The Hindu festival of lights, Karthikai Deepam...

So those who read my blog probably know my penchant for anything related to candles or lamps. I think its got something to do with the flickering shadows that mask the rigid lines of reality and shrouds everything in a mystic romantic glow. And since Karthikai Deepam, a very pretty Hindu festival of lights, was just round the corner I was intent on celebrating it. During this festival houses and streets are lit up with rows of oil lamps in the evening.

Visited the market nearby and bought many of these tiny clay lamps.

Saw this flower lady surrounded by her colourful flowers...

Soaked the little lamps in water for a while (cause apparently if you don't soak them in water, they tend to soak in the oil later) and then spread them out on paper. When twilight loomed near, I got to work lining up these lamps outside the house and placing oil and wicks in them.

Here they are all lit up and emitting a cozy glow, aren't they pretty... made me thankful for my very own collection of tiny stars that twinkled and played with the descending darkness.

Saw this at a neighbour's place...

Comments

Zak said…

I thought you wrote about me , when you asked me to read the post . The old lady with flowers around her is simply brilliant . Send it to some some photography contest .caption it " colors of India"

1:44 AM

mahesh said…

Beautiful, elegant and poignant. I am running out of adjectives :)

may these lights bless you and your family with joy and let sunshine and cheer come in soon :)

all the best,
mahesh

11:43 AM

BackStage said…

The ones you put in FB were shots from your place? I thought it was some church or something... neat!

5:45 PM

Karen Xavier said…

Zak, that's so cliche... everybody knows we are a colourful race. A little too colourful for my taste...

Mahesh, thanks and wishing you the same...

Gibsy, yeah these are pictures of home... next time you come to the city, do drop in.

10:37 PM

Nice Ad....

Wouldn't you say so... Nam and me were in this huge clothing store and we were making fun of all the models on display (there was one of hrithik in which he looked kinda gayish) when we came across this one. Seriously, dark people are more better looking....

I hope the world doesn't end in 2012, I have a whole lot of books to read...

I heard bout Flipkart.com from Anju and that site has changed my life. All the books that I have been searching for since centuries, are now sitting prettily on my book shelf. Landmark is a thing of the past now... in fact Landmark is not what it used to be anymore, they do not seem to have stock on most of the good books. So I am deliriously thankful to the creators of flipkart, I seriously love you guys... continue with your fabulous work. Talking of books, here are a few people who have enriched my life with their recommendations of the written word... My brother Manoj for buying the ' The Partner ' by John Grisham . Now I hadn't heard of Grisham before so the book was just lying there at home. One day I got bored and picked it up, that was the start of my love affair with Grisham and legal thrillers in general. This was the first John Grisham book I read and it was in a word mindblowing. I couldn't set the book down, my heart was racing away with Patrick Laniga...

My school teachers...

So I got to thinking bout my school days recently and it saddened me that I was starting to forget a few teachers who had shaped my life, I have already forgotten nearly half the classmates... though its not my fault. Some people just don't want to join facebook, then how can you find them in this big world. Even if I do find them, there is not much to talk beyond the 'where are you & what are you doing' phrases. But the teachers are another matter, they deserve to be remembered for moulding us. I gotta hand it to the convent school I studied in, they really knew how to select their educators... all the teachers I had shared a genuine passion for teaching and above that they had strong moral values and faith which invariably shaped our lives. To them being a good person was what mattered the most and they made sure we grasped this knowledge, it also helped that I had staunch catholic parents who cemented this view. Anyway, I just wanted to jot down stuff bout my teacher...

Contemplations and Ruminations

Search This Blog