Kudallur Mana and 'Nazrani Thampuran'

It is against this background that one has to view the story of Kudallur Mana situated in Naglasserry Panchayat, Palakkad District, Kerala. Mana means the home of Nampoothiris (Kerala Brahmins). Kudallur was a center of culture and learning...

Pictures from Norway

Heegu Untoe

TV 9 Kannada Channel in its programme Heegu Untoe (Can it be so), featured a phenomenon which like Cassandra in Greek mythology prophesies about the evils that befall upon those who intend to mine in the area,....

Perhaps we can light a lamp instead?

I for one never knew why the candle(s) were blown out, but found a possible explanation here "The blowing out of the candles on the birthday cake originated from an early tradition that believed that the smoke from the candles would take one's wish or petition up to God."...

The Perpetual Pattern

Say Mr Mandelbrot, how can it be
You discovered a pattern that grows like a tree?
When we see your discovery, there on the screen,
There's a part that we see and a part that's unseen.

At soccer school

It was a massive indoor sports facility, where training sessions can be held simultaneously for four age-groups, between 18 months and 9 years. Siddarth is signed up in Group ‘D’....

Door Mats and Brilliant Skies

Dear Squirrel, a confession

If you are a frequent traveller on Indian highways, you are bound to have noticed carcasses, small and large, of birds and stray beings, that have gone under many a wheel. If only we were not always in a hurry, we could train ourselves to 'live and let live'....

Kerala Flowers

Filming locations

There is scope for outdoor location search agency in my city Mysore, which has been a traditional destination for filmmakers from all over the country. Many of them are unaware that, locations-wise, there is lot more to Mysore than Lalith Mahal Palace and Brindavan Gardens...

Ladies in Lavender

'My favourite flowers? Well, I suppose........
Daisy, lavender and rose.'
Pamela speaking, and you deduce
That she's quaint and gentle, a quiet recluse.

Unrelations!

The boy, her cousin brother informed my mom, was from Changanassery and they found him via a newspaper ad. When the details of the boy arrived, I was amused to see that it was one of the prospects that we had got through Kerala Matrimony....

The Semmangudi we knew

Everyone knows great people. Those great people don’t know all who know them. But there are a few of these great persons who remember everyone who is introduced to them...

Living in a City of Power Cuts

I must treat Electricity Minister Arcot Veeraswamy. He has brought some changes in my lifestyle.No, he hasn't arranged power-lifting sessions for me.The daily power cuts are the cause....

Maslow's Hierarchy and Wants

At level 1 are women who just want to be married - and for various reasons its just not happeningAt level 2 are women who want a stable husband, who doesn't drink or beat her too much......

Nightmare on Train

I had an early dinner and went to sleep. At about 2 a.m. I woke up, disturbed by the sound of people moving around.The train had stopped. A lady official and a policeman were next to my berth. They asked me to identify my baggage....

Don't Quit

Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out;

Indian Weaver Birds

Weaver birds are the architects of avian kingdom. The nests are elaborately woven by the birds, all from their genetic memory with no formal training....

Alton Towers

If you buy me a ticket to Alton Towers
You'll earn no gratitude!
I'll turn it down
With a withering frown,

What next, Nikhil?

This is, what I would call, a nowhere posture. I am no expert in these matters, but a natural progression ought to be for him to sit and then crawl before he stands on his feet....

I'm By the Frozen Peas!

'They haven't got the small size!
''No! It's quite another brand!''
Well, how am to know your Mother hates it!'
'They've got tomato-flavour!'

Face of the city

Thirukadaiyur

Thirukadaiyur is the place to which many people go to celebrate the fact that they have lived through life for 60 to 80 years....

Stairway to Heaven

Climbing the coconut palm is a skill fraught with risks--but there is no other way of getting the coconuts down....

The NRI swadeshi fervor, a growth industry

It is said a desi abroad grows fond of India and things Indian; native Bellary or Bhatinda tends to look more romantic from Boston or Birmingham. And our Bollywood thrives on the genre of movies that hype patriotic fervor of desis abroad ....

Ask the Management Guru - II

Welcome back to your favorite agony column - Ask the Management Guru. Today our focus will be on behavioral issues, social issues, interpersonal issues, issues of etiquette, adult entertainment - ok, not adult entertainment - and general issues not directly related to work..

