Shop act licence renewal - Pune

Office timings: 10 to 4 (Best to land up there at 10:45)
Location: In Wakdewadi, opposite Shoppers Stop.
When you enter through main gate, go to the right and find a barrack at the end.

Treasury counter timings: 11 to 2:30
Location: SBI building next to the Collector office, near Pune station

Steps to renew your license

• Take with you: Original + photocopy of current valid license + cash (about Rs. 800 per employee in your shop/organization)
• Before entering the gate, go to the photocopy shop on the right side and get Form B plus 3 payment challans from the shop.
• Fill up the simple form B. Also fill up Name, Address & renewal period in challans. Renewal period is typically 3 years.
• If you are paying less than Rs. 300/-, then they accept cash in this office itself. For more than Rs. 300, you need to pay the amount at Treasury
  PS: The amount Rs. 300 may not be valid any more as rates have increased. Check first point above.
• Take Form B, challans and original license inside the barrack. After entering the barrack, go towards right and show form B to any officer sitting along the left side.
• They'll calculate the license fees. You need to write the amount on the challans. The officer will then sign the challans.
• Get the challans stamped at the counter near the entrance. Officer's signature and the stamp are important. Without that your trip to treasury will be wasted.
• Now go to treasury. The security will guide you to one of the cash counters. Depending on the queue, be prepared to wait for up to an hour. Here, they'll accept the fees in cash, and give you 1 copy of the challan - stamped by them.
• Come back to the license office. Get a photocopy of stamped challan for your own record. Now pin together: Form B + License photocopy + 1 challan. Hand over this and the original license at a window outside the barrack. The guy will keep the pinned docs and will make a new entry on the original license before giving it back. The new entry on original license is the most important part. Do verify it shows number of years for which the licence is renewed.
• Take the original license and get it signed by the officer who sits in front of the main door to the barrack.

That's it, your license is renewed!
The whole procedure took me less than 2 hours and.. ZERO Rupees in bribes!!

Solar baked cookies!

Finally, got my own cookies done. No electricity, no gas. Only a couple of hours of the abundant sun-power!!



I've been experimenting with baking cookies for the past 6 months now (inspired by the workshop conducted by Organic Initaitive last year). Was using an old, stove top oven all along. With my philosophy of starting-out-frugal, there was no way I was going to buy expensive equipment first!
But the result was hours of burning LPG and burnt-bottom cookies - that only I was eating 'cause I couldn't bear to throw them away. Well, over time, the cookies started coming out OKAY, with reduced baking time and less carbon at the cookie bottom :-).

Then the monsoon got over and Sun started shining again. Time to try the solar cooker for baking! The first batch of cookie dough went in on a bright Saturday afternoon. One and a half hour later, like an anxious kid I took them out, let them cool for half an hour and took the first bite. They were crisp, not at all burnt and JUST RIGHT. I almost cried.

This was too good to be true. Just mix the usual dough, pop it into the solar cooker, let out the steam after half an hour, but essentially forget it for a couple of hours, and voila, you have perfectly done cookies, with no fuel burnt!



Okay, so here's the recipe for those who'd like to try:

Btw, I got the original recipe from http://fastindianrecipes.com/atta-biscuits-whole-wheat-cookies/2010/05/02/ but have made some variations, and am consistently getting good results by mixing Ragi (Nagali/Nachani) flour with Atta.

1 cup atta (whole wheat flour)
5 tbsp butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp cardamom powder (OR 1 tbsp Cocoa powder if you mix Ragi flour with atta)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp cold milk

1. Mix butter and sugar in a bowl. Beat really well till it turns light and fluffy.
2. Sieve together atta and baking powder. Mix in cardamom powder.
3. Mix this in the butter-sugar mixture. Knead into soft dough. If the dough is difficult to knead, add more milk. Keep it aside for a while. I refrigerate the dough for 15 mins (some "bakers" recommend half hour).
3. Keep the solar cooker in the sun with glass lid closed for about 15 mins.
4. Form small balls from the dough and flatten them between your palms. Line a baking tray with cookie sheet and lightly grease it.
5. Place atta biscuits on the tray keeping a little distance between them. Put them in the cooker and close the lid tightly. After about half an hour, open the glass lid to let out some steam. This may have to be done once or twice. For me, the cookies get done in about 1.5 hours in February, in Pune. This time may vary though depending on your location and intensity of sun.
6. After 1.5 hours, take out the tray and keep in shade for 5-10 minutes, then transfer the biscuits to wire rack or something similar to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

That's it. Pretty simple. Go try your own!!

