My Guru and me

 Swamiji

On the occasion of Guru Purnima

July 5 2020

My Guru and Me

Swamiji - To have you in my life, I feel indeed blessed. 

With you in my thoughts, I have been soothingly caressed.. 

To be in your midst is such an immense joy.. 

For us wandering souls, you are indeed our buoy

Just to see you, If life could rewind, I would pay any price.. 

To be able to sit silently before you, I don't even ask to be wise.. 

Your Bhajans, sathsangs and speeches, I long to hear again -

Looking at your divine face, I will offer my mind in bargain. 

When I dream of you in my sleep, my joy knows no bounds. . 

I feel as if it is enlightenment I have found. 

When I have cooked a nice meal, I silently look at you.. 

Asking in my mind..Swamiji- will you join us? -please do. 

When I act in haste or anger, with shame and guilt I am wrought.. 

Because..swamiji..I have enshrined you in my heart.

You taught us much Swamiji,  you made great changes in our lives.. 

If not for you, it must have been one terrible strife. 

I know you are always taking care of me and so I feel very light.. 

I feel I have disposed off my baggage and boarded my flight.. 

You will Grace me in my journey too, I definitely have no doubt. 

For that is what this Guru- disciple relationship is all about. 

Few minutes in slow motion

 Few minutes in slow motion

Perhaps the best thing about Corona is that many of us seem to be opening our eyes more to the nature around us.  Of late, I have a new routine.  Around 6 pm, I rush off to my terrace for my day's exercise which is a brisk half an hour's walk.. But what pushes me more is the beauty around me, which I watch while I am also saying my prayers for the day. 

I am not only amazed by the sheer number of bird species I spot daily, but also filled with an immense euphoria at the myriad moods of the sky at dusk, which seems to change with every passing minute at that hour. 

A pond heron perched high on a coconut tree all appear black with the setting sun in the background giving an golden orange tinge to the sky... Still earlier, I had seen a flock of white egrets perched on different fronds of the same coconut tree.. An odd Kingfisher high up on a leafless branch enjoying it's wind-induced swinging.. A couple of the sweetly whistling ducks as they fly over my head.. Some grey hued gulls flying in a V-formation all leave me breathless and wanting more.. 

Sometimes the sky is fully grey and filled with darker huge rain-bearing clouds in all shapes.. Sometimes it is very blue and slowly becomes yellow, orange, pink and mauve and then grey with every passing minute as the sun sets.. I forget my prayer and my exercise and immerse myself in the beauty of nature.  On some days, I just lie on the ground keeping my eyes open towards the sky.. The beauty and feel especially on a pleasant day is something hard to explain in words. 

Soon, I hear the muezzin's call to prayer and sky is dark all too quickly and I realise my favorite time has come to a close for the day.  Thanking God for the glimpse of his divine artwork on his Sky canvas, I retreat downstairs into the rest of my day. 

I have seen

I have seen

The sky in so many shades of blue
And also in blends of many a other hue..
The twinkling little stars on many a clear night
The waxing and waning and the Full moon so bright
And amidst it,the fireflies, really tiny specks of light.

Golden sunrises and crimson sunsets every single day. .
Amidst serene backwaters with fishing nets carefully cast away
A garden full of flowers, birds on trees and in flight
Sitting in trains, I have witnessed houses at dusk their prayer lamps alight..

Mountainous landscapes I have been greatly drawn to too..
Sights amidst snow, I have come across, though a bare few
Rainy days and sunny days how beautifully different they are..
Autumn and spring seasons, can words describe them by far?

The one who drew these pictures, what a great artist he must be..
The one who sees them all, what a blessed creature is he/she..

In all this beauty, a sorrow captures my heart..
When I think of those who, sadly, are a set apart..
For those few, life is all black and white..
Black and white - Do they know , imagine that plight..

How can one explain colours to one without eyesight?
Because a comparison with similar colored things will not seem so right.

Expressions on another's face, as u meet and greet..
Gestures and strong emotions that cannot be worded so neat.
Are all but an imagination in the hearts and minds of these few. .
Till by some miracle they are restored their sights anew

This awesome sense of sight - don't we take so much for granted?
Without which, won't our lives be ever so shunted..?

