A weekened outing

Recently, my mother and I decided to visit our neighbour's house in Kapurthala, a small town in Punjab.We used to live there when I wasn't even born...so we are talking about reviving some 20-21 year old memories for my mother.
The journey started in the evening...wah!I was missing the countryside!The fields, and birds and the open sky...I was born watching them...very refreshing from the Chandigarh city.The harvest season just got over,Baisakhi the festival of the Punjabis-so on the fields still lay,bundles of wheat crops cut and ready to be sent off.As night began to fall, we were still driving past the fields under the open sky,but only at night do you get to see things that happen behind the scenes!


"TIGER TIGER BURNING BURNING BRIGHT..."
Fire in the fields!Well, they believe that after one crop season is over it is important to burn the field....but then in return they kill all the insects surviving on the soil, the animals feeding on those insects go hungry and die...and the smoke in the air is of-course and potential threat to the environment!!"Huh!who cares...as long as I am alive!"
"So, as long as I am alive,I will do whatever!"They run their combines, huge threshing machines, after the night falls."Well, hello Mr. V.Smart Farmer Singh!Isn't it banned to run your machines once the sunsets???You can barely see anything,you can hit an electric pole and your fields can catch fire!""Huh!Who cares...As long as I am alive!I,I,I,I'm stayin' alive!"
Here we go again!
"Tiger Tiger burning bright,In the forests of the night;What immortal hand or eye.Could frame thy fearful symmetry?In what distant deeps or skies. Burnt the fires of thine eyes?"-(The Tiger, by William Blake).Such high rising flames, right behind a building-either a bungalow or a factory.GOD LAY MERCY!

The last bit of the journey was peaceful...no fires!It was only the Road, the trees and us!

Exhibition Blues

I have recently also voluteereed for an exhibition where we have to talk about Bringing peace into the lives of Children. AH! one can actualy talk lots on the topic, provided your audience understands you!So,in order to make matters worse, they invite school children, for the time-slot that I have volunteered.God!What I hate the most is explaining things that are interesting, as in when you especially make the effort to make people understand, you would lack the skill to keep them interested in you!Damn!X(

Driving Lessons

I recentlystarted my Driving Lessons at a certain Driving School called 'Sangam Driving School'.
They send the teacher and he comes over to your doorstep to pick you put for the class.The accent as usual is very counfusingly funny for me. You know he'd say Brake and I would Accelerate!God what havoc on the roads!But of course, no worries!no crashes....yet!;)

Mingo a.k.a. Aashram

Recently, on my way back from Ahmedabad, a senior of mine, who is from Chandigarh itself, asked me if i could carry his new pet kitty home.Since I was travelling by train, it would have been easier for me than for him( he was flying).Being an animal lover myself, I couldn't help but agree.
Well, the over-night journey to Delhi, on the train was quite amusing. We were three of us. My friend donated her precious pink t-shirt with blue hearts to wrap around the kitty and her Blue towel to cover the kitty's basket(God Bless her!).AH! the continuous mewing was rather difficult to deal with.Other passengers also began complaining soon...and the night was painful-awkward sleeping style, the "wannabe"sleeping moments.I eventually had to sit up all night, next to the toilet, with the kitty on my lap eating "rabari"(an indian sweet-we figured it was really fond of it!)
The way things turned out by the morning, I was quite sorry for my friend. She had decided to discard her t-shirt and even probably her towel, because of kitty fundaments on them!!:D
What can I say next, I guess one over-night journey is good enough for an animal-lover to get used to the animal.So,(i feel proud of this!) i was able to handle the kitty from then on!Could make it sleep, run play, eat, accouding to how i wanted...or rather, I synchronised myself with the kitty's biological timings!It was great fun.
My aunt and uncle aren't particularly animal lovers and are very conscious about what happens around the house.However, the task was manageable even there!
I was a little sad handing over the kitty at the Chandigarh station.I miss it...I decided to call it 'Mingo', derived from flamingo...because of the colour of its nose).The attendent on our Ahmedabad train had however named it 'Aashram', after the train itself...as a memory of the journey!Quite an unforgettable journey.;)

IF: Impossibility

Well, this was done very randomly.Its actually like "Wingardium Leviosa"(a charm from J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter Series)...seemed pretty impossible everytime I tried it.For those of all who have read the book, its a 'Swish and a Flick'!

Illustration Friday:Padma Auntie started wearing shades

Padma Auntie was always very scared of ghosts and bats .Being very superstitious as well, several ill-omen creatures also bothered her..the ones seen most often were crows on her balcony.However, by the influence of our "ever-cool" entertainment industry,she too found her new talisman.Now she wears them everyday, and the local crows have since been head-over-heals for her!:P

Talisman

done for illustration friday:P