charankanya on April 6th, 2009

Soccernova runs an excellent program for teaching soccer to children.  Soccernova follows the international curriculum of Brazilian Soccer Schools. Their coaches are very well trained.  I have found it very rare to find such an excellent, dedicated, well organized sports curriculum in Pune.  The coaches really know their stuff, and know how to impart it to kids.  [...]

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charankanya on March 18th, 2009

A friend’s maid is beaten up by her drunk husband…yet again.   How can we help stop this?  Most people say don’t get directly involved, or her family can be targeted.  So, what next? We helplessly watch a woman being battered?  Does anyone know how she can be helped?  Are there any shelters for battered women in [...]

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charankanya on March 18th, 2009

Restaurant: Ccasanova
Cuisine: Italian
Cost: Expensive
Location: Kalyaninagar, Pune.
Contact Info: +91 20 2660 8888
Pros: Very nice decor.  Great ambience.  Good food.  I would recommend the Tomato soup.  The Minestrone Soup is good, but it would be more apt to call it “French Beans and Vegetable Soup”.  The Pizzas are quite good, and so are most of the pastas [...]

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“If Your’e Coming Home Again” is a well written, interesting article that appeared in the Wall Street Journal recently.   Mr. Sheth writes that: 
But is India really the land of opportunity for its returnees? Undoubtedly, there’s opportunity. But here are a few thoughts and suggestions that potential returnees should be aware of before they book their tickets. 
While [...]

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charankanya on January 22nd, 2009

For most it is just difficult to find good, accurate information on the various schools in India.  There is a good website, that tries to fill this gap.
Zeeksha is a place to find and share experiences about various schools and pre-schools in Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune

It was started by a group of parents who [...]

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charankanya on January 19th, 2009

If your child is in an IB school or you are considering putting your child in an IB school, you MUST read this. In my opinion, IB Schools in Pune are probably one of the biggest scams around.  The IB affiliation by the International Baccalaureate Organization is offered for three different programmes:

 PYP (Primary Years Program): [...]

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charankanya on November 21st, 2008

Should you bring your kitchen appliances with you? Or should you buy them once you reach India? Would the 110V appliances work in India? Or does one need to buy 220V appliances? The following should help you decide what to bring with you when you move to India.

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charankanya on November 21st, 2008

There are a whole range of magazines out there, from the news magazines to the fashion magazines.  Most of you have your own favourites amongst these.  However, there are two magazines that are worth subscribing.
The first is a children’s magazine, called Dimdima.  It’s target age group is ages 9 - 15, but I think kids as [...]

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charankanya on November 13th, 2008

It has now been almost two and a half years since I moved back to India.  It is only in the past 10 months or so, that I truly feel settled and feel “at home”.   The first 18 months were a rough roller coaster ride, and I have lost count of how many times I [...]

Continue reading about Moving To India: Stages Of Adjustment (Especially For Women)

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charankanya on November 10th, 2008

There will probably be some local mom-&-pop DVD/CD rental shop which will rent out the latest movies to you.  The problem with most of them is that the prints are pirated, and very often not of good quality.  The other issue with them is that since the DVD’s are pirated, they do not maintain a [...]

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