Nutritious Pomegranate - Invaluable gift from God's paradise

Pomegranate ( Botanical Name :Punica granatum) is one of the oldest well known fruit which has stupendous values. It is categorized under shrub which is also said to be tree by some researchers. Its height ranges from 16 to 26 ft. Pomegranate is said to be a native of Persia. But it is widely cultivated in Africa, The Mediterranean, Europe, Indian subcontinents and in the Southeast Asia. It is considered under one of the powerful fruits.

As we move back to history, Pomegranate was said to be one among the oldest fruits since it was seen right from 100 B.C. The pomegranate is considered as a sacred tree in various religions. Almost every religion considered that the fruit has an eternal value. Many believe that it symbolizes prosperity,resurrection of Christ, fruitfulness, ambition and fertility. Ancient peoples considered this fruit as 'King of all fruits' and the most interesting fact about this fruit is that the crown shaped edge at the top of this Pomegranate fruit is said to be one of the reasons behind design of crowns that was used to honor the kings.

Pomegranate cultivation in India :

                  One of the major advantage about Pomegranate is, its drought - tolerance capacity. Hence it can also be cultivated in areas with hot climatic conditions. Among the world countries, India comes under a part of largest Pomegranate productions. As per National Horticulture Board in India, Pomegranate is commercially cultivated in Maharashtra at large scale. Whereas in states like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Punjab and Rajasthan there are cultivated at small scale. I read somewhere that about 60-70 percent export of Pomegranate from India comes from Maharashtra. In India, the Pomegranate plants generally grown throughout the year. It is said that the tree takes almost 4 to 5 years to bear fruits and once the fruit starts appearing it takes 120 - 130 days to get ready for the harvest.

Pomegranate Tree at Vellore

Images Courtesy : Internet
The image at the right is from my capture taken during an evening at Ratnagiri temple, Vellore, Tamil Nadu


The Pomegranate fruit may take such a long time to harvest, but I would say its quite worth waiting for such an astonishing fruit. The reason behind the words 'worth waiting' can be found below :

Astonishing values of Pomegranate :

                    ~* Pomegranate are said to be purely antioxidants. These Pomegranate seeds avoids blood clotting and it is said that it acts like aspirin tablet.

                    ~* Pomegranate seeds are very much good for the human heart. It is said to increase oxygen levels to the heart when consumed as juice.

                    ~* Pomegranate helps to reduce the risks of heart diseases, breast cancer, atherosclerosis (disease of arteries) and cholesterol. It also helps to control high blood pressure.

                    ~* It helps you to control your weight, fights against cell damage and it minimizes aging. This fruit helps you to avoid wrinkles in skin and helps to have a healthy skin.

                    ~* Pomegranate is used in the Ayurveda medicines over thousands of years. It is used to cure diarrhea, dysentery and intestinal diseases.

                    ~* The Pomegranate juice helps to prevent the risk of heart diseases, prevents viral infections and it helps to slowdown the worsening of human cartilage.

                    ~* Pomegranate is rich in fiber which helps proper digestion. Regular intake of this fruit helps to improve immunity and blood circulation since it is also rich in Vitamin-C.

                    ~* It also helps in reducing dental plaques(that causes tooth decay). The juice helps for strong teeth.

                     ~* The fruit and juice is used is said that it may prevent stroke and helps in reducing Alzheimer's disease.

                     ~* Since this fruit has natural sugars it is said to be safe for diabetes.

                     ~* It helps in fighting bone loss and helps during menopause.

Culinary Use :

                    ~* The seeds of the fruit can be taken directly or can be consumed in form of juice which has more advantage.The Pomegranate juice can be added in soups, sorbets and can also be used as flavors in cakes.

                    ~* Pomegranate seeds can be used in salads to increase the taste as well as to garnish.

                    ~* One of my personal experience is my mother used to sprinkle the Pomegranate seeds over the curd rice and give it. Just try this if you like. It tastes good and also adds nutritious value.


