The King Of All Meals!

Breakfast is undeniably the most important meal of the day. The name says it all! "Break-Fast", cause you're breaking the all-night fast (induced by the night long sleeping activity dummy!). The stomach and body are starved for some fuel to get recharged and get set for the new day.

Science says that breakfast should never be skipped for this very reason. Depriving your body of vital nourishment after a long break is nothing short of folly! Eating a nutrient packed and filling breakfast is the key to a good day ahead.

The debate then arises how rich should this king of all meals be? You're probably wondering, Eh? Well being a Bombay boy (a SoBo one at that) breakfast for me (and most of my pals) has ranged from a simple glass of milk (flavored with Bournvita) and toast to Kellogg's cereals to eggs made to order. Sufficient no? Well apparently not! Most of my friends and relatives from different parts of India beg to differ.

My relatives (well most of them) live in the state of Gujarat, viz. in Vadodara and Ahemdabad. I remember watching my uncles wolf down an entire meal for breakfast. When I say meal, I'm talking about chappati, dal, vegetables, farsaan et al. Mind you, this is the exact same thing I'd probably eat for lunch, so I was kinda surprised when I saw them eat this for breakfast. In their defence, this was probably their crude attempt at brunch since most of them would avoid heavy lunches and opt for a light snack at aorun 1-2 pm.

Up north, breakfast is incomplete without some piping hot paranthas laden with real makkhan (cause the packaged kind just doesn't cut it for them!). And this is usually accompanied with either chole or a similar item. What you have to understand in that the parantha is question is so darn heavy, that one is enough to set you back by around a few hundred calories. Again, in their defence, the weather possibly mandates a breakfast of this clorific stature.

Most people tend to have a different opinion deciding the richness of breakfast. Personally, a heavy breakfast, like those savored by my relatives and friends up north doesn't suit my system. After a heavy meal like that, early in the morning,  I'd probably feel laethargic or worse, nauseous! For brunch, most deifnitley, but for breakfast, ummmm, I'll pass.

In conclusion, breakfast is indeed the king of all meals. However the extent of it's royalty is very much a personal choice. 

Blame It On Rio!

Even as the citizens of Rio celebrate the IOC's decision to host the 2016 Olympics in their city, closer home, in Delhi, the powers that be are struggling to meet the deadlines for the 2010 Common Wealth Games. With a day less than a whole year (that's 364 days in case you were wondering!), many of the planned projects are way behind schedule. 


The tensions are apparent as government officials are touring the project sites personally to get the true status at the ground level. Interruptions are present at all levels of preparations. Work on the new stadia, increasing the city's hotel accommodations, connecting the various venues, housing proper medical infrastructure are some of the prime concerns which are yet to be finalized or in some cases even established. 


The work underway in the national capital will result in a more urbanized and infrastructure sound metropolis. With 47 fly-overs, additional AC buses, new routes for the metro and mush more, Delhi is all set for a major make-over for the mega sporting event, which will sustain long after the games end. But the flowery image is far from reality and is haunted by many constraints ranging from financial to the political.


The last major international event of any note that the city hosted were the Asiad Games in 1982. Clearly the large void in between has been a cause for the "Kumbhakarana" approach for this event. It's time the officials and authorities got their act straight and started crossing some milestones instead of indulging in bureaucratic debates and blame games.


The clock is ticking and the world is watching. So, here's hoping that the people that matter do what matters most!