Shun SUGAR, the Sweet Seductress

I am neither a doctor nor a nutritionist, but mindfully choose a healthy diet avoiding junk food and sugared drinks. This blog is to  persuade you, even though you may not be diabetic or pre-diabetic, to substantially reduce or entirely banish processed, added sugar from your diet.

Chanakya Niti

Chanakya’s thoughts and strategies for statecraft and politics covered all aspects of life including diet. In Chandragupta’s court, he is believed to have once said: O King! May your foes starve in Pausha, feast in Kartika, and eat gud (jaggery) in Chaitra. He was, of course, speaking with the time-tested authority of Ayurveda for a healthy diet. In Pausha (winter) the digestive fire is robust, in Kartika it is weak for which many people fast in this month eating each day only a single, easy-to-digest, frugal meal. Sugar consumption in Chaitra gives you worms. Beware, Chaitra is not far away, it begins the day after Holi on Mar 15!

With apologies to Chanakya, here I offer free counselling to friends and foes, kings and commoners: Feast in Pausha, Fast in Kartika, and Shun sugar in Chaitra and all the months thereafter.

Sugar: White Poison

Why am I against sugar? A kill-joy, a diabetic, obese? No, none of those. Sugar is white poison. Your body doesn’t need ANY processed sugar since it gets RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) from a balanced meal sans dessert.

Sugar kills. It’s an invisible, creeping assassin. Sweet and savoury, it ensnares and enslaves you for life. Highly addictive, it gets you easily hooked from early childhood. Daily temptations – kuch meetha ho jaye, yeh dil maange more, etc. - are so ubiquitous and compelling that you never think twice before yielding.  

Minute Maid’s miniature fonts

Recently, waiting to board my much-delayed flight at IGIA, I went to a vending machine and bought a water bottle for 10, and then enticed by another item in the box bought a Minute Maid Pulpy Orange for 100. Before sipping the drink, I felt cheated upon reading the list of ingredients, in miniscule fonts by design - seller’s compliance of mandatory labelling rules of FSSAI in letter but not in spirit. Font size ratio of product name ‘Minute Maid Pulpy Orange’ to labelling info – 10:1. Seller’s strategy - buy before you read; read only if you have 20/20 vision. A double blind-fold. How very ingenious!

The 300 ml bottle contained water, sugar, orange pulp and orange juice concentrate, Acidity Regulator (Citric Acid - INS 330), Antioxidant (Ascorbic Acid - INS 300), Permitted Synthetic Food Colours (Sunset Yellow FCF - INS 110, Tartrazine - INS 102), and Added Orange Flavours (Natural, Nature-Identical, and Artificial Flavouring Substances). Total energy – 52 kcal, Total sugar – 34.5 gm approx.

Thus, what Coca-Cola company sold me in the name of Pulpy Orange drink had only 10% orange juice and pulp, the rest comprising sugar, and several chemical additives - colour, fragrance, and preservative. On its portal, Coca-Cola proudly mentions that Minute Maid Juice Drink, as defined by RDA 2020, is World’s Number 1 in terms of value and volume based on research data from 111 countries. Research, most likely, by the Company or funded by it.

Desserts: Delicious but Deadly

At the recent marriage reception, did you enjoy two crisp jalebis topped generously with rabdi? You consumed approximately 36g — which is about 9 teaspoons of sugar!

Have you ever indulged in a Starbucks White Chocolate Mocha Frappuccino Grande? The drink contains approximately 73 grams of sugar!

For perspective, WHO’s RDA is 50 grams, with the ideal intake being 25 grams. ICMR-NIN Guidelines 2020 also recommend maximum daily intake of 50 grams of sugar.

How about a Triple Sundae – three scoops of ice-cream (vanilla, chocolate, strawberry) with chocolate syrup, Caramel sauce, whipped cream, and toppings (Chopped candied nuts, Sprinkles, Maraschino cherry)?  That could contain 2–4 times the recommended daily sugar limit!

‘Sugar Sugar’

The sugarcane plant (Saccharum officinarum) is native to Southeast Asia, including India, and has been cultivated in the Indian subcontinent for thousands of years.  Atharva Veda mentions sugarcane. Its juice was used both for consumption and medicinal purposes.

