XOXO
- The shades of night were falling fast,
- As through an Alpine village passed
- A youth, who bore, 'mid snow and ice,
- A banner with the strange device,
- Excelsior!
Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful. - William Morris
Wednesday, February 27, 2019
In my childhood this poem was a staple for me also!
साड़ी से बैग बनाएं.
देखें साङी से बने सुट से बचे कपङे का पैच लगा कर सुंदर बैग बनाया गया है, जिस पर आईलैट हैंडल
लगाये गये हैं। बैग का बेस कपङा मेरे कतरनों के डिब्बे से लिया गया है, देखिये जरा नीचे
चित्र 2
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कैसे बनायें?
इसके लिये बेस कपङा लें अपने बैग की लम्बाई व् चौड़ाई के अनुसार व साईडों के लिये, चित्र 1 अनुसार
१,२,३,४ माप लें ऐवं ज़रुरत अनुसार चौङाई ले लें
ईतना ही फयुज़न कपङा ( पेसटिंग वाली टैटरोन) लें,
ऐवं ईतना ही लाईनिंग के लिये कपङा लें,
ज़रुरत अनुसार ज़िप लें जितनी आपको जेबें लगानी हों
साङी का बार्डर, व कुछ मेन साङी का कपङा, बैग के ऊपर निचे व बैग बंद करने के लिये, फलैप पर
लगाने के लिये लें ( इन्हें भी फ्यूजन करें)।
बेस कपङे को ऊलटा कर फयुज़न कपङा गोंद कि तरफ से उस के ऊपर रखैं, मलमल के कपङे को पानी
में भिगो कर निचोङ लें, इसे फयुज़न कपङे पर अच्छी तरह फैला कर इस्त्री करें, ध्यान रहे इस्त्री को
रख कर दबाएँ,फिर उठायें, फिर दुसरी जगह ऐसा ही करें, इस तरह दोनो परतें फयूज़ हो जायेंगी। बैग
की दुसरी साईड व साइडों को भी इसी तरह फयूज़ कर लें। साङी का बार्डर, साङी का कपङा, पैच लगाने
के लिए व् बैग बंद करने वाली फ्लैप के लीए जो साड़ी बार्डर लिया है उसे से भी फ्यूजन कपड़े से फ्यूज़
कर लें.
अब सिलाई शुरू करें---
बैग के सामने वाले हिस्से पर ऊपर व निचे डिज़ाईन (चित्र 2, देखें) जोङ दें, अब सामने वाले हिस्से पर
साईडें जोङ दें (सीधी तरफ से) बैग का पिछला हिस्सा भी साइडों से जोङ दें। बैग की बाहरी सिलाई को
पाईपिंग से सिलते हुये छिपा दें।
लाईनिंग भी इसी तरह सिलाई कर जोङ लें, जेबें लगा कर ज़िप लगालें।
बैग व लाईनिंग के उलटे हिस्से को अंदर से मिला कर जोङते हूये सिलाई कर लें, ऊपर से भी पाईपिंग
लगा लें.
फलैप बैग के पिछले हिस्से ( देखें चित्र 2 में पीछे का हिस्सा) पर बीच में जोङ दें, किसी बटन पर बेस
कपङा मढ कर फ्लैप पर टांक दें, फलैप पर व बैग के सामने बीच में व्ल्क्रो ( बैग बंद करने के लिए) टांक
दें, आईलैट लगा कर हैंडल डाल दें।
अब यह बैग व पर्स दोनों का काम करेगा और बार- बार इसे इस्तेमाल किया जा सकेगा। इस तरह आप
पर्यावरण बचाने में सहायक होंगी.
मेरी बेटी ने इस बैग को माडल किया है, साड़ी से बनाये सूट में से बची कतरनों को मैंने अपने कतरनों
के डिब्बे में सहेज लिया था. बेटी के जन्म-दिन पर यह मैचिंग बैग बना कर मैंने उसे भेंट किया तथा
पोली- बैग से खरीदारी न कर के, पर्यावरण बचाने में शायद कुछ मदद हो, पुराणी साड़ी रिसाइकिल कर
के सुट. रिसाइकिल का महत्व समाहित है
xoxo
Tuesday, February 26, 2019
Diary 1964
Monday, February 25, 2019
GULLY BOY
GULLY BOY: A Film Review...Not Really
My children (son daughter and grand daughter) and I want to spend time outdoor last week , so we decided to cash in our free tickets and go see the latest movie
Excel Entertainment and Tiger Baby’s Gully Boy (UA) is the story of an aspiring rap singer and his journey from rags to stardom. It borrows liberally from the life stories of rap singers Naezy and Divine.
