fatal attractions----animal planet

                                              No......its  not  the  name  of  a  james  bond  movie  or a crime thriller  .  Its  a series  of real life  incidents  shown in the  animal planet  television channel  .  Each of  the episode shows  real life  incidents when people  who kept  wild animals  as pets were  killed  by their "pets  "   .  Its  a must watch if  you  like  me are  intrigued  by  human animal interaction especially  when that interaction is between  a  "big pet  " like  lion,tiger  etc  . And  some episodes  show  also  show  wild animals being reared  successfully without serious incidents  sometimes  for  as long as fourty  years  . 

                                        I  am unlikely  going  to  have a lion  or tiger as a  pet  (not because  it is dangerous )  but  because  it is  a  very  responsible  job unlike  rearing a domestic cat or  dog  .  Nonetheless watching these episodes  made me think  about  whether  humans  or animals are  more dangerous  .  On  one  hand  we  have  these  lions  and tigers  which are  genetically  programmed  to kill  and maim  feeding from the owners hand  ,  cuddling upto them  etc  and  occasionally  ends  with  an adverse  incident  when  some  golden rules  of interaction are broken  .  And on the  other  hand we  have  young  teenage  humans coming  up  with  guns  and opening  fire  and killing  dozens  of  fellow classmates  in U.S  and  europe  .  Not to speak of the  wars with and without reason killing  millions of people .

                                                             One  of the episodes showed the  actor in tarzan movie  living with many tigers at his  home  .  He  is seen swimming with them  , feeding them by hand etc  . His life  was  saved by a lion  during  a massive fire at the  film set  where he was working and from that day  he is  having many big cats  as pets  . For  last 40 years  there was  never  a  problem with them and asked whether he is not scared of them he replied  he doesnt mind even if he gets killed  by them as  he owes his life  to them  .

                                       Also shown is  a person having  a large bengal tiger as pet for many years  .  He was a vietnam war veteran  who  had  post traumatic stress disorder  after  his  war  years  . He  says the unconditional love  of the tiger  pet  gives him significant relief from his PTSD  . 

Then todays episode  , there was a  lady  who  was  abandoned  by her mother  ,  had a divorce   once  who remarried  and her husband died after a few months  living alone  in Oregon with  no neighbours nearby  . 

She feeds  bears  and  is shown handfeeding them  which are four times her size  .  She didnt get  injured  or killed  but  got a prison sentence for feeding  the bears ....  and endangering public safety  . 

The authorities  are  right  ..... she  should be punished  for being kind to wild animals  ... but  we  as a society  as long as we dont have answers to peoples  problems  , do we  have the  right  to act as  policemen to  peoples  love  for  "dangerous " animals who give  unconditional love  ?

.......And  for the record  .... search  tiger temple of thailand  , born free  and many  others  to  find  that  even lion -tiger  human-pet  attraction  need not end  fatally  .....

An unusual spouse : Money

Ebenezer Scrooge of  Charles  Dickens  famous novel of 1843  Christmas Carol  comes to my mind  whenever  i think about  my tryst with english prose in my  school years  .  That character became so  ingrained in literature that  his  last name has  become  the  english byword for miserliness  and misanthropy  . 

I  dont know  whether  there were so many  Scrooges  in Dickens time  but at least  i see  many  Scrooges  in these times .    Seemingly  its not a vice  by itself  ---afterall  we need  money to survive  .  After  air and water , money is  a necessity  .  But  how  much  money is required  for a person  ?  A very debatable issue   .  Studies in the  United States  have  shown that  beyond  a reasonable  income  covering  the basic expenses  and some  savings  there  is  no  correlation  at all  between  more money and  happiness  .For  example  a person  earning  $ 30000 and  $ 300000 is not ten times  or even doubly happier  .  It  is found that  loving relationships  are correlated  with  greater  happiness  in all  the  research studies.

Does this love(greed )  for money  and  loving relationships go hand-in-hand  ?  No  .  The negative correlation is obvious  but the reasons are not that obvious  . 
                                                                      One of the  most obnoxious  practices  i have observed  in some of  the  "nuclear"  households  is  the  great reluctance  in sharing their food with  others  .  By  some  primitive economic calculation they  assume that  by  not  giving  food  to their guest  or restricting the amount of food prepared  each day  they  cumulatively accumulate  a  lot  of money  .  But  food sharing  being  one  of the  fundamental  trait  of human social bonding  is circumvented  and  these  same  people  after  years  voice  why  they  are  unloved and  why  no  one "is there  "  for them  . 

