TRAVEL TIME
The last you heard about Kathmandu was when you were hiring domestic help. But we’ve got news for you. It’s more kickass than your own boring city.
Swayambhunath
(Monkey Temple)
Yet another fine example of Buddhist temple architecture, but what makes this one truly awesome are the hordes of acrobatic monkeys skilled at robbing you blind. In fact, when the faithful make food offerings to The Buddha the infidel primates steal them a second later. This will cause them to be reincarnated as cockroaches.
Durbar Marg
Here naked ash-painted holy men mingle with fluorescent-clothed Europeans. While cute young Nepali girls aggressively hawk rotten fruit over the din of mooing metropolitan cows. Sit all day at the Maju Deval temple and watch the world go by, and go mental. Admire the temple’s erotic carvings while chatting up a magenta-clad Swedish girl. If you tell her you’re a Tantric meditation expert, and she doesn’t run away, you’re in there, dude.
Dakshin Kali Temple
Had bad luck lately? Need to make a quick animal sacrifice? This is the place to do it. Crowds of faithful come here year round to send chickens and goats straight to the gods’ buffet table. More gore than you see in all the Rambo movies ever made. Afterwards, have a nice snack at a nearby inexpensive restaurant.
Thamel
Every big city has its tourist ghetto, but in the case of Thamel, the inmates are running the asylum. In high season the streets are alive with the clamour of international tongues. Of course, most of them are screaming “leave me alone!” at pushy touts in various languages. Nepali seems to work best: “Jar! Jar!” (This is where George Lucas got the idea for his irritating Star Wars character, Jar Jar Binks.) Stick to Indian and Nepali grub if you don’t want to spend your holiday in the toilet.
Freak Street
Once a Mecca to the world’s malingerers, the last few hippies have long since moved to Thamel. Accordingly, Freak Street is the best place to stay for a little peace, man. Ever since marijuana was made illegal, Kathmandu has seen far fewer stuck-up hippies with trust funds. Unfortunately, they have been mostly replaced by stuck-up yuppies with investment funds. It’s hard to say which is more annoying. The yuppies do smell better.
Patan & Bhaktapur
The two other medieval towns that share the valley with Kathmandu. Both make interesting day trips away from the capital. Bhaktapur especially is notable for its temple carvings depicting giant elephants having sex in improbable positions. You could call it The Kama Sumo.
Bodhnath
The Bodhnath temple is Nepal’s most iconic structure, featuring giant eyes painted on the side. Haggle over Tibetan Thangka paintings, prayer wheels and fake jewelry, then visit a monastery and meditate about the futility of material possessions.
Nagarkot
Want to see the mighty Himalayan range the easy way? You can either go to the village of Nagarkot and take them in from The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (there really is one!) or you can shell out $100 and see them aboard a convenient Buddha Air flight. If visibility is poor you don’t even have to pay.
Kumari Devi
Not many countries can claim to house a living deity – so of course this Dalai Lama-like darling is one of Kathmandu’s most prized citizens. While the Kumari Devi is supremely powerful as a child, like most child stars, she is rendered utterly useless at puberty. Resist the urge to scream “Hello, Dolly!” or she might have you struck by lightning.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Destination India
Vivacity
Our rich cultural heritage has made the country a No. 1 tourist spot. Along with celebrations, it is time to work on the shortcomings in our tourism infrastructure, says Debesh Banerjee
As you pack your bags for that annual vacation and head to the sun-kissed beaches of Jamaica, have you ever wondered where the global tourists are heading to for their holidays? It is India.
Yes, you heard it right. India is the most favourite tourist destination according to a survey conducted by a leading travel magazine Conde Nast Traveller. The survey, conducted among the magazine's 30,000 readers, puts India way ahead of Italy, Thailand and Australia. So what makes our country the hotspot for global tourists?
Cultural diversity
It is a combination of factors that has taken us to the top and leading among them are our culture and history.
According to the survey, 97.7 per cent of the respondents preferred India for its cultural richness and 96.3 per cent for the "variety of attractions".
Says president of Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) Subhash Goyal, "India is the greatest show on the earth. Where else would you find the oldest mountain ranges on one side and a desert, which is inhabited. To add to that we have a culture and history that dates back thousand of years. The country is the birthplace of four major religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. The mix is heady."
While we have topped the list in terms of popularity, it does not mean that we are ahead of Italy or Thailand on the ground level. For experts believe that it is all a game of averages. Explains chairman of Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) Subhash Verma, "When such surveys are conducted, a combination of factors including political and economical conditions of the country come into play. We may be high on these factors, but in terms of yearly volume of in-bound tourists, we are way behind compared to the global average. All in all, the situation is looking up for us as we have scored a better average and deserve this recognition."
