Kalamandalam Gopi Ashan

Sometimes a picture triggers a series of images inside you. For me, it was this particular one from R K Menon's 'Performing Arts' set on flickr.

It was a picture of an artist putting on his make-up...getting ready to essay his role. The face looked familiar. The description of the picture assured me that it was the same person whom I was thinking about. It was the picture of the legendary Kalamandalam Gopi Ashan.

I was fifteen when I first saw him as the virtuous Karna, the generous warrior. He played the role of the noblest character from the Mahabharata in 'Karna Shapadham' (Karna's Vow). My road to enlightenment on the Indian dance-drama called the Kathakali started that evening, thanks to my paternal grandfather, who took great interest in the art and would risk traveling miles away from home to watch a good performance. It was on his 90th birthday that I saw a live Kathakali performance. Till then it was always on Doordarshan.

Before the performance started Appupan (as I fondly called my grandfather), briefed us on the most popular Kathaklai stories.

One of them being Karna Shapadham, the story of Karna's discoveries before the great Kurukshetra battle. It speaks of his friendship with Duryodhana and the emotional turmoils in his mind on learning that he will be pitted against his own brothers, the Pandavas. The story portrays a distraught Kunti revealing to Karna that he was originally a Kaunteya (Kunti's son)and not Radheya (the charioteer's wife Radha's son). More sorrow lies in store for him on realizing that after all these years of keeping the truth away from him, his mother now values only the lives of his five other brothers but not his and pleads to Karna to spare his brothers in the ensuing Kuruskshetra battle. It is a challenge to portray Karna here as he goes through myriad emotions - pathos, generosity and valor - in a span of a few minutes. And Gopi Ashan did complete justice to the character every time he donned the pachcha (green color - to depict nobility of character).

Now after 15 years I get to see the same man, in a picture, still lively and performing, getting ready to rock the stage as the famous Arjuna. 

Thanks RK for sharing the pictures.

You can see his pictures here.

Colour splash

We've moved into our new house. It looks like a motley tunic with colours thrown everywhere.

Be it the curtains, wooden bangles, cloth bags, watch boxes or my jewellery... everything has colours, all colours.

There are no brass-pulls or carved knees to boast about. All it has are some hues here and there.

Glory of the Snow

When we moved into our new house

we got a hanging pot of chionodoxa (also called Glory of the Snow)

to adorn our balcony.

With the advent of the rains we get to see

the blossoms aplenty.

Though these flowers are not

sturdy enough to be put into containers

I guess there's no harm in trying it out.

And so I did.

Now on my dining table...they don't look bad at all.

Butiful Homes: Monday whites

Beating the Monday Blues with some white hues

(wow! that rhymes)

It's the beginning of the week again.

Using the special energy of white in my house.

White Gerberas in an aluminium tea mug (from Kerala - the mug, not the flowers).

This mug is used in roadside tea stalls

across Kerala to pour tea from glass to mug to ensure a certain amount of cooling.

Carnations arranged in a stone mortar,

picked from Crafters Antique

Butiful Homes: Creative Kismet - Regina's Blog

One day, as usual I was flickring around.

Suddenly in the new uploads section something interesting caught my eye.

It was a business card holder that was made out of an

empty mint tin. I trailed the picture to a blog called Creative Kismet.

The blog belongs to Regina, a thirty-something mother of two,

who also is a registered nurse and one of the most creative people I 've come across.

She inspired me to hunt for a mint box which I never did find.

So instead I settled for a similar looking crayon box and I am looking forward to

making that business card holder (though I don't own a business ;))

Some of her works:

My favourite section on the blog is 'Recycled Crafts'.

Stuff that one can do with pillow cases, door knobs

and neck ties.

And if you wish to own any of these, here they are at Creative Kismet Studio

Bachpan ke rang

India is always all about colour. And my days as a young kid was more colourful. Sometimes I regret the fact that I didn't preserve my scrap book that had cut outs of hand painted movie posters (Amar Akbar Anthony being my favourite poster), hand painted pictures of Goddess Mookambika, cut outs from Amar Chitra Katha and Chandamama, postcards, book labels and greeting cards. Of course the books are available online, but I miss the smell of that fresh paper and colourful ink :)

Those days were about vibrance and celebration of life. And you saw it everywhere from matchboxes to clothes to accessories to upholstery to tees and even jootis.

