The Onam Matriarch

Come Onam, and my FB friend Shruti Nargundkar, writes a wonderful post about spending  the day in Gods Own Country, or Kerala, India's southern most state, celebrating the festival.

Read her amazing post to taste the jackfruits, and various types of chips, , enjoy the fragrance of the jasmines, and delight your eyes with the visions of folks in white and gold, only to be amazed by the wonderful geometry and grandeur of the pookalam...

And before we forget, Avial (photograped by Shruti) for the soul .......(recipe on her blogpost)

Naralibai***,
high up there
in tete a tetes
with the Windy varun,
her last fling

before leaving 

her high abode...

She climbs down,
amidst a clamour
on the ground,
from
the little onions,
the slightly older
but
strong willed chillies,
and the polite cumin and curry leaves
all itching
to be part of her scene,
when she makes
her annual trip
to Onam amusement park.

Back at the park,
the beany youngsters,
and spicy chillies
confabulate
and bubble in great excitement
as the
immature bananas
elderly drumsticks,
stuffy potatoes,
and various gourdy folks
stewing in their own thoughts
look on
at the uncontrolably
flirting carrots.

A few hissing steams,
and the mango-turmeric police
enter
spraying the Hing canons
to get things under control.

Naralibai
completely absorbed
in the little ones
finally arrives at the Onam park
to a tumultous welcome.

Gathering
everyone together,
she smiles and looks up,
notices her cousin,
shakes her head indulgently,
and says,
"Ah ! The new generation !
I knew you had a hot job
in OILS
Never thought I'd see you here,
fooling
with the mustard ladies...
But this is Onam,
and
so do Join us....."


***Naral : Marathi word for Coconut