In My Anti-Hero Era

“I have this thing where I get older but just never wiser…” 

In 2009, I bought my first CD with the cover of a girl just a year older than myself with curls flying fearlessly. Night after night and several days in my dad’s car, this CD was a constant from the college friends’ favourite ‘You Belong with Me’ to my bedtime encores of ‘Superstar’ and ‘Untouchable’. I have been a Swiftie since 2010 and while I kept up with the most popular releases from ‘Shake it off’ and ‘Blank Space’ to ‘I Knew you were Trouble’ and ‘Lover’, it was not until COVID-19 that I realized her impact and how much of a Trouble she actually was. I believe that was her intention all along, for the mastermind that she is. But the motives aside, I started admiring her literary compositions, for I believe for me, she is a poet first and a pop star next. 

 “How's one to know? I'd meet you where the spirit meets the bones, in a faith forgotten land” 

I have always been vocal about how fiction can have a greater impact than the best and most awarded non-fiction. Fiction is after all real in a world that is not yours. It is an allegory, a satire, a fable or in a more contemporary way, altered or augmented reality. I still remember in school, my friends and I were quite fascinated by Linda Goodman. Disclaimer- this is neither fiction nor an indication of my life principles. But all in all, it used to be fun where you discovered how this author knew so much about you just from your sun sign. Retrospectively, it was just you relating your life events or personality traits to written words. Louisa May Alcott led us to believe that we would grow up to be strong, independent women like Meg, Jo, Beth or even Amy in our own way, with all our flaws. Tolkien’s ring is nothing but a symbol of unimaginable power in the wrong or right hands. Segal’s Love Story is not a fantasy. Hosseini’s sagas are a tribute to survivors and martyrs of all wars waged in the name of the Lord and Liberation. From Thomas Hardy to Dan Brown, authors have ultimately connected to the readers by defining or describing relatable emotions sometimes in known but often in unknown settings. And that is the mark of a good writer, to be able to communicate personally without uttering a word or knowing the audience at all. I also feel that that is what makes Taylor Swift’s music stand out. 

“I’ve never been a natural, all I do is try, try try” 

I write without basing any of this on her fan-theories, critical commentaries or her current popularity. I will not go into her public image over the years, or her economic powerplays. She is not the greatest of singers, and she may not have the best ‘music’ in different genres. But her versatility and creativity are undeniable. She has the ability to conjure every emotion with her skillfully crafted lyrics- happiness, falling in love, being in love, falling out of love, pain, despair, depression, desire, regret, reconciliation, remorse, loss, win, doubt, conviction, innocence, guilt, losing control, reclaiming control, hatred, jealousy, pride, shame, power, pain, recovery, death, friendship, trust, betrayal, hope, loneliness, camaraderie, hurt, acceptance, vulnerability, vindictiveness, introspection, retrospection and a lot more. She can mellifluously make a memorable impression with details in her songs with words and phrases that we use routinely- months of the year (August, September, December, July), seasons (summer, autumn, winter), time of the day (2:00, 3:00, 1:58, midnight, timeless), age (7, 15, 18, 19, 25, 32, 89), phases of life (childhood, teenage, young adults, adults, motherhood, old age), places (New York, Paris, London, India), life choices (leaving home, setting up a new home, pursuing a profession, turning down or accepting offers) and colours (red, maroon, blue, golden, grey, black). A lot of songs are complete stories often transporting the audience to different worlds, from castles and princesses to high school corridors, eerie moors to cozy living rooms, forgotten mansions to hospital rooms, hidden alleys to decked-up halls, quaint cafes to crowded bars, pine forests to churches. Students can probably learn more alliterations, similes, metaphors, onomatopoeia and antithesis and oxymorons from her lyrics than from textbooks. Apart from pop anthems and country ballads, some songs paint a vivid picture reminiscent of Austen's striking representation of ordinary people or Bronte's hauntingly beautiful imagery. 

