Silverfish spill the Golden word!

By Dr. R Sudarshan T he Black Cobra chilly grows skywards, head up, as its 40,000 Scoville Heat Unit gives it a kind of demolition confidence.  We always speak about the spices going from east to west but chilies came from West to east. Our ancestors knew nothing about them. The Black Cobra chilly from Venezuela was first brought by Spaniards to Europe in 1493 and it made it to India, only some 3 or 4 hundred years ago.  We haven't particularly tended to this at the farm in over a year. It's there in the bush, brought and grown, but not carefully cared for or propagated. Anyone who visits the farm lovingly caresses the back of its hood as they just can't do such a thing to its namesake serpent. This season, we plan to extract the seeds and propagate them. Difficult to handle, but interesting. For any relevant query, message 81051 12990. * * * Padma Farms (Gaddige Road), Farmer's House, 1A, 13th Cross, Kalidasa Road, VV Mohalla, Mysore.

By Dr. R Sudarshan J une has been an extraordinary month. People from far and wide have walked into the store and browsed the books. The variety has expanded and the numbers have gone beyond the space for 10,000 by stacking up behind the front lines. Readers have increasingly found what they wanted and the wishlist has grown taller. And yes, curating is at its dynamic best. Meanwhile, the second lot of 500 books have arrived this week.  Silverfish Books - a world of creative minds, bound in volumes on a humble shelf. * * * THE LOST DAUGHTER By Dr. R Sudarshan S he has two children and is divorced. When the children go for a while to live with their dad, she anticipates a void but feels lighter and liberated. She gifts herself a holiday and confronts the unexpected. Her liberal mind now lays layers of conflicting emotions that bind us all to our children, making this life simply complex. That's Elena Ferrante and her master craft on womanhood, motherhood, and the protagonist's l...

By Dr. R Sudarshan JAPANESE VEGETARIAN ORGANIC SUSHI Venue: Farmer's House, Date: Friday, 1 July 2022, Time: 5.30 PM Guest chefs:  Mio and Anri S ushi is a household name, the world over. You will have heard of it, even if you may not have tasted it. Unlike many Japanese traditions, Sushi is not too age-old. It was invented just some 200 years ago as fast food by people who served Samurai warriors of the Edo period. Our Japanese friends Mio and Anri have agreed to demonstrate how to make vegetarian Sushi. Well-traveled and multi-cultural, they know Mysore as much as we do. Mio lives between India and Thailand and is fascinated with this land's tradition and wisdom. Anri learned classical music from Varanasi and dance forms from Mysore. Affection is their asset and a smile is their jewelry. And they make delicious ORGANIC Sushi. Register with Chef Akshay at 96631 10632. The workshop has a cost-sharing fee of Rs. 200 per person. * * * Farmer's House, Silverfish Books, Kutz Bo...

By Dr. R Sudarshan 90th Organic Farmers' Market, Sunday, 26 June 2022,  9 AM to 12 Noon T he mango season is over. We don't even know when it came and when it went. The aroma never really ruled the wind this year. Unstoppable rains through winter last year and almost no sunshine in summer this year drew a curtain of shock. Fruits rotted, pests attacked and even birds were shunned. But when finally the people too rejected, the grand king of fruits bit the dust.  Why sulk, even empires fall! This Sunday - 26 June at 9 AM, the market is 90. And at this age, it has seen it all. For any relevant query, message 81051 12990. * * * Farmer's House, Silverfish Books, Kutz Bowl and the Farmer's Market, # 1A, 13th Cross, Kalidasa Road, VV Mohalla, Mysore.

By Dr. R Sudarshan A s always, we were looking for excitement on the farm and stopped around a bend to see what was happening in the cardamom bush. Over a hundred pods of cardamoms glory. Our first. Cardamom is a capsule of history and a long-time fascination of the world. Philosopher Hippocrates (yes, the guy who gave the language of oath to medicos) mentioned it. Venice was the global hub of cardamom trade from India some 10 centuries ago. At the end of Egyptian civilization in Alexandria, there was already a luxury tax on cardamom.  Ela of Sanskrit became Elettaria in Greek, but God knows why the world called it unimaginatively Cardamom. Everyone has taken to it. Sweden uses 18 times more than per capita world average consumption and Norway uses 30 times more. Tiny Guatemala stands first in production with much more than what its native India grows. Every country has tried growing it because it is green gold. And you thought we won't try that here in Mysore! * * * A SCENT OF FRU...

