Saree in Style: Onam Entry

 Saree in Style: Onam Entry

Entr#1 - Madisar 

On reading the Onam challenge I was mulling over just what to do? I have no clue about any of the traditional style of wearing saree, nor am I good at following tips from Youtube videos. So I decided to wait and watch......and just what wonder you people created!? Every single entry was so well researched and presented. I don't know if you got all the steps in wearing the saree right, but on picture you guys were just that - picture-perfect! 

Let me first wrap up the style am wearing and the accessories. In these pics I am wearing a traditional Kerala cotton saree in madisar style, and accessorized with golden/kundan jewelry. I would have loved to wear my kunjalam and false hair, but it's so short that I can just about put a pony. So I pulled it back to give it a traditional look. 

Even though I am fairly good at wearing madisar, I just couldn't get the hang of this smooth cotton material, so it hasn't come out as well as I expected :/ Madisar is usually worn in Red, Green, Yellow colors. So Urvashi in Sundari neeyum song was my only vision of how it would look when worn in madisar style.  I recently wore madisar for a festival and it turned out very well. I guess I just don't know how to work this soft cotton material. 

It is well known that there are many overlapping aspects to the two cultures of Tamil Nadu and Kerala - whether it is the attire, festivals, food, deities, etc. Especially when it comes to Tamil Iyers, there is a fairly common sub-sect that hails from Pallakad. Their culture and habits are blend of the two in many aspects. Even their dialect is a combination of Malayalam and Tamil and they also have a very distinct accent. I have heard that some of our ancestors hail from Kerala. My aunt claims this as the reason for her typical Keralite features - thick curly hair, and a certain beauty that is typical of Kerala woman. You know how in all families there is this aunt who weaves romantic stories and sort of makes herself mysterious and alluring? Yeah, this is that same aunt and we all went gaga over every word that came out of her. I never once realized that my mom also has dense curly hair, yet she doesn't have any connection with Kerala. All the same, I thought combining Kerala saree with madisar style would be an interesting fusion. I am not great with props, so I avoided them and instead let my daughter take  a dozen pic and chose 2 decent ones to share.

Now taking a few steps back - When the challenge was announced my first thought was Bengali style - but I thought that would be too obvious. And then I kept thinking of madisar style and that really got me going! Why did I choose this style? For many madisar is just another style of wearing saree but for me it is an emotion! 

You know how girls from a very young age love to wear saree and drape dhupatta to look like a saree? For me it was always madisar! When I was in kindergarten/primary I participated in fancy dress as a 'madisar mami'. My mom and grandmom struggled to wrap a huge saree on my tiny frame into a decent and presentable madisar. I was super thrilled at my costume and was supposed to go on stage and say a few words. However, I was tongue tied and got off the stage without uttering a single word! I remember I got an earful from my sister all the way back home. I was in tears and tripped over some iron rods on the way and got badly hurt. That still didn't stop her from berating! Seeing my state my mother shouted at my sis and calmed me down. Ha ha! That made my day ;) 

I think wearing madisar for fancy dress was merely a coincidence. Even otherwise I have always always loved this style. It gives the wearer a distinct elegance and beauty that I personally do not find in nivi-style (thanks to Shilpa, now I can articulate this style in a single word!). When a woman wears saree, in nivi-style, she is praised for holding up the culture, being traditional, blah blah. Arrey, if you want to talk about culture let's go a few decades back! Let's look at madisar, kandangi, navvari, and so many other styles! I tell you: wearing nivi-style is easy when compared to these traditional ones. And that elegance and beauty is automatically bestowed upon you when you wear these traditional styles.

In my home my grandmom (my dads's mother) was the only one who wore madisar. As she got older, she would wear it only for doing puja and then switch to nivi-style. But after her heart attack, she completely switched to nivi-style. My mother (and her mom) almost detests this style. She would simply refuse to wear it even if the situation demands. While she gave into the custom just once a year for the annual ceremony for our forefathers (devasam), slowly she switched to nivi-style even for that occasion. 

I could never understand what is the big deal because I LOVED IT! In fact, I once wore it for ethnic day in my college. Though that was an embarrassing day in my life. In fact, that memory was buried somewhere underneath and came up just now while typing. Just imagine being the only - ONLY - person wearing a traditional style while all others turned up in regular nivi-style! Oh lord! I was quite the laughing stock that day. And like an idiot I didn't even take change of clothes. Anyways, in retrospect I am impressed with my bravery. 

