Category: Unwind

Duck Tales on Disney: A flash from the past

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Something familiar made me blink and look again, but a large bus moved between the billboard and me. I stopped being that harried commuter wanting to get home to… Did I just see what I saw?

‘Bhaiyya, can you reverse thoda?’

‘Reverse?’

The cabbie thinks I’m crazy. Who reverses a four-wheeler in a city that is mostly dug up or otherwise operating on tailgating. He tells me at the next available empty space to get off his vehicle after calling me crazy to my face.

I stare at the billboard. And a song begins to play in my head: Zindagi toofani hein, jahaan hein, Duckberg! Gaadiyaan, lasers, hawaai jahaaz, ye hein, Duckberg!

The billboard announces that Disney is bringing back a piece of my past. Ducktales. I am that kid once again, following Uncle Scrooge and Huey, Dewey and Louie down into the basement lit by a tiki torch… At once amazed and horrified by the strangest inventions by Gyro Gearloose… What adventures those were!

But hear my confession. These Sunday cartoons meant my younger brother and sister would be watching without pause and I could slide in and quietly steal the strawberry jam filled crispy parathas made for them (I was grown up so had to eat them veggies! Unfair!). But the 22-minute episodes were so much fun, I ended up watching everything from Micro Ducks From Outer Space to Raiders Of The Lost Harp and Jailhouse Duck.

The references were fun for grown-ups, but the animation worked for children of all ages. Duck Tales were awesome watch because they were innocent and fun. Remember how the stories made you want to be an inventor of things? Go off on an adventure to Africa?

I remember distinctly how my friend was the cynosure of all eyes at school because she got herself a Magica De Spell-like haircut and we had to wear our hair in plaits, tied up with that ghastly red ribbon! I hope, I hope they bring back Magica this season too.

She is so single-minded in her quest for Scrooge McDuck’s ‘No.1 dime’ that she will hatch many schemes to steal it. A bit like the coyote who wanted to get rid of the roadrunner… I hear the ‘beep beep’ so near my ears I shake my head and realise that I’m in the path of a scooter. I lift my hands as if to surrender and say sorry to the woman on the scooter who says something to me under the helmet which sounds like Donald Duck getting mad at things!

I walk the rest of the way to my brother’s home where his kids are watching… What is that? These cartoons are awful. The hero is stupid. Yes, literally, stupid. He fails at exams and generally lacks common sense. I look questioningly at my brother. He says, ‘Watch! Look what is inspiring this generation!’

It was torture. A robot cat that has been sent from the future to help this stupid lad make better life decisions. But the cat makes so many mistakes, I sat and facepalmed so often, my niece insisted this was the generation gap. I reminded her that I was the one who drove the kids to the park when they were catching Pokemon. Sigh. Why are kids watching stupidity every day of the week and their reruns? How come no parents have protested anywhere?

We had parents show up en mass at our children’s school to protest against a cartoon character called Shin Chan. The outspoken, impolite brat who is rude to everyone. I must admit that it was funny to see the Hindi dubbed version use ‘Juice’ instead of alcohol when the visuals clearly showed an inebriated character. I laughed at the elephant dance because Shin Chan was referring to someone with a large derriere. He’s five years old, I tried to tell the angry parents, and we did find butts funny at that age… But no way was Shin Chan boring. Neither is Bart Simpson. He’s wicked and disruptive and his telephone pranks are scatalogical. But he’s not tedious. And I found this Doraemon phenomenon boring.

Yes, Duck Tales has action slower than what you might see in animation today. But no person who has been a fan of the series – no matter how grown up they are today – will deny that it was the best thing about Sundays when they were growing up. We learn about family and values like sharing and standing up for each other from ducks! But what fun it was, watching the Beagle Brothers (Bouncer, Burger and Babyface) sneak around doing Magica’s bidding, discovering new places by jetting off to faraway places… I always wanted the Sunchaser airplane with McQuack action figure because I thought his windblown scarf made him rather dashing.

This new generation is happy to add bunny and dog ears to those endless snapchat pictures. Am happier watching Courage the cowardly dog. This new generation is happy taking endless pouty selfies. Am happier watching the snotty Duckworth say, ‘I do have the flair for the dramatic!’

