Addiction, Obsession ~ Freecell Card game

In a Cricket crazy Nation, the word obsession may not need any lengthy elaboration. I do not have an answer for the Q – whether  the obsession for Cinema is more ?

Beyond the hype, this contest can perhaps be best viewed through the prism of the two captains. Shahid Afridi is the passionate, exhibitionist leader who doesn't mind showing his emotions on the field.  MS Dhoni is the uber-cool captain and, while he can be vocal while dealing with the press, he is almost invisible on the field. Silent nods of appreciation, a quiet word in the ear, calm instructions, a shrug of the shoulder is all you will get from him. And again, it's what this star-heavy team needs. Someone who can be calm and remind them of the basics of the game… so a great India Vs Pakistan match ? -  wondering what ?  - on this day 30.3.2011 occurred the 2^nd Semi Finals of WC 2011 between India and Pakistan at Mohali ~ and Espn Cricinfo is brining it ‘retrolive’ .. ..

For those who cannot live without reading on Cricket -  BCCI along with its affiliated state associations will contribute INR 51 crore (USD 6.8 million approx.) towards the Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM-CARES) fund to help India fight the coronavirus pandemic,  a BCCI release said on Saturday.

Leave aside Cricket or Cinema – how does your day start ?  - for most South Indians, it starts with a steaming hot tumbler of ‘filter coffee’  -  coffee is a comforting ritual that signifies the start of a new day and gives them energy to start that new day.  About 75 to 80 percent of people in the world drink caffeinated beverages regularly. In the United States, the amount of caffeine intake increases by age, peaking in the 50 to 64 age group. Coffee is the main source of caffeine, followed by carbonated soft drinks and teas.

Our neighbouring State is a different mix.  The alcohol ban in Kerala seems to be killing more people than the virus itself in the state, which has one of India’s highest per capita liquor consumption. The state, like the rest of India, was forced to go dry in the wake of the ongoing 21-day nationwide lockdown. In the past week, seven people committed suicide out of depression over not being able to buy alcohol in Kerala, while the virus has resulted in one casualty so far ! Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the government was mulling the possibility of supplying liquor to alcohol addicts as the closure of bars and state-run beverage outlets during the lockdown period was creating social problems.

Before you ridicule it as addiction – think of your addiction or obsession.  When the average person thinks about addiction, most think about drugs, alcohol, tobacco, and maybe shopping or gambling. When a person is addicted to drugs or alcohol, they are chemically dependent on the drug. People who suffer from addiction many times also have other co-occurring disorders, such as obsessive/compulsive disorder. There is a strong correlation between addiction and obsessions.  An obsession is a ritualistic routine that becomes part of your normal life. Medically speaking it is a persistent preoccupation of a feeling or idea, which can be accompanied by anxiety. Obsessions can include excessive hand washing or repetitive counting.

An obsession and an addiction can look the same but the root is different.  For instance, if one is in the habit of playing cards for stakes every week spending approx. Rs. 2000 – is this addictive or obsessive could be the Q ?  - if he cannot remain without playing even for a week and if on a holiday he has the itch of playing and starts quarrelling with everyone when not allowed to – it is addiction.  A gambler would keep playing irrespective of whether he is winning, whether the partners are changing, whether there is change in venue or whatsoever.  If he wants to play every day at the same place and cannot remain without going to that place, perhaps that is obsession.  Addicts will slowly start dreaming on  how the money will be spent, what will be bought, and who will benefit from the winnings.  The dreaming is active, enticing, exciting, and consuming an entire day of thinking about the possibilities.

The adjective ‘obsessed’  would mean :  unable to stop thinking about something; too interested in or worried about something.  One of the common definitions of an obsession is “a idea or thought that continually preoccupies or intrudes on a person’s mind.” A person can be obsessed with an activity, a thought, a story, another person; the list is almost endless. This can become problematic in some instances when a person only wants to think or talk about one thing.

A diamond solitaire refers to any piece of jewelry with a single diamond. Diamond solitaires can be a ring, necklace, earring or even men's jewelry. This is not on diamond solitaire, but my obsession on a Card game Solitaire –‘freecell’.

