x-posted from my blog.
A few years back while visiting Kumta I went back to the little shack where I had earlier seen young women making papad (writeup and pics). I was glad to see that this little cinderblock workshop was still active, and women came together to make papad and other eatables to sell in local stores. I like the light in this pic.

• Kumta: Jewel of the Konkan
• Kumta: Field of Dreams
• Kumta: School Kids
• Weaving Jaaii flowers in Honavar.
• Shanbhag School Kumta
• All posts in Kumta Category

To share the genesis of this madness, I recorded the view. Here is a 67 second snippet, as the train crossed the Aghanashini River and approached the Kumta Train station. I recorded this from the doorway with my flip video, amidst the rain and rumbling of the train. Enjoy and tell me what you think.

Music: Mere Desh Ka Salaam, Shobha Gurtu.

Note: Move your mouse out of the video frame, to lose the black border.

• Kumta: Jewel of the Konkan
• Kumta: Main Street
• Kumta: Field of Dreams
• Young Women Making Papads in Kumta
• Shanbhag School in Kumta
• Academic Update from the Shanbhag School – 2009

On the Konkan Railway

• Konkan Railway: Welcome Aboard
• Young Couple on the Konkan Railway

Based on a series of questions I ask him (on camera, in Konkani), he shows us a portion of the woven braid. All those buds will yield about 10 feet of braid and take him an hour to weave. Notice the thread, it is actually a fiber pulled from the bark of the banana tree and kept soaked in water. Very eco-friendly.

These braids will be sold in the marketplace (see Kumta marketplace) and usually end up in temples or family shrines. Women also use to decorate (and perfume) their hair. The market rate for these braids is about Rs50-Rs100/ft ($1-$2/ft), but can be significantly higher during the festival season. The beauty of the braids is in the buds; and once they bloom, the braids are considered done.

Here you see such Jaaii-kaLe braids offered to the Nag Devata at a small shrine in Kumta.

The school made a significant investment in cooking equipment and prepares a nutritious, vegetarian meal for the ~ 850 primary and secondary school students. Lunch is simply rice, sambar or daal, a lentil curry or vegetable and pickles (see actual student plate above).

During my meetings with parents of Scholarship recipients, and listening to comments at the Parents Teachers Meeting, parents absolutely love the school lunch program. Parents are relieved of the pressure to pack a lunch every morning, or have it ready for the lunch break. Parents are also surprised (and glad) their kids actually eat the variety of vegetables and lentils the school serves. The school subsidizes the lunch and charges students Rs 80 per month (~$2 per month, Rs 4 per meal or ~ 10 cents per lunch!). Students not on the meal plan can eat occasional meals and drop cash in an unmanned donation box.

Kids love the food too. Meals are taken in the company of friends (and associated peer-pressure to finish their plate). Lunch is done within 20-30 minutes, and since they still have an hour break, they get to play around, gossip, or browse the library.

Thus I showed up just before lunch time to “test the quality of the school lunch program.” I always have interesting reasons to be present wherever free lunch is served. Very delicious food and a primary reason why we included lunch as part of the scholarship package we provide needy students. Whenever you are in Kumta, you are welcome to join in for a free lunch!

See pics from the Lunch, below

Boys and girls line separately for their lunches; senior students (X Std/grade) take turns serving. This day they also served a special “payasam” (see nearest bucket)

Students wait for all their colleagues to be served before starting.

Then after a brief benediction in Sanskrit (Shanti Mantra),

They start to eat.

One more of the lunch/ auditorium

• Lunch at the Saraswati Vidya Kendra
• Shanbhag School in Kumta
• Academic Update from the Shanbhag School
• Scholarships for the Needy
• Scholarship Activities at Shikshan.org

The Shanbhag High School, managed by the Konkan Education Trust does not receive any governmental aid. But it follows the state determined academic syllabus and guidelines. While we attract many students who can afford fees, our family wanted to make good education particularly accessible to the poor. Thus last year we gave 16 scholarships to very needy students to attend either the Shanbhag High School, or the affiliated primary school, Saraswati Vidya Kendra. At a new site dedicated to our Scholarship activities, (Shikshan.org), you can browse the list of Scholarship Recipients for 2007-2008.

You can also read about my personal challenges in identifying needy girls: Where are all the needy girls?

We did not rest, last December (2007) during my travels to Kumta I visited most of the scholarship recipients in their homes. The visit served two purposes: (a) to meet the families and convince them of our commitment to support their child’s education ~ and in turn expect them to make education a priority; and (b) to ensure that these were indeed needy families, which I could determine from their living conditions.

