Muziris : the Kerala -Roman connection

http://hindu.com/2004/03/23/stories/2004032303340500.htm

http://www.keralatourism.org/muziris/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-Roman_relations

a nostalgic bit ( for Malayalis)

remembering the evergreen Prem Nazir, the totally nonchalant, unselfconscious movie-romancer-lip -syncher.. master of "romancin' 'round the trees" --as we named it "maram-chutti-premam", got to admit -- he nailed it. Add to it the heavenly voice of K.J.Yesudas who actually sings these sweet nothings -- together they take us on a fantastic ride on that flying carpet they mention. :)

And let's not forget Jayabharathi. I mean, at least Prem Nazir has the singing to do. Poor Jayabharathi has to be there, doing sweet nothings, without bursting out in laughter. :) But seriously, she does such a commendable job. I always admired her great talent as an actress.

Ellie Smith and Lisbeth Salander -- "daddy's girls" revisited

A while ago I had read The Daughters of Cain by Colin Dexter. It was after seeing an Inspector Morse Mystery on television. I was in India at that time. There is a character in there named Kay Eleanor Brooks or Ellie Smith, as she calls herself later. A girl who fights back, in ways that maybe an outsider wouldn't understand, but which are perfectly plausible. A wild, seemingly antisocial, but intelligent and purposeful person is our Ellie. And there is that unrealized/unrealizable forever kind of sexual and emotional tension between the moody, irascible, almost antisocial Morse  an unlikely hero, and this at the same time awkward and confident girl with the double nose rings, and colorful hair. Something enduring, that we only see in books, for in real life, the tension becomes either a rope to strangle the relationship, or a nuisance that we are eager to be rid of. Anyway, needless to say I identified with both the characters. I am sure they are Aquarians, with a touch of Virgo.

Years later, another fascinating girl comes along, another fighter/survivor. And this time around, the whole world looks up. (The world had got smaller in the intervening years). Stieg Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo aka Lisbeth Salander. Again I am caught up by this character. The same awkward but sure character. Back then I had wished to know more of Ellie, wanted her to succeed, and that wish came true with Lisbeth. I have a vague memory of Ellie appearing in  another novel, and some tragedy, but I may be wrong.

By now I am way older. But that does not affect the identification process. I couldn't help thinking that had I grown up in a Western country, this could have been one of the persons I would have become. (could be wishful thinking) And Ellie came back to my mind. Both girls  are smartly self sufficient but pathetically vulnerable. Both are attracted to older men  in the stories. I liked both the unlikeable heroes, but I prefer Morse, maybe. Because he is that annoying sort of  romantic who is in love with the idea of being in love, which creates its own set of problems. He is the passive wait-specialist, eternal student type who pushes away any sort of culmination, consummation, ending. It is the waiting that thrills him, again, bringing to mind the Aquarian personality. This is the type that even picks a fight for no reason so that that eternal waiting is not changed, and just the yearning is left. yikes! On the other hand, Blomquist, the other type of romantic, is promiscuous. He seems to have no trouble with beginnings and endings.  When it comes to women, one -- Morse, as the true classicist -- seems to put them on a pedestal, and the other seems to just fall into their beds rather too easily. And going with that, whereas Ellie is voluptuous, Lisbeth is waif-like, almost androgynous, as Aquarians usually are said to be! It is the same classicism that juxtaposes the goddess and the fallen woman. But the Swedish heroine/anti-hero cannot be classified as "fallen", nor does she get punished for her amorality, which makes me as a reader and a woman, happy. And my preference for the hero could be defined by fact that  at this point, I  am older and Morse is the character that is older than me now!

Ellie and Lisbeth could be sisters separated by years. They have traumatic experiences with their real father or father figures. Whatever it was, there is a lack of a good father figure in their lives. I  do not want to feed that assumption of a sexual attachment between fathers and daughters, (or mothers and sons, for that matter) as that is a fantasy of perverted/sick minds, or people trying to look sophisticated and highbrow, or unique and different. ( I know I sound dogmatic or naive or stupid when I say that. I am talking about good fathers, not pedophiles.  Normal humans have evolved beyond incest, I believe and hope). Needless to say, it doesn't apply to regular, normal father-daughter relationship. But you could associate it with that longing for kindness,  security and protection. And usually people who are older and who have your welfare at heart tend to provide that more. That person could be an older brother or a father. Like I said before, both the girls look up to older men, the "heroes".

While both possess that raw, unpolished intellect, Lisbeth seems to be an advanced version of Ellie. An Ellie in a digitalized world. A player on a global level,  in the Aquarian Age. A self-taught computer whiz who knows how to use her exploiters to win the war between good and evil -- what she sees as good or evil. One who is more than biology, who uses more than biology to survive, and falls for another flawed hero. Lisbeth is allowed to think like a man, like a girl more influenced by her dad, if she had one around, and if he did not mind her being a tomboy inside and out -- another social expectation matter. (I was no tomboy, but we did not have much choice back then, back home. I wonder -- what if. But I know I wanted to be more like my dad, rather than mom. And on the other end of the spectrum, when we have had the perfect dad, we do look for him, if he is gone forever, just to have him as dad). The difference between the two may be the difference in the outlook of their makers and their heroes. While Dexter seems to be a classicist like Morse, in his handling of his characters, Larsson is more modern, not beyond transcending gender stereotypes, not altogether, but to a greater extent. 

