SpeakOut#10 - Covering up for Memories that should have belonged to Childhood (2/2)

So this is what Aaron found the other day. Owlets from our relative's place!

The Super Cool Owl Pose

I was happy that he had thought of getting the pictures. What a great sight, they are.
Their mother was confident with her kids being with them, since she was keeping watch from a tree.
Much better, one of them even nipped at Aaron's finger when he tried to play. Reason why Owl Mum was fine!

Another incident that was good recently was how I learned to roast cashew nuts after plucking cashew fruits from the tree and biting them carefully, sipping the juice from it while trying to light a furnace in an old flower pot haha. My friends Riyas and Arun were those who introduced me to this very prevalent pastime amongst kids and elders alike in India who have come across a cashew tree. Shame, I noticed it in my backyard only when they came here hehe.

Riyas getting the cashews down!

Arun with his prized Cashew Fruit

One for y'all to see

(More pictures coming soon!)

They say the whole neighborhood gets to know if you're roasting cashew nuts... as if the aroma gets faster than sound! The aroma was fresh and different too! Especially when the nuts hiss in the fire when the oil within leaves and calls you to inform that it is about to be ready :D Yummy!

Pictures like this can settle my point well, how one's Childhood can be great at the countryside here. It would be great if you can get your company from the surroundings and even better if you've got people along.

GoodToListen#1 - Saari Raat by Noori from Coke Studio, Season 2

Gonna stay as one of my favorites! <3  The kind where you sit alone and listen to it in your huge headphones as you go immersing yourself in an amazing potpourri

SpeakOut#9 - Eye-Openers from Idukki Forest Reserves (3/3)

The Dams in Idukki are signatures of man's power with science at such an early time. From the classes given by our Forest Ranger, I learned that help to built the Idukki Arch Dam was given from the Government of Canada. We were also told that even though the advancement in technology has taken a very vast stride in the past years, at the time of emergency when the shutters of the dam have to be opened, engineers from Canada have to be called to operate the equipment there as the ones in India do not know yet how to operate them. I considered that as a careless remark though.

The Idukki Arch Dam, Cheruthoni Dam and Kulamavu Dam (which lies distant) together created an artifical lake that is 60 square km! (which is a really really huge size for those who aren't bothered by numbers).

Cheruthoni Dam, at a bird's eye view. 

Walk from the Forest Office, Vellapara for around 2-4 kms towards Idukki town, there is a diversion leading to the Hills View Park & Govt Guest House, Idukki. Closing in towards the end of the walk, first, we saw a small monument stating the name of the emissary from Canada who had come and stayed for the construction of the Dams. A training area by the Indian Navy for professional divers is also situated here. Walk a bit more and you can find the entry gate to the Cheruthoni Dam where access is strictly prohibited without permission.

Cheruthoni Dam from within the Artificial Lake

                               
We were in luck as our teachers had already obtained necessary permits to visit the dam. It is a very long walk from that gate where you cover the Cheruthoni Dam and marvel at the structure and view around the artificial lake and then reach the other side of the dam. This leads to the Kuravan Mala* where you've another long walk to the Idukki Arch Dam and then through a tunnel through Kuravathi Mala you can exit out at another side of Idukki. Signs of architecture were seen around these mountains. I had no count on how long that walk was but it was extremely tiring in the heat that day; but it payed off from the sight of power one could see with which the Idukki Arch Dam holds the water. Unfortunately, everywhere there Photography is strictly prohibited.

Myth has it that when Sita was bathing in the river of Periyar, a tribal couple called KuravanKuravathi saw her bathing (not knowing it was a wrong). When Sita saw them, she screamed for help. Lord Rama who came in a fit of rage cursed them to turn into separate mountains for eternity. The KuravanKuravathi couple pleaded innocent and explained and Lord Rama realised the mistake. However since the curse was made, Lord Rama promised them that during KaliYug, they would be united again by man. Although this didn't sound like logic to us in the first case for Sita having made a huge deal out of it, the Idukki Arch Dam which was built between the Kuravan and Kuravathi mountains thus joining them; proved this to become true apparently.

The Kuruvan & Kuravathi Mountains joined by the Idukki Arch Dam.
Picture from www.subups.blogspot.com

If you keep walking without turning for the Cheruthoni Dam Gate, you reach the Hills View Park & Govt. Guest House, Idukki. The view from the Hills View Park (and the Govt. Guest House that border each other) of the Cheruthoni and Idukki Arch Dam is a breathtaker. The Hills View Park is also a great picnic spot for families with a huge pond within it which reminded me of the beach.

View of the Artificial Lake

The view of the Artificial Lake.
At the center, Idukki Arch Dam.
To the left out of sight, Cheruthoni Dam is situated.

