The Departure

The boat left, too soon, too early and I couldn’t stop it. The flower shriveled up before I could stop it …The sun set and I couldn’t save the auburn shades for myself. So many things happen in life which we can’t stop or save for later, as life itself. The moments lost are lost forever, the steps we tread today are difficult to be retraced, the smiles and laughters of today stay only in memory boxes of our minds. The seasons change and the cycle of life goes on. Twilight leads the way for the sensuous dusk…and we hope for a brighter tomorrow. We know another day will arrive and try to erase thoughts of yesterday’s apprehensions …But every departure doesn’t coincide with amelioration !! How do we cope with such departures ? How do we get over those departures that are too soon or however natural, are too difficult to bear ?

Revelation !!

We are silk, we are coarse..Sometimes fire, sometimes ice..Storm now, serenity after.We can destroy, we can create. Strong and kind but never weak…We are the fairer sex- We are the women of this world …….

The other road .....

Let me walk down that overgrown sedgy road …and find out for myself if that’s the one for me. Let me have a brush with any prelude to possible mischances that might follow..

Let me ascertain there will be flowers and bees apart from occasional sharp-bladed grasses and thorns along my way….If only life could have been like this !! If only we could have walked down a road less taken, find out if that’s going to produce a significant divergence from the future one has sketched in their minds and retraced our course.

Burnt to refine !!

Smell of burnt sugar ...Awesome!! And the taste ? No words- I always make an extra effort to finish off the last syrupy delight from the dripping sides or the puddle around/below of my caramel pudding …The slightly crackling sound of the burnt crust on the top of a perfectly made crème brulee makes me so happy !! Doesn’t it signify that something which is good by itself, becomes even better, luxurious and luscious…after going through a trying spell ..and proves to reach a state of overall refinement ?!

HOPE…

Is food,water and oxygen more important than Hope for survival ? When the fittest wants to survive, what does he look for more?

Isn’t Hope all we can ever do- hope for the good, hope for the best, hope for the better. Hope that things won’t fall apart, hope that us will always be “ us “ and not “I & you“. Hope for a sunny day after periods of rain, hope for rain after periods of scorching sun….

But what happens when there’s no room to hope- when it’s inconceivable? When a person knows his inescapable future…and there is no desiring for otherwise !!

Can a person,who has been denied of the light of this world, hope that someday he’ll know what the different colors look like? How does he survive each day or does he still hold on to futile hope, only to survive?

What was the significance of the word “ HOPE” for Anne Frank and other innocent victims of the Holocaust ? Did they hope of a better tomorrow when they will no longer be branded as sub-humans? Or did they run out of it ?

CARPE DIEM

Enjoy the present…seize the day….That’s what these pictures convey to me. Like the transient bliss that a twilight brings, like the ephemeral beauty of wild flowers in bloom which lasts only for a season….life is short as well - So, why not make it sweet !! Embrace life- life doesn’t need to be long, it needs to be full….
Take a road trip down those rolling valleys today, to visualize the blazing yellow fields of wild mustard in full bloom- who knows, there might be a storm tonight and the plump flowers may slump off tomorrow!! 'Cause if it’s spring today, it’s summer tomorrow….

Food for thought !!

Being a gourmet and a passionate home-cook, I came across this sensual picture while browsing through the dining section of one my favorite newspapers !! The picture itself made me hungry with passion, urging me to explore the depths of the culinary world even more, to make myself better with each passing day, to extend my boundaries, breaking all the limitations which might have been set upon me, or created by me through various convictions !! A simple snapshot of an elegant creation, freezes me so….plies me with the food for a million thoughts, not only to cook better, but also to delve deeper into the romanticism, associated with the creation of anything, which is beautiful to all the senses.

A prattle !!

If I let you disintegrate myself, could I still keep my pride and self-esteem ? Is rejuvenation possible after such complete decay, with the old, failing parts being removed and restored with something better ? Or is it like the shattering of a glass into a thousand pieces, losing all integrity ???

No time to stand and stare .............

We have no time to stand and stare….as W.H.Davies had once said. My latest realization- why is it that we are always in so much of rush and the brain is almost overdriven all the times, even if we are not doing anything important ?

Why is it we don’t have time to just stare at things, anything at all !! Why can’t we just spend afew of our wasted hours each day, just staring at the sky, the trees, the birds, the still waters, the clouds….without thinking, judging or analyzing anything– instead of typing away on the keyboard, staring blankly at the laptop or the T.V. .

I have figured lately that I’m always doing something and just staring blankly at the tree outside my balcony seems a wastage of time- Ohh, what sad times have arrived for me !! It’s a shame that I’ve lost all hopes of ever being a poet ( since you need to spend atleast some time staring at some tree or bird to become a poet ). Either I’m doing routine household stuff, indulging myself with a book or just gaping at the monitor (T.V./Laptop)…….

So, it seems the time has come for a change, an addition to the daily to-dos, an easy way to relieve your stress- to just stand/sit and stare …and let the sense of repose permeate thru’out your senses…

Colors

I love to wear white- there is a placidness to the color, there is a certain sense of purity in it. I love black too- like white, it bears a certain respect and dignity, it speaks for itself, it’s bold and powerful. But would paintings be fun, if we had only these two colors to express ourselves; Would Holi still have it’s individuality and significance, if there were no colors except black and white; Will nature still be so beautiful with everything painted in black or white ?
The answer for most of us perhaps will be the same. Today, just 3 days away from Holi ( 1st March ) and 2 days from Doljatra ( 28th Feb ) - I started pondering about the meaning and relation which colors have for us, in our day to day life.Colors not only are an important ingredient to the sensation of sight, but they render us memories pertaining to various aspects and phases of our life. It is indispensable for stimulating our different senses and hence making our life constantly full of diversity, as well as festal from time to time…..

Today being in a “ Holi “ state of mind , a myriad collection of colors are afloat in my mind's eyes…Spring is almost here and those Palash (Dhak) trees along the winding village roads must be abloom ..and if I had been there, I would have asked baba to stop the car, and like always, would have gotten off to gather as many Palash as I could, strewn along those roadsides……..