Photography: 'A Shepherd's Turban'

Rahul Tiwary | New Delhi | Feb 2020

Travelogue: Delhi Metro Museum, New Delhi

Rahul Tiwary | New Delhi | Feb 2020

Travelogue: Amrit Udyan near Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi

A few tips for the visit:

1.      The garden opens for public every year for a month in Feb-March. Please check its opening status and timing every year before visiting.

2.      It is a free public park with no entry ticket

3.      Avoid carrying any items including water bottles. If you are carrying any item, you will have to deposit it in cloak room. You can take your cellphone inside

4.      Avoid visiting on weekends since the crowd is too heavy

5.      There is a single lane which goes inside and once you are in, you can’t turn back. Hence be sure before entering

6.      There is free drinking water just after entering the garden. Do not miss it since there is no next water station until you come out of the garden

7.      After exit of the park, there are several stalls selling snacks and fast food

8.      The visit may be a hassle for small kids and old people and hence be sure if they are fit to visit

9.      Visit would take minimum 1 hour inside and would consist of walking on foot for about 1 km

10. There is a very long queue at the entrance especially on the weekend

- Rahul Tiwary | New Delhi | 2020

Nature Photography: 'Dog Yoga'

Rahul Tiwary | New Delhi | 2020

Movie: Love Aaj Kal 2 - Beautiful Love Story

‘Love Aaj Kal 2’ is a beautiful movie. As its name suggests, it is a love story. It is a story of two couples: one is Kartik Aaryan and Sara AliKhan who are playing roles of young people living a cosmopolitan lifestyle and second is Randeep Hooda’s past love story where Kartik once again plays the part of young-Randeep and Aarushi Sharma. Randeep Hooda (who has played his character really impressively) narrates his life story (a romantic tragedy) upon seeing Kartik since young Kartik reminds him of himself. 

All actors have played their parts beautifully. Randeep and Aarushi Sharma’s past love story is very touching. The life as it was during two decades earlier has been captured very well in the movie. And Kartik and Sara both have acted superbly. Contrary to the skeptic opinion doubting Sara’s talent, she has come out very well and the character in this movie suited her personality perfectly. Kartik has the “charisma” of a super star – he has played funny, hilarious, romantic, angry, confused, sad – all types of situations very well in his role. 

Songs in this movie are also amazing and also pictured very well.

Love Aaj Kal 2 is a lovely movie made with lot of heart. All actors have played their roles beautifully. It is definitely a recommendation.

- Rahul 

Photography: Some Nature Pictures (Part 7)

Rahul Tiwary | New Delhi | 2020

Made in India: Original Goan Almonds and Dry Fruits

I used to buy almonds and dry fruits mainly from Big Bazaar since their prices were always most reasonable as compared to local shops. Then I found out that most of their dry fruits were “imported”. For example, almonds are imported from the USA. I was disappointed by this and hence tried to do a bit of research. I was able to find many almonds for which “Country of Origin” was India. Although these were a bit costlier than others.

As per reports, the USA is the biggest almonds producer in the world. USA produces 80% of world’s almonds production. 33% of this is consumed in the USA while 67% is exported. And hence a lot of Indian retailers sell imported almonds. But India also produces almonds. Almonds are mostly produced in the Indian states of Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh. Apart from these, almonds are also produced in Maharashtra, Karnataka, AP, UP, Kerala, TN, WB, Gujarat and Rajasthan (Source).

But almonds imports are very high in India. As per a 2018 report, India has become the world’s biggest almonds importer (Source: The Hindu BusinessLine) and we imported almonds worth Rs 3640 Crores in the year 2017-18. Here (Source: Business World) is a very good report which gives details about the industry. But as per this report, out of total almonds produced in India, not all is sold. I am not sure but being costly may be the reason for this.

So far, I have found one seller which is present in online shopping portals like Amazon and Snapdeal and sells good local almonds. It mentions “Country of Origin: India”. As per its name, it seems it sells almonds produced in Goa.

