Tag: 2013 AtoZ

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Panchgani Plateau

Panchgani is among the few summer get-aways from Pune that is easily reached by road. Nestled in the Sahyadri hills this used to be a quaint town, a cool summer resort that was famous for its strawberries and boarding schools. Over the years, the massive tourist influx, random ‘so-called’ development has eroded its natural treasures. In a recent visit I saw several water tankers plying the narrow streets which probably suggested water shortage even in the month of March!

Panchgani is home to a vast flat area of lateritic rock situated at a height that is called the Table Land. Its easily accessed and the view across the countryside is splendid. Watching the sun rise from here is marvelous, well worth the slight climb up. Come the rains, the area probably is full of ephemeral blooms akin to the Kas Plateau.Walk around the plateau or simply do your Pranayam. A lovely uplifting experience!

Here are some images that may tempt you to visit the place.

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Ochna and other beauties…


Ooooo how beautiful!

Ooooo how strange!!
Two flowers that I have seen commonly evoke such
reactions- the Glory Lily and Ochna. I wont go into the botanical details of
these, suffice to say that in both these their sepals or petals arch backwards
as the flower matures and totally change their colour and appearance. The glory
lily is particularly stunning. Here are some photographs. 
Glory lilly, coorg, kodava, glory lily
Glory lily
Ochna obtusata
The lovely Ochna blooms in this manner for about a day. The following days are a marvel to watch…

Here is a glimpse of the changing Ochna over a period of about one month.

You can read more about the Glory Lily here and the Ochna
here.

 

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Nail Paint

Nope, the title is not a typing error and yes I am referring to the little bottles of colour that we apply on our nails. Nail Polish. As I grew up, nail polish was something that was supposed to make our hands look more beautiful, dainty and delicate. It goes without saying that the ‘accepted’ colours were shades of pink, bronze, red, maroon or coffee brown. To me, well manicured and well groomed hands with a delicate polish were and still are an epitome of grace and beauty. Seeing some of the pretty young things around me these days really disheartens me…. Go ahead brand me as being of the old school…
But hear out my reasoning and then decide.

They say, nails reflect a person’s general health. Naturally pink glowing nails are what is expected. Anaemic people often have pale nails. Nails of those suffering from a particular type of heart condition turn blue. In extreme cases, nails turn yellow when a person suffers from jaundice. Folklore may associate green or black nails with paranormal activity. Black nails certainly suggest some trauma to the nail bed. And if you dont believe me, read these articles here, here and here.


Yet I find that cosmetic counters carry nail polish in these very colours that we baby boomers may consider as indicating ill health. You have all shades of yellow, blue, green, silver and golden even black.I still fail to find beauty in nails deliberately coloured thus.

beautiful nails, nail polish, colours, nail varnish

Do you still blame me if call this particular cosmetic product as nail paint?
Oh well, beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder…
Who am I to go against the tide…

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Main Street

MG Road in Pune is not what it used to be. In its halycon days it was the place for high end shopping, the road for the classes (not masses) to shop in. The advent of the mall culture has eroded its illustrious status and slowly but surely it has lost its position as the premier shopping destination in the city.

Popularly called “Main Street” it retains its olde world charm, as almost all establishments take the mandatory Puneri afternoon siesta… Malls or not, these shops are shut every afternoon and the weekly off continues to be Sunday instead of Monday like most other shops in the city. Some of the shops will take you back in time to the British era with their quaint wooden panelling, wooden steps and decor of an age gone by.

Marzorin is one such cafe (if we can call it so) housed in a building that can easily be from the last century. Its biggest claim to fame are its sandwiches.While I dont much relish their mayonnaise, there are those who will sing its praises. What I love best are their macaroons- the almond ones. Buying those had become an annual ritual for us when we came from our distant bases. Their taste is unchanged over the years but size certainly has reduced.

Marzorin. Pune
Enjoy the view on the bustling street
Pune, MG Road, main street
Almond macaroons

Main Street, Pune, old building
 Marzorin is a great place to just sit down and soak in the atmosphere of this road. The Pasteur bakery next door also offers reasonably priced cakes but if you are looking for exclusive gourment stuff, you better look elsewhere. Budhani located just across the street shows is known far and wide for its Batata chivda (a savoury snack made from fried potato strips). These are just a few places on a foodie trail on the Main Street- one that demands you to first tear up your calorie chart!
Cheers!

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Loaf cake

To me a cake is not something that is covered in tons of cream but something that can be enjoyed solely for whatever magic the baker can create with the maida (flour). A cake loaf fits these requirements and there are umpteen recipes that are available. Here is my favourite. A chocolate loaf which you can read about in detail here. 

A loaf is ideal for picnics, to take on a journey or simply tuck into between mealtimes. No guilt feelings particularly if I don’t stand on the weighing scale thereafter.

Here is the recipe that I have reproduced from the above blog with consent.
Ingredients:
2 ¼  cups plain flour
2⁄3 cup Cocoa
½  tsp baking soda
½  tsp baking powder
½ tsp instant coffee
2 cups caster sugar
1 cup soft butter
3 Eggs
1 1/3 cups water – chilled
1 tsp Vanilla essence

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180 degree Celsius. In a bowl, add the butter and
the sugar, and cream the two together for about 5 minutes until it is
light.
2. To the creamed mixture add the eggs one by one and beat for about 2 minutes. Then add the vanilla essence.
 3. Sift into this, the flour, cocoa, coffee, baking powder and baking soda. Combine it gently till you get a smooth batter.
4. Add the chilled water to the batter and mix again. Fold the batter slowly, just till all of the water is incorporated.
5. To a lined loaf (or cake tin), Pour the chocolate cake batter. Bake
for  about 20 minutes or until the cake has risen and a cake tester
comes out clean.
Tuck in!