But why so late?
It took us 60 years to be voted as a top travel destination. What took us so long to get it or is it that we were always on the right track but the world never took note of us?
Says Mukesh Jagga, president, Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India (ADTOI), "We always had the ingredients to notch up votes for popularity. It was a process that started 60 years ago and has finally culminated now. Initially, we were not very focussed on developing tourism as other concerns like education and healthcare were on the top of our agenda. After achieving that, we have been steadily focussing on developing tourism."
According to the survey, India was ranked 10th in 2004, and fourth in 2006. So what has spurred this rise in ratings? Experts say that the nation has achieved nothing in quantitative terms for its tourism industry. It is only the side issues that the government has been focussing on like the Incredible India campaign that is responsible for our top ratings.
Explains Goyal, "The Incredible India campaign marketed our country as a spiritual destination, creating a mysticism about India among travellers across the globe. This made people curious about us."
Even the change in global perception from a country of snake charmers to a country with a booming economy has contributed to our popularity to some extent. Besides, Bangalore has been voted as the number one business travel destination, joining the ranks of Shanghai and London. This skill-powered economy has lent weight to the ratings. Says Rajesh Mudgill, MD, Planet India Travels, "There has been a surge of leisure and business travellers to the country over the past three years. Great shopping options have boosted India's popularity as a retail therapy destination, thus far the strong points of Singapore and Bangkok."
What next?
Now that we are number one, how should we maintain this position?
Experts believe that we should take it as a stepping stone and set our house in order. For as long as we are not able to compete with the world average regarding numbers of in-bound tourists, we can never be a force to reckon with.
Explains Mudgill, "We are far behind in comparison to China that receives 30 million tourists every year. To just be happy with this status would be foolhardy. Instead, we should look at this as a launch pad."
With the Commonwealth Games approaching, we are anything but ready. The Capital lacks hotel rooms and the existing infrastructure cannot support the huge rush of in-bound tourists.
Says Goyal, "We need more hotel rooms and fast. Also, the existing rooms rates need to be made globally competitive. At present, we are charging exorbitant rates that may create a problem for us. The government needs to regularise the slab of hotel room rates for all categories."
The survey, however, points out that 94.78 per cent votes were received for India being a "value for money" destination. Whatever be the highs and lows, now that we are number one, it is time to celebrate.
Our rich cultural heritage has made the country a No. 1 tourist spot. Along with celebrations, it is time to work on the shortcomings in our tourism infrastructure, says Debesh Banerjee
As you pack your bags for that annual vacation and head to the sun-kissed beaches of Jamaica, have you ever wondered where the global tourists are heading to for their holidays? It is India.
Yes, you heard it right. India is the most favourite tourist destination according to a survey conducted by a leading travel magazine Conde Nast Traveller. The survey, conducted among the magazine's 30,000 readers, puts India way ahead of Italy, Thailand and Australia. So what makes our country the hotspot for global tourists?
Cultural diversity
It is a combination of factors that has taken us to the top and leading among them are our culture and history.
According to the survey, 97.7 per cent of the respondents preferred India for its cultural richness and 96.3 per cent for the "variety of attractions".
Says president of Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) Subhash Goyal, "India is the greatest show on the earth. Where else would you find the oldest mountain ranges on one side and a desert, which is inhabited. To add to that we have a culture and history that dates back thousand of years. The country is the birthplace of four major religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. The mix is heady."
While we have topped the list in terms of popularity, it does not mean that we are ahead of Italy or Thailand on the ground level. For experts believe that it is all a game of averages. Explains chairman of Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) Subhash Verma, "When such surveys are conducted, a combination of factors including political and economical conditions of the country come into play. We may be high on these factors, but in terms of yearly volume of in-bound tourists, we are way behind compared to the global average. All in all, the situation is looking up for us as we have scored a better average and deserve this recognition."
But why so late?
It took us 60 years to be voted as a top travel destination. What took us so long to get it or is it that we were always on the right track but the world never took note of us?
Says Mukesh Jagga, president, Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India (ADTOI), "We always had the ingredients to notch up votes for popularity. It was a process that started 60 years ago and has finally culminated now. Initially, we were not very focussed on developing tourism as other concerns like education and healthcare were on the top of our agenda. After achieving that, we have been steadily focussing on developing tourism."
According to the survey, India was ranked 10th in 2004, and fourth in 2006. So what has spurred this rise in ratings? Experts say that the nation has achieved nothing in quantitative terms for its tourism industry. It is only the side issues that the government has been focussing on like the Incredible India campaign that is responsible for our top ratings.
