bijalv

What’s in your tiffin?

Posted on February 24, 2016October 27, 2023 by bijalv

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/mumbai/whats-in-your-tiffin/article8274278.ece?ref=tpnews
Recently, a friend texted about a piece of homemade fudge that had come back uneaten in the lunch box of her 13-year-old son. “I asked him why he didn’t eat it,” my friend Sudeshna Shome Ghosh wrote. “His response was, ‘How could I? I didn’t know what it was.’” My friend rolled her eyes (you can now do that thanks to an updated emoticon app), I LOL’d and that was the end of it.

The conversation brought back dabba memories, of going to school and opening my stainless steel lunch box in the afternoon, hours after it was packed, wondering about its contents. With the mother being a fabulous cook, the dabba was usually crammed with theplas folded in half with a dibbi of mango pickle, jeera rice with caramelized onion and curd, or rotis that miraculously stayed soft so that they could be torn with two fingers and eaten with sabji . There was lunchbox envy, where I coveted my classmates’ tiffins because they brought food that wasn’t familiar to me. I yearned for cucumber sandwiches, after re-reading Enid Blyton books, even though the white bread would be curling up at the edges by afternoon. I even wanted the dabba that held cold, clammy Maggi noodles, something that I now wouldn’t touch with a barge pole. But at that time, it was as exciting as moringa leaves are now to chefs.

Now there are plenty of cookery books, blogs and Instagram accounts with innovative lunch box ideas, all just a Google search away. Blogger and nutritionist Nandita Iyer, better known as Saffron Trail online, has simple, healthy ideas, which include vegetable peanut noodles, pita pocket pizza sandwiches, and puliyogare or tamarind rice. Lulu Loves Bombay blogs about travel, her children, and food. Her sweet potato discs sound like a lovely addition to the dabba , as do her methi thepla and mango chunda. Sanjeeta KK’s blog, Lite Bite, has a Lunchbox Bites section with some handy tips and recipes such as for muthiyas and wholegrain chillas.

On Instagram, Lunch Box Dad, Beau Coffran’s mealtime hacks include rocket ships from bread and cheese, and Spider-Man lunches with berries; while bleary-eyed parents may not be keen to wake up and make food art, it’s a fun account to follow. Grace Hall’s Eats Amazing blog focuses on Bento-style lunches for her son and follows themes such as Halloween, rainbows, and gardens. Her #PackedLunchLove Project has creative boxes that, she promises, take just a few minutes to prepare and are a visual feast. A few years ago, graphic designer and illustrator David Laferriere’s innovative sandwich bag art went viral. He’s made over 1,800 sandwich bag drawings with monsters and kites.

And when in doubt, return to the library.

Apart from the usual cluster of recipe books, check out Karen Le Billon’s French Kids Eat Everything , a charming account of a family, with two picky-eater children, that moves from the USA to France and discovers how the French government and the school system strengthen food education. Then there’s Chris Butterworth’s Lunchbox: The Story of Your Food , illustrated by Lucia Gaggiotti. A picture book, it takes young readers on a journey from farm to fork, getting them to think: where did the food in my lunchbox come from? It’s a lovely way of engaging children with farmers who grow our food and get them curious about what they are eating.

Mommy Go Lightly, a.k.a. journalist and author Lalita Iyer, writes lovingly about dabbas on her blog, “Food is intuitive,” she writes about packing her son Re’s lunch box. “At least that’s how it should be. Try different things and figure out what works for your child. My tip is, make it visually exciting. Make it look good. All you need is colours.” Pretty much all my mommy and daddy friends gave me tips like that when I talked to them about the art of dabba packing: fruits and dry fruits in small Tupperware boxes to snack on in the bus; use leftovers innovatively.

Shinibali Mitra Saigal, who packs food for her nine-year-old daughter said, “Mine doesn’t like anything soggy, squidgy or leaky. My daughter claims that thanks to me, she had to eat pickled strawberries, which taste vile.” When I asked her what she meant, she added, “According to her, the pickle in an airtight container leaked and ran into the strawberry in a different compartment. So that makes it pickled strawberry and an excuse not to finish her lunch box.”

Ghosh wakes up ten minutes earlier in the morning to make extra sandwiches for her son’s friends. “According to my son, none of them want to share the fruits I pack,” she said, with a sigh. “But he’s telling me that, and well, he hates fruits. So…”

Looking back, we can appreciate that one person who woke up at the crack of dawn to toil away in the kitchen to prepare fresh lunchboxes for the family. I regret the dabbas that I brought back home uneaten, even the alu methi, which really doesn’t do itself any favours when cold. Okay, maybe not the alu methi.

The author writes about education for sustainable development, conservation, and food security. She’s the former editor of Time Out Bengaluru.

The Guardian: Meet India’s female ‘seed guardians’ pioneering organic farming

Posted on February 20, 2016October 27, 2023 by bijalv

http://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2016/feb/18/meet-indias-female-seed-guardians-pioneering-organic-farming
The ‘seed guardians’ of Odisha are pioneering new ways of sharing and storing seeds to reap a more sustainable future

Bring up the topic of seeds and Nabita Goud sits up a little straighter and begins to talk animatedly.

