Day 26 - Zumba

Video screenshot from Zumba

I haven't gone for it, but I know a few friends who signed up for Zumba classes. They say it's real fun.

Traditional exercises or dance forms can be too formal. Usually, they are bound by a strict pattern of movements, which sort of makes them too regimented.

(Some of the well-known Indian dance forms: Bharatanatyam, Kathakali, Kathak, Kuchipudi, Manipuri, Odissi etc.)

Zumba adds a liberal dose of entertainment to dance and exercise. There is no water-tight regimen and the routines are flexible, customisable to individual needs, and therefore enjoyable, making it very popular.

Zumba is a trademarked fitness programme that originated in southwest Columbia in the 1990s. It was created by dancer and choreographer Beto Perez, by combining elements from four Latin American dance rhythms: salsa, reggaeton, merengue, and cumbia.

In 2001, Zumba Fitness, LLC, was founded; and in 2011 it arrived in India, one of the over 180 countries where it's now taught and practised.

There is music and a lot of high-impact body movements, including jumping and bouncing. If one is keen on moving into advanced forms, it's better to get prior medical advice.

Like any exercise, Zumba is undoubtedly good for health. It burns calories, loosens joints and muscles, and keeps one agile.

Also, like any exercise, overdoing it won't do any good.

Sources:

Zumba, Mint; WebMD, Wikipedia

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This post is part of the blogging challenge in April every year, wherein bloggers put up one post a day, from A to Z, every day except Sundays. 

The series concludes with this post.

I'm participating in #BlogchatterA2Z. I am also on A2Z April Challenge.

Day 25 - Yugoslavia

Courtesy: Encyclopaedia Britannica 
(Click on image to enlarge)

Yugoslavia was one of the countries very familiar to Indians once upon a time.

Its Communist ruler Josip Tito was among the leaders, alongside India's Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who played a key role in the setting up of the Non-Aligned Movement or popularly called NAM.

NAM, established in Yugoslavia's capital Belgrade in 1961, wasn't formally aligned to either the West bloc led by the US or the East bloc led by the once-mighty USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) or the Soviet Union.

Late 1980s and early 1990s were tumultuous times. 

The biggest event then was the collapse of the USSR, with its impact felt worldwide including in India (the privatisation of Indian economy in 1991).

Yugoslavia -- which comprised six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia -- was one of the first countries in East Europe to be impacted by the breakup of the USSR.

One by one constituents of Yugoslavia began declaring independence, starting with Slovenia and Croatia in 1991. 

The Yugoslav Wars, which broke out among the republics, resulted in the deaths / massacre / genocide of hundreds of thousands of people. 

Yugoslavia as a country was finally dissolved in 1992. But the ethnic tensions / violence / insurgency has continued.

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This post is part of the blogging challenge in April every year, wherein bloggers put up one post a day, from A to Z, every day except Sundays. 

I'm participating in #BlogchatterA2Z. I am also on A2Z April Challenge.

Day 24 - X

Many, many years ago, in the office where I once worked, a senior colleague used to get irritated whenever replied, "I don't know", to any question of his.

I used to say so because I really didn't know. If I didn't know what else was I supposed to say?

He used to tell me: "You should know. How can you not know?"

If I were to look at it in a positive manner, probably he used to have very high expectations from me; and he expected me to know a lot of things; an answer to every question of his.   

But the fact is how is it possible for anyone to know everything?

I don't think there is anyone who knows everything. Not even science has answers to everything.

Take Covid. Even the best of the world's virologists and doctors don't have all the answers to the mysterious ways the SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2) has been behaving. 

No one knows if and when there will be another variant of the virus or how lethal will that be.  

In spite of a suffusion of information (verified and unverified), amplified today by social media, we all live in the midst of a void. The void of the unknown. 

This unknown springs itself upon us out of the blue -- in the form of surprises both pleasant and unpleasant. 

How much ever we base our lives on science and reasoning, there's always the realm of the unknown.

It's this realm that is filled by our beliefs, thoughts, hopes, aspirations, dreams, prejudices, fears, etc.

Our quest is to more. But, the more we know, the more questions we have.

The known is finite; the unknown is infinite.

The journey never ends.

(Image by Flavio Poletti from Pixabay)

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This post is part of the blogging challenge in April every year, wherein bloggers put up one post a day, from A to Z, every day except Sundays. 

I'm participating in #BlogchatterA2Z. I am also on A2Z April Challenge.

Day 23 - Wardrobe

In the wardrobe, there are clothes that were bought many months or even years ago, but have never been worn even once!

But the buying spree continues; and the wardrobe is not just always full, but it's always overflowing!

No, this is not the case with me.

Shopping can be addictive. Someone said it's even therapeutic. You feel very good post-shopping.

If someone has bought a garment, it's because s/he liked it, and therefore wanted to wear it. 

But then, why s/he doesn't wear it after buying it? 

I know friends who keep falling into this trap of "clothes-purchase spree". 

One of them said: "At the store, I like it, but when I come home and see it, I don't feel like wearing it."

Perfectly understandable. Likes and dislikes are very transient, often subject to the influence of mood, ambience, peer group, etc.

Many of my such friends, make it a point not to pile up these brand-new, untouched, unused clothes in the wardrobe. They give them away to someone who likes them / wants them.

A good practice worth emulating.

(Image by JamesDeMers from Pixabay)

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This post is part of the blogging challenge in April every year, wherein bloggers put up one post a day, from A to Z, every day except Sundays. 

