April 28, 2009

Summer Song

Then:
Years ago,( 27 yrs to be precise), each summer for about five years, apart from the wander lust, there was a little girl in Andhra who loved to deck up her hair in a poola jadai. ( flower plait?)

Her mother would construct it using banana leaf and palm sticks and it would adorn her hair long enough for a shot at the studio with the two way mirror to capture the poola jadais beauty at various angles.

This girl began to shudder even at the mere mention of paavadi chattias on moving to Mumbai at age 10. She was hurt by the often condescending generalisations her class mates in school made about South Indians and had been too timid to retaliate. But that is a different story.



Now- today:
Anush's mother is not very arty with flowers but she did find adult size poola jadais in the flower market at Koyambedu. She decided to try for a kid size one and managed to get it custom made.

Anush was duly decked up and she turned out to be a chip off the old block, enjoying all the attention and the photo session that followed.

15 comments:

VJ said...

this used to be a ritual in most south indian household...glad to know the tradition continues !!!
she looks so pretty !!!

DC said...

so adorable :-)
i didn't know you were in Andhra.. were you born there?

Artnavy said...

VJ
am trying to find my pics in poola jada-just to compare

DC-
was in andhra for 5 yrs- guntur and vijayawada - from 4-9 yrs
i was born in dindugul!!

apu said...

awww. adorable. I didn't know though, that this was ever done, outside of weddings. I wonder when as kids we start learning that everything about our own culture is uncool!

And I can so identify with a South Indian kid feeling lost and hurt by the condescension of Northies... I hope kids don't go through it anymore - one good consequence of the world becoming smaller!

Choxbox said...

AWESOME :) will show this pic to the kids.

ammani said...

Gorgeous! And she seems to love it.

Monika said...

Aww......that's so cute. Love it on her.

Artnavy said...

thanks apu and i hope so too

ammani
she kept grinnign and saying she looked like a rani!!

monika/chox
tnx:-))

Daisy said...

i have a pic with jadai too- taken at age 3 :).

BTW- did you say dindugul? where the one in TN or Andra?

because , my dear lady, I am from Dindigul TN and loved there for 21 years.. and parents still live there!

Lavs said...

This post brought back so many memories for me. I must write a post about them! Anush looks cute as always

Artnavy said...

daisy- TN-my grand folks were based there then for a couple of years- i did not know there was a dindigul in AP!!

lavs- thanks

Mama - Mia said...

:)

some traditions are not just that but have our stories behind them!

Anush looks gorgeous posing and preening!

cheers!

abha

Daisy said...

o wow!! wat a connection.. Sis and I were brought up in DGL !!parents live there :)its my home town!

yes- there is a Dindugal in AP. its some sort of an army base :)

Usha said...

Pretty , pretty!
You must try and put a nice jhimikki (kodai jimikki) also when you do all this.
Please keep me away from meeting this girl or I might be too tempted to kidnap her. :)

Artnavy said...

abha/ daisy :-))

usha- i just expalined to anush about jhumkis- cant believe i forgot!!