Mattupatti Dam, near Munnar, Kerala

Mattupatti dam is near Munnar hills in Kerala state. The dam was almost devoid of water when I visited it in the last week of May 2019. With rains predicted to come in about 10 days time, I could sense that the vast space of the dam was patently for the waters to flow in, to be full till its brim. There were occasional visitors and I could even see some tourists going on in boats. The beautiful contours left by the receding waters have created wonderful graphical patterns.  The sun was its peak and the heat was too much. Still, the area had a beautiful ambience. 

The water near the dam had these green algae growing giving its beautiful hues. 

The boatmen were waiting for the tourists too - may be the last set of tourists since it will all come to an end once the monssons start I suppose.

The Honey bee tree in Munnar (Kerala)

 This is a huge tree while one goes from Munnar to Mattupatty dam. One can see huge bee-hives on this tree. Though I have seen similar bee-hives in other places as well especially when goes up from Thiruppattur to Yelagiri hills. The hives at Munnar are at a distance of about 4-5 kms from Munnar to Mattupatti road and I could almost all the vehicles taking a stop to see and take photos of this tree.

Interestingly, there is only one tree having all these hives. Quite honey-bee-friendly tree it should be !!!

Shankhupushpam - Another beautiful, edible flower ....

Shankhu Pushpam - (Shankhu meaning Conch-and Pushpam meaning flower) or Clitoria ternatea commonly known as Asian pigeonwings,  bluebellvine, blue pea, butterfly pea, cordofan pea and Darwin pea is a beautiful flower commonly seen as a creeper on the fences (and as fences have disappeared so this plant also) in villages. Rarely I have seen this in pots in the cities too.

This comes various colours from blue to purple, to white, even yellow etc, it is quite refreshing to the eyes.

 As kids, we used to collect this flower especially for Onam floral circles called "Pookkalam" and it is not that easy to make a full circle with this flower alone. After the first summer rains they come to life and in Kerala, one can see them during the rainy months.

Only recently I came to understand that this has quite a few medicinal properties and one can make beautifully coloured juices by boiling water and putting a handful of flowers in it and leave overnight to get a good dark blue tinged juice which you can drink with lemon and sugar or even jaggery.


I found that this is supposed to have some memory boosting capabilities and if one is especially stressed out or too anxious about something, a glass of cool juice made of this flower actually soothes you much. Interestingly there is also a variety of gin called Ink Gin in Australia coloured using these flowers. In Malaysia, these flowers are added while cooking rice to get a bluish tinged coloured rice.





So next time you see these flowers, get some and try your blue rice or blue lemon juice or even a hot blue tea. And also start cultivating a few plants in your garden or in a pot on your terrace (if you have) or verandah. Think of some innovatively coloured Biriyani or other dishes ..!!!

The setting Sun with its beautiful hues and colours...

Though the summer is something not all people can take it so easily, everyone cherishes the sunrise as well as the setting of the Sun. The change of the night into the day during the sun-rise and the change of the day into the night during sunsets brings about a variety of reactions from nature. Though as human beings, we have lost the importance of these important times of the day, other life-forms are quite active during these occasions.

 

 

 

Here is a sunset which I could catch at Matrikunj through the trees and I was amazed at the hues and colours that it brings about and the change in the mood of the surroundings, including birds which come back for nesting around huge trees, the call of the peacocks, the sound of distant cattle etc. The artificial lighting that we have, have taken away the beauty of the sunset and the dusk that follows, but still, every sunset, day after day, have always amazed me time and again.

Summer Blooms...

The summer in Pondicherry is always hot, humid and dry to some extent. It is quite taxing unless you are a very "sun-friendly" person, especially from 12 noon to 3-4 pm. One has to have a good protection from the sun. But this could be the same situation in other east-coast regions as well. But what was quite different is the summer in Delhi. It is dry, burning and dangerous at the same time. More about that later.

Though the summer is a bit tough, it has its own charms. The water melons, the local Kulfis, the summer vacation and free time for the kids, summer vacations for most of us are quite nostalgic. It is also the time of exhibitions, the melas, the circus and of course, the new phenomenon of summer camps where the parents want to park their kids so that they get some respite from their ever demanding kids..

It is also the time of examinations for grown-up kids (post-school of course), internships and fun camps etc. But beyond all that, the summer flowers are a treat to the eyes, adding colour and beauty to the otherwise, dry, dusty scenery. One of the South Indian festivals (State of Kerala), the Vishu or the Malayalam New Year (which comes in  mid-April)  is to start the new year with the arrangement of yellow golden flowers as part of the Vishukkani where the Konna flowers are used. (Cassia fistula, commonly known as golden shower, purging cassia, or Indian laburnum, is a flowering plant in the subfamily, Caesalpiniaceae of the legume family, Fabaceae. The species is native to the Indian subcontinent and adjacent regions of Southeast Asia.  It is a popular ornamental plant and is also used in herbal medicine. It is both the national tree and the national flower of Thailand. It is the state flower of Kerala in India: from Wikiepedia.) 

