DEEPAK THE GREAT

My favorite film songs 2

2008-10-02T04:46:00.000-07:00

My Favorite Indian film songs

2008-09-29T02:36:00.000-07:00

Top 10 tips for a healthy heart

2008-09-26T22:36:00.000-07:00

Seprember 28 is World heart day.

1. Stop smoking. Quitting smoking is the single most important thing a person can do to live longer. If you are a smoker, you are twice as likely to have a heart attack than a non-smoker. But from the moment you stop smoking, the risk of heart attack starts to reduce.

2. Cut down on salt. Too much salt can cause high blood pressure, which increases the risk of developing coronary heart disease. Avoid foods like crisps, salted nuts, canned and packet soups and sauces, baked beans and canned vegetables, pork pies, pizzas and ready meals.

3. Watch your diet. A healthy diet can help to reduce the risk of developing heart disease, and can also help increase the chances of survival after a heart attack. You should try to have a balanced diet, containing plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, oily fish, starchy foods such as wholegrain bread, pasta and rice.

4. Monitor your alcohol. Too much alcohol can damage the heart muscle, increase blood pressure and also lead to weight gain. Binge drinking will increase your risk of having a heart attack, so you should aim to limit your intake to one to two units a day.

5. Get active.The heart is a muscle and it needs exercise to keep fit so that it can pump blood efficiently round your body with each heart beat. You should aim for 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise a day.

6. Manage your weight. Carrying a lot of extra weight as fat can greatly affect your health and increases the risk of life-threatening conditions such as coronary heart disease and diabetes. If you are overweight or obese, start by making small, but healthy changes to what you eat, and try to become more active.

7. Get your blood pressure and cholesterol levels checked . The higher your blood pressure, the shorter your life expectancy. High levels of cholesterol in the blood - produced by the liver from saturated fats - can lead to fatty deposits in your coronary arteries that increase your risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, and diseases that affect the circulation. You can help lower your cholesterol level by exercising and eating high-fibre foods such as porridge, beans, pulses, lentils, nuts, fruits and vegetables.

8. Learn to manage your stress levels. If you find things are getting on top of you, you may fail to eat properly, smoke and drink too much and this may increase your risk of a heart attack.

9. Check your family history . If a close relative is at risk of developing coronary heart disease from smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, lack of physical activity, obesity and diabetes, then you could be at risk too.

10. Make sure you can recognise the early signs of coronary heart disease . Tightness or discomfort in the chest, neck, arm or stomach which comes on when you exert yourself but goes away with rest may be the first sign of angina, which can lead to a heart attack if left untreated.

· Health tips from the British Heart Foundation

content source-www.guardian.co.uk

Radio health FM

2008-09-19T22:40:00.001-07:00

Now a days I am working in an FM radio station called 'Radio health'.

'Radio health' functions under NRHM (National Rural Health Mission-Aarogyakeralam.),is taking the first step towards realizing the concept of a community radio by launching the first FM radio for disseminating health education and public health messages to the rural population.
Radio Health, to be aired on the Ananthapuri FM platform, will be initially launched in Trivandrum district(Kerala) and then taken to other districts in phases.

Radio Health is envisaged as a vehicle for providing information on health-related activities in the State and for giving health education to the community, especially rural women. Apart from relaying programmes on health topics, Radio Health will also function as a link between the community and the health workers. Local people would be encouraged to develop content and interact with health providers.

Initially, the programmes will be for a duration of 30 minutes and will be aired from Thursday to Sunday from 3 p.m. The primary target audience of Radio Health will be rural women and school children, who could influence and encourage behavioural changes on health issues within the family and community.

The programmes include health education talks by doctors, maternal and child care issues, phone-in programmes, and those that discuss native knowledge on health . The district NRHM unit has prepared a panel of doctors who will help to develop programmes and to deliver health messages.

The project was officially inaugurated on 15 th september and broadcast is to begin from 25 th September.

Happy Onam to all

2008-09-07T22:21:00.000-07:00

Onam sadhya (Onam feast)

Attapookalam(Flower carpet)

Vallam Kali (Boat race)

Pulikali (leopard play)

Kaikottikali (clap dance)

Onam is the greatest festival of Kerala. Onam Festival falls during the Malayali month of Chingam (Aug - Sep) and marks the homecoming of legendary King Mahabali. Carnival of Onam lasts for ten days and brings out the best of Kerala culture and tradition. Intricately decorated Pookalam, ambrosial Onasadya, breathtaking Snake Boat Race and exotic Kaikottikali dance are some of the most remarkable features of Onam - the harvest festival in Kerala.
The beauty of the festival lies in it's secular fabric. People of all religions, castes and communities celebrate the festival with equal joy and verve. Onam also helps to create an atmosphere of peace and brotherhood by way of various team sports organised on the day.
Thiruonam,the main Onam day falls on 11 September 2008.
Wishing all my blogger friends a happy and prosperous Onam.

image source- google

Funny captions on Tshirts

2008-08-20T23:19:00.000-07:00

T shirts are very popular among youth.Factors that attract youth towards these T shirts may be its comfort and color.What attracts me to these are captions printed on it.I wish to share some of the captions that are printed on T shirts.Some of them are really hilarious and thought provoking.
Some people are alive because it is illegal to kill them.

No job,No girl friend ,No problem.

Not all men are fools, some stay bachelors.

99% of the girls are beautiful,rest are in my college.

Where there is a will I want to be in it.

My Job is secure ,no body wants it.

Growing old is mandatory,growing up is optional.

A journey of thousand miles begins with a cash advance.

I was born intelligent...education ruined me.

Alcohol doesn't solve any problems,but then again neither does milk.

Thank God,,I am an atheist.

In a country of free speech,why there are phone bills.

I am better than normal ,I am abnormal.

Fastest 3 ways of communication TEL-EPHONE, TEL -EVISION,TEL WOMAN.

Women are the best gift to man...n I am the greatest liar on earth.

Conserve water ,drink beer.

I wanted to kill the hottest person alive on this earth...until I realised suicide is a crime.. !!!

I am not selfish,I just want everything.

I am not a complete idiot,some parts are missing.

These captions were compiled by a news paper,I did my usual thing ....Lifting.

Dan Wolman -the master craftsman of World cinema

2008-08-12T22:12:00.000-07:00

Dan Wolman an Israeli film director.

Born Jerusalem, Palestine October 28th 1941.

Spent the first years of his life in Ethiopia.

After finishing high school in Jerusalem he studied film in the U.S.

From 1962 to 1965 (The Film Institute of City College New York).

From 1965 to 1968 (New York University Film School).

2007 "Tied Hands" wins Award for Best Feature Film and Best

Performance in a feature film (Gila Almagor) at The Palm Beach

International Film Festival.

2007 "Ben's Biography" Platinum Mori Award Houston Worldfest.

2006 "Tied Hands" presented at the Jerusalem International Film Festival.

The film wins special prize for Gila Almagor's performance.

2006 "Ben's Biography" wins at FARO Mediterranean Film Festival

"Best Film" (Audience choice), and Best actor (Gal Zaid).

2004 “Ben’s Biography”. In competition Moscow International Film

Festival. New Delhi film Festival and numerous other festivals.

2001 “Treasures of the Red Sea” (A children's film produced, written

and directed for "Yoram Globus Production").

2001 "Foreign Sister" receives "A special recognition Award” at

The Berlin Black Film Festival.

2000 “Foreign Sister” Winner of The "Volgin" Award for best film at

The Jerusalem International Film Festival.

1999 Receives “Life time achievement award” at Jerusalem

International Film Festival.

1994 “The Distance” wins The Wolgin Award for best film at the

Jerusalem International Film Festival.

1992 –“Silver Hugo” award at the Chicago International Film Festival

"for unique vision and innovative work…".

1985 “Soldier of The Night” Montpelier Film Festival, Sardinia and

many others.

1979 “Hide and Seek” Presented at the Berlin Film Festival.

It won in Israel “The Silver Rose” Award for Best film, Best director,

and Best script .

1975 "My Michael’ Screenplay by Wolman and Ester Mor, based

on the novel By Amos Oz. The film won The “David Lyre”

Award for Best film, Best director and Best script.

Israeli critics choice for best film.

1972 “Floch” (Written in collaboration with Chanoch Levin) in

competition at Venice Film Festival.

1970 “The Dreamer“. In competition at Cannes Film Festival.

Shown in numerous film festivals.

Dan also directed commercial films: “Jeina”1971,“Baby love” 1983,

"Up your Anchor" 1983 “Nana” 1884.

Television dramas:

1976 "The Story of Bash" based on short story by Issac Bashevis Zinger. Won The Best Television Drama of the Year by Israel's Broadcasting Authority.

1977 "Gimpel the Fool" Based on a short story by Bashevis Zinger. Competed the Italian Television competition.

1988 "Stempenue" based on the first novel of Shalom Aleichem.

Competed Italia Television contest.

1992 "Mivchan Magen" based on a script by Aliza Ulmert.

1993 "Scape Goat" a two part mini series based on a novel by Eli Amir.

1999 "Protected Species" for Reshet production.

 Short films :

1965 - “The Living” - Winner of best film, best director and best editor prizes at the American Photographic Society of America film festival.

1966 “Habit” (Written by Lan Okun), Cin’e award, Golden Eagel award. A.F.I. Film Festival.

1968 “The Race", "The Golden Eagle Award" at cin'e competition. Numerous festivals.

1968 - “The Gospel” winner of The Kingsly Award for best film of the year at N.Y.U. film festival.

"Habit" Presented at "The directors Fortnight" 1970 Canns Film Festival.

1978 “The National Poet” (Based on a radio drama by Chanoch Levin).

Documentaries :

1968 “Saffed”. 1970 “Men of the Holly Mountain” (about

the Samaritans). 1978 “To touch a city” - Jerusalem.

1981 “ Big days small stories” 1991 “Mosaic” the story of Beit Shean.

1997 “Reuven Shiloah”. 1999 “Yolande”. 2001 “ Yitshak Sade”

2007 "Spoken with Love" official selection "DocAviv" film festival

Theater :

1982 "Bells in Jerusalem" CHAN theater in Jerusalem.

1983 “She wasn’t there”. Written in collaboration with Blanka Metsner

"Zavta" theater.

1991 “Ben’s Biography”. Presented at “Theaterneto” in Tel Aviv,

Edinburgh theater Festival, “Village Gate” New York.

1995 “The Operation” Festival for Alternate Theater.

2003 "Last Curtain in Damascus".

2004 “Yadja” (by Blanca Metzner and Dan Wolman opened in Paris.

Later that year "Yadja" was presented at The Avignon Theater Festival.

2006 "The Lit Darkness" Tzavta Theater"

Teaching :

Wolman taught cinema at Tel Aviv University, MA'ALE School in

Jerusalem. New York University, School of Visual Arts (New York).

Jury:

Wolman was on the Jury of The Jerusalem, Haifa, Chicago,

Cine -Manila, Istanbul, Bratislava, Mumbai, Pune, DocAviv, EBS (Korea)

"Kin" Yerevan -Armenia and Ashdod Film Festivals.

Dan Wolman's e-mail - danwol@zahav.net.il.

May I use this occasion to thank Dan Wolman for showing his excellent films at TIFF-08,and making the festival an ever remembering one.

Thanks a lot Dan

text source -Wikipedia

Image source-Dan Wolman

My recommendations from TIFF 2008

2008-08-07T21:58:00.000-07:00

The thirteenth edition of Chalachitra -TIFF 2008 came to an end yesterday.
This edition was one of the well conducted festivals at Trivandrum in recent years.
The highlight of the festival was the retrospective of ten films directed by Israel film director Dan Wolman. (I will be posting about him in my next post).After viewing his films I can firmly say that he is one of the living legends of World cinema now.
I was able to see 32 films in seven days,most of them were excellent.
I wish to recommend few movies for my blogger friends to watch.To select films from many excellent ones is really a difficult task,still I enjoy the task.
My recommendations are:

All retrospective films of Dan Wolman.
Monkeys in Winter (Bulgaria)
The other side of the Bridge (Austria)
A mighty heart (UK)
The Happening (USA)
August Rush (USA)
Walls within (Sree Lanka)
Elizabeth: the golden age (UK)
Waiter (Netherlands)

Chalachitra -TIFF08

2008-07-30T22:27:00.000-07:00

The 13th Trivandrum International Film Festival (TIFF) will be held from August 1 to 7.

Chalachitra,film society which conducts TIFF screens 46 acclaimed international films from 24 countries, to be screened at Kala Bhavan and Tagore Theatre, Trivandrum.

The inaugural film is 'Tied Hands' (2007) by Israeli director Dan Wolman, who is also the chief guest.

Eight of his other films including 'Foreign Sister' (2003),'Ben's Biography' (2004) and two of his documentaries will be shown in the Retrospective section.

World Cinema section include Hungarian director Istvan Szabo's 'Relatives' (2006), 'Departed'(2006) by Martin Scorsese, the South African film 'Ttsotsi'(2007) by Gavin Hood, the Dutch movie 'Waiter' (2007) by Alex ven Warmerdam, Rod Hardy's Australian film 'December Boys' (2007), and David Crorenberg's Oscar winning 'Eastern Promises' (2007),Manoj Night Shyamalan’s “The Happening” Andrej Vajda’s Polish film ‘ KATYN’ to name a few.

For lovers of Asian cinema there are films such as 'Wet Dreams' from Iran by Pouran Derakhshandeh, the hit Pakistani film 'Khuda Ke Liye' (2007) ,Chinese period drama 'Curse of the Golden Flower' by Zhang Yimou and ‘Sakhaman Maluva’ a Sree Lankan film directed by Sumitra paraes

Indian cinema is also represented with the likes of Adoor Gopalakrishnan's 'Naalu Pennungal,' 'Taare Zameen Par', 'Jab We Met' and 'Jodhaa Akbar'.The closing film of TIFF will be Polish director Andrzej Wajda's 'Katyn' (2007).

A separate package of 5 films from Sree Lanka is to be screened at TIFF 08 to celebrate the 60 th year of Sinhalese cinema.

There will be five screenings a day at Kalbhavan starting at 8.45 a.m.

Indian films are to be screened at the Tagore Theatre at 5.30 p.m. from August 2 onwards and will be open to the public as a part of TIFF 08.

I plan to see all the films at TIFF. I will be back to blogging after August 7.

My dear friends enjoy a great week ahead. Take care....

Winners.... Congrats.......

2008-07-27T21:45:00.000-07:00

Twenty of my blogger friends have participated in the contest. Out of them Eleven friends guessed the correct one.
The correct answer is picture number 2. Congrats to all the winners.Please accept these chocolates as my award.
Winners are:
THOOYA
BINDIYA
ASHA
HANAH
KRYSTINA
VERA
AZER
NASHE
ARJAN
GILLIAN
MICHAEL

Deepak Gopi's hand (a contest)

2008-07-24T02:31:00.000-07:00

My dear blogger friends you have to find out my hand from three pictures posted above. The correct guesses will be rewarded. Last date for sending entries to this contest will be July 28. My dear blogger friends rush your entries fast.....