Be it a marriage, function, cinema hall, cricket match, office, lecture room, class room or what .. .. people are obsessively involved in touching their mobile screens – checking for social media and playing games ! ~ I claim that I can live without mobile for a day or two – though me too have great obsession for social media.  We also see, people madly playing various computer games, especially on their smart phones -   their impulse control isn’t as strong.   It’s rather humiliating, since I’ve always been someone who adapted well to a disciplined schedule.  Me too am addicted to one particular game ‘Freecell’ – I played almost all the time I open my Computer at home and when I close it ! ~ for sure, have never played it on office machine or on office laptop.   The card games are no doubt interesting and challenging too !

While Cards offer various probabilities – here it is 52! (i.e., 52 factorial), or approximately 8×1067, distinct deals. However, some games are effectively identical to others because suits assigned to cards are arbitrary or columns can be swapped. After taking these factors into account, there are approximately 1.75×1064 distinct games, is how the challenge is described.

For those uninitiated - Freecell game - one standard 52 card deck – there are 4 open cells and 4 open foundations – there are some alternates too.  Cards are dealt face-up into eight cascades, four of which comprise seven cards each and four of which comprise six cards each.

The lure of FreeCell, a highly strategic solitaire game that can be summoned with just a click or two on the desktop is very seductive challenging you to win the deck.  It is winnable but could be challenging.  To me, the challenge is one last single click that arranges all the remaining cards – so of the 52 at what stage do you get that single click possibility is the fantasizing Q.  Today I got it at 46 i.e., only 6 cards stacked  – 46 cards remaining and putting 5 Spades (attached 4 dice)  into 6 possible places, (4 empty top space or below 6 hearts or first empty stack ends the game on a victory note !. 

            FreeCell can be traced back to the mid-1970's, when a version was written by Paul Alfille in Tutor, a programming language designed for the University of Illinois's computer system. Until it was included with Windows 95 as a game accessory within the operating system, it remained relatively obscure. Now it is an integral part of Microsoft operating system. Microsoft has included a FreeCell computer game with every release of the Windows operating system since 1995, greatly contributing to the game's popularity. Nearly every FreeCell game can be won. Only one of the 32,000 deals in the Microsoft Windows version has been deemed impossible: No.11,982 is one bad trip.  Using the basic deal numbering system that virtually all FreeCell games use, game #11982 is the first unwinnable game of FreeCell. ... After that only the games #146692, #186216, #455889, #495505, #512118, #517776, and #781948 are unsolvable out of the first million games. Therefore, unsolvable games of FreeCell are literally eight out of a million.

So how obsessed are you ? after my  #metoo confession !  .. .. Obsession is a 1976 psychological thriller film directed by Brian De Palma, starring Cliff Robertson, Geneviève Bujold.   The story is about a New Orleans businessman who is haunted by guilt following the death of his wife and daughter during a kidnapping-rescue attempt. Years after the tragedy, he meets and falls in love with a young woman who is the exact look-alike of his long dead wife.

Obsession ~ Freecell and .. .. ..

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

30.3.2020.

Caddie sued - seeking more than $30,000 in damages,

Insurance is all about exposure, the probability of peril occurrence, the extent of loss or damage it can cause,  requirement of an individual or entity … Imagine a new showroom being opened – there would be need for insuring the property inside, the furniture, fixtures, electrical installations, the building itself, personal insurances for the staff and visitors, liability insurance ! and more - I never imagined of this type of claim  ! atleast in India.

We are fond of Cricket, follow to some extent other sports like – Kabaddi, Hockey, Tennis, Football, Badminton, Table tennis, Racing, Carrom and …. …. Can you identify this woman who is ranked no. 1 presently ?

Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games,  does not utilize a standardized playing area, and coping with the varied terrains encountered on different courses is a key part of the game. The game at the usual level is played on a course with an arranged progression of 18 holes, though recreational courses can be smaller, often having nine holes.  Besides the player, there is Caddie – a helper  who carries a player's bag and clubs, and gives insightful advice too !

Other than Motor vehicles insurance, Property and Marine Insurance, there is Liability insurance – that branch which protects an individual or business from the risk that they may be sued and held legally liable for something such as malpractice, injury or negligence. Liability insurance policies cover both legal costs and any legal payouts for which the insured would be responsible if found legally liable. Intentional damage and contractual liabilities are typically not covered in these types of policies.

‘liability’ (n) is  one of the most significant words in the field of law, and a complex subject in Insurance. Liability means legal responsibility for one's acts or omissions. Any loss or damage caused by a negligent act of a person / Firm exposes them to public liability and cost of litigation as also the cost of such liability suit will be covered in a liability insurance policy. 

