The Fourth Plinth

The Fourth Plinth is in the north-west of Trafalgar Square, in central London. Built in 1841, it was originally intended for an equestrian statue but has been vacant for many years.

It is now the location for specially commissioned artworks.

And this summer Anthony Gromley, the sculptor, has created it into a living monument - One & Other. For 24 hours a day, for one hour each, from July 6 2009, the Fourth Plinth will have different people who were chosen randomly from applications, to stand on it. The occupant can use the space and time for whatever he chooses as long as it is legal.

Of course, there has been praise and criticism for this project.

But the question is Would this ever happen in India? Would a plinth be left vacant? Would a common man be allowed to occupy a plinth?

Have You Done your Good Deed for The Day?

The mobile phone was created with a definite purpose. But now, we don't just talk, we listen to music, take pictures, set reminders, use it as a wake-up alarm. And now the iPhone has a app that can make you DoGood.

Each day you get a message that urges you to do a good deed - like thank an old teacher, make someone laugh and so on.

I thought we had a conscience for the very purpose, but apparently these days you need a reminder ...

If it does indeed succeed in what it hopes to ... that is to motivate at least a thousand people to do an act of kindness, even with a little nudge, I guess it is a job well done.

We could even gift an iPhone ( of course, from public funds) to each of the 545 members of Parliament and to the MLAs of different states with DoGood messages.

Visit your constituency today. Do not take that bribe. Provide drinking water to the village. Attend the session. 365 messages. What a world of good.

It would be money well spent!

Who Needs a Makeover?

I am definitely not qualified to talk about fashion ( if you know me , you'll know why!)

But I love watching shows where the participant get a makeover. I admire their spunk to come on the show. And letting the stylists look into their wardrobe and tear it apart. All their favourite clothes get thrown out. Some of them do need a makeover , while some really don't, but they do seem to look more stylish by the end of the show. But then, I am sure most of us would too ..in designer clothes....if they did not cost the earth.

A participant in one of these shows, remarked that dressing fashionably made her feel so good and confident. We know that, don't we?

In my younger days, we did not have much to choose from . No brands, no readymades. We were at the mercy of the tailor . Most times they were terrible. Clothes may have been custom made, but not necessarily to our size! Makeup was not encouraged. And by the time I 'grew up', I had no interest in them anymore!

I read a column the other day by a male writer - where he discusses dress styles and dressing according to age. I never really thought men had a problem. After all it was the woman who had to ensure that she did not dress like a teenager. Not all of us have the figure of Madonna. But then Madonna does not have to clear the table after a meal. That's where the trouble starts. The start of the middle age flab.

Tim Gunn in his realty show TG's Guide to Style, advises viewers to take time while shopping for clothes. Give style a thought, he says, and buy what suits you. Never buy in a hurry. And always try them on.

Some suggest that as we grow older it is not the question of dressing according to age, but to dress according to shape. Ah.... that makes it difficult. Clothes are stitched for the masses and not for particular shapes.

For those who have age on their side, dress well, and be presentable. I may not be qualified to talk about fashion, but age does give me the wisdom to speak from experience. And being smart - that includes dress sense - can give you the edge.

And for those like me... if you cannot dress fashionably, atleast dress comfortably. We don't have to walk the ramp.

(Image used -www.1stfridayslife.com)

The Rear View

Thank God for the Digital Camera!There was a time when a roll of film was expensive, developing and printing the pictures were time consuming . And you could capture just 32 pictures on a roll. Imagine the pain when you came back and developed pictures like this!!

and this

Now, all you need to do is move them to the recycle bin without any remorse. And with memory cards, one can experiment and sure enough you get better with practice.

See the results - this one was obviously used to posing with and for humans.

Giving away a billion....

Most of us have at some time or the other dreamed of what we could do with a little extra money. And what if we came into more than extra money?

