Lounge Loves: The canal clinic, ‘Muthu Engira Kaattaan’ and more
Also featured, a spicy chutney at a restaurant in Bengaluru, bird call clocks that change the way you experience time
A ‘Fireworks’ Chutney
Being from Himachal, where kitchens are always stocked with chutneys/dips no matter the season, I am used to meals that arrive with a quiet flourish of condiments—sharp, smoky, herbal or fiery. But on a recent trip to Bengaluru, I tasted a dip that can only be described as fireworks in a tiny bowl. At Coracle restaurant, a neatly cut rectangular block of steamed kappa, tapioca (or cassava), is served alongside a chutney of finely chopped onions, bird’s-eye chillies and coconut oil. The flavour had a surprising tang that I first mistook for a particular variety of lemon. Curious, I asked the chef. “Only tamarind,” she said, before walking me through the recipe. My three-course meal included a generous helping of this dip. —Pooja Singh
Bird Calls
A friend recently told me about “Twitter clocks”. Not the kind that chime hourly outrage, these mark time with birdsong from 6am-10pm. I bought the Himalayan Birds Twitter Clock by MAK Clocks last week. It is conceptualised and designed by Anil Kunte, while the bird calls were recorded in the wild by Sharad Apte and Viral Joshi. I’m loving how it has rewired the way I experience time at home. Each hour arrives as a 20-second burst of a specific bird; the clock dial swaps numbers for bird portraits. My day now begins with the red jungle fowl at 6, followed by the hill partridge at 7. Lately, I’ve caught myself hurrying home before 10pm just to hear the black bulbul and begin the night routine. My friend says I’ll soon be able to tell the time based on the birdcall and the thought leaves me warbling on the inside. —Shephali Bhatt
The Canal Clinic
In Indian cities, we’ve seen vets who do home visits. But in the backwaters of Alleppey, where land is scarce and houses are tucked away behind narrow canals, I saw a different kind of house call, a floating hospital for livestock. In many parts of this region, there are no roads, or the paths are not good enough for a truck to carry a heavy animal to a clinic. On Tuesdays and Fridays, this boat travels a fixed route through the inner islands. For farmers who can’t travel to the main towns, the clinic is a vital resource they can literally wave down from the bank as it passes. It’s staffed by a surgeon and assistants who ensure that even in the most remote clusters, the animals aren’t left behind. —Ghazal Chengappa
Memories Unlocked
The new Tamil show, Muthu Engira Kaattaan (Muthu Alias Kaattan), playing on JioHotstar, plays out like a ticking bomb over 10 episodes. Directed by M. Manikandan and B. Ajithkumar, it has actor Vijay Sethupathi playing the titular role. Unlike his movies where he makes a grand entry, the actor’s arrival shot here is as a severed head. It’s up to a team of bumbling cops to then unravel who the person behind the head is. The plot has got enough intrigue but what struck a personal note for me—completely irrational, I know—was the way Sethupathi wears the lungi with the sides lifted and tucked in the middle such that it resembles a skirt. As a kid who spent her summer holidays in rural Tamil Nadu, it reminded me of simpler times where buying kutchi or stick ice was reason enough to dance around in joy. —Mahalakshmi Prabhakaran
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