NaPoWriMo – Day 30: The Last Day!

So, inevitably all good things draw to an end, as does NaPoWriMo 2013! What a journey it has been! When I began – I didn’t expect much – of the contest nor of myself. But of course that’s exactly what Life’s waiting for – for us to make silly assumptions so it can jump right in and show us in just how many ways we are wrong 😛 I have learned a lot about myself through this challenge – first of all being, ‘If the Challenge is Right, I Am Up For It’! Does that make sense? I hope it does coz I have not the words to make it any clearer 😉

Secondly – I really do enjoy poetry 🙂 I’d forgotten until lately how much! Also what I really dig, is the combination of photography and poetry – it’s an irresistibly potent blend for me, and certainly THE reason why I didn’t get bored of this challenge halfway 🙂 The other reason is of course the kindness of my readers who supported and encouraged me with the sweetest words throughout. I could never have done this without you 🙂 Thank You from the bottom of my heart ❤

I was uncertain about what I would do for the last post. I was running out of ideas and was kinda stuck in a rut, until what else but a wheel got me out 😉 This picture is of a random wagon wheel I found on our visit to Wildernest – a fabulous eco-friendly resort on the border of my home state Goa and the state I’m going to be moving to soon – Karnataka! It’s a place after my own heart and there was this wheel just asking to be photographed 😛 You think of wheels and automatically motion comes to mind. Static wheels don’t seem as attractive do they? I always associate wheels with either the relentless march of time or mankind’s relentless progress towards…don’t really know the answer to that…but towards a better future I suppose!

And yet – the importance of a resting wheel is paramount isn’t it? Long drives are hard on their rubber and the constant friction with the road can cause meltdowns…you’re getting where I’m going with this right?! So although they take us wherever we want to go, it’s important that we pay attention to their well-being; cause after all, ‘A driver is only as good as his wheels’! Non? 😉 And so I just thought this was a perfect way to say Goodbye to this year’s NaPoWriMo, while ending with the promise of a new beginning 🙂 Life mirrors the virtual world I guess…because after I’m back from vacation, we’ll be moving from Mumbai to Bangalore! So the wheels are resting for now, recouping and recuperating for the drive to Bangalore!

Safe Journeys to all my Friends 🙂

NaPoWriMo – Day 29

Here we go – the penultimate post for NaPoWriMo 2013…and I’m still having a hard time believing I manged thus far 🙂 I’m really proud of myself coz I’m generally a great starter but a poor finisher – I get bored easily and restless even quicker 😛 I’m also happy that taking part in this challenge helped me find my way back to the poet inside 🙂 I had, well not forgotten, but buried her deep beneath all the other labels that define who I am. Now that she’s had her time to shine – I’m happy and so is she 😀

This picture was taken at a Butterfly Park en route from Phoenix to Vegas. I forget the name, but the Monarchs were in town and boy aren’t they beautiful?! I cannot believe I spent most of my childhood screaming and running around like a headless chicken every time I saw a moth or butterfly that had wandered into the house drawn by the lights!! Now their powdery velvet wings and iridescent colors fascinate me, and although I still don’t like to get too close (it’s just a thing I have :P), I have no issues getting close enough to take pictures 😉

Metamorphosis is one of my favorite words in the English language! It’s a lyrical way of talking about change, and once again, a word with positive connotations! Positive Change – What’s not to like?!

NaPoWriMo – Day 28

Today is my Gran’s Birthday. She turns 87 today! I’ve written about her recently and mentioned her fragile present condition. She’s doing OK and hanging in there – but just about. And my wish on her Birthday for her and perhaps selfishly for us too – the women who are closest to her, who came through her and who LOVE her from the depths of their souls – is for Dignity & Grace when the end should come. Its with mixed feelings that I write this – it’s not an easy wish to make on her Birthday.

But how LUCKY am I to have been raised by a woman of her principles and gumption? She is as I’ve mentioned in several earlier posts – a consummate warrior and survivor – and happily for me – she’s raised me to be that way too. And although I will never be as accomplished and strong as she is – I know she’s proud of me. And that to me is the only thing that matters.

Sorry if this is overly sentimental…writing about her always makes me feel this way!

