Vagaries of life...

Have you ever experienced happiness and despair one after another, within a matter of seconds? One moment your heart his brimming with joy and there's a spark in your eyes, maybe even a smile on your face without you even realizing it. And the very next moment, your heart sinks to the abyss of sadness, out of nowhere darkness clouds your eyes and you feel helpless and hopeless about life...

It happens to me at the end of every month, like today morning. The first feeling, that of happiness comes when I open my Inbox and find that the salary slip has arrived. And the second one, that of despair follows as I open and actually read the figures.

These the moments when I feel I was Bill Gates and Bill Gates was me.

Onam Celebrations in Southern California

Yesterday, Onam celebrations were held by KALA(Kerala Association of Los Angeles) at the Sanatan Dharma Cultural Center in Artesia. It was a grand celebration and the Sadya was a real feast. Only problem being you had to have it in a small plastic plate instead of “ela”(plantain leaf), which was available only for the early birds.

Here are a few snaps. (Picture quality is not that great coz my camera is bit old, sorry for that)
Note : Click on images to view full size.

Sadya (The feast), the most "looked forward to" event in Onam for many, including me.

2^nd gen kids on what onam means to them. This one took the cake - “There was this dude called Maveli, like he was really cool king and stuff but some guy squashed him under the ground”. Said in typical yankee accent. And to make the contrast more marked, the guy asking the questions had this typical old fashioned south-indian accent, you know, those crisp pronunciations.

Thalapoli team on their way to welcome Maveli. Now you know why I drove 60 miles in 85F southern california afternoon heat , apart from the lure of the sadya ;)

Here comes the Maveli. Notice the “chanda” guys in the background. They weren't professionals, but hey, something is better than nothing.

Pulikali

Maveli getting the traditional "Thalapoli" welcome. We can't see Maveli in this image though,but he's there, right there in the middle.

Maveli inside the auditorium

Maveli on stage

Thiruvathira Kali. It was quite good.

Classical Dance. Again, very impressive performance. Its a pity I had a battered sony camera instead of a handycam

Little Talents

Folk Dance

Popular song “munthiri padam” from “Kochi Rajavu” being sung. Before the song, it was announced that kids can come on stage and join in and dance along. They didn't need a second invite. This was probably the most enjoyed program, thanks to the enthu kids.

And when malayalees get together, how can mimicry be far behind. Achumaman, leader, Antony and finally Jayan were mimicked by this little girl who did a great job. The audience were in raptures.

That was a great onam. Thanks KALA. Hope to be there next year too. Oh no no, hope to be at home in Kerala next year!!

He's back.

The little master's back with a bang!

The cherubic face has given way to a “been there, done that” experienced veteran kind of look. Sixteen years of tireless actions has meant that his body is more prone to injuries and break-downs, as evident in the heart-breaking long injury lay offs he's been having these days. But boy aren't these long waits worth their worth in gold when he comes up with jems like this.

The 141 n.o of 148 balls had S A C H I N stamp all over it. Watching it was sheer unbridled joy. The overcast background and a smallish crowd cheering at the top of their voice made the whole atmosphere so romantic and classic in style. And the imposing sixes over long off towards the end overs were perfect finale to a memorable knock. Thanks a ton, Sachin! For giving another memorable day of cricket-watching to remember in the years to come.

Only if Duckworth and Lewis had little more cricketing sense... *Gasp*