Nabita is a smallholder and a “seed guardian” at the Maa Lankeshwari seedbank of Bhimdanga village in Odisha, eastern India. The seedbank is a small room lined with rows of neatly-labelled earthen pots and stoppered glass bottles, all of them filled with varieties of millets, ladies finger (okra), pumpkin, and red gram seeds (lentil), along with cotton.

Nabita puts her hand into a pot and scoops out a fistful of paddy seeds which are a dull brown, the colour of the soil. “This is kalajira rice,” said Nabita, who is an organic and Fairtrade-certified farmer. “It’s a scented, local variety and gives us a high-yield. We are now conserving it.”

Seeds are at the heart of agriculture, but they are also a significant cost for farmers. Organic seeds are hard to come by in a market flooded with genetically modified and hybrid cotton seeds. More than 90% of cotton in India is genetically modified and input costs for Bt Cotton are high. Hybrid cotton seeds cannot be replanted post-harvest, which in turn forces farmers to add to their financial burden by buying new seeds from the market.

Nabita is one of 18 seed guardians who are part of Chetna Organic’s seed conservation project. Over the last two years, six seedbanks have been established in five villages in Odisha with 72 men and women conserving 50 varieties of fibre and food crops seeds. This is a much needed shot in the arm for these districts which are plagued with hunger, poverty and insecurity.

“The programme aims to promote women-managed and controlled seed enterprises,” said Arun Ambatipudi, one of the founders of Chetna Organic. Chetna was established 10 years ago to enhance sustainable livelihood options for smallholder families that are dependent on rain-fed agriculture. According to IndiaSpend, 56% of India is dependent on rain-fed agriculture, and farmers are often pushed into an endless cycle of debt because of unpredictable weather, high input costs, poor soil and pest management, and market fluctuations.

Traditionally, Odisha is not a cotton growing state but over the last two decades, small and marginal farmers have started growing the cash crop. Conserving organic cotton seeds that are suited to the soil and as a climate adaptation measure is a priority for smallholders. Over the last five years, Chetna has been conducting small-scale trials with farmers like Nabita to evaluate the suitability of indigenous cotton varieties such as Suraj and Anjali.

Kalajira rice makes for a sumptuous, aromatic rice pudding.

Driving through Odisha, it’s easy to spot the organic from the non-organic farms. The landscape is dotted with stretches of waist-length cotton. In sharp contrast are the organic farms that look like Ceres has run riot, planted with cotton, red gram, and food crops.

“We practice organic agriculture,” said Nabita, who farms on three acres of land. “There are challenges. The traditional variety of cotton has a lower yield than the hybrid one, but we know it’s good for the soil and the environment. And organic is better for health.” Bhimdanga’s residents take pride in being completely organic. Visitors to the village are greeted with a board that says, “Welcome to Bhimdanga, an Organic and Fairtrade-certified Village”. ”

In a volatile cotton market, the mixed cropping practice that Bhimdanga’s farmers follow ensures individual food security, even if their cotton crop fails. Farmers grow cotton alongside food crops such as pumpkin, ridge gourd, lentils, and millets. Some are for their own consumption, and the rest is sold in the market. Ramprasad Sana, an entomologist and the technical head at Chetna Organic, said that the seedbanks have given 600 families food security.

Chetna enables farmers to set up sustainable and multipliable open-source systems to share and store seeds, using traditional knowledge along with new concepts and technology. The enterprise operates like a bank, only with less bureaucracy. A farmer can “withdraw” a kilo of seed and has to repay the loan with one-and-a-half to two kilos of seed after harvest. With the establishment of seedbanks, organic farmers no longer need to buy seeds from the market. This year, 1,594 kilos of seeds were distributed to 603 farmers.

Empowering women farmers to manage their own seed enterprises enables them to become decision-makers in the community. This is significant, given that according to the 2011 census, 68.5% of women work in agriculture. Traditionally, women have been the custodians of seeds and Chetna hopes to revive the practice.

Last year, Nabita and her neighbours participated in a seed festival in the neighbouring village of Mading where they met other farmers and showcased their indigenous varieties of seeds. “Everyone loved our kalajira rice there,” said Nabita with a smile. The short-grained kalajira is one of the key scented rices of India (pdf) and gives a high yield in a short timespan. When cooked, the rice has a heady fragrance, earning it the market name of “white baby Basmati”.

Rice is a staple agriculture product but in most of India, farmers cultivate high-yield paddy for a homogenous market. The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) estimates that at least 75% of the genetic diversity of agricultural crops had been lost by the beginning of this century.

Kalajira rice and indigenous cotton varieties are being conserved by seedbanks like Maa Lankeshwari at a time when indigenous species of food and fibre are rapidly disappearing from farms and plates. With women like Nabita taking back control of their seeds, soil and food security, the smallholders of Bhimdanga are becoming part of a thriving, sustainable community that is conserving India’s indigenous seed heritage and protecting its food sovereignty.

