Author Archives: Manu

Anatomy of Spice

The writer begins a whirlwind tour through the toddy shops in Kerala to savour the dishes which are fingerlickin’ good. The cool wind blows. The waters of Valapattanam river lap on the marshy bank where a nondescript toddy shop stands, no, teeters on to one side. It is perfect for a snap, but for the blue tarpaulin spread out against the hot sky and a potbellied man, who reads to me the Commandments. I feel the intense blue heat under … Continue reading

Freekick: SOME HATE HORLICKS FOR A REASON

Freekick is back I waited with bated breath in that half-lit room. Hamme, a hundred pairs of eyes are on me. My doctor-neighbour checks the pulse of the old man lying on the bed. I am fed up. Every time they feel that the old man has died – not responding to tickles, pinches, pins, staplers, the voice of Ranjini Haridas – they send for the doctor to confirm their wild imagination. The doctor takes me as his companion. From … Continue reading

Kasargode Diary

101 Reasons to Love Kerala

Manu Remakant explores Reason #1.Villages… Abandon yourself in a village, a nameless, nondescript one in Kerala. Any place will do. Play deaf to those cynics who say that the State is now a big township and villages had long packed their baggages and left.  They will point at the electric lines, telephone poles and mobile signal bars and smile their cynical smiles.  Come with me. I will take you to places where innocence is a religion. Every night I sleep, … Continue reading