Performance by Ndere Troupe – A visual treat indeed!

Author: | Category: Africa, Arts & Crafts, General, Kampala, Uganda | Tags: , , ,

Dance has always been a passion for me. However, my first encounter with dance did not go well. 🙂 When I was just three years, I was put in a dance class run by my school as an after class activity. To my surprise I still have a vague memory of that class packed with 25–30 children of different age groups, trying to copy what the instructor was doing. I got so disillusioned after the first class that I adamantly refused to go to the class any more. Then at the age of eight I had the opportunity to join a professionally run dance school (apparently my parents recognised the interest I I have in dance) and from then onwards dance has always been a part of my life. Never miss a chance to perform or watch various dance genres.
Dance has always been an important part of celebrations, ceremony and entertainment. It’s difficult to say when dance has become a part of human culture. The Egyptian tomb paintings depicting dancing figures from 3300 BCE and 9000 year old Bhimbekta rock shelters paintings in India indicate the prevalence of dance even in prehistoric times. Dance figurines were a permanent feature of ancient temple architecture.
Dances are usually performed as a mode of expression, as part of healing rituals or as an offering to God. Dance forms are also used as a tool to communicate with people about social evils, prohibiting the progress of the society. Ballet, bharatnatyam, hip hop, rumba belly dance, calypso, gigue, lap dance… there are sooo many varieties of dance we enjoy today.
The entertaining performance of traditional Ugandan dance and music by Ndere Troupe is what initiated these thoughts on various dance forms. I’d watched traditional Ugandan dances many a time. But getting to enjoy the playing of musical instruments, singing and dancing in a serene ambience in the amphitheatre at the Ndere Centre was an entirely unique experience. To quote from Ndere Troupe’s website, “In Africa written words didn’t exist, thus Africa’s cultural history, literature, knowledge and wisdom were recorded and passed on to succeeding generations through the medium of performing arts music, dance, storytelling and poetry.”

 

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The programme started with playing of various instruments and singing.

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Kiganda dance from Buganda was originally only to be performed by the people of Obutiko clan and only in the palace.

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Dance of Bunyoro tribe. Bunyoro tribe belongs to the Toro region in Western Uganda. This is a courtship dance. Men and women sit around a fire reciting poems. Then men start dancing in front of each girl and the luckiest one gets chosen.

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Banyankole are the people who belong to the Ankole tribe, one of the four traditional tribes of Uganda. They are from South Western Uganda. This region is also famous for the Ankole cows with their distinctive curved horns.

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Dancers of Alur tribe hail from north western Uganda. One of the main instruments they play is called an Adungu.

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These are the dancers of the Acholi tribe. They belong to the Luo Nilotic ethnic group from northern Uganda.

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The percussion ensemble from Burundi , another east African country, was quite amazing. They came in balancing the heavy log drums on their heads drumming and singing. These drums are made from the trunks of a tree which grows only in Burundi.

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Intore (the dance of heroes) is the most famous traditional dance form of Rwanda, another east African country.

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It was a visual treat indeed. This post will not be complete unless I mention the tasty Ugandan meal which we all enjoyed after the performance.

Min

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10 Feb 2014

Sunset at Kappad Beach

Author: | Category: General, Travel | Tags: , , ,

Global awareness, global warming, global politics, global citizen, global governance… the word ‘global’ has become part of our daily conversations. It is hard to imagine a world where you cannot pick and choose goods and products from all over the globe. We are truly enjoying the fruits of globalisation. I was reminded of a significant historical incident on the route to this globalisation, when I visited Kappad, a beach on the Malabar coast on the south western shore of India.kappad-beach2
In 1453 Ottoman Turks, under the leadership of Sultan Mehmed II, conquered the city of Constantinople, after a siege that lasted 50 days. With the fall of Constantinople (the city was renamed Istanbul), the Ottoman Turks cut off the overland caravan routes that were essential to the spice trade between Europe and countries in Asia that produced spices like cinnamon, cassia, cardamom, ginger, and turmeric.
Meanwhile, the demand for spices which were scarce and costly kept growing in Europe. In addition to flavouring food, spices were valued for their medicinal qualities and as a status symbol.
Finding a sea route to India became an immediate need. Tales carried by travellers, of the fabulous wealth of the East, also fuelled the quest. It was under these circumstances that King Manuel of Portugal commissioned an expedition to India under Captain-Major Vasco da Gama, who set out with four ships on July 8, 1497. After much hardship, Vasco da Gama landed at Kappad near Calicut (of Calico fame) on May 20, 1498. Thus was started an era of strife and competition and warfare among the European nations for mastery over the land and wealth of the East. At the same time, it also was the beginning of cultural and commercial interactions on a global scale.kappad-beach1
Calm, serene, peaceful… these are the words that best describe Kappad beach today.
The place is very beautiful and quite. Rocky formations extending into the ocean on either side of the sandy beach add an extra charm. The huge rocks can easily be climbed and provide wonderful views.
On a regular day, the beach is not crowded at all.
It is glorious to sit on the rocks and watch the sun setting in the Arabian Sea.

