Weaving Moments

God's own country - Kerala, observes Kuchela Dinam,today.It commemorates the reunion of Lord Krishna with His childhood friend, Sudama - an immortal tale of love, friendship and devotion that we grew up on.
The story of their friendship began at Sage Sandipani's hermitage. It is one of the most well-known episodes in the Bhagavatham.
Both of them studied together as disciples of their Guru.
Years later, Sudama went to Dwarka to meet Lord Krishna who had become the king. He had brought a handful of aval - that is, beaten rice, as a gift. He felt ashamed to give it to Him. But Lord Krishna was persistent. He asked what had His friend brought for Him. Sudama was compelled to give him the aval. Lord Krishna relished it, saying that it was his favorite food. As we all know, when Sudama returned home, he found his humble hut transformed into a palace.
Kuchela Dinam celebrates the divine friendship of Lord Krishna and Sudama and the infinite love and compassion of the Lord.
Guruvayur Temple, close to my hometown, Thrissur, celebrates the day, by offering nivediyam to Sri Guruvayoorappan. Temples across Kerala prepare an offering, comprising beaten rice, jaggery, ghee, dried ginger and cumin.
India is replete with innumerable stories that shape the value systems of generations of Indians. Storytelling has been an integral part of our lives. Through this tale,we picked up , unconsciously, the beauty of friendship, of 'athithi devo bhava', of the love and care of the divine..
We need to keep our stories alive... And as we mature, we gain newer insights into ancient stories... as our reflections go deeper..
In our modern context, the bond of friendship would be nuanced into the ease of sharing comfortable silences, an effortless maintenance of the bond, special connections with each others' families, good energy, absence of jealousy... That just about sums it up, for me, at the moment... Have read reams when high school kids have turned in papers on the subject of friendship! 😃
Greetings on the occasion of Kuchela Dinam.
I understand that the reunion of Lord Krishna and Sudama is celebrated in other parts of India on Akshaya Tritiya.What a wonderful world it is! 😃❤

Hi folks
Gita Pillai
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Jaya Pillai Afternoons and More captures little moments that are now woven together as memories of an unforgettable year. The book offers a peek into some very ordinary lives of a family that is constantly seeking to discover beauty amidst chaos. The writer, through her writing, has not only taken a humorous vi...

It is festive time in God's own country.. Onam - the harvest festival - happens in the month of August /September.We have never experienced Onam in Kerala, due to the hectic work schedule in the North - especially if you've been in school, college and then - back to school again, all your life. However, traditions were strictly observed at our Kolkata home. We were lucky to remain rooted, despite being miles away from home. Mom would regale us with stories of her girlhood days and would replicate the celebrations , without fail, each year. We would be told about the story of King Mahabali, whose visit would be treasured each year ...just like Goddess Durga's arrival is celebrated in Bengal. There would be the pookalams designed in the front courtyard. People would be dressed in their festive best. There would be traditional dances to the rhythm of the melodious Onam songs. There would a carnival on the streets, welcoming King Mahabali. There would be boat races on the back waters of Kerala. My memories of Onam is the Sadhya prepared by Mom,each year. Sadhya literally means 'feast' . Onam would inevitably fall on a working day. Having packed us off to school at 7.30 a.m, Mom would prepare the sadhya. How does a traditional sadhya look? The banana leaf would be spread out. A pinch of salt would be placed on the left corner of the leaf. Next, some banana chips would be placed - the salty ones as well as the sweet, jaggery coated ones. Dishes would be served from left to right. There would be the tangy, spicy flavoured ginger chutney - a personal favorite. We had olan - that is, sliced pumpkin, cooked in coconut milk. There would be pachadi, made with yoghurt and ash gourd. There would be a dry kootan made with pumpkin,and grated coconut. There was avial - my absolute favourite - comprising a variety of vegetables, ranging from raw bananas and drum sticks to carrots and beans....cooked to a thickened consistency with coconut and yoghurt, flavored with coconut oil. We would also have poriyal - beans or cabbage, cooked with shredded coconut.
The first course of the sadhya would begin with rice, served with parippu curry or daal, ghee and papaddum. It would be followed by rice, served with sambar, and then, rasam. By now, one's taste buds would have experienced all the tingling sensations of the various spices and tamarind. It was time to switch gears and go in for the most anticipated item of the sadhya - the payasam .We would have a variety of them each year - the vermicelli variety, cooked slowly in coconut milk and sugar, the parippu or Bengal gram variety , cooked in coconut milk and jaggery, or we would have mango / jackfruit payasam... all garnished with dry fruits and flavored with ghee. The final course of the sadhya is the curd rice, which I would have, with what I began, at the beginning - the ginger chutney!
I look back and feel overawed by all that Mummy dearest would do, singlehandedly... We would reach home from school at the dot of 2 pm... to be greeted by the rich aromas, wafting from the kitchen. Having had a quick wash, we would sit together, be admonished if we were reluctant to partake of a particular vegetable, listen to stories about Onam and about relatives back home,as we relished the Onam specialities.Guests would drop in, phone calls would come from near and dear ones to wish us a 'Happy Onam' and we would tune into Doordarshan news at night for information on Onam celebrations down South.It was a treat to see our parents' faces light up when mention was made of the Kerala celebrations! Those were the days when technology had not yet made the world into a global family.... Yet... Sigh...
Wishing you all a very ' Happy Onam' ...May King Mahabali shower his blessings in abundance... May the year ahead be glorious!!! 🙏

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The darling nephew made this - Puttu. Puttu is a dish prepared for breakfast in the southern states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. It is made of coarsely ground rice ( sometimes red rice as in this case ) or wheat flower, mixed with a little salt and steamed in a tall cylinder shaped container with shavings of sweetened coconut on the top and sometimes in the middle. It is usually served with bananas, chickpea curry or even chicken, mutton or egg curry.
Nowadays, people do go in for experimentation and opt for unconventional ingredients like oats or ragi.

So what is Weaving Moments all about ? It's just a collection of a whole lot of moments in all hues, put together as and when they appear. Mine is a family of creative nerds who savour each moment of life. We have no great expectations and are thrilled with the smallest of things. We have varied interests and yet a few things stay common. Travelling, cooking, reading, meditating, teaching, learning , writing and music are a few things stitched into our lives. Weaving Moments is a platform to create and connect and share with other creative minds. Blog posts, write ups and pics will constitute a good part of this interaction.
Welcome to Weaving Moments!

Moments,
Like the morning light
Dripping from smoky grey skies,
Blend into patterns.
I walk through them :
The maze that they are,
Trying to make sense
Of each line, each curve.
When the day ends,
I see them clearly -
Moments woven into life.

Welcome to Weaving Moments

©Jaya