By around 500 BCE, India invented how to turn sugarcane juice into solid sugar crystals — called “śarkarā” (शर्करा) in Sanskrit — a word that gave rise to "sugar" in English and "sukkar" in Arabic.

Indian methods of boiling and crystallizing cane juice spread through trade routes, influencing sugar production in Persia and later reaching China. Eventually, the knowledge was carried to the Middle East and Europe.

Sugar was once a rare, expensive commodity which only the affluent could afford. Now it is cheap and ubiquitous. Over the years, it has seeped into culture insidiously creeping into proverbs, poems, and songs.

You may have heard the phrase “sugar and spice and everything nice,” which first appeared in a 19th century poem called “What Are Little Boys Made Of?” “Sugar” features in several song titles - The Archies ("Sugar Sugar"), Talking Heads (“Sugar On My Tongue”), Nina Simone (“I Want a Little Sugar in My Bowl”), The Rolling Stones (“Brown Sugar”), Bob Dylan (“Sugar Baby”), and many more.

Annual Cost of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs)

Excessive sugar intake contributes to co-morbidities that adversely affect quality of life and reduce life expectancy. According to the World Economic Forum, the total cost of NCDs, many of which are influenced by poor diets including high sugar consumption, is expected to reach around $47 trillion globally over the next two decades.

India: Diabetes capital of the world

Why should Indians cut down on sugar consumption? Because, India, with the highest number of people with diabetes, is the diabetes capital of the world. Ten per cent of the population is diabetic and fifteen per cent prediabetic. Further sugar overload combined with lack of adequate exercise will soon move the pre-diabetics to Type 2 diabetics who will be drug-dependent for life.

Tackling the Sugar Menace

How to tackle the global sugar menace? There is need for collective action from governments, industries, and individuals to reduce sugar intake for better health outcomes.

Every stakeholder can do something to help. Parents may stop serving their children sugared cereals and drinks. Schools may educate the students to avoid junk food and eat healthy food. Governments should impose sugar tax on products with added sugar. Labelling rules should mandate ‘traffic-light symbols’ with RED for high levels of added sugar in packaged products. Companies selling sugared drink should gradually switch to produce and promote only zero-sugar or low-sugar products. Celebrities should promote pro bono yeh dil maange less Sugar, and more nariyal paani, nimbu pani, kanji, and fresh fruit juice. How about a Zero-Sugar for Swasth India campaign? More Indians would have a better chance of seeing sahasra chandrodaya if they shun sugar!  Doctors should refuse to go on ‘Diabetes Conferences,’ a euphemism for all-expenses-paid foreign holidays sponsored by pharmaceutical companies selling thousands of crores of diabetes drugs.

(Cartoon by Dall-e upon prompt by this blogger)

Low-sugar Diet-plan

How does sugar overload impact the body? The body processes sugar  with insulin produced by the pancreas. Excess sugar is stored as fat in the liver which may cause NAFLD (Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease) and in adipose cells resulting in weight gain and obesity. High sugar level in blood leads to Type 2 diabetes. Sustained high blood sugar level for long can seriously damage several critical organs.

Key Strategies to Manage & Prevent Sugar-Related Disorders

·      Reduce Added Sugars – Cut down on sugary beverages, sweets, and processed foods.

·      Increase Fiber Intake – Fiber slows glucose absorption and improves insulin sensitivity.

·      Regular Exercise – Physical activity helps burn glucose and reduces insulin resistance.

·      Healthy Fats & Proteins – Replace refined carbs with healthy fats (nuts, seeds, olive oil) and lean proteins.

·      Monitor Blood Sugar & Liver Health – Routine health checkups help track prediabetes and liver enzyme levels.

What can YOU do?

Say NO to added sugar - present in processed sugary foods and drinks - TODAY. Set modest targets proceeding from ‘Zero-Added Sugar Day’ to Week to Month to Year. I bet you’d feel better after completing a ZAS Week.

If you must eat something sweet, eat  freshly-cut fruits, or a few raisins, or a piece or two of anjeer.

Soch kar, Samajh kar, Bhojan kar!

Stay healthy.  

जीवेम शरदः शतम्[i]

It is doable. I’ve stayed away from added sugar since 1 Jan 2025. Yes, that was a modest new year resolution, and I’ve stayed resolute till now except for a solitary breach when I ate a small piece of chocolate cake which an esteemed senior colleague cut to celebrate his 98^th birthday.

