Saying thanks is a civilized custom. It is an expression of gratitude in return to something good received from another person. While so, is it not more fitting to thank the invisible superpower that gives the mankind everything they have – from day to day life to prosperity? Pongal – the festival ear-marked as the day of Thanksgiving for the superpower that is visible up above our head everyday – is unique to Tamilnadu and its people; though it is named as Makara Sankaranthi and celebrated in entire India.
In the western countries like America, Canada, The Netherlands, Liberia etc. also they have been celebrating Thanksgiving Day – what started in ancient days as harvest festival for thanking the Sun God, for helping a bountiful harvest of crops – has become a secular holiday for the present generation of people. It falls sometime in November in these countries and people use it for exchanging greetings among friends, for all the goodness between them.
But in Tamilnadu, South India, Pongal festival is still identified as the festival of good harvest, coming as it does somewhere in the middle of January, when the Sun is entering the Tamil Month Thai (mostly January 14th every year and sometimes 15th like this year). By this time the harvest of Paddy would be over and village people use the rice thus brought back home afresh, to cook it on the open yard in front of their houses on this festive day.
Pongal – is the name of the cooked rice – adding jaggery, milk, cashewnut pieces, elaichi etc. with the rice to sweeten it and smelling nice. As the tendency of milk is to overflow the vessel at boiling point (even now mud pots are used in villages, though modern city-life has changed it to metal utensils and pressure-cookers) the very overflowing of milk is taken as symbol of prosperity for the entire family.
The cooked rice is then placed on a plantain-leaf along with other items like fruits, flowers and sugar-cane, as an offering to the Sun God – also in the open space in front of the house in villages; and respective Pooja rooms in houses of city people. The element of offering it to God and praying for his benevolence is one and the same everywhere.
Why Pongal festival is unique to Tamilnadu? Because in other parts of India, the day is celebrated as Makara Sankaranthi – that is Sun is entering the Makara Month according to calendar; and they consider it an auspicious day for taking holy-dip in rivers. Of course Pooja is inevitable one in these places also. But the fanfare and enjoyment of Pongal is unique in Tamilnadu, which extends for 3 days including the day of Pongal.
The second day next to Pongal is known as “Mattu Pongal” – meaning festival of cattle, especially cows and oxen; those animals, which have been serving the family throughout the year, are honored on this day. Villagers on this day decorate their cows and oxen beautifully; and worship them with feeding special food items and sugar-cane. It is another Thanksgiving Day – this time for the animals as well.
The third day is known as “Kanum Pongal” – that is seeing friends and relatives visiting their houses, with gifts and prizes and spending time with them merrily. Yet another Thanksgiving Day among society. During the last decades, this day has been converted into one of Tourism Day, both in villages and towns alike – taking the family for a jolly-trip, to numerous places of tourist importance and rejoicing.
On this day, believe it the Marina Beach of Chennai, the capital of Tamilnadu will be overflowing with a sea of humanity, competing with the sea of water, throughout the day.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Filter Coffee – an inseparable addiction for South Indians
Coffee, as you know is a universal drink. There may not be any one, not familiar with even if they do not drink it. While there are many varieties for serving coffee, hot or cold; with or without milk or cream; strong or light; the fact remains, after a cup of coffee your nerves get the stimulus and you get a kick – for the content of coffin does the trick. Because of this scintillating effect, particularly in the early morning after brushing the teeth, a hot cup of coffee becomes a dire need for many South Indians.
Why South Indians? Geographically North India is situated inside severe tropical conditions and climatic changes – from oppressive summer to cold winter seasons, unlike South India. Due to this reason and owing to cultural aspects and age-old traditions, the colonial-cousin of Coffee, namely Tea, plays an important role as being the morning drink, as well as one needed intermittently throughout the day.
Southern India, especially Tamilnadu tilts in favor of Coffee; and you cannot find a home in the middle-class and upper middle-class bracket that is not waking up with a cup of coffee in one hand and the daily news paper in the other. This trend is mostly prevalent in the nearby State of Karnataka as well, where the popular coffee-growing region Goorg is situated. In Kerala most of the people go for Chaya – the other name for Tea.
Talking of Coffee, the most preferred choice for many is Filter-Coffee. Selected varieties of Coffee seeds are ideal for making aromatic decoction; they are roasted in a way followed for decades; ground suitably – not so nice nor rough, but in between; added with a slight dose of Chicory for thickness in decoction; and the popular brand of house-blend Coffee powder for use in the filter is got ready. The secret why it is not ground nicely is, it will escape the filter-plate and join the coffee decoction below and make a mess of the Coffee preparation.
South Indian women are experts in preparing the best decoction; add thick boiled milk; add half-sugar (more sugar will again spoil the Coffee taste by its sweetness) and serve hot, steaming coffee to their family members, to win their hearts. In hosting guests visiting homes, Coffee plays an important role; and so women are cautious in serving good filter-coffee, lest it will entail many comments and heartburns from them, bringing forth many unpleasantness later.
