Conversation With Flower

Wars start and are bound to end, but what about the war which rages inside me. When will it end? Or will it end ever?

I see flowers blooming in my balcony garden. One bright flower, it's pink petals dancing showing off their beauty remind me of my young age. Bright eyes, shiny skin sharp mind, full of life just like the flower.

The flower looked at me, the bright petals threw a kiss at me. Really! was it real or just an imagination of restless mind? Then it happened. The branches shook, caressed me, the ethereal sound from petals came startling me. We strated having conversation. 

Petals : Why you look so dejected. Aren't you happy with your life ?

Myself : Happy? What is that? Do you even know how cruel this world can be? 

Petals  : Ok let me say it this way. You look at a flower with so much love and care.You appreciate our beauy, and then there is this sudden sadness swimming in your misty eyes. Why? 

Myself: I see and perceive the boundless beauty nature has bestowed upon you. Then I realise your petals, adhered to base are dancing with joy. Gods small and big creations come to you attracted by your beauty, soft tender touch, alluring fragrance but once you wilt you will pass into oblivion. Will some one remember you all? I find the likeness in your life and mine.

Petals : Yes sure there is likeness in your life and ours. Look at the bud. The sepals are holding each other and us tightly, protecting us and the future. We had to work our way up to see the light. The sepals had to bear the brunt. They quietly bore all pain like your mother who gave you birth.

Like me you also grew and bloomed into a beautiful young lady. Remember we came to this world and grew, but pain was borne by some one else, unseen unappreciated always supporting us, smiling as we bloomed.

I may look free and carefree from above but check I am attached to the base. It is my centre of the world and we petals are rooted to this center. Our circumference is our present, but the center is future. 

We do not dwell upon past we live in present with dreams of future. 

We don't believe in separate identity. The flower is our identity. We do our duty of  spreading happiness. 

Then the flower smiled and said "Ah yes you were askimg about insects creeping upon us, birds pecking and pricking hurting us. No pain no gain dear. We feel happy that we provide them with velvety cushion when they come to gather nectar. 

These bees, birds, butterflies insects are so thankful that they carry our pollen all the way to drop them on stamina, so that the process of new life starts. 

We wilt away slowly contended that we did our part to bring seeds of future generation, protected in center of our world. Happy and contended we fade to oblivion. 

Our seeds spread in places we never knew. So do yours. We know when new plants come, our sacrifices will have not gone in vain, so do yours. 

Accept the circle of life and smile.

I felt the wilting petals gave me a final kiss. A kiss of awakening,

A kiss of lesson, 

A kiss which was key to happiness which I unknowingly had locked in deep crevices of my mind and heart.

Myself: Thank you dear flower for being so kind and patient, opening my eyes to the truth the and happiness of life.

The language nature speaks, the lesson it teachs is singular. 

Nature is The Best Teacher. Nature alleviate the pain and sadness, it teaches how to live and why to sacrifice. 

It teaches how to be selfless, carefree yet caring for others.

The flowers keep blooming reminding me to enjoy all phases of life,  but remain rooted. Maintain your identity and let the ego fade away.

🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻

Jyotsana Pant 

Periphery

Blooming flowers with colorful petals are beauty to reckon with. What ever may be their circumference, the center of the petals remain same,"The base of sepals where the next generation to be born is nestled".

Seing the petals whither,while the base swelled with pride, made me realize how similar flower's life is to a women's life 

Periphery 

Flowers bloom,

The beauty unparalleled,

Petals dance with happiness,

The circumference they have,

The colors they display,

The size and shape,

Are never the same,

Yet what's that something,

common that binds them all?

They are all bound to the base,

Where is nestled the womb,

Protected by sepals greens,

The soft sticky brightly colored stigma,

Atop style leading to ovary the Womb,

The anther "bag full of pollens",

Dangling from the filament of stamen,

Stigma is eager to accept the pollen,

Pollens awaiting the nectar collectors.

The petals proud of their beauty,

Spectacular colors and aroma,

Dancing to the tune of flowing wind,

Holding tight the base they cherish,

This they do not in mere vanity,

But to fulfill the urge of stigma,

For a pollen,

And of pollen,

To fall on that soft bed.

Thus they

Attract the insects birds and butterflies,

The petals are stomped,

Pricked and pierced,

By delicate looking,

Nectar seeking,

Insects birds and flies.

Yet uncomplaining,

Flapping with happiness,

They bear the brunt,

For the future,

They help to grow.

They hold to the base,

Protecting the babies,

Flourishing in womb,

From danger unknown.

