A Star Wish..

Star light Star Bright
The first star I see tonite
I wish I may, I wish I might
Get my wish true tonite

Today after a long long time I saw the first star in the sky and immediately I closed my eyes and made a wish and when u open ur eyes u must look at a lucky person.. I was on the road so it was the person in front of me.

I dont believe in it now but its something that has stuck on from when I was a child. Its a superstition, yes. Just like children believe that there is a tooth fairy who gives us money in exchange for our teeth. I knew little boys who tried to pull out their teeth to get more money. But all this is fun. U do eventually understand that none of this is true and yet u believe. Why is that? I dont know for sure

Perhaps something real good happened when I wished for the first time or maybe I just hope that it may happen soon. What ever the reason, at that point, for one instant, when I wish, I truly believe that what I wish for will come true....

Raatri Neram

Why do I like the night better than the day .. Well I dont know.. It starts with dusk I guess, the romance, and moves on slowly into the night as well. I remember the days when, as a child, I used to watch the sun dip and go back home to sit down and do my home work. I used to try and finish all my homework quickly so that I could go to the terrace and look at the deep, dark, mysterious sky.

Oh! how many tales I have spun under her. Sometimes watching a shooting star, I would think that there was a fight amonst the stars or look for patterns in the sky and make stories out of them. I loved to spot the constellations and the planets (Jupitor and Mars thats all I could see). All of a sudden a twinkling star like object would appear from the South western part of the sky and I would conjure up an image of aliens invading earth. Whereas it would only be an aeroplane in the night sky. Sometimes I would wave at it and say "Bye Bye" to the people flying ..

I loved the sound of crickets.. I call it the "Sound of Night". The uncountable stars. I have tried to count them but then I lost count so many times that I gave up.. Maybe someday I must try to count them :)( dont laugh... but this is a chinna periya aasai). In the darkness u can be all u want - sing, dance and even act like u r the queen. Sometimes my grandpa used to come with me to the terrace and he would tell me tales from the Epic. I would be transported to that period, to the times where Krishna plays with gopikas, to the times where Rama breaks the bow and marries Sita, to the times when the rakshasas throw arrows from the sky while Rama and Lakshmana stand guard.

I wonder how many kids do all this now. The pressure on Students to perform well and parents wanting them to study all the time, plus the multi various distractions in the form of computer, TV , video games and now the latest distraction the iPOD is taking kids away from the wonders of Nature and the wonderful stimulation that it is to the human brain.

I miss it now.. I dont go to the terrace as often as I would like to but when I go I really do enjoy it. It is Nature and I love every part of her.

PS: There is no focus to this post.. I know.. but I guess u can take quite a few things out of it....

Obit

Sunday was a very very sad day for me. How can people be so heartless and they say they did it because she is causing them a lot of problems.. How? I ask. What did she do?

For those who are wondering what I am freting about - well my complex people cut down a young rain tree. I wrote about her last year. And now, when I was eagarly waiting for her first flower, these blasted people cut her down.. I could not do anything. I was a mere spectator as the wood cutter pluged his axe into her and cut right through her. She fell down with a great thud and that was the end of her. Leaves, until then green and gay were now drooping and dead.

Hmm.. I will miss her. Good Bye, Oh Tree! I will plant another one in your memory.

My fav Rain Tree

We had a hugh rain tree in our school, around which a stage was built. Each morning, we would all assemble in front of that stage for our assembly under the shade of that giant Rain tree. It was, in fact, two trees entwined as one.. I have had so many cherished memories under those twin giants.

The trees were home to a number of birds and animals. As a child I was fascinated by these winged wonders of Nature. It was home to the green parrots, the white owl -which lived in one particular hollow on a very high branch and looked irritated during the asembly as if being woken up from deep slumber. Then there was the Kite - a large one which had a nest on the highest branch on the tree. It also housed a number of squirrels, chamelions and a number of unnamed (er.. whose names I dont know!) reptiles.

Every morning, during the assembly, I used to fold my hands together in a "Namaste" and look up at the tree while others drooned the morning prayers. I particularly loved to watch the old owl(old coz it was white.. maybe I am wrong.. maybe it was an albino.. I believe albinos exist in every species). I loved to watch its expressions, the occasional hoot that I used to hear, the miffed look.. Somethings can never be put in words. It was a very special bird.. cute and sweet.

