What’s in your glass of milk?

Acquire authentic A2 milk? And, how much does it really matter? A handful of suppliers is working of changing the quality of the milk we drink, by getting back to basics.

            Madras Milk, started a year ago by Sidharth Vijayakumaran and his wife Karthyayini, say thay ensure the milk they supply comes from native Indian cows. This milk is delivered to customers in glass bottles and sourced from farms in Red Hills and Vendanthangal.

            They began with an online portal called The Farm, through which Sidharth sold local produce such as spices, eggs, milk and honey directly sourced from farmers.

            Sidharth says that the idea behind Madras Milk is to supply “healthy, unadulterated milk from native cows” and support farmers in the process. “Initially, I would get calls from customers demanding why the price was so high (a litre of cow’s milk costs Rs. 70),” he recalls. But recently, his phone hasn’t stopped ringing owing to high demand. “The breeds that we use for milking are Gir, Sahiwal, Krishna and Ongole ,” explains Sidharth, adding that they are milked by hand.

            Hari Sethuraman, who runs The Shandy at Luz, sells native cow’s milk that he sources from about 250 heads of cattle. This includes cows of his own and those from dairies that he has helped set up and, in turn, promotes. Hari sells 150 to 200 litres a day, and supplies to organic stores in the city. He has shown that it is commercially viable to set up dairies with native cattle – he promotes milk from Tharparkar, Gir and Sahiwal breeds from dairies near Chengalpet and Madhuranthakam.

           

            “Nothing is added to or removed from the milk ,” Hari says. “All we do is deep-freeze it so that it doesn’t go bad.” Hari adds that this is “real milk”.

            “This is how milk is meant to be. Indian breeds do not cause any health hazards for us,” he explains. He says that once you consume milk from native cows, you’ll appreciate the flavor so much that you’ll never switch back to generic packaged milk.

            Cremurah, a company that specializes in ‘farm fresh progressively organic milk’, operates out of an eight-acre farm in Red Hills. M.Sumithra, one of the founders, says that they own about 40 cattle, including native, cross bred and non-descriptive varieties. “The cows feed on green grass and we do don’t use any preservatives for the milk,” explains Sumithra.

            Although he doesn’t claim to sell A12 milk, Ashley Koshy, who started Trader Koshy, along with wife Sneha, owns a Gir cow and another Gir Cross-breed among his cattle. The milk is organic, and Ashley claims that even people who are lactose-intolerant have taken to it.

            There do exist a few other dairies in the city that supply milk from indigenous cows, but despite the demand, spiked by the current local-versus-jersey cow debate, why aren’t there more farmers raising native cattle in Tamil Nadu?

            The reason, according to C.Ganesan, who has developed a model farm of indigenous cattle at a village 12 km from Karur, is a lack of awareness among farmers and support from the government.  “Farmers assume that naatu maadu (country cows) produce less milk as compared to non-Indian varieties,” he says. “But this is not true. I have shown that native breeds can give up to 15 litres a day. This is as much as what the non-Indian breeds produce.”

            Ganesan has 50 cattle, including Gir, Sahiwal, Tharparkar, Umbalachery and Kangeyam cows and buffaloes. He hopes that this model will inspire more farmers to breed indigenous breeds. He ask, “Why opt for jersey cows when our very own provide milk that is as tasty as it is healthy?”

Vendar TV Mundravathu kun dt. 30-01-2017

Kamachi Amman/Mumgil annai/ kathavu (or) Door Temple

Devadana Patti. Theni. Ghee stored for centuries are used only for lighting lamp. 

Goddess offer strength to win the enemy. Bathe in holy manijal River is observed.   

Marutha maram/tree just a few yards away, on a hill sits the Karupanna Swamy temple. He is the official caretaker of Mungil Anai Kamakshi Temple. He also considered as the brother of Goddess Kamakshi. Before visiting the Goddess temple, it is a rule to visit Karpanna Swamy Temple.  

Eadu nadi jothidam is also famous in this village, one can first visit the nadi provide your details like thum impression, later or next day as per appointment you can see any kandaams out of 12 , in between complete the prayer too.   