                                                                           Both  my  grandparents house were always full  of people  and  anyone who came be it  relative , friend or beggar  never  went  on empty  stomach back  . They were joint families and both the  households were rich  .  But  it was not the richness which  made them share  the food with  all  the  guests but their  rich  attitude  .  This was in early 80s ...

Fast forward  to  2000s  ...... Nuclear family  ,  internet  , the era  of Dominos and KFCs  .  But  one thing still  remained the same  ... Food is an integral part of  human interaction and social bonding.  And on a primal level it is still  an integral element of survival  . 

But  these  two decades have made  a  vast change in human mentality  ... consumerism  and self centredness creeped in  , by iteslf  not  an evil , but  not an asset nonetheless  .  These  days i find  two kinds of households.  One is where  whenever  you go  at whatever  time  you  are invited  to partake of  thier food  and they have  no restrictions on the amount of food you consume  .  In other households  there is  a great reluctance  in offering food  as  if each  morsel is a gold coin  .  And interestingly  this attitude  is not towards me alone . On observation this behaviour is reported  by  all the guests to those  households  .  Though  not  done a statistical study  i have observed  that  the former  households  "spendthrifts "  get  back  more than they asked for  .  People visit them  often  ,  they are showered with gifts  ( you tell me  which brings you greater  joy  ---- buying a  5000 rs fishing rod or 15000 rs mobile or getting the same as a gift  from  a  close  relative or friend ?)  and  though there is no love -o -meter  most  people speak  in very loving terms regarding them  . And  the  latter  households  --what about them  ..... Yes  they are  visited  less often  (saving their bills on food  )  ,  they have  noone other  than  their  nuclear counterparts when any need arises  and  they buy their  goodies themselves . 
                                    So  whats the  whole  point in this  ?? Both  these households are living  ...whats my  problem  ....The problem  is :  They complain  that  they are  unloved without reason  and Im speechless  for a  second  . 
And  my  answer  to them is  .... read  Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens and pray  that they understand 


                                                                                         

Hungry in Zamorins land ---Calicut hotels

You can be hungry  in the Sahara ,  thirsty in the Atacama desert  but one place  you shouldnt starve  is  ......Calicut   ... The  land of Zamorin Kings  .....Strictly speaking the cuisine of present day  Calicut is not the Zamorin Kings cuisine ,.  But  that is  ok  ... for  its a great cuisine  of its own  " the malabar cuisine  "  .  I personally  like good vegeterian food as well as non-vegeterian food  . But  in Calicut  the  AUTO mode in my stomach  goes into non vegeterian  and the settings  are set by theMalabar cuisine which is 99 percent nonvegeterian unless you count the sweets  as vegeterian  ... So here it goes 

Paragon  Hotel  ...  Seafood, Biriyani  ,  you name it you get  it in paragon  around  100  metres from the famous mananchira  maidan  ( ground)  .  Be it  the prawns masala or the  "Ayakkoora "  fry  (  claims  to be the sister  of  the Nemmeen  (seerfish  ) available in South Kerala )) their fish items  are good each one better than the rest  . Which to choose  ?  Dont ask me  choose all:)  . Their biriyani  is good  but  i feel  not as classy compared  to their  seafood  curries or masala with  any of the main dishes --parotta or idiyappam  or appam  .  And please  ... please  dont try to be a chinese here  ordering  fried rice  at paragon  ( though  avialable  )  . This is a Malabari hotel  and  stick  to your malabari dishes 

Sagar  ............hotel  ...  its  near the  bus stand  ....When  i was a tutor  in Calicut Medical College  when i came back from trivandrum  first  thing in the morning is  i used to go to Sagar hotel for  tea  .  And  coming from South Kerala i was shocked to see people  having Hot  Ayakkoora curry  and Appam  at  7 am  .  Used to  dosa iddali etc in the morning  eating  a  FULL breakfast of hardcore  nonveg food early in morning was unthinkable  .  Then slowly  i  too  started to  have  this  combination from Sagar  Hotel  .  (but not at 7 am  )  . Yes  their  Ayakkoora curry is  too good  .....  best in town  .  And the competing dish  is  their  Biriyani   ...  i dont know  whether the best  in town  but i like it the best  ....And  here also  a word of caution ... dont be  a  chinese  here  (i think all these malabari hotels  have   a chinese connection due to it being a seaport  with trade  to China  ((my view  :  no references))

Al  Bake  .....Arabian  food  ... authentic  minus  the  belly dancers  .,   their broasted chicken  which  is  prepared in a special  imported  device  ( something like  a  cooker  ... but more sophisticated  )   .  The  chicken which goes inside  comes out with a personality  of its own  called  Broasted Chicken  .And you have  it with  Kuboos  ( yes  the same one  which u get in middleeast  )  .The other specialities are Shawarma  ,  Shaway  chicken , kapsa rice  etc  and their milkshakes are worth every dinar  ....And  my personal  comment  is  their arabian food is better than the arabian food i had in the middleeast  . 