I'm participating in #BlogchatterA2Z. I am also on A2Z April Challenge.

Day 22 - Vaccination

This is something that became extremely popular world over since mid-2020 when a Covid-struck world started thinking about a strong armour to beat the virus. On January 16, 2021, India began its anti-Covid vaccination programme.

It's been controversial too.  But not in India, where there was so much enthusiasm that on the very first day, people complained about technical glitches in the software to manage the programme.

There has been hardly any vaccine hesitancy here. If at all people didn't get jabbed, it was mainly because of complacency or laziness.

Right now, the administration of precaution dose or the booster dose is ongoing. I got mine a few days ago, on Saturday. 

Close to 2 billion doses have been administered in India so far -- first, second and booster put together.

The Union Government's CoWIN dashboard gives all the details.

There have been cases of people developing adverse reactions. But they are just 0.005% of all the people who got immunized.

BETTER BE JABBED THAN BE IN HOSPITAL

It's not that there isn't anyone skeptical of the vaccination, be it of any manufacturer. 

Just yesterday, The Times of India reported quoting experts of the government's own ICMR-National Institute of Virology that both Covishield and Covaxin might be less effective against the latest variant of Omicron for people who haven't already contracted Covid compared to those who had contracted the disease.

But the overwhelming perception seems to be: better get vaccinated (manage the minor fever or body pain, nausea, etc., thereafter, if at all) and be safe rather than contract Covid and get hospitalized.

There is also a feeling that a number of Indians have acquired some amount of herd immunity, thanks to the crowded public places.

INDIA'S NATIONAL IMMUNIZATION PROGRAMME

Getting vaccinated is nothing new for us, since our government has had, for so many decades, a robust vaccination programme even before Covid happened.

A baby is vaccinated against BCG, Hepatitis B, and polio soon after birth.

Then follows, at regular intervals, more doses of vaccines against:

• polio
   
• diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, hepatitis B and haemophilus influenzae type b (pentavalent vaccine)
  
  
• rotavirus
  
  
• measles, mumps and rubella
  
  
• Japanese Encephalitis
  
  
• deficiencies of vitamin A
  
  
• DPT (diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus) booster doses and 
  
  
• tetanus 

All this ends only when the child is 16 years of age.

The only difference between these vaccines and the Covid vaccines is that the latter were developed very recently, at a hectic pace, against a deadline, without probably as many trials as probably they would have required, to fight a disease that we are yet to understand fully.

The way I see it is: it's better to get vaccinated than not.

Image by cromaconceptovisual from Pixabay

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This post is part of the blogging challenge in April every year, wherein bloggers put up one post a day, from A to Z, every day except Sundays. 

I'm participating in #BlogchatterA2Z. I am also on A2Z April Challenge.

Day 21 -- Umami

Umami is the fifth basic taste, in addition to sweet, salty, sour and bitter.

This taste was discovered by a Japanese chemist and professor at the Japanese Imperial University Kikunae Ikeda way back in 1908. 

The research that led to his discovery was the result of a feeling he had that the popular Japanese dish 'kombu dashi' had a taste that didn't exactly belong to the four known tastes. 

This dish is a form of broth made of kelp, a type of seaweed. Finally, Ikeda was able to trace this unique taste to glutamate, an amino acid.

Now umami has been officially recognised by scientists around the world as the fifth basic taste.

What contributed to the official confirmation of umami as the fifth basic taste was the discovery, exactly 20 years ago, in 2002, that there are specific taste receptors in our taste buds that do respond to amino acids.

Amino acids are one of the building blocks of proteins in our body.

Glutamates are commonly found in a variety of food like mushrooms, ripe tomatoes, Chinese cabbage, spinach, cheeses, shrimp pastes, fish sauce, soy sauce, fish, shellfish, etc.

The umami taste is said to be best provided by monosodium glutamate or MSG, a more stable powdered form obtained by adding sodium. Arguably, the most famous commercial MSG-based product is the condiment Ajinomoto. 

MSG has been controversial since 1968 when it was reported that it could be behind certain health issues. A large number of studies have been done, but it hasn't been conclusively proven, though some people do react adversely to MSG.

It is said that one of the reasons why we generally crave for food like cheese and chips with ketchup is the presence of glutamate, and thereby the umami taste.

Source:

• The man who discovered umami / BBC
  
  
• Is MSG as bad as it’s made out to be? / BBC
  
  
• Umami: why the fifth taste is so important / The Guardian
  
  
• What is umami? / Ajinomoto 
  
  
• Image credit: Ajinomoto

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This post is part of the blogging challenge in April every year, wherein bloggers put up one post a day, from A to Z, every day except Sundays. 

I'm participating in #BlogchatterA2Z. I am also on A2Z April Challenge.

Day 20 -- Thunder

Loud sound puts me off, generally. I don't like firecrackers. One exception: thunder.

Kerala, where I was during my school and college days, gets a lot of rain accompanied by lightning and thunder. So, most houses, especially in hilly areas, have lightning conductors atop them. Our house had one.

Also, in Kerala, when there is lightning and thunder, people unplug electrical devices as they could possibly get damaged.

All said and done, I like that occasional streak of light in the sky and the roar that rumbles thereafter.

Not actually "thereafter", our physics teacher had told us in school. 

The sound is the result of the sudden expansion of air because of the high-voltage electricity that lightning produces; and both happen simultaneously. 

One of the fun activities in my school days was to determine how far away was the lightning. It's simple. 

