First death in Cochin
This person died some three months ago. Sudden. One of my relatives mentioned about it, like "sad about death of XXXX. Well, I must not mention name. The person was young, so I assumed it was a road accident. Sent a text message to another guy, and came a reply. Heart attack.
Later received a detailed email, which also, said, cost 17K. 17 K is the cost of burial, including may be pashnikanji, sort of rice and lentle served to the visiting mourners after the burial.
Second death.
Another person died, and was buried, this time, old age. There is church fee for the mass, the grave, the silver cross, chaps who come with the cross, everything is detailed in the receipt from church. The coffin seller would sell a suit, gloves, shoes and so on. The pack will cost 5500. ( the currency is Indian rupees).
The third
This time the coffin alone cost 30,000 Rupees. Made of rose wood.
Some old case. I remember , two years ago, in a village, coffin cost some 2000 bucks or less.
Why do I write this. I happened to hear that, it could be less than 5000 or more than 25,000 for a coffin.That is why. Those in the middle class go for one that costs less than 5000 and the affluent would go for one one that costs 30,000 Rupees.
The family, and relations plus mourners who come from far away, might not have had a meal for a long time, they would be hungry, so some some boiled rice, spoon full of lentle sauce, a papad would keep their fire down. This food is served after the burial, the tradition is kept.
There are prayers, prayers, hymns are recited, that never ends. Constant rosary, the hail mary thing.
7th day mass after death, is to remember the dead, now, full vegetarian meal is served.
How much is does it cost. as on Sept 2012 it can cost some Rs 130 (or USD 2.5). Meal is served Kerala style, on banana leaf, ends with a liquid dessert called payasam, this payasam, is mixed with papad, and plantain, the small variety of banana.
After the 7th day mass, all the relatives who come from far away, like Vietnam, Singapore, Dubai, -- all fly away. Remember, in Kerala, all educated youngsters, or working class citizens, find jobs, outside, India, and they are to get to go to their workstations, battle stations.
30th day of death ( well, i am talking about Christians, do not know how Hindus and Muslims in Kerala go through this drill)
Those who are left in Kerala will organise another mass in the Church, visit to the grave, and a meal to the visiting friends and relations. This time there will be a meal, but non veg is the custom.
Completion of one year.
Those relations, including children, who could not make it to the funeral, now would gather in the home base, do a mass, decorate the grave and another gathering of lunch.
End story.
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Travel by boat, cheap and see back waters
If you are Cochin and pay pea nuts to see waterscape, use the Ernakulam Varapuzha ferry serv ice, for a trip that lasts 100 minutes, pay just Rs. 8 (46 rupees makes a us dollar today)
for more details, contact lonathoppil@gmail.com
This is free service, there no money in it for me
for more details, contact lonathoppil@gmail.com
This is free service, there no money in it for me
Friday, March 20, 2009
Roads in Cochin - rain water drains
Roads in Cochin are resurfaced in March, that is before the rains called monsoons. The official word is rebuilt. They LOOK, nice, and smooth. If, it is a matter of build, then how long would they last? Would pot holes reappear? Will some body dig the roads to lay cables, pipes and so on?
Most roads have rain water drains, or open sewers on the side, or sides, and sometimes some have none. None or some, there is huge budget to clean them. Clean them because, people throw all manner of rubbish into them. Some dispose of garbage into the drains, and burn them. This is dry season, not much dirty water in drains now (March 2009).
In some places , on Deshabhimani Road, while cleaing roads for so called "rebuilding" much and sand on the road, plus garbage were dumped in the drains, this drains will not drain rain water, - so the roads will be flooded soon!
Most roads have rain water drains, or open sewers on the side, or sides, and sometimes some have none. None or some, there is huge budget to clean them. Clean them because, people throw all manner of rubbish into them. Some dispose of garbage into the drains, and burn them. This is dry season, not much dirty water in drains now (March 2009).
In some places , on Deshabhimani Road, while cleaing roads for so called "rebuilding" much and sand on the road, plus garbage were dumped in the drains, this drains will not drain rain water, - so the roads will be flooded soon!
