Breaking news from Nature: Spring has arrived!
If you’ve not been aware, Spring slowly peeped in through the especially cold Winter of 2019 in a riot of colours…
Well, Spring has always been around, about to jump on Winter and whisk her away 🙂 like those streaks of mischievousness in most of us which we try to hide in the cold, social routines…
She’s in the bright yellows of Indian Spring, the strong fragrances, the loving memories – sit back and live them 🙂
She’s in the morning dew, the sunrise, the sunset – on the ground, touching the stars… feel her, soak in her – accept her 🙂
I found her all over India – from Dehdradun to Vijayawada, from Ahmedabad to Santiniketan, from Ranthambore and Jaipur to Gangtok and Lachen… She even surprised me in the afternoon heat at Amber Fort…
When and how did you come upon Spring? In your home, in some other land, in your dreams, in music, art, textiles or when you made those precious garlands in your childhood like I did with my ‘Dia’ (maternal grandmother)?
She taught me to hunt for these strongly fragrant, tiny flowers and string them together every Spring morning… made me forget the woes of going to school 🙂
Recognise these perfumed memories? Every Saraswati Puja – when Bengal worships the Goddess of education – Dia taught me to squeeze these flowers after soaking them overnight, see the water magically transform yellow and dip a cotton fabric in it to dye it yellow. Yeah – that’s how you would celebrate Saraswati Pujo if you were a Bengali – dressed in yellow – putting all learning paraphernelia at the feet of the Goddess and having yummy ‘khichdi’ as Bhog. No studies that day as that would annoy the Goddess – she’s a big favourite with all school children 🙂
Today, India is formally celebrating the arrival of Spring with Basant Panchami and Saraswati Puja is tomorrow – Holi, the festival of colours, is in a few weeks… What are you celebrating? 🙂
All photos by author… go live Spring ❤
Some cards I painted few years back to colour away the darkness and usher in Spring 😊 I painted after nearly 15 years and it helped! Sharing for you Ruchira Poddar 😊
VarnikaDesigns 
Beautiful!
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Isn’t it Solange? Everything around is so beautiful >3
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What a beautiful way to describe spring. I remember going to our music room in school to take blessings from the goddess of knowledge. But what I really looked forward to then was the fresh kesar barfi that was given to us once we’d bowed before the goddess (forgive me, a Brahmin can do without food but not without sweets! )
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Spring was celebrated with til ke laddoo and bajre ki khichdi in my home. I remember those lazy afternoon’s when my grandmother would oil my head and my mother would knit something for my dad, hanging outdoors around in our gardens with pets and loved ones.
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Sahil – the way you’ve written made a whole set of images flash across my eyes 🙂 seasons make us Indians so nostalgic
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Such gorgeous photographs suggesting the vibrant hues of spring! Spring for me is “phagun legechhe bone-bone” (Tagore’s song) – forests of flaming palash! And when in colder climes, it is the tender snowdrops and crocuses lifting their face to the sun on a spring morning, amidst the wet grass…
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🙂 you’re so right Sutanuka – but isn’t “phagun” more around Holi? And this is ‘basant’…
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