Kalyanam celebrations, temple visits and reading about sarpakaavu
And earthquake tremors in Delhi-NCR!
Dear Reader,
The weather in Delhi has been bizarre. Yes, we are witnessing the arrival of summer, but there are unpredictable showers and thunderstorms too.
Plus, the slightly scary earthquake we had last week.
At the time, I was reading a book. Suddenly, I felt the ceiling above me shake, followed by a sudden shaking of the bed.
A rather silly thought crossed my mind.
Maybe I’ve started to make things move just like that!
Then it struck me that oh my god, this is an earthquake and my first instinct was to assure my teen that hey we are in this together, let’s not panic.
What’s happening this summer?
Visiting temples, enjoying sadhyas and reading fabulous books.
Added to this, enjoying the fun of attending kalyanam celebrations and kalyana sadhyas.
Plus, my teen has started writing poetry and here’s his tribute to all women on the occasion of Women’s Day 2023:
Few happy moments in March 2023
I’ve been travelling a lot across cities and enjoying it thoroughly.
Then, it was a weekend trip to my favourite place - yes, hometown, Kochi!
Enjoying yet another kalyanam celebration in Kochi and then on a temple visit spree!
Sharing a few snippets below:
For those who have not visited the divine abode of Sri Adi Shankaracharya at Kalady in Kerala, please don’t miss it.
Just visit this beautiful and scenic temple, and experience the electrifying vibes.
Listen to the Vedic chants of young Sanskrit scholars here.
Soak up the energy here. Take this back into your heart as you step out.
Loved this sangeet ceremony in Kochi. Tune in and listen!
I had written earlier about my trip to Bombay and recommended a book that I really enjoyed readin - ‘Milk Teeth’ - do read it if you missed it earlier.
Book Recco: Sudeepa Nair’s thriller, ‘The Serpents of Kanakapuram’
On my flights to Chennai and Kochi, there’s a book that kept me glued from start to finish. Sudeepa Nair’s novel, ‘The Serpents of Kanakapuram’, explores the mysterious deaths at an ancestral home in Kerala, known for its dangerous ‘sarpakavu’. I loved the cover of the book and got glued to it from the first page to the last.
Meera Mohan, a US-based professional, visits this home by chance, becomes friendly and emotionally attached to the few people she meets here. Every character has a uniqueness to it and I just enjoyed imagining their expressions, body language and characteristics.
Unexpectedly, Meera finds herself embroiled in a series of disturbing events that takes place in this small place.
At first glance, it might seem the narrative is focused around the ecological and cultural richness of ‘sarpakaavu’, but the author’s treatment of the ‘sarpakaavu’ also concerns itself with how these are repositories of native medicinal secrets, and how unlocking these medicines might enable humanity to use it to treat diseeases.
Sudeepa Nair’s novel is perhaps at its strongest when it is dealing with the unexpected ways in which Nature’s fury is unleashed in the form of unprecedented floods, due to which the protagonist is stuck in a remote place, leading her to finding the sarpakaavu.
In a way, this alters the protagonist’s relationship to those who live around its superstitions and deepens the act of observations and decisions she takes.
The novel demonstrates utmost seriousness in probing the inner world of its protagonist, and it is particularly detailed when observing the characterstics of people in a small village, not brushing them aside as representative types.
Be it Hussain or Bhuvanamma, the characters leave you with a sense of mystery and uniqueness. You want to read more about their inner worlds too - their toughest moments, their secretive thoughts and what makes them tick.
As the novel’s characters feel the pace of their lives begin to alter due to the floods that strike the state into near paralysis and then slowly recover from it, the plot probes their responses to their immediate environment.
The protagonist’s scientific temparament and curiosity develops; a desire to understand the natural world of sarpakavu and decode the mystery around them.
The novel offers a thrilling glimpse of a life lived at a different, less rush-filled tempo.
Sudeepa Nair captures this mood brilliantly, through the sarpakaavu and the interesting developments that follow, thereby bringing together a twist in the climax, with a sharpness that leaves a reader with a lingering curiosity to know more.
Sudeepa Nair’s novel, ‘The Serpents of Kanakapuram’ is a gripping story that holds your attention from start to end. This is the kind of thriller that I would love to watch as a Malayalam movie.
P.S. I write this newsletter for you. And it means a lot to me when you take out your time to read this. I’m grateful. Thank you, dear Reader.
Do write to me in the comments below. Tell me what else you’d like me to write about in my newsletter.
I’d love to hear from you!