Blooms in Profusion

 #DailyFlowers

Life! The blogger did intend to post more, but a bad cold and cough did throw out that score. Days spent coughing, hacking, drinking warm liquids by the gallon, doctors chipping in with medicines, hopefully all will be set right soon.

Last night preparing to sleep

Some lines rumbled in mind

This morning on awakening

They have disappeared into the sands of time

Strange are the ways of words & lines

Hither and thither they run, scrambling in rhymes

Some things were to start

But they seem to be more falling apart

Some news with close friends shared

Resulted in a loud indignant nay
Seems like Lady Luck is running scared
In the midst of all this confusion
Nature’s many hues bloom in profusion
Contributors are still going strong
Their shares now demanding their songs
Their clamor is loud and clear

No more laziness will they bear 

Pix Contributed by
Shashi, Alka, Shalini & Shantha; Euphorbia Milli by Rachna

A Green Thumb

 #DailyFlowers

My cousin is an avid gardener, and her garden is always in full bloom, a testament to her efforts. Across the years that this blog has been running, she has been a major contributor. Recently she shared some gems. This post is for her efforts. 

A green thumb and a gardener’s heart
Are what my cousin has
Her garden in full bloom is a work of art
Pots and plants are sprinkled around
While nature’s majesty abounds
A single color is not her way
Multiple hues bloom and sway
Bougainvillea in pots on her terrace do preside
Astonishing hues the eyes to themselves do guide

My co-contributors: Rachna

Lost Words

Lost Words!

Mom's loved Bougainvillea

It's now been about 15 months since I lost mom (Dec30, 2022) and life somehow seems to have hit a massive roadblock. I move, that is true, I live, striving to fulfill her last commandments to me, but there's a deep emptiness inside. Last year was bad, filled with what ifs and guilt that maybe I could have done more. Had it not been for family (immediate, & extended) I would have probably crumbled. Last year was all about loss, about understanding that she was no more, about seeking her consciously & unconsciously everywhere! Heartrending emptiness would be followed by slow acceptance and then something or someone would offer a trigger and the cycle would repeat again. There were exhortations from some in the extended family/friends circle to go on with life and not cling to loss and I could feel myself shrinking & withdrawing. There were also many expressions of support. 

As my aunt said to me when I met her in Feb last year: 

You are because she was. You are hers, she's in you. Every step of the way, you carry her, her love, care, teaching with you. Therefore, even as it hurts to have lost her physically, she's still there. Keep her in your heart, be full, be happy. Mothers are happy when their children are happy & flourishing. Her blessings, her love are always with you. As much as you couldn't see her suffer, her soul cannot bear you suffering. So  smile, if is tinged with pain, so be it, live not just for yourself but for her, too!

These words help me everyday! A cousin also helped when she said: 

I remember Mom (she lost her mom about 16 years ago) everyday; some memories bring moisture to my eyes, others make me smile & laugh aloud. You will also get there, it takes time!

As most of you would likely know, I used to post on the flowers blog, but somehow, somewhere

Words have lost their spark

Rhymes to darker times do hark

Flowers are pleasing to the eye

The heart sees them and emits huge sighs

Time tumbles and turns

Memories do churn

The gaze falls on an empty chair

Her presence is sought here and there

Utter silence meets the ears

And then there are so many tears

Who would have thought loss would hit so hard

Piercing like a pointed glass shard

Time lends a healing touch

But sometimes it’s too little, sometimes too much

A fog seems to have overtaken the brain

Words, emotions, feelings tumbling in an unknown refrain

One foot in front of another do I go

Sometimes rapid, at times slow

Destinations, goals are somewhere lost

Bumbling, fumbling at what cost

I have over the last 10-months or so attempted to write, to restart the blog, but praise & lighter rhymes do not come forth. Above my own loss is the absolute depravity & bestiality on show, as it were in Gaza, that renders me further speechless & powerless

Consciously, unconsciously, frowning she stood
Looking out of the window, seemingly lost
Over a chirping, coming alive hood

Life, it seemed at once at standstill and rushing by

Grief, a silent steady thrumming drum

Humanity ripped of its veneer

Greed, hunger, a base animalistic cohort exposed

I will strive to write, but words may not be airy-fairy, with the lightness & cheer that nature's bounty via her flowers deserves

Blooms and Perfumes

 #DailyFlowers

Life is strange! Connections are made, sometimes they grow, sometimes they break; sometimes they are paused and then pick up as if they were never left off. Something similar happened to the blogger when she made a trip to Kolkata in May this year and reconnected with her Class X ICSE batch (Schooling till 10th was in the beautiful NE state of Tripura, although most classmates are now Kol-based). It was if the intervening years just vanished and connections were strong, maybe at times stronger than before. Apart from the benefit to the blogger personally, the blog benefited too: new contributors, mostly Beacon & Bhaskar, sometimes Soumitra and the rare appearance by KD are seen. But this is not to say that the older contributors are any less important. They are the mainstays of the blog. Oh, yes, the blogger added one more year to her physical age and was greeted by gorgeous blooms on that day! 

