Mother Robin of my courtyard.

It has been 13 or 14 years since I planted the Lychee tree in my courtyard. So far it did not bear any fruit. Recently a friend visited home said the tree is not Lychee it is lololikka (Sour cherry). Whatever it is, I am not disappointed for it not giving me any fruit. In fact I am very happy to see lot of birds perching, resting on this tree. This photo shows, my friend,a mother Robin resting on the tree on a lazy afternoon. Sitting in the Portico, and watching it idly, we communicate each other in subtle ways. My heart is filled with love and affection. Can a bunch of sour cherries or lychees give it? No, I don’t think so. I am not a ‘prayojanavaadi’. Sometimes we need to do things without expecting anything in return. 

By the way the bird is Oriental Magpie Robin. It is very interesting to watch it. A family is staying in our compound. We in KeraLa call it KalyaNi kuruvi, MaNNaaththikkiLi, MaNNaaththippuLLu etc. MaNNaaththi means washerwoman. Most washerwomen are dark because they stay in sun all the time. But they wash clothes well and when they come with bright white Dhothis there is color contrast. Perhaps this bird got that name because of that BW color contrast. This bird is a fantastic singer. It gets up early in the morning say about 4 ‘O’ clock and starts singing. Some times I used to wonder why? I watch through the window and see it just sitting on a tree or electric wire and simply sings. 

It is late-nighter also. It is there till 7:30PM flying and singing around. It becomes quite friendly. In BengaLi it is called Doyel. A very popular name. You know one thing... …It is BangLadEsh’s national bird ! 

Just saw Interstellar !

Had just seen Interstellar yesterday and now today heard the news of Rosetta Mission - landing on Comet...... Mind is out in space.  
Interstellar reinforces my faith in ancient Indian Wisdom and capacity. No wonder the Black hole is inadvertently discovered by an Indian. ...C.V.Raman, S.Chandrasekharan all names come to my mind. Thats all modern. 
But Our ancestors knew everything. They were experts on Gravity and Time. Bharadwaja's Vaimanika Sasthra was all on Science of Gravity. I have never seen Time calculation from Micro second to Mahakalpakaala, Paraanthakaala any where else. In any civilisation that exists or did exist on Earth.Thats true for distance as well. Even a Mokshakaala (people think they don't come back if attained Moksha - but it is not true) is computed. Everything very precisely. Calling our Ancestors, Avatars, Astrology, and all other sciences with connotations as Hindu- is belittling. It is Sanathana philosophy an endless journey.. .. And many texts still exists .. One life will not be enough to explore. An ocean should not be judged by looking at waves. I pray for those masters of the yore ..in silence.

Vellila - Silver leaves

"Amma karuthum makalu veluthum makalute makaloru sundarivesi "
is a riddle every Keralite knows. It is roughly translated as "Mother black, daughter white and daughter's daughter pretty dame" - and the answer is "Vellila" -  Velli leaf - Silver leaf ( or white leaf )..it is wild flowery plant found abundant in Kerala. It is normally found near ponds household bathing tanks and it's leaves are used as shampoo by ladies. Is the daughter's daughter that pretty orange red flower not easily visible in the bush?. I don't know. Perhaps nature has tricked the butterflies with white leaves because its flower is too small ! :)

Touch me not Flower

"Touch me not" or whatever you call is a common thorny wild bush flower in India. In my home state Kerala it is quite common. Here we call "thottavadi" means "fades when touched" . In other parts of India people call it Lajjaalu, lajvanti, lajjavathi etc. Sanskrit word for it is Lajjavathi meaning "shy dame".
We use it's leaves as medicine. I remember in my childhood in the village when we get injured while playing this was the immediate medicine we used. It has beautiful flowers. But no body cares. In my childhood days I used to wonder why people are not taking it for Onam festival flower arrangements. I had penned a small poem in Malayalam depicting that pain of neglect which thottavadi suffered.

Yam Flower !

It was only recently I noticed this Yam flower. I don't remember having seen the flower which was a common site in our native village garden. All my relatives say that they have seen it and tasted it. Recently we got one in our backyard. I ran to see when my wife said .."hey..we got a chenappoo..!"

The Elephant foot yam is called "Chena" in Malyalam and "poo" of course is for flower.. I went and inspected the flower..it was a funny thing ..like ..you know ..:).. "shape can't be defined " thing !! Botanical guys may be able to show each part what is what ..I have no idea.. I like the silky maroon violet outer skin..

But the most interesting thing is my wife made a beautiful Masala curry out of it. It was indeed fingerlicking good and after having it I said let all poo..s become chenappooos.. !! :)

Butterflies in Embrace !

They have been there for long time. I could n't resist from grabbing my camera. Lost in love embracing each other they just sat on my Lychee tree forgetting the world.

I wondered who is male ? May be the black spotted one is. It is more beautiful when it spreads its wings so it could be the male. In animals and birds male is more beautiful. Perhaps in human beings too.. who knows.. With beard and hairy body the nature has decorated the male. Umm.. we cover our beauty and think ladies are more beautiful.. what a contrast !