Disclaimer

A few readers felt that I took an extreme position on sugar which the body needs in moderate quantities. They are right. WHO RDA is 50 grams (about 12 teaspoons) of sugar a day which is 10% of total calory intake. The ideal RDA is 25 grams or 5% of total calory intake.

A normal balanced diet provides the body 25-30 grams of sugar which is naturally present in carbohydrates, milk products, and other food items. Hence, consumption of processed sugar may cause an overload. Some people with a robust pancreas and abundant insulin production might manage the sugar level in the blood efficiently. However, by the time a person is detected with Type 2 diabetes or prediabetes, it may be too late; the body’s sugar processing capability is compromised. Why not pre-empt the onset of diabetes by healthy eating?

If you have a health issue, you must follow what is prescribed by your doctor and nutritionist. Very low sugar level is also dangerous. Eat what is healthy for you.

Postscript

Mann Ki Baat

In his Mann Ki Baat address on 23 February 2025, PM highlighted several key issues including an appeal for fighting obesity.

Mr. Modi said, “I request and challenge 10 people, if they can reduce oil in their food by 10%. And I will also urge them to pass on the same challenge to 10 more people. I am sure that this will help a lot in fighting obesity.”

Hopefully, in a next Mann Ki Baat, PM would also appeal for a reduction in consumption of added sugar.

Readers' Comments

After reading the blog, a senior colleague asked: Do you practice what you preach,  PK?

PK: Yes, Sir. Since Jan 1.

SC: This year? Compulsion?

PK: No,  a matter of choice. I'm not even prediabetic. I eat banana and other sweet fruits, but have now quit processed sugar food and beverage.

SC: Wish  you would write a further blog lauding what dieticians would consider an acceptable and moderate intake of sugar , to keep sugar level from falling .

Another colleague’s advice: PK instead of sounding like a Prophet of Doom , please advocate the ‘Blue Zone’ concept !!

I agree. My ambition is to make our home a ‘Blue Zone,’ and thereafter, Baghmugaliya, Bhopal, Bharat, and Vishwa, in that order!

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[i] The following eight mantras from Atharva Veda pray for a long life with a healthy body and mind:

“पश्येम शरदः शतम् ।।१।। जीवेम शरदः शतम् ।।२।। बुध्येम शरदः शतम् ।।३।। रोहेम शरदः शतम् ।।४।। पूषेम शरदः शतम् ।।५।। भवेम शरदः शतम् ।।६।। भूयेम शरदः शतम् ।।७।। भूयसीः शरदः शतात् ।।८।। (अथर्ववेद, काण्ड १९, सूक्त ६७)

अर्थात - हम सौ शरदों तक देखें, यानी सौ वर्षों तक हमारे आंखों की ज्योति स्पष्ट बनी रहे (१)। सौ वर्षों तक हम जीवित रहें (२); सौ वर्षों तक हमारी बुद्धि सक्षम बनी रहे, हम ज्ञानवान् बने रहे (३); सौ वर्षों तक हम वृद्धि करते रहें, हमारी उन्नति होती रहे (४); सौ वर्षों तक हम पुष्टि प्राप्त करते रहें, हमें पोषण मिलता रहे (५); हम सौ वर्षों तक बने रहें (वस्तुतः दूसरे मंत्र की पुनरावृत्ति!) (६); सौ वर्षों तक हम पवित्र बने रहें, कुत्सित भावनाओं से मुक्त रहें (७); सौ वर्षों से भी आगे ये सब कल्याणमय बातें होती रहें (८)।“

(Source: Article by Dr Supriya Sanju, Amity University, researchgate.net)

 

Black Widow Spider

A Quiz

Let me begin with a little quiz:

·      Which famous author made a debut in a cameo role in a Bollywood film made on his book?

·      Name of the book?

·      Which famous playback singer produced a hit number for the film, and acted in it, too?

·      What was the hit song?

·      Who is Indian cinema’s Hitchcock?

·      What connects all these questions?

If you know all the answers, you’re a Bollywood fan, and also read fiction.  