Perhaps the worst handicap God can give man..
Must be two eyes that can never proclaim 'I can'

Precious

Precious

What is the most precious thing in this entire universe?
Without it, the world for the living is only a curse..
Not Gold, not diamond, nor stacks of currency notes
Nor being the head of a nation for which you only need votes..

A wonderful family we all need no doubt
But a family is not what I am talking about..
Not costly silks, not beauty, nor a villa so neat
Not falling in love for which we all do skip a beat..

Today it is more precious, this thing I'm referring to -
Absolutely free really -but it demands we give it it's due..
We took it so much for granted, it has started to frown
And become so corrupted, it has made our lives upside down..

Suddenly the one foremost thing we are doing is alas!- placing wreaths
Because we have long ignored the valuable air we breathe..

Naturally in tune with nature

Naturally In Tune with Nature..

One of the first things that amazed me in my mother in laws home was the firewood stove that was used mostly to cook the rice prasad for the daily Shiva puja. Having been brought up in a city, I hadn't seen such a system which is an integral part of every kitchen in Kerala.  The fuel used was available in every home itself in the form of the multiple coconut tree sheddings.  I still love the smoky taste and smell in the water and other things cooked on the same.. The ash that remained wasn't discarded either.. It was used to clean the puja utensils for which coconut fibre served as the scrubber.

The other natural things that a typical keralite used in his day to day life never ceased to thrill and amaze me.  In the small wayside eateries, it was common to see the ubiquitous Kerala breakfast - Rice Puttu being steamed in bamboo hollows.  The flavor of this natural mode of steam cooking was unique in itself.. We also saw sweet rice dumplings steamed in bay leaves or spice leaves neatly rolled and tacked with pieces of sticks(also from coconut leaves) to hold it in place.

The banana leaves were used as umbrellas for a sudden downpour which isn't rare in Kerala.  The common keralite never used a lunch box to office or school..it still is mostly always a banana leaf wrapped lunch, which held in the flavor as well as served as a eco sustainable disposal..In olden times, hand fans and umbrellas were themselves made from palm and coconut leaves. 

Even today, temple prasad is always offered in tiny bits of banana leaves and flower offerings for God are loosely wrapped in lotus leaves.

A child with a cough is always given a decoction of a common strong smelling leaf called 'pani koorka'.., never a cough syrup.  Hot boiled water is used for drinking irrespective of whether one had an Aquaguard or kent filter at home. To flavor it, a daily variety was available in the form of few tulsi leaves, guava leaves, coriander seeds, a piece of ginger, few jeera seeds or the more aromatic vettiver(a kind of root) or thirst quencher potion called dhaagasamani..Salt water gargles are still prescribed by dentists for tooth problems apart from general doctors for sore throat issues. A fever is always prescribed a watery rice gruel. I had never heard of such prescriptions from where I came.

Ayurveda - the system of medicine with origins in Kerala uses natural ingredients from one's own kitchen or garden to treat almost every kind of disorder.

Kerala is amazingly  blessed with beautiful natural surroundings in the form of its water bodies and all round greenery, and the people  live so much attuned to and amidst nature, which for an outsider is always a fascinating and refreshing discovery.

Jihvaah

Jihvaah...

I bit into an alphonsa mango and my tongue licked in frenzy..
My eyes automatically closed, it was pure ecstasy.

I relished a few pieces of ripe pineapple .. For its unique taste and flavor, it should be mentioned in many a fable.

I had a few slivers of Jack fruit.. Despite its offensive smell, it is no less an addictive brute.

I relished some guava, jambul and sappota... Nowhere there was a commonality, not even an iota..

I stopped to wonder..if I didn't have a tongue- Jihvaah
Would it have bettered this Jiva towards a faster moksha..??

Bird Notes

Bird Notes

One of the things that I missed most during my brief stint in the UAE years ago was sightings of the common House crow.  It made me feel more homesick not seeing this bird which is so omnipresent here in India. The only bird I ever saw there in three years was the Rock pigeon.

Now with Covid 19 restricting us to our homes and 'work from homes' becoming the new norm, birdwatching is catching on as the new 'to do' hobby of many. I had my initiation  into it a year ago and I must say that it has been a very fulfilling and enriching entertainment till date for both my senses and soul.

