In love with IndiaIn love with IndiaExchange student at IIMB last year and on my way back to India! Info, pics, advices, personal experiences, societal issues... Drop by!
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Bharata Natyam
2006-12-02 01:57:04 Went to my first Indian dance class today! An hour and a half of torture. I guess it is a slow process. One has to first learn the basic steps but unfortunately I don?t like being a beginner. Stamina should not be a problem as such but I seriously lack of coordination (head, hands, legs, body, eyes, facial expression) and in such kind of dance, every detail is important. Your body is supposed to express the lyrics and, hence, distorting a movement would result in a completely different meaning. What?s more, I faced a totally unexpected problem: my fingers are not flexible at all. Yea, smile, laugh! Do you know the Hastàbhinaya? Try it yourself here. SourceDefinition (wikipedia)Bharat a Natyam is a classical dance form originating in India. It owes its current name to Krishna Iyer and later, Rukmini Devi Arundale.Bharata could refer to either the author of the Natya Shastra or to a legendary king after whom the country of India was supposedly named, and natya is Sanskrit for the art o... More About: Hara
Advice: Food
2006-12-02 01:57:04 I stay four months in India and I never had the Delhi Belly or any typical disease than one could have in India. I was really careful with what I ate for the first few days. After a while, I honestly forgot some of the basic rules given below. Either I was lucky or my body got immunized. I also think that those of us who are continually scared of being sick, get sick. It is not all about the body. Just relax?Fruit/vegetableFresh fruits and juices are really tempting. Make sure to wash the fruits (with clean water!) or to peel them. Bananas are easy to eat, harmless, available everywhere and nutritious. As far as the juices are concerned, check that mineral water is used and that the fruits were not cut in advance. For example, the wonderfully refreshing pineapples seem safe because of their protective peel. But once it is cut open who knows if it is still germ-free. Keep in mind that flies are attracted by the fruits as much as we are.Regarding the vegetables, I would recommend you ... More About: Advice , Food , Vice
Proud to be a Belgian: trade
2006-12-02 01:57:04 At last, a fifth part?Pune, July 21: IT is not the usual suspects - the US or the UK firms - that have emerged on top of the Pune investment brigade. The latest source of fund flow is the ?Land of Tintin? famous for its beer and chocolates. Belgian companies, having already marked their presence in Pune?s industrial belt, will be pumping in close to 20 million euro in the next year, mostly for expansion. No wonder then that the consulate has decided to celebrate the Belgian national day in Pune on Friday. SourceA few factsTrade Belgium has emerged India?s second largest trade partners within EU with bilateral trade in 2004 at 6.49 billion euros, 75% of which is in diamonds. India?s aim is to diversify bilateral trade which is dominated by diamonds to areas of information and communication technology, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology where there is a tremendous potential for synergy.Major items of Indian exports to Belgium are iron & steel products, minerals fuels, oils and products the... More About: Proud
Advice: Bargaining
2006-12-02 01:57:04 Since the cost of living is a lot lower than in western countries, it is quite difficult for us to evaluate the price of a good or a service. Indians know it and most of them will try to fool us. If there is a tag on the product you want to buy, the price is fixed. Otherwise, bargain! And seem CONFIDENT when you do so. Divide the price given by two (or even by three). The other person will lower his price. Increase your offer by a little. And so on? He might disagree and seem angry. Pretend you are not interested anymore and leave. Don?t worry? It is only a game? Most of the time, he was also pretending and will run after you to make the deal.May I help you? SourceDon?t show your money before reaching an agreement. Nobody needs to know how much you really have.Try to always carry change. Paying with a Rs500 note after bargaining to have a lower price has to be avoided.Buy more than one product at the time. It will be easier to bargain. 5 for the price of 3? More About: Advice , Bargain , Gaining , Vice , Bargaining
Premarital sex
2006-12-02 01:57:04 More than a quarter of India?s youngsters have premarital sexPremarital sex is now a reality in India. Wondering how to prevent premarital sex is an obsolete issue. India should move on and focus on how to prevent unsafe sex and/or underage sex.Let?s have a look at the factsRead them carefully? The study panels might be biaised.1) National Institute of Health and Family WelfareA quarter to a third of India?s young people indulge in premarital sex.(17% among schoolchildren ; 33% among young workers in the typical north Indian population)17.4 years is the average age for first sex for boys and 18.2 for girls in India.60% of respondents had sex rarely or sometimes; 14% frequently.3-4% had multiple partners.50% of females and 45% males never used a condom.2) Durex Sex Survey 2005Indians lose their virginity at an average age of 19.8 years.The worldwide average age when people had sex for the first time is 17.3 years.Globally, people have had an average number of 9 sexual partners.Indian... More About: Mari
Advice: Hindi
2006-12-02 01:57:04 If you have time, learn Hindi ? At least the basics.There are hundreds of different languages in India but Hindi remains the national language. Only a small part of the population knows English. And when they do, you will find difficult to understand it due to a strong Indian accent.I didn?t learn Hindi. Big mistake? Even on the campus where everyone knows English, students use to speak in Hindi together. Even if you are in the group? They start speaking in English and they unconsciously switch to Hindi. Quite frustrating? Be aware that the non verbal language is also really important in India.Useful links-Online English Hindi Dictionary-A few non verbal examples-Indian head tilt More About: Advice , Vice
Secretary of State
