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
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)
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)
‘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