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Practical Benefits of going on a Vipassana retreat

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 If you don’t experience grief then you don’t need to read this article. For the rest of you put on your seat belts to begin your first step in the right direction.

Vipassana: What is it?

Vipassana is an ancient meditation technique which was rediscovered and popularised by Buddha. It is an exercise of change and has been implemented as a part of jail reform programs around the globe( Kiran Bedi also replicated it in Tihar jail, see the documentary below). For some people the word meditation itself is a big turn off, it is the old stuff which is good but is never done similar to exercise. But in fact, all of us meditate for a significant length of time during activities like solving a difficult problem, watching our favorite show or even masturbating, the only difference is the thing being meditated upon. The utmost concentration of mind is the foundation of meditation, but it is not just that. Then what is it? Well, it is precisely due to this obscurity in the nature of meditation that has to lead to the emergence of many of its types. But most of them are no more than a feel-good session. Here I didn’t mean to criticise other techniques, feeling good and having a concentrated mind has tremendous benefits, but why stop if you can have much more in exactly the same time.

Vipassana opens up the possibilities beyond the point where other meditation technique stops. It involves the cleansing of your entire mind i.e the conscious, subconscious and the unconscious.  All these things are meant to be experienced not just read. For the sceptic I would just say that if you don’t believe in the ‘’spirituality stuff’’, it is fine, you don’t need to. These benefits are practical and related to issues we daily face in life.

So, here I provide you with 6 instant practical benefits of doing Vipassana:

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It’s free:

Vipassana foundation is considerate of the fact that everyone doesn’t have deep pockets. Consequently, everything in the camp is provided absolutely free of cost. It also includes the cost of your lodging and tasty pure food. Thus, you can go to any centre in the entire world without even a penny in your pocket. Apart from this, the kind of respect that you get there is overwhelming. You are called a Sadhak(cool Hindi name for disciple) and all your needs are taken care of. However, I must warn you that you are welcome only if you want to give it a serious shot, come here to change and believe me you won’t be disappointed.

Try this:

Before reading further I want you to do this quick activity. Close your eyes for just 30 seconds, try to feel your inhalation and exhalation, just observe the breath as it goes in and out and do nothing else. BEGIN NOW.

What happened? Did your mind get diverted for a moment or was it absolutely concentrated on the breath the entire time? If you were able to reach 7 breaths before your mind wandered away, then you are like me. This activity was to show how mentally fragile we are. We can’t even keep our mind in control even for half a minute, the mind has turned into a wild elephant who revolts if forced to be obeyed. But the same elephant if domesticated will use its power in any direction its master wishes. Vipassana will do just that it will domesticate your mind and believe me you will be surprised to see the new you.

It is helpful in preparation for exams like IIT JEE and UPSC:

In the world of cut-throat competitions, even a single mark could be the difference between selection and rejection (ask someone who has been held by just some marks about how it feels). Vipassana gives you strength to slog for hours with full productivity. The calmness of mind that you will generate through practice will help you to tackle difficult problems (which terrify us, but if fought with, then are solved). Further, you will avoid petty mistakes in IIT JEE like exams where sometimes the options differ by only a minus sign. Also, the technique will teach you to stay in the present and focus on the problem at hand ( don’t we all have that time when we want to work out when studying or study when working out).

Practical Benefits of going on a Vipassana retreatAddictions:

I should better skip this point, as I don’t have any” some of you might be thinking. But, addiction isn’t just drugs and alcohol. Addiction is anything which causes your mind to go into disequilibrium in the absence of an object, ritual or even a process. You can be addicted to your Girlfriend, tea, lucky charms etc. And it can lead to some dangerous situations. For instance, you lost your lucky pen just before the interview and we all can guess what follows, you become jittery and are not able to perform well thus it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. After Vipassana, you will be able to stay in equilibrium in the presence or absence of the pen and thus grab the opportunity to perform to your fullest.

Mental Illness:

This especially applies in the case of depression, anxiety, headache, and Migraine. Though the Vipassana website doesn’t claim anything of this sort, but there are a plethora of anecdotes of people who have actually got cured. Even the teacher who brought this technique to India from Myanmar got into this just to find the cure to his migraine. Do you know someone who has any of this ailments? If yes then tell them, they will never forget you.

Unique Adrenaline:

are you the kind of person who just packs her bag and goes out to discover the world? What, No! Then here is your chance to be one. Moreover, you will experience the same excitement (especially on the fourth day) that a mountain climber feels. But the adrenaline will not be of physical activity but mental revelation. Further, the difficulties that might challenge you include the complete silence for 9 days, no connection with the outside world during this time etc. But these challenges are worth it, for you will see not the scenic beauty of trekking but the mountain that is inside you. And believe me it is more beautiful, it is yours.

