Vegetables unaffordable!
Most vegetables are today beyond the reach of the common person. Even those earning Rs 400 a day are complaining. Tomatoes have stayed @ Rs 40-50 a kg, carrots and bitter gourd, (karela) @ Rs 120 a kg and Ladies Finger (Bhindi) @ Rs 60 a kg.
The most common vegetable that grows with minimum care and which used to be a part of the landscape of every home in Shillong – the humble squash is now selling @ Rs 50 a kg. Vendors say that this is the beginning of the squash season hence the supply is less and the demand more.
Squash which many call the Cho- Cho or Chow Chow (Wikepedia) or Chayote and which is a native of Mexico is now being exported to Bangalore in huge quantities informed a senior official of the Rural Development Department.
“We are giving the farmers some help in the form of better trellises and seed money and we will ensure the marketing part,” the official said, adding that the demand for squash outside Meghalaya is very high. Chayote is also popular in South Indian cuisine. It is popularly referred to as “Bangalore brinjal (Bengaluru vankayya)”, called in Kannada as “seeme badanekai” brinjal/eggplant/aubergine of the plateau. It is used in vegetable stews like “sambar” and “palya”.
In Tamil Nadu in South India, it is known as “chow chow” and widely used in everyday cooking for “sambar” or “kootu”. In Andhra Pradesh, it is called Bengaluru vankayya and sold in vegetable markets in the name of “chow chow” (Wikepedia)
In the North East squash is usually eaten boiled with beef or eaten steamed. Although most people are familiar only with the fruit as being edible, the tender leaves are said to have medicinal properties if eaten steamed.
The root or tubers of the plant are eaten like potatoes and other root vegetables, while the shoots and leaves are often consumed in salads and stir fries, especially in Asia. Like other members of the gourd family, such as cucumbers, melons, and squash, chayote has a sprawling habit, and requires a lot of space to sprawl and can often take over the whole garden.
This is one reason why people in the Khasi-Jaintia region don’t grow squash any more. But they are also paying the price of having to buy it at a premium.
Ri – a different take
Shillong Jottings did a little survey of what the hoi-polloi have to say about Ri, the Khasi film which won the national award recently.
A lady who came all the way from West Khasi Hills says Ri is different from the normal Khasi movies but the best part is the scenery. “I never knew that our Ri Khasi is so beautiful until I saw it in the film Ri. A fruit vendor sitting just outside Bijou cinema went gaga over the movie and said there has been a stream of audiences especially for the 2 pm show.
She however rued that the ending could have been different. “I expected the actor who played the role of the terrorist/insurgent (Lehnoh) to die. After all when anyone takes up the gun and lives by it he is also expected to die by the gun, otherwise what is the fun in being a ‘Lehnoh’?
Quite an original take this. The lady said she could not catch much of the dialogue because she can’t read the English sub-titles and could not follow the thread of exchange between the teacher-writer and the militant who forced himself into her house. “If the hero would have died the movie would have been quite a hit,” the lady said. Food for thought for the director and producer?