Understanding the art of Honking

HORN-OK-PLEASE!!  Do you remember this slogan?  These words were invariably etched to the backs of most lorries or trucks.  I am still not sure what exactly the lorry driver intended to convey to the driver behind him, possibly he was requesting the latter to honk loudly when he tried to overtake him.  

Words apart, the sound of the horn in itself makes for an interesting study.  In fact, understanding the honking sound is an art; and definitely warrants the creation of a new subject called “Honkology”, (on the lines of the much studied medical field of Oncology), having its own syllabus and dedicated hours of study.  To briefly understand this, let us look at some of the honks and their meanings.  

• A single, gentle beep - The driver wants to alert you to his presence, without actually giving you a heart attack.  His mood is friendly and his intention is to give you a gentle nudge – telling you to move aside or to move faster ahead.

• A loud, longish press of the horn – The driver, in this case is a little annoyed and is finding his fellow riders irksome.  He seems to say “Common Man, MOVE it.  We don’t have all day!” or “Stop driving like your GRANDMA, get on with it!”

• A series of loud bangs on the horn – This driver has nearly come to the end of his tether and will not suffer any more foolishness on the road.  He is ANGRY and his honking screams “What the @#$$%%$&*!!”  He is surely running out of expletives to curse you and your tardy driving skills.  The sooner you get out of his way, the better.

• The ‘signal turned green’ beep – This is the typical horn that you will hear when you have stopped at a traffic light.  The instant the signal turns green, a few drivers press their horns to awaken sleepy-headed drivers in front of them.  There is hardly a second’s gap between the signal turning green and the blaring of horns from these self-appointed traffic-light keepers!  They seem to say, “Wake up folks, WAKE UP, start your vehicles and get going”.

Horns and honking are used not only while driving on the road but also as a secret code.  My neighbour, much to our irritation, on reaching home would honk loudly to the note of “pah pah papapah”.  This code was to inform his family that he had arrived home and that they had to open the gate for him. This routine was followed by all the members in his family and irrespective of the time they arrived home – evening or even late in the night- we would have to suffer with gritted teeth and hear them playing out their honking code.  We requested them to stop this irritating practice but they would not listen and our requests fell on deaf ears.   So to teach them a lesson, we all decided to follow their honking code.  Right outside their house, we would go “pah pah papapah” on our horns; one of the family members would come out to open the gate thinking that someone from their own family had returned home.  When they got fooled a few times this way, they realized their folly and much to our relief, stopped using their honking code!

      So you see, with a lot of case studies and examples, I am sure we can make the “Honkology”              subject interesting and easy to follow.  Do give it a serious thought OK, PLEASE? 

Kodo Millet Roti - Akki rotis using Varagu/Harka

Varagu Roti with chutney

The other day, for dinner, I prepared pongal using Kodo millets - varagu or harka as it is called in Tamil / Kannada.  I was a little distracted that evening and somehow ended up cooking double the quantity of pongal than what was required for our family.

Offering that again as breakfast the next morning was not an option -my girls would have revolted! So I decided to change its structure and form and deceive the gullible lot :-)

The pongal converted into roti dough!

Getting cooked on the tawa.

I added a bit of rice flour to the millet pongal - to give it a thicker, dough-like consistency.  I added chopped onions, coriander and some curry leaves and made rotis - similar to Akki roti, by pressing the millet dough into discs on a tawa - and cooked them. These came out very well; they had the nice and invigorating taste of curry leaves and pepper, were soft in the centre and slightly crisp around  the edges.  I served it with a slightly spicy coconut and groundnut chutney.

The girls loved the new roti and ate it with relish - not once realising that it was just last night's pongal that had morphed into this morning's roti!   A complete win-win situation for all at home!

Kodo Millet roti with coconut-groundnut chutney!

MILLETS are SUPER FOODS!

As young, growing-up children, do you remember what our Moms used to make us drink everyday?  Yes, a BIG glass of Kanji!  The kanji powder was made predominantly with lightly roasted ragi, wheat, different kind of dals and pulses, flavoured with elaichi and nutmeg. Two or three spoons of this powder was boiled in water to a porridge-like consistency, to which a glass of milk was added. This was possibly one of the healthiest malts - definitely packed with more nutrients than the current malt powders which are marketed as 'the secret of my energy' or 'the drink for growing children'.  Also, made at home by a loving mother or grandmother, with no chemicals/preservatives added, the kanji powder was definitely a super food.

