Searching for the soul

He is omnipresent..

2009-06-12T10:49:00.006-04:00

A very prominent and important aspect of Hinduism is to accept and believe that God is everywhere..anything you touch..anyone you meet..everything around.. God is omnipresent. Though this fact seems to be tough to accept and revel in it every single day of our lives, our ancestors kinda paved the way to make this easier for us through their depictions of
mythology and scripts.

Anything and just about everything in Hinduism is associated with the name of a God/Goddess.With the western cultures slaughtering and eating the flesh of animals, this theory of worshipping all beings is an exact oppsite law from their culture. Cows, for example are worshipped as Kamadenu/Nandini and are said to have all the devatas residing in different parts of her body. The fish, tortoise, boar,lion, horse are all worshipped as part of the dasavathars of Lord Vishnu representing Mathsya, Koorma, varaha,Narasimha and Kalki avataars.

Snake is worshipped with an association to Goddess Durga and Nag panchami is an important Hindu festival associated with snake worship. Elephant is worshipped through the elephant headed Ganesha and monkeys are worshipped in the form of Hanuman.Peacocks, rats, bulls, tiger, parrots, other birds and animals are usually depicted as the vaahanams or assistants of various Gods and Goddess in Hindu mythology.

The common saying of Maatru/Pitru/Acharya devo bhava denotes God to be present in Mother/Father/Teacher who play the most important roles in our lives. Even a guest(Aditi) is supposed to be a form of God and needs to be treated with due respect and grace. Falling at the feet of elders and others teach humility and reminds us to be modest at all times. Wealth and materials are all associated with Goddess Lakshmi and books and other sources of education/intelligence are associated with Goddess Saraswathi. When we stamp with our legs on a book or material by mistake, we usually touch it and close our eyes for a moment asking for forgivance from God. Small things like these teach us to be compassionate with other beings and even material things.

The concept of fasting on various days in the name of God helps cleanse our internal systems and this form of dieting targets two things sucessfully, thinking about God and losing all the extra pounds :) All the plants/herbs/flowers around us are used in our worship and neivedyams giving them an prominent role in our culture. Our music/books/temple visits all revolve around seeking God and His grace.

The festivals and festivals start and end by saying the name of the Lord and are tied around worshipping various Gods and Goddesses and offering special food to them and to the animals/birds around. The basic law of offering respect to not only peope but also to animals and birds is unique to our culture.

Cant think of anything which doesn't play an important role in our way of worship toGod. Such is the way of life....the tradition .. the immense beauty of our culture!

Kaakka pudi vechen...

2009-01-15T12:04:00.002-05:00

Kanu Pongal... reminds of me the subtly cold day after pongal.... with manjal theetru on the forehead and the girly curiosity of going up the terrace each year to feed the birds and our little friends...

Though its very cold and snowy up here, following the ritual gives the immense satisfaction of keeping up the tradition and praying for our families.
With a chuckle, I always recite the "kaakka pudi vechen, kanu pidi vechen, un koodu kalaiyaadhadhau pol, engal kudumbamum kalaiyadhu irukkanum". And though the 4-5 inches of snow in the patio does not see a single soul fly by, I still lay the vaazhai ilais outside laden with the Pongal/ezhu kari kuzhambu/manjal sadham/thayir sadham/banana and invite the little souls to feast on them.
And then the gifts from brother(s) as a token of blessing and love makes it a truly family event...love this festival!

I found this beautiful Kanu wish in Tamil from the website below and thought of sharing it here:
http://www.indusladies.com/forums/functions-festivals-rituals/4221-kanu-wishes.html

Happy Kanu and Mattu Pongal!!

Garbarakshambigai....a divine experience

2008-12-30T12:39:00.004-05:00

Every woman's dream is to become a mother. To be able to beget children of her own and pave way for her future generations to emanate. This in itself is a great feat to be achieved and sometimes may seem impossible for many.... but this goddess makes it all possible! She encompasses all with her compassion and fulfills a woman's wish to conceive and once that is achieved, helps in carrying the baby to full term without any hurdles along the way.

I had the oppurtunity to get the divine darshan of this goddess twice in the recent years and the beauty of the goddess and the temple cannot be described in mere words. Such was the praharams and the architecture of the temple - there is a saying in Tamil called "Kili Konjum Kovil" which is what I witnessed in both my visits. Wide spacious prahaarams with thoons on either sides, a very beautiful garden called mullaivanam, a rustic shed with cows and a very ethnic and rural atmosphere. And lots of positive energy vibrations always permeating from the temple...

There is also a "thanga thottil" in the temple in which women can lay their babies and come around in pradakshams around the Goddess's sannidhi. Usually pregnant women pray for a safe delivery after which they perform this thanga thottil pradhakshinam.

The Goddess stands there with a "gambeeram" and grace with one hand resting on the lower hip as if she is protecting the wombs of women. Having had personal experience of the goddess protecting my baby in the womb, I became an ardent devotee of this goddess from then on.In my last India visit, I also bought an audio cassette sung by Sudha Raghunathan in praise of this Goddess. One of the songs is extremely beautiful, its called the "Garbarakshambigai Kavasam" and each stanza is about how the goddess protects the baby with her grace during each of the 9 months of pregnancy.

The below history of the temple is obtained from the pariharam.com website.

