The age-old Cochin-Travancore feud!

This was something I have grown up hearing about, though I was never sure whether to believe the stories or not. Hailing from Tripunithura, which was the capital city of the erstwhile Kingdom of Cochin, I have been raised never to trust anybody from 'down-south', as they put it :-) Today, as I was reading up on an old article about Kathakali, I was surprised by what I found. Copy-pasting an excerpt of the write-up,with all respects to the author.

It is interesting to note that back then, there were clear dividing lines between north and south Kerala! "The Cochinites do not take kindly to the Travancoreans. There is an age-old feud between these two parts of Kerala. The Cochin folk are cleverer than their neighbours, and therefore more cunning; but the Travancoreans are a more generous and brave people. Cochin women are famous for their beauty and the Travancorean men are jealous of this in their hearts of hearts!"  
"And this petty jealousy and provincial feeling colour subtly all that they say and do and extend themselves to the art of Kathakali. The Travancoreans think that their presentation of this art is the best and the most classical; the Cochin dancers do not even bother to listen to such foolish claims!" This, thus, was the level of and approach to dance writing in that era.  
"There is no doubt whatsoever that Kathakali as practised and presented in Cochin is purer in form, richer in abhinaya and more elaborate in technique. These differences do exist and it is observed by competent critics." 

Source: http://www.narthaki.com/info/tdhc/tdhc1.html

I couldn't help but smile. But it indeed is strange yet true that the age-old feud still lives on in every Cochinite's and Travancorean's mind. Whether they say so openly or not depends on their personal choice, though.I used to wonder...why are they being branded like this? It's like,"Is he/she from 'down-south'?Be careful with him/her!You never know when they will strike!" :-D

Do such geographical character divides exist elsewhere too?Is it based on the genetic make-up of the people in that area? But what about inter-territorial marriages and their off-springs?What with so many marriages happening without keeping the Cochin-Travancore divide in mind, isn't it about time that the characteristics got distributed a bit? It is said back home that if a person from Malabar/Cochin chooses to settle down in Travancore, with time, he/she begins to behave like a Travancorean too! Go figure! ;-)

Sound of Silence

Communication….a heavy word, indeed. And a most important one when it comes to any relationship. I wonder really as to how many relationships would have gone under the axe owing to miscommunication and/or lack of communication. Not all individuals are born with the natural gift to express themselves precisely in the way they intended to. Their words may come out raw and uncut, usually hurting the other person to such an extent that an argument/quarrel becomes inevitable.

After a couple of such instances, one or both individuals prefer to remain silent for fear of kick starting yet another row. From what I have heard from many couples and from a bit of personal experience, I can say that it's always healthy to speak your mind out rather than build up ideas within oneself. This is particularly helpful at the start of a relationship as that is when two individuals who are complete strangers decide to spend the rest of their lives together.

What one says might not necessarily be what the other comprehends and misunderstandings are bound to happen. Both people ought to decide to build a relationship in which neither of them is expected to deliver only sweet-talk. It may lead to several difficult situations in the beginning but it'll surely pave the way for a beautiful future ahead wherein, neither will even have to verbally say something for the other to understand what they are trying to tell them. They both learn to adjust and live according to the likes of the partner without themselves realizing it. That's the power of love…the power of the bond of trust

Then there are times when a partner is expected to behave in a certain way... "Hasn't he/she understood me?Do I have to tell him/her everything? Let him feel for himself and do it...why should I tell him/her?"...Usual trains of thought. But the couple do not realise that they have not grown up together to understand each other's likes and dislikes so distinctly. They are new to each other and need each other's help to know more about one another. "But this is only a normal thing for him/her to know...all the husbands/wives I know do like that without having to be told to!" First wrong step....NEVER COMPARE!You will only be met with disappointment. The human mind has a tendency to always look up to something that they do not possess...in the process,conveniently neglecting what they do possess. Not all people are alike. Along with a majority,there also exists a minority. And they are not aliens! It is possible that they possess characteristics that are unique to them. Appreciate them for they are and what they do...instead of chiding them for what they are not. There is always room for improvement...but constantly nagging them will only worsen things. Here comes communication again. Tell your partner what you expect of him/her.Unless you do (and unless he/she has mystic powers to read your mind) how would they know? There is no loss of dignity in saying what you want...and in particular to a person who is going to be with you for the rest of your life.

Just my thought!  J

Trying email blogging....

Just to see if this thing actually works....and if it does....boy,am I back to the blogging scene or what?! :-D

Is on-screen kissing okay?

Ok,folks....here's a topic of debate for y'all!I'm sure everybody has had at least one embarassing situation where you're sitting with your family and watching a movie and suddenly the hero plants a nice fat kiss on his heroine's lips and unknowingly,you all go pink in the face. You are embarassed,your parents are worse off!

We all know that lovers do kiss each other.But is it really essential to show it explicitly on screen?In a fairly conservative society like India,where children are encouraged to be children for as long as possible,aren't such acts of vulgarity a slap in the face of our culture?Our culture....which has been praised by famous writers and theologists, is verily going to the dumps because of the advent of western culture.

It is okay to adopt the good things from the West.But are we in such a pathetic stste that we have to copy even their culture to be treated equal to them?And the fact of the matter is that no matter how hard we try, they will never treat us as their equals.Our dignity lies in keeping our identity intact,no matter of what happens.It is indeed shameful that in an age where you find westerners coming to India in search of peace and harmony,and searching for Indian life-partners so that their married life will be one of strong bonds and upright cultures, we find the youth of today drifting towards the hippie culture.

And most of the change in them may be attributed to the changing face of Indian cinema...bolder scenes and heavy lenience from the Censor Board are to blame.Knowing that cinema is quite an integral part of Indian society,producers,directors and most importantly the Censor Board should understand that many of the film-going crowd are youngsters and such scenes affect their character to a tremendous extent.Today teenagers have absolutely no problem in kissing their boyfried/girlfriend in public.Coz that is what is seen in the movies!!!The hero hugs and kisses the herioine in the middle of a busy street,or in a cafe,or in a bus-stop.It's just that the spectators get embarassed.....Twenty years ago,a top-ranking heroine would stage a walk-out if she was required to kiss the hero on screen.But today,tell me who is not doing it?What is reason and the need for all this?Is it the lack of genuine talent that is forcing them to resort to such cheap exhibitionism?

I wonder...

Allo!Allo!

It's great to be back on the blog front after a loooooooooooong gap!And this time,I promise to myself to be more regular with my postings! For those who haven't got a clue of what I'm talking about,lemme explain.....

I'm Raakhee.An engineer by profession,a brat by nature and a true Saggittarian by disposition. I did have a blog here earlier on,but due to my excessive inconsistency in posting, these guys threw my blog into the trash!Anyway,I was getting rather tired of it myself.I'd actually stolen a lot of stuff from forwarded messages,etc. to fill up my blog....and I didn't like the look of that.This one's sure to be different....Do take a peek once in a while and u're sure to find some pieces of my thoughts staring at you in the face :-D

Enjoyyyyyyyyyyyyy!