Organic Vegetable Cultivation at Uchimedu village, Bahour, Puducherry.

Organic vegetables grown by villagers in Uchimedu Village of Bahour, Puducherry, INDIA. Part of a DST, Govt. of India project to have sustainable nutritional gardens, these villagers are happy with their produce..

Green post...!

The Green Post

Wish
if
all
posts
were
like
this !!

Road side beauty...!

On the ECR Road near Reddichavady..

bright and yellow,
in the heat and the sun,
in the dust and smoke,
of the speeding vehicles,
tendered by nature
not noted by many
they stand tall
caught the eyes
of me
...
....
and my

....
....
camera..

The Solitary reaper...@Gingee Fort

At Gingee, a lone monkey...

A betel vine and some memories...

We have a small betel vine in our house, which my wife got from her school ignored by the school watchman, it was going to die off. She brought it and planted in our house and now it is fresh and with lot of beautiful tender leaves.

Some scientific facts: Betel leaf consist of moisture 85.4 percent, protein 3.1 percent, fat 0.8 percent, minerals 2.3 percent, fiber 2.3 percent and carbohydrates 6.1 percent per 100 grams. Its minerals and vitamin contents are calcium, carotene, riboflavin, niacin, thiamine and vitamin C. Recent studies have shown that betel leaves contain tannins, sugar and diastases and an essential oil. The essential oil is a light yellow liquid of aromatic odor and sharp burning in taste. It contains a phenol called chavicol which has powerful antiseptic properties. The alkaloid arakene in it has properties resembling cocaine in some respects.


Betel leaves are also a household remedy for cough and cold for small children. The juice of betel leaves can be given to infants if they have cough and used to be prescribed by even doctors from JIPMER. Chewing betel leaves with lime used to be a good cosmetic practice by women in olden days, though the practice is now limited to marriage functions etc. Chewing betel leaves also is supposed to be good for the teeth provided you dont add tobaco leaves along with betel leaves.

I still remember my grandmother's sister who used to regularly chew betel leaves with her specially prepared areca nut preparation. As children, we used to compare our red tongues as to whose tongue was more red.

Betel leaves also have a spiritual place in Indian tradition and we offer the same to elders as a mark of respect. May be it was known to our ancestors that this herb had such wonderful medicinal values, it was made part of the traditions ! But sadly, the herb is becoming less cultivated these days, as very few people use it now a days.

An evening near Gingee Fort

An evening near the Gingee Fort, situated in Villupuram District of Tamilnadu. By the time I reached there, it was 5 pm and the fort was already closed. These are tele-photos.

Aloe Vera

From wikipedia: Aloe vera is a succulent plant species that is found only in cultivation, having no naturally occurring populations, although closely related aloes do occur in northern Africa.[1] The species is frequently cited as being used in herbal medicine since the beginning of the first century AD. Extracts from A. vera are widely used in the cosmetics and alternative medicine industries, being marketed as variously having rejuvenating, healing, or soothing properties. There is, however, little scientific evidence of the effectiveness or safety of Aloe vera extracts for either cosmetic or medicinal purposes, and what positive evidence is available is frequently contradicted by other studies

Friends....

Innocence...of old age..!!

Shades of green.....

Innocence....

A new life and the struggle starts....

This puppy was borne only a couple of days ago. There are at least a dozen dogs in our street, most of them are quite good ones except a few which barks and howls all night.. The life of these street dogs is pathetic. They have to struggle to survive to get some food. Most of the houses chases them out and they live a life of poverty, with their rib bones visible. Still new members get added to their family and their support and togetherness is astonishing. I could see the younger dogs taking care of the new puppies, playing with them, allowing them to climb over them etc. In a few days' time, these beautiful puppies become malnourished and they lose their charm and beauty. These pups are not adequately fed by their mother who herself is ill fed. Even when we try to feed the mother, the other 10 or so dogs assemble to compete for food and she silently withdraws herself ... The struggle for this puppy starts in a few days' time... the cycle continues. But look at the beauty and innocence of these puppy..