Sounds travels at around 340 m in one second. Or, it takes 5 seconds for sound to travel one mile. It varies depending upon temperature and pressure.

I used to count the number of seconds it took for me to hear the thunder; and I multiplied that by 340.  The lightning was that many meters away. (Or divide the number of seconds by 5; it's that many miles away.)

My mother was scared of lightning and thunder. She always asked me to close the windows. In my excitement, I used to plead with her to keep the windows open, so I could see the lightning. 

But later, I realised that she was right: it's safer to keep the windows closed, because colder air conducts electricity better than glass window panes.

They are dangerous, I know. Last year, more than 70 people died in various parts of India after they were struck by lightning. 

Lighting and thunder is very rare -- just a few days in a whole year -- where I live now, Bengaluru. 

Rains are different when there is an occasional lighting and thunder. I don't know if I should say that I miss them. 

I don't want them to be close by. Let them be far away, giving me enough time to count quite a few seconds before I hear that clap. 

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This post is part of the blogging challenge in April every year, wherein bloggers put up one post a day, from A to Z, every day except Sundays. 

I'm participating in #BlogchatterA2Z. I am also on A2Z April Challenge.

Image credit: Pixabay

Day 19 - So

"So, I bought a new phone!"

So, how was your day?

So, it has been raining since morning today. 

So, I am travelling to Delhi this evening.

Here, we are not referring to so as a conjunction (a word that joins two sentence). For example, It's raining so I am not going out.

We are referring to beginning a conversation with the word so.

I have heard many people using it that way. Are you one of them?

Apparently, Mark Zuckerberg, Chairman and CEO of Meta Platforms, is one of them. 

Textbook grammar says one should never begin a sentence (much less a conversation) with a conjunction like so, and, or, etc.

The proponents of its such usage say it sets a context to start a discussion or a conversation; and it sounds more natural that way. Something like a substitute for "You know, .. Well, ... " etc.

They say when you start a conversation with: "So, I am travelling to Delhi this evening", it means "I have been wanting to tell you about my travel plans ..." Or, "Well, there is a change of plan, so I am travelling to Delhi this evening."

However, the opponents say, it is not only grammatically wrong but it also makes the speaker sound a bit defensive (for some unknown reason) saying something that the listener wouldn't be prepared to hear.

I am not one of those who would begin a conversation with so because it sounds a bit odd when I hear someone use it in that manner. 

Language is all about usage, is it not? If it conveys the right meaning, then the usage should be deemed to be right!

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This post is part of the blogging challenge in April every year, wherein bloggers put up one post a day, from A to Z, every day except Sundays. 

I'm participating in #BlogchatterA2Z. I am also on A2Z April Challenge.

Image credit: Pixabay

Day 18 - Railways

The view from the top of our apartment complex

There is something about the trains that's fascinating -- may be the length of the train, may be the way it goes on the track, may be the sound ...  

When I think of Indian Railways, what comes to mind are the vastness of the network, and the convenience of booking and travelling.

Once upon a time, it was such a pain, especially during the holidays.

In the early 1990s, when we were in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, we used to take the Rajkot - Trivandrum Express to go to our home state Kerala.

That was a time, when the reservation network was just computerised in the railway offices. 

Since people could easily book tickets from anywhere in the country to travel between any two places, trains got fully booked within about half an hour!

(Before computerisation, if one had to travel from, say, Mumbai to Delhi, one had to book from Mumbai railway station. One could do it from any other place as well, but that was a very tedious process.)

So, even though the railway counter opened at 8.30 am, I would be at the Ahmedabad railway station as early as 5 am so that I was well ahead in the queue. 

Imagine standing in the the queue for more than 3 hours. Yes, those were the days! 

I can't believe the convenience internet and mobile phones have brought about. During my recent Chennai trip, I cancelled one ticket and booked another one, all in less than 10 minutes while travelling in a cab!

During a trip to Mangaluru in 2019

This month, it's 169 long years since the first railway track in the Indian subcontinent was laid. That was on the 16th of April 1853 - a stretch of 21 miles or 34 kilometers, between Bombay and Thane.

In the East, a track was commissioned the next year, August 15th, between Howrah and Hoogly, 24 miles or 39 km.

Trains began running in south India in 1856, when on July 1, a 63 mile (101 km) long track was opened between Arcot and Veyasarpandy.

In the North, on March 3, 1859, a 119 mile (192 km) long line was made functional between Allahabad and Kanpur.

Indian Railways has come a long way since.

It's among the largest rail networks in the world.

Its tracks run 1,08,706 km across the length and breadth of the nation.

As many as 13,169 passenger trains run daily, touching 7,325 stations across the country.

The fully air-conditioned Garib Rath 
at Kochuveli, Kerala, in 2016

The vast network might not be of airline standards. But it's convenient, comfortable and affordable. 

Not surprisingly, every day, 23 million (2 crore 30 lakh) people travel on 13,169 passenger trains that touch 7,325 stations across the country.

One of my post-retirement activities would be to travel around the country on trains.

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This post is part of the blogging challenge in April every year, wherein bloggers put up one post a day, from A to Z, every day except Sundays. 

I'm participating in #BlogchatterA2Z. I am also on A2Z April Challenge.

Day 17 - Quarantine

Easily, the most common, Q word, these days. It just generally means isolation, though of course there is a technical difference.

Isolation is when you are infected and you stay away from others.

Quarantine is when you might not be actually sick or infected, but you have a doubt that you might be. So in order to avoid the risk of infecting others in case you are infected, you stay away from others.  

