KOLAM

Last week, I was pleasantly surprised when I went to the loo. I saw Madam V, my office’s tea lady who made kick-ass Nescafé, in the pantry, busy mixing rice with colors to make the traditional Indian Kolam in my office.

So, I went to keh poh (Hokkien: Busy body). I asked the fellow Indian colleagues what’s the symbolic gesture in doing kolam, and Madam V, being the oldest Indian lady didn’t even know how to explain. She just did for the sake of doing it, every Deepavali.

Like my household, who pray to Chinese Deities like the Jade Emperor, Goddess of Mercy, Teh Choo Kong (Earth God?) and Kitchen God, none of us know how to go about praying to the deities except for our mothers. No one bother to learn the ropes to continue this tradition. We only know that, when suddenly there is a big makan makan in the house – it is one of the deities’ birthdays or some other auspicious occasions marked in the Lunar Calender and not the Gregorian’s. Kinda sad really.

So, I went online to search for the meaning of displaying a Kolam.

Decoration was not the sole purpose of a Kolam. In olden days, kolams used to be drawn in coarse rice flour, so that the ants don't have to work so hard for a meal. The rice powder is said to invite birds and other small critters to eat it, thus inviting other beings into one's home and everyday life: a daily tribute to harmonious co-existence. Not to be underestimated is the benefits for the artist to bend down each morning - it is said to help her digestive system, reproductive organs and to help overall stretching of the body. It is a sign of invitation to welcome all into the home, not the least of whom is Goddess Lakshmi, the Goddess of prosperity. The patterns range between geometric and mathematical line drawings around a matrix of dots to free form art work and closed shapes. Folklore has evolved to mandate that the lines must be completed so as to symbolically prevent evil spirits from entering the inside of the shapes, and thus are they prevented from entering the inside of the home. For more...

Thank God for the internet.

Happy Deepavali and Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri!!

P/S I've been asked by numerous friends on what I am gonna do during this long week of holiday... well, here is the list.. due to popular demand (Ahaks!) Please do call me for yum cha, anytime..

----- Original Message -----
From: Party Girl
To: Gina

wahhhhh.. you are really hard to book... please also blog your schedule .. easier to date you then ...hehehhehee ...

----- Original Message -----
From: Gina
To: : Party Girl

Deepa-Raya week

1 November – Going to Klang for mini makan trip
2 November - Comatose at home
3 November – BBQ at Yvonne’s house
4 November – Lunch at Kanna Curry House & Dinner at Coffee Bean
5 November – WY's sister's wedding buffet lunch
6 November – Slip to another coma before work