Stopping the tremors of terror: India-Pak dialogue must

When the pro-peace government of Nawaz Sharif was once again formed in Pakistan, there was a sense of relief all over the country. A possibility of normalcy in the valley was predicted. But the provocative killing of five Indian soldiers on Line of Control (LoC) smeared the hopes black.
There have been repeated instance of killing across the LoC where India too retaliated. The mini-wars had nonetheless put a question mark on the prospects of talk between the two governments.
If we look backwards, both the countries have had their shares of foiling the dialogues leading to a peaceful life in the area. If it was Pakistan who had always been stubborn in demanding Kashmir and aligning itself strategically with the countries which may harm Indian interests, India too has lost many golden opportunities to move forward the peace accords which were need of the hour.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh may be held responsible for the failure of the peace accord with General Musharraf which could have otherwise changed the paradigm of terror too. He also failed to seize a historic opportunity with Pak president Zardari. But the cause in the later case puts onus on the Pak government. Had it done some more to satisfy India's legitimate demand for some visible movement in the trial of Mumbai terror attack accused, things would have been better in the books of both the countries.
The two counterparts are set to meet in New York this time on the sidelines of UN General Assembly meeting. And just two days before the talks, terrorists stormed into Jammu & Kashmir launching twin attacks which left 13 dead.
The attack sparked a row between the government and the opposition, which included media, which demanded stopping Singh from talking to Sharif. "All these years, since 2004, Pakistan has been indulging in cross-border terrorism, including the famous ones like the 26/11 attack on Mumbai. Then, recently, we have seen their behaviour on the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir, which is totally objectionable. So, is this the right atmosphere and the right time to talk to Pakistan at the summit level?" Senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha had questioned on Wednesday. The BJP leaders said the attacks only reflected that Pakistan was continuing with its strategy to strike at will through proxy war of terror and suggested there was no point in talking to the Pakistani side after its repeated mockery of India’s resolution-through-dialogue stand.
As much as the Indian media and opposition wanted Singh to stop the dialogue process, he moved with a stronger resolve to do so, which is a good step.
It should be understood that the dialogue process between the two countries can only ensure better prospects between the two countries. The talks have always been fated to move in a viscious circle due to external factors all the time which had not only marred the economic possibility between the two countries, it has also punched a hole in the counter-terror strategies both sides.
The militants will not listen to the Pakistani PM. The attacks which had been carried out in Pakistan itself by the terror outfits is an ample evidence of that. Though it may be called a failure of the Pak government who repeatedly fails to eliminate terrorism from its own land, it should also be seen as a problem infesting the country resulting into no growth.
As Sharif holds the hope of "prosperity" for his country with "benefit" for India, we should not look at scuttling the bright picture. What PM Manmohan Singh is doing now, moving ahead with the peace talks, would have been done by the former PM Atal Behari Vajpayee too in the circumstances.
Sharif had said in an interview to the Wall street journal, "I feel very proud that I'm the one who brought the two countries closer together. The Indian Prime Minister (A B Vajpayee) embarked on a visit to Pakistan (in 1999), on his first-ever state visit. We are now picking up the threads from where we left off in 1999."
His points are simple. He says that India and Pakistan have a solid basis to prosper together. And he has worked his part to provide the solution. He wants to work on the same Lahore accord signed by Vajpayee government.
As senior Pakistan journalist Imtiaz Alam wrote in his article in an Indian english daily, "for progress to take place, Pakistan and its powerful establishment must realise the folly of creating a highly intractable, violent and divisive mass of terrorist and extremist outfits as an instrument of its foreign and security policies. These are not “strategic assets” but freelancers in the market of global terrorism. These outfits fight among themselves over sectarian and factional dividends of warfare and expand their fiefdoms at each other’s cost across the Afghanistan-Pakistan border regions and beyond."
It would be better if, for once, we Indians too shed our inhibitions and old fixations about Pakistan. The neigbour of ours is neck deep in its own creations and it is trying to find a way to sustain.
As Indian PM Manmohan Singh informed US President Barack Obama just few hours ago, Pakistan remains an epicentre of terroism. But to stop feeling the tremors in India, we will have to help it stabilise the Afghanistan border.