After reading this now, you might have understood why I said its worth waiting for this fruit. Make use of this wonderful invaluable gift from God's own nature.

I hereby thank my mother for suggesting me to post about Pomegranate.

Sources :  globalhealingcenter.com
                nutrition-and-you.com
                wikipedia.org
                National Horticulture Board.

Thanks for reading :)

Canna Lilies - Best solution for water scarcity

Canna ( Canna Lily) plant is said to be a genus of nineteen species of flowering plants as per wiki. Even-though they are not a true lily, it is named so. The Canna Lily is a plant that has bright color flowers and it is also an agricultural plant. This Canna lily plant is considered to have the world's richest starch sources. It is tropical American plant which needs at-least 6 to 8 hours of sunlight. Due to this feature, this plant is grown around the world where these condition can be met. The flowers of this plant of usually red, orange or yellow in color.





















Images Source : Internet

Uses of Canna Lily :

   ~ They are widely used in Horticulture and as ornamental plants.

   ~ The rhizome ( i.e. horizontal underground stem ) of this plant is said to rich in starch which can be consumed by humans. The foliage( plant leaves) is used as animal fodder.

   ~ The fiber in the stem can be used as a replacement for jute.

   ~ The seeds are used as beads in jewelry and it is said that a purple dye can also be obtained from these seeds.

   ~ In Thailand, these Canna plants acts as a traditional gift for Father's day.

   ~ If you are an ardent bird watcher then it would be an additional treat for you to plant this plant as this plant attracts humming birds.

   ~ Last but not the least, most importantly, the Canna lily plant can be used to filter the impurities/pollutants. 


Now coming to the main crux of this post, the grey water recycling done with the help of this Canna plant can save you from water scarcity. This is what I have read about just few days back.

What is Grey water ?

           Grey water is nothing but the waste water that is being produced from baths, sinks and washing machines. This grey water completely differs from black-water which is a sewage. Hence grey water is safe to use and recycle.

Grey water recycling (GWR) :

           Grey water recycling (GWR) is done in many ways. The recycled water is used widely used for irrigation purposes , indoor reuse and in critical situations. The vital point to be noted is not all kind of purification methods is potable. Some of the recycling methods were done without purification and some were done with purification.

The grey water recycling process that I have read in 'The Hindu' Newspaper just few days back comes under the recycling method with purification that is done in the biological way which includes this Canna plant as a main source for purification.

Here's the link from 'The Hindu' newspaper where I read about this process :

http://www.thehindu.com/features/homes-and-gardens/

If you go through that entire article, you can understand how much benefits we would get through this process. It is mentioned that this GWR process was already mentioned along with the rain water harvesting system that was implemented in the year 2002. But very few are aware about this till date. Today, almost many cities including Chennai are in quest for uninterrupted water supply especially during the summer. An apartment in Adyar, Chennai is said to be free from this quest as they have implemented this process with the help of the Canna lily plant.

I hope that this process would be a solution for water scarcity, pollution free environment and for an adequate ground water source.

Thanks for reading :)

Furious Nature - The Uttarakhand Tragedy

Nature is not just known for its beauty, but also for many disasters. It is all about how carefully we treat our nature. When we cause so much harm to our own surroundings, it shows off the result in some means of disasters.Everyone of us would have heard about the recent disaster that had happened in Uttarakhand where many of them died and most of them were stranded. It is widely said that this Uttarakhand tragedy is not uncommon since that area is always prone to natural disasters. But some researchers and environmental enthusiasts say that it is also caused due to deforestation, construction of more dams that needs tunneling the ground and also due to some careless constructions of buildings, lodges and homes in the river bed which are being washed away in the floods.

