Kanamma: Muse of all learning!!

Kanamma: Muse of all learning!!: "It's an unceasing passion to talk about a 'Magnificent Obsession' - who rules over my life at all times: Goddess Saraswathi! The in..."

Saathamuthu for the Soul......

Dear friends,
Starting today..with the blessings of my Goddess..I'm bringing out an exclusive episode on Her..every Wednesday!!
Need your support and encouragement on the same.

KAMBAR'S  DATE WITH THE DEITY!!
All of us know about the greatness of Kavichakravarthy Kambar, whose 'Magnum Opus',  'Kamba Ramayana' is appreciated world-wide for the colourfulness of its poetry and its religious value....


But little do we know how he too..that impeccable poet-laureate too had committed a blunder?!:-
Kambar who normally executes mastery over the word-interplay of what is called as the 'virutham' (tempo) and the 'santham' (tune)..by mistake,had used 'THUMI' instead of the word, 'THULI'....which means a droplet!!

This--while he was staging his verses before the Chola king  in the full-fledged court of ministers and other poet-laureates, was made an issue,by his arch-rivals..the other poets!
These 'pulavargal' (poets) who always envied him, saw it as a ripe opportunity to insult Kambar before the Chola king.

The magnanimous Chola king, however intervened and told the agitated members of the court, "Stop arguing ..I know Kambar ..Let's have the issue discussed tomorrwow".

That night was almost a sleepless one for Kambar..who was wriggling in the bitter memories of the day!!!

However the next day..both the king and Kambar went for their usual stroll;

In their enthusiastic bouts of  talk..they had gone almost to the outskirts of the kingdom!! Having walked for a long distance, both the king and Kambar grew thirsty...the king looked around and spotted the thatched roof of a neatly-constructed hut. It was supposed to be the 'Idaiyar theru' i.e. an exclusive street where milk and curd vendors dwell!

Kambar saw a milk-maid, churning curds in a mud-pot..sitting at the entrance of the thatched hut; he asked her for some water. The milk-maid went inside her hut and brought two tall glasses of water and offered them.As the king and Kambar were drinking the water....
The milk-maid looked at them and told, "Thayir Thumi mele therithu vidum, vilagi nilungal"!!!!
{Move aside and stand, as I churn the curds a few droplets might get scattered on to you'll.}

The king shocked on hearing the same word which was under dispute in his court yesterday..asked the maid about the meaning of the word she had used.

She laughed at the king and replied, "Don't you know,  it means a droplet?  You have such learned poets in your court ..don't they all know it's meaning ..or haven't they told you about it????"

Kambar was extremely shocked ..as heart-of-hearts he knew that such a word never existed!?!? 

The next moment..neither was the neatly thatched hut there....nor was the 'milk-maid'  there!!

I don't think I need to make it explicit that it was 'saatchath' Goddess Saraswathi Herself.....who had taken an avatar of a milk-maid to defend her lovable devotee, Kambar!!!!!

The Bond!!!!

Just wanted to share this strange coincidence with you'll:
I've been going "Down the memory lane to Ooty" for the past 2 weeks.


Similar to this week's post about the elephant calfs and the ever-protective mother-elephants....I  happened to see an article in the Tamil newspaper, "Dina Thanthi". {see below}



Not just this!!
The same day when I was surfing the channels of the T.V. channels....I happened to see a movie, which  revolves round the hero's desperate effort to unite the mother-elephant and her 'cutie pie'....
 In another couple of days I  had a strange dream :
I am chased by a  single-tusker!!!!
And would you believe the mammal did not harm me; instead threw  a garland on me.
Before I could come to terms with what next....

(bonk) a nice thud on my head....my brother (my chella villain!) "Shammu,there's somebody at the door asking for you"....


I combed the messed up hair..and got out to see:
"Amma inaikku varamudiyaatham ma..avangalukku udambu sariyillai" (Mam, my mom is not well ..she asked me to tell you that she can't come for todays' work).
--that was my servant-maid's son.

After nodding my head in the still-sleepy vague mood..I went down the stairs to get the milk packets..the boy was going back to his home. I was thoughtfully looking at the way he was walking..and then came inside.

Ah! wait..there was this something familiar I had seen.
What was it...yes! I got it..he was wearing a T-shirt which had a cartoon image of an elephant!!!!



The cartoon image



What do you say for all this?



But please don't ever ask about all these to my 'chella villain'..i.e. my bro. For his interpretation is :
'Neeyum oru annakutti pola irukkradhinale un mela andha aanaigaluku oru parivu thaan!"  (rant)

(since you too resemble an elephant-calf ...may be the elephants like you so much.)



Anyways catch up with me in 'Hairpin bend -3'.
Love,
Saras

Muse of all learning!!

It's an unceasing passion to talk about a 'Magnificent Obsession' - who rules over my life at all times:


Goddess Saraswathi!


The influence SHE has o'er me is inevitable and inimitable.


The Love shown by HER is immeasurable.


The knowledge SHE gives is cathartic.


The limelight that comes through HER is irreproachable.


The mercy SHE exudes is irretrievable.

Celebrating SARASWATHI  is in fact another way of celebrating womanhood..as she is one among the "TRIUMVIRATE SHAKTHI".


Coming to talk about Shakthi it's in actuality an inexhaustible form of energy.-
A  blazing fire which serves to REPLENISH  and  RESURRECT each and every soul across the globe!!
Let's take a glimpse of the three ruling deities whose "Divine Conglomeration" is Shakthi:

                   Simhaneehwari ....popularly known as DURGA.