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Is Malayalam a dying language
No never.
Just the same, one must realise, influence of other languages make malayalam much different from what it used to be.
Go the market place, one would never hear the word roti, for bread. Now malayalees use the word bread as if it is a malayalam word. Roti had it origins or rather came via Hindi, but is not fashionable in Malayalam.
Then there is the word keema , Malayalam had no single word for minced meat, and some how the Hindi word has been adopted. Malayalees never used to eat spinach, well the Hindi word palak is used for it, it is resident North Indians who brought spinach into Kerala markets and the word is part of Malayalam language. Spinach or palak is available in the city shops now. It is Tamil Nadu farmer who feeds kerala people and yet another north indian leafy vegetable has arrived in the kerala market. It is fenugreek leaves, no, not just leaves the whole plant has that has arrived here. The world uluvaa, used in Malayalam and Tamil is still used here, but in Ernakulam Market, Methi is understood. Popularised by North Indian customers.
Rice flour was just ari podi, there is yet another word for flour, it is mavu. Dosha mavu for example. Wheat flour was known as gothambu mavu and looks like now the hindi word atta is acceptable. Wheat flour milled and sold by Oman Flour Mills in Muscat Oman is sold as ATTA, so the word has moved to Arab countries as well. Fine wheat flour, bleached and used for biscuites, cakes and parathas, was once known as American mavu, initially this was imported from America. Now no one would know it means, maida has become acceptable name for so called refined flour.
Just the same, one must realise, influence of other languages make malayalam much different from what it used to be.
Go the market place, one would never hear the word roti, for bread. Now malayalees use the word bread as if it is a malayalam word. Roti had it origins or rather came via Hindi, but is not fashionable in Malayalam.
Then there is the word keema , Malayalam had no single word for minced meat, and some how the Hindi word has been adopted. Malayalees never used to eat spinach, well the Hindi word palak is used for it, it is resident North Indians who brought spinach into Kerala markets and the word is part of Malayalam language. Spinach or palak is available in the city shops now. It is Tamil Nadu farmer who feeds kerala people and yet another north indian leafy vegetable has arrived in the kerala market. It is fenugreek leaves, no, not just leaves the whole plant has that has arrived here. The world uluvaa, used in Malayalam and Tamil is still used here, but in Ernakulam Market, Methi is understood. Popularised by North Indian customers.
Rice flour was just ari podi, there is yet another word for flour, it is mavu. Dosha mavu for example. Wheat flour was known as gothambu mavu and looks like now the hindi word atta is acceptable. Wheat flour milled and sold by Oman Flour Mills in Muscat Oman is sold as ATTA, so the word has moved to Arab countries as well. Fine wheat flour, bleached and used for biscuites, cakes and parathas, was once known as American mavu, initially this was imported from America. Now no one would know it means, maida has become acceptable name for so called refined flour.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
പരാത്തയും ചിക്കന് kariyum
വഴിയില് കൂടി വൈകുന്നേരം നടന്നാല് കാണുന്നത് എന്താണ്?
എവിടെയും പറാത്ത അടിക്കുന്ന കാഴ്ച. ആരും ചോറ് തിന്നുന്നില്ലേ രാത്രിയില്?
Parathas are tasty and crunchy, but are they not hard on the digestive system, might even tear one's colons.
Add chicken to paratha, we are abusing our system
Why not use residual atta (wheat flour after seperating semolina and white flour) which is high in fibre?
എവിടെയും പറാത്ത അടിക്കുന്ന കാഴ്ച. ആരും ചോറ് തിന്നുന്നില്ലേ രാത്രിയില്?
Parathas are tasty and crunchy, but are they not hard on the digestive system, might even tear one's colons.
Add chicken to paratha, we are abusing our system
Why not use residual atta (wheat flour after seperating semolina and white flour) which is high in fibre?
Monday, December 15, 2008
Smoke gets into your eyes / Burnt offering
The neighbourhood is just like any Kerala suburb, roads that are not straight, roads that are not roads, just mud tracks, houses of different age, quality and size.
