Chingam

When the much-awaited Chingam is around
You and I enjoy our days of togetherness,
The scent of sweet jasmines on our bed
Your fingers undoing my long-braided hair.

The long heaps of my kasavu sari all crumbled
Along with your two yards of shiny kasavu mundu
The sweetness of these long waiting years
That finds its way into your limbs and mine.

We rest together after a sumptous onam feast
Amid smells of childhood and old boatsongs
That you sing in your sweet mellow voice,
To the snake-boats across the River Green.

When the spring is finally around for us both
We reign an ancient king and his demure queen.

World Music Day

The Borrowers

Have you ever wondered where all those safety-pins that you had brought have gone? The little things in your home that suddenly disappear all on a sudden and never reappear- a doll and its set of accessories, pins, match-boxes and stamps.

The Borrowers by Mary Norton gives a fantastic picture of what happens to these small items. They are borrowed by small people who are smaller than Tom Thumb or Thumbelina. They use these small items in their day-to-day life. A piece of blotting paper can carpet the entire floor of their home, a stamp can act as a wall-paper, a wad of cotton can be a stool for Arriety Pod, the heroine of the book.

Arriety Clock lives with her father Pod and mother Homily under the floorboards of the kitchen of a large house. Pod is "seen" by a human "bean" and the parents are troubled. To prevent emigration, they introduce Arriety to the concept of borrowing. Pod takes her with him and she meets a small boy who is on vacation from India. They become friends and she reads stories to him.

Strange fact is that there are class-divisions even among these small people. The Clocks are a respectable lot who live next to the clock and whose house has all middle-class luxuries though they are sad that they don't have anyone to appreciate or envy them. The boy lavishes gifts on them- more carpets, more tea-sets and furniture until somebody finds out the truth.

The story is interesting in that Mary Norton creates a world that is small and believable. It fills you with awe in a way no other book does because even a mile's walk is a long journey for a Borrower because of the small size. The humans have conquered many of these limitations through advances in science and technology; so it is a relief to feel that this world is unreal and only in books. Otherwise a lot of our basic beliefs would be destroyed if such a world exists for humans as well. No wonder, Mary Norton's The Borrowers won the Carnegie Medal for the best children's book in 1952.

Prayer on waking up

Karāgre vasate lakșmeeh,
Karamūle saraswatee;
Karamadhye tu govindah,
Prabhāte karadarśanam.

“On the tip of fingers is Goddess Lakshmi, on the base of the fingers is Goddess Saraswati, in the middle of the fingers is Lord Govinda.”

Remembering this, on waking up one should look at their palms first before doing anything else.

Prayer of Love

My soul listen unto me!

Love thy Lord as the lotus loves water

Buffeted by waves its affection does not falter.
Creatures that have their being in water,
Taken out of water, die.

My soul if you have no such love
How will you obtain release?
If the Word of the wise is within us
We shall accumulate a store of devotion.

My soul listen onto me!
Love Your Lord as a fish loves water.
The more the water, the greater the joy,
Greater the tranquility of its body and mind.
Without water it cannot live one watch of the day
Only God knows the anguish of its heart.

My soul listen onto me!
Love Your Lord as water loves milk.
It takes on the heat, boils and evaporates before the milk can suffer.
He alone unites, He alone separates
He alone bestows true greatness.

Without the wise, love cannot be born
The dross of the ego cannot be rinsed away.
He who recognizes God within
Understands the secret of the Word and is happy.
O soul! There is but one gate to the Lord's mansion
And there is no other sanctuary.

The Sacred Feminine

The female voice

Mother Energy

Gayatri Mantra

Stop being judgemental

There are lots of issues that come to the mind when you think about dowry deaths. Being a woman, you see it interconnected with social conventions and traditions.

Do we teach our girls to think for themselves? Do we teach our girls to stand up ourselves? Though some incidents of violence force us to think twice about these questions, when thinking about the alternatives we fall upon the same solutions that our culture, traditions and mythology offer us.

One of the common problems that girls face is being married off without their full consensus because their voices are not heard. You listen to this complaint constantly from young girls even in these times. But they have no option than to succumb to parental pressure and get married off once they reach a marriagable age. Unless, of course you have a love interest and you choose to marry the one you love with or without the consent of your parents, most girls get married because it is the social custom.

