Dedicated to POL

Power of Love ( POL) foundation, has been one of the organizations I most admire. Of course it may also have a lot to do with the fact that I was fortunate enough to meet and know Suresh Subramaniam, executive director of POL. He is one of the most gentle and yet fiercely passionate person I have known. Today I just browsed the POL website after long and realised how much they have been doing. Their circle of love keeps expanding.

Suresh also is an amazing photographer. He photographs people's souls. I have always been moved by the pictures he takes. 3 years ago, I was moved by this photo and had written this poem and showed it to Suresh (I am glad he didnt laugh). In my own tiny way its my tribute to the children, AIDS orphans who still bring tears to my eyes. I so wanna do something for them.


Do my eyes seem different to you?
I feel they shine even now
All fear to come hold my hand
Are scared to come, sit by my bed
I wander into the streets and they scream
My HIV, they fear will catch them
I love to run, I want to play tag
Go to that pond and wash all the comments away.
But, I am banished from the pond
What if she infects it with her germs, they whisper?
I remember the shadow of my mother
Remember her smile
Her touch as she wiped my nose with her frock
The noise of dinner that were her songs
Today I wait patiently in this orphanage
Many my age, are too tired to play
I love the window, love the tree
Maybe tonight the fairy will come kiss me.

Return to innocence

Went to the balcony a few minutes ago when I heard high pitch giggles. I knew it our relative’s daughter. They happen to live in the same building as us. She and her best friend and other assorted kids her age (all of 6) usually run around the building during evenings, driving cycles, spinning tops, playing hide and seek or simply arguing with one another. Today these two girls were armed with a badminton and plastic cork. From my fifth floor view it was a fun event. Neither was able to strike the cork at first go. It took about 6-7 attempts to touch the cork (of course by chance) and for the thing to whimper a bit and fall not further than 3 feet away. As a result each tried to move closer to the partner. They argued and tried to tell one another how the cork must be hit.

I couldn’t help but smile the entire 15 minutes I stood watching them. And then the realisation sunk in that this was exactly how I was 20 years ago. My childhood memories are something I have always meant to write down in detail. I did make a beginning and start writing. Then I left it after 3-4 paragraphs. Suddenly I am posed with the urge to once again dig into the recesses of my brains. Like bees rushing to the comb to rediscover the honey, I reach inside for sweet memories.

Aspiring writer that I am (ok people who do read this, don’t laugh. Or wait. Go on, I don’t really care) I decided to call those childhood memoirs of moi, ‘Those Jamun Days’. And since I do want to set free those memories so I can enjoy the experiences again, I am going to post them here. As regularly as I can. Not that there are too many of them, but the ones that are, are going to be written.

Extinct

" Everyday 19 species disappear from the earth"

Did you know this? I didnt. I saw it on an Ad in the Animal Planet. Wanna learn more? Go to One Earth

Here are some more facts and tips: from their website:( in not so many words)

Fact:
For each new car made, we create 27 tons of waste. Tip- buy a used car and the most fuel efficient one in that category.

Fact:
Trash is our biggest product. Packaging consumes 40% of paper used in germany and 1/3 of plastics used in the US. Tip: avoid buying packaged food.

Fact: 36% of the world's grain supply is used to feed chicken. tip: eat less meat and there can be enough

Fact: US has 5% of the world's population and uses 30% of its resources

Fact: A lawnmower can pollute more than a used car. running one for an hour procides the same emissions as driving a used car for 50 miles.

Fact: The electricity used to keep our lights burning creates 39 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions every year

Fact:Of the 28 commonly used pesticides, at least 23 are carciogenic . tip- think organic, buy organic.

Fact: A quarter of all oil goes to fuel passenger cars. tip: car-pool to work

Fact: Air pollution has led to a 79% increase in the number of children with asthma.


And so it goes on ..... get the picture?

Lack of libraries in India

A bunch of us at Writing in India recently started a discussion on libraries. And I couldn’t restrain myself and launched off an e-mail with fond memories of the Alameda County library I was a member of in Fremont. Am re- writing some of the contents of the e-mail here.

US was boring , till I discovered the local county library at Fremont. In truth it was a library that quite literally saved my mind from wandering into the garden of insanity. Boredom is a constant companion and I have always sensed that its only book and words who can adequately take a broom and knock boredom from making home in me. Knowing my love for books my BIL took me to the library and got me a membership there. For the year and hf I lived in the US, that library was my lifeline.

The library was only a 20 minutes walk away from our apartment complex (yes, I meant walk! God was on my side in the land of cars). The membership was free and there was no limit on the number of books you could take. I would wander the shelves for hours and browse through books on varied topics. Gardening, quilting, home décor, poetry, psychology, spirituality, were some books I browsed through but fiction my greatest weakness, was my favourite corner. Strangely it was in the US that I discovered some fabulous Indian writers and their work:- RK Narayan, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. I also started reading Faulkner, Alice Walker, Toni Morrison and other such fabulous writers. The one story library was replete with magazines of all kinds. They also had a fascinating collection of old English and Hindi movies. Singing in the Rain, Casablance, The Sting, Pather Panchali, Aparajita:- all movies I discovered there.

To wander amongst those long rows of books, smelling the musty odour books give off, touching them as though they were little children too be cared for, spending hours in the library with my head bent over a interesting book, writing by the window that overlooked a cheery garden, returning home arms full with books- those truly are among my best memories of the US .My previous experiences in India were a one year stint with the BCL, which was a 2-hour a-way journey from home and then a two month frolicking time at TISS's library while I did the social volunteerism course there. I miss being a member of a library in India. There are so far and few of them in India. Or rather I must say most are far from usual residential areas. With commuting being a nightmare in most cities today it leaves most people with a feeling of laziness. Unless u have a vehicle to drop and pick you up, changing two mediums of transport and spending at least an hour each way seems like such a task! And so, I invariably end up buying books. But it does not match the pleasure of visiting a library and feeling like I am with old friends.

The more I muse the more I grumble about the lack of libraries. Each locality must have at least one library. Cultivating the reading habit amongst children is given much importance to. But buying books is an expensive affair. Don’t we need good libraries to sustain and encourage that reading habit?