Cocoa (Theobroma cacao) grows on a small evergreen tree that reaches up to 13-26 feet and is native to the forests of Central and South America. Being a tropical crop, Cocoa is mainly grown in the western ghats region of Kerala.
Thekkady Remembered
Our contributor Vijaykumar Thondamon received an extraordinary gift last week: His Highness Marthand Varma of Travancore, who celebrated his 90th birthday March 16th, presented him with his collection of rare photos of Thekkady. We are honored that Mr. Thondamon is sharing them with us. Continue reading
Bird of the Day: Ruddy Turnstone
Barnegat Bay, NJ
Indian Laburnum (Cassia fistula)- The State Flower of Kerala
Indian Laburnum (Cassia fistula) is a medium sized deciduous tree which grows up to 10-20 meters in height. Indian laburnum is also known as “Golden Shower” tree native to Southern Asia.
Marketable Faces: Part Three (Melting Pot)
The fringes of society are not the only point of convergence for odd characters. Least of all in India. Confronted by a foreigner with a camera, a man of modest means, excited by said foreigner’s appearance and interest in him, might act rather queerly. Although this response isn’t strictly natural in the general sense, it is by no means posed or artificial, as the subject is acting entirely of their own accord. So when they proffer bananas in shock, or hide their face behind a cup of chai or a cigarette, that’s the reaction I capture. The most frequent response is nervously calling out to friends nearby to “get a load of this”.
Bird of the Day: Brahmani Kite with Prey
Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary, Kerala
Pulikkali – The Tiger Dance
Photo:- Joshi Manjummel
The Tiger Dance is an art form of Kerala in which painted men imitate a tiger and its action. Pulikali is said to have originated in the 18th century when the soldiers belonging to the army of Sakthan Thamburan, who was the King of Cochin, first performed it.
Continue reading
Amritsar, India: The Golden Temple
Guest Author: Carl Zainaldin
A few weekends ago I visited the Golden Temple at Amritsar, a city located in the state of Punjab, located about 30 km from the India-Pakistan border.
The Golden Temple was first conceived in the 16th century by Guru Raam Das., and was completed in 1604. In 1830, the Temple was renovated and plated with gold, and in 1993 a prominent Sikh sponsored its renovation and subsequent revival.
Bird of the Day: Plain Chachalaca
Bentsen State Park, TX
Meeting in the Middle
Pi, Greek letter (
), is the symbol for the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. The area of a circle is calculated using Pi and the radius of the circle.
In honor of this perfect proportion, math enthusiasts around the world celebrate Pi Day on March 14th. Pi = 3.1415926535…
Multiple ancient civilizations including Egypt, Greece and Iron-Age India have stunning examples of the use of Pi; think “Great Pyramids” and you get the idea. Continue reading
Happy 150th, Oswego
For a school not widely known outside its region and professional focus, it is interesting to note a bit about the man who founded a school in upstate New York in the 19th Century that has recently been quietly celebrated for things that we care deeply about on this site:
The Carnegie Foundation awarded Oswego State a prestigious Community Engagement Classification in January 2011… Then in May 2011, Oswego was named to the U.S. President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll “with Distinction,” an equally distinguished recognition for the college’s commitment to volunteerism, service learning and civic engagement.
Bird of the Day: Bobolink
Sligo Grasslands, PA
Humongous, Malodorous and Rare
It’s big. It’s green. Its growth is rapid. And even before it actually blooms it easily brings “Audrey”, the plant from The Little Shop of Horrors to mind. An extremely rare titan arum, also called the corpse plant, is expected to bloom at the Kenneth Post Lab Greenhouses at Cornell University this week.
Titan arum, also known as Amorphophallus titanum, is a plant that grows in the wild only in the rainforests of Sumatra and rarely blooms in cultivation. Many universities and botanical gardens have specimens, but there have been approximately only 140 such cultivated blooms in recorded history. Continue reading
Periyar Sightings: March 14, 2012
Today we happened to meet Mr. & Mrs. Daya who stayed at Cardamom County from the US. They were happy to share their experience of safari at Periyar Tiger Reserve.
We were very pleased & happy to see the animals at Periyar Tiger Reserve. We had very good sighting of the gentle giant (Elephant), but were a little disappointed due to the distance. We could not spot them very nearly. We’ll go back again and hopefully we’ll see more before we leave tomorrow. We really enjoyed our experience in the Periyar Tiger Reserve.- Mr. Daya
Marketable Faces: Part Two (Men of a Certain Age)
There’s something about Indian men above the age of fifty. Their features seem to lend themselves to being photographed. When they have beards, they are twice as photogenic, and when they crack a smile, it’s twice as radiant as that of a man half their age. One of my favorite aspects of the British colonial residue (or perhaps the Indian custom rubbed off on the Brits!) is the extravagant facial hair exhibited by many Indian men of a certain age – Keralites with enormous mustaches are not as common as in Tamil Nadu, but when they do it, they do it with class.
The Little Things Matter
I appreciate the sentiment, if not all the implications, of the professor who commented for this amazing story in today’s New York Times story (in the “N.Y. /Region” section, for reasons you need to click through to understand): Continue reading
Bird of the Day: Baltimore Oriole
Point Pelee, Ontario
Gavi Sightings: March 13, 2012
Mr. & Mrs. Kash, our guests at Cardamom County, have shared photos from their jeep safari excursion to Gavi- a widlife sanctuary at the Periyar Tiger Reserve.
We stayed at Cardamom County, Thekkady in Kerala planning to spend our day inside the forest. The staff suggested we go to Gavi. The three hours of open jeep safari along the path situated between the mountains was so exciting. During the jeep safari we had some good mountain views & the driver showed & explained the depth and height of the mountains. Then we trekked inside the forest along with a forest guide. We didn’t have much luck spotting animals but saw some black monkeys (Niligiri Langur), Malabar giant squirrel & some birds. It was a wonderful & unique experience to be in Gavi, one of the beautiful settings of the Western Ghats. – Mr. Kash
Monkey Dads
Who knew that evolutionary biology might surprise us with more examples of fathers playing an important role in the rearing of offspring? Most of the time, for most species, we think of the mother being invested with all the reasons to be the “responsible” parent.
Bird of the Day: Wilson’s Plover
Fort De Soto, FL
Organikos 