A few years ago, I found a pakora recipe amid a stack of ancestral documents at my parents' place. It is said to be dictated by my great grandmother, who at that time was probably in her thirties, living with her in-laws in a joint family. According to the family lore, a firang had visited their home and the great grandmother had made some tea and pakoras for the guest. He liked the spicy, crispy fritters so much that he asked for its recipe to carry back home to England.

The mother of twelve didn’t know how to read or write, but her children, especially sons, were quite proficient in Hindi and Sanskrit. The tenth child in particular was a prodigy. He was merely six years old, but was able to put down on a paper whatever he was told, verbatim. Therefore, the mother might have sat him down to dictate the recipe.

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For the past few days, we have been bombarded with the news that the Higgs boson has been found. The following video was made a day before the big announcement was made at CERN:

Even after all the hullabaloo, in reality, no one has yet been able to see the God particle in person. He remains elusive, though seekers have found signs of His existence. We are still not sure if the Higgs boson works alone like the God from Abrahamic religions, or there is a team like Hindu Deities.

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Top Bollywood Dance Numbers of 2012
If you have been sleeping like Kumbhakaran until now, it's time to wake up. Wake ho jaiye! New Year's Eve is fast approaching!Auntiji, Uncleji, get up and dance! 

A still from movie Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu 

1. Aunti Ji Aunti Ji from Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu, featuring Imran Khan, Kareena Kapoor; watch out for Imran's wife Avantika at 2:50

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A few months ago, something terrible happened. It was bound to happen. Looking back, I can tell that it occurred only because of my complacency. I was sitting on my bed in the safety of my home with a laptop, reading other blogs and anointing them with my expert comments, when I realized that my overgrown nails were causing some impediment while typing.

People think that mishaps occur only when they venture out of their homes. This is not true. To get in the way of harm, you don’t have to go to Iraq, Afghanistan, or Syria, or play in traffic, or swim in shark-infested water. Calamity could strike you even inside your home. In fact, toilet injuries are far more common than shark attacks. According to a report, last year 75 people had suffered from shark bites all over the world, against 40,000 toilet related injuries. People even drown in bathtubs and buckets.

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It is all the good that you are a hardworking person endowed with qualities and virtues, which are considered admirable in a human being, rather it is fantastic, marvelous, superb, but please, it does not mean that you can abuse those who are not like you.

Many narrow-minded and prejudiced bigots discriminate others on the basis of religion, race, caste, nationality, skin color, physical appearance, gender, sexual orientation, disabilities, etc. I have nothing against such people. Poor souls, they themselves must have been victims of one or the other type of discrimination, hence could be suffering from inferiority complex. They have every reason to vent their frustrations.

What I find offensive is a type of discrimination which is widely prevalent all over the world, yet, no one speaks against it. Even I find myself at the receiving end. Amir Khan Sir, how much more should we suffer before you take up the cudgels on our behalf in Satyamev Jayate?

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