Shaji N Karun: Internationally well-known filmmaker. Notable films: Piravi, Swahm and Vaanaprastham
I still remember the Onam I spent with my grandparents in Kollam as a six-year old. My ancestral home was on the banks of the Ashtamudi Kayal. The image of the huge seelanthi tree is still vivid in my memory. This tree is generally seen close to water bodies. Unfortunately, you don't see them these days. My grandfather had made a swing for us kids. The tree has wonderfully beautiful yellow flowers and it blooms during Onam.
What I can never forget is the flowers falling on me when I was on the swing. I used to look up and have the flowers fall on my face. The image is like a fairytale. The backwaters, the sunlight peeping through the trees, the green leaves and the yellow flowers... these wonderful images might have played a big influence in me becoming a person in love with photography, and also the world of films. I have retained these memories as visual images and even today they come flooding back to me in huge waves.
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