Why are the thousands of granaries in Kerala lying empty? An explosive crisis has now developed in Kuttanad, one of the two major rice growing areas of Kerala (the other is Palakkad). I explained some of the reasons for this in my post, Un-ploughed lies my land.
Two more pictures of a Kerala Heritage Home.
Christians all over the world celebrate Easter with great festivities. When is Easter? I think it is the only Christian festival that is based on the stars. It falls on the Sunday following the first full moon after the vernal equinox. This can happen on any date from March 22 to April 25
Aren’t these Easter eggs beautiful? I think that historically these delicacies were not part of Malabar (Kerala) Christian culture. We had never heard of Easter eggs during my childhood. But slowly they made the scene and today Easter celebrations are not complete without them. Well, if Valentine’s Day can be marketed in India, why not Easter eggs.
Easter signifies the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. It was the fulfillment of His mission to earth. “I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die.”
What is the significance of Easter eggs? It seems that in many ancient communities egg was a symbol of new life and immortality. So it became an icon of the eternal life offered through resurrection.
I don’t think the Easter bunny has any religious significance.
Happy Easter.
Also see: Memories: Passion Week, half a century back
Public Domain images from Wikimedia Commons
Try to get up as late as possible to face the Good Friday of stringent fasting. Everyone who has received First Holy Communion has to observe it, till the age of 60. Just one meal, lunch, on the day. No meat or fish for the whole of Lent.
One saving factor was the INRI Appam from the previous night. Now, this Appam is made from a special recipe, only on Maundy Thursday, for the solemn dinner. The head of the house would cut the Appam after prayers and hand over a piece to each member of the family, symbolic of the Last Supper.
The INRI Appam is light brown bread made from roasted rice flour and urad dal and served with a sweet sauce made from coconut milk and jagerry, thick and brown. In Western Christianity Holy Cross Buns are used in its place.
Several of these Appams would be made. Those to be served on the table, distributed to the nearby Christian families, and given to the church would have crosses on them. These were made with strips from the coconut leaves blessed and distributed on Palm Sunday. (Incidentally, every adult male member of the Parayil Family was given a full tender coconut frond, almost similar to the one for the priest, while the others had to be satisfied with one or two individual leaves.)
On Good Friday morning one was permitted to have ‘limited’ quantities of Appam and sauce. The limit was flexible, but nowhere near full breakfast. Strangely, one invariably felt hungrier on Good Friday than on other mornings. The leftover Appams were cut into thin square pieces, crisp fried and stored. That was a favorite and the containers emptied fast.
No mass on Good Fridays. Long sessions of Bible reading, till lunch. There used to be one curry everyone looked forward to. The main ingredient was tender cashew kernels. The servants were experts at removing the kernels unbroken from the soft green nuts. The recipe also included drumsticks and other vegetables. Delicious!
Then came the most tedious part of the day – the long church service in the afternoon. The ritual included swallowing ‘bitter juice’, a concoction made from some leaves. Nothing could be more bitter. That is symbolic of what the soldiers gave Jesus to quench His thirst. But then nothing lasts forever. Back home, an early dinner of ‘limited’ quantity of Appam and sauce, and off to bed.
Holy Saturday was normally quiet, uneventful, except for us, in 1959. Appan. died that evening. The priests wore colorful vestments instead of the traditional black for the funeral, because it was held on Easter Sunday.
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The plant on the left seems to be of ball nut tree.
I don’t know how many people would be interested in reading this potentially controversial post. Initially I thought of ignoring the only comment on my post Vedas, Syrian Christians but finally decided to respond, for the matter of record.
The visitor begins his lengthy comment thus: “For a start, Wikipedia is not a serious reference. We academics discourage it as a source as the information about any topic is not refereed for authenticity.”
This reminded me of a story about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Once, on reaching
Wikipedia itself mentions its status as reference source. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Researching_with_Wikipedia. But the encyclopedia can be used effectively sometimes to quickly locate and verify genuine sources. Anyway, my Blog posts are not dissertations for Masters but I do take care not to include wrong information.
Was the man who made the comment piqued by my statement that the Vedas existed for long in oral tradition before being reduced to writing? He says that the same was the case with the Bible. Wonder if he has come across this piece: “In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God”. That is a Christian reading. What is important is the ‘word’ – written or spoken.
It is good to know that the visitor, his father and several others known to him or he read about, faced no problems in learning English. That information is directly linked to the subject. But were there restrictions on Pundits learning English elsewhere?
Appan.’s first cousin PV Mathew Tharakan was scholarly in Sanskrit and Malayalam, good at English, and a patron of Carnatic music. (Obviously, the writ of the Church didn’t run in certain quarters.) He spent the last 15 years of his life in creating a new translation of Shakuntalam but being a perfectionist, couldn’t cover much ground.
A tail piece. Today’s Deccan Chronicle carries a report that according to a senior scientist, Gajiwala Kalpesh, Sanskrit can be an effective tool for evaluating speech disorders. This is because of the orderly and scientific arrangement of alphabets in the language.