The old temple on one of the rocky formations is quite charming.temple
If you are an early bird and get to the beach, in the morning when the fishermen’s boats land, you can buy almost live fish, including the fabulous pearl spots.

Pearl spots taken through their natural progression (unfortunately, not from Kappad)

Pearl spots taken through their natural progression (unfortunately, not from Kappad)

A pillar near the beach commemorates Vasco da Gama’s landing at the Kappad, which used to be known locally as Kappakadavu. pillar

~Ria

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Interesting note
The early stories about the mysterious East were so full of fantasy… In the 7th century, Europeans believed that pepper grew on trees guarded by serpents. The only way it could be harvested was by setting the trees on fire, which would frighten the serpents away. May be that would have explained why pepper was black… 🙂divider-recipe-end

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07 Feb 2014

Orange Chiffon Cake

Author: | Category: General | Tags: ,

It’s still fresh in my memory… the white, airy and light cakes that my sister used to send me many years back. I did not know then (rather I didn’t bother to find out) that it was an angel cake. Later when I got hooked to baking, I always wanted to bake chiffon cakes and angel cakes. But couldn’t for want of a tube pan. Finally this Christmas Gaia brought me a 10 inch Wilton tube pan. Though I wanted to make a chiffon cake before she went back, couldn’t manage it as we were very busy with other plans.

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So I was waiting for a chance to use the pan. And when our wedding anniversary came around on the 2nd of Feb, it was the perfect occasion to make an orange chiffon cake. Moreover the fact that my husband neither likes iced cakes nor chocolate cakes is all the more reason to bake an orange chiffon cake.

ingredients

 

Chiffon cakes are very light and airy and made with lots of eggs, oil, sugar, flour and baking powder with any additional ingredient to flavour the cake like orange, lemon or chocolate, as per your preference. The use of oil instead of butter makes the cake really moist and keeps the cake soft even after a few days in the refrigerator. I used both freshly squeezed orange juice and orange zest to achieve the fresh orange flavour in the cake.

 

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Chiffon cakes attain their fluffy texture through stiffly beaten egg whites folded into the cake batter just prior to baking. A few points to bear in mind whenever egg whites are beaten to stiff peaks… Separate the eggs into whites and yolks as soon as they are taken from the fridge. Beat them after they reach room temperature using a handheld electric beater. Start with slow speed and change to medium when it still in liquid form. Beat for 3-4 minutes to get soft peaks. Add superfine sugar, a little at a time, and beat till stiff peaks are formed. Add the beaten egg whites into the batter by the cutting and folding method in 3-4 batches.

 

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If you don’t have superfine sugar at home just run regular sugar through the food processor for a couple of minutes before using in the recipe.

Once the batter is ready pour it into an ungreased tube pan. Ungreased pans are used in chiffon and angel cakes because the stiffly beaten egg whites need to cling to the pan to rise. Once the cake is done invert the pan and let it rest in that position for a minimum of 1 hour. If you allow it to cool without inverting the pan, the cake collapses resulting in a lumpy mass.

 

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Once the cake is completely cooled, run a knife around the sides of the pan to free the outer section off the cake. Then run the knife around the tube and the bottom as well to get the cake released from the pan. Now leave it on a wire rack for further cooling.

 

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~Min

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Ingredients

All Purpose Flour 248 grams
Salt 1/8 tea spoon
Baking Powder 1 tablespoon
Corn flour 42 grams
Vegetable Oil ½ cup
Superfine Sugar 300 grams
Eggs 7
Vanilla Essence 1 teaspoon
Orange Juice ¾ cup
Orange Zest 2 tablespoon

 Directions

Preheat the oven to 165 degree celsius.