PS : I wish they'd asked Lady Gaga to be the girl with the dragon tattoo. :)

Chaplin was right! :)

All I need to make a comedy is a park, a policeman and a pretty girl -- Charlie Chaplin. I believe! I believe!  :)

making sense of fall



Vermont Autumn by Vicky Brago-Mitchell

I am talking seasons here. I don't much like the other kinds of falls -- falling down, falling in love and such. Neither do I like falling skies, but I do admire a waterfall. And I feel for the fallen angel, the fallen woman, and the fall guy.

The color of winter surely is white, and a bit of grey? It is hard. The color of spring, of course, is green. And it feels like rain. How about summer? yellow! red! blue! the brightest of those colors. It burns. And the color of fall is burnt orange, and caramel.. That golden, honey-hued, sunlight-trapped amber. It soothes.

One of the best things about living here, is that I can experience the wondrous phenomenon of changing seasons. The very conspicuous, blatant transformation. It is not the simultaneous life and death hullabaloo going on in the tropics. there, it is a drama all the time -- either the blazing sun or the lashing thunderstorms. I admit all that has its own beauty, and I did enjoy that. In fact I long for it at times. It is a Bollywood masala movie. But I am always amazed at the more elaborate, highly demarcated play of  birth, growth, old age, and death, enacted annually, in these parts. This here is a Kathakali performance.

Now to  the tastes -- the taste of spring is that of the dewdrop-like nectar from the velvety  flowers of the banana tree, back home. Like  green tea made of lime leaves,with  a kick of ginger, and a hint of lemongrass. The slow, languorous but refreshing  wake-up cup. Nature is itching to go! Like frisky little bunnies, and lambs. Summer is a tall, cool glass of freshly squeezed lemonade. It has the earthy taste of grilled food. It is fun, but it is also sweat and toil.  Fall tastes and smells like apples with caramel ,and cinnamon. Such an accomodating season! Its colors reverberate all over -- on the trees, in the very color of its light, its foods, in the soft glow of a bonfire, or of the little flame inside a lantern-- that warm caramel color. I think I eat winter when I eat ice cream. But winter tastes like hot chocolate. And roasts. And at times, it feels like shrouded death -- cold and bare.

Come to think of it, I like all seasons. That gradual thawing, unfolding of life. The struggle of the tiny green shoot rising from the ground. After all that waiting, spring moves in fits and starts. But winter's iron hand is slow to let go. It comes in the form of  frost, killing off new buds. And the rain -- those sudden dampenings, sometimes, almost as an afterthought. Like a wet blanket, it restrains the soul raring to fly. Nevertheless, it finally eases away, making room for summer's frolic and thirst. Summertime, it sometimes goes by in a flash. A jog, a bout of yardwork, a few grillings on the patio, if you are lucky, a stroll under the blue skies, outglaring the sun's glare on a beach. The hot, parched earth looks for a gentle coolness.  And then comes Fall.

The apple pie season. I had never tasted an apple pie before I came here. The minute I did, I fell for it. It was perfect. The right balance of sweet and tart and spice. My kind of delicious. It was the proverbial feast for the senses. Surprisingly, I felt  like I had tasted it before! Like I was revisiting a familiar flavor.

So, is fall my favorite season? Am I falling for Fall? (couldn't resist it haha) Maybe. In any case, Fall  is cool, and cozy. Nature has retired, content, after a lifetime of intensities -- the wet longing of spring and the fiery passion of summer are gone. Fall is memories, and the reaping of what one  planted. It is as though nature is pleasantly spent, ready to put her feet up. She exhales. Even the leaves fall with a sigh -- of relief? of resignation? because they know that it is the beginning of the end. Death is coming, but for now, we are sitting around the flickering fire, wrapped in warm coats, relaxed, remembering. At peace with the earth, the sky, the stars, and hopefully, one's companions.

Now, to the apple pie - it's baking in the oven. :)
The season and the food are so happily joined and let me share a slice of that pie with you! :

Have a great fall! ;)

PS: This piece is so full of cliches, makes me want to puke. but still I meant every word. :)

between Aquarians -- of the third decan

I might be guilty of exaggeration ( ps: I may not always be right, but I am never wrong ) when I say that  Aquarians are doomed or blessed to be eternal students. swimming leisurely in several subjects or a handful or even one at a time, we hide. when we come out of it do we expect the world around us unchanged?  or changed forever? or those around us to be waiting with bated breaths? maybe. and for most Aquarians, a few fans are always around -- constant admirers. the Aquarian is glad to have them around, even grateful. but how intimate do they let these become? not very, i should say. most of their time is spent on their strivings, and dreamings, and -- on a special unattainable someone/something or both. Not that they want that someone really. just that they want that someone somewhere unattainable.