My brother has promised to introduce the little one to Duck Tales before Disney brings the magic back next month. I discover my favorite Duck Tales episode on YouTube and I step into the elevator to come home. I don’t notice that there’s an old gent dressed for Sunday church in the elevator. And his dentures fall off when (still looking into my phone, earphones attached) I say in my best Magica voice, ‘Hello Scroogey!’

Duck Tales starts from October 1 at 6 pm on Disney Channel India.  

Manisha Lakhe is a poet, film critic, traveller, founder of Caferati — an online writer’s forum, hosts Mumbai’s oldest open mic, and teaches advertising, films and communication.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Kitchen tales: What does your spice box contain?

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Like an artist perfectly poised, the desi kitchen always has this moment when the cook, will be steady, waiting. It can be just a few seconds, till the oil in the pan is at the right temperature. It is all about timing. Like using a paintbrush, the cook will dip into the colourful palette, a spice box and sprinkle its contents to a celebratory crackle in the pan. The birth of a new desi dish.

This colourful spice box is found in all Indian kitchens. From the firm pinches of cumin picked up by a grandmother’s wrinkled fingers to first timer’s reluctant scoops of turmeric using a spoon, the indispensable masala box always gets the meal going.

It is usually a lidded stainless steel or plastic container, which holds seven or eight compartments. These are filled with spice staples – turmeric powder, chilli powder, mustard seeds, cumin seeds and asafoetida.

Apart from the powdered or coarsely ground masalas, the box also holds whole spices –pieces of rolled cinnamon, green pods of cardamom, dried bay leaves, bouncy black peppercorns, cloves and strands of bright mace. The box has daily dealings and is always stored close at hand. Since spices tend to lose their flavour and aroma rapidly, only a small amount of spices is kept in the box, and this is replenished once or twice a month.

The spice box is also home to antioxidants and sources of vitamins, and the splash of these spices in hot oil or ghee, the tadka helps bring out their medicinal benefits. Fenugreek, turmeric, cinnamon, coriander seeds, cardamom, caraway seeds, they all are tiny capsules holding anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties.

Every kitchen has a spice box, but it can differ depending on where you are. If you are visiting relatives up north, you will find the box filled with the usual and some ajwain (caraway seeds), amchoor (dried mango powder) and sonth (dried ginger powder). If you go further east, the spice box holds spices amenable to cooking with mustard oil, like the Bengali kitchen must-have, panch phoron (the five-spice mix of fennel, nigella, cumin, mustard and fenugreek seeds).

The North-eastern spice box has the brightest turmeric, the Lakadong variety alongside dried, powdered seeds of winged prickly ash, dried long pepper, and chilli flakes from the fiery chillies found locally like the Raja Mircha or Bhoot jholokia. The Maharashtrian spice box has all the usual and a large batch of asafoetida and tiny bits of grey dagadphool, a type of dried lichen, which gives a smoky aroma to the dish. Going further south, you will find an assortment of dals that also go in the first tadka. The urad dal that is added for the extra crunch in a runny curd rice.

There are new additions of oregano, chilli flakes and dried basil, to go with the pasta dishes that are now ubiquitous. The Indian kitchen today is a mix of old and new, but the spice box is still the quick, handy go-to. There will always be the ready paste or packet of masalas, but the magic of tossing up, a fresh tadka is a moment worth savouring.

Sharon Fernandes is a journalist based in Delhi. 

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Elf Stones, Entering a Volcano, and Eating 1,000-Year-Old Glacial Ice: a Stunning Iceland Journey

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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It was 9°C in Reykjavik on the first morning of our ‘summer’ holiday in Iceland. The intermittent rain and fog did nothing to dampen our spirits and, over the next few days, we had an unforgettable experience in one of the most fascinating lands on the planet.

From the Blue Lagoon, where the salty water is kept warm by hot geysers, to golden waterfalls and beaches with black sand, the landscape is stunning. We also visited nesting places for the local puffins, the famous elf stones, and went inside a volcano! Here are snapshots from our travels.

