Reflections,and today in photos

Click on photos to enlarge!

This is a tiled wall alongside the big couch in our drawing room, Hisar, Haryana, India.

When I cameback from my walk today, first the soothing colors of painted terra-cota pots caught my eye and then the reflections on the tiled wall convinced me it’s "camera" time.

Today in photos

8:AM

XOXO

Kharabayu Boy Bege Rabindra Sangeet


On Republic day this year I repeatedly heard the song  Kharabayu Boy Bege  ...and my long lost memory pop up! yes the school girls rehearsed it for the celebrations, when we were kids we girls usually sing that song in our school. 


its me

"Words make you think a thought. Music makes you feel a feeling. A song makes you feel a thought." -- Yip Harburg
XOXO
 

nostelgia with renovation

I felt nostalgic on seeing these pictures stored in a folder in my computer. Of course this was the renovation phase of our house. Very hectic period! And later very fruitful too!

Here's a "during" picture.  It can feel sooo overwhelming when you're knee deep in a renovation process.  You have to hold onto the dream and keep your focus.  Just keep saying, "It's going to be worth it, it's going to be worth it!"

snatching leisure time

some organization here!

Chester is placed in front of almirah, obstructing its doors. 

untidy bed

a nap after lunch 

Indeed, it was!  The flooring was done in a beautiful marble and granite tile.  My son also decided to tile all the kitchen walls with white rusty tile for a nice, clean look.

xoxo

old fashioned clothslines

 

Old-fashioned clotheslines often run from one side of the yard to the other -- they're an iconic feature of every house here.

 

These days racks laden with clothes for drying can be seen in the yard here.

What a transformation!

xoxo

a tale of my wooden needles, crochet bag complete

 

Hand carved wood Knitting needles  

Size yet to be explored

I made my handyman to make me a pair of big and fat knitting needles. Yes wood is warm, smooth and soft and won’t drain heat from the fingers the way aluminum and plastic needles do.

This time I asked him to make needles after making my racks..he made racks out of wooden strips left from the logs during making door frames. He used to make use of leftover strips by making wooden frames for shoes, books, kitchen and toys for children.

 

When I asked him to use his expertise for making knitting needles for me …he promised to make me whenever he got the soft wood for them.

And as soon as he got the wooden strips of soft wood he made me a pair… He made  my big knitting needles from wooden strip, First he sawed the strip in half. It's made from a soft wood so it was easy to shape. A very big pencil sharpener would have been handy but with an army jack knife he roughly shaped the end of the needle. Then with amplifying paper he sanded it. Finally he smoothed it off by hand with fine sand paper.  These needles are a fraction of the cost of the bought ones and just as good.

 my love for wood

For me as haryanvi. …where I used to see my grandpa bringing long fat roots of babul for making our doi and jherani ( for making click HERE) during preparing land for kharif crop. rohida for making chakki , khejari for fuel wood……. Its but natural that I was Wishing for wooden knitting needles is but natural.




Wooden needles made from soft wood.



Furthermore, wood is our greatest renewable natural resource. It is environmentally friendly; it’s recyclable, biodegradable and durable; when it is no longer needed it can be returned to the earth.

How I feel about these needles

The smooth and lustrous surface of my wood needles allows my stitches to move freely for hours of comfortable knitting. Made from soft wood in waves of sand color, the sharp, gradually tapered points slip easily into stitches so even complicated cables and K3togethers are easy to maneuver. The soft wood warms quickly in my hands, and the burnished surface provides just the right amount of grip to manage slippery yarns. The grooves in each needle help keep the stitches from slipping off the needle while they are being held either in front or in back of my  work. Pair  of these two  provides an ideal size for any project.

My beautiful round bottomed crochet bag is complete now I will write down the pattern in later posts and very soon ! 

 

I made the lining with sheer white net fabric

 

the opening is through a beautiful string with the metal beads at each end.



my d-in-law modeling for the purse/bag I will made on for her with red yarn. Red is her fav colour.
XOXO

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

sky watch today

I love how the sun cast a golden glow over this papdi tree   this morning. Without the golden glow of the sun, the papdi is just as green as the ones on the corner plants in my balcony. The sky had a hazy and dusky tint to it. For more Sky photos click http://skyley.blogspot.in/

xoxo

my jatropha today

My first blooms after Vasant Panchami the official spring day of India are of the

Jatropha_integerrima . The shrub is about 8 ft. tall now. I’d bought it 10 years back.

