BITTERSWEET

 

[Pictures from my kitchen garden]

Bittersweet, like mango and bitter gourd planted adjacent to each other. You sow them to reap the fruit and the vegetable.

Though sweet, mango takes years to give you the fruit. Though bitter, you can feed yourself with bitter gourd within a month or two of sowing the seed.

One teaches you to be patient. The other teaches you to be grateful for what you have. The best of both worlds does not exist yet but it will someday.

Organic Farming | Cucumber, Indian Squash, Ridge Gourd, Bottle Gourd & Bitter Gourd

"We need more young people involved in farming because the future needs real food" - Helena Sylvester.

What if vegetables and fruits were not made available to us during this pandemic? What if there was a shortage? Do we have a back-up?

With such questions in mind, starting organic potting and organic farming seemed like a decent idea. After arranging some seeds of seasonal vegetables and herbs, some were sowed in pots, and others in the garden.

Despite watering them daily for five to six days, I couldn't see any results. While anticipating some of them to grow out of the mud, I was starting to wonder if they ever will. None of the cucumber or kheera seeds sprouted. Then I sowed some new ones, and this was the result:

Lesson 1: Have faith, have patience, and try again!

One or two days later, most of the Indian squash or tinda seeds looked like this:

And within a quarter day, I saw this:

This one wanted to say something:

But soon they started to frail away, and I realized they needed special care. Some of the saplings that survived are growing very slowly.

Lesson 2: Each dream needs to be nurtured differently. Some of them require a soothing environment to grow.

On the other hand, the two ridge gourd or turai saplings were just out there.

 

Lesson 3: Focus more on areas where you can grow effortlessly or with minimal effort. In other words, nurture your strengths.

Here is bottle gourd or lauki:

And here is bitter gourd or karela!

 

 

Bonus Lesson: Sometimes, beginnings are bittersweet.

Mud Bottles | Experience | Home

I am sharing my experience of using mud bottles!

The idea of sustainable living and using green products was deep-rooted in me for many years, and on the macro-level, I had been living a sustainable-life. But on the micro-level, many alternatives were waiting to be implemented.

Using mud bottles was one of the alternatives that I decided to go forward with.

Initially, I spent more time trying to understand how to take care of them, what their limitations were, and how they could be incorporated in the everyday lifestyle in the long run. I also pondered over the extent to which they could replace not-so-eco-friendly bottles. A few of my findings are as follows:

✅ Mud bottles can be cleaned using a bottle brush. The use of soap must be avoided as their surfaces are porous. They help in oxygenating the water and keep it cool ⛄ but sometimes old bottles are unable to do either after one season due to the deposition of salts and minerals.

💧After a few months of use, they might start dripping a few millilitres of water from the base and can break if not handled with care. Thus, tricky to carry when going out 💼 but definitely prove to be a portable version of the age-old matkas.

✅ They also help in employing local artisans and in supporting the local economy.

𐄷 Mud bottles can be as heavy as glass-bottles. Though non-reactive, glass bottles don't have a cooling effect like mud bottles do. Commonly used plastic bottles are lighter compared to the two, but even the best food-grade plastics carry some carcinogenic and hormone-disrupting potential.

Stainless steel bottles are an excellent choice (especially when travelling) but aren't as eco-friendly as mud bottles, and copper bottles in my experience are a little reactive so I refrain from using them.

After using mud bottles for more than two years, I can say that it is healthier to drink water at a temperature that mud bottles provide versus refrigerated water. It is cool enough to quench the thirst and is environment-friendly as well. 

Eco-friendly Shopping at Elephant Falls & Nohkalikai Falls | Meghalaya

Here to share one of my eco-friendly shopping experiences at

Elephant Falls & Nohkalikai Falls, Meghalaya!

Elephant Falls

Nohkalikai Falls

Short Shot Story

Nohkalikai Falls was the place where I truly realized why Meghalaya was named so. The persistent clouds ☁ and mist made it impossible for me to see the Nohkalikai Falls, let alone capturing it. 

After exploring the area for a good 45 minutes, there was little hope of being able to see anything in the valley.

That was when a little eco-friendly shopping happened.

These ↓ were a couple of pieces that I picked up from the street stalls near the waterfalls mentioned above.

*Ones with blue headings are from Nohkalikai Falls, and ones with brown headings are from Elephant Falls

Bamboo mug

✓ Easy to carry when travelling

✓ Good replacement for non-biodegradable single-use cups

✓ It has an unpolished internal surface

✓ Can be used for drinking water

✓ Can be washed with a bottle brush

✓ Can be kept in the sun to be dried and sanitized

⚠ Due to its slightly porous surface, using dishwashing soap to clean it won't be a good option.

Note: The mug gives a soothing petrichor-like fragrance immediately after the water is drained. Who doesn't like the aroma of wet earth? 

Bamboo fan

✓ Appropriate for Meghalaya's humid climate

✓ Handy during travel

The pop of colours can make a gloomy day vibrant!

 Keychains inspired by conical bamboo bins

✓ Traditional & characteristic style of Meghalaya's bins

✓  Light & unbreakable

✓ Interesting and reasonable souvenirs of utility that you can buy in bulk for friends and family, without worrying about space

Bamboo whistle

If you have a habit of walking away from the group and getting lost, this might be helpful. 😛

Bamboo holders with covers

Make good gifts for grandmothers (saying this at the risk of sounding prejudiced).

