Opening your eyes after a deep slumber, you feel the darkness all around. The phone says it is 4 but the bird sounds are missing. The incessant chatter of the squirrels that start running about the tiles and the birds in furious conversation over seemingly very important decisons. What happened? Have they declared a holiday? And the smells! What happened to the early morning smell of the buds breaking open and filling the air with their scent and the fragrance from the dew filled clouds filling your nostrils along with aching cold air?
By now you are fully awake to all the sounds. Why are there so many vehicles on the road at this time? And why do you hear the workers from the construction site nearby and the noises of their hammers and drills? That is when you realise it is 4 p.m on a rainy afternoon which has sent the Sun running for shelter.
And the rain starts again. You feel sorry for the office goers who have to be in meetings or write programs. What an insult to such a beautiful evening! You make yourself a cup of tea and watch the fine sprays while thunder rumbles on every few minutes. You choose a CD of old melodies to make the evening perfect.
What a beautiful afternoon, you think. But there will be people stuck in traffic jams on the roads 2 hours from now on their way home cursing the same rain.Man made troubles!
Sad but what the heck! It is lovely from the idle comfort of ones own home and you look out of the window and lose yourself in the beauty of the moment watching the rhythmic downpour from a dark room filled with S.P.Balasubramaniam's voice. Who says nothing comes for free? There are people who spend precious dollars to have this in exotic spots and here I have it delivered right at my windowsill!
Thank you GOD! NO THANK YOU man!!
That is 4:30 p.m November 3rd in Bangalore.
By now you are fully awake to all the sounds. Why are there so many vehicles on the road at this time? And why do you hear the workers from the construction site nearby and the noises of their hammers and drills? That is when you realise it is 4 p.m on a rainy afternoon which has sent the Sun running for shelter.
And the rain starts again. You feel sorry for the office goers who have to be in meetings or write programs. What an insult to such a beautiful evening! You make yourself a cup of tea and watch the fine sprays while thunder rumbles on every few minutes. You choose a CD of old melodies to make the evening perfect.
What a beautiful afternoon, you think. But there will be people stuck in traffic jams on the roads 2 hours from now on their way home cursing the same rain.Man made troubles!
Sad but what the heck! It is lovely from the idle comfort of ones own home and you look out of the window and lose yourself in the beauty of the moment watching the rhythmic downpour from a dark room filled with S.P.Balasubramaniam's voice. Who says nothing comes for free? There are people who spend precious dollars to have this in exotic spots and here I have it delivered right at my windowsill!
Thank you GOD! NO THANK YOU man!!
That is 4:30 p.m November 3rd in Bangalore.
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I am glad you have come back to your old lyrical charm. How long I had to wait to read such lyrical ecstasies!
I can imagine the feeling, when the Sun is eclipsed by the monsoon clouds and the heavy downpour, when one has the luxury of listening to the tunes of yester years, in the privacy of one's own home. Like Wordsworth, we may bear the music in our heart, long after it is heard no more.
Longing for such moments and also longing to read such lines again and again.
Mahadevan: I thought about you when I posted this and it is a kind of dedication to you, my blogger buddy who is always there with an encouraging word for me.
Thank you mahadevan!
Oh! I feel so J of you Usha .... what would I not give for a moment like that? You are right - there are some pleasures that no money can buy and many wonderful things that come for free.... On a rainy day, snuggling into a sofa with a rug on your feet, hot coffee in hand , melodious music in the ears and nice book in hand (or just looking out of the window) - no amount of $$ can buy this !!
Lucky you :))) I am glad you had this wonderful moment!
Lovely. And different from your usual posts.
:)
A good way to have a good time.
You have a way with words. So true that we can destroy and create small pleasures in life.
Vidhya Rajesh said
>
...and many wonderful things that come for free.... On a rainy day, snuggling into a sofa with a rug on your feet, hot coffee in hand , melodious music in the ears and nice book in hand (or just looking out of the window) - no amount of $$ can buy this !!