Out of line but in your mind

Posted on February 11, 2016October 27, 2023 by bijalv

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/mumbai/entertainment/out-of-line-but-in-your-mind/article8216855.ece

What does a Chuppertyhoover look like? We know it makes a good pet once it’s been fished out of a chamber pot, because Jerry Pinto says so in Monster Garden : A Draw-It-Yourself Picture Book . And that means it can look like whatever our idea of a good animal companion is. The Chuppertyhoover could have eyes like a dog, ears like a rabbit, a face like an elephant, a body like a giraffe, and legs like an alien. Or it could look like a chapati that’s just been hoovered off the carpet. Or it could be a hoov that’s gone chup and ’ert. Basically, no one’s been told what it looks like. Then, there’s another conundrum. The Chuppertyhoover only eats Asumptivet. And that too, only if it’s fresh. No stale Asumptivet for our Chuppertyhoover. But again, what does an Asumptivet look like?

The answer is not in Pinto’s latest book published by Duckbill. Rather, it’s in your child’s imagination. Because that’s what Monster Garden is about: being imaginative and creative to draw and colour your own picture book. Pinto’s prose frolics delightfully across the pages with the help of Priya Kuriyan’s illustrations. There’s a tree looking slightly nervous and the child has to draw a Scrumpeelious under it, while a Sharmistickle has to be drawn to hover in the air. Hairy feet poke out in an Asumptivets field, as Pinto offers a hilarious, but complicated way to get to an Asumptivet. And in all of that, the child creates his or her very own monsters, plucking them straight out of his or her fancy.

Pinto said he wanted Monster Garden to be free of preconceived adult notions about what children like to draw and paint. “Do they really like to paint ducks who wear shirts and caps but no trousers,” he asks. “Do they like to paint lady mice in frilly knickers? Wouldn’t they like to imagine what a Chuppertyhoover is? And how it looks when it eats a Floover? I thought I would, so that’s the book I gave them.” That’s why there aren’t any kinda-obvious ‘Join the Dots’ or ‘Copy and Colour this Picture’ pages in this whimsical and quirky book. “I was given a series of dot-to-dot books when I was a child, by a peculiar aunt who kept giving them to me when I was way into my teens,” said Pinto, via email. “But even as a child, I could see what the dots were joining up to make and I couldn’t see the point of joining them. And then I could never decide whether to use straight lines or curvy lines — and if the latter, then should they be convex or concave or just plain wriggly.”

Monster Garden is a mischievous book, sparkling with humour and ingenuity. Children are fascinated and spooked by monsters, most anyway lurk in their imagination. Monster Garden brings that to the forefront. Priced at Rs 150, the book will make for a super goody bag filler as well. There’s a pull-out colour poster where Kurian has created a fabulous gallery of monsters including the Bubbleganoosh and Pinkiporous.

But what makes Monster Garden an important addition to the library is its spunkiness — it is a clarion call to get children to think outside the colouring lines, rummage through their own thoughts and create what they want. For a change, no one is telling them what to draw and how to draw it. Pinto and Kurian offer hints and nudges, but that’s about it. And that is a rarity in a world that’s full of staid, run-of-the-mill colouring and activity books, which are extremely popular with parents, who want their children to “be constructive” in their play or reading time as well.

Pinto hopes that parents will encourage children to get this book and draw all over it. “I hope they won’t tell their kids that you must draw a better monster than that, come on beta, I know you have it in you, because what is a better monster?” said Pinto. “I hope they will buy two copies and save one for themselves and draw the monsters themselves because Pama-Muppy also have inner children, starving inner children who must be fed.” Given the popularity of colouring books for adults across the world, and the universal appeal of Monster Garden , this might actually happen. As a child, Pinto said that he had poor hand-eye coordination, mostly because his bad eyesight went undiagnosed until eighth standard. “So I would get failing grades at drawing in school because I did not stay within the lines,” said Pinto. “So this book was designed for all those kids out there who like their colours to break out of the lines, who find that their washes wash everything else out, who have no sense of proportion. It’s for genius kids and we know from Picasso that every child starts out as a grandmaster and then they grow up and lose all sense of great art. This is for those children who did not grow up but who are chronologically called adults too.”

The author writes about education for sustainable development, conservation, and food security. She’s the former editor of Time Out Bengaluru .

Harry Potter casts a new spell on the internet and how

Posted on February 11, 2016October 27, 2023 by bijalv

http://www.dailyo.in/arts/harrry-potter-pottermore-fantastic-beasts-and-where-to-find-them-j-k-rowling-hogwarts-eddie-redmayne/story/1/8768.html

In its new format, Pottermore is more of a site that will keep Potterheads up to date with wondrous news of the wizarding world.

I have reclaimed my magical name and Hogwarts house – Ravenclaw in case you were wondering – and am pleased to report that I am back on the revamped Pottermore site.

Until now, it was a space where I would slink off during writing breaks to brew a potion (I was usually T for troll), cast a spell (was a little better at that) and unlock secrets from the Harry Potter stories.

But now in its new format, Pottermore is more of a site that will keep Potterheads up to date with news of the wizarding world of Harry Potter.

A voice message from JK Rowling welcomes fans to Pottermore, which she calls her “magical corner of the internet, a place where you can explore her writing, both familiar and new. And where you can read features, articles, and news from the Pottermore team”.

If you’re already a member, then you can retain your user name and house. I was quite tempted to sort myself again, but then I was a little scared that I would get Hufflepuff this time around. So I decided to let sleeping Hippogriffs lie and stayed with fellow house members, Cho Chang and Luna Lovegood.

