Smile

Smile is such a beautiful thing

It makes you happy and want to sing

It cheers the one who gives

And also the one who receives

Thus blessing all

A glimpse of one can show understanding

It can express pleasure

Recognition of something funny

Blowing away the cobwebs of sadness

Making eyes light up

The corners of the mouth turn up

A smile is innocent

A smile is shy

A smile can be flirty

Smile can be coquettish

A smile is happiness

A well recognised expression of joy

One can face the day with a smile or a frown

Starting day with smile makes it go smoother

A frown just makes you down

It is very contagious at best

And spreads rapidly from one to the next

At the least it forms a small bond between humans

Moment of Joy

On the way to work on a Friday morning

Tired and stressed after a busy long week

Eyes feel gritty from lack of sleep

Need to concentrate on the driving

The mist is curling along the tree tops

And along the ground over the fields

Looking eerie in the dim light of dawn

As dawn brightens the sky mirrors

The wispy mist with small fluffy clouds

Then the first tinge of pink is on the horizon

The intense pink spreads across the sky

Like a blush across a cheek

Fading to pale yellow as it spreads

The fields on either side f the road

The grass covered in mild frost

The road curves past the next field

There in the curling mist a family of deer

Gracefully moving along the field

Almost like a silhouette

Against the slowly brightening sky

A beautiful picture perfect moment

A smiles comes to my face

Friday is not so bad after all

Purpose of Trees

Wandering in the woods

Running among the trees

Beech, oak and conker trees

Changing colours showing different moods

Children play hide and seek among the trees

Finding thickets to disappear within

Looking for hollows in large trees

Housing squirrels and birds within

Trees are fascinating

And meant for climbing

Tall or short all are a challenge

Easy or hard kids take on the challenge

Laughter ringing in the silent woods

Whispers carrying far through the woods

Swinging from the braches

Autumn colours obscuring brown braches

Thick carpet of leaves would cover the ground

Often good hiding on the ground

Jumping up to scare your friends

Or kicking up leaves to shower your friends

Walking in the woods now

On a crisp autumn morn

Brings back happy memories

Childish laughter echoing in the morning

The purpose of the trees was play

Woods an imaginary dwelling

Trees the walls to scale

Memories that still leave me smiling

I love Rainbows

Rainbows … I love them. They have always fascinated me. My head knows this is a just the way light refracts from the droplets of water. Spreading different colours based on the angle of refraction. But the heart says it is a kind of blessing. It makes me happy as if I have just remembered some joyful memory. For many years the rainbows I saw were half formed, not a complete bow. Always wondered what it would be like to see a complete one. The pot of gold at the end of one really exists?

One day we were driving back from Wales and it had been raining. I was concentrating on driving in all the spray being thrown up by other cars. The clouds cleared and the sky became intense blue, almost as if washed clean by the rain. The sunshine was so intense that I had to squint in the sudden brightness. At this moment I thought why is it I never see a complete rainbow? It would be so good to see a full rainbow. The next moment a perfect rainbow formed in front of me. It went right across the Severn Bridge that we were crossing. The rainbow band was very broad and colours intense. This sudden sight of a complete rainbow just as I made a wish for it made it feel like a spiritual experience, almost as if that was a moment in time when my wish was granted. A simple wish that was unselfish. I wonder if in that moment I had wished for anything, would it have been granted? I guess not. The sight of a complete rainbow is uplifting and an experience that makes my heart glad and light. I forget any worries I might have and get lost in the moment of perfect rainbow and its colours.

Since that day I have always seen complete rainbows, whether it has been across a valley in the Himalayas or driving on M4. In Mussoorie (India) we stayed in a hotel what jutted off the mountainside. The bedroom had full windows that opened on to a balcony hanging off the mountain side. The view was right across the valley below and the foothills on either side. Every afternoon the clouds bubbled up from the valley and rose to drift into our room if the windows were open. In the middle of the afternoon one day the clouds got dark and there was a rain storm in the valley. As I sat watching it slowly cleared and weak sunlight filtered through. There against the dark skies was a rainbow right across the valley with either ends disappearing behind the hills on opposite sides. As I watched the rainbow with the usual gladdening of my heart there formed another rainbow next to the first one! My first complete double rainbows, the best sight I have seen.

One day driving on M4 across Berkshire, it had been raining as usual. The spray on the road was so intense that I could not tell the difference between the rain and the spray for quite some time. As the wind was strong the clouds moved along and the squall of rain drifted away. Sunlight broke through the clouds and I started looking around for my rainbow. I saw it start on the left of my windscreen, from the corner of my eye. As I was driving I hoped that it would come across the windscreen so that I could see it. Suddenly, I saw that the rainbow was in the middle of the road. The rainbow actually ended in the middle lane of the motorway. I have never heard of anyone actually seeing the end of one let alone driving through the middle of that band of colour as it flowed on the wet tarmac for a few feet. Then we were on the other side of the rainbow, again an experience that is strange as normally the rainbow is always in front of you. While sadly there was no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow the spiritual joy the experience produced was priceless.

Now you see my reasons for thinking of rainbows as a spiritual and uplifting experience. I hope that other have this joyful connection with nature be it rainbows or anything else. I have not stopped looking for rainbow every time it rains and that is always a certainty in UK.

