Saturday, October 18, 2008

India through my eyes - carrots in kodaikanal


We were passing through this idyllic village called Mannavannur near Kodaikanal looking for a lake ..it was an agricultural belt and the terrace farms looked inviting..we did not see anyone and then in a green corner, we found four men "cleaning" the carrots they had harvested..the carrots were left lying near a small stream and the men would then do a little dance on them, rubbing them with the soles of their feet ,probably kicking them a bit as well and then packing them into little sacks that were later sold in the market..I did not have a video camera..so here are the pictures..



This post is dedicated to Jeevan who reminded me regarding the Kodai post..will be putting up a longer one soon

23 comments:

vishesh said...

i have seen this place ,i think when we went to see some land or something... :P

Indrani said...

Dancing on carrots! Better wash well!
Nice shots!!

Veens said...

i remember munching them...in Kodai.... they r really sweet nay!

awesome!

Mridula said...

Oh, those carrots look lovely!

Cuckoo said...

Oh I too have carrots photo like this. The place was Mahabaleshwar. There was one more difference.... monkies were helping the men ! :P

Cuckoo

Ropi said...

Here carrot is thinner but longer.

Ravi Kumar said...

sheee...is this the way they clean carrots...???

shooting star said...

i loved the first pic!!...so vibrant and catching to the eye~~~~
looking forward to yuor kodaikanal post..

Vijay said...

So fresh, reminds me of eating the plums off the trees in kodai. Refreshing taste and not the stereotyped frozen food. The vivid colors of God's creations - truly he must have been an artist.

Reminds me of a scene from Kamal's Varumaiyin niram sivappu ( red is the color of poverty) - where they fight for an apple that's fallen into the gutter.

vj

ugich konitari said...

We have a word in marathi , "halwa" , which besides meaning the popular sweet dish , is also a verb that says "keep moving it" or "move it".
Your first 2 pictures of the orange expanse, , had the sweet halwa coming to mind, and the 3rd had these men doing, what else, "halwa-ing" the carrots......

(And I am not surprised at the washing methods. Who knows how leafy vegetables and other things are actually washed before being trucked to the big cities.....and dont they do such a thing in wineries as well ?)

AJEYA RAO said...

The colour makes me love this vegetable, it feels very fresh and nutrious just by the bright color.

Jeevan said...

That’s a quite village I have heard but wasn’t visited in kodai, must do in my next trip. Pretty carrot, must be taste nice, u had it? Thanks for dedicating this post of my fav place :)

~vagabond~ said...

Haha! I liked how you got a photo of the men "cleaning" the carrots. :D

ceedy said...

Hopefully this town has no eye problems and there are lots of rabbits there :P

indicaspecies said...

That's interesting!

Carrots are good food - rich in antioxidants and dietary fibre.

Wendy said...

The colors are so vivid. This is a good reminder to eat healthy :^)

Srivalli said...

Lovely pictures..you have such a lovely place!...and Lakshmi..you can send your beautiful Golu post for JFI, which is in my blog...such lovely dolls!

Anil P said...

I've never seen so many carrots at one place and surely had no idea that folks actually pummel them before packing them in bags.

mitr_bayarea said...

What colorful, lovely looking carrots.

Anu said...

Did u get to taste the carrots??

GreatEscapes said...

the carrots look yummy, the washing a sure turn off!

Merisi said...

In Europe, people drink wine made from grapes that people have stomped on with their bare feet, so why not carrot that have been washed in a clear stream? I wouldn't mind at all, what a wonderful way to clean them, btw, without wasteful machinery! Wonderful post.

Lakshmi said...

Vishesh - wow, land here :)
if u did buy, pls invite me..what a place

Indrani - Yes, its called juice on your feet :)

Veens - Yes, quite sweet ..we were quite hungry too

Mridula - Kodai is full of them..small stalls, shops selling bright orange carrots

Cuckoo - Love to see those pics..pls post

Ropi - they do look different in diferent states here as well

Ravi - I wont be surprised if other veggies are cleaned the same way

SS - in a short while..been too lazy to do a long post :)

Vijay - Nice movie, but a bit pessimistic..I love the plums too

UK - Lovely comment..I learnt something new today

Ajeya - Fruits and vegetables with lovely colours do tempt me

Jeevan - glad to liked the post..do visit sometime ..u will like the place

Vagabond - They posed for me willingly :)

Ceedy - lol ..didnt spot any rabbits

Celine - u are quite an expert on nutrition :)

Wendy - :) I must come to u for a diet chart

Srivalli- thanks for the comment and the offer..will chk it out ..

Anil - Every journey shows us something new ..I saw a bit of agrarian life here

Mitr - Yes, Kodai is full of them

Anu - U bet, but we washed them again before eating

Greatescapes - Well, Im sure the men think they are cleaning the mud off the carrots :)

Merisi - Agree with u..but its safer to wash just once with water before u eat them