Need Some Advice - Again.

1. Ishaan (my 17 month old son) has come up with milk allergy. All forms of milk - curd, cheese, milk et al. Do you know of another toddler with this allergy?

I am interested in diet supplements that will make up for the lack of calcium and protein that is expected as I wean milk out of his diet. He is not responding well to Soy milk either (the allergy continues even with Soy milk).

Also, milk is a BIG comfort food for him and my only chance to get some nutrition into him while he sleeps. His ped has suggested that i use juices instead, but juices are too full of sugars for my liking.

2. Has anyone test driven /owned the following cars:
1. Mahindra Logan
2. Suzuki Dezire
3. Fiat Linea

How good are they on:
1. Safety
2. Feature richness
3. Space in the back seat and in the boot

I have already finished going thru the car sites and mouthshut and indiacompare. Now, i want some feedback from my blog friends :-)

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The Neutral Majority and political opinion, some.

Disclaimer: All views are personal. Do not sue me for holding a view.

Someone asked me this really nice question, "So, do you support (the name of the political party) or are you a part of the neutral majority?"

The Neutral majority, so far.

The only certainty in my life is that I will not vote the Congress until the 1984 riots cases are completed and those found guilty are punished according to the crime.
That leaves me with a choice between the criminals (Modi's party, SP, BSP ) and the idiots (CPM). Thats a tough choice.

But one thing i do know, this year, the Lok Sabha elections will see me voting. And i hope they will see a lot of other bloggers voting too..

Do you support someone, or are you a part of the neutral majority?

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Pink Chaddi for the Ram Sena and Pramod Muthalik

Image Courtey: Not Known. Apologies.

Yes, I am in the campaign of pub going, loose Indian women who think that the only thing the Ram Sena understands is a pink Chaddi. I am sending them one for men though, to cover their own backsides.

And then some more:

A Primer on Indian Culture:
Red Sikri stone sculpture of a drunken woman with her family. Ca. 2nd c. A.D. Kushana (Mathura Museum).

The first Arab invasion was at least 500 years later. This is PURE Bhartiya Sanskriti for you. Women used to drink much before the Western world came and "spoilt" them.

Swayamvar: An Indian custom by which the girl chooses her own husband. Note: The girl CHOOSES.

Gandhigiri:
To the Sri Ram Sena, and the other custodians of their own faith, whatever it may be:

FLOWERS: Get well soon Mamu. Tere ko bimaari ho gayela hai.. apna naak ke aage dikhta ich nahi hai. Tere ko Valentine Day nahi pasand to nahi manane ka.. baaki log ka pachda mein padne ka nai.
मामू, तेरे को बीमारी हो गयेला हैं। अपना नाक के आगे कुछ दीखता इच नही हैं। तेरे को Valentine Day नही पसंद तो नही मनाने का। बाकी लोग के पचडे में पड़ने का नही।

Translation: faith is a personal matter. You are free to do your own interpretation. you are NOT free to interpret it for anyone else.

Edited to add: I am not the only one who believes in Gandhigiri.. a group on Facebook does too.. here is the url:

http://www.facebook.com/wall.php?id=764857505&banter_id=685501950&show_all#/group.php?gid=49445283993

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Best song snippet heard in a long time

जैसे दिन से रात अलग है,
सुख है अलग और चैन अलग हैं
पर जो ये देखें वो नैन अलग हैं
चैन हैं अपना , सुख हैं पराये॥


My interpretation..
Just as the day and night are different,
Peace and Comfort are different too..
But its a rare eye that sees this..
Peace is within, Comfort is external ..

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Uncle next door

He went in his sleep. Thank God for that. I really cared for him. He was a quiet man, but he ALWAYS stopped to talk to baby and me, and we always looked out for him. We never passed each other with just a "Hi how are you?", unlike with most other neighbors.

This morning, a lot feels amiss. Nothing feels right. When he was going, suddenly, a strong urge rose to see him one last time, to touch his feet - something i had never done(because i was a daughter and daughters don't touch feet) .

Sharing grief is supposed to help.

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Part 2 of the post: The Quiz

For the Citation and Tag 4, please read the post just under this one.
How well do you know the full forms of these well known abbreviations from the financial sector (in India)
1. RBI
2. IFCI
3. ICICI
4. UTI
5. IDBI
6. NABARD
7. SBI
8. LIC
9. SEBI
10. NCAER
11. HDFC
12. NHB

No cheating.. how many do you really know? Post your answers in the comments please. :-)

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A citation, a tag, and a Quiz

The Citation:
There have been very many people who have been kind enough to send a peer award this way, but this Republic Day Citation is very, very special to me, because of the way it is worded. To be thought of in these terms is extremely humbling.. and yet, one is beaming with pride rather! :-)
Here goes:
"On the eve of the Republic Day of our country, i take this opportunity to present this award to my blogger friends who have made a difference by writing their frank opinions in their blogs as well, as in the comment columns of other blogs. These bloggers have not written any sensational or luscious stories to attract traffic to their blogs, but they have put down in prose as well, as verse, whatever they have felt strongly about, may it be about their personal lives or about a burning issue of the society. The sole purpose of their writing has been to make a difference. I wish that their ideas may fructify and bring a change in the society for better. I salute them all."

Thank you, and Thank you Balvinder.. this has meant a lot.

The Tag:
The people who have taken up Tag 4 from the previous post, please see this section of the post.

Manish: Your blog does not betray your professional excellence. That people around you are genuinely in awe of you.
Your love for Kuhu is lots more pronounced on the blog. The personal, softer side is also lots more expressed here. That you are a very good writer becomes obvious.
:-)

Mahesh: Honestly, i thought it was awefully sweet of you to have driven Mampi all the way to meet her friends.. to be there as the only husband in the gathering, and to try and give us the space that 3 giggling girlfriends need, without appearing aloof. However, your comments on other blogs are the basis of this tag being done for you. (considering that your own blog is on its way ) : We find a sensitive person in these comments, intelligent yet not overt about it. What i like best about your comments (and did not notice when we met in person) is the subtlety of expression, yet the precision. Wonderful!

Mampi: What can i say? I had no idea u were THIS cute looking, so full of energy u can be life personified, and so incredibly charming. None of that comes out enough on your blog. When one meets you, one is struck by your sheer vitality, your love for life, and your incredible charm..
On the blog, you appear to be an intelligent person, who is very in love with her husband, writes great poetry and has a lot of blog friends who truly are friends. There is a sincerity about the blog, but nothing on the blog prepares one for the adrenaline rush that u can induce in other people. You can make people like themselves. :-)

~nm: Again, I still dont believe that its so easy to talk around you, to open up and to want to meet over and over again. What i liked best about you, when we met, for the first time and again, and the one thing that does not come out on the blog, is that you are an incredibly easy to get along with person. You make people open up rather easily and you carry yourself very lightly on those shoulders. You do small things to put people at ease and do it effortlessly.
Yet, if i had to use one word for you, it would be "honest". All of this becomes lots more obvious when one interacts with you. the similarity is that you are very likeable, both on the blog and in person. :-)

Hi Seema: The only place where i have seen u comment is on my blog. I cannot give u a personal-blog difference on the basis of this. Your Tag 4 will be done in person. :-)

The quiz is in Part 2 of the post.(just afterthis one)

So there, what do u think?

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