Surendra Shete

Foodgasm Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (Surendra) — Sun, 24 Jul 2016 08:09:00 +0000

Its been more than a year I have shifted to Bandra. I wanted to try various food joints in Bandra West since many years. Few years ago, my brother Ajinkya introduced to me to the most happening (i feel so) food lane near Bandra Reclamation around ONGC colony. This area is very calm but happening at late night with all the food joints packed. There around 10 food joints with cozy ambience, few serving alcohol & few with outdoor seating options. Have visited Che Moi & Fat Mans Cafe.

Saturday, being little tiring & busy, I decided to sleep early & head for some food joint in Bandra Reclamation area for an early morning breakfast. I checked few places on Zomato & decided to visit Foodgasm for healthy breakfast.

Foodgasm is well organized air conditioned & outdoor seating joint with veg & non-veg breakfast options with seating capacity of around 25-30. It opens around 8am daily, but being a Sunday today, place was empty. It serves breakfast, salads, soups, appetizers, tandoor, main course, wraps & sandwiches (Veg. & Non-Veg.) along with deserts & beverages.

Selecting Non Veg breakfast from 9 options was little confusing & tempting too. Finally, I decided to opt for Foodgasm Brekky. Indeed a tempting Wholesome Breakfast Tray with so many options in a single tray to start day with. Foodgasm Brekky is served with Home smoked chicken, Bacon & Fish with sunny side up egg, multigrain toast, Half a roast tomato, Wilted spinach, Baked Potato, Thyme Mushrooms & Oven Baked Beans with an option of Tea or Coffee. Opting for Foodgasm Brekky was a good decision to taste various portions making it a healthy start of the day.

Foodgasm Brekky costs Rs. 220/-.

Later, I ordered, Toast from Cannes. Prepared with Peanut Butter and Berry jam sandwiched in French toast served with fresh fruit (watermelon). Toast from Cannes was served with Honey & Maple Syrup.

Toast from Cannes costs Rs. 120/-.

And, finally it was Power Shot. Mixture of Banana, Muskmelon, Dates, Almond, Milk & Honey in chilled milk (asked for less ice). Served in a huge glass making a Power drink with whole dates and almonds at the bottom (neither grated nor grinded).

Power Shot costs Rs. 140/-.

Foodgasm charged 5% service charge on whole bill, making final sum of Rs. 504/-. Would love to visit this place again for trying other options, maybe salads or sandwiches. And, Power Shot would be a recommended drink.

Kakori House - World's Softest Kebabs

noreply@blogger.com (Surendra) — Thu, 14 Apr 2016 07:06:00 +0000

It was lazy sunday after Gudi Padwa long weekend. I was hungry & wanted to try something new, apart from the regular Sadiccha or other joints in Bandra East area.

My friend Makarand dropped in after 1:30 pm on Sunday & we planned to go our for lunch. I remembered Mahim food joints starting after Mahim Church and going upto Dadar Shiv Sena Bhavan.

We planned to visit Kakori House at their Mahim outlet. Kakori House is located on L J Road opposite Paradise Cinema & next to famous Goan food joint, Sushegad. Kakori House is famous for its world's softest kebab. And, believe me they are indeed the softest. Kakori House is an air conditioned joint with 5 tables and seating capacity of 24 people at a time.

We ordered Murgh Seekh Kebab (3 pcs), Kakori Kebab (3 pcs). Along with it we ordered Sheermal & Warqi Paratha.

Murgh Seekh Kebab were the regular chicken seekh kebab which we had tasted in the past many times. But Kakori Kebab were the best as they mentioned on their menu card, as the SOFTEST KEBABS IN THE WORLD. And they are really soft and melt in mouth. I had never ever had such soft kebabs till I had these. In fact, never knew kebabs are meant to be soft too.

Sheermal (orange coloured) is speciality of Awadh, made in iron tandoor with milk, saffron & flour. Although it was too oily but taste was simply awesome.

Warqi Paratha is a soft Paratha made using Saffron & Milk & cooked on saffron tawa. This was less oily as compared to Sheermal.

Although, I was disappointed by Phrini served here. Phirni is a popular North-Indian sweet dish. It is widely served in earthen vessels but here it was served in a plastic container. But Kakori House is a must visit place for Kebab lovers.

ENERGEE..... Mumbai's Nostalgic Drink

noreply@blogger.com (Surendra) — Tue, 22 Jul 2014 07:47:00 +0000

Had after long time. Taste is same but, things have changed. Remembered childhood days, in slim 200ml bottle with typical Aarey logo. In those days the Aarey outlets were large in numbers throughout Mumbai.

Now, everyone is in search of CCD, Barista or Starbucks. Lot has changed. Yes, shape of Energee bottle has changed with a plastic label. Today it costs 25/-, those days it used to cost 5/-. Even Masala Milk from Aarey used to cost 5/- in those days.

Barso Re Megha Megha....

noreply@blogger.com (Surendra) — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 07:30:00 +0000

Summer has ended all over India and everyone is waiting for the monsoon from a long time. Kids are waiting for the schools to reopen and waiting for the heavy rain, to enjoy a holiday at school. Couples are waiting for a rainy weekend to freak out at nearby hill stations like Khandala, Lonavla, Matheran etc. Monsoon is on its way to Mumbai to make a romantic change for the coming next few months. Just like you, mee to waiting for the same. So, thought of sharing some good rain songs, which will make you refresh. Hope you like them and hear them at home, work place, or on your ipod when mobile.

