Black tea

I started my life drinking the standard Indian kind of tea, which is a concoction which is boiled for a long time along with milk and sweetened with sugar.

In one meeting with the in-charge of a local mosque in Santacruz, Mumbai, we were a group of teens then, he advised us not to boil the concoction and rather steep it in the covered vessel. This way, he said, we could avoid the mercury contained in the tea while getting all the good stuff.

I tried this at home with satisfying results, then. My parents quite liked the resultant drink.

One could never think of drinking tea black(sans milk) then. It would be unbelievably bitter. I had tried drinking black tea when in primary school on being insisted by some cruel adults. Frankly, that drink was unworthy of human consumption. I promised myself never to try it again.

Then came the days in which green tea was gaining stardom, circa 2009. Everyday, the newspapers(hash... Mumbai Mirror..) would have a new claim about the almost magical properties of this Chinese way of drinking leaf soup. This didn't fail to douse my curiosity. Often times, I would find myself scanning market shelves for green tea. It was rare then, in our markets.

I'm guessing that at time, researches had nothing better to do than to study tea. Anyway, one day I found myself reading an article about how black tea contains antioxidants and how it is all lost when milk is added to it. Now I knew the idea of drinking tea without milk was not very plesent. I thought, why not steep instead of boil? This way...

So i tried it and added sugar. It was pretty pleasant. And I was hooked. Then on I always made my tea separately apart from my family, who stuck to the old recipe. A few months on, I started putting honey instead of sugar. Later, I stopped sweetening it. No sugar, no honey, plain tea.

Somewhere in the middle, my father got the green leaf. It was pleasent and soothing in it's own right. But the yellow brew had a tinge of sourness. I tried to appreciate it at first, and even succeeded at developing a liking for it. But I realised that I was actually craving black tea very often. When I would get some chai on any off-chance occation or at a resturant or chaiwala stall, I would be relieved and happy. In a few months, I was back to black.

Might I attest to the fact that such a tea habit has contributed to my personal well-being? Yes ma'am. It sure has.

One more thing, steeping tea in water before drinking it is infinately more easier as compared to making kadak chai (boil water, add tea, boil further, add sugar, put milk, boil again). This has simplified my life, considering I drink this about thrice a day.

What do you think? How do you like your tea? Are you into chai masala? Irani tea? Can you make a decent cup?

By the way, coffee sucks.

Beer gut

My belly has been my companion for as long as I can remember. I remember the first time of noticing it being big when I was eight. I had just been eating a meal of rice and yogurt curry, stuffing myself till discomfort. When I stood, my father looked at my swollen gut with amazement. At this, I noticed it too quite pleased with myself.

Time would pass, I don't know the exact time I developed a bulging abdomen, but since then, I don't even remember when i didn't have it. It's always been there.

In my teens, I would hide it with my clothes. People would not notice much, I guess. I would eat less fat and cut down on the butter at breakfast. This would continue for years. But it had negligible effects. Whatever fat I would lose, eventually, I would gain it back. One day in school, when I was about 13, the day in which the mid-term Diwali vacations were over, a teacher tapped my belly approvingly. Many of my friends to did the same throughout the day. It was a clear sign that people were noticing. But I usually did a good job of covering up.

At times I tried yoga, at times I tried belly breathing. I tried jogging a lot. There was never consistency.

About 8 months ago, it had maxed out to the all time high measurement: 37 inches of waist.

Later on, I started exercising hard using the Insanity workout videos. they were challenging, but sadly they didn't make me much fitter. In 2 months, I lost just 1 inch. Later I went on the Slow-Carb-Diet, designed by Tim Ferriss and popularized by his book the 4-Hour Body. This worked wonders. In the past few months I have lost lots of weight. All my pants are now lose. My waist is now 34 inches.

Some time later, I had an epiphany. It's not the fat that makes us fat, but supposedly it is the carbohydrates, which raise the level of insulin an facilitate fat storage. Cutting carbohydrates is very effective for losing stored fat.

But the belly is still there. Off-course, I want to lose what remains of it. let's see what happens. Before Ramzan begins, I want to lose a few kilos of fat and add a few kilos of muscle. Let's see what happens.

Computer Science

I used to like computers, coding and tech things like that when in my early teens. When in 7th standard, I remember being outside a book shop asking for c, c++ and java books. Those days are long gone. I'm now in the end of my third year in computer science engineering. Computing devices are now are seen much more than back in those days. I'm no longer that enthused at the idea of making software for others to use.

In the early 2000s, computing was the new cutting edge. Now it's meh.

To sum it all up, computer science consists of approximately these things:
How electricity works, how information is stored using electricity, how this information is manipulated to form calculations(microprocessors), how is it made into graphics, how abstract calculations can be made(automata theory), how to communicate with machines using various languages developed for the purpose. then you also learn about databases, computing networks, communication, encryption, among other things.

It's a rather versatile thing to know. Very useful and practical.

However, earning a living as a software engineer, or any job, for that matter, is simply not worth it. I can see that. India has become a pool of cheap labor to many an industrialists, foreign and Indian alike. The scenario is too competitive. The pay is scant.

Inflation is high.

I still have some love for computers left in my heart. I don't want to spoil it by making it my occupation to tend to them.