One common example is the Act Policy [Third Party Liability policy] in Motor vehicle Insurance.  In India, as prescribed in the Motor Vehicles Act, every vehicle owner must have a policy covering the liability that might arise out of the use of the motor vehicle in a public place. Employers liability, also known as Workmen Compensation is another where the Employer has liability to their employees for death / injuries ‘arising out of and in the course of employment’.

The  liability related suits, other than those of motor accident victims  are not very high in India and there have not been many complex situations also as compared to some litigant practices in Western countries.  Read this interesting news of a liability suit in MailOnline.  A Florida man has filed a lawsuit against Tiger Woods and his caddie Joe LaCava alleging he sustained injuries after LaCava shoved him when he tried to take a selfie with the golfer in the background at a tournament in 2018.

According to the civil complaint, which was filed in Pinellas County, Florida, Brian Borruso alleges the incident took place during the third round of the Valspar Championship at Innisbrook after Woods's tee shot landed near him. Borruso, who is seeking more than $30,000 (Rs 23 lakhs approx.) in damages, says he stumbled and fell into the crowd of spectators after being shoved by LaCava, ultimately causing injuries he described in the lawsuit as 'permanent or continuing.'

Tiger Woods, who was competing in only his fourth PGA Tour event after a long layoff following spinal fusion surgery in April 2017, was named as a defendant because he employs Joe LaCava (left), who last year was inducted into the Caddie Hall of Fame.

'Brian Borruso suffered injury and damages including, but not limited to, bodily and mental injury, and resulting pain and suffering, disability, disfigurement, mental anguish, loss of capacity for the enjoyment of life, expenses of hospitalization, medical and nursing care and treatment, loss of ability to earn income, and aggravation of previously existing condition,' read the filing, obtained by the Daily Mail. 'The losses are either permanent or continuing.'  There is some video of the moments leading up to Borruso being shoved, although the plaintiff is not visible in the footage.  LaCava can be heard telling fans to 'back it up' and is seen extending his arm as if to shield Woods from spectators during his practice swings. 

That video does not show any contact between LaCava and anyone else, but another clip purportedly from the same moment and place includes two male voices commenting on LaCava shoving someone.  'He just pushed him,' said one voice as others can be heard laughing in the background. 'He just shoved him right out of there," another voice can be heard saying.   Both the agent and spokesman for 15-times major champion Woods did not immediately respond to Reuters when asked to comment. LaCava could not be reached for comment.

The lawsuit says United States Golf Association rules state golfers are responsible for their caddie's actions during a round and that Woods 'failed in his duty as he freely allowed' LaCava to negligently use force.

Interesting ! ~ and some thoughts of that incident when a popular actor got wild and broke the cell phone of a fan who was trying to take a selfie !

The woman pictured at the start is - Ko Jin-young, a South Korean professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour.  She has won  10 times on the LPGA of Korea Tour, was second at the 2015 Ricoh Women’s British Open, and had won the 2017 LPGA KEB Hana Bank Championship. In  2018, she was named the LPGA Rookie of the Year, and completed the 2018 season as the 10th-ranked female player in the world.  In 2019, she won her first two LPGA major championships at the ANA Inspiration and the Evian Championship. Ko completed the 2019 season with the official money title ($2,773,894) and the Vare Trophy for the lowest scoring average (69.06), and was named LPGA Player of the Year.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

11.4.2020.

Anthropocene - how much of nature will get reversed in lockdown ?

Earth’s history is divided into a hierarchical series of smaller chunks of time, referred to as the geologic time scale. These divisions, in descending length of time, are called eons, eras, periods, epochs, and ages. These units are classified based on Earth’s rock layers, or strata, and the fossils found within them. From examining these fossils, scientists know that certain organisms are characteristic of certain parts of the geologic record. The study of this correlation is called stratigraphy.

World has moved away from everything else and is now concerned only with Covid-19.  Back home, two Indian States have the maximum no. of people affected – Maharashtra & Delhi, both above 1000.  Media often portrays one CM as doing well .. .. ‘they often say comparisons should be apple to apple’.  Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said he was concerned with the rising number of coronavirus positive cases reported in the last couple of days in the city and his government was taking all necessary steps to put a brake on its spread. Kejriwal said that several areas in the city were going to be declared containment zones in the next couple of days to intensify the fight against  the dreaded disease. Soon after the announcement, 12 south Delhi neighbourhoods were added to the list to take the total number of Red Zones to 43.

