In our part of the world Tulsi is considered a very sacred plant and it is mostly planted in the front of the main entrance of the house. It is believed to be sacred not only due to its religious importance but also for the medicinal value. It can cure cough, cold, fever, flu, chest congestion, throat infection, joint pains and many more. It is a cure for almost every type of fever. You can just chew the leaves or make it’s paste to apply on skin or just boil the leaves in water to drink it as a tonic. 
Fortunately I have got this Tulsi plant near my kitchen garden, beautifully maintained by the previous occupants. I was so happy to see this small pillar surrounded with green hedge. I daily water the plant and lit a diya. You can call it sacred, let me call it a habit, a ritual I have been doing it since my childhood. I believe that in our religion why they must have called a number of trees sacred so that the coming generations keep on planting these species. Even if they do so please Gods there is no harm until they become superstitious. We have to draw the line and understand the difference between sacred and fear of religion. Hope I conveyed my point.
Month: December 2016
WHERE TO STOP?
Yesterday my blogger friend told me that in her country one cannot construct where one wants to and today I am reminded of her statement as soon as I saw today’s prompt.
These were her words, “Where we live there are certain areas that must be left to agriculture. You cannot build where you want to. So much space must be left for farmers. Switzerland is a small country and you must be careful what you do with the land you have.,”
I wish that was possible in our country too. Not that we don’t have rules and laws but implementation is a kind of hypothetical term when you have abnormal population growth. Over 1.21 billion people need house and government has it’s own constraints therefore corruption rise and people tend to construct illegal colonies. The problem cannot be dealt effectively in absence of will and a strong mechanism to fight against it.
Illegal housing in India consists of huts or shanties built on land not owned by the residents (i.e., squatting) and illegal buildings constructed on land not owned by the builders or developers. Although illegal buildings may afford some basic services, such as electricity, in general illegal housing does not provide services that afford for healthy, safe environments. 
The pictures above is a common sight of any big or small city. I wish there would have been sustainable development. It hurts when you see these cramped houses build without any blue print or proper planning where once used to be fertile fields full of yield. Even the hills did not remain untouched and they are bleeding due to reckless deforestation in the name of tourism and employment generation. Recently I went to one of the most beautiful hill station and was shocked to see the rapid construction going on there. It was no more that lush green valley of flowers, surrounded with tall pine and Deodar trees and waterfalls. This is what the landscape looked like.
Wish what my friend told me the other day is possible here too. For that we have to first control the population explosion. I would love to see long agricultural belts and evergreen forests in future too to maintain the ecological balance on the earth.
ECHOES OF NATURE AND PAST
I still hear the echo of water. It could be heard from a distance too while I was desperately waiting to get the first glimpse of the massive, voluminous waterfall. It was like a marvel of nature and the only source of sound in this silent, lush green valley. Breathtaking view which echoes in my memory forever.
The other picture is of a old Mughal Fort where the echo from the glorious past can be heard even today. The intricate workmanship, the architecture, the feel, the royal ambience makes you call those kings from the past and you definitely hear the echo of their footsteps.
Hope you would like my perception on today’s prompt.
FINDING MY WAY
Cee’s Which Way Photo Challenge – November 30,2016
Life is all about choices and finding your way to your destination. I particularly enjoy playing up for this photo challenge run by Cee because it gives me freedom to click anything which depicts a ‘way’…. it can be a walkway, road, footpath, trail, stairs or even I can capture while climbing, driving or driving. Isn’t it fun?
I was away from these fun challenges for a while, hopefully should be able to tag along and contribute by bit. These are my choices for this week.