Excellent video by Azer Mantessa

2008-07-17T22:26:00.000-07:00

Azer Mantessa,blogger friend from Malaysia has created a mind blowing video with excellent music about me.
May I use this occasion to thank him deep from my heart for creating this video.
My dear blogger friends please watch this video.

Winners of the contest.

2008-07-14T22:58:00.000-07:00

Twenty of my blogger friends participated in the last weeks contest.Eight among them have found out the real one from the fake one.I have decided to give awards to all the winners.So please accept the flower in my hand as the award.

The correct answer is picture number2.
CONGRATSSSSSSSS...

Winners are

Thooya
Peter
Isol
Asha
Velu
Krystina
Hanah
Nashe

There will be more contests in the coming posts
also,so those who have not won the award will have chance to win awards in the future also.
Thank you to all those who have participated.Good day Take care.

A royal nap of Deepak the Great (a contest)

2008-07-09T22:26:00.000-07:00

My dear blogger friends
This is a contest .From the above two pictures you have to find out which one is real and which one is pretending.

Story of these pictures goes like this. I was having a afternoon nap at my office.One of my friend who was having a camera took the picture.Flash from the camera woke me up.After that I told him I will act as if I am having a nap and he took the pic .You have to find out in which picture I am having a real nap.
Last date for participating in the contest is 15 th of July. First five lucky winners will win a ticket to India.(I wish I could provide them flight tickets)
Winners will be declared in my next posting.
So please start participating in the contest.

deepakgopi returns with a monkeys tale

2008-06-30T23:54:00.000-07:00

Once in Brazil a plane crashed, only a monkey who was traveling in the plane was left alive.
Fortunately the monkey was intelligent enough to understand our language and reply in actions.
The officials went to see the monkey in the hospital and had a talk with the monkey.
Officer: 'When the plane took off what were the travelers doing?
'Monkey: 'Tying their belts'
Officer: 'What were the air hostesses doing?'
Monkey: 'Saying Hello! Good morning!'
Officer: 'What were the pilots doing?'
Monkey: 'Checking the system'
Officer: 'What were you doing?'
Monkey: 'Looking for my people'
#########################################
Officer: 'After 10' minutes what were the travelers doing?
'Monkey: 'Having beverages and snacks'
Officer: 'What were the air hostesses doing?'
Monkey: 'Serving the travelers'
Officer: 'What were the Pilots doing?'
Monkey: 'Handling the steering'
Officer: 'What were you doing?'
Monkey: 'Eating & throwing'
#########################################
Officer: 'After 30 minutes what were the travelers doing?
'Monkey: 'Some were sleeping and some were reading'
Officer: 'What were the air hostesses doing?
'Monkey: 'Make up'
Officer: 'What were the pilots doing?'
Monkey: 'Handling the steering'
Officer: 'What were you doing?'
Monkey: 'Nothing'
##############################################
Officer: 'Just before plane crash what were the travelers doing?'
Monkey: 'All were sleeping'
Officer: 'What were the pilots doing?'
Monkey: 'Handling the air hostess'
Officer: What were you doing?
Monkey: Handling the steering!!!! !
No more Questions!!! !!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!

10 Things You Didn't Know About You

2008-04-17T22:20:00.000-07:00

Your Stomach Secretes Corrosive Acid

There's one dangerous liquid no airport security can confiscate from you: It's in your gut. Your stomach cells secrete hydrochloric acid, a corrosive compound used to treat metals in the industrial world. It can pickle steel, but mucous lining the stomach wall keeps this poisonous liquid safely in the digestive system, breaking down lunch.

Body Position Affects Your Memory

Can't remember your anniversary, hubby? Try getting down on one knee. Memories are highly embodied in our senses. A scent or sound may evoke a distant episode from one's childhood. The connections can be obvious (a bicycle bell makes you remember your old paper route) or inscrutable. A recent study helps decipher some of this embodiment. An article in the January 2007 issue of Cognition reports that episodes from your past are remembered faster and better while in a body position similar to the pose struck during the event.

Bones Break (Down) to Balance Minerals

In addition to supporting the bag of organs and muscles that is our body, bones help regulate our calcium levels. Bones contain both phosphorus and calcium, the latter of which is needed by muscles and nerves. If the element is in short supply, certain hormones will cause bones to break down upping calcium levels in the body until the appropriate extracellular concentration is reached.

Much of a Meal is Food For Thought

Though it makes up only 2 percent of our total body weight, the brain demands 20 percent of the body's oxygen and calories. To keep our noggin well-stocked with resources, three major cerebral arteries are constantly pumping in oxygen. A blockage or break in one of them starves brain cells of the energy they require to function, impairing the functions controlled by that region. This is a stroke.

Thousands of Eggs Unused by Ovaries

When a woman reaches her late 40s or early 50s, the monthly menstrual that controls her hormone levels and readies ova for insemination ceases. Her ovaries have been producing less and less estrogen, inciting physical and emotional changes across her body. Her underdeveloped egg follicles begin to fail to release ova as regularly as before. The average adolescent girl has 34,000 underdeveloped egg follicles, although only 350 or so mature during her life (at the rate of about one per month). The unused egg follicles then deteriorate. With no potential pregnancy on the horizon, the brain can stop managing the release of ova.

Puberty Reshapes Brain Structure, Makes for Missed Curfews

We know that hormone-fueled changes in the body are necessary to encourage growth and ready the body for reproduction. But why is adolescence so emotionally unpleasant? Hormones like testosterone actually influence the development of neurons in the brain, and the changes made to brain structure have many behavioral consequences. Expect emotional awkwardness, apathy and poor decision making skills as regions in the frontal cortex mature.

Cell Hairs Move Mucus

Most cells in our bodies sport hair-like organelles called cilia that help out with a variety of functions, from digestion
to hearing. In the nose, cilia help to drain mucus from the nasal cavity down to the throat. Cold weather slows down the draining process, causing a mucus backup that can leave you with snotty sleeves. Swollen nasal membranes or condensation can also cause a stuffed schnozzle.

Big Brains Cause Cramped Mouths

Evolution isn't perfect. If it were, we might have wings instead of wisdom teeth. Sometimes useless features stick around in a species simply because they're not doing much harm. But wisdom teeth weren't always a cash crop for oral surgeons. Long ago, they served as a useful third set of meat-mashing molars. But as our brains grew our jawbone structure changed, leaving us with expensively overcrowded mouths.

The World Laughs with You

Just as watching someone yawn can induce the behavior in yourself, recent evidence suggests that laughter is a social cue for mimicry. Hearing a laugh actually stimulates the brain region associated with facial movements. Mimicry plays an important role in social interaction. Cues like sneezing, laughing, crying and yawning may be ways of creating strong social bonds within a group.

Your Skin Has Four Colors

All skin, without coloring, would appear creamy white. Near-surface blood vessels add a blush of red. A yellow pigment also tints the canvas. Lastly, sepia-toned melanin, created in response to ultraviolet rays, appears black in large amounts. These four hues mix in different proportions to create the skin colors of all the peoples of Earth.

content source :yahoo.

10 Rules For Getting Promotion Without Any Hard Work

2008-04-10T00:12:00.000-07:00

Never walk without a document in your hands
People with documents in their hand look like hardworking employees heading for important meetings. People with nothing in their hands look like they're heading for the cafeteria. People with a newspaper in their hand look like they're heading for the toilet. Above all, make sure you carry loads of stuff home with you at night, thus generating the false impression that you work longer hours than you do.

Use computers to look busy
Any time you use a computer, it looks like "work" to the casual observer. You can send and receive personal e-mail, chat and generally have a blast without doing anything remotely related to work. These aren't exactly the societal benefits that the proponents of the computer revolution would like to talk about but they're not bad either. When you get caught by your boss - and you *will* get caught — your best defense is to claim you're teaching yourself to use new software, thus saving valuable training dollars.

Messy desk
Top management can get away with a clean desk. For the rest of us, it looks like we're not working hard enough. Build huge piles of documents around your workspace. To the observer, last year's work looks the same as today's work; it's volume that counts. Pile them high and wide. If you know somebody is coming to your cubicle, bury the document you'll need halfway down in an existing stack and rummage for it when he/she arrives.

Voice Mail
Never answers your phone if you have voice mail. People don't call you just because they want to give you something for nothing - they call because they want YOU to do work for THEM. That's no way to live. Screen all your calls through voice mail. If somebody leaves a voice mail message for you and it sounds like impending work, respond during lunch hour when you know they're not there - it looks like you're hardworking and conscientious even though you're being a devious weasel.

Looking Impatient and Annoyed
According to George Costanza, one should also always try to look impatient and annoyed to give your bosses the impression that you are always busy.

Leave the Office Late
Always leave the office late, especially when the boss is still around. You could read magazines and storybooks that you always wanted to read but have no time until late before leaving. Make sure you walk past the boss' room on your way out. Send important emails at unearthly hours ( e.g. 9:35pm, 7:05am, etc.) and during public holidays.

Creative Sighing for Effect
Sigh loudly when there are many people around, giving the impression that you are under extreme pressure.

Stacking Strategy
It is not enough to pile lots of documents on the table. Put lots of books on the floor etc. (thick computer manuals are the best).

Build Vocabulary
Read up on some computer magazines and pick out all the jargon and new products. Use the phrases freely when in conversation with bosses. Remember: They don't have to understand what you say, but you sure sound impressive.

MOST IMPORTANT!!!:
DON'T forward this to your boss by mistake!!!

deepakgopi guarantees: It really works.
The source of this post is a mail sent to me by Shahrzad

deepakgopi is back again

2008-03-14T00:38:00.000-07:00

Hello Friends
I had been busy for the past few weeks.Now I'm back to blogging again.Thanks a lot my dear friends,for visiting and commenting during the time of my inactivity.

10 Amazingly Simple Tricks To Turn Your Brain Into A Powerful Thinking Machine

There are two basic principles to keep your brain healthy and sharp as you age: variety and curiosity. When anything you do becomes second nature, you need to make a change. If you can do the crossword puzzle in your sleep, it's time for you to move on to a new challenge in order to get the best workout for your brain. Curiosity about the world around you, how it works and how you can understand it will keep your brain working fast and efficiently. Use the ideas below to help attain your quest for mental fitness.

1. Read a Book
Pick a book on an entirely new subject. Read a novel set in Egypt. Learn about economics. There are many excellent popular non-fiction books that do a great job entertaining you while teaching about a subject. Become an expert in something new each week. Branch out from familiar reading topics. If you usually read history books, try a contemporary novel. Read foreign authors, the classics and random books. Not only will your brain get a workout by imagining different time periods, cultures and peoples, you will also have interesting stories to tell about your reading, what it makes you think of and the connections you draw between modem life and the words.

2. Play Games
Games are a wonderful way to tease and challenge your brain. Suduko, crosswords and electronic games can all improve your brain's speed and memory. These games rely on logic, word skills, math and more. These games are also fun. You'll get benefit more by doing these games a little bit every day-spend 15 minutes or so, not hours.

3. Use Your Opposite Hand
Spend the day doing things with your non-dominant hand. If you are left-handed, open doors with your right hand. If you are right-handed, try using your keys with your left. This simple task will cause your brain to lay down some new pathways and rethink daily tasks. Wear your watch on the opposite hand to remind you to switch.

4. Learn Phone Numbers
Our modem phones remember every number that calls them. No one memorizes phone numbers anymore, but it is a great memory Skill. Learn a new phone number everyday.

5. Eat for Your Brain
Your brain needs you to eat healthy fats. Focus on fish oils from wild salmon, nuts such as walnuts, seeds such as flax seed and olive oil. Eat more of these foods and less saturated fats. Eliminate transfats completely from your diet.

6. Break the Routine
We love our routines. We have hobbies and pastimes that we could do for hours on end. But the more something is second nature, the less our brains have to work to do it. To really help your brain stay young, challenge it. Change routes to the grocery store, use your opposite hand to open doors and eat dessert first. All this will force your brain to wake up from habits and pay attention again.

7. Go a Different way
Drive or walk a different way to wherever you go. This little change in routine helps the brain practice special memory and directions. Try different side streets go through stores in a different order anything to change your route.

8. Learn a New Skill
Learning a new skill works multiple areas of the brain. Your memory comes into play, you learn new movements and you associate things differently. Reading Shakespeare, learning to cook and building an airplane out of tooth picks all will challenge your brain and give you something to think about.

9. Make Lists
Lists are wonderful. Making lists helps us to associate items with one another. Make a list of all the places you have traveled. Make a list of the tastiest foods you have eaten. Make a list of the best presents you have been given. Make one list every day to jog your memory and make new connections. But don't become too reliant on them. Make your grocery list, but then try to shop without it. Use the list once you have put every item you can think of in your cart. Do the same with your "to do" lists.

10. Choose a new skill
Find something that captivates you that you can do easily in your home and doesn't cost too much. Photography with a digital camera, learning to draw, learning a musical instrument learning new cooking styles, or writing are all great choices.

'WIFE' defined by famous persons

2008-02-10T20:28:00.000-08:00

David Bissonette
When a man steals your wife, there is no better revenge than to let him keep her.

Dumas
The great question... which I have not been able to answer... is, "What does a woman want?

Sigmund Freud
I had some words with my wife, and she had some paragraphs with me.

Anonymous
"Some people ask the secret of our long marriage. We take time to go to a restaurant two times a week. A little candlelight, dinner, soft music and dancing. She goes Tuesdays, I go Fridays."

Sam Kinison
"There's a way of transferring funds that is even faster than electronic banking. It's called marriage."

James Holt McGavran
"I've had bad luck with both my wives. The first one left me, and the second one didn't."

Patrick Murray
Two secrets to keep your marriage brimming
1. Whenever you're wrong, admit it,
2. Whenever you're right, shut up.

Nash
The most effective way to remember your wife's birthday is to forget it once...

Anonymous
You know what I did before I married? Anything I wanted to.

Henny Youngman
My wife and I were happy for twenty years. Then we met.

Rodney Dangerfield
A good wife always forgives her husband when she's wrong.

Anonymous
A man inserted an 'ad' in the classifieds: "Wife wanted". Next day he received a hundred letters. They all said the same thing: "You can have mine."

Anonymous
First Guy (proudly): "My wife's an angel!"
Second Guy: "You're lucky, mine's still alive."

If I have hurt anybody by this post please forgive me and take it as a joke.

Please visit my teacher's blog

Beatles' guru Maharishi Yogi dies

2008-02-05T20:51:00.000-08:00

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, a guru to the Beatles who introduced transcendental meditation to the West, died at his Dutch home overnight, a spokesman said on Wednesday. He was said to be 91.

After teaching the Beatles and other 1960s and 70s icons to meditate, the Indian mystic gained a worldwide following with six million people taking his courses.

The reclusive guru with a flowing white beard moved his headquarters to the small southern Dutch village of Vlodrop in 1990.

He periodically emerged to appeal for funds to promote world peace, building a business empire ranging from real estate dealing to a company selling ayurvedic medicine and cosmetics.

The Maharishi set up universities and schools all over the world and his Natural Law Party -- which promotes yogic flying, a practice that involves sitting in the lotus position and bouncing into the air -- has campaigned in dozens of countries.

