The Neem Tale

The following short story happened during our visit to the Garden of Groves @ Lucaya in Grand Bahamas Island.

We were a group of 25 from our cruise touring this island one early rainy morning with almost sleep studded on most of our eyes.We were the only 2 indians in the group.When we reached a botanical garden,a zestful afro american lady named jessica introduced herself as our tour guide.She was taking us around every grass,shrub & tree out there explaining their medicinal & horticultural importance like some botanical scientist.My husband was like 'not my kind of tour' from the beginning popping out his eyes for few of her serious descriptions on those insignificant grasses.Finally when we reached the one & only protected neem tree at almost end of our tour,she was in all praises for it and i believe during the course of our tour with her sharp acumen she realised that i am definitely from India.May be i had a strong indian stamp on my face.So when she pointed out the tree,she boldly declared to the group that i will be the one out there who should be well aware of all facts and truth about this tree.Everyone took a second look at me.And she began educating the group that in india - people brush their teeth with neem bark and their tooth stays strong until 85,they don't get any skin diseases since they boil these leaves and drink the filtered water every single day of their lives,they make soups with the bitter neem pulpy fruit,they dry them,powder them and consume it everyday to purify their blood blah blah blah and a confirmation from me for every statement that she made.Choice less was I.Had to loudly acknowledge every statement made by her.My husband was quaking with laughter peels standing right behind her.Suddenly there were too many clicks of that solitary neem tree than any others,i felt.The funniest part is she led these people to the rare garden shop saying a variety of neem products are available here and she requested them to feel free to buy those.

To our funniest surprise almost everyone in the group barring few very old souls who believed they might not really benefit out these neem products at the age of lying in the coffin, bought neem creams,neem tablets,neem sunscreens and neem powders along with books which exclusively talked about neem trees,all costing exorbitant prices.

Back home in india there are these neem trees standing tall,in groups,in solitude all over the cities,villages with leaves falling,drying and blooming where no one cares much to cut and discard a neem tree.Oh what a pity. Time to gift the americans some neem saplings,i thought to myself.

My husband said,'I expected them to click your pix since u 2 are a rare one.How come honey none did that' adding fuel to the fire.Later when i crossed a 60 + white lady with my ice coffee topped with ample cream to rejuvenate myself from that tiring garden tour,she was very curious to know what was that i was sipping.I took a moment to tell her ' thatz an Ice coffee'.Since i was in the lime light that hour my husband added saying 'No she z hiding - thatZ ice coffee topped with some neem oil'.Everyone in the group burst out laughing :)

Nature's Bounty

Born in Madras,now Chennai,year after year sizzling hot summers were an inevitable part of our lives.To top it Madras being a coastal city is still showered with ample humidity to itz occupants.Schools close by first week of April and itz supposed to be fun in the sun until June turns.Well from 5 till 15 there was a joyous place to go and affectionate people to meet.My grandparents had a farm house flanked by farm lands in a far away village to nurture their passionate cultivation hobby.I had a handful of cousins to enjoy with.

What else?.Right away we would pack our bags to head there by a town bus right after the final exams.After a 6hour tiring journey in the sizzling sun,the aromas of madras city would fade not just from the sight but gradually from the mind too. The rustic smell fills the breath at once stepping out of the bus.It was much hotter there & the frequent power cuts added salt to the sizzling hot injury.But as kids we never bothered so much about that.The village name in Tamil(my mother tongue) is best translated as 'North side'.I have seen my grandfather in a much relaxed state in the village home than elsewhere.

Though the house was completely built with concrete unlike the other thatched houses around,there were more than 50 trees around the house.I could definitely list a few starting fromcoconut,papaya,mango,teakwood,pineapple,guava,eucalyptus,hibiscus,pumpkin& plantain.Food for the whole bunch was never a problem since i have seen the practise of barter system being alive there.A lady from the third house would come home with a sack full of spinach & green chilies to take away few pints of groundnut for exchange.There were freebies as well.Red & white melons along with fresh green canes reached home in bullock carts more out of love from people all over the village.There must have been close to 150 people in that village mostly innocent,loving & deeply affectionate.Even a honey comb would reach our home after few risky stints with the honey bees.Special fishes from near by lakes & ponds,rare vegetables,nutritious food for free were few of the things that we enjoyed in the name of love.Brown eggs,unadulterated milk with full of cream & some exotic greens everyday were abundantly available to us.

