When on Thursday morn, I sat outside
under our neem tree
with a beautiful book
and a cup of chai,
I didn't know it was Tagore's birthday.
The fragrant blooms of neem were busy
dropping off its branches and carpeting
the mat, the book and me.
A few even plopped into my tea!
There was something beautiful about that moment.
I started scribbling a few lines and before I knew it,
I was typing out an Insta post of poetry.
The friend whose book it is, called a couple of hours later to say
it was Buddha Purnima that day.
And she added that the 7th of May
is also Rabindra Nath Tagore's birthday.
O! how co-incidental, I thought.
I had to share that which I wrote, I thought.
A few lines-
I'll call them poetry
Just because:)
They're in Hindi
Yes, that which I wrote.
The title is not.
It's called Flowers of Neem
A translation I feel
will not bring out the flavour
of feelings that only Hindi can reveal
you see there are things:
subtle and sublime;
long lost yet found
ethereal yet ground
almost like water vapour
which one can only savour
in ones own mother tongue
or perhaps--
I am just a rubbish translator!
So, for the readers of English who visit,
I have shared a bit
of Moon inspired lines
plus
some ideas to dine
with an easy recipe of rasam.
You'll find it all after this poem
recited in a voice that is mine:)
A recital: Neem ke Phool
नीम की फुलझढ़ियों
की बेफ़िक्री देखिए
कभी Tagore से उभरती हैं
तो कभी चाय की चुस्कियाँ में डूब जाती हैं
की बेफ़िक्री देखिए
कभी Tagore से उभरती हैं
तो कभी चाय की चुस्कियाँ में डूब जाती हैं
नज़ारा कुछ ऐसा है आज चटाई का
कि बिखर बिखर के वो नादान
सेज सजाऐ जाती हैं
और इंतज़ार की एक मीठी सी
धुन गुनगुनाऐ जाती हैं
कि बिखर बिखर के वो नादान
सेज सजाऐ जाती हैं
और इंतज़ार की एक मीठी सी
धुन गुनगुनाऐ जाती हैं
पर कोई इन डालियों से पूछे
सबर का सिला
एक मुद्त का इंतज़ार
और फिर बहार
वो भी बस पल भर की
मालूम नहीं मुझे कि वो
किस तरह
अपने सभी फूल नयौछावर कर
धूप के आँगन में खिलखिलाऐ जाती हैं
सबर का सिला
एक मुद्त का इंतज़ार
और फिर बहार
वो भी बस पल भर की
मालूम नहीं मुझे कि वो
किस तरह
अपने सभी फूल नयौछावर कर
धूप के आँगन में खिलखिलाऐ जाती हैं
शायद मुझसे ज़्यादा सयानी हैं
नीम की डालियाँ
वो जानती हैं
अपने फूलों की फ़ितरत
बिखरने के लिए ही तो खिलते हैं वो
नीम की डालियाँ
वो जानती हैं
अपने फूलों की फ़ितरत
बिखरने के लिए ही तो खिलते हैं वो
--आरती
The Moon was not yet high
not yet full in the sky.
She was taking time to dress
in her evanescence.
If lines scribbled in notebooks
could rise and rustle up dishes,
I'd sit waiting for Moon forever
and build delicious dinner castle wishes
in my head and tell the husband to imagine it all with me
but sadly none of that
was going to happen on my mat
under the neem tree.
So, onward to the kitchen I proceeded with my powers
to turn into scrumptious my basket of recently dried neem flowers.
A quick google search was all it took
and a rummage in many a nook
to find all the essentials to cook
dinner of rasam with rice:
jaggery, tamarind and ghee,
plus curry leaves on sprigs that had been picked already
from the tree that grows past my kitchen door
next to the forest of Canna Lily.
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Curry Tree and Canna Lily |
The fragrance of flowers of neem,
when they turn golden in molten ghee
over a slow flame
is no less magical than a Moon that is full and supreme.
Rasam dark of tamarind and jaggery,
boiled and bubbled rather properly.
I tempered it with hing, chillies and mustard.
"Dinner's ready!" I hollered
'Twas a feast to tingle all taste buds:
sour, sweet, hot, bitter and salty.
I'm told this rasam has many a medicinal quality.
The husband and I:
we went for a walk after
with our masks on and taking all precautions that matter.
Moon was full and strong
and shone brightly all along
the streets, the houses, the cats and the giant dustbins
of Doha.
And when our walk was done,
we got back:
washed hands;
sanitised door knob, inches touched and every other centimetre
while Moon,
shining through the paper blind
of our bedroom window,
whispered,
"Aloha"
***********
As promised, here's the link to an easy recipe:
What follows is a photo gallery
of the flower
of the hour
with four simple steps to follow if you have a neem tree flowering in your vicinity.
Step 1: Harvest the flowers