At Pottermore, you can still revisit the books, along with JK Rowling’s thoughts about the characters, the plot or the setting.

The newest post by the author takes muggles into a previously forbidden world – an exploration of “11 long-established and prestigious wizarding schools worldwide”.

The jade palace of Mahoutokoro is an ancient Japanese school where robes change colour as the wizards grow wiser (or darker). Quite like karate’s many coloured belts, I imagine.

Then there’s Uagadou which is situated in the Mountains of the Moon in Africa. At this largest of all wizarding schools, spells are cast by hand gestures or pointing fingers.

The Brazilian Castelobruxo sounds quite intriguing with its golden rock edifice guarded by the Caipora spirit-beings. Apparently, Peeves is nothing compared to these feisty beings.

If you recall, Bill Weasley had got something nasty in post from a penfriend – turns out it was a Castelobruxo student who was disappointed that his friend couldn’t afford the trip to Brazil to visit him.

The fourth one, Ilvermorny from North America, is yet to be revealed but Rowling’s hinted that smart Potterheads will be able to figure this one out.

I have a few thoughts, but am currently trawling the internet for more ideas. So far we have learnt about seven wizarding schools – including Durmstrang and Beauxbatons – which means we can expect to hear more from Rowling in the future.

Browsing through Pottermore makes you feel like a beetle on a window pane – nudge, nudge Rita Skeeter – and getting a sneak peek into the very busy Potter world.

For instance, we sit far-away-from-London wishing that we had a portkey to see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the eighth story that unfurls 19 years later.

We read longingly about the casting of the play – good going there, and the creative process between Rowling, director John Tiffany, and writer Jack Thorne.

Thoughts threaten to overwhelm us, until we need a pensieve to mull over the many strands – how and when will we get to see the play which officially premieres in July, and will the production come to India.

Dementors hover over that thought, after all it’s not like Harry Potter: The Exhibition, the international travelling exhibition has come down here.

There are also updates on Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, a movie spin-off that will be out in cinemas in November 2016.

Set in 1926 in New York, this is the story of Magizoologist Newt Scamander, the author of the eponymous textbook on the wizarding world’s magical creatures.

Scamander, played by Eddie Redmayne, comes to New York with a suitcase full of magical creatures. And in what sounds like a Pandora twist, the creatures are let loose in New York by mistake.

A new behind-the-scenes preview has just been released and it reveals details about the casting.

Porpentina Goldstein, played by Katherine Waterston; her sister Queenie Goldstein, played by Alison Sudol; and muggle Jacob Kowalski, played by Dan Fogler, come together with Scamander to form an unlikely quartet in this film’s quest.

Colin Farrell plays a powerful MACUSA (Magical Congress of the United States of America) Auror, we are told. In the behind-the-scenes preview, Redmayne says, “This world, it’s been a wonder really.” Yes, we know that.

Harry Potter’s message of inclusion

Posted on January 28, 2016October 27, 2023 by bijalv

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/mumbai/entertainment/harry-potters-message-of-inclusion/article8161488.ece

On February 4, Potterheads will celebrate JK Rowling’s book series by hosting Harry Potter Book Night parties in different parts of the world. Once again, I will sit with my co-host to cut out paper dementors, draw owls on white balloons with a marker, and make fudge flies with chocolates. But more importantly, apart from being a celebration of these fabulous books and fudge, our February gatherings always remind me of a key Patronus message tucked inside the Harry Potter stories: of inclusion and empathy.

In 2014, a study titled The greatest magic of Harry Potter: Reducing prejudice showed the books go a long way in teaching young readers tolerance and compassion. Rowling’s seven-book series constantly shines a light on systems of social hierarchies, like class and caste: there are the privileged magical people, and then there are the others. Muggles are non-magical people and some refer to them as mud-bloods, a filthy word for Muggle-born wizards who have often been ridiculed, tortured, and even killed. Only Pureblood wizards are considered worthy of magic.

Discrimination and prejudice, privilege and merit, inequality and diversity, tolerance and inclusion are an inherent part of our social structure. Yet, we don’t always talk to our children about these issues, and if we do, it’s often framed as something that’s alien to our social fabric. Instances are not contexualised, instead they are viewed as external, far-away phenomena. Children have nascent opinions about what’s right and what’s wrong, and it’s something that has to be nurtured. Especially in our society, with all its complexities. As children grow older, these perceptions, values, beliefs, and attitudes are shaped and solidified by parents, educators, peer groups, and the media they consume (among other things). These become the frameworks within which they’ll go on to interpret people, events, and issues as adults.

Look around us — children’s literature, artefacts, and the visual media are dominated by Hindu mythology and narratives. In comparison, fewer books are published about other folk tales or oral histories of minority communities. Nor do we see that many games, apps or films on these traditions that are equally rich and intricate. In such a scenario, where representation is selective, how do you begin to understand diversity? Most school textbooks are ill-equipped to explain India’s caste system and how it continues to exist in latent and manifested forms. How do you then explain to a young adult what it means that Rohith Vemula, a Dalit scholar, felt forced to commit suicide because of the way society treated him in a city as big and supposedly modern as Hyderabad?

