Indian dishes with a twist

Alas! Tasneem doesn't have a restaurant but her very very popular food can make a party with a phone call. From a hand full of dishes, Tasneem has expanded to 27 over delicacies from India including the rare, filing multi-tasting Dhansak a dish from Bombay about which Camelia. Punjabi in her 50 great curries of India says,"Dhansak is the best known and liked dish in Parsee cuisine. Dhan in Gujrati means wealth, but in Parsee Gujrati Dhaan means rice. Sak means vegetables. Dhansak is a meat, vegetable and lentil curry eaten with caramelised brown pulao rice. Although there are many ingredients, it is quite simple to prepare." The flavour of Tasneem's Dhansak is a lusty one with tamarind, chilli powder, and green chillies adding sharpness while pumpkins aubergines and potatoes cool things down and fenugreek or methi adds a high note. There are 23 ingredients in this chicken cooked with lentil and vegetablle including several kinds of daals or pulses and it is not on Tasneem's menu but those in the know just order it. Says Tasneem "Dear to me is the three layered rice. As it was invented by my mother. It consists of a base layer or rice, on which comes a layer of rice, on which comes a layer of rice, on which comes a later of spiced chicken or mutton mince and topped with a layer of chutneys of hot garlic sauce and green chillies with ground coconut. Incidentally, this was the first dish I choose to cook at a family gathering organized by in-laws after my marriage and they haven't stopped talking about it to date." The three layered rice has so many tastes fro pungent to particullary enjoyed the Tapeli-na kababs which is a dish made of mixed meat, potatoes and peas with each of the three main ingredients interchanging flavours. Says Tasneem," tapeli -na-kebabs is a dish you want find in any recipe book as it is a home grown invention. It consists of mutton mince meatballs stemed cooked with potatoes and peas originally cooked in earthen pans." Specially to me in addition to the brilliant meat and rice Priyan is a forgotten recipe the bhinds curry which is especially flavoured and is an explosion of taste in your mouth.

For dessert order a variety of Tasneem's chocolates which are hot selleres & cool endings for a blissfull evening.

Dirty Kathmandu

Reduce, Re-use and Recycle ; we have heard it over and over again but do we put it to action? often we see, we hear but we don't follow. It has never been our priority to keep the city we live in clean or may be we're just tired of trying to keep it clean. The attitude "this is just the way it is and no matter what you do, nothing is going to change."Perevailsh all of us & its second nature for us to point the finger at someone else. Our government which keeps changing like unpredictable weather, hasn't been able to keep the city clean too. Every now and then, garbage's can be seen all over the city piling up because the dumping site popular keeps blocking the way. Keeping Kathmandu clean is not just the governments job but ours too. Ultimately it is us who live in this city. WE might overlook the preaching about reducings recycling and reusing but it does help reduce the amount of garbage coming out. the first image of Kathmanud that greets an outsider as soon as they exit Tribhuwan International Airport is just plain embarrasing. Instead of the scenic Shangri-la what greets them is the stinking Bagmati river unplanned having and bus stops, unruly micros and not so green trees and grass. Is this the image we want to portray? Lets not just depand on others to keep our city clean, lets start cleaning it else, it starts from you, your house and then it moves out to the society. If we are to use our civic sense, more, a cleaner kathmanduin inevitable.

ATM CARD

You do that many smart young Nepali's with Prepaid debit cards of their own do. You head to the nearest ATM swipe your card withdraw cash from your account, and go on having fun with your friends. Life becomes really that simple when you see ATM as a minibank. An ATM card is issued by your bank is no different from a Debit card. Bank wants to make sure that you have an easy access ot your money. When you need it and where you need it. Since bank cannot follow you everywhere what they have done is set up ATM counters at various locations in kathmandu and other major urbans conters. This way, when you feel like taking out your cash, to busy things you need, you can visit a counter and draw out your money.

Be aware that when you withdraw cash from an ATM. You may be charged a cetain which will show up on your monthly statement. Details about the charge vary from bank to bank. Somebank, Like Nabil, do not charge customer for with drawing money from ATMs. As a smart Customers, be sure to inquire at your bank and read their welcome letter carefully. And since money can be lost or misplaced easily, do follow these safety steps.