In Ayurvedic medicine, the golden shower tree is known as aragvadha, meaning "disease killer". Hardly used by the common man, it forms an important herb used in the Ayurvedic preparations. It has long black seed pods which is not very easy to germinate, and I had to wash the seeds with hot water for a couple of minutes (after several instances of googling), I could get them germinated..

Photos taken at Matrikunj Organic Farm (Sri Aurobindo Society, Poothurai near Pondicherry).

A punctured wheel and a Cycle Mechanic...

As usual, I was rushing on my two-wheeler  (which is a 20-year-old Bajaj Boxer CT!!) on a Saturday morning to office from Lawspet  and as soon as I took the right turn at the Ajanta Signal (the old Ajanta Theatre is now replaced by Aditi Hotel, but still people refer to this as the Ajanta Signal in Pondicherry), I felt there was something wrong with my bike. Another 25 meters gone (since I had to cross the signal and move to the side to stop), I could feel that my bike's back wheel was punctured.  I stopped the vehicle to see that a big nail has pierced by wheel and looking at the position (near the wheel's neck), I thought it was really bad. I got down and pushed the vehicle to a cycle shop in SV Patel Salai. Mr.Palani, the owner had just opened his shop and was still arranging his tools to start the days' work. A couple of cycle riders came in to check the air.

I told Mr.Palani, that my back wheel was gone. He had a look and immediately said: "Sir, the neck of the tube seems to be torn, Let me anyhow check-up".  Having no other option but to wait, I told him to go ahead. As soon as he opened up the wheel, I could see that the tube was completely torn at the neck. He asked me to get a new tube and offered his cycle to me so that I can go and buy the same. I did that, cycled half a kilometre to Akka's shop (this is a famous auto-spares shop in SV Patel Salai, Pondicherry), and got the tube.  While he started his work, we also got into a discussion about his work. He was doing quite okay with his cycle shop where he has regular customers (cyclists) especially the Aurobindo Ashram devotees, where a majority of whom still use cycles. He also repairs/reconditions cycle rikshaws. Plus some occasional customers like me as well. On an average he earns about Rs.300-400 a day and some days if he is lucky more also and some days less too... Rainy days (though they are quite less), is bad business he says.

In about half an hour, my job was done. I paid Rs.70 for the job, which I thought was very reasonable for the labour. Thanks to people like Palani, cycles still ply on the road. Cycle shops like his are becoming rare these days, but Palani thinks that in future, more people may start using cycles and he hopes that he will have a business too. But at the same time, he says that the young generation does not want to take up works like his as it is not a "styley" one.. Again more expensive cycles are coming which do not come to shops like his as they are more specialised and are serviced only by the shops themselves who charge exorbitant rates, says Palani.

Anyhow, cycle shops like Palani's are a fascinating world where we can learn many things. A visit to a cycle shop will teach more science to children than any other means !!!

Just some random shots..

Thamaraikulam - A village in Ramanathapuram and its Ooranis..

Palm Trees...

The wonderful tree - Palm Trees and their uses.

These photos are from Ramanathapuram, Tamil Nadu, India.  Ramnad (as people refer to the district in short) is rich with these trees. And the local people use the tree and its parts in all possible ways. Like you can see here as fencing, using the rib of the leaves tied neatly and placed vertically. These fences can pass water through them and when it rains, it allow water to flow through. Local people say, these fences are easy to construct, has a life of about 3-5 years and uses completely local materials and skills. 

 The leaves of these trees are used to construct a wall around their bath areas or toilets and again is easy to construct. They give good protection from the sun. Palm leaves are also used as roofing material which is quite sturdy and lasting as well.








Here you can see another wall to a school campus. These fences look quite beautiful and artistic. Other products are palm leaf mats which are quite popular in Rameswaram block where every household makes mats as a flexi-time activity. On an average a woman can make about 8-10 mats of 5 feet x 3 feet which earns them about Rs.25 per mat. Interestingly there is a well-established collection and trading network for these mats which is extensively used in the packaging industry and is even exported to many countries. They are super-eco-friendly packaging material used in packaging and exporting of fish to many other products as well.

 Ramnad is also famous for the baskets made of palm leafs. Though there are many more byproducts from Palm trees like palm juice (Patha Neer), Palm sugar (Pana Vellam) etc. the Palm trees is not getting adequate attention as Palm trees are being increasingly cut down for real estate and other proposes and new trees are not being planned to replace the cut trees.

The tree trunk has also great timber value and is used in various forms. The main role of the palm trees is in the strengthening of the bunds of water bodies as they tap roots which hold the soil together. In fact, in many districts of Tamil Nadu, the presence of palm trees tells us that there used to be water bodies for the protection of which, they were planted.