Aaha Rimjhim Ke Yeh Pyare	Usne Kaha Tha
Aaj Mausam Bada Beimaan Hai	Loafer
Ab Ke Sawan Aise Barse	Shubha Mudgal
Abke Na Sawan Barse	Kinara
Abke Sajan Sawan Mein	Chupke Chupke
Badal Yun Garajta Hain	Betaab
Barkha Rani Zara	Sabak
Barsaat Mein	Barsaat
Barso Re Megha Megha	Guru
Bheegi Bheegi Fiza	Anupama
Bheegi Bheegi Raaton Mein	Ajnabi
Bheegi Chandni
Boondon Mein	Maruti Alto Jingle
Boondon Se Baatein	Thakshak
Dar Lage Garje Badariya	Ram Rajya
Deewana Hua Badal	Kashmir Ki Kali
Dukh Bhare Din Beete Re Bhaiyya	Mother India
Dum Dum Diga Diga	Chhaliya
Ek Ladki Bheegi Bhaagi Si	Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi
Garaj Baras	Paap
Garjat Barsat Sawan Aayo Re	Barsat Ki Raat
Geela Geela Pani	Satya
Ghanan Ghanan	Lagaan
Hai Hai Yeh Majboori	Roti Kapda Aur Makaan
Jhir Jhir Badarva Barse	Parivaar
Jhir Jhir Barse Sawan	Aashirwad
Kahan Se Aaye Badra	Chashm-e-Baddoor
Kali Ghata Chhaye	Sujata
Kari Kari Andhiyari	Navrang
Kuch Kehta Hai Yeh Saawan	Mera Gaon Mera Desh
Lagi Aaj Sawan Ki	Chandni
Lapak Jhapak Tu Aare Badarwa	Boot Polish
Megh	Yeh Hai Prem
Megha Chhaye Aadhi Raat	Sharmilee
Megha Re Megha Re	Pyasa Sawan
Nainon Mein Badra	Mera Saaya
Neele Neele Amber	Kalakaar
O Ghata Sanwari	Abhinetri
O Sajna Barkha Bahar Aayi	Parakh
Paani Re Paani	Shor
Pyaar Hua Ikrar Hua	Shree 420
Rim Jhim Gire Saawan (F)	Manzil
Rimjhim Gire Saawan (M)	Manzil
Rimjhim Ke Geet	Anjaana
Rimjhim Ke Taraane	Kala Bazar
Rimjhim Rimjhim	1942 A Love Story
Saawan Barse	Dahek
Saawan Ka Mahina	Milan
Saawan Ko Aane Do	Saawan Ko Aane Do
Sawan Ke Jhule Pade	Jurmana
Sun Sun Sun Barsaat Ki Dhun	Sir
Tip Tip Barsa Paani	Mohra
Tip Tip Tip Tip Baarish	Afsana Pyar Ka
Yeh Mausam Bheega Bheega	Dharti
Zindagi Bhar Nahi Bhoolegi	Barsaat

Click on songs to see videos.

Let me know if I have missed any wetty, romantic song/s.

Happy Monsoon.

Thanks & Regards.

PAANI PAANI RE

noreply@blogger.com (Surendra) — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 12:17:00 +0000

Think for a moment and then decide to play HOLI with water.

Email Credit:- Sanjay Mahadik

How decisive is each Zodiac Sign?

noreply@blogger.com (Surendra) — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 03:19:00 +0000

If a group of friends decide on an outing, which sign comes up with an ideal decision? Are Cancerians too fickle? Are Leos born leaders when it comes to taking decisions? Do Scorpios excel only in big decisions?

Aries: Don’t get carried away with their playfulness. When there is a tough decision to be made, Aries will show skill and class. They will suddenly transform into embodiments of maturity and have the capability of taking into account various sides. They are ideal when it comes to taking decisions regarding people.

Taurus: They are the kinds who take a pen and paper and dash off their problems as mails to Agony Aunt Columns in newspapers. They don’t mind taking others' advice when it comes to taking a decision. At the end of the day, they do take smart decisions, so you've got to give it to them.

Gemini: Their minds start ticking the moment they sense a tricky problem. So making decisions comes naturally to them. Since one Gemini person always equals two people compared to the other zodiacs, they are also twice as fast in making decisions, and sound ones at that.

Cancer: Somebody please take them out, give them a coffee and tell them how to go about taking a decision. They are often very fickle and until the last moment, don’t give problems due thought, thus ending up reversing their decisions. Cancerians are not ideal when it comes to taking crucial decisions, whether in their own life, at work or at home.

Leo: Leos are born leaders and taking a decision is a part of their job profile. Give them the freedom to use their mind power and you will be surprised how soon they can take a decision and execute it. They are ultra confident and have rarely been reported to take wrong calls in life.

Virgo: Virgos don’t want to go wrong anywhere. Therefore they ensure that they do some homework before making a decision. Don’t be surprised if Virgos want to rush to the library or to their PCs when they need to decide. They just want to see if there have been precedents and want to read how others handled it.

Libra: Have a Libran as your management head and you can rest assured nothing will go wrong. Perhaps it’s the symbol of the balance, but Librans have the gift of looking at things dispassionately. They may take tough decisions, but never wrong decisions.

Scorpio: Unless it’s a really important one like how to save the company or what we should do to save his life, don’t involve a Scorpio in silly decisions. These people hate to be choosy in little things in life. Give them big chances and they will excel.

Sagittarius: While Sagittarians are progressive and often think differently, they don’t hesitate to change their decisions in an instant, if the situation demands it. Do you know of a friend who quit a job and joined back the same place two weeks later? He or she could be a Sagittarian.

Capricorn: Capricornians are the best decision makers in the entire zodiac. Their only demand is adequate time. They hate to rush through, even in an emergency, and prefer to weigh the pros and cons. Consider yourself blessed if you have a mature Capricornian to take decisions on your behalf.

Aquarius: Give Aquarians the menu card in a restaurant asking them to choose the menu and chances are you will go hungry while they are still flipping through the menu card to come up with a starter. These people need help and thankfully, they realize this.