Dying to be thin

In the desire to look slim and beautiful many young women today succumb to dieting. Which sadly is raising a generation of unhealty youths. Even though many forms of exercises have been introuduced to reduce weight and stay health, a large chunk of the Nepali population still take the dieting route, the trend of which is increasing at an alarming rate in Nepal. Research shows that instead of losi9ng weight, dieting causes number of physical and psychological probelms. Once a lifestyle limited to models and those involved in the glamour field, dieting has now started to spread its root in the society. Most of what kind of body shape and weight is beautiful. Effects of Dieting In order to keep itself healthy, the body needs daily doses of nutrients. The lack of nutrients can make the body prone to gastrits and causes diffuculty in movement , laziness and weakness. It also affects growth and results irregular menstruation among women," says LN Joshi, a cardiologist at OM Hospital and Research Centre. ONe needs 1800-2000 calories a day to stay healthy and careless or unmonitored dieting can be dangerous." He adds. A healthyt diet should include plenty of fruit and vegetables, whole grain starchy food suchs as rice, bread, pasta and potatoes, protein rich, foods as meat, fish , eggs and pulses and milk dairy foods and small amount of high fat, salt and sugar.

Tricks For Happiness

According to happiness reseracher Sonja Lyubo mirskly, PHD of the University of Califoria, life circumstances account for only 10 percent of happiness. About 40 percent of our happiness is influenced by what we do deliberafely to make ourselves hapy. Next tiem you need a pick-me-up try one of these little instant mood-lifting tricks. Zone Out Rest, peace, quiet and solitude can also crea joy. Some research suggests that we may have an inborn need to zoneout once in a while. Give yourself a timeout during a hectic day, relax and close your eyes. Think about something that takes your mind off the daily grind, like fun plans for the weekend. Munch Of Nuts For a mod-lifting snack, stash walnuts in your desk drawer. It packaged with omega-3 fats which may make people less prone to depression and easier to get along with say researchers from the University of Pittsburgh. Do A Good Deed People who volunteer are likelier to be happier than those who don't regardless mr how much money they make or other socio economic factors Researchers believe volunterring boosts happiness because it increases enpathy which makes you appreciate all the good stuff in your life.

A Story Of Rainbow Of Unity

Once upon a time the colours of the world started to quarrel all claimed that they were the best, the most important, the most useful & favourite GREEN said, " clearly I am most important. I am the sign of life and hope. I was choosen for grass, trees, leaves, without me, all animals would die. Look over the countryside and you will see that I am in the majority."

BLUE interrupeted, "You only think about the earth but consider the sky and the sea. It is the water that is the basis of life and drawn up by clouds, forms the deep sea. The sky gives space, peace and serenity. Without my peace you would all be nothing."

YELLOW chulkled,"you are all so serious. I bring laughter and warmth in to the world. The sun is yellow, the moon is yellow, the stras is yellow. Every time you look at a sunflower the whole world starts to smile. Without me there would be no fun."

ORANGE started nxt to blow her trumpet. "I am the colour of health & strenght. I may be scare but I am precious. RED could stand it no longer, he shouted out"I am ruler of all of you. I am blood-life's blood " I am colour of danger, bravery ,love , red rose, the point settia and the poppy."

PURPLE rose up to his full height. He was very tall and spoke with great pump. I am the colour of royalty and power. People do not question me they listen and obey. Finally INDIGO spoke much more quietly than all the others, but with just as much determinated, "think of me. I am the colour of silence. You hardly notice me , but without me you all become superficial. and so the colours went on boasting, each convinced his or her own superiority. Suddenly there was startling flash of bright lightening thunder rolledand bloomed. Rain started to pour relentlesely. The colours crouched down in fear, drawing close to one another for comfort. In the midst of the clamour rain began to spek" you foolish colours fighting amongst yourselves. Donot you know that you were made for a special purpose unique & different? Join hands and come to me." Doing as they were told the colours united and joined hands. The rain continued, " From now on , when it rains, each of you will stretch across the sky in a great bow of colours as a reminder that you can all live in peace. The RAINBOW is the sign of hope for tomorrow."

What would we do without the internet?

After mercantile introuduced internet for the first time in Nepal, the world changed for all Nepalese and a moist the biter sweet competition between the Internet Service Providers and the demand for faster and easier connections, the consumers have been, at par, in profit.

Mercantile Communicaton
Mercantile Communication provides internet service with fast connect ions. Consumer Broad Band Night costs Rs.6,666 for 64 kbps per month. You can enjoy unlimited access from 7am to 7pm. Specially desingned for single users at home, Consumer Broadband Infinity costs you Rs 3,999 per month for a 64 kbps.

Subisu Cablenet
True Cable Nite Home Edition gives you Internet connection from 6pm to 9 AM with cable television at just Rs 850 per month Rates increases according to the speed. 128 kbps and 256 kbps in the same scheme will cost you RS 1200 & 180 per month respectively. But 128 kbps and 256 kbps at the price of RS 1600 and 2500 per month is a sweet deal.

