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Sunday, July 27, 2008

The Saga of the Bamboo...



...continues... in these handicrafts skilfully created by
artisans/simple village folks, in obscure hamlets, beyond
the blue hills, across the vast green plains of my fertile
land--beside gurgling streams and seemingly placid rivers.
Sold for a song to middlemen in the nearest town, and later
sold in ritzy emporiums and wayside stalls, next to fabled
silk and expensive figurines. Or maybe with trinkets and
gaudy statuettes adjacent to a tea-stall with a blackened,
dented kettle on a smouldering fire and stale buns on sale.
In a land of contrasts, anything is plausible.
And as I write this, a craftsman could be working outside
his house, under the mango tree, cutting bamboo thin and
fine after a back-breaking day in the paddy-fields----
battling the mosquitoes that breed in our malarial rainforests.
But we have bamboo in our souls. I look at a basket and see
beyond that! I hear the distinct sound of a sharp knife
slicing through a fresh green stem, the raw smell evocative
of an unending green of a tropical jungle...the aroma of the
dish made of bamboo shoot garnished with herbs freshly picked
from a garden as fertile as a forest.
Bamboo-- so many images come; green, yellow, shoots, dense
groves, bees, birds,snakes, stakes, huts, fences, benches,
archways, bridges... it's a melange of images turning into
a slide-show in the recesses of my mind!

11 comments:

Lavender and Vanilla Friends of the Gardens said...

Kanak, You write so beautifully, from the soul and from the heart. The story of bamboo so interesting, I can actually see the people sitting there, working, turning out exquisite handicrafts.
I love bamboo and I too marvel at the work that goes into it. Many of our sitting arrangements are beautifully made of bamboo, and the sticker is not made of plastic it is carved from mother of pearl.
Great artisans at work.

spookydragonfly said...

Hi Kanak! - I loved this post - the versetality of bamboo is growing amazingly as the world uses this plentiful plant not only for the handmade baskets as in your photos...but for textiles and flooring! What a well written post with calming images! I enjoyed it very much!

Unknown said...

Trudi/kd, Sometimes you don't realise you're going to write a particular post. This morning I noticed the ferns growing between a pile of bricks so I brought them to decorate the kitchen table. Which vase shall I use now...? When I reached for the bamboo basket, I knew my fingers had to be on the keyboard, and fast! So glad you enjoyed the post.

Ewa said...

Hello Kanak,
I am new here. You write in such a nice way and pictures are great!
Greetings from garden in Poland,
Ewa

Unknown said...

Ewa, hi! Greetings from India and welcome to my blog! Would love to know more about your garden. Thank you for leaving such a lovely comment!

Naturegirl said...

I tried to grow bamboo in a bog area of my garden..I was disappointed that it did NOT survive our harsh winter.
Some gardeners here in my zone 6 Canadaian garden have had success growing bamboo for a Zen looking garden.
I find your blog very interesting and informative! NG from Canada.. :)

Mother Nature said...

Thanks for the lovely insight.

VC said...

I don't know what to compliment you about.....Do I wax eloquent about the photographs that make me discover a realm that exists and thrives in my backyard - one which I am blissfully ignorant about as I hurriedly unlock my car (On the way to work) each morning? Or do I pay verbose obeisance to you for the plethora of emotions that you stir up with your words? You indeed are a poet.

I guess you are gifted. However, I consider myself more gifted to have a friend such as you. A friend who shows me a life that I always wished for. Today, that life is all around me, celebrating, pulsating and thriving. But I pay scant heed to it as I rush headlong into the maelstrom of survival that we foolishly call LIFE.

Kanak, I write these words as a paean to myself (not for you) I am so blessed to have a friend such as you.I celebrate this feeling as you sleep, blissfully unaware, on your bed (or is it IN your bed???)!

Continue, my friend, continue to show me this world and I am blessed to see it through your eyes.

Splash!!! goes yet another stone into the waves of another unknown rivulet of Haflong. The orange blossoms are in bloom - can you smell them? I do - thanks to you.

God bless!

Unknown said...

NG, hi! Delighted to have you here and thank you. I love going through your blog; the photos are so beautiful! Good luck with bamboo, if you try growing it again in future!

Donna, thanks for your visit. I'll soon be learning the names of several beautiful flowers from your blog!

Rhonda said...

Kanak, it seems your beautiful writing brings it out in everyone else. That's terrific! I probably would just have said.."hey, look at these lovely bamboo baskets"...LOL You're a poet at heart...and your joy for life shines through.

Unknown said...

veecee,
I don't know what to say/write. Reading about myself in the way you've put it, in your beautiful words, made me want to cry...!And if, without really experiencing nature in its minutest, subtlest form- if you can still feel/sense vicariously, I consider myself blessed! The reference to the splash in the rivulet and orange blossoms....that was so touching!May the river of friendship/words/appreciation never run dry..........!

Rhonda,
So good to have you here again! And thank you for your kind comment. Will drop by soon. Your garden must be even lovelier than ever before!!