In his suicide letter, Rohith Vemula, wrote, “My birth is my fatal accident. I can never recover from my childhood loneliness. The unappreciated child from my past.” Those words are haunting, as is the rest of the letter. A friend of mine read the note and said that’s how his own childhood feels in hindsight, centred around his identity of being a Dalit. It was like the child didn’t matter, he said, because he grew up in an environment that constantly reinforced discrimination.

As children, we are rarely made aware of our own positions of privilege and as a result, we soak in prejudices — after all, how will we think of examining them if we’re not told prejudice exists or that it’s a topic of discussion? A subtle sneering at the children who play in public parks, or the ones who are “not like us, no” is all it takes sometimes. That difference is always palpable, embossed like an invisible line, whispered in school and college corridors, and even in staff rooms.

To not talk about this inequality, to ignore it, makes us equally culpable. It can only lead to a generation of citizens who would rather not question these complexities, the status quo, or their own source of privilege: caste and class. This further snowballs when it comes to the idea of merit, whether in college, the workplace, or in any other part of our lives.

If by reading a book, children can become more empathetic, then as adults, we can do so much more to encourage them. Maybe start by opening a dialogue. Answer questions. Listen to them with an open mind. Surround them with stories, books, films on inclusion and human rights. And lead by example.

Children are quick on the uptake. In the first Potter book, Draco Malfoy holds out a hand in friendship to Harry, “You’ll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don’t want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there.” Harry didn’t shake his hand.

Bijal Vachharajani writes about education for sustainable development, conservation, and food security. She’s the former editor of Time Out Bengaluru.

From Landour with Love

Posted on January 13, 2016 by bijalv

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/mumbai/entertainment/from-landour-with-love/article8099859.ece?ref=tpnews
RUSTY & MAGIC MOUNTAIN

Sitting in a city, surrounded by buildings, enveloped in smog, Ruskin Bond’s books are like a breath of much-needed crisp, fresh mountain air. Bond’s writing takes readers into a world that for many of us is reserved for “vacation time”.

His words take us on a journey through the winding roads of the mountains, where tigers and leopards lurk in deep forests, fallen pine cones and dried leaves crunch beneath footsteps, spooky caretakers and ghosts haunt forgotten houses, and children make imaginary friends.

Even now, bookstores and e-stores are filled with titles from Bond, charming readers. A year and a half ago, when I spoke to the writer about the sheer number of his books that are out there, he said, “When I go to the bank, as I did on Saturday, and I find my bank balance has become alarmingly low, I rush back and immediately get to work at my desk.”

Inimitable humour

His inimitable sense of humour aside, Bond is a compulsive writer. “Even if it wasn’t my profession, I would still write for myself,” he said. “I am fond of writing; I enjoy it, whether I am writing an essay, a story, or a poem.”

Now, almost a decade later, Bond is back with one of his most beloved characters in Rusty and the Magic Mountain . In his ‘By Way of an Introduction’, the author writes, “But I’ll never write another,” said Rusy, “after so much bother.”

And here he is, at his desk near the door… telling a new tale. In this instalment, the Anglo-Indian boy’s “adventure wind” was calling to him. And he sets off to explore Witch Mountain with his friend, little Popat Lal, and wrestler, Pitamber, who is always eating whatever food he can lay his hands on. It’s an odd bunch, Bond’s books offer a deeper understanding of human nature.

Some characters he writes with wit and cleverness, others, he paints with a brush of benevolent malevolence, and some, with compassion. Whether it’s the eccentric Uncle Ken, the food-loving Aunt Mabel, or the shy Mr Oliver, his characters are quirky and colourful.

In Rusty and the Magic Mountain , the three friends find themselves on a fantastical quest: there’s a mysterious one-eyed caretaker who never removes his hat, a cat who has a penchant for blood, a community of dwarves whose forefathers worked in silver mines without sunshine and fresh air, and an evil Rani and the gorgeous Reema. Bond tosses together the supernatural with adventure to put together a hilarious tale that Rusty’s old and new fans will love.

Wayside stations

Bond’s stories evoke a strong sense of place — whether it’s a tea stall tucked away in a dusty corner or a sylvan forest in the valley of a mountain. For instance, he describes a pond in Friends in Wild Places: Birds, Beasts and Other Companions , “To the inhabitants of the pond, the pond was the world; and to the inhabitants of the world, maintained Grandfather, the world was but a muddy pond.”

In another story, he writes about his fascination with small wayside stations. “…these little stations are, for me, outposts of romance, lonely symbols of the pioneering spirit that led men to lay tracks into the remote corners of the earth.” How hard is it then to imagine a muddy pond that’s home to croaking frogs, deserted railway stations, or quaint hill stations? Not very. But mostly, Bond’s stories evoke awe, concern and respect for all things wild and wonderful; whether it’s a blue periwinkle that Rusty plucks from a bush or a leopard crouching in a railway tunnel in Friends in Wild Places .

Lavishly illustrated

This book, lavishly illustrated by Shubhadarshini Singh, brings together stories, some old and others new, about his real and imaginary friendship with animals, birds, and trees.

