A hundred or two birds perched on the tree tops /Skyscape#004. (#nofilter)
It was a particularly sunny and warm day, and the sky was dotted with an amoeba-like shape made up of lots and lots of black wings, elongating and twisting, as the party moved from tree to tree. The above picture (no filter applied) is a moment in time when hundreds of birds were perched on the leaf-less tree tops, a sight to see as they stopped awhile, and before I knew it, they were soaring back in the fresh blue skies!
And below is the picture (transfer filter on iPhone). I love the color and how it changes the mood…
A hundred or two birds perched on the tree tops (transfer filter on iPhone)
The stars of sunshine: a poem of love between the sun and the blue waters of the earth. Celebration of love this Saint Valentine’s Day. (No- too tacky!)
The Sun is back
With all its might
Flying to the earth
At the speed o’ light
The liquid sky trembles
It’d pined all night
One fervent embrace n’
Countless stars of delight!
Sunlight dancing on water…
Yesterday was sunny, although not comfortably warm and a park nearby glowed. The stream reflected the abundant sunlight. I could watch the light dance on the shining blue waters for hours- it was so magical!
These pictures were taken to capture that magic. But could one ever really do that, fully?
Deep blue sky , clear after days of clouds and snow. #nofilter
It was about 9 in the morning. The clouds parted and the sun walked in. The air was crisp and fresh. The leafless trees carried a faint memory of the snow storm the previous night. I felt so happy to be around here; the mood and ambience reminded me of cozy snow covered homes in christmas cards and the warmth of an optimistic life and living, a feeling that one might get after a long dark night…
Watched Avatar. What drew me to the theaters was not only the ubiquitous trailers or the widespread promotions. The motivation was, it was a ‘James Cameron movie’.
Avatar: The mystical forest of Pandora
The obvious hype about the special effects and CGI certainly is well deserving. The colors, the creatures and the creation of the planet of Pandora is exquisite! The glowing fluorescent pinks and greens and purples that form the flora and fauna of this planet is a trip to paradise! It is pure beatitude! Needless to say, one falls in love with it, instantly.
But to me, it is the movie’s strong underlying theme that jumps out: one of the relationship of the creatures to the Creation, of the inhabitants to Nature.
The movie begins with humans who come from the earth to take over Pandora. Their armed forces attack this planet, showering bombs and opening fire on the land that you just fell in love with. To the natives, the ‘Navi’ people, everything on their planet is ” inter-connected”, like a complex circuit, and there is an energy flow in all things present. Nature is their Divine Mother and they actively communicate with Her. This is a great feat of the film where Nature is personified as a Matriarch, as against unthinking, unintelligent and non-interactive matter existing by chance! The Navi’s have a ancient colossal tree which is their home, and is sacred to them. It is so beautiful and enormous that it is awe-inspiring. This lush green tree is bombed and brought down in flames! That moment becomes a tipping point of sorts for the audience. Seeing its destruction, and annihilation of this haven makes your heart bleed! How short-sighted, how foolish and dim-witted these attackers are, you are compelled to think!
Avatar: The massive tree brought down!
This is also the point where it crosses the line of an unreal story to blatant reality. The reality that you can identify with: the reality of us and our planet. And then it flashes – what the army is doing to Pandora is exactly what we, as a race, are doing to our Mother, our home – the ever giving Earth! She is mute, maimed and mutilated, and we can’t even see Her tears! What mindless destruction? Wars born out of self-centered objectives, and worse justifying it all! Taking for granted all we were conferred with! It is as if a veil is lifted, and one clearly realizes the chaos, the confusion and the pandemonium all around us caused by our actions, and we just wouldn’t stop!
From a general, I scale back to a micro level and see myself in a different light: me – as an individual-with Nature. I feel humbled. I feel gratified. Questions like “what can I do”, “what/how can I stop” stir me up. “Climate crisis“, “Global warming“, “greenhouse effect“, “carbon footprint” – mere popular terms until sometime back- actually start making sense like never before! I now have a strong conviction and a new-found sense of belonging towards the environment. I make a solemn resolve to myself, to choose to do what is right. Ever since, I see the sentiment guiding my actions and approach.
To me, Avatar has a strong message to convey. And what a spectacular way of delivering it!
Leaves strewn on the lawn in the backyard, laying quiet.Some leaves on the deck after a drizzle..Some trees in our subdivision. Can you hear the leaves dragging with a scrunching sound?
The leaves had started to fall. It was not yet evening, but darkness had started to descend. Yes, it might not be the most pleasant picture for most. But to me, there was a strange familiarity and tranquility in this mood. What did this ambiance mean?A few things…
It ignited some pleasant memories I guess, as it felt comforting! Was it the picture of “fall leaves on a cold evening” that I had once seen when visiting a family friends place when I was 13? The picture on the wall had intrigued me so much that I kept staring at the beauty of it, and a strange familiarity, even though when we do not have Fall colors in India!
Or was this mood a messenger of memories of warm evenings in cold days we spent with friends (my initial days in the US) – where weather would be the last thing that would dampen our spirits! 1018 – the haven of buzz and activity with never a dull moment!
All the houses and roads were quiet but for the leaves preparing to leave, quietly. I wondered where they would go after spending time with me all along in summer. The bright yellow and orange and red leaves, decked up at their best, before leaving forever. It was so beautiful yet so poignant! “Poignant”, thats the closest I can get to expressing in words. I wanted to hold on to all this, but it would soon slip the more I try to grip with both hands! So I tried to capture it all with my phone…This was last week.
This morning as I sit in my living room, I can see just the woods with hardly any colors. They are bare, all set to bear the snows with stoic courage.
I miss the leaves and the life they exuded!
....and when one evening the sun was ripe; our home and the new-born moon (the white little spot on the top right).
"What do we ever know that is higher than that power which, from time to time, seizes our lives, and reveals us startlingly to ourselves as creatures set down here bewildered?" -- Annie Dillard
Life according to one of life’s truly gifted naturally born wafflers… an open diary of a Saffer in a different land... life in the greater Dublin & Leinster area. (Blogging since 2011) My quests fuel my dreams… my dreams fuel my quests!!
Madame Zenista 