By Dr. R Sudarshan A n organic farm turns into a slice of heaven when you have berries and cherries on the bush and the tiny sunbirds dive down from the sky like hungry torpedoes on a target.  Well, we are not sure if the real heaven is all this real in comparison. Wednesday again tomorrow. And at 8 AM, we open the 16th-midweek mini market.  So, when you come to the market in the morning, you know that the heavens too grow vegetables. Organic Farmers' MIDWEEK MINI MARKET - 16, Wednesday, 22 June 2022, 8 AM to 10 AM * * * WHAT CAN I DO?', SHE ASKED By Dr. R Sudarshan F or us, the privilege of a child's company is as much exciting as selling vegetables in the Wednesday Midweek Mini Market. Anushka arrived by 7.30 AM and asked what could she do. Every Wednesday, we wait for her as much as we wait for the customers. We wish more children were around like we wish for more customer footfall.  She helped harvest Brahmi and celery from the front yard for someone who asked at the ...

By Dr. R Sudarshan OYSTER MUSHROOM COMMERCE CURRY Venue: Farmer's House, Date: Saturday, 24 June 2022, Time: 5 PM Guest chefs:  Sandhya and Shekhar S andhya lectured commerce for decades. Shekhar managed and audited banks. They are a  couple powered by skills in commerce. And their retirement passion is backyard farming and mushroom growing. Sandhya and Shekhar once held a mushroom growing workshop at the Farmer's House. They now have experimented with recipes and have come out with a delicious form of organic mushroom curry.  And they use homegrown oyster mushrooms. Come Friday, the guest chef couple will show how to make organic oyster mushroom curry. And they will serve it with freshly cooked rice. If you are the one that should know how to grow, what to make and why not to savor, Register with Chef Akshay at 96631 10632. The workshop has a fee of Rs. 250 per person. * * * Farmer's House, Silverfish Books, Kutz Bowl and the Farmer's Market, # 1A, 13th Cross, Kalidasa...

By Dr. R Sudarshan T he brand is over a century old. When Ferraris or Porsche was not even on the drawing board, Aston Martin took over the world as the fastest car and gave a dream to 'devil may care' racing drivers.  Changed hands several times between the giant carmakers like Ford and Mercedes and fought bankruptcy an equal number of times.  In 1964, James Bond drove the DB5 model in Goldfinger and the world liked it so much that it became the Bond car in Thunderball, Golden Eye, Tomorrow Never Dies, Casino Royale, Skyfall, and Spectre. A legend of a car. A history of our times. A milestone in the human highway of gears and gasoline. Parked gorgeously on our shelf. For any relevant query, message 81051 12990. * * * Silverfish Books, Farmer's House, # 1A - 13th Cross, Kalidasa Road, VV Mohalla, Mysore.

By Dr. R Sudarshan I n the Middle East, the first dates are exceptional produce. In the Mediterranean, first olives are packed with gratitude. In West Africa, the first cocoa pods are a festivity. And here in our whereabouts, the first coconuts are a gift of nature. Our farmhands stand around the first stack of coconuts that they grew at Padma farms. What's so special when everyone grows coconuts here! Well, we hadn't yet. This is our first among the two dozen palm trees planted 4 years ago.  A new farm. Neo-farmers. Life complete. * * * ANTS CULTURE CITRUS APHIDS Watch video: https://fb.watch/dMXk9TrezM/ O n a succulent end of a Pomello plant we found a dense colony of insects, apparently trampled over by black ants. We called Anubhav in Chennai, who is our farm insect taxonomist that has photographed and cataloged over 170 insect species at the farm and posted them on the iNaturalist platform. "What's happening here," we asked.  "Ants are culturing aphids...

