Palindrome!

When I was a kid, we used live in Chennai, then called Madras. My uncle was living in the Airport quarters. We used to visit them once in a while. Whenever, we enquire about our uncle, my cousin would say that he is in"Aerodrome". I was too young and of course too naive.. Aerodrome word itself would be sounding a bit strange and exotic to me those days.

My uncle, if he is around, would make us write a paragraph or two from Editorials of 'The Hindu', before inviting us to have lunch or dinner! I being the youngest of the lot, would be given one paragraph and my brothers would be asked to write 2 and three paragraphs respectively.

We stopped going to his house for fear of this uncalled for impositions! But there was an upside to it as well. We became very anxious to develop English speaking ability like our cousin and our eldest brother, who were privileged to attend English medium schools from class one!

I vividly remember my uncle telling me some Palindromes, such as RADAR used in Aerodromes and words in our lingo such as "vikatakavi"(விகடகவி), which can be read either way to have the same sound!

Yes; a word that would mirror the same if you read from either way,is called, Aerodrome.. oh.. no.. it is Palindrome! Well I am fixate with the word Aerodrome, which has found little usage nowadays. To rev it up, Delhi terminal 3 may be renamed as IGI Aerodrome!

My ex-boss who is a very good friend, philosopher and guide, used to say one Phrase in palindrome which could possibly be the oldest one, as told by Adam to Eve, "MADAM I'M ADAM!"

I think this act of Adam had a salutory effect on all women, so much so that all our WOMEN UNDERSTAND MEN; FEW MEN UNDERSTAND WOMEN !


Here is a popular poem,written by James A. Lindon, in which every line makes a Palindrome:-

King, are you glad you are king?1
Fall leaves after leaves fall.2
Says Mom, "What do you do?" – You do what Mom says.3
You know, I did little for you, for little did I know you.4
First Ladies rule the State, and state the rule: "ladies first."5
Please me by standing by me please.6
Blessed are they that believe they are blessed.7
Escher, drawing hands, drew hands drawing Escher.8
You can cage a swallow, can't you, but you can't swallow a cage, can you?9
Did I say you never say "never say never"? You say I did.10


I have started having an EYE on this word. Whenver I spot a Palindrome, my EYE would POP up!

Most of the companies and great personalities having names in palindromes are found to be extremely popular and successful.

Here are a few names, like, AXA,OXO,OMO, AVIVA, ICICI,ROTAVATOR, M&M, HANNAH and SUBUS!

Thinking of Palindrome, Emirates Towers in UAE appears to be a standing example of a structural palindrome, that you would rarely find anywhere in the world!

And Now, a question to the readers: Name a very popular language that is made of a Palindrome!

Spare the Sparrows

Suddenly I started wondering, 'when did I last saw sparrows?'

'Was it about 10 to 15 years ago?'

House Sparrows, Passer Domesticus, were quite commonly sighted in our surroundings as easily as the crows, but now they appear to have vanished in the thin air.

As a child I used to admire these chirping birds coming in hoards but always seen in pairs. You will find a pair in which slightly bigger one with well defined contours of black and brown shade would represent the male gender.

Many times I have noticed them making nest within a day. I have even gingerly lifted the young one when I was so exited by the warmth and delicate feeling inside the palm!

One day I was engrossed in work keeping the window open. Suddenly I heard a 'thud, in the room. 'Oh..shuck'.. a sparrow which entered the room through the window got hit by the fan blade and fell dead. I felt so bad.

Keeping the window closed would be the only way to prevent the birds from entering.. but keeping the window closed was not possible as the room was not air conditioned. Even as I was wondering how to prevent recurrence, there was another 'thud'. Alas! There lay his companion dead...

But, there after, there was no such instance even though the windows were kept open. I have heard about birds committing suicides in hoards. Sparrows live in pairs and they are too attached with each other.

There is a song which talks about a forlorn male bird committing suicide by deliberately hitting against the stem of Rose, after its love bird dies in an accident. I do not 'pooh pooh' the song any more. Yes; sadly enough, the second 'thud' proved the truth in the song.

All this thought come to my mind, after reading a news about release of a Stamp by India Posts on this endangered species of House 'sparrows'.

WE ALL HAVE THE RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT AND PRESERVE BIO DIVERSITY.

If we don't attempt to do, then time is not too far when we can only see such lovely species in philatelist collections and audio-visual archives.

SHALL WE TAKE A PLEDGE TO PROTECT THE PLANTS AND ANIMAL SPECIES FROM EXTINCTION?

Subustew!

Today I wondered, 'how come, the most popular blog topic was out of my mind for so long! May be because I had this feeling that recipe writing is not my 'cuppa tea'.

If only experts are supposed to write about anything, then users would not have opportunity to become experts. Moreover, not all good academicians are good teachers.

All this caveat is for justifying my recipe that is to follow! One thing you can be rest assured that I will write only about what I have experienced myself and found to be reasonably OK, if not adjudged as'yummy'!

Today, we are going to see the recipe for Stew which is widely known in southern part of India, popularly known as Olan. I call this as Subustew. Because this'Olan' is not made exactly in the traditional way, but only to suit the requirements of an expat or someone who is too hungry & impatient!

Subustew

Ingredients:-

1 Pealed and nicely cut grey gourd(vellai poosanikai or ilavan)- 300 gms
2 Ditto- carrot 50 gms
3 Ditto- arabi(big special chepankizhangu/chembu) 50 gms
4 Long green chillies- cutt longitudinally 3 or 4 nos
5 Optional- other vegetables (like green pea, capsicum) 25/25 gms
6 Cocunut oil- 7 to 12 ml
7 Asafotida- just enough to add flavor
8 Plain milk 50 ml(for puritans - coconut milk) 50 ml
9 Kadipatha/ curry leaves- (optional) 10 leaves
10 Moong dal 25 gm

SALT TO THE REQUIRED AMOUNT

Using a heavy bottomed vessel, In about 300 ml of boiling water put the moong dal(item 10)and allow for about 5 minutes. Then add all the items from 1 to 5 together.(If you thing that the arabi may take more time to cook, you may put it earlier for 5 minutes and then add all other items). Now, add salt and boil it for another 5 minutes.

