Category Archives: Seasonal Ponderings

Bounty

Women of the mountains~  a few clicks from Alchi village and Khalsi Tehsil in Leh district, Ladakh. It was harvest season and a time I did revisit some of my favourite poets. Ladakhi women wear a flowing robe called sulma usually paired with a loose blouse called tilin,  a bright coloured sash or skeyrak isContinue reading “Bounty”

Welcome to the Moon Land!

MOONLAND, as they call it!   Nestled among the mountain folds is this quaint little village Lamayuru in Ladakh (11,890 ft above sea level). A dramatic topography which resembles the surface of the Moon and an enchanting monastery atop a hill render Lamayuru a unique, timeless charm. Lamayuru monastery, built in the 11th century, isContinue reading “Welcome to the Moon Land!”

Ring out the old…

  “Ring out the old, ring in the new, …. The  year is going, let him go” [In Memoriam] Here’s the last sunset of the year 2021. Clicked from the bridge over Saigon River. Hoping that the new year will bring joy, peace, health and prosperity to all. Wishing everyone a happy new year!

Beard Tales Continue… Day 2

A noble priest from Jaipur Another interesting piece of information I chanced upon is, in Ancient Rome a man’s beard style could throw light on which philosophical school he belonged to! The  Romans were impressed by the distinctive styles of beards the Greek philosophers were sporting. As soon as Rome conquered Greece in the BattleContinue reading “Beard Tales Continue… Day 2”

No Pogonotomy?

Two interesting words that I came across recently are derieved from the Greek word pogon. One is ‘pogonotrophy‘ (beard growing) and the other is ‘pogonotomy‘ (shaving or cutting of a beard). That led me in reading many interesting facts on beard growing!  In the Victorian era doctors were believed to prescribe growing beard as a preventionContinue reading “No Pogonotomy?”

Beating Monday Blues with Frost’s ‘Fragmentary Blue’

Why make so much fragmentary blue In here and there a bird, or butterfly, Or flower, or wearing-stone, or open eye, When heaven presents in sheets the solid hue? Since earth is earth, perhaps, not heaven (as yet)- Though some savants make earth  include the sky; And blue so far above us comes so high,Continue reading “Beating Monday Blues with Frost’s ‘Fragmentary Blue’”

What’s Cooking?

Banh Trang or rice paper wrappers are edible Vietnamese rice wrappers made from steamed rice batter. In the south and north they are known differently. Here, in the south these thin, translucent round rice papers are used to make fried spring rolls cha gio and fresh cold spring rolls goi cuon. The filling can varyContinue reading “What’s Cooking?”

The Melancholy Jaques of Hundred Acre Wood

The word Melancholy is derived from the Greek melaina chole or the black bile, one of the four elemental bodily humours. The concept of humourism or humours regulating human behaviour was adopted by the ancient Greek and Roman physicians. Hippocrates is believed to be the one who applied this idea to medicine. Human beings areContinue reading “The Melancholy Jaques of Hundred Acre Wood”