Morning Glory

As I ventured to the wood, 

As I ventured to the wood,

I stopped to draw on dewy air; let

Droplets shimmer in my hair, that

Rested on my tranquil head

Birds twittering excitedly announcing the arrival of dawn, clouds glittering with renewed light, the sun's orbs luminescent and blinding, yet riveting  & inviting everyone's attention by its unbelievable golden yellow, orange glow, hanging low upon the mountain tops looking like one could reach out and catch it and yet unreachable...The leaves on the trees glistening with crystal colored dew drops, the flowers honeyed, budding & blossoming, soft & velvety to the touch and the colors of such vibrancy that no painters palette can ever find a matching shade. The cool breeze wafting across, softly caressing one's face with a lovely freshness, the landscape looking like it has just been washed squeaky clean and the trees looking down proudly with glistening leaves with the circle of mountains in the background, lofty, magnificent, glorious & ethereal.

These are the unforgettable images I see when I am out on my morning walk/climb of Durga Tekdi (Durga Hills) at 6:00 in the morning. My friend Kunda & I climb up this hill, which is two kms away from my house. It is steep in parts and the climb up & down takes us one hour. We soak in the sunshine, sit on the parapets and stare at the mist slowly climbing up the mountains, our feet hanging down in nothingness, we stare into the sun’s face, directly & challengingly till tears blind us, and we get totally lost in the beauty of nature. We pant up steep slopes, run down as if reluctantly down slopes (we have no choice), walk barefoot on the cool green grass & sometimes plop down on rocks to catch our breath. We greet regulars, smile at joggers, grin at monkeys and frown at a few dogs. Sometimes we walk in silence, lost in our thoughts, sometimes we do a catharsis or just giggle our way up & down. On wintry days, we bundle ourselves up in warm clothes and finally get our chance to don our monkey caps and on rainy days we just walk in the rain and I let the rain fall down on me.

My friend Kunda

It is unbelievable to imagine an oasis like this, on top of a mountain in the middle of the city. But yes, such an utopia does exist and I am fortunate enough to be able to walk amidst this haven. The pics I have posted will give you a very small glimpse of this beautiful heaven on earth- Durga Tekdi!