Karthika - A Festival of Lamps

I still remember with amusement, that small school girl of yesteryears who desperately wanted to accompany her parents for a much longed for ‘town trip’ and hence risked lying to them that it was a school holiday for the Karthika festival.  It was another matter that her lie was discovered promptly by a quirk chance of ill luck and due punishments doled out…  I was that 8-year old girl and what makes it so very embarrassing is that even today, after about thirty years or so, I am still ragged mercilessly for that one stray incident!

Even otherwise, the festival of Karthika is something that I truly bond with, not because of any religious sentiment, but due to the fact that it is also considered to be a festival of lamps. In fact, it was only recently that I bothered to find out that Karthika which falls on the Malayalam month of ‘vrischikam’, is in commemoration of the birthday of Lord Murugan or Karthikeyan.  

Pure, mesmerizing magic! That’s the only way I can describe the atmosphere created on a Thrikarthika day! The soft golden glow emitting from the tiny flicker of dozens of clay lamps (chirathu) lit during dusk at the front entrance of the house is indeed an enthralling experience and rather humbling too in a way, and what makes it special for me is that it gives a sense of peace and harmony which is hard to define. Perhaps it’s a rare moment when I am able to connect with my inner soul…

A Room With A View

The health club that i am a member of is situated on the first floor of a particular building on a rather busy road. It is actually a big hall with tinted glass windows on the side facing the road so as to accord a certain amount of privacy to the members who desperately sweat away their store of blubber on various machines. 

I particularly enjoy my 20 minute stint on the treadmill, contrary to the views of my fellow gym-mates many of who find it rather boring and uninspiring. But what makes it interesting for me is not just the exercise factor which i find particularly effective, but the fact that the treadmill is situated at the far end of the hall adjacent to those big glass windows overlooking the busy road which happens to be a sea of activity. 

One particular type of activity stands out from the others, highly intensified due to the location of a watering hole (a bar, if you please) right across the road, the entrance of which can be viewed perfectly from atop the treadmill. This is when i am convinced of the various stories which make the round about the Malayalee's insatiable tryst with liquor. 

What i understand from my voyeuristic activity is that this is a bar which is frequented by the 'downmarket' crowd. It starts as early as 7.AM when you can actually see a considerable queue of patient people waiting nearby for its doors to open. There are no seats or tables. People just walk in, give their order, and are served instantly. I understand so because often i see people walk in and out within a span of 5 minutes! Previously, there used to be a crude notice on the door of the bar emphasizing rates/glass written on it. But i don't see it these days. Perhaps someone objected to it, or a pauper of a drunk tore it off in anger... who knows!

Yesterday evening, i saw an old man in crutches (one of his legs were heavily bandaged from his knee down as though he had suffered a fracture) and a bandaged head hobble down the  bar and walk unsteadily down the road. A few minutes later, a young boy (can't be more than 18) with a red cap and a backpack made his way out of the bar and walked away nonchalantly. 

Though i don't really encourage liquor consumption, I don't have anything against people who enjoy their drop. But the problem starts when it transcends limits and reaches to such an extent where they lose all dignity and self control. Watching half naked men sprawled across the gutter in an inebriated condition certainly evokes a sort of pity not for them, but for their family members who perhaps might be anxiously waiting for their return back home... 

Well.. my 20 minutes have elapsed and i need to spend time on other fitness machines as well. So until next time, it is adieu to my picture window.

Guruvayoor Ekadasi... memories of another day!

Guruvayur Ekadasi brings fond memories of my childhood days spent at our village, Mannalur in Palakkad dist of Kerala. As an eager 8 year old whose thoughts were filled to the brim with mystical fables from mythology, Ekadasi day was indeed a special one more so due to the visit to the nearby temple in a group consisting of cousins and other elders as well as the special diet which certainly had a charm of its own.

We would be woken up early in the cold December morning and after a bath in freezing waters of the  'Mananchira' (the nearby pond), would partake of the 'theertham' which rather signified the culmination of the fasting process. The main challenge after that would be to refrain from eating anything made of rice, and so wheat attained a whole lot of importance that day with breakfast consisting of wheat upma, lunch of wheat 'kanji' and dinner possibly a repeat performance since chapathi's were more of a rarity those days. (i'm speaking of the late 1970's). 

