Karkadakam 1186 , the last few days of the Malayalam era is here!
If there was a pauper on the calendar it was this sad month of Karkadakom!
The month that is dull and dark with lashings of heavy rain with no warning, finally and hopefully culminating on Karkadaka vavu when even the moon goes into hiding and mortal men go hiding under their blankets!
So it was that over hundreds of years the able bodied men of Kerala would go religiously for Sukachihilsa , in modern day parlance wellness therapy, while the women would spend their waking hours reciting from the Holy books. Both apparently to protect themselves and their families!! And the Land.
But just as the silver lining on every dark cloud , Karkadakom rings in the beginning of yet another NEW YEAR !
The colorful and vibrant month of Chingam , a month unique in its celebrations , with boat races and floral carpets, dancing and singing and feasts that can put anyone but a true malayalee to shame!
That is the excitement of life – Karkadakom and Chingam - the twins on a calendar, so different but so utterly vibrant, both competing to excel in the traditions they have been pictured over thousands of years.
But then why the year 1186??
