EDITORIAL

Well, nothing in any way is more daunting than hysterical expectations. But, the felicity of a young group of people allows the confidence to do things a little differently. But, with everything else done to death, what could possibly match the hype? Nothing! Yes, nothing in particular.

This is the philosophy the i9 Team had in mind while putting together this fantastic ‘No theme – Just fun’ edition of Culture Curry for you. As i9 is synonymous with Lifestyle and Entertainment, we have tried all these ingredients in the right quantity to fulfill your appetite.

It was training fatigue at i9. One training Saturday back, i9 went through 3 training sessions which we survived to tell the tale. February (besides being the shortest month) is also a month that hosts the Day of Love. But, unfortunately, the world’s most powerful and magnificent emotion captured in Valentine’s Day has been reduced to a marketing opportunity. So, with this issue we also bring you a set of funny handpicked ads that will surely liven up your love life.

Nothing gladdens us more than tracing comical stories and so we bring a writers’ interpretation that Subhash stumbled upon while reading a friends’ blog. To add a little zing, you will experience our hospitality with our complementary Fish Pedicure treatment, which is turning into a rage in India. With Lifestyle taken care of, we also have a little entertainment to fill your gossip platter: the My Name is Khan – Shiv Sena fiasco revisited. Also, a very distinguished personality, Ms. Orna Sagiv, Consul General of Israel, plays guest writer for your taste buds for some Israeli cuisine.

This curry looks yummy. Enjoy the feast!

Asad

i9 on a Training spree!

-Sameer Gupta

A training Saturday as the name suggests is meant for training of some sort. Blue Lotus has had a history of talented people from various fields coming in and sharing their knowledge and expertise with us. But, the last training Saturday for i9 was surely the Baap of the them all, as i9 had a series of record breaking 3 back-to-back training sessions. We decided to relive the day for you.

The day began with a chic presentation given by our fashion aficionado Asad Khan. This was a very light hearted session where Asad took us through the basics of Fashion, covering the Industry as well as the aspiration aspects of it. Mesmerizing – is how I would describe this session. Asad shared a lot of stylish inputs and a great learning experience on the current fashion trends. His views on what fashion means to us has been very informative. Did you know that the outrageous clothes that some designers showcase on the ramp are not actually meant for wearing? No right? Well, these are artistic expressions like any other form of art. When these collections reach the stores they are appropriately edited and made wearable. Fashion bloopers, Colors, seasons and individual preferences were all part and parcel of the presentation. “Fashion is not about utility or good choice; it’s about picking the right thing for yourself for the right season” said Asad. Well, right after the session, I started mentally working out details of updating my wardrobe!

The next on schedule was meeting Subhash Pais in our very own conference room for training on sales and marketing. “How many of you think you are sales people?” asked Subhash. Some said they think they are, while some said they think they aren’t. “Then wait and just listen to me, I’ll ask this question when I’m done with my presentation.” Replied Subhash. And then he started off. With different aspects of sales and why sales is so important, he really made us think by taking instances form our daily lives. Sales along with marketing ideas, sales strategies, communications, building relationships with the clients and client servicing, it was a complete experience. A proper training that should be made necessary for every PR and Marketing person, he also made us think from the client’s perspective. Points such a ways to increase your leads, customers and sales along with selling strategies was a part of the discussion. Well, by the end of it, everyone was convinced that all of us are sales people in some form or the other.

A good speaker that Subhash is, his vast experience in this field just added that extra touch!

Then came the most awaited session of the Day. I sat with my cup of coffee and listened enthusiastically to Shibani Keshkamat, the one who coined the term ‘Engagement Marketing’ was here to share her ideologies on the same. “Engagement Marketing” sometimes called "experiential marketing," "event marketing", "live marketing" or "participation marketing," is a marketing strategy that directly engages consumers and invites and encourages consumers to participate in the evolution of a brand. This kind of marketing looks at clients as active rather than passive components.

Shibani, a writer from the United Kingdom, happened to mention the term Engagement Marketing to Subhash in one of their meetings and was invited by him to share the same with Blue Lotus. Since this being a relatively new subject, it was presented to us in a very detailed manner enabling us to know more about this kind of marketing. Being a contents person, the amount of knowledge that she has about marketing, PR and advertising is applaudable.

Overall, this training session has been an immense learning experience. One of the unique aspects of this training session was that there have never been 3 training sessions held together in a day. But we had the privilege of this and the understanding of this training session has been remarkable for all of us at i9! Look forward to many more! We were quite exhausted by the end of the Day, but a little shopping trip just did the trick!

My Name is Khan??? Whatever my name, how does it matter???

-Wayne Ferrao

February has seen the whole country take a stand against the stupid, linguistic fanatismic goonism of the Sena…. Really??? Or was it just media hype??? My Name Is Khan (MNIK), an Shah Rukh Khan starrer was at the center of the entire fiasco… what exactly is MNIK? & why would the Sena want a piece of it.

