Feast for Thought

" Kipple  is useless objects, like junk mail or match folders after you use the last match or gum wrappers or yesterday's homeopape. When nobody's around,  kipple  reproduces itself. "  Kipple seems to be a combination of entropy and capitalism. I don't think past civilizations had the resources to produce so much packaging to hold our stuff until we buy it or consume it. Don't forget the First Law: "There's the First Law of Kipple…'Kipple drives out nonkipple'." Kipple is useless objects, like junk mail or match folders after you use the last match or gum wrappers or yesterday's homeopape. When nobody's around, kipple reproduces itself. For instance, if you to go bed leaving any kipple around your apartment, when you wake up there is twice as much of it. It always gets more and more. No one can win against kipple, except temporarily and maybe in one spot. From  Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? , by  Philip K. Dick . P...

Note: This was written in early 2014, in the context of KSRTC issues in Kerala's capital city Thiruvananthapuram. One is extremely disturbed - to say the least - to read about the woes of the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), and the woes caused to other road users by KSRTC buses. The organization is the lifeline for ordinary citizens. Unfortunately though, it is not a thriving venture at present; and it seems that its buses are culpable in a tragically large number of road accidents. In this “blessed” state of India, where villages seamlessly transition to towns, most roads other than national highways and a few stretches of bypasses, are too narrow to accommodate heavy vehicles. One is often bemused and amused to watch C segment cars, luxury sedans and enormous SUVs flow out of palatial premises to occupy unfair amounts of road space. Most streets and alleys seem to have been designed with only processions of the political kind in mind. After all, ...

Recounting a fortuitous journey from 6 years ago. The longing to revisit will persist forever! Visual Recap  

Mangoes gala Woman goes gaga!

 Using jaggery, NOT sugar! Certified 'good' by the resident critic!

If you are blessed with 32 sweet teeth - like me - you may not care much for drinks that are not sweet enough, except perhaps sugar-free coffee. So when SA, our neighbour in Annanad, (Trissur district, Kerala) offered some wine during one of the neighbourhood rounds (that are such a pleasant and customary part of hometown visits), i gave a tentative nod. i even managed to sip it, and savour it as slowly as i could, resisting the urge to assume an air of being a connoisseur. Ha ha SA then generously shared the recipe in detail, complete with cautions and warnings. Here's the recipe, courtesy SA and her sources. Ingredients: Ripe (or overripe) Palayankodan bananas Jaggery, powdered (the unsalted variety) Cardamom Cinnamon Cloves Air tight jar Recommended sitting time: 41 days. Wash or wipe clean the bananas. Chop / slice the bananas, along with the peels. Crush the spice mix. In a dry jar, place a layer of jaggery, followed by a layer of chopped banana pieces. R...