Transcendental meditation, known as TM by its followers, involves reciting a mantra that practitioners say helps the mind stay calm even under pressure. It has gradually gained medical respect.

Last month the Maharishi stepped down as head of his organisation to concentrate on what an aide called "the field of silence".

Born in central India, the Maharishi rarely spoke about his early life, saying the past held little interest for him.

He first visited the United States in 1959 as part of a global tour to introduce transcendental meditation to the world, and from 1961 he began to train teachers.

The Beatles -- John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr -- visited him in India in 1968, making him a household name round the world.

According to the TM organisation, the Maharishi's message remained constant: "Life is bliss. Man is born to enjoy. Within everyone is an unlimited reservoir of energy, intelligence, and happiness."

K.S.Manu,one of the nice persons I have ever met in my life has created a blog on Attukal Pongala,an extremely popular, essentially women's festival celebrated in ancient Bhagavathy temple (Mudippura) at Attukal in Trivandrum district. Manu sir had been my lecturer in college and has taught me Mass Communication .

My dear blogger friends please visit my teacher's blog.

Benazir Bhutto and the number nine

2008-01-15T04:06:00.000-08:00

Benazir Bhutto:-

Born in 1953.

1+9+5+3 = 18 = 1+8 = 9

First suicidal attack on her

on 18 Oct.

1+8 = 9

Second Suicidal attack in which she died.

27 Dec.

2+7 = 9

She died in the year

2007

2+0+0+7 = 9

And the Total Period from 1953 to 2007

is

54 years.

5+4 = 9

She got married on
18 Dec.
1+8 = 9

& She went out of Pakistan for 9 years in
1998
1+9+9+8 = 27 = 2+7 = 9

& Came back in 2007
2+0+0+7 = 9

Her Brother Shahnawaz bhutto has been murdered in
1980
1+9+8+0 =18 =1+8 =9

&
if you write Benazir Bhutto in urdu langauge (urdu text)
it contains 9 alphabets!

what do u think!
isnt Amazing?

I am Totally Amazed!!

Drink, exercise and live longer, study finds

2008-01-08T22:25:00.001-08:00

Drinking is healthy, exercise is healthy, and doing a little of both is even healthier, Danish researchers reported on Wednesday.

People who neither drink nor exercise have a 30 to 49 percent higher risk of heart disease than people who do one or both of the activities, the researchers said in the European Heart Journal.

"The main finding is there seems to be an additional beneficial effect of drinking one to two drinks per day and doing at least moderate physical activity," said Morten Gronbaek of the University of Southern Denmark, who led the study.

Several major studies have found that light to moderate drinking -- up to two drinks a day on a regular basis -- is associated with a lower risk of heart disease, and some have also found this leads to a lower risk of some cancers.

But the Danish study, one of the largest of its kind to examine the combined effect of drinking and exercise, found there were additional protective effects gained from doing both.

The researchers collected information on the drinking and exercise habits of nearly 12,000 men and women aged 20 years or older between 1981 and 1983.

Over the next 20 years, some 1,200 of the participants died from heart disease and about 5,900 died from other causes.

Non-drinkers had a 30 percent to 31 percent higher risk of heart disease compared to moderate drinkers, no matter the amount of physical activity they undertook. Moderate consumption was defined as between 1 to 14 drinks per week.

But teetotalers who exercised at least moderately were able to reduce their risk of heart disease, an important finding for people who abstain because of religious beliefs or other health issues such as pregnancy, the researchers said.

People who had the lowest risk of dying from any cause were physically active, moderate drinkers while those at highest risk were the physically inactive, heavy drinkers, the study found.

I personally feel that drinking even moderately is bad.It weakens our nervous system.I found this news interesting,so I just posted it.

I will be out of town from 10-14 on an official assignment.See you all after 14.

Take care.

Content credit:Reuters ,Image:Google

All-women news channel

2008-01-05T19:55:00.000-08:00

A unique news channel focusing on development issues is grabbing eyeballs in a small village in Bihar (India) and is also challenging some stereotypes.

Aapaan Samachar (Our News) is an all-women community news network located in Bihar’s remote Ramlila Gachi village.

"We look around for issues that affect the villagers, shoot them and then put them on air,” says the channel’s news anchor Khushboo.

This news network runs on minimum resources. Reporters, camerapersons and anchors, all move around on bicycles with their handycams, looking for stories of human interest.

“We do stories on water and electricity problems, farmers’ woes, and women issues. We then telecast them in the village market so that everyone can watch and think,” says reporter Anita Kumari.

In this age of pay channels, mad TRP races and cut-throat advertising, Aapaan Samachar is free to air. The network, in addition to providing news that is of use to these villagers, is also a vehicle for women empowerment. This makes Santosh Anand, who has funded the initiative, a proud man.

“It’s a great move in the direction of women empowerment. The parents of these girls want their daughters to move ahead in life and venture into such initiatives," he says.

Managing with bare minimum resources, the channel has far-reaching impact. The issues raised by these firebrand reporters concern everyone, making this news channel No. 1 in the race for eyeballs.

Content credit-ibnlive. pix credit-Google

Bestsellers of 2007 in India

2008-01-02T22:30:00.000-08:00

Happy New year

2007-12-30T22:17:00.000-08:00

Wishing you all a happy and prosperous 2008

Happy Christmas

2007-12-24T05:59:00.000-08:00

Happy Christmas to all bloggers around the world

I.F.F.K 2007 a report

2007-12-14T22:29:00.000-08:00

The curtains came down yesterday on the week-long International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK 2007), which showcased over 300 films from around the world.

`XXY' by Argentinian director Lucia Puenzo, winner of Cannes International Critics Week prize, today shared the `Golden Pheasant' award with Iranian film `Ten Plus Four' directed by Mania Akbari.

`Bliss' from Turkey by Abdulla Oguz got a special jury award. Mania Akbari also won the best director award, `Silver Pheasant' for her film.

The audience poll award went to `Getting Home' from China by Zhang Yang . The film also won the NETPAC jury award.

Lucia Puenzo was chosen as the best debut director.

`Sleepwalking Land' by Portuguese director Teressa Puenzo won the FIPRESCI award for best film.

The festival attracted a huge crowd with delegates numbering about 8,000, which was a record.

Films by women Directors from Latin America also had won wide viewer ship. The French films, which had always attracted the audience was well received here.

This year due to my heavy work schedule I could see only fourteen movies.I wish to suggest two movies for the bloggers to see.

'Talk to her'(Spain) -directed by Almadover.

`Getting Home' (China) by Zhang Yang.

I.F.F.K-2007

2007-12-06T23:17:00.000-08:00

The 12th edition of The International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) will be held at Trivandrum, the capital city of Kerala in the South of India from 7th - 14th December 2007.

Competition section restricted to films produced or co-produced in Asia, Africa & Latin America between September 2006 & August 2007.

Other section includes world cinema, documentaries (in film formats), short fiction (in film formats), retrospectives, homage and tributes.

1. Teeth of Love/Ai Qing de Ya Chi(db)
(China/Chinese)
2. Suely in the sky/o Cue de Suely
(Brazil/Portuguese)
3. El Rey de San Gregorio
(Chile/spanish)
4. Turtle family/Familia Tortuga(db)
(Mexico/spanish)
5. The Old garden
(South korea, Korean)

6. 10+4/Das be alaveh Chahar(db)
(Iran/Farsi)
7. XXY/XXY(db)
Dir. Lucia Puenzo
(Argentina/Spanish)

8. Sleepwalking Land/Terra somnambula(db)
(Portugal,Mozambique/Portuguese,Xangana)
9. Casket for hire/Ataul for Rent
(Philipines/Tagalog)
10. Getting Home/Luo Ye Gui Gen
(Hongkong, China/Chinese)

11. Bliss/Mutluluk
(Turkey/Turkish)
12. Lord! Let the Devil Steal my Soul/Probhu noshto Hoi Jai(db)
(India/Bengali)
13. Four Women/Naalu Pennungal
(India/Malayalam)
14. Paradesi
(India/Malayalam)

The jury headed by Czech director Jiri Menzel includes African actress Naky Sy Savanne, Polish playwright and producer Agnieszka Holland, Naseeruddin Shah, Iranian director Jafar Panahi, Shoaib Mansoor and Ousmane Sembene as members.
The best film will get Rs.10,00,000 (25,000 US $) as prize money and the Golden Pheasant award. Apart from awards for the best director and debutant director, audience poll awards will also be presented.

World cinema section will feature around sixty films from various countries around the globe.

The film festival will also feature retro by Almodovar (Spain), Quan Tick (Korea).

Around 7000 delegates are supposed to participate in the fesival.

I will be back to blogging after december 14.

Enjoy a nice week . take care.

Panchatantra story

2007-12-04T19:55:00.000-08:00

Once upon a time, there was a software engineer who used to develop
programs on his Pentium machine, sitting under a tree on the banks of a
river. He used to earn his bread by selling those programs
in the Sunday market.

One day, while he was working, his machine tumbled off the table and
fell in the river. Encouraged by the Panchatantra story of his childhood
(the woodcutter and the axe), he started praying to the River Goddess.

The River Goddess wanted to test him and so appeared only after one
month of rigorous prayers. The engineer told her that he had lost his
computer in the river. As usual, the Goddess wanted to test his honesty.

She showed him a match box and asked, "Is this your computer ?"

Disappointed by the Goddess' lack of computer awareness, the
engineer replied, "No."

She next showed him a pocket-sized calculator and asked if that was his.

Annoyed, the engineer said "No, not at all!!"

Finally, she came up with his own Pentium machine and asked if it was
his.

The engineer, left with no option, sighed and said "Yes."

The River Goddess was happy with his honesty. She was about to give him
all three items, but before she could make the offer, the engineer asked
her, "Don't you know that you're supposed to show me some better
computers before bringing up my own ?"

The River Goddess, angered at this, replied, "I know that, you stupid
idiot! The first two things I showed you were the Trillennium and the
Millennium , the latest computers from IBM!" So saying, she disappeared
with the Pentium!!

Moral: If you're not up-to-date with technology trends, it is better
keep your mouth shut and let people think you're a genius, than to open
your mouth and remove all doubt!!!

Alcohol and pregnant women

2007-12-01T20:10:00.000-08:00

Pregnant?Then don't touch alcohol,other wise you might end up having a naughty kid.

Researchers in United states have carried out a study and found that woman who drink spirit
during pregnancy are more likely to cause bad behavior in their children.

"The evidence seems to suggest that it is better not to drink at all",according to the lead researcher Professor Brian D Onforio of the Indiana University.

In fact ,the researchers came to the conclusion after analyzing number of occasions
thousands of woman drank during pregnancy.Subsequently,the team compared the data with
the reports of conduct problems from mothers of over 8,600 children aged between four and eleven.

The problems included kicking,fighting,bullying and being disrespectful.

The team found that for each additional day of the week that the mothers drank alcohol during pregnancy,their children had an increase in conduct and impulsiveness problems than those kids
whose mothers did not drink.

"The research shows alcohol's effect on the unborn baby has consequences for the child's behavior several years later,even after genetic and parenting factors are taken in to account",according to Prof D Onofrio.

The findings have been published in the Archives of General Psychiatry journal.

Wedding ceremony

2007-11-29T01:48:00.000-08:00

Every one in the wedding ceremony was watching the radiant bride as her father escorted her
down the aisle to give away to the groom.
They reached the altar and the waiting groom;the bride kissed her father and placed something in his hand.
Every one in the room was wondering what was given to the father by the bride.
The father could feel the suspense in the air and all the eyes were on him to divulge the secret and say some thing.
So he announced" Ladies and Gentle man today is the luckiest day of my life".
Then he raised his hand with what his daughter gave him and continued,"My daughter finally returned my credit card to me".
The whole audience including the priest started laughing.
But not the poor groom.

This story is from a mail sent to me by Shahrazd

Camel story

2007-11-24T21:35:00.000-08:00

A cup of coffee may prevent Cancer

2007-11-18T00:41:00.000-08:00

Drinking a cup of coffee daily might reduce the risk of developing skin cancer, the findings of a study in the US suggest.

The long-term observational health study begun in the 1990s and investigated 77,000 white post menopausal women in the US.

The women shared a lot of information about themselves, including how much coffee and tea they drank and whether they had ever been diagnosed with non-melanoma skin cancer - the most common type of skin cancer that occurs due to sun exposure.

The investigators considered factors including participants' smoking, drinking, age, body mass index (BMI) and whether the women lived in sunny regions or not when the study started.

After those adjustments, the researchers found that a daily cup of caffeinated coffee was associated with a five percent drop in the women's odds of reporting non-melanoma skin cancer, reported the online edition of health magazine WebMD.

Women who drank six cups of caffeinated coffee per day were 30 percent less likely than other women to report non-melanoma skin cancer, the researchers said.

They, however, didn't have data on which women wore sunscreen or whether the women drank more or less coffee over the years.
Blogger friends please begin your day with a cup of coffee.

The article of this post is taken from Yahoo news.

Chanakya says......

2007-11-13T21:17:00.000-08:00

Chanakya 350 BC- 275 BC)
(Indian politician, strategist and writer)

"A person should not be too honest.
Straight trees are cut first
and Honest people are victimized first."


***************************************************

"Even if a snake is not poisonous,
it should pretend to be venomous."


***************************************************

"The biggest guru-mantra is: Never share your
secrets with anybody. It will destroy you."


***************************************************


"Before you start some work, always ask
yourself three questions
- Why am I doing it, What the results might be
and Will I be successful.
Only when you think deeply
and find satisfactory answers to these questions,
 go ahead."


***************************************************

"As soon as the fear approaches near,
attack and destroy it."


***************************************************

"Once you start a working on something,
don't be afraid of failure and
don't abandon it.
People who work sincerely are the happiest."

***************************************************

"The fragrance of flowers spreads
only in the direction of the wind.
But the goodness of a person spreads
in all direction."


***************************************************

"A man is great by deeds, not by birth."

***************************************************

"Treat your kid like a darling for
the first five years.
For the next five years, scold them.
By the time they turn sixteen, treat
them like a friend.
Your grown up children are your best friends."

***************************************************

"Books are as useful to a stupid person
as a mirror is useful to a blind person."


***************************************************

"Education is the best friend.
An educated person is respected everywhere.
Education beats the beauty and the youth."

My Birthday

2007-11-11T20:43:00.000-08:00

Today is my Birthday.I am giving a party to all bloggers world wide.Please come and attend my birthday party.

Mother=God

2007-11-08T21:49:00.000-08:00

A little boy came up to his mother in the kitchen one evening while she was fixing supper, and he handed her a piece of paper that he had been writing on.
After his mom dried her hands on an apron, she read it, and this is what it said:

For cutting the grass: $5.00

For cleaning up my room this week: $1.00

For going to the store for you: .50

Baby-sitting my kid brother while you went shopping: .25

Taking out the garbage: $1.00

For getting a good report card: $5.00

For cleaning up and raking the yard: $2.00

Total owed: $14.75

Well, his mother looked at him standing there, and the boy could see the memories flashing through her mind. She picked up the pen, turned over the paper he'd written on, and this is what she wrote:

For the nine months I carried you while you grew inside me: No Charge.