A visit to the lovely Blue Lagoon was our first experience of communal bathing. Icelanders are quite comfortable bathing in the nude. (Thank goodness there were cubicles to change for visitors like us!)

Each day brought with it completely different landscapes. We often spotted mountain goats, arctic foxes and wild rabbits freely roaming about. Towns are far-flung, and access to healthcare is limited.

We rode around scenic bays. Towns on the Fjords are mostly located on the north side as it is sunnier. We passed a fair number of salmon rivers. The permit to fish costs a bomb, though.

Our journey took us from Seljalandsfoss waterfall in the south of Iceland to Dettifoss falls in the north east. In all we covered 1895 km in eight days by bus with 20 other tourists, and then more on our own.

After a stop at Diamond Beach, an amphibious vehicle took us to a glacial lagoon. Vatnajökull, Europe’s largest glacier, is estimated to be at least 1,000 years old. We even tasted its glacial ice.

Stories of elves and trolls enthralled us. Locals believe that elves live under small ‘elf stones’ that dot the roads and highways. If you move these stones, you will be besieged by problems.

There are large numbers of craters and sulphuric mud springs near Lake Mývatn, a geothermal and volcanic area. We drove up to a caldera here, and visited several picturesque lava falls and springs.

We halted for a night at a town called Vik. I was taken aback to know that it had a population of only 200. Unimaginable for Indians! The purebred Viking Horses are famous for their strength.

We descended 120 metres by lift into Þríhnúkagígur, a volcano that last erupted 4,000 years ago. It is the only one in the world with an accessible magma chamber. The minerals give off a colourful effect.

We stayed one night in the fishing town of Siglufjörður, less than 30 miles away from the Arctic Circle. Norwegians had once set up fishing businesses here due to the abundance of herrings.

First published in eShe magazine

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

The Angry Young Women of Bollywood

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Two dames, two destinies. One alive, one dead. One pining, one haunting. Both standing up for themselves like most women only dream to do. After a long, long time Hindi cinema has given us two female protagonists to ooh and aah over in new releases Stree and Manmarziyan.

Stree in Stree and Rumi in Manmarziyan are not your everyday doormats. They have a temper, these are angry young women. And unlike their million counterparts in reel life, who simper and self-sacrifice their way to martyrdom, this pair takes on the world.

The way Rumi lives her life, loving and leaving as she pleases, is not just refreshing but also an acceptance of how things are. No family member, no ex-lover, no fiancé or in-laws, not even a gol gappa wallah can cramp her style, her spirit or her hairdo. She of Tinder swipes and hockey playing can use silence as well as words as weapon of choice. In fact, even when she is cringing in guilt, the camera zooms in on her peaches and cream complexion, giving us close-ups of a woman as she really is – and not as she exists in male imaginations and countless fables and myths. She is as she is and not how somebody says she should be.

Stree, of course, is a tad more vixen, veering towards screechy sound effects and sudden kidnaps, almost a criminal from hell. But her complaints are understandable and her hostages go with her without a whimper. She is a woman with a mission, on an anti-men mission. Sometimes so furious, her feet don’t touch the ground.

Rooted in modern parlance – both refer to Aadhar card at some point – with conversational casual day to day dialogues flowing freely to and fro, these movies bubble over with comic timing and honest romantic impulses. Like most feminist women who routinely take on regressive chauvinists, these women too appreciate the supportive men who come along en route. A grandfather there, a tailor here… a male cast too good to be true, by the way.

In the current climate, it is only appropriate that the sex known as fairer sex (for some reason, for some condescending reason) gets its share of the spotlight. With a lot to fight in Bollywood itself – nepotism, casting couch – getting a raw deal on celluloid is the norm. Women are arm candy, pretty props, airy fairy. High time violence came from womanly arms on womanly terms. The heroine in Dhadak who lost her scowl only after a husbandly slap and the heroine in Genius who responded well to stalking were not easy to identify with. Where are the flesh and blood women of today, the audience groaned. Well, here they are.

Small-town but bristling with all injustices ever done against womankind, here are two lasses who let down their hair – one has red glistening curls, the other reattaches a plait extension in a way that will raise goosebumps.

