DAYS OF GOLU : MY RUMINATIONS -(Part 1 /Day1)

It's the time of the year again. Navaratri Begins. The vibrant Golu dolls are back from the loft. The steps are decorated and put up to accommodate them, The living room furnitures rearranged. Grandmothers and elders waiting for the reunions and bhajans. Years ago I would have loved this time too but not anymore. Years ago when my health was intact I would eagerly make vibrant Rangolis and Kolam's along with some occasional help from curious neighborhood kids. Now, I can't do the same. 

But what do I look forward to?

Maybe the food? Perhaps the 10-day festivities that arrive annually. Maybe the confluence of culture and feministic stories from mythologies. Maybe the socialization process around this? I doubt that, too. 

Perhaps I'll use this year to find out and write about the same. 

Day1:

The very first day of Navarathri : 

Initialized the very basic installations, arrangement and decorations. The prasadham made was brown sundal (chickpeas)  and Sakkarai pongal ( jaggery-milk based rice sweet). 

So this day of Navrathri is basically dedicated to the Goddess Parvathi in one of her Nava Durga forms.

Shailaputri/ Malaimamagal/ Hemavathi- Parvathi, Every name denotes her as the  

Daughter of the Mountains. 

The feministic ideologies or the religious significance are the topics for another post. 

Among all the Golu dolls the primitive ''Marapachi bommai'' always intrigued me. Marapaachi bommai ( wooden doll) is just a human ( both male and female) form carved out of redwood. These dolls come as a couple. I have been told they symbolize the early humans and our ancestors. 

These are the only wooden dolls significantly placed in the topmost ( 1st Step) of the Golu padi. 

While most of the Golu dolls are made of clay.  This homage to the human ancestors is always a mystery that makes me wonder about our human civilization.

PICTURE OF AN INTRICATELY CARVED MARAPAACHI DOLLS.

From my personal life experiences, I have a vague recollection of playing with the Marapaachi dolls as a kid. While really not finding them attractive or fun enough to play with.  I did love their solid damage proof structure though. They attended tea parties, imaginary trekking and adventures with my Barbie doll, plushies, robot dog and Lego toys. 

Can you understand what this means?

The Marapaachi Dolls must have been our ancestors' play toy and so were they mine in the 21st century along with the modern play toys available to me during the 90's. 

In my imaginary swamp scenarios, Marapaachi dolls were the strongest forest people to rescue everyone else. They tied me back to my cultural roots even at the age I didn't fathom the nuisances of society. 

Fast forward to today, Where I find people 3D printing their Golu dolls. I wonder where these Marapaachis are! 

An unpublished memoir from a trek in 2017

My Life !! do I want it to be a drizzle or risk the downpour??

Looking at the steep, huge boulders ahead " Oh , no !! I am doomed will I be able to make it ?" I thought to myself as I tried to normalise my breathing.  " For a young lady like you, why would u use a stick and wear shoes while climbing." A lady in her 30 s complained and walked ahead of me.
I looked at my uncle waiting for me to get back to my feet.  My shoulder pain has just picked up again. I loosed my backpack and wiped away my sweat.  Guilty of slowing my uncles pace I told him to walk ahead leaving me behind, In case I couldn't climb I would wait for them on the same path till they return.  " This is not a competition. We just have to climb the hill because we want to and we can walk in our own pace. There is no rush, Stop when tired and walk when you can ..keep on doing it at your comfortable pace." Said my Uncle. As you guessed I was the last person to reach the hill top where my gang was waiting.  But, Upon reaching there I realised I had interacted with a many people who provided me information about this hill. I cared to stop and enjoy the beautiful scenario and the wide fauna biodiversity around.

It struck the cord!! from my favourite Miley Cyrus song " Its not how fast I get there! It's not about whats's waiting on the other side. IT'S THE CLIMB".


I found climbing down to be easier than the climbing up till.. until I was just 2 -3 kms before the finish. My knees were shaking due to the strain and I was scared of the steep boulders I was standing over, My toes were numb. so I had to be extra cautious of how I was placing my feet.  People near me stumbled, fell down and injured themself. WHOA! I was expecting my fall.. but thank god it never came :)


  

The Nudge : A letter to my readers.

