You know it's the monsoon when...(3)

...everything's covered in blue!

Motorbike parked in Sion - it was covered last evening to protect it from rain at night.
.Goods Tempo with blue tarpaulin lashed down.

Slum colony in Bandra
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Make-shift blue roof at cinema complex

Verandah cover to protect the daily washing

This morning I saw a pav-wallah on a cycle, his bread was covered with a blue sheet. The temples have blue coverings. Shop awnings are blue. I saw an apartment block where the whole terrace was covered in blue. In Dharavi, there is a street where 4-5 shops do nothing but sell these blue sheets.

Keep your eyes open and you'll see bright blue just about everywhere!

You know it's the monsoon when... (2)

... the horses are suddenly excited because of the cool weather.

Dawn riding at the Mahalakshmi Race Course

Riding in the summer was hot and sweaty even at 6:30 am.

After the first showers, during the riding class, our instructor said "Aaj ghode fresh hain... mausam thanda hai na."

Indeed they were up to more tricks than usual... (prancing around, tossing their heads.. and the more badmaash ones bucking and almost throwing off their riders).

As for me, I enjoyed the cool, almost cold breeze at dawn.

You know it's the monsoon when...

...the sea is a sullen brooding brown even when the sky is bright blue.

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The tip of Malabar Hill, where the curving Backbay begins

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The rest of the curve - Backbay Reclamation

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Photos from the Club floor of the Trident, Nariman Point. What an amazing view!

I visit the Wholesale Market at Vashi

- By Deepa Krishnan

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Ever since the wholesale market moved from Byculla to Vashi, I've been wanting to go there. On a recent trip to New Bombay, my friend Satyen took me to see what is officially called The Mumbai Agricultural Produce Market.

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Exterior view - one small section of the market.

Even before we went in, I realised I was going to see a big market, but as we kept driving along, I realised that this market was literally endless! Nothing had prepared me for the sheer scale of what I saw.

The agricultural produce market covers all of 170 acres (hah! and I had originally believed I could explore it on foot!). There are a staggering 3700 godowns, 1500 commercial blocks, 4 large auction halls, 2 giant warehouses, and 5 large wholesale market yards. Apart from this, there are big processing centres - a vapour heat treatment plant, ripening facilities, cold storage facilities, an export facilitation centre and so on.

To me, it was like seeing a vast new exciting trading town, where trucks trundled in with every conceivable type of agricultural produce from the country. I could see hundreds of farmers, in their white Gandhi-topis. There were many women too, in their traditional Maharashtrian sarees. There were literally thousands of workers, transporting bags of produce. It was only much later, when I saw the website of the market committee, that I discovered that this is Asia's largest regulated market for agricultural produce.

As we drove around, Satyen pointed out to me that there is not one market, but five different markets. Market I is dedicated to spices and condiments, sugar, jaggery and dry fruits. Market II is where trading in foodgrains (rice, wheat) and pulses takes place. Then there's the popular "kanda-batata markit" - The Onion and Potato Market, which was the earliest to be set up. Other than these, there are two more markets, the Fruit Market and the Vegetable Market. For a "city girl" like me, it was like getting a glimpse into an alien world.

After the first few minutes of driving around, I gave up trying to grasp it all, and just enjoyed the atmosphere of the place. At the vegetable and fruit markets, I couldn't resist getting out of the car and clicking a few photographs.

Gujarati housewives at the wholesale vegetable market

The first thing I noticed were some enterprising housewives, who had come to buy their weekly store of vegetables at wholesale prices. Satyen explained that some housing societies had formed groups, so that they could come here to this market and purchase in bulk for their needs.

Weighing scales on truck

I walked around to the backside of a truck to see what was happening. Jackfruit was being unloaded from the truck. Before the unloading, it was being weighed in a basket. This is a regulated market - that means that the weighing instruments are provided by the market, and there are fixed rates for the people doing the unloading.

Green chillies inside the vegetable market

The chillies come from Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. These men were waiting with their stock of chillies, looking for buyers.

