Enthralling Trails

“The magic moments go unrecognized, and then suddenly, the hand of destiny changes everything”   ―   Paulo Coelho The picture in the newspaper illustrated the incident, it showed people, men, women and children bent in an engrossed state as they collected coins, money and other  things after a funeral was performed on the beach. They did not notice anyone clicking their photograph to be published in a newspaper. The photograph showed these people rejoicing the death of the person as they showered their blessings on the large-hearted relatives. I kept looking at the picture for a long time recollecting my past. Andhra Pradesh is known for cotton and silk clothes. The festival season begins with Ganesh Chaturthi though people do celebrate Po ngal, Ugadi and many other festivals in the months of January and March. The shops begin a sale of clothes which attracts crowds.  In the olden days, there were no malls but we had  shopping alleyway at various...

“...the best possible way to prepare for   tomorrow   is to concentrate with all your intelligence, all your enthusiasm, on doing today's work superbly today. That is the only possible way you can prepare for the future”   ―   Dale Carnegie He had a clump of curly hair, messy and dishevelled. He bent his head and peered into the paper, he pulled a strand till it stretched straight and then left it to curl again. However, this time the strand stood singled out in the clump in a funny manner.He was wearing a steel band around his wrist. We call it a ‘kada’ in Ind ia . It is normally worn by Punjab is, but these days it is in vogue. He kept glancing at me as he rubbed his fingers as if to convince me that he was unable to remember. I kept moving around looking at everyone coldly. There was a lady clad in a sari who occupied the first bench. In a state of anxiety to do well in the exam she overlooked her roll number in the attendance sheet. She looked at me anxio...

"If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome"—   Anne Bradstreet  ‘Karmbala Torro’ is what we call it in Konkani. It is a pickle and my Mother in law pickles it wonderfully well. Whenever we visit Tiruvalla, I find bottles of these stacked to be devoured during our stay and carry  some to Pune, which lasts a few months reminding us of our visit. ‘Karambal’ is small, juicy and sour with ridges known as ‘Carmbola’ in English, commonly known as Star fruit. The   Scientific name is   Averrhoa carambola. Star fruit is a small, bushy evergreen tree that grows very well under hot, humid, tropical conditions. Carambola is native to Malayan peninsula and cultivated in many parts of Southeast Asia, Pacific islands and China for its fruits. Although abundant and plentiful, carambola is yet to gain popularity, especially in the western world.(Wikipedia)   The fruit is a...