HISTORY OF THE TEMPLE: It would suffice to recount the story of Sage Nithuvar and his wife Vedhika as it relates to the circumstances in which Parvathi took the form of Sri Karbharakshamb ikai in order to give special protection to women during pregnancy.
The story is that, Sage Nithuvar was living here with his wife Vedhika. One day when Sage Nithuvar was away, sage Urdhvapada happened to visit the place. Vedhika who was then alone and in an advanced state of pregnancy unwittingly failed to offer, due hospitality to the guest. Urdhvapada unaware of her difficulties got incensed at her conduct and landed a cruel curse upon her, as a result of which poor Vedhika was inflicted with disease, which began to eat into the very vitals of not only herself but also the child in the womb. The helpless Vedhika fervently prayed for relief to Goddess Parvathi who in the plentitude of her mercy appeared before Vedhika in the form of Sri Karbharakshambikai and totally erased the effect of the curse and saved Vedhika, the child in her womb. The story goes that the Goddess offered protection to the embryo by keeping it in a divine pot till it bloomed in to full-fledged child. Vedhika over-whelmed with joy, fell at the feet of Sri Karbharakshambikai and prayed that the Ambika should take a permanent abode at the place and continue to offer protection to future generations of women also. Thus we find this prayer being fulfilled even to this day at this holy place.

DIVINESS OF THE TEMPLE:The Lord of this place, is called ‘Mullaivananathar’ and His Linga here is ‘Swamyabu’, Self Manifested. This Linga is made up of anthill mud. Hence there is no water Abishekam for this Lord. Instead, the Linga is merely pasted with a kind of musk called ‘Punuhu.’ People who are afflicted with incurable diseases come to this place offer ‘Punuhu Chattam’ to the Lord and get themselves relieved of the diseases.

First day at school

2008-09-02T12:29:00.003-04:00

Seems to be a milestone and that, it is!Today was S's first day in school and here I am, at work but thinking about him all day. Did he eat his snack? Is he ok in the new environment? Must be eating his lunch now... oh my, will he sleep on his own? My mind is constantly visioning him at the school.....

A transition for S is like a transition for me- as if I am going to school for the first time! I saw
everything in his eyes today- "Hmm..this is not my daycare...but...hey here is a train..let me go and play with it " and he goes and grabs the train. The teacher comes in and talks to him and I saw his expression change to "will this Miss.Bozena be good to me, will she be like Seema Aunty from my daycare-no I dont want to go to her right now....maybe later..." and then I saw that look in his eyes when he saw the playground "mma, want thu go ousside" and was looking through the glass outside longingly.

And then the teacher picked him up and he was screaming when I left... and that was the image I am carrying all day today...
Its just been 3 hours now and I've already called the school once and now trying to stop my hands from reaching the phone one another time to check whether he ate the lunch I sent him.And then I have 3 more hours to go to find out how he did today and it seems like a long day already.

I realised today that when we are young and small, we hardly share our parent's worries. All we have in mind is our school/homework/exams/making friends and generally having fun. Never worry about the finances/cooking a meal or running the household. So thats just one person's worries that you carry - As we grow older and have kids, we not only worry about the stuff in our lives but take on the worries of our kids too. Its not just the worries 'about' them but the worries 'of' them, of what that little mind must be thinking and fearing.

Now I know why parents get old very fast....that wrinkle..that silver lining...now I know...

Pittukku 'naan' sumandha kadhai...

2008-02-08T15:40:00.004-05:00

There maybe days when things don't go right
To make the winds of fortune blow right
You might need a second chance

So if you get one try, and that don't fly
Stop, and count to ten
And if at first you don't succeed, Try Again

Beginners luck is over rated
Once you blink its come and gone
The only way to cultivate it
Is to keep on keeping on,

try, try again
Yes, My Friend try, try, try again

Nice one, aint' it? Well this is what I did when I tried making "Puttu" or "Pittu" for the first time…. I tried and tried until I got it right! This festive delicacy is usually made on a Friday during Navrathri season and thankfully there came 2 Fridays last Navrathri so I could attempt making the puttu on the second Friday after the first disastrous attempt!

If you notice, most of the festival offerings to God is made of Rice Flour and Jaggery especially the offerings to Shiva or Parvathy. The Puttu during Navrathri, kaaradaiyan nombu adai, thiruvadhirai kali, maa vilakku etc etc, the base is the same but the combination of these 2 can come out in various shapes/sizes/colors and ofcourse tastes and textures just by making it in a different way. Hmm.. aren’t our ancestors really wise and innovative!

The “tried hard to get it right” recipe will come next, I realized the error part in my first attempt - I had made the flour really wet with lot of water and hence it turned out to be a sticky “kali” than a “Puttu”. I didn’t realize this until I made it right the second time on.
Until then, try reading this beautiful story behind “Puttu” – “Pittukku mann sumandha kadhai”, go to http://www.madurai.com/pittu.htm

Festive series - Maa vilakku on thai Velli

2008-02-07T11:21:00.000-05:00

During thai velli kizhamai (Fridays in the month of 'Thai' which usually occurs in January), we make some kind of neivedyam as its considered very auspicious for the Goddess. Usually the first thai velli calls for making modhakams to be offered as neivedhyam.

Some families observe the tradition of preparing and lighting the maa vilakku which is a lamp made of rice flour and jaggery. This is offered to the Ambaal, the goddess supreme as neivedyam and is considered to be very auspicious.The significance of lighting the maa vilakku is that it bestows health and prosperity to the family.

