Reading the subtle signs of the universe

 https://medium.com/@sandy49.c/reading-the-subtle-signs-of-the-universe-7cf29912ba85

Steps to take to be more environment conscious

 All of us have a duty to safeguard the environment so that our future generations can benefit from it. What are the steps that as an individual we must take to reduce CO2 emissions 

1. Always conserve water: use waste water from the RO water purifier to wash veggies & utensils

2. Use bucket for bathing instead of showers

3. Walk or cycle instead of using transport for short distances. This benefits by keeping us healthy as well

4. Recycle old clothes into furniture like padded chairs, sofas, bags etc

5. Recycle garbage peels into compost for plants if possible

6. Use electricity judiciously, switching off fans and ac's

7. Educate maids, servants in these aspects 

8. Use public transport like metros, buses, wherever possible

All these if practiced by more and more people should help us & help the planet

Googlish Narcissism

 Googlish narcissm refers to searching for oneself on google to check if at all one features anywhere on the search engines searches of 1 of maybe 20000 pages. It is a step to validate your existence on this polluted planet of 6 billion people. It reminds me of the very appropriate characterisation of one of Jane Austen's quintessential characters Lord Walter Elliot in her book Persuasion where the vain and narcissistic man resorts to his passtime of perusing Debrett's Baronetage where he delight's himself in finding validation of his title, his marriage and daughter's by reading the passage refering to himself

Sir Walter Elliot, of Kellynch Hall, in Somersetshire, was a man who, for his own amusement, never took up any book but the Baronetage; there he found occupation for an idle hour, and consolation in a distressed one; there his faculties were roused into admiration and respect, by contemplating the limited remnant of the earliest patents; there any unwelcome sensations, arising from domestic affairs changed naturally into pity and contempt as he turned over the almost endless creations of the last century; and there, if every other leaf were powerless, he could read his own history with an interest which never failed. This was the page at which the favourite volume always opened:

ELLIOT OF KELLYNCH HALL.

“Walter Elliot, born March 1, 1760, married, July 15, 1784, Elizabeth, daughter of James Stevenson, Esq. of South Park, in the county of Gloucester, by which lady (who died 1800) he has issue Elizabeth, born June 1, 1785; Anne, born August 9, 1787; a still-born son, November 5, 1789; Mary, born November 20, 1791.”

Although this act of his was ridiculed by the author in her book, I often find myself doing the same just to get an outside view of myself and am gratified when I find myself in the following pages of google's images

21st row of images- 5th image paper published

42nd row of images - 2nd image

53rd row of images - 4th image

and so on 

I rather like to believe that in this case instead of highlighting my narcissistic tendencies google search helps me to give an insight into what I am to the outside world- the 3rd view of the Johari window. It gives me an aim and purpose in life to try and achieve to get to number one on google's searches when I give it in the search engine. For that of course one has to become what is a catchword in today's instagram generation - an influencer, a person of note or repute , one who has achieved something notable in life like acted in a number of blockbuster movies, been a head of state, or played some sport professionally, or written a book which has been read by a wide audience. 

 

On the downside you could also land up in the top of google's searches if you have achieved notoriety in a particular field like commited a particularly grotesque murder or stolen a few billion dollars from a bank or committed a financial fraud of a few trillion like Bernie Madoff. The average Joe or Jane though who leaves a plodding nondescript life - going to work, having a family, paying taxes , doing household chores though has to be satisfied with a small innocuous corner of the google search on the umteenth page if at all. That of course does not in any way diminish her contribution to the human race. I would like to think that every person has the same impact as any other person whether famous or notorius 

The Art and Science of Making a Perfect Chapati

 

A  perfect chapati should have the following three specifications

1. It should be round in shape with a radius of pi  3.14 inches. 

2.  It should be fully air filled by the time it is done resembling our own planet earth.

3. Its colour is also required to be a light golden brown when it is made of wheat.

Then and only then will it qualify to be a perfect chapati and rest assured that when it meets the above specifications it is bound to meet the criterion of taste and smell perfectly.

Somehow such rotis can only be made over an open fire like that of a gas oven or chulha. It cannot be ensured on an electric oven or induction. This is the problem for Sona that she rues the fact that used to mostly round chappatis she tried her hand at making ragi chappati over the induction with miserable results and so is ever bemoaning the fact that rotis are not the same away from home.  

Why does a roti not become air inflated ever so often? 

Let's look at this step-by-step:

• Wheat flour consists of two major proteins—glutenin and gliadin
• When you add water to the flour and knead it, it leads to the formation of an a continuous network of the protein Gluten, which lends the dough elasticity and makes it stretchable.
• The strong gluten network is also capable of trapping gas bubbles within the bread (roti in our case)
• When we flatten and cook the roti on the girdle, the steam produced inside the roti causes it to puff up as the pressure from the steam pushes the gluten network outward.

In short, well-kneaded dough (so that a long protein network is formed), reasonable moisture and a reasonably high cooking temperature combine to make your rotis puff. If the dough isn't well kneaded or if the rotis are cooked on low heat, they'll most likely not puff well. It is also advised to let the dough rest for 5-10 mins just after kneading to let the gluten form properly. Also the rotis have to be heated properly on both sides say around 30secs on the tava before they are transferred to the fire over a griddle to protect the hands from getting scalded by a stream of escaping heated gas from the rotis.  

Uber Accident

 Recently around mid April I met with an accident when going by Uber to Ma's place. I had noted since the driver looked to be a novice and the car was stopping and starting at times. Suddenly when we were at the A S Connector, he didnt brake in time and the car slammed heavily into the car in front. My phone flew from my hand and I was slammed bodily into the front seatwith my head and neck taking the brunt of the impact. This was the first time something of this sort had happened. The driver was luckily unhurt. He looked around and I screamed at him "Kya ho gaya?", "Accident madam, brake fail ho gaya". I was searching for my phone which I had dropped in the chaos, and on spying it near the driver's side reached down to retrieve it. The driver ducked, I think now that he was probably thinking I would hit him with my mobile or something. I tried to call the uber company but could not find any helpline number. Then I called the police number 100 but noone answered. Luckily immediately I had called police, I got a call from Uber asking about why I had called Police. I narrated the accident , they asked me if I had any injuries and I said yes I did. They said that someone from insurance would get back to me, advised me to take some other transport to reach my destination. Later on I did not get any other calls from uber. I was so shaken I sat in the car for half an hour. The driver meanwhile was arguing with the occupants of the car he had hit from behind, trying to reach a monetary settlement. After some time I felt a little better, handed the driver Rs200 as token fare and reached Ma's house by a bus.