Explains Goyal, "The Incredible India campaign marketed our country as a spiritual destination, creating a mysticism about India among travellers across the globe. This made people curious about us."
Even the change in global perception from a country of snake charmers to a country with a booming economy has contributed to our popularity to some extent. Besides, Bangalore has been voted as the number one business travel destination, joining the ranks of Shanghai and London. This skill-powered economy has lent weight to the ratings. Says Rajesh Mudgill, MD, Planet India Travels, "There has been a surge of leisure and business travellers to the country over the past three years. Great shopping options have boosted India's popularity as a retail therapy destination, thus far the strong points of Singapore and Bangkok."
What next?
Now that we are number one, how should we maintain this position?
Experts believe that we should take it as a stepping stone and set our house in order. For as long as we are not able to compete with the world average regarding numbers of in-bound tourists, we can never be a force to reckon with.
Explains Mudgill, "We are far behind in comparison to China that receives 30 million tourists every year. To just be happy with this status would be foolhardy. Instead, we should look at this as a launch pad."
With the Commonwealth Games approaching, we are anything but ready. The Capital lacks hotel rooms and the existing infrastructure cannot support the huge rush of in-bound tourists.
Says Goyal, "We need more hotel rooms and fast. Also, the existing rooms rates need to be made globally competitive. At present, we are charging exorbitant rates that may create a problem for us. The government needs to regularise the slab of hotel room rates for all categories."
The survey, however, points out that 94.78 per cent votes were received for India being a "value for money" destination. Whatever be the highs and lows, now that we are number one, it is time to celebrate.
Monday, September 3, 2007
Smells like Nirvana
The Pioneer
Ten years ago, Kurt Cobain killed himself, creating a silence in a generation to whom grunge speaks loudly. The Attidude team finds more about the man who rose to become a hero to millions of angst-ridden teenagers... much to his disgust
In the first quarter of the past decade, any kid with their antennae trained to pop culture knew and understood an object called Kurt. A lonesome, doleful guitarist from the United States' Pacific north-west had emerged as one of the early 1990s' most recognisable artefacts.
Ten years ago, Cobain's notoriety as a disconsolate artist was set in concrete when he took his own life. The founder and songwriter of grunge rockers, Nirvana, Cobain was discovered dead from a self-administered gunshot to the head.
It was three days before an electrician found Cobain's body in the greenhouse above the garage in the musician's Seattle home. It was three days before many of so-called Generation X were stunned to learn that their anti-hero had given up his fight.
To gauge Cobain's popularity is simple: He claimed enough airtime, ink and eyeballs to be a bona fide celeb. To assess his legend and his resonance is a trickier affair.
For the young adults of the early 1990s, Cobain articulated an era of particular angst through gesture and song. The day news broke of Cobain's suicide earnest pop sociologists appeared on television to warn parents to remain vigilant upon discovering Nirvana CDs in the home.
After Cobain's suicide, the music industry quickly assessed how much money it could make. Fortunes and careers were founded on the back of Cobain's death.
Not the least remarkable of which was that of his shrill widow, Courtney Love. After delivering a televised, obscenity-peppered eulogy, Love slimmed down, toned-up and racked up some notable public achievements.
These feats, including a Golden Globe award and certified platinum status for her album Celebrity Skin, were made all the impressive for the fact they were earned by someone so contentedly talent free.
Cobain openly rejected the corporate machinery of the entertainment industry and the racism, queer-baiting and misogyny familiar to rock'n'roll. He gave the middle finger to mainstream culture, but did so with the kind of fractured, attention-deficient laziness characteristic of his age-mates.
Cobain was the agonised loafer. Suffering nearly all of the talk-show-friendly indignities of his generation including divorced parents, the amphetamine Ritalin and dyslexia, he somehow emerged to critique it all.
Cobain remains an underachieving superhero that enunciated our peculiar laziness like no other.
Ten years ago, Kurt Cobain killed himself, creating a silence in a generation to whom grunge speaks loudly. The Attidude team finds more about the man who rose to become a hero to millions of angst-ridden teenagers... much to his disgust
In the first quarter of the past decade, any kid with their antennae trained to pop culture knew and understood an object called Kurt. A lonesome, doleful guitarist from the United States' Pacific north-west had emerged as one of the early 1990s' most recognisable artefacts.
Ten years ago, Cobain's notoriety as a disconsolate artist was set in concrete when he took his own life. The founder and songwriter of grunge rockers, Nirvana, Cobain was discovered dead from a self-administered gunshot to the head.