Pisces: Pisceans are fiercely independent and they feel powerful when they have to take a decision. Again these folks enjoy playing the decision-maker and therefore excel in this role whenever they don it. After the Capris, Pisceans are good decision-makers.

Email from Sheetal.

Maasli Dhar.....Naakhwa

noreply@blogger.com (Surendra) — Sun, 26 Dec 2010 09:41:00 +0000

You must be surprised with the title of this post. "Maasli" means fish and "Naakhwa" means a fisherman. For the very first time Maharashtra State Govt. has organised a three day Matsya Mahotsay (Fish Festival) at Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai from 26th Dec. to 28th Dec. 2010 and the timings are from 10AM to 10PM. The main reason to organise this festival is to bring all marine related organisations under one roof. You will find stalls of various organisations like Central Institute of Fisheries Education, Central Institute of Fisheries and Rural Development, Maharashtra Maritime Board, Maharashtra Fisheries Development Corp. etc. You will also find a stall of Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC). You will also enjoy watching small home aquariums here with variety of fish.

I know you must be getting bored reading the stall information but there is also something more mouth watering than this. Kolis from places like Versova, Vasai, Raigad etc. with smiling faces in their traditional dresses and ornaments have participated in this festival which comprises more than 50 stalls. These stalls have variety of fresh fish like Pomfret, Bombay Duck, Crab, Prawns, Lobster, Surmai and many many more. One can enjoy the fresh sea food with the live Koli songs. This festival is similar to the Versova Koli Sea Food Festival which I had visited in January 2010.

Nearest Landmark:- Diamond Market (BKC), ICICI Bank (BKC)

For Images, click here.

Thanks & Regards.

Do we really need 3G?

noreply@blogger.com (Surendra) — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 12:56:00 +0000

Mobile phone has become a necessity in everyone's life today. No doubt, we all know that a mobile phone cannot work without a sim card which is provided by a mobile service provider. Mobile Service Providers in India have been spending crores of rupees from last many years to purchase the 3G wireless spectrum. After spending so much money, still we dont have 3G network in India & do you think that the 3G service will come at a budget cost? Few companies like Tata DoCoMo, Airtel & Vodafone have announced that they will be starting the service soon. Most people are interested in possessing a dual or even a tripple sim mobile phone, which is going to affect the mobile network.

I think mobile Service Providers should concentrate more on providing good services like, network availability, call connectivity & sms deliveries on time. Life has become shorter like twitter where communication should be short & sweet. In such busy life, who has time to use 3G services, which will have features like watching television on mobile, video calling etc. The tragic part is, most of the mobile phone manufacturers must have sold thousands of 3G enabled mobile phones in India but we still do not have 3G service in the country. Countries like USA, Europe etc. are already enjoying 3G services since long time and now working on the 4G technology.

Telecom Minister has announced, Mobile Number Portability will be started from 1st Nov. in Haryana. So, metro city mobile users keep your fingers crossed.

Thanks & Regards.

Koli Sea Food Festival, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Surendra) — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 18:43:00 +0000

Just like other communities, Koli is also a famous community in Mumbai and most of the coastal areas. The moment I hear the word "Koli", I remember the image of a Koli woman with a sharp knife, basket full of variety fish and also the ornaments they wear during certain festivals like Naarli Pournima (Raksha Bandhan) and few other festivals. I have come across people where they are afraid of these Koli women who sometimes abuse customers in the fish market. But believe me they are very very friendly and down to earth in nature. If you are a regular visitor in the fish market, they might give you a huge discount and a good fresh catch too.

On 24th Jan. I visited the Koli Sea Food Festival at Versova, Mumbai. This festival is held every somewhere around Republic Day. This year it was from 23-25 Jan. Kolis from Versova wear their traditional dresses and ornaments for this festival which comprises of around 45-50 stalls. These stall have variety of fish like Pomfret, Bombay Duck, Crab, Prawns, Lobster, Surmai and many many more. one can enjoy the fresh sea food with the live Koli songs. I am sure you will not be able to control after watching the images, so do keep in mind about this festival next year and enjoy the images.

For Images, click here.

Thanks & Regards.

Centenary Salute

noreply@blogger.com (Surendra) — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 10:20:00 +0000

It was a rejoicing time for me and all my relatives. We all were in Nasik to attend the Maharashtra Police Passing Out Parade on 17th Dec. 2009. My cousin sister Gouri More was in Nasik for last one year for her Police Sub Inspector training at Maharashtra Police Academy, Nasik. It was a golden and unforgettable moment for her and all of us as she was passing out the 100th Police Sub Inspector's Passing Out Parade. About 374 cadets, including 42 women took part in the parade.

After undergoing tough training at Nasik, now she is all set to join the police force in coming few weeks. Her posting will be in Nanded Region, which happens to be the city where current Maharashtra CM hails from. Gouri is also trying for other competitive exams from MPSC, where she can apply for other higher posts like Deputy Superintendent of Police (Dy.SP) etc. I am sure Gouri will face less hurdles in climbing her career ladder, as she has two strong pillars already in the force, her uncle Vishwas Nangre Patil (DCP, Zone I, Mumbai) & her aunty Maya More (API).

Once again my hearty congratulations to Gouri for her grand success and best wishes for her future plans.

For Images, click here.

Thanks and Regards.

First Indians to participate in World Rhythmic Gymnastics 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Surendra) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 10:57:00 +0000

I was near Goregaon station and got a call from my father saying that my cousin sister Akshata Shete has been qualified for the World Rhythmic Gymnastic Championships to be held at Mie in Japan from September 7-13, 2009. There was an article in Marathi Daily Loksatta along with photo. I was very happy to see the article and was proud as it is the first time ever an Indian women's team has qualified for the Championships. Two more girls from Mumbai and one from Jammu & Kashmir will be accompanying my sister.