>
Sorry to poke a hole into the soap bubble, but aren't you forgetting that $$$ bought you the sofa, the rug, the hot coffee, SPB's CD, the Hi-Fi system, and above all, a comfy house with a roof to go, sheltering you from the rain?
Imagine, now, sewage overflowing your feet covered with leeches, a lukewarm glass of tea with a couple of flies floating in it, a damp sari in shreds wrapped around, day time mosquitoes buzzing around, waiting to add Chikungunya to the Dengue virus, ...it's not a pretty picture, is it?
I am no bleeding heart, but please don't tell me that the good things in life come for free. Penniless? Damn you god, no, damn you rain!
This is in response to rational fool
I am reminded of what one of the tamil writers ( not sure if it is la sa ra or sundara ramasamy) - that he thought that poor people will always be sad and wont smile till he heard the laughter from huts and from children in the slums .. being happy is a state of mind.
Its all about drawing the line for material comforts - where does it stop is a decision that individual makes - i think usha and vindhya ramesh are trying to say is, dont spend all your time chasing money that you miss out on small pleasures.
lovely piece of writing. I love the lovely afternoons and love to take a drive especially on week days- it's so much more fun than the ordinary week ends
the small things in life... it is amazing how much joy they can bring :)
$$ Rational Fool - I guess you got the wrong meaning. No doubt , it is money that bought Usha all the material comforts - these just gave the necessary cushion for her to feel happy on a rainy day - it was her state of mind (as paavai rightly put it) that helped her to get the ultimate joy - I am sure she would have been just as happy , without a rug/SPB CD .. ;)
Paavai/Vidhya:
Happiness may be the state of mind, but unhappiness is not. If you don't understand the difference, then you cannot.
And, I "don't spend all [my] time chasing money that [I] miss out on small pleasures." I spend some of my time earning the $$$ that help me not miss out on the small pleasures at other times :) There is no free lunch!
Vidhya:I always enjoy these moments in life that fill me with so much joy which many times I havent been able to do on planned vacations.I guess happiness is not something one can buy. It just happens and if are lucky we seize the moment.
WR:Nice to see yo but arent you supposed to have your nose to the grindstone doing MBA`studies. What are you doing blog hopping? (hehehe..kidding) and hugs!
Balaji: :)
Paavai:Thank you. I believe in that too.There are some things that I suddenly notice which bring me so much joy, I wonder how I hadn't noticed them all along.
The RF:I see what you mean. I guess I was taking my comforts for granted. I lead a very quiet and simple life and do not go on holidays or even out of my house for many days at a stretch.Of course I do not have to struggle for the basics. Our circle among family and friends go on holidays and party often which we dont. But I do not miss any of those luxuries because I am happy with such simple pleasures which if one keeps her heart open are to be found at one's own doorstep.I was talking in that context.That I was getting it free while my friends who are too busy to notice these simple pleasures have to spend money to go on vacations to get the same.I agree that if I was less fortunate, I could not enjoy these pleasures.
Paavai: I was only thinking aloud and telling myself all that...if i had any complaints that I couldnt afford some of the luxuries that others have, I need not because there is so much pleasure that comes to me without having to budget for it and plan the time etc.Perhaps I didnt make myself clear.
ITW: Rains in Bangalore are a sheer pleasure, if you are not on the roads.
Mohan:I havent had that chance. And yes I love those songs too. But somehow I go back to old tamil melodies when I am very happy.
Inder: Absolutely, if only wed see the advwenture in the inconvenience. Like the post you wrote ona rainy day!
Vidhya/ the RF:Yes I would have been just as happy.But I guess RF is right when he says if I was not assured of my basic comeforts the rain would have meant something different to me and not a source of joy.I see what he means. I was taking my economic security for granted and was talking about not having to spend more money on vacations which people in my circle do. I wasnt thinking of those less fortunte than I when i said this was free. I had assumed my security level as given.
Well written!
Somehow you wrote the voice of my heart
Like listening to J K.
Leisure is really liberating isn't it?