By Dr. R Sudarshan 89th Organic Farmers' Market, Sunday, 19 June 2022,  9 AM to 12 Noon B lackberry grows so well in Mysore. The thorny creeper bush spreads out real quick and begins fruiting gorgeous berries within a year of planting. What's more, the roots radiate and push newer baby plants out of the soil and one plant makes many in a season. And this is the right time of the year to plant them. As we move into the 89th week of the organic farmers' weekly market, we have extracted half a dozen blackberry plants from the farm. Why buy only vegetables and fruits always! Consider buying their parents too.  This Sunday - 19 June at 9 AM. For any relevant query, message 81051 12990. * * * Farmer's House, Silverfish Books, Kutz Bowl and the Farmer's Market, # 1A, 13th Cross, Kalidasa Road, VV Mohalla, Mysore.

By Dr. R Sudarshan B ill Gates wrote it? We just ignored it at first thinking what does he know about the pandemic! A second look and we thought, his name sells and so he writes just anything. The third look was far humbler. We picked up the book, turned the pages, and began to read.  Thoroughly researched, information integrated and all things considered. How to model the outbreaks, how to build effective combating teams, how to protect self, what vaccines, nature of treatment, practices, plans, and perspectives.  One of the biggest path-finding visionaries of our times speaks a sense of self-defense. Practical and yet poignant. On the shelf - the most relevant pandemic talk. * * * THE GREEN PLANET By Dr. R Sudarshan Watch video:  https://fb.watch/dGhZM_zMwx/ The major earth systems - forests, mountains, deserts, and the rest - are explained in a simple manner. Every page is a collector's item of art illustration. Narrated by the masters of storytelling. Vastly impressiv...

By Dr. R Sudarshan S he was well off. But a mountain of pain wrung her heart from within. Her alcoholism, sexuality, and abuse from childhood trampled her conscious self.  Then she left everything and went to Peru to live with her mother. And she learned to climb the mountain. The vast emptiness of the mountain, centuries of their silence, and the unyielding power of their hard land heights changed her life.  She aimed now at Mt Everest. She was joined by five more troubled women who trekked with her to the base camp and shared the trauma of life. Autobiographical. Beautiful. Bold. Deeply moving.  On the shelf, a squirming mountain of pain that turned into valor. For any relevant query, message 81051 12990. * * * Silverfish Books, Farmer's House, # 1A - 13th Cross, Kalidasa Road, VV Mohalla, Mysore.

By Dr. R Sudarshan T he fruiting season is just about to end. Trees have shed most of their magnum opus and birds are brushing their feathers to fly back to another home. Rainwater is again looking downwards to fall from its cloudy grace. The trees have begun to bear golden-yellow leaves in the middle of these. The end of a quick era. The beginning of a new time. Tomorrow at 8 AM, we assemble again for the midweek mini market. And it is the 15th week. Regardless of changing nature, it is our continued constancy of human transaction. Organic Farmers' MIDWEEK MINI MARKET - 15, Wednesday, 15 June 2022, 8 AM to 10 AM * * * LITT LE ANUSHKA'S WEDNESDAY DIARY By Dr. R Sudarshan A nushka is turning into the 'human face of the midweek mini market'. She brings her farm produce, pampers the insects of our front garden, plays with jackfruit glue, and helps out in floor management. A young Professor of an Engineering College, who never misses the Wednesday market, asked for a small ...

By Dr. R Sudarshan H e is a vet. He has operated on a cat, subdued an enraged bull, euthanized a beloved pet, and was called upon a polar bear. In turn, he has been kicked, tail lashed, scratched, and bitten. Hopping between extreme emotions, ethical conundrums, and heartwarming moments, he lives a life connected to the love between people and animals. And he has seen it all. This is a story that's never been told before. Gareth Steel reveals a world of triangular relationships that most of us may not have thought much about.  On the shelf - emotions, and experiences of a veteran vet. For any relevant query, message 81051 12990. * * * Silverfish Books, Farmer's House, # 1A - 13th Cross, Kalidasa Road, VV Mohalla, Mysore.

