How to keep Indoor Air Clean

If you think you are breathing polluted air only when you are outside, on the road or in an industrial area, think again. Even the air in your home may be polluted. Some of the major causes of indoor air pollution are often hidden in our daily utilities.

1. Accumulated dust and microbes,

2. Kitchen emissions,

3. Chemicals in cleaning products,

4. Perfumes,

5. Craft supplies,

6. Paints,

7. New furniture,to name a few.

The only way to tackle dust is to regularly clean every nook and cranny of the house. Washing bed linen and curtains in hot water everyweek prevents dust mites from accumulating. When cleaning ceiling fans, use a wet cloth to wipe as it minimises the dust from blowing.

Never turn on the stove in a closed room with no ventilation. Open the windows or turn on the exhaust fan. Carbon monoxide and Nitrogen dioxide are emitted in small quantities while cooking. These gases are potentially harmful when inhaled. Inhaling cooking gases for prolonged periods of time takes a toll on respiratory health. It effects lung function and may cause chronic diseases like asthma. Ensure the burners and gas-tube are leak proof so that cooking gas doesn't escape.

Common household cleaning products emit gases which irritate our air passages and are sometimes toxic. Instead clean the house with hot water, baking soda, vinegar and good old soap.

Avoid air fresheners and use natural aroma oils or herbs for a fresh fragrance.

Even perfumes and other personal care items irritate the lungs and are not to be used daily. Children are especially sensitive to such chemical fumes.

Have'nt you noticed that your child's craft supplies like colour pens, glue, paints smell of chemicals? Although most of these are labelled non-toxic, they still contain substances which fume during use and storage. So next time, your kids get crafty, head outside.

Most of us are uncomfortable entering a newly painted house or room. The paint fumes overwhelm you. Some of the house paints used today emanate fumes with no odour. Select no-fume paints for your home.

New furniture made of pressed wood contains formaldehyde, not to mention the varnish/ paints both of which emit toxic fumes. Keep the furniture in a well aerated area for a few days if possible and then move it inside the house.

To have your kitchen smelling fresh, boil any citrus fruit peel in a dish of water for 5 minutes. Try and habituate the use of salt, lemons, baking soda and vinegar for household cleaning purposes.

Filter your Indoor Air from particulate matter by running the air conditioner. Remove and clean the AC filter regularly.

Adorable Fashion by Mayhem

She's all of four and brimming with creativity. Her mom calls her 'Mayhem' and loves to spend quality time in dressing her up with paper outfits. Their website FashionByMayhem is temporarily down. Here are some of the mother-daughter creations I found to be especially cute.

1. Rainbow Dress

The above paper dress resembles an Indian lehenga for little girls.

2. Spring flowers on bright green paper gown

3. Gift wrapped cuteness

4. Minnie Mouse inspired outfit

5. Opera Singer

Joke of the Day : 5

Gaw Cha Ro Lin!!!!

Telangana Tussle

Being from AndhraPradesh, I remember singing 'Maa Telugu Talli ki mallepoo danda'. I guess it's going to be ' maa telangana talli ki' in Telangana. Hopefully it remains unchanged in Seemandhra. The creation of small states carved out of existing ones involves huge expenses. The instigation of new administration and corresponding infrastructure is a burden on the economy. These resources could very well be used to develop the backward areas.

The formation of various states in independent India was based on language. The present day demand for small states is more of a people's sentiment than it is of their quest for development. If the performance of smaller states cut out of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh is taken into account, there shouldn't be any more divisions. These three states showcase the fallacy of the small state argument.

Uttaranchal, Uttar khand and Chattisgarh were formed with mutual consent from both sides of the dividing line, which is not the case with Telangana. Hyderabad, the IT city, is at the centre of the tussle. 70% of the state's revenue comes from Hyderabad. The current infrastructure of the city is a result of the efforts of many people, not just the Telanganites. It is almost impossible to build a worthy capital for Seemandhra any time soon. Telangana will now have control over the rivers which irrigate Seemandhra. It is imminent that water wars will ensue. The Seemandhra region which relies heavily on agriculture might go arid, given the apathy of our politicians. The coastal region has no major resources or industries. How is employment going to be created?

The most serious problem overlooked in the bifurcation process is the threat of Maoists in the Dandakaranya belt which extends from Andhra to Nepal. The AP police force was successful in thwarting the strengthening of the Maoist muscle for long. Now, with the police force divided between two states, there will not be enough resources to contain a Maoist outbreak.

The passing of the Telangana Bill in parliament amid tight security without live media coverage is a shame on our democracy. I dearly hope India isn't on its way to becoming a North Korea. This event seems like a curtain riser to more of the atrocities our so called leaders will dole out. All these issues aside, does the creation of a small state ensure its development?

Laugh Together!!

Improve your Vocabulary

Memorizing lists if words to build your vocabulary is both tedious and unrewarding. Author Ida Ehrlich developed a method of vocabulary building based on the keys of the English language.

In her book Instant Vocabulary, she discusses 259 keys with a list of corresponding words and practice exercises.

By the time you finish reading and working with this book, you will be able to know the meaning of the longest word in the English language, Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis, even if you have never seen/heard it before. I have to wait a few more days to get its meaning since I'm half way through the book.

