Why I cannot Make Wine In Kandy?

Reproduced from Asokaplus; 

Posted on April 23, 2011 |  

Why I cannot Make Wine In Kandy?

This I have to post very quickly before the ordination of young ones by next Poya.

Then this country will be (alcohol free except in the parliament), smoke free (except smog from coal power plants and the variety of luxury vehicles imported for our representatives after elections and driving on our motorways built and will be newly built) and Buruwas free (except National Lottery and Lotto)  the National and Awrudu Game including Polburuwas watching our TVs for another 5 years (i.e the voter in peace).

These Buddhist monks first Kariya or the duty would be to get rid of the above three (alcoho, smoke and games) and disregard any excesses of other kinds that are not permitted to Dasa Sil Mathwas on a Poya Day.

But my real reason for not been able to Make wine is more of a scientific nature and is not in my control.

Making wine is simple process but this betel chewing (no taste for wine) and arecanut cracking (inhibit taste for wine but not for arrack) nation would not experiment on new varieties of taste except what the government wants them to be.
In wine making one needs five to six ingredients. 1. Sugar 2. Yeast, living organism 3. Water 4. Flavour 5. Time and Temperature
We have five of them in abundance but only one is missing.
Guess what it is?
Even in Kandy, I cannot provide it, the most important for correct brewing.

Well it is the temperature that is missing which has to be correct, precise and ideal.
1. Above 38 C (100 F) yeast will be dead. 2. Primary or the start up fermentation should start at 21 c (70 F) 3. Secondary or the slow phase fermentation should be at 16 C (65 F) 4. Finish product should be kept at 10 to 15 C (50 to 55 C) 5. Ideal requirement are 20, 15, 10 C (70, 60, 50) and very simple in arithmetic but never achieved in Kandy or suburbs.
That is the reason I cannot make wine in Kandy and the global warming has taken the tall.
I hope after Wesak Poya, the temperature should hover round 100 F (38 and above) and the newly ordained monks should meditate on this so that they do not have to worry about one of the three mentioned above for certain (that is the ideal way to kill yeast) but the mosquito menace and the music accompanied with the will hinder their meditative path.

In my case I cannot think of Pani Waraka Wine Passion Fruit Wine Banana Wine Keeri Samaba Wine Mangoostine Wine Belly wine Diwul Wine or any fruit cocktail Wine for certain

I have to think of getting them only in heavenly abode and probably after my death.

Elephant Bath

Elephant Bath

Elephant bath, it was where everybody who visits Kandy go to see elephant when it is not the Pereharas season. 

Botanical garden and Elephant bath were two landmarks of visit to the city.

Now no more thanks to development projects like Polgolla dam to divert water to the dry zone.

I must address an issue that this dam caused after its opening I must retell this story for the present engineers to understand the need to release water downstream regularly to avoid similar episodes.

The downstream water spilled over the dam was not enough to cover the river bed. Soon water pools begin to form and the mosquitoes started breading in them. For the first time we started detecting Malaria in Kandy. 

Any place under 4500 feet Malaria mosquito can breed.

Then water samples collected with mosquito larvae confirmed that Malaria mosquito was breeding in Kandy for the first time.

Now the remedy was to spray DDT on the river bed.

This was actually the consolidation phase of Malaria campaign and we prematurely relaxed spraying with the recommendation of the WHO.

Story circulating at that time was that the resident Malaria Campaign Officer who was  a foreigner, fearing his job would be axed if we successfully completed the campaign gave wrong signal to withdraw spraying prematurely.

In any case by the time of the opening of the Polgolla Dam in 1976, the malaria had spread all over and Kandy was relatively immune.

Now spraying the river bed was no feasible with people using it for bathing.

Our public officers gave the Mahaweli an order to intermittently release the water giving them correct instruction considering the life cycle of the Malaria larvae, so that the larvae get destroyed before they become mature mosquitoes.

This was a simple remedy but was very effective to arrest malaria spread in Kandy.

I do not think they still practice this simple remedy. 

One visit to Earl’s Reagent Hotel is enough to witness whether they are practicing common sense.

Now it was only yesterday I went to Kandy to buy something double sided sticker to stick the Telephone box to the wall. I was going from from one corner of the city to the other corner  to find the same without any success.

At one point the cross road and the main were blocked and people were getting ready (some Bank organizing the thing) a procession.

Very young elephant with soaring sun beating down was covered with a decorated overcoat and was kept waiting till the men and the retinue got ready.

This poor animal while baking himself in the sun was trying to lift foot/feet in rotation, giving some respite to the burning feet (it was like the restless feet of old people who suffer from a similar burning but less distressful to the owner).

It was a pathetic sight to watch and mahout was nonetheless not bothered about the young animals welfare.

They are only exhibits without real life away from the jungle habitat.

Mind you, I am one who is totally against domesticating these majestic creatures.

Ill treatment is totally unacceptable.

Not only they have lost a place for bathing they have lost all sense of well being under human care in this Buddhist country.

These majestic animals love water and water is a sport for them and that is how they keep them cool under a thick skin.

With global warming and even in Kandy temperature going above 95 degrees Fahrenheit, they have no comfort zone.

It is criminal. 

Not only humans even animals need water for survival and that water has to be good for drinking.

Which is not true today.

Dog Puzzle with Economic Stint

Dog Puzzle with Economic Stint

Reproduced December,2011.

This is a puzzle I leave you to solve.

If you are an American I sympathize with you for using American businessman as a case study.

You should not be worried.

He/she is hypothetical in my puzzle.

The dog is typical Sri-Lankan Paraya (stray ) dog.

He/she was speculator, Hedge Fund Raiser and a swindler par excellence in money markets world wide.

He/she (hereafter only he) is 25 years of age and recently had a bypass surgery.

He wishes to live up to ripe old age of 80 with the ill-gotten money.

He would like to raise a dog for his companionship.

Because of his swindling he no longer has friends.

Q.1.

How many dogs he has to raise in the next 45 years?

Q.2. 

When he has to have a bypass operation for his dog to prolong its life by 5 years (equivalent to 30 to 50 human years).

Q.3. 

How much it costs for a bypass for the dog?

Q.4. 

What happen to the will that was written in the name of the first dog?

Q.5.

Is there a Carry Over Hedge Fund (C.O.H.F) for the next dog?

Q.6. 

How much is the value of it?

Q.7. 

When he actually dies at 80 what is the age of the dog (dog age not human)?

If you have correct answers not hypothetical please post it under comments.