Nurungukal: Nurungukal… I have not experiencedever befo...

Nurungukal:  Nurungukal…       I have not experiencedever befo...:   Nurungukal…        I have not experienced ever before in my life a lacklustre election campaign as the one now in progress. The simmerin...

 

Nurungukal…

       I have not experienced ever before in my life a lacklustre election campaign as the one now in progress. The simmering summer or the pandemic dynamics or both have taken the toll of an otherwise active  proceedings. Which has no doubt denied the ever hungry Malayalee’s crave for an adipoli  celebration of such events. At least in this part of the state the usual hustle tussle is lacking. May be that ours is not an A+ seat as in the case of some in the capitol. Devoid of an expected mega entertainment at the cost of our already depleted exchequer, we are now eying on the freebies and kits. Unfortunately even our right to access to such baits is being questioned. Thanks to the cost consciousness and constant awareness of election protocol of our ever vigilant fronts in the fray !!.

     Gone are the days of colourful processions and jabbing of fists into the air and the eye catching wall paintings. Even though it has stalled defacing of our surroundings and saved meters and meters of cloth and other sheets many petty artisans have lost their livelihood..

      Since independence the election milieu have undergone many a metamorphosis and refinement. Started with individual ballot box for each candidate with their symbols on them. It obviously reflected our literary standards of those days. Also in certain cases the positioning of the box in the alphabetical order resulted in facing defeat, as the majority preferred to insert their ballot paper in the nearest box.. I know one such case in which he had to accept defeat despite of his popularity and credibility in the constituency. We have attained an envious position among other democracies due to strenuous journey from a primitive stage to today’s enlightened and envious status. Thanks to the meticulous logistics enforced by the conductors and infusion of technology to ensure a precision par excellence like that of a military operation.

        Now the real gainers of the present situation is the visual media. Day in and day out they are exploiting the addiction mania of the mass who have already been influenced by imaginary  situations fed with each episodes of soap operas. There are a given set of television birds who are genetically trained to assimilate concocted political history and blurt at the appropriate instance, in order to outsmart their counterparts from the opposition party.  I used to be dumbfounded on hearing some of their salvos, hurling at each other without any iota of hesitation, knowing pretty well the statements are utterly untenable and far from the truth. To me many of them, except a few, carry only biased and partial views or just pretensions. The biggest danger of such arguments is its influence on an innocent viewer in molding an opinion on such baseless premises.

       Ever since the start of the present imbroglio no tangible or sensible proposal has been chalked out by the contenders on how to implement a sustainable development for augmenting the depleted cash bags and to meet the challenge for providing a number of free services without touching the tax payer’s pocket or loiter around with a begging bowl or demolish all public edifices!!. No meaningful debate is on, how the fronts are going to address the issues viz,

1.  Climate change, managing panchbhoothams

2.  Effective resilience

3.  Sustainable agri production, value addition etc,

4.  Self sufficient villages

5.  Bio diversity conservation

6.  Employment generation

7.  Location specific growth targets

8.  Gender equality

9.  Tribal welfare

10.                      Trance gender status

11.                      Job oriented education reforms

12.                      Sports and games infrastructures in villages

13.                      Uplift of the down trodden to the main stream.

14.                      Cultural nourishment

………and many more to solve. Not to speak of other cosmetic projects like town planning, tourism schemes, IT facilities etc. etc. also how and when and the priorities within our wherewithal are missing.

    The voter or common man is only an onlooker of the stage managed drama in the election arena. He has no participation in the process worth counting except to cast a vote.

      State boasts of effective institutions like three tiered Grama Sabhas and Peoples planning. Yet none has been taken into confidence before the onset of a democratic process, to sensitize the aspirations of the voter. He/she has been denied of any roll to play to mould his or her destiny. In other words what ever that has been enacted in this battle of ballot papers is one sided and lack seriousness or forethought. While we are struggling to do away with human idols, and uphold the spirit of democracy, shift in our paradigms pave an easy path for identifying new ones unknowingly. This is a dangerous trend which we have to shun on first priority. This may be the reason in some pockets a new model of governing is experimented and favoured.

