My Boy, My Joy

           My Boy came to our house on the day of the Panguni Pongal, the main highlight of the Mariamman Festival held last week in our town. My last post  depicts that  Utsavam  and the related events .Can there be any festival globally without  vendors, selling colourful articles for household, the kids and also for the adults. Giving and getting thiruvizha kasu, irrespective of the age is a part of such festivals. Petty cash was distributed during the Arupathu Moovar Thiruvizha at Mylapore as long as my mom was alive.

          This Tom Cat, just for fifty rupees was so attractive and tempting, when we went around the temple late at night, enjoying the Pongal cooked in pots using firewood and the bustling crowd. There can be no festival sans the crowd. This balloon cat, with a big smiling yellow face, wearing a bright blue attire and a big tummy seemed to beckon us to be taken home. It may be thought as weird to buy a balloon at such an age and only passionate people like my mom, who finds a big joy in small things can understand this.

          My Boy can be a source of joy, if smileys are stress busters. Seated, rather standing on a table in the  front room of our ancestral house in our hometown, he seems to smile and greet us as we pass by him, luring my spouse also to be a big fan of him. He often refers to him as, Payyan jammun irukkane.

        

End of the two Lulls

                                    Blessed we are to be present in our hometown for the Great  Mariamman and the Kaliamman Festival, celebrated after a lull for two years since the outbreak of the pandemic. With that, a lull in the updating of posts in my blogs also comes to an end. A big thanks to all the Gods and Goddesses for slowly restoring normalcy globally and subsequently enabling the people to earn their livelihood.

                               The great fervour, passion, pride and the involvement with which the local festivals are celebrated almost in all the parts of our country is one of the great attributes of our unique culture. So also is the Annual Mariamman and Kaliamman Panguni Thiruvizha celebrated for ten days in our town. Year by year, the magnitude of the festival increases qualitatively and quantitatively with people, converging from places far and wide.

                     Long back, it was only a local festival for ten days with the men, women and children from the near by villages, thronging the temple. It is no more such a scenario. Today it is a festival of the  confluence of the people, who had migrated nation wide and even world wide in search of greener pastures.

                 Such is the power, the divinity, the grace and the compassion of the Mothers, The Mariamman and The Kaliamman. Doubly blessed  that our residence is located in the Mada Veedhi of the temple to be honoured by the aesthetically decorated Urchavar Ambal on all days and the well grown lush green Mulaiparis, beautifully designed Uruvams and the brightly lighted Mavilakkus on the day of the Pongal.

           We are confident that such divine powers are sure to guard and save our town, state, country and the world at large. 

Belated Welcome 2021

                        A belated but a sincere and joyous welcome to 2021. Let's bid good bye to 2020 with the lessons learned and the experiences gained from the pandemic, rather than blaming the year. After all, what can the calendar and days do against the fury and power of Nature. The magnitude of the loss of lives, economy, the sufferings, pain and agony, world wide is beyond our control and description. yet there is always light at the end of tunnel.

                       Let's begin the New Year, as usual with a sense of hope and optimism, always nurturing love, care, gratitude and acceptance.

          

Salute the Five

                Amazing and wonderful to know, how Ulaganthar of Ulaganeeghi had honoured and immortalized the five great professionais, whose fees or Dakshinai should never be withheld;  they should be paid, that too with a smiling face; failing which such people must be ready to face the wrath of Yama, the God of Death. What a kind of righteous man was this Ulaganathan who lived a century and half back.Anxious to know the great five professionals! 

                Dhobi  and Barber are the priveleged to top the list, followed by the Teacher, Midwife and the Doctor. These five heroes, definitely must have discharged their duties sincerely without a materialistic bent of mind. Hence it has been advocated that they must be paid whole heartedly.

                 What a type of society had existed with the professionals discharging their duties with fervour and devotion, that an entire stanza has been earmarked, mentioning their selfless services; they deserve to be offered their dues with a cheerful visage. If not 
Yama will take care.

