Sunday, June 03, 2012
At The Salt Pans
Have you ever wondered where the most important ingredient in your food - salt - comes from? How it is produced? Gone beyond the packet picked up from the shelf?
I have been very intimately associated with salt as a kid. We have our own salt pans, where we produce salt from the sea. As a kid, mostly in the afternoons, I would walk to the market 15 min away, hire a bicycle (it cost one paisa per min) and peddle to the salt pan (another 15-20 mins), and help in closing a deal - either sell on the spot to one of the many local tempos, or give a "bill" to the truck which took the 160 bags (four tins each) to Hubli or Belgaum.
So how does salt get produced? The idea is to take in sea water from a small sluice gate into a large "field", where water is routed from one pan to the other, from the outer periphery into the inner core. At each pan, each stage of the "jigsaw", the water gets heated and progressively concentrated. Finally, in the heat of the afternoon, in the summer months, in the inner most cores of the pan, the water evaporates almost completely and the "salt" is concentrated enough to crystallize and can be "gathered" using long, flat implements and brought to shore from where it is packed and exported.
The government has now made it compulsory for the salt to be refined, and iodized, before it is sold for human consumption. Hence, our salt is primarily sold for non-consumption uses like ice factories and manure.
Note: Salt is also mined from the land. This is called rock salt, and has different properties than sea salt.
Here are some pictures from our visit to the salt pan last week in Goa. I should have got some more relevant pictures, as it applies to the process of salt production - but it was a day off for the workers, and all activities were off for the day. Maybe next time...
I have been very intimately associated with salt as a kid. We have our own salt pans, where we produce salt from the sea. As a kid, mostly in the afternoons, I would walk to the market 15 min away, hire a bicycle (it cost one paisa per min) and peddle to the salt pan (another 15-20 mins), and help in closing a deal - either sell on the spot to one of the many local tempos, or give a "bill" to the truck which took the 160 bags (four tins each) to Hubli or Belgaum.
So how does salt get produced? The idea is to take in sea water from a small sluice gate into a large "field", where water is routed from one pan to the other, from the outer periphery into the inner core. At each pan, each stage of the "jigsaw", the water gets heated and progressively concentrated. Finally, in the heat of the afternoon, in the summer months, in the inner most cores of the pan, the water evaporates almost completely and the "salt" is concentrated enough to crystallize and can be "gathered" using long, flat implements and brought to shore from where it is packed and exported.
The government has now made it compulsory for the salt to be refined, and iodized, before it is sold for human consumption. Hence, our salt is primarily sold for non-consumption uses like ice factories and manure.
Note: Salt is also mined from the land. This is called rock salt, and has different properties than sea salt.
Here are some pictures from our visit to the salt pan last week in Goa. I should have got some more relevant pictures, as it applies to the process of salt production - but it was a day off for the workers, and all activities were off for the day. Maybe next time...
Movie Review: Rowdy Rathore
Hmmm, what can I say about this one?
Take vintage Akshay Khiladi Kumar in a double role (the only difference in the two roles being the shape of the end of his moustache), an energetic Sonakshi with nothing much to do except a couple of itemish songs, sets in Film City, a lot of South Indian baddies pretending to be Bihari thugs, growling and flashing menacing weapons before being slit open or hammered to a pulp, a Director who appears in a cameo in an item song, a child "found" in a trunk at a railway station, a walkman playing "mummy" songs, exploding cars, jumping Scorpios, fights in ravines, angry bees, etc etc. Write the story on a folded restaurant napkin. Invent innovative lyrics like Chinta Ta Chita Chita. Mix and serve.
Don't Angry Me!
On the other hand, to be completely honest, I did get entertained, and so did pretty much everyone in the full house. The lyrics may not win any awards, but the peppy song, the bright colors, and Akshay-Sonakshi do light up the screen. The Khiladi himself is great, as always, with his comic timing, his dialogues and his antics that will make you laugh. The fights are a throwback to the 80s, the excessive violence unnecessary, and Rohit could have done a much better job than trying to rehash Dabangg and Singham. The story, the editing, the camerawork, even the SFX could have been a lot more professional - but through all that, shines the brilliance of the Khiladi at his best. Sonakshi sizzles whenever she is on screen.
Should you see it? Why not - as long as you go with an empty mind, and come back with one - no questions asked, no analysis needed. Just melt into the seat, and let go. And get masaged by whatever's thrown at you. Like at the spa!
Take vintage Akshay Khiladi Kumar in a double role (the only difference in the two roles being the shape of the end of his moustache), an energetic Sonakshi with nothing much to do except a couple of itemish songs, sets in Film City, a lot of South Indian baddies pretending to be Bihari thugs, growling and flashing menacing weapons before being slit open or hammered to a pulp, a Director who appears in a cameo in an item song, a child "found" in a trunk at a railway station, a walkman playing "mummy" songs, exploding cars, jumping Scorpios, fights in ravines, angry bees, etc etc. Write the story on a folded restaurant napkin. Invent innovative lyrics like Chinta Ta Chita Chita. Mix and serve.
