Care In The Community
________________
________________
Pictures taken in Rumtek Tibetan Buddhist Monastery, Sikkim.
Fame
__________
Less than an hour’s journey from Thrissur is the Kalamandalam, Kerala’s school of performing arts.
__________
__________
__________
On our tour of the campus, we join up with a party of very English Girl Guides.
It seems a somewhat surreal juxtaposition.
__________
New Beginnings
Now is a time of change.
__________
__________
The house, once filled with laughter, falls quiet.
The games
are over.
Now is time to open the gates
and not look back.
Time to set out:
A new term begins.
__________
Plat du Jour
Dalila and Shaji, the husband and wife team who look after both me and my home, work from Monday to Saturday. On Sunday they take a well deserved break.
Fortunately, before leaving on Saturday, Dalila stocks up the fridge with pots of freshly prepared curries.
Generally speaking, I would rather go out, or without, than enter the kitchen. So on Sunday morning Sumant, my bright (B.A. Hons.) and eager, resident houseboy, turns his mind to feeding us.
Since working for me, he has mastered the cooking of rice and chappatis. Today a friend makes an early visit, to broaden Sumant’s skills.
First: onions, garlic, curry leaves, ginger and green chilli are chopped.
Lentils
are washed
and salted.
A little of the diced vegetable is added
while the rest is fried with mustard seeds in coconut oil.
Then the two parts are united, chilli powder is added, and the mixture boiled for a little longer.
Meanwhile, chappatis are being prepared:
The master-class is almost finished.
Breakfast is served:
Dhal and chappatis, with freshly pressed papaya juice.
The Kerala alternative to a full English breakfast.
Neither Use Nor Ornament 