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31 May Poetry of the DayBeautiful poetry that I came across a few days ago and havent had a chance to post it. ' each watery note written in light', I love the visual and its so simply written. I am still not sure what the title means..33rd & KirkhamAt the edge of the bed, at the edge of darkness Too soon, the air will brighten, and the light the fog will begin to lift, the birds will scatter at the end of your journey back to this world, the song will lie quietly in our throats. that anything in this world is possible, that nothing is. . . . C. Dale Young India’s medical tourism to earn Rs 8,000 CrMy Mom's favorite new thing is Medical Tourism, I think she sees a potential in my moving back to india with a job within this industry. I saw it in some wellness magazines too at 'Down To Earth' the only Vegetarian grocery store in Oahu. Here is an article she sent me, pretty convincing stuff.May 27, 2008 | Health and Economy. |New Delhi: Easy access to visa facilities permitted by India to overseas patients coupled with the best emerging medical infrastructure in large and tertiary towns will fatten the country's forex earning to an estimated Rs 8,000 crore by 2012, a new study has said. Releasing the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) estimates, its President Venugopal N Dhoot pointed out that, currently, the earnings accrued through medical tourism annually are estimated at Rs 3,500 crore. "The primary reasons as to why medical tourism would flourish in India include much more lower medical costs for various ailments such as bone narrow transparent, bye-pass surgery, knee surgery and liver transplant as compared to western countries," Dhoot said. As a result of higher and very expensive medical costs in the western countries, patients from economies of scale including Africa, Gulf and various Asian countries have started exploring medical treatment in hospitals located in various places in India. Dhoot said that this is due to the country's gearing up of its medical infrastructure to provide them non-subsidised medical treatment at much more lower costs which are many times considered reasonable. The other reasons for excellent medical treatment are India's strength of highly qualified medical professionals and even equally higher qualities of availability of nurses. A comparison of treatment costs between India and other countries such as the US, the UK and Thailand:
Dhoot said that cost advantage is one of the reasons which works in favour of India, resulting movement of patients from various developing and developed countries. The shift in the flow is due to its hospital infrastructure, which is not only confined to large metros but equally getting better in tertiary towns. "Still other reasons for medical tourism getting widespread in India is because of its strength of traditional treatment in homeopathy, naturopathy, ayurvedic and unani, which are becoming popular because of their non-side effects," the Assocham Chief said. The prospects of medical tourism in India will also get a boost with the increase in health GDP ratio, which would amount to proliferation of new health facilities as well as their centres for patients to accommodate overseas patients as with increasing health facilities. Time ArticlesI was going to through my email and chanced upon the top 10 most popular articles for last week within Time and to my surprise I was interested in the first 6 ! I must be turning into an average american reader, with the same interests as anyone else.. here is the list that I ended up reading...
1. What Does Hillary Want?By Karen Tumulty
The primaries nearly done, the Democrats need to make peace. Will Hillary push to be Obama's Veep pick? Hint: Bill wants her to 2. New Airline Surcharge: A Bag Too Far?By Alex Altman and Kate Pickert
American's fee on checked luggage is a calculated gamble that consumers would rather shell out at the airport than pay higher ticket prices 3. Guess Who's Gay in Hip-HopBy Frances Romero
Terrence Dean's new book about gays in the entertainment industry has been stirring up the blogs — partly because he doesn't name names 4. Indiana Jones: Smart, Sleek, FamiliarBy Richard Corliss
At its premiere, the new Indy gets more cheers at the start than the end. But TIME finds the old franchise winningly updated 5. The Incredible Shrinking SuperpowerBy Massimo Calabresi/al Janadriyah
The President's trip to the Middle East highlighted the limits of American power and what his successor will face in the post-Bush world 6. Scouting Micro Social NetworksBy Bill Tancer
MySpace and Facebook only account for half of all visits to social-network sites. What about the 4,000 other sites? Midnight with the MysticsI just bought this book about conversations of Sadhguru with Cheryl Simone. This video gives you a good idea of what it may contain.. really interesting stuff!
30 May CNBC - A look at new IndiaA friend of mine sent me a link to this CNBC report about the new malls in India, an interview with Pia Singh who seems to be a very smart business woman. Also its a good look at the new consumer market in India, the interviewer also tries out a saree, which is kinda cool.