In the modern age there are many brands and varieties of Instant-Coffee powders available in the market. You can see those companies spend millions of money in advertising them in the media. But ironically these brands are advertised as one you cannot differentiate from filter-coffee and gives the same taste. So you can understand the superiority of a good, tasty, steaming, aromatic cup of filter-coffee, which will leave a lingering taste in your mouth ever after.
Why South Indians? Geographically North India is situated inside severe tropical conditions and climatic changes – from oppressive summer to cold winter seasons, unlike South India. Due to this reason and owing to cultural aspects and age-old traditions, the colonial-cousin of Coffee, namely Tea, plays an important role as being the morning drink, as well as one needed intermittently throughout the day.
Southern India, especially Tamilnadu tilts in favor of Coffee; and you cannot find a home in the middle-class and upper middle-class bracket that is not waking up with a cup of coffee in one hand and the daily news paper in the other. This trend is mostly prevalent in the nearby State of Karnataka as well, where the popular coffee-growing region Goorg is situated. In Kerala most of the people go for Chaya – the other name for Tea.
Talking of Coffee, the most preferred choice for many is Filter-Coffee. Selected varieties of Coffee seeds are ideal for making aromatic decoction; they are roasted in a way followed for decades; ground suitably – not so nice nor rough, but in between; added with a slight dose of Chicory for thickness in decoction; and the popular brand of house-blend Coffee powder for use in the filter is got ready. The secret why it is not ground nicely is, it will escape the filter-plate and join the coffee decoction below and make a mess of the Coffee preparation.
South Indian women are experts in preparing the best decoction; add thick boiled milk; add half-sugar (more sugar will again spoil the Coffee taste by its sweetness) and serve hot, steaming coffee to their family members, to win their hearts. In hosting guests visiting homes, Coffee plays an important role; and so women are cautious in serving good filter-coffee, lest it will entail many comments and heartburns from them, bringing forth many unpleasantness later.
In the modern age there are many brands and varieties of Instant-Coffee powders available in the market. You can see those companies spend millions of money in advertising them in the media. But ironically these brands are advertised as one you cannot differentiate from filter-coffee and gives the same taste. So you can understand the superiority of a good, tasty, steaming, aromatic cup of filter-coffee, which will leave a lingering taste in your mouth ever after.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Top Dollars Quickly When Selling Your Home – If only You Stage Your Home
This is no hype but a proven technique in real estate business. Home sellers who have used the professional help of Home Staging stand testimony to this fact.
Think of it this way – people need a home for living – nevertheless there is a downturn economy, foreclosure fiasco, and recession in the financial markets etc.
They are buying a home, which is most appealing to them in all aspects.
The need for selling a home by the owner – however hard the decision making might be – arises for many reasons. Relocation to another town for employment or business reasons; intention to buy a new home for the use of the family; requirement of finance to meet impending commitments such as mortgage, children’s higher education, marriage in the family and so on.
Similarly the same reasons work in the reverse direction for buying a new home – either for your own living or as an investment to derive permanent rental income – for the property buyers.
Whatever the reason is, a home appearing on the market for sale becomes a “commodity” in a true marketing sense. The deep passion, love or attachment an owner has towards the premise as one’s “home” – a place where the joys and sorrows of life and ups and downs occurred during the period of living there – all of them vanish, once the property is put on the market for sale. It is going to be a different owner, different family and with different tastes from then on.
But only one thing remains – the purpose for which the said “commodity” is put on sale – namely converting the premises into money. It follows that the home owner is desperate for the property to be sold at the right price and the selling process ends, as quickly as possible.
Over decades, home selling in the US housing market was compared to a cake-walk. Particularly during the real estate boom years of 2000 to 2006 it was still easier, when home owners dictated terms to buyers and even selected one from among many competitors. But not anymore – since the housing bubble has made the real estate business topsy-turvy, where hundreds of thousands of homes are lying unsold, in all parts of the country.
This is the dire situation prevailing now, even in remote and smaller towns of the US. For example in the Commonwealth of Virginia, which does not come into the Top 10 States of worst-hit real estate locations for foreclosure epidemic, there is a small port town – Portsmouth – one of the Independent Cities constituting the Hamptons Roads metropolitan area.
This city is maintaining more or less the same population from 2000 to the latest 2008 Census, numbering 100,577 people. The historic active US Naval facility, known as Norfolk Naval Shipyard is located in Portsmouth, where US Navy’s ships of all types are built, remodeled and repaired.
The cityscape of Portsmouth contains many historic architecture buildings, hotels and neighborhoods, where people are living peacefully. The real estate business, as elsewhere, was trotting on even keel at Portsmouth as well. But as of now, there is a recorded inventory of 1,166 homes waiting for buyers, along with 203 foreclosure properties.
In such a stagnated situation, it becomes even more imperative that you make your home “commodity” stand upfront in the listings of properties for sale. How can this be accomplished? Well – an accredited Home Staging professional in the area can do the trick like magic.
