Indian Wedding

Yesterday I went to Palakkad to attend a marriage of my good friend (who was my Violin classmate in Delhi under our Guruji Sri Durga Prasad). Palakkad can be said as a gateway to the western ghats from Tamil Nadu. This was the first time I attended a Keralian wedding. It was a pleasant gloomy day with cool breeze. I straightaway went to the marriage hall and fresh'd up. The Muhurtham was between 10:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. By the time I got ready it was 9 a.m. I was thinking how to pass the time till Muhurtham because I went alone and didn't know anyone there. To not to look as an odd person in the hall I chose not to put my headsets but observe. Thanks to Arun, who was from Cochin, who kept me engaged for a while with him.

In few words I will say that this marriage was well organised. The stage was well-decorated and set for the nuptials. Lots of people - Oldies; chit-chats, nalam-visaaripps; recently wedded people introducing their wife's to their relatives (on the day of marriage thousands turn up hence the married people do not remember all the relatives/friends who come for the marriage); few couples carry their just born's to their relatives for their blessings- people cheer up the groovy yawn of the just born and do a drishiti; kids playing and roaming around with their cousins, some of them are new friends; [in my opinion] the hot property of this marriage was the bride's brother - he was, in a typical fashion, clean shaven in glittering long red silk kurtha and Mundu dhoti running on his toes, looking after everyone and coordinating the events and the people; parents with lots of smiles for their ward's marriage and a great sense of satisfaction in their eyes that their ward is gonna be in safe hands and warm family - a sign of successful positive upbringing; relatives flaunting their silk sarees and accessories (artwork blouses, necklaces, pendants, bangles) bought with great care; obviously girls and boys; inevitable gossips; some oral marriage suggestions (there is a saying many marriage engagements happen in marriages); some grannies carried their sleeping grand children in their shoulders; and with a background music of mangala Naadhaswaram-Thavil-Jalra (one purpose of this music is to cut down the evil things especially gossips and rumors). 

Now it was 10:30 a.m, the groom arrived and was staged. Around 10:45 a.m the bride arrived. Both of them, carrying million hopes dreams (wish each comes true) in their heart and best dressed, exchanged  garlands and the marriage happened with the blessings of parents, elders, relatives and friends. Parents and relatives congratulate each other. Now its time to receive blessings from the elders individually. People throng the stage to bless the just weds', to gift and to pose in group with entire family for photographs. The group photo of the immediate families of the nuptials will be framed and finally decorate the walls. And another important aspect of the weddings is the grand lunch. One side of the leaf had 15 side dishes which include two paayasams, porriyals, paruppu, two pickles - sweet and spicy, chips, applams, kootu etc. Other side of the leaf had rice, sambar, rasam and pappad. At the end they provided a delicious paaysam Adapradhaman.

I can safely say, one place where most people keep smiling would be marriages. It is really nice to be part of such well "organised" marriages. I am glad to have been part of this marriage. Aparna Anupkumar (formerly Aparna Menon): you thanked me for coming for the marriage but the pleasure was mine. Hence I thank you and your family for inviting me to witness the occasion. 

P.S: It is not that I attended a marriage after a long time or for the first time that led to write a post about it. This time, I was almost lonely and had a good amount of time to observe and cherish, but not the first time. It would go on to be one of the memorable weddings, perhaps due to the timing of it. Few dreams does not come true but it is great to be part of similar such dreams of others. :-)

P.S: Recently I read that "We marry not the individual but the families too" - Courtesy Chinmayee

P.S: Next post would be on Nelliyampathy (coming soon)

Glossary
Muhurtham - auspicious time for marriage
kurtha - shirt like
nalam-visaaripps - abouts and whereabouts
drishiti - safeguarding and throwing away all the jealous of the people that are surrounding the kid
Mundu dhoti - White Dhoti with Jariga/silk-thread borders
mangala - auspicious
paaysam - a dessert 
Adapradhaman -  ada and jaggery in highly condensed milk

--

கிழமைப்பட வாழ்.

Meaning - Helps others and live

Again at Athirappilly Falls on my birthday

I celebrated my 28th birthday (on 9th June), rather in an unusual way, as a nomad travelling around Kerala. First I went to Guruvayoor to seek the blessings of Lord Guruvaayoorappan (Krishna) and Mammiyoor's Lord Mahadevan (Siva) and Thriprayaar's Lord Ramanamaswamy. Then I went to Athirappilly falls. 

Athirappilly falls is one of my favorite destinations. This visit, my third, to Athirappilly falls was simply rejuvenating. This time, the timing was perfect, monsoon has just started and the water in the falls was adequate. My previous visits to Athirappilly happened in peak monsoon, hence I could not view the falls from the bottom. But this time I could view the falls from the bottom. And luckily the clouds were gracing the spot beautifully. The view was spectacular. The rocky landscape mountain plus the river were simply majestic. Whatever may be the lack of words, Athirappilly falls is truly spectacular.  A must visit kind. 

I would recommend everyone to visit Athirappilly in the first week of June (onset of Monsoon). If it is on a weekend you might feel bit crowded. If you are going with your fiance/spouse alone you will "feel" a lot more than me :-) 

In short, my 29th year started beautifully. 

Kerala Trip - Day5 [Munnar - Eravikulam National Park, Mattupetty Dam]

We spent Day5 at Munnar. We covered the Mattupetty Dam, few view spots, and the Eravikulam National Park. The best things about Munnar are majestic view points, landscapes, tea gardens. No words to describe. Do go there and realize it.

Eravikulam National Park

This park is special for two things first Nilgiri Thar and second Neelakurinji flowers.

Nilgiri Thar are stocky goats with short, coarse fur and a bristly mane. It is the state animal of Tamil Nadu. It is mostly found at Eravikulam National Park and at Annamalai. 

Neelakurinji (Strobilanthes kunthiana) (Tamil: நீலக்குறிஞ்சி),  is a shrub that used to grow abundantly in the shola grasslands of the Western Ghats in South India above 1800 metres. The Nilgiri Hills, which literally means the blue mountains, got their name from the purplish blue flowers of Neelakurinji that blossoms gregariously only once in 12 years. Next Neelakurinji's blossoming season is at Sep-Nov 2018. I have already marked it in my google calender :-p