South India Travels!

View of the Backwaters

Kochi! Kerala! Backwaters! 

It might seem The southern part of India is my favourite. But, even I am not sure, what influences me to travel to that part of the country! 

It was work for one part of it, It was sightseeing the Other Time and it was food and rejuvenation for this time. 

All the sides of the South have so much to offer! Just like the other states of India! But, the flavours in the South are all so different. 

While the common element remains the coconut in the flavours, Pepper and Masala in each of these states enhance the taste of the food. 

South Indian Food

Kochi! Was such a food experience. The freshness of seafood, The softness of meat & Pork.  The sharpness of Pepper and Rice and fullness of Appams was a treat every meal! 

Backwaters Calmness and quietness through the journey in the boat was an experience of Stillness in a world of technology. 

The Night at the Allepy snoozed us at 10 after another meal of Fish & Vegetable Stews! 

The next morning we were back from the shores, not sure if we were ready to travel back into reality! 

The heritage property where we stayed for another day in the city, was a museum with Vintage Cars, Camera, Projectors and an antique Radio system! 

The whole Kochi experience wouldn’t have been complete without exploring Art Galleries & Independent stores that had so much to offer! 

In terms of coffee, the Monsoon Malabar Roast is something you would enjoy the most. The Saltiness coming from the moisture in the air is what makes the coffee flavourful with the spice & nutty notes.  

Stay:

Bloom Boutique hotel

Kumarakom Lake Resort & Boat

Eat:

Kashi Art Cafe: Asian Food & Eggs

Pandhal Cafe : Pizza, Tacos, Desserts, Coffee and Berry lemonade.

Brunton Boatyard: For South India food

Jew Town Cafe : Cold Coffee

French Toast : Coffee & Desserts

Shop:

David Hall

Pepper House

Jew Town

Hampi! 

Virupaksha Temple, Hampi

Another city in the South was more about architecture and History with beautiful historic temples like Virupaksha Temple, Hemakuta Hill and Hazara Rama Temple are a must-visit on your visit to Hampi. 

The Eco-friendly hotel at Hampi, felt like a restored heritage hotel, but in fact, was designed from scratch. 

At Hampi, we were truly a tourist in our incredible India. 

Hampi, had suddenly seen a spike of interest globally even the G20 was hosted in the city in 2023. 

Stay:

Evolve Back Hotel

Bangalore! 

Bangalore Palace

The IT hub! The widest roads in a metro city! 

Where the joke for the city is.

IT professionals travel for about an hour on average to make apps and work for companies that promise delivery within 10 min. 

The City, that’s clean & Green! A metro you would like to stay in if you have a choice! 

The food options are many to choose from! 

Andra-style south Indian food being our favourite. 

But, the dessert and baking goods are one of the best in the city! 

The city has a palace, whose architectural structure is like a British-style castle. 

Eat:

Beema’s for Andra Food

Nagarjuna for Andra Food

Airlines for Dosa

Milano for Ice Cream

Corner House For Ice Cream Sundaes

Fia’s for Parsi Food

Lazy Suzy – for Cocktails

One 8 Commune – Rooftop Bar

Chinaman by Shehan Karunatilaka- Book Review! 

Book that was recommended by a friend, who was reading The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida A Booker Prize winner book by the author. The author of Chinaman too!

The moment I heard about the title! The Australian bowler Brad Hogg came to my mind a bowler who is known as the chinaman bowler.

The book was indeed the concept of the spin Balling and Bowler but in contemporary fiction writing.

Chinaman is a story about a retired sportsman W.G Karunsena who is dying.

He spends his final months drinking arrack. ( A traditional alcohol from Sri Lanka) upsetting his wife, ignoring his son & tracking down Pradeep Matthew an elusive spin bowler whom he considers the greatest Cricketer in the world.

On his Quest to find this unsung genius, W.G. uncovers a coach with six fingers, a secret bunker below a famous stadium, an LTTE warlord and startling truths about Sri Lanka, Cricket and himself.

The Book is one of the best books on Cricket and Sri Lanka I have come across and read.

Explaining, the whole concept of the game. The rules and the type of delivery bowled by a spinner.

The writer also believes what a perfect team should look like by giving his breakdown.

A perfect team should be:

  • Two solid openers 
  • Three Aggressive batsman 
  • Two genuine all-rounders
  • One Agile Wicketkeeper 
  • Two unplayable fast bowlers 
  • One Genius Spinner 

The book is thought-provoking for a fan, reader and as a player from the sport. On the value and respect the sport offers. 