Dear Reader, 

Hope you are doing well. 

After a huge downpour that lasted for years, I am back at this writing space of mine. 

Everything is the same, but I am grateful for the wisdom bestowed by the experiences and lessons gifted by time. The inspiration to return to blogging came in the form of a series of blog posts written by a recent online acquaintance of mine. A talented, versatile human who I had the privilege and sudden luck to come across. But what I should write about is still a huge question. 

I am still brainstorming about what to write and what not. Like storm clouds at the shorelines my mind is clouded heavily, ready to pour at any moment, but, waiting. The calmness before the storm, the cold breeze, the anticipation for the arrival of raindrops and the memories of previous landscapes of the same. I feel exactly so and hence I realise, that perhaps it's best to put my words on paper. 

" An object at rest or in uniform continuous motion cannot change its state of rest or uniform motion unless or until acted upon by an external force."

 -The second law of motion or The Law of Inertia.

 Given by the man who got hit by a falling apple.-Sir Isaac Newton.

 Instead of lamenting his pain, or appeasing his hunger, his intellectual coping skills went into an overdrive. "TADA!" the result was revolutionary and cursable in the eyes of every middle school student sitting for their assessments. 

Thus, invoking the world's faith in the third law- 

" For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction." 

Given by the same man who had a sore bump on his head where the apple fell-Sir Isaac Newton (Injured) .

Not a day goes without students fantasizing and wishing for opposite scenarios for their beloved Newton while ignorantly enjoying the fruits of his scientific contributions.

You may think I am rambling here. Perhaps I am. But, here is the point -"Every action surely is followed by a reaction. Every Inert body needs certain force to overcome its inertia." 

THIS IS NOW A UNIVERSAL FACT. Be it classical mechanics or real life. Hence, let this ramble. Let this messy post be the slight nudge or force for me to start writing further. 

Thank you for your patience.

Regards, 

The Messy Writer.

The favourite Professor

The students were up against the black board presenting their seminar topics. Since, I and my best friend had given ours we were sitting in the back bench, silently munching snacks.  Suddenly the teacher walked over and sat beside us. “ Oh ! No!” I thought, looking at TJ. But TJ smilingly offered  the bag of Chips to the professor who to my surprise not just accepted it but distributed among the students nearby as well.
That’s when I knew Dr.Rajendran (Dr.VR)  was a cool person.
Every evening after the days event’s he would join the students for a volley ball match, prank on a few students.  Once I remember winning an Ice cream from a friend. With a smirk of victory I was about to unwrap the cornetto. Suddenly, Prof.VR  snatched it from my hand and kept on walking along with the senior faculty. I was surprised and a bit disappointed with the disappearance of my ice cream.

When my naughty batch was well known for irritating a few professors by shooting too many unanswerable questions leading them to walk away during the class session, Dr.V.R walks in saying “I am so happy about this class . Really guys! I am blessed with such good bunch of students.”  I remember the disbelief in our classmates face when he said that. Later when a professor complained about us to him, he would say “Students are supposed to be  that way.  Else, where is the fun? They are also smart kids.”  At this remark, the pranksters of the class were moved.
He believes that a teacher grows along with his students, encouraging us to question more and express our ideas. He felt no fear in accepting that sometimes he wasn’t sure of certain questions but would refer and answer us the very next day in class. He impressed us and inspired us of how a teacher must be.
He was responsible and encouraged us not just in the academic arena but also in extracurricular events. Pushed us far more than what we knew of ourselves.
Our very own friendsly Prof. who dances with us during the DJ or departmental tours. That professor in whose class you are allowed to ease, have a snack and still be productive. 
“Work while you work, Play while you play.”
“Eat happily, Play happily, Live happily. “
He made sure his happiness was contagious to the people nearby.

