Another India trip has gone by. On the flight back home, as I was trying to ease my cramped legs, I wondered how many years I was going to do this -- the months of planning ahead for the 3-week trip, weeks just looking forward to the moment I would board the flight back home and the insane cramming of all things possible into the 3 short weeks at home. There's family and friends to visit, festive occassions, weddings to attend (if you go in the months of June/July), shopping for esoteric Indian supplies to last you the next year in the US, packing all manners of podis, oorugais within the allotted 100 lbs per person and of course, if you get lucky, some personal time to do the things you really, really want to do.
Someone wrote in a blog that US desis seem to live only during weekends. We wait the entire week for the weekend to have "fun". Add the 3-week India trip to that list, and I seem to come truly alive only for these short moments! I can hear the naysayers out there sniggering, "Maybe you live on the weekends. We know how to have fun throughout the year!". Perhaps.
Tamilnadu is where I feel completely at home, at ease. It is where I can eat thayir sadham with my hands, wear colorful, fragrant flowers in my hair every single day, don bright sarees and not have to explain anything to anyone. When I landed in Chennai airport after a 30 hour journey, I felt light. Along with the heat wave that washed over me as soon as I stepped out, there was also this wave of relief! Not even Mumbai evokes this feeling for me.
I was trying to explain this feeling to one of my father's friends and I blurted out, "Ermm.. Chennai is my natural habitat!" like I was some primordial being. But it is true -- the heat, sweat, humidity just didn't bother me after a week. I was home.
There are a lot of NRIs out there contemplating R2I. Everyone discusses the merits of schooling in India, the amount of pollution in the air, the time it takes to commute, the interminable traffic and crowds etc.. I confess I do as well. But it finally has dawned on me that R2I means I can stop living a dual life -- trying to fit into the American life by day and being desi by evenings -- and be my harmonious own self. That, I think, would be priceless and beats every other consideration hands down. Amen.
Showing posts with label The Place Called Home. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Place Called Home. Show all posts
Friday, July 31, 2009
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Mango season..
After 6 long years, I finally made it to India during the summer mango season! The highlight of this trip so far has been the mouthwatering, yummy mangoes I have been enjoying. Banganapalli, Imampasand & Alfonso are available at almost every house I visit. If anyone offers me the customary coffee,I unashamedly settle for mangoes instead..:)
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Thandalai
The cult of guardian deities or "kaaval deivams" in Tamilnadu is something I've been trying to fathom for a while. It is not that I don't believe in it but I cannot relate to it. Our guardian deity is in a village called Thandalai, about 5 kms from Tiruvarur. It houses a very small temple to Shashtha or Ayyappan, Badrakali and the more famous "Eetty Manickam" (The Manickam with a Javelin). Anyone in the surrounding regions of that village will be able to point you to the temple of "Eetty Manickam". All vehicles, especially buses and lorries, passing via that temple will stop, drop a coin toward "Eetty Manickam" and then proceed on their way. Legend has it that if they do not do that, they will meet with a fatal calamity. For many years, the temple drew a sustenance based on the charity of these passers-by and still does even though it now has other sources of funds as well.
Until the 1990s, our family had no idea of this temple. Somewhere along the way, many generations past, we'd lost the memory of this place. In the early 1990s, my eldest Uncle was looking to marry off his eldest daughter. Try as they might, they couldn't find a satisfactory alliance for my cousin. One day my Uncle had a very vivid dream of a temple in an isolated village. He dreamt about a Badrakali in that temple and was told that because we had neglected this deity, the marriage of his daughter was being delayed. He could accurately describe the temple, its surroundings and the way to the Badrakali sanctum. But no one in our family knew what this temple was. Finally, my grandmother had some vague recollection of a place near Tiruvarur that was supposed to be our guardian deity. So my uncle hunted around that area for a while and figured out that there was a little-known village called Thandalai.
The entire family consisting of my Uncle, his three younger brothers including my father, their spouses and children made the visit to this place. We worshipped there and when we went to the Badrakali sanctum, my Uncle swore that it was exactly as it was in his dream. "Eetty Manickam" came as a surprise to me. The image was of an English-looking guy in khaki trousers and shirt, with a gun and a white horse. The statue was huge and stood on the outside of the temple. Here's where the drivers threw their coins. "Eetty Manickam" was supposed to guard the village at night and many villagers swore to hearing horse hoof sounds in that area. Anyways, after propitiating the gods there and promising to go back every year, we returned. Soon enough, my cousin got married and we attributed it to the temple.
To go back to the beginning of this post, I have trouble relating to these "kaaval deivams" because of their punishing nature. I've never believed in fear-induced worship and many of the Ayyanars, Karuppannasaamis,Ellai Kaalis, Badrakalis seem to be very punishing. But I suppose their very nature makes people feel protected if they offer the right worship.