The Malayali and the pachyderm

Well, for the people of Kerala, the pachyderm is a gentle friend, one who graces the many festivals, processions, weddings, meetings and what not, when he is not lugging logs for its owners keep...

Google Knol Launched

The most attractive feature of Knol is the adsense integration. At Knol you will get paid through adsense, i.e. the more popular your articles are the more you get paid. Blogs as you all know enable you to get you latest writing ...

A solvable power crisis

The government however is not able to procure the required power even if it is willing to pay double the actual price. When such is the case, it is worth thinking whether power distribution has to be reconfigured.....

Life imitates TV

Wonder if you have noticed that children, at times, don’t take cognizance of a real thing until they see it on TV.....

Marmayogi

Looks like Kamal’s next venture is going to be another historical story - Marmayogi. It is supposedly a story inspired by interesting historical incidents in the 7th Century. Music is by A.R. Rahman.....

No posts, no rains!!

Last week, all of a sudden the rains came for 2 consecutive days. All it did was to fool me into believing that the monsoons were back on track.....

Random moods

R for Relax....

Mother and Child

All the paintings she suggested looked very beautiful and complicated too. Then I saw one of her works which she had done based on Jamini Roy's Mother and Child.....

Striking Gold!

A husband sat brooding while up at the bar.
You could see he was knee-deep in thought.
And a friend came and said to him 'Tell me what's up!
You look a bit worried, old sport!'

The Breather Tag

Blogging has been on the back burner for quite some time now. I don't see the situation improving immediately. So I thought I will do a tag that I have done in parts in earlier tags, just to put something up here.....

60+ Kgs of gold and still growing!

There was this girl whose name meant gold. She forbade her parents from buying silks and jewelery for her wedding, and with the groom's consent(he also had a hearty dislike of pomp and glamour), the wedding was a 5-minute affair....More. . .

Mem Sahib turns Painter

Her drawing room is testimony to her artistic skills, where her oils jostle for space with her Tanjore paintings on the walls....

How to buy presents … Derren Brown style!

At the end of the talk, he said, check out Derren Brown in youtube. And I saw this video. Oh my God. That guy is amazing. Watch the full video - he explains his technique at the end of the video...

The Best Medicine

When it's raining down in Texas
They give three mighty cheers
But when there's drought in Texas
And not a cloud appears.....

Temple visit

Siddarth, who has this inexplicable brand loyalty to GAP, is persuaded by his mom to make an exception whenever the family goes on an outing to a temple – which is once or twice a month. ...

Fate of Chennai's watchmen

Our watchman is gong to lose his job.We have two of them doing the shifts and the older of them has to go.The community in our apartment block decided his fate. They said he was getting on in years and could not climb the steps to the overhead watertank to see if all was well in there....

Back to Bicycles

Once upon a time Bangalore was a town of bicycles. With the increase in the number of cars and buses and the eagerness of people to reduce transit time, the humble pedal vehicles were pushed to the background.....

Brashness in business

I always appreciate brashness in business. Thats how business get built. The guts, the mental strength, and the determination to standup against established players - thats what I am talking about....

Friday Night in Juhu

Well, last night we went out to dinner with a couple of friends from old college days. One of these I meet frequently - he stays ten minutes away and we share a deep interest in the fermentation process. The other guy, I'll call him AM, is here on vacation.....

Romance on the High Seas

Newcastle to Stockton? Five minutes!
We scarcely sit down but we're there!
The ferry goes backwards and forwards
And it's cheap with a Pensioners' fare.

Madhuri Aunty dance like me, thatha

Ms. Dixit may charge royalty, if only she gets to know that we often use her name to persuade Siddarth to finish his carrot-rice(something he finds particularly unpalatable). .....

Hired night nannies: Where have the grandmas gone?

Like her late mother, who had night-nursed our son and five of her other grandchildren, my wife believes it is a blessing to be able to take care of one’s grandchildren. Hiring night nannies is an idea that is alien to our traditional family values. What are grandmas for?....

Abraham's take on The Nuclear Deal

How many of the elected representatives of the people of India are really interested in the nuclear deal or the country for that matter? I feel the present political circus should be recorded in detail and preserved for the posterity....

The Moving Equation

I was equating the migration to a different place in India, from within India, and realized how things can be difficult if you don't have any idea about the place. Even though my parents are comfortable in a place like Madras, and in spite of the fact that they know Tamil...