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King of fruits

Can there be any one fruit that can be crowned ‘King’ among its brethren? For us here in Maharashtra, there is not much of a contest really! And the title goes to…

Mango…. Alphonso mangoes to be precise. Though botanically all types of mangoes (and there are several – each variety is of a different size/taste and ripens at different times) go by the same name Mangifera indica

The Mango is a summer fruit that first puts in an appearance sometime in late February in its raw form. The green paisley shaped fruit is devoured raw, added to foods, chutneys to lend a unique sour taste or made into a refreshing drink called Panha. The ripe fruit (and I refer to the Alphonso variety) are usually available by end April and subject to the flowering and weather conditions earlier in a year, the produce is available all through May.

Like all fruits it can be consumed raw but it can be added to many dishes to lend its own unique flavour. Icecream, Milk shakes, Kulfi, Shrikhand, Sooji halwa (semolina), even rice and stuffed rotis (flat indian bread made with wheat flour) are just a few examples and the only bar will be the Chef’s creativity!

Make sure you eat mangoes this summer, not just any mango, the Alphonso!
And ignore calorie counting if you want to truly enjoy it.

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Justicia wynaadensis

Justicia wynaadensis.. does that sound like Greek or Latin to you? Well, you are partially right because it is the botanical name (these are usually latinised versions) of a plant called madd toppu in the Coorg region of India’s Karnataka state.

In Coorg, leaves of this plant are said to hold maximal medicinal properties on the eighteenth day of the Kakkada month of the Kodava calender (may be in July or August). This is the festival called Kakkada Padinett. On this day, madd toppu leaves are said to emit a strange sweet unique fragrance which is not evident a day prior or after that. They are plucked and made into cakes or sweet porridge. You can read more about it here.

Justicia, medicinal leaves, Coorg festival
Madd toppu

Coorg or Kodava cuisine has some wonderful and distinctive preparations. Do try to sample them when you visit Coorg.
Enjoy!

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Instantaneous

Say what you will, it has to be admitted that modern life is lived instantaneously.
We have instant foods that are ready to eat in one minute only. Why bother with elaborate preparations and slaving over the gas in the heat when all one needs to do is cut open a pack?? So we have instant coffee, soups, ready to eat meals, an endless array of breakfast cereals, instant energy bars… 
Wow!
Never mind that they may be laden with sugar or salt or preservatives. Convenience wins!

Messaging is yet another form of communication that occurs instantaneously and which has saved us from the agonising wait for the postman. So now our mail and messages follow us everywhere. So one receives meaningless ‘forwards,’ info about revised deadlines/an absent team member, social network updates in the middle of the night just as we are falling asleep after a long long day at work or when travelling to office horribly still- when on a date or on a holiday. But we accept it all as an unavoidable ‘add on’ to the fat salary that we covet every month.

The list can go on but we need to slow down and enjoy the journey of our life. Try it, once. You owe it to yourself.

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Honey Honey Honey

Honey is well known to offer several health benefits, I need not really go into them all here. For a long time I assumed that all honey was the same. Yet some years ago I found a vendor selling honey of different types… I mean one that was based on different flowers. So there was orange blossom, jambhul, etc.

From experience I know that honey that is derived from Jambhul flowers is especially helpful for dry chronic cough. The irritating cough that often keeps kids awake at nights. I can vouch that this works like magic for adults suffering from dry cough as well. I use Madhusagar Honey

While simply eating a spoon of honey works it is best had as described below. I learnt it from my mother and she from hers.

So here goes…
You will need equal quantities of cardamom and cloves. Hold each with a pair of tongs and let it ‘burn’ on the gas flame. Pound the blackened cardamom and cloves in a mortar and pestle, add a generous quantity of Jambhul Honey and you’re ready to go.

Its a sweet spicy tasty concoction that kids and adults will devour without any complaints!
Try it!
 
Disclaimer: I have no vested interests in mentioning the above brand of Honey. Its one that I have used and trusted over the years. Any other one will give same benefits!!

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Green Living


Climate change, global warming, carbon emissions, melting
ice caps are terms that suggest a looming apocalypse. Some time back, they just
sounded like gloomy predictions of some scholarly people but now such changes have
affected almost all of us. We all want to do something but many of us really do
not know what is to be practically done so we can make a difference. The
general advice is to lead an eco-friendly lifestyle with a low carbon foot
print. So how does one go about it?

Using public transport or carpooling, using bicycles, opting
for renewable energy sources (wind/solar), reducing electricity consumption,
recycling waste (dry and wet) are some options that most of us have taken up. This article recommends reducing our online activities to save electricity.
What about our food? It’s often packed in reams of
plastic which obviously does nothing to help our environment. It is transported
from the farms to markets afar in distant towns or even abroad. So that carries
a carbon footprint as well right?
Some experts suggest choosing local produce to reduce
this effect. It not only encourages local farmers but local foods are said to
afford health benefits for that particular climate. Buying fruits grown from
distant Australia in Mumbai probably doesn’t sound a good idea in this respect.
Several farmers do grow the ‘exotic’ varieties which can give us a taste of
those fruits and vegetables without a major ‘carbon footprint.’ I found this website that lists fruits and vegetables that are most and least likely to have
pesticide residues.

I guess it takes huge sacrifices and major changes to
lead a lifestyle with a minimal carbon footprint. However within the
constraints, it is possible to reduce it significantly. Any more ideas are
welcome!
Take care!
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