2006-11-06 17:39:00 Extracts:?Dear Elise, From 1 to 7 November, the Secretary of Stat e Vincent Van Quickenborne will make a trip to India (a.o. with the Prime Minister)? Cities visited are Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore and Mumbai? Maybe a meeting could be set up?Do I want to have a chat with Mr Van Quickenborne? Sure! The program and instructions were rapidly given and I was to meet the secretary of State for an informal talk at the Taj West End Hotel.On Saturday, Vikas and I went to the hotel in order to check the way for the following day. Completely soaked after an hour under the rain, we finally reached the place and went for a well-deserved drink.On Sunday, I met Mr Van Quickenborne and a bunch of other people including journalists. Most questions were related to my personal experience but quickly economics and societal issues were also addressed. The next day, I joined the Belgian delegation for the visit of Infosys during which a symbolic tree was planted.All in all, I had a great time! And it felt ... More About: Secretary of State
Indian Confidence
2006-10-30 12:25:00 George Bush was sitting in his office wondering whom to invade next when his telephone rang."Hello, Mr. Bush!" a heavily accented voice said, "This is Gurmukh from Phagwara, District Kapurthala, Punjab. I am ringing to inform you that we are officially declaring the war on you!""Well, Gurmukh," Bush replied, "This is indeed important news! How big is your army""Right now," said Gurmukh, after a moment's calculation, "there is myself, my cousin Sukhdev, my next door neighbor Bhagat, and the entire kabaddi team from the gurudwara. That makes eight"Bush paused. "I must tell you, Gurmukh that I have one million men in my army waiting to move on my command.""Arrey O! Main kya.." said Gurmukh. "I'll have to ring you back!"Sure enough, the next day, Gurmukh called again."Mr. Bush, it is Gurmukh, I'm calling from Phagwara STD, the war is still on! We have managed to acquire some infantry equipment!""And what equipment would that be, Gurmukh" Bush asked."Well, we have two combines, a donk... More About: Indian , Confidence
Kaun Banega Crorepati?
2006-08-03 03:20:00 Take my quiz based on a famous TV show! All answers can be found on my blog.Click here... Good luck! More About: Banega
On my way back to India...
2006-07-25 17:30:00 April..."Dear Applicant,Congratulations!You have cleared the final stage of the selection process. You have been selected for AIESEC's Work Abroad Program! You are officially an intern of AIESEC in Belgium. We shall assist you in securing the right internship opportunity, through the multiple opportunities that are available through the AIESEC network. The Local Committee that is responsible for your application form will inform you about particular trainings and tools for the matching process. The next step in the Exchange Program will be going in a Preparation Seminar. Herefore, the LC will give more information.Wishing you the very best!AIESEC in BELGIUM"After two rounds of interviews and case studies, I cleared the selection process for AIESEC internship. In other words, I'll be back soon in India !!! I hope to meet all of you in Bangalore as well as in any other part of India.End of my endless hunt for an internship in India. Many thanks to those of you who tried to help me fi... More About: Back , My way
Bosharivale
2006-07-21 16:19:00 In other words, « born from a vagina » in Hindi and considered as an insult. Well, weren?t we all born from a vagina? Why such a negative connotation associated with the vagina? I would be tempted to see in such perception a denigration of the women and of their amazing capacity to give birth. One might find me a total freaky feminist but I am not too astonished to find such an insult in the Hindi vocabulary. India is a male-dominated country where women are not always perceived at their fair value.Eve teasing, sexual assaults, dowries are a few of the issues that women have to face in India. The dowry system and its consequences were already mentioned in a previous post but what about Eve-teasing?Definition (Wikipedia)Eve teasing is a euphemism used in India for sexual harassment or molestation of women by men. Considered a growing problem throughout the subcontinent, eve teasing ranges in severity from sexually coloured remarks to outright groping.I won?t comment on the obscene re... More About: Riva , Shari , Hari
Proud to be an Indian
2006-07-15 08:44:00 Obviously a yes/no question is a bit simplistic... Proud to be an Indian ? Why? Share with us the reasons why you love, like, dislike, hate India. What makes you proud to be born there? What are your hopes, expectations and dreams for your country and for yourself as an Indian? What image would you like foreigners to have of India?SourceThe minipoll, which was on my blog for a few weeks, indicated that most of you were proud to be Indians. Due to technical problems, the poll won't be displayed on my blog anymore.Last results (August 5th 2006) Don't forget to take the survey about India here.
Banned!
2006-07-13 17:29:00 India banned thousands of blogs while trying to block 17 blogs and Web sites that India's telecommunications department claimed spread religious hatred.While there is no official comment, most people are speculating that the ban is connected to the recent blasts in Mumbai. The groups behind the bomb blasts probably used blogs to exchange information and co-ordinate the plan. While emails are easy to monitor, websites and blogs are not. It is believed that terrorists used encrypted messages in the form of blog post to communicate.ISPs easily blocked the standalone websites but banning blogs is a more daunting task as subdomains can?t be blocked. As a result, Internet service providers cut off access to domain names instead of targeting specific sites. Access to all blogs and websites hosted on blogspot.com, typepad.com and geocities.com was blocked in India.Emptiness Source Alternatives to access blocked blogsExamples are based on my blog "erasmus-in-india.blogspot.com". To read any... More About: Anne , Banned
Exams
More articles from this author:2005-10-20 11:37:00 IIMB students have two exam sessions per term. Grades are relative and, hence, one must be better than other students to have good grades. More About: Exams 1, 2 |
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