Sunset After Gloom

I sit by the window watching. It has been drizzling for the past one hour now; one of the first pre-monsoon showers after a bright summer. The first showers were welcomed with great joy and children ran out on the streets to enjoy the rain.

I close my eyes to meditate on the noise of the rain drumming on the roof. The pitter-patter gets harder and louder and I open my eyes to see that what had been a few sparse clouds drizzling, has now become a pouring expanse of dense grey sheen overhead, blocking the last rays of light. It is gloomy and it is barely five o'clock in the evening. I need to put the lamp on.

This sudden change is transporting me back to my past, a very dark past. A past, that I hate accepting that it were once my life. A past as dense as these clouds that blocked away all hopes, all light! A past I didn't see coming. Just like the initial drizzle it made me happy, it sowed a seed of bliss in my heart. Just like the scent of mud it tranquilized me, he tranquilized me...

...to cheat on me!

I hear the thunder outside.

Sounds just like my howling.

He was a dog, a jerk!

He swallowed five years of my life. I lived five years less.

I realize I'm crying.

Jeff comes and hugs me from behind. He is warm. I feel secure. I hadn't heard him come. He plants a peck on my cheek. I wipe my tears hesitating to look up. I let him hold me.

He puts his hand under my chin and turns my face towards the window. "See how beautiful the sky looks," he points out.

It had stopped raining and the clouds have cleared except for a few fluffy white puffs. It is sunset time and the sky looks dramatic after the rains- a blend of pink, purple and orange.

"Isn't it beautiful?"

A light wind wafts in through the window blowing in our hair, carrying a whiff of freshness.

I smile.

"It is. It is very beautiful. Who knew it would be so charming after a heavy downpour. It's like, it's like you are my THIS!" I chirp.

"Your THIS?" Jeff smiles down at me as I look up at him.

"Yes. You are this soothing sunset after gloom. "

 

Leafless Not Lifeless

I took this photo yesterday just after the rains. This beautiful tree stands in front of my house and I see it daily in different incarnations, as per the weather and ever changing sky colours. I've even spotted a few beautiful birds on this very tree.

I recently had this epiphany moment. I love leafless trees I realized. Every time I pass by them, I look at them and stop. A sense of awe takes over me. If I am walking along with a friend and I came across one of these, I stop mid-sentence and breathe out, 'How pretty!' And trust me this happens every single time.

There is something very powerful about leafless trees. Most of them are huge, gigantic and ancient just like your Grandfather. They've stood in that same single place for years and at times its the same tree your Dad and Granddad have grown up with, just like you!

Sure that once upon a time, they were all green, bearing flowers and fruits but now without that, and with just intricate attractive patterns formed with a trunk and branches, they still are indeed very charmful! Withered as they are like wrinkles on an old man's face, they withhold a lot of wisdom too. For, they've stood firm through thick and thin, summers and winters, heat and storm.

Such trees are a lot of birds' favourite perch, also at times an ideal place to build nests. The way one's Grandfather would embrace one, they embrace the birds. Smiling down, invitingly at you they seem to say something; the few remaining leaves, desperately holding on, rustle and whisper something...probably tell you a story, just like your Grandpa did!

This one stands tall and mighty in Fergusson College nursery and is visible from the road. I see it daily and trust me, every time I see it I experience the same sense of gratification. I also love the symmetrical design it creates.