Contemplations and Ruminations

So the crib is set up too.... used black chart paper to set up the night sky, stuck stars and angels all around. Click on the pictures for a larger view... Pretty cool... huh? A closer view...      The guiding star... Wishing all of you a blessed and beautiful Christmas. May the love, peace, joy and hope of the divine baby fill our homes, our hearts and this world. 

Innocent Eyes... In the classroom scribbling on the desk Smiling at the teacher reading some text Dreaming of cookies and presents under the tree Beautiful voices singing carols off key Magic of the season exudes from them Beautiful smiles and kisses like toffee Innocent eyes see a stranger that enters A few loud noises and their world disappears Innocent eyes behold a bearded man on bended knee His arms are open, He smiles beckoningly They recognise Him, the beginning of time He sweeps them up, kissing them tenderly Sentinel beings and scampering pets, rejoices At this cherubic gathering of pigtails and crayon smudges Even here preparations are in full swing To celebrate the birth of a King Innocent eyes agog at the sights and the sounds They join the shepherds in their song Nestled in His lap, memories still linger Of loved ones, forced to surrender Looking at Him, they know all will be well When everyone meets in His kingdom, to dwell He sings them a s...

So I saw this picture on Pinterest a few months back and I thought of replicating the same at home this Christmas. Tell me what you think of my wall Christmas tree... I know the original picture used logs of wood, but I didn't want to poke holes in the wall... they had to have drilled holes or something, how else are those logs held up? Anyway, I used a sheet of cardboard, cut it into strips and arranged them in a tree like fashion. There was some old wire lying about, and I used that to link the strips of cardboard... this way, only one nail would do. Then bought some (rather masculine looking) gift wrapping paper and wrapped each individual cardboard strip in this paper. I wanted to give it a rugged look, that's why didn't pick up any glittery or flowery wrapping paper. Next made the star that comes on top of the tree with yellow chart paper. Made a few Christmas ornaments to go on the tree... used ordinary cardboard and glitter powder.  Some m...

It's raining carol concerts in the city and I've attended some lovely caroling events these past few weeks. What a beautiful way to usher in this season... through songs of joy and hope. I start playing carols nonstop from November 30th, which is also my sister's birthday, and my parents have so rightly named her Carol. I wrote a poem for her on her birthday, I thought it was pretty funny...  No sparkling Somerhalder Nor sexy Holloway's smoulder You got the best man little sister In my friend who resembles Richard Gere.  So my sister likes these two guys (I mean, who wouldn't, click on the links to check them out) and the first guy Ian Somerhalder plays a vampire (hence the sparkling reference) in some teen drama series, and the second guy Josh Holloway used to appear in an old series about plane crash survivors called Lost. And yeah, my friend does resemble Richard Gere, at certain angles... anyway, if you get the poem, then good. I can't do m...

So those who read my blog probably know my penchant for anything related to candles or lamps. I think its got something to do with the flickering shadows that mask the rigid lines of reality and shrouds everything in a mystic romantic glow. And since  Karthikai Deepam , a very pretty Hindu festival of lights, was just round the corner I was intent on celebrating it. During this festival houses and streets are lit up with rows of oil lamps in the evening.  Visited the   market   nearby and bought many of these tiny clay lamps.   Saw this flower lady  surrounded by her colourful flowers... Soaked the little lamps in water for a while (cause apparently if you don't soak them in water, they tend to soak in the oil later) and then spread them out on paper. When twilight loomed near, I got to work lining up these lamps outside the house and placing oil and wicks in them. Here they are all lit up and emitting a cozy glow, aren't ...

After being impressed by Thomas Hardy in Under the Greenwood Tree , I saw another brilliant adaptation of his novel,  Tess of the d'Urbervilles: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented . Even though this is a Victorian tragedy, I really loved watching the story unfold amidst breathtaking landscapes. The folks at BBC who produce such period dramas have a keen  aesthetic sense, the setting is the most striking feature of this four part BBC undertaking.  Lush green fields as far as the eye can see, it's nature at her best in contrast to the nature of man at his worst. And this in a nutshell is the crux of this classic novel.  The story obviously revolves around a young, pious and naive girl; Tess Durbeyfield who faces cruelty and betrayal by the men in her life. Tess is first betrayed by her alcoholic irresponsible father whose main job seems to be producing kid after kid without the paternal instinct to hold on to a job long enough to provide for his l...

Saw a beautiful period drama 'Under the Greenwood Tree' yesterday and as always I couldn't help falling in love with the lead characters, especially Dick Dewy. This is a heart tugging adaptation of Thomas Hardy's novel - Under the Greenwood Tree or the Mellstock Quire: A Rural Painting of the Dutch School. Never read the book before, but I intend to... have to find out more bout Dick Dewy. The movie starts one cold December morning when a school teacher hired by the new vicar, rides into the quaint  little rural village, Mellstock. It's snowing all around and the horse drawn carriage trudges its way through the biting cold carrying Fancy Day, the homely teacher. That one scene was enough to hook me: snow, horse drawn carts, Fancy Day's bonnet and her bulky gown... that's half the magic of any period drama. The rest half is taken up by the flawed, intense and ruggedly good looking men who take your breath away... think Mr. Darcy, Mr. Rochester, Mr. Knigh...

So I've been tagged by Mahesh and I'm not sure I'll pick the right answer to all the questions posed in the tag... let's see how it goes. Mahesh is a friend from work, I did not really get to know him until we played the secret Santa game at work. He was my secret Santa, and an incredibly charming one at that. We got to know each other and it turns out, he blogs too... that kinda cemented our friendship. He is an avid movie watcher and reviews all sorts of movies in his blog regularly. He loves to read too, and keeps us updated bout book fairs in the city. He is like a perennial ray of sunshine, no matter what life deals him... he always seems to have a sunny disposition. That is something I am still learning to acquire. And to top it all, he effortlessly weaves words to create really good poems. He has some major poetry writing skills and his poems are a joy to read... he wears his heart on his sleeve and he harbours a good soul, I'...

Angel in  my dreams Leaping from her heavenly realm She jumped straight into my sleepless dream My heart spun cartwheels at her angelic grin Her prodding gaze reigned me in The glow on her beautiful face, beckoning Peace so pure, descending Shrouded in a haze of warm sunshine She filled the recesses of my mind Tried to reach her, to make her real She spun around and took off... surreal Like a mermaid slicing through the midnight sky Disappearing slowly as she broke my reverie  A recent dream about an angel prompted this poem. No, I am not psychic like Patrick Jane , just insanely obsessed with Country songs. Which explains why I sometimes feel like I am in Jasper County, enjoying the Georgia rain  (I think its one of the best music videos ever made). Or why I feel like making angels in the snow in Jackson Hole  (one of Tim McGraw's cutest songs). Let's not get started on Heaven by Jake Owen . So anyway, was...

So after our first few hours in the resort , we set off to explore Wayanad and sights like these  were quite common on our drives through this little green paradise.  Our first stop was a local outdoors restaurant where the guys gorged on beef masala and Kerala parotta , needless to say they were in gastronomic heaven. That being taken care off, we started on our way to Banasura dam , which is apparently the second largest earth dam in Asia. Yeah, I know... it's not much to look at, but the cool breeze which comes in from the lake on the other side is refreshing and worth the drive to this place.  We then visited the Meenmutty falls , which is a ten minute trek from the main road. A group of college kids were frolicking around when we got there.  The place is beautiful, water gushing over huge boulders and flowing  gently down stream. We dangled our feet in the cold clean water and whiled away the time till dusk slowly crep...