Give up or fight like hell

"LaTrice, am I going to pull through this?"

"Lance, I hope someday to be just a figment of your imagination. I'm not here to be in your life for the rest of your life. After you leave here, I hope I never see you again. When you're cured, let me see you in papers, on TV, but not back here. I hope to help you at the time you need me, and then I hope I'll be gone..."

Lance Armstrong, an American cyclist, was diagnosed with cancer at 25. After surgery and at the end of chemotherapy, the above dialog took place between him and his 'angel' nurse.

16 months after discharge from hospital, Armstrong entered the Tour de France, a gruelling bike race, and won, in the fastest ever time. He went on to win the race 7 consecutive times, setting a new world record.

"It's not about the bike" is an inspiring story of the fight with cancer that Armstrong won! The fight that taught him many things and transformed him as a person.

Do read!

Unbowed - Wangari Maathai

Just finished reading this inspiring book that I thought I must share with you.

Unbowed, is the story of a tenacious woman, about growing up in the hills of Kenya, getting educated in a missionary school, starting the Green Belt Movement, her 3 decade long fight with the oppressive Government of President Moi, finally coming out a winner, and receiving the Nobel prize!
I especially enjoyed reading the first part of the book about growing up in rural Kenya, about the immense part the nature played in their lives. For those of us who have experienced life in Indian villages, a lot of Kenyan customs or habits sound familiar.

Do read below a few quotes/extracts from the book:

"Trees have been an essential part of my life and have provided me with many lessons. Trees are living symbols of peace and hope. A tree has roots in the soil yet reaches to the sky. It tells us that in order to aspire we need to be grounded, and that no matter how high we go it is from our roots that we draw sustenance. It is a reminder to all of us who have had success that we cannot forget where we came from."
"...our power and strength and our ability to reach our goals depend on the people, those whose work remains unseen, who are the soil out of which we grow, the shoulders on which we stand."

"Many people assume that I must have been inordinately brave to face down the thugs and police during the campaign for Karura Forest. The truth is that I simply did not understand why anyone would want to violate the rights of others or to ruin the environment. Why would someone destroy the only forest left in the city and give it to friends and political supporters to build expensive houses and golf courses?"
... "What people see as fearlessness is really persistence. Because I am focussed on the solution, I don't see danger. Because I don't see danger, I don't allow my mind to imagine what might happen to me, which is my definition of fear. If you don't foresee the danger and see only the solution, then you can defy anyone and appear strong and fearless."

"Throughout my life, I have never stopped to strategize about my next steps. I often just keep walking along, through whichever door opens. I have been on a journey and this journey has never stopped. When the journey is acknowledged and sustained by those I work with, they are a source of inspiration, energy, and encouragement. They are the reasons I kept walking, and will keep walking, as long as my knees hold out."

"What I have learned over the years is that we must be patient, persistent, and committed. When we are planting trees sometimes people will say to me, "I don't want to plant this tree, because it will not grow fast enough." I have to keep reminding them that the trees they are cutting today were not planted by them, but by those who came before. So they must plant the trees that will benefit communities in the future."
... "I have always believed that, no matter how dark the cloud, there is always a thin, silver lining, and that is what we must look for. The silver lining will come, if not to us then to the next generation or the one after that. And maybe with that generation the lining will no longer be thin."

[Oct. 8, 2004: After receiving the call that she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize]
"I thought of the long journey to this time and place. My mind went back and forth over all the difficult years and great effort when I often felt I was involved in a lonely, futile struggle. I didn't know that so many people were listening and that such a moment would come."

"As women and men continue the work of clothing this naked Earth, we are in the company of many others throughout the world who care deeply for this blue planet. We have nowhere else to go. Those of us who witness the degraded state of the environment and the suffering that comes with it cannot afford to be complacent. We continue to be restless. If we really carry the burden, we are driven to action. We cannot tire or give up. We owe it to the present and future generations of all species to rise up and walk!"