For all the nights that I've sat up with you, doctored and prayed for you: No Charge.

For all the trying times, and all the tears that you've caused through the years: No Charge.

For all the nights that were filled with dread, and for the worries I knew were ahead: No Charge.

For the toys, food, clothes, and even wiping your nose: No Charge.

When you add it up, Son, the cost of my love is: No Charge.

When the boy finished reading what his mother had written, there were big tears in his eyes, and he looked straight up at his mother and said, "Mom, I sure do love you."

And then he took the pen and in great big letters he wrote: "PAID IN FULL".

This story is from a mail sent to me by Shahrzad.I dedicate this story to all mothers world wide.

Diwali Greetings

2007-11-06T21:49:00.000-08:00

Diwali also called Deepavali is a major Indian festival/celebration. Known as the "Festival of Lights," it symbolizes the victory of good over evil, and lamps are lit as a sign of celebration and hope for mankind.
We celebrate Diwali on 8-11-07
I wish you all a happy Diwali.

deepakgopi returns

2007-11-03T21:11:00.000-07:00

My Dear Friends
How are you all?
I have decided to end my silence and start blogging again.
May I express sincere thanks to all those who have visited and mailed me during the period of my inactivity.
I plan to start regular blogging by this Wednesday.I am planning to start another blog as early as possible.
Wishing you all a good day.

Foods for perfect health -part 3

2007-06-13T22:15:00.001-07:00

Beet -Excellent intestinal cleansers eliminate kidney stones and detoxify liver and gall bladder.

Red Pepper-Normalizes blood pressure and improves circulation.

Radish-Clear sinus and sore throat.

Sweet Potato-Reduces ulcers and is a detoxifier.

Oats-Bowel cleansers. Good for controlling hair loss and has blood purifying elements.

Oranges-Are an instant source of energy. Work as cleansers and improve the skin.

Peas-Rich in protein and help regulate stomach and liver functions.

Garlic-Has antibacterial and anti septic properties. Useful for respiratory ailments and lowers cholesterol.

I will be out of blogging for a few days, I don't know when I could return. I will try to come back as early as possible. Enjoy life and take care.

Remembering Gregory Peck

2007-06-07T22:32:00.000-07:00

Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003), born Eldred Gregory Peck, was an Oscar-winning American film actor. He was one of 20th Century Pictures most popular film stars, from the 1940s to the 1960s, and played important roles well into the 1990s.

One of his most notable performances was as Atticus Finch in the 1963 film version of To Kill a Mockingbird, for which he won an Academy Award. President Lyndon Johnson honored Peck with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1969 for his lifetime humanitarian efforts. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck among the Greatest Male Stars of All Time, ranking at No. 12.

He made his Broadway debut as the lead in Emlyn Williams' The Morning Star in 1942.

Film Career

Peck's first film was Days of Glory, released in 1944. Though many critics initially dismissed Peck's acting as wooden, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor five times, four of which came in his first five years of film acting: for The Keys of the Kingdom (1944), The Yearling (1946), Gentleman's Agreement (1947), and Twelve O'Clock High (1949).

Among his other popular films were Moby Dick (1956), On the Beach (1959), which brought to life the terrors of global nuclear war, The Guns of Navarone (1961), and Roman Holiday (1953)

Peck won the Academy award for his fifth nomination, playing Atticus Finch, a Depression-era lawyer and widowed father, in a film adaptation of the Harper Lee novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Released in 1962 during the height of the US civil rights movement in the South, this movie and his role were Peck's favorites. In 2003, Atticus Finch was named the top film hero of the past 100 years by the American Film Institute.

He served as the president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1967, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the American Film Institute from 1967 to 1969, Chairman of the Motion Picture and Television Relief Fund in 1971, and National Chairman of the American Cancer Society in 1966. He was a member of the National Council on the Arts from 1964 to 1966.

Later Career
In the 1980s, Peck moved to television, where he starred in the mini-series The Blue and the Gray, playing Abraham Lincoln. He also starred with Barbara Bouchet in the TV film The Scarlet and The Black, about a real-life Roman Catholic priest in the Vatican who smuggled Jews and other refugees away from the Nazis during World War II.

Death
On June 12, 2003, Peck died in his sleep from cardiorespiratory arrest, and bronchial pneumonia, at the age of 87 in Los Angeles.Peck is buried in the mausoleum of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles, California.

Quotes

“ They say the bad guys are more interesting to play but there is more to it than that - playing the good guys is more challenging because it's harder to make them interesting. ”

“ I'm not a do-gooder. It embarrassed me to be classified as a humanitarian. I simply take part in activities that I believe in. ”

“ You have to dream, you have to have a vision, and you have to set a goal for yourself that might even scare you a little because sometimes that seems far beyond your reach. Then I think you have to develop a kind of resistance to rejection, and to the disappointments that are sure to come your way.”

Text & Pic - wikipedia

Taste of Kerala...

2007-06-03T20:35:00.001-07:00

Vella Appam (Vella =White)

Idly

Puttu
Idi AppamNei Dosa(Nei =Ghee)
Dosa
Karimeen (meen=Fish)
Fish Curry
Fish curry in coconut milk
Mutton Curry
Chicken Curry
Beef Fry
Biriyani
Naranga Achar (Naranga=Lemon,Achar=Pickle)
Manga Achar (Manga=Mango,Achar=Pickle)
Maracheeni Puzhukku (Maracheeni=Tapioca)

If you need recipes of any of the above or all ,please inform me .I will mail you.

Raj Kapoor- The Legend.

2007-05-31T00:15:00.000-07:00

Born: December 14, 1924
Died: June 2, 1988
Achievements: Known as Showman of Hindi Cinema; honored with Dadasaheb Phalke Award(highest award for film personalities) for his contribution to Indian Cinema. .

Raj Kapoor was the doyen of Hindi cinema. He was a multitalented artiste. Raj Kapoor was an actor, director and producer. Raj Kapoor is also famous as Showman of Hindi Cinema.

His early Years

Raj Kapoor was born on December 14, 1924 in Pakistan. . Raj Kapoor's father Prithviraj Kapoor himself was a well-known actor. Raj Kapoor was the eldest of the four children. His other two brothers Shammi Kapoor and Shashi Kapoor also are well-known actors.

Raj Kapoor started his career as a clap boy . In 1935, at the age of eleven, Raj Kapoor appeared in his first film Inquilab. In 1946. Raj Kapoor's big break came in 1947, when he played leading role in the film Neel Kamal, directed by Kidar Sharma. In 1948, at the age of twenty-four, Raj Kapoor established his own studio, R. K. Films, and became the youngest film director of his time. His first movie as a director was Aag (Fire). The film was an instant success.

Raj Kapoor as a star

Thereafter, Raj Kapoor directed several films. He also acted in most of them. Some of the famous films directed by Raj Kapoor are Barsaat (1949), Awaara (1951), Shri 420 (1955), and Sangam (1964). He formed a hit pair with Nargis. Raj Kapoor depicted the story of common man in his films and his films appealed to every section of the society. Raj Kapoor had great sense of music and the music of his films was very popular not only in India but in countries like Russia too. Film historians have characterized Raj Kapoor as the "Charlie Chaplin of India," since he often himself played a tramp-like figure who, despite adversity, could still be cheerful and honest.

Films after Mera Naam Joker ( My Name is Joker)

After the commercial failure of his ambitious film Mera Naam Joker in 1970, Raj Kapoor's films took a turn toward sensuality. In 1973, Raj Kapoor released Bobby(1973), which started the trend of teenage romance in Indian cinema. He further pushed the boundaries of sensuality in his other films like Satyam Shivam Sundaram (1978) and Ram Teri Ganga Maili (1985). Raj Kapoor's film carried social message too. For example, his film Premrog (1982) advocated widow remarriage.

For his contribution to Indian cinema Raj Kapoor was honored with Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1987. He died on June 2, 1988 due to asthma related complications.

His Last Film

At the time of his death he was working on the film Henna, based on a love story between an Indian boy and Pakistani girl .The film was later completed by his son Randhir Kapoor and was a major commercial success.

Raj Kapoor ,my inspiration

To act and direct at the same time is very difficult job, as it requires different sensibilities and sensitivities working at the same time. I have been heavily inspired by his movies.

Please enjoy a song sequence from the film Mera Naam Joker,which I rate as his best film ever.

Foods for perfect health -part 2

2007-05-27T22:27:00.000-07:00

1) Dates - Are useful in anaemia, respiratory and lung disorders.

2) Walnuts-Improve metabolism. It is a brain food.

3) Coconut-Regulates the functioning of thyroid gland.

4) Apricot- Have laxative properties and removes toxins from the body.

5) Strawberries- Make the blood alkaline-useful for the relief of joint pain.It is also a blood purifier.

6) Almonds- Good source of protein. Have cancer fighting properties and help underweight people to put on weight.

7) Barley- Cures ulcers, lowers cholesterol and also hair tonic.

8) Papayas- Control gas formation and acts as a detoxifier.

9) Sesame seed- Strengthen the heart and a great source of Calcium. Help to lower cholesterol.

10) Cashew nuts -Improve vitality and good for teeth gums and hair.

To be continued...... pic -google

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (1888-27- May -1964)

2007-05-25T21:52:00.000-07:00

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of independent India was born at Allahabad on 14 November 1889.

From the age of 15 to 23 Jawaharlal studied in England at Harrow, Cambridge and the Inner Temple returning to India in 1912.

Jawaharlal Nehru remained the Prime Minister of India, since independence in 1947, for 17 long years and can rightly be called the architect of modern India.

He set India on the path of democracy and nurtured its institution - Parliament, multi-party system, independent judiciary and free press.

With the foresight of a statesman he created institutions like Planning Commission, National Science Laboratories and laid the foundation of a vast public sector for developing infrastructure for industrial growth. Besides, developing the public sector, Nehru also wanted to encourage the private sector to establish a social order based on social justice he emphasized the need of planned development. Nehru gave a clear direction to India’s role in the comity of nations with the policy of non alignment and the principle of Panchsheel, the five principles of peaceful coexistence at a time when the rivalries of cold-war were driving the humanity to its doom.

His vision was that of extensive application of science and technology and industrialization for better living and liberation from the clutches of poverty, superstition and ignorance.

Education to him was very important for internal freedom and fearlessness. It was Nehru who insisted if the world was to exist at all; it must exist as one. He was generous and gracious.

He was awarded Bharat Ratna(highest civilian award of India) in 1955.

Jawaharlal was a prolific writer in English and wrote a number of books like ‘The Discovery of India’, ‘Glimpses of World History’, An Autobiography etc

Nehru loved children and they call him affectionately as Chacha Nehru. His birthday is observed as Children's Day. He believed that children are the future of the nation.

Nehru passed away in 27 May 1964.

Natural foods for perfect health.

2007-05-21T22:04:00.000-07:00

1) Melon - This fruit is an excellent cleanser and rehydrator as it has high water content.

2) Apple- This fruit works as a tonic. it relieves constipation, reduces total cholesterol and removes toxins.

3) Fig -This fruit is rich source of calcium and has laxative properties.

4) Mango-Reduces acidity and helps in gaining weight.

5) Grape-It is a cleanser of blood and has anti allergic properties.

6) Lemon-Works as a bleaching agent and has properties to fight cancer.

7) Pears-This fruit helps to increase free flow of urine and good for thyroid glands.

8) Peach- This fruit also helps to increase free flow of urine and laxative in nature.

9) Cherries-Bring relief from migraines and headaches.

10) Banana-Promotes sleep and acts as mild laxative. They have antifungal properties, lower cholesterol, blood pressure and remove toxins.

to be continued in the next post........

pix credit -google

E -for Elephant

2007-05-16T23:38:00.000-07:00

1) An Elephant has an estimated 40,000 muscles in its trunk.

2) Elephants are incapable of jumping.

3) The maximum life span of Elephant is 70 years.

4) The African elephant has the largest brain of any land mammal, four times larger than human brain.

5) Elephants sleep standing up.

6) September 22 is Elephant appreciation day.

7) The average weight of African male Elephant is 5000 kilos, with females weighing 2750 kilos.

8) Elephants are thick skinned, but they are able to feel a fly landing on it.

9) An Elephants tongue weighs an average 12 kilos.

10) The Gestation period of elephant is 23 months.

11) The African elephant has the largest ears in animal kingdom; it may weigh up to 20 kilos.

12) Elephants can smell water up to 5 kilometres away.

13) Elephants trunk is so strong, it can uproot a tree and so sensitive as to be able to turn the page of a book.

100 Keyboard Shortcuts

2007-05-11T02:07:00.000-07:00

CTRL+C (Copy)
CTRL+X (Cut)
CTRL+V (Paste)
CTRL+Z (Undo)
DELETE (Delete)
SHIFT+DELETE (Delete the selected item permanently without placing the item in the Recycle Bin)
CTRL while dragging an item (Copy the selected item)
CTRL+SHIFT while dragging an item (Create a shortcut to the selected item)
F2 key (Rename the selected item)
CTRL+RIGHT ARROW (Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next word)
CTRL+LEFT ARROW (Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous word)
CTRL+DOWN ARROW (Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next paragraph)
CTRL+UP ARROW (Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous paragraph)
CTRL+SHIFT with any of the arrow keys (Highlight a block of text)
SHIFT with any of the arrow keys (Select more than one item in a window or on the desktop, or select text in a document)
CTRL+A (Select all)
F3 key (Search for a file or a folder)
ALT+ENTER (View the properties for the selected item)
ALT+F4 (Close the active item, or quit the active program)
ALT+ENTER (Display the properties of the selected object)
ALT+SPACEBAR (Open the shortcut menu for the active window)
CTRL+F4 (Close the active document in programs that enable you to have multiple documents open simultaneously)
ALT+TAB (Switch between the open items)
ALT+ESC (Cycle through items in the order that they had been opened)
F6 key (Cycle through the screen elements in a window or on the desktop)
F4 key (Display the Address bar list in My Computer or Windows Explorer)
SHIFT+F10 (Display the shortcut menu for the selected item)
ALT+SPACEBAR (Display the System menu for the active window)
CTRL+ESC (Display the Start menu)
ALT+Underlined letter in a menu name (Display the corresponding menu)
Underlined letter in a command name on an open menu (Perform the corresponding command)
F10 key (Activate the menu bar in the active program)
RIGHT ARROW (Open the next menu to the right, or open a submenu)
LEFT ARROW (Open the next menu to the left, or close a submenu)
F5 key (Update the active window)
BACKSPACE (View the folder one level up in My Computer or Windows Explorer)
ESC (Cancel the current task)
SHIFT when you insert a CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive (Prevent the CD-ROM from automatically playing)

Dialog Box Keyboard Shortcuts

CTRL+TAB (Move forward through the tabs)
CTRL+SHIFT+TAB (Move backward through the tabs)
TAB (Move forward through the options)
SHIFT+TAB (Move backward through the options)
ALT+Underlined letter (Perform the corresponding command or select the corresponding option)
ENTER (Perform the command for the active option or button)
SPACEBAR (Select or clear the check box if the active option is a check box)
Arrow keys (Select a button if the active option is a group of option buttons)
F1 key (Display Help)
F4 key (Display the items in the active list)
BACKSPACE (Open a folder one level up if a folder is selected in the Save As or Open dialog box)

