കുറുക്കന്റെ കല്ല്യാണം
'മഴയും വെയിലും'Just that phrase reminds me of what people in my generation used to talk about when we were children: the elders used to tell us, 'When rain and sunshine occur simultaneously, the foxes get married' (മഴയും വെയിലും, കുറുക്കന്റെ കല്യാണം).
I used to think that this motif was something very typical of the Malayalee culture. But when I watched the film 'Rain through Sunshine', from the 'Akira Kurosawa's Dreams' series, it had a clear reference to 'foxes getting married when rain and sunshine come together'. Wow! Wonder if this motif has been part of the collective consciousness of many other cultures around the world.!
Both sunshine and rain have inspired writers and visual artists in their creative work. Painters as well as filmmakers have used rain and sunshine creatively and, in many cases, metaphorically, to construct the emotional backdrop of their characters. Many examples can be quoted from world cinema. But one Malayalam film I remember is 'Perumazhakkalam' directed by Kamal, a movie that would haunt you deeply for the predicament of the characters immersed in that emotional drama. The director, the cameraman and the actors, all, have sensitively absorbed the spirit of rain and we feel with them, the joys as well as sorrows that the rain brings.
For me, personally, I like rain when I am sitting in my room and working on something, especially when I try creative writing. I like the music of rain, whether it is a simple drizzling or a heavy downpour. And sunshine? I do like the morning sunshine, especially if there is a chance to walk through the woods or along the beach. But those chances come rarely.
Ultimately, rain and sunshine are like the colours black and white, two sides of the same coin. You can't separate them from your life. For us, Malayalees who are blessed by the tropical climate and settings, rain and sunshine are like yin-yan, essentially integrated into our psyche.