Murad (Ranveer Singh) is a lower middle-class boy who studies in college and lives in a chawl with his father (Vijay Raaz), mother (Amruta Subhash), younger brother, Suhail (Svar Kamble), and grandmother (Jyoti Subhash). His father is a driver of a rich family. The father wants Murad to also take up some small job so that he can supplement the family income. However, Murad’s heart is in rap songs. He dreams of becoming a rap singer but doesn’t know how to go about it. He writes his own songs and is very passionate about rapping. His father hates Murad’s passion and can’t see eye to eye with him on that. In fact, the father asks Murad to fill in for him as driver when he himself meets with an accident which sees his leg in cast. Murad obliges but hates the very thought of serving someone in this fashion. So he continues to pursue his dream, now with rapper-friend MC Sher (Siddhant Chaturvedi).
Murad is in love with Safeena (Alia Bhatt) who is studying to be a doctor. Safeena is also mad about Murad and can well understand his passion. Safeena’s parents (Sheeba Chaddha who is a housewife, and Ikhlaque Khan who is a doctor) are unaware of Safeena’s affair.
Even while Murad’s struggle is on, his father marries another lady, Parveen (Tina Bhatiya), and gets her to stay in the tiny house, with the rest of the family. This frustrates Murad even more. Anyway, things are looking up on the professional front as Sky (Kalki Koechlin), a music composer, collaborates with Murad and MC Sher.
There comes a stage when Murad and Safeena drift apart due to differences. Meanwhile, Murad is working hard to qualify for the finals in the rap singing contest which will win him Rs. 10 lakh in prize money and give him a chance to meet a famous international rap singer. Along the way, Murad is forced to leave home with his mom and brother. His maternal uncle, Ateeq (Vijay Maurya), tries to get him a respectable job but is Murad interested at all?
What happens finally? Does Murad take up a nine-to-five job or does he step into his father’s shoes or does he become a rap singer? Does he qualify for the finals and win the competition? Do Murad and Safeena patch up? What had led to Murad and Safeena’s break-up?
The film’s story, inspired by the lives of two famous rap singers, has been written by Reema Kagti and Zoya Akhtar. The story is penned in such an extraordinary fashion that it has the audience hooked on to it right from the word ‘go’. The characters are so real and their aspirations, so relateable that the story, in a way, becomes everyone’s story. The hookline – Apna time aayega – is a fantastic one because it has been an aspirational hookline for every human being at some point or the other. In that sense also, the story becomes the story of every person watching the film.
Reema Kagti and Zoya Akhtar deserve distinction marks for an outstanding screenplay which completely and absolutely consumes the audience. The screenplay has layers and each layer is splendid. Murad’s family drama has a lot of meat. Safeena’s family story is also extremely interesting. Murad and Safeena’s love story has a lot of depth, humour and emotions. Murad’s journey, of course, is simply remarkable. The sub-plots in the drama are several and each of them has been so wonderfully written that one can’t help but marvel at the genius of the two writers. The screenplay may not make the viewers cry but it does get a tear to the eyes of the weak-hearted while filling the strong-hearted with emotions. The humour is simply delightful. Yes, a film about rap singers and singing and with 17-18 rap songs may not appeal to a section of the over-50 (age group) audience but even they would like the other dramas in the screenplay. Frankly, one was not aware of the popularity of the rap culture in India till the first trailer of this film was out – after which, it seemed as if Indians, especially the youth, have had an affair with rap singing since ages! In other words, there may be some who may be sceptical about an entire film on rap artistes but once in the film, many among those will take to it like fish to water. The climax looks abrupt but the tying up of loose threads in the end rolling titles makes up for the sudden ending.
