Ladies after bath

                                                            Ladies after bath

“You should pay extra charges for this” ..Our maid servant Ammalu demanded. She was oiling my sisters long black hair. It was when sister just delivered a baby girl, mini, and I was sitting there to see when she will open her little eyes and look at me…Ammalu continued...”And I will do this free for Pappa (me) when this time come for her, she won’t be having this much of hair any way..”

I cried a lot then. My sister tried her best to pacify me...”See, your features are like Dhevi vellimma.(Father’s elder sister.)you also will have long hair when you are grown up..But I started crying louder, though  vellimma had long curly hair,she was a well built, dark lady who was never a favorite with me..I stopped crying after a secret promise of Feradol(a sweet medicine popular that time,meant for ladies after delivery which young girls were not supposed to take)) But there started my lifelong longing for long hair like my sisters. My sisters were having wheatish colour, and long straight hair. I was on the darker side having curly hair…I always felt that I was the black sheep in the family..I started applying all types of hair oils, shampoos etc, hoping that my hair will grow fast..Nothing happened. Mother used to prepare a medicated oil for all, with many herbs,and nobody leaves home without a bottle of that oil. She used to put burned coconut shell powder also in the oil which gave a darker color to hair..But I didn’t trusted in it, applied bottles and bottles of arnica hair oil,neeli bhringhadi,kunthalakanthiayurvedic oil,and almost all the oils which appeared in Vanitha(a ladies magazine)and my effort  still continues..

When i started my profession as a painter,i painted  all ladies with long hair.This painting is one among them...

Two ladies sitting in the varanda, adjacent to the central courtyard ,wearing traditional Kerala dress-mundu and veshti.

In olden times,It was a practice to smoke the long hair of Kerala women after the bath. Red hot-coal will be  taken in a small brass vessel with a long handle and medicinal herbs will be added to it. Resulting smoke imparts a nice smell to the hair and freed it from infections.

                                                               Oil on canvas

                                             Jahangir art gallery show  Mumbai

AMINA (oil painting on canvas  ) When I thought of drawing Muslim lady , the first thing came into my mind was Amina ,our milkman’s daughter . She was 3 to 4 years older than me and had broad eyes and curly hair. Muslim woman of North Malabar used to wear “ Chittu” in the ear ( small golden rings with Alukku all over) .Now one can see this practice only amongst old ladies of North Malabar)this lady is wearing Elassu a small box type golden locket , which can either be on a thread or a golden chain. They also used to wear thick gold bangles which is hollow inside, filled by small balls, which imparts a sound when the hands are moved, and hence called Tharivala.Their dress is katchi, a long full-sleeved blouse with lace piping,Mundu(Dhothi) and Thattam to cover the hair.

Thrissur Pooram

                                                       Pooram- Acrylic painting
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Pooram  is.a annual temple festival held in Kerala after the summer harvest. Most pooram festivals have ornately decorated elephants being paraded in the procession taken out of the temple premises.

The main features of the pooram (festival) are these decorated elephants with their nettipattam . (decorative golden headdress), beautifuliy crafted kolam, decorative bells ,ornaments etc. Add to this is the panchavadyam, the rhythmic beating of the drum, and what would be a cacophony otherwise is turned into an organized but spontaneous symphony.

Today is Thrissur pooram.. The pooram of all Poorams’. It is one of the Biggest temple festivals  in Kerala. It has been celebrated every year in the month of April (Malayalam month medam) at Vadakkumnathan temple in the centre of Trichur city. It is believed that every year gods and goddesses of neighboring temples will meet here for the celebration. The two dewaswams – Thiruvampadi and Paramekkavu are the  major temples to make the festival a remarkable oneMore than 50 elephants decorated with nettipattam (decorative golden headdress), Kolam, decorative bells, ornaments and the umbrellas, venchamaram, and alavattam will enter the temple through the western gate and come out through the southern gate and array themselves, face to face. The two groups in the presence of melam, exchange colourful and crafted umbrellas competitively at the top of the elephants – called Kudamattom