Wandering in my Neighbourhood

2018 is exactly 100 days old today. And I haven’t travelled out of the city this year. But to wander and wonder you don’t have to travel far. It is a realisation that dawns slowly with age. How well do we know our own city? Leave alone the city, how well do we know our neighbourhood? All the nooks and corners. They never cease to surprise us. If only we had time to pause, observe and wonder.

There is a magnificent park in my neighbourhood, with a well-laid out path for circumambulation. People turn up in large numbers, to walk, to jog, to sit around, to exercise, to laugh, to gossip. But they are so busy doing all this perfunctorily, that few have time to wander and wonder. To wander and wonder is to slow down. Slow down to be in sync with nature’s rhythm.

The photos that follow are a result of a conscious slowing down. I will let the pictures speak for themselves, because in this case they convey more than a thousand words.

This fine specimen of Copper Pod tree (Peltophorum pterocarpum) dominates the park. Look how it has changed character in the span of a mere fortnight.

The park also hides tiny treasures, so tiny at the ground level that they can be easily ignored.

And look at these toxic beauties. Who would have thought that they contain enough poison to kill both man and beast! (Nerium Oleander)

And what a surprising transformation of this bud! (Calliandra haematocephala)