It was three days before an electrician found Cobain's body in the greenhouse above the garage in the musician's Seattle home. It was three days before many of so-called Generation X were stunned to learn that their anti-hero had given up his fight.
To gauge Cobain's popularity is simple: He claimed enough airtime, ink and eyeballs to be a bona fide celeb. To assess his legend and his resonance is a trickier affair.
For the young adults of the early 1990s, Cobain articulated an era of particular angst through gesture and song. The day news broke of Cobain's suicide earnest pop sociologists appeared on television to warn parents to remain vigilant upon discovering Nirvana CDs in the home.
After Cobain's suicide, the music industry quickly assessed how much money it could make. Fortunes and careers were founded on the back of Cobain's death.
Not the least remarkable of which was that of his shrill widow, Courtney Love. After delivering a televised, obscenity-peppered eulogy, Love slimmed down, toned-up and racked up some notable public achievements.
These feats, including a Golden Globe award and certified platinum status for her album Celebrity Skin, were made all the impressive for the fact they were earned by someone so contentedly talent free.
Cobain openly rejected the corporate machinery of the entertainment industry and the racism, queer-baiting and misogyny familiar to rock'n'roll. He gave the middle finger to mainstream culture, but did so with the kind of fractured, attention-deficient laziness characteristic of his age-mates.
Cobain was the agonised loafer. Suffering nearly all of the talk-show-friendly indignities of his generation including divorced parents, the amphetamine Ritalin and dyslexia, he somehow emerged to critique it all.
Cobain remains an underachieving superhero that enunciated our peculiar laziness like no other.
Go Green
The Pioneer
An increasing number of restaurants are sourcing their ingredients locally than importing them from faraway lands. In the process, they not only reduce carbon footprint but also save money without compromising on taste, says Team Viva
Rahul Srivastava is a satiated man. He can now eat out more often and enjoy his tuna salad along with some French Chardonnay without having to cringe. All because the ingredients of the exotic recipe that he loves are procured locally. Tuna from coastal Andhra Pradesh, pepper from Bangalore and broccoli from Dehradun. "Generally, I would stay away from consuming tuna at restaurants since they used to import the fish and preserved it here. This used to lend a tinge of saltiness to the recipe. With the ingredients being brought locally (within India), I can safely say the fish is fresher and the taste is more indulgent," says he.
Restaurants in India have wisened up. For they are cutting down on the practice of importing ingredients for their exotic recipes and instead are getting them locally. They say it is feasible and makes economic sense too. There is also an element of environmental friendliness in it.
Feasibility
Leading the tradition of keeping the produce fresh and local is Uppal's Orchid. Its executive chef Devraj Halder grows the ingredients in his hotel lawns and also sources them from neighbouring states.
"We believe in the idea of keeping our produce as local as possible. It is more convenient to get the ingredients from nearby places than importing them. Our lettuce is grown in our gardens and we get our English vegetables like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, snow peas and zucchini from Dehradun. We also get herbs and carrots from Bangalore," says Halder.
Experts in the restaurant business feel that besides being hassle-free, procuring ingredients locally also lowers transportation cost, saves fuel and reduces energy consumption especially in storage and freezing processes thereby helping in reducing the carbon footprint.
Explains Manjit Gill, corporate executive chef at ITC Maurya, "Most of our restaurants use the locally available produce of vegetables and meats. This not only helps the people of the region get a taste of the local flavours but also as part of our corporate social responsibility, we try to reduce energy consumption and save on fuel and transportation costs."
The burgeoning global environmental movement and new generation of youth with budding enthusiasm for long-established notions of sustainability, ecological health and food safety has given a fresh lease of life to "going local" idea in the US too, according to an article published by The Christian Science Monitor.
The trend is also followed, the article states, to support smaller local farmers who avoid the kind of animal diets and pesticides that leave behind the larger carbon footprint.
No effect on taste
No matter what the cuisine is, the same taste can be achieved even if one sources the ingredients locally. This is made possible by replicating the same conditions of growth in the local farms. Explains chef Sanjeev Kumar of The China Kitchen at Hyatt, "We are breeding the ducks as per the Chinese conditions at our farm in Gurgaon. For this purpose, we had sent the caretakers of the farm to China for 15 days where they learnt what kind of feed should be given to them. The ducks are force-fed on a mixture of 28 grains throughout the day. We are using the Cherry Valley breed of duck which is the best in the world and tastes authentic." Apart from this, the restaurant also grows other ingredients like Chinese vegetables locally by importing the seeds.
Even Rahul Nautiyal, manager of Cafe De Paris, a French dining restaurant, gets his daily produce of salmon, chicken, lamb and vegetables from a farm on the outskirts of the city. Says Nautiyal, "It is more economical to get the produce locally sourced and there is hardly any difference in taste. We have had French customers who have complimented the food and gone as far as saying that it tastes even better than that available in some restaurants in Paris."