 

 

 

 

Jatropha integerrima, commonly called spicy jatropha or peregrina, isn’t particularly picky about its environment. Other than keeping warm, this practically care-free plant suffers damage from even light cold and frost. This plant has a naturally domed, shrubby habit that lends itself well to pruning to tree form. Spicy jatropha produces clusters of bright red blooms nearly year-round, and works well as a specimen or patio plant. The best time to start seeds for this tropical native is about three months before the rainy season begins in your area.

Yes my Jatropha_integerrima is now show-stopper — yet.  It gets knocked back every winter and is slow to come back. This variety  grow fine in fairly sandy soil and take lots of sun.

XOXO

शहीदी दिवस

कविता मानवता की उच्चतम अनुभूती की अभिव्यक्ति है।
                     --हजारीप्रसाद द्विवेदी

 

शहीद–ऐ-आज़म के  नाम एक कविता  

उस वक़्त भी होंगे

तुम्हारी बेचैन करवटों के बरक्स

चैन से सोने वाले

आज भी बिलों में कुलबुलाते हैं

तुम्हारी जुनून मिजाज़ी  को "खून की गर्मी” कहने वाले

तुमने भी तो दुनिया को बिना परखे ही जान लिया  होगा

जब  

कई लंगोटिए यार तुम्हारी उठा-पटक से

परेशान हो

कहीं दूर छिटक गए होंगे.

 

तुम्हारी भीगी नसों की गर्म तासीर से

शीशमहलों में रहने वालों की

दही जम जाया करती होगी.

दिमागी नसों की कुण्डी खोले बिना ही तुम

समझ गए होगे कि

इन्सान- इन्सान में ज़मीन आसमान जितना असीम

फर्क भी हो सकता  है

अपने चारों ओर  बंधी बेड़ियों

के भार को संभालते हुए

कोयले से जो लिखा होगा तुमने. 

उसे पढ़

कईयों ने जानबूझ कर अनजान बन

अपनी गर्दन घुमा ली  होगी.

कई ठूंठ बन गए होंगे और

कई बहरे, काने और लंगड़े बन

अपनी बेबसियों का बखान करने लगें होंगे. 

 

परेशान आज भी बहुत है दुनिया,

ज़रा सा कुरेदने पर

लहू के आंसूओं की

खड़ी नदियाँ बहा सकती है

पर क्रांति की बात दूसरी-तीसरी है.

जनेऊ अब भी खीज में उतार दे कोई 

पर वह बात नहीं बनती

जो मसीहाई की गली की ओर मुड़ती हो.

’क्रांति’ बोल-वचन का मीठा और सूफियाना  मुहावरा बन

कईयों के सर पर चढ़ 

आज भी बेलगाम हो

भिनभिनाता है.

लहू में पंगे शेरे-पंजाब  की

दिलावरी को याद करने के लिए 

पंजों के बल खड़े होना पड़ता है 

पर

हमारी तो शुरुआ़त ही लड़खड़ाने से होती है. 

हम हर पन्ने को शरू से लेकर अंत तक ही पढ़ते हैं 

और

लकीर को लकीर ही कहते हैं.

 

रटे-रटाये प्रश्नों के बीच आये एक टेढ़े प्रश्न को बीच में ही छोड़

भाग खड़े होते हैं

जब क्रांति का अर्थ समझने के लिए इतिहास की पुस्तकें  उठाते हैं 

और सिर्फ उनकी धूल  ही झड़ती है हमसे.

हमारे समझने बूझने का

पिरामिड अब इतना बौना हो गया है 

कि हमारी मुंडी ‘क्रांति’ की चौखट से

टकराने लगती .है

 

रात-बेरात का चौकन्नापन और 

लहू को निचोड़ कर

बर्फ की सिल्ली बना देने

का सिद्धहस्त शऊर 

अब कारोबारी धंधे पर ही अपनी शानं चढ़ाता है.

शहीद–ए–आज़म,

इंसान से  पिस्सु बनने की प्रक्रिया को

तुम नही देख पाए

यही शुक्र है

 

घुटनों के बल पर खड़े हो 

शुक्र की इन्हीं सूखी रोटियों को

खा-खा कर

हमारी नस्लें अपने आगे का  रोजगार बढ़ाएगी. 

xoxo