Traditions - Part 1

Its a different energy that's build within yourself when something really absorbs all your interest and attention. Recently that's exactly what happened to me.

"Kalamezhuthupattu" - is one among the many traditions which I have never ever seen or been a part of in all these years , even though I was born and brought up in Kerala.

The senior folks ( Kurups and Nambothiri's) explain each every attribute in detail, all that you need to do is show a little bit of interest and curiosity together with lots of listening skills.The one that I happened to witness was the "Vettakaran Paattu".It starts with what is called a "UchaaPattu" followed by the "Kalamezhuthupattu" in the evening.

I wonder, how on earth did this fascinate me ?

The "Kalam" captivated me in several ways. They use only the "Panjavarnagal" (5 colours - White,Black,Yellow,Red and Green) to create this marvelous and intricate composition. No templates,patters or moulds, but just fingers are used to elaborate this strenuous piece of art. The magic behind bringing life and transforming this masterpiece into one of a kind is nothing but the devotion and dedication of the artists.

The nose , that's detailed in a particularly, well you can call it an exotic way. All they did was to literally drop some colour on kalam and two "master-strokes" with those magical fingers, and the nose was ready. Simple!, yet elegant and mind-blowing.

Years of dedication for sure and no wonder its said " Practice Makes a Man Perfect".

I was keen in figuring  out on who would be that "Heartless Person" who would brave the odds and remove the "Kalam". Well,Its none other than the priest himself,however in a unique way,rounding the kalam with different steps and rhythms.

The "Namdwani" (today we call it the Nandunni) is the instrument that's played along with the song. The manner in which the priest enters the " Kalam"  and the manner in which he "wipes out" the kalam are unique as well. Immense respect and devotion, well beyond what I can describe in words.


For More Details : Kalamezhuthupaatu,Wiki

Out from Hibernation

Batteries Charged ,Dreamz unlimited...... Will change things forever.
The wait for a companion was long, doesn't really matter if that's going to be till eternity.

Kinaavintey koodin kavadam turannu

Sopaanadeepam prakasham chorinju

Orekantharavil chekeruvaan

Kashinppo,prasadam, samampangidaanayi .....  

a melodious track from the malayalam movie Shubhayatra , sung by G.Venugopal . 

Alter Mode

@Clark Quay  - SG

Night Life in Singapore is pretty good especially those lively Wednesday nights. This city boasts of no natural beauty. Its all about tall building, malls and colourful lighting that makes it attractive. They call this a "FINE" city, indeed that's the way the city is kept so clean .  Got a lot to learn from the people who stay here, not the originals but the other SEA natives who come and stay here for work.

Its darkest before the dawn .. should I believe that ? 

Search of a Companion

Being alone for a while, well extended stretches to be more precise is something I always like. It brings the best out of me, rather the devil in me comes out so well that I wonder , Am I that bad .. Deep side He says , Dear o Dear !! Alas he understands.



There he stays waiting for a companion to bring out the goodness in him .The green patches gives high hopes ...

Camouflage

Nature has always been a treat , mystery and what not.



Learning the hardway, to talk less and much more.

Venice of the East....

A visit to the backwaters, a faboulous trip as remarked by my fellow traveller,so was it .. An idea that was accepted on a spontaneous note, guess its always the unplanned ones that hit you hard, leaving unforgettable memories.



The crew consisted of 3 guys... who explains the entire route , history and remarkably one of them had been working in houseboats ever since its inception in kerala.It was indeed amazing to hear how the " Karimeen" is caught.No GPS, no TomToms, no compass yet the know their way even when its water on all four sides.Within no time we struck the conversation with them, the question popped , " do you work in Software Companies?" ,a question that took me by surprise, but indeed a no surprise question when you think about it.

The greenery and water bodies,they have this unimaginable power of captivating your heart. If it was Goa which captivated me back in 2007, it was our Alapuzha, The Venice of East that takes its place in 2010.

Majestically Ornated

A walk to Central on the Xmas eve, and another post into this web space.

Hardly did we spot human faces out there at Central,the center of attraction of the city . A huge difference in the way we Indians celebrate a festival and these Europeans celebrate. While we celebrate in the loud way, they keep it to themselves.



But hey , when they are loud, they turn out to be hooligans.They better not !!

White Christmas on its way

Christmas.. The colour White and color Read , get predominant. Yet I havent seen a real white xmas so far . This time I guess we would have a white one for sure. Its been snowing heavily for the past few days.



Its been slippery and of course with life taking a precarious turn why would it not be ...? But I will try to hold on, no matter what.

Belgian Pleasure

Belgium -- Beers and Diamonds and chocolates..

Beer always makes my day better and chocolates out there are class apart.
Diamonds -- they are the troublemakers:)



Duvel a brand thats always promoted.. Do not know why ..!!

Phases or Faces .........

From a Shop at Florence in Italy

Shades and Masks , they add the spice to our life.

Come on .. Think Something Different .. !!

Different people , same pose.