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Old man in 'Gandhi-topi' examining brinjals from Bangalore.

I think he was a retail shopkeeper who had come to the market to buy his stock, because behind him were all the other vegetables that he had purchased, tied in plastic bags.

Several women were in the market, haggling over prices.

Some of them looked like local shop-keepers to me, while others looked like they were buying for their own use.

Mango crates amidst hay in the fruit market

This man had purchased two crates of mangoes, and paid someone to carry it to his truck. The 'hamaali' or labour rate per 'peti' (box) is Rs 2.5.

Mini-truck leaving the market

This smaller truck was loaded with gunny sacks of various vegetables, and was leaving the market to go into the city. The 'hamaali' for one gunny sack is Rs 5.

Vegetable seller leaving the market with small amount of stock.
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Mid-sized trader leaving with his stock
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Over 12000 tonnes of agri-commodities arrive daily into this market. The produce is sold by auction and the prices are noted and managed by the Mumbai Agricultural Produce Market Committee. It is the committee's responsibility to ensure that sales do not take place below the minimum price fixed by the government. They are also responsible for ensuring fair measurement and weighing, and fair charges for labour.

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I wanted to spend more time, talking to people - traders, labourers, shopkeepers, and buyers...I wanted to understand how the pricing system worked. But it was nearing noon and the sun was getting fierce. My driver Mariappan had cleverly retreated to the local canteen (that's him in the white shirt and black trousers, standing in the shade drining chai).

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So I finally called it a day, and sank gratefully into the coolness of the airconditioned car. As I dropped Satyen back home, I said to him, "I'm coming back again to Vashi! There's so much still to see!"

Want to come with me?

My Mother

- By Janaki Krishnan

It is Mother's Day today. The morning newspaper is full of pictures of celebrities proclaiming their mothers' role in their lives.

At the Oscar awards this year, A. R. Rahman, while accepting his award, declared that he owed it to his mother and to God. 'My mother is here with me today', he said joyously.

Whenever I hear these kind of things, I remember my mother. Although she is no more, I feel that my mother still lives with me every moment of my life, in my thoughts, words and deeds.
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She was a workaholic who spent her entire life in the kitchen ungrudgingly, ever ready to offer a cup of coffee, a crisp dosa, or tasty home-made snacks, to whoever came into the house. But even as she did her chores, she passed on her moral, spiritual and ethical ideas to us children.

Unlike other ladies of her generation, she was neither orthodox nor religious. She never observed any fasts, nor was she a regular visitor to temples. On festival days she would take us to the temple, but for her, the home was her temple. She had a picture of God on a small wooden stand in the kitchen, where she would light a lamp in the evening. She would make us children say "Swamee, Nalla Buddhi Taranamey" (Lord, give us the power to discriminate between right and wrong).

She believed that a righteous life, performing ones duties towards family and society was all that was necessary to please God. She had tremendous control over her desires, whether it was food, sarees, jewellery or other comforts. She ate very simple food, and had a limited wardrobe, and minimal jewellery. She had the habit of saving, out of which she made a gold chain or a pair of bangles for my sister and me.

I have a long list of attributes for my mother - soft-soken, neatly dressed, lending a helping hand to the poor and needy, bravely facing odds...she had a detatched attachment, and an all embracing endearing look. She was not highly educated - her schooling stopped at standard eight, but she was a living example of sterling qualities.

Motherhood as I understood from her, is 'Practise what you preach.' Do what you expect your children to do. When your children watch you day in and day out, your qualities get passed on to them unconsciously.

Horsing around

- By Aishwarya Pramod

Last week, I went for a 5-day camp at a riding school called Japalouppe, two hours from our house, on the Mumbai-Pune highway. It was amazing.

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Right to left: Me in the blue T-shirt, Kim, Shamin and Prasamita.

We are standing outside the Japalouppe Office where we registered for the camp.

My friends were all first time riders but I had some experience with riding horses earlier. I stopped riding a few years back though, and I wanted to get back to it. Going to this camp was the best way to do that.