All these 6 points are just to cajole you to enter the Vipassana Centre. You can still go on with your life without even doing Vipassana. But, it is like carrying on with the routines of existence without even examining the principles on which it is based, similar to driving an unserviced car. You will never know when the brakes will fail, or even if you are in the right direction. I am sure you do want to check the direction of your life, don’t you?

REASONS, WHY BOLLYWOOD IS MILES AWAY FROM OSCARS

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The giant Mumbai-based sobriquet in India named Bollywood laid its first stone in the 1930s with the gratefulness of Dadasaheb Phalke. Bollywood represents Hindi film industry which, now, has become the largest film producing hub delivering approx. 250 movies per year including several Indian languages. The revenue generated through movie tickets is growing at a kickass rate. But has Bollywood got the worthy notability across the globe yet? An international award ceremony organized by AMPAS every year named “Oscars” honors the hard work of all the sobriquets. The categories for the fellow awards are headed by:

  • Best Picture
  • Best Director
  • Best Actor in a Leading Role
  • Best Actor in a Supporting Role
  • Best Actress in a Leading Role
  • Best Actress in a Supporting Role
  • Best Animated Feature
  • Best Animated Short Film
  • Best Cinematography
  • Best Costume Design
  • Best Documentary Feature
  • Best Documentary Short Subject
  • Best Film Editing
  • Best Foreign Language Film
  • Best Live Action Short Film
  • Best Makeup and Hairstyling
  • Best Original Score
  • Best Original Song
  • Best Production Design
  • Best Sound Editing
  • Best Sound Mixing
  • Best Visual Effects
  • Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
  • Best Writing (Original Screenplay)

But the reasons why Bollywood hasn’t pulled off any of the categories since then are:

  • Too much of focus on one hero

So if you recall one of the nominated-but-not-won movies of early days, LAGAAN, the entire movie is focused on the “hero” Aamir Khan, as “Bhuvan”, and no other artist. Why? Weren’t the other players and actors contributing to the cricket game or the entire movie itself? The reality is each and every role had its own importance which was lucidly neglected and all the audience remembered was “Bhuvan”. This was the biggest drawback because of which the movie could not retain its glory in Oscars.

  • Lack of gray characters

Nobody can deny that Bollywood movies have a villain and a hero. Well, the true stats show that a normal human has both positive and negative traits. Let’s take Taare Zameen Par, where, again, Aamir Khan and Darsheel Safary were the heroes with only phenomenal flaunting qualities but on the other hand Darsheel’s dad was the harsh villain guy who wasn’t able to understand his child’s problem at all.

  • Never-ending Parade of songs

REASONS, WHY BOLLYWOOD IS MILES AWAY FROM OSCARSNow how dare you point this out? Aren’t movies made only for entertainment? Aren’t item songs and illogical scenic songs giving peace to our mind? NO. The unnecessary inevitable one-after-another sequel of songs sometimes just breaks the flow of the story and we are lost in the harmony back there. They can be cut down to a digestible number.

  • Happy happy happy ending

Is it a curse that a story cannot be concluded without a happy ending? Or if this doesn’t happen, the audience will throw rotten eggs and cry out of anger or leave the theater dishearten? In most of the Bollywood movies, the hero after beaten up to death will come back to life again just to defeat hundreds of men and then he might die or live peacefully just for the sake of “Happy Ending”. Hello? The magical almighty spares this unbelievable trial.

  • Logic?

Where? Where, my friend, can you see the dots connected? It is fine when we find brainless-comedy occasionally but if it is seen every now and then, it has to be given thumbs down after witnessing nerve-pain.

REASONS, WHY BOLLYWOOD IS MILES AWAY FROM OSCARS

Heavy-loaded budgets and foreign locations are not the only things public is looking for. Gone are those days when audience used to accept and giggle on “anything” that was screened. No doubt many directors have created a history that is still marked on the pages but that 90% of cliché has to be put under serious observation for change.

Suits: The One that is Made for You!

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10 things you can do to utilize your time productively

In common spheres of life, we wear suits. Let  it be a Business meeting with corporates, In parties , in public places, and in offering last ceremonial rites in some countries, and most of all wedding ceremonies, Some say Suits are My status Quo, Some Just love the comfort that they get within, they actually feel more and more confident while they are on suits, But it has its own etiquette, Suit is generally defined as a set of garments made of same cloth consisting at least a jacket and a trouser, then we add the formal shirting !

