Today, I faced the Peril of having no choice but to study... Until I remembered that it was The Kerala Cultural Fest Day! (Read: Onam Hang-Over Weekend). One look outside my door told me that despite not having one of those gorgeous white-and-gold sarees, I must dress up and GO. How can I possibly let something as lowly as homework to get in the way of cultural absorption? And so I went.
I regret going nearly an hour late because not only did I miss Rose's Welcome Dance Act (Rose is the Kick-ass Kutty from across the hall), the place was Crowded. With a Capital-C.
By the time I got a spot to sit and watch, we were half-way into the program. But the minute I caught my breath, I got the full blast of the Thiruvadirai dance. Now, I had seen plenty of these at Christ University- but this? This was what made my jaw drop and become one big O-for-Onam!
Of the six girls on stage, I knew only Shilpa; and throughout the performance, my mind was stuck on one thing- "Shilpa is beautiful". Hell! They were ALL beautiful. They were so beautiful, my heart was practically glowing with Joy. IN FACT, they were so beautiful that if Keats saw them, he would learn Malayalam just to rephrase "A Thing of Beauty is a Joy Forever", and do justice to their beauty. I think I've made my point- Malayali ladies are BEAUTIFUL.
Now I know that my friends from Christ University would come running to butcher me at this moment- I was there for three years and NOW I realize how awesome Mallu folk are? The thought of Revathi Rajeevan's narrow eyed stare scares me already.
But here's the thing- Christ University was SATURATED with Malayali folk. So much so that I was too overdosed to appreciate the high. And at EFLU, my new university, though the majority of people are Keralites, there are fewer of them in number. Due to the lowered density, I can now pick out and admire each Malayali person.... More about this later.
My thoughts were brought back to the Fest by the next act. And this one was a dance number. Today, I was introduced to the Adrenaline Mixtape of Malayalam music (You MUST listen to Pistah if you haven't already). And three of the most paavam girls I know were ROCKING THE SHIT out of the stage- Revathi Suresh, Fathima and Kruthika- My mind was truly and absolutely blown. And while I'm still talking about this act, I better mention the guys-
Welllll. I completely intend to pseudo-Mallu-fy myself and take part in next year's Onam celebrations. Let's just hope that Geo kid is around for me to shake a leg with.
From then on, all the thus far invisible men of my campus began taking the stage. And boy, oh boy, there is quite a collection of them! Malayali Men are officially my latest drug. I totally sympathize with Balu's Confusion Theerkaname problem because now Abhi Mami is faced with a whole Country of South Indian cousins to pick from! (By the way, Balu, nice dancing!)
Then came the cherry on top- How Malayali love stories happen in EFLU. A skit with more Malayali action. It is then that I realized how I was looking at it all wrong. It is not the matter of "SO MANY Mallu guys". It is the matter of "So many TYPES of Mallu guys". There they were- The tall Mallu guy, The long-haired Mallu guy, The Cupid Mallu guy, The Hot Mallu guy... An endless possibility of Darwinian projectiles that we women can throw into the air and find out what co-ordinates of genetic awesomeness the children will land on.
There is a Malayali guy I talk to on the internet (he is THE PERFECT stranger, to be honest) and I was telling him how I think Malayalam is an evolved kind of language because of the various consonant sounds it has- so many distinct tongue movements- I said. And he put it very simply: "Yes, we guys are good with our tongues."
The more I observe these men, the more I believe what he said. But arriving at solid conclusions and stating it as a verifiable fact needs... well, verification.
Mami's children must laugh at the thought. How hard could this feat be for Abhi Mami, the Gyaani of all Daily Life Wisdom? Like everything else, Mami shall take on the Mysteries of the Mundu... And slowly unravel it.
I regret going nearly an hour late because not only did I miss Rose's Welcome Dance Act (Rose is the Kick-ass Kutty from across the hall), the place was Crowded. With a Capital-C.
By the time I got a spot to sit and watch, we were half-way into the program. But the minute I caught my breath, I got the full blast of the Thiruvadirai dance. Now, I had seen plenty of these at Christ University- but this? This was what made my jaw drop and become one big O-for-Onam!
Of the six girls on stage, I knew only Shilpa; and throughout the performance, my mind was stuck on one thing- "Shilpa is beautiful". Hell! They were ALL beautiful. They were so beautiful, my heart was practically glowing with Joy. IN FACT, they were so beautiful that if Keats saw them, he would learn Malayalam just to rephrase "A Thing of Beauty is a Joy Forever", and do justice to their beauty. I think I've made my point- Malayali ladies are BEAUTIFUL.
Now I know that my friends from Christ University would come running to butcher me at this moment- I was there for three years and NOW I realize how awesome Mallu folk are? The thought of Revathi Rajeevan's narrow eyed stare scares me already.
But here's the thing- Christ University was SATURATED with Malayali folk. So much so that I was too overdosed to appreciate the high. And at EFLU, my new university, though the majority of people are Keralites, there are fewer of them in number. Due to the lowered density, I can now pick out and admire each Malayali person.... More about this later.
My thoughts were brought back to the Fest by the next act. And this one was a dance number. Today, I was introduced to the Adrenaline Mixtape of Malayalam music (You MUST listen to Pistah if you haven't already). And three of the most paavam girls I know were ROCKING THE SHIT out of the stage- Revathi Suresh, Fathima and Kruthika- My mind was truly and absolutely blown. And while I'm still talking about this act, I better mention the guys-
Welllll. I completely intend to pseudo-Mallu-fy myself and take part in next year's Onam celebrations. Let's just hope that Geo kid is around for me to shake a leg with.
From then on, all the thus far invisible men of my campus began taking the stage. And boy, oh boy, there is quite a collection of them! Malayali Men are officially my latest drug. I totally sympathize with Balu's Confusion Theerkaname problem because now Abhi Mami is faced with a whole Country of South Indian cousins to pick from! (By the way, Balu, nice dancing!)
Then came the cherry on top- How Malayali love stories happen in EFLU. A skit with more Malayali action. It is then that I realized how I was looking at it all wrong. It is not the matter of "SO MANY Mallu guys". It is the matter of "So many TYPES of Mallu guys". There they were- The tall Mallu guy, The long-haired Mallu guy, The Cupid Mallu guy, The Hot Mallu guy... An endless possibility of Darwinian projectiles that we women can throw into the air and find out what co-ordinates of genetic awesomeness the children will land on.
There is a Malayali guy I talk to on the internet (he is THE PERFECT stranger, to be honest) and I was telling him how I think Malayalam is an evolved kind of language because of the various consonant sounds it has- so many distinct tongue movements- I said. And he put it very simply: "Yes, we guys are good with our tongues."
The more I observe these men, the more I believe what he said. But arriving at solid conclusions and stating it as a verifiable fact needs... well, verification.
Mami's children must laugh at the thought. How hard could this feat be for Abhi Mami, the Gyaani of all Daily Life Wisdom? Like everything else, Mami shall take on the Mysteries of the Mundu... And slowly unravel it.
