Nature therapy- Aarey guest House

Aarey Guest house is my favourite part of Aarey Milk Colony, your cellphone will not receive any network here, so the moment you enter to the moment you leave, you are alone.....with nature and give or take a few more people :)

Spring, summer has such an intoxicating effect, I think I love all seasons, even hot and humid April... there are many trees in brilliant bloom right now..... many parts of the world will be witnessing the earth returning to life with buds and young leaves reassuring us of nature's eternal cycle of impermanence.

Here are a few pictures I took during my last walk at Aarey Guest House, enjoy! :)

The path leading up to the guest houses situated on top of a hill, when you reach the top you get a beautiful view of the city. I took these pictures in the evening.

Didn't get a very good shot, but you may notice pods bursting with cotton.....red silk cotton tress? will find out...

African wattle tree with its yellow blossoms strewn on the path, I love these blossoms, this is my "Indian Spring" :) they are the flowers that inspired me to take pictures in Aarey, if you walk in the New Zealand Hostel area, you will find entire canopies of these trees in bloom, and the delicate blossoms raining on all and sundry....

Gravel and flower in what is called the "golden hour", the last light of the sun which has a magical effect.....

my favourite picture, in the background is a defocused image of a lady, resident of the forest no doubt, collecting wood for domestic purposes......

and here is a link to a beautiful website that will give you information on the Flowers of India.

Have a lovely weekend!
Love + light!

Blessed

view of the hills from home and the sea of concrete which I have come to see simply as homes of many many

families....every morning is beautiful with the sky, clouds and hills, there is a watefall too in the distance!

Dear friends apologies for a long blog absence, I hope these last two months have been good for everyone. Life in Bombay is as they say has been, "same same but different" (ha..ha)....in my earlier posts I had mentioned that I recently moved to a part of the suburbs that was until now unfamiliar to me. I will simply say I feel blessed living near Filmcity in Goregaon east, I enjoy the morning sunlight and view of the hills. We now stay near Aarey Milk Colony, that lush green expanse. It is tranquil there and I love to go there for early morning walks and my greatest delight is to be able do some bird-watching on my own :)

Soon I will be sharing more of my explorations, of the feathery kind and of the arty kind too. For instance I've been meaning to share the poetry of a dear artist and friend Sarita Chauhan. It will be my pleasure to share her writing on my next post.

Till then love & light! (literally Diwali is just round the corner!)

Solitary Delights!

Have you ever felt completely at ease with yourself when alone at home? even though a part of you wished that everyone hadn’t gone out? Have you ever travelled alone at some time and felt refreshed with the new perspective that came with it?

The stretch of time alone can be a few moments, for example, stepping into the kitchen when you have many guests at home or it could be longer, such as a walk by yourself, or, an or even a month or more of travelling alone.

Is there a bit of a hermit in all of us? I suppose in varying degrees, yes. I’m certainly not anti-social but spending quiet time alone for me is like food and water....there are days when even though I’m having a relaxed day with my husband, by evening, I simply tie up my shoe-laces and say, “Alright, Im going out for a walk” ^_^ and I return refreshed, calmer and with new insight.

Increasingly, I’m enjoying my time apart from Rigzin (he is from Ladakh and is currently engaged in projects for the national television network there). I miss him especially on Sundays but gradually I see this theme changing, I feel happier as I am looking forward to fulfilling new art projects, even this blog has become an affirmation of positive living and sharing ! ^_^

A chat with my yoga teacher the other day helped me to realise and accept that I like being alone! at least for some part of the day...... for instance, after a long day at the gallery I like to have a coffee by myself, (at the Barista ,near Regal cinema ) ....I don’t usually read books in cafes, although a magazine or newspaper is more welcome. Then I like to walk to the station! yup! that’s a long walk! from Colaba (Radio club to Churchgate station) but it frees my mind...I look at the art-deco buildings, the sky, notice something I had’nt noticed before....mmmm...I think one can enjoy the company of people more if one can be alone and at ease with one’s self. Or better still when one when is alone, you will find, in between the thoughts which are constantly flowing, you stop and notice what is happening in(side) and around you. This "pausing", and for a while not giving all our “daily tasks” too much importance can only add more depth and meaning to our lives ^_^

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Pictures from my wanderings ^_^

A pond inside Bhandavgarh National park (forest), Madhya Pradesh, the heart of India. This was such a peaceful spot when we came upon it, and I remember we spotted a crested serpent eagle perched on a branch. The solitude of this serene place reaches out to you even through the picture...sigh!!!




