Bangalore Diaries - Walk the talk

I have been going on long walks for the last few days. My health fluctuates and on the days I can walk, I walk. I sing to myself as I walk. I talk to myself as I walk. I often smile to myself as I walk. And sometimes I observe life around me as I walk. Today I went for a walk at the Sankey lake. Yesterday it was around my local park . And the day before, I went for a long walk in the evening combining some grocery shopping as well.

The trees smile at me as I walk past . They are blushing with flowers of various colours. I learnt a few names recently. Besides the copper pod , the gulmohar and the flowers of the rain tree, I saw various shades of pink and purple in the Java Cassia, in the Pride of India or in the Jacaranda. The tabebuia was in bloom a few months ago, but then the flowers were soon shed and the tree is barren again, waiting for the next flowering season. The law of nature is very simple. They move on from one season to another, from one cycle to the other. Transience is their way of life.

I saw the black kite with nesting material in its mouth. The cormorants were sunning themselves on the top of the trees. A bright blue kingfisher attempted to dive inside the waters of the lake, but realized it was a false alarm. It tried again after a while and returned with a fish. A little later, a green barbet was right atop my head, furiously knocking at a branch of a tree, oblivious to life around it. It had its priorities right. Work. survival .It just carried on from one branch to another, trying to fulfill its needs. Self reliant, independent, knowing what it needs and a focussed search for it, without getting distracted by people, their voices, their opinions and their judgements around - the bird helped me get my priorities right too this morning .More work. Silently. And less noise.

Reminds me of a little poem my dad told me when I was a kid

A wise old owl sat on a tree,
The more he sat, the less he spoke.
The less he spoke, the more he heard.
Why arent we like the wise old bird ?

Coming back to the walk, there were more observations - of people, of activities. Some disturbing, some amusing, some touching..but that is for another post..have a great day !