I read this article in Newsweek -Why I’m Giving Away $1 Billion by Peter G. Peterson -which is a good read. Peterson, at 81 found himself a billionaire. To quote the article - I began wondering: what do I do with $1 billion? The idea of trying to make the money grow felt empty to me. For my father, who saved or gave away so much of his modest income, the ultimate pejorative was "big spender." So buying a yacht was out of the question. I started looking at the lives of other billionaires. Almost all the ones I most admired were major philanthropists: Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Mike Bloomberg, George Soros, Eli Broad—each with a passion to do good, each getting so much pleasure from giving their money away.

He set up a Peter G. Peterson foundation and placed his 1 billion $ to it. And for those who wondered why he gave his billion away he has this interesting anecdote-
Kurt Vonnegut once told a story about seeing Joseph Heller at a wealthy hedge-fund manager's party at a beach house in the Hamptons. Casting his eye around the luxurious setting, Vonnegut said, "Joe, doesn't it bother you that this guy makes more in a day than you ever made from Catch-22?"
"No, not really," Heller said. "I have something that he doesn't have: I know the meaning of enough."

Peterson concludes that he has far more than enough.

So how much is enough. Not many can hope to be millionaires or anything close to that. We do lead fairly comfortable lives, but we can definitely do with some more. Maybe even if it was not for us, surely we could keep aside something for the children. Let them start life on a firm foundation. The list could be endless and it would not even seem selfish if we wanted to invest our money wisely. Are philanthropic deeds only for the wealthy? One need not wait to have far more than enough. There are times when nothing is ever enough. Yet, giving away a little of what we earn towards a good cause can give a lot of happiness. Try it.

A Holiday in Thailand

Strange as it may seem, Thailand never figured in the list of 'places I want to visit'. But when you plan a holiday at short notice, Thailand we found was one of the few countries that had a visa on arrival for Indians, everything fell in place in 5 days and we were ready to travel. Thailand it seems is in the news for all the wrong reasons. And many feel that it is not an ideal destination to travel with the family. I think our trip proved this wrong.

The Thai also are a friendlier lot than the Singaporeans or the Chinese. They are very hardworking no matter what they do! Especially the old ladies who have these tiny kiosks on the street. I have come back extremely impressed by the people and the country.

A few sights we enjoyed -

The Pattaya Beach. Looks lovely, but the beach here is rather dirty and nothing to rave about. But you could spend some time just lazing around, weather permitting!
The picture below was taken from the speedboat as we approached Ko Larn Island ( Coral Island). Here the sand is white and the water absolutely clear and very safe to wade and swim.


The Noong Noch Village - Tropical Botanical Gardens was started by a lady ( obviously very wealthy) and spreads over 500 acres. The landscaping is beautiful and has special enclosures for orchids, bonsai, cacti among other plants. And in the next picture, you can see they have recreated the Stonehenge.

Bangkok has over 300 temples and the temple with the Reclining Buddha is very famous. Another temple is the Marble Temple which houses the beautiful Buddha seen below:

Bangkok also has many street stalls. This was taken around 4 pm. Many of the stalls had still not been set up. But a variety of food is sold at reasonable prices. The food is considered safe, but being vegetarians, and not speaking the language was a barrier, but we did have tasty food at the food courts where we could read the contents of the dish ( in English) before placing an order.

The little owl in the address bar...

(above image dryicons.com)

I hope you have notice the little owl in the address bar - I have been trying to upload a favicon for over a year. And I stumbled on this post by Just call me A (on her blog Color Me Sunshine) and followed the instructions. Voila!

If you are successful in your attempt, do drop by her blog and thank her.

Oops - this disappeared when I changed the template setting. But you can still try it!

Sibling Rivalry..

There is an age gap of over 4 years between the children. Like all parents, we thought there might be problems and took great pains to prepare the elder one for the arrival of the newborn. The elder one adored the baby from day 1. Even though the little one clung to me and demanded attention, she showed no resentment. And in fact helped me take care of her.

They both went to the same school too. And most teachers knew the two sisters. At one time, the elder one was learning a poem. All Things Bright and Beautiful by Christina Rosetti - I had picked that for her since I remembered it from my school days! The younger one was always around when the recitation was being rehearsed . And to our surprise on day 3 when the elder one faltered on a word, the younger one prompted her! Again no resentment, and she in fact went and proudly informed the nursery school teacher that her sister could recite the poem. The teacher asked for a demo and was very impressed.