Uttarakhand aka Uttaranchal is a northern state of India which was partitioned from Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. As per wiki it is said that Uttarakhand is the 19th most populated state in India. Since Uttarakhand is mostly covered by mountains ( Himalayas in the northern side) and forests it acts an important tourist site. Uttarakhand is one among the most famous pilgrimage sites where the sacred temples like Kedarnath and Badrinath is located. It is where the two major rivers of India the Ganga and the Yamuna originates at Gangotri and Yamunotri respectively. They were said to be caused by the glaciers melts, lakes and streams in their place. Adding to this there are two national parks such as the Valley of Flowers and the Nanda Devi national park located in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand which are considered under the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Many of the most famous hill stations of India like Nainital and Mussoorie are located in Uttarakhand.

Being such an enriched state, Uttarakhand has also been prone to earthquakes and floods always. But this time it has faced something bigger and harder than before I guess. As we all know there was a major cloudburst in the state this year in MID-June, it is said that it takes almost two or five years to resume back to normal. Since the tragedy has happened in the middle of the pilgrimage season, thousands of lives has been ruined. Due to this cloudburst, heavy floods had washed away many lives, buildings, pathways and bridges which made many people left stranded and helpless. Many lodges, hotels and houses have also been washed away by floods. The surprising fact is that despite this heavy downpour and lashing floods has washed away the compound walls of the Kedarnath temple, the Kedarnath Shrine has survived and is safe. And it is also said people inside the shrine has been saved while others were dead in front of the temple.









Images Courtesy : Ibnlive.com

But anyhow people whomever have survived this calamity had said that they have found and seen God in the Indian army and the ITBP ( Indo- Tibetan Border Police ) who played a brilliant and vital role in rescue operations. NDRF ( National Disaster Response Force )and NDMA ( National Disaster Management Authority ) have also done their part in the rescue operations. They used some ladders, ropes and even constructed small winch like machines to evacuate people. Most of all the IAF ( Indian Air Force) have also done a major Chopper evacuation to rescue stranded people. But the hardest part is many people have missed their loved ones.

Salute to all the brave hearts of the Indian Army, IAF, ITBP, NDRF, NDMA and some adventurer's who played a vital role in saving lives.

Many people who went there along with family members, have missed some or whole while returning back. It is reported that some people who have been rescued have placed some camps there and are waiting for their family members with hope. Despite these rescue operations, as I have read yesterday in the web that almost 1200 children were still missing. And the most terrible part is a 3 year old girl who is rescued with fractured legs is missing her family. She was found alone at Gaurikund and she got treatment at Doon hospital, Dehradun and got recovered now. Unfortunately this young child couldn't find her family yet. Hope their family reaches her soon.

Here I'm sharing few websites through which you can help since there are still missing peoples and relief's are being distributed.

http://chennai-cares.blogspot.in/
http://www.savethechildren.in/
http://www.giveindia.org/

'Google crisis response' has played a vital role to find the stranded people. They have also provided maps related to floods. Additional information's were provided in PTI.
Uttarakhand Floods Information as provided by Google :

Uttarkashi                                : (+91) 1374-226461
Chamoli                                   : (+91) 1372-251437, 9411352136
Rudraprayag                            : (+91) 1364-233727, 9412914875
Control Room (Uttarakhand)   :  (+91) 135-2710334, 9557444486

Since many people are still missing, the NDRF are planning to deploy some devices to trace them. As per this move, they have accepted to use a drone named 'Daksha' designed by Dr.Senthil Kumar of the Madras Institute of Technology ( MIT ). Here's an article from The Hindu Newspaper about it.
http://www.thehindu.com/

And kindly check this following link for some information regarding the cause of floods, how it can be tackled etc.,
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/

Preventive measures for such Natural disasters :

                   * We can't stop a natural disaster, but still we can avoid some of the causes of it. First thing is as much as we can, we must stop constructing buildings in or near the river beds.

                   * We must stop deforestation which is a very concerned issue. By cutting down the trees, we ourselves are creating damage to ourselves. By planting trees or conserving the existing trees we can make sure that excess water is consumed by the roots of the trees. In places like Uttarakhand, deforestation in mountains causes the landslides. It is said that planting Oak and Pine tress in these places could help to resist such situations.Have a look at this link in the Economic times about this: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/

                   * A proper rain water harvesting system and drainage system has to be constructed in a way that  it collects excess water. It is said that proper maintenance of these systems can avoid landslides.