                 Sounds like Utopia....Platonic ! Such uprighteous men do continue to exist in all fields, may be less in number. A hike in their numbers is sure to make, if not the world, our state into a Utopia. Anyway a big congrats to the Fabulous Five! Let us salute them; before that the great Tamil writer, Ulaganthar of the Ulaganethi fame! We bow down before you Ayya for such a valuable work.

To Tamil with Love

         

          The affinity for our Mother Language is nothing but natural, so has been my  passion to attempt some write ups, about travels and the persons  whom I adore.Even a few poems, of course not worthy to fit into the genre; yet the simple joy in venturing is fascinating.

         Now it is a million dollar question as how, all of a sudden developed my intimacy, right phrase to use, with the poems of Virtues in our language, especially the Eladhi, Naladiar, Moodurai, Thirukural, Aathisudi, Kondraivendhan, Purananuru, Ulaganeedhi and so on.

        The Ulaganeedhi of Ulaganthar of the Eighteenth century, beginning with Odhamal Orunalum Irukka Vendam, is simply amazing, sounding rhythmic and musical. It may seem funny and even weird!  Enamoured by its beauty and the universal ethical values of its content in single lines of what not to be done, started memorizing it. The confidence and energy levels seem to have been boosted, discovering the ability to memorise texts at this age of early sixties. Yet forgetfulness in simple tasks on a daily basis is an irony! May be they are too mundane to  gain the attention and focus! They may be sharpened with this latest skill.

      What a Devine Language is our Tamil and indeed, we are a blessed race ! 

Special 2020

        The New 2020 is going to dawn in a few hours for us this time at Coimbatore, place of our domicile. We were out of the city for a couple of years.

       2019 has to be termed as an endearing one, to be looked upon with a sense of gratitude, not because it was very joyous and exciting; but that some tough decisions could be taken for the good, not willing to leave things to probability and chance with a sense of uncertainty hovering over the head. Really blessed with a firm mind and determination, God has always been with us to face the toughest challenges with acceptance and courage.

       We welcome the New Year with a big smile and a sense of optimism to turn our adversities just into experiences to learn from. God is always ready to heed to our just and sincere yearnings and sure to make it something special, apart from making it healthy and peaceful. New Year is certain to bring new arrivals in the family with His Blessings. 

                           Welcome 2020 



       

Thamirabharani Pushkaram

                The Thamirabharani Pushkaram may be an astrological event at the outset; to me it was an occasion to take a trip, down to to my hometown and also down the memory lane. Tirunelveli is my hometown but my parents left for Chennai for the good some forty years back.Coimbatore has been our home for the past three decades whose salient features are listless, very lovely and charming.Yet Tirunelveli, is also close to my heart; its people are known for their education, valour, hard work, loyalty and so many other attributes.

              Most of the times, my visit to Tirunelveli may be for some auspicious occasions like marriages, house warming ceremonies, religious festivals etc.This visit is something very special and memorable as I got the opportunity to fulfill my long pending desire of taking bath in the river on whose banks at Sindupoondurai, I was  born, brought up and moulded. 

            Many a times, I used to wonder, why we people, including myself eulogize a lot about the tourist destinations abroad, when our own country has plenty to offer, both for pleasure and pilgrimages. Many well known temples around my hometown are yet to be discovered. Two such places are the Narambunatha Swamy temple at Tirupudaimaruhar and the Gajendravaradha Perumal temple at Athazhanallur. Both the temples are little close by and at a distance of about nearly 30 kilometres from Tirunelveli, easily accessible by good motorable roads.

              Both these temples, the former, a Saivite temple and the latter, a Vaishnavite temples are built on the banks of the divine Thamirabharani.The Gajendra Varadha Perumal in the standing posture at Athazhanallur is very majestic.According to the legend, it is believed that only in this spot, the elephant, Gajendran got liberation, Mukthi from the crocodile.

            Actually it was a momentary decision taken by us due to a sincere and fond invitation by one of my cousins.Profound thanks to her. Our visit to the Pushkaram coincided with the grand Dasara celebrations on the following day of Vijaya Dasami  at Palayamkottai turned the momentary decision to  a life long joy to be cherished for ever.