Joke of the Day : 4

Joke of the Day : 3

Bracelet Phones: Futuristic Tech Jewels

Here are some futuristic bracelet phone models for the savvy technorati. Sometime in the future, you might just wear your gadgets like jewellery. How cool is that!! Since these beauties are in the conceptual stage, you'll need to wait a few years to slip one on your wrist.

1. The Apple iPhone 5 Bracelet

2.The Roller Phone by Alexei Chegunnikov

3.Asus Waveface Ultra Flexible OLED Smart phone

4.LG Helix

5.Speak To Me Bracelet Cellphone

6.Philips Fluid flexible OLED phone

7.The Dial

8.Nokia Lumia 1080

9.Nokia Morph

10.Samsung Bracelet

11.The Hook phone

Joke of the Day : 2

Spectacular View from the sky

Though I'm scared of heights and flying, I always look forward to the fantastic views from the plane's window : of azure skies, cotton candy clouds, stretches of green speckled with lakes, winding rivers, city scapes, night lights and sometimes another aeroplane!

Returning to Mumbai after a great time at a family wedding, I clicked some pictures just before landing. Since we arrived in the evening, a little before sunset, I captured the matte finished, silvery expanse of the Arabian Sea.

A river flows out to meet the Sea..

An off-shore oil plant?

Joke of the day : 1

When Dreams Come True

American artist Elizabeth Caroll Smith's painting "When dreams come True" was the winner of 'Ars Ad Astra'. It was a project conceived to put art in outer space. The space theme paintings by 82 artists were put up on the late Russian Mir Space Station.

It would be ideal to adorn the wall of our kids' room. Cannot applaud the artist enough for her creative imagination. The moon reflecting in the water and the children sending a paper boat towards it!! This is my favouritest painting so far. Love it :)

Favourite Lullabies I sing to my kids

I have always been very vocal with my children, be it reading stories, singing lullabies or ahem, yelling(sometimes). I used to be so tacit before I became a mother. But since my first baby was born, my vocal chords have been exercising a great deal. Ofcourse, I'm loving it!

Tip: You can control yelling by saying this to yourself : "she's only two, she's only two,.... " or whatever is your kid's age.

The following are the lullabies I sing most often at bedtime.

1. Jaamu raathiri, Jabilamma song from the Telugu movie KshanaKshanam. This wasn't supposed to be a 'baby' lullaby, but the lyrics are so meaningful . The protagonist(Venkatesh) sings this song to comfort the leading lady(Sridevi), when she's scared of the goons chasing her and apprehensive of spending a night in the jungle with a total stranger. Penned by Sirivennela Seetharama Sastri and composed by Keeravani, its a masterpiece that stands the test of time. This song is also one of the first songs my first born used to hum.

2. Twinkle, Twinkle little star; the full five stanzas. The original poem was written in England by Jane Taylor. But the tune as we know it was composed by Mozart to a French poem 'Ah, vous diraj-es, Maman'. Somehow, this tune was set to Twinkle, twinkle little star, contrary to popular belief that Mozart composed it. It is simply addictive.

3. Hush, little baby, don't say a word! This song lulls while teaching rhythm and sequence.

4. Lullaby and Goodnight! is a classic melody. A part of this famous composition by German pianist Johannes Brahms was taken from German folk poems and the rest was written by George Scherer. Though I haven't learnt to croon it well enough, I hum through. I usually play it on my phone for the little ones.

Singing encourages listening, self-expression, verbal confidence and an eagerness to communicate. While you bond with your children over some songs, it teaches them more than just music. Kids learn patterning, rhyme and rhythm. It promotes deep breathing, stimulates brain activity and strengthens memory. Start singing to your little ones, if you haven't already, with lotsa lovve!!

Student Rickrolls Teacher

Indian-American student Sairam Gudiseva inserted the lyrics of a Rick Astley song in his quantum mechanics essay. In fact it was an essay on Neil's Bohr.

He wrote it in such a way the lyrics all aligned to the left. It was smart and must have taken some effort. Wonder what grade he got for submitting this.

To 'rickroll' means to trick someone with a link to Rick Astley's video. The meme was made famous by Rick Astley himself appearing unannounced in a St.Patrick's Day parade. The act revived his career. The 80s smash hit, Never gonna give you up topped many international music track rankings.

Sunanda Pushkar's death

First reports hint at suicide.Death reported by Mr. Tharoor's staff. May be due to poisoning.

Why would a wealthy, beautiful mother of a 21 year old kill herself over marital disharmony? She was proud of making it big in a man's world.

I used to enjoy reading Tharoor's column in the Hindu Sunday edition and welcomed his foray into politics. He was a UN official at the time. The fog cleared when the erudite Stephanian started his 'cattle class' comments. He isn't any better than the other politicians. And then followed the IPL controversy of buying a team for his wife.

If a sportsperson dopes or fixes matches, he is banned for life and ripped of all his achievements. Why doesn't the same apply to our politicians? They just change their portfolios!This is a bit off-topic.

There's some similarity between Ms.Pushkar's death and that of Bob Woolmer, the South African coach of Pakistan's cricket team. He too was found dead in a hotel room. The investigators suggested suicide, poisoning and then ended it with a heart attack. May be he knew too much and was about to reveal his knowledge of match-fixing. May be Sunanda knew too much?

This is the stuff of thriller novels and media speculation. The truth will probably never come out owing to the case's classification.