Malayalam:Kachil, Kavuthu
Sambar Cheera
We had celebrated the 'Karthika vilakku' at my home town. Children with great enthusiasam made the event more special and memorable. My home is very near to the Subrahmanya swami temple at Perunna. Here the 10 day festival starts with the Kathika vilakku. Every home will light up with lights and traditional clay pots. I feel so proud to be there to see a place celebrate the event with such a spirit. 
This image is of 'Karthika puzhukku'. Its also a special of this day. Every home will prepare this Puzhukku which contain most of the local tubers like kachil, chembu, kappa and koorkka. I will try to post a detailed recipe on my food blog.
'Thamsorma Jyothirgamaya Mrithyorma Amritham Gamaya'
Our Deepavali Sweet Maida Burfi
It was a nice evening filled with the vigour of Deepavali. This time we had not purchased any crackers. Children was not fully satisfied with only Diya lighting. This was a light Deepavali celebration filled with prayers. 
In Kerala its only a festival in words. Since my childhood I have not celebrated it. Last year because of my children I had also lit some lamps in my home and burst some crackers. This picture is from our last year Deepavali celebration.Celebrations have a thread connected with the past. Mostly it may be the victory of god over evil spirits. In that days victory was celebrated with lights. We can celebrate this festival without any limits of states even if its the victory of Rama, Krishna or Devi.
Have an oil bath which is good for our body, increases the blood circulation and good for our skin too. Have some homemade sweets and make an array of lights . Children will enjoy it without knowing much of it but they know how to enjoy a moment with its maximum. It may be the most memorable moment in our life.
I am googling for recipes of Deepavali sweets, new diya painting ideas and searching shops for crackers... Its the spirit of celebration making something new and sharing some new ideas to children. I will be so happy to see them away from Television. For every weekends I plan for their activities. Search the internet for ideas, tools and shops. Usually fridays I will visit the craft shop and buy some craft paper, glue, clay, coloured papers, some paints etc. Now I am in this role of a mother and trying to play my best ...
Above all light we have to light our minds also. Every festival has this side also. It must clean up our mind and lit it up with noble ideas and love. We must create a deepavali in our mind also. The inner joy has a lot to do. It can do miracles in our life.
Shamkupushpam with two or more petals
Its a vessel carrying flower to temple for the poojas. This flower vessel is from my home. This is my Amma's morning routine to fill this vessel with variety of flowers plucked from my home itself. She will do it with great devotion and always chanting some manthras. Its a nice thing to see my parents collecting all these flowers and going to temple. When you miss someone its nice to remember through some images. These flowery images of my parents always fill fragrance and positive approach to my life. Wishing them more healthy and wonderful life ahead... The image of this poopathram is from my home taken 2 years back.
A very good morning to all of my friends through images right from Kochi.May be because of the shape of the flower, malayalaees called them as 'Shamku Pushpam'. Its a very positive sight to see lot of blue flowers hanging. These images are from the front of my office, I couldn't capture the exact beauty because of my lack of expert in Photography. But I am sharing my happiness to see such lovely flowers as a starter of my works. This positive triggers are sometimes inevitable in this short period of life. We are not knowing the nice happenings around us. We are always running behind our targets almost ignoring the music of a bird, smell of a flower, smile of our child or the mesmerizing beauty of a butterfly. Its a nice experience to share some of these positive things through these platform. Everything in the nature has a story to tell us. These shankupushpam flowers had a lot of things behind its beauty. Googling helped me to note these wonderful usages of these blue beauties.
These flowers are used for pigmentation in some Asian countries. These flowers are eaten fresh in Burma. In Kerala it is widely used in Ayurvedic treatments. Its mainly used in Sexual Problems and menstrul disorders. Its a medicine for nervous system and its added in brain tonics.
This deep blue flower is the most common type in Kerala but we can see white flowers and pink ones occasionally. The white flowers are used to cure Goiter. The extrat from the root of this plant is considered to be a mental rejuvanator. These root extracts are used in medicines for Snake bites.
I can note conclude this post without a mention about the famous romantic song from Kerala.
Botanical name:Centella Asiatica
A herb used in Ayurvedic medicines. Its an ideal herb for stomach complaints.