They lived in simple 1 or 2 room homes, or with relatives, and it was emotionally overwhelming to experience the gratitude of these families. Below, I share with you some of the scholarship recipients in their home settings. Appropriately I have omitted their names.

We supported the girl; this was their front room/living room/bedroom and the kids studied on the bed. Behind was a smaller kitchen/dining area.

She came from a family of traditional fisher folks.

We supported the boy. As discussed in Where are all the needy girls? the sister in 4th grade was enrolled in the Kannada language school. She wanted to be in the Shanbhag School with her brother but unaffordable. On hearing this, I asked her mother (father is no more) to enroll her in our school for the next year. When I visited Kumta last month, we got the girl enrolled with a full scholarship! Yaay!

You can see the kitchen and dining area in the back. As traditional families do, they sit on the floor to eat.

We are supporting the boy. You see one of several sisters in the background, who have all graduated from the Kannada language school. With limited professional or career options, they work as cooks and serve meals to students in a part of their house.

We are supporting one of these delightful twins, seen here drawing and finishing their home work.

If you are interested in helping children get an outstanding education, see what we have started at Shikshan.org; and particularly, How to Help!

• Shanbhag School in Kumta
• Academic Update from the Shanbhag School
• Lunch at the Shanbhag School
• Lunch at the Saraswati Vidya Kendra; Audio of Kids Chanting
• Scholarship Activities at Shikshan.org

Tambdo phovu is very easy to prepare and inexpensive. The biggest expense would be the coconut and in the Konkan, every family would have their own coconut trees. You could mix as little or as much as you’d want. It doesn’t spoil, though the phovu may soften a bit.

The key ingredient here is the phova piTTo (powdered spice mix). Earlier, this would be made in every home, but now families simply buy it in the market. Phova piTTo from Kumta is famous! On every visit to Kumta I pickup a pound to bring here, and also for my aunts and cousins living in Mumbai (who are too lazy to travel to Kumta). Shilpa of Aayi’s Recipes has a recipe for the Kumta phova piTTo!

After much pestering, Manashi has developed a taste for it and now makes delicious tambdo phovu. I get it at least once on the weekend! I count my blessings, else I’d have to make do with chemical laden, starchy mush called cereal!

Ingredients

• Phovu (thin puffed rice, 2 cups)
• soyi (grated coconut, 1/2 cup; we use the frozen variety, microwaved to thaw)
• Kotumbari (coriander seeds, 1 tbsp)
• Jirae (cumin seeds, – 1/2 tsp)
• Tambdi mirsang (dried hot red peppers, 4 medium sized)
• Saakar (sugar, 1 tsp)
• MeeTh (salt, to taste)

Method:

• Roast the coriander and cumin seeds; then the red peppers separately in a wee bit of oil.
• Collect in a steel bowl, along with the soyi, poha piTTo, sugar and salt.
• I use a pestle (of mortar and pestle) to first crush the seeds, the red peppers and then crushingly mix with the phova piTTo, soyi, sugar and salt.
• Mix in the phovu in small amounts.
• Moisture from the soyi should be sufficient to soften the phovu, but you can sprinkle a few drops of water.
• Serve with some sev on the side.
• Bon apetit!

• Shilpa has a slightly different, but equally delicious recipe for the red phovu.
• You may like another of my Konkani Favorites: Kadgi Chakko!

and my favorite Kumta related posts:

• Kumta: Jewel of the Konkan
• Kumta: Field of Dreams
• Kumta: Main Street
• Kumta: School Kids
• Or you can see all my posts in KUMTA category

Eat Healthy! Live Long! Run Far!

A few blocks from our place in Kumta is a little “girNi” (or mill) which grinds various types of flour. It is run by a distant relative ours; apparently everyone in Kumta is related to each other! And fortuitously for me, he was milling raagi flour that day. So here’s a little tour of the making of Raagi Flour.

Shanbhag maam (in Kumta I call all elders by this honorific ~ we are all related, you see) poses with a bag of Raagi flour.


Raagi comes in these 110 lb bags and Shanbhag maam hauls these on his back!

My first look at whole raagi (Red millet or African millet).

In this simple contraption, the millet is ground. Through the homemade bellows in the foreground, the ground raagi collects in tin cans. The husk blows up through the pipe at the top and collects in the cloth bag in the back.

To cool, the ground raagi is heaped on newspapers on the floor, then hand filled in plastic bags and sealed. For a pittance I bought a couple of bags of raagi flour and carried them to our home here. On our dining table, raagi bhakri will appear more often. Yaay!

