“A house is not a home  unless it contains  food and fire for the mind
as well as the body”
Benjamin Franklin

Think food and mind comes alive with vivid images of various cuisines, fusion delicacies, lavish spreads, macro shots of tasty looking food, gourmet blogs, fine-dining, favorite restaurants, full meal thali, sinful desserts and what not.

This food explosion has opened up new vistas, experiences, indulgences and not to mention the business models. Want to make killer profits? Try education, healthcare or food. Move on entertainment, there is no business like food-business.

Thanks to affordable global travel and internet, an house wife from two-tier town in India not only procures international ingredients but also makes the tastiest zucchini bread while pairing her Asparagus quiche with Pinot Blanc. India has truly arrived on the gastronomical foodscape. We live in the era of sensory explosion where all senses have been trained to come alive when it comes to food. As food pundits predict, it is only going to get better.

After water in 2010, this year’s focus for Blog Action Day 2011 is on Food. Last year, writing on water gave me a chance to stop, think and write. It also gave me an opportunity to read about so many different viewpoints on water.

Writing about food should be the easiest thing to do for I have blogged about traditional recipes, gardening and growing your food, soul of kitchen, etc. But today, it just does not seem to flow. This time, it is not easy.

There is lot more to food than what meets the eye.

While we bloggers write/ celebrate the delights of various cuisines, share recipes, converse on calorie intake, comfort food and gourmet chefs, there is a huge world out there that goes without a few grains of rice. While one section of population frets about calorie intake and tries every rule in the book to sweat it out, the other half quenches its hunger with tap water. There is a horrible imbalance of over-fed obesity and under-nourished bellies.

We are a nation where more than 50 million metric tons of food grains rots due to storage problems while more than 600 million people suffer from malnourishment. The food for whom it is stored does not reach them. The system that is made to keep India in motion, does not work. Even the ration card system designed to help the poor eat, works against them.

To live in a country like India needs a lot of guts. Not because India is a gastronomical paradise, but for the fact that we live in midst of gut-wrenching facts of malnourishment and the misfortune that comes with it. And we chose to do nothing about it.

Here, everyday living is centered around working for and fixing one square meal for oneself and loved ones. It is not easy.

And as an icing on the calamity cake was the Planning Commission’s classification of people above and below the poverty line by an earning of Rs.32/ day which included their expenditure on food, healthcare and education. Needless to say that it is still being debated and challenged by the literate urban man and media. The poor man however oblivious of this brouhaha continues his struggle of fixing a single meal for his family.

To understand the food paradox better, please about Basavi, a tribal and what food meant to her.  Be rest assured, our dilemmas will multiply.

For those Tehelka spoke to, the rickshaw-puller, farmer, waste-picker and others, bitterness came later in the conversation — after the shock (of the report) passed. The precariousness of their lives is held at bay by dignity, hard work, generosity to those even poorer, loyalty to family, resilience and faith. All to be frayed again by those who have never known what it is like to be hungry.
SOURCE: Tehelka

Here is a sample of real people, their struggles, their hunger and the lengths they goto make it meet.

While one is deeply disturbed by these contradictions, one also feels sad at the state of the Public Distribution System. India can boast of having the largest public distribution of subsidized food grains in the world. It has a network of nearly 500,000 Fair Price Shops (FPS) that distribute commodities worth more than Rs 15,000 crore (150 billion) to 160 million households. The 2005 Planning Commission report says that 57% of the PDS food grain does not reach the intended people. For every Rs 4 spent on the PDS, only Rs 1 reaches the poor. The food subsidy bill for 2006-07 for the Government of India was Rs 242 billion. 36 million tons of grain was procured that year, and 31.6 million tons was distributed through Fair Price Shops. Looking at these figures, one feels both disturbed and confused. Confused that we are doing so much but have so little to show; angry and disturbed at the enormous leakages and corruption that has seeped into this system.
SOURCE: Dr. R.Balasubramaniam

Yes, I did want to write. And write a lot about it. But words don’t flow easy. For every sentence that I want to write, I stop to think for I find myself to be responsible for creating and supporting a system so flawed that food does not go where it is needed the most. It stops at us, our super-markets, kitchens, stomachs and finally in thrash (but ofcourse it get picked up from there too).