The womb swell,

Babies grow,

Petals lose their beauty,

Cos they were undefended,

Yet defending protecting ,

Their vulnerable babies.

They were happy,

Unrepentent, uncomplaining,

Accepting their destiny,

They knew the duty is well done,

The future will bloom again.

They whithered,

Remembering their beauty of past,

And knowing,

More like them,

Will dance again,

Holding to the base tightly,

Keeping the future safe,

Remaining in Periphery. 

Jyotsna Pant 

*Picture of longitudinal section of flower courtsey my friend Sandhya(PGT Bio KV)

Madu - Madhir (मड़ु - माधिर)

Madu Madhir 

-----------------------

Let's go back,way back to early 1960s. Ija the protagonist had started going to school. A visit to amma(naani), babba (naana) was the highlight of summer break. Why? Was it for cool air and green hills? A BIG NO.

 

Ija that time was just 7 yrs of age, मडुए की रोटी, सब्जियां, भांगे की चटनी और मादिरे की खीर,ड़ुबके,रस-भात  was the highlight of vacation in Patiya gaon along with cuddling with अम्मा, listening to religious and mythological stories and gorging on roasted bhatt, kheera with special salts she used to make.

 

Seing us running up the stairs with hands faces smeared with juice of ghingharoo, hisalu she would shout:

अरे रै ऐ गंईं नानतिन। जा रे नरुआ बाड़ बटि उगल,लाई लिया और सुण द्वि चार गेठि,हरि खुशाणि,मुल और निमुं लै लियै।

And ija's amma would get busy in the kitchen chopping, roasting (चुल में घौल में पकूण) etc. In few minutes the house would start smelling heavenly.

गरमा गरम  मडुए की रोटी would be served with roasted gethi ka bharta and lots of garden fresh sabzis.Oh yes dollop of घर की गाय के दूध का घी. They ate to their hearts content.  later in the day it would be सना नींबू मूली। Oh the taste of that tangy, sweet and sour flavorsome nimbu yet lingers in ijas mouth. Those were the day of growing local, consuming local.

Time passed. Arrival of 70s was marked by late 60s. All changed then. Syllabus books and so chikdren minds were filled with गेहूँ खाओ। ज्वार, बाजरा, मक्का ,मडुआ, माधिरा आदि आदि मोटे अनाज हैं। गरीब लोग गेहूं,चावल, अरहर,मूंग इत्यादी नहीं खरीद सकते इस लिए वो मोटा अनाज खाते हैं।

The young mind of ija got corrupted. Now ija started asking her ija (mother) "Are amma-babba poor? They can't afford what we eat in our house? They eat and feed us मडुआ,माधिरा,गहत,भट्ट ?"

Ija's ija gave those famous side glances indicating "shut up".

Ija's Ija was aghast. That was the not era of internet and google. Even books on nutrition were rare. Ija's ija and amma knew that pahadi food tastes yum and is fresh produce of their farms. They used cow dung for manure. Organic oh what is that? they would have asked. 

Amma left for heavenly abode. Ija's ija used to cook पहाड़ी खाना. The family used to enjoy because it used to be so so tasty. No concept yet of why even hundreds of km away from kumaon the food culture is continued. Even ija's ija was like हमारा  खाना है, हमारी संस्कृति है। That used to be The end of discussion.

Come straight to 80s ija gets married brings all pahadi culture to her home in Pune. She feeds her family kumaoni food, cooked in iron kadhai, because she had learnt that all millets, pulses, spices grown in our himalayan region are full of nutrition and cooking in iron kadhai enhances the taste as well as nutritional value.

The nutritional value of all can be googled so I will reserve this space for quick update.

The grains, pulses, spices (specially bhanga) are rich in vit. B2,B3,B12 and B6, omega 3, omega 6,minerals and few those amino acids the building blocks of protien which are normally presumed to be absent in vegetarians diet.

The traditional way our food is cooked you can find few recipes in my blog. "With love from Mom's Kitchen "

Now ija is enlightened. She knows whys and hows of uttarakhand food to some extent.

भुला भुलियो हमर पूर्वज ननकैं यो पत्त छी कि ग्यूं दगाड मडु, अरहर मूंगाक दगाड गहत, भट्ट, रैंश,चावलाक दगाड  माधिर,भिडी तोरयां दगाड दगाडै लाई पालंग उगल गडेरि गेठि और कतुकै पहाडक साग फल खै बेर हमर शरीर  पहाडक जीवन बितूणाक लिजि हृष्ट पृष्ठ बणी रुं।

अब इज बुड़ी गै। वीक नाति नातिणि है गईं ।उ प्रसन्न छूकि अब वीक चेलि और च्योलकैई नै बल्की जवैं और ब्वारि ( जो पहाड़ि न्हैतन) पहाड़ि खाण बहत्तै पसन्द छू। जाणन्छा किलै?