With an abundance of experience and expertise gained through repeated Home Staging exercises, an accredited Home Staging professional can help you achieve your objective of neatly presenting your home, as the most attractive one in the neighborhood.
They approach your home with a critical eye, stepping into the shoes of a prospective buyer, right from the very outside appearance of your home to find out “flaws”. For example, the trees and hedges in the front garden may have overgrown, giving a gloomy look of the frontage. The first thing a Home Staging professional will do is to clear this and make similar tactful arrangements to give your home a pep and pleasant “curb appeal”.
In fact this is only for a starter and a seasoned Home Staging pro will not leave any place of your home unprepared – simply put, they will walk through your home like a buyer would – from the front door to the backyard and make every room welcoming and leading to the next. Having handled an array of home buyers, they know the psychology of the buyer like the palm of their hands.
You can very well discuss the Home Staging plan of your home in the presence of your selling agent, with the Home Staging professional, to keep it most suitable to your budget coastwise. Once the appropriate Home Staging is done, you can list your home for sale and find without fail that your home sells for Top Dollars and in Quick Time for sure.
You can go to www.xanadustaging.com and get a FREE REPORT with lot of Home Staging Tips.
Think of it this way – people need a home for living – nevertheless there is a downturn economy, foreclosure fiasco, and recession in the financial markets etc.
They are buying a home, which is most appealing to them in all aspects.
The need for selling a home by the owner – however hard the decision making might be – arises for many reasons. Relocation to another town for employment or business reasons; intention to buy a new home for the use of the family; requirement of finance to meet impending commitments such as mortgage, children’s higher education, marriage in the family and so on.
Similarly the same reasons work in the reverse direction for buying a new home – either for your own living or as an investment to derive permanent rental income – for the property buyers.
Whatever the reason is, a home appearing on the market for sale becomes a “commodity” in a true marketing sense. The deep passion, love or attachment an owner has towards the premise as one’s “home” – a place where the joys and sorrows of life and ups and downs occurred during the period of living there – all of them vanish, once the property is put on the market for sale. It is going to be a different owner, different family and with different tastes from then on.
But only one thing remains – the purpose for which the said “commodity” is put on sale – namely converting the premises into money. It follows that the home owner is desperate for the property to be sold at the right price and the selling process ends, as quickly as possible.
Over decades, home selling in the US housing market was compared to a cake-walk. Particularly during the real estate boom years of 2000 to 2006 it was still easier, when home owners dictated terms to buyers and even selected one from among many competitors. But not anymore – since the housing bubble has made the real estate business topsy-turvy, where hundreds of thousands of homes are lying unsold, in all parts of the country.
This is the dire situation prevailing now, even in remote and smaller towns of the US. For example in the Commonwealth of Virginia, which does not come into the Top 10 States of worst-hit real estate locations for foreclosure epidemic, there is a small port town – Portsmouth – one of the Independent Cities constituting the Hamptons Roads metropolitan area.
This city is maintaining more or less the same population from 2000 to the latest 2008 Census, numbering 100,577 people. The historic active US Naval facility, known as Norfolk Naval Shipyard is located in Portsmouth, where US Navy’s ships of all types are built, remodeled and repaired.
The cityscape of Portsmouth contains many historic architecture buildings, hotels and neighborhoods, where people are living peacefully. The real estate business, as elsewhere, was trotting on even keel at Portsmouth as well. But as of now, there is a recorded inventory of 1,166 homes waiting for buyers, along with 203 foreclosure properties.
In such a stagnated situation, it becomes even more imperative that you make your home “commodity” stand upfront in the listings of properties for sale. How can this be accomplished? Well – an accredited Home Staging professional in the area can do the trick like magic.
With an abundance of experience and expertise gained through repeated Home Staging exercises, an accredited Home Staging professional can help you achieve your objective of neatly presenting your home, as the most attractive one in the neighborhood.
They approach your home with a critical eye, stepping into the shoes of a prospective buyer, right from the very outside appearance of your home to find out “flaws”. For example, the trees and hedges in the front garden may have overgrown, giving a gloomy look of the frontage. The first thing a Home Staging professional will do is to clear this and make similar tactful arrangements to give your home a pep and pleasant “curb appeal”.
In fact this is only for a starter and a seasoned Home Staging pro will not leave any place of your home unprepared – simply put, they will walk through your home like a buyer would – from the front door to the backyard and make every room welcoming and leading to the next. Having handled an array of home buyers, they know the psychology of the buyer like the palm of their hands.
You can very well discuss the Home Staging plan of your home in the presence of your selling agent, with the Home Staging professional, to keep it most suitable to your budget coastwise. Once the appropriate Home Staging is done, you can list your home for sale and find without fail that your home sells for Top Dollars and in Quick Time for sure.
You can go to www.xanadustaging.com and get a FREE REPORT with lot of Home Staging Tips.
Why Stage Your Home?
