Rajasthani Food Culture in Udaipur – The City of Lakes

Udaipur is one of the most scenic and beautiful cities in the entire country. Many a times it is referred to as the “Venice of the East” due to the presence of so many water bodies in and around the city.

The city was the former capital of the Rajput state of Mewar and was set up by Raja Udai Singh who belonged to the Sisodia clan. The rulers of Mewar were the only ones who refused to accept the supremacy of the Mughal rule and were constantly at war with them. The city of Udaipur was set up in 1568 after Chittorgarh was annexed by Emperor Akbar.

The city has many lakes and palaces spread across. Udai Sagar Lake, Lake Pichola, Fateh Sagar Lake and Swaroop Sagar Lake are some of the most renowned lakes in the city, some of which are dotted with palaces on top of their islands. The palaces showcase the grandeur and the rich art and cultural heritage of the Royal Rajputs.

The Lake Palace is a living example of the grandiose and artistic bend of the Sisodia kings and is located on the entire island of Lake Pichola. Many of the palaces have now been converted into heritage hotels and provide the traditional comfort and services in true royal Rajasthani style. Continue reading “Rajasthani Food Culture in Udaipur – The City of Lakes”

Star Wars Special: PR Lessons From The Jedi Masters

Since its inception 1977, the Star Wars narratives have amassed a great deal of following. Adopting a transmedia strategy, it has provided its fandom with a truly immersive experience which gave birth to a unique subculture of its own. While many look to the film franchise for childhood reminiscence and heart-racing plot build-ups, some of us discovered enlightening public relations advice from Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Here are some of them:

Many of the truths that we cling to depend on our point of view.

The first lesson to learn from Obi-Wan is the importance of empathy for a PR practitioner. We, as PR practitioners, must be able to abandon confirmatory biases to be able to analyse situations from the perspective of the different stakeholders.

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Processed Foods: The Pros and Cons – A Balanced View

In food processing, harvested crops or butchered animals are used as the raw ingredients for making and packaging food products that are attractive, marketable and have long-shelf lives.

Attractive means that the product both tastes and looks good. To be marketable, it must match the kinds of food being demanded by consumers. Food products that have a long-shelf life reduce the costs of wastage for producers, distributors and retailers.

Development of food processing

Food processing dates back to our prehistory — when fire was discovered and cooking invented. The various ways in which food can be cooked are all forms of food processing.

Food preservation also began in prehistory, and the first ‘long shelf-life’ foods were produced by drying food in the sun and by preserving food with salt. Preservation with salt was common with soldiers, sailors and other travelers until canning was invented in the early 19th century. Continue reading “Processed Foods: The Pros and Cons – A Balanced View”

COVID-19 Pandemic: When No Means More Than A No!

The novel Coronavirus pandemic has impacted humans like never before in the history of humankind on earth, because it has affected the vistas of personal choices and personal likes and dislikes of people. Of course, wars including the world wars did and do impact lives, but not to the extent as on the present prolonged crisis. Thanks to the advisories and preventive measures to check the spread of the disease most people have successfully specialized in saying no to so many things they prefer to say a resounding yes. This is in sharp contrast of the commonly observed phenomenon that people, good-natured as most of them are, find it extremely difficult to say no, and many social analysts consider ‘saying or meaning no’ a negative trait, barring serious situations when a ‘no’ strictly means ‘no’ and should be respected by all concerned parties or offenders. In view of the pandemic that still does not want to leave humankind alone this specialized ‘no’ has assumed a tremendous and time-defining significance.

How you wish things had been normal and your housemaid started coming to your house, reducing the load of household chores on you and your spouse. Living in home continuously needs cleaning up more regularly than on those days when most of the members would leave home for jobs and other errands, and a super-clean house would await the arrival of the beholders most eagerly and a bit discontentedly too. You’d definitely like to be a help to your toiling and tiring spouse, somehow. But you shall say no as you ought to. Continue reading “COVID-19 Pandemic: When No Means More Than A No!”

Ecological Footprint of War

When we think of war we usually think in terms of human casualties and displacement. But human tragedy is only one aspect of war. Another is the long lasting ecological footprint resulting from war that often takes decades to resolve. Ecological footprint normally refers to an entity such as an individual, company or government. In this article it is used in the context of a military presence or product of war. An ecological footprint refers not only carbon dioxide emissions and other greenhouse gases contributing to the carbon footprint but also to ecological issues including pollution and use of non-renewable resources such as clean water.

Ecology is of great concern because war generally involves the indiscriminate destruction of land and damage to the surrounding environment. One such example was the dropping of the atom bomb on two Japanese cities at the end of the 2nd world war. In this case the ecological footprint consisted of massive destruction of land and long lasting effects of radiation. Another example of war-induced ecological footprint was the spraying of Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. Not only was Agent Orange an effective defoliate but also released dioxins as it degraded, causing serious health problems for anyone exposed to it.

