As children, we had always written essays on ‘India, My Motherland’. True! India is a perfect example of ‘Unity in Diversity’. With a huge number of souls residing within her, India has never failed to mesmerize the rest of the world with its warmth, art, culture, heritage and acceptance. India has been a Global village, which has shined through the ages and holds within itself magic and peace. However, there are certain facts which you may not be knowing! Read on!

1. Diamonds were first mined in India

A land of richness and fertility, India has nurtured within herself precious gemstones, which were mined firstly in India itself. Initially the diamonds were found in the fertile alluvial deposits of Guntur and Krishna District of the Krishna River Delta, before found in Brazil.

2. The Human Calculator:

Shakuntala Devi, born in Kannada was given this title to honour her skill to do huge calculations in the blink of an eye. A child prodigy, she had her name in the Guinness Book of World Records. An author, a mathematician and a respectable personality, this woman had always made India proud.

3. First to consume sugar

Indians are known to have a sweet tooth, but did you ever know that we were the first ones to consume sugar? People had travelled far and wide to come to India and learn the art of refining sugar from us.

4. Largest Number of Vegetarians in the World:

With the cow respected and worshipped as Mother, majority of the vegetarians hail from India. India produces fresh vegetables which are a delicacy.

Go Vegetarian!

5.  India is the world’s second-largest English speaking country

In spite of having 415 languages of its own, India has shown its superiority, being the world’s second largest English speaking nation. With technological advancements, India is no less that superpowers.

6. The first rocket in India was transported on a cycle

Ever imagine a rocket being transported on a cycle? Well Indians have showed they can do anything and everything. From a lightweight rocket that was carried on a cycle to launching 104 satellites, creating a world record, Indians have proved themselves to be the best!

7. Science day in Switzerland is dedicated to Ex-Indian President, APJ Abdul Kalam

While we Indians sometimes forget to acknowledge the talents in our country, the whole world applauds these gems who has made contributions beyond compare to the world. To pay homage to the author of “Wings of Fire”. Switzerland observes Science Day on 26^th May, every Year!

8. The highest cricket ground in the world

Located in Chail, Himachal Pradesh, the Chail Cricket Ground holds its head high, being the highest cricket ground in the world. It was built in 1893 and is a part of the Chail Military School.

9. Floating Post-office:

India has one of the largest postal networks in the world. With letters flying here and there, the floating post office is a unique concept. Standing on a huge house boat in the heart of the beautiful Dal lake, the post office also includes and a shop that sells postage stamps among other things. Amazing isn’t it?

10. The largest family in the world:

From space to technology to post-offices, India has shown it is way ahead of others, so why not in terms to family and togetherness? With 9 wives, 94 children, and 33 grandchildren, Ziona Chana from Mizoram holds the record for the largest family in the world. They all live together under one roof happily.

So how many of these did you know?

Many people who are vegetarian are doing so for health or personal ethical issues. So it’s shocking that food manufacturers often sneak animal parts into foods that the average herbivore thinks will fit in with his or her vegetarian lifestyle.

Ladies and gentlemen, these are the foods that make the vegetarian black-list, because they aren’t actually vegetarian.

1. WHITE SUGAR

Eating White Sugar is equivalent to consuming Animal Bones.

Refined white sugar is bleached in a process that entails running the sugar through “bone char” or “natural carbon”—both fancy terms for charred cattle bones. Confectioner’s and brown sugar can also be culprits, as they are variations of white sugar. Sticking to organic cane or turbinado sugar is best.

2.vANILLA ICE CREAM

Eating Vanilla Ice Cream is equivalent to consuming Beaver Butt Juice.

The “natural flavor” you see listed on your favorite vanilla ice cream may actually come from a beaver’s rear end. Technically called Castoreum(for the all-natural ingredient),a fragrant, brown slime that beavers use to mark their territory, and food scientists use to give products a musky, vanilla scent. The FDA has ruled that because there’s no harm in eating castoreum, food manufacturers are not required to list it in the ingredients. Best is to stick to vegan-approved ice creams like Soy Delicious or to look for real flavors and avoid the generic “natural flavoring.

