A cry for break - a day's diary

The mundane activities of both of us, that is my work in my office and Tumpa’s chores of home making at times drive us mad for a break – far, near wherever possible; we need to break out from our routines. 

We were longing for such a break. at the end of march 2011 we gave a couple of tries to convert the break to a long week-end (though it could be at most a couple of days – but that would have been something heavenly!). But we failed …… our social ways of life does not leave even the least for timid people like us. Precisely, we could not make it.

Sujaya came up with the idea that we can at least have a vacation for half a day somewhere within greeneries – and Shibpore Botanical Garden was an automatic choice.We went to the place earlier; normally very less crowded, which is of our much liking. So we made up our mind and rushed out in the morning of 31^st March (2011).

Kolkata, Howrah – these places have become like a collage of different moods and flavours – varying widely. You will be able to see marked contradictions almost everywhere every moment, just if you remain a little aware. And if you are sensitive enough, these flavours are likely to affect you in some way or other.

Even if we have difference of opinions, choices etc. about innumerable things, me and my wife, Sujaya, are very much same about sensitivity. We try to help out each other from this problem of being too sensitive towards things very often.

Things happened just before we could get in the garden (at the gate in fact) which drove me mad – and I almost had decided to leave the place. The freshness of the morning was marred by bitterness within, due to a row over the most uncivilized behaviours of the securities in the gate! I shouted like a mad man at the top of my voice. Finally interference from  some conscientious and responsible employee of the place soothed me down a little and we got inside.

We remained there for about a couple of hours. If any such thing could be done so that every one would have acted in there best ways, then that could make any process or exercise, how rigorous it might be, bearable to us. So, looking at the rest of the time we stayed in there, in that way gives me some real good, soothing feeling. The sounds, like the chirping of the birds or the rustle of the breeze, they cannot be exactly delineated, that is I do not have that capacity; so I tried to capture the serenity of the place through my lens.

We are not fortunate enough to get in touch of the green every day –

and that way our children are actually deprived of a very precious feeling of living with nature which is not spoiled by the frenzy of unnecessary demands and desire of consumption of civilized society, even by the least measure. Once one has the real feeling of such things from the core of oneself, the truth must become visible to him – but very unfortunate for us that it does happen almost never, and we remain wading around in the scum of life.

Anyway – no more darkness. Let the placid and serene nature tell us her own words.

 Let us look at her leaving behind all the squalor of life. Let us not look at her through the projections of our own minds – there may be remnants of bitterness which we actually want to forget, but are not able to, due to our own flaws.

 Let us refresh our soul.

 Let us make friends with trees, the sky and water.

 Let us play with the butterflies. 

Let us surprise ourselves with the view of the fairyland

 that suddenly unfolds before our eyes. If we try heart and soul looking to the pictures, who knows we might be able to hear the rustle of breeze. We might even feel it caressing us, thus wiping out the sulkiness from within. The small flowers' innocent nod call us to play with them.......

The great Banyan tree of the Indian Botanical Garden attracts millions of visitors every year. It looks like a miniature forest and is over 250 years old with 2800 prop roots covering an area of 1.5 hectares.

The lonely paths...............



 and the shady nooks .......

 can remind us of the long forgotten fond dreams of a refuge, which many of us might had somewhere deep within our senses, where we wanted to be, what we have always longed for.

Why do we not leave aside the ugly byproducts of civilization and embrace peace which nature has always kept for us – only waiting to be picked up. The small flowers, the colourful bugs, water-lilies, ripples in the ponds and images of nature around in the water – they all make such a nice world. How can we remain so unaware of them? After all that way we give up our joy – the elixir of life.