Anuradha Sridharan

Rigorous Advertising and Promotional offers seem to be working well for the organized retail players in Bangalore. If Star Bazaar and Total Mall were going gung-ho with their promotional fliers, last weekend, we saw a flurry of activity from Spencers Hyper Market that has opened up in Sarjapur Road. The crowd was thronging the new groceries outlet from the day of opening. A special counter called "Collect your free gift" was crowded even more. It's something that I can never miss. Hubby and I visited this hypermarket yesterday, looking at different varieties of imported sauces, canned foods and snacks. It's good to see that we can now prepare Italian, Mexican or American cuisine with as much ease as Indian delicacies, what with all the malls stocking up the raw materials required. On the flip side, some of the practices that have been damaging the environment are also on the rise. For instance, the plastic covers at the vegetables and fruits section. I seriously wonde...

I'm not as crazy as Monica of FRIENDS when it comes to organizing things but I do like to be organized and meticulous. This characteristic of mine has been very helpful throughout my professional and personal life. Before I start any initiative, I sit down and prepare lists with the tasks and actions along with tiny little check boxes right next to them. It's an awesome feeling to put a checkmark once you are through with the task. At the same time, it can also be an anxious and frustrating feeling when the boxes are unchecked and the list keeps expanding. I have tried simple paper based lists in tiny notebooks that I used to carry all the time. But this overwhelming feeling has always been there when I look through the list of things to be done. Being a person who likes to dabble with many different things, the list is always huge with immediate actions to big, hairy dreams. I have also explored list managing tools from MS Excel to Outlook task manager to many such similar app...

The story plot that has been lingering in my mind for sometime now is finally taking some shape in the form of written words. I have started out on my very first novel. It's not my childhood dream to become a writer but ever since I started blogging in 2004, I have been enjoying the process of writing. It's a fulfilling feeling to see thoughts taking a tangible shape. I'm learning in the process as I churn out grammatical errors and improve my vocabulary. As with any new initiative, there is always an initial hesitation to get started and see some output coming through. Excuses float around in all directions. We divert our attention on purpose by working on numerous other tasks except this new initiative. I decided to break this barrier by not allowing any excuses to crop up. Having started with implementing the GTD methodology(I have a next action item to write about this technique this week), I could see good progress with many open loops in my life. I now feel so re...

Climate Change - a very relevant topic for this year's Blog Action Day . In my existence so far in this beautiful planet, I have noticed the changes and the drastic impact climate change has started to create. There is enough material available in the web to discuss about the causes of such climate change that's happening in the world. Through this piece, I want to let the world know of the tiny little steps I'm taking to reduce the impact of climate change. I know these are very miniscule efforts and there is a long way to go. I'm a believer of public transport and have been using the public buses in Bangalore. Though the buses get crowded in the peak hours, there are different options available in the form of Big10, Volvo buses etc. The ticket prices are affordable and doesn't burn a hole in my purse. Also it gives me a bit of satisfaction that I'm reducing air and noise pollution by not hiring an auto rickshaw. At home, I collect the water that I use to clea...

It's been almost a year since I watched a Tamil movie in a cinema theatre, the last one being Vaaranam Aayiram. By the time I realize a movie is good enough, it's already out of the theatre in Bangalore. Nevertheless, I ensure I don't miss out on good Bollywood movies. On our wedding anniversary, hubby and I took a day off from work and decided to watch either Love Aaj Kal or Kaminey. I'm so glad we choose the former. LAK is worth a one time watch as I like Saif's acting in such kind of movies. Hum Tum is one of my favorite movies in this genre. As everyone had already mentioned in their reviews, the "Kal" portion was just too good. Saif as a Punjabi has done a tremendous job, so does the actress essaying the role of Harleen Kaur. I couldn't believe when I came to know she is from Brazil. She fitted the role of a Punjabi girl perfectly. I never liked Deepika as an actress as I find her acting and voice to be too artificial. But she wasn't that bad ...

What an interesting novel! Having read his 3 previous books, I was really looking forward to the release of Chetan Bhagat's 2 states. On my trip to Landmark at Forum, I saw this pile of books with a red colored cover page. I immediately picked up a copy for myself. It's no surprise that everyone waiting in the billing queue had their copies as well. From the very first page till the end, the plot has been etched out in a very interesting manner. The story is not new to us as we have seen similar stories in Bollywood (DDLJ) or Kollywood (Jodi, Poovellam Kettu Paar, Abhiyum Naanum to an extent). But the way the plot has evolved and the witty dialogues ensure the novel is engrossing. I finished reading it in a 5 hour straight sitting. It's a love story between a Punjabi boy, Krish and a Tamilian girl, Ananya. The main track of the story is the way they convince their parents to like each other and be present happily in their wedding. As I come from one of the two states, I cou...

A new home, a new garden - this was something Nancy had been looking forward to for many months now. Her parents had purchased a piece of land in the outskirts of the city and their home was nearing completion. Nancy has always been fascinated by plants. In their current rented apartment, she used to admire her mom, Cynthia tending to saplings in mud pots in their balcony. She always used to volunteer to pluck tiny roses from the pots just before Cynthia begins her prayers every evening. "She will major in botany and will become a horticulturist!!" - Cynthia proudly proclaimed to her apartment neighbours about her 5 year old daughter. The day finally arrived when they shifted to the new home. As promised, Nancy's dad Albert ensured they had a nice patch of fresh grass ready in their lawn area before they moved in. Nancy was more excited about the lawn and the grass than their new home. While Albert and Cynthia were busy setting up their home and arranging things, Nancy wa...

We have always been talking about generation gap for many generations. While I was thinking about different habits in my family, I couldn't help but notice that there is a strong gadget gap as well. Flashback to the late 80s! My father bought home a big Prestige pressure cooker. As a child, I was so excited about the sound of the whistle, while keeping track of the count. The cooker sat proudly on top of the gas stove as a king of the kitchen while the rest of the cooking utensils looked humble like its royal subjects. But this treatment lasted for just a few days as my grandma was completely uncomfortable with this giant new entrant in the kitchen. Although she was scared to use this gadget, she gave excuses like "Oh, the rice doesn't seem to quick properly in this cooker" or "the rice is very dry and doesn't taste good". After the few days, the cooker was safely kept in the topmost kitchen shelf. We were back to our good old ways of using the tradition...