Nepal Telecom
Without any hassle and installation charges you can easily get broadband quality connection from Nepal Telecom. Introuduced just recently, ADSL is only hours a day with no extra telephone bill charge except the port charge of Rs 100 ADSL costs Rs. 800 per month for a 128 kbps connection. The only addtional purchase you will have to make is the ADSL router which varies in price depending on the brand which is widely available in the market. Perfect for a home user.

Nepali singer Naren's faith evolves to hope

It has been nearly seven years since the band Aastha stormed into the Nepali music scene creating an enormous buzz after theirself self-titled album Aastha.Aastha was a band created on a whim where two friends Sudip Gurung from Illam and Naren Limbu from Dharan met at Kathmandu Academy, and started fooling around with music.Singing simple songs of love,heartbreak and tragedy, their music resonated with a wide range of audiences who were going through the same thing.When their music came out in 2003 their songs soared to popularity creating a whole new scene for pop music in Nepal.

Aastha is an album which includes songs from personal events of Naren's own life and from the feelings that touches him from other lives. Naren, who has never been professionally trained ,has written all the lyrics in this album."In fact,I wrote most of the lyrics in my own kitchen." he reveals ."The soothing sounds of my own echo helped me find inspiration."

As for the future, Aastha fans may be able to see the two Aastha's reunited for another project.In fact,in 2008,five years after the debut album,Naren and Sudip for the first time , gave a concert together performing in Kathmandu,Dharan and Pokhara.Again when it is possible with their schedule, they would like to work together.

Abroad Study

By asking yourself these fundamental questions and answering them honestly and as realistically as you can.

Is foreign degree necessary?
In some fields such as undergraduate engineering and medicine,Nepali colleges are very good.But if you want to study art history or aero-nautical engineering or subjects in which Nepali colleges do not have strength then,it's worth looking at what's available at foreign universities.Ask yourself: Would a foreign degree help me to get better job down the road?Take charge of your learning and do some research.Talk to people who studied what you want to study.

Parental consent
Most students visit educational counselors on their own,do their research on their own, decide where to apply all by themselves and expect their parents to pay.Applying can be expensive and the people who will be investing in your education need to know where their money is going. It's also important to be clear about how much your parents are comfortable paying before you decide to start your applications.

Your competence
Once you decide to study abroad in a particular subject ,be aware that there will be thousanda of applicants who will be applying to the same institution as you are.With applicants more than the seats available, why should a college decide to accept you as a student if you have good marks,good test scores,and solid extra-curricular leadership experiences,then good. But if not, communicate with the admission officers to show your determination about your career goals.

Financial status
Foreign colleges want you to pay for your education. Scholarships are available, but not everyone gets them.As such, you need to think about who is going to pay for your air tickeys,living and college expense.Selling property or taking out big loans from banks may not be always possible.But if your options of financing foreign education are limited then its better to look for grants and scholarshipby scoring high in different tests.

Power Packed Immunity

Human body uses a variety of responses to maintain its defence against harmful pathogenic organisms in the environment.And it's the immune system that plays necessary part in this.If it's not strong the chances of one getting ill gets higher.Nutrition experts say that what human body needs to fight off infection can be found in foods.So feed your immune system adequately to boost its fighting power.Immune boosters increase the number of white cellsin the immune system and help them to fight better.Boosters also help eliminate the substances that drag the body down.

Researches over the years have proved that nutrition has a big part in supporting the production and actionof both the cells and the soluble factors of the immune system.Diet with all major diet nutrients carbohydrates,fats and proteins are very much necessary for a strong immune system.Research studies have shown that defeciency of high qyality protein can also result in depletion of immune cells,inability of the body to make antibodies,and other immune related problems.

If you give yourself the right immune systemfood, you can strengthen your body's ability to fight off sickness and enjoy a healthy life.

Risky business

Playing it safe with your career may seem smart.But you really get ahead you may needto take some risks. "Nothing gives your career aa boost like suceeding at a risk".Still before you take a risk, whether its quitting your job or confronting your boss consider whether it's smart or foolish.Make sure you know yourself and your organization well enough to understand that happens if you take a risk and it doesn't work out.Will failure damage your career or will coworker admire your initiative?Will you be devastated, emotionally or financially, if you don't suceed?Or do you have a high tolerance for failure?

Suceeding where others have given up is a great way to make a name for yourself.It's a way to go ahead to take some thing that's big and dangerous .But look at what has happened to others who have tried. Have they had their reputations tarnished?Or have their efforts been rewarded?Disagreeing with your boss in anger,without having thought through what you are going to say is a foolish risk.But arranging meeting with your boos outside of the office and offering a rehearsed, well-crafted explanation of how you feel can be a risk and worthtaking.