Michael Palin's Himalaya

Been reading the coffee table version of Michael Palin's travelouge: Himalaya. Finally got the time, when I fell ill, to read the majority of his 6 months journey from the west to the east of these ranges. Lots of pictures. These journeys are in a way a time capsule. Done over a decade and half ago, the same journey today would be a little more dangerous, and tiresome, given the recent geo-political tensions in the area. Michael, being British,and behalf of the BBC, had it a little more easy getting permissions, and approvals. He got to visit Tibet, and China, and still lived to tell the tale. Very few travellers get to see the other side of these mountains.

He brings with him a neutral, outsiders perspective during this journey. He does touch upon the political imbroglio of the region, but he also is not judgemental when he interacts with the locals, and see their traditions. Every community living in the mountains has a reverence for the ranges. Its not for the feeble minded. One has to be able bodied, to live along these slopes. I specially liked the Yunnan,China part of his travels. Here is a community who technically lived in the Himalaya, but addressed them in a different language, different names. They had their own culture, unique in their own way.

It is fascinating reading about the people who live so close to these mountains, and take the majestic views for granted. These are very seismically active regions, the Himalayas itself is the worlds youngest mountain range, having been created in the subduction zone of two tectonic plates. With only a few local airports, and no trains, they rely completely on roadways and rivers to get around. Weather conditions are extreme, and only a few kind of plants and vegetables grow. Over in Yunan, they consume a lot of meat to stay warm. But down in Nepal and Bhutan, with majority vegetarians, I wonder what they eat to beat the biting cold.

Living in relative comfort of modern cities, it is easy to take our lives for granted. Living in the Himalaya is not for the faint hearted. This has been an enriching read, and I hope one day of travelling in the mountains myself.

Heartbeats on the moon

What wonderful times we live in. Around the world, media houses are covering the 50th anniversary of America's mankind's moon landing, and all sorts of wonderful articles are being published, detailing otherwise un-heard of stories and anecdotes of that historic week. One such article is regarding how mission control at Houston tracked and observed the hearbeats and life stats of the three men onboard. Fascinating read  !

Also, the journal of the entire mission is online, in public domain, for anyone to peruse and research forever. They are sometimes too technical, but are sprinkled with jokes and light ribbing between the crew and Mission Control, even in the midst of stressful moments.

Armstrong later said he wasn’t worried about the fuel. They were close enough then that if the engine cut off, the moon’s gentle gravity, one-sixth that of Earth’s, would let them coast safely down. But the descent must have been some adrenaline rush to push the lunar commander’s heart rate to 150. Armstrong’s pulse began to climb after he turned off the autopilot and took the controls in his gloved grip. The fate of the mission was, quite literally, in his hands. Tens of thousands of engineers had helped get him here, but this last bit was up to him. That kind of responsibility would quicken anyone’s pulse.

50 years since the Giant Leap

Its been 50 years, since the giant leap of mankind. It was amazing knowing about the moonwalk the night it happened, its equally awe inspiring 5 decades later. Its going to inspire and challenge countless generations today and in the future.

Thank you, the gentle giants of the Apollo missions. And to all the scientists and engineers who worked on earth to make this happen.

We have left our footprints on the moon. May they stay there forever.

The world is still waiting for the next giant leap. Onto the next planet.

And to the universe far beyond.

The ABC Murders (BBC One)

 

Re-watched the BBC One’s interpretation of Agatha Christie’s The ABC Murders. I did watch it as soon as it came out last year. It was interesting watching this new version, and comparing it with every other adaptation of Chrisite’s work.

First up: Ron Weasly playing an adult character came as a pleasant shock. With the makeup,and costumes, and the period lighting, and him smoking cigarettes, it was such a huge transformation ! He is not that loving, silly kid anymore. He is 30! Gosh, we have all grown old.

Second up: This muscle man playing Poirot. I think this is the worst version of the famous detective. John is too tall, and too well built. I felt you don’t get the feeling of the smarts in his little grey cells, because you are looking at his build and the way he moves.

The novels focussed on how Poirot looks and interprets the scene of the crime. But the show makers looked more involved in depicting the violence and brutality of the crime in progress. Also, whats with the whole immigrant hate in the show ? And why show Poirot as a preist in this past ? Kind of screws up the vibe for me. The interpretation is that he has been living with the guilt of that mass murder since that day. Thats not the fun, obsessive-compulsive, charismatic, and energetic Poirot described in Agatha Christie’s work. Neverthless, good effort.

 

But I guess this is what the current new generation wants to see on TV. The books can seem boring when read today, because there are so many characters and events there, to confuse the reader. Also, things were a lot slower back then.

I hope BBC One keeps these adaptations coming. After And Then There Were None in 2015. The next generation needs to know how real crime drama was written over a century ago.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Best museum visit ever !

Today I learnt a lot. Because today, I went to the museum. I felt like a kid again, and boy, was it fun. This would be my best museum trip ever. I visited the Melbourne Museum in Carlton, just because I had a day off and didn't kmow what else to do. A day well spent.

First off, I have always had dual relationships with museums. The name is supposed to spark curiosity, and fun, and questions. But the museums in India are so poorly done, the only question it invokes is "Why is this place still open ?". They don't have that many speciemens, due to …well, lack of funding. They focus on near history, our recent past only, and no address what we know in the long term. And they also don't bother about the future. They put up paintings and sculptures on their walls, but they don't spark curiosity.

