Surya Namaskar

As requested by one of my reader Sucharita, here are some more details about Surya Namaskar(Sun Salutation). As the name indicates it

is a salutation to Lord Sun.It is usually done both at sunrise and sunset, facing the Sun after reciting the following verse:

Hiranmayena Patrena Satyasyapihitham Mukham,

tat tvam Pusan Apavrunu Satya-Dharmaya Drstaye II

Like a lid to a vessel, O Sun, Your

Golden orb covers the entrance to Truth.

Kindly open the entrance to lead me to Truth.

Surya Namaskar must be performed at some open and airy place. Perform slowly without feeling tired(fatigue) or panting and puffing. Remember the 3 things i had mentioned in my earlier post.

One complete cycle of Surya Namaskar is shown below. Such 12 cycles should be performed, chanting one mantra before the start of each cycle.

These Mantras are as follows:

OM MITRAYA NAMAH OM RAVAYE NAMAH OM SURYAY NAMAH OM BHANAVE NAMAH OM KHAGAYE NAMAH OM PUSHNE NAMAH OM HIRANYA GARBHAYE NAMAH OM MARICHAYE NAMAH OM AADITYAAYA NAMAH OM SAVITRE NAMAH OM ARKAYA NAMAH OM BHASKARAYA NAMAH STEP 1: Stand straight with chest and spine erect looking forward. Bring your palms together in prayer position. Exhale. STEP 2: As you inhale, raise your arms overhead, keeping your palms together and stretch back. STEP 3: Exhale and then bend forward until your hands touch your feet. STEP 4: As you inhale, step the right leg back, arch back and lift your chin. STEP 5: Exhaling, step the left leg back into plank position. Keep your spine and legs in a straight line and support your weight on hands and feet. STEP 6: Retaining the breath, lower your knees, your chest and then your forehead, keeping your hips up and toes curled under. STEP 7: Inhaling, stretch forward and bend back. Keep your arms straight. STEP 8: Exhaling, curl your toes under, press down into your heels, and lift your hips. STEP 9: As you inhale, bring your right leg forward, with the top of the foot stretched out flat on the floor, and lift your chin. STEP 10: Exhale and then bend forward until your hands touch your feet. STEP 11: Inhaling, stretch your arms forward and over your head. Slowly bend backward from the waist. STEP 12: Exhaling, gently come back to Tadasana.

Yoga and Me

Started a healthy routine of Yoga since a week, under the guidance of an experienced and very knowledgeable guru.

Yoga is a combiantion of Asanas, Pranayama and Mediation

As per my guru, the three things to be kept in mind while practicing Yoga :

Sthira: We should be steady in a posture, should be calm, no tension in any part of the body while doing any asana

Chira: We should be able to hold a posture for infinity, starting with few seconds

Sukhakaraka : We should be in a comfortable posture, never force yourself to stretch beyond your ability.

Surya Namaskara (Sun Salutation), is a sequence of 12 postures or asanas. If followed meticulously with well co ordinated movements and correct breathing techniques, renders innumerable advantages.

Will be back with more gyan on Yoga as the classes progress....

101 wedding gifts

......continued from the last post

51. Gift a guitar for a friend who always wanted to move the strings to his own tune

52. Get the sketch or a painting of the happy couple from a professional artist, frame it and gift it!

53. A wallet and Cuff link Set

54. Relaxing backyard Hammocks

55. You can present Gift vouchers to the couple so that they can buy the things of their choice.

56. You can even sponsor the wedding night at a swanky five star hotel

57. A pair of Silver Diyas.

58. If the honey moon is already planned, can sponsor a weekend getaway at some romantic place for the couple.

59. If your budget is low for some reason then take a few kitchen gadgets, serving spoons, or a few serving bowls, kitchen towels… Pack them and tie a pretty bow

60. Another idea which won’t make a big hole in your pocket- Send them tickets for a romantic movie in the town.

61. Magazine subscriptions are gifts that keep on giving. You might choose a home making magazine or a Sports Magazine or a magazine of their interests.