Bond reminisces about the urban wildlife of Delhi, a tree that gives him a basket of walnuts every year, and a baby spotted-owlet who lived under his bed.

For Bond, his relationship with animals and plants is deep.

As he put it, “After all, animals only kill for food, don’t they? And we humans kill for land property, greed, envy, jealousy — these are our motives for killing. Animals need space, that’s all they want really. Let them have their forest and wilderness.” And maybe, that’s what resonates in his book, reverence and love (and some humour) for humanity and the environment. And that’s why we keep returning to his stories.

Bijal Vachharajani writes about education for sustainable development, conservation, and food security. She’s the former editor of Time Out Bengaluru .

When I find that my bank balance has become alarmingly low, I rush back and immediately get to work at my desk

Ruskin Bond

Bond tosses together the supernatural and adventure to put together a hilarious tale

Bengaluru is waking up to homemade low-cal granola

Posted on January 5, 2016 by bijalv

http://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/food-wine/bengalurus-waking-up-to-home-made-low-cal-granola/

Making healthy, tasty granola is easier than you think. Ingredients can be easily swapped, and delicious quirks such as coffee or bits of chocolate make it more interesting.

Maegan

In his book ‘Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual’, Michael Pollan says: “Don’t eat breakfast cereals that change the colour of the milk.” He goes on to explain, “This should go without saying. Such cereals are highly processed and full of refined carbohydrates as well as chemical additives.” The first Indian city that seems to have heeded his advice is Bengaluru. The city might love its ragi mudde and chow chow bhaat, but it is also a step ahead of the rest of the country as far as home-made breakfast cereals are concerned.

Ecologist Shivani Shah made her first batch of granola this month. Shah says, “I realised that the days I don’t make a slightly elaborate good Indian breakfast, or when I am travelling, I would end up with a make-do breakfast, and that compromise was making me quite unhappy.” Now, when Shah travels, she plans to pack breakfast in a jar.

According to the India Breakfast Cereal Market Outlook, 2021, the Indian breakfast cereal market has grown at a compound rate of 22.07 per cent over the last five years. Whether it is cold cereals such as corn flakes, chocolate or wheat flakes and muesli, or the hot oatmeal and wheat-bran variety, these foods seem to have become a convenient and permanent fixture at the breakfast table. Yet, the average box of supermarket cereal is often highly processed, enhanced with corn syrup and reinforced with synthetic vitamins.

Making granola isn’t a tedious task — toss the ingredients together and roast them in an oven, or on a stove. “An average breakfast cereal in its simplest form contains cooked and toasted grains, a sweetening agent such as sugar or honey, plus a flavour,” says Dr Chinthu Udayarajan, a senior food scientist at Synthite in Kolenchery, Kerala. “Flavour could be out of a bottle, or bits of fruits such as raisins, dried banana or strawberry, or even a pinch of cinnamon powde.” Shah pretty much follows that basic recipe — she roasts rolled oats, mixed nuts and seeds on the stove and adds coffee powder and coffee, along with dates and raisins for a bit of sweetness. The result is a delicious, toasty mix of nuts, fruit, seeds and oats.

The versatility of the granola makes it an appealing breakfast option, or even a nutritious mid-day snack. When journalist Neha Margosa couldn’t find the right mix of granola in stores, she decided to make her own. “I started making my own granola in mid-2015 when I did not have an oven and wanted to experiment with cooking,” says Margosa. “I discovered that granola could be easily made on the stove top.”

Ingredients can be easily swapped, and delicious quirks such as coffee or bits of chocolate make it more interesting. Margosa, for instance, adds toasted slices of coconut and pistachios, and little coffee decoction to her homemade granola. Maegan Dobson-Sippy has been making her own granola for the last six months. “I adapted a BBC Good Food recipe slightly to take into account what ingredients I can easily get,” says Dobson-Sippy, a freelance writer. “For example, I substitute maple syrup for date syrup, and vegetable oil for coconut oil.”

The flip side of home-made granola is that it doesn’t last as long as the one out of a box. “Making cereal at home means we have control on what goes in — that is, fewer and natural ingredients,” said Udayarajan. “If we don’t use antioxidants, the shelf life of the cereal could be reduced by half.”

However, all three granola makers agree that their home-made version is far more cost-effective and healthier than the ones available in the market. “Oats, chocolate and nuts are much cheaper when bought in bulk,” says Margosa. Shah agrees with Margosa. “Yes, it is cost-effective eventually, given that it is full of nutritious ingredients and even literally comparable to the cost of a simple dosa breakfast at mid-range Sagars (chain of restaurants) in the city.”

Home-made granola recipe
(Adapted from BBC Good Food)

Ingredients
2 tbsp coconut oil
125ml date syrup
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
300g rolled oats
50g sunflower seeds
4 tbsp sesame seeds
50g pumpkin seeds
100g flaked almonds
100g raisins
50g coconut flakes

Method
* Preheat oven to 150 degrees C.
* On the stove, toast coconut on a skillet lightly.
* In a large bowl, mix coconut oil, date syrup, honey and vanilla extract. Add the remaining ingredients, except the dry fruit and coconut. Toss to mix well.
* On two baking sheets, spread the granola mixture evenly. Bake for 15 minutes. Now, add the coconut and dry fruit and bake for another 10-15 minutes.
* Remove from oven and immediately transfer to a flat tray or plate to cool.
* The granola can be stored in an airtight container for a month. Eat with cold milk or yogurt and sliced fruit.