The 29th Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships are being organised by Federation Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG) where all the qualifying countries can take part. This world championship serves as the first qualifying year for London Olympic Games 2012.

All the Mumbai gymnasts are the disciples of Varsha Upadhye, 'Shri Shiv Chhatrapati Rajya Krida Puraskar winner' in Gymnastics (1989-1990), who will also be accompanying the Team India at Mie as a coach.

"We now see a ray of hope for Indian gymnasts at the international level. Rhythmic gymnastics is a safe sport. One needs to be flexible but there's not much tumbling," she said.

Rhythmic gymnastics is for women only and is a combination of gymnastics and dance with the gymnasts performing using a rope, hoop, ball, clubs or ribbon with music in background.

May God bless all the four contestants and make all Indians proud by winning the event.

All the Best.

Thanks and Regards.

Sources: www.zeenews.com, www.newkerala.com

It's raining Warli.

noreply@blogger.com (Surendra) — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 04:11:00 +0000

No man on this earth can do without an umbrella in rainy season. Of course there are many other alternatives like raincoat, windcheater etc. Mostly, you will see men using black colored umbrellas whereas women using colored, multi-colored umbrellas. I thought of getting a Warli painting on a black colored umbrella. If you are good at art, you can also get a plain colored umbrella and try something different this monsoon. Hope you will like the design.

I have also got a sun design on a white colored umbrella. Hope you will like this too.

And this whole credit goes to my cousin, Sanskruti, who has just passed tenth standard and is very good at various arts like Calligraphy, Warli, Mehndi drawing etc.

Thanks and Regards.

Cost and Space saving entertainment

noreply@blogger.com (Surendra) — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 16:02:00 +0000

Do you remember India's first 70-mm film? Pachhi's Around The World (1967) was the first 70-mm film using the blow-up method with stereophonic sounds and G P Sippy's Sholay (1975) was shot in 70-mm format along with four-track stereophonic sound. Gone are the days where you will find a single screen theater in Mumbai. There are indeed, but very few to mention. Multi-screen or Multiplex Theatre took place of the single screen theater with 4 or more than 4 screens in one single theater. No doubt the quality of the films or the print also developed from time to time.

On the other hand, the rates of the movie tickets also increased tremendously and the rates of the eatables in the theatre also increased and reached the sky. One has to at least spend Rs 300/- or more for two tickets in a multiplex and Rs 1000/- or more for a family of four. In some cases, this might also include the money spent in the interval of the movie. But as we all know technology is changing rapidly and humans are becoming lazy day by day. Almost, every part of the Mumbai or any other metropolitan city has a multiplex theatre but now many prefer staying away from these theatres at least in this recession time.

So, what's the latest mode of entertainment with lesser pinches in your pocket? If you have a good high speed and unlimited internet connection at your home or office then that’s the best option to save money on movies. Many of you might have heard people opting either for a pirated DVD or downloading the movie from the internet. These DVD Rip format movies are generally in size of 700 MB or 1 GB and mostly come in .AVI formats. But now there are movies on the internet which are lesser in size. They come in 399 or 400 MB size and come in .mkv video format. They are also known as HDRip video format. These are not edited movies but full movies from start to end with very good video and audio quality and are available on many sites on the internet. As they are 400 MB in size, it takes less time to download these movies. These videos are not saved on the sites mentioned below but are mostly saved on file hosting site like rapidshare. You will find 3-4 video links of a movie, so you will have to individually download the files in zip format and finally after downloading all the files of the movie, you have to unzip all the files to get a full movie.

Now comes the very important part i.e. watching the movie, also checking the audio and video quality of the movie. You can watch the downloaded movie on the computer itself using either of the applications like DivX Play, HandBrake, KMPlayer, Media Player Classic or the V LC Media Player. If you want to enjoy the movie with your family on your DVD player, then try converting the downloaded movie to .AVI format by using video conversion softwares like Any Video Converter and many more.

You can check collections of movies by clicking on the below mentioned links,

300mbmovies.net
freeripdvd.blogspot.com
latest300mbmovies.blogspot.com
http://lionking02.wordpress.com
onlinedownloadmovies.net
400mb-movies-collection.blogspot.com

For Regional Movie Collection, click here.

Happy Viewing.
Thanks and Regards.

Unlimited storage for clicked memories

noreply@blogger.com (Surendra) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 18:05:00 +0000

I purchased my first digital camera in the year 2004 and the other in the year 2008. Digital camera or a mobile phone camera has become an important in most of our lives. Every occasion or a situation is easily clicked on the camera with few clicks on the camera or a mobile. Then it is saved on the memory card itself, a computer or on the internet. Storing images on the internet make it easier to share albums with friends whenever you like. Sites like Picasa, Flickr and Slide are the best and most used sites for storing images.

These sites have also allowed users to add videos on the site. But, the main problem occurs when you don't have enough space on your computer's hard drive to save the images. And the above mentioned sites do not allow users to upload the full size image as it is on their site. The images gets shrinked and then gets uploaded and when you try downloading the image to your computer, you get a reduced version of the original image. This reduced version can be only useful for sharing but not for editing or printing. Picasa allows 1 GB storage capacity and Flickr allows a limit of only 100 photos per month. And, to get more storage capacity on these sites, you need to spend dollars every year.

But, what if you get a site to store unlimited photos and that too without changing their resolution. You can check the site named "www.zoomin.com", which allows you to make albums and upload as many images you want. After uploading the images to a album, you can organize the images in ascending or descending order, View in Sideshow and Download the same album to your computer with images in same resolution. Just like other photo sites, you can also share albums with friends by inviting them to see the album.

