Für Elise in Satin Meadows

The simple things in life are often the most beautiful.

Like the Fur Elise piano version playing in the background as my keys move in rhythym to the melody. Like waking up sans alarm to chirping birds and mist gently kissing the tree-tops. Like the song in my heart which never ceases to play, which fills me with unending sensitivity. Like Enya’s Fairytale. Like reading The Name of the Rose over honey and baguette.

The Nutcraker. Mad laughter and a skip in my step- how much pure pleasure a job well done can bring! My evening was bashful, like the young bride who discovers the new entrant in her life has eyes only for her. Satisfaction in the pursuit of perfection comes when I realize that perfection is not a goal, but a lifestyle.

Waltz of the Flowers. I love you like the windswept cuckoo which sways with the storm yet dances with the boughs. My soul waltzes in my dreams with you and I know not how else I can describe incomparable bliss. You’re the dewdrop on the most exquisite petal I hold, one I never knew existed.

And amid this lush richness of music, I want to write..write, speak, paint, write of love and the sublime power of dreams, of damsels in villages, waiting for their long-gone love. Let me take you to her so that you can look into her eyes and find a dark room with a single ray of distant light showing the way into her soul. Look past her rosy cheeks, feel her eyelashes, feel beneath her chin. Talk of her beloved and watch her dimples bloom and eyes sparkle amid the gentle clinking of her bangles as she hides her blush in her veil. She is the embodiment of the shadows of hope, which grow shorter with the day, longer by evening and disappear by night. A night with him, one night to explain what really happened..

You, me, and he- three is indeed company, for neither of us know the secrets she wants to confide in us. The wind, he seems to know. Can you feel him whisper a word and scream another? But why trust the wind, that dispenser of rumors and pollen, when there she stands, behind a delicate mulsin curtain- the one in our minds. The light shines on the stray strands of hair on her face as she waits with words on her lips the pink of a new-born babe.

Words unsaid, but felt. Stories untold, as yet. Would you like to know what happens next?

And then.. I discover this collage of beautiful music and my day is made before it has begun. And then.. beyond the rivers braiding the hills, I hear the moors of England call out to me..

Aurora

My Warrior, heed, hark ye
My fondest wish for thee

She holds an ocean in her mind
A song of centuries in her soul
When she steps into your world, feel
Naught but Cupid’s bittersweet arrow
Flowing silk- is it what she wears?
Or nay, is it who she is?
Nymph of twilight, queen of darkness
While the moon fades away, envious of her beauty
Deck her molten tresses with stars
While kohl-lined oceans gaze into you
Let elfin fireflies borrow her sparkle
When a corner of the universe breaks away
A shooting star sights her,
Makes a wish and streaks past time
When she steps into ripples of dew
She becomes a lily of delicate hue
She is the chime of anklets silver
The whisper of leaves in the rain
A celestial secret does she know
When the moon shines bright
Or the sun is in the sky
It is both day and night

Breathe her in
Hold her close
Breathe her in
Hold her close

Aurora! Aurora!

She crossed the skies
For you, Warrior
So when dawn beckons
Lend the skies her colors

Her Warrior, heed, hark ye
My fondest wish for thee

Aurora! Aurora!

May she be yours, I pray,
For ever, ever- and a day. .

Ophelia’s Muse

It feels so real
When I dream of you
That I wonder if reality
Might be a dream too

And if this is a dream
May it be the sweetest you
With eyes wide open
Have ever lived through

If this is a dream
Within it may dreams you
Hold close to your heart
Unfold anew and come true

But if this is reality
May it be the clay you
Mould into desires like
Moonlight on dew

If this is reality
May it be the dream you
Never want to awaken from
On a bed of posies blue

It feels like a dream
When I am with you
That I wonder if dreams
Might become real too

Crickets on the Porch

 

She’s the Belle of the Boulevard
Bougainvillea in her silky earth mane
Country songs on her lips nude
Oh she makes you want to turn, look again!

She’s the Belle of the Boulevard
Tumultuous ocean tides in her eyes deep
Ships-in-bottles travelling by postcard
Oh she makes you want to drown yet leap!

She’s the Belle of the Boulevard
Winds directed by her ruffling skirts
Chiming bells, cowrie shells hard
Oh she makes you want to swim in sherbets!