“It was the end of a decade, but the start of an age” 

I happened to recently speak to a young girl bravely dealing with the school and entrance examinations. In her free time, she finds solace in Swift’s music. Several literary scholars acclaim her works. She can appeal to children and animate the aged. Having grown up with her, some of her older songs hit different now. I think it is the similar to appreciating Kishore Kumar or Tagore after a certain age or re-reading your favourite books after several years and developing a different kind of affinity for it. Shakespeare is hailed as a giant in literature, not because of complicated plots or intricate nature of his writings but because he could convey complex emotions through known situations which everybody, from aristocrats to common people could understand and enjoy. Swift, I feel, can weave a similar magic. It is as if with each song, she is talking about you, talking to you, or talking for you, even if you have never ever been and are unlikely to be in a similar situation. Sometimes she expresses thoughts which are lost in your head or frozen at the tip of your tongue. So, while she sings, “I can never bring you peace…”, she most certainly does. 

“I've never heard silence quite this loud” 

Today we are living in a world where criticism is the way of life, opinions are becoming more like orders, inclusivity is for the sake of being included, I for one prefer to hear someone say the same thing truthfully in better words like, “forcing laughter, faking smiles”. Is it wrong to want to escape? In an age when you must contemplate every word for it might be offensive to some stranger, and careful is the only way to be carefree, I would prefer to scream my lungs out, “I had the time of my life fighting dragons with you”, with a group of people who are united by love. Is it wrong to look for catharsis? At a time when your convictions hang on a precarious ledge and two negatives do not amount to a positive, I would want somebody to sing “your string of lights is still bright to me”. Is it wrong to seek support? 

“I want auroras and sad prose, I want to watch wisteria grow right over my bare feet” 

Yes, I will wish she wins all the awards, and I will make a mad rush for tickets if I ever get a chance. Yes, I will applaud her determination to re-record and own her music and yes, I will listen to all her songs even if they are not Taylor’s version because they have always been her versions! Call it what you want, the haters gonna hate, so if the shoe fits walk in it…and in a world full of cynics, I am proud to be a Swiftie!

MS

Abode of the Gods

As we stood before the 100 feet seven-tiered Gopuram of the Shree Anantha Padmanabhaswamy Temple, we were simply spellbound by the innumerable sculptures made on it narrating the stories from the Mahabharata and the Ramayana on either side of it. Who were these unknown sculptors who were so familiar with the epics to have depicted them so beautifully with their chisels and hammers? Or did their inspiration, too, come from the Gods?  Right on the top of Gopuram, built in the Pandyan style in the 16^th century, is a boat or vanchi which gave the Kingdom of Travancore its ancient name of Vanchinad or the Land of the Boat. The seven identical kalashas are placed there. Right down the middle of the Gopuram are openings on every tier, all aligned in one straight line, through which the sun can be viewed two times a year- the equinoxes, when the sun rises exactly on the east and sets exactly on the west. What engineering precision! There are four main entrances to the temple situated in the four directions along with a private entrance for the royal family since Padmanabhaswamy is their tutelary deity. The ruler of Tranvancore, Raja Marthanda Varma, consecrated his kingdom to Shree Padmanabhaswamy in the mid-eighteenth century and became a ‘dasa’ or servant of the Kingdom of the Lord and his descendants are still the custodians of this temple. No wonder Thiruvanthapuram literally means the City of Lord Anantha.

The confluence of the Dravidian and the Chera style of architecture can be seen in this temple. As we made our way into the main corridor of the temple, we were struck by the artistic richness of the entrance and the cleanliness maintained everywhere. All along the rectangular corridor, running from the entrance to the main temple, there are carved monolithic pillars with sculptures of deities and each one is different from the other. Not only the deities but even the ornamental carvings on each of them are different. On looking up for more information I found that there are exactly 365 and one-quarter elaborately carved pillars in granite in this corridor. How scientific and exact could these artisans have been! The only carvings which are uniform on these pillars are the statues of the lamp bearers. Imagine being inside this temple on a night when all the diyas are lit like for the Lakshadeepam festival!

