Creative Desk

< p style="text-align: center;"> Tea Talk It’s not everybody's cup of tea to brew the tea in perfect fashion. That’s absolutely true. Better still, opt for the easier route to merely dip those puny hexagonal white sachet bags in a whirly amber brown stream to sip from a piping-hot cuppa! Well, it's an art that needs to be mastered with patience, perseverance, skill and accuracy until the steaming beverage gives out a heavenly aroma, an authentic flavour and that kick of refreshing energy. By PRAMITA BOSE Tea Theatre The choice of leaves or granules, the frothy bubbles in the seething water, the spewing of cloudy white smoke from the kettle spout, the pouring of gurgling coloured liquid in a teapot or a thermos, the tinkling sound of the coupling of a ceramic cup and its saucer and finally, the drinking of the delight to warm the throat and satisfy the craving on a summer morning, during a muggy monsoon or on a chilly wintry evening make the craft of tea-making p...

< p style="text-align: center;">   Tuck Into Goodness With Herbal Platters With many urban hermits voluntarily going off-grid to lead a herbal life, there seems a growing tendency among young and old alike to depend less on public utilities and live organically. From food habits to habitats to clothing, more and more people are now turning to green supplies to take care of their bare necessities. Nature with its bountiful sprouts is providing raw materials to mankind to enable the former to shape and convert the latter into useful goods and services. A herbal food spread with wholesome snacks, sweets and drinks could be a perfect start to your day, keeping you fresh, healthy and energetic all the way. By PRAMITA BOSE Sweet Indulgence In Indian confectionery, shares Chef Harry Closepet: “Herbal sweets like sandesh can be prepared using ingredients like jaggery, coconut and medicinal herbs, namely tulsi or ashwagandha (Indian winter cherry or Indian ginseng) . Simi...

< script async="" crossorigin="anonymous" src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3806302849682711"> SPRING SONATA By PRAMITA BOSE It’s springtime! The season mellows into a cornucopia of natural beauty, growth and fertility. Mother Nature blesses the earth with her rich abundance after a spell of wintry aridity and a deciduous stint of shedding florets and foliage. The colourful blossoms, fruity groves, the surrounding lush greenery and the warm yellow sun in the sky signal a period of full bloom, aesthetic elegance and a gratified completeness. Even the lone hearts longing for love so long beat faster during the mausam of vasant in anticipation of a soulmate that could culminate into a lifelong companionship. Well, no one ever knows when the Cupid’s arrows may strike! Spring Waltz The clock’s hands are advancing towards middle March, announcing the arrival of Rituraj bahaar . The dry, thirsty, seclude...