Separate the eggs into yolks and whites and leave them aside to reach room temperature.

Sift all the dry ingredients except sugar together twice.

Mix 250 grams of superfine sugar with the sifted flour.

Beat the egg yolks with vanilla essence.

Make a well in the flour sugar mixture, and add the beaten egg yolks and other wet ingredients except egg whites.  Mix together.

Beat egg whites till soft peaks are formed, add the remaining 50 grams of sugar little by little and beat at medium speed till stiff peaks are formed.

Cut and fold the beaten egg whites in three or four batches into the batter.

Pour the batter into an ungreased tube pan and bake in a preheated oven for 45 – 50 minutes.

Invert the pan for one hour once it is removed from the oven.

Once it’s cold remove the cake from the pan.

Finally dust the cake with some icing sugar and serve with whipped cream or fruit couli.

 

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05 Feb 2014

The Groundhog Has Its Day…

Author: | Category: General, Humour | Tags: ,

In old old times… in a small village, used to live a farmer and his wife, who had two grown up daughters. The daughters were married and settled in far away villages. One day the farmer decided to go on a trip to visit the daughters.

The elder daughter and her husband, who were farmers like him, received him with all honours. And had to say this about their well-being: ‘If it doesn’t rain within the week, we will be ruined; our harvest will be destroyed!’

With a heavy heart, the farmer set out for the younger daughter’s house. The younger daughter and her husband, who were potters, were equally glad to welcome him. And had this to say: ‘If it rains within the week, we will be ruined; our pots set out to dry will be destroyed!’

When the farmer returned home, he said to his waiting wife: ‘Regardless of the weather, one of our daughters will surely be ruined!’

Weather has always been a determining factor in human life. Early cave dwellers had an anxiety ridden relationship with weather, perceiving it as unexplainable and way more powerful than themselves. The fear-laced respect towards changing weather has led to a wish to predict the weather, if not to control it.

All civilizations have sayings and proverbs related to weather, aimed at predicting. Examples: ‘Red sky at night, sailor’s delight. Red sky in morning, sailor’s warning’, ‘When the goose flies high fair weather. If the goose files low, foul weather’, ‘Seagull, seagull, sit on the sand, it’s never good weather when you’re on land’, etc.

Among the many means of predicting weather, observing the behaviour of animals has been an early one. And much to humanity’s credit we still follow the age old traditions! 🙂 As is evident from the celebrations associated with Groundhog Day!

Groundhog Day is celebrated on February 2nd, every year, the main location being Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. 2014 marks the 128th Groundhog Day celebrations there. The custom has its origins in the folk belief that on this day the groundhog, a marmot that typically lives in burrows, peeps out of its abode to check the weather. If it sees its shadow – if the day is sunny – it goes back in and the winter will last another 6 weeks; if no shadow is visible, it will venture out and we can expect an early spring.

So what if Punxsutawney Phil emerged from Gobbler’s Knob, exactly at 7.28 am on February 2nd 2014, and predicted another six weeks of winter this year? Isn’t the ceremonial consultation of Phil an occasion for some old fashioned pomp and splendour? And doesn’t it bring visitors to an otherwise sleepy town and help out local businesses? And don’t forget a fairly good movie with Bill Murray playing a TV weatherman covering the Groundhog Day. The fact that dear Phil has been more wrong then right in the past in predicting the length of winter is beside the point! 🙂

And don’t think that groundhog related festivities are over with the predictions… far from it. There is the Groundhog Picnic, Groundhog Club Banquet, Groundhog Ball, a Celebration Tent filled with fun and entertainment events, Phil Phest featuring a yard game tournament… whatever your preference, there is something for everyone! And of course, you can buy memorabilia like t-shirts and beads and whatnots to take home. And the list of corporate sponsors for the events is pretty long. Take a look at all the details at the Groundhog Day Home here.

The belief that groundhogs (and other animals) are capable of predicting the weather was carried over from Europe by the Germans who settled in the south eastern and central Pennsylvania in the 18th and 19th centuries. The earliest reference to Groundhog Day in the US is in 1841.