IAS Interview-II Defending Your Biodata: The Right Approach

There are many aspects to be covered while facing the IAS interview board. Apart from brushing up on significant issues on governance, economic, environmental, national, international affairs, preparing for questions and remarks raised by the board on your bio data related information, known as ‘ Detailed Application Form’ (DAF), is an essential part of  the interview process . The DAF is  taken as a kind of horoscope by the board to predict what kind of personality you possess. Since a number of information has been asked in the columns of the DAF,  it offers the board members a vast opportunity to interact with you on the information you have furnished therein. There is a real possibility that your entire interview session , or most part of it , which usually lasts for 30 minutes, is based on your DAF discussion. In fact , there can be 3- 4 different formats  in which your interview can be conducted. One, it may be dominated by questions on information given by you in your DAF, two, it may just be on some current relevant issues of general interest, three, it may be based on your home state and four, it may be dominated by your subject of specialization in college or the optional paper you have chosen for the exam. No format is exclusive in nature. Other questions are also bound to be asked in each of these formats. One thing is, however, certain during the interview, i.e., DAF based questions irrespective of the main format. Thus, taking the DAF preparation seriously and in the right earnest is what needs to be done by the candidates.

DAF and the Interview board: A candidate submits a detailed DAF to UPSC before writing the main examination. The DAF contains even personal information regarding her/his caste, religion . However, all the board members are not given this detailed DAF. Except for the chairman of the interview board, no one will ever know about your caste or religion through DAF. This is done to avoid any bias in the minds of the board due to factors of caste, religion etc. In other words, only the chairman knows about your caste etc and not the other members. Thus, no discrimination is possible against you or prejudices shown in your favour based on your social, religious background. But, of course, your religion will be evident from your names, surnames and one can not do anything about it.

You and your DAF: All the information provided in the DAF has been furnished by you. This makes you fully accountable and answerable to those informations. The board will assume that you have made a conscious choice while revealing your details in the DAF and , therefore, expect you to defend, analyse and elaborate on every bit of information furnished by you. So, while the board may take it kindly if you do not answer other questions convincingly, but if you are not found convincing on DAF related questions, the board will take it seriously. The board is quite justified in expecting convincing answers on your DAF because you yourself have chosen to furnish those information and you  should not look flustered about them.

Categorisation of DAF details: Put together, there are 28 columns in the DAF to be filled out by the candidate. They can be put under the following categories.

(1).Personal details like name, age and native place, parents’ name, profession and income, , choice of centre for main examination, optional subject offered. (column1 to 15)(2).Educational qualifications (column16)(3).Employment details (column 17)(4).Details of extra curricular activities, distinctions, hobbies (column 18)(5).Preference for IAS/IPS in state cadres (column 20)(6).Order of preference for different services like IAS, IPS, IFS and allied services(column 21)(7).Previous details of appearing in UPSC exam. and their results (column 22, 23, 24, 25and 26)(8).Fee payment details( column 27 and 28)

Analysis of vital details asked and given in DAF: Except for the last category relating to fee details, all others are question/remark provoking columns . Let us take them up one by one.

Personal details related column: Starting with your name and its meaning, your date of birth and its historical importance or any other person born on that day, this column can raise a number of questions. The place you were born in, the areas around it, and the state to which you belong  will be closely read by the board and questions will be raised on them. A few questions on your parental profession, your experiences from their jobs can also be asked. If you have chosen a centre of exam. which is unusual, you may have to justify it. Suppose, you have shown in your DAF that you belong to Delhi, studied in Delhi, did job in Delhi, but you have chosen Jammu as a centre, they will get curious about your choice and ask you for a convincing explanation. Finally, your optional subject may come under close scrutiny. The importance of this subject for civil services,( e.g. how Botany can be relevant for civil services), latest information about the subject, etc, can be asked.

Educational qualifications related column: This is a delicate column and the board is keenly interested in knowing about your educational achievements. They will watch for the educational institutions you have attended, and check your awareness level about these institutions. Secondly, they will see if you have any discontinuity in your educational career or any bad academic performances, and if yes, then they will look for reasons for the same. At the same time, if you have been a great achiever in academics, they will question you as to why you want to join civil services despite such a brilliant academic record. Also, if you are a professional, say , a doctor or engineer or lawyer, they will ask you why you want a change in career away from your core domain. You should always answer such questions with a fair degree of honesty. If you fabricate your answer, you are bound to be plunged into a helpless situation before the board.