Parrots can be quite noisy at times. During our prayer we had a couple of minutes of silence after the "Om Shanti, Shanti, Shantihi" phrase of the prayer. These parrots would create such a din. Sometimes there would be parrot fights. I used to stand there wondering what the reason might be. Trying to listen to then harder , to understand their chatter.. Sometimes, I thought, it was a fight between a husband and wife, sometimes between siblings or guy-parrots(what are they called?) fighting for a girl...What the reason was I would never know but it always amused by them.

I used get to school early, drop my bag in class and run to the stage to watch the birds and animals and the tree. She was hugh.. There was even the throwball court under her shade. Oh.. how many matches we have played in the middle of Chennai's summer. I watched her through the seasons.. In summers she had the dark green leaves that were thick and dense to protect us from the heat. In winter(Chennai's winter.. well what can I say), her leaves would droop. By mid february she would shed all her leaves and beginning of March, she would have light green leaves , fresh and green, colour that brings to life that magic of spring. By March mid she would be in full blossem with soft pink flowers. I had one in my book for long time.. Lost it when I shifted...:(

We used to run out to the stage to play lock and key after we finish our exams. Played till it was time for the bus to start. Not only happy moments, even when I was sad I used to sit under that tree and in a matter of minutes I would be back to my normal self.. I remember once that I was crying, dont remember for what reason though, and a fresh pink flower fell on me. It was as if the tree was saying, "Ms V! dont cry.. Here is a flower to u " ...

A few months back, I happend to pass by my school,after almost 8 years, and I saw that the stage no longer exists. Neither does the tree. School will never be the same again..it looks barren now.. Never can children sit under her again, never will they be able to see parrots fight, never will hear of the wise old owl up on the branch, never can they see the giant kite. Now the tree exists only in my memories. I will miss you Oh Gentle Giant(s)..

Saayamkala:

Evening is the best time of they day. I love the pallete of colours that nature creates at twilight. She unleashes some of her best compositions then.. I read in a fellow blogger's post, where he compares nature to an invisible painter. I liked that comparison very much. Very true isnt it.. The azure sky slowly turns pale pink and gets darker and deeper to a dull orange.. where the Sun appears like an orange cradled in cotton ..slowly dipping and vanishing into the horizon. If you listen carefuly you can even hear a blip when the sun sets :). Even after the sun has sunk you can still see the few errant rays trying to brighten up our world while the darkness from the other side tries to swallow them.. The darkness finally wins..

The cacophonous melody of the homing birds that rush home to their hollows and bends in the trees. They seem to be in a hurry to get home, to the safety of their nests, to sleep and get refreshed for next day. The leaves of trees and plants seem to be drooping, sad that their beloved sun has disappeared. The flowers are no longer gay. Yet, from some other part, another life begins.. the life of the nocturnal..the crickets, the frogs, the owls, the flowers, the stars and the moon. The sight of Venus, the morning and the evening star on the horizon and the sound of night fall is distinct with the nocturnal beings welcoming the moon and the stars.

There is something inexplicably romantic about dusk. Dawn is good, but to me Dusk is the best time of the day :) ( guess me am too lazy to wake up in time for dawn:). It makes me sad that I no longer have a garden to just sit down and while away my evening, watching the sun sliently dip into the horizon whispering.. 'Shubha Ratri' and making a silent promise that he will rise again.

Oh Butterfly! Butterfly!

I was out for a walk in the near by park where I noticed lots of kids playing . It brought back memories of my childhood days. Some of them were on the swing, some on the slide, some on the sea-saw while others flying a kite. But there was one little kid, who was moving stealthily towards a bush like a tigress moving towards her prey. I moved a little closer to her to see what she was upto and to my surprise I saw a bright orange and black butterfly, perched on a milky white flower and drinking in the honey. As I moved towards her the little girl turned towards me, wide-eyed with a finger on her lips urging me to be slient. Slowly she moved towards the butterfly and caught it by its wings. The triumph on her face was a real treat. I then began to wonder what she was going to do with it... Well she looked at the poor butterfly, gave it a soft kiss and let it go.... It just brought a smile on my face.

Its is really rare to find children playing out in the open, running and chasing each other. Now that the TV and computers have taken over the play world ...(sigh). But it has become even more rare to see a kid chasing butterflies, catching them and letting them go!Its so much fun... and the thrill that you get when u catch one of them...... The yellow ones used to be very difficult to catch, I remember.. It is these small joys in life that makes life worth living :D