Notes from an almost-empty-nester
Dropping by quickly today to share a slice of my hometown.
I was in Lucknow this last fortnight for my father’s surgery. I arrived two days in advance and was a little wound up. A day before the surgery my sister dragged me out for a morning spin. There’s a particular road I want to show you, she said. And with that we drove off and here’s where we landed.
Continue reading “A little bit of Lucknow”
This is N’s favourite tree. The reason is pretty obvious, isn’t it? That tyre swing. She loves it and each time we go on a morning walk it is a given that I’ll let her have a go at it for as long as she wants. Do scroll down for a better picture of the tree. I love how its branches spread out in an all-encompassing manner.
It was I who first spotted it and exclaimed happily because we hardly get to see swings like these now. She couldn’t figure out how one would ‘get inside’. But once I explained, she completely adored it.
How I would have loved to have a go at it too. However I had this terrible mental image of getting stuck in that tyre with my newly acquired girth and having to roam around forever with it around my waist and the idea disappeared almost as soon as it had come. I decided it was safer to simply stand by and watch.
This swing reminds me of one of my favourite books The Boy in Striped Pajamas. Remember how a bored Bruno builds himself a swing out of a tyre? Have you read it? It’s a heartbreaking story.
When we were children our uncle, who was an engineer in the Irrigation Department, used to be posted in small towns and cities. The upside was that the Government bungalows he was allotted, came with a huge space around them. The one I remember best of all had this large Jackfruit orchard that was crowded with tall dense trees bent low with an abundance of fruit. A huge swing would be put up on one of those trees. It wasn’t anything glamorous – just a large very sturdy plank of wood held up with sturdier ropes. Four to six of us would climb up – the younger ones would sit down clinging to the ropes while the older adventurous ones would stand behind them and we’d swing really really high. The target would be to touch the leaves of the tree up above. Uff The thrill of it! The smaller steel versions at school didn’t even come close.
Recently when we went to the garden, to N’s immense dismay, the tyre had been tied up out of reach. How crestfallen she was! All we can do is wait and hope someone brings it down soon.
Did you ever play on a home-made swing?
Linking up with Parul’s #ThursdayTreeLove
We found these trees in Lucknow’s Lohia Park while we were there this summer. Can you see there are two of them? I loved the way they seemed to be hugging each other, so close that one can barely make out which is which.
The trees capture the essence of my hometown which is a perfect blend of religions and cultures and languages, merging them all inextricably in its famed ganga-jamuni tehzeeb.
The park is absolutely delightful and I wish it were closer to where we live but we do make it point to go there at least once during our visit.
That’s all from me for now. I’ve been unable to write anything at all this past fortnight. I seem to be suffering from some kind of blog-existential-angst. However, I do know I’ll get around it sooner rather than later.
Till then, you guys have a good weekend.
Linking up with Parul’s #ThursdayTreeLove
The children had two days of mid-week holidays – a parting gift from Ganapati as he is taken off for visarjan. We had more peace in the house than we’ve seen in some time. More than one person commented on how relaxed I looked!
Despite exams being just a few weeks away we managed some fun together-time. Remember I wrote about N’s interest in photography? Each time we go out for a walk she comes armed with her camera and clicks anything that catches her fancy. We chanced upon this tree.
‘It looks rather sad and lonely’, I remarked, ‘with it’s leaves and flowers all gone’.
‘I think it looks great fun – like a giant catapult’, said N, ‘imagine how far a huge ball would go if I were big enough to string it.’
She had a point, of course. And all of a sudden the tree didn’t look quite as sad any longer. It’s all about perspective, isn’t it?
Children do come up with interesting ideas, which is why I love walking with them. The only hitch is, we don’t actually walk, as in the walk-for-exercise kind of walk. Or, since N has put me in a positive frame of mind, we do much more than walk – we talk and discuss and observe. We look at the flowers and trees – how the Amaltas hangs down like a chandelier or how Peepul leaves twirl in the wind. We stop to smell and pick flowers. N is fascinated by the Harshringar we find strewn in a cream and orange carpet. She wonders, a little disappointed, why a tree with such delicate blooms should have such rough sandpaper leaves. I have no clue, I really am not much of a Botany person. I do want to tell her that beauty is never perfect but I stop the cynic in me – time enough for her to discover all of that on her own.
Soon enough H will want to sit and tell me about Greek Gods, yeah he’s still going strong with Rick Riordan. So while he and I will find a bench, N, definitely the more active one, will continue with her jog around the park.
We’ll pick up dry pieces of branches to be used for craft projects, which may or may not happen, but my bag will look like this.
While N is the one doing the running, H is the one who gets thirsty and will drag us all to get him a drink. ‘Any juice will do,’ he says accommodatingly. And though I’m not a fan of packaged drinks I’ll indulge them just this once, and we’ll walk back home to begin the day.
Joining Parul for #ThursdayTreeLove.
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