Both the women are educated, have a mind of their own and treat men at par or inferior to themselves. Dead or alive, as long as they are on the screen our eyeballs stay on them. At long last Bollywood has gone and given us women we feel we know. Poster girls for post-#MeToo times.

Shinie Antony is a writer and editor based in Bangalore. Her books include The Girl Who Couldn’t Love, Barefoot and Pregnant, Planet Polygamous, and the anthologies Why We Don’t Talk, An Unsuitable Woman, Boo. Winner of the Commonwealth Short Story Asia Prize for her story A Dog’s Death in 2003, she is co-founder of the Bangalore Literature Festival and director of the Bengaluru Poetry Festival. 

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Healthier and Happier: Why More Indian Women Are Letting Their Hair Grey Naturally

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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My first greys appeared in my late 30s, and within a few years, they were substantial enough to garner attention. “Why don’t you dye your hair, ma’am?” said the hair dressers at the salon. “You look older than me,” teased the husband. “You’re too young to let your hair go grey,” said my mom.

Giving in to social pressure, I went the usual route: first henna, and then – tired of the tedious application – tried hair colour endorsed by none other than Aishwarya Rai Bachchan herself, she of the luscious bouncy curls.

But my hair had no intention of endorsing any dye brand; it dried and frizzed up in indignation instead. A couple more failed attempts later, and I had had it.

“I am letting my hair go grey,” I announced to my family, as they gaped in horror. I decided to enjoy this bit of rebellion. Social pressure can go get its own hair dyed.

But as the months went by, I noticed an insidious change taking place within me. My bones began creaking, my shoulders began stooping, I stopped wearing makeup, nail polish and jewellery, and often referred to myself as ‘old’. I no longer visited salons.

I was growing old, outside in, because every time I looked in the mirror, I perceived myself to be older.

This wouldn’t do. I had to call in the reinforcements.

The first on my calling list was Anuradha Ramachandran, a 45-year-old mother of two young boys based in Gurugram. Born and raised in Delhi in a Sindhi family, she had fallen in love soon after college with her South Indian colleague at the Maurya Sheraton hotel. Years later, the couple moved to Mumbai, and Anuradha gave up her career to raise their children. She now freelances for various publications and is currently writing a novel.

Blessed with remarkably youthful looks, Anuradha had a few greys in her 30s, soon after her kids were born. “Hair colour always led to hair fall, and the application process of henna was too long, boring and smelly. No one likes it,” says Anuradha. Out of “sheer laziness”, she stopped colouring her hair, and decided to follow in the footsteps of Bollywood actress Sushma Seth, whose greys make quite a fashion statement.

“I was lucky to have many friends who were also allowing themselves to age gracefully,” she says. “We supported one another.” The best part of going grey, she soon realised, was that it makes people notice you. “Everyone else around me is trying to look younger, and here I am, unapologetic about my age. It draws people to me,” she affirms.

Fitness conscious and an organic-food junkie, Anuradha works out five days a week and enjoys her time out with friends. “Women are too hard on themselves,” she says. “They spend so much time and money trying to look younger for no good reason. I’d rather spend it on something more useful, and fun.”

That’s in fact the best part of going grey for 32-year-old Ashima Chauhan, a former healthcare professional and now entrepreneur. Always fond of colouring and highlighting her hair in her college days, Ashima’s hair began going grey in her late 20s. She had to stop all kinds of hair colour after she conceived her first child two years ago. Gradually, her long black straight locks got peppered with long straight greys.

The backlash was unexpected: “Your husband will lose interest in you,” neighbour ‘aunties’ chided her. “I’ll know if my husband loses interest in me,” bristled Ashima, who did her graduation in physiotherapy and MBA in healthcare management. Hairdressers had their own two bits to add: “It looks very awkward, ma’am. It makes you look old.”

But Ashima didn’t find it convincing. “I think I look my age,” she would retort.

Just before we met, she had cut her hair to shoulder-length, and is enjoying the freedom from hair dye. “I no longer have to go for touch-ups before parties,” she laughs, looking every bit the young, dynamic woman she is.

