Srinivas Padma: Personal Musings on Life, Growth, and Connections

Sixty chefs, ten hours and 13,000 kg of vegetarian biryani and a new world record for the largest vegetable biryani entered the Guinness Book of World Records in an event by Kohinoor Foods Ltd in association with HT Media Ltd. Ingredients 2600 kg Traditional basmati rice 130 kg Salt 510 kg Refined oil 375 kg Green peas 375 kg French beans, cubed 375 kg Carrot, cubed 500 kg Cauliflower, cut 780 kg Onion paste 750 kg Tomato paste 500 kg Whisked curd 5 kg Clove powder 50 kg Green cardamom powder 2.5 kg Cinnamon powder 2.5kg Black peppercorn powder 4 kg Bay leaf powder 5 kg Cumin seeds 260 kg Garlic paste 160 kg Ginger paste 20 kg Green chilli paste 6 kg Green chilli, julienne 7 kg Red chilli powder 25 kg Garam masala 10 kg Fennel seeds powder 10 kg Jeera powder 4 kg Coriander powder 250 kg Mint leaves, chopped 600 kg Green coriander leaves, chopped Method Soak the traditional rice for two hours. Mix oil, tomato paste, onion paste, garlic paste, ginger paste, dry sp...

Already drawing the crowds in the South American resort of San Alfonso del Mar in Chile, this artificial lagoon and swimming pool is eight hectares in size and contains an incredible 250,000 cubic meters of water. Acknowledged by Guinness World Records as being the world’s largest swimming pool , the lagoon trounces all other record holders in the category, including the Orthlieb pool in Casablanca, Morocco, itself a huge 150 meters by 100 meters – the San Alfonso pool is 1km in length. The revolutionary clear water artificial lagoons, transparent to a depth of 35 meters and unprecedented in design and construction methods, are the brainchild of Crystal Lagoons founder, biochemist and Chilean businessman Fernando Fischmann. Equivalent in size to an incredible 6,000 standard domestic pools, details of its technology are to be unveiled for the first time at Cityscape Dubai later this month. More Pictures: Source: Nubricks & Crystal-Lagoons

Jaipur: Habib Miyan, acknowledged as the oldest person of India in the Limca Book of Records , celebrated his 138th birthday on Sunday, with people from all walks of life thronging his residence here to greet him. Miyan cut a cake, firecrackers were burst and 139 balloons released to mark the celebrations, joined in by people from as far as Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, as also chairman of Rajasthan Minority Com mission Sardar Jasbir Singh. "Kisi raees ki mehfil ka jikra kya hai amir, khuda ke ghar bhi na jayenge bin bulawe ke (May you discuss a party of a rich man, I will not even go to god's house without invitation)," Miyan quipped at his house. Asked about his eating habits, he said, "I am open to any kind of food," but added that he is a great fan of meat preparations, even if these are considered too oily for his age. "Gosht roti khao, Allah ke gun gao," Miyan said. Habib Miyan is a very optimistic person, said Dr R.K. Verma, an...

Kuala Lumpur: A Malaysian known as the “Snake King” for his commanding performances with scorpions and snakes over the last 25 years has died after being bitten by a king cobra during a show, news reports said on Saturday. Ali Khan Samsuddin, 48, died early on Friday, three days after he was bitten on the left hand by a cobra while performing in Kuala Lumpur, the reports said, quoting his son, Amjad Khan. The Star daily quoted Khan, 21, as saying that he would continue his father’s work. “This is a trade that has been passed down for five generations. It is our way of life and we can’t imagine doing anything else,” he said. Khan said his father, Samsuddin, called him on Tuesday to tell him that he had been bitten, but the family was not too worried because it had happened “many times before,” including three times by cobras, the paper said. But Samsuddin’s condition worsened on Thursday night and he was rushed to hospital. Khan said his father suffered from diabetes and perhaps his bod...