its monday again? awesome!

idly and filter coffee. an immortal pair. like romeo and juliet, heer and ranjha, lalu and rabri. or the auto-rickshaw wallahs and their chai shops. thats the way it feels in palghat :-) the coffee decoction in amma's house is especially strong, her idlis filled with love and flavor, and their union - immortal! after a long time we're in my favourite palghat trichi passenger train again and though winter's beating a quick retreat in the south, the air is cool and crisp, and my eyes are filled with green again. these familiar sights - the paddy fields, the coconut trees, the odd farmer surveying his field, that other immortal pair (the buffalo and the white egret), and those ageless rock mountains watching over it all - these are sights that never seem to stop inspiring that joy, that awe. awesome! awesome! this was the very word prof kulkarni's son sachin used to describe his fathers operation which he was able to watch from inside the operation theatre. he may as well have been talking about the spirit that prof kulkarni's students displayed during the last few testing weeks. from the spontaneous response to the call for blood donation, to the constant presence and support provided to his family at the hospital, to the countless prayers and messages of goodwill - it was a lesson in love. the love, strength, and spirit that prof kulkarni's family and his students have showed during his hospitalization. awesome! as was the smile his grand-daughter gave from the swings in the childrens playgound a recent morning. i was pensive, lost in my thoughts, and rushing to asb as i often do :-) and i saw shruti and her father sharing a quiet moment on the swings. waved a distracted hi to them and rushed on. when i heard a child's voice beckoning me. turned back and there she was with a bright hello and an even brighter smile. everything dissolved in that smile. suddenly there was a spring to my steps and a smile on my face too. the gift of a child's unburdened smile. awesome! its also the last monday at asb for prof rooplekha khuntia - a dear dear friend and sister. she joined asb the same time we did and now heads homewards to bhubaneswar to her next phase in life. we've been through a lot together, and its not only the office that lies between shobhana's and mine that will feel empty in the days to come. we'll deeply miss her gentle and loving presence. and those wonderful meals she fed us at her "oriya kitchen". the gift of this friendship. awesome! Gift O my love, what gift of mine Shall I give you this dawn? A morning song? But morning does not last long - The heat of the sun Wilts it like a flower And songs that tire Are done. O friend, when you come to my gate At dusk What is it you ask? What shall I bring you? A light? A lamp from a secret corner of my silent house? But will you want to take it with you Down the crowded street? Alas, the wind will blow it out. Whatever gifts are in my power to give you, Be they flowers, Be they gems for your neck, How can they please  you If in time they must surely whither, Crack, Lose lustre? All that my hands can place in yours Will slip through your fingers And fall forgotten to the dust To turn into dust. Rather, When you have leisure, Wander idly through my garden in spring And let an unknown, hidden flower's scent startle you Into sudden wondering - Let that displaced moment Be my gift. Or if, as you peer your way down a shady avenue, Suddenly, spilled From the thick gathered tresses of evening A single shivering fleck of sunset-light stops you, Turn your daydreams to gold, Let that light be an innocent Gift. Truest treasure is fleeting; It sparkles for a moment, then goes. It does not tell its name, its tune Stops us in our tracks, its dance disappears At the toss of an anklet. I know no way to it - No hands, nor word can reach it, Friend, whatever you take of it, On your own, Without asking, without knowing, let that Be yours. Anything I can give you is trifling - Be it a flower, or a song - Rabindranath Tagore "Let that displaced moment be my gift." sometimes they do get the nobel prize right! and a monday morning email that is actually dispatched on a monday morning. awesome! much much love, d&s