Agobai ! Monalisa Vahini !

A friend of a FB friend Deepashri Bharne D'Melo shared a great photo of someone called Monalisa Deshpande.

Probably  the daughter of Kokan, from say, Devrukh, with the complexion like the ocean foam, and typical hazel green eyes,  now married into a Deshpande family, and nicely settled in Pune

I sort of fell sorry for the actual portrait in the Louvre in Paris. Had to write in Marathi and in English ......

I mean nothing beats this .......

देवरुख ची कन्या , पुण्याला आली, आणि देशपांडे बनून गेली..... आणि बघा ! तिच्या शोधात इटलीचे लेओनार्डो द विन्ची , चक्क पुण्यात आले , नारायण पेठेत रमले, आणि सभोवताली पु. ना. गाडगीळ , भाउ चीन्गुशेट शिवरकर, अष्टेकर, आणि नदिपल्याड लागू बंधू, पेठे , आणि इतरांना बघून पुन्हा चित्र रेखाटायला बसले..... आणि पैठणी वरचे सोनेरी बुट्टे सर्वत्र शिंपित जाणारी, गळ्याला साज आणि चंद्रहाराने सजवणारी , कानात भोकरं आणि वेल घालून, चाफेकळी नाकात मोत्याची नाथ , घालून, सुंदर चंद्रकोरीचे कुंकू लावून, अचानक दोन्ही खांद्यावर पदर घेउन, स्मितहास्य करत म्हणाली , " लेओनार्डोभाउजी , इथे पास्ता-मद्य वगैरे कसल घेता ? चला, व्यवस्थित वैशालीत जूनमसाला डोसा आणि कॉफी घेउ की !"

Lo behold, the daughter of Devrukh in Kokan, now a Deshpande of Pune. Searching for her, Vinci's Leonardo actually reached Pune and settled down in Narayan Peth. in the midst of the abodes of jewellers PN Gadgil, Bhau Chngushet Shivarkar, Ashtekars, not forgeting the Laagus and Pethes across the river, and he actually decided to paint her again. She came, sprinkling the golden dots from her Paithani, the Saaj and Chandrahar glittering around her neck, canopy-style pearl bhokrs in her ears held with rising gold creepers in her hair, and a pearl and ruby "nath" nosering. She stopped, tired of posing, put on her new moon shaped tikka on her forehead, adjusted her palloo on both shoulders, looked at him and said " Aho Leonardo Bhau, this ain't a place for pasta and wine... Chalo, we go to Vaishali for a great coffee and a masala dosa....coming ?"

A Crustacean Life....

As a pucca vegetarian who cannot stand the smell of seafood , this photo , clicked at the Harnai beach on Maharashtra's beautiful Kokan coast,  and posted on Flickr by blogger friend Magiceye, intrigued me.   Google searches dont smell, and I was amazed to find out that these creatures have blue blood , and  surprise, surprise,  they have something in their DNA that doesnt allow them to age.

They also exhibit a fast , inverse, butterfly swimming stroke, done on their backs, which is used to escape fast from perceived dangers .....sometimes, though, not fast enough...

They also have 10 legs, but are essentially loners, traipsing about on muddy bottoms of oceans and seas, unlike their cousin crabs, who are much more social, aggressive, and occasionally whimsical , in that, they walk sideways . Wah !

Sometimes royal types must learn something from the commoners . Is anyone in Delhi listening ? Sigh. 

(photograph by Deepak Amembal Magiceye)

Blue blooded invertebrates
with a built-in
anti aging DNA,
they wander the oceans,
crawling on half-a-score legs
to hunt and swallow
smaller prey,
and
exhibit
an amazing
backward butterfly stroke
to escape
when faced
with marine danger.

Except,
when reckless adventure
takes them
close to Kokan beaches,
where
2 legged  predators
grab them,
boil them,
spice them,
stuff them,
and sallivate
over a great meal..

Thats what you get
from
being a loner,
unlike Cousin Crab,
who is a fighter,
and
sometimes smiles
and escapes
walking sideways,
as the Koli predator
zeroes in
on you.........

Mind and Body

Blogger friend Magiceye titled this visual "Bulls at peace", when he posted it . This is possibly a close up of the bulls taken at Harne Beach in the Kokan coast of Maharashtra, where the days catch is auctioned/sold/bought and possibly the crates lugged away for retailing at some market, by bullock cart, some distance away.

There is an intriguing expression on the animals' face.

Something that says, this is my lot, mine is not to question why and crib, but to do my job sincerely and without thinking of reward, and with a minimum of excitement.

I cant help feeling, that as much as the animal shames us in the way it follows the philosophy outlined in the Bhagwad Gita ie ("do your duty(work) to the best of your ability, without thinking of the fruits of your labour. ") , there must be a fleeting thought of something else passing through its bovine but possibly exalted mind ....

(photo by Deepak Amembal Magiceye)
Tied
and yoked
in a biped world,
the milk of their kindness
abused
by
greedy dairies
and
avaricious hormones,
helplessly
passing it on
to the calves....

Watching
the so called
evolved bipeds
haggling over
creatures they defeat
in the evolution stakes,
no matter how small.

They stand,
with dedicated looks,
upholding
the philosophy
of the BhagwadGita,
Nishkaam Karma,***
Ma Faleshu Kadaachana....****

Take a deep breath,
eyes front,
wait till the fish crates,
haggled and auctioned,
are loaded'
and
the crack of a whip.

Its time to step up
and
keep going,
the mind of a sthitapradnya******
in the body
of a cow.