A diamond is a diamond always. But a well-cut diamond with deft hands glitters wonderfully and invites all when put in the show case of a jeweler. This theory squarely applies in the case of marketing your house for sale, in today’s competitive market. You go to a jeweler’s shop where an uncut big diamond stone, with more weight and value and a fine-cut one, but smaller in size are exhibited side-by-side. It goes without saying which one you will pick readily and why.
The US housing market is choking with piled up inventory of unsold properties. There are many reasons like the down-turned economy, tightening up of home loan procedures, foreclosure devastation rendering many “as is” properties on distress sale, for a fraction of their value; investors hesitating on seeing the home prices nose-diving and so on.
Still homes are being sold, since the housing demand is perennial for people who need a home in which to live, arising out of varied reasons – a marriage; child birth; expansion of members in the family; inconveniences in their present residences; relocation by shifting of business or employment etc.
The only thing is, they have now become selective in buying, since the market offers them plenty to choose from, unlike never before. Statistics reveal that currently a home buyer flipping the pages of a Multiple Listing Service (MLS) is bombarded with many houses having identical features, facilities and square footage they want.
See this example. Chesapeake is an independent city in the South Hamptons Road portion of the Hamptons Road region - consisting of seven cities - including the renowned Virginia Beach. Chesapeake is the second largest city by land area in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Its estimated population in 2006 was 220,560 – an increase by 10.7% from 2000 Census. Chesapeake is an ideal city with few urban areas and vast square miles of protected farm land, wherein home buyers evince interest for properties, so to live in a peaceful and serene atmosphere, without foregoing the facilities of urban life. By way of its location on the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, it has miles of water-front industrial, commercial and residential properties.
For decades, home selling in Chesapeake was an easy thing, like elsewhere in such lovely neighborhoods in US. The sluggishness in the US housing market, due to reasons cited earlier has caught up with Chesapeake as well. The result is there are 2,439 residential properties lying unsold, along with 247 properties advertised for “distress sale” as on date. During the last one year, the problem has become more acute, as recorded by real estate sites overall in the country.
In this situation, if you are a home seller proposing to list your home in the MLS listings for sale, what will you do? No question – your home has all the required comforts and amenities and you want to get the reasonable price for it, so to meet your financial commitments.
The prudent thing in the present circumstances to do is to “stage” your home properly, so that it looks upbeat with attractive “curb appeal”; clean up the mess and clutter inside the rooms; fix up small repairs; paint places wherever needed with pleasing neutral colors; and in short make your home a perfect match for the buyer’s needs. But all these staging techniques need a Home Staging professional – experienced with hundreds of homes staged before, so as to work in unison with your budget and proposals. They know very well the buyer’s psychology to prepare your home, by maximizing its appeal and minimizing its shortcomings.
This way you make your home stand out above the crowd of homes listed for sale - those in your neighborhood or street. Then you list your property for sale and surely you will see the best results. After all any home buyer is looking for the most beautiful and bright home in your neighborhood and would be too willing to pay the right price.
You can get fantastic ideas on Home Staging and a Free Book with lot of practical and useful tips at www.xanadustaging.com
Ramaswamy Sundaram is certified Expert Author at this site. He can write on any subject, having turned out more than 1500 write ups on varied subjects and topics given by service buyer. In coordination with an expert Home Staging professional in Virginia Beach, US, he is writing many articles here on this subject. For any of your writing requirements, he can be contacted at sulosundar03@gmail.com
The US housing market is choking with piled up inventory of unsold properties. There are many reasons like the down-turned economy, tightening up of home loan procedures, foreclosure devastation rendering many “as is” properties on distress sale, for a fraction of their value; investors hesitating on seeing the home prices nose-diving and so on.
Still homes are being sold, since the housing demand is perennial for people who need a home in which to live, arising out of varied reasons – a marriage; child birth; expansion of members in the family; inconveniences in their present residences; relocation by shifting of business or employment etc.
The only thing is, they have now become selective in buying, since the market offers them plenty to choose from, unlike never before. Statistics reveal that currently a home buyer flipping the pages of a Multiple Listing Service (MLS) is bombarded with many houses having identical features, facilities and square footage they want.
See this example. Chesapeake is an independent city in the South Hamptons Road portion of the Hamptons Road region - consisting of seven cities - including the renowned Virginia Beach. Chesapeake is the second largest city by land area in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Its estimated population in 2006 was 220,560 – an increase by 10.7% from 2000 Census. Chesapeake is an ideal city with few urban areas and vast square miles of protected farm land, wherein home buyers evince interest for properties, so to live in a peaceful and serene atmosphere, without foregoing the facilities of urban life. By way of its location on the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, it has miles of water-front industrial, commercial and residential properties.
For decades, home selling in Chesapeake was an easy thing, like elsewhere in such lovely neighborhoods in US. The sluggishness in the US housing market, due to reasons cited earlier has caught up with Chesapeake as well. The result is there are 2,439 residential properties lying unsold, along with 247 properties advertised for “distress sale” as on date. During the last one year, the problem has become more acute, as recorded by real estate sites overall in the country.
