Move over, tuvar dal
In most South Indian kitchens, there are the Big Four dals or paruppus – tuvar (tovarai), urad (ulundu), channa (kadalai) and moong (payaru). In the north, they have masoor as […]
New clothes
I remember a time when new clothes were bought three times a year: in the summer holidays, for Deepavali and on birthdays. Readymade was unheard of then. My mother used […]
Pro-arson birds
It’s the season of arsonists running amok here. ‘Flame of the forest’ suddenly takes on a new significance. Every day, we’re all ready with our hose pipes and green branches […]
All the perfumes of Arabia
I have spent the last few days brewing a terrific stink! Usually Anilodharani is the sweetest smelling place. We have champaka, roses, jasmine – wild and domestic, angelonia, tithonia, water […]
The sweetest chikoos
If you’re lucky enough to have a chikoo/sapota tree in your garden, the witching hour is at hand! I see chikoos in the market almost all the year round, and […]
And then there were the bactrians
To continue from my last post about camels… On a trip to Ladakh in 2009, my heart’s desire for more camels was fulfilled. (Though never satiated!) Nubra valley is the […]
Camel days
These days, my head is full of elephants, but there was a time when I was obsessed with camels. That was back in the 80s, when Srini and I were […]
Weed of the year 2021
As we approach the end of a truly awful year, it’s time to announce the Anilodharani Award for the Weed of the Year. We’re sticking to the plant kingdom, otherwise […]
Ho, ho, ho! The heffalumps are here!
Merry Christmas, everyone! It’s been a long time since we had a visit from the doddavarus, the big ones. But they paid us a Christmas visit and left their calling […]
A river runs through it…
Not really! But almost. We have four small ponds in various parts of our land to catch and store rainwater. But despite really good rains this season, the ponds weren’t […]
The Long View 