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.