Bala Menon

Journalist-artist-author. Editor at Tamarind Tree Books, Toronto.

[Bala Menon @bala_menon]

Happy to announce the publication and world-wide release of my new book “Tiddley Trail Stories’ in both paperback and Kindle edition formats.
https://t.co/R2c0XyZVdv

[Bala Menon @bala_menon]

@carlwheless Jews have been in India since 2,000 years - since the time of King Solomon.

https://t.co/gsUbO0A6PT

[Bala Menon @bala_menon]

@YossiGoldstein8 @DavidBCohen1 Jews have been in India since the time of King Solomon.
Jews of Cochin: A Short History Of The Jewish Community Of Cochin https://t.co/l49xjyZ029

[Bala Menon @bala_menon]

@Fintech03 Even today, the Malayalam word ‘Emandan’ (derived from Emden), signifies something big and ferocious.

Pillai was also known by the names of Venkidi and Champak. He was born in a Tamil family in today’s Kanyakumari district - at that time part of the Kingdom of Travancore.

[Bala Menon @bala_menon]

@clint_timmy Turmeric was known as ‘Indian Saffron’ and was an extremely expensive spice - along with Indian pepper- in the Nordic countries, until a few centuries ago. The two ingredients were never a part of Nordic culinary traditions. So claiming it to be so, is a bit of a stretch.

[Bala Menon @bala_menon]

@UrbanChe @MattooShashank Centrat casting means film extras who are made to stand in streets and in building sets and have non-speaking roles to create a realistic scene,

[Bala Menon @bala_menon]

The

[Bala Menon @bala_menon]

@easytalkoos "Thudu Thuduthoru Kalyaani" is a Malayalam song in folk music style “Varikka Chakkede Chula," famously sung by the late Kalabhavan Mani.

[Bala Menon @bala_menon]

@SanskritChannel 700

[Bala Menon @bala_menon]

@elonmusknews30 Yes!

[Bala Menon @bala_menon]

@joeyyochheim Ebook

[Bala Menon @bala_menon]

I have been awarded the First Prize in the 2025 Bernarda Smrdelj Short Story Contest of the Writers & Editors Network, Toronto. My prize-winning story ‘Waiting for Allison’ deals with memory loss.

[Bala Menon @bala_menon]

Anything is possible in the Realm of the Impossible - Review of my new book 'Tiddley Trail Stories' - by writer Norman Morra.

https://t.co/CORDd9sQw5

[Bala Menon @bala_menon]

@Aash_prajapati The intrinsic and heritag value of the temple treasure is estimated at around US$1 trillion. The market value is set at around $32 billion. There is some more info here:https://t.co/DgTOFb7IJX

[Bala Menon @bala_menon]

@starhopperrr Kāṇṭāmirukam
For rhinoceros and
Ciṅkam for lion are ancient words.

[Bala Menon @bala_menon]

@FactFinderAI @VerminusM Read the history here:

https://t.co/gsUbO0A6PT

[Bala Menon @bala_menon]

@anaraintuitive @VerminusM Nobody ever lived above the Paradesi Synagogue. The Jews had houses on both sides of the street.

[Bala Menon @bala_menon]

@Anatomi54244944 @sjlazars @YossiGoldstein8 IndianJews trace their history in Malabar to 2,000 years, landing there as sailors in King Solomon's fleets to buy spices, apes, peacocks and metals. They settled in Paloor, Madai and Cranganore (today’s Kodungalloor), soon after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE.

[Bala Menon @bala_menon]

@sjlazars @YossiGoldstein8 There are seven synagogues in and around Kochi, dating back to the 14th century. Only the Paradesi Synagogue in Mattancherry area is functioning now. https://t.co/l49xjyZ029

[Bala Menon @bala_menon]

@YossiGoldstein8 @sjlazars In 1000 CE, Kerala emperor Cheraman Perumal Bhaskara Ravi Varman, from his palace in Cranganore, issued two copper plates to Jewish merchant Joseph Rabban, giving Jews safe haven in Kerala 'as long as the earth and moon exists.' The Cochin Synagogue is 472 years old.

[Bala Menon @bala_menon]

@YossiGoldstein8 Recorded history shows that Jews were present in Kerala in 849 CE. Hebrew names were engraved on copper plates granted by a Kerala King Ayyan Adikal Thiruvadikal of Venad (near modern-day Kollam or old Quilon) to Syrian Christian settlers.