Quarantine is a phenomenon that Covid brought into our lives. In 2020, in August-September, I was in quarantine thrice. Not because I had Covid, but people I came in contact with had Covid.

Now we are living in an era, when even if someone sneezes or coughs, even if intermittently, others would move away! Most employers discourage their employees from coming to office even if they have cold / cough.   

Though Covid Era might not have ended, the Quarantine Era seems to have ended.

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This post is part of the blogging challenge in April every year, wherein bloggers put up one post a day, from A to Z, every day except Sundays. 

I'm participating in #BlogchatterA2Z. I am also on A2Z April Challenge.

Image credit: Pixabay

Day 16 - Pogono-

Many men, including yours truly, gave up shaving during the pandemic. 

The last time I did that was more than 20 years ago, and that phase lasted around six or seven years, if I remember right.

This time around, two factors worked as an encouragement to put the razor away one fine morning and the next day and the next.

One, I was confined to home, and even if my colleagues saw me, I was a distant image on a corner of my phone or laptop screen.

Two, even when I stepped out, any probable scruffy look was very well masked.

This beard acquired a moniker too - quarantine beard!

There are various interpretations of what a beard conveys, depending on its length and looks, and also how the viewer perceives it -- sadness, resignation, wisdom, spirituality, maturity, concern, seniority, authority ... 

Even though we aren't done with Covid yet, our lives have pretty much limped back to the times before the virus wreaked havoc. 

I am now wondering if and when I should pick up the razor again. But a few appreciative nods and comments have meant that the facial hair will stay for now.

Here are a few words associated with beard:

• Pogonotrophy - Growing of beard
  
  
• Pogonotomy - Cutting / shaving of beard
  
  
• Pogonology - Study of beards
  
  
• Pogonophile - Someone who loves beard
  
  
• Pogonophobia - hatred of beard

Now you know why I wrote about beard today!

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This post is part of the blogging challenge in April every year, wherein bloggers put up one post a day, from A to Z, every day except Sundays. 

I'm participating in #BlogchatterA2Z. I am also on A2Z April Challenge.

Image credit: Pixabay

Day 15 - Oxford comma

Which of the two following sentences is correct?

For breakfast today, I had bread, butter, cheese and jam.

For breakfast today, I had bread, butter, cheese, and jam.

The only difference in the above two sentences is the comma before 'and'.

Both are okay, since the meaning remains the same.

This comma is called the 'Oxford comma'. It comes after the penultimate item and before 'and' or 'or' in a list of items.

It's so called because Oxford University Press introduced it around 1900 to reduce ambiguity while listing out items.  

SHOULD WE USE IT OR NOT?

What I learnt in school was that when you list a number of items, you don't need a comma before 'and' or 'or' because the conjunction (and / or) brings in the pause and clarity which otherwise is provided by the comma.

However, now I realise that the style books of some organisations (like The Chicago Manual of Style, Garner's Modern American Usage) mandate its use; while those of others (like Associated Press Stylebook and The New York Times Style Book) don't.

Interestingly, while The Oxford Style Manual is for it, the University of Oxford Style Guide is against it.

Some, like The Economist, leave it to the context of the usage.

I don't use it, if it isn't required. 

WHEN IS IT REQUIRED

Look at this sentence:

Nimmy gave the bunch of flowers to her parents, Susan and Chris.

Since there is no Oxford comma, I will presume that Susan and Chris are Nimmy's parents.

If they are not, then you need an Oxford comma. 

Nimmy gave the bunch of flowers to her parents, Susan, and Chris.

Or, list them in a different order:

Nimmy gave the bunch of flowers to Susan, Chris and her parents.

So be careful, punctuations (actually not just the Oxford comma) can alter meanings!

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This post is part of the blogging challenge in April every year, wherein bloggers put up one post a day, from A to Z, every day except Sundays. 

I'm participating in #BlogchatterA2Z. I am also on A2Z April Challenge.

Day 14 - Nagaland, rich cultural heritage

This continues from my yesterday's post.

From Shillong, we took a taxi back to Guwahati, from where we travelled to Dimapur, the commercial hub of Nagaland, by a night train on Nov 01, 2010. We reached the next day early morning. 

Our sojourn there was hosted by a friend, who arranged for a cab pickup from the Dimapur railway station to Kohima, the capital of the state. 

Kohima, which is about 75 km from Dimapur, doesn't have railway connectivity. A line connecting the two cities is under construction. In fact, there are ambitious plans to connect all the northeast state capitals by rail. But that's making very slow progress because of the challenging terrain.

We had these breathtaking scenery as we drove into Kohima:

We first went to Kisama Heritage Village, which showcases local traditions and cultural activities, on the outskirts of Kohima. The houses have thatched roofs, wooden walls that have intricate carvings of different designs, symbolizing rural folklore. Each of the 16 houses represents a community. It's here that the famous Hornbill Cultural Festival is held in the first week of December.

It will be hard to find a vegetarian in Nagaland. They love meat. We went to one of the typical markets in Kohima, called Keeda Bazaar. There they sell everything from vegetables and fish to meat of a variety of animals, insects and reptiles. 

We also went to a traditional Naga house, where we were welcomed by the family and treated to 'rice beer', which is nothing but fermented rice water. It's too light to get one intoxicated.

We then went to the Kohima War Cemetery which honours the soldiers of the Allied Forces who lost their lives fighting the Japanese Army during the World War II. 

