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
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
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
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Add your name into the voters'list Kerala India
There was an announcement in the news papers that those who wish to have names listed in the voters list, (if your name is not already in) could do so, by visiting the nearest polling booth. The day is today, a Sunday.
Polling booths are, usually schools, so you drive past the one , the gnear you, but its gate is locked. What the heck. Contact the nearest cultural centre run by any political party, they would guide you. In this case, the main gate is closed, never mind, look for a side door and enter a deserted school compound. Indeed, a side door is open and you would ask the chowkidar or doorkeeper, he will show, the office where election officials are waiting for you. You show documents relating to the building where you live, maybe electoral cards of other residents so that, you could write your own data, including details of your residence. There is an application form, do fill it in with all the required data.
You will receive a receipt for your application, and an order to appear for an hearing before an electoral officer; place, date and time inclusive.
You are living in a city, therefore, local city authrities need to certify that you are a resident. start working on it. (Things should not be different in small towns and villages, but rather faster and easier because the people in the office might know you by your first name. )
If you own your own house, you need to pay arrears of house tax and produce the house receipt along with your application for certificate of residence.(Hey, pay your arrears man!) If you live in a rented accommodation, your contract, or landlord's letter would do.
A written application, on plain paper, wth one rupee court fee stamp on it, and a payment on challan in triplicate are necessary attachments. During process,you will see at least sx persons, clerk, cashier, heaven knows who else. What kind of proof do you have to support your claim that you live in the address you have mentioned?
If you have some solid document,(driving license, passport, insurance papers, telephoe bill) that shows your name and address to match the one in your application, presto, you will get Certificate of Residence the same day.
Now you are ready for the hearing, you might soon become a voter soon!
This line is being added on the 23rd March 2012
There is some new ID called Aadhaar and there are may ways to get it legally. Cant write all, as, this info could be used by crooks. Well this Aadhaar card will suffice as ID proof now. It is the mother of all cards!
Polling booths are, usually schools, so you drive past the one , the gnear you, but its gate is locked. What the heck. Contact the nearest cultural centre run by any political party, they would guide you. In this case, the main gate is closed, never mind, look for a side door and enter a deserted school compound. Indeed, a side door is open and you would ask the chowkidar or doorkeeper, he will show, the office where election officials are waiting for you. You show documents relating to the building where you live, maybe electoral cards of other residents so that, you could write your own data, including details of your residence. There is an application form, do fill it in with all the required data.
You will receive a receipt for your application, and an order to appear for an hearing before an electoral officer; place, date and time inclusive.
You are living in a city, therefore, local city authrities need to certify that you are a resident. start working on it. (Things should not be different in small towns and villages, but rather faster and easier because the people in the office might know you by your first name. )
If you own your own house, you need to pay arrears of house tax and produce the house receipt along with your application for certificate of residence.(Hey, pay your arrears man!) If you live in a rented accommodation, your contract, or landlord's letter would do.
A written application, on plain paper, wth one rupee court fee stamp on it, and a payment on challan in triplicate are necessary attachments. During process,you will see at least sx persons, clerk, cashier, heaven knows who else. What kind of proof do you have to support your claim that you live in the address you have mentioned?
If you have some solid document,(driving license, passport, insurance papers, telephoe bill) that shows your name and address to match the one in your application, presto, you will get Certificate of Residence the same day.
Now you are ready for the hearing, you might soon become a voter soon!
This line is being added on the 23rd March 2012
There is some new ID called Aadhaar and there are may ways to get it legally. Cant write all, as, this info could be used by crooks. Well this Aadhaar card will suffice as ID proof now. It is the mother of all cards!
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