Ruskin bond and his intimacy with Nature!!
Bond’s bond with Nature is full of innocence, simplicity and all the love one can fill oneself with.
Thinking of Bond, takes me back in time, where under the roof of sky, with breeze blowing all around, I relish the writings and books of Bond. In no time, one travels to drizzling rain, high mountains, meadows, deodars, fireflies, varieties of birds via his books and I am no exception to it.
I am here, sitting in front of my laptop in a cross legged posture and Its raining. I often wonder, if only, one day, i would be able to break my limits of confining myself in this boundary of bricks and cement, of this worldly imprisonment, and my only and only home would be the lap of Nature, being one with it and simply be with it.
This rain and how it woes with its after effects, in itself, is magical. The deep smell of petrichor, the gentle coolness, its music on floor as if the sky is in full musical mood to sing its heart out and beat loud drums and rock the floor. As if the sky is proposing to earth- Let’s sing and dance together, now. I will pour down the rains of music and you play your feet and celebrate. And this is the view, everyone watches and enjoy around.
The bird sitting on a wire… In fact , she along with her friends, simply welcome the rains and seem to be the happiest when they get to know its about to rain. The way they start flying all around, chirping and calling all their friends and family members, swaying their wings in and all around. It’s wonderful. And I guess, everyone, must not let this moment pass away. A girl like me, who sometimes gets imprisoned in the four walls of her room, with laziness on its peak- these moments are the only ones left to relish and cheer for.
How all the trees start swinging to and fro, and turn greener in excitement, how the flowers turn all the more bright and charming!! How everything around suddenly wakes up from deep sleep and gets aware to life all around!!!
Oh, my mind, simply swings to that beautiful butterfly whom I find fluttering around the leaves. Have you ever noticed a butterfly?? She just never gets still, she has something in her that keeps fluttering on and on. Around green leaves, around those little little buds and flowers. My eyes never dare to flicker when i happen to capture those beautiful and colorful ones. How they let me smile for no reason at all. Even, this moment, penning about them is like-an image is running upon my mind of all those- blue, orange, yellow, brown, green and many others who are fluttering around the sweet neem and hibiscus tree in our little garden and my eyes have lighted up with smile. And my heart utters and amazes at the wonder of their beauty. Its only their beautiful colors that paint my life and brings color to it.
How beautiful it is- simply listening to the sounds of breeze and let them penetrate deeply inside the ears. How to be one with the chirpings, to the sounds of wings of pigeon’s flight. The stillness of leaves at one time and the next moment, their gentle sway. Hold on, hold on for one moment and listen, only listen to the voices and sounds around. These voices are so lovely and beautiful, aren’t they?
Have you ever found yourself lost thinking of a friend? Old friendship- makes you smile, hmm?? And this also takes me to one of Ruskin’s quotes-
“How evanescent those loves and friendships seem at this distance in time. We move on, make new attachments. We grow old. But, sometimes, we hanker for old friendships, the old loves. Sometimes, I wish I was young again. Or that, I could travel back in time and pick up the threads. Absent so long, I may have stopped loving you, friends, but I will never stop loving the day I loved you.”
Every letter, every single word threaded into a sentence is so beautiful. I never get tired of reading it. Never! It leaves a delightful fragrance behind. Fragrance of love and smile. Fragrance of memories, time spent with our dear and closed ones, whom we are no longer in touch with. It’s beautiful, isn’t it?
How long we move on, the heights we attain, we can’t really erase our memories. And deep within, how much we want to spread and share our lives with friends. There are few, whose very memories and energy help us grow and when one consciously sees and feels it, that’s such a magical feeling. But then, we move on, we actually move on. A time comes when we are not left with anything to share about.
And so do I. I move on to a chapter of the book- “Time Stops at Shamli” and travel to the secrets of this town with Bond!!
