#SoCS August 31/19

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “couch” Use it as a noun or a verb. Have fun!

The first thought that came to mind when I read today’s prompt was ‘couch potato’. I do not remember anyone amongst my relatives who are couch potatoes. Many do watch some serials but do not sit for hours on the couch. But I cannot understand why people watch some of the serials. They go on and on. The story and the actors keep changing. A lot of importance is given to negative emotions. I prefer to read a book. I have not watched anything on the television for ages.

Couch reminded me of my cousin. He is my father’s elder brother’s son.  He passed away in 2007 at the age of 57. My Doddamma and doddappa were devastated.  On Sundays he used to enjoy sleeping on the couch. He used to get up for breakfast, them sleep on the couch till lunch and then sleep again till evening.  And he was able to sleep well at night. I don’t think I will be able to sleep like that though it would be a nice experience. My body clock wakes me up at 5.15 even on Sundays 😊.

Lastly I  remember the couch we saw in a palace in Istanbul. It was made of gold and had rubies. It was taken by Nadir Shah, the Iranian ruler, from my country in early 18th century. I wonder what it must be like to sleep on a couch made of gold.  And that reminds me of the expression, ‘ Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.’

The Waves (Sunday Photo fiction)

The couple sat on the boulders and gazed at the sea. It looked so blue and peaceful. But they had experienced its darker side. Those moments still haunted them.

They lived in a small village high in the mountains and had always dreamt of spending some days near the sea. That year during Christmas vacations they went to a small fishing village. They enjoyed the sea.

That morning had been no different. They were swimming with the children from the village when suddenly they saw the water receding. It kept receding. Suddenly one of the boys started shouting at everyone to rush to the hill beyond the village. The urgency in his voice touched the swimmers. They asked no questions but started running. The water had receded to quite a distance. The swimmers did not look back until they had reached the hill. They were just in time when gigantic waves came towards them with great speed. It would have swept them away if they had not listened to the boy.

The tsunami destroyed everything in its path. Leena and Akash gazed around them with horrified fascination. They had been lucky but life would never be the same again.
(199 words)

Photo credit: Artur Malishkevych

A Photo a Week Challenge: What’s For Dinner

IN A NEW POST CREATED FOR THIS CHALLENGE, SHARE A PHOTO OR TWO A FAVORITE MEAL

Breakfast of dosas , coconut chutney and chutney powder. My mother’s sister and family had come see her 😊

Lunch of rice, pumpkin Sambhar and tomato rasam with our daughter and family 😊

Everyday Moments (#SOL- 2019)

My weekly Slice of Life are my letters to my Doddamma. She is my father’s elder brother’s wife. Doddamma literally means ‘elder mother’. She is 88 years old. She cannot hear properly if I telephone to talk to her. So, I have been writing letters to her since October 2017. I enjoy writing letters and she is happy to read them. They are only about the everyday moments in my life. I post my letters to her every week.

27-09-19
The rains have become a little less but it is raining everyday. We are having a wonderful time with our grandchildren though life has become a little too hectic. But these are precious moments. Last week my husband was busy in the garden, pruning the plants. Advaith and Kavya planted a “Lakshmanaphala’ sapling in the backyard. Our neighbour had given us the fruit and we had planted the seeds.

Two months ago I had preserved raw jackfruit arils, I made rotti for breakfast. We enjoyed it but for children I made ‘neeru dose’. One of the combinations is jaggery flakes and butter. 

Gayatri (daughter) and Vinay (son-in-law) went to see a movie. We were playing with our grandchildren. They returned at 7.30. Kavya had been getting a little restless after two hours, fortunately she did not cry. Another afternoon Advaith, Vinay and my husband played a board game called Monopolize. They enjoyed the game. Long back we used to play a game called Monopoly.

‘Krishna Janmashtami’ or the birthday of Lord Krishna is celebrated all over the country. Our town, Udupi, is a very important pilgrimage centre for devotees of Lord Krishna. The Temple of Lord Krishna is more than 800 years old. On the 24th we went to see the temple to see the celebrations.

On the 23rd we went to our village to spend the day with my father-in-law and brother-in-law. My father-in-law was happy to see his great grandchildren. The children were happy to play under a small waterfall in the areca garden. The garden is at different levels and there is a natural pool and water overflows to fall down. Children of the family have played there through the years. We came back in the evening.

Today morning my mother’s younger sister and family had come for breakfast. Her son and family live in Germany. His children and my daughter’s children are great friends. They left after breakfast to a temple town called Sringeri. We had a wonderful time together.

A mother becomes a true grandmother the day she stops noticing the terrible things her children do because she is so enchanted with the wonderful things her grandchildren do. ~Lois Wyse

T13 Lakshman Phal Fruit Benefits and Facts [Soursop]

https://www.chikitsa.com/lakshman-phal-benefits

Delicious Vegetarian Havyaka Recipes: Neeru Sole Rotti
https://veggiepot.blogspot.com/2010/03/neeru-sole-rotti.html

neer dosa recipe, how to make neer dosa | neer dose
https://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/neer-dosa-recipe

Krishna Janmashtami – Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krishna_Janmashtami

Udupi Sri Krishna Matha – Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Udupi_Sri_Krishna_Matha

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #60: Framing the Shot

This week, we will explore different ways of framing images.

