Monday, June 21, 2010

Mutathe Mullakku Manamilla

There has been a long gap, before this post..... the reason for which is that I haven't been around much.... This summer has been particularly eventful and gloriously memorable..... It marks the first ever attempt in my line of vocation..... but also the first time I have ventured above Bombay..... North India - I have heard, seen on television, read about in books but have never ventured into.... the experience has been joyous and enlightening...... there were many things that stood out and many customary actions that were alien to me and I have gone one step closer to understanding..... In the homes of hospitable and friendly strangers and aquaintances there were similarities and differences and it was nice to experience both....... At certain points it was like I've travelled from a far off land altogether...... It was like I adorned the role of Vasco Da Gama or Marco Polo..... there were so many things that drew me closer to their way of life.... the smell in the air, the food they ate, the clothes they wore, the language they spoke were all alluring as if drenched in some intoxicating scent..... An attraction was born quite similar to that of a man towards a woman of bountiful curves..... It was with all these memories and emotions that I returned to a comfortable yet all-too-familiar, home....... Normally these are the experiences that crowd into inumerable books and demystify the reasonsing of the North-South divide and also provide a trove full of anecdotes...... I'm happy and satisfied to keep it in my memory and share this portion to an unknown audience......
                                                                                                          As I go rejoicing in the midst of something so attractively new..... something casually wanders into my head..... a proverb in my mother-tongue, Malayalam..... it goes "Mutathe Mullakku Manamilla"..... literal translation - "The Jasmine in your   own Backyard has no Scent"........... the proverbs essence is that you don't appreciate what you have but you rave about everything else without realising the value of what you have...... it has a universality to it...... more than I can explain...... this proverb is like a reminder to people who tend to forget..... Personally I can say that despite being subject to the choicest delicacies all across the globe I can still never let go of my love for Chorum Sambhar, Meen (red rice and sambhar, fish)...... it helps me understand that even with all the colours that come with autmn and all the pure white snow of winter, my heart will truly tug at the rain drops that transport me home........ there may be a million things to do, enjoy and explore in many lands but I'll still cherish the warm lethargy I feel in my motherland....... and as I write these foreign experiences wrapped up in the cloudy, rain-soaked atmosphere of home...... I can only say that I hope more and more people appreciate such experiences..... but dont forget the Mulla (jasmine) in their own Mutam (backyard).........













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