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Quid Pro Quo With The Gods

Discussion in 'Cheeniya's Senile Ramblings' started by Cheeniya, May 20, 2017.

  1. Cheeniya

    Cheeniya Super Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    @Iravati
    On Scent (494)
    You remind me of the travails of Tom Hanks in The Terminal. It's about his getting stuck at the New York Airport due to the sudden slapping of Diplomatic links between US and his country Krakozhia! What a great movie it was!
    I have spent quite some time in Dubai and have seen how the visiting ladies from India went crazy with the gold souks there. It is incredible how Indian ladies fall for gold ornaments. Presently thanks to all the numerous chain snatching incidents in Chennai, the ladies have dumped all their gold jewels in Bank lockers and wear imitation jewellery!
     
  2. Cheeniya

    Cheeniya Super Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    On Chocolates and Soaps ( 495)
    When I was a sweet-crazy child, there was no Amul. Even Cadbury had just made its entry but it had a very limited range. The pocket money my dad gave me to persuade me to go to school was just sufficient to buy hard coconut candies. It was called kamarkat. I browsed through the net for its recipe and was surprised to find that it continued to be popular.
    There were no soft icecremes in my childhood. Ice creme venders of yore would bring a huge bar of ice and an assortment of coloured flavours mixed with sugar which they would sprinkle on the crushed ice. The whole thing will be stuck in a bamboo stick and given to us. When Amul made its entry in market, I had already been declared Diabetic with enough sugar in my blood to set up my own chocolate factory. But that never stopped me from popping a bar of chocolate in my mouth from time to time.
    Throwing away half used soaps used to be a kind of status symbol those days. Our status was directly proportional to the size of the used soap bars that we threw out. In other words, we had no other way to establish our status!
     
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  3. Cheeniya

    Cheeniya Super Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    On Hair (496)
    Tonsured hair probably comes with the blessings of the Almighty. I have seen in Tirupati people chanting 'Govinda, Govinda' while their hair was being tonsured. We don't chant Lord's name while we have our haircut in Saloons.
     
  4. Iravati

    Iravati Platinum IL'ite

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    On Soap

    I had the same misgiving. How do soaps expire? They don't stink, they don't shrivel, they don't discolor. How to detect an "expired" soap? On this visit, I saw an antiseptic hand wash on the basin. I nicely foamed and rinsed my hands. Then, I suspected the provenance of that drab bottle. It expired 2 years ago. Jeez! How am I infer that it expired despite the sweet smell. When soap expires, shouldn't they singe or burn the skin to indicate their foul nature? No, they function the same. Soap expiration is mysterious. If they don't, why do the shady manufacturers mark them down with expiry dates.

    Growing up, my skin used to be tanned and oily. Then, here, my skin turned dry during winters. I was at my wit's end trying to keep those skin flakes at bay. All efforts failed. Intensive moisturisers made my face look greasy like doused in castor oil. Then, someone recommended to co-opt Johnson's baby soap for my sensitive skin. Soon I was shopping in mothercare stores alongside expectant mothers in aisles blazed with extra-sensitive, tenderly sensitive, we-care-for-you sensitive soaps for a newborn. Later, I abandoned that futile search and finally got down to the brass tacks, in this case, milk and almond tacks. I made a paste of milk, besan and almond powder and washed my face with that mixture on a daily basis. That was tedious. Now, I nonchalantly apply the same body wash on my face.

    Your purohit is a wise man. Rather than juggle with these unreliable "new" and "improved" creams and gels, he reclaimed the abundantly found and consistently effective softened coconut husk. On that note, I remember seeing "vegan" soaps in the market. I don't know the constituents of the soap but it was promoted as vegan-friendly. May be the vegan marker is a throwback and rustic concoction of milk, almond, besan, coconut husk, harking back to the grassroots which is now packaged and sold as premium and ethically-conscious brand at double the price. Your purohit will make a killing when the tide changes.

    I shall write a follow-up on soaps later. So much to talk about this slippery topic.
     