Though some restaurants are honest enough to admit that everything is not readily available. Says Halder, "Items like beef tenderloin and pork are imported as we are unsure of the quality here. But on the whole we get our ingredients locally."
Reducing carbon footprint further
Besides going local, the restaurants in the US use other strategies to help reduce global warming. They include recycling and composting waste, conserving water, using non-toxic cleaners, tapping wind or other "green" power and designing minimal-impact buildings. Many restaurants are also moving away from bottled water because of environmental concerns about bottle waste, refrigeration needed, transportation costs and shipping containers.
In India, similar experiments are being done. Says Halder, "Apart from our kitchen garden, we are practicing vermi-compost (making manure from waste food). We have also undertaken various water conservation measures like rainwater harvesting and installing of aerators in taps." Apart from this, Uppal's Orchid also has CFC free ACs and refrigerators and sewage treatment plants.
The new spotlight is creating a domino effect, say observers, in which restaurant customers begin to ask more questions about the local-food movement. Precisely what restaurants of the ITC Maurya Group are trying to cultivate in its hotels.
An increasing number of restaurants are sourcing their ingredients locally than importing them from faraway lands. In the process, they not only reduce carbon footprint but also save money without compromising on taste, says Team Viva
Rahul Srivastava is a satiated man. He can now eat out more often and enjoy his tuna salad along with some French Chardonnay without having to cringe. All because the ingredients of the exotic recipe that he loves are procured locally. Tuna from coastal Andhra Pradesh, pepper from Bangalore and broccoli from Dehradun. "Generally, I would stay away from consuming tuna at restaurants since they used to import the fish and preserved it here. This used to lend a tinge of saltiness to the recipe. With the ingredients being brought locally (within India), I can safely say the fish is fresher and the taste is more indulgent," says he.
Restaurants in India have wisened up. For they are cutting down on the practice of importing ingredients for their exotic recipes and instead are getting them locally. They say it is feasible and makes economic sense too. There is also an element of environmental friendliness in it.
Feasibility
Leading the tradition of keeping the produce fresh and local is Uppal's Orchid. Its executive chef Devraj Halder grows the ingredients in his hotel lawns and also sources them from neighbouring states.
"We believe in the idea of keeping our produce as local as possible. It is more convenient to get the ingredients from nearby places than importing them. Our lettuce is grown in our gardens and we get our English vegetables like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, snow peas and zucchini from Dehradun. We also get herbs and carrots from Bangalore," says Halder.
Experts in the restaurant business feel that besides being hassle-free, procuring ingredients locally also lowers transportation cost, saves fuel and reduces energy consumption especially in storage and freezing processes thereby helping in reducing the carbon footprint.
Explains Manjit Gill, corporate executive chef at ITC Maurya, "Most of our restaurants use the locally available produce of vegetables and meats. This not only helps the people of the region get a taste of the local flavours but also as part of our corporate social responsibility, we try to reduce energy consumption and save on fuel and transportation costs."
The burgeoning global environmental movement and new generation of youth with budding enthusiasm for long-established notions of sustainability, ecological health and food safety has given a fresh lease of life to "going local" idea in the US too, according to an article published by The Christian Science Monitor.
The trend is also followed, the article states, to support smaller local farmers who avoid the kind of animal diets and pesticides that leave behind the larger carbon footprint.
No effect on taste
No matter what the cuisine is, the same taste can be achieved even if one sources the ingredients locally. This is made possible by replicating the same conditions of growth in the local farms. Explains chef Sanjeev Kumar of The China Kitchen at Hyatt, "We are breeding the ducks as per the Chinese conditions at our farm in Gurgaon. For this purpose, we had sent the caretakers of the farm to China for 15 days where they learnt what kind of feed should be given to them. The ducks are force-fed on a mixture of 28 grains throughout the day. We are using the Cherry Valley breed of duck which is the best in the world and tastes authentic." Apart from this, the restaurant also grows other ingredients like Chinese vegetables locally by importing the seeds.
Even Rahul Nautiyal, manager of Cafe De Paris, a French dining restaurant, gets his daily produce of salmon, chicken, lamb and vegetables from a farm on the outskirts of the city. Says Nautiyal, "It is more economical to get the produce locally sourced and there is hardly any difference in taste. We have had French customers who have complimented the food and gone as far as saying that it tastes even better than that available in some restaurants in Paris."
