Easy tip to keep your Kitchen Sink clean Tired of scrubbing away your steel sink and still don’t feel satisfied? Check out this easy tip to get a sparkling kitchen sink in  a few minutes.

Sravana Sukravaaram Ladies Special   It is the first Friday of the holy month of Sravanam and a very auspicious day and month for the newlyweds and maidens who wish to marry...  and married women who pray for health, wealth, prosperity and happiness for their husbands and family! The 4 Fridays in this month or the 'Sravanasukravaraalu' are dedicated to Goddess Lakshmi and Indian women wake up early in the morning to worship the Goddess. By performing the Varalakshmi Vratam they enjoy the grace and favour of the Goddess Lakshmi who grants abundance and prosperity and longevity of their husbands. No Telugu house hold is complete without the Muggu/Rangoli in front of their door step. Try this Sravana Maasam Special Muggu  right here on ourMuggulu Page… Check out our Varalakshmi Special Page below where the entire Pooja Vidhaanam or Ritual is explained and also the Mangala Haarathi and special songs on Goddess Varalakshmi are shown. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvS3k4MyaWFeR7YjIwgeSS7cTu_saD-nG Wishing you all the choicest of Abundance and Prosperity this season!

Santoshi Matsa-Pride of Andhra   When 20 year old Andhra Pradesh girl Santoshi Matsa grabbed the bronze medal in the women's 53 kg category at the 20th Commonwealth Games 2014 in Glasgow ,Scotland and it was a moment of pride and joy for her and her family who hail from a small village in Vijayanagaram.   Born in remote Kondavelagada village, Nellimarla mandal in Vijayanagaram district,in Andhra Pradesh, Santoshi had shown keen interest in weight lifting since her younger days despite the hurdles  in her family . Her coach Challa Ramu said that despite poverty and lack of modern training facilities in her village which had many weight lifters who are in dire need for sponsors, she was steadfast in her determination to be on the top and this is evident with the number of medals she has won over the past 8 years in her weightlifting career. She has won many medals in the National Level before moving on to the International weightlifting arena.   She has won several gold medals in the Junior division between 2006 and 2013. In 2010 she won the gold medal in the ASIAD held at Uzbekisthan and was adjudged the 5th place in the Youth Olympiads held in Singapore. In the Common Wealth Youth Junior Championships  held at Malaysia she won the Gold Medal.With her winning the Bronze medal at the Commonwealth  games she has put Andhra back on the International Map and made the Telugu people proud of her achievement .

An App to protect your Mobile from Theft A great way to save your phone especially us Women who are prone to losing cell phone comes a new app called Lookout Mobile Security’s app. This is available for Android and iOS, which can provide you a picture of the if when he/she steals your phone. When the  Theft Alerts option is activated, Lookout will monitor your phone for suspicious behavior when a thief  tries to remove your SIM card, turns on Airplane Mode, enters your passcode incorrectly, turns off your phone or attempts to remove Lookout, the camera will activate and you’ll receive an email with a photograph and location of the thief. There are other apps similar to this so all you need to do is check which one is compatible to your phone and use it and keep your mobile safe!

How to Make  3D Birds With CDs   Watch our Craft Expert Naveen show you how to make a three dimensional Bird using coloured paper, old CDs, scissors  and glue.  

Tips to teach your child Public Etiquette Etiquette in Public: As your child grows it’s important to teach your child certain basic etiquette when you are outside. At times it gets annoying to handle screaming children, but the earlier the better in training them about behavior in public. And this would save you from a lot of embarrassment later on in life.   First of all you could teach your child to talk softly when you are in a small or public place and explain that it is bad manners to do so. If there is anything to be conveyed you could tell them to come close and tell you the same. While in the movies you should tell them not put their feet up the seats and disturb others while watching the movie in the theatre. It is not a good habit to yawn or stretch the body in the crowd of the people. You should tell them not to jump queues or push others standing in a line. They should cover their nose while sneezing and should ask for excuse after sneezing. Glasses in the public places and other areas should not be touched with the mouth. While eating in a restaurant it would be nice to put napkins over their lap or tuck it  in the front of their shirt/dress so as not to spill food. Also teach them to be polite to the waiters and any one who is helping them -from the plumber to the driver. Do share your views and also add on to the etiquette list as to what you think should be taught to children

