It has to be full moon and it is celebrated usually in January or February, this year it was yesterday on 30 January that Mauritius celebrated the festival of Thaipusam Cavadee. This colourful celebration is also done in other countries such as southern parts of India, Malaysia, Singapore and Reunion Island. Across the world, the festival of Thaipusam Cavadee is usually part of the of the Tamil culture but in Mauritius it has become a festival for all citizens of the overall Hindu community. Thaipusam Cavadee is also called Thaipooyam Cavadee and is dedicated to the birthday of the Hindu deity Muruga. According to Hindu mythology, Muruga is the youngest son of the Trinity Lord Shiva. He is mostly recognized as carrying the spear also called Vel.As Rodrigues has got only a tiny Hindu community, nearly 98 % of our population is Catholic, it was not celebrated here, at least not publicly visible as in Mauritius. Although a public holiday also here, it went more or less ignored, business as usual, even the Saturday market was open, only bigger companies and the public sector did not work.After a period of 10 days fasting on Cavadee day people will carry the Cavadee, which means burden, carrying something heavy but beautifully decorated and containing photos of Muruga acts as a sacrifice.Women can be seen carrying milk which is supposed not to get sour. Devotees also pierce their skin and tongue with neutralized needles.People across the country will throw water on the burning hot roads of Mauritius to help those walking bare foot with their cavadee.
Ich geb's zu, Salingers Kurzgeschichte hat mich nicht losgelassen und so ging ich auf die Suche nach Bananenfisch...Der erste fand sich dann gleich hier oben, Salinger muss noch mehr Leute inspiriert haben, denn es gibt eine ganze Reihe websites gleichen Namens.Ich war überrascht, denn ich erwartete eigentlich nur ein paar Rezeptseiten...
Salinger's short story got me and so I went looking for some banana fish...On top the first one I found, Salinger must have been a source of inspiration not only for me, there are lots of websites of the same name. I was surprised as I expected just some recepies...
Mix together flour, curry powder, and soy sauce; coat bananas and fish with this; set aside. Heat oil in skillet. Stir-fry celery until crisp; set aside. Add butter to oil; saute bananas until golden, about 1 minute on each side. Sprinkle bananas with half of lemon juice; remove to serving dish. Saute fish in oil/butter mix until fish comes easily away on a fork, about 3 minutes on each side. Sprinkle with remaining lemon juice. Place on serving dish with bananas. Spoon celery over fish.
In Rodrigues haben wir massig Bananen und ausgesprochen guten Fisch..., auch wenn die lokale kreolische Küche beides eigentlich nicht miteinander mischt,... ich glaube, heute ist ein herrlicher Tag für Bananenfisch! -
In Rodrigues we have lots of bananas and in fact some excellent fish too, ...the local creole way of cooking usually does not mix both, however, I think today might be a perfect day for bananafish!
Er schrieb nur einen einzigen Roman und der wurde zumindest in den 70er Jahren gleich Pflichtlektüre bei uns im Englischunterricht..."Der Fänger im Roggen" beinflusste bereits eine ganze Generation vor mir, war Bestseller und blieb Kultbuch. Weniger bekannt sind seine Kurzgeschichten, wie z. B. "Ein herrlicher Tag für Bananenfisch", mit dem seine Karriere eigentlich begann. Am 27.1. starb J.D.Salinger, und erst mit dieser Meldung im tagesschau newsletter fiel mir wieder ein, wie oft ich mich beim Ansehen des Covers gefragt habe, wofür denn wohl seine Initialen stehen und dass ich dem nie nachgegangen bin...-Just a single novel and it became a must for English literature classes, at least when I went to school in the 70ies..."The catcher in the Rye" influenced already a whole generation before me, was bestseller and remained cult book. Less known his short stories like " A perfect day for bananafish", with which his career in fact started. On 27 January, J.D.Salinger died, and it was just then, when I learned about his death that I remembered having never looked up his initials, something which came always into my mind when seeing the book cover...RIP, Jerome David Salinger!Here a small obituary from the New York Times... "J.D. Salinger, the elusive and enigmatic author of “The Catcher in the Rye,” has died. He was 91 and lived in Cornish, N.H.
Mr. Salinger’s literary representative, Harold Ober Associates, announced the death, saying it was of natural causes.
Published in 1951, "The Catcher in the Rye" became Mr. Salinger’s most famous work with its distinctive depiction of its angry, iconoclastic teenage protagonist, Holden Caulfield. Mr. Salinger frequently dealt with the subject of precocious youth in his short stories of the Glass family, as well as "Fanny and Zooey", a collection of two long short stories. He had not published a new work since 1965, and lived in near-total isolation, having refused the attention of the literary world and the news media for decades.