The best part of this site is you can order prints from the albums. The size of the print ranges from 4x6 to 20x30 and you can also choose the finish of the image by selecting options like Glossy, Matte and Metallic and the cost of a 4x6 Matte/Glossy image is only Rs 4/-. Isn't that really cheap? The fun doesn't stop here. You can order various merchandise like Calendars, Greeting Cards, Zoomini Book, T-Shirt, Collage posters, Canvas prints, Photo Mugs and Mouse Pad and get it delivered at your door step.

You can also import images from and export images to Flickr and Picasa, thus saving your time.

Happy Imaging.

Thanks and Regards.

Nano Generation

noreply@blogger.com (Surendra) — Sun, 31 May 2009 15:19:00 +0000

The much awaited smallest and cheapest car, Tata Nano was launched on March 23, 2009. “Nano” means small, but this car from Tata also means cheapest of all cars. Later, Ratan Tata announced cheaper homes in the suburbs of Mumbai, which will have apartments priced between Rs 4 to 7 lakh. So, it’s sure that the word “Nano” is here to stay in India, at least for the lower and the middle class population to fulfill their long awaited dreams.

Do you remember the size of electronics like mobile phones, televisions, computers, air conditioners etc, music systems etc. a decade or fifteen years ago? Yes, the size was huge and the price too and that too with limited features. But along with new technologies coming in every week, the size, features and the cost has also gone down tremendously in the last few years.

Let’s take an example of a laptop here. People prefer buying netbooks these days rather than spending more and buying a bulky laptop. Netbooks are slimmer in size, lighter in weight and cheaper than the normal laptops. Most netbooks come with a 1.6 Ghz Atom processor, a low power consumption processor. The display screen size of the netbook varies from 4.8 inches to over 13 inches. Storage capacity of the hard drive ranges from 2 GB to over 320 GB. Some netbooks come with a SSD or the Solid-State drive which uses solid-state memory to store persistent data. With no moving parts, solid-state drives are less fragile than hard disks, silent in performance and lighter in weight. The space between the keys on the keyboard is enough, thus making typing comfortable.

Features you will find common in all the netbooks are 2-3 USB ports, WLAN or Wi-Fi, inbuilt camera and Bluetooth. Maximum numbers of netbooks come with Windows XP operating system, which is easier to operate (better than Windows Vista). Netbooks do not come with an optical drive (CD, CD RW, DVD or a DVD RW) but it is the best option for a person who has basic usage like surfing the internet, working on office documents like Word, Excel etc. You can also use it for movie watching and listening to your favorite songs.

Acer, Asus, Dell, HCL, HP, Lenovo, MSI and Samsung are some of the hot brands which have launched various netbook models in the Indian market for budget oriented consumers. Price of netbook ranges between 14k-25k with multiple color options. You can ask for a free laptop bag or a free USB high speed internet data card from Reliance, Tata or Airtel and go online with your small lappy.

Thanks and Regards.

VJTI's Fruit, Flower & Vegetable Show 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Surendra) — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 18:50:00 +0000

I visited the VJTI's Friends of the Trees Fruit, Flower and Vegetables Show 2009 today on 7th Feb. It was a very good experience to see many flowers with various colours in their categories and also the plants. I had never seen so many Bonsai plants at a time. I almost spent 3.5 hours watching the exhibition. The exhibition is held every year in the same college and you can visit the same till 8th Feb. 2009 from 8 AM to 8 PM. The best landmark to visit the VJTI College is the King's Circle.

The Entry fee for the Exhibition is Rs 10/-. You will have to spend Rs 50/- to capture images on you mobile phone, Rs 100/- on digital still camera and RS 150/- for recording videos on a video camera.

Sharing some images with you. Hope you like them. Most images are captured on Normal and Macro Mode.

For images, click here.

Thanks and Regards.

Visit to Jaggery Factory

noreply@blogger.com (Surendra) — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 19:20:00 +0000

I was at my village on the Republic Day long three day weekend and was planning to go to the jaggery making factory/unit to taste the hot jaggery and also to click the images of making to share them with you. Most of these units can be found between Satara and Kolhapur on the National Highway 4 (Poona Bangalore Highway), the reason being the large amount of sugarcane found in this area. I am happy to share the making of the jaggery along with the images. Hope you don’t stop eating jaggery after watching the images.

As you are aware about the process of making sugarcane juice, similarly the juice is extracted from the sugarcane on a large quantity in a huge container and then it is poured in a huge vessel. This juice is later boiled at a very high temperature for around 1.5 hours. After extracting the juice from the sugarcane, it is dried and later used to light the fire beneath the huge vessel. It needs to be stirred continuously after it starts boiling. In one session approximately, 180-190 kgs of jaggery is made. The hot vessel is lifted and the jaggery is poured in a big square shaped area to bring down the temperature. Before the jaggery gets cold and gets harder, the moulding vessels are filled with jaggery. These moulds are of 1/2kg, 1kg or 5kgs as per the requirement. The jaggery is packed in plastic and then finally into the boxes to be sent to the nearby markets or various cities like Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Pune and also outside India.

The place where the jaggery is not clean but you cannot resist having the fresh sugarcane juice and the hot and soft jaggery offered by the workers working day and night in shifts.

To view images, click here.

Thanks and Regards.

Mera Gaon... Mera Des....

noreply@blogger.com (Surendra) — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 14:49:00 +0000

I recently visited my village for 4 days during Christmas vacation. The temperature was very low, must be less than 12 degrees. Morewadi is located 350 kms from Mumbai, 30 kms from Karad, 82 kms from Satara and it takes approximately 6 hours to reach from Mumbai. Whenever I see any advertisement of any resort, my village comes in front of me with the scenic beauty. The best part of this place is the climate, which is pleasant throughout the year with good rainfall and good amount of variety crops. I recently enjoyed the fresh sugarcane directly from the field, which refreshed my childhood memories.