Bamboo bin

You wouldn't want to use it as a dustbin!

Bamboo hair bun pin

Little delicate to actually be worn but beautifully crafted, thus, difficult not to get one. 

A pair of wooden earrings

✓ Of utility

✓ Very light on the ears

✓ Look amazing when light passes through them and casts a patterned shadow

Buddha idol carved in stone

For some peace  ☮ and tranquillity!

Continuing the Short Shot Story...soon after shopping was over near Nohkalikai Falls, it started to rain heavily. The car was far away, and I had to run a distance of almost 340 m with all the things I had bought in my hands.

As I was running, I heard a few travellers point out that the sky had cleared up and the Nohkalikai Falls was finally visible. I ran. I just ran toward the viewpoint, and without caring about anything, I took my phone out for taking the shot.

However, capturing the view as an image was not enough, so I stood for another 2 minutes just looking at the majestic Nohkalikai Falls, the tallest plunge waterfall in India, with a height of 1115 feet.

Wildlife SOS | Soor Sarovar Bird Sanctuary | World Wildlife Day | Agra

Wish what is unconventional now, was conventional. Do give this blog a read if you are an animal lover and exploring nature is your cup of tea. 

The picture above is from a resort in Agra. Morning walks are my thing, thus this. The morning madness around these exciting creatures who were chatting among themselves was quite a wake-up call. 

Post breakfast I decided to ditch sightseeing and went to visit Soor Sarovar Bird Sanctuary instead and that turned out to be one of the best decisions of the day. 

Upon reaching, the first area I visited was what I would like to call as the 'snakes and thorns' area. All my excitement to see a python was being pricked by fallen branches with thorns that were sticking to my shoes. 

Thereafter, with no luck at witnessing a python, the next thing to do was to go for a boat ride in Keetham lake. There were various species of birds including Siberian birds. I didn't get a chance to see the big turtle the District Forest Officer was talking about. 

During the boat ride, the only thing I had my eyes on were these birds walking on the bank, taking a flight, or wading in the lake waters. The water was reddish-brown and I don't exactly know why that was but occasionally doing kiddish things like putting my hand to feel the water was intelligible to me. Nonetheless, I wasn't judged by anyone for what I was doing.

Post the boat ride I was finally going to visit the area I was most looking forward to, Wildlife SOS's Bear Rescue Centre, where they had kept sloth bears that were earlier conditioned into dancing for the public. 

The centre was divided into two major parts; one, where the newly rescued sloth bears had been kept for adapting into natural surroundings, and the other was where the bears were being brought back to their normal self. 

There was one bear who was dancing and I can't seem to forget that dance. Somehow, it made me feel that the bear wasn't happy, but who is to know. 

Apparently, sloth bears who are habitual of dancing for a human audience start repeating old behavioural patterns when they see humans and that was why the Education Officer told us to not pry.

Besides, being nocturnal animals, most of them were sleeping but I happened to get permission to click this one. I had to look twice or thrice to realize it was a bear, sleeping. 


Post that I got immersed in the conversation discussing what the bears were being fed. I was told that sloth bears are insectivorous and like to feed on honey. That's when I was also shown honeycombs on the top of the trees. 

Having no memory of seeing bears, I was elated to see them and was happier to see that they weren't held captive in cages, apart from a few whose excreta samples had to be taken as part of a regular check-up. 


Moving on, I walked for 45 minutes soaking in the energy of the place and meeting monkeys and deer off and on. 

What was to come next was not planned, but again was a decision I am glad I took. I had time at hand and there was an elephant rescue centre nearby and I had to go. I have an affinity for elephants.

Upon reaching this guy was painting. It was more beautiful than it is looking in the picture. There were many such works of art by various artists. 

The Education Officer at this place seemed quite connected to the cause and gave insightful data points on cruelty that elephants face in the name of culture, tradition, and tourism. Was shown a documentary depicting how they are exploited. 

After a quick round, I was finally at the place where I spent most of my time that day. I was intrigued by these twelve or so elephants. Literally watched them have their greens and play with wet mud for about two hours. 

My Two Attempts at Going Vegan

“I know of a few foreigners who have gone vegan, but you’re the first Indian I have come across in person who is following a vegan diet”, said a colleague of mine when she noticed I had gone vegan for around a month.

Personally, having known a college friend who promoted being vegan, it wasn’t as much a new concept for me. Additionally, maybe because I had studied nutrition, it didn’t intimidate me as much either.

In my first attempt, I could sustain for two months comfortably. I lost a little weight too. My rigorous work schedule and exercise regimen were contributing factors. However, after two months, I started feeling I needed to plan better to maintain optimum energy levels. Finding it difficult to maintain my health satisfactorily, I went back to being vegetarian. 

After 3 years, in January 2020, I attempted going vegan again. I was better prepped, my family was acquainted with my weird food experiments, and I was more determined. I had a stronger sense of purpose this time. 

Wanting to do my bit to raise awareness regarding animal cruelty, environment-friendly lifestyle, and impact of veganism on health, I decided to opt for a low-key way of going about advocating what I stood for, and this time it was easier. 

In my experience, just changing the cooking medium enabled me to eat just about everything that I used to. Developing a taste for certain foods and quitting others was slightly tricky but was too small a price to pay in comparison to my bigger goal of standing for the causes I felt for.

Entering March 2020, I am happy to share that I’ll be continuing to stay vegan for another month (I’m taking it month by month so that I don’t get overwhelmed).