Here are the answers:

·      Ruskin Bond at 76 years of age

·      Susanna’s Seven Husbands

·      Usha Uthup as Maggie, the Maid.

·      Darling, ankhon se ankhen char karne do; roko na roko na mujhko pyar karne do[i]

·      Vishal Bhardwaj, as praised by Ruskin Bond

·      7 Khoon Maaf

Journey: Story to Screen

Why am I writing about a film that was released in 2011 based on the original short-story written in 1997, and expanded to a novella in 2011 upon request by the prospective film-maker? Because I watched it recently on Netflix, after which I read the short-story, the novella, and the screen-play, in that order, having bought a Kindle copy of Penguin India’s three-in-one book for 188.17.

The film received mostly positive reviews from critics, but lukewarm response from the audience even though it was a modest commercial success with box office collection of 33 crores against the budget of 15 crores. Most critics acclaimed Priyanka Chopra’s stellar performance, but some found her wanting.

How does a story become a film? Ruskin Bond suggested that the original short-story, the novella based on the short-story, and the screenplay based on the novella may be put together in a book to give the readers insight into the process that transforms a story to a film. The screenplay writers – Matthew Robbins[ii] and Vishal Bhardwaj liked the idea; and so did Penguin which published the book – a first such compilation in India to my knowledge. Reading this three-in-one book after watching the film was interesting as well as intriguing.

Are these creative works organically related to one another, or is each one an independent work? A detailed discussion on this matter is beyond the scope of this blog, but the many significant differences are evident from a quick look at how each work begins and ends.

The Beginning

Short-story

“Locally the tomb was known as ‘the grave of the seven times married one’. You’d be forgiven for thinking it was Bluebeard’s grave; he was reputed to have killed several wives in turn because they showed undue curiosity about a locked room. But this was the tomb of Susanna Anna-Maria Yeates, and the inscription (most of it in Latin) stated that she was mourned by all who had benefited from her generosity, her beneficiaries having included various schools, orphanages and the church across the road.”

Novella

“I watched in fascination as a gigantic Black Widow Spider[iii], her body streaked with green and yellow, crept down the veranda wall in the direction of her sleeping husband. Her body was almost two inches in length, her slender black legs at least six inches long. She was the boss-lady, the terror of the veranda walls. Like all spiders, she lived by murder, and her victims often included her own kind. Her husband, a paltry thing about half her size, lived almost entirely on her earnings. He was circumspect and kept out of her way, because he knew she would eat him when she was in the mood to do so.”

(Image Source: National Geographic)

Screenplay

“We see a lady place the barrel of a gun to her temple. We will come to know her as Susanna Anna-Marie Johannes, 53–54. She has a grim expression as tears flow down her face….

Suddenly BANG!!! We see blood splatter on a wall. It slowly begins to flow downward as music creeps in. Fade to: The title of the film—7 Khoon Maaf.”

The short-story beginning makes no mention of the murders; the enigmatic heroine Anna is ‘the seven times married one.’ The novella begins ominously by describing a gigantic Black Widow Spider, a metaphor for Anna, the femme fatale. The screenplay and the film begin with gore and blood- a skull smashed by a bullet.

The Ending

How does the story end? The short-story, novella, screenplay – each has a different ending. What happens to Anna after she gets rid of her six husbands[iv] – ‘all imperfect men,’ as she observed. In the short-story, Anna lived to a ripe old age and died peacefully in her sleep. In the novella, her mansion is consumed by fire, but she was unharmed being out in the garden at the Naag Temple to retrieve some hidden jewellery. Ruskin Bond proposed three ‘endings’ to the film-makers who chose a fourth one which is in the screenplay and the film.

The film begins with gore – a bullet smashes a skull (‘whose skull’ will be revealed much later), blood splatters on the wall opposite, and drips to the ground; and the core story unravels in flashback. The violence, macabre, and gore – grist to Bollywood crime-suspense-thriller mill, and Vishal Bhardwaj’s signature style - are most unlike the genial world-view, tone, tenor, and ambience of Ruskin Bond’s stories. The film-maker has evidently taken many liberties with Ruskin’s story; maybe because he had the box-office in mind. Alas, the box-office didn’t much like the film, it seems.

Shakespearean tragedy?

