Satara near Pune in Maharashtra is a wonderful place nestled among the western ghats(range of mountains).
One thing that struck me at Satara were the windows fixed everywhere. Most of them were of the sliding types.
There were double railings. The inner rail was fitted with sliding glass panes. The outer had lesser number of sliding frames of fine mesh panes. If one were to open the glass window, the mesh window would move into place as a cover from the second railing automatically! No portion would be left open! Fine Mesh will allow a good cover as well as enough air traffic!
Even at a height of 12 feet (just below the ceiling), the walls had a lengthy 6" gap running from one end to the other. A 12 feet wall's 6" gap would then have 4 divisions in which 3 glass strips of 3' each and 1 mesh strip of 3' would be fitted into metal frames and fixed. On the opposite wall 1 strip of mesh and 3 glass strips would be fitted to allow for cross ventilation as well as to let in light.
Not an insect entered our place unless the door was kept open.
When I enquired with the owner about such window types, he said due to hilly region all around, snakes were too many as were rodents though he hurriedly added that they have never harmed humans so far.
Such window types would effectively keep them out even while letting in light and air. This seemed to be a wonderful way to deal with such local problems. Invention is indeed the mother of necessity!
Cheers!
Mahalakshmi
Friday, August 26, 2011
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Saabu Vada At Satara
We decided to have tea at a decent looking hotel near the Natraj flyover.
The waiter came with 4 cups of hot steaming masala chai which was refreshing. He asked us if we would have anything else. We said no and were about to move out when I noticed him serving some fat odd looking vadas in a plate. I asked him what it was and was told it was the saabu vada which is a special during the month of Shravana for those who fast (vrat).
I promptly ordered for a plate of those for each of us. They were piping hot and came with a bowl of sweet curd. These deep fried vadas were made of saabudana, mildly salted with just a few green chilli bits, some green corriander and cummin seeds. They were heavenly to taste. Crisp outer and soft inner core and big in size. 3 of them could easily fill the stomach.
I din't ask for the recipe but could guess it was a special saabudaana (jevvarisi in Tamil) which was used for these vadas.
Some tastes linger and this was one of them.
Mahalakshmi.
The waiter came with 4 cups of hot steaming masala chai which was refreshing. He asked us if we would have anything else. We said no and were about to move out when I noticed him serving some fat odd looking vadas in a plate. I asked him what it was and was told it was the saabu vada which is a special during the month of Shravana for those who fast (vrat).
I promptly ordered for a plate of those for each of us. They were piping hot and came with a bowl of sweet curd. These deep fried vadas were made of saabudana, mildly salted with just a few green chilli bits, some green corriander and cummin seeds. They were heavenly to taste. Crisp outer and soft inner core and big in size. 3 of them could easily fill the stomach.
I din't ask for the recipe but could guess it was a special saabudaana (jevvarisi in Tamil) which was used for these vadas.
Some tastes linger and this was one of them.
Mahalakshmi.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Food For Thought
Yesterday a lady had come with some problem and wanted my counselling.
First the problem:
Lady is a widow. Has a married daughter who has delivered a baby recently.
Facilities at the lady's home were inadequate for post child birth care.
Lady's mother, a retired pensioner, lives all by herself in a rented house. The mother asked them to move into her house for a couple of months.
It is a custom in India to take care of the mother and child for the initial 3 month period.
Lady said her own mother is not treating her properly ever since they moved into her house temporarily. She is tortured with temper tantrums and has no rest, has to slog the whole day looking after the baby, her weak daughter plus what surprised her the most was her mother who has turned so demanding, rude and has asked them out! Unable to bear this any longer she has started looking for an alternate accommodation for 2 months but decided to come to me for help and advice anyway.
Seemingly these appear to be unconnected but I asked some leading questions and got the answers from the lady as the session progressed.
Q: Who spends, how much and for what.
A: Lady bears half of all household expenses while the other half is passed on to her pensioner mother.
(I said, "Bingo! This is where everything went wrong for you"!!).
Break up should have been 2/3rds of expenses for the lady and her daughter and 1/3rd for the lady's mother and not 50-50 (leaving the new born out of all this).
Q: Who pays the rent?
A: The pensioner mother is paying the rent. I was trying to point this out saying her mother's burden then was more than 50%.
Lady is financially weak, but has a job. Her daughter is also working and must be getting maternal leave with salary. The son-in-law is also earning. Lady has borrowed some money for the delivery and post delivery expenses.
