It may sound sweet that our fruits and vegetables are getting sweeter. While the bitterness in some of the known bitter fruits and vegetables is becoming far less or almost non-existent. Examples are grapefruit, brussels sprouts and bitter-melon (karela). The natural chemicals involved in creating bitterness are called phytonutrients that are responsible for imparting health benefits in fruits and vegetables. Reducing or eliminating their presence enhances the sweetness of fruits and vegetables. The de-bittering experimentation and processes are being carried out to make fruits and vegetables as “kids friendly” or to appease our sweet tooth. But nutritionists say that is … Continue reading BITTERNESS IS HEALTHY

By Promod Puri I have been an anti-national ever since I understood the nature of its allegiance to the country one belongs to. At the same time, I am not a patriot either with its blurred image as it is often a consequence of nationalism. Patriotism and nationalism have obscure borderline between them. It is a “problematic pair” to find independent definitions to isolate each concept. Both the words are synonyms to each other according to their dictionary explanations. Still, certain attempts have been made to detach the two. Nationalism arises from the word nation. As such it seeks love, … Continue reading Nationalism & Patriotism Are Threats To Global Peace And environment

By Promod Puri Ever since it was first introduced in the kitchen accessories section of departmental stores I am still debating to buy it or not. Over the last 15 years or more, when the object of my curiosity was first displayed as an innovative and somewhat bizarre item, it has been a challenge to my buying impulse. During this X-Mas season of all the popular and useful gifts items, Banana Hanger is at the bottom of my list. And it has been sitting there ever since its first appearance. I can buy a ‘banana guard’ to protect it from … Continue reading My Curiosity For Banana Hanger And Other Interesting X-mas Gift Items

By Promod Puri I don’t know if she belongs to the class of housemaid, aka “bai”. If so, then her status could be upgraded in India’s class and caste society. She had a regular assignment at our home around 11 every morning and finishing her limited but reserved task in 15 to 20 minutes. It was the most needed part of daily cleaning. She was a Christian Punjabi-speaking girl in her teen years. Most kids in her age group were in schools at that time studying and playing. But here she was punctual in her daily routine seven days a … Continue reading She Was Not “Supposed” To Enter Kitchen

By Promod Puri This Cherry never blossomed to the changing realities of diverse and culturally rich Canadian society. Don Cherry’s colorful (in costume only) long career as hockey commentator ended abruptly with a blot on his iconic stature. At the fag end of his life, after more than three decades on the air, his stylish apparel also got stains of racist rants against Quebecers, indigenous and the rest “you people.” From his little domain of “Coach’s Corner” on the Sportsnet, Mr. Cherry delivered his last diatribe November 9, zeroing in on immigrants, new and old, who don’t wear poppies to … Continue reading Don Cherry’s Colorful Costumes Have Stains Of Racism Too

(This is an update to the article written a few years ago) By Promod Puri The fun in life includes some simple recreational activities in our daily life. And the one I like the most is just a few steps away as part of my every day up-and-down commute. These are the stairs leading up to our apartment. Over the years I have done this personal “Grouse Grind” hundreds of times. Although my experience with stairs is quite extensive, still I would not call myself a stair-master. But as a veteran of the stairs, I have learned some techniques and … Continue reading Stairs Excercise Controls Blood Sugar And For Healthy Heart

 By Promod Puri It was the early ‘50s, and I still remember going to the Hari Theatre in Jammu. There we were four or five us excited to see the Dilip Kumar starring blockbuster Aan. The songs of the film still reverberate in my nostalgic moods. Dilip Kumar, teasing actress Nadira and rocking with “maan mera ehsan” number, was the scene I can vividly recall. In that early teenage stage, it was indeed a bundle of joy to occasionally go for a movie and blow about it the next day in the school. Aan was a thriller where the hero … Continue reading Going To A Movie Theatre In The Turmoils of Jammu And Kashmir

By Promod Puri “Words are the tools of writing.” But not quite so! Words, in fact, are the bricks and mortars we select and gather to build a structure. Its architecture and construction are based on our thoughts, opinions, and feelings, perceptions and impressions, or sharing of information, knowledge, and experiences. In our learning faculty, there is a library of words being accumulated from early childhood. We retrieve them from our memory cells to begin the composition of a story, novel, essay, poetry, and all other literary and non-literary works or writing a simple personal diary. Moreover, comprehensive dictionaries offer … Continue reading WRITING IS A CONSTRUCTION JOB

I was 10-year-old when one day I severely broke my right arm. A local pehlwan, as the practice or custom was in those days, was called to fix the arm. His oil massage and turning and twisting the arm to align the broken bones was an extremely painful maneuver. After a few days, the rugged treatment did not produce any improved result. Perhaps, it was more damaging. Next, I was in an Amritsar hospital where a known surgeon specializing in fixing broken bones finally put the bones close to and in front of each other. This was followed by lying … Continue reading A BOX OF TOFFEES

by Promod Puri Back in 1972, when I immigrated to Canada and made my first home in Winnipeg, Manitoba, that I happened to know a very helpful and friendly person by the name of C. R. Bector. He was a distinguished professor of mathematics at the University of Manitoba. And out of respect, as being elder to me and having an academic professional status, I along with other close acquaintances used to address him as Doctor Sahib or Doctor Bector. He was not a medical doctor but had a Ph.D. degree in his extensive portfolio of degrees. C.R. Bector, although … Continue reading Home Sweet Home: The bliss of “Chajju Ka Chobara”