                             
                     Sreemaharajni....popularly known as LAKSHMI

                                                         

     Sarvalokha Janani..popularly known as  SARASWATHI.
         
The constant interplay between our innate seeking and the innate state of  knowledge..takes on a mystical hue in tradition in the personification of Goddess Saraswathi.


Whether in Her riverine form or 'svarupa' as SHE is exalted in the Rig Veda....or in Her 'shubhra vasana' (white attire),SHE  is the Feminine form inspiring all "Creative Energies."


So, come celebrate womanhood by celebrating Maa Saraswathi.








                                     

Down the memory lane to Ooty!! --Hairpin bend-- 3

Just as we had walked a few yards more, we saw an elephant, which also started walking towards us.

Alas! it took a few seconds for us to realize that it wasn't part of a herd ..but a LONELY single-tusker!

{Normally whenever I think of this incident ..I know not why..I start laughing like hell to the extent that my people used to wonder if something is wrong with me!!!(crazy) So, for this post alone I'm choosing the humorous style of narration.I'm not good at this style..but for a change yaar!!}....


We all were just jolted out of our wits at the mammoth single-tusker who was looking at us ferociously, as if asking  "Who the hell are you to trespass into my privacy??!"

All of us were urged by our guide to run back to the jeep.
But..where??..
..only if our legs which were glued to the ground, could co-operate na!!
We stood there..'dumb dolls' waiting for some miracle to happen.


I'm sure the tusker and I had some ..what they call as..'previous birth connection'. (welcome)Then..why will it..leaving out everybody else and come to me???!
(Later I was told that the colour white is to elephants ....as is red to bulls!(bonk)
thevaiya antha puthu white party-frock thaan poduvennu adampidachathu thevaiya unakku..)


I don't even know what had happened.
When I opened my eyes--don't worry like the typical cinema heroine I didn't ask, "Naan enge irukken?"{Where am I?}
Athellam sari..enna achchu..appadinu ketkiringala? (All that's fine..let us know what happened).


Ithu thannga nadanthathu....(This is what happened) please imagine if possible the flash-back tortoise coil:


I  would always remain faithful to that cutie-pie, the lovey-dovey elephant calf, of this mammoth S.T.(ethanai thadavai thaan neeti nelichu single -tusker nu sollradhu????)


I'm sure all our prayers would have been heard. This cute little thing, suddenly emerged from somewhere
and caught it's mom's attention. Like a good mother it's priority was to see to it's child....so it walked away in a huff, looking at me in a "Mavale....intha thadavai thapichite..adutha thadavai vachukiren" style.(This time you escaped....wait..wait..I'll catch you the next time).

"Naan enna muttala adutha thadavaiyum anga poga?" (I'm not a fool to go there again!?)


Jokes apart, my dad till date believes that the elephant-calf's name is "Saraswathi".
I  don't know about that.....neither do I want to question my father's belief.
'Coz his belief always has that winning edge!!!!

What do you think?




                  

Down the memory lane to Ooty!! --Hairpin bend-2

The next day started out well  in an euphoric mood; atleast for me, as I was wearing a new milk-white party-frock.

At first we had been to the 'Elephant camp' ;-
It was such an incredible sight,seeing these pot-bellied ones..indulge in a host of activities..ranging  from fetching logs to 'exercising!!!
The 'mahout' actually exclaimed that we were lucky, as they were in a cheerful mood that day.!

He 'introduced' us to twin -elephant-calves, named,Yamuna and Godavari; looked like both Yamuna and Godavari were in full flow too: they showed us a few somersaults and all the while, like our Tamil film heroines, were being fed on juice and drinks..every now and then!
In fact Yamuna and Goda were real 'Heroines'..they had 'acted' in a  recent movie of "Devar Films"!!!After feeding them, sugar-cane and jaggery, we had to part with those cutie-pies. The twins' mother is nothing less to the human moms..all the while having an eye on it's 'babies' and "gets into action" if it spots any stranger in the area, imagining it to be a threat for the calves.

Just a few kms. away, only was Kargudi, which is like the starting-point for the 'Mudumalai' forests!!:At first my grand pa had opted for the 'Elephant Safari' where we could sit atop an elephant and take a ride into the jungle;But, later it was decided, that we travel in our own jeep, being escorted by a guide.

'The Mudumalai forests'  was such a. rustic haven..nestled in the foothills of the spectacular Nilgiris mountain range.. 3000 feet above sea-level.
Wow! there was utter Serenity everywhere... the kind.. one can never find in the chaotic atmosphere of the cities.
The sparkling streams, virgin- thickets and an eerie silence transformed all of us into Jim Corbetts and Rudyard Kiplings!

                                               
To enhance our excitement, the guide added that one could usually  spot a few wild tuskers enroute...
Me..the dubious one kept nagging him,whether they would harm us?!?He patiently kept answering my queries.."It's not dangerous if they come in a herd, dear,..but if it comes alone..then it is dangerous!"
We were gone almost to the interiors..but were not lucky enough to spot any;but atleast we were lucky to see the cute blue birds playing in the crystal-clear stream; and a few dainty-toed deer. We got out to "capture those deer".(I  mean through our camera!)




All the while the luck that had evaded us, finally made our way!!

Just as we had walked a few yards more, we saw an elephant, which also started walking towards us.

Alas! it took a few seconds for us to realize that it wasn't part of a herd ..but a LONELY single-tusker!



 Stay tuned to Hairpin bend-3