Ragi is a type of millet and is known as Finger millet. Millets are packed with better nutrients as compared to rice and wheat. They are rich in fibre, have a good amount of protein and are bestowed with more mineral content.  The table below gives a comparison. As can be seen, it needs no additional convincing to realise why we should include more millets in our diet.

                        

Information sourced from the Internet

English Name of Millet	Tamil, Kannada equivalent
Foxtail	Tenai, Navane
Little	Samai, Sama
Kodo	Varagu, Harka
Proso	Pani varagu, Baragu
Barnyard	Kudhiravali, Odalu
Sorghum	Jowar, Cholam, Jola
Pearl	Bajra, Kambu,Sajje
Finger	Ragi, Keppai

 Of the various millets available, we are probably more familiar with Ragi, Jowar and Bajra.  Ragi is exceptionally rich in calcium and is ideal for people suffering from diabetes and for weight-watchers. When I was pregnant with my second child, during the last trimester I developed gestational diabetes. The doctor advised me to go for walks and consume ragi to avoid weight gain and reduce the sugar levels.  I did this religiously for a month and was back on track - not only were the sugar levels back under control, I did not also gain weight.    

Ragi Kuzhi appams

Ragi can be consumed in many ways - as Kanji mixed with milk and sugar or salt and butter-milk,  as Mudde or Ragi Balls, as Idlis, as Dosas, as Rotis or as Kuzhi appams,   For these, the batter is prepared in much the same way as normal idli or dosa except that rice is replaced by ragi.  Most of the other millets like Foxtail, Little, Proso can be cooked in the same manner as rice and had with sambar, rasam or curd.

Kodo Millet Upma!

The other day, I prepared Upma using Harka or Kodo Millet.  It has a nice nutty taste; and just a little is enough to fill our stomachs!  Prepare it just like the usual rawa upma - slightly dry
roasting the Kodo millet, and adding two and a
quarter cups of boiling water to a cup of millet.  An assortment of vegetables can be added.  I put in beans, carrot, peas, potato and a bit of grated coconut.

Dry roasted Kodo millet

Assorted vegetables saute'd in oil

Kodo and vegetables cooked in hot water

Books and Movies - A child's greatest influence!

All time favourite - Harry Potter series

Children are likely to be impressed by what they read and what they see; so much so that they extend their fictional experiences to real life.  My kids are the best examples to illustrate this point. They are avid readers and film watchers; their responses, choices and behaviour at home are impacted by the characters from their books and movies.

My elder daughter, a die-hard Potter fan, started reading the Harry Potter books when she was 9 years old.  Around that time, we took her to a store to buy clothes.  I pointed out to a nice green dress; her reaction – “Yewww, NOT GREEN! I don’t want to be a Slytherin!” And she of course picked up a maroon coloured T-shirt, chorusing all the while, “GO, GRYFFINDOR!” 

On her 11^th Birthday, she was hoping and praying that she would get a letter from Hogwarts to join the Magic School!  She was quite disappointed when that letter did not materialize, despite knowing that it was just fictional!

When her grand-mother asked her to explain some function of the TV remote, she kept making ‘hissing’ sounds.  Grandmother got angry and rebuked her – “Hey Kutty, what’s wrong with you?  Why don’t you talk properly?” Kutty’s cheeky response, “Oh Paati, I am sorry.  I forgot that you don’t understand or speak ‘Parsel tongue’!”

Recently, the Star Wars movie has also been a great influence.  As a run-up to the 7^th part of the series, we had a marathon viewing of the earlier movies and the girls were vastly impressed by a few characters from the movie.  Thanks to Yoda, English grammar can now be re-structured with the subject and predicate clauses in random positions.  I was preparing a traditional sweet called Haalbai and asked my daughter to taste it.  She did and her response was “Ahhh! After 15 years of you cooking, taste good this Haalbai finally!” 

Talking to my younger daughter and getting a proper response from her has become quite difficult these days.  I think she is crying but she is actually replying to some query of mine - making a strange, half-roaring, half-mewing sound like Chewie (Chewbacca from the Star Wars movie).  You can imagine my level of frustration!  Added to that are instances when the girls randomly whistle or talk in a stiff robot-like manner, emulating the droids R2-D2 and C-3PO. 