“But, once in a while, the very best of them will bowl a ball and bring an entire nation to its feet. There isn’t any practical use in that, but there is certainly value “

The book also touches upon The Superstitions in cricket , the Betting & fixing. 

The way he describes a single over is like a team going to war. 

“An over is six bullets in a gun! I don’t mind firing some into the sky if one hits the target” 

The struggles to keep dreams and hope alive for the sport We play because we have talent & passion. 

But, talent will leave the game if you earn no money 

With the pressure, outsiders have to deal with to prove themselves , Tamils have to be twice as good as Sinhalese to be recognised 

A few true incidents in the sport are highlighted too one of them being the use of 

Aluminium Bat by Dennis Lillee an Australian cricketer   in 1978 Ashes used an aluminium bat. 

On racism

On changing rules:

Whites have been writing the rules for centuries. It’s time we added ours. 

The writer also in the book compares cricket to other sports like  Table tennis: You switch services every 5 points and race to 21.

Badminton: You fight for service. only service grants you points.

Tennis: Four units of 15 constitute a game.

Games accumulate into sets.

Some keywords of the game: 

All arounder:

A genuine all-around should be able to make the team on either bowling and batting skill alone. A genuine one is as rare as a punctual Sri Lankan.

Maiden over: A over of six balls when there aren’t any runs scored.

Follow on: When the team can’t score the sufficient runs required for the other side to play.

Carrom Ball: The ball is released by flicking of finger between the thumb and a bent middle finger in order to impart spin.

Chinaman: Is considered to be a leg-spin delivery by a left-arm bowler

The Lissa Ball a type of delivery was invented by Clarrie Grimmet Aussie player in 1930. Snapped his fingers along the ball axis and made it skid off the pitch, keeping low and often connected with the wicket.

Floater: A Traditional chinaman, but bowled with an open chest and shrug of the shoulder causing the ball to linger in the air

Double Bounce Ball: The Mystery of Mystery Balls. A ball that bounces and changes direction twice.

UK Flashback 2023!

The Memories, come flashing back!

The vivid details, the signages, The bustling streets, the hop on and hop off buses,

The Lego store, Leicester Square and Times Square coming together in my memory!

The M&M World! Piccadilly Circle written faintly!

And the huge square, Trafalgar Square with the lion roaring.

The London Bridge! All that meets the London eye!

The erratic weather changing, like mood swings for humans in the city!

Brexit has happened from the last time we visited,

Still trying to figure things out here! 

UK! LONDON! Seems …

Can’t get over it it’s been a decade since I visited London!

The memories seem crystal clear, walking up the bridge and witnessing the Thames…

Felt like a Lord! After taking them through the cricket ring that has so much history in the sport and St.John Woods Brownish, Beige rooftops and homes with a little redness never felt the same again!

Walking through the dining room and changing room of the Lord’s Stadium was a Kodak tour in so many ways! The sport that I couldn’t breathe & sleep without in childhood is a distant reality in my adulthood!

The Marketspace CAMDEN! IN Yellowish brown BOLD Font, was an interesting space of shops and cafes!

The London Tube and the Big Red Bus! Through Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace and Notting Hill!

The Tourist’s ness was rubbing on our shoulders, Afternoon tea and scones at Claridge’s was one splurge we did on our trip!

Oh! The now famous Pret A Manager that has India sipping and eating was one of our hangout spots after we strolled through Oxford Street!

Oh! We passed through Covent Garden which years later became a hub for Contemporary interiors and places to eat! Like the BKC In Mumbai.

London, The UK! Hadn’t seemed to have changed much! But, what had changed was it had become expensive to live and holiday here! Transport fares had doubled, and the pricing of basic goods & services too had doubled. And on the other side, Ireland was thriving with tourism, and had seemed a better bet for the UK Locals to move there! Irish Cream was a nice country with beautiful bookstores and odd-looking people with colourful hair. The Vibe & energy in Ireland felt more for youngsters and youth. With Good food options and not just 90 minutes by Air from London City Ireland indeed became a good option for UK residents to shift.

Galway & Cork were two small towns, each having their charm & differences.

The Bars were hangout spots to enjoy the Guinness Beer or have a cup of Irish coffee.

A pizzeria in Galway was also not just in Ireland but had been accoladed with the 16th best pizzeria in Europe in 2022 and 37th best in the world in 2022.

Well! Ireland is also well known for Bailey’s liqueur – A popular coffee-based alcohol and Butlers chocolates. A bar of chocolate that melts away!

And last but not least the Jameson whiskey outlet – The Secret ingredient behind the Irish Coffee.

The last highlight, An 18th-century Century Church that was restored over seven years in the late nineties until mid two thousands was opened in 2005 and still has the rustiness and architecture of the 18th Century.
Information:

Ireland 

Cities: Galway, Cork, Dublin and Belfast. 