 Many of us come off as arrogant, and aloof. Most of them have reason to be so too. experts in their chosen field, they have a knack of absorbing info from thin air. some climb literal mountains, some climb mountains, literally. Our curiosity lands us in varieties of trouble. That it is a  genuine curiosity is not understood by many. Sometimes a whole other world -- or a person from a totally different world arouses that curiosity. they belong together in our innocent minds, don't they? yes, we are innocent, aren't we? :))
do people think me as arrogant? maybe when I was young -- not anymore, I think. i have adapted/conformed, as women usually do. we rise to  societal expectation better, we have to, in order to survive ( here too culture plays a great part -- an Aquarian female who grew up in a modern western society will be far more Aquarian outwardly than her say, eastern counterpart). Again, the world on the whole, is more accepting of the eccentricities and self-centeredness of a man, more than a woman's. excuses, excuses, i know. Well, some may actually be put off because they think I am pretending to be humble. But then my accomplishments aren't that great so far, and I am not doing much these days that would make me proud of myself. So I am not pretending. And there is a difference in the character of followers the female gets too -- she is mostly admired in secret. they dont want anyone else to know about her, or their knowing her. (they probably think it will go to her head) :)

I am constantly amazed at the parallels between their seemingly disparate lives. for instance, when one travels far and wide and samples different cuisines, takes pics, another one sits at home and creates these foods, after knowing of them from books or shows.when one meets people of all ages and writes of them, of their smiles, of their footwear, the same is written by another in a small scale . it is uncanny because neither knew what the other was doing until after they both did it.

it is a constant striving . for knowledge, and to share that knowledge with others, to see what they would make of it, curious to know what they think, how they would process it. But the Aquarian also seem to not wanting to ever reach the goal. these people live in  a world of of their own. a dream world. oh there are intermittent awakenings and epiphanies -- they are the proverbial tubelights. that childlike wonder of seeeing the world for the first time -- that never leaves them altogether   -- it erupts every now and then. this works in their attitude to relationships too. esp to a fellow Aquarian. at one time, they are one -- pals, soulmates even. then comes the self-doubts and the doubting of the other. and the idea that one shouldn't be that close or attached. or that the other is not as attached as one is. and so the impulse to prove that one does not need the other as much as s/he thinks. the timing is almost always off. push and pull. and vice versa. so off goes the friendship. it is as if we are at once burdened by the awareness of  the futility of it all, and also the knowledge that this is what life is all about. we are too tired to seek at times, and at others, we are afraid.
until next time something reminds you of that friend. Meanwhile the true Aquarians have forgotten what the rift was about. so another attempt -- but the cycle again. This sad /boring /exciting pattern has replayed itself so many times in my life -- in my friendships with other Aquarians. And I marvel at the similarities among these highly individualistic, different-lives-leading, dramatic, crazily intelligent, stupidly stubborn, arm- chair humanitarians.

I do presume that distance plays a part in the dismantling of these friendships. In another scenario, they may at some point, either forget the other altogether, or find a way to collaborate with or encourage each other in their endeavours. Great, rebellious or simply  nonsensical rebellious works could be created out of such friendships. They will be like nothing you have ever seen or heard.

what will it take for these to work together? because once they do miracles will happen, and the world will be a better place. These people can change the world. They can influence millions. Or, once they got together, it would be total Pandemonium. They are friendly souls basically, but at some point they do not welcome friendships either. They trust people, but they do not really. Highly contradictory individuals. Just like their sign -- an air sign with a glyph that looks like it's a water sign.
Also, in this new age of interwebs, and social and democratized media, it looks like more and more people and customs seem to take on Aquarian characteristics. Could be true that we are in the Aquarian Age, at least at its beginning.

Do we all share a certain attitude to other signs, generally? say, a wariness towards Geminis and Sagittarians? a fascination with Scorpios? an attraction to Leos, our opposite signs, to be let down in some way? a fated relationship with the totally different Virgo?do we face rivalry in Capricorns? an affinity, an empathy for Pisces? an indulgent understanding for Taurus?  a leave alone respect for Cancer? and a fun but competitive, at times bickering friendship with Aries? and feel an amused lightheartedness with Librans?
Whatever our nature, whoever we are, wherever we are, the past 14 years haven't been easy -- with hazy Neptune's magic. of course it had its plus side too, but mostly it has made us forget who we really are. exiled from our own little Paradises, whatever kind they were. and our very nature, that special friendly, curious, cautiously trusting, romantic without being romantic, loyal and proud  natures have all but disappeared. But I am glad that that time is nearing an end. So I wish us all the very best!( i  know this sounds kinda crazy and new age-like, but there it is!  )

Disclaimer: this piece is not about fictitious Aquarians, but real flesh and blood ones, ( I think! as I haven't really met some of them) like myself. This is not meant to offend anyone, (in fact, just the opposite), and if anyone takes  umbrage, I shall take an umbrella. I count these Aquarians as my friends, almost like parts of each other , not indispensable, maybe, but who would be exceptional,  if together. :)

Update: This is surely a ninny piece. A load of nonsense. Stupid. I plead temporary insanity. ;)