The Thankless Job

 

The Thankless job

We often pass a busy intersection in the small town where I live and my husband has sighed more than once looking at the traffic policeman saying what a thankless job it is, rain or shine,  standing and directing traffic and each time immediately, I am reminded of my own chores as a homemaker making me wonder how thankful a job it is in comparison.

I have been passionate about cooking right from my teenage years.. We used to buy a magazine 'Women's Era' (now I'm sure, there will be an issue with even its name if it was around) and there used to be recipes in it, which I used to try and surprise my mother. Later I used to look up cook books(I have a vast collection of those) I used to cook when I was happy or sad, when there was a birthday or an anniversary, when I was going to visit people or when people visited me, when someone had a house warming or when somebody's daughter conceived. Cooking for me was a genuine way of conveying that i cared and shared in their joy. My Google continues to throw up recipes and  even now, I zealously try out those that have caught my fancy.

But why is cooking done by a homemaker so taken for granted?  Although I am not duty bound to cook for my guests, be it the extended family, or friends, I am still traditional enough to do it.. But what irks me is the lack of appreciation or gratitude or gratefulness for all the effort that has been put in to turn out a thoughtful dish.  When one spends say a couple of hours to prepare a meal, is it too much to expect a word of appreciation that takes a couple of seconds?? A simple 'Thank you, I enjoyed it'... Wouldn't it completely reward all our labour? But No.. It never comes and we condition ourselves not to expect anymore.

So, i am telling myself this nowadays..when you have people around- don't fret and labour alone in the kitchen.. Just dress up well and casually say "Let's go to the new restaurant" and enjoy a good meal. It is definitely not worth the slogging anymore.  This way, your back doesn't ache for a couple of days later, you don't need to wait for that word of appreciation and above all that, Nobody minds anymore.. And definitely don't forget to pay a courteous return visit!!

My favorite bird

 My favorite bird. 

If  you are thinking about the more colourful creatures of the feathered family like peacocks or parakeets, I'm sorry you will be disappointed to know that my favorite happens to be the simple plain looking Crow. 

I have been an admirer and an avid watcher of this very common bird and I have gathered a lot of information from various sources that never fail to fascinate me. 

One evening, I was walking in my terrace as is my routine at sunset time.  I noticed a small bird which by its movements, I gathered, had just learnt to fly.. But what initially bothered me was that it was constantly being pursued by a Crow.    On closer observation, I realised that the young bird was not a crow.  After a while, I couldn't spot the two anymore, I continued to walk, but constantly kept looking around and at a distance on top of a coconut tree, I saw to my deepest thrill and shocking surprise, that the Crow was actually pursuing a young cuckoo (which after being hatched by the crow obviously) and finally succeeded in feeding it some food scraps it had found.. My love for the bird grew many fold watching this beautiful scene unfold before my very eyes... What a great lesson to be learnt by us Humans..!! Till then, I had only known that the cuckoo laid it's eggs in the crows nest and the crow hatched it without the knowledge that it was not one of its own..It brought to my mind a beautiful couplet by the famous Tamil poet Thiruvalluvar. 

A few months later, I happened to read an article in Reader's Digest about the famous cartoonist R. K. Lakshman wherein he is asked by the interviewer why the common crow figured in most of his cartoons to which, much to my delight, his reply is ' because the crow is my favorite bird'.  He also says that the crow is the most intelligent of all birds. Very true, I thought to myself. 

There are a lot of things we humans learn from nature and definitely in that respect, the crow is a perfect teacher.. 

Decades back, when we were living abroad for a few years, the list of the things I missed so much about India included the humble Crow. 

It is said that the crow rises very early(I definitely am yet to see a sleeping crow) 

It takes a bath twice a day.. I have seen that whenever I have a basin of water laid out, few crows dip and wash themselves at dusk time.. I haven't observed this in the early mornings as I am not such a early riser myself. 

A crow has only one partner for life.. That was really great to know.

A crow does not take any food after sunset.. That was really awesome to learn.. Won't it help us humans a good deal in Emulating that? 

Making a great noise on spotting food and sharing it with other crows unlike  human beings who are more selfish and again making a cacophony when one of its fellow beings is hurt or in some danger again unlike us who are indifferent (road accident victims -how many of us stop to help?) 

One of my favorite pastimes is watching the interaction between my dear dachshund Omi and the Crow.  Whenever Omi creates a fuss eating his food, I only have to lay the plate a little further for the crows to arrive.. And suddenly Omi is all hungry and there is a competition and everytime to Omi's distress, the crows are successful in snatching away few beak fulls. At other times I have watched Omi trying to catch up with the speed of the crow and ultimately look bewildered when they are only half an inch apart now and the next minute, the Crow takes flight.. I love the expression of Omi at such times.. It is a mix of helplessness and admiration.!!  I pat him on the head and tell him 'You may be black too Omi, but you are not a Crow'😊

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.