Many photographers agree on one thing about framing – that it can help direct the viewers‘ eyes to where you want them to look.

 

#SoCS August 24/19

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “preposition” Start your post with any preposition. Bonus points if you end with one too. Enjoy!

At night I am awakened by the sound of rain falling and touching the branches of the jackfruit tree. It is pouring outside and I am sleeping warm in my bed.

I think about those people whose lives have been destroyed by the rains. Their houses have been washed away by rivers in spate. Landslides have taken away their lands which do not exist anymore. How can they start their lives again? The rich can, but the poor?

My thoughts went to those people who were selling clay  pots and other things by the roadside. We were on our way back home one evening. I have seen them many times and each time I  feel as if they have not sold anything. These days people buy what they want from the shops they are used to. And many buy them online.

The men were sitting near their wares and the women and children under an unused bus shelter. There were so many children. I wondered why there are so many children when they live in poverty. Their life is just survival from day to day.

We depend upon so many things in life and we are able to get what we want. And I  wondered whether those men, women and children are able to get at least some of the things that they need. Their life is so different from ours. Their needs and desires are different and it is difficult for me to imagine what are the things they depend upon.

The Leader (Sunday Photo fiction)

Advaith and his grandfather gazed at the birds that had come to eat the chapati pieces they had put out for them. Bulbuls came swooping down. Babblers came hopping along. The tree pies came chattering loudly. Then came the crows.

The leader came first and sat on the roof of the car-shed. He saw the little birds eating and came down and stood close to the pieces of chapati. The little birds withdrew. But the bulbuls tried to steal a piece from under the nose of the leader.

He kept guard over the remaining pieces and called out to his companions. They came sweeping down from the nearby trees. Advaith watched with fascination and saw that one of the crows had only one leg. That crow was the leader’s friend. The leader glared at the other crows and they did not dare trouble the one legged crow. He got his share of food.
All the crows took the chapati pieces and flew away.  Only then did the leader turn his attention to his share. He and his friend  flew to the top of the coconut tree. Advaith loved  these moments .  He remembered the leader whenever he ate chapati.

(199 words)

Photo credit : D B McNicol via Pixabay

 

 

 

Everyday Moments (#SOL- 2019)

My weekly Slice of Life are my letters to my Doddamma. She is my father’s elder brother’s wife. Doddamma literally means ‘elder mother’. She is 88 years old. She cannot hear properly if I telephone to talk to her. So, I have been writing letters to her since October 2017. I enjoy writing letters and she is happy to read them. They are only about the everyday moments in my life. I post my letters to her every week.

19-08-19
Today was a dry and sunny day. We are seeing the bright sun after many days. And I remember those days in June when we were tired of seeing the bright sun!! Our days are filled with the activities of our grandchildren. We play Lego and my husband enjoys reading to Advaith from the Ladybird books we have.

And as with most children of these days something from the internet is a part of their lives. But I am glad they enjoy books. They enjoy seeing the small birds around us and today they watched a peacock with fascination. It was in our backyard. I love the blue colour of the neck. It is such a rich colour.

We went to the lake one evening for a walk. The lake if full now. This lake is rain water harvested lake. There are pipes for water to flow in. Near one pipe Advaith was fascinated to see a small whirlpool. His grandfather told him to put small wild plants near it and they watched it disappear. On July 7th we could see the lakebed and in forty days the lake was full.

On the 15th was our Independence day and it was pouring but it seems flag hoisting took place in most schools.
We were planning to go to our village on Sunday but on Saturday night Advaith was not feeing well and night he vomited. He was having slight temperature too. We cancelled our trip. It was raining the whole day and we stayed at home. He became better after a day’s rest.

Our son-in-law came on 19th morning from Bangalore. Both children were happy to see their father after nine days 😊. It was not raining in the evening and we went to the park near the temple. We had nice time there. Gayatri was happy to meet her kindergarten teacher there. And Advaith was feeling shy meeting his mother’s teacher. 😊

“The joy of grandchildren is measured in the heart.” ― Author Unknown

#SoCS August 17/19

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “co-” Find a word that uses “co” as a prefix and use it in your post. Have fun!

The first thought that came to mind when I read the prompt was our Co-operative society.  We have bought our groceries from there since 1982 when we got married.  I think this society was started in the 1960s. Ration card holders get their rice and other items at subsidised rates here. Many years ago we got sugar and rice and wheat here as we were eligible to get them due to our ration card. We stopped getting it as we were no longer eligible to get them.

But we have continued to buy our daily needs from the shop. There is a one to one relationship with the the manager and the assistants there. We stop to talk to them while they pack pur groceries.  And that is missing in malls and other big supermarkets. There is a mall in the next town. We went there just once some years ago. There are two small supermarkets in our place but we hardly go there.

I feel malls are there in all parts of the country and they do good business but the small shops are there only in one place. If people stop giving them business they might have to close down. And this has been happening in many places.  So we have decided to buy our groceries from our Co-operative society.

 

 

 

A Photo a Week Challenge: Yellow

Yellow flowers and leaves.