Microsoft Natural Keyboard Shortcuts

Windows Logo (Display or hide the Start menu)
Windows Logo+BREAK (Display the System Properties dialog box)
Windows Logo+D (Display the desktop)
Windows Logo+M (Minimize all of the windows)
Windows Logo+SHIFT+M (Restore the minimized windows)
Windows Logo+E (Open My Computer)
Windows Logo+F (Search for a file or a folder)
CTRL+Windows Logo+F (Search for computers)
Windows Logo+F1 (Display Windows Help)
Windows Logo+ L (Lock the keyboard)
Windows Logo+R (Open the Run dialog box)
Windows Logo+U (Open Utility Manager)

Accessibility Keyboard Shortcuts

Right SHIFT for eight seconds (Switch FilterKeys either on or off)
Left ALT+left SHIFT+PRINT SCREEN (Switch High Contrast either on or off)
Left ALT+left SHIFT+NUM LOCK (Switch the MouseKeys either on or off)
SHIFT five times (Switch the StickyKeys either on or off)
NUM LOCK for five seconds (Switch the ToggleKeys either on or off)
Windows Logo +U (Open Utility Manager)

Windows Explorer Keyboard Shortcuts

END (Display the bottom of the active window)
HOME (Display the top of the active window)
NUM LOCK+Asterisk sign (*) (Display all of the subfolders that are under the selected folder)
NUM LOCK+Plus sign (+) (Display the contents of the selected folder)
NUM LOCK+Minus sign (-) (Collapse the selected folder)
LEFT ARROW (Collapse the current selection if it is expanded, or select the parent folder)
RIGHT ARROW (Display the current selection if it is collapsed, or select the first subfolder)

Shortcut Keys for Character Map

After you double-click a character on the grid of characters, you can move through the grid by using the keyboard shortcuts:
RIGHT ARROW (Move to the right or to the beginning of the next line)
LEFT ARROW (Move to the left or to the end of the previous line)
UP ARROW (Move up one row)
DOWN ARROW (Move down one row)
PAGE UP (Move up one screen at a time)
PAGE DOWN (Move down one screen at a time)
HOME (Move to the beginning of the line)
END (Move to the end of the line)
CTRL+HOME (Move to the first character)
CTRL+END (Move to the last character)
SPACEBAR (Switch between Enlarged and Normal mode when a character is selected)

microsoft Management Console (MMC) Main Window Keyboard Shortcuts

CTRL+O (Open a saved console)
CTRL+N (Open a new console)
CTRL+S (Save the open console)
CTRL+M (Add or remove a console item)
CTRL+W (Open a new window)
F5 key (Update the content of all console windows)
ALT+SPACEBAR (Display the MMC window menu)
ALT+F4 (Close the console)
ALT+A (Display the Action menu)
ALT+V (Display the View menu)
ALT+F (Display the File menu)
ALT+O (Display the Favorites menu)
MMC Console Window Keyboard Shortcuts
CTRL+P (Print the current page or active pane)
ALT+Minus sign (-) (Display the window menu for the active console window)
SHIFT+F10 (Display the Action shortcut menu for the selected item)
F1 key (Open the Help topic, if any, for the selected item)
F5 key (Update the content of all console windows)
CTRL+F10 (Maximize the active console window)
CTRL+F5 (Restore the active console window)
ALT+ENTER (Display the Properties dialog box, if any, for the selected item)
F2 key (Rename the selected item)
CTRL+F4 (Close the active console window. When a console has only one console window, this shortcut closes the console)

Remote Desktop Connection Navigation

CTRL+ALT+END (Open the microsoft Windows NT Security dialog box)
ALT+PAGE UP (Switch between programs from left to right)
ALT+PAGE DOWN (Switch between programs from right to left)
ALT+INSERT (Cycle through the programs in most recently used order)
ALT+HOME (Display the Start menu)
CTRL+ALT+BREAK (Switch the client computer between a window and a full screen)
ALT+DELETE (Display the Windows menu)
CTRL+ALT+Minus sign (-) (Place a snapshot of the active window in the client on the Terminal server clipboard and provide the same functionality as pressing PRINT SCREEN on a local computer.)
CTRL+ALT+Plus sign (+) (Place a snapshot of the entire client window area on the Terminal server clipboard and provide the same functionality as pressing ALT+PRINT SCREEN on a local computer.)

microsoft Internet Explorer Navigation

CTRL+B (Open the Organize Favorites dialog box)
CTRL+E (Open the Search bar)
CTRL+F (Start the Find utility)
CTRL+H (Open the History bar)
CTRL+I (Open the Favorites bar)
CTRL+L (Open the Open dialog box)
CTRL+N (Start another instance of the browser with the same Web address)
CTRL+O (Open the Open dialog box, the same as CTRL+L)
CTRL+P (Open the Print dialog box)
CTRL+R (Update the current Web page)
CTRL+W (Close the current window)

Source of this post is an e mail,I found it very useful.You will also feel the same.
image Google.

F.I.L.C.A Film festival 2007

2007-05-02T22:47:00.000-07:00

The seventh edition of Film Lovers Cultural Association (F.I.L.C.A) film festival is to be from May 4 -10, at Kala Bavan Theatre Trivandrum.

F.I.L.C.A, a film society based at Trivandrum, functioning for the past 10 years has been promoting good cinema and film culture.

The Namesake directed by Mira Nair will be the inaugural film.

There will be 5 screenings every day.35 films from different parts of the world will be shown during the festival under various categories like World Cinema, Holly wood cinema now, Retrospective, Focus on Country, Malayalam cinema now and Indian cinema now. In addition to it there will be screenings for documentaries and short films.

This year the festival has a retrospective of Swedish director Ingmar Bergman, his famous Films like Wild Strawberries, Seventh seal; Silence etc will be the highlight of the festival. Films from Iran and Czechoslovakia will be shown in the country focus section. Oscar nominated Hollywood films and current Bollywood films will provide visual treat to the eyes.

I will be attending the festival, and will be out of blogging for a week.
Take care and enjoy a great week ahead.

Trissur Pooram

2007-04-25T22:49:00.000-07:00

Thrissur Pooram, a real cultural crowd puller and one of the golden trademarks of Kerala, is a true visual extravaganza in all respects.
Celebrated in the Malayalam month of Medam (April-May) it consists of processions of richly caparisoned elephants from various neighbouring temples to the Vadakunnatha temple, Thrissur.
Trissur ,a city situated around 300 kms away from Trivandrum.
The legend says that this festival was introduced by Rama Varma Sakthan Thampuran, the Maharaja of erstwhile Kochi state.
The Pooram festival is also well-known for the wonderful display of fireworks.
It is celebrated by two rival groups representing the two divisions of Thrissur Paramekkavu and Thiruvambadi vying with each other in making the display of fireworks grander and more colourful.
Each group is allowed to display a maximum of fifteen elephants and all efforts are made by each party to secure the best elephants in South India and the most artistic parasols, several kinds of which are raised on the elephant’s head during the display.
Commencing in the early hours, the celebrations last till the break of dawn, the next day.
There is also 'Panchavadya' competition, which attracts a lot of people every year. The marvellous as well as magical effect of the Panchavadyam, a combination of five percussion and wind instruments, is to be felt and enjoyed.

Pooram gretings from deepakgopi

Laurie Baker (1917- 1 Apr 2007)

2007-04-22T21:19:00.000-07:00

World renowned architect Laurie Baker, who devoted his life to popularising low-cost housing for the poor, died at his residence at Trivandrum on April 1.

The 90-year-old British-born architect was survived by his Keralite wife Elizabeth, married some six decades ago.He had been living at Trivandrum since 1970.

Biography

Laurie Baker was born in Birmingham, England on 2nd March 1917, as the youngest child with two elder brothers Leonard and Norman and a sister Edna. His father was the chief accountant with the Birmingham Gas Distribution Authority.

He received basic training in architecture at a local institute after finishing grammar school. He later became a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects.

Inspired by Mahatma Gandhi, Baker showed how the dream of a shelter for millions of homeless could be made a reality through low-cost building concepts that used traditional materials, knowledge, craftsmanship and skills.

As a strong votary of peace, World War II turned out to be crucial time in the life of Baker, who chose to serve with a medical unit in China, where he realised that less expensive local methods alone provided practical solutions to housing problems.

A brief encounter with Gandhi in Mumbai in 1944 also proved a turning point in Baker's life.

Instantly coming under the spell of the Mahatma, Baker returned to the country the following year for an extended stay to serve leprosy victims in villages of northern India.

Baker spent his initial Indian years in Faizabad, and later, in Pittorgarh on the Himalayan slopes engaging in rehabilitation of leprosy victims and helping medical teams to build small clinics and hospitals in far-flung villages. It was at that time that he met his future wife Elizabeth who was part of a medical team in Kumaoun hills.

In the early 1960s, the Bakers moved to Kerala and stayed initially at Vagamon, a strikingly beautiful high-range hamlet in Kottayam district.(around 200 kms away from Trivandrum)

Baker later moved to Trivandrum for taking up a major housing project for the poor.

He was granted Indian citizenship in 1990 and honoured with Padmashree (a prestigious civilian National award) the same year. He had also received UN's Habitat Award. He was also a recipient of many various national and international awards. He had also written many books on building construction.

Baker had conceived and built over 2000 houses in different parts of Kerala.

His services were also used by the state and central governments in working out housing schemes and he had served on the housing-related panels of the Planning Commission, HUDCO(Housing Development Corporation) and state planning board.

His services will always be remembered by people of India.

(Baker Model Building)

Some more interesting facts

2007-04-16T22:45:00.000-07:00

1. Elephants are the only animals that can't jump.

2. In the last 4000 years, no new animals have been domesticated.

3. On average, people fear spiders more than they do death.

4.Shakespeare invented the word 'assassination' and 'bump'.

5. Stewardesses is the longest word typed with only the left hand.

6.The ant always falls over on its right side when intoxicated.

7. The electric chair was invented by a dentist.

8.The human heart creates enough pressure when it pumps out to the body to squirt blood 30 feet.

9. Rats multiply so quickly that in 18 months, two rats could have
over million descendants.

10. The cigarette lighter was invented before the match.

12. Most lipstick contains fish scales.

13. Like fingerprints, everyone's tongue print is different.

HAPPY VISHU TO ALL

2007-04-12T22:53:00.000-07:00

Vishu is a festival held in the state of Kerala in India which falls on the first day of Malayalam month Medam (April), which is the astronomical New Year Day when the sun crosses the equator (the Sun's transit to the zodiac Mesha Mesha Raasi as per Indian astrological calculation).

On the day of Vishu, the custom is to wake up at dawn and go to the puja room with the eyes closed so that the Vishukanni is the first thing one sees. As per popular belief, the first thing people see on Vishu, the 'Vishukkani', is decisive to the year's prosperity.

'Vishukkani' is a ritual arrangement of auspicious articles like raw rice, fresh linen, golden cucumber, betel leaves, arecanut, metal mirror, the yellow flowers 'kani konna' (Cassia Fistula), and a holy text and coins, in a bell metal vessel called 'uruli'. A lighted bell metal lamp called nilavilakku is also placed alongside.

The next item is giving of handsel (Kaineetom). The eldest member of the family takes some silver coins and gives them to a junior member with some raw rice and Konna flower. This is repeated in the case of other members also and they in turn give such handsel to their juniors, relatives, servants etc. After this the children begin to fire crackers.

In the morning all talk bath and put on their forehead the marks of ashes and sandal paste and go to the temple for worship. After worship, they prepare a feast which is moderate and elegant.

This day is celebrated in almost all parts in India by the Hindus albeit by different names. In Assam this day is called Bihu, in Punjab Baisakhi and in Tamil Nadu Puthandu, etc.

deepakgopi wishes you all a 'Happy Vishu'

pix credit:google,flickr

Read & Grow Rich

2007-04-08T22:30:00.000-07:00

There was a one hour interview on CNBC with Warren Buffet, the second richest man who has donated $31 billion (85% of his fortune) to charity.

Here are some very interesting aspects of his life:

He bought his first share at age 11 and he now regrets that he started too late!

2. He bought a small farm at age 14 with savings from delivering newspapers.

3. He still lives in the same small 3 bedroom house in mid-town Omaha, that he bought after he got married 50 years ago. He says that he has everything he needs in that house. His house does not have a wall or a fence.

4 .He drives his own car everywhere and does not have a driver or security people around him.

5. He never travels by private jet, although he owns the world's largest private jet company.

6 .His company, Berkshire Hathaway, owns 63 companies. He writes only one letter each year to the CEOs of these companies, giving them goals for the year. He never holds meetings or calls them on a regular basis.

7. He has given his CEO's only two rules.

Rule number 1: Do not lose any of your share holder's money.

Rule number 2: Do not forget rule number 1.

8 .He does not socialize with the high society crowd. His past time after he gets home is to make himself some pop corn and watch television.

9 . Bill Gates, the world's richest man met him for the first time only 5 years ago. Bill Gates did not think he had anything in common with Warren Buffet. So he had scheduled his meeting only for half hour. But when Gates met him, the meeting lasted for ten hours and Bill Gates became a devotee of Warren Buffet.

10. Warren Buffet does not carry a cell phone, nor has a computer on his desk.

11. His advice to young people: Stay away from credit cards and invest in yourself.

BE A MODEST PERSON !!!

Happy Easter to all

2007-04-04T23:36:00.000-07:00

It was a sports stadium.

Eight Children were standing on the track to
participate in the running event.

* Ready! * Steady! * Bang!!!

With the sound of Toy pistol, all eight girls started running.

Hardly have they covered ten to fifteen steps, one of the smaller girls
slipped and fell down, due to bruises and pain she started crying.

When other seven girls heard this sound, stopped running, stood for a
while and turned back , they all ran back to the place where the girl
fell down.

One among them bent, picked and kissed the girl gently and enquired
'Now pain must have reduced'. All seven girls lifted the fallen girl ,
pacified her, two of them held the girl firmly and they all seven joined hands
together and walked together and reached the winning post.

Officials were shocked . Clapping of thousands of spectators filled the
stadium. Many eyes were filled with tears and perhaps it had reached
the GOD even!

YES. This happened in Hyderabad [ INDIA ]

The sport was conducted by National Institute of Mental Health.

All these special girls had come to participate in this event and they
are spastic children.

Yes, they were mentally retarded Challenged.

What did they teach this world?

Teamwork?
Humanity?
Equality among all?????

Successful people help others who are slow in learning so that they are
not left far behind. This is really a great message... spread it!

We can't do this ever because we have brains!!!!!!!!!

This could happen only where heart dominates brain.

And this should be the spirit of Easter.

DeepakGopi wishes you all a HAPPY EASTER.

Some more facts...

2007-03-29T23:56:00.000-07:00

1. If you sneeze too hard, you can fracture a rib. If you try to
suppress a sneeze, you can rupture a blood vessel in your head or neck and die.

