Without a title from Manjitha

Photo courtesy : Mr.Belli Jayaprakash, http://badaga.wordpress.com/hethe-habba/


The last day of two zero one zero and I am in Manjitha for almost a week,say starting from last sunday, We call it Hetthai Habba, celebrating our Grand mother which happens once a year(sometimes twice a year). Peoples from Six villages will go divine for a month, carrying their ancestors walking sticks and walk all villages where they have been invited. Every village with great hospitality celebrate their arrival and in return the holy people (Hettakkarru)bless the village with happiness and prosperity, just before the last day they visit Manjitha, that was last sunday.
At Manjitha they called the holy power with songs and playing buguri(flute kind of instrument), followed by food and food, I should mention this of all the six villages in our region , Manjitha is notable for its Avai Udhaka( beans khorma), ahh hard to resist, Monday peoples from all six villages make our walk to Jagatha(nearby village)carrying big umbrellas representing each village,and there in jagatha from a hill above they carry our goddess statue to the sanctum sanctorum. With music and dance happiness covers every where and every one.
With all these in mind and thousand and thousands of people surrounding, the Atchikke (dish made from battha- grain )filled my mind, back home my granny is ready with ragi pancake, and atchikke .I met all my friends and friends , its just the words , and just the visuals before me, all my mind is full of you know what. I know getting atchikke is a once a year affair , but no can deny how delicious it is.
Its thirty minutes walk , I rushed to my granny place only to see the worst part which awaited at home. from a platefull of atchikke a couple of years before to just four to five table spoon of atchikke today is really worst.. no place to cultivate or no one wants to cultivate, it do not grow or peoples do not want to grow, Whatever the reason it is, with handfuls of atchikke in my mouth, thinking next year Hettai habba brought worries and worries... for the cause of Atchhikke.

click the link below for more on atchikke

http://sathishmanjitha.blogspot.com/2009/05/from-manjitha.html

The Akshya Patra Foundation

I write this, as I see the numbers of 1253266 childrens who get meal everyday, "The Akshya Patra Foundation" It says Children can laern much faster that you imagine, All it takes is a filling meal. Yes it is. will any one neglect this true words, We talk a lot and talk a lot, rather let us put something in to action for this wonderful cause. Tough I have a very few following me(my words).I know many want to help feeding a child , I do not want to keep writing its all in here just a few minutes for a noble cause www.akshayapatra.org
This post is not for the contest, It for a Cause

The Holy saint and the Azhagar Dosa

One day visit and so many things, Not very far from "the Athens of South India", This place is build during the sixteen hundreds, An early bus from Madurai for twenty kilometers and twelve rupees bus fare, not bad at all wonderful travel.... Its not a pilgrimage , Its kind of visit to new places, and I believe temples teaches more.

As soon I got down from the bus, Its a long one hour walk up the hill to recah Pazhamudircholai, Temple for lord Muruga, its a fertile hill with springs and herbs and believed that Valli(wife of lord muruga) supposed to have lived here. A walk to remember with dense forest and lot of monkeys, Its all safe until you start disturbing them.

You keep moving uphill to reach Noobura Gangai Theertham, where Goddess Sri Raakachi Amman Shrine is there. She is pouring Her blessings on the devotees,in the form of water.I with a mind of taking the holy bath,went to wet my head with holy water, After which I meat a saint who spelled A to Z of me, Very much scared of prophesy, I offered the saint with a One hundred rupee note as an act of worship, Its not foolish as one of my friend said, If I have to evaluate his sayings, its distinction. because he extended my travel to Thirumala next time... I am happy travelling

Its here in Pazhamudircholai ,The great Tamil poet saint Avvaiyar had been tested by Lord Murga here. who was one of the very famous devotees of Lord Muruga, One day Avvaiyar became tired while travelling came under the shadow of a fruit tree. She was very hungry and thirsty. At that time, a small boy who was sitting on the tree asked her whether she wanted fruits from the tree. she said yes. At that time the boy asked Avvaiyar whether she wanted roasted fruits or unroasted fruits. Avvaiyar who was a famous Tamil poet, litterateur and having indepth knowledge in Tamil thought,"Is there any roasted fruit in the world?" and decided that the small boy didn't have knowledge even about a fruit. she didn't want to argue with the small boy and asked him to pick roasted fruits for her. The boy shook the tree and so fruits fell under the tree. The mud under the tree had stuck on the fruit. Avvaiyar took the fruits and blew on the fruit to remove the mud. It was observed that as the fruits were roasted and had become warm, Avvaiyar had blown the fruits to cool them. At that time, the small boy asked Avvaiyar whether the fruits were warm? Avvaiyar was astonished, "How had a small village cowboy played such an intelligent drama? She had thought that the small boy had no knowledge about fruits and how the fruits in the tree may become roasted fruits. But blowing the air on the fruit to remove the mud is like blowing air to reduce the heat as the fruit is roasted. What a beautiful comparison. Such a beautiful comparison would not have risen in her mind even though she had gained rich knowledge in Tamil." She asked the small boy, "Who are you actually?"

Ahh too much of history, with the saints holy words and my lost hundred rupees, I came down to see lord vishnu at Azhagar Kovil, cutting short the history part, I went in search of food, its the temple prasad, called Azhagar kovil doasi, which is tasty griddle fried, Its hot from the kitchen, with all the necessary seasonings one will forget the accompaniment, because there is none.


The elderly one who cooks and sells, said it take thirty minutes to cook one dosa. which is very thick with a crispy crust and a creamy crumb, along with that he gave Adarasam(sweet), and Chakli(deepfried murukku), tough there are four to five varieties my palate kept searching for Alagar dosai, Ahhhh those tasty dosai...Its just half day passed and with soo many place to visit, Its hard to leave Alagar temple, not because of the divine power, or the lord vishnu or the hundreds of years of history... the real reason, the dosas. Its the hard to resist Alagar Dosai.. The bus arrived and I was ready to leave, Inside the bus I hold my bag tightly with a dozen of Dosai packed hot.

Escargots

A three day journey to the union territory was fun , I do not blame the rain for my laziness, did not go much, did not eat much, all I did was Drink drink and drink, with so many varieties of drinks sometimes its hard to resist. I tried some local foods its all same, Its a new place and the dishes seems to be new.

The Best part is you get all varieties of cooking cheese, the French spreads and many Ingredients. Only there is no place for me to cook, I managed the crowded Goubert market,the silent Rue Dupuy, The bussy street, and The Rocky Beach. A Great place to be, not just because of the drinks you get there, Puducherry is Unique in its own way.The bled of Indian and French cuisine, you get all meats and vegetables there in there.

Of all I tasted, the Snail is what lingers in my mind, Which is consumed in the world for more than a thousand years, there are land snails and freshwater snails, Its rich in protein and less in fat, who will neglect a dish like this. In western countries which is very popular, they call It Escargots - which means a dish of cooked land snails , the usual seasoning butter and parsley. But here in puducherry, the Snail cooked with the local spices is really mouthwatering.

Of All three days, with all places I visited, with all the peoples I met, and all the food I tasted. The taste of Masala Snail lingers in my taste buds and creates an interest in me to visit puducherry again. Forget not a pint of beer when you go to puducherry.