Pond within Hills View Park

Government Guest House, Idukki

Note : Mala - Mountain
A detailed official description of these dams can be found at http://www.theindia.info/travel/idukkidam.htm

SpeakOut#8 - Covering up for Memories that should have belonged to Childhood (1/2)

Your childhood memories can be your constant resort to revive your happiness and they can be awesome especially if you had it in India. Sure not all can have it same, but I've always wished I had something to remember as such from India.

My childhood spent in India was only when I used to come for summer/winter vacations from Abu Dhabi and they would flash by so fast since it would be just a lot of visits made to many relatives.
I was brought up in Abu Dhabi, U. A. E. Since my parents used to work and I had my younger brother along, we seldom used to go out to play and would rather be at home or baby sitting when we were very small. A part of the reason why I was stuck at home was because I guess I looked out to make the most from within the apartment because all my fun and frolic came from the visits my cousins used to make. I had a lot of big brothers and sisters to look up to then and they were all the fun I wanted then. Other than that my constant joy was at Church from what I can remember. I miss the fun and happiness which both my cousins and Church used to give me.

However, this pretty much proves that I'm not much of an outdoor/sports person while my brother, Aaron is the opposite to this. He loves to go outdoors and catches the fun there and has covered up for all the time lost so in Abu Dhabi by using it here. Dislocated an arm after falling while climbing a tree, roamed around fields and played around, made good acquaintances and also does a lot of pastimes which I joined along with too.

Eating from the Chambakka Tree has been one of them (which used to happen even during vacations). Another thing to point out (or which you would have already deduced) is that I'm an avid eater more than a writer, reader or traveller.

When it is hot and I've nothing to do, I go to my backyard and look around. Checking if there is something I want to do like tend to the animals (Appa* has made it quite a small farm out here)

or walk around and watch the activity around silently, I go to the Chambakka tree to pay my homage and search for the  reddest chambakkas and eat a few, relish them especially if it is after a fast rain to feel the cold and moist but tangy taste charge me. Once that is done and I've summarised to myself that all is good, I go back inside my den to cool off.

Note : *Appa - Father

SpeakOut#7 - Eye-Openers from Idukki Forest Reserves (2/3)

As we came to our place of stay at Vellapara and went in and around the forest at Idukki what we noticed was we couldn't spot any wild animals of any sort except a blue parrot and green spider, but we saw a lot of dried up and burnt shrubs, plants and even trees. At first it didn't click to our slow minds that what we were seeing were huge wounds to an ailing forest. The weather was extremely hot once it was mid-day so it didn't occur to us but later seeing burnt trees at a lot of places, it hit me like a brick on my head that this could only be man-made. Suddenly the reason why all the signboards and constant repetitions to fight against forest fires dawned upon me. Forest Fires are 90% man made!
A talk with our Forest Ranger in charge enlightened us on the situation of how ignorant people set fire to these areas for personal purposes to try bring around some kind of cultivation or to protest against the authorities for wrong reasons. Another sad thing I realised was that this problem wasn't confined just here but everywhere.

Peermade, another beautiful hill range in Idukki that borders Kottayam (i.e. where I come from) is one of the picturesque beauties where we camped for a week last December as part of the NSS activities. Even there one morning, we spotted a fire but I thought that it was done on private land so it didn't bother me much, but then I realised from Vellapara that the situation was all same around and  that land was not private.

What these people do not realise is that they're setting fire to human lives along with this, maybe not directly on themselves but to their children who will suffer later from a weak and dying environment that has lost its ties with man. The Keralite's disinterest in involving with nature is already seen by the dependency on Tamil Nadu's vegetable and fruit produce. After the MullaPeriyar problem however the warning bells sounded loud and clear and even I have started working a bit in the backyard with my father at times who loves tending to his land in his spare time.

Anyways, back to the Reserves, it isn't that all is lost at Idukki. It still keeps its beauty despite the damage, with the variety in landscapes and trees and waters held around. It is a sight from heaven when you're there early morning. At the end of our stay, we were asked if anything caught our attention here and what we could do for nature. My answer was the Dams and the Forest Fires and that I'm not the activist who could run around demanding changes but I can help make people aware from the contacts I have and the media I use to interact with people. Word of Mouth and the Internet.

SpeakOut#6 - Motivation to my comeback, Obed De La Cruz

I've a friend on facebook called Obed De La Cruz from Philippines who is a brilliant guy. I met him on www.poemhunter.com, a site where you post your poems for people to read, share and get reviews from.
Talking with him after a long time and getting to know about his accomplishments till now gave me the push I needed for a long time to respond to the urge and get back on this blog.

Obed De La Cruz writes beautiful poems and is a guy who voices for cultural excellence amongst students and his nation and more. You can catch him from www.obed-dela-cruz.blogspot.com God bless him!

SpeakOut#5 - Coping with autism, a poorly understood disorder from IBNLive

I read this today. All I knew the most about autism was from the movie 'My Name is Khan' and I realised that that was nothing.

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/coping-with-autism-a-poorly-understood-disorder/244884-17.html