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Showing posts from February, 2013

Off Products Available in India: Not Tested on Animals- India

    A while ago, I turned vegan. It took me three months, to turn myself out of it, but I can safely say, that that experience changed the person in me. It started off with this documentary   and hit me hard. Possibly, owning a dog made a difference, the fact that I know him and have realized that 'they' deserve better. Anyhow, I've never looked at a piece of chicken the same way. I couldn't keep myself vegan, so I've done the best that I can do, given my shoddy will power. It's not much, but it is something, and honestly, it's not debatable. No camel, elephant rides. No zoos or circuses, wool, leather, feathers or shells. I'm leaving them alone, materially. And the most recent change has been with cosmetics and toiletries. I was luckier when I started off a couple of months ago, that I am now. The stock of products that I've had, has run out, and where before I was looking for shampoo/conditioner/body wash, I find myself looking for kajal

Empty Space- A Eulogy to Nothing

Empty space in a coloured photograph. Don't you just love empty space. The possibility of filling it with all the things that are loved and that you love, that stand clear of all the objections and the clutter of isms and ideas, thoughts and conscience. Oh purge, as you will. Purge all your worries and sins, and your teeth and claws with your weapons and guns. Into this empty space that will welcome all that fills it up. Be aware then as you are now, that everything that you put in there were only crowd it up. With pollution and pollutants, that do not belong here with us today or ever. So embrace this space, this empty space, for what it is not for what is is not, never will be or hope for it to be anything else but what it is right now, as it stands.

What Men Want!

I thought I'd keep it simple and list it down. Like most things,this doesn't apply to everyone out there, and I hope not to have offended anyone, if I have know that it's me that's doing the 'talking' and it's up to you to do the listening. Of course, comments and opinions are always welcome. 1. I think men like lists, that are worded to the meaning. Throw out the symbolism and the double meanings, just say what you want to say. 2. They want to know that they are attractive. And it isn't enough when just one person (their gf/wife) says it 24/7. In this case, the more opinions, the better! I don't think it's only a man thing though, we all like compliments. 3. A lot of men believe that they only really fall in love once, which is why when they fall in love with a woman, they give her EVERYTHING they can. And when that fails, he believes the worst about ALL women and that becomes THE reason behind everything bad he does in every relationship

Summer Projects: Focaccia Bread @ Home!

Done!  YEAST. Yowser... the bane and the boon of so many cooks, or rather uninitiated cooks. You have to understand, I'm South Indian Tamil. In our lives, there are three types of bread.  The Puri The Chapathi  Milk Bread / Wheat Bread And that's that. None of these breads use yeast, and in all honesty they're just basic flat bread. I've had a lot of disasters with yeast: such as trying to make the Malaysian Rotiboy Mexican Coffee Bun : Flat dead yeast, gave me a flat stone ball made of dough. I enjoyed moderate success with the Khaboos  and returned to the yeast adventures in an attempt to use up stock of 'erbs!  I struck gold with this recipe for easy as ever focaccia bread!  Alterations/ Tips used to the recipe was that:

A Liebster Award- yay!

So the in the last week I've had two nominations for the Liebster Award. So first up I want to thank Ashish  and Ayushi  for nominating me :) The award is essentially one given to you by your fellow bloggers for being the best blogger that they know  because you are loved, as from Ayush's post it just means loved in German. So yay!! Part of the conditions for receiving the award is that you also 'Pay it Forward' after answering a few questions by yourself- as follows: 1. Post 11 things about yourself.. this bit is slightly awkward..so I'm winging it in the order of my thoughts' - I'm Saro, and the name comes from one of my stories. I used to blog as SS prior to that - The blog used to be called homogenized dreams, a fact that I'd forgotten myself until I saw some drafts - I have a moral compass that swings like a compass, haywire. Hence, I am a big hypocrite. - I have a dog that I love more than anything or anyone in this world - I got him

Vishwaroopam- A Review

Is he a good fella or a bad fella? We went to watch the movie on Monday, feeling privileged to live in a state that didn't cry foul over the movie. I was with Ms Fan and Mr Curious As previously stated, I'm not a fan of Kamal Hassan, but I do appreciate a good movie. My favorites from the actor, are movies like Anbe Sivam and Moondru Moodichu . That having said, we popped over to the cinema, the three of us, on a Monday, to a surprisingly half full hall. Families with three generations had turned up in throng, possibly taking advantage of the cheaper tickets on weekdays. The Start As a dancing teacher with Andrea The movie started off well I thought, even though the puritan in me (the fact that it was a Kamal Hassan movie jumped at  me in the first ten minutes when the lady is talking about her affair with this other fella and the counselor wants to know if they've been intimate. "Sex? We haven't gotten there yet," or something to that effect, s

RIP- Mukul Deva- Book Review

I'm reading Mukul Deva for the first time, and well in all honesty, a book of this genre after eons. My last tryst with a thriller was Lie Down with the Lions from 1986, by Ken Follet. There are a few reasons I stay away from thrillers, one of them is the fact that thrillers do not allow room for character narratives, the way a novel would, and I'm a sucker for character narratives. Overall the story is simple.  The story of the K-Team a group of Army officers, who rid this country of a few key members and incite some fear in the political class. Krishna is the protagonist, Raghav the antagonist and Vinod the cop, trying to do the right thing, but also keep himself safe. Embedded within the main plot, is the story of the love triangle between Reena, Krishna & Raghav.  The climax of the book shows the neat assassination (spoiler alert) of Ranvijay (Rahul Gandhi) and a clean getaway. The thriller taps into the fantasy that a lot of us have, of bringing out a gun and ridd

Blueprint for Change

Blogadda Contest - List out the 5 concerns that you have and the blueprint to fix it.. dream contest. Here are my 5 top concerns. 1.   Bankruptcy Legislation: India has the same host of Banking products and services that a lot of the developed nations have. There are two things lacking in the system though, the option to declare bankruptcy, if someone has just borrowed too much money or irresponsibly given more money than they could afford to pay back by the creditor. The other thing lacking is free financial counselling  either from NGOs or the government, that will allow people to make better financial decisions. Blueprint: That the Pauper Act of 1905 (I think) be updated and stop talking about the transfer of chicken and instead start talking about real life problems that people who have been affected by things like natural disaster etc, that would affect their ability to pay their debts. In addition to this, it should be mandate that every state have a set number of NGOs or

Blog-A-Ton 36- And then there were none

This post has been published by me as a part of the Blog-a-Ton 36 ; the 36th edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton . The theme for the month is "and then there were none" I just saw the topic and I know I'm not winning, but given that we want 100 posts, I thought I'd do my bit by sharing this poem from Frank Green that was referenced to in the book, "And Then There Were None" by Agathie Chrisite. Ten little soldier boys went out to dine; One choked his little self and then there were Nine. Nine little soldier boys sat up very late; One overslept himself and then there were Eight. Eight little soldier boys travelling in Devon; One said he'd stay there and then there were Seven. Seven little soldier boys chopping up sticks; One chopped himself in halves and then there were Six. Sic little soldier boys playing with a hive; A bumbl