2 SUNDAY © CORBIS IMAGES Tongue Tornado!€¦ · A lashing of the tongue can sometimes be more severe than physical hurt. Words ut-tered irresponsibly cannot be taken back and often

Page 1

DRAUPADI called Karna "a charioteer's

son" rejecting him at her swayamvar.She lived to regret her words and lust-

ed for the man through her life; Karna

never forgave her that slight. Later, at her Palace

of Illusions, drunk on her husbands' success,

Draupadi laughed at Duryodhana as he stum-

bled and fell, saying "Son of a blind man would

be blind himself". That slight led to her disrob-

ing, which led to the battle of Mahabharata.

Words uttered in haste, without considera-

tion, often lead one to big trouble. Wrongful

acts are often easier to forgive or forget, but

hurtful words keep playing on the mind and

heart. A lashing of the tongue can sometimes

be more severe than physical hurt. Words ut-

tered irresponsibly cannot be taken back and

often have the power to change our lives. Look

at how a few words spoken under influence of

drugs and alcohol put paid to the upward rise

of one of the world's most talented designers,

John Galliano. (Read page 1)

Just three words uttered together "Talaq, ta-

laq, talaq" can sever marital ties for-

ever; no wonder Islam warns propo-

nents to utter the words only after seri-

ous consideration and family consul-

tation. Not just anger, even words ut-

tered in humour can have the potential for dis-

aster. Recently a man jokingly typed "talaq, ta-

laq, talaq" thrice in a skype chat with his wife. In

a fix when he realized the significance of what

he had done, he sought clarification. A ruling is-

sued by Darul Uloom Deobandi,

one of Islam's leading authorities

on religious law, clarified that his

divorce was real and the woman

would have to remarry another man, and be

with her second husband for a year before she

could divorce him to remarry her first husband.

In a free-wheeling conversation, a senior col-

league known for his philosophical world views

said, "You know, the tongue is the source of all

trouble - it makes you say things you never meant

to say! Then consider taste, which also resides in

the tongue. The tongue makes you overeat, which

results not just in being overweight, but in innu-

merable health problems as well!"

Golden words indeed, and they set me thinking.

Remember all doctors ask you to poke your tongue

out for diagnostic purposes? The texture and

colour of the tongue can apparently give a doctor

a good indication of your general health condi-

tion. The same tongue poked out without the doc-

tor's suggestion can be construed in many differ-

ent manners. In movies of yore, the heroine would

poke out her little pinky at the hero in a flirta-

tious gesture before running away just be-

yond reach. A nervous flick of the tongue to

hastily moisten dry lips can be a very se-

ductive gesture calculated to drive a man

wild! Children use poking of the tongue as a

derisive or challenging ges-

ture, often accompanied by

showing the thumb too.

I remember a group

family picnic at Surajkund as a child.

Wandering away from our parents,

we were accosted by some beer swivel-

ing aggressive youngsters who got a

kick out of scaring us with shouts

and lewd gestures. We ran away from

them, but just as we were almost on safe

ground, one of the kids in the group

turned around, thrust out his tongue and

showed a thumb (today's equivalent

would be showing the finger) to them.

This enraged the guys and they ran to-

wards us throwing their bottles in our di-

rection. Thankfully we had reached the

area where our parents sat and those were

the days when just the sight of adults was still

enough to scare away even drunk young men!

Indeed, by disciplining this one bag of muscles,

the tongue, one can claim to have achieved con-

trol over a major part of one's life!

Many are the emotions the tongue achieves for

us. Surprise and regret are also de-

picted by a poking out of the

tongue and biting it. Ever won-

dered why Goddess Kali is al-

ways portrayed with her

red tongue thrust out and

dancing on Lord Shiva's

body? According to the

Markandeya Purana, in

her form as Goddess

Durga, when

K a l i ' s

a n g e r

a g a i n s t

t h e

d e m o n s

S a m b h u

a n d

N i s h a m b u

couldn't be

controlled and

she kept on her

path of destruc-

tion, the Gods en-

listed the help of her

consort Lord Shiva.