It continued all through....so much so, the elder one remarked last year that sibling rivalry was dead. That is till now... at the age of 26, married and living far away in London.

She is complaining....."Hey ma, I think you are giving her a little too much freedom. You never did allow me to...." and so on. I guess it is not really about the sister. Maybe it is directed towards me? :-)

If you give it a thought , the generation gap for us was about 20 years. Very clearly defined. When you meant the older generation, it meant the parents. But slowly the gap seems to be decreasing. Some even put it down to 2 years now. So there is a different generation it seems between the daughters. And with a little more than half a century of existence, I think I have learnt to accept that the kids require what they call 'their space', and unfortunately or maybe fortunately after the elder one left home .

Well, it may be in good humour, but she can crib. When she is a mother herself, it will be fun to watch her handle the kids! I only need to be the indulgent grand-mother!

The Tattoo on Your Forehead

The bindi has been part of my forehead for a very long time. And I would feel lost without it.

The 'dot' has gone through a lot of transformation. Earlier, it was made from turmeric powder mixed with lime to obtain a bright red colour. It was an art to dip the finger in the powder and deftly apply it on the forehead between the brows with a slight rotatory movement to make a perfect circle.

A mini revolution took place when the powder was replaced by liquid in a bottle with a small stick by which one could apply the dot on the forehead. But with the powder and the liquid, there was always the possibility of it being wiped off especially during the rains.

And that probably led to the bindi in a sticker form . And with it a whole new fashion statement.

I went the other day to a small little store in a tiny winding lane which houses the most amazing stuff. I stepped in to one of the shops which in our part of the city is called the 'bangle store'. The bangle store does have a few bangles on sale, but you would find everything else that could find a place on your dressing table. The bindis, hair clips, bands, cosmetics, perfumes, pins, combs, hair brushes and so on. And the range of bindis that you get in these stores is mind boggling. Bindis with beads, with crystals, in different shapes and colours. For some it is an art, where they create a new bindi by taking a different shape and work it into a new design on the forehead! And some even use it as body art.

You could call it a temporary tattoo without the pain. Despite this new fashion trend, the bindi on my forehead has remained in the circular form. It also seems to have shrunk in size, but nevertheless it is there. Perhaps the only make-up that I regularly use!

The 'Whether' Report

The above illustration was made two years ago in MS Paint. For more of my art on display do go to http://70plusandstillkicking.blogspot.com/2009/05/virtual-art-exhibition-your-invitation.html - thanks to June Saville)

The weather has kept us guessing. We have had the worst summer ever. Unrelenting heat day after day. And living in the topmost apartment of the building does not help. As we walk into the closed apartment in the evening after work, heat waves radiate from the house . The weather man has been most unhelpful. Almost 40 days ago, we had a forecast that said - State reeling under heat. Heat wave to continue for two more days - I guess it was to give us some hope. Two days went by but the heat continued. A week later there was another report - High temperatures to continue for a week - We had suffered a fortnight and were in for another hot week. The forecast now is for an early monsoon. We did have some showers, but the temperatures have not dropped significantly yet!

Blame it all on Global Warming. You can't go wrong on that!

Weather in our side of the world was so predictable when I was younger - that the weather report was never wrong. We did not need one either. Two days of high temperatures ( which never went beyond 38 degrees centigrade) and by evening of the third day, dark clouds would loom on the horizon, followed by a crash of thunder and welcome rain that instantly lowered temperatures. We had at least one hail storm, that had us running out to collect the tiny pieces of ice , that looked so pretty , strewn all over the garden. We would rue that the mango crop would be affected by the hailstorm. Mangoes, watermelon, a juicy fruit of the palm which we knew as Munjal ( with a fancy botanical name Borassus flabellifer).... made the summer bearable. And it is surprising too that despite the heat, we had a burst of colours, with the blazing red flowers of the gulmohar tree ( May Flower) and the yellow Laburnum. Summer was not bad at all..... until now.