Make-it-yourself

Posted on January 5, 2016 by bijalv

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/mumbai/entertainment/makeityourself/article7994680.ece
Displaying 20150503_194926.jpg

I have a confession to make — I can’t stand hobby kits. I look at them with as much loathing as Professor Snape reserved for Harry Potter. Although beautifully packaged, these kits are rarely Do-It-Yourself – everything comes pre-prepared, all the child has to do is cut, fold and glue the bits-and-bobs together. It makes me yearn for long summer days when to construct a candy stick pencil stand or a pistachio shell cottage, we had to make our way through countless mango dollies, choco-bars and salted dried fruits. Now, everything’s bundled neatly into a bag along with specific instructions. Somehow the idea of innovation and experimentation has got buried under mounds of cookie-cutter DIY kits.

Which is why I was excited about the MaKey Makey , an invention kit I bought for my nephew on the recommendation of a friend’s eight-year-old daughter. The kit comes from the hallowed MIT Media Lab and had promise written all over it. MaKey MaKey has been developed by two students, Jay Silver and Eric Rosenbaum, who crowdsourced money on Kickstarter to raise funds for the project. When my nephew ripped apart the wrapping paper, we both opened the box with barely concealed excitement. I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of disappointment as I picked my way through the circuit board, USB cable, alligator clips and jumper wires. I paid three grand for this?

Perplexed, we took to the Internet to help us make sense of what looked like a jumble of wires. We pulled up an online piano page, and hooked up the MaKey MaKey to the computer. Next, we raided the kitchen. My mother came running out, wondering why we needed the French beans that she was prepping for lunch. We connected alligator clips to the veggies, and suddenly, we were playing the piano with a cluster of beans. We’d lift a bean, and it would play a note.

MaKey MaKey connects everyday objects that can conduct a bit of electricity such as fruits, plants, coins, Play-Doh and even marshmallows, and converts these “newly-found inputs into keyboard presses or mouse control”. That means you can play SuperMario with Play-Doh, make a doll cry with foil, and use vegetables and fruits to compose a song. And yes, you can play Minecraft as well.

For my nephew, the excitement was really about the interaction it provided. It got him thinking laterally, wondering what he could hook up to the kit next and transform into a touch pad. He deliberated about objects that conduct electricity – it took a few experiments to figure that potatoes and coins worked, but Lego was a no go.

The wonderful thing about this is that children can connect with science and technology through play. Many children today are familiar with technology, but few understand the workings of their app or game. MaKey MaKey gives another dimension to play – by offering them an insight into the workings of the technology they are experimenting with. Since there are barely any instructions provided by the inventors, it comes down to the child’s imagination and ideas. Without realising it, they end up learning the basics of physics, music, sound, technology. Since it’s participative, a play date can become the start of a music band or a group game.

As the makers wrote on their Kickstarter page, “We believe that everyone can create the future and change the world. So we have dedicated our lives to making easy-to-use invention kits. We believe that the whole world is a construction kit, if we choose to see it that way”. While the MaKey MaKey is a great interface design for children, it’s a handy tool for adults especially designers, artists and engineers. Actually scratch that, most of us would have fun experimenting with this kit.

MaKey MaKey is available on Amazon.com. The writer has now got her own MaKey MaKey kit and has a fridge-full of toys to play with. The writer is the former editor of Time Out Bengaluru and writes about education for sustainable development, conservation and food security.

Play mats

Posted on January 5, 2016 by bijalv

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/mumbai/entertainment/plays-mats/article8020403.ece

Keeping kids occupied at mealtimes just got a tad easier thanks to these activity placemats

Restaurants often offer puzzle placemats to keep diners occupied while waiting for their order. Spot-the-difference puzzles, word games and number challenges serve as appetisers until the real food arrives. Now, entrepreneurs are creating interesting placemats that can keep the little ’uns occupied at the dining table at home as well.

My Mumbai (Rs 500) is a set of eight colouring placemats that introduces Maximum City to children. Perfect for children aged four and above, the black-and-white posters by Yellow Pinwheel Kids Project offer a slice of Mumbai’s life. In one of the placemats, commuters are seen wending their way around the city, passing through the sea link, boarding a local train, and hopping on board a BEST bus. Another one is crammed with the city’s people — street vendors frying vadas for vada pao, Bollywood actors, Koli fisherfolks, paan wallahs, and of course, the dabba wallas. And the third is a glimpse into festivities. The illustrations are done by Abhishek Panchal, who founded Bombay Pencil Jammers.

The placemats encourage children to explore their city with the help of trivia pull-outs. Young explorers will engage with Mumbai’s architecture, the diverse cross-section of its people, and understand its geography. There’s a DIY map of Mumbai, which children have to draw themselves — the map starts at Gateway of India and ends at the Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Borivali. “My Mumbai is targeted for an age group of four to 10. It seems wide but the activity is different for each age segment. The four to six-year-olds will possibly use it just for colouring, but older children will use it as a mapping exercise to discover their city,” said Shinibali Mitra Saigal, who created the activity kit along with Shivani Lath. The entrepreneurs are former journalists, while Mitra Saigal is the co-founder of Kahani Karnival, a Mumbai-based children’s festival.