Stopping the tremors of terror: India-Pak dialogue must

Three types of taxes that may inflate your restaurant bill

On a Friday evening you plan to visit a restaurant with friends to have a nice, full course dinner. Before ordering you check the prices on the menu, but you are a little taken aback when you get the bill. The figures printed in the bill did not match with those in your head and then suddenly you come across terms called service tax and service charge, which overblown the bill by about 15 to 20 percent. What really happened?

As it was a Friday evening and you had been for this evening to come for many days, you are in no mood to question but just pay off the bill. It’s not just the case with you, many of us frequently think that the amount added to the prices is high but don't question it.

Easy thing made complex
We all have a weird quality to interpret easy things into complicated ones. Taxes and charges on apparently simple things like food and drinks are quarters where consumers are taken for granted. So, being aware of these terms is very important.

1) Service charge
This is debited by the restaurant for providing its services to you and therefore it goes into the pocket of the restaurant owner. The establishments have the liberty to charge any amount as service charges because there is no course of action given by the tax authority on it. The charge differs from 5 to 10 percent and only some restaurants don't charge it. This is equal to the tips usually paid to the waiters by the people visiting the restaurant. If you are charged service charge in the bill, don't pay tips as this charge is believed to be divided among the workers.

Most of us don't raise a question even after realising that the charges collected are higher. First and the foremost common reason is people usually don’t have knowledge about it and they think nothing can be done about it. Secondly, nobody wants to ruin their evening quarrelling with the manager.

Although, the basic rule is, if the restaurant’s menu specifies the service charges, then you have to pay but if it doesn't, you can question it.

2) Service tax
Usually people confuse service tax with service charges. Service tax is the fee collected by the government on the services provided by restaurants. Also, same amount of service tax is charged in all states - 12.36 percent on 40 percent of the bill, which includes your food, drink and the service charge. However, the eating place must be air-conditioned for charging the service tax.

But, the trouble here is that most of the consumers are taxed at the total bill and not on 40 percent of the bill as per the guidelines. To make things uncomplicated, service tax must be 4.94 percent (12.36 percent of 40 percent) on your entire bill. Thus, at any time you feel that the service tax on the total bill is undoubtedly exceeding 5 percent, you must question it.

3) VAT (Value Added Tax)
Then there is another tax called value added tax - universally termed as VAT - that varies from state to state. It can be as low as 5 percent and can go as high as 20 percent depending upon the state you are dining in. Besides, VAT on food items and drinks are different. Many restaurants frequently club food items with drinks, and charge a flat amount on the entire bill. In such case, it is good to ask for separate bills for food and drinks. This must evidently show the different VAT for both the items.

Most of the times, we have no authority to do anything about the overcharging by the restaurants. It is not just because of our reluctance but also unawareness of restaurant managers. Therefore, you can question the bill and get it rectified.

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It was a dream come true to work with Anurag Kashyap: Kenny D Basumatary