By Dr. R Sudarshan 88th Organic Farmers' Market, Sunday, 12 June 2022,  9 AM to 12 Noon C oriander is an incredible and essential green. On one hand, it is trivially undervalued, disrespected through bargains, and tied and thrown carelessly in lots. On the other hand, it tops every dish, its aroma is enchanting and there's almost no society that doesn't use it in some name or manner. In spite of coriander's pedestrian popularity, it is one of the most difficult greens to grow. Heat burns the leaves, rains drown them and winds make them bite the dust. What's more, the ants in the soil love to chew up the seeds. Well-grown coriander is a rare reward of nature.  Coming Sunday - the 12th of June, the 88th weekly organic market will have the green glow and divine aroma of good coriander and other greens, beans, and whatnot! For any relevant query, message 81051 12990. * * * Farmer's House, Silverfish Books, Kutz Bowl and the Farmer's Market, # 1A, 13th Cross, Kal...

By Dr. R Sudarshan T here can't be a doubt that it came from the Caribbean. The pathfinding work of Pliny Reasoner took it out of its nativity. British Empire took handfuls to different colonies and peppered the world red. After the world war, the Governments in Europe grew it in abundance because its rich Vit C and Antioxidants helped the war impact children across the continent. The plants grew fast and fruit in abundance. Eyes feasted on their gorgeousness and chefs made a million dishes out of them. Barbados cherry became one popular fruit with an impressive history. Now is its season and our farm has it in some good measure. But it is ahead of its time for a town known for its conventional culinary culture. Our farmhands can't figure out what is it for and our store chef ignores it royally because his hospitality school didn't teach him. The customers don't go beyond their plain curiosity question - "what's this?"  But those who know it, know it too w...

By Dr. R Sudarshan T he bookstore is tucked in a honey parlor. Farm produce is stacked around the bookshelves. Readers sit below a tree to absorb a story. Bird chirp punctuates the silent reflections of the mind. The aroma of cinnamon buns permeates the bookshelves. Ten thousand books, dozens of exquisite honey, 75 types of fruit trees, 60 species of birds, 175 forms of insects, bread, coffee, cupcakes, and stacks of jackfruit. That's a jumble of a drifting idea. Because, that's more of a way of life to walk on, rather than being a structured staircase of business. Another 500 new books have been added to the shelves this fortnight. And the farm is greener than ever to take a book for a walk.  Calling 8105112990 could help you get confused between concentrating on the book in hand and straying into nature at your feet. For any relevant query, message 81051 12990. * * * Silverfish Books, Farmer's House, # 1A - 13th Cross, Kalidasa Road, VV Mohalla, Mysore.

By Dr. R Sudarshan T he man who said pictures speak a thousand words was a hypocrite because he said that in words. ARRIVAL is a novel in images, without a single written word used in all its 6 chapters over 128 pages. An immigrant struggles to settle down in a new country, while his family is insecure in his homeland. For him, it is a new birth, a new nation, a new language, and an unending chain of challenges. For others, he is a pain, a problem, an unwanted vermin in their land of birth.  And the fact that this exclusive graphic book does not need an alphabet to express the story - is a mirror of the power of art and the depth of thought. Over half a million copies sold. Over a dozen international awards were given. Over a million words are used in appreciating the wordless volume. On the shelf - a compelling story told in extraordinary silence. For any relevant query, message 81051 12990. * * * Silverfish Books, Farmer's House, # 1A - 13th Cross, Kalidasa Road, VV Mohalla, Mys...

By Dr. R Sudarshan L ots of children visit the farm and get fascinated with the way nature works. Hardly a few are visibly uninterested, but none knows if they too nurse a silent thought of idyllic pleasure when they lazily sit on a bench and watch. Rishabh came from Bangalore and was at the farm yesterday. His mother is a civil engineer who works on the ground, and his father is a pilot who flies in the sky but the boy rejoices to be in the middle, climbing the trees. He scaled the tall trunks, swung by the prop roots, and rested like a leopard.  Rishabh went to every plant and tasted the leaves, berries, and fruits. He called up in the night to say that he forgot a fruit at the base of a tree and needed that to be picked up. He relished everything - sour, bitter, sweet, and bland. We learned something from the little man - that everything nature produces is invaluable and acceptable. Hope his parents gift him a piece of farm. For any relevant query, message 81051 12990.