Chat and complete your chores at home Kids have gone to school and you are left with a few chores that needs to be done, at the same time you feel like taking a break and catch up with your mom or friends with the latest gossip. But this shouldn’t deter you from doing your chores and chatting on the phone thanks to the cordless phone and mobile phones. Presenting a few chores you can do  while talking on the phone :   Clear the leftovers from the table and kitchen Wipe  the kitchen counters Sweep the floor if you don’t have a maid. Dust the cob webs without letting the phone drop from your ear if you can! Clean the windows, clear your Bedroom or any other place that requires your attention Sort out the washed laundry and fold them Edit and upload family photo’s on your Facebook and Instagram. If you don’t have one create an account for yourself. Do some baking or savory making  and if you can think of something more to add to the list  anddo share them with us… Chatting and mullti tasking at its best!!

Boost Creativity with this New Origami App Paperama is an Origami app available for all Android phones on Google Play store. A wonderful way to spend a lazy afternoon where you will use your fingers and learn the art of folding and bending – Origami with just a few instructions and tips. About Paperama. The game starts off with the easy  two to four folds, and goes on to show more difficult shapes for the advanced users. There’s no pressure to be perfect and even if you’re 75 per cent close to the shape in question, you could move to the next level. There is also Hints option in case you need help and  there’s no timer or  no minimum number of tries which means that you can spend as much time and attempts as you want figuring out how to move on to the next level. Paperama can make up for a great craft class option when you are bored at home or sitting in the metro getting back home. You could use this app to kill time on a long journey and also make your kids learn origami through this later mobile craft app. Boost your creativity with this  Paperama app!

Tune into Music to Start the Day The everyday nitty gritties of life take over us after a certain point of time. The same routine- wake up , cook, get to work, pick up the kids, monitor their homework , manage our careers , college and the list goes on depending on what you are. Each to his own we must say. Now the stagnation sets in when you fall to this regime. You need that super charged motivation to get you out of bed and get going. We didn’t mean the alarm, but may be something more soothing like a lilting tune. A tune can seriously affect your mood, so start your day by listening to happy songs. These songs energize you and will also get you in the right frame of mind to start your day. From Pharrell Williams’ ‘Happy’ to Rihanna’s ‘Don’t Stop the Music’, we personally rely on these songs to help start our day the right way. If you are not into this kind of music and you like the nostalgic music of your childhood which includes Venkateswara Suprabhatham or the Sacred Chants , to George Michael or Pink Floyd - pick up that iPod, CD player or your fancy gadget that you never use and play that music and start your day.Happy Mornings!

 Make Butterflies with Plastic Spoons     Watch our Craft expert Naveen show us how to make beautiful butterflies with left over plastic spoons and coloured paper sheets. A must try for those lazy rainy afternoon activities…

Housewives can save Money too     The Budget 2014 has come and much has been said about the pros and cons. Prices of cigarettes have gone up, TVs prices have gone down, the price of gas is fluctuating, soap prices will go down…etc. Not that it makes too much of a difference in a Housewife’s life but with changing trends and economy scenario at home , housewives should also be made part of the home budget inclusion and start her own way of saving money. Presenting a few tips to help you be aware of best budgeting practices and contribute to a healthy financial life. Step 1 - Check with your husband and know all the streams of income, including his salary, savings, FDs, etc., so that you can figure out the total sum of your income. Yes the husband should share all financial details with his spouse! Step 2 - After determining your total income, you must track your monthly expenses. These are usual expenses like groceries, electricity, EMIs, milk etc., that are required for your monthly expenditure. Step 3 - You should also understand the logic of House EMIs, personal loans and insurance premiums which are deducted from your husband’s salary. See how long it takes for you to repay the loans as the interest amounts will be deducted for a period of time.   Step 4 - After evaluating all these points see where you can chip in. It’s not just working women who make money. Depending on your educational qualifications, talent and skill check out where you can start making money. In the movie ‘English Vinglish ‘, Sridevi is shown as a housewife with little education but she makes sweets in large scale and makes her own money selling them. There are many options if you are good with writing you can be a freelance writer, teach part time in a school etc. It will help you increase your total income and help in the expenses as well. Step 5 - Start saving some of your income. You can keep a savings account to deposit money. Look out various non-risky saving options which can help you save money. Sit and discuss with your husband and friends about these options. The regular home Kitty parties are an amazing way of getting money which comes in handy for making a large purchase. Financial freedom for any housewife is a very liberating experience and with these basic few tips you can achieve a lot for your future.  

