Award Time!

I came back last week from India and am still reeling with the 30 deg change in temperature, an exam and periodic confusions over whether to ride the bike towards the right lane or left lane (India follows the British way). Well what better way to be surprised than a blog award. Not one but two them!! :)

The first one is the Beautiful Blogger award given to me by Isabella from A Touch of Dutch an American expat giving valuable advice on just about everything important. Oh, you must check her photography!, Sandra from Presepio com Vista para o Canal, a Portuguese expat whose exotic blog crosses barriers of language and Lopa from Life as it goes on...a fellow Indian blogger in the Netherlands, who in the recent past has turned into a buddy of sorts..:). Thanks a lot girls! It means so much for me to receive these awards.

As per the rules here goes a list of the 7 beautiful things around me:

1. My friends! Thanks for just being there.

2. Supervisors. Believe me when I say they make your life at least 100% better..:)

3. The Netherlands. Travel, nature, people, culture...Sooper!

4. My royal stooge - my bike. It takes me everywhere even in the darn snow. I must oil the beauty this weekend as a surprise!

5. At this moment, my Dutch teacher who let me write the exam today as I misses it while in India. I passed!

6. Free time - I have done atleast 5 new things in the past year. Things I wanted to do for a long long time.

7. Blogging! Am loving it...:)

Most bloggers I read have already received this award, hence I pass it on to one othe - Efrutik at Psss It's Efrutik's world! a relatively new blogger with great posts on her blog.

The second award, Just Read it, I received was from Presepio com Vista para o Canal. Thank you again Sandra!

Many many thanks to Isabella, Sandra and Lopa once again.

We can help Haiti

Reading fellow bloggers: Psss It's Efrutik's world and Life as it goes on..., I was motivated to write this post. I realized sometimes how caught up I can be in my own small world.

It has been over a week since Haiti was hit with a massive earthquake with a 7.0 on the Richter scale. The capital Port-au-Prince was all but flattened. While rescue aids pour in, much of the country is in chaos not knowing how to organize relief efforts. That much is common knowledge to most of us. I realized though that with over 72,000 people dead and millions who have lost their homes just the governments cannot do much.

I am certain each of us can contribute in some way. Let us take some time out to donate and spread the word. Checkout Efrutik's blog or this PBS link to find out more. Please make your own assessment on which organization to donate to.

Let us do our bit to help Haiti.

Picture Courtesy - http://www.mirror.co.uk

Celebrating Pongal

Pongal, is a festival of farmers to celebrate the bounty harvest of various crops by thanking the sun God Surya, the rain and the farm animals, especially the cow. The word Pongal itself means to 'spill over' symbolizing prosperity.

The festival is celebrated over four days. The first day is called Bhogi where people discard their old by burning them in large bonfires. This practise is not followed in a literal sense these days due to pollution concerns. In our family we clean up the house and enjoy the holiday..:).

Day 2 is called Thai Pongal which is when we actually celebrate elaborately.

Kolam at the house entrance

This kolam was drawn out by my mom in front of our house. The white powder is actually rice flour and is said to be food for the ants in the days before ( to some extent even now..). Women actually take great pains to draw them out and it sometimes turns into a competition of sorts. So if you ever happen to see one, try not to step on it for your own good..;)

Pooja

The ritual of reciting mantras and offering flowers to the sun God drawn out underneath.

Deepam

The Indian version of candles.

Pongal

Pongal is also the name of the dish made on that day. Its simple to make and tastes yumm... (click here for recipe). There is also the sugar cane which is very typically used in the ceremony, but only people with rather strong teeth (not me) dare to eat the fruit directly. A huge meal is made and we gorge on it for the rest of the day.

Day 3 is Mattu Pongal which is special for all the cows as they are bathed, decorated and well fed. People commonly tease each other as being the cows of the family and specifically come and wish you on that day to pull your leg. We just follow one tradition for Mattu Pongal since its perhaps been a couple of generations since our family owned a cow.

Kanu Pidi

The kanu pidi is kept as an offering to birds and other small animals at homes. In villages, a rather violent sport of Jallikattu equivalent to the Spanish - Running of the Bull is played. It is ironical that the day that the cow is worshiped, the bulls are put to such test!

Day 4 is Kaanum Pongal where people generally visit family and friends. The entire city gets so cramped up that day as everybody is outside trying to meet somebody else.

I had such a good time this year during Pongal since I am celebrating the festival after a couple of years. I must have put on a pound just from the amount of food I ate these 4 days...:)