I have two
days all to myself, the first in the new year.Increasingly I find these pauses
in between my work precious.
Yesterday I
spent the better part of the day spring cleaning my house.Much to the chagrin
of the lady who helps me there was heaps of clutter and dust from the nooks and
corners .So involved was I in the process that I missed my breakfast , lunch and had to make do with a packet of
biscuit and the lovely English breakfast tea satchet.
I did my
week’s laundry and got Lalji to put out some strings in my backyard to sun my clothes.
I thought I
would spend my time doing some reading but discovered that I had picked the
wrong book so did some scripture reading instead.I am working on the letters at
the moment.
In the
evening I did some painting and then played the panflute and my guitar.
Rajkumar was
kind enough to pick some flowers for me for my dining table,a flush of
white,yellow and a lone red rose which has a lovely fragrance.
I noticed
that even roses seem to close it’s petals and sleep at night .
I am not a
flower picker,infact I hate it because it has a short vase life and somehow I
prefer to see it in the garden but as I am ;growing older I am beginning to
appreciate these small subtle joys.
My tucks are
dwindling by dozen.I need to go shopping ,In the meantime I find my creativity
in the kitchen doing ballistics and coming up with lovely food to nourish
myself.
This morning
I had oats with tomato ,green chilly ,salt and cheddar on top.It was a tasty
fare.For dinner I had baked potatoes with butter , tomatoes and fried fish.Those
were the last bits of my food items I desperately scraped and made a meal of.
I have also
been watching some movies ,average fare but for one ,an anecdotal story of a French
teenager in Saigon ,a nostalgic write .I
tried watching ‘ Mirzapur’ out of
curiosity because I live in it’s namesake and was curious to get behind the
lens of Anurag Kashyap ,I foumd it a difficult watch .in many ways too raw for
my taste.
I had a good
family time at home.My younger cousin was home from New Zealand with her two
teenagers and so was my neice.It was lovely to watch them jam together.The kids
had brought along some Sushi kit so we had a lovely treat .They were taking
time having sleepovers which was nice. We are also enjoying our uncle’s other grandchildren
as they slowly but surely grow up and surprise us every now and then as
children normally do with their intelligence and sensitivity.
As a
teenager I enjoyed French writing and now I revel in Claude Monet’s painting
,considering the clamour around me everywhere nowadays I find it contrasting ,the
genteelness of it all.
I see the
same essence in the fiery eyes of Pallavi ,the seven years old Musahir kid ,who
walks up to me in confidence and demands medicine for her grandfather’s
glaucoma and asks that pointed question, ‘Are you going to give or not?’
One day she
suddenly walked into my outpatient and sat on an empty chair.When I asked her
how I could help her she asked me demandingly,’Can’t I just come to meet you?’
Is she seven years or what? Even I with all my privellaged upbringing and even now, with age do not have that amount
of boldness.
My prayer is
that this boldness will be chanellised in the right direction.
Being away
from the routine for short spells is such a joy.I feel forever grateful to my
colleagues who extend themselves to do without me during these times.
This year I
had felt the need to make a resolution list and so far I am toying with just
this one.To wear a sari to work as often as I can.Considering I have worn it
exactly one time for an occasion with a solid encouragement from Grace my
friend some fifteen years ago that is a resolution enough for a year.
Strange
resolution it is, but I find that at this point it is a necessary wall I need
to break through to greater freedom. Good luck to me.
Comments