Above is a picture of the maa vilakku I offered to the Goddess last Friday on the occasion of Thai velli since this custom is followed by my MIL.

In some families there is also the tradition of offering milk/eggs to the Naga Devatha. This is called in Tamil as "Puthukku Paal vidarathu". Since our Divine Mother has come down to protect us she has chosen Naga Devatha to be our protectors and convey her grace to us. My Mom visits the "Pechia amman padithurai" temple in Madurai to offer milk/eggs to the "puthu" with snakes inside. Similar rituals are followed for Aadi vellis which occur in July/August.

Its also very auspicious to recite the Lalitha Sahasranama during the Thai and Aadi Velli days.

Om shrimata shrimaharagyi shrimatsimha saneshvari

Chidagni kundasambhuta devakarya samudyata..

Shrimata: Salutations to the Divine Mother, who is the Mother of all.

Shri-mahararagni: Great Empress of the whole Universe.

Shrimat-simhasaneshvari: Great Sovereign, enthroned on the lion’s back.

Chidagni kundasambhuta: Who came out of the fire of Pure Consciousness.

Devakarya samudyata: Who promotes the cause of Divine forces.

Navrathri and our golu

2007-11-19T12:25:00.000-05:00

Navrathri - For me this word is always associated with Golu and brings back fresh memories from my girlhood days. Golu - with the odd number steps filled with clay dolls ,parks,rangoli - why wouldn't any girl be attracted! The preparations for golu would start a fortnight earlier with the list of invitees prepared by Amma and assigned to me and sis with respective houses to invite. Amma will bring the jewellery back from the bank locker, and all the pattu paavadais/dhaavanis/sarees which would have been sleeping in the bureau will come out now. Its time for a grand celebration!

Pichai Mani who used to do the errands in our house will climb up to the paran and bring down the boxes of bommais and hand down to us on the floor. I remember opening the boxes with my heart pounding because of the lizards and rats which might spring from inside, after all these boxes would have been their houses for the past one year :)
And we would unravel all the bommais from their newspaper coverings and marvel at each one of their beauty.

The ceiling decorations with the golden and coloured papers will be done to perfection by Pitchai and co with Amma's supervision. The building of the golu steps with Amma's instructions would seem long a process. Once the setup is done, all the golu bommais will take their stands at the appropriate places. The park will be built by Bro with all his creativity and the rangoli by us.

Amma used to be strict about one thing- we should get dressed up and ready by 5 P.M to welcome the visitors. Around 3ish we would pluck the pitchi poo from our garden and make the flower strands and wear all the pattu and jewellery. Amma's navrathna necklace was close to my heart and I would grab it at every given chance :) Sis and me would fight over who can wear the odiyanam with the lakshmi in it. There was another old odiyaanam which was less glittery and plain, so we used to take turns in wearing them :)

Golu was a way of socialising. Meet friends and neighbours, gossip, exchange goodies and just chill out! There were some friends who we would meet only during navrathri time so it was good to catch-up. Bro would drive sis and me to other's houses and will be patient enough to wait till our small-talks get over :) Amma's list of invitees would include people who worked for us, so it was a good oppurtunity to meet their families too.

And ofcourse Saraswathi Puja was a great festival because it was an official declration of no-studies day :) They should have more such festivals! On Vijayadasami, Amma would send vethalai paaku/gifts to my paattu teacher and she will teach me new songs of which I still remember some :)

And then the golu would be over! And so fast! Amma would make couple of bommais lay down that night and tell the bommais to please reside in our house next year too.
We would pack them all up the next day and the room would look very empty without all the decorations!

But then the next year wasn't so far!

Kannan varum velai..

2007-10-17T10:27:00.000-04:00

Festivals are a great way to break the monotony of everyday life and destress oneself! I have always looked forward to all our festivals and a well of joy props in! Each festival has its own speciality and meaning and ofcourse comes with it, the yummy goodies and treats! Slurp!
Amma was always arduous in celebrating all festivals at home and having grown up in that environment, we celebrate all the festivals with great joy.

Krishna Jayanthi! The name itself brings so much of happiness in the heart..the tiny krishnar feet, murukku, seedai...mm what not! When I was young, me and my sis would compete with each other to draw the krishnar kaal. I still now enjoy drawing the krishnar kaal with nicely ground rice or flour and water.

Baby Krishna is a favourite with just about everyone...all the pranks and mischiefs would bring upon a smile instantly. He is supposed to stealthily come in and bless our home and eat all the goodies offered to him...aval-vellam, murukku,uppu seedai,vella-seedai, vadai,appam and ofcourse lots of fruits. And the little buttery feet would mark that he had ofcourse walked through!!

Aayar paadi maaligaiyil thaai madiyil kanrinai pol maaya kannan thoonguginraan thaalelo....

A complete Meal

2007-10-01T19:32:00.000-04:00

Home made lemon zest and ginger bread and Minestrone soup - our dinner last Wednesday.

In addition to new things which accumulated in our house in no time, we also gained some extra pounds from our typical south Indian food. So for a change, we are going light on rice and have turned to other healthy options these days - one being soup and home made bread. Heres a picture of a light dinner we had recently not to say it still satisfied our taste buds. And yes, you do have the satisfaction of baking your own bread !

Value of a Life...

