Summer days are hot and long. Here they slow down the life specially during afternoons . Sun appears early often with harsh mood . People of all ages find it hard to face the sun with worse mood so mostly after most necessary chores everyone sit under the circling fan or in room with air conditioning .
I less like air conditioner because it squeeze my world withing one room and i don't like it .
I love to lay under the fan and feel the natural way of life (yes ,foolish me of course ).
During long afternoons when i lay down after lunch , I love to recall my childhood days when summers were season full of fun exploration time for us as children .
There was small stream of water within the village drawn out by bigger and wider stream passing by our village .
Bigger stream was quite deep though it's some particular parts were suitable for children's swimming.
I remember that as 7 or 8 years age when i would stand in the stream water more than half body of me was in the water and it was quite hard to stand as flow was swift .
In the beginning when at the age of almost 5 or 6 i entered in the village , things were magical to me . Moving from big city to small village surrounded by hills and embellished with rows of fruitful trees and cropsy fields was like fairyland for my eyes!
I felt an instant connection with not just the place but people also !
As i was meant to be there as it was spouse to happen that my parents choose to live there and unveil this fantasy world before my spiritual being!
It is so frightening to think of life without the part that i spent in my village .
If i would have not been raised their my spiritual growth could have not been as strong as it has.
My creative side would have not been enriched with poetry and writing if i would have passed my early life somewhere else instead of my beautiful village!
Farming was main profession of almost each family . Few who had less fields to grow grains for whole year would adopt other jobs to earn living .
Some men of village were in foreign countries. Some were in army . My grandfather was retired from army as major .He also had many fields and cattle . He also had an orange's garden.
In long summer days when women of village would be free from lunch they would pick up their chaarpyee (traditional wooden bed ,easy to carry) and gather in huge garden beside the smaller stream .
They would spend few hours with each other while chatting ,laughing , gossiping and drinking their favorite traditional drinks to lessen the heat.
My mother would also join them often .All the ladies would do their creative jobs meanwhile such as sewing ,knitting ,embroidery ,quilt and knitting thread strips (local name ,azarbund) for traditional trousers (local name shalwar).
Young girls would do embroidery on their dowry sets of sheets mostly near by with their own kind of conversations.
Meanwhile children would swim in stream and swing or play with dolls in pillow houses on the trees .
All the ladies would choose one day in week for laundry and go together to the bigger stream beside the village . They would sink all clothes in their huge tubs made by iron sheet with washing powder and hot water.
They would leave the clothes that way for almost an hour and meanwhile would swim in strong flow of water while laughing and singing . As children it was amazing adventure for us .We though been told not to follow but mostly we would follow and faced the scold from moms later .
Latter they would rinse the clothes and walk back to their houses .Harmony between people without any kind of discrimination was divine !
Souls were light hearts were pure and life was simple!
Today when i look back i found these memories a refreshing spray that refill my soul with joys and excitement :)
Summer still offer time for hobbies but life has changed a lot .
Hobbies depend more on electricity then natural environment or closeness of relationships now.
Hubby and kids have also adopted this new life style.
In 2009 when my eldest son made me this blog i knew so less about computer .And almost nothing about blogging or blogger .
I latter found this place such a blessing through which i came to know you all!
It is window to my introvert being so i can peak through this to amazing people from different corners of the world and find myself so bound so close to them!
Still i am waiting for time (if there is some) when i will hold my favorite book and will read it while swinging !
Yes i still love swinging :) It connects me to my childhood whom i don't want to loose yet !
I will write peacefully not hurriedly whether posts ,prose or poetry .
I will explore some favorite parts of the world hopefully!
I will meditate more .
And if my eyesight will allow i will try to do some embroidery only to give tribute to my dear late mother who always wanted me to learn it .
I learnt it and did it a little bit though i did not make bed and pillow sheets or shelf covers as my all cousins did for their dowry .
When my younger son born in 2003 i suddenly felt some appeal for sewing ,in this image the dress i wore is sewn by me . no help from anyone ,i cut the paper as model and then cloth. when i wore it was amazing pleasure and sense of achievement .
image is taken by hubby on wedding day of my youngest sister in law, this dress and the design was my own idea . i did sewing as hobby until my youngest son born in 2006. latter i sewed my both younger sons clothes specially shirts with collar that were appreciated by hubby either though he was not an easy appreciator then lol
Gradually time and energy for this hobby lessened .
Hobbies define our attitude though for me it was different i choose to sew because i could not go to ground for running or for football or may be i wanted to taste from each plate lol.
