On Independence Day, I accompanied two cousins and my sister-in-law to a bird sanctuary around 100 km. from my city.
I thought that there would be none among us who will get snacks to eat. I purchased savouries by Haldiram, milk shakes in tetra-packs, biscuits and assorted cookies. What I had not anticipated was that one of my cousins would think of exactly the same thing ! So, what we ended up with, for the brief journey were :
* Sponge cake, thanks to the thoughtful cousin
* A packet of milk for my niece, thanks to her mother, my sister-in-law
* Apples enough to keep 12 doctors away
* Sweet limes to drive ALL incipient colds away
* Crunchy Lays chips, of which everybody ate at least one, because no one can eat just one, courtesy the thoughtful cousin !
* Lays chips with a tangy tomato flavour, of which everybody ate at least one, because if we didn't, it wouldn't be fair to the Lays advertisers, courtesy the same thoughtful cousin
* Savouries thanks to me
* Milk shakes thanks to me
* Biscuits thanks to me and
* Assorted cookies thanks to - yes, that's right ! - me !
While it would appear that the above list was a surefire way to end up with an upset stomach, the trip itself turned out to be a great break for all of us.
The settings for the trip were ideal : overcast conditions, a solid car, the Dil Chahta Hai cassette, a late morning start and six enthusiastic people. There was some traffic on the road, but it was only to be expected due to the long weekend. In fact, the newspaper had warned us that getting accommodation in vacation spots near my city would be difficult. Luckily for us, the second hotel we tried had a couple of rooms vacantly and we gladly agreed to take it !
The thoughtful cousin also brought a pair of binoculars which she willingly shared with all of us. I feel that the poor girl didn't get to see the best sights, thanks to her spirit of sharing ! Whoever said that nice guys (and girls !) finished last certainly knew what he (or she !) was talking about !
The binoculars came in handy on Friday evening, in particular. We went for a boat ride on a river. There is an island in the middle of the river with lots of birds - the feathered kind, I mean ! With the naked eye itself, we could see several bats on the far side of the island. From the boat, we saw black irises, cormorants, snake birds and various other birds that none of the six of us could identify ! The binoculars helped us spot storks and irises preen themselves. What stands out in my memory is a black iris flying right over us, looking graceful and sleek both at the same time.
We returned to our hotel rooms rather satisfied with the evening sojourn. In our rooms, we played dumb charades. It was great fun as we touched new heights of creativity while acting out words that we initially thought were impossible to mimic !
On Saturday morning, we went for a coracle ride on a silent river. The boatman spun us around a couple of times. Later in the morning, we went to another spot where another boatman also spun us around twice in his coracle. I don't know what it is about rotating round and round, but all of us involuntarily started smiling like children when the coracle whirred around.
To me, the high point of the trip was not merely the coracle ride itself, though. Instead, it came during the ride, yes, but it was another sensation altogether. To describe it (and recapture it) a little background is necessary :
We were the first passengers on the coracle that morning, so there was no crowd. We had passed in front of lush green paddy fields and sugarcane fields with a verdant freshness that has to be seen to be believed.
Our minds were already enlivened by those sights when we set off in the coracle. As the coracle was in mid stream, we briefly lost the shore we set off from. In the side towards the banks were the steps from a ruined temple on one side. On the other there was a mangrove swamp-like undergrowth. If I looked upstream or downstream, all I saw was more greenery, freshened by the monsoon rains. The only sound in my ears was the lapping of the waves of the river against the rocks of the ground.
Humbled by the serene silence, I concentrated some more around me with all my senses soaking the experience in. I spotted a bird fly as we approached a dense growth of greenery in the middle of the river. I heard the twittering of other birds and all at once I recalled the words from Mr. and Mrs. Iyer "That is the most soothing sound in the whole world : the sound of dew drops". I didn't hear dew drops, but I think I came closer to understanding what the most soothing sound sounds like ! I feel that the serenity of silence is what makes small sounds soothing !
After the ride, my cousin and sister-in-law walked on the side of the canal. Another cousin and I stayed back. Below me, there was the roar of water as it gushed forth. I became contemplative as I saw and heard the water. We walked around the canal some more and soon set back home.
The journey back home was even more fun as we strove to finish all the eats we had bought between us. We played - surprise, surprise ! - antaakshari and enjoyed the songs that my seven year old niece sang. When we came back, we were all tired.
Still, the memory of a new feeling is reward enough for the minor fatigue !
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NOTE:
I had originally written this blog in another site. Since that site is no longer accessible, I am uploading it in this blog at http://fewidlethoughts.blogspot.in/ using the same date as the original blog dates.
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=============================
COMMON TEXT FOR ALL BLOGS
=============================
++++++
BEGINS
++++++
When I created my first blog, I
thought I was being clever by being
"anonymous" and let my opinions speak for
themselves (see the archive !) Imagine
my embarrassment when I saw my name
displayed ! So now, while I still
retain the blog name as "Anonymous
Expressions", I will only request you
to ignore my name and concentrate on my
opinions instead !
The opinions expressed in the Weblogs
are my personal opinions. Please tell
me if you don't like the way I have
expressed a view. If I can see your
point, I will correct the mistake. You
can contact me by emailing me at
kiran.suma@gmail.com.
