Hello dear reader,
This week I’m introducing octopuses, and a few of my obsessions.
Getting straight into the list of things that made me happy the third week of September
Women have had enough
I have been fascinated, and slightly scared, by octopuses for a while now. A viral twitter post reminded me of my obsession with these beings. Apparently female octopuses throw objects at males who harass them.
The article that started my love: The Sucker, the Sucker!
Such a beautiful piece, I would have shared it with at least 20 people.
Fun fact: If you put an octopus in a jam jar, it can unscrew the lid from the inside, and escape.
Stopping by my favourite city
A Twitter user also taught me that Octopus in Sanskrit is ‘Ashtbhuj’. In Kanchipuram, you can meet the Lord of Attabuyakaram, the eight-armed Vishnu. Here is a Paasuram by Peyazhwar, one of the earliest Azhwars.
தொட்ட படையெட்டும் தோலாத வென்றியான்,
அட்ட புயகரத்தான் அஞ்ஞான்று, - குட்டத்துக்
கோள்முதலை துஞ்சக் குறித்தெறிந்த சக்கரத்தான்
தாள்முதலே நங்கட்குச் சார்வு.
Here is the translation:
With eight hands wielding eight victorious weapons that have never seen defeat, the Lord of Attabusyakaram is our sole refuge. He wielded his discus over a crocodile and saved an elephant in the yore.
I sourced the translation from here. If you are looking to delve into the Azhwars, their bhakti and poetry, this book is a goldmine.
Heroes have curly hair
These days, I have given life to another past obsession. Lyrics from Tamil cinema songs. Here is one from a landmark movie Anniyan, which sort of fits in with this week’s newsletter. If you are wondering about the curly hair, the protagonist of this movie rocks em.
I’m back with some news from above this week. It rained! And I saw the biggest, most beautiful moon on my way back home from work. Thank you for reading! Means the world to me.