Well here i am...the beautiful land of Canada the little i have seen!
Raja is taking care of the land while i am out..cashews close to a finish!
I hear it is raining, YES! so glad for the trees we planted..what a relief; it took my departure and all those naked rain dances to have it fall..
Here i am in a healing center called www.greatcentralsun.com - and guess what it has a WATSU pool! well, we are working on making it functional, scratching, scrubbing and painting..trying to prepare it for a big event in the world called live H2O!
Feels like home..sleeping in a VolksWagon..lovely :)
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Friday, May 15, 2009
Rain drops
Old man (watchman) calls out hurriedly "come come, we have to put the cashews in the storeroom; bring the sacks.."
Surprised, i walk out of the house; it is drizzling! Yes.
Up with the solar lamp we start shoving the cashews in tin containers to bring down the dried cashew into the storeroom - all the while little tickling drops cooling the air (SMILE)
The monsoon in kerala is predicted for the 26th May (The Hindu says)l what happens is that at times it over spills past the Western Ghats and if we are lucky we get rain.
It has been hot and stuffy today; seeing the dark clouds advancing is refreshing!
We were collecting cashew today uptil 12 o'clock. My god it is hot at 11am! bad idea..
Taking care of 17 acres of land with cashews; i keep telling the workers to do the whole circle everyday but with the elections and absence, pending cashew collecting has made us slow down..
I am leaving for Canada in a few days; so i figured that if the workers could reassure me that they got their act together (without me helping) before i leave then i can be at peace!
"pappum" (lets see in tamil)
will it actually rain? after all the hectic bustling cashew collecting from the roof to the storeroom. ha ha..
Monday, May 11, 2009
The Case for Dogs
“We need a dog,” Raja said. He hasn’t asked for much, and I love dogs, so I agreed whole heartedly.
“But why do you say that now?” I asked.
“There are so many people on the land these days,” he began. They’re here picking cashews. Some have no respect for the living space of this house; they walk right up and use the house tap and hardly glance at Monica or I as we try to explain that there are other places to gather water. They come and go as they please. And they already stole my beloved mirrors.
On this particular day there were many villagers searching for cashews. Raja asked them to please keep clear of the house, but no matter what he said, people kept coming. So he hatched an idea. Perched before the computer, he downloaded an array of recordings with a mischevious smile. They were of dogs barking.
He played them on a loop, the whole time hollering at the speakers, “Down boy! Careful puppy! They’ll leave soon!”
The effect was magical. Slowly all the people within earshot of the house disappeared deeper into the cashew topes.
“And the cows,” I added, thinking of my pup at home who herds basketballs like animals. “We can train a dog to keep the animals away.”
“Of course!”
“And to bark in the middle of the night. I hear so many noises but hardly ever check to see what’s making them. Dogs would chase unwanted visitors—animal or human—out despite the darkness.”
“Of course!”
“And to cuddle. I like to replace people with dogs.”
Raja didn’t respond right away; he just gave me a look of absolute bewilderment. But I was lost in the memory of snuggling up to my beautiful golden retriever.
“Um, Catherine? I don’t think that’s a good idea. I was thinking more a village mutt.”
Eh, a puppy that meets three out of four needs ain’t bad.
“But why do you say that now?” I asked.
“There are so many people on the land these days,” he began. They’re here picking cashews. Some have no respect for the living space of this house; they walk right up and use the house tap and hardly glance at Monica or I as we try to explain that there are other places to gather water. They come and go as they please. And they already stole my beloved mirrors.
On this particular day there were many villagers searching for cashews. Raja asked them to please keep clear of the house, but no matter what he said, people kept coming. So he hatched an idea. Perched before the computer, he downloaded an array of recordings with a mischevious smile. They were of dogs barking.
He played them on a loop, the whole time hollering at the speakers, “Down boy! Careful puppy! They’ll leave soon!”
The effect was magical. Slowly all the people within earshot of the house disappeared deeper into the cashew topes.
“And the cows,” I added, thinking of my pup at home who herds basketballs like animals. “We can train a dog to keep the animals away.”
“Of course!”
“And to bark in the middle of the night. I hear so many noises but hardly ever check to see what’s making them. Dogs would chase unwanted visitors—animal or human—out despite the darkness.”
“Of course!”
“And to cuddle. I like to replace people with dogs.”
Raja didn’t respond right away; he just gave me a look of absolute bewilderment. But I was lost in the memory of snuggling up to my beautiful golden retriever.
“Um, Catherine? I don’t think that’s a good idea. I was thinking more a village mutt.”
Eh, a puppy that meets three out of four needs ain’t bad.
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