Despatch from St. Louis, USA

Episode 4

Rajma, Rudraksha & Cupcakes!

Hi folks,

After experiencing typical “English” weather  for 3 days in good ole US of A, the sun is out and things are really looking bright.( You know guys like GD, Self & a few others, who went to ‘Convent’(sic) schools,  <actually schools run by dedicated  teachers>,  claim to be most aquainted with GB, esp the weather…So Eng weather>sandwiches>muffins> Tea!! ) Born in the UK!

In the rain-soaked period, I couldn’t, help but , crave for One of the sure cures(& highly ‘Desi’) for a rainy day. Chai & p..odey (pakode pronounced thus, as shown). The other cure being a quick shot , by any name! Right now, I’m on a trip of Capt Morgan (or Murugan, if it makes you feel at home). The finest spiced rum, from Puerto Rico. And I am availing ‘parental claim’ for this, in a different  way, as Anshuman is presently based at San Juan, Puerto  Rico.  So, my loyalty is there presently!

Like America was discovered by mistake, I too have made some discoveries, which to some of you, may be far- fetched, but, nevertheless….. As a child, I was always fascinated by those striped ‘long shorts’(?) that most men folk, especially in the Konkan region, wore. The other day, when we were at Macy’s (pl note subtle game dropping!), I thought I’d pick up some shorts. All those specimens hung up, were modifications of ‘my uncles striped pjs’, in that, while ‘those’ were only  vertically striped, ‘these’  were both ways, ie. checked. And they were marketed as ‘Bermudas’. See, I always knew that all original ‘Indian’ things, would be hijacked by the newer world countries. Alas!, copyright was taken literally, The right to Copy. So,  the  connection between ‘Konkan’ & ‘Caribbean’ . Q.E.D.

Now, you have to skip a couple of days of inactivity, then we cut to this week-end.  Now, as we all are aware, ‘the Lord above toiled for Six days & Six nights and on the Seventh, He rested. That’s how the week-end came about, they say. But  Gen now, has done one better than God and have come up with a concept of creating whatever they do, in 5 days & nights! So, Sat, Sun reserved for  chilling out! That’s how, Sat saw us hitting the road in real earnest . We drove through  some beautiful complexes, very, very  upmarket, stealthily took pictures & wished the impossible. Then on to a place called the Millennium Park. There are about 3-4 such parks, right in the middle of town; impossible to believe that acres & acres of greenery have been preserved just so that our children can really ‘feel’ the environment. And innumerable birds apart, we came across a family of White Tailed Deer, America’s most common deer.

Our next halt was the Forest Park , another huge, huge  area, which has a museum, art gallery, stage shows, boating, eateries  .. but above all, in spite of hundreds of cars & ppl, there was place for all, privacy for family picnics & beautifully kept lawns and  walkways .And they say this is One Tenth of what Central Park can accommodate! Whew!!

Coming back to the 5 day work culture. What amazes me, every time, is that throughout the week, ppl are going about their jobs as though nothing else matters or exists. Right from as early as 7:00 am till 8:30 pm or so, ppl are at work. Come Friday evening & then every activity is centred around family, hobbies, weekly chores & just unwinding. They really work for the week end. We have just Jenny who is working, but even while working from home, we see this ethos & it grows on you too!!

Of  course, birds, animals, nature etc. is something inseparable from me, so for whatever it is worth, I carry my little digicam along & I think I have been able to capture some beautiful moments, which I would like to share with you all. In fact, my first shoot with the handycam is a half minute shot of a male Cardinal, chasing insects in the branches of the tree, right outside our verandah. I hope to put this on the You tube. Let’s see!(or the uninitiated, the Cardinal is a bird found in USA. Not to be mixed up with Cardinals of the church!)