Shiva lay down

amongst the demons

on whose bodies Dur-

ga was dancing. When

she realized that she

was dancing on her husband Shiva's body,

stunned, Durga thrust out her tongue in sur-

prise and regret and remained frozen. That is

the way the Goddess is depicted always now.

Of course the tongue, an essential tool in

speech for humans, is also responsible for many

pleasures. Sweet-tongued talk has the power of

healing and pleasuring as nothing else does. Sil-

ver tongued are those people who with smart-

alecky talk can worm their way into hearts or

through tough situations. Indeed, we are often

warned about people who talk too sweetly! For

every John Galliano who paved the path to his

destruction with the help of an irresponsible

tongue, there are many who sweet-talk their

path up fanstastic careers.

Coming to animal tongues, a serpentine

tongue depicts deceit and untruthfulness, as a

serpent's tongue is forked. Human tongues have

just one tip, which signifies the unity of truthful

speech. It testifies to the fact that there is one

truth, but many lies. If a dog's laving tongue is an

indication of its loyalty and love for us, we use the

poor buffalo's tongue as a delicacy to be

savoured. Considered an exotic meat high on nu-

tritional value, buffalo's tongue has also been

used by native American Indians as a fly-swat-

ters, or hollowed out for baby shoes!

Coming back to more 'palatable' uses of the

tongue, tongue-in-cheek humour is widely

appreciated while a slip of the tongue can

cause acute embarrassment at times. And

then of course, tongue twisters have forever

been a source of joy. To wind up, let's try out

this traditional one…� TIMES NEWS NETWORK

[email protected]

IngredientsIChicken wings: 8 I Salt to taste I Black pepper to taste I Barbecue sauce:35 ml I Honey: 15 ml I Dijon mustard: 5 gms I Worcestershire sauce: 5 ml I Tabasco sauce to taste I Crushed garlic: 1 tbsp I Oil: 30 mlMethodI Rinse chicken wings and pat dry with a kitchen paper towel.I Cut off and discard wing tips, also known as winglets.I Then cut each wing at the joint to make two pieces.I Rub chicken wings with crushed garlic and sprin-kle wing pieces with salt and pepper.I Keep the chicken for 15 minutes to absorb the gar-lic.I Mix together dijon mustard, honey, barbecuesauce and Worcestershire sauce to form a marinate.I Mix chicken wings with marinate and leaveaside for another 30 minutes.I Place the broiler pan on fire and adda few drops of oil.I Place wings on theheated pan.I Boil for 5-6minutes oneach side oruntil chick-en wingsare nicelybrown andcooked.IServe hot.

WHAT images does the mind

conjure up when it hears the

word ‘beauty’? We think of

rolling meadows, colourful

flowers, waterfalls and lush forests. Of

course, beauty is not always about nature,

there is a world of beauty in the innocence

that we see in a child’s smile, its tender

touch or even its gurgles and giggles.

Then why, you may wonder am I talking

about an ode to a potted plant? Potted

plants by definition have a contrived artifi-

ciality to them. One sees them adorn-

ing our houses, adding a touch of

greenery and beauty. But to me, it

means a lot more than just that. It

takes me back to a little path in the

maze of my childhood memories.

When I was in school, I had to

visit an orthodontist every fort-

night. This involved a 45 minute

bus ride from my home to the hos-

pital. On the way, the bus passed

through several suburbs of Mum-

bai, some pretty and green and

most others that were grim and

grimy. These areas typically had

rows and rows of bleak-looking rundown

buildings lining the road. Most of them

were a collection of apartments or to be

precise, tiny cubbyholes, 10’ by 12’ sq ft

rooms, which usually housed many fami-

lies. They were what we

called 'chawls'. Life can be

quite tough when every inch of space has

to be shared, leaving no scope for privacy.

I used to quickly avert my eyes from this

depressing scenario, bury my nose in a

book and try to pretend that these suburbs

did not exist. All the time, there would be

a sea of conflicting emotions churning

within me. A feeling of guilty relief that I

was spared the agony of such a lifestyle;

but also questioning the random unfair-

ness of it all; “Why

was I privy to a life of comfort,

but ‘they’ were destined for

this miserable environment?”

