Give Me The Open Skies

Last night I heard that our house might be demolished to make way for multi-storeyed buildings. These are just rumours floating about yet they have a distinctly disturbing effect. I thought I might vent my feelings by writing a blog about it (which I might do at a later stage) and I thought of all those animals who just stand and watch while their homes are being cut down. Where does it all end?

Today however, I had other things to do. Back to Russell market to get things for a special Sunday lunch. The crabs were huge and came from nice, clean waters. I picked up a couple of kilos for a crab curry. There was a large red snapper too and I bought a piece of it. Many vegetables and the usual summer fruit - mangoes, lychees, peaches, plums and cherries. On the pavement people were selling cashew fruit - very attractive with its yellow-orange-red colours - the colours of a particularly vivid sunset. And pomelos are definitely back for good. There was a time when they were fading out of Bangalore but pomelo planting has been recently revived. Mangoes of all kinds were spilling out of the pavements, onto the roads. It's always nice to see people sitting or standing under trees, selling fruit. There's something different about open skies and tree filled landscapes.

On a whim, I proceeded to a plant nursery, just to walk around. To my delight, I saw a row of pots filled with blue lotuses. My lotus (that I photographed for my blog profile) had recently died and I missed it terribly. Of course, I bought one immediately and then found myself talking to a very nice lady about growing and keeping lotuses (hers never bloomed) and growing little fish in ponds outdoors (something she has successfully done and that I have been planning to do). She said the fish just ate insect larvae and other things in the water and she never had to feed them. But they had to be robust enough to live outside an aquarium, exposed to the sun and rain. So, arms full of lotus and head full of ideas, I returned to my little pond on the terrace, full of happiness and satisfaction. I don't need crockery smashing or retail shopping to cheer me up! Give me the open skies anytime.