Joy, Beyond Words

              The First citizen of India is from a humble and rural background. That gives each and everyone of us loads and loads of confidence, courage, joy and what not.

              Yet, when someone, within our circle of acquaintances achieves something, it becomes a source of joy, beyond words. A woman, rather a girl to us, in her late twenties, from a family known to us for more than three generations has  become the branch manager of a bank and got a chance to serve the people in her own hometown. Getting an opportunity to serve in the hometown is not common in the banking sector.

               Women fly planes in the armed forces, drive heavy vehicles from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, hold high positions in judiciary and have ruled the country even before centuries. No domain can now be termed as male dominated, not served by women. They are scions of empowerment ! 

             Even decades back, women have held top positions in nationalised banks. As, said earlier, still...exuberance, excitement and double fold joy can not be ruled out on visiting the branch, managed by our girl and couldn't help saluting her. She not only made my day but the entire week !  

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.