Thank you for reading dear friends!
Take Great Care!
Here here in Northeastern part of The United States the summers are a little more bearable. Things get hot but tolerable. I hope that your summer is as mild as possible.
ReplyDeleteHobbies are really important to our mental well being. Your sewing looks to be very impressive!
I have had many hobbies. I completely immerse myself in them for a while. When I tire of them I stop and usually don't go back to them.
ReplyDeleteYour dresses are beautiful, Baili!
ReplyDelete"...drinking their favorite traditional drinks to lessen the heat."
Do you have recipes? :)
This makes me want to do my laundry in a tub. Ha ha! You do make it sound magical.
Dear Sandi i did not remember any recipes as i had never paid any attention to procedure
Deletemy mom used to make drink at home with lemon cold water and brown sugar ,she would add some home made syrup like drink that she learnt from grandma and i mostly found the names of herbs she used so funny
there was also Lassi a drink obtained by separating the butter from milk
i often do my laundry with same old way because i find it easier than washing machine though hubby is annoyed with this but when he is in office i do it my way
washing machine bounds me until laundry is finished but my way gives me time to do other chores while clothes are dipped in water so i am preferring it since my energy level is getting lower
"Lassi a drink obtained by separating the butter from milk"
DeleteI have had this in restaurants! My favorite is mango lassi. :)
Enjoy summer!
ReplyDeleteSewing skills are valuable! You used yours more than I ever did. I made an apron and a skirt and that was the end of that.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations for this dear Debra :)
Deletewhat makes me sad is that i could not please my mother by doing all girlish skills she wanted me to learn
i tried and did little bit all though never accomplished anything
things i started to make her happy are still pending and with me to remind that i did not finish them
I liked seeing the photos, Baili, and learning about your life.
ReplyDeleteTime to resume your hobbies don't you think?
ReplyDeleteDear Pedro either i am waiting for time when i will be able to resume them
DeleteYou did well with your sewing, to teach yourself, have no pattern - talented indeed.
ReplyDeleteMany things have changed since you were born, machines now have taken many manual things away - we progress to the future, but what joy it is to ponder on the past and how things were done then..
Since I was born the 'biro' and many other things were invented.
Thank you dear Margaret !
Deletemay unconsciously i inherited those skills used when i felt like ,
remembering the past is hobby requires only few free moments
we belong to era when all kinds of inventions came fast and changed the whole scenario within century
progress is proof of healthy life whether it's materialistic or spiritual
I enjoyed this peek into parts of your life in the past, baili. Country life is very different from town life and even more different from city life. I'm glad you have those good memories to dip into whenever you wish.
ReplyDeleteRaising a family doesn't leave much time for hobbies, or at least that is what I experienced when my kids were growing up. You made beautiful outfits and you look lovely wearing them. Children's clothing is fun to make, isn't it? You don't have to be quite as fussy as kids will soon grow out of them anyway :)
This was such an enjoyable post!
It was interesting ti read about your earlier life, Baili. Thanks for sharing these remembrances of when life was much simpler and people connected more with each other. I am thankful that your son introduced you to blogging so that we have come to know you and you know many of us. Thanks for your enthusiastic comments on my posts about our current US road trip and I am glad you are enjoy reading them as much as U enjoy sharing them because I also am learning a lot.
ReplyDeleteSewing is a very creative outlet. Look at those gorgeous dresses! I hope you are able to delve into some new and exciting hobbies sooner than later!
ReplyDeleteAnd I love swinging, too :)
Thank you for sharing these memories! I always enjoy learning about you. I never went very far with my sewing skills but I can make repairs when needed. At least that's something!
ReplyDeleteIt's always interesting to read about your earlier life and see your lovely photographs.
ReplyDeleteMy dear Mum loved to cook, sew and knit … alas I never took to sewing or knitting, although I can sew on a button, take up a hem etc. but I share her love for cooking.
Nice post.
All the best Jan
Such sweet memories of summertime from your younger days. I enjoyed reading about how you spent your time. Your dresses are beautiful. I especially like the black one with the red trim.
ReplyDeleteThese dresses are beautiful, Baili! The neck of the black one is absolutely wonderful! And you look like a princess in the photos.
ReplyDeleteReading your post I also flew back into my childhood... How true it is, "Souls were light, hearts were pure, and life was simple!" :)
Big hugs to you!
Lovely memories and the clothes you made are excellent.
ReplyDelete