Colorful streets of India....

India has always been exalted and remembered fondly as the country of colors. Color is the most important element of India. From bright colorful clothes to beautiful and creative paintings, pottery and handicrafts. From mouth watering Indian cuisines to the seasons and festivals, it all reflects the distinctive and rich culture and colorful spirit of the people of India. In India, the color red represents something quite different: Purity. That’s contrary to Western cultures where the color white is used to symbolize purity.


Red also stands for purity and is the preferred color for a bride's garment. Indian brides traditionally wear red gowns and once married their foreheads are adorned with a red dot or tikka, the symbol of commitment. Because the wedding represents the beginning of a union of two individuals, the color red also symbolizes fertility and prosperity. Red is dynamic and constantly breathing fire in the eyes of the beholder. It incites fear and is the color associated with one of the most revered goddesses in Hindu mythology - Durga. Her fiery image is enhanced by her red tongue and almost red eyes.

The color green represents the harvest or a new beginning and, as in America, green is symbolic of nature. In India green is also the color used to honor Islam.

White is the absence of color, and is the only color widows are allowed to wear. It is the acceptable color at funerals and ceremonies that mark death in the family. It reflects the basic quality of the color itself, in principle; white, as a color, repels all light and colors and therefore, when a widow wears white, she disconnects herself from the pleasures and luxuries of active and normal participation in society and life around her.

Turmeric, for instance, while being used for cooking in both the north and the south, is also used in ceremonies offering prayers and marriages. Yellow symbolizes sanctity and is an essential herbal ingredient applied on the body and face by women in the sub continent

Black in India has connotations with lack of desirability, evil, negativity, and inertia. It represents anger and darkness and is associated with the absence of energy, barrenness, and death. Black is used as a representation of evil and is often used to ward off evil.

The colors of India have mesmerized rulers, outsiders, and visitors - perhaps more so because of the stories and legends that bind its people, its culture, and its beliefs. The "rani" pink of mystical Rajasthan, the pastel hues of southern India, the joyous, bright hues of the northern frontier, and the balmy bright colors of the east offer a kaleidoscopic insight into an almost perfect blend of history and modernism.

The color blue, for instance, is associated with Lord Krishna, perhaps one of the most favored gods in India. And, as is obvious for any agricultural economy.

In India, a festivals of colors if celebrated named as Holi(http://meghanaunleashed.blogspot.com/2009/07/holi-festival-of-spring-scientific.html). Also Rangloi (http://meghanaunleashed.blogspot.com/2009/06/rangoli-beautiful-collage-of-colors.html) a collage of colors is made on festivals to decorate the houses.

Some tips for becoming a ' Smart Household Manager'

 

Women have multiple roles to play in life, specially when a woman gets married and she also has a career. As and when you move ahead in life your roles and responsibility in career as well as family keeps on increasing. This is the time when a woman needs to become a 'Smart household Manager '.Also mums who are at home are busy in managing the lives of everyone at home; that no easy task. From my personal experience I would like to share few tips to become a Smart household manager. Some of my suggestion would hold true in Indian context only.

• The biggest mistake that stay-at-home moms make is not creating a schedule for the home. This means a schedule of activities for the kids that are home with you as well as a schedule for when you're going to get things done. Having no structure makes you put everything off until the last minute which creates stress. So sit down and make an actual schedule of what activities are going to happen when in your home on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. (Daily means knowing when everyone eats lunch, has nap time, play outside. Weekly is the days that you do laundry, run errands, attend play groups. Monthly is paying bills, planning holidays, etc.)

• Give responsibility to everyone else in the house. Just because you're the stay at home mom doesn't mean that you need to do it all yourself. Your kids should have chores because it helps build a sense of responsibility and the skills that they'll need to be adults. Do give some responsibilities to your spouse also.

• Try and save time from some of the activities in the house and take help from maids. Mainly on those work which are monotonous i.e. cleaning the house, dishes etc. You can use this saved time with your kids or in your personal grooming.

• If you are working then don't not hesitate to invest some amount of your salary in employing maids. Always remember that you by investing a small amount of money in getting HELP you can ensure a smooth and a stress free working of your house.

• In kitchen try and avoid investing time in chopping vegetables or making dough, cleaning kitchen table take HELP in this work and invest this time in making delicious and variety food for your family.

• Plan the menu of the week on weekends so that you can arrange , buy all groceries accordingly. That will save your time in last minute rush and give you a peace when your are at your work place

• Ironing clothes, daily cleaning, laundry are such activities that can be outsourced to a maid. But remember to be a Smart Manger and keep your eyes and ears open.

• If you have a bigger family, then you should take help in making chapattis or roti. This work once explained to the maid can be taken care. Only it requires your timely supervision.