A plant with semen smelling flower ! :)

Around this time - from October to December a creeper plant in our place blossoms and it smells like semen. But people are just put up with it and don't openly discuss about it. I have been searching for this plant for quite sometime. This time I caught it. It was right on top of our Temple peepal tree. It is a creeper plant going heights till the top .. So the smell spreads a kilometer away!. Yet I don't know local name or Botanical name. If I find I will update this.If any of you know please put it as a comment.

While searching over the net I saw many plants have this sort of smell. Somebody wrote that Bradford pears have this smell when in bloom. No idea about that. There was no picture of any plant so I thought it would help if I put it up. Surprisingly its flowers looked like sperm ! :)

Menstruating Jack fruit tree

Menstruating Jack Fruit tree !

A red liquid oozes out from this funny shaped cavity.

I had seen this phenomenon on some jack fruit trees before but this happened just in my backyard and I could not stop taking a pic. Surprisingly after taking the photo in just a couple of days this 'pullichembu' ( I don't know English or botanical name) plant grew just in front of it - as if to hide the scene !

I don't know why it is happening. May be it is a decease or a natural phenomenon. May be a botanist can shed some light.

Can the jack fruit tree a female?. No idea. So far it has not given fruits. We used to scold it for that.

Mashithandu - a small plant of Kerala with potential of a poem

Mashithandu

Mashithandu or Vellathandu (literal meaning water stem) is a small plant which arouses lot of nostalgia among Malayalees.

This small plant's stem is full of water. In Malabar we call it Vellathandu ( which is more appropriate I think) but in southern kerala they call Mashi thandu ( which means ink stem - Mashi means ink) . But in literature of Kerala Mashithandu is popularly used.

In olden days when slate was used in schools this was used to rub out the writing. Young boys and girls used to exchange the mashithandu and become friends ! The stem cut into small pieces is saved in small pencil boxes.

There is yet another use - a small stem piece is taken and the water is emptied from half portion of the stem and air is blown into it. That portion then expands like balloon. Then that balloon is hit on the forehead and explodes with a sound. Children enjoy it. !

Mashithandu grows anywhere where water is abundant. As it is a weed plant I find it a nuisance in my lawn. But every time I pluck one I smile and think of my childhood. How amazing ! this small plant can make your heart soft and weak and can bring tears into your eyes!

Through the tears I see a small hand with bangles that lends me her mashithandu!.

A tiny tot

I saw this tiny tot in a friends house and it was love at first sight.

A Sunset - Yellow Evening !

An Yellow sunset evening scene from my Verandah.

It is a time when you think ..oh ! could have been on the beach with a camera.

Often you are so tied up so many things that you miss the beautiful sunsets.

What good is our life without seeing enough sunset or sunrise !

In my childhood I remember having seen beautiful green sunrise from a hill top near my native place. Now that hill is no more ... it is now swallowed up by houses.. probably there the sun never shows up that way too.

World's largest Pookkalam ( flower arrangment)

This largest 'Ona ppookkaLam' ( Flower arrangement for Onam festival in Kerala) laid in my hometown Calicut City entered into Guinness book of records during the last Onam celebrations in Aug.2010.

Channa Koova(Ana koova) crepe ginger - A wild flower

It is a wild flower normally found after the monsoon season in Kerala.
It is a beauty in ballerina's dress code. Its white petal is smoother than silk.
I don't know the exact name. In my native place, in Malabar, people call it Channa Koova. It is a typical 'Koova' - a medicinal plat . I have n't heard anybody uses this thing. Normal koovas don't flower like this. The roots of Koova plant are used as medicine. It looks like turmeric plant. Turmeric is also a Koova family memeber, if I am not mistaken.

After posting this in June 2011 - in Oct.2011 I got a comment !

Meanwhile I also found out some new info. about this plant - it is called Crepe Ginger and it is edible. It is widespread in many countries and has varieties. Because elephants like this in Kerala it is also known as Ana ( Elephant) koova.

Anyway this 'Channa Koova' has a special place ( :) ) in the Mallu world..it is a Malayalam Spoonerist's delight !!

Trichur - Pooram procession decorations

Trichur pooram decorations known as poorachchamayam is a feast for eyes. These decorative items displayed gets adorned on elephants taken on processions. Trichur Pooram is one of Kerala's best known temple festivals. It is conducted in month of May every year.

Silhoutte-d Grass

The morning glory played a shadow-play on my wall..

and I meditated upon the silhouette-d grass..

Dancing of Poothams

Dancing of 'Poothams' - a water color painting by Sree

(Inspired by a local festival )

When the moon came very closer..

This snap was taken from Calicut on 30 January 2010 .. Moon was closest to earth on that day..

Butterflies are pretty things !

This is a photograph I took recently- of a butterfly in flight.

When I look into this I remember a poem of Kumaran Asan ( great Malayalam Poet of yesteryear)

Eee valliyil ninnu chemme...

pookkal pokunnitha parannamme ..

Roughly translated ..

Look Mom, flowers have taken to flight slowly,

from our beautiful garden, is n't it lovely ?

You understood... this poem is a dialogue between mother and child.

Perhaps this was a poem written for Children..may be for that reason..and this was taught in schools..