Original Goan Almonds on Snapdeal: Link

Original Goan Almonds on Amazon: Link

I have been buying almonds from this source for many years. I feel happy about buying local almonds and hence helping local farmers and producers. These almonds are a bit costlier than the imported almonds, but these provide me with happiness while the “guilt” which would come with buying imported almonds would be worse for me.

If you like to buy local products, try out above seller. If you have also found other good local almonds brands, please share the details in the comments section!

Wishing you good health and good almonds!

- Rahul Tiwary

History Behind Mhatre Bridge in Pune

There is a busy bridge in Pune called Mhatre Bridge or Mhatre Pul joining Sarasbaug to Deccan area. Everyday, it is traversed by thousands of people, but few know or care that the bridge is named after an unsung Indian hero, Shri Ravindra Hareshwar Mhatre.

Ravindra Mhatre was brutally killed by Kashmiri terrorists at the age of 48 while he was serving as a diplomat in the Indian Embassy in Birmingham UK. He was abducted and killed in an attempt to negotiate release of terrorist Maqbool Bhat of the Jammu & Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF).

Yes, the same #MaqboolBhat, in whose name separatist slogans were raised in JNU.

Mhatre was kidnapped as he was stepping out of a baker's shop after picking up a birthday cake for his daughter. Mhatre's daughter was only 14 when he disappeared forever from her life. Her father's body was found three days later on a side-street in Birmingham.

The then PM Indira Gandhi had refused to negotiate with the terrorists and Maqbool Bhat was hanged to death days after Mhatre's body was found.

In an emotional story, Mhatre's daughter talks about how her father's murder changed her life forever.

The Kashmiri terrorists haven't forgotten Maqbul Bhat, but perhaps we Indians have forgotten Ravindra Mhatre.

[Taken from writeup by Devarshi Sarkar]

News: Delhi Male Cop Shoots Woman Cop

In a breaking news from Delhi, a woman cop has been shot dead by a male cop who was her batchmate during police academy. The male cop was her jilted lover and committed suicide after killing her. It seems irrespective of education or profession; jilted lovers behave similarly.

One reason for this social evil is that parents and society do not teach boys and girls about how to handle relationships. Young folks mostly take advices from their peers which is too risky. They learn about relationships from movies while movie industry is full of bad people.

I remember that while watching movies I would often notice that often the lead actor or actress would behave as if they were orphans. When faced with crisis they would either take advice of friends or else break down. Why don't you turn to your family for guidance?

Taking advice of peers is as stupid as it can go. No one in 20s is wise enough, even if one sounds so. And no one has friends of diverse ages these days; our friends are mostly mirrors/copies of ourselves.

Had the male cop in this case been in a healthy family or society, he won't have done this. Sacrificing two young lives and ruining their dependents' is simply madness. If he did not know how to handle this situation, he should have been guided by others to do so.

- Rahul

Movies: Shikara Review

I read the review of movie 'Shikara' on Rediff. It mentions that the movie "questions" the "politics" around Kashmiri Pandit's exile in 1990. It questions the genuineness of other Hindus who support KPs and are sad and angry with (Cong party) govt for why it did not protect KPs.

It kind of mentions that most people who support Kashmiri Pandits cause on "social media" are plain trolls who have "never met a KP" and never seen a "refugee camp". This is such a negative and skeptical view of the reality.

Quote: 'Sir, he has never seen a Kashmiri Pandit'. That's the note on which Shikara concludes.

Well, I have known many KPs from my college days. And I know about KP's refugee camp in Pune; our office colleagues used to go there to donate food items.

It seems this movie is a kind of "propaganda" film; which will do more harm to the KP community than benefit. I read that Vidhu Vinod Chopra is a Kashmiri himself. Perhaps he wanted to make a movie on Kashmir to satisfy his inner demons. But he did not have the guts to show truth.

To some extent Shikara is then like the movie Aarakshan (2011) which was supposed to be a movie on anti-reservation movement but became a rant against coaching centers. It was made by Prakash Jha who comes from the community which suffered due to caste quota. And hence Aarakshan became such a disappointment; despite having big stars like AB, Manoj Bajpayee, etc (and it flopped on Box Office too). Therefore, due to the dishonest work by movie makers, Shikara too seems to be going to be a flop.

