a workshop ,an eclipse

I attended an organic gardening workshop last weekend which turned out to be quite fun and useful. First of all, I cant believe I woke up at 6:30 am just for it. I wished that the difference between my nightwear and daywear was made generally, of shoes. The taxi was waiting at the gate. It was getting light outside.
The event was in a village about an hour from the city of Bangalore.I messed up with directions and reached there a few minutes late while constantly abusing the poor driver.
The man leading the workshop was brilliant! We were about 20 or so. First we did a bit of theory then went out to the garden. It was about 8:30 in the morning with a beautiful morning sun in the blue sky. We started the day by forming a circle and did some light chanting.

OMMmmmmmmm.. ...
"Asato Ma Sathgamaya
Tamaso Ma Jyothirgamaya
Mruthyorma Amruthangamaya
Om Shanti Shanti Shanti Heem.."
Ommmmmm~
(Lead Us from Unreal to the real
Lead us from Darkness to Light
Lead us from Death to Immortality
Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all…)


We then walked around the garden. Our task was to walk around quietly exploring the garden on our own, without any interaction with the group.
As I walked around, I saw runner beans and sweet potatoes plants, baby aubergines and giant sunflowers.I admired the impressive structure of the ant hill by a tree.I noticed the dry earth scorched reddish by the tropic sun.I realized just how much I tried to avoid thick patches of green. Maybe because of some phobia with what lies hidden beneath the weeds. I avoided eye contact with everybody, it was the garden intrepreting my nature and me, the garden's. We were two. Then we were one. And then we were nothing; we didn't even exist.
Back to the room, where we actively discussed the things each of us saw in the garden. It was interesting to note what different people notice. I shared with the group my giant sunflower which seemed to have bewitched me and lingered.
Back at the garden, we filled a ceramic pot with soil, compost, sand and mulch and prepared to sow our seeds. After a shower of water for the seedling. We learned how to prepare home compost with kitchen waste, as well as garden ditch composting. There was a demo of how to make amrit paani( holy water)for the plants:
2 part cow manure, 5 parts cow urine and 5 parts sweet jaggery; in a large drum. Mix and stir well with long stick and cover. Let it stew for few weeks and what we get is amritpaani, an organic plant growth stimulant.
We broke off for lunch which was a nice spread of traditional South Indian meal.Relaxed a bit after lunch having a sietsa or chatting about gardening and everything else. Then finally, we each got some tools of the trade and got down to getting dirty and hacking at wild weeds to prepare a veggie patch. We then sowed alternating rows of raddish and tangy gonggori(a leaf used in south Indian pickles). The moment was very therapuetic. In the final bit of the evening workshop we learned a bit more on the practical aspects of organic gardening, plant health, pests etc.
Finally, we each got a bunch of assorted organic seeds wrapped in a newpaper ball.

The hour long drive back was a good 'on the road' experience. I was just noticing the scenes outside the car window. There was the sad faced teenage boy with a bouquet of flowers in his bicycle basket, a pot bellied south indian man with the holy ash on his forehead. His scooter was buzzing next to my window, I played a random beat on my lap and noticed how the man unconsiously tapped a finger to a similar beat on his scooty handlebars. The car moved on, and a beggar without hands, a funny looking fruit vendor.. .. ..
It felt like driving round n round to nowhere..just ride the wind with the smell of rain. Came home and played some God of War3, conquered the heart of Gaia, beat the water horses, beat posiedon, got driven down to the realm of Hades by Zeus,prepared dinner( farfalle with leeks, cabbage and apple sauce) popped open a bottle of red and enjoyed a good dinner with family.
Ended the day with a bit of facebook and a chapter of The motorcycle diaries Ernesto Che Guevara and ......fade out.
That was that day.
Today was a bitch.
Ces't la vie!!!!

rosemary

A rosemary plant does better if left alone than fussed about too much. I do leave it pretty much to its own defenses and yet it is not the healthiest looking plant in the garden. I might have to propogate it with a cutting soon, specially as I am away from home for the next two weeks and don't want to imagine the state of it when I get back. I will have to hit town for some rooting hormones first.

Today is the last day of sunny may, it started off misty and gray in the early morning, with ominous pre-monsoon clouds looming overhead. I sat up in bed and did some sleepy eyed meditation and called upon the sun. And what do you know, my beloved, being driven off-course by a chariot somewhere in the heaven came by surely, with light, warmth and energy to start the day:)

Wondering how I could fill my late morning hours with something fun n creative, I decided to harvest some rosemary & mint and make a... herbal drawer sachet! With the approaching season of rain, cupboards and clothes get so dank and musty- they could use a little herbal freshener. Also mint is excellent as moth repellent.



et voila...;)

Gooood Morning

A deliciously warm sunbeam gently woke me up from my sleep this morning. I stretched leisurely in bed and lay there smiling for a while... Then I drew the curtains and opened the windows- the most stunning view of Mount Kanchendzonga in the north lay before me! It had rained the night before, and so everything seemed fresh and new. I filled my lungs with the crisp morning air and stood by the window for a while, silently taking in the breathtaking view of snowy peaks in the sun. Every jagged stony cliff, every groove and fissure and small dirt roads winding along on the next hill, they all became visible to me. It felt like I had just been given the gift of sight when before I was somewhat blind.

Collecting some tools, I headed up to the terrace to do some planting. For an early hour (7:30am), the sun was quite hot already!

The tomato saplings I got from the market the day before are of a local variety. The man at the store is of the opinion that they cannot survive unless it is treated with fungicide, as this variety, in this time of the year contracts a black fungal disease in the leaves. I am however, in no way inclined to choke the soil with chemicals. Battling this apparently inevitable disease organically will be a challenge I am keen to take on. And that felt as if I was writing my CV again!! Anyway, so in went the saplings to the soil- two rows of tomatoes with a bed of marigold in between them. The marigold will help out the tomatoes- if the theory of companion planting works its magic. A bit of water, sunshine and song and now, they grow!

After, I did some yoga; well at least I tried to. I recently learned some asanas with Una, a yoga teacher I met while staying in a farm near Kechiperi Lake,Sikkim. In that lovely tiny one-room Buddhist temple, however, we were about seven keen learners squeezed in! Not having enough space for free movement, Una raced past the asanas while each of us avoided being whacked by a stray arm or leg. Can’t say I learned much that day but it was a good laugh. I am interested in learning the Chandra namaskar- moon salutation, it’s meant to be good for thyroid imbalance which, out of the blue, seems to be in my body.

For now, a quick shower and some breakfast first. Then, will take muma out. She has been indoors, bed ridden for so long. She's doing better lately although quite frail. Today she wishes to visit her older brother in the farm where she grew up, about 40 minutes from town. He is 80 now and quite senile with hints of encroaching dementia. I have always remembered him as such a happy, active person working the farm. I wonder if he will properly recognize his little sister. I have a feeling he will.

~Go Slow Go Easy~