I am currently on my annual pilgrimage of a visit to India. Here are some observations from my ancestral home in Delhi.
A small park close to my parent's home, is an oasis in this 3-4 story concrete jungle. It is surrounded on all sides by 40-50 feet tall trees (Gul-Mohars, Neem, Peepal, Ashok, Banyan etc.). Normally the leaves are covered with dust and the vegetation looks awful, but this year, because of excessive rains, the leaves are still relatively clean and it looks green all around.
It starts to hum with activity at the crack of dawn. In one corner, an ISKCON devotee starts the Bhagwad Gita class as soon as there is enough daylight for him to read. He has a steady group of 3 chelas, plus whoever else happens to drop by. The class consists of reading verses from the Bhagwad Gita and then explaining their meaning. It ends at 7:15, followed by 15 minutes of chanting of the Hare Krishna Mahamantra.
In another corner, the seniors from the colony start streaming in at 6:45 and park themselves on the benches. When one of them decides that they have reached a critical mass, they get up to form a circle and start clapping, I guess this has some therapeutic value. A 300-400 clapping session is followed by some loud-out-laughing accompanied by throwing their hands up in the air; and then chanting of the Gayatri mantra. They too disperse by 7:30. Then there are walkers, who can be seen circling along the inside periphery of the park till 8:00. So, the entire park is available to vagarants like me after that.
After the morning sounds and action subside, the park assumes almost a meditative mood. The greenery, the shade of the tall trees, the constant chirping of assorted birds punctuated by short blurts from squirrels, running up and down the trees; create a peaceful atmosphere to enjoy. Yesterday, a couple of kids in a window across the street from the park provided some extra noontime amusement. They were standing there screaming their lungs out in a joyful mood, making some incoherent noises - perhaps future debaters - once they learn how to speak. In the words of Louise Armstrong's 'What a wonderful world' song, "they'll learn much more.....than I'll ever know" - sweet kids. I don't know what I would do without this piece of heaven so close to me. It is an excellent substitute for hanging out at the beach back home.
Noon to 3:00 gets a little warm and the benches have no shade to protect them. The park sheds its deserted look and starts to come alive as the shade returns. Late afternoon is ladies yoga time in a corner, followed by another gathering of the seniors - some from the morning session and some new ones, who hang around till about 8:00. Occasionally, ladies drop by during the course of the day to worship the peepal tree. And little boys may show up once in a while to play cricket in the afternoon with their plastic wickets and a tennis ball.
My early morning participation has so far been with the Bhagwad Gita study group, the clapping and laughing seniors and doing few laps along the inside periphery. The late morning participation is just relaxing on a bench with a newspaper and my afternoon participation is limited to sitting there working on Sudoku. I tried the company of seniors in the evening once, to collect some nuggets of wisdom. They don't drool or spit when they talk, but they do not make much sense either. I guess they are way way past their prime - a window to my future.
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