Travels unexpected

 

Dear readers

Hope you are doing well. It is -20 °C here in Ontario. While I do enjoy the snow from time to time and appreciate how beautiful things look in the snow, my mind is now reminiscing warmer days and summer travels. One such was with my aunt-in-law Kerry, a road trip to White plains in New York state that she had meticulously planned. Experiencing laughter, tears, conversations and even some other-wordly, strange phenomena,  our road trip seemed to have a mind of its own, taking us to unknown, unfamiliar routes that were not in the agenda..memorable, for sure. This poem is a tribute to such travels that I have experienced in my life with family and friends. Would you like to share some of your own in the comments below?  I would love to hear :)

Warm wishes and appreciation 

Mimi/Rukmini 

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There was a plan
an agenda sketched
itinerary cast
outlined in stone
clearly set
well laid out
to be followed
in a direction
pre-set and known
 
As the journey started
two friends traversed
in frolic and fun
far and long
camaraderie
connection
through and beyond
hamlets, villages
criss-crossed roads
stops and stations
not earlier known
 
And suddenly
it stopped

the plan, the agenda

now giving way
to a mind
a rhythm

of its own

 
The turn of each corner
unfolded surprises
some tears, some talks
and other-worldly tales
laughter, joy
unbridled, free
cleansing in a manner
beyond one's control
 
Glimpses of towns
cemeteries and shops
fast food chains 
and their famed sliders
pubs with dim lights
and down town sights
connections with strangers
places and more
seeming random
yet familiar and sure
from another era
perhaps other times
each with meaning
significance sown 
within each greeting
a universal core
 
Unclenching their fists
they let things go 
the previously sketched plan
organized agenda
now lost in the flow

Life could be easy
simple, profound
light hearted, playful
perhaps, 

when gently allowed

The road lit brightly
on the way 

back home
shining with hope
with glimpses of dreams
embracing blessings
the friends returned
full circle 

in peace
nestling new wisdom
so unexpectedly found

 
 
 
 

An out-of-box anniversary

Years ago
never having seen
nor met 
each other
we had exchanged vows
on this day
in the ether

invisible bonds
strong at its core
a certain knowingness
from only a few months
of friendship
virtually defined

in the air

a coming together
a surety,
designed, intervened
by unseen, intangible forces
across cultures
and spaces
impossibilities 
and conventions
we united as strangers 

as partners on a path
choosing and recognizing
freely and flowingly
an unknown familiarity
comprehensible,
unexplainable
 
today's date

brings with it
reflections
on a union
that time and again
brings us  
home
to the innermost self 

for the purpose

and pursuit
of knowing another
is to find oneself

         

           through chaos 
           and turmoil

love and hope
this mix of
swirling thoughts
often opposing
doubtful yet sure
facing demons
waging battles
alone and together

beautiful, ugly

mundane and special 

Intertwined completely
 
a rare sense
this time
repeatedly brings

reassuring and timeless

trustful amid frailties

where breaking points
solidify and consolidate
an unbreakable lovingness
allowing for acknowledgment
for all that is
and what could have been
perhaps what will again be
of possibilities and potential

and thankfulness

for a gift given

by the universe
in its perfection

 

    home garden...roses and thorns

 

6.52 pm...for Ma

Dear readers,

Happy New Year. Hope you are in the best of everything.

My first digital story. I learned how to create it in a workshop at the University of Guelph, Ontario. The year 2014 was the first anniversary of Ma's transition. Expressing my reflections on paper then, this workshop and its facilitators had helped me transform words into a digital story. What a fulfilling, creative experience that was! I am thankful. 

With Ma (and with Deta, my father), I shared a friendship, love, and togetherness that I am often unable to explain in words or measure in time. We got each other. A sense of oneness, sometimes beyond comprehension. I thought this was the norm, a story of every child in this world... till I saw the world. And realized my gift. 

This foundational loving authenticity continues to flow forward in my life, in the way I perceive the world and interact with the world around me. Perhaps you will find a glimpse of that in my digital story, "6.52 pm...for Ma", that I am sharing here today, this time on the occasion of Ma's upcoming birthday (the 9th of January). 

