few steep cuts and if you have seasickness, it is better to carry some anti-vomitting medicines. The last 30 minutes of the journey in the Vythiri hill to the Vythiri resorts is so picturesque. There are no thar roads and you feel like entering into the place which you might have read in fairy tale books in school.

The Vythiri Resorts:

The general check in time in Vythiri Resorts in 12 PM. However, one can adjust it based on availability. There are a range of rooms available like - Serenity Cottages, Planters Retreat, Vythiri Haven and Tree Houses. There are 4 tree houses in total of which three are inside the jungle while one is available within the Resort boundary.

Vythiri Resorts Reception

We reached there and around 11 AM and the welcome is so warm. The moment you get in, people welcome you just as you had known them before. The reception itself is quite sufficient to tell about the awesome experience you are going to have in this place. The reception is built in a traditional Kerala style and the furniture there too is so antique. There is a pool just behind the benches with several big fishes in it.

The Vythiri Resort Restuarant:

After checking in for the Serenity Cottage, we moved for lunch to the Restaurant. There is no room service and the breakfast, lunch and dinner are to be taken at the Restaurant. It is buffet all three times a day and all typical South Indian and authentic dishes are served. The non-veg menu includes chicken, mutton and sea food. The buffets includes soups, starters, Indian bread items, rice items, salads, curries, sabjis and desserts.

Lunch at Vythiri Resort

The Live counter

Vythiri Resort Rooms:

The rooms in Vythiri Resort come in six flavors - the Tree House, Serenity Cottage, Vythiri Haven, Vythiri Habitat, Planters Retreat and Vythiri Wooden Haven.

Planters Retreat - Cottages in a row:

Serenity Cottages:

We chose Verenity Serenity Cottage during our stay at Vythiri. The room is very very spacious unlike the rooms in the usual star hotels. There is a semi closed verandah, then the room itself and a balcony with the stream view. Trust me, a room by the wild stream!! If Heaven is in Nature, then it could be only here. There are two cane chairs put up in the balcony to enjoy the stream view and an urn is placed. When you go in a honeymoon package, you get flower decoration for one day.

The vythiri village is devoid of electricity and the Vythiri Resorts is lit by the electricity produced from generators. So after 11.00 PM, only minimal lights and and one fan is let to run. THERE IS NO AC. However, you dont feel the heat as you are inside a jungle and there is a stream all through the resort to take you the stone age effect.(We went in April and still didn't regret for air conditioners! Do not consider this as a negative point to reject the Vythiri bliss.) Though the hotel voucher says some fixed timings for hot water, it is generally all through the day. But for the Planters Retreat, all other cottages are well placed in distance to maintain the cosiness and privacy. All lanes inbetween the cottages and lit by lamps and is definitely a treat to the eyes at night.

Added to these artificial lighting is the show the fireflies put around everywhere. It will definitely make you feel if you have landed on the place you heard in the fairy tales.

Tree House:

There are three tree houses in the forest and one within the Resort fences. We visited the one inside the resort. You climb over a few steps to reach half the height of a mature evergreen tree and then there is a lane built with bamboo support and ropes to reach it. There is a balcony, fully closed and then the room itself. In the middle is the trunk of a tree. My personal opinion - Not worth to stay here!

May be the Trees inside the forest were as appealing as the pictures of Tree Houses shown in their website.

The Coffee Shop @ Vythiri:

Only bed coffee is served in the room. At evening, we need to cross the bamboo bridge and reach the coffee shop. Coffe and Tea is served with hot crispy snacks. Our beloved place in the coffee shop is at the lowest level.

My take : Sitting besides the stream and enjoying the rain in a cosy coffee shop with a hot of coffee and some snacks with the most special person of my life immediately after my wedding with the Mehendhi so red was just so romantic.

These small things really makes a difference. What say? :)

The coffee shop

Outside the coffee shop. You can prefer sitting here but do check out the lowest level.

Indoor Games at Vythiri:

At Vythiri, you get to play all the indoor games and most of the outdoor games. The Indoor games that we enjoyed - Table Tennis, Billiards, Carrom, Chess.

The outdoor games were - Basketball, shuttle and Tennikoit.

The play areas generally crowded. So when we grabbed the table, we played for atleast an hour in a stretch. :P

Bar @ Vythiri Resorts:

I am sorry - No comments on this as we lack expertise in this area. Only pictures in this section :)

The honeymoon Package:

Package includes:

Welcome drink on arrival

Accommodation for a couple at Vythiri Resort

Simple decoration and fruit basket in the room on arrival day

All meals: Bed tea/coffee, 3 Breakfast, 3 Lunch & 3 Dinner

Half day sightseeing to Soochippara Waterfalls / Edakkal Caves / Padinjarathara Earth Dam (one location) by Non AC Jeep (Entry charges + Boating charges if any to be paid extra)

One session of candle light dinner with chef's special dish, Honeymoon cake and a glass of Wine

Guided trekking inside the resort to the natural waterfalls, streams, natural pools.etc

Bonfire in the evening (subject to climatic conditions)

ADAM and EVE MASSAGE at VYTHIRI SPA for a couple (One session only)

Complementary usage of Steam Room & plunge pool (15 minutes) on Day 2 at Vythiri Spa

There are no additional rates and taxes

Check in 12noon & Check out 11am

Package excludes:

Air Tickets / Train Tickets

Tips, insurance, entrances, guide

Incidental Expenses due to Natural Calamities

Expenses of Personal nature such as Room Service, Telephone Bills, Bar Bills, Porterage, Tips etc.

The Vythiri Spa:

The Adam and Eve Spa is simply so rejuvenating. The session starts by a 15 minutes relaxation in the Steam room. Then we are advised to take a bath in the shower or enjoy the Plunge Pool for the next 15 minutes. Then, the bath robes are provided and you will be taken to the actual spa session. The couple can opt for a SPA session either together or inidividually.

My take :Just one sentence for the whole session - Worth the money!! DO NOT MISS THIS.

The most hyped and enjoyed bamboo bridge:

The natural pool:

Candle light dinner with wine:

Sight seeing at Vythiri:

As a part of sight seeing, we chose Edakkal caves. You can read more about it at
http://gogreenguyz.blogspot.com/2011/06/edakkal-caves-wayand-kerala-trip-guide.html

I would rate this place 4 on 5.

Wi-Fi at Vythiri:

There is not much signal strength for mobiles at the Vythiri resorts. For Vodafone, we had enough signal to make and receive calls but weren't able to access GPRS or the Vodafone Live. Wi-Fi is available in the Vythiri office near the reception and is charged decently at Rs.100 per hour. I say its decent because recently we stayed at Taj Bhanjara were the tariff was Rs. 330.99 including the tax. :-(

My personal take on Vythiri Resorts:

This place is really a heaven on Earth. A perfect place for honeymoon or a vacation with kids.
The food is really good. However you might get bored just as we did when you stay for more than three days.
Its so clean and the pathways are 99% devoid of leaches. But when you walk through the grasses, you might encounter attacks with them.
Nature is preserved at its best.
Laundry is affordable.
The room service is prompt. The waiters in the restaurant are so friendly.

Some things that I would like to share with you.

Ensure you carry your shoes to protect yourself from leaches.
Monkeys could be a problem. (We lost our fruit basket to them).
Enjoy the indoor and outdoor games as much as you can.
Walk all through the resort and enjoy the nature.
DO NOT miss the natural pool and the SPA
I would say Vythiri is incomplete without the SPA session. Let the body and soul be rejuvenated.

Apart from that, this place is a must see. 10 on 10 to Vythiri Resorts.
Watch the Vythiri Video

Go green T-shirt slogans

2011-07-05T12:48:00.002+05:30

Presenting you the T-shirts that preaches Go Green with its catchy slogans.

This T-shirt with the slogan - Go Green Fellas was shot @Globus, Chennai

The following black T-Shirt with the Go Green slogarn - "Best Habit on Earth -Learn to Recycle" is from RiverInc priced at Rs 349. It was shot at Hypercity, Inorbit Mall, Hyderabad, India.

