Maid washing clothes; brushes softly.
It must be my father.
That sound of his shoes at the last two
steps is his.
He will catch me not studying.
That must be my father.
His almirah opens. He arranges his dress,
Takes out his dhoti and banyan;
That must be my father
Water drooling in the bathroom
To relax his fatigued machine.
A child jumps into a pond. Splash!
It must be my mother frying fish.
Rainy day today; no school, what a welcome
to the changing season
Fresh smell…rhythmic rains…
Good…good things are happening in the
kitchen.
Back into the future
Pressure cooker whistles to the sound of my
mother’s conch.
Pooja at home.
Prasad waits for the owners of slippers
waiting outside.
Ma smelling of dhoopdhoona.
Train whistles to take the holdall and us
to a faraway place.
Clothes washed and hanging;
Treasures
intact; to take the old man
Back
into his protective and stable days,
And
bring him back again into a changing state;
Back,
all the time; into the future!
Note:
1. Almirah
– cupboard;
2. Dhoti
- is a traditional men's garment worn in India. It is a rectangular piece of
unstitched cloth, usually around 4.5 metres (15 ft) long, wrapped around the
waist and the legs and knotted at the waist, resembling a long skirt.
3. Pooja
– worship;
4. Conch
– a large spiral shell used before and after pooja;
5. Prasad
– foods and fruits, as offerings to Gods and Goddesses; after the pooja, it is
to be consumed by the devotees.
6. DhoopDhoona
- dhoop (incense stick) and dhoona – a
special powder put on coconut skin and burnt to create a good atmosphere for
pooja. It is also believed to be good for health, and is used as mosquito
repellent.
12 June 2014