Business Suiting: these suits are also known a Lounge suits, which originates the suit revolution, basically these suits are worn for the workplace and for informal events, here the informal events doesn’t necessarily be casual events. In Some Events the host expect men to be dressed in lounge suits especially for lunch Events, dinner parties etc,

Code/Technique: A 3-piece suit consisting of single breasted jacket, a single or double breasted waist coat or jacket,

  • While wearing a single breasted waistcoat, the bottom button is always left undone,

A 2-piece suit consisting of single breasted jacket or double breasted jacket with trouser and no waist coat, belts shouldn’t any be worn with waist coat or double breasted suit,

  • A shirt with a turndown collar shall be worn with a tie and the top button is shirt should be up

Tie-Knots: Four in hand and Half-Windsor

Non- Business Suiting: Usually these suits are made with Tweed Cloth, they are icon Traditional Irish and British Country clothing, these are worn for indoor activities like shooting and hunting, the best part here is these tweed suits can be worn with jeans

Cocktail Attires: Some events have dress code of suiting such as cocktails attires, The Cocktail attires dressing goes on like,

WEDDINGS:

  • Dark to mid-grey suit, dress in white or a muted color,

Tie: Neck tie

Mostly Wear Only Black Shoe with over the calf socks

Do not wear Tuxedo, it causes overdressing!

Warning: During Weddings, leaver your pinstripe suit, flashy accessories at home, to avoid being the center of attraction, if you are not at your wedding :p

Parties :

Cocktail Parties are supposed to be relaxed Occasions, Business or lounge suits make them too formal. The best to wear during the winter is the funnel with patterns and a bow tie while  During Summer you can try lighter colors.

Suits: The One that is Made for You!

Gentleman Suiting: Well, there is no mystery in this type of suiting, But It is for gentlemen!!

The coats should fit the collar, Shoulder, and Cuff, neither gaps nor excess shirt cuff fabrics is to be seen, The Stroller jacket has to be single breasted one and peaked lapel style, with two buttons and jetted pockets, Generally, a Striped Trouser and Special Striped for Morning wears, This Outfit is commonly used for Sunday afternoons and small cocktail parties,

General Rule: The More patterns and Colors you have in your outfit(other than navy and gray) the less formal it will be, These Cocktail suites are wear in 95% of cocktail parties,

 Suits: The One that is Made for You!

Tuxedos!!:

These Suits are also known as Dinner suits, they are worn in semi-formal dinning events, they are typically black or midnight blue, it’s the dinner jacket, The Oscar awards is the correct place, if you wish to check out, what a tuxedo is actually, these are meant to be worn only in the evening,

General Rule; Boys below fifteen shouldn’t wear dinner jackets and below eighteen shouldn’t wear Tail Coats,

Woman’s Suiting:

Suits: The One that is Made for You!

PantSuit:

Often called as the trouser suit, it’s a women thing, a woman’s suit of clothing consisting of trousers and a matching jacket or coat! An essential suit jacket with timeless polish is tailored from season-spanning fabric infused with supple stretch, they don’t require ties and knots, and these suits are all about power dressing leaders like Hilary Clinton are known most for pant suiting taking the stage!

Suits: The One that is Made for You!

Boss Suit:

Yeah, You read it right, These Suits are to wore by the bosses, they are Tailored for a sharp fit, a two-button jacket takes you comfortably from season to season in mélange suiting fabric infused with supple stretch and colored in rich tones. They are worn with trousers, and also with short and long skirts,

Conclusion: Let it be men or Women, Suits have their own way to express themselves, they are made with an invisible power, the power which creates status Quo, the power of confidence, and the power of self-respect!!

Things you never knew about Beer

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Beer is an alcoholic beverage produced by the saccharification of starch and fermentation of the resulting sugar. The starch and saccharification enzymes are often derived from malted cereal grains; most commonly malted barley and malted wheat.

1. 3rd Most common drink in the world-

Beer is the world’s most widely consumed alcoholic beverage, and the third-most popular drink overall, after water and tea. All I know is that I am contributing a lot to this fact.

2. Beer is all-natural-

YES, the truth is that beer is as all-natural as orange juice or milk. Beer doesn’t need preservatives because it has alcohol and hops, both of which are natural preservatives. Beer is only “processed” in the sense that bread is: It is cooked and fermented, then filtered and packaged.

Things you never knew about Beer

3. Beer improves your cholesterol-

Beer not only has no cholesterol, it can actually improve the cholesterol in your body. In fact, drinking beer regularly and moderately will tilt your HDL/LDL cholesterol ratios the right way. According to some studies, as little as one beer a day can boost your HDL by up to 4 per cent.

4. It can help prevent kidney stones

A study conducted in Finland established that moderate daily consumption of beer can reduce the risk of developing kidney stones by 40%. This health benefit is attributed to beer’s high water content (about 93%) that helps flush harmful toxins out of the body and keep the kidneys working properly. Also, compounds in hops used in brewing help slow the release of calcium from bones, which in turn prevents build-up of lost calcium in the kidney in the form of stones.

Things you never knew about Beer

5. It can help treat dandruff-

Another interesting fact about beer is that it is considered one of the best natural treatments for dandruff. This particular health benefit of beer is attributed to its high yeast and vitamin B content levels. Just rinse your hair with a bottle of beer two to three times a week to get rid of dandruff and make your hair extra soft and shine.