Our country faces multi-faceted problems of hatred, violence, illness, poverty, discrimination and these can be raced back to the struggle of the stomach and soul. We now face a huge world in front of us that is under-fed, hungry, sick and in pain.

More than half of the Indian population struggles to achieve Maslow’s first level of needs. With the need for food comes the question of dignity, self respect, community, survival, hope, faith and perseverance. The hungry are actually high up on the self actualization scale, are resigned to fate.

It is just not about food. In this struggle, there are compromises to be made, conscience to be muffled, and hard pills to be swallowed. And sometimes suicide is the escape key. It somehow seems justified.

“We can no more do without spirituality than we can do without food, shelter, or clothing.”
Ernest Holmes

Sometimes I wonder what is the meaning of food availability, food security, the feeling of being sated, nourishment, etc? I don’t know anymore. How longer can we boast about traditional food systems, culture, civilisation, Ayurveda, healing with food, and nature healing when we have totally lost it. India, the land of excess and rich resources now grapples with problems of its own creation.

Isn’t our country is poor, under-nourished and sick because of people like us? Aren’t we also the reason for its malaise? We don’t ration. We load, hoard, eat, glutton, waste, indulge, and thrash, but don’t make enough effort to help the food reach where it is most wanted. Isn’t our indifference, silence, resignation, blame-shifting, to equally blamed for this food crisis? We will realise and appreciate this only after the full circle of self-destruction.

Solution to Food Crisis?

There was a time when food was holy. Food went with worship. Food was not be wasted. Food was not sinful. Food was food. We need that simplicity back.

There were principles, traditions and culture that governed and nourished body and soul. Not just Ayurveda and natural life sciences, but there was timeless and priceless wisdom that we need to dig back into.

At the risk of sounding preachy, we need to look back into the centuries of wisdom that have abandoned in pursuit of happiness and instant gratification. Like we always did, we have a choice. Either we continue to live the way we lived or chose to make a small difference. There are no mountains to move here. Few simple holistic changes to our lives.

Less is more. Less is Green.

This is not about denial or abstinence, but we will always be amazed at how well people can live with less and that our body does better with less. Moderation is the mantra.

Not for the sake of diet or dieting, we need to eat less than what we do because we are no longer those foraging cave men and women who are always on the go. We need a plate of food that just fills us.

If there is more, find those who need it. It is not difficult to find.

It is time to think what really works!

We have been conditioned enough to eat three square meals, drink enough water, and so on. It is time to question our real needs. Do you really need what you once were in need of? Do you really need to cook or stock up so much? Do you really need to follow the food pyramid? Is one big meal and two smaller meals better?

There are so many questions that an urban, literate citizen needs to ask and find answers to. More-so because, we are the major reason for this food imbalance. We can blame the Government later.

I cannot write enough. I wish to share with you an old artwork of mine that hangs in our dining area… as a reminder of how wretched we are in comparison.

Untitled - 12"x18" - Pencil on Paper - Framed

The next time you dine out at a fancy restaurant, it is ok to eat your plate clean (even though dining etiquette suggestes leaving a bit behind) for those few morsels should remind you of the farmer whose sweat and blood went into the making of your gourmet meal.

Nothing should be wasted.

Bon appetit!

Green Gift of Life for your Loved Ones

Gifting season is coming soon. Festival after festival, occasion after occasion, there are plenty of good times waiting to happen to everyone. This is the time when you start to budget for the holiday season. And this is also the time for us to recap green gifting options.

Eco-consciousness is serious business for every Government, company, association, community or individual. One can never emphasize much on the value of green gifts, handmade gifts, recycled gifts and and more… as everyone is more or less trying to turn ecofriendly in their individual capacities. People are changing but the pace is not quite enough to reverse the damage we have already unleashed on our planet. But we must try true.