But I have had better museum visits outside India. The natural history museum in Helsinki had dinosaurs. The one in Austria focussed on European flaura and fauna. Also..Vikings ! These guys really know their stuff. So I had high hopes when I walked into the largest museum in the southern hemisphere , in Melbourne.

The dinosaur walk was front and center. And they talked at length on the earth, meteorites, and a little too much about crystals and stones. Nothing fancy about that. One or two collections would have been enough. But upstairs, they talked about evolution, and the principle minds that worked behind that idea. And a room full of taxidermied animals ! And more bees and butterflies !  Some of Darwin's and Owens' original specimens are also on display, you have to squint to spot them ! The focus was on animals found in Victoria, but they also added a polar bear and a panda. The whole arrangement, lighing, and occasinal sound effects were all perfect.  Just enough information to answer your queries, without a long monotnous speech. Sadly, I missed the marine room.

The outdoor installation of Forest history is very cleverly done. I doubt anybody else would have thought about that. They already had giant trees in the back, and they built underground installations to show the birds and animals of such a forest.

Wonders never cease. They have spent a good portion of their space to talk about Victoria, and Melbourne's own little history. Through detailed research and hundreds of actual historical pieces, they have told a continous story of this city from its colonial past. The original natives of this place is mentioned, and without sugercoating, they have also detailed the cruelty these people had to suffer at the hands of 'white-men'. After the gold rush, and a huge influx of migrants, the city planners really had to work overtime to get back to a planned, livable city.

This is where the history of Melbourne differed from a place like..well, an Indian city. Through planning , and efficient government, they built the most livable city in the world, out of slums and closed mines. They go through both the world wars, and were able to successfully move to modernizatin. There are separate exhibits of objects used in all these various time-capsules. The first electrical appliances, the first cable driven trams, old movies, and radios, and then music and footy..the time travel was instantaneous ! I specially adored the pieces designed for their maritime history, with scale models of wooden clippers, and large luxury liners, even a navy ship. They have these little photo albums placed at various points, with real photos taken by people living in here, in various points of time. Thanks to photography, we can now glimpse how they lived , more than 120 years ago. No question, they put on their best clothes while posing for the cameras !

So, in closing, this is how a museum should be designed. There is no way a place can cover 4 billion years of history in a day. The key is to show snippets, and answer questions that really matter. If you have a spare day, spend it at the museum, you feel like a kid again. You won't be dissappointed.

Kappa connection

I was in the local Indian store this week, and in the freezer section, saw a packet of..wait for it…tapioca ! Called casava in some countries, it is lovingly called 'kappa' and even 'kolli' in God's own. At one point, it used to be the food of the poor, who could not afford to buy rice. But today, it is packed, frozen and sent to practically every country to be enjoyed in its simplicity. And back in Kerala, it is now available in top hotels and restaurants.

What wonderful times we live in !

Which reminded me Kerala's long lasting connection with the tuber.  Visakam Thirunnal Rama Verma  ruled only for five years in the 1880s, fell ill and died at 48, relatively young per today's living standards. It was this king who introduced the vegetable to these shores. Tapioca or manioca was brought from South America as a viable alternative to tackle food famine. It was planted on the edge of Kawdiar palace surroundings and that area came to be known as Maracheeni veela. The dhobbie wash area and royal pond was in this region once uoat. Later became the first housing subdivision for government senior leaders and renamed Jawahar Nagar. The utility or some other documents still record it as marcheeni veela. Swami Vivekananda made his historic stay in Tvpm, speaking at this place. The combination of kappa cheeni tapioca with fish later emerged as a balanced nutritional option meeting protein and calorie requirements.

This is probably why none of the other south Indian states seem to have any recepies using the tapioca. It is best enjoyed simply boiled, with some fish curry. Kerala style fish curry.

1947 was a year of changes, and in south India, the kings and queens were being asked to give up their reign and kingdoms. Maharani Sethu Lakshmi Bayi of Travancore was the last queen of that region of Kerala. While she served fried fish to her English guests, her cooks prepared and shaped kappa into an imitation, so she could eat keeping her religious beliefs !

How extraordinary !

But as recent as the fifties, there was a government initiative to introduce tapioca based western cuisine to the people of Kerala. While it was a famine which brought kappa to us, it was another famine which led the EMS Government of 1957 to rethink the kappa plans. At the time, Kerala produced a little less than half the rice it needed to feed its people.

The audacious plan was to start the production of tapioca based macaroni, yes the Italian food macaroni, to Malayalees. Originally called synthetic rice,  CFTRI in Mysore developed it as a remedy for rice shortage.

“The Institute has recognised the need to reduce the pressure on rice. One of the ways of doing it is by making use of tapioca… The Institute has begun making macaroni by mixing 60 parts of tapioca flour with 25 parts of wheat flour and 15 parts of groundnut flour (for protein)."

Predicably, the plan went nowhere. Because the people hated it. Thank goodness.  The communist government was ridiculed for introducing western food to the poor. Read this fantastic retelling of the great macaroni scandal.

So Malayalees today enjoy kappa in its truest, simplest form, without any western interruption.

Keep calm and eat kappa.