Enter through Dublin and travel through trains to the other cities.

 Stay: 

Ashkings Hotel Dublin

Buy a leap card from the station. You could use this across public transport (Trams, Trains, Buses)

The Rise of Disability stories.

In the Year 2023, I read a few books on Disability characters, And all of them have been written around in the last decade They all have had a personal connection with the author and the story.

The disability ranging from intellectual to physical disabilities. Have only made it more human to have a sense of fulfilment of how fortunate they are those who haven’t gone through any of these experiences, that challenges ones existence for a small task that seem simple to the ones who are completely mobile or have all their senses functioning to the fullest.

Whether it was The housekeeper and the professor. A story about a professor who has only 80 minutes of memory in a day and he likes to associate with numbers. To Elena a story about a missing daughter and a mothers struggle to find her daughter while the mother is suffering from Parkinson’s.

To the injustice the disabled have to deal with in the “disability visibility by Alice Wong.”

To a child who suffers from autism is being curious about a dogs death and how he associates certain daily activities for his day or week to go by.

“True Biz about Deafness “in a world that can see. Through sign language one could learn to communicate with another deaf person.

“Tomorrow Tomorrow Tomorrow “protagonist who has been physically hurt by an accident. And how he has to bring certain changes into his life.

These stories have been pushing the acceptance of what these disabilities are and why one shouldn’t take advantage and be more considerate to the ones who have to deal with so much from the ones around them.

These stories aren’t just about children, but also about Adults who have more challenges to face than the younger ones.

While these are the books! The question that comes to mind is Films and television.

What controls them & stops them from adapting these stories, that could have a wider reach and be more influential in accepting disabilities?

These books out there only have pushed the boundaries of acceptance of the existence of disabilities that we haven’t made any arrangements for.

Best Books on Disability: I have Read 

  • Disability Visibility by Alice Wong
  • Elena Knows by Claudia Pinerio
  • The Curious Incident of the Dog in the night-time by Mark Haddon
  • Tomorrow Tomorrow Tomorrow by Gabriell Zevin
  • True Biz by Sara Novic
  • The Housekeeper and the Professor by Ogawa
  • The Diary of Murder by Kim Young-ha

The Roastery Tour -Blue Tokai

Having been a home brewer for years, and enjoying a good cup of coffee daily!

The Roastery tour was fascinating.

The effort, that goes into the brew of a single cup of coffee is huge, and within a few sips/Slurps, we have our verdict of liking or disliking the coffee.

The tour began with all those interested in assembling in a room and introduction of themselves, and what interested them about coffee and the tour.

We then moved to the storage room, where 1000 Kg gunny bags of green coffee beans were stored.

Each bag had a variety of green coffee beans which is sorted manually for good, bad and damaged beans.

They are then collected into a storage box before they go into roasting.

Each day 180 Kgs of green coffee beans are sorted manually at the Roastery.

There are a couple of green coffee varieties. They are Natural, Washed, Honey Processed (Red/Yellow) Malabar, and anaerobic fermentation.

Each of these beans have their own texture and size.

Natural: They are the natural ones. No Water or machines used to remove the coffee beans

Washed: They get washed away by water and then dried.

Malabar: A variety that’s popular in India. Is salt-panned coffee beans.

Honey Processed: A Process where coffee beans are de-pulped and dried without being washed. The golden sticky substance that remains is something like honey, which is why it’s known as honey processed.

Anaerobic fermentation: This is when the coffee cherries are locked into an airtight fermentation tank after being harvested, to stop any Carbon -dioxide from escaping.

The second room was the roasting room. 

The green coffee beans that has to be roasted are thrown into a hopper then a roasting profile is set ,that the roasters thinks  is the most appropriate for the coffee beans and then the coffee is roasted into the roaster. There are three drums within the roaster. 

And the coffee once roasted is flushed out in a section and spun over a few minutes where it cools down, before it can be taken into production for the cafés brewing, for cafe retailing, for E-Commerce purchases and other outlets that source beans from the Roastery. 

The packaging is done within minutes and ready to be sent all over.

The beans Preferably should be consumed within a month from the date it has been roasted to enjoy the flavour profile and taste of the coffee.

Post our Tour we also tried the coffees at the Roastery.

We brewed the pour over method and tried the drip bags too.

Oh! Please note before the Roastery brews a large batch of coffee, they have a portable roasting machine, that they use to sample beans.

The Roastery has to choose coffee from about 800 odd samples from which they choose about 40 odd samples they would produce under their Roastery.