2. Each king in a deck of playing cards represents great king from history. Spades - King David Clubs - Alexander the Great, Hearts - Charlemagne Diamonds - Julius Caesar.

3. 111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321

4. If a statue of a person in the park on a horse has both front legs
in the air, the person died in battle.

5. If the horse has one front leg in the air, the person died as a
result of wounds received in battle.

6. If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of
natural causes.

7. Question - This is the only food that doesn't spoil. What is this?
Ans. - Honey

8. A crocodile cannot stick its tongue out.

9. A snail can sleep for three years.

10. All polar bears are left handed.

11. American Airlines saved $40,000 in 1987 by eliminating one olive from each salad served in first-class.

12. Butterflies taste with their feet.

Enjoy Some Movie Jerks

2007-03-26T02:02:00.000-07:00

Fighter planes assisted Trojan War ...!

Adidas for Pirates ....!

Cell Phones for Older generations....!

Policeman practicing Peace....!

Rado or Rolex ....?

Simple solutions....

2007-03-19T22:52:00.000-07:00

Here is some interesting Solutions to difficult problems. Just Read

Case 1(The famous one!!!!)

When NASA began the launch of astronauts into space,they found out that
the pens wouldn't work at zero gravity (ink won't flow down to the
writingsurface). To solve this problem, it took them one decade and $12
million.

They developed a pen that worked at zero gravity, upside
down,underwater,in practically any surface including crystal
and in a temperature range from below freezing to over 300 degrees C.

And what did the Russians do...?? They used a pencil.....!!!!!!

Case 2

One of the most memorable case studies on Japanese management
was the Case of the empty soap box, which happened in one of Japan's biggest Cosmetics companies.

The company received a complaint that a consumer had bought a soap box that was empty. Immediately the authorities isolated the problem to the assembly line, which transported all the packaged boxes of soap to the delivery department.For some reason, one soap box went through the assembly line empty. Management asked its engineers to solve theproblem. Post-haste, the engineers worked hard to devise an X-ray machine with high-resolution monitors manned by two people to watch all the soapboxes that passed through the line to make sure they were not empty. No doubt,they worked hard and they worked fast but they spent a whopping amount to do so.

But when a rank-and-file employee in a small company was posed with thesame problem, he did not get into complications of X-rays, etc., but instead came out with another solution. He bought a strong industrial electric fan and pointed it at the assembly line. He switched the fan
on, and as each soap box passed the fan, it simply blew the empty boxes out of the line.

Moral:
Always look for simple solutions. Devise the simplest possible solution that solves the problems

Some cool facts

2007-03-16T02:41:00.000-07:00

1.Coca-Cola was originally green.

2. It is impossible to lick your elbow.

3. The name of all the continents end with the same letter that they start with.

4. There are two credit cards for every person in the United States.

5. TYPEWRITER is the longest word that can be made using the letters only on one row of the keyboard.

6. Women blink nearly twice as much as men!!

7. You can't kill yourself by holding your breath.

8. The most common name in the world is Mohammed.

9. People say "Bless you" when you sneeze because when you sneeze, your heart stops for a millisecond.

10. It is physically impossible for pigs to look up into the sky.

11. The "sixth sick sheik's sixth sheep's sick" is said to be the toughest tongue twister in the English language.

12. And finally 99% of people who read this will try to lick their elbow.

blogger friends pls send me an invitation to chat with you in this address
dipakgopi@yahoo.co.in

12 Ways To Be Happy

2007-03-11T21:40:00.000-07:00

1. Make up your mind to be happy.
Learn to find pleasure in simple things.

2. Make the best of your circumstances.
No one has everything, and everyone has something
Of sorrow intermingled with gladness of life. The trick is
To make the laughter outweigh the tears.

3. Don't take yourself too seriously.
Don't think that somehow you should be protected
From misfortune that befalls other people.

4. You can't please everybody. Don't let criticism worry you.

5. Don't let your neighbor set your standards. Be yourself.

6. Do the things you enjoy doing but stay out of debt.

7. Never borrow trouble. Imaginary things are harder
To bear than real ones.

8. Since hate poisons the soul, do not cherish jealousy,
Avoid people who make you unhappy.

9. Have many interests. If you can't travel, read about new places.

10. Don't hold postmortems. Don't spend your time brooding
Over sorrows or mistakes. Don't be one who never gets over things.

11. Do what you can for those less fortunate than yourself.

12. Keep busy at something. A busy person never has time
To be unhappy.

text source-an e-mail,pixcredit- Google

Just Trivia

2007-03-06T05:44:00.000-08:00

Teacher: Where does God live?
Little boy: I think he lives in our bathroom.
Teacher: Why do you say that?
Little boy: Well, every morning my daddy bangs on the door and says,
'God, are you still in there?'

---------------------------------------------

Question:What is the full form of maths.
Anwser : Mentaly affected teachers harrasing students

---------------------------------------------

Teacher : Now children , if I saw a man beating a donkey and stopped
him then what virtue would I be showing ?
Student : BROTHERLY LOVE

---------------------------------------------

Teacher :Tomorrow there will be a lecture on Sun.Everyone must attend it.
Stydent:No ma'm! I will not be able to attend it.
Teacher :Why?
Student:My mother will not allow me to go so far!!!

---------------------------------------------

Teacher:"Can anyone give me an example of Coincidence?"
Student:"Sir, my mother and father got married on the same day same time."

---------------------------------------------

Teacher: How old is ur father.
Student:As old as I am.
Teacher:How is it possible?
Student:He became father only after I was born.

---------------------------------------------

Teacher:There is a frog,Ship is sinking,potatoes cost Rs 3/kg
.Then,what is my age?
STUDENT:32 yrs.
Teacher:How do you know?
STUDENT:Well, my sister is 16 yrs old and she is half mad.

---------------------------------------------
Pix credit .Google.

Attukal Pongala Festival

2007-03-01T20:57:00.000-08:00

Attukal Pongala is an extremely popular, essentially women's festival celebrated in ancient Bhagavathy temple (Mudippura) at Attukal in Trivandrum district. It is a ten-day-long event which commences from the Bharani day (Karthika star) of the Malayalam month of
Makaram-Kumbham (February-March) and comes to an end with the sacrificial offering known as Kuruthitharpanam at night. Ninth day is the biggest day of the festival when the famous Attukal Pongala Mahotsavam takes place. A large number of women of all castes and creed from Kerala and also from other states make offerings for the Goddess by cooking pongala in the vicinity of the temple.

Significance of the Festival

Goddess Attukalamma is believed to be incarnation of 'Kannaki', the heroine of 'Silappathikaram' written by Tamil poet Illango in 2nd century A.D. Attukal is the place where Kannaki took rest on her northward journey from Madurai to Kodungallur. 'Pongala' means to boil over. It refers to the customary offering of things which please the deity. It consists of porridge of rice, sweet brown molasses, coconut gratings, nuts and raisins.

Celebrating Attukal Pongala

Festivities begin Thottampattu (a song about Bhagavathi). These religious songs continue for nine days of the festival. On the ninth and the main day of Attukal Pongala lakhs of women gather in the temple with materials for cooking Ponkala or Pongala. The ritual of cooking starts early in the morning and by noon, Pongala would be ready. Then the Melsanthi (chief priest) arrives with Devi's sword and bless the ladies by sprinkling holy water and showering flowers. The 'blessed' Pongala is taken back to the house by the ladies.

Later, the idol of Devi(Goddess) is carried to a near by Temple in a colorful procession comprising of decorated floats, caparisoned elephants etc. Musical ensembles by famous artistes add to the festivities. En route onlookers greet the procession with Nirapara (a measure filled with paddy and decorated with flowers). The procession reaches back, the next morning, marking the end of the festival.

The Attukal pongala cermony has made a mark in the guinness book ,for its mass participation by woman.This year aroung 38,000,00women are expected to make offerings in the form of pongala. Last year around 32,000,00 women had made their offerings.

image credit: Google. Pic 1-Attukal Temple. Pic 2-women preparing Pongala

My new post

2007-02-25T20:43:00.000-08:00

Attention Mobile phone users
When you try to call someone through mobile phone, don't
put your mobile closer to your ears until the recipient answers. Because directlyafter dialing, the mobile phone would use it's maximum signaling power, which is: 2watts = 33dbi Please Be Careful Message as received (Save yourbrain) Please use left ear while using cell (mobile), because if you use the right one it will affect brain directly. This is a true fact found out
by a research group of a major Hospital in India.

The Way to happiness

The way to happiness: Keep your heart free from hate, your mind free from worry.
Live simply, expect little, give much.
Fill your heart with love.
Scatter sunshine.
Forget self, think of others.
Do as you would be done by.
Try this for a week you will be surprised by its results

From “The power of Positive thinking” by Norman Vincent Peale

Deepak Gopi congrats all the Oscar Winners

I have won a lottery

2007-02-21T03:41:00.000-08:00

Hello Friends
I have recently won a lottery ,having a prize money of1.000.000.00 Euro.(One Million Euro).I have been informed through an email.The mail goes like this

RE: WINNING NOTIFICATION / FINAL NOTICE

Sir/Madam
We are pleased to inform you of the result of the Euro millions Spanish
Lottery Winners International E-mail programs held on the 12TH OF
FEBRUARY 2007 and result where release on the 20TH OF FEBRUARY 2007. Your
E-mail address attached to ticket number 653-908-321-675 with serial
main number 345-790-241-671 drew lucky star numbers 34-32-90-43-32 which
consequently won in the 2ND category, you have therefore been approved
for a lump sum pay out of 1.000.000.00 Euro.(One Million
Euro)CONGRATULATIONS!!!
Remember, all winning must be claimed not later than one month,After
this date all unclaimed funds will be included in the next stake.
Congratulations once more from our members of staff
Note: Anybody under the age of 18 is automatically disqualified.
Sincerely yours,
MRS,COMFORT JOSE
--------------------------------------------------------------
I am planning to produce an international multi lingual movie titled ,Lucky Man,with me in the lead. I am also planning to give Pennelope Cruz and CameronDiaz major roles in the movie. Please watch my movie from cinema halls near you.

This is a work of fantasy by Anish Joseph for Deepak Gopi and it has nothing to do with reality.

Kerala University (pics)

2007-02-16T21:24:00.000-08:00

His Highness Sree Chittira Thirunal BalaRama Varma(Founder of Kerala university)

Kerala University,Senate House Campus ,Trivandrum

Now a days I am associating with The University of Kerala in the production of an interactive C.D. I have been assigned to shoot the activities of entire Kerala university.If you are interested in viewing pictures of it,I will publish more of it in my forth coming posts.

Taj Mahal -an eternal love story

2007-02-11T21:30:00.000-08:00

The Taj Mahal in Agra ,India is considered one of the best examples of Mughal architecture in India. The history of the Taj Mahal is one of the great love stories of the world.

The Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan ruled from 1628 to 1658 and was married to Arjumand Bano Begum in 1612 A.D. He called his wife Mumtaz Mahal or Crown of the Palace, because she was so precious to him. Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan had 14 children and the queen accompanied Shah Jahan everywhere, even on military campaigns. It was on one of these campaigns, in Burhanpur in central India, that Mumtaz Mahal died in 1631, shortly after giving birth to her 14th child. Her dying wish to Shah Jahan was that he should "build a tomb in her memory such as the world had never seen before." The history of the Taj Mahal begins with Mumtaz Mahal's tragic end.

Shah Jahan fulfilled her wish, creating the most beautiful mausoleum the world had ever seen. Shah Jahan was deposed by his son Aurangzeb. He spent the last years of his life under house arrest in the Agra Fort. He used to spend his time looking across the Yamuna River at the beautiful tomb he had built for his beloved empress, waiting for the day they could be united again. After Shah Jahan's death in 1666 A.D., he too was laid to rest beside his beloved Mumtaz Mahal. Their real tombs are in a basement of the Taj Mahal. The two ornately decorated tombs on the ground floor, sheltered by the dome of the Taj Mahal are part of the stylistic design of this beautiful monument in Agra India. The history of the Taj Mahal is the history of the steadfast love of a Mughal Emperor for his Queen.

It took 22 years for the Taj Mahal to be completed. A huge labor force of 20,000 workers led by Muhammed Hanif, Shah Jahan,agra Indiathe head of the masons and the Persian architect Ustad Isa or Ustad Ahmad Lahauri, were employed in its construction. Finished in 1648, the Taj Mahal cost the Mughal exchequer 32 million rupees. The Taj Mahal has been described by the poet Sir Edwin Arnold, as"Not a piece of architecture, as other buildings are, but the proud passions of an emperor's love wrought in living stones."

The aesthetic beauty of this beautiful mausoleum is enhanced by the romantic story that inspired its construction. Tourists come from around the world come to Agra, to feel the aura of eternal love that surrounds the Taj Mahal. The history of the Taj Mahal is a love story that transcends time and continues to be retold each day to the tourists who visit the Taj Mahal in Agra India.

Valentine's Day greetings from Deepak Gopi

(image- Google)

Lifted from some Indian leave letters

2007-02-04T21:15:00.000-08:00

1. An employee applied for leave as follows:" Since I have to go to my village to sell my land along with my wife, please sanction me one-week leave."

2. From an employee who was performing the "mundan" ceremony of his 10 year old son: "As I want to shave my son's head, please leave me for two days.."
3. Leave-letter from an employee who was performing his daughter's wedding: "As I am marrying my daughter, please grant a week's leave..."

4.Leave-letter from an employee "As my mother-in-law has expired and I am only one responsible for it, please grant me 10 days leave."

5. Another employee applied for half day leave as follows: "Since I've to go to the cremation ground at 10 O'clock and I may not return, please grant me half day casual leave"

6. An incident of a leave letter: "I am suffering from fever, please declare one day holiday."

7. A leave letter to the headmaster: "As I am studying in this school I am suffering from headache. I request you to leave me today"

8. Another leave letter written to the headmaster: "As my headache is paining, please grant me leave for the day."

9. Covering note: "I am enclosed herewith..."

10. Another one: "Dear Sir: with reference to the above, please refer to my below..."

11. Actual letter written for application of leave: "My wife is suffering from sickness and as I am her only husband at home I may be granted leave".

12. Letter writing: - "I am in well here and hope you are also in the same well."

13. A candidate's job application: "This has reference to your advertisement calling for a ' Typist and an Accountant - Male or Female'...As I am both(!! ) for the past several years and I can handle both with good experience, I am applying for the post.

Have you enjoyed our English ? These quotes are real.....

In the path of service

2007-01-31T21:19:00.000-08:00

Sevanavazhiyilude (In the path of service) is a documentary by Deepak Gopi, on the information dissemination and public relation activities of Informatin &Public Relation depatment of Kerala Universtiy.
The University of Travancore which eventually became the University of Kerala was established in 1937 by a promulgation of the Maharaja of Travancore, Sri Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma who was also the first Chancellor of the University.
In 1957,the University of Travancore was renamed University of Kerala. At present, the University has sixteen faculties and 41 departments of teaching and research. There are 157 affiliated colleges under Kerla university.
The University of Kerala has widened its horizons by entering into academic cooperation with some foreign Universities like Valladolid of Spain and Claremont of the United States of America.

Increase your General Knowledge .....

