Earthly Musings

  Image: Nattika beach/jpkallikkal ©2025 As Well As Can Be The clouds descend with a sweeping grace, Fields surrender to a silver trace Cattle wait near banyan’s base, I wade through memories time cannot erase The rain in flood, the sky in cry— She trudges along, in waters knee-deep high, Clutching calm in chaos nearby, Staying adrift and dry, as well as can be. A cough today, a cold tomorrow, Life bends like branches of a windswept tree. Still she rises with dawn’s soft glow, Brewing tea, preparing the day’s decree. Aches may whisper from knee or chest, But she wears her strength like prayer beads, gently— Serving needs, postponing rest, And smiling through, as well as can be. She has school, the lanes flood, Unrelenting, she wades on puddles in test But in every task, though silence speaks, She dances the dance of duty to her best No medal shines, no chorus cheers, Yet she carries a quiet legacy Through passing years and mounting gears— Still doing all, as we...

  Malamuzhakki Vezhambal – Seeking new habitations Jaya Prakash Kallikkal Sighting of a Malamuzhakki Vezhambal or the Great Hornbill (Buceros bicornis) in the coastal region of Ezhimalai in Kannur District in Kerala is rare and unique. Does it signify a serious change in climatic pattern in the state of Kerala? D espite being a native of Kerala, life has kept me rooted in Delhi for several decades now, as I have grown up and settled in the sprawling capital of India.   However, this has not deterred my love for my home state and I continue to undertake regular visits to Kerala to understand the finer nuances of its nature, culture, spirituality and social ethos. I love nature and over the past four decades, I have travelled extensively across Kerala.   The vibrant diversity in terms of topography, flora and fauna of God’s own country has been a revelation to me.   The long coastline on the Western side of the state, the elevated hill and mountainous terrain of ...

  Crunchy Tales from here and there: SNR Chips, Alathur, Palakkad Kerala may be the land of backwaters, elephants, and houseboats, but for those who know the place well,   it's also the kingdom of snacks—and few do it better than SNR. In this little corner of Palakkad, tradition meets taste in the most delicious way possible. History of SNR dates back to 1947, when Shahul Hameed opened shop for banana chips as a small venture at Alathur. He hand chopped a local variety of banana (Nendra) and used home made coconut oil to make chips that not only tasted good but also found favour with gourmets of those times.   Story of SNR did not stop there. Packs of SNR banana chips caught attention of political heavyweights too and it started travelling out of he state as a souvenir. It is said that even Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was gifted a Pack of SNR banana chips by political leaders from Kerala. A Pitstop You Won’t Forget` While the original SNR Chips is locate...

  The Illusion of Separation   “You cannot do anything about loneliness.   Whatever you do is an activity of escape. That is the most essential thing to realize.   Then you will see that you are not different or separate from that hollowness.   You are that insufficiency.   The observer is the observed emptiness.   Then if your proceed further, there is no longer calling it loneliness; the terming of it has ceased.   If your proceed still further, which is rather arduous, the thing known as loneliness is not; there is a complete cessation of loneliness, emptiness, of the thinker as the thought.   This alone puts an end to fear”. Jiddu Krishnamurti In a world filled with distractions and endless forms of entertainment, loneliness remains one of the most pervasive and unsettling human experiences. In his characteristically profound and challenging way, J. Krishnamurti offers a radical insight into the nature of loneliness: "You cannot do ...

  रंग बदल गये हैं जीवन के , खुश हूँ एकान्तिक हरियाली में चहल - पहल से दूर कहीं हटकर घर शांत धरा की प्याली में   सपनों की दौड़ से थक कर , रुका था वृक्ष की छाया में , सुलझाने को उलझे गुथी इस अतरंगी जग माया में   भीड़ की गूंजें छूट गईं अब हर क्षण मौन अपनाना है इच्छाओं के ज़ंजीरों पर       पूर्ण विराम लगाना है   रंग वही पर भाव नए अब पैमानों   के आयाम नए अब न कोई चाह अधूरी , जग भी पुलकित साया है   मौसम बदलते रहते हैं नित दिन मन भी धुन दोहराता है नील गगन में मल्हार बनकर जीवन नए गीत सुनाता है   तो हाँ — अब रंग बदल गये हैं जीवन के , खुश हूँ एकान्तिक हरियाली में शशि बिखेरती है चांदनी प्रकाश परोसे थाली में ! jpkallikkal/2025

  Hello Cloud.... New Delhi/28th May, 2025 (As it rains in Palakkad) Hello Cloud, I am unable to catch up with you You drift afar on winds I cannot pursue; My feet are chained to earth, yet heart beats true To sip thy wine from places longings reside blue Each drop you spill, I yearn to kiss anew, A yearning, a   silent bliss, I wish to renew.   But skies are vast and I am impishly slow, And you soar where mortal men can’t go.   I called thee once in gardens drenched in dew Where lilies leaned and whispered songs new; Thou wept a while, as if thy soul always knew The thirst I bore, the ache time couldn't continue   Now, thy mist retreats from passion's shore— Thou say's, “My path obeys a deeper lore.”   O cruel seraph sailing sapphire seas, Dost not thy breast - feel tremors born in encore? I built thee altars, knelt in dewy lees, And drank thy scent like consecrated seas. But fate, thou say’st, is stitched in win...

  jpkallikkal© 2025 O+ve I am no phlebotomist but if I were friends with the Culicidae family, I would have been a billionaire today. Since early years, I discovered that the females from the Anopheles family were very fond of me.   The nymphomaniac variety would seek me out in the dark and plant their deepest kisses on my epidermis. The foreplay and after play sessions invariably left a long-lasting imprint on my body.   I would thereafter carry signs of such nocturnal quests several weeks into the future in the form of red visible perturbations.   An itchy reminder of their continuing love affair with me. Life is never easy in a tropical temperamental God’s own country where number of female species outnumber males! With passage of time, I have discovered new patterns and changes in my temporal existence having to encounter tastes and preferences of such lot.   I learnt new ways to face them.   My experiments with truth showed that repellents, swat ...