There are stone inscriptions of over 2,000 soldiers, who beat back the Japanese troops at the Garrison Hills after a battle in 1944. 

We drove around the city as well to get a glimpse of the daily life. 

We enjoyed and learnt a lot more than we thought we would, during this two-state northeast tour.  

Anyone who loves to travel, see places and learn about people and their cultural traditions, should definitely plan a trip to this region. 

We hope to travel again to see the other states. 

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This post is part of the blogging challenge in April every year, wherein bloggers put up one post a day, from A to Z, every day except Sundays. 

I'm participating in #BlogchatterA2Z. I am also on A2Z April Challenge.

Day 13 - Meghalaya, ecological paradise

In the last week of October of 2010, we were in Meghalaya on a holiday. Even though I hail from a state (Kerala) which has lush green landscape, the verdant valleys of this northeast corner of our country took my breath away.

Image courtesy: Maps of India

Meghalaya is one of the seven contiguous states in the northeast of India. These states are a cluster and joined to the rest of India via a narrow corridor (around 20 km at the narrowest section) called Siliguri Corridor. 

The seven states are (in clockwise direction) Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, and Meghalaya. These are popularly called the Seven Sisters of India.

Let us not forget Sikkim (another beautiful place) which is lies north of the corridor, between Bhutan and Nepal. Sikkim, which was a kingdom, joined India in 1975. Many people count Sikkim also as a part of the northeast, though this state doesn't share its border with any of the Seven Sisters.       

RAINFALL

We flew from Bengaluru to Guwahati with a stopover at Kolkata. From Guwahati, we took a taxi to Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya.

When I think of Meghalaya, I remember my school geography class. There used to be a popular exam question. Which is the place in India that gets the maximum rainfall. The answer was Cherrapunjee. That's in Meghalaya. 

Now Cherrapunjee has been replaced by Mawsynram (also in Meghalaya) which is said to be one of the wettest places in the world, not just in India.

First, we went to a village called Dympep. There are a few locations, which are called "view points", from where we get breathtaking views of the landscape. 

The view from Duwan Sing Syiem View Point,
in Dympep, Sohra

We then went to Nohkalikai Falls (pictured below) in Sohra, Cherrapunjee. It is said to be the tallest water plunge in India, at 340 meters. It wasn't exactly a rainy season when we went there. During the rains, the waterfall is much heavier. 

We then went to the Eco Park in Mawsmai, in Cherrapunjee. There are children's play areas, foot bridges, historical monoliths, water conservation structures, besides 'view points', and thick vegetation. 

Above and below, views from Mawsmai.

Note the water stream down the hill.

There is also Mawsmai cave, which has to be approached through thickly wooded paths. Inside the cave one can see fossils. This is not one of those long ones. The longest is Krem Liat Prah which is around 30 km long! I am told nine of the 10 longest caves in India are in Meghalaya and the 10th is in Mizoram.

On way to the Mawsmai cave

Entrance to the Mawsmai cave

Next, we went to Mawlynnong village. It's so neat and well looked after that in 2003, the Discovery India TV channel ran a documentary and branding the village as the 'cleanest in Asia'. Everyone in the village is educated and the village has made great progress in women empowerment. 

Some photos from Mawlynnong below:

Meghalaya is also known for a number of 'living root bridges'. These are not natural formations. They were made by the local people who have learnt how to wrap together thick roots of trees to form these bridges. 

The photo above is a close-up shot of one of them. I had a long-shot frame too, but I can't locate it. Give a Google search for "Meghalaya root bridges", and you will find plenty of photos. There are some long ones, that are so strong they can hold as many as 50 people at a time!

(My northeast tour continues tomorrow with another state: the only one of the Seven Sisters whose name starts with N.)

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This post is part of the blogging challenge in April every year, wherein bloggers put up one post a day, from A to Z, every day except Sundays. 

I'm participating in #BlogchatterA2Z. I am also on A2Z April Challenge. 

Day 12 - Lassi, the cool comfort

Salt lassi. Courtesy: Wikipedia

A word starting with L? 

Today, in this hot weather, I can't think of anything other than lassi -- so cooling, comforting and relaxing!

It is a mixture of yogurt, water, spices and sometimes fruit.

It's more popular in north India though available all across the country.

It not just cools the body and reduces the chances of sun stroke, it's a healthy drink since it has lot of good bacteria that ensures a healthy alimentary system, besides proteins that help strengthen our muscles.

There are different types of lassi, depending upon what is added to it. From sweet lassi and salty lassi to mango lassi to strawberry lassi.

A few months ago, a foodie did a bizarre experiment by mixing such diverse stuff like green chillies, honey and Toblerone chocolate to yogurt, milk, and a little milk powder in a blender. 

An Instagram video of it got widely shared. I have no idea of how it tastes. Someone can try it out!

Writing this short post has left me craving for a glass of lassi. There is a Lassi Shop nearby. And, I am heading there right away, to celebrate the 12th letter of the English alphabet!

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This post is part of the blogging challenge in April every year, wherein bloggers put up one post a day, from A to Z, every day except Sundays. 

I'm participating in #BlogchatterA2Z. I am also on A2Z April Challenge. 

Day 11 - Kanikonna - a visual Vishu treat

Cassia fistula. Courtesy: The Wire

'Kanikonna' or 'kani konna', is the Malayalam word for Cassia fistula, commonly known as 'golden shower' or 'Indian laburnum'. It is widely found in the Indian subcontinent, but more popular in the state of Kerala.

