justicia carnea
Plume flowers, native to Brazil, are a tropical tender perennial shrub with unusual pods holding many tubular flowers that bloom throughout the summer. They are naturalized in the Western Ghats of India; the colors can range from Pink, Purple, Orange and Yellow. Continue reading
Happy City: Transforming Our Lives Through Urban Design by Charles Montgomery, published in November 2013 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux, LLC. Copyright © 2013 by Charles Montgomery. All rights reserved.
The text below is excerpted from the book above (click above to go to the source), and we thank Slate for publishing what amounts to a public health announcement disguised as a commentary on urban design. Because several of Raxa Collective’s contributors and more than a few of those who follow this blog have lived in, worked in or gone to school in Atlanta the case study here hit home to more than one of us:
…Of every 100 American commuters, five take public transit, three walk, and only one rides a bicycle to work or school. If walking and cycling are so pleasurable, why don’t more people choose to cycle or walk to work? Why do most people fail to walk even the 10,000 daily steps needed to stay healthy? Why do we avoid public transit? Continue reading
Wild Mushrooms
Mushrooms are found on almost every continent and due to the rich flora of Kerala they usually flourish unattended in the Western Ghats. Wild mushrooms are used for cooking various dishes from curries to dry starters and are relished by vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike. Continue reading
As we post this, collaboration on the badminton court is in full swing; these young friends in our community are Raxa Collective’s best hope for global domination of a sport: the power smile. We are cheering them on in badminton as well. December 23 is a big day, we are told. Stay tuned.
The Cockney Tourist, or Where Shall We Go To? © Look and Learn / Peter Jackson Collection / The Bridgeman Art Library
Earlier last week, I completed a working draft of one of my thesis’ chapters. Its subject matter is a bit different from what I’ve been writing about in previous months, because I more closely address trends in travel and travel literature rather than the travellers’ interactions with the environment around them. Here’s an edited (and de-annotated, so comment for further reading) version of the introduction to this chapter:
After the Napoleonic Wars, as continental Europe reopened to British travel during the 1820s, there came to be an exaggerated perception that sightseers were swarming sites of the Grand Tour, previously inaccessible due to both military and socioeconomic barriers. Many aristocratic Britons considered this type of tourist, the mere excursionist, distinct from themselves, the sophisticated travellers more interested in natural history, authentic culture, and exploration. Iceland, with its near-mythical Continue reading
If you are a fan of Umberto Eco, and/or alternative travelogues, this book may be for you. If only the former, you might want to just go here or here. In its blurb for Eco’s new book (click the image to the right to go to the source), the USA publisher Rizzoli Ex Libris has this to say, which make it at least worthwhile to search the book reviews:
A fascinating illustrated tour of the fabled places in literature and folklore that have awed, troubled, and eluded us through the ages. From the epic poets of antiquity to contemporary writers of science fiction, from the authors of the Holy Scriptures to modern raconteurs of fairy tales, writers and storytellers through the ages have invented imaginary Continue reading
Image Courtesy: national geographic
Once again, National Geographic delivers mesmerizing high definition captures of nature in its new film documentary “One Life;” always looking out for ways to demonstrate the awe-inspiring power present in the natural world, “One Life” is bursting with unbelievable slow motion shots and incredibly detailed images.
Appam And Egg Roast
Appam is a sort of rice pancake which is usually accompanied with savory curries ranging from meat, fish, egg to vegetarian. This light and tasty dish is commonly eaten for breakfast with Egg Roast, and is the closest one would find to the usual toast and egg in the state of Kerala. Continue reading
Gamboa, Panama
Photo credits: Ramesh Kidangoor
Alleppey, situated at the south-western tip of the Vembanad Lake, is famous for its criss-crossing canals, lakes and lagoons, and is popularly known as the “Venice of the East.” Tourism is its primary industry, which has revitalized the area and given a new charm to the entire district. Continue reading
(A man looks at an antique tribal mask, Tumas Crow Mother, circa 1860-1870, revered as a sacred ritual artifact by the Native American Hopi tribe in Arizona, displayed at the Drouot auction house ahead of its sale in Paris December 9, 2013. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann)
Reuters reports today on a remarkable act by a foundation to restore cultural artifacts, at long last, to their rightful place (click the image above to go to the source):
An American foundation bought nearly two dozen Native American artefacts and will return them to the Hopi tribe in Arizona, which had mounted legal challenges to their planned sale by a French auction house. Continue reading
During travel to national parks and wildlife areas, apart from concentrating on mammals, birds and local fauna, it’s always good to absorb and document the flora and habitat as well. Kanha is a very beautiful park and the habitat is what makes it special. The early morning mist especially provides a lot of opportunities to make creative images. Continue reading
We are unabashedly in favor of reading, thinking and decision-making in advance of travel, during travel, and after travel. We are also in favor, when the fancy strikes, of just hitting the road without knowing why, where to, or for how long. On our pages you will find posts for either end of the spectrum from meticulously planned to wanderlust journeys. It is about discovery. So this book caught our attention. Nothing to do with hobbits, as reviewed by the Monitor (click the book image to the left to go to the source) it sounds like the perfect prelude, accompaniment or postscript for travel in a part of the world we have not been covering in our pages as much as we maybe should:
…In “The Discovery of Middle Earth,” Robb sets out to establish the momentous contributions made to the arts of cartography and communication by the once-great Celtic peoples, who at various points in history spread all the way from modern-day Turkey to Ireland. In the process, he consults old documents, interviews experts, examines artifacts, and bicycles more than 26,000 kilometers across France, taking his readers along with him… Continue reading
Ek Balam, Mexico
Image ©Maria Kazanova/123rf
They just keep coming, these good reads from Conservation Magazine; this one, thanks to Megan Molteni about how the business of demolition is getting greener (click the image above to go to the source):
The modern age is built upon concrete. Concrete is cheap to make, easy to transport, and highly formable—making it a ubiquitous and universal feature of the developed landscape. But unlike building materials that defined past eras, concrete doesn’t exactly stand up to the test of time. Concrete structures have an expiration date—they can last up to 100 years in some situations, but often much less—after which they need to be demolished and rebuilt. And that process creates a lot of waste. Approximately 200 million tons of waste concrete are generated annually in the U.S. alone. About half of that is recycled, and the rest of it winds up in landfills. But what if that concrete could be given a new life as a filter for runoff? Or what if we could eliminate that waste altogether with a new and smarter way to demolish buildings? Two recent innovations explore these possibilities for a greener concrete afterlife. Continue reading
Photo credits: Ramesh Kidangoor
Palayam Mosque is located in the heart of Trivandrum, the political capital of Kerala. Typical of Kerala’s comfortable blend of religions and cultures, a temple and a church stand in its vicinity. Continue reading
Organikos 