I am back after a month-long hiatus! Feels good taking that time off, while it also feels like I have not achieved anything in the past month. But anyway, this month gave me a lot to think about, especially being the Thamizh month of Margazhi (Between the 15th of December and the 14th of January). A lot to miss about too! It is that wonderful time of the year that, if you are a fan of the Vaishnavite literature, will make you feel so nostalgic, evoke memories of early morning Thiruppaavai (a collection of 30 songs by Thamizh poetess Aandaal) and the proceeding prasadam at the nearby Vishnu temple too! If you are a fan of classical music, dance, or theatre, it will bring back memories of the music season in the sabhas where you can see anybody from the novice to the best artistes perform everyday. If you don't like the heat or the rain, it is that time of the year when you experience a pleasant weather for the most part. And finally, if you are none of these, it is still a good time of the year because as a student this was the time you had a month-long vacation!
Margazhi means a lot to me, being a fan of Aandaal (Kodha devi) and her Thiruppaavai. Her poetry is filled with her love not just for Vishnu, but also for the language, for her community, for sharing, and for the richness of the culture. You can be an atheist and still love her writing. Allow me to illustrate. Her "koodaarai vellum" verse is a fine example to choose. In this verse Kodhai says that when a morsel of paal soru (pongal) is taken in hand, it will be so rich that the ghee in it will flow along the forearm and to the elbow. But such indulgence is not done alone, but with the community which is when it is the most joyous.
Each verse of the Thiruppaavai is dedicated to each day of Margazhi. At the end of the month, Aandaal is taken in a procession and is given in marriage to Vishnu. Although, I am agnostic most of the time, I cannot help but feel touched by the marriage of a human who devoted herself so much that she finally became one with the almighty. But besides all that, one is filled with wonder when reading her verses and remembering that she wrote a 143 of them before she disappeared. She was about 12 years old then. Her writings meant so much that they became a part of the Divya Prabandham, the 4000 verses for Vishnu, one of the richest Vaishnavite literature pieces. You dont have to believe in god. You don't even have to believe the story of Aandaal. But you just cant ignore those 143 verses filled with love, metaphors, imagination, and superior language (and by love, I don't mean the feminine kind of romantic love, but a divine one).
The month of Margazhi in the part of India where I come from, is a month of celebration of arts and culture. Every house front is adorned in the morning with big kolams (rangolis) that almost fill up the street, some with colors and some without, some with flowers and some with grains, but all beautiful. The evenings are filled with cultural programmes throughout the city. Those that are rare presentations, performed by artistes from literally all over the world. Yes, it is a month where usually no new businesses are started, houses built, or weddings arranged, for it is not considered auspicious. But yet, it is the most wonderful season there can be. Filled with literature and culture, it is clearly the month I miss the most.
Currently living in a western country, we usually end up taking vacations with friends, either visiting them or having them visit us which is a wonderful tradition. And yet, you cannot compare the joy of beholding the Margazhi Utsavam to skiing or laying down on the beach, or the beautiful mornings filled with Thiruppaavai to staying up for the New Year's countdown!
Margazhi means a lot to me, being a fan of Aandaal (Kodha devi) and her Thiruppaavai. Her poetry is filled with her love not just for Vishnu, but also for the language, for her community, for sharing, and for the richness of the culture. You can be an atheist and still love her writing. Allow me to illustrate. Her "koodaarai vellum" verse is a fine example to choose. In this verse Kodhai says that when a morsel of paal soru (pongal) is taken in hand, it will be so rich that the ghee in it will flow along the forearm and to the elbow. But such indulgence is not done alone, but with the community which is when it is the most joyous.
Each verse of the Thiruppaavai is dedicated to each day of Margazhi. At the end of the month, Aandaal is taken in a procession and is given in marriage to Vishnu. Although, I am agnostic most of the time, I cannot help but feel touched by the marriage of a human who devoted herself so much that she finally became one with the almighty. But besides all that, one is filled with wonder when reading her verses and remembering that she wrote a 143 of them before she disappeared. She was about 12 years old then. Her writings meant so much that they became a part of the Divya Prabandham, the 4000 verses for Vishnu, one of the richest Vaishnavite literature pieces. You dont have to believe in god. You don't even have to believe the story of Aandaal. But you just cant ignore those 143 verses filled with love, metaphors, imagination, and superior language (and by love, I don't mean the feminine kind of romantic love, but a divine one).
The month of Margazhi in the part of India where I come from, is a month of celebration of arts and culture. Every house front is adorned in the morning with big kolams (rangolis) that almost fill up the street, some with colors and some without, some with flowers and some with grains, but all beautiful. The evenings are filled with cultural programmes throughout the city. Those that are rare presentations, performed by artistes from literally all over the world. Yes, it is a month where usually no new businesses are started, houses built, or weddings arranged, for it is not considered auspicious. But yet, it is the most wonderful season there can be. Filled with literature and culture, it is clearly the month I miss the most.
Currently living in a western country, we usually end up taking vacations with friends, either visiting them or having them visit us which is a wonderful tradition. And yet, you cannot compare the joy of beholding the Margazhi Utsavam to skiing or laying down on the beach, or the beautiful mornings filled with Thiruppaavai to staying up for the New Year's countdown!
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