2007-09-07T14:40:00.000-04:00

There are people in corners of the world who say 'You live in America, you live there for wealth and comforts and you forget your country'. Thats the kind of attitude some people have. But how many people actually know that lot of people live here because there is Value for a life here. Not the money value, not the status value. But a value for a life, to save a life and
cherish it-- whether poor or rich, whether muslim or christian, whether black or white.

Ten years back when people would say I might get married to an NRI like my sister, I used to get worked up and vowed I would never step out of my motherland. But then when I first went on business to the UK, some things made an impact on me. How much these people value a person's life and respect others and their professions! We used to travel by bus there to work and the post man will come driving a car! It was a little ironic but true. People would Say 'Hi' and 'thank you' to the bus driver who also collects money for the tickets. The courtesy these people
show towards others-- be it the mail man, the bus driver or the maid is truly amazing. Everyone is respected irrespective of what they do as a profession or how much money they earn.

When there is an emergency vehicle, people move to the right lane here so the EM vehicle can go ahead and save people in whatever distress they are in and be saved in time. People slow down for school crossings, stop when school buses stop and most of the times, give way to others. These are very small things but its true courtesy and a way of showing respect to others.

I visited a kid recently in a hospital and was truly amazed at how he was treated there. The nurses and doctors were speaking to him as if they were his school friends and the X-ray Man gave him the the remote control to operate the robot which was taking his x-rays!! At the end, he allowed him to chose the candies he wanted for being such a good boy. In all the conversations, there was appreciation of how good he was, how well he co-operated and so on, And the boy wanted to co-operate more! There was a huge play area for kids in the hospital with DVDs/books/play stations- you name it they had it!
I was amazed at how thoughtful they were and took care of even the minor requirements of kids!

There maybe racism here and there, but there is something above that which makes Indians live in a country which is not their own. I am not blaming India for not following these, with the huge population its a tough going to get these practises in place. And its a long way to go before the infrastructure gets a strong edifice especially on the road. Eventually we want to
go back home to our roots though!

Yes there are comforts here and freedom here, but there is something above these that binds us here for now. The Value of a life - small or big, rich or poor, black or white.
A realization for the Value of life!

Baby oh Baby!

2007-08-15T11:29:00.000-04:00

It was on one of the windy evenings in October 1989. She came in an Ambassador car with Appa from Coimbatore and we never knew what he had in store for us. Appa beamed ‘I’ve got a surpise’ and we peeped curiously into the car.
There she was – all cosily snuggled up in a basket, so teeny-weeny, so sweet. She was just 2 months old – timid, naïve and very very vulnerable. She brought so much joy along with her just like a little newborn baby would bring happiness to a household. And we named her ‘Baby’. Yes, she was our baby, our little German Shepherd, our little cutie pie - our pet!

She was born on Aug 12th and was named Beena though for us she was just ‘Baby’.
She didn’t receive a great welcome from our family initially as mom and sis were the strict ‘no-no to dogs’ types and we had a great debate going on in the house for 1 full week whether to keep her or give her back. Appa, my brother and me were thoroughly for it and the other team with mom and sis were against it.
We won. And she stayed with us. All through her life.

She became a bigtime hearthrob and won the hearts of mom and sis too and we became a happy family of 6. Yes, we treated her as part of our family and she would be there with us all the time.
She was very obedient and more attached to my bro for some reason. Appa used to say that dogs are a ‘one-man master’ types and maybe she treated my brother as her master. He would train her to learn all tactics and she would just jump or yelp at him and would follow him all the time when he is home.

She would catch the cricket balls of neighbourhood kids and would be friendly with just anyone. People would turn their heads to look at her when she would stroll with a majestic look during her evening walks. Slowly, with her mischievous tactics and friendly demure, she became famous and our household came to be called as ‘The Baby household’ :)

She fell in love with a street-dog whom we used to call ‘Mottai-naai’ as he had that typical rogue kind of look with even a squint eye. My sis would always sing some background romantic song for them when they both share an eye-contact! Ha ha ha! And sometimes she would sing some sad parting song for them because Appa never agreed to this match of Baby and the street Mottai-Naai :) Mottai Naai died later and their sweet romance ended with a sad note.

She was one great pet to have – never ever bit anyone in her lifetime even though the pranksters on the road have thrown stones at her or ill-treated her. She would just be with you sitting next to you when you feel alone or not in the best of moods. But she was there! A great pet for us to grow up with!

She is no longer with us now as she breathed her last in September of 1998. But we still remember her fondly with love and affection. We tried to have 2 more pets after her but we gave them back within a month- both the times because they were not the same as our dear baby.

Baby oh Baby!

A living legend

2007-08-01T08:50:00.000-04:00

Imagine a couple living together for 63 years and still rendering the same love and devotion for each other through thick and thin! I find it a great feat to achieve, resonating the importance of ‘togetherness’ and reliving their wedding vows till today. Together they have held the hand of harmony and overcome all of life’s trying adversities. A lifetime comprised of mutual respect
keeps the balance between moments. The couple referred here is none other than our own ‘Calcutta’ Thatha and Paatti.

Not that they don’t fight at all and are that “made for each other” couple you see in that TV Ad. They are like any other couple – always up with some argument or the other, but at the end, the love and affection for each other wins :) And they forget about the argument they would have had minutes back and I think that’s the key to their successful married life! Forget and Forgive!

