CRUM'S CRISP FRIES

Potato chips

     In the late 19th century, New Yorkers would throng Moon's Lake House at Saratoga Springs to eat the potato fries that Chef George Crum made.

     So it came as a surprise to Crum when one day a customer complained that his fries were too thick.

     To please the customer, Crum sliced the potatoes thin but the customer continued to complain that the fries were not to his satisfaction. Finally in exasperation, Crum sliced the potatoes so thin that they couldn't be eaten with a fork. To his utter surprise, the customer loved them.

     Crum's crisp fries are what we call potato chips today.

JAPANESE ART OF FLOWER ARRANGEMENT

  Ikebana

     Ikebana is the Japanese art of flower arrangement. The term Ikebana comes from two Japanese words Ikru, meaning ‘to live’ and hana, meaning ‘flowers’.

     The flowers are used in odd numbers and placed in an asymmetrical triangle. The length of the flowers in the arrangement is proportionate to the vase. Three main lengths are used to signify man, earth and heaven. The angle at which each flower is placed is different to provide rhythm and movement to the arrangement. 

     Once the basic techniques are mastered, one is free to express oneself using plant materials like branches, barks, leaves, grass, moss, flowers, fruits or even seeds. The arrangement can be made on a platter, a vase, a cup, a wine glass or on anything that catches one’s fancy.

     What makes Ikebana different from other flower arrangements is its asymmetrical composition, the use of ‘empty’ space and lack of clutter. 'Less' is regarded as 'plenty'. One can create a beautiful arrangement with just one flower.

     Ikebana brings one close to nature. One gets to know the feel and texture of various flowers and the seasons when they are in bloom. The art instills patience and discipline and is a good stress buster, especially when one is bogged down by homework and studies. It teaches one to be in the present, and as an arrangement does not last long, one learns not to become attached to things. 

     Last but not the least, when one realises that one can create a good Ikebana arrangement with only a few flowers, one understands that it is possible to have a good life with only a few possessions.

AN IMPORTANT PROCESS IN FLOWERING PLANTS

 Pollination

     Did you know that some of the delicious fruits you enjoy are the result of the hard work put in by a tiny insect?  

     Pollen is a fine powdery yellow substance produced by flowers. The pollen from one flower has to be transported to another flower of the same species for fertilisation tooccur. A few plants disperse their pollen, aided by the wind. Aquatic plants float their pollen on water, but most plants depend on animal couriers. Mangoes, peaches, apples and a host of other fruits and vegetables are pollinated by bees and other insects such as wasps, moths, butterflies, flies, birds and even mammals like bats. In fact, some plants and their pollinators are so mutually dependent that one cannot live without the other!

Trick and Treat: Flowering plants have a number of lures to attract pollinators. Dazzling colours, heady fragrances, loads of sugary nectar and convenient perches are a few of them. Plants have also adapted their arsenals to suit the creatures visiting them. Blooms pollinated by nocturnal moths are white, large, showy and sweetly scented. They also have lots of nectar. Flowers pollinated by bats are flamboyant, and white or light-coloured since their visitors are nocturnal like the moths. Flowers that attract bees are usually yellow, blue and purple.

The Real Deal: There are 20,000 different species of bees! Of course, not all of them pollinate crops valuable to us. However, nearly three fourths of crop species that provide us food are bee-pollinated. A few among these are almond, cocoa, coffee, strawberries, avocado, mango, kiwi fruit, cashew, onions and tomatoes. 

     Pollination-dependent crops are five times as valuable as those that do not need pollination—their produce is worth between US$235 and US$577 billion a year. The volume of agricultural production dependent on pollinators has increased by 300 per cent in the last 50 years. 

  Wild pollinators: Wild pollinators are twice as effective as honeybees which have been raised for this purpose (known as ‘managed’ honeybees). The fruits and seeds are superior in every way, including nutrition, and the yield is much greater. Commercial apiaries (an apiary raises bees on a large scale) not only produce honey and beeswax, but also rent out their hives to farmers for pollination. For instance, California’s almond farms require almost a million beehives for pollination! The Latest Buzz: There has been a drastic decline in the population of wild bees and other wild pollinators. Not only have their habitats been degraded or destroyed, climate change has also had a devastating effect. Rising temperatures and extreme weather events have led plants to bloom at odd times when pollinators are absent or few, depriving the plants of fertilisation and the pollinators of food when they need it! Intensive agriculture (growing just one crop at a time) and the widespread use of pesticides have also led to a decrease in wild pollinators.

World Bee Day: Anton Janša is regarded as one of the pioneers of modern apiculture. 

