the story of half baked ideas

My head is teeming with ideas. I want to write. But I am feeling so scatter brained! It is as if thoughts are running full tilt and then silent bursting out half way through execution, their essence scattering all over my skull… neither completely disintegrating nor completing forming. Being in that in between state as it is… lingering... lingering in my memory like a favourite song, now forgotten. Even as these ideas vaguely hum in my brain, I am trying to give them form and substance and all that happens is my hand lifts itself with enthusiasm, but not knowing what to do, simply falls back. My fingers that were curled tightly around a pen, now loosen and seem to lose focus. They are still curled, but the pen has fallen, and its ink seems to flow away like a water from a glass… staining the table uselessly instead of forming beautiful and intricate penmanship of my thoughts that had once been ready to hurl itself wondrously though my fingers.

Bang bang hammer hammer galore

The day looks gloomy. The sun is a weak light trying to shine through the heavy clouds. It's May in Bangalore. For a girl who is from Bombay, this kind of a weather is heavenly! 'Cause in Bombay, May = agninakshatra. Those who don't have an AC literally melt in the humid heat. Those who do, closet themselves in the rooms which have AC. Going out only for basic necessities like eating, using the loo and maybe go out for work.

It's that time of the year when all you want is to feel like ice cream in the freezer because once you get out, you sure are going to melt!

But in Bangalore, you do feel like an apple in the fridge. The weather is cool. If the weather gets too hot, it will rain. Either that same evening or in a couple of days.

The heat has also increased in the garden city since gardens are now few and far between. They are now mostly filled with jungles of concrete. There are more buildings than trees. More concrete lorries than lorries carrying vegetables, petrol and what have you. Lots of sand, cement, stones and bricks. Fewer shrubs. An empty plot is never empty for long. Buildings spring up like mushrooms and toadstools; poisoning the environment.

Some of those buildings are mired in litigation, yet you see that they have some occupancy. Forest lands can go to hell and burn. But buildings will find a way to creep up and shoot up to reach the sky.

The trees will grow. Nature has a way to find its way out. A small creeper will grow out of a crack near the subway or bridge and that will be hailed as the symbol of greenery. See! We do co-exist with nature.

I don't mind the fact that a hundred or more trees have been cut to build the metro. It's the usurping of forest land and agriculture land and building monstrosities called apartments that has me griping. Yes, I live in one of those. Guilty.

I am one of those 'stupid immigrants' who has moved from the north. But, my parents hail from this city. I have seen this city grow from a two-lane city where I could jaywalk in the summers without ever getting hit by a car to a place with roads so crammed with vehicles that not even a child can cross the road. Still...

I wish that people would come together and start planting trees, plants, shrubs on empty plots of land. Before any builder thinks of usurping that plot of earth, why can't citizens claim it? Plant herbs, plants, trees and shrubs so that this city can become greener? They can share the produce and contribute to the upkeep. They will save up on their grocery bills. Make a patch of land more beautiful. Sustainable for the neighbourhood.

Why can't real estates think that they need to stop raping the earth and give something back to her? Not for thanks. It's too late for that. But, simply so we can survive and live in this city once more. To make this city livable once more.

I hope to find one small square feet of land that is empty and simply claim it so I can nurture a few plants... add something to the flora of this once beautiful city. Get some herbs and spice for free and save some cash from the amazons and indiamarts of this country!