                   * Constructions of dams must be regulated properly.

                   * Weather forecasting systems can be updated and regulated properly.

Hope we can still handle such situations wisely by studying the nature of our locality and regulate the activities according to it to avoid major disasters.

Hoping that everyone finds their missed loved ones soon.

Birdwatching - A recreational and a colourful activity

Birdwatching is the practice of observing birds and it is considered as one of the recreational activities. I would regard it as a blissful activity. Bird watching can be done using binoculars, telescope and even with a naked eye. It is believed that bird watching has been in practise as a hobby since 1968. Bird watching activity is not merely a refreshing activity, but it also paves way for identifying and knowing some birds of our own locality.

As I myself haven't tried this officially, I would like to share some of the procedures to be followed for bird watching that I read while surfing in the Internet.

Steps for Bird-Watching :

* First get an up to date Bird guide of your locality,

* Get a pair of binoculars( make sure it is of light-weight),

* Find friends of similar interests to accompany you,

* Start bird watching in the morning as birds would be busy in search of food and building nests. An ideal time for bird watching is early morning or just few hours before sunset.

* Start finding the birds from your own garden or backyard,

* Be quite, alert and attentive enough to hear the bird chirps or songs which makes easy to locate them,

* When you find a bird check it in the guide. Dont look for a similar colour of bird as in the guide, just check the whether it has similar features as colour many vary at times, the characteristics remain the same.

* Note down all your findings,

* Make sure that you don't disturb any birds while the activity. Maintain some distance so that they dont flew away or attack as you may near their nests. Do not disturb their privacy.

* Place some bird feeders in your garden or balcony so that you may invite many birds and you could easily witness different birds of our locality.

* Make sure that you hide in a place while capturing some pictures of them or noting them so that the birds wont get scared.

* Last but not the least, try your part in safeguarding their existence.

Birdwatching in India :

I was amazed while surfing about birdwatching in India. India is believed to have around 1250 species of birds and hence it acts as a kingdom of birds. It is said that out of 27 orders and 155 families of birds species that have been noted down by many bird enthusiasts around the world, India has 20 orders and  77 families. Despite having such richness in our biodiversity, we are aware of only fewer kind of birds. It is clear that we are less aware of our biodiversity and we do rarely spend time in knowing about our biodiversity and yes birdwatching activity would help us here in such situations. Despite living a incessant life in today's world, we can spend few hours in the weekends to relax ourself in such kind of activities.

Bird lovers have a look into this website - http://www.indiabirds.com/
I just love it. You can hear the sounds and chirps of many different birds of India in this website. You can also check the videos and qulaity pictures of Indian birds here. Bird lovers don't miss this site.

Birdwatching in Chennai :

Chennai might be the hottest place ever in summer. Despite that I read that Chennai still acts as a haven for more than 200 species of birds. As Chennai is located at the coromandel coast of south India, the geographical features of Chennai plays a vital role in attracting many birds. Most of the birds visit Chennai during the seasons from October to March.

Here's a list of places where you can do birding/birdwatcing in Chennai :

• Adyar Eco Park/Tholkappia Poonga (Situated on the banks of Adyar Estuary),
• Chembarambakkam Lake,
• Guindy National Park,
• Indian Institute of Technology( IIT ) campus, Madras
• Kelambakkam Muttukadu Backwaters ( Best time to visit : November to February),
• Karikili Bird Sanctuary ( located 6 kms away from Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary ),
• Madhavaram and Manali Lakes ( Best time to visit during NorthEast Monsoon),
• Mudaliarkuppam Backwaters,
• Nelapattu Bird Sanctuary,
• Nanmangalam Reserve Forest,
• Pallikaranai Marsh ( Best time to visit : November to May),
• Pulicat Lake/Shar Road and Annamalaichery Backwaters,
• Siruthavur Lake,
• Theosophical Society Gardens,
• Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary ( Best time to visit : November to February) and
• Vedanthangal scrub and reed bed.