Bold or shy, big or small
Flowers bloom equally for all
Bring forth smiles time after time
Causing the blogger to scramble for appropriate rimes
So many blooms gathered in one place
So much color, love and grace
Nature's bounty does loudly sing
Much gladness to our hearts it brings

Dogwood, magnolia and unexpected flowers
Their hues do us empower
We gaze on them in utter delight
Framed together, a picturesque sight

Pinks in many varied hues
Their generosity across regions diffused
A more generous palette has yet to be seen
Preening like a queen across the greens
Other colors did join the parade
They designed their own serenade
Songs and laughter rang out true
The chorus mightily grew

In the midst of this, came the day
When warm,  generous wishes flew my way
Alongside came a plethora of blooms
Filled each and every corner with their perfumes

 Captured on neighborhood strolls
That have incandescent flowers as the goals
Shantha & Shashi started the trend
Others joined in, stories did blend
From near and far were pix shared
Our contributors were ever prepared
From travels, workshops, welcomes, stores did the collect
Myriad blooms did they select

That adorned their timelines and this page
Beauty, grace, color did themselves upstage

My Co-Contributors:

June, Bhaskar & Ranjona; Shantha, Shalini, Shashi, June & Anshu; June, Beacon, Bhaskar, Vivek, Shantha & Shalini; June, Shashi & Beacon; Bhaskar, Beacon, Anshu & Anjali; Nimmy, Vivek, Shantha, Shashi; Shashi, Shantha & Shalini; Shantha, Shalini, Shashi & Beacon; Shalini, Shashi, & Bhaskar; @Oneirology11, Shinjini, Bhaskar, Beacon, Monica, Yash; Vivek & Kirti; Shalini & Shantha; Shantha, Vivek, Shashi & Soumitra; Shashi, Shantha, & Aparna; Beacon, Shashi & Shantha.

Life goes on

 #DailyFlowers

As I sit beside the window contemplating life, time seems to stand still for an infinitesimal moment, as if something compels it to do so and yet I know time never stands still. It is eternal, ever-moving, ever changing. And I know I must write, not just for the many blooms that await their day of glory, but also for myself lest I get caught in the sands of sorrow & loss. The frames have been readied, but whither the lines, whither the rhymes...

 

A look at the frames did a tweet forth bring
That of yellows one day this blog must sing
For Amit, Suby, Ranjona, and many more
For yellows should be writ a merry score
Well, let's to yellows wave a cheery hail
That they always will knit interesting tales
That in the vast spreading of its hues
It will encompass all, many & a few

If yellows have their songs can pinks fall out of line
They are a color that always does shine
On buds, blooms & even leaves
In bunches, bouquets on stems, in sheaves

'Tis also the time for Roses in India to glow
Year after year they put on a stunning show
In shades surprisingly strong
Blushing or beaming they can never go wrong

Wondrous blooms did two contributors share
They further elevated the post's fare
Nature's palette lovingly arrayed
Her specialties astonishingly displayed

The common and uncommon are so filled with power
Their beauty does their plants empower
Maroon blended with orange and yellow
And pristine white enriching the flow

Blooms, glorious blooms as far as the eye can see
A multitude of colors, vibrant, bright and free
Collected and shared with so much love
Lifting hearts & minds, covering with a healing glove

My Co-Contributors

Subytweets, Rachna, Shantha, Shalini, Ranjona, & Dr. Manish; Mahesh, Shantha, June, Shalini, Shashi & Dr. Manish; Rina's blushing blooms via Shalini; Dr. Manish & Vivek; Ranjona & Dr. Manish; Vivek & Dr. Manish; Shalini & Dr.Manish; Mahesh, Silverlightgal, Shantha, Shalini & Sai; Mahesh, @AnitReal, Bharath, Shalini, Rina, & Kakul.

A Grinning Rosebush

 #DailyFlowers

 Monsoons are well and truly entrenched in Mumbai; we've been having rains for consecutive days now: low lying areas get flooded, traffic gets disrupted, movement becomes difficult, people start talking about the city's undying spirit and yes clothes take 2 and more days to dry! And in the midst of all this, Mom's daycare maid's gone on leave to attend to her Ma! Can't say no, although things become tougher when she's not around! But mothers are mothers and daughters need to take care of them! And over this interval (between last post and now), gems have flown in as usual. So, without further ado, what say we get going?