I also learned it in class II or III when I was in our Village Primary School. Way back...

During those days it was a normal practice to enact some poem or skit that is to be learned as a lesson.

This poem was also enacted. I learned the poem easily and could recite without mistakes..So I became the child in this enactment and the mother was an older girl from a higher class. My friends started teasing me because she was 'the lady' in the school ..and we all pretended to be eligible bachelors then !

So when the teacher asked me to sit in her lap I was a bit reluctant and I sat in an awkward position. She had to hold me tight. As if, if she did not, I will run away. So sitting in that position and singing this harmless poem will not match at all. What then happened is .. I was in the corner of room and looking at the wall singing the last lines. The enactment was not only a total failure but an opposite action of the meaning of the lines. Every one wondered who in the world proposed these two persons as mother and son.

After sooo.. many years...

Recently I happened to see that 'affectionate Mother'- all silver hair - round spectacles..a thin frail figure. She must be around 60. She looked at me held my hand and after some enquiries she looked into my eyes .. and there was a complete silence. Suddenly we both burst into laughter.. we laughed and laughed ..until our eyes got wet.

In between the laughs she said she recently saw the Emperor Ashoka.. I remembered she had acted as Ashoka's queen.. We both again burst into laughter thinking about the current status of that Emperor! We laughed and laughed and laughed..

until we met with a staring look of a bald - bespectacled man - that was her husband.!

Time flies .. but not slowly like this butterfly.

Mushrooms in my Garden !

Is it n't amazing ?
Ever since I placed this mushroom in my garden so many real mushrooms have sprung up.
It seems nature needs stimulation to emulate! After all nature is also like us.
It copies. It cheats. It surprises. It enthralls us.
I remeber having seen Pappayas in the form birds. Have n't you seen mountains in animal forms? Talking of clouds.... it is endless...

Ayyappan Vilakku Mandir !

This posting I prepared in last December some how I missed to post.

This photograph is of the Ayyappan Vilakku temple.

The temples are miniature replicas Shabari Mala temple made of 'Trunk of Banana tree' and tender co-conut leaves. Nothing else. It is a marvelous piece indeed. Look at the PathinettamPadi ( Eighteen steps that leads to Sanctum sanctorum. ) How beautiful they do this.. After several years I had an opportunity to see an Ayyappan Vilakku at my native place and I understood it has developed leaps and bounds! The photograph is from that.

Now read on..

Ayyappan Vilakku is a small ritual or festival conducted during the Mandala Kaalam ( 41 days in November-December of every year ). It is related to diety ( Lord Ayyappan) in Shabari Mala. The ceremony or vilakku ( literally Vilakku means Lamp) is celebrated in different proportions. Meaning there are Full Vilakku - which goes on to 2 days to ¼ Vilakku which end in half a day. These Vilakks are popular in Malabar. Wherever people from Malabar ( northern Keralites) reside they try to celebrate this Vilakku there So you may see a Vilakku in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore etc. – This is funny because Ayyappa temple is in south of Kerala and you do not see anything like this there. The reason may be that in olden days it was not possible for every one from Malabar to go ShabariMala. So they must have celebrated in their own way. The artists - all come from Palghat district. That is also strange.

The ceremony includes creation of three temple replica ( Main temple , Bhagavathy temple and Vavar temple ( a Mosque – Vavar considered to be brother Ayyappa and is a Muslim! Son of Lord Shiva !!!) North Indians would laugh at this concoction of mythology and history. However generally secular Hindus of Kerala do not have any qualm in going around a Mosque or putting some money in a Mosque!. Sarvam Khalidam Bhrahmam! ( Everything is HIM !)

Coming back to Vilakku.. There are 3 dancers ( Oracles) for the ceremony – Ayyappa himself in Black Shawl ( Uttareeyam) attire, Bhagavathy in Red and Vavar of course in Green Shawl (or sometimes white). Several drummers!.The steps are very unique and each hold a sword of different kind that suits the character. The swift movement of sword along with the drum beat and Thiri uzhichil ( typical dance with a fire torch to torture the body) are worth seeing. Late night there will be song with Thudikottu (typical shiva drum ( thudi ) is used for this ). And the songs are about the Ayyappa’s history – but these songs are also knows as Poli ppaattu – ( Poli here means donation and Pattu means song - so it is Donation song ! )

Polippattu is really funny as it is instantly crafted by the singer. They look at the person who donates and create a line that is suitable for him or her. It is a continuous process intermingled with the song of the history.. They never stop singing .. So people are very attentive because they want to hear what the singer makes out about a person. Suppose a person with slight cock-eye donates – then they will sing that “ even if your eye is a little bit bend on one side God will bless you if you donate !” The joke is that some people will think that they are perfect and have no visible deformity or characteristic to note But the singer identifies his specialty and will sing to the much amazement of public and the person himself. For example if he is a youth the Singer would have already noticed him looking at a girl or two. So the song will be about that ‘Manokaamana’ ( whats in his mind ) may come true with the blessing of God provided he donates ! The program ends with fireworks! Because it is in Kerala and If you can add as many elephants for this that much grand it can be! J