The Monk brewed the beer

In ancient India, Soma was the preferred drink of the Devas and the Asuras. They fought a lot of wars for possessing this valued drink. It was so popular that it is praised in many hymns in the Vedas.

Not much is known now about its manufacturing process however it is thought that it was made from some hallucinogenic Himalayan plant. The supreme Indra is said to have enjoyed drinking Soma to his heart's content.

It is not known whether the Rishis made it or someone else but now that knowledge is lost, maybe for ever.

But not to worry as in today's world, the monks have taken to brewing beer and this beer is for the common man like you and me.

Yes!

These Belgian monks have been brewing, what is known as Trappist beer but they have certain rules for their customers. The customers cannot resell the beer; it is for their own consumption.

The monks had a well defined process of selling their beer. They can order by phone and can collect a maximum of two creates in person. But due to its limited availability this beer is comparatively expensive.

Precisely the reason why it piqued the interest of middlemen. They saw cool profits by selling it in the black market. Or to make it a part of legitimate business. Just like a famous Dutch supermarket did, by selling it at inflated prices. And they had been able to stock a staggering 7200 bottles! How? How was a company able to buy in such volumes?

This question caused them sleepless nights and they had to take steps to overcome this commercialisation of their non-profit venture, which was meant to cover the annual costs of running their abbey.

So they have stopped phone bookings and turned to a more efficient and customer friendly online reservation system. Under this system the customers will have to give their Aadhar card details, or rather, their address and car number, as they stay in Europe. And a single buy will be limited to two crates of beer for a period of 60 days.  Priority will be to those who have waited the most since their last purchase.

And no, the Trappist beer is not expected to be sold in the near future in India. We don't have any Belgian monks… otherwise I was already imagining a few Indians reading this, sharpening their Aadhar Cards for booking a crate or two and swiping their credit cards.

Yatindra Tawde

Girl Power

Recently we saw a girl from Kerala galloping on a white horse, towards her school to write her exams.

Now, who in his/her right mind would gallop towards an exam hall? I remember being pushed by my parents, while I would be indulging in last minute revision, trying to remember whether the chemical formula of water was H2O or HO2. These three atoms of hydrogen and oxygen were held together by covalent bonds but the answers to some examination questions were very loosely attached to my memory. And once attached after a lot of effort, they refused to easily let go of my mind and spread themselves on the answer sheet due to which they had to be literally coaxed out in order to get converted into respectable marks on that results sheet.

But this story is about that gutsy girl, who not only rushed to give her exams but did it with a swagger, not many teens manage.I think the video was first shared on Twitter and within a short time, it became viral, so much so, that a top industrialist was mighty impressed. In fact, he eulogised her as his hero.

The government slogan says, "Beti bachao, Beti padhao" and found a ready role model who really lived that slogan.

Well, the girl is CA Krishna studying in 10th standard, from Thrissur, who always had a passion for horses from her childhood. And she was fortunate to have an encouraging father, a priest in a temple, who was ready to support her passion.

So a horse was gifted to her when she reached her 7th standard. Within a year she had mastered horse riding like a pro.

But she met many naysayers who discouraged her. Even her friends were part of this chorus.

"Horse riding is not for common girls like you", they said. "Only great women of the past like the Rani of Jhansi can ride horses."

All this strengthened her resolve and now here she was riding a horse to school. A horse named 'Ranakrish'!

Hats off to Girl Power.

Yatindra Tawde