Summer was followed by the onset of monsoons. The advent of rains invariably coincided with the first day of school! The newly stitched uniform, polished leather shoes, freshly covered books all got soggy. At one time, the house we stayed in had a huge open area and the water would gush in from the road and form a pond. And we set off making paper boats and set them to sail . A heavy downpour meant that schools would be closed for the day.

This year however like the unpredictable summer, the rains play hide and seek. Dark clouds gather only to disappear in a trice taking away the rains. At other times, they appear without warning and we have a copious rainfall that flood the roads making it impossible to venture out.

Would it rain tomorrow? Even the meterologist wouldn't know! And I do not like such surprises.

Family Professions

The younger one has just finished her gruelling five year law course and is a full-fledged lawyer. The seminars, presentations, examinations, moot preparations, internships.... she slogged and we empathised. And finally that last paper and she was done!

There were so many times when she would bemoan her choice of profession, more out of moments of frustration when she was tired and overworked. And now that it is all over, she is enjoying a few days of rest before she embarks on her career.

And so I casually asked her would you ever encourage your child to be a lawyer? I thought I knew her answer and was in for a surprise when she said of course I would! She has realised that her classmates who had parent/s who were lawyers had it a lot easier. And she believes that in twenty years or more, her batch mates, seniors, colleagues at work would be established in their field of practice. And wouldn't it be so much of an advantage to send her child to intern/learn from the best?

I suppose that is why we see professions run in some families. An inside look at working conditions, ready made foundation, easy start to a career. And if parents enjoyed their work, it would be an added impetus.

Personally, neither my brothers or I had any inclination to follow my father's footsteps and get into public administration. And in our case, the children did not seem influenced by our choice of careers either. We have varied professions at home. I even find it difficult to explain when someone asks me 'so what does the actuarial analyst do? Well, I know the elder one works hard with excel sheets and numbers that do not seem to end!

But we understand that we cannot insist on the child taking up a particular course of study. My friend the other day was rather distraught that her daughter opted out of medical school. Her mother, like I had too, hoped to be a doctor at one time. It would have been a dream fulfilled through her child. I was also excited for her when she had enrolled for the course. And could share her disappointment at the turn of events. But there was not much that she could do.

Just this afternoon the daughter watched the telecast of an exhibition match at Wimbledon - Henman, Clijsters vs. Agassi and Graf. She said they played well. We wondered, whether the offspring of Agassi-Graf would also play tennis. They would have the best in-house coaches. Would they be world class players? And what pressure they would have to perform!

Well, our children have not had it easy as I said, they have had to carve their future on their own. We are not much help in their chosen professions. However, the younger one says that she has learnt work ethics from us.

I shall always treasure that comment .

No Rules Apply

http://www.hindu.com/lr/2005/12/04/stories/2005120400110200.htm

We will know who the winner is tomorrow. A month since I cast my vote. I was chastised for my choice of parliamentary candidate by the younger one. She was voting for the first time. They ( the party she voted for ) had a good track record, she said . She had a valid point there. I guess it is time to let the youth decide. They seem wiser ....

However, it is time some new amendments are brought in to apply for those who contest the elections.

Sukumar Ranganathan in The Mint writes that there seem to be rules for the ordinary citizen almost from the time one begins schooling. For instance , minimum attendance is compulsory whether one is a student or an employee, falling short of attendance can debar a student from writing the examination or result in a loss of a job. Educational institutions, work places all require you to stick to expected norms of behaviour. And disciplinary action is taken against an errant child or a misbehaving employee. And expulsion in extreme cases is observed. Educational /Professional qualification is absolute for a job. Retirement age is applicable for most employees. And under normal circumstances one is not allowed to pursue more than one degree at a time, and hold only a single job .

All this applies to most of us. With the exception of the Indian politician.

