Archive for September 2014

Hola! Today I was busy cooking. So I thought I would review something close to my kitchen's heart :)
I recently purchased this Tramontina Steak knife. I was so ecstatic to see this Brazilian range of knives here in India. I noticed them at Auchan hypermarket first. I just had to have them then and there. I chose the steak knife, they had a good discount running so it just made me pick it up instantly.

My love for Tramontina is no secret. The first time I discovered it was two years ago. When my sister was caring for her infant, I went over to help her out. In those days it was very hard to cook food with so much work on our hands, that we decided to employ a chef. The chef was from Sri Lanka, he would visit our home each evening with his sweet wife.
We'd give him a menu daily and he would prepare things swiftly. He would do the chopping and his wife would put the dish together.

One day when I happened to go to the kitchen , I saw him swearing and throwing the knife we had in the air. He was so frustrated and I asked him what was wrong. He said it was not professional quality and that they were used only to professional quality knives in their sous kitchen at a very fancy hotel in Dubai. So I asked him what knife he wanted and he described a white knife by the name of 'Tramontina' He said it was made in Brazil and that it was superb.

I purchased the knife he had asked me to. Boy, was it sharp!! He knew what he was talking about. The knife slid through countless onions, tomatoes and herbs like a seasoned chef. It was a marvel to use and I was thanking my stars that I came across this marvel. I mean who would think that a knife could make all that difference. But it did and it did so well!!

So imagine, my excitement when I saw this here. I chose the one I wanted carefully. I could not find the particular white knife that we had got earlier but settled for this one.
I have to say from the very start of using this I was sorely and extremely disappointed. It was absolutely not worth the purchase and I felt like I was ripped off.

I always check the labels before buying and sure enough it said made in Brazil. Sure enough, I decided to just keep this at the back somewhere or just use it for minor chopping work. It's absolutely no where close to the knife I had in mind. So I suggest if you want a knife, stay away from this particular one. It is not sharp enough and I would prefer other steak knives over this one.

What is your favorite knife brand? Do let me know in the comments below. I love collecting kitchen tools.

Published by coralcrue

Education is a colossal part of our early lives. It is what forms us.
Usually we do not have a say in where we go to school or college, for the most of us.
All of us get scooted to classes and courses that our parents want us to follow and we are forced into it because they PAY for it. After my tenth grade, I was given a choice to opt for streams- science, commerce or arts. I wanted to go with Commerce because my best friend was going for it but in my heart of hearts I wanted to study Arts because that's where my passion lies but I knew that both these options would be looked down upon by my family. My meek attempts at not wanting to take up Science was thrashed as I was pushed into what looked like GOLD for them- the over-hyped SCIENCE stream. With a heavy heart and no idea of what colleges to look for after school, I just joined whatever college they forced me into. That was my time. Now things have changed. I hope.

When I came upon collegedunia, the teenager in me got over-excited and I was so happy to see a one-stop education portal for students who are searching for favorable institutes all across the country. God bless the soul of the founder.

It is heartening to see the development of this educational website and even more heartening to see that it is based in India. We have the best of teachers, academics, students, learning curve, you name it - we have it. It's just that the accessibility was always far and wide so it was not easy to explore a disorganized array of streams sprinkled all over the internet or discussed by word of mouth.
It's not the case now though as this portal showcases neatly classified courses along with the duration you can spend on the course- For eg, options like full time, part time, distance education and on campus learning categories are simple to locate on their page easily.

User interface is a breeze with ease of use and categories that are spread among various streams.
It is so simple to find the course and college you are bound to join. There is a mighty search bar placed right in the center(almost) of the page, you cannot miss it.

Let me take you through an example. Since I am a medico, I decided to look at the Medical Options provided. I just click on the category 'Medical' and choose 'full time'. Lo and behold, of the two options that they have listed out, one was my own alma mater- Manipal. I am sure they will be adding up more options really soon under Medical.

When you click the University you would like to review, it shows the year of establishment, location, contact number, email address of the institution, option to ask a question to the counselor, the approvals met by the college, amenities, alumni details and so much more. I like how detailed it is. Will be very useful to understand the nature of the institute.

I think because of the in-depth description of each of the colleges that are currently listed under them , they have not yet provided the massive list of colleges that are present in the country yet. But I am sure they are working on it. Over time, I expect to see majority of the colleges listed under each category.

All in all, it is so much easier to come to a site that is all encompassed with details than seperately search each university and website over google to gather most of the important facts yourself.
Collegedunia makes you clear that hurdle easier and I hope there will be a larger listing on their database in the coming few days and months.

From what I have gathered regarding the missing colleges in the data base,
the site was launched recently, last month, and it aims to be the leading educational classified portal in India.
Sahil Chalana, the founder of collegedunia, has mentioned that they currently have information regarding 15,000 colleges and universities presently and would be able to cover 30,000 by the end of this year. Way to Go!!

They have their team working with the sole purpose of providing high quality content on Cut Offs, Placements, Admission, Festivals and even minute details like course intake, fees, reservation etc

I sure wish them all the best in their mighty undertaking and hope all future college students and parents benefit from this wonderful educational initiative.

Currently listed streams cover Management, Medicine, Arts, Engineering, Commerce, Law, Architecture, Agriculture, Civil Aviation, Computer Application, Fashion Design, Hotel Management, Mass Communication and Vocational Courses.

It really is a breeze to be able to find so many courses in one site.

They also have a News feed that is updated regularly categorized under 'News'.

Why don't you sign up with them? It's better to receive their mails directly to your account and stay informed.

I am sure it's not just us students but also anxious parents who are looking for the best place to provide the best education for their child, who will benefit from this portal.

Published by coralcrue