Magic of Rain

 Floor after the rain....... looks polished

Bird bath ready

Drenched magenta leaves

How long can we hold the water

Longing for some Sun

White washed

The water droplet I always wanted to capture

    Rain does create  some magical moments. Here are few I captured.
    These are some shots I took in Delhi last July during the rainy season .
    Last weekend it rained here in Dubai and I was reminded of the Rainy Season in
    India.
   

Turkish Blue

Coming in to land in Antalya my heart fluttered like a kid’s, my face pressed against the small aircraft window, looking down on the hilly terrain tapering down to water bodies and greenery, with the Mediterranean in the distance.  The whole picture had a blue tinge to it.

As we arrived at our hotel in Antalya, Turkey, for my niece’s wedding celebrations, the hotel room had an amazing view.  Of the gigantic blue-tiled swimming pool and the blue sea behind.                                                                           

During this trip to Turkey I realized that the word turquoise was originally old French for 'Turkish', and here in Antalya and Istanbul I experienced the colour Turquoise Blue like never before.  There were so many shades of this unusual and seductive blue, a hint of Prussian blue sometime green and sometimes seeming grey yet with a hint of blue.

The colour dominates the ceramics and the mosaics.  From the tiles in the Blue Mosque to tiles in some small restaurants in the Grand Bazaar.  The sky-line with the cascading domes of the mosques and the blue waters of the Bosphorus and Sea of Marmara behind.

The blue in the many eyes staring into our faces, yes the many shapes and sizes of the evil eye (‘Nazar’) charms whose predominant colour is blue.

This colour was everywhere, limitless. Refreshing like a breathe of fresh air. 

                                                                                   

 I bought a blue umbrella resembling the tiles in the mosque, while the girls picked up “evil eye’  bracelets , momentos of this unforgettable trip to Turkey.

 

Breaking the Silence

My nephew ended his life on August 6.

He was 25 years old, a victim of depression.  Athletic, full of life, suave. Tall, lanky, generally quiet, his laughter was a pleasure to watch and hear. He was generous and loved animals.

There are any number of queries about such poorly-understood, shocking deaths. We have been plaguing ourselves with the whys and what-ifs and looking around us and at ourselves to make sense of what happened.  We all go through depression to some extent but when it becomes terminal it is difficult to explain, if not in fact quite incomprehensible.

It is totally heartbreaking for the parents and siblings (in this case his twin brother), and even for extended family and friends.  It thoroughly saddened people who are not directly connected or know him. To quote my friend Dipali who wrote this tribute for Humair.

The mental anguish he must have gone through that drove him to such a devastating, decisive final action will always be a mystery.  And a source of everlasting regret and sorrow for all of us.

May his soul rest in peace, and may God give his parents and brother the courage and strength to carry on after this most unkindest cut of all.

Star Crossed....??

This has been a special month, astronomically speaking. First we had the partial lunar eclipse and then the next day the rare alignment of Venus (evening star) transiting across the sun, an occurrence that will not recur in this lifetime (for another 105 years, in 2117). Such celestial excitement happens but here on earth life moves on routinely!

I have just over a year left to complete six decades of my life. Lately I have been going through a lot of unsettling feelings. Need to do some introspection.  I wonder if I am experiencing something akin to a ‘midlife’ crisis … but it’s well beyond my mid-life, so a bit late in the day?!

I gave up my career many years ago and have been a stay-at-home mom.  My marriage has been good, my health has been good (despite my major surgeries, a second life one may say).  My relationships with people is good. Why then this sudden unsettling feeling. It is not a sudden realisation that one is ageing, neither the fear of mortality, though of course one knows that time is slipping away.

There have been times of major financial fluctuations, shift in careers, shift in homes from city to city and even countries, but one always felt that this one may be the last, or just consoled oneself that all that’s happening is for the better or for self-betterment. I never had too many expectations from life and lived each day as it came. Here I must say my husband has been most supportive without whom I would be totally lost.

IS and I have spent 30 good years together and worked together to build a certain foundation on which we stand today ... but why does it suddenly feel shaky. To start doubting decisions one took, feel discontent with the life-style one is leading, uncertain about one’s true worth.

Such "crisis', if it can be likened to the cliched term, is quite unsettling.  Age is advancing.  Well, at least I can say that one has still not lost that mental sanity, and feel that cognitively one is capable of handling this even though energy levels have depleted significantly. “Seen that, done that” should make one more experienced if not wiser, if I may put it that way.

Mostly I try to focus on the good things life has given me, and am deeply grateful to the Almighty.

I have been reflecting deeply, and after some thought, jotted down a few points (not in any particular order), a gist of how one’s attitude to life needs to be, just to console myself or maybe to tide me over through this phase –

- to be patient, not impulsive, avoid rash decisions.

- to accept the truth however difficult or harsh it is.

- to enjoy the gifts of life, bond with nature, watch the birds, hear them sing,
  be amongst greenery.

- to watch and hear children play.

- to spend time with loved ones and enjoy the comfort they provide.

- to get more spiritually inclined.

- to be positive, try and make the right choices.

- to take care of one’s health, and try to keep fit.

Some of these may be easier said than done. Change is inevitable. Different phases of life bring about changes, maybe not universally but at different times in different people's worlds.  For some people an unexpected mid-life crisis, a time to unravel, for others a transition when well-set in their fifties and beyond, a beginning of another set of events.

Do such situations and feelings hit everyone at some stage?  I am not sure but I think I feel a little lighter writing about it, and will definitely keep making an effort towards a calmer future!

' Koffee ' in Kodagu

Our trip to South India did not end in Trivandrum or Kanyakumari but continued further, into the most exotic land of coffee ... yes, Coorg (or Kodagu), in southern Karnataka. This is a part of the country I have always wanted to visit, and I have always been intrigued by how our morning cup of coffee is grown.

We travelled by road from Trivandrum, driving up northwards through the length of Kerala and into Karnataka, and after a twelve-hour journey with two brief stops, reached our destination after sunset. I hate reaching any new place after dark … this keeps me guessing how the place really looks … Our destination? My brother’s newly acquired coffee plantation.

My bearings all came into place the next morning. The Hide and Seek sunrise from behind the forest thickets on the hill behind our little cottage made my day.

After breakfast we took a walk through the plantation.  The first thing that caught my eye was this white blanket (like snow) on these little bushes. This was coffee in bloom.

On closer inspection these flowers looked like little fluffs of cotton wool / powder puffs. These flowers had a strong scent, close to that of jasmine flowers, which filled the air around.

We learnt that these blooms wither away in less than a week’s time, then take about nine months to turn into berries ready to be picked. Unfortunately we could not actually see how coffee was processed from beginning to end.

But here is a shot of some sun-dried beans after ‘pulping’ (removal of the outer raw fruit or cherry).  The roasting and the final coffee blends depend on whether the variety is arabica or robusta, some blends also containing some chicory.

 

The canopy of shade under which the coffee bushes thrive are provided by a variety of tall hardwood and fruit trees. Most of these are embraced by creepers of pepper, another cash crop growing along-side coffee.

On the other side of this plantation were thin slender palms of areca-nut or supari.

The view from the top of the hill (part of the property) was breath-taking.

The drive around the country-side was beautiful.  The paddy fields and of course the many tributaries of the Cauvery river which flow through them added to the beauty.

Though we avoided the ‘touristy’ scenic spots and the temples, we missed the nearby National Park and Tibetan monastery (not enough time).  However we did get to see Raja’s Seat (with a great view of the valley below), fit in a good meal at the Orange County resort, and spent a very relaxing last evening at one of the Golf Clubs, watching the sun go down on the turf and the hills beyond.