Onakkodi for the sky & Netaji sunshine

It’s Onam time, so some poetic Malayalam first. 

Onakkodi uduthu maanam

Megha kasavaale

Venmegha kasavaale 

Mazhavillin malar mudiyil choodi

Madhuhaasam thooki

Aval madhuhaasam thooki

(Onakkodi…)

Karkkidakathin karutha chelakal valicherinjallo

Maanam valicherinjallo

Kadalin moham tanutha karimukil vilarthu manjallo

Kaattil vilarthu manjallo

(Onakkodi….)

Written by Sreekumaran Thampi and composed by V Dakshinamoorthy in 1970, these lines are so beautifully evocative of the seasonal change that Onam heralds. Here is a rough translation (apologies to the legendary poet): 

The sky is draped in Onakkodi,
With silver clouds lining its zari
She adorns her hair with the rainbow as flowers, 
And wears with a nectarous smile  
She has thrown away the black drapes of Karkidakom (month marked by downpour, illness) 
The cold, dark clouds the ocean’s frozen desire have vanished
Dissipated in the winds... 

What lovely lines, and I wish they came true! The whole of Kerala does. Karnataka, too. Both states are caught in a watery mess. Brothers and sisters in Kochi and Bengaluru have been grumbling over a drenched Onam and a drowning metro city.

Can’t help but recall the lines from my son’s old rhyme book:

Rain, rain go away,
Come again on another day
Little (your name) wants to play...

According to legend, the simple, sweet rhyme has its roots in a complex, bitter strife in the 16th century. Back then, England (Queen Elizabeth I) and Spain (King Philip II) were locked in a power struggle.
In 1588, the duke of Medina-Sidonia led the famed, dreaded Spanish Armada to invade England. The fleet called the ‘La Felicissima Armada’, or ‘The Most Fortunate Fleet’ consisted of about 130 ships, including 22 galleons that could carry up to 40 canons. Galleons were monstrous, each made of over 1,000 oak trees.   

The English fleet comprised just “34 small navy vessels and 163 armed merchant ships”. However, they were said to be “swifter” and more agile than the gargantuan galleons. 

In the end, the Spanish Armada wasn’t that fortunate, as it ran into “stormy weather”. The fleet got “scattered”, and was thwarted.  

Thus, came about the lines:  
Rain, rain go away,
Come again another day, 
Little Johnny wants to play; 
Rain, rain, go to Spain, 
Never show your face again!

Back in India, up in the north, a fight for glory, of a different kind, is under way. On September 8, Thiruvonam day in Kerala, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to inaugurate the revamped Central Vista Avenue in Delhi, and unveil a “grand statue” of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose under the canopy near India Gate. 

Until 1968, the very spot housed a statue of King George V, against whom Bose had waged a war. Also, Rajpath the ‘king’s path’ will be renamed as Kartavya Path (Path of Duty).

Criticise the project or call it mere political optics, India, that is Bharat, is certainly set for some sunshine. Vestiges of colonial clouds are fading away.

Okay, time for me, too, to go away. On this International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies (September 7), signing off with wishes for fresh air and a glorious Onam. Let there be sunshine!

(Good) Morning, sunshine: “informal A greeting used in the morning, especially toward someone who seems tired or grouchy.”

Life isn’t all sunshine and rainbows: Real life does not just consist of innocent, carefree happiness; there is more hardship or suffering in reality than one realises.

Ray of sunshine: “Someone or something that makes others feel happy and positive, often during a difficult time.”

Suzy Sunshine: “Someone, especially a female, who is frequently or excessively happy and optimistic, perhaps naïvely so.”

Think the sun shines out (of) someone’s backside: (offensive) “To love and admire someone so much that you do not think they have any bad qualities.”

Walk on sunshine: “To be in a state of euphoria.”

A place in the sun: “A job or situation which makes you happy and gives you everything you need and want.”

Day/moment/time in the sun: “A period of being popular or getting a lot of attention.”
Indian summer: “a period of unusually dry, warm weather occurring in late autumn; a period of happiness or success occurring late in life.”

Look on the sunny side (of life/things): “To view one’s life, situation, or circumstances with a generally optimistic and cheerful attitude; to focus on what is positive in life.”

Sunny side up: “1. Of an egg, fried in a pan on one side so that the yolk remains runny on the top. 2. Having a particularly cheerful and optimistic attitude and outlook.”