Ankur Ahuja, a 44-year-old cinematographer who shuttles between Delhi and Mumbai for work, is in fact very sure that this is the right time to have naturally grey hair. “Salt-and-pepper hair makes you look elegant; the look is trending,” she half-jokingly affirms from her vast experience in Bollywood. Her hair had started greying pretty early on, even before she had completed her Master’s in mass communication. But it was never a big deal for Ankur, who always kept her hair short, and whose husband’s hair is now going grey too.

She did colour her hair for a while – purple, pink, blue and so on – but is temperamentally too chilled out to spend hours in the salon on her appearance. “I’m enjoying the greys but I would’ve enjoyed as much had my hair been black. What matters is that you have healthy hair. My hair is healthier than it has ever been,” she says.

Of course, grey hair comes with its own challenges, especially for someone with a penchant for bright hair colour: “I had always thought white hair would dye easier than dark hair. I was wrong. You still need to bleach first.”

I asked Ankur her thoughts on growing older. “I have many thoughts on that but grey hair has nothing to do it.” And it struck me how right she was. My hair or even my age has nothing to do with my youthfulness, curiosity, sense of adventure and passion for life. They are not correlated.

I booked a beautician from an app the other day. As she did my pedicure, I signed up for an annual subscription with her company online. “Do you want nail polish?” she asked, looking up. I shook my head instinctively.

Then I had a second thought: “Yes, I will, actually. Silver grey.”

First published in eShe magazine

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Period Politics: How Does ‘Menstrual Leave’ Play Out in the Fight for Gender Equality?

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

For most women, getting their monthly periods prompts a standard procedure: Ignore the heavy flow, pop a pill if necessary, and keep moving on with their daily lives and jobs.

However, there are some women who need to take a day or two off. It could be due to severe cramps, endometriosis or dysmenorrhea, which are incredibly painful. In this case, following Japan, China and South Korea’s lead, implementing a menstrual leave policy in our country will enable women to take two days off from work every month at the beginning of their menstrual cycle.

Interestingly, the Ningxia region in Northern China implemented this leave under a different circumstance. Ningxia announced this policy on 17 August, 2016 – just days after China’s Olympic swimmer Fu Yuanhui discussed her fourth place loss in the Rio Olympics, suggesting that her physical exhaustion due to menstruation slowed down her strokes.

This sparked conversations by Chinese women about how their cycle slowed down their productivity in the workplace. The Ningxia government then consciously included a clause on punishment for employers who did not follow the new guidelines.

In our own country, the state of Bihar has had special leave for women for two days since 1992 (although it is not explicitly referred to as the menstruation leave). A teacher working at a high school in Lakhisarai, Bihar, Dr Prabhawati, told us, “Special leave is like a boon for women employees as it helps us in balancing our health issues with our work responsibilities. When I joined in 1994 as a teacher, some male colleagues made fun of this special leave. But now, it has been normalised. I think male colleagues have also become more sensitive and do not mock us anymore. However, I am not sure how these leaves will be seen in the private sector.”

India too came very close to the implementation of this policy last year, but unfortunately, this Private Member Bill was not passed in the Parliament. It has been finally placed on the table of Lok Sabha in August 2018 by Member of Parliament Ninong Ering (co-writer of this piece).

When the term ‘menstrual leave’ was first mentioned, the counter argument that immediately came up was, “Now there’s something that will enrage and provide more ammunition to the so-called ‘men’s rights activists’.”

It was a legitimate concern. As a country, we are still battling for the most basic forms of gender equality in almost every aspect of modern life – at the workplace, in relationships and personal lives. Can we then promote any preferential treatment for women that might endanger the march towards equality?

The worry is that menstrual leave policy may reinforce the age-old conservative belief that women are addled creatures who need special care, bringing with it other regressive beliefs and attitudes. It is therefore important to educate ourselves on how physically inconvenient, if not painful, a period can be for the average woman.

To put it in the simplest of terms, a period is a biological process where the womb sheds the inner uterine wall in the absence of a pregnancy, and this is expelled from the body in the form of a heavy blood flow. To go through it every single month for at least 40 years of one’s life is not easy.

