Back in the House of Memories,
Streets covered in ghost steps,
Parks of silence,
Paths of distress,
Rooms of cuddles and words,
Corners of cackles and tears,
Walls of sepia tone frames,
Cartons of little nothings with no names.
Mirrors of sadness,
Shadows of light,
Windows of hope,
Secrets untold,
Flights go up,
Down,
Floors barren,
Plates cold.
Orange sunrise,
Tired eyes,
2 felines,
His and mine.
Out of synch,
Purple pink
Dreams…
Pure dreams of home.
Sweet Home.
Remember Me
To the living, I am gone,
To the sorrowful, I will never return,
To the angry, I was cheated,
But to the happy, I am at peace,
And to the faithful, I have never left.
I cannot speak, but I can listen.
I cannot be seen, but I can be heard.
So as you stand upon a shore gazing at a beautiful sea
As you look upon a flower and admire it’s simplicity
Remember Me.
Remember me in your heart.
Your thoughts, and your memories,
Of the times we loved,
The times we cried,
The times we fought,
The times we laughed.
For if you always think of me,
I will never have gone.
Don’t grieve for me, for now I’m free
I’m following the path God has laid you see.
I took His hand when I heard him call
I turned my back and left it all.
I could not stay another day
To laugh, to love, to work, to play.
Tasks left undone must stay that way
I found that peace at the close of day.
If my parting has left a void
Then fill it with remembered joy.
A friendship shared, a laugh, a kiss
Oh yes, these things I too will miss.
Be not burdened with times of sorrow
I wish you the sunshine of tomorrow.
My life’s been full, I savoured much
Good friends, good times, a loved one’s touch.
Perhaps my time seemed all too brief
Don’t lengthen it now with undue grief.
Lift up your hearts and peace to thee
God wanted me now; He set me free.
-By Margaret Mead
I don’t have to remember you my darling. You are a part of me. You are all around me.
You are in the corals that remind me of the heathers of Yorkshire, in the synchronised swimming of hundreds of tiny translucent silver fish, the branched purple candelabra like things sitting at the bottom of the ocean. You are in the sparkle and shimmer of the sun rays dancing on the little sea waves, in the changing moods of the ocean, the jade, emerald and turquoise of the waters, in the peacock-feather colours borrowed by the fish, the white sands and the multiple hopeful shoots underneath the mangroves, in the cool sea-breeze. I don’t have to remember you my darling. You are my joy and peace, in heaven and on earth. I love you. xxx
Being in a sunny place is lovely as long as I am not directly in the sun. Similarly, being next to a large water body is really soothing as long as I am not directly in the water. I have never felt comfortable in water. Although I pride myself on the regular practise of breathing exercises, when it comes to breathing in water, I am all coughs and splutters. I can swim the length of one breath at one time. While on land I think I am well coordinated, in water I am as clumsy as a drunk elephant.
Somehow I was gently persuaded to have a diving lesson this morning. The instructor, Joseph seemed calm and proficient. I had a short introduction to the theory, the kit and the sign language. Getting into the wetsuit was a bit of a wriggle. We had a trial run in the clear blue swimming pool and went through some of the essential skills.
I had serious reservations about the real thing as I was sure I would panic and make a mess of it. But I tumbled off the boat into the water and descended. It was like being in space. The buoyancy was like nothing I’ve experienced before and the view mesmerising. I single-mindedly stuck with slow long breaths, in and out, in and out through the mouth. Every now and then I equalised the pressure in my ears and cleared my mask and that was it. I lost sense of my limbs and fins. Joseph was in-charge and I was all eyes. I felt like an intruder in this happy, peaceful, magical place. The floor and walls were covered in a carpet of colourful corals where many gorgeous fish of all shapes and sizes played hide and seek. A shoal of tiny silver ones swam right over me. To experience such ecstasy in complete silence made it extra special. The silence made me feel very close to Saagar but I missed him. He didn’t get to learn diving. He would have loved it.
Today’s dive was for you my darling. Love you. xxx
As an eleven year old I often felt like I was born in the wrong country with the wrong nose, wrong hair and wrong skin colour. It was all a bit awkward but not much could be done about any of these things. So, the hair was cut short and stayed so for most of my life.
It’s normal for those with dark hair to want them light and vice versa and for those with curly hair to want them straight and vice versa. This is a small example of a much wider discontentment and dis-ease within humans.
We travelled for 36 hours, including an overnight stay at Dar-es-Salaam, 5 take offs and thankfully the same number of safe landings to get here. 3 of these were on the smallest plane I have ever been in. It sits about 14 people including the pilot. It reminds me of ‘Out of Africa’. The engine makes clicking sounds in response to the subtle mechanical actions of the pilot and the scenery is out of the world. Sapphire blue deep waters with turquoise shallow edges dotted with emerald islands with golden crescents along the curved margins.
This is the north of Tanga, a point jaggedly jutting into the Indian ocean with a white sliver of surf marking the reef’s edge. The noon-tide was so far out that it was nothing more than a soft whoosh but we woke up from our post-prandial coma to the rhythmic roaring of the sea that had arrived right up to our doorstep.
The smiles that greet us with ‘Karibu’ are happy and a bit shy. There is no running water or mains electricity. The internet connection comes through a generator and solar powered router, best described as flimsy. Yet, something about being here brings the word ‘contentment’ to mind. This is what it must feel like.
Saagar would have loved this place – a little piece of heaven.
(Sorry, no pictures as very narrow band width on the internet. May be later.)
“This is the best daal I have had outside of India” said one of our friends who really does know his food as he runs a vegetarian café and restaurant. I was utterly flattered that he would ask me for the recipe. It was completely ad hoc cooking as most of mine is. Just follow broad principles and keep it simple. Anyway, I jogged my memory and came up with something. Here’s what it is, I think:
Ingredients :
1 cup mixture of 3 daals : 1/3rd each – pink coral, yellow and split yellow with husk
Spinach – about 300 grams.
Chopped onion – 1medium
Chopped ginger – 1 inch piece
Tomatos 2 medium- each cut in 4 pieces
Cumin seeds – 1 and a half teaspoon – coarsely ground
Mustard seeds- 1 tsp
Fresh curry leaves : 6-7 (optional)
Asafoetida powder -pinch
Coriander powder : 1 and a half table spoon.
Salt, turmeric, 1 green chilly
Tamarind paste : 1 tsp
Lemon juice
Sambar powder -1 tsp (optional)
Desi ghee – 1 tablespoon
Fresh coriander leaves
Method:
Wash and boil the daal mix with salt and turmeric. Add spinach when half done.
Heat ghee – splutter mustard seeds, add cumin seeds, asafoetida, coarsely chopped green chilly, curry leaves, ginger and onions – fry till light brown.
Add coriander powder and fry for another minute.
Add the boiled daal and spinach mix, bring to a boil. add tamarind paste and water as required to get the desired consistency.
Then add the chopped tomatoes and sambar powder.
Boil for a few minutes and then add juice of half a lemon just before serving. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves.
Best served with plain basmati rice and bhindi 😉
It is so satisfying to cook a nice meal for friends and family. I miss cooking for Saagar. He loved my Mum’s cooking and rightly so. I was econd best but I was happy to be second best. I would tell him off for licking his plate after meals sometimes and he would say, “It’s a compliment Mamma.” I know. It was.
kidsaregifts 