6. It can help lower risk of diabetes-

This is another remarkable benefit of moderate beer consumption. The alcohol content in beer increases insulin sensitivity, which helps prevent diabetes. Moreover, beer is a good source of soluble fibre that plays an important role in the healthy diet of people suffering from diabetes.

7. Beer belly- a Myth?

In general, alcohol intake is associated with bigger waists, because when you drink alcohol, the liver burns alcohol instead of fat. Any kind of calories, whether from alcohol, sugary beverages, or oversized portions of food -can increase belly fat. However, alcohol does seem to have a particular association with fat in the midsection.

8. Stress reduction-

A beer a day keeps stress and heart attacks away. Moderate alcohol consumption can reduce stress and anxiety, known contributors of heart disease. Drink to that.

Things you never knew about Beer

That’s all guys; I think I gave you all plenty of reasons to drink beer today. Well now I would like to share one more reason to drink beer and that is because of the glasses, yep you got me right, “PITCHERS”. Stupid huh…but what can I do, I just love them. So guys let PROST!!

Modi’s Foreign Trips: Flamboyancy Or A Visionary Act

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With his latest visit being Kenya on 11th of July, PM Narendra Modi reached his 51st foreign trip in his two- year of prime ministerial tenure. As of July, 2016 he has visited 42 countries including USA to follow the UN assembly and other South Asian in context to his foreign and trade policy. A total of 111 days have been spent up in abroad till the date by him. His visits have however attended the biggest media buzz and have drawn several comments ranging from jests and memes to flak. Even if there have billions of eyes popping and tongues speaking at him, claiming him to be an “absentee PM”, it has not ceased to cater a powerful economy. Well, we shall have a further detailed data analysis and our pros and cons regarding it ahead to get a deliberate and lucid vision of his business trips.

OVERVIEW OF THE TRIPS

It has been hard to believe about these all that too for a leader who has barely uttered a word of foreign policy during his election manifesto. But with this dramatic and welcome gesture of inviting the South Asian heads for his swearing-in presaged the first of many foreign policy surprises that Modi would unveil.

In the year 2015, he further traveled 28 countries but the estimated expenditure still continues to be unidentified which is a critical spot for the attacking of opposition.

There are other meetings scheduled too in the year 2016 further apart from the ones mentioned in the table above.

FOREIGN POLICIES DURING MODI GOVERNMENT

While Chief Minister of Gujarat, Modi made several foreign trips to foster his business links with major Asian economic powers. This included meeting Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe twice in 2007 and 2012 and building a personal rapport. So we could trace his travels as a result of his visionary ideas.

During the elections, he declared that he desires to inculcate a few of the facilities through his govt’s foreign policy, if elected. Some of them are:

  • Resolving China’s potential aggression along the border with India
  • Making “illegal immigration” from Bangladesh restricted.
  • Improving relations with immediate neighbours  as peace and tranquillity in South Asia is essential for realizing his development agenda.
  • Significantly he pledged to introduce the concept of Para diplomacy in India where each states and cities would have liberty to forge special relation with countries or federal states or even cities of their interest.
  • Bilateral trade going to dominate the relations with most countries except few important global powers with which India shares a strategic partnership.

 

It was necessary to have an overview of the foreign policy so that we can compare the vision of Modi government and the actual delivery of  it to the country.

 

PROS OF THE INTERNATIONAL TRIPS: WHAT DID IT DELIVER TO US

In a year when Modi zipped around the world but attracted some flak at home for being a ‘tourist’, a few things in his foreign policy went much beyond the measurement of investment billions his people throw around.

  • India showed unusual dexterity in utilising a narrow diplomatic window to engage Gulf States.
  • His negotiations also implied that if places like Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha and Muscat want to become like Singapore, they need to cast off some old ties and wean themselves away from the Islamist source. For which India is a promising harbour.

Apart from aesthetic point of view, our economy has seen some critical (tangible as well intangible) developments. Now using some economical terms such as remittances and dividends, we would see their hike which implies a good sign for the economy. Remittances are the money received from abroad which are not to be included in the GDP of the country but they are a part of personal while dividends refer to the share that the industries keep with themselves to distribute to its shareholders.

All of these count as among the top 20 countries with persons of Indian origin living outside India. They also happen to send a lot of money back home. A staggering $70 billion came to India in 2014, from remittances according to the World Bank. It’s also double the amount of Foreign Direct Investment India received in 2014. 

