Mom and pop stores

Whenever I hear that a favorite 'mom and pop'(MAP) store of mine shut down, I become very sad. I feel almost as if a part of my culture died; and then this fierce debate ensues in my mind one side of which says that we need to keep up with time and the other side says that we should have some local flavor. The former says that chain stores will provide better prices, availability and service. The latter says that the personalization provided by the MAPs can never be replaced by the chain stores. Yes there are times when while shopping I like to simply pick up stuff from the shelves but there are other times when I'm confused between two brands/products and would like to get a second opinion from the shop keeper. Or I don't feel like going all over the store picking, instead I just want to hand in my shopping list to the shopkeeper and collect the stuff in an hour. Did I forget to write the particular tea that I wanted? Not to worry. Being a regular the shopkeeper knows my favorites. You need a minor alteration to a product? No problem, the shopkeeper would be happy to do it.

Let's look at the advantages of chain stores. Availability? Agreed they have a larger stock of given items but I think when it comes to variety the MAPs beat the chain stores. Price? That's one aspect where the chain stores win, at least in the short run. Service? I think there's 50-50 balance here. Things like Returns are better handled at chain stores.

So what do you think?

Demand: a consumer's weapon!

This time last year when the gas prices were sky rocketing, I recieved an e-mail the essence of which was that if we wanted to put a stop to price gouging by certain oil companies then we should stop buying gas from them. It was then that I thought to myself - this is the most powerful weapon that I as a consumer possess and I should use it to my benefit. Like most of us, I was very agitated that the oil companies were making record breaking profits at our expense, so I decided not to buy gas from companies like Exxon, Mobil, etc. Instead I made sure that every time I went to costco I filled up my tank. What if you don't have a costco? Well, there are always other gas pumps which provide gas at much less. For example: Arco, Thrifty, etc.

This principle doesn't apply to gas alone but to any product/supplier. If the consumers don't buy their products, suppliers will be in big trouble! Taking such a step may put in some inconvenience but that's a small price to pay. If you think a store is overcharging you, you should stop buying from there. If you think a particular brand has degraded its quality; stop consuming that brand. What are suppliers without consumers?!?!

Crime and Punishment

Author: Fyodor Dostoyevsky

A novel more about the emotions than about the plot itself. It takes you through the emotional travails of the protagonist. The central character, Raskolnikov, is pursuing studies to become an acadamecian. He has come up with a theory on the psychology behind crime and criminals, which he later comes to know got published. According to his theory, the criminals can be divided into two sets: the normal and the extraordinary. The latter set has the right to crime so as to eliminate obstacles from the great work that they're doing. He considers himself part of this set and decides to remove certain obstacles from his path. However, the task turns out larger than he'd expected. This crime directs the rest of life. He undergoes the same changes that he'd talked about in his article which just shows what a great mind he has. The novel describes how his life is a complete ruin following the crime even though he's not been identified as the murderer.

In some sense I find this novel inspiring; it shows that how a person with such a great intellect can be reduced to a wreck because of a single crime: whether he's caught or not.

Cute and vegetable?!?!

Have you ever found a vegetable cute? I've never. But here's a piece of art which makes them so cute and brings them alive!

Satyanarayan Katha

We performed Satyanarayan Katha yesterday. One can read more about the Satyanarayan Katha in english and hindi. As part of the prasad we'd panchamrit and kasaar (or panjiri): both are my favorites. Here's the recipe for kasaar, it's my mom's recipe and the best!

What you'll need
1 cup Whole Wheat flour (Atta)
3-4 tsp. Ghee (clarified butter)
0.5 cup fine-grained Sugar
2 tsp cardamom(elaichi) powder
chopped roasted nuts

Let's Start

1. Roast the flour with the ghee on a low flame, I used the med-lo setting. Keep roasting/stirring till the color of the flour changes to a nice brown (not burnt brown). It is important to roast it on low flame, otherwise the color of the flour will change but the flour wouldn't get cooked properly.
2. After it's roasted, let it cool.
3. Mix in rest of the ingredients.
   

