Tuesday, 9 July 2019
Families in Food: The kulfi shop in Old Delhi that's been around 113 years
They sold kulfis in three flavours — kewra, rabri, and mango — for seven-eight months every year, between Holi and Diwali, and then returned to their village. After his marriage, Kuremal moved to Old Delhi. His son, Mohanlal, joined him after high school and thus came the name Kuremal-Mohanlal Kulfiwale, says Sunil, 53, eldest son of Mohanlal. His other son, Anil, 50, says during the Emergency, the milk supply was cut short, so they made mango kulfi instead. Every year, Kuremal Mohan Lal Kulfi Wale put up a stall during Ramlila at Parade Ground, Delhi Cantonment, a practice started by Sunil's grandfather. Former prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Atal Bihari Vajpayee have been their customers. Today, Mohanlal, 78, occasionally sits at the shop, and his four sons — Sunil, Anil, Sanjay, and Manish — run the show. 'In 1980, my father introduced stuffed kulfis, which were made by cutting the fruits hollow, blending their pulp with rabri and sugar, and putting the composition back into the fruits,' Sunil says. 'Stuffed mango and pomegranate are the bestsellers, but we prepare stuffed kulfis with almost every fruit for pre-orders. 'Since then, we've added many flavours which were unheard of then — like jamun, paan, falsa, imli to name a few. In 2019, we've introduced aaru (peach) fruit kulfi.' The stuffed kulfis (mango, pomegranate, orange, apple) are priced at Rs 200 per piece, while the milk-based and milk-free (julpeps) kulfis, at Rs 60. 'When I started working with my father, we sold kulfis for Rs 7,' recalls Sunil. Mohanlal's youngest son Manish, 43, sits at the small shop, which is 200 m away from the original spot where Kuremal and his uncle sold kulfis. Their products, he says, are 100 per cent natural and hand-made, and consistent in quality. At any given time, their staff comprises 50-60 workers; the number increases during summer and the wedding season. The major source of their revenue comes from bulk orders for celebrity weddings and birthday celebrations, including the weddings of Bollywood actors Twinkle Khanna and Akshay Kumar in 2001, and of the daughter of Pramod Mittal (brother of Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal) in Venice in 2011. From Italy, Mauritius to Thailand, demand pours in from all over. With recent outlets in Bengali Market and another coming up in Hauz Khas this month, plans are afoot to expand the business to other states. Gaurav Juyal is an intern with The Indian Express. This article appeared in print with the headline 'It's time for kulfi' DailyhuntDisclaimer: This story is auto-aggregated by a computer program and has not been created or edited by Dailyhunt. Publisher: The Indian Expresshttps://able2know.org/user/tawonkeens/
In Pics: 29 killed, 17 injured after bus falls from bridge on Yamuna Expressway
(Express photo by Gajendra Yadav) The accident occurred at around 4.15 am near Etmadpur in Agra. It is alleged that the bus drifted from the road, crossed a barricade and fell into a drain, approximately 40 feet below. (Express photo by Gajendra Yadav) The 165-km six lane Yamuna expressway connects Noida with Agra in Uttar Pradesh. (Express photo by Gajendra Yadav) ` Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has expressed condolences and has constituted a three-member probe panel, including the Transport Commissioner, IG Agra and Divisional Commissioner, and asked them submit a report in 24 hours. (Express photo by Gajendra Yadav) Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was 'pained' by the accident in Agra. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has spoken to Yogi Adityanath. 'Saddened to hear about the accident in Uttar Pradesh. My condolences to the families of those who died,' Union Minister Piyush Goyal tweeted. (Express photo by Gajendra Yadav) Adityanath also directed the authorities to provide all possible medical attention to the injured. Uttar Pradesh Roadways has also announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh to the kin of the deceased. (Express photo by Gajendra Yadav) DailyhuntDisclaimer: This story is auto-aggregated by a computer program and has not been created or edited by Dailyhunt. Publisher: The Indian Expresshttps://yogatrade.com/members/dennisrechiee/
Staying fit with pets