Before stating anything some basic facts.  Delhi is spread over 1,484.0 km2 as compared to Maharashtra’s 307,713 km2 (less than 1%) – the population as per 2011 is 16,787,941 as against Maha’s 112,374,333 (15%)

Human activity has fundamentally changed our planet. We live on every continent and have directly affected at least 83% of the planet’s viable land surface. Our influence has impacted everything from the makeup of ecosystems to the geochemistry of Earth, from the atmosphere to the ocean. Many scientists define this time in the planet’s history by the scale of human influence, and label it as a new geological epoch called the Anthropocene.  Have human beings permanently changed the planet? That seemingly simple question has sparked a new battle between geologists and environmental advocates over what to call the time period we live in.

According to the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS), the professional organization in charge of defining Earth’s time scale, we are officially in the Holocene (“entirely recent”) epoch, which began 11,700 years ago after the last major ice age. But that label is outdated, some experts say. They argue for “Anthropocene”—from anthropo, for “man,” and cene, for “new”—because human-kind has caused mass extinctions of plant and animal species, polluted the oceans and altered the atmosphere, among other lasting impacts. Anthropocene has become an environmental buzzword ever since the atmospheric chemist and Nobel laureate Paul Crutzen popularized it in 2000.

With humans under lockdown to fight the coronavirus, it seems like Nature is course-correcting in the meantime, recovering from the havoc caused by mankind's greed. For beginners, wild animals and birds are now being spotted frequently in what were dense urban junctions during normal times. Various posts on social media show how animals have taken over the empty streets in some parts of the world. Actor Juhi Chawla recently took to Twitter to share pictures of peacocks spotted at Khareghat Colony in Mumbai.

The environmental changes wrought by the coronavirus were first visible from space. Then, as the disease and the lockdown spread, they could be sensed in the sky above our heads, the air in our lungs and even the ground beneath our feet. While the human toll mounted horrendously from a single case in Wuhan to a global pandemic that has so far killed more than 88,000 people, nature, it seemed, was increasingly able to breathe more easily.

As motorways cleared and factories closed, dirty brown pollution belts shrunk over cities and industrial centres in country after country within days of lockdown. First China, then Italy, UK, Germany and dozens of other countries including our own India are experiencing temporary falls in carbon dioxide and nitrogen dioxide of as much as 40%, greatly improving air quality and reducing the risks of asthma, heart attacks and lung disease. For some  experts, it is a glimpse of what the world might look like without fossil fuels. But hopes that humanity could emerge from this horror into a healthier, cleaner world will depend not on the short-term impact of the virus, but on the long-term political decisions made about what follows.

After decades of relentlessly increasing pressure, the human footprint on the earth has suddenly lightened. Air traffic halved by mid-March compared with the same time last year. Road traffic fell pretty low especially in cities with no offices, malls, cinema theatres, schools and workplaces ! 

Nevertheless, while our species is in temporary retreat during the lockdowns, wildlife has filled the vacuum – and that too can only be temporary.  Perhaps the period will see  a much lower toll for roadkill by cars and trucks, which – in the UK alone – annually takes the lives of about 100,000 hedgehogs, 30,000 deer, 50,000 badgers and 100,000 foxes, as well as barn owls and many other species of bird and insect.

The pandemic has also shown that pollution lowers our resistance to disease. More exposure to traffic fumes means weaker lungs and greater risk of dying from Covid-19, according to scientists at Harvard University. Since the start of the pandemic, it is not just from space that the world looks different. The unthinkable is now thinkable. Positions are shifting. Libertarian governments are curtailing freedoms more drastically than wartime leaders. Austerity conservatives are approving trillions of dollars for healthcare and emergency spending.

All certainly is not the good things.  Daily wage earners are at a total loss, finding hard to find where their next meal will come. Labourers, workers are without jobs – take the case of simple autowallah who most Chennaites would curse but is a necessity in daily life. Now with people not coming out, they are jobless, so also those Uber / Ola, tourist taxi drivers – when shops / hotels / malls remain closed, what will happen to all those who earned their livelihood daily – tourism too would be hit, though it is not the immediate concern now. 

