Why good aunts insist on mangoes

When I was in Baylor College of Medicine ,Houston between 1998 and 2000, my research was on the role of important enzymes known as detoxifying enzymes in the mopping up of harmful free radicals produced in our body due to exposure to harmful substances and metabolism.
Free radicals are oxygen atoms that have lost an electron and have become unstable and this damages the cells . When a cell is damaged, it can become cancerous. Antioxidants help conteract these free radicals through the action of detoxifying enzymes. Antioxidants are present in green vegetables and rich colored fruits such as peaches, blueberries, carrots, mangoes etc. Since this is the mango season and the markets are abuzz with these delicious fruits here in Chennai , I thought I would talk about the antioxidants present in mangoes.

Puréed mangoes were divided into two portions. One part contained known antioxidants such as the yellow carotenoids that include beta carotene. The other portion contained components that easily dissolved in water, similar to water-soluble vitamins such as vitamin C.
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"Both of the portions inhibit cancer formation. However, it seems that the water-soluble fraction is a more potent or more efficient inhibitor. The researchers said the water-soluble portion of the mango puree contains phenolic compounds -- the class of compounds to which most known antioxidants belong.But more research would need to be done to identify the specific compounds that provide the increased cancer protect.
"The goal is to isolate and characterize these compounds and maybe even look for them in other fruits and vegetables besides the mango," said Stephen Talcott, a UF assistant professor of food science and human nutrition who also worked on the study. "Then a breeding program might be able to incorporate these compounds into other fruits or vegetables, or increase the levels of these new antioxidants if they are already found to be present."

Love rules

1 Corinthians 13

Love

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

13And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

What does all this mean

We all can say God answered all or some of our many prayers , so we have exercised faith to some measure - maybe not to the extent of moving mountains - and who on earth wants mountains moved - and then faith to move mountains requires at least two people (minimum) (it is similar to moving other things ) case in point 1): if two or three are gathered in my name or ask in my name I will be present or answer them , The Mighty one says 2) classical example of Abraham( the man to head future civilizations ) had faith to obey God - not faith in his own prayer requests but in what God had asked him to do by faith. True God grants the desires of our heart but thank God only if it is to our future good.3) on another healing occasion Jesus says anything is possible if you believe - which is again two people - Jesus(God) and that person.It was agreed upon by Jesus that the healing would occur - it was not how much faith the man had but if he had faith in Jesus (GOd) if He agreed to do it He would do it. This seems very reasonable because even for earthly matters if I say to my students I will give you what is necessary ,believe me - it is no point to give if one does not believe in me -

The next is hope - for what -things not yet seen .. one would expect something like this at the end of our spiritual journey when all our earthly moorings are left behind or gone for something far more valuable ..

But imagine Paul says of more value than this is love....not Gods will or trusting God for the unseen but Love

All this brings me to the point :My brother is planning to take a team of Canadians to Allahabad next February. I hope the spirit of love truimphs in all this. He may not have a posh way of speaking or a sophisticated eloquence but his heart beats for God..He is simple man who has achieved great things. He has struggled and toiled to bring good things to his family .He, like all of us , due to our southern upbringing do not believe in ourselves despite studiously working towards good professional goals .Wegrew up in Mumbai but all of us could not statewhat our favorite or for that matter the things we liked were..it was only when we went abroad that we could slowly state what we liked..

My brother is an expert in the Textile field and he has invested a lot in his family and ministries and I hope that his life's heart beat to bring the Gospel to the man on the street is fulfilled . He is a man who can empathisize well with the both the sophisticated and the common man simultaneuosly. He can converse with both with equal ease.I hope his spirit of mission is not crushed and he is showered with love. Like Jesus was showered with love in Mary and Marthas home . It was a safe place for him to do His mission.The qst of whether Mary or Martha had chosen the greater part has always been taken to mean that Mary had taken the better part ..to listen to Jesus..which is true but I dont think Jesus was belitting Martha's role -- maybe if Martha had listened to Jesus she would have held the physical and spiritual aspect of our lives in balance. But I think the reason why Jesus did not commend Martha's role in kitchen is because she was complaining about Mary - Mary did not on the other hand complain about Martha.

The other thing is also that in John 11 after the death of Lazarus Martha tells Jesus if you were here this would not have happened (she definitely believed in Jesus miracles)... but then she says she knows in the resurrection Lazarus will rise again ..I think till that time she was a women of prayer and who believed that Jesus was a man of God who could heal and cure people...it is in latter verses when Jesus tells her He indeed is the resurrection and life and asks her whether she believes that -- she replies Yes (that is when she signs the dotted line)..and goes to tell Mary ,the Teacher is here!!!! Prayer and faith go a long way . Praise be to God..