Mobile Phones and the recently built houses are the things which irritate me when I visit this place. Recently, many mobile phone companies have started their networks in the village and nearby places and the calmness of this place is being lost day by day due to the arrival of the mobile phones with their ringtones and the music played on them. There was a time when there was only one landline phone in the whole village but today the scenario has changed. In one corner, lies my uncle's bungalow which was recently built. When I look at it, i feel that the village is getting urbanized, which really hurts me. There was a time when people used to use the cow dung as in the front courtyard, but now the cement and iron has taken its place. But still I love my village and eagerly wait to go there whenever I get a long weekend. You are always welcome to visit this place. I am sure you will enjoy the stay.

Sharing some images with you, which I clicked using my cousin's Nikon D40. The images here will give you a detailed idea of the place.

For more images, click here.

Thanks and Regards.

Are we really fighting against terrorism?

noreply@blogger.com (Surendra) — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 15:19:00 +0000

The whole world witnessed the 60 hours Mumbai attacks live. No one would have even dreamt of such situation in the never sleeping city and no one would think of doing cruel act on another enemy. Whole nation shocked by this incident. I still can’t believe that Mumbai police has lost three of its most active and intelligent officers, and also others from Mumbai Police, NSG etc. 183 people died and more than 300 people were injured in this massacre.

Right after a week i.e. on 3rd Dec. 2008, many Mumbaikars were on the road to fight against terrorism by walking a peace March and offering prayers near the Taj Mahal hotel. These people were from various religions, castes and from various classes. The only aim was to fight against “Terrorism”. But I was confused why these people were out on the roads? What were they trying to prove? And to whom? I do agree it was for the people who lost their lives. People on roads were holding banners and placards against terrorism, shouting and saluting the martyrs. They were also against the government and the police. What is the use of shouting against the government as the whole government is not ready to take responsibilities and every state in the nation in corrupted. If people blame the current government, then the coming government will and is also going to be the same. So, it was pointless in showing anger against the government.

What’s the use of blaming the Police? Mumbai or the Maharashtra Police is such a huge organization that it’s very difficult to handle it. There are so many departments in the organization like Crime Branch, Anti-Terrorist Squad, Economic Offence Wing, Social Branch, Anti-Extortion Cell, Traffic Police, etc and many others; these are just the famous ones. They try their level best to keep peace in the city. But most of the time of these men is spent in tracking the criminals in the state and control the traffic of the city.

The weapons used by the police is old, that they themselves are not sure whether it will work or not? Just imagine a policemen who must have fired a gun or a rifle during his training but he might have not used the gun in last many decades. This is going to happen if the ammunitions are not maintained and there is proper training to the officials. Why do we always blame the police saying they are corrupted? If the politicians whom we vote in the elections are themselves corrupted and if they don’t provide any amenities to the police, then there is no other option other than corruption.

A major group of people from corporate houses and the so called sophisticated class was seen on a large number on the streets to fight against terrorism. I simply asked a question to my mind. Will these people do something like this on the New Year’s Eve? The answer is simple. These people will be busy spending their money, celebrating the New Year eve. I also saw many youngsters wearing a white T-Shirt with message, “I Love (heart shape) Mumbai”. Most of these youngsters must not even be aware why they were there near the Gateway of India. I saw a heap of garbage on the way from CST to Gateway as I was going to Radio Club near Gateway to attend a wedding. This shows how much we love Mumbai. I saw two youngsters in the near Colaba Market sipping Beer on the road. Was this on the menu after the prayers performed near the Taj? While returning there has a huge mob at 10 in the night, standing near the Regal Theatre with an Indian Flag and just shouting, “Vande Mataram”. There are chances of small calamities or any other calamities etc to happen when there is a huge mob and then people are always ready to blame the police for not doing their duty. Similar, incidents have already happened in the city on New Years Eve.

Famous personalities like Javed Akhtar, Shabana Azmi, Rahul Bose etc all were there on the roads. They were just like a common man, but they are least concerned to help a common man. Everyone just wants publicity and the media is always there to get a small bite.

These so called sophisticated people who are so much concerned about the city sitting in their AC homes and moving in high class cars like Mercedes and BMWs, why don’t they do something for the city as the politicians cannot do anything. Why don’t they give some hard cash to the Mumbai Police and asked them to get the latest weapons? There are many corporate houses that run NGOs, why don’t they think investing money for such cause?

It’s just easy to come on the roads for sometime in a day and just shout but what about the common man who walks on the road, travels in the bus and train, travels in taxi and auto-rickshaw. If the government and the people had to change, it wouldn’t have taken so many years after the independence.

Thanks & Regards.

Image Source:- Times of India

Taj Mahal Hotel blast eyewitness

noreply@blogger.com (Surendra) — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 11:26:00 +0000

Not only the Mumbai City, but the whole nation and other countries were shock to see and hear the news of the Terror Blasts in the city of Mumbai on 26th Nov. 2008. I was planning to go to Vashi with my cousin from Kalbadevi around 21:30 hrs. My cousin Sachin, who owns a mobile phone shop, was completing his pending work and we got late to leave for CST to take a train to Vashi. Fortunately, we managed to escape the terrifying situation at the CST. My close friend Rahul Tripathi witnessed the very first blast at the Taj Mahal Hotel (New), sharing his experience below.

Hi,

My name is Rahul Tripathi.

Me and my cousins left Bade Miya hotel after having our dinner and went walking to the Gateway of India. As we were admiring the Gateway in the dark, lighted in the night. Later, we went right in the front of the new Taj Mahal Hotel and were discussing about the history of the hotel, I heard the first gun shots fired. As my cousin is an Ex-Army man, he instantly said that this is a gunshot, shot from some weapon which can be fired continuously and also one shot at a time. I told him that this is Mumbai dude, it must be wedding crackers but after that moment what we saw was that something I and my brother had never witnessed in my whole life as yet.