This cute Go Green T-shirt is my favorite downloaded T-shirt.

Expect more from my shopping and the browsed ones..... To be continued :)

Take Care, Take Charge Online Campaign

2011-06-29T20:19:00.001+05:30

As the world prepares to celebrate the World Environment Day on June 5, the most widely celebrated global day for positive environmental action, Times of India, in collaboration with Garnier and Centre for Environment Education launches its green initiative “Take Care, Take Charge”. This initiative holds much significance as India is this year’s host country for the 2011 World Environment Day celebrations due to its commitment to environmental betterment despite its rapidly growing economy.

Initiated in 2010, Take Care, Take Charge campaign intends to instil a sense of responsibility amongst the youth by the way of contributing ideas for greener and sustainable environment. This unique campaign encourages youth to think of the ideas and solutions for building sustainable cities and provides a platform to present these ideas.

The first campaign started on 22 April 2010, coinciding with the Earth day in six cities including Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai. It received an over whelming response, close to 5000 ideas in a span of 30 days. The Times of India bought 10 kg of paper for each idea received. Towards the end of the campaign 50 tons of 100% recycled paper was used to print the June 5, 2010 edition of the Times of India newspaper, commemorating the World Environment Day.

Year II of the Take Care, Take Charge initiative opens up exciting opportunities for the youth to contribute ideas and solutions which are innovative and practical towards building sustainable cities. The campaign is being run primarily in six cities including Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai. As part of the campaign, Times of India is collaborating with NGO’s in different cities to take up various environmental activities including plantation on the 24th of July which Times of India has declared as the Take Care, Take Charge initiative day.

We invite Youth (between 18 – 40 years) to send their interesting ideas under the following broad themes.

Water conservation and management

Energy generation and conservation

Transport management and pollution abatement

Creating green spaces

Waste management

Individuals may submit idea(s) on any of the above themes. The idea may influence action at individual level or community level or may cover the city as a whole. The idea may cover technology solutions, policy advocacy, management solutions, awareness programmes resulting in definite positive action.

These ideas will be screened and the ten most promising ideas will be short listed from each city. Individuals who have shared these promising ideas will be invited to make a presentation to a panel of experts in their respective cities. The most promising idea will be selected from each city from the pool of 10. Six finalists, one from each city will make a presentation to a national panel of experts, and one winning individual will be selected. While the ideas of the six finalists will feature in the Times of, the national winner will also get an opportunity and an invitation to participate in United Nations Environment Programme’s prestigious TUNZA International Youth Conference.

Please note the Important dates

Idea submission: 30 June 2011; 5 pm (on line submission only)

City presentations :

Will take place between 10th and 20th July 2011. Short listed participants will receive the communication regarding the exact date and the venue of the presentation.

National presentations:

Will happen during the last week of July. The exact date and venue of the presentation will be communicated to the selected participants.

Read more at http://www.takecaretakecharge.in

The Great Global Warming Swindle - Full Video

2011-06-20T17:57:00.000+05:30

The Ice is melting
The Sea is rising
Hurricanes are blowing
And its not all your fault..

A nice video with scientific datapoints that ensures Man and the green house gas effect is not the only reason for the climatic changes in the world.

No matter, it is or not, lets grow trees and more and more trees and give our future generations a greener place to live in.

Janmarg BRTS - Ahmedabad is now environment friendly

2011-06-18T16:33:00.001+05:30

The name ‘Janmarg’, meaning ‘people's way’, was given by the Hon. Chief Minister of Gujarat, Shri. Narendra Modi. Ahmedabad, the seventh largest city in India with a population of about six million people has seen a new face of the public transportation in India. The Janmarg BRTS has taken Ahmedabad, infact Indian public transportation to the International standards and has set a new benchmark to the various states in India.

No wonder, it has created a sense of pride in Ahmedabad’s citizens for their city. That too, in just three months of its inception.

Ahmedabad ki "Jai"!

Green Papers - A Green Surprise - Take Care Take Charge

2011-06-13T00:49:00.000+05:30

Readers of The Times of India were in for a green surprise as the newspaper was published on 100% green recycled paper on June 5th 2011 to commemorate World Environment Day. On 6th June 2011, readers of The Economic Times found their favorite pink paper championing the cause by turning green! The 'Green Papers' published a special editorials and features around environment, including guest editorials by award-winning environment champions from across India.

Also, the 'Take Care Take Charge' (TCTC) initiative has been established by Garnier and the Times of India. The objective of TCTC campaign is to instill a sense of responsibility amongst the youth of the country in order to maintain, nurture and contribute towards a greener environment. This 50 days campaign makes an appeal to the youth of this country to present their ideas on sustainable solutions for the environment under five categories: Water Conservation & Management; Energy Generation & Conservation; Creating Green Spaces; Transport Management & Pollution Abatement and Waste Management.

Go Green Video - Power Economic Zone

2011-06-11T14:46:00.000+05:30

This is a simple and neat video explaining the importance of saving power at work and home to make the Earth a better place to live in.

Read more about the carbon footprint at office at
http://gogreenguyz.blogspot.com/2011/02/carbon-footprint-office.html

Edakkal Caves, Wayand, Kerala - Trip guide

2011-06-05T16:25:00.002+05:30

We were offered a free trip to visit some place nearby Vythiri as a part of our package and we chose Edakkal Caves. We didn't know much about it and just believed what the Resort Voucher said -

Edakkal Caves are two natural caves located 1,200 metres above sea level on Ambukutty Mala 25 km from Kalpetta. The travel time to Edakkal Caves from Vythiti Resorts is 1 - 1 1/2 hours and it is a cave with carvings and paintings that touched stone age.

Wooowww..... Ive never been to anywhere so historical.... Ancient stone age paintings...... 1200 metres above sea level in the God's own country.... Must be very green and cool.... Trekking through the woods.... Wwwooooooooowww....

We booked our cab by 1.30 PM as the closing time of the Edakkal Caves is 5 PM(sharp!). We had the luxurious buffet lunch at the resort and started off by 2.00 PM.

Route Map to Edakkal Caves, Wayanad

This was our Road Map to Edakkal - to come down from Vythiri Hill, Kalpetta and then reach Edakkal. It took us a full one and a half hours to reach Edakkal. You have a trek over the hill and the cabs are to be parked at the bottom itself.

First Phase of the Edakkal Caves trek

You need to trek almost 1 to 2 kms upwards to visit the cave. Though the roads steps are well built in concrete, they are very steep and big. You start gasping in the first 15 minutes itself. The place is partly shady and partly sunny during April-May. Despite the shade, walking through the steep steps make you sweat like hell. You see a few roadside small shops selling mangoes, gooseberries, soda, cool drinks, and ice cream. After walking through the steep road for almost half an hour, you reach the ticket counter to enter the caves.

Shops found near the car parking at Edakkal Caves

The ice cream shop found during the first phase of the trek

This is how the first phase of the trekking will be..... Looks easy to climb up... But it isn't that easy boss!!

The cool drink shop. The special menu of this shop - buttermilk soda.

Second phase of the trek

The entry ticket is Rs.20/person(not sure of the exact amount.. forgive my poor memory.. but it is definitely not more than 20 Rs/person). After this is the next phase of the trek. Plastics are prohibited in this area strictly. You cannot carry plastic water bottles even. If you need to carry them, you need to get it stickered with a Rs.20 sticker which will be returned when you show back the bottle ensuring you haven't left it letharfically in the ecologically protected area. Hats off to the Kerala Government for following such ideas strictly ensuring the nature protection.

The second phase of the trek is on steep rocks and steep man-made steps. This part again will suck your blood as the distance between the two rocks in some places are quite far.