Does the film aspire to be a Shakespearean tragedy? Is Anna (Priyanka) portrayed as a tragic heroine? Notably, Vishal had adapted Shakespeare’s tragedies for three films – Maqbool (Macbeth), Omkara (Othello), and Haider (Hamlet) - with sterling performance by Irrfan Khan, Ajay Devgn, and Shahid Kapoor; and critically acclaimed. Ruskin Bond may have written a few stories with a tinge of pathos, but he wrote no tragic novel or story, and his original short-story and the novella are not tragic tales. In fact, the original story is quaint, evocative, and suggestive, with passing mention of the ‘murders’ (except for the molten lead poured into the ears of a stone-drunk husband) which are presented in the film with gory detail. Maybe, Ruskin stepped out of his world-view to write the novella to suit the film-maker’s need for a crime-suspense thriller.

The Blue Umbrella

If you haven’t already read Ruskin’s delectable novella The Blue Umbrella, or seen the eponymous film made by Vishal Bhardwaj in 2005; I recommend both. The film won the National Award for Best Children’s film, yet bombed at the box-office. What a pity!

Haunted Mansion

After we watched 7 Khoon Maaf, my spouse said, ‘Your Balasore story is fit to be a film.’ I was pleasantly surprised since I had written Haunted Mansion[v] a few years ago, and my spouse does not have a very high opinion about my stories, her preference being for WhatsApp stories which can be read in less than a minute.

But I don’t know Vishal. Maybe, I should request my friends in UP (Vishal was born in Chandpur, Bijnor), or in Mumbai to recommend my story to him. Incidentally, Vishal had recommended Ruskin Bond’s story to a potential film-maker whose response was: I don’t find a film in that story. Later, Vishal himself made the film.

Bhavabhuti, a great Sanskrit author but not acclaimed during his lifetime observed in a memorable shloka: Time is perennial and vast is the world; someday an appreciative reader would enjoy my works.[vi]

Ruskin Bond wrote The Blue Umbrella in 1980 which became a film in 2005, and his Susanna’s Seven Husbands written in 1997 became a film in 2011. Why should I be in indecent hurry?

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[i] https://youtu.be/q_b8tcbRhXE?si=R8CopvVy0WQMPd1U

[ii] Matthew Robbins is a veteran screenplay writer for Hollywood films. He co-wrote with Hal Barwood the screenplay for Steven Spielberg’s first feature film The Sugarland Express. 7 Khoon Maaf  was his debut screenplay writing for Indian cinema.

[iii] Females sometimes kill and eat their counterparts after mating in a macabre behaviour that gave the insect its name. Black widows are solitary year-round except during this violent mating ritual. (Black Widow Spiders | National Geographic)

[iv] Did Anna have a seventh husband? Watch the film or read the short-story or novella to find out.

[v] Haunted Mansion is one of the stories in my book Tell A Tale and Other Stories (https://amzn.in/d/2S6kFvs)

[vi] Reference is to the following shloka from the Sanskrit playwright Bhavabhūti's work, Mālatīmādhava:

ये नाम केचिदिह नः प्रथयन्त्यवज्ञां

जानन्ति ते किमपि तान्प्रति नैष यत्नः।

उत्पत्स्यते तु मम कोऽपि समानधर्मा

कालो ह्ययं निरवधिर्विपुला च पृथ्वी॥

Translation:

"Some may spread disdain about us here,

They know not anything; no effort is made towards them.

Yet, someone sharing my disposition will arise,

For time is endless, and the earth is vast."

This verse reflects the sentiment that despite current misunderstandings or criticisms, there will eventually be someone who comprehends and shares one's values or perspectives, given the boundlessness of time and the vastness of the world.

 

Smart, Subtle Slavery

My previous blog A Return Gift [i] was about the recent US deportation of illegal immigrants to India. Some readers were outraged at the inhuman treatment of deportees during the flight, some others argued that the illegal immigrants deserved no sympathy since they had knowingly and willingly violated immigration laws.

My brief response to a conversation in a WhatsApp group was:

‘Animals and humans routinely migrated in search of new territories till the emergence of Nation States, a fiction of recent origin. Every human is a migrant once we consider a longer timeline.

How quickly we forget the colonial times when adventurers and traders came in and became owners of vast territories!’

