Mental Excursions

The holy taste of May Tuesdays in Lucknow  Bada Mangal, when the streets become temples, where kindness is served warm, and devotion flows with every bowl.” Do you think being in the sticky, sweltering heat of Lucknow in May-June sounds like a tragic miscalculation? Ordinarily, yes. But if you happen to find yourself here on a Tuesday in the Hindu month of Jyeshtha, you’ve stumbled into a heartwarming loophole in summer’s tyranny. No, this is certainly not a weather miracle, and Tuesdays aren’t any cooler. But what you get is a sight as rare as a breeze in the noon sun: crowds standing patiently (mostly otherwise though) in front of small shamiyanas, the flat tents, for a free-meal and buttermilk or sherbet (flavoured, non-dairy, sweet drink). T he generosity is not like a flash sale; the whole affair goes on for hours. That is the celebration of Bada/Budhwa Mangal (Big/Old Tuesday), a festival unique to Lucknow and celebrated on the Tuesdays falling in this month. This y...

When signboards steal the show! The past fortnight has been heavy on the nation: the horrific terrorist attack in Pahalgam and the tense counter-operations that followed. Most of us were not on the frontlines, but our hearts were. The solidarity was silent yet strong; the anxiety was unmistakably real. What if … the worry nagged our minds. In moments like these, I often find myself wondering: how can I contribute, in my own small way, to the larger cause of the nation? After much mental gymnastics, I returned to the old, personal belief that perhaps, I can bring a smile to those around me. And what if those smiles come from a common feature, i.e., signboards: well-meaning but often misplaced, sometimes promising grand solutions to life’s problems, and yet unintentionally hilarious. Amidst the time of gravity, they bring to us a moment of levity. The unintentional cross over that he did not ask for. Move over pasta! The southern state of Kerala has the highest literacy rate, abo...

Deliciously Healthy Taste of India-Amul Is it even possible to watch Indian TV and not know the jingle ‘Amul doodh peeta hai India’  (India drinks Amul milk)? Last week I shared about our visit to the National Dairy Development Board projects in Anand, Gujrat. The second and last day we visited the Amul milk powder, butter, and chocolate factories. A quick peek into Amul history! Back to the first half of last century, 1946 to be precise! Distressed by the monopolistic exploitation by traders and agents of Polson, milk farmers approached Tribhuvandas Kishibhai Patel, a Gandhian who under the guidance of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, advised them to form a cooperative to sell milk. This led to the creation of Kaira District Co-operative Milk Producers' Union, with only two village dairy cooperative societies and 247 litres of milk. Since most milk producers were marginal farmers supplying just a litre or two a day, village-level cooperatives were formed to collect milk and sen...

A Visit to the  Soul  of  India’s   White  Revolution I recognized the shrill cries of peacocks, the sounds of the common myna and the parrots which woke me up even before the sunrays had hit the earth, but could not identify the ruckus being created by one other feathered creature. It was nowhere to be seen amidst the neat, similar, squarish grey buildings shadowed by tall trees, or hopping in the lush green grass and shrubs being fed by sprinklers. I scanned the scene —and there it was: fluttering wings in the nests perched high above, just past the frilly tops of palm trees. A largish black avian with an orange-red beak. ( I still do not know the name). But that gave me the idea - so, making me a bird in my next life could be one of the choices I should suggest to God. In my current incarnation, I am still searching for life’s grand purpose, so when I see people genuinely working to make the world better , a wave of hope, optimism and positivity washes ove...