Frustrating

How many days more do I have to wait before people find me eligible for a position in their company? For Gods sake, give me an opportunity, at least for an interview dudes!

Hmm .. when economic recession is knocking this world's doors, people are apprehensive about giving jobs dude. That is the reality! Damn this recession.

Success formula from 'the genius'

"If A is a success in life, then A equals x plus y plus z. Work is x; y is play; and z is keeping your mouth shut."

- Sir Albert Einstein.

Maha Siva Ratri - "Om Namah Sivaya"

Maha Shivratri or Maha Sivaratri or Shivaratri or Sivaratri (Night of Shiva) is a Hindu festival celebrated every year on the 13th night/14th day in the Krishna Paksha of the month Maagha (as per Shalivahana) or Phalguna (as per Vikrama) in the Hindu Calendar. The most significant practices on this day are offerings of Bael (Bilva) leaves to the Lord Shiva, fasting and all night long vigil. In North India and Nepal many people consume bhang lassi, which they believe is lord Shiva's favorite drink.


Here is the wikipedia link for Maha Siva Ratri

Here is a link to an awesome website that tells us about the significance of Maha Shiva Ratri. I would like to appreciate the effort, for a website with all the details of a Hindu Festival makes me happy.

I miss being in India this day, because all the fervor with which we used to celebrate Maha Siva Ratri in our family was truly awesome. Daddy performs a special pooja to the Lord. Then almost for the greater part of the day, the Rudram Namakam Chamakam is played on the tape. The temples near-by also used to play "Lingastakam" that the legendary singer Dr. S. P. Bala Subrahmanyam rendered. We all have a head bath and probably visit a temple. The Siva temple adjacent to the Sai Baba temple in Dilsukhnagar used to be very crowded. All the lights that are lit in the temple present an awesome spectacle. One just has to witness the festival to experience it. This was all in my childhood when our residence was in Huda Complex. All our family offers fasting on this day. I am performing this since I am 8 years old and it now turned into a habit. After the 'nakshatra darsanam', we used to have Idlis prepared by Amma in the night somewhere around 9-10 pm. To tell you the truth, those Idlis used to be so delicious.

Now that we have moved to LB Nagar, there is a near-by Sivalayam ( Siva Temple ) which is called by the name " Sri Uma Nagalingeswara Aalayam". The Siva lingam in this temple is one which I hold very dearly because when I am in India I performed abhishekam for this Siva lingam atleast 10-15 times. It is a great feeling which you experience in your heart. The purity that this imparts cannot be put in words. I am uploading a picture of the same "Siva Lingam" which I often prayed to. The image you see above is the one I am talking about.

I guess, after reading my post, now you all do realize how much dear "Maha Siva ratri" is to me. No wonder, I miss this day terribly!

Wishing you all a very happy "Maha Siva Ratri".

For a good heart...

Taking care of your Heart

A chat with Dr. Devi Shetty, Narayana Hrudayalaya (Heart Specialist) Bangalore was arranged by WIPRO for its employees.

The transcript of the chat is given below.

Qn: What are the thumb rules for a layman to take care of his heart ?

Ans: 1. Diet - Less of carbohydrate, more of protein, less oil 2. Exercise - Half an hour's walk, at least five days a week; avoid lifts and avoid sitting for a longtime 3. Quit smoking 4. Control weight 5. Control blood pressure and sugar

Qn: Is eating non-veg food (fish) good for the heart?

Ans: No

Qn: It's still a grave shock to hear that some apparently healthy person gets a cardiac arrest. How do we understand it in perspective?

Ans: This is called silent attack; that is why we recommend everyone past the age of 30 to undergo routine health checkups.

Qn: Are heart diseases hereditary?

Ans: Yes

Qn: What are the ways in which the heart is stressed? What practices do you suggest to de-stress?

Ans: Change your attitude towards life. Do not look for perfection in everything in life.

Qn: Is walking better than jogging or is more intensive exercise required to keep a healthy heart?

Ans: Walking is better than jogging since jogging leads to early fatigue and injury to joints .

Qn: You have done so much for the poor and needy. What has inspired you to do so?

Ans: Mother Theresa , who was my patient.

Qn: Can people with low blood pressure suffer heart diseases?

Ans: Extremely rare

Qn: Does cholesterol accumulates right from an early age (I'm currently only 22) or do you have to worry about it only after you are above 30 years of age?

Ans: Cholesterol accumulates from childhood.

Qn: How do irregular eating habits affect the heart ?

Ans: You tend to eat junk food when the habits are irregular and your body's enzyme release for digestion gets confused.

Qn: How can I control cholesterol content without using medicines?

Ans: Control diet, walk and eat walnut.

Qn: Can yoga prevent heart ailments?

Ans: Yoga helps.

Qn: Which is the best and worst food for the heart?

Ans: Fruits and vegetables are the best and the worst is oil.

Qn: Which oil is better - groundnut, sunflower, olive?

Ans: All oils are bad .

Qn: What is the routine checkup one should go through? Is there any specific test?