S & I just started watching "Marma Desam - Vidadhu Karuppu" and that prompted me to write this post..:-)
Until the 1990s, our family had no idea of this temple. Somewhere along the way, many generations past, we'd lost the memory of this place. In the early 1990s, my eldest Uncle was looking to marry off his eldest daughter. Try as they might, they couldn't find a satisfactory alliance for my cousin. One day my Uncle had a very vivid dream of a temple in an isolated village. He dreamt about a Badrakali in that temple and was told that because we had neglected this deity, the marriage of his daughter was being delayed. He could accurately describe the temple, its surroundings and the way to the Badrakali sanctum. But no one in our family knew what this temple was. Finally, my grandmother had some vague recollection of a place near Tiruvarur that was supposed to be our guardian deity. So my uncle hunted around that area for a while and figured out that there was a little-known village called Thandalai.
The entire family consisting of my Uncle, his three younger brothers including my father, their spouses and children made the visit to this place. We worshipped there and when we went to the Badrakali sanctum, my Uncle swore that it was exactly as it was in his dream. "Eetty Manickam" came as a surprise to me. The image was of an English-looking guy in khaki trousers and shirt, with a gun and a white horse. The statue was huge and stood on the outside of the temple. Here's where the drivers threw their coins. "Eetty Manickam" was supposed to guard the village at night and many villagers swore to hearing horse hoof sounds in that area. Anyways, after propitiating the gods there and promising to go back every year, we returned. Soon enough, my cousin got married and we attributed it to the temple.
To go back to the beginning of this post, I have trouble relating to these "kaaval deivams" because of their punishing nature. I've never believed in fear-induced worship and many of the Ayyanars, Karuppannasaamis,Ellai Kaalis, Badrakalis seem to be very punishing. But I suppose their very nature makes people feel protected if they offer the right worship.
S & I just started watching "Marma Desam - Vidadhu Karuppu" and that prompted me to write this post..:-)
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Picturabilia...
From left to right in each row as we go down:1. Thirukkadayur Abhirami - Amirdhakadeswarar Temple tower
2. "Kamalalayam" - Tiruvarur temple tank
3. Tiruvarur Temple tank again
4. Madurai South tower
5. Mayavaram Mayuranathaswamy - Abhayambika temple tower
6. En route to Thirunallaru
7. Utharavahini Kaveri in Sivaramapuram, near Mayavaram
8. Beloved Kaveri again...
9. A peaceful twilight amongst coconut groves
10. Thiruvarur Temple tower
11 & 12. The dilapidated state of the ancient Utharakosamangai temple near Rameswaram.
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Tempus fugit, non autem memoria
Its been a good month since I put my fingers to type out a blog. Its not for the lack of topics though. I am bursting with things I want to write about. But since my muse is fickle and I have only so much time on my hands, this hasty blog is for starters.
I've been gone 20 days to India. I spent 10 days deep in the heart of Tamilnadu visiting ancient temples in the green, peaceful countryside of the Tanjore district. I've not felt so rejuvenated and relaxed in a long time! Visited my grandmother's village right by the Cauvery which she so fondly remembers even now. Met a lot of people whose lifestyles and priorities are so different from mine. Their lives revolve around fertile paddy fields, managing the harvests, milking the cows at home, tending to dogs, cats and birds that wander in from the lush coconut groves surrounding their house. They're educated and knowledgeable but they've chosen this rustic, laid-back, relaxed life. And more than me or my parents, they do look healthy, relaxed and happy!
Did we make a mistake by shunning this lifestyle and running to cities in search of money? Did we trade our peace and happiness by opting for hectic lifestyles? Or is this a case of grass on the other side always being greener? I am still introspecting...:)
Whatever it is, I know I belong in that land.
Oh, in case you're wondering what the title of the post means, its Latin for "Time flies, but not memory".
I've been gone 20 days to India. I spent 10 days deep in the heart of Tamilnadu visiting ancient temples in the green, peaceful countryside of the Tanjore district. I've not felt so rejuvenated and relaxed in a long time! Visited my grandmother's village right by the Cauvery which she so fondly remembers even now. Met a lot of people whose lifestyles and priorities are so different from mine. Their lives revolve around fertile paddy fields, managing the harvests, milking the cows at home, tending to dogs, cats and birds that wander in from the lush coconut groves surrounding their house. They're educated and knowledgeable but they've chosen this rustic, laid-back, relaxed life. And more than me or my parents, they do look healthy, relaxed and happy!
Did we make a mistake by shunning this lifestyle and running to cities in search of money? Did we trade our peace and happiness by opting for hectic lifestyles? Or is this a case of grass on the other side always being greener? I am still introspecting...:)
Whatever it is, I know I belong in that land.
Oh, in case you're wondering what the title of the post means, its Latin for "Time flies, but not memory".
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