My rendevous with ST Xavier's College, Calcutta

Life is a little more beautiful, a little more happy because of some people who come in our lives as angels and tie ribbons of happiness around them. Today has been one such day in my life. It was a break from the monotonous log in and log out from the office. Little did I realize that it would be so much fun and blissful when Brother Chinamoni of ST Xavier’s, Calcutta had invited me to his place a few days ago. This was not the first time though, but somehow it didn’t materialize. Blame it on my procrastination. He had been equally persuasive every time. I was a fool. It became apparent today when I stepped inside the hallmark premises of the prestigious ST Xavier’s college. He walked me through the sprawling corridors and conspicuous dormitories of the heritage building. Holiday season had made it easier.

To begin with, our destination was the third floor where the not so well fathers live. Brother Chinta takes care of the ill fathers.

It’s a nice set up with basic medical equipments to facilitate immediate domiciliary aid for the semi-ambulatory staffs before they are shifted to the major city hospitals. Fr Abello and Fr Mongal Das, who are stably ill longterm, are being taken care of by Brother China, sisters and doctor there only.

As we strolled along the beautiful corridors, through the mellowed orange sun, I tried to delay the moment to breathe and frame it forever. I saw septuagenarian Fr Noel, who has had put in permanent pacemaker recently waving at me. He was looking absolutely fit even with those small fidgety steps. I waved back.

I virtually went into every corner of the college and breathed the historical bricks. The College was founded in 1860 under the leadership of Fr Depelchin. The college campus is located at Park Street, Kolkata. It is now the first and only autonomous college in Calcutta. Bro Chinta, a true Jesuit, told me many stories - the stories of the hardships during pre-novice and novice period. How he spent 18 long days without a penny in his pocket yet never slept without food. He told me about the college, school, plans, projects his family. In between, I got the opportunity to chat with Fr George who has been stationed to Malta recently and not liking it at all. It was great talking to Fr George after so long.

The dining hall is big, just as it was expected, with round, considerable Victorian tables. We self served ourselves. Today’s menu was courtesy Bro Mani whose family is visiting him. The meat was delectable and so was the vegetable. I couldn’t eat all that was served. Bro Mani’s mother made fun of me. Brother Chinta is a small eater - 2 chappatis, one serving of the vegetables, fish and yogurt. He doesn’t eat sweets after he’s been detected with diabetes. He is not on med but maintains a stern lifestyle for he believes in healthy living more than anything else. He’s been doing well whatsoever.

Post lunch was beautiful with the sunset sun, oranges, cakes, tea and snacks, and more stories. We visited the nursery thereafter. The aquarium was small but nicely maintained. I couldn’t meet the 35 year old tortoise. He was happily hiding somewhere. The sun had mellowed down considerably. Having received lots of goodies from Brother, I had to leave St Xavier’s. I bade goodbye to the Rector Father, Fr Gaston Roberge, Fr Saju, Sebastian and a few others. I looked for Fr Noel, but he couldn't be found, neither in the corridors nor in his room.

And as I held the little Buddha statuette - the parting gift from Bro I looked back to have a glance for one last time. I saw Brother Chinta silhouetted against the setting sun, like an angel, against the Jesuits' building. An angel, who made my day so special, made me feel special and gave me much honor and love. I am going to cherish this day forever.

Cutting down trees in the name of fire safety code

In a country where the fire department is inadequately equipped and inefficiently administered, it would be sheer foolishness to expect the medical and para medical staffs to perform the strictures of fire norms with finesse. The recent Calcutta AMRI fire opened up a new facet along with the callousness of the civil society. After a series of unhealthy, 'beeped' blaming game, the fire services are now geared up to inspect the top hospitals in the city. They have put forth innumerable points and have given narrow deadlines for the NOCs.

The hospitals have set up appreciable efforts with the trainings and the mock fire drills and to meet the fire codes. The approach roads are too narrow, there is no fire evacuation plan, the buildings do not have even ramps, no proper hose system - all are being taken care off. However, it's dis-heartening to see the people (visitors, patients) laughing at it. The civil society today is more concerned with others shortcomings, failures than theirs.

All said and little done, it feels killing to see the age old, beautiful, shady trees being chopped off in the name of upgradation of fire safety fire norms, and yesterday as I looked through my office window I heard the heart throbbing chirpings of the evening birds as the beautiful trees being cut to death.

Chinese noodles with lots of farm fresh veggies and soupy love

As much as I love Chinese food I have developed strange taste buds for all kinds of Chinese variations and extensions. Soya sauce, vinegar, worcestershire sauce, chili sauce, garlic, ginger, onion and lot of farm fresh veggies like carrots, french beans, cauli flower florets, spring onions etc. - prove to be a great platter with metamorphosed Chinese flavor.

Chinese noodles is easy and fast to cook. Dip the beautiful long strands of egg noodles in hot water to make it tender and just rightly soft. Saute the freshly cut vegetables, sprinkle the sauces, add semi boiled shredded chicken, shrimps etc and plate it immediately. Chinese food is cooked even as you eat it. So relish it while eating and allow the flavors to melt into your mouth.

Tips to shop on Black Friday and Cyber Monday

BBB (Better Business Bureau) has laid down a detailed memorandum to shop during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday. As I was reading through the guide, I thought it is relevant for anytime shopping. Shopping would be a better experience if we could follow most of the guidelines.The BBB recommends the following tips for shopping online this holiday season to help fight unscrupulous online retailers, scammers and hackers:


Start planning now. Many retail stores are already promoting Black Friday deals in ads and on their websites. Take time to print out or clip ads for items you are interested in buying to help outline your shopping day in advance.