By Dr. R Sudarshan I t has been a season of overwhelming volumes. A huge volume of untimely rains, thousands of insects, tons of wasted mangoes, and lots of skin darkened and market rejected fruits. We have begun to extract good portions out of the blemished mangoes. The point is to take on the insects and place our competitive claim on delicious pulp. Tomorrow at 8 AM, we assemble again for the midweek mini market. And it is the 14th week. Organic Farmers' MIDWEEK MINI MARKET - 14, Wednesday, 8 June 2022, 8 AM to 10 AM * * * Farmer's House, Silverfish Books, Kutz Bowl and the Farmer's Market, #  1A, 13th Cross,  Kalidasa Road,  VV Mohalla, Mysore.

By Dr. R Sudarshan T wenty delightful fables of timeless cultural context. Tales of kings, queens, and lands of the pre-Islamic era and people of extraordinary intellect and aura.  Narratives that reveal the entire range of human emotions, failings, misgivings, sorrows, happiness, compassion, and kindness.  For people of diverse faiths or atheism or agnosticism alike, Rana Safvi brings out some core values of humanity that relate to wider cultural diversity. On the shelf. Unputdownable. * * * * *

By Dr. R Sudarshan 87th Organic Farmers' Market, Sunday, 5 June 2022,  9 AM to 12 Noon There appears to be a reasonably good crop of pomegranates at the farm. We see at least a few dozen, hanging pretty. But many of them are homes for ants and wasps. In the tunnel of the fruit calyx, there are mud nests, laid eggs, and thus an unspoken hope to raise lives beyond self.  Tomorrow, the market turns 87. And it is World Environment Day too to conserve the greatest gift of the planet, the life, for posterity. We will check the pomegranates and bring only those that are not visible homes of ants and wasps. That may not save the planet. But that's the least you and us can leave aside. For any relevant query, message 81051 12990. * * * Farmer's House, Silverfish Books, Kutz Bowl and the Farmer's Market, # 1A, 13th Cross, Kalidasa Road, VV Mohalla, Mysore.

By Dr. R Sudarshan L ate 19th and early 20th century India. An American-born Eileen, submitting herself to Islam and selling her heart to Hindustani music, Gauhar Jaan became the first Indian voice to be recorded in 1902. And she went on crooning and cutting over 600 records. She popularised Thumri, Dadra, and Ghazal.  She became the feminine face of Hindustani music. She raised women artists to a coveted socio-cultural summit. And the modern world so carelessly forgot a giant pathfinder and mind winder. Discover Gauhar Jaan. Live inspired by her extraordinary life. * * * Silverfish Books, Farmer's House, # 1A - 13th Cross, Kalidasa Road, VV Mohalla, Mysore.

By Dr R Sudarshan A home is where you have enough shelter, sunshine, air, food, water, and safety to bring up your babies to thrive and survive. If it is hanging at the tip of a twig and swinging by the wind, it is fine even if you have to walk a long mile to reach there to breed.  Ants on our farm are ingenious. They flock around the star fruit aphids that prick and suck the fruit nectar, secreting honeydew. Nesting near aphids will secure the life of ant babies. Building a fibrous nest in the base cleft of water apples to lay eggs, so that the little ones could crawl into the fruits to lick the sap -  is another well-stocked homestead idea. The most brilliant is a nest they build in the calyx of pomegranate, just like an inaccessible chateau in the French Alps. Safe, secure, well-stocked, and imperial. * * * WHICH COLOUR IS BLACKBERRY? By Dr R Sudarshan Watch video: https://fb.watch/dqo1DivLFq/ A t first, some white flowers bloom profusely on the vine. Then some green colou...

By Dr. R Sudarshan T he origin of great things is usually covered in doubt. Shatranj is supposed to have been taught by Khosrow, a Persian King to an Indian counterpart in the 7th Century. Shatranj is supposed to have spread from north western India to the world. South Europe too claims origin, but can't explain how then the elephants are found walking on the chequered board. Beyond all, Chess is an enormously intelligent human preoccupation that has spilled into statecraft, military, mathematics, computer science, psychology, and sports. This book is a huge manual of mind moves. Hundreds of steps are explained, winning strategies elaborated, techniques are unraveled and illustrations are made. From rookies to masters of the game, a reference for a lifetime. On the shelf, are the mind-bending strategies. For any relevant query, message 81051 12990. * * * Silverfish Books, Farmer's House, # 1A - 13th Cross, Kalidasa Road, VV Mohalla, Mysore.