Women Centric Budget -2014     Budget 2014 saw the  Finance Minister Arun Jaitley  announcing various schemes for the Girl Child and women empowerment . Road Safety :In an attempt to make road transport safer for women, he announced Rs 50,000 crore for the Road Transport Ministry. The Road Transport Ministry will ensure that the amount is used to make public transport safer for women to travel. 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’: Rs 100 crore for the 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao' scheme ha sbeen announced which works towards protecting and educating girl children across India. The scheme is to help girls become tomorrow's nation builders. Crisis Management Centre for Women in Delhi: Jaitley also proposed a Crisis Management Centre for women in Delhi, for which no separate funds have been allocated. But  money for this will be drawn from the Nirbhaya fund, which was set up after the December 16, 2012 gang-rape in Delhi. This fund was set up to support initiatives by the government and NGOs working towards protecting women, and was allocated Rs 1,000 crore when it was announced during the Union Budget of 2013 given by P Chidambaram. Working Women: Personal Income-tax exemption limit raised by Rs 50,000, that is, from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 2.5 lakh in the case of individual taxpayers. A great boon for the working women who are now part of the major work force in India. Also raised the tax exemption on home loans from Rs. 1.5 lakh to Rs. 2 lakh.

Work Culture Etiquette   To be a successful career woman you need to follow certain rules of the workplace etiquette and avoid behaviors that can annoy your co-workers and bosses. Apart from punctuality there are certain things that you need to avoid for fostering a good work culture and move up the rungs of the corporate ladder. Avoid Gossiping Socrates once said, “Strong minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, weak minds discuss people.” Gossiping is a bad job killing quality, no matter where you are, It is better to avoid chitchats about your co-workers; otherwise you will run the risk of losing authority and your job. Low drive Problems with low morale and drive  in the workplace are a huge drain on  productivity and co worker enthusiasm. Put your troubles and issues at home and come to work with  a happy mind. Avoid Conflicts Don’t let you co-workers bully and offend you in no circumstances. You should stay calm and do all possible things to resolve the conflict and maintain privacy at all times. Try to save going to your boss as a last resort, but if nothing helps to accomplish the reconciliation , then ask him or her for help and resolve the matter maturely. Maintain dress code Every company has its rule of dress code. If you should appear dressed formally, bear in mind that low-cut, tight fitting and short clothing at work is highly inappropriate and can leave a bad remark against you. A negative judgment will also be formed and to handle snidey remarks can lead to other conflicts at work place. A neat and appropriate appearance is a must in any workplace. Handling additional responsibility When your boss requests you to handle a task which may not be a part of your job profile you can occasionally take it up as this will also show how flexible and open you are to taking up additional work. This way you can be in the good books of your boss and in the top of the promotion list. If you want to be a successful employee, you should develop the skills to work together with your co-workers and be a valuable part of the team. It will help you build wonderful relationships with workmates and bosses.