Yesterday, smoke got into my eyes, it came through my son's bedroom balcony. who his burning things this time? There are two possibilities, on the norhern side of my compound there are two neighbours, so it could be one of them. No, out of the two, only one regularly burns his garbage in the back yard.
Now people burn plastics, paper and anything with paper and board in their own compound. Chaps in flats may have contractors doing the job for them through their residence associations.
In burning plastic with garbage, the muncipal corporation is in the forefront, if one one think of a walk in the early hours of moring, one would think, he is in smoke street, the government appointed sweepers are found burning, leaves and plastic , on the street, some times under live trees, killing the trees.
organised, and each one is left to his own, when it is left to dispose off thrash (garbage)
Yesterday, smoke got into my eyes, it came through my son's bedroom balcony. who his burning things this time? There are two possibilities, on the norhern side of my compound there are two neighbours, so it could be one of them. No, out of the two, only one regularly burns his garbage in the back yard.
Now people burn plastics, paper and anything with paper and board in their own compound. Chaps in flats may have contractors doing the job for them through their residence associations.
In burning plastic with garbage, the muncipal corporation is in the forefront, if one one think of a walk in the early hours of moring, one would think, he is in smoke street, the government appointed sweepers are found burning, leaves and plastic , on the street, some times under live trees, killing the trees.
organised, and each one is left to his own, when it is left to dispose off thrash (garbage)
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Thoughts on food
Did anyone say that humanity marches on its belly?
Speakers of Hindustani ( Hindi Urdu mixed dialect) would certainly recognise the saying,
"daana daane mein likha hai, khana Khanawale kaa naa" - translated it means, on every grain, it is written who is going to eat it.
Malayalees say "annam kaathal aaru kadakilla" which means, if you wait for food, you will never cross the river"
Another Malayalam (language spoken in Kerala, India) proverb is
"anna vicharam, munna vicharam,
pinnay vicharam , karya vicharam"
(Think food first, then anything else)
In India and Pakistan, where Hindustani is spoken,
everybody has three priorities,
Roti, kapada and makaan.
(food, clothing and shelter)
So, very often, electioneering politicians, offer the masses,
"roti, kappada and makkaan"
Man is driven by the need for food. We often believe that, the human race, first ventured out of Africa, in search of food.
Any gathering of people, is not complete, unless it ends with a great feast.
Petroleum Development Oman, a Shell joint venture often organises "techtalk@
The talks are often scheduled at lunch break, so that people can be away without interrupting their work. At the end of the talk, lunch will be served. How to ensure that people will shop at the beginning? Serve food at the start time!
Jamal Fruitwala, an employee of Petroleum Development Oman, once visitied Taiwan. He was surprised to note that (so he says) there are no kitchens Taiwan houses! Taiwanese Government does not like the idea of women wasting time in kitchen, instead they should work in factories and add to the gross domestic output. Food could be eaten at food courts everywhere. There will be economy of scale when food is procured and processed for thousands of mouths together.
Singaporeans are Chinese, mostly, that is, there, houses do have kitchens. Since everyone in a family gets out of his house, at 6.30 am, they normally do not cook, rather on descend on food courts and eat their break fast.
Rest of the world could learn from these Chinese communities. When , in a family, both husband and wife are employed, there is no point in cooking food at home. Women need not necessarily go to an eatery, may be they could run a cooperative mess.
Expatriate workers living in camps, in various countries of Arabin Gulf, have no families with them in most case, they live in camps and eat in messes. A typical camp run by Suhail and Saud Bahawan (dealers of Toyota in Oman) had several messes in one camp. There is a South Indian vegetarian, South Indian nonvegetaina ( south Indians mostly prefer rice and curry) North Indian vegetarian, North Indian non-vegetarian (chapathi and dal are the mainstay of North Indians). Employers provide cooks, utilities and utensils, but employee nominated committe would collect money from members and do the buying or raw materials. This particular camp had no Filipinos, where and when there are Filipinos, there would be seperate mess for them.
Pakistanis normally identify and group with North Indians and Tamil Srilankans, if any, would jon the South Indians.
Back to Shell Oil joint venture with Oman Government, Petroleum Development Oman.
