Taala Maddale- a unique art form

 Taala Maddale is an art form popular in Karnataka. It combines  poetry, music and acting.  (The Bhagavatar (second from left) sings the story in his rich baritone to the accompaniment of special   drums and other musical instruments. The actor (extreme right) renders his dialogue between the songs. Everything is done sitting down, and the emotions like pathos or anger are conveyed by the music and the drums.The young boy in the picture is a master drummer.

 Taala Maddale is performed at homes for  small audience. It is very popular in  coastal Karnataka.

A rapt audience at a performance last Sunday...
This is my contribution to this week's Our World Tuesday.

Xerochrysum for X

Xerochrysum bractiatum is a golden everlasting flower which grows wild on the hill slopes of the Nilgiris. Local children gather the blooms during their holidays and sell them to the tourists.When the blue Nilakurinji blooms once in 12 years, it is a feast to see the hills awash with blue and golden blooms.
My thanks to Mrs.Nesbitt and her excellent team of ABCWednesday .

Our World- Roadside Restaurants

 On the way back from the Himalayas, we stopped at a roadside restaurant for lunch. Hot ,fresh food was being served to the travellers. The food was delicious.

 Momos, a type of Tibetan food, were being stuffed with shredded cabbage and steamed. Tor the discerning, there were 'Thali' meals in which a plate full of rice  and hot dahl and vegetables are served.A
n edible asparagus seemed to be the hot favourite.
There was continuous activity in the restaurant- Busloads of travellers

came, ate and went.One old and frail couple came. The owner of the restaurant escorted them herself to a good table and served them. I was touched by her gesture, because the old people were evidently very poor.
This is my contribution to this week's Our World Tuesday, so ably managed by Sylvia and others.
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Flowers for Today

Tiny yellow roses in a bush look enchanting..

  Pink Adenium likes very little water.

Ylang-ylang has fragrant greenish yellow flowers .
All these flowers are from other gardens
Have nice Sunday!

Our World Today

 The Konkan coast is a beautiful and peaceful place to spend a holiday. The Konkan region extends from Maharashtra to South Canara in Karnataka. On the eastern side of the long coast are the mountains of the Western Ghats. The beaches here are clean and beautiful and unspoilt by tourists.

The Sea Holly, a wild flower, can be seen here.
My thanks to the team of Our World Today.

Floral Friday

Some nurserymen call this Torcch ginger.....

Some others call this by  then same name. Which do you think is right?

Water Buffalo

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 The water buffalo is a very valued animal in India. The female buffaloes are used for their milk, and the males do the work in the field.a

 Buffalo milk is full of fat, and has more proteins than cow milk. Buffalo butter is as white as the wild jasmine.Wrightia tinctoria.

Water buffaloes like to loll in the muddy waters of swamps and ponds. They don't like to sea-bathe. I saw them walking on the Konkan beach at daybreak- probably going out to work!
I am joining Our World Tuesday and ABCWednesday. I thank both their organizers.

Wild orchids: The Foxtail and the Aerides

The Foxtail orchid was given to me by my friend Kanak Hagjer in Guwahati in 2011.

There it is known as Kapau Phool. When I saw the inflorescence a few weeks ago, I felt thrilled. It is known as Seethe Dande in Kannada, Sita is believed to have woven garlands of this wildflower during her sojourn in the forest for 14 years.

Aerides crispum is another wild orchid native to India. This is called Draupadi Dande. as Draupadi is supposed to have made garlands for her hair using these blossoms, during her sojourn in the forest. Sita had to cook for only three people, so her garland is longer than Draupadi, who had to cook for six!

A High Altitude Walk

 Wildflowers along the walk from Rakcham at 10,000feet to Chitkul at the Tibet border.

 The Himalayas are always awe inspiring and beautiful!

My grand daughter walking the ten kilometer stretch ,
I have finally bought a new laptop, hope to upload some good photos.