While space scientists can continue their exploration of the moon and establish more communication links with the cool-light planet, I along with most of us of the Indian heritage were told in very early childhood that the guy up there in the sky is a close relative from the mother side. He was referred to as Chanda-mama, to be precise Chanda uncle. In fact, as we were growing up, we were introduced to a very popular children magazine, I believe it is still around, called Chandamama. It was an easy read comic magazine dealing with ancient Indian folklore. Moon has a … Continue reading Featuring Moon In The Hindi Filmi Songs

Centuries ago, people used to migrate from one place to another for reasons which were natural calamities, local violence, or community upheavals. Or just seeking better pastures. But there were no borders. It was freedom of unrestricted movement. Now, in the present age peoples also want to migrate for the same reasons as well as to escape violent political upheavals, crime, and violence based on ethnicity, conflicts, and prosecutions. But, we have borders. There are security guards, policing and military both at leaving and entry routes. People seeking refuge in other lands face multiple hardships, rules, and regulations.  It is … Continue reading FREEDOM TO MOVE IN OUR OWN “GLOBAL VILLIAGE “

“Inhumanity, it seems, is contagious. In Italy, babies and children have been repeatedly kept at sea for days by a government that fears—hates, even—migrants, no matter their age. In Turkey, authorities are cracking down on the Syrian refugees that Europe didn’t want. Globally, more people have been forcibly displaced from their homes in the past five years than at any previous time in history, and more than half of the world’s 26 million refugees are children. Many are met with systematic dehumanization coupled with apathy in the places where they hoped they would be safe. This suffering cannot be blamed … Continue reading Inhumanity Sweeping The World

1. “Be Positive.” What is wrong being negative? Rather Keep the balance, and be rational. 2. “Forget the past…..”      How that is possible? With experiences of the past, and dreams of the future, live the present. Continue reading Two Overly Used Popular Sayings:

By Promod Puri The sign on the front door read, “please remove your shoes.” It was not a Hindu temple, Gurdwara or a mosque, where such is the custom or a religious edict. But the newly-build home of a friend who had a house-warming party a few years ago. When we arrived, there already was quite a spread of shoes and sandals all over the front entrance. The four-word notice was polite, but terse in its message. The host did not want the new flooring and expensive carpeting inside to be spoiled by any soiled footwears of the incoming guests. … Continue reading “Please Remove Your Shoes”: Is It Custom, Hygiene Or Both

By Promod Puri I confess a feeling of guilt erupted within me after buying a pair of pant the other day. This despite the fact, in my otherwise sparse closet, there are enough pants to last till next five to six years or more. But I purchased it anyway with disregard to my needs. Adding to our collection of clothing is an obsession which most of us have. And the fashion industry exploits this urge by offering the latest in designs. Moreover, we have an inborn appetite for newness in our passion for clothing. How much wardrobe is essential to … Continue reading Passion For Buying New Clothing, But How Much We Need

(This article is an approach to get into the praxis of simple living and to realize its efficacy. The article does not make a list of things as what to do or what not to do, rather it is left to the reader to work out his or her own simple living lifestyle and make changes as one goes along this path. The basis of this presentation is to seek some disciplined enjoyment of life towards self as well as towards the environment around.) The nature of simple living if willingly explored, accepted and experienced is both rewarding and blissful. … Continue reading SIMPLE LIVING: THE ULTIMATE JOY OF LIFE

By Promod Puri Paldi, named after a small town in Hoshiarpur District of Punjab, is located about seven miles south-west of Duncan, off the road to Lake Cowichan on Vancouver Island in BC. The village of Paldi was established in 1917 by an enterprising Punjabi by the name of Mayo Singh, who came to Canada in 1906 when he was 17-year-old. The place is now quite and sleepy. But in its glorious past, it was bursting with over 1500 inhabitants, who were mostly from Punjab working in the sawmill and as loggers. Besides, the “Hindoo” population, as they were all … Continue reading Paldi: South-Asian Canadian Heritage Village

by Promod Puri Countries worldwide seem to be facing an escalating problem as to where to dump their daily accumulation of non-composite garbage. Shiploads of containers carrying all kinds of waste from electronic to plastics and even household garbage are floating the world seas finding their final resting or burial place. After China changed its policy not to accept electronic and plastic waste anymore, and other countries like Malaysia and the Philippines, refusing to be dumping places either, the developed countries are stranded with their garbage. Recently, Philippines “threatened” Canada to take back its garbage sitting on the former’s shores … Continue reading Garbage Is An Escalating World Problem