3.ORANGE JUICE

Drinking Orange Juice is equivalent to consuming Fish Oil & Sheep’s Wool

Oranges are nutritious but are not naturally heart-healthy. In order to market a juice as such, manufacturers add omega-3s, which are sourced from anchovies, tilapia, and sardines. Also, the vitamin D in some fortified juices comes from lanolin, a waxy substance from sheep’s wool. Tropicana and PepsiCo escape the blacklist, but steer clear of Coca-Cola juices, which contain lanolin-derived vitamin D. It’s better to juice your own.

4.REFRIED BEANS

Eating Refried Beans is equivalent to consume Pork Fat.

Beans can be a great source of protein for vegetarians, especially when coupled with whole grains. However many traditional Mexican restaurants have a secret: Their refried beans are made with lard (pork fat) .It is better not to eat them.

5. NON-ORGANIC BANANAS

   

Eating these yellow Bananas is equivalent to consuming Shellfish.

Banana has crabs. According to Science Daily, Chitosan, a bacteria-fighting compound derived from shrimp and crab shells, has made its way into spray-on preservatives that extend the shelf life of bananas and can infiltrate the fruit. This is a bad news for vegetariansand anyone with a shellfish allergy. So, it’s better to eat the green ones.

6.BAGELS

Eating Bagels is equivalent to consuming Bird Feathers.

Here’s what it takes to make a plain bagel: flour, water, salt, yeast. Then you throw in some duck and chicken feathers. Many processed bagels and bread products contain the enzyme L. Cysteine, a “dough conditioner” sourced from duck and chicken feathers. (It can also be made from human hair.) Einstein Bros. and Dunkin Donuts have both confirmed using L. Cysteine in all of their bagels. Poultry feathers also make an appearance in the garlic bread at Pizza Hut and in Mickey D’s cinnamon rolls and apple pies. One must try to avoid them.

7. RED CANDIES

   

Alert: If you are eating your favorite Red Candies you are consuming Crushed Beetles.

Watch out for “Natural Red #4.

Not only does it give most red candies their coloring, it refers to carmine, a pigment extracted from the female Dactylopiuscoccus Costa insect. It’s sometimes listed as “cochineal,” “carminic acid” or “carmine.” Basically it’s crushed-up beetles, and it’s more pervasive than wine, vinegar, and colored pasta also boast the beetle juice.

8.HARD-COATED CANDIES

Eating Hard-Coated Candies is equivalent to consuming Bug Juice.

Most candy coatings are made from shellac, a resin secreted from the rear end of the female lac bug. It’s usually listed as “confectioner’s glaze” in the ingredients. Shellac is also found in furniture polish, hairspray, and agricultural fertilizer.

9.IMPORTED BEER AND WINE

Drinking imported Beer or Wine means consuming Fish Bladders.

Some brands of beer and wine, particularly those made in Britain, are clarified using isinglass, a gelatin from the air bladder of certain freshwater fish. (Guinness is a specific example that uses isinglass.) Vegetarian clarifiers can be made from clay or algae.

10.SALTED PEANUTS

At last theSalted Peanuts are also not for vegetarians because of the indirect consumption of Pig Hooves.

Some brands use gelatin as an additive to help salt and other spices adhere to the peanuts. Gelatin is derived from the collagen in cow or pig bones, hooves, and connective tissues. Buying plain peanuts in the shell is best, it also saves 22 percent of calories.

Karan Johar is funny,emotional and an intriguing personality. Let me introduce you to his inner life in terms of his new office, a dramatic feather chair that he loves and never known secrets!

Q) Karan Johar is only forty-four and he has added an autobiography in his list of achievements! Does he feel apprehensive about it?

