Navarathiri is most fun if you are a little girl. I remember my Mom dressing me up in pattu pavadai-chattai, matching thodu, valayal, pottu, oiling my hair (ugh! I hated that part), setting it into a tight braid and adding Jasmine flowers... All this so we can go to our neighbours' house, see their kolu (dolls arranged on a series of planks) and invite them to see ours.
The aunties would ask us (my sister and me) to sing something, and that was always Mom's "Oh Crap!" moment. Because neither of us were trained in Carnatic music/any kind of Hindu religious songs and we went to a Catholic school, we would sing hymns on Mary and Jesus.
Thinking back, most of my neighbours seem to have taken it well.... One maami I remember would smile widely. And after we reached home Mom would always recount to Dad how people reacted to our spirited singing and they would both have a good laugh. And then there was the gift-giving thingy.... Girls and women alike would receive unstitched pieces of cloth in vibrant colours, mirrors, combs, etc. along with betel leaves, banana, and money. Oh and I forgot to mention the yummy sundal, made from (I think they are called) lentils... Ah! Childhood!
Now, though, I only visit, listen to conversations, come back home. Questions ranging from hilarious ("Why haven't you combed your hair?" - that after a contemptuous look at my bangs) to downright annoying ("Are you looking for a groom for your daughter?" - that after they have heard out my bio data) get hurled at you, and you can tackle them only if you have been visiting them for Navarathiri-kolu since times immemorial.
One thing hasn't changed: I still enjoy looking at these mini exhibitions. The traditional ones have always been the most beautiful - simple, full of mythology, and elegant. Some people go to great pains to create their kolu.... You get to see a scene from a cricket match alongside a scene from Hindu mythology! For some things there never are exceptions are there?!
Video Credit: Porur Times
