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The Hindu : water. If we are what we eat we are also what we drink to a greater extent. Pure water as pure H2O does not exist in nature and therefore what we consume has some mineral or salt or the other. The question is what is right and what is wrong in the water we drink. Simultaneously, with increasing impact from human activity, water is being polluted everywhere. So what should be the quality of the water we drink?Is your water tested?

Many private laboratories exist in cities to carry out water testing. In addition the State Pollution Control Boards, the Department of Mines and Geology in Karnataka and many engineering and agricultural colleges help in water testing. Water utilities such as the Chennai Metro Water Board say on their website that they provide water testing service too. Charges vary depending on the laboratories but expect to pay around Rs.200-Rs.900 for a complete test.

What to look out for

If your water source is a borewell you must check for all the parameters listed above. Of specific concern will be the Total Dissolved Salts, Nitrates and Fluoride. Leaking sewage pipes have caused ground water to be polluted and the typical pollutant is Nitrate.

The Hindu : SHIELA KUMAR

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The Hindu : Identiti could not be a more apt name for the shop that sells nameplates. And with every single detail about your home that is now branded and custom-made according to your preferences and tastes, Identiti is the first stop when you’re shiftinghome or office or moving into a new one.

So from door, wall, office, desk to gate nameplates which are designed for children, accessories, photo-frames, letter boxes, brass doorbells, plant holders in different textures and designs, you can choose from a variety of options for that first impression.

And how many times have we passed by a sprawling mansion with an elaborate, large-lettered nameplate wanting to tell the whole world who they are?

A pretty European alley-like signpost outside a shop or one that works like blocks in scrabble, these nameplates are ideal for those who want their first appearance to be telling.

The time that is needed to make or order these nameplates could be between eight to 60 days depending on the material used and for what purpose.

It takes eight to 10 days for door nameplates and up to 12 days for an apartment entrance or two months for a bungalow or villa.

The ones that you can pick up right away (which look informal) are the ceramic blocks that range from Rs. 425 for four letters (blocks) to Rs. 725 for ten letters (blocks).

The doorplates vary from Rs. 750 to Rs. 1,500 for the brush script variety that is computerised. For apartments, there are the hand calligraphy nameplates that come in five to six designs and colours according to the customer’s needs.

The brass scrolls are Rs. 1,250, accessories come at Rs. 450, photo frames at Rs. 225, letter boxes at Rs. 600, brass doorbells at Rs. 1,250 and money plant holders at Rs. 1,250.

There are glass nameplates, the textured brass variety and the oxidised ones which are water-resistant…More

The Hindu : There you go spying. You’ve been on board three hours, eaten the flight kitsch and can’t sleep. You’ve had to board at an ungodly hour and it’s wake-up time on your clock. You’ve already watched the first 10 minutes of all the movies on offer. So it’s walking down the cramped aisle, glancing either side. What’s everyone doing to fill, better still, kill time on this 11-hour long flight?

Do people enjoy long flights?

Friends responded: “Sure, I look forward to a 14-hour journey crammed into a tiny seat next to a heavyweight boxer who has body odour and prefers me to the airline pillow.” “Am ready to pull out my hair after three hours!” “It depends. Economy seat is okay only if the interior is half empty. Business class, I’m okay with. First class, I don’t want the journey to end.”

“No window seat on a long haul. Aisle seat – it’s tolerable.” “I love it, that’s where I developed the skill of staring into space for hours. I also study the in-flight map.” Double-digit hours in the coach class. The only compensation can be an exotic destination, all paid for. Cramped space, canned air, stale food, littered toilets. Plane populated by passengers who haven’t heard of personal space — there isn’t much of it to share anyway. Seats in the front with legroom don’t always come your way. Airlines do try to keep you out of mischief. Seatback-mounted screens that feature movies, soap, games, and music. If you (or the company) have cash to spare, you could fly a class with beds. But even wonderfully polite stewardesses and free booze can get to be too much on a Taipei to Frisco haul. You could push about, play trampoline with the seat ahead, be a pest to passengers and stewardesses alike, scatter food, shout across, occupy half the next seat. Or you could have…More

The Hindu : Why do we go to the movies? For some that is a no-brainer with ‘to be entertained and have a good time’ as the most obvious answer. But then, what about those who go to the movies to cry their hearts out? Go on and admit it, there are times when a movie moves us to tears and we do feel the better for it at the end of the maudlin marathon.

“It could be something to do with catharsis you know,” says Preethy, a doctor. “All that crying leaves one emotionally cleansed.” Pradeep Sarkar, fresh from helming the four-handkerchief weepie “Laaga Chunari Mein Daag,” also chooses the theatrical route to explain the waterworks phenomenon.

“There are nine rasas when telling a story and crying is a direct result of the karuna rasa. And one need not only cry when one is in pain. One can also weep with laughter or happiness. I believe that rone mein jo maza hai, woh hasne mein nahin hai.”

Like in every emotion, the empathy factor is huge. Just like a horror movie is all the more terrifying if you can identify with the situation, so too a tragedy becomes that much more teary if you can put yourself in the character’s place.

“I put myself in the protagonist’s shoes,” says Mythili G. Nirvan, Managing Director of a PR firm. “The thought that it could happen to me brings tears to my eyes. Family stuff makes me cry. Movies like ‘Baabul’, ‘Bhagban’ and ‘Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna’ had me reduced to tears.” Minu, a chartered accountant, says she cries for “stupid emotional stuff. I feel silly crying but I cry nevertheless.” The last film she cried for was for the hooker-with-heart-of-gold story, “Laaga…”.

