Everyday Moments – (#SOL-2021)

13-07-2021

It has been raining heavily since 8^th. Earlier, for almost ten days we had sunny days with occasional rains. So, it was good to hear the sound of rain. It was just pouring on Sunday. These rains are very important for agriculturist across the country. They are necessary for paddy cultivation. Radhika was telling that paddy seeds have been sown in her parents’ home. Some families living nearby have got together to cultivate paddy. The land belongs to one person. They  work together and share the yield. Rice is an important part of our daily food.   

Monday evening when the rains took a rest, we went for a short walk near our home. One of our neighbours was plucking teak leaves. A batter of ripe jackfruit and rice are steamed in them. We call it ‘kottige’ in Kannada. I have always steamed them in banana leaves. Teak leaves give out a beautiful red colour to the cooked kottige.

Yesterday another neighbour gave us two big pieces of ripe jackfruit. Her parents had come for a visit and the fruits were from their village. The fruit was very tasty.

On the 10^th evening we had our Book club meeting. There were only four of us, Todd, Rupali, Karen and myself. Todd and Karen live in Canada and  Rupali in Norway. We had a good time talking books and other things 😊. The pandemic has brought many changes in our life. I never thought I would meet people living in different parts of the world sitting in my room. It is fun.

We have coconut trees in garden. Due to the wind and rain fronds and coconuts keep falling. When a coconut hits the terrace wall and falls down, my husband removes the husk immediately. Usually, the hard shell is broken and it spoils quickly. We usually keep the fronds outside. They are good as fuel. Some of our neighbours take them. But now they are very wet and cannot be used. They are still lying outside. When it is sunny they will dry once again. There is a cremation ground in our locality. Many give the dry fronds there.

Life is going on.  We are hearing of people getting Covid in spite of getting vaccinated. The virus is there to stay. We have to be careful.

I am enjoying writing Pantoums. They are fun and challenging.

Outside our window

The tall coconut tree

Graceful swaying fronds

Dancing to the wind.

The tall coconut tree

Fronds like an umbrella

Dancing to the wind

Like giants at a glance.

Sliding down

Dead brown fronds

Dry and weak

Separating from the tree

Dead brown fronds

Crashing with a thump

Separating from the tree

Outside our window.

The pantoum is a poem of any length, composed of four-line stanzas in which the second and fourth lines of each stanza serve as the first and third lines of the next stanza. The last line of a pantoum is often the same as the first.

Food For Joy! Pelakai Gidde / Pelakai Gatti) / Jackfruit Idlis Steamed in teak leaves – Food For Joy!