This is often the case in Africa, where a massive ecotourism industry funds conservation efforts. In Namibia, tourism accounts for 16 percent of employment; in Tanzania, which is home to Mount Kilimanjaro, protected lands cover over a quarter of the country’s total area. But nearly overnight, those tourism industries have declined, and will likely stay shuttered through September at least, according to the Nature Conservancy. With them go the salaries for the security guards who protect animals from poachers. Facing massive unemployment, people in the tourism industry may themselves turn to poaching to feed their families.

Just as virus-spooked consumers have rushed to grocery stores to stockpile everything from toilet paper to pasta, farmers raising America’s cattle, hogs, and chickens have filled their bins with feed, fearing the spread of the coronavirus would disrupt their supply chains.  Keeping America’s 95 million cows, 77 million pigs, and 9 billion chickens fed isn’t as simple as it may seem. Farmers are worried their feed mills could close as employees get sick or that their slaughterhouses could slow production, forcing them to keep animals for longer. They’re also concerned that a shortage of trucks, which are being waylaid to supply supermarkets, could make it harder for farm supplies to reach them.

So, the World is in a confused situation – seeing more news, reading messages that get circulated in WA, FB and other social media could only add to the situation.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

12.4.2020.

Magnolia champaca ~ and some thoughts of my school days !!

Ignorance is bliss ! ~ they say, but after 50 years of age, one starts feeling that there is so much to learn and more importantly – what one thought had learnt could perhaps be wrong too .. 

..  in front of Hindu High School in mid 1970s there would be a small handcart selling mango, goose berries (aria-nellikkai), puliyankai and more .. 

and 3 odd ice-cream selling carts – wooden contraption with two wheel and a freezer compartment ! inside – palaice and kuchi ice were on offer (milk ice and a strong frozen form sometimes containing vermicelli too)

Was too impressed with these two photos – sent by a friend from USA. Flowers do attract us and here is an impressive photo of Sri Parthasarathi Emperuman adorning floral garlands including pachai sampanki.

Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia. It is sandwiched between Russia and China.  Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, although only 37 kilometres (23 mi) separate them. In 1206, Genghis Khan was able to unite the Mongols, forging them into a fighting force which went on to establish the largest contiguous empire in world history, the Mongol Empire.   

Authorities said on Monday that Mongolia has started to continue exporting coal to China as it reopened its border with the other country. Mongolia Finance Minister Chimed Khurelbaatar said that the Shiveekhuren border point was reopened on Monday, a week after Mongolia continued its coal exports to China via the Gasuunsukhait border point. The official said that he predicts the export of coal to China to fully recover soon. The government of Mongolia has stopped its coal exports to China back in February in order to stop the spread of coronavirus in the country.

.. ..  ‘Magnolia’ – the name first   appeared in 1703 in the Genera of Charles Plumier (1646–1704), for a flowering tree from the island of Martinique (talauma). English botanist William Sherard, who studied botany in Paris under Joseph Pitton de Tournefort, a pupil of Magnol, was most probably the first after Plumier to adopt the genus name Magnolia. He was at least responsible for the taxonomic part of Johann Jacob Dillenius's Hortus Elthamensis and of Mark Catesby's Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands. These were the first works after Plumier's Genera that used the name Magnolia, this time for some species of flowering trees from temperate North America. The species that Plumier originally named Magnolia was later described as Annona dodecapetala by Lamarck, and has since been named Magnolia plumieri and Talauma plumieri (and still a number of other names) but is now known as Magnolia dodecapetala.

"காடெல்லாம் பிச்சிப் பூவூ , கரையெல்லாம் செண்பகப் பூவூ"  - படித்த உடனே உங்களது உதடும் சேர்ந்து பாடியிருந்தால் உங்களுக்கு 50 வயது இருக்கலாம்.  செண்பகமே செண்பகமே, தென்பொதிகை சந்தனமே - தேடி வரும் என் மனமே - ஆஷா போன்ஸ்லே பாடியது என உதிரி தகவலையும் தெரிந்தவராயின், நீங்கள் இசைஞானி இளையராஜாவின் பித்தர் !!