The reason for this entire fiasco was the protagonist “Shah Rukh Khan’s” statements with regard to the IPL and Pakastani players; strange as it may be the only connection to MNIK is that SRK & Rizwan Khan are the same person, it’s like suffering from schizophrenia the actions of me affect myself as well. The fiasco started with the snub of the Pakistani cricketers by the IPL as a message to the Pakistanis that we will ban you from everything Indian in response to the terror attacks… Great!!! Our dear friend Mr. SRK in his enthusiasm and as an owner of the Kolkata Knight Rider’s thought the Pakistani players would be a great addition to his team’s futures … Understandable as KKR has not performed well in IPL1 or IPL2.

Shiv Sena on the other hand is itself in a downslide and needed a last ditch effort to revive itself after its disastrous outing at the elections. Mr. SRK’s statements gave them an issue no matter how lame. In their desperation they failed to see it would backfire just like it did with another Icon Sachin Tendulkar who said “Mumbai is for all Indians”. As age is catching up with the great Tiger Chief, reason seems to have gone out of the window. In an increasingly cosmopolitan environment, the sena’s old school methods seem to be taking the party lower into the doldrums and while they talk about the upliftment of their people, the truth is that they have done much for them; they don’t aspire of becoming engineers or doctors but they are look at lowly jobs of Milkmen, Bhajiwallahs & janitors for their community as the way they want to go.

For years they have seemed to have been wining regional battles but now even those are hard to come by and they are for sure losing the war. My Name is Khan is a story of one man overcoming hardships and making a difference to the world and while it’s just a movie, Rizwan’s alter ego SRK has had to go through the same in a manner of speaking. Perfect PR Plan or not, it’s nice that people take a stand. The point is both the parties in this war did benefit somehow - Be it the publicity for the movie or the hope for wealthier vote banks in the future.

FROG in the well – Of a much misunderstood phrase and Rightsizing

Frog in a well - this idiom is used widely as a way to ridicule people. However, Subhash Pais came across this interpretation by a fellow blogger. It turns out, the frog is not really in the well!

Not many of you know the origin of the phrase “Frog in the well”. I will not fault you for that. But what I cannot condone is the fact that you go about muddying the reputation of that ribbiting rationalist, of which you know little.

You may not condescend to kiss it; you may despise the sight of the slimy, translucent toad. I have no qualms. “Myopic individuals; people with meager social skills; those who are cooped up in their cubicles” “Aah, here is a frog in the well”, you croak, tarring the name of the good amphibian. There, my dear friends, I draw the line.

And here is why.

Once upon a time there lived a frog king named Mundaka in, well… a well. Like all kind kings who took care of their coteries and sycophants,Mundaka too was despised by a lot of lesser toads who were his subjects. Some brave blubbers even went to the extent of questioning his ways of ruling. Little could Mundaka do to either banish such lowly but large numbered leapers or bring a sword swiftly down to settle the matter once for all.

He bid his time sporting a soul-searing yet affable smile and going about the daily affairs. He needn’t have to wait for long, for good times come to all who work for personal agendas.

One year there was an exceptional drought like situation, where the water table was receding and the green algae depleting. There was pressure everywhere to survive and Mundaka had to do something to not only ensure his own survival but that of his close brood.

Being an exceptional jumper and a great believer in plotting by jumping around, Mundaka in one of his out-of-the-well thinking moments chanced upon a snake in the grass (The same stricken one who reinvented itself after an appraisal. He apparently shed the old skin and became a consultant).

Mundaka: “Hello, friend!”

Snake (hissing from the corner of one side of the forked tongue): “You are my meal.”

Mundaka: “No, I am your meal-ticket. I am a king overseeing an oversized organization. Now tell me what can you do for me?”

Snake (switching to the other): “You came to the right guy. My motto is “FROG – Fruitful Rightsizing of Organization. Guaranteed”"

Mundaka: “I want neither undue panic nor inkling of the impending operation”

Snake: “Give me a large enough hole in the wall, in which I can curl up during the day. And leave the rest to me.”

Mundaka: “You are hired.”

Snake took his place in a hole in the wall and went about doing his stuff – few frogs a day, surreptitiously. Nobody noticed any difference as it wasn’t any large scale disappearance. Mundaka meanwhile had a safety plan in place for himself and his hangers on. He heard of consultants who were taken on board for advice but stayed put to takeover the reins. He kept his coterie, sycophants and family members inside the deep-end of the well; where the snake couldn’t reach. It was sure to drown if at all it ever put such a tempting thought to action.

Over a period of few months, the snake did its bit to the utmost satisfaction of Mundaka. The draught situation was also easing off and the feeders – fodder balance was restored. Rightsizing was achieved.

