Onathallu – When we beat them up

First of all a Happy Onam to all the Malayali readers. For those who are not Malayalis, today is the day our old king Mahabali who led Kerala to much prosperity comes back to Kerala from his banishment, if only for a day, to observe the progress of his subjects (at 3AM or so) and so we all deck our...

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Irani restaurants and Poppy tea

That beautiful scene from the song ‘Pee Loon’ in OATIM featuring the winsome - Prachi Desai a.k.a Bani (for those out of sync with Bollywood, it is the new movie Once upon a time in Mumbai) reminded me of those lovely Irani tea shops and restaurants in Mumbai. The movie was great, the song by Mohit...

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The Chinese Fishing Nets at Kochi

Now and then a question comes up – about the origins of the Cheena Vala or the Chinese fishing net in Cochin. Some opine firmly that they are of ancient Chinese origin, dating to Kublai Khan’s times (mid 13th century); some others say it arrived even before that and others grandly announce they actually...

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