Employment related columns: If you have been employed earlier , or, you continue to be employed at the time of the interview, there is no way you can escape being asked a lot on your job profile, your responsibilities, about your company, or the govt. department you are working with. The difficult part of the question on this area is going to be why you seek a job change in favour of civil services . Most of the candidates provide the same answer to this. Let us frame a question and see the standard answer offered by many.

Question: You are already employed in a higher post with good prospects. Why then you want to join civil services?

Answer: Yes sir, I do agree that I am already placed in a comfortable job. But the status, prestige, diversity and challenges offered by civil services attracts me.  Or

Yes sir. True. But I want to serve the country and the society which has given me so much.

This question is a routine question at every board and these two answers, are also routine. The board gets fed up hearing the same logic from every candidate and wants to hear something different. By themselves, both these answers are good, but you should rephrase them to sound different from the crowd. I would suggest, you relate your answer to your inspiration derived from parents or, a role model in civil services or by account given by a dynamic, honest civil servant about the challenges and opportunities in the civil services. This will make for an interesting answer.

Hobby related columns: This column is the most sensitive zone of you bio data . You need to defend your hobbies and extra curricular activities in a such a manner that you can convince the board that you have a genuine interest in the hobbies mentioned by you and you are cultivating them well. Owing to inexperience about the interview, many candidates take this column rather easily and casually. They fill up this column with hobbies they have hardly pursued seriously and extracurricular activities they have ignored largely in real life. If you try to fake a hobby without genuine interest in it, your bluff will be called easily and you may get punished for it. For example, in a real IAS interview, a candidate had given as his hobby to teach villagers in a village in Haryana. The chairman of the board first declared it as a wonderful hobby and then started shooting questions. When asked about the time during which he would go and teach the villagers, he answered that he goes in the morning. Then the chairman countered him by telling him that how can he meet farmers in the morning time when most of them will be away in the fields or rearing their cattle or doing other farming activities. Then he tried to make another bluff and he got into a real awkward situation. He was given exceptionally low marks. So, whatever your hobby may be, you need to make a mark on the board by defending it in a most genuine way. Concocted answers about your hobbies must be avoided at all costs.

IAS/IPS preference related column: In this column, you are given a chance to state your preferences for the two prestigious jobs i.e. IAS and IPS in various states. For example, in Bihar, what will be your preference for IAS/IPS. Normally, a candidate, and quite rightly so, will give preference 1/1 for IAS/IPS for Bihar cadre if he belongs to Bihar. Then he may choose UP where IAS may be his 2nd preference but IPS his 3rd preference. Such variation in preference will invite probing questions. Generally , candidates have a subjective perception about the IAS/ IPS jobs. For example, in states affected by naxalism, IAS is given a higher choice and IPS is lowered down by the candidate. This will raise doubts about your willingness to take up challenges in trouble prone states. It is always better to offer the same choices for both the services i.e. IAS/IPS for every state. For example, if you have preference 11 for IAS in Nagaland, your preference for IPS in Nagaland must also be 11 and not 17 or 18. This will save you from explaining why you are choosing differently between the two services in the same state.

Column dealing with order of preferences for various jobs: The most standard practice to fill this column is to give 1st, 2nd. and 3rd. preferences to IAS, IPS and IFS respectively. Thereafter, IRS , Customs, Audit and Accounts and so on. The board is widely aware about the popularity level of the services and therefore, in a usual choice, they would not raise questions. But if you make some unusual preference, say, IPS over IAS or, IRS over IPS, then they will ask for a suitable reason. You must offer an explanation that the members can buy.

Details of previous attempts at UPSC exams: This is a cool column and you can very well defend it so long as you have given the real information without hiding anything. However, if you have been selected by UPSC for some job and you left it, or delayed joining its training program, then questions will arise asking you for justifications of your decision.