Ans: Routine blood test to ensure sugar, cholesterol is ok. Check BP, Treadmill test after an echo.

Qn: What are the first aid steps to be taken on a heart attack?

Ans: Help the person into a sleeping position , place an aspirin tablet under the tongue with a sorbitrate tablet if available, and rush him to a coronary care unit since the maximum casualty takes place within the first hour.

Qn: How do you differentiate between pain caused by a heart attack and that caused due to gastric trouble?

Ans: Extremely difficult without ECG.

Qn: What is the main cause of a steep increase in heart problems amongst youngsters? I see people of about 30-40 yrs of age having heart attacks and serious heart problems.

Ans: Increased awareness has increased incidents. Also, edentary lifestyles, smoking, junk food, lack of exercise in a country where people are genetically three times more vulnerable for heart attacks than Europeans and Americans.

Qn: Is it possible for a person to have BP outside the normal range of 120/80 and yet be perfectly healthy?

Ans: Yes.

Qn: Marriages within close relatives can lead to heart problems for the child. Is it true?

Ans : Yes, co-sanguinity leads to congenital abnormalities and you may not have a software engineer as a child

Qn: Many of us have an irregular daily routine and many a times we have to stay late nights in office. Does this affect our heart ? What precautions would you recommend?

Ans : When you are young, nature protects you against all these irregularities. However, as you grow older, respect the biological clock.

Qn: Will taking anti-hypertensive drugs cause some other complications (short / long term)?

Ans : Yes, most drugs have some side effects. However, modern anti-hypertensive drugs are extremely safe.

Qn: Will consuming more coffee/tea lead to heart attacks?

Ans : No.

Qn: Are asthma patients more prone to heart disease?

Ans : No.

Qn: How would you define junk food?

Ans : Fried food like Kentucky , McDonalds , samosas, and even masala dosas.

Qn: You mentioned that Indians are three times more vulnerable. What is the reason for this, as Europeans and Americans also eat a lot of junk food?

Ans: Every race is vulnerable to some disease and unfortunately, Indians are vulnerable for the most expensive disease.

Qn: Does consuming bananas help reduce hypertension?

Ans : No.

Qn: Can a person help himself during a heart attack (Because we see a lot of forwarded emails on this)?

Ans : Yes. Lie down comfortably and put an aspirin tablet of any description under the tongue and ask someone to take you to the nearest coronary care unit without any delay and do not wait for the ambulance since most of the time, the ambulance does not turn up.

Qn: Do, in any way, low white blood cells and low hemoglobin count lead to heart problems?

Ans : No. But it is ideal to have normal hemoglobin level to increase your exercise capacity.

Qn: Sometimes, due to the hectic schedule we are not able to exercise. So, does walking while doing daily chores at home or climbing the stairs in the house, work as a substitute for exercise?

Ans : Certainly. Avoid sitting continuously for more than half an hour and even the act of getting out of the chair and going to another chair and sitting helps a lot.

Qn: Is there a relation between heart problems and blood sugar?

Ans: Yes. A strong relationship since diabetics are more vulnerable to heart attacks than non-diabetics.

Qn: What are the things one needs to take care of after a heart operation?

Ans : Diet, exercise, drugs on time , Control cholesterol, BP, weight.

Qn: Are people working on night shifts more vulnerable to heart disease when compared to day shift workers?

Ans : No.

Qn: What are the modern anti-hypertensive drugs?

Ans : There are hundreds of drugs and your doctor will chose the right combination for your problem, but my suggestion is to avoid the drugs and go for natural ways of controlling blood pressure by walk, diet to reduce weight and changing attitudes towards lifestyles.

Qn: Does dispirin or similar headache pills increase the risk of heart attacks?

Ans : No.

Qn: Why is the rate of heart attacks more in men than in women?

Ans : Nature protects women till the age of 45.

Qn: How can one keep the heart in a good condition?

Ans : Eat a healthy diet, avoid junk food, exercise everyday, do not smoke and, go for health checkup s if you are past the age of 30 ( once in six months recommended) ...

Intent...

Harsha Bogle, the well known cricket commentator for ESPN-STAR, during a match featuring England commented about 'intent'. English spinner Monty Panesar was fielding in the outfield and had to stop a hardly hit ball. Known is the fact that, Monty is not a "natural athlete" and when he actually tried stopping the speeding ball, he gave it his all and threw himself on the field. The effort did not yield anything as such as he could not stop the boundary and it was an awkward sight to watch. Harsha watching all this commented - "Intent is such a beautiful thing, even if it does not yield results immediately, it surely does have a positive influence", and in the same over Monty dived and stopped an otherwise certain boundary. Anybody else would have made a negative comment looking that effort from Monty, but Harsha being an eternal optimist that he is commented in such a way.

I was thinking about this because the other day I was thinking how are things shaping up and while reading things about payroll, I realized that it was 2 weeks since I had any interview. In spite of my best intentions, nothing is working at all. But then I have decided to persist with what I have been doing all along, hoping for that one beacon which leads my path!

Indeed, intent is such a beautiful thing .....