My solution for this problem was as follows:
During such times getting a decent shelter with security is a big deal.
Mother has offered a place to stay which is itself an act of kindness.
If she were to hunt for a house now, she would have to shell out rents plus the caution deposit.
Think over these facts and from today itself refuse to pass on any share in the expenses to your mother. Tell her you love her too much to even think of burdening her with bills.
Express your love and gratitude to your mother for offering help when you and your daughter needed it the most.
By this the elderly person will feel the affection and the atmosphere will turn positive for everyone. No more temper tantrums.
The daughter is watching all this.
Set a good example to your daughter as your own time to face a similar situation is round the corner.
It is through such practical and positive actions that we become role models for our nexgen.
Lady got upset when she heard the solution to this problem.
This is an example of how and why problems crop up.
There is so much joy in giving and doing for our own as well as for others.
Money will come and money will go but pleasant memories, good times, timely help, unconditional love and affection stay on forever. Unfortunately, these are the hardest to come by! That's the whole truth.
Mahalakshmi
First the problem:
Lady is a widow. Has a married daughter who has delivered a baby recently.
Facilities at the lady's home were inadequate for post child birth care.
Lady's mother, a retired pensioner, lives all by herself in a rented house. The mother asked them to move into her house for a couple of months.
It is a custom in India to take care of the mother and child for the initial 3 month period.
Lady said her own mother is not treating her properly ever since they moved into her house temporarily. She is tortured with temper tantrums and has no rest, has to slog the whole day looking after the baby, her weak daughter plus what surprised her the most was her mother who has turned so demanding, rude and has asked them out! Unable to bear this any longer she has started looking for an alternate accommodation for 2 months but decided to come to me for help and advice anyway.
Seemingly these appear to be unconnected but I asked some leading questions and got the answers from the lady as the session progressed.
Q: Who spends, how much and for what.
A: Lady bears half of all household expenses while the other half is passed on to her pensioner mother.
(I said, "Bingo! This is where everything went wrong for you"!!).
Break up should have been 2/3rds of expenses for the lady and her daughter and 1/3rd for the lady's mother and not 50-50 (leaving the new born out of all this).
Q: Who pays the rent?
A: The pensioner mother is paying the rent. I was trying to point this out saying her mother's burden then was more than 50%.
Lady is financially weak, but has a job. Her daughter is also working and must be getting maternal leave with salary. The son-in-law is also earning. Lady has borrowed some money for the delivery and post delivery expenses.
My solution for this problem was as follows:
During such times getting a decent shelter with security is a big deal.
Mother has offered a place to stay which is itself an act of kindness.
If she were to hunt for a house now, she would have to shell out rents plus the caution deposit.
Think over these facts and from today itself refuse to pass on any share in the expenses to your mother. Tell her you love her too much to even think of burdening her with bills.
Express your love and gratitude to your mother for offering help when you and your daughter needed it the most.
By this the elderly person will feel the affection and the atmosphere will turn positive for everyone. No more temper tantrums.
The daughter is watching all this.
Set a good example to your daughter as your own time to face a similar situation is round the corner.
It is through such practical and positive actions that we become role models for our nexgen.
Lady got upset when she heard the solution to this problem.
This is an example of how and why problems crop up.
There is so much joy in giving and doing for our own as well as for others.
Money will come and money will go but pleasant memories, good times, timely help, unconditional love and affection stay on forever. Unfortunately, these are the hardest to come by! That's the whole truth.
Mahalakshmi
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Taking Medicines Regularly
We had to spend time waiting in a taxi which we had engaged to go in and around visiting Kolhapur.
The taxi driver was an elderly man of about 75 years.
We passed our waiting time in the taxi by talking to him about the local markets, vegetarian hotels, clothes, kolhapuri chappals, the ancient and famous Mahalakshmi temple...and his children, his having lunch in the taxi itself on some busy days.
He said he has 3 daughters and a son, all married and with grown up kids. He told us he was staying with the son, daughter-in-law and their only son.
Where was his wife then? He said she passed away 12 years back.
I asked him what happened to her and was he there at that time.
