I am so, so pleased with myself for coining that caption!! Well, when its a good life and a bright day, inspiration comes knocking when you least expect it. I was walking past the laptop, new knitting project in hand, when I just had to stop and share this day with you..a normal day at home, when nothing really good or bad has happened but I still feel blessed and bright and blase about life.
Right now, the following feel-good factors are working overtime to make me feel this way
- A hearty, tasty, healthy lunch in my tummy! Kumaoni style mixed dal, local greens ka sabzi, hot rice, and home-made lemon pickle. totally yummy!
- Well fed doggies have gone out with Hema to sun themselves, sit on the green grass and leave me to myself. No ears to be scratched, no tummy to be rubbed, no doggy hair to be taken out of the keyboard. Its a good feeling for twenty minutes
- afternoon sunshine streaming into the house through the clear glass windows. Beyond the windows are shimmering pine leaves, flitting yellow butterflies, four disgruntled mynahs and some chirpy small birds.
- A good hot bath which converted the bathroom into a sauna corner, removed all traces of grime and grease from my skin and plastered my clean hair on my head.
- Absolutely, totally nothing planned for the afternoon, evening or night!
Its a good feeling…and I am going to use this feeling to talk about a ‘normal’ day in the hills.
The one question which is thrown at me by friends and family, casual and serious visitors, passing tourists and any other category which I may have missed ” How do you spend your time in the hills?/what do you do on a normal day?/ don’t you get bored just looking at the hills?” ( The doggies have returned and parked themselves at my feet and near my waist).
Usually, my answer is to repeat the same question to them “how do you spend your time at home?/what do you do on a normal day at office?/dont you get bored just looking at traffic jams or malls?”. Our waking hours, in any city or town or hamlet, are very similar. Wake up..tea/coffee/exercise…brushing teeth and bathing body…breakfast…work/write/clean up home/cook/ craft…lunch at noon…some more work etc…evening tea+walk…TV viewing/catching up with family and friends…dinner…some more TV/work/chatting…bed. That is my answer, MOST of the time.
but sometimes, I like to fill in those little precious details which feel normal now! they change with the seasons, but right now, I am savoring these bits
The daily morning walk is sprinkled with these ruby-red saplings of horse-chestnut. This click has not been photo-shopped and I will be allowed to ooh and aah over the leaves for another week. After that, its shades of green..delectable shades, but green nevertheless.
Spring and pine trees make an amazing combination of budding brown cones stuffed with sneezy pollen and clumps of drying brown needles which will carpet the forest floor and fuel the dreaded forest fires of the summer. That is in the future–right now, I stare at them, sneeze past them and take a long long time to savor the hill slopes, villages, terraced fields and blue skies.
At home, the dogs stretch out on the cool floors, sniff the cooking aromas and revel in the joy of not having to cosy up to the winter blankets and rugs. Pepper gets a thorough shearing so that she can fit her bulk into the kitchen shelves.
Afternoons are meant for sunning ourselves on the forest floor…staring at the pine tops gazing down at us…watching kites circling lazily in the blue circle delineated by the pines…and having a gentle shut-eye.
However lazy one chooses to be or however many jobs one has completed in that long to-do list…however good was lunch or however sparse was the fare at tea-time, however boring were the visitors or however exciting was the conversation, there is one vision which just makes my world perfect. It makes me feel small yet blessed, makes me smile,makes me gape with admiration and awe. It makes me, once again, thank whatever Gods there may be, for bringing me to these hills.
The mighty Himalayas get the last word.
If this is the life that Ranikhet provides, then I want it – every day of the year!