New integrated terminal of Ranchi airport
Inside the arrival hall of recently opened new, glistening integrated terminal of Birsa Munda Airport [IXR] in Ranchi. This new terminal building also has provisions for customs & immigrations, duty free shops. May be Ranchi is going to be on international aviation map in coming years.
Happy birthday, Jaya!
Today’s Jaya’s birthday. Her mother was quite upset that because of her hospitalization and disease, Jaya’s birthday could not be celebrated this year. I convinced her that we would celebrate her birthday and also the wedding anniversary of Jaya’s elder brother, which is tomorrow.
Jaya’s younger brother had also come for two days from Ferozepur (Punjab), where he is working currently. He’s leaving tomorrow morning and we are also leaving for Ranchi for couple of days as we have some urgent work there.
I arranged for two cakes one for Jaya’s birthday and another for her brother’s anniversary. Jaya’s mother was still not very happy and she wanted some nice dinner to follow. I arranged for take away foods for our dinner tonight and informed her menu. She was then quite satisfied. But the poor lady is on nasal feeding and is having only liquids like milk, juices, clear soups etc.
I went to the Kali temple in the afternoon to pray for Jaya and her mother. Babai brought the cakes in the evening. It’s nice that Jaya’s two cousins also turned up at the hospital in the evening to see her mother along with their wives. So the cakes were cut in presence of all local family members.
Jaya cutting her birthday cake
It was followed by Dada & Boudi cutting their anniversary cakes.
Dada & Boudi cutting their wedding anniversary cake
I am happy not because that Babai & I were with Jaya on her birthday today, but the evening arrangements made her mother happy. She’s now looking forward to celebrate her birthday next year and this is what I wanted. This was my mission.
Happy birthday, Jaya! I love you, dear!
‘Taaza Ganne ka Ras’ in a hot summer afternoon
Babai and I went to bakery & confectionery shop near to the hospital for some sandwiches and patties for us and Jaya, Guttu and boudi. While on our return, we saw a fresh sugarcane juice vendor. In hot summer afternoon, a glass of fresh sugarcane juice is a cool refresher. So, we went for the fresh sugarcane juice – ‘taaza ganne ka ras’.
Sugarcane juice is the juice extracted from pressed sugarcane. Rollers are used to physically press the stalks to release the juice. This process helps retain more nutrients in the final juice compared with using high-speed juicing machines that cut the cane with blades.
A glass of fresh sugarcane juice has on average 11% to 13% total sugar content. This is less sugar than a glass of orange juice or apple juice and far less sugar than most soft drinks. Fresh sugar cane juice also contains a range of ‘living’ antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, enzymes and fibre. The rest of the juice consists of water brimming with an abundance of vitamins and minerals.
A squeeze of lemon, lime or orange juice is traditionally added to fresh sugar cane juice to give it a pleasant taste and to slow down the oxidation process. Citrus fruit contains ascorbic acid (vitamin C), which helps stabilize cane juice and slow down the oxidation process.
Bharbhuja as our lunch
Bharbhuja [parched grain] is cooked usually using short grain par boiled rice, chickpeas, groundnuts. Rice, chickpeas, groundnuts are roasted in a huge wok-like vessel called karahi with hot sand. A karahi is a type of thick, circular, and deep cooking pot (similar in shape to a wok) used in South Asian cuisine.
The food is stirred all the time for even distribution of heat. The delightfully crunchy, flavorful snack, perfect for packing in a lunch is produced and it is filtered through a sieve to drain all the sand. Then toss them with whatever flavorings you like – I used salt, Chili powder, lemon juice, onion, and black pepper.
Not the most gorgeous thing in the world, but once you throw them in a little bowl they look just fine. It’s amazing how the chickpeas, groundnuts and rice go from soft to crunchy; they really have a satisfying texture!
We have ‘Bharbhuja’ as our lunch daily as this is available just outside the hospital gate.
At Allahabad to see my ailing mother-in-law
After the first day of chemotherapy, my mother-in-law fell very sick. She was complaining of severe heartache. The doctor treating her for cancer removed the chemotherapy and continued with some other injections. After 3 days, she was referred to a heart hospital in Allahabad. The doctor there found that she was suffering from recurring angina. She was kept on ICU for her intensive treatment.
It seems that her condition is very serious. Jaya is crying in private whenever I call her. Her father, brothers were all in grim mood. So, I decided to pay a visit to them and to see my mother-in-law.
