Aahaa Chennai

The taste has you screwing up your eyes trying to figure out the unique flavour. The clues are plenty... Crunchy  with the juice tickling your taste buds. Removed from the back of the vegetable rack, washed and chopped fine, I am soaked in buttermilk to retain my colour I await the dressing. Ah! I can hear the crackle of the seasoning ingredients, a heady mix of fragrances zooming towards me. A touch of mustard and the ever present green chilli enhanced by a dash of curry leaves, stringy bits of mango ginger and a sprinkling of split lentils with busy hands tossing in a spoonful of sprouted green gram and stirring in some turmeric powder. A gentle mixing sans the buttermilk and I turn yellow. While the flavours seep in, I get the benefit of full treatmrnt with the required salt and drops of lemon juice and I must mention I do look pretty with wee bits of coriander leaves tucked in here and there. I land at the table and stand proud a

Walking for ages under the hot sun, your legs stumble and as your eyes desperately dart here and there, searching the landscape  ahead for a  sign of a bench or even a flat stone, nothing is visible as far as your eye travels. You prod on... when you suddenly stop and gape, for nature has done it again. No soft cushions, not even a backrest, not one you can swivel around. A no-frills low seat that lets you rest awhile while you enjoy  the shade above your head. Wait a minute. Looks like somebody who shouldn't be there, someone white and fluttery has spotted it already.

Believe it or not... My day at the office is pretty cool.               No eyes glued to  computers. No deadlines. No brainstorming sessions. No troublesome co workers.             Shh! Just have  to peer here and there for some edible stuff.              

A panorama of differing hues and shades... Trying to decipher the the eye-catching foliage... if it is a shade of vermilion or a touch of pale maroon with the mind wavering between light pink or a mix of yellow, orange and purple, having a closer look and coming to conclude it could be a shade of mahogany or those berry tints with a fresh feel and ultimately settling on russet set off by a tapestry of pleasant green  topped with tints of pale yellow. So many many variations but the point is           we part of the same family.

   Hello! Are you stopping by to stare?                 Seriously, I've given up finding something to eat  in this mess. Looks like I have to start learning 'the new something' doing the rounds these days if I am to fill my tummy. "SEGREGATION" I've heard  that it's a less complicated procedure unlike escaping from the leash. So long, folks! Woof,Woof!

You're desperate. Apart from big gulps of water, a cold towel to wipe your face, ice cold juice or those tempting ice cream prints which stare at you from atop the shop's billboard making you go crazy, you long for an umbrella as you wilt under the heat outdoors. The solution is nearby, beckoning you from high up, if you fancy some cool shade with a bit of fanning  too.                         Waving green and yellow fronds whisper  'welcome' with a cool current of air swishing to and fro leaving you ... 'Hands Free'.

Here I am.           This must rank as the find among this season's cosiest places. A  sort of hidey hole with the the right amount of light, and a soft squishy wetness which keeps my skin cool away from the harsh sunlight. I've  been lounging here as the hours creep past a 'lazing around on a beanie bag' kind of feeling creeping through me as I dart in and out, backtracking fast when those huge wheels arrive alongside a honking noise, hoping to make a move when the coast is clear. Darkness has fallen. The street lights are on. Time to move.. . straight ahead over the grass.                   Take a left turn past the hedge, down a slope, towards the tree just ahead to a brown friend who harbours my lil' ones. Croak!Croak! It's a happy homecoming. No change in my itinerary today!

Curious and eager eyes gaze around for those  banana peels and thrown away fruits/ veggies The chattering monkeys and the hungry deer  have arrived. Oh no! Under lock and key plus segregation too. Not diamonds nor cash but trash.               A 'Swachh Bharat' (Clean India) Cleanliness drive... made more meaningful.

The shears were out . Snip, Snip. Standing still, I bore it stoically. Looking around, I felt bare and ugly when  compared to the rest. Much like a coiled spring which when pressed down springs back, I was back to my old self bit by bit  though it took a while.                         The key to  'resurgence' was waiting patiently. Bravo! Those little wisps of green have not let me down.

For ages, I've always had a quarrel with the sun. It seems to be sending extra hot rays over me and my white hued, fragile offspring.                 I needed to change this and my determination grew stronger as the months passed by. Doubts were raised since I was rather old but crushing those doubting  Thomases, the change did happen one fine day.                       'Anything is possible,' say your friendly neighbourhood Bougainvilleas. 😉