Plants always top as gifts for someone who love nature.  These living gifts, in right hands grow, bloom and blossom into lifelong companions. They keep reminding you of the love that lives, the love that grows and the love that will be shared for years to come. There is never a case of oh! not another one! with plant gifts.

Here is a quick visual step-by-step tutorial on making this simple green gift of plant which work great for any occasion such as birthday, wedding, family parties, thank-yous, etc.

Things you need for giving the gift of green:

• Fresh well watered and drained plants
• Roll of corrugated paper or old cardboard paper
• Scissors
• Stapler
• Satin Ribbons
• Thats all

Plants, Paper and Tools - For Gifting Green

Green Gift Making and Wrapping Tutorial:

You need to create a container out of the corrugated cardboard paper to hold your plant securely. The photos are self explanatory to help you make the plant wrapper with corrugated paper.

Wrap the paper around your plant pouch and secure the shape with staples. Cut the bottom base of the corrugated paper cylinder into 4 slits and fold them as shown above to seal the base. Staple this base well.

Step-by-Step Tutorial for Wrapping your Plant Gift

Insert the plant pouch back into the little wrap you have made. To carry this gift in your hand, add a handle with a strip or corrugated paper or use a satin ribbon. Staple to secure the ribbon strip. Or you could also use a ribbon instead of the paper strip.

Recycled or Handmade Paper for Ecofriendly Gifts

The green gift is ready for its recipient. You could further embellish it with satin ribbon bows, dried flowers, paint, etc.

Who says green gifting is a bore?

It does not take long to make many of these. You can make these party favors in advance and keep the plant’s soil moist with few drops of water now and then.

In the plant gift below, I have used satin bow make it look as a gift for I had made if for the first time and was not sure of the reaction if it did not look like a gift

Ecofriendly Party Favors Ready for the Party

The next time, I used the ribbon itself as a holder to carry the gift.

Green Party Favors Return Gifts for Birthdays and Other Parties

And on both the occasions, it was pure delight to give and take. And I hope that these plants are thriving in different homes, in different containers and soil. And I am happy that I did not use off-the-shelf party bags and goodies.

Need more on Eco friendly gifts?

For a more detailed tutorial on how to make this plant gift, please click to my article on Gift a Green Plant at TreeSouls and make these cute green gifts for special occasions such as birthdays, weddings, or any parties.

And if you happen to make this too, do share your pictures and you ideas to help me improvise these party favors… for there are many occasions in life to celebrate. And being close to nature in everything you do, is the closest you can get to life.

Tell me.

How would it be to wake up to the sound of chirping of birds early in the morning or a hot cup of tea in your cozy couch with the balmy morning sun shining through tender green leaves? Or how would it be to walk up to your balcony to pluck some fresh coriander for your garnishing your curry, or dig out some fresh carrots for your carrot cake? And all this even when you are living in an apartment?

Balcony Garden - Create your own little green refuge

As concrete jungles expand to keep pace with burgeoning human population, the city dweller is left with no option but to go vertical in this rat race for space and shelter. This simply means making a big compromise – having to come to terms with little or almost miniscule balcony spaces.

Modern living meets nature
For nature evangelists and plant lovers, who need the green lung space in their apartments, balcony gardens and green balcony landscapes are possibly the only refuge one can seek in today’s growing urban landscapes. Many people are opting to create semi outdoor living spaces in their balconies that translate into mini gardens.

Loner or an entertainer – your balcony can serve as a great space to unwind, relax or rejoice. Come sunshine, rain or chilly winds, there is no better place than this in your home, to put your feet up or let your hair down.

