Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Rains to Genie to Backwaters to Bikes

I'm taking part in the Write Tribe Festival of Words -3


This post has been written as part of Write Tribe Festival of Words-Day 3 where we had to do a 'Free Write' exercise i.e write whatever comes to mind for a stipulated time.

The sky is downcast. There has been no rains in Singapore for the past so many days. This is quite unusual here. Normally there would be a downpour every alternate day. I hope it rains today.

It seems suddenly very quiet all around. A huge apartment complex is coming up in the neighboring site and the non stop clink-clank-whirr fills our house all the time. They work even on Saturdays and Sunday is the only day our ears get some solace. Now the machines seem to have stopped all of a sudden. Maybe the workers are also looking at the sky wondering if the rain-God will shower some of his blessings around. I stay within the house but their state is worse. They are out in the sun all day surrounded by all the dust and noise.

 That reminds me of my ex-boss who had served in the army for some time. He would say that when he goes to sleep he still hears a buzzing noise in his ears like the insects in the thick vegetation during his days of service. Now thats quite a big sentence, did I get it grammatically correct?

That reminds me of my first standard teacher Joan. Unable to finish the biriyani that my dad got for lunch, i started crying. When asked why, I replied amidst sobs "My father got me many biriyani".She replied "Hmm, you must say lot of biriyani and not many biriyani". That brings the picture of hot steaming biriyani hovering in front of my eyes. I can almost touch the soft basmati rice and the bay leaf peeping out at the corner of the plate. Well enough, i tell myself and the plate disappears.

There is this movie 'Pattanathil Bhootham' in Tamil where a couple of guys end up finding a genie and the first thing they ask him to test his authenticity is a ladoo from Tirupathi. If only I had a genie what would I ask him? My mobile sends out a beep announcing the arrival of some message on Whatsapp. Oh yeah ! i would have immediately texted my group " i have a genie. What should i ask?".We live in crazy times.

The whirring starts again in the construction site and I can also hear the piercing noise of a jet in the sky. I really wish for some quietness around.

That brings me the images from our trip to Aleppey and its backwaters. The tranquility was amazing.The greenery and the pleasant weather! Wow!! Of course anything can be relished only for a day or two. I am not sure if I would enjoy staying in a place like that forever. We human beings keep looking for a change don't we? Yet when life gives us some unexpected challenging changes we find it so tough to accept or digest. I keep staring at the last sentence waiting for my mind to think of something. Strange, it decides to get into this meditative state when I am supposed to be doing 'Free Write'. I seem to be observing every single sound around, the rotation of the fan blades and the pages of the book fluttering before it and the motorcycle on the road.

Motorcycles! My husband had a bike when we got married and I enjoyed those bike rides so much. Especially when going on a bridge, I used to get a soaring feeling. When we moved out of India, there were no bikes anymore. Sigh!

There the time I set for myself is over. Free Write does seem to be an interesting exercise.

7 comments:

  1. I can totally empathize with the construction noises. There is this balcony at home which opens out to lush greenery and I practically used to live there. These days, the minute I open the door, I hear huge grinding noises from the construction happening nearby. Hmm .. Nothing is forever :(

    ReplyDelete
  2. It was very very interesting for me too jaish.I loved this free train of thought.How one idea leads to another when we pay heed :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Free writes are awesome. Liked the way how your thoughts moved from one thing to another! Enjoyable read! :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. It's written in such a lively manner ...I could visualize the scenes around your house ...And the ending sentences about life...really liked them :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Interesting read - I too sometimes like to write this stream of thought style writing.

    ReplyDelete
  6. So cool Jaish! Wow! You made so many observations and expressed so many ideas! Yes, we humans want refreshing change!!! :)
    I love the taking suggestions about what to ask the Genie from your network thanks to technology :) We live in wonderful times! Feel blessed!
    Another notable point is- Motorcycle- Even the latest movie SKSE uses that as an imagery to highlight 'freedom' - youth & bachelorhood :)
    Next time you visit India, do indulge in these pleasure again! :)

    ReplyDelete