fruit and vegetable week: Storytellingtime: Mate

[Na Bha]

Now I am back, finished the urgent work,  and shall tell you the first story.

 

Mate, Mate-tea

 

Mate-Tea is a popular drink in tropical southamerica. My Fotos are however from Buenos Aires. People carry a thermos flask and a Matepot  even while going thru the streets, discussing or arguing with the neighbour, picknicking. I even saw young people, the boy, with one arm round the shoulder of his girlfriend and Matepot in the other hand.

 

The pot called Mate is made from the fruit of a gourd vine (Iagenaria vulgaris, cucurbitaceous family). One can choose the form, the decoration as one likes. Along with traditional Mate pots you will also find kitschy pots on sale. After the gourd is dried for a long time, one has to cure it. The vendor tried to explain me with lots of words and plenty of gesture. But my spanish is not so good. the curing is done to get rid of the bitterness of the gourd. Again german wiki http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mate has much more information than english wiki. 

 

Anyway the pot is Mate, comes from the old Indian language quechua. The rod is called bombilla, it is like a straw and the spoon-end is a sieve. Mate-tea, called yerba, are leaves of Mate bush (Ilex paraguariensis A.St.-Hil, auch: Ilex paraguensis D.Don und Ilex paraguayensis Hook). Half of the Matepot is filled with Yerba and hotwater is poured on it. With Bombilla you drink (suck) the tea.

It is extremely bitter, not my case. One may drink the tea with suger, milk, aromated tea, and what not. But a real Argentinean will drink it the traditional way, anytime, everywhere. I wonder if they go to bed with a matepot near the alarmclock.

 

Btw. Buenos Aires is a beautiful city, plenty of green, small niches along the roads to sit and drink mate or to watch the hustle and bustle. Just too warm.

 

Asta la vista

Nalini

[Pankaj Kumar]

Nice information...thanks a lot for sharing....
I kind of disliked the last pic, a lady with a baby and a cigarette and mate!!!
I hate smoking.....:((
Regards
Pankaj

--
***********************************************
"TAXONOMISTS GETTING EXTINCT AND SPECIES DATA DEFICIENT !!"

Pankaj Kumar Ph.D. (Orchidaceae)
Research Associate
Greater Kailash Sacred Landscape Project
Department of Habitat Ecology
Wildlife Institute of India
Post Box # 18
Dehradun - 248001, India

[Na Bha]

I hate smoking too.
can tell you several stories on that.
If the lady wants to smoke and dring and feed her baby, it is her business.
live and let live.

The foto I took , with her permission btw., to capture the real life.

I am going to sleep now.
Asta la vista ( till next)

Nalini

[tanay bose]

Nice information and the pots too look very nice 

I was how they carved the hoofs out to make a pot!!

Thanks for sharing such lovely informations

tanay

--

Tanay Bose

Research Assistant & Teaching Assistant.
Department of Botany.
University of British Columbia .
3529-6270 University Blvd.
Vancouver, B.C. V6T 1Z4 (Canada)
Phone: 778-323-4036 (Mobile)

           604-822-2019 (Lab)

           604-822-6089  (Fax)

ta...@interchange.ubc.ca

Webpages: 

http://www.botany.ubc.ca/people/mberbee.html

http://www.botany.ubc.ca/people/gradstud.html

https://sites.google.com/site/efloraofindia/

[Gurcharan Singh]

Nabha ji

That is really nice story with ample scientific information and good photographs. I am sure, in future also we will have many such packets of information. In Kashmir, especially in winter most people carry two things with them:  a kangri (earthen pot with outer lining and handle of willow wickerwork, filled with simmering powdered charcoal, mostly from Chinar-Platanus orientalis, or other leaves) below the phiran (a large loose gown) to warm; and a samavar (a mini hamam) in which kahva tea (green tea) with cinnamon, cardamom and powdered almonds, and sugar, with a touch of saffron and honey. This Kahva tea (chai) is now a fashion in many wedding parties. Yesterday we went to a wedding party, and the poor kashmiri (they give it a Kashmiri touch) waiter could not cope with the rush of every one prefering kahva over coffee. Some kashmiris also carry namkin chai or Kashmiri chai (with milk (kahva is without milk) and salt, sugar,  cinnamon, cloves, pepper, cardamom and soda bicarbonate to give it characteristic red colour-hence the name pink tea). 

  Happy tea drinking

 

--
Dr. Gurcharan Singh
Retired  Associate Professor
SGTB Khalsa College, University of Delhi, Delhi-110007
Res: 932 Anand Kunj, Vikas Puri, New Delhi-110018.
Phone: 011-25518297  Mob: 9810359089
http://people.du.ac.in/~singhg45/ 

[Mahadeswara]

Dear Nabha mega ji,
Oh! It is wonderful. Text and photos. I for one really enjoyed reading
the info. Thanks for sharing new and very interesting things around
the world.