Though some restaurants are honest enough to admit that everything is not readily available. Says Halder, "Items like beef tenderloin and pork are imported as we are unsure of the quality here. But on the whole we get our ingredients locally."
Reducing carbon footprint further
Besides going local, the restaurants in the US use other strategies to help reduce global warming. They include recycling and composting waste, conserving water, using non-toxic cleaners, tapping wind or other "green" power and designing minimal-impact buildings. Many restaurants are also moving away from bottled water because of environmental concerns about bottle waste, refrigeration needed, transportation costs and shipping containers.
In India, similar experiments are being done. Says Halder, "Apart from our kitchen garden, we are practicing vermi-compost (making manure from waste food). We have also undertaken various water conservation measures like rainwater harvesting and installing of aerators in taps." Apart from this, Uppal's Orchid also has CFC free ACs and refrigerators and sewage treatment plants.
The new spotlight is creating a domino effect, say observers, in which restaurant customers begin to ask more questions about the local-food movement. Precisely what restaurants of the ITC Maurya Group are trying to cultivate in its hotels.
Ayurvedic burqas a rage in Saudi Arabia
Times of India, Sept 3, 2007
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Age-old Hindu wisdom is now dressing up women in Islamic Saudi Arabia. Burqas made the Ayurvedic way are the latest export from Balaramapuram, a tiny village on the city outskirts made famous by its handloom weavers whose struggle for survival has led to rediscovery of the ancient art of weaving organic clothes.
"In Ayurveda, these fabrics are called Ayurvastra . Only natural cotton and colouring is used so that they are free of toxic irritants. These are also treated with medicinal herbs as prescribed by Ayurvedic texts to improve the healing value," says Rajan, whose family has been in the trade for 600 years.
"In the past few months, we exported about 4,000 burqas to Saudi Arabia," he says. "But the demand for Ayurvastra doesn't stop there. Last year, our Handloom Weavers Co-operative Society exported clothes worth Rs 2 crore to the US, UK, France, Mexico, South Africa and Japan."
Does Ayurvastra really heal? Clinical trials at the Government Ayurveda College Hospital here showed that the fabric was quite effective, especially in cases of skin ailments and arthritis. As part of the test, patients were constantly exposed to Ayurvedic herbs through Ayurvastra for 30 days.
Even the curtains in the room, linen and mattresses, says Rajan, were made as prescribed in the ancient Indian treatise, Charaka Samhita .
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Age-old Hindu wisdom is now dressing up women in Islamic Saudi Arabia. Burqas made the Ayurvedic way are the latest export from Balaramapuram, a tiny village on the city outskirts made famous by its handloom weavers whose struggle for survival has led to rediscovery of the ancient art of weaving organic clothes.
"In Ayurveda, these fabrics are called Ayurvastra . Only natural cotton and colouring is used so that they are free of toxic irritants. These are also treated with medicinal herbs as prescribed by Ayurvedic texts to improve the healing value," says Rajan, whose family has been in the trade for 600 years.
"In the past few months, we exported about 4,000 burqas to Saudi Arabia," he says. "But the demand for Ayurvastra doesn't stop there. Last year, our Handloom Weavers Co-operative Society exported clothes worth Rs 2 crore to the US, UK, France, Mexico, South Africa and Japan."
Does Ayurvastra really heal? Clinical trials at the Government Ayurveda College Hospital here showed that the fabric was quite effective, especially in cases of skin ailments and arthritis. As part of the test, patients were constantly exposed to Ayurvedic herbs through Ayurvastra for 30 days.
Even the curtains in the room, linen and mattresses, says Rajan, were made as prescribed in the ancient Indian treatise, Charaka Samhita .
