TN Plus two results 2010 today

TN HSC plustwo results are coming today at IST 9.30 AM. the website to check the results is www.tnresults.nic.in

I want to wish the best for all the students awaiting their results.

This news took me to my flashback and hence the post. I still remember how I waited with bated breath for my results. But those were days when we had to go to the school to know our results.. Internet wasn't the "in thing" those days.. But more than the day of my plus two results, the day of my 10th std results are evergreen in my memory. If there was no internet during my 12th, there was no news of when the results would come when I was in 10th. All of a sudden my mom called up (which is very very unusual) to our landline (she worked in the same school where I did 10th - she used to be the best Biology teacher for the secondary grade students) and said the results were in. My heart was literally in my mouth. But with so much pride in her voice my mom read out my marks and said I had the second highest total in the school!! - Totally unbelievable for me :P

For me, fortunately it has always been good results when someone else saw it for me!! I could never muster up enough courage to see it myself - till my PG :P

So all future doctors, engineers and graduate citizens out there - ALL THE BEST...

Vishwanathan Anand Reigns!

Another win for Anand, another year of holding the world Championship title. Anand is still the World Champion. A welcome news for all the Indians who have got accustomed to read defeat after defeats in the sports column. Anand beats Topalov to retain the World Chess Championship. So here is a brief of Anand's achievements:


Anand was the first Grandmaster in India at the age of 18 when he won the Shakti Finance International Chess tournament and was awarded the Padma Shri at that young age. He won the FIDE World Chess championship in 2000 for the first time and defended the title till 2002. In 2007 he became the unbeatable and undisputed world champion.He won again in 2008 to defend the title. He is the first player in the history of this game to have the world champion title in three formats (Knockout, Tournament and Match) of the game. Not only is he the youngest to get a Grandmaster title, he was now also the oldest champion the game has ever seen(2007).


But where is my piece of mind here?? Here it goes.. I found it very funny that the newspapers had large and important space to report the pathetic defeat of 11 men in the Super8 game than it had to report the commendable win of this single hero!!

IPL and World Cup

Read this on twitter: "IPL is exhibition and world cup is examination - Clive Llyod"
During the exhibition, all the Indian players came out in flying colors. In fact, during the recently completed and the most controversial season of IPL it was said with lot of pride that Indian players came out to be the best in all areas of the game.
Come the day of examination, all the not-so-good performers in the IPL from the other countries turn into super performers and the so-called excellent performers walked off the field shaking their hung heads.
I think their motivation levels went down during the world cup as they were not receiving 'Jadoo ki jhappis' from the bollywood beauties :P
BCCI can consider sending these 'motivation factors' along with the teams when they go international too.
எவ்வளவோ பண்ணிட்டோம் இத பண்ண மாட்டோமா?

Recipe Time

Today I made Parupu kolambu- one of the default curries in all marriage menu in kanyakumari district. There are several parupu recipies that I have come accross in the net, but have not seen the authentic KK dist.Parupu kolambu recipe anywhere - So here goes the recipe:
Ingredients:
Toor Dal - 1 Cup
Small Onions - 3-4
Garlic pods - 3-4
Salt - as per taste
To Grind:
Grated Coconut -abt 1/2 cup (can be more based on the amount of curry needed)
Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1tsp
Coriander Powder - 1/2 tsp
Chilli powder - 1/4 tsp
For Tempering:
Oil- 2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1tsp
Urud wash - 1tsp
Cumin seeds - 1tsp
Curry leaves - 1 bunch
Red chillies - 2 (broken into halves)
Asofetida -1/2 tsp

Method:
Pressure Cook Toordal along with the small onions and the garlic pods.
Grind the 'to Grind' ingredients to a fine paste.
In a deep bottomed vessel, add 2 tsp oil and temper with the tempering ingredients.
Make sure that the asofetida is added to oil to remove the raw smell. If you have the kootu perungayam (not the powder one) - add it to the toor dal while pressure cooking it.
Now add the finely ground paste and add water as needed. Add salt at this stage.
When the mixture boils, add the pressure cooked dal to the mixture.
Add water to get the consistency of preference. Allow to boil for about 5 mins.

This is a very tasty curry that can be prepared within a short duration. Serve hot with plain rice and Ghee. You can relish it with carrot turuval or vendakai varuval. Appalam is my best combination for this curry

Funny is the way to be

Do I have to say anything?? Isn't this amazing..

Haiyo Haiyo

Was watching Kalaignar news channel today. CM has announced double salary for TASMAC employees who work on holidays. I was instantly reminded of the dialog from the movie உன்னால் முடியும் தம்பி - "நீங்க குடிநா குடிக்கணும் நிறுத்துநா நிறுதணுமா??" I think ours will be the only country/state where government promotes alcoholism.

Father of our nation campaigned against alcoholism but as comedian Vivek says who listens to fathers words anyways?? he he குடிமகன்களே enjoy

A5P78SDDJZFJ

New Disease around the corner - Beware

Shopping has become the new addiction - no I am not talking about the western countries!! I am talking about India. In our gratuitous chase to follow the west in anything and everything, this addiction seems to have seeped into the younger generation of India.
Shopping once used to be a two or three time event in a year. The feeling of ecstacy when daddy says 'we'll go diwali shopping on saturday' is all a thing of the past. Shopping seems to be a part of regular activities now.
To make the matters worse, the media keeps tossing products after products through the idiot box. The media seems to dictate what one must possess for a "comfortable" living. Advertising agency are real smart these days, they market saying what you already have is worthless but the sad part is that consumers never wake up to realise this. It was alright when it was only advertisements, but i was taken aback by two recent shows on TV.
One was Neeya-Naana 'compulsive shopping' was the topic for the day. I couldn't believe that people of chennai were shopping for 'dress for seasons'. As far as I know chennai only has three weather conditions - Hot, Hotter, Hottest. I can't imagine when one'd wear winter clothes there!! This atleast was a discussion with personal views. The other show infact left me a bit annoyed - that was 'kondattam' show in Sun TV. Thats a show for comedy clips, where the host would talk on a totally unrelated topic for the whole 30 mins. This day, she was talking about how to decorate your house. Thankfully, I just watched the last 10 mins, and she was talking about curtains. Curtains, carpets and stuff like that once used to be in bungalows. It is good that they have reached all walks of life now - no complaints there. But she went on saying how boring it can be to keep seeing the same curtain all through the year and went on to counsel how one should have atleast(!?) 4 sets of curtains.
It is indeed disheartening that China keeps chucking its produce and we are becoming the no.1 consumers in the world. Prudent shopping and frugality have no meaning to the younger India now. If you can spare 20 mins of your time, try watching the video at http://www.storyofstuff.com - it is done with brilliant animation and very meaningful presentation.
The shopping mania has grown to an extent that it is now classified as a disease - CSD (Compulsive Shopping Disorder). So the next time when you see an ad that says "Shop till you Drop" remember to run as fast in the opposite direction :) - These guys want you to be "Shopaholics" - Yes if there is a name for the disease, it is bound that the patient would also get a fancy name Right? So the next time you go on a shopping spree,

• Have a list of things you want to buy,
• Think twice if you indeed want that stuff and
• PAY IN CASH - then you will know the pain in spending.

The rise of credit cards is the major causing agent for this disease! One keeps spending imaginary money building on debts.

Even though I can come very close to be a CSD patient, I wanted to write this. I have resolved to exercise control over the disease atleast at a personal level if not extend it to my spouse - and so far it has been good. (our last two shopping excursions at walmart was less than $5 - definitely there is a scope for improvement)