I had always prided myself on being a lover of nature, but had only actually seen birds like sparrows, kites and eagles.  Had only read about cuckoos, woodpeckers and kingfishers, but I hardly realised there was still an encyclopedia out there waiting for my eyes and ears to enjoy and explore .. The cuckoos that we generally speak about are in fact Asian Koels and the woodpeckers are actually called flame backs. 

I did not know the names of the  birds I was seeing for the first time.  Luckily I have a friend who is a keen birdwatcher and so i sought his help initially. I described in detail what I saw.  Long neck, flock of eight, perched up on a huge tree, pink and black in color, long legs..i would say..He would  give me a name and I would google it up immediately and Voila, I had found my bird- the 'Painted Stork'.. The next bird I described was sand- colored and white with a black face, medium -sized with two different calls, one screechy and another more melodic..perching at eye levels and higher..he would again give me a name and i googled to confirm It matched my sightings.  It was the 'Rufous Treepie'. This routine went on for some time.. I must have had some ten birds in my list, when the same friend suggested I make a log of my sightings on the online bird site.  Soon another local friend shared with me an app for birds commonly found in Kerala.  Now I needed no googling as I could just look into that app and this started my journey into the world of birds.

A couple of years back we were enjoying a holiday in Coorg.  It was just the beginning of monsoon and on the first morning, it was not daylight yet when I was awaken by a very sweet melodious call.. I immediately recorded it on my phone.. Our cottage was glass walled with covering curtains and I pulled aside the curtain to momentarily glimpse a slender black bird, which frightened by the sudden movement, flew away.. The next morning at almost the same time, I heard the same sweet melody. I slowly tiptoed in the direction of the bird call and made a small peephole with the curtain and lo! It was right in front of me on a electric line, singing to glory.. I noticed it's rounded head, glossy jet black body, a two spoked long tail and black dewdrop shapes at the end of the spokes... I had sighted the 'Racket-tailed drongo'.. I later learnt.  Every bird in my list has a similar fascinating story.

Some birds are regular visitors and I know exactly where they can be spotted in my home.. like the common mynas, Indian pond herons, white- breasted water hens and cattle egrets. Some others come in specific seasons or in specific situations.  Some come in flocks, some are solitary.  When I have ripe papayas on my tree, I can expect the white-cheeked barbets and black-rumped flame backs.. When it is raining, I can expect white throated kingfishers, Asian koels as a courting couple, drum beat sounding Greater coucals and the Rufous Treepies with more than one kind of call. The whistling- like quacking lesser whistling ducks.. On a perfectly sunny day, I shall definitely see little Purple- rumped sunbirds, oriental magpie robins, a pale billed flower pecker, a little spider hunter, a couple or more rose -ringed parakeets and jungle babblers and rarely tailor birds. I am able to now distinguish atleast some 25 different bird calls..

Some birds are rare visitors like the Golden oriole which is strikingly attractive with its dark yellow and black body. I long to see it again.  The jungle owlet 🦉is by far one of my favorite birds. It's tuwit tuwit sound seems to beckon me each time..It is almost like a soft woollen doll, can fit in one's palm, brown and furry with two cute round staring eyes.. It allows one to click as many pictures and sits perfectly still as if in a trance or in deep meditation.

 I  am very fond of the musical oriental magpie robins and sweet sounding bulbuls which are mostly seen in summer. Perhaps the loudest one I've sighted till date is the Plain Prinia.  I literally dropped off what I had in my hand hearing it's harshly loud continuous call  like a big rifle gun firing off in a war zone. I spotted the red-whiskered  bulbul and white- browed bulbul only once during my stay in a relatives' home in Trichur. I have never seen it here.

Woolly- necked storks have a neck like white wool and cormorants are large black birds with long necks.. These and a few duck species - I sighted a year ago on a house boating trip to Munroe island.  

But these apart, most of the birds I have seen are from my terrace or right here from my kitchen window.. The latest I saw a couple of days back is a small black bird which makes a tit tit tit sound as it flew and aptly named the 'Cinerous Tit'.

My kitchen window is for me like the beanstalk which Jack climbed up  to go into his magical world.  Only I have come back from my magical world many a time having to deal with burnt lunches and charred milk pans... !!!