Apu’s World

The last three weeks have seemed like a non-stop marathon run to me. My life seemed to have been taken over by a critical mass of events. It all started this way. We’d decided that our house needed painting. Six years since the last rather shoddy effort, the walls were looking distinctly shabby. If the walls were to be painted, we reasoned, why not finish up some of the pending electricals work as well? And with that we noticed other things too - the floor needed polishing, some roof tiles needed additional work, and - wouldn’t getting exterior wall cladding be a good idea?

I have been trying to get all this organised while completing a number of projects, juggling finances, figuring out some confusing bureaucratic and legal stuff - and trying to complete all of these before leaving on a much awaited and planned trip. The husband and I were to have left on a much longed for trip to Himachal Pradesh, tomorrow. Stopping at Shimla, then heading to the hills and orchards of lovely Kinnaur, before trekking and camping in the Great Himalayan National Park.

We were to have left - because - last night, I tripped while coming down the stairs, twisted my ankle badly and have now been diagnosed with a ligament tear and advised rest for 3 weeks. That is the grande finale to the critical mass of events, which of course, makes travel out of the question. One is forced to consider that Murphy’s Law may not after all be a myth.

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In connection with the words, ‘critical mass’ or the related ‘tipping point’, I am reminded of something else. I live on a street which is reasonably green - we have a number of different trees, plus almost everyone has some sort of a garden - whether it is rooted in soil or just potted plants. In the last one year though, perhaps because of the long rainy season we’ve had, the green has taken on a life of its own. Everything has grown rapidly, and some of the empty plots on our street are close to taking on a junglee appearance. Some of us have also expanded our gardens, adding more plants and in my case, spending more time on them. 

Perhaps there is a certain point at which things really start looking attractive for other creatures - we’ve now been having an explosion in the number of birds and butterflies visiting us. We’ve always had a few, but now, we are woken up by bird song every other day and there are so many varieties of butterflies dropping in - the simple lemon yellow variety, but also more fanciful ones with elaborate wing patterns and colours. Watching them flitting around is such a pleasure. It also reminds me that good things often happen when everyone adds their little bit. After all, every drop of water counts in making an ocean, etcetera etcetera.

Below, one of our colourful visitors.

apu In General