The snake having realized it wasn’t getting any more of its daily calories called out to Mundaka at the other end, requesting a meeting. Mundaka said thanks but no thanks and performed a rain-dance at the deeper end of the well with his hangers on.

Snake weighed both the options. Of over-reaching its mandate by jumping into the far end of the well or crawling back up in search of shallow wells lorded by less cunning kings. The risks and rewards seemed to be far better laid out in the latter case. With things under control and none to raise their voice against him or curse him, Mundakaruled the well happily ever after!

Valentine's Special

Love is an attachment that binds two loving souls together. But what happens when the same love is turned into a selling scheme? Petrina Nicole Fernandes takes us through this collection of funny Valentine's Day ads in some of the leading newspapers hand picked by her for you. Its gonna be one humorous ride.

The Times of India

Mid-Day

Mid-Day

Mumbai Mirror

Mumbai Mirror

From the plate of Israel

Our Guest writer - Orna Sagiv, Consul General of Israel shares some of her guarded recipes with us on Culture Curry. Some finger licking yummy food. The feast is open!

1. Hummus

You shouldn’t, and can’t, compete with people who have been making Hummus all their lives. On the other hand, you can still make a very tasty hummus the first time you try. It will taste 10 times better than any packaged hummus you can buy, and be 10 times healthier as well. With time, you will get the touch and become a hummus expert.

Ingredients:

[4 extra-large bowls of Hummus]

1 cups dried chickpeas (the smallest you can find)

1/2 cup tahini

juice from 1 squeezed lemons

1-2 garlic cloves

1/2 teaspoon cumin

salt

olive oil

How do I make that into Hummus? (Directions)

[Brut: 10-20 hours. Net: 30 minutes]
1. Pour the chickpeas over a large plate. Go over them and look for damaged grains small stones, or any other thing you would rather leave out of the plate.
2. Soak the chickpeas in water over night. The grains should almost double their volume.
3. Wash the chickpeas well and put them in a large pot. Cover with water, NO salt. Cook until the grains are very easily smashed when pressed between two fingers. It should take around 2 hours; skim the peels and foam which float over the cooking water. When done, sieve the grains and keep the cooking water.
4. Put the chickpeas into a food processor and grind well.
5. Add 1/4 cup of the cooking water and the rest of the ingredients. If the Humus is too thick, add some more of the cooking water. It should be thinner than the actual desired texture.

Serve with some good olive oil.
Serve straight a way!!

2. The Turkish Falafel

The Turkish Falafel is served in toasted bread, with some salads and spicy sauces. In Israel, as well as most of the Arab countries, we eat the falafel inside pita bread, with vegetable salad, pickles, French fries andTahini. You should try that.

Ingredients:
(25 falafel balls)

2 cups of dries chickpeas, soaked in water for 12 hours

2 slices of day old white bread

5 cloves of garlic

2 teaspoon baking soda

1/3 cup chopped parsley

1/2 cup chopped coriander

1/2 small onion

1 spoon of sesame seeds

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon smoke sweet paprika

Salt, pepper

Oil for deep frying

Preparation:

1. Wash the soaked chickpeas and put them in a food processor with all the ingredients. Add a little water if needed.2. Move the mixture into a large bowl, add the rest of the ingredients and put aside, covered, for 30-60 minutes.3. Worm the oil to 170C +/-
4. Wet your hands and shape little balls (smaller then apricots). Fry until you get a deep brown shade. Serve hot!

In Israel, it is customary to serve several different types of salads every meal with the entire or main course. Salads go great with humus and tehini.
When preparing an Israeli vegetable salad use fresh vegetables and cut the vegetables in very tiny dices. Israelis love to make salads using cucumbers, tomatoes, different color sweet peppers and some chopped purple onion. Your salad can be dressed with olive oil and fresh lemon juice. Preparing salads can be time consuming and you shouldn't eat it after tow hours because the vegetable will be mushy, but it is so good and fresh.

3. Hraime - Moroccan Fish in Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:
400 gm of Grouper or Whitefish steaks.
1 medium white onion chopped.
100 grams / 3.5oz Tomato paste.
1 Tablespoon of Paprika (Spicy or regular, depending on how you like your Hraime).
Olive oil.
1 Tablespoon cumin
4 cloves of cursed garlic
3 slices of lemon
1 cup water.
Salt.

Preparation:
Place a little bit of olive oil in a large, flat pot.
Heat the oil and place the chopped onion and garlic in.
Sweat until they are transparent.
Add the tomato paste, all the spices and lemon.
Add a cup of water in order to dissolve the tomato paste.
Add salt to taste and cook for 5 minutes.
Bring the mixture to a boil and add the fish of your choice. Add the fish in one layer.
Add water until the fish steaks are submerged.
Bring to a boil once more.
Lower the flame and simmer for 20 minutes with the lid on.