To deviate a little, we had been made aware of the dress code to be followed inside this temple before our visit- saris for women, dhoti or vesti for men as bottom wear with or without a shawl/angavastram for the top. However, we noticed that, apart from the priests and devotees in white dhotis, there were many able bodied men walking inside the corridors of the temple wearing dhotis clasped smartly with black belt and triangular khaki or blue angavastrams draped over their shoulders.  It was only when they crossed us and we could see their backs that we noticed the walkie-talkies smartly tucked into their belts and Police written on the back of their angavastrams. Innovative Kerala Police!

As we were guided along, we began our parikrama by visiting the temples of Ganapati, Bhairava (Shiva), Shri Krishnaswamy (Thiruvambadi), an avatar of Vishnu, who is seen here as the divine charioteer with a whip and a conch-shell, and Narasimhan, half-man, half-lion avatar of the Lord. This temple is among the 108 temples dedicated to Vishnu. Among many other temples in this complex dedicated to different gods there is one in honour of Ved Vyas, the author of the Mahabharata. There are two Dhwajastambhs or flagstaffs – teak wood pillars covered with silver and gold- the silver one in front of the Krishna temple and the gold in front of the main temple. Atop the gold dhwajastambh is Garuda, the vahana or vehicle of Lord Vishnu. Several ornately carved Mandapams, musical pillars and mural paintings on the outer walls of the main temple will leave all in awe of this artistic and architectural masterpiece.

As per legends the original temple is more than five thousand years old and references to this temple have been found in the Puranas, the Epics and Sangam literature. The present temple that we see was built in the seventeenth century by the rulers of Tranvancore and houses the principal deity of Lord Padmanabhaswamy or Lord Vishnu in Ananthashayanam or sleeping posture on the serpent Adi Sesha. The Garbhagriha or the sanctum-sanctorum houses this eighteen feet idol built from 12008 shaligrams brought from the river Gandaki in Nepal. Elephants carrying them took more than three years to reach their destination. Apart from the shaligrams, a special mixture of mud and herbs collected from 108 sources called katu sarkara yogam was plastered on the deity. The deity in entirety cannot be seen from one door. From the side we entered, we first got to see the Lord’s feet through the first door, then the torso through the second door from where we could see Brahma on a lotus emanating from the Lord’s navel and, finally, the face and crown with his right hand extended to settle on the Shiva Lingam.

Legend says that once Sage Vilwamangalathu Swamiyar, who performed his duties at the Padmanabhaswamy temple in Kasargod, scolded an orphan boy, who stayed with him and helped him with the daily chores.  The boy ran away from him. On realizing that the boy was none other than the Lord himself, the sage followed him through a cave to the shores of Thiruvanthapuram. There he saw the boy disappearing into a tree which then fell and took the shape of Lord Vishnu in Anathashayanam. The Lord then revealed himself in his 8-mile long form sleeping on a thousand hooded cobra or Adi Shesha. The sage asked for forgiveness and begged the Lord to condense his size so that he could see him. Even though Vishnu reduced his size the sage could not see him fully through the trees and saw only his face, stomach and feet. That is how the devotees in this temple also see him.

Many of us have read about the news of the unbelievable amount of wealth collected and stored over the centuries in its many vaults which, by Court order, were opened in 2011. Some of the vaults are opened from time to time for daily pujas and ceremonial occasions but they say there are still many unopened vaults and ante-chambers. Stories of superstitions or faith, associated with this centuries old temple, abound but it is needless to dwell on them. So I would prefer to stick to my own journey through the abodes of the Gods and great men as we made our way from Kovalam to Kanyakumari. Green, blue and gold are the three colours one can associate with the state of Kerala – the blue sea, the lush green mangroves, banana orchards and the coconut trees which adorn its coastline and, of course, its unforgettable golden beaches. Perhaps, nothing describes this land better than the well-known and much adverstised tagline of Kerala Tourism-God’s Own Country.

