HOW TO SPEND TIME

HOW TO SPEND TIME?

I do not know how to utilize spare time, especially after coming to Delhi. At home , I go about selling books .

Morning walk is for health ; as I have become very slow, it takes only one hour . At the end of it , I buy one tender coconut for my wife and come home.

Watching TV is boring . The same films are shown again and again. Even news from Keralam is the same . Panchayath elections and dog attacks are repeated every day. Yesterday , the English channel was interesting , as the discussion was about the new constitution of Nepal. Though our neighbor , we know very little about that Himalahan Kingdom; sorry , it is no more a kingdom ,it I a republic!

Till now we used to believe that it is the only Hindu state in the world. Now it is secular.

I was surprised to learn that there are about hundred languages and an equal number of castes in that tiny State!

AAP OPENS ACCOUNT IN KERALAM

AAP OPENS ACCOUNT IN KERALAM
For the first time, a candidate of AAP has won a seat in elections.
His name is Tomy Elisseril. He won the Cherthala North ward by three votes. Now, both LDF and UDF have equal number of seats. AAP will decide which one will have majority .
The significance of the win cannot be overemphasized. The electorate is fed up with both Fronts. AAP can fill the vacuum

KITCHEN GARDEN

KITCHEN GARDEN

For the first time, a mango tree which grew up in our garden gave some fruits . This is the only such tree here. We all felt happy.

Ordinary plantain(not the big banana)grow plenty here, without anyone caring. Big bunches have been cut several times. Every day we pluck ‘covaka’, pumpkin  etc., all growing wild. Plenty of rains helped the plants to give more fruits.

FICTION-MY FRIEND- href=’http://www.blogsurfer.us/

We were friends and class mates, till he dropped out after the fourth standard. I continued and graduated. Some how, I did not relish my studies and soon set up my own business.
Though I occasionally wrote to him, he never replied. Through mutual friends, I learned that he is settled in some village, not far from Pune. My business was not running smoothly and I even toyed with the idea of winding it up and returning to India.
I have vague memories of my mother, who died after my younger sister, some two years junior to me. I was attached to my elder sister, whom I accepted as my mother, in all respects. Whenever I visited India, I go to her house even before going home to see my father and younger sister.
This time I got my friend’s address and went to Pune. First.I left my baggage in the hotel and changed over to native dress. After a strenuous journey, I located the house It was a mud hut with grass for roof. A fair woman in simple blouse and skirt came out and enquired: whom do you want to see?
Is Ramu at home? I am his friend.
He is in the field. You sit here; I will call him. By the way, what is your name/
Behal.
Suddenly she beamed and almost ran with enthusiasm. Apparently Ramu has told everything about me, from the day we were backbenchers at Nashik municipal school.
She called him, even as she ran. A man, mud allover his body, turned towards us. He stopped ploughing and called out my name. He told us to wait
I enquired: he never told me about his marriage. How can he? He has no phone? What is your name? How many issues have you?
She began to talk.
We have a son and daughter. As there is no school, we send them to a neighbour, who knows some English. We have only a few acres of land. We do all work ourselves; we have been working all along, even before we bought this. We have some cows and hens. All products are bought by neighbours.
When the sun was going down, we all returned home.
We washed at the well. Water was drawn by hand from the open well. For the fields, there were tube wells, worked my motor.
The food was simple chapattis.ade of wheat flour.and mixed vegetable dish, without any spices.
There was only one room. We men slept on charpoys (Four pieces of bamboo fixed at right angles and supported on feet of wood. A net of cloth ribbon holds the sheet) in the open front courtyard. It was summer. We lay there, talking.
Why don’t you engage workmen?
Am I to idle away my time like a zamindar?
At least you must have a phone.
I have no need. A post card is enough for communication.
Now you talk like a wise man. In the school, you were an idiot.
Silence…When I looked in his face, he was fast asleep!
My attention was turned to the sky. There was no moon; but myriads of stars brightened the sky. I lay awake for quite some time, before I went to sleep
Early in the morning, I was awakened by the sound “tea is ready”.
It was Ramu’s step-sister, dark skinned and uneducated, as explained by Ramu. Her childish enthusiasm and lithe figure, without even the suggestion of fat in her body, engaged my attention during that holiday.
I requisitioned a taxi car from Pune and told all to get ready within an hour. Only Ramu excused, saying he will hire a woman for help.
In the cosmopolitan atmosphere of Pune, all were happy. I bought cloths for all, not forgetting my girl. For Bhabi (brother’s sister), I bought a watch and a mobile phone, in addition to saris.
I extracted a promise from Bhabi to attend my younger sister’s marriage, to attend which I had come to India.
Do not forget to bring my girl, I told Bhabi. She at my beck and call during my stay there..
From Pune I flew to Bombay.
MARRIAGE
I gave didi a blank cheque and told her to buy all things, including gold and cloths required for the wedding. She was overjoyed. As my father was a policeman, now retired, he needed no support from me. I gave them some money whenever I came home. So my gesture impressed them very much. I added: let people know that I am really wealthy.
I deputed my men for supervising all services at the reception, arrangements for stay in hotels etc. I had deputed two men to receive my friends from Pune, for whose flight, I had sent air tickets.
When they came, I embraced them all, not forgetting my girl, who, in the dress presented by me, looked bright and charming. I told Ramu to remain with me all the time.
You may think it odd. The fact is that I am still a bachelor, though not a virgin. I have seen many society ladies but none like your sister. Will you give her to me?
Marriage must be between equals.
Will you allow me to write to her?
Do not give her any hope. First ask your father.
In my case, it is didi. I took her to Pune, after my sister was seen off to her husband’s home.
There I explained my scheme to her:
We must acquire a few hundred hectares of land here. It is dirt cheap and the money will come, if I sell my business. Your daughter can learn dairy science. We can have a big dairy industry here, built on modern lines.
A poultry farm, a fish pond and vegetable garden will also come. The wages are low. Demand for eatables will never cease
What do you say?
I then became the old boy whom she loved unreservedly. I embraced her. I asked:do you like Ramu’s sister?
She remained quiet for some time. Then she looked at me and smiled. Let us ask our father.
My heart sank. I knew the old man too well. He wants that she must be from the same sub-caste. Must get plenty of dowry. He looks at me as a lottery ticket. Only first prize will satisfy him. At the same time, I do not like to sow discord in the family. A woman is not everything!
The presence of bhabhi brightened the atmosphere. She is able and nice to look at. I intended to groom her as my Administrator. I withdrew “my men”from the business and started preliminary work for land acquisition etc. By influence, I managed to get administrative approval for a high way to Pune.
One day I approached my girl and proposed secret marriage. She told bhabhi.
A local poojari did the rites. My friend and bhabhi were the witnesses. Of course, I did not forget to take video photograpahs and to register the marriage

