Season of fruitfulness and fortune
My room looks out in three directions. If I ignore the buildings around us, I can see trees stretch out as far as the eye can see, under a sky which changes from pearl blue at dawn to the soft grey of monsoon mornings. Coconuts bunch in the palms, there are Gaab fruit on other trees, and neem leaves sway near my window.
I see a flash of yellow, then a glimpse of parrot wings, sometimes even a baby parrot perched on a terrace railing, or crows arguing on a distant ledge. Butterflies flutter past, tiny messengers of births and marriages, there is much to enjoy in the constant activity of nature.
Isolating at home, enjoying the idleness, my newspapers and books forgotten, my bills laid aside, I watch the different seasons flow past, dreamlike.
The fruits and vegetables too change along with the seasons. It seems like just the other day we were relishing fresh broccoli, tender spinach, fresh peas, jade green grapes and other delicacies of winter and spring.
Now the rains are upon us, and the air is rich with the promise of tropical bounty.
I know the market stalls are filled with the jewels of summer. Bunches of lychees, modest red fruit on dusty stalks, and under the peel, white opals which burst upon the palate in flavours of damask rose, orange blossom and lime.
Everywhere, there are pyramids of mangoes, dark green or light, or golden as the sun; in flavours to please every taste; great cartloads of jackfruit with their creamy custard pods, pink hearted guavas, rose apples, pineapples rich as topaz, and a variety of other delights to beguile the heart.
There is so much abundance in our tropical paradise, enough to cheer us even in these worrisome times. We can still enjoy fish fresh out of the river and sea, home grown eggs and chickens, meat fresh off the block, and the choicest of produce brought in from the countryside every day, before dawn, by local growers.
I for one, always feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude for all that nature has gifted to us. Most of us, at one time or another have been through bad times. Human memory being short, we move on quickly when those times pass, our problems solved, our concerns gone.
In the hectic business of life, we pass unseeing through the beauty and blessings of our world, taking what we have for granted.
Among us though, there are many who have not been as lucky. They have suffered illness, grief and the loss of loved ones, hardship and poverty. In our times of contentment, we need to take the time to remember those who have gone, those who still suffer, and those who are still with us and who form such an important part of our lives.
Our friends are like gold, our relatives are our mainstay and support, and our children and grandchildren are the jewels of our lives; the very foundations upon which our happiness is built.
Let us always remember to be humble, aware and appreciative, and give thanks for the blessings we have received.
Photo: LS Archive/Sazzad Ibne Sayed