Shopping in India
CNBC's Erin Burnett takes a look at India's consumer market. Few other links with that:
cricket in India http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=743333776
Disney in India http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=743315423 IT Worker India http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=743305577 Diamond Head Crater HikeSince I am preparing for my Peru trip this July, I have decided to do the Diamond Head Hike every week. Its not a very tough hike but at the same time it does give me some kind of exercise. Here is some information:
29 May Father of Napa passes awayThe Man, The Legend: Robert Mondavi (1914-2008)
The quality of American wine today would not be where it is were it not for the life of Robert Mondavi, who died last week at the age of 94 (now that's your benefit of drinking red wine each day). The arc of Mondavi's life is well known by wine aficionados: how his father, Cesare, moved the young family from Minnesota to Lodi, Calif., in the early 1920s; how Cesare was convinced that California had promise as a wine-producing state and inculcated that to his sons; how Mondavi convinced his father to purchase Napa Valley's oldest winery, Charles Krug, in 1943. And we are acquainted with the fractious relationship that Mondavi had with his brother, Peter, at that winery; how the two split up after a nasty fisticuff; and how Mondavi then ventured out on his own. And that is where the story really begins. Napa Valley – not to say California as a whole – was not making very good wine in the mid-1960s. Mondavi introduced a great deal to Napa (and, as a consequence, to all of American) winemaking: cold fermentation, the use of French oak, popularizing lesser-known wine grapes (at the time) such as Sauvignon Blanc. Many things – and a lot of showmanship, too. He was an unfailing huckster of Napa Valley wine, and of American wine by extension. He held blind tastings of his reds against much more famous counterparts from Bordeaux and Burgundy (confident, as indeed it turned out, that they often would better the Europeans). And the man could talk, endlessly, about the role of wine at the family table, how food was made for wine and vice versa (no first-generation Italian would say otherwise), how American wines are the equal of the world's. Many considered Mondavi uppity when he joined with Baron Philippe de Rothschild of Château Mouton-Rothschild, or the Marquese Frescobaldi of Tuscany, to produce wines that were a blend of the Old and New Worlds of wine. But he considered it just melding families, tight-knit groups of people who had the same image for wine as, at once, a beverage of moderation and an enhancer of food.
That is his greatest legacy, I think, that he passed on wine's proper place in our lives.
- Bill St. John youth is an attitude, not number of yearsWonderful article on a 96 year old blogger.. lots to learn...
Net savvy 96-year-old blogs to share ideas in online world Date: Wednesday, May 28, 2008 At an age when people begin to lose interest in many aspects of the world around them, 96-year-old Randall Butisingh not only mastered the intricacies of the internet but also began his own blog, which describes him as one of the world's oldest bloggers and shows him as a man with a remarkable catholicity of interests. The grandson of indentured workers who were taken to Guyana to work on sugar plantations, Butisingh has watched the world transform many times over in the past nine decades and has adjusted himself to the changes. "I am a learner. I believe that when one stops learning he ceases to live and that it is never too late to learn," Butisingh said. At the age of 80, he learnt Arabic so he could read the Quran. At 95, he began studying Spanish and he is doing it "poco a poco" (little by little). Butisingh has an agile mind and an eager interest in life and at present he is studying the Hindu religion and philosophy. Butisingh's blog is versatile. Its subject categories vary from Buxton (his home town), economics, world politics, environment, history, philosophy, poetry, psychology, religion and an inspiring thought for the day. In April, Butisingh posted a blog on his website that stressed the need to keep the internet an open arena and out of the hands of those who wished to place restrictions on this free medium. He responds to every comment or response to his popular blog. Born in Buxton, Demerara, in what is now Guyana, Butisingh has never visited India since he does not like travelling, but he has followed Indian history and geography. "The person I admire most is Mahatma Gandhi, the architect of India's freedom. Although I never saw him, I wept when he died as many did all over the world," he said. He has three collections of poems to his credit - "Love's Light", "Wild Flowers" and "Love's Balm". His poems were written in the 1970s and he was inspired to pen them after reading about the life of the late blind and deaf humanitarian, Helen Keller. Explaining his daily routine, Butisingh said: "At my age, I do not work strictly as per routine. I cannot read for