Wednesday, June 12, 2019

Summers And Hobbies



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!



21 comments:

  1. 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.

    Hobbies are really important to our mental well being. Your sewing looks to be very impressive!

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  2. 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.

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  3. Your dresses are beautiful, Baili!

    "...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.

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    1. Dear Sandi i did not remember any recipes as i had never paid any attention to procedure

      my 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

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    2. "Lassi a drink obtained by separating the butter from milk"

      I have had this in restaurants! My favorite is mango lassi. :)

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  4. Sewing 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.

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    1. Congratulations for this dear Debra :)

      what 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

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  5. I liked seeing the photos, Baili, and learning about your life.

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  6. Time to resume your hobbies don't you think?

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    1. Dear Pedro either i am waiting for time when i will be able to resume them

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  7. You did well with your sewing, to teach yourself, have no pattern - talented indeed.
    Many 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.

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    1. Thank you dear Margaret !

      may 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

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  8. 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.

    Raising 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!

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  9. 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.

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  10. Sewing 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!

    And I love swinging, too :)

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  11. 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!

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  12. It's always interesting to read about your earlier life and see your lovely photographs.
    My 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

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  13. 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.

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  14. These dresses are beautiful, Baili! The neck of the black one is absolutely wonderful! And you look like a princess in the photos.
    Reading 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!

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  15. Lovely memories and the clothes you made are excellent.

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