సమతూకం పెద్ద సవాళ్     ''ఇల్లు, పనిచేసే చోటు, ఈ రెండు చోట్లా విజయం సాధించడం అన్నది మహిళల వల్ల అయ్యే పనికాదు. ఆ రెండిటి మధ్య సమతూకాన్ని పాటి౦చటమన్నది ఏంతో పెద్ద సవాలు, నా పిల్లలకి అవసరమైనప్పుడు వారి దగ్గర లేకపోయానే అన్న అపరాధ భావం ఇబ్బంది పెట్టేది. కానీ క్రమంగా నన్ను నేను సమాధానపరుచుకున్నాను''.......ఈ మాటలు అచ్చంగా మీ మనసులోని మాటలులా  అనిపిస్తున్నాయా, నిజానికి ఉద్యోగం చేసే అమ్మలందరి భావం ఇదే. ఇలా అమ్మ మనసుకి అద్దం పట్టేలా తన భావాలని పైకి చెప్పిన మహిళ సాదాసీదా ఉద్యోగిని కాదు. అమెరికాలో ప్రతిష్టాత్మక కంపెనీలలో ఒకటైన పెప్సికోకు ముఖ్య కార్యనిర్వహణాధికారిగా ఉన్న శ్రీమతి ఇంద్ర నూయి భావాలు అవి. ప్రపంచంలో అత్యంత శక్తివంతమైన, సఫలమైన మహిళల్లో ఒకరిగా పేరుపొందిన ఈమె ఈ మధ్య ఓ సందర్బంలో ఇలా తన మనసులోని భావాలు బయటపెట్టారు. ఆమె భావాలూ, అనుభవాలు అన్ని చదువుతు౦టే....ఒక్కసారిగా ఎన్నో ప్రశ్నలకు సమాధానం దొరికినట్టు అనిపించింది. రెండు చోట్లా చక్కగా బాధ్యతలు నిర్వహించాలి. ఎవరినీ నొప్పించకూడదు, పిల్లలకు ఎప్పుడూ అందుబాటులో వుండాలి. 'పిల్లలు' నాప్రాదాన్యతగా వుండాలి. ఇలా మదనపడే ఉద్యోగస్తులైన అమ్మలు..ఒక్క విషయం మరచిపోతున్నారు అంటారు సైకాలజిస్టులు. ''మీరేం సూపర్ పవర్ కాదు, మీకూ కొన్ని పరిధులు, పరిమితులు వుంటాయి. అవి అర్ధం చేసుకోండి, లేదంటే అన్నీ చోట్ల ఉత్తమ౦గా నిలవాలనే తాపత్రయంలో మీరు మానసికంగా, శారీరకంగా అలసిపోతారు. మిమ్మల్ని మీరు పోగొట్టుకుంటారు. ఇకప్పుడు మీరు చేయగలిగేదేం వుండదు''.  ఇంద్రనూయి మాటలు నాకు ఈ భావాన్నే చెప్పినట్టు అనిపించింది. ఆమె ఆ స్థాయిలో విజయం సాధించటానికి ఎక్కడో అక్కడ కొంత రాజీపడి వుండక తప్పదు. అయితే ఆ రాజీపడడాన్ని ఓటమిగాకాక పరిస్థితులకు తగ్గట్టు సర్దుకుపోవటంగా అగీకరించారు కాబట్టే, ఎలాంటి ఒత్తిడి లేకుండా ఉన్నారు. ఒత్తిడి లేనప్పుడే ఎవరైనా తమ సామర్ధ్యాన్ని పూర్తిగా వినియోగించగలరు.అలా పూర్తి సామర్ధ్యానికి ప్రతిఫలం విజయమే. అదే ఇంద్ర నూయిని వరించింది. అందుకే మనం సూపర్ పవర్ గా నిలవాలి అనుకోకుండా మన పాత్రని సమర్ధవంతంగా, అర్ధవంతంగా వీలయినంత నిజాయితీగా పోషిద్దా౦. 'నిజాయితీకి' గౌరవం బహుమానంగా తప్పక అందుతుంది. అది ఇంటి నుంచీ అవ్వచ్చు, అటు ప్రపంచం నుంచీ కావచ్చు, కృంగదీసే అపరాధభావాన్ని దూరంగా నెట్టేసి...హాయిగా గుండెల నిండా గాలి పీల్చి, మిమల్ని మీరు శభాష్ అనుకోండి ఒకసారి. ఇకప్పుడు చూడండి ..మీ జర్నీ మీరు ఎంత ఎంజాయ్ చేస్తారో...    -రమ                                                                                                                                                                                                       