     Janša was born in 1734 in Slovenia. His family owned more than a hundred beehives, so although he was a talented painter, he took up professional beekeeping. He designed a new beehive, perfected the techniques of producing honey and wrote books on apiculture. The United Nations decided to observe Janša’s birthday on 20 May as World Bee Day in 2017.

FACT FILE:

◆ The paw-paw, a fruit native to the US, depends on flies for pollination. Farmers hang rotten meat from the tree to draw in even more of them.

◆ Bats pollinate more than 300 species of fruit-bearing plants, including mangoes, bananas and guavas.

◆ Colony Collapse Disorder is a phenomenon affecting honeybee colonies in commercial apiaries. The colony suddenly dies with no healthy adult bees remaining. The bees leave the hive to collect nectar and pollen but never return.

◆ Plants can be pollinated by hand when there is a lack of natural pollinators. The pollen is transferred manually from the stamen of one flower to the pistil of another, using a cotton swab or small brush.

GHOST TOWN

 Kuldhara

     Kuldhara is a charming but deserted village, very close to Jaisalmer in Rajasthan. People call it a ghost town. Until the 19th century, Kuldhara was a prosperous village. It was established in the 13th century by the Paliwal Brahmins, who had migrated from Pali. 

     No one knows why the village was deserted all of a sudden. Some say it was because of drought, others attribute it to an earthquake and still others to Salim Singh, a powerful minister of the then state of Jaisalmer, who took delight in harassing the villagers with his unscrupulous tax collecting ways. 

     It is said that Salim Singh’s roving eyes fell on the beautiful daughter of the village headman. He tried to take her away by force but was prevented by her father and some villagers. Infuriated, he warned the people that he would levy steeper taxes if they dared to come in his way again. The villagers panicked and as night fell, they packed their belongings and quietly trooped out of the village. Kuldhara hasn’t been inhabited ever since. Many believe that this is because the villagers had cursed the place before leaving, saying that it would never be inhabited again. 

     People visiting or travelling through Kuldhara have reported hearing about people meeting with strange deaths if they tried to live there. Many have supposedly heard spooky sounds and seen ghosts walking about at night. 

     Ruins of empty houses, stepwells, temples and other community structures with pretty carvings stand as silent sentinels today. Kuldhara now enjoys the status of a heritage site and is being maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India. As the exodus took place on Raksha Bandhan, no member of the Paliwal Brahmin community celebrates the festival.

FIVE IMPORTANT MAXIMS

 Parable of the pencil

       The pencil maker took the pencil aside, just before putting it into the box. 

     "There are five things you need to know," he told the pencil, "before I send you into the world. Always remember them, and you will become the best pencil you can be.

     One: You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in someone's hand.

     Two: You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, but you'll need it to become a better pencil. 

     Three: You will be able to correct any mistakes you might make.

     Four: The most important part of you will always be what's inside.

     Five: On every surface you are used on, you must leave a mark. No matter what the condition, you must continue to write."

     Now, replacing "pencil" with "you" always remember the five maxims listed above.

     

DO YOU KNOW

 What is dry ice and what are its uses?

     Dry ice is the common name for the solidified (frozen) form of Carbon dioxide. It is so called because it does not melt into a liquid, but changes directly from solid to gaseous form when heated, in a process known as sublimation.

     Because of its extremely cold temperature -78⁰C, dry ice is very useful for refrigeration. Its main use is as a cooling agent. Being simple to use and easy to handle using insulated gloves, as well as non-toxic and completely dry, it is widely used as a refrigerant to ship frozen or medical products or to cool materials during production. Food-grade dry ice can also be put into beverages to cool them (but must not be eaten or swallowed).

     Another important use of dry ice is for blast cleaning, an effective and environment-friendly way to clean industrial equipment. This method involves shooting pellets of dry ice from a jet nozzle on to the equipment or machinery to be cleaned. This effectively removes residues of materials such as ink, glue, oil, paint etc.

     An interesting use of dry ice is in fog machines. When it is kept in water, sublimation ensues, creating dense clouds of smoke-like fog. This is very useful for dramatic effects in stage plays, dances etc. Hence fog machines containing dry ice are used in night clubs, theatres, film shooting sets and amusement parks.

     Dry ice is also an excellent material to enliven science lessons and is commonly used in school projects to make a volcano, a cloud chamber etc. 

HISTORICAL EVENT OF THE MONTH

 Fall of Bastille

     On July 14, 1789, a group of revolutionaries stormed and captured the Bastille, a medieval fortress in Paris that was used as a French state prison. The Bastille was a symbol of the tyranny of the reigning Bourbon monarchy and held an important place in the ideology of the French revolution, which in turn changed the face of modern politics across Europe and the world.

     In 1880, the French government passed a law declaring July 14 a public holiday. Since then, the day has been commemorated as La Fete Nationale, or Bastille Day in English, across France and French-speaking areas.