This is a post that was first published in my private blog on Thursday, June 19, 2008 titled “Life In The Seed.” I publish it here today with every affection and nostalgia that comes from possession of an object and a memory almost ten years old. The piece references events that occurred in the year 2002. The object of discussion, by the way, is very much intact and occupies the same spot to this day! This is indeed a lovely show that goes on… Original post follows:
My last visit to India, my motherland, was about six years ago. I suppose my upcoming trip next week is causing me to reminisce and reflect on my last one… One of the fun places that I went to during that last visit was a two-day trip to Bandipur National Park, a wildlife sanctuary and Project Tiger reserve. We stayed in a charming forest guest house, went on a lovely safari ride through the park and saw numerous animals (including tiger) and various fowl, picnicked in beautiful parts of the park, climbed trees, rode an elephant, and took a ton of pictures.
One thing that I picked up while there was this long gourd-like seed that was one among many scattered on the grounds of the forest. I don’t know what the name of the tree is that it belongs to, but it must be an indigenous one that is in abundant growth in the forest; there were hundreds of these seeds hanging from the trees and made for a curious and almost enchanting sight. I suppose it must have been that time of year when these long seeds would dry on the trees and eventually fall to the ground. The one that I happened to pick up is the one that you see in the picture; I picked it up and carefully brought it all the way back across the oceans, and gave it a home on one of my bookshelves.