very long although I have good eyesight. You may find me in the day resting for hours and at nights up until two or three reading or typing up my blog. "My blog takes up most of my time. When I am not on it, I am with my recorder (flute) or keyboard or going for short walks. I also use some time of the day to brush up my Urdu and study some Spanish." Butisingh is also working on his memoir, titled "My Story", which starts from 1914, the beginning of World War I. He was born on Dec 1, 1912. His grandparents came to Guyana around 1875 and his mother was born a little after they reached Guyana. The indenture system had not yet ended when he was born. It came to an end in 1917. "I have vivid memories of things and events as far back as two years old. Hindi and to some extent Urdu were the language still spoken and all the old customs and traditions were still adhered to," he said. Butisingh has a love for languages. He grew up speaking a dialect of Hindi and Creolese, which was the language of emancipated African slaves. According to him, the one thing he deeply regretted is that Hindi did not survive as a language for the Indo-Guyanese as it had in Surinam. "Hindi did not survive thanks to the British who are geniuses in obliterating the identities of ethnic peoples. However, I have been fortunate in learning both Hindi and Urdu because of my natural love for these languages," he said. In one of his blogs, Butisingh wrote: "Creolese is still being used today - I always use it when I meet some of my old friends. Creolese varies from region to region. When I was a teacher at Port Mourant, I visited the home of one of my pupils one afternoon. I heard him say to his mother: 'Maa, come out me eat'. Although we never said it like that in Demerara, I understood that he was asking his mother to dish out his dinner." Butisingh finished his primary education at the age of 14, passed the school leaving examination and was employed as a pupil teacher on a salary of $6 a month. That was the beginning of a career that lasted for over 45 years with short breaks. He retired in January 1972 and became involved in a variety of activities, including the propagation of Hindi through the Hindi Pracharni Sabha. Butisingh has a large family of four sons, three daughters, 19 grandchildren and 18 great grandchildren. "At present I am living with my daughter whose husband and older son are doctors. It is at their home, here (in California, US) where I have all the time to pursue my interests," he said. On his birthday last year, Butisingh wrote in his blog: "I have lived another year to see the sun and hopefully will see another year. I am thankful for god's grace, without which I could not have overcome so many hardships and survived so many dangers. Living long has no meaning unless it is lived with enthusiasm and commitment in service to your fellow men. "We live in deeds, not years. Living long has meaning if one can redeem oneself with the time given. It is never too late to learn - youth is an attitude, not number of years. The soul never grows old." 07 May First week in HawaiiI moved to Kaneohe this week and I am totally loving this place. My new apartment/house is in a slightly secluded area and I havent really gone around looking at the neighborhood yet but from what I have seen, the scene from my Lanai (front porch) is breathtaking. Here is the view from my living room, you really have to be here to see how beautiful it is:
 In terms of where I am on the OAHU map, this gives you a good idea as compared to Honolulu where I go to work everyday (at 5 am today!). The drive is beautiful (see earlier post) and its believe it or not, one of the reason I decided to move here.
 On my first day they welcomed me with a hug and a purple carnation Lei garland that I was supposed to wear all day. My friends in Seattle gave me the best parting gift ever, of hawaiian shirts which is the dress code for all men at work. I have been wearing them last couple of days.
Paradise LostI spent last friday night in a cabin near Mt Ranier, at the place called Ashford. The cabins were called Jasmers. We used the hot tub and it was very very hot but the night so cold that it was totally worth it. Paradise is under renovation so we didnt get to see that. The first time we went up, and I am amazed at the roads, they are so well maintained and let you drive all the way to the top (well as far as we could go) the place was beautiful. It was a clear day and we had an awesome view. The next morning it was completely misty and it was an etheral experience. We managed to get to the viewing gallery but ofcourse there was no view. They do have a model of the national park so it was real nice to get an idea of where we were.
That was my last weekend in Seattle, and I am now in Hawaii for about a year. Mt Ranier is absolutely breathtaking, even by Hawaii standards!
 Jasmers
 View from Paradise Entry to the National ParkCouple of interesting restaurants
 They have the best blackberry pie. Very cute gift shop too.
 National Park Inn in Longmire |
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