Light and Darkness...

Friday, July 25, 2008

I'm in Kerala for my annual holidays and I'm experiencing power cuts again.

Power cuts are like siblings to me. After all I grew up with them!

They are really not so bad. In fact, they are much better than the other power failures. Those are like unwanted guests that come at the least convenient moment and you never know how long they'll stay.

Imagine having come to the crucial part in your cooking, where you need to just grind and add that stuff and pop! goes the power! Or you are about to send an urgent mail and off goes the internet connection. You are watching the most interesting part in a movie and there it goes...only to be back the moment the movie is over! So I really cannot think of anything kind to say about those...but these planned 30 minute power cuts are different...

I have very pleasant memories of power cuts during my school days. It used to be a bonding time for the family. Thirty minutes every evening of keeping all your duties aside and just relaxing. We used to sit in the balcony and listen to all those sounds you never heard when there was power. Sounds of crickets and other insects, sound of the rain water falling on the roof, or dripping from the sunshade. My father and I used to play antakshari and word games or I used to describe the pranks the boys played in class that day or we both used to find some reason to pull my mother's legs.

Now, I'm staying with my mother in her apartment. I find that power cut has become a time for socializing here. The ladies from the apartments come out and sit on the stairs talking and laughing. The children have fun playing. Today, we had the kids give music and dance performances. Its fun time and the kids have started looking forward to those 30 minutes.

I must be getting soft in the head... I almost love power cuts now...It must be age!

Quite at Home!!!

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

A friend of mine made a profound statement yesterday. He said, “You seem to have all the comforts of Kerala out there in the Gulf and none of the crap”! Guess he was able to appreciate it living in Taiwan!

Anyway, it got me thinking and I guess he’s quite right. I have probably been blinded by the atrocious rents and the traffic blocks here…

Where else do you have the Lulu hyper market with every single one of the Kerala vegetables displayed beautifully? And get frozen version of the off-season vegetables. I got frozen ‘koorkka’ the last time I visited. Just open and fry…no washing, peeling or cooking…yummm….

Where else do you get plantain leaves for Onam and konna poo for Vishu?

And betel leaves and areca nut for joining a new music or dance class…

Where else can you shop in Malayalam and sometimes even conduct business meetings in Malayalam….

And listen to Mallu FM channels….

And get mota set (Mallu red rice and fish curry) in every nook and corner…

And watch the latest Mallu movie in the theatre…

And order food and grocery in Malayalam…

And get free Mallu movie on cable TV every week…

And have Malayalam taught in schools…

And have handsome Mallu doctors and comfortable Mallu sisters take care of you when you fall ill…

Most of these things I couldn’t get even in neighbouring Chennai for the 8 years I stayed there…

And all this without being bothered by hartals and bandhs every other day…without the dirty comments and looks (and worse) every time you step out…without worrying about getting home before it is dark…without getting frustrated with the absolute lack of progress around you…without mosquitoes buzzing around you carrying deadly virus…without power cuts and load shedding…without water shortage…without roads full of pot holes…without racing private buses…without breaking your head worrying how to save tax by investing the money you don’t have…

In spite of all this, if you still end up missing the monsoons, the greenery and the relatives, just book a ticket on a budget airline and be home in 4 hours…or get a month’s paid holiday every year with the airfare paid by the company…

No wonder so many people get permanent residence visas to Canada and Australia, and stay on here. I used to have this elitist contempt for the ‘Gulf Malayalee’ till I became one myself…

So have I inspired anyone to search for a job in the UAE and come over? I COULD do with some good friends here!!! :(

Happy New Year!!! :-)

Monday, April 14, 2008

I sincerely believe that posts in blogs should have some message for the people who read it. But if I want to keep updating the blog, I guess I have to just forget this feeling. I don't know when I'd be able to write something that conveys a meaningful message to people. So let me keep it a diary or a place to put down anything I like and then hope that anybody who comes across just likes it.

Today is Vishu (astronomical New year for the people of Kerala, India) and after several years, I prepared a Vishu 'Kani' (offering) at home. Vishu 'kani' is an offering which is a ritual arrangement of auspicious articles like rice, vegetables, yellow flowers, fresh linen, gold, metal mirror etc. The concept is that if you view this offering first thing in the morning on a New year day, you stay prosperous and happy throughout the year.

Yesterday, I was feeling quite guilty preparing the 'kani' because I did not have most of the mandatory items required for it. I decided to go ahead with it because a friend told me that it is the spirit that counts. And I was better off than her, because, staying in Belgium, she was planning to arrange a 'vishukkani' with candles (instead of the traditional lamp) and silk sari (instead of the traditional white linen of the Keralites) and with most of the other things missing. In the back of my mind, I still believe that if something is done, it should be done right. But I guess my daughter's thrill at being woken up and taken blindfolded to view the 'Kani' first thing in the morning kind of made it all quite worthwhile! In fact, when I explained it to her yesterday, she made me practice it with her several times!!! :)

I still remember Vishu when I was a child. 'Kani' was a big suspense because my mother used to prepare it only after I went to sleep. In the morning, opening my eyes, feeling the warmth of the lamps, and seeing the splendour of the 'kani' used to be quite a wonderful feeling. And then, all the money the elders used to give, the crackers and the sumptuous lunch in the afternoon...on the whole, Vishu was lot of fun. Only problem was that I had to get up early in the morning, and that too during the summer holidays. And my father used to insist that we have to burst crackers also before sunrise...while I would have been happy to go right back to sleep after seeing the 'kani' !!!!

Well, anyway, Happy New Year to people celebrating Vishu today! How crazy is it that we celebrate New Year thrice every year - once in January with the rest of the world, once for Vishu and once sometime in August or September which is actually the first day of the year according to the Malayalam calendar!!! :))))