62. Towels can be an incredibly useful and inexpensive wedding gift. And, they fill up a big box, making your gift look a little splashier;)

63. A portrait, print, painting, or sculpture by an artist

64. Delightful colored Teapots can make the couple remember you every morning!

65. Digital Camcorder

66. Your friends can contribute to gift him the latest Mobile he was dreaming of.

67. Choose a stylish electric toaster.

68. Hand held GPS System

69. Attractive quilts, bed cover, cushions make nice combination as a gift.

70. Artistically carved Jewelry box would serve as a great gift to the new bride.

71. Electric Kettle.

72. Mountaineering Sunglasses

73. You can gift a Tupperware set for food storage, a must for the kitchen

74. A Sports watch, your friend will cherish always

75. Digital Diary can be a perfect gift from your team to your co worker

76. A stylish thermometer would be a good choice for a doctor friend

77. A gold or silver coin would serve as a gift and a future investment for them

78. A tool box

79. In the Camping gear you can include a camping stove.

80. A travel Bag

81. Gift vouchers from leading beauty salons make a perfect gift

82. Silver idols for prosperity will be an auspicious gift

83. Man Vs Wild DVD set

84. Some unusual wall clocks like these

85. A classic leather belt

86. A set of classic Ties for the handsome groom

87. The latest released best seller on stands which your friend was eyeing on

88. DVD set of James Bond movies

89. Antique framed mirror for the beautiful bride

90. A recorder

91. A water cooler for their newly set home

92. Silver Sindhoor box

93. A boxful of Chocolates

94. A cute laughing Buddha statue is a perfect gift

95. Rug sack for a Trekking enthusiast

96. Gift them Passes for the Musical/Ghazal concert in the town for any weekend

97. A Karaoke set for your musically inclined friend

98. Exercise ball is another perfect gift for a fitness freak

99. A Michael Jackson Collection is a good one for a die hard MJ fan

100. Bonsai would serve as a beautiful gift and indoor plant

101. There is nothing relaxing than a bean bag to throw oneself at the end of the day

101 gift ideas for wedding

Your best friend is getting married and you want to gift him the best wishes and happiness in a unique way. The usual traditional and clichéd gifts are a passe' now. People are thinking out of the box to find innovative gifts to make the couple feel special on their special day.

Here is a list of 101 wedding gift ideas, listed in two parts

1. Sapling of a plant for a friend who has a green finger

2. A set of DVDs of top 10 hit movies

3. A collection of Audio CDs of his favorite singer/films

4. Sponsor their honeymoon trip

5. Personalized mug set/bags like this

6. Coffee Maker for a coffeeholic friend

7. Gift a membership for Aerobics for the couple

8. Get their Wedding Invitation in a beautiful frame and gift it

9. A handmade quilt with some of their photos on it

10. Personalized wedding album made especially for the couple

11. You can take up the complete responsibility of designing their wedding invitations (prior gift)

12. Gift some spending money tucked inside the guidebook of the place where they are honey mooning(if it does not look good giving the money directly)

13. Underwater Cameras are perfect for the extremely adventurous scuba divers

14. Perfumes have ruled the roost as perfect wedding gifts for the couple.

15. Creatively made Family Tree picture frame

16. Intricately carved Name Plate of the couple is apt for their new nest.

17. A Chess Set for a friend who loves the game

18. Yoga mats are a perfect gift for the couple who like to stay fit

19. Relaxing Spa packages for the two, they will remember you forever for this unique gift

20. A Sports freak friend would really appreciate for a trekking gear as gift

21. Wish the newlywed Couple with a basketful of beautiful Fresh Flowers and let them know how much you care.

22. A large piece of painting to adorn the walls of their new house

23. Gift silver, Gold, platinum or Diamond jewelry and express your warmth in the most elegant way

24. You can also choose Designer jewelry for the lovely bride.

25. Choose a Designer outfit to complement her beauty and grace.

26. Pair of Love Birds for bird lovers

27. A cute Birdhouse if they already have birds.

28. Pair of stylish sunglasses

29. For a friend who loves reading books, gifting him/her a collection of his/her favorite author is a very good idea

30. MP3 player

31. Latest digital cameras for a gadget buff

32 Home Appliances can never be left out. A mixer/grinder can be of utility.

33. Get the gift personalized, check to see http://aweddinggiftidea.com/

34. Exquisite art work or handicrafts to decorate their love nest

35. Antique piece of Furniture6. Create a visitor’s entry of all those friends who attended the marriage on a plate with a special marker and create a visitor palette like this…