Balcony gardening is the easiest way to bring in nature into your living spaces, offering endless beautiful sights and delights. Every season brings with it a gush of color, with leaves and flowers. From the parched brown twigs of winter to the scorching colored flowers of summer – your balcony garden will never cease to amaze you. Gentle flowers, fresh herbs, oxygenated air, chirping birds and humming bees, cool breeze, sound of rustling leaves, fresh vegetables and sweet fruits are some of the delights of balcony gardening.

An art and a science too
Balcony gardening is not a one-time act of buying the best looking plants and arranging them at appropriate corners. You have to consider a host of challenging factors such as load bearing, water system, sunshine, city conditions, plants, neighbors and more. Balcony gardens are not created as a one-time or stand-alone activity as the goal is to help the garden thrive and flourish. It takes time, commitment and love to grow and nurture your balcony garden.

For the balcony gardener, here is some basic information on planning, designing, and growing your apartment balcony garden, and tips and tricks to making your balcony green, eco-friendly and inviting.

Cozy Sunlight Corner in the Balcony with Bamboo Screens

Designing your Garden Balcony
First, design your balcony garden on paper. The idea is to create a green space that is not jam-packed with plants. There has to be some space for the plants and you to breathe. It is the empty spaces in balcony that give you a visual relief, circulate air and ensure that sunlight reaches most of the leaves. Check your balcony’s status for the feasibility of creating your little garden. There are many structural and hardware related issues that you need to look into.

Structural and Hardware Aspect of Balcony Gardens
If you are planning for a full fledged balcony garden, take care of the structure of the balcony such as support, age of building, floor type, water proofing, etc. Also check for water seepage, leakage, water inlet-outlets, and many other factors. Ensure that the balcony is water proof, does not hurt your neighbors below and that the water outlet does not make a mess elsewhere.

Water proofing, watering system, fixed plant areas other than movable pots and planters, lighting, etc are some of the hardware elements of garden design. Once these are in place, rest is all about placing and moving your potted plants to best suit your space.

Selection of Plants for Balcony Gardens
Balconies are constrained gardens with limited soil and sunlight – thereby impacting the growth and growing pattern of most plants. Invest in plants and saplings that can thrive in your city conditions.

More often than not, people invest in seeds and seedlings from hilly climes to grow in the city conditions – which simply don’t grow. But at the same time you should keep experimenting, for nature is resilient and always springs surprises. So keep gardening while keeping the faith, for life somehow finds its way.

As you continue to experiment with your plants in the balcony, get yourself a good seasonal handbook for growing plants in local conditions. These will not only help you plan and plant according to seasons, but also give you ideas for a beautiful and bountiful balcony garden – all year long. Have some flowering plants in the balcony to attract birds and bees for cross pollination.

Remember that plants lend to the garden’s character and determine the look and feel of your balcony. Plants help you design this space with additional accents. Different plants such as climbers, creepers, bushes, etc., lend their charm and help you pick up cues on designing your balcony space.

Design Themes for Balcony Gardens
From the colored lanterns and iron accents of Morocco, to the clean cut designs of Zen simplicity, balcony gardens have come of age with designer themes and look.

The current rage amongst modern balcony gardens is to go Zen, Moroccan, Oriental, Balinese, Japanese, Indian, etc. Each of these themes has unique design elements, look and feel. Research, see and get inspired on creating your balcony space.

If nothing works, take a walk in your neighbourhood to pick up local accents such as wood, tree trunks, used tin cans or glass bottles, terracotta pots or designs, etc, to set up your own designer balcony where you design its look. There is no end to what you can do.

Outdoor Furniture and Design Accents for Balcony Gardens
Bamboo furniture, futons, wicker stools, swings, hammocks, wind chimes, accent pots and decorative items, are some of the standard embellishments.

You can add art prints, murals, terracotta tree art, wrought iron furniture or wall embellishments, mirrors, tree trunks, dried flower arrangements, bird baths and feeders, and more to make your balcony eclectic, exotic and interesting. Don’t hold back on creativity here… for you don’t have to worry about blending it with the house décor.

If you do not have much space in your balcony, you can take your garden vertical with custom made iron pot holders, shelves, of steppe slabs or tables.

