Dec
12

Our visit to the Holy Land – Introduction & Overview

TJ on December 12th, 2013

It has been months since I updated this blog so our visit to the Holy Land seems a good reason to restart the blog. We returned earlier this morning from our tour and I will try and capture the salient parts both in terms of our visit to the religious sites as well as other […]

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Feb
26

Physician heal thyself ……….and other observations

TJ on February 26th, 2013

Gender selection with a marked preference for male children has been a major problem in India and some other countries. It has resulted in severely skewed male/female ratios in some parts of India with major repercussions as a shortage in the number of eligible young females has caused social unrest in these locations and the […]

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Apr
22

What’s in a name ……..well, a Mallu name?

TJ on April 22nd, 2012

I don’t know if Malayalees are unique in their choice of names for adults and children. When I lived in Kenya in the fifties and early sixties, there were relatively few families from Kerala and everyone knew each other within the community. But even within the relatively small community, there were some interesting variations on […]

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Human Interest, Humor, India Related, Kenya, Kerala 4 Comments »
Mar
31

The big fat Indian breakfast

TJ on March 31st, 2012

I am partial to most Indian foods …… no great surprise given my Indian heritage. During our recent stay in Kerala one of the pluses was being able to eat home cooked meals using the freshest ingredients, vegetables and fish/meat. We would buy king fish from a government approved vendor who brought a variety of […]

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Feb
26

Kumaraswamy Kamaraj’s loyalty and humility

TJ on February 26th, 2012

It is rare indeed for a leader to have the attributes of humility, loyalty and honesty and to be an effective leader but such a man was Kumaraswamy Kamaraj, a former chief minister of Tamil Nadu – formerly known as Madras state – and subsequently a key advisor to Jawaharlal Nehru. He was a man […]

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Jan
31

Nair weddings – the antithesis of conspicuous consumption

TJ on January 31st, 2012

Life in Kerala – and, for that matter in India – involves a lot more social interaction than occurs in the West. This interaction occurs in different settings but one that occurs with frequency is attendance at baptisms, engagements, marriages and funerals. Birthdays seem to be less frequently celebrated except for special occasions like the […]

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Human Interest, India Related, Kerala, Religion 2 Comments »
Jan
25

Back in “God’s own country”

TJ on January 25th, 2012

Yes, we are back in Cochin, Kerala where we spend our winters away from the frigid temperatures of Virginia. I start every trip with a sense of dread over the the long flight from the US to India – a good 17 hours of flying time – but once I am here there is almost […]

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Mar
5

“Goa Machi Kathore”

TJ on March 5th, 2011

Growing up in Mombasa, Kenya as a young boy I was occasionally teased by North Indian kids with the expression “Goa machi kathore” – these were kids usually with origins from Punjab and Gujarat. The term was meant to be derogatory and was a reference to the fact that Goans liked to eat a lot […]

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Food, Human Interest, India Related, Kenya, Kerala, Travel 3 Comments »
Mar
13

Unforgettable Munnar – in more ways than one!

TJ on March 13th, 2010

Munnar is a beautiful place well worth visiting! Our visit started with something of a fiasco which brought to mind the axiom: “if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is”. We were offered an unbelievable deal in Munnar at what was described as a “resort”. As it turned out it was no […]

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India Related, Kerala, Travel 5 Comments »
Mar
3

Ayurvedic massages and my George Costanza moment

TJ on March 3rd, 2010

I love a good massage. It is in some ways the ultimate pampering experience. The first time I had one was in California in the early nineties. I was so hooked on it that I would have one with some regularity even though it was expensive. Spending $80 for a forty minute massage every couple […]

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Health, Human Interest, Humor, Kerala 8 Comments »