It is a pleasure to the eyes to climb over a rock and see the city down.There are no trees are shady areas in this part of the trek. After trekking for 15 odd minutes, you get some hint of a cave ahead... Rocks, rocks and rocks everywhere. The passages are quite narrow and people climbing upstairs and those getting down co-operate well with each other in letting way. You need to get mingled with everyone and there are no officials to guide or regulate the traffic. You will reach a small cave like structure and where a man made sintex is kept. Not sure if it is drinking water and we just washed our face and moved ahead. From a trekker near by who visits these caves regularly, got to know that the caves ahead are quite nearby. And then again started steep our steep trekking through the rocks. After a good steep turn, there are some 60 odd steps made in a iron ladder to reach the Edakkal Caves. We felt a billion dollar satisfied as we climbed the last five steps...

Yipee... We have done it on time... We reached the cave around 4.00 PM.. Half an hour more to enjoy the caves...

As we stood some 1200 feet above the sea level.... God... It was damn scary.... To see the narrow passages between the rocks through which we came.... My Goodness....

Edakkal Caves:

There is a steel gate through which you enter the cave. On entering there is a ladder down. The first thing we felt as we entered the cave is the chillness inside the cave. Trust me, the temperature was atleast some 5 degrees less inside the cave. The soil down was so damp and we were quite relieved. We sat down for a few minutes before we actually started enjoying the historical paintings.

The ladder to enter the cave

Edakkal Cave

The Stone Age paintings:

Stone Age Paintings at Edakkal Caves - Picture 1

Stone Age paintings at Edakkal Caves - Picture 2

Initially we were not able to decrypt these paintings. But with the help of a guide, we spotted the tribal king, the tribal queen and the common tribals. He showed us a peacock too but we couldn't make it out on the wall. As you reach the end of the cave wall, there is a small space between the two rocks, where a grill gate is put and a viewpoint is made. The view from here is just so awesome.

The grill gate view point from Edakkal Cave

You can spend around 30 minutes in the cave. It was 4.30 PM and the Cave is closed by 4.30 PM sharp. The way down is even scarier. But it is easier to get down than climbing up. We again got down through the narrow ladder and then trekked down through the rocks, crossed the tunnel where the Sintex was placed and finally reached the ticket counter. We showed the sticker on our water bottle and the Rs.20 deposit was returned. This is the place which gets closed by 5.00 PM sharp. Then started our trek downwards on the steep roads. The roads are so inclined that when you walk fast or run, you end up without any control on your own speed. It was so exasperating. We finally managed to reach the foot of the cave where a spotted Mother Mary's carvings on the stone. Mother Mary there is known as Edakkal Amma and there is a big cross. It actually is not a church but pictures of Mother Mary, Jesus Christ etc., are carved on the rocks.

Secularism seen in Edakkal Amma church - The Hindu Symbol 'Om' is engraved on a pillar.

That was the end of our Edakkal Cave trekking. We were tired to the core. From our experience, it is definitely a place worth seeing if you love trekking.

Some recommendations from my experience to the Edakkal Caves:

Reach well before the closing time. So that you don't have to rush on your way up which will exhaust you really hard.

If you have kids under the age 5, think twice before you go here.

Carry enough water with you. You actually dont get any branded mineral water on the way up.

Carry hand and face towels with you.

Most importantly - Chose a pacca trekking dress. The rocky trekking area is really steep and you might have serious problems with a showy outfit.

What else, time to book your tickets and enjoy your trip just as we did!!!! :)

Nerium Oleander / Arali - The complete gardening guide

2011-04-05T17:15:00.001+05:30

Nerium Oleander (called as Arali in Tamil) is a perennial ornamental plant that is highly drought resistant. If you live in a moderate to extremely hot place with poor soil, Nerium Oleander should be the perfect start. They are flexible to the soil and climate conditions and bless the garden with sweet smelling showy flowers.

These plants have been planted through most of the National Highways in Tmail nadu, India. Its actually a bliss to see them flowering all through the dividers in the roads.

Multi layered Oleander flowers

Single petal Oleander flowers and buds

Nerium Oleander can be grown as an isolated shrub or as a hedge. It easily grows between 5 feet to 12 feet tall. Produces pink/ white flowers. It is commonly an outdoor plant but can be grown indoor too. When kept indoor, it must be placed near the window so that it gets a lot of sunlight.

The Oleander sapling can be brought from the local nurseries. Plant it directly in the soil. Water it regularly until the roots fix in the new soil. Once it starts producing many new leaves, can be watered once in two or three days. It is always better to buy the plant with flowers as it is hard to differentiate the color of the flowers by just looking at the leaves so that you don't end up buying many plants of the same color. Common colors are white, light pink and dark pink and a mix of white and pink.

It is leastly affected by insects and pests and hence the care is minimum. If the attack by insects or caterpillars is detected at the early stage, pruning of the infected regions helps. If detected at a later stage, go for chemical insecticides and pesticides.

Doesn't involve too much care and hence fertilizing is not mandatory. However organic kitchen wastes help.

Pruning can be done, once in a while when the tree starts growing out of control. Pruning of a stem must be done leaving atleast three nodes. A node is the place where the leaf is connected to the stem.

The entire plant is highly poisonous and hence plant the Nerium Oleander sapling in a safer place away from the reach of children and mammals.

The propagation of Nerium Oleander is through stem cutting. Cut a branch without flowers and put it in water. It will produce roots and wait until the roots grow to 3-5 cms. The new Nerium Oleander is now ready to be re-rooted.

This flowers is considered auspicious in the Hindu rituals in South India. Though this garland is given as a part of Archana for all Gods, there is one unique speciality of this flower in Tamil Nadu, India. The prospective brides offer the Nerium Oleander garland to the Goddess Durga during the Raagu Kalam (evening 4.30 PM - 6.00 PM) on Fridays to get hitched soon.

Go Trees! More and More Trees!!

Container Gardening

2011-02-16T18:45:00.001+05:30

Container Gardening

Ever felt like doing your part for Go Green campaign but left aside the thought since you felt gardening to be costly and invloves a lot of space.

Great! you have landed in the right page where we introduce a new dimension of gardening - the container gardening - cheap and requires little room space, indoor or outdoor.

Container gardening is growing the plants exclusively in containers rather than on the grounds. Small flowerpots made of terracotta are the commonly used containers for conatiner gardening.

Here we take you a through a whole list of used, cheap, recyclable list of conatiners, the soil and techniques that has to be used, watering and fertilizing and choice of plants for container gardening.

Lets start the first move now:

Let us decide on the container to be chosen.

Wooden boxes:

You can grow medium to big plants in them and they have good drainage facility naturally.

Trash cans:

They are cheap and are available in bright colors in both plastic and metal material. Make drainage slits of half an inch height at the bottom of the container so that the excess water can drain off when you water the plants.

Laundry baskets:

The palm hand woven laundry suits the demand well.

Bouquet baskets:

Got your valentine day bouquet and not knowing what to do after all the flowers in them have dried out. Give a life to it right now!

Plastic and metal buckets :

Convert all the leaking bottles, rusted metal buckets and paint buckets into beautiful containers.

Plastic and glass bottles:

All plastic and glass bottles with narrow or broad mouths could be a perfect choice of container gardening for interior decoration.

Broken/cracked glass crockey sets:

Love your big porcelain dish and feeling bad that it has it broken through the rim or cracked? These could be ideal choice for containers for interior decoration.

Shoes:

Ever thought your good old boats could help you in gardening. Here they are -

Soil selection for the containers:

Now that we are done with selecting the container, we need to fill the container with soil. It is always better to fill the container with potting soil. The potting soil is a mixture of peat moss, composted bark and/or other plant materials, sand, and perlite (for drainage). The potting soil contains little or no soil. This will be available in the nurseries and is preferred for container gardening as it is light weight and ideal for growing house plants.

If you feel that potting soil is not affordable in your budget, you always have the home made alternative.

=> Fill the bottom of the container with a layer of 1" flat stone gravel. On top of this layer, place about 2inches of leaf mould or sheets of soaked newspaper to help conserve water.

=> Containers need plenty of fertilizer. So you could place a layer of comfrey leaves on top of the leaf mould.

=> The rest of the container can be filled with compost, either equal parts loam, sand and peat substitute mixed with a handful of bone meal; or a John Innes No3 or equivalent compost.