Thatha and Paatti have always been there for us- from time unknown. In our younger days, I remember Thatha and Paatti, after travelling a long journey from Calcutta would arrive at our home with so much stuff- half of them would contain dresses/toys or some gift for us. We used to think they were really rich ;)
I always used to argue with Paatti as she was very orthodox and would look upon the madi/achaarams a lot. And you know how kids get impatient with these especially when you tell them ‘don’t touch this and that’. As the years went by, I grew up to this lady to understand what those madi/achaarams actually meant. They were meant for basic cleanliness and hygiene and I slowly started respecting her ideals.

Studying in a college close by to them made me visit them often and understand them better. Thatha would be waiting at the gate for me to come from my college hostel which was 3 hrs away. He would have already bought the Rasagullas and all the bakery stuff for me and my friends to gobble on. We would appear like people from Somalia- all starved and waiting for that one drop of delicious home made food ! And Paatti would make all the dishes I like and would pack some for my other starving friends at the hostel. All my college friends still remember them very well as they have all tasted the food from Patti’s hands.

Her Bhakthi to her ‘Ambaal’ was so deep that it influenced me a lot too. I would watch her patiently dressing up the Ambaal everyday with so much revere and performing pooja everyday.
With the 9-yard saree wrapped around her in a perfect pleat and a gobi kunguma pottu adorning her forehead, Paatti’s face would appear serene and divine when she was with her Ambaal. Thatha would help her perform the Vasantha Navarathiri poojai which would be like a festival everyday with the marikozhundhu/jaadhi/kadhambam flowers’ divine fragrance filling the whole house. I learnt a lot from her about our traditions and festivals - starting from the Aishwarya kolam/ hridayakamalam/drawing a changu,chakram for Lord Vishnu along with these kolams in the Swami room, to learning the basic ‘to dos’ for festivals.

She was a perfect balance of tradition and modernism I would say. She knew where to draw the line! She would plait my hair everyday and if I refuse oil on my hair or make a ‘French cut’ on the hair, she would scold me saying “enna dhaan naagarigamo,moonjiyai yen ipdi keduthukkare” which will be followed by my giggles. At the same time she wouldn’t mind us wearing modern clothes. She would patiently give me oil baths and do the ‘pai pinnal’ and fill it with flowers. She even plaited ‘thaazhambu’ pinnal for me one day much to Amma’s worry that snakes might come inside the house :)) At the end of my college tenure, thatha and paatti knew all my friends and , I had grown really close to Thatha and Paatti.

One thing I learnt from her and which has been passed on to me unknowingly – how to be a people person. She keeps in touch with all her relatives and friends , there was no internet/email those days and she was not into writing letters big time. She and Thatha visits everyone when they come down to South and are in touch with everyone they know of – Even people who were tenants in their place many many years back.

Paatti is one of the strong willed person I have ever seen- she did her graduation after her marriage and kids and was deep into literature and all that good stuff. She would walk aboard a Double-decker bus in Calcutta or aboard a flight to Chennai proudly wearing the madisar and speaking in Bengali or English.
She runs her own business and is still the reigning CEO of her own small business, the accounts of all the buy/sell –she stores in her own PC brain processor:) Even during troubletimes, Paatti and Thatha would always buy us gifts. The jewels they have given me are the most precious as I see the love of them in every glittering stone. And theres always a smile on Paatti’s face or her laugh reverberating in the air even when the going gets hard.

Thatha is a great help in the house – a very domestic person offering help with running errands, buying and cutting vegetables, helping with pooja and a good handyman too. The small things in the world would delight him- write him a letter or send him a greeting card, he would be very happy! He still has precious keepsakes from the past- like the vaazhthu madal a relative wrote for their wedding 63 years back or a yesteryear rare family picture.
These are Billion dollar worth keepsakes! He has always been a disciplined and a very punctual person who cannot stand late comers, I have tested his patience many a times with my lazy adventures ;)

For a 60th Wedding Anniversary, the saying is to gift a diamond, but how can you gift diamonds to diamond people? Thatha and Paatti are the diamonds of our family and I am grateful that I am a part of this rich heritage! We conducted the ‘Kanagaabhishekam’ on their 60th wedding anniversary for which we should be thankful to my sister to initiate the process and Thatha Paatti did a 50 sumangali pooja on their 50th wedding anniversary. What better way to celebrate these golden and diamond Wedding anniversaries than this?

Heres an ode to you my dear Thathu and Paattu,
“You are a wealth of knowledge, You've seen it all before,
Everywhere I turn to, Everywhere I look, you have been there,
I Try to find anybody as worldly as you and I find there are none,
I'm glad you are my grandparents, I'm glad you are still around,
If I ever need a question answered or a personal problem solved,
I just turn to you and I know the answer will be found.
A part of you has grown in me.
And so you see, it's us together forever and never apart, maybe in distance, but never in heart!!”

- A tribute to you and your togetherness, from your Preethu Pattamma

Weekend Wadam :)

2007-07-31T09:31:00.000-04:00

Sunday was pretty warm and we had a typical Chennai climate last weekend here at Detroit. So we decided to make some 'Thali Wadams' which has been long overdue since the beginning of this summer.So heres a pic of our 'thali vadam' making episode of last weekend :)

Visibly (In)visible

2007-07-13T13:08:00.000-04:00

Accelerating the speed, I was speeding up to reach work on time for the 8 A.M meeting today. For some reason, I was stopped by the glaring red lights at many a signal today. Cursing myself for that extra sleeping I wishfully did after my alarm went off in the morning , I saw the traffic slow down suddenly. No red lights, no emergency vehicle, but just one of those Gawkers stops I thought! To hide my despair of waiting those few minutes, I looked away for a moment and there! I caught that beautiful glimpse which remained in my mind throughout my day- the reason behind all the halting, the beauty which stopped the early morning rush.

