Food Hubs and Local Histories

I re-visited Mount Road recently. To check out Bombay Halwa House, once our favourite destination.As the name suggests, this place is known for its halwa. But there are a few other things on its menu which has drawn people for over 50 years.Bread and peas masala is one...

A picture of health

A widely prevalent myth is that health food is bland and tasteless. This is blown in the article ‘Recipes The Bottom Line’. It starts with the statement ‘Healthy eating can be as delicious as it is nutritious—a feast for the senses as well as good for the body’.....

Slugfest!

Don’t we trust the system?

There is another classic example. Whenever we have to go to new place, or to an office to get something done, many of us — almost by habit — check out if we know someone out there. Ideally there is no need for it. There should be system or a process that should take care of an individual’s requirements...

Daalara Daalara

So, the common perception among the folks is, Oh, don't keep anything in the bank. Send everything back to India. This is the best period for you to take advantage of the dollar exchange. After all, you never know how long it is going to last. The dollar might go down any day. With the American banks falling in line everyday, you might not get your money back....

October 2 in New York

My investment banker friend Mr B R Ramaprasad and his wife Shyamala take time off every oct.2 to be at New York’s Union Square Park to pay homage to the Mahathma. Son of a Mysore school headmaster, Mr Ramaprasad has been in the US since 1970; and a regular at the Oct.2 prayer meetings since 1986 when the Gandhi statue came up in the park....

On the Tip of his Tongue! (9/25)

Bill and Joe and Marmaduke were cursed with dreadful stuttering.
And every word they tried to say ended with grunts and spluttering.
They visited a therapist who worked with might and main
To make their speech intelligible, crystal clear and plain.

A worrying issue and a disturbing trend

These are vermin’s of blogosphere and are a danger to a community that has coexisted peacefully even though they express very personal views in their blogs. The very nature of blogs requires complete respect for a bloggers blog and his right to expressing his/her views or the purpose of blogging is defeated. If you do not like a post, ignore it. If you want to disagree, do it in an agreeable way.....

Highway to Heaven

Young Bala, who's in his early twenties, drives me around to the points on the road where I can get the best views and the best shots of sunsets, clouds and trees...

International Day of the Girl Child

Yesterday, September 24th was celeberated as the International Day of the Girl Child without much fanfare..Unlike other “International days”, there is nothing much in this day for creating any fanfare.No cards nor gifts to gift anyone and hence none to sell them.Many of those girl children who survived in this world still live a life with not much recognition.....

At a handicraft fair

And here, on a visit to one of the many handicrafts fairs that pop up every now and then in the neighbourhood, was one just asking to be photographed....

Virtually An Orphan, 5 Years Old Rimi Is Fighting Thalassemia Singlehandedly

The sweet girl hails from a small village called Talda in eastern India, in the South 24 Parganas district of the state of West Bengal. The village has witnessed some bitter political struggles between two local political parties, and these struggles often turn violent with the indiscriminate use of fire arms and other lethal weapons....

Dear Iraqi Friends - NYTimes Op Ed.

In the wake of current economic downturns in the American economy, the US government really needs to introspect on its World Policing policies. The op ed becomes even more detailed and scathing as it proceeds criticizing the Bush govt. The beauty of this piece is in the writing...

Zigbee

Amongst the most famous recent researchers is German Karl Von Frisch who observed and studied the waggle dance for over a decade and was awarded a Nobel Prize for his discoveries in 1973. Contesting this theory is AM Wenner from University of California who came up with an odor plume theory. It appears that the real answer could lie between the two theories or a combination of both....

Dreaming Rose Buds

Blooming rose buds are always a joy to watch and when I saw this bud, I wanted to watch it bloom, to watch the deep red petals peeking out of the green....

1 Engine, 2 Auto-Rickshaws

Biking

There is nothing like cycling away aimlessly, letting the hours slip by irresponsibly. Having a friend tagging along in your worthless pursuit adds a little more spice. My favorite times to bike are in the evenings, when the heat of the morning fades away like it never existed and the sparrows throng the fences, chirping away madly....

Change of school

He has said 'goodbye' to the Fountain Head school, though he still sings their song. We don't know how children sign off their day at Siddarth's new school - Danville Montessori...

I hate SMS language - S Sir !

I understand how these things work — call centers do not have the ultimate experts — so I did not get perturbed. I collated that information, and reformated it, and mailed back, stating my understanding, and asking them to confirm if my understanding was correct.....

Walking Classes Unite

Karen Coelho and her supporters are the prime movers behind this simple campaign. A campaign to get back our sidewalks, our pavements. Karen who researches and teaches at the MIDS in Adyar has done extensive work on the basic amenities provided to people in north Madras. She has now focused on the walking classes...

Movies

Saroja- Fun, light movie. Its not a movie you go home and think about. But neither is it boring. The young director, Venkat Prabhu has taken pains to present a thriller but with elements of comedy that prevent it from getting bogged down by darkness....

Butterflies of Olavipe

Some "Sell-buy" Dates

Starting today, the weekly ‘Sunday Haat’ at every little town will be transformed into a ‘Bonus Bazaar’. Every worker in tea waits for the Bonus to make the year’s big purchase....

Rural Solar lighting--Market Survey

In our quest to know more about the rural market for solar power, we headed towards villages around HD-Kote which is about 45kms from Mysore. We understood that rural market in India cannot be generalized using the statistics that big time marketers use.....

Good Morning

And Saturday night while having a late dinner, one of my friends called me and asked if I could join him for a visit to the Hebbal Lake early morning on Sunday to take some pictures....

Kolkata Guy Marries Two Sisters

Something interesting has happened in Kolkata (or Calcutta) in eastern India, the city where I grew up. I just felt I should share the incident with my friends who are unaware of it.A Kolkata guy, named Kaushik Dutta has married two sisters – Jhuma and Shoma. And now these three (one husband and his two wives) are staying together in a single house...

The man who lived in interesting times

Who was he, I wondered, this man whose tomb lay next to some of the grandest structures in Delhi? Why was he such a big deal? A Sultan perhaps, or some great nobleman? I looked at the inscription - this was the tomb of a priest, a man named Imam Zamin. It took quite some reading before I found out who he was.....
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Nikhil at 10 months

Now that he has learned to be up on his feet, Nikhil is always on the look out for any place to lean on...

The Humble Ambazhanga

This small tropical fruit grows on trees that may grow up to 25m height. In Kerala it symbolizes insignificance, as the saying goes ‘aana vayil ambazhanga’. The translation is ‘an ambazhanga in an elephant’s mouth’.....

Tirupparankundram and Marriages

Tirupparankundram is built in a cave in a hill and no one seems to be quite sure of its age. The idols are cut into the rock face. The tank outside is surrounded by a grand rock on two sides making a nice view. Muruga married his Northern wife, Devyani, daughter of Indra here and so this temple is considered very auspicious for weddings....