When Soul Olie Came Visiting

"The fish flies

high into the sky

The sun smiles

the clouds rejoice,

For there is the lotus

glowing quietly

at the root of the

tree called life"

A month back, I was sent a toddler full buckle my way for a few days to use and review. As always, I was eagerly waiting for it to reach us and when it arrived, I opened the parcel only to be left wide-eyed in awe and amazement. It was one of Soul's limited edition carrier, Roots and Wings, in collaboration with Olie, a family-run studio based in Bangalore that makes handcrafted decor accessories.

I fell in love with the print instantly as I took it out of the box. The panel is white with yellow and greyish-black print, depicting the tree, flying fish and roots. I love the description about the print in both the Soul and Olie page - the flying fish that set out on its journey to find Nirvana or true happiness, only to find it at the root of the tree called Life. This description gave a slightly more 'awe' factor to the print and I can't really tell you how much head over heels I fell in love with the carrier, especially after reading what the print depicts. The print just stands out in the crowd and is definitely a head-turner. The waist and shoulder straps are a dark greyish black, and this enhanced the beauty of the carrier. The entire colour theme just blended well together and it was a joy to see how beautiful it looked.

As I carried my little boy in this for the first time, I realised how soft and cushy the material is. Although it is cotton, I felt, compared to the other cotton range that Soul has (I've tried the Ikat print and the woven cotton carrier), this felt a tad bit softer. The fabric was light and although not as breathable as linen, this definitely felt cool on the skin. I loved how cuddle-worthy it was and it definitely made the carrier feel light and comfortable while carrying the little boy. 

The fitting is the same as all the other Soul's full buckles. I had earlier reviewed a standard carrier here. Although there I reviewed a standard full buckle, the technicalities of the toddler full buckle remains the same except for a wider and taller panel. The little boy is 3.5 years, weighs around 12 kg and is 93 cm tall. Although he still fits into a standard full buckle, we don't get the knee to knee support there, as we do in a toddler full buckle. The height of the toddler panel is still a tad big for him, but still snug and comfortable. 

This time, I guess, I fell in love with the carrier more than the little boy and there were times when he was on a carrier strike. I didn't lose heart though, I carried his friends in the carrier and got some extra cuddles as well. It came with us for our outings and we even turned to it for all the clingy, cranky moments at home. We did spend a good time with it, although we weren't able to capture a lot of images.

This was one carrier that left me in tears when we parted. I really didn't want to let it go but, well, it had to make a difference and show it's worth to other parents too. I miss having it with us and you won't believe the number of times I've thought about it after it left us. This one definitely left a huge impression on me and I am sure, if and when I think of adding one more full buckle to my stash, this would be the one that will come to my mind first. 

Saree - Book Review

Title: Saree

Author: Su Dharmatala

Pages: 560

Genre: Fiction

Rating: 4/5

Six Lives, six loves and a precious cloth that binds them together

I had been eyeing this book for about a year now. It just needed it's name to grab my attention and since then, I had been asking every book store that I walk into for this book. Sadly, none had and finally, a month back, I placed my order for this book through Amazon.

I was so excited to get the book that I didn't wait to start reading it. The book is divided into five parts - The Knot, The First Drape, The Pleats, The Second Drape, The Fall, and The Finishing - and spread across Sri Lanka, India and Melbourne. The hero of the book is definitely a saree, described so beautifully that I wished I could see that beautiful piece in real life. The book is exactly what the blurb suggests - from the lush beauty of Sri Lanka, ravaged by bloody civil war, to mystical India and finally its eventual resting place in Australia, this is the story of one precious piece of cloth and the lives it changes.

The first part is well written, held my attention and I delved deep into the book. I loved how the whole story line was described and the weaving process - especially that! Everything about the first part was perfect. However, I felt, this set a high expectation for me for the rest of the book which, sadly, the book didn't meet at times. Especially certain parts which was written in the the slang the character speaks, which felt quite awkward to read. 

Except for the few parts in the middle, I loved the beginning and end. It's not that I didn't like the chapters in the middle, I just felt that it could have been better to capture the attention of the reader better. After a fast paced first part, the book felt dry at places before picking pace towards the end. The end was totally unrealistic, or rather the book felt unrealistic at quite a few places. But that said, I loved the book. I might be partial here, although, because of my love for sarees. Yet, this was a wonderful read and definitely one for your library.

