My creative side

Whilst cleaning out my cupboards I was quite amazed at the fact that mom had actually kept some of the gift cards and other art and craft items that I made during my schooling years a long time ago. I guess for her they were all items of sentimental value. It brought back so many good memories. The trinket boxes were made whilst I was in primary school.....

FANCY SALT IN YOUR CHAAI (TEA)

My initial experience with Kashmiri people occurred almost a decade ago during a family trip to India. Whilst walking through the older parts of New Delhi one chilly winter evening my family and I stumbled across a beautiful clothing boutique owned by a Kashmiri Family. The owner of the boutique uncle Muhammed Shafi Wani had taken an instant liking to me and had refused to take the money for the clothes I wanted to purchase. He gifted me with a beautiful Kashmiri embroidered waistcoat, shawl and jacket. I will never ever forget his sheer kindness and generosity. From that day onward he had considered me to be his adopted South African daughter. To this day we are still in contact and I do hope that I get an opportunity to visit his family home in Kashmir one day God willing.Whilst my adopted father begged us to have a meal at his home in Delhi, we were unable to due to time constraints and hence I did not get an opportunity of trying out Kashmiri cuisine. However, a few months ago I had the opportunity of visiting a Kashmiri family that resides in Kharj, a city located 77km south of Riyadh. The family cooked up a storm for lunch preparing an assortment of savouries as an appetizer followed by Bukhari plaau rice dish and then of course tea and cookies. I was however in for a surprise when my beautiful host with green almond shaped eyes served me tea. I was expecting normal five roses chai. To my amazement the tea that she had served me looked pink in colour and when I took a sip I found that the tea tasted salty. I was under the impression that the lady of the house has made a huge blunder by adding salt in the tea instead of sugar. After enquiring, I then discovered that she had actually made for me traditional Kashmiri Noon chai. Noon does not refer to the time of the day but rather Noon is the Kashmiri word for salt. According to wikipedia,noon chai is made from special tea leaves, milk, and salt. A pinch of baking soda is added to help give it a pink color. It is prepared with pistachios and cardamom and is consumed primarily at special occasions, weddings, and during the winter months when it is sold at many kiosks. Salt has antibacterial and antiseptic properties and thereby assists in preventing throat infections which tend to develop during the cold winter months. This is the rationale behind utilizing salt in the tea. Needless to say after having two sips of the tea, I just could not manage to gulp the tea down my throat. I did n't like the taste at all and apologized to my hosts for my lack of etiquette. Luckily, they were warm and understanding and so the lady of the house offered to make me a cup of normal tea that I of course thoroughly enjoyed on a cold winters afternoon......

http://www.lifensuch.com/noon-chai-salty-tea-pink-tea-kashmiri-namkeen-chai.htm - Picture

Cricket South Africa Awards Evening 2013

The Cricket South Africa Awards function was held a few nights ago at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg. International cricket match referee Devdas Govindjee was present at the glitterati event and shared these pictures with all the blog readers.

The CSA Awards 2013 evening was a glittering function last night- moments to savour successes & meet so many in our cricketing family

The decor was stunning and the audio-visual presentations top class. Low lighting in the conference centre added ambiance to a special evening.

Popular T.V. personalities Carol Tshabalala & Robert Marawa were outstanding as program directors.

A lump in the throat moment for me when my great friend Hoosain Ayob received the CSA Khaya Majola Lifetime Award from Cynthia Majola and her son. Hoosain served cricket with distinction and is a special individual.

Congratulating Hoosain Ayob later in the evening was a special moment for me- we go back many years as players and have a mutual respect for each other- with us is Shafiek Abrahams now selector and commentator.

CSA umpires enjoying the evening . Murray Brown, Earl Hendrikse, Brad White and Marais Erasmus.

