Happy Onam!

It's been a while!

Since the MCAT (Malevolent Cruel Annoying Test), I've gone into total seclusion and become a hermit. It's gotten to the point where my parents are trying (to no avail) to get me out of the house.

Mum: It's such a nice day out, why don't you take a walk?
Me: *Chewbacca yell*
Mum: *stare*
Me: *more Chewbacca yelling*
Mum: You were DEFINITELY switched at the hospital.
Me: *grunt* *snort*
Mum: This is all your father's fault for letting you watch those movies.
Me: Star Wars is a CLASSIC!
Mum: pfft.

... and so on and so forth. :D

The epic battle between Haloscan and Blogger-Commenting was won, with very little actual blood shed, by Blogger. My Haloscan account has been consigned to the larger wastes of cyberspace, so people will have to make do with the Blogger comments.

And now for the meat and potatoes of today's post - Happy Onam!!! Onam is the main cultural festival of Kerala, the state in India where I'm from. The story goes that once upon a time, there was a noble King who was banished (I forget the story of how exactly, but banished he was) and was granted the boon that every year he could come back and visit his subjects and see how they were doing. So every year, Malayalees (that means people from Kerala, or people who speak Malayalam) dress up and cook their best food so that the King sees that they are doing well.

The main Onam meal is called the Onam Sadya, and it is a feast! There are around 10 curries, and you're supposed to finish as much food as you can, because to waste food on Onam is inauspicious. It's an entirely vegetarian affair, and though I'm not all that fond of Malayalee vegetarian food, my Mum's an awesome enough cook for it not to matter. So yeah, right now I'm absolutely full, moving from where I currently sit is not a viable option, so I thought I may as well share the occasion with everyone else. We didn't get dressed up this year though; there is a special outfit for women for Onam - it's a two piece Sari called a Set Munde, but I haven't worn one in years.

On a side note, Kerala is being marketed to tourists as "God's Own Country"! Don't get me wrong, it's a BEAUTIFUL place, lush and green and wunderbar and all that, but it's just a bit odd to think that I come from God's Own Country by way of Bombay. :D

I saw Hero, this chinese movie directed by Zhang Yimou, starring Jet Li and Zhang Ziyi; totally cool, but I think I prefer the physicality of films like Kill Bill (ie - you stab people, they actually bleed) to the ethereal-ness of this one. This is more of an intellectual film than an action one, IMO, and I'm about as intellectual as Homer Simpson, so all the Rashomon-esque flashbacks are wasted on me.

And now, I'm off!

Ciao!