Not to forget Gods and Goddesses and firecracker packets.

My childhood has seen some of the most amazing matchboxes. I don't think you have anything like that anymore. These days matchboxes are predominantly in red and yellow colours as against the wide array of colours that were used earlier. The new ones...

By the way let me share my super duper excitement. Here, visit this link - Hero Design Studio. You fill see many a colourful matchboxes.

It took me back to my days as a young kid who would eagerly wait for the matchsticks to be exhausted so that one could collect the box. It was a hobby and if you had two of the same you exchange it with your buddy for a different one. Something like stamp collection.

Hand painted film posters. This one from the famous Mughal-E-Azam.

Well, all of it has not vanished. When you take a tour of the country you may come across several things that keep reminding you of how much more colourful it can get.

A truck on the roads of Mumbai

My mother's devotional books. Amma keeps buying some for me too.

Pavo and Cavo, a delightful read for kids. By Tulika. From Rishi's collection.

And last, but not the least, my colourful Phuljadi tee.

Butiful Homes: Point Click Home

Point Click Home has some good ideas if you are thinking of doing up the kids' room.

Contemporary, modern, classic or eclectic?

Take your pick from these creatively designed rooms for your brood :)

My picks:

minimalistic and warm with pink tones

and this one for the wall with the maps

Mwah! And this one too

love the blues here and that whole logged feeling

For more ideas look here

Images from Point Click Home

Butiful Homes: The effervescent Bougainvillea

The ever effervescent bougainvillea

has always been a great choice for boundary walls, box gardens and flower arrangements.

A little house in Kushalnagar, Madikeri

These thorny vines of the paper flower bloom throughout the year and

is not fussy about everyday attention.

A monastery in Madikeri

But these flowers do make a huge difference in your backyard, pots, decks, patios and courtyards.

Outside the sales office of the Botanical Garden in Ooty.

Butiful Homes: Crafters Antiques

That's Crafters Antiques for you.

and here's the biggest varpu in the world

a board game with the lucky red seeds that can double up as a centrepiece

The King of Good Times

After an international beer conference in London, all the world's top brewery bosses decide to go out for a beer together.

The Chairman of Budweiser says, 'I'd like the most refreshing beer in the world, 'The King of Beers': give me a Budweiser.'

The bartender takes a bottle from the shelf and opens it for him.

The Chairman of Guinness says, 'I'd like the only beer in the world worth really, truly waiting for: give me a Guinness.'

The bartender serves him.

The Chairman of Carlsberg says, ' I would like the world's best beer, drunk in more countries than any other: give me a Carlsberg.'

He gets it.

Vijay Mallya sits down, looks around and says, 'Just give me a Coke.'
The bartender looks at him, shrugs, and serves him.
The other brewery bosses laugh loudly and say, 'Hey Vijay, how come you aren't drinking a Kingfisher?'

'Listen,' says Vijay Mallya, 'If you guys aren't drinking beer, neither will I'

A forward or foreword?

I got a forward today. It's about the six rules of life. This post has notes below on my opinion on these rules.

Here it goes...

"EVERYONE NEEDS SOMEONE WITH WHOM TO SHARE THEIR SECRETS"

True. Very true.

"LISTENING IS AS IMPORTANT AS TALKING"

If they are equally important I prefer the latter one. You can enjoy the listening part.

"WHEN IT COMES TO BONDING FEMALES DO IT BETTER"

Wonder what that means!

"GOOD TIMES ARE EVEN BETTER WHEN THEY ARE SHARED"

I ain't no saint.

"THE ONLY WAY TO HAVE A FRIEND IS TO BE ONE"

Do I have another option?

"SOMETIMES YOU JUST NEED TO HAVE A SHOULDER TO CRY ON"

...yeah, especially when you don't have those tissues. It can get disgustingreally messy. Yuck!

Litchi love

Come rains...come lychees or litchis or laichus

Some facts about litchis (applicable only to the Nair household)

1. Litchis that enter this house have to be consumed within the first few hours of purchase.

2. Peel the litchi and ENJOY the luscious pulp.

3. Do not store litchis for tomorrow as you may find only the leathery rinds waiting for you.

4. We don't use litchis in salads and desserts because we don't know any recipes that make use of litchi rinds. If you know of any kindly oblige and share those recipes with us.