Happy Diwali!

Diwali.. a very spirited festival of India! Perhaps Kerala is the only state of India which does not celebrate Diwali. I wonder why..

Sitting in an isolated office floor, hearing the distant booms of fireworks,  I was tempted to find an answer. Whom do I ask? Who else than the big G who is omnipresent, omniscient & omnipotent? Yes, I prayed to 'Google.com' and lo, I was heard and answered immediately.

I read someone's opinion on this. It reminded me that Kerala thrives on the peaceful and prosperous rule of Mahabali, the king of Asuras. He was strong and righteous ruler and a true devotee of Vishnu. When he defeated the Devas in battle and became the leader of the entire realm i.e. the bhoomi, swarga and pathala, the Devas ran to Vishnu for help. To help them,  Vishnu, adopted the avatar of Vamana, a small Brahmin boy, and approached Bali with a request for grant of land – only as much land as he could cover with three paces.

Despite the warnings of his advisor, Bali granted this boon. Vamana then grew to an immense size, and, with his first pace, traversed the all of the earth and the underworld. With his second pace, he covered Heaven in its entirety. Seeing that Vamana has no more room for his last step, Bali offered his own head as a stepping-stone. At this time asuras led a war. Bali blocked them and told these all living and non living things are of Vishnu's creation. He Himself gave all this to us and He, Lord Vishnu, now came to take this back. Seeing Bali's strong devotion Lord Vishnu blessed him and raised to Suthala, the supreme position than Indra's heaven. Bali was thus banished to the underworld. Due to his selfless devotion and unwavering dharma he was granted permission to visit his subjects once every year and that is the grandest festival of Kerala.. Onam!

Now coming back to Diwali.. It is actually a celebration of victory of Devas over the Asuras. And keralites are still not very happy with the way our dearest Asura king was cheated by the Devas and we were deprived of his golden rule. Hence it seems Kerala does not celebrate Diwali along with the rest of India.

I don't know how true the mythologies are, but the answer seems reasonable to me. ;) Having said that, its still difficult to stay away from the spirit of Diwali since I love celebrations of every kind. So I will celebrate Diwali.. I will light Diyas along with everyone.. I will burst crackers along with everyone.. I will make and eat sweets along with everyone.. But I will do it all for our great king Mahabali. He'll be happy, I hope. I will celebrate two festivals for him.. And I am sure he also loves celebrations like me! :D

For a change

It is vacation time. During my school days, my maternal grandparents were in Chennai. Every year when my vacation started, they came down to Kerala and took me with them to Chennai. I used to spend atleast a couple of weeks with them there. It was happiness unleashed. As everyone knows, grandparents know only to love and grandchildren almost always know how to make use of that weakness. ;) I used to get away with all my whims and fancies with them. I made them take me to all the beaches and amusement parks I loved. I made sure that I got all my favourite food to eat and anything I wanted to play with. That used to be the royal days of the year.. :)

For a change, it was my grandparents' turn for a small summer vacation. They came down to Bangalore last weekend. I cooked for them, took them around and made them as comfortable as I could. It was nothing compared to the happiness they have given me, but still, it was something.. At the end of their short stay, they were happy like little children, happiness well deserved.

Ellavarkkum Vishu Aashamsakal

Vishu is the festival that is closest to my heart. I have very fond memories of so many Vishu's as a child. All of us in the family; aunts, uncles, cousins.. all used to sleep side by side in a room waiting for the dawn. I used to be so excited that I hardly used to sleep. By 3 in the morning, elders would start going one by one to see the 'kani'. I used to eagerly wait for my turn holding my eyes tight. Then finally when I got my chance, I beamed with joy seeing the golden hue of the 'vishu kani'. Then came the part of getting all that 'kaineetam' from elders which used to be my money reserve for the next year. How can I forget the fireworks part.. Lots of sparklers, flower pots, the more dangerous bombs. And of course there would be a grand 'sadya' at noon. All in all, it used to be a day which was full of fun & prosperity.. And it brought hope that the full year would be the same.


This year it was different. We celebrated it in Bangalore and it was just the two of us. I did miss the fun of old-times, but it was a different kind of joy this time. We took a day off and spent the day at home. I prepared the 'Vishu kani' myself. This time also, I was eagerly waiting for the dawn.. Not to see the 'kani' myself.. but to see the expression on my husband's face. And that was priceless!



We went to the temple. We also had a small sadya including sambhar, avial, koottu-kari, thoran, pappadam & payasam. This was also the first sadya that I prepared myself which made it special.

