Tag: A-Z Challenge

Yodel – Ay – EEE – Oooo!

Once you try saying out the post name out loud, you will surely understand, what this post is about!

Today’s post is about Y for Yodelling!

Yodelling is a form of singing, which involves rapid change of pitch, mostly famous in Europe and highly popularized and immortalized in Bollywood music by singer Kishore Kumar da.

Yodelling is mostly associated and used by people in wilderness and is a shout to make themselves heard, over a long distance, mostly on mountains.

Even cow boys have their own signals in the Wild West, similar to Yodelling! The cow boys had huge herds of cattle which grazed on wide areas and which needed to be taken care of, were  controlled by yodelling. The cowboys sang yodels for their cattle as a signal.

These signal like cries later crept into music and folk songs in the Europe and America.  Once yodelling became a part of music, there were stage shows and theater performances of yodellers and  slowly found a place in Indian music too!

In the 1940s and 1950s, yodelling was popular kind of music, around the world, but has faded, with time. Yodelling was never as popular in India as it was in Europe and USA.

Are you interested in singing and play an occasional guitar? Why not strum a few strings along with flexing your vocal chords and yodel away!

Yodel – Ay – EEE – Oooo!

P.S:

  1. The other hobbies starting with a Y are Yoga, Yachting, Yo- Yoing and Yarn Spinning.
  2. Go through the song, to learn what yodelling is all about. Thanks to Kishore Kumar da, for such beautiful rendition. The original song had Super Star Rajesh Khanna and Tanuja in the lead. Sadly, the video can’t be copied, so I have attached the audio link here.

3. Sometimes, old really seems like gold. Olden days are always better!

Till the last hobby post, cheerio!

Eco Friendly Xeriscaping!

We have already been through Gardening as a hobby idea. But if you are a lazy bum, who hates watering the plants and you prefer minimum maintenance as far as plants are concerned, then Xeriscaping is best for you.

For X, let’s go with Xeriscaping!

Xeriscaping is the process of landscaping and maintaining a lawn with little or no water at all.’

Little or no water was utilized here.

Xeriscaping is mostly practiced in places where drought is a common factor.

If you thought Xeriscaping is all about using native plants, then you are wrong. It is all about using plants which need less water to survive.

Cacti – Important part of Xeriscaping

By dividing the landscape area into zones, like the cacti zone, succulent zone, turf zone etc it is easier to plan the watering or the irrigation system, to reduce wastage.

Cacti is not the only variety used in Xeriscaping. The Bee Blossom plant is one such option.

Bee Blossom – Xeriscaping plant

Organic Mulch can be used in Xeriscaping to retain water in the soil. After some years, the organic mulch decomposes and is useful as a natural compost. Wood chippings , wood grindings, saw dust, coconut fibre etc come under organic mulch.

Sand and gravel come under inorganic mulch and they should be used in Xeriscaping sparingly because, they have the tendency to increase the temperature by retaining heat from Sunlight! It is advisable to use more of organic mulch than inorganic one.

The other Xeriscaping plants are different types of Sage, Lavender, Rosemary, Poppy tree and Shamrock.

Low maintenance , edible purple Shamrock

Our very own desi Gulmohar tree, tamarind tree and the colourful Bougainvillea (my favourite of all, since the flowers look like they have been made from paper) can be used in desi Xeriscaping projects. Watering the plants can be done through Drip Irrigation and it is advised to not water the plants during the day, to avoid evaporation losses!

So what are you waiting for? Go to the nearest nursery, buy the required plants for your home and get started in the art of Xeriscaping!

P.S:

  1. The other hobbies starting with X are X-Box gaming, X– Ray Art ( art form depicting animals and humans by drawing or painting the skeletal frame and internal organs), Xylophone playing.
  2. Did you know that some cacti can be cooked and eaten like a normal vegetables? They produce slime while being cooked, just like Okra (Bhindi/ Ladies Finger).

In Avatar: The Last Air Bender series, Avatar Aing’s brother in law,  Sokka drinks Cactus Juice and begins to hallucinate! In reality, the cacti can be slightly acidic in nature. So, consume only those which are edible after careful inspection.

4. Not only is Xeriscaping eco-friendly, but you will be helping the planet by being lazy! Too lazy to water the plants, but hero of the planet!

Ciao!

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