Where has the chirpy sparrow gone?

Y'day when i was traveling to one of my friend's place i got a chance to see a sparrow. I felt surprised and excited by seeing the small creature.Yes the most widely distributed chunky bird with its chirping call became a museum piece today.

Sparrow toy which i brought from some exhibition

My childhood comprises of a bunch of sparrow nothings..I used to wake up with their chirps which have their nests next to my bedroom window.During construction of house, my grand parents had deliberately made some holes on the walls for birds to occupy. Four such holes are there. In the beginning all were occupied by sparrows but no sooner one squirrel comforted on the top most 2 holes and laid its babies. Only the two lower nests were occupied by sparrows.It is such a beautiful experience to see the sparrow couple hatch new ones and teach them fly. Babies keep growing and fly out of their nest constantly.They used to pick the grains winnowed by mom.Sparrows are not very much braved when compared to other birds like pigeons and parrots.If they are suspicious of our presence they wont even fly down to pick the grains. The sparrow family in my house thrived for a number of years. But dont know the reason why they left the house and town.

Population of house sparrows is fast declining due to dangers posed to their survival by a host of factors including mobile phone towers.Many reasons could be cited for the situation like Widespread use of garden pesticides, which kills insects that are vital diet of new-born sparrows, disappearance of open grass lands, rising temperature and avian-unfriendly modern architecture had also grievously harmed the sparrows. Sparrows will remain only in text books for future generations.It they go extinct then the aftermath will be devastating.Birds play an important role in helping pollination.If they start becoming extinct at this rate,we better start worrying for our ecological balance.

When did you last spot a house sparrow in your house or nearby surroundings? Chances are, quite a while ago!!!! Let us makes sense to look for solution like hanging a nest box as a playing host to a sparrow. I am interested to hang such boxes.If any one had come across these kind of boxes in Hyderabad ,kindly keep me posted. Suggestions are welcome.

Book Festival in Hyderabad

It has been definitely a while since my last post. I should keep up better but returned with a very good post on book exhibition that is going on , at Peoples Plaza, Necklace Road.

Reading is one of my good hobbies and passion towards reading books started from my childhood. Since my grand parents are teachers and mom being a teacher i have grown up with book racks surrounding me. I started with Chandamama, Balamithra, Balajyothi.. etc. Mom observed my interest towards the books and she surprised me with Misha books(erstwhile USSR child magazine) and Gokulam. There after book reading became one of my hobbies. I recollect reading a Misha book during my 7th final examinations without my parents knowledge by hiding near the corner of upstairs. My friends and neighbors used to make fun of me calling a bookworm. hmmm coming out of my childhood memories and to book exhibition....

My childhood favorite magazine(Courtesy:Google)

Hyderabad Book Fair is an annual event for the book lovers of Hyderabad. Publishers from all over India participate in the Fair.The 25^th Hyderabad Book Fair is organized from 16^th to 26^th Dec 2010, at People’s Plaza Ground, Necklace Road. The fair is usually held around the same dates every year. This year the book fair is celebrating silver jubilee and promises special attractions. Book fairs are not only fun to visit for good book deals, they are also a place to discover new authors, books. This is a rare treat for those who enjoy and appreciate the marvels of the written word. You can watch a number of good novels, children comics and books from anatomy to astronomy.Special discounts were offered on specific books. Autobiographies of great icons like Gandhi,Nehru,Nelson Mandela,Hitler(Mein Kamph) are available at each and every shop. A good collection of books on Auyerveda, Cooking tips from famous cooks, dairies,calenders,panchangams .. are also available. There is a special shop for Ram Gopal Varma's book "NAA ISTAM". Sri got one book of RGV. The books written by contemporary authors like Chetan Bhagat, Salman Rushdie, Tasleema Nasreen are also available. Its a very big festival for all book worms of the city.