Some guidelines for defending your DAF:

i. Start preparing early: Don’t wait for the result. Concentrate on your DAF preparation quite early. It will require quite a lot of time to collect information about so many columns you have filled in there.

II.Prepare under expert guidance: Self preparation for interview whether on DAF or otherwise, amounts to just gathering facts and information. Unless you are interacting with knowledgeable people during your interview preparation, you are really not preparing well. So try and choose a real good mentor whose advice you can trust and follow him on day to day basis.

III. Always defend yourself with honesty: Honesty is the best policy at the interview. Be honest about what you have to say about your DAF. Only this can make your interview safe and scoring.

(S B Singh is a noted academician and IAS interview expert. He can be reached at his email: sb_singh2003@yahoo.com) View expressed are personal.

The Right Day for Cutting

It seems that choosing a day to cut your hair or nails will bode for you in the following way:
Cut them on Monday, you cut them for health;
cut them on Tuesday, you cut them for wealth;
cut them on Wednesday, you cut them for news;
cut them on Thursday, a new pair of shoes;
cut them on Friday, you cut them for sorrow;
cut them on Saturday, see your true love tomorrow;
cut them on Sunday, the devil will be with you all the week.
There are a few variations on that rhyme, but in all circumstances, cutting on Sunday is cutting for evil. Ah, imagine what they would have thought about Sunday shopping!
The Right Age for Cutting
Lest you think this is where it ends, I have more for you.
“If the finger or toe nails of an infant are cut previous to the age of 12 months, it will prove a thief in mature age”
So, what were they to do, let the nails and hair grow wild for the first year of life? Oh no, to that we have this advice:
“Mothers and nurses beware; and mind you continue the good old-fashioned custom of ‘nibbling’.”

மூலதோ ப்ரம்ம ரூபாய மத்யதோ விஷ்ணு ரூபிணே|
அக்ரதோ சிவரூபாய வ்ருக்ஷராஜாய தே நம:||

அரச மரத்தின் அடிப்பாகம் பிரம்ம ரூபமாகவும், நடுப்பாகம் விஷ்ணு ரூபமாகவும், மேல்பாகம் சிவரூபமாகவும் இருக்கிறது…

விளக்கு எரியும்போது பார்த்திருக்கிறாயா? அந்த ஜோதியில் தெரியற மஞ்சள் நிறம் பிரம்மாவின் நிறம்… நடுவில் கறுப்பு விஷ்ணுவின் நிறம்… மேலே சிவப்பு சிவனுடையது. ஆகவே ஜோதி மும்மூர்த்தி சொரூபம். சிவலிங்கமும் அப்படியே. சாதாரணமாக எல்லோரும் நினைப்பது போல, அது சிவ சொரூபம் மட்டுமல்ல… லிங்கத்தின் அடிப்பகுதி பிரம்ம பாகம். நடுப் பீடம் விஷ்ணு பாகம்.

Financial planner: Hemant Beniwal, a Jaipur-based certified financial planner

Misselling of financial products is visible not just in India, but in other countries too.

Sharma suspected that his investments in Singapore were not going too far. “I used to continuously observe the high charges that these funds were charging me, and after accounting for those, my money wasn’t really appreciating the way I had originally expected,” he said. 

The Millionaire Teacher: The Nine Rules of Wealth You Should Have Learned at School, by Andrew Hallam. The book is a story by and of author Hallam, who was a school teacher but became a millionaire years before his retirement by following simple investment rules. Not only did Sharma decided to gift the book to his son, saying, “I didn’t want him to commit the same financial mistakes I did,” he also read the book himself. The book sensitized him to the importance of costs in mutual funds. “That’s when I realised that the mutual fund investments I had made in Singapore were not just costly but had huge exit loads if I were to withdraw them at any time. All these penalties were close to 35% of what I had originally invested,” he said. Scared but intrigued, Sharma read more books on investing.