Fairy Lights in Plants and Balcony Space
Twinkling fairy lights and tea light candles nestled among the green plants look magical at night. For a quiet evening, entertaining your guests, late evening tea, or even dinner, this soft magical ambient lighting is indeed a sight to behold.

Tea Lights and Fairy Lights - For a lovely evening in your balcony

Don’t miss out on this great design accent for soft lighting and fairytale look. LEDs are better than normal string lights which hurt the plants with heat. Ensure that the light bulbs do not touch the plant stems and leaves. Also do not use the lights for longer duration as it may hurt the plant.

Eat your Organic Garden Produce
Your balcony can also contribute to your kitchen by way of fresh vegetables and herbs, while the kitchen waste becomes your garden’s manure.

Apart from ornamental plants, make use of your balcony space to grow herbs, vegetables and fruits. There is no great pleasure than walking up to your balcony to pluck out the freshest of herbs and vegetables for your meal.

Fresh Home Grown Vegetables from Balcony Garden

Most common balcony produce includes herbs such as coriander, curry leaves, tulsi-basil, etc along with most of the green leafy vegetables. Vegetables include tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, beans, and a whole range of vegetables and fruits that do not need much deep soil.

Have some flowering plants to attract birds and bees for cross pollination as most of the vegetable plants do not have bright colored flowers.

Container Gardening for Balconies
Apart from growing vegetables interesting containers can add a great visual impact to your garden. Left over tins, bottles, cans, buckets, etc can be converted into good looking planters for balcony. Group different colored-shaped containers for interesting plant arrangement

Container gardening works best for most root vegetables such as carrots, potatoes, ginger, etc. Big planters, outdoor pots, and geometric planter are good for creating an interesting visual space as well as for letting the roots run deep. Even sacks and bags containing good soil can be used for growing potatoes.

Green Lung Space with Eco Friendly Balcony Gardening
The basic requirement for a balcony garden is to follow green principles to derive maximum joy and full foliage. Make you balcony garden in tune with the principles of earth.

There are many ways of going green for a green garden. Look around your landscape for accents. Don’t go too far to source your materials. Invest in solar powers lights. Use mud and terracotta pots instead of plastic ones. Use khus or bamboo curtains for coolness. Route or recycle your kitchen or bath water to your balcony garden. Kitchen waste such as peels, egg shells, etc makes excellent manure. Make design accents with waste or un-used articles.

Balcony Gardening with Children
Balcony gardening are perhaps the only way we can sensitize our children to plants while we live in these sprawling cities. By getting them involved in watering, tending, caring and enjoying the time spent among plants, you can initiate your children into caring for them. This is the least we can do, on a daily basis.

The Soul of your Balcony Garden
Gardening is a give and take relationship. Have a balcony garden only if you love plants. There is no point in creating the most gorgeous garden but not being able to sustain or nourish it. Do not have it to make a style or lifestyle statement.

Read about your plants but try to feel them more. Plants are living beings. They sense and feel too. A lot has been written and researched on the secret lives of plants. And to live amongst these green living beings is a blessing in itself. Apart from providing food and sustenance, there are many sacred reasons for plants to exist. From plant auras, plant energy vortexes, communication between plants, plant souls, and more, there are many unknown facets of plants that will unfold with time. Scientifically, it has been proved that plants act and react. It is a matter of time that this will become a norm.

Plants know when they feel love. They respond to your voice and your state of mind. Over a period of time you will find yourself forming a bond with your garden where plants and you will communicate in ways unknown.

Plants flourish when you deeply care. Your words, acts of love, your thoughts towards plants, and your deep feelings go a long way in making your plants feel and stay healthy.

Plants germinate, grow, flower, fruit, and die… only to rise once again. And to witness this cycle of life, in front of your eyes, keeps us reminded and grounded of the simple things in life… that give simple lessons…for us to live simply.

Go; enjoy your little garden… wherever it is.

