Tuesday, 24 September 2013
Sunday, 15 September 2013
Friday, 13 September 2013
Of Lost Wax and Found Beauty
I
was a mere five hour drive away from Madras and yet I felt as if I had
time-traveled into another world and era, to a place where South India,
as I saw it in my mind’s eye, still survived, gentle, calm, awash in
devotion and tradition. I was in and around Thanjavur and the Kaveri
River delta, and why was it a surprise that I felt this way, because
life here seems to belong to another age, to move to a different rhythm. This land, this river, this
city, these environs, had, for several centuries, been the jewel in the
crown of the great Chola Empire. The winds of history have tempered its
eminence, and this region is now quietly content to lie in fame’s
shadow, to surrender its position of celebrity to the younger, brasher,
livelier, more prominent and influential seat of authority to the north,
Madras.
Read more.......
Read more.......
Wednesday, 4 September 2013
Monday, 26 August 2013
Strange Bedfellows
I
have observed the fusion of Carnatic music with many things: Hindustani
music, Jazz, Bollywood, Pop and Rap, but a few days back I witnessed
its foray into an unlikely arena: athletics. I listened, by turns
enthralled, excited, puzzled, annoyed, distressed and vexed, as the
music went through bouts of wrestling, racing, jumping and gymnastic
contortions, a veritable Olympic multi-event that shook the very
foundations of Carnatic music and propelled it into a brave new world.
Saturday, 24 August 2013
Ernie Pyle, the greatest war journalist
“You feel small in the
presence of dead men, and ashamed at being alive, and you don’t ask silly
questions." These words are from The
Death of Captain Waskow, Earnie Pyle’s most popular
World War II report. He wrote this after watching the American dead being
brought down on mule backs from a hill on the Italian front lines on January 10,
1944.
Thursday, 22 August 2013
Hanging Man of Olomouc, Czech Republic
Initially I saw the silhouette and couldn’t believe my eyes; I strained to see if there was any kind of movement. As I got closer I realized it was just a statue, but what a weird one! Read more here...
Monday, 19 August 2013
Custard Apple for better health
Custard Apple
(Seethaphal/Seethapazham/Aatha Chakka/Bullock’s Heart) belongs to the Annonaceae family which is believed to be a native of the West
Indies. It is now grown in many sub-tropical countries. There are
over 2000 varieties in this group. But only fruits of five of these are eaten.
Wednesday, 14 August 2013
A Short Story for Independence Day
As we celebrate the Independence Day let us also spare a thought for the men of our Defence Forces who guard our country. Here is a sensitive and touching story about the Army:
A GENERAL AND HIS DAUGHTER
Please click here to read on.
Saturday, 10 August 2013
Sunday, 4 August 2013
Monday, 29 July 2013
Tuesday, 23 July 2013
Short Story: A Bend in the Lake
The first morning back at
our lakeside ancestral home in Kerala after sixteen years in the US, I woke up
with a premonition that something unusual was about to happen. I looked around
for my wife and six-year-old son. They were not in the room.
Tuesday, 16 July 2013
Monday, 15 July 2013
Good 'Bye to good governance
Not a day
passes in our country without a mishap or a scam. In fact we keep churning out
so many of these it’s become hard to keep a count or track of them.
Consider a
few:
Wednesday, 10 July 2013
Back to Gingee, the fort of love and valour
My post History: Gingee, a fort of love and valour published on July 29, 2009 with superb photos by KO Isaac, was quite popular. A few days back I received a comment on it which is reproduced below. It is interesting and self explanatory.
More...
Thursday, 4 July 2013
A piece from the past
This photo was taken in 1921
by Clain and Perl studio, Madras.
It was commissioned by the Basel Mission. That is why the women have their
breasts covered during a period when that was not the practice for the low
caste.
Wednesday, 3 July 2013
The Experience of Handling Banga Bhawan Control Room for Uttarakhand Floods
Today (3rd July 2013) I am back to my normal office duty after being a part of the " Banga Bhawan Control Room" from 19th June to 2nd July. This control room was set up at the "Banga Bhawan", West Bengal Govt's state guest house, to monitor the search and rescue operation of the tourists from West Bengal who were stranded in Uttarakhand. Some of us from the Office of the Resident Commissioner in New Delhi were handling the control room, while of number of other people, including our Principal Resident Commissioner Sir, had gone to Uttarakhand to handle the ground level situation there. More
Saturday, 29 June 2013
The Himalayan disaster and the blunders
The tragic devastation
caused by nature particularly in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, is so
saddening. It has also exposed the deficiencies in India’s disaster management
capabilities.
More...
Tuesday, 25 June 2013
Medical Colleges: An Addendum
There
used to be a joke about a school lab which had no implements. The teacher puts
up his thumb and tells the students, “Suppose this is a test tube….” Well, that
seems to be what is happening to the mushrooming medical colleges in the
country.
Monday, 17 June 2013
Cards & Curry
A few days back when my
brother Jacob called to say that he was planning a ‘Cards& Curry’ session at
our Tharavad, Thekkanattu Parayil,
Olavipe I was rather stuck. I didn’t
know what it meant. Any way, Jacob explained and I told him to go ahead.
Tuesday, 11 June 2013
Wednesday, 5 June 2013
Diamonds: The Two Sisters from Golconda
Koh-i-Noor and Darya-i-Noor
– That is how they are known now. The first means “Mountain of light” and the
other, “Sea or Ocean of light”. These great diamonds, amongst the largest in
the world, were found in the Paritala-Kollur Mine near Golconda, India,
perhaps 5000 years ago. Over the centuries several dynasties had possession of
them. They symbolized, power, wealth and glory.
Sunday, 2 June 2013
Wednesday, 29 May 2013
Tuesday, 21 May 2013
Progress in agriculture
This photo of plowing land for paddy cultivation was taken in Kerala
in 1901. Can you recognize a change that has taken place in over a century?
Friday, 17 May 2013
WWW.FLIGHTSTATS.COM – A GREAT WAY FOR A FLYER TO KEEP TRACK OF THE FLIGHT SCHEDULE
If you are a frequent flyer, then www.flightstats.com is a great and effective way (if not the best way) for you to keep a track of the flight schedules, i.e. the Scheduled Time of Arrival/Departure and Expected Time of Arrival/Departure. www.flightstats.com keeps making a real time tracking of every flight, and keeps informing people about any change (delay, etc.) in a flight's Scheduled or Expected Time of Arrival/Departure. The updating takes place at an interval of virtually a couple of minutes. More
Tuesday, 14 May 2013
Kerala to have more medical colleges
Those who have read my 2011 post Creating Gen Next Engineers would not have been shocked by Kerala’s engineering results this year. Now it would appear that Medical Education in Kerala too is on the slide.
More
Tuesday, 30 April 2013
Tuesday, 23 April 2013
Old Kerala Jewellery
What prompted me to write
this post is a TV ad that is quite familiar to watchers of Malayalam channels –
the one where the famous actress Revathi talks of gold chains of the past and
the making charges the customers have to pay for gold ornaments now. More
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