Read the fine print on gift cards. These can be found on the back of the card and will let you know the terms and conditions for using the card. There could be limitations to in-store purchases or exclusions on certain items.

Ask about return policies. While many stores offer a 30-day return policy, it is important to read the terms and conditions associated with each purchase. And remember that the refund policy usually applies to the day you purchase the item not when you give the item as a gift. Be sure to request gift receipts for all gifts.

Ask for gift receipts. When buying gifts, it’s important to obtain and keep receipts for all purchases in case the recipient needs to return an item. Many stores will provide gift receipts upon request, which allow returns but don’t show the recipient how much you paid for an item.


Protect your personal information. Check to see how your information may be used online. When shopping at stores, keep your card out of sight and make sure you get it back and safely in your wallet before you leave the store.

Check the site’s security settings and privacy policy. If the site is secure, its address should start with https://. You also may see a picture of a small closed lock in the lower right hand corner of the screen.

Know the company’s refund and return policies. Are there restocking fees? Do you have to pay shipping costs on returns?

Do not rely on pictures of a product. Read the description and check model numbers, if applicable.

Be cautious of free or low-price offers. Often, free offers are followed by an open-ended enrollment in a program that automatically bills your credit card account. Before ordering anything online, make sure you click on and read all terms and conditions.

Pay with a credit card.If you suspect fraud or don’t receive your order, you can challenge the charge in the event of a dispute.

Obtain a tracking number for shipments. If you need the product before the holidays, find out when the seller intends to ship it and if possible, how it will be shipped.

Print out the order. Make sure you have the documentation page for online orders and save it until the order arrives.

Be aware of phishing. Don’t respond to emails that ask for your credit card or bank account number or other personal information. Legitimate businesses do not send emails claiming there is a problem with an order or account to lure you into revealing financial information.

(C): BBB

Soy Sauce Eggs: Easiest, fastest and yummiest eggs you have ever tasted!

Mahogany eggs dipped in luscious soy sauce - have you ever tasted something like that? If not yet just save yourself 7 minutes before your pack your lunch box for the next day and see how sumptuously you are served for the day. Besides, the taste is uncompromising. Soy sauce eggs are wonderful as snacks because they don’t need any additional seasoning.

Use super quality authentic soy sauce, which is darker in appearance and richer in flavor than regular soy sauce. One trick to note–when peeling your hard boiled eggs, peel carefully, trying to avoid nicking the surface of the egg whites. If you do nick the surface, the eggs will still taste delicious, but they just won’t be as pretty.

You will need:

Hard boiled eggs
Authentic soy sauce

Preparation:

Pour the soy sauce into a pan and heat it on slow flame. When the soy sauce starts foaming up, add the eggs. Roll the eggs around in the soy sauce to coat them, and continue rolling them around the pan until the eggs are a dark mohagony color and the soy sauce has been reduced to a thick sludge.

Remove the eggs, letting any extra soy sauce drain off, and place on a plate to cool.

And you are done with nice pretty and healthy mahogany eggs!


Learned from Malaysia Rasa.

Decoding Milk for kids by Wendy Donahue

Q: Why milk is important for children?

A: It contains so many nutrients that children need to grow. Calcium is obvious, but milk is also high in potassium — it has more than bananas — phosphorus, protein, vitamins like B12 and D and magnesium.

Q: What is the right milk for what age?

A: Birth to age 1 is breast milk or formula. Age 1 to 2 is the only time that whole milk is necessary; the fat content is needed for the brain when it's developing rapidly.

Q: If fat helps a brain develop, would it make sense to give a child higher-fat milk if obesity isn't a problem?

A: It's better to choose plant-based sources of fat or low fat milk. Try to get fats from olive oil, avocados and peanut butter rather than saturated fat from animal products, ice cream, butter and cream.

Q: Some older kids aren't getting enough milk?

A: The recommended amounts are 3 cups over age 9, 2 cups for ages 2 to 3. Kids aren't getting enough potassium, calcium and magnesium. Two ways the teens get to drink milk are in smoothies and yogurt parfaits, with low-fat granola and fresh fruit.

Q: Do we reduce liquid milk in their diet if they eat a lot of yogurt and cheese?

A: The trick with yogurt is you have to look at the nutrition label. If the calcium and vitamin D are equivalent to a cup of milk, go for it. But some have a lot of gelatin, which means less calcium, and some have added sugars or artificial sweeteners.

Q: Milk also has sugar. Is it good sugar?

A: Unfortunately the sugar grams on labels do not differentiate between added sugar and natural sugar, or lactose.

Q: What are the best substitutes for cow's milk?

A: For some ethnic groups that do not digest lactose well, there are lactose-free milks. Soy milk is very similar to cow's milk in the calcium content, because they add it.


(C): wdonahue@tribune.com

The easiest snack to prepare: Healthy and spicy chickpea salad

This dish is surprisingly good and easy to prepare considering that the ingredients are so simple and easily available. Cooked Chickpea salad is very healthy and makes an excellent item to snack on. It also makes a nice accompaniment to many major dishes.


What you will need

teaspoons olive oil (any other oil will do)

diced onions, freshly chopped green chili and coriander leaves

turmeric, whole cumin

par-boiled chickpeas, drained and rinsed

lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste

How to make

1. Heat a sauté pan large enough to easily hold the beans over medium heat. Add oil to heat, then add the onion and sauté until transparent.

2. Add the turmeric, cumin, coriander and pepper and continue to sauté until the spices are aromatic and a bit toasted, about 3 minutes.

3. Add the chickpeas, lemon juice, salt and pepper and cook for another 5 minutes to blend the flavors.

4. Serve with freshly chopped green chilies and coriander leaves.


Photo credit: NYTimes