Betel leaves with arecanut was considered auspicious after lunch and older women would assemble in the cool courtyard after lunch for this ritual. Somehow, the teeth and tongue stained red by the betel leaf juice  held a sort of repulsion for me and to this day, i have not developed a liking for the stuff! I remember i used to be enthralled by the stories from Bhagavatham which one elderly relative used to narrate...

The evening temple visit in a group which consisted of several cousins, aunts,and other relatives were the main attraction of the day and we would happily walk kilometers to and fro savoring in the sights and smell of the countryside. we had to walk across fields and rough terrain to reach the temple, but who cared so long as there were pretty flowers or 'vellarankallu' (white pebbles) to add to our booty! 

Ekadasi, in those days, was not just another ritual to follow. It was interlinked with a lot of other traditions and held a different sort of charm which has totally disappeared along with time. I am not complaining and  neither am i lamenting the fact. Change is a way of life and the sooner we adapt to it, the better. But tomorrow, as another Guruvayur Ekadasi comes by, i can't help thinking about those carefree bygone days which my son can never experience nor enjoy...

Sabarimala Online Advance Queue Booking

Thanks to the initiative taken by the Kerala police, it is now possible for Sabarimala pilgrims to book their place in advance in the serpentine queue for darshan of their favorite deity.Intended to check massive congestion and overcrowding which leads to chaos and confusion, this new system of issuing Q-coupons online is supposed to bring in some relief both to the pilgrims who avail of it, as well as the concerned security personnel.

 Accordingly, prospective pilgrims can register at the kerala police website by filling out the mandatory forms and uploading their photograph, after which they can take a print out of the Q-coupon which is to be produced for verification at the site, along with their ID card. A particular time would be issued during which they can take their respective place in the queue at 'nadapandal' without having to go through the hassle of waiting indefinitely. At an age where everything has a price tag, this facility is surprisingly free of cost and involves no payments at any stage!

 Must say that this is definitely a commendable effort by the Kerala Police and would certainly bring a lot of relief to pilgrims coming from far and wide. Here's hoping that they come up with much more innovations which can lighten the load of these devotees of Lord Ayyappa and ensure their safe return.

A heartfelt eulogy to Joy Sastampadikkal

It was pretty unnerving, seeing Joy sir’s picture in the front page of the Mathrubhoomi for the wrong reason. Ultimately, death has taken him away from our midst and the thought that he will no longer be around in the Palakkad social circle seems quite odd.

I didn’t know Joy Sastampadikkal personally. There were a few opportunities where I had interacted with him, but those moments did leave a lasting impression of this great personality in my mind. I still remember those days when I used to be associated with the Balajanasakhyam as a rakshaadhikari of our colony unit. My visit to the Malayala Manorama office to attend a Sakhyam meeting was the first time I came face to face with this dynamic personality.

The phrase, ‘Simple living and high thinking’ certainly attributed to Joy Sir. Dressed always in shirt and mundu, he was simplicity incarnate and there was none of this ‘I’m an influential person’ attitude about him which is rather common these days especially among the media. But the aura that he emanated, certainly commanded a whole lot of respect, that too voluntarily. We did meet on several other social occasions, and each time as he saw me, there would be a hint of a smile on his lips even though I was pretty certain he was racking his brains trying to place me.

The last time we met was while I went to the Malayala Manorama office a couple of years back with an invitation card for my exhibition. He offered me a seat in his small cabin and read the card patiently and with great interest. He asked me a few questions about the exhibition and guided me to give an invite to the editorial section too and assured me that the event would be covered by them. He never attended the exhibition, though.

Joy sir, I don’t know why you have influenced me so and neither do I understand why I am writing about you. But since yesterday morning after I learnt of your death through the newspaper, I felt a compelling urge to put my thoughts down as words. I will certainly miss your presence in this world.

RIP.