=>Fill gradually, firming down as you go. Take care not to leave loose open spaces. Instead create fine spaces to assist water uptake and distribution.

Now the container with soil is all set. let go through the list of plants that are well suited conatiner gardening.

You can literally grow anything all plants(vegetables, flowering, non-flowering plants) that suite well to the climatic conditions of your place. However, if you are new to gardening, the following plants could be an ideal start.

Mint:

Mint should be an ideal start. You plant one and you will get twenty in a row. Just plant the mint stem, it will develop roots and start growing.

Table rose:

Just take a stem of this flowering plant and plant it in the soil It will definitely get roots and start growing in a couple of weeks. Place the container in some place where it gets sunlight. These flowers are available in a wide range of dashing colors. It requires very little water and can grow in the hottest of weather with very little care.

Aloe Vera and cacti:

The Aloe Vera and cacti are a perfect choice if you are concerned about water and hot climate.

Some points to be noted as you start container gardening:

1. Water your plants regularly. Plants grown on grounds have long roots to absorb water and minerals from the depth under the ground. But the plants grown on containers require watering and fertilizing on a regualr basis.

2. Do not the plants in the direct mid day sun. Place them in quite a shady area.

3. Chose the plants according to the size of the container to avoid mismatch between the plant and container size.

4. When placing the containers together, space the plants properly so that the bigger one doesn't block the sunlight for the smaller ones.

5. No plant will remain bright and fresh always. Keep them trimmed and when they start dying off, replant newer ones.

What are you waiting for? Now pull out one of the good old container that will serve the purpose and start container gardening...

Grow trees. Grow more and more trees.

http://gogreenguyz.blogspot.com/2010/03/go-green-guyz.html

http://gogreenguyz.blogspot.com/2011/02/carbon-footprint-office.html

http://gogreenguyz.blogspot.com/2010/07/drive-through-western-ghats.html

Carbon Footprint @ Office

2011-02-15T18:50:00.005+05:30

Carbon Footprint @ Office

Were you aware that every single tab you open in your browser leads to the carbon footprint... For both yes and no, keep reading....

The usage of internet has increased drastically in the recent past and will be keeping increasing exponentially. The recent consumption of electricity stands at 3% to 5% of the total global consumption.

The internet electricity consumption can be broadly classified into two categories -

The power used by the bigger IT giants as Google and Yahoo to maintain their data centers.
The power used by the end users.

Every single Google search you do emits carbon di oxide..(Unbelievable!) but Google is one of the top energy-effiecient IT company in terms of data center management. It has “water-based data center” that uses the wave power to generate electricity to run its data center. It also follows one more impresive low - carbon approach - At Google's Mountain View Headquarters, they have hired a hereder who brings 200 goats to do the mow - clearing the weeds and brushing rather than the mowers.

It might sound funny but yes, every single stone helps you build the castle. hats off to their initiatives at corporate level.

Also, Wipro Office in Bangalore encourages the employees to take public BMTC buses on Bus Day against the private transport level.

These are a few initiatives to cite taken by the higher management at a corporate level against the carbon footprint. But you and me who code or test at these IT giants are the people who can actually bring in a drastic change.

Let us go green at work.

=> Always opt for public transportation or office buses.
=> Turn off the monitor even if you leave your cube for 5 minutes.
=> Switch off the systems that you don,t use. (I am sure people on virtual technology will not be running less than 3 machines)
=> Replace Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) monitors with flat screen monitors. Flat screen displays consume only about one-third the energy of a CRT monitor.
=> Switch off the lights when you leave the meeting room.
=> Use as much as natural light and ventilation as possible.
=> Do no leave your chargers in the socket. Turn the switch off and unplug the charger once you are done charging.
=> Download and play the music rather than streaming.
=>Turn off the AC or increase the temperature level when it is cold outside. No point in sitting with a jacket inside the office.
=> Use weather-stripping and caulking to minimize heat loss from windows and doors.
=> Go for power saving LED lights which can bring down the electricity consumption exponentially.
=> Think before you print and always use two sides of the paper.
=> Opt for metal/glass dishes than the paper/plastic cups for juices and snacks.
Buy recycled when possible. Toner cartridges, paper goods, plastics and more are available recycled now. Recycle as much as you can and help

Going Green Ideas for Washrooms

=> Use cloth towels or hand dryers instead of paper towels.
=> Replace an old toilet with a new ultra-low-flush model.
=> Always turn off taps completely, ensuring that they don't drip. A tap, leaking at a rate of only one drop per second, can waste more than 25 litres of water a day – that's about 10 000 litres a year.
=> Install low-flow faucet aerators to reduce the flow of water from taps.
=> Get continually running toilets fixed. They're huge water wasters and it could be just a simple fix.
=> Make sure all washroom cleaning products are environmentally safe.

The most important thing --
=> Grow trees. More and More trees.

Lets make this Earth a better place to live in .

Eggs at your rescue...

2011-02-10T15:14:00.003+05:30

Eggs at your rescue...

Noodles, Oats, Bread/Jam, Sandwich.. These things dominate the menu of any bachelor/spinster who have the least affinity towards cooking but are forced to cook.

For all such people who have the minimum interest in cooking but gotta cook, eggs could be the perfect choice. Cooking with eggs is easier and requires the minimum ingredients. All the recipes listed here follow the common template and are pretty easier to cook, of course, yummy and healthy too.

1. Boiled eggs:

=> Take two eggs.
=> Boil them in a pan until the shell starts breaking.
=> Let the eggs to cool and start peeling off the shell. Peeling will be easy if the egg has boiled well, else the shell might stick to the egg
=> Cut the egg into two equal halves and season it with salt, pepper/chille powder.
=> Serve with chopped onions.
=> Tastes good when eaten warm.

2. Omelette

=> Beat the egg.
=> Add onion and salt to it.
=> Pour the mixture in a tawa pre-heated with oil.
=> When the egg starts soldifying(you could see some liquid at the top), place small pieces of left over chicken curry/mutton curry.
=> When it gets cooked, server hot.

3. Egg dosa:

=> Beat the egg with salt and chilly powder. Beat well so that the chilly powder doesnt form lumps.
=> Spread the dosa batter on the tawa pre-heated with oil.
=> Pour the egg mixture on the dosa batter with a spoon. Do not pour diectly from the bowl.
=> When the dosa gets cooked, serve hot.

4. Egg Scramble:

*Eggs * Onions *Tomatoes *Salt *Chilly powder *Green chillies *Turmeric Powder *Coriander and curry leaves

1. Beat the egg in a bowl and keep it aside.
2. In a pan, heat oil.
3. Splutter little mustard seeds.
5. Add finely chopped onions and green chillies and saute until the onion turns golden brown.
6. Add finely finely chopped tomatoes and saute for 3-5 minues.
7. Add salt and chilly powder to taste.
8. Add the beaten egg and keep stirring continuously so that egg solidifes as smaller pieces.(cook in a sim flame so that eggs dont form big falls immediately).
9. Add a pinch of turmeric powder so that the egg gets the color.
10. Garnish with coriander and curry leaves and serve hot.

5. Bread Scramble.

*Bread slices *Eggs * Onions *Tomatoes *Salt *Chilly powder *Green chillies *Turmeric Powder *Coriander and curry leaves

1. Beat the egg in a bowl and keep it aside.
2. Cut the bread pieces into very small pieces
3. In a pan, heat oil.
4. Splutter little mustard seeds.
5. Add finely chopped onions and green chillies and saute until the onion turns golden brown.
6. Add finely finely chopped tomatoes and saute for 3-5 minues.
7. Add salt and chilly powder to taste.
8. Add the bread pieces and then immediately add the beaten egg and keep stirring continuously so that egg solidifes with the small bread pieces as smaller pieces.(cook in a sim flame so that eggs dont form big falls immediately).
9. Add a pinch of turmeric powder so that the egg gets the color.
10. Garnish with coriander and curry leaves and serve hot.

