The Ramayana month started off particularly sunny and dry. I had to water all my newly planted cuttings twice a day. The newspapers were cribbing about how poor the rainfall has been this season. Whenever I checked the weather forecast on my phone, it showed a rain-cloud with a huge question-mark imposed upon it and said "scattered rain and thunderstorms" every day, but we got to see nothing.
So we decided to interfere. My DH and I ought to receive an award for ending the unseasonable drought. On Sunday morning we decided in a loud conversation that our coconut oil is running out and it is time to dry some copra again. Not twelve hours later, we had rain!!! For good measure, I again shouted out for all to hear on Monday morning that we are NOT postponing our plan and WILL start dehusking the coconuts THIS weekend. I haven't had to water the new plants ever since!!! This is not the first time it has happened either :-)
In this enthusiastic planting season, I bought some plants from a nearby nursery and mentioned to one of my neighbors that I was on the lookout for saplings of a kariveppu and a kadaplavu (seemaplavu). She gave me a sound scolding for having spent money on buying plants and promised me the saplings from her own yard. So I went to her place last Thursday with the kiddos for some socializing and getting the saplings. She has a tiny bit of space in the front of her house and on an upper balcony and both are chock-full of beautiful flowering plants. She was so generous with her plants that coming back, I looked like the Birnam woods walking down to Dunsinane with the kids behind me picking up whatever fell down. Ok, like Hanuman carrying the Dronagiri mountain would be more apt a simile, but hey, I can't let you picture me like that now, can I?
Fortunately I was able to plant the whole forest of cuttings that evening itself because I had already prepared several pits and beds to receive plants while I was weeding (law of attraction at work, huh?!) and I had very little digging to do. Now I am waiting with bated breath to see how many take to my garden. Yep, I promise that there shall be pictures of tiny little shoots and leaves and flowers as they come! For one thing, our camera is back after a course of treatment and has finally taken to the batteries it used to hate earlier (it always kept ordering us to "Change the batteries" whatever we put in it - pretty choosy, we thought). Macro time coming up!
BTW, if you want to experience some fantastic poetry literally "in action", try reading the fight between Rama and Ravana's brothers (Khara, Dooshana and Thrisirassu) in the Adhyatma Ramayana. It's absolutely bracing and the words themselves transform into weapons that cut, pierce and deal heavy blows. I bow before thee, maestro!!!
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