Monday, August 20, 2012

A recipe for world’s best recipes!

Gourmands crown the best chef in the world, and we set off on a quest to discover the secrets of the culinary masters...
 With India making the world notice (and appreciate) its various strengths, comparisons with the pioneers of the world have been inevitable. While the daily grind of reviews and comparisons our country goes through doesn’t draw my attention, it is the world lists of the likes of the ‘top 10’ and ‘top 50’ and ‘top 100’ that make me anxious. Perhaps this restlessness stems from the eagerness to learn about the distance covered on the fine line between ‘their’ suave and ‘our’ graceful manners. Well, to my relief, this year’s results of the prestigious list charted out in a glamorous culinary art event in London, ‘The S. Pellegrino’s World’s Best Restaurants’, bring us to number 54 from last year’s 70. It is the restaurant Wasabi of The Taj Mahal Palace & Tower, Mumbai that made us proud through its ‘vast range of delectable vegetarian dishes besides the seafood selection flown in fresh from around the world – exotic Kumamoto oysters, shrimp tempura and sashimi at the Sushi Bar.’

But there’s a 42-seats Danish restaurant, Noma in Copenhagen that has surprised the world by unexpectedly displacing the King of Gastronomy, Ferran Adria’s restaurant, elBulli (Roses, Spain) from the world No.1 position. It is the novelty of Noma’s chef, Rene Redzepi’s recipes and the nobleness of his ideology of creating an eco-friendly menu that must have led to the 100,000 email booking requests at the restaurant since grabbing the top slot in the last week of April ’10. Redzepi tries to cook with products that surround him and with extremely seasonal products. Noma’s chefs work with farmers, nature and wild products and try to bring something uniquely Nordic on the plate. Their style has greatly appealed to the gourmands who till last year couldn’t get over Ferran Adria’s unique experiments with food from all over the world.
 
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Sunday, August 19, 2012

IS IT TIME TO FIND A SEBI-REGULATOR ?

For an agency that has been criticised, flogged, and even summarily dismissed as being non-efficient, SEBI does surprise one in its attempts to improve. Question is, for whom? by Deepak Ranjan Patra

“They’ve been sleeping throughout. It’s time the dog’s flogged.” This is how a Congress member described the Securities and Exchanges Board of India (SEBI) back in 2002, referring to the role of one of the most important regulatory bodies in the country in the market scam of 2000 and 2001. Swap your eyes through the market’s roller-coaster ride since April 1992 (when SEBI was formed) and you will only get to see SEBI’s tremendous ability to be a laggard. Be it preventing frauds at the market place or saving innocent investors from falling prey to market predators, the market watchdog has always reacted late. While shrewd financial engineers create newer and more complicated market instruments and deals to rake in money from the investors, SEBI has historically managed to open its eyes only after the clearly borderline fraudulent transactions have profited considerably.

The pathetic state of affairs becomes clear when one looks across continents to how Securities Exchange Commission (SEC; a similar US body) is functioning. If May 2010 started with arrests by SEC of SpongeTech executives for stock market fraud, April 2010 was about SEC investigating HP and Goldman Sachs executives and arresting key accused, March 2010 was about SEC arresting a UBS Director and the CEO of BCI Aircraft. And so on! The fact is that the moment SEC targets any corporation, there’s clear intent in taking up legal action. In SEBI’s case, the attitude is more about platitudes of useless warnings that more or less end up being ignored by the accused brokers. Yes, there is an argument that SEBI has no real powers to arrest, like the SEC. But then, SEBI does not even follow up a case to its logical conclusion to allow relevant authorities to initiate a proper arrest. In 15 years, SEBI has cancelled broking licenses of only 27 stock brokers. But there is a silver lining. Since the turn of the century, SEBI has started undertaking an increasing number of “prohibitive directions” through the SEBI Act (Section 11B) (2200 plus since 1997, 1700 of those in the last four years).


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Thursday, August 16, 2012

Unscarred! And no more

With medical miracles becoming the order of the day, it ain’t that tough to save your skin anymore... While skin grafting has given hope to many patients in the past, with the introduction of artificial skin transplants in India, the process offers a ray of hope to even those who are left without a shred of skin

In recent years, improvements in medical science have taken enormous leaps. Some years back, fatal ailments or life-threatening injuries would render one helpless, sometimes for life. But now, thanks to the advancements in medical science, on the horizon flickers a ray of hope for those struggling to battle more than just pain.

Parijat Bora, an employee at HCL (Hindustan Computers Limited), stared death in the face and went through the pain when her saree caught fire one day while she was offering prayers. With over 60% severe burns, Parijat’s life had come to a standstill. “My body was completely burnt face downwards and I could not even move my head. I still get goosebumps when I talk about the incident… oh what pain…” recounted Parijat with moist eyes. The injury had not just affected her physically, but had also destroyed her confidence, self esteem and her will to live. “I removed all the mirrors from my house and I could only figure out how ugly I looked from the reaction of people who came to visit me”, said Parijat. A skin grafting surgery came as a boon to Parijat, but that, again, wasn’t easy. A skin transplant surgery, grafting in Parijat’s case, had to be done using artificial skin (Integra). “An artificial skin surgery had never been done in India”, informed Dr. Sunil Choudhary, Consultant, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgey at Max Healthcare, who performed the surgery on Parijat. He also adds that this is an “extremely painful and long process.” India has only one vendor who provides artificial skin, so the skin had to be imported from the US.