In their statement, Mr. Salinger’s representatives said that “in keeping with his lifelong, uncompromising desire to protect and defend his privacy, there will be no service, and the family asks that people’s respect for him, his work and his privacy be extended to them, individually and collectively, during this time.”
The statement added: “Salinger had remarked that he was in this world but not of it. His body is gone but the family hopes that he is still with those he loves, whether they are religious or historical figures, personal friends or fictional characters.”
Please find full obituary about Salinger's life and work in the New York Times here
Sources and photo credits: tagesschau.de/dt. (1), FAZ (3/dt)/16.06.2005, Bernd Hagemann (2)"ein herrlicher tag für bananenfisch"/29.01.2010
Eiszapfen am Fahrrad, darauf warteten die Berliner sicher nicht: Schneesturm und Temperaturen um -22 °C....Das macht übrigens zu Rodrigues einen Temperaturunterschied von über 50° ... -
Icicles on bike - certainly the Berliner's could have easily put up with less, a snowstorm and temperatures around -22 °C..., by the way, this means that there is actual a more than 50° C- difference in temperature to Rodrigues.... Wo zur Zeit Wind aus Nord-Osten weht, ziemlich heftig sogar, mit im Durchschnitt 45 km/Std. und Spitzen um 80km/Std....und regnen tut es endlich auch, natürlich aus dem Norden. also der Richtung, die uns Ost-Süd-Ostwindverwöhnten, das Wasser gleich auf die Terrasse weht. Also wird der Mop bemüht, während ich hier schreibe, aber was ist das schon nach all der Hitze und Trockenheit der vergangenen Monate...-
"LE VENT DU NORD-EST DEMEURE ASSEZ FORT, EN MOYENNE DE 45 KMPH AVEC DES RAFALES DE 80 KMPH." (Météo pour Rodrigues- cet après-midi)
Since yesterday it has been raining with winds coming from the north, so we cleared our terrasse of everything which might not survive all the humidity and while I am working on some postings, I have to do some mopping as well...as our terrasse, looking northwards, is prone to collecting water too...)) To make it short: after all that heat during the last months, I don't care at all of this little extra work...
Vor genau einem Monat war ich auf einer Hochzeit eingeladen, Karen, die ich noch als ca. 12 jährige erinnere, und Eric wollten es wissen, und haben sich nach bereits einem Jahr offizieller Ehe nun auch kirchlich das Jawort gegeben, natürlich mit allem Pipapo, der dazu gehört...-
Exactly one month ago I was invited to a wedding, one year after their civil marriage, Karen (who is still remembered by some German folks as a girl of about 12 years) and Eric wanted to give their vows also in a religious ceremony, sure with the whole setting belonging to such an occasion... Ja, das bin ich, ich gebe zu, ich liebe Kirchen, besonders wenn geheiratet wird, ich liebe Hochzeiten und ich habe zugesehen, dass ich niemals auch nur eine einzige verpasse. Unglücklicherweise gibt es auf Rodrigues mehr Beerdigungen als Hochzeiten, so kommt es dann auch schon mal häufiger vor, dass ich voller Vorfreude mit einem Strahlen im Gesicht in einer Kirche auftauche, während um mich herum, mich Leute mit ernsten und tränenerfüllten Augen überraschen...Aber an diesem heißen Dezembernachmittag war Lächeln genau das Richtige...-
Yeah, that's me, I admit I have a liking for churches, especially when there are weddings, I love weddings, I always try not to miss a single one, unfortunately in Rodrigues there are more funerals than weddings, so it happens quite frequently that I turn up in a church, putting my best smile on my face while everybody around me surprises me with serious eyes, often filled with tears...But on that hot December afternoon smiling was the right thing to do... Und ich war nicht der Einzige...Nein, das ist nicht die Braut, aber sie war bestimmt fast genauso würdevoll und schön mit ihrem Kleid wie Karen. Und wahrscheinlich hat sie wie ich von weißen Hochzeiten, großartigen Buffets und Hochzeitskuchen geträumt...-
And I was not the only one...No, that is not the bride but she was nearly as dignified and beautiful as Karen in her festive dress, wasn't she? Probably as me dreaming of white weddings, gorgeous buffets and wedding cake...Es ist wahr, die kirchliche Trauung hat lange gedauert, eine Hochzeit in weiß ist eine wichtige Angelegenheit in Rodrigues, in diesem Fall waren sogar gleich 2 Priester zur Stelle und eine Gruppe junger Musiker und Sänger waren extra bestellt um zu singen...Abgesehen vom Jawort war der beste Teil, als Salomon King zu singen begann (ja,ja, ich gestehe, zu Anfang habe ich ihn mit Engelbert Humperdinck verwechselt), das hat selbst mir eine wohlige Gänsehaut verpasst...-
It is true, the ceremony in the church took long, a white wedding in Rodrigues is an important event, in this case they were even two priests around the couple and a group of young musicians were in charge of the songs...Apart from the nuptial vows the best part was when Salomon King was singing (OK,OK, I confess, I first got him mixed up with Engelbert Humperdinck...), really, that made even me shiver of delight...