These trees draped in golden yellow flowers are so pretty and pleasing. Typically, the flowers bloom around this time, in time for the festival, but apparently they are blooming at other times of the year as well, said to be because of changes in weather patterns. 

These flowers are an inseparable part of the Kerala festival of Vishu, which falls generally on the 14th or 15th of April every year. This year it's on the 15th.

(By the way, Vishu is popularly, and wrongly, referred to as Malayalam new year festival. The Malayalam calendar year changes during Onam, and not during Vishu. This is the beginning of spring, in the northern hemisphere. Vishu is from the Sanskrit word Visuvam meaning equinox -- this time of the year, when the Sun has crossed over the equator to the north, and the duration of day and night is roughly equal.)

Vishu Kani. Courtesy: Wikipedia

On the eve of Vishu, homes set up what is called Vishu Kani. That's an assortment of items like fruits, grains, lemon, cucumber, vegetables, coconut, betel leaves, betel nut etc. along with some currency notes or coins, a small mirror, an oil lamp and an idol or photo of Lord Krishna (Lord Vishnu) placed in a metallic plate. It's traditionally set up by the eldest woman member of the family. 

On the day of Vishu, she wakes up first, and then wakes up others, and leads them blindfolded to the Kani for them to see it the first thing in the day. Nowadays, it's only the children who are led up blindfolded by their parents to the Kani. They demand that too because of the fun element involved. The belief is that seeing the auspicious Kani would set the pattern for the rest of the year. 

Also, every member of the family wears brand new dress on Vishu. It's referred to as Vishu Kodi.

There is also something called the Vishu Kaineettam. That's a small amount of money that elders give usually to children or to someone younger. What used to ₹1 in my school days, has now become ₹51 or even ₹101! Children, playfully, sometimes demand Vishu Kaineettam from elders in the family!

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This post is part of the blogging challenge in April every year, wherein bloggers put up one post a day, from A to Z, every day except Sundays. 

I'm participating in #BlogchatterA2Z. I am also on A2Z April Challenge.

Day 10 - Junction. What do you mean?

This must be one of those most crazy words in English, because there are so many meanings for this word.

Junction is a 2012 American movie and Jjunction is a 2002 Tamil movie. 

There are electrical junctions, road junctions, rail junctions and canal junctions.

Junction is a Finland-based hackathon organiser which launched operations in 2015. It's now gone international. Last year, it was held from Nov 19 to 21.

In computer science, Junction tree algorithm is a tool used in machine learning.

Junction plakoglobin is a type of protein.

In the United States, Junction is a city in Texas, a town in Utah, a village in Illinois,  and an unincorporated community (a region not governed by the local municipal corporation) in Wisconsin, West Virginia, Ohio, and Idaho.

Junction is a suburb in Melbourne, Australia.

So many restaurants in Bengaluru are named with Junction as one of the words. -- Punjab Junction, Jalandhar Junction, Junction Restaurant, Roll Junction, Malabar Junction, Juice Junction, Paratha Junction, Momos Junction. ... 

Do other cities too have such names for restaurants?

Now, where did I get all this information from? 

In Wikipedia, there are 252 pages with subject titles (either direct or redirected) beginning with the word Junction. All those are listed in one single page here, the source of information for this post.

Now, how did I find this page?

Serendipity!

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This post is part of the blogging challenge in April every year, wherein bloggers put up one post a day, from A to Z, every day except Sundays. 

I'm participating in #BlogchatterA2Z. I am also on A2Z April Challenge.

Image credit: Pixabay

A2Z Challenge - Day 9 - India

Courtesy: Maps of India

A few words that come to my mind when I think of my country are (not in any particular order): resilience, unity, diversity, vastness, sound, people, vibrancy, democracy, hills, valleys, seashore, festivals ... a melting pot of cultures ... 

Of course, we can find any number of faults with our people, our governments, and our nation in general. But there are so many aspects that stand out to be taken note of. 

This year, on the 15th of August, it would be 75 years since India freed itself from British rule. 

These years have seen so many catastrophic events -- proper wars, proxy wars, terrorist attacks, economic crises, social unrests, natural disasters ... And now recently Covid.

But push India to a corner, and we unite like never before!

There was a time, till the late 1980s, when India was dependent on the developed nations. No longer.

The best indicator of it is how India is managing very well its interests in the face of the US-Russia conflict over the Ukraine war. (By the way, today there is a virtual meeting between the US President and India's PM.)

The Green Revolution of the 1960s marked the modernisation of the farm sector. 

Operation Flood (subsequently called White Revolution) launched in 1970 was the world's largest dairy development programme.

India's space industry is huge, benefiting a wide range of sectors from education and health to communication and scientific research. 

The totally paperless, electronic voting across the entire nation -- introduced in a phased manner since 1998 -- must surely be one of a kind in the world.

The digitization of India's economy -- one of the spinoffs of the stunning IT revolution -- is to be seen to be believed. That's a story in itself. 

Late economist John Kenneth Galbraith, who was the US ambassador to India from 1961 to 1963, famously described India as a 'functioning anarchy'. Arguably, that still, in a sense, describes this country -- an amazing bundle of contradictions! 

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This post is part of the blogging challenge in April every year, wherein bloggers put up one post a day, from A to Z, every day except Sundays. 

I'm participating in #BlogchatterA2Z. I am also on A2Z April Challenge.

A2Z Challenge - Day 8 - Honey

Scientists in the US say honey, the sweet, viscous food substance, can be used to make a type of computer chip that will work very much like the human brain.