The Cross and the Communist
Times of India; Sept 2, 2007
It's a question that many have asked over the years, and one that is being asked even more frequently after the arrests of activists Arun Ferreira and Vernon Gonsalves. The police have charged them with being Naxalites, a charge that both men and their families firmly repudiate. The question being asked is: What draws middle-class Christian boys from educated and fairly affluent backgrounds to Marxism? What makes them give up the comforts of the city to answer the call of the village? What few know is that for many of these boys the route to activism came not through Marx & Engels or Naxalbari but through a radical Christian ideology called Liberation Theology. An ideology, which most crucially, does not espouse the gun or grenade as a weapon of change. Liberation Theology originated in the poverty and slums of Latin America, where it deeply influenced Christian groups in the 1970s and 1980s, making them shun the elitist image of the Church and serve the poorest of the poor as Christ did. "During his student days, Vernon was influenced by Liberation Theology along with fellow student members of the All-India Catholic University Federation (AICUF)," said his wife Susan. "He later severed links with the AICUF and moved on to working for labourers in rural areas. He was also a union leader in the thermal power plants at Chandrapur." Arun Ferreira was a sociology student at St Xavier's College, but by his time, the radicalism in the AICUF had petered out. He was however active in the Social Service League in his college. One of his relatives was a priest who was in the forefront of the movement in India. Liberation Theology transformed the way many Catholics viewed charity and social work. It contained elements of Marxist analysis and came out in support of the poor, spurring them to action to change their lot. It quoted the Bible to show that Christ and his apostles practised a form of early socialism by sharing their belongings and food. To many Catholics, used to serving in educational institutions which catered to the middle class and the rich, it came as an eye-opener. They suddenly realised they were serving a class which did not need their charity. Among the earliest to embrace it were the Jesuits, sometimes dubbed the ideological stormtroopers of the Catholic faith. Several prominent theologians such as the late Fr George Soares in Pune, Samuel Ryan, and the late Sebastian Kappen supported the new thinking. In 1978 in Mumbai, two Jesuit priests, Peter D'Mello and Niki Cordoso, both working with the Catholic Mission at Dahanu, broke away and formed a group called the Kashtakari Sanghatana. This group called for a more direct and radical approach to help poor tribals in the Thane district. The Sanghatana is now run on secular left-of-centre lines, and has been joined by Brian, another Bandra boy who has settled in Dahanu and married a tribal woman. Twenty-five years after he left the Jesuits, Nikki Cordoso recalled the role he played in Dahanu with emotion. "The then superior general of the Jesuits, Pedro Aruppe, told the church, do not work with the poor, walk with them. Another slogan was ‘From Alms to Arms', but by arms we did not mean guns but empowerment of the poor and the marginalised by asking them to stand up for their rights." The authorities cracked down, labelling them Naxalites, said Cordoso. "We were handcuffed and tied in ropes and later jailed to serve as an example to anyone who wanted the uplift of tribals." This line of thinking was also prevalent in Kerala. When questioned about taking to the streets for fishermen's rights, several nuns openly stated that standing up for human rights was what they believed in, and the role played by traditional-minded Catholics like Mother Teresa, who built homes for the sick and needy, was no longer relevant. "Instead of picking up people from the streets, Christians should try and stop people being thrown on the streets," the nuns argued. Mumbai had its own bunch of radicals in the AICUF, whose advisor, the late Fr Raymond D'Silva played a crucial role in mentoring students, several of whom who went on to work with unions, Bennett D'Costa and Franklyn D'Souza being two prominent examples. Prof Fleur D'Souza, who was part of the AICUF group in 1977 in Mumbai, said that a number of students were inspired to work with labour unions instead of choosing a regular career. However, Vernon's brother Kenneth Gonsalves, who was also a member of AICUF, said that it was not Liberation Theology alone but a number of factors that led to the burst of democratic activity which followed the lifting of the Emergency. Others who were also called to unionism, like CITU leader Vivek Monetiro, said they were untouched by the winds of change from Latin America. Fr Rudy Heredia, a sociologist with the Indian Social Institute in New Delhi, and Bishop Thomas Dabre from Vasai said that one of the issues that troubled the Indian Church about the new ideology was the Marxist inclination to use violence to change social structures. "The Church which was wedded to the ideals of Christ could not condone violence," said Dabre. While violence was seen as antithetical to Christian values, the Marxist method of analysis was welcomed by many, said theologian, Julian Saldhana. It made Catholics realise that poverty, illiteracy and corruption were man-made and not God-ordained. "The new philosophy, however, placed too much emphasis on economic issues ignoring the vital spiritual dimensio of everyday life," he added. The Vatican came down heavily on the new theology. It condemned the connection with Marxism and sidelined senior clergy. Pope John Paul II was particularly bitter about priests who had joined the leftist Sandinista government as ministers in the 1980s. In India, Liberation Theology failed to blossom into a strong movement due to various factors. The minority status of the Catholic groups meant that they were not able to communicate their ideas to other groups. They also came under attack from right-wing sections which found them to too radical while the mainstream Left was suspicious of them. In fact, some of the liberation activists were even dubbed "agents of the West" by the more hardline Leftists.
