Petals!

2012 summer vacation will remain memorable for many reasons. One reason is that this was our first trip to a beautiful place called Gavi. It is part of the Periyar Tiger reserve and it is located near Thekkady. Since the entry passes to Gavi had to be obtained from the Forest Check Post and advance booking is required, we didn't want to get into the long winding booking process and took an easy way out. We had the resort's travel desk to get this done for us.  Thus, we started at 4 am, a time when the sounds of the forest seem to awaken in a natural way. It was pitch dark while we were taken in a sturdy jeep with a friendly driver who knew the place inside out. The sounds of the forest fascinated me and yes, it frightened me a bit. Like a child, I kept looking out for an elephant to jump out at us from nowhere. :))  Gavi Superstition: First Vehicle at Checkpost We had to stop at this checkpost for a while. We were told by our delighted driver that there is a superstitio...

I have fond memories of tomato rice with its strong, fiery flavors. Whenever we would embark on a train journey, my mother would lovingly prepare either curd rice or tomato rice and it would be well-packed in fresh banana leaves that were cleaned carefully. Everywhere I go, I check out tomato rice and it never tastes as good as my mom’s. Recently, for some bizarre reason, I began to crave for tomato rice but with mild flavours that didn’t have the strong South Indian flavours. Perhaps it has more to do with keeping flavours light during the peak of summer. Exactly then I found a tomato recipe in one of Anjum Anand’s cook books. Unfortunately, as the cookbook wasn’t mine and was lying around some place, I don’t recall its title. But I quickly scribbled the tomato rice recipe and finally tried it out. Anjum Anand’s Tomato Rice Ingredients 3 tbsp veg oil ½ tsp mustard seeds 2 cardamom sticks 4 cloves, 1 black cardamom I small onion peeled and sliced 2 la...

For Keralites across the world who follow the Malayalam calendar, today marks the beginning of the month of Karkidakam. This month, which, decades ago, was known and slightly feared for its torrential rains and negative impact on the health, wealth and well being of Kerala's rural community.  [READ: Kalayanam, Temple Visits and Sarpakaavus] Why chant Ramayana during Karkidakam To ward off the negative energy unleashed by Nature and its possible  repercussions  on one's family's overall well being, the wise elders introduced the timeless tradition of every family reading the Ramayana as an oral, spiritual tradition. Thus, it goes without saying that for Keralites who embrace these traditions, the act of reading the Ramayana is as much a spiritual cleansing as it is a kind of tradition they can pass on to bond with their loved family members, particularly children. In the Ramayana, there is no 'preaching of principles' but you are taken through the Avatar...

Friendships and its complexities are given a test and trial description in Cocktail starring Deepika Padukone, Saif Ali Khan and the lovely Turkish girl, Diana. Place them all under one roof and you know the chemistry is totally sizzling even though the script is old wine in new bottle. Who's the Good or Bad Girl? The portrayal of Deepika Padukone’s character Veronica is a good one as there are many young women like her. Deepika seems to do it naturally and almost effortlessly. She portrays well the pent up frustrations of a young, neglected girl who decides that sex and booze is the way forward to get rid of her lonely, vulnerable self. She destroys herself little by little and doesn’t realize how badly she’s wasted her beautiful life on the wrong things. However, though she goes around walking like a million bucks, there are times when she sounds foul and seems to display psychotic behaviour that is inconsistent with the ‘I am good girl within’ character she is tryin...

Today is Guru Purnima, a festival and a day of tremendous spiritual importance to Hindus and Buddhists across the world.  We, Indians, have always revered the relationship of knowledge sharing between Guru (teacher) and the Disciple (student).  This occasion of Gurupurnima is celebrated on the day of the Full Moon (Poornima). It is also known as Vyas Poornima. The significance of Guru Poornima is that spiritual seeker, disciples and students offer worship and show their gratitude and respect to their Guru (spiritual teacher) on this day.  Buddhists across the world also celebrate  Guru Purnima to honor and express their commitment and faith in following the teachings of  Lord Buddha. It is also believed that Lord Buddha delivered h is first sermon on this auspicious day at Sarnath, in Uttar Pradesh.                                      [ Image: ...

"The reason it hurts so much to separate is because our souls are connected.”  ―  Nicholas Sparks As we move into a technology-dominated world, I believe that the chances of most relationships hurting us and sometimes getting more complex and messy signals the natural order of things in the Universe - the choices we make as we battle conflict with others and our own expectations and desires. As the spiritual masters often tell us, we are all manifestations of the Supreme Divine Energy and for the same reason, we are all connected to one another at some energy level or the other. Then why do things go wrong? Why do relationships turn more complex and in the process, hurt us? While meeting up with some close friends over the weekend, I discussed this at length. Interesting views came across and I thought it would be great to share it here in a blog post. These views are not my own but that of friends with whom I had this discussion. Getting hurt in relationships? 1. ...