Crimson Pride!

The dominant colour this rainy month has been gray in many many many shades! The jaba - (in Bengali) and hibiscus to the rest thought otherwise!  

Ma's verandah. Soggy August afternoon in Kolkata.

Redolent spring time!

The day was filled with the heady scent of a bowl full of gandharaj [cape jamine] and bel phool!

Pruned ....

This morning, our dear coconut tree got pruned ....

So it is looking kind of shorn and sad... 

Purple Emotions

We all know that plants respond to stimuli. They also experience emotions - seen and witnessed by V, my multi-talented poet, painter, sculptor friend.

She had planted a white blossom and a purple one in rather close proximity to each other. One shot up and bloomed. The other (the purple one) didn’t. Jealous, it moped, according to V.

Then one fine day, she removed the plant which had grown in wild profusion and was shedding leaves and creating a general mess. The other languishing one, grabbed her chance and within a week, had shot up, making the most of being centre stage!

And you can't dismiss it as creative licence. They have social life. Here's proof.

Gold Blossoms

The heat is unbearable. Oppressive and dry. Out of the blue, a storm arrives. All the window panes rattle. The wind searing the skin of those foolish enough or compelled to be outdoors. Windows rattle. Dust seeps in through cracks and under doors and covers everything in dust. Visibility is reduced to a few metres or less.
Everyone who can is indoors. Those outdoors look barely human. Turned zombie like. I wonder if I am where I am, in Gurgaon or in some desert. Could well be but for the trees. How they blossom. Yellow, getting progressively brighter till almost golden. Baby green leaves peep out here and there. How is it possible. God alone knows. Such a sight for sore eyes.