A) Karan feels that yes it is too soon as an autobiography but he does not think it as an autobiography. He feels that it is only the journey of his life and more it is about his insecurities,fears,experiences,complexes etc. He felt that he should divide his life into two halves and let this book be the first part of his life. Moreover, he wrote this book to get his vulnerabilities exposed to the world because he feels that it is important to put them out, so that people could resonate with some of the contents out of it.
Q) Karan Johar knows secrets which could be marriage-breaking and career ending. His stories in his book might overlap with someone and unintentionally reveal secrets! Did he take permission from other people before writing his book before spilling the beans?
A) Karan frankly says “No, not at all!”. He says that it was very clear that the book was his journey, his feelings, his thoughts about himself and it was not facts about other people. It was his equation with other people so it had nothing to do with facts or truths of other people.

Q) Did he take permission from people like Shahrukh Khan, as he wrote about his misunderstandings with him?

A) Karan says that he wrote everything with pure honesty and because things in his books are written holding integrity, he thinks that he would not upset people close to him. So, he did not ask for any permission or agreement to anyone.
Q) Did he talk to Kajol before writing about the fallout between them both?

A) Karan tells us that the relationship he shared with Kajol is very rare in this industry. When the fallout between them happened, he discussed it with Shahrukh and he advised him to sort things out but unfortunately it did not happen. And despite Kajol and Karan shared fantastic relationshio once, now they do not talk to each other and he did not talk to her at the time he was writing about this fallout too.

Q) Is it awkward for him to behave differently with her now?

A) Karan says he never looked through people and it is hard to do with someone who he was very close to. But now both if them (Kajol and Karan) pretend that they do not exist for each other. He feels awkward in parties when both of them are in close vicinity of each other. Still he has kept the picture of Kajol and Shahrukh in his office wall.

Q) One of the people you worked with once said that he thought he would never get a job at Dharma Productions because he felt that Karan Johar hires only good-looking people. What are Karan’s views in this?

A) To this Karan laughs and says that he has always been a victim of perception. He says that if he wears shiny shoes he does not expect everyone else to do it too. The fact that Varun Dhawan and Sidharth Malhotra were assistant directors in Dharma Productions and are drop-dead-gorgeous does not mean that Karan Johar wants to work with only good looking people.
Q) As Karan’s new office is Dharma Production is just an year old, let us know who is the most famous person who visited it?

A) Karan Johar immediately tells that it was Mr. Amitabh Bachchan. He also told that he came to his office, sat for the couple of hours and blessed it.

Q) Does Karan thinks of his father whenever something big happens in his life?

A) Karan tells us that not only in big moments but he thinks of his father alot on a daily basis. He feels that he is watching him over all the time. He misses him at every moment of achievemen and at bad times he wished his father was there to hold him during the times of crisis.

Q) Who would Karan leave his legacy to?

A) Karan says that he had a nurturing quality so off course he is thinking about adopting a child. Also he tells us that he would be extremely dejected if Dharma Productions ends wit him. So he is thinking a lot about it and soon would make a decision. But he adds that having a child does nit necessarily mean that it woukd be his child you would furthur take on his office. Office needs creative persons and he could give this responsibility to any of his staff too.
A peep inside Dharma productions
1) Karan Johar’s wall of fame in his office-  A wall where he has put pictures of his favourite movies

• 2) Karan’s conference room at Dharma productions

A place where big decisions about his cinema is taken.
3) Director’s Lobby

A lobby where all the directors of Dharma Productions have their cabins.

4) Recreational Room in Dharma Prductions
The room where staffs chill out and play table tennis.

5) Dance Wall A wall containing pictures of all item songs
6) Karan’s favourite wall in Dharma productions

A place where he is planning to shoot an item song

7) Edit room Where the editing of pictures take place and in the picture the movie “Badrinath Ki Dulhania is being edited.

8) Canteen of Dharma Productions

Place of eating and drinking and filling stomachs for staffs.

9) Karan Johar’s cabin

A place where he is officially placed

10) Karan Johar’s favourite chair

A piece of furniture which is only a dramatic piece in the big corporate office

Well this was all about director Karan Johar, we wish to see a lot more from him☺