Modi has visited three of the top 10 countries that send money back to India – the US, Canada and Nepal – and is slated to go to a fourth, the United Kingdom,

Modi’s Foreign Trips: Flamboyancy Or A Visionary Act

There have several other achievements too after Modi’s tenure reflected upon by his foreign trips such as:

  • Now Barack Obama and China supports India’s bid for permanent UNSC  seat.
  • Australia is set to sign a Nuclear Power deal with India to supply around 500 tonnes of Uranium to India.
  • Satya Nadella (Microsoft), Indra Nooyi (Pepsico), Sheryl Sandberg (Facebook), Jeff Bezos (Amazon), Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook) discusses possible investments

     

  • Israel inks $5 million deal for Joint Educational Research programme

     

  • $20 billion investment from Xi and his Chinese counterparts

     

  • 2 Billion Euros support from France for sustainable development in India

     

  • Airbus to increase outsourcing in India from 400 million Euros to 2 billion Euros over the next five years.

     

  • French National Railways has agreed to co-finance an execution study for a semi- high speed project on up gradation of the Delhi-Chandigarh line to 200 kmph.

     

  • Canada agrees to supply 3,000 metric tonnes of uranium to India from this year to power Indian atomic reactor.

     

  • Japan and India agree to jointly produce mixed rare earth.

 

We have eyed at too many pros, we shall now shelve the idea of all the positive things that have undergone and proceed to the cons with all eyes.

 

CONS OF THE SAME

Modi’s Foreign Trips: Flamboyancy Or A Visionary Act
Image source Times of India

While the above description may be termed visionary by Credit Rating companies and various trade pundits, the domestic activists and general citizen never cease to term it all as flamboyant. There have been less focus to the domestic issues ongoing and more on the issues worldwide. PM seems to address the country’s situation with utmost callousness and mostly, these issues are addressed by his bhakts out there.

In the last two years, an expenditure of 576 crores have been estimated by virtue of his foreign trips which when compared to other PMs before such as Atal Bihari Vajpayee  and Manmohan Singh is surely on a very high note.There are several arguments such as PM acts in a very mechanical way in the home country. Moreover, the expenditure incurred is not being disclosed lucidly but making it a little concealed. Recently a RTI activist Lokesh Batra claimed that he was forced to write to the embassies separately to provide him info about the incurred expenditure but was denied so. There are other misses/ cons too highlighted below:

Misses/Cons:

  • Pathankot attack: The attack raised question on Country’s security Level. India craved hard to add the name of MASOOR Azhar, the chief of JeM who is believed to be behind Pathankot attack. China raised objections.
  • India -Pak relations : So much of talk and so many meetings, so many gestures but that could not stop dialogue process, neither stopped firing across the LOC.
  • Black Money: Government gave 3 months of compliance, but only 644 declarations were made. This was Modi’s major agenda, BRING BACK MONEY.
  • GST Bill : Could had been the biggest tax reform, but government was unable to pass GST bill in Rajya Sabha in 2 years.

 

The main obstacle in development after Modi government came to power is the disrupting peace day by day and the issues of communal violence. A few months ago there was lynching at Dadri for eating beef.

These are the shortcomings of the government but they are not being addressed by him, rather his Bhakts are out there on the crusaders projecting them as the leader of the country. He is also accused to not to incline the laws in favour of the poor but that his laws favour the already uplifted classes.

Trade Pundits also claim that his foreign policy and trade policy do not go hand in hand and also that our trade mandarins have not yet got the memo.

 

But when these shortcomings are compared to the achievements being made, they seem to appear minutiae. It may seem far- fetched to people at the starting but soon they would be convinced by the visionary approach of PM. Modi government has taken its first step to develop the foreign and trade policy as mentioned in the Budget, 2014 and 2015. Before criticising a government, we must keep the knowledge of all of what he is doing not just seeing in an upper-layered manner. Obviously there are many more important issues to be addressed further but each of the educated us must probe and scrutinize to henceforth make a conclusion ahead, thereby compelling any government to work accordingly in favour of India.

ENGLISH, WITH A TWIST !

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Everybody who knows even the most basic form of English would agree that English is a very absurd language, some words are written in ‘some’ way but it would ‘sum’ up to be pronounced totally differently.

English is also one of the newest languages of the world and so there are many words which can be found in different languages but with completely bizarre meanings than the meanings in English.

1. RETARD

In English when one is called a retard, he is assumed to be mad but in French, retard means late.

2. PUXE

ENGLISH, WITH A TWIST !

This word is pronounced like the English word ‘Push’ but in Portugese this word means nothing other than to pull. Talk of irony!

3.BRA

ENGLISH, WITH A TWIST !

When in Sweden if you ask somebody about their well being and if you get an answer “bra!” , please don’t think they are asking for one,they are simply saying “good”.

4.KISS

ENGLISH, WITH A TWIST !

A very common word of English which all of us have come across in our lives. Well, a kiss is not as romantic to the Swedish as it is to us, primarily because for them it means pee.

5.GIFT

ENGLISH, WITH A TWIST !

If somebody has got you a gift, nobody denies it but Germans do. Wonder why? Because ‘gift’ means poison to them.

6.HAMMER

ENGLISH, WITH A TWIST !