Therefore, animals naturally have a great energy about them. In many cases, therapy dogs are most effective in helping those with autism or those who suffer from anxiety and panic attacks. I have been thinking about 'doga' sessions, thanks to my pet dog Choco. Choco is highly intelligent and very calm. Even when he was a pup, he used to come and sit very close to me during my meditations and prayers. His presence is very soothing. So, I had the idea of doing beach yoga along with him,' says Sudakshna. 'I take Choco for outings as much as I can, and came across this beautiful Cafe called Chilliout that also serves those who have brought their pet with them to the beach. As we sat there that evening, I realised how beautiful and perfect the place is for meditation post-sunset when the crowd has disappeared. Once the sun sets, there's the wind — streams of hot and cold air on your skin. The different smells that come to your attention. The salty taste of the wind. The smooth silky sand on your skin. The song of the waves, the moon, and stars that shine down. It was a treat for the senses and perfect for meditation.' She is working on 'Indriya meditation', which brings keen awareness to our senses. With Choco's calm presence strengthening the meditation, the experience was something new and interesting. 'I had to share this experience with my students. And thus the idea of meditation on the beach with your pet was born. And I decided to choose Indriya meditation for this. The practice of Indriya meditation sharpens your senses and teaches you to accept everything in a nonjudgmental way. It teaches you to watch and observe without judging or categorising or getting involved. It is a powerful practice when done regularly.' 'Yoga is gaining more and more popularity,' Sudakshna says. 'Yoga is the union of the individual soul with the supreme soul. The eight parts of yoga together is the art and science of keeping the mind silent, because it is in this silence and stillness that we may perceive the divine within us. Why is it important to keep your mind silent? Because our minds are constantly chattering through the day without any control; we have close to 80000 thoughts a day, most of which we are unaware of. And these thoughts may be negative, causing anxiety, stress, depression, anger, etc. In dhyan, we watch our minds as an observer without getting attached to the thoughts. Dhyan, simply said, is a process of maintaining the flow of attention or focus.' Yoga with a dog or 'doga' is already a hit in the West. Doga has been getting good response in our part of the world, too, and people find it reasonable. 'I put out an invite to my students and friends, and we got an overwhelming response considering that it was on an evening, during a weekday, in Cherai, which is easily an hour's drive from Kochi. Yet, it was so wonderful to see pet parents and those who just love animals showing up and joining me on this experience. It is very good to have such likeminded people around, who share the same vibe; and this is our tribe,' she wraps up. ... DailyhuntDisclaimer: This story is auto-aggregated by a computer program and has not been created or edited by Dailyhunt. Publisher: Deccan Chroniclehttps://napavalleyregister.com/users/profile/tussadusmed/
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Putin admits secret sub was nuke powered
ussia, which says the details of the submarine involved in the latest accident are classified, said the fire took place on Monday, though it was only officially disclosed late on Tuesday.Until Thursday there was also no official word on whether the vessel had a nuclear reactor, despite strong interest from neighbouring Norway. Putin revealed that the submarine had been nuclear-powered by asking defence minister Sergei Shoigu during a Kremlin meeting about the reactor's condition after the fire."The nuclear reactor on the vessel is completely isolated," Shoigu told Putin, according to a Kremlin transcript. "All the necessary measures were taken by the crew to protect the reactor, which is in complete working order."The fire erupted in the submarine's battery compartment, Shoigu added, and later spread.Although the Kremlin publicised the meeting on Thursday morning, it was not immediately clear when the men had met."There has not been any formal communication from Russia to us about this," Per Strand, a director at the Norwegian Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority, said when asked if it had been informed that the submarine was nuclear-powered. "We understand they brought the situation under control quickly, under difficult conditions, and there was, as such, no nuclear incident that they were obligated to tell us about."Still, we would have been happy to have been informed of such incidents," he added.Russian servicemen attended a memorial service on Thursday in the port city of Kronstadt near St Petersburg in honour of the 14 dead submariners.Held in the hulking Russian Orthodox Naval Cathedral of St Nicholas, sailors cradled lit candles and looked on as priests read out prayers and a choir chanted in the background. Shoigu, a close Putin ally, told the president that the submarine, which authorities said had been operating in the Barents Sea area, would be fully repaired."Right now, we are assessing how long it will take, how much work there is, and how we can carry it out," he said.Shoigu's ministry has released photographs of the deceased sailors, hailing them as "real patriots