          As things stands now the fulcrum of the choice rests on the induced euphoria by our political stalwarts….I am reminded of the famous satire of our all time entertainer kunchan nambiar …deepasthambam mahaschryam………..!!

       

Nurungukal: Nurungukal… Of all the fruit bearing trees I ha...

Nurungukal:  Nurungukal…   Of all the fruit bearing trees I ha...:   Nurungukal…     Of all the fruit bearing trees I have a special affinity towards the mango tree, especially a granny. Because whenever I...

 

Nurungukal…

    Of all the fruit bearing trees I have a special affinity towards the mango tree, especially a granny. Because whenever I come across a fairly old mango tree, unknowingly mind wanders into a past, which is now blurred and hard to draw contours. There was once upon a time one such tree, a few feet south of our naalukettu. Many a rendezvous, clandestine or otherwise had taken place under its cover. Many a drama had been enacted under its shade. Not to speak of the fights and village games. The swing descending from its sturdy branches had taken many a pair to soar the heights of rhythm and love, while the fairy like jezebel butterflies probe for honey from the fathoms of the slender, violet flowers of the parasite plants ithikkanni harboring on its branches. It would remind me about oonhaal [swing] the heart rendering love story of the novelist vilasini [ jezebel ].

       Although such nostalgic visuals appear in my mind when I see a mango tree, the one that still persists in me is the care and caution our mother used to take while preparing a mango pickle. It’s a long procedure. There are some stipulated specifications to be complied with. Otherwise the end product will fail to pass the mark. There is an unwritten recipe. The details of which is transferred from mouth to mouth, generation to the other, or by close observation, most probably the later. There are certain specific varieties of mango suitable for preparing different types of pickles, from kadumanga to vadamanga or uppumanga and each have its own entity and purpose to claim. While kadumanga can kindle your taste buds to swallow yet another handful of rice, uppumanga can reactivate them when you are convalescing and supplement your sodium level. Similarly vadamanga squeezed with a little curd could catalyze and help digestion.

         Mother’s search starts at the very beginning of the flowering season usually, early February, followed by a daily appraisal of the fruit development. Many a season I had experienced her despair when the flowers whither and fail to set fruits due to the increase in atmospheric temperature preceding heavy rain bearing summer clouds. When once the fruits are ready, the entire house is in a frenzy, plucking, grading, washing, mixing etc. etc. The curtain would be down only after the filled up earthen jars are secured in a dark corner of our store room kalavara or vadekkera.

      But I happened to witness a deferent feel in my wife’s house. Her eldest sister and her mother’s younger sister were the exponents of the highest order of preparing mango pickle recipes. When our mother was content with a jar or two for the season, this duo had insurmountable desire for hoarding jars and jars of kadumanga each year. They derived a hidden pleasure in their collection piled up in the dark chambers of their wooden bins (pathayam ) like blended scotch whisky preservations for years and years. To be frank theirs are the best I have tasted, although mother’s excelled in certain parameters.

        As the old performers had vacated the stage a few years ago, fresh hands in the family are fervently trying to step into their shoes. My wife is one among them. She is slowly and steadily proving to be a worthy successor to the bygones. But alas this year none of our trees are bearing fruits. May be due to the effect of global warming, an alibi commonly heard in our sitting rooms.

       Whenever I visit my native place and retrace the paths we used to tread, in our school days, my heart miss one or two beats as I cross the spot where the granny tree was majestically posing once upon a time.  The only earthly one which had been volunteered to accompany our mother to her heavenly abode….

 

Nurungukal: Nurungukal…. A loud tweet fromour sitting room...

Nurungukal:  Nurungukal….    A loud tweet fromour sitting room...:   Nurungukal….     A loud tweet from our sitting room window made me to drag my attention forcibly from the book I was deeply engrossed in...

 

Nurungukal….

    A loud tweet from our sitting room window made me to drag my attention forcibly from the book I was deeply engrossed in. As I raised my head and looked at the direction from where the call has come, I saw them perched on the grills, the familiar pair of bulbuls, whom I considered as the harbingers of spring. Year after year they have not broken the schedule and their life long partnership.  It was as if their right to encroach each year and celebrate their courtship with us. Or by a vow of destiny they keep their annual promise under our care. Because we know their visit has a purpose, and far sighted too. To rear their progeny, a compulsive purpose of the nature. But ironically this year it happened to be, while I was wandering through a situation , meticulously narrated by a young author on her journey to motherhood.