As any person who has achieved great success, Phil also has had to content with imitators and competitors. Several other groundhog personalities have emerged in recent times – no pun intended – to get in the business. Buckeye Chuck in Marion, Ohio, Birmingham Bill in Birmingham, Alabama, General Beauregard Lee in Lilburn, Georgia, Sir Walter Wally in Raleigh and Queen Charlotte in Charlotte, both in North Carolina, are some of the Johnny-come-latelys in the weather prediction business. Isn’t it so true that success breeds imitation?

And of course, Washington DC has its own version of Groundhog Day, with Potomac Phil, a stuffed groundhog playing the main part. No, no… no comments on stuffed beings in DC, please! 😉

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By the way, the name Punxsutawney comes from the Indian name for the location ‘ponksaduteney’ which means ‘the town of the sandflies’.

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03 Feb 2014

Reunion after four decades

Author: | Category: General

At The Big Jackfruit Tree, we have a tradition… the last post of every month, we invite someone to do a guest post. So, here is an exciting post about a planned reunion, after a looong time!

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Having reunions is fun, always. Usually there will be a common cause or origin to call it a reunion. As medical professionals we have regular reunion meetings on behalf of the alumni association. The Medical College alumni association is a big body encompassing the whole life of the institution. Within this we have smaller batch get-togethers. Nowadays most of the batches have this and they meet regularly. We also meet regularly under the brand name ‘Milan’. We have a mega Milan every two years. In between we have Milans, mini Milans and sometimes even micro Milans at various places in the state. At our age most of these Milans happen in connection with weddings of sons and daughters.

Milans are the meeting place of doctors and only doctors. For those who try to look beyond and want to get a feel of the society at large, attending repeated Milans are not very motivating.

About a month ago I got a phone call at around 11pm. I had gone to bed and was slowly slipping into sound sleep when the phone rang. It was an old friend from Thiruvananthapuram (TVM). No, he was not a doctor. It was my schoolmate and neighbour when we were staying at a place called ‘Thampuran Mukku’ in TVM city. It was really a surprise call since I had not been in touch with my old friend for decades. We spoke for a few minutes but not with the expected vigour because of my state of slumber. But in spite of that I could instantaneously recognise him. This initiated a chain of nostalgic memories of our childhood days at TVM. The places we visited together, the joints we used to hang out etc., flashed vividly in my memory. I decided that I should meet up with him as early as possible.

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Napier Museum, the art and natural history museum at Thiruvananthapuram

The opportunity came very quickly. My wife La and I had to make a trip to TVM to attend the wedding of one of my Medical College ‘girl’ friends. I had informed my friend about my TVM visit and he was waiting. We had our cousin UK’s car to roam around. We met my friend at his home at Kannammoola. Not much of a change; he was the good old friend. It indeed was a great meeting. Exchanging usual pleasantries and comments about ageing went on as expected. After all we were meeting after many years.

Being in TVM my friend had contacts with a lot of our schoolmates. My friend was working as the Chief Photographer for ‘The Hindu’, a national newspaper. It was really exciting to find out that most of our friends are in very high positions in various walks of life. Those who were in touch decided to organize a reunion of those who studied in the St. Joseph’s High School, Thiruvananthapuram. My friend told me that around 20 attended the first planning meeting. The next meeting saw the attendance rising in direct proportion with enthusiasm. 75 classmates attended the second meeting.

Methamani: the historical clock

Methamani: the historical clock

As mentioned earlier at the medical Milans we meet only the medicos. But this reunion of schoolmates is going to be a totally different one. Two of my classmates recently contacted me when they were in Calicut on official visits. They got my number from my friend. We had dinner at home. These schoolmates, one Public Service Commission member and the other one Asst. Commissioner of Commercial Taxes spent quite some time at home talking about other friends. We spoke over phone with many other classmates. I also got connected with GT my 4th standard classmate at Vanchiyoor UP School.

I am going to TVM on 8th Feb to attend the third planning meeting. We are gearing up for the reunion. A great reunion after four decades of leaving school! We are all excited. The reunion is being planned in April/May. I will write about it in detail. I thought of sharing this at ‘The Big Jackfruit Tree’ since I am too excited about the whole thing and want to share the excitement with you all. 🙂

Mohan

 

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31 Jan 2014