It may look like a small film, but Local Kung Fu seems like a giant effort. And it has been creating ripples on social media. Set to get the biggest release for an Assamese film as it releases simultaneously in seven cities outside Assam, Local Kung Fu would be creating history as the most inexpensive action movie ever made. Not to mention, India’s first martial arts comedy! Made for a humble Rs 95,000 Local Kung Fu, releasing on September 27, has wowed the likes of Anurag Kashyap and Dibakar Banerjee. Here’s an excerpt from the chat with the man behind the film – Kenny D Basumatary – who has written, directed and acted in the film.
The highlight of Local Kung Fu has been that it was made in a budget of less than a lakh rupee. How did you manage that?
We shot in Guwahati in places where we wouldn't need permission, used our relatives’ homes as locations, got friends and family to act (only after auditioning - I was very particular about this), used old software to edit, etc. We got music for free because my brother is an arranger-composer. Out of our budget, around Rs. 58,000 was for the camera and accessories, Rs. 5,000 for the mic, Rs. 13,000-15,000 token payments for the actors, and the rest for rice cakes and about 200 plates of momos and noodles.
How much work went into all the action scenes?
Lots! We wanted to make the fights the best yet in an Indian film. We would choreograph and rehearse extensively so that (a) there were lesser chances of injury and (b) we could shoot coherent fights with longer takes instead of the usual ‘high-shutter-speed-dancing-camera-50-cuts-per-second style’ that most movies use nowadays to disguise the fact that the actors can't really fight. Every fight had its own internal story - not just a random collection of strikes. We made shot lists of every move and explored the best angles to shoot them from. And we would do as many takes as necessary to get it right. The big flying kick at the end of the trailer that we did in 26 takes! 26 kicks to the chest that laid me low for a couple of weeks. But it was worth it. The climactic fight was shot over a period of 21 evenings.
It is being promoted as India's first martial arts comedy.
It is, isn't it?
You have not only directed and acted but also composed the music for film?
Not all, some of the music. It's mostly been done by my brother Tony, who's worked on the background music of Pune 52 and several TV shows like channel V's Gumraah. 
They say making a film is easier than releasing it. Would you admit?
Hell yes! If you think making a film is hard, just try releasing it! When I was done with the film I found that in order to get it released I had to go through seven stages of paperwork hell. Service tax registration, current account, producers' association, censor board et al. Luckily, Durlov Baruah came on board as co-producer and his company Kuhipaat Communications has been handling the distribution and marketing minefield.
What are your best and worst experiences while making this film? And what were the lessons learnt?
The best thing is always the end result when you sit in a theatre and hear people roaring with laughter at your jokes.  There haven't really been any bad experiences apart from the paperwork. 
As far as the learning goes,
Lesson #1: The film will be longer than the script, so make it very tight at the writing stage itself.
Lesson #2:  Learn, learn, and learn. Prepare, prepare, prepare.
Lesson #3:  Different actors peak at different takes. 
There are apparently many people from Bollywood who have seen and liked the film. Could you tell us more about that?
Navdeep Singh loved the energy in the film and was generous enough to give us a quote. Dibakar Banerjee also messaged that he loved it. Adil Hussain, Dipannita Sharma and Meiyang Chang have been kind enough to say so on camera. And Anurag Kashyap got us to choreograph the fight in his short film ‘That Day, After Everyday.’ 
Tell us about the opportunity to work with Anurag Kashyap.
Yes, it was quite a dream come true to work with one of my favourite directors. We choreographed and rehearsed the fight for four days, making an effort to use realistic techniques that a woman could actually use to defend herself against a man. For this I always first tested the techniques on my brother's music partner who weighs 110 kg.
In terms of economics, Assamese cinema has had a tough time in recent times. Would you suppose Local Kung Fu could change a thing or two about the industry?
It would be too arrogant of me to make a statement on those lines. I just hope lots of people come to see it and be entertained. 
What is the way forward for Local Kung Fu and you?
We're looking at the possibility of a theatrical release for the Hindi dubbed version as well. As for my next project, it depends on which gets funded first. It could be my novel ‘Chocolate_Guitar_Momos’, it could be another rom-com, another martial arts film or a woman-centered rural dramedy biopic called ‘My Three Sisters’
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Will you watch Ash in a bikini?

There are rumours about the former beauty queen and Bollywood diva Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan going sizer zero for 'Happy Anniversary'. Looks like the light-eyed beauty, who is starring opposite hubby Abhishek Bachchan in the movie, will repeat her 'Dhoom 2' svelte avatar. The big question is, will you watch her in a bikini?

Now that Ash has become a mommy and a devoted Bachchan bahu, would the audiences accept her in a sexy role? And with the number of kilos she has piled on, it would be really difficult for her to get into the size zero skimpy clothes-worthy figure. The last time she performed live at the IIFA awards, her love handles and post pregnancy weight were all too evident. It's said that she has hit the gym with a vengeance as she wants to get back into the game. But will we accept her a sexy heroine anymore?


We are a very touchy country, in the sense that we can't image a mother/wife as somebody we fantasize about. Sad, but true. This is the only reason most heroines don't get married till their early 30s. All the current actresses will defintely deny this, but it's the truth. Now that Kareena Kapoor has started wearing her 'Khan' title proudly, her clout in Bollywood is diminishing. She has given way to the Deepikas and Katrinas. And with marriage comes many clauses like 'no kissing, 'no sex scenes', 'no vulgar moves' and so on. We are not sure how much the audiences would accept Ash in her brazen role. Or is this just a big rumour spread by an overactive PR machinery?

While most actors find great fame post marriage, actresses have not been that lucky yet. After watching Ash's bronze-touched sizzling hot look in 'Dhoom 2', our expectations would be really high and it's just not possible for the gorgeous lady who is in her late 30s now. At the cost of sounding sexist, it's not going to work out for Mrs Bachchan as there are younger and sexier actresses around, ready to shed everything they have. With such touch competition around, can she rule B-Town again?