Consider this ..... no educational qualification is required. Criminal record is overlooked. Our elected members do not even attend the sessions of parliament, while some of them only put in a 'guest appearance'. Some have not raised a single question in the House. They are more concerned about the success of their 'other' professions. Ministers are given portfolios more to please the allies than jobs that suit their qualifications. And retirement age? The older the merrier. It can only happen in Indian Politics.

Though the poll figures have not shown a marked increase in those who exercised their franchise, I do think at least there were many first time voters. And this hopefully is just the beginning. The awareness factor is definitely on the rise and we may not witness the change tomorrow, but it seems the move in the direction has begun. At least I hope so.

The Postcard

I found this postcard dated 2 December 1935 addressed to my grandfather.

It has been years since I sent anything by snail mail. I check the India Post site and find that the postcard is now priced at 50 paise but yet it costs the Postal Department more than Rs 6-00 to deliver it to the destination! There is also another one priced at 25 paise, but with an advertisement on the reverse, which means that there is just one side to write on.

This would have upset my grandfather a great deal.

Postcards and inland letters were very much the way by which we kept in touch . I can remember the postcard being priced at 10 paise . It seems strange to think that it did not really matter that the information communicated was there for everyone to read. No user name, no password!

One person who really used the postcard and got value for money was my maternal grandfather. No inch of space would be left unused on the card. He had learnt the art of writing in legible but what could be described as a 4 point font size!! At times the space above the address was used for a hasty post script despite strict instructions that said 'address only'. The addresse (quite a few times it was us) paid the penalty of 20 ps - twice the cost of the postcard.

My grandpa (Ajja) as we addressed him, would set off each day in the morning by 9. An umbrella in hand serving as protection from sun or rain. He was a popular figure in the little town. Always involved in either trying to get a youth a job in the bank or indulge in some match-making. He would trudge back home at lunch time armed with goodies that he would have picked up. After the meal he would retire to his room with the pet dog - Moti, close the door and sit at his old writing desk. At least 4-5 postcards would be written in the tiny scrawl he had mastered so well. During the course of letter writing, both he and Moti would devour some forbidden sweets and fruits behind closed doors ( he was a diabetic). After a short nap, he would set off to drop the letters in the red post-box, in time for the last clearance.

Almost every third day, this little yellow card would be delivered at our doorstep by the postman. My mother would get an update of all the news in the family and neighbourhood. His letters always started with .. I received your letter dated .....and in case you did not date the letter, the opening line would then be ... I received your undated letter. He was very particular about letter-writing etiquette.

I guess the popularity of emails has sounded the death knell for the snail mail. I wonder if Ajja would have been upset. Maybe he would have adapted to this as well. He could have started a matrimonial site, a job portal, a travel blog ( there were times he set off in the morning only to return after 10 days as he would have been roped in as a guide by some tour operator, and this at the age of 70!)

I can well imagine how popular he would have been on a social network site of our times!

A Place in the Sun - hardly!

It is a blistering 43 C out here. And every time I go out of the cool confines of the inner rooms to the balcony, I squint and hurry back indoors. In the neighbourhood where construction activity on a commercial complex is going on , I spot these two workers atop the building ( which should be some 7 storeys or so), who have been there all morning. And I guess that is where they would be till the end of the day for their paltry daily wages.

A hard life they have, yet these are people who would not give a second thought about wasting resources which are a luxury for them. I have seen them queueing outside waiting near a water tap. And despite all the effort that they take to fill a precious bucket of water, they do not think twice before emptying it . Probably they live for the moment and are hardly bothered about saving or conserving the precious resource for the future.

Can you blame them?

Sleeping like a baby!!

Whoever coined the term 'sleeping like a baby', probably never had a baby, or was definitely not a woman. Maybe there is no real reason for this post. After all my babies are grown up , but I read about the Ferber Method, and wished Dr Ferber and not Dr Spock was the 'bringing up baby doctor' of our times.