Zains Restaurant  (near  the beach  )   .........Zainu thatha  .... and her  husband    Hmmm ... In malabar  it is  ladies first ... seriously  ... if in doubt  check the restaurant name  ...This  restaurant is really  ethnic  .... So you may like it best  sometimes  ....  All  the  malabari  goodies  which are not available in other  hotels are available here  ...  Arikkkadukka  ... Its  seafood mussel  which is baked with  pulverised  rice  served  inside  the shell of mussel  .  is delicious  .  And unnakkaiii   ...a  sweet dish made with  eggs and  banana but which looks  much different from both its parents  is good  .  These are  the starters  ... If you are lucky and  in the right time you will get muttamaala  called garland of egg  which is  a  1 mm  thick  fried  with sugar  dish  made only  from egg yolk  (  cholesterol  yes  .....rich   ...health  conscious  beware  )
Main food you have all the  seafood  (take  ur pick)  or Mutton Estew   with  aripathiri  ...  my favourite  .
tender mutton stew  with  a  soft  chappathi like thing made of rice  ....but  leagues away from chappathi  .
(  You can challenge anyone that u can eat  20  of these  ...... they r so soft  when mixed with  milk of coconut  )   .  And dont challenge me  .... i can eat 40  if im  really  starving  ...

Ok  ....  so  you have  had  a sumptuous  food from any  or all of the above  ... then what to do  .... ?  If you read  carefully  .... i gave you two landmarks  .... the choice is urs  ..... The Calicut  beach which is historic or  the Mananchira Maidan  (equally  historic  )  ....

And please say thanks to  me as  a comment ...

Some good places to eat in india

Food  is a priority  for our family ----Marikar  family  .  Ask  anyone  from our family  the address of  so and so person the  reply comes always  .....Mr X  lives  50 metres  from  eating  joint  one  ,  or  if you cant  find that  two blocks away from this  pani puri  joint  etc  . 

So continuing the  legacy  i felt  to list  some  of the  eating places  i  found  worth a visit  .  They have been visited  by me  personally  and  i  found  the  food great,  but  no  guarantees  (food taste  like  beauty  is personal  to some  extent  ) .  But  my  job today  is to show  you  the  places  where you find the beauties  ... sorry  good food  .

MUMBAI

-Yoko  sizzlers  ....Andheri ,Bandra  .  They  serve  very good  steaks  and sizzlers  and  their  pepper  steak  is yummy  .  There is  almost always  a  waiting  involved  (indirectly  shows the demand )  .  With  the  variety of sauces and  assorted boiled vegetables  you dont need  anything  else  if you are a meat lover  . And yes  it should  be  washed down with  lemon icetea  .  Why lemon  ?  I  think  it  blends  with  the  strong flavour  of  the  pepper steak much better than the peach ice tea  .  And  what else  is  good there ...they have chicken sizzler  ., even vegetable sizzler  . But  my  advice is  go there if you  are a hardcore meat lover  .  per  person cost  approx  rs  400

Urban Thadka  -------Versova    -----Hey --- Do   you want to have  proper  north  indian food in mumbai  exactly  punjabi food  with the ambience  of punjabi  village  .  The  restaurant  has the ambience  with  all  the  punjabi  village  items  like  their traditional cooking implements  ,  cot  where  they lazily sip their cold lassies  etc  .....The  food is awesome   and  goes  along with the ambience  ....rich  curries  from dhal makhani , mixed vegetable , butter  chicken  all  has  the best ingredients  .  I  didnt see their kitchen but  the taste  shows  that they have  put  the  best  ingredients  .  (compared with the ? butter + chicken  available ubiquitously all over  india  ) .  Their butter   naans  are  good  .  The desert  of fresh jalebis  and rabdi combination is a must have  .  Vegeterians equally welcome  here  ...unlike the  yokos
per person cost  approx  300