Love you Aai ❤

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NaPoWriMo – Day 26

My trusty shoes! Old now, but it’s like wine with shoes isn’t it? The older the vintage – the better the fit, that kind of thing?! No? Is it just me with my weird feet that take their own sweet time to get friendly with their footwear?! But once they do…Oh the JOY 😀 The comfort of a well-fitted shoe is one of the best feelings in the world! They slide on and off your feet like a second skin – cushioning, painless and easy. They make you feel like you could walk to the Moon and back and be none the worse for wear 😉 Oh well, to the Market down the road then 😛

This well worn pair has traveled with me on many journeys and walked down many exciting roads! They’ve stepped in puddles and worse, been stamped on, drenched in the rain, splattered with mud, served as bug-home on occasion – and survived! They’ve jumped for joy and danced to music and on occasion have caused painful blisters (but that was when they were young and immature ;)) – rather like the feet in them 😛 Today, almost 5 years after I first bought them – they are still my favorite, trusted travel shoes. I have others, (Of course I do! Girls and shoes – you get the picture ;)), but none that fit or feel quite like these – good, solid, with a rubber sole and a steady grip, they make me feel like I could walk forever. Honestly, I couldn’t ask for a better companion on my journeys! So a trip around the world or a walk in the park – I say…Bring it On!

NaPoWriMo – Day 25

Yoohoo!! It’s a mini Silver Jubilee of sorts on NaPoWriMo – 25 days today and I cannot believe I’ve posted 25 Haiku 🙂 I’ve met so many incredibly talented poets and writers on this journey and am having a ball – interacting with them and reading their work. Very inspiring 🙂

Abundance is one of my favorite words – for obvious reasons! The promise of plenty is always comforting but Abundance has a ring to it that is heartening as well. Its inherently lyrical and positive vibes make it very appealing! Every since I heard Sarah Ban Breathnach expound her Simple Abundance theory on Oprah way back when I still watched, I began to look at it with fresh perspective. Her idea is not new nor original and summed up means ‘Celebrate the Simple Things in Life’, which lets face it is something we hear a million times in one lifetime! But I guess it clicked that once in a new way somewhere in my head and I’m a happier person for it 🙂

And what can be simpler than the joy of watching the Monsoon in its full Glory! Raindrops and puddles, steaming hot cuppas and crisp, crunchy ‘bhajias’ (fritters), warm quilts and the world awash in life giving aqua?! The Indian Monsoon is a special force of Nature – Fierce, Destructive and Life-Giving. I hope it comes on time this year and is kind to us puny humans! Here is my own tiny homage to its Magnificence!!

P.S. I’ve done a little research and apparently Haiku (in English) do not have to stick rigidly to the principle of 5-7-5 syllables in 3 lines. The idea or perhaps aim is a better word; one of the aims of a Haiku is to depict a moment in time and juxtaposition two seemingly separate ideas with minimal word sounds. Although in English the Japanese ‘On’ or word sounds are interpreted as ‘syllables’, they are not identical. So in this Haiku, I have wandered from the rule and am very happy to have done so! I never was one for rigid rules 😉

NaPoWriMo – Day 24

Have been stumped today! It’s been a chaotic day because Ishaan is at home on a Holiday and as a result, uninterrupted thought, speech, writing, practically anything – is IMPOSSIBLE 😛 Add to that the fact that my Internet has been acting up lately and it’s well nigh a recipe for disaster – well at least for one of my famous temper tantrums 😉 That is until I found this picture! 

There is just something so soothing and calming about it that my poor frazzled nerves could not help but settle down a little 😉 Perhaps the colors – that blushing purple-pink and the fuzzy pale green; perhaps just the powerful simplicity and implied promise of a beautiful flower in the making 🙂 Whatever it is – I feel happier and more in control. I wonder if that’s what Spring feels like ? 🙂 

NaPoWriMo – Day 23

All reptile lovers, raise your hands!! I’m not – a reptile lover. They intrigue me and fascinate me but I can’t say that I love them like I do mammals. And yet – they are a formidably resilient species. They’ve survived for millions of years and probably will for millions more unless we screw up their chances  utterly and completely as we so often seem to do! I suppose too that they have their own kind of beauty – a raw, primal, savage kind of beauty that is hypnotic and unforgettable. If you have ever seen a Komodo Dragon feeding frenzy on Nat Geo – you will know exactly what I mean!!

