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Trees

Trees were next to her heart if one checks out her passion for water sources. The trees on her land were a source of wonder for her. There were four gigantic Tamarind trees like sentries watching over their land. Her favourite one was the second tree nearest to her home. She was always there, building houses for her dolls .Often her sisters and other akkas (Elder sisters) in the neighbourhood joined her. They would play, inventing game after game all,  products of sheer imagination. Their all time favourite was keeping a drunkard’s house. The girl became invariably the drunkard. Because she had watched from a distance what occurred in her friend Rani’s house when her father came home drunk Oh there was, much fun and laughter. Then there were those huge Ayyanni trees and the jack fruit trees.. The girl really loved them .In great ecstasy she would hug them to her heart. As she grew the trees became a kind of solace for her. Often she shared her teenage woes with them. In their silence or in their rustling she heard words of comfort. They were also her favourite haunt where she read her favourite books or where she studied. She even slept under their shade. This love grew but when they shifted to the new farm her father purchased,  her heart was broken. She missed her friend the boy in blue shirt and Khaki Knickers, the crystal clear pond and her huge trees.


Down Memory lane


Going down memory lane,
I came to my old homestead-
Where, for seventeen summers
I was nurtured.

The old rambling house, with its spacious rooms;
The sweeping land; the gigantic tamarind trees-
Four great pillars- sentry like
Guarding the terrain.

The second one, nearest to my homestead -
Our favourite haunt! My siblings
And I, with childish enthusiasm, played
Making doll houses and keeping house.

Oh, it was such fun then!
No care, no worries,
Only, innocent mirth and grief.
But alas gliding years,
Weaves a nostalgic dream
Unwinding the spool of yearning,
To regain the golden days of childhood.

From  Memory Rain