TV heads

Mariamma of BC fame ( Breaking Chair fame) is back... Yes she was away for sometime ...My brother and I sold her some of our old furniture and TV(yes an almost brand new .sofa) after which she decided not to show up for a while.We figured with the sofa and TV,installed in her son's place...she decided to live it up ..you see Mariamma was a avid( if not chronic) TV watcher and for that matter she was highly networked in the cinema world.She has seen every Tamil movie in town - can recount every dialogue and every scene with great accuracy. She cooks only for short spells of time and then one can see her watching TV uninterrupted for hours on end...Ask her to list off the stars of yesterday and today and Mariamma is a picture of animation and delight. It is no wonder then, my mother an old (75yrs old ) conservative Christian pounds her periodically with the scriptures (because that has been her upbringing...watching cinema was a sin ,,and so much of it ...God help) Ofcourse she (my mum) overdoes it , robbing herself (I think) of all the good in her ...like..she is a good story teller and teacher ..(my mum) but here in godforsaken Chennai( atleast to me ,on annoying days) all her ancestral goodness is forgotten (ironically) and all her Bible pounding eventually brings out the demon in her and after while in Mariamma too..Soon the two are sitting their ..each on their respective sofas ...one hammering out the word all out of context and the other ( a robust 45yr old) gloating with her wise repartee...it is a scene right out of a Flannery O'Connor novel,I think..I sit there trying to concentrate on my Taftee ..on the book of John ..will the Light come through ..and I can distinctly hear Mariamma screaming --"God appears to me on the TV screen" ..I diplomatically pipe in " In the God Channel ,Mariamma?" "No",she responds...this is no time for diplomacy "no in the regular Vijay Channel " she continues with such fervour noone can doubt her , it seems.I am out of here,I think but then one look at my mum ,her aged faced -once so sweet and agile with the gifts of teaching -now totally in control of the demons ..(of fundamentalism I think mostly)...I feel so frustrated...I scream at Mariamma ...she (my mum) watches TV too but couldn't she(Mariamma) revive the good in her(my mum)..ask her about Bible stories ...bring out the good that was in her ...who knows you might find a Shivaji in the Bible too..but all this is too much for Mariamma ofcourse..I dont know what mariamma will come up with next...that Christ appeared to her in the idol....and what would my mum's reaction be then... I can say "good for you" and run off ...I have made peace with my Creator, now if He chooses to appear in several unwanted places ,that is His choice not necessarily mine.

The downside of blogging

Blogging can be hazardous,... as I unwittingly found out . You may wisely say,it is only for the bravehearted..I would think it is both for the bravehearted and fainthearted (like me I think) I can only speak for myself.As I said earlier, I blog irregularly ( it is not my prime displayable work or for that matter my prime work) ..I visit blogs that, by and large ,inspire me and have found much good in...sometimes,however, because I am pressed for time or I blog...(.not cough)..right in the middle of my serious work ,on computer ,to relieve stress or have a good moment and .I only view the photo and comment,and return later to actually read the blog in part or whole..So bear with me if some strings of thought get twined needlessly...or a story line develops between blogs based on a word or two that was never intended, least of all to hurt.. there is good wholesome fun and hurtful fun..the latter I dont indulge in. Maybe in my haste to create delightful blogging space for myself ,I might have tread toes,unwittingly ..toes I never meant to tread ..( not that there are toes that I mean to tread, no and no..unless I have to buy good old Britannia bread ..the ancestral pain subsides between the rhyme and the read..s)Okay Iam out of here . Talk of blogging taking away time... when I lost a lot of precious time recently trying to jump start my friend's dead car...

The baby's name is almost official...almost because till the day she is officially christened we wont know if she has an additional middle name...( we are talking of my brand new neice's name ...just a month old ...my younger brother's offspring ) the name is going to be Susanne Anand .I love the name for several reasons now : it rhymes with her older sibling 's name for one thing , it has a good meaning and it is also biblical to stay the least..This whole process has taught me valuable lessons,one of them being ,.in a culture and community where the wounds (of North against South) need to heal with much love and thought ( but a people averse to poetry even if it is in the Bible) her name ensures the birth of love, goodwill in the family (immediate and extended) and who could ask for more...her older sister calling her pappu only adds to the flavor of love ..Preethi (my choice) would have been a suitable choice had my brother decided to move to Mumbai and raised his family there...here it would have been hurtful (unfortunately,God didnt promise us a perfect world) . It is amazing how these things matter. On the other hand,can one think that far ahead and plan all good things for the young?I wish it were possible ..how I wish it were possible to totally ensure the safety and wellbeing of all young ones . But, as far as possible, we can do just that,I think ..after all there are only 5-6 milestones or imp stages in a lifetime..young, adolescence,young adult, adult and old age...if for you, this is oversimplify..ing ,it is better than what one chappie said at an informal gathering at conf .lately- he said there are only 3 stages in life-hatched, matched and dispatched..only a vernacular like me can interpret that ..he meant birth,marriage and death..If we pay attention to young and adolescence then half or even the full battle is won--(like hugging and rocking the baby,have all the relatives hold the baby,love and kisses at all times, music ,education acc to the place it will marry and raise a family etc etc for boys adolescence is very important)- an astute parent or aunt knows that till the young have a successful marriage and family( includes job/carreer obviously:)) the battle is not over. Yes, the battle belongs to Lord but He wants us to pitch in or atleast pray assiduously ( I have to use that word even if misspelt ,which I am sure it is-certain compulsions like eating channa batura and farezi stuff-)