Candle light beauty

The Winnows

Yesterday the sight of this lady selling the winnows brought a flood of memories to my mind. This was once used at home decades back. My mother used this to separate the chaff from grains. How I used to stand mesmerized...

In Yer Dreams, Granny!

Today I've been rehearsing
All the words that I will say
If a mugger ever grabs me
As I'm on my homeward way!

A Whole New World

There is always the fear of unfamiliarity on the first day of college, those initial jitters, accompanied by slight reluctance. In me, it shows in exaggerated ways. I felt small in this new crowd, like a ship lost at sea....

Garden photos: Lantanas of Olavipe

Blogged on the Tracks

It is about 10.00 a.m. on another typical July morning, all grey skies and rain-splashed windows. What's interesting is that I'm reporting all this from the Guwahati Rajdhani Express, somewhere near Moghulsarai and on the way to Delhi....

Monsoon here we come...

For those of us who wait eagerly to board the flight, our main concern should be hartals and nothing else. There are even websites giving schedule of the hartals and until this hour the coast seems clear for us to land. ...

It's Exam Time at Chez Shenoy!

Mother is trying to reason with son that writing is essential. How is the teacher going to figure out how smart you are? Why can't you write things neatly? Tell me, what are Apogee and Perigee? (Son nearly gets a grievous injury because of smart aleck answer "They are sons of Gandhiji"). And so on....

India the marvelous

Twain cleared his debts within three years and his cash flow became green once again following the successful tour and his publishing the great travelogue ‘Following the Equator’ which detailed his experiences. The book went on to cover his visit to India and other places...

Nan

Some find their glass half-empty,
And some, of a happier kind,
Feel their glass is still half-full,
With some wine still left behind.

Look behind the glitter...

Have you ever thought of the lengthy process after which a piece of gold jewellery reaches the showroom's display? If you want to understand the magnitude of the environmental costs of mining, take time to read Kamala Balachandran's article...

Milestone: July 2008

The baby of the family completes eight months; his big bro, two years and seven months. Their parents hardly need an excuse; any pretext would do when it comes to celebrating the little ones....

World Literacy Promotion Day

This is our 'tution' class. As of Today. Since the number is rapidly growing and I have to use all sorts of threats to thin it down. It takes a lot of patience...

Ask the Management Guru - I

Q. What is a paradigm? - (From "Jargonically Challenged", Patiala)
A. Dear "Jargonically Challenged".No one knows for sure. Most of the gurus believe that the paradigm is a creature which looks like a horse but has a horn in the center of its forehead.,,,,,

Handling Grief

Right from childhood we are taught how to express our happiness, we are also taught, "Don't worry be happy". The state of happiness is very pleasant and who wants to come out of it. But then life is one cycle of happiness and sorrow, and we humans are a bundle of emotions. How do we express sorrow?.....

Scaring me with his dinosaurs book

And I act suitably scared. Our friend is thrilled to see my mouth ajar in horror; and eyes, popping out in panic....

Feisty Finale

What were you singing, Olive,
As you lay there in your bed?
What were the little choruses
Revolving in your head?

News makers and News breakers

The jingle shouts outs

o what if he's young?

He'll soon grow up. he should know this and that

The shows in page 3

I saw . . .you saw....,Dosa

Bike rentals, a fashion in Paris

Today, the good old bike could be an answer to traffic congestion and carbon emission in Bangalore,if only office-goers and company executives take to the bike in a big way, making bicycling a fashionable mode of transit,.....

The idea of Obama

As someone visiting the US, it appears to me that the question that haunts the political-minded here is not who the next President would be; but what if, Barack Obama gets elected. Pundit Dick Morris, who was for long a Clinton consultant, but now their strident critic, has written a full-fledged book ...

In which he was dragged screaming and kicking

I had read OK's post on the movie Jaane Tu... and decided that I had to give it a miss. But I reckoned without the native cunning of the missus, who, on her day, can make General Rommel look like Mr. Bean....

The Gold Digger

My duty, you say! Well that's a surprise!
I shall do what I like so you just get wise!
I may have been eager in Teneriffe,
But that fling, my dearest, was, luckily, brief!

Bed n' brekker

The poor guys met their match in Ooty's vocal lot. The locals took the opportunity to run down the lack of infrastructure for tourists, 'roads that have to hold world records for the time they look to be laid.....

