Photo credit: Faisal
The Common Mormon Butterfly is seen throughout the year in Kerala. The male butterfly is black with a band of large whitish yellow spots running across the lower portion of the wing. The female may have a rose color, but always has an entirely black abdomen. The male butterfly is frequently spotted near patches of standing water or mud puddles.
Wren leaving her basket nest
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is hosting a “Funky Nests” contest for their Celebrate Urban Birds project. The above image is of a wren nest in a basket in my backyard (Atlanta, GA). Continue reading
Following Seth’s catalogue of insects, I thought I would post just a few of the many flowers that can be found in bloom around Xandari. Continue reading
Salt is a quiet seasoning, making its culinary point by bringing out the best in the dish it’s been added to. The crystaline mineral is so ubiquotus that we often don’t consider its vast history in the forging (and funding) of empires. Neither do we think about the labor it takes to bring it forth from the earth and water around the world.
Indian film maker Farida Pacha has the perfectionist sensibility to share the story of the families who return to the saline desert of Gujarat’s Little Rann of Kutch to laboriously extract the salt from the desolate landscape. This seasonal migration has been going on for generations and the work is a matter of pride more than economy.
Director’s Notes: This is not a social issue film, even though the story of the salt people and their exploitation is a shocking one. What attracts me is the more fundamentally tragic question at the heart of their existence: what compels them to return to the desert to labor tediously year after year, generation after generation? What meaning do they find in this existence? Continue reading
Photo credit: Unni P.
Periyar Tiger Reserve in Thekkady is one of 27 tiger reserves in India. The reserve’s diverse environment includes tropical evergreen and moist deciduous forests, grass lands and lakes. Although Periyar is a tiger reserve, there are many more animals than just tigers to be seen in the region: elephants, bison, Sambar deer, leopards, and wild boars also share the grounds. Continue reading
We have a history of interest in entomology here, and in the past couple days alone I’ve spotted insects in a couple different families that are worth checking out below!
Kundapura, Karnataka
Thanks to the CS Monitor for this welcome news:
Obama seeks to create world’s largest marine sanctuary
With the aim of protecting marine wildlife, President Obama is considering greatly expanding the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument, an ocean preserve that lies between Hawaii and Samoa.
President Barack Obama is looking to create the largest marine preserve in the world by protecting a massive stretch of the Pacific Ocean from drilling, fishing and other actions that could threaten wildlife, the White House said.
Aiming to protect marine wildlife, Obama will also direct the government to create a program to deter illegal fishing. The executive steps come as Obama is searching for ways to leave his second-term mark on the environment despite opposition from many Republicans in Congress.
Obama was to announce the steps Tuesday in a video message to those participating in an “Our Ocean” conference that the State Department and Secretary of State John Kerry are hosting. Continue reading
Coffee ready to be planted, next to its hole
On Monday, we began planting coffee and made great headway on getting the shrubs in the ground. Fortunately, José Luis, Xandari’s head gardener, and his team (or should we say “coffee crew” in this case?) had already done significant work in preparing the soil to receive the plants. Continue reading
Photo credits: Shymon
The Chenda is a musical instrument commonly used in Kerala. This two-sided drum is famous for its rigid and loud sound. The Chenda melam is an integral part of all Kerala festivals, mainly played in Hindu temples. It is also the percussion choice for almost all Kerala’s classical art forms such as Kathakali, Panchavadyam, and Theyyam. The cylindrical wooden drum has stretched animal skin on both the sides that the drummers play using two sticks.
Via Kerala uses Malayalam as a motif to bridge the gap between the traditional and the contemporary
Our friends at Thought Factory and Via Kerala are important members of our collaborative tribe, so of course we were thrilled to read this article highlighting their efforts. We manage their flagship store in Thekkady at Cardamom County, and the new RAXA Shop at Spice Harbour also showcases some of their iconic products.
Malayalam alphabet and the Malayali’s personality have some things in common. Just as the rounded letters, we, as a people, are not aggressive and have rounded personalities. We are a bit complicated, too. Theresa J. George uses Malayalam typography as a metaphor for our culture and the very essence of being Malayali.
Her company Via Kerala uses Malayalam as a motif to bridge the gap between the traditional and the contemporary. “We are proud of our roots, yet there is a slight disconnect between it and the younger generation,” she says. Continue reading
The view from the path right before reception
Much of the fresh, rich compost that Xandari produces from all sorts of organic material is used as the perfect substrate to grow delicious fruits and vegetables on property, both in greenhouses and out in the open. During our tour a few days ago with José Luis, James and I saw dozens of tomatoes (three different varieties), lots of lettuce, citrus and other tropical fruits, green beans, and much more.
Photo credit: Jithin
Snake charmers can manipulate trained snakes by playing the instrument called pungi from Indian folk music. This practice originated in India and lives on today in street performances. The snake charmers lure the snakes from bamboo baskets with their pungi while tourists and residents alike pass by.
Freshly dried lionfish fins and tails. Photo: Polly Alford, ReefCI
I’ve written in previous posts about the initiative to develop a market for lionfish jewelry as one of a number of commercially sustainable approaches to fighting this invasive species that is threatening marine ecosystems throughout the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Southern Atlantic seaboard of the United States. In my last post, I mentioned that the idea is beginning to take off in Belize. I was able to observe this first-hand last month, spending two and a half weeks in the country. During my stay I had the opportunity to meet local artists who are making lionfish jewelry and to participate in several workshops to share techniques and designs. Continue reading
Photo credits : Shymon
Parippuvada is a popular evening tea-time snack in Kerala. Spicy and crispy, the dish is often made from chana dal, green chili, curry leaves, ginger, onion and salt. After the ingredients are ground, the mix is rolled into small patties and deep fried. Continue reading
Kaziranga National Park, Assam
200 crore is a uniquely Indian way of saying a number. Two billion; or 2,000,000,000 is the way to see the number written out in Western terminology, but the Indian deeds associated with this particular number are much more important, according to news headlines across India in recent days (here taken from the Hindu):
The government plans to plant 200 crore trees along the entire 1 lakh km National Highways network across the country to employ jobless youth.
“The length of National Highways in the country is one lakh kilometre. I have asked officials to come out with a plan to plant 200 crore trees along these stretches which in turn would create jobs for the unemployed on the one hand and protect the environment on the other,” Road Transport, Highways, Shipping and Rural Development Minister Nitin Jairam Gadkari said in New Delhi on Friday.
A similar scheme could be implemented under MNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Gurantee Act) along the village and district roads and state highways. That has the potential to employ 30 lakh youth, he said while inaugurating a conference on “Regeneration of Rivers”.
Mr. Gadkari said Gram Panchayats will be taken into confidence and the unemployed youth could be assigned 50 trees each which could fetch livelihood for them from the produce. Continue reading
Organikos 