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Top 7 Similarities of Business and War

Business Strategy and capturing market share is somewhat similar in many regards to war strategy. How so you ask? Well below are the similarities listed for your consideration. And before I introduce them to you, I am not suggesting war is good or evil. I believe it is merely a formality of political impasse amongst humans and good or bad is irrelevant, as it just is.

Surely it would be best to have no wars and killing ones own species seems a bit problematic and nevertheless if you enemy is trying to kill you sometimes the defense of such leads to unfortunate circumstances.

Now then here are some parallels of business and war below and perhaps they will be of value to you for philosophical discussion?

1.) In war you have an opponent and your opponent wants what you have or you are trying to get what they have; market share. Continue reading “Top 7 Similarities of Business and War”

Acid Attack – Are Your Teeth In Danger?

Your teeth may be at risk. Did you know that consuming acidic foods and drinks can lead to acid erosion of your teeth? Once softened by acid exposure, your tooth enamel becomes weakened and can be more easily worn away, even by just brushing your teeth! If you tend to grind your teeth at night, you can quickly do some serious damage.

Often the first sign of this problem is increased sensitivity to cold air or liquids. Bouts of acid exposure will open up the pores on your teeth, and any areas of dentin exposure, such as root surfaces, can become very sensitive.

Teeth softened by acid are much more vulnerable to decay. That can mean a lot of extensive dental treatment.

Serious damage from acid doesn’t happen with a single exposure, and your teeth have some capacity to recover (re-mineralize). However, many repeated exposures can lead to severe, irreversible destruction of your teeth. Continue reading “Acid Attack – Are Your Teeth In Danger?”

What Makes Thai Food Popular?

Thai cuisine or Thai Food is one of the most celebrated dishes in the world because of its taste and nutritious value. Thai food became popular after World War II when Thailand become a favorite international tourist destination site for Americans and Britons. Its unique combination of exotic flavors and nice fragrances has widely contributed to a high international status. Take for example the famous Thai soup known as Tom Yum Goong which is a combination of prawn and mushrooms spiced up with lemongrass, galangal, chili, and lime. This soup can be served alongside any dish and still make the whole meal fantastic.

One of the major factors contributing to Thai food popularity is its availability in almost all major cities around the world such as London, Paris, Washington DC etc. A research showed that there is one Thai restaurant for every fifty people living in Seattle. Almost all towns have a dozen Thai Basil or Siam restaurants. In addition, these restaurants are located near or in malls making it an easy stop for consumers. The convenience where these restaurants are located has immensely contributed to their popularity. The difference in taste, flavor and uniqueness create mouthwatering meals for not only Americans but everyone from different cultural backgrounds. Most Thai restaurants are owned and operated by Thai people who good knowledge on Thai cuisine and culture as well as experience in making these delicious meals. Thai cuisine is served in plenty compared to other dishes. Large food portions are served to customers and hence people get filled without necessarily ordering numerous plates. This helps as one spends less and saves more ultimately becoming a preferred choice of cuisine. In addition, Thai cuisine is relatively cheap when compared to other cuisines. Continue reading “What Makes Thai Food Popular?”

Freeze Dried Foods and Dehydrated Foods – What’s the Difference Anyway?

Everyone has heard of dehydrated foods. It’s the simplest and least-expensive way to store food for longer periods of time; it’s something that’s more affordable for families to do at home–if they can afford to spend the time preparing and dehydrating foods for emergency food storage. But what of freeze-dried foods? To some people the term may be completely new, or sound familiar but unsure of the definition. Some may have even tried freeze-dried food without even realizing they have. If you have had “astronaut ice cream” before, then you have tried freeze dried food.

When gathering food for emergency food storage, hiking, camping or other similar reasons, it is good to know the difference between these two types of prepared food storage. Not only will knowing the difference help you understand how they’re made, but help you know why some processes will be better for the types of food you wish to store versus other types of food. Continue reading “Freeze Dried Foods and Dehydrated Foods – What’s the Difference Anyway?”

Enjoy Stress Free Dining By Ordering Food Online

Food ordering has not been left behind by technological innovations. You can now order your food from a local restaurant easily using a web page or an app made available to you by the restaurant to enjoy a stress free process of enjoying your favorite meals. With an internet connection from any given device, you can now find a favorite restaurant, go through the menu or choose your preferred cuisine and order as much food as you wish. You then have the option of having the food delivered to where you are or you can pick it up or enjoy it from the restaurant at a given time.

The Benefits of Online Ordering

· When you order food online, you save yourself the embarrassment of making your way to the restaurant only to find that your favorite meal is not available. With the online process, however, the restaurant has enough time to get your food ready without you having to wait endlessly. Continue reading “Enjoy Stress Free Dining By Ordering Food Online”