The Bachchan parivar is rumoured to be rather conservative (the daughter, Shweta Bachchan-Nanda wasn't allowed to enter movies), so it would be interesting to see how the senior Bachchans react to this piece of information. Will they let their bahu pursue her dreams or put a hold on it? With hubby Abhi also joining wifey dear on the sets, would it turn out to be a comfortable situation! We will keep you posted on this topic...do keep an eye on our page!

If you have anything say about this article, do shout out to us in the comments section below!
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5 Unique Ways to Avoid a Date

These ideas will ensure that the person you have been trying to avoid going on a date with, never calls up again...

1. “Oh... I would have loved to come but I have to meet this really interesting guy/girl who I met at the same party I met you. Remember? He/she was standing right next to you at the bar. I hope you can understand that I would not like to miss any chance of getting hooked up with him/her. I have been waiting for this moment since that day.” 

2. “I wish you had called me earlier but I have just made some plans with my ex. You know we have been really trying to overcome our egos and trauma after the breakup we had, and are now trying to get to know each other all over again, like perfect strangers. Sounds fun, right? So we have decided to go for a movie and then on a romantic dinner. I quite excited.” 

3. “You know what? I just had a word with Joey’s girlfriend yaar and I have to catch up with her. You know Joey? Oh... I think I haven’t told you. He is my makeout partner and I really can’t say no to his gf. He is going to throw fits at me. She’s been really wanting to see me. So you know I cannot cancel my date with her, else I would have come with you for sure. 

4. “You know, the other day I met my palmist and he told me some really scary things that are about to happen in my life. He has asked me to stay away from getting into any kind of relationship because it will be bad for my partner. Plus, I will be going for an arranged marriage, as he has already told me.” 

5. “Ya, why not, I can come with you for sure. But, before that we have to do something else more important together. I am a big devotee of Baba Ramdev and there’s a special one-hour telecast of his show which I can’t miss. So before going out, we will watch the show and seek his blessings so that everything turns out to be positive on the date. 

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Inculcate money saving habits in your kids

Many fresh surveys have revealed that Indians living in major cities are not too good when it comes to monetary planning. We can somewhat blame this to our social framework, which does not allow us sufficient opportunity to sharpen our money management skills during childhood. Though, as adults, we would do a great disfavour to our kids, if we fail to infuse good financial habits in them.

With increasing healthcare expenses and nuclear families becoming a fashion, children can no longer stay unaware in monetary matters when they grow up. Below are five proven steps to train kids about good cash management.

First and foremost- Be an excellent role model



Studies have shown that kids frequently pursue grown-ups in the family - mostly parents - as their first role models. You may be amazed to know that simulation plays a significant part for kids to be taught. Engaging children in domestic monetary decisions is a good way of doing this.

You can talk about, describe and take kids viewpoint on daily issues. Here are some examples to engage your kids on such issues-

-Shopping: Why according to them purchasing garments on sale is a better choice?
-Dining: Enjoy the same delicious food in a less expensive restaurant or at home, a better option?
-Utilities: Will trimming down AC usage help in curtailing electricity bills?
-Grocery: Why purchasing country made products instead of imported one be cost efficient?
-Prudence: How, by spending intelligently, one can bank for birthday gifts for friends and family.

Motivating, admiring and rewarding children when they display good money management performance is the best way to go about it.

Utilise video games


In the age of Xbox and Playstation, there is no better entertaining way to teach kids about monetary skills. Introduce your children to play trending online cash management games like Road Trip to Savings, Financial Football, Peter Pig's Money counter, Money Metropolis, Financial Soccer, Record shop tycoon, Burger Restaurant, and many more.

The good old family game like Business and Monopoly are still believed to be one of the best ways to teach precious financial lessons. This way, kids not just learn to count but also help them in leaning out basic calculations. These games help them learn how to deal best with limited cash and think the way a banker does.

Persuade saving towards targets


Converse with kids about the things they want to purchase in near future - toys, games, bicycle and so on. This will assist them to manage how much they require saving each day to achieve their goal. Gift them a piggy bank to keep safe their savings. Children can also be mentored about the significance of prioritising and trading off, as not all targets are reachable with the same capital. When repeated over a period of time, children start thinking of long-term savings and build up financial control, which is lacking among adults now-a-days.

