All About Being a Kerala Iyer

Heii guys i am back again after a short break…
Well got tied up with so many things and also as always laziness had itz effects on me again…

This time I thought i will write something about myself and some interesting things that has happened to me. I think everybody love to have a sneak peek into otherz life and so do I ;) As recently I discussed wit a friend of mine itz nice to watch otherz life from ur balcony .

This was written with pure intention of letting know people of how fun it is to be an iyer. And no offence meant.. I request everyone to take what i have written in the right spirit as i have written some in-order to bring in a pinch of humor.
So today, I thought I will pen down some factors which are typical of a Kerala iyer family...


To begin with I take absolute pleasure for being born into an iyer family. As a kid, of all what I loved the most was the marriage ceremonies of my cousins , which used to be so very colourful.. Two long days and hell lod of fun, where mammies sing songs like ‘ seethaa kalyana’ ‘ maalai maatrinal’ and many otherz.
I used to envy the bride and groom who used to have fun on the swing( uunjal) and also for playing wit garlands . But only now I know that its not childz play as u have to sit hours 2gthr b4 the holy fire or hoomakundam … but i think itz all worth it... ( and yeh I am next in the pipeline for marriage). Since a child i have dreamed of sitting on my appa's lap on my big day. 

Some things which are typical of a kerala brahmin house hold ....

Steel glass in which u get steaming decoction coffee
Hindu news paper
Thulasi Thara ( where u grow a thulsi plant and where u can find a small hut like structure, where u light the lamp)
Kola thara- where u draw beautiful kolamz- n yehh I belong to the new generaton of iyer gulz who can manage to draw a pullayar( ganapathy) kolam ;) . But from a kid ur grand maz( thaathi or paati ) or ur athaiz( ur dadz sisterz) or chithiz ( ur momz younger sisterz) or ur periammai’s ( momz elder sister) or some maami will be insisting you to learn to draw a kolam as itz a mandidatory criteria for marriage.
A pooja room which we call as swami room or swami muri.A Murugar or Ganapathy padam( photo) which will be hung in the front room.
Someone with the name Krishna but who will be known as kicha( my kichanna is no exception.
And yeah.. Dosa is our 'national food'. We can eat dosa 24 *7 and still eat more without hesitation.
Curd which is very much mandatory as we have curd along wit dosa, chapathi, idli and many other deadly combinations and yehhh some uurkai( pickle) how can I forget that. . And we can have a sumptuous meal by juz having curd rice and pickle.
A singer, dancer or some genius’ in the art field.

My house is no exception from all these. All my friends who had visited my house may know this better than me.

And when ever there is a get together in the family u get stuck with some mama,mami , ammanji , or oorupadi of ur relatives who will ask the most dangerous question… “ yenne therinjutho unaku? Nee raajuvode ponnu thane? ( do u recognize me? u r Raju’s daughter right?) and thatz one big embarrassing moment where u give the most stupid smile of urz.. and will be uttering like a reporter on tv.. mhmm a.. aaahhh…. Athuvandhuuu…. Until ur appa or amma comes to ur rescue.

And another thing which scares me while going for a get together is when out of the blue some one betrays you and say’s ‘ Gitavode ponnu nalla paaduva.. avale paada chollen’ ( Gita’s daughter sings really good.. ask her to sing).. thatz one moment when I used to really wish that I could go invisible. And even if u do sing , someone will correct your sruthi, thaalam and ragam which would lead u to end ur musical career ;) . But they do encourage u , as well as give u tips to improve... and whenever they meet u next time they are never stingy in showering u wit praises... Kudoz to all the elders...
hatz wht happens among relatives..


But among friends.. u face the most lovely as well as irritating moments….
When u just finish saying to them that u r an iyer they say “ ohh nee pattar aanale”(Oh..you are a pattar??)grrrr….. tht moment u feel like smashing them.. and also when u say u r a veggie ,next second comes the explanation that they hav a friend whoz an iyer who secretly eats meat but of course with due respects to culture as he removes his punool( the sacred thread) which is really offensive and then u feel like shouting at them that there are people like us who still respect and value our culture. Some have even gone to the extend of asking me whether I have a punool (l0l..). and the lovely moments are when they eagerly ask whether u really break the papads on ur partner’s head on your marriage day or whether the bride sits on her father’s lap at the time of marriage or when they ask us to invite them for ur marriage....and also when they ask recipes of vathakozhambu, maaladu.. etc.
And last but not the least about being a Kerala iyer.. u speak the strangest language.. which is a funny mixture of 80% Malayalam and 20% tamil ... like – ‘ naan ambalathuku poren’ ( I am going to temple) and many more. But I really am proud to be one. But some times u really have an identity crisis as of whether u r a mallu or tamilian. Still I have not sorted it out. But whatever it is I njoy and celebrate being one. We have so many beautiful customs and traditions which i think should be cherished and practiced..


Long live our traditions.... So guyz if ever u get a chance juz attend a wedding of ourz.. u wil know how fun it is...
Apo apramam pakalam… adutha blogile …… neku poka neram vandhachu ketaya...