Slave Trade

As I write this, the rugged stone sculpture of five slaves at Stone Town, Zanzibar suddenly comes to mind; and the adjacent dungeon where slaves were stuffed like animals and starved to weed out the weak and non-sturdy. The altar of the Anglican Cathedral in Stone Town is believed to stand where the slave market’s whipping post once stood, where captives were beaten to determine their strength and endurance before sale.

Kumbukumbu Ya Historia Ya Watumwa/Memorial for the Slaves (Stone Town, Zanzibar, Tanzania); Source: https://slaverymonuments.org/items/show/1150

Stone Town, Zanzibar is now a UNESCO Heritage site.[ii]

The transatlantic slave trade, lasting from the 16th to the 19th century, was one of history’s largest forced migrations. It began with Portuguese and Spanish traders transporting enslaved Africans to work in their American colonies. Britain, France, the Netherlands, and other European nations followed suit and became deeply involved, fuelling the triangular trade system under which:

1.     European merchants transported goods (e.g., textiles, weapons, alcohol) to Africa.

2.     They exchanged these goods for enslaved Africans, who were forcibly transported across the Atlantic (the Middle Passage).

3.     The enslaved were sold in the Americas, and plantations produced goods (e.g., sugar, tobacco, cotton) that were sent back to Europe.

Over 12.5 million Africans were forcibly taken to the Americas – the Caribbeans, Brazil, and the country that later became the USA.

Slavery: New Avatars

Slave trade’s contribution to prosperity of western capitalism, though foundational, is too embarrassing to be remembered or discussed enough. But slavery is not dead and buried. Now, it is smart, subtle, politically correct, and law-abiding, too.

Capitalist economies still import workers, but they now prefer intelligent, educated, and highly-skilled workers – nurtured, educated, and skilled at the expense of poor, third-world countries.

What has changed from the times of forced slave trade? Now, no need for abduction, coercion, buy-and-sell transactions. Allurement suffices. Selling the ‘American Dream’ for example; luring talents by sponsoring scholarships. Once these dreamy-eyed immigrants land there, the magic land has enough charms to ensnare them for life. The only dream they chase thereafter is to upgrade from student or worker visa to Green Card to Citizenship. The immigrants swear by the lifestyle, culture, and constitution of the host country and happily contribute to their economy through their intelligence, high-skill, tireless work, and taxes.

Slavery is now manifest in new avatars – Outsourcing, Work Visas, Global Capacity Centres, Call Centres, to name a few –  euphemisms for hiring third-world talent at the cheapest wages with no need to comply with working-hours regulations applicable to native citizens. Projects must be completed in time regardless of the number of working hours required from the slave workers.

Although slavery as an institution has been abolished, its long-term impacts persist in several ways. The lasting economic, social, and institutional legacies that originated in historical systems of slavery continue to shape contemporary life. 

In many parts of the world, forced labour, human trafficking, and exploitative working conditions in agriculture, mining, manufacturing, domestic work, and other sectors are modern forms of slavery. These practices reflect the persistence of exploitative labour dynamics in a globalized economy.

Global Free Trade advocates for the removal of barriers and the equal treatment of all trading partners, but the reality is that historical contexts, economic power imbalances, and institutional structures have led to outcomes that often favour developed economies.

Slavery is not dead and buried; it has gone incognito; now it is smart, subtle, and subterranean. Politically correct, and irrefutably legal.

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Notes

Throughout American history, numerous banks, institutions, and public figures have had direct or indirect connections to slavery - ranging from financial involvement in the slave economy to personal ownership of enslaved individuals.

Several American institutions, including universities and churches, have historical ties to slavery. Many Ivy League universities were built or funded by wealth generated through slavery. Harvard (2022), Yale (2024), Princeton, Brown (2006), Columbia, Penn, and Dartmouth have actively researched and acknowledged these connections. Brown was the first to formally investigate, while Harvard and Yale have recently issued public apologies and financial commitments.

In an examination of the genealogies of America’s political elite, Reuters found that at least 119 of the country's most influential leaders – presidents, lawmakers from the last sitting Congress, governors and Supreme Court justices – have a slaveholding ancestor. (Reuters, June 27, 2023)

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[i] https://pkdash-author.blogspot.com/2025/02/a-return-gift.html

[ii] https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/173/video