Allô Chatrath

I am stung to see two full page ads in English newspapers exhorting us to buy 'California Almonds'...... I would rather buy our own home grown Kashmiri almonds to help our Indian farmers than to buy 'California Almonds' imported from USA- a country that tries to humiliate India by slapping huge tariffs on Indian exports to USA.  

I visited Antigua, Guatemala in 2018. It is a small city surrounded by volcanoes in southern Guatemala. It’s renowned for its Spanish colonial buildings, many of them restored following a 1773 earthquake that ended Antigua’s 200-year reign as Guatemala’s colonial capital. Notable architectural examples include baroque La Merced church. It’s an integral part of the city’s famous Semana Santa, a holy week with parades and rituals.  

  I travelled in Bundi district of Rajasthan in December 2025. It was an eye-opener to see lush green fields all around. But a bigger surprise was to come on my table when I ordered my lunch of rice and dal. The plate of rice had long grains of rice spreading a nice aroma all around. Then I came to know that Bundi is a top rice-producing district in Rajasthan, renowned for producing premium quality Basmati and aromatic rice varieties (e.g., 1121, Sugandha) using, largely due to fertile soil and irrigation from the Chambal river system. I was told that the major exporter of Bundi rice is Bundi based Tansen Company. The region's rice is highly valued for its fragrance, taste, and is exported to countries like Iran and Saudi Arabia.

I have been to Chile thrice and I love the country. It has it all- snowy mountains, sea beaches, friendly people. I visited Valparaiso during one of my visits to Chile.  I visited Valparaiso during my last visit to Chile. It is a historic port city on the central coast of Chile, known for its steep hills, colorful houses, and vibrant cultural life. Overlooking the Pacific Ocean, the city has a unique layout shaped by its geography, with narrow streets, stairways, and old funicular elevators connecting the lower port area to the hilltop neighborhoods. Valparaíso played a crucial role in international trade during the 19th century, especially before the opening of the Panama Canal, and this past prosperity is reflected in its diverse architecture and strong European influences. Today,Valparaíso is celebrated as a center of art, poetry, and political thought. It is the hometown of the famous Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, whose house La Sebastiana is now a museum. The city’s walls are co...

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I was in Odisha from 1968 to 2003, excepting the years that I was posted in Delhi/Shimla etc. Right from day one I had been fascinated by the existence of detailed record of Jagannath Puri temple and the Kings.   Unfortunately I could not get to visit the chambers in Puri where it is kept, much less to read it. What was also a major handicap was that my proficiency of reading hand written Odia script was very poor. And the years passed by. There came a spark in between which could have rekindled my interest in Madala Panji. One of my senior colleagues told me that his daughter was applying for a scholarship/fellowship to a German University to do research on Madala Panji. But I was so tied up in my own personal and official matters that I soon forgot about it.   I retired in 2003 and left Odisha for Panchkula, of course I leaving a part of my heart in Odisha. And now comes the trigger for the present write up. While going through internet I few days back I discovered tha...