37. You can plan an expensive candlelit dinner at one of the posh restaurant for the lovely couple

38. Ipod

39. Surprises are the best gifts

40. A small silver//brass swing which can be used in pujas

41. Watches for the couple which comes as a set of two

42. Advanced Headphone

43. Make up kit for the beautiful bride

44. A Set of wide range of Cook books is surely of help for the new bride

45. Binoculars for nature friendly friend

46. A Bar Cabinet

47. Hair Dryer

48. If the couple is trekking freak, undoubtedly a tent would be a perfect choice

49. A stylish and comfy pair of gloves for a biker friend

50. A Laptop briefcase. ........to be continued

(Rest of the ideas in next post, watch out.....)

The Terminal

Another superb performance from my favorite actor Tom Hanks as Viktor Navorski form Krakhozhia.(i just loved his accent when he says this!)

He finds a job-makes new friends-play matchmaker-helps a stranger-discovers America.
Yes all these at the airport Terminal! This is the whole story in one line.

I discovered some interesting facts after watching the movie:

'The Terminal' set was a near-full-size replica built in a former hangar, with three working sets of escalators, and populated by many familiar stores (e.g. Burger King, Mrs. Fields, W.H. Smith). Many of the stores and restaurants were built by the construction crews that build actual mall and airport stores for the respective companies, and some had fully-functioning equipment (e.g. ovens, cash registers, etc).

The girl with the suitcase that Viktor tries to help is Steven Spielberg's daughter Sasha.

This is amazing one...
Although Viktor comes from the fictional country of Krakozhia, the language he speaks in the movie is Bulgarian! The written material shown (the Fodor's guide and the magazine page with the jazz greats) is in Russian! The label on the Planters peanuts can is neither in Bulgarian nor in Russian. Viktor's driving license is issued in Gomel, Republic of Belarus, and has a woman's name on it (written in Cyrillic)!!

If you still haven't watched it, do it today!

Laughter is contagious!

Yes! it really is. Robin Williams is brilliant in and as 'Patch Adams'(1998) in this comedy-drama film directed by Tom Shadyac

Best quotes:
Patch : "Last night with Rudy, I connected to another human being. I want more of that. I want to learn about people, help them with their troubles"

Arthur Mendelson : "You're focusing on the problem. If you focus on the problem, you can't see the solution. Never focus on the problem! See what no one else sees. See what everyone chooses not to see... out of fear, conformity or laziness. See the whole world anew each day!

Patch : "What's wrong with death sir? What are we so mortally afraid of? Why can't we treat death with a certain amount of humanity and dignity, and decency, and God forbid, maybe even humor. Death is not the enemy gentlemen. If we're going to fight a disease, let's fight one of the most terrible diseases of all, indifference"

No doubt, with such high thinking and spirits, he's touched the lives of so many.The physicians are dying join Patch's institute The Gesundheit leaving their current profesion

Check out his blog, the campaigns, the clown trips and much more at http://www.patchadams.org/

The Real 'Patch'Adams, a doctor, a clown, a social activist talks about the suicide attempt and the realization that led him to find real joy of life.

Independence day!

Wish you all a Happy Independence day!

TRP Rating?

I am sure this question must have popped up in everybody's mind at some point or the other. What is this TRP, we get to hear a lot whenever a sudden twist or a scripted drama happens on the sets of reality shows and serials nowadays. We say this is all done to increase the TRP.
(let me tell you, this post is inspired by Rakhi Sawant's latest reality show 'Rakhi ka Swayamvar')

What is TRP anyway?
TRP, the acronym for Television Rating Points. It is the criteria that indicates the popularity of a channel or a program or an advertisement.

