Ishan's birthday

February 19 - Celebration of Former Students Association of SN college for women, Kollam

                                           K.R. Meera, the Odakkuzhal award winner with FSA

                                           Sukumari teacher and M.R.Sarasathi teacher

                                             FSA meeting at S.N.College for Women,Kollam

                                                     Chief guest Meera speaking to the Audiance

                                           K.R. Meera with  myself and Sheela, the President of FSA and Jaji

                                                          Falicitating KR Meera at the function

                                                    My best friend in Pre- Degree - Sheela Panikar (1965-67)                                  Batch 1965-67

                                             Meera with Principal

The best period,rather my golden time was when I was a student of the Women's college. I still maintain contact with my teachers in SNWC. Recently, I spent 2 hours with Menaka teacher who taught us Economics in  the Pre- Degree course. She was so happy to see me sharing the 49 year back incidents. She remembers me as a small girl wearing full skirt and half sari, flying evry where in the college like a butterfly to do many things. I participated in sports, games and cultural activities. I was in the N.C.C., although I was too lean and small.    She was surprised to hear that my blog's name is flying butterflydrsarada. I was fond of another teacher- MR.Saraswathy. At the time when I studied in SNCW, she was very beautiful and she beautifully taught us Indian History. I visited her every year and now she is a member of our family.

My best friend in our class was Sheela Panikar. She studied in Delhi and Pune. She was my English teacher!  I was poor in English as I studied in Malayalam medium in Govt. girls high school at Kollam. I used to seek her help in learning English grammar. I was extremely happy to see Sheela after many years. We ate lunch together as if we were college students in 1965!     
 

ATTUKAL PONGALA - Religious festival of Women Empowerment

ATTUKAL PONGALA MAHOTSAVAM- FEBRUARY 16, 2014

“Sarva Mangala Mangalie, Sive, Sarvardha Sadhike
Saraneye, Thrambike, Gowri, Narayani Nomo sthuthe"

"Amme, Narayana, Devi Narayana,  Lakshmi Narayana , Bhadre Narayana"

Attukal Pongala Mahotsavam is the Sabiramala festival for Women. It is a women empowerment festival. The collective power of women supported by men ,just for the day is a unique visual treat!The function starts with lighting fire at the brick hearth known a Aduppu, which originates from the Pandara Aduppu of the Attukal temple, where the pongala payasam is prepared as nivedyam (offering) for Devi by the temple designated persons. Pandara Aduppu is lighted exactly at 10 30 am from the lamp in front of Devi at Sreekovil  of the temple.    

Pongala brick Aduppu (hearth) and pongala pot

                                                 Chandana  is drawing the pongala picture

                                                   

                                      
                                             Foreign students offered Pongala for Devi

                               
                                            Mammoth of women devotees!

                                             Women preparing pongala payasam

85 year granny getting ready to offer pongala for blessings for her children

                                       

                                                Therali leaves for preparing Appam

                              

                                              Therali Appam, ready to get  steam cooked
 

Dal powder, jaggery, ghee, little water sprinkled  to form this mixture to prepare Pandara Puttu

     u

                                                myself, Mini, Manju and Ratnamma chechi

  I also prepared Pongala payasam for Devi . In front of the pongala aduppu is the offering in the banana leaf for  Lod Ganapathy. It is a ritual done before lighting fire at the pongala Aduppu. Below is the boiling water with rice spilling to the fire. At this time all of us do 'KURAVA', a special sound of symphony to let others know of our happiness.
                          
                                                                 

This year also the ecstatic festival for women, Attukal Pongala was celebrated

 at the capital great city of Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala in India. With over 50, 00000 women of different ages lining up all over the city and its outskirts, in the late hours of February 15 and in the early hours of February 16, with not less than 12 hours of minimum waiting time, to light fire to each woman’s Pongola aduppu is an unforgettable experience.

The offering of pongala, done every year, only by women, is the beauty of the festival. Pongala is done in and around the Attukal Bhagavathy temple, in every house, in every street, in every government or non government office   premises .The pongala line stretches from all directions of the Temple to more than 8 miles.  It is an amazing experience! Women from all over India and even from foreign countries participate in this Mahotsavam. Attukal pongala is the highest accorded festival of women in India. It is Sabirimala for women.

 The deity at Attukal temple is  Bhagavathy meaning goddess, who is ingrained in her devotees as the originator, preserver, and destructor of the universe.  At Attukal temple, Devi is in the form of Durga, predominating as the destroyer of evils and preserver of goodness.  Devotees ardently believe that ‘sakthi’, the power is needed to fight injustice and create harmony for good living.  

Devi Durga is also known as the mother of all virtues.  Sakthi- the mental and physical power is what women need to seek justice, feel equality and happily live in a healthy society.  And, that is the need of the centuary.  

Pongala, the special kind of offering is done to Durga Devi to throw away evils in one self and acquire power to strengthen the self to fight against injustice.