At the main reception gate of the new Taj some people started running and calling the taxi drivers who were standing along with us went to a taxi driver and asked him as to what was happening...he said "SHAYAD BHAI LOGO KI GANGWAR KI FIRING CHAL RAHI HAI".....i moved behind and while moving behind we heard some more gun shots inside the hotel....and finally from outside what i saw was terrifying......someone threw something(possibly a hand grenade) towards the reception of the new Taj and a big explosion took place right in front of our eyes....all the taxi drivers and the hotel staff came running out.....this was not the end.

We came towards our car that was parked just near Cafe Mondegar...while i was trying to take out my car..a mob of around 50 people came running towards me...what the hell......i came out and saw one man running out of Cafe Mondegar, bleeding from his cheek....something hit him so powerful that he could not re-collect what it was ... not a bullet as for sure ...or else he would have being dead.....still no clue what was happening.

Finally i drove my car outside the lane and when i hit the main road Opp. Delhi Darbar hotel, there were empty BEST buses were standing and i was in between two buses. I was just above 10 meters away from the Leopold Cafe and what i saw was again fire shots....this time it was the police ....all wearing bullet proof jackets and firing at someone inside the hotel....What i understand that these bastards went running from Leopold Cafe firing, towards Taj and went inside the Taj from back side.

From there somehow, after waiting in the car for around 20 minutes we rushed towards our home from metro and when i reached home at C.P.Tank I saw the news that terrorists took away one police jeep and fired and killed a few more innocents bang on the metro cinema junction.....just a few moments after we passed.

Regards
Rahul Tripathi.

Thanks & Regards.

Aamchi Mumbai

noreply@blogger.com (Surendra) — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 03:30:00 +0000

This is 'AAMCHI MUMBAI' - A City where everything is possible, especially the impossible .

Where telephone bills make a person ill,
Where a person cannot sleep without a pill.

Where carbon-dioxide is more than oxygen,
Where the road is considered to be a dustbin,

Where college canteens are full and classes empty,
Where Adam teasing is also making an entry,

Where a cycle reaches faster than a car,
Where everyone thinks himself to be a star,

Where sky scrapers overlook the slum,
Where houses collapse as the monsoon comes,

Where people first act and then think,
Where there is more water in the pen than ink,

Where the roads see-saw in monsoon,
Where the beggars become rich soon,

Where college admission means hard cash,
Where cement is frequently mixed with ash.

THINGS TO PROVE YOU'RE A MUMBAIITE

1. You say 'town ' and expect everyone to know that this means south of Churchgate.

2 You speak in a dialect of Hindi called 'Bambaiya Hindi', which only Bombayites can understand.

3. Your door has more than three locks.

4. Rs. 500 worth of groceries fit in one paper bag.

5. Train timings (9.27 , 10.49 etc) are really important events of life.

6. You spend more time each month traveling than you spend at home.

7. You call an 8' x 10' clustered room a Hall.

8.. You're paying Rs 10,000 for a 1 room flat, the size of walk-in closet and you think it's a 'steal.'

9. You have the following sets of friend : school friends, college friends, neighborhood friends, office friends and yes, train friends, a species unique only in Bombay. (REALLY TRUE!)

10. Cabbies and bus conductors think you are from Mars if you call the roads by their Indian name, they are more familiar with Warden Road, Peddar Road, Altamount Road

11. Stock market quotes are the only other thing besides cricket which you follow passionately.

12. The first thing that you read in the Times of India is the 'Bombay Times' supplement.

13. You take fashion seriously.

14. You're suspicious of strangers who are actually nice to you.

15. Hookers, beggars and the homeless are invisible.

16. You compare Bombay to New York's Manhattan instead of any other cities of India .

17. The most frequently used part of your car is the horn.

18. You insist on calling CST as VT, and Sahar and Santacruz airports instead of Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport .

19. You consider eye contact an act of overt aggression.

20. Your idea of personal space is no one actually standing on your toes.

21. Being truly alone makes you nervous.

22. You love wading through knee deep mucky water in the monsoons, and actually call it ''romantic '.

23. Only in Bombay, would you get Chinese Dosa and Jain Chicken !!

Source:- Email from Mukesh Jaitley

Sonyaachi Jejuri

noreply@blogger.com (Surendra) — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 12:47:00 +0000

Just like Tarkarli, I was planning to go to Jejuri from a long time. Jejuri is located on Pune-Baramati Road and the distance form Pune is 40kms. It is well connected with the public transport and the road is also very good. You can catch any bus from Pune heading to Saswad, Baramati, Nira, Phaltan or Indapur. There are direct buses from Mumbai and Pune. This is the same route taken by the Waarkaris (pilgrims) to reach Pandharpur during Kaartiki and Aashadhi Ekaadashi.

Jejuri is also known as Khandobachi Jejuri or Sonyaachi Jejuri, meaning the place is full of Bhandaara all over which is showered by the devotees who visit this place to fetch the blessings of Lord Malhari or Khandobaa. Khandoba is known to be a warrior God sitting on horseback with a sword and a damru. He is the most popular family deity in Maharashtra, the patron deity of warrior, farming and herding castes, the hunters and gatherers of the hills and forests. The legends of Khandoba, found in the text Malhari Mahatmya and also narrated in folk songs, revolve around the god's victory over demons Mani-malla and the god's marriages. It is a tradition and considered as auspicious for the newly wed couple to visit this temple.

The temple is built on a hill which can be reached after climbing around 200 steep steps. Once you are near the temple you will notice the whole area around the temple full of Bhandaara (turmeric powder) showered by the visiting devotees. There are 6 Deep Maalas in front of the Khandoba Mandir. As the temple is located on a height you will enjoy watching the glimpse of the area of Jejuri and other small villages.