(Chip in a computer is a small material that plays a crucial part in the processing of electronic signals / instructions.)

Engineers in Washington State University have found that using honey they can make something called 'memristor', which will process as well as store information. The honey memristor is as small as a human hair.

A network of hundreds of thousands of these small memristors can work like human neurons.

(Neurons or nerve cells are what transmits different commands in our human body. They can also store information. That is why it's said our brain is like a computer or vice versa.)

The scientists are planning to make these in nanoscale, that is 1/1000th of a human hair. And pack billions of them into what is called neuromorphic system.

A neuromorphic system is a network of electronic circuits that mimics the human neurological system. 

Scientists are excited about honey because of some of its properties like its low moisture content which means bacteria won't thrive on it, and of course, its biodegradable nature, which holds the prospect of bringing down the quantity of electronic waste. 

Source: Euronews Next, Digital Trends

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This post is part of the blogging challenge in April every year, wherein bloggers put up one post a day, from A to Z, every day except Sundays. 

I'm participating in #BlogchatterA2Z. I am also on A2Z April Challenge.

Image credit: Pixabay

A2Z Challenge - Day 7 - Gym

Before I start today's post, I would like to thank all those who have been dropping by my blog, reading the posts, and leaving comments, some of them quite insightful. I have been reading them all. 

My apologies for not being able to immediately acknowledge your efforts, because of my packed daily routine. Yet, I chose to do the Challenge because it's still doable, though I might be occasionally lagging a bit.

Please be assured that I will return your visit and leave my comments, as I catch up during the weekends, and as and when I get some time.   

There was a time when I used to go to a nearby gym, mainly to walk/ jog on the treadmill and do a bit of exercises on the various apparatus.

But I discontinued after nearly a year; because I realised that most of the benefits we get out of doing those simple exercises in the gym, one can easily get by doing similar exercises out in the open air. I was also feeling the closed environment of a gym, a bit constricting.  

So, I go to a nearby park, daily. Bengaluru is lucky that way. There are many parks, and most of them have equipment for basic exercises.

This is not to say that gyms are of no use. But before we decide to sign up to use those machines in the gym, one must ensure that those higher levels of exercising are indeed needed. Professional gymnasts, athletes and sportspersons are definitely people who need to train in a gym. 

Besides them, there are also many non-sportspeople who would like to professionally train like sportspersons. That's also fine.

However, anecdotally, I have seen that there is a sort of misplaced fascination with 'gyming', almost like a fad, especially with youngsters: sort of an obsession with how one's body looks. 

Another trend that I have seen is some people go to the gym, vigorously and strenuously exercise for a few months. They then lose interest, and not only stop going to the gym, but also stop exercising altogether. So much so that they slip into a sedentary lifestyle.   

That's indeed dangerous, not just for the body but for the mind too.

Recently, there have been many instances of people who are 'very fit', 'healthy' and 'athletic', losing their life, because of over-exercising and thereby putting their body into too much of stress and strain. A simple web search will throw more light on this.

What is important is not going to a gym and exercising. What is important is exercising to our personal requirement, without putting our body into too much of stress. 

Finally, it's all NOT about 'looking good'. It is about being healthy.

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This post is part of the blogging challenge in April every year, wherein bloggers put up one post a day, from A to Z, every day except Sundays. 

I'm participating in #BlogchatterA2Z. I am also on A2Z April Challenge.

Image credit: Pixabay

A2Z Challenge - Day 6 - Le Français / French

(English translation below)

C’est mon troisième blog post en Français. (La première, et la deuxième)  

Je suis en train d’apprendre la langue. Alors, s’il y a des erreurs, excusez-moi, s'il vous plaît !

J’aime le français. C’est une langue très musicale et ‘douce’. Mais ce n’est pas facile.

J’utilise Duolingo pour apprendre la langue – je passe 15-20 chaque jour après le petit déjeuné. Il y a beaucoup de leçons, et maintenant, j’ai étudié jusqu’à l’unité 5.  

Il y a beaucoup de sites touristiques en France, par exemple, la Tour Eiffel, le musée du Louvre, le Château de Versailles etc. Ils sont tous très célèbres.

Les idées de liberté et de démocratie sont venues de France.

Il y a beaucoup de festivals intéressants en France, par exemple, le fête de la musique, le fête du livre, le fête de la lecture, etc.

La cuisine française est très connue dans le monde entier. Il y a plus de 200 types de fromage là-bas.

Avec un peu de chance, un jour, je visiterai le France !

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This is my third blog post in French. (The first, the second)

I am learning the language. So, in the case there are errors, please excuse me!

I love French. It’s very ‘musical’ and ‘soft’. But it’s not easy.

I am using Duolingo to learn French. I spend around 15 to 20 minutes daily after breakfast. There are lots of lessons and now I have studied till Unit 5.

There are many tourist attractions in France, for example, Eiffel Tower, Louvre museum, Château de Versailles etc., etc. They are all very famous.

There are many interesting festivals, like music festival, book festival, festival of reading etc.

French cuisine is world famous. There are more than 200 types of cheese there.

Hopefully, I will visit France one day!

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This post is part of the blogging challenge in April every year, wherein bloggers put up one post a day, from A to Z, every day except Sundays. 

I'm participating in #BlogchatterA2Z. I am also on A2Z April Challenge.

Image credit: Pixabay

A2Z Challenge - Day 5 - Ether

I love this word. It sounds so sublime, so light, so ethereal!

