Twenty- five Seven

Personally speaking

Recent Posts

  • The Last Laugh

    We were sitting around the big table in the lower verandah, our normal meeting place for discussing the Club’s Magazine .

    Even though this magazine was entirely private, distributed only to the Club members and covering the Club’s activities for the month, we tried to make it more interesting with stories of general interest.

    Month after month we had an issue with a lead story, travelogues by members, health advice by club members from the medical fraternity and of course a page for the younger members who would grow into adulthood soon enough .

    So essentially it was more than just a Club’s newsletter and actually had a Magazine Committee meeting every month to decide what we should cover.

    Yet , there were many members who thought the magazine was a mere waste of time and consigned their copy to the dustbin without even a glance .

    This was disheartening and we carried on, thinking of ways to make it more appealing .

    I still remember last March, (which was the last meeting I attended )when we were thinking of dedicating the magazine to the madness or paranoia that was surrounding the Corona virus .

    At that time WhatsApp groups were flooded with videos of Chinese dropping like flies in Wuhan, Italians succumbing to the virus and our own Indians slowly being brought home by special flights .

    We thought covering the Novel Corona Virus would make our issue go viral especially if we captioned the lead story ‘Going Viral With Corona’!

    That would surely grab their eyeballs !

    So we contacted a pathologist member to get the low down on the pathology of the virus and how it spreads.

    We collected a few cartoons on the virus and the panic it generated.

    And we had the matter in place when the first lockdown was declared.

    And the magazine went for a toss !

    The printing press couldn’t get the issue ready for distribution. And even the Club was closed .

    When the Pandemic faced a lull last October, the Club was opened partially. With limited activities and limited numbers of members attending , it was a shadow of its former self.

    Fear was writ large on the faces of members who no longer found it a home away from home. A place where they could meet up with friends and share a cup of tea or a glass of beer . People scurried in and out to pick up a library book , have a quick round of tennis, buy some essential groceries , exchange a few pleasantries with fellow members

    And the Magazine Committee thought that perhaps we could re-start the magazine. But the material we had collected for the March issue was hopelessly outdated. Our run down on the Virus seemed so basic in comparison to the heaps of information available now .

    But with the Second wave and in all probability the Third coming soon after, it seems that we were more than premature in thinking that in 40 days the virus would go away.

    Looking back, I feel how naive we were to discount the fear and paranoia beginning to grip the world then .

    Truly, the virus is having the last laugh!

    On that note , stay safe . Wear a mask and avoid crowded places .

    Ciao,

  • And the boxes came tumbling down

    On Sunday evening
when light began to fade
 the breezes slowly picked up
drying the sweat upon my face.
The grasses in the lawn began swaying
as did the branches on the trees
And we sat there, 
still enjoying the slowly speeding breeze.

By nightfall, the wind had picked up 
and the windows started rattling
We knew it wasn't normal 
But didn't know what's really brewing.

As night progressed, the winds howled
and  the clothes stand in the balcony
danced a crazy waltz with the Cafe chair and potted plants.
To the door's erratic rattling beat .

As morning broke, the sun hid behind a cloak of murky grey
The rain came splashing on the glass, 
"Let me in!" it seemed to say.

The plants had fallen and looked sad
But I couldn't rescue them 
as the wind kept pushing in.

In the bathroom, a glass pane fought valiantly 
to stay inside its frame
But by afternoon, the wind pried it loose and sent it
crashing in  the rain.

By then, the boxes stuffed on top of the window AC
Began to tumble down 
And crushed the plants that already were in pain.

But looking out I found out that this was nothing much
The wind and rain that lashed the trees 
brought many crashing down.
A hundred years or more, 
many of them had stood, 
watching changes over the years in my genteel neighbourhood.
Standing sentinel over sprawling bungalows, 
that turned into concrete towers, 
slowly, 
one by one.

The hillside ravaged by greedy builders 
who claimed to develop the land
was weakend weary by the constant digging deep inside.

And  Nature she was tortured by this pillaging and destruction
of her grace and benediction 

So on Monday as the winds howled
 and the boxes fell one by one, the trees crashed onto cars, 
houses blew off, seas bashed the coast
And reminded us that Nature is a force
that needs respect and love.

  • Wedding season

    Believe it or not , it is high summer and yet another wedding season.

    The tradition of summer weddings lies in the fact that Akshay Tritiya, one of the three auspicious days in our Hindu calendar falls in summer.

    On this day when the sun is closest to the earth or rather the earth is closest to the sun, is very popular amongst young couples seeking to get married.

    This is because Akshay Tritiya is considered the day of eternal (unending) prosperity and happiness. It is the third day of the month of Vaishakh, ( hence tritiya), the second month of the Hindu lunar calendar. This year it happens to fall on 15th May.

    Around thirty years ago I was attending the weddings of my friends and contemporaries. Nowadays, I am attending the weddings of their children. The torch has passed on to another generation of young people who will spend the next twenty years nurturing families of their own and thirty years on, will attend weddings of yet another generation.

    That is if the tradition of getting married exists at all! Many people are doing away with traditional customs and actually living together without the formality and legality of a wedding.

    The couples getting married are older and have more of a say in how they want their wedding rituals to be conducted.

    Flowers have always played an important role in wedding decor but the traditional garlands of mogra and marigold have given way to orchids, lilies and sprays of flowers.

    Gone too are the days of chaotic weddings organised by various members of the family. Instead now, we have choreographed rituals with the guests sitting patiently through the ceremonies.

    Sequins, borders and panels with designer blouses and detailed accessorization have brought the ancient saree into the modern world , Thai curries and pastas have transformed the traditional wedding repasts into new age feasts where counters of multi cuisine have replaced the sit down meals and most grooms come to the venue in a cavalcade of cars rather than astride a horse escorted by dancing relatives.

    But somethings remain unchanged : the actual rituals of marriage.

    7 steps to love and fulfillment.


    Not many people realise the significance of the sanctity and romance of the circumambulation of the holy fire or the seven steps . Do you know what they are?

    • The seven steps that are essential to a Hindu wedding are the cornerstone of the marriage. In this seemingly quaint and old fashioned ritual  when the bride walks demurely behind her groom hand in hand with a shawl draped around their shoulders further binding their ties together, the couple promises each other:
    • Abundant food with the first step, Physical strength with the second step, Adequate material wealth with the third step, Mutual happiness with the fourth step, Commitment to raise ideal children with the fifth step, Appreciation to face and  enjoy the blessings of each season  with the sixth step, Inseparable friendship with the seventh step.

    Can anything be more beautiful than that?

    Image for unishta
Create your own website, free on WordPress.com.Create your own website.
Start free