Our next stop was Suchindram, a small town in the Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu, and the famous temple of Thanumalayan. Kanyakumari was once part of the Travancore Kingdom. The legend associated with this place is that Lord Indra did penance here to get relieved or purified (suchi is the Sanskrit word for purify) of a curse. The main deity is a Trimurti or a union of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva all worshipped in one massive Lingam – Sthanu (Shiva), Mal (Vishnu) and Ayan (Brahma). Another attraction of this temple, apart from its 134 feet, 11- tiered Gopuram, is the 22 feet statue of Hanuman or Anjaneya carved from a single block of granite. I remember being mesmerized by its size almost 50 years ago but as they say everything looks much smaller as you grow up. It was certainly huge but somehow felt smaller than the image imprinted in my childhood memory. Inside the temple are the musical pillars carved from a single block of stone. Apart from the Gods, we need to bow our heads to these master craftsmen who blended art and science in such perfect harmony.

Kumari Amman Temple, one of the 108 Shakti Peethas, is one of the most sacred temples of the world. Mention of this temple can be found in the ancient Hindu scriptures, the epics and Sangam literature. Legend says that the demon King Banasura, with a boon from Brahma, became so powerful that he ousted Indra and had held all the Devas captives. He could be defeated by only a virgin girl. So the goddess Bhagavati took the form of a girl and arrived in Kanyakumari. But Shiva fell in love with Kumari and wanted to marry her. The wedding was to be at midnight. But Sage Narada was aware that only a virgin goddess could slay Banasura. When Lord Shiva left Suchindram for the wedding, Narada caused a rooster to crow. Shiva was misled to think it was dawn and the auspicious moment was gone. He went back to Suchindram and Kumari kept waiting. The Goddess remained unmarried and later put an end to Banasura’s romantic overtures by slaying him and releasing the Devas. The goddess later forgave the Banasura and blessed the waters of the holy confluence at Triveni. Having heard the many stories about the diamond on the Goddess’ nose, I felt blessed to have seen it with my own eyes.

Our last stop was Cape Comorin or the tip of the Indian peninsula, the meeting point of the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal with the Indian Ocean. What better sight from the Triveni Sangam than that of the sun rising in all its radiant splendor, despite the discernible monsoon clouds, scattering its first rays on the Swami Vivekananda Rock Memorial and the gigantic statue of the much revered poet-philosopher saint of Tamil literature, Thiruvalluvar.

Where the earth and ocean meet,

And all things seem only one

In the universal Sun.-  P.B.Shelley

 

DS

A Tale of Two Bananas

We had just finished eating one of the heaviest meals when a booming voice from behind shouted out… That’s an insult! I will not tolerate it in my country.

I turned around and saw a man who was heavily built with a thick drooping moustache and wore clothes that you would expect in very ancient times. He carried an umbrella made of coir and looked like having jumped out of the Ramlila enactments you would see in rural India. But there was something in his shining eyes and deep voice that could make anyone sit up and take notice of as someone special.

Sorry Sir. how have I insulted you or anyone else?

You have not had the drinks in the three glasses before you and more importantly not eaten the two bananas. When you are having Sadhya, you must clean off everything that is laid before you. Leaving anything untouched is an insult to the Onam celebrations.

Sir, while I get your point, you must realise that there is a limit to what we can possibly eat in one go. For over an hour now, we have been eating one dish after another. After eating all, we have just folded the banana leaf and we will be taking the two bananas with us to eat later when hungry.

Can you show me what all you have eaten? I need to check whether you are telling me the truth or fibbing.

Why should we have to prove anything to you? Who do you think you are?

Just then the hotel chef came and with folded hands requested us to comply with the funny man’s strange request.

I promise I shall give you a complimentary meal if you do as the Lord says. Don’t question him please.

Ok, Chef. Just for your sake, I will take him through the meal we just had. Please take a seat for it will take me some time to remember everything. Let me open up the folded banana leaves that will still show you traces and remnants of the feast we just had.

We entered the dining area from the lobby where a beautiful floral decoration was made to wish us Happy Onam.