It understandably takes a mental and a physical toll on any woman who works long hours every day, and if this is combined with a debilitating condition like dysmenorrhea (which has a 40-70% occurrence in Indian women), it might be extremely hard for many women to just get out of bed, let alone be productive at work. In this case, having a menstrual leave policy at the workplace is completely justified – it can reduce the toll of the physical pain on women.

While implementing such a policy will definitely help a woman’s work productivity and therefore the productivity of the companies in the long run, it may also place some burdens on the private sector. In order to incentivise companies to follow the law, the government can provide tax exemptions or compensate the company for the menstrual leaves availed by its women employees so that the burden of compliance is reduced.

“But how can you call yourself a feminist by saying that you want equality, yet demand special treatment for women?” some ask. A policy like menstrual leave does indicate the bearings of differential treatment, and but in no way does it demean the women’s empowerment movement.

It does not classify as preferential treatment or entitlement if it provides relief from a painful physical process that a whole gender has to suffer through for a large portion of their lives. But if menstrual leave could be implemented, it would go on to greatly lessen a woman’s stress during her period cycle, thus giving her the option of staying home and working on her own terms, as opposed to making frequent trips to the washroom to change her sanitary pad, or popping in painkillers just to get through the next few hours.

While such a policy could polarise male counterparts in the workplace, this could be combated through the acknowledgement of stigma surrounding the issue. The stigma surrounding menstrual periods has been so thoroughly internalised that it becomes awkward to discuss the pain or discomfort that women face.

Period pain can no longer be a topic of taboo, especially when it concerns women as a whole. It is a topic that must be normalized and spoken up about, so as to raise awareness. A woman’s menstrual issues are something that only she can make decisions on, not a third-person who decides to trivialize her pain by saying ‘it is not that big a deal’.

Ninong Ering is a Member of Parliament, Arunachal East, and Abhishek Ranjan is a policy analyst. Reach them on Twitter at @ninong_erring and @deetee08

First published in eShe magazine

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

How Sounds Plays a Big Part In How We Enjoy Food

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Taste and smell seem like the only senses we need to appreciate food, however, the sense that plays a play much bigger role in enjoyment of food, is auditory. A fact that very few of us consider, but like Pavlov’s famous experiment proved, we all respond to the bell or the ding of the microwave oven, the plop of the spoon in the curry or the chop of the knife on the cutting board. Cooking sounds help us to know how hard, soft, raw or ripe a food is. The crackle of crust on a well baked bread will tell you how it is going to taste. The sound of how wine pours out in your glass, the din of a restaurant is all part of the experience.

Sonic seasoning has been at play in our lives forever and we almost never notice it. Those who do, have found a way to help make themselves some money. Ever notice how advertisements play a loud cracking sound when they show you a chip being eaten, or the subtle muffled snap of a chocolate dipped wafer finger? These sounds draw you in, you expect the same crunch when you buy a new box of Pringles or when you snap a Kit Kat bar. Advertisers and restaurateurs know that consumers now seek to buy into experiences rather than products, and want a more stimulating experience when they are out dining. This is why the music played in a restaurant, the noise level surrounding the unsuspecting diner changes the way he or she tastes the food. It is the invisible garnish to the dish.

Professor Charles Spence, head of the Crossmodal Research Laboratory at Oxford University, has been studying how the brain processes information delivered  by our senses. His research says sounds play much bigger role in enjoyment of food than we think.

The sonic seasoning of food, like the sound of a sizzling steak, the gurgle and whistle of a coffee machine build up our expectation of the dish to be consumed.  All makes a difference on how we eat.  In his book, The Perfect Meal: The Multisensory Science of Food and Dining, Spence highlights the association between particular sounds and tastes. He finds certain soundscapes enhance one taste higher than the other, like eating a bar of chocolate to a song while listening to a twinkly higher frequency song will make it taste sweeter, while the same chocolate bar eaten to low frequency sounds like a musical piece with brassy, bass heavy notes will amp up the bitter notes of the same chocolate.