They are well read and well informed. Apart from taste the nutritional benifits of uttarakhand food and traditional way of cooking has made immense impact on them.

इज यो नि कूं कि पिज्जा,बरगर,पास्ता, ग्यूं रोट,और तरह तरहैकि दाल, मीट माछ नि खाऔ। भुला भुलियो इज बस इतुकै कूं कि संसार में काई॔ लै छा हमर पहाड़क खाण कै जरूर खैय्या। आपुणि संस्कृति कै बणै राखिया।

Ija also loves pasta,pizza as much as pahadi cuisine. Oh yes ija forgot to tell pahari food without potato is sacrilege.😁.

आलुक गुटुक ,काकोड़ौक राई डाल बेर बणईं पहाड़ि रैत और  पुरि।अद्भुत।

गहत भट्ट  माधिरा,

खैबेर जरा देख ल्हिया,

मडुऐक रोटो भांगैकि चटणि,

तुम जरा चाट ल्हिया,

और लै कतुकै छन ,

उत्तराखंडाक अनाज

साग और फल,

गूगल कर बेर देख ल्हिया,

जी रया जागि रया,

सबन धैं भेटनै रया,

चटपट लूणाक दगाड,

भट्टक जौल सपोड़नै रया,

लाल चावलक भातक दगाड,

डुबुक धपोणै रया,

इजकै याद करनै रया।

डा.ज्योत्सना पंत

चाहत

 

चाहत

ना जीने की चाह,

ना मरने की राह,

धुवां सा उठा दूर अंधेरे में,

कोई दिया बुझा,

या जला दिल कोई,

यह जानने की चाह।

हवा का वो झोंका,

था बोझिल फ़ूलों की महक से

मैं भ्रमित सी इधर उधर,

देखती रह गई।

ये फ़ूलों से सुसज्जित,

कोमलांगना है जाती,

या श्मशान यात्रा में है कोई,

यह जानने की चाह।

आत्मा से मृत,

देह से जीवित,

धरती के ऊपर जैसे बोझ हो कोई,

यह अहंकार, स्वार्थ लालच से,

अंधा नयन सुख कौन,

यह जानने की चाह।

ना जीने की चाहत,

ना मरने की राह,

ये रंगीन दुनिया,

बदरंग इंसा,

इस अनोखी दुनिया में,

क्यूं भटकती हूँ,

क्या ढूंढती हूं,

ये जानने की चाह।।

प्रकृति और जीवन

 प्रकृति और जीवन 

------------------------

बारिश की रिम झिम में, 

बूँदों की टिप् टिप में, 

तितली के रंगों में, 

भवरों की गुंजन में,

फ़ूलों के रंगों में, 

मिट्टी की खुशबू में, 

जीवन की गहराईयों को, 

खोजती रहती हूँ,

प्रकृति के इस सृजन को, 

स्तम्भित हो निहारती रहती हूँ। 

                               पक्षी के कलरव में, 

                                मयूर के नृत्य में, 

                                हाथी के चिंघाड़ में, 

                                शेर की दहाड़ में, 

                                सर्प के फुंकार में, 

                                चूहे की चूं चूं में, 

                                जीवन के हर रंग को, 

                                विस्मृत हो निहारती रहती हूँ, 

                                जीवन की गहराईयों को, 

                                खोजती रहती हूँ ।

नदी के स्यन्दन में, 

सरोवर के ठहराव में, 

कमल के निखार में, 

मछली के खिलवाड़ में, 

जीवन की अनन्तत, 

अस्तित्व को निहारती हूं, 

जीवन की गहराई को, 

खोजती रहती हूँ। 

                             सूरज की तपन में, 

                             चांद की चांदनी में, 

                             दिन के उजाले में, 

                             रात्रि की चाँदनी में, 

                            अमावस की अँधेरी रात में, 

                            तारों की मुस्कान में, 

                            जीवन की मधुरता की, 

                            अनुभूति करती रहती हूँ, 

                           जीवन की गहराई को, 

                           खोजती रहती हूँ।

प्रकृति दुलार में,

प्रचंड प्रहार में,

जीवन का  आगोश, 

मृत्यु का  प्रकोप, 

प्रकृति जीवन है, 

यह बोध कराता है, 

और इसी प्रकृति में, 

मैं जीवन की गहराईयों को, 

खोजती रहती हूँ ।। 

ज्योत्सना पंत