Vermicelli (Sewiyan) Lime Bhath

I picked this recipe from the wrapper of Bambino vermicelli and made a little changes to suit our taste like made it less spicy and added some vegetables. You can use any vermicelli for this, doesn't have to be Bambino's only. We liked the dish a lot and it's easy to make. It makes for a good weekend breakfast!

What you'll need:

1 cup Vermicelli
10 tsp lemon juice or 3 lemons
1 Green chilli
2-3 tbsp Groundnuts
1.5 tsp Jeera (Cumin seeds)
1.5 tsp Mustard Seeds
2 tsp Bengal Gram
2 tsp Urad Dal
0.5 tsp Turmeric powder
pinch of asafoetida
3 tsp oil
2 dried red chillies
3-4 curry leaves
0.5 cup vegetables
Salt to taste

Let's start cooking:

1. Boil 2 cups water.
2. To boiling water, add the vermicelli, salt and oil.
3. Once the vermicelli is cooked, take off the flame and drain the water. Put the vermicelli in a colander/sieve and rinse it in cold water.
   
4. Heat oil at medium-high flame and add jeera and mustard seeds.
5. Once the seeds splutter reduce the flame to medium or medium-low; add green chillies, red chillies, black gram, groundnuts and urad dal.
6. Fry them till the groundnuts are well done; at the same time ensuring that other ingredients do not get burnt.
7. Add turmeric and asafoetida; fry for a minute.
8. I used frozen vegetables, so I first heated them in microwave for 2-3 minutes, till they were half-tender and then added them to the above mixture. Fry the vegetables till you think they are well done.
   
9. Reduce the flame to low and add the cooked vermicelli and mix for a minute. If there's a little water when you add vermicelli, mix till the water dries. But don't mix for long or else the vermicelli will get mashed and sticky.
10. Take off the flame and add lemon juice. Mix.
11. Keep it for a little while before serving so that the tanginess of the lemon is well absorbed.
    

Notes:

• The key thing is to cook the vermicelli the right amount: neither over-cooked nor under-cooked. When it is added to the boiling water, it gets cooked really fast; within 1-2 minutes. So keep checking.
• When mixing the vermicelli with the other ingredients, do it lightly so as not to mash the vermicelli.
• Vermicelli should be rinsed well in cold water so that it's not sticky.
  
• If you eat it immediately after adding the lemon juice, you will not get the citrus flavor of lemon. You must keep it for 5-10 minutes for the flavor to be absorbed.
  

Micro-finance

We have all heard about Muhammed Yunus, the Nobel Peace prize winner, and his micro-financing project for the lower income group, which has turned out to be a boon for the people belonging to this category. His work focusses on giving loans of small amounts to villagers at easy terms.

Recently I was reading an article and came to know that there are a couple of organizations that have adopted this model and helping out the needy. If you thought that only banks can give loans then there's news for you: people like you and me can also loan money to those who need through these organizations. Some of them let you loan the money while others let you donate. So in the former case, you will be repaid back whatever amount you loaned depending on the term of the loan. That means, if you loaned a $100 for 12 months all you lose is the interest you would've gained on it. Assuming 8% gain, you only lose $8. In other words, by just donating $8 you are making a world of a difference to some people in this world. Not to mention that it would add to your karma.

Some of such organizations are:
Kiva

• Lets you loan the money.
• Minimum amount is $25!
• You can choose the person whom you want to loan the money.
• They have projects almost all over the world.
• Online payment facility.
• As the loanee pays back, money is credited to your account.
  

Grameen

• Many ways of giving: donation, funding a child's education, stocks, etc.
• Minimum amount is $10.
• Project of Muhammad Yunus.
• They have projects all over the world.
• Online payment facility

Global Living

• Provides you the facility to donate your money for a good cause.
• There does not seem to be a minimum amount specified.
• You can choose the project that you want to donate your money to.
• They have a variety of projects from AIDS to environment to education; you can choose whatever area you want to focus on.
• Again, they also have projects almost all over the world.
  

So what are you waiting for?!?! As small an amount as $10 from your pocket, can help: build somebody's house, educate a child, provide healthcare, empower women, save environment, provide food to somebody, etc. Did you know that your $10 went such a long way?!?!