Mazhalai – An initiative by a family of Alternative Thinkers! An initiative to explore interactions with self, enviroment and others by being a child all over again!An initiative to experiment and look life from the curiosity we hold!Mazhalai/Toddlerhood is a stage of life when we make mistakes to learn! We learnt to eat, walk, run, climb, talk and everything that interested us during this phase of being with a lot of joy. We explored everything under the sky , at times even beyond with a sync of body, mind and soul – This is called flow; A flow in sync with nature as well!Children are beings who are perseverant, resilient, ready to make and accept mistakes, forget/forgive the world around them and just be and do whatever they want until the signal comes from within to start/stop/change/continue/ a new word only that child knows at that point of time!Each child has its own pace at which it moves across milestones ( I prefer to call it the journey). This pace is designed by the Nature and Supreme from where the child hailed. These two forces has its own way for each child, nevertheless has a way. The child has an innate trust and faith from where it belonged, which allows to flow in the present effortlessly! I went blank when I had to recollect my Mazhalai paruvam.. Then came children – Hope of life who made me become a child all over again into my adult being.I loved this Mazhalai phase and the innocence it possessed! The more I spent time with my son, children around, I understood if as adults we can get into this mazhalai paruvam for few hours in a day, we can be child all over again and learn and explore life with a lot of possibilities.Mazhalai is open for anyone who is ready to keep the child in you alive for few hours in a day with the energy of children beside!Come – Lets make mistakes, accept and explore more with children!Watch this space with curiosity for more explorations and experimentations that are simple and loaded with innocence!
A week at the Yercaud Adivaram (Adivaram translates to Foothills) in Salem District! This was one of its kind experience. As like the name, Adivaram/Foothills , I met the most grounded people at this space – the humans, the flora and the fauna! A space like this inspires one to be more grounded and I experienced this! A space that is built and aspires for the little humans to be
independent and share their views, feelings and emotions as it is! Every brick and wall that is created, every material that adds beauty along with the people managing the space speaks out this! A form of liberation, freedom is felt in this space! The space taps into one’s curiosity; then the thirst for knowing more through observation, discussion comes up; With these happening, the physical space helps you implement and practise – I would rather say the physical space invites you everyday to do Sadhana of whatever you want to! All this with a mind space of autonomy and safety in the beds of nature! What more does a child want? Hmm! I would even say this is the best environment for the adult to shed off all the conditioning that has been created in the growing years!
Indoor Area
An attic like structure made out of wood for children to play! What if a physical space communicates to a child that I understand that you are safe when you play even when my eyes is not around you!
Attic at Foothills
The swing that brings joy in every child! Swinging on it exactly brings that the mind and body swinging in joy! Vitamin I brings in the best nutrition in the child. Vitamin I thinking what it is??? Vitamin Independence
The joyous swing
Elements of Nature in the space:
There is ample sunlight through all glass doors and small glass windows in ceilings.
The buildings are high ceiling and are constructed in structures that are not cubes, this by itself gives a openness! The ceilings are doom shaped. All rooms can be seen from all rooms!
Cement flooring and brick walls make us feel very grounded to the atmosphere. There are leaf like structures on the floor and ceiling which are inscribed. These nuances create a wonder to the child!
Climbing, a favourite activity
A small Kitchen Garden with medicinal herbs, vegetable and Fruits!The school’s first sugarcane was harvested when we were there.. The joy in children’s faces in taking it, cutting and eating has no bounds
Children at Foothills:
Children get inspired by anything around them and make their body work with it. What is needed is a taste of freedom in the space! Just a screen; this apparently worked like a pulley to her! Science learned through practise!
Little Little Kiya working with the screen at Foothills at utmost curiosity
Little Sai saw this bigger cycle for the first time. His mind kept telling that he can do it though its bigger than him! Its just the autonomy and the independence that the space gives through its non verbal communication and its vastness, connection with nature.. He started driving the cycle everyday with support! Once he got a hang of it, just joy all around him!
Little Sai in the cycling track
Children have their time in solitude in sync with nature to breathe out that they imbibed through the day!