And then there was the time when my elder girl started to read Shakespeare’s sonnets and dramas.  She was fascinated by the English of yore and would try to speak in a similar style at home.  When I switched off the Telly and asked her to go study, her dramatic response- “Oh Mother! Pray, I beseech thee! Let me watch some more.  I shalt pick up mine books anon.”  Not to be outdone, I replied in her own style – “Mine loving daughter, tarry not a moment!  Thou exams cometh, hence make haste and take to your books!”  She of course, gave me a withering look and muttered “Et tu, Mother?”

My younger girl learnt about rhyming words and that reflected in her speech at home.  She spoke to her father, “Oh Appa, you are so nice and loving.  Can you take us swimming?”  Appa was completely captivated by his daughter’s charming request and replied, “Yes, of course dear!  Ask Amma to pack your swimming gear!” 

The Cat Chronicles Continued

Squeaky, Holmes and SJ - the 3 'MusCATeers'!

Continuing from my earlier post about the Naughty Foursome,  it is with a heavy heart that I update that Moksha Gundam, the cute little fellow, with big eyes and bushy hair, is no more.  He got bitten by one of the street dogs living at the end of our road.   The children were heart broken and cried a bit, but took comfort in the fact that the other 3 kittens - Holmes, SJ and Squeaky - were okay.

These fellows continue to amaze

Play time! 

us - they are absolutely naughty, but completely endearing.  They have grown bigger, look halfway between appearing as an over-grown kitten and a young teenager (or whatever a cat in its 'teen' years can be called :-))  Their playfulness continues but it is more structured and a lot more mature.  They try and catch small lizards, dragon flies and other insects and once they have caught something, they put on the air of a big hunter, growl at each other and make merry at the expense of their quarry.

We love to climb!

They have become adept climbers; infact they can be found taking an afternoon nap atop a sadja, window ledge or cupboard - firm in the knowledge that no dog can attack them there.  They sleep, sleep and sleep all through the day and turn hunters during the night and again later catch some more sleep!  Mornings when I open the house door to pick up the milk, I find them lying on the foot-rug or on the car roof; they immediately get up, stretch themselves (their Adhomukha shwanasana is perfect!) and start demanding their morning food.  They are quite vociferous in their pleas, (especially Squeaky) and follow my movements.  They know my next point of entry will be the kitchen - they are standing by the kitchen window, meowing like crazy until I give in and feed them.

Window ledges are good for lying down

The Napping Threesome!

They love to climb the tree and scamper around the pots and plants.  It is such a pleasure to have them around when I am doing a bit of gardening or watering the plants.  They come along, watch me patiently for a while, then suddenly scuttle and shoot across my path, pin the broom down with their paws, roll around in the mud, check if its really water in the bucket, clamber up the banana tree or wait hidden near the dead leaves ready to pounce!  Their energy levels are astounding!

Pottering around - this is fun.

They love to be stroked and enjoy a good, gentle scratch of their face and neck - the itchy parts that they cannot reach easily.  They also endearingly brush their sides around our ankles, mewing gently to be picked up and given a nice rub.  The girls tried giving them a bath in a tub of warm, soapy water but the fellows just hated it!  They looked like drenched rats and ran off to lick themselves dry.

Karuppan - a good friend

Karuppan joining in for a sleepover

They are now nearly 5 months old; a neighbouring tom cat that we have named 'Karuppan' (he is black in colour)  has become their friend.  Sometimes he joins them in their play or takes a nap along with them - like a group sleepover!

Jai Mata di!

Soon, it will be time to have them spayed.  (else we will be flooded with more kittens!!)  We only hope that they retain their playfulness for some more time.

More pictures of the "kitteens"! 

Squeaky waiting for prey 

Hey, I am here too!

Squeaky made to be the Mom.

SJ napping on dried leaves

Holmes in action - the curious fellow

A scooter is also a good place to rest.

Yes, I am taking a nap - you have a problem with that?

WHAT!!.  Don't drop your tea cup on me.

Holmes ready to pounce

Hi there!  What's up?

I am a little tired, please let me take a nap!

Am not napping, am praying!