2007-01-26T21:11:00.000-08:00

Questions...
1. What programming concept is GOOGLE developed in?

2. What is the expansion of YAHOO?

3. What is the expansion of ADIDAS?

4. What does "baker's dozen" signify?

5. Who is the only man to have written the National Anthems for two different countries?

6. From what four word expression does the word `goodbye` derive?

7. How was Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu better known?

8. Which is the country that celebrates Indipendence day On August 15 other than India?

9. Why was James Bond Associated with the Number 007?

10. Which is the only country that is surrounded from all sides by only one country (other than Vatican )?

11. Which is the only sport which is not allowed to play left handed?

Answers...

1. Google is written in Asynchronous java-script and XML, or its acronym Ajax .

2. Yet Another Hierarchy of Officious Oracle

3. ADIDAS- All Day I Dream About Sports

4. A baker's dozen consists of 13 items - 1 more than the items in a normal dozen

5. Rabindranath Tagore who wrote national anthem for two different countries one is India's National anthem and another one is for Bangladesh- (Amar Sonar* *Bangla)

6 Goodbye comes from the ex-pression: 'god be with you'.

7. Mother Teresa.

8. South Korea .

9. Because 007 is the ISD code for Russia (or the USSR , as it was known during the cold war)

10. Lesotho surrounded from all sides by South Africa .

11. Polo.

(pix credit: Google)

Are you saying "YES" to life

2007-01-21T23:02:00.000-08:00

Please try this test by putting a tick against the way you would react to the following situations. Then turn to the key at the end.

1) You are invited to join in or do something.
A). you Say “Of course, I would like to”.
B). you make excuses. For example: “I am too busy. Not just now”.
C). you hesitate to join.

2) Your friends want to try something different, like a new place to eat.
A). you say: “Let us do it .It should be fun”.
B). you discourage the idea, preferring to stick to what you know.
C). you politely refuse because you are not the one to think it first.

3) An opportunity to meet strangers
A). you say and mean it: “I am glad to meet you”
B). you have to get used to people before you can be friendly
C). why don’t they stop making a fuss of them and take more notice of Me.?

4 )You like some body very much.
A). you say: it is lovely meeting you. Could not we meet more often?
B). you strain to be noticed possibly by being rude.
C). they must show they like me.

5) Somebody dislikes you
A). you say: “I am sorry about this would like to be friends”
B). It worries you but you do-nothing about it.
C). you feel hurt

6 There is a misunderstanding
A). you say: “let us clear this up”
B). pretend- it is not there and it may sort itself out.
C). “If that is how they feel I have nothing to do with them”

7 A difficult problem.
A). you say: let us decide what to do about it.
B). you want some body else to take responsibility of deciding.
C). let some body else see to it.

8 You are faced with responsibility.
A). you say: “I will do my best”
B). you say: “I cannot tackle this”
C). you say: “Why do you pick me?”

9 You have a failure.
A). you say: “Where did I go wrong?”
B). you say: “It is no use trying again.”
C). you say: “It was not my fault”

Count 10 marks for every ticked ‘A’,5 for B and 0 for C. You should be able to score 100% but a score of 70 can be counted satisfactory and 60 to70 fair. Below 60 is poor.
People who are saying yes to life are outward looking in attitude and positive in action. They enjoy being among people and doing things with them.

- (Courtesy: Psychologist Magazine, photoshop Anish Joseph)

I have changed my yahoo id,from today my yahoo id is greatdeepakgopi@yahoo.co.in

The Scooter-a shorfilm by Deepak Gopi

2007-01-14T21:18:00.000-08:00

When I asked God

2007-01-08T00:24:00.000-08:00

When I Asked God for Strength

He Gave Me Difficult Situations to Face

When I Asked God for Brain & Brown

He Gave Me Puzzles in Life to Solve

When I Asked God for Happiness

He Showed Me Some Unhappy People

When I Asked God for Wealth

He Showed Me How to Work Hard

When I Asked God for Favors

He Showed Me Opportunities to Work Hard

When I Asked God for Peace

He Showed Me How to Help Others

God Gave Me Nothing I Wanted

He Gave Me Everything I Needed

- Swami Vivekananda

Swami Vivekananda(January 12, 1863 - July 4, 1902) was one of the most famous and influential spiritual leaders of the philosophies of Vedanta and Yoga.Many consider him an icon for his fearless courage, his positive exhortations to the youth, his broad outlook on social problems, and countless lectures and discourses on Vedanta philosophy.

Vivekananda Rock Memorial is a place in Kanyakumari, India about 500 meters away from mainland (at the southernmost tip) of India . It is a sacred monument, built by the Vivekananda Rock Memorial Committee in honour of the visit of the great spiritual teacher Swami Vivekananda to Shripada Parai (rock),during the month of December 1892 for deep meditation and enlightenment. He swam to this rock and meditated about the past , present and future of India . In fact the enlightenment which he attained on the rock lit up his path and transformed the simple monk into a great reformer, and one of the greatest philosophers that the world has known.

(Photoshop:Anish Joseph, Text:Wikipedia)

Who is anish joseph?

2007-01-01T22:39:00.000-08:00

He is Anish Joseph.
He is a post graduate in multimedia.
He is working in an advertising agency as a designer.
He is very talented in Photoshop, Flash, CorelDraw, Adobe Premier and illustrator.
He is a good photographer and a very talented musician.
He is a very humble person and a very nice human being.
All the visual works of my blog are done by him.
I can surely say that he has got a bright fututre ahead of him.
his e-mail: ani_jom@rediffmail.com

The Power of One

2006-12-25T23:50:00.000-08:00

One song can spark a moment
One flower can wake the dream
One tree can start a forest
One bird can herald spring
One smile begins a friendship
One handclasp lifts a soul
One star can guide a ship at sea
One word can frame the goal
One vote can change a nation
One sunbeam lights a room
One candle wipes out darkness
One laugh will conquer gloom
One step must start each journey
One word must start each prayer
One hope will raise our spirits
One touch can show you care
One voice can speak with wisdom
One heart can know what's true
One life can make the difference
You see, IT'S UP TO YOU!
One scrap can make frendship !!!

HAPPY NEWYEAR TO ALL

MERRY CHRISTMAS

2006-12-21T20:49:00.000-08:00

A man was walking down the beach at sunset. As, he walked along, he
saw another man in the distance. He noticed this man kept leaning
down, picking up something and throwing it out into the water, again
and again. As, he approached even closer, he noticed that the man was
picking up starfish that had been washed up on the beach. He was
throwing them back into the water, one by one.

Puzzled, he approached the man and said,
"Good Evening. I was wondering what you are doing."

"I'm throwing these starfish back into the ocean. You see, it's low
tide and all these starfish have been washed up onto the shore. If, I
don't throw them back into the ocean, they'll die up here from lack of
oxygen."

"But, there must be thousands of starfish on this beach. You can't
possible get to all of them. And, don't you realize this is probably
happening on hundreds of beaches all up and down this coast. Can't you
see that you can't possibly make a difference?"

The man bent down and picked up yet another starfish, and threw it
back into the ocean. With a smile he replied, "Made a difference to
that one !!!"

Please remember, no matter how small the deed it really does makes a difference.
Make a difference today.
Do something nice for someone else.
It should be the spirit of Christmas.

"HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYBODY"

Card designed by-Anish Joseph

IFFK 2006 -a review

2006-12-17T21:46:00.000-08:00

The eleventh edition of I.F.F.K 2006 came to an end on December 15.
"Angels Fall" (Turkey) &" Forever Flows" (Bangladesh) shared the prestigious Golden Pheasant award.
Iranian film maker Asgar Farhadi was declared as the best director for his film “Fireworks Wednesday”. He won the Silver pheasant award for directorial excellence.
The Japanese film “Whispering of Gods”, received special mention from the jury.
The Mexican film “El Violin" was voted the best film by the delegates.

My Observations

The festival was a poorly conducted one.

Competition section was very poor.

There were some last minute changes in the screening of films, created a lot of inconvenience to the delegates.

More delegate passes were issued without any criterion, resulted in the over crowding of the theatres.Some shows were jam-packed and the people had to watch those movies by sitting on the floor.

There were howling by the people inside the theatre when they found some films boring.

My Recommendations
Bloggers please see
1) El Violin. 2) Volver 3) The Wind that shakes the barley 4) Whisky 5) CRAZY

This week I tag Alex.D( http://r2000.blogspot.com/)

IFFK 2006

2006-12-07T02:18:00.000-08:00

The 11^thInternational Film Festival of Kerala(I.F.F.K)begins on December8 at Trivandrum.

Belgian Film” Sounds of the sand” directed by renowned film maker Marion Hansel is the inaugural film.
Around 220 films in different genres categorized in 13 sections will be shown during the festival.

Fourteen films from Asia, Africa and Latin America would compete for the prestigious `Suvarna Chakoram' (Golden Pheasant) award .

The films include `The Violin ' (Mexico), `Angel's fall' (Turkey), `Four Women Barefoot' (Argentina), `Road Under the Skies' (Uzbekistan), `Kiss me not on the Eyes' (Lebanon), `Whispering of the Gods' (Japan), `Fireworks Wednesday' and `The Gaze (Iran)....

Indian films in the section are `Drishtantham' (The Vision) and `Aadum Koothu' (Danceof Life).

The Suvarna Chakoram award carries a cash prize of Rs 10 lakh.There will also be an award for the best film to be selected by the audience through a poll. (1$=around 48 rupees)

Works of African filmmaker Abderrahmane Sissako and French director Albert Dupoontel will be the attractions in the contemporary focus-cum-masters section.

The retrospective segment will comprise films of Brazilian director Glouber Roche, French filmmaker Louise Malle and Indian director Adoor Gopalakrishnan.

The "Laugh Out Loud" section with seven French humour films is a new addition to this year's festival.

Seven films from South Africa and Iran would be in the focus of the festival. Homage section includes films of noted cinematographer Sven Nykvst, renowned Malayalam film-maker Pavithran and films in which actresses Sreevidya and Padmini had played important roles.

In addition to it there will be films from around the globe in "World Film" category.

Chilean director Patricio Guzman is the chairman of the Jury for selecting the best film in the competition section. Palestinian director Elia Suleiman, actress Judie Christie, South African director Darryl Roodt is the other members of the Jury.

As many as 4500Indian and foreign delegates is to participate in the festival.And the festival will come to an end on December 15.

Why I attend film festivals?

I can learn a lot about films by watching.

My visual vocabulary will improve.

I will get new story ideas.

I may some times lift themes from films.

It may be useful when I direct movies in the future.

I can learn about culture and lives of people around the world.

I can make new friends.

I may find a producer for my films.

(I will return to blogging only after Dec 15th.Enjoy a nice week)

Photoshop-Anish Joseph for Deepak Gopi

Little about Deepak Gopi

2006-12-04T01:10:00.000-08:00

About Myself

I live with my parents at Trivandrum.I have a younger brother. To me family is the most important thing in the world; every thing comes only after that.

My Profession

By profession I am a lecturer. I teach Mass Communication in a college here, specialize in film & T.V production. I had been a successful television anchor, now I am also a struggling actor.

Some musts for me

I bath twice in a day. Meditation& yoga are inevitable. I should get my daily quota of tea.
I don’t shave daily. I do it only once in 4 or 5 days. I regularly do acting exercises to improve my acting skills

Regarding Food

I like eating. My favorite foods are Dosa, Idly& Poori.My favorite non vegetarian food is Mutton biriyani.

Regarding films

I try to see minimum one movie a day.My favorite film personalities are

Directors- Brian De Palma, Akira Kurasowa,Satyajit Ray, Kim Ki Duc, John Woo, Traffau ,Raj Kapoor….

Actors-Al Pachino, Marlon Brando, Amitab Bachchan, Naseerudin Shah, Bruce Lee…

Reading habit

My scope of reading is very limited. I am very much interested in reading books on cinema, its technical and aesthetic aspects, film magazines, books on mass communication, Advertising and Journalism. I am also very much interested in reading Malayalam language fiction.

Regarding dress

Ash is my favorite colour.Shirt and jeans are my favorites. I don’t like wearing T shirts. I always prefer dresses that glitter.

Regarding Automobiles

I am not very much interested in driving cars and riding Bikes. I use them only when it is unavoidable.

Some secrets about me

I firmly believe in astrology.

I don’t know swimming.

I don’t use mobile phone.

My knowledge of computer and its applications are very low.

My hand writing is very bad and is not easily readable, even by me.

I hate politics, especially Indian politics; It is the most dirtiest thing in the whole universe.

My philosophy “Life is short so enjoy each and every moment of it”.

The idea for this post has been given by Alex .D of (www.r2000.blogspot.com) is my dearest friend, brother & God father. Without him I am nothing.

Brain Teasers...

2006-11-28T20:19:00.000-08:00

A man was making a long journey by his car with his wife only. Though no other personentered the car, there were three persons when they returned home. How?
A person who is not your brother nor your sister, but still a child of your father andmother. Who is that person?
It is higher when it does not have head on it. What is it?
I knocked over a glass that had been filled just a moment earlier. And not a drop ofwater came out of the glass, the table cloth got soaked. How?
It is as big as an elephant, but does not have weight. What is it?
Some months have thirty days and some have thirty one. How many months havetwenty eight days?

Answers

His wife delivered a baby in the car.
You are.
Pillow
The glass did not contain water it contained some other liquid.
Shadow of the elephant.
All the twelve months ( there is not a single month which has less than 28 days).

Some More Facts...

2006-11-23T04:06:00.000-08:00

1. Wearing headphones for just an hour will increase the bacteria in your ear by 700 times.

2. Grapes explode when you put them in the microwave.

3. Those stars and colours you see when you rub your eyes are called
phosphenes.

4. Our eyes are always the same size from birth, but our nose and ears
never stop growing.

5. Everyone's tongue print is different, like fingerprints.

6. Contrary to popular belief, a swallowed chewing gum doesn't stay in
the gut. It will pass through the system and be excreted.

7. At 40 Centigrade a person loses about 14.4 calories per hour by
breathing.

8. There is a hotel in Sweden built entirely out of ice; it is rebuilt
every year.

9. Cats, camels and giraffes are the only animals in the world that
walk rightfoot, right foot, left foot, left foot, rather than right foot,
left foot...

10. Onions help reduce cholesterol if eaten after a fatty meal.

11. The sound you hear when you crack your knuckles is actually the
sound of nitrogen gas bubbles bursting.

content credit: hiran kumar. photoshop: anish joseph for deepak gopi

Can you answer this?

2006-11-18T02:08:00.000-08:00

1. A murderer is condemned to death. He has to choose between three
rooms.The first is full of raging fires, the second is full of assassins
with loaded guns, and the third is full of lions that haven't eaten in 3
years. Which room is safest for him?

2. A woman shoots her husband. Then she holds him under water for over
5 minutes. Finally, she hangs him. But 5 minutes later they both go out
together and enjoy a wonderful dinner together. How can this be?

3. There are two plastic jugs filled with water. How could you put all
of this water into a barrel, without using the jugs or any dividers,
and still tell which water came from which jug?