Und dann waren auf einmal eine Menge geschäftiger Leute um mich herum, alle dabei dem Brautpaar mit gemessenem Schritt zu folgen, gleichzeitig immer auf das neuvermählte schöne Paar schauend, die bezaubernde Karen und das exquisite Kleid müssen offenbar solchen Eindruck gemacht haben, dass eine ganze Reihe Fotos verwackelt wurden...-
And then there were a lot of busy people around me, all watching the newly married and so good looking couple, the radiant Karen and her wonderful dress must have caused some stir, I was told later that in several cases, photos taken then just came out a bit blurred...Und dann ging es zum Kuchen...! Ich muss sagen, obwohl selbst nicht ausgestattet mit Ring und Heiratsurkunde (um ehrlich zu sein, von Zeit zu Zeit bevorzuge ich es ein wenig wild, sich festzulegen wäre da ein Hindernis, wenn sie verstehen, was ich meine...), bin ich doch ausgeprochen romantisch, bei so einer Zeremonie und diesem Kuchen muss die Ehe einfach funktionieren, was meinen Sie? (Sollte ich vielleicht auch Brangelina empfehlen, man sagt, dass sie sich trennen wollen, vielleicht sollten sie einfach nach Rodrigues zum Heiraten kommen, Kinder und Hunde inklusive...-
And then everybody went for the cake...! Although not being officially registered as married (to be honest, I can't deny to have a slight preference for running wild from time to time, if you know what I mean ...), I have still a quite romantic strain, given the ceremony and that cake, this marriage must simply work out successfully, mustn't it?
By the way, I have to recommend this to Brangelina, I have heard that their couple is in trouble, maybe they should come to Rodrigues to have a proper wedding here...Kids and dogs included!
Das sind Myriam und Pierre..., die übrigens mittlerweile auf rodriguischem Boden angekommen sein müssten, wie immer bin ich etwas spät...)). Augen werden sie machen, wenn sie nach Port Mathurin hereinfahren...!!!-
These are Myriam and Pierre ..., who by the way, should have arrived on Rodriguan soil in the meantime, it is me being late...)). They will be in for a big surprise when driving into Port Mathurin...!!!Das ist ein Auto auf einer Brücke in Port Mathurin....- That's a car on a bridge in Port Mathurin...Nicht irgendeine Brücke, sondern die Winston-Churchill-Bridge...- Not just a bridge but the Winston-Churchill-Bridge......die am 12.Januar offiziell eingeweiht wurde... ...which has been officially inaugurated on 12 January ... Hier sieht man Mr. Johnson Roussety (li), unser Chef Commissioner von Rodrigues, Mr. Hon. Rashid Beebeejaun (mi.) , er ist nach dem Prime Minister der 2. Mann im Staat und kam extra aus Mauritius angeflogen...Rechts Mr. Nicolas Vonmally, er vertritt Rodrigues als Deputierter in der National Assembly in Mauritius...-
...in the presence of Mr. Johnson Roussety (o.t.l.), Chief Commissioner of our island, Mr. Hon. Rashid Beebeejaun (i.t.m.), the second most important man in the state, stepping in whenever the Prime Minister is out of the country and for this occasion, he came over from Mauritius...Mr.Nicolas Vonmally (o.t.r.) assists as well, he is one of the deputies representing Rodrigues in the National Assembly. Hier werden noch einige andere Eröffnungszeugen erwähnt, diese Tafeln findet man ausgesprochen zahlreich, wann immer etwas eingeweiht wird...-
Here some more witnesses mentioned, this kind of plate is found whenever something has been inaugurated...