6. Kothu Parotta:

*Parotta(not paratha)bought from hotels/messes *Eggs * Onions *Tomatoes *Salt *Chilly powder *Green chillies *Turmeric Powder *Coriander and curry leaves

1. Beat the egg in a bowl and keep it aside.
2. Cut the parotta into very small pieces
3. In a pan, heat oil.
4. Splutter little mustard seeds.
5. Add finely chopped onions and green chillies and saute until the onion turns golden brown.
6. Add finely finely chopped tomatoes and saute for 3-5 minues.
7. Add salt and chilly powder to taste.
8. Add the parotta pieces and then immediately add the beaten egg and keep stirring continuously so that egg solidifes with the small bread pieces as smaller pieces.(cook in a sim flame so that eggs dont form big falls immediately).
9. Add a pinch of turmeric powder so that the egg gets the color.
10. Garnish with coriander and curry leaves and serve hot.

7. Egg Curry:

*Eggs * Onions *Tomatoes *Salt *Chilly powder *Green chillies *Turmeric Powder *Coriander and curry leaves

1. Boil the eggs and peel off the shell.
2. Make 4 slits around the eggs and keep them aside.
3. In a pan, heat the oil and splutter mustard seeds and cumin seeds.
4. Take finely chopped onions and gren chillies and saute until it turms golden yellow.
5. Add finely chopped tomotes and saute. (tomato puree will also do good)
6. Add salt, chilly powder and some curry powder (egg curry/chicken curry)
7. Add desired amount of water and cook for 10 minutes with the lid closed.
8. Add the boiled eggs and cook for 3-5 minutes so that the masala enters the egg too.
9. Ganish with corinader leaves and curry leaves and serve hot.

Nutrition Value of Eggs:

Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy                     647 kJ (155 kcal)
Carbohydrates         1.12 g
Fat            10.6 g
Protein            12.6 g
Tryptophan           0.153 g
Threonine           0.604 g
Isoleucine           0.686 g
Leucine                1.075 g
Lysine            0.904 g
Methionine           0.392 g
Cystine        0.292 g
Phenylalanine     0.668 g
Tyrosine        0.513 g
Valine            0.767 g
Arginine         0.755 g
Histidine        0.298 g
Alanine            0.700 g
Aspartic acid         1.264 g
Glutamic acid         1.644 g
Glycine        0.423 g
Proline           0.501 g
Serine            0.936 g
Water            75 g
Vitamin A equiv. 140 μg (16%)
Thiamine (Vit. B1)        0.066 mg (5%)
Riboflavin (Vit. B2) 0.5 mg (33%)
Pantothenic acid (B5) 1.4 mg (28%)
Folate (Vit. B9)         44 μg (11%)
Calcium        50 mg (5%)
Iron                          1.2 mg (10%)
Magnesium           10 mg (3%)
Phosphorus           172 mg (25%)
Potassium     126 mg (3%)
Zinc                          1.0 mg (10%)
Choline         225 mg
Cholesterol         424 mg

I too had a love story...... My take......

2011-01-18T20:06:00.007+05:30

I too had a love story.......... A heartbreaking true love tale I too had a love story

When SUN Music and ZOOM TV are no longer playing your favorite numbers and facebook and gtalk fail to soothe your sleepless nights, books could be the perfect choice. On one such night around 12 AM, I took the book “I too had a love story..” which I didn’t feel like reading before citing it as a tragic love story. As I start reading……………………

Just the first two pages are more than suffice to change one’s perception on that front.

Page 1: I too had a love story I too had a love story I too had a love story I too had a love story

Not everyone in this world has the fate to cherish the fullest form of love. Some are born just to experience the abbreviation of it. I too had a love story

(Wow…. Kya baath hai) I too had a love story

Page 2:I too had a love story

Days pass by somehow I too had a love story

But nights are a wagon of pain I too had a love story

Injuries may heal with time I too had a love story

But marks will always remain I too had a love story

Restless on my comfortable bed I too had a love story I too had a love story

I toss and turn and try to sleep I too had a love story I too had a love story

But thoughts are bulking my head I too had a love story

And have formed a huge heap I too had a love story I too had a love story

The past is flashing the scorching light beams I too had a love story

Tearing me apart, breaking me at the seams I too had a love story I too had a love story

The darkness my life is more visible in the dark I too had a love story

And now I am trying to give it a voice, trying to speak my heart I too had a love story

I don’t know if there could be a better start for the book than this. You just see yourself through these lines and feel the love and the pain.

The story starts on March 4, 2006 as the author, Ravin and his friends Manpreet, Amardeep, Happy meet at a reunion after their college days. They share the love felt for each other and finally end up in the crispy conversation of marriage (as it is bound to be – the conversation of precedence for girls in early twenties and guys in mid to late twenties) After the reunion , life resumes as usual as ever for the author.

And one day, while checking his yahoo mails, he finds a matrimonial ad from “Shaadi.com” and checks out for the pretty faces of the girls. And by the urge to check out more, he registers for himself. On 20^th July 2006, he receives an SMS in his mobile from a girl “Khushi” on the matrimonial site. He is held up in his office and replies her that he will ping her back later and of course does it too. He feels that her voice is as sweet as her pretty face and there starts their love. He couldn’t resist his anxiety to talk her and calls her back at 10 AM the next day despite his friend’s suggestion that “Girls respond best when ignored”.

The casual talks between them grow and they fall in love with each other. Sticking to the norms that you don’t have many hurdles when you fall in love with a girl of the same caste, thing move pretty easily, smoothly and swiftly on both their parents front. By October, both of them had become familiar and warm welcomed at each other’s homes.

They love each other so deeply that they share their intimate moments and Kushi starts calling Ravin as “Shona” and Ravin calls her back as “Shonimoni” and the way they make up with five kisses over the phone after their first serious fight just passes on the feel of real love to the readers.

And then Ravin gets an onsite opportunity for 45 days and tries to make the best use of this to go to Delhi to meet Khushi at Faridabad. The way he woes the airhostess and their first date with decent romance proves him to be a gentleman. This place definitely requires an extra appreciation as it is unlike his contemporary writers who write the story of their love and then say it is to be seen as a fiction only. The way he easily adapts himself to Khushi’s family and the master plan Khushi plots with the help of her sister to meet him away from family and eventually how thrilling it turns when Khushi turns up late and the ways her mother reacts to her for coming late, all blend with everyone’s day to day life. The trauma Ravin undergoes during the rickshaw ride makes the readers feel his true love for his lady love.

Then Ravin leaves to US and the 45 days of “MISS YOU” between them gets stronger and stronger. And finally he comes back to India and he decides to stay in Faridabad to avoid the before encountered problems. Khushi’s unique and romantic way of welcoming him makes his love even stronger towards her. They meet the following day and spend it discussing the important stuff as in – when to get married, when both the families should meet…..

8^th Jan 2007 : Khushi’d parents come to Ravin’s home and they decide on the engagement and wedding dates. The ring ceremony was decided on Feb 14, 2007 at faridabad and the Marriage sometime in the Nov 2007.

Just a few days before the engagement, he calls Khushi and someone else picks the call and gives the life shattering news that Khushi has met with an accident and is admitted in the ICU. Ravin goes to Faridabad immediately to go and be besides her through the toughest times. The way he feels hurt when Khushi is taken to the CT-Scan room and the way she is moved to Apollo Hospital in Delhi could just not be explained by me but is very well portrayed through Ravin’s pen. And finally comes the most tragic news that she is finally no more going to be with him forever.

The final few sentences which really touched me were --

She died, I survived

Because I survived, I died everyday.

If ever I fall asleep, I would wake to the night mares screaming. The time was always 4 AM.

And the book ends as Ravin says the following words to his father when asked about his marriage-

“Because,to think of another girl, I feel like a whore”

A final classy touch……..

Definitely a book worth reading.

Paalaruvi Clicks

2011-01-01T02:14:00.001+05:30

Paalaruvi clicks...... A green delight this New Year Eve......

Just wanted to bring it out ---- Attention please !!!!!!!!!

