Woodcut prints by Dennis Muraguri – a Kenyan artist, depicting the matatus – privately owned buses that serve as the primary mode of transportation for the people in Kenya. The buses are mass-produced, but each matatu is modified to be made special and unique; re-painted and fitted with music to attract and amuse the passengers. Hence…
Smoking sizzlers
Saturday, 26 January, was our Republic Day. In the past when I was working, it used to be a holiday in Jan that I used to look forward to; a day to spend at home. But now being at home full-time, it has become a day I look forward to venture outside. The morning kicked…
Buckle up for a roller coaster ride
Life seems a bit dull ? Thinking of adding some excitement. Thoughts of trying out something new. How about some speculation ? Gambling, no; but something close – investing in the stock market. Only Buffet could say that it was a simple process, almost boring; no one else will agree. Investing in the stock market…
Power of compounding and why we fail
Have you noticed a common theme in all the stories that demonstrate to us the magic of compounding – the recipient in unaware of the existence of the principal amount and oblivious about the compounding magic that happens silently over the years. (Warren Buffet will be an exception !) Then, several years down, one fine morning,…
India Shining on the latest GDP growth projections
It is a standard question in all finance classes. The teacher asks “What is GDP?” The students answer in chorus ” Gross Domestic Product.“ And the teacher goes ” That’s the full form, but what does it mean?” No one knows. Finally we learn what GDP really means. GDP is the market value of all…
Kids and cash
The kid needed a new pair of shoes. To go shoe shopping, I asked him get the cash from his dad. “How much ?” my husband asked. The kid didn’t know how much to ask for because he knew the kind of shoes he wanted, but he didn’t check their price range. He knew the…
Passive Income Strategy : Making my salary redundant
WordAds is not an income source for me. I was hopeful when I started on WordAds in Sep 18, but till date not a penny received from them. Currently my only passive income source is investment income. I was working full-time for 9 years and when I decided to take a sabbatical, the first thought…
Plan(ner) for 2019
“Spontaneity is one of the joys of existence, especially if you prepare for it in advance.” Alan Dean Foster, Nor Crystal Tears I have not read the book, like the quote though. The beginning of a brand new year and its a good time to consider getting a Planner. It’s been most helpful to me – tracking…
Happy New Year 2019 !! The best is yet to come
The vessel is called Uruli, once used extensively in the households in Kerala for cooking on the wood fire. Later with the advent of gas and electric stoves, the use of uruli in the kitchen diminished. And now they have re-emerged in living rooms as decorative bowls, filled with flowers floating on water. Here’s wishing such…
A December to remember
“It always seems impossible until it’s done.” Nelson Mandela 2018 is about to end and I reached 100 posts. Starting off in Jan 18, to reach 100 by the year end was a plan, publishing 2 posts a week and its done !! Maybe targeting a definite number of followers or views or likes would…
For the love of biryani
We are travelling from Kasargod to Kochi, a 10 hour journey by road with only one stop; at Calicut for lunch. Calicut is known as the food capital of Kerala. We have only one place in mind to have lunch from at Calicut – Paragon. We have eaten their famous biryani at the Paragon restaurant in Lulu mall…
Table for one
Eating out alone is not an activity that most people enjoy. When alone, most opt for the take-away or order-in. I was uncomfortable the first time I had lunch alone in a restaurant. To add to the discomfort, the tables for two are usually placed as space fillers in a restaurant; either in the middle,…
Bekal fort : A more famous afterlife
Bekal may have been a prominent port of call during the medieval period with the profitable the spice trade in the Malabar region with the Arabs and then the Europeans. But Bekal was never a capital of any empire and hence lack any grandiose stories. During the time of Tipu Sultan, it was briefly the administrative…
A tranquil oasis in God’s Own Country: Taj Bekal
Starting with a story from the Hindu mythology…… Vishnu is the Preserver in the Hindu triad. Vishnu is said to descend on earth in various avatars to restore order. Parasurama is the sixth avatar of Vishnu. Parasurama was born as the youngest son of Jamadagni, a sage and Renuka. In the Vedic society, the Kshatriyas were the…
Sweet November
The post has nothing in common with the movie of the same name. “Today is the oldest you’ve ever been, and the youngest you’ll ever be again.” by Eleanor Roosevelt is currently my favourite birthday quote. Last week of November saw a dual birthday day in the family. One was my brother’s and my sister-in-law made…
Goa to Bekal : A road trip across 3 states
So where is Bekal? It’s a small town by the Arabian Sea in Kasargod district, in the state of Kerala. And why Bekal? Because we are heading home to Kerala and Bekal is a half-way point for a stopover. And I have never been to Bekal. We leave the hotel by 9:00 am after breakfast….
Parent traps: An awareness for Gen X
A weekend workshop was organised at the kid’s school and the topic was Positive Parenting. The pictures in the post are the cartoons that appear in the Times of India newspaper everyday.The workshop started with a reminder about all the mistakes we keep committing as against the Positive Parenting guide. Then to the main areas…
Portuguese Sentinels : Forts of Goa
It’s the only thing I remember, maybe there was more but I can’t seem to recollect; the only mention of Portuguese in India in the school history textbooks I remember was about Vasco da Gama, credited with discovering the sea route to the Indian subcontinent. There is very scant mention about the Portuguese rule in…
Art + History ♒︎ Aristry @MOG
I hated the subject history back in school. I remember only one teacher among several who tried to teach us; her opening line didn’t help either. ” History is boring with the countless names and the dates, but it is an exam that has to be passed, so we have to get it done with.”…