*** The literal meaning of nishkama karma is "desireless action," action performed with indifference to the outcome.

**** "Keep doing your karma without worrying about or expecting rewards for your labour"

******Shri Krishna’s ideal human being is Sthitapradnya. Pradnya is mind, intellect, wisdom. Sthita means stable. Sthitapradnya is a person whose mind has stabilized. Whether he has faith in the divine is immaterial, as long as he is in a state of equilibrium while facing the ups and downs of life.

White with Gold - summer colors

My young blogger friend Kalyani, often posts pictures, with a color palette that simply screams the specialities of the season......with backgrounds, and colors bringing back memories of school summer holidays in native places in Kokan, traipsing around in the hot sun in white petticoat type sleeveless frocks, climbing trees, plucking flowers, making them into garlands and "wenis", secrets amongst cousins, afternoon escapades, playing and fighting over "Sagargotaas", and gorging on juicy mangoes, and being shouted at for studding the pristine white with gold ...

(Wrote the Marathi poem first; did an English version for my Non marathi friends; probably not as sweet in English, but what the hell, enjoy the mangoes and chafaa flowers ! Summer's here ....)

(photo by Kalyani Wakkar)
उन्हाळ्याच्या सुट्टीत
सफेद फ्रील वाले झगे घालून,
दुपारच्या वेळी
झोपाळ्याच्या खोलीत ,
मामाच्या घरी
लहानपणी
सागरगोट्यानचे फेकलेले डाव
चोख्लेले रायवळ आंबे,
आणि
त्यांचे सफेद झाग्यांवर पडलेले
सोनेरी पिवळे डाग ......
एका सोमवारी सकाळी
आठवणी हसल्या ......

A hot and sultry
May afternoon
at
the family homestead
in Kokan,
little girl cousins
at grandma's,
playing
in soft
frilled
white
summer frocks;
the Sagargota stones
have been abandoned,
for the
liquid gold
of the RaiwaL mango,
squeezed,slurped
and swallowed,
as is,
while
the yellow gold
drips inulgently
on to the
pristine white innocence....

And while grandma
takes a nap,
nearby,
the creaking of the old swing,
the giggles,
and plundering
of mangoes continues,
in the mind,
making you smile,
hot
and sultry,
this
Monday morning
in Mumbai....

Bending rules to explore.....

One sees interesting photos , sometimes simply by chance, with interesting comments.

Have a look here .

And sometimes one sees similar attitudes in the trees and the society . In the land of greenery, coconut and areca nut plantations, and the brilliant coastline : Kokan. Where , like everywhere else, the youth are exploring other worlds.....

Grateful to Shri Atul Kulkarni for allowing me to use this photo in my post...

(My comments , as before, first in the King's language, then the Queen's....:-)


(photoby Atul Kulkarni)
एक काळ असा होता,
सगळे नियम पक्के पण सोपे होते ....
कोकणच्या हिरवाईत ,
सनातनी माड ताठ कण्यांनी
हिरवी पगडी सांभाळत
सागराकडे डोळे वटारून बघत
उभे असायचे,

पाटाचं पाणी
भाजीपाल्यात कौतुकानी वाहायच,
विशीतला मुलगा भिक्षुकी संभाळायचा
आणि
तेरा वर्ष्याच्या बनूच लग्न
रत्नागिरीच्या पटवर्धानांकडे ठरलं,
म्हणून वाहिनी हुरळून जायच्या ...

आता माड म्हातारे झले,
काही वाकले, थकले,
काही मुलं-मुली
वेगळ्या वाटेनी समुद्रा पल्याड
जायच्या बाता करतायत ,
स्वताहाच्या हिमतीवर
वाकून वाकून बघतायत .......
आणि एक वयस्कर माड
सुपारी बाईंना
सुस्कारा टाकून म्हणाले ,
" पूर्वी देशावर जायचे,
आता परदेशी जातात..
कळलं न ?"

Time
was when
life was
about simple rules.

Conservative
coconut palms
stood
ramrod straight,
intensely
gazing
at the
perennially
waving sea,
their palm fringed
headgear,
intense in dignity .

Back home,
the mountain springs
continued to gush
in innocence,
through the homestead,
fussing over the vegetable patch;
the twenty something
young fellow
searched his way
through
his fathers footsteps,
and
the lady of the house
exulted over
the fixing
of
a great match
in Ratnagiri,
for Banu,
the 13 year old
marriageable daughter....

Today,
the coconut palms
bend in a tired
helplessness....
the children talk about
new lands
and new paths,
often
leaning
across the ocean
visualizing new worlds.

And the elderly palm,
nudges the
slightly bent
areca nut tree,
sighs,
and says ,
"Listen !
Life is unchanged.
They all go,
eventually;
earlier it was inland,
and now
it's always beyond the seas,
Ok ?....."

Long and Winding....

More Kokan photos from this post by Kavi

(photo by Kavi Arasu)
The straight,
long
and winding road,
of life,
sometimes
elevated,
protected,
holding you in
from the ebb and flow;

It slides down
and turns away
momentarily
leftwards
exposing rocky doubts.




But that
sudden bay
is a refuge
for the infinite waves
that endlessly
otherwise
keep dashing
and eroding your
confidence.

A comfortable
wandering around of waves
high fiving the sand
on
a magically created
section of beach,
and the
palms and supari trees
look on indulgently
as your car
"swiftly" purrs
in satisfaction,
on the winding road,
once again
turning
to the right
to another bay
and another dance
of bobbing boats
on the waves.......