ఫేస్‌బుక్ సీఓఓ ఎవరో తెలుసా     షెరిల్ శాండ్‌బెర్గ్‌.. ప్రస్తుతం ఫేస్‌బుక్ ఫేస్‌బుక్ చీఫ్ ఆపరేటింగ్ ఆఫీసర్ (సిఒఒ)గా వున్న షెరిల్ శాండ్‌బర్గ్ గతంలో కూడా ఎన్నో ఉన్నతమైన సంస్థలలో పనిచేశారు.  గూగుల్‌లో గ్లోబల్ ఆన్‌లైన్ సేల్స్, ఆపరేషన్స్ వైస్ ప్రెసిడెంట్‌గా, ప్రపంచ బ్యాంకులో ఆర్థికవేత్తగానూ, మెకిన్సే అండ్ కంపెనీలో మేనేజ్‌మెంట్ కన్సల్టెంట్ గానూ శాండ్‌బర్గ్ పనిచేశారు. బిల్‌క్లింటన్ అమెరికా అధ్యక్షుడుగా ఉన్న కాలంలో అమెరికా ఖజానా విభాగం చీఫ్ ఆఫ్ స్టాఫ్‌గా ఆమె పని చేశారు.  44 ఏళ్ల షెరిల్ వాషింగ్టన్ లో పుట్టి, హ్యార్డ్‌వర్డ్ లో ఎకానామిక్స్ లో పట్టా పుచ్చుకున్నారు. చిన్నప్పటి నుంచి చదువుల్లో ఎప్పుడూ ముందే వుండే శాండ్‌బర్గ్ కాలేజీ చదువుల్లోను ఎంతో ప్రతిభ కనబర్చారు. ఐదు రోజుల పర్యటన నిమ్మిత్తం ఇండియాకు వచ్చారు.  భారత ప్రధాని మోడీని కూడా కలుసుకున్నారు. ఈ సందర్భంగా భారత్‌తో తనకు గల అనుబంధాన్ని ఆమె గుర్తు చేసుకున్నారు. 1981లో ప్రపంచబ్యాంకు లెప్రసీ ప్రోగ్రామ్‌లో భాగంగా తొలిసారి ఆమె భారత్‌లో పని చేశారు. గత ఇరవై ఏళ్లలో భారత్ ఎంతో మారిపోయిందని ఆమె అన్నారు. ఇప్పుడు భారత్‌కు కుష్ఠువ్యాధి ఏ మాత్రం ముప్పు కాదన్నారు. భారత్ అంతర్జాతీయ ఆర్థిక శక్తిగా ఎదుగుతున్నదని, ప్రపంచంలోనే అతి పెద్ద ఆర్థిక వ్యవస్థగా అవతరించగల సత్తా వున్న దేశమని ఆమె అన్నారు. ఎంతో పవర్‌ఫుల్ షెరిల్ : పార్చూన్ మ్యాగజైన్ రూపొందించిన అత్యంత శక్తివంతమైన 50 మంది మహిళా వ్యాపారవేత్తల జాబితాలో పలుమార్లు ఆమె చోటు దక్కించుకున్నారు. వాల్‌స్ర్టీట్ జర్నల్ రూపొందించిన వుమన్ టు వాచ్ 2007 జాబితాలోనూ ఆమె స్థానం దక్కిచుకున్నారు. ఫోర్బ్స్ రూపొందించిన 2014 మోస్ట్ పవర్‌ఫుల్ వుమెన్ జాబితాలో తొమ్మదవ స్థానాన్ని పొందారు. ఈ జాబితాలో మిషెల్ ఒబామా 8 వ స్థానంలో నిలిచారు. శాండ్‌బర్గ్, నెల్ స్కోవెల్ తో కలిసి రాసిన పుస్తకం లీన్ ఇన్-వుమన్, వర్క, అండ్ ద విల్ టు లీడ్. మిలియన్ కాపీలు అమ్ముడయిన ఈ పుస్తకం ప్రపంచంలో అత్యధికంగా అమ్ముడయిన పుస్తకాల్లో ఒకటిగా నిలిచింది.