A series of beautiful ducks were crossing the road – Big to Small, one after the other in a single line. It was a sight to see! With their short feet toddling with a slow and steady pace, they all crossed in a single row obeying all traffic rules :) After they reached the other end, the road was clear and we got our invisible green to go.

Made me stop and think for a second- was that a call from nature to slow down and look at the more beautiful things in life?

How much I've got absorbed in my own life that I don’t even notice the rising gleaming golden rays of the sun when I am out in the mornings?
The Late evening scene in the sky when the birds flock together in perfect symmetrical arch with unimaginable co-ordination!
The unpainted butterflies nuzzling into the red flowers in our garden!
The pale yellow summer moon reflecting back the rage of the sun!
The brown rabbits which stealthily emerge into our gardens at the outbreak of spring and eat our favourite tubers!

Well its all happening around me all the time, but I don’t see them!

The Visibly beautiful ones invisible to my mind.

We don’t see what Mother Nature has given us – the inexpensive calming therapy we all are eligible to enjoy everyday but which we have comfortably cast away.

I guess we do need these STOP Signals from Nature now and then and slow us down and relate to life more than just our hectic routines!

Mallippoo...

2007-07-11T15:39:00.000-04:00

Mmmm.... the name itself brings in a fragrance with it, dont you think so? Being born and brought up in a place known for and filled with these flowers, I have always been an ardent fan of Mallippoo aka the jasmine. Gundu Malli is what we call in our place and the aroma it creates is just mind blowing.

We used to have an adukku-malli plant in our house. The blooms were really big with definite layers around the bud. Thicker than the normal jasmine flower and with more layers, it used to have a different but divine fragrance.My love for the jasmine never faded even when I moved out of India. There was always this craving for these jasmine strands especially during summer time here. You can have as many plants you want in your garden, but something is amiss in your garden if you dont have a jasmine plant to fill in that sweet fragrance!

One winter, I was just browsing for plants in an English gardens store here and, lo and behold! What should I see sitting there but a tiny little jasmine plant in a corner of the store. I couldn't believe my eyes and I knew that moment that it was mine. I bought it for just $4 but it made my day and I started looking forward for Spring to come so I can keep it outside. I kept my jasmine plant at a warmer place by the window and made sure to water it throughout the winter.

The plant grew bigger during summer when we kept it outside and made a great show with abundant flowers. Come next year, the plant grew even bigger and this year its grown really big with branches popping out on all sides. Can you believe if I said I plucked around 800 flowers over a span of 2 weeks? I stored them all in a ziploc in the fridge and last week I took them out, made a big garland out of it and shared the strands with all friends and relatives here. The joy of sharing is when you see the faces of the women lighting up when you give them the jasmine flower strands- a sudden glow from somewhere, maybe it brings back the scenes of their young jasmine days :)

We used to have a pitchi poo plant at home which is still there but not as lively as before. During the Navrathiri season, there used be an abundance of these flowers and, Amma and I used to patiently tie them up into strands. The fragrance of the pitchi poo is stronger than Jasmine but it lives shortly unlike the jasmine. A few hours of staying on our heads and it droops down soon, maybe because of the body heat. The leaves are usually in 5-clusters, looks like a fern and are very beautiful. For some reason, I used to treat that plant as a friend and even bid good-byes when I used to leave home after my vacation days in college :)

Well I knew I was not alone to talk to plants when somebody sang in a movie like this:
'Thirumana malargal tharuvaaya thottathil naan vaitha poo chediye'
:))

Dad's retiring!

2007-06-27T11:10:00.000-04:00

After 35 long years of hardwork, commitment and diligence, Appa is retiring! Its time to take a break, sit back and relax! He has been a great professor/HOD, a role model inspiring students and his own children along the way, a god father to many- providing job oppurtunities to many people who desperately needed jobs.

And so many sacrifices along the way! I remember the Diwalis he never bought anything new for himself except for a simple dhoti so he can save money for our education. We didn't lead a very luxurious life, but we led a very comfortable life and he provided us with all the comforts he could give- sacrificing his own. What a great dad! He gave a lot of importance and respect to education and has given us the most prized possession anyone could have - a
valuable education! All of us are on our own now and the edifice behind our successes - our parents! Dad inspired us in taking up professional courses and had an intuition way back that computers are going to be the in-thing! The result- the whole family is in IT now :-)

He has brought back home great memories from around the world through the many seminars and presentations he has attended in his career. As a globe-trotter, his enthusiasm towards environmental studies drove him into presenting papers and winning
awards on the way. A strict professor when it comes to students, he helped them develop personally and academically at the same time. Many grateful students completed their PHDs under his guidance and are now scattered around the world. We walk
into a train or a park or hotel, we will not be surprised if we happen to meet an old grateful student there.

Now its time for him to pursue what interests him- he and his hobbies and a relaxed lifestyle. Its time for a life he can lead just for himself and mom! Well, his responsibilities can never be over - this is what Tarak, my brother has to say "You have spent your last 3
decades educating & shaping your children and your students. Please don’t think that your retirement is going take some responsibility off from you – You currently have all your grandkids and many decades to come, to shape their future". So Dad, you cant shrug off all the responsibilities! We want you to inspire our children too the same way you inspired us!