The star studded skies,twinkling fire flies and the super clean well waters still stand sparkling in the mind.Honestly there were no complaints & no responsibilities.Life looked worth in the summers than during the rest of the year.Me and my cousins had soaked us in soils,played in waters,ran across fields,climbed trees,harvested grains,travelled by bullock carts,plucked figs,drank palm juice & planted crops as well.Years back when we toiled in those invaluable tasks,we didn't know the true value behind living in nature's lap.We have even witnessed the glowing orange sunset on one side while the silver moon rising on the other side of the globe from vast open fields on many days.

In the years rolled by after those treasured years, we only saw the mechanical side of life bound by responsibilities & ambitions to pull us through where we are today.In these intermediate years i unconsciously realised how much i paid for a papaya milkshake churned from the pesticide protected fruit,how much a single watermelon costed on the roadside,what quality of food,eggs & milk i ate & drank,how unadulterated really were the grains that i consumed,how often did i get to eat an exotic vegetable,fresh fish or a palm fruit ?.At the end the pillars of my family passed away leaving behind nothing but cherishable memories and a portion of good health in between the strands of our bones & mucles that we all nurtured in our childhood consuming those healthy food.

Today when i pick up a cart of eggs tagged 'Organic' from my super hyper market,I see millions of nutritive memories weaving across.

Pachai Perundhu

Chennai maanagarilay pirandhu valarndha yamaku perundhil payanam yenbadhu vazvin vor angamaai irundhadhu.Palli varaiyil palli perndhilum,kalluri varaiyil kalluri perundhilum,piragu aluvalaga perundhilum yaam payanithae yamdhu vaznaalil paadhi kum mel meedhi yaana nodigal oorundodina.Indha vazkai yendra oru needa payanathinul thaan yethanai yethanai siru payanangal.Adhil yethanai yethanai perundhu payanangal.Adilum yethanai yethanai pallavanil naan seydha payanangal.Aaam perudhu payanangal palavaai irundhaalum, pachai pallavan perundhil payanitha naatkalum ninaivugalum pachai pasumaiyaai indrum pulapaduginrana.Aahaa yenna pasumaiyaana ninaivu adhu.

Aayira kanakana panathai koti,aayiram mayil aagayathin mel amardhu sendralum,anandhamai,amaidhiyai appadaa yendru tharaiyil selum perundhu payanathin sirapae thani thaan.Adilum sillarai kasugalai yenni yenni koduthu vangum payana chittum,vangiyapin andha thundu kagidhathai muraiyaga madithu, erangum varaiyil adhai pokishamaai veyarvai thuligaludan serthu kaiyil pidithu pin yerangi yadhum adhai thundhu thundaga kizhithu kupaiyaai kuvipadhu yennaiyum ariyamalay naan kuppai vaariyathiruku naal thorum seydha oru thiru pani endru kooda kuralaam.

Jannal oram oru irukai mattum kidaithuvittal podhum,payana chittu vangiya kasuku mel naan andru payanam seydhu viduven.Vasagargal yemmai thavaraga yenna vendaam.Naan koora vandhadhu jannal orathil amardhu vizhiyaal naan kaanum katchigalum,manadhaal naan selum yedangalum palakodi payanangalukum melanadhu.Oray oru payana chittuku thaan yethanai yethanai payanangal prayanithen yendru naan yennai palamurai ketadhundu. Yaam vazhakamaga dhinaseri kaanum katchigal yendralum yedho andru thaan pudhidhai pirandhadhu pola anaithumay enaku vovuru muraiyum eerpaiyum viyapaiyum mattumay alithana.Adhil yemmakum palamurai aachariyam thaan.