Don't Angry Me!
On the other hand, to be completely honest, I did get entertained, and so did pretty much everyone in the full house. The lyrics may not win any awards, but the peppy song, the bright colors, and Akshay-Sonakshi do light up the screen. The Khiladi himself is great, as always, with his comic timing, his dialogues and his antics that will make you laugh. The fights are a throwback to the 80s, the excessive violence unnecessary, and Rohit could have done a much better job than trying to rehash Dabangg and Singham. The story, the editing, the camerawork, even the SFX could have been a lot more professional - but through all that, shines the brilliance of the Khiladi at his best. Sonakshi sizzles whenever she is on screen.
Should you see it? Why not - as long as you go with an empty mind, and come back with one - no questions asked, no analysis needed. Just melt into the seat, and let go. And get masaged by whatever's thrown at you. Like at the spa!
Real
Unlike much of the West, where there is a clear separation of the "tourist" and the "real" world, Hong Kong has a much more realistic mix of the two - the old and run down quarters very Mumbai-like in the way they are juxtaposed with the shining and the glittering.
Maybe that's what endeared me to Hong Kong...
Maybe that's what endeared me to Hong Kong...
Temple Street Experiences
Temple Street in Mong Kok, Hong Kong is an exciting fusion of trinket shopping, loud and heavy bargaining, and some great street food. We spent a few hours there (and yes, couldn't help but keep comparing it to similar experiences one has at the Sat night market in Baga!).
First, it was time for some grub, and the options were plenty! Some, we were adventurous enough to try, others had to be deferred for our next trip, pictures the only rememberance of what could have been.
Bargaining is a core experience in Hong Kong. And trust me, no matter how much you bargain, you will be ripped off. Siddha got into a very adventurous, very loud, and some really hard core bargaining with a lady for a tea set. From a starting price of 280 HKD, Siddha successfully brought it down to just 110 HKD (along with another 40-50 HKD to be spent on other goods), and we thought we had done well!
Except that, three shops ahead, the exact same tea set had a starting price of 100, and the moment we started to walk away, the shop keeper had brought it down to 80. I guess a round of bargaining would bring it down easily to under 50!
In Macau, I had bought a beautiful doll for 160, starting from 210. I found the same available in HK at a starting price of 50.
Morale of the story: Start at 10%, end up somewhere at 20%.
First, it was time for some grub, and the options were plenty! Some, we were adventurous enough to try, others had to be deferred for our next trip, pictures the only rememberance of what could have been.
Bargaining is a core experience in Hong Kong. And trust me, no matter how much you bargain, you will be ripped off. Siddha got into a very adventurous, very loud, and some really hard core bargaining with a lady for a tea set. From a starting price of 280 HKD, Siddha successfully brought it down to just 110 HKD (along with another 40-50 HKD to be spent on other goods), and we thought we had done well!
Except that, three shops ahead, the exact same tea set had a starting price of 100, and the moment we started to walk away, the shop keeper had brought it down to 80. I guess a round of bargaining would bring it down easily to under 50!
In Macau, I had bought a beautiful doll for 160, starting from 210. I found the same available in HK at a starting price of 50.
Morale of the story: Start at 10%, end up somewhere at 20%.
Saturday, June 02, 2012
Mall Overdose
At Amanora Park Town Mall... Huge complex (will upload pics later), massive atrium, dozens of showrooms and eateries, piped music. Like any other of the dozens of malls mushrooming all over urban India.
And just like many of the malls... Hardly any footfalls. Most shops having more staff than visitors.
When InOrbit opened, it had a flood of footfalls for a few weeks.. Until the massive Phoenix opened right opposite. Passing my Jewel Square, its sad to see the mall shutting down.. while another hoarding proudly invites you to KP's latest mall. Just another victim.. Like Kakade City Port beside ESquare, a skeleton of empty showrooms.
Slowdown, or mall overdose?
And just like many of the malls... Hardly any footfalls. Most shops having more staff than visitors.
When InOrbit opened, it had a flood of footfalls for a few weeks.. Until the massive Phoenix opened right opposite. Passing my Jewel Square, its sad to see the mall shutting down.. while another hoarding proudly invites you to KP's latest mall. Just another victim.. Like Kakade City Port beside ESquare, a skeleton of empty showrooms.
Slowdown, or mall overdose?
Disney Land
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| Getting to Disney Land |
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| The Disney Effect is every where... |
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| The train ride is not half as good as the train... |
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| Toyland |
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| Even the adults go crazy... |
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| Some people do anything for glory |
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| The fantasy river ride is a must... amazing experience! |
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| Food is always beautiful! |
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| The parade at 330 is a must too! |
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| Everyone loves princesses! |
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