Devotees believe that Parvathy, wife of Lord Siva,incarnated in Kannaki, the much described  heroine in Chilappadikaram, by the famous Tamil poet, Elankovadikal, appeared in the form of a beautiful  woman on the banks of Killi river to give darsan to her fervor  male devotee  in Mulluveetil house at Attukal. She asked the devotee to help her cross the Killi river, which the devotee happily did. But he was so astonished to see her disappearing at the bank of the river. He saw the same woman as Devi at night who asked him to arrange a rest place for her at the nearby KAVU ( a place of bushes). He quickly did what Devi demanded. He placed Devi’s idol and started offering pooja (worship).   The devotee offered rice made pongala for Devi. Later on devotees slowly started coming for Devi’s blessings.  They also started giving rice based pongala to seek blessings. Now thousands of women, every year on the nine th day of Attukal temple utsavam in the month of February, offer pongala to seek blessings of strength  from Devi for a better life.

Attukal Pongala is a global community festival. Women from all over the world participate in this festival.
Each woman participant is visualized as Devi.
On Pongala day, all religious believers,school and college students, governmental and non governmental employees, actively get involved as volunteers to give all possible support to women participants of the Pongala function. No house is there without providing basic amenities like food and water to these participants.  Palayam Muslim Jamayat mosque and the Christian churches on the sides of the M.G. road provided all possible facilities to Pongala women.  Traffic police and city police personnel do the most difficult task of facilitating smooth traffi to and from the Pongala vicinity.
In this year, 63 women prisoners of Attakulangara Women's Jail, offered Pongala.      

I went to Thiruvananthapuram on  14^th February by train.  All compartments wee filled with women. The pongala eve was filled with activities of women buying pongala pots, wooden or coconut shell made big thavi to stirr pongala payasam, dried coconut leaves, husks , kothumbu etc. for litting fire to cook, therali leaves, jaggery, rice, planton ,towels commonly known as thorthu, flowers, avil, coconuts, malar, kalkkandam, etc.- the ingredients for the next day’s event.

With my puntured left thigh muscle,  I was hesitant to participate in this year's Pongala. But my visit to my cousin sister Lalitha accan, facilitated my participation in the Pongala festival .Her daughters Mini and Manju and grand daughter Chandana, and Hari's mother were the members of our group. Hari, husband of Manju, son Mohit supported us in getting and transferring all necessary things for pongala to the spot. We assembled in the compound of the Vanjiyur court, where so many women were preparing for Pongala. Chandana, opened her book and drew her imagery of Pongala.

                                           Pongala drawing of Chandana
Mini and Manju pioneered mixing of the ingrediants for therali appam and mandaputtu. Chandana, her grand mother Ratnamma, and myself joined them. 
 At exactly 10 30 am, the muhurtham( time) for lighting fire, all of us started chanting 'Sarvamangalye' and lighted fire at the brick aduppu. The fume, the heat from the hearth and from the sun made all of us sweat and we could not keep our eyes opened due to drifting of water from our eyes.  One to one and half hours of the celebration is the real tough test of our devotion to Devi. The pot was filled 60% with water. Once the water was boiled, cleaned rice was put in the water. When the rice water spilled the pot and reached the Aduppu, all of us did kurava. After boiling the rice, we added powdered jaggery and continuously stirred the ingredients in the pot. When it was properly cooked, we again added pieces of planton. The pongala paysam was ready around 11.40 am.  We covered the nivedya payasam with the banana leaf. At 2 30 pm, the temple designated poojaris blessed the pongala nivedyam. Lunch was served to all of us.  At 3 pm, all of us with our pongala payasam slowly walked to the nearby house of the grand mother. later, we returned to Hari's house.

It was the most joyful day for all of us! Let more and more women join on the next years Pongala Mahotsavam to add on psychological strength to face the growing hurdles of life. Let Attukal Pongala be the icon of Women's empowerment! Let us join in the spiritual feast! 

 

NANDA - MY FAVORITE FRIEND

                                               

                                            

                                       I, NANDA- WIFE OF NARENDRA PRASAD ( LEFT US ON DECEMBER 1ST 2013) AND KALA RAJAN.

                                           

I was her close friend and she a friendship enthusiast.

she saddled her friends with love and care

Still with excess, without prejudice, for others too!

She enhanced our tummies with beautiful dishes

Her magical touches made taste memorable.

She never flouted quality norms of friendship

She never declined requests for get together.

She was a friend in demand

She had the highest value in friendship.

But……………………….

Just nine months of hope against hopelessness

From the day of detection to treatment

Cells multiplied, called themselves cancarous
But seldom them could swallow her courage

Seeing the slow down to zero in monitor

With no expectation of life in her

Her daughters wept, grand children wept

All of her friends wept, specially me.

My friend was destined to leave, and I, to live.

Yet, I see her with the kaleidoscope of  my memories
Today and for ever. I love you, dear.