Scribbles from a rain forest
Metamorphosis through nature
I am writing to you this week from a rainforest in South India. I always thought of Coorg as a hill station but obviously I had got it wrong! I feel like I had been waiting forever to come here for my break. Twice I had made plans and twice I had to cancel as responsibilities took over.
Now that I am finally here, I feel myself moving away from a sense of hopelessness. I am glad I made it to this beautiful part of the country - far from the maddening crowd! I think that the feeling of hope rises when I look at nature. I find that the frustrations of life begin to loosen their hold over me.
The focus shifts from my life to life around me. For instance, I look at how the velvety moss grows on the trees helping them retain moisture and keeping them insulated. I spot a white-bellied treepie out of the blue and just before it flies away, I think it has also spotted me!
I photograph tiny pink flowers called “impatients” which I believe get their name from the word impatience! So much is happening around me and then within me through what I am experiencing here. Nature reminds me that I will also be able to go on the path of discovery and exploration soon.
It is a surreal feeling to see life thriving all around me. Nature is not uniformly laid out. There is no particular order and everything is strangely interconnected and beautifully interdependent even as it is imbued with grace and character.
It’s been raining ever since I got here. And I don’t mind the rain so much, unlike the way I do in the city. Perhaps it’s because I have nowhere in particular to go and nowhere to be so I can just let it all float by.
I spend my days taking photographs and watching the rain. I see it cleansing, purging the surroundings and supporting new life. Somewhere in all of this, I feel renewed as well. It’s like some metamorphosis is taking place and the past few months are no longer relevant for the memory.
I know that when I get back to the city there will be hard days at times, just as for anyone else. And every time that happens, I will have to invoke these moments of silence and ethereal beauty to find my strength again. After all self-care is also important especially if you have been a care giver all your life.
The beauty of this far off place is astounding. Wrapped in moisture, the greenery, moss, Impatiens, mist. It's like a make believe world. I want to be there!
Thank you for sharing your wonderful photos.♥️
I am so interested in the abstract quality you captured in so many of these photographs, Shital. Beautiful!