jayantiblogshere

PUDCHYA VARSHI LAUKAR YAA - 2014 It is that time of the year when there is music and drum beats being heard all over. There is'nt as much dance, fun and gaiety as it is in Mumbai or  Pune. But then this is Bangalore. Down south and down right conservative. Ah... that is probably unfair to say the least. Conservative atleast in relative terms. If you were foolish to go drive on the roads today, you would be pleasantly surprised at how well co-ordinated the traffic is, considering it is the 3rd day of Ganesha and most idols atleast in this part of the country go for the immersion today. Much has been said every year about using the Clay Ganesha idols who being devoid of colourful paints, would not pollute by dissolving toxins from the harmful chemicals in the paint into our scarce and already polluted water bodies. Apparently in the good old days, Ganesha idols would be made out of all the mud and slush that was available in abundance by the lakes and rivers beds where...

Reducing my carbon foot print.  This post is a confession of a introspective middle class urban consumer. It was one of those mad mornings when I was fixing breakfast, packing lunch, catching up on some yoga and  getting ready to work in no particular order.  Gouramma my domestic help arrives about 15 minutes late  from her scheduled time and  I know I am going to get terribly late to my meaningless monday morning management meeting.  My bloodpressure has shot up to insane levels and I am trying to multitask. I have my dough for Rotis  readied while I get on to the job of peeling the vegetables. Gouramma watches me  peeling away the chunks in a hurry. She tells me she could do with taking the skin with her to her home and if she may do so.  I ask her what would she do with it? And that was when she gave me her two cents worth . She said ‘you people’ waste a lot of wealth.  From where she comes, the skin , the most...

At 39,000 feet above sea level dusk traverses across time zones. From an airplane window it feels like you are chasing time. The dusk is longer than at sea level. Clicked on a Panasonic DMC -LZ8 Submitted for Thursday challenge   where the theme this week in SKY. 

1. Golden gate Bridge although technically on  the outskirts of San Francisco, symbolizes the beautiful city whose fringes today are where the silicon valley took birth.  In Itself the Golden gate Bridge has inspired many including Vikram Seth's poetry and the Logo for CISCO.            2.  Temple of Zeus is probably the oldest structure standing from the roman era. The Temple of Zeus along    with the Temple of Athena at the Acropolis symbolize the grandeur of the ancient Greek civilization and its buzzing capital city Athens.               3. Originally meant to be the clock tower for the monastery and the Church built nearby, the leaning tower of Pisa is a structure that intrigues many an architect standing well , not so erect but tall 400 years after it was built.  What did the Big Ben tell the leaning tower of Pisa ? If You have the inclinat...

Its the time to mango - season 4  This year's  mango season passed by so uneventfully.  The deserving  climax to the mango season comes when the market gets flooded with the Neelam variety.  David Davidar dedicated his book the house of blue mangoes’ – Neelam in native Tamil signifying the colour Blue.  While there is nothing blue about the Neelam variety , it is probably named so because it leaves you with the summer blues, nostalgic memories of yet another incredible summer gone by . Neelam seldom gets exported ( that leaves it inexpensive for the locals to enjoy) . And that is because the sweetest of Neelam mangoes have a bug or two living at the center of the mango that the FDA outside of the Indian borders would be mortally paranoid about.  A true conossiuer of mango would hardly get put off by the bug. The bugs choose the best neelam flowers to lay their eggs. With time, the flowers ripen into fruits and...

Independence day Free trade - Indian Flag button gets made in China India celebrates its 68th Independence day today.   It is a national holiday on 15th of August except for essential services.  On 15th august thousands of IT & BPO workers go to work and get paid a double wage in lieu of a holiday on July the 4th just so that the essential services for the rest of the world does not take a back seat.     The Retail sector is on a overdrive today.  We could possibly rebrand independence day and Republic day as India shopping days.    Anyway no one is complaining. Why spoil the party.     Times have changed.  'Being Indian' is not any more about being   ‘Swadeshi’. Miniature Indian flag buttons - Made in China is sold on traffic signals by the same beggar who on other days begs at the traffic lights  holding a miserable looking new  born infant who is probably out on rent....