I left Baghdad yesterday morning for Allahabad. Babai also wanted to see her granny. So, we made a joint programme that would meet at Varanasi airport and from there, we will there we will travel to Allahabad in a cab.
After 6 days of treatment there, the heart specialist referred her back to Kamla Nehru Memorial Hospital, which is also housing the Regional Cancer Center. My mother-in-law was shifted to Kamla Nehru Memorial Hospital in the morning today.
Kamla Nehru Memorial Hospital, Allahabad
I reached Varanasi airport at around 3 pm via Delhi and Abu Dhabi, while Babai arrived there at around 5 pm.
Abu Dhabi airport
Waiting to catch the flight for Varanasi at Terminal 1D of Delhi airport
Then we proceeded for Allahabad. We decided to go straight to the hospital. Due to Ram Navami celebrations today, we reached Allahabad at 9 pm. It’s a long 36 hour journey for me and I was yet to reach home!
Having beer while waiting for Babai at Varanasi airport
My mother-in-law started crying as she saw her. She was very grim and sad. Babai & I talked to her for quite some time and pepped her up. She actually lost all hopes as she knew that she’s suffering from cancer, which is at 4th stage.
Thank God, I could manage to infuse confidence and faith in her that she can survive… and stay well as long as she is destined to live on this earth.
We returned home at 11 pm after Jaya’s elder brother came to the hospital. It’s a long journey for me and I am dead tired.
Shubho Nababarsha 1420!
“নির্মল করো, উজ্জ্বল করো,
সুন্দর কর হে।
জাগ্রত করো, উদ্যত করো,
নির্ভয় করো হে।”
অনন্ত শুভকামনা ১৪২০এ সকলকে।Happy Poila Baisakh!
Shubho Nababarsha 1420!
Happy Bengali New Year 1420!
Dusts all around
As I walked out of my bedroom today in the morning for the bathroom, I smelled dusts inside our house. I peeped outside through my window to see a blanket of dusts covering all around. It’s another dusty, dreary summer morning in Baghdad.
Videos
We went deep inside the Indian Ocean in a boat to see the dolphins in the ocean. A dolphin obliged us by jumping into the air from the water in a somersault. It’s awesome!
While in our trip deep into Indian Ocean, we encountered a school of dolphins swimming past our boat. It was amazing!
Images
The moment the date palm trees bloom, it is a warning sign to all from nature that – the summer has arrived. It is now the start of a new season, a new cycle. Slowly, the now flowered dates will develop, grow, and ripe as the summer reaches its peak. In Iraq, summer is very dry, and hot with day time temperature shooting beyond 50 degrees Celsius. I like any blossoming as it heralds a new life, a new hope despite all odds. It’s a harbinger of new beginning!
It’s a cool, cloudy day today with some light drizzle in the early morning. This is a lovely break from other warm days. Well, summer is just at the doorstep.
As I started posting this article, it started raining! I love the music of rain as it hits the ground. I love the smell of the earth when it rains.
Links
Rural Consumers in MENA: Myths and Facts about a Forgotten Consumer Segment
With a population of over 171 million in the rural Middle East and North Africa, the region represents a large reservoir of labour and a producer of food for the urban sector. Despite not being as well-heeled as their urban counterparts, these rural consumers make up for this with their sheer volume. With the rapid development of internet technology and the push for higher efficiency in agriculture, they may soon become a major consuming force.
Iraq to bring banks to the masses – by mobile
Just a fifth of Iraqis have bank accounts, but 70 percent have mobile phones, so Baghdad is hoping to close the gap by getting people to open accounts, make payments and transfer cash – all via mobile.
Quotes
“Be still, sad heart! and cease repining;
Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;
Thy fate is the common fate of all,
Into each life some rain must fall”
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, The Complete Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
“Who has never killed an hour? Not casually or without thought, but carefully: a premeditated murder of minutes. The violence comes from a combination of giving up, not caring, and a resignation that getting past it is all you can hope to accomplish. So you kill the hour. You do not work, you do not read, you do not daydream. If you sleep it is not because you need to sleep. And when at last it is over, there is no evidence: no weapon, no blood, and no body. The only clue might be the shadows beneath your eyes or a terribly thin line near the corner of your mouth indicating something has been suffered, that in the privacy of your life you have lost something and the loss is too empty to share.”
― Mark Z. Danielewski, House of Leaves
