Month: July 2020
A spicy smoothie
I have been experimenting with the incorporation of healthy ingredients used in traditional Indian recipes to combine the health benefits with great tastes in our daily diet. The following ‘Spicy Smoothie Recipe’ is based on our traditional knowledge of spices, their benefits and my personal taste. All ingredients have been commonly used in food preparation for centuries and are considered safe to consume. However, consumers are responsible for the use of these ingredients and are advised to consult their physicians...
Arun Jain /
July 2, 2020
Mankind’s Best Friends
As darkness closes and predators prowl nearby,The Neanderthal seeks shelter underneath a tree,Ripping off one of its limbs and starting a hearty fire.Warmth, light and safety, provided by the ancient giants of the forest. In the dead of the winter, the pioneer wakes up the sleeping giants with his axe,Taking logs to build his cabin, which will protect his family through the freezing cold.The hearty fire now burns in his home all night long,Smoke rising up to meet the sky,...
Devanshi Shukla /
July 2, 2020
Hari Parbat*
Across the lake,it would appear as the crowning jewel.It would appear slowly,from within the fog. With a change of season,the colours and shades would change.Sometimes red, sometimes yellowand sometimes appearing orange.Now, I don’t know,in what state it is in?Although it’s surrounded by water,it appears thirsty. Silently it would keep an eye on the proceedings of the city.But sometimes, in the waves of Dal Lake,it would appear dancing.It would swing to the beat of the ‘shikara’ oars,and sometimes, dance to the...
Pavneesh Madan, Manisha Madan /
July 2, 2020
My Journey with Plants
If you had asked me about my knowledge of plants ten years ago, I would have responded with, “they are green, give us oxygen and make for good decoration”. Fast forwarding to the present day, I am now able to write an essay about my journey with plants. Human evolution with plant life has always made me curious. I would often ask myself; why do we only eat certain plants? Why is it illegal to pick certain plants while others...
Misha Patel /
July 2, 2020
Sage (Salvia Officinalis L.)
Botanical Description Sage (S. officinalis) is a perennial shrub with a woody base. This plant has a rounded shape, (Figure 1), and can grow up to a maximum of 60-70 cm in both height and width (Ghorbani, 2016). The stem fragments of S. officinalis are four sided, as are the branches coming off the base, which itself varies from a wedge-shaped to a rounded shape. The petiole, which connects the leaf to the stem is long, approximately 4.5 cm in...
Hailey Silver /
July 2, 2020
Ashwagandha (Withania Somnifera): A potential commercial crop with medicinal advantages
Distribution and Botanical Identifiers Ashwagandha (W. somnifera) grows well in arid environments and is most commonly found in the dry areas of Southeast Asia and Mediterranean regions and is also commonly cultivated outside of its natural habitat (Engels & Brinckmann, 2013a; Aslam et al., 2017). Ashwagandha is a woody shrub that grows up to 1.5 meters tall (Aslam et al., 2017). It has perfect, actinomorphic flowers with five yellow petals, five green sepals, five stamens and one pistil. The...
Andrea J Moreau /
July 2, 2020
Cinchona, Gin, Hydroxychloroquine and COVID 19 – An Interesting journey through time
Reflections on the historical and sacred value of white pine
Dr. Jayasankar Subramanian /
July 2, 2020