Written above are my thoughts on balcony gardens. Having lived in an independent house as well as an apartment, I could create and enjoy some beautiful green spaces that not only served as a semi outdoor garden but also are a great dining, working, entertaining and meditating spaces.

For anyone who needs specific information on what to grow where, and things that you can possibly do with your balcony such as plans, design ideas, discussion, etc, please get in touch.

All the water that will ever be is, right now.
National Geographic 

Blog Action Day, an annual event held every October 15, focuses on Water as its action theme for this year. 

Blog Action Day 2010 - Water (Pix Credit: water.org)

Water, one of the basic human rights, is getting scarce at an unimaginable pace. The earth’s natural systems are no longer able to replenish this resource like before. Given this scenario, major global conflicts in future will be for water and for lands where the rivers flow. 

It is not without a reason that water is the next commodity to fight for. This ‘manna from heaven ’, ‘liquid gold’ and ‘the oil of tomorrow’ is all set to make a mark on the stock exchanges soon. 

We never know the worth of water till the well is dry.
Thomas Fuller 

Five years back, my old bore well gave copious water at 150 feet depth. It dried. We had to go additional 500 feet to keep ourselves watered. It is unimaginable that in a span of 5 years (not lifetimes), the water table has reduced by hundreds of feet. This is a grim reminder to the fact that there is definitive end to the natural resources but not to man’s needs. And that in this lifetime we are witnessing the start of the world’s worst water crisis. 

Water in India is a paradox. It has always been the boon and the bane for the length and breadth of the nation. North India gives birth to water. South India fights for the rivers that flow. Northwest India is a water-starved desert. And Eastern India has the highest rainfall that helps none. 

And to top it, the water woes in India include contamination, inadequacy, denial, corruption, portability problems, access, deaths & diseases, pollution, irresponsible industrial growth dependant on water, and a whole lot more. 

This vast country with handful of rivers transversing through its length and breath, kept the flora, fauna and man alive since early civilizations. Because of water and other natural resources, man settled in this land, made his home, traded and more. That ‘more’ has now resulted in many disputes for water. 

Thoughtless and rapid development, urbanization, globalization, etc., continually spell doom for the Earth. From deforestation, accelaration in climate changes, reckless development, to scarcity of natural resources… I do not see any reason why the Earth should not purge itself clean of human (?) beings. 

They say that a gifted land is the also the cursed one. In this case, fertile lands with lakes and streams will be the target of many multinationals who can do anything done to suit their balance sheets. A case in the point is the famed unfair contract by Nestle with McCloud. There are far more worse cases in India most of which do not get reported. 

India does have a comprehensive water policy and a government department to look into the water affairs of the country… but what good can they be if the aam-junta cares nothing about this precious resource and continues to use it like no tomorrow. 

Children of a culture born in a water-rich environment, we have never really learned how important water is to us. We understand it, but we do not respect it.
William Ashworth 

We have forgotten our ingenious ways of life where every natural resource such as water, was used and not abused. There were no endless showers, hot tubs, rain parties, or huge water tanks to ensure that the water kept running during all ablutions. Water was rationed as per use. There was no concepts of 24/7 water supply where every household had to dig into their bit of land. We, with knowledge, cognizance and responsibility, are continually turning earth into living hell.

Our earth was always a bit of heaven; for heaven is imagined to be a fertile place where pristine waters flow. If not reclaim it, can we just learn to live with whatever little we have. Can we ensure that we leave the same for our kids and future generations to come? 

Will we ever stop? 

Sign up:

Blog Action Day 2010: Water from Blog Action Day on Vimeo.

Yes, summer is back with temperature peaking like never before. It is the time of the year when every conversation with loved ones or strangers is about how hot the weather has become and that the worst is yet to come. As we sweat, fret, phew and freak, it is also the time of the year when families comes closer due to irregular power cuts.

Summer Heat Tells upon Plants - Yellowing Leaves

Summer is a season of making memories; memoirs that last a lifetime. When I look back on more than 30 summers that went by… I guess each one was special in its own way – with its share of memories, lessons, and warmth.