4. Chocolate Rich Cake

4 serve

Ingredients:
80g dark chocolate
80g butter
1 egg yolk
2 eggs
100 g sugar
40 g flour sift
Meant leave for garnish

Method:
· Melt the butter and chocolate
· Wisk the eggs and sugar properly
· add the melted chocolate and butter
· fold the flour
· Pour in cups
· Back in oven 180C for about 7 minutes
Ready to eat…..

Indulgence and Rejuvenation

-Pournima Surve

Chocolate, wine and caviar massages are the new luxury words in beauty treatments. There are spas which provide complete wine therapy called Vinotherapy, as it’s popularly called, involving massaging and scrubbing the body with crushed grapes, but not before drenching clients in a pool of wine.

Among these, Fish pedicure has become a rage all over the world. My experience of a fish pedicure (Rs 220 for 20 minutes) for the first time was amazing. When I first sat there with my feet in the pool, it felt a bit “ticklish” for a moment, but, later my feet emerged glowing and visibly healthy.

What is fish pedicure?
As name suggests, fish is used for the pedicure treatment. This was first invented in Turkey, but now almost all major cities in the world including Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai have this kind of pedicure treatment. Here, Doctor Fish or Garra Rufa fish which thrives on mainly dead skin is utilized for the cleaning purpose.
It is one of natural ways available for foot therapy.

Fish pedicure treatment
Doctor fish or nibble fish, kangal fish or little dermatologists feed on your dead skin in warm water making your skin smoother and cleaner. This is followed by normal massage and cleaning as part of the pedicure. This is different experience in itself. Treatment is safe and enjoyable. These doctor fish do not have teeth and so there is no risk of bite etc in this treatment.

Fish pedicure price
Price range normally various from Rs 250 till 1000 as per choices. Cost includes maintenance of these fish as fish thrive normally in warm water and also as this is new concept, price is more. But price also includes normal nail filing, massage per acupressure points, scrubbing etc in addition to fish nibbiling on your dead skin.

Tressxcel Unisex Salon is ISO 9001-2000 organisation situated in Kandivali Mumbai. This salon has collaboration with Loreal professionals.

NKOTB

Shreelaalit S Jakali

Brief on myself……..

A typical Virgo who is practical, neat and fastidious about thing .A good team player keen on bringing in results. Loves to read, go trekking and be with nature, have a spiritual bent of mind and an extremely cool person to be with.

My experiences in life have made me more focused then ever before. I have learned to take success and failure with equal amounts of sugar& salt…and learned to appreciate life…I am ever learning that not to judge people…All have reasons for their behavior…and well variety is the spice of life ;)

By the end of this month I would be 12 days old in BlueLotus...and it’s a good place to work …Kudos to the entire team…Glad to be a part of it.

Deepak Sakpal

I, Deepak Sakpal, a Nerul resident but Kokani from heart. I am enjoying my life in Aamchi Mumbai. BSc. IT graduate and pursuing a dream to complete MBA in IT. I am happy go lucky man who enjoys life with friends. I feel “ Love can touch us one time and last for a lifetime, and never let go till we're gone”. I am a foodie person who also loves to play carom, Cricket, Football, Car Racing. Movies and music are my stress busters.

Being a new comer in the Blue family I observe that Blue lotus has a very healthy and happy work environment, colleagues are friendly and supportive. I wish the day will soon come when Blue Lotus can provide the services to the worldwide customers.You can catch me on Orkut, face book, LinkedIn, G-Talk, (deepak.sakpal@gmail.com).

A smile is a language that even a baby understands. Start every day off with a smile and get it over with.

Jerry David

Hi, this is Jerry David here,part of Bluelotus family since 15th Feb 2010. I come here with almost two decades of PR exposure (not all of it exemplary though) with agencies such as Concept PR, Percept & Pressman.

In this business of PR, where adrenalines are almost always on the top gear, I love to look at the funny side of a situation. On the flip side, I simply cannot digest the idea of PR professionals behaving like Advertising servicing people in front of clients. This is beacaue of the fact that newsprint is getting costlier by the day; almost as costly as gold.

What I like so far in the people in Bluelotus is the friendliness,cheerfulness and ready to help attitude. And most of it is combined with a head on shoulders way of viewing problems and situations.

Cheers !

Sunandita Roy

Showers of Questions! That’s what my friends call me….some find it irritating, (Neha can vouch for that) some ignore and others who do not have any other option answer those. To me its my insatiable desire to know and learn more and hence even if people like it or do not like it, I will continue questioning. That’s my spirit…..

A very simple, straight forward girl, I love to explore new places. I like to read novels, especially mushy love stories. I am very ambitious with hopes of doing big one day and I know that day is not far.

Like every other individual I believe in God and am thankful to him for whatever good has happened to me so far.