Aahaa Chennai

The targets are visible and the game begins. That amazingly huge plantain leaf which gives you... a friendly nudge now and then, tossing its head as you pass by looks very different. When the wind rushes past without a care Readymade strips you cannot help but stand and stare. A rollicking wind. Bubbly frolicsome moments with a white sprinkler. Merry green leaves shake this way and that tossing away white teardrops.

Sometimes... curiosity brings someone to your door and up your wall. Shh! You need to tread softly lest you scare them away. More surprises lie in store if only you care to look around. Each day is different. It all depends on you, a matter of... how you look at things.

Kerala - the name conjures up... a land of swaying coconut palms, serene lagoons, enticing backwaters, picturesque houseboats, the beautiful Malayalam language, the majestic Kathakali dancers. Today we see... a different, traumatised Kerala - scenes of endless damage, untold human misery due to floods. From North or South let us lend a helping hand to our brethren there and revive the indomitable spirit of Kerala and Keralites. Mosquito nets would be very useful. Let us be a part of 'Bonding with Kerala' in this time of need.

Enjoying an invigorating morning walk... absorbing the tingly warmth seeping through, building an appetite, making friends, enjoying the scenery, exploring new vistas and attempting to learn a new game from the sun... Shadow Making. .

From bud to flower to fruit and way down to those Earthy brown, wafer-thin roundels - the seeds, (a neat arrangement that a gusty wind eyes with glee) a story unfolds... as you move your eyes up and down the fragile, curved  stalk swaying merrily before you. The gradual unlocking of  'life processes' in a Basil plant is a telling example of Nature's resourcefulness. Several pages from a biology lesson are compactly presented and grasping the essence is easy but lessons aside... Nature nevertheless grooves to an aesthetic beat.

After a hectic journey from the elegant and chic rose flowers to the 'islands of cheery red and green' profusely growing hibiscus plants, moving onto the nearby delicate citrus flowers and thence to the tiny, angelic Tulsi flowers, I am now taking some well deserved rest. Oh! I've just noticed something. I have company. Time to share notes. Another companion has arrived. The place is getting crowded but the company is enriching.

A huge easel is ready and in a short span of time with a few deft strokes of a 'magic' tipped  brush, Nature has adroitly uploaded two masterpieces on an extensive canvas. Your eyes move all the way up and down and vice versa. You can only conclude... and a conoisseur of art would no doubt  agree, there's a flowing melody in both.

Occasional hiccups do occur but things will brighten after a while consoles a cheery neighbour, elegance personified,   saddened at the condition of an unhappy looking  friend... who usually pulses with life, flaunting a flawless, green coiffure, and is  renowned for gifting those tangy mango baskets, but now looks very different, unsightly warts and all.