Goddess atop a hill

Pandavagiri Aikunnu Bhagavathy temple .. atop a hillock .. just about 9 kms from Thrissur town is all kinds of beautiful..

Breathtaking views of the surroundings suffused with divinity and serenity and the majestic goddess overlooking her lay ....

The temple steeped in antiquity is said to be consecrated by Lord Parasurama and visited by the Pandava princes with Draupadi during their year in exile performing austerities . The hillock is also believed to have been the abode of many ascetics and continues to be so ...An oasis of tranquility on a hillock...

White Lotus

A White Lotus Abloom ...

A study in serenity.. of centered-ness and one pointed focus to ascend , sustain and bloom .. from the murky depths to the light above..

From the booklet " The White Lotus " by Sri Parvathi Kumar , this line has stayed with me ...

"Show up that which is beautiful in you , show up that which is tender in you , show up that which is light in you , show up that which is the unfoldment in you and let the show  be in stillness and in silence "

Also brings to mind , my encounter with a yogi , long years back who introduced the magic of silence to me..,,,

A year of writing

I start off on the year long editing assignment! I am hoping to do good amounts of reading , putting out monthly e- news letters and also involve my community of readers to write  too. There will also be a printed souvenir to be released along the way along with a  fundraising for the same . 

Writing has been and will be my mode of creative expression and am just delighted that I have a forum to engage in writing with a purpose  .

The proverbial "butterflies in stomach" feeling is definitely there .The deadlines and the frequent output that will be needed does seem daunting but  am determined to enjoy this as best as I  can and do the  best I possibly could .

Just because , this is so much up my street !

Getting away

Just as we gradually get out of the Lockdown of 2021 following the second wave.. a brief get away.. 

25  few kms away , My friend , Dr S and I  arrive at Chittanda ,a  hamlet of rice fields and a beautiful Kathyayini temple. Dr S owns a piece of land here which she is converting to a vegetable patch with the help of a local farmer . The land is now all cleaned and primed for the farming and we have the happy task of planting  fruit tress in the fringes and see the sprouting in the various patches. The land over looks a vast expanse of paddy fields and the sky stretching every where beyond the hills...

The quiet of the area is soothing .. just the rustle of the wind ..darkening clouds announcing rain ..  egrets and king fishers pecking at the soil and snooping over the temple pond . and a flock of ducks finding their way back to the water.. mom led by a few tiny ones ...

So happy to be soaking in so much beauty ...

Curtain Raiser

Its May and the stage is getting for the annual monsoon festival ! and the curtain raiser are the pre-moosoon gale and showers  which may being any  time in April and appear till the monsoons set in  . growing up in Calcutta these were a phenomenon. They go by the name 

" Kal-Baishaki.. wreakers in the month of Baishak. 

In Kerala , they are more benign .They arrive mostly in the evenings cooling down the place , bringing much need relief from the blazing summer sun. 

They also have an interesting name .. "Mango Showers" as they help in the early ripening of mangoes ...

One such beauteous evening .. 

Colour Pop

I saw this TED Talk recently and it delved on something that brings instant joy to people. Joy as in a momentary experience of positive emotion that makes us smile. Feeling good in that moment. 

Pops of colour as per the talk can do that ! Bring about feelings of joy ,, My experience too .. I have always been drawn to rainbows, pinwheels, patch work quits  with multiple colour patches , the madras plaid fabric , colourful tapestry, prayer flags , sprinkles , stained glass windows and anything that pops colour !

One such moment , when I saw this fuchsia pink lily , all abloom in the office fish pond .Joy.. there and then..

A working woman now

I read a short story years back in a magazine which went by the title " A working woman now "  and it has just stayed with me . It captured the excitement of a young woman starting work /All her plans and preparations , buying a bag and getting ready to join the workforce. My young impressionable mind was so enamored by this young woman's excitement of finding a job and getting ready to take it on. It also marked the first step of this woman at earning and financial freedom . A chance to become responsible for her own spending and build wealth for herself. 

After a few  years of free-lancing and doing this and that , I have accepted a accepted a full-time assignment that will need me working at an office .The  story of the young woman came to mind as I enter the full -time work force yet another time !! Good luck to me !