These questions used to stay

with me for a

long time and I

invariably returned in a slight-

ly depressed mood not entirely because of

the dentist’s chair, as my mother assumed.

But one fateful day, unknown to me, this

was to change. I was in the bus as usual.

We had stopped because of a procession

that had disrupted the traffic. Averting my

eyes again as usual, I caught a glimpse of

something which made me turn and stare.

There it was — an old tin-pot, dangling

precariously from a balcony of one of

the ‘flats’. It was wound around the

railing by a rusty piece of wire. The

pot contained a plant! It was not ex-

otic nor a rare flowering shrub. It was

a simple money plant.

Oblivious to the

harsh contrast

of its sur-

r o u n d i n g s ,

this plant

seemed to be

making a

valiant state-

ment. A re-

markable fea-

ture of the

‘ c h a w l

dwellers’ in

Mumbai is

their ability to

share each

other’s sorrows and, more importantly,

their joys. In my mind’s eye, I could see

that here was the potential for this plant

to grow, and spread its greenery from one

house to the next and create a green cur-

tain, which would add beauty and provide

much- needed privacy from idle gazers.

This was the quintessential spirit of my

city. I was very impressed by the spirit of

the person who had taken the initiative to

hang that potted plant.

How easy it is for us to place plants

artistically around the house, but

when faced with a severe space con-

straint, this person thought out of the

box, and used the balcony.

The sight of that brave, wispy and pre-

carious potted plant brought tears to my

eyes. I learnt a very valuable lesson that

day. Beauty, ugliness, heaven and hell are

all our creations. I learnt that when life

gives you lemons, learn to make lemon-

ade. This little potted plant became a sym-

bol to me of resilience and hope. I began

looking forward to seeing it each time I

went on the dental trips. It felt like meet-

ing an old friend. I would always return

home very happy, making my mother

wonder and marvel at my newfound

courage to face the dentist’s chair!

Years have gone by and, like everyone

else, even my life has seen many ups and

downs. On occasions, when faced with a

difficult situation, I recall the hardy spir-

it of that plant and more importantly of

its unknown owner, who did not let cir-

cumstances decide his response to them.

We have changed so many houses, but

wherever I have lived, I have always had

one constant factor in the ‘décor’ of my

home, so that I never forget; that wispy,

precarious but precious potted plant.

(The writer is a Hindustani classical vocalist)

(Soul Curry is a column where we invite

our readers to share their soul-stirring experiences)

[email protected]

From sticking out one’s tongue in defiance to carelesslyspoken words that can cause a lifetime’s regret, the tongue

can be the source of real trouble!

2 SUNDAY | MARCH 13 , 2011

‘‘SHIVA LAY DOWN AMONGST THE DEMONS

ON WHOSE BODIES DURGA WAS DANCING.WHEN SHE REALISED THAT SHE WAS

DANCING ON HER HUSBAND SHIVA’S BODY,DURGA THRUST OUT HER TONGUE IN

SURPRISE AND REGRET’’

Mahie Gill’sSpicy Chicken Wings

Glaucoma can damage your eyes and cause

blindness. Don’t put your eyes at risk

MY FAVOURITE DISH I

“I love scrambled egg with

cheese.”

I LOVE TO EAT AT

I

“I enjoy eating fancy

food around

the world, but

nothing beats a

good home-cooked meal.”

MY FAVOURITE CUISINE I

“I relish Indian and

Greek food.”

My non-food passionsI

“Watching plays and

reading.”

BEST MEAL I’VE EVER

HAD I “My best meal

was home-cooked

dal chaawal while

gossiping with

Mom.”

My favouriterecipeI

“Spicy Chicken

Wings is my

all-time

favourite.”(As told to Ravneet Kaur)

You find God in…“He’s there in nature and all

beautiful things. I can’t help

but agree with Wordsworth’s

theory. I find God in nature

like in the great poet’s works.