HEARTY WELCOME, OBAMA !!!=’text/javascript’ src=

As a great man and the President of the mightiest country in the world, you are most welcome, to see this ancient land of great thinkers and sages. India has given birth to mathematicians and astronomers like Aryabhattan and religious leaders like the great Budha, whose Ahimsa is a beacon to the world, weary with strife and wars.
I do not know whether your busy schedule will allow you to have a glimpse of the great Himalayas. At least, fly over the mountains!
We wish you a fabulous time!

WHY ARE WELLS AND PONDS DRYING UP?

Exploitation of ground water is blamed for the continuous fall in water level in the wells and ponds. To some extent, it may be true.

But this is not a new phenomenon. Long ago when there was much less population and bore wells were unknown, several ponds have dried up. Muthalakulam maidan in Kozhikode was a lake, as the name suggests. Muthala means crocodile and kulam is pond. Khajuraho was a prosperous settlement, once upon a time. Shortage of water was the reason for abandoning it. Maya civilization in America became extinct  for want of water, according to some. So this is a world phenominon.

If you divide the earth into two halves, one half being the Pacific ocean, you will find that the other half is heavier than the oceanic half. During high tide, the heavier half, containing continents, is pushed up slightly every day. This has been explained in my blog “Earthquake- pressure cooker model” The weight of oceanic water too pushes up the continents continuously. That is why we find the Himalayas rising. In fact the continental crust is bulging out more and more, over millions of years. Automatically, ground water level sinks correspondingly, as the ultimate water level is governed by the sea water level.

This is one explanation for desertification of the “old world “

It is the sea level that decides the ultimate bottom level to which general ground water level may sink.

But the subsoil water level which is reached while digging a well, is decided by local contour of the rock system which is very irregular. Normally we are concerned about this. This will be affected by exploitation by bore wells The Plachimada Pepsi plant is doing it on a big scale. This problem can be easily solved by making a number of earthen embankments, along all water channels, big and small, including canals in mountain areas, mountain valley dams etc., as suggested in my blog. This will serve the purpose of recharging ground water and storing water.

There is one more reason for drying up of wells and ponds. In such cases, the water is filling up these water holes, through minute channels coming from the bottom, which get blocked, if left undisturbed. As people depend on tap water, the wells are disused. Similarly, if a pond is not used, it also dries up in due course. Jumping in, diving, swimming etc.cause so much disturbance to the bottom layers that blocking materials get automatically removed. This is also the purpose of dredging.