Awesome! Yeah, that is what this word means in German..! Now isn’t that just hammer?

7.SICK

For everybody who thought that being sick is a bad thing, well guess what, in Turkish ‘sick’ means fuck..! Being sick doesn’t feel so bad now, does it?

8. HE and ME

In Hebrew, very interestingly.. ‘he’ actually means ‘she’ and ‘me’ brings up the question of ‘who’. Wonder when things got so complicated..

9. NAH (synonym of NO)


In India, there is a very old dialogue, “ladki ki naa mein haa hoti hain.” Hilariously, Polish,Greek and Czech people actually want to say yes when they say ‘nah’.

10. SLUT

ENGLISH, WITH A TWIST !

Everybody knows what this word means in English but it is not at all so offensive in Swedish! In Swedish, ‘slut’ means end.

So that is the ‘slut’ of the article. Hope you had a great time reading it.

Noor Inayat Khan – The Unlikely War Hero

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Out of the 2.5 million Indian men and women who volunteered to fight with the Allied forces during the 2nd World War, there is one forgotten hero whose name doesn’t surface much in the foreground and her name is Noor Inayat Khan. Noor-un-Nisa Inayat Khan was born to a Sufi teacher and an American mother and had a lineage directly related to Tipu Sultan. She inherited the values of self-sacrifice and non-violence from her pacifist father. She was the recipient of the George Cross Award of the UK for having undertaken one of the most dangerous missions in the second world war .

Noor spent her childhood in France and grew up to be passionate about music and played the harp. She studied child psychology and also wrote stories for children. One such book by her containing stories for children called “Twenty Jataka Tales” was published in France, Britain and America. Her life took a 360 degree turn when the German Army started invading the countries in Europe and in 1940, they invaded France. Noor fled to Britain along with her family just before France was captured by Hitler’s Army and it was there that she joined the WAAF (Women’s Auxiliary Air Force) where she was trained to be a radio operator. And here, she chose to go by the name of Nora Baker to better fit into her British lifestyle.

Noor Inayat KhanIn 1942, two years after having joined the WAAF, she was approached for an interview by the SOE (Special Operations Executive) for the role of an undercover agent in the Nazi-occupied France at that time. It is said that she was called for the interview due to fact that she was fluent in French. The job at that time was primarily a man’s job but owing to the severe shortage of undercover agents, Noor got the call. Having learnt the Morse code during her time in the Air force and being fluent in French , she was the perfect candidate to be deployed secretly as a wireless operator in German-occupied France and send important messages back to London . These agents were not required to wear uniforms, instead just blend in with the crowd and pose as civilians. This was a hard hitting reality as working undercover in civilian clothes meant no protection under the Geneva Convention and if she were to be caught, she was most likely to be shot . Another fact was that this job had a life expectancy of just six weeks. Knowing about all the danger she was putting herself into, Noor still thought it to be worth it and accepted to go.

Now came her training, where she didn’t fare very well as she got remarks such as “being clumsy”, “scared of weapons”, “emotional”, “very temperamental” and the officials were doubtful if she was really suited for such a job. Around the same time, the leaders of India had launched the Quit-India Movement to revolt against their British oppressors so, in her interview; one officer asked her if she would back the Indian leaders who took steps against Britain. She said as long as the war against Germany is on, she would be loyal to the British but after it she would support India in its fight for independence against Britain. So finally it was decided that the SOE would send her to France on the mission. This time, she got another false identity, the codename – Madeleine. She along with her fellow agents finally arrived in France on a secret plane in June, 1943 and after landing, everyone dispersed and went their own way. Noor somehow managed to make her way to Paris. Within days of her arrival in Paris, she began sending wireless messages containing useful information back to London and to avoid detection , she was constantly on the move as the Gestapo(Nazi Secret Police) had security vans which could detect where these signals were coming from. She carried her wireless radio in a suitcase wherever she went and made sure that her suitcase didn’t get any undue attention by the Police.

Noor Inayat Khan - The Unlikely War HeroWithin a week of their arrival, almost the entire network of SOE agents deployed in France except for Noor was arrested by the Gestapo and Noor was now one of the last wireless operators still operating in the city. Seeing this, the officials back in London asked Noor to return back but she declined the offer and chose to stay back as she knew how important her role was in helping the Allies. Sadly, her run from the Gestapo didn’t last much long as she was eventually captured after spending around 13 weeks in France playing the Cat and Mouse game with the Police . Ironically, her capture was not a result of the diligence of the Nazi forces instead it was due to betrayal  at the hands of a jealous woman whom Noor knew and who had expressed her desire to be a part of the secret network but was denied to be a part of it .

Thereafter, she was questioned and tortured by the Gestapo but she didn’t utter a single word about the mission. Later, she was transferred to the concentration camps in Germany and executed along with with three other female agents. Her bravery and unbudging rectitude earned her the highest civilian honor of the United Kingdom and other commonwealth nations— the George Cross in 1949 (post.) and made her only one of the three women to have got this honor during the Second World War.