He said he was very much with her. Both had had dinner and were sitting and chatting. All of a sudden she started complaining of acute pain in both her hands and legs. Even in that pain she had given her son's phone number and asked her husband to call over their son and daughter-in-law immediately. They rushed and began pressing her legs and hands. Later took her to a hospital where the doctor began testing her. Alas before any treatment could be administered, she had a massive heart attack and passed away. She was just 54 years old, he said. When I remarked that it was quite a young age to die, he told me that his father-in-law and wife's elder sister too died at 54! He wondered whether it was some family curse. I said it could be due to some other reason and asked whether there was something else that stressed her or was she on regular medicines for any ailment like BP, Heart or sugar complaint?
Yes she was taking BP drugs everyday.
Minutes before her death she was talking about their only son who was married but unemployed, roaming around, borrowing money from his mother on the sly for his expenses and wondered whether he will get alright, if at all.
I enquired whether she took those drugs regularly as per the doctor's advice?
He revealed that she had secretly given her son, the money kept aside for buying her medicines and how she had stopped taking her BP medicines for a week prior to her death. She had hidden that fact from her husband and used to complain often about some dizziness and pain during that last week.
Later he sold his cloth shop to buy 2 taxis. One for himself and one for his son to eke out a living. Now his son is responsible and takes care of his family and his aged father too. The mother is no more to see this! In fact there were two taxis waiting at the stand, but we engaged the elderly man's taxi. If we had hired the son's taxi, we would have been treated to a different version of the same story at least how fortunate he and his wife were to have pressed her hands and legs minutes before his mother's death.
The rate we fixed for the round trip was Rs.500/- but he grinned so I gave him an extra Rs.100/- which was purely for the story session! He had unburdened himself and I my purse!
A similar incident occurred to a relative of mine. He died because he neglected taking his regular medicines for just 2 days due to some function at home (leading to irregular and delayed meals) for which he paid with his life.
It is due to neglect to take medicines on time and regularly, 'if' the doctor advises the same for BP, heart condition or sugar complaint as stopping them for any reason could prove fatal. These are prescribed for life long for long life!
Mahalakshmi.
The taxi driver was an elderly man of about 75 years.
We passed our waiting time in the taxi by talking to him about the local markets, vegetarian hotels, clothes, kolhapuri chappals, the ancient and famous Mahalakshmi temple...and his children, his having lunch in the taxi itself on some busy days.
He said he has 3 daughters and a son, all married and with grown up kids. He told us he was staying with the son, daughter-in-law and their only son.
Where was his wife then? He said she passed away 12 years back.
I asked him what happened to her and was he there at that time.
He said he was very much with her. Both had had dinner and were sitting and chatting. All of a sudden she started complaining of acute pain in both her hands and legs. Even in that pain she had given her son's phone number and asked her husband to call over their son and daughter-in-law immediately. They rushed and began pressing her legs and hands. Later took her to a hospital where the doctor began testing her. Alas before any treatment could be administered, she had a massive heart attack and passed away. She was just 54 years old, he said. When I remarked that it was quite a young age to die, he told me that his father-in-law and wife's elder sister too died at 54! He wondered whether it was some family curse. I said it could be due to some other reason and asked whether there was something else that stressed her or was she on regular medicines for any ailment like BP, Heart or sugar complaint?
Yes she was taking BP drugs everyday.
Minutes before her death she was talking about their only son who was married but unemployed, roaming around, borrowing money from his mother on the sly for his expenses and wondered whether he will get alright, if at all.
I enquired whether she took those drugs regularly as per the doctor's advice?
He revealed that she had secretly given her son, the money kept aside for buying her medicines and how she had stopped taking her BP medicines for a week prior to her death. She had hidden that fact from her husband and used to complain often about some dizziness and pain during that last week.
Later he sold his cloth shop to buy 2 taxis. One for himself and one for his son to eke out a living. Now his son is responsible and takes care of his family and his aged father too. The mother is no more to see this! In fact there were two taxis waiting at the stand, but we engaged the elderly man's taxi. If we had hired the son's taxi, we would have been treated to a different version of the same story at least how fortunate he and his wife were to have pressed her hands and legs minutes before his mother's death.
The rate we fixed for the round trip was Rs.500/- but he grinned so I gave him an extra Rs.100/- which was purely for the story session! He had unburdened himself and I my purse!
A similar incident occurred to a relative of mine. He died because he neglected taking his regular medicines for just 2 days due to some function at home (leading to irregular and delayed meals) for which he paid with his life.
It is due to neglect to take medicines on time and regularly, 'if' the doctor advises the same for BP, heart condition or sugar complaint as stopping them for any reason could prove fatal. These are prescribed for life long for long life!
Mahalakshmi.
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