Art in words

  I wandered lonely as a cloud That floats on high o’er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils; Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. (- from “Daffodils” by William Wordsworth)   Every time when I visit a garden or see a tree in full bloom this is the feeling that immediately pops up in my mind. This master of words captured, and how beautifully the power and aura of Daffodils that has remained with me since the school days; obviously it is one of my favorite poems. Anybody who is looking  for soulful words, calming therapy and good literature must read him. As a kid I grew up amid the tall trees and huge farms surrounded by our humble home in the outskirts of Surat city, I dearly reminisce about the memories I made there as a child. Looking at vegetables growing, peacocks flaunting, smelling flowers and plucking up local fruits was a beautiful routine. As I grew up those memories ...

 And before anything else it is a  SHE. Once upon a time an evergreen and happy plant came to live with us.  It was a tiny plant with two flowers blooming on her head.  Bright fuchsia pink suited her like the green suits white. She didn’t look very happy as I pulled her apart from her friends and family at the nursery; but somehow I made her feel home. Like a child she adopted the atmosphere and soon was blooming happily with her new friends. Since then she gives out these eye catchy bright colored flowers every single day.   It is a delight to watch them wave and dance in the sunlight while it prepares to bloom for an upcoming day. Whether it is summer, winter or monsoon she does not give a damn and produces color round the year. Maybe,  she likes my smile when I look at her every morning. Not to forget that she is the most flexible lady I have met, she was given a home in a discarded dish wash container and how brilliantly she made it her home givi...

  I remember how we got you into our home, it was lockdown and everything was shut.  It was a tough time for every one of us.  Things were at complete standby and everything was ruled by fear. None of us were able to decipher how COVID 19 virus operates, all we knew was it is a life taking virus and has absolutely no cure.  Amid that fear, confusion and loneliness came the hope. Sneaking you from a neighboring nursery and repotting you in a paint bucket while the sun went down is one of the best memories I have about the lockdown. The Madhu-malati, the Rangoon , how loved you are! Today it has been nearly two years since you arrived in our home with your greens. As you grew your first new leaf, we all watched you and each one of us had an eye on how you are growing and that was such a feeling. Well, dear Madhu-malati, thank you so much for bringing my family together and making them crane their necks to have a glimpse of you. Days after days and months after mont...