There are other researchers looking at how flavors are affected by sound, some have even found that the quantity of food consumed varies depending on the ambient sound. Loud spaces, playing music above 90 decibels have clients drinking a lot more than places where music below 85 decibels is played. No wonder we binge drink, numbed to the taste of alcohol when listening to rock music. Eating in an airplane also has us reaching out for salty nuts or spicy curries to wake up our taste buds numbed from incessant airplane engine roar.

While there are more connections being strung between how food sounds when it is cooked, served and eaten and how we react to it, at different stages. For most of us, on a daily basis, even our homes have their own variations of sonic seasoning. The pressure cooker whistles, the grinding of the chutney, the sizzle of a water being sprayed to cool down a hot tava, we are always experiencing flavors even before we eat.

Sharon Fernandes is a journalist based in Delhi. 

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Wine, fabulous food and loads of sunshine — Mudgee could be Australia’s very own Tuscan Valley

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Wine connoisseurs and experts place Australian wines right up there, along with wines from France at the heart of old world wine regions, and California with wines that portray new world swagger. Some of the finest wines today come from Down Under.

Australia’s viticulture began with the arrival of the First Fleet (11 ships that departed from Portsmouth, England, to establish the penal colony) in 1788 and since then, the country’s wine making culture has expanded with more than 100 different grape varieties across 65 designated wine regions. The most attention grabbing are vineyards in Yarra Valley, Barossa and Hunter Valley.

But over the last few years another region has established its terroir.  Mudgee, in the picturesque Central Regions of New South Wales and at three-and-half-hours drive from Sydney, is fast gaining reputation for the wines it produces. The name ‘Mudgee’ comes from the aboriginal word ‘moothi’ or ‘nest in the hills’. The vineyard region enjoys lots of sunshine but its altitude (vineyards range from between 450-1,100m above sea level) and severely cold nights gives the grapes a long, cool ripening period.

On a wine and dine trail

My first stop is at 1812-established Lowe Wines, certified organic, which works on the holistic principles of biodynamics farming. David, the fourth-generation scion of Robert Lowe who established the vineyard, says his family introduced agriculture innovation at every stage.

David is known as a passionate proponent of organic wine. He started his career in the Hunter Valley 35 years ago, with industry icons Len Evans and Murray Tyrrell. His vineyards are untrellised and unirrigated. At Lowe’s Wines cellar door, I tasted a 2015 Lowe Icon Riesling, a 2010 Lower Zinfandel (dark ruby in colour and tasting of plums) and a beautiful dessert wine.

Lunch is at The Zin House, a country restaurant with long community tables, book shelves and cosy lounges. The chefs serve a piquant onion tart, Tagliatelle (pasta from Italy’s Marche region), Lamb Ragu and Pork Head Terrine, besides a lovely house-made Khorasan Sourdough.

I am staying at Peppertree Hill Cottages, a retreat surrounded by rolling hills and willowed streams. Located over 250 acres of private farmland, each cottage has comfortable bedrooms, a fireplace, leather couches and a fully-equipped kitchen. Mornings here are perfect: a red-orange light spreads over the lush countryside. Tea is best enjoyed on the porch, watching birds hop around and the Belted Galloway cows with distinctive belt marks ramble in the backyard.

Mudgee blends country charm with epicurean delights. On the first night, I dine at The Wineglass Bar & Grill, a rustic-style restaurant where Chef Scott Tracey serves seasonal menu and some great pizzas. I begin the next morning with a hearty breakfast in the grapevine-shaded courtyard of the quirky Alby & Esthers restaurant, set in a remarkable stone building. It is cold and they give us warm blankets, fabulous coffee, fluffy omelets and sweet pancakes.

On agenda are a visit to some more vineyards. Di Lusso Estate produces delicious Italian varietals from grapes grown with minimal intervention. This is where I taste the wonderful port wines of Australia, unlike anything I have ever tasted in India. Ozzies drink them with a splash of lemon and some ice. The vineyard is a wonderful place to spend a day: play bocce, taste home-grown olives and figs and eat pizza in its shaded trattoria, and sample Italian wine varietals at its cellar door.

Logan Wines possesses the prettiest wineries with an incredible view of a lake and Mudgee Mountains from the tasting room, perched on the side of a hill, overlooking a family-owned vineyard that blends well with the surrounding mountains. Logan is a relatively new vineyard, set up in 1997 by Peter Logan who produces amazingly varied varietals—a premium sparkling Vintage ‘M’ Cuvee, a popular Weemala range and Ridge of Tears. Logan says Australian wines tend to have a little more texture and grains because of the terroir. His love for the rich character of fruity Australian wines and the balanced structure of Old World wines has led him to produce wines that combine the country’s fruit flavors and Europe’s balance and finesse.

At the Robert Stein Winery, I spy a museum with vintage motorbikes and observe a complex wine bottling and packaging procedure. Autumn has set in and the vineyards are the colour of yellow and gold; the vines are drying up and every winemaker is hoping for rain. In 1838, Johann Stein carried with him the first cuttings of Rhine Riesling from Germany to Australia and set up a winery. It shut down after a few years, only to be revived in 1976 by Robert Stein, a Sydney-based descendant who stumbled upon Mudgee while riding his bike. He began with two hectares of Shiraz. Today, his son Andrew Stein runs one of Mudgee’s finest vineyard.  They make a host of wines, from Chardonnay, Shiraz, Gewurztraminer, Cabernet, Merlot, Semillon, to their best, the Rieslings. The Reserve Riesling is only made in the years when the fruit is exceptional. The wine is fermented in old oak casks to create an intense flavour.

 Beyond the vineyards

There is more to Mudgee than its vineyards. A drive through the little town reveals little boutiques selling English-style crockery, an art-deco theatre and a Gothic town church. Honey Haven, a boutique facility makes a delectable range of honey, some infused with fruits, honeycombs and a range of skincare products saturated with this elixir. Mudgee Brewing Co is a microbrewery set in a 100-year-old Wool & Skin store. Its Mudgee Pale Ale, a blend of Australia and imported malted barley, is appetizing.

For a small town, the dining scene is positively thriving. Artisan on Lewis is an art-filled café with assorted furniture. Their biggest seller, seemingly, is dal soup, but they also serve homemade Mudgee wood-fired sourdough (Australia eats nothing but sourdough!), vegetable pickles, boutique coffee, and a range of meats and vegetables. They use traditional cooking methods such as pickling, preserving and baking. The glamorous Elton’s Eating and Drinking is set in an 1896 building that was once a pharmacy. Owned by Dani Eldred and Brent Rowlands, it serves fresh and smoked meats, house-made pizzas, slow-cooked tacos and a beautiful salted caramel waffle cone.

Mudgee is an Australian outback experience that focuses on wine. For Sydneysiders, it makes for a perfect weekend break with its award-winning wineries, innovative dining scene and a bucolic countryside with pretty pastoral scenes and an occasional kangaroo hopping around.

Deepali Nandwani is a journalist who keeps a close watch on the world of luxury.

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In Focus: A visit to the Naropa festival in Leh, the largest Buddhist congregation in the Himalayas

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

The road to the 17th century Hemis Monastery is rock-strewn. Brown mountains wearing snow-crowns stand guard. The September air is crisp and tall poplars scrape the blue sky.

Men, women, children are trudging up the undulating terrain towards the monastery. It is an arduous trek but that does not daunt the pious and the onlooker. The 5-day Naropa Festival is their communion with Naropa (1016-1100), an Indian scholar-saint who became the Chancellor Nalanda University but later left the materialistic world and his family to the path of enlightenment. At the age of 40, he met his Guru Talopa and attained enlightenment 12 years later. His teaching of the Six Yogas of Naropa are considered to be one of the fundamental pillars of the Vajrayana Buddhist tradition.

Known as the Kumbh of the Himalayas, the Naropa Festival, the largest Buddhist festival in the Himalayan region, is held every 12 years at the Hemis Monastery. The 2018 Festival could mark the beginning of an annual tradition of hosting the festival which included spiritual discourses, traditional dance performances, prayers, archery, fashion shows and performances by eminent singers of the Hindi film industry.

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