Under the Linden Tree (A Nature Poem)

Under the Linden Tree

A pair of worn-out slippers

With rather uneven straps

Some may call ’em Hawaii slippers

I call them fondly the Bata slippers

With them I went for an evening stroll

In shorts and Bush shirt

In summer

It is often difficult to walk 

In bright sunlight, here

In the northeast

Either the profuse sweating

Or, scorched blackened skin

On the calves

Bothers me. Yet I need 

My daily regimen of exercise

So, I have to go for walks 

Early morning or late evenings

Or walk beneath the tall trees

In the cool shades

In those wandering

Times

Sometimes I am lost 

In thoughts, chanting, or just

A vacant state

Then, suddenly, I felt …

Was it a gentle waft?

Or just air saturated with aroma

I stopped in my tracks

Stared at the tree tops

The overhead canopies

But

Nothing made sense

Only the clump of

Hanging green maple seeds,

Miniature walnuts around

“Where is the source of this floral fragrance?”

I walked back and forth

Beneath the drooping branches

Looked above and around

I could not locate 

The source of the sweet scent

But

A return to the same spot

After couple of days

My eyes caught 

The dangling bunches of florets

Slightly yellowish

With a few green cherry-like seeds

There, standing majestically

Like the Indian bullet-wood tree

Or “Bogada” or “Bakula”

Do you remember, darling

After the formal ceremony

We went for an outing

Near the King’s Garden 

Next to the Agriculture university campus

I collected the redolent white star-like flowers

And made a garlands 

And perhaps, one as a bracelet

Little did we know, then

It would usher into a life-long journey

Those Bogada flowers emit

Perfume for weeks

And then we got

A B&W photo

Years may roll down

The memory lane

Yet

That intense romance

The lingering sweet aroma

And the sweltering Indian summer days

Will stay with us

Linden and Bogada may belong to

Two different families

But today this

Lovely Linden 

Aroused my youth again.

Copyright 2022 by the author

Gerbera Daisy Care

This is more than a three-year-old Gerbera (named after Gerber) Daisy potted plant. Here with cold winters we cannot leave it in the ground. So, I put it in a large plastic container with other flower plants (marigolds, petunia). Growing Gerbera is no problem but it has a few bad actors: Rabbits and chipmunks. Then it does not like too much rain. The leaves here show some signs of chlorosis but it is turning greener everyday. With liquid fertilizer and acid food, it will correct itself. The plant likes sun and normal watering. I like to let it dry in between watering; this is especially needed during heavy downpours. The flowers look nice in cool indoors in a flower vase. Propagation is through separation of the clumps (crowns) during spring or summer. At the end of fall season, we just bring the plant inside. We let it stay dormant in a corner in the garage. We try to keep the plant away from extreme cold and dryness. I stop watering during the winter (dormant) season. This way we can save the plant and use it year after year. Otherwise, here in the northern regions (zone 5) we have to keep buying these flower plants every year for the summer growing season. The flower size will increase a bit more. I just grabbed the photo before a hungry rabbit gets it. Daisy like petal arrangement is one of the common flower formations (geometrical pattern).

There are several nice write-ups on this showy flower plant on the Internet. Particularly the university extension or horticulture departments provide valuable care information. (For ex: see Clemson Factsheet Gerbera). We have not come across any serious pest issue so far. But I keep a home made neem oil spray bottle handy. The plant likes to be a bit on the dry side. So I try to keep the pot in shade to protect from heavy downpours in the summer. Or, one can put a plastic cover to shield from too much overhead rain. 

Telugu Song on Shirdi Sai with Translation

పదే పదే నీ పాదములపై వ్రాలి 

పరితపింతునో ఓ సాయి నాధా  | పదే | 

తెలియక కొన్ని(యు) తెలిసి కొన్నియు 

తెలివి లేక పలు దుష్కృతముల్ 

దురితము లెన్నో చేసితి (మున్ను) సాయి  

పశ్చాత్తాపమే గతియై నేడు         | పదే | 

బ్రహ్మము తెలియదు బ్రహ్మానంద మెఱుగ 

పరబ్రహ్మ మేరీతి కాంతునో 

మిణుగురు పురుగై పరిభ్రమింతు 

దారిలేని ఈ విషయారణ్యమునన్ | పదే | 

ధ్యానము కుదరదు, యోగము రాదు 

తన్మయత్వమె కృప సేయరాదా ?

నీ నామమె నా మదిలో నిల్పుము 

నీ చూపుయే నాకు శ్రీరామ రక్ష  Copyright 2022 by the author

padae padae nee paadamulapai vraali 

paritapiMtunO O saayi naadhaa  | padae | 

teliyaka konni(yu) telisi konniyu 

telivi laeka palu dushkRtamul^ 

duritamu lennO chaesiti (munnu) saayi  

paSchaattaapamae gatiyai naeDu         | padae | 

brahmamu teliyadu brahmaanaMda me~ruga 

parabrahma maereeti kaaMtunO 

miNuguru purugai paribhramiMtu 

daarilaeni ee vishayaaraNyamunan^ | padae | 

dhyaanamu kudaradu, yOgamu raadu 

tanmayatvame kRpa saeyaraadaa ?

nee naamame naa madilO nilpumu 

nee choopuyae naaku Sreeraama raksha 

Again and again

I prostrate at your feet

And meditate with anguish

O Sai, O Lord

Some (I did) without knowing

Some more I indulged knowingly

Lacking wisdom I committed

Many bad acts

Did many sins (earlier) – Sai

Today my only 

Refuge is contrition, repentance

I do not know

What is Brahman 

Never felt the (true) great ecstasy (Brahma-ananda)

How will I ever discover the Para-Brahman?

I

Keep on wandering like

A firefly

(Lost)

In this pathless forest

Filled with all distracting objects

Cannot keep focused 

On the Dhyana

Never able to

(I cannot)

Learn the (real) Yoga

Won’t you bestow the “essence of meditation”?

(Always keep your name in my mind)

Let your name stay ensconced in my mind

Your glance is my protective shield

Like Sri Rama’s blessed assurance Copyright 2022 by the author

(This is a faithful translation keeping the meaning and feeling intact. Obviously the melody and sound of the Telugu original could not be transcreated.)