Then of course, you silence a woman through various means, their need for independence, make them sacrifice their careers and hurt them physically, mentally and emotionally through reinforcing the same patriarchal values. A woman who responds is isolated from the rest of the community if she protests.

What I feel is that we all need to teach our girls to think for themselves and stand up for their truth. But, what I see is when women respond on social media against dowry, they are trolled for not practising what they preach. I think that is too judgemental because lots of people give advice because they don't want others to suffer the way they have suffered in life. I think we need to appreciate candid posts from women on this issue.

That also means that a lot of women might generalise their personal experiences because they don't want to wash their dirty linen in public.

I remember how my grandmother used to say that women needs to forgive like the earth does. It was so infuriating especially when it came to winning an argument against your male sibling. Later, I remember how a friend advised me to remain quiet if your husband fights with you. Good advice, but do they practise what they say. I don't think so.

It is high time to leave all these old adages alone and start thinking of new ways to live, behave and survive in a new world.

#dowrydeaths

The Oath of the Vayuputras

World Fairy Day 2021

Garden of Eden

Let's hold hands and walk in the garden
Search around for the four-leafed clover, 
Walk around till we find the true mystique
Of a clover much-searched for and found.

One leaf for faith, hope, love and good luck,
Good luck, the most needed of them all,
From morning till night, we could pluck
And learn from the leaves of a four-leaf,

When the magic of the purple riot falls off life,
In a sunless garden where the flowers are dead,
A four-leaf clover might bring in a warm smile
Memories of bright sunshine and summer rain;

An Eve in the Garden of Eden plucked a clover
To know if Adam is her one true faithful lover.

Songs of the Supermoon

In the long years that we were in love,
You were the only sun of my universe 
I have rhymed, bled and given birth 
On the pure rhythms of your calendar.

Like the moon, I have had my full tides,
Where I have went ahead of everyone,
Conquered the world and been on high,
Loved you with the might of my limbs.

Like the moon, I have had my ebbs,
Where I have fallen behind so low,
So much that I couldn't smile or laugh,
Missed your limbs that coil round me.

We change with the tides of the moon,
Yet our love comes back in full circle. 

Yin and Yang

World Rainforest Day 2021

Kupala Night

The celebration of Kupala Night is a ritual from Slavic and Scandinavian traditions. It is a mysterious event in which young women weave wreaths and try to find out their future married lives by setting them afloat. Couples jump over bonfires trying to find out if they will be together for life. 

another remembrance day

Summer Solstice

Blessing for Summer Solstice

Summer Solstice falls tomorrow 21st June 2021. This is the longest day of the year and the return of brighter evenings. The term solstice derives from the Latin and solstiticium meant sun standing still. The sun seems to stand still at the horizon, where it appears to rise and set before moving off in the reverse direction. This time is celebrated across ancient cultures with sun dances and other rituals. It is considered a time for spiritual regeneration and for expressing gratitude for all the blessings in life.

#summersolstice2021
#sunmandala
#gratitude
#longestdayoftheyear

The Story of the Chinese Farmer

Once upon a time there was a Chinese farmer whose horse ran away. That evening, all of his neighbors came around to commiserate. They said, “We are so sorry to hear your horse has run away. This is most unfortunate.” The farmer said, “Maybe.” The next day the horse came back bringing seven wild horses with it, and in the evening everybody came back and said, “Oh, isn’t that lucky. What a great turn of events. You now have eight horses!” The farmer again said, “Maybe.”

The following day his son tried to break one of the horses, and while riding it, he was thrown and broke his leg. The neighbors then said, “Oh dear, that’s too bad,” and the farmer responded, “Maybe.” The next day the conscription officers came around to conscript people into the army, and they rejected his son because he had a broken leg. Again all the neighbors came around and said, “Isn’t that great!” Again, he said, “Maybe.”

The whole process of nature is an integrated process of immense complexity, and it’s really impossible to tell whether anything that happens in it is good or bad — because you never know what will be the consequence of the misfortune; or, you never know what will be the consequences of good fortune.

— Alan Watts