Who does this computing job?
INTAM (Indian Television Audience Measurement) is the only electronic rating agency functioning in India.

How is it measured?
INTAM uses two methodologies.
First, the frequency monitoring, in which 'people meters' (an electronic gadget, about the size of a paperback book, is placed on each TV set in the sample home. Each meter is capable of accurately monitoring every second, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, what is being viewed on each TV set and by whom) are used to record the data continuously.

It reads the frequencies of channels, which are later decoded into the name of the channels and the agency prepares a national data on the basis of its sample homes readings.

But there is a drawback in this technique. As you might have experienced, cable operators frequently change the frequencies of the different channels. It may be very misleading to read a channel according to a particular frequency even if the down linking frequency is same all over India.

Second technique which is more reliable and relatively new to India is 'picture matching technique. Here people meter continuously records a small portion of the picture (instead of frequency) that is being watched on that particular television set. Data collected from the sample homes is matched with the main data bank to interpret the channel name. And this way national rating is produced.

But Doordarshan has its own ratings system DART (Doordarshan Audience Ratings). DART is a diary based system of ratings. DD people distribute diaries in sample homes and the viewers are asked to note down each program as and when watched by family members. At the end of the week a person collects all the diaries and sends them to the head office, where popularity of programs is calculated.

New Passion

Me once again with a new passion.I have been trying a lot many new things in this past one year, learning Table Tennis, trying hands on the musical instruments guitar and keyboard,trying creative art to name a few. Sometimes it makes me think that today's world demands us to be "Jack of all trades".

Coming back to my new passion. It is jewelry designing. It all started on a lighter note on a suggestion by my sister nandu. The interest soon became a passion. And i decided to open a blog to let out my creative designing instincts.

Here i am introducing my new blog to you, Creative Fervor, a blog completely dedicated to the Jewelry making. Beautiful and charming necklaces, fancy and fashion earrings, bracelets..... articles about jewelry and accessories, the new trends in the fashion world and lot more you can expect in this blog.

These are some of the initial pieces of jewelry i have designed

Busy hands!

yes,its me!
trying hands on both guitar and keyboard. Have to see how far will i be successful in learning these two.


Guitar,i had learnt the basics of notes and chords(had given a stage performance too!) few years back.
But keyboard, had just no idea of those white and black keys. Now as the classes are progressing, getting the taste of keyboard too and i must say it tastes really good.
Taking lessons for both simultaneously has its own advantages and difficulties
but overall its fun.

Will update you as my lessons progress...

Longest day of the year is here!

June 21st,the longest day of the year. This day marks the summer solstice in the northern hemisphere and the winter solstice in the southern hemisphere. That means this is the day of the year with the longest hours of daylight in the northern hemisphere and the shortest in the southern hemisphere.
Let us understand this in simple words.

The earth's axis is tilted 23.5 degrees from earth sun plane. Thanks to the tilt we enjoy the four seasons. For several months of the year one half of the earth receives more direct rays of the sun than the other half.

In summer solstice,the earth's tilt is towards the sun as we can see above.The sunlight strikes more directly to the northern hemisphere making the length of the day longer.
In winter solstice,the tilt is away from the sun and the southern hemisphere enjoys direct sunlight in their summer months. It falls on the December 21st in northern hemisphere which marks the shortest day of the year.

As for now watch out for the "longest day" coming Sunday!

21

A weekend well spent. Nothing could make it better than a good English movie. It was 21, directed by Australian director Robert Luketic, starring Jim Sturgess, Kevin Spacey and a couple of others who were part of blackjack team.

Movie is inspired by a true story of six MIT students who took Vegas casinos for a ride in the 1990s and suffered its consequences. Kevin Spacey, the mysterious MIT math professor handpicks the most brainy ones and trains them the art of card counting at the blackjack table.

Ben wants to raise $300,000 to attend Harvard Medical school after MIT. He sees no other possible way but to join his professor's team to lead it.

A fast paced entertainment keeps u glued till the end.