The rains had furiously drenched the state during Karkidakam and had been expected to cease at the advancement of Chingam, the Onam season. Interestingly, this year, even the Thiruonam day witnessed a battle in the sky between the clouds and the sun, both trying to overpower the other, much like the battle between Devas and Asuras(demons). Onam is a joyful remembrance of the king Mahabali, a kind and generous Asura king, much different from the rest of the Asuras. Folklore has it that the Devas were jealous of the popularity achieved by Mahabali despite him being an Asura and that they plotted against him with the help of Lord Vishnu. Vishnu approached Mahabali in the guise of a Brahmin kid, Vamana, and requested that he be given three foot of land. As soon as his request was granted, Vishnu raised his stature and covered the sky and the earth in two steps, and now that the entire universe had been covered, he placed his third step on to Mahabali, pushing him to the netherworld.


On a different perspective, I personally feel this story harbors close on its heels to the thought that nobody is too good to deserve only praise and nobody is too bad to deserve only criticism. In the story behind Onam, the devas who are otherwise believed to have no malice festering within them, have fallen prey to jealousy, that their hegemony of being “righteous” has been brought to an end by Mahabali, an Asura. Even Lord Vishnu with all his eminence had been convincingly entrapped into acting upon frivolous provocations by the devas !
The perceptions of truth and goodness metamorphoses and keeps changing across time and people. The wise say one should never pass judgments on others. No one is as good as to deserve only praise and no one is as bad as to deserve only criticism.

I digress.

Onam this year had been great as usual. I’ve always maintained and still maintain the belief that no cuisine in the world can beat the traditional ‘Onasadya’ that Keralites enjoy every Onam! Just thought I’d post a picture of the lovely pookkalam (flower carpet) we did in our office. The people you see in the picture are few of my friends at work.

Yet another Onam has passed, bringing back memories of childhood. The Onam mid - terminal exams at school followed by a 10 day vacation; collecting flowers for the pookkalam; the sadya; sometimes an Onakkodi, games and all the fun. And I hear somewhere in the backdrop of my mind a lovely song as these memories resurface yet again. A song which emphasizes the reign of Mahabali.

"Maveli naadu vaaneedum kaalam
Maanusharellaarum onnupole ... "

A song which emphasies unity, peace and happiness in a world devoid of any malice and deceit. .. though we have been far removed from that caricature.


Yet another Onam has passed.

Balu
25/9/08

Child's play!

Just when I was meaning to blog about Onam, an interesting article about the conversation between an ant and a boy catches my attention, and am taken back to my childhood days once again. Hence Onam can wait :D

As a child, I vividly remember how interestedly I would watch ants march across the ground. Then there was a sense of amazement in watching ants carry its fodder which weighs more than itself and then march along like an army. I would marvel at the sight of earthworms and centipedes .. it was amazing then to see a living creature with so many legs. And the manner in which spiders weave their webs was something fantastic. There was an insatiable curiosity to watch them all go about their tasks.


The enthusiasm of a child is unmatched. A toddler may keep falling down every time he tries to walk, but just doesn’t give up until he succeeds. No matter how many times he may fall down, he just keeps walking. Tirelessly. How often do we, grown ups, keep forgetting to get up and walk when we stumble upon difficult situations at various stages in our lives. They can draw the same picture repeatedly without getting bored, giving the picture a different interpretation at every color pattern change. They don’t have any memories clouding their judgments of the present time. Their beliefs and value systems keep evolving as they check and explore the boundaries, and they have a totally different model of the world altogether. It seems that certain features in them are wired into our minds such that we respond to their need for compassion and love with unquestioning support and nurturing .. and we don’t forget to smile as we do so!

I no longer spend time watching ants and spiders..maybe because I've 'grown up' and have time only to browse the web, but not to watch a web being woven.

I guess one has to be a child to observe such small yet wonderful things in life.

-Balu
10/9/08