I will grow and grow and grow and grow

Peas sprouting from the seed in my flower-pot – life in Delhi

I’m like a seed that I’ve planted

So young and so strong

Needing to be watered 

So I’ll grow strong and tall

Friendship is my water

My sun, the warmth of love

I’ll grow and grow and grow and grow

So let us sing!

Oh! let us sing

Let us sing and laugh and dance and shout for joy!

Remembering a stanza of an old hymn from school days back in Imphal: those days of green skirts and green ribbons fidgeting in the summer sun for assemblies only to be reminded by the Sisters of the convent that it was not as hot as in Delhi or Madras and the hushed retorts amongst the girls that she was speaking from the shaded corridor!

Those were the days – Little Flower School, Imphal!

Flowers

Roses, marigolds, crape jasmine and daisies with camphor cubes, incense sticks and cotton ropes soaked in oil: all set to be offered to Ganga @Rs.20, Haridwar, India

‘Don’t send me flowers when I am dead. If you like me, send them while I am alive’ – Brian Clough

because …….

‘what sunshine is to a flower, smiles are to humanity’ – Joseph Adison

and……

‘to me, flowers are happiness’ – Stefano Gabbana

but……..

‘if your heart is a volcano, how shall u expect flowers to bloom?’ – Khalil Gibran

also,….

‘Weeds are flowers too, once you get to know them’ – A.A. Milne

Mashoodpur: A Jat village in Delhi

My second post from my Mashoodpur visit. As I mentioned in my first post, I had accompanied a friend to this rather large urban village of Delhi. As part of her own research, Supriya Singh is studying the available water resources and access to water in the village. As we walked down in the interiors of the village, we were welcomed by two ladies to drop by. Their house was a one-storeyed structure surrounded by three-or-so storeyed buildings from three sides with the one remaining side opening out to a small path that serves as an artery between the congested houses. On the roof of the house, I came across several items that were of little or no use value. In this corner is a pile of earthen pots which, I presume can still be used but is not of much use. Perhaps, a similar fate is that of the spindle on the side. The water cooler stand has perhaps been not of use this summer as it stands in the sunny roof.

©Ingallei

The bell that does not toll

The silence depressed me.  It wasn’t the silence of silence.  It was my own silence.  ~Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar

the bell: experiments with light and shadow

The Maibi

A moment from the Kanglei Thokpa ritual of Lai Haraoba @ Imphal

The maibi calls on the spirit of Khoriphaba and takes it on to perform the search for ‘his’ bride. As the spirit takes over her, the maibi may become violent or at least display strong physical prowess.