Eulogy for my lemon tree!

I bought a lemon plant a couple of months ago and pictured it growing big in my balcony bearing a number of yellow lemons. It was a tiny plant in a big pot – giving it room to bloom into a beautiful shrub.I imagined cooking in my kitchen, humming a tune , with the smell of fresh lemons and the sight of a blooming tree to soothe my nerves and get me into the relaxed and cooking frame of mind.

There were problems from the very beginning – a branch which carried tiny green lemons partially snapped in the car due to sudden braking. We came home – tied twine around the broken stem, showering it with love and care and we wished to nurse it back. But it was not to be. The branch slowly turned brown and died and we had to sever it to keep the rest of the plant healthy. We kept changing the place where we kept this pot – some places were too sunny, some were too windy and some places had too much shade. Our tiny plant also survived an attack by a pigeon in the balcony. We nursed it, we watered it and hoped it would survive. Voila! It did – new leaves began to sprout and I was delighted. We began to slowly take the plant for granted and only watered it once a day. Weekends we weren’t at home, so watered it in excess on Friday and hoped it will survive till Monday.

Slowly there were long weekends/ travels abroad and we were missing from the house for weeks on end. For the first such trip, we placed the pot outside the front door and requested the neighbour to water it. Then the travel got more frequent and so did the neglect. When I last saw it, it was withering, but at least it was still alive. This week while I am still away and my hubby was unwell and not in our place – it must have withered completely and died.

I miss it , but I can still see the yellow lemon tree although my plant never even grew more than an inch before our neglect killed it. I wish I had taken more care and I do hope someday I can nurture and grow a tree – like the one I see in my head!

I wonder how
I wonder why
Yesterday you told me 'bout the blue blue sky
And all that I can see is just a yellow lemon-tree
I'm turning my head up and down
I'm turning turning turning turning turning around
And all that I can see is just another lemon-tree!

I miss you, my dear sapling!

P.S : After writing this big eulogy, I finally went home and saw my resilient sapling still alive in-spite of our negligence. Sorry my dear hubby for accusing you to be the killer of my lemon tree!

Theatrical Bookshop

Bookstores are always a favourite place for me to visit. Shelves filled with books and small couches for you to sit down and peruse the books you wanna buy, kiosks where you try and find titles that interest you - all of it holds a charm for me.

Just imagine how happy I was to hear that one of world's most beautiful bookstores in the world was just a few blocks away from where I was staying in Recoleta, Buenos Aires. I couldn't resist a visit to El Ateneo Grand Splendid Bookstore.It was once a theatre which staged tango performances by some famous artists.This book lover’s palace located in the old Grand Splendid Theater retains all the decadence of an Italian opera house.

The theater boxes are intact and are fitted with comfy chairs that invite visitors to lounge perusing book selections on a rainy afternoon.The Splendid’s stage remains encased by thick burgundy curtains, and now serves as the bookstore’s pleasant cafe. A live pianist performs on stage in the afternoons and, thanks to the great acoustics, can be heard throughout the store.

 Balconies where one can sit and read

This building is over a 100 years old and look how grand it still is. I couldn't help but wish we had something like this in India and was wondering what would it take to build such a beautiful bookstore back home.

The Art of Letting Go!

Disclaimer: This post is going to a rant! You can stop reading now if do not wish to hear me complain and then contemplate on it.

How many times has someone been condescending towards you or even said something to you that didn't go down well with you? Are you the kind of person who stands up and tells a person that you didn't like what they said? Or are you the silent sufferer who can't let it go but can't tell the person you have a problem either? I do a little bit of both and find that neither is helpful. Over time this translates into an excel in my head with a list of grudges against people. What is frustrating is I cannot let go. Every time I think about these incidents I get angry mainly at myself that it still affects me so much.

How does one let go? How does one forgive when you haven't been apologized to? How do you ask for an apology from a person who doesn't even know he has hurt you? I lose respect for people and trust me it is very difficult for my excel to get updated with renewed respect.

The solution, as my hubby says, is to not think about these things at all. But I ain't wired that way and need an outlet to let things go. Ranting helps a little but it isn't enough to just reset the excel in my head and start afresh.

Beautiful places of worship

All of a sudden a lot of travel fell in place and I have been quite touristy.I have happened to visit some places of worship and they have interested me enough to dedicate a blog to them.Am usually not an advocate for visiting any religious sites but these ones were really beautiful.

Place 1 : Grand Mosque, Abu Dhabi
I visited Abu Dhabi and saw the most beautiful mosque.While driving from the airport to Abu Dhabi,the lit up mosque far from the road piqued my interest. I immediately enquired about it and decided to visit it the next morning.It was magnificient with white arches tastefully decorated and extravagant chandeliers hanging in the prayer room.

 

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque - Side view

 

 

           Reflective pools surround the mosque, amplifying its beauty.

 

 

Such an extravagant mosque has been built which is open to all and so much money has been spent on it. But still the entry to this place of worship is free for all and best part is no attempt is made to recover the money spent on making this beautiful mosque.This mosque has a strict dress code and women have to to wear Abaya if they arent covering thier heads.

Me in Abaya under the chandelier

 

This is one of the world's largest mosques and houses the world's largest hand knitted carpet in the prayer room.Sheikh Zayed after whom this mosque is named is buried here.

 

Place 2: Basilica Nuestra Señora del Pilar, Buenos Aires

 

A large and beautiful gleaming white church Basilica Nuestra Señora del Pilar is the oldest church of Buenos Aires which has an architecture of Baroque style. Considered one of the best-preserved examples of Argentine colonial architecture, the church was built by the Franciscan Recoleto in 1732 and is the adjacent to the famous Recoleta cemetery. Its ornate silver altar, tile work and chapels deserve more than a quick look. There is an Inca style sun made in silver in front of the main altar.

 

Outside the church on weekends is a flea market of sorts where you get on sale - souvenirs to hand crafted jewellery. A stroll in this park converted into a market is interesting for all the knick knacks up for the sale and in general to observe the many visitors to this market.