2010-12-06T15:18:00.007+05:30

Temperatures as low as ~20 degrees,
a warm sleep below the quilt,
a hot cup of coffee,
thermals, mufflers, jackets,
cold wind,
Year end sale,
Festive look all through the city --- It's December 2010.

IRCTC
Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) is a subsidiary of the Indian Railways that handles the catering, tourism and online ticketing operations of the railways.

God knows the luck you need to have to get train tickets online. For people as me who plan their journeys quite ahead, its quite okay to get tickets in WL / RAC and then keep the fingers crossd till the moment the chart is prepared. I have always wondered, if booking tickets via IRCTC is the only possible option. No, I was wrong ---

1. You can always walk upto the railway to book tickets.(Are you there? :P)
2. There are so many travel sites - yatra.com , makemytrip.com, cleartrip.com

I came to know of the cleartrip.com through HDFC bank when it said it has come up with special deals when you book tickets via HDFC bank. Me, being the most loyal customer of HDFC bank, started using it. I dont get any big deal as my base train fare itself is pretty cheap. The difference in fare between a ticket booked in IRCTC and Cleartrip is as minimum as Rs.7.00.

An IRCTC transaction:

A Cleartrip transaction:

Today as usual as ever, I wanted to book my ticket and logged into the Cleartrip and was shocked to see a slight increase in the ticket fare.

And there is no warning or note why the fare has been raised. I thought that the IRCTC might have raised the ticket fare and verified in their site. It just shows Rs. 236 + Rs.10(IRCTC reservation charge).

I thought that the Cleartrip site might charge more because of the festival season, but it reflects the same fare for the next three months till feb. I googled around to see if anyone has ever had the same issues and was able to find just one - http://www.cleartrip.com/forums/43/topics/1355.

The admin has explained the extra for the service and transaction charge.-

What’s a transaction fee? Why am I being charged one?: Banks and credit card companies charge Cleartrip a percentage of each transaction as a payment processing fee. Cleartrip passes this cost on to you as it’s not affordable for us to absorb the cost. This is no different from IRCTC who also charge extra for people using credit cards/debit cards/netbanking to make payments.

Even IRCTC has all these charges and its made quite transparent as

Base fare - Rs 236
Reservation charges - Rs 10
Bank service charge - Rs 11.03
-----------------------------------
Total train fare - Rs 257.03

Previously cleartrip was charging Rs. 250 against Rs. 257 and now charges Rs. 261. Not sure why and there is no proper explanation on the increase. Just the formula they calculate to compute the fare is given.

The answer to the difference between the fare is --

the answer to the difference between govenment and private buses, speed of the BSNL broadband and Airtel broadband, the dull tariff of BSNL and the attractive tariff of Reliance...

But atleast all the above stated have private standards and luxuries.... but in trains there is nothing to be private....

Just wanted to bring it out ---- Attention please !!!!!!!!!

Makes my life beautiful

2010-12-03T14:21:00.003+05:30

School life.... cherished days of everyone's life....
We are three of us - Rita, Shweta and Pooja.The twine of friendship wound us in class XI when we opted for the Comp.Sci group. We were together in almost everything - incomplete observations, being punished for giggling through classes, being late for special class and staring at walls for answers when Physics sir used to question us, pulling Shweta's legs for her uniterrrupted session with a lizard during Comp Sci class, Pooja staying late for Shweta when Shweta gets detention with Chemistry sir for scoring fail marks in chemistry unit test(she cracked a distinction though in public exams)....

No words for our group study at my home when Pooja joins it only for the snacks my mom prepares and Shweta, the ultimate turns up without even a single book....

Our friendship became much stronger after our public exams... Hanging out in each other's home everyday, roaming around, going for the summer exhibitions, and all gossips.... It was college admission time and all three of us had different interests and to be honest we have never had a feeling of getting admitted in the same college as many of the bestest friends in my place do....

I ended up in picking a college in my town, Shweta in a nearby city and Pooja in a near by town. We used to call often and meet once in a while when everyone was at our native. Moving on, I landed up in another State for my career, followed by Shweta and very recently by Pooja too. Reunion after 2 and a half years and that too away from home. We decided to meet on a weekend.

Movie... No
Lunch in a restuarant..... No
Roaming in some mall.... No
Meeting in one of our PGs and just spend the chatting..... No

Finally Pooja turned with a very nice idea of meeting in my PG and cooking lunch.

We started cooking at 2.30 PM and went on till 4.30 PM.

The menu included -

Appetizer:
-----------
Mushroom Soup

Main Course:
--------------
Chicken curry
Chicken Fry
Rasam
Chips
Rice

Desserts
----------
Vanilla Ice cream with choco chips.

It was so enjoyable---we spilt the soup down the sauce pan forgetting to stir, Oil got empty mid way through cooking and I rushed to buy, Shweta had tears in her eyes due to spiciness when she tasted the chicken curry initally......

It was finally almost 5.00 PM when we sat for lunch.

A perfect lunch - three good old friends - nice food - and all gossipy chatts....

What more can i ask for....? Makes my life beautiful.....

A business deal this Diwali...............

2010-10-06T15:02:00.001+05:30

With the festival season set in...........

This list shows the TamilNadu prices which are less compared to Hosur/Karnataka rates and you get a flat 20% off on all items and 25% - 30% off on orders above Rs.8000.

If you would like to get an assorted combo of crackers, I can mail you the list of all crackers with their rates.

You can reach

Mr.T.H.Shenabagaraj

( 0)9443127920
for Corporate gifts and personal needs.

HAVE A HAPPY AND A SAFE DIWALI.............. :)

The basic cooking template ------ Most needed!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-09-24T19:20:00.001+05:30

For all ppl who would like to master cooking in a day - here it goes, the basic template........

Heat oil in a pan.
Add mustard seeds and cumin seeds.
After 2 minutes, add chopped onion and chillies(to taste).
If you love spicy food, add little chilly powder. Else skip this point.
Add salt by dissolving it in little water.
Add a pinch turmeric powder.
When the onion turns golden yellow, add chopped tomatoes(depends on the main vegetable)** and saute.
Once the raw smell of the onion and tomato is gone, add any chopped vegetable.
Once it is cooked, server hot. Tastes good even if it becomes cold.

** Tomato doesn't get well with vegetables like potato and the guards family(Ivy Guard, Bitter Guuard)

From my personal experience, Cooking is no big a deal!
This template worked fine with Greens, Bhindhi, Ivy Guard and Potato

******Conditions Apply. :)

Dedicated to all bachelors and spinsters......

Plastic money - Use it wisely

2010-09-17T16:22:00.002+05:30

"gangai nadhippuraththu goadhumaip pandam
kaaviri vetrilaikku maarukolluvoam"

One of Bharathiyar's impressive songs depicting the trading method of those days.The Barter System - exchange of goods. The surplus is given and the deficit is bought. An effective method practised those days. It would have been good if we practise it still today.

Give me 1 kg of Gold, I will give you 1 kg of salt. :P All girl's fathers will become quite relieved. :)

Jokes apart, slowly the trading system changed and we have landed in the era of plastic money-Credit cards and debit cards.

Debit card - You keep your money in the bank and for every transaction you do, the money keeps decreasing.
Credit Card - bank gives you money and for every transaction you do, the credit keeps increasing, you finally pay the spent amount at the end of your monthly cycle.

Credit cards and debit cards have become common in the last few decade though the history of credit card is tracked as early as 1887 by Edward Bellamy in his utopian novel "Looking Backward". Bellamy used the term credit card eleven times in this novel.( I hear buzzes that "she has sneaked this piece of info from Wiki." [10 on 10. you are right :)] )

There are quite a lot many advantages of credit cards if you use it wisely. You get good cash back offers for booking tickets,recharging your SIM card online, for refilling fuel and some good weekend deals on booking movie tickets in multi plexes. Apart from this, there is one more cool feature of reward ponts. You get a reward point of 2 for every 150 Rs you spend. This reward point keeps accumulating and you can redeem them for luxury jewellery, charity, household items etc.