    Last edited: Oct 17, 2017
  5. Iravati

    Iravati Platinum IL'ite

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    On Donkeys

    You and I think alike. Our brains form a conjugate pair. If we hooked our brains to the EEG machine, it would produce symmetric graph of our brain activity. That calf looked color emaciated with unorthodox stripes. I double checked before posting whether it was indeed a wild donkey. The photographer cited in the article is dead sure that it was a "wild" donkey. Then I convinced myself that those stripes are vestiges of its wildness.

    Talking of zebras and donkeys, do you know okapi ....rings like a customer ordering filter coffee in Chennai tea stall. Here's okapi for you.

    upload_2017-10-17_15-16-19.png

    Okapi is also dubbed as zebra giraffe. I am intrigued by the mating destiny of such variegation. Do female okapis attract male zebras and giraffes? Surely, they command male okapis but if the males in their species are unworthy, they can seduce resonating kin who flaunt stripes or cock long necks. Having these standby options are very reassuring for a female, I tell you.
     
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  6. Iravati

    Iravati Platinum IL'ite

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    On Name

    I put so much thought into virtual names which surpasses even the consternation of expecting parents for their newborn's name. I flip it, shift it, shake it to check that it stands out glamorous from all sides. I had two monikers in my mind when I created my current id: "Iravati" and "Melvina". Melvina sounded hip and high-toned, Iravati sounded even-toned and vivacious.

    I shall stick to Ira as you have even consented to the antics of this wild donkey.
     
  7. Iravati

    Iravati Platinum IL'ite

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    On Parking

    Live telecast from 'Indian Builders Guild'.

    Builder-one: A niche gated community on this land.
    Builder-one: No, a high-rise apartment complex.
    Builder-three: How about a shopping mall with three-storied parking?

    Cowherd: You can erect such tall estate in my small and displaced cowshed?

    We Indians can rise a metropolis from any unassuming ground.

    Reminds me of the phonebooth stuffing fad of the 50s. Car-stuffing gimmick is purposeful as it effectively promotes Maruti's vision of a family car. The man can steer a carful of wife, kids, parents, in-laws, neighbours, pets, with itinerant doodhwala and cablewala flagging for a ride and claim himself to be an endearing family man.

    Back then, these brands were not sold as mechanical transports but were symbolic of cultural values that represented family pride. Remember that Bajaj ad which transfixed the nation. We kids would scamper to the nearby television to watch the Bajaj ad, no matter how many times it was played, no matter when it was played, and the house we encroached upon also didn't matter. Growing up in such communities is a childhood blessed. We siblings talk so much about our childhood experiences growing up in environs seeped in multiculturalism and comradery. I am a card-carrying proponent of knitted communities and hostels.

    A happy childhood transitions into a poised adulthood esp. when you are swayed by singalong advertisement jingles during a game break.

     
    Last edited: Oct 17, 2017
  8. Iravati

    Iravati Platinum IL'ite

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    I shall catch up with the rest of the topics in the night.

    So much to talk on gold and chocolates and our new-found love for tonsured hair.
     
  9. Iravati

    Iravati Platinum IL'ite

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    That's a funny satire on the diplomacy of civilised nations. I love movies that satirise mannerisms and politics.
     
  10. Iravati

    Iravati Platinum IL'ite

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    On Gold

    You are in for a shock. I am averse to Gold. Not allergic, but just averse. I don't own any gold jewellery. I actually cannot remember the last gold trinket I owned. I wonder why people invest in gold jewellery. Isn't it sensible and profitable to buy gold biscuits and fashion them, as in stick them, as pendant or studs and sell them off at carat price later. The smart women forgo that too and wear imitation jewellery as you have noticed.

    I could never strike the fascination behind gold jewellery. Agreed, it is bright and splendid but I have always felt the cheaper steel ain't vulgar either. I am curious to know why women fancy glitter which they are only too willing never to flaunt and safeguard in lockers. I am clueless, what enigma!
     

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