He zeroed in on Hemant Beniwal. “I was sure that I wanted a planner who would charge me. Someone who’s answerable to me. In Singapore, my financial advisers didn’t charge me, but look at the costly investments they got me into,” he said.
First principles
Beniwal said that although Sharma was well-read when they met, his approach needed some key tweaks to suit the Indian scenario.
For instance, low-cost index and exchange-traded funds may work abroad, but not necessarily in India. “As he had sold his Singapore house and reinvested the proceeds in non-resident external account deposits, he had a very high allocation to bank fixed deposits and little in equity funds,” Beniwal said.
Beniwal also realised that Sharma had not planned for his retirement adequately, back then. Faced with a goal of funding his son’s higher education and wedding, Beniwal made Sharma realize that it would be better to part-fund his son’s education and not entirely. “He told me that I could never get a loan against my retirement. That hit me hard. I realised it would be better for my son to take up a part-time job or scholarship, in addition to my help,” said Sharma, who wants to be financially independent and not depend on his son to take care of him and his wife in their old age.
Clearing up his insurance policies—even though he lost money in them—was for the better, Sharma and Beniwal realized.
Another change he made was that, from holding about eight credit cards in Singapore, Sharma doesn’t own any now. Also, his family is involved in financial planning and the portfolio steers away from gold and real estate.
At 49 today, Sharma, who heads the metals division of his company in India, sits 40% in equity and equity mutual funds and rest in fixed deposits. “It’s still not an ideal allocation, but it’s much better than before,” he said.

With handmade personal care products, stationery and 100 varieties of tea, Vrksa LifeSpace aims to create a sustainable eco-system

 IT professional S.K. Packiyanath and his wife Deepa wanted to build a life completely different from what they were used to. They hoped to spend the rest of their lives as close to Nature as possible; live sustainably in an environment surrounded by people with similar interests. Back in Chennai, their friends R. Purusothaman who was in the IT sector himself, and his artist wife Kamini, had already set up a base — Vrksa LifeSpace.
It all began two years ago in a narrow bylane in Porur. Purusothaman initially started Vrksa as an organic store. Much like the tree, its namesake, Vrksa branched into various directions. Today, the store has everything one would need to make the switch to a sustainable lifestyle — from books and magazines on environment, organic food, about 100 varieties of tea, and natural personal care products.
“Most of our decisions have been impulsive,” says Purusothaman, seated in their café. For instance, most people who visited ended up having long conversations with them at the store, which led them to set up a café that served tea with very less caffeine. Then there are books on organic farming and magazines such as Thumbi, that one can browse through, seated on the cane chairs overlooking a lawn.
In an adjoining room, glass-fronted wooden shelves are lined with artefacts from various parts of the country that Purusothaman sources directly from the artisans. He has a story to tell about each item he has collected. “This is Bidriware from North Karnataka. It’s made of a zinc alloy that’s sourced from around a port in the area. But the precise location of the source metal is a closely-guarded secret,” he explains, showing an elephant with golden highlights.
There are marapachi dolls, Channapatna dolls... among the rarest is the ‘satti bommai’, a rocking doll made of clay, a variety that’s almost extinct. “The dolls are made in Thanjavur and Chengalpet. The craft, once practised by an entire street, is now confined to a handful of families,” he adds.
While Purusothaman is the traveller, Deepa is the mind behind the JivaVrksa range of personal care products.
She says the recipe for the herbal powder-based face, hair and body washes, and face pack have been put together with help from locally-sourced knowledge from her ancestors. “We initially tried them out with friends,” she explains. “The products were launched after one-and-a-half years of research.” A couple of old women from the neighbourhood come in to pack the powders in artfully-done brown packets every day. “The energy that they bring in is something else,” says Purusothaman.
MayaVrksa, the handmade range of notebooks, journals, folders and passport holders, among others, is yet another of their ideas that was sparked by conversation. “We were once reminiscing about the sweet smell of notebooks and how we used to bind books by hand as kids,” says Deepa. This triggered their interest in making stationery. “It’s quite simple. All it takes is paper, thread, and a stapler. We thought we might inspire people to make their own writing material,” adds Purusothaman. “Paper has so many possibilities. It can be recycled and reused in various forms.”
Vrksa LifeSpace is located in a building constructed in the Laurie Baker method. It recently opened out a room in the building for workshops and discussions. “We’ve had families who’ve completely switched to sustainable living share their thoughts, people who are into environmentally-conscious work, such as cloth bags, hold talks...” says Purusothaman. Ultimately, this is an atmosphere that Purusothaman and team want to build.
But as Vrksa evolved, so has their idea of sustainable living. “We now want to move away from the city to a space where we can work at our own pace and leisure,” says Deepa. “We want to create products end-to-end, for that’s what sustainable living is all about.”
In the coming years, the two families plan to move to a rural set-up, raise the herbs needed for their personal care products and make handmade paper from scratch for their MayaVrksa line. Adds Deepa, “This way, we needn’t depend on anyone but ourselves. We can satisfy our needs and live in tune with Nature.”

