A trip to Tatipudi Reservoir: Rejuvenating Experience

Tatipudi Reservior is a well known water reservoir which is located on River Gothsani, in Vijayanagaram. Recently, I visited this particular reservoir with my friends and I felt it as a great place to hang around. I would like to grab this opportunity to write about our experience at the reservoir and share some interesting facts about it. Tatipudi reservoir is 23 km away from Vijyanagaram and it supplies water to Visakhapatnam city. The reservoir was a 1.30 hrs journey via bus from visakhapatnam and bus journeys are always the best choice when you have your folks to hang around with.

We had to catch the local autos as we missed the one and only local bus that drops us at the reservoir from Vijayanagaram. We had to walk up the hill which was a tedious task but the sight of the reservoir stirred our minds and we were stimulated. When we reached the centre of the reservoir there was water all round and green mountains were bathing in the river water, blocking our sight of infinity. Boating facility was also available but there wasn't any driver at the time when we reached the spot. We also enjoyed the sight of a unique bird travelling in water with its platypus feet though I didn't know its name. There were ice cream and Guava stalls to fill our appetite which satisfied our little tummies. I even felt Tatipudi reservoir is a great place to click pictures and its scenic beauty enthralled me.

Overall,  I feel Tatipudi reservoir is great place to chill out with friends, especially for all vizagites and it would be a short and sweet memory  in everyone's life. 

Father's advice

Often we get vexed with our life as a new problem arrives as soon as an old problem departures from our life. We get trapped in this cycle of problem sloving and feel life is really not going well with us. Once, a 20 year old daughter was in the same situation and she approached her father and expressed her feelings. Her father who was a chef, took her to kitchen and started boiling potatoes, eggs and coffee beans in three different vessels. Though the daughter didn't understand what her father was up to, she waited patiently. After 20 minutes, the father turned the stove off and placed the three vessels in front of his daughter. He asked " What do you see in these vessels?". The daughter touched each content and told" I see hard potatoes, a boiled egg and water flavoured with coffee beans". The father replied " The potatoes, egg and coffee beans under went the same suffering of boiling for 20 minutes but each one reacted differently. The potatoes which were hard before boiling became soft and weak after boiling. The egg which was brittle, became harder and stronger after boiling. However the coffee beans are unique. When they under went boiling, they changed the water and built something new." Placing his hand around his daughter shoulder he said" Who are you?. When suffering knocks your door, are you a potato, egg or a coffee bean?"
Moral: In life, things keep changing around us, the only thing that matters is what happens within us.Just think who you are- a potato, egg or a coffee bean!.

Tips to get rid of "annoying dandruff "

Most of us get annoyed by the disgusting looking flakes on our shoulders. Here is a briefing of the causes of the dandruff flakes and simple yet effective home remedies to get over it. 
Causes of dandruff
Researchers say that the primary cause of dandruff is due to the growth of a fungus called Malassezia on our scalp which results in shedding of the scalp.Other causes of dandruff are improper and irregular brushing of hair, infrequent shampooing, improper diet and stress.
Simple yet effective remedies 
1.Lemon and coconut oil 
Mix one part of lemon juice with five parts of coconut oil and apply this mixture gently on to your scalp and rinse it with a mild shampoo.
Why it works?
One of the primary reason for dandruff is imbalance in pH levels of the scalp. The acidity of lemon juice helps in balancing the pH levels of the scalp, thereby keeping dandruff at bay.
2.Aloe Vera
Apply fresh aloe vera gel which is directly extracted from the plant and apply it onto your scalp.Leave it for about 15 minutes and rinse using a mild shampoo.
Why it works?
Aloe vera gel is known for its anti bacterial and fungicidal properties and deters the growth of dandruff fungi.

3.Coconut oil
Simply wash your hair with shampoo  and allow it to dry. Do not use a conditioner. Apply coconut oil directly to your scalp and it for 15-20 mins. Wash your hair thoroughly with water.
Why it works?
Coconut oil penetrates deep into the epidermis and works from inside. It contains medium chain fatty acids, which have regenerative properties that can help in treating dandruff.
4.Lemon and yogurt
Squeeze a half cut lemon into a bowl of yogurt and apply this mixture to your hair using the lemon peel. Leave the mixture for about 10 minutes and wash your hair with shampoo.
Why does it work?
Lemon is rich in citric acid and plays a major role in eliminating dandruff from hair.
5. Healthy diet
Apart from these tips, we have to maintain a proper healthy diet and eat food rich in vitamins and green leafy vegetables and try to get over stressful situations in order have a healthy hair growth.

Master's mind...

One fine day, a mom takes her little son to the concert of a famous pianist. After they were seated, the mom spots an old friend of her's and greets her. In the meanwhile, her little  son gets off the seat and starts exploring the concert hall. He finds a "no admittance" board and out of curiosity he goes towards it. The mom gets panic and starts searching for her little son. Suddenly the doors get parted and the audience get shocked on seeing a little kid on the stage at the piano instead of the famous artist. The kid starts playing "chopsticks" which he has learnt in his piano classes. The audience get frustrated and shout "take the boy away". When the pianist heard the roars of audience on the backstage, he gets onto the stage. Seeing the little boy on the stage, he understands the whole situation. Reaching around the boy, the master began to improvise the counter melody  to 'chopsticks'. Soon the two make an excellent pair and the crowd begins to enjoy the show. Throughout the play the master keeps whispering the little kid to continue playing.
MORAL: Masters can turn an embarrassing situation into a creative experience. 

Shark and the bait fish

Researchers once conducted an experiment on a shark . In this experiment, they placed a large shark in a huge tank and released bait fish as its prey. The shark immediately attacked the fish and had a splendid meal.Now, the researchers placed a clear, transparent glass and partitioned the tank into two halves. They released the bait fish on one  side while the shark was placed on the other side of the tank. Now as soon as the bait fish crossed the shark's eye, the shark readily moved forward to attack them. But the shark is slammed into the fibre glass and is bounced of. Undeterred , the shark  keeps attacking for every two minutes  but is knocked down everytime. This experiment is repeated on the next day and the shark attacks less vigorously this time. On repeating this experiment over three  more weeks, the researchers observed that the shark gave up attacking altogether. Now the partition was removed but the shark didn't even try to attack the bait fish even though there was nothing to stop it from attacking the bait and the bait fish swam free from harm.
MORAL:Often in life we experience setbacks and failures and eventually give up and stop trying similar to the shark in the experiment. We feel that as we were unsuccessful in the past, we will be unsuccessful in our present also. We fail to see that the barrier which was once stopping us, is now gone and there is 'real barrier' between "where we are" and "where we want to go".