Free-dom/doom of Speech

The 4th of July is celebrated every year as the Independence Day in the US. This day is marked by celebrations, usual patriotism and fanfare and a jovial mood is there in the air. But this year when President Bush was offering a speech....

The Visitor

It was a strange visit. He just walked in from the open door from the balcony, head cocked, and tottered on his two clawed feet right up to the centre of the room......

Story time at Barnes & Nobel

Thursday’s story time was over by the time we got there. But Siddarth didn’t seem particularly disappointed. He liked clowning around the place.....

Pretty (and) Sturdy

Reaching Out to Local Schools

There is a large Corporation Higher Secondary School close to our office in Alwarpet and I believe its students would welcome guests who can interact with them through the year.Perhaps one can host workshops on basic skill training....

Speaking of chariots

This chariot is really beautiful. It stands in an open courtyard, exposed to the sun and the rain. The wood is weather-beaten look that I find very attractive...

Bollywood on Fox

Joshua Allen 19 year old from Texas & Katie Taira Shean 20 year old from Orange California participating in ‘so you think you can dance’ reality show on FOX. They were asked to dance a Bollywood number. And did they pull it off?

Get Ready for Nuclear Showdown

The Left must remember that India's agreements with the erstwhile Soviet Union were not entirely balanced. During those days we were virtually a puppet of the Soviet Union,.....

Stooping low to reach for the stars!?

The contestants seem to fear the judges. They seem to lack sufficient confidence in their own talents. It almost looks like they are scared of offending the judges. Which is ridiculous!! And judges too, seem to lap this up......

Barrington Snow

When it's snowing on Barrington Tops
And the sky is all covered with grey,
Then we feel how the temperature drops
And we're in for a cold winter's day....

This man knows what he's talking about

As I grow in age, I value women over 40 most of all. Here are just a few reasons why:A woman over 40 will never wake you in the middle of the night and ask, 'What are you thinking?' She doesn't care what you think.....

Just Because I am Mute...

Just because I am mute

don’t run your knife on me.

To express your love to your beloved

isn’t there a better way?

Once the Richest Man

Boston to Kansas: On the Road

I decided to leave Boston, and the adventurer in me told me to take a road trip to Kansas. It is a 1400 mile journey, and I planned to cover the trip over four to five days. So, I took my first pit stop at Pittsburgh, PA which was about 800 miles from Boston.....

Only-10-Boxes Challenge

A transferable job is a boon and a bane. One gets to live in different places, but it also means ever-changing neighbourhood and schools, besides repeated establishment of home infrastructure....

Pristine Village: Olavipe Photos

Lucknow 76...

But then why 'Lucknow' and why not 'Delhi' or 'Bombay' or 'Calcutta' or 'Madras' or 'Bangalore'. Because the director and playwright of the play, Abhishek Majumdar (AM) had spent some part of his childhood in this city

Hair Care at Home

One does not have to spend on expensive products for hair care. A Google search will throw up ‘n’ number of results, each site competing with the other offering fine tips of hair care at home....

Leg's Labours Lost

Eyes wide! But not with innocence.
Fixed smiles,
With nerves chattering at the corners of the mouths.
Bountiful thighs, no longer fashionable.

Babuji's Ezharai Sani-Part II

Babuji was very busy and mostly on tour here. He had Kanchipuram, Thirukazhukunram, Mahabalipuram and Madurantakam under his jurisdiction. He was away from home almost three or four days ...

Projecting the right image of India abroad

The point is, in my opinion, People of Indian Origin (PIOs) and Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and Indians traveling abroad should always try to project the right image of India......

Nadal gives Federer a taste of Clay

Couldn't believe this. Imminent fall of the champion? I wished the rain continued so that by the time the match resumed I would be back home When I reached home and switched on the TV, memories went back 28 years..........

Zheng He (Cheng Ho) in Calicut

Between 1405 and 1433, the Ming government sponsored a series of seven naval expeditions. Emperor Zhu Di designed them to establish a Chinese presence and impress the foreign people in the Indian Ocean ...

Cobwebs

"A cobweb!' he's saying,
Just looking around,
And I start in praying
Just one will be found!....

Sharing toys

Asked if he would at least take Nikhil on a drive in his Ford Mustang Siddarth had this to say – ‘Ford Mustang doesn’t have a car-seat’. Children below five can travel only in children's car-seat, under the law.....