செண்பகப்பூ மணமான பூ ! - மதுரைக்கார ராமராஜன் எங்க ஊரு பாட்டுக்காரனில் அனைவரையும் மணக்க வைத்தான்.  “பிச்சிப்பூ” - என்ன பூ ?  - தெரியுமா? பார்த்து இருக்கீங்களா?  மதுரை-தூத்துக்குடி, தெக்கத்திப் பக்கம் பலருக்கும் தெரியும்! நமக்கு அறிமுகப்படுத்தியவர் மறுபடி இசைஞானி தான்.   உச்சி வகுந்தெடுத்துப், “பிச்சிப் பூ” வைச்ச கிளி… என்கிற காவியப் பாடலின் வாயிலாக ! - படம் 'ரோசாப்பூ ரவிக்கைக்காரி--  வாணி ஜெயராம் குரலில் என்னுள்ளில் எங்கோ ஏங்கும் கீதம் பட்டி தொட்டிகளில் எல்லாம் ஒலித்தது. 

செண்பகம்  (Magnolia champaca)  என்பது என்றும் பசுமையான பெரிய தாவரம் ஒன்றாகும். இது தெற்காசியா, தென்கிழக்காசியா, சீனாவின் சில பகுதிகள் என்பவற்றை உள்ளடக்கிய இந்தோமலாயா சூழலியல் வலயத்தைத் தாயகமாகக் கொண்டது. மிகுந்த நறுமணம் கொண்ட மஞ்சள் அல்லது வெண்ணிறப் பூக்களுக்காக இது வெகுவாக அறியப்படுகிறது.

'கரையெல்லாம் செண்பகப்பூ' ஆனந்த விகடனில் தொடர்கதையாக வெளியான சுஜாதா கதை - அக்காலங்களில் சுஜாதா எழுதும் தொடர்கதைகளுக்காகவே புத்தகங்கள் அதிகம் பிரதிகள் விற்றன.   நாட்டுப்புறப் பாடல்களைப் பற்றி ஆராய்ச்சி செய்வதற்காக சென்னையிலிருந்து திருநிலம் என்கிற கிராமத்துக்கு வருகிறான் கல்யாணராமன். அங்கு ஒரு பழைய ஜமீன் மாளிகையில் தங்குகிறான். கிராமத்துப் பெண் வெள்ளியை நேசிக்கிறான். ஆனால் வள்ளி விரும்புவது அவள் மாமன் மருத முத்துவை. அந்த மருதமுத்துவை சலனப்படுத்த வந்து சேருகிறாள் நகரத்து நாகரிகப் பெண் சினேகலதா. ஜமீன் மாளிகையைச் சுற்றி நடக்கும் சில அமானுஷ்ய, மர்ம விவகாரங்கள் , உச்சகட்டமாக ஒரு கொலையும் நடைபெறுகிறது கிராமத்து சூழ்நிலையையே புரட்டிபோடுகிறது.   விறுவிறுப்பான இந்தக் கிராமத்து திரில்லர் சினிமாவாகவும் எடுக்கப்பட்டது.  1981ல் வந்த இந்த படத்தை   ஜி. என். ரங்கராஜன் இயக்க  பிரதாப் போத்தன், ஸ்ரீபிரியா நடித்தனர்.  படம்  சுமாராகத்தான் ஓடியது.

Magnolia is a large genus of about 210 flowering plant species in the subfamily Magnolioideae of the family Magnoliaceae. It is named after French botanist Pierre Magnol. Magnolia is an ancient genus. Appearing before bees did, the flowers are theorized to have evolved to encourage pollination by wingless beetles. To avoid damage from pollinating beetles, the carpels of Magnolia flowers are extremely tough.  The ones seen in the start may not correspond with their Indian counterparts - Magnolia denudata or Yulan magnolia (Chinese jade orchid/lily), is native to central and eastern China. It has been cultivated in Chinese Buddhist temple gardens since 600 AD. Its flowers were regarded as a symbol of purity in the Tang Dynasty and it was planted in the grounds of the Emperor's palace. It is the official city flower of Shanghai.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

31.3.2020

PS :  1. The photos at the start sent by my friend from USA is the subject matter of this post

2.  of the little known brands there was (written on those ice vehicles – flamingo and magnolia – for decades I had misread and thought it to be Mongolia – and could never decipher the reasoning of the name !)

3. my 7^th standard mate once told me that one such seller was his father (Pazhani) – the boy simply disappeared thereafter – perhaps could not continue his studies ! – feel sad for him still.

4. this is a bundle of random thoughts – if it is not cogent and there is no link – just ignore for so many thoughts rush in you, when at home – due to Nation-wide lockdown.