A new building was proposed and , part of the drawing had a dining hall which would seat 750 people. No cooking would be permitted in the office building, but precooked food will be served.
The company had 50 plus nationalities (total at Mina al fahal , where head office was) majoriety was Omani Nationals, expatriates were mostly from Shell Holland and Shell UK. There were few Indians and sprinkling of people claiming nationalities as varied as Aruba and Venezuela.
Omanis were themselves, speakers of Swahili, Arabic, Baluchi and Lotya languages. Some Omanis did not speak much Arabic, they were born and educated in Africa. All these people had varied likes and dislikes, so what kind of food would be served. The management had no clue.
An on line voting was conducted and the winner was _
rice and cury
Speakers of Hindustani ( Hindi Urdu mixed dialect) would certainly recognise the saying,
"daana daane mein likha hai, khana Khanawale kaa naa" - translated it means, on every grain, it is written who is going to eat it.
Malayalees say "annam kaathal aaru kadakilla" which means, if you wait for food, you will never cross the river"
Another Malayalam (language spoken in Kerala, India) proverb is
"anna vicharam, munna vicharam,
pinnay vicharam , karya vicharam"
(Think food first, then anything else)
In India and Pakistan, where Hindustani is spoken,
everybody has three priorities,
Roti, kapada and makaan.
(food, clothing and shelter)
So, very often, electioneering politicians, offer the masses,
"roti, kappada and makkaan"
Man is driven by the need for food. We often believe that, the human race, first ventured out of Africa, in search of food.
Any gathering of people, is not complete, unless it ends with a great feast.
Petroleum Development Oman, a Shell joint venture often organises "techtalk@
The talks are often scheduled at lunch break, so that people can be away without interrupting their work. At the end of the talk, lunch will be served. How to ensure that people will shop at the beginning? Serve food at the start time!
Jamal Fruitwala, an employee of Petroleum Development Oman, once visitied Taiwan. He was surprised to note that (so he says) there are no kitchens Taiwan houses! Taiwanese Government does not like the idea of women wasting time in kitchen, instead they should work in factories and add to the gross domestic output. Food could be eaten at food courts everywhere. There will be economy of scale when food is procured and processed for thousands of mouths together.
Singaporeans are Chinese, mostly, that is, there, houses do have kitchens. Since everyone in a family gets out of his house, at 6.30 am, they normally do not cook, rather on descend on food courts and eat their break fast.
Rest of the world could learn from these Chinese communities. When , in a family, both husband and wife are employed, there is no point in cooking food at home. Women need not necessarily go to an eatery, may be they could run a cooperative mess.
Expatriate workers living in camps, in various countries of Arabin Gulf, have no families with them in most case, they live in camps and eat in messes. A typical camp run by Suhail and Saud Bahawan (dealers of Toyota in Oman) had several messes in one camp. There is a South Indian vegetarian, South Indian nonvegetaina ( south Indians mostly prefer rice and curry) North Indian vegetarian, North Indian non-vegetarian (chapathi and dal are the mainstay of North Indians). Employers provide cooks, utilities and utensils, but employee nominated committe would collect money from members and do the buying or raw materials. This particular camp had no Filipinos, where and when there are Filipinos, there would be seperate mess for them.
Pakistanis normally identify and group with North Indians and Tamil Srilankans, if any, would jon the South Indians.
Back to Shell Oil joint venture with Oman Government, Petroleum Development Oman.
A new building was proposed and , part of the drawing had a dining hall which would seat 750 people. No cooking would be permitted in the office building, but precooked food will be served.
The company had 50 plus nationalities (total at Mina al fahal , where head office was) majoriety was Omani Nationals, expatriates were mostly from Shell Holland and Shell UK. There were few Indians and sprinkling of people claiming nationalities as varied as Aruba and Venezuela.
Omanis were themselves, speakers of Swahili, Arabic, Baluchi and Lotya languages. Some Omanis did not speak much Arabic, they were born and educated in Africa. All these people had varied likes and dislikes, so what kind of food would be served. The management had no clue.
An on line voting was conducted and the winner was _
rice and cury
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