Periwinkles sweet does Shashi bring into meet
With tiny bejeweled raindrops the day to greet
A platter of flowery dough
And roses that are fragile yet tough
With the moon shining up there in the sky
Starry nights coming oh so nigh
And grinning from ear to ear
Says Vivek's rosebush to the rain
You, I don't fear!
Wouldst thou please visit again?

Seems the Hibiscus streak is still running strong
Udayji brought in some more to add to the song
Sparkling whites, yellows, oranges, reds do frolic
In their wholesomeness, are pretty symbolic

From Shantha come colors delightful
Each wondrous, more than an eyeful
A riot of blooms standing merrily tall
Across a wide spectrum, they hold us in thrall

From the US more lilies do come
They seem to be marching to their own drum
Yellow-speckled reds do in chime
Contrasting with all the green ever so sublime

It is considered an invasive pest
But is in Nature's grandest colors dressed
A delicate globe does also arrive
Makes it tough to easily describe
Neighbor's gardens & walks add to the spree
Colors in joyous abandon & glee

A burst of color dances through
A medley that encourages repeated view
Gay blooms that decorate their spaces
Easily winning imagined races
Potted Bougainvillea and neighbor's treasures
Allow us to enjoy these bountiful pleasures

 

My Co-Contributors

Vivek, Shalini & Shashi;  UdayBaxiji; Shantha; June, Shashi & Lillian; Vivek, Shantha, Shashi & Shalini; Shashi & Shalini; Shalini, UdayBaxiji, June & Shashi; Shalini & Vivek

Beauty Unfurled

 #DailyFlowers

Okay! It is time to write another post! And, boy have things tumbled by in these last 10-days! Last night the rain gods finally blessed us and today the temps are lower with a mild breeze. And talking of rains, the blogger had fun in the pool with raindrops dancing a lazy dance on the pool's swirls and eddies! And, the blogger has also turned into a quasi trainer, got 3 trainees for aqua exercises! A good 1hr is spent 5 times a week in the pool! In other stuff, before I forget, a regular contributor celebrated her wedding anniversary yesterday (June10).. May you have many, many more @Shalini! Gods bless both of you! Yea, the blogger became a year younger, too! Life's good, even as work is hectic!

 So, let's go right ahead, today we begin with an all encompassing one:

 Could whites ever be a crowd
Understated but never loud
All around us they unfurl
Varied forms & shapes do joyously uncurl

Another variety of hibiscus did Udayji share
It promptly reminded Vivek of foodie fare
A perfectly fried egg he did it call
Don't know whether that was a lift or fall
Violets and purples did in join
No more food names did Vivek coin
A bouquet eminently posed
All colors in it smugly reposed

 

 
The wonders that Udayji pulls forth
Descriptors that raise their worth
A discerning eye he doth bring
Flora for him merrily sings

Of trees, dogwoods and the India International Center
Into this a peacock gorgeous did enter
The dainty teamed with majesty regal
Rest assured, all are justified & legal

In her parents' balcony, laughter does roost
Bird figurines, a broken hen,  memory gets a boost
The hen guarding the box of change
From one home to another, do admire its range

Wildflowers from Imphal, Magnolia and Pigeon Pea
Mighty blooms that are the key
To tales that wanderers do tell
Of flowers from vale, hill and dell

Vivek blamed the blistering heat
Flowers, he said, into hiding it had beat
Jola from Poland came to his rescue
With blooms in blazing colors anew
Another time they came from sister's garden
Rich hues our hearts to gladden
Pinks, yellows, reds came to decorate
The blog and our moods did elevate

 But there were some that ignored the heat
Cheerily sent out blooms to meet
The day and us with loaded song
Music to which we hummed along
The golds and yellows did arrive
Wild garlic joined them to drive
Our attention to their glowing faces
As they went through their seasonal paces

More vivid hues did the air permeate
A wide spectrum that does create
Enjoyment for one and all
Bounty that holds us in thrall

My Co-Contributors

Vivek, Shalini, & UdayBaxiji; UdayBaxiji next 2 frames; Shalini, UdayBaxiji; Vivek & Shashi; Shalini; Shalini, UdayBaxiji & Shashi; Vivek (Via Jola), Ranjona, Shashi, Vee & Shashi; Vivek (via Jola) & Shashi; Vivek, Shantha, & UdayBaxiji; Shashi & Shantha; Shantha, Shalini (N'bala) & Shashi; Shashi, Shantha, June & UdayBaxiji.