The Palghat Umbrella

The ubiquitous Olakkuda of Malabar Though I knew a bit about the palm leaf umbrella, the olakkuda of Malabar, I never knew until recently that it was more popularly known as the Palghat umbrella.  I saw it mentioned so in the pioneering book Saraswati vijayam by Potheri Kunhambu, for the first...

Read More

Eustace Benedict De Lannoy

And the Udayagiri Kotta in Travancore The other day, we were listening to an old song – Udayagiri kottayile Chitralekhe, from the film Aromalunni and watching the ever beautiful actress Sheela's sensuous dance to the lines. As I listened, my grey cells got into an overdrive, how did Aromalunni get...

Read More

Saradindu, the Meri and Raktha Sandhya

Many years ago, I wrote about the fate of the ship Meri, its plunder and the massacre of its occupants by Vasco Da Gama. I had also mentioned briefly about a short story written by the late Saradindu Bandhopadhyay, on the very same subject. Anyway, of recent, I have been in the process of devouring...

Read More

When Melody Was Queen – As Music Changed Character

The Magic of RD Burman As you grow older and the world changes, you slip into periods of nostalgia now and then, looking back to the road you have traveled. It is in those moments that you remember music that you loved, food that you enjoyed and some of life’s great reads, just to name a few. For...

Read More