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Wednesday, August 15, 2012

A long legacy of hatred

Poland and Russia are warming up... Don’t be fooled!

When the Polish Air Force Tu-154 crash occurred, killing all on board including Polish President Lech Kaczynski on board, Russian President Dimitry Medvedev himself flew down to attend the President’s funeral. Poland accepted Russia’s sympathy and affection. The countries released a joint declaration too. Interestingly, Poland imports 90% of oil and 60% of gas from Russia (or is allowed to import by Russia). Are Russia and Poland, for the lack of a better word, chumming up and – as global think tanks now purport – bringing in the long absent eastern front against the West?

The truth is numbingly far from that. Russia and Poland have had no love lost for each other, and irrespective of the current moves, will not in the distant future either. Russia and Poland have fought several wars against each other.


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Monday, August 13, 2012

JOINED AT THE HIP

Iranians see Israeli actions as synonymous with Americans. And so do America’s top commanders, says Saurabh Kumar Shahi

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh shakes hands with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during a meeting two years ago at the Prime Minister’s office in New Delhi discussing two long-stalled multi-billion dollar deals



When I talk to the people on the streets of Iran during my visit to this nation, it’s clear that their main grievance is the duplicity of the US foreign policy in the region. As much noise as the US administration might make about ‘democratic values’ and ‘ethos’, the Iranians will tell you how American henchmen and the CIA subverted the same ethos during the infamous Operation Ajax of 1953. While the present generation may not be much aware about Operation Ajax, its memory still evokes intense fury in Iranians.

The operation overthrew Muhammad Mossadeq’s short-lived, democratic government and reinstalled the Shah to the throne of Iran. And for the next quarter of the quarter of the century, the extremely repressive regime of Shah was kept in good humour by the US while the life of the average Iranians was nothing better than hell. So, when the revolution overthrew the repressive regime in 1979, American Embassy was the target of popular ire. Its siege and subsequent failure by Americans to release their staff through military means still loom large over American foreign policy over Iran.

“It is surprising how America thinks and acts. In the last three centuries, we have not attacked a single nation, while Saddam attacked us with a tacit understanding with the US. But they call us rouge. Their lackey, Israel, is the only nuclear capable regime in the region that it acquired through a clandestine program, while we are an NPT signatory. They call us rouge. It almost makes us laugh with disgust,” says veteran Iranian journalist Muhammad Ali Qummi.

These might indeed be points worth considering for the US. There’s more. The America-led crippling sanctions on Iran are considered not only illegal by Iranians but inhuman too. One reason is that everything that concerns the life of a common man has been put under this blockade. From medicines to advanced surgical apparatuses; from aircraft parts to medical isotopes; several things that decide whether a person should live or die come under this. “One should not forget that America, the self proclaimed champion of ‘war against terror’, has actively supported and protected Mujahdeen-e-Khalq, which has carried out terror activities killing hundreds in Iran. America’s tacit understanding with Jandullah, another terrorist outfit, was also exposed when we captured its leader Abdolmalek Rigi and found out that his fake passport was issued in the US,” says Schahryar Fekri, an International Affairs analyst in Tehran. Iran’s support of Palestinians is something that angers both Israelis and America. The ever deteriorating condition of Gazans and the continuation of settlements in the occupied areas has churned considerable anger not only in Iran but also in other parts of the globe.

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Sunday, August 12, 2012

The city of nawabs is still being built by the government

In the heart of ‘babudom’, the city of nawabs is still being built by the government, while private players remain on the periphery, says avinash mishra

Talking to B&E, Authority’s vice president Mukesh Meshram said, “We have close to hundred fifty thousand properties across the cityand we are developing them in a phased manner. Currently, we are in the process of developing 3,000 flats in Gomati Nagar, 5,000 flats under Sulabh Awas Yojna, 5,000 flats under Golden Installment scheme and 1,000 flats under Shristi scheme.” He further added that under the Kanpur Road project, 5000 flats are being developed in Mansarovar area under Sunrise Apartment scheme. Also, demand estimation has been called for in Gahru Village, Basant Kunj and Para areas which will have low-rise apartments mostly of ground plus four set up.

Given the bad reputation of the private builders , people in Lucknow prefer buying poperty from the Authority. Companies like Omaxe, Parsvnath et al have failed to complete their respective projects in Vibhutikhand area. The flats that were to be ready for possession in 2009 are nowhere near completion and those who made the mistake of booking their flats are often seen running from pillar to post, all in vain. Talking to B&E, Jaikesh Tripathi , Director, Pragati Colonizers, said, “The real estate market in Lucknow is Authority and Housing Board based. That’s why people are more inclined towards their properties. Private builders are still to establish confidence among buyers. They are involved in various irregularities and flaunt standards at will. Also, they use sub-standard material and set premium prices.” Consider the case of Ashiana Colony by Ansal Group. There are no sewer lines laid nor have roads been constructed. Everyday, residents take out agitation marches but nobody gives two hoots about it. However, given the ‘Babudom’ culture, flats are not that popular here. Having said that, really, it’s got to start sometime, somewhere!


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