In this situation, if you are a home seller proposing to list your home in the MLS listings for sale, what will you do? No question – your home has all the required comforts and amenities and you want to get the reasonable price for it, so to meet your financial commitments.
The prudent thing in the present circumstances to do is to “stage” your home properly, so that it looks upbeat with attractive “curb appeal”; clean up the mess and clutter inside the rooms; fix up small repairs; paint places wherever needed with pleasing neutral colors; and in short make your home a perfect match for the buyer’s needs. But all these staging techniques need a Home Staging professional – experienced with hundreds of homes staged before, so as to work in unison with your budget and proposals. They know very well the buyer’s psychology to prepare your home, by maximizing its appeal and minimizing its shortcomings.
This way you make your home stand out above the crowd of homes listed for sale - those in your neighborhood or street. Then you list your property for sale and surely you will see the best results. After all any home buyer is looking for the most beautiful and bright home in your neighborhood and would be too willing to pay the right price.
You can get fantastic ideas on Home Staging and a Free Book with lot of practical and useful tips at www.xanadustaging.com
Ramaswamy Sundaram is certified Expert Author at this site. He can write on any subject, having turned out more than 1500 write ups on varied subjects and topics given by service buyer. In coordination with an expert Home Staging professional in Virginia Beach, US, he is writing many articles here on this subject. For any of your writing requirements, he can be contacted at sulosundar03@gmail.com
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Diverse culture of India – an overview by a native Indian
Foreigners, particularly Westerners know little about India, its people, the customs and culture of this vast country – second only to China by way of population figure, but bigger in land area. Even those who have studied about India may not know the in-depth details of the diverse cultures prevailing among Indian people, living in the northern and southern States – bifurcated by languages in 1956.
This being a very wide subject for stuffing inside this limited space, an attempt is being made here to bring forth at least the differences in cultures of people of North India and South India, but it should be remembered that as an Indian, all the people of India, irrespective of regional and territorial barriers, have several aspects in common.
The virtues one can find among all Indians are – Faith in God – whether it is one of the many Hindu Gods, Allah or Jesus; respect to elders of the family; traditional values of life preserved for generations and preached to children when they are kids; shunning evil deeds and beholding good deeds fearing justice by destiny; forbearance of life’s challenges with courage and simplicity.
True – India is plagued by poverty, illiteracy and superstitions leading to castism etc., but the binding factor from Kashmir in the North end to Kanyakumari in the South end is unity in diversity, when the nation faces any peril like war or foreign invasion. And this has been proved beyond doubt many times before.
On the cultural aspect, broadly the country can be divided into North India – those States falling north of Vindhya Hills running in the centre horizontally and those falling south of it. Excepting States of Andhra Pradesh; Karnataka; Tamilnadu and Kerala, all other States are considered North India.
Language is the predominant divider here. All North Indian States generally speak Hindi, the National Language, and its derivatives like Bhojpuri, Urdu, Gujarathi, Marathi, Bengali, Oriya and the like. Again, the basis for Hindi is the ancient language (but now extinct) Sanskrit.
South Indian States speak the derivatives of the ancient language Tamil (which is the official language of Tamilnadu) such as Telugu (Andhra Pradesh), Kannada (Karnataka), and Malayalam (Kerala).
But in all the States of India, English is used as the common language and is also recognized as the official language of India. Thanks to 300 years of British Rule, Indian Schools, Colleges and Universities are teaching for generations, impeccable British English. Indians speak and write good and chaste English as taught by text books – not the slang used by native British people by repeated usage in conversations. So any foreigner with English knowledge can comfortably tour all over India.
Ancient India, prior to Independence from British Rule, was largely scattered as separate Kingdoms and Indian history shows many rulers including great Muslim Emperors like Baber. The whole country had its capital – mostly Delhi – in North India for these native as well as alien rulers. Inevitably the cultures of North India were greatly impacted by Muslim rulers and Emperors.
But South India was comparatively peaceful during invasions, blood-shed wars and turmoil, even at the time of separation of Pakistan from India. This explains the flourishing of fine arts in whole of South India, especially Tamilnadu, with peace and harmony prevailing for centuries.
Even today each Indian State is identified in this background for diverse cultures. Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Maharashtra for their bravery. West Bengal for its literary works, emotional poets like Rabindranath Tagore, simple lifestyles following communism. Orissa for its sculptures and mountain tribal lives. Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar for density in population, poverty, illiteracy and ignorance.
Food habits differ only in two ways – whole of North Indian people eating wheat and its products as main course and South Indians would not miss rice and its derivatives for anything. As for vegetarianism, the South Indians are up-front although non-veg items are taken, but not as popular as North Indian varieties.
The entire of South India consists of most Hindu temples in the country, including the monumental Tanjore Bragadeeswar Temple located in Tamilnadu, largest in size of Temple Towers.
For South Indian culture alone one can write volumes.