With respect to gender and crying at the movies, Mythili believes that “men are wired differently. They seem to be able to be distance themselves…More

The Hindu : If being in vogue is imperative even when it comes to your palettes, then Japanese cuisine would be your taste this season. It is festivities galore and for that reason Zen at the Leela Palace is offering Sushi, the signature dish from Japan, every Thursday, Friday and Saturday starting from November to add zing to your celebrations.

Zen dragon roll, classic California roll, rainbow roll, shiromi, ebi, and sake just a few delicacies to name of the array of dishes prepared by Zen’s chefs with chef Pisched, from Bangkok, to make your festival a delectable delight.

On the menu is a new dish –the spicy salmon, made of grilled salmon with cream cheese, chilli pepper and cucumber, it is a special dish conjured by Chef Pisched especially for the Sushi Happy Hours. They are offering complimentary Tiger Beer with every Sushi.

For the ones who are still not in tune with the trend, Sushi is a rice based dish prepared with sushi vinegar and served with various fresh ingredients, usually fish or sea food (cooked or uncooked). A delicacy meant for special occasions, there can be no better way to kick start your celebrations than by treating yourself to an encompassing experience at Zen on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays between 5 and 7 p.m. Zen is at the Leela Palace Kempinski, No. 23 Airport Road. Call 25211234.

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The Hindu : Jyoti Chowdhary paid with her life for a systems failure. But look what everyone’s bleating. “Why do women chose BPOs? They should know it’s not safe.” Girls from little known towns break layers of social cocoon to emerge educated. They feel it is their right to grab opportunities to earn a comfortable future. What do they hear? Migrate and make honest money “at your own peril.” Some empowerment, this.

Tell-us-what-you-thinks are flying thick on TV and web channels. Why didn’t she call? (She’s a call-centre employee, right?) Why did she go alone?

Didn’t she learn self-defence drills? The discussion is shrilly reaching its predictable conclusion, “It’s all her fault”, stopping just short of “she must have asked for it.” Bristled a BPO employee, “Why isn’t there a campaign asking men to behave? We should be able to work wherever we want, what about our choices?” The pertinent question in all this hasn’t found even a feeble voice: Why isn’t our society safe for women?

Late-night shifts

BPO is not the only sector with post-sunset shifts. Women have been sorting fish at night since men went out to catch them. Women nurses have been doing night rounds for ages. Airlines, hotels and service industries have large contingents of 24/7 workers of both genders. The media have late night shifts, don’t they?

The Hindu :

The Hindu : This could, well, be the year of sports films. It started with a couple of films woven around cricket which were weak in content and were not helped by India’s performance in the World Cup. But “Chak De India” turned the tide. Stillrunning, the film proved a true blue sports film can work in this country. It doesn’t have to be cricket to bring in the audience. This November it is going to be football, as UTV brings in the much-awaited “Goal” to theatres leaving the Hattrick failure behind.

Director Vivek Agnihotri says the film is based on a real life incident when in February 1958, a chartered aircraft bringing the Manchester United team back from a European Cup match against Belgrade in Yugoslavia stopped at Munich’s Riem Airport to refuel.

On the third attempt to take off, the plane overshot the runway and burst into flames. Seven Manchester United footballers were among the 21 killed. “They had to rebuild the team from scratch but they showed amazing spirit and went on to win one game after the other,” informs Vivek.

So Manchester United has become Southhall United on the reel. On the viability of soccer on reel, Vivek says, “Football is the most cinema-friendly sport because it hardly has any pauses.” He says the theme of the film focuses on how South Asians living in England unite to form this team. “UTV has given it everything to make it a grand project. It is the first film in the world to be shot at Manchester United’s headquarters at Old Trafford.” The film has been set in England for Vivek feels it will bring a realistic touch. “The protagonists are barbers and meat sellers. And it’s not only about the Indians, but also about downtrodden Pakistanis and Bangladeshis living there.

The film stars John Abraham and Arshad Warsi in the lead with Bipasha Basu as…More

The Hindu : arily gives: fruits, vegetables, and the products of plants. But I ask you to spare me what animals are forced to surrender: meat, milk and cheese. — Author UnknownAll right. So, we know who a vegan is. Someone who does not include even dairy products in his daily diet. Milk, butter, curd, cheese, paneer and ghee are, therefore, a strict no-no for him.

But why do people go in for veganism in the first place? The reasons are aplenty, just as it is for vegetarianism. Says Ranjit Konkar, trustee of the Pune-based NGO, Beauty Without Cruelty: “It could be for ethical or health reasons, considering the importance given to plant-based diets.” Also, a few consider it a fad to be vegan, adds this faculty member of the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad.

Embracing veganism is fine, but is it easy to stick to it? Vegetarian Ananya recalls what happened when she tried turning vegan.

“My mother had to prepare roti without ghee and temper rasam with oil. Soy milk did not suit me, and I was nauseous after consuming roasted tofu. Downing a glass of milk was much easier and faster than going in for an assortment of nuts and dry fruits. After a six-month struggle, I gave up.”

Informed choice

However, such instances are rare. N.G. Jayasimha, Campaigns Manager, PETA India, Mumbai, says it is all about making an informed choice. Agrees Konkar, who has been a vegan for 16 years now.