She’s the Belle of the Boulevard
Swirling in a field of butterflies
Bare feet on grass, dew her bard
Oh she makes you want to sketch in the skies!

She’s the Belle of the Boulevard
Story-spinning firefly in the dark
Night sky her playground, sans dockyard
Oh she makes you want to fly like a lark!

She’s the Belle of the Boulevard
Beware her yarn, she creates yet cuts
For a rose without thorns is a lying shard
Oh she makes you want to liberate your portraits!

Juliet’s Tiara

Little did I know, that gazing
Into your eyes would melt away
My world, my being, me
Leaving behind scents of blooming
Buds in the first showers of May

Little did I know, that you being
In a crowd means just you and
My world, my being, me
Blending spirits, electric static buzzing
Streaking across dark skies unplanned

Little did I know, that hearing
Your voice wonder about
My world, my being, me
Would be the urgent, rhythmic merging
Of drops on a soil of cracked drought

Little did I know, that singing
What you could be with
My world, my being, me
Would paint the sky with colors bowing
Into the arched illusion of a myth

Little did I know, that feeling
Your hand in mine would make
My world, my being, me
A quaint paper boat floating
Towards auroras at daybreak

Little did I know, that loving
You with all shades of
My world, my being, me
Would lead to four-leaved clovers drying
With the start of our spring in mauve

 ’We were both young when I first saw you..’

TOW ‘Nee Nenaindal’ is in English

Darbari Kanada, raga of the royals. Roots in the shruti-box of the Carnatic, branches in the gharanas of Hindustani music. A raga the color of the night sky, evoking the depths of the soul to raise in harmony with the Universe. Sarvam ekam, ekam sarvam. All is One, One is All.

Shankar Tucker makes fusion fashionable with this collaboration with Vidya and Vandana Iyer. Composed by Periasamy Thooran, elements from across oceans melt into a fluid, melodious stream which soothes the sub-conscious and lightens the spirit.

 

A humble attempt at a translation of ‘Nee Nenaindal’ from Tamil to English follows, with lyrics from Shankar Tucker’s page.

Pallavi:
Nee nenaindal agadadu undo
Nirajadala nayani mahalaksmi 

Once You have determined
That it be so
Is there anything in the Universe
That cannot happen thence,
O lotus-eyed Goddess Mahalakshmi?

Anupallavi
Manida vazhkkaiyile inba tunbam
Mari mari varuvadum un seyal andro

In man’s life is pleasure
In man’s life, pain
Turns do they take to metamorphose
All by Your will and Your doing alone

Charanam:
Ella perumaigalum irundalum adu
Unnadi vanangnmal nilai perumo 

Even if we have with us
All the sucesses in the world
How oh how will we retain them,
Without worshiping Your divine feet?

Unnarul parvai illadavarkku
Ulagile vazha vazhiedu amma 

And those beings on whom
Your benevolent gaze does not fall
How else can they live in this world,
O Mother of all?

–*–

Does Raag Darbari strike a chord with you? If so, you would perhaps enjoy:

Soulful Ud Jaa Bhavar sung by Manna Dey in the fifties;

Kishore da’s peppy Pag Ghungroo Bandh Meera from the movie Namak Halal;

and the eclectic A R Rahman composition for 127 hours, Acid Durbari.

Does Shankar Tucker tug at your heartstrings? Read more about him and listen to his sur-spells here.

And the mesmerizing Iyer sisters: Vidya and Vandana, heroines of the Carnatic Renaissance. If you’re reading this, please make more music! We love you! Munbe vaa en anbe vaa! (Come before me, my beloved!)

(For Ni, gypsy princess, and K, who got me hooked to Tucker’s brand of magic!)

 

A new moon, a new June

June and Monsoon are a match made in heaven. The Universe already seems to be celebrating!

Fireflies surround me and a cool breeze laden with the promise of rain lifts me to gaze upwards at the twinkling stars. Leaves and boughs dance in anticipation, as the flowers of summer gently wave adieu. Paradise is a state of being indeed.