This being a very wide subject for stuffing inside this limited space, an attempt is being made here to bring forth at least the differences in cultures of people of North India and South India, but it should be remembered that as an Indian, all the people of India, irrespective of regional and territorial barriers, have several aspects in common.
The virtues one can find among all Indians are – Faith in God – whether it is one of the many Hindu Gods, Allah or Jesus; respect to elders of the family; traditional values of life preserved for generations and preached to children when they are kids; shunning evil deeds and beholding good deeds fearing justice by destiny; forbearance of life’s challenges with courage and simplicity.
True – India is plagued by poverty, illiteracy and superstitions leading to castism etc., but the binding factor from Kashmir in the North end to Kanyakumari in the South end is unity in diversity, when the nation faces any peril like war or foreign invasion. And this has been proved beyond doubt many times before.
On the cultural aspect, broadly the country can be divided into North India – those States falling north of Vindhya Hills running in the centre horizontally and those falling south of it. Excepting States of Andhra Pradesh; Karnataka; Tamilnadu and Kerala, all other States are considered North India.
Language is the predominant divider here. All North Indian States generally speak Hindi, the National Language, and its derivatives like Bhojpuri, Urdu, Gujarathi, Marathi, Bengali, Oriya and the like. Again, the basis for Hindi is the ancient language (but now extinct) Sanskrit.
South Indian States speak the derivatives of the ancient language Tamil (which is the official language of Tamilnadu) such as Telugu (Andhra Pradesh), Kannada (Karnataka), and Malayalam (Kerala).
But in all the States of India, English is used as the common language and is also recognized as the official language of India. Thanks to 300 years of British Rule, Indian Schools, Colleges and Universities are teaching for generations, impeccable British English. Indians speak and write good and chaste English as taught by text books – not the slang used by native British people by repeated usage in conversations. So any foreigner with English knowledge can comfortably tour all over India.
Ancient India, prior to Independence from British Rule, was largely scattered as separate Kingdoms and Indian history shows many rulers including great Muslim Emperors like Baber. The whole country had its capital – mostly Delhi – in North India for these native as well as alien rulers. Inevitably the cultures of North India were greatly impacted by Muslim rulers and Emperors.
But South India was comparatively peaceful during invasions, blood-shed wars and turmoil, even at the time of separation of Pakistan from India. This explains the flourishing of fine arts in whole of South India, especially Tamilnadu, with peace and harmony prevailing for centuries.
Even today each Indian State is identified in this background for diverse cultures. Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Maharashtra for their bravery. West Bengal for its literary works, emotional poets like Rabindranath Tagore, simple lifestyles following communism. Orissa for its sculptures and mountain tribal lives. Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar for density in population, poverty, illiteracy and ignorance.
Food habits differ only in two ways – whole of North Indian people eating wheat and its products as main course and South Indians would not miss rice and its derivatives for anything. As for vegetarianism, the South Indians are up-front although non-veg items are taken, but not as popular as North Indian varieties.
The entire of South India consists of most Hindu temples in the country, including the monumental Tanjore Bragadeeswar Temple located in Tamilnadu, largest in size of Temple Towers.
For South Indian culture alone one can write volumes.
Home Staging – the new strategy spreading fast among Home Sellers
It is common knowledge that the US Real Estate market is struggling with the foreclosure crisis, whereby hundreds of thousands of residential as well as commercial properties are lying unsold. Even locations where homes were selling like hot cakes during the boom years are hard hit by huge inventories of homes, waiting for buyers.
According to latest reports, more and more “Hotspots” are newly emerging, apart from the long list of cities and metros from California; Florida; Nevada; Michigan; and Arizona, carrying enormous homes on their “For Sale” lists.
According to the reports for February, one such “Hotspot” is Virginia Beach, an Independent City and one of the seven cities of Hampton Roads, and the largest city of Virginia State. It is the easternmost of the Hampton Roads, known as “America’s First Region” consisting of other Independent cities of – Chesapeake; Hampton; New Port News; Norfolk; Portsmouth; and Suffolk along with smaller cities, counties and towns.
Virginia Beach is recorded in the Guinness Book of Records for having the longest pleasure beach in the world.
Virginia Beach has excellent neighborhoods and communities such as Acredale, Chesapeake Beach, Brigadoon, Great Neck, Kings Grant, Alanton, Green Run, Buckner Farms, Bayside, Blackwater, Brighton on the Bay, College Park, Glenwood, Croaton Beach, Church Point, Greenwich, the North End, Kempsville, Landstown, London Bridge, Lynnhaven, Little Neck, Middle Plantation, Munden, Oceana, Ocean Lakes, Ocean Park, Pembroke Shores, Hilltop, Pine Meadows, Princes Anne, Pungo, Indian River Plantation, Salem, Salem, Sand Bridge, Seatack, Shadowlawn, Thaila, Thaila Shores, Thoroughgood, Witchduck Point and the Oceanfront.
Housing demands in these first-class locations were far exceeding the supply and home sellers got what they wanted by way of asking their price just like that. But not anymore – since there are 4,470 homes waiting for sale as of this date, together with 480 foreclosed homes listed for distress sale.