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My first glimpse of horses at the camp

Japalouppe is a large and very beautiful farm. Apart from horses, they have dogs, cats, goats, and geese. Each day began at 6 am with the first batch of student riders (me included) having a one hour long riding session.

After our lesson we would have breakfast (sandwiches, sheera, pancakes, paratha and poha on different days). We learnt about the breeds of horses at Japalouppe, colours of horses, face markings of the horses, grooming, saddling and taking care of horses. We spent the afternoons lazing about in our dormitories or at the machan, and playing with the dogs.

Tyler, the basset hound

The evenings would see another round of riding lessons, followed by a cold water bath, dinner and finally, bed.

One morning, instead of riding we went on a trek through the path of a dried waterfall - it has water only in the monsoon - to the top of a hill. We were accompanied by some of the instructors and two of the camp dogs. At the top we had breakfast - chutney sandwiches.

Another day we went to a stud farm - a place where horses are bred. Every stall in this stable housed a mother and her foal. We saw a foal drinking its mo's milk, and another one following its mother around wherever the stablehand took her. We met a friendly stallion called Fact Finder - he seemed to love being petted and fussed over by all of us.

On the last day of the camp we had to demonstrate our riding skills to our parents who had come to take us back home. I was happy to see amma, appa and paati (my grandmom) at the show. Everyone showed off what they had learnt during these five days at camp. We got Japalouppe T-shirts to wear during the show.

I rode Little John, the same horse I'd been riding all through the camp. He is extremely calm and good-natured. Also tall and very goodlooking.

Me and Little John.

Isn't he amazing?

Riding demonstration.

All the students did walking and trotting, and some cantered. Two students with more experience did show-jumping.

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It was an interesting yet peaceful week. Away from Mumbai, in a farm, I relaxed in the company of good friends and some very lovable animals.

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I met a lot of great people at the camp and I'd love to keep in touch with them. I'm sure I'll meet some of them again at Amateur Riders Club in Mumbai, since they're also members there like me.

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I also want to go back to Japalouppe as soon as possible! I can't go now in June, because I have to stay to see my college admissions through - but the very next chance I get, I'll be off!!

Agninakshatram

- by Janaki Krishnan

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Today is Agninakshatram. From now on, for a month, the Sun is at his best, and it is the season for making papads, pickles and masalas for the year.

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The terraces of Bombay's apartments are filled with papads drying in the sun. Housewives gather in the afternoons, and exchange recipes. They proudly declare how they got the best varieties of small green mangoes for pickling, at the cheapest price. I too enjoy the papad and picking season - especially after my retirement, when I feel the day has 48 hours.

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This year after finishing my mango purchase (not proud, as I could get only second-grade ones!), I turned to vegetables for inspiration - beans, okra, lotus stem, and bitter gourd. When salted and dried, these make excellent fried snacks. They don't involve much labour, and they're tastier than the rice vadams and karuvadams. I made a batch of salted fritters, and sent them to my daughters.

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Besides pickles and salted fritters, this is also the month when I buy my year's supply of tamarind. Tamarind is a must for all South Indians who cannot have a proper lunch without rasam or sambar. We buy the entire year's stock during summer when the prices are low and it is available in plenty. The tamarind is then de-seeded, dried, and stored in tight containers, along with salt.

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This year, as I sat deseeding the tamarind, my mind wandered to a scene 60 years ago...and I had a flashback, like we see in the movies. My sister, my brothers and I are sitting around a big pile of tamarind, removing the seeds. My brother sneaks a piece of tamarind into his mouth...and the rest of us are quick to shout...."Amma!!" Of course, my brother too gets his chance to shout when someone else eats a piece. When it turns into a fight, my mother steps in. "Don't eat too much", she says, "Or it will weaken your bones".

