Onam

Onam bring in a lot of memories, the floral carpet competition, the song competition, at school.

In school we used to have the floral carpet competition and it used to be between the respective houses. It was a grand affair during those days a lot of things had to be planned and decided like the design, the amount of flower that need to purchased, for the floral carpet. There used to be an allotted time period within which the floral carpet had to be made and only a specific number of people were allowed to be there in the auditorium when the floral carpet was being made. The teams had to make sure that only the allotted number was there in the auditorium near the floral carpet or else the team would get negative marking.

Oh it was so much of fun getting up early in morning and getting ready in ‘Pattu pavada and blouse’ the traditional attire worn by girls in Kerala. The tension filled moments before the prizes were announced. I can still remember the first floral carpet made by me during school and the prize won for it. It was Sherly madam who was our house mistress and she was very competitive in these things and made sure that her house won the entire event taking place at school and get the overall trophy at the end of the year.

In college also there are great memories with regard to onam during my graduation in Bangalore the malayalees in college used to celebrate onam buy wearing the traditional saree and having floral carpets put in the corridors. During my Post Graduation in Kochi we used to wear the traditional saree. Then there used to be some competitions and also the ‘Sadhya’

On the day of onam all my uncles, aunts and cousins used to get together and used to celebrate onam. The uncles and all of us cousins used to be preparing the floral carpet at home and all the aunties used to busy in the kitchen preparing the Sadhya. It is a joyous occasion with loads of laughter and fun in the house. This year I am in Hyderabad far away from the warmth and colors of Onam and I missing home Kerala a lot :(

Atlas Shrugged

Atlas shrugged is an exceptional book written by Ayn Rand where people who do exceptional work are credited. The story revolves around the central character of Dagny Taggart who is the Vice President of Taggart Transcontinental and how she does everything in her ability to save the railroad been taken over by the looters and become extinct.

The beauty of this book lies in the fact that there are many characters in this book whom we look up to like Francisco‘d Anconia, Hank Rearden, Ellis Wyatt etc who have this exceptional characteristic to them that we fall in love with these characters. But the best loved character in this book is John Galt who is really the protagonist of the book in a way. The character has been portrayed in such a flawless manner that we expect people to have these characteristic in them. The brilliance, the arrogance, and the attitude it is like a gem in the pool of human characteristics.

The philosophy advocated by Ayn Rand in her books is the fact that only those who do honest innovative work in this world need to live and prosper. Her books fountainhead and atlas shrugged are as tribute to the great mind s and character in human race. People like Howard Roark, Dagny Taggart, John Galt, Francisco’d Anconia are not seen in the real world but people hope that they do.

Saree

Saree nine yards of clothes which can be draped to such perfection that we often wonder how they do it….

The elegance achieved by the women when they adorn this attire is not found in any other attire worn by them. There is a class and sensuality that exudes from a person after wearing the saree. Saree in an attire which is worn by everyone in our country old and young, rich and poor, North, East, West or South of our country. It is worn in different styles in the different states in our country according to the traditions of that state and the religions. It is worn during festivals and important occasions in one’s life like wedding etc and also daily by millions of women in our country. How much ever sophisticated an Indian woman might be they wear this at least once in their lifetime.

Earlier saree was the only attire among women in our country and over the years the prominence of this attire has decreased with the introduction of salwar khameez and other western forms of attire. Today wearing of a saree by the young Indian women is considered special and they often look forward to the first time that they will be able to tie the saree and it is worth the anticipation.

The draping of the Saree can be an occasion in itself for first timer because getting the nine yard of silk or cotton draped around your body would require more than one helping hand and long hour of one’s day. In addition there is the absence of that comfortable feel which is often found while wearing other attires.

Saree, a traditional attire which is embraced by even the youth of our country, an attire which exudes elegance and sensuality. An attire which is synonymous to our motherland India.