Life consists of a series of events. We are mired in them so much that sometimes we fail to notice that life has gone by and we have crossed the threshold and stand at the fag end of our lives. It has simply surpassed us and we are left bereft of the joys which we were to claim, being so absorbed in our sorrows and in trying to put out the people in our lives against whom we feel resentment and ill feelings. Life goes on. It knows better than to stop for us. At the end of all our self absorbed behaviours, what we fail to see is the beauty that life holds for us. We are beaten by the very thing we call ‘life’. We are thoroughly vanquished by it. When we realize it, sooner or later, it sometimes is too late. Then we regret that we just let life pass by us without feeling its varied nuances which would have made our days beautiful. We have to seize the opportunity to live life and indulge in the happiness it can beget us.
Seasonal Shifts
Seasons come. Seasons go.
A child is ushered into this world . Death claims another .
Seasonal changes and changes in people’s lives are akin to each other.
Blossoms and the advent of new leaves on trees announces the coming of the spring season. Everywhere there seems to be a riot of colours. Spring can easily resemble the youthful days of man. The brightness in the whole environ is like the enthusiasm and restlessness of an young adult. It’s dynamic quality is also the same quality which a youth possess and which spurs him to action. He springs forth to realize his dreams. Like the beauty that spring embodies, a young person is endowed with a beautiful body and a spirited mind. A mind which races with new ideas and is ever ready to accept the novelty of every situation.
The summer arrives and brings in the heat and the uncomfort. As the summer heat settles into our lives with certainty, so also manhood comes into a person’s life and gives him a perspective. He is now able to translate the novel ideas of his youth into reality . The summer of his life makes him stable and he grows more sure and certain .
Trees go barren in the autumn season . The whole world becomes bleak and unproductive. So also man starts to experience spells of dryness and slowness of his faculties at the time that he is caught up between manhood and old age.
Winter comes. The cold enters our lives. The autumn of a man’s life deepens further and old age is the reality. Much like the autumn season which exaggerates into winter as the coolness of autumn turns into the stinging cold of winter. The active and productive minds of men are rendered slow and to a large extent unproductive.
Note-Photos are from Google
Of all things floral
I have a heady penchant for flowers. Flowers of all hues, their fragile and fragrant selves appeal to me. They fill my life with beauty and color. They have the ability to brighten up my mood every time I see them. They always invariably soothe my frayed nerves. They bring to life an otherwise dreary room as they adorn the flower vases. Dresses, bed sheets, cushion covers, pillow covers, table cloths, curtains become a source of joy when they are sprayed with floral print. Flowers are an integral part of weddings and funerals. Flowers have entered our lives and touched it in so many ways.
The Reading Habit
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Reading opens up vistas of a new world which is far apart from the world our mind revolves in or is at present confined to. Reading throws open a bevy of new ideas to its readers which they then absorb and sometimes inculcate. It beckons the readers into a land thus unknown to them. Reading relaxes the mind and at times stretches it and broadens it as it gets flooded with a whole range of fresh and ingenious ideas. We can conjure up a beautiful scenery or a majestic view of the mountain in mind’s eye as we read about it in the books. We are transported into a magical world far removed from the monotony of our daily lives. We inhabit the world of the characters in the books. We sway in their emotional roller coaster ride. We sometimes recognize one of the characters as us and merge with them and enact a whole drama in their midst. Reading provides a good escape from our humdrum existence. It is a good pastime. Books are a good companion.
Summer Time
With the glistening rays of the sun beating down on us and the temperature rising each day by degrees, summer makes its undeniable presence. The fans and air conditioners are on as we try to beat its scorching heat. The cold drinks and ice cooled fruit juices, ice creams are flowing in the shop counters and at our homes as summer increases our thirst for anything cool. The cotton, linen and all the light and cool fabrics in subtle colours become the fashion in this season. Rains form a main feature of summer. Come summer and the rains pour on bringing the much needed respite from the heat. Sweat brimming bodies heaving a sigh of relief.
Awaiting
It’s been a long wait. She has waited for him for months now. She yearns at times to hear his voice, see him in person. All this while apart from him, she always envisions moments of togetherness with him. This makes her happy. But reality strikes soon and unhappiness befall her. These days she travels this path from ecstasy to agony quite often. She would like to live in the present and take life as it comes but that is not the case. The feelings of loneliness and emptiness without his presence nags her every bit of the way. Today as she waits for him, she slowly falls asleep and waits for his dreams to envelop her.
Lost
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A feeling of being lost is among the myriad feelings that overcome me today. I try to take a grip of these feelings. They seem slippery enough to elude me for a time. I am looking for something wholesome in them. They provide me half hearted relief. In my world filled with so many people and so many things, I struggle with a feeling of being lost. I fail to touch the related feelings of my fellow beings. I can only skim the surface of their worlds. I wish their worlds and mine were united. At the present moment I grope along in the dark alleys of their feelings and mine. These feelings get more entangled by the minute and I fail to disentangle them.
A Comforting City
My visits to Kolkata have enhanced my belief that it is a comforting city. I always have a feeling of safety in this city. I feel pretty much sure footed in this city. The city, though having all the characteristics of a metropolitan city, still has the bindings of the old marvels; be it the architectural buildings or the temples of the days of yore. The buildings that dot the city is an amalgamation of the old and the new. I simply love this juxtaposition of the old and the new. One can still see the trams and the yellow taxis plying on the streets of Kolkata. Roshogullas, sandesh, mishti doi are some of the delectable sweets one can savour while on a visit to the city. I have always carried back fond memories of this city from my visits to the city of Kolkata.
Spring is here
Spring has commenced and so has the scourge of covid 19. Both have arrived at the same time. Though covid was there during all the seasons, it has surged viciously now. Spring brings with it new hope and beauty whereas covid raises the ugly heads of death and destruction. It is here that we need to bring in the balance. We need to defeat covid by taking the necessary precautions and welcome spring with the resolve to make our lives beauteous once more. We must not allow the disease to break us. We must allow the beauty of the spring season to engulf us once more.
The Spectre of Death
Death is an inevitability that we find hard to accept. It looms at the corners of each household. It can claim one when one is most unaware . It has that immense power over us. We acknowledge its power but most of the time we do not reconcile with it. We are inconsolable when death strikes our near and dear ones. We weep, tears flow and our heart is burdened with the pain and loss. The loss of a loved one hits hard for we lose them forever. The loss is physical as well as emotional for the person will no longer be there for our support, will no longer be there even to call out to us. This silence is that which makes death unbearable. Of course, death cannot erase the memories of the person who has died. After the mourning is over, the memories of the person remain etched in our mind.
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