Sonali’s Comments (group member since Oct 12, 2010)

Sonali’s comments from the Language & Grammar group.

How well he has written, goes to the heart of the matter, true for all countries to an extent ..Nguyen i.e.

That is horrible...
I retired in 2018. I have kept busy learning German, visiting places, doing bits of translation work for my bengali-writing friends, meeting old students & listening to their stories, watching plays etc. And of course reading a lot more.
I hope we all get through this soon.

And we have someone who is uneducated, unsympathetic, with a narrow vision. When most of us had started worrying about migrant workers the Govt gave no thought to the thousands of them & a human tragedy is unfolding. However, thank God for our regional leaders leading from the front. We really really admire NZ's PM.

We are locked in too of course. But Govrnment is arranging supplies so that every day we can buy small quantities of vegetables. Announcements are being made in every neighbourhood. After 5 pm it is strict curfew.

Beautiful poems. Loved them. Pictures in my mind - touch, sight...

I am somewhere in the middle. I am known in my crowded locality as Teacher & shown a good deal of respect. I recognise and am on nodding terms with a few. But generally I keep to myself, I cherish my privacy. My maid, who has been with me for 22 years, keeps giving me gossip about a whole lot of people & I nod without actually knowing who they are. During festivals I pay the subscription & make a perfunctory visit to the temple or wherever whatever is taking place. And that's it. People have accepted me as I am. I think that is the story for most people anywhere in the world?

Just finished reading Jon MacGregor 's Reservoir 13. Very lyrical book. To me it was extremely interesting because it describes the life of a community, away from the city, with its village concerns, familiar yet quietly changing way of life, the change of the seasons, the animals birds trees river- how they change & yet remain the same. Its a picture, which is same in the countryside of every nation but with their local differences & peculiarities.

Ahh, that was indeed John Green :-) Yes, he is very very popular among my students, and though I like reading YA, somehow never got round to reading him myself, probably because I felt pretty put-off by their over-enthusiasm...

Very interesting Stephen. Mental Floss, I mean.

Thanks Stephen. Something like our polao/pilau rice.

I have no idea what is curried rice...

We lightly fry whole cardamom cinnamon & cloves to add to richer tasting meat, fish or vegetable dishes and that's garam masala for us in Eastern India. North /NW Indians use the ground variety together with cumin, coriander, pepper, chillies etc. South India has a completely different cuisine. We are a World of Variety.

No Doug, quinoa isn't Indian. It is available only in specialty shops & highend supermarkets. I never really understand what is this curry powder Westerners talk about. Do you mean garam masala? That too varies from region to region. And here in Bengal our cuisine is very different from the rest of India, a lot of fish for one...

Sharon, not sure about neem oil being used as hair oil unless it is to get rid of lice infestation I think. But after recovering from measles or chicken pox, neem leaves are boiled in water and is used to bathe the patient. It's normal practice. And of course eating with rice, which I absolutely loathe & don't but my d-in-l loves. 😀

😄😄

A bit of a long read though.

Wanted to share something quirky about my region's cuisine - https://m.timesofindia.com/life-style...

Bracing indeed, NE... If I survive:-l

It's fascinating to read your discussions on snow and ice and how you live through it. I can only imagine it. :-) It's about 9 - 12C here and we are suffering because of the 'cold. '

Oneiric. Came across this word in John Banville 's Ghosts. Pertaining to dreams.... I would have liked to see the face of my oneiric accusers.