Chennai maanagarai ipadi pala aandugal pala murayil vidha vidhamaai vanna vannamaai yemmaku kaatchi alitha andha pachai perundhu indro than pasumai nirathai izandhu,than mel pusiya ichaiyana andha pachaiyaiyum tholaithu,pallavan pokuvaram yendra than peyaraiyum marandhu neelam,sivapu,manjal yendru saalaigalil indrum vodikondu thaan irukinradhu - maanagara pokku varathu kazagam yendra peyaril.

Rituals of Love

The concept of 'Hugs & Kisses' were viewed indifferently for years many especially in & around the place where i hail from.This includes the whole of south india & am referring to the class of people who existed in the band of middle class, perhaps 2 decades back.When i was a child & if i cribbed or cried by throwing tantrums,either i was pampered by words or i was given some object to be pacified.In the intermediate years that rolled by, a depressing moment was soothed by a caring word by some best buddy or was explained logically as how to handle it by some family member.As i grew up,when a long seen uncle drops by,the excitement is shown only by words & smiling gestures.

Suddenly,in the past few years not too sure if itz jst bcos of TV or our gradual exposure to western culture or bcos of both.We began to express our love & affection by hugs & kisses.By 'we' i meant me & my sibling,friends,colleagues & cousins.And 'we' also gradually began to extend our spontaneous love & affection towards the elders at home, the same way.For example,one fine morning when i just dropped home after a gap of 2 full months,for the first time i hugged mommy to express my deep affection.She was equally or perhaps much more affectionate than me but my hug was not reciprocated with the same passion since her mind instantaneously rejected an alien way of expressing affection.And a kiss on her cheek during my departure was also not received well for the same reason.

But 'we' just like that are able to glue and unglue ourselves be it a hug or a kiss sometimes irrespective of our gender difference(not in all case, i must mention).The only true thing that exist in the mind during those few seconds of gluing are that virgin love& affection and probably what's the best way to express it.Am glad that elders are growing up with us,by gradually appreciating positive rituals of love like a hug or a kiss.Now mommy responds better to our hugs and kisses.And you know there is so much happening physically,chemically and psychologically too.You just got to do it to know what am i emphasising on.But again my dad is still out of this ritualistic circuit.I haven't had anything more than a hand shake with him as a mark of expressing my affection.There is something that blocks me from explaining these wonderful concepts of love rituals to him.But with people of our age,itz almost instantaneous.Just wondering why am i brewing so much about the rituals of love these days.Allow me to share with you the following extracts which possibly should have triggered me,i guess.

' There are different kinds of kisses,as many as the relationships in which they take place and the people who give them:kissing with a look or kissing at a distance or awakening kisses or magical kisses or spontaneous kisses or virtual kisses or passionate kisses or commitment kisses or faked kisses or ardent kisses ... and so on.The most common hugs are good-bye hugs,arrival hugs,re encounter hugs,affectionate hugs,endless hugs,and friendly hugs.Which hugs and kisses would you like to give or receive?who is the person whom you want to hug and kiss right now ?Do you think you could have ever prevented a separation with a timely hug or a kiss?

The purpose of hugs and kisses is to show deep affection or passion or fellowship or friendship or sexual needs or protection or mercy or consolation or wisdom or power or love.What do we feel when we kiss or hug.Excitement or appreciation or selfesteem or safety or approval or contentment or strength or devotion or spirituality or protection or enthusiasm or happiness.Kissing is psychologically related to the most primitive contact in human beings and reminds us subconsciously of all our oral needs such as the need for food,its enjoyment,flavor,what has been wishes for,and what has been rejected-everything to survival.

Practise the art of kissing everyday.Prepare a list of all the people whom you would like to hug or kiss,and the reason for it.Then try to understand why you don't do it on a daily basis in each case.Try to do the same thing every day with all the people on your list.Choose the most appropriate kiss or hug depending on the relationship and degree of closeness.And if you do the above everyday,you will be able to see how the energy of your love can do miracles in your relationships.Now you only have to wait, because hugs and kisses will come to you.'

If you have read till here,this is what i have to say.Mmm ... what an interesting exercise?If you succeed in doing it everyday as suggested above,and if hugs and kisses come your way ,you can bother to tell me also.Am jst waiting to know how foolproof is the exercise.