Folgende Informationen standen jedoch nicht auf der Tafel: Schon während des Krieges gab es 1943 eine aus Holz errichtete Ausgabe der Winston Churchill Bridge, und wer Rodrigues eine Weile kennt, so wie Myriam und Pierre, die wissen, dass seit 2002 die Brücke geschlossen war...Mehr zur Brücke in diesem älteren Posting...-
However, some infos concerning the bridge are missing on the plate. Already during WW II a wooden version of the bridge had been erected, and for those who have been to Rodrigues for the uptenth time as Myriam and Pierre, they know that the bridge had not been operational since 2002. More about the Winston Churchill Bridge here...Einen schönen Urlaub also hier und natürlich Gute Fahrt! - Alors soyez bienvenues à Rodrigues et bon voyage alors..., Myriam et Pierre!
"This week a solar eclipse that reduced the sun to a blazing ring surrounding a sombre disk plunged millions of people in Africa and Asia into an eerie semi-darkness." Wie immer, hier ein paar Eindrücke aus unterschiedlichen Gegenden... Here as usual some impressions from the different areas in the Indian Ocean...India by Partha Sarathi Gotswami
"The spectacle, visible in a 185-mile band running 8,062 miles across the globe, set a record for the longest annular eclipse that will remain unbeaten for more than a thousand years."
"An annular eclipse occurs when the moon passes directly in front of the sun but does not completely obscure it, thus leaving a ring – an annulus – of sunlight flaring around the lunar disk."
Again China, here in Hongdao- before and during the eclipse
Und hier ein Video aus Kerala/Indien, wo die Sonnenfinsternis bis zu 84% sichtbar war...- And here a video from Kerala in India where the eclipse had a visiblity of 84%...
There are lots and lots of more incredible photos, videos and reports, to be honest, I lost track but for those who like to see more, follow the links....and enjoy!
Und heute gibt es auch schon die erste Mondfinsternis des Jahres, die auch in unseren Breiten sichtbar sein wird , allerdings nur zu 35%. Wir sind sehr gespannt auf Fotos aus Sri Lanka, denn dort wie auch auf den Malediven wird die Sonnenfinsternis 11 Minuten zu sehen sein, wenn das Wetter mitspielt...Wir wünschen hiermit allen Eclipse-Huntern viel Erfolg!!!
Today there will be a solar eclipse, which will be the first one of 2010. More precisely it will be an annular eclipse with an estimated magnitude of 0.9190.
An annular solar eclipse is different from a total solar eclipse in the way that the apparent diameter of the moon seems smaller than the sun’s diameter. This is due to the moon being further away from earth. Therefore the eclipse will make the sun looks like an annulus (e.i ring).
The eclipse will be visible across certain part of Central Africa, Maldives, South India, Sri Lanka, Burma and parts of China. Check the animation above for more details. The eclipse will also be visible as a partial eclipse in other nearby regions indicated by the shadow above.
The eclipse will start in Uganda (Africa) and pass through the Indian Ocean to finally move through south India to China. The best spot to view the eclipse will be at Maldives where the duration of the eclipse is expected to last about 11 minutes.
The total eclipse will begin at about 5:13 GMT and ends at 8:59 GMT – The greatest eclipse view is expected at 7:07 GMT. For the sidenote, Mauritius is at GMT+4, so just add 4 hours to the time above to get the time here. Mauritians will have an eclipse visibility of 35%.
We are in touch with some eclipse hunters in Sri Lanka, friend Desh has promised to send some photos in as there the eclipse has also a duration of about 11 minutes. So good luck to Desh and all the other eclipse hunters of today!!!
Photo credits: Wikipedia and the Eclipse Site set up by the friends in Sri Lanka, the photo is from 2009.
Weder eine besonders gelungene Aufnahme (meine Kamera spinnt ...), noch der erste Regenbogen in diesem Jahr...Ein paar Tage zuvor gab es an fast der gleichen Stelle zwei V-förmig aussehende Regenbögen, ein offenbar recht seltenes Phänomen, denn ich fand nicht viel darüber und auch keine wirklich vergleichbaren Fotos, hier hatte natürlich an diesem Tag niemand eine Kamera dabei...Es war wirklich etwas sehr Besonderes...-
Neither a very thrilling shot (my camera has gone gaga...), nor the first rainbow this year in Rodrigues. ..A couple of days before , one could witness nearly at the same position two reflecting rainbows looking like a V, obviously a rare phenomenon, as I did not find much about it, not even similar photos . Sure, and here noone was with camera at the quay of Port Mathurin..."Besondere Erscheinungsformen bilden die sehr seltenen Gespaltenen Regenbögen und Spiegelbögen. Wenn das Sonnenlicht an einer Wasserfläche gespiegelt wird, bevor es auf die Regentropfen trifft, kann ein zweiter Bogen entstehen, der am Horizont mit dem Hauptbogen zusammentrifft, weiter oben aber wie ein zweiter, den Hauptbogen kreuzender Bogen erscheint.[5][6] Darüber hinaus gibt es Beobachtungen von seitlich versetzten, sich überschneidenden Regenbögen, deren Entstehung bislang unklar ist.[7]" "Where sunlight reflects off a body of water before reaching the raindrops (see diagram), it may produce a reflection rainbow, if the water body is large, and quiet over its entire surface, and close to the rain curtain. The reflection rainbow appears above the horizon. It intersects the normal rainbow at the horizon, and its arc reaches higher in the sky. Due to the combination of requirements, a reflection rainbow is rarely visible."
