DesiReflections

Chamaecostus cuspidatus, common name fiery costus or spiral flag, is a native to eastern Brazil . It is commonly known  as Insulin plant. In the recent years, the insulin plant has made an in road into India. It is claimed that the leaves of this plant has medicinal properties to cure diabetes.  I found it’s saplings in state nursery located at Aarey and  grown it in my balcony three years back  , the plant grew very fast and multiplied , now I have insulin plant in four pots . Recently , I noticed that the saplings are available on online platforms like Amazon in India. It is perennial upright plant with attractive flowers and spirally arranged long leaves. Consumption of the leaves are believed to lower blood glucose levels, and diabetics who consumed the leaves of this plant did report a fall in their blood glucose levels.  Many clinical studies also show that the reduction in the fasting and the postprandial blood sugar levels with leaves of insulin plant is...

Our Own Trusted Food Delivery Mechanism  In the changing time, the market is  booming up with food delivery apps like Zomato, Goffers, Swiggy , Doordash , UberEat , in that environment we have almost forgotten our very own robust food delivery mechanism, you can still find its traces in small towns and Kasbas.  To my pleasant surprise I found a man with tin canister at the entrance of our building, the entire security and housekeeping staff wait for him. When the price of everything soared , he still supplies hot samosas with tasty chutney each for Rs 5 . He lives in neighborhood prepares only 200 Samosas and finishes his stuff within a span of one hour, no costly and fancy plastic packings, in fact you can enjoy his stuff within the price of food delivery app’s delivery cost! But he is not alone, I have seen a Desi cookies maker who  performs his chorus on hand pulled thela, reaches each locality with clock work precision. Similarly , bhelapuri wala, chana wala , id...

घूमते   घूमते   बीत   गए   जमाने   घूमते   घूमते   हो   गए   हम   सयाने   घूमते   घूमते   नगर   से   नगर   गाँव   तक   की   डगर   पल     हो   गए   सुहाने   घूमते   घूमते   दिल   झूम   उठा   और   नशा   छा   गया   मिले   चंद     साथी   पुराने   घूमते   घूमते   मिट     गई   निराशा   मिल   गई   ज़िंदगी हो   गए   हम   दीवाने   घूमते   घूमते   जिन   से   हमने   कुछ   भी   चाहा   न   था   आ   गए   दिल   बहलाने   घूमते   घूमते   आज   तुम   मिल   गए   रास्ते   में   कहीं    हुईं   गपशप   इस   बहाने   घूमते   घूमते   इक   जगह   बैठ   के   ऊब   थी   हो   चली   ...

Do you know that our nose is a very advance and complicated smell detector. The nasal receptors are capable of discriminating billions, if not trillions, of smells, particularly ones that act as flavor components for food or drink. There are about 400 receptor types in our nose capturing    ambient molecules bobbing about in the air. These molecules trigger a complex chain reaction ultimately transforming into a perception, a signal. The signal pinballs its way around our brains: a coffee, dark roast; Temple visit in early morning; Mom’s kitchen. There is a big challenge world over to control bad smell at Airports, arenas, factories, people—they all stink, and they stink in particular ways. We know this because our noses tell us so.  Attempts have been made to recreate our oldest sensory experience with machines and technology have been woefully lacking so far . Modern everyday devices might be smart enough to recognize our faces and voices, read our pulses, and track our...

आँख   से   होंठ   का   सफ़र   सम्बन्ध   बना   लेना     कोई   मुश्किल   काम   नहीं    हां ,  इसमें   गर्माहट   आने   की   अलग   कहानी   है   आँख   से   होंठ   का   फ़ासला   तय   करने   में   कई   बार   तो   निकल   जाती   पूरी   जवानी   है   पुष्प - गुच्छ ,  चाकलेट   या   फिर   महँगे   उपहार  ,  सम्बन्धों   के   ठंडेपन   को   दूर   नहीं   कर   पाते   हैं   इस्तेमाल   कर   लेना   यह   आसान   सा   नुख़्सा प्यार   के   दो   बोल   कमाल   कर   जाते   हैं   लोग   अक्सर   पूछते   हैं     प्यार   किसे   कहते     हैं   मुझे   लगता   है   किसी   के   प्रति   जब   सरोकार   हो ...

Is China a real threat to Other World Powers ?  This year, Beijing is marking the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party with ample “nationalist bravado” and “an avalanche of official party histories portraying China as a monolithic powerhouse. It also boasts to outpace United States in terms of strategic and economic growth. It’s ambitious Belt and Road initiative is a sure shot way to transport its finished products deep into Europe, Africa as well as entire Asian region. It also flexes muscles in the    Indian Ocean.  Yet in tracing the course of China and the party over the past century , there are few reasons to believe that such triumphalism obscures a more complicated and varied past as the media is fully controlled and it is very difficult for an outsider to know what is really happening inside the iron curtains. Perhaps more important, it masks uncertainty about China’s future. The day U.S. President Joe Biden entered in his Oval Office , the Chine...

एक   सपने   की   मौत   सपने   देखना   कोई   अपराध   नहीं   है   हम   में   से   हर   आदमी   का   कोई   न   कोई   सपना   होता     है  .  वो   सपना   एक   ख़ुशहाल   ज़िंदगी  का   हो   सकता   है  ,  वो   सपना   अच्छे   स्वास्थ्य   का   हो   सकता   है ,    वो   सपना   ज़िंदगी   की   बुनियादी   ज़रूरतों   का   भी   हो   सकता   है  .  आज   मैं   आप   से   एक   सपने   की   मौत   के   बारे   में   बात   करने   जा   रहा   हूँ  ,  जिसके   लिए   धन   लोलुपता ,  सिस्टम   का   आँख   मूँद  लेना   और   राजनीतिज्ञों   द्वारा   किसी   पैसे   वाले   को   प्लेट   में ...