Note : Check with the concerned authorities before visiting any of these places as they require permissions.

Apart form all these places, there are some other places where native birds can be found more than migratory birds. It was interesting to know about an unknown and uncommon place for bird watching in Chennai. I found this information in one of the websites I surfed on the Interent. Probably some of them may know or may not know this place located between Tiruporur and Tirukazhukundram. It is said to be reserve forest area where we can witness a lot of native birds and hence note that you don't get into the reserve forest area without permissions.

Here I'm sharing some pictures of birds in Chennai from the web :

Indian Robin

Rose Ringed Parakeet

Purple Rumped Sunbird- Female

Common Myna

 

Common Tailor Bird

Asian Koel

Spotted Dove

 

Red vented Bulbul

Greater Flamingo in Pulicat Lake

Small Blue Kingfisher

Images Source : Internet
There are many more birds of Chennai. You can check the list of birds of Chennai in this link : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

Keep exploring about the birds around your place and have a touch with our biodiversity to know about the hidden values of our environment.

Thanks for reading :)

A fragrant day at The Ambipur Indiblogger meet at Chennai

Hi all. I'm so glad to share about the recently ended Ambipur Indiblogger meet(26th May 2013) in Chennai at the Hyatt Regency, Annasalai. Since it was my first ever meet I was little nervous and excited about it and at-last I had a wonderful experience there with the blogger friends. Kudos to Indiblogger and Ambipur(air freshener) for arranging such a remarkable event. It was a great platform for the bloggers to interact with each other and to share their views on various topics.

Here's the schedule for the event :

Registration-01:00 PM, Just the Beginning-01:30 PM, 30 Seconds of fame-01:40 PM,

Lunch-02:30 PM, Smelly to Smiley-03:15 PM, Live & let comment-04:15 PM, IndiForum-04:45 PM, Photo Session-05:15 PM, Head home & keep Blogging-05:30 PM        

I was there by 12.40 PM at the venue and I was asked by the IndiTeam to wait in the lobby until the event starts. While waiting there I found bloggers similar to me who were also came for their first meet. We were discussing on various issues until the event started. The event started with our registration and we all got settled in our place and got to introduce our-self with fellow bloggers in our table. Then the Indiblogger team started with some games and gifts in which all of us participated. Two of our lucky blogger mates won the Samsung Galaxy S4 for their tweets on the event. Then it was followed by introduction part where few of our bloggers got a chance to introduce themselves. Since the attendees were more than 200, only few of us got the chance.

Then came the Lunch time. The food was awesome which included desserts, biriyani's, malai kofta and many more interesting dishes. Then after lunch we were made to do some exercises to keep us awakened after a heavy lunch ;) Then people who were in collar-less t-shirt or dress won a movie ticket each and I was one among them ;) Then a marketing person form Ambipur- the event sponsor came up with some interesting information on their product and explained us about how it works in the process of converting 'Smelly to Smiley' moment. Then few of our bloggers asked some queries to him about the product. Later all of us were given with an Ambipur car aqua air freshener. There were many fragrances of Ambipur and I got the 'Newzealand Springs' fragrance.

The interesting and funny moment of the event has came along then. We were separated into groups based on the flavor and each groups were given a topic to make a skit performance featuring Ambipur in it. Well after the announcement of the topics, we all got into our group to discuss on the skit and we had a wonderful time while doing the skit. It was totally a fun. Every group did their best with innovative ideas. As like their theme 'Escape into Freshness' , we all enjoyed the fragrant evening with fresh thoughts and moments.

