Serendipity : Musings of an Islander

M Nageshwar Rao : The Man who walked the talk By Debkumar Bhadra | Musings of an Islander | South Andaman It was just another day for M Nageshwar Rao, a cobbler until he picked up the suitcase that has come to his shop with a broken handle earlier in the day. As he turned the suitcase on the working platform, a bundle of currency notes popped out of it. The bundle had 11 notes of Rs 1000 each, totalling to Rs 11000.00 (repeat Eleven Thousand). Keeping the money aside, he went ahead to accomplish the assigned task. Next day, Surajit Chowdhury visited the shop to take delivery of the suitcase. He was happy to see his suitcase ready. But the real surprise was yet to be delivered. He was taken aback when Nageshwar Rao told him about the discovery of Rs 11000.00 from his suitcase. It was nothing less than a bounty, since he lost track of his money probably kept in the inner compartment of the suitcase during one of his repeated visit to mainland hos...

Bilimbi (Irumban Puli / Chemmeen Puli): A Lesser Known Sour Fruit of the Tropics By Debkumar Bhadra Following the encouraging readership and feedback on my earlier article on Passion Fruit , I am tempted to write about another locally available, lesser-known, under-exploited fruit — Bilimbi. Commonly found in coastal India including the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Bilimbi (Averrhoa bilimbi) is a tropical fruit known for its intensely sour taste. It is widely used in cooking, pickling, and traditional home remedies, valued for its sharp flavour and everyday utility. In the islands, Bilimbi grows almost unnoticed—clustered along slender trunks in backyards and by the roadside. This article explains what Bilimbi is, how it tastes, its medicinal properties, culinary uses, simple recipes for Bilimbi squash and its understated presence in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The fruit belongs to the family Oxalidaceae and is a close relative of the carambola (star fruit), widely cultiv...