MANDALA July 2020 LP
Bejan Daruwalla returns to his beloved Ganesha
Every shining star someday enters the black hole of time. Our shining star of astrology, Bejan Daruwalla, departed this life on May 29, 2020 due to lung infection in Ahmedabad. For his entire 90-year life, he read, studied, and observed the stars to predict the future of people seeking his blessings.
Bejan Daruwalla was born on July 11, 1931 in Bharuch, Gujarat, into a Parsi family. He started as an English teacher but, later, astrology got the better of him. Though he was born into a Parsi family (believers of the Zoroastrian faith), he was an ardent devotee of Lord Ganesha.
He not only declared his predictions about Mr. Narendra Modi’s huge victory in the coming elections, who was the chief minister of Gujarat back then but also predicted that he is the one who will use the energy of the world (support of the world’s nations) for the betterment of India. He not only predicted victory for the Late PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh but also for several film stars and cricket stars. He predicted the death of Sanjay Gandhi in 1980, the earthquake in Gujarat 2001, and the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi in 1991.
This is the reason for his fame in India and the world over. The accuracy level of his prediction was high. While plenty of astrologers tend to follow one or two techniques to make predictions, Bejanji was known to combine the principles of Vedic and Western astrology, I Ching, tarot, numerology, the Kabbalah, and even palmistry. The right combination of these principles enabled him to make highly accurate and relevant predictions. Moreover, naturally gifted with a spectacular intuitive prowess, he used to listen to and rely on his inner voice, and would always seek Lord Ganesha’s blessings to foresee and predict.
He made his last prediction during the pandemic where he said, “The coronavirus has come because of the planet Saturn as the planet is associated with masses, your karma, and justice. It is also clearly associated with the common man. So, Saturn is giving this trouble because, today, the world has become greedy and is only thinking about itself. By May 2020, Saturn will move away from the horoscope of the world so the corona problem will surely end. I request all of you to stay home and stay safe.” He further added, “This year is tough for the world, but the next year is excellent for India as well as for the world. There is great hope for humanity in the coming times.”
According to his website, Ganesha Speaks, Bejanji has been rewarded by The Millennium Book of Prophecy for being an outstanding astrologer amongst the 1000 great astrologers in history. He is one of the rarest astrologers who have contributed regularly to news channels and magazines across the world.
The ‘Jack’ of all fruits!
Meat consumption has always been a matter of scepticism and debate. While a lot of people support the idea of veganism and surviving without the need to consume meat of any kind, the other percentage of the population argue about how it’s an important aspect of the food chain and vital for our survival. However, with the zoonotic COVID-19 outbreak and the fact that it has spread from a certain wet market in Wuhan, China, which is one of the world’s biggest meat-selling markets, it has further triggered a fear of the same in people, who are against eating chicken, pork, and any other kind of meat nowadays.
Amidst such devastating times, Kerala’s jackfruit is stealing the show for all the right reasons and at the right time. It is being considered as the perfect alternative to meat, for vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike. There’s a huge demand for the superfood in the global market due to its properties which are quite similar to animal meat. The food’s texture has become its biggest selling point as, when it’s unripe, it has a pork-like fibre. Restaurants worldwide are cashing in on this, and the superfood is also becoming the first choice of many international and renowned chefs. “Shredded jackfruit, jackfruit tacos and jackfruit koftas are some of the popular choices amongst the people because of its pork-like texture. “Here, in Palo Alto, jackfruit cutlet is the showstopper,” says a restaurant owner in Palo Alto, California, USA. Moreover, movements like Meat-free Monday and Vegan Worry have continued to fuel the demand for jackfruit.
Jackfruit is not only the best substitute for meat but is also very nutritional and comes along with a lot of health benefits. “30 gm of jackfruit flour has 1gm of pectin, which is the equivalent of three apples. An apple a day keeps the doctor away because of pectin. Jackfruit can keep the hospital away!” says James Joseph, founder of Jackfruit365, an initiative to create an organised market for Indian jackfruits.
Jackfruit farmers have picked up the sudden rising demand of the superfood from around the globe. “There are a lot of enquiries coming from several countries. They have started understanding the importance of jackfruit,” says Varghese Tharakkan, a jackfruit farmer. India is the largest producer of jackfruit, and its global demand has turned out to be economically beneficial for the country.
The sheer hunger and gluttony of humans for animal meat has led to a series of disastrous events like pandemics and illegal activities like animal trafficking, which have succumbed humanity into the darkest of pits. With jackfruit, a vegetarian alternative to meat, more and more people are turning into vegans with no regrets about missing the succulent taste of meat. A collective consciousness about leading a vegan lifestyle and discarding meat consumption is the need of the hour, which can pay off in the long run and also save our animals.
Coconut leather
Summer heat is best beaten by sweet coconut water, which has essential minerals and nutrients important for a healthy body. But did you know that it can be used to create a leather alternative? A Kerala-based start-up, Malai Biomaterials Design, has developed vegan leather from this summer thirst-quencher, which takes only 90-150 days to decompose!
Founders Zuzana Gombosova, a material researcher from Slovakia, and Susmith Suseelan, an engineer from Kerala, worked together in Mumbai before venturing out to explore the possibility of growing bacterial cellulose on water from mature coconuts that Zuzana researched on for her Masters in London. Their deep-rooted concern for the environment led them to Karnataka for a year-long research in the vicinity of a coconut-processing unit where they developed the material further. “Malai emerged as an attempt to create material based on bacterial cellulose that’s ecologically friendly and usable for commercial products. Our criteria was to keep it as sustainable as possible, both environmentally and socially,” says Susmith.
Acknowledging the declaration of climate emergency, many organisations and individuals are working to find sustainable alternatives to end the madness of irresponsible consumerism. This PETA-approved start-up produces a water-resistant bio composite material that looks like leather, made from using bacteria cellulose from coconut water, banana fibre, sisal fibre, hemp fibre, and natural gums, starch, and dyes for colour and gloss. They collect coconuts from the farmers in Kerala, which are then processed in the units to produce jelly-like cellulose after the fermentation period of a fortnight. The sheets are cast in different textures like semi-glossy, glossy, or matte through oil or water-based coatings and then crafted into utility sling bags, tote bags, laptop bags, belted bags, wallets, and more. “Our production process doesn’t harm any animals, it consumes fewer resources in terms of energy and water during manufacturing, and uses no toxic chemicals at any stage of its production cycle,” says Zuzana.
They won the Circular Design Challenge 2020 at Lakme Fashion Week in Mumbai and are planning to make Malai more accessible in the Indian market as sustainability is still a niche industry and has a huge scope for growth. And as Susmith puts it, “We have to constantly remind ourselves that we are borrowing from nature and we are bound to return it to nature in a form that nature can use.”