Starting a newsletter at a time when the online space is flooded with so much content, was not an easy decision. It felt like I was feeding an insatiable dragon that was already gorging uncontrollably on everything that came its way by way of words, visuals, information… was I just pandering to a whim of mine?
However, I wanted a platform to share some of the things that give me so much joy… the idea of writing about that special feeling upon reading something uplifting or about anecdotes that touch life in a special way or sketching those easily overlooked pieces of nature and sharing them with more people delighted me… Hence, this newsletter 🙂
That March Feeling
The dust that has settled so comfortably on the blades of the fan needs to be removed. A spider might lose a home in the ensuing turmoil.
I am already searching for lighter fabric in my severely Marie Kondo’d wardrobe. The eyes want to see pastels and cotton.
The incessant, repetitive call of the Barbet takes over the morning stillness, and also takes me back effortlessly to school days and holidays, when one languished in the center of the bed amidst crumpled sheets, perspiration running down slowly because it was time for the daily ‘power cut’.
There’s a lightness in the air too, a loosening of sorts, as though the molecules of cold are dispersing and making space for the warmer ones.
This is going to change so much. The birds will change, birdcalls will change, memories will change and time out in the sun will change….People will change.
These are last few days of tea in bed.
I want winter to linger, I want to hold on to my fleece and the special darkness that only winter nights bring. I want to see the indigo of the sky and the silent, ghost like forms of foraging owls, as I tighten the burnt-orange, hand-knitted shawl around my shoulders and it hugs me like only something made by a mother can…
Thankfully, I can still do that for some time, till we are on the cusp of inevitable change… I promise to slow down… Relish… Savour… Replenish…
I promise to be… Just like March..
Sometimes, words ignite a warm glow within, making one believe that amidst all the turmoil, there is still so much beauty… Sharing a poem from Blue Horses by Mary Oliver..
On meditating.. sort of
Meditation, so I’ve heard, is best accomplishedIf you entertain a certain strict posture.Frankly, I prefer to just lounge under a tree,So why should I think I could ever be successful?
Some days I fall asleep, or land in thatEven better place- half-asleep- where the world,Spring, summer, autumn, winter-Flies through my mind in itsHardy ascent and its uncompromising descent.
So I just lie like that, while distance and timeReveal their true attitudes: they never heard of me, and never will, or ever need to.
Of course I wake up finallyThinking, how wonderful to be who I am,Made out of earth and water,My own thoughts, my own fingerprints-All that glorious, temporary stuff
Meanwhile, sensing the warmth, plants seem to be celebrating with a profusion of flowers and a riot of colour. No better time than now have a watercolour workshop on spring flowers!
Do share your thoughts on being on the cusp of seasons…
Here’s a downloadable sketch for you to colour…
Thank you for reading, have a lovely rest of the week!
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