Giving much thanks ...
This has been such an idyllic long weekend to say the very least. Thanksgiving weekend all these years has always been spent with one or the other of my friends' family. This year though I just stayed around town, took a breather from everything, ehmmm, yeah - work included (ok alright, I did log in briefly for a couple hours but no big deal). Had good home cooked food - idlis and peanut chutney, rice and daal at a friend's place on Thanksgiving day, sat around watching a movie and laughing at the silly antics of the animated characters.

Yesterday, went to dinner at someone else's house and I was quite amazed at how good a time I had hanging out with people I hadnt met before, including a few teenage kids (ok there were adults too but hey not my fault if I enjoyed hanging out more with the kids right?). Played table tennis after ages literally and got beat by a 15 year old but in my defense, I didnt lose without scoring a few points. Had an interesting conversation with a couple girls about how to make your own bead earrings and discussing what we liked and disliked among foods and cuisines. Dinner needless to say was good and the dessert even better (tiramusu anyday anytime!). The surprising and happy part of the evening was listening to a friend's voicemail. He is travelling the world see and he got back into town just for the thanksgiving weekend. So when I heard his voice after a long time, I felt very happy indeed that he was alright and spent a few minutes catching up with him. At the door when we were leaving after playing pictionary, I realized I had not laughed so much or genuinely enjoyed a party in such a long time.

The weekend continues - got up late, watched baby squirrels romping around in the dried leaves that are carpeting open spaces everywhere the eyes can see. I stood outside soaking in the warm rays of the afternoon sun, yellowed leaves fluttering down gently in the wind like feathers, showering me from high above, blue skies forming a perfectly beautiful backdrop. As I stood there watching the antics of the squirrels, I could not think of anything I wanted to add to that moment. I was filled with an inexplicably contented feeling. Walking around the deck, I listened to the leaves crunch beneath my feet and smiled to myself. The little things in life go a long way in making my day and today it seemed like anything and everything was making me happy. Carpe diem (seize the day) is a favorite line of one of my friends. It implies making the most of each day and I think I did a pretty decent job of making the most of not only the day but the entire weekend - hah!

I am watching The Lord of the Rings extended DVD sets one after the other this weekend too, so this sentence from Gandalf is still fresh in my mind and quite apt I think. Gandalf says: (after Frodo laments about being given the burden of the ring)"So do all who see such times, but that is not for them to decide - all we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us." Resonates with such clarity since we all tend to get caught up in situations life throws at us, easily overlooking or even forgetting to do what we enjoy or really want. I dont know about future weekends but atleast this long weekend I took Gandalf's advice =)

Happy Thanksgiving!!

The hills are alive...

Fall is in the air. My favorite time of the year - football season, gorgeous sunsets seen from my office window, leaves changing color, maple macchiato at starbucks - mmm mmm good. Everything seems to be slowing down, days are getting shorter and the holiday season is right around the corner! The highlight of the season for me though are the weeks in October when the trees put on a dazzling display of resplendent reds, bright yellows, fiery orange leaves that make for a picture perfect drive.

Since I missed the entire fall season last year, I made sure to do atleast one fall trip this season and I was not disappointed. We started in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains in the North Carolina area and the trend for the rest of the trip - a sea of bright colors anywhere we drove. It was a truly amazing sight to see colors bursting on the nearby hills while the faraway ones were shrouded in blue mist (hence the name for the mountains). Vibrant colors on the maple and oak trees, along with a hundred other species of plants put on a gorgeous show - truly a feast for the eyes. It was a treat indeed to see the huge maple trees, branches bent with yellowing leaves or the red maples highlighted by the sunshine pouring down the thick woods.

What made it even better was the river that kept us constant company all through the drive up the mountains, meandering its way sometimes to the right and at other times to the left. Waterfalls welcomed us as we got further inside the park and we could just park to the side of the road and walk up to them. Newfound gap had some great colors but Clingman's Dome which is the highest point in the mountains was covered with fog and it was like winter up there. Icicles had already formed on the fir trees and it was beautiful in its own way although, I wish it werent that windy. But at 6600 ft, it was not totally unexpected. There were so many times we just pulled to the side of the road and stayed there admiring the beauty all around us. The lush colors and the gushing river nearby made for a joyous picture and a feeling of peace and tranquility stole over me as the day went by.

