EAST AND WEST, NORTH AND SOUTH<a href='http://www.blogsurfer.us/

There is always a contrast not only between the West and the East, but also between the North and the South.

The Northern hemisphere is rich; the South poor. North America wanted to abolish slavery, the South opposed it.

In India, Northerners hate the Madrasis and we heartily reciprocate the sentiment.  When it is cold winter for us, it is hot in South America and Australia.

Gujarat in the West is extremely conservative, very industrious and people united.

In the East, people are politically revolutionary, quarrelsome and very advanced in literature, culture and philosophy. Gujarat could not produce a Tagore or a J.C Bose.We do not have a single Advani in Bengal. Americans are capitalists; Communism is in Asia onlly.

All great religions like Budhism, Christianity and Mohammedanism were born in the East. Karl Marx was born in the Wet. up in the West.

Take any subject: East AND WEST ARE ALWAYS POLES APART!

EFFICIENT POST OFFICE AND CHAOTIC SBI

We are thankful to the British Raj for the Post Office network, which enabled the poorest people to communicate with the remotest village, by spending a paltry sum for a post card. I have not seen it for a long time.

With the revolution in communication, with email, mobile phone and TV becoming so common, we almost forgot the PO, except when we want to send money home.

The Postal Department soon took up the challenge and computerized its net work. Once they gave only cash as settlement; now they give cheque, which is so handy.

State Bank of India (SBI), on the other hand, has become chaotic. With the greatest number of branches and core banking, it should have been the favourite. But my experience is most disappointing.

I went to Axis Bank branch at Trichur with my Fixed Deposit Receipt (FDR) obtained from Delhi branch. The girls there took the FDR from me, wrote something, got it signed by me and scanned and sent it to Delhi. They told me to come after a week. When I went there again, I got the cheque.

I approached the SBI with another FDR. They told me to give an application enclosing the original FDR, with photo copy in my own interest, as Delhi people never replied, and wait patiently.

In another case, I surrendered the FDR, without keeping a copy.

Afterwards it was misplaced by the bank, either here or in Delhi. My daughter in Delhi reminded the branch here continuously for months and ultimately it was credited in my account.

Occasions when I could not get money from the ATM are too many to be recounted.

Once I went to a remote locality in a crowded working class area in Delhi. In that SBI branch, there was no Manager, no Que, no token system, nothing at all. People were free to move anywhere. All were shouting. It was just like a fish market.

At Ghaziabad, all forms were in Hindi. My life certificate was given in Hindi. The clerk at Palakkad did not understand it and withheld my pension for some months, until I represented.

It is better if SBI is divided into five zones: East, West, South, Northeast and Central.

VAISHAKH, THE MONTH FOR DAN

On 15th of May, the month of Vaishakh has begun.

This is the month when we namboodiris do dan or free gift (danam in Malayalam; d pronounced as th of “the”).  A mango and some coins, placed in a small earthen vessel shaped like a globe, containing some quantity of water, are given to children. Water is valuable in summer. Mangoes are available in plenty. I think that is why these three things are given as dan.

On 27th May is full moon. On that day, the governing star is Vaishakh. So the name is given to the month in Hidu calendar, followed in the north.

SAMBHARAM, KERALA’S OWN DRINK

In the north, a visitor is offered a large tumblerful of water, as soon as he is seated. Here in Keralam, water is given only when asked for. This may be because of humid climate here. We gladly offer tea or coffee.

Our traditional drink is tender coconut water which is a good source of pure glucose, and may be given intravenously, doctors say. I have never seen it done, in practice.

Coconut water is very popular in Bombay and other cities. There is a story that Marshal Tito, the communist dictator of Yugoslavia, liked it so much, when he visited our State, in the fifties, that he ordered a wagon load of  tender coconuts, which he carried with him while in India!

Another less known drink is sambharam or diluted curd. Sour curd is is mixed with eight times its volume of water, curry leaves and cut green chillis with a pinch of salt. The whole thing is thoroughly mixed and offered to the visitor, especially in the hilly areas where coconuts are scarce. It is an excellent invigorating natural drink, now sold by Milma, government dairy, in saches.

I remember a hut where sambharam used to be stored in a large stone tub, at Oorakam  centre. It is filled in an earthen jug with a small hole in the side, through which the contents are poured into the mouth. It is not to be spoiled by touching the lips. It was sponsored by some kind man, like water in a pyavu (water hut) in north India.

Now, old times have disappeared. Bottled mineral water is sold every where. At home I like sambharam!

THE LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE

 Students will say that the lines across the map of the globe called latitudes, and those cutting these lines vertically called longitudes, help in locating a place in the globe.

 It took a long time and a lot of work in drawing these lines.

 First, the latitude lines were marked, by observing the position of the sun in the sky. On March 21st, the sun is over our head, at the middle of the earth called the equator. The next day it shifts slightly, to the north.  The next day again, wait for the sun to come over the head at noon and this point is furthe north, by the same distance.

Latitudes are mentioned in degrees. Each degree is divided into 60 seconds. The shift in the position of the sun each day is 15 seconds. We have to travel north, so that the sun will come at the top of the sky. On the 21st of June, if we continuously move north, the sun can be seen at the top.

 If the sun throws no shadow at all, on a stick planted vertically, we can say it is on top. The next day the sun starts moving in the reverse direction, southwards. So we can verify the correctness of our measurements, once more. If a number of schools and colleges tie up, we can say whether the lines shown in the maps are correct or not.

As the sun does not go beyond the lat. 23.5, the latitudes beyond this point can be calculated by measuring the angle of digression with referenc to the vertical line.

By measuring the angle of deflection, we can calculate the latitude of a place. The measuring instrument is called the sextant. I do not know how to manipulate it. I am sure school students these days, may not have heard the name.

 The determination of the longitude was a real problem. For this we require clocks synchronized with one another. I am talking about those days, when even pendulum clocks were a rarety. There was a big ship wreck, because the captain did not have an idea how far away they were from London. A Royal Commission was appointed to find out a way to determine the longitude of a point. The Chairman of the Commission was Sir Isaac Newton. He failed.

One clock maker in Italy found the way out. He invented the gymbals. When suspended in this cage, the pendulum will always hang down, even when the ship is rocked in a storm. So they carried two clocks, one according to Greenwich mean time, and another according to local time. The difference in minutes, when divided by four minutes (time taken by the sun to travel from one longitude to the next), gives the number of the longitude.

 Of course, we should know whether it is west or east of zero line.

SOME TIPS TO HOUSE WIVES

RICE UPMA

If you are a south Indian, there will be cooked rice left over from yesterday.

Warm oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, red chilli cut into pieces and curry leaves. When the fire works (explosions) of mustard are over, put the rice and salt to taste and mix vigourously. Your break fast is ready.

In the north, nobody likes stale chapatis. Powder the same in a mixie and use it as in our upma, instead of rice.

Receive your husband with a smile, when he comes from office, and serve this new dish.

He will congratulate you !