A Felicitation ceremony to commemorate his noble contribution and a job well done has been planned for the 29th of June - A Felicitation by the Vice-Chancellor of the university, his colleagues and his students. His sincere students have been so awe-inspired by him that they are instituing an endowment in Dad's name. With the endowment, a seminar will be conducted every year in Dad's name and an award will be given every year to the First rank holder in Dad's name.

Its a very proud moment for all of us!Three cheers to you Dad, you made all of us so proud of you! We salute you for everything you have given us - all the guidance, sacrifices, advices and above all- the love and care you have showered on us!

Thank God you are our Dad!

Whats going on in my mind!

2007-06-25T10:16:00.000-04:00

Okie, so this is my second article in my blog :)

I thought why not write something about whats going on in my mind most of the time - what to eat next?? :))
Well, I am this big time foodie who loves to eat..some people eat to live but I am sure there are some people like me who live to eat, atleast I know one another person-my husband! I was lucky that way because both of us love to eat a variety of food and he inspires me to cook new dishes and create a rainbow!

My sis used to get so bugged with my love for food that she used to call me a 'Soathu moottai' and I used to find that word very funny. So I will be popping up with some good recipes too in this blog on and off. All my recipes have been obtained from various sources- my mom,my paattis,MIL,husband,sis,friends etc.

To start with, here is a dish very easy to make and my most favourite, the star of all Tanjore dishes- Vetha kuzhambu!
I remember the first time I made vetha kuzhambu in my first year in college hostel, I added so much vendhayam(Methi seeds) that nobody could even taste it a bit, well I dont need to say- it was a disaster :)

Ingredients
Any one type of the Vegs- Drumsticks/pearl onion/parangikkai(squash) or just manathakkali(a type of greenish brown seeds)
mustard seeds - 1 tsp
red chillies - 2 or 3 (According to ur spice level)
turmeric powder - a pinch
sambhar powder- 1 tsp
salt- according to taste
jaggery - a pinch
oil - 1 tsp
methi seeds - 1/4 tsp
thoor dhal(thuvaram paruppu) - 1 tsp
tamarind - lemon size
Rice flour - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 7-8 leaves

Method
Soak the tamarind in warm water.
In a Kadaai, add oil and once its heated, add the mustard seeds. Once they break, add red chillies, thoor dhal and allow it to turn slightly brown.
Add methi seeds and the vegetable.
Fry till the raw smell goes and add the tamrind water.
Allow it to boil and once the vegetable becomes soft and fully boiled, Add the sambhar powder,turmeric powder and salt and allow it to boil.
Add the rice flour to little water and make a paste. Add this paste and the jaggery and allow it to boil. The consistency should be medium to thick. Add the curry leaves and close with lid so the flavor seeps in.

Variations:
- You can add the sambhar powder while frying the vegetables in oil, you have to be careful so the powder doesn't get roasted too much.
- You dont need to add jaggery if you dont want to, but I like the taste of tamarind and jaggery together-a great combination of sweet and sour!
- Some make this with potato too and I've tried it and it tastes good
- Poondu(garlic) kuzhambu is made the same way, instead of vegetables, saute the garlic separately to a golden brown and add to the kuzhambu
- Some dont add rice flour to it, they just make the tamarind puree so thick that when the kuzhambu boils and reduces in quantity, it gets thick, this flavor is very good too.
- You can skip the methi seeds if you want, I feel it cools your body given the heat and spice of red chillies.

Put Some hot rice with ghee or nallannai(gingelly oil) in a plate, add the vethakuzhambu and mix well. With appalam in the side or with a dry vendaikkai curry(ladiesfinger) or Keerai(spinach), its a meal on its own! Nothing comparable!
And the more you keep it in the fridge, the taste deepens- with the sour tangy flavor sinking in more! Enjoy!

The Sunshine Days....

2007-06-21T13:15:00.001-04:00

I wanted a space where I could write about all the beautiful things in life. Beautiful things which have happened, are happening and will keep happening. I was wondering which one to start with and then all of a sudden, I just felt like writing about the beautiful days we used to spend at our native village Tiruvidaimarudur.

Tiruvidaimarudur is a town in Thanjavur District, about 9 km (5.6 miles) north-east of the Temple City Kumbakonam. I want to mention something marvellous in Tanjore(Thanjavur). Tanjore is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. Not just the visual beauty of Periya Kovil in it, but the rich heritage and culture that lots of the Tamilians carry on till date were born from there.
The architectural marvel of the Periya Kovil aka Brihadeeswarar Kovil cannot be expressed in words. Watch it at sunrise or sunset with the golden rays of the sun or just any clear day, its beauty is just amazing!

Ok now getting back, I still reminisce about the days we as kids used to spend at our grandparents place at Tiruvidaimarudur.
We had this beautiful village house in the main street with all the thoons(pillars), thinnai(portico), a small rezhi room and a mitham. Our Thatha would always be sitting on the oonjal reading books or newspapers or just chatting with someone. Paatti will be busy indoors in the kitchen or attending others. As soon as we enter into the house, we get this very warm welcome with lots of embraces filled with love and warmth!

