Examples of using Kolam for modelling infinite series for practical application of concepts.

Kunji mami

Its customary in our culture to refrain from celebrations of annual festivals, perhaps, as a mark of respect for the loss of a close relative or in the belief that it would take about an year for some one to come to grip with their loss. I have thought about the custom long and hard for several years, with varying perspectives from many of my relatives whose take on our philosophy(advaitha as explained by Sri Adi Sankarar of the seventh century AD), my own grandparents drawing a line onto themselves for most relatives, stretching it to my parents and uncles and aunts for a close circle and difusing it completely for myself and my brother. After marriage, I resorted to, with most things, as my family does, go by my sister-in-law’s practical wisdom on matters of practice, seeking clarification when her direction contradicted my lines(very few), unless I wanted to tread a tighter line than the scope of the norm. Over the years, I had realised, I am incapable of moving on from the loss of loved ones ever- either because I have எருமை தோல் (buffalo hyde) or because, to me if you love some one, you can’t loose them, because they are a part of you, and you them.

Navarathri is an annual festivals that our family celebrates. Its always meant a lot to me; off-late, as I get on in my years, it means more because, its my one opportunity to மெனக்கெட்டு (loosely meaning, prioritise over everything else) to.have many of my friends over, friends, every navarathri, I tell myself, I should meet more often, but never get around to doing so. So whenmy sister-in-law called to inform me of Kunji mami -my husband’s maternal uncle’s wife’s passing just as I was preparing for Navarthri, it didn’t take me more than a second to override my sister-in-laws directions(probably for the first time) to proceed to keep kolu, with a present from Kunji mami when I visited her for the first time in Bombay as a newly wed as the center piece; it was an artwork forming the iswarya lakshmi kolam with ply wood, pieces of mirrors, red and green glass and golden coloured embosed paper. As I followed the contours of the artwork, my grief found expression exploding the cosmos from time immemorial spontaneously breaking the symmetry of its flow as I tried to contain it in two dimensions- leading the way for developing initial concepts for dispersing cosmos as a two-dimentional projection of two interlacing infinite series… a loving tribute I’d love to complete before Navarathri 2025, in loving memory of the many many occasions she had warmed our hearts with her love and inspired me with her straight-shots as an unfailing communication technique. (eg. “புசு புசுன்னு அயிட்டயே.. வெயிட்ட குறை….”) .

Sumathy

Sunday, 1DEC2024