Because the woman in my family almost never wear madisar, I thought it is just restricted to important ceremonies. But when I got married I found out that it is a custom to wear it for all festivals - if not, then at least for Pongal and Varalakshmi nombu. Oh I was so thrilled to hear this! I am quite popular in my husband's family for being the only girl who loves madisar. Practically no one else does. They simply wear it because the situation demands it and can't wait to make the switch. I am also the only one who can wear it without needing any help or encouragement. Of course it is not perfect, but it manages to look like madisar and that is good enough! Since mostly no one wears it in my generation, I always get the oohs-and-aahs from everyone because they are clueless to my faults XD 

In my family and my husband's family there are these designated 'madisar experts'. So a few years back I got one such expert (my husband's aunt) to show me the steps and the tips and tricks of perfecting the style. Every time I had to wear madisar, I would try my best to follow these steps. It was never perfect but it slowly got better and better. When I wore it for Varalakshmi nombu this year it was almost there! 

PS: While I was preparing this write-up I saw Usha Mahesh's post - now am even more embarrassed to share my pics. Her drape is so perfect and lovely!  

Book Review - Fall of the Giants

Not unlike a typical 8yr old, my son has a romantic notion of wars, the bravado it takes to fight in a war, etc. This only got worse when he started reading a book called World War Stories. Despite the stark reality (as explained in the book) of millions getting killed, spread of diseases, people losing their loved ones, his view didn't change. however, this got us talking about who fought who, what triggered the wars, why did a country enter or not enter the war, etc. I realized my knowledge of the war was a little murky and required frequent triips to Wiki. To refresh my memory I went back to the one book that tells you all you need to know about the war - Fall of the Giants. 

For the uninitiated, Ken Follet has written some of the best researched historical fictions, especially on the World Wars. 'Fall of the Giants' is the first of his World War trilogy focusing on the events that led to the war, what happens during the war, how it ended and a teeny glimpse into what would trigger the next war. He also covers the major political, economic and social upheaval in these countries. 

Ken Follet has placed his central characters among the key players in the World War. They become your eyes and ears that tell you all that happens. They make it even more insightful by giving their perspective of the happenings. 

In Britain we are taken beyond the elegant and elite aristocratic society, into the hardships faced by the working class. We have an Earl in Aberowen (a small fictional town) representing the aristocracy, while a worker in his coal mine represents the labor class. We get to know about the Woman's suffrage movement through the Earl's sister who is one of the key feminist characters who drives the movement, along with her maid. 

In Russia, two orphaned brothers show us the state of the country under their Tsar. The autocratic ruling of the country, which also seeps into the way factories are run, while making the police and army corrupt are also explained through these two brothers. We also get to know how these led to the emergence of the Bolsheviks and Lenin as their ruler. 

While Germany's role in the war is depicted through an intelligence officer in their Foreign office in Britain, the insight into their society, political climate, etc., are very limited. 

In the US we have a secretary to Woodrow Wilson (the then US President) who moves among the aforesaid characters and thus gives us the American viewpoint as well as their role in the war. Of all the major players in the war, you can't help but feel that Follet greatly admires the US and appreciates their role in bringing the war to an end. 

Apart from the above key characters, there are a few more that add layers to the story and bring out that much more detail of that period. 

One of the key impacts from reading the book was how the lives of millions of people rests in the hands of a few who make the decisions! While at the top decisions are made to save the pride and standing of the country, further down the line the mismanagement of people strikes you real hard. In Britain we see novice army men with aristocratic background or from league schools getting key positions in the army. Decisions taken by these people with no real experience in the front kills many a men in the war. There are few scenes in the book that bring home this fact. An ill-planned attack by the Earl leads a majority of his platoon to death at the hands of German soldiers. Soon after we are taken to Aberowen where a postman arrives to delivers news from the war. Every time he visits a house, it is to deliver news of the death of the family member in the war. The sheer number of people from the town who were killed in the war, and how a peaceful Sunday suddenly turns tragic is very heartrending. 

In Germany, we see how it is ruled by an older generation of Lords and ministers who are out of sync with the reality, and thus lead to the downfall of the country in the war. The protagonist from Germany is a peace-loving forward thinking man who appreciates the power Britain and the US hold. This starkly brings out the mismanagement by the Kaiser and his ministers and ultimately leads to their downfall. We also see their hand in the Bolshevik movement in Russia and how it changed the tide for Germany. 