[Blog activity had to be suspended temporarily due to a bad cold. Chennai weather – hot and cold, rain and sunshine – is to be blamed I suppose. A doctor joke – if you don’t treat a cold it will take 7 days to go away. But if you consult a doctor and get proper treatment it will disappear in just 1 week!]
The euphoria of the two great cricket victories – under 19 World Cup and CB Series in Australia – vanished with the news that India failed to qualify for Olympic hockey. Well, it has been on the cards for some time, because of the way the game was being managed. Nevertheless, failing to make the grade has come as a shock.
Why doesn’t KPS Gill resign as President of the Indian Hockey Federation? Is he taking a clue from Musharraf from across the border? The latter once said ‘Pakistan needs me’. Gill seems convinced that India hockey requires his services to rebuild and regain the lost glory.
Well, so much for ‘officers and gentlemen’.
After India lost the Olympic Hockey Gold in 1960 I wrote an article about a plan for restructuring Indian hockey. Sport & Pastime (a great magazine which just stopped publishing) carried it prominently. Wonder if The Hindu archives would have a copy so that I can see what I wrote nearly 50 years back and how relevant it is today.
Clouds are over the tennis courts too. But don’t blame the officials. The Bangalore open went off successfully. I don’t think anyone missed Sania Mirza. She lost without even playing. Whoever advised her pull out of the tournament did a disservice to her and the country.
The Davis Cup mess is unpardonable. There is no point sulking because Paes has been doing a great job for India. What right has a player who once opted out of the Indian team to revolt against the captain. He has set a bad example to the junior players.
Indian approach to sports seems to be highly subjective. The reaction of a former Indian Davis Cup player and non playing captain to Prakash Amritraj being ticked off by the captain for late night outing was something like this – the boy is the son of the great Vijay.
Of course India is proud of Vijay who is one of the greatest tennis players the country has produced. But that doesn’t mean his son should not conform to team discipline.
Ends.
(1924 map of Bangalore)Cities don’t grow old. They change, sometimes subtly, often drastically. When such transformation affects the character of a place, something is lost forever. For better or for worse.
Has that happened to Bangalore? In my opinion, not yet. My last few trips to this place that I love, were rush in, rush out affairs. But this time (Feb. 21-25) I went with just one agenda – look for the old Bangalore in the metropolis that is bursting at the seams today.
Most of my time was lost in traffic snarls and half my plans went awry. Occasionally the landmarks that I was looking for were missed. They were either obliterated, or masked by new structures around.
I would have passed by the old St. Joseph’s College Hostel building without noticing it if the driver hadn’t pointed out from flyover connecting KR Road to Lal Baugh Road. I couldn’t locate my friend Sushil’s house near that. The Cash Pharmacy has been demolished and a new construction is on at that site. Does anyone remember the kind hearted Dr. Madhavan?
Opera House is still there, though I heard that it is marked for demolition. Many parts of the city have trees and gardens and flowers even now. The Cubbon Park has lost some area but the bulk of it remains. Unfortunately it is not well maintained. Wonder if the golf greens are still there; forgot to check. Didn’t get time to visit the Lal Baugh Gardens.
During my college days there was a man at the South Parade (MG Road) – Brigade Road corner selling old books and comics. Some years back I found a younger man, I think the son, carrying on the business. Wonder if it is there now. Wanted to visit Rakhra’s, the sports goods people on Commercial Street but couldn’t make it. Mr. Rakhra used to get hockey goalkeeper kit specially made for me according to my design.
One place which has maintained the ambiance is Taj West End. This hotel set in about 20 acres of gardens is one of the finest I have come across. My association with it started in 1951. My maternal uncle Jose Kallivayalil used to stay there on his frequent visits to Bangalore. I never missed an opportunity to stuff myself at the West End on his account. Those days Spencers were running the hotel. I think Taj took over in the 1980s.
Later on, during my career, I have been a guest there several times. This time too I went there. Spent a couple of hours in the bandstand style Blue Bar savoring the atmosphere and the lovely weather. Thank you Taj, for maintaining the character of the West End.
I plan to go back to Bangalore for another visit next month, or in May.
(Old photo of Lady Curzon Hospital)
Ends.
Images from Wikimedia Commons; Public Domain. Click on map for enlarged view.
Also see:
Bangalore memories
Hockey days in Bangalore
Bangalore Memories: Cricket, hockey and the tragedy of Len Dial
Bangalore: Of a club, a park and a Chief Secretary couple
I had started writing this about eight months back, but somehow missed completing it and publishing. What prompted me to take up the subject was a report in the New Indian Express of June 22, 2007, which contained a statement that Vedic Pundits were not permitted to learn English
This table tennis table at Olavipe was made in early 1950. It could be possibly one of the earliest at a private residence in Kerala and one of the oldest still in use. Now the fourth generation is beginning to play on it.
Mathew had an attacking game and could hit effectively on both flanks. That pushed me into a defensive mode. Joe played an all-round game. We were inspired by the Indian tour of Victor Barna (five times World Champion) and Richard Bergmann (four times World Champion). 