Sai in silence in the early morning feeling the space
Elements of Science at the Foothills
A windmill – A hand made windmill like structure is placed in the upper front of the building which moves to the wind. I was observing this like a child for a while to see how it travels with the wind!
Windmill at Foothills
The ceiling has a ball in a track like structure! When the key to this is switched on, the ball travels along the track.
The Ball ceiling at Foothills
The walls and the floor have half painted blackboard for the children to express their thoughts instantly, not look for paper and pen!
The blackboard floor
Use of Biogas at Foothills:
The best sustainable idea that helps in waste management and resource management! The Kitchen waste (Cooked and Uncooked) except Citrus and Onion are collected in a bucket. At the end of a day, these are grinded in a motor fitted to a dedicated sink and the paste cum semisolid is put in the storage unit manually. As the sun and air acts with the storage unit, it produces gas and the storage structure raises above its height, and the gas moves through pipe to the biogas stove! Tadda! Food is made! Waste managed! Resource managed! Science learnt practically!
Biogas structure at Foothills
Low Lying Kitchen!
A kitchen just set up to facilitate the children cook their own food. Nutrition is more in the independence to cook than the ingredients.. Felt it at foothills
A dining space with a lot of love and happiness and sharing
Children cooking Potato poriyal for dinner
Archer, the dog at Foothills! The ducks at the space! Every tree – The sappotta, The Guava, The Neem.. Everything adds value in its own way!
Archer bathing in the sun
An Oven that is made with a lot of creative intelligence of human and nature. This burns with firewood! Nil use of power , nevertheless the breads taste sumptuous!
Oven that bakes naturally
Joy when Children of all ages get together in an open space! They create games, they change the usage of things according to their play! Its lot of noise and joy:))
I have been a person who worked more with my head – as in brain work – more in the thought (taught) mode! This helped me a lot in my journey of life – in earning degrees; in earning money and even in earning a personality that I thought I am! This phase is very important as I fell more to get up to come to a state of awareness. Through the process of spending time with a child at home, I saw the child in me getting awake in parts through the day, through weeks, through months and years! This is where I felt very alive, felt a glow in my face, felt happy from inside and felt the core of my personality being nourished! A lot of madness keeps happening here, nevertheless, this is where a lot of awareness crept in – as this is the stage where body worked through hands! Running, Jumping, Climbing – with agenda at times! We used to run to get into buses, trains; We used to jump and climb when an animal or reptile followed us.. Through this phase of life, we were connected to Nature; People and there by self! With this backdrop, a lot of purposeful work started – Drawing, painting, making, creating! Hand work – Be it chores at home – Cleaning, cutting, washing / creating something is where thoughts and the body are aligned and the flow is seamless! With hands working through the day, I started seeing a me in a will mode (Action mode). Working through the heart is when we feel we are one with the vastness – The Nature and The Universe! The journey is enchanting in painting my own life, creating my own version of me through whats bestowed with me! The journey continues! Happy to be in a Work in Progress mode! The journey of realising the dots with different events of life – Understanding life happens with a continuum irrespective of time and place! Photo 1 : My reflection of my journey across hand to heart Working on a handloom frame at a Workshop Photo 2 and Video : My go to spot with a manjapai hanging on the tree branch! Listening to the waves of water; the breeze; the birds and looking at nature through heart. Sun, Moon, Water and Mountain in one frame! Feeling one with all elements of nature
Story of my pens and refills! I have always loved writing. As a child, I wrote the family accounts with my mother; As I grew up, I started writing a diary which had thoughts that I could not communicate to my friends owing to my insecurities. During my college, I started writing notes of the tasks to do in a day and snippets of the presentations I did for the class. At work, I wrote my dreams! After I became a mother, I started writing more. I wrote all the above mentioned along with my fears, would haves, could haves, determination, gratitude and what not! – The journal took up my mind space, so I can be mindful to me, to my child, to the people I meet, to the environment and the world around me. The more the mess the pages in my journal held, the more clarity my eyes, my words and my actions had! To be more precise, my thoughts started getting pure and clear and could see that translating into words and actions with more alignment in all the three than before. Pens became more close to me and penning became more close to me!
