Saturday 29 June 2013

Storing beauty

To what length would one go for storing beauty. By beauty I mean a beautiful sight which one can pass by for a few minutes, a beauty that is literally fleeting for one cannot afford the time and speed, a beauty that is beyond words . . .

Storing beauty for later use


When my friend Gitanjali told me not to miss the Dudhsagar Falls en-route to Goa while on the Chennai Vasco Express, I was elated. She told me that the train would pass by the Falls somewhere around 10 o'clock in the morning. My husband and I took our places near the door at around 9. 15 am. Why you would wonder. If one has to store beauty, one has to have a firm place (before everyone else comes and occupies the narrow entry!). And what did we do? Every sight that the train passed by was splendid. There was even a station called Castlerock which sounded very quaint and English, I thought. The station itself was a page out of misty  and dewy vision. The place was very cool and green and a poet would have strung beautiful verse almost after sighting that wee station. From the station onwards, there were many tiny falls, tunnels and lovely landscapes at regular intervals.



By the time the train pulled out of Castlerock, people steadily started congregating near the doors of the train. One peek outside revealed cameras in many forms - mobiles, digital, SLRs, DSLRs and so on. By then we were rooted to that entrance for almost two hours. Our legs were aching and so were our hands. People were positioned (and so were we), carefully holding on to the rails and balancing so that they wouldn't slip out of the train. Many tried to stand very close to us putting us in peril of losing balance. Some smart charlies also tried to place their hands with cameras on our shoulders.



Finally the much awaited water body appeared in full form and beauty. Cameras clicked, interjections uttered and breaths still . . . Frantically beauty was being stored in memories and cameras. How long can one store beauty, I wondered - in the mind as well as the picture. And how does beauty work within us, I reflected. Can I see water the same way again after Dudhsagar or can I see dudh (milk) in the same manner without going back to those few minutes of witnessing that powerful force falling from a great height. What would people standing beside me remember Dudhsagar long after they have uploaded the pictures on facebook and showed them glowing with pride to their friends and relatives. Would they still be amazed at the Falls when they travel the same route or would they brush past the falls and utter, 'Ah, I saw it the last time I passed by. Nothing more' or would they stand rooted like the first time and exclaim cliched interjections. Would they suffer the pain and challenge patience again. Not quite. Would I? Of course. Over and over the same scene provides different perspectives and each time we are a different being. Right? The Susan of today will not be the one of yesterday or tomorrow.

As I write this post, the beautiful pitter-patter of the rain coerces me to complete this post and hurry to the window. Glad to be writing again after a month.

Love and beauty to you, dear readers. Until the next time - smile.

What have you been doing lately?

Images: The blogger's own


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