I got a Platinum Plus Credit card from HDFC and Ive been using it for some months now and I found credit cards very useful for people as me who know the value of their hard earned money. You just need to keep a track of how much money you have in hand and how much you can afford to spend. This month faced a really irritating experience with these guys which I thought I should share.

Was on a shopping and I swiped my Platinum Plus Chip card for quite some amount. The card got rejected saying "Insufficient Money". That happened almost thrice and the shopkeeper asked me for another card. I told him that I have quite sufficient balance and asked him to try for 7K bucks less. The transaction was successful and I paid the remaining amount in my debit card. Things were quite fine until the next credit card statement came.

"THE OUTSTANDING ON YOUR CARD ACCOUNT EXCEEDS THE AUTHORISED CREDIT LIMIT PLEASE REGUARISE THE CARD ACCOUNT IMMEDITELY.

I was charged an overlimit fee. To be honest, I din't know what it was as I believed my credit card limit was twice as much as it actually was. I called up the call centre around 9.00 AM and a lady picked up.

She greeted me with a "Good afternoon(?). Thank you for calling HDFC Cerdit card Service".
I told her that I can repay whatever I have spent inclusive of the overlimit credit in just one stroke and asked her to revert back the overlimit fee. She flatly said it can't be done and that everything has been included in the documents I've signed during the registration of the card.

I was quite taken back.But what can be done? It was my dumbness not to know what my credit limit is. So i just said "Fine" to her and ended the call.

Only after breakfast, I realised that I din't even know the procedure to regularise my card and so I called back. My call landed up with someother agent who said a very refreshing "Good Morning". I was quite upset and I was talking in a low tone. She must have a had a hard time hearing me and finally said that if I could repay my outstanding in the coming month inclusive of the overlimit fee, she can take up a request so that the overlimit could be refunded in the subsequent month. I was quite shocked and confirmed it several times with her that if it can be actually done. She said "Yes, it can be" and raised a request to the concerned department. I felt quite relieved. But it raised a lot many questions within me -

1. If it can be actually done, then why did the first agent to whom I spoke, gave me a concrete "NO"?
2. As the first agent to whom I spoke gave me a concrete "NO", has the second agent committed herself by mistake?
3. Definitely, these representatives would be looking into some Knowledge base for all these info and there can be just one doc. So why are these two different answers?

Anyways, I thought of calling them back after a week to know the status of that request.

I called today, and today's representative said that the request is in "Under process state" and the overlimit fee will be credited back.

Hopefully it gets credited next month. :)

Today's Lesson: :P

We can't change the policies of the bank to our wish or ask for a clear cut transparent doc in a private bank where hidden charges dominate the most. If you deposit someother bank's cheque in your HDFC account, it charges you Rs.125 as service charge.

Be careful with the private bank's policies and procedures.

Whenever you have issues with the bank(atleast HDFC), just dont conclude by talking to one call centre rep. Cross verify with two or three. After all, it is our hard earned money.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Silent Killers

2010-09-01T13:01:00.002+05:30

For all sea food lovers, there could not be a better dish than the fish curry cooked in mud pot.

But where to go for a mud pot now. Everything has become revolutionized and we live in the Hi-Tech era. One of the biggest achievement of the modern chemistry is the invention of plastics. From the feeding bottle that the mother uses to feed her child to the day you leave the world, every human being born is bound to plastic in one way or the other. Plastics more dreadful than useful. Hazards of using plastics goes far more than the imagination of anyone.

A few weeks backs, got a mail regarding these silent killers.

In ancient India, we have heard of rishis living for centuries. There is no point in bragging about the past but still amma always says, "we compare ourselves with the past and take up the good things." I am no saint to preach everyone to meditate in the woods. But still there are a few things we could do and a fewer things we could avoid to live heathy -

1. Use as many as fine quality glass or metal crockery sets. Glass/metal utensils to cook and serve food, metal water bottles and metal/glass plates.

2. Use metal pots to store water, metal buckets or *andaas and metal mugs. * An andaa is a small metal drum with a wide mouth used to store water.

3. Avoid buying mineral water bottles as and when you travel. Instead, carry metal water bottles with the flavour of water you like.

4. Last but never the least, grow plants in all the plastic water bottles. :)

I found my water bottle having <1> grade plastic and I have disposed. Now I use a metal water bottle and a glass plate. Of course they are quite costly but I am okay at the cost of my life.

I will feel a mission accomplished if atleast one of you reading this blog would replace your life style to the above four pointers. Hoping to hear from all you guyz!!!!!!!

Parallel reading for the interested:

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLF18683220080916
http://www.mindfully.org/Plastic/Plasticizers/Out-Of-Diet-PG5nov03.htm

The timely hackers

2010-08-19T11:09:00.003+05:30

Bangalore:
Shanti Nagar Station:
8.45 PM
SETC Counter:

I wanted to put my phone on charge as the battery had almost drained and I will be traveling for the next 12 hours. I approached a snacks shop a few metres away from SETC Counter with the sign VODAFONE on it and found two shocking things.

To recharge your SIM you need to pay extra 5 rupees more than the MRP of the card.
To charge your mobile battery, you need to pay 5 rupees.

My bus was by 9.00 PM and the time was already 8.55 PM. So i thought why should I pay rs 5.00 for 2-3 mins. Instead I can use the STD/PCO booth where i can make one 1 Re. call.

Next Morning:

Madurai:
Maatuthavani Bus Station:
6.30 AM

Went to a STD booth to call home. Learnt from the tea shop anna that
To charge your mobile battery, you need to pay 10 rupees.
Didn't enquire about the SIM recharge options as this shock itself was more than enough.

NO WONDER WHY INDIA IS STILL LOOKED DOWN DESPITE ALL HER WEALTH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A Drive through the Western Ghats

2010-07-28T16:48:00.001+05:30

I dont understand what happens to me after an hour post lunch.... i seriously cant sit in my cube staring the system. I start thinking of something or the other or wonder how many i can think about... today I am back after a week off and have quite many in my mind to blog over. back to the point that i was on off last week, forget the reason why i took off but i had to travel from my home in Sivakasi through the western ghats to reach my granny's home in Allepey.

My sister was quite irritated by the fact that we were to travel by road because of the seasickness the turns in the Western Ghats cause. My mom was worried about the driver as driving through the ghats requires some experience of steering through those bends and curves. I love traveling in whatever mode and was looking forward to the journey through the woods.

Sivasksi - Srivilliputhur -> Thenkasi -> Courtraalum -> Ilanji -> Shenkottai -> Thenmala -> Punalur -> Addor -> Haripad -> Ambalapuzha and finally Allapuzha (Im used to saying Allepey from my childhood).

This was our route plan. You can move directly from Thenkasi to Shenkottai but since it was a seasonal time in Courtraalum, a town with so many waterfalls and a major tourist attraction for people around, we decided to opt this route. I have always hated that place for so many reasons --

1. I am scared of having a shower in the waterfalls.(What will i do if some heavy rock comes and falls directly on my head or what will I do if I slip down and get drowned besides the guards).
2. The water is very cold. I'm used to bathing in not less than 40 degrees Celsius.
3. It is a very nasty place. Poorly maintained by the Govt. People massage their body and apply oil on their hair and very decently leave those papers as such.HUH!)
4. It is too much crowded always. Believe me, people stand in queue to take bath in the falls.I have heard people saying they waited for 2-3 hrs in the queue to stand under the scarcely leaking water for 5 mins. I wonder what they do with the shower in the bath :P

My mom wanted to visit all the falls there(Main Falls, 5 falls(water flows down through 5 niches in rocks in one place), Old falls and so on). But me and my sister were against my mom and to satisfy my mom we decided that we will get down in one of the falls and finally decided to get down at Main Falls. We felt yucky to walk through the streets and we showed her the white milky water flowing down from quite a distance. Thats it. Our visit to Courtraalum lasted for no more than 10 mins. :) On the way back, we found so many regional fruits being sold in the streets. We decided to buy Rambutan(ramtaan as we say) and amma bargained it from an old man for Rs.40.