Living close to nature in semi rural areas, helped me choose sustainability and zero waste as a lifestyle. With writing, I tried more. I started writing my daily to do lists – As a mother, a woman in mid thirties, managing home – My to do lists most of the days were Check if Sai is drinking more water, Clean sink, Dry glass bottles, Go for nature walk, Do yoga. I moved these to a board and chalk as these were daily tasks that my mind would not remember with more things on my plate. I started maintaining a kitchen board to plan menu. This reduced paper and helped me visually. Then I moved to an ink pen and I loved writing a journal! I fell in love with the version I am becoming every moment by writing with an ink pen. The flow through my ink pen represented the flow of my thoughts from my head to heart to hands to actions. Now, the challenge is I could not manage this while travel as most days I am out of the four walls. Hence , I compromised on a ball pen which I carry in my bag while travel.
I am so happy today as I found refills for my ball pen at a shop in the town I live in. The shopkeeper was like the pen costs Rs.7 and led costs Rs.5. Why led then?. I told him, I don’t feel like filling my dustbin with plastic so the led looks better – Can you stock leds for me and he was very glad to stock! With all the human, half human, nature, internal transactions I had today, I wanted to document this as the sight of refilling my pen like I refill a bottle gave me a relief…
I should really thank the boys at home. In the interim, when I could not refill the pens, they used the plastic in the pen to make cars. Thank you for reading till here.
Joy of fixing – His love for screws, spanners and screw drivers! Sai has always been closely sitting with coconut vendors, car/Bike/Cycle mechanic, Electrician, Plumber, Carpenter and anyone who work with hands!
A person who creates something more with hands and less with mind ; More with heart and soul and less with calculative thoughts. More flow and spontaneity! This has moved us to a life around mending , repair, reuse and recycle and less around buying. When a person repairs our household items, he considers our items as his for a particular period of time as he considers his work as divine. Now the ownership is divided. When the item comes back to us repaired, we take care of the item with more care as the energy of the person is involved now is upgrading. More care to the item and more reverence the repairer and the process by itself. This very thought binds us more to the item. We consciously live in small towns which allows us more time and energy to mend rather than buy! Going back to our ancestors through small acts like this has helped us feel grounded. This Sunday as a family we spent two hours in making this shelf sit erect. The conversations around this taught us balance is the key, letting one work while the other is holding space helps the process steadier. The joy after fixing knew no bounds as the process was new to all of us. A Sunday with tools help us connect with people and household items
Few wishes that I had written on papers, few that I had even drawn on papers, few that was never documented, nevertheless that came up as images in my mind when I admired the beetle leaf climber that adapted to the pipe and grew up so tall; the bird that cuckoos from the window and waits for me to cuckoo to cuckoo back; the sangu poo(butterfly pea flower) that adored the walls with its soft petals; the moondram pirai ( the crescent on the third day after no moon) that sounded like a poetry; the full moon that had come with us when we walk ( Sai and I had a conversation one day if moon had a driver?. Innocence at highest – From nature and children); The Sun that looked an exact circle as if someone drew it everyday with a compass! Wishes – Wishes from small to big – Drawing kolam in the early morning, walking in a thottam ( Farm) which dint have a way forward – only trees, living a life aligned with nature in a village with minimum damage to mother earth, feeling my ancestors who walked the same streets and temples years back and being one with them, travelling to learn a new skill, looking at the stars and drawing patterns in air, using a washing stone. More, more, more. Few wishes come into being through even more wonderful wishes from our family members and divine grace! The journey of homeschooling is one such! This is a family decision which was never planned. It took shape as each one’s inner journey started. Lot of lessons through homeschooling, travel, people, places! Every travel – Every challenge made us identify who we are at a deeper level.
This boy became my travel partner. Looking at the world through his eye from consciousness, however an adult by body is a challenge. Whatever the mode of transport – Train, bus, share auto, auto, cycle, lift from a stranger by car/bike, daddy’s drive, and even Nataraja service( by walk). He joined me just to be him with his curiosity. Long journeys involved more than 24 hours of travel – we have waited at stations, dropped in to friends’ houses in different cities, change multiple modes of transport in a day.