Cherry on the Cake

They are about to celebrate 750 years. Thats indeed a very long long time. The sight of the tallest surviving pre 1400 spire and was a great pleasure. It just didnt end there, being the easter weekend and the cathedral being the center of the diocese , the easter fire was lit early in the morning from here and most of the candles in the cathedral continued to burn even at 2:30 pm when I was there. The history of Pegasus - the flying horse of the mythologies or the para troop of the British Airforce of the World War 1, the oldest working mechanical clock are still in tact out there.


@Salisbury Cathedral - UK

However the icing on the cake is the presence of the Magna Carta, one which influenced the the making of many constitutions and which does hold the ever so famous statement -
" None Will We Sell, To None Deny or Delay, Right or Justice".

Another Chapter from my Travel Days

Cambridge brings in a unique feel. Be it the Classical architecture, the market area or the Starbucks by the road. The Trinitians, the Kings and Queens all within a stone throw away , but each having a legend of their own. Trinity was one college I really knew about , thanks to one of my favorites Srinivas Ramanujam and of course his proffesor Hardy. The Kings and The Queens , they had Subash Chandra Bose and Indira Gandhi there if I am not wrong.



Try the punt over the River Cam , believe me its worth it and lot of fun provided you a get a good punter just like we guys did. The stories of the pet bear, mathematical bridge, the clock tower which never held the clock , a modern building which was designed to potray a tree like figure (.. phew I could never imagine even after I heard that), the story of the missing block and many more , all comes one after the other.

Identity.........

What if every choice we made had already been made for us ? What if there really were no coincidences in life and our destinies were already predetermined.



I wish I could take the time back and forth.

NewYear 2008

The ending of the last year , 2007, was indeed different, the year which gave me a lot of good things and just a few bad moments. I would cherish that year for the many lessons it taught me and indeed for the new paths it opened up and unfolded for me.



2008 started in a greater way. It was after a lot of deliberation and talks that we guys finally decided to go all the way to London and watch the fireworks, the biggest in the planet,Well thats the claim , a 15 minute display which began with the chimes of the Big Ben standing tall on the other side of the Thames. It takes a complete year of preparation and no wonder its absolutely fantastic. The spirits of the entire crowd are elevated to the maximum limits,some of them absolutely delighted, some astonished and some just witnessing the moment they would cherish the entire life

Experience it once .. just once !!

Night-Walk

Capturing the effects of light is a technique of its own. At times my canon does capture it well . This aint too bad..



Reach for new harbours and enjoy your journey ..!!

Some Time Back

Been sometime since the shutters have been shut, or rather should I say opened.



From the old set, here is another one.

The inevitable

Well nothing much to say .. but I am back in Hyderabad..
This time it happens to be for two weeks. I guess it would not extend more than that ..Globe trotting for 2007 starts.. !!!

A moment to cherish, from my trips.

Just like a few guys belong to a different league, Kudajadri, a mountain peak in the Western Ghats is breath taking.The peak is visible from the Mookambika Temple at Kollur,Karnataka. With the thick mist looming once in while,even your companion goes out of sight, an astounding feel which thrills you down the spine.

The journey to Kudajadri is an experience of its own, jeeps ( with custom built shock absorbers and axles) take you somewhere close to the top of the one of the hills in the Ghats.From this point you are own your own, climb and traverse across the hills to another, to arrive at the highest accessible point.

There you find Sankarapeedam,a small shrine with Sankaracharya as deity. Oh yes, you guys did get it right, this is the very same place from where Sankaracharya did his meditation and was blessed with the appearance of goddess Saraswathi for his devotion, thereupon she agreed to come down to Kerala at his request, but sadly the mission wasn't successful and she thus happens to be worshipped at Mookambika, however she finally gave her consent to be at Kerala at the early hours of the day, finally obliging Sankaracharya's pleading.Chottanikara being the place in Kerala, where she is worshipped today as Goddess Saraswathy, costumed in white. Thats how I have been hearing all these years from my grand mom.

Coming back, the best part is going to the other side of the hill to reach Chitramoola,the exact location believed to be where the goddess appeared for Sankaracharya. A place which only a few dare to go, that side is even steeper,slippery and treacherous.

The surprise is however the sight of a lady and a very old sage who happen to live there. This lady is from Balussery (a place near Calicut, Kerala) who happens to be there for more than 15 years now, and she happens to cross the rain forests once in month to get her monthly supplies of food.No,I didn't take her path on my return, the very sight jungle dissuaded me from taking that deadly step.

Well,there is even a tale that I came across about this lady, once on her return trip from Calicut to Kudajadri, she happened to reach the platform and saw that her train had already started to move, she cried very loud and then train happened to stop. Believe it or Not thats all I can say .. !!



Kudajadriyil... kudikollum,.... Maheshwari, Gunadayini ...

Blast from the Past

It indeed is good to take break at times and then come back.. Its then that you realise how much you are really passionate about what you were into.



Even better , so let me start all over again... !