It's a question that many have asked over the years, and one that is being asked even more frequently after the arrests of activists Arun Ferreira and Vernon Gonsalves. The police have charged them with being Naxalites, a charge that both men and their families firmly repudiate. The question being asked is: What draws middle-class Christian boys from educated and fairly affluent backgrounds to Marxism? What makes them give up the comforts of the city to answer the call of the village? What few know is that for many of these boys the route to activism came not through Marx & Engels or Naxalbari but through a radical Christian ideology called Liberation Theology. An ideology, which most crucially, does not espouse the gun or grenade as a weapon of change. Liberation Theology originated in the poverty and slums of Latin America, where it deeply influenced Christian groups in the 1970s and 1980s, making them shun the elitist image of the Church and serve the poorest of the poor as Christ did. "During his student days, Vernon was influenced by Liberation Theology along with fellow student members of the All-India Catholic University Federation (AICUF)," said his wife Susan. "He later severed links with the AICUF and moved on to working for labourers in rural areas. He was also a union leader in the thermal power plants at Chandrapur." Arun Ferreira was a sociology student at St Xavier's College, but by his time, the radicalism in the AICUF had petered out. He was however active in the Social Service League in his college. One of his relatives was a priest who was in the forefront of the movement in India. Liberation Theology transformed the way many Catholics viewed charity and social work. It contained elements of Marxist analysis and came out in support of the poor, spurring them to action to change their lot. It quoted the Bible to show that Christ and his apostles practised a form of early socialism by sharing their belongings and food. To many Catholics, used to serving in educational institutions which catered to the middle class and the rich, it came as an eye-opener. They suddenly realised they were serving a class which did not need their charity. Among the earliest to embrace it were the Jesuits, sometimes dubbed the ideological stormtroopers of the Catholic faith. Several prominent theologians such as the late Fr George Soares in Pune, Samuel Ryan, and the late Sebastian Kappen supported the new thinking. In 1978 in Mumbai, two Jesuit priests, Peter D'Mello and Niki Cordoso, both working with the Catholic Mission at Dahanu, broke away and formed a group called the Kashtakari Sanghatana. This group called for a more direct and radical approach to help poor tribals in the Thane district. The Sanghatana is now run on secular left-of-centre lines, and has been joined by Brian, another Bandra boy who has settled in Dahanu and married a tribal woman. Twenty-five years after he left the Jesuits, Nikki Cordoso recalled the role he played in Dahanu with emotion. "The then superior general of the Jesuits, Pedro Aruppe, told the church, do not work with the poor, walk with them. Another slogan was ‘From Alms to Arms', but by arms we did not mean guns but empowerment of the poor and the marginalised by asking them to stand up for their rights." The authorities cracked down, labelling them Naxalites, said Cordoso. "We were handcuffed and tied in ropes and later jailed to serve as an example to anyone who wanted the uplift of tribals." This line of thinking was also prevalent in Kerala. When questioned about taking to the streets for fishermen's rights, several nuns openly stated that standing up for human rights was what they believed in, and the role played by traditional-minded Catholics like Mother Teresa, who built homes for the sick and needy, was no longer relevant. "Instead of picking up people from the streets, Christians should try and stop people being thrown on the streets," the nuns argued. Mumbai had its own bunch of radicals in the AICUF, whose advisor, the late Fr Raymond D'Silva played a crucial role in mentoring students, several of whom who went on to work with unions, Bennett D'Costa and Franklyn D'Souza being two prominent examples. Prof Fleur D'Souza, who was part of the AICUF group in 1977 in Mumbai, said that a number of students were inspired to work with labour unions instead of choosing a regular career. However, Vernon's brother Kenneth Gonsalves, who was also a member of AICUF, said that it was not Liberation Theology alone but a number of factors that led to the burst of democratic activity which followed the lifting of the Emergency. Others who were also called to unionism, like CITU leader Vivek Monetiro, said they were untouched by the winds of change from Latin America. Fr Rudy Heredia, a sociologist with the Indian Social Institute in New Delhi, and Bishop Thomas Dabre from Vasai said that one of the issues that troubled the Indian Church about the new ideology was the Marxist inclination to use violence to change social structures. "The Church which was wedded to the ideals of Christ could not condone violence," said Dabre. While violence was seen as antithetical to Christian values, the Marxist method of analysis was welcomed by many, said theologian, Julian Saldhana. It made Catholics realise that poverty, illiteracy and corruption were man-made and not God-ordained. "The new philosophy, however, placed too much emphasis on economic issues ignoring the vital spiritual dimensio of everyday life," he added. The Vatican came down heavily on the new theology. It condemned the connection with Marxism and sidelined senior clergy. Pope John Paul II was particularly bitter about priests who had joined the leftist Sandinista government as ministers in the 1980s. In India, Liberation Theology failed to blossom into a strong movement due to various factors. The minority status of the Catholic groups meant that they were not able to communicate their ideas to other groups. They also came under attack from right-wing sections which found them to too radical while the mainstream Left was suspicious of them. In fact, some of the liberation activists were even dubbed "agents of the West" by the more hardline Leftists.
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