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These days, things have changed. With greater awareness about health, the consumption of pickles, fried items and tamarind comes with a warning. Cholestorol, blood pressure and diabetes have become familiar terms, frightening everyone. Besides, working women, whose tribe has increased since my childhood, hardly have time for such tasks. In their homes, readymade bottled pickles - Priya, Bedekar, and others - rule the roost. As bottled tamarind paste is available, nobody wants the headache of soaking, crushing and extracting tamarind essence for sambar. Women who balance career and home, and have to multi-task all the time, do need these conveniences.

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But oh! The joys of retirement! With unlimited time at my disposal, I find a new interesting task every day. Buying the vegetable, cutting it, cooking it, and drying it, takes the better part of the day. Then comes the pleasure of frying and tasting the first batch...and the satisfaction of distributing it to family and friends. Their words of appreciation bring a warm glow to my heart. The next day, its is another vegetable's turn, and the process goes on all through summer! Silly, you may think...but perhaps when you retire, you will understand these slow pleasures. Until then, enjoy the readymade stuff!

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(Posted by Deepa on behalf of Janaki)

Postcards from Kerala - Day 4

Lobby of The Brunton Boatyard, Cochin.

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We had booked 1 night at this lovely hotel, but ended up staying 2 nights. The rooms are large, with interesting old furniture. Both our rooms had large sitting areas, old four-poster beds and great views of Cochin harbour.

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On our very first lunch overlooking the sea, I spotted a pair of dolphins making their graceful way into the harbour. I was jumping up and down with excitement: "Look, Dolphins! Oh my god, Dolphins!!!". The two guys were more interested in the wine list.

I bought several spices for my kitchen at this co-operative store run by women. And I bought jewellery as well, an onyx necklace and a pearl necklace.
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We watched an excellent Kathakali performance at the Cochin Cultural Centre. They enacted Putana Moksham (The Salvation of Putana), a story where the demoness Putana tries to kill the infant God Krishna by feeding him poisoned milk from her breasts. Instead, Krishna kills the demoness. The photo above is from the section where the demoness appears as a gentle-woman and deceives the household into letting her suckle the child.

Mandatory Chinese Fishing Nets photo. Our guide explained how they work. Simple but effective engineering!

Postcards from Kerala - Day 3

We were still at Coconut Lagoon, Vembanad Lake. This is the 6:00 a.m. kalaripayattu practice session we watched. There was much groaning from Pramod and Marco at having to wake up early but they did it.

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The martial arts performance was interesting. There were warm-up exercises first (a Japanese couple who were watching this with us participated in the warm-ups, but we didn't). After warm-ups, the two kalari practitioners demonstrated several fighting techniques and moves, using hands, sticks, knives, swords etc. Many of the moves are long intricate sequences - and several of them require very high jumps into the air.

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I dragged Pramod and Marco to a 7:00 a.m. pre-breakfast birdwatching session. We saw 31 species of birds in an hour's time. I was very pleased because this is the breeding and nesting season, so I could see breeding plumages of several birds which I had not seen before. The two men suffered in stoic silence.
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We took a smaller boat and went for an hour's cruise on the narrower lanes of the backwaters. It took us past small villages. Every house on the banks of the river had little steps leading to the water. Little kids were bathing in the river, their mothers were washing clothes or doing the dishes and keeping an eye on the kids. Many men, women and children were fishing with simple sticks for rods - we guessed the afternoon's catch would be cooked and eaten for dinner.

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Private plunge pool at our villa. Perfect way to end the day.

Postcards from Kerala - Day 2

Two days at Coconut Lagoon, on the banks of the glorious Vembanad Lake.

Our first sight of the lake - so big it looks like the sea! From this jetty, we took a boat to the resort.

Houseboat ride on the lake - the 'must do' Vembanad experience. As you cruise, the views are incredible - beautiful waterbirds fly past the boat, the water slaps against the wooden hull, and the breeze lulls you to sleep.

Lunch inside the houseboat - catch of the day (karimeen fry), sambar, poduthual, bitter-gourd fry, rice, yoghurt, papadam and pickle. A most delicious meal, cooked on board by the friendly crew. I fell asleep on the wooden bench, listening to the sound of the waves.