The Slow Arrow of Beauty

Pretty little school girls from a small town on the Kerala-Karnataka border

What is beauty? It’s such a strange term. What may appear breathtaking to me may be less than ordinary to someone else and yet we live in a culture where every once in a while a man or a woman is put up on a pedestal of being fine creations of God. This makes no sense. Surrounding ourselves with unachievable, often technically enhanced, beauty keeps us from appreciating the most simplistic, often miss-able beauty that passes us by ever too discreetly. I love how Nietzsche describes it. For only he could.

“The Slow Arrow of Beauty. The most noble kind of beauty is that which does not carry us away suddenly, whose attacks are not violent or intoxicating (this kind easily awakens disgust), but rather the kind of beauty which infiltrates slowly, which we carry along with us almost unnoticed, and meet up with again in heart, it takes complete possession of us, filling our eyes with tears, our hearts with longing.” Pg 104, verse 149, Human, All Too Human

Much love,

Rapunzels of Kerala

Young girls in Wayanad

I love the women of my country – so beautiful, hard-working and strong. Carving their paths, against all odds, in a man's world. While that's true about most of the country, where the testosterone outshines the estrogen, there's always Kerala - the god's own country and the shining beacon of hope to the women around the world. Mother Earth hasn't only blessed this utopic state with breathtaking beauty but also the highest ratio of females (reaffirming the natural beauty, I guess). The fairer sex enjoys its spot in sunshine here. Women work, study and continue to bring hope to their sisters across the nation. Seeing the social and political atmosphere, we could all use some female inspiration. While I could list number of reasons that make the women in these parts exceptional, I choose to share a very small (almost insignificant) reason that makes these women remarkable to me. I'm always fascinated by people who do important things and make them appear so simple and effortless. Meet the women of Kerala. I don't understand how they manage to keep up their traditionally long, wavy, medusa-like manes and yet get their day's work done. They go around doing their business – taking the public transport, farming, walking around the dusty roads with their immaculately done-up hair, loosely hanging down their shoulders. No comfortable ponytails or I-mean-business buns, just thick, shiny, black hair, massaged with coconut oil, brushing their strong shoulders as they unapologetically celebrate their womanhood. It's magical. They are like goddesses. At least to me. As I sit in my bed, typing this post with my hair tied up in a messy scrunchy bun, I wish I could be a little less shabby.

In Kollam

In Kollam

At Munroe Island, Kollam

In Kollam

There's more posts coming from my recent trip to Kerala.
Come back soon.

Much love.