Russia is shown in very poor light, obviously due to the state the country was in at that time. Here, many get killed not only because of the poor decisions of the people in position, but also due to the complete apathy towards the people. Soldiers are enlisted without a choice, they are sent to war without adequate food, water, ammunition, transportation....the list could go on! Quite naturally, the protagonist in Russia has come up in the army rank through cut-throat means with nary an ounce of guilt for his actions. He gives as good as it comes and you only feel admiration for him! A great supporter and active worker in the Bolsheviks movement, he dreams of a better future for Russia under the new regime. But is shocked when faced with the eccentric behavior of the people in power and is unable to do anything about it. 

By far, US seems to be the hero of this story. The tactical way in which Woodrow Wilson handles the situation, the way the country is forced to enter the war and how it helps win the war are wonderfully explained. We also get to see the underside of the US - the mafia-like fiefdom by Russian immigrants. 

Ken Follet has managed to weave a wonderful story that combines all the above characters with one impacting the life of another at some point and how that changes their lives forever! While I have only touched upon the aspects pertaining to the war, the book is actually a wholesome entertainer with love, romance, violence, sentiments, beliefs and much more!  

The next book in the series is the 'Winter of the World' which is about the Second World War. I hope to start reading it some time soon...

A message to Saree In Style

 I recently attended (actually 2weeks now!) a virtual event by Saree In style - a closed group of saree lovers on FB. I have been meaning to write a post appreciating their effort in the event. So here is my response:

First of all: Really sorry for the late extremely late post. It's very hard for me to get computer time and that is what I need - because it is hard to type on my mobile. 

Frankly speaking, I wanted to join the event only to get some tips on how to conduct virtual events (since that is part of my job). I was mainly looking at - how many actually join, how smoothly does the event run, if attendees stay then what makes them stay, etc. But as we drew closer to the date, I really didn't want to give up my whole Saturday evening so I had second thoughts about attending. There were two voices inside my head: one determined to attend the event and following all the norms (wearing saree, sharing the pic, prepping my speech, etc.) while the other longed for a lazy Saturday evening with nothing to do but perch in front of the TV with ordered in pizza OR like always, experiment in my kitchen with an interesting dinner. So obviously there was a lot of fighting going up there.....but eventually better sense prevailed! I not only got decked up for the event, but I also got my daughter to do some photo shoot for me, AND stayed through the full event! All because of the wonderful engaging way the event was run, take a bow Shilpa, Preethi and Jaseena! I have added my other pics from the day here. Go ahead, have a good laugh XD Btw, I managed to make an interesting dinner as well and used the breaks to put it together and serve my family.  

And I did learn too! The introductions, breaks and games were very well planned and executed. But more importantly there is one thing I even implemented, though not from this event. 

For Independence Day Shilpa ran a quiz throughout the day which got many of us hooked! I used this idea and did a quiz on lesser known freedom fighters for my team. Like Shilpa: I set the stage with teasers and launched one quiz every 30min over a 2hr period. It was a huge success! Thank you so much! 

And with that.....let me get back to my cocoon and hope to come out a little more frequently!     

My tryst with sugared coffee......

I suppose no one read this when I posted on fb, but am taking it seriously......yet again! I have often tried and failed to reduce my sugar intake. My sis once told me reducing sugar in coffee/tea is enough as that will drastically bring down our sugar intake. Especially since we eat sweets rarely but coffee/tea regularly, i.e., thrice a day for me.
While in the past I switched to regular sugar (two spoons) in a week or ten days, this time I decided to go the full way and switch to sugar-less coffee......yes SUGARLESS! And life is HELL!
Unlike before am not craving for sweets but for spicy snacks. Also this has made me very irritable. But what is strange is after my first such coffee I can't stand the taste of coffee with sugar!

The above post was written in early 2015 I think. I am pretty sure I switched back to sugared coffee after this. I successfully switched to sugarfree coffee in 2017 (I shared this with my friends on FB and thats how I know for sure!). This is how I eventually switched to sugarless - I visited my husband's cousin. He looked extremely lean and I was shocked to know that he was detected of diabetes! Instead of taking the usual medicine, he decided to completely skip sugar, refined flour and a few other things in his food. He doesn't take any medicine and his sugar is well within control. Not sure if this is what truly impressed me? Or it was just this time I was lucky?! But I did eventually stop taking sugar completely in my coffee and tea. I started in around 22nd October, 2017 and it's almost 3yrs now. I positively hate sugar in my coffee/tea! 


http://www.unbelievable-facts.com/2014/08/this-family-ate-no-sugar-for-whole-year.html?m=1