First Crop of Apricot in 2013

A visit to Sis Ganj Sahib , Chandni Chock

With temperatures around 45 degrees, we braved the scorching heat to have rounds of Lutyens Delhi and old Delhi.

We passed same roads again and again due to traffic controls on account of Chinese Premier here. The roads are laden with Amaltas Trees lined on either side with yellow rain flowers at its peak. We finally reached Chandni Chowk and enjoyed everything  including a old time walk in the Bazar and books shops on Nai Sarhak.

There is a beauty mix of old and modern eateries when American fast food giant McDonald also pops up its head in the street. The Bazar is as usual filled up with low and middle income group of people who throng here in a parade like Atmosphere. 

The shops deep inside have thrown their sales man in the street to fetch new customers and some times it reaches to disgusting situation as they continue to cling on to you. For ladies, watch carefully, it is open ground for groping and molesting is hardly challenged and pursued. The pickpockets are very common. 

Our driver Sunil from Bihar was really excited to visit the Bazar for the very first time in his life and liked the shops filled up with so many good things at same place.

The trip ended with a sumptuous lunch in  'Paronthe Wali Gali' with Methi, Gobhi and Mooli Paronthas and matching veg dishes of Petha, Aloo and raw pickle. The Rabrhi,served as a finale, was awesome.

A suit Made in Badbar

Harvinder usually shops one in Ambience Mall in Gurgaon on our trips to India.

We also visit our village in Badbar, I wished to have white gents suit as normally the villager’ attire in Punjab. My associate Pawan Kumar who does ‘Aarhat services’ for me immediately recommended a village tailor who had also a cloth shop as his associate business.

I immediately gave my my measurements and he promised that ‘Pajama Kameez’ would be ready in two hours. 

Badbar made suit

So by the time I had tour of Nehri and Maru parcel of land, my suit was ready and it cost me Rs 500/-.  I requested Sardarni Harvinder Kaur to pick up a suit which she did but got it tailored from her tailor in Delhi

Badbar Cloth

Chorus Singing with Peacock

Chorus Singing with Peacocks!

On the sixth floor of Ambiance,  Gurgaon, Harvinder goads me to listen to Peacock Singing around in the early cool May morning. 

I go out on the Balcony and listen to the  melodious singing of a Peacock- the national bird of India.

Interestingly when I whistle and sing back in the same tune, lot of them start singing in harmony with me.

It is amazing Chorus Singing! with my minimal participation. I wished I could have recorded this spontaneous act of natural performance and play back to my FB friends.

My composer son Shiv would have loved it too.

May 15, 2013

For those friends of mine who love and watch birds, I tried to record the Peacock Singing form our balcony.

You will enjoy the chirping of birds, as tens of parrots fly-floating with peacock singing in synch in the background.

Bearded Face Are More Attractive?

Study finds bearded men are more attractive, proves my mom wrong
A newly published study out of the University of New South Wales concludes that men and women find bearded faces more attractive than shaven ones. WHO'S THE DISAPPOINTMENT NOW, MOTHER?

Above: R.T. Gonzalez in his natural habitat, with and without a beard


Study participants also tended to rate bearded men as more masculine, healthy, and more likely to make good parents. Write researchers Barnaby Dixson and Robert Brooks in their recently published article, which appears in the latest issue of Evolution and Human Behavior:

We quantified men's and women's judgments of attractiveness, health, masculinity and parenting abilities for photographs of men who were clean-shaven, lightly or heavily stubbled and fully bearded. We also tested the effect of the menstrual cycle and hormonal contraceptive use on women's ratings. Women judged faces with heavy stubble as most attractive and heavy beards, light stubble and clean-shaven faces as similarly less attractive. In contrast, men rated full beards and heavy stubble as most attractive, followed closely by clean-shaven and light stubble as least attractive. Men and women rated full beards highest for parenting ability and healthiness. Masculinity ratings increased linearly as facial hair increased, and this effect was more pronounced in women in the fertile phase of the menstrual cycle, although attractiveness ratings did not differ according to fertility. Our findings confirm that beardedness affects judgments of male socio-sexual attributes and suggest that an intermediate level of beardedness is most attractive while full-bearded men may be perceived as better fathers who could protect and invest in offspring.

Those incapable of growing beards – and this author's mother – would probably be quick to point out the study's limited sample size (the study surveyed 350 women and 200 men), its heteronormative bias (all participants surveyed self-identified as straight), the limitations of its socioeconomic scope (read: its W.E.I.R.D.-ness) and the inherently subjective nature of it all. We're not saying those criticisms are unfounded – we're just saying I like my beard and haters can hate all they want because this study says I'm marriage material so there.