The moment we sat down to enjoy the deep blue water of the infinity pool to our left and the dark waters of the Arabian Sea in front and light blue of the sky above, a young man wearing the traditional dhoti and top laid two fine banana leaves and put a bit of salt in one corner. He was followed by a couple of others who put eight varieties of pickles and pachadi (raita made with pineapple), all of different looks and taste- red, orange, pink, white, yellow. This was followed by quick bombardment of banana, pappadam, banana and jack fruit fries, jaggery and fried chillies neatly on one side of the leaf. On the other side came three varieties of vegetables. These were, avial (A mix of vegetables in a coconut and yogurt base), thorans (Stir-fried vegetables with coconut and spices) and erissery (a dish made with pumpkin, beans, and spices).

Then came the sumptuous helpings of rice with parippu curry, a thick dal with a wholesome topping of ghee. This was followed by another round of rice and sambar and pulissery, a tangy yogurt-based curry with vegetables curry. We had to almost fight off the servers from pouring any more helpings on our leaves.

Ok Sir, we will now get you the sweets specially made by our chef for today.

Yes, please bring them on. We Bongs love the sweets of all varieties.

No sooner had we uttered the sentence came round one… payasam of banana flowers which was followed by payasam of jack fruit made in jaggery. As if this was not enough, they put a folded yellow coloured sweet roti which looked more like pooranpoli we are used to at Mumbai. Another lad came in quick time and poured palada payasam (made of rice and milk) on the sweet roti.

How did it all taste? Asked the so-called Lord.

Each dish was unique and tasty to the core…. I said.

The man patted the chef on his back…Well done, my boy.

The chef stood up and with folded hands he said… Sir, I only do ten percent of the work. rest is your doing in making the food taste good. I try and put in love in everything I make and then it is you who decides and makes sure the food is good and enjoyable for all who eat it.

The man smiled at the chef and nodded his head in appreciation.

We felt full to the brim by now and there was no place for anything when they put these three steel glasses before us. One with warm red water, rasam in the second and butter milk in the third.  Chef, everything was good about the food but we have not understood why such a combination of drinks are served at the end of the meal.

These help in digestion….said the chef.

But for us this was a deadly concoction to end a super meal and after sipping a little, we decided to call it a day and we neatly folded the banana leaf to say…..We are done!

Ha ha ha… you did good and since you are not from my country it is quite natural that you are not used to drinking.

Yes Sir, we heard that during this year’s celebrations the people of this land consumed so much liquor that earned the government enough revenue to fund the next mission of Chandrayaan 4.

All these fools will go to pathalam soon.

Why pathalam Sir?

Yes, for those who enjoy here will not do it there. They will face strict prohibition there and I will make sure they do not find ways and means to procure them from anywhere else. Our prohibition policy is strictly enforced, not like on earth where bootlegging is in vogue.

Now that we have had almost 25 to 30 dishes in the Sadhya meal, can we once again fold back the banana leaves and go back to our rooms to rest?

Yes, you may go. You have done well but do carry the two bananas and eat later during the day to finish off the meal. Let me now go to the other tables to check how they have fared.

Thanks, Sir, but can we have a picture with you for our memories.

Yes, sure….and we asked the Chef to take the picture.

And the man moved on leaving us and Chef standing with our hands folded. We asked the chef…who’s he?

The man represents the benevolent King Mahabali who once ruled the three worlds. He was an Asura but because of his good deeds and qualities, he became the ruler of both heaven and earth. The Devas or Gods were very upset and asked for Lord Vishnu’s help who acceded to their requests and manifested as Vamana, the dwarf. As Mahabali was performing rituals and giving away gifts, Vamana appeared and asked for land as much as could be measured in his three steps. The moment Mahabali agreed, Vamana grew in size and put one foot in heaven and the other on earth and asked the king where he could place his third step. The generous Mahabali offered his head for the third step. Vishnu was pleased with Mahabali and offered him a boon. Mahabali asked to be allowed to visit his people once every year. His wish was granted and on Onam day, it is said, Mahabali visits his people to wish them happiness.

I turned around to take one more look at the Lord but could not see him anywhere. I gulped down the liquids in the three glasses and put the two bananas in my pocket and went to my room. At night, we ate the two fruits and wondered if it would be right to throw the skins of the sacred bananas in the bin under the reading table or find another place appropriate.

We turned believers in God’s Own Country.

Happy Onam.

SS