Untitled

Ophiophobia may not be a commonly used word. It summarizes everything about an animal that was revered in ancient societies and became detested with time. Of all the animals we come in contact with, be it animals in the wild or in human settlement areas, majority of them hurt us physically or damage our assets. Dogs, cats, cows, elephants, crows, all chase and attack us. But there is one animal…

I have always wondered what an extraterrestrial civilization with at least our level of intelligence would think about us when they see us. 8 billion and more of us spread across the planet looking almost the same, obvious differences being skin color and facial features. But a closer look would be extremely revealing. Biological separations such as blood groups and skin colors are part of our…

An unprecedented political event has unfolded in my home state of Kerala. After 10 years of the Left party coalition (LDF) in power, the Congress party led coalition (UDF) won a thumping mandate from the people. But no one was prepared for what came next. There are predominantly 3 people who architected this historic win. V D Satheesan (VD) the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Kerala Legislative…

This has to be the most surreal day of my life. There are so many important days we have in our lives and some of them become memorable for us. Those events always stay at the top of our memory stack. This will always be a priceless day in my life. My dad keeps recounting his glory days of childhood and adolescence which he spent in Kolkata, the city of joy. He says those were the days when life…

A tragedy of catastrophic proportions has unfolded in my hometown of Thrissur in the state of Kerala. Known as the cultural capital of Kerala, Thrissur has been host to a temple festival for more than two centuries that can rival the biggest carnivals in the world. Called Thrissur pooram, it is renowned for its elephant parade and the culminating fireworks. Thrissur is situated around a hillock…

The playbook has been clear, decisive and successful. Support opposition parties, arm resistance groups then take out the existing regime by wiping out its leaders and watch the country descend into chaos. Iraq, Libya and Syria one by one they all crumbled. But one didn’t or haven’t yet. As they say in Kerala jackfruits don’t fall on rabbits everytime.From being friends and partners in the 1970s…

Came across this image of a White-throated Kingfisher with an enormous fish catch on social media. These Kingfishers are common in my hometown and consume a wide variety of prey. Kingfishers dive head first into water grab the prey fly out of water and go back to the same place from where they dived all in one go. Understanding how animals hunt and especially birds is extremely important to get…

All humans are born like animals, without name, religion, caste and other aspects that define us in the human world. Then, depending on where and to whom we are born we inherit the corresponding social aspects. I was born in a Hindu household in Thrissur which is known as the cultural capital of Kerala. I grew up going to temples and listening to stories about Hindu Gods. Thrissur is located…

On 08.12.2025 a sessions court judge in Kerala delivered verdict on a sensational 8 year old sexual assault case which literally said 6 criminals randomly decided to hijack a car in which an actor was travelling in the middle of the night, sexually assault her and shoot video of the crime without any apparent motive. To add insult to injury when the person accused of conspiring the crime entered…

Anyone knows/has seen what is in the below picture? Folks from the southern part of India will mostly recognize it. This is a stone grinder for making batter for idli and dosa, South India’s staple breakfast items. I found it at a friend’s house lying unused for a long time. At my dad’s ancestral house we used to have a bigger one. I have seen my grandma and parents grind and make batter in it…

There is something about humans that is unusual to the point of being weird – Everything we invent or come up with starts off by being benevolent and useful for us. But over time we manage to make each one of them malevolent and dangerous for us. A simple example is the invention of the wheel and how many people die under the wheels in road accidents each day now. There is something of far…

Heroic characters have dominated writings from the time of the most ancient civilizations. Whenever the majority of the population were in the dumps someone always stood up to liberate them and became glorified through time. The list of such heroes is vast and some heroes have also been bestowed with divinity and worshipped even now. Hero or protagonist has always been central to stories from the…

September 15 is celebrated in India as Engineer’s day to commemorate the birthday of eminent engineer and the multifaceted Visvesvaraya who lived between the late 19th and mid 20th century. Those in the medical field and specifically doctors and nurses are the most in demand professionals followed by engineers. After IT outsourcing from the US to India began the demand for Indian engineers…

After the covid pandemic started when I got to know that vaccines were being developed urgently to combat the virus I was baffled. We were all told that covid infection has symptoms similar to that of common cold because both viruses belong to the same coronavirus family. Humanity has been suffering because of the common cold virus for centuries or thousands of years and no one has bothered to…

A friend shared this video of an extremely thorough and exhaustive research on artificial and spurious paneer (cottage cheese) getting manufactured in India but stops short of explaining why. There are three fundamental reasons. 1) Paneer is made from milk by splitting it. India’s consumption of milk and dairy products is humungous. It is impossible now to buy undiluted milk from the market.…

Mom and I have random conversations about nature every day. Today I was telling her that if she sees any animal in the same place for a few days it means 1) It has found food sources to sustain itself in that place 2) It is not facing any threat especially from humans. If she sees the animal for a year the animal has chosen the place for reproduction and breeding its young ones. She pointed out…

I have never been a fan or follower of reality shows on TV. All I have watched is video clippings of shows on YouTube. I have subscribed to Shreya Goshal’s channel on YouTube and YouTube algorithm started showing me Shreya’s singing clips from Indian Idol season 15 and then started showing me clips and short videos of contestants. One of them caught my attention, Manasi Ghosh. Then I came across…