Bundle of books bought by chinna and me

Don’t you hate it when you miss a book fair just because you didn’t know when it came to town—and left? Come on hurry up and grab handful of your favorite books.

Foggy,Rainy,Wintry

This week has been cold and freezing .It was foggy ,drizzling and raining.Today it was difficult to open the door because of chillness... hmmm. but have to count one more day.Though it is bit lazy to get up early in the morning in such a climate but the thought of going around the lawn with a cup of hot coffee , watching the scenic view of fog around the hills ,along with the birds chirps gives me fresh energy to start daily chores. 

In this climate my rose plant bloomed a beautiful rose.Voila! the rose is such that i am unable to alter my looks from it. I can see it while I'm at the kitchen sink. I have such a dilemma.,should I cut it and bring inside to enjoy or leave it on the bush where it will last longer and I can enjoy them from the kitchen window? How many blooms will there be? Enough to cut and leave on the bush? I look through the bush and see there are more buds starting to form.

 

The whole capital is blanketed in dense fog. Winter or Shishir in Hyderabad is from November to February. Winter season doesn't make the climate chilly like the northern part of India. But this year in Hyderabad its very cold.The mercury has dropped sharply under the influence of the low pressure villain in Bay of Bengal. Till now this villain is not yet named. Now a days the cyclones are given nomen clatures. The depression has also resulted in sporadic showers in several parts of twin cities on Tuesday.Its horrible esp while returning home from office.And its time to pull out my winter wardrobe!

I advise one and all to take precautionary measures to avoid getting infected with winter-related ailments.

Benefits of Brown Rice

Now a days, we often hear the word 'Brown Rice'. Many articles, news papers, doctors are suggesting to take brown rice instead of white rice. This made me to know about Brown rice. Sri is very health conscious and he always prefer healthy diet. Once when he brought brown rice I did not care about it and continued with white rice. But when i came through some articles, and some public opinions of late, I am incorporating these healthy grains  into our diet on a regular basis.Though the rice is chewy, its worth the effort keeping in mind the nutrition involved.

Well, to be honest, there are a number of reasons, and I don't know which one evolved to the present stand wherein I think of Brown Rice as best than white rice. So here are the reasons.

1.Excellent source of Manganese:
It is an excellent source of manganese, and a good source of both selenium and magnesium. Just one cup of brown rice will provide you a full 88% of the daily value for manganese. That’s huge! You might be wondering why manganese is so important; well, this mineral helps produce energy from protein and carbs. It is involved in the synthesis of fatty acids and in the production of cholesterol.
 
2. Brown Rice helps in reducing Weight:
People eating Brown Rice do not put on weight. The high percentage of fiber and lecithin content present in it doesn’t change much into Carbohydrates. Where as the white rice devoid of these contents makes you fat quickly. This was proved by Harvard Medical School.

3. Brown Rice is Rich in Fiber and Selenium:
Brown rice provides 14% of the daily value for fiber and 27.3% of the daily value for selenium. Selenium is important to various metabolic pathways including your immune system.Selenium also pairs with vitamin E to prevent heart disease, decreasing pain from rheumatoid arthritis, and reduces the risk of asthma. Looking for yet another reason to consume brown rice? The oils in it lower LDL (bad) cholesterol.

Comparison with white rice :

Brown rice and white rice have similar amounts of calories, carbohydrates, and protein. The main differences between the two forms of rice lie in processing and nutritional content.

When only the outermost layer of a grain of rice (the husk) is removed, brown rice is produced. To produce white rice, the next layers underneath the husk (the bran layer and the germ) are removed, leaving mostly the starchy endosperm.

Several vitamins and dietary minerals are lost in this removal and the subsequent polishing process. A part of these missing nutrients, such as vitamin B₁, vitamin B₃, and iron.

All in all, brown rice is a staple that any health-connoisseur must have as a staple in their diet. There is no question about all that it has to offer. Check it out and see that your body will thank you, both now and in the long run.