To end this episode, you must be wondering why such a strange title to this mail? (If you haven’t, there’s something wrong! You are not inquisitive enuff!) No, there’s no deep-rooted quasi-spiritual side this. How does one explain “Bell, Book & Candle”, “The Tight White Collar”, “Morning becomes Electra”? (Did you know that these are actual titles of books?-Raise your hands!) I would like to believe that they all got their inspiration in much as the same way, I got mine- You see, there were these 3-4 Rajma seeds lying on the bedside table, which Kalpana uses for her ‘seed-therapy’ (more of this later), the R udraksh  ‘mala’  lying next to it. So the first 2 names fitted. And rather than go for alliteration & look for another ‘R’, which may have sounded quite fake, I let the issue lie… till I saw this book by Martha Stewart on ‘Cup Cakes’! So, next time any of you guys feel like writing a best  seller, you know where to call for ‘Unlimited, Unconnected Titles’. Cheers, TC

Ashok

In case you have missed the snaps - here is the link once more..

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=110856600995312571585&target=ALBUM&id=5606721633423278753&locked=true&authkey=Gv1sRgCOfcm5rlkpyYaA&feat=email

In Nature's Lap

Hi there!

It’s been 3 days that we’ve landed here. Nothing much has happened, except for a short trip to Globals & Schnuks, to pick up some specific items(‘matki’, marker pens etc. such diversity!)

However, we’ve been out on our morning walks, around the lake area & the complex, as a whole. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but even this snap of Kalpe on the walkway & the almost zero traffic at this hour, can really convey the actual situ. It’s quite cool at this hour, and the clean air, neatly cut lawns, well maintained walkways etc. set the mood.

To add to this, everything is green now. We just missed the flowers, ’though Chicago, having a later spring, does have some trees in bloom. That doesn’t take away the beauty, because the road dividers are in full bloom with Roses, the corners blooming with Asters. And the best part is, that it rained early morning, so it’s still cloudy, very pleasant and Nature is on show.

Besides my old friends at the lake, the ducks(Mallards) & the Canada Geese(not very friendly right now because of the babies they have), I have been able to spot the Robin (State emblem), Starlings & Sparrows. The last mentioned are identical to what we get back home, but healthier! Speaking about Starlings, there’s one family right at the end of Janu’s  verandah, in the eaves, and the parents are on the job of feeding the chicks, right from sun up. The Squirrels, so tame that they actually walk up the stairs,  in the hope of a tidbit.

I also encountered the Cardinal, in all it’s scarlet finery, Blackbirds & surprisingly, a Hummingbird! If you don’t pay attention, you can mistake it for a Bee! The Turtles, as yet, still prefer to remain in the lake.

Above all, there is so much quiet here, it’s almost unnatural. That’s because we are so used to noise & more noise, that the silence is perhaps frightening! And you would want to thank those people who have gone about their jobs, unseen, silently, while we have been sleeping, and making a part of the town, so neat & tidy!

But if we were to rewind to  a few years back, of our childhood, you will be able to recall such  moments of quiet, when you were out on a picnic, a site visit, even those moments of  silence in the middle of an Army exercise. To find yourself in a moment of total inactivity, yet so many events are taking place, right in front of us. Ants, carrying some foodstuff to their nests, buffalos, lazing away in the squishy mud or clouds racing along to an unknown destination, constantly changing shapes, a kite(‘patang’), lying limp entangled in the wires, sporadically making movements, as though to indicate it’s presence! Remember.

It’s such moments of quite, when you are not bound by time, that we realize, how much we are missing out. I am not trying to preach any kind of change your lifestyle sermon, but just sharing with you, what I felt today. And I have experienced it quite often & loved every bit of the ‘loneliness’.  

And, you don’t have to be on a  holiday, that too overseas. You can do this, right in your home/street or neighbourhood.  Just look/hear  for the  signs. In today’s  so-called life in the fast lane, I find it strange, that we cannot spare 30 seconds, just to return a ‘phone call! And when Nature calls, she doesn’t expect you to call back. You just listen!  As the poet  Hillaire Bellock says at the end of “Leisure”…a poor life this, if full of care, we have no time to stand or stare!

Till the next one, TC.

Ashok