Trees are symbols and stones

a hidden language. Moun-

tains are mysterious state-

ments made by a creator, who

t r i e s

t o

com-

m u -

nicate with all his creation. In

this spirit of nature, God is

omnipresent.”

How do you connect toGod?“I seek spiritual reality in na-

ture and connect to God.”

Karma & kismet to youare…“If you follow your karma,

there are more chances that

you will encounter kismetalong the way. Simply put,

karma leads to kismet. Your

kismet is what your karma has

achieved.”

True contentment lies in…“It lies in karma. A job well done with integrity brings contentment,

happiness and satisfaction.” (As told to Robin Roy)

(Shantanu Moitra is a music composer/director)

[email protected]

‘Follow your

Glaucoma affects the optic nerve and gradually steals

sight without giving any early symptoms. It occurs when

the normal fluid pressure inside the eyes slowly rises.

Glaucoma is a type of optic neuropathy. One of the significant

risk factors is raised intraocular pressure. In some cases, the

optic nerve damage may occur at a relatively low pressure,

whereas in other cases, a person may have high eye pressure

for years and yet never develop damage. Untreated glaucoma

leads to permanent damage of the optic nerve, resulting in

visual field loss, gradually progressing to blindness.

There are two main types of glaucoma:� Open angle glaucoma: It is also known as chronic glauco-

ma. Most of the time, it progresses very slowly and the patient

may not notice the loss of vision until the disease has advanced

significantly.� Closed angle glaucoma: It is the most common type, where

the loss of vision in the patient progresses quickly, causing discom-

fort.

Who are at risk?� Glaucoma is observed more commonly in people above the

age of 60.� Primary open angle glaucoma is hereditary.� A study links use of steroids.� Injury to the eye may cause secondary open angle glaucoma.� People suffering from high myopia (nearsightedness), di-

abetes, hypertension and central corneal thickness less

than 5 mm.

Prevention

The bitter reality is that glaucoma cannot be prevented. However,

the earlier it is diagnosed, the better it is for the patient. Early de-

tection is possible, provided you are aware of the disease and un-

dergo regular eye examination. After the age of 40, one must do

an eye check-up every two to four years. One must do a yearly

check-up if one falls in any one/more of the following categories:

65 years of age or older, have a family history of glaucoma, black

or Asian ancestry, have diabetes or a chronic inflammatory disease,

have had previous serious eye injury, taking steroids.

Diagnosis

Diagnosis at an early stage is possible only through a routine eye

check-up. However, certain types of glaucoma do cause specific

symptoms. A patient with angle closure glaucoma can have pain

in or around the eye ball, headache, nausea / vomiting and visu-

al disturbances.

Treatment

Treatment for glaucoma in most cases is medication to control

the eye pressure. Sometimes, several medications that comple-

ment each other are necessary to reduce the pressure adequate-

ly. In case the medication fails to lower the pressure as desired

and the condition worsens, surgery is indicated. There are sever-

al types of procedures, some involve laser, others must be per-

formed in the operating room. The objective of any operation is

to allow the fluid to drain from the eye more efficiently.

(Inputs by Dr Barun K Nayak, head, ophthalmology,

P D Hinduja Hospital, Mumbai)

karma’

Shantanu Moitra

&GOD i

Soul Curry

Body BASICSProtectyoureyes!

Mahie GillActor

Celeb Cook-in

Celeb Cook-in introduces you to thelesser-known foodie hidden in ourbetter-known faces

Sous Chef Amardeep Bhatia of CultureCafé, Wyndham in New Delhi, servesMahie Gill’s Spicy Chicken Wings

© CORBIS IMAGES

Tongue

“I LEARNT A VALUABLE

LESSON THAT DAY. BEAUTY,UGLINESS, HEAVEN AND HELL

ARE ALL OUR CREATIONS“

An ode to a potted plant

Padmini Rao recalls how an ordinary money plant pot

in a chawl became symbolic of hope and resilience

AISHWARYA K

Tornado!

O-zoneVinita Dawra Nangia

John Galliano