INTERESTING GYAN

As a lifelong Anglophile and a recent newcomer to London, I can understand America’s burgeoning love affair with British English. But even with the spike in usage of Britishisms, there are still a number of words and phrases that can baffle even the most pretentious BBC America fans. Next time you’re in London, keep these translations to hand—or as the Yanks would say, nearby—and you’ll be just fine. 1.  Knock up:  To wake up. Don’t freak out if your flatmate says he will be sure to knock you up in the morning. 2.  Pants:  Underwear. Be careful not to compliment your friend’s new pants, or she will be very confused. Trousers or slacks are what you wear over your pants. 3.  Take the piss:  To take advantage of; to ridicule. This is one of the more unattractive British phrases that show up frequently in conversation. 4.  Bum bag:  Fanny pack. For your own sake, don’t say “fanny pack.” (Come to think of it, don’t say “fanny” at all.) 5...

How can the science of Ayurveda benefit you?  Sri Sri Ravi Shankar answers in the excerpt below: "Life has four characteristics -- it exists, evolves, expresses and extinguishes. For this, it depends on five elements, namely earth, water, air, ether and fire. To make it easier to understand we can bring in the five senses and its objects, namely sight, smell, taste, sound and touch. Ayurveda is the study of life. Ayur is life and Ved means to know. According to Ayurveda, life or existence is not a rigid compartment, but a harmonious flow. Even the five elements of which the whole universe is made of are not tight compartments of defined objects. They flow into one another. Each one of the elements contains the other four. The subtlest element in us is space, which the mind is made up of, and the grossest is the earth element, which our bones, marrow, the skin and the structure are made of. This is further divided into three Doshas -- Vata, Pitta and Kapha. This is a way t...