nisha manoj

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Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Theyyam

I attended the Theyyam maholsavam festival this year at my home town ...Chandera Maniyat in Kasargod district organised by the Mundavallapil Tharavaad.

Theyyam is an ancient art of worshiping the gods in certain parts of Kerala, India. Very few families are continuing with this practice of worshiping the family deity.The art involves a few dedicated people dressing like a god / goddess and dancing. though i donot know about its history and details of the rituals, i appreciate the dedication of the performers as they follow strict rules and regulations.



Few pictures of the Festival for the benefit of viewers is as follows:

























Plants Homegrown

I have developed a great hobby ..well worth it - Gardening in pots especially veggies..they taste so much better when grown at home. Google is a great place for knowledge when it comes to DIYs - Do It Yourself.

My technique of growing shallots is slightly weird ..i guess. I kept the market-bought-shallots in a polythene bag and then in the refrigerator. I a weeks time all of them developed tiny roots. i separated the buds/bulbs and planted an inch deep in a pot. They seem happy.Shallots definitely taste much better than onions.Carrots also can be grown in a similar manner. When you see roots develop just cut the top portion and plant.




Mint - a herb that never grew after many futile attempts is flourishing.I bought a bunch from my regular sabziwala/vegetable vendor and used all the leaves for various recipes. The naked stems showed signs of small tiny roots at the nodes.Just plant the nodes into the soil and voila ..new leaves...new life.



I have Aloe Vera, the wonder plant with kids in a pot. The gel can be removed by slicing the leaf lengthwise and scooping with a spoon or scraping with a knife.From my personal experience i feel if this gel is mixed with a little coconut oil it helps relieve us from insect bites, dry hair and scalp, chapped lips and cracked feet.


My curry leaf plant - all the way from Kasargod and Pallakad.The saplings are from both the places and all are doing fine in my old broken plastic discarded dustbin.


Not to forget my date plant that is about 3 yrs old now growing in my little plastic cup just behind the curry plant pot. :)