Saturday 19 November 2016

Gifts from the village

Home is the place where one is wanted. Where gifts find their way to one, in times good and bad. Drought or plenty, demonetization or otherwise. Where giving and taking and sharing become one.
As soon as we reach, Eashwaramma comes with some home grown rice, a treat at any time, especially at these times when growing paddy locally has not happenned in years. This year some people have grown paddy, and when Eashwaramma and others go for labour they get some paddy as wage.


Lakshmamma with some guavas from her spindly tree at home.




 Nagarajakka with radishes from her land.

Munishwari with groundnuts from her bleak harvest, with instructions that I boil in salt water and sun
dry and keep for my daughter.










Sarojamma with jasmine flowers from her home for my daughter.

And we share what is there in my bag from Chennai ...












MatmiScyospeoe 2n1nslton, a2or01emd9 
Shared with Your friends
Friends
In times of drought, gifts. Given spontaneously. And forgotten the moment they are given.
Mangoes, worth gold in this drought. Anand anna knoks at the door and unties then from his

towel carefully and places them on the chair.
Yesterday his wife Sarojamma gave a winnowful of groundnuts.
Eashwaramma gave 4 vadais yesterday, Roopa brought some murukku. Freshly fried.. made for her children, home from the hostel.
In these times. Hard times. A mango or a vadai given means one less for the children at home.
There is no surplus.
And that is the giving that I have faced down the years.
That giving that is rooted in infinity.
And then my own learnings to take the gifts in humility. Learning how far I need to go. Facing my smallness. Raising my bar.
That giving, from ones own basic needs, denying oneself and ones children, is the giving that the Gods also bow down to.



JSulgstSycfp cl4cuton, s2si01o7reidt 
Shared with Public
Public
Giving has nothing to do with what we possess. Nothing.
Yesterday's gift from the village. With Anita and Annapurna. A village in drought, battling malnourishment.
Villages have sustained this land. They only know to give. To sustain.
The ability to give unthinkingly, out of ones own disappearing stock, is heavens greatest gift .



Pickles, mango and lemon.
Karuvepaaku from Annapurnas home.
Drumsticks from Annapurnas single tree.
Mangos from the last few of this year in Anitas hone.
Chillies and tamarind from Anitas home, "Madam, you have to buy everything for money, isnt it. We had some at home, Use this."
Ponagantaaku, greens, from Annapurnas small patch behind her home.

No comments:

Post a Comment