Everyone generation has a story to tell and memories to re-live, of how their summers were spent. Nostalgia is the flavour of the season that I now so often indulge in…. where summer was about people, mangoes, khus ki tatti, aam-panna, mogra, vividh-bharati, and more.

I miss the simplicity of the life that went by.

Now, summer is felt, not only because of the scorching heat, but also for the hype that surrounds it. Everything around is buzzing with summer camps, summer fashion, summer holiday destinations, summer jobs, summer getaways, summer workouts, summer blah, and more. There is more to summer than scorching sun; more hype than heat. Summer seems to be the happening thing around.

I look back at the summers we had as kids… where it was about fun, holidays, and of doing nothing and everything. Summer was about more of family, fun and frolic. There was no homework to complete, no extracurricular classes to attend and no summer camps to participate in. It was about charting ones own activities, time tables and living for the moment.

Life was so less complicated in those days. Devoid of cutting edge technologies and concrete jungles, there was more to life and living. Summer was not about air conditioners, gas-guzzling generators, ice skating rinks or blue colored mock tails.

Summer was more about spending the season without getting spent. The effort was on conserving oneself, loved ones health and to ride over the season with best of social activity in the most economical way. People were, by default, seeped in eco-friendly summer practices and there was never a need to look beyond the local remedies for keeping cool.

Looking back, there was more sense in simplicity.

The Magic of Jasmine and Mogra in Summer
The women of the house had the art of making summer more romantic than what it was. Or rather they invented ways of spending quality time with one another in the hot season. They would gather in the evening to weave strands of jasmine for one and all.

The Magic of Mogra - Can you smell the fragrant jasmine?

Stringing of jasmine flowers is an art by itself which my mother had mastered in her youth. The right number of flowers, the right mix of sizes interspersed with buds and blooms, the heavenly fragrant downam leaves and twigs in between. From any angle you see, the strands are perfect in size, even in shape and the longest than anyone could make.

Most of the flowers would come from the desolate jasmine climber plant from their courtyard or would be brought from the cycle phoolwala that did rounds every evening shouting motiya-bahaar-bahaare-bahaar. The kids would run in all directions to catch the flower vendor and bring him at the door step. Then there would be the daily ‘yawn’ bargaining cycle over a few paise.

The fragrant leaves that go entwined in jasmine strands

If the flower vendor was in a happy mood or pleased with us, he would throw in few twigs of downam with the flowers. That was considered an ultimate victory and we would proudly get the delicate fragrant wares inside. Summer evenings were indeed more romanchak than romantic.

Whats summmer without the mangoes…
Summer meant mangoes. No. Summer meant kids sitting around a huge cauldron which had mangoes floating and sinking in water. Rasaal, tota-pari, be-nishan, etc, were the more regular ones found in this cauldron where everyone eyed the biggest, yellowest, and the ripest mango in the lot.

Even the raw mangoes were not spared. While most of them went into making hot and spicy avakai pacchidi or aam-ka-achaar or mango pickles, few would be reserved for everyone’s favorite summer drink – the tangy aam-panna.

Anything for a cool sherbat in summer
Summer drinks were naturally organic, even before the eco-friendly hype took over. Nothing could beat the taste, simplicity and effectiveness of natural fruit juices, fruit based concoctions, and remedies for summer heat.

In those sultry days, the best guy on the planet was the ice-gola wala selling balls of crushed ice dunked with some weird flavored concentrate.  He always had only two standard flavors and sizes to choose from. Life was so much simpler then.

Next in demand was the sugarcane juice wala. Ganne-ka-sharbat in the afternoons was an exciting affair as the vendor would come to your house dragging his huge and heavy contraption on wheels, make the juice in front of you, and customize its taste with ginger or lemon. It was always a riot as none of us would have the same taste or preference. God bless him – for he always handed out to each one of us, the perfect sugarcane juice with perfect seasoning with right level of ice in it. Not to mention the falsa, nimbu paani, tarbooz and many other drinks that were a routine.

