Bangalore in bloom is a wonderful sight. But it also makes me nostalgic of the times that they have been. Spring for a Bombay person is an alien concept but we are used to seeing the orange and yellow flowers on the trees all around. My favourite among them is the Vishu tree. The most gentle and beautiful of them all. Every summer when the sun shines bright on us, I wait the arrival of the Vishu flowers.
Being in tune with the seasons can be such a nice thing. But in the daily rigamarole of our lives, there is no time to stand and stare. When W H Davies wrote the poem – Leisure, it was only 1890. A time when the busyness of life would be equivalent to the idyllic getaway of today. How are poets so prescient? I think that is what makes great poets great. Their ability to capture timeless emotions.
Life seems like a whirlwind but it is only in these times when you sit by flowing water, or watch the bulbuls fly, that life doesn’t seem so bad after all. Sharing a nice meal at the end of a long day is a privilege for many, but yet eating together is taken for granted. The power of food and slow luxuriant mornings is underrated. But maybe that is what one needs – a moment when all things slow down and you focus on the things that matter.
