An Otters tribute in Seattle

Hope springs eternal in the otters' heart, at the zoo in Seattle....

(photo by Sylvia Kirkwood)

Spring sunshine,
glistening
like stars,
as it blends
with the
ebullient sprays
from blue waves,
shining
on the strips
of grass,
greening
in satisfaction.


The older one
hears,
from far away,
the strains
of something ,
with
Stars and Stripes....




A leap
on to the bank,
hands
across the heart
he stands
at attention;
The partner,
notices,
learns,
and emulates
the elder;

An otters'
tribute,
to a
wonderful
homeland,
that makes living,
so much fun
for them.....

At the Zoo Pool....

Tough Mallard duck instructor for these flighty flamingoes......... official policy: no flamingo left behind ......

Photo by Sylvia Kirkwood


The Flamingo ,
Class of 2010,
in their 0.5 credit
Swimming Class SW1001.
The Sylvian University
with the
strict Mallard
instructors,
asking them
to practice
the compulsory,
one legged,
dives.....





They nudge
each other,
pretend to
scratch,
themselves and
each other....
bending to discuss
their teacher,
looking over the fence
at the horizon...

Maybe its time to
take off,
and glide through
not blue waters
but blue skies,
on their
yearly
pilgrimage across the world,
celebrating
the colors of Nature.....

In praise of bovine marathons....

Childhood memories of hot summer vacation afternoons, rhythmic bovine bells, and sweet sugarcane juice.



(photo by Kavi Arasu, clicked between Shirdi and Aurangabad)



No basic,
No DA,
No arrid earth allowance,
Just a thump on the back,
an occasional
good rubbing down
on the banks of
a river;
and a job profile
that says
round and round you go.






Head down,
nodding some,
tail flicking,
stepping
to the
sounds of the bells
that adorn the neck,
along with
the
wooden responsibility...

A snort,
a look,
some chewing of the cud,
and he goes faster,
extracting
a sweat here,
a sugarcane juice there,
for a marathoner
on a thanksgiving trip.


Like his old Boss,
the God
with the Flute,
told someone,
"Continue to
do your stuff,
round and round,
without worrying about
appraisals and fruits;
Thats the best work ethic,
and you win."

He looks up.
The couple's faces
wreathed in smiles,
enjoying
the nectar,
applauding
this magical moving
in circles....

Marathon.
He has won his own.....

Dreaming Green under a blue sky

As Sylvia says "....There have been so many lovely things to photograph here this spring ..."

(photo by Sylvia Kirkwood)
The little daughter
of the Greens,
growing up;
for her
it is time
to learn about
the birds and the bees...

She watches
her mother,
alongside,
flowering forth
encompassing
all around her,
nurturing
more fruit,
amidst fresh green
every spring.



And the little one,
now tall enough,
bare,
but not
yet pubertal,
looks up,
and asks the blue sky,
"When will it be my time
to bring forth my own ?..."

Waiting under the Canopy....

One never knows what folks notice on their trips to the hinterland.....

(photo by Kavi Arasu at the Ahmednagar Tank Museum)
Crunch,
on the
hillock,
chained wheels
ponderously
smashing
rocks to powder,
she moves,
sighting
the enemy,
the long telescopic
sight,
searching.



Sometimes ,
for someone
to blast
in a cloud of
uncertainity....

And sometimes,
to show
signs
of
affirmative action,
now a Valentine,
waiting,
under a canopy,
for
the beloved
man in uniform,
coming up
the slope
with a
can of fuel
for a parched
and
rusted
tired,
peacetime mind
in Ahmednagar...

Cheers!

(photo by Sylvia Kirkwood)





Shrugging of
a cold lethargic
winter,
Mrs Rose
and Ms Carnation
in association
with
Madame Dahlia,
meet in
fields
awash
with
the colors of spring...



In
an air
redolent
with the
heady
April perfume
they raise
a Tulip toast
of
blood red wine,
saying
"Cheers!",
to the curious
bees , moths
and butterflies,
trying the crash the party............

The Slurp of Life

Nupur posts Wordlessly on Wednesdays; quite understandable when you are immersed in the magic of pani puris.....


(Mouthwatering photo by Nupur Phatak)

Golden ,
puffed pride,
so delicate,
crisp in attitude,
sitting,
primly,
exclusively,
minding
their own business.

The proletarian
potato,
and mung,
in tatters
after slogging,
full of spice,
nudges
the bowl
of ice cold
pani,
rich,
with mint,
jeera, anardana,***
‘rock’ing salt,
and
spies the boondies*****
floating
inside…..