It is red color spiky fruit which you have to break into two and inside is the edible fleshy part. It resembles an egg and has a seed inside. It was delicious I should say. The fruit seller broke them into two equal halves in one stroke. But it was hard to for us to do it that way though I managed to gain some experience after eating 7-8 of them. Practice matters you see :P

After Courtrallum, it was Ilanji where we stopped for lunch and then the journey through the mighty Western Ghats started.

Its a "you got to feel it" experience. Rising feets above the sea level with every turn and the tall thick trees on wither side of you, the big damp rocks, water flowing across the roads every now and then.... Oh my god! Just no words. The nature at its best. Rubber plantations everywhere and it is definitely a delight to the eyes. Green plants, milky white water, the blue sky with dark clouds... Feels like heaven even as i write.... Every now and then water was flowing through the rocks... I felt it was better to take a bath here than in Courtraalum. We were driving peacefully through the woods after it would have been an hour when my mom gave me and my sissy a shock. Seemed there was one more waterfalls "Paalaruvi"on that way and that we can go there and have a bath if we wished.I have never been there though I have been traveling in the same route for the past 23 years. So we thought we would check it out.

If I am not wrong, it come around 30 kms before Thenmala. The fare for vehicles to enter the reserved area is just Rs.15 against 30-50 in Courtraalum. You need to travel 7-8 kms from the fare gate to reach the water falls..... Its a decent two lane road with trees on either side. Believe me it is such a serene place. No crowded people, clean and completely unpolluted. You could hardly see plastic bags left over here and there. Also, the water was flowing much better than the earlier visited falls. The atmosphere was too good. The less the famous, the better and cleaner is the place. It is a kind of three tier falls

Tier I - water starts from the top edge of the hills and flows into a pool
Tier II - water from the pool in Tier 1 falls down into a pool
Tier III - water from the pool in Tier II falls into Tier III. Here there is a provision for girls and boys separately.Right now, people are allowed to bath only in Tier III. though people have been allowed to take bath even in Tier 1 in the past. There are engravings of Hindu Gods, the lingam of Lord Shiva and many others in the rocks in Tier 1.

This is how the Tier 1 was before the ban.

Now, there is a view point in Tier I and there are man made steps to reach that. You can spot many leeches while climbing up.

Take my words, it is a place worth going than Courtraalum. Calm and serene. Even i felt like having a bath. Though I didn't :).

Will upload the videos and photos in the near future. Till then, google around for Paalaruvi incase if you have never been there.

And hats off to the guards here who maintain the environment so clean.

HIGH FIVE TO PAALARUVI.

My Latest Crush

2010-06-29T11:43:00.001+05:30

C: (C Drive)

E: (E Drive)

Command Prompt, Control Panel, Map a Network Drive, ..........Refreshing the desktop whenever and wherever possible, using Remote Desktop option of whosoever is in my network, Using Favorites option in IE, Solitaire, Recycle Bin,

Whenever i think what a computer could do, the above words would dominate.

Yes I am a Windows addict. In other words, I dint know anything apart from it. . I had hardly imagined anything besides Windows OS'es. When I was in my college pursuing my BCA, I have heard students of the IT department having a paper, UNIX. All I could hear them say is "COMMANDS" during the UNIX conversation. But sticking to the students norms, I never felt like reading my book and was least bothered of what an IT student studied. All my idea of UNIX was very simple,

1. It is an open source OS. Thank God, we need not pay for it.
2. A 3rd year IT student in my university studies it.

I joined Novell and was in a team again, where I worked on nothing but Win XP SP2. Working on SP3 itself was once in a bluemoon. Its been a few months since I started blogging and a fewer months I moved teams and started working on quite a number platforms....
SLES
RHEL
OES................................. the names were very very scary..... I just felt there could not be a better name than Windows. I could still remember the first day i worked on SLES. It was like lost in the woods.... No C or D drive, no way to map a network drive, most important of all.... No way to refresh the desktop..... I was to just install a product and validate it..... But I struggled like anything. It was like loading an ant with the mission of climbing Everest....... I was literally running for help to everyone I know.... But that was for quite a few days... When I started taking a serious learning on the basic commands in LINUX, SLES to be precise, I started making my first love for LINUX. I realized it was pretty faster than Windows. It doesn't come loaded with all unwanted junk applications. Using commands in the Terminal and Putty seemed easier than using the Windows GUI. When I went home two weeks before, Windows said I am a victim of counterfeiting....

Least bothered now.........

Oh My God

2010-06-03T15:45:00.002+05:30

Its been just a few weeks since i moved teams... Nothing much to do... Just doing the basic installation and validation testing.

My company is under bid and my product is not going so well in the market.Me, having not much to do was just installing the OS and was watching the white bars of the black screen progress. It was a cloudy afternoon with dark clouds over the roof ready to downpour anytime. People were chatting about the bids,some teams about the hikes that could be offered when some acquisition happens and we (my team) were concerned about our project. My cube is quite away from the windows and in line with the today's corporate infrastructure I dint have any clue that it was raining heavily outside. There was a "THUD" thunder.

OH MY GOD.

After that thud, I couldn't stay in office for a moment also. My heart was urging me to return to my PG. I couldn't chat with people and I came back to my cube. I couldn't concentrate on my work too. I was becoming irresistant. It was just 4.00 and i still had 1.30 hours to leave. I was almost out of my senses to think of what has happened and what will happen. My heart literally stopped on the lateral thought.

FLASHBACK : THE DAY BEFORE:

It was 11.30 PM and my to-be-washed clothes filled the entire cupboard. So with the entire determination of washing atleast a fourth of them, I started and washing them at 11.30 PM in the terrace and it went on all till 1.30 AM. Then I left my dresses to dry in the terrace. As a reaction to the action, I slept till 7.45 AM that day and my bus comes by 8.15 AM. So the dresses were left in the terrace itself.

My two hours hardwork in vain...
OH MY GOD!
:( :( :(

And what will happen?
Will have to atleast rinse them again before letting them dry to atleast avoid the stinking smell.

Go Green Guyz

2010-03-19T14:03:00.001+05:30

Its March 19,2010... Bangalore.... Blogging comfortably at my air conditioned cube after a Coporate Lunch in a MNC. The cafeteria was not air conditioned... People felt the hotness of the SUN under the ceiling as though they were lunching in a roof garden in Thar Desert in April or May noon. The News channel in the cafeteria was attracting each and every person in the Cafe with the hot news, "No ground water in 15 years"....

The State Government has fell so many trees for city expansion, the Govt dint bother to transplant the trees cut, It dint plant any new tree in some area in the city, The lakes are drying and the officials dont care, The city is not the way as it used to be.... So many nature loving hearts with their best critics....

Excuse Me!

What did you do to change the situation?

Closed the tap in the Cafe properly after washing your hands.... No!

Bothered to report a leaking pipleline in the wash room! No...

Took a public transport! No

Planted a tree! "Im sorry... i live in a multistoreyed apartment and dont have space to grow trees. Also, we buy drinking water and no water to plant tress"

Atleast unplugged the charger after charging your mobile! "Y should I... so much of current is wasted in so many ways.... Will unplugging my charger restore the ground water... Dont be so smart"

No clue when we will stop all our careless and take it for granted attitude towards Mother Nature....

Guyz... its time to do something to save our Mother Earth.... As said, you cant eat or drink money.... We need water, we need rain, we need good air to breathe.....

Drive this concern into an action.... Go GREEN....

Take a used plastic/glass bottle
Fill it with water
Take a Money Plant stem with or without roots and place it inside the bottle.
It will grow roots in a week or two and then it grows giving you sense a having done something....

You can keep this in your cube, in your dining table, in your balcony.... A good choice for interior decoration.... Its not as costly as the miniature bamboos too.... Its fine if you could pluck a stem of the Money Plant from your neighbour even.....

It would definitely make a big difference if each one of you could grow atleast one indoor plant.

Save Trees. Grow Trees