How to Make Flower Baskets Using Paper Cups   Watch Naveen our craft expert show how to make a flower basket using white paper cups. A very creative way to use paper cups and make a beautiful array of flowers. This would make a  great activity for pre-school kids as it involves using simple material and not much of cutting and pasting.    

Rohini Nilekani – India’s only lady Philanthropy Champion     Out of the four Indians,  who  have made it to the latest annual Forbes list of 'Heroes of Philanthropy in Asia Pacific' 2014 -Rohini Nilekani is  India’s very own lady philanthropist to make it to the list of 48 persons selected for this list. Rohini Nilekani (55) is the wife of Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani, and has given away close to $40 million to various causes like groundwater conservation, sanitation , education etc. It was disclosed that she has recently sold 577,000 shares out of the 8 million shares that she holds in the outsourcer and that the funds from the share sale, amounting to $27 million will be deployed in various charities in the areas of water, education, environment and governance that Nilekani supports.     A former journalist and author, Nilekani, 53, has been an active philanthropist for more than a decade now and her notable contributions include founding Arghyam - for water and sanitation issues, Pratham books - which is into publishing books for children and also plans to donate $1.7 million to the New Delhi based National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER).  Rohini can be described as one among the country’s leaders in philanthropy and her work is exemplary when it comes to being a responsible person who gives back to the country from her own personal money to achieve broader social justice.

Karra Shashikala- AP’s  lady  ‘Organic ‘ Farmer    Karra Shashikala has won the Mahindra Samriddhi India Agri Award for the ‘Best Female Farmer of the Year 2014 ’. These awards were instituted in 2011 to recognise farmers’ noteworthy and purposeful contribution to the field of agriculture.This reticent lady who hails from Nalgonda district is an organic farmer who produces her own compost fertilizers with cow dung, runs a dairy, cultivates fruit gardens, produces 15 KW power with the gober gas produced through her farm and runs all her pump sets daily on this organic fuel. She also produces organically grown rice and quality vermi- compost manure to other farmers.     Now all this sounds wonderful, but this didn’t happen overnight and her road to success was not an easy one. Widowed at a very young age in 2004 when she lost her husband Madhav Reddy to a heart attack, this post graduate in Telugu literature was left alone with a 13-year old son to fend for and a debt of Rupees 4.5 lakhs to clear, unhelpful in laws and conniving village hands who were not willing to work for her. Due to a strong family support & her brother’s help in coming out of depression, she got to work in the fields hands-on and started her tryst with farming and taking care of the cattle. Providence got her in touch with Mrs Sudha Reddy who trained  her about  vermin-compost production and this led her to start her own production in her own farm .This had helped to boost her farm production and sell the compost in higher prices to others. With the profits  earned she cleared her debts, bought two more acres of land , 50 cows for extra production of compost and is now a fully fledged farmer and dairy owner. She had seen the ups and downs of running a farm and has emerged stronger in her will to succeed and this has made her one of the successful and the only female farmer to reckon in the State of Telangana.   Her day starts at 3:30 in the morning,ends in the evening like that of a typical farmer and despite her hectic schedule and work, she is also a happy and proud mother and has educated her son who now works in a high profile IT Company. She is a firm believer in sustainable practices and reinvests her profits into her farm and strives at implementing new farming techniques to increase production. Winner of several other important awards in the past ,she has been an inspiration to at least 10 other  farmers. TeluguOne tributes this lady farmer from Nalgonda for her indomitable spirit and encouragement to all women in the society!