The Mealtime series by BrownBox Toys (Rs 450) is another charming set of sticker placemats that offer a culinary tour of India, China and England. Each set comes with four posters of typical Indian, Chinese or English meals, with stickers of the food items. The series introduces toddlers to different cultures and helps them understand food habits across the world. For instance, Mealtime England has a poster for fish n’ chips, complete with stickers of tartare sauce, mustard, crisps, peas, vinegar, and other sauces and condiments. Toddlers paste the stickers on the brown paper illustration on the page, to learn what a complete fish n’ chips meal would include. Mealtime India has a range of samosa, thali, kebabs, and dosa and idli. The selection is a mix of familiar and new food, which encourages children to try new dishes as well. The idea is to spark curiosity in young minds.

Then there’s PoppadumArt’s adorable Chalkboard Puzzle Mats (Rs 390) with a range of shapes such as sheep, goats, and bunnies. The animal’s head detaches to become a coaster. Children can write on the mat with chalk, wipe it off, and then scribble again. Made out of medium density fibreboard with a foam backing, the placemat is easy to wipe and reusable, said Saanwari Gorwaney, who started PoppadumArt four years ago to make what she calls “happy things to make spaces happy and bright”. Gorwaney, who is now based out of Gurgaon, worked in advertising before she embarked on this online venture. Out of the three, the chalkboard puzzle mats are easily reusable when it comes to dealing with messy hands. Both Mealtime and My Mumbai would need to be laminated before they can be used as permanent placemats. Of course, they might just end up being displayed on the refrigerator as works of art instead.

To order My Mumbai, visit http://www.facebook.com/My-Mumbai-1701714190047560/?fref=ts. The Mealtime series can be ordered online on http://www.brownboxtoys.com/ and the Chalkboard Puzzle Mats on http://www.poppadumart.com.

Entrepreneurs are creating interesting placemats that can keep the little ones occupied at the dining table

Lightroom Bookstore: The City’s Best-Kept Secret for Kids

Posted on January 5, 2016 by bijalv

https://lbb.in/bangalore/lightroom-bookstore/
Ten-second takeaway

A veritable Narnia for children’s books.

lightroom

A one-stop-shop for children’s books

The delight you feel when stepping into Lightroom Bookstore is comparable to what we think Lucy Pevensie might have felt when she crawled through the cupboard to reach the magical world of Narnia. You can’t help but be spellbound as you walk through the inviting space, surrounded by books and more books.

Aashti Mudnani started Lightroom in 2013, after dreaming about it for seven years. “From the beginning the idea was to have a handpicked selection, keeping books that we believed were good for our children to read,” said Mudnani. “Choosing books is quite an intensive task – we go over endless lists sent to us by publishers, online recommendations, friends’ book lists, reviews etc, to choose the books we keep.”

Go ahead, explore

Lightroom has a range of international and Indian books for children and young adults. Apart from the usual suspects such as Harry Potter, Julia Donaldson, and Percy Jackson, there’s The Amazing Remarkable Monsieur Leotard by Eddie Campbell and Dan Best, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs, and Paper Planes by Dawn O’Porter. There are books published by Tulika, Hachette, Tara, Katha, Pratham, Duckbill, Red Turtle, Puffin, and Young Zubaan, selected by the team at Lightroom.

One wall looks like it belongs on the page of Brain Pickings, Maria Popova’s literary and cultural website. Here you will find displayed the gorgeously-illustrated Animalium: Welcome to the Museum by Katie Scott and Jenny Broom, Neil Gaiman and Chris Riddell’s The Sleeper and the Spindle, and I’ll Be You and You Be Me by Ruth Krauss and Maurice Sendak.

We spent a fair amount of time on the floor perusing Knock! Knock! by Kaori Takahashi. Some of the Lightroom team members joined us in unfolding the beautifully-crafted book. When we gushed over The Giant Game of Sculpture by Hervé Tullet, they opened the book, which transformed into a DIY installation for budding artists. You can also buy notebooks, block stamps and DIY craft kits, apart from children apparel by Hidden Harmony and hand-stitched toys by Blue Mango. Lightroom also holds two events per month.

Why we love them

What makes Lightroom special is its people. Mudnani and her helpful team are knowledgeable and unobtrusive. Need a book for a ten-year-old who loves monsters, a birthday gift, or a first book for your toddler, they know just what you want. And they even smile approvingly if you confess that the book’s actually meant for you.

Where: 1, Lewis Road, Cooke Town

When: Monday to Saturday, 10.30am-6.30pm

Contact: 080 25460466

Price: INR 100 upwards

Find them on Facebook here.

Author: bijalv

In its new format, Pottermore is more of a site that will keep Potterheads up to date with wondrous news of the wizarding world.

Making healthy, tasty granola is easier than you think. Ingredients can be easily swapped, and delicious quirks such as coffee or bits of chocolate make it more interesting.

Keeping kids occupied at mealtimes just got a tad easier thanks to these activity placemats