After enjoying a slow and steady swing with Thatha, it will be time for a nice traditional Paatti-made lunch. Paatti still doesn't know how many tbsp/teasp of ingredients she adds,she will say 'edho kan paarthu kai poduven' but the outcome is so heavenly!
I used to wonder maybe it was the love and affection she shared that made her food so delicious. She would cook all the traditional food like paruppu urundai kozhambu/sundaikkai vathal/a pitlai/kari/eeyachombu rasam and ofcourse a paal payasam.Last but not the least comes the most awaited 'kunja laadu' (Ladoo) which Paatti would have rounded to perfection. We kids
would keeping munching those from time to time. Sometimes I used to feel the laddoos so special that I have felt the love in the laddoos when both my paattis make laddoos or in the Amma made kunja laadus.

And then it would be time to play! There used to be a huge cage kinda something made of widely-spaced wood trunks just outside the house near the entry gate. A big green one, not really a cage though I used to call it that way, it was used as a storage area or to dry clothes. We used to play in there or me and my sis would jump over through the thinnai to the next door neighbour who were also our relatives and play with them.
I remember vividly how my brother was spanked heavily for leaving a goat astray one day and letting that to chase me all over the place. I was a real spoil sport and with me fussing over it and crying, he got spanked heavily and was given a time-out
in that big green cage :)

Then it will be time for the milk woman or curd-vendor to come, yes a curd-vendor. For some reason Paatti would buy some curd from her, she would have this huge basket inside which she will have a kinda insulated tin which will be filled with curd.
And it would be quite a sight to see Paatti bargaining with her and the milkwoman. And then there was 'Thaiyalai', an old maid servant who would help us to draw water from the well(Amma would strictly prohibit us from going near the well), she would do all the extra washing/cleaning without a grumble and Amma would pay her something at the end of the trip.

We used to follow thaiyalai to the kollai pakkam(back yard). There was a nice 'kollai pakkam' with hibiscus plants and a huge area for the ammi,kal-ural,kuzhavi and all those cookery 'appliances' of those days. A small well at the centre and a small dark bath area where Paatti also heats up water with logs for bathing. Except for the bath area, the whole place was open- you smell the clean air, hear the 'devaram' songs sung at the Mahalinga swamy temple nearby, hear the birds chirping,hear the rustling of the trees- can you be any closer to nature in everyday life than this? And the smell of the burning logs used to delight my mornings, it used to be so heavenly that even today when we go for camping and burn logs for a bonfire, I get nostalgic.
Me and sister would enjoy washing our faces in the evenings in the 'kinathu thanni' there, all cold and a distinct flavor in it while hearing the temple bells or hymns. Ah! what a bliss!

During Thai poosam days around 15 years back, to celebrate the festival, we would have small little shops outside everybody's houses in the main maada theru. The shopkeepers come and put small stalls everywhere and you go around shoppping for the oosimani,paasimani- well, you can say Girlie things :) I used to insist going there around that time to see these stalls and
also to participate in the 'ther' thiruvizha. The whole village would gather in the Mahalingaswamy temple waiting for the 'ther' procession. Its such a small place that everyone knows everyone and I used to feel so proud when someone would say 'oh
nee jarayarama iyer pethiya?' or 'nee Muthumani ponna?'.

Thatha was a school headmaster and it was no wonder that everyone knew him so well. He was so intersted in literature and he and Amma shared a great bond. They used to talk abt authors and books for hours and hours together. Sometimes Amma used to just sit with paatti near the mitham and chat for hours with her and meanwhile Paatti would plait her hair and ours too.Lots of people would keep coming and going from the house all the time. There was this next door Subbu who would read letters to Thatha or run errands for him, or sometimes its just the postman who would walk in to deliver letters right at Thatha's oonjal or some relative popping in for a nice chat.

And then there was this Biscuit Mami opposite our house who had a bungalow kinda house and somehow I used to feel there was a mystery in that house which I never managed to unravel :( We used to peep through the windows and she would call us and give
us biscuits from a tin from the paran(?!). Hence the name Biscuit Mami :) There used to be a Kannan tailor for stitching our clothes sitting outside her house and did I mention Paddhu? a stout and weird man close to our house. He used to have a strange voice too, but we used to go there to pluck the marudhani(mehendi) leaves and the leaves were so good that our hands
used to turn a dark red :) Well they say your MIL will love you if your hands turn red after applying marudhaani!

And so with lots of heart-warming food, lots of play, pampering and the freedom of swaying loose everywhere,the vacation would be over and it will be time to go back. After a teary-eyed farewell we would wait for the next vacation and a trip there.

Some things in life are hard to let go- one such for me was when this house filled with our childhood memories was sold.
After our loving thatha passed away in 2000, this house was sold and Paatti and others moved to kumbakonam. But still when we go anywhere nearby, I try to atleast go near the house and stand there for a few mins reminiscing the old days - Those sunny
days when the house was filled with just love and warmth! - Those days - Before the kitchen gadgets took over the kitchen, before the roofs were laid on the kollai pakkam of village houses, Those days- before internet and mobile phones took away people's time....those days...I call the Warm sunshine days!

A Welcome message :)

2007-06-21T11:38:00.000-04:00

I have always had these instincts to write a diary or a book of everyday thoughts, the random musings and the beautiful things in life. Life is too beautiful to miss out dotting the events and thoughts. Thanks to Internet, it gave me an easier way to pen down what I wanted! So here you go, a welcome message to all of you who will be visiting my blog! Hope you enjoy my writings....