It was better if movie-makers did not make such movies on sensitive topics which mock the subjects and ridicule people who genuinely believe in a cause.

I will of course not watch it.

- Rahul

Television: Anil Kapoor on Bigg Boss Show

Recently Anil Kapoor appeared on Bigg Boss show for promoting his movie Malang. I was shocked to hear him addressing Salman Khan as "aap" and Salman did not mind it.

I checked their age. Anil Kapoor is about 10 years older than Salman.

I still can’t digest it why would Salman prefer to hear “aap” from a senior star like Anil Kapoor. 

Psychology Article: When Men Are Boys and Wives Are Mothers

Here is a wonderful psychology article. I never thought about it this way before. Feels great to read and understand. I think “empathy” is key. Any relationships can work if both partners have some “empathy” toward each other.

Why do relationships become dysfunctional? There are many possible answers. Here is a notable one: The tendency for the male partner to become the child in the relationship, while his female partner becomes the mother. People react to this topic as if it is a common phenomenon. Yet many couples continue to fall into this trap and few people understand how it might occur. A colleague of mine adds that it is common sense yet people aren't conscious of it when it happens in their relationship.

The mother-child dynamic can happen in a multitude of ways. First, let's look at role models. Research has demonstrated that there are general differences in the way fathers and mothers care for a child. Mothers take on the day-to-day caregiving activities and responsibilities: Doctor appointments, extracurricular activities, checking the homework. Fathers are, however, associated with play. In fact, many fathers even turn responsibilities into play. For me, getting my son to school in the mornings becomes a race against the clock. Children learn that men are associated with play and women with responsibility. 

A second aspect, though it may be fading, is that men are taught to suppress certain emotions. Crying, for example, is unmanly. Young men must keep their feelings in check and deal with them in some undetermined, unexpressed, internal fashion. This internalizing will then result in a magical fix. Internalizing may work for some feelings, but in regard to relationships, it can be detrimental.

The man matures and now enters a relationship. While in the courting stage his playfulness and childlike charm are attractive and endearing. As the relationship progresses there may be signs and attempts to curtail some of that playful behavior. Once he is married there is often a shift for the man to become more responsible and "grown-up."

For many married men, the wife may start to become a mother figure. She may encourage less play (hanging out with friends, heavy drinking) and behave in a more grown-up fashion. Here is the male take on this sea change: "Before we got married she had fun, too. She and I would go to a club together, she would drink and we would dance. Now she wants no part of it." This mothering behavior often becomes even more pronounced when children enter the relationship.

Another aspect that affects the relationship: the tendency for men to feel slighted when a child comes along. Most men would have difficulty admitting this, but it's a hard fact to deny. This combination of feeling slighted and suppressing feelings is a recipe for a relationship disaster. Many men will never voice their feelings, instead, they look to fill their void from attention elsewhere. Much of this might be unconscious with both partners unaware of what is happening.

There is no point in blaming either party, but both men and women need to understand that these learned roles are negatively impacting their relationships.

Recognizing the root of these behaviors is not enough. People do not have to accept these roles and can become aware of them and alter them before the relationship is damaged. Men may be inclined to be more playful, and women to be more motherly, but with knowledge of the roots of these motivations, partners can have improved understanding, compassion, and dialogue.

Article Source

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-second-noble-truth/201102/when-men-are-boys-and-wives-are-mothers

India: What I like about Union Budget 2020

A few weeks before annual union budget for financial year 2020-21 was to be announced, industrialist Anand Mahindra took to Twitter on this subject. He hailed Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and asked her to surprise everyone with a “blockbuster” budget:

“So with a forecast rate of growth of 5% for our GDP in '19-'20 we'll fall behind them again? This should get our competitive juices flowing. @nsitharaman ji, let's surprise the world with a blockbuster of a budget including some dramatic moves. And sprint back in front..” - anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) January 13, 2020

Well, Nirmala Sitaraman did not surprise anyone. She did not ‘entertain’ anyone. Most importantly, while doing it, she did not do it in a manner which would prove her incompetent for the role. She presented the budget just like a prudent Finance Minister was to do it. Like it or dislike it, do not hope any drama in it. Nirmala Sitharaman means business.