Give them pocket money


Children need to know that money does not grow on trees but is made through hard work. Kids should be motivated to earn pocket money by getting engaged in various types of tasks. Like a kid of 7-12 age group can without doubt manage household chores while youngsters can earn a good and decent pocket money by doing a part-time job. By earning their own pocket money, children tend to become more responsible and start realising the worth of hard earned money.

Assign budget plans and allow making mistakes


Pass an overall budget idea to children and give them money to come up with a plan to accomplish the same. Like, ask them to plan a picnic within a strict budget. Let them come up with all fun activities, food, fuel and other expenses and let them make payments for those costs. Failure or faults are also the best teachers. Let your kids make out that they have overspent on one activity at the cost of another or they plainly undervalued the expenses. They must to learn to make preferences within the given budget. Engage adolescents in managing and evaluating household budgets.


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Kenya mall attack hits Africa's booming picture

When Islamist terrorists belonging to Somalia's Al-Shabaab group raged the Westgate mall in Nairobi last weekend, they knew they were attacking a high-profile icon of Kenya's financial power in growing Africa.

The Israeli-built Westgate mall presenting multiple levels of shops, cafes and restaurants exemplified the African customer bonanza that is attracting foreign investment, from West and East, to one of the world's rapidly thriving continents.

Like the Algerian gas plant hit by Saharan Islamic militants in January, the beige-coloured Westgate mall became a high-impact target for extremists to slaughter dozens and spread terror as they increasingly practice cross-border jihad, challenging Africa and the world at large.

From Nigeria to Kenya, Mali to Algeria, violent and aggressive Islamist factions - knocking into local poverty, clashes, disparity or exclusion but advocating a parallel anti-Western, anti-Christian dogma - are attacking at state authority and international activities, both at financial and political level.

A former US ambassador to Nigeria, John Campbell, said he thinks militants like those who rebelled in Mali last year, the Nigerian Boko Haram Islamist sect and the Westgate mall attackers were also to a certain extent stimulated by annoyance with what he termed as "pervasive mal-governance" in Africa.

He said “This is undoubtedly anti-Western and anti-Christian but it also taps into a lot of deep popular anger against the political economy in which they find themselves, in which a very small group of people are basically raking off the wealth.”

Campbell focussed on a shady side of the ‘Africa Rising’ story, where rising societal disparity and tensions in apparently booming nations were being overlooked or covered by optimistic economic growth numbers that twisted the true image.

He acclaimed that more than 60 victims of the mall strike comprised members of the elite society from Kenya, not to mention nephew of Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and overseas expatriates.

Reportedly, a senior analyst for Africa of the Eurasia Group consultancy, Mark Rosenberg said the Nairobi attack would add to the risk profile for Africa. This was always a ‘jumpy’ barometer because there was ‘an unfortunate tendency to treat the continent as one country’.

Yet, he saw no ‘structural risk’ from the African Islamist uprising to the development trend on the continent over the last decade.

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Living with a guy? Watch out for these things

Now that you’re planning to move-in with your boyfriend, there are certain things that you should keep in mind. They are going to be lot more different from your girl roomies and if you want to avoid pulling each other’s throats out, read on!

Men won’t take bath regularlyDon’t turn up your nose if he says ‘Kal Hi Toh Nahaya Tha’! Yes, men don’t believe in hygiene as much as you do. They may be stickler for other things like hitting the gym regularly, completing projects on time and so on, but ask them to get under the shower and all hell will be upon you. They really don’t like to move their asses, so let it go. If on a Sunday when your side of the family is coming over and your husband-to-be is still running around in dirty shorts, don’t flip out and cry bloody murder. Take a deep breath and purchase an air freshener.

They cook, you clean after themIf he agrees to prepare the breakfast before you dash out for an early morning meeting, don’t secretly thank your stars for bringing him to you. He will cook, sure...but the amount of mess that he would pile up in the kitchen is something you don’t even want to imagine. All your grandma’s secret ingredients will be all over the place and cleaning up after him will rob you off any love you may have for him. Most women will brush it aside saying, ‘at least her tried!’ but you can’t go on saying that. If he cooks, you gotta clean after him. Understand that, so that life is a lot simpler!

