Palooda

It is strange to find far corners of the world connected by food. One such example is PALOODA - a sweet made in the month of Ramazaan in Channapatna. Surprisingly it is confined to this town only in this part of the world. Even people in Bangalore, just 50 KM away do not know what it is.

But surprise! Palooda is known as Dodol and is a typical Goanese desert. Besides as per Wickipedia

"Dodol is a toffee-like sweet food delicacy popular in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines especially in the Ilocos Region in Luzon and in the Lanaoprovinces of Mindanao, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Burma, where it is called mont kalama. It is also popular among the Roman Catholics from the west coastal Indian state of Goa. It is common fare on the streets of Zanzibar sold as halva. It is made with coconut milk, jaggery, and rice flour, and is sticky, thick and sweet. It normally takes up to 8–9 hours to cook dodol. From the start till the end of the cooking process, the dodol must be constantly stirred in a big wok. Pausing in between would cause the dodol to burn and that will spoil the taste and aroma. The dodol is completely cooked is when it is firm, and doesn't stick to your fingers when you touch it.

In Muslim majority countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia, dodol is commonly served during festivals such as Eid ul-Fitr and Eid al-Adha as sweet treats for children. The town of Garut in West Java is the main production center of dodol in Indonesia. There are many flavours of dodol available including a durian flavor, which is called "lempuk" available in Asian food stores. In Malaysia, its is quite popular amongst the eastern states such Kelantan and Terengganu, while in Indonesia durian dodol is popular in Medan and other Sumatran cities.

Dodol has also made its way to some middle eastern countries including Iran, where it is very common and normally preferred by women^{[citation needed]}. Though Dodol is proven to be fattening, it is used as a facemask and skin mask by some.^{[citation needed]"}

The dish in Channapatna is confined to the Mahdavi Community and is not cooked by others.

Similarly take our own Ragi Mudde - such a staple in Karnataka. Understandably Ragi mudde (Kannada: ರಾಗಿ ಮುದ್ದೆ) is also popular in neighboring Tamil Nadu and Andhra. It is known as Ragi Sangati (Telugu: రాగి సంగటి) in Rayalaseema region in India. In Tamil Nadu, especially in Western Tamil Nadu it is called Ragi Kali.

Polenta is a very famous Italian dish. This too bears remarkable resemblance to Ragi Mudde in some of its forms - the difference being Ragi is replaced with corn or buckwheat etc. Polenta is eaten through Europe

Fufu is another dish like Ragi Mudde but is native to Africa - particularly West and Central Africa

Food is truly the only bond

Baba Furry

As far as I remember we have had a pet in the house. When we were young and my father was in service we used to live in houses with huge compounds and invariably had a dog to guard it . House cats to catch mice were a sine qua non. We also had,over a period of time various other pets like pigeons, ducks, hens and even a squirrel. Then my father retired and we had to come to Bangalore where houses were small and we could only keep cats.

It took almost 20 years for the pet mania to revive. I was posted to Hospet where again we had the luxury of a large compound and we acquired 3 dogs. We came back to Bangalore with 2 dogs and therafter went to Dharwad. One of the dogs died in Dharwad. When in the year 2000 despite my best efforts I had to go to Mumbai this dog - a strapping Doberman had to be given away as we just couldn't keep him cooped up in a 2 bedroom flat . The pain made us resolve to keep only pets we could keep with us under all circumstances and when we were in Hyderabad we got a persian cat.

We grandiosely named it Nazneen Pasha but children always called it Mata as it gave us two cute kittens - Rustom Pasha and Ghazi Pasha alias Baba Furry

When transferred to Mumbai we had the good fortune to stay in Nerul where the Bank's residence had a 1 1/2 acre compound. We practically had a mini zoo .

Over time we have now been left with only Baba Furry. I have retired and Baba has become old and cantankerous. Two old souls giving each other company.

Channapatna

Was in Channapatna for a full day after 45 years. People say world has changed. These people should visit Channapatna. Nothing has changed here at least in the locality where our ancestoral house is. Same old narrow unpaved streets, same old dirt - but thankfully same old warmth of emotion in people. I would any day accept lack of change