Thus ends Vishu on a beautiful note and hopefully the whole year ahead will be like that too. :)

And it rained today...

I am not a classic rain lover.. I never dream of curling up under a blanket with rain flowing down my window. Instead I am the kind who loves a warm bright day when I can get out of my house and have some fun.

But today I realised what a scorching summer can do to people. Today, as I heard rain pouring outside, a wide smile came right out of my heart to my face. I ran along with many others to the nearest window. All of us just stood there for a good ten minutes till we saw the rain and heard the thunder to our heart's fill. The little more adventurous of our lot ventured out into the rain. Must say, that was tempting. :)

Anyways, I hope it rains more to bring down the heat & bring up the water level, to bring down the power cuts and bring a little joy in our parched hearts!

Looong time...

Such a long time that I have been thinking of penning down a few words here. I have a colleague who keeps pushing me to write. And I give a standard answer, 'This weekend, definitely!" And that never happened until today. Better late, than never. Ain't it? ;)

So, lets see.. Quite a lot happened in my life after my last post..

I got back to Bangalore, got married, we booked a flat, I flew to US 3 months after my marriage, spent a never-ending 6 months there, my hubby flew to Switzerland, I came back, then he came back just in time to celebrate our first anniversary together, we set up our home and are now living happily & hopefully ever-after too. :)

Wow, that was such a quick recap! Now I feel that I am update with my blog & I am going to genuinely try not to give up this time. I owe this to myself.

Can I speak?? ..asks Bangalore

I am Bangalore - The garden city. Now more popularly known as the Silicon Valley of India.

Its been a long time since I wanted to speak my mind out. Better late than never.

I love people. People from everywhere.
Everyday I heard them cry from different parts of the country. They wanted to come to me. Cries from the capital - Delhi, the commercial hub - Mumbai, the pearl city - Hyderabad, Metros - Chennai & Kolkata, from God's own country - Kerala. Cries from everywhere. I sometimes wondered what made them like me so much. Is it because I give them a salubrious climate throughout the year? Or because there is greenery flourishing all around me.. Maybe its the colonial ambiance.. Or maybe simply because I make their life; because I make them feel at home.

Whatever be the reason, I welcomed them. All of them.

There were new job opportunities created. Every piece of land was converted into houses. It was getting crowded. My heart bled when all the trees where cut down. But I held on.. for they wanted a place to live.

I still hear those cries. There are more people who want to be here.
Now there are tall apartments all over me. Every house has two or three cars. The smoke from the vehicles is turning me black. Its choking me. But I hope they are happy.

What am I hearing now? Why are my people cursing me?? Crowded? Polluted?? Is it really you who is saying this? You know, I was never like this.. You know, who did it all!

More people coming in. I see that they fight a lot for me.. take transfers, quit jobs and finally land here. Then they start their complaints. They crib about traffic. But then I see them adding their own vehicle into it. I see them having fun. They get paid well. They live in peace without people prying into their lives. I see that everybody has friends here! But still they whine all the time.

I am fed up guys! There is a limit to patience, isn't there? And I don't have anything more to offer you. If you feel that every other place is a heaven, please don't trouble yourself here. But as you leave, I ask a favour from all of you. Please spread the word that Bangalore has changed. Its congested, polluted, corrupted and whatever you want to add.

But there are somethings that has still not changed in me. I can still be the home to anyone who wants one. I can still make your life, if you want me to. I still love you!

Nimma Swantha, Bengaluru

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I don't know what Bangalore actually wants to tell. But this definitely is what I want to tell. :)
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Man proposes.. God disposes..

I was reminded of this saying the last week.. when a castle I had build up in air crashed down. No serious damage to dreams. Just a small plan injured a little.

Two weeks back I was asked to be prepared to travel on 2nd of Nov.. and I prepared, with all excitement. I shopped like crazy.. I packed my bags.. I planned that I would take a week's vacation.. I checked the tickets.. Chose my airlines and the route I would take.. I found a replacement for myself at my house.. Everything was going on well..

The next day they said.. 'Oh sorry, that didn't work out. Lets wait for the next opportunity.'

I did not blame anyone. It had lots of elements to it that was out of anyone's hand. I knew it could not be helped. But all the same, I couldn't accept it.. my mind wouldn't accept it. Though the injury was small, I brooded over it.. made unnecessary fuss over it..

But now the wound has almost healed. I have decided to be a bit more ready for all the change in plans that I'll have to make in life. A little more flexibility, I definitely need.
Maybe I needed a gentle reminder like this..