At this moment, you can add Asafotida, Coconut oil and Kadi patha. After 5 minutes(ensuring that all vegetables are cooked properly) add the milk and swich off the stove within one minute!

SUBUSTEW is ready to be served!

You can be sure that the dish will not only be tasty, it will be too caring and affectionate to your stomach!

RISK MANAGEMENT NEWS LETTER

During times of financial difficulty, we often try to find ways to reduce our costs wherever possible. Whilst it will be a prudent measure not just during the financial difficulty, but during normal times as well, caution to be exercised to see that we are not taking things a bit too far in curtailing our essential expenses.


During difficult economic times, one would find difficult to find funds for working capital requirements let alone manage sudden and unforeseen expenses. God forbid, if some loss or damage happens to our assets due to act of god or other perils, there should be a proper risk financing plan to meet additional expenses to rebuild or rehabilitate the affected items.


It is always an unwritten rule that if some one considers things won’t go wrong, certainly things would go wrong! Therefore, it is necessary for one to expect the unexpected.

For this simple reason, it would be always advisable to review our insurance coverage or enhance the cover already availed, during difficult economic times. This step will go a long way in ensuring proper business continuity mechanism for any organisation.


We, as insurance advisors, have several case studies to prove the above point, therefore, we advise our clients and potential clients to ensure proper insurance program for their organisation as a business strategy.

We not only just provide insurance covers but also engage our customers so as to give fit and proper insurance solutions for their organisation thereby participate in their Risk Management concerns.


Should you feel the same way and want to ensure a safe, secure and well thought out insurance program for your organisation, please feel free to contact us for a discussion and exploratory meeting at your office.


subu

Note: The drop in business enquiries made me think of reaching out to potential customers. Instead of a simple introductory letter, I thought that I can make a news letter!(Although I have an underlying concern for the insuring public, this news letter is the result of a selfish motive to improve the business enquiries- will it work?)

Mumbai and Dubai!

I came to Mumbai in the year 1994. One evening I went to a restaurant at Church gate, Mumbai. I spotted a known face having snacks at another corner. Quickly we could recognise each other. "Hi! Kannan when did you come from the US?" Kannan is a relative, who went to US several years ago. That was a surprise meeting which made our families come closer.


On a busy evening, whilst crossing the Foot over Bridge, in one of the suburban stations, I met an old acquaintance. Ignoring the fast moving human wave, I called out his name. The quick conversation facilitated our follow up phone calls and meetings.

Recently, I received an SMS that Mr PM has taken up a job in UAE, with a local contact number. I was surprised and delighted! Mr. PM was my colleague on my first posting way back in 1988, at a small town in India. More than just working together, we were living in the same compound in the official quarters. I was the only bachelor in the staff quarters and enjoyed the courtesies and hospitality of other two families living there.

I called up and invited him to come over to my place, which he, readily obliged. We had a great time recounting the entire events happend in our lives since 1990.

It is amazing to note that both Mumbai and Dubai has a striking similarity of facilitating rare encounters of old friends!

Don't you think there should be more than just the alphabets that are common to both Mumbai and Dubai!

Can you identify the building and location?

Note:-The top picture is an Architectural representation.





















I visited this place today and the building in the background has some speciality. It reminds us of a world famous structure. Can you identify the world famous structure and the one in pic?



The structure bagged the Guinness record recently!

Fitness for survival

Of late, I have stopped doing exercise. I could realise this only when I made a comment during a conversation with a new acquaintance. Yes, as usual, I had been to the Humor club meet last Friday. I met a gentleman, who came back to his seat, after sharing some interesting incidents and personal experiences with the audience.

I praised him on his talk and got myself introduced. During the conversation, I observed that life in UAE is quite unique as people are habituated to controlled environment, ....and, one has to do regular excercise....blah..blah.., otherwise, it would be difficult to remain in shape!

When I learnt that he worked for a fitness company, I realised my genius in explaining about the importance of fitness to an expert in the field!

I started going to Gym after the first visit of my family in UAE. The idea dawned on my mind when my daughter taunted me about my sign of prosperity. Recently, when my family was here for 40 days, I skipped my Gym sessions, on the pretext of giving company to them.

The gap of over one month had its effect on me. Again my daughter, before leaving for Mumbai, gave a nice punch on my paunch, to dig at my fickle minded approach to fitness.

This week I mustered up my wits and renewed my Gym membership.

On my first day of resuming the session, the instructor was happy to receive me and guide me, saying that I should slowly get back to the original program, without being impatient. He also explained about the new value added program of a free session for members on Self-defence techniques!

I started fantasizing that I would not only be fit, but would really become fighting fit! At this moment, he distracted me and asked, 'did you do the abs exercise?', giving an impish look at my rich looking 'breadbasket'!

Even when I answered him with a firm, 'I did do the abs exercise', I secretly vowed that one day, I would achieve a 'washboard' like abs!

Well, in UAE, even on controlled diet, one can put on weight. This is mainly due to lack of physical activity and sweating. The only way to ensure regular physical activity, other than for those blue colored work force, is to join a fitness club.
And mind you, I am not owning a FITNESS CLUB myself!

Yes; who doesn't want to be fit, if not FIGHTING FIT?

Darwin theory says, 'Survival of the fittest'. I would say that the relevance of the theory is in maintaining the fitness for survival!