Vijay Maurya deserves high praise for his mind-blowing dialogues. He has used the language which lower middle-class Muslims use, complete with the accent and all. Not just that, his dialogues are so weighty that they become a major asset of the film.
Zoya Akhtar’s direction deserves distinction marks. She needs to be lauded for having the courage to make a commercial film on rap culture and making such a wonderfully entertaining film. Her narration keeps the audience totally engrossed. She will win a lot of praise for her direction. Music is excellent. ‘Apna time aayega’, ‘Mere galli mein’, ‘Doori’, ‘Azadi’, ‘Asli hip hop’ and ‘Kab se kab tak’ are excellent songs. ‘Apna time aayega’, of course, has already become a rage. Although all the music directors and lyricists deserve pats on their backs, the ones who stand out are music directors Spitfire, Divine, Naezy, Sez On The Beat, Rishi Rich, Major C, Dub Sharma, Ankur Tewari, Karsh Kale, Ace and Ishq Bector, and lyricists Spitfire, Divine, Naezy, Javed Akhtar, Dub Sharma, Kaam Bhari, Ankur Tewari and Ace. Javed Akhtar’s lyrics of Murad’s poems deserve special mention. Bosco-Caesar’s choreography is fantastic. Background music (by Karsh Kale and Savage Audio Collective) is terrific. Jay Oza’s cinematography is brilliant. Manohar Verma and Sunil Rodrigues’ action scenes and stunts are lovely. Suzanne Caplan Merwanji’s production designing is of a high standard. Nitin Baid’s editing is super-sharp.
On the whole, Gully Boy is a blockbuster. Its hookline, ‘Apna time aayega’, is so identifiable that it will resonate with the audience. There would be a section of the audience which may find the rap songs too much to handle but there will be a huge chunk of young viewers who would go bonkers over the film. Repeat audiences will be aplenty. Yes, the film may not work in several centres but its business from the big and medium cities will be so huge that it will turn out to be a richly rewarding enterprise.
XOXO
Sunday, February 24, 2019
बेहतर उपाय...

इन दोनों बड़े गमलों को मैंने बड़ी टूटी बाल्टियों पर बचे-खुचे तायल के तुकडे चिपका कर और ग्रोउट से भर कर ऊपर से स्कैच पैन से आउटिंग कर ऊपर से वार्निश कर दिया ...मुझे अपने दो बड़े पौधों के लिये बड़े गमले चाहियें थे ....सीमेंट के गमले बहुत भारी हो जाते तब मैंने टूटी बाल्टियोंऔर अन्य सामान के साथ इन गमलों को बनाया.
इस गमले में थूजा का पौधा है...इसे मैंने करीब १०-११ वर्ष पहले छोटे गमले में लगाया था...
और ऊपर इसमें जटरोपा का पौधा है..यह ७-८ वर्ष पहले मैंने छोटे गमले में लगाया था..
इसे बाद में मैंने ऊपर से रिम पर और ग्राउट लगाया और फ़िर स्कैच पैन से आउटिंग कर के ऊपर से दो कोट वार्निश कर दी...
देखिये ऊपर और नीचे की तास्विरें........इ ऊपर की रिम से कितनी दुरुस्त हो गई है...

इस बाल्टी का रिम बिलकुल टूट गया था मैंने बाल्टी की रिम पर एक मोटी सुई लेकर इसे गर्म कर जगह -जगह छेद किये और एक पानी की बेकार पड़ी ट्यूब के बीच मेंचिर लगा कर इसे रिम में फिट कर दिया,। और फ़िर इसे बोरी के तुकडे से फेविकोल से चिपकाया और फ़िर तार से सिल दिया..
सभी बेकार चीजें यानी कि बोरी का टुकड़ा, टूटी पुरानी ट्यूब, टूटी ताय्लने और टूटी बालटी का सही उपयोग कर सुन्दर गमले बन गये.. 
यह देखिये ज़रा नजदीक से कितना सुन्दर और टिकाऊ गमला बन गया है....शब्बा जहीर!!!
My plants,a Quote of the day.