During our team discussion on Skit - NewZealand Springs

At the end of the event we all got to be a bit more attentive as many people spoke on various causes that they were a part of. Some campaigns and causes like 'Dark is beautiful' , 'AIESEC' , helping Govt.school students of Tambaram and many more valuable causes were discussed and I hope it would have helped to reach a wider audience that day. All credit goes to the Ambipur and Indiblogger team :) They gave us a nice platform to explore our skills, ideas and to meet our fellow bloggers. Last but not the least we all gathered for a group photo and each of us got an Indiblogger T-shirt. Finally we had some evening snacks along with tea and we dispersed back home finishing a wonderful event.

Pictures Courtesy : Indiblogger/facebook

Thanks a ton for the Ambipur and Indiblogger team for such an unforgettable event :) Looking forward to the next meet :)

Lavender - The Lovely and aromatic herb

Here's the next post on my favorite 'Lavender'.  Lavender which is well known for its fragrance is indigenous(native) to the mountain regions and can be grown in gardens or fields.This fragrant herb is native to Africa, southern Europe, the Mediterranean region, southwest Asia and southeast India. But now it is widely cultivated all over the world for its aromatic nature. Despite its aroma, the other notable feature is the color of its flower . one of my favorite color indeed. It gives you a pleasant sight while seeing its flowers in bloom over in the garden or a field. It is also well known in biblical times as 'spikenard'. As I seen somewhere in the web, I came to know that the first use of this name 'Lavender' for a color term in English was used in 1705. Lavender has a great history for its healing properties. It symbolizes elegance, silence and spirituality. You can read the meaning of Lavender here : http://www.lavender-flower.net/

The lavender herb grows at its best when it has a good exposure to sunlight. Lavender is well known for its scent right from ancient times. Lavender is cultivated for its dried flowers and oil. It is believed that smelling the lavender flowers or the extract from the flowers which are made into oil can be used to relax the body and mind which produces a soothing effect. Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) belongs to the family Lamiaceae. It has 39 species. Lavender Lavender herb has green leaves and long spikes which bears the purple-blue flowers. The flowers usually bloom from June to September.

Types of Lavender :

                      ~Lavandula angustifolia (English Lavender)
                      ~Lavandula dentate (French Lavender) and
                      ~Lavandula stoechas (Spanish Lavender)

In India, Lavender cultivation can be well suited in Himalayas, but it is being experimented all over India. Near the manasbal lake, north of Sringar lavender is grown in a filed of 50 hectares by a woman, Dr Gazalla Amin. Click here for more on it - http://www.indianexpress.com/

Here are some cultivation process :
http://www.buzzle.com/


Here's the picture of world's largest Lavender garden. Located at Tasmania (South to Australia)

Numerous hidden values of Lavender :

                There are numerous values and uses of Lavender. It has various commercial, medicinal,culinary uses and above all for healing purposes. It's essential oil is widely used in making scents, perfumes for its aroma.

             ~ Lavender oil is used for antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties. It is nicknamed as 'first aid in a bottle' for its multiple medicinal properties. Lavender was used in World war I and II when there was scarce in medicines.
             ~ It is used for relieving the muscular aches, sprains, stress, anxiety and many more.
             ~ It is used to treat insomnia, stomach problems, infections, poor vision, nerves disorder and dizziness and used in aromatherapy.
             ~  It is believed that the smell of lavender gives you tranquility and it eases you of depression and stress.
            ~ On the commercial front, Lavender is mostly used to make perfumes which are quite unique from other. It aroma increases the mental activity and removes you from nervous problems.
            ~ On the culinary front, candies are made from the Lavender flowers and they are used in making cakes. Since the Lavender flower has nectar in abundance, it attracts more bees which gives honey.They are also used in salads and for decorative purposes. Lavender herbal tea made of its flowers is used to promote sleep and to cure nervous disorders and stress.
            ~ Most importantly it is used in healing process like relaxing the mind and body. It is said that Lavender seeds or flowers placed under a pillow gives some relaxing and tranquil experience.
                            

Pictures courtesy : Internet

I was quite surprised and delighted to know about these valuable and hidden qualities of my own favorite Lavender and happy to share this with you all.

Thanks for reading.
Have colorful and Blessed days ahead. :)