Wer mehr über Regenbögen wissen will, sollte sich unbedingt hier bei Wapedia (dt.) schlau machen, eine wirklich interessante Zusammenstellung findet sich dort, auch wenn ich "unseren" V-förmigen Regenbgen dort nicht gefunden habe. -
Who wants to know more about rainbows, please check the Wapedia link (engl.) below, it's worthwhile, although I didn't find "our" rainbow looking like a V. Und hier oben noch ein weiteres interessantes Foto zum Thema Reflektion von Regenbögen, es kommt aus Spitsbergen, gefunden in dem Blog Atmospheric Phenomena ...-
Just another interesting shot of this kind of reflexion phenomenon found in this blog about Atmospheric Phenomena...
Ist das nicht ein schönes Foto zum Thema Weihnachts-Neujahresübergang mit Vollmond?- Isn't that a beautiful photo, and so appropriate concerning the transition period of Christmas and New Year's time completed by a a full moon...? Schöner als wie mit jedem Feuerwerk ging gestern das alte Jahr zu Ende ....Bei bestem Wetter in Rodrigues gab es Mondschein ohne Ende, auch wenn der Mond nicht wirklich blau war, so war er doch als 2. Vollmond in einem Monat ein Blue Moon... In Ermangelung einer gelungenen Aufnahme aus Rodrigues, hier ein Foto, das ich gerade ergoogelt habe...in diesemFall sieht er tatsächlich auch blau aus der Mond...-
Not the work of fire works but definetly more beautiful was the sky when the old year said good-bye...The weather was at it's best with incredible moon shine, although the moon was not really blue, it was a Blue Moon...Unfortunately no photos of the moon in Rodrigues, so here one found on google, in the case above it even looks blue... "According to popular definition, a blue moon is the second full moon in a month. A full moon occurred earlier this month on Dec. 2."Und hier noch zwei, gefunden auf einer Hunde website und einer irgendwo im Internet..- And here another two, found on a website for labradors and one somewhere on the net..Mehr zum Phänomen Blue Moon hier.... Aber damit nicht genug, dazu gab es bis kurz vor Mitternacht fast 3 Stunden lang auch noch eine partielle Mondfinsternis, die auch hier gut sichtbar war....- By the way, there was also a partial lunar eclipse, well visible in Rodrigues...
Photo credits: yahoo (1), Apakistaninews (2), Wikipedia(3), Labradorsite(4), Unknown photographer(5), New Year's cartoon by David Booth (6) More Blue Moon shots with the partial lunar eclipse here
It has to be full moon and it is celebrated usually in January or February, this year it was yesterday on 30 January that Mauritius celebrated the festival of Thaipusam Cavadee. This colourful celebration is also done in other countries such as southern parts of India, Malaysia, Singapore and Reunion Island. Across the world, the festival of Thaipusam Cavadee is usually part of the of the Tamil culture but in Mauritius it has become a festival for all citizens of the overall Hindu community. Thaipusam Cavadee is also called Thaipooyam Cavadee and is dedicated to the birthday of the Hindu deity Muruga. According to Hindu mythology, Muruga is the youngest son of the Trinity Lord Shiva. He is mostly recognized as carrying the spear also called Vel.
As Rodrigues has got only a tiny Hindu community, nearly 98 % of our population is Catholic, it was not celebrated here, at least not publicly visible as in Mauritius. Although a public holiday also here, it went more or less ignored, business as usual, even the Saturday market was open, only bigger companies and the public sector did not work.
After a period of 10 days fasting on Cavadee day people will carry the Cavadee, which means burden, carrying something heavy but beautifully decorated and containing photos of Muruga acts as a sacrifice.
Women can be seen carrying milk which is supposed not to get sour.
People across the country will throw water on the burning hot roads of Mauritius to help those walking bare foot with their cavadee. 