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| this ivy plant in terra-cota pot sits in my upper shelf of kitchen |
Friday, February 22, 2019
छप्पनिया अकाल (famine) nostelgia,my great grandma
छप्पनिया अकाल
राजस्थान या थार के इतिहास का सबसे भयंकर अकाल जो वर्ष 1898 में पड़ा.
विक्रमी संवत 1956 होने के कारण इसे छप्पनिया अकाल भी कहा जाता है. ऐसा माना जाता है कि इस अकाल में राजस्थान के दस लाख लोग भूख के कारण ही दम तोड़ गए. लोकगीतों व लोकजीवन में आज भी इस अकाल की भीषणता का वर्णन मिलता है.
Since the famine of 1899-1900 was in the Vikrami Samvat 1956, it is known as Chhappania Akal or Chhappania Kal. The El Niño year follow by El Niño+1 year in which the normal rainfalls are higher. The result was the famine was followed by epidemic , malaria & cholera and the severity of the famine was so bad that the tribals of Rajputana, Madhya Pradesh (central Provinces) , Gujarat (Bombay Presidency), Hissar and other places died in thousands. The tragedy is still sung in the folk songs of these areas. The famine relief in the British Provinces was organized by the Government of Lord Curzon and around 25% of the affected people were relieved as per the official figures, but the native princes of Rajputana and Gujarat who were autonomous failed to curb the death toll. The Government spent Rs. 170 Lakh and Rs. 130 Lakh in the famines of 1897 and 1900. This Chhappania Akal is the most widespread recorded in Indian history. Though, it was not as acute as the Orissa famine of 1866 or as fatal as the terrible Bengal famine of 1770, yet the progress of the media, invention and spread of Photography and the means of communication made it the most popular famine of India.http://www.gktoday.in/chhappania-akal-1899-1900/
MY great grand maa
my great grand ma used to distribute grains to the effected people during the famine time of chhappania-akal.
My great grand father was saahukar( money lender) and had lots of money. He was elected as president of आर्य समाज and donated a some of rs 100 in the year 1907.
xox
DIY Custom Wooden Rack: Smart Storage Solution for Craft & Kitchen
One of my DIY projects completed around this time last year was a custom wooden storage rack
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| Custom-built 3x3 ft storage rack made from upcycled construction wood for kitchen and craft needs. |
Why a Custom Storage Rack?
Since we plan to build or purchase a larger home in the future, I didn't want to invest in permanent wooden cupboards, new drawers, or added doors for the kitchen slab
Beating the Dust: Special Covered Design
In our arid climate, fine dust and sand particles are a constant challenge, especially during the summer months
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| Dust-proof storage rack with a zippered floral cover made of plastic and fabric layering to keep fine sand out. |
To solve this, I created a custom layered protective cover
Versatile & Multi-Functional Use
This simple handmade piece has proven to be incredibly versatile:
Top Platform: Functions sturdy enough to place a decor piece or an aquarium right on top
Upper Shelf: Organizes kitchen gadgets, juicer bottles, antique pans, wooden spatulas, spoons, ladles, and churners
Lower Shelf: Stores kitchen dish cloths, mesh towels, muslin wraps, and craft supplies neatly
Upcycling reclaimed wood into a practical, dust-proof storage unit saved money and gave our space a neat, organized look dot
xoxo
Being Imperfect Quotes & Sayings
I'm not perfect and I'll never be perfect, but I'm perfectly fine with that.
We all have our own faults, that is we should try not to judge other people too much!
I accept that I can't help everybody, I can't please everyone either. I'm not perfect; but I know one thing for sure! I'm a work in progress, a student in class and a man that is willing to learn from his mistakes. So that I can have a better understanding in life.
Life is precious, it's beautiful you just need to have right attitude towards it. Live it in your own way without any regret.
Even when my Life seems to be crashing down, I still see God's Blessings and Grace standing out solidly in my Life.
Terry_Marks
My granddaughter increasingly claim my attention and leave me less time to enjoy leisure moments.
I hope that this year 2019 comes loaded with a lot of time to make everyone participate in my creations.
I'll start with a very special cake for my family.
The cake was brown (one of my granddaughter’s favorites) with a soft vanilla buttercream that covered it.
xoxo
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