But this lovely word has so many meanings!

I heard about it for the first time in my school chemistry class. 

Ether, in very simple terms, is a group of chemical substances that are made of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen.

There are many types of ethers. They find use in one form or the other in a wide variety of industries ranging from petroleum to pharmaceuticals to cosmetics. 

A common form of ether is diethyl ether, or simply referred to as ether.

This ether is a very pleasant smelling, colourless liquid, and is highly inflammable. 

Once upon a time it was used as a general anaesthetic until non-flammable substitutes came in. 

Despite its flammable nature, and its low boiling point (34.6 deg C or 94.3 deg F), in very small quantities it is used as a recreational drug, either in liquid or gaseous form. Dependance on it is called etheromania.

Ether, once upon a time, was considered to be the medium that pervades the space above our atmosphere. It was said that light travelled through ether. But there was no evidence for it, and the theory was discarded since Einstein's Theory of Relativity was able to explain conclusively all phenomena of light without reference to ether.

Still, ether is used to mean, air, or outer space, or sky, or heaven.

Ethereal as an adjective has a range of meanings: delicate, refined, not belonging to earth, out of this world, intangible, celestial, heavenly, spiritual ... 

A common phrase is: ethereal beauty ... so beautiful, delicate and refined for this world! 

Recently, in hip-hop parlance, ether is used colloquially as a verb to mean severely humiliate or insult another person. It's also used as a synonym for heavily criticise.

It traces its origin to the 2001 song Ether from the album Stillmatic by American rapper Nas. It was released in response to Jay-Z's 'Takeover' that was aimed at Nas.

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This post is part of the blogging challenge in April every year, wherein bloggers put up one post a day, from A to Z, every day except Sundays. 

I'm participating in #BlogchatterA2Z. I am also on A2Z April Challenge.

Image credit: Pixabay

A2Z Challenge - Day 4 - Discreet / Discrete

Swap two letters in a word, you get a new word. They both sound the same, but the meanings are hugely different. 

There are plenty of such words in English. They are called homophones - words with the same pronunciation but with different meanings. 

Discreet and discrete is one such pair. 

This how Collins Dictionary defines them:

If you are discreet, you are polite and careful in what you do or say, because you want to avoid embarrassing or offending someone.

Discrete ideas or things are separate and distinct from each other.

Sometimes, not to is better than to.

'I picked this for D because I could never get this right, until I found a way of remembering it. 

This is the clue I use: in the word for separate, the 'e's are separated by a 't'. The one in which they are together is for careful.

Related to discreet is discretion, which is a quality of speaking or behaving in such a manner as not to offend others. Discretion can also mean the freedom or authority to make a decision.

Indiscretion, the opposite of discretion, can land us in embarrassing situations. We all have had such moments at some time in our lives, haven't we? 

That is why this well-known idiom, Discretion is the better part of valour, makes a lot of sense. 

It means not doing or saying something is a bolder or a more courageous move than doing or saying it and then getting into trouble later.

Do you agree? Or do you think it's perfectly okay to be indiscreet, if the situation demands.  

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This post is part of the blogging challenge in April every year, wherein bloggers put up one post a day, from A to Z, every day except Sundays. 

I'm participating in #BlogchatterA2Z. I am also on A2Z April Challenge.

Image credit: Pixabay

A2Z Challenge - Day 3 - Cats

On top of the refrigerator

Back in my school and college days, at my home in Kerala, we had at one time as many as 12 cats spanning four generations. They were in a sense my childhood companions, I had so much fun playing with them. 

While I was at my desk studying or doing my homework, one of them would climb on to my lap. On seeing that, another one follow. And then, a third one. If there wasn't enough room for comfort, s/he would reluctantly decide to settle on my desk.

Some others chose to be circumspect. They would stand up on their hind legs with their forelimbs resting on my chair. They would survey the scene for availability of space before taking the trouble of jumping on to my lap.

Right now we don't have cats at home. The last time we had was between 2015 and 2017. 

Cats have a great liking for boxes, in fact any enclosure. That's because they give them a sense of security and protection. Inside the boxes, the temperature is slightly higher than the room temperature. And, that's what cats like.

Besides boxes and bags, cats are fascinated by umbrellas. Open one them and it keep it on the floor. The cat will go around it examining it from all sides. If there are more cats, then they start playing a version of hide-and-seek, or catch-me, as they run around it. When one of them climbs over it, because of the weight, the umbrella begins to roll, making the cats all the more excited. It's great fun!

On the clothesline!

Anything that is moving attracts the attention of cats, and they like to play with it. Here is a short video:

(There are more cat videos on my YouTube channel).

There are admirers of cats and admirers of dogs. The diehard fans claim that their pet is more superior than the other, But, I think both are loving, friendly and comforting in their own way. 

I like dogs too, though I have never had one as a pet at home.

There is a common assumption that cats aren't loyal to the pet owner. But I don't think so, going by my experience. They were so attached to me. I have seen that they are very perceptive too. When one of our family members hasn't been at home for a few days, cats realise that. And they seem to ask: 'where has he gone?' 'When will he be back'? 

When we talk to them, they meow back -- only that they aren't able to talk to us in a language that we know.

Do you like cats, or dogs, or both?

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This post is part of the blogging challenge in April every year, wherein bloggers put up one post a day, from A to Z, every day except Sundays. 

I'm participating in #BlogchatterA2Z. I am also on A2Z April Challenge.