Blue Ridge parkway was another gorgeous drive with winding roads and at almost every curve of the road, we saw trees bursting with color at the lower elevations. We made our way upto Asheville and saw even prettier colors on the maple trees that dotted the entire downtown area. Asheville is quite artsy and walking around three or four streets gave me an insight into the town's history and the people who display their art in the galleries. Beautiful pictures of the mountains, handmade pottery, jewellery were on display almost everywhere.

On the way back, Sumter and Chattahoochee national forests, also brimming with ruby reds and golden yellows totally made the return journey back to the city go by very quickly. I was sad to get back into town but then I saw that the colors had just started to turn in the trees in town as well. Wish it could last for a few more weeks but I guess all good things must come to an end. If I do get bogged down by the mundane stuff, all I need to do is remember the roar of the water rushing past the boulders or the stretch of road covered with pretty maple trees and everything will be right in my world again =)

This is a beautiful poem that succinctly and eloquently describes what I was trying so ineptly to write about -

I want to tell you what hills are like in October
When colors gush down mountainsides
And little streams are freighted with a caravan of leaves,
I want to tell you how they blush and turn in fiery shame and joy,
How their love burns with flames consuming and terrible
Until we wake one morning and woods are like a smoldering plain--
A glowing caldron full of jewelled fire;
The emerald earth a dragon's eye
The poplars drenched with yellow light
And dogwoods blazing bloody red.
Travelling southward earth changes from gray rock to green velvet.

- Margaret Walker, October Journey

Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves. --John Muir

Voila - and then there was a coffee mug!

I made my first coffee mug in pottery class today and needless to say, I am quite ecstatic about it. Not knowing what to expect when I showed up for my first ever pottery class a couple weeks ago, I was not prepared for how much skill and effort, not to mention patience, is required to make a symmetrical shape on the potter's wheel. I realized quickly enough how difficult it is to make the clay stick to the center of the wheel without it moving. But once it is set, the fun creative process begins. This is when the shape of whatever it is you are trying to make, starts to take life. A lot of cajoling and coaxing is needed to make the clay take shape but when it does, all I can say is - wow! The right amount of pressure and aligning the fingers properly is key to molding the clay. Looking at the teacher make a coffee mug so effortlessly, I felt quite the fool when I could not even move to the next step without getting assistance.

It took me an entire class to get the hand eye co-ordination going. Between making sure the wheel is turning at a particular speed, centering the clay and then shaping, it is quite an endevor. You get to a point where you just have to stop molding the clay because there is a very high possibility of it collapsing since its gotten thin. The objective is to achieve the desired shape before this happens. Sounds simple enough but its easier said than done! Even though I got the clay centered and it started to take shape, to make it cylindrical was so frustrating! The natural tendency of clay on the wheel is to go outwards and downwards.

I was one of the two beginners this session and to see people all around me making beautiful vases or bowls so easily was quite discouraging. However, I was more in tune with the wheel and clay today. While applying pressure to make the clay take shape, I was getting the hang of it and with some assistance from the teacher, I was on my way to making a decent looking coffee mug. The first try kinda went kaput but with the second try, success at last! There is still a lot of work left - need to fix a handle, glaze and fire it but I have taken a step towards actually making something out of a mound of clay. For two hours, all thoughts go out of my mind except that I need to shape the clay correctly.

The creative process makes for a nice high I must say. My respect for artists back home who use a potter's wheel (turned by hand no less) has gone up ten fold. Who would have thought that an inanimate mound of clay would turn into a beautiful piece of art that can take shape even in amateur hands like mine! Who knows what I will end up making next week.

This quote sums up my thoughts succinctly - Said one among them:
"Surely not in vain
My substance of the common Earth was ta'en
And to this Figure moulded, to be broke,
Or trampled back to shapeless Earth again."
- Omar Khayyam ("The Tent-Maker"), The Rubaiyat (st. 84)