Atiti-Dev-O-Bhava – Summer Guests Galore
Summer meant guests, guests, and more guests. A trip or two to the railway station was inevitable in summer. Living in a big joint family ensured there were mamas, mamis, chachis, bhai, behen, et al, visiting every holiday season. But that also meant that the whole family had to receive them as well as send them off.

Events at the railway stations were like the reality TV shows. It was all about tearful welcomes, tearful farewells, tearful talks and teardrops in tea. Thankfully that’s not the scene anymore. But whenever I see a huge family gathered on the railway platform – I smile… for somebody is creating memories for a lot of people. Good memories for sure.

The then Khus Ki Tatti now known as Vetiver Roots Curtain
Khus – vettiver roots are a natural air conditioner. The remarkable feature of these mats is that they can cool any hot room instantly putting any air conditioner in the market to shame. The dried roots of vetiver or khus are weaved together with coir rope, like a mat or a curtain for varied uses. You can hang those curtains outside your window or door and drench them in hotter hours in water.

Khus Ki Tatti - Summer Curtain Made with Vetiver Roots

We, as kids were assigned the job of pouring water on the khus-ki-tatties every afternoon. It was a job we loved. The fragrance of the water soaked roots, and the cool wind that comes in through use to be so musky, heady and relaxing that … cannot be described. It is something one should experience in their life – spending a summer afternoon next to a wet vetiver curtain. I guess I will go out to buy some of those blinds soon.

Powercuts and summer are made for each other
Power cuts were a part of life. Regular - on time – they would give us all a chance to get away from whatever little TV we could watch. Power cut at nights would make the whole family come out in the open courtyard with Palmyra leaves fans in their hands. The favorite topic would be a vacation fantasy to faraway cool places like Kodaikanal, Kashmir,Ooty, Shimla, Mount Abu, etc. No, we did not know about Switzerland then or that one could go to such places for vacation.

Summer beauty remedies off the kitchen shelves
Beauty did not take a back seat in sweat then. There were hundreds of home remedies for sunburn, body heat, sun tan, giddiness, dryness, and more. Nanima was treasure trove of ancient remedies and she had the perfect cure for any ailment or concern. Clothes meant cotton and fashion meant Lucknow Chikan kurtas and Bengal Cotton Sarees. Look no further.

Henna-Mehendi Intricate Design

Summer beauty treatments were mostly about henna and multani mitti. Mehendi , a natural coolant, was applied on hands, scalp and married women’s feet. Multani mitti, also known as Fullers Earth, could be smeared anywhere on the body to draw the heat out. Kids had a ball watching thier mothers become mummies in 15 minutes as the clay dried on their faces and hands.

Summer refuge that grandparents give
Summers saps everyone, including grandparents. While the kids remain uncontrollable bundles of energy, grandparents ensure that they remain hale, hearty and healthy. From taking us out to the park, watch over us while we played, storytelling, to giving few coins to enjoy our fun-filled days… there are so many things in which they care and teach us in silent ways. Like giving a glass of cold water from the earthen pot to any passer-by, keeping water out for stray animals such as dogs, cats and cows, and so much more.

Terracotta Mud Pot for Cool Water in Summer - Boon for Street Dogs and Animals

I lost my grandfather to summer heat. He was out in the sun when he had a stroke. He loved the outdoors so much that heat did not deter him. The point is that he enjoyed what he did and he did it till his last breath. That’s the summer’s message for me.

Summer is here… back again to complete its thanda-garam lifecycle.

Yes, it was different then. It is a lot different now. I do long for the back yore days… but there is still so much at the moment to bask in. To learn. To feel. To enjoy. To live. And wait for the avkali baarish – the non seasonal summer showers.

There are more memories than the blog can contain… maybe some other day.
I would love to know what your summer was like when you were half your age and size?