Being a spy is the world’s second oldest profession yet these people rarely get the deserved name and recognition for their life-endangering services for their country. One such man was Ravindra Kaushik , recruited by RAW-the primary intelligence agency of India and sent to Pakistan as an undercover agent where he learned Urdu and took on a Muslim identity. He somehow managed to join the Pakistan Army and rose up to the ranks of major while passing valuable information to the Indian army but was later captured. Ajit Doval, the Current National Security Advisor of India was also an Indian spy in Pakistan for seven years posing as a Muslim. These people are truly the unsung heroes of our nation.

Nandish Sandhu – A Journey To Be Noted

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Nandish Sandhu, the heart throb of serial lovers is now in the talks of people for his new short film, “Girl in Red”. The film is a mysterious thriller directed by Saurabh Varma and is an official remake of the short film “Gutthi”. Rohit Khurana and Nazia Davison shared the screen space with Nandish and carved a desired outcome. The 17 minute thriller in which Nandish played a role of a mystery writer had about 1.4 million views in about six days and this itself shows his fame.

Nandish Sandhu was into action after almost two years. In these two years he did a Music Video along with Rashmi Desai which was well appreciated by audience and he also participated in Nach Baliye season 7 along with his Ex-wife Rashmi Desai. He started his career as a Model and did many shows like ‘Kasturi’, ‘Khwaish’…, though he was applauded for his performance in the previous shows, his career took a major turn with the TV Soap “Uttaran”. He was very much-admired for his role as “Veer Singh Bundela”. After he quit Uttaran he joined the cast of “Phir Subah Hogi” in the shoes of ‘Anuj Sachdev’. He also played a commendable role in Beintehaa. Within a very short period, he reached many hearts and gained a great fandom. He also did a cameo in movies like Dabangg 2 movie and shared screen with Salman Khan. He also acted in Bhojpuri and Manipuri movies.

Nandish was born in a Punjabi family in Rajasthan and he completed his schooling in Dholpur. He is a great foodie and completed his degree in hotel management. Out of his interest, he along with his brother started a restaurant, “Gulp Coast Restaurant”. He also loves photography. Nandish Sandhu along with his co-star Mrunal Jain owns a Box Cricket League (BCL) Team “Ahmedabad Express”. Nandish Sandhu married his co-star Rashmi Desai but things didn’t go well and they headed for a divorce.

He achieved Golden Achievers award for excellence in 2011, 2012, 2015 and 2016. He also received Best Debut award at Zee Gold Awards and other awards like Dada Saheb Phalke, Newsmakers Award, Lions Club award and Sangham National Award etc, for his best acting skills.

Nandish’s perseverance and determination for the work made him a successful actor. He showed that he is apt for any kind of character by playing as a lover boy and a business tycoon in Uttaran and a responsible lawyer in Beintehaa. He tried various genres and took up various admirable roles. His expressions and body language made all the girls fall for him. He is also counted among the hottest TV celebrities of the industry. He seems to be a very practical person and down to earth, he keeps interacting with his fans and makes them happy. He proved to be a good dancer in Nach Baliye.  He proved that he has a strong mind and guts in real life also by taking part in one of the most adventurous TV reality shows, “Khatron Ke Khiladi”. He believes in the line, ‘Get Better or Get Beaten’. Recently, he changed his name from ‘Nandish Sandhu’ to ‘Nandish Singh Sandhu’. He also has a great world-wide fan following as his serial ‘Uttaran’ was dubbed into Indonesian and Armenian languages. In India, it was dubbed into Tamil and Malayalam. It topped the TRP Charts even in the dubbed versions. This shows huge popularity of the actor nation-wide and world-wide. He has also been trended by his fans for a few times in twitter for various reasons.

And yes, this proves he is an all-rounder and especially a great actor with all the qualities needed. His ultimate acting skills made him stand out of the crowd. We wish him all the best in his career and hope he reaches great heights. Also, he has his birthday on 25th December and we wish him a memorable birthday and a great year ahead. Advance Happy Birthday and Happy New year Nandish Sandhu!!

By the way, don’t forget to watch “Girl in red”, one of the best short films in recent times,

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Must read Review of The Google Pixel

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Pixel is an android smartphone. It is designed by Google and the marketing responsibility has also been taken by Google. It has been announced by Google on October 4, 2016. It is the first smartphone designed by Google.

Must read Review of The Google Pixel

First, the contract was given to Huawei by Google but then Google refused to maintain the dual brand name and then it declined Huawei from further partnership.

