yet again ... getting lost ... then enjoying self-discovery ...

These images, unlike the previous post on the topic , are from the lanes,  to be precise one lane  (with respects to Thomson and Thompson ) Aging with grace? Fading away? Or hanging by a thread?  Varying brick sizes and shapes? Or a tree taking over? Or dark lines on the horizon?  A balcony with waves?  Its neighbours are being repurposed as hotels.  Does it eagerly await its turn? Or does it dread the loss of peace?  How does HE see the changes?  Is the window partially open to allow only partial changes?  The lane's width ensures that one is either on two feet or on two wheels! Should we have trips for children to obverse where their elders lived? To see h omes that are disappearing from our midst!

About the children, for the children Nimesh Ved and Anshumalika Rai  This is a part of Teacher Plus, April 2024 issue Thank you: Colleagues at APS and Teacher Plus   For this set of books from Pratham we have tried a fresh approach. We received the books in English and also read them in Hindi, online . We read the books individually and then together. It was an experience to read these books aloud together, in multiple languages, and to discuss, agree, and disagree.   During the past few years that we have had Pratham books at our book room , the quality of translation has only gone up. A Song in Space, for example, has terms like naayaab, roohani, parhej, and dastoor which succinctly capture the essence of the original English text. Similarly, What the Dark Sounds Like has ‘ bahon me bhar lein’ for hugging. The translation here is simple, and like a lot which is simple, it works. Images had us engrossed. Some of them appeared all the more captivating when viewed on the

Some spots are special The other day, I was left wondering all of a sudden Why isn't this the logo for our school Peepal, Ganga, Dufferin Bridge, walk-path, the hour of cowdust And Yogesh's classic from Anand   कहीं दूर जब दिन ढल जाये  सांज की दुल्हन बदन चुराए  चुपके से आये  As carpets and locations go, this will have few parallels Leaves move towards the river, the river moves towards the sea,  Does it also want to meet the sky?  Indivar's lyrics from Anokhi Raat  come to the fore ओह रे ताल मिले नदी के जल में नदी मिले सागर में सागर मिले कौन से जल में कोई जाने ना The branches dance with grace, happiness and abandon They remind of Shailendra's classic from Madhumati ये गोरी नदियों का  चलना  उछलकर की जैसे अल्हड चले पि से मिल कर More about the spot and the tree in another season 

There is something about Banyans  The place I grew up at was named after Banyans - Vadodara - Vad being Gujarati for the Banyan Banaras too has some stunning ones  And, of course, I am not the only one enamoured by these This awe inspiring one at the gate of the CIHTS at Sarnath "जैसे मुझे जानता हो बरसों से देखो, उस दढ़ियल बरगद को देखो मुझे देखा तो कैसे लपका चला आ रहा है मेरी तरफ़" Kedar Nath Singh These at the BHU campus  This a grand presence  This one sneaking up amidst the bricks along with a Peepal , both towered by a Mango  "बरगद के नीचे चबूतरे पर  रेंगता कीड़ा सर उठाकर  देखता है : एक पत्ता और गिरा।"   Ashok Vajpeyi These at the KFI campus at Rajghat  An elephant herd?  A raptor's talons? "मेरे रास्ते में एक मोड़ था और उस मोड़ पर पेड़ था एक बरगद का  ऊंचा घना जिस के साये में  मेरा  बहुत वक़्त बीता है लेकिन हमेशा यही मैं ने सोचा  कि रस्ते में यह मोड़ ही इस लिए है  कि यह पेड़ है" Javed Akhtar

Teachers we never meet There is something very poetic about this image ~ Is it about two people mature with age and experience? Or, the warmth that eyes carry when poetry flourishes? Or, about that child that a few adults carry within ~  Were they trying to delicately fit a word in a line? Or, appreciating a word? a line? a word in a line? Or, talking about their unfinished poems? Or, smiling at what they are leaving behind for us?  Harivansh Rai Bachchhan wrote on seeing Gurudev Tagore That he got to know how graceful and stunning old age could be This image perhaps is equally poignant, in a slightly different way though ~ What Ashok Vajpeyi said on Kedar Nath Singh tells u s about both, “He was a poet of both presence and absence, of love and loss .. of anxieties and questions . . And he achieved in his poetic craft that which can be only called Kedar rhythm, a verbal construct uniquely his own but simultaneously communicative" Or, is it just two amazing poets?  Poets who have t

In love with the mountains Some books take you to the mountains as you flip pages Some books remind you of the time you have invested in the mountains Some books make want to go the mountains Some books touch you gently Some books hit you hard  This book does each of these  Ruskin Bond and Namita Gokhale - a big thank you for coming out with the book For allowing me to stand on the shoulders of giants as they shared of their time in the mountains. The cover by Roerich stands tall. Authors include Rahul Sankrityayan, Rabindranath Tagore, Mark Twain, Dom Moraes and Manjushree Thapa.  This is what Namita Gokhale's website refers to the book as, " This anthology attempts to capture some of its complexity and vastness, traveling through time, place, and attitude. Beauty and melancholy, courage and defeat, philosophy and poetry surprise and illuminate us in these pages " Mountains, many a time, make us go silent So does this book Few other books on the mountains  Between Heaven