Get ready for TV war:You may be smitten with each other and still in the can’t-take-hands-off-each-other phase, but that doesn’t mean that he wouldn’t go ninja on you if you tried to switch channels when his favourite match is on. You both may like the same kind of movies and music, but you’d definitely not enjoy certain violent /gory/sporty/boring stuff that he likes...so, there’s going to be a war every frigging day. Get two TVs or record your shows. There’s no point fighting over it as soon you’ll have kids who will have their own set of programs to watch. Phew!

Farts, burps and scratches galore:If he is farting right in your face, he is going to marry you. Because the kind of comfort level he shares with you, he is not going to be able to do that with anybody else. Yeah! Men work in weird ways. They will fart, burp and scratch in front of you, if they feel that you’re the love of their life. So don’t be upset if you have to deal with constant ‘small bombs’ through the day. Also, one day they’re going to put on hell lot of weight, lose their hair, become less active in bed and going to fart a lot more. Game for all this?

All-year-round chauffer:From picking up from work to dropping you off to your mother’s, he is going to chauffer you around the rest of your life. He is quite content being in the driver’s seat (literally and figuratively) and would be happy to do it if you stayed out of his way. Living with a boy has its own advantage as you can always count on him for rescuing you from any and every situation. Yay! And all those women out there who drive...hey! Your car can break down and you’d need him to come pick you up. But this is mostly for those ladies who don’t or can’t drive.

There’s never going to be enough eggs:However well stocked you may be, your eggs, milk, ready to eat and knick knacks are going to disappear. He loves his quick bites in between meals and won’t think twice before finishing up the entire packet of foods! He will assume that you have already eaten or are not hungry and continue to munch on food. Make it a rule that if he indulges in between-meals-bites, he needs to run down a fetch whatever he has gulped down. Will he agree? He will. Guys are quite reasonable like that (ha!).

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College diaries: Maggi and coffee

To those lucky chaps who are still in college, and let’s rewind the time for those like me who are living in nostalgia years after graduating. And believe me, while I am writing this, I am also enjoying my plate of maggi...

It is around three in the afternoon and we are attending the last lecture of the day. The only thought running through our minds is food and canteen. It was very human of one of our friends to think of the people around him, and stash some samosas in his bag for us, which are strictly meant to be devoured as the class goes on. The pin drop silence in the room is disturbed when another professor walks in with a cup of tea and gestures our teacher to come out for a brief talk. Bingo! That’s what we were waiting for.

Quickly, the newspaper is unravelled to take out the now cold as hell samosas from it. It gets circulated in the entire class and almost everyone is able to steal a bite, generously thanking our friend. Just in time, the professor steps back in and the class is resumed. That one bite of samosa has aggravated our hunger and we are impatiently waiting for the man to stop blabbering and let us be free. Apart from food, there’s a lot of catch up with each other on – the group project, documentary film we are supposed to shoot, friend’s birthday party and of course, gossip.

The bell rings and like liberated souls from Nazi’s Concentration Camps, we are not able to contain the magnitude of happiness the moment has brought us, within ourselves. In a jiffy we are out of the class, marching towards the canteen with an urgent gait. Anna has seen us from a distance and ordered his boys to get six plates of maggi and six cups of strong coffee ready.

Why six? Because there are six of us and none of us believe in sharing our maggi and coffee with anyone else. It is not like any other food for us and has a special, hallowed status in our lives. There are certain rules that we follow. We only eat our maggi, along with coffee and vice versa. There is a special khopcha (den) where we sit and savour them in absolute peace, until the last drops. Only intellectual discussions and meaningful talks are supposed to happen over them and no one ever leaves them half finished.

Anna has quite a few options of maggi – with cheese, extra masala, veggies, only onion, onion and chilli, only green chilli and simple, the way it is. Though we have tried them all, we usually stick to the basic one, without any alteration in the taste. Apart from canteen, coffee and maggi also enjoy a special place at homes, whenever there is a plan of group study. Everyone gathers at one of the friend’s homes and this is always pre-decided. On the day of the group study, after loitering around till evening, we reach the destination together, skipping maggi and sachets of Nescafe on our way. No, they are not for dinner because the moms usually prepare something for all of us.

When everyone is asleep, at 2 in the night, one person is given the duty of making maggi, while the other joins in to prepare coffee, and the rest wait in the room with bated breaths. They are the prerequisites for us to study hard and do well in exams. We have never appeared for a paper, without spending the night awake, flavoured with piping hot maggi and intoxicating coffee.

I wish if this had continued for life…

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