June signals the beginning of a new academic year at school.. the flurry of buying flowered raincoats and in-vogue umbrellas and the subsequent umbrella press-the-button wars during break..the smell of new notebooks which, like life, could be used to write or draw anything and still be called notebooks.. fresh puddles and paper boats..green baby leaves peeking out with sunny cheer..and oh the dizzy happiness of meeting old friends and new, of reading textbooks cover-to-cover on the day you get them and forgetting everything later in the year..

June, I have always loved you!

I discovered a writer from across the world today who not only pens about but lives as part of nature and embraces the endless discovery of discovery. Kathryn Spring is indeed an inspiration and three years ago, seems to have begun a journey I am about to now. She writes, and I quote:

Now I sit alone with so much emptiness that is slowly transforming into incredible space.  In her poem “Blue Iris”, Mary Oliver writes:

my heart panics not to be, as I long to be,                                                                 the empty, waiting, pure, speechless receptacle.

Sometimes one must be empty before becoming fulfilled.  Sometimes one must wait before running breathlessly toward the answer.  I am letting go of the panic of wanting to be a certain way.  I am learning to accept that my dreams may change and the vision of my future may wobble until it comes to focus on a new light.  With these lessons I begin again, and already excitement is growing inside of me.

It just started raining. Magic is working its magic.

Birds chirp at the
dawn of a new moon,
the first in a new June,
and I begin.
I begin again..

Why ‘Ramona and Beezus’ is Terrificle!

I watched this Elizabeth Allen movie day before yesterday and loved it! Ramona and Beezus is definitely going on my all-time-favorite-movies list! I am looking forward to reading the books by Beverly Cleary too!

Here are a few of my favorite parts of the movie, come relive it with me! Why? Because there is magic in every jar!’

(Warning: Spoilers ahead!)

- Roberta dancing to the Royal Peanut Butter commercial! *giggle-twirl-giggle-look cute-giggle-shake tiny fists-giggle*

- The accidental ‘delishus’ rainbow colors which dress up Hobart’s Range Rover!

- The sketches on the book in Ramona’s suitcase! Gotta love Ramona indeed..

- Beezus’ torch scare!

- Ramona’s toe puppets resulting in Roberta’s curious ‘what are you’ expression!

- Jumping through the hole! Wheee! I can fly!!!

- And in so many ways..I am Ramona and Ramona is me..

- ‘I’m not gloating! I’m bouncing!!’

- Ramona and Picky Picky in the bathtub. ‘Nobody thinks I can, but I can. I can be extraordinary!’

- After Roberta sprays Ramona with peas: ‘What a darling little sister. I wish there were ten of you!’

- I could spend hours adoring The Longest Picture in the World!

- Hobart, just before he kisses his bride, ‘And I still owe you that quarter. And I want to spend the rest of my life trying to pay it back.’

- Happy endings!

- The proper way to break a hard-boiled egg! I am going to try that someday soon!

- Hobert a la Hulk: ‘Be stronggg!’

- The cinematography which, I believe, utilizes one of my favorite types of picture coloration: sepia tone.. Love the feel and textures!

- Beezus: ‘Who could ever love someone named Beezus?!’
Ramona: ‘Jesus?’

- Music!! The more I see the less I know!

- ‘Yes!’ *excited Ramona* ‘The answer’s still no!’ *awww!*

- Live like there’s no tomorrow. This song witnessed one of the greatest changes in my life and I would want it no other way!

And now I am off to watch it..for the fourth time?

(Thank you for the movie and for you, L! You’re my immortal Picky Picky!)

So many Ponies..

….so little time! When I was a kid (kid-er), there was a itty-bitty bookshop full of random vintage books near the University Library. While the shop was open only for less than a year or so, it created some of … Continue reading →

A Walk to Remember

 Double, double toil and trouble
Fire burn and cauldron bubble

Wind of the night,
thou art
an insane shriek in the lonely dark,
creaking swings in the empty park.

Roving eyes behind
you.
Move, now! There!
Iron chains..from where..?

A shrill scream
A bird?
Falling feathers, feel them. Wet
with blood. The Forest you’ve met.

Mossy vines coil,
enter.
Rot of meat, you taste, spit, choke.
Then bite. Crack! Your jaws just broke.

Jasmines, oh sweet solace!
closer crawl
inch by inch.. Wait, white flowers, you said?
Green fumes, come forth! I’ll wait till you’re dead.