On Jan 17, 3:05 am, "Na Bha" <nabha-megh...@gmx.de> wrote:
> Now I am back, finished the urgent work,  and shall tell you the first story.
>
> Mate, Mate-tea
>
> Mate-Tea is a popular drink in tropical southamerica. My Fotos are however from Buenos Aires. People carry a thermos flask and a Matepot  even while going thru the streets, discussing or arguing with the neighbour, picknicking. I even saw young people, the boy, with one arm round the shoulder of his girlfriend and Matepot in the other hand.
>

> The pot called Mate is made from the fruit of a gourd vine (Iagenaria vulgaris, cucurbitaceous family). One can choose the form, the decoration as one likes. Along with traditional Mate pots you will also find kitschy pots on sale. After the gourd is dried for a long time, one has to cure it. The vendor tried to explain me with lots of words and plenty of gesture. But my spanish is not so good. the curing is done to get rid of the bitterness of the gourd. Again german wikihttp://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matehas much more information than english wiki.

>
> Anyway the pot is Mate, comes from the old Indian language quechua. The rod is called bombilla, it is like a straw and the spoon-end is a sieve. Mate-tea, called yerba, are leaves of Mate bush (Ilex paraguariensis A.St.-Hil, auch: Ilex paraguensis D.Don und Ilex paraguayensis Hook). Half of the Matepot is filled with Yerba and hotwater is poured on it. With Bombilla you drink (suck) the tea.
> It is extremely bitter, not my case. One may drink the tea with suger, milk, aromated tea, and what not. But a real Argentinean will drink it the traditional way, anytime, everywhere. I wonder if they go to bed with a matepot near the alarmclock.
>
> Btw. Buenos Aires is a beautiful city, plenty of green, small niches along the roads to sit and drink mate or to watch the hustle and bustle. Just too warm.
>
> Asta la vista
> Nalini
>

>  Mate-100_6226.JPG
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[Na Bha]

Thanks to all, for your feedback.

Prof. Singh ji,

I searched on net and found some fotos of kangri, but not of a person carrying kangri  below the phiran. I can't imagine how they do that.  I am looking forward to fotos of kangri, you are going to send me after your next trip to kashmir.

 

Mani ji,

I hope, you got the answer to your question in my last mail.

 

I am glad, you all liked my writeup. Perhaps there are more occasions of writing more such stories. This is Indian Tree group. So unless there is some relevance to the topic, I can't write stories though they may be interesting.

 

Regards

Nalini

 

----- Original Message -----

[Gurcharan Singh]

Sure Nabha ji

I will bring photographs of kangri in next visit, but perhaps it may not be with person carrying it. I will visit Kashmir mainly in summer when kangri is not used. May be I can ask some friend of mine to send me.

    And yes about carrying kangri under the phiran, I have done it myself under a blanket, as I have never worn a phiran. As for managing it, we used to keep kangri under our quilt when we slept, and there are only 2-3 per cent cases when it gets turned and may burn the bed. Kashmiris know it well to manage kangri.

-- 
Dr. Gurcharan Singh
Retired  Associate Professor
SGTB Khalsa College, University of Delhi, Delhi-110007
Res: 932 Anand Kunj, Vikas Puri, New Delhi-110018.
Phone: 011-25518297  Mob: 9810359089
http://people.du.ac.in/~singhg45/ 

[Madhuri Pejaver]

Dear Sarji Not very sure but what i have heard is that there are more cases of lung problems because of the kangri being very close to chest due to carbon monoxide ????????? madhuri --- On Mon, 17/1/11, Gurcharan Singh <sing...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Gurcharan Singh]

Yes Madhuri ji

Yes it is true, plus it causes Kangri cancer and also skin cancer

Here is more informarion

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/27626409/Kangri-Cancer

http://www.koausa.org/Misc/kangri.html

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mirroroferised/3390081766/

-- 
Dr. Gurcharan Singh
Retired  Associate Professor
SGTB Khalsa College, University of Delhi, Delhi-110007
Res: 932 Anand Kunj, Vikas Puri, New Delhi-110018.
Phone: 011-25518297  Mob: 9810359089
http://people.du.ac.in/~singhg45/ 

[Na Bha]

Daumenklavier = Daumen + Klavier = Thumb + piano.

 

An Instrument from Afrika. It is called Mbira. Varieties are Kalimba, Sansula....

 

Selfexplaining links.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fb9qoEHLgVo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIPORpN27CY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfi-WrxrWCQ

 

You will find many more on youtube

 

Read: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mbira

 

My other favorite afrikan instrument is Cora, made of Pumpkin,  played with the fingers of both hands. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQw8lB-JQe8

And my favorite player is Tata Dindin. There is musik in that name too.

 

Indian sitar meets gambian Cora.   Do watch it.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiEVg-X6ZuQ    Music unites the world.

Enjoy

Nalini