My White Window

Window, how mesmerizing and breezy it used to be! I believe windows are an essential factor of a house. It’s a crucial player in bringing the ventilation inside our home, to make breathe easy and versatile sight to cheers. I couldn't think living in a house without windows and I strongly believe life begins only outside the windows. I think not many could understand the wealth of windows like the author of My White Window and me – who spent days almost inside the house. Window means a lot to me.

A cottage window at Kodaikanal

The windows are not meant the only ones at our homes. Every building installed windows in various shapes and frame work but the view we get were almost enchanting. I realize the worth of windows and I really want to mention something that made me felt the pulse of windows. During my course of war over lungs infection in early 2010, I was supposed to visit a lung specialist frequently related to my treatment and his clinic was on the 2nd floor of a building that we reach by a lift. He was a mid-aged doctor and kind being towards not only patient but everyone; and he treats with due care and concern which I haven't seen with any other doctors. Though every doctor treats patients to be cured, I saw something special in his way of approach and patience but not a bit of laziness or wearisome.

The doctor room was well equipped including desktop computer and split A/C to check patients at his own comfort level; but he chose the nature way of ventilation though wide open windows. Being a lung specialist, no one could understand the importance of breathing and which is healthy inhaling unlike him who prefer to open air windows rather switched on to A/C.  Through the entire visits to his clinic I saw him leaving the windows open, perhaps being on 2nd floor he might doing so I thought, but he follows the same at his resident come clinic at ground level. He also advised me to stay where I could get good ventilation. And if not the windows what can provide us such relief; and I’m also a kind, unroll the glasses whenever possible or elsewhere no pollution or heat occupy the space while on travel in car.

I know cities aren't a safe zone to seek fresh air, but we aren't lost with oxygen is a consoling fact.

Through window I see a world right opposite to my life inside the home. I don't envy at birds flying in the sky and butterflies fluttering in stunning coated wings, but I enjoy bearing fresh breeze on my face, the fragrance of flowering and chirrup of birds and crunching leaves. Well I can't explain much how heartwarming and pleasure looking through windows, a zone not so comfort like being at home. But I still and ever want to go outside exploring the glimpses I catch via windows.

There are two windows that connect me outside home: other than the one which inspires me often through the sights, sound and sense of breeze that caught behind the window bars, the Microsoft windows of my PC helps communicate the message I got through motion scenes and emotional core. Both these windows lead me to a world of wisdom. I cherish and console me through various grief and emotions that I experience in everyday dilute of life.

Footnote:

Other day while chatting, the sweet Preeti asked me to write a guest post on her blog. But for some unknown reason she’s could post it, so I make it way through my blog. I know Preetilata for long time through blog and she writes from deep heart and sometime lighter moments as cheerful. She’s one of a sweetest girl I ever know on earth and her blog (My White Window), is a best outlook for any writer and inspiration to come up with a post on windows. As she began a happy married life, I wish her all the best.

Surprise Smile

image courtesy: google

She smiled from her heart
I guess, as it wasn't planned;
a cutest encounter
while she left the house
in the morning rush hours.

Though she closed the doors,
eyes behold at the doorstep
whether she turns back
with another surprise smile,
a flash that conveys quite comfort.

They says, but not only that
a photo speaks thou words
a quiet smile expresses like feeling;
though she smiled casually
it made my day ahead cheerful.

That’s one wide smile; despite
enhancing her beautiful aspect
furthered our relationship
which has been lately conveyed
as brother and sister. 

Sunday Photo: Austin Classic

Shot at a heritage rally on vintage cars, couple of years back held at the VGP Golden Beach parking lot on ECR.

Happy Birthday Chennai

Our city celebrates 375^th year of establishment today… here I share a couple of photos on one of the city’s oldest bridges, Napier Bridge.

Also known as Iron Bridge was built in 1869 by Francis Napier, who was then Governor of Madras. The bridge was constructed over the Cooum River, connecting Fort St. George with the Marina Beach. Although the bridge was narrow before, it was soon converted to a concrete structure in 1943 by Arthur Hope.

funny to see buffaloes across the bridge

Alongside the old bridge, a new one was built in 1999 with a 10.5 meter-wide carriageway on the western side. The bridge is 138 meter long with 6 spans (bowstrings) across the river near the mouth. As part of the Marina Beach beautification, special lights have been fixtures beneath and on the arches and surface of the bridge, provides visual effect during night times. This architectural marvel stands tall and proud, making it one of the most significant landmarks in the city.

