Pristine Nagarhole forest and Kabini waters...

We are just back refreshed after visiting the Nagarhole national park and staying at Kabini river-side resort. The lap of mother nature is so calming.

Nagarhole is one of the well protected forests in India. On our jungle safaris there, we sighted quite a lot of animals and rare birds. We spotted a ferocious leopard with its fresh kill on top of a tree. Our able guide could read the signals from the gray langurs - they let out a distinct sound which serves as warning to the deer and other vulnerable animal population. Our guide also sensed the smell of the fresh kill. This helped him locate the leopard. The leopard, it seems, carries the kill to the top of the tree to save it its food from the more powerful tiger.

We sighted spotted deer (lots of them), sambar deer, barking deer, Gaur, wild boar, Tusker, Baby Elephant, Gray Langur, Malabar Giant Squirrel, pack of wild dogs, peacocks, peafowls, Jungle fowl, Turtle, Owl, Kingfisher, Wood pecker, Painted Stork, Darting Bird, Gray Heron, Night Heron, Egret, Eagle, Wag tail, Cormorant, Eagle, Pun Sparrow, and Mongoose.

The tiger and the black panther did not bless us. We went on the jeep safari thrice deep into the jungle in the hope of sighting them, but were unlucky.

The air in the forest was so rejuvenating. It is supposed to be a deciduous forest. We took a boat ride on the Kabini river waters in the morning. Calm and clear waters welcomed us as we cruised towards the forest side. On the other side of the river is the Bandipur national park.

Me today, You tomorrow

My grandfather used to mention a proverb which is translated as "It is me today, it will be you tomorrow", taking the example of leaves of a tree. It appears, the new leaves in a tree laugh at the old leaves that are falling. The new leaves do not realize that the same fate is in store for them.

When we are young, we are full of energy and zest. We tend to think this will last for ever. When we look at the old, we sometimes ignore them, we consider them as not useful, we think they are a burden, especially when they cannot take care of themselves. It does not occur to us that we are also aging and we shall also become old one day and the next generation would think of us the same way. If only we accept this and age gracefully.

We need to respect our past generation and be there for them.

We need small time retail shops too...

Idli and Dosa are among the regular breakfast items in my home. As commonly done, we make the batter for them by grinding soaked rice and urad whole (ulutham paruppu in Tamil or black lentil in English) separately and mixing the batter well into uniform mix. We keep the batter overnight in room temperature to let it ferment and use it from the next day morning for making idli or dosa. My mother and my wife manage this whole process well.

The quality of the urad, including its freshness, makes a big difference to the fluffiness and the taste of idli. How well the idli turns out matters to us a lot. Due to this, I used to buy urad from a big super market and the urad used to be very good. But my mother used to complain that the quality of the urad from that supermarket, is not consistent. All other groceries from that supermarket are of the best quality and with consistency. Many times, the urad that I buy would give the best result meaning it is of the best quality (as per my mother) and a few times, the batter would not be that great. Looking for the shop that can give me the best urad consistently, I tried buying urad from various other big super markets. The story was no different. The idlis were not fluffier enough. Being a hands-on person with the batter making process for over 5 decades, my mother is the certifying body for the quality of the batter at the end of the grinding and mixing process. And, she would tell right after the batter is prepared, how good the urad was and how well the idlis would turn out to be the next day.

I was disappointed that we were unable to get the best quality urad consistently despite trying many different big supermarkets. I used to think that the big supermarkets that stock everything would give me the best quality groceries. Finally, with lot of reluctance, I decided to try a small-time grocery shop (mom and pop shop as they call in the U.S) as per my mother's suggestion. That shop is Balaji stores near my house. First, as a test, I bought one kilogram of urad whole from that shop. My mother used it for preparing the batter and gave the immediate interim verdict - "this urad seems to be better than others". This she said from the texture and lightness of the batter. The next day came the final verdict from her - "this urad matches the best urad we have bought". The idlis were really fluffy and among the best idlis we had made at home. I was happy.

But wait, what about consistency of the quality? For that, I need to give Balaji stores a few more chances. I bought more quantity, 3 kilograms, of urad the next time from the same Balaji stores. This time too, my mother and my wife, both, said the quality of urad was the best. I became more confident that I had found the right shop for the best quality urad. Thereafter, I brought home many kilograms of urad multiple times from the same shop Balaji stores and every time the quality was as good as it was the first time we bought it from that shop.

Finally, we decreed that, for our home, the best place to buy the best quality urad is Balaji stores and I have been buying it from only there though I buy all other groceries from my regular supermarket - it has been more than a year we have been doing this. This has given me a different perspective. I feel we need small-time retail shops too and not just big supermarkets.

Rain - omen?

It has been raining heavily in Bangalore for the last three weeks. This is unusual during this time of the year here. I read, this is the case with some other places in India too. The wind direction too is quite random - some days westerly, sometimes easterly, some days south-western, some days north-eastern. In Bangalore, usually from mid-May to early-October, the wind blows from South-West, and from October to early-May, the direction of wind is North-Easterly. But this summer (March-May), the winds have been blowing all over the place. I think, all this is due to the El Nino, that is on now.

Though these rains have made our summer very comfortable this time, I also tend to see this as an omen - we might be in for a monsoon that would surprise on the negative side. The monsoon might very well turn out to be far below normal.

If that is the case, it would upset the plans of farmers in India. Most of them still go by these seasonal expectations. Increased inflation, poor-quality produce, scarcity in some produce etc. coming our way this year?

Carnatic music season in Bangalore now on...

The carnatic music season in Bangalore for 2015 is now on with the Ramanavami celebrations starting a few days ago. I was at the Shree Ramasevamandali (Chamarajpet, Bangalore) yesterday attending Sanjay Subrahmanyan's vocal concert. It was almost fully packed.

As usual, a power-packed performance from him. So full of energy - in his voice as well as in his body language (actions). He complements the raaga, bhaava, and taala with his own unique gestures with face, hands, and head - all this, while remaining seated in the traditional pose and doing full justice to the composition. He rolls, massages, and shapes the notes into various forms to give his own unique expression to them. This is much more than the typical modulation that vocal artists do. He puts so much energy into each rendition that the music really hits us deep and gives us thorough enjoyment.  He sang Ragam-Taanam-Pallavi in Kaamboji Raaga. The other renditions were in Devagaandhari, Kalyani, Abheri, Sankarabharanam raagas...

It was bliss listening to him. I hope to make it to more concerts this season.

Welcome rain!

After a long spell of about 4 months, yesterday's rain here in Bangalore was more than welcome... The trees had just begun to sprout new leaves having entered Spring and this rain came at the right time to provide fuel to them. Looking forward to a few more such rains this season...

Against all odds... the force of life...

I have been observing a Honge (Pongamia) sapling in our neighborhood, over the last many months. Due to construction work happening at different times around the area, it ends up getting totally crushed every time. Nothing is left of it after that, no trace at all. Anyone would think, that is the end of its life. But, it rises from the ashes every time like a phoenix. The force of resurrection from nature, makes it sprouts back with force, each time. The sapling is still alive and growing and is on its way to becoming a tree. I think, with each assault, its roots have kept on getting stronger and have gone on deeper into the soil. The force of life is so powerful than anything else!