4. What is black when you buy it, red when you use it, and gray when
you throw it away?

5. Can you name three consecutive days without using the words Monday,
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, or Sunday?

6. This is an unusual paragraph.

I'm curious how quickly you can find out what is so unusual about it.
It looks so plain you would think nothing was wrong with it. In fact,
nothing is wrong with it! It is unusual though. Study it, and think about
it, but you still may not find anything odd. But if you work at it a
bit, you might find out.

1. The third. Lions that haven't eaten in three years are dead.

2. The woman was a photographer. She shot a picture of her husband,
developed it, and hung it up to dry.

3. Freeze them first. Take them out of the jugs and put the ice in the
barrel. You will be able to tell which water came from which jug.

4. The answer is Charcoal.

5. Sure you can: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow!

6. The letter "e," which is the most common letter in the English
language, does not appear once in the long paragraph.

content credit:Hiran kumar.Photoshop jugglery: anish joseph-for Deepak gopi

Deepak the Great Part III

2006-11-12T22:10:00.001-08:00

This fantasy in Photoshop, created by anish joseph for deepak gopi. It has nothing to do with reality.

My birthday

2006-11-10T22:45:00.000-08:00

I celebrate my first birthday with blogger freinds around the world on November 12th. I thank my parents, well wishers, teachers and friends for making this day possible. I also make this occasion to thank all my unseen blogger friends around the world for making me popular. And I cordially invite all of them to my birthday party.

Some interesting facts...

2006-11-05T22:08:00.001-08:00

Interesting Facts DO YOU KNOW THIS......

Chewing on gum while cutting onions can help a person from stop producing tears. Try it next time you chop onions!!!!!!!!!!
Until babies are six months old, they can breathe and swallow at the same time. Indeed convenient!
Offered a new pen to write with, 97% of all people will write theirown name.
Male mosquitoes are vegetarians. Only females bite.
The average person's field of vision encompasses a 200-degree wide angle.
To find out if a watermelon is ripe, knock it, and if it sounds hollow then it is ripe.
Canadians can send letters with personalized postage stamps showing their own photos on each stamp.
Babies' eyes do not produce tears until the baby is approximately six to eight weeks old.
It snowed in the Sahara Desert in February of 1979.
Plants watered with warm water grow larger and more quickly than plants watered with cold water.

content credit : HIRAN KUMAR

My School Days

2006-11-01T01:08:00.000-08:00

During my school days I was very poor in studies. But I was an excellent prankster. Punishments I received for those pranks were innumerable.

I am a lefthander. But the school authorities forced me to write with my right hand. This made my kinder garden life a hell. At last I had to succumb to the demands of school authorities. Writing and eating are the only two things I do with right hand now.

My father used to take me to the cinema halls during weekends. After seeing a movie called “Sholay”, I decided that when I grow up I will become a film actor like Amitab Bachchan, who was starring in that movie.

My favorite subject was history and hated mathematics. I failed in mathematics regularly. I still don’t have any idea of that subject.

My favorite hobby was to collect left out film bits and view them through the view master. I also tried to make a film projector, but I failed in many attempts and gave up.

Another thing that gave me innumerable pleasure was to imitate others and enact scenes from films in front of a mirror. Still I have this habit.

I regularly sat on back benches. This had two advantages; one is that I could doze off when ever the classes got bored, the other was that I could hide when ever the teacher
had been asking questions.

After reaching high school I became more courageous to visit cinema halls during class hours. Soon the school authorities found this out and this habit came to an end.

By the Gods grace I was able to pass the school exam and became fit enough to enter college.

Looking back I can definitely say that it was only for two things I had been going to school; one was drama rehearsals and the other one was Cricket.

Deepak Gopi in Portuguese Movie

2006-10-24T23:34:00.000-07:00

This fantasy in Photoshop is created by Anish Joseph for Deepak Gopi. It has nothing to do with reality. I also wish to thank Curse of Millhaven of 10feetunder.blogspot.com for her active support in the making of this poster.

Diwali Greetings from Deepak Gopi

2006-10-19T01:40:00.000-07:00

Diwali or Deepavali is otherwise known as festival of lights.
Diwali also called Deepavali is a major Indian festival/celebration. Known as the "Festival of Lights," it symbolizes the victory of good over evil, and lamps are lit as a sign of celebration and hope for mankind. Celebrations focus on lights and lamps, particularly traditional diyas (lamps made from clay). Fireworks are also associated with the festival in some regions of India.

Deepavali is celebrated for five consecutive days in the Hindu month of Ashwayujya. It usually occurs in October/November. Indians regard it as a celebration of life and use the occasion to strengthen family and social relationships. On the Deepavali day the business establishments are lit up with multi coloured lights and adorned with festoons. People pray to goddess Lakshmi and offer pooja to the goddess for prosperity.

While rest of India celebrates this colorful festival in honor of Lakshmi, the people of Bengal (a state in India) hold their Kali pooja on this day. How ever there is another belief in Bengal that on Divali day the departed souls return to their relatives for a visit.

Bengalis place a lamp at the top of their houses called Akashadeepa to guide the visiting souls. In addition to this fire works are also there.

Most of the old rites and customs associated with Diwali are still widely observed. The most extraordinary one that has grown up is the practice of gambling. On this day, through out India, gambling of all kinds is widely prevalent and takes every known form. The belief behind it is that whoever takes part in gambling on this day, will be prosperous through out the year.

Buddhist Temple at Bylakoope (Coorg, India)

2006-10-15T00:49:00.000-07:00

Pix Credit-Vinod.V.Anand

Me, Myself & I...

2006-10-09T02:16:00.000-07:00

I hate my hypersensitivity, but I cant help .
I hate hypocracy in others, some times I react.
Acting, directing and teaching are the three things I enjoy most.
Watching movies, talking to friends are the other things that gives me happiness.
Meditation and smiling faces of children gives me a great mental peace.
My immediate aim is to become a hero in a movie.
In future I will produce and direct movies, establish a college of Mass-Communication
and start a school for differently abled children(if God is with me)
My favorite day dream is about me becoming a great film star.
After reaching seventy years I will give up every thing and become a monk.
Future generations should remember me as a nice human being,excellent actor,and a great teacher.
My humble advice to this world is "never cheat or hurt others"

DEEPAK THE GREAT PART II

2006-10-03T04:11:00.000-07:00

This work of art is a fantasy created by Anish joseph for deepak gopi in photoshop. It has nothing to do with realitiy. (click on the photo and enjoy in it's fulness)

Astrology in India

2006-09-29T03:56:00.001-07:00

The Oxford dictionary of English says that astrology is the study of positions of stars and movements of planets in the belief that they influence human affairs.
We Indians have a special inclination towards this subject. Each and everyone in India know a bit of it.
The influence of astrology in the life of an average Indian bergins with his/her birth.When achild is born
the very first thing, parents do is to visit an astrologer and entrust him to write a horoscope(planetary positions
and a mini biography of the child fore told) of the child.
If the horoscope is written perfectly and the planetary positions are clearly marked, an expert astrologer
could predict the entire life of a person with cent percent perfection. For example a person's longlivity, his career,
diseases he/she is going to have, wealth he/she is going to acquire, number of marriages the person is going to have,
year of the marriage, shape of the spouse, number of childeren the person is going to have,excat date in which the person is going to die e.t.c, e.t.c,... could be predicted without any mistake. But a slight miscalculation could turn the entire prediction upside down.
The most important time when the horoscope plays a major role is during the time when a person reaches an age to get married.
First thing the parents and wellwishers of man/woman do is to check the compatibility of the horoscope with the person whom she/he is going to marry.If the horoscope are not compatible or not matching there will be no further question of proceeding the marriage.
After checking the compatiblity, they will check if the man and woman will have a long lasting married life, whether they will have health, wealth... etc. If everything seem satisfactory parents move on to the other steps of marriage. It is the duty of the consulting astrologer to credit the auspicious time for the bride and groom to get married.
Although we can see notices and hoardings of astrologers here and there in this country but an accurate prediction could only be expected from an experienced one.
Astrological prediction is a skill and it could only be acquired through commitment, practice, and persistence. About 80% of the astrologers lack precision and a lot of fakes are also there in the field of astrological prediction.
Building a house, filing of nomination in election, beginning of shooting of a film, time for the release, number of prints to be released...etc. are only done after an active consultation with an astrologer.
Sometimes an auspicious time for the cremation is decided by an astrologer, so that dead may get a seat near God in the heaven.

Take Time...

2006-09-23T01:28:00.000-07:00

Take time to work .It is the price of Success.
Take time to meditate.It is the price of power.
Take time to play.It is the secret of perpetual youth.
Take time to read.It is the way of knowledge.
Take time to be friendly.It is the road to happiness.
Take time to laugh .It is the music of the soul.
Most importantly,take time to love and be loved.

(lifted and compiled by Deeepak Gopi from various sources)

To Tea or not to Tea

2006-09-19T04:22:00.000-07:00

According to some I have a grave bad habit. Bad habit is that I drink 12-14 glasses of tea a day.
I dont know when this habit became a part of my life. My well wishers had been insisting to
put an end to this habit or reduce my quota of daily intake.
Their advice on the ill effects of tea had been compelling me to reduce my usual quota and in the due course of time ,saying goodbye to tea.
But an article appeared in a national daily about the benefits of tea made me to think twice before taking a final decision.
Benefits that could be attatined by the regular consumption of tea are

Tea keeps the intestine healthy
Polyphenols ,an antioxidant in the tea reduces the risk of cardio vascular diseases.
Tea is enriched with vitamins and minerals such as riboflavin (vitamin B2) Thiamin (vitamin B), Ascorbic acid (vitamin C),folic acid,pottasium and manganeese.
Tea has enormous amounts of flourides,prevent tooth decay and plaque formation.

Even if the tea is devoid of such benefits or if it is injurious to health I cannot think of a day without my daily quota of tea.
It is left to the bloggers whether they should drink tea or not.

Deepak Gopi's favourite Hollywood Movies

2006-09-13T01:39:00.000-07:00

Titanic
Citizen Kane
The last Samurai
Blood sport
The sixth sense
Casablanca
The omen
The Jaws
Terminator
Cindrella Man
The Mask
Rocky
Captoe
Face off
Enter the dragon
The Untouchables
(visitors are kindly requested to to type their Favorite Holly wood movies,
it may help a lot to widen my horizon)

Dedicated to ButchieBoy

2006-09-11T00:53:00.000-07:00

Palak Paneer

Ingredients

Spinach - 500 gms
Onions - 5 medium sized
Garlic - 2-3 flakes
Cooking oil - 6-7 tbsps
Cummin seeds - 1 tbsp
Paneer - 150-200 gms.
Salt to taste
Garam Masala,
Geera Powder,
Chilli Powder

Method Cook:

Cook the spinach in water.
Drain the water and then make puree of the spinach leaves.
Cut 4 of the onions finely and saute them till transparent.
Grind the other onion and the garlic flakes to a fine paste.
Add this paste to the sauted onions. Also add the puree and the spice powders. Add some water if necessary.
Let boil for a minute or two.
Cut the paneer to cubes of desired size (preferably not too small). Fry this in oil till golden brown,
Add this paneer to the prepared palak.
Serve hot with rice or rotis.

(This recipee of Palak Paneer is dedicated to Mr. ButhchieBoy; he is one of my dearest friend in the blogspot.)

Deepak Gopi's favorite Bollywood Films.

2006-09-07T22:45:00.000-07:00

Sholay (Flame of fire)
Parinda(Dove)
Kagaz Ke Phool(Paper Flowers)
Lagaan.
Tezaab (Acid)
Sathya
Kaun(Who?)
Agneepath (Path of Fire)
China Gate
Virudh (Against)
Bobby
Sir
Mera Naam Jocker (My Name is Jocker)
Qurbani (sacrifice)
Hum (we)
Kabhie Haan Kabhie Naa (Some times yes ,some times no)
Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (some thing happens)
Chaachi 420 (Aunty 420)
Munna Bhai M.B.B.S.
Maine Pyar Kiya (I have loved)

ONAM GREETINGS from Deepak Gopi

2006-09-02T00:26:00.000-07:00

Onam days are here again.Onam is one of the most significant harvest festivals of Kerala . All the activities during this season are centered on worshipping, music, dance, sports, boat races and good food. This festival is celebrated in the Malayalam month Chingam (ending of August and beginning of September). Onam is a harvest festival and celebrates the reward of nature after a year of hard work.
Women dress up in heavy jewelry and new saris and make complx and detailed designs of "rangolis" and "pookkalam"(with flowers) in front of their homes.
Onam is celebrated in the memory of King Mahabali. It was said that King Mahabali ruled Kerala a long time ago and looked after the welfare of the people. Thus Onam shows the blissful rule of the King and the freedom, which the people enjoyed under his rule. The people also believe that during Onam, the King returns to Kerala to pay a visit to his people. The people in Kerala arrange for this festival by cleaning up their houses and decorating them. On the occasion of Onam, everybody in the family wears new clothes. Delicious sweets and dishes are prepared and served on the banana leaves. "Pookalam" a flower mat is visible outside every house. This mat is a symbol of welcoming King Mahabali.
On the eve of Onam, traditional rituals are performed and the people celebrate the occasion with a grand feast. "Payasam" a sweet and tempting porridge is one of the favorite dessert served on the eve of Onam. "Vallamkali" or a great boat race is an attractive feature of this festival. In this game hundreds of men row the boats to the beat of drums and cymbals. This event is extremely popular with various boats competing with each other in order to win the race.
Onam is celebrated not only by Hindus but also by Christians and Muslims. It is one such festival that unites all the people regardless of race and religion.

When You Come to My India

2006-08-28T00:19:00.000-07:00

Please don't think that India is a beautiful place as you see in publicity materials.
Come with a good mosquito repellent,other wise mosquitos will have a heavy dinner.
Carry plenty of water from your land because most of the mineral water brands here are unhygeneic.
Dont drink Coke or Pepsi from India, because Indian made soft drinks are injurious to health.
Dont come with any valuable goods,chances of being stolen are vey high.
Never come here to become desciples of Godmen and saints because 95%of them are fakes . Have enough patience while travelling because traffic jams,road blocks and accidents could happen at any time.
Never come here to learn traditional arts through crash courses,because these arts require years of practice and persistence to master a bit.

Still I love my India and I am proud of it.
these are certain guidelines for the travellers who are planning to visit "MY INDIA"

The Seven Truths of Success..

2006-08-23T04:58:00.000-07:00

1. Everything happens for a reason and a purpose, and it serves us.
2. There is no such thing as failure, there are only results.
3. Whatever happens, take responsibility.
4. It is not necessary to understand everything to be abled to use everything.
5. People are your greatest resources.
6. Work is play.
7. There is no abiding success without commitment.

These seven facts of success are from the book "Unlimited Power" by Anthony Robbins.

Bollywood Dreams

2006-08-13T21:39:00.000-07:00

Mere Sapney (Mere=My, Sapne=Dreams)
This piece of art is a fantasy designed by
Anish Joseph in photoshop
and it has nothing to do with reality

am i bit crazy?

2006-08-07T22:49:00.000-07:00

This piece of art is a fantasy created in
photoshop and it has nothing to do with reality.