ManaManeNa

Cestrum nocturnum or Ms. Hasnahena Hasnahena or Night Jessamine (Cestrum nocturnum) is one of those inconspicuous little flowers which you can simply walk past and not spend a second thought until the night fall. You would then start looking around madly for the unknown beauty which is emanating the intoxicating perfume. Once you solve the mystery you would start reveling in the nature’s whims that such simplicity in looks can have that immense an effect on other senses. I was only four years old when I was introduced to Ms. Hasnahena. We lived in a government allocated house with a garden (which we shared with another family). That garden was immense in my eyes and felt as dense and mysterious as the forests of Congo! Our wash basin was next to a corridor connected to the garden and my mother was accompanying me to wash my hands at night. I was hit by the sweet smell and asked my Ma what was that? “Hasnahena”, said my Ma and we turned to get in the house but we couldn’t! Russel'...

Breakfast in our era has become a matter of many debates in the circles of the health enthusiasts. They keep debating about the essence of its existence altogether noting it might give you a fat tummy. Breaking the fast early in the morning with a piping hot cup of tea or coffee to me is like finding a new reason to live each day! The breakfast is always an essential part of our travels which is almost always “budget”. That meal most of the time becomes the only square meal we can have before we reach our destination at the nightfall. So we love our breakfast and pay due respect to it not only when we are travelling but even when we are not. Some breakfasts are very plain and simple by which I mean the buffet breakfasts that come as a package deal when you book a hotel. You can always close your eyes and can see what the spread will be like, however, in some parts of the world they are done a bit differently. For example, while in Malaysia, we were shown to a usual spread of eggs, br...