The wide awake baby for me, was the younger one. At least with the elder one, I could hope for a couple of hours of rest whenever she fell asleep. But as for the younger one...... I think she is now making up on her lost sleep as a baby! She rarely slept over an hour. Sometimes it was only 20 minutes. I had to rush to complete whatever job I had, leaving me a very tired mother. And I was adept ( I do not recommend this for any mother) at cutting vegetables and cooking while holding a baby! If she was active during the day, one would hope she would tire herself by night. But no! She would wake up sometime in the night and I had to pick her up and put her to sleep and by which time I was wide awake. This continued until the man took matters in his hand and threatened the little baby. My heart bled..... but it worked wonders, and after that at least, I managed some sleep at night.

The Ferber Method is to prepare the baby to sleep . It says at bedtime leave the child in bed and leave the room. Return at progressively increasing intervals to comfort the baby (without picking him up). The first night, return after three minutes, then after five minutes, and thereafter each ten minutes, until the baby is asleep. Each subsequent night, return at intervals longer than the night before. It stops you from handling or feeding the baby to make him fall asleep, but allows you to reassure him of your presence at pre-prescribed intervals.

I wish I had known, but babies do have this uncanny knack of making you feel guilty about being an inadequate mother. It always helps being a little stone hearted.

When the baby is 'controllable' or so you think, you try and return to the life you enjoyed. We realised that we had not seen a movie for almost two years after the first born had arrived. There was this movie everybody was raving about. The paternal grandfather had seen it 4 times and it was agreed that we would all go for the movie and in the event that the little one felt claustrophobic, he would take her out . The movie began. The 'baby' enjoyed the popcorn and the advertisements. We relaxed. But it was short lived. By the time the actual movie started, she was restless. The grandpa by now was totally engrossed in the film for the 5th time. And so the father went out. In no time I was outside too. It was only after the movie was over that we were joined by grand dad.

We watched the movie much later when they showed it on the small screen. We never attempted the exercise with the younger one. And over a period of time have lost interest in watching movies at the theatre!

That Darn Crow

I am slightly hazy about where I heard it first - that the cawing of crows heralds the arrival of visitors.

We lived 6 years in a house that is right behind where we presently reside. Yes, there was a huge tree , right next to our window. I did spot a few birds. But crows? Hardly ever. Life was peaceful enough.

We moved a year ago to the present home. Possibly we have more trees. More birds, parrots, pigeons and now crows !! And the cawing of crows has brought the visitors to our humble abode. And how! We have had a steady stream of guests, fortunately not the unwelcome annoying kind. So I am not complaining. But is there a link between the cawing of the crows and the arrival of the visitor? From statistics ( of the imaginary guest register) I think there is sufficient proof.

And so I have begun to take a great deal of interest in the movement of the crow. Anyone beyond the age of two, would have heard of the story of the clever crow and the

pitcher.

.

http://www.blogger.com/www.geocities.com/petrud98/ptreasure/story08.html

It was all fine to read the story, and for most of us it remained an unimaginable tale with a moral to boot - Where there is a will, there is a way.... Little by little does it...... Necessity is the mother of invention..... And imagine to my surprise when last week, I found a crow swooping down to a tap to put its beak into the spout for the elusive drop of water! Aesop's fable would have to be rewritten ...

Now with the scorching summer sun, its time again for the cuckoo bird and her call for rain. I am reminded of my father and one of his favourite Sanskrit saying

काकः कृष्णः पिकः कृष्णः को भेदः पिककाकयोः /वसन्तकाले संप्रप्ते काकः काकः पिकः पिकः //

A crow is black. So is the cuckoo. What then is the difference between the two? When the two sing to herald the onset of spring, the difference will be known – a crow caws, while a cuckoo sings

Yes there is a difference. When the cuckoo sings it could well be the arrival of rain, but the crow...? For sure when I hear the crow caw next , I shall make a move - either to light the kitchen fire ... or leave home ..... depending on how quick I am on my feet.

Biyo

This is a story about a stuffed toy. A dog. That has been part of my home for 25 years now. We visited a friend one evening along with the elder one who was then about two years old. The friend's 7 year old daughter was playing with this huge yellow stuffed dog. She was asked to share the toy with the elder one and it helped keep her occupied. She called it Biyo ( she could not pronounce Bingo - which was a dog in her aunt's house). When we were leaving later on in the night, the elder one refused to leave the dog behind, and the host's daughter was so very nice ( amazing for a 7 year old) that she allowed her to take it home. And thus began the long association with Biyo.



