Saturday, April 23, 2011

Age does not wither .....

Some folks have a special eye for visuals. Be they of landscapes, beaches, animals, decorations, food, and sometimes, even people. See all his work here.

One such below, that brought back some memories of a friend's mother, who lived with her in Mumbai, returned to her native land a few years ago, but is now no more.


(photo by Kavi Arasu)
Kolam
at the door,
and she appears,
with a
genuine
toothless smile,
vibhuti*** on forehead,
as you enter
her home
with her daughter-in-law.

Mumbai
doesn't
overpower her,
she takes it in her
slightly bent,
but brave stride....

And she
bequeaths you
a welcoming nod,
asks her
daughter-in-law
something in her language,
smiles at you
going in;
to emerge again
amidst aromas
of coffee,
and
homemade banana chips.

She bids
you get comfortable,
then settles down
by a seat at the window;
looks up
at the building
next door
rising to the skies;
hands pointing,
she beams,
and
you don't need
any language
to know
that it's a proud Mom,
pointing to the big office
in Mumbai,
of her favorite son....

*** Vibhuti : sacred ash from worship/puja

7 comments:

  1. Beautiful! Thank you for sharing this one! Have a lovely weekend!

    Sylvia

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  2. Lovely words and it sounds so familiar even though I do not live in Mumbai.

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  3. Remind me of my Granny:)these words exactly portray her:)Thank you:)

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  4. Sylvia Thank you ! And hope your weekend is wonderful too !

    Mridula Thank you ! These ladies are so wonderful and impressive themselves, Mumbai is totally incidental to the scene...

    Raksha Thank you. My namaskars to your Granny ....

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  5. Beautiful! Just so beautiful!

    Loved these lines :)
    'she takes it in her
    slightly bent,
    but brave stride....
    '

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  6. a beautiful tribute ....

    loved your poem on my post too!

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  7. made me so so nostalgic right now! i misssss my aaji a lot! :)

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