RELATIONSHIP HACKS MODERN INDIAN MEN NEED TO KNOW

Relationships can put you into tricky situations very often and if you don't know how to deal with them, you're going to have a tough time dealing with your girlfriend. These relationship hacks are exactly what every guy ever needed...

1 Make a list of all the things she needs. Every time she men tions something she wants, note it down on your phone secretly (because let's face it, we can't remember) and you'd never have to think about what to get her on her birthday .

2 Every now and then, drop a sweet apology for random things she doesn't even remember from the last day Make up something. Like, “Hey , I'm .sorry I was rude to you on the phone yesterday!“ It'll melt her heart and you'll earn some brownie points. The next time you get really angry during an argument, she'd actually listen to you.

3 Never tell her it's her fault when she discusses her prob lems with you. Even if she tells you she threw a cup of coffee on her boss' face and ticked him off, you're supposed to listen and nod. Do not give any solution. And if she asks for your opinion, what do you say? “It's okay. Whatever happens, I'm right here.“ And if she says, “Don't call me,“ call her. Call her immediately . Call her until she gives in, talks about it and forgives you.

4 So, you bought her a PS4 on her birthday? Now what do you do? Don't worry , we've got your back. Make it look like you put a lot of thought into it. Tell her you planned a game night for her birthday and that you think she could really be good at it.

5 How do you tell her all the things you hate about her without offending her? Play a game. She tells you one thing she doesn't like about you, and then you get your turn.

6 Every time you go through a rough patch in your relation ship, write a cheesy , romantic note for her on social media.

But you don't want to look silly either. Your guy friends are going to laugh at you for life, aren't they? What do you do? Well, keep the privacy settings to just her and her girl BFFs. You may get caught but it's worth the risk!

7 So, a hot girl passes by. Before you know it, you're checking her out, totally forgetting that your girlfriend's right there.

Now what? Don't fret. Keep calm and tell her, “Oh, I think I know her. We went to school together!“ You could even say you were just imagining how good that dress would look on her.

8 Every time she tries on a dress, say, “Have you lost weight?“ Well, that definitely throws the “Do I look fat“ trap out of the window, once and for all.

9 When you know she's going to be very an gry because you were late, get her something on your way or just compliment her when you see her.Just say, “Hey, your hair is looking nice!“ the moment you meet her. Give her a warm hug and thank us later. And if she's cooking for you, always give her an honest opinion.She will appreciate honesty more than insincere flattery.

10 When you know it's going to be a nasty fight, say you want to discuss it over dinner and take her to a fancy place. With good food around, it'll be difficult for her to fight.

11 Avoid criticising her, but if you must, do it the right way . Start by praising her and end with a compliment. Much like, “Hey know you're an innocent person and, I people misunderstand you a lot but it would be great if you could give me more space because you're such a wonderful person.“

12 When she asks you which dress to buy, say “Why don't you buy both?“ because let's face it, a simple answer is never going to work. On the other hand, when she asks you which dress she should wear, without wasting another moment, choose one. Just choose. And sound very , very sure. Tell her she looks great in it and save yourself some precious hours of uncertainty.

13 So, you forgot her birthday again? There's only one way this can work out. If you sud denly remember it in the afternoon, do not call her. Do not call her the whole day . Use that time to plan a party and surprise her in the evening.Make it look like you deliberately pretended to have forgotten her birthday just to surprise her.

14 What do you do when you want to hang out with the guys but she wants to spend the evening with you? Tell her that you don't like how she doesn't get any time to hang out with her own friends. Turn the tables. Get her to plan a ladies night with her girl gang so that you can go out with your guy friends.