Sanna Marin is 34 beautiful and prime minister of Finland.

The new prime minister of Finland Sanna Marin is not only the youngest ever prime minister in the world but she is a woman that exudes confidence. When she recently attended the conclave of the EU leaders at Brussels, she stood out as a young leader in her own right, in contrast to most leaders being middle-aged or older.

Salesgirl

Not everybody has accepted her and the recent comment by a minister of the Estonia cabinet who referred to her as a"salesgirl" was extremely uncharitable.

 News has reported that the remark was made by Mart Helme. He is the interior ministe

Sanna Marin is unmarried and is reportedly dating Markus Raikkonen. Not much is known about him except that the couple has a daughter and as yet have decided not to get married.

Sanna Marin is only 34 years old. She was earlier the transport minister.

She seized her opportunity earlier this month after the leader of the Social Democratic Party stepped down. She replaced him and became the youngest serving prime minister in the world. Another point that is unique to Finland is that the governing coalition of five parties has all leaders who are women and under the age of 35. This is also a first in the world where so many women leaders are part of the power setup.

Sanna Marin was brought up by her mother. Her parents broke up when she was young and her mother gravitated to a same-sex relationship. She started her career from the bottom rungs of society and by dint of ability rose up in the hierarchy.

Gender equality

Finland has always been at the forefront of gender equality in Europe. It was the first country in the world to elect women to parliament.

Marin undertook her first job at 15 in a bakery. After graduating she worked as a cashier. This job made the Estonia minister refer to her as a salesgirl. Marin entered politics when she was just 20 and has nearly 14 years of political experience. When she was just 27 she was elected as Tempere City Council leader and just three after this, she was elected as an MP. She has not looked back and now is the prime minister of Finland.

Future

Marin will have to be on her toes after the euphoria of being the youngest prime minister settles down. She will have to face factionalism in her party as well as the nationalist Finns party. The best part is she has had a child out of wedlock and only 34. Staying with her boyfriend one hopes she will be able to do justice to the chair she occupies.

Eating Crocodile Meat

The crocodile needs to be looked after and not allowed to become dead like the Dodo. Recent events in Australia are a warning and steps need to be taken to conserve the crocodile.

The Crocodile is an Endangered Species

Crocodile

 Recently in Australia authorities found heads of 70 crocodiles stuffed in a freezer. Hunting a crocodile is banned in Australia and can earn a 5-year jail term.

Crocodiles are protected species in Australia and only a few are killed in case they become a danger to human habitation. Thus authorities have to answer how the crocodile heads turned up in the freezer. So far no arrests are made and one can only hope some action will ensue.

Another fact I am unable to digest is people eating crocodile meat. A friend has written to me that Crocodile meat is served in all places in the USA. I am told Crocodile meat is a delicacy in Louisiana state of USA - the alligator variety. The tail meat is costlier. One can get 'Gator burger' or 'Alligator Smoked Sausage' and other preparations in some of the restaurants, available more in the 'French Market' area along Mississippi river in New Orleans city.

There are alligator farms where they are bred and reared only for commercial purpose (human consumption). Alligator heads (after the taxidermy) from very small to large sizes are displayed and sold in different shops as a souvenir. Cost varies between $ 15 to $ 50. Visitors are naturally surprised to see that alligator meat is consumed by the inhabitants. NatGeo channel shows 'Alligator hunting".

Despite this, I do feel crocodile hunting needs to stop. You can't kill one in India, where wildlife laws are strict, yet aberrations take place. Talking of crocodiles, their skin is worth a fortune in the fashion market with women leading the way. It's about time this was stopped. 

Indian made Whiskeys have made a Global Mark

Imperial Blue whiskey

The British ruled India for 190 years and gave many gifts to India. They also reduced Indians to second class status, but some of their legacies really helped India like the railways and the army. Also, the British also introduced whiskey and allied drinks in India. Once the products were introduced many enterprising Indians in collaboration with the British opened distilleries in India and some are now big names like Mohan Meaken and Kingfisher. These were referred to as IMFL or Indian made Foreign liquor

IMFL became popular in India and after the independence and liberalization of economy foreign manufacturers of Scotch whiskey also started manufacturing their products in India. Indian made whiskey has now reached international standards in quality and good Indian whiskey is close to scotch in taste and flavor.

India has gone forward and recently an international survey has shown that the 10 top-selling brands in the world seven are from India. The only Scotch whiskey brand in the list is single malt Glen Livet. It is indeed surprising that 7 Indian brands are the top-selling brands out of the first 10 in the world. The topmost brand with maximum volume in sales is Imperial Blue followed by MacDowell No 1.

The sale of Indian made foreign whiskeys has grown by geometric progression. One reason is the price as Indian whiskeys sell at 50% of the cost of similar Scotch whiskey. In a match with price and quality, IMFL scores and thus more and more buyers are drinking Indian made whiskeys. In Pakistan, UAE and even Europe Indian Whiskeys are stocked in the bars and there is no stigma attached to them.