Biyo was really lifelike and soon was known to all those who visited home as if it was a real live pup. One would think that the toy would have been forgotten as the elder one grew up. Maybe she stopped playing with it after a while but it had to be in her room! The bright yellow colour of the dog soon turned into a dull yellow brown as he (she?) got obviously soiled. I was sure the dog was a source of germs and one fine day put it into the washing machine. Who ever knew that the inside of the yellow dog was stuffed with pieces of red sponge. The water caused the colour of the sponge to seep and even though we had a clean toy, it was all a blotchy yellow red doggy. But the love for the dog (of the now close to teens daughter) did not wane. And the doggy moved with us from house to house ( six to be precise). I have attempted so many times to throw it out but each time there were protests. The dog was left behind when she got married and moved home, but we were sternly told not to throw it out. It now lies in a plastic bag with its head and limbs almost apart in the topmost storage unit.

I realise now, that it probably is a part of the junk that has over years accumulated in the house - the three steel cupboards, the old sofa set, the poster bed, an old radio.... the list could go on. I will attempt to get rid of some of these the next time I shift home. Atleast that is what I have promised myself. But Biyo? I think he will remain with us, maybe out of sight, but nevertheless with us for the rest of our lives.

It will be a while..

Yes, it will be a while before I see the elder one. I guess we had set the month of May to be the time for a family reunion. It has been postponed for a while. There is a deep sense of disappointment. But sometimes, everything does not happen the way it is planned. This is one of them.

Konkani Cuisine

This picture appeared in a magazine and set me off on a trip into the past. To be honest the dish 'Khotto/Khotte' was never my favourite . But it was a big hit with friends of my parents and whenever it was made at home, my dad had to make several trips to deliver it to them. Simply put, the Khotto is idli made in a jack fruit leaf container. It was made for specific festivals. A great deal of preparation went into the making of the Khotto. There were only few houses in our city that had these trees. Special requests had to be made in advance . The leaves had to be plucked carefully. After which they would be washed in water and wiped dry with a soft cloth. Then it would be knit together - 4 leaves - with clean sticks -carefully made from the coconut tree - it was really an art, for it had to be perfect so that the batter would not seep out. Once the containers were ready, the batter was poured into them and steamed. The leaves would then be pulled apart to reveal a perfect cone idli! The jackfruit leaf would impart a characteristic flavour to the khoto and this made it different from the ordinary idli. It could be eaten with just about anything under the sun. A channa/prawn gashi, or with coconut oil poured on it and accompanied with chutney.

The konkanis, it seems, are fond of using leaves in their cooking. Another special treat ( and this was a great favourite of mine) is the Patholi. And the leaf used for this delicious preparation is the turmeric leaf. The leaf would be smeared in the centre with a little amount of rice flour paste, over which a mixture of jaggery and coconut would be placed. The leaf would be folded and steamed. The leaf as in the case of Khotto is discarded, but the aroma of the turmeric leaf added to the taste and it was just divine.

Who ever thought I would miss the food of South Kanara. I must stop now..... sigh..

HR at home? - Food for Thought

The article by Alain de Bouton that appeared in The Hindu today, discusses various aspects of office culture. I particularly liked this remark of his - In the olden days, home used to be the place of kindness and refuge while the workplace was cruel and blunt. Now the equation is often reversed. How politely we tend to behave at work, next to the insults we throw at one another at home, where there is no human resource department to coax us into being more civilised.

It may seem amusing but there is a lot of truth in those words. We are on our best behaviour to those who probably matter the least in our lives and are rather harsh on those who matter most. It can be argued that we do not have to put up a false front for those close to us. And after all if it were not for a few minor squabbles, life could be dull and monotonous. And what about the joys of baseless arguments?!!

But do give it a thought - let it not come to a stage where we need an external source to counsel us in our personal lives.