My first internship, my first blood donation (more of overcoming my fear), my first conference, my very first anchoring sessions, my first paper presentation (which won the best paper award in humanities) was all because of him. He saw our capabilities while we were unaware of it. He understood us and helped us grow by accepting who we were.
 He is that professor who brings home made food for the students who work empty stomach while organising events. (Credit goes to his better half). He is someone who would surprisingly catch the hostel students and take them home to celebrate Diwali with him. Visits you at the hospital to make sure you take proper treatment and the diet afterwards.

“ The people around you are your family and you should care for them.”  This is the biggest thing I learnt from him as a person.

 “Always have a parallel experiment in progress so that you don’t lose yourself when you stumble.”
A mentor who supports your project idea which was totally unrelated to his field of research and helps us explore the curious world of science as the best thing that can happen to a researcher. He gave me that freedom and support.  Months later, he called me up from a conference in IISc. “ I thought your ideas were just small experiments, but after attending the conference here, I realise the bigger impact it can have on the society. I am sorry for underestimating. Now, you focus on this topic with your whole heart and we shall be successful.” Project discussions with him were more friendly, supportive  and challenging. 'Keep pushing your limits.' He lives by these words. We were against this new challenge  which is different from his comfortable  research  field  for a masters' project . He showed me the meaning of who you can term as a “GUIDE”.

A lot of Taiwan stories of Prof. Le Lehn Tee and the best human I aspire to be. The favourite teacher who played a very crucial role in my batch mates lives just by being himself: generous, caring, empathetic, jovial, responsible and encouraging. He taught us how to cherish life and be a better human being.
My teacher, My guide, My family and My friend. Happy birthday to you sir.

Order , Chaos and the rest

What am I to thee?
An atom or dust ?
An ensemble of magic!

What are you to me ?
Does the atom know the existence of a molecules ?
Do cells realise their collective functions creates the brain ?
Do planets know of solar system?
Or of the larger galaxies?

Curious are we to explore,
Wondering about the paragon
The order in chaos!!

Some words sound better as strings

Hey guys,
To read my poems visit the link below
 My poetry blog
 

An unedited night journal

Away from the maddening crowd,
Hustling rush.. As a final year student at a developing university my life has been pretty packed up for the last few weeks. Having almost no time to eat properly .. Today I realize something called as peace.. I notice many when they are free plunging into their smartphones and movies or books. Reluctant or ignorant to the lone thoughts. We aren't alone in such world. But after a while I realise what I have been turning into .. Stepping out of my room because my room mate was busy with the laptop I realised how magical the moment was .. To sit under the starlight night, to observe the night life around me. Brought up in a city that never sleeps day and night were pretty much same for me except for the street lights and less human populations. 
The city is so lively most times failing to notice the little gifts of the universe. The rural regions have them in plenty . tonight
Feeling my heartbeat under the clear star light night I gaze at the twinkling dots.
Feeling the cold kiss my bare foot I feel the jitters up my calf and spine. My nose feels cold . but I rather not be wrapped up. All I can hear is my deep breath, and the insects acoustics, somewhere I hear the night birds chirp , the bat circles the darkest corners of the silent building. The breeze must have slept I guess so. This moment now feels like magic, alluring me into an undreamt trance, the lizard s existence and the frogs croak tell me the night has a life.the morning rose sleep gently, the grass stays still .. Cold and moist, tingling my barefoot. I awe the twinkling dots that flicker .. They flicker but stay still. There is something about the sky that makes me wonder .. Helps me breathe a little deeper. I am not alone but unlike the social media my thoughts aren't rippled off .. The calm mind just observes as my senses sharpen. I hear the insects. The tiny chirrups . I see the persistent owl. There is life in the lazy grass patch dark to be reveled to me. This moment my senses are calm. My thoughts are just wonders and I am in love with the night to be afraid of it. Feeling unified .  I can't stay as I step inside my room.and close the door beside I feel the change In state of mind the walls replace the open sky and the wide spread grass patch, I stare at the ceiling to see the fan wings chase each other and the nightlamp glow replacing the thousand tiny flickers of the deep sky. The bed doesn't feel like the cold grass. Missing the fireflies .. I lay awake returning to the crowded world .. Very different from where I was and that was ? Just two steps from my room. Vowing to return when I find time .. Alas ! And Ah!! That's the issue TIME !!