Wicks & wisdom
26.12.2013
Every
time Lakshmi Menon saw her 89-year-old grandmother create wicks for the family
to light their daily lamp to Gods in the puja room and sometimes for neighbors
and friends Lakshmi wondered how she could weave the cotton in a single string
so effortlessly. Lakshmi was enchanted and felt that the tradition should be
preserved in more way than one. She used her resources and sold the idea to
old-age homes. They loved it and before Lakshmi knew and Grandma Wicks or Ammoommathiri as it is popularly called
in Malyalam became a brand. Ammoommathiri
is fast gaining popularity in not just Kerala, but across the shores in the
Gulf as well. On my recent trip to Kerala for International Film Festival I
heard that a documentary film on the subject is under production with a voice
over from Malyalam superstar Mohan Lal.
In
the same magazine I read that there is no such thing as multitasking as you can
do several complex tasks in rapid succession, sequentially, but it is
impossible to do them simultaneously. Interesting isn’t it? I learnt about the
Beauty in Brokenness (beautiful title) which actually is about learning to let
go of the idea that life should be perfect. Writer Wayne Allen elaborates on a
Japanese term Wabi sabi that is
almost impossible to translate. Wabi sabi apparently captures the essence of
Zen living where Leonard Koren, author of Wbi-Sabi describes it as the beauty
of things imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete, the antithesis of our
classical western notion of beauty as something perfect, enduring, enduring,
and monumental. Beautiful isn’t it? I’m deeply moved by the concept.
Bhawana Somaaya/ @bhawanasomaaya
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