When there was a hue and cry about what to wear and what not to wear I was soaked in the silence of my dreamland. The Colour of the shirt, sari, mundu, sadhya were the topics of discussion. It was strange to hear such conversations. One of the boys came to me and asked “What is your plan for Onam celebration?” and hesitantly I replied, “Actually I have no idea what is Onam”. Then he giggled and said, “You are in Kerala, so you should know what Onam is”. With that note, he explained to me the myths and legends of Onam. Thereafter, I decided to purchase a ‘mundu’ for the Onam celebration.
On Our Way to the Market
Since I have understood what Onam is, I discussed with my roommate the color of ‘mundu’ that suits me. By the end of our conversation, everyone was in the room excited that their friends from a strange land decided to wear ‘mundu’. Some suggested it was the golden color that brilliantly matches us. Another one said blue, yellow, red and the list did not end. At first, I told myself, why should I wear that, is it necessary??.. then a second thought came to me, let me wear it for memories. Indeed it was one of the best decisions that I have ever made.
It was afternoon, we invited some of our batchmates to accompany us in choosing the best mundu. We were a group of six, from one shop to another the mundu we wanted to buy seem to be unavailable. Owing to the allocated time we had to reach the hostel, we rushed to the last shop, there we found not the mundu but the shirts. Grey it is !!…it resembled the ‘kurta’ with a long sleeve and everyone agreed on taking this one.
The next day, again we went to the market in search of the treasure. One of our friends decided to take us to a shop where ‘mundu’ is available in abundance. There were varieties of ‘mundu’, checking the quality and the best ones, we decided to choose between the golden and the black stripes. Our friends who accompanied us reminded us that we bought the grey shirts the day before and black stripes ‘mundu’ will match. It was a fair choice and we purchased the black one. There it was, ‘my first mundu’.
It Carries a Lot of Weight
From the shorts, we wore the first day in the college to the last flight we took, ‘my first mundu’ carries emotions and moments of love, pain, happiness, joy, tears, smiles.
Growing up with those ‘Super 30′ in the hostel and the classroom is the best gift so far, we were not just companions or batchmates but a ‘Super 30′ family. There, I realized that family is not just mere blood relations, but it is being with people who stand by you when you need them the most.
I miss those petty fights and heated debates, wished I have a time machine to go back to you. The three years of my life with which I will cherish forever can be seen in ‘my first mundu’. Those days were so quick that sometimes I think it is just a dream. But, every story has an ending, no matter how great the story is.
These moments are boxes of treasure, blessings of hope, happiness when lonely, joy when stress, and memories to smile. I will come back to you ….just a moment…
‘Keralathinu Nannii‘, you have taught me beautiful lessons in life.