Monsoon: Rath and Wrath

Yesterday in Banarhat, I caught a glimpse of the Rath as it went ahead of several vehicles and large scattered crowds of people. Little children were out on their way to the fair, smartly dressed, and all of them had hair that looked as if it had been combed very fiercely by their mothers.....

Rath Yatra in Old Delhi Friday July 4 '08

Last Friday, some American guests of mine went on a Delhi Magic tour - the Bazaar walk through Old Delhi. They were right on time to witness the annual Rath Yatra of Jagannath....

Their day out in San Francisco

Their mom's plan for an early start for San Francisco, so as to be back home in time for their afternoon nap was upset by Siddarth who took his time over the morning oats meal, and potty; brother Nikhil took a nap......

Kudampuli for good taste and better health

Interesting Bengaluru

Hair Today Gone Tomorrow

My sympathies are with this young, upcoming model, Fadhya Asif. The reason being Lakme Salon has made a mess of her hair. It was sheer indulgence on the part of the reputed salon when they offered the “Refresh Indulgence” hair treatment to Dimpy ....

White socks

His outside self was very small, puppy-sized, no less.
But inside he was mountain-large, and we didn't even guess.
We fed him little scraps of food in a dainty plastic dish.
We held him gently in our hands, docile as one could wish...

Raji's Half Inch of Fame

She said, “Hey Raji, did you know your blog is mentioned in Indulge Express today?” This is the Friday supplement of the New Indian Express.....

Mount Road, Film Studios and more . . .

My invitation in this column to fill me on stories on our city's most important road drew quite a response.Sethuraman used to work in that area from 1946 and 1975 and he has been sharing a few stories and providing me web links to stories I should read......

Feel this veteran's pulse in his writing!

Justice VR Krishna Iyer's articles are always forceful, and his packed messages are fervent calls for immediate action. 'A bizarre nuclear deal pursuit' is one loud and mercilessly-worded wake-up call for Indian legislators....

The Hunter effect

I guess I need to withdraw what I wrote about Siddarth’s uneasiness in trying out the race-car simulator at the mall. This might have been the case three days back. But yesterday, at the Stoneridge Mall, Pleasanton, Ca, our 30 month-old friend wanted to revisit the play area...

Kerala: It's different

In a way, hartals have some plus points. Which country gives its people so many paid holidays? And, in Kerala, it is a tourist attraction as well. The hartals and the allied activities like slogan shouting processions, stone throwing and grappling.......

Of Jasmine buds and Water Lily flowers

Brenda's Inheritance

My Dad had rheumy eyes; the tears kept dropping.
The winter winds caused many bouts of mopping.
But he was old; that's how it had to be.
And what had rheumy eyes to do with me?

Grandson at the swing

On a Road Trip

No Words

Connexions

Now everyone knows that, with the kind of revolution and global tie-ups happening in the telecom domain in India today, more Indians than citizens of any other nation would be signing up for mobile telephone services each month.....

Are Reality shows doing more harm than good?

I wish Shinjini Sengupta hit the headlines for some other reason. Unfortunately, we are all saying, 'Let what happened to her not happen to anyone." This cheerful, bright, immensely talented 16-year-old school student is struggling to get on with her life at Nimhans........

The temple beats and the Pallavur trinity

Also, there is a story of Tippu Sultan attacking the temple where he used an elephant to take out the Pratishta, but in vain. Even now, it is said that you can see the Pratishta slightly tilted as a result of the push by the elephant......

Elders: Sunshine in sunset years

Whether the grandparents in such cases are being treated as glorified servants mainly depends on attitudes. Provided they have no serious health problems, the senior citizens would be generally happy to look after their grandchildren.....

Lesson to Learn

Zeenat Mahal - Palace of Beauty

Hanging On!

Purloined Poem! Someone else's joke! But the jokes that 'go the rounds' have no copyright so that leaves me free to embroider....

Children of the Earth

The lady was still there, standing in the rain stoically. I gave her the food and told her in Hindi to give the kids too. There was no expression on her face. She called out to the kids and they appeared one by one from under the half constructed stairs, looking at me wide eyed...

First Friends

I find it pleasant to spend my evenings on my brand new bicycle (meant to say bike), watch those feathered friends squabble over the food (inevitably reminds me of my squirrels back home), ....