The legendary Cyril "Squire" Mitchley -now a Match Ref with CSA scorer Laura Webster 

Catching up with fellow Port Elizabethan and CSA Head Coach Russell Domingo

Geoff Dakin the former head of cricket presenting the Umpire's Umpire of the Year Award to Shaun George

The top honour of the evening Hashiem Amla getting the CSA Player of the Year Award- well deserved for an outstanding season

The drug epidemic- Part 2

As I mentioned in my previous article, the drug epidemic is a global international problem affecting all communities and drug awareness campaigners will unfortunately be fighting a losing battle unless they receive the support of the government and the police force. Whilst speaking to a Pastor who resides in the Florida region; the angry young gentleman mentioned to me that President Zuma's Eldorado Park fiasco was simply a political ploy. Whilst he has shut down the lollipop lounges in that part of Johannesburg, the problem has simply diverted to other areas in the West Rand region, particularly the Florida and Maraisburg suburbs. The police presence in that area is no longer there. It was just a temporary "Hoohaa". The truth about South Africa is that the public have lost faith in the police force. It is a known fact among community members here in Florida that the police themselves are involved with drug syndicates and are an integral part of a drug supply chain. Residents have informed me that many off duty police officers frequent the lollipop lounges in the area.When members of the community report these shady activities to the police, a police vehicle is sent out to these houses where drugs are being sold and the entire premises is raided. The police confiscate the drugs and they in turn resell the drugs to the same people who frequent these lollipop lounges and thus this vicious cycle continues. An activist and an active member of the ICE (In Case of Emergency) committee in the area, captivated me with a few of his shocking experiences. This is what he said," The streets of Florida at night after eleven o'clock changes drastically. The warm, friendly and pleasant ambience we all experience during the day suddenly changes to shades of grey. Shady men gather in the dark alleyways, mostly Nigerian and other foreign nationals. Prostitutes dressed provocatively come out to sell themselves to any man that passes by.Many of these women are from broken homes with nowhere to go and so they have decided to sell themselves in order to earn a living. A few weeks ago, as we were patrolling the neighbourhood, we gave chase to a guy. He was the runner. The middle man between the supplier and the customer. The guy managed to escape. He simply opened up a manhole and ran underground through the sewage and drainage networks and landed up on the other side of Ontdekkers road according to eye witness reports. The Florida community and business owners are trying to join hands to eradicate the crime and drug problem in the area. However, if you have police officers that are corrupt and working in cahoots with the drug lords, the battle and task ahead is a virtually impossible one. One disgruntled business owner made mention of the fact that bribery and corruption within the police force is the order of the day. A staff member of his was badly injured after her face was slashed. The perpetrator told the victim not to go to the police station as he has already bribed the investigating officer. Up until today no case has been filed and the perpetrator is walking the streets scot free. The woman, fearing for her life and safety refuses to pursuit the case any further. In yet another shocking incident, a police officer in the Florida area asked a Zimbabwean to produce her Identification documents. She was here in South Africa illegally and hence could not produce any legitimate paperwork. The policeman than asked her to get into the vehicle for deportation. She was under the impression that she is going to be sent home. However, the policeman drove to a deserted part of town and raped the woman. The woman did not go to the police station to report the rape as she is illegal in the country. The police officers would probably prioritize her illegal status in the country over the rape.
It doesn't help having the media and journalists boasting about how many drug lords and drug users have been apprehended. The bottom line is this: If the country does not have proper law enforcement policies in place, no strategy or awareness program can be a success. I don't care how many thousand drug peddlers get caught every day. What I am concerned about is, how many of these peddlers have been convicted? Why isn't there harsher sentences brought against them? In South Africa, bail is granted to murderers, rapists and drug traffickers. Where is the justice? As one Florida resident quite aptly mentioned. "It is about time that the government works for the people, not the other way round. We have put ZUMA into office and he should be working for us to better the lives of South Africans. He should not be at the top to soak in taxpayers money in order to facilitate his own lavish lifestyle but rather he should act as a leader who is concerned about his citizens. Safety and security should be at the top of his list. Thus far he has failed the people miserably. I pray that he sees the light and takes some kind of action to tighten the laws in this country. If the situation worsens, I then pray that he should be removed from office."