 They were moments. Moments Of Sheer Awe. Moments Of Gratitude. Moments of Silence. Moments Of  Urgency Moments Of reflection These were everyday happenings. The sun has been rising unfailingly for centuries , for millions of years. From the time the universe was created. And yet there was  sense of urgency to capture that moment and record it. The Sun, the water, the mountains and the sheer wonder and magic of all that they nursed within them. Linking to Thursday challenge  with theme Water (  Swimming, Boating, Fishing, Lake, Ocean, River,..)  and to Write Tribe Pro blogger Week 3

Tradition - outsourced The fast,mechanical and demanding lives that we lead leave few working women in Urban areas the luxury, time and the training to draw a Kolam/ Rangoli every morning. For the benefit of Non-Indian readers : A Kolam is a design or a pattern drawn with finely powered rice flour adorning the entrance of every house. In a well meaning  way the rice flour was meant to feed  the ants, birds and other insects so that they do not invade the house in search of food. In the modern days the ants and insects have been shooed away by powerful pesticides, the birds rarely enter the apartment compelxes.  Yet drawing the kolam / rangoli is a tradition that has not obscured away, atleast not yet. That is because tradition is not something the average south Indian indulges only on occassions. It is a way of life. And so what if it has now been outsourced.  Thanks to people like Shanta, the domestic help who undertakes to do this extra value added se...

UNUSUAL OCCUPATIONS  - The Taxi Driver Hi Leena Leena : Hey Welcome to Mumbai, Where have you reached ? Listen, I have boarded the Taxi and we are on the western Express highway. Tell me which turn should I take to get to this place in BKC. Leena: mmm... Give the phone to the Taxi Driver and I will tell him.  Thanks. And By the way it is not a HIM but a HER. Leena : Oh so you boarded a Priyadarshini cab,  did you  ?    This is a country, where popular perception of a Taxi driver is usually a grumpy middle aged man who generously uses foul language with a dash of rash driving. A Taxi driver is someone who cannot be trusted since he could easily take you for a ride ( pun intended ) if you are not familiar with the city especially so if you are a woman travelling alone in a city. Bollywood movies are rife with instances of the young belle escaping from the clutches of the village villain only to the ensnared by the Taxi dr...

Simple is the theme for the Thursday challenge. Simple village folk going about his chore  - bathing and washing while the River was blushing crimson at the romantic overtures of the Rising sun.   Simple yet strong. Poor yet Rich. Blessed are the meek for the inherit the earth. Linking this to Thursday challenge and to Write Tribe Pro blogger   

My grandmother said It is nothing like what you all have today. You were doomed if you had them and doomed if you did not have them.          When it arrived , it would be three complete days of isolation.  Your food arrived through the window. You washed up all your clothes and there would be heaps and heaps of it.  It had to all dry in secrecy, lest the world know what you have been upto.  And when it did not arrive yet again, you knew it was time to hope for one more time.       Ah ! the travails of menarche and pregnancy. It is nothing like what you all have today. This post is dedicated to Menstrupedia’s Aditi Gupta and Tuhin Paul  – the husband and wife team that started the initiative of spreading awareness about Menstruation among young girls and boys.  Click here to know more.   Linking to 100 words on Satruday - Write tribe  ... M...

Chicken soup for the vegetarian soul ‘Why are all Indians vegetarians?‘  asked my Chinese host. We were at an upmarket Argentinean Steak house in downtown Hongkong   and we had just finished ordering with great difficulty since their vegetarian menu was limited.  To be precise a vegetarian menu that did not include egg, fish and scallop or shrimps was very limited. ‘Why are all Indians vegetarians?'  Asks my Chinese host? 'Why do all Chinese look alike?' I am tempted to ask, but decide to be more polite. 'Not all Indians are vegetarians. But a lot of them, particularly those who seek a living abroad come from a certain sect where families do not eat meat', I offer by way of explanation. 'In fact Indian cuisine contrary to what you think is big on sea food and meat,' I add. 'It must be difficult being a vegetarian all your life', remarks my host with a tinge of sympathy in her voice. ‘I have always been a vegetarian and I have...