       I knew that it was their pre-visit to assess the suitability of the site for setting up of their would be cradle. Which should be secure from predators, vagaries of nature, abundant food and materials for building a nest. Many such visits are to be completed before it is finally approved by the pair as a prelude to their courtship. As I have been a silent spectator of their pranks for the last few years, each and every movement and calls can be deciphered easily. Some times it is a scary blurred sound indicating a caution about our movements in the room.  Or incessant chirping and huddle together, love making in progress.  Flight and swoops  from one object to other to examine the adequacy of the parameters.  Their  vociferous presence will persist for short periods , then would suddenly  vanish from the scene. Next moment would perch on the blade of the ceiling fan and would peep down to take an aerial view. This exercise in solo or in company of the partner will continue for a day or two, or until they settle on an apt choice. As I am familiar with their requirements, usually by securing a suitable shallow object on the wall or window will help them to take a quick decision. And once they arrive at a consensus, the architect in them is sensitised. From there on, like self propelled machines, together they finish setting up a cute little nest of immaculate precision. The mission is accomplished devoid of any tool or text. The ingenuity and instinct are their guiding force. In them I felt the Unknown. Call it Nature, God or Omnipotent. A spark of life well defined and destined. Why such tiny mechanisms prevail on this planet is a myth. What is there ultimate goal to lesser creatures like humans. They live for a while accomplishing an un-inked mission. No rewards, no complaints. Not seeking mercy or merit…..

         As I tap the key board, the pair is busy feeding, tendering and readying their progeny to full fill an unknown accomplishment. At each flap of the wings three fledglings are flipping open their red mouths for the energy food suitable for each stages of their growth from their mentor and mother.  More than twenty days are over since we heard the harbinger tweet. The seasonal sojourn of the family would be over in a day or two, leaving us once again in waiting till next spring.

        While thanking the family for presenting us a few moments of pleasure and escape from the monotony of a pandemic induced isolation  ….wish them Adieu…….

 

 

Nurungukal: Nurungukal…..I was eagerly waiting for the parcel ...

Nurungukal: Nurungukal…..I was eagerly waiting for the parcel ...: Nurungukal….. I was eagerly waiting for the parcel to be delivered. My sister in law had a few days ago triggered a desire in me about a mai...

Nurungukal….. I was eagerly waiting for the parcel to be delivered. My sister in law had a few days ago triggered a desire in me about a maiden attempt by her grand daughter to author a book. I know very well Rohini had a flair for literary creations . In fact I had read one or two of her earlier couplets. The book reached me a few days ago. From the very layout of the cover and the title “What’s a lemon squeezer doing in my vagina”, I could figure out the complexity of the content and guessed it was something beyond my horizon. So I purposefully embarked on a cautious voyage. Unlike the author, although I was a science graduate my comprehension failed to enthuse any affinity on scientific premises now. Ironically in my case also the subject was thrust on me in order to fair in the job market. As I waded through the alien waters slowly and steadily got engrossed in serious reading, contrary to my usual approach of hop step and jump. She has effortlessly managed to crochet a fabric intertwining intrinsically the threads of emotions and scientific truths. Her lucidity of command on scientific acumen has been well expressed throughout, by sheer clairvoyance and clarity of purpose. Each event has been stuffed with her exclusive flavours like her favourite grilled sandwich. Above all her insistence to explain each and every clinical procedure without depending on a doctor’s version expressed her intense control of the situation and grasp of events. Her stoic fight to surmount the bali kera mala using each and every weapon in the medical arsenal depicts the resolute intention, which should sensitize many aspirants. The arrival of Advait was so abrupt as if she has moored an aircraft at the dead end of the runway with a thud, denying her readers the leisure to dwell on the ecstatic of child bearing. While extolling her command on the language and brave efforts to narrate a transparent and true episode from her personal life, without any inhibitions of revealing the identity of the players, let me from the bottom of my heart wish dear Rohini an event full literary journey.