So it becomes immensely necessary for any home seller, who wants their home sold fast amidst the above crowd and fetches the asking price set for it. It follows without saying that unless they make their home stand out of the crowd and attract prospective buyers flipping through the long list of homes available for sale, there is no way.
It is here many home sellers use the new strategy of Home Staging. They contact a seasoned Home Staging professional for help. The Accredited Home Staging professional visits the concerned property, views the present status of the home and suggests appropriate Home Staging techniques needed to be undertaken.
Thus the Home Staging professional in consultation with the home owner and selling agent carries out proper “Home Staging” of the property, in the least expensive way possible. After that, the property gets a totally new look – “curb appeal” is what they call it – whereby the existing disadvantages are minimized and the advantages that the home has are maximized.
Now the home is ready for listing in the market for sale. Any buyer seeing the photos or videos of the property in the Multiple Listings cannot stop whistling ….”Oh! What a Beautiful Home this is!”...and immediately gets attracted to call their buying agent to make an appointment to view the property in person.
If you want to know more about Home Staging and its advantages, please click www.xanadustaging.com
According to latest reports, more and more “Hotspots” are newly emerging, apart from the long list of cities and metros from California; Florida; Nevada; Michigan; and Arizona, carrying enormous homes on their “For Sale” lists.
According to the reports for February, one such “Hotspot” is Virginia Beach, an Independent City and one of the seven cities of Hampton Roads, and the largest city of Virginia State. It is the easternmost of the Hampton Roads, known as “America’s First Region” consisting of other Independent cities of – Chesapeake; Hampton; New Port News; Norfolk; Portsmouth; and Suffolk along with smaller cities, counties and towns.
Virginia Beach is recorded in the Guinness Book of Records for having the longest pleasure beach in the world.
Virginia Beach has excellent neighborhoods and communities such as Acredale, Chesapeake Beach, Brigadoon, Great Neck, Kings Grant, Alanton, Green Run, Buckner Farms, Bayside, Blackwater, Brighton on the Bay, College Park, Glenwood, Croaton Beach, Church Point, Greenwich, the North End, Kempsville, Landstown, London Bridge, Lynnhaven, Little Neck, Middle Plantation, Munden, Oceana, Ocean Lakes, Ocean Park, Pembroke Shores, Hilltop, Pine Meadows, Princes Anne, Pungo, Indian River Plantation, Salem, Salem, Sand Bridge, Seatack, Shadowlawn, Thaila, Thaila Shores, Thoroughgood, Witchduck Point and the Oceanfront.
Housing demands in these first-class locations were far exceeding the supply and home sellers got what they wanted by way of asking their price just like that. But not anymore – since there are 4,470 homes waiting for sale as of this date, together with 480 foreclosed homes listed for distress sale.
So it becomes immensely necessary for any home seller, who wants their home sold fast amidst the above crowd and fetches the asking price set for it. It follows without saying that unless they make their home stand out of the crowd and attract prospective buyers flipping through the long list of homes available for sale, there is no way.
It is here many home sellers use the new strategy of Home Staging. They contact a seasoned Home Staging professional for help. The Accredited Home Staging professional visits the concerned property, views the present status of the home and suggests appropriate Home Staging techniques needed to be undertaken.
Thus the Home Staging professional in consultation with the home owner and selling agent carries out proper “Home Staging” of the property, in the least expensive way possible. After that, the property gets a totally new look – “curb appeal” is what they call it – whereby the existing disadvantages are minimized and the advantages that the home has are maximized.
Now the home is ready for listing in the market for sale. Any buyer seeing the photos or videos of the property in the Multiple Listings cannot stop whistling ….”Oh! What a Beautiful Home this is!”...and immediately gets attracted to call their buying agent to make an appointment to view the property in person.
If you want to know more about Home Staging and its advantages, please click www.xanadustaging.com
What A Home Staging Professional Can Do For You?
In a nutshell - you can give your home the magic touch, attracting buyers to pay the asking price. A Home Staging professional does not have a “magic wand” in their hands. Instead they have the experience and expertise to know the psychology of buyers; what they are looking for in a home to entice them and how to “stage” your home – with its advantages magnified and disadvantages minimized – to sell it quickly in today’s sluggish and competitive housing market.
Let us see how Home Staging works. The myths about home selling first.
Myth #1 = You love your home and do not want it to be compared with others. Wrong – the prospective buyers might have seen many homes and invariably compare your home with others in your neighborhood or elsewhere.
Myth #2 = You value your house to be most comfortable and so the buyer will think that way too and buy it “as it is”.
Wrong – You are seeing it from your angle. You do not know the needs of the buyer. They will find many flaws in your house right from the main door to backyard –any excuse to give up the idea of buying it.
Myth #3 = You estimate your house as a property you have hard-earned. It is a place of solace or paradise for you.
