Life and Spirituality

Recent devastating floods that submerged an entire province in southern India – Kerala - drew my mind back to emergency food supplies for humans caught in natural disasters. Food that can be delivered swiftly to such persons needs to be compact, lightweight, and nutritional with a long shelf life. It can then be stored in emergency relief depots and supplied to disaster management teams swiftly. It should be food that can be consumed without cooking. In earlier posts this author has described precisely such a food in the form of biscuits that aside from wheat flour contain micronutrients and proteins, are organic and easily digestible. They were named OFR biscuits. The interested reader may like to look up these posts too. They can be found here  Aside from disaster relief such a food when available, is useful for travelers. They are useful in homes as a snack, for an occasional quick lunch perhaps along with soup, salad or fruits, or, breakfasts along with tea, coffee

It does not take much to make a difference in lives of others for the better, just a heart rooted in humanity and willing to do so. You can make a difference. Yes you can. T he Lord has been extremely gracious in first giving me birth in an educated and enlightened family, education to the highest possible levels in some of the finest universities of our planet, later an opportunity to travel, live and work across the world. Around seven years ago, at the age of sixty, as I stepped out from my academic profession, the thought occurred that my rich experience would be a waste if it could not benefit the world in various ways. It would be ungrateful to the Lord that provided this experience. Next time around, in a new life, he may not bless me similarly. A human is full of good and bad qualities. Much activity in the world, as my earlier years witnessed, involves doing not just good but some wrong and shameless acts that I too have not escaped and regret. All things have con

A n earlier note  (see here ) had described biscuits, crackers and cookies called OFR biscuits and cookies (Organic Food relief) that are an ideal emergency food for situations such as disaster or refugee relief when fresh food cannot be delivered or prepared in a hurry, for example, when persons are trapped in a flood. There are many different types of biscuits available in the market. However most contain primarily carbohydrates that can relieve hunger on an odd occasion but are not replacement for food because a human requires besides carbohydrates, proteins and a variety of micro-nutrients present in a variety of fruits and vegetables. There are fortified biscuits available that make up for some of these through addition of chemical minerals and vitamins. However, being of chemical origin they are not the best choice for long term use. The OFR biscuits on the other hand use only natural ingredients such as dehydrated vegetables mixed with flour so that they are mor