He has grown tall and my arms dont fit him, so I have to wake him up at odd hours to get down from trains. I had woken him up at 3.30 am, 4.30 am and we had waited for the next train in stations until sun rises. When I wake him up few hours before our stop, he gets down from berth, wears his footwear, takes his bag and hold my hands tight to lower my fast beat of the heart and to embrace my fears. Its been an immense learning of the self in the journey of living in the village nad adopting travel as an input yo learning and host fellow beings at home.
Gratitude to universe. Trusting the process. Continuing to explore self.
I live in the village called Managiri in Chettinad, Tamilnadu. When I used to live in an apartment, one particular activity that I always yearned for is Vaasal thozhithu kolam iduvadhu (House front cleaning and making kolams). This activity is more than a meditation for me as I feel I am inviting the flora, fauna, all five elements, my ancestors, people who aren’t in my physical space now into my energy space. Mornings are bliss in Margazhi – early morning hair wash; Moon,me,my practise kolam notebook, natural kolam powder, songs from the nearest temple thirupazhiezhuchi ( the first pooja in Brahmamuhurtham in Margazhi month)! Every bend in a Chikku kolam makes me go into it and flow out with freedom! What more has Margazhi given to me!
My mother’s kavi podi that adds beauty to the kolams
My neighbour aunty’s love – she made kolam powder and gave me this month
Felt the physical energy of friends whom I have been talking over phone – @krithikathandapani, @vidhyamirra ,@foothillsopenlearning while travelling with Sai
Morning Thiruppavai reciting with @rajalakshmi_somasundaram
Travelled to two different places – Trichy and Pazhani and made kolams in my stay places and recited Thiruppavai
I love drawing kolams – I can draw kolams for many hours in many houses for the peace it gives me. I cherished my neighbour by drawing kolams in her house front when she was away. Now, this aunty drew kolams and made my home shine brighter when I was away
Chitti patti from nearest temple comes home with prasadham as the Sun and son rise up
@durgeshnandhini Suryodhayam to understand my flaws and the courage to accept it; Attending Suryodhayam with @krithikathandapani at her home
The village not only gave me open courtyard to draw my kolams, but gave me time and mindspace to paint my life!
Living with families – Cooking with them, doing routines with them, travelling outdoor with them – A bliss, learning and self reflection by itself. I started documenting my experiences with sai for two reasons
To get to know more people and places – To share my time and energy with these people and places
A photo journalling way
@krithikathandapani connected with me over an year ago in Instagram. We then discussed a lot of interests we had as mothers over call – Schooling systems to books to read! Later, she rided all the way from Trichy to Madurai to meet a like minded community! And now, we spent two contented days at her home in Trichy. We spoke about schooling, raw food, travel with a need to stop only when we thought we can. I enjoyed drawing kolam in her house, cooking in her house while she enjoyed seeing our children play! Life is so simple when living in communities. Children got up to play with each other, ate together, went to sleep together while we had the most vulnerable conversations. We healed layers within ourselves listening to each other.
I strongly believed that little Sai should work with mud, water, build castles; feel the air, space and earth; Involve in household chores like washing, kneading, cooking, cutting, cleaning and later come to writing when his body is ready and he finds a need to communicate with a language. To my surprise, the life at the village helped him do much more – He was with the village carpenter, He was with the nesavu people who communicated their mind through their hands.
When children come to reading and writing when there is a need and when the body is ready, every form of communication with words in any language gets a value and form. As the mother tongue works, who teaches it to children? They observe and put the exact words in situations to communicate with the care givers, then reading and writing progresses in school. This is how every language has to be imbibed. First, mastering speaking, then reading and writing in order to communicate.
Books were in our home right from a young age! However, they were bonding time and an aid to bed time routine for the child and the adult.
Sai drew structures in sand with a stick; questioned and coherently reasoned what he saw during travel. Few of his questions and statements around languages
– He first identified the distinction between Tamil and English – words as structures/designs through public transport in one state and another. A few months before, he saw a bus that we boarded and said with an awe ‘Amma – Tamil!’ – For me , it was like Amma – Water in a barren land. Such surprise! I really want to learn a language like this now!