Wrong – From the buyer’ view point your house is a commodity that has come to the market for sale. They need not have any attachment or obsession at all like you and would not hesitate to analyze its merits and demerits thread-bare.
Myth #4 = You are going to sell the house – then why should you bother about making improvements.
Wrong – Your property is to be marketed amidst competition. Therefore it is imperative that you “package” the commodity well so to make it stand out from the others on the market.
Myth #5 – Home Staging is expensive and what is the use in spending?
Wrong – Home Staging is a service undertaken in the most inexpensive way; after due consultation with you and your selling agent; to suit your budget and make the most with least expense. You are not going to redesign your home completely. The cost involved is negligible, compared to value enhancement and profit you are going to derive in getting the asking price.
Remember – by inviting an Accredited Home Staging professional to view your home and carry out what is necessary for “staging” it before listing for sale, you make your property stand out from the crowd. Your property is sure to capture the attention of the buyer and lure them to buy it at once – unmindful of the price.
Want proof? Just for example see below what an Accredited Home Staging professional has to say about making “First Impression” of your home by the prospective buyer:
You never know how the curb appeal or lack thereof will affect different people.
Here are some definite no-no’s:
• The lawn is not mowed and trimmed and there are bare spots
• The shrubbery and trees are not neatly pruned
• There are children’s toys all over the yard
• The car in the drive is in various stages of being worked on
• The gutters are full
• The exterior is showing signs of needing new paint or cleaning
• There are cobwebs at the front entrance
• The walkways are stained or not clean
• The garage door is up
• The yard is strewn with garden tools, lawnmower etc
• There are no colorful flowers adorning the beds
• The flower beds are not weeded and mulched
• The windows are not clean
• The For Sale sign is old and dirty
• The roof is stained
• The fencing and house needs to be power washed
• The deck is not neat
• The front door is damaged or needs painting
• The door bell is broken
• The screen doors are damaged
• The house numbers are missing
• The gutters and downspouts are damaged
• The siding is damaged from a weed whacker
• The font lights are burned out
Take care of all these items before you list your home For Sale and buyers will want to see what’s inside. A house with curb appeal welcomes the buyer and incites interest.
Interested in getting more Home Staging information? Click to www.xanadustaging.com
Let us see how Home Staging works. The myths about home selling first.
Myth #1 = You love your home and do not want it to be compared with others. Wrong – the prospective buyers might have seen many homes and invariably compare your home with others in your neighborhood or elsewhere.
Myth #2 = You value your house to be most comfortable and so the buyer will think that way too and buy it “as it is”.
Wrong – You are seeing it from your angle. You do not know the needs of the buyer. They will find many flaws in your house right from the main door to backyard –any excuse to give up the idea of buying it.
Myth #3 = You estimate your house as a property you have hard-earned. It is a place of solace or paradise for you.
Wrong – From the buyer’ view point your house is a commodity that has come to the market for sale. They need not have any attachment or obsession at all like you and would not hesitate to analyze its merits and demerits thread-bare.
Myth #4 = You are going to sell the house – then why should you bother about making improvements.
Wrong – Your property is to be marketed amidst competition. Therefore it is imperative that you “package” the commodity well so to make it stand out from the others on the market.
Myth #5 – Home Staging is expensive and what is the use in spending?
Wrong – Home Staging is a service undertaken in the most inexpensive way; after due consultation with you and your selling agent; to suit your budget and make the most with least expense. You are not going to redesign your home completely. The cost involved is negligible, compared to value enhancement and profit you are going to derive in getting the asking price.
Remember – by inviting an Accredited Home Staging professional to view your home and carry out what is necessary for “staging” it before listing for sale, you make your property stand out from the crowd. Your property is sure to capture the attention of the buyer and lure them to buy it at once – unmindful of the price.
Want proof? Just for example see below what an Accredited Home Staging professional has to say about making “First Impression” of your home by the prospective buyer:
You never know how the curb appeal or lack thereof will affect different people.
Here are some definite no-no’s:
• The lawn is not mowed and trimmed and there are bare spots
• The shrubbery and trees are not neatly pruned
• There are children’s toys all over the yard
• The car in the drive is in various stages of being worked on
• The gutters are full
• The exterior is showing signs of needing new paint or cleaning
• There are cobwebs at the front entrance
• The walkways are stained or not clean
• The garage door is up
• The yard is strewn with garden tools, lawnmower etc
• There are no colorful flowers adorning the beds
• The flower beds are not weeded and mulched
• The windows are not clean
• The For Sale sign is old and dirty
• The roof is stained
• The fencing and house needs to be power washed
• The deck is not neat
• The front door is damaged or needs painting
• The door bell is broken
• The screen doors are damaged
• The house numbers are missing
• The gutters and downspouts are damaged
• The siding is damaged from a weed whacker
• The font lights are burned out
Take care of all these items before you list your home For Sale and buyers will want to see what’s inside. A house with curb appeal welcomes the buyer and incites interest.
Interested in getting more Home Staging information? Click to www.xanadustaging.com
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