Tuesday, August 28, 2018

HEART O HEART!!





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From my archives: Autumnal scene (in the US) charms the heart!


"Your heart is the most powerful organ. It breaks, heals and becomes stronger again."


It is your heart!


Let it be never caged.

Let its potent vision be never grazed.

Let it articulate its smoldering spells.

Let it not throttle its cathartic swells.

Let it smash the toxic social bonds,  

Let not its tenderness with pretense downed.

Let it flourish in a swirl of loving kindness,

Let it receive the sensations of warm-heartedness.

Let it smile to wean the miseries away,

Let it smoothen muddles that bind night and day.

Let not its heartstrings be ever incommunicado,

Let them burst with courage, faith, and bravado.

Let it not be messed up by gibes and prickles,

It’ll surely transcend the inane and the fickle.
........
               

Tuesday, August 21, 2018

OUR GREEN WORLD





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G is for Green World:







Human race or any other living organism would not have survived but for the blessed green world around us. God has been kind and thoughtful  to gauge our needs and make provisions accordingly. Nature’s mammoth powers have bestowed upon us overwhelming variety, which nudges our exploratory tendencies forever.



Nature’s benedictions in the form of everyday wonders act as a source of eternal joy, hope, and inspiration. Our green cover is an indescribable reservoir of God’s gifts. It is our lifeblood.  Just imagine its absence. The thought itself is menacing. Man and all other organisms would go extinct.


The green world encompasses in its fold the treasures such as trees, bushes, plants, flowers, herbs and countless forms of vegetation.

The food chain of crops, vegetables, fruits etc. provide nutrition to humans and animals for sustenance.



Miracles of the green world are immeasurable.

Greeneries are great purifiers. They release oxygen and take in carbon dioxide. Thus, maintain a hugely beneficial eco system. Life without the green world is unthinkable.

The beauty of nature has been a beacon of inspiration for artists of all hues. The poetic world would have been bereft of the masterpiece “The Daffodils” had not Wordsworth seen them dancing merrily in the breeze at the bank of a lake.


Where would the birds, the squirrels, the bees and the butterflies have built their habitats sans green world? The cicadian notes would have been missing from the shadowy evenings. The mysterious cacophonic orchestra of the innumerable insects and other species, which reside in its midst, numbing our senses would have disappeared altogether.

Aren't the plants necessary for our wellbeing and happiness? They hold enormous possibilities for the good of humanity.

Friends welcome here as always! 

Linking to:
image-in-ing
ABC Wednesday 
Nature Notes 
Our World Tuesday 
Friday foto friends 





Monday, August 13, 2018

FASCINATING CLOUDY FORMATIONS





"The best thing one can do when it is raining is to let it rain."               
Henry Wordsworth Longfellow

We're putting up amidst Shiwalik hills these days. Here the rainy season is in full swing. It rained torrentially yesterday. Extensive landslides together with the uprooting of trees happened. The authorities are doing their utmost to provide relief to the affected.

One is helpless in the face of nature's fury. Yet life moves on!

Pictures ( below) taken during the week of multiple vignettes of the monsoon skyline!


F is for Fascinating:


The thick clouds are barring the sun from making its appearance. Yet cleverly the sun wriggles out now and then to spread its brilliance. Clicked early morning today!












The hills engulfed with mist after a generous bout of showers.



Friends welcome here as always!

Linking to:
image-in-ing
ABC Wednesday  
Sky Watch Friday
Nature notes
Our World Tuesday



 

Wednesday, August 8, 2018

AN OUT OF THE BOX NARRATIVE




'E' is for enjoying  the simplest pleasures of life:

Strange that a small and simple object could take you down the memory lane and fill you up with nostalgia so effusive that it starts simmering in the psychic recess and waits for the time when it would be articulated. The urge to bring it into focus was intensely triggered when I saw it sitting snugly in the bathroom in the familiar company of a bucket, a low stool, and a bath mug. There and then, I decided to let it tell its own story. Instantly an insignificant thing transformed itself into a raconteur of sorts.

Dear readers don’t  feel shocked to know who I’m. I’m in fact a SMALL PLASTIC TUB cherished by the family for more than forty years till date. It all began long back when a young married couple was blessed with a sweet baby boy. Their first-born was special and deserved the best. Happily, they purchased all the baby stuff from baby soap to baby oil to baby powder (all Johnson and Johnson products) along with colorfully designed baby towels. They bought something else also. They bought Me. I’s a carrot-colored cute looking mini bath tub. 
Google image


 Things settled down slowly in the household and a routine took shape.   I’d wait for the baby’s mom to come home from work and give a bath to the baby.  As soon as she would come, the first thing she would do was to prepare for the baby’s bath. The housemaid who took care of the baby in mom’s absence knew exactly what to do. She would bring me from the bathroom along with other supplies to the sunny verandah where the grand ritual used to take place. A wok filled with warm water (heated by the maid in advance) was waiting for the purpose. First, the baby would be given a soft oil massage, which he enjoyed immensely and responded merrily to the gentle rubbing of his tiny frame.

After I was wiped out extra clean from inside, the lady would place me in the middle of the sunny verandah and fill less than half of me with the tepid water. In the meantime, the baby would be placed in my lap supported by the mother’s arm around his neck. OMG, how happy the baby would become instantly. He’d play and splash water with his hands, while charmingly opening and closing his eyes as the tiny droplets entered into his eyes. The mom’d tenderly watch the baby indulging in that playful exercise. The pride of being the mother of this lively and energetic child enlivened her face. I’s privy to this interesting sentimental drama played day after day. And I loved it.

The bath used to be performed meticulously in the midst of an animated prattle between mother and son and answered with chuckles and more splashes. Finally, the baby was picked wrapped in a towel and was transported to the bedroom, where a fresh looking dress placed on the bed eagerly awaited the baby’s arrival. Grooming done, the child would get the milk bottle - pre-prepared and standing on the side table- propped comfortably on the mother’s lap. Soon he would be so sleepy that only some gentle shaking would make him finish the milk. He‘d go to sleep under a baby mosquito netting uninterrupted for a couple of hours.

Again, I’d be cleaned and wiped dry and allowed to rest in a safe corner of the large bathroom until the next day.

As the baby grew bigger, I’s permanently made to rest, up in the attic. I’s dismayed. It was like a fall from the sublime to being a nobody.

To my good luck, a few years back the lady suddenly remembered me. A wooden ladder was brought in to reach the low ceilinged attic. She entered the attic in a sitting position (her light frame had an advantage in such tasks). She was overjoyed to find me as I was, only a bit dusty.

I’s brought out and after a few days transported to their flat in the hills. Here the bathroom is small and I fit very well in the limited space. She soaks her light laundry in me while adjusting herself to the new style of washing. I’m in the limelight again. Her long-standing association with me has survived the test of time. I’m still supple and strong enough to last, I don’t know for how many years more.
……
Friends it is a tribute to my comrade, this adorable tub for serving me so faithfully and becoming a part of life again. It is a testimony to the concept that small things can provide so much joy.

Friends welcome here as always! 

Linking to:

ABC Wednesday