– Then the Tamil word Tea almost in all roadside shops caught his attention
– Then cars, sign boards, logos with designs of Petrol bunk(He likes Shell Petrol bunk) were his go tos
With this interest, he picked up drawing! He loved Kolams and started drawing structures with Kolam powder, then to the wall, then to the paper! The structures in the photos tell me umpteen stories. I look at them each time and I get to learn something more.
His creation was two rounds at the bottom, and a box at the top and wow its his first car (All his cars had features that his father used to explore while learning to drive a car – He still addresses the front seat as co driver seat and draws a seat belt, a car seat etc) Then came the house – with doors and windows (The fun part is I look for washing stone in all houses and corporation water; all his houses had a pipe like structure and a washing stone). Then came human faces – two rounds as eyes and one line inbetween them as a nose and a round to cover all! I still love that few months at home where drawing with anything and everything! Then a lot of hand written notes, packed with cellotape, which had designs/shapes with pen on paper! Every note had a symmetry, a pattern, a repetition! Children and the way they learn! I am amused:)
Everyone who meets him asked, Have you not learnt A,B,C,D…Now, this boy wanted to know what it is? He somehow associated that in school children not only play( All these days, he thought school is for eat, play, sleep, repeat with children in a different place not home not with parents), but also learn A,B,C,D. He told, I want to go to school! This phase of life lasted for a few months with doing straight A, bent A, Downward A and the fun part is A with his legs. He would come and stand with his legs a little apart and ask me to keep my leg as a line on his legs! Bath times where like this for few days..
Now we are curious about maps. Whenever we want to go somewhere, we draw a map and carry it to the place! Need for directions and the understanding! I have always been geographically quite not clear even when I go to streets again – May be I dint know a map would help!
What if an education system revolves around the body, mind and soul of a human being? What if an education system progresses with the child’s body rhythm with no preconceived notions with respect to age? A child should know to write at this age? A child should know to read at this age? How has this been formulated as a fixed age for all children? We say age is just a number to learn something new when we are in our 40s and 60s. Then the same age is just a number at age 6 too right?
The interactions that the body, mind and soul has with the Panch boothas forms the core of living. When the body has a physical connection with the air, water and earth, the head and heart of the little humans are activated. This creates an harmonious living internally and externally which is the need of the era that even adults can learn from our children.
My musings with observing the little child at home!
We as a family host a program called Back to Roots – A community living initiative at our village, Managiri in Sivagangai District. The intentions of this program are
– To share the slow life that we experience in our 30s through the eyes of our child
– The abundance of nature, resources, people, architecture, hand work like nesavu(Handloom) etc that intrigues us
– The history behind the Nagarathar clan and the significance of rituals
The energy exchange that we feel when families visit us and they way children bond, the safe space for adults to discuss challenges is immense. We have understood human emotions through these community living initiatives.
In the journey, I researched about the Nagarathar clan and this is one of the festival that caught my attention.
Magaar Nombu :
Magaar means Siruvar (Child) in Tamil. A festival that happens in the Tamil month of Purattasi – 1st day being Magalaya Ammavasai and the 10th day being Vijaya Dhasami of Navarathari.
The men and women of Nagarathar community where ardent warriors and fighters with weapons to their rescue. To signify this, Magaar Nombu is celebrated with children remembering the warrior ancestors and becoming one. During Vijay Dhasami, in the Nagarathar villages which are spread across Sivagangai and Pudukottai District, the male and female deities are brought to the open ground called Pottal/Thidal. This is where the deities use a weapon called Ambu (bow and arrow) to signify Ambu Poduthal. Even today, there is a bus stop called Magara Nombu Pottal in Karaikudi.
To signify this, the young men in the families take the Kilikki (A weapon usually made of Silver and kept as Seer during marriages to the bride- looks similar to a bow and arrow) on the first day of Ammavasai and worship the deity in the temple which is known as Kilikki eduppu. Later on the same day when the male and female deity of the village Ambu Poduthal, a Vazhai maram( Banana tree ) is kept in the ground. Here all the young men in the family use the Kilikki on the Banana tree and do the Ambu poduthal festival.
Young men as young as 1 year old to 6 year old wear a veshti( Dhoti) and with the help of parents, take the kilikki (usually family owned) and direct it towards the Banana tree to show their warrior spirit.
ROMANCING WITH MY PASSION 