 

Life along with monkeys

My place of residence in Adyar, Chennai, has lot of monkeys! Since my native is Adyar, we transferred to the neighborhood area (buying a ground floor flat, 8 years back) to prevent difficulty of climbing up and down to the first floor home there. Now shifted back to Adyar for the last 5 months, mainly because of the emotional attachment my father hold towards this area and having been grown myself for more than 20 years here, he is more than three decades ahead of me. Though we couldn’t go back to our native home - which remained to be first and second floors since my uncle runs a workshop at ground floor -  we had rented a house close to ours, therefore my dad don’t need to wander between the neighborhoods.

a monkey on the fence (click any pics for enlarge)

I have seen monkeys (bonnet macaque) in my area even before shifted to neighborhood, though I had no idea about them until transferred back to Adyar. I not even thought that I would be back here like a bounced ball, but taking years to respond. For me where I reside becomes second, because I have come to believe that I don’t belong to one place. My intention was comfort and peace, and I am always open to experience new environment and ready to adapt anyplace with basic infrastructures. I dream of living in suburbs, where pollution and noise were at least. That too driven towards the southern districts rather closes to Chennai.

The monkeys here aren’t much troublesome, though they make their presence noticeable. At the rear of our house, canopy of trees (mostly large) sprawls for few hundred meters provides wonderful shelter to the monkeys from very young to aged. Also being very close to Adyar Theosophical Society and Besant Garden, which are very few patches of green across Chennai, adjacently, gives way to forest environment including number of rare flora and fauna. I’m really not sure these monkeys reside among the canopy of trees at the backyard, because they don’t make their way everyday across us. But few houses away from us used to make mild explosions sometime, which we come to know through our servant maid that they blast crackers to drive away the annoying monkeys.

a monkey perched on our staircase handrail

Mostly they come as a group or family, sitting here and there, climbing up and down and leaping through the branches of trees. But they don’t stay long into our sight, as they keep moving like nomads. There are even huge monkeys (perhaps obese) among them, which could scare anybody with their looks. Before I go ahead continue with monkey stories, I need to say my house has inbuilt something pre-cautiously to prevent monkeys entering or looting things leaving its hands through the windows grills. Or perhaps through their early experience with monkeys annoyance, the owners of the house has made additional frames of net to the existing windows, so that we could open the windows without fear of monkeys.

But the windows in the hall doesn’t have this facility, so monkeys have attempted few times entering our house and also succeeded, which we haven’t know until one night dad wake up to see a monkey sitting on my bro’s helmet left on the sofa. Once saw him it leaped through the windows but certainly scared my dad who didn’t expect a monkey sitting on our sofa, that too at mid-night. We were blaming the cats other day for coming into house and drink the milk left at the dining table. But through this attempt we confirmed it was the monkey, and not the cat. Few days back I read news in paper, that a monkey has been constantly attacking an apartment in the neighborhood and its main intention was drinking milk from the milk packets that dropped at every doorstep in early morning. Before the households collect the milk packets, the monkey empty those and also become so obese because of drinking only milk! Lol

Humpty dumpty sat on a wall

A monkey here also tried to scare me once, when I was alone. I working on my laptop other day and suspect something leaps off the window before I saw it clearly. But our pet, which was sleeping near my wheelchair, alerted me by suddenly barking at the window. Initially I too thought it must be a cat, but following the incident above it sounds certainly to be a monkey. Our pet haven’t seen monkeys often, so she kept barking every time they come around and also become crazy to chase them. My mom was plucking flowers one evening (from daily jasmine vine), which has become her daily activity after shifted here, a monkey came waking on the compound wall threatened her thinking she’s having something eatable in her bowl, which she use for collecting flowers. Though it doesn't do anything, she left the bowl on the wall and moved away and it passed as well.

So far the monkeys hadn't been a trouble for us; but it is fun something watching their activities and also provides opportunity to conduct photo shoot on them. The huge ones make wonder through their appearance and they aren't active and fun making like the young and middle once. I leave the post with a small collage on the monkeys fun below, shot at various moments! Thank you