To sum up, there are various reasons and each source of water has to be studied properly

My services are always there, free of cost, for solving water problems, because it is my mission.

A LOSS I CAN NEVR FORGET

I am fond of books and scenery. Being a pensioner, I cannot afford to buy books which are becoming costlier by the day. To enjoy new scenery I have to travel which is also not easy, as I have no car.

At Mt. Abu, I bought a Rajasthani painting showing the village scene. I liked it and bought it for Rs.100, though my wife objected.

I did not think of the difficulty of carrying it. For the time being my friend kept it in his house at Pali Marwarr. We came back to Delhi.

He got it covered with glass and framed.

Well packed, he brought it all the way to our house in Keralam. I kept it in a safe corner, to be carried to Ernakulam, to be given to my friend, VBS, as a gift. In all my life, I never gave gifts to any one.

In our absence, it was thrown up, on to the concrete shelf. When I took it after wards, it made a noise, as if something has been broken inside. Apprehensively, I opened it and was in tears, not really, to see the glass broken into small pieces!

Very patiently and delicately, as a surgeon would remove from the heart of a patient, I TOOK OUT ALL THE BROKEN GLASS PIECES. It took some time, but I managed it.

The painting got crumpled at some corners, still it was presentable. So I carried it in a bus up to Kodungallur. I HAD KEPT THE ROLLED PAINTING PACKAGE IN THE RACK OF THE BUS. When I saw most of the passengers getting down, before the bus reached the bus stand, I enquired and was told to get down there if were going to Ernakulam. My wife was in the front seat and myself in the last row. I hurried to tell her and somehow managed to get down there. The bus conductor ws annoyed as all had got off by this time.

A bus for Ernakulam was waiting there ready to start. We were happy to get seats.

When we were happily settled…..I remembered the painting I had kept in the rack!

Whoever got it, may accept it as a gift from an unknown friend!

RAILWAY LEVEL X-INGS SHOULD BE REPLACED BY SUBWAYS

Yesterday, on our way from Guruvayur to Ernakulam, via Kodungallur  by road, we were held up at the railway level crossing near Amritha Institute of Medical Sciences, Edapilly, for an exasperating one hour, because the crossing was closed, opened and closed several times. Only some vehicles are able to pass at a time. People waited patiently. Some started going by walk.

This is not an isolated instance.

A rule made when the railways which were owned by private British Companies, that the cost of any level crossing to be constructed after the rail line, must be born by the Government of the region, still holds good!

Making an overbridge or fly over takes decades. My suggestion is that we must make subways, which can be completed in record time, and the cost should be born by the Railways. Contributions from all may be accepted.

A Subway Authority of India may be constituted with the sole aim of converting all rail crossings, manned as well as unmanned, which should function uner the joint supervision of the Railway and the State Goverment.

DEATH IN RAILWAY COACH FOR WANT OF MEDICAL AID

A tragic death of a passenger on the way from Pune to Keralam has been reported.

He was travelling with wife and children. Though he requested the TTE to contact a doctor, nothing happend and he died by the time the train reached Salem.

There must be some system to send SOS to the nearest hospital in such cases of emergency. With mobile phones available, communication is not a problem.

Will Railway Authorities listen?

THIS IS THE MANGO SEASON

Wherever we go to see a relative, the first enquiry is about mangoes. This time the mango crop has almost failed.

In any namboodiri family, mature mangoes, ripe or unripe, are boiled in water, salted and laced with coconut oil. Or, grated coconut may be ground like chutney and added, instead of oil. This is every day, very boring after some days.

In the North, ripe mango pieces are mixed with milk and ice and ground to a thick liquid in a mixi. It is called mango juice, very tasty and popular. I don’t find it here.

Old women used to extract sweet juice of small, ripe mangoes and spread it on a mat. Every day, fresh juice is added and kept in the sun. When the season is over, the sweet layer is rolled and kept in the cupboard (in those days, there was no fridge). That was the only chocolate we used to get. K.K.Raman’s grandmother used to give us this sweet known as mangathera. Recently we brought it from a hawker in the railway station somewhere in Andhra Pradesh.

Instant pickle can be made of unripe, full grown mangoes, by cutting into chips and mixing with chilli powder and salt. I like to add coconut oil also. Alternatively, the same may be mixed with grated coconut, chilli and salt and ground into a chutny.

Some variety of mangoes can be preserved by adding plenty of salt. Or, the chips may be dried in the sun.

Kadumanga is a special preparation, using very tender mangoes of special variety of trees, which is Kerala’s own achar (pickles), a hit here. Mustard is added; hence the name. The Engish changed “manga” of Malayalam to “mango”.