Autumn

The days are growing shorter
The sun sets earlier and earlier
There is a wind that blows colder
All remind that autumn is here

Chill in the air early morning
The frost regularly forming
Wispy strands of mist linger and melt slowly
Even as the sky turns blue and clear
The sun shines making one squint in its brightness

The countryside changes at first slowly
With leaves changing colour continually
There are shades of pale green to yellow
From bright red and oranges to brown and mellow
Nature slowing down for another year

The countryside prepares to sleep
The squirrels gathering nuts and seeds to keep
The birds chirping later in the morning
All the nests empty as babies have finished fledging
The rush of life in summer quietening

People start airing warm clothes
Warm colours being displayed in fashion shows
Fashion changes to clothes that are warming
In colours of browns, yellows, rust and oranges glowing
Matching the beautiful autumn colours of the countryside

The fire place is readied for warming the home
Logs cut and piled in basket next to it
Pine cones gathered for that autumn aroma
The sofas pulled closer to bask in the log fire
Luxuriating carpets and furry throws

Time to be spent in snuggling by the fire
Laying games or losing oneself in reading
Time for bonding in the family
Taking time to cook hearty warming meals
Sharing over love and laughter

All can be this idyllic I dream
The log fire is a small electric one
Pine cones sit in potpourri bowls
The rooms are small and snug
Hearing the echoes of laughter of old

Sitting on opposite ends of the sofa
Toes playing under the warm throw
Watching the occasional good comedy on tv
Smiling and remembering the summer holiday
Comparing it to the other holidays fondly

Poetically one talks of hearty warming soups and meals
I am partial to dals and curries all year round
So there is little change except less of the cold salads
Bring on the beans and leafy vegetables
The Gujarati heart warmer of undhyun and rotla

The shorter days with decreasing daylight
Brings on time for contemplation and introspection
Careful it does not turn depressing
Bringing on the Seasonal Affective Disorder
So find every minute of cheery sun light

Look forward to winter and the festive season
Sadly now more commercial than fun
Changing countryside from colour to bare trees
Leaves covering the earth and animals borrowing deep
Autumn is a beautiful time with a splash of colours between the blue of the sky and water

Browsing in book shops

My love for reading was fostered by my older sister albeit unintentionally. She was a lot older than me and did not wish to spend time ‘playing’ with me or keeping me entertained. She loved to read and so would tell me to go read a book and not bother her. Slowly I began to love reading books. It allowed me to dream, escape in the world created by the words of the author. Every time I read something it was new as my imagination allowed a slightly different world to be created.

I have always enjoyed browsing in a book shop. When I was a teenager I was allowed to buy a couple of books every month and going to buy them was a exciting event. I would generally go alone to the ‘India Bookhouse’ which was the nearest book shop. The walk to the shop was something I could never remember as I was busy thinking about what I would buy! Would there be any new books to thumb through or would I have to choose from the ones I could not buy before.

My interest has always been in reading fiction. The early read of Enid Blyton’s soon gave away to Agatha Christie, Earl Stanley Gardner and Alastair MacLean. While I did avidly read romantic novels it was not something I spent money to buy. The ones to buy were those I would read time and again. I would skip into the shop with joy and have a quick look at what books were out in the front. Then I would slowly look through each shelf checking the authors on it. After this initial browse, I settled next to the authors that I wished to read. I would take time to read the abstract at the back of each book. Move from author to author. If I had read all the books then I skipped the books unless there was a different front cover. I would need to read the synopsis then for I recognised most books I had by their cover itself.

It took quite some time to make a complete round of the shop. Not that it was a large shop when compared to the ones I visit now. I would finally short list a few books that I wanted. Now came the big decision making time….. I could only buy two and so would read the synopsis of all books again. Often it was a difficult decision as to which one I wanted read as a priority. After much debating I would reluctantly put the other books back. I knew I would return next month and buy them but it did not stop me from feeling a little sad as I returned them to the shelves.

After paying for the books and wrapping in a paper bag I would still linger in the shop before starting to walk home. All the way thinking of the information I had read in the synopsis of my books and planning which one was going to be read first. Such a simple but deeply satisfying pleasure in indulging my passion for reading. By the time I turned 18 the collection of books bought by myself and my sister was 300 strong. The authors varied from Agatha Christie to PG Wodehouse to Neville Shute to Alistair MacLean to Pearl S Buck to Ian Fleming. All my books were marked by the date of purchase and my name. One of my cousins’ commented that from these dates one could plot my changes in taste and development of thinking. I had certainly not realised that indeed the books I had showed my own development.

Then I went to university and my parents moved to Mumbai. Sadly they gave away all my books and with it my memories and personal history. I took me a long time to stop grieving over the loss of my books. When I moved to UK I restarted my hobby of buy books. I did find some of the books I used to have in second hand shops and bought them again. My taste in fiction remains with thrillers, spy novels and murder mysteries. I go to the local library in short bursts and read books from there. I still can visit a books shop and get lost in a different world of imagination. I have begun to find e-books and so a virtual library has also started. The joy of reading and visualising the story unfold will always remain more precious than movies of the same.