Tea by myself. Imagine finding Hongkong style tea on the menu in Beijing and it is exactly like the stronlgy brewed black tea sweetened with milk and sugar (kadak chai, Bombay style!) that we drink in Bombay! ^_^ truly, a solitary delight! ^_^

One of the pleasures of travelling in trains in Bombay when there are hardly any people is you can put your feet up and relax as the breeze rushes in through the open windows...everyone does it...one of the many many interesting things about Bombay.... ^_^

Pink! Imagine my delight when I hopped into this pink rickshaw ^_^ .....one more solitary delight!

Evening tea with crackers.... ^_^

Saw this adorable Tom-cat outside a fancy light-fixtures store in Kalaoghoda, just besides the resaurant, Khyber Pass.

The pleasure of observing the evening sky turn gold and pink while walking across Oval maidan (maidan means an open area to play in/ have outdoor activities).

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Lastly, Poems of Solitary Delights by Tachibana Akemi (Edo period, Japan), I love the poems' honesty, and simple wonder of the natural world. Although, it may seem it is about a person who was a poet and a painter of long ago, when I read it for the first time it had an wonderful effect on me, I laughed and smiled....so true , I said.... as I identified with some verses. ^_^ Read on and see which verse you identify with...ha ha.... ^ ^

Tachibana Akemi

Poems of solitary delights.

What a delight is

when on the bamboo matting

in my grass-thatched hut,

all on my own,

I make myself at ease.

What a delight it is

when, borrowing
rare writings from a friend,

I open out
the first sheet.

What a delight it is
when, after a hundered days

of racking my brains,

that verse that would’nt come

suddenly turns out well.

What a delight it is

when of a morning,

I get up and go out

to find in full bloom a flower

that yesterday was not there.

What a delight it is

when, skimming through the pages

of a book, I discover a man written of there

who is just like me.

What a delight it is

when everyone admits

its a difficult book,

and I understand it

with no trouble at all.

What a delight it is

when I blow away the ash,

to watch the crimson

of the glowing fire

and hear the water boil.

What a delight it is

when a guest you cannot stand,

arrives, then says to you

‘I’m afraid I can’t stay long,’

and soon goes home.

What a delight it is

when I find a good brush,

steep it hard in water,

lick it on my tongue

and give it its first try.

*

Love & light!

Take a walk !

A shaky video taken by yours truly during a walk with B.N.H.S in Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Borivali, yes, this is in the city!

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As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth,
so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind.
To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again.
to make a deep mental path, we must think over and over
the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives.
A quote from Speaking Tree column in Times of India newspaper. Un fortunately, I cannot trace the name of the person who has been quoted.

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Waking is tone of he most enjoyable of physical activities for me. To put it simply, I must go for a walk! It seems to lighten me up, as if I have opened the windows of my mind for some good airing. And who says one has to walk in a zen garden or by some very scenic beach! So many times I am deep in some thought, and I notice a tree's leaves turning red, and I think oh! I must return with my camera next morning to capture it against the morning light. I'm taken out of my abstract world of thoughts and ideas and into the real world of change, decay, transformation, beauty and wonderment.

When you take a walk, it is as if you are at eye-level with the world, the beggar on the street, the kids running by you in the park, somewhere while mulling over the past and future issues you start observing the world outside and it is my belief , realisation is always within and without.

So there you have it, go take a walk, alone,with a friend or yur lover.

Someday I would love to learn walking meditation :) especially after reading Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh's pocket sized book, The Long Road turns to joy, A Guide to walking meditation,...mmmm....something to think about and look forward to :)

Happy New Year of the Ox! Happy Paths my freinds !

Love & Light