of the Motherland". Separately, a photograph of a tribute to them circulated on social media which appeared to have been hung on the wall of a Russian military facility. Reuters could not immediately confirm its authenticity, but it said the men had served on board a deep-sea submersible known by the designation AS-31. Russian media have previously reported, without official confirmation, that the vessel was designated as either AS-31 or AS-12 and is designed to carry out special operations at depths where regular submarines cannot operate. The submarine is made up of a series of inter-connected spheres that allow it to resist water pressure at great depths. Western military experts have suggested it is capable of probing and possibly even severing undersea communications cables.Putin ordered Shoigu to prepare posthumous state awards for the dead submariners. An official investigation into the accident, likely to be shrouded in secrecy, is already underway. DailyhuntDisclaimer: This story is auto-aggregated by a computer program and has not been created or edited by Dailyhunt. Publisher: The Telegraphhttp://www.tichytraingroup.com/ActivityFeed/MyProfile/tabid/57/UserId/14686/Default.aspx
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Budget and the Elephant in the Room
The budget, though, is riveted by status quoist incrementalism. The elephant in the room is the size of the government and expenditure management. This financial year the government will spend Rs 7,633 crore a day. It will earn Rs 5,705 crore per day - including disinvestment proceeds which are effectively circular trading of public assets (Peter Buys PSU, Pays Paul to Plug Deficit bit.ly/27PSUs). To bridge the gap between expenditure and income, the government will borrow Rs 1,928 crore per day or roughly Rs 80 crore per hour. Topping the expenditure budget is interest payments-Rs 1,809 crore a day. Can an economy sustain growth with nearly a third of its revenue being deployed towards interest payments? The 2014-15 budget announced the government's intention to modernise expenditure management by setting up a commission under Bimal Jalan. The report of the commission is not public and it is unclear if any of its recommendations have been adopted. The irony is that in 2018-19, Bimal Jalan along with Rakesh Mohan were asked to decide how much of the RBI's reserves could be transferred to the government. Even that hope of a windfall is now trapped in a debate on how much and how! Lack of resources results in poor funding of critical sectors. Agriculture is India's largest employer but accounts for less than 14 per cent of GDP. In effect half the workforce lives on a sixth of national income. Agrarian distress is about returns from land and calls for policy reforms and investment in technological solutions. Yes, the allocation for agriculture has gone up from Rs 67,800 crore last year to Rs 130,450 crore-but of this Rs 75,000 crore is for a sop called the income support plan. The water economy is in an unprecedented crisis. The allocation for the water resources department has gone up by Rs 632.73 crore. The allocation for the drinking water and sanitation department tasked with delivering piped potable water to rural households has gone up from Rs 19,992.97 crore last year to Rs 20,016.34 crore - that is, by Rs 23.37 crore. Yes, water is a state subject as is agriculture. But do states have the resources? Propelling growth could deliver much-needed resources. The Economic Survey cited international experience to argue that growth can only be sustained by "a "virtuous cycle" of savings, investment and exports catalysed and supported by a favourable demographic phase". The question is whether and where the budget, in its approach and allocations, scripts a playbook. The necessary condition for triggering the 'virtuous cycle' of higher savings and investment is higher demand and consumption. That consumption is tapering into a trough is manifest in high-frequency indicators such as corporate filings, ranging from FMCG companies to auto manufacturers-and then there is the output and gross value addition data put out by the government for 2018-19. The slowdown is about money. As Nobel laureate Kenneth Arrow has often averred, the economy needs to be oiled by "a flow of money and flow of credit". The gap between spending to hire/buy/produce and earning is bridged by credit. The credit train-banks which aggregate savings and non-bank finance companies which are the capillaries of credit delivery for consumption - is stranded between liquidity and solvency. It is not that the crippled state of the financial sector is unknown. And there is acknowledgement in the budget. There is the curious proposition of a government guarantee to public sector banks to buy high-rated assets from NBFCs when the issue haunting lending is stressed and stranded assets. Yes, there is the promise of `70,000 crore for recapitalisation of banks, which is good but not adequate, given the magnitude of bad loans in the system. There is much applause for the idea of a sovereign bond - the fact is foreign investors already have the opportunity to buy into quasi-sovereign paper and reap higher returns. Yes, it will create room for private borrowing, but the idea of raising dollar resources to fund general government rupee expenditure and deficit rather than a specific objective is problematic. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman quoted the eloquent Pisirandaiyaar's advice to King Pandian, that a few mounds of rice harvested from a small piece of land would be sufficient for an elephant, and asked, "but what if the elephant itself enters the field and starts eating?" The fact is the elephant called the government is doing exactly that. Success in attaining the goal of a $5-trillion GDP by 2024 rests on the efficiency of government spending. The bard's advice on taxation merits application on expenditure too. shankkar.aiyar@gmail.com DailyhuntDisclaimer: This story is auto-aggregated by a computer program and has not been created or edited by Dailyhunt. Publisher: The New Indian Expresshttp://www.equestrianbookfair.com/UserProfile/tabid/57/userId/1841/Default.aspx
Budget and the Elephant in the Room
The budget, though, is riveted by status quoist incrementalism. The elephant in the room is the size of the government and expenditure management. This financial year the government will spend Rs 7,633 crore a day. It will earn Rs 5,705 crore per day - including disinvestment proceeds which are effectively circular trading of public assets (Peter Buys PSU, Pays Paul to Plug Deficit bit.ly/27PSUs). To bridge the gap between expenditure and income, the government will borrow Rs 1,928 crore per day or roughly Rs 80 crore per hour. Topping the expenditure budget is interest payments-Rs 1,809 crore a day. Can an economy sustain growth with nearly a third of its revenue being deployed towards interest payments? The 2014-15 budget announced the government's intention to modernise expenditure management by setting up a commission under Bimal Jalan. The report of the commission is not public and it is unclear if any of its recommendations have been adopted. The irony is that in 2018-19, Bimal Jalan along with Rakesh Mohan were asked to decide how much of the RBI's reserves could be transferred to the government. Even that hope of a windfall is now trapped in a debate on how much and how! Lack of resources results in poor funding of critical sectors. Agriculture is India's largest employer but accounts for less than 14 per cent of GDP. In effect half the workforce lives on a sixth of national income. Agrarian distress is about returns from land and calls for policy reforms and investment in technological solutions. Yes, the allocation for agriculture has gone up from Rs 67,800 crore last year to Rs 130,450 crore-but of this Rs 75,000 crore is for a sop called the income support plan. The water economy is in an unprecedented crisis. The allocation for the water resources department has gone up by Rs 632.73 crore. The allocation for the drinking water and sanitation department tasked with delivering piped potable water to rural households has gone up from Rs 19,992.97 crore last year to Rs 20,016.34 crore - that is, by Rs 23.37 crore. Yes, water is a state subject as is agriculture. But do states have the resources? Propelling growth could deliver much-needed resources. The Economic Survey cited international experience to argue that growth can only be sustained by "a "virtuous cycle" of savings, investment and exports catalysed and supported by a favourable demographic phase". The question is whether and where the budget, in its approach and allocations, scripts a playbook. The necessary condition for triggering the 'virtuous cycle' of higher savings and investment is higher demand and consumption. That consumption is tapering into a trough is manifest in high-frequency indicators such as corporate filings, ranging from FMCG companies to auto manufacturers-and then there is the output and gross value addition data put out by the government for 2018-19. The slowdown is about money. As Nobel laureate Kenneth Arrow has often averred, the economy needs to be oiled by "a flow of money and flow of credit". The gap between spending to hire/buy/produce and earning is bridged by credit. The credit train-banks which aggregate savings and non-bank finance companies which are the capillaries of credit delivery for consumption - is stranded between liquidity and solvency. It is not that the crippled state of the financial sector is unknown. And there is acknowledgement in the budget. There is the curious proposition of a government guarantee to public sector banks to buy high-rated assets from NBFCs when the issue haunting lending is stressed and stranded assets. Yes, there is the promise of `70,000 crore for recapitalisation of banks, which is good but not adequate, given the magnitude of bad loans in the system. There is much applause for the idea of a sovereign bond - the fact is foreign investors already have the opportunity to buy into quasi-sovereign paper and reap higher returns. Yes, it will create room for private borrowing, but the idea of raising dollar resources to fund general government rupee expenditure and deficit rather than a specific objective is problematic. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman quoted the eloquent Pisirandaiyaar's advice to King Pandian, that a few mounds of rice harvested from a small piece of land would be sufficient for an elephant, and asked, "but what if the elephant itself enters the field and starts eating?" The fact is the elephant called the government is doing exactly that. Success in attaining the goal of a $5-trillion GDP by 2024 rests on the efficiency of government spending. The bard's advice on taxation merits application on expenditure too. shankkar.aiyar@gmail.com DailyhuntDisclaimer: This story is auto-aggregated by a computer program and has not been created or edited by Dailyhunt. Publisher: The New Indian Expresshttp://www.equestrianbookfair.com/UserProfile/tabid/57/userId/1841/Default.aspx
Oru Nyayarazcha is about the ambiguous nature and fragility of relationships: Shyamaprasad
As the protagonists explore the boundaries of love along with the men in their lives — husbands and lovers — they have difficult decisions to make. 'Our lives are getting affected by a kind of social conditioning. That confusion is relevant in this story,' he says. The film is the story of Suja and Sujatha, who belong to upper middle-class families in Kerala. 'Yet through cracks in the comfortable monotony of their lives, loneliness seeps in, time hangs heavy. As they struggle to play out their roles, the craving for something new starts. The jagged edges of that craving begin to soften as they find love, or some version of it, with strangers who enter their lives,' Shyamaprasad writes in the film's synopsis. Oru Nyayarazcha was the closing film at a Malayalam film festival, organised by Kerala State Chalachitra Academy at Delhi's India International Centre from July 3-6. Earlier this year, in February, it was adjudged as the second-best film at the Kerala State Film Awards. Shyamaprasad won the best director award, the newest addition to his long list of accolades. 'It's nice to get (awards) but it's okay even if one does not. It's because there are so many beautiful movies that have not received any awards. And there are worthless films which have won a lot of them. Awards are not a yardstick, but it's nice to be appreciated,' says Shyamaprasad. The July 6 show of Oru Nyayarazcha in Delhi was its first public screening. Asked if more people would get to watch it, the director, who has also composed its background score, says that the film will probably find its way to a digital platform soon. 'We are working on it,' says the director, whose writing process originates at the point of screenwriting. 'Screenwriting is basically preparation for the film that you are going to do. But I'm not someone who will deliver literary works,' he says. Most of Shyamaprasad's work, intense and brimming with a wave of emotions, has resulted in stories about people, and the human condition. His first film, Kallu Kondoru Pennu (1998), looked at how a nurse working in the Gulf, who puts her family above all else, painfully learns that their relationship with her comes with several expectations and conditions. There has also been Ritu (2009) about three youngsters and how their friendship changes over time. It has acquired the status of a cult film that heralded a change in Malayalam cinema. His previous film, Hey Jude (2018), is a charming romantic comedy revolving around a quirky couple. The filmmaker has worked with leading actors such as Mammootty, Suresh Gopi, Rajit Kapur, Fahadh Faasil, Prithviraj, Shobhana, and Nivin Pauly among others. In Oru Nyayarazcha, however, he opted for new faces — actors Sally Kannan, Megha Thomas, Sateesh Kumar and Murali Chand. 'I don't decide on projects as platforms for any actor. If a story can engage an actor in it, good,' he says. His next is an adaptation of Anees Salim's 2017 novel, The Small-Town Sea, which focuses on the bond between a boy and his terminally ill father and how the son deals with the latter's death. He has previously made Agnisakshi (1999) adapted from Lalithambika Antharjanam's novel, Akale, (2004) which is based on Tennessee Williams's play The Glass Menagerie, and The Artist (2013) based on Paritosh Uttam's Dreams in Prussian Blue DailyhuntDisclaimer: This story is auto-aggregated by a computer program and has not been created or edited by Dailyhunt. Publisher: The Indian Expresshttps://www.openstreetmap.org/user/johnkanelan
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