The temple is crowded on Sundays and Amavasya Day. You will find people from Dhangar (shepherd) community on a large number visiting this place. You will find many pandits in the temple asking for donations but strictly ignore them as they emotionally blackmail many devotees and the devotees too get fooled easily. Photography is not allowed inside the temple as one of the security guards asked me to keep the camera inside the bag but later after entering the temple I realized that the switch of the CCTV camera is OFF, but to be on safer side I did not click any images. You will also hear people shouting "Yelkot! Yelkot! Jai Malhar" and "Sadanandacha Yelkot" to impress Lord Khandoba.

After spending 1.5hrs at Jejuri, I headed back to Saswad to see the Samaadhi of Baaji Paasalkar, first Commander in Chief of Shivaji's Army (Sar Senapati). Unfortunately, the place was under construction, so I could not enter the place. Saswad is also known for Sopan Maharaj's (Dnyaneshwar's brother) Samadhi. It is said that Lord Vitthal asked Sopandev to acquire "Sanjeevan Samadhi" (salvation) at this place and is also believed that Lord Vitthal promised Sopandev to visit this place every year. Sopan Maharaj Mandir is huge and the atmosphere here is very silent and pleasant with a river flowing at the back of the temple.

Route to Jejuri:- Swargate-Gultekdi-Hadapsar-Fursungi-Dive Ghat- Saswad-Khalad-Jejuri.

Travel Expenses:-
Swargate to Jejuri- Rs 31
Jejuri to Saswad- Rs 12
Saswad to Swargate (Asiad Bus)- Rs 25

For Images, click here.

Thanks and Regards.

Snail Mail to Speed Mail

noreply@blogger.com (Surendra) — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 05:44:00 +0000

In the digital age of mobile phone and internet, the snail mail is still trying its best to stay firm in the country by providing latest services to the population. Most of these facilities are already in service, which are getting an upgrade from the govt. whereas on the other hand the Indian Post has started many services, which would save time and be beneficial to all. Indian Post unveiled a new logo for its services.

"The new logo depicts freedom, a sense of unbound prospects that correctly projects the dramatic shift from the old ways of running the department fettered by bureaucratic structure to the 'customer first' philosophy as practiced in successful, well-run private organizations," Prasad (Chief Post Master General) said.

"We have made several changes in the way the department operates with emphasis on excellent service, customer service, and added convenience," he said.

Indian Post is currently providing services like Speed Post, Logistic Post, Direct Post, e-Payment, Business Post, Media Post, International Money Transfer, Instant Money Order Service (iMO) and ePost.

Speed Post ushered in a new era when 'One India, One Rate' scheme was launched @ Rs 25 for all destinations across India, from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. Now, Speed Post delivers 'Value for money' to every one every where, delivering local Speed Post upto 50 grams @ Rs 12, inclusive of Service Tax.

India Post prvoides Instant Money Order (iMO), the instant on-line money transfer service that gives you speed, mobility, safety and reliability for your money transfer. You can transfer money from Rs.1,000/- to Rs. 50,000/- from designated iMO Post Offices.

ePost Service was launched on 30th January 2004 nationwide. ePost service enables people to send and receive messages or scanned images through email from Post Offices in the country. For the first time in the country, people who would not normally have access to internet would be able to send and receive email messages without possessing an email id thereby bridging the digital divide in the arena of public communication systems. The advent of ePost is a turning point in the transformation of the Department of Posts into a modern, technology driven provider of communication services to the people of India.

People like you and me, wouldn't find these services attractive as we are glued to mobile phones and internet throughout the day, but just think once for the people living in remote villages where electricity and public transport is still a dream.

Thanks and Regards.

Source:- Indian Post

Wednesday - A movie for a common man

noreply@blogger.com (Surendra) — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 05:32:00 +0000

Yesterday I saw this recently released movie. I would say this is the best movie ever made till now. The story is about a simple common man living a simple life in the city of Mumbai, enjoying his daily routine life. The movie is about a common man's patience and what he can do if he loses his patience. I really appreciate all the actors, the director and the script writer for giving such a wonderful movie.

If you are a true Indian and a common man, you should not miss this movie. Hats off to Naseeruddin Shah and Anupam Kher for their rocking performances in the movie. I would have loved to give you more details about the movie but i will not as I want you to watch the movie and you will be stunned to see the climax of the movie. I am sure that you will watch this movie. Waiting for your comments on this movie.

Thanks and Regards.

Pudhchya Varshi Lavkar Yaa......

noreply@blogger.com (Surendra) — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 13:06:00 +0000

In spite of high alert all over the city and state Mumbaikars bid a rocking farewell to the very famous Lord Ganesha. The whole city was on high alert after the five bomb blasts in New Delhi on Saturday, day prior to Ganesh Visarjan. Many mandals in Mumbai started late for the Immersion procession due to very heavy rains all over Mumbai. But Bappa listened to both the wishes and left with a grand salute of Mumbaikars. In spite of heavy rains and high alert in the city, lakhs of people were present at locations like Parel, Lalbaug, Byculla and various immersion locations like Girgaum, Juhu and Dadar.

As it was the 75th year of the famous wish fulfilling Lalbaugcha Raja, there was a tight security through out the procession from Lalbaug to Girgaum. The distance from Lalbuag to Girgaum would not take more than an hour to reach, but the grand procession of the Raja took almost 21 hours and finally early morning on Monday at 6AM, the idol touched the sands of Girgaum Chowpatty with at least a crowd of 1 lakh devotees (including people already present at the location).

There were no major calamities except the idol from Mugbhat Lane (Girgaoncha Maharaja) which collapsed at Girgaum, had 3 serious injuries. There was also short circuit at the BEST tower which was under control soon by the concerned authorities.

With full of joy and excitement and also some tension around, Mumbaikars bid farewell to their loving Ganesha by shouting..... Ganpati Bappa Morya....Pudhchya Varshi Lavkar Yaa......