Only  parattas ----link  road  ---bandra  ----going  to eat  only  parattas  for  dinner  ..  Visit  the place  if  you  are  interested  only  in parathas  .....boring  ???  Never  .... they  have  at least  50 varieties  of parattas  and you  have  to see  how  they serve  it  . For  once  you feel  paratta  is the main dish  and  its  so tasty  that  no sidedish  is needed  .  Why you need sidedish when they   are stuffed with aloo, methi  or  ... all the  tastiest ingredients  .  And of course  there is channa  and  even the onions they serve with it r delicious  .
per person cost approx  200 

Mainland  China   ----Andheri  ----west  . Yes  ,  with  an authentic chinese  cook  and  the  decoration  oriental  style  and  the  smell  of  soya  sauce  this  place  is  "proper "  chinese  in india  as  far as it can get. The  next option is to cross the great wall  and  go to china  proper  .  Have  tried  their  noodles  and   fried rice as well  as  the  usual soups  (hot and sour  , wonton etc)  .  all  are great  . 
per person cost  approx  500.


 

prawns recipe

Prawns Nariyalwala


To serve 4 Time 20 mts



Ingredients

Prawns - 1/2 kg

Turmeric powder - 1 tablespoon

Chilli powder - 2 tablespoons

Salt - 1 tablespon

Kodampuli (Kerala tamarind) - 2 pieces

Tomato paste - 1 packet

Bombay onion - 2 large

Coconut milk - 1 glass

Water - 1 glass

Oil - 2 tablespoons



Method

Remove shell from prawns, wash it and put turmeric powder, chilli powder and salt on it and keep for half an hour.

In a pan saute the onions for 5 mts in low fire and then add the tomato paste and other ingredients. Mix well.

Add the prawns and coconut milk and water. Keep in low fire for approx 20 mts. Stir occasionally. Take out from fire and serve immediately.

Serve with kuboos or chappathi or parotta.

p.s  : please  try it  and comment  ....check out  this blog  for more  recipes  soon

padmanabaswamy temple treasure of gold

It was a proud moment when i heard the discovery of treasure of gold and diamond worth more than 90000 crore rupees in sree padmanabaswamy temple . I being a resident of trivandrum city where i did my schooling as well as college , was happy to know about this news . Though there are many temple towns i have visited in the last four years , trivandrum city has a unique class of its own . It has all the amenities of a city but at the same time preserving its cultural heritage . And one of the main reasons this is so is because of the temple Sree padmanabaswamy temple which is so much intwined with the travancore kings who used to be" padmanabadasas " meaning slave of the god padmanaba . And being extremely god fearing they used to take care of their people just like the god took care of them .
Though those kings didnt advertise it they were doing "the work is worship " motto by taking care of their people ---the subjects of travancore kingdom . Now some people may say arent all kings doing good to their people. Yes , mostly but these kings instead of focussing on plundering , conquesting and lavishing on the state wealth started so many schemes for the welfare of people . Their health reforms , education reforms and colleges like university college which they built are seen to this day .
Now it remains to be seen what is going to happen to this treasure . I personally feel that this wealth should be used for the good of the people especially in a country like india where so many people are needy . Anyone who has imbibed the essence of religion knows that god does not require money for him . It is in using that money for the wellbeing of His children (the people) that He will be happy . In a country like india hoarding wealth is a crime and this treasure (the bulk of it ) should be used to give free education , food and medical aid to the poor . And compared to most of our politicians in this matter the travancore royal family (who are still staying in trivandrum kowdiar ) should be involved . And yes part of the treasure should be given to the royal family , partly to the temple and partly for creating a museum ( a minor part ) . Bulk should be dedicated /used for the people of india . I would say the treasure belong to our country .......comments are welcome

malayalam cinema in 80s

The 1980s were known as the golden age of malayalam cinema . During that decade there were numerous films which were great commercial success as well as was well directed and realistic (film is fantasy but see the 80s films to know what i mean ). Mohanlal and Mammootty became superstars today because of their classy perfomances in this era . But equally there were a number of actresses who gave great perfomances in films of that era .
Shobana in " kanamarayathu " showing the innocence as well as rebelliousness that teenage stands for , Suhaasini who gives love to the unloved rahman in koodevide , Karthika in the young doctor who falls in love with her patient in thaalavattom ,
Urvashi in thalayanamanthram to cite a few .