MellowDrama

I could only go to the Kolkata Book Fair that ended yesterday... well yesterday.  I had made promises to myself and the husband that I will just go and look. I believed in my promise earnestly whereas he gave me the all-knowing smile and the nod of head which when I later ruminated over was meant to convey 'yes, yes we will see'. Anyway, there I was at the book fair sans the husband and the child. I entered the grounds with the stroll of someone who was on no agenda and was free to turn back and go any moment. Instead (and I do not really know how it happened) I spent around four hours bought 12 books of various size, colour, shape and subject. I did not realise when that aimless stroll of mine gained purpose. Maybe it was the need to cover every possible hall and stall or maybe it was the intention of checking out all the offers of the last day. I got drawn in by the books would be an understatement. I should probably say I was under the spell. This does not mean I regr

The great poet T S Eliot is known to have said, “I have measured out my life with coffee spoons.” Though India is largely presumed to be a tea drinking nation, recent studies conducted by the International Coffee Organisation (ICO) in 2012 show that coffee consumption has steadily grown over the years. According to the ICO data, while in 2001 the country consumed about 1.02 million bags of coffee, in 2010 this number touched 1.71 million bags of 60 kg each and in 2011-12 the coffee consumption in our country went up by 3 per cent. India is the world’s sixth biggest exporter of coffee and the growth in coffee consumption in India is even more than the global rate. After all these mind boggling figures let us direct our attention towards the beginning of mankind’s affair with coffee. Legend has it that Kaldi, an Ethiopian goatherd, noticed the effect of the coffee beans on his goats who ‘danced’ from one shrub to the other after grazing on the cherry-red beans. History inform

Tea time is observed with great reverence in my household. At fixed hours in the morning, noon and evening I have my tea, preferably in absolute peace and with my favourite sweets or snacks. Delve a little deeper into the history of tea and traditions associated with it, and I promise you will be thrilled to know the varying cultures of tea all over the world. In China they have loved tea since 2000 BCE. Initially this love was cultivated for the great medicinal values of the plant — its leaves were chewed on, and then later on, it was used for its refreshing qualities. Wikipedia informs us that in the early 9th century, Chinese author Lu Yu wrote The Classic of Tea, which mainly focuses on the cultivation and preparation of tea. For many centuries China was the only tea exporting country in the world but gradually India and Ceylon, now known as Sri Lanka, began to give it stiff competition as the soil and climate conditions in the two temperate countries met the requirements f

Last time we talked about spices and their historical importance. We saw how spices were one of the main finds of the Age of Discovery. We also saw how two great men of that time were joined by destiny through an unseen thread woven along continents they sailed across looking for spices. Today, let us talk about herbs, which are a close cousin of spices. The array of herbs is as varied as that of spices, and both of them are added to enhance the flavour of the dish and induce medicinal properties. A basic difference between herbs and spices is that spices, as you know, are derived from the roots, bark, stem, seed or fruit of a plant; whereas herbs are the leaves of a plant which are used fresh or dried. Another contrast between herbs and spices lies in their flavour. Herbs are subtle whereas spices have a pronounced flavour. Fresh herbs are great for garnishing your dish whereas spices are hardly used in their fresh form. They are usually roasted and then used in cooking. Also

Protagonist This is Maya’s story. She is a bubbly young girl who comes from a middle class family background. She has vibrant dreams and is also ambitious to a certain extent. She carries strong ethos and has a very clear sense of duty, being the eldest of 5 siblings. Situation/ Context  Maya and Vibhor married for love. An unfortunate death in one of the families leads to a prolonged engagement period. Life, which was supposed to look better once they were together, has different plans for them. Vibhor gets transferred and a pregnant Maya decides to carry on with her job. She lives with her mother-in-law while her husband lives in a different city, managing to come home once in two months. Stress and various distances take a toll and Maya’s child is born with autism. Now Vibhor has been transferred to a new city. Is this the opportunity that life is giving them to work some magic back in their lives? Will Maya be able to take care of her child and marriage in this new