While much of media has given mixed to negative verdict on the Union Budget 2020, I think it is because of their own unrealistic expectations. Anyone who is disappointed from this year’s budget had some unrealistic expectations.

Here are a few things I like in this year’s union budget:

What I Like About Union Budget 2020:

1.      New (Optional) Tax Regime: This was a really innovative idea and ‘bold’ too. Who could think that the govt would “dare” to do away with the old tax deductions. Earlier people used to say that they could do their savings in the ways they wanted and did not want government to force them to use some fixed set of options. By keeping it optional, government has also showed prudence. As analysts are saying, new tax regime is good for those in higher income bracket and people in lower income groups can decide to continue with old regime.

2.      Giving Better Tax Rebates to Startups: Startups with turnover of up to ₹ 100 crore can now claim 100 percent deduction on their profit for computing tax liability for three consecutive years out of 10 years since their incorporation. Earlier this turnover limit was only ₹ 25 Crores. Hence many more Startups would be able to take the benefits now.

3.      Deposit Insurance Coverage Increased: Govt has increased the deposit insurance cover to ₹ 5 lakh per depositor from the current level of ₹ 1 lakh. This will help millions of small depositors in events like recent PMC Bank crisis. This change proves that government is listening to people's concerns and making policies to help people.

4.      Dividend Distribution Tax Scrapped: Dividend distribution tax for companies will be scrapped, even if it causes a revenue loss of ₹ 250 billion to government. This is a major boost for the share market.

5.      Special Package for Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh: The government has allocated ₹ 30,757 crore for Jammu and Kashmir, and ₹ 5,958 crore for Ladakh, both of which are new Union Territories.

6.      Budget Allocation for Controlling Air Pollution: ₹ 4400 Crores has been allocated for improve air quality in big Indian cities. This was a very timely decision and shows that our government cares for people’s health.

Other Good Decisions:

7.      Milk processing capacity to be doubled by 2025

8.      100 more airports will be developed by 2024

9.      150 New Trains will Operate under Public-Private Participation (PPP) route

10. Introduction of Freight Trains and Airplanes for farm products

11. 20 Lakh farmers to get "solar pumps" for irrigation

12. 5 new mass vaccinations to be launched

13. Push for direct benefit transfer (DBT) which avoids corruption

14. Concessional corporate tax rates for new local companies in mfg and power sector

15. 5 new cities to be developed as Smart Cities

16. Higher Allocation for Education (5% more than earlier)

17. Higher Allocation for Agriculture (5% more than earlier)

18. Higher Allocation for Health Sector (10% more than earlier)

Overall, I liked this year’s Union Budget for being financially prudent and not being political in nature. This year’s Budget proves that our government has India’s long-term benefits in mind and the ruling party is not like some other smaller political parties which waste public money for votes and political benefits. Hope the government continues in the same prudent, transparent and progressive ways. And we the people do our part too.

- Rahul Tiwary 

Travelogue: Adventure Park, Sanjay Lake, Delhi, India

E.O.D. Adventure Park, Sanjay (Gandhi) Lake, Mayur Vihar, Delhi, is a themed adventure park situated besides Sanjay Lake. You can also get nice view of the Sanjay Lake from here. It also has boating facility and you can see ducks and other birds which settle in the lake. 

Entry fee is only Rs 25 and you can separately buy tickets of the rides and activities you want to do. 

- Rahul Tiwary | Feb 2020

Travelogue: Sanjay Lake, Trilokpuri, Delhi, India

The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) created Sanjay lake in the year 1970. This is a rainwater lake. It is named after Sanjay Gandhi.

It is situated in Trilokpuri area in East Delhi. This is adjoining Mayur Vihar- II residential area. The lake is Spread over 42 acres in the middle of a 170 acres forest area, also known as Sanjay Lake Park.

The lake attracts several migratory birds and has many indigenous trees. It also has a fitness track and attracts people interested in spending time with nature. 

- Rahul Tiwary | Jan 2020