P.s: Click on the image below to buy the book.

Let's Be The Change - From The Diary Of An Unconventional Mallu Bride

A couple of days back, during a random conversation on Kerala and weddings, I was asked, "you must have also been covered in gold for your wedding, no?"Although then, to her, I replied in a one word negative, I thought a lot about it later. I was an unconventional Kerala bride in terms of the accessories that I wore.

I don't know when or how it was decided that I would be wearing just one necklace for my wedding. It wasn't even a decision. For a person who had never worn any gaudy gold except for a very thin chain on her neck,  two pair of studs on her ears, and a tiny speck of a diamond on the nose, it never made any sense to be overloaded with something I was not comfortable with on my wedding day. My parents too were never obsessed with gold and in fact, it was Achan (my father) who was more particular than me about how much less gold I should be wearing for the wedding.

Because of this, the jewellery shopping was a breeze. After we bought my wedding saree, we walked into one of the popular jewellery shops in Madras and there it was, calling to us right from the display shelf. It blended well with my saree - the perfect match I could ever get. I fell in love with the necklace and earring instantly that it was a 'pack it' moment. We didn't search for better options or a few more pieces before we decided on this. It took us a little more time to find the perfect pair of bangles and once we found that, our jewellery shopping for the wedding was over! A few days before the wedding, we had a fight though - my grandmother and my mother on one side and me on the other. Amma and Ammumma wanted me to wear a hip chain for the wedding and I outrightly rejected the idea since it wasn't something I would ever use in my life again and it seemed like a waste of money. Amma stood by Ammumma when she said it was her wish and finally I gave in to the two most important women in my life. On one condition though - that I would choose it and it has to be plain.

I had quite a lot of friends and family who tried to 'advice' me about how I should be overloaded with gold on my wedding day - advices ranging from how this is the day that my parents would be able to see me in my full glory (I still haven't understood what they meant) to how can Raghu's daughter undermine his status by wearing just one necklace to what will Balu's family think of it to this is the only way you guys can show how wealthy you are. The only family that wasn't bothered or didn't even ask us a single question about what I was wearing or anything remotely related was my in-laws. By the time the wedding was over and we were leaving for home, my hip-belt was in Balu's aunt's hand since it was coming out and on our way home - a long 5 hour journey - I handed over my earrings to another aunt since it was hurting me. No one in that family told me to wear it back since I was the bride and since they had to show the public what the bride was bringing home (weird logic, I know.. but I've heard it a lot). I love this family more for this, for never dictating anyone in the family with unwanted rules and principles, for giving all the girls who walked into their homes the freedom to make choices and much more - but that's another story.

As much as I say that it helped me live the moment, kept me sane instead of weighing me down, and gave me one thing less to worry about when it came to wedding preparations, sadly, amongst Keralites, this is a one-off case. As much as our generation has wanted to change the trend of being 'gold mines' on our wedding day, it is really difficult considering the expectation of family and even worse, the society. So much so that you loose the energy to fight to have your way. Little do we realise that we are setting a very high standard among the lower income group to match up, and they do indeed - taking loans that they find difficult to repay and selling property, to have a dream wedding. What for? For a few pieces of jewellery that is going to be in the locker and rarely touched! Of course, it's an asset. But do we really need to showcase all our assets from our parents' hard-earned money on us on the most important day in our lives?

I had a dowry free wedding. Neither my husband nor my in-laws were interested in what my parents were 'gifting' me. We never had a discussion on that. And my parents never bothered to specifically allot a portion of their wealth to me for my wedding. Rather, they chose to stand by us whenever they felt we needed support, big or small, even without we asking them. And so did my in-laws. And I couldn't be more grateful for that. It meant a lot to me and it still does rather than an obligatory 100 sovereign of gold and a few acres of land.

We need to bring a change to this trend that leaves us displaying our parents wealth on us, a trend that plays spoilsport on the most special day in the lives of two people. It's high time we bring about a change. Our generation can indeed make a change. Weddings should be about celebrating love, welcoming new relationships and making memories. Let's not make it a power-play to showcase wealth and making a goldmine of the bride.