Shameful conduct of a male passenger in Bhopal against a lady in Aircraft

In India, the male chauvinism rears its head now and then. Recently a video has gone viral of a passenger aboard a flight in Bhopal talking improperly to a lady passenger. `The lady is a wheelchair-bound traveler and is also an MP from the same city -Bhopal. She had trounced the anti-Hindu and BJP leader  Digvijaya Singh by over 350,000 votes.
The airline has now said that they were not aware that the lady MP, was wheelchair-bound. This is a clear case of the airline being at fault. Worse this passenger thought he is king and used improper language against her. Who will take cognization of this and charge this man ?. `The way he was shouting deserves to be condemned.
I wonder if this man is aware that a woman who had a child out of wedlock is the PM of Finland without any stigma and here this man was uttering all nonsense. Who will bell the cat?

A Dance to Remember

Dancing is always great fun. What if you get a chance to swing with a lovely Lebanese girl?

 The Desert and teh UAE is a great place for a holiday and you can really let your hair down. Perhaps it's one of the paths to Nirvana. So fly to the UAE from London or Mumbai and part of millions who come for a holiday here.

Goa and the Bikini; No Politics

Goa has ample sun-kissed beaches and thousands of tourists from the west, particularly from the Slav nations flock here. The bikini has become a part of politics.

Goa and the bikini

Indian in bikini

Goa brims with foreign tourists around the year and no other spot except Goa deals with such astronomical tourist-influx. Goa is indeed in oddity with all other tourist zones of India. And what that fixates one’s eyeballs upon and also heats up a debate among ministers of Goa is ‘bikini’.

Why is it that bikinis still continues to be a matter of squeamishness among the ministries of Goa? Very recently, Goa PWD minister Sudin Dhavalika reportedly said that he would oppose free bikini wear in Goa. He is reported to have said that if tourists come to Goa wearing bikinis, then I am against it. He added that “culture” was against wearing the two-piece bathing garment. In contrast, the Tourism minister Parulekar had commented that as a tourism minister, he had never said no to bikinis.

The tourism minister, however, added that bikinis could be worn on beaches as well as swimming pools but not in supermarkets or temples. One gets a feeling that politics is needlessly injected into a mundane topic.

Live and let live

Goa Beach

My stance is in favor of bikinis beyond the beach

With no intention of inflicting my views on anybody who is reading, I put forward my stand on the ‘bikini-issue’. Well, in my eyes, I don’t see any need for a ban on bikinis outside the beach, that is, in swimming pools, markets, kiosks or any open-to-public section. One should not forget that the ancient Indian dresses as seen from paintings and sculptures are far more revealing.

Most tourists who come to Goa do it to relax and let their hair down. Many come from extremely cold countries and Goa is heaven for them, with its sunshine and all-weather beaches.

Donning a bikini is one’s self-choice and there should be no talk of culture and heritage etc. These can be self-defeating. I think bringing politics into wearing a bikini is not the right approach. Many Indian girls also wear bikinis. Goa on the Arabian Sea is a blessed place, let's keep it that way.

Punjabi Chess with Rare Scotch Whiskey

Punjabi Chess with Scotch and Rare Scotch

Chess is a popular game of skill and intellect. In Punjab, the Punjabi's have modified the game to incorporate their love for good whiskey and rum.

Modifying Chess

Punjabi Chess

Playing Chess is popular all over the world. Its an ancient game and mention of this game is found in the Mahabharata, which was written in about 5000BC. The Greeks also played chess and by all accounts, it was a popular game.

The game has not changed much over the last 7000 years, except for the addition of some rules and regulations. The game for long was the preserve of Royalty and the elite, but now its played by all and sundry.

The game is played on a chessboard and consists of a total of 32 pieces known as soldiers and knights. It also has a king and queen and the game involves making a plan to checkmate the king. Anyone who checkmates the king is the winner.

I have been playing chess for ages. Earlier I used to play as a child with my maternal grandfather. The game has however been given a welcome twist by the Punjabi's. They are robust people with a penchant for the good life including good whiskey. The chessboard has been transformed by some robust and energetic people from Punjab with various shades of Scotch whiskey replacing the traditional players on a chessboard

Playing Chess the Punjabi way

Punjabi chess

On my visit to my village in Punjab near Hoshiarpur, I often play this "Whiskey Chess" as it is popularly called. The players on the chessboard are replaced by delicate glasses containing Scotch whiskey. the pawns or soldiers are replaced by glasses containing ordinary scotch like 100 Pipers, Vat 69, Old Smuggler or similar brands.

The warriors like Knights and Horse and Castle are represented by glasses containing good whiskey like Johnny Walker Black Label, Chivas Regal, etc. The king and queen have glasses filled with a peg of rare scotch like Royal Salute.

The game is played the normal way with the exception that when any player wins an opponent he gets the chance to gulp the scotch peg. The winner who checkmates the king is awarded with the rare scotch. It's a wonderful game and not for anyone with a weak disposition. I will say its a real macho game and the host will also keep supplied with an endless quantity of Chicken and meat kebabs.

Its great fun and one must play it to relish the flavor of " Punjabi Chess". I for one love it and whenever I go to my village in Punjab at Hoshiarpur I make it a point to play Punjabi Chess with my friends. I don't think even Omar Khayyam can better THIS!