SPECIFICATIONS

Hardware:

Aluminum chassis has been used for pixel and it is also having fingerprint sensor. The phone has the power and data exchange of USB 3.0 as a connector. The phone also includes 3.5 headphone jack. With this headphone jack, there is no need for the adapter. It also has 4 GB of RAM. The phone is differentiated by the two factors i.e screen and battery. Google Pixel has 20% more capacity of battery and also 32 or 128 GB internal storage.

It has motion sensors with the sampling rate of 200HZ. While a camera is active, 30 frames can be captured continuously per second in order to improve the capture speed. So 10 of the frames are used to form the single image when the photo is being captured.

Must read Review of The Google Pixel

Software :

Pixel phone is updated to 7.0 version of android. It was released with the updated version on the December 2016. Pixels provides live technical service because it is supported by the Google assistant. So by this, the phone receives android updates directly from Google. Pixel phone also supports Google daydream. It is a virtual reality platform. The phone also has the backup option for photos with pixels of unlimited resolution. Other additional features has been added on November 2016 like by double tapping on the phone, we can get alerts on the screen, motion gestures, raising the device to wake the screen, raise to wake the features.

RELEASE:

Actually, the pixel is a wireless and projected wifi in United states. For the best price, it is also available on Google online store. Coming to the united kingdom, it is not only available on Google online but also on EE and carphone warehouse. Through Flipkart, reliance digital and Chroma, one can purchase it in India.

VARIATIONS:

Pixel

Pixel XL

Both Pixel and Pixel XL use the GSM of the band Penta. In the Pixel and Pixel XL again there are two modes like G-2PW4100 and G-2PW4200. So  G-2PW4200 comes under the international region. G-2PW4100 FCC id number is NM8G-2PW4100 for Pixel and for Pixel XL the id number is NM8G-2PW2100.

Both are having positive reviews. Dieter Bohn of the Verge said, “Google phone is the best android phone anyone can buy.” Also, he rated the phone 9 out of 10. But he did not like one facility that is the phone is not waterproof.

Matt Hamrick of Anandtech praised the camera. Chris Velazco praised the build quality, camera, and performance. But he did not like the expensive price. Ron Amadeo said that the phone has unbeatable software.

Must read Review of The Google Pixel

Issues:

Some users said that the Pixels camera has the excessive flare. In December 2016, Google released an update to the Google Camera Android application that reportedly tried to fix the flare.

Android website also reported that the camera of the phone has the halo effect. It also didn’t working as previously so they needed to do more work on it.  Some have issues with the camera app. While capturing the photos it’s getting frozen with pink or purple vertical lines on the screen. Some are saying that their microphone is not working either from the start or in the middle of the usage. Some are having problems with the Bluetooth when they share the system with their cars. Some people are having the issues like overheating while using the microphones. Some are having issues with screen shots especially when it is received from I phones like  7 and 7 plus. Some people said that there is presence of bubbles under the screen i.e for the phone display.

So Google is currently working on these issues and some issues were fixed by them and some were not. Google is still working on the bubbles issue.

Must read Review of The Google Pixel

So friends what do you think, will the Google Pixel make its mark on the Indian Market?

Top 5 Hangover Cures You Have Never Heard OF

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Want to enjoy a party with an entire bottle down; but with no hangover?? Want to get rid off those heady drinks and puffy eye stops?? Don’t worry, the wait is over now. We present you the top 5 unusual cures for your morning-after blues:

1. Caffeine:

Whether you’ve a hangover or not, caffeine is the best treatment to get off from your heady drinks and make you feel alert at work. A cup of strong coffee and a trip to starbucks will help you to get out of this problem.

Yahoo.com

2. Hair Of The Dog:

No NO NO! This doesn’t mean that you have to grab a hair of the dog. This simply is a vernacular expression that refers to alcohol consumed with the aim of lessening the effects of hangover. In this remedy all you need is some fresh ginger juice, mixed with fresh orange juice, maple syrup and some drops of lime juice with a pinch of paprika. Shake well and have it!

Hangovercure
Beerlens.com

3. Go Cheesy:

Love pizza? Go for it after your throbbing cranium. According to experts, add lots and lots of parmesan with mozzarella cheese to your pizza and have it with a garlic bread loaded with cheese. A very delicious way to get rid of your hangovers.

Hangover cures
Pixabay.com

4. Water:

If water is good in maintaining our metabolism, then why not to get out off those mean headaches? Drinking some H2O before heading to bed will definitely prevent you from those painful hangovers.

Hangover cures
Word press.com

5. Make Some Love:

Yes, you read that right. If nothing works, have sex. According to the Alcohol Hangover Research Group, our body contains cytokines which gets build-up after a session of drinking. These little cytokine proteins give us puffy headaches; and then when we intimate, our bodies produce oxytocin resulting in blockage of cytokine, which results in curing of those hangovers. Isn’t it interesting?

Hangover cures
Hangovrschool.com

So, this new year you’ll be on your way to feeling like a person again after those dreaded hangovers. Be ready!