This Rat snake seemed harmless though, and isn’t he gorgeous?! He was in a deep pit with several of his relatives in Van Vihar, a small Zoo of sorts in Bhopal. I took this on our visit there last month, as Ishaan dashed around from one pit to another in fearful excitement! The snakes were trying to climb up the pit walls and he would scream for us to run when he caught sight of one slithering silently upward, testing the air with a flick of its tongue 😀 It was rather fun watching him and watching the snakes 😉 There was a humungous python in one pit – all coiled up and fast asleep for all I know 😛 It certainly showed no signs of Life while we stared! 

We even saw a couple of women praying to this guy…Snakes are revered in India, since Lord Shiva uses them as accessories, you know in lieu of diamonds and such 😉 They’re fed milk and worshiped in a special festival all their own – Nag (snake) Panchami. It’s not a festival I like coz several snakes are caught and de-fanged and exhibited by snake-charmers to the faithful multitudes, who feed them milk & pray for whatever it is they pray for! I on the contrary am inevitably reminded of Nagini, Voldemort‘s pet Basilisk (if you can call it that!) – a silent assassin, awaiting her Master’s summons and command to devour! Oooooooh…scary 😉 If you haven’t heard of Harry Potter (which rock are you living under?!), ignore that last line 😉

And so here is my tribute to the ‘Silent Assassin’, slithering through the night, senses attuned, fearsome hunter!

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NaPoWriMo – Day 22

As I said in my earlier post of the Day, Travel is most definitely on my mind 🙂 And coming across this old lighthouse picture seemed fated! I love Lighthouses – the fact of them, the reason they exist, their inherent mystery and romanticism – standing as they do alone, where two worlds meet – land and ocean! What’s not to love?!

In Goa, on Aguada Hill, a 20 minute drive from my house, stand two lighthouses within the precincts of the Fort built by the Portuguese in 1612. The old one, the one in my picture, is a wonderful structure with loads of personality – A Grand Old Dame of four-storeys built way back in 1864 and the oldest of its kind in Asia, and one I love to visit 🙂 She’s retired now, has been for a long while, a newer younger version exists to do the job; but her cracked, mossy walls, the shattered glass of her windows and her rusty weather-vane crown stand testament to a Life spent in unstinting, selfless service. Think of all the things she must have witnessed, all the yarns she could spin if only she could talk!

For now however she stands in somber silence, watching the world go by. I often wonder what she’s thinking!

NaPoWriMo – Day 21

Sunrise, Sunset…it’s a given! Since I did a Sunset yesterday, I thought I would do a Sunrise today – but I don’t have any great pictures of a Sunrise (I did say I was an Owl!), I’ve settled for one of these pretty orange blossoms in the morning light. The picture brings back happy memories of our annual family vacations to a hill station, Mahabaleshwar, a few hundred kilometers from Mumbai. We gather there every year in our Indian winter (such as it is ;)), and celebrate what I like to call ‘the Art of Living’ 😉 which for us means chilling out, pigging out, playing Pictionary late into the night, lots of alcohol, tons of laughter and gossip!! 

We always stay at Hotel Dina, a family owned place that serves the most delicious non-veg food ever!! We’re regulars, so the staff and owners know us and are always gracious and helpful 🙂 I know all of us look forward to that hiatus in our busy lives when we reconnect with each other and Nature 🙂 This picture was taken early in the morning (6.30ish methinks!), while Hubby and Junior were still sleeping and I was out with the camera to see what I could see 🙂 It was cold and I was shivering (I hate warm clothes unless the cold is in danger of quite literally killing me ;)) But I remember, it was a magical morning…they always seems to be on vacation don’t they?!

Happy Sunday People 😀

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NaPoWriMo – Day 19

Unlike yesterday’s I clearly remember taking this picture! Again not a very good one – grainy from being taken in the late evening in fading light, and so had to be edited, but I digress.

This chap was sitting on the lily pad, oozing some sort of silvery, sticky fluid (which may mean he is actually a she – but your guess is as good as mine!), and generally hanging out! This is the same pond by the way, where I took this picture! We watched it for a long time and I remember Ishaan being rather fascinated with it. Frogs are not a favorite of mine – all that hopping and croaking and sudden wet flicks of the sticky tongue creep me out 😛 But when they’re far enough away, I’m fine, especially when there are pictures to be taken 🙂 I’m glad I found this picture, it reminded me inevitably of The Frog Prince fairy-tale and that’s what inspired the Haiku 🙂

And if the Prince should turn out to be a Princess – my apologies! 😉