• Do not try to be a perfectionist in your daily household work.

• Last but not the least, remember every woman has a right to look beautiful so don't not forget to devote some time in your personal care.

To effectively manage your home, you just need some basic organizational skills and the willingness to give yourself the credit you deserve. Take your role as home manager seriously and it'll run more smoothly, letting you enjoy it more. And everything will still get done!

Groundnut Chutney

An easy to prepare dish which will add taste to your meals, snacks.I have posted some more chutney recipes like mint mango chutney,tomato chutney in my older posts.

Category Side dish
Region All of India
Also Called Several names (depending upon the region)
Descriptive English Name Groundnut chutney
Served Hot parthas, snacks & a side dish with main course
Cooking Time 5-6 Min

Ingredients

• ½ Cup Roasted groundnuts
• 2-3 Garlic pieces
• 4-5 green chili
• 175 -200 gms Coriander with tender stems
• Salt to taste
• ½ Tbsp Red chili powder

Method

Wash Coriander in fresh water. Blend all ingredients together and make sure you do not blend very fine. Coarse groundnuts will give a very good taste.

Smart tips

You can make chutney once in three days & store it air tight container in your refrigerator.

Bagh Print –Originates from Heart Of India Madhya Pradesh.

Bagh, which lends its name to the Bagh prints is a small tribal town in Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh. The khatri community, who comprise the 'chhipas' or printers came here about 400 years ago from Larkana is Sind which is famous for its Ajrak prints. These are created by a community of printers called 'Chheepa' derived from the Hindi word "chhapna" meaning printing. A wide range of products are now available made from Bagh printed fabric - be it ladies suits, saris, dress material, dupatta, bed-covers, pillow covers etc. one can find all. Bagh prints have unique hand block printing, printed using vegetable dyes.

Traditionally, fabric used was cotton, but now saw tassar, crepe, and silk are being used with excellent results. Bagh layouts are dramatic with use of black and red alternately on a white background. Production process is painstaking and manual.
dyers of Bagh have perfected the ancient technique of hand block printing with vegetable dyes unique to this place. Bagh prints are today exported in large quantities. The designs are exclusive to Bagh & so are the vegetable dyes. These dyes are superior to chemical dyes in every respect. They leave no harmful effects. They are biodegradable & eco-friendly. And, they improve with each wash in shine & color.

Bagh Print in cotton fabric is one my all time favorite.

Top 5 Cheating husbands of Bollywood

Aamir Khan –One of the finest actor of Bollywood, who believes in the philosophy of ‘One film at a time ‘ proposed Reena when he just turned 21 years of age and she accepted. The fact that Reena hailed from a Hindu family while Aamir was a devout Islamic caused enough concern for the family who objected to their marriage. So, they eloped, got married and returned to their homes. The secret remained for five months until one fine day Reena had to disclose the news to her family. It was in the year 1986 that the duo got married in public and began living together. After sixteen year of married life and after having two kids Aamir divorced Reena in 2002.Aamir fell in love with Assistant director of film ‘Lagan’ and and re-married in 2005.Between 2002 and 2005, the shocking claim that British writer Jessica Hines had produced a love child called Jaan Harry Hines with Aamir in 2003.

Boney Kapoor –Boney Kapoor first wife Mona extended shelter to Sridvei in the time of need ,
she never knew that her hospitality will be thanked by sridevi by taking her husband away. Boney kapoor and Sridevi’s affair bloomed right under the nose of Mona and later Sridevi became pregnant when the affair of Boney Kapoor and Sridevi was revealed. Later the couple tied knot

Dharmendra –Dream girl Hemalini fell in love with the He-Man of Bollywood. When Hemalini and Dharmendra ‘s affair started,
that time Dharmendra was the father of four children.Dharemdra converted to Islam to marry the dream girl,as under Hindu law it’s not permissible to have two wives.He wanted to keep his first wife Prakash Kaur so he took this step of conversion to Islam.

Kamal Hassan-If you marry a man who cheats on his wife, you'll be married to a man who cheats on his wife. That's the lesson Sarika must have learnt from her life. Kamal cheated on Vani Ganpathy, his first wife, with Sarika and after a painful divorce Sarika got married to Kamal thinking hers would be a happily-ever-after story. Little did she know years later Kamal would cheat on her with someone else. His extra-marital affair with actress Simran Bagga resulted in Sarika filing for a divorce.

Saif Ali Khan- Saif married Amrita Singh , separated from her after thirteen years of married life and two kids. His Italian girlfriend Rosa, who was the main cause for his walking out on wife Amrita in the first place. Later, Saif and Rosa had a breakof and now a days Saif Ali Khan is dating a Bollywood actress Kareen Kapoor.Kareen Kapoor is the granddaughter of Late Raj Kapoor.