As we seek to have life return back to normal, (but can it ever?) I have taken note that there is a festival going on around us. India seemingly has a festival every other day, and this one is named Onam. It originates in the state of Kerala. I have been there, it is India's Hawaii - the green and lush place everyone aspires to visit. It is a major honeymoon spot. Europeans called it the "Malabar Coast" or "The Spice Coast" a few hundred years back.
This Kerala-originating festival is in celebration of the arrival of spring. One neat aspect of it is that men paint their bodies, very often as a tiger.
It is said that all humanity is connected if you go back far enough. Consider this picture of a Pict, an ancient Celtic warrior from the British isles. The Pict's body has a lion's face painted on it..... A notable similarity to the Onam paintings, but also very different in that the lion's face was meant to invoke fear during battles. I think the tiger is meant to represent virility.
Thanks to everyone who is reading the blog - I have heard from Rush, Laurie, Mom, Dad, Eleanor Moore, friends back at Selwyn Avenue - it has been good to hear from you and I am glad to blog is being read!