++++++
ENDS
++++++
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
I thought that there would be none among us who will get snacks to eat. I purchased savouries by Haldiram, milk shakes in tetra-packs, biscuits and assorted cookies. What I had not anticipated was that one of my cousins would think of exactly the same thing ! So, what we ended up with, for the brief journey were :
* Sponge cake, thanks to the thoughtful cousin
* A packet of milk for my niece, thanks to her mother, my sister-in-law
* Apples enough to keep 12 doctors away
* Sweet limes to drive ALL incipient colds away
* Crunchy Lays chips, of which everybody ate at least one, because no one can eat just one, courtesy the thoughtful cousin !
* Lays chips with a tangy tomato flavour, of which everybody ate at least one, because if we didn't, it wouldn't be fair to the Lays advertisers, courtesy the same thoughtful cousin
* Savouries thanks to me
* Milk shakes thanks to me
* Biscuits thanks to me and
* Assorted cookies thanks to - yes, that's right ! - me !
While it would appear that the above list was a surefire way to end up with an upset stomach, the trip itself turned out to be a great break for all of us.
The settings for the trip were ideal : overcast conditions, a solid car, the Dil Chahta Hai cassette, a late morning start and six enthusiastic people. There was some traffic on the road, but it was only to be expected due to the long weekend. In fact, the newspaper had warned us that getting accommodation in vacation spots near my city would be difficult. Luckily for us, the second hotel we tried had a couple of rooms vacantly and we gladly agreed to take it !
The thoughtful cousin also brought a pair of binoculars which she willingly shared with all of us. I feel that the poor girl didn't get to see the best sights, thanks to her spirit of sharing ! Whoever said that nice guys (and girls !) finished last certainly knew what he (or she !) was talking about !
The binoculars came in handy on Friday evening, in particular. We went for a boat ride on a river. There is an island in the middle of the river with lots of birds - the feathered kind, I mean ! With the naked eye itself, we could see several bats on the far side of the island. From the boat, we saw black irises, cormorants, snake birds and various other birds that none of the six of us could identify ! The binoculars helped us spot storks and irises preen themselves. What stands out in my memory is a black iris flying right over us, looking graceful and sleek both at the same time.
We returned to our hotel rooms rather satisfied with the evening sojourn. In our rooms, we played dumb charades. It was great fun as we touched new heights of creativity while acting out words that we initially thought were impossible to mimic !
On Saturday morning, we went for a coracle ride on a silent river. The boatman spun us around a couple of times. Later in the morning, we went to another spot where another boatman also spun us around twice in his coracle. I don't know what it is about rotating round and round, but all of us involuntarily started smiling like children when the coracle whirred around.
To me, the high point of the trip was not merely the coracle ride itself, though. Instead, it came during the ride, yes, but it was another sensation altogether. To describe it (and recapture it) a little background is necessary :
We were the first passengers on the coracle that morning, so there was no crowd. We had passed in front of lush green paddy fields and sugarcane fields with a verdant freshness that has to be seen to be believed.
Our minds were already enlivened by those sights when we set off in the coracle. As the coracle was in mid stream, we briefly lost the shore we set off from. In the side towards the banks were the steps from a ruined temple on one side. On the other there was a mangrove swamp-like undergrowth. If I looked upstream or downstream, all I saw was more greenery, freshened by the monsoon rains. The only sound in my ears was the lapping of the waves of the river against the rocks of the ground.
Humbled by the serene silence, I concentrated some more around me with all my senses soaking the experience in. I spotted a bird fly as we approached a dense growth of greenery in the middle of the river. I heard the twittering of other birds and all at once I recalled the words from Mr. and Mrs. Iyer "That is the most soothing sound in the whole world : the sound of dew drops". I didn't hear dew drops, but I think I came closer to understanding what the most soothing sound sounds like ! I feel that the serenity of silence is what makes small sounds soothing !
After the ride, my cousin and sister-in-law walked on the side of the canal. Another cousin and I stayed back. Below me, there was the roar of water as it gushed forth. I became contemplative as I saw and heard the water. We walked around the canal some more and soon set back home.
The journey back home was even more fun as we strove to finish all the eats we had bought between us. We played - surprise, surprise ! - antaakshari and enjoyed the songs that my seven year old niece sang. When we came back, we were all tired.
Still, the memory of a new feeling is reward enough for the minor fatigue !
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
NOTE:
I had originally written this blog in another site. Since that site is no longer accessible, I am uploading it in this blog at http://fewidlethoughts.blogspot.in/ using the same date as the original blog dates.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
=============================
COMMON TEXT FOR ALL BLOGS
=============================
++++++
BEGINS
++++++
When I created my first blog, I
thought I was being clever by being
"anonymous" and let my opinions speak for
themselves (see the archive !) Imagine
my embarrassment when I saw my name
displayed ! So now, while I still
retain the blog name as "Anonymous
Expressions", I will only request you
to ignore my name and concentrate on my
opinions instead !
The opinions expressed in the Weblogs
are my personal opinions. Please tell
me if you don't like the way I have
expressed a view. If I can see your
point, I will correct the mistake. You
can contact me by emailing me at
kiran.suma@gmail.com.
++++++
ENDS
++++++
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
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