“Yeh Poori log
kya samajhte hai
apne aap ko” …
Chalo,
Pani Puri ho jai ….”******

*** mint, cumin, and pomegranate seeds

***** small hollow globules of garbanzo flour fried crisp

******Hindi for "What do these Puris think of themselves ? Come lets have Pani Puri..." .(puris broken , stuffed with potato mixture, filled with the minty water, and gobbled in one piece)

Yes, We Can !

In her contributions to the My World series, Sylvia says , ".....Down at the Golden Gate Park at the Harbor (in Seattle) , there is a bird/duck sanctuary that I always enjoy visiting and I've been there a lot during the lovely weather we have had lately. One of the things that never ceases to amaze me is the watery reflections that make each photo look like an Impressionist painting....."

I just remembered the Nuclear Security Summit happening this week, in the other Washington ..........

(photo by Sylvia Kirkwood)





In a world,
shaky
with
flowing shadows
of terror,
floats
a bulwark
of democracy,
human values,
and freedom.





They sit,
on it,
B. Obama(USA)
and M. Singh(India),
as they
discuss,
at the Security Summit,
ways to help
those
who endeavour to
democratically
stay afloat.

Their backs
to those
that threaten,
intimidate,
and destroy,
yet
balancing exquisitely,
on those logs
powered
by
their
respective
Constitutions...

The River of Life

(photo by Sylvia Kirkwood)
Nurtured
by the same
rich and flowing
aqua earth,
some
reach
levels of prosperity,
clothed
in crisp heaps
and covers of
green,
while some,
reedlike,
in woody courage,
face adversity,
sometimes
cracking under it,
occasionally,
bringing forth
a green shoot.....

If they only looked down,
into
the rich and
gently flowing,
River of Life,
they would see
that
their lives
are
undeniably
entwined
as they
go forth
into the future....

Green Lessons

(photo by Sylvia Kirkwood)
Sometimes
Nature teaches.

Some ,
dome shaped,
calling you for namaaz;
Some
tall tower above
a temple
central sanctum
praying
and
rising to the heavens;
A pontiff,
hands outstretched
looking up
beseeching the Lord;





And
way to the right,
a congregation ,
a motley group,
a mixture
of all styles,
so enthused,
that
God, for them,
lies in the Green
of the Earth :
to worship,
preserve,
and protect....

The flowering

Nupur posts photos she takes , under the heading Wordless Wednesdays, on her blog.

One such.

(photo by Nupur Phatak, taken at Kausani)

A bit shy,
but thrilled,
she wraps
the pink pallu closer,
as some
younger ones
around her
look on,
nudging the leaves
in curiosity….

Spring,
a time of birth,
and she,
newly a bud
and flowering,
quietly encloses
the little yellow
seeds,
to
keep them fresh
for
the butterflies,
the moths,
and yes,
the
birds and bees of the world….

For each other....

Spring makes it appearance on Sylvia's photoblog (besides in the NW of the US)...!

(photo by Sylvia Kirkwood)


So much to learn
from
nature's plans;

The straight,
makes
the curved
look curvier,
young sepals
in light green
against
the tough looking
dark branches;





A profusion
of white blossoms,
interrupted
just so,
by
stamens
dotted with black,
on a
background splash
of
a tentative green;
And the sky,
brilliant
in its blueness
behind a human
drab building
of the colorless type.

When will we learn,
that differences
unite us,
enriching the scene,
and all the colors
have a stake in each other....?

Numberwala Wednesday

Some bloggers like to post wonderful photos as part of the "Wordless Wednesdays" , when they take a break from writing prose. Some of these photos have often inspired verse. One such .


(photo by Neha Silam)


"Abhi na jao chhod kar,
Yeh metre abhi bhara nahi..." ****
She stepped off
the ricksha,
eyes on the metre,
a foot on the ground;
his hand
on the accelerator,
revving up,
to convert
the 0 to 1....




Eyes wide,
alarmed,
she points ,
to the changing numbers,
in
a stationary ricksha...
" Madam, tees rupya,
sab barabar hai,
haat mat lagaiye...."
Aaj to Numberwala Wednesday hai !"******

****This is a play on the words of an old hit Bollywood song, that said, "Dont leave me just now, my heart is not full yet !: Only here it says the metre isnt full yet!(in Hindi)

****** Hindi for : "It will be 30 Rupees Ma'am, everything is OK, please dont touch . Today is the "number Wednesday"...."