With love and warm wishes

Mimi/Rukmini

                                                                     

Together

Icy glass like trees

Stand juxtaposed

With warm musical strains

And cinnamon tea
This winter evening

Surreal, touching zeniths

Sometimes within reach
Slippery to my comprehension
Yet clear to the soul

Beauty and perfection

Fused fluidly
Meeting lightly
In the middle

Storm and upheaval

Both colliding
While creating
A third
Unknown, welcome energy

Whispering

While bringing home
Strong and sure
A bracelet of words
Woven to soothe
Turmoil with calm

“There is space

For you
And the other
I continually flow 

And allow spaces
Between truths
Of differing existences
Binding gently
Paradox simultaneously
At all times
Co-existing
At once
It can all be”

                                                                                                

 

 
    

Birthday note...to a childhood friend

I wrote this birthday note to a dear childhood friend from my Duliajan days, reminiscing a particular event, that also speaks of what friendships and belonging felt like then...

Dear Mainoo,

Happy birthday!

A few decades ago, towards this day, your birthday, you had a grand plan. This was expressed by you to Ma and me. From that point onwards, we got going in trying to fulfill your wish. Ma started to plan the cake you had wanted and the menu that you had wished for. You had expressed everything in detail so that there was no doubt in anyone's mind. Part of the party planning was also inviting some of your friends. So I would take out my cycle, and you would gladly plonk on the back seat. I might have been heavier than you, but cycling you around Duliajan with numerous stops in-between was no easy task. I did it with  joy as it was an adventure I was sharing with you. We would stop at all the fortunate invitees' homes including every white person that lived in Duliajan (there were 2 or 3 foreigner families, as we would refer to them, living and working in Duliajan then, I think). Before going in to invite them,  you would give me a detailed profile of each family. I would obediently go in with you as you would confidently invite these strangers for your party in my home. When I look back now, I loved this confidence as it spoke of your sense of belonging to my family. There really was no "us" and "them"  in those childhood moments...Later, we would giggle non-stop about every little thing and wonder with some fascination by the way the foreigners did and said things..everything that was new or unfamiliar to us, we would run those by each other. Once the invitations were done, we would go back home tired, and Ma would have some of our favourite goodies ready for us and we would devour those, but not without competing for the bottom sticky parts of certain dishes that always felt like the richest part of a meal. As your birthday came nearer, the planning was on full swing. Then, one day, your Ma visited us and requested Ma to cancel your birthday party. She was so apologetic, thinking that this was creating great inconvenience to Ma. Ma insisted that it was okay to have your party at our place...but...anyway, to my child's mind, this felt like a big disappointment, especially as I felt your heart at that moment. Maybe it made sense to the elders, but I really wished we had your birthday party in our home that year. So the crux of the matter here is, today on your birthday, my mind captured that childhood memory and brought it to the forefront, inspiring me to write about the fun, the adventure, the giggles, the laughter, the serious party planning discussions we had together for that grand party that did not happen... but what it did and perhaps this is the most important part...it created a sweet and unforgettable memory..and I am thankful for that. 

You will always remain my childhood friend whose plans I believe in, irrespective...

Love 

Mimi

             

Immigrant

what would you do?
if the stranger

beside you

opened a door
into a space
offering glimpses

some insight

possibilities perhaps
of familiarity
even belonging?

would you step in
and also step out
finding yourself
in between
perhaps the other
sometimes here
nowhere then
everywhere still?

In this neither land
somedays you see
perspective

shades in the spectrum
bold colours too
creation, then obliteration
changes encompassing
power on its own

only for those
privileged by pain
identity unlike 

any before...

An island that captures...

Prince Edward Island (PEI) is the smallest province of Canada. Yet, it is big in history (known as the birthplace of the Canadian Confederation) and breathtakingly beautiful to the eye. Lucy Maud Montgomery's famed novel Anne of Green Gables is set here in PEI. Here, Edouard Arsenault, a local PEI resident, over a period of 25 years since 1980, gathered and assembled around 25000 recycled glass bottles to build the unique PEI Bottle House. This creation is set amid exquisitely maintained gardens. A perfect meditative space. 

We were in PEI recently. Cousin Michelle, who lives there part of the year, graciously showed us around the island's main landmarks. Below is a visual representation of PEI, captured by the camera. These feel more apt and vast than words could, in this post today...

To read further about PEI, here is the official link: 

https://www.tourismpei.com/

With love and thankfulness

Mimi/Rukmini