A closer look at the owner/manager/laborer/bag filler/cashier/cleaner/load hauler!

Leaving the school, the bus was packed! I felt guilty as a seat was saved for me. But gave me a chance to take a few pics.

Little kids from the adjacent primary school got the pride of place next to the driver. At each stop, the conductor would literally carry a little one and hand them over to one of their parents waiting at the stop. Then joyously they would scamper away.


The kids were superbly well behaved and engaged in mindless banter the entire way. This kid looked at me suspiciously the entire ride.

A bunch just behind me.

One of the spiffy school buses. Here in Kumta, cows are an ubiquitous presence. Chewing cud, this calf sauntered in just in time to have its pic taken. As M had not accompanied me to Kumta, this pic elicited the well expected: “sooooo cute!” That was for the calf, not the bus.

During my travels to India, I look forward to visiting our ancestral town of Kumta – Jewel of the Konkan in coastal Karnataka. And when I read that Shilpa’s Aayi (mother) actually lives in Kodkani, a village near Kumta, I had to make the pilgrimage and take darshan of this Devi – the inspiration behind Aayi’s Recipe. I contacted Shilpa and asked to visit her parents. She readily agreed and gave me their contact details.

And on a beautiful Saturday, I hitched a ride on a school bus dropping kids off to kodkani. Now, that in itself needs a separate post.

As the bus pulled up at the designated place, Shilpa’s father was waiting and brought me to their beautiful home! Wow! A traditional style bungalow, which immediately transported me back to the home of my grandparents in Bhatkal. Terracotta tiled roof; an open ‘jagli’ and a tulsi vrindavan in the front yard. The magnificently blossoming tulsi gave me great vibes of the place (see pic later).

And what a joy it was to finally meet Shilpa’s Aayi! Yes, Aayi of “Aayi’s Recipes.” Hundreds of thousands have salivated at her dishes, as shared by Shilpa. Legions have been inspired to try her creations for their loved ones. And so many look forward each day to new posts to titillate the palate. And I was invited to a beautiful konkani lunch made by her!

Look at the spread. I hurriedly captured it before wolfing everything down. By the time I was through, not a morsel was left. What is more beautiful than all those recipes Shilpa posts on AayisRecipes? Eating dishes lovingly made by her Aayi! … and I got to eat it! nyean, nyean, nyean, nyean!


Here is the Tulsi Vrindavan in the aangan.

After lunch and general discussion on the state of Kumta Schools, Shilpa’s father took me to the nearby river Aghanashini – translating roughly as: “Remover of sins.” I know what you are thinking: “Arun go take a dip!” You are just jealous I got to eat that Aayi-made lunch. nyean, nyean, nyean, nyean!

What a idyllic place grow up and raise a family. This dug-out was going out to the delta and picking up sand, which is a significant economic activity here.

Another pic of the river with a nearby boat resting on its side. I can see myself, taking a nap in the shade of the coconut trees yonder. (click image to see a larger version)

Shilpa’s father then drove to me a nearby Devi temple and then dropped me off to a mutual friend’s. All in all a great way to spend an afternoon! Thank you Shilpa and your Aayi for inviting me into your home!

A few years ago, I visited Kumta and got a tour of the school. I was thrilled to see an institution bearing my grandfather’s name. My joy multiplied on seeing needy students grateful for the basic services offered there. That was a turning moment in my life – a call to action, to serve this area, the students and the school!

Now every time I visit India, I make a beeline to Kumta, stay at a cousin’s house and work with the school management on improving facilities and educational opportunities for locals. And there is so much need. Everything from scholarships for needy students, to tutoring, to books for the library and developing new courses. And even when I am in Boston, I am constantly working with the management and my extended family, trying to develop consensus on new projects. And what a satisfying mission it is.

The question I ask myself is:
With all my education, training and skills, how do I help improve educational opportunities in Kumta, and ultimately the standard of living of the locals?

In future posts I will share some of the work that we have done over the last few years. And when I recount the challenges, you will realize it is not as simple as donating a few old computers.

These are pictures I took at the school on my first visit there in 2004, with my older